Chapter Seven
Lee hated needles. He looked away as Cottle eased the needle into his arm. Through the curtain separating him from the other patients, he could see a lock of Jessica's hair on the pillow. Shiny black against stark white. His eyes burned with the effort to concentrate on that small image. He licked his dry lips and tried to block out the slight sting as the antidote entered his vein. He held his breath, which wasn't too hard considering he was having trouble breathing in the first place. Lee's entire body felt weighed down, every muscle ached and his head felt like it was wrapped in wool.
His throat hurt too much to speak so he simply nodded or shook his head at the doctor.
Salik, this guy wasn't. He was gruff and snarky. Even worse, the small bursts of air Lee's nose did allow in were choked with cigar smoke.
The man was Starbuck with balls.
But Cottle knew what he was doing. A few of the patients Lee was certain would not survive, were, with Cottle's attention, still holding on.
Lee's father was not happy he was volunteering to be the guinea pig for the antidote. Okay, 'not happy' was an understatement. But Lee was the only one conscious enough to make the choice. No one knew what the side effects were, or even if the cure would end up only killing them faster than the virus. Lee was the only one patient who understood those risks.
He again caught sight of Jessica on the other side. He felt an insane burst of relief that she was still unconscious. She would have tackled him to the floor to volunteer, Lee thought groggily. Wait, it wasn't very nice of him to be glad she was still sick, was it? Nope...Oh. He hasn't felt this out of it since that time in college when he and his friends made their own liquor from scratch. His eyes felt heavy and it's getting harder for him to breathe. Lee struggled to open his eyes and tell Cottle that his skin felt as if it was on fire and his back felt as if he were laying on a bed of nails. There was a heavy sensation on his chest, pushing down hard and as he lost consciousness, Lee thought that the only way they'd learn there was something wrong with the vaccine was now that he was going to die. Well frak, he thought before everything went black.
"What the frak happened?" Kara asked horrified when Adama informed her that Lee was in a coma.
"Cottle said something about the virus attacking his antibodies, or blood cells attacking the antidote. Gods help us." William explained, his voice groggy with exhaustion and worry. He sounded like Lee did, before he got sick, Kara thought with a panicked shudder. She hung up the phone and stormed off to Baltar's office.
"What the hell did you do?" Kara demanded, panic fueling her anger.
Baltar pushed his chair away from the long table in the center of the room. "Captain Adama was fully aware of the risks involved with being a test patient. His blood should have been compatible but we had no way of knowing that his blood cells would contain antibodies that would reject the antidote compounds."
"You're supposed to be a damned genius. You fix this," Kara hissed trapping him in his chair against the wall by placing her hands beside either side of his head.
"The only way I can do that now is to find another universal donor with the right antibodies." Baltar narrowed his eyes, using his smugness to hide his fear of the crazy lieutenant.
"That's type O right? I'm a type O," Kara informed him feeling a hopeful prickle in her stomach. Could she actually do something to help end this nightmare? Gods, she hoped so.
"Do you need to get Adama's permission? As one of our few pilot's left I don't imagine he'd be too keen to put you at risk," Baltar pointed out. The last thing he needed was Adama tearing his head off for putting his pet in danger.
"I don't imagine we'll tell him," Kara insisted pulling up a chair across from him.
Since Kara had not yet been infected with the virus, she was putting herself at risk by allowing Baltar to infect her with a sample of tainted blood. He chose Jessica's blood at Six's order.
When he asked her why she wanted the seer's blood used, the Cylon simply smiled at him, that smile that told him she knew things that he couldn't possibly fathom and was not going to share her knowledge with him until and if the time was right.
A clean sample of Kara's blood would be taken first, then she would be injected with Jessica's tainted blood. Baltar would then inject Kara with the antidote and see if the virus was destroyed.
Once the virus took hold and Kara informed him she was starting to feel sick, Baltar injected her with the antidote and waited.
Kara carried her idols with her as she took a bed in sickbay, telling no one what she, Dr Freakweasel and Cottle were up to. She swore she could feel the virus moving though her body. An eerie sense of wrongness moved through her. It was a creepy and unsettling feeling. She prayed constantly, quietly in her mind as she lay in bed, counting off the hours until Cottle examined her or Adama burst in to yell at her, which ever came first.
Of course, with her luck, she should have known Adama would show up first.
William pulled back the curtain with a sharp jerk. Kara started in the bed but then closed her eyes, resigned to the explosion she knew was coming. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Lieutenant?" His blue eyes glared down at her.
Kara winced at the use of her rank. 'Lieutenant' always meant he was royally pissed at her. She didn't think he'd appreciate her reminding him that he was putting himself at risk just by being in the room.
"I have the right blood type, Sir. I volunteered," Kara replied firmly.
"Without consulting your commanding officer. You're putting a military asset at risk, or have you forgotten your duty to this fleet?"
Kara stiffened. "I am fully aware of my duty, Commander. That was why I volunteered. Our people are dying and right now, my blood type is more of an asset to this fleet than anything I can do in the cockpit."
"That's what Lee thought!" He seethed.
"Lee is going to be fine," Kara assured him, her fingers tightening around her Apollo idol. She swallowed, grimacing at the scratchy feeling. "He had some kind of allergic reaction. I'm going to help Baltar fix the antidote."
"Commander, what the frak do you think you're doing here?" Cottle asked, stepping in from the other side.
"You were supposed to come to me before putting one of my officers at risk ," Adama growled.
"I don't need your permission for blood donations. Now, let's try this again. Get out."
The phone on the wall rang, stifling any further argument.
Cottle reached past the curtain and picked up the receiver. He turned back to William and Kara and his weathered face broke into a smile. "Commander, I'd get working on a medal for that insubordinate little officer of yours."
When Lee opened his eyes, he was no longer in sickbay. He sat in a park. On an iron bench. Ducks swam in a small pond, the bright sun making the water shine and sparkle. His body was no longer heavy with fever and he could breathe the wonderfully warm, clean summer air.
"Yep, you're dreaming," a male voice confirmed.
Lee turned to the other man on the bench. The stranger sat in his white t-shirt and black pants, tossing bits of bread at the ducks. His dark hair was slightly tinged with grey at the temples. There was something familiar about him but Lee knew they had never met. His eyes were a dark green that reminded Lee of--
"I want you to leave her alone," the man insisted.
Though he spoke with no malice or anger, Lee sensed the pending threat behind the man's words. When he met Lee's eyes, he realized with a heavy feeling of dread in his stomach that this was Jessica's father.
A.N:
JAT.NJ: (laughs) I have my trust Apollo muse to protect me. Hope you like this chapter
Mae: Glad you're enjoying my little (?) (laughs) tale. Hope you like chapter too!
dark finder: Real life happens. Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Cmf161: I always look forward to your feedback so much! I'm glad you were able to see the point of the other ships as well. It's a hard thing to rationalize, needing to put the military before civilians so those civilians have a defense system. I adore Cottle so! I had to bring him in. The pinky is always effective. (winks) Thank you so much for taking the time to read and make such entertaining comments! Hope you like this chapter.
Silwyna: Thanks a lot for reading! I'm glad you're enjoying this and I hope you like this chapter too!
fading phantom: Thankie for your feedback! The antidote is a comin'. (laughs) Hope you like this chapter too!