FIC: A Lot to Live Up To (Part 1)
Title: A Lot to Live Up To (Part 1)
Author: lls_mutant
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Dee and Hoshi
Pairings: Dee/Lee, eventual Hoshi/Gaeta, and past Hoshi/Narcho in the background.
Summary: When Dee is promoted to XO of the Pegasus, a lot of people aren't too happy about it. But no one's unhappier than Hoshi, who thought he should have had the job.
Spoilers: Eventually through the end, but this part just through the New Caprica arc
Author's Note: Thanks to my awesome beta trovia! You ROCK!
I don't know how many chapters this has, because I'm never sure of exactly how much writing a specific incident will take until I've written it. But I do know exactly where I'm going. Instead of the monster-sized chapters that I wrote for Youth's Final Luxury, what I'm planning on doing is writing smaller chapters and posting them every Friday.
"You know she's only XO because she's sleeping with the Commander," Dee heard someone say. She moved very quietly into the mess hall, not attracting any attention to herself. "Hell, she's only a lieutenant because she's sleeping with the Commander. I heard she was an NCO for years."
"Yeah, but she worked in the CIC," someone else said. "She's been doing Communications for longer than you've been out of Officer School."
"She has not. I've got to be a good ten years older than her."
"And there's no more Officer School to be had," a woman pointed out. "Where else are we going to get new officers?"
"Yeah, but still. There were other people on Galactica that were just as qualified."
"Or on the Pegasus." Dee recognized that voice as Cole Taylor. "Galactica was always a place for the rejects." She moved so she could finally see the group that was bent over a table, heads together, not secretive so much as eager.
"My point exactly" Dee realized it was a testament to Galactica's lousy wiring system that she hadn't realized that the original speaker was Lieutenant Hoshi from the beginning. "She's uneducated, untrained-"
"Unwashed?" Dee suggested. The others jerked to their feet, but Lieutenant Hoshi sat frozen. "Unworthy? Unintelligent? Untrustworthy?"
Hoshi sighed heavily, and then looked up at her, arms crossed and expression oddly defiant. "I am so frakked, aren't I, sir?" he said.
"Oh yes," Dee said, her mind casting about frantically. What did an XO do in this situation? Tossing him in the brig seemed a bit excessive, and yet she'd never been disciplined for something like this. But the crew was watching her and she had to make a decision now. "I think some time in the galley would serve you well, Lieutenant Hoshi," Dee said with as much dignity as she could muster. "And since you seem to have so much spare time to sit around and gossip, why don't you get started there right now?"
Hoshi stood, and met her eyes for a long moment, steely and challenging. She stared him down as evenly and calmly as he could, not an easy task given her height disadvantage. But she won and he saluted- not without an edge of sarcasm- and stomped off.
"Anyone else?" Dee asked. The group was silent. "Then carry on," she snapped, sounding as much like Tigh as she could manage.
Gods, that was a scary thought- deliberately sounding like Tigh. But it worked, and Dee stalked out of the mess hall with her head held high.
***
"So what did Hoshi do that earned him a stint in the galley by your third day?" Lee asked Dee that night as they sat going through the paperwork.
"Oh, nothing too mutinous," she said lightly.
"Right," Lee said skeptically, pushing his stack of papers aside. "Let me guess. He said you're frakking your way to the top?"
"Nothing like it."
"I could put a stop to that," Lee suggested.
"And feed the rumors? No thank you."
"I guess you're right," Lee admitted. "But speaking of frakking…" he reached for her, and it was a good thing she was in love with him or such a come on line would never have worked.
***
The Pegasus was an annoyingly different beast (so to speak) than the Galactica. The annoyance, Dee thought, was in how things were similar. If the Pegasus had been completely different, she wouldn't automatically turn left to talk to the tactical station when it was to her right, or reach for the tuning when she meant to reach for the gain.
She stood at the lighted table next to Lee, studying the DRADIS and the arrangement of the ships in the Fleet. It hadn't changed in the four months that she'd been orbiting New Caprica on the Galactica, and it hadn't changed in the week she'd been the XO on the Pegasus.
"Raptors away, sir," Hoshi confirmed from his station.
"Thank you, Mr. Hoshi," she said. Lee glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and she mentally kicked herself; an XO should not thank a crew member for simply doing his job.
"Should be a routine flight," Lee said, sounding bored. "Lieutenant, notify me if anything goes wrong. You have the deck."
"Yes, Commander." She saluted and Lee left the CIC. She watched him wistfully.
As Lee left, the volume of conversation increased slightly. Dee glared around the CIC, feeling for all the world like a substitute teacher in front of a high school math class. And Hoshi was sitting at the comm unit, smirking like the defiant student who would rather be anyplace else.
Disgusted, Dee turned away, automatically glancing up at the DRADIS screen. Something about the Raptors' paths seemed wrong. They weren't headed for New Caprica.
"Mr. Hoshi," she said sharply. "Where are those Raptors bound?"
"Galactica, of course," Hoshi said, sounding all professional and serious. Dee moved over to another station and Martins, the NCO manning the station, pulled up the schedule. As Dee watched, the destination changed from New Caprica to Galactica. Martins snickered.
"What the-" Dee began, but a voice came over her headset.
"What's going on? For frak's sake, watch out!" There was a general sound of panic in the background. Dee furrowed her brow, and then suddenly went cold as she realized what had happened. The Raptors had been docking on Galactica right as others had been cleared to launch. She whipped around to face Hoshi, who had a guilty, horrified expression.
"What the frak?" she demanded.
Hoshi was pale. "I…" he began. "The Raptors…"
"I know exactly what happened," Dee said, the pieces quickly falling to place in her head. "You changed the destination. You must have gotten the pilots to agree to it," she realized. Add four more to the list of people not liking her in command. "You just forgot to check the Galactica's outbound schedule." The magnitude of his offense was coming clear to her, and the anger was building. Of all the irresponsible, stupid, insane things-
The comm unit beeped. Hoshi jerked out of his daze and answered it, speaking in short, rapid bursts as the switchboard began to light up. Dee took a deep breath, and then another. And she was not at all surprised when Hoshi said, "Lieutenant, there's a call coming in from the CIC on Galactica."
"Put it through," Dee ordered.
"This is Galactica Actual," Adama's voice said over the speaker. Dee glared at Hoshi, who was now back to looking his version of completely innocent. He looked like a drowned rat, Dee thought uncharitably.
"Lieutenant Dualla, Admiral."
"Lieutenant, I was not aware you had Raptors scheduled to dock today."
"It's on the schedule," Dee said through gritted teeth.
"Transferring a schedule to Galactica," Hoshi said helpfully.
Dee frantically pulled the schedule back up, and saw that it again said New Caprica. She swore, even hearing the change in Adama's silence. Finally, Adama said, "Lieutenant, I want you on the Galactica at 1700 hours."
Dee cringed. "Yes, sir," she said, and her anger began to rise again. She had to bite the inside of her cheek, a trick she'd used frequently on days that Tigh came into the CIC drunk. The comm unit went crackly with static, and Dee took several deep breaths, trying to calm down.
Hoshi flipped a switch and the speaker shut off, and the CIC waited, poised and silent.
"Lieutenant Hoshi," Dee heard herself saying, in inflections that would have made Tigh proud. She turned to face him, pulling herself up as tall as she could manage. "You have two choices. You can admit to arranging this little attempt at a practical joke and march your frakking ass down to the brig for the next three days, or I can go and question the pilots involved. And I am certain, after a near death experience and being chewed out by Colonel Tigh and Admiral Adama, that I'll find out every last detail about your conversation with them, from what time and where it took place to what color underwear they think you had on. And then the four of them and yourself will be spending a solid week in the brig. So, which is it going to be, Lieutenant?"
The look on his face was one of pure hate as he slowly stood up. He saluted angrily, and then gestured with his head to a Marine and spun on his heel, striding out of the CIC silently, with his head held high.
Next to Dee, Martins whistled, watching Hoshi's display. But the rest of the CIC was watching her, and when her eye fell on them, they all jerked back to their jobs. The CIC spun back into operation, and another officer quietly took Hoshi's post without comment.
Dee crossed her arms and stood at the command table. Good.
***
"Lieutenant Dualla," Admiral Adama said, "we need to talk."
"Yes, sir," Dee said, standing at parade rest in front of his desk. "I should explain-"
"I'm not interested in explanations," Adama said. "The sort of error I saw today is not the sort of error I'd expect from a lieutenant that has been proven to be an extremely competent Communications Officer for the past four years. It's also not the sort of error I'd expect from a Communications Officer as competent as Lieutenant Hoshi."
"Sir, I-"
"However," he continued, cutting her off with a stern look, "it is exactly the sort of error I would expect from an XO who can't control her crew."
That stung. Dee opened her mouth to protest, but Adama only had to give her that glance and all her words died on her lips in the face of his disappointment.
"I'm sorry, sir," she said, holding back tears and raising her chin. "It won't happen again."
"It had better not. Dismissed, Lieutenant."
She managed to get the door closed and to take several steps down the hall before the tears started to streak her face. She batted them away irritably.
"Lieutenant Dualla," a familiar voice said.
She wiped her face and turned around. "Colonel."
Tigh took her in, and then cracked a rare smile. He actually smiled. "Come have a drink, Lieutenant," he said, in a gruffly kind tone that Dee had rarely heard from him.
"Yes, sir," she said, falling in behind him.
He led her into his quarters and gestured to a chair and settled down across from her. There was no desk between them, and Dee felt like a child being given her first glass of wine as Tigh handed her the glass of whiskey. He took a sip, and then glanced at her and she did the same. She managed not to make a face at the bitter taste, and he smiled in approval.
"So," he said, "which one's giving you the trouble?"
"Sir?" she asked, surprised.
"Mine was Hershem," Tigh said, a little grin playing around the corners of his mouth. "He was the tactical officer when I was promoted. Found a way to deliberately misinterpret everything I'd say. Caused no small amount of trouble, I can tell you that. So which one is it?"
"Lieutenant Hoshi," Dee admitted.
"Hoshi, huh?" Tigh grunted. "Doesn't really seem the type. Wouldn't think he had it in him."
Dee shook her head once. "Frankly, sir? He's a complete bitch."
Tigh chuckled. "Well then, that should be easy enough. Just deal with him like you'd deal with yourself or Gaeta."
Dee froze. "Me or Gaeta, sir?"
"Oh, don't give me that wide-eyed innocent look. The pair of you were experts at being insubordinate without saying a word. Frustrating as hell, because it's nothing punishable. You're bad enough, but he was even worse about it than you are." But Tigh seemed amused, like a father now having to watch a difficult daughter deal with her own offspring.
Dee shook her head. "Hoshi's not like that," she said. "He's the one who nearly caused the Raptor accident this morning."
"Oh. That's different. So what are you going to do about it?"
"I don't know," Dee admitted. "I tossed him into the brig."
"Good start."
"The problem is," Dee said slowly, "I don't think that's going to help. When he went, he made it clear that a little brig time wasn't going to stop him. And he knows his job. We need him in the CIC, and he's smart enough to know it. I could keep him in there and only let him out to work, but I think he'll keep causing trouble when he's on duty, too. I don't have the authority to demote him myself, and I am not asking Lee or the Admiral to do it."
"I see your problem," Tigh grunted. "Some people are hellbent on making trouble." He chuckled dryly. "In that case, deal with him like you'd deal with Starbuck."
"Make his life completely miserable?" Dee asked with something like an evil smile.
"Good girl," Tigh said approvingly. "Find out more about him, what makes him tick." His eyes twinkled over his glass. "Believe me, I have a punishment in mind for every one of the crew, and most of 'em are different."
He clinked his glass against hers, and Dee wondered if she'd joined the dark side. But she saw exactly what Tigh meant, even as she wondered what her punishment would have been. "Thank you, sir."
"You're welcome."
She knocked back the rest of her whiskey with a smoothness that made him smile wider. "Sir?" she asked finally. "What happened to Hershem?"
"They still haven't found the body," Tigh said seriously, and then flashed a smile. "Nah, he was eventually promoted on a different battlestar. It all worked out in the end."
That actually made her feel much better. Dee stood up. "Thank you for the drink, Colonel," she said, and he patted her shoulder.
"You're welcome," he said. "We XOs have to stick together. It's a lonely position, Dee, but you're the right one for it. You'll show him, and when you show him, you'll show them all."
***
"I see Hoshi's following up his brig time with some more galley work," Lee said as they sat down to dinner four nights later. "Should I taste your food for you before you eat it?"
Dee smiled at him affectionately. "Funny."
Lee grinned. "What did he do this time?"
"It's not important." Dee picked up her fork and primly speared the root vegetables that had been found down on New Caprica. "He's just challenging me." And she'd caught him trying to convince their ground contact that Dee had signed off on an order for half the rations that she had. At least he'd scaled back from tampering with events involving heavy equipment, although she suspected that was out of respect for his crewmates than fear of her.
"Should I-"
"No," Dee said curtly, looking up at him. "Definitely not."
"Okay." Lee chewed thoughtfully. "I'm surprised he's giving you grief. He's a good guy. I actually thought the two of you would get along really well."
Dee forced casualness. "I've only been on the Pegasus for two weeks," she said. "He'll settle down."
"Yeah. At least he knows his job." Lee was so obviously approving. He picked up a glass of wine, and his smile widened. "Should we be saying anything to the Pegasus crew about next week?"
You know she's only XO because she's sleeping with the Commander. Dee shuddered. Having the Pegasus crew at her wedding would only emphasize that thought. "No," she said. "Let's keep it small."
Lee shrugged. "Okay." He reached across the table and took her hand. "It's really going to happen, Dee. And we're going to be happy."
She thought of the way her proposed, thought of Kara Thrace and her new promotion and the planet spinning below them. "You're right," she said, smiling her brightest smile. "We will be."
***
Two nights later they went over to the Galactica to have dinner with the Admiral.
When Adama greeted them, he made no mention of the Raptor incident, or a few misplaced calls. Instead, he hugged her and called her "Dee." His quarters were open and inviting, and the table was set for three.
"They sent up some more meat," Adama said, leading them both over to the table.
"Smells good," Lee said appreciatively. "Is that venison?"
"It is. If nothing else, that mudball is good for something."
"They've made a lot of progress on the settlement," Dee said.
"But they have a long way to go." But Adama smiled to take the sting from his comment. He turned to Dee and cleared his throat awkwardly. "I understand Mr. Gaeta is extremely happy down there," he said neutrally.
"He talked your ear off at Founders' Day, didn't he?" Dee asked, keeping her tone deliberately light, aware that Felix was a tricky subject with Adama. But Lee put his arm around her shoulders and laughed.
"Watch out, or you'll be hearing about infrastructure and finance records next week," he teased his father.
Adama smiled finally, and Dee breathed a little easier. "I assumed he'd be at the wedding."
"Yes. He's serving as my witness." Adama and Lee exchanged ruefully amused glances, and Dee wished that there was a female presence here, someone who would actually care about the details of her dress and how she envisioned the ceremony. Adama seemed like he was… lost on this particular subject.
"It's not going to be anything fancy," Lee warned.
"I didn't expect it to be. But it doesn't matter." Adama smiled at her. "It will be nice to have a Mrs. Adama in the family again." He patted her hand. "And I suppose now that we're settled and stable, under the regime of President Baltar, it's even possible to think about-"
"Dad, do not say the words 'Baltar' and 'babies' in the same sentence," Lee warned, heading Adama off at the pass.
All three of them laughed, and the subject changed instead to New Caprica and the evils of President Baltar. Dee noticed that Adama's eyes drifted to her often, and she wondered what he was thinking.
A "Mrs. Adama" in the family again. Was he missing his wife that he never mentioned? Lonely? Wishing that Kara Thrace was sitting her instead of her? Wishing that both she and Kara could be sitting here, with Kara married off to Zac and her with Lee? She liked the last thought best, but didn't want to dwell. But it was a lovely evening of candlelight, wine, and laughter, and the thought that in a week's time, she would be an Adama, too.
Lee piloted the Raptor back to the Pegasus. He was humming under his breath, happier than she'd seen him since Founders' Day.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked.
Lee laughed. "I thought we'd at least be able to get married before my father started bugging us for grandchildren." He didn't sound at all upset, though. "He's going to be the biggest pushover anywhere when we finally have a baby." Dee laughed, and reached over to touch Lee's hand. He turned his over and held onto hers tightly. "Dad's really happy about this," he told her. "And so am I."
"Good," Dee said, smiling. "Me, too."
***
Sara Martins was the NCO that thought Hoshi's little Raptor switch was so hysterical. She was taller than Dee, with long brown hair that she wore in a neat braid, huge brown eyes, and a face that was otherwise plain. In truth, when Dee had first come on the Pegasus she'd mistaken Hoshi and Martins for brother and sister for a moment.
Martins was sitting in the rec room, holding court over a triad game when Dee entered.
"Kitchen duty," she was scoffing. "If she honestly thinks kitchen duty or the brig is going to change how Hoshi thinks, she's got another think coming."
"Did you hear?" a knuckledragger named Rison leaned in. "She's actually marrying the Commander next week. Who would have thought?"
"Marrying, huh?" The speaker was a Raptor pilot with the call sign "Easy." "That actually makes me think better of her," she said.
"Better?" Martin said mockingly.
"Well, yeah. I mean, so far the ship's running smoothly. She knows her shit well enough, I'll give her that. And when there's only so many of us left and we're constantly stuck on the same ship, rank lines just don't matter so much anymore."
"You're just trying to justify the fact you're frakking Stinger."
"Not justify," Easy said. "But I have to admit, I get it. Tell me you don't eventually want to go down to New Caprica and start a family."
Martins snorted. "Hell, no. No kids for me." But Rison looked thoughtful.
"Yeah, I guess you've only got so many options to choose from," he admitted.
"Right," Easy said. She laid down a card. "Think about it. Less than 50,000 people left. That means maybe 25,000 men. And then cut out all the ones that are way too old and way too young… if you don't want to spend your life alone, sometimes you have to ignore things like rank."
Martins shook her head irritably. "Look, I don't care if she and the Commander have rainbows and hearts and flowers and hoards of fat babies. That's all fine. But there are plenty of officers that he could have picked for his XO. Including your precious Stinger."
"Cole's CAG," Easy said smugly. "He'd prefer that to XO."
Dee decided she'd heard enough. She slipped out of the rec room. It occurred to her that she rarely saw Tigh in the rec room on the Galactica, and she suspected this was why. It wasn't an XO's job to be liked. In fact, quite the opposite. And the crew needed a place to vent.
Of course, that left her with very few places she could retreat to.
She wandered the halls, looking purposeful but really having no clue where she was heading. She eventually found herself on the steps to the quiet hangar deck. No one was around, and it was as quiet as it got on a battlestar. She sat down slowly, enjoying the dim lighting of the inactive deck and the stillness. She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees and closed her eyes.
There was a clatter down on the hangar deck, startling her from her thoughts. Someone swore, and then started for the stairs. He was a tall, extremely good-looking man, with light, groomed hair and a strong chin. He was wearing green BDU pants and tanks, and was covered with grease. He stomped up the stairs, and then stopped as he encountered Dee.
"What are you doing?" he demanded.
Dee scooted over to the side. "Sorry. Didn't mean to be in the way," she muttered.
"Well, that's very commanding of you," the man said. He looked down at her, and smirked. "What's the matter? Nobody likes the new XO?"
Dee glared at him. "I'm not expecting to be liked," she said, keeping her voice strong and level. It wasn't hard to do. "Being liked isn't my job."
His smirk changed to a smile. "Well, at least you're realistic." He extended his hand. "I'm Narcho. Noel Allison."
She recognized the name. "You're a Viper pilot." He nodded. "What are you doing down on the deck?"
"Just lending a hand." Narcho sat down beside her, extending his legs. "I used to have a motorcycle back home. I miss it. I'm not qualified to tinker with a Viper, but I can at least play with some of the other stuff."
"Where was home?"
"Scorpia. How about you?"
Dee made a face. "Sagittaron."
Narcho looked at her with interest. "Really. Don't see too many of those in the military." He grinned wickedly. "The only other one I know is Hoshi. Who I hear," Narcho said, waggling his eyebrows meaningfully, "is giving you a hard time."
"Nothing I can't handle," Dee assured him. Narcho's grin only widened, and she found herself saying, "He's just spreading rumors that I slept my way into the XO's spot."
Narcho shrugged. "Well, you pretty much did, didn't you?"
That caught Dee totally off guard. "I didn't," she insisted.
"Actually, you did." Narcho seemed completely unaffected by his statement, however. He wrapped his hands around one of his knees and leaned back against the railing. "I mean, if you and Commander Adama have been together long enough that you're getting married in a week, you must have been sleeping with him for a while."
"But Admiral Adama doesn't know that. He knew nothing about our relationship until we told him we were engaged. And he's the one who promoted me. Not Lee."
"But Lee didn't exactly volunteer the information, did he? Might have even put in a good word for you?" Narcho persisted. "Look, all I'm saying is that from where I'm sitting, it sure as hell looks like you slept your way to the top."
It stung, and Dee had to look down for a moment so Narcho wouldn't see her expression. She wanted to continue arguing, but inside her, a little voice was saying he's right, you know. And once she listened to it, she couldn't ignore it. She took a breath and pushed her head back up, and smiled.
"So," she said. "Let's say I did sleep my way to the top. What the frak do I do about it now?"
"Hey, there's a reason I'm not XO," Narcho said. "You figure it out. But I'll tell you one thing. Hoshi hates being reminded that he's Sagittaron. If you want to fight dirty with him, that's the way to go."
"Thanks." Dee shook her head. "But why are you telling me this? It doesn't seem like it's Pegasus policy to be nice to the new resident slut."
"I'm not," Narcho denied. "I'm pissed at Hoshi. His little stunt nearly killed three of my friends. No matter how upset he is, nothing justifies that." Dee nodded, and Narcho stood up. He patted her on the shoulder. "Just one more thing," he said.
"What's that?"
"I'm not saying you taking this job isn't his problem, 'cause it is and he's got a right. But he's been getting worse with every new Commander and every new XO. Every time the command structure shifts, it reminds him that Belzen and Cain are dead, and believe me, that's not easy for him to deal with." Before Dee could comment or question, Narcho headed up the stairs, his boot steps echoing through the empty hangar deck.
She turned back around, and began to think. He hadn't given her much to go on, but he'd given her something, and that was a start. And more than that, Dee wondered if maybe she'd made her first friend on board the Pegasus.
***
Dee had just stepped out of the shower when she saw Hoshi stripping to get in. "So, Lieutenant," he said, with just a little too much emphasis on her rank, "are all the plans ready for the big day when Lee Adama finally makes an honest woman out of you?"
Dee smiled sweetly. "I was honest already, but yes. Jealous, are we?"
Hoshi snorted. "Like I'd want to sleep with Lee Adama."
Well, that made the Sagittaron thing make sense. "Maybe you should come," Dee said, toweling off. "My witness might be just your type. Although I think he prefers men that are a little less prone to getting people killed as a practical joke."
He glared at her. "It wasn't a joke," he said darkly, and then pulled the tanks off over his head. "So is your witness giving you away?" Hoshi asked, all knives and mocking. "Walking you down the aisle? Presenting you as a gift along with your dowry, or getting New Caprican cattle in return? Or command of a battlestar?"
"As a matter of fact, he is." Dee dropped her towel and struggled into her bra. "That's the thing about our Sagittaron traditions," she said, watching his face. And there it was, just like Narcho said, a wince. "They might have their roots in fundamental misogyny and pigheadedness, but these days they're about family. Personally, I think it's a lovely thought to have someone you love escort you down the aisle, don't you? Wouldn't you have wanted your father there?"
It was funny, because those words hurt her badly enough. But they really hit him, harder than she'd expected. He tossed his tanks into his locker with great force and slammed the door. "Frak off," he said, and headed for the shower. "And don't think I don't know that earned me another day in the galley," he said.
"Two in the sewage," she retorted. "Keep it up and it will be three." He glared at her, and then slammed the door on his stall.
She finished dressing in the ensuing silence, and left the head grinning with the satisfaction of a job well done.
***
Their wedding day was gray. Dee made a face when she saw the sky and shivered in the cold. She probably should be dressed in something more substantial than her sleeveless black dress, but the only other dress she'd found was the white one she'd worn when Billy was shot, and that wasn't appropriate. The scarf that she'd borrowed had already been used for three weddings in the Fleet, and was starting to show its age. It was silvery, with some fraying beading at the ends, and it was the closest she could get to a veil.
She stood on the shore of a river at a distance from the rest of the wedding party and waited. Finally, she saw Felix cutting through the trees, stepping carefully so he wouldn't splatter mud everywhere. From a distance he looked good in his suit, but as he got closer, she could see that he wasn't sleeping and looked a little strained. But she forced it away, because it was her wedding day, Gods damn it.
"Are you ready?" he asked her, with a smile.
Dee glanced back at the knot of people. She could see Lee, standing in his dress uniform, pretending not to look her way. Neither of them actually believed that hokey tradition about the groom not seeing the bride, but traditions were about all they had left. She loved him for understanding that, and turned back to Felix with a smile. "Not really how I pictured this," she admitted, holding out the scarf.
Felix took it from her, studied it like it was one of his nonlinear differential equations, and then cautiously draped it over her head. "Is this right?"
"I don't know. I've never gotten married before." But it felt like it would stay on if she took a step.
He touched the fabric gently. "Borrowed?"
"No, just something I happened to have in my storage locker." She glanced back at the bank, and she could see Admiral Adama now standing beside Lee. She took a deep breath. "I think I'm ready."
"You look beautiful," he said with a smile.
It was at that moment that Dee realized just how lonely she'd been these past three weeks on the Pegasus. She had Lee, but no one else. She missed having Felix to talk to and laugh with. She reached out and awkwardly hugged him, something she'd never been able to do because she'd been a petty officer and he'd been a lieutenant. "I'm glad you're here," she whispered.
He patted her shoulder awkwardly, and then took her hand. "Well," he said, "let's go."
She clung to his hand harder than she meant to as he walked her over to where Lee and the Admiral and the priest were waiting, and it occurred to her that she'd very much told Hoshi the truth. She wanted her family- whatever her family was- with her as she made this commitment. Especially, she thought, noting Starbuck standing in the gathering, as she wondered just how wise a commitment this was to be making.
But Lee's eyes stayed on her for the entire ceremony, and his smile was completely genuine. Dee knew him well enough to see that. She lost himself in her eyes, and when the priest asked her if she promised to love and cherish, she was able to say I do with all her heart.
And when they kissed, the Admiral was the first one to begin clapping.
***
Weddings weren't what they were before the attacks, that was for certain. The party afterwards was small and drab, and there was no honeymoon. But Dee couldn't have cared less. Lee was beside her the entire time, his arm around her waist or shoulders, his hand wandering to less appropriate places when he thought no one was looking. She had to keep swatting it away (and doing the same to him), both of them buoyant with laughter.
Before long, it was time to return to the Pegasus. Bill Adama came over and shook Lee's hand, and then kissed Dee on both cheeks. "I'm very glad you have you as a daughter," he murmured in her ear.
"Thank you," Dee answered, resisting the temptation to call him sir. She looked around at the small gathering. Helo and Starbuck and Laura Roslin were all laughing at something. Colonel Tigh and his wife were talking to Starbuck's new husband Anders. Felix was standing off to the side, fiddling with the cuffs of his new suit jacket and looking far away, but his smile turned real when he caught her watching. Kat and Hot Dog and Racetrack were trying to get dancing started to a wireless with incredibly bad reception. Everywhere there were happy faces… her Galactica family. Dee couldn't have been happier.
"Are you ready, Mrs. Adama?" Lee came up behind her. "If you'll excuse me, Dad, but I think my wife and I have some honeymooning to do…"
"Lee!" she protested, but Adama was laughing as well.
"Go on, you two. Have a… good time."
"Oh my gods," Dee said as they ducked into a Raptor, dodging thrown "flowers" that were more like weeds. "Your dad just told us to go have sex. That's something I just did not need to hear."
"Me either," Lee laughed. He guided the Raptor back up to the Pegasus. "That's funny," he said as he flew them in. "I thought-"
The rest of his sentence was cut off as they both noticed the banner and the streamers, and the entire crew standing at attention as their Raptor docked. "What the-" Lee began, but as they climbed off the Raptor, Captain Taylor and Lieutenant Finnegan both popped open champagne, and the cheering began.
Lee stood on the edge of the Raptor with his arm around her. "Thank you," he said, waving to them all. "This means so much to me- to us." And then they were caught in a crushing sea of congratulations.
Dee wasn't counting, but she was sure that Lee's hand was shaken twice as much as her own. It made sense, after all, as Lee had been on the Pegasus so much longer, and he was just… Lee. But it still felt odd.
"Congratulations, Lieutenant Adama."
Dee startled at the name, and jerked around to see Hoshi staring at her, with a blank expression on his face. "Thank you," she said cautiously, extending her hand. "But it's still Dualla. I'm keeping my name."
He ignored her proffered hand, and she pulled it back before anyone noticed. "How very… un-Sagittaron of you," he said waspishly. He glanced warily at Lee, who was talking enthusiastically to some of the pilots, and then extended a small, wrapped package to Dee. "I thought you might appreciate this."
Dee's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. Hoshi was the last person she expected to give her a wedding present. But she understood when she unrolled the wrapping to reveal a prayer icon of Hestia. "The goddess of hearth and home," she said dryly.
"And fertility," Hoshi added. "Given that you're a traditional, family-oriented Sagittaron girl, I figured you could make use of this. Pray for those babies to start coming as soon as possible." His grin had an edge of wickedness in it. "I know I will be." He drew back, saluted, and then melted back into the crowd.
Dee glared after him, and then Lee touched her hand and jerked her back to the present.
Goddess of fertility indeed. Frakking bastard.
On to Part 2
Author: lls_mutant
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Dee and Hoshi
Pairings: Dee/Lee, eventual Hoshi/Gaeta, and past Hoshi/Narcho in the background.
Summary: When Dee is promoted to XO of the Pegasus, a lot of people aren't too happy about it. But no one's unhappier than Hoshi, who thought he should have had the job.
Spoilers: Eventually through the end, but this part just through the New Caprica arc
Author's Note: Thanks to my awesome beta trovia! You ROCK!
I don't know how many chapters this has, because I'm never sure of exactly how much writing a specific incident will take until I've written it. But I do know exactly where I'm going. Instead of the monster-sized chapters that I wrote for Youth's Final Luxury, what I'm planning on doing is writing smaller chapters and posting them every Friday.
"You know she's only XO because she's sleeping with the Commander," Dee heard someone say. She moved very quietly into the mess hall, not attracting any attention to herself. "Hell, she's only a lieutenant because she's sleeping with the Commander. I heard she was an NCO for years."
"Yeah, but she worked in the CIC," someone else said. "She's been doing Communications for longer than you've been out of Officer School."
"She has not. I've got to be a good ten years older than her."
"And there's no more Officer School to be had," a woman pointed out. "Where else are we going to get new officers?"
"Yeah, but still. There were other people on Galactica that were just as qualified."
"Or on the Pegasus." Dee recognized that voice as Cole Taylor. "Galactica was always a place for the rejects." She moved so she could finally see the group that was bent over a table, heads together, not secretive so much as eager.
"My point exactly" Dee realized it was a testament to Galactica's lousy wiring system that she hadn't realized that the original speaker was Lieutenant Hoshi from the beginning. "She's uneducated, untrained-"
"Unwashed?" Dee suggested. The others jerked to their feet, but Lieutenant Hoshi sat frozen. "Unworthy? Unintelligent? Untrustworthy?"
Hoshi sighed heavily, and then looked up at her, arms crossed and expression oddly defiant. "I am so frakked, aren't I, sir?" he said.
"Oh yes," Dee said, her mind casting about frantically. What did an XO do in this situation? Tossing him in the brig seemed a bit excessive, and yet she'd never been disciplined for something like this. But the crew was watching her and she had to make a decision now. "I think some time in the galley would serve you well, Lieutenant Hoshi," Dee said with as much dignity as she could muster. "And since you seem to have so much spare time to sit around and gossip, why don't you get started there right now?"
Hoshi stood, and met her eyes for a long moment, steely and challenging. She stared him down as evenly and calmly as he could, not an easy task given her height disadvantage. But she won and he saluted- not without an edge of sarcasm- and stomped off.
"Anyone else?" Dee asked. The group was silent. "Then carry on," she snapped, sounding as much like Tigh as she could manage.
Gods, that was a scary thought- deliberately sounding like Tigh. But it worked, and Dee stalked out of the mess hall with her head held high.
***
"So what did Hoshi do that earned him a stint in the galley by your third day?" Lee asked Dee that night as they sat going through the paperwork.
"Oh, nothing too mutinous," she said lightly.
"Right," Lee said skeptically, pushing his stack of papers aside. "Let me guess. He said you're frakking your way to the top?"
"Nothing like it."
"I could put a stop to that," Lee suggested.
"And feed the rumors? No thank you."
"I guess you're right," Lee admitted. "But speaking of frakking…" he reached for her, and it was a good thing she was in love with him or such a come on line would never have worked.
***
The Pegasus was an annoyingly different beast (so to speak) than the Galactica. The annoyance, Dee thought, was in how things were similar. If the Pegasus had been completely different, she wouldn't automatically turn left to talk to the tactical station when it was to her right, or reach for the tuning when she meant to reach for the gain.
She stood at the lighted table next to Lee, studying the DRADIS and the arrangement of the ships in the Fleet. It hadn't changed in the four months that she'd been orbiting New Caprica on the Galactica, and it hadn't changed in the week she'd been the XO on the Pegasus.
"Raptors away, sir," Hoshi confirmed from his station.
"Thank you, Mr. Hoshi," she said. Lee glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and she mentally kicked herself; an XO should not thank a crew member for simply doing his job.
"Should be a routine flight," Lee said, sounding bored. "Lieutenant, notify me if anything goes wrong. You have the deck."
"Yes, Commander." She saluted and Lee left the CIC. She watched him wistfully.
As Lee left, the volume of conversation increased slightly. Dee glared around the CIC, feeling for all the world like a substitute teacher in front of a high school math class. And Hoshi was sitting at the comm unit, smirking like the defiant student who would rather be anyplace else.
Disgusted, Dee turned away, automatically glancing up at the DRADIS screen. Something about the Raptors' paths seemed wrong. They weren't headed for New Caprica.
"Mr. Hoshi," she said sharply. "Where are those Raptors bound?"
"Galactica, of course," Hoshi said, sounding all professional and serious. Dee moved over to another station and Martins, the NCO manning the station, pulled up the schedule. As Dee watched, the destination changed from New Caprica to Galactica. Martins snickered.
"What the-" Dee began, but a voice came over her headset.
"What's going on? For frak's sake, watch out!" There was a general sound of panic in the background. Dee furrowed her brow, and then suddenly went cold as she realized what had happened. The Raptors had been docking on Galactica right as others had been cleared to launch. She whipped around to face Hoshi, who had a guilty, horrified expression.
"What the frak?" she demanded.
Hoshi was pale. "I…" he began. "The Raptors…"
"I know exactly what happened," Dee said, the pieces quickly falling to place in her head. "You changed the destination. You must have gotten the pilots to agree to it," she realized. Add four more to the list of people not liking her in command. "You just forgot to check the Galactica's outbound schedule." The magnitude of his offense was coming clear to her, and the anger was building. Of all the irresponsible, stupid, insane things-
The comm unit beeped. Hoshi jerked out of his daze and answered it, speaking in short, rapid bursts as the switchboard began to light up. Dee took a deep breath, and then another. And she was not at all surprised when Hoshi said, "Lieutenant, there's a call coming in from the CIC on Galactica."
"Put it through," Dee ordered.
"This is Galactica Actual," Adama's voice said over the speaker. Dee glared at Hoshi, who was now back to looking his version of completely innocent. He looked like a drowned rat, Dee thought uncharitably.
"Lieutenant Dualla, Admiral."
"Lieutenant, I was not aware you had Raptors scheduled to dock today."
"It's on the schedule," Dee said through gritted teeth.
"Transferring a schedule to Galactica," Hoshi said helpfully.
Dee frantically pulled the schedule back up, and saw that it again said New Caprica. She swore, even hearing the change in Adama's silence. Finally, Adama said, "Lieutenant, I want you on the Galactica at 1700 hours."
Dee cringed. "Yes, sir," she said, and her anger began to rise again. She had to bite the inside of her cheek, a trick she'd used frequently on days that Tigh came into the CIC drunk. The comm unit went crackly with static, and Dee took several deep breaths, trying to calm down.
Hoshi flipped a switch and the speaker shut off, and the CIC waited, poised and silent.
"Lieutenant Hoshi," Dee heard herself saying, in inflections that would have made Tigh proud. She turned to face him, pulling herself up as tall as she could manage. "You have two choices. You can admit to arranging this little attempt at a practical joke and march your frakking ass down to the brig for the next three days, or I can go and question the pilots involved. And I am certain, after a near death experience and being chewed out by Colonel Tigh and Admiral Adama, that I'll find out every last detail about your conversation with them, from what time and where it took place to what color underwear they think you had on. And then the four of them and yourself will be spending a solid week in the brig. So, which is it going to be, Lieutenant?"
The look on his face was one of pure hate as he slowly stood up. He saluted angrily, and then gestured with his head to a Marine and spun on his heel, striding out of the CIC silently, with his head held high.
Next to Dee, Martins whistled, watching Hoshi's display. But the rest of the CIC was watching her, and when her eye fell on them, they all jerked back to their jobs. The CIC spun back into operation, and another officer quietly took Hoshi's post without comment.
Dee crossed her arms and stood at the command table. Good.
***
"Lieutenant Dualla," Admiral Adama said, "we need to talk."
"Yes, sir," Dee said, standing at parade rest in front of his desk. "I should explain-"
"I'm not interested in explanations," Adama said. "The sort of error I saw today is not the sort of error I'd expect from a lieutenant that has been proven to be an extremely competent Communications Officer for the past four years. It's also not the sort of error I'd expect from a Communications Officer as competent as Lieutenant Hoshi."
"Sir, I-"
"However," he continued, cutting her off with a stern look, "it is exactly the sort of error I would expect from an XO who can't control her crew."
That stung. Dee opened her mouth to protest, but Adama only had to give her that glance and all her words died on her lips in the face of his disappointment.
"I'm sorry, sir," she said, holding back tears and raising her chin. "It won't happen again."
"It had better not. Dismissed, Lieutenant."
She managed to get the door closed and to take several steps down the hall before the tears started to streak her face. She batted them away irritably.
"Lieutenant Dualla," a familiar voice said.
She wiped her face and turned around. "Colonel."
Tigh took her in, and then cracked a rare smile. He actually smiled. "Come have a drink, Lieutenant," he said, in a gruffly kind tone that Dee had rarely heard from him.
"Yes, sir," she said, falling in behind him.
He led her into his quarters and gestured to a chair and settled down across from her. There was no desk between them, and Dee felt like a child being given her first glass of wine as Tigh handed her the glass of whiskey. He took a sip, and then glanced at her and she did the same. She managed not to make a face at the bitter taste, and he smiled in approval.
"So," he said, "which one's giving you the trouble?"
"Sir?" she asked, surprised.
"Mine was Hershem," Tigh said, a little grin playing around the corners of his mouth. "He was the tactical officer when I was promoted. Found a way to deliberately misinterpret everything I'd say. Caused no small amount of trouble, I can tell you that. So which one is it?"
"Lieutenant Hoshi," Dee admitted.
"Hoshi, huh?" Tigh grunted. "Doesn't really seem the type. Wouldn't think he had it in him."
Dee shook her head once. "Frankly, sir? He's a complete bitch."
Tigh chuckled. "Well then, that should be easy enough. Just deal with him like you'd deal with yourself or Gaeta."
Dee froze. "Me or Gaeta, sir?"
"Oh, don't give me that wide-eyed innocent look. The pair of you were experts at being insubordinate without saying a word. Frustrating as hell, because it's nothing punishable. You're bad enough, but he was even worse about it than you are." But Tigh seemed amused, like a father now having to watch a difficult daughter deal with her own offspring.
Dee shook her head. "Hoshi's not like that," she said. "He's the one who nearly caused the Raptor accident this morning."
"Oh. That's different. So what are you going to do about it?"
"I don't know," Dee admitted. "I tossed him into the brig."
"Good start."
"The problem is," Dee said slowly, "I don't think that's going to help. When he went, he made it clear that a little brig time wasn't going to stop him. And he knows his job. We need him in the CIC, and he's smart enough to know it. I could keep him in there and only let him out to work, but I think he'll keep causing trouble when he's on duty, too. I don't have the authority to demote him myself, and I am not asking Lee or the Admiral to do it."
"I see your problem," Tigh grunted. "Some people are hellbent on making trouble." He chuckled dryly. "In that case, deal with him like you'd deal with Starbuck."
"Make his life completely miserable?" Dee asked with something like an evil smile.
"Good girl," Tigh said approvingly. "Find out more about him, what makes him tick." His eyes twinkled over his glass. "Believe me, I have a punishment in mind for every one of the crew, and most of 'em are different."
He clinked his glass against hers, and Dee wondered if she'd joined the dark side. But she saw exactly what Tigh meant, even as she wondered what her punishment would have been. "Thank you, sir."
"You're welcome."
She knocked back the rest of her whiskey with a smoothness that made him smile wider. "Sir?" she asked finally. "What happened to Hershem?"
"They still haven't found the body," Tigh said seriously, and then flashed a smile. "Nah, he was eventually promoted on a different battlestar. It all worked out in the end."
That actually made her feel much better. Dee stood up. "Thank you for the drink, Colonel," she said, and he patted her shoulder.
"You're welcome," he said. "We XOs have to stick together. It's a lonely position, Dee, but you're the right one for it. You'll show him, and when you show him, you'll show them all."
***
"I see Hoshi's following up his brig time with some more galley work," Lee said as they sat down to dinner four nights later. "Should I taste your food for you before you eat it?"
Dee smiled at him affectionately. "Funny."
Lee grinned. "What did he do this time?"
"It's not important." Dee picked up her fork and primly speared the root vegetables that had been found down on New Caprica. "He's just challenging me." And she'd caught him trying to convince their ground contact that Dee had signed off on an order for half the rations that she had. At least he'd scaled back from tampering with events involving heavy equipment, although she suspected that was out of respect for his crewmates than fear of her.
"Should I-"
"No," Dee said curtly, looking up at him. "Definitely not."
"Okay." Lee chewed thoughtfully. "I'm surprised he's giving you grief. He's a good guy. I actually thought the two of you would get along really well."
Dee forced casualness. "I've only been on the Pegasus for two weeks," she said. "He'll settle down."
"Yeah. At least he knows his job." Lee was so obviously approving. He picked up a glass of wine, and his smile widened. "Should we be saying anything to the Pegasus crew about next week?"
You know she's only XO because she's sleeping with the Commander. Dee shuddered. Having the Pegasus crew at her wedding would only emphasize that thought. "No," she said. "Let's keep it small."
Lee shrugged. "Okay." He reached across the table and took her hand. "It's really going to happen, Dee. And we're going to be happy."
She thought of the way her proposed, thought of Kara Thrace and her new promotion and the planet spinning below them. "You're right," she said, smiling her brightest smile. "We will be."
***
Two nights later they went over to the Galactica to have dinner with the Admiral.
When Adama greeted them, he made no mention of the Raptor incident, or a few misplaced calls. Instead, he hugged her and called her "Dee." His quarters were open and inviting, and the table was set for three.
"They sent up some more meat," Adama said, leading them both over to the table.
"Smells good," Lee said appreciatively. "Is that venison?"
"It is. If nothing else, that mudball is good for something."
"They've made a lot of progress on the settlement," Dee said.
"But they have a long way to go." But Adama smiled to take the sting from his comment. He turned to Dee and cleared his throat awkwardly. "I understand Mr. Gaeta is extremely happy down there," he said neutrally.
"He talked your ear off at Founders' Day, didn't he?" Dee asked, keeping her tone deliberately light, aware that Felix was a tricky subject with Adama. But Lee put his arm around her shoulders and laughed.
"Watch out, or you'll be hearing about infrastructure and finance records next week," he teased his father.
Adama smiled finally, and Dee breathed a little easier. "I assumed he'd be at the wedding."
"Yes. He's serving as my witness." Adama and Lee exchanged ruefully amused glances, and Dee wished that there was a female presence here, someone who would actually care about the details of her dress and how she envisioned the ceremony. Adama seemed like he was… lost on this particular subject.
"It's not going to be anything fancy," Lee warned.
"I didn't expect it to be. But it doesn't matter." Adama smiled at her. "It will be nice to have a Mrs. Adama in the family again." He patted her hand. "And I suppose now that we're settled and stable, under the regime of President Baltar, it's even possible to think about-"
"Dad, do not say the words 'Baltar' and 'babies' in the same sentence," Lee warned, heading Adama off at the pass.
All three of them laughed, and the subject changed instead to New Caprica and the evils of President Baltar. Dee noticed that Adama's eyes drifted to her often, and she wondered what he was thinking.
A "Mrs. Adama" in the family again. Was he missing his wife that he never mentioned? Lonely? Wishing that Kara Thrace was sitting her instead of her? Wishing that both she and Kara could be sitting here, with Kara married off to Zac and her with Lee? She liked the last thought best, but didn't want to dwell. But it was a lovely evening of candlelight, wine, and laughter, and the thought that in a week's time, she would be an Adama, too.
Lee piloted the Raptor back to the Pegasus. He was humming under his breath, happier than she'd seen him since Founders' Day.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked.
Lee laughed. "I thought we'd at least be able to get married before my father started bugging us for grandchildren." He didn't sound at all upset, though. "He's going to be the biggest pushover anywhere when we finally have a baby." Dee laughed, and reached over to touch Lee's hand. He turned his over and held onto hers tightly. "Dad's really happy about this," he told her. "And so am I."
"Good," Dee said, smiling. "Me, too."
***
Sara Martins was the NCO that thought Hoshi's little Raptor switch was so hysterical. She was taller than Dee, with long brown hair that she wore in a neat braid, huge brown eyes, and a face that was otherwise plain. In truth, when Dee had first come on the Pegasus she'd mistaken Hoshi and Martins for brother and sister for a moment.
Martins was sitting in the rec room, holding court over a triad game when Dee entered.
"Kitchen duty," she was scoffing. "If she honestly thinks kitchen duty or the brig is going to change how Hoshi thinks, she's got another think coming."
"Did you hear?" a knuckledragger named Rison leaned in. "She's actually marrying the Commander next week. Who would have thought?"
"Marrying, huh?" The speaker was a Raptor pilot with the call sign "Easy." "That actually makes me think better of her," she said.
"Better?" Martin said mockingly.
"Well, yeah. I mean, so far the ship's running smoothly. She knows her shit well enough, I'll give her that. And when there's only so many of us left and we're constantly stuck on the same ship, rank lines just don't matter so much anymore."
"You're just trying to justify the fact you're frakking Stinger."
"Not justify," Easy said. "But I have to admit, I get it. Tell me you don't eventually want to go down to New Caprica and start a family."
Martins snorted. "Hell, no. No kids for me." But Rison looked thoughtful.
"Yeah, I guess you've only got so many options to choose from," he admitted.
"Right," Easy said. She laid down a card. "Think about it. Less than 50,000 people left. That means maybe 25,000 men. And then cut out all the ones that are way too old and way too young… if you don't want to spend your life alone, sometimes you have to ignore things like rank."
Martins shook her head irritably. "Look, I don't care if she and the Commander have rainbows and hearts and flowers and hoards of fat babies. That's all fine. But there are plenty of officers that he could have picked for his XO. Including your precious Stinger."
"Cole's CAG," Easy said smugly. "He'd prefer that to XO."
Dee decided she'd heard enough. She slipped out of the rec room. It occurred to her that she rarely saw Tigh in the rec room on the Galactica, and she suspected this was why. It wasn't an XO's job to be liked. In fact, quite the opposite. And the crew needed a place to vent.
Of course, that left her with very few places she could retreat to.
She wandered the halls, looking purposeful but really having no clue where she was heading. She eventually found herself on the steps to the quiet hangar deck. No one was around, and it was as quiet as it got on a battlestar. She sat down slowly, enjoying the dim lighting of the inactive deck and the stillness. She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees and closed her eyes.
There was a clatter down on the hangar deck, startling her from her thoughts. Someone swore, and then started for the stairs. He was a tall, extremely good-looking man, with light, groomed hair and a strong chin. He was wearing green BDU pants and tanks, and was covered with grease. He stomped up the stairs, and then stopped as he encountered Dee.
"What are you doing?" he demanded.
Dee scooted over to the side. "Sorry. Didn't mean to be in the way," she muttered.
"Well, that's very commanding of you," the man said. He looked down at her, and smirked. "What's the matter? Nobody likes the new XO?"
Dee glared at him. "I'm not expecting to be liked," she said, keeping her voice strong and level. It wasn't hard to do. "Being liked isn't my job."
His smirk changed to a smile. "Well, at least you're realistic." He extended his hand. "I'm Narcho. Noel Allison."
She recognized the name. "You're a Viper pilot." He nodded. "What are you doing down on the deck?"
"Just lending a hand." Narcho sat down beside her, extending his legs. "I used to have a motorcycle back home. I miss it. I'm not qualified to tinker with a Viper, but I can at least play with some of the other stuff."
"Where was home?"
"Scorpia. How about you?"
Dee made a face. "Sagittaron."
Narcho looked at her with interest. "Really. Don't see too many of those in the military." He grinned wickedly. "The only other one I know is Hoshi. Who I hear," Narcho said, waggling his eyebrows meaningfully, "is giving you a hard time."
"Nothing I can't handle," Dee assured him. Narcho's grin only widened, and she found herself saying, "He's just spreading rumors that I slept my way into the XO's spot."
Narcho shrugged. "Well, you pretty much did, didn't you?"
That caught Dee totally off guard. "I didn't," she insisted.
"Actually, you did." Narcho seemed completely unaffected by his statement, however. He wrapped his hands around one of his knees and leaned back against the railing. "I mean, if you and Commander Adama have been together long enough that you're getting married in a week, you must have been sleeping with him for a while."
"But Admiral Adama doesn't know that. He knew nothing about our relationship until we told him we were engaged. And he's the one who promoted me. Not Lee."
"But Lee didn't exactly volunteer the information, did he? Might have even put in a good word for you?" Narcho persisted. "Look, all I'm saying is that from where I'm sitting, it sure as hell looks like you slept your way to the top."
It stung, and Dee had to look down for a moment so Narcho wouldn't see her expression. She wanted to continue arguing, but inside her, a little voice was saying he's right, you know. And once she listened to it, she couldn't ignore it. She took a breath and pushed her head back up, and smiled.
"So," she said. "Let's say I did sleep my way to the top. What the frak do I do about it now?"
"Hey, there's a reason I'm not XO," Narcho said. "You figure it out. But I'll tell you one thing. Hoshi hates being reminded that he's Sagittaron. If you want to fight dirty with him, that's the way to go."
"Thanks." Dee shook her head. "But why are you telling me this? It doesn't seem like it's Pegasus policy to be nice to the new resident slut."
"I'm not," Narcho denied. "I'm pissed at Hoshi. His little stunt nearly killed three of my friends. No matter how upset he is, nothing justifies that." Dee nodded, and Narcho stood up. He patted her on the shoulder. "Just one more thing," he said.
"What's that?"
"I'm not saying you taking this job isn't his problem, 'cause it is and he's got a right. But he's been getting worse with every new Commander and every new XO. Every time the command structure shifts, it reminds him that Belzen and Cain are dead, and believe me, that's not easy for him to deal with." Before Dee could comment or question, Narcho headed up the stairs, his boot steps echoing through the empty hangar deck.
She turned back around, and began to think. He hadn't given her much to go on, but he'd given her something, and that was a start. And more than that, Dee wondered if maybe she'd made her first friend on board the Pegasus.
***
Dee had just stepped out of the shower when she saw Hoshi stripping to get in. "So, Lieutenant," he said, with just a little too much emphasis on her rank, "are all the plans ready for the big day when Lee Adama finally makes an honest woman out of you?"
Dee smiled sweetly. "I was honest already, but yes. Jealous, are we?"
Hoshi snorted. "Like I'd want to sleep with Lee Adama."
Well, that made the Sagittaron thing make sense. "Maybe you should come," Dee said, toweling off. "My witness might be just your type. Although I think he prefers men that are a little less prone to getting people killed as a practical joke."
He glared at her. "It wasn't a joke," he said darkly, and then pulled the tanks off over his head. "So is your witness giving you away?" Hoshi asked, all knives and mocking. "Walking you down the aisle? Presenting you as a gift along with your dowry, or getting New Caprican cattle in return? Or command of a battlestar?"
"As a matter of fact, he is." Dee dropped her towel and struggled into her bra. "That's the thing about our Sagittaron traditions," she said, watching his face. And there it was, just like Narcho said, a wince. "They might have their roots in fundamental misogyny and pigheadedness, but these days they're about family. Personally, I think it's a lovely thought to have someone you love escort you down the aisle, don't you? Wouldn't you have wanted your father there?"
It was funny, because those words hurt her badly enough. But they really hit him, harder than she'd expected. He tossed his tanks into his locker with great force and slammed the door. "Frak off," he said, and headed for the shower. "And don't think I don't know that earned me another day in the galley," he said.
"Two in the sewage," she retorted. "Keep it up and it will be three." He glared at her, and then slammed the door on his stall.
She finished dressing in the ensuing silence, and left the head grinning with the satisfaction of a job well done.
***
Their wedding day was gray. Dee made a face when she saw the sky and shivered in the cold. She probably should be dressed in something more substantial than her sleeveless black dress, but the only other dress she'd found was the white one she'd worn when Billy was shot, and that wasn't appropriate. The scarf that she'd borrowed had already been used for three weddings in the Fleet, and was starting to show its age. It was silvery, with some fraying beading at the ends, and it was the closest she could get to a veil.
She stood on the shore of a river at a distance from the rest of the wedding party and waited. Finally, she saw Felix cutting through the trees, stepping carefully so he wouldn't splatter mud everywhere. From a distance he looked good in his suit, but as he got closer, she could see that he wasn't sleeping and looked a little strained. But she forced it away, because it was her wedding day, Gods damn it.
"Are you ready?" he asked her, with a smile.
Dee glanced back at the knot of people. She could see Lee, standing in his dress uniform, pretending not to look her way. Neither of them actually believed that hokey tradition about the groom not seeing the bride, but traditions were about all they had left. She loved him for understanding that, and turned back to Felix with a smile. "Not really how I pictured this," she admitted, holding out the scarf.
Felix took it from her, studied it like it was one of his nonlinear differential equations, and then cautiously draped it over her head. "Is this right?"
"I don't know. I've never gotten married before." But it felt like it would stay on if she took a step.
He touched the fabric gently. "Borrowed?"
"No, just something I happened to have in my storage locker." She glanced back at the bank, and she could see Admiral Adama now standing beside Lee. She took a deep breath. "I think I'm ready."
"You look beautiful," he said with a smile.
It was at that moment that Dee realized just how lonely she'd been these past three weeks on the Pegasus. She had Lee, but no one else. She missed having Felix to talk to and laugh with. She reached out and awkwardly hugged him, something she'd never been able to do because she'd been a petty officer and he'd been a lieutenant. "I'm glad you're here," she whispered.
He patted her shoulder awkwardly, and then took her hand. "Well," he said, "let's go."
She clung to his hand harder than she meant to as he walked her over to where Lee and the Admiral and the priest were waiting, and it occurred to her that she'd very much told Hoshi the truth. She wanted her family- whatever her family was- with her as she made this commitment. Especially, she thought, noting Starbuck standing in the gathering, as she wondered just how wise a commitment this was to be making.
But Lee's eyes stayed on her for the entire ceremony, and his smile was completely genuine. Dee knew him well enough to see that. She lost himself in her eyes, and when the priest asked her if she promised to love and cherish, she was able to say I do with all her heart.
And when they kissed, the Admiral was the first one to begin clapping.
***
Weddings weren't what they were before the attacks, that was for certain. The party afterwards was small and drab, and there was no honeymoon. But Dee couldn't have cared less. Lee was beside her the entire time, his arm around her waist or shoulders, his hand wandering to less appropriate places when he thought no one was looking. She had to keep swatting it away (and doing the same to him), both of them buoyant with laughter.
Before long, it was time to return to the Pegasus. Bill Adama came over and shook Lee's hand, and then kissed Dee on both cheeks. "I'm very glad you have you as a daughter," he murmured in her ear.
"Thank you," Dee answered, resisting the temptation to call him sir. She looked around at the small gathering. Helo and Starbuck and Laura Roslin were all laughing at something. Colonel Tigh and his wife were talking to Starbuck's new husband Anders. Felix was standing off to the side, fiddling with the cuffs of his new suit jacket and looking far away, but his smile turned real when he caught her watching. Kat and Hot Dog and Racetrack were trying to get dancing started to a wireless with incredibly bad reception. Everywhere there were happy faces… her Galactica family. Dee couldn't have been happier.
"Are you ready, Mrs. Adama?" Lee came up behind her. "If you'll excuse me, Dad, but I think my wife and I have some honeymooning to do…"
"Lee!" she protested, but Adama was laughing as well.
"Go on, you two. Have a… good time."
"Oh my gods," Dee said as they ducked into a Raptor, dodging thrown "flowers" that were more like weeds. "Your dad just told us to go have sex. That's something I just did not need to hear."
"Me either," Lee laughed. He guided the Raptor back up to the Pegasus. "That's funny," he said as he flew them in. "I thought-"
The rest of his sentence was cut off as they both noticed the banner and the streamers, and the entire crew standing at attention as their Raptor docked. "What the-" Lee began, but as they climbed off the Raptor, Captain Taylor and Lieutenant Finnegan both popped open champagne, and the cheering began.
Lee stood on the edge of the Raptor with his arm around her. "Thank you," he said, waving to them all. "This means so much to me- to us." And then they were caught in a crushing sea of congratulations.
Dee wasn't counting, but she was sure that Lee's hand was shaken twice as much as her own. It made sense, after all, as Lee had been on the Pegasus so much longer, and he was just… Lee. But it still felt odd.
"Congratulations, Lieutenant Adama."
Dee startled at the name, and jerked around to see Hoshi staring at her, with a blank expression on his face. "Thank you," she said cautiously, extending her hand. "But it's still Dualla. I'm keeping my name."
He ignored her proffered hand, and she pulled it back before anyone noticed. "How very… un-Sagittaron of you," he said waspishly. He glanced warily at Lee, who was talking enthusiastically to some of the pilots, and then extended a small, wrapped package to Dee. "I thought you might appreciate this."
Dee's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. Hoshi was the last person she expected to give her a wedding present. But she understood when she unrolled the wrapping to reveal a prayer icon of Hestia. "The goddess of hearth and home," she said dryly.
"And fertility," Hoshi added. "Given that you're a traditional, family-oriented Sagittaron girl, I figured you could make use of this. Pray for those babies to start coming as soon as possible." His grin had an edge of wickedness in it. "I know I will be." He drew back, saluted, and then melted back into the crowd.
Dee glared after him, and then Lee touched her hand and jerked her back to the present.
Goddess of fertility indeed. Frakking bastard.
On to Part 2