Chapter 3- recall
Lee had been lying on the bed in med bay listening to everyone else deciding what was best for him. Sure he was a military man used to obeying orders. But this was a little more personal as they were talking about cutting him open again. It was almost scary to suddenly have all these people concerned about his welfare. He'd been all alone the first time and hadn't forgotten his feeling of profound disappointment when the doctors on board Atlantia had told him his father had been notified but had not turned up. Now it turned out his father had never even been notified. Why had the Atlantias doctor lied to him. Lee felt so confused that he'd felt the urge to get away and think for awhile. But of course Cottle wasn't about to let him go anywhere. So while they were all looking at that scan Lee simply slid off the bed quickly and ducked behind one of the curtained off areas in med bay.
He stood there quietly and watched until Starbuck and his father had departed. Then while Cottle was looking the other way he snuck out of med bay and into the Galaticas corridors.
Now where exactly should he go? He'd seen Starbuck leaving and knew without a doubt she would come looking for him. Starbuck had been on board the Galactica a lot longer than he had and probably knew the old battlestar well. She'd definitely check, the pilots quarters, the vipers, his CAG office, and even maybe his fathers quarters. So he'd need to go somewhere she never suspects. .That fact that his father would also join in the hunt never occurred to Lee as he was sure like many other times work came before anything else.
Lee kept walking while he was thinking nodding friendly nods to anyone he passed. If he looked and acted normal then nobody should stop him. He noticed they'd been no announcement requesting he return to med bay over the PA system. Maybe they really don't care, intruded an unwelcome thought. Stop that, he told himself, they're probably just trying to save you from embarrassment. "So why'd the CAG leave med bay, must be scared of needles, never thought you'd be a cry baby Apollo'", that was what someone would say. "Crybaby", that name intruded upon his thoughts and suddenly he thought back many years ago when his father had brought Zac and him to visit the Galatica.
"Isn't she grand", Bill enthused as he walked down the corridor with his two young boys beside him. Zac skipped ahead away from his fathers side, "I'm flying", he yelled as he zoomed down the corridor. Bill laughed. Lee however made no comment sticking by his father's side. "Well what do you think of her Lee", Bill asked. Lee was quiet as he looked around him, and his father had mistakenly thought he was speechless with awe. All he felt was fear, the corridor was dark, cold and scary. The walls seem to close in around him. But his fathers face bore pride and he knew better than to tell the truth, "it's fabulous dad", he lied. They continued on to the landing bays and Zac almost flew at the viper. "Dad is she yours, can I sit in her please", Zacs words ran together as he looked at the viper. Lee looked at the viper and at his fathers expression of rapture, she's a piece of metal dad, a machine, what about us, aren't we important, that was what he thought. But again he didn't say anything just touched the cold metal of the viper. "How about you Lee, would you like to sit in her", Bill asked. Lee nodded mutely. Bill smiled, "alright, just stay here a minute and I'll go get the deck chief", he quickly paced off leaving both Zac and Lee beside the viper.
"Cool, isn't she", Zac remarked excitedly. Lee said nothing prompting Zac to look at him. "What's a matter with you", his brother asked. "You've been grumpy all day".
Lee shrugged, "nothing", he lied. But unlike his father his younger brother could read his moods, "you're scared", Zac stated in amazement. NO I'm not", Lee retorted his anger rising. "Yes, you are Lee", Zac replied calmly. "Guess I know what your call sign would be, crybaby", Zac laughed. "Shut up", Lee shouted right in his brothers face. Zac jumped back despite himself but Lee did not retreat, "at least that would be better than smartass', he told Zac coldly. Now Zac was angry and the two boys began to circle each other which was always the lead up to a fight. That of course was the moment their father had come back. It was also the moment he'd sat in a viper for the first time. He'd wanted to be anywhere else but Zac had thoroughly enjoyed the experience claiming loudly he'd love to be a viper pilot.
Ironical thought Lee that now he was a fighter pilot and Zac was dead while trying to live up to that dream.
Lee slowed down as another thought intruded.
"Lets play hide and seek", Zac suggested as they ran down another corridor. "No", Lee replied. "Come on you don't want dad to see the crybaby face", Zac taunted.
Lee growled at his brother, "allright, he retorted, whoever can stay hidden the longest has the other person as a slave for a week." Zac smiled, he hated chores and thought this was the perfect opportunity to get his brother to do all of his. He'd thought that because Lee hated being here that he'd give up hiding quickly.
But Zac had tried and failed for two hours to find him, fear seemed to help him find better places to hide.
Lee started to smile as he though of the place he'd chosen all those years ago to hide.
Starbuck would never think of looking there. He could get a bit of thinking time in then come out when he was good and ready. With that in mind Lees stride became more purposeful as he changed direction heading for a location that he hoped still existed.
Starbuck poked her head into the bunk room which served as the sleeping quarters for herself and the other pilots. "Have you seen Captain Adama", she asked one pilot casually. There came a quick head shake and the suggestion of 'try his office".
Starbuck restrained a groan as she'd already looked inside the CAGS office. She turned to leave, "where you looking for Apollo ", another just arriving pilot asked. Kara's spirits began to raise and she nodded. "I saw him in the corridor, not long ago", the other pilot explained. Kara made sure she didn't sound worried as she got the specific details. Hearing the location Kara shook her head, figuring that meant Lee had actually been behind her all the time. For that to have happened he must have still been in med bay when she left. So he was being sneaky. But he'd obviously forgotten she was the queen of sneaky and she made a bet with herself about just how long it'd take her to find him. Once she did find him he had a little bit of being yelled at to take before she returned him to the med bay.
Bill walked down the corridors of his battlestar wondering where he should even start looking for Lee. He was still bothered by the fact his son had fled from med bay. Cottle had definitely not been impressed and Bill knew that once Lee did show up the major would take steps to ensure he didn't have another opportunity to flee.
He guessed Cottle thought Lee had some sort of phobia about hospitals or needles. Bill knew he didn't though, well he never used to. Of course he hadn't been around much in Lees life recently so wouldn't actually know when things had changed.
No wonder Lee thought you didn't care, that guilty thought intruded. What type of father had he been. As he thought about it he realized that perhaps he'd always felt closer to Zac than Lee. If he's was in the same room with Zac and Lee people would always guess the fact that Zac was his son. But they weren't so sure about Lee. Unless of course the saw the whole family together, which was rare.
Lee was so much like his mother. Yes and it bothers you, another thought intruded.
Come on I shared my life with them, he pointed out to himself. "Your military life", that guilty conscience reminded. Did either of his sons 'really want that life, had he ever given them the option. He'd shown them the battlestars and vipers that were part of his world and just made the assumption they should love them like he had.
The thought that he really was a bad father intruded rather painfully.
But it was never too late, he reminded himself. It is too late for one son, ouch that stinger from his conscience hurt. He slapped the thought away. Now he must concentrate only on Lee. Lee couldn't hide for long as he hadn't been on the Galactica long enough to know much about her. Thinking about the Galactica and Lee at the same time prompted Bills own memory as he remembered the time he had brought his sons here. Zac had come up crying saying he'd lost his brother. Bill had managed to get the story of the hide and seek game out of his son. He'd then joined in the hunt and had found Lee hiding in the…. Bill started to smile suddenly knowing exactly where he was going to find his son.
Lee was beginning to feel a little foolish as he sat in the small crawlspace. It was a lot more cramped in here than he'd remembered. Of course he'd only been young the last time he'd hidden here. What exactly was he achieving sitting here. They were not going to let him fly with something in his back, so the best course of action was to go and get it removed. At least this time Starbuck would probably hold his hand. But that was probably only after she yelled at him for ages about being an idiot who flew with sutures in his back. Deciding that he better go and get this over with Lee was just about to push the crawl space board out of the way when it opened from the outside and he saw his fathers face looking in at him.
Lee looked at him in shock. Bill smiled softly at him, "I remembered a time when you scared your brother by hiding in here", he remarked. Lee didn't move or say anything waiting for the moment when his father was going to yell at him and order him back to med bay. However all he did was offer Lee his hand and say "I think you have been in there long enough.". Lee took the hand and let himself be pulled out.
"I'll stay with you if you want while Cottle removes whatever that is in your back", Bill told him softly. Lee rubbed his sore back as he stood beside his father and nodded slowly. Bill reached out and put one hand across Lees shoulders and then began to walk. Lee didn't try to remove the hand or pull away just following beside his father. He'd expected his father to stick to duty and be on the bridge. That he hadn't done that stunned him. Perhaps it was his fathers way of reaching out. So Lee leaned into the embrace smiling at the looks of astonishment on the faces of the people they passed.
"Ah it's the escapee", was Cottles comment as they arrived back in med bay.
Lee looked rather uncomfortable. "I have everything prepared captain", Cottle continued handing him an unflattering gown to wear and a small medicine glass containing something orange coloured. Lee looked at the orange medicine.
"You can have a jab if you prefer", Cottle stated firmly giving Lee his best no nonsense look.
Restraining a sigh Lee hurriedly downed the medicine then retreated behind the curtains to get undressed.
"I will do the procedure under local anesthetic ", Cottle told Bill Adama, "there is no reason to knock him totally out again.
Bill nodded, "what was that orange stuff", he asked. Cottle gave him a tight lipped smile, "just insuring he doesn't have the urge to run off in the middle of the procedure", Cottle confirmed.
Lee felt increasing weird as he undressed and began to suspect the orange stuff was a sedative. By the time he'd got himself ready he was feeling pleasantly woozy and didn't resist at all as Cottle came in to finish preparing him for the procedure.
Lying on his stomach Lee felt the same cold sensation as his back was again scanned.
Looks like only one fragment of something", Cottle told Bill. "It's not that deep so it won't take long to remove. Now Captain I'm just going to give you a jab to make your back numb.'
Lee vaguely felt a bee sting sensation. Cottle waited a while then jabbed lees lower back. Seeing no response he lifted his scalpel and began to make an incision.
Minutes passed and Cottle searched his back, "ah ha there's the fragment".
Cottle reached for the tweezers and extracted a small piece of what looked like metal.
He held it up for Bill to see. Bill Adama looked at it and frowned. It looked too smooth to be a fragment that had broken off something. "I expected something jagged", he told Cottle.
Yes it's not quite what I expected either", Cottle confirmed as he took a moment to wipe the blood off the fragment.
Bill couldn't restrain the gasp as the final speck of blood was removed and he saw what Cottle held in the tweezers. "That's a frakking data disk", he remarked. "What was it doing in Lee's back."
Cottle bent down and looked at his patient and guessed they weren't going to get an immediate answer as the sedative had rendered the Captain unconscious.
He handed the disc to Bill. You do't think there's anything on this do you", Bill asked.
Cottle shrugged, he was admittedly intrigued but it wasn't really any of his business. "He won't come round for awhile so why don't you go find out", he suggested to the Commander. "I'll do just that", Bill confirmed as data chip held tight he headed back to the command centre.