What If ?-Chapter-5
This is mostly an A.U. story.
Kara and Lee meet through Caroline Adama before the cylons destroy the worlds.
WHAT IF-CHAPTER-5
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Caroline had passed the time cleaning up after dinner rather than sitting around and worrying about her children, and yes she was including Kara. After starting the dishwasher she went to start a load of laundry. She knew Lee washed his own clothes, but Zak never did his. After starting the washing machine she went upstairs to take a quick shower in case anyone called.
After putting on her nightgown she settled into bed to read as she did every night. After several minutes of reading the same lines over and over she gave up and glanced at the time. She was becoming worried as time passed and she had yet to hear from one of them. Somehow Caroline knew something bad had happened, so she got up and dressed in a pair of jeans and a solid blue top and decided to wear tennis shoes for some odd reason she couldn't explain. Then she sat in the kitchen and prayed the phone would ring.
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Zak was still doing CPR when the ambulance pulled up and didn't stop until the paramedic told him he would take over. Zak stumbled to sit next to Kara on the curb. She had her head down repeating her prayers to' Apollo ' ( the god of healing ) over and over offering her life for his. That was when Zak knew that Kara loved Lee even if she couldn't admit it to herself.
One of the paramedics walked over to let them know they were transporting him to Caprica City Hospital " It looks like alcohol poisoning, but I can't say for sure until a doctor checks him out "
As he started to walk away Kara stood up " Is he going to be okay?"
The paramedic couldn't say for sure, but decided some hope was better than none " I think so, nine times out of ten they are usually okay "
Kara followed him " Can I ride with him, please?"
The paramedic only agreed because he was worried about her state of mind " Sure, just try and stay out of our way "
Kara turned to look at Zak, he understood " Go ahead Kara I will follow you "
After they made it to the hospital they made her stay outside while they tended to him. Kara sank down on the floor right outside the doors and waited and waited.
After Zak made her promise not to move he went to call their mom.
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When the phone rang Caroline jumped up to answer it wondering who would be on the other end. " Mom " Oh gods it was Zak which meant it was Lee that was hurt.
When she didn't say anything Zak tried again " Mom, Lee is in the hospital they think it is alcohol poisoning, they are pumping his stomach now "
Caroline grabbed her purse and Keys " I'm on my way Zak, how is Kara holding up?"
Zak looked over at her " Not good mom, she blames herself for what happened to Lee "
She was almost out the door " Keep an eye on her Zak and you can reach me on my cell if you need me before I get there "
Zak was anxious " Be careful mom "
He went back to sit with Kara " Mom is on her way, he will be okay Kara "
Kara looked at him, he could tell all the fight had left her " I am sorry I hurt your family Zak "
Zak shook his head " Kara this was an accident, there is no way Lee would do this on purpose "
Kara knew it was an accident, but she also knew he would have never gotten that drunk if she had agreed to live with him.
It was Doctor Harris who walked out and approached them " He is going to be okay and can go home tomorrow "
Kara stood up " Doctor could I speak to you alone?"
He nodded " Sure we can go into my office, it is right here "
Kara followed him in never sitting down " I need you to sign my release papers, there is a unit leaving in the morning and I am ready to go "
Doctor Harris pulled her file and signed off on her release " This should be all you need, but I want you to come in for a check up when you return "
Kara nodded " I will, thanks Doc "
Kara put the paper away in the same pocket as Lee's photo that she took from his room, so Zak wouldn't see it and walked back outside.
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Kara came out and found Zak standing at the door to the room Lee was in " He is still out of it, but they said we could go in one at a time, you can go first Kara "
Kara took his hand and squeezed it " Thank you for helping me find him and tell your mom I'm sorry "
Zak pulled her into a hug " Mom doesn't blame you for this Kara, she is on her way now and asked me to make sure you were okay "
Kara slowly backed out of Zak's arms and walked into the room to find a tube still down Lee's throat draining the rest of the alcohol away. Kara sat on the edge of the bed and held one of his hands between hers. " I am so sorry Lee, I tried to tell myself I was good enough for you, but I'm not. I am leaving in the morning for sniper training, I will be gone for at least a month. I love you Lee, but you need to find a woman who won't hurt you." Kara stood up and leaned over to kiss him one last time saying " I'm so sorry " before sneaking out of the room.
Zak had gone back to the waiting area to wait on his mom while Kara went in to see Lee. Zak had told Kara the truth when he said it had been an accident, he knew Lee would not try and end his life, but he knew Kara blamed herself for what happened. Zak hoped his mom could convince her it wasn't her fault.
Caroline had made it to the hospital and was reminded of when she had came here for Kara. After parking she walked quickly inside spotting Zak right away and went to him and hugged him tightly before pulling back and looking directly at him " Have you seen him since he got here?"
Zak let his hands fall to his side " No, but the doctor said he would be okay and was allowed visitors one at a time, so I let Kara see him first "
Caroline nodded and sat down to wait " Do you know what happened Zak?"
Zak sat next to her " Kara told me Lee had asked her to move in with him while they finished their last year planet side, but she told him it was too soon and she would think about it after finishing up her sniper training course this summer " Zak stopped a moment then told her how they found Lee and what had happened.
Caroline had been watching the door " Lee told me about that earlier and I hoped he wouldn't scare her away when he asked her about it, but I didn't realize how much he was counting on her to say yes " Caroline saw Doctor Harris walk out and jumped up calling out to him " Doctor Harris how is Lee doing?"
Doctor Harris turned around " Hello Mrs Adama, Lee is fine, it was just an accident nothing else, you can go in and see him, but he is still out of it right now "
Caroline grabbed his arm hard without thinking " I thought Kara was with him "
He tried to say as little as possible, but he knew Mrs Adama was smart and would know what happened " She was, but she asked me to sign her release forms while she and I were both here to save her a trip back here later this week " Doctor Harris added " Lee will be released in a few hours if you want to wait and take him home "
Caroline let go of his arm and nodded once before turning to Zak " Go home and get some rest Zak, I will stay with Lee and drive him home " She knew Kara was running, but she had to make sure Lee was okay before she could worry about Kara.
Zak looked around " Where is Kara, she can ride home with me?"
Caroline finally looked at Zak " Kara is gone Zak, she is leaving for her sniper training and no one is allowed to know where it is, so go home and rest, I'll need your help with Lee later "
After watching Zak leave she went in and saw Lee. Caroline held back a sob as she looked at her son laying there so still. The only noise she heard was the machines he had monitoring him. She sat in the chair by his bed and held onto his hand silently thanking the gods he would be okay.
Later a nurse came in " I am going to remove the tube and it will startle him at first, so I need you to hold his hands down to keep him from grabbing the tubing "
Caroline stood up and grabbed a hold of his hands just as the nurse began removing the tube and just as the nurse thought, Lee came awake trying to grab a hold of the tube. He settled down when he heard his mom " It's okay Lee, stay still for a minute the nurse is removing a tube from your throat "
Lee and Caroline remained silent until the nurse left.
Lee looked next to him at his mom who was now sitting down " Where am I and what happened to me?" he grabbed at his throat because it hurt to talk.
Caroline shook her head and wiped at the tears trying to stop them as she poured him a little bit of water handing it to him to sip " You are in the emergency room you apparently drank to much Lee and ended up with alcohol poisoning "
Lee had never drank that much in his life before, but between his dad coming in to visit and Kara not wanting to stay with him he didn't pay attention to how many drinks he had. After a while he was still thinking about them and bought a bottle to take with him.
He remembered ending up outside the house he wanted to share with Kara and sat there taking shot after shot until he apparently passed out. His eyes jumped to his mom's " How did I end up here?"
Caroline looked away for a moment before looking back at him " We got worried when you didn't come home, so Kara and Zak went to look for you, at first they could not find you then Kara remembered the house you told her about " She stopped to take a breath " They found you passed out with the doors locked and Zak broke the glass and pulled you out, he said you were ice cold " she sobbed again " Kara was falling apart, so Zak started CPR and kept at it until the paramedics arrived "
Caroline waited thinking he would ask about Kara, but he never did " When can I leave?"
She looked at him closely and knew he was locking away all of his emotions " In a couple of hours "
Without looking at his mom he rolled over " Wake me up when it is time to leave mom "
Caroline sat back and waited knowing now was not the time to bring up Kara, but it didn't stop her from worrying about Kara and how she would deal with what had happened to Lee.
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Kara had gone straight to her room in barracks and packed a duffel bag with the things she would need while she was gone. Then she went to her apartment that no one knew about, so no one could find her before she left. She would be leaving at daybreak which was only a couple of hours away.
Kara sat down on her couch instead of going to bed, she knew she couldn't fall asleep anyway. As she sat there she replayed the last week in her mind. First starting with her mother and ending with her telling Lee good-bye at the hospital.
Kara hated leaving without telling Caroline bye, but she knew she would understand. Kara unzipped her jacket pocket and pulled out the photo of Lee she had took when she was looking around his room. She knew he didn't know it was gone because he never mentioned it.
Kara knew Caroline would have been the one that took the picture. He was laying in the same lounge she had on the back porch and he had fallen asleep. She gently reached out and touched his face, smiling as she did so.
After one more quick look she placed the picture back in her pocket wrapped in plastic this time to protect it, so she could take it with her. Right before she walked out the door she grabbed a picture she had of herself as a child sitting on her dad's lap and wrapped it with the one of Lee.
Kara grabbed her duffel bag and locked up before walking the two blocks back to the base. She arrived just in time to jump into the transport that would take them to their training sight.
Kara looked at each of the eleven people with her and was grateful she didn't know anyone. She listened to the conservations around her, but didn't join in. Kara didn't even know Captain Davis who would be their instructor.
After traveling for a couple of hours they stopped and waited for the Captain to lift the back flap of the transport open. Kara knew that counting her there were only three women out of the group of twelve that would be training. They all started getting off and was led to one of two barracks that she could see.
Captain Davis stopped them at the door " You will all be staying together in this one, the other one will be serve as the mess hall along with showing training films and going over scores at the end of the day " The Captain started to turn, but faced them once more " All but one of you are marines the other one is Lt. Kara Thrace a viper pilot " Kara showed no emotion as they each looked at her.
The Captain finally opened the barracks door " Choose your bunk and get settled in, then I suggest you hit the mess hall before it closes we will be starting at daybreak tomorrow " he turned and left them so they could settle in.
Kara was second through the door and she headed for the last bunk on the right throwing her duffel onto the bed claiming it as hers. She noticed each bunk had a trunk at the end of each cot, so she quickly unloaded her things. Placing the photos and her idols at the bottom of the trunk under her now empty duffel bag. Kara then made up her cot hoping it passed inspection.
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Caroline had left Lee in front of the ER in a wheelchair with a nurse while she brought her car around. As he was getting into the car he heard the nurse repeat her instructions " He can only have broth, jello, or ice cream for the next twelve hours while his throat heals "
Caroline waited until she got onto the highway before asking " Lee why haven't you asked about Kara?"
Lee turned to look at her " There is nothing to ask, I know she is gone and so do you, and I think we should tell dad she got accepted earlier than she thought she would be, besides I don't want to talk about Kara anymore mom "
Caroline nodded " Fine, but I am going to see her when she returns, I know she left because she blames herself for what happened to you and I won't let her take the blame for your accident "
Lee didn't comment on what she said, he was going to try and forget he ever met Kara Thrace. He was angry at her for running away and upset she didn't even tell him she was leaving.
After they made it home Lee went and crawled into his bed Kara had been sleeping in and found himself surrounded by her smell and the memories it invoked. He lay there staring at the ceiling before finally drifting off only to be woken by his mom after a couple of hours of sleep, telling him his dad was here and dinner would be ready soon.
Lee stopped her before she left the room " Mom I don't want you to tell dad what happened to me, please "
Caroline agreed because she had already decided not to tell him and told Zak not to mention it either. " Okay Lee, but you will have to talk about something "
Lee got up " I know, I'll be down as soon as I take a shower "
The whole time he showered he thought about Kara and wondered if she was okay. He pushed her to fast and it had cost him. Things had been going so well even after Gianne, so Lee assumed she would want the same thing he did. Lee knew he would have a whole month to try and forget he ever met her.
After drying off and getting dressed he decided to try dating again, except this time he planned to only see them once before moving on to the next willing woman.
Lee entered the kitchen to find his dad, Zak and even his mother having a civil conservation.
Adama looked up " Hello Lee, how have you been?"
Lee decided to be civil also, so he could get away from here and go into town. He wasn't crazy enough to drink again, but he did intend on finding a woman to take his mind off of Kara. He sat down as he spoke to his dad " I'm okay, I have decided to enjoy my summer break before going back to War College "
Zak joined in " I am going out with some friends later if you want to join us "
Lee pasted on a smile " I think I will, thanks Zak "
Caroline cut in " Lee are you sure you should be going anywhere?"
He laughed " Yes mom I'm sure, besides I might get lucky and end up with a date for the night "
Caroline got up from her chair quickly and fixed his plate sitting it down in front of him before walking away " Here eat, don't let us keep you, Bill I am going for a walk I'll be back later "
Lee knew he had hurt his mother because she knew it would hurt Kara if she ever found out he went out with someone else, but Kara didn't want him she chose to leave. Lee went to take a bite when Zak kicked him under the table " What in the frak did you kick me for Zak, you asked me to go out with you?"
Bill was totally confused by all their behavior.
Zak sneered at Lee " I meant with me and some guys, not so you could pick up some random woman Lee "
Bill slapped one hand down on the table " What has happened, the last time I spoke with your mother you were all happy, so what changed?"
Lee shoved his chair away from the table " Nothing has happened dad, I am going out I will see you tomorrow "
After Lee left Bill turned to Zak " Okay what has happened Zak "
Zak told his mom he wouldn't say anything, but maybe he could hedge a bit " Kara had to leave sooner than she thought and everyone is upset about it "
Adama listened then he remembered something " I thought Kara and Lee were seeing each other "
Zak sighed " They were, listen dad it is complicated and I don't have all the facts and I really need to go and keep an eye on Lee, tell mom I will bring him home " Zak left before Bill could say anything else.
He got up and walked out back and after spotting Caroline by the lake he went to meet her " I miss being able to walk down to the lake whenever I fell like it "
Caroline stayed turned away from him so he wouldn't see the tear tracks " Did the boys go out?"
Bil nodded " Yes, and Zak said he would bring Lee home tonight, what has happened Caroline?"
She turned to face him " It's not my story to tell, but can you find out where Kara is training at, I need to talk to her it's important "
Bill shook his head " They won't give me the location, but I could try and find out if you could call her, would that help?"
Caroline knew she shouldn't, but she reached up and hugged him " Thank you Bill "
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Zak caught up with Lee just as he was backing out of the drive-way " Hold up Lee I need a ride "
Lee stopped even though he didn't want to and waited until Zak got in " The only way you are riding with me is you are not allowed to talk about Kara, I mean it Zak "
Zak threw his hands up " Fine I won't mention her name, but there is a lot of stuff you don't know about last night and I would hate for you to frak things up between the two of you "
Lee glared at him " I don't care Zak she chose to leave without even saying good-bye, now shut up about her "
Lee drove looking straight ahead, so Zak turned the radio on.
Twenty minutes later Zak broke the silence " So, where are we going?"
Lee had to think about it for a minute " I heard there is a new bar that just opened, it has female bartenders who actually dance on the bar top "
Zak had never heard of it " How do you know about it?"
Lee smiled " A girl I dated for a while is a dancer there, I ran into her two weeks ago, but I was still dating Gianne at the time so I didn't go, but now that I'm single I think we should give it a shot "
Zak knew Lee would regret it later because he was in love with Kara, but Zak knew Lee would never listen to him, so he would have to keep his brother from making a terrible mistake " I guess we can go for a little while "
Lee chuckled " Relax Zak we are just going to have a little fun and maybe get lucky, I thought this was usually what you did "
Zak was seriously considering knocking Lee out and taking him back home, but they were pulling into the club parking lot and it was crowded, it took ten minutes to find a place to park. Zak looked up at the name above the door when they entered ' Beyond Insane ' it read in bold print.
Zak lost Lee in the first five minutes after they entered the place, it really was Beyond Insane Zak thought. Usually Zak would have loved all the attention he was getting, but after almost losing Lee last night and Kara running away he just wanted to find Lee and get out of this place.
Zak finally stood up on a table to look over the crowd trying to spot Lee and after several turns he saw him against the back wall with a girl in each arm, a brunette in one and a blond in the other. He immediately jumped down and headed their way and placed himself directly in front of Lee trying to find the words that would stop Lee from screwing up his life. " Lee we need to head home before you pass the point of no return "
Zak watched as Lee whispered in the brunettes ear " I think you should ask my brother to dance Lacey " she turned her head and kissed Lee full out tongue and all before turning to him " Dance with me Zak " he didn't get a chance to refuse as she grabbed his arm and pulled him into the middle of the dance floor. Frak, Zak thought any other time and he would be willing to dance with her all night, but he needed to get Lee out of here, so when the song ended he thanked her for the dance and asked her where her friend and Lee were.
Lacey laughed out loud " They left for Carter's place while I distracted you, your brother said to tell you to take the car home, he would catch a ride later or whenever Carter decides to let him out of her bed, she was awfully attracted to him "
Zak grabbed her arm hard without thinking " Where does she live, I need to get my brother right now and you are going to take me to him, let's go Lacey "
She jerked her arm away from him " No "
Zak didn't want to bring up what happened to Lee to a complete stranger, but he had no choice, so he spoke softly " Lacey my brother almost died last night from alcohol poisoning because he lost the woman he loves, and I need to find him and stop him from doing something he will never be able to forgive himself for "
" Okay " Lacey agreed to help him because she was familiar with making the wrong decisions at the wrong time, but she never got the chance to fix her mistakes " We will have to take your car I rode with Carter "
Zak thanked her as they hurried out of the club and got into Lee's car " Which way should I go?"
Lacey looked over at him " You go three blocks into town and then take the first right and we should see Carter's car " Lacey paused " You are a good brother Zak "
Zak glanced over at her " Not usually, but my brother has never loved anyone the way he loves Kara " he chuckled " My mom also loves her and would disown Lee if he hurt her by being with another woman, especially while she is off training to become a sniper along with being the best viper pilot the Academy has ever taught "
Lacey was in awe " She must be a really special gal "
Zak smiled " She is " he said as he got out of the car loping up to the door and started pounding on it. " Lee open this door right now "
After pounding on the door even louder Carter opened the door, she looked like he had woke her up.
Carter looked at Lacey " What is going on?"
Lacey walked past Carter into the living room " Zak is trying to keep his brother from making a mistake, where is Lee, Carter?"
Carter sat down and rubbed her eyes " He changed his mind when we got outside and apologized before walking away, he never said where he was going "
Zak sighed " Thank the gods " he caught the look that passed across Carter's face " I'm sorry I didn't mean it to sound like that, I'm just glad Lee didn't go through with sleeping with you Carter "
He turned to Lacey " He probably took a cab home, can I drop you off somewhere? "
Lacey shook her head " I'll crash here, go and find your brother Zak "
Just before he left Lacey jotted her number down and handed it to Zak " Call me if you feel like getting a drink sometime "
Zak smiled " I will and thanks again Lacey "
He went out the door and jumped back in the car driving home slow in case Lee had decided to walk.
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Lee had walked a few blocks after leaving Carter outside of the bar. He had tried really hard to convince himself that being with any woman would help him forget Kara, he had never been so wrong. Lee kept trying to figure out why she ran off and joined up with her sniper unit a week early.
She seemed happy and reluctant to go until he mentioned them living together, then she had pulled away from him and ran off after making sure he would be okay, at least that is what Zak had told him.
Even though they had met a little over a week ago they were already closer than most couples would be after knowing each other for months.
Lee flagged down a cab to take him the rest of the way home and after settling in he started back thinking about Kara. Lee learned tonight that no woman could make him forget about Kara, which was funny in a weird way because Kara had made him completely forget about Gianne and he had really liked her.
Lee got out when the cab had stopped in front of his moms house and after paying him he stood there watching him drive away. Lee had turned to go into the house when a pair of headlights caught his attention as the car pulled in.
It was Zak, Lee had forgot about Zak in his hurry to get away from Carter and the club. He waited until Zak got out " Sorry about leaving you like that Zak, but I couldn't go back into that club to look for you "
Zak laughed and threw his arm around Lee's shoulder " That's okay, I'm just glad you came to your senses and didn't go home with Carter "
Lee chuckled " And I can't believe you didn't go home with Lacey "
Zak snorted " I would have if I didn't have to make sure my older brother didn't end up fraking up the rest of his life "
They both looked up as their mom pulled the door open " Lee please tell me you didn't do something stupid "
Zak removed his arm from Lee's shoulder as Lee answered " Don't worry mom I didn't, I tried to, but I just couldn't stop thinking about Kara "
She smirked " Good, I would have hated kicking you out "
Zak walked by his mom laughing " He totally messed my night up though, maybe you should kick him out for that "
Caroline laughed " I'm just glad your both home, I can finally get some sleep now, I'll see you both at breakfast "
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Kara had taken a walk after leaving the mess hall. She knew they were in the mountains north of Caprica City, because she had hiked this mountain range once before.
Kara couldn't help but wonder how Lee was doing, she knew he would be home by now and she missed getting to meet Commander Adama.
She spotted a log and sat down wondering what type of weapon they would start with first. Kara had joined the advanced course because she already knew how to use most weapons. She spent a lot of time at the pistol range and also knew how to use a rifle and shotgun.
The one thing she didn't know anything about was using a sniper rifle and she was looking forward to learning.
After a few more minutes she got up and went back to the barracks. It was empty except for one man near the front and he was laying in his rack reading. Kara knelt by her foot locker and got out the picture of Lee needing to look at him before turning in. She traced his face quickly then put it away when she heard voices near the door.
Kara undressed keeping on one tee and her military boxers and climbed into her cot. She was getting ready to roll over when the guy next to her spoke " Hi, my name is Mike "
Kara knew she shouldn't be rude " Hello Mike, people call me Starbuck "
He drew his brows together " Why "
Kara chuckled " It's my call-sign "
" Oh " he chuckled " You are the viper pilot "
" Yep " was all she said before turning away and started thinking of Lee as she fell asleep.
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