Siblings, Part Six.
Feb. 11th, 2019 12:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fiveofnoneBattlestar Galactica, post-war
As far as recoveries went, it wasn’t the greatest.
His bullet wound had been cleaned and kept sterile. Somehow he had avoided a secondary infection, but the damage to his muscle tissue was enough to keep him bedridden for several days. The pain was relentless. Either there was only so much morphine available or no one wanted to waste it on an enemy Cylon, but whatever they were putting in his IV was only taking the edge off at best.
That, at least, was a blessing in disguise. It meant that he didn’t have to think much about what was going to happen next.
The day that he could tolerate the pain well enough to sit up in his hospital bed, Six came to visit him. She was dressed in neutral colors, as beautiful as always. Sixes seemed designed to flaunt their looks no matter how they dressed. Caspar was occasionally envious of that magnetism. No one ever asked a Six to dig a ditch or clean a set of memory banks.
“How are you feeling?” she asked, pulling up a chair.
Caspar watched her cautiously. This was the same Six who had rescued him from behind the stack of barrels. The same Six who was there when he resurrected. It didn’t make any sense to lie, but showing weakness in front of anyone did not come easily. “I’ve been better,” he said finally. “But I’ve been worse, too.”
She nodded, her expression sympathetic. That rankled him, and he added acerbically, “Did you all come to a decision about what to do with me? There’s an airlock right around the corner from here, you know. Very convenient.”
Her lips turned up in vague amusement. “And here I was, worried you’d be in too much pain for your usual banter.” She crossed her legs and smoothed out her pencil skirt. “We did, as a matter of fact. It would have been sooner, but I had to do a little sleuthing first.”
He frowned at her, stomach turning. “What are you talking about?”
“Caspar…” She smiled at him softly. “I was there when you resurrected, remember? You were inconsolable over that human woman you left behind.”
He looked away, flushing in embarrassment. He remembered. “What of it?”
“Well, that’s not typical of a Five, wouldn’t you agree? I know your brothers tried to pass it off as a glitch in your false memories, but then I saw you again, and I was curious. So I looked into your files. I found out that on New Caprica, you released a young woman named Adia Costas from interrogation. That’s not typical of a Five, either.”
Caspar concentrated on the throbbing in his side and said nothing.
“It was easy to connect the rest of the dots. I let our siblings know about what I learned. My sisters felt the same as me, of course. That you were worth forgiving. The Eights weren’t so sure. Sharon wanted to execute you personally, but you know. She’s still sore about the kidnapping.”
“That wasn’t my idea,” Caspar muttered.
“I know. You shouldn’t have been on Galactica at all, and yet here you are. Alive somehow, despite everything.”
Caspar rolled his eyes. “Lucky me.”
Six sighed. “Yes, lucky you. The Twos wanted to give you another chance, so the Eights relented. We presented your case to the Quorum, and they agreed to pardon you on the condition that you provide an apology and a statement of your intentions.”
“My intentions,” he repeated dully. What intentions could he possibly have? He had lost everything in the War: his identity, his brothers, his purpose.
No, he reminded himself. Maybe not everything.
Abandoning what little pride he had left, he forced himself to look his sister in the eyes. “Did Adia make it to Earth? Did she survive?”
A small smile graced her sister’s face. She nodded.
Relief flooded through him, far more potent than whatever was dripping into his IV. He sank back into his pillows and stared at the ceiling, blinking back the sudden wetness in his eyes. “Good,” he exhaled shakily. “That’s good.”
“She’s working on the settlement right now, so far as I know.” A pause and he could practically hear her crafty grin. “Would you like to see her once you’ve recovered?”
A bitter laugh escaped his lips while he rubbed his eyes clear. “I sincerely doubt she wants to see me again after everything I put her through.”
“But if she did,” Six insisted. “If she agreed to it, would you like to see her?”
A tiny flame of hope flickered to life in his chest. He held his breath, but it didn’t go out. It scared him a little. Hope was another thing he could lose.
“…yes. Yes, I would.” He held onto that hope a moment longer before glaring at his sister. “But only if she wants to see me. I’m not willing to hurt her all over again.”
Six held up her hands. “You have my word, brother. No reunion unless she okays it. If she doesn’t, there’s a group of us who are traveling up north. You can come with us instead.”
“If she never wants to see me again, sure.” He wouldn’t want to run the risk of bumping into her and ruining the new life she had made for herself. “Not that I’m fit to go anywhere for another few weeks.”
“You’ll heal faster than you know it, brother. Especially now that you have something to look forward to.” She stood up, then leaned over and kissed his forehead, which he found both patronizing and a little bit reassuring. “I’m proud of you, you know. It’s easy for me to fall in love, but you’ve managed to stay in love, all this time.”
~*~
Caspar woke up with Adia cradled in his arms, Anastasia a purring lump at the foot of the bed. Princess was camped out in front of the door, presumably to make sure that he didn’t go wandering off again. Unfortunately, she had lost her battle with sleep, and her little oinking snores carried all the way to his ears.
He smiled a little. It wasn’t a bad memory, so far as those things go.
Too bad that Six had kept her word and left for the mainland. He had always considered her too sentimental, too quick to bond with humans and try to understand their emotions. He had thought of it as a flaw for so long, but now he understood that it was her strength.
It’s how she survived. It’s how the humans survived, after everything the Cylons had put them through.
He shut his eyes. He’d live up to his promise, if not for himself, then for Adia.
It was time to face his past.
As far as recoveries went, it wasn’t the greatest.
His bullet wound had been cleaned and kept sterile. Somehow he had avoided a secondary infection, but the damage to his muscle tissue was enough to keep him bedridden for several days. The pain was relentless. Either there was only so much morphine available or no one wanted to waste it on an enemy Cylon, but whatever they were putting in his IV was only taking the edge off at best.
That, at least, was a blessing in disguise. It meant that he didn’t have to think much about what was going to happen next.
The day that he could tolerate the pain well enough to sit up in his hospital bed, Six came to visit him. She was dressed in neutral colors, as beautiful as always. Sixes seemed designed to flaunt their looks no matter how they dressed. Caspar was occasionally envious of that magnetism. No one ever asked a Six to dig a ditch or clean a set of memory banks.
“How are you feeling?” she asked, pulling up a chair.
Caspar watched her cautiously. This was the same Six who had rescued him from behind the stack of barrels. The same Six who was there when he resurrected. It didn’t make any sense to lie, but showing weakness in front of anyone did not come easily. “I’ve been better,” he said finally. “But I’ve been worse, too.”
She nodded, her expression sympathetic. That rankled him, and he added acerbically, “Did you all come to a decision about what to do with me? There’s an airlock right around the corner from here, you know. Very convenient.”
Her lips turned up in vague amusement. “And here I was, worried you’d be in too much pain for your usual banter.” She crossed her legs and smoothed out her pencil skirt. “We did, as a matter of fact. It would have been sooner, but I had to do a little sleuthing first.”
He frowned at her, stomach turning. “What are you talking about?”
“Caspar…” She smiled at him softly. “I was there when you resurrected, remember? You were inconsolable over that human woman you left behind.”
He looked away, flushing in embarrassment. He remembered. “What of it?”
“Well, that’s not typical of a Five, wouldn’t you agree? I know your brothers tried to pass it off as a glitch in your false memories, but then I saw you again, and I was curious. So I looked into your files. I found out that on New Caprica, you released a young woman named Adia Costas from interrogation. That’s not typical of a Five, either.”
Caspar concentrated on the throbbing in his side and said nothing.
“It was easy to connect the rest of the dots. I let our siblings know about what I learned. My sisters felt the same as me, of course. That you were worth forgiving. The Eights weren’t so sure. Sharon wanted to execute you personally, but you know. She’s still sore about the kidnapping.”
“That wasn’t my idea,” Caspar muttered.
“I know. You shouldn’t have been on Galactica at all, and yet here you are. Alive somehow, despite everything.”
Caspar rolled his eyes. “Lucky me.”
Six sighed. “Yes, lucky you. The Twos wanted to give you another chance, so the Eights relented. We presented your case to the Quorum, and they agreed to pardon you on the condition that you provide an apology and a statement of your intentions.”
“My intentions,” he repeated dully. What intentions could he possibly have? He had lost everything in the War: his identity, his brothers, his purpose.
No, he reminded himself. Maybe not everything.
Abandoning what little pride he had left, he forced himself to look his sister in the eyes. “Did Adia make it to Earth? Did she survive?”
A small smile graced her sister’s face. She nodded.
Relief flooded through him, far more potent than whatever was dripping into his IV. He sank back into his pillows and stared at the ceiling, blinking back the sudden wetness in his eyes. “Good,” he exhaled shakily. “That’s good.”
“She’s working on the settlement right now, so far as I know.” A pause and he could practically hear her crafty grin. “Would you like to see her once you’ve recovered?”
A bitter laugh escaped his lips while he rubbed his eyes clear. “I sincerely doubt she wants to see me again after everything I put her through.”
“But if she did,” Six insisted. “If she agreed to it, would you like to see her?”
A tiny flame of hope flickered to life in his chest. He held his breath, but it didn’t go out. It scared him a little. Hope was another thing he could lose.
“…yes. Yes, I would.” He held onto that hope a moment longer before glaring at his sister. “But only if she wants to see me. I’m not willing to hurt her all over again.”
Six held up her hands. “You have my word, brother. No reunion unless she okays it. If she doesn’t, there’s a group of us who are traveling up north. You can come with us instead.”
“If she never wants to see me again, sure.” He wouldn’t want to run the risk of bumping into her and ruining the new life she had made for herself. “Not that I’m fit to go anywhere for another few weeks.”
“You’ll heal faster than you know it, brother. Especially now that you have something to look forward to.” She stood up, then leaned over and kissed his forehead, which he found both patronizing and a little bit reassuring. “I’m proud of you, you know. It’s easy for me to fall in love, but you’ve managed to stay in love, all this time.”
~*~
Caspar woke up with Adia cradled in his arms, Anastasia a purring lump at the foot of the bed. Princess was camped out in front of the door, presumably to make sure that he didn’t go wandering off again. Unfortunately, she had lost her battle with sleep, and her little oinking snores carried all the way to his ears.
He smiled a little. It wasn’t a bad memory, so far as those things go.
Too bad that Six had kept her word and left for the mainland. He had always considered her too sentimental, too quick to bond with humans and try to understand their emotions. He had thought of it as a flaw for so long, but now he understood that it was her strength.
It’s how she survived. It’s how the humans survived, after everything the Cylons had put them through.
He shut his eyes. He’d live up to his promise, if not for himself, then for Adia.
It was time to face his past.
