FIC: A Lot to Live Up To (Part 12)
Jul. 24th, 2009 07:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lls_mutantTitle: A Lot to Live Up To, Part 12
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lls_mutant
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Dee and Hoshi
Pairings: Dee/Lee, Hoshi/Gaeta, and past Hoshi/Narcho.
Summary: A hearing sets a precedent that no one really likes.
Spoilers: Eventually through the end, but this part just through A Day in the Life
Author's Note: Thanks to my awesome betatrovia!
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Pain and Heaven | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11
Dee remembered this. Everyone fussing over her, concerned and solicitous, but asking her to repeat her story and taking notes. It reminded her of shortly after the attacks, when the Centurions had boarded the Galactica and she'd been wounded. It also reminded her of debriefing after that night on Cloud Nine. Both made her think of Billy, and between that, it was making her even crankier than she would have been.
"Would someone please tell me what's going on?"
Adama and Tigh exchanged glances, and Tigh leaned in. "Lieutenant, we just need to hear it one more time."
Dee sighed heavily. "I was working at my station when I started feeling sick. I'd been helping Dr. Robert down in Dogsville, so I knew it was probably the Mellorak. I told him I didn't feel good, he gave me an injection-"
"What did the injection feel like?" Cottle interrupted.
"I don't know," Dee said irritably. "Like someone stuck a needle in my arm and actually hit their target." Cottle didn't react. "It burned a bit."
Adama and Tigh looked at Cottle, but he nodded. "Butamicin does that."
"Continue," Adama ordered.
"There's not much more to say," Dee insisted. "Dr. Robert gave me the injection and then gave me a sedative, and told me to sleep for a while on the cot. He said he'd make sure Lee knew where I was. I went to sleep like he told me to." She scowled at the faces watching her, but knew better than to argue too much about being questioned.
"Why did you go to Dr. Robert?" Adama asked.
Dee glanced at Cottle and flushed. "Dr. Cottle is a good surgeon, sir, or so I've been told. But when it comes to getting blood from me…"
Adama snorted. "Yeah. I know."
"It's usually clinicians who draw blood," Cottle informed them off-handedly. "Did Dr. Robert urge you to come to him if you exhibited symptoms?"
"No, sir."
"Did he point out you were exhibiting symptoms?"
"He didn't need to. But no, sir, the only person who had time to urge me to go to a doctor was Lieutenant Hoshi."
Cottle groaned. Adama looked over at him. "What?"
"I need to take a look at Hoshi's records."
Adama blinked twice, and then sighed. "Go do that, Doc," he said. "And any other Sagittarons we've got. I want to know how many of my people were affected by this." Cottle nodded. "Is Dee in any danger?" Adama asked.
"No. If he'd given her the poison-"
"The what?" Dee interrupted.
"-She'd be dead by now," Cottle said. "She needs more sleep, but she's on the mend."
"All right. Let's let her get some, then." Adama looked at Cottle. "Go check those records."
"Sir?" Dee asked.
Adama had stood up, but he turned back around. "Don't worry about it, Dee. Just get better as fast as you can." He patted her hand, and he and Tigh retreated.
To Dee's relief, Lee entered immediately, holding her clothing. "Get dressed," he told her, "at least enough so you aren't flashing the halls of Galactica. I cleared it with Cottle, and he says all you need is sleep. I'm taking you home."
***
It was so much better to be in her own bed, with no lights, no doctors, and no beeping. Just their blankets, her own tanks, and Lee, sitting over her and fussing. Dee nestled deeper into the pillows.
"How are you feeling?" Lee asked.
"Like shit," Dee admitted. "But better than I did." She fidgeted with the blanket. "Thank you for getting me out of there." Lee smiled and took her hand. Dee thought that if she needed proof that Lee did love her, here it really was. She hadn't had to ask and she didn't have to explain. She traced his fingers gratefully. "Lee, what was going on?"
Lee sighed. "Helo found out that Dr. Robert was poisoning some of the Sagittarons," he said.
Dee blinked. "I'm sorry," she said. "Poisoning?"
Lee nodded. "Poisoning. He killed four people, Cottle confirmed that with autopsies. Including a three year old girl."
Dee had been about to argue that maybe poison was an easier way to die than Mellorak, but as soon as Lee said three year old girl any protests she might have made died on her lips. She lay back, blinking and trying to process it.
"Are you okay?" Lee finally asked her.
"Yeah. I… I just…" Dee shook her head.
"You're all right, you know. Cottle checked you out thoroughly."
Dee nodded absently. "It's just a shock," she said. She could intellectually believe it- Tigh, Adama, and Cottle wouldn't joke around with something like a murder charge against one of the Fleet's few doctors- but emotionally… "Is there anyone else that Cottle's worried about?"
Lee sighed. "The whole of Dogsville," he said. "Since the Sagittarons aren't accepting the medication- and believe me, any that might have considered it most definitely aren't willing now- he's very worried that the epidemic will spread. And we don't have the supplies to inoculate everyone. But he's pretty sure that no one else has been poisoned this time."
"This time?"
"Helo found records from New Caprica. Dr. Robert's mortality rate on New Caprica for Sagittaron patients was something like ninety percent."
"New Caprica wasn't exactly hospitable."
"It was only fifteen to twenty percent for the other nationalities." Lee sighed. "Cottle admits that his Sagittaron percentage is higher as well, because by the time that most Sagittarons are willing to come for medicine, it's too late." Dee nodded. "But ninety percent…" Lee shook his head. "But don't worry about it right now."
"What are they going to do?" Dee asked.
Lee shrugged. "A trial, first, I'm sure. Then they'll figure it out." He poured her a glass of water and handed it to her, along with some pills. "Cottle said to take these." Dee obeyed, and gratefully drank the water Lee gave her. Her mouth was dry and bitter. "Now, Lieutenant" Lee said, adjusting the blanket, "your orders are to sleep some more, and not let this bother you right now. Get better. They need you in CIC, and I just need you."
Dee smiled sleepily. "All right," she said, obediently closing her eyes.
It wasn't hard to drift off, but when she slept, her dreams were troubled.
***
"You look tired," Dee said as she slid her tray beside Louis's two days later. "Have you been sick as well?"
Louis shook his head, and Dee exhaled in relief. But he didn't smile. "It's just…" he stabbed his algae with his fork, and then glanced around the mess hall. "I spent the night with Felix last night," he said.
"That's not a bad thing, is it?" Dee said, her brow furrowing.
Louis managed a small, tight smile. "No, not a bad thing. And part of it is just trying to wedge two grown men into one rack. It's been a long time since either of us have done that for a night, and working the shifts we do, we don't get that much practice." He fiddled with his fork. "Even with Noel, after the attacks, we never really… anyway, yeah. Racks aren't built for two."
"They're not," Dee agreed neutrally.
Louis just closed his eyes and leaned forward, massaging his temples. "Felix had a nightmare last night." The words sort of burst out of him. "He was crying- literally crying- in his sleep."
"What was it about?" Dee asked.
"I don't know. He said he didn't know. But Gods, Dee, you should have seen him. He was white as a ghost, and he was sweating, and I've got this huge bruise on my ribs where he elbowed me." Louis rubbed his face. "I've never seen anything like it. I mean, everyone has nightmares these days, but this…."
"New Caprica?" Dee hazarded.
"I asked the same thing. It's got to be- he said he's never had nightmares like this before then." He sighed. "I feel like I only know the surface of it, like something else horrible happened there that he hasn't told me."
"Well," Dee said, looking down at her plate, "he did have a bad experience with Baltar."
"Yes," Louis agreed, drawing the syllable out, "and I'm not going to deny that. I know he loved him, but look, I've been hurt that bad before. It feels like your heart's ripped out, it hurts worse than anything… but it's not the kind of thing that makes you wake up white and gasping for breath, you know? He wasn't just sad. He was afraid. I think whatever he was dreaming about had nothing to do with Baltar."
"Well, not directly," Dee said. "Everything on New Caprica comes back to Gaius Baltar."
"Fair enough," Louis agreed. "Look, please don't tell Felix-"
"I won't," Dee promised.
"Thanks." Louis sat back and cleared his throat. "By the way, did you get a subpoena yet?"
"A subpoena?"
"For Dr. Robert's hearing?"
"No," Dee said. "Should I be expecting one?"
Louis shrugged. "I got one," he said. "And given Helo's panic attack when he found you down in Dogsville…"
"Yeah," Dee said mournfully. "I'll be expecting it."
***
The television in the rec room was grainy and didn't get the best reception, but the screens of the Colonies were memories often best forgotten. Dee settled down at a table with Lee and Felix to watch the news. The familiar Colonial theme played, and the conversations in the room quieted down a notch.
"Good evening. I'm Playa Palacios, and this is the Fleet News broadcast, on the two hundred and sixty third day following the second Exodus. Our top story tonight: Former President Gaius Baltar has been apprehended and is being held aboard the Galatica, awaiting trial for crimes against humanity."
"So the press finally got the story, huh?" Racetrack chuckled. "Everyone's known that."
Dee looked over at Felix, who didn't look back at her. He just stared straight ahead.
"I wonder how the other ships are taking it," Lee muttered. He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, interest sparking in his eyes. "And the fact we've been keeping it quiet so long."
"It was best that way, I suppose," Dee said. "Most people still haven't healed from New Caprica." On the screen, Playa was summarizing the other news stories of the day, including a report on the ongoing space issues and a summation of a ruling the Quorum had passed regarding intraFleet travel. "I'm surprised I haven't seen anything on Robert's trial." She had gotten her subpoena, just as Louis had predicted, and it was set for three days from now.
Lee shrugged. "I'm not. They don't want to make a big deal of it in case he's found innocent."
"But he-"
"Shh!" Hot Dog shushed them. Playa had returned to talking about Baltar and his trial.
"-Aboard the Galactica for several weeks. The Admiral and the President have no comment on that particular aspect, but Jeanne Tracey was able to obtain a five minute interview with the former president. Let's take a look at that footage…"
Felix looked away in disgust as Baltar appeared on the screen, long haired, disheveled and unshaven. Someone in the back booed, and a splattering of algae hit the screen. "Hey!" Lee shouted, standing up and slipping into CAG mode. "Don't mess with the equipment, all right?"
"Sorry, sir."
Lee didn't bother to locate the source.
"And you've been treated well?" the reporter was asking Baltar.
"If you define well as being imprisoned, threatened, sleep-deprived, tortured with psychotropic drugs, and stabbed with a pen well, then yes."
"Stabbed with a pen?" Hot Dog chortled it the same time as Jean asked the same question. Dee and Lee both looked at Felix, who was sitting incredibly still, eyes wide, very much like the quintessential deer caught in headlights.
"Yes, my former aide de camp," Baltar said, and the entire room turned and looked at Felix. "Fortunately, he missed."
Felix buried his head in his arms.
"I can't believe Dad's allowing this," Lee said, staring at the screen in shock.
"What can he do?" Dee asked. "He can't tear them off the air right now." She put a cautious hand on Felix's back. He didn't move.
"But to even let them down into the brig in the first place… He should have-"
"Hey, Gaeta," Twofer shouted from the back, "couldn't have used a gun?"
"Haven't you heard?" someone else shouted, "the pen is mightier than the sword!"
"Everyone thinks that joke is funny," Felix scowled. He shrugged off Dee's hand, stood up, and headed for the door. But as he did, several pilots got to their feet and began to applaud. Felix stopped and turned around, wide-eyed. Dee supposed she couldn't blame him- he'd been shunned by so many of the crew for so long. But there was Easy, Twofer, Shambles and Ramper- all pilots who had mustered out, all pilots who had been on New Caprica- standing and clapping. Felix nodded stiffly and then left.
Dee turned to Lee, who was watching the room thoughtfully. "What?" she asked him.
"I don't know," Lee said, watching the faces in the room. There was so much anger brewing here, Dee realized, and so much hate. "I just have a feeling this trial is going to be trouble."
"It's Gaius Baltar," Dee sighed. "How can it not be? Maybe they should just have executed him before anyone found out." She thought of all the wounds that would be ripped open anew as this trial proceeded, all the wounds that Felix would have ripped open.
"I'm glad they didn't do that," Lee said. "It would have been murder. This way, it's justice." His face was set in firm lines that made him look like a statue of the god he'd gotten his callsign from, and Dee couldn't help but smile.
***
The hearing for Dr. Michael Robert, however, wasn't a media circus, and it wasn't held in a giant courtroom with a tribunal of judges. It was held in a small conference room on Galactica, with the doctors in the Fleet, Larissa Adell, captain of the Demetrius, and few people in attendance. No press was allowed in. Dr. Robert sat at a table, wearing the same scrubs he'd been wearing when he'd been taken away; cloth wasn't allotted for prison jumpsuits.
Dee sat next to Louis. His face was impassive, the same sort of look he usually had in the CIC, as he listened to Helo describe how he'd discovered that Dr. Robert had murdered Sagittarons, not only on Galactica but on New Caprica. The faces of the doctors were similar to Louis's; impassive, cold, and detached.
"Thank you, Captain Agathon," Dr. Gerard said, looking down at his notes. He leaned over towards a woman that had been identified as Dr. Stoffa and whispered something to her. She listened and nodded. Dr. Robert was watching Helo with hatred clearly written across his face. Helo's testimony was completely damning, and although one could make a case for improper procedures for obtaining evidence or whatever lawyers called it, Dee had the distinct impression that it wouldn't matter. Her impression was only strengthened by the stern look on Cottle's face.
Dr. Gerard tapped his pen. "I think that's all pretty clear," he said. He looked down at his notes. "Lieutenant Hoshi, can we have you up here, please?"
Louis stood, and Dee noticed two things: one, Dr. Robert didn't look at him, and two, there was no lawyer in the room.
What the frak was this, anyway?
"Lieutenant Hoshi," Dr. Gerard said, as Hoshi awkwardly settled into the seat, "I understand you've been a patient of Robert's, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"I'm not terribly interested about your time on Galactica. Cottle's gone over that with me, and that all seems to be in order. What I am interested in is the fact you had a bone marrow biopsy done on New Caprica, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"And what were the results?"
"Negative, sir."
"Did you have any reason to believe they might be positive?"
Louis shrugged. "I thought they would be. Something turned up in my bloodwork. Every other time that's happened and I got sent for a biopsy, the biopsy came back positive. But I figured that Captain Raimens on the Pegasus wasn't that used to looking for AML, or that he was being overcautious."
"Your leukemia is recurring, am I correct?"
"Yes, sir."
"So you've had bone marrow biopsies before."
"Yes, sir."
"Was this one any different?" Louis looked down at his hands for a long time. Dee edged forward, because this was the first time his answer hadn't come quickly. "Lieutenant Hoshi?"
"I wasn't given a local anesthetic."
Dee's eyes widened, and the doctors perked up interest as well, except for Dr. Robert, who now buried his face in his arms. "You weren't given a local?" Cottle asked, leaning forward.
"No, sir. But medical supplies were low on New Caprica at the time. That's what Dr. Robert told me, and I believed him. I'd delivered supplies from the Pegasus to Dr. Cottle the day before."
"There was enough local to give a man having a bone marrow biopsy one!" Cottle said, looking over at Robert. "Or at least a frakking drink!"
Dr. Gerard sighed. "So, no local." He looked away from Louis. "Tell me something, Dr. Robert. Did you lie about the test results?"
Their eyes clashed, and Dee held her breath. Finally, Dr. Robert turned to look at Louis. "I'm sorry," he said to Louis, "but I did. I never ran the tests. When you came in, you were wearing civilian clothing and made no mention of your rank. I didn't realize that you were…"
"That I was what?" Louis asked, his eyes narrowing. "Human?"
"I didn't realize that you were military," Dr. Robert said, speaking directly to Louis. "You told me your history, told me you were Sagittaron, but you never told me you were in the military."
"We talked for two minutes," Louis said sternly. "You made it pretty clear you were busy. Ishay did the prep and recovery work."
Dr. Robert ignored that. "If I'd known you were military, I would have done everything I could to save you. In fact, once I knew you were military, I did do everything I could to save you. Her, too, for that matter," Dr. Robert said, glancing over at Dee.
"And what did you do in your office back on the Colonies?" Louis demanded. "When a Sagittaron walked in, did you tell them to get out? Refuse to treat them? Demand insurance paperwork they didn't have?"
"A Sagittaron never did walk in!" Dr. Robert protested. "Sagittarons don't walk into doctor's offices."
"Some do," Louis shot back. "But once we're in there, we're made to crawl."
Understanding lit Dr. Robert's face. "This isn't about me for you, is it? This is about how you've been treated before this."
"Like hell it isn't!" Dee drew back, recognizing that danger look on Hoshi's face. "You didn't test the bone marrow you took without a local- which was hell, I might add? How the frak do you think this isn't about you?"
"Well, you're still alive!" Dr. Robert retorted.
"That's not the point!" Cottle interjected. "If that leukemia had been any further along, he very well might not be!"
"All right, we get the picture," Captain Adell broke in. "Lieutenant Hoshi, when you, er, started being treated for leukemia again, did Robert mistreat you in any way?"
"No," Louis said. "That's why this is all…" he clamped his mouth shut, but Dee knew what he'd wanted to say. That's why this is all such a shock. That's why this hurts. I trusted you, and you frakked me over. Louis shook himself. "I even invited him to the bar for a drink when I was officially in remission."
Captain Adell nodded. "Anyone else have any other questions for Lieutenant Hoshi?" There was a general shaking of heads, and Dee thought that Dr. Robert looked truly miserable. Louis stood up and swept by him, returning to his seat. Dr. Robert opened his mouth as he passed by, and Dee was sure he was about to say something apologetic. But the moment passed.
"Lieutenant Dualla?" Dr. Gerard called. "Might as well get the three of you out of here."
Dee's own questioning was brief and reminiscent of the questions that Colonel Tigh and Admiral Adama had asked her. She was grateful when they were done, and when they were released. All three of them made their way out into the hall.
"This will take a while," Cottle told them as they exited the room. "I wouldn't wait around." The hatch closed.
Helo stared at it for a long time. "I hope they put him away until we find Earth," he said, his tone more strident and vicious than Dee was used to hearing from him. "I can't believe…" his jaw squared as he stopped talking, and then he looked over at Louis. "Are you all right?" he asked.
"I'm fine," Louis said shortly. He checked his watch. "Frak. I've got duty in a half-hour. So much for a downshift." He nodded curtly to them, and then stalked off. Helo watched him go.
"He's not all right," he observed.
"He will be," Dee said. "You knew, right?"
"Bits and pieces," Helo confirmed. "I was XO when he was diagnosed. He made it pretty clear he didn't want to talk about it, so I never asked anything more." Helo shrugged. "Glad he made it through okay, although it sounds like it was a close call." He squeezed her arm. "Glad you made it through the Mellorak okay. And Dr. Robert." He smiled, but his face quickly turned serious again. "How are you doing?"
"More upset about Louis than I am about myself," Dee admitted. "He gave me the medicine."
"But still-"
"I know. You know what the worst part is?" she asked as they fell into step together. "I don't know what I'd do to him. Not treating Sagittarons-"
"It's not the fact he didn't treat them," Helo pointed out. "It's the fact he poisoned them. There's a difference."
"I know," Dee sighed. "I just really liked him."
"Yeah," Helo said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I did, too."
***
They were all certain that there would be a trial, and that Dr. Robert would be convicted quickly. "The evidence is just overwhelming," Louis told Dee as they jogged around the ship four days later. "I'm not sure what they'll do, but I-"
"Lieutenants," Colonel Tigh appeared in front of them, bringing both Dee and Louis up suddenly. "The Admiral wants to speak to both of you."
"Aye, sir," Louis said, slowing down to a walk and following on Tigh's heels. Dee swallowed. It had to be about Robert. Either that, or Gage had blown up the communications console.
Adama was sitting at his desk and looked up when they both walked in. He looked tired, Dee thought; tired and slightly defeated. It wasn't a look she was used to seeing on his face.
"Lieutenant Hoshi. Lieutenant Dualla." Despite the fact they were both in sweats, Dee and Louis drew to attention. "Have a seat." They both obeyed, and Adama sighed. He didn't, however, set down his pen; he kept staring at the desk, glancing up at them every now and then. It was a sure sign he didn't like what he was about to tell them. "The board, I guess we're calling it, as come to a decision about Michael Robert."
Dee raised her eyebrows, and Louis leaned forward slightly. "Sir?"
"The decision is to suspend a trial at this time. Dr. Robert will be placed on probation, and assigned to the Zephyr. All of his patients are to be cleared through the board, and he's never to so much as take a temperature without a nurse in the room. Once we find Earth, they'll reopen the matter. The proceedings," Adama paused, writing something out, "the proceedings of the hearing are to be kept strictly confidential. The board has determined that Dr. Robert is only a threat to the Sagittarons, and the last thing we need is a Fleet-wide panic."
Dee stared at Adama. When she looked over at Louis, his mouth hanging open and his eyes baffled, she knew his face was a mirror of her own. "Sir," Louis managed to say, his voice sounding strangled. "Are you saying…?"
"I am saying, Mr. Hoshi, that I don't want to hear a word of this." Adama finally looked up. "As much as I hate to admit it, this Fleet needs doctors. Even taking one out of rotation creates problems we aren't prepared to face."
"But he poisoned people!" Louis protested. "And you're just going to sit there and let him go and take his word that he won't do it again? He killed a three year old girl!"
Adama's face darkened. "That's enough, Mr. Hoshi."
Louis bit his lip and subsided. "I apologize, sir," he said stiffly.
Adama gave such a short, quick nod that Dee barely caught it. All he said was, "That's the decision. You're both dismissed." And he turned back to his writing.
Dee got to her feet. She glared at Adama, but he didn't look up. He just kept writing.
But when she looked more closely, his hand was shaking.
***
"So, did Dad talk to you about Dr. Robert?" Lee asked later that night.
"Yes," Dee said shortly.
Lee smiled and kissed her cheek as he hung up his jacket. "He said Hoshi mouthed off to him a bit."
Despite herself, Dee snorted. "The Admiral thinks that was Hoshi mouthing off?" she said.
"Not one of his finer performances?"
"Seriously lacking in the vitriol," Dee agreed. She sat down on the bed. "I'm sure Helo had… words about the subject."
"I might have gotten an earful or two," Lee agreed.
"And do you agree with them?"
"Helo and Hoshi? Or the board's decision?"
"Either."
"Yes."
"That was highly edifying."
Lee laughed, and sat down on the bed across from her. "No, what Dr. Robert did was unforgivable," he agreed. "You don't abuse people's trust like that, and you don't… well, I don't need to spell it out. But at the same time, I see why they made the decision they did. It is survival, Dee."
"Survival. What about justice?"
Lee sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Any other time in our lives I would have agreed with you. But say we put Robert out the airlock today, and an epidemic spreads tomorrow. Or Cottle dies of smoke asphyxiation. What happens then? Where does that leave the thousands of people that need medical treatment? Dr. Robert was right when he said someone has to make the hard decisions, and the board made one. Everything in me tells me that he should be locked up forever and we should throw away the key. But we just can't do it, Dee. It's shooting ourselves in the foot."
"And the people that died?"
Lee shook his head. "Killing Robert won't bring them back anyway," he pointed out. "It will only make it harder to save other lives." He sighed. "There's something else you should know. Dad had me read the proceedings."
Dee shrugged uncomprehendingly. "So?"
"Well, I'm assuming AML stands for acute myeloid leukemia, and not Aerelon Military Legion, which was the only other use of the initials I could find in my search."
"Oh, frak," Dee sighed. "Yeah. It does."
Lee looked baffled. "Why all the secrecy?" he asked. "Why's he hiding it?"
Dee shrugged. "It's private. He doesn't talk about it much."
"It’s not something to be ashamed of," Lee said. "Look at President Roslin. She had breast cancer and everyone in the Fleet knew it."
"And she probably would have kept it secret if she could," Dee riposted. "But her situation was a little bit different."
"But still-"
"Come on, Lee," Dee said. "Neither of us have picked up the comm unit and said attention all hands, Lieutenant Dualla is recovering just fine from her ectopic pregnancy. There are other reasons besides shame to keep silent."
"I guess," Lee conceded.
Dee softened. "Part of it is that he's afraid it would change people's opinions of him. Make them think there are things that he can and can't do."
"I wouldn't think that," Lee immediately denied.
"Maybe not," Dee said, "but it is a risk."
"If anything, it makes me think better of him. I wouldn't have thought that he had that kind of guts. Dad said he was there for one of the bone marrow biopsies, and that he nearly passed out watching it." Lee smiled. "And it sure changed your opinion of him."
"No, it didn't," Dee contradicted.
"Sure it did," Lee laughed. "You went into the infirmary hating his guts, and you came out practically best friends."
Dee pulled her knees up close to her chest and rested her chin on them, thinking about that. "No," she finally decided. "That's definitely not true. It was much more gradual than that."
Lee smiled, but it was his dismissive, whatever smile. Dee thought about arguing more, but decided it wasn't worth it. Instead, she just let him reach out and cup her cheek. "Anyway," he said, smiling at her, "I'm just relieved that you were all right. I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost you."
She leaned into his caress and smiled, and he ran his thumb over her cheek.
***
"The thing is," Louis said, lining up his shot, "I just feel like it sets this dangerous precedent. Like, it's fine to do what you want, as long as you're essential to the survival of the Fleet."
"Starbuck," Noel pointed out as Louis knocked the seven into the corner pocket.
"Fair enough," Louis agreed. "And Tigh and Tyrol and their buddies, for that matter." He looked over his shoulder at Felix, who was leaning on his pool cue. "But I wonder what would have happened if he was poisoning Capricans. Or even Taurons or Aerelons."
"Probably the same exact thing," Dee said. Louis scratched, and she scooped the cue ball out of the pocket.
"Except that there are more Capricans or Taurons wandering around the Fleet," Felix pointed out. "The Sagittarons tend to stick together."
"My point remains the same," Louis said. "It's still a dangerous precedent to be setting. Especially if they're going to try Baltar."
Dee neatly knocked the six into the side pocket. "What do you mean?" Dee asked, setting up her next shot. "Baltar isn't going to walk. There's no way."
"And he's not exactly essential to the survival of the Fleet," Noel pointed out. "Nice shot, Dee!" He shot a triumphant smirk at Felix and Louis. Felix made a face back. "I mean, what does the guy do besides drink, have sex, and screw everyone over?"
"He is brilliant," Felix admitted, like someone was pulling teeth.
"So are you, baby," Louis said, patting Felix on the shoulder. Dee and Noel glanced at each other and smothered snickers. But Felix just shook his head.
"I'm not like Gaius," he said. "Gaius was one of the greatest minds in the Colonies, and is the greatest mind left alive. When he chooses to actually use it," he added bitterly. "I don't have the intuition and the understanding that he does."
"But getting him to use it is a whole other issue," Dee pointed out. "I mean, what good is that mind if he won't put it to use?"
"Exactly," Louis agreed.
"Which means?" Noel prompted.
"It means that the precedent that they're setting here with Dr. Robert is dangerous," Louis said, scowling.
"It's not going to happen, though," Dee insisted. "It can't happen."
"Actually," Felix said, "it could."
They all stopped and looked at him.
"Felix," Louis began, but Felix cut him off with an angry shake of his head.
"I'm not saying it should," he said. "Is it my shot?" He lined it up and scratched, and then swore. "I'm saying that it could."
"How?" Dee demanded.
"Well, the Cylons basically told Baltar that surrender was the only option. If he'd resisted-"
"He would have been killed," Noel said.
"Yeah, but he could say that eventually they would have gotten sick of killing leaders, especially the Cavils. They would have just nuked the place. I don't agree with that, but a lot of people might see the logic in that."
"I guess," Dee said dubiously, even though she knew Felix was right on that one. "But beyond that…"
"Beyond that, most of his advisors are either dead, collaborators, or were in prison the whole time. No one was there in his office through the whole occupation. I mean, we all know that he frakked things up, but no one saw him do it."
"No one except you," Louis said into the ensuing silence.
"Yeah," Felix said, considering that. "No one except me."
They stood there for a long moment.
"Hey!" Showboat was standing nearby. "Are you guys going to finish your game or not? Because if you're not, let other people use the table!"
Felix glared at her, shot the final ball in, and then tossed her the cue. "Here," he said, and retreated to the table where their bottle was waiting. Dee, Noel, and Louis all exchanged glances and then joined him.
"Felix," Dee finally asked, after they sat in silence, "are you being called as a witness?"
"No one's said anything about it," Felix said, "but I can't imagine I won't be. I was his frakking chief of staff."
Noel considered it. "If no one was there but you, and it comes down to your word against his…"
"Noel!" Dee was the one to actually say it, but they were all thinking it. And yet… And yet they were all thinking that Noel might be right, too. Dee looked at Felix to see his reaction.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "It won't come to that." He scoffed. "After all, what do I know about law? They won't let him walk. Not after what he's done." He snorted. "I can't imagine the defense will even care all that much."
"That's right," Noel agreed, jumping on it. "They'll get some two-bit lawyer in just to make a show of it, to make it look like they're giving him a fair trial, and then they'll go through the case and toss him out the airlock."
Felix nodded, and Louis raised his glass, muttering, "so say we all." But even though Dee smiled and clinked her glass to Louis's, she thought it might not be that easy.
***
"Hey. You're home earlier than I thought," Dee said, as she let herself into their quarters.
"Yeah, well, I had some reading I wanted to do," Lee said. He held up a thick book. "It was my grandfather's, if you can believe that. Dad gave it to me a few weeks ago."
She'd known… everyone knew that Joseph Adama had been a lawyer. And Lee had told her, a long time ago, about how he'd considered going into law. And yet, for some reason, a shiver passed down Dee's spine as she looked at the law books her husband was reading. She ignored it and kissed him on the lips.
On to Part 13
Author:
lls_mutantRating: PG-13
Characters: Dee and Hoshi
Pairings: Dee/Lee, Hoshi/Gaeta, and past Hoshi/Narcho.
Summary: A hearing sets a precedent that no one really likes.
Spoilers: Eventually through the end, but this part just through A Day in the Life
Author's Note: Thanks to my awesome beta
trovia!Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Pain and Heaven | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11
Dee remembered this. Everyone fussing over her, concerned and solicitous, but asking her to repeat her story and taking notes. It reminded her of shortly after the attacks, when the Centurions had boarded the Galactica and she'd been wounded. It also reminded her of debriefing after that night on Cloud Nine. Both made her think of Billy, and between that, it was making her even crankier than she would have been.
"Would someone please tell me what's going on?"
Adama and Tigh exchanged glances, and Tigh leaned in. "Lieutenant, we just need to hear it one more time."
Dee sighed heavily. "I was working at my station when I started feeling sick. I'd been helping Dr. Robert down in Dogsville, so I knew it was probably the Mellorak. I told him I didn't feel good, he gave me an injection-"
"What did the injection feel like?" Cottle interrupted.
"I don't know," Dee said irritably. "Like someone stuck a needle in my arm and actually hit their target." Cottle didn't react. "It burned a bit."
Adama and Tigh looked at Cottle, but he nodded. "Butamicin does that."
"Continue," Adama ordered.
"There's not much more to say," Dee insisted. "Dr. Robert gave me the injection and then gave me a sedative, and told me to sleep for a while on the cot. He said he'd make sure Lee knew where I was. I went to sleep like he told me to." She scowled at the faces watching her, but knew better than to argue too much about being questioned.
"Why did you go to Dr. Robert?" Adama asked.
Dee glanced at Cottle and flushed. "Dr. Cottle is a good surgeon, sir, or so I've been told. But when it comes to getting blood from me…"
Adama snorted. "Yeah. I know."
"It's usually clinicians who draw blood," Cottle informed them off-handedly. "Did Dr. Robert urge you to come to him if you exhibited symptoms?"
"No, sir."
"Did he point out you were exhibiting symptoms?"
"He didn't need to. But no, sir, the only person who had time to urge me to go to a doctor was Lieutenant Hoshi."
Cottle groaned. Adama looked over at him. "What?"
"I need to take a look at Hoshi's records."
Adama blinked twice, and then sighed. "Go do that, Doc," he said. "And any other Sagittarons we've got. I want to know how many of my people were affected by this." Cottle nodded. "Is Dee in any danger?" Adama asked.
"No. If he'd given her the poison-"
"The what?" Dee interrupted.
"-She'd be dead by now," Cottle said. "She needs more sleep, but she's on the mend."
"All right. Let's let her get some, then." Adama looked at Cottle. "Go check those records."
"Sir?" Dee asked.
Adama had stood up, but he turned back around. "Don't worry about it, Dee. Just get better as fast as you can." He patted her hand, and he and Tigh retreated.
To Dee's relief, Lee entered immediately, holding her clothing. "Get dressed," he told her, "at least enough so you aren't flashing the halls of Galactica. I cleared it with Cottle, and he says all you need is sleep. I'm taking you home."
***
It was so much better to be in her own bed, with no lights, no doctors, and no beeping. Just their blankets, her own tanks, and Lee, sitting over her and fussing. Dee nestled deeper into the pillows.
"How are you feeling?" Lee asked.
"Like shit," Dee admitted. "But better than I did." She fidgeted with the blanket. "Thank you for getting me out of there." Lee smiled and took her hand. Dee thought that if she needed proof that Lee did love her, here it really was. She hadn't had to ask and she didn't have to explain. She traced his fingers gratefully. "Lee, what was going on?"
Lee sighed. "Helo found out that Dr. Robert was poisoning some of the Sagittarons," he said.
Dee blinked. "I'm sorry," she said. "Poisoning?"
Lee nodded. "Poisoning. He killed four people, Cottle confirmed that with autopsies. Including a three year old girl."
Dee had been about to argue that maybe poison was an easier way to die than Mellorak, but as soon as Lee said three year old girl any protests she might have made died on her lips. She lay back, blinking and trying to process it.
"Are you okay?" Lee finally asked her.
"Yeah. I… I just…" Dee shook her head.
"You're all right, you know. Cottle checked you out thoroughly."
Dee nodded absently. "It's just a shock," she said. She could intellectually believe it- Tigh, Adama, and Cottle wouldn't joke around with something like a murder charge against one of the Fleet's few doctors- but emotionally… "Is there anyone else that Cottle's worried about?"
Lee sighed. "The whole of Dogsville," he said. "Since the Sagittarons aren't accepting the medication- and believe me, any that might have considered it most definitely aren't willing now- he's very worried that the epidemic will spread. And we don't have the supplies to inoculate everyone. But he's pretty sure that no one else has been poisoned this time."
"This time?"
"Helo found records from New Caprica. Dr. Robert's mortality rate on New Caprica for Sagittaron patients was something like ninety percent."
"New Caprica wasn't exactly hospitable."
"It was only fifteen to twenty percent for the other nationalities." Lee sighed. "Cottle admits that his Sagittaron percentage is higher as well, because by the time that most Sagittarons are willing to come for medicine, it's too late." Dee nodded. "But ninety percent…" Lee shook his head. "But don't worry about it right now."
"What are they going to do?" Dee asked.
Lee shrugged. "A trial, first, I'm sure. Then they'll figure it out." He poured her a glass of water and handed it to her, along with some pills. "Cottle said to take these." Dee obeyed, and gratefully drank the water Lee gave her. Her mouth was dry and bitter. "Now, Lieutenant" Lee said, adjusting the blanket, "your orders are to sleep some more, and not let this bother you right now. Get better. They need you in CIC, and I just need you."
Dee smiled sleepily. "All right," she said, obediently closing her eyes.
It wasn't hard to drift off, but when she slept, her dreams were troubled.
***
"You look tired," Dee said as she slid her tray beside Louis's two days later. "Have you been sick as well?"
Louis shook his head, and Dee exhaled in relief. But he didn't smile. "It's just…" he stabbed his algae with his fork, and then glanced around the mess hall. "I spent the night with Felix last night," he said.
"That's not a bad thing, is it?" Dee said, her brow furrowing.
Louis managed a small, tight smile. "No, not a bad thing. And part of it is just trying to wedge two grown men into one rack. It's been a long time since either of us have done that for a night, and working the shifts we do, we don't get that much practice." He fiddled with his fork. "Even with Noel, after the attacks, we never really… anyway, yeah. Racks aren't built for two."
"They're not," Dee agreed neutrally.
Louis just closed his eyes and leaned forward, massaging his temples. "Felix had a nightmare last night." The words sort of burst out of him. "He was crying- literally crying- in his sleep."
"What was it about?" Dee asked.
"I don't know. He said he didn't know. But Gods, Dee, you should have seen him. He was white as a ghost, and he was sweating, and I've got this huge bruise on my ribs where he elbowed me." Louis rubbed his face. "I've never seen anything like it. I mean, everyone has nightmares these days, but this…."
"New Caprica?" Dee hazarded.
"I asked the same thing. It's got to be- he said he's never had nightmares like this before then." He sighed. "I feel like I only know the surface of it, like something else horrible happened there that he hasn't told me."
"Well," Dee said, looking down at her plate, "he did have a bad experience with Baltar."
"Yes," Louis agreed, drawing the syllable out, "and I'm not going to deny that. I know he loved him, but look, I've been hurt that bad before. It feels like your heart's ripped out, it hurts worse than anything… but it's not the kind of thing that makes you wake up white and gasping for breath, you know? He wasn't just sad. He was afraid. I think whatever he was dreaming about had nothing to do with Baltar."
"Well, not directly," Dee said. "Everything on New Caprica comes back to Gaius Baltar."
"Fair enough," Louis agreed. "Look, please don't tell Felix-"
"I won't," Dee promised.
"Thanks." Louis sat back and cleared his throat. "By the way, did you get a subpoena yet?"
"A subpoena?"
"For Dr. Robert's hearing?"
"No," Dee said. "Should I be expecting one?"
Louis shrugged. "I got one," he said. "And given Helo's panic attack when he found you down in Dogsville…"
"Yeah," Dee said mournfully. "I'll be expecting it."
***
The television in the rec room was grainy and didn't get the best reception, but the screens of the Colonies were memories often best forgotten. Dee settled down at a table with Lee and Felix to watch the news. The familiar Colonial theme played, and the conversations in the room quieted down a notch.
"Good evening. I'm Playa Palacios, and this is the Fleet News broadcast, on the two hundred and sixty third day following the second Exodus. Our top story tonight: Former President Gaius Baltar has been apprehended and is being held aboard the Galatica, awaiting trial for crimes against humanity."
"So the press finally got the story, huh?" Racetrack chuckled. "Everyone's known that."
Dee looked over at Felix, who didn't look back at her. He just stared straight ahead.
"I wonder how the other ships are taking it," Lee muttered. He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, interest sparking in his eyes. "And the fact we've been keeping it quiet so long."
"It was best that way, I suppose," Dee said. "Most people still haven't healed from New Caprica." On the screen, Playa was summarizing the other news stories of the day, including a report on the ongoing space issues and a summation of a ruling the Quorum had passed regarding intraFleet travel. "I'm surprised I haven't seen anything on Robert's trial." She had gotten her subpoena, just as Louis had predicted, and it was set for three days from now.
Lee shrugged. "I'm not. They don't want to make a big deal of it in case he's found innocent."
"But he-"
"Shh!" Hot Dog shushed them. Playa had returned to talking about Baltar and his trial.
"-Aboard the Galactica for several weeks. The Admiral and the President have no comment on that particular aspect, but Jeanne Tracey was able to obtain a five minute interview with the former president. Let's take a look at that footage…"
Felix looked away in disgust as Baltar appeared on the screen, long haired, disheveled and unshaven. Someone in the back booed, and a splattering of algae hit the screen. "Hey!" Lee shouted, standing up and slipping into CAG mode. "Don't mess with the equipment, all right?"
"Sorry, sir."
Lee didn't bother to locate the source.
"And you've been treated well?" the reporter was asking Baltar.
"If you define well as being imprisoned, threatened, sleep-deprived, tortured with psychotropic drugs, and stabbed with a pen well, then yes."
"Stabbed with a pen?" Hot Dog chortled it the same time as Jean asked the same question. Dee and Lee both looked at Felix, who was sitting incredibly still, eyes wide, very much like the quintessential deer caught in headlights.
"Yes, my former aide de camp," Baltar said, and the entire room turned and looked at Felix. "Fortunately, he missed."
Felix buried his head in his arms.
"I can't believe Dad's allowing this," Lee said, staring at the screen in shock.
"What can he do?" Dee asked. "He can't tear them off the air right now." She put a cautious hand on Felix's back. He didn't move.
"But to even let them down into the brig in the first place… He should have-"
"Hey, Gaeta," Twofer shouted from the back, "couldn't have used a gun?"
"Haven't you heard?" someone else shouted, "the pen is mightier than the sword!"
"Everyone thinks that joke is funny," Felix scowled. He shrugged off Dee's hand, stood up, and headed for the door. But as he did, several pilots got to their feet and began to applaud. Felix stopped and turned around, wide-eyed. Dee supposed she couldn't blame him- he'd been shunned by so many of the crew for so long. But there was Easy, Twofer, Shambles and Ramper- all pilots who had mustered out, all pilots who had been on New Caprica- standing and clapping. Felix nodded stiffly and then left.
Dee turned to Lee, who was watching the room thoughtfully. "What?" she asked him.
"I don't know," Lee said, watching the faces in the room. There was so much anger brewing here, Dee realized, and so much hate. "I just have a feeling this trial is going to be trouble."
"It's Gaius Baltar," Dee sighed. "How can it not be? Maybe they should just have executed him before anyone found out." She thought of all the wounds that would be ripped open anew as this trial proceeded, all the wounds that Felix would have ripped open.
"I'm glad they didn't do that," Lee said. "It would have been murder. This way, it's justice." His face was set in firm lines that made him look like a statue of the god he'd gotten his callsign from, and Dee couldn't help but smile.
***
The hearing for Dr. Michael Robert, however, wasn't a media circus, and it wasn't held in a giant courtroom with a tribunal of judges. It was held in a small conference room on Galactica, with the doctors in the Fleet, Larissa Adell, captain of the Demetrius, and few people in attendance. No press was allowed in. Dr. Robert sat at a table, wearing the same scrubs he'd been wearing when he'd been taken away; cloth wasn't allotted for prison jumpsuits.
Dee sat next to Louis. His face was impassive, the same sort of look he usually had in the CIC, as he listened to Helo describe how he'd discovered that Dr. Robert had murdered Sagittarons, not only on Galactica but on New Caprica. The faces of the doctors were similar to Louis's; impassive, cold, and detached.
"Thank you, Captain Agathon," Dr. Gerard said, looking down at his notes. He leaned over towards a woman that had been identified as Dr. Stoffa and whispered something to her. She listened and nodded. Dr. Robert was watching Helo with hatred clearly written across his face. Helo's testimony was completely damning, and although one could make a case for improper procedures for obtaining evidence or whatever lawyers called it, Dee had the distinct impression that it wouldn't matter. Her impression was only strengthened by the stern look on Cottle's face.
Dr. Gerard tapped his pen. "I think that's all pretty clear," he said. He looked down at his notes. "Lieutenant Hoshi, can we have you up here, please?"
Louis stood, and Dee noticed two things: one, Dr. Robert didn't look at him, and two, there was no lawyer in the room.
What the frak was this, anyway?
"Lieutenant Hoshi," Dr. Gerard said, as Hoshi awkwardly settled into the seat, "I understand you've been a patient of Robert's, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"I'm not terribly interested about your time on Galactica. Cottle's gone over that with me, and that all seems to be in order. What I am interested in is the fact you had a bone marrow biopsy done on New Caprica, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"And what were the results?"
"Negative, sir."
"Did you have any reason to believe they might be positive?"
Louis shrugged. "I thought they would be. Something turned up in my bloodwork. Every other time that's happened and I got sent for a biopsy, the biopsy came back positive. But I figured that Captain Raimens on the Pegasus wasn't that used to looking for AML, or that he was being overcautious."
"Your leukemia is recurring, am I correct?"
"Yes, sir."
"So you've had bone marrow biopsies before."
"Yes, sir."
"Was this one any different?" Louis looked down at his hands for a long time. Dee edged forward, because this was the first time his answer hadn't come quickly. "Lieutenant Hoshi?"
"I wasn't given a local anesthetic."
Dee's eyes widened, and the doctors perked up interest as well, except for Dr. Robert, who now buried his face in his arms. "You weren't given a local?" Cottle asked, leaning forward.
"No, sir. But medical supplies were low on New Caprica at the time. That's what Dr. Robert told me, and I believed him. I'd delivered supplies from the Pegasus to Dr. Cottle the day before."
"There was enough local to give a man having a bone marrow biopsy one!" Cottle said, looking over at Robert. "Or at least a frakking drink!"
Dr. Gerard sighed. "So, no local." He looked away from Louis. "Tell me something, Dr. Robert. Did you lie about the test results?"
Their eyes clashed, and Dee held her breath. Finally, Dr. Robert turned to look at Louis. "I'm sorry," he said to Louis, "but I did. I never ran the tests. When you came in, you were wearing civilian clothing and made no mention of your rank. I didn't realize that you were…"
"That I was what?" Louis asked, his eyes narrowing. "Human?"
"I didn't realize that you were military," Dr. Robert said, speaking directly to Louis. "You told me your history, told me you were Sagittaron, but you never told me you were in the military."
"We talked for two minutes," Louis said sternly. "You made it pretty clear you were busy. Ishay did the prep and recovery work."
Dr. Robert ignored that. "If I'd known you were military, I would have done everything I could to save you. In fact, once I knew you were military, I did do everything I could to save you. Her, too, for that matter," Dr. Robert said, glancing over at Dee.
"And what did you do in your office back on the Colonies?" Louis demanded. "When a Sagittaron walked in, did you tell them to get out? Refuse to treat them? Demand insurance paperwork they didn't have?"
"A Sagittaron never did walk in!" Dr. Robert protested. "Sagittarons don't walk into doctor's offices."
"Some do," Louis shot back. "But once we're in there, we're made to crawl."
Understanding lit Dr. Robert's face. "This isn't about me for you, is it? This is about how you've been treated before this."
"Like hell it isn't!" Dee drew back, recognizing that danger look on Hoshi's face. "You didn't test the bone marrow you took without a local- which was hell, I might add? How the frak do you think this isn't about you?"
"Well, you're still alive!" Dr. Robert retorted.
"That's not the point!" Cottle interjected. "If that leukemia had been any further along, he very well might not be!"
"All right, we get the picture," Captain Adell broke in. "Lieutenant Hoshi, when you, er, started being treated for leukemia again, did Robert mistreat you in any way?"
"No," Louis said. "That's why this is all…" he clamped his mouth shut, but Dee knew what he'd wanted to say. That's why this is all such a shock. That's why this hurts. I trusted you, and you frakked me over. Louis shook himself. "I even invited him to the bar for a drink when I was officially in remission."
Captain Adell nodded. "Anyone else have any other questions for Lieutenant Hoshi?" There was a general shaking of heads, and Dee thought that Dr. Robert looked truly miserable. Louis stood up and swept by him, returning to his seat. Dr. Robert opened his mouth as he passed by, and Dee was sure he was about to say something apologetic. But the moment passed.
"Lieutenant Dualla?" Dr. Gerard called. "Might as well get the three of you out of here."
Dee's own questioning was brief and reminiscent of the questions that Colonel Tigh and Admiral Adama had asked her. She was grateful when they were done, and when they were released. All three of them made their way out into the hall.
"This will take a while," Cottle told them as they exited the room. "I wouldn't wait around." The hatch closed.
Helo stared at it for a long time. "I hope they put him away until we find Earth," he said, his tone more strident and vicious than Dee was used to hearing from him. "I can't believe…" his jaw squared as he stopped talking, and then he looked over at Louis. "Are you all right?" he asked.
"I'm fine," Louis said shortly. He checked his watch. "Frak. I've got duty in a half-hour. So much for a downshift." He nodded curtly to them, and then stalked off. Helo watched him go.
"He's not all right," he observed.
"He will be," Dee said. "You knew, right?"
"Bits and pieces," Helo confirmed. "I was XO when he was diagnosed. He made it pretty clear he didn't want to talk about it, so I never asked anything more." Helo shrugged. "Glad he made it through okay, although it sounds like it was a close call." He squeezed her arm. "Glad you made it through the Mellorak okay. And Dr. Robert." He smiled, but his face quickly turned serious again. "How are you doing?"
"More upset about Louis than I am about myself," Dee admitted. "He gave me the medicine."
"But still-"
"I know. You know what the worst part is?" she asked as they fell into step together. "I don't know what I'd do to him. Not treating Sagittarons-"
"It's not the fact he didn't treat them," Helo pointed out. "It's the fact he poisoned them. There's a difference."
"I know," Dee sighed. "I just really liked him."
"Yeah," Helo said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I did, too."
***
They were all certain that there would be a trial, and that Dr. Robert would be convicted quickly. "The evidence is just overwhelming," Louis told Dee as they jogged around the ship four days later. "I'm not sure what they'll do, but I-"
"Lieutenants," Colonel Tigh appeared in front of them, bringing both Dee and Louis up suddenly. "The Admiral wants to speak to both of you."
"Aye, sir," Louis said, slowing down to a walk and following on Tigh's heels. Dee swallowed. It had to be about Robert. Either that, or Gage had blown up the communications console.
Adama was sitting at his desk and looked up when they both walked in. He looked tired, Dee thought; tired and slightly defeated. It wasn't a look she was used to seeing on his face.
"Lieutenant Hoshi. Lieutenant Dualla." Despite the fact they were both in sweats, Dee and Louis drew to attention. "Have a seat." They both obeyed, and Adama sighed. He didn't, however, set down his pen; he kept staring at the desk, glancing up at them every now and then. It was a sure sign he didn't like what he was about to tell them. "The board, I guess we're calling it, as come to a decision about Michael Robert."
Dee raised her eyebrows, and Louis leaned forward slightly. "Sir?"
"The decision is to suspend a trial at this time. Dr. Robert will be placed on probation, and assigned to the Zephyr. All of his patients are to be cleared through the board, and he's never to so much as take a temperature without a nurse in the room. Once we find Earth, they'll reopen the matter. The proceedings," Adama paused, writing something out, "the proceedings of the hearing are to be kept strictly confidential. The board has determined that Dr. Robert is only a threat to the Sagittarons, and the last thing we need is a Fleet-wide panic."
Dee stared at Adama. When she looked over at Louis, his mouth hanging open and his eyes baffled, she knew his face was a mirror of her own. "Sir," Louis managed to say, his voice sounding strangled. "Are you saying…?"
"I am saying, Mr. Hoshi, that I don't want to hear a word of this." Adama finally looked up. "As much as I hate to admit it, this Fleet needs doctors. Even taking one out of rotation creates problems we aren't prepared to face."
"But he poisoned people!" Louis protested. "And you're just going to sit there and let him go and take his word that he won't do it again? He killed a three year old girl!"
Adama's face darkened. "That's enough, Mr. Hoshi."
Louis bit his lip and subsided. "I apologize, sir," he said stiffly.
Adama gave such a short, quick nod that Dee barely caught it. All he said was, "That's the decision. You're both dismissed." And he turned back to his writing.
Dee got to her feet. She glared at Adama, but he didn't look up. He just kept writing.
But when she looked more closely, his hand was shaking.
***
"So, did Dad talk to you about Dr. Robert?" Lee asked later that night.
"Yes," Dee said shortly.
Lee smiled and kissed her cheek as he hung up his jacket. "He said Hoshi mouthed off to him a bit."
Despite herself, Dee snorted. "The Admiral thinks that was Hoshi mouthing off?" she said.
"Not one of his finer performances?"
"Seriously lacking in the vitriol," Dee agreed. She sat down on the bed. "I'm sure Helo had… words about the subject."
"I might have gotten an earful or two," Lee agreed.
"And do you agree with them?"
"Helo and Hoshi? Or the board's decision?"
"Either."
"Yes."
"That was highly edifying."
Lee laughed, and sat down on the bed across from her. "No, what Dr. Robert did was unforgivable," he agreed. "You don't abuse people's trust like that, and you don't… well, I don't need to spell it out. But at the same time, I see why they made the decision they did. It is survival, Dee."
"Survival. What about justice?"
Lee sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Any other time in our lives I would have agreed with you. But say we put Robert out the airlock today, and an epidemic spreads tomorrow. Or Cottle dies of smoke asphyxiation. What happens then? Where does that leave the thousands of people that need medical treatment? Dr. Robert was right when he said someone has to make the hard decisions, and the board made one. Everything in me tells me that he should be locked up forever and we should throw away the key. But we just can't do it, Dee. It's shooting ourselves in the foot."
"And the people that died?"
Lee shook his head. "Killing Robert won't bring them back anyway," he pointed out. "It will only make it harder to save other lives." He sighed. "There's something else you should know. Dad had me read the proceedings."
Dee shrugged uncomprehendingly. "So?"
"Well, I'm assuming AML stands for acute myeloid leukemia, and not Aerelon Military Legion, which was the only other use of the initials I could find in my search."
"Oh, frak," Dee sighed. "Yeah. It does."
Lee looked baffled. "Why all the secrecy?" he asked. "Why's he hiding it?"
Dee shrugged. "It's private. He doesn't talk about it much."
"It’s not something to be ashamed of," Lee said. "Look at President Roslin. She had breast cancer and everyone in the Fleet knew it."
"And she probably would have kept it secret if she could," Dee riposted. "But her situation was a little bit different."
"But still-"
"Come on, Lee," Dee said. "Neither of us have picked up the comm unit and said attention all hands, Lieutenant Dualla is recovering just fine from her ectopic pregnancy. There are other reasons besides shame to keep silent."
"I guess," Lee conceded.
Dee softened. "Part of it is that he's afraid it would change people's opinions of him. Make them think there are things that he can and can't do."
"I wouldn't think that," Lee immediately denied.
"Maybe not," Dee said, "but it is a risk."
"If anything, it makes me think better of him. I wouldn't have thought that he had that kind of guts. Dad said he was there for one of the bone marrow biopsies, and that he nearly passed out watching it." Lee smiled. "And it sure changed your opinion of him."
"No, it didn't," Dee contradicted.
"Sure it did," Lee laughed. "You went into the infirmary hating his guts, and you came out practically best friends."
Dee pulled her knees up close to her chest and rested her chin on them, thinking about that. "No," she finally decided. "That's definitely not true. It was much more gradual than that."
Lee smiled, but it was his dismissive, whatever smile. Dee thought about arguing more, but decided it wasn't worth it. Instead, she just let him reach out and cup her cheek. "Anyway," he said, smiling at her, "I'm just relieved that you were all right. I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost you."
She leaned into his caress and smiled, and he ran his thumb over her cheek.
***
"The thing is," Louis said, lining up his shot, "I just feel like it sets this dangerous precedent. Like, it's fine to do what you want, as long as you're essential to the survival of the Fleet."
"Starbuck," Noel pointed out as Louis knocked the seven into the corner pocket.
"Fair enough," Louis agreed. "And Tigh and Tyrol and their buddies, for that matter." He looked over his shoulder at Felix, who was leaning on his pool cue. "But I wonder what would have happened if he was poisoning Capricans. Or even Taurons or Aerelons."
"Probably the same exact thing," Dee said. Louis scratched, and she scooped the cue ball out of the pocket.
"Except that there are more Capricans or Taurons wandering around the Fleet," Felix pointed out. "The Sagittarons tend to stick together."
"My point remains the same," Louis said. "It's still a dangerous precedent to be setting. Especially if they're going to try Baltar."
Dee neatly knocked the six into the side pocket. "What do you mean?" Dee asked, setting up her next shot. "Baltar isn't going to walk. There's no way."
"And he's not exactly essential to the survival of the Fleet," Noel pointed out. "Nice shot, Dee!" He shot a triumphant smirk at Felix and Louis. Felix made a face back. "I mean, what does the guy do besides drink, have sex, and screw everyone over?"
"He is brilliant," Felix admitted, like someone was pulling teeth.
"So are you, baby," Louis said, patting Felix on the shoulder. Dee and Noel glanced at each other and smothered snickers. But Felix just shook his head.
"I'm not like Gaius," he said. "Gaius was one of the greatest minds in the Colonies, and is the greatest mind left alive. When he chooses to actually use it," he added bitterly. "I don't have the intuition and the understanding that he does."
"But getting him to use it is a whole other issue," Dee pointed out. "I mean, what good is that mind if he won't put it to use?"
"Exactly," Louis agreed.
"Which means?" Noel prompted.
"It means that the precedent that they're setting here with Dr. Robert is dangerous," Louis said, scowling.
"It's not going to happen, though," Dee insisted. "It can't happen."
"Actually," Felix said, "it could."
They all stopped and looked at him.
"Felix," Louis began, but Felix cut him off with an angry shake of his head.
"I'm not saying it should," he said. "Is it my shot?" He lined it up and scratched, and then swore. "I'm saying that it could."
"How?" Dee demanded.
"Well, the Cylons basically told Baltar that surrender was the only option. If he'd resisted-"
"He would have been killed," Noel said.
"Yeah, but he could say that eventually they would have gotten sick of killing leaders, especially the Cavils. They would have just nuked the place. I don't agree with that, but a lot of people might see the logic in that."
"I guess," Dee said dubiously, even though she knew Felix was right on that one. "But beyond that…"
"Beyond that, most of his advisors are either dead, collaborators, or were in prison the whole time. No one was there in his office through the whole occupation. I mean, we all know that he frakked things up, but no one saw him do it."
"No one except you," Louis said into the ensuing silence.
"Yeah," Felix said, considering that. "No one except me."
They stood there for a long moment.
"Hey!" Showboat was standing nearby. "Are you guys going to finish your game or not? Because if you're not, let other people use the table!"
Felix glared at her, shot the final ball in, and then tossed her the cue. "Here," he said, and retreated to the table where their bottle was waiting. Dee, Noel, and Louis all exchanged glances and then joined him.
"Felix," Dee finally asked, after they sat in silence, "are you being called as a witness?"
"No one's said anything about it," Felix said, "but I can't imagine I won't be. I was his frakking chief of staff."
Noel considered it. "If no one was there but you, and it comes down to your word against his…"
"Noel!" Dee was the one to actually say it, but they were all thinking it. And yet… And yet they were all thinking that Noel might be right, too. Dee looked at Felix to see his reaction.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "It won't come to that." He scoffed. "After all, what do I know about law? They won't let him walk. Not after what he's done." He snorted. "I can't imagine the defense will even care all that much."
"That's right," Noel agreed, jumping on it. "They'll get some two-bit lawyer in just to make a show of it, to make it look like they're giving him a fair trial, and then they'll go through the case and toss him out the airlock."
Felix nodded, and Louis raised his glass, muttering, "so say we all." But even though Dee smiled and clinked her glass to Louis's, she thought it might not be that easy.
***
"Hey. You're home earlier than I thought," Dee said, as she let herself into their quarters.
"Yeah, well, I had some reading I wanted to do," Lee said. He held up a thick book. "It was my grandfather's, if you can believe that. Dad gave it to me a few weeks ago."
She'd known… everyone knew that Joseph Adama had been a lawyer. And Lee had told her, a long time ago, about how he'd considered going into law. And yet, for some reason, a shiver passed down Dee's spine as she looked at the law books her husband was reading. She ignored it and kissed him on the lips.
On to Part 13
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-07-24 02:16 pm (UTC)Hee! This line made me giggle. And kudos again for writing about The Woman, King. I wish I had more to say about this chapter but that episode doesn't stay in my brain too well. But I can't wait to see what you do with the trial. We'll see how Dee and her boys fare then. :-)
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Date: 2009-07-24 02:30 pm (UTC)We'll see how Dee and her boys fare then. :-)
::sniff:: Sadly, we know.
You know what I realized? If I was writing the show from this universe, it would end up a bit different. Narcho would be the suicide, Louis and Felix would mutiny together, and Dee would get to be Admiral. Can you tell I'm really stuck on Admiral Dee??? :)
no subject
Date: 2009-07-24 05:28 pm (UTC)Who would be her XO?
no subject
Date: 2009-07-24 05:32 pm (UTC)Also, the entire bit about Felix stabbing Baltar with a pen--wonderful. The reactions of the pilots, particulary the dichotomy between those who lived on New Caprica & those who remained on the Galactica demonstrates the ongoing tension beautifully. Again wonderful foreshadowing.
Their conversation concerning the trial is another great canon save -- it actually gives Felix some motivation for perjury.
Finally, I love the scene about Felix's nightmare. It's a nice reminder of how little he's told anyone about what happened to him on New Caprica. Now of course I want to know exactly what happened to him and how much Baltar knew.
no subject
Date: 2009-07-24 05:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-24 06:08 pm (UTC)However, I can't see Dee working with Zarek. Either Dee kicks Roslin in the ass enough to get her back in gear, or the President is one of the random Quorum members. On second thought, Dee vs. Zarek would be good dramatic tension (although it would NOT end up like Adama vs. Roslin!).
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Date: 2009-07-24 06:11 pm (UTC)Now of course I want to know exactly what happened to him and how much Baltar knew.
Heh. There's two answers to this. There's the canon answer, where it's all about Sweet!Eight. And according to Youth's Final Luxury, which is also in this universe, there's some stuff about Felix sleeping with Baltar during the occupation as well. (He actually admits that part to Tom.)
Glad you enjoyed it! :)
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Date: 2009-07-24 11:10 pm (UTC)Noel was CAG it's true. But, I just rewatched Bastille Day. Dee might airlock Zarek. She really didn't like him.
They could argue about his actions regarding Sagittaron! Ooooh. Lissa, you could write a better Sagittaron story with Dee and Zarek I know you could. And no, no romance. Dee's got enough boys to manage. :-)
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Date: 2009-07-25 12:38 am (UTC)Without anesthetic? OMG. *gives Hoshi lots of hugs*
What is Felix having nightmares about? Will we find out?
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Date: 2009-07-25 03:00 am (UTC)Just so you know... still nonsensically shipping Palacios/Kelly. Y'know.
This is so hard to read from the foregone conclusion perspective. But I love how you work in Dr. Robert as this kind of... grey area precedent that will eventually effect Baltar's trial... and getting Lee into law.
Did I mention Lee/Justice is a serious thing for me?
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Date: 2009-07-25 03:14 pm (UTC)I also like how you set up the eventual blow-out between Lee and Dee over Lee's involvement in Baltar's trial. It's not straightforward: Dee loves the Apollo-y, justice and morality-loving part of Lee, but she has a pragmatic side as well, and she loves her friends and hates to see them ripped apart more than anything. That inner conflict is going to be really fun to see play out alongside the outer conflict with Lee.
Even though it's so sad that Felix is having such bad nightmares, I did really enjoy the little bits of coupledom he and Louis got here. (Especially the "He is brilliant"/"So are you, baby" bit ;) ). It's nice to see that, after all the waiting and working through issues, they do have a little time to enjoy being together, even if Felix really hasn't completely worked through all his Baltar issues.
Also, the scene with the pilots applauding Felix stabbing Baltar with the pen was such a treat!
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Date: 2009-07-27 12:47 am (UTC)Yeah, they can't airlock a doctor, and that just played in so well to so many themes that swirl around the mutiny. I was pleased with how well this all fit together.
And yeah- poor Hoshi. One of the things in my mind is that Adama had a very similar reaction- I've been trying to build Adama's personal respect for Hoshi off-screen, and that's a big factor :)
Felix is just (just!) having nightmares about New Caprica and Sweet!Eight. That's why he can't say what they are- he honestly doesn't remember them well enough, and certainly doesn't realize what he's really doing is dreaming the truth.
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Date: 2009-07-27 12:48 am (UTC)Yeah, I'm still turning them over in my mind, too. There is a story there....
I'm glad you enjoyed this! And yeah, it's hard to write from the foregone conclusion perspective. we're getting back into the hard stuff again... ::sniff::
Thanks!
no subject
Date: 2009-07-27 12:57 am (UTC)Yeah, the Woman King was... it didn't have to suck as hard as it did. (And in all seriousness, I still maintain the episode would have been better if they'd done it with Gaeta and Hoshi instead of Helo and Athena, partly because my problem with the episode was it made Helo into a martyr too soon after Measure of Salvation/Torn.) But there were interesting ideas, and it played so well into what I wanted to do :)
(And oh, poor Hoshi on the no local anaesthetic!! And then not even getting it tested after all that!)
I know! Poor Hoshi. This was back when Adama was still a caring human being, and he really cringed when he read that. (There was one version of the bone marrow biopsy scene where Adama had to sit down afterwards because he was about to pass out ;) ) But I've been trying to really build Adama's respect for Hoshi off screen- to the point where he actually favors Hoshi over Gaeta- and this was too good to pass up.
It's nice to see that, after all the waiting and working through issues, they do have a little time to enjoy being together, even if Felix really hasn't completely worked through all his Baltar issues.
Thanks! :) I'm enjoying writing this aspect, too. I'm realizing that in my world, they were pretty much in love before the Demetrius hit, even if they didn't really say it. (Hoshi said it after the trial, but Felix couldn't.) But at least the nightmares are technically about Sweet!Eight, and not Baltar! :)
Glad you enjoyed it!!!!
(Btw- no pressure, cause I know you're busy, but just wanted to make sure- did you get my response to your response to my outline?)
no subject
Date: 2009-07-27 01:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-27 02:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-27 02:38 am (UTC)I need to get ALTLUT finished so I can really plow into this. ::sigh::
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Date: 2009-07-27 02:49 am (UTC)Out of curiosity, how many ALTLUT chapters do you think you have left?
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Date: 2009-07-27 03:09 am (UTC)I'm hoping I can finish ALTLUT in two more chapters, plus an epilogue. It might take 3. But I said that three chapters ago :P I know what events I have to hit and how I want to do it, but I never know for sure what the page count will be.
The one thing I cannot decide for the life of me (and should soon) is if Dee sleeps with Noel. I found a spot it could fit, and I am so, so tempted. I could do it with minimal angst, and it wouldn't be long before they found Earth.
Dee totally says yes. So does Noel.
no subject
Date: 2009-07-27 05:44 pm (UTC)You know my vote. ;-)
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Date: 2009-07-28 11:56 pm (UTC)*notices this one goes through A Day in the Life and hopes for giggly gossipy Felix+Dee*
Awwww, nightmare!Felix. I just want to wrap our poor boy in a blanket and feed him chicken soup.
Dr. Robert's hearing: OMG WHOA.
Not surprised by the outcome, though, and I like that you addressed it, since the show just blew it off. I wondered at the end of that episode what they were going to do. But yeah, not all that many doctors in the fleet. (Except when Plot Convenience Theatre dredges one up, like the bloody neurosurgeon after Sam got shot. @@)
Or Cottle dies of smoke asphyxiation.
HAHAHAH OW.
it's fine to do what you want, as long as you're essential to the survival of the Fleet.
GORRAMNIT FELIX *WAS* ESSENTIAL. (okay, I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to be perpetually bitter.)
"He is brilliant," Felix admitted, like someone was pulling teeth.
"So are you, baby," Louis said, patting Felix on the shoulder.
<3 <3 <3
I can't wait to see what you do with "Crossroads"!! I love that one. All the subtext flying around. It's like it was made for the way you write fic!
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Date: 2009-07-28 11:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-29 01:24 pm (UTC)Thanks so much! :) I had fun with this chapter- I've known since I had the idea of bringing him in that Dr. Robert was going to get his hearing. But I've figured there HAVE to be more people in the Fleet. The neurosurgeon didn't even bother me, because once people get that specialized... he wouldn't have been a ton of help dealing with breast cancer. (Although he probably would have with battle wounds, but we rarely see them in operation.)
GORRAMNIT FELIX *WAS* ESSENTIAL. (okay, I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to be perpetually bitter.)
Same here. Although the fact that Bear's such a squeer mitigates the pain a litte :)
LOL! Working on... well, I have to hit Maelstrom before I do Crossroads, but I think they're going to be the same chapter. I don't have to deal TOO heavily with Kara's death, but I have to bloody acknowledge it. ::Sigh:: And remind my little foursome that "Ding, Dong, the Witch is Dead" is from Earth, and probably not overly appropriate anyway.
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Date: 2009-07-29 05:00 pm (UTC)Although the fact that Bear's such a squeer mitigates the pain a litte :)
Oh man, I forgot to say something about that when I met him!! I felt kinda rushed, because he was signing for a video game thingy and there were people in line behind me and I had already rushed to get there in time and aaaaagh.
"Ding, Dong, the Witch is Dead" is from Earth
*snorfle!*
no subject
Date: 2009-09-05 02:57 am (UTC)I love all the screentime that Joe's is getting in this fic, and all the discussions that happen there. I like how these few characters think about everything that happens, and then have to talk it through and discuss. They're such geeks, really. ;-) (Yes, even Noel)
It's funny, I was sort of understanding why Dee would leave Lee earlier in the fic, but as it gets closer to that point in canon, I'm seeing less and less motivation. I'm sure you'll make it make sense, especially since "Maelstrom" has to happen, but it seems like things are going too well overall for her to just abandon that.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-05 03:56 am (UTC)I'm sure you'll make it make sense, especially since "Maelstrom" has to happen,
Ding ding ding! We have a winner, and I hope you'll think it makes sense. I think Kara's death was harder for Dee to cope with than Kara alive, because dead, she could be idealized and idolized. I found myself understanding Dee's decision much better as I wrote the fic, to be honest. I didn't necessarily like Dee/Lee, but I think I could have (especially if I liked Lee better), but I didn't really get why she ended it in the show. When I hit the point she left him in the fic, it felt inevitable for me as the writer.
Thanks for commenting! :)