Ficlets from the meme

[lls_mutant]

From the recent gaeta_squee fic meme.

Title: A Man Down a Hole
Prompt: Tigh stopping Gaeta from attempting suicide in the airlock post Raptor of Doom
Characters: Gaeta, Tigh, gen



"Bill, someone ought to go out and take a look around for them. It's been two days," Saul said.

"We don't have the resources for a suicide mission," Bill said, not looking up.

"This isn't a suicide mission! You know as well as I do that all the equipment on this frakking ship is ready for the junk heap. Nine times out of ten it's a mechanical malfunction."

Bill looked up at him. "Would you care so much if there weren't two Cylons on board?" he asked bitterly.

For a long moment, Saul could only stare. Then he reminded himself of how long he'd kept this secret. "The Cylons barely occurred to me," he said. "But there are two of our pilots, one of our knucledraggers, and an officer that's served for seven years in the CIC with me. They sure as hell matter."

Bill nodded absently, and then went back to his paperwork. Saul decided to take that as a yes.

***

He hadn't flown a Viper in years, but it really was like riding a bicycle or whatever the frak that silly phrase was. And he was getting plenty of practice jumping, that was for sure. Well after well, jump after jump, he kept coming up in empty space. He was pretty sure he ran through his entire vocabulary of curse words, plus invented a few more of his own.

And then, on a jump he wasn't expecting, there it was, the Raptor drifting idly in space. Saul grabbed the comm unit. "Raptor 718, do you hear me?"

For a long moment, just static, and Saul worried he'd gotten there too late. But then the static resolved, and he heard Gaeta's voice, breathless and weak. "Galactica, this is 718."

Saul closed his eyes in relief. "All right, kiddo," he said. "You're not near the Fleet, but we'll get you home."

***

He hadn't fought in it, but Saul still had memories of the first Cylon war. He had memories of New Caprica. Hell, he had memories of this war. He was no stranger to carnage. But the sight and smell that assaulted him when they opened the Raptor turned his stomach, despite the fact that being sick on the hangar bay floor wasn't overly fitting of an XO. But no one seemed to mind.

He watched the medics wheel Gaeta away, then set the knuckledraggers to cleaning up the mess. He had a really bad feeling about all of this.

***

"Well? What do you think?"

Bill sighed as they left the infirmary. "I believe him," he said finally.

"He's hiding something," Saul argued.

"When isn't Gaeta hiding something?" Bill said, shrugging. "But I don't think it's about this. Besides, we need him in the CIC. With Dualla and Hoshi dead-" he broke off, and fumbled for his flask. Saul wanted to snatch it from his hand, but he couldn't.

"Yeah, well, I think we'd better keep an eye on him."

"Not sure what good that will do, but if you want..." Bill took a quick drink and put the flask away. "I've got to get back to the CIC."

Saul stood in the hall, watching him go, seething in frustration.

***

The CIC seemed like such a different place these days. Saul would never admit it, but he missed Dee, with her calm competence and her cheeky remarks when she thought the brass wasn't listening. He never would have pegged her as the type to put a bullet in her own head. And Hoshi might have only been in the CIC for a few years, but he'd had a quiet, steadying capability that Saul hadn't realized he relied on. But he'd been killed in whatever the frak had happened on the Demetrius, the same incident that had cost Gaeta his leg. Tigh would give a lot to know what the hell had happened over there.

They had other officers, of course, but the deaths and Gaeta's disability cast a pall over the CIC, and no one quite knew how to behave. The bridge wasn't a place where deaths were common. At least, they didn't used to be.

Gaeta was back at his station. He was pale and gray and looked even worse than before Saul had sent him over to the Zephyr. It occurred to him that that promised rest had never happened. But Gaeta was typing something into his console, and in some ways it was the same as he ever was.

Saul shook his head.

***

Later that night, it came to his attention. "Sir." Alghee's voice betrayed a bit of fear.

"What is it?" Saul asked.

"Airlock A15 is in use, sir. But nothing's cleared to launch from there."

"Frakking bugs in the equipment."

"Maybe sir. But maybe not." Alghee was quiet for a moment, gathering up the nerve for whatever he really wanted to say. "Last time we saw something like this, Cally Tyrol committed suicide. And before that, it was-"

"I know what it was," Saul growled, realizing what Alghee wanted to say. "I'll go check it out."

He had no idea what possessed him to say that, as opposed to sending some marines or knuckledraggers down there. But it was a night shift; most of the ship was asleep. And the way Alghee was looking at him... obviously he knew something about the Circle. Saul just wanted out of there.

"Yeah," he said. "I'll go check it out."

He never expected to find what he did.

***

Because of Alghee's words, the Circle was heavy on his mind as he made his way down to the airlock. At first, it looked empty, and he thought it really was a bug in the system. Then he saw Gaeta standing over by the controls, forehead against the metal of the wall.

"What the frak are you doing?"

Gaeta startled. "Go away, please, sir. I'm just repairing the faulty circuit-"

"Like hell you are." It was becoming clear, fast, and really, with everything everyone had lost and everything Gaeta had lost, they should have seen this coming. No, they'd seen it coming. They should have taken it more seriously. "Come on, son," Saul said, stepping closer. "You don't want to do this."

"There's nothing wrong with fixing an airlock circuit," Gaeta snapped.

"At two o'clock in the morning when you need at least one hand to hold you up? Do you really think I'm that dumb, Gaeta?"

Gaeta deflated. "No, sir."

"Then let's drop the pretense. Come on." Saul grabbed Gaeta by the arm, and pulled him away. "Let's get out of here. This place gives me the creeps. And don't think I didn't notice which airlock you chose. Busted circuit, my ass."

"Actually, sir, it is busted," Gaeta said, although he stumbled along next to Saul.

He'd already tried. Shit.

***

The logical place to take Gaeta would have been the infirmary, and let Cottle deal with him. And Saul knew he'd have to do that anyway, eventually. Gaeta needed a hell of a lot of therapy or whatever to get through this, and Saul didn't know the first thing about it. But some gut instinct made him think that it wasn't the right thing to do right now. So instead, he took the kid to Joe's.

They drank their first drinks in silence. Sitting close like this, Saul could see the dark circles under Gaeta's eyes and the gray in his hair. He looked nothing like he had the day of the attacks- hell, even before that hellhole called New Caprica. It bugged the hell out of him that he hadn't noticed, but at the same time, he was an officer, not a babysitter, and he'd had problems of his own.

"I'm sorry about Dee," Saul finally said, because it seemed the safest place to start. "She was a good girl, and I know you two were in cahoots a lot."

Gaeta nodded. "Thank you," he said, voice stiff.

"You were close with Hoshi, too, right?" Saul thought he'd seen the two of them talking multiple times.

That was the first real reaction he got from Gaeta. Gaeta snapped to attention for a moment, his eyes sharpening and narrowing. "Close is an understatement," he said.

Suddenly, the pieces fell together; the way they stood when they talked to each other, the way he'd seen Hoshi laughing, and Gaeta dragging himself to Hoshi's funeral, despite the fact his leg had been amputated two days before. At the time, Saul had thought it was odd that Cottle allowed it. Now, he understood.

"I see." And oddly enough, he did. He couldn't understand losing a leg or the loss of Earth, but he could understand this. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure there was much that he could say. But for some reason, Gaeta picked up the slack.

"We were actually talking about getting married, you know," he said glumly, fingering his glass. "When we got back from the Demetrius mission. Then Starbuck brought that Cylon aboard and it all went to hell and Louis got caught in the crossfire and…" he cut off angrily, and threw back the rest of his drink. "Frak."

Saul didn't say anything.

"Married," Gaeta said into the silence. "I never thought I'd get married. Can you imagine me married?"

Saul had never taken the time to think about it or frankly, considered it his business, but now that he did, he saw what Gaeta was saying. Before the attacks, he easily could have pictured Gaeta living in a bachelor apartment even at forty or fifty, with a high rank and a cat. "No," he agreed. "But then, I never imagined myself married, either."

"Even back on Earth?" Gaeta's voice was caustic.

"Don't remember. But this isn't about me," Saul said, redirecting him away from the subject. "Especially since I wasn't the one trying to flush myself out an airlock."

"No. You just tried to do it for me over a year ago." But Gaeta's voice lacked any anger.

"Yeah. I never did say I was sorry, did I?" Tigh snorted. "Guess it seemed inadequate. Hey, thanks for help saving our asses, sorry I was so wrong about you, and oh by the way, I'm still frakked up from killing my own wife only to find out she would have been forgiven. I'm pretty sure Corridors never made a card for that." He turned his glass so the liquid caught the light. "Although I guess I could have bought you a drink."

"Just as well you didn't," Gaeta said. He was staring past Saul, far away. "And just as well that Louis and I never did get married. It never would have worked."

Something told Saul that this was it. He sipped his drink, and then reached out and refilled Gaeta's glass. "Why wouldn't it have worked? Never saw the two of you together outside of the CIC, but now that you say it, it makes a hell of a lot of sense."

Gaeta was silent for a long time, which Saul expected. Then finally… "There was an Eight. An Eight on New Caprica. I thought…" he shook his head. "She told me she'd help. And I believed her. I frakking believed her."

For a moment, Saul wanted to reach out and shake Gaeta for his naivete. Believe a Cylon would help? What the frak did he really expect? But this was Gaeta's head, and Gaeta had nearly flushed himself out an airlock. He restrained himself. "What happened? Did she help you get information?"

Gaeta looked at him sharply. "I wasn't that dumb," he said. "No one helped me with that, no matter what Gaius frakking Baltar says." He snorted, and Saul expected there was a whole other story there. "But she said that if I gave her names, she'd get people out of detention. And I believed her." Before Saul could respond, he shook his head. "You know, I get that she tricked me. You know what she did? She let some of them go, so I'd see them and I'd believe that she really was helping me. On some level, I can make it all make sense. I can say that she played me, and she did it right. But that's not what I see. All I can see- all I can think of- are the people I killed."

Saul breathed out heavily. "Well. Frak. No wonder you were pushing buttons on airlocks." Something dawned on him. "Was that Eight in the Raptor?" Gaeta nodded. "Frak."

"I think that sums it up." Gaeta finished his drink and poured himself another. Saul figured he'd let him, because it would make it easier to drag his ass to Cottle when they were done here.

***

Gaeta was sleeping, and Cottle wiped his own face. "Frak," he said.

"My sentiments exactly," Saul agreed. "You got a psychologist somewhere in this Fleet?"

"Overworked, but I'll make sure she makes some time," Cottle said. He lit a cigarette and then extended the box to Saul, who took one. "Frak. Have you told the Admiral?"

"Not yet." Saul sighed. "He's not gonna take it well."

"Good. He needs a kick in the ass. I hate to say it, but this might be exactly what he needs."

"Don't think the thought hasn't occurred to me, either," Saul muttered. They shared a grim smile of solidarity. "But I think it's time Gaeta stopped slipping through the cracks."

"Long past," Cottle said. "I'm just glad that someone's finally listening to me."

Saul glared at him, but only because the words hit way too close to home. Cottle returned the gaze easily, and then stubbed out his cigarette. "Go get some sleep, Colonel, and tell the Admiral in the morning. I'll be here, and he's not going anywhere."

"All right." Saul scrubbed his face with his hands. "I'll be back in the morning."

He looked back at Gaeta one more time before he left. Gaeta was still sleeping, his breathing a little uneven and his hands twitching. They'd racked up a lot of failures on this trip from hell, and Gaeta was just one more. But at least maybe this was one they could fix before it broke forever.



Title: Common Ground
Prompt: I'd like to see someone teaching him to sing Gaeta's lament. Doesn't matter who :]; kid Felix
Characters: Felix Gaeta, Sam Adama, gen



"Wait in here," his father ordered, opening the door to one of the rooms. Felix sighed. He'd been in this room many, many times before while his father took care of business, and unfortunately, it was empty. No one sat on the sofas or at the table playing cards, and there was no smoke clouding the air. But his father seemed pleased by it. "Get your homework done," he ordered.

"Dad-"

"Felix, if you ever want to get into the Academy and get off this rock-"

"All right, all right." Felix flung himself down on one of the sofas. "What's going on, anyway?"

"Nothing you want to know," his father said shortly. He unbuttoned his collar, and Felix caught sight of his favorite tattoo- the one his father had on his collarbone. There was something about that symbol that just meant comfort and safety to Felix, no matter what. But his father didn't notice- he seemed deep in thought. "It could be a while," he warned.

"Okay."

"And stay in here, no matter what."

"Is something going down?" Felix asked, alarmed.

"Oh, no. Nothing like that." His father shook his head. "But the Guatrau is coming, and-"

"The Guatrau?" Felix asked, sitting up excitedly. "The Guatrau?"

"Stay in here," his father ordered sharply. "I mean it, Felix."

"All right, all right. I heard you the first time," Felix muttered. "I'm thirteen already. I can take care of myself."

"And watch your tongue!"

"Yes, sir."

With a final worried glance, his father left the room. Felix heaved a dramatic sigh, pulled a book out of his bag, and flung himself onto the sofa.

He was hanging upside down off the sofa trying to read a book for school when the door opened. Felix jerked to sitting, the blood rushing to his head.

"You okay?" The man who entered was older- older than his dad. He had gray hair and a large nose, and tattoos on his hands and neck. Felix sat up a little straighter.

"Yes, sir," he said.

The man smirked a little at the address, and then looked more closely at Felix. "You're Gaeta's kid, aren't you?" he asked. "You're the spitting image of him." Felix nodded, and the man looked at his book. "What are you reading?"

Felix held up the worn copy of Sunrise on the Tauron Front. "It's for school."

"Gods, they still make you read that crap?" The man chuckled. "I remember my nephew hating that book."

This cheered Felix greatly, because the book was immensely boring, but his teacher kept going on about what a piece of genius it was. "Did you read it?" he asked.

The man laughed. "Hardly. I had better things to do with my time. And so do you. Come here. Do you play cards?"

"Sometimes," Felix said. "With my dad."

"Your mom like that?"

Felix shrugged. "She's dead," he said simply.

"That's right." Something in the man's face softened. "I'd forgotten."

"Did you know her?"

"Yeah. I did. She was the best enfor... your mom was one hell of a lady, you know that? Come on. Sit down." He extended his hand. "I'm Sam, by the way."

"I'm Felix."

"Well, Felix, let's play."

They played two hands, and Felix had the sense that Sam was watching him, weighing him. "So," Sam said, shuffling the cards after beating Felix soundly twice, "are you around the club a lot?"

"Not much," Felix admitted. "My dad doesn't like bringing me here."

"There are worse places you could be."

"I know."

"Put some music on," Sam ordered. There was something about him that suggested he was used to giving commands. "Here." He handed Felix a disc.

Felix looked at the cover of the small disc curiously. Capricoperetica. "What is this?" he asked.

"Caprican opera," Sam said with a shrug. "You ever heard it?"

"No."

"Put it in."

Felix did, and the music flooded the room. He stood still for a minute, listening, eyes wide. "What is this?" he asked again, but this time his voice was full of wonder. It was instrumental, soaring, and nothing like the pounding drums he was so familiar with in Tauron music.

Sam began humming along, and waved Felix back to the table. Felix obeyed, his mind half on the cards and half on the music. They continued to play for a bit, but Felix found himself losing because he couldn't keep from concentrating on the music.

Sam was still humming, his long fingers flicking the cards. But when he began to sing along with one of the songs, Felix gave up all pretense of playing and put his cards down.

But wish no more
My life you can take
To have her please just one day wake

There was an intensity in both the singer's voice and Sam's voice that cut Felix to the core. He listened, his throat closing, until the strains faded away.

"Could we play that one again?" he asked quietly.

Sam startled out of his trance, and for a moment, Felix almost regretted his request. But then Sam nodded and waved his hand. "Go ahead."

Felix stood up and reset the player, but this time, he stood by the speaker and listened intently to the words. He'd never heard anything that spoke to him on such an emotional level. "It's beautiful," he said when it was done. "I wish I could learn it."

Sam glanced at him sharply. "Why couldn't you?"

Felix blushed. "My voice," he said. "I can't sing right now."

"That doesn't mean you can't learn the words and the melody. I'll teach you if you like."

"You don't have to-" Felix began awkwardly.

"I'd like to." Sam looked down at the cards. "It was my husband's favorite song," he admitted.

"Oh." Felix didn't know what to say to that.

"I'd like someone to learn it. If the song lives on... it's like he does, too."

"Oh. I'd like to learn it, then," Felix said. Sam smiled.

"Then sit back down, Felix. I was going to teach you to count cards, but I think this would suit you better."



Title: Frak Jealousy
Characters: Gaeta, Narcho, Hoshi
Summary: PWP



"Look," Noel said, taking another deep drink from the bottle they were passing around, "I am happy for you two. Really. Because you're both good guys and you've both been through shit and frankly, you could both use a good frak. All right? I'm happy for you."

"I got that," Louis said, taking the bottle from Noel and doing his own drinking. "But-"

"But nothing."

"I don't know," Felix said. "I think there's a but something."

"I'm not-"

"Damn it, Noel, would you let one of us talk before you interrupt and protest again?" Louis said. "You're making it frakking hard to proposition you."

"And you know, I know you and I had something going after the attacks, but we both know that- WHAT?"

Louis handed the bottle back to Noel, closing his fingers around it. "You heard me."

"I heard you," Noel agreed. "I didn't credit that I heard it right, but I heard you."

"You heard him right." Noel wasn't drinking, so Felix took the bottle and did it for him. "Look, I know Louis loves you. He has, and he always will."

"He doesn't."

Louis sighed. "Noel. I do."

"And I know it," Felix said before Noel could react. "And I know that he loves me, too." He said it simply, gratefully. "And when I think about it, with everything we've all lost... if there are two people in the world you can love who can love you, maybe it's something that you need to hold on to. Or more than hold on to. Hold tight to."

"But-" Noel's mind wasn't really working. He looked at Louis, their eyes meeting, and for the first time in three years, he saw the naked look that he'd been waiting for. He closed his eyes.

When he opened them, Felix was watching him, too. Felix. They'd gotten close, too, and Noel would be flat out lying if he didn't say he hadn't thought about it. He'd thought about it a lot, actually. And if he did pray anymore, he might have once prayed for this very situation.

"All right," he said, and it was more like a prayer of gratitude than an answer, and Felix and Louis both smiled.

Louis got to his feet smoothly, and removed his boots. Noel watched him. He always had that same look, like nothing extraordinary was going to happen and this was an everyday occurrence as he put his boots outside the hatch and set the lock. He came back to the table where all three of them had been sitting and came up behind Noel, hands on his shoulders. Noel had had sex many times since the last time he and Louis had done this, but Louis's hands on him always had more of an effect than anyone else's. He sighed, leaning back and closing his eyes as Louis began to rub his shoulders.

He felt Felix's hands on his knees, and opened his eyes. Felix was watching him with an uncertain expression on his face, his hands hesitant. There was something about his face that was vulnerable, almost scared, and Noel suddenly realized what a huge risk Felix was taking. Noel reached out and pulled Felix into his arms, arranging him so he was straddled across his lap.

"He's not going anywhere," he whispered in Felix's ear as his hands began sliding under Felix's tanks. "I'll come in, but I won't take him from you."

"I know," Felix whispered back, and then kissed Noel.

The kiss might have been tentative at the start, but Noel didn't remember. The sparks ignited something between them, and Noel pulled Felix even closer to him as Felix got into the kiss, there was nothing remotely tentative about it. His hands smoothed down from Felix's back to his ass, and Felix bucked his hips against Noel's abdomen.

He heard laughing behind him, and then Louis's hands moved down from Noel's shoulders to start pulling his tanks off. As much as Noel didn't want to break the kiss, getting naked seemed like an even better idea, so he broke away and let Louis remove his tanks. He noticed Felix's gaze roaming freely over his bare chest, and he smiled. Felix laughed, and began to strip off his own shirt.

"Come on, baby," Felix said, tossing his tanks to Louis. "Everybody's doing it." He stayed in Noel's lap, but backed off enough that Noel could twist around.

"I don't know," Louis said, with a spark in his eye. "Looking at the two of you, maybe I should keep my shirt on."

"Bullshit," Noel and Felix said simultaneously, and then all three of them began laughing.

"Take it off," Felix ordered.

"I'll stick cubits in your waistband," Noel added.

"Oh, no..."

"Take it off! Take it off!" It became a chant, and Louis was laughing and blushing and looking so much better than he was possibly imagining. He sheepishly pulled off his ranks, and then laughing, twirled them around his head twice and threw them. Felix caught them, waggling his eyebrows.

"C'mere," Noel said, still laughing, hooking his fingers into Louis's waistband. He tugged, guiding Louis around so he was standing on Noel's side and he didn't have to twist. "I think these need to come off, too."

"Only if you do," Louis said agreeably, not arguing as Noel began to undo the fly.

Felix grinned evilly and slid off Noel's lap, landing on his knees at Noel's feet. That was sexy enough, especially as Felix undid the button, but when he used his teeth to pull the zipper down, Noel was pretty convinced that he was dead and in heaven.

Soon enough they were all naked. Felix snickered. "What?" Noel asked.

"No offense to you or me," Felix began, "but Louis needs to stop being so self-conscious about being naked. He's got both of us beat."

"I know, right?" Noel agreed enthusiastically. "I've always told him that. And trust me, I've seen a fair few."

"Well, that's not saying much in my experience," Felix admitted, "but yeah. In fact, the first time I went down on him I-"

"Guys," Louis said, blushing adorably, "I am standing right here."

"That you are," Noel said. "And we should be doing something about that." He ran his fingers down Louis's shaft, and Louis shuddered. Felix looked up at Noel and smirked, and then bent his own head and took Noel into his mouth.

Oh, good gods. He must be dead. Noel was pretty sure this was not legal. But damn, it was the best thing that had ever happened in his life.

Louis had one hand on Noel's shoulder, the other on Felix's hair. "You know," he said, "This isn't quite fair."

"Depends," Noel managed to say, "on what you want to do. If you want to frak me up the ass while I blow Felix, this works firs- oh, frak." His eyes rolled back in his head as Felix did something with his tongue. "I take it you like that idea," he managed to gasp.

"He does," Louis laughed. "Trust me. That might have been what I- oh, gods, Noel."

Noel laughed. "You always did like that," he said, trying to smiling mischievously but a little too distracted to do it right. "Oh, frak," he moaned. "Louis, I'll be back to you in a bit."

"Enjoy," Louis laughed, leaning against one of the lockers, arms crossed as he watched happily. "He's damn good at that."

Noel would have agreed, but that would just be stating the obvious, so he sat back in his chair, tangled his fingers in Felix's hair, and gave himself over. Felix applied himself, and Noel wasn't surprised that attention to detail that made him such a meticulous officer translated over amazingly into bed. It was fantastic, and he came willingly.

"See," he manged to gasp, as Felix rocked back on his heels, wiping his mouth on his forearm, "this is why I like frakking geeks. You guys are amazing."
"Aren't we though?" Louis said with a very self-satisfied smirk, as if he was the one that had just given Noel one of the best blow jobs he'd ever had in his life. "Not that you're so bad yourself." He didn't move Noel's hand from its task, but he bent over enough that he could kiss Felix. Their kiss was messy and wet, and Noel felt Louis harden even further in his hand. Not that he didn't understand.

Louis pulled away, cupping Felix's cheek with a deep, visible tenderness. Felix's eyes were fixed on his face, and just for a moment, Noel felt like he was intruding, and that maybe he should go. But then Louis slid a hand into his hair, and he was including in that warm, airy web of tenderness, and he thought that there was no place else he would ever rather be.

He didn't want to talk right now- it might betray the lump in his throat. Instead, he slid off the chair, grasped Felix's wrist, and pulled him around to sit. Felix obeyed, his eyes half-lidded as he looked down at Noel, the air growing heavy again with expectation. Noel winked at him, got on his hands and knees, and began.

He kept his motions slow and delicate at first, just learning Felix's body. Learning the taste of him, what got a reaction, what didn't. And waiting for what finally came- Louis's hands on his hips, gently pushing them to the right height. Louis's thighs were against Noel's ass and he shuddered.

"Don't bother much with the foreplay," he took a moment to release Felix and mutter.

"Wasn't going to," Louis laughed. "I know you too well."

He did, and oh- he slid into Noel and Noel swallowed Felix as far down his throat as he could, and then he just let Louis guide their rhythm. Noel couldn't get hard again quite yet- he just wasn't that young anymore- but damn if the white electricity wasn't shooting up every nerve from the way Louis thrust into him. One of Felix's hands smoothed around to cup the back of Noel's head, and the other fumbled for the edge of the chair. He could hear both Felix and Louis breathing heavily, and imagined that if he looked up, their eyes would be fixed on each other.

Felix came first, bucking against Noel, trying to contain himself enough to keep Noel from gagging. Noel waited until he was done, and then smiled up at him triumphantly. Felix was still gasping, but he slid his hands around Noel's shoulders, holding him close. And in seconds, Noel was grateful, because the way Louis was pounding into him now was leaving him helpless and shaky. He clung to Felix, his own arms wrapped around Felix's waist, his face buried in his lap, letting Louis drown him in their own private ocean. And when Louis finished, he stayed over Noel, rubbing his back gently, kissing his shoulders and neck.

The room was silent except for the sounds of their harsh breathing.

Finally, Felix sighed and sat back in his chair. "This is going to work," he said quietly, solemnly.

"It is," Louis agreed. He also sat back on the floor, rubbing his knees. "I don't suppose we can convince someone to give us our own quarters."

"I'll look into it," Felix volunteered. He bent over and kissed Noel's hair. "Sound good?"

Noel nodded, and then eased himself up to sitting. He looked at these two men that he cared for extremely deeply, and thought about how little time they probably had left before one of them- probably him- was shot down. "The sooner the better."

"Good." Louis sighed. "Because there is no way in hell all three of us are going to fit into one rack."



Title: In Silent Lucidity
Prompt: I want to see someone comfort Gaeta after he's almost thrown out of the airlock. Bonus points if it's one of the Adamas.
Characters: Felix Gaeta, Lee Adama, gen



His father had dismissed it - well, not dismissed it, but not put much stock in it - but Lee couldn't get it out of his head. Twelve missing people was too many to be a coincidence. Especially with the tensions he was already noticing. The people coming up from New Caprica didn't have that "us against the Cylons" air that Lee would have expected them to have. They were far angrier, and that anger was much more insidious. It sent chills up Lee's spine.

He knew Jammer. Not well, but Jammer had been one of the knuckledraggers that had taken care of his bird long before New Caprica. Lee remembered dark eyes and a flashing smile, and a collection of bad dirty jokes that were either annoying as hell or hysterical, depending on Lee's mood. But he was a good kid, Lee was sure he remembered that.

Where would he go if he was Jammer? Lee had the suspicion Jammer was hiding from something... or someone. Where on Galactica would a knuckledragger go to be safe, to let something blow over for a few days?

He found himself wandering down by the storage bays. It made sense. There were bays down here that people rarely went near, although Lee made a mental note to remind his father about some of them to help house the influx of civilian refugees. It felt rusty down here, with still air, dim light, and a musty smell that permeated even the metal. There were old crates and boxes lining the corridors, many of them probably empty, almost all of them covered with dust. Lee imagined that if he was very quiet, he could hear the sound of water leaking into little puddles and pipes creaking with the effort of years.

He stopped. Wait, no. That wasn't his imagination. He heard something. Something human.

"Jammer?"

No answer, but the sound stopped. Whoever it was didn't want to be found.

Another time, another place, Lee would have respected that. Privacy was hard to come by on Galactica, and sometimes you just needed space for a thought. But the idea that one of the Cylons had slipped aboard Galactica and was hiding in the bay, waiting for the right opportunity to blow them all to hell entered his mind, and once it was there he couldn't get it out.

He stilled, straining his ears for the sound again. And if he listened very hard, he could hear the breathing. It was coming from his right, and he approached cautiously, walking as silently as he could and wishing he had a gun on him. As he got closer, he realized that the breathing was ragged, and he relaxed a hair. Probably not a Cylon.

"Jammer?" he asked again, and then stopped. Sitting between two crates, Felix Gaeta stared up at him, his arms wrapped around his updrawn knees, his face paler than Lee had ever seen him.

"Oh. Gaeta."

"Commander." Gaeta's voice was shaking, even on a single word.

"You okay?" Lee asked, even though the answer was an obvious no. He took a few steps closer. "Do you want me to get Dee?"

"No." It was almost panicked, how that came out. "I'd rather not... she... no."

"Oh." Lee thought about leaving, but something more was going on here, and he had a feeling that he'd better find out what it was.

Gaeta took a deep breath and looked up at him. "Why'd you think that I was Jammer?" he asked.

"Jammer didn't report for roll call this morning," Lee explained. "There's been several cases of missing persons."

"Several?" Gaeta's voice was sharp. "How many?"

"Twelve."

"They got... frak. I need to see the Admiral. I was going to anyway, but-" Gaeta started to stand, but he stumbled forward. Lee caught him.

"Hey. You okay?"

"Yeah. My feet are just asleep."

Lee looked at the spot where Gaeta had been sitting. "How long have you been there?" Gaeta shrugged, and Lee realized he'd better tread carefully. "Do you know where Jammer is, Gaeta?"

"I'm not sure," Gaeta said. "But I know who the Admiral might want to ask. But..." he shook his head angrily. "Frak."

"Gaeta. What's going on?"

Lee fully expected Gaeta to tell him. After all, that was what happened. You asked Gaeta a question, he answered. Precisely, accurately, and promptly. You asked him for more information, he gave you a carefully arranged encyclopedic explanation. It was a law of the universe. What he was not expecting was for Gaeta to look away from him and to not say a word.

Tread lightly, something warned him. Tread very lightly. There's a reason he's not answering.

For the first time, Lee wished he was a regular smoker. This would be the perfect moment to offer a cigarette. He felt around on his uniform, looking for some other offering. All he had was a flask. He pulled it out, unscrewed it, and handed it to Gaeta.

"Kind of funny, you know?" he said, as Gaeta cautiously took the flask, after a few minutes of staring at it apparently convinced him it wasn't going to explode. "You're my wife's best friend. You were in my wedding. And I'm sitting here without a frakking clue of what to say to you."

"Sorry I can't be more help." Gaeta took a drink and his eyes widened in surprise. "This is water."

"Well, yeah. What did you think?"

Gaeta hesitated. "Do you mind?" he asked.

Lee shook his head. "Go ahead."

He drank it thirstily, emptying the flask. It was a strange thing to be so grateful for these days. When he was done, he handed the flask back to Lee. "Sorry."

"No need to apologize." Lee shrugged. "It's water."

"No. I mean, sorry I can't help you with what to say. It's been a lousy day."
"Yeah, I'm getting that idea. I might not know you well, but I find it kind of strange that you're holed up in a dusty corridor that people never use anymore."

Gaeta shrugged. His eyes unfocused, and Lee waited. Then, "Do you ever regret putting a gun to Tigh's head?"

"What?"

"Your father. He's so close to the Colonel, and he..." Gaeta sighed. "Especially after the Exodus, and everything the Colonel did to help us escape. He trusts him. More than trusts him."

Tigh, then. "Do you know where Jammer is?"

Gaeta wouldn't look at Lee. "I don't know that you're going to find him."

"What?"

Haltingly, Gaeta began to tell the story. A circle of unnamed people, who told him that he'd had a trial and been found guilty of crimes against humanity, and found it fit to execute him. Gaeta didn't give names, but Lee didn't press- he had one name, and that was enough to go on. He just listened with growing horror.

"How did you escape?" he finally asked, when Gaeta fell silent.

Gaeta shrugged. "Luck. I... I did what I could on New Caprica. I fed information to the resistance. But I had to protect myself, and my contact, so I set up a dead drop. The woman who helped me set it up died in the Exodus. I had no idea who I was talking to. And by sheer, dumb luck, it was someone in the Circle."

Lee whistled. "Frak. So they let you go?"

"They let me go," Gaeta said, and suddenly, it clicked into place. They had let him go, and Gaeta had come in here to hide and regroup himself. This had all happened in the past few hours.

"Frak," Lee repeated, and now he really didn't know what to say. He stared at the man standing in front of him with his head bowed and his hands shaking. He'd never realized how little he respected Felix Gaeta until he felt his respect soaring for him now.

"Listn," he finally said, when Gaeta didn't say anything. "You shouldn't be down here right now. And you shouldn't be alone. If there's one vigilante group out there, there might be more. Dee and I have quarters- come wait there. I'll go talk to my father."

Gaeta nodded. "All right." He didn't move, and Lee took his arm and steered him as if he as guiding a child. They began making their way out of the dingy, dark corridors.

"I don't know what's going to happen next," Lee heard himself saying as they walked. "But I will make sure that my father and President Roslin know what you've done."

"Thank you." The courtesy was automatic. But Gaeta looked up at Lee, and something raw and painful flashed in his eyes. "Thank you," he repeated, and there was a deeper meaning in his voice.

"You're welcome." Lee guided him back up to the light, and began to figure out exactly the words he was going to use to tell his father exactly what had happened, and who they needed to ask about the whereabouts of Jammer.



Title: Drive Until You Lose the Road
Prompt: In Sometimes A Great Notion, instead of Dee it's Felix. Bonus points if Helo/Dee find him and reactions from Adama and Louis
Characters: Helo, Hoshi, Adama, Dee





It's going to be okay. Helo kept reminding himself of that as he made his way through the chaotic corridors of Galactica. It's going to be okay. He averted his eyes from a pair practically having sex against the wall, and a few steps later sidestepped a brawl. He knew he should break both of them up, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Getting to the CIC was hard enough, and he was already late for duty.

He was walking past the officer's racks when he was hit with a small, feminine projectile, nearly knocking him off his feet. Helo reached out one hand to steady himself against the wall, and the other to steady-

"Dee?"

"Frak! It's insane around here!" Dee looked tired and worn, even as she buttoned her duty blues up neatly. She looked up at Helo. "Thanks. Hey, sorry I couldn't sit for you earlier-"

"It's okay," Helo waved his hand dismissively. "Sharon asked Felix, and I think he enjoyed it."

"He was smiling just now," Dee said. "Of course, I think Hoshi might have-"

A sharp, loud sound echoed, and Helo and Dee stared at each other.

"That didn't sound like-"

"It couldn't be." But both of them sprinted back towards the racks. Helo got there first, and grabbed Dee before she could get past him. "Don't look," he ordered her, his own voice breaking. "For God's sake, Dee. Don’t look."

***

Louis knew he'd never forget the look on Helo's face when he came into the CIC to tell him that Felix was dead. For a moment, he thought that a sleeper Cylon had been discovered, or something was wrong with Hera. But then Helo came straight for him, and somehow, Louis knew. He was out of his seat before Helo even arrived.

They walked down the corridors together, silent. Adama had called after Louis- he was vaguely aware of that- but Helo must have said something. Not that it mattered. Even if the Cylons attacked right now, nothing would matter more.

He thought that Helo would take him to the racks, but he led Louis to the morgue instead. Helo stopped on the thresh hold, where Dee was waiting. Her eyes were red, and that, more than anything, drove home that this was real. "Do you want me to come in with you?" Helo asked.

Louis shook his head. "Not now. Thank you." His mouth was dry and his hands were shaking, but he couldn't not do this. Helo nodded and stepped back, and put an arm around Dee's shoulder, but Louis stepped into the morgue alone.

Felix was lying under a sheet on the table. One of the few things that Helo had said was that Louis didn't want to raise that sheet, but Louis couldn't stop himself. He lifted the sheet, and then had to turn away before he vomited on Felix's corpse. It was only a second, but that second would be etched in his mind for the rest of his life.

He finished vomiting into a bin, and then wiped his mouth on his sleeve. He turned back, looking at the body under the sheet again and not wanting to go anywhere near it. And yet… if he didn't… he'd regret it forever.

He slipped his hand under the sheet, fumbling for Felix's fingers. They were cold, and they didn't feel like flesh and bone- they felt more like plastic. He laced his fingers through Felix's, and then bent over, his brow near Felix's chest.

His back was aching when the morgue hatch opened.

Louis looked up, and saw Adama teetering on the thresh hold. He felt a flat dislike at the sight of the Admiral, increased as the scent of alcohol reached his nose.

"I need a moment," Adama informed Louis.

"Sir, I…" Louis began. Adama didn't say anything, but the expression on his face hardened into something resembling authority, and Louis realized that he'd been in her a while anyway. "Yes, sir," he said, sliding off the stool. He slipped out of the room, leaving Felix behind.

***

Bill looked down at the sheet. It blurred in his vision, and he was glad, because he didn't think he could do this if he was sober. He flicked the sheet back, saw the damage, and put the sheet back in place. "Frak."

The sheet hadn't fallen back quite right, and Bill stared at the lock of dark hair that was exposed. It was longer and wildly curly. From a detached distance, Bill realized that he still pictured Gaeta with the military haircut, crisp duty blues and yes, two legs. That lock of hair taunted him, and he closed his eyes.

The door opened. Probably frakking Hoshi again, going way too overboard over a co-worker's death. Bill opened his mouth to chew the man out, but shut it again when he saw Lee hovering. "What do you want?"

"Tigh said you were in here," Lee answered quietly.

"Whatever the problem is, figure it out yourselves," Bill snapped back. "I'm grieving."

"Dad-"

"Lee. One of my best officers who has served under me for seven years just committed suicide. Go away."

Lee didn't leave. "That's not my point. Dad, this wasn't your fault."

"Fault." Bill snorted. "He put the gun to his head."

"Exactly." But Lee's face was dark, and he looked like he wanted to say something more. "Dad, Kara told me a few things that you really need to hear. Soon."

Bill nodded, and took another drink from his flask. "I'll be there in ten. If I'm right, Hoshi's still luring outside the door anyway."

Lee's face softened a little. "Of course he is, Dad. Dee told me that they were getting really serious." Bill still stared at him blankly, and Lee sighed. "They were together. Together together."

It dawned on him, and Bill looked back down at the body under the sheet, not wanting to remember what he'd thought about Hoshi in the privacy of his mind. "Go," he said, even more disturbed about Lee's revelation than the fact the man in front of him was dead. "Wait for me in my quarters. I'll be there."

"All right." Lee ducked out.

Gaeta and Hoshi. Bill thought he might have had plenty of excuses for not knowing about it before; he couldn't fault either of them in their professionalism. But now that he thought about it, he remembered how distracted Hoshi had been ever since the Demetrius returned, the way he always looked like he'd been crying, and the way the medicinal smell of the infirmary hung around him. Bill had thought… no, he hadn't thought, and even if all of that hadn't clued him in, the image of a man bent over a shroud gripping cold fingers should have been a blazing beacon.

What else was he not seeing?

A little voice whispered, deep inside his head, but the words were felt rather than heard. Bill unscrewed the flask and took another deep drink, and then stumbled towards the door. As he did, the glint of Gaeta's prosthetic, leaning against the wall with his crutches, caught his eye. He looked away.

Hoshi was still standing outside the door, flanked by Dee and Helo. Bill was aware that something was required of him, some words of comfort and sympathy. But he didn't have them; he was empty. He nodded at the three of them, and then moved on and away.

Frak Earth. He saw the words in front of him, sprayed on the wall. Well, he'd do it one better. Frak everything.

***

Dee watched the Admiral go, and the anger that had swelled in her came to a boil. She pressed her lips together, turning back to Hoshi and Helo. Helo looked confused; Louis looked defeated.

Dee wasn't either. Dee was pissed as hell.

She was angry. Angry at the Admiral and the President, for lying about Earth. Angry at them both for falling apart. Angry at Felix, for doing this, for leaving them all alone. Angry at Helo, for trying to protect her when she didn't need protecting, instead of protecting Felix when he had needed it.

"I'm going back in," Louis muttered, and the lost note in his voice was the match to Dee's tinder and gasoline.

"No you're not."

"Dee-" Helo began, but Hoshi rose up to it.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"How could you not have seen this coming?" Dee asked. "Either of you? You've been around him constantly, and you," she turned on Helo, "he told you. What did you think he meant when he asked you not to let Cottle take his leg?"

"He meant for me to get him back to the Galactica," Helo said crossly. "I would have done it if I could, Dee. I made a decision."

"And did you ever say anything to him about it? Did you ever apologize?" Dee was fuming. Helo glared at her, but she just glared back. When he didn't say anything, she pushed him in the chest. "Did you?"

Helo caught her by the upper arms. "Dee, enough."

"It's not enough!" Dee said, and her voice caught in her throat. "It's not ever going to be enough! Felix is dead and he's not coming back and neither of you did a damn thing to stop it!"

"Well, neither did you!" Louis flared. "You're supposed to be his best friend, and where were you when he was blowing his brains out?"

"Why, you-" Dee flew at him, ready to attack.

"Both of you, stop it!" Helo's voice echoed through the corridor. He grabbed Dee by the waist and pulled her away from Louis, who had backed up against the wall. Dee struggled against him, but Helo was too strong. Louis, on the other hand, seemed like the fight had drained from him as swiftly as it had come, and he slid down the wall, sitting with his knees against his chest, his forehead resting on his folded hands. Helo loosened his grip just a little and Dee spun to attack him, landing a good punch on his jaw.

She didn't know how he did it, but somehow Helo ended up restraining her, her arms pinned to her side as he held her close. Dee struggled, but eventually her struggles turned to tears, and Helo's restraint turned to an embrace. She stood for a long time, her arms around his waist, crying into his jacket, mourning the loss of her friend.

Eventually, as the storm started to slow, Helo managed to fish a rag out of somewhere and handed it to Dee to blow her nose. He produced another one from a crate or a pocket or something and handed it to Louis, who was still on the floor. Then he hunkered down next to him.

"It's going to be all right," Helo said, his voice low. "We'll make the Admiral see it, and we'll get through this, all right?"

"He's not seeing anything," Dee said dully, and then blew her nose loudly.

"He's not," Helo said, cautiously, "and he needs some sort of wake-up call. We- me and Athena- we've been talking about it, and we've got a plan…."