Chapter 43 Notice Given

Racetrack gave a knock on the CAG's partially closed hatch and entered, seeing Apollo look up from a pile of documents.

Frakkin' glad I'm not the CAG, she thought, eying the stack of paperwork he was already flipping through despite the early hour.

"Lieutenant?" he greeted her with a raised brow.

Now that she was here, Margaret wondered how she was supposed to explain that something was wrong with Starbuck. She knew of Apollo's cold anger towards the hotshot pilot. Hell, the whole squad knew things weren't right between the two senior officers since New Caprica.

Facing her superior across his desk, she unconsciously shifted from foot to foot as she sought what to say, finally blurting out, "It's about Starbuck, Sir." She saw his brows immediately lower and lips tighten as he slammed his pen onto the desk.

"What the frak's she done now, Lieutenant?" he demanded sharply. Racetrack fought the urge to take a step back, surprised by his vehement accusation.

"Uh… She's not done anything, Sir. It's just that, well…I don't think she's sleeping…or eating…much, Sir," she said, trying to keep her tone neutral in the face of his biting glare.

"And that's my problem how?"

At his sarcastic reply, her eyes widened and she focused on a spot over his shoulder as she stumbled over her words, "It's-it's just…I just thought that, you know, maybe you should talk to her. After this morning…" she trailed off when her glance flicked back to see that his expression had hardened even further. "I…" Margaret paused, suddenly hesitant to tell him about finding Starbuck zoned out in the shower. "She wasn't well, is all, Sir," she substituted instead.

"Hungover again, you mean?"

Giving her head a shake, "Uh, no. No, Sir. I don't think she's been drinking."

"Well, that'd be a first," Lee muttered as he stood to face her. "Thank you for your concern, Lieutenant. But, I'm sure she's fine. Starbuck doesn't need anyone's help, certainly not mine." Then with a nod as he resumed his seat, "Dismissed, Lieutenant."

Confused by the abrupt end of the conversation, Racetrack blinked several times at the man as he bent back over the forms. After turning and leaving the CAG's office, she halted in the corridor, wondering what to do now? She was due on a scouting mission in little over half an hour and Apollo had made it clear he wasn't going to take her concerns seriously.

Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that not only had she not gotten a proper shower this morning, but hadn't even stopped for breakfast before going to see the CAG. Well, nothing to do but to swing by the mess and see if she could grab something to go.

Fifteen minutes later she was munching on a ration bar as she spotted her goal. Swallowing the dry mouthful, she approached the Chief and caught his eye.

He pointed for one of his deckhands to place an engine part on the nearby table as he distractedly asked, "Whatcha need, Sir?"

"It's Starbuck. I think she's suppose to have a maintenance shift this morning, and she's kinda sick," Racetrack hurriedly said, unsure how the Chief would take the news after the unexpected reaction she'd gotten from Apollo.

The senior non-com's gaze abruptly sharpened on hers as he asked, "Sick? Has she seen the Doc?"

"No… That is, I don't think so," she said. "I left her in her rack. Sleeping I hope." At his questioning look, "She doesn't sleep well since, you know…New Caprica." She was relieved by the understanding that flashed across the man's face.

"Yeah… I've heard," he said, worry evident by the way he rubbed at his eyes with forefinger and thumb. Returning her gaze, his tone firmed, "Did something happen last night or this morning?"

Racetrack glanced around to make sure that no one was close enough to hear, and then took a breath, "I found her in the shower. This morning. And she was sort of freaking out," she said in a low rush of words.

"Freaking out? Like how?"

"Freaking out, OK... Look, I found her in one of the stalls, water running, but she wasn't under it, just sort of huddled into the corner. She didn't even seem to hear me at first. And she was cold. I think she might've been there a long time cause she was so frakkin' cold and shivering. I knew something was wrong. Tried to get her to go to Cottle, but…you know Starbuck, just insisted she needed to sleep. Like I said, I left her in her rack," she said, feeling suddenly defensive beneath the Chief's increasing frown.

"And you didn't report this to the Doc?"

"No, but I told Major Adama," then corrected herself, "I tried anyways."

"What's that suppose to mean, Lieutenant."

With another nervous glance around, "He wouldn't listen." At the Chief's incredulous look, "You know what things have been like between them. He and Starbuck. I tried to tell him that something was wrong, but he just cut me off, blamed it on ambrosia or whatever," she grimaced, then confessed, "I guess I never actually told him about the shower." With a frown at the wall clock, "Look, Chief, I'm on a scouting mission for the next five hours or so. I've gotta go. Can you…I don't know…check on her or something?"

"Can't leave the deck right now myself," he said, frustration evident as he looked around the hanger, busy with crew prepping for the morning CAP and scouting missions. "I'll send Cally. Maybe see if she can get her to go see Cottle, OK?" At Racetrack's relieved nod, he pointed a finger at her and added, "When you get back though, you've got to tell someone exactly what happened. If not the CAG, then maybe the Old Man."

She squirmed at the thought of approaching the Admiral and trying to discuss Starbuck's weird episode with him. The Chief obviously saw her reluctance and suggested an alternative, "Talk to Captain Agathon then. He needs to know about this."

With a relieved nod, "That'll work. They're friends. Soon as I get back, I'll tell him," Racetrack promised then swiveled to stride off to her assigned Raptor, satisfied that she'd done all she could for now.