Title: Defend
Author: scy
Feedback: scynneh@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Not mine
Fandom: Battlestar Galactica
Pairing: Sam/Kara/Leoben, Helo/Athena
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up through the current season
Summary: A meeting results in other things
Author's Notes: Follows Plenty, Savor, and Entrench.
November 2008

"I've never actually seen you worry so much about how you look," Sam said as he came up behind Kara and put his hands around her waist.

Kara slapped at him absently. "Where's your uniform?"

"I'm not technically part of the Fleet, remember? I don't think they want to be reminded that I ever passed for human."

It was a fine distinction, that Sam hadn't known he wasn't human, and he kept reminding himself and everyone else of that fact. Kara thought it didn't matter, and was trying to find ways to tell him that without resorting to hitting him over the head with it.

"You were part of the Resistance, too," Kara said. "It's how we met." She reached out and touched his shoulder.

Sam thought that Kara could be vulnerable at the weirdest times, but it was gone in an instant.

"Whatever, wear what you want, it's not as though they're going to notice."

"They will scrutinize everything," Leoben said, coming into the room without a sound.

Kara swore. "I thought you promised you were going to help him get over that problem."

"I told him to stomp his feet," Sam said. "It didn't last."

Leoben walked up to them, and looked over their clothing. He nodded at Kara.

"I look all right?"

Leoben reached up and shyly pushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Much more than that."

"Thanks," she said, and they both stared at Sam.

"What?"

It took a quarter of an hour, but Leoben and Kara persuaded Sam to change into something that at least wasn't torn or stained with paint, so when they made their entrance at Fleet headquarters, nobody gave them second looks for that. The stares were for other reasons, and some of the whispers weren't covered by salutes.

By the time they reached the confrence room, Kara was wiggling her fingers to keep from making fists and her shoulders had tightened dangerously.

Sam put a hand in the center of Kara's back, and on her other side, Leoben nodded at her.

"Captain Thrace to see Admiral Adama and the President," Kara said, and the Marines at the door stood down to let them pass. They eyed Leoben and Sam, but Kara frowned, and there wasn't so much as a comment.

The Admiral and President Roslin looked tired, but were smiling politely when Kara entered. When they took in her escort, their expressions turned sharper, and Kara refused to look down.

Helo and Athena were waiting, both at attention. She stared and he smiled just a little at Kara and then they all faced forward.

"We've asked you all here to discuss forming a committee in order to further cultivate a positive collaboration between the humans and Cylons," Roslin said. "You have all been selected because of your various skill sets."

To Kara, that was a careful way of admitting that the Colonials were working with three Cylons and as Sam glanced her way, she saw that he agreed.

"Obviously matters can't continue as they have been," Roslin said, and the Admiral nodded.

"We have doubts whether, even considering the contributions all of you have made, any real accord can be reached. The attitude of the colonists is not favorable toward any sort of agreement."

"They're afraid of us," Sam said.

"It's not surprising," Roslin said, eyeing Sam. "There are questions as to whether an alliance will last, or if it's even in the best interests of humanity."

"Is that it? Kara asked. "Because, everybody is going to have to work togeher. Humans won't be able to survive another attack, and these guys are the ones who have the inside intelligence on the other models. Ignoring what they can tell you is dangerous and stupid."

"Captain Thrace," the Admiral said, and that was exactly the wrong tack, Sam saw Kara's eyes widen and then she shook her head the tiniest bit.

"Sir."

"We are willing to look at our options, but we have to be realistic. How much useful intel can these Cylons actually give us?"

"Athena has demonstrated consistently that she can be depended on," Sam said, and Helo gave him a grateful look, as he couldn't say as much, it was well known that he was was on her side, and people tend to think he was much too biased in her favor.

"We know that, and more importantly, we're familiar with her model and its methods."

"Her," Helo said, voice soft. "She's my wife."

"What about me?" Sam asked. "I've been told that I shouldn't even consider being part of the Fleet, that they don't need me, and yet you guys are twelve pilots short on a good day. How are we supposed to work together if you can't even trust us, just a little."

President Roslin and the Admiral looked at each other again, and Sam got angry, tired of them trying to show that they were in charge, when this was supposed to be about helping each other.

"It's not going to work, this little diplomatic dance. You don't make decisions until you're in the sights of a basestar and there's nothing else to do but beg the prisoners you call allies for help." He shook his head, just like Kara had. "That won't cut it, not anymore. This isn't Caprica, or any of the places we've been before, and if you can't figure out how much you need an advantage, then we aren't needed here."

"If that's the way you feel, then I don't see that we have anything further to discuss," Roslin said, and Adam gave her a long look.

"We tried to be open to suggestions."

"No, you called us here to show the Fleet that you're talking to us, if nothing actually gets done, then it's not supposed to be your fault.' Kara smiled. "After all, you're talking to a couple of crazies and walking toasters, what could they possibly tell you except how to find Kobol and then Earth." She stepped back. "Your loss." She looked at the Admiral and spun on her heel and exited, Sam behind her, and Leoben giving Roslin and Adama an asessing glance that seemed to strike Roslin hard, and she held still until he too followed.

Helo and Athena came up behind the three of them, and Helo grabbed Kara's arm. "What the hell was that?"

"Ask him," Kara said, and Sam shrugged.

"I could tell, it wasn't going to happen."

"It might have, if you hadn't kept attacking them."

"I'm not going to be their trophy Cylon," Sam said. "And Kara is more than some pilot who lost her mind and somehow found Earth. We're not there for them to use when they want and to forget when they don't like what we're saying."

"They know that now," Leoben said, and Athena flinched.

"Why do you do that?"

Kara didn't even look around. "He's just that way."

"What are we going to do now?" Helo asked, the five of them walking quickly out of Fleet headquarters, ignoring the guards and other personnel.

"I think we all need a drink," Kara said, and Sam agreed.

"Oh, I've seen you in these moods," Helo said. "I usually end up paying your bar tab and the damages afterwards."

"We'll be good," Kara said, and got incredulous stares from everyone except Leoben who just was amused. "Okay, not good, but I'll try."

"Good enough for me," Sam said. "Besides, she's not the only one who needs to work some of this out."

They found a bar, literally cut out of the hull of a passenger liner, adn even thoug hthe man at the door looked askance at the Cylons, a glare from Kara and Helo moved him aside.

Athena strode in as if she was only barely aware of the stir she was causing, but Sam couldn't help but notice the way that the room quieted down as they came in. Leoben paced Sam, a smile absent, but clearly visible in his eyes.

"Watch out for Kara," Sam said. "You know the last thing we need is for someone to get her riled up."

"That would be unfortunate," LEoben said and pulled a chair out for Kara, who rolled her eyes but took it, and Leoben followed into his own seat.

"Have you always been impossible?" Sam asked, sitting between the two of them.

"By nature," Leoben said.

"Not even that explains what you do," Sam said, but fondly.

Kara eyed the bar and the lone card game, then she and Helo had a whispered exchange and he walked off toward the bar.

When he got back, there weren't enough glasses for everyone, and as Sam looke around, he realized he was the only one of their trio to get one.

Kara took it from him and drained it once, refilled it, and knocked it back again. After the second refill, Sam took it away from her, and nudged it out of her reach.

"Aren;t you going to have anything?"

Leoben shrugged and Sam groaned, handing his glass over. "Can we get drunk?"

"Haven't you?"

"Yeah, but is it different if you knew all along that you weren't human?"

"No, I can get drunk too," Leoben said, adn set the glass down gently. "It will take a much more powerful intoxicant for me to be so."

"Are you saying you can outdrink me?"

He knew that Helo and Athena were staring, but couldn't help grinning at Leoben in the way they had when Sam dared Leoben, and the favor was returned.

"Want to make a wager?"

"I have already seen it," Leoben said and paused. "It's a rather diverting sight."

"Really." Sam tried to stare him down, and Leoben stole his drink again. "You would agree, if you could remember."

Sam had plenty of experience with waking up and having no idea where he'd been the night before, but to have someone enjoying it so much was maddening, which was one of those things that Leoben did well.

Kara laughed and Sam turned on her. "You want in on this?"

"Always, but you know you can't take me."

They began matching drinks, and as Helo watched, sipping more slowly, he dealt a pack of cards.

Leoben accepted a hand and Helo blinked.

"You play cards?"

Leoben smiled.

"Why does that not surprise me?" Athena asked. "It's a game, of course he'd be interested in it."

"Chance and daring fate with every move," Leoben said.

"It sounds like our lives," Sam said, leaning over Leoben's shoudler.

"They are alike." Leoben sat back, his shoulder against Sam's chest as they surveyed his cards.

"You two," Athena said, and shook her head.

"What?" Sam asked. They weren't doing anything weird, or, intimate, not yet anyhow.

"We are surprising both together and apart," Leoben said, and Sam pleaded with him for coherence.

"Just while we're playing cards, can you try to make sense to other people?"

Leoben leaned in and sat up attentively. "Your turn."

As they played, Sam was aware of their audience, and that a group of men and women were getting more vocal in their unhappiness. One of them got out of his seat and stood over Leoben's shoudler and tried to leer at Kara and cow Sam and Leoben.

"She used to be a hotshot pilot, now she drinks with machines."

Leoben ignored hte man and Sam put a hand on Helo's shoulder when he moved angrily.

"What, you don't like hearing the truth? You frak toasters."

A woman stood beside her friend and nodded. "Yeah, I hear they can do that."

Helo and Athena looked at each other and she shrugged.

As Kara met Sam's eyes, he held up a finger. These guys got one more, and then it was going to be messy. The third in their trio was waiting for Helo to lay his cards down, and then he smiled, showing his own.

"Full colors."

The man behind him snickered. "I didn't thnk they could play cards, what other games do they like?"

"Enough." Helo was up out of his chair and met the first man to rush at him with a fist.

Athena swept herself out of the way and twisted around to kick a second man in the stomach.

Sam ducked a pitcher that flew at his head and got in a few shots as payment.

"Are you two going to join in?"

Kara and Leoben were still sitting at the table as she frowned at him.

"You cheated."

"I don't have to, the rules are simple enough to work in my favor with little effort." Leoben motioned to Kara's cards. "Your mind was elsewhere."

"I don't lose."

"Except to me."

"Since when?" They shifted out of the way as Helo swept a chair across someone's head and the man fell beside the table.

"We can play again later," Leoben said.

"Count on it," Kara said, and jabbed a fist into the face of the man who had been making faces at her.

Helo and Athena were making a circle, knocking down anyone who got too close, and Sam, Kara and Leoben waded in to widen the perimeter.

None of the Cylons had been trying to actively hurt the humans that attacked them, but when someone pulled out a knife, Athena threw him over two tables and into a third.

Kara and Sam were fighting back to back, with Leoben moving around them like a lean shadow.

"Look out, the MP's are on their way," someone yelled, and everyone tried to get in a few last blows as they rushed for the door.

Sam and Leoben hoisted Kara up and swung her out of the way, and Helo nearly got punched by his wife when he tried to get between her and her opponent, but they caught up on the outside.

"That's pretty much what I imagined when I thought we should get a drink," Helo said, and Athena laughed.

"It did have its moments."

Kara smacked Sam on the head. "Put me down, I can walk."

"You're drunker than I am," Sam said, and watched her walk sideways for a moment. "So don't blame me if you run straight into a wall."

"She won't," Helo said. "You'll stop her."

"If she lets me," Sam said, and Leoben put himself in Kara's way so that she could grab his vest without looking like she needed to.

Sam did the same, when he discovered he'd lost his center of gravity, and Leoben steered them both effortlessly down the street, Athena doing the same with Helo when he needed it.

"What do you want to bet we get called in for this by the Admiral?" Helo asked.

"Frak," Kara said.

"We were establishing relations with the civilians," Sam said.

"Of a sort," Leoben said.

"He won't see it that way," Athena said.

"Then maybe we should take him drinking," Kara said.

"That'll go over well," Helo said, and Athena cleared her throat.

"You three can get home all right?"

"We will be fine," Leoben said, and adjusted Sam's path so he avoided the edge of a building.

Athena gave him another long look, but this one was not quite as suspicious. "Until the next time."

Leoben inclined his head, and the two Cylons steered their charges on separate trajectories toward home.

-end