Chapter 22 Room Service
Water was dribbled through her parched lips and Kara reflexively swallowed as the liquid trickled down her sore throat. Something seemed wrong about that, but the reason was a fuzzy thought that flitted away before she could grasp it. More of the fluid flowed into her mouth as she lay semi-propped up.
Sometime later a broth replaced the water, and she felt hands supporting her shoulders when she choked on the slightly thicker liquid.
Strength slowly flowed back as her body was re-hydrated.
Thoughts began to flicker behind her closed lids until she finally squinted grainy eyes open. She found herself looking up into Leoben's penetrating stare. He held her across his lap, eyes filled with concern and care as he quietly welcomed her back.
Kara tried to roll away from the Cylon only to discover that she was still cuffed to a weight that limited her motion. Leoben shifted from beneath her and climbed to his feet, stepping back as she sat up.
Fighting the vertigo and muzziness of her thoughts, Kara looked around to get her bearings. To her left, something pulled her gaze and she jerked away. Kicking out, she instinctively tried to scramble backwards from the cadaver, only to be held firm by the literal dead weight attached to her wrist.
"Get it off. Get it off!" she yelled, still cringing away as memory lagged behind her reflexive revulsion.
"What's wrong, Kara," Leoben asked, squatting near but out of reach. "It's just your husband."
"Wh-what…," she started then broke off as the past week finally notched into place. She covered her eyes with her free hand and forced her breathing to slow. "…frak…frak…frak," she cursed under her breath with each exhale.
Anger stirred as the initial panic receded. The bastards wouldn't let her be. Leave her to die. And Sam…her Sammy. She stole another look through her fingers at the body beside her. Why were the frakkers leaving her chained to him? A shudder passed through her.
No…
Not him…
The body.
Kara couldn't stand to think of the decaying corpse as her husband. By her reckoning, some five or six days had to have past, and the body's facial features were starting to shift as internal decomposition began its work.
Leaning to the side, Kara heaved, and the liquid so recently consumed spread across the concrete. She retched until her body imposed its limits and she collapsed onto her back. As her stomach and mind settled, she reached up to wipe at her face, brushing away the mingled tears, sweat and spittle.
She didn't notice when the Cylon left, but the sound of the door opening woke her from the light doze she'd fallen into. Kara opened her eyes to see Leoben kneeling beside her, and that he had brought reinforcements in the form of two Centurions. He held a bottle and was studying her with one of his enigmatic smiles.
"Kara, don't make me have to force you," he said softly.
She blinked in bewilderment. Force her? What?
"You will drink this," he said, giving the bottle a shake.
She pushed herself back into a sitting position as she dubiously eyed the bottle. It took another moment for his reasoning to sift through and Kara finally understood that the Cylons were afraid she was going to die. Of course, that had been her vague intent, hadn't it? She couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten anything, and as for drinking…the last day or so was a blur.
Right. So he thinks he's gonna make me drink? Let him frakkin' try!
Her eyes darted now between Leoben and his shiny companions. Leoben must have correctly interrupted her sullen glare as a refusal, because he gave a jerk of his head towards the silent guards and said, "They can easily hold you while I pour this down. I can assure you, Kara, it won't be a pleasant experience. You won't like it." Again he seemed to catch her thoughts as he added, "And in case you think you can just vomit it afterwards, I've had an anti-emetic added to prevent that." He reached out to stroke a stray wisp of hair from her sweating brow, but she flinched away.
"Please Kara, make this easy. All you have to do is accept me. Accept what I offer." He firmly gripped her chin, forcing her to look at him. "We belong together. Accept it and I can make all this," he gave a general wave of the cell, "go away."
As he released her chin, he turned his hand over and trailed the back of a finger down her neck to where the stained sweatshirt dipped between her breasts. He raised his eyes and Kara saw the desire in their depth. Yeah, she understood what he wanted, and not just her physical surrender. A chill settled in her chest as she read the manic intensity with which he regarded her. He wanted nothing less than the complete subjugation of her body, mind and soul.
"So, what's it going to be?" he asked as his hand returned to caress her cheek.
He probably should have known better, but his physical power and her obviously exhausted state had lulled him into a mistake. Starbuck turned her head and bit his hand, grinding her teeth with all the hate she could muster.
His surprised yell started the Centurions forward, but he waved them off and jabbed the bottle he held into her solar plexus, yanking his hand free as she gasped for breath. Blood trickled from the side of her mouth as she grimly smiled despite the rasping of her lungs.
"Right," he said, rising as he gripped his bleeding hand. "We'll do it your way."
He gestured the two Centurions forward and began his first force-feeding session.