BSG Fic : Long Time Coming (12/17)
Title : Long Time Coming
Author : Helen C.
Rating : PG-13
Summary : It was the only visible scar still left over by Baltar's trial, now that President Roslin was dead; Apollo's absence and the Admiral's obvious weariness.
Fandom : BSG
Spoilers : Everything aired so far is fair game.
Disclaimer : The characters and the universe were created and are owned by Ronald D. Moore and Universal Television Studios to name but a few. No money is being made. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
AN. Goes AU between the verdict and the Cylon attack in Crossroads II.
AN2. Eternal gratitude to joey51 for beta'ing this! As usual, I tinkered. All remaining mistakes are mine.
PART THREE
Chapter Eleven
They were drugging him.
It had taken them a while to get to it, but Lee had known it was coming from the very beginning, when they had shown him syringes and several vials of a yellowish substance in a pathetic attempt to scare him.
They said his wife was in another room near him, couldn't he hear her screams? Hating himself for caving in even that much, Lee listened but couldn't hear anything.
"Well, maybe our colleague is… done with her, then," the man interrogating him said with a sneer. He was a cliché bad guy-weren't they all?-burly and as big as any marine Lee had ever known. This, he knew, was also part of their tactics; when he had first awoken here, shackled to a bed, the man had shot him a disinterested look then left him alone, so he could ponder how hard such a man could hit. Which Lee hadn't really done, too busy worrying about his kids and wife to really wonder what was going to happen to him.
Lee tested the bonds holding his wrists to the bed, but it was useless. The spot on his thigh where they had made the injection was throbbing, since of course, they hadn't even tried to be gentle about it. All the jokes he had ever made about Cottle's bedside manner and the size of the needles he used were coming back to him and he wished he could take it back. Really, that had been nothing.
The room was starting to spin and Lee closed his eyes, exhausted.
If these guys had touched his wife or his kids in any way, he was…
You're what? Going to throw up on their shoes again? Yeah, that helped, all right.
He clenched his fists, pulled at the bonds again, and tried to ignore the sick feeling that his strength was waning. How long had it been since the last time he had slept? Eaten? Drank? And in the meantime, he had been beaten, drugged, and lost some blood where the frakkers had cut him.
No wonder he felt like he could barely keep his eyes open.
No wonder he felt like he couldn't even think anymore.
So far, he hadn't said much-except for "Frak you," and a few comments about his captors' ancestry that had earned him even more blows. Of course, there wasn't much he could tell them.
Too bad Nate hadn't told anyone what he was working on. Maybe then, they would have been able to prevent this.
Yes, sure you would have prevented it. Right. You couldn't even prevent what happened to you, or to your wife, Apollo, Kara said, from the place in his mind where she still lived.
It had been a while since she had last spoken to him-since his wedding, probably. It was nice hearing her now, even if it was slightly unnerving to be having a discussion with his dead friend.
Always happy to be of service, she snarked. Now, why don't you stop wool-gathering and start thinking about how you're going to get out of this one?
Lee tested his bonds in answer to her cutting tone. They didn't give any more than they had a few minutes ago.
He hated being helpless and sadly, he had used all the tricks in his book. They'd keep him alive as long as they thought he was holding out on them, as long as they mistook his ignorance for defiance. After that, however… Well, after that, he'd become useless to them, wouldn't he?
Better start working your way out of here, then, don't you think?
"And how do you suggest I do that?" he snapped. He tugged at the chains holding him in place. "These won't vanish without outside help."
You'll get your chance sooner or later. Just be ready for it.
Right…
Someone entered the room, distracting Lee from the discussion. He opened his eyes long enough to see that Mister Big and Burly was back, then closed them against the harsh light above him. The light was too bright, even from behind closed eyelids, and turning his head to the side only made him dizzier.
He fleetingly wondered where his children were. He didn't think these guys had them. They would have dragged them in already and threatened to kill them to make him talk otherwise.
Had Laura and Mark reached the Galactica safely? Maybe he had been insane to tell them to go there if something happened but he hadn't known what else to do.
Thinking about Mark and Laura left alone on the Orion made him want to hit something-Mister Big and Burly's face would make a magnificent target. They were both so young… He didn't doubt that whoever they approached in the military would be nice and try to help them but damn it, he just didn't like to think about his kids on their own, and forced to take refuge on a warship to escape other humans.
In the last paper he had published, the one that had owed him the most heat from malcontents, Nate had written that the human race was growing cold in its struggle to survive. Many people on the Fleet had taken offense at the analysis, but not Lee.
There weren't so many people he would trust with the safety of his children-and even less people who had the means to keep them safe from the bullies the Fleet seemed to have attracted. The fact was that where humans should have grown closer and learned to rely on each other, everyone was drifting apart.
He just hoped his father would be able to protect Mark and Laura, even if Lee wasn't his favorite person anymore.
He wondered what the rest of his friends were thinking right now, wondered if they had been interrogated by the civilian police. Had they seen or remembered anything unusual, anything that could help him and Sam?
Romo often talked about Lee's inability to stay out of trouble for long. Imagining what his acerbic friend would say if he saw him right now sent Lee over the edge and he started laughing, softly at first then increasingly forcefully. He heard people swearing around him when he started gasping for breath, but he was too far gone to care.
*
"Did he say anything?" someone was asking when Lee grew coherent again.
That was one nice hysteric fit, Apollo.
Shut up. I'm listening.
Thankfully, Kara shut up. Lee was having a hard time hearing what the people around him were saying as it was, the sounds blurry and distorted. He didn't need her comments on top of it all.
"Something about how he's sorry but he had to do it. Something about what his friends would say if they saw him now." A sigh. "Nothing useful."
Lee tried to open his eyes, only to be blinded by the light. It came back to him then; the drugs must be wearing off for now.
"Well, that's just great."
Lee felt a tugging next to his wrists and forced himself not to react.
"Are you sure that's wise?"
"They're in bad shape already," the voice retorted. "And he doesn't look like he'd go very far on his own, does he?"
No argument could be heard this time.
Lee stayed motionless as both his wrists were freed, then his ankles.
"We need to step it up. The woman was rescued five hours ago."
It took all of Lee's self-control not to react visibly at the news.
Sam's fine, she's fine, she's fine, she's fine, he chanted inwardly, feeling like he had just run a race. She's fine, they don't have her anymore, she's fine-
-and you still have a lot to do, so listen and gather information, Kara snapped at him.
Lee listened.
"Yeah." There was a rustle of fabric. "He should have talked by now. I think it's time we tried something different."
The voices retreated away before Lee could make out the answer.
He waited until he was sure that he was alone before opening his eyes, blinking in the harsh light and slowly pulling an arm above his eyes to shield them.
You'll get your chance sooner or later.
He lost track of how long he stayed lying there, waiting for something to happen, trying to orient himself, before sitting up.
That act alone took too much time. He felt like pretty much every inch of him was bruised, he felt like he had just come off a three-days bender, and he didn't know whether he was going to be able to stand, much less remain standing for long.
Just be ready for it.
Getting to his feet took even longer, and he almost collapsed on the floor when he finally managed to stand. He used the bed to help him remain upright, waited several minutes for the room to stop spinning in front of his eyes.
Then he headed to the hatch, each step seeming to take him several hours.
Might want to hurry up, Lee.
"Can't," he said through clenched teeth.
You're not going to get another shot at this, she insisted.
He heard the concern in her voice and tried to move faster. "I know," he whispered. Cautiously, he put a hand on the hatch, took a breath and pushed it open.
Chapter 12
Author : Helen C.
Rating : PG-13
Summary : It was the only visible scar still left over by Baltar's trial, now that President Roslin was dead; Apollo's absence and the Admiral's obvious weariness.
Fandom : BSG
Spoilers : Everything aired so far is fair game.
Disclaimer : The characters and the universe were created and are owned by Ronald D. Moore and Universal Television Studios to name but a few. No money is being made. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
AN. Goes AU between the verdict and the Cylon attack in Crossroads II.
AN2. Eternal gratitude to joey51 for beta'ing this! As usual, I tinkered. All remaining mistakes are mine.
PART THREE
Chapter Eleven
They were drugging him.
It had taken them a while to get to it, but Lee had known it was coming from the very beginning, when they had shown him syringes and several vials of a yellowish substance in a pathetic attempt to scare him.
They said his wife was in another room near him, couldn't he hear her screams? Hating himself for caving in even that much, Lee listened but couldn't hear anything.
"Well, maybe our colleague is… done with her, then," the man interrogating him said with a sneer. He was a cliché bad guy-weren't they all?-burly and as big as any marine Lee had ever known. This, he knew, was also part of their tactics; when he had first awoken here, shackled to a bed, the man had shot him a disinterested look then left him alone, so he could ponder how hard such a man could hit. Which Lee hadn't really done, too busy worrying about his kids and wife to really wonder what was going to happen to him.
Lee tested the bonds holding his wrists to the bed, but it was useless. The spot on his thigh where they had made the injection was throbbing, since of course, they hadn't even tried to be gentle about it. All the jokes he had ever made about Cottle's bedside manner and the size of the needles he used were coming back to him and he wished he could take it back. Really, that had been nothing.
The room was starting to spin and Lee closed his eyes, exhausted.
If these guys had touched his wife or his kids in any way, he was…
You're what? Going to throw up on their shoes again? Yeah, that helped, all right.
He clenched his fists, pulled at the bonds again, and tried to ignore the sick feeling that his strength was waning. How long had it been since the last time he had slept? Eaten? Drank? And in the meantime, he had been beaten, drugged, and lost some blood where the frakkers had cut him.
No wonder he felt like he could barely keep his eyes open.
No wonder he felt like he couldn't even think anymore.
So far, he hadn't said much-except for "Frak you," and a few comments about his captors' ancestry that had earned him even more blows. Of course, there wasn't much he could tell them.
Too bad Nate hadn't told anyone what he was working on. Maybe then, they would have been able to prevent this.
Yes, sure you would have prevented it. Right. You couldn't even prevent what happened to you, or to your wife, Apollo, Kara said, from the place in his mind where she still lived.
It had been a while since she had last spoken to him-since his wedding, probably. It was nice hearing her now, even if it was slightly unnerving to be having a discussion with his dead friend.
Always happy to be of service, she snarked. Now, why don't you stop wool-gathering and start thinking about how you're going to get out of this one?
Lee tested his bonds in answer to her cutting tone. They didn't give any more than they had a few minutes ago.
He hated being helpless and sadly, he had used all the tricks in his book. They'd keep him alive as long as they thought he was holding out on them, as long as they mistook his ignorance for defiance. After that, however… Well, after that, he'd become useless to them, wouldn't he?
Better start working your way out of here, then, don't you think?
"And how do you suggest I do that?" he snapped. He tugged at the chains holding him in place. "These won't vanish without outside help."
You'll get your chance sooner or later. Just be ready for it.
Right…
Someone entered the room, distracting Lee from the discussion. He opened his eyes long enough to see that Mister Big and Burly was back, then closed them against the harsh light above him. The light was too bright, even from behind closed eyelids, and turning his head to the side only made him dizzier.
He fleetingly wondered where his children were. He didn't think these guys had them. They would have dragged them in already and threatened to kill them to make him talk otherwise.
Had Laura and Mark reached the Galactica safely? Maybe he had been insane to tell them to go there if something happened but he hadn't known what else to do.
Thinking about Mark and Laura left alone on the Orion made him want to hit something-Mister Big and Burly's face would make a magnificent target. They were both so young… He didn't doubt that whoever they approached in the military would be nice and try to help them but damn it, he just didn't like to think about his kids on their own, and forced to take refuge on a warship to escape other humans.
In the last paper he had published, the one that had owed him the most heat from malcontents, Nate had written that the human race was growing cold in its struggle to survive. Many people on the Fleet had taken offense at the analysis, but not Lee.
There weren't so many people he would trust with the safety of his children-and even less people who had the means to keep them safe from the bullies the Fleet seemed to have attracted. The fact was that where humans should have grown closer and learned to rely on each other, everyone was drifting apart.
He just hoped his father would be able to protect Mark and Laura, even if Lee wasn't his favorite person anymore.
He wondered what the rest of his friends were thinking right now, wondered if they had been interrogated by the civilian police. Had they seen or remembered anything unusual, anything that could help him and Sam?
Romo often talked about Lee's inability to stay out of trouble for long. Imagining what his acerbic friend would say if he saw him right now sent Lee over the edge and he started laughing, softly at first then increasingly forcefully. He heard people swearing around him when he started gasping for breath, but he was too far gone to care.
*
"Did he say anything?" someone was asking when Lee grew coherent again.
That was one nice hysteric fit, Apollo.
Shut up. I'm listening.
Thankfully, Kara shut up. Lee was having a hard time hearing what the people around him were saying as it was, the sounds blurry and distorted. He didn't need her comments on top of it all.
"Something about how he's sorry but he had to do it. Something about what his friends would say if they saw him now." A sigh. "Nothing useful."
Lee tried to open his eyes, only to be blinded by the light. It came back to him then; the drugs must be wearing off for now.
"Well, that's just great."
Lee felt a tugging next to his wrists and forced himself not to react.
"Are you sure that's wise?"
"They're in bad shape already," the voice retorted. "And he doesn't look like he'd go very far on his own, does he?"
No argument could be heard this time.
Lee stayed motionless as both his wrists were freed, then his ankles.
"We need to step it up. The woman was rescued five hours ago."
It took all of Lee's self-control not to react visibly at the news.
Sam's fine, she's fine, she's fine, she's fine, he chanted inwardly, feeling like he had just run a race. She's fine, they don't have her anymore, she's fine-
-and you still have a lot to do, so listen and gather information, Kara snapped at him.
Lee listened.
"Yeah." There was a rustle of fabric. "He should have talked by now. I think it's time we tried something different."
The voices retreated away before Lee could make out the answer.
He waited until he was sure that he was alone before opening his eyes, blinking in the harsh light and slowly pulling an arm above his eyes to shield them.
You'll get your chance sooner or later.
He lost track of how long he stayed lying there, waiting for something to happen, trying to orient himself, before sitting up.
That act alone took too much time. He felt like pretty much every inch of him was bruised, he felt like he had just come off a three-days bender, and he didn't know whether he was going to be able to stand, much less remain standing for long.
Just be ready for it.
Getting to his feet took even longer, and he almost collapsed on the floor when he finally managed to stand. He used the bed to help him remain upright, waited several minutes for the room to stop spinning in front of his eyes.
Then he headed to the hatch, each step seeming to take him several hours.
Might want to hurry up, Lee.
"Can't," he said through clenched teeth.
You're not going to get another shot at this, she insisted.
He heard the concern in her voice and tried to move faster. "I know," he whispered. Cautiously, he put a hand on the hatch, took a breath and pushed it open.
Chapter 12