Chapter Eleven

The firm hand on her shoulder startled her awake. She had no idea when she'd fallen asleep or how long she'd been unaware. Her first thought was Lee and her mouth fell open as if to scream when she saw him still on the makeshift bed before her. She clamped her mouth shut and steeled herself to face whatever threat stood behind her.

"Kara, it's ok. It's me. I didn't mean to scare you."

Kara was stunned, tears flooded her eyes. She'd know that gruff, yet loving voice anywhere. She turned slowly to face the warm smile of William Adama. "Sir?"

She sprang at his chest and was immediately enveloped in his strong arms. She muttered over and over. "I can't believe you're here."

His eyes stared at Lee, but he replied many times over for her, "I'm here. You're not alone anymore."

Finally believing it wasn't a dream, she pulled back. "But how?"

He shook his head. "Time enough for that later. How's Lee?"

She looked to Lee. "Um, I don't know. Thirteen was close to the end, but he's not letting Lee go. He's trying to take Lee down with him."

Adama nodded. "Have you tested the blood lately?" He was fresh to the situation and needed information. Kara was obviously exhausted and had been through enough already.

She shook her head. "I had to shoot him. He was losing too much blood already. I didn't think to test it." She was rambling, whether from exhaustion or relief was unclear.

Adama accepted the information, but in his mind, he knew the small amount needed for the test wasn't going to harm Lee more. He quickly went about drawing a blood sample and set the test in motion. While he waited, he cleaned Lee up and redressed the wound. Lee never stirred. Adama's worry grew. He kept glancing back and forth between Lee and Kara, wishing he knew what all had transpired. He wasn't quite sure he'd ever seen Kara so shaken. He cursed himself for not coming sooner.

Kara held her breath as Adama went back to the medical equipment to check the test results. He held his as well.

"Well?" Kara demanded, when Adama remained silent.

Adama barely got the words out. "It's gone."

"From the blood?" She said shakily, not ready to believe the battle might really be over.

He nodded. "There isn't a trace remaining in the sample."

Kara nervously ran her fingers through her hair. "But it could still be in his brain. We can't test for that. We need to wait."

Adama looked anxiously at his son. "I know, but…"

Kara climbed to her feet and moved to Adama's side. "He'll fight. We have to be sure. We have to give the radiation more time."

Adama grudgingly nodded. He pushed Kara gently back and placed both hands on her shoulders. "You need rest. Go lay down. I'm here now. I'll watch over him."

She acknowledged the order and walked away. Reaching her own sleeping bag, she looked back at him. "Why are you here?"

He smiled. "I knew I was needed."

"I can't believe they let you go." She said sleepily, as her head hit the pillow.

He laughed. "They don't know I'm here. They think I'm on Cloud Nine."

A smile formed on her lips as she drifted off to sleep. She knew there was a reason she loved this man. She mumbled. "They bought you taking a vacation?"

"I'm convincing."

BSG

Adama sat on the deck next to his son. His worry grew. Lee's vitals were shaky at best. Even if they left soon, there was no guarantee Lee would make it back to the fleet. Adama was trying to stay rational and calm. He knew his son needed his strength, not panic.

An urge came over him. He clutched Lee's chin and turned his face toward him. "Lee?"

There was no response, so Adama tried giving his son's head a gentle shake. "Lee, I need you to wake up."

He was rewarded with a small groan. "That's it son, come back. Time to wake up."

He moved his hand to tap at Lee's cheek and was again rewarded, this time by two dull, blue eyes.

Lee's mouth moved, but no sound came out. Adama lifted his head and helped him drink much needed water. "That's it son, not too fast now, nice and slow." Adama had no idea how happy he should have been at the unfettered consumption of fluid.

Lee coughed and tried speaking again. "Dad?"

Adama's heart nearly burst at the sound of his son's voice. "Yes, son. I'm here."

Lee looked confused. "Dreaming? Kara?"

Adama grinned. "No, you're not dreaming. Kara's resting and yes, I'm here."

Lee's confusion turned to sorrow or panic. Adama couldn't be sure which.

"Why?" Lee asked.

Adama knew what he was asking. "You're my son. I had to be here."

"The fleet? The risk?" Lee demanded, as forcefully as he could, which wasn't saying much.

"The fleet is fine. We're all going to be fine. I had to be here." Adama choked a bit and then added. "I should have been here from the beginning."

Lee shook his head as much as possible, which wasn't much. "No. Risk." He was tiring. It was getting harder to form thoughts. It suddenly occurred to him he was forming his own thoughts. There was nothing else present trying to influence his words or actions. A tear rolled down Lee's cheek.

"Son, what's wrong?" Adama was immediately alarmed by Lee's change.

Lee whispered. "He's gone. I'm alone." His lips trembled with unspent emotion.

Adama bit his lip to control his own emotional response. "You did it, son. You won."

"What cost?" Lee's eyes glittered with further tears, but he closed them, overwhelmed and needing rest.

Adama stroked Lee's cheek. "You rest, son. You've earned it. We'll get you home and well before you know it."

BSG

When Kara woke, Adama was packing up their supplies. He met her eyes. "Time to go."

"Lee?" she asked nervously.

"Is Lee, but he needs Cottle. I'm not waiting any longer."

She began to ask the question. "You're sur…" She shook her head. Kara rose quickly and the two set about packing Adama's raptor, which he moved to a closer hatch. The last thing they did was settle Lee comfortably in the back of the craft. He hadn't woken and it worried them both. His breathing was shallow and his body deathly still.

Kara settled into the pilot's chair, but stopped preflight and looked back to Adama. "Sir, there are plenty of supplies the fleet can use stored here."

He shook his head. "Not now. Get us home."

She nodded and released the raptor from the station's hull and moved her gently into the cloud. Adama came and sat next to her and they both saw the other raptor at the same time. She looked at him, answering his unspoken question. "He was trying to escape. He released it."

Adama raised an eyebrow. "It did?"

She nodded. "Shall I?"

He nodded. "I'll set the mag lock."

She flew over and they attached the other raptor to the bottom of their craft and made the first of many long jumps home.

Adama's ship held the coordinates of the fleet's prior location. Just before the final jump, Kara looked at Adama, who sat on the deck, cradling Lee in his lap. "Sir, we have to assume the fleet has jumped since you left. What do you think?"

"Cross your fingers."

"What do you mean?" She was stunned by his sense of calm.

"If they haven't figured out that I left, they might not have jumped." He explained.

She grinned. "So we are going to hope they were going to let you have an undisturbed vacation on Cloud Nine? That's a mighty big hope."

He said nothing, merely grinned. "Jump, Kara,"

"Aye aye, sir."

BSG

As it so happened, Adama's vanishing act had been discovered only shortly before the appearance of two colonial raptors on dradis. President Roslin had just come on board and both she and Colonel Tigh met the raptor.

Kara had requested medical with her landing permission and Cottle and crew were waiting as well.

The hatch swung down and everyone seemed to be holding their breath. Adama appeared in his full glory. He seemed to fill the entire hatch with his presence. Both Roslin and Tigh opened their mouths to start complaining at the same time. Adama silenced them both with a glare. He waved to Cottle. "NOW."

Cottle rushed on board and soon Lee was transferred to Life Station. Adama and Kara remained at Lee's side until they were finally pushed aside by two nurses who pulled the curtains shut.

Adama stood nearby, not willing to be far. He knew Lee had taken a turn for the worse. In the final hours of their journey, Lee's body had begun to swell. Something else had gone wrong.

BSG

Cottle appeared some time later, his face grim as usual. "It's not over."

Kara sprang to her feet with an unexpected display of energy. "What? It was gone. He even said Thirteen was gone. He would know." She was on the verge of panic, exhaustion and stress threatening to overwhelm her.

Cottle glared at her. "That may be true, but the damage has been done. He's weak, and fighting an infection from the gunshot wound. The body doesn't tend to like foreign objects." He let the first round of bad news set in before continuing with more. "We got the bullet out, but he can't eliminate the infection."

"Why?" It was Roslin who calmly asked.

"Dehydration had already put a strain on his kidneys, now the infection. He's suffering acute renal failure. We have to get fluids moving through him."

"That's why he was swelling up?" Adama asked, clarifying calmly.

"Yes. We've got him on dialysis. Now all we can do is hope we aren't too late and that he wants to keep fighting." Cottle sighed.

Adama ignored the concern in Cottle's words. He didn't bother asking, he made for the area where Lee slept. Cottle held an arm out. "Where do you think you're going?"

Adama's eyes narrowed in on the doctor's face. "I'm going to sit with my son." His glare and stance challenged Cottle to deny him.

Cottle knew better than to try, but when Kara attempted to follow him, he found his resolve. "Oh no you don't. You're coming with me. You look like you could use some help yourself."

Tigh slipped into the area the next morning. "Any change?"

Adama was exhausted and it showed, but he refused to leave Lee's side. "No, but he's not getting worse, so that's something."

They silently observed the pale man in the bed. Tigh could hardly recognize the sleeping figure. He was covered in the expected medical equipment, but his face and exposed body parts were grotesquely swollen and distorted. The embattled colonel didn't always agree with the young captain, but he didn't wish this suffering on anyone. He forced himself to look away.

"You look like you could really use that vacation on Cloud Nine now." He teased gently.

Adama grunted. "Maybe when Lee's better we'll both take one."

Tigh laughed softly. "You're never flying your own ship again you know. You can't be trusted. You've been hanging around Apollo and Starbuck too long. You've picked up their bad habits." He sobered. "Why didn't you tell me, Bill?"

Adama knew he'd hurt his friend when he slipped off. He was expecting this conversation. "You would have tried to stop me."

"You're damn right I would have. It was foolish." Tigh argued.

"They were stranded."

"You couldn't have known that. You took a hell of a risk at the expense of the fleet." Tigh continued his reprimand.

"Frak the fleet. This one time, they owed me." Adama nodded, calming from his outburst. "I knew they needed me. I had to go."

"I wouldn't have ultimately been able to stop you. You know that." Tigh admitted, resigned.

"I know. I didn't want the fight. It was easier to just go."

They remained silent for some time. Finally Tigh asked if he could bring Adama anything.

Adama shook his head. "All I need is my son."

Tigh smiled. "You've got him. He just needs a little time to catch up. He's just as full of the Adama bravado as his father. He'll be fine."

Adama was shaken at Saul's words. "You really think so?"

"Think what?" Tigh asked.

"Lee's like me?"

Tigh laughed. "Frak yes. With the two of you it will either be the end of the Cylons or us all. I'm personally hoping it's the Cylons." On that note, he left.

Adama squeezed Lee's hand more tightly. "Did you hear that? He likes us. He really does."

It was all Adama could do not to cry out when he felt the pressure to his grip returned. He looked down as Lee's hand fumbled to hold his more securely. He rested his free hand on the top of Lee's head and whispered. "That's it son. That's it. Make Cottle eat his words."

BSG

The next days were shaky for Lee, but he won the battles he faced and soon enough, his kidneys functioned on their own and the infection subsided. Lee succumbed to a deep, healing sleep. Although both Kara and Adama longed for Lee to wake, they were both forced to admit, this rest was best for Lee.

He was too tired and weak to say or do much when his eyes first opened, but they shimmered with relief when he saw his father and that he was home and safe. During the next days, he was able to wake more often and for increasing periods of time.

Meanwhile, Adama had been forced out and a regular taskforce of volunteers sat with Lee. Adama was overwhelmed at the show of support. Everyone from the president to Ellen Tigh had volunteered to sit with Lee. Kara made sure Ellen got a shift when Lee was sure to sleep the whole time. She argued against it, but ultimately Adama wasn't willing to insult his friend's wife.

During his waking times, Lee said little but seemed calm. He was quick to flash a small smile at a joke but refrained from talking about himself or his experience.

"Athelis is planning a return visit at my request." Cottle told Adama as they walked through the medical facility.

"Good."

"Good? No fights over this?" Cottle questioned.

Adama stopped and faced the doctor. "Lee's been through a hell of a lot, more than anyone else ever has. I certainly can't help him and you can only cure the physical ills. He'll need to work this out on his own."

Cottle stared at his commander.

"What?" Adama demanded, unaccustomed to silence from his chief medical officer, who always had a quippy comeback.

"I can't believe you just admitted you can't help him." Cottle replied. "I think it's the first time you haven't tried to control everything."

Adama was annoyed at the doctor's comment. Any other officer would have been thrown in hack for the attitude and statement. "I'm going to be there for him, but I know I can't heal him. Anything he needs, he'll get. Is that understood?"

Cottle actually smiled. "Jeesh, that was made clear the moment he stepped on board. Like father like son."

Cottle walked off before he got thrown in hack for sure. Adama watched him go. Twice recently, others noted the similarities between them. Adama had never felt it before. He wasn't sure how to respond, but knew it felt damn good.

BSG

Lee was now sitting up most of the day and taking short, assisted walks around life station. He no longer had round-the-clock company, at his own request. He appreciated what they were trying to do, but he needed time alone to process everything that had happened.

He couldn't deny the facts. He'd killed three people and injured many more, including his own father. Sure, his brain knew it had been his body, used by another, but his heart dreamed, and in those dreams it was his hands causing the loss. He struggled to forgive himself. He couldn't quite look Kara or his father in the eyes, at least not for long.

He was waiting for his latest test results, when his father strode in on cue. "Afternoon, son. How are you today?"

Lee glared at him and snidely replied. "Same as ever, thanks."

Adama backed up a step and held his hands out. "Sorry for asking."

Lee groaned. "It's all anyone asks."

Adama tried to lighten the mood. "Well, it is pretty standard."

Lee ignored the levity. "They don't know what else to say."

"Why do you say that?" Adama sat, unbidden, on the end of the bed.

Lee scowled, much like his father when he was angry. "They're afraid of me. They think the Cylon will return at any moment."

Adama was about to answer, when Cottle cut in. "Nope. It's gone."

Lee looked at him, still suspecting bad news. "Like last time?" He switched his gaze to his father and raised an eyebrow.

"No, not like last time. I'm not playing that game again. I've seen how angry you get." Cottle teased, but was still serious. He had delivered his message to the admiral. "I can't find a hint or tiny residue of any form of the poison, anywhere."

Adama asked before Lee could. "The brain too?"

"Brain scans don't show anything out of the ordinary. I suspect the radiation was the key." Cottle affirmed.

Lee tried to believe the news. "So I can get out of here?"

Adama frowned at his son's enthusiasm. "Son…"

Cottle scowled. "Ingrate! Like we want to keep you around here? No, you've got more quality time with Ishtay. You're still pretty weak."

Lee flopped back against the pillow. "It's not exactly stimulating here."

Cottle groaned. "Yeah, we found it messes with resting to stimulate the environment." He turned and left, with no commitment to Lee's discharge.

Adama chuckled. "How does he get away with it?"

Lee added. "I can't believe Kara hasn't shot him."

"Hey! I had to do it! Won't you ever forgive me?" Kara had heard Lee's last comment and stormed in. "At least I'm a good shot and didn't permanently injure anything."

Lee laughed softly. "I forgive you, but I might hire you to shoot Doc Cottle. He needs a taste of his own medicine."

From across the room, they all burst into laughter when Cottle's voice bellowed. "I HEARD THAT!"

Lee stopped first and simply watched the smiles and laughter from the people he loved most of all. He was overcome with emotion for all they had sacrificed and risked to save him.

"Lee, what's wrong?" Kara asked, seeing his turn in mood.

Adama waited for Lee's answer as well.

Lee took several deep breaths. His answer was quiet and difficult for him to find words for. "I… You two saved me… What you did… I never… I…Thirteen did…"

Adama rested his hand on Lee's leg. "We did what we had to do, son. You don't have to thank us."

Lee looked away from them. "No. I do. You risked so much and fought so hard. I… I don't… I know what he did and said to you both. You didn't deserve it. I was weak. I couldn't stop him."

Kara tired to explain her heart. "Lee, you did stop him. You never gave up. I saw how hard you were fighting. I had to help. I know you'd do the same for me."

Lee's chest heaved at the emotion and Adama wondered if it was physically too soon for Lee to deal with his emotions. He tried to think of a way to end the discussion. "Son, Kara's right. We fought only as hard as you did. We couldn't have done anything if you hadn't been fighting too. That's why we won."

Lee finally turned back to them. "Did we? Did we win?"

Kara nodded, stunned that Lee would doubt it. "Of course."

Lee argued. "People are dead and we've gained nothing. We're no better off."

Adama stepped in. "We are too. We had a battle and won. The Cylons were convinced of victory and we handed them defeat. It will cause them to always second-guess themselves. That's a hell of a step in our favor."

"And we have Ragnor." Kara added.

Lee was confused. She spoke of it as if it had been happy memories. "I almost killed you."

"In your dreams." She vainly charged.

"Kara?" Lee countered.

Adama stopped them before they got too off course. "What Kara means, is that a small group of scientists has asked to return to Ragnar and research the radiation. Since it's free of cylon presence, the president agreed to a short term mission. One of the ships will jump back and also bring back what supplies they can."

"It's dangerous." Lee stated.

"Yes, but they see it as worth the risk. Your experience may have unlocked a clue to a new weapon that can defeat the Cylons once and for all." Adama smiled, seeing some relief cross Lee's expression.

"Maybe now we can get rid of Doc Baltar?" Kara quipped.