Chapter Ten
When Kara finally returned to their 'home', Thirteen was once again sprawled on the mat, restlessly sleeping. She settled into her own sleeping bag and watched him until sleep claimed her.
She woke in the morning to Thirteen all but climbing the bars. "Let me out!"
She pushed herself up to rest on a shoulder and simply looked at him.
He pulled violently on the gate. "LET ME OUT OF HERE. I have to get out!"
"You can set yourself free. Die. Won't you be resurrected?" She pushed at him, further fueled by yesterday's confrontation. "Oh, that's right. You don't have a body or an actual model!"
Thirteen abruptly turned around and sat against the bars banging his head against them. "You really think this storm will save him?"
She walked over and knelt next to the cage. She leaned in and whispered to him. "This would be far easier on you if you just give up and let Lee have control. Your death will be easier."
He turned to face her. "If I'm going to die, I'm going to take Lee with me and I certainly won't make it easy on him or you."
BSG
Thirteen struggled to fight the effects of the radiation. As the day wore on he became increasingly more incoherent and continued to refuse food and water. He used all his strength to keep Lee away.
At one point, Kara attempted to force water down his throat, but since she couldn't properly hold or support his head Thirteen coughed and sputtered. Afraid water was going into his lungs, she stopped trying.
After the water incident, Thirteen curled into the side of the cage. It wasn't clear if he was sleeping or simply trying to control his responses. The only sound heard from him was occasional muttering. Kara pretended to read, but she listened carefully for signs of Lee emerging. She was terrified Thirteen was right and could take Lee with him.
Movement from the cage entered her peripheral vision. Glancing over, she saw Lee's body shaking and all at once violent jerking erupted. His body thrashed against the bars and his head snapped horrifically up and down. She jumped to her feet and retrieved the key to the lock. With the calm handling of a viper in combat, she manipulated the lock and swung the gate open, reaching down a steady arm to Lee's flailing body.
Thirteen reached up and viciously grabbed her arm. Unprepared for an attack, Kara had no time to react and her head bounced off the edge of the gate, stunning her. Thirteen scrambled to his feet and pushed past her, free at last. He scanned the room quickly for any supplies he might need. Seeing none, he moved toward the corridor which would take him to the raptor, still docked at their initial access point.
Kara pulled herself to her feet and wiped the back of her hand across her eye to clear the stream of blood flowing from the cut on her forehead. Stumbling to her bed area, she grabbed at the first weapon she found, not bothering to note what it was. She'd removed her belt when she stretched out to read. It cut into her thighs.
Releasing the safety, she roared after Thirteen, praying his condition prevented him from moving quickly. The ever present silence of the station was obliterated by the pounding of feet, one set steady and firm, the other set awkward and irregular.
Kara quickly covered the distance between them. Seeing Thirteen before her, she leapt at him and caught him around the knees. They both crashed hard to the deck and rolled against the bulkhead. Kara held on for all she was worth. She was in a dangerous spot. If Thirteen could free his legs, she would be defenseless. Lee Adama, in top fighting form, could easily defeat her from this position, but Thirteen was weakened, whether he wanted to admit it or not.
Thireen struggled and wormed against the force that held his lower half. Just ahead of him, an arm's length away, was a discarded extinguisher. He used his still powerful upper half to drag them forward.
Kara held on, assuming Thirteen was attempting to move them toward the hatch. A subtle change in the airflow and forward movement caused her to look up just in time to see a large metal object coming toward her. She released Thirteen's legs and rolled to the side.
Thirteen felt the pressure leave his legs and felt Kara roll across them. It was too late to completely adjust the angle of the extinguishers descent, but he moved enough to catch her along the back.
Kara cried out as the object hit her back. "Damnit LEE, help me here!" Temporarily unable to move as the pain washed over her, she looked for Thirteen.
BSG
Adama rolled over and sat up on the edge of his bunk. It was yet another sleepless night. Running his hands through his hair, he tried to figure out what good he was actually doing the fleet at the moment. He couldn't concentrate on anything other than Lee. It was tearing him apart not knowing what was happening.
Tonight he woke from a dream. His son, alternating between a little boy and a grown man, was down a well and reaching out to him. Over and over Lee called for his father. Adama had called out to Lee to let him know he was coming, but Lee didn't seem to hear him.
"Dad, I need you. Please come. Dad, why won't you come? You said you'd never leave me!" Lee's anguished cries were the last thing he remembered from the dream. Adama was filled with the knowledge that once again, he'd failed his son.
He dragged himself across the room and switched on his desk lamp. If sleep wasn't going to ease his pain, he'd try losing himself in work. He picked up the reports he'd been trying to read all day. He fought to focus his eyes on the words, but none made sense.
He rubbed at his eyes and blinked a few times before his second attempt. Two words focused for him, Cloud Nine. He rubbed at his eyes again, thinking he was making progress. When he opened them and looked at the report, again, only two words focused, Cloud Nine.
He smiled.
BSG
Thirteen was struggling to get to his feet. "Lee can't help you." He turned and continued down the corridor.
Kara drew in a deep breath and continued after him. "Stop now, Thirteen."
He denied her request, but called out to her as he moved on. "I'm sorry. I can't do that Kara. I have to get off this station. It's not conducive to my health." He stopped and turned back to her, knowing she was still several meters behind him. "But then again, you knew that."
As she limped forward, she checked her weapon. She screamed inside. She'd grabbed her gun, not the tranquilizer. She had no desire to further injure Lee with a bullet. She wasn't even sure the tranquilizer wouldn't have been too much for him right now. Dropping her head to accept the situation, she knew she had no choice. If Thirteen reached the hatch, he'd use Lee's knowledge to pilot the raptor out of here, leaving her stranded and Lee Adama forever lost to the Cylons.
"This isn't going to work. Give up now!" She called out to him. His only response was laughter. She aimed above his head and fired. "That was a warning. The next shot goes in you."
He stopped and looked at her. The light in the corridor was dim, casting an eerie and ominous glow over both figures. "You would kill Lee? You love him too much. You wouldn't be able to live with yourself. You would have killed both Adama sons."
He couldn't read her expression. She knew that. She didn't bother to cover her doubt and guilt. "I will. It would be my gift to him." She fired again. She did love Lee, but Thirteen would never understand how.
"Will you turn the gun on yourself or will you bring my dead body back to my father?" Lee taunted. With each word, he stepped closer to the hatch, his eyes occasionally glancing over to the latch that released the ship. He would open the hatch and dive in, leaving Kara stranded here. Thirteen felt it was a fitting end. Lee screamed inside.
"He's not your father and he wouldn't blame me. We've always said we would free Lee, one way or the other." Kara also advanced on the hatch and Thirteen.
Thirteen smiled. "You're too late and you won't really shoot him. Not here. Not now. Cottle isn't here to save him." He stretched out his arm and opened the airlock. As his fingers depressed the switch, he heard the shot, microseconds before the searing pain entered his shoulder.
The bullet's impact pushed him backward, away from the open hatch. He pulled himself to his knees and prepared to dive anyway, when another shot bounced off the deck just in front of his knee. He looked up to meet Kara's impassive face. Despite her lack of emotion, he knew she would kill him.
Thirteen glanced over at the open airlock. Kara was inching closer, the gun leveled squarely on him. He knew if he tried to reach the raptor, she could deliver a fatal shot. Instead, a smile formed on his lips.
Kara watched as a sickening smile spread across Thirteen's face. "What's so funny?"
Thirteen coughed, and then spoke. "I think I have the most fitting solution to this situation. One that will benefit us both."
Kara cautiously stopped her advance, Thirteen well in her sites. "This ought to be good. I suppose you're going to offer to go dormant again?"
Thirteen shook his head. "No. I'm going to give you your heart's desire." In an instant he reached above his head and pulled at the lever.
Kara couldn't fire. All she did was scream. "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" As the raptor pulled away from the station, the open hatchway expelled the air. Thirteen was slammed against the bulkhead and Kara flew toward the open airway.
She was about to slip through the hatch into open space, when an arm reached out and grabbed her. Thirteen steadied her. She pushed against the edge of the hatch with her free arm and fought to slide it across until she found the switch to seal it. It closed immediately and she fell hard to the deck. Both figures sat gasping for breath.
Kara looked over at Thirteen when she'd replaced distress with fury. "YOU'RE FRAKKING INSANE! DON'T YOU REALISE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?"
Thirteen suddenly looked exhausted. "Given you your heart's desire? I'll die. Lee will live and the two of you can live out the rest of your lives together here." Before she could yell more, Thirteen collapsed forward.
Kara pinched him several times to be sure he wasn't faking and then fell back against the bulkhead next to him, scanning the corridor of the station that was to be her home for as long as they might live. Tears rolled uncontrolled down her face.
BSG
Kara had no idea how long she sat there crying out her anger and frustration. Eventually she noted the blood spilling from Lee's shoulder wound and pulled herself together. She pulled Lee's body back through the corridor to their base. She didn't bother putting him in the cage. She needed to be able to tend his wound and she doubted there was anything more he could do to her. Thirteen had sealed their fates.
He'd been unconscious for several hours when he showed the first signs of waking. She was at his side, pushing a cup of water at his lips.
He moaned and shoved it away. "Do you… think… things have changed?"
She returned the cup to his mouth, forcing it open. "Yeah. What's the point in fighting me now? You have no hope of survival or escape, so at least let Lee live."
He sputtered as the fluid washed down his throat. When she let up, he coughed and spoke again. "It doesn't explain why I should help."
Kara shook her head and sat back. "If you want your death to be long and difficult, so be it. All I know is; you will die now."
He nodded. "We hadn't planned on this. We forget how stubborn you are."
Kara smiled. "Your god underestimates us all the time, always has."
"No, some humans are more resourceful than others." He gasped and struggled for a few breaths. "You know we would have defeated the fleet by now if it weren't for the Adamas." Pain contorted Thirteen's face and he couldn't control the groan that escaped.
"That's why you're here?" She smiled at the thought of the Cylons hating the Adamas. It brought her comfort. She knew at least one would go on to battle for humanity. "Why don't you just stop fighting him? Let Lee out."
He shook his head. "Never. I fought to long for this. I still intend to take him with me if I can."
"I won't let you." She stated with confidence. He knew his plan was crumbling. He'd admitted it.
"You have no control over it." His eyes fluttered and closed.
Kara watched him and whispered. "I will save him."
Kara did what she could for Lee over the next hours. She'd never felt so helpless in her life. Thirteen seemed to be delirious, yet never gave up control. He thrashed in his sleep and it was keeping the gunshot wound from sealing. Not only was a bullet still lodged within, he'd had no food and very little water for days, but now what precious fluid he had, was slowly draining from him.
She didn't dare sleep. She couldn't take her eyes off Lee. She sat still, mumbling prayers to all the gods. Every now and again, she would bathe his brow with a cool cloth. It did little to fight the fever that raged within him, but it seemed to ease his distress for only a short time. She debated trying to remove the bullet herself, but it seemed impossible to her that she wouldn't do more damage.
"Kara?"
The raspy voice called softly to her. She sat up and quickly wet the cloth. As she held it to his face, she urged him to rest.
"He's dying. I can feel it."
Kara was lost for an answer. Part of her wanted to shout with joy, but she really had no idea who was speaking. "Shh! Save your strength."
Lee turned his head toward Kara, meeting her eyes. "I'm going to make it. I won't leave you alone here. It's the least I can do." Lee struggled for a deeper breath. "I tried to stop him from releasing the ship."
She nodded. "I know you did, Lee. It'll be ok. Everything will be fine, as long as you keep fighting."
"Oh," Thirteen sneered, "I will."
The mocking tone came across loud and clear and Kara knew Lee was gone. "You bastard."
Thirteen choked out a laugh. "Pathetic humans. So very weak. What I wouldn't give to be full Cylon, to be perfect."
Kara glared at him. "Perfect? If Cylons are so perfect, where are they? Why aren't they here trying to save you? Fight for you? They don't care. They've left you alone."
"They know I am only one. One can be sacrificed if it benefits the multitude."
"That's an awfully cold world. I'll stay human, where we value each life." Kara silently laughed at herself. She sounded like a politician.
"Don't lie to yourself. Every life isn't valued. Humans waste life daily. Cylons acknowledge it. We're honest. At least I know what I do is right. Do you still question the destruction of the Olympic Carrier? Lee does. It haunts him."
Kara bit her tongue to control her actions and words. She had an overwhelming desire to physically hurt Thirteen. "You think you have it all figured out don't you? You belittle us, but the truth is you lack the one thing that will defeat the Cylons."
"And what would that be?" He coughed, losing strength at their verbal battle. "Share your divine wisdom."
"Love." Kara couldn't believe this argument was coming from her mouth. It sounded weak and pathetic. Could love really be such an all important thing to humans? She'd certainly never ordered her life by it. "That's why you hate Lee. He has people who love him and fight for him and you have nothing. It's why you want to take him with you. If the Cylons can't feel love, they want to destroy it. It's the one thing they can't have or feel, so they try to eliminate it."
She felt empowered by her own logic. "You can't stand living inside Lee. The Cylons must have thought it was safe to use him. They thought the Adamas were at odds, but you got here and found out that Lee has lots of love for his father. It screwed you up at every turn, didn't it?"
"Ridiculous." Thirteen scowled. "Cylons aren't the least bit interested or worried about some pathetic little feeling like love." Thirteen looked as if he wanted to say more, but his body was wracked with tremors and his pain seemed to increase. He closed his eyes and drifted off.
Kara pushed back and continued to watch him, waiting anxiously for the end. "Sure, whatever you say."