Word Count: 14,303
Date: 10/29/04
Series: Mini
Rating: M
Category: Relationships
Pairing/Focus: Lee, Kara
Warnings:
Summary:
Spoilers/Disclaimers:
Chapter 1
“You’ve got to be frakking kidding me….” Kara muttered as she fought with the zipper on her flight suit. Not even two weeks ago she’d had the exact same problem and been forced to exchange that suit for a little bit larger size. Now she was having trouble getting the new suit to meet in the middle. There was no way that she could have gained weight. Rations had been cut back to absolute minimum as it had been months since they had found any food sources. Then there was the shortage caused by a rash of contaminated rations a few months back. If anything the damned suit should have been hanging off of her.
“Lords… this must be some idiot’s idea of a stupid joke… I don’t have time for this…” she grumbled, lying back on her bunk in an attempt to get the suit zipped up. There was no time for her to go down to laundry services and exchange this suit, or to try track down the prankster. She was due on the flight deck in five minutes. There was no way she was missing this patrol. Things had been way too quiet around here the past year, any chance to get in the air you just didn’t miss.
Just then, Lee climbed through the hatch to the barracks to grab his own flight suit. Had it not been for the murderous look in Kara’s eyes, the sight that greeted him would have been quite comical. Kara was fighting with the zipper on her flight suit like a teen trying to squeeze into pants two sizes too small. “Need a little help?” Lee managed to ask before having to stifle a laugh as he sat down on the edge of Kara’s bunk.
Kara glared at him for a moment, then said resigned, “Just help me get this suit zipped up…” Lee helped pull the leather-like material together, trying very hard not to burst out into laughter. “I’m going to kill the frakking idiot who thinks switching uniforms is so frakking hilarious” she growled through gritted teeth as she finally got the zipper to move. “Now wipe that frakking grin of your face and help me up.”
Lee took Kara’s hand and pulled her to her feet, unable to keep from snickering any longer. Quickly ducking away from a possible scathing blow to his shoulder, Lee grabbed his own flight suit; donning it and zipping it up with ease, winking at Kara who just glared back at him.
“I thought tight pants went out of style years ago” he laughed as they exited out to the main corridor.
“Glad you find this so frakking amusing” Kara smirked, catching Lee across the back of the head with her gloves.
Lee laughed and ran a couple steps ahead of her. Laughing he called back “It’s going to be interesting watching you try get into the cockpit in that suit.”
Kara rolled her eyes. “This is going to be one hell of a long patrol,” she muttered to herself as she descended the stairs to the flight deck, Lee still laughing like a fool ahead of her. As soon as I find out who switched suits and deal with them… He’s next… she thought with a wicked smirk.
She barely managed to keep her temper in check as she climbed into the cockpit of her MarkII amid Lee’s snickering and a few young deckhands whistling at the tight fit flight suit. She made a mental note of whom, as they became the prime suspects in her uniform investigation. One of them was going to pay… and pay dearly at that.
Wincing slightly, she eased back into her seat. Well, there was no danger of her falling asleep in this thing. Uncomfortable was an understatement. As soon as she was strapped in, she unfastened the buckles on the suit, relieving some of the pinching sensations she felt along her torso from the suit. All she wanted was to get into open space. There she would be able to relax; maybe she might even find some piece of space debris to blow up…
“Starbuck, this is Shooter, I have control, stand by.” The voice echoed through her earpiece.
“Roger that Shooter, standing by” Starbuck replied, barely even thinking, the launch process so routine she could have done it in her sleep.
“Viper eight-five-four-seven clear forward, Navcon green, interval check”
Kara checks her console and gives the thumbs up to Launch Control.
“Thrust positive… good luck out there”
With that, the viper begins the high-g launch down the tube, breaking free from the artificial gravity and dark walls of the Galactica, out into free space. Maneuvering around to fly just off Apollo’s port wing; she gives Apollo a reluctant thumbs up, considering she would rather glue the zipper on his damn flight suit shut, with him in it. He must have been reading her mind, because he smiled, bordering on laughing. She rolled her eyes at him and turned her attention to her controls for a moment. Before long a voice came over the wireless “Ok… I’ll stop… or at least try to” She looked out to starboard, to see Apollo grinning sheepishly. She simply nodded, finding it difficult to carry on much of a conversation at the moment. That was ok, though, she was only required to check in every 30 minutes. Otherwise, patrols remained fairly silent. No need to attract undue attention with a lot of wireless traffic.
“Starbuck, this is Apollo, you still with me” came the voice over the wireless. Right on schedule, she thought with a smirk.
“Roger that Apollo,” She replied, feeling and sounding a little breathless. This was going to be a hell of a long day.
“Is everything alright over there?” He asked, concern sneaking into his voice.
“Roger that, just a bit of a tight squeeze” she managed, realizing she would probably send him into fits of laughter.
“Ok.” He replied, starting to snicker a little. “Let me know if you get too uncomfortable” In reply, Starbuck simply gave a thumbs up, deciding speaking was much too painful to do often. Her mind was no longer focused on who she was going to lynch when she got back, but simply on getting through this patrol.
It wasn’t long after, she noticed her legs were feeling numb, adding to her general irritation. Just great she thought to herself. Just what I frakking need. She shifted slightly in her seat, trying to get more comfortable. There was no way she was ending this patrol early. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, which proved to be a big mistake. She began to see spots before her eyes, and before she could call for help over the wireless, darkness took over, pulling her under.
Apollo noticed as Starbuck’s viper began to drift back, appearing to lose power. He immediately attempted to contact her on the wireless. “Starbuck, this is Apollo, what’s your status?” He was greeted with only silence “Starbuck, this is Apollo, do you copy?” Again there was nothing. Hitting his reverse thrusters briefly, he shot back, pulling up near to where Starbuck’s viper drifted.
The first thing he could see as he edged closer was that all the lights in the cockpit were still on, so she still had power. Why wasn’t she responding? Very carefully he edged closer so that he could see into the full cockpit. What he saw made his heart skip a beat. Kara was slumped back against the seat, eyes closed. She was very pale and he couldn’t tell if she was breathing at all.
“Frakking hell” he yelled, his voice trembling slightly. They were 15 minutes outside radio contact with Galactica. He had to get her home… now.
Very carefully he maneuvered around until he was nearly nose to nose with her viper. He remembered how she had used this same maneuver to save his ass, though he wasn’t ready to try this at high speed. He managed to lock the gun turrets together. Easing her viper into motion, he turned back towards the Galactica.
The silence of space was grating on Apollo’s nerves. “Krypter-krypter-krypter. This is Apollo to Galactica. I'm declaring an emergency.” He spoke into the comm for what seemed like the hundredth time. Faint static crackled, followed by a voice.
“Apollo, this is Galactica. What is your situation?” Dee’s voice echoed back through the static.
“Galactica, I have a pilot injured, cause unknown. Lost consciousness approximately 15 minutes ago. En route to Galactica now, ETA 20 minutes. Have medical team standing by, prep secondary patrol unit.” “Roger that Apollo; will have teams standing by port bay.” Dee answered.
It was another fifteen minutes before the fleet came into view. The five minute approach seemed to take so much longer than the rest of the flight. Lee was near panic by this point. “Viper 7105 to Galactica, requesting emergency landing on port bay” Lee managed to speak to the comm.
“Galactica to Viper 7105, you’re all clear on Port bay”
“Roger that Galactica. I have the ball, coming home” Lee managed to maneuver both planes onto the landing deck. Although it was bumpy, both were down, safe and sound. Kara still hadn’t stirred at all. Lee didn’t’ wait until they were back down on the flight deck to begin unfastening the harnesses in his cockpit. He slid open the canopy on his viper just as the pad touched down in the bay. He didn’t even wait for a ladder, but climbed across the nose of his viper to Kara’s, unfastening the canopy as the crews brought the ladders up. Before the med crew could even get there, he had her helmet off… he had to know if she was ok…
Lee breathed a small sigh of relief. She was still warm, but her breath was shallow at best. He stepped back as the med techs lifted her out of the viper and onto a stretcher. Lee followed them back to life station, his heart was racing and he could feel the blood pounding in his ears. Only once in his life had he felt this scared… helpless. That had been six years ago as he watched his younger brother’s viper plunge into the ground during his first solo flight. Lee had been unable to help him. No one could get near the flaming wreckage at first, and even after, he had been unable to even move. The fear of what he would find had paralyzed him. Right now, his first instinct was to push his way through, but deep down he knew he could do no good in there. Reluctantly he sat down in the chair offered to him, and for the first time in nearly six years… he cried.
Chapter 2
It happened faster than anyone could realize. The viper was coming in for a landing when something went horribly wrong. It nosed down, catching the edge of the platform. Suddenly, before Lee’s eyes there was a ball of fire… and all he knew was that his brother was inside there somewhere. He couldn’t move, his heart pounded, but he was frozen to the spot. Then he saw Kara, she was trying to get through the crowd to the viper. He had to stop her… he couldn’t lose them both… he wanted to run into the flames… but he couldn’t. He knew that there was no way to get through the flames… He grabbed her, pulling her back and holding tight. She hit him at first, pummeling his chest with her fists, trying to get him to let go, until she just held on to him, sobbing as emergency crews rushed in to put out the flames.
A familiar voice echoed in his ears “take care of her for me…” A hand came down on his shoulder and he jolted awake.
It took a moment for him to register where he was. Galactica… Life Station… Kara! He must have fallen asleep… Standing over him, with a hand on his shoulder was his father.
“How long have you been here” he asked, still shaken from the vivid dream.
“Only a few moments, I didn’t mean to startle you. Has there been any word?” Adama sounded tired, four years of keeping everyone else’s spirits up were wearing his down. Lee could see it in his eyes. He knew his father thought of Kara as one of his own, and he wished like hell he knew what was going on.
“Not a word…” Lee sighed.
“Care to fill me in on what happened?”
“I’m not really sure; I know Kara was upset about her flight suit. She figures someone switched suits, since she could barely get the one in her locker done up.” Lee shrugged, “She was a little winded from the tight fit, but said she was ok…” his voice trailed off as Dr. Salik came through the door. Lee stood, his knees felt weak. It seemed like a lifetime passed before Salik spoke.
“She’s going to be alright.” He said slowly. “Her blood oxygen levels were low, due to lack of circulation. There are a few things that do have to be addressed though.” Salik looked at Lee, “you’re going to have to do some shuffling of the rosters. She’s off flight status immediately. Perhaps in a few days she can return to light duties.”
Lee looked at the Doctor, not sure how to reply. Dr. Salik turned to Adama “she’s going to need lots of rest when she gets out of here… She will need private quarters.” Adama nodded, a look of understanding, crossed his face, along with a rather large, lopsided grin. He patted Lee on the shoulder and left.
Lee turned to the Doctor, still confused. “I thought you said she would be alright”
“She will be…” the Doctor’s expression became rather stern. “However… I must admit I am shocked that you would allow her to fly in her current state. This is not something that should be taken lightly. You should have had her in here for a physical 3 months ago. Only time will tell if there is any serious damage to the baby.”
Lee looked like someone had hit him with a ton of bricks. He was unable to speak coherently. Swallowing hard, he managed to speak “B… baby?” he managed to stammer as Dr. Salik was turning away.
Salik smiled slightly “You can go in and see her… she’s still out, but she should be coming around soon” With that, Salik left, leaving Lee standing in the middle of the room with his mouth hanging open. He managed to take a few steps towards the doors of the treatment room. Each step seemed to get heavier and heavier… but he had to see her, if only for a moment.
She was still out, though they had laid her down in a recovery position, taking the pressure off of the blood vessels in her lower back. He took in every detail, as though he were looking at her for the first time. Her golden hair fanned out across the pillow. It had gotten longer in the past few months, and she was too busy to be bothered with cutting it. He had teased her about it so many times. Small, clear tubing passed over her ear and under her nose, giving her extra oxygen. She was still pale, though not near as pale as she had been when they pulled her from the viper.
Damn… had I known, I would have never let you fly. He thought to himself. Tears welled up in his eyes. “Why couldn’t you tell me…” he whispered “I would have been happy for you… No matter who you choose to love….” Lee hangs his head, choking back a sob “even if it isn’t me…”
He stood for a few moments, fighting the urge to reach over and touch her. The way the sheet draped across her, it was quite easy to see the soft rounding of her stomach. Why hadn’t he noticed before? Lords, was he that blind? He could have killed her by putting her in that viper. Kara began to stir, he couldn’t stay, and he couldn’t talk to her, not now; not yet. Too many years of holding everything back had taken its toll, and had cost him the one thing he valued. Her love.
Quickly, Lee exited the life station, not really knowing where he was going, he just knew he had to get out of there. He made his way to the CAG office, closing the hatch tight behind him. He paced restlessly around the tiny room. He could feel the anger welling up inside. He wanted to know who had stolen her from him… how dare they… So many years, and now she couldn’t even share this with him… he hated her unknown lover, hated that she had turned away from him, but most of all he hated himself for not telling her how much he cared. Kara woke to a bustle of activity around her. She could feel there was something around her arm. It was tight for a moment and then eased off. She tried to open her eyes slowly; she was nearly blinded by the amount of light in the room. Where the hell was she… last thing she remembered was sitting in the cockpit of her viper. She remembered her legs being numb then… nothing. She faintly recognized Dr. Salik’s voice somewhere in the distance, and realized she must be in the life station. What had happened? Was there an accident… was Lee alright?? “Lee…” She managed to call his name softly. A reassuring voice answered her. “He was here a few minutes ago… I’m sure he’ll be back,” Dr. Salik spoke in a soft voice. “Rest, when you’re feeling a little better we need to have a talk…” “I’m fine” Kara muttered, trying to sit up. Dr. Salik gently laid her back down on her side. “Not so fast. We don’t need you passing out on us again” “Where is Lee… is he alright? What happened…?” Kara looked around, beginning to panic as she struggled to sit up once more. Dr. Salik placed his hands on her shoulders and laid her back down gently, yet firmly. “He is just fine. He was here while you were out, he will be back. Now, lie back.” He slipped the blood pressure cuff off of her arm and then gently tucked the blanket back around her. “You’re not going anywhere for now. I’m keeping you here for observation. When I feel you are up to it, we will have a little talk, and then I with consider letting you go back to quarters.” Salik spoke firmly. Kara knew there was no point arguing.
“Are you going to tell me what happened, or do I have to lie around playing guessing games with the shadows on the wall?” Kara asked in her usual sarcastic tone.
“Alright, though I do need some questions answered for your medical history first.” Salik took out his data pad. “First off… When was your last cycle?”
Kara groaned, she hated these damned medical histories, always the same questions. “At least seven or eight months ago, it’s been so long I don’t remember. And before you jump all over me about it, I did talk to a med tech the first month. She said it was because I was underweight, as most of us are these days.” Lords, why was she feeling so defensive lately...
Dr. Salik simply nodded and jotted down notes on his data pad. “Second… Are you currently sexually active?”
Kara nearly laughed out loud. “You’re kidding, right? Lords, it’s been so many years I’ve probably forgotten how!” Dr. Salik gave her a strange look, almost like she had grown a second head right then and there. “What?” she demanded, she was getting tired of not getting any answers.
“Well...” Dr. Salik said slowly. “That would be impossible.”
Kara was getting very impatient. “What the frak are you talking about?”
Dr. Salik looked at Kara, realization crossing his face. “You really don’t know…” He pondered, thinking back to the stunned look on Lee’s face when he mentioned it. Oh dear… this was going to be a complicated situation. “Well, you are between 12 and 16 weeks pregnant. We won’t know exactly how far along until further tests are done.”
Her eyes were wide as anyone had ever seen them, the impact of the Doctor’s words barely even beginning to sink in. “But… that’s not possible… I mean... I haven’t” Kara was unable to finish her sentence; she placed her head in her hands, trying to process all that she had just heard. “There has to be some mistake.”
“There is no mistake…” Dr. Salik said, taking a small device out of his pocket. “The blood work doesn’t lie, and neither does this.” He said indicating the machine. He folded down the sheet and placed some very cold gel onto Kara’s belly. He then took the scanner and placed it against the gel. It took only a few seconds before a rapid swishing sound, rather like a high rate pulsar, became very clear. “I would say closer to 16 weeks, judging on how easily we can find the heartbeat.” Salik wiped the gel from her belly and tucked the covers back around her. “I want you to rest for a while. You need to eat and get some fluids in you. I want to perform a full scan later today to determine exact date.”
Kara simply nodded, still reeling from the discovery. She felt as if the bottom was falling out of her world, and for the first time in as long as she could remember, Lee wasn’t there to catch her.
Chapter 3
The floor of the CAG office was not the most comfortable place to sleep, Lee noted as he woke sometime in the early morning. It had seemed like a good idea last night when he hadn’t wanted to run into anyone in the corridors, but now he was aching from head to toe, and his mood had not improved in the least. He knew the news about Kara would spread like wildfire through the ship, hell probably through the entire fleet. This was the first pregnancy in nearly a year. The food shortages had seen to that, but somehow Kara had beaten the odds. Damn, she was always beating odds; although he wasn’t sure how she was taking this. He began to feel guilty for leaving her alone in Life Station. There had been no one else there for her…
Willing protesting muscles to move, he got himself to his feet. He knew he had to face the outside world at some point. His stomach was on fire, he hadn’t eaten since before patrol yesterday, and he knew his mood would not improve in the slightest until he had eaten… maybe then he would be able to think clearly.
The walk to the mess seemed to take forever. Why the frak were there so many people in the corridor so early in the morning. He could tell the news had spread as fast as he had suspected. Just about everyone he passed in the hallway was smiling at him, and the whispering was quickly becoming a roar.
His nerves were frayed by the time he got into the mess hall. At this moment he hated everyone, himself most of all. The last thing he needed was to overhear Col. Tigh’s comments on the situation.
Tigh was talking to a young officer. Lee couldn’t quite place the face. He must have been one of the many new people who had come aboard lately. He was looking rather uncomfortable as Tigh spouted off with a laugh “… that has to be the funniest thing I have ever heard. Talk about your medical miracles. I didn’t know that two women could…” Seeing the confused look on the young officer’s face, Tigh smirked. “What? You don’t seriously think there is a man alive who could be interested such an aggressive woman… its quite obvious to me she prefers…”
Lee didn’t let him finish. Grabbing Tigh by the shoulder, he spun him around. All of the hurt and anger he had been feeling connected with Tigh’s nose in the form of a wicked right hook. Lee would have hit him again, had two guards not pulled him off. Reluctantly, he let the guards lead him off, feeling nothing but the emptiness left behind.
Kara woke to more commotion in the Life Station. There was definitely something going on behind the curtain across the room. Dr. Salik finally emerged, half smirking and walked over to Kara’s bed. “I see you’re awake… “he smiled “I just want to check your vitals one more time, and then run a sonogram. After that, you’re free to leave. You’ve been assigned new, private quarters. They were once Commander Adama’s quarters, so I’m sure you will have no problem finding them.”
Kara pondered a moment… Those quarters were huge… but then, most of the families had moved off of the Galactica in recent months. There were now plenty of open quarters left. Why she would be assigned those quarters was quite beyond her, but she wasn’t in the mood to argue for a change.
“Where is Lee…” she managed to ask softly. He hadn’t been here… she knew he hadn’t.
Dr. Salik looked back over at the drawn curtain and her heart caught in her throat. She was about to panic when Salik turned back to her with a lopsided grin.
“You might try looking down in the brig…” he managed to hold back a snicker as the curtain parted across the room. The sight that Kara saw next would stick in her memory a very long time. There was Col. Tigh, his shirt bloodied, and his nose taped and bandaged, quite obviously broken. Her spirits were considerably lifted, then it dawned on her… Lee in the brig... Tigh in Life Station… She could not wait to find out what happened. One of the med techs came in with a rather large looking machine topped with video screens. Salik smiled. “Well, ready to have a look at this little one?” Kara simply nodded, still unsure of the whole situation. She had never thought of herself as being a mother, now here she was… and she still had no idea how she wound up in this situation in the first place. All she did know is that she needed her best friend, and right now, to cooperate with the doctor was the fastest way to get out of here. The sonogram was not painful, but it sure wasn’t comfortable. The gel was cold, and the wand he used was very hard. All that pushing and wiggling around of the wand left her feeling like a punching bag before long. Salik seemed pleased, as he never quit smiling through the whole thing.
After about a half an hour of poking and prodding, he stood up. “I will be back in just a moment” he said as he exited the room, leaving Kara alone and covered with goop. It seemed like an eternity before Salik returned.
He picked up the wand once more. He tilted the screen so that Kara could see it from where she was laying.
“I was pretty close on the date estimate” He spoke as he poked around with the wand some more. “You are about 16 weeks, which means that conception occurred about 14 weeks ago.” Kara began to think back, that’s three and a half months… why can I not remember anything happening… I haven’t even dated anyone in years… Three and half months ago… Kara’s eyes widened.
Salik proceeded to point out the baby’s features, arms, legs, head even fingers and toes. Kara was only half paying attention. She was too focused on getting out of her and down to the brig, she had to talk to Lee… and soon.
“Well, everything looks good.” Dr. Salik said. “No reason to keep you here any longer…”
Before he could even finish, Kara had grabbed the clothing the tech had brought into her and was half dressed. The sooner out I’m of here the better. She thought.
“be sure to book an appointment for a month from now for a checkup” Dr. Salik called after her as she headed for the door. “And come back if you have any concerns or problems”
Kara turned around only briefly, nodding “Right,” she said and headed out the door.
Seeing the number of people just outside the Life Station, Kara cringed. All at once they started talking to her, offers of congratulations and pats on the back poured in from everyone she passed... Not wanting to stop and talk to anyone, she found the stairs down to the brig and made the hastiest exit possible. “Lords, has everyone here gone frakking insane?” she muttered to herself as she descended the stairs.
As she rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs, she laughed to herself. It was almost scary how well she knew the way down here, without even thinking about it. This was the first time she can remember coming here because she wanted to…
Entering the main brig, the guard simply smiled at her and chuckled, motioning with his hand to the cell across the room where Apollo was laying on the bunk, obviously lost in thought.
“Well, this is a switch” She spoke softly, Lee jumped at the sound of her voice. “So, what’s the charge?” She did her best to mimic the tone Lee used every time he would find her down here.
Lee barely managed to hold back a laugh as he replied, smiling for the first time in what seemed like days. “Striking a superior asshole”
With that, they both had a good laugh, chipping away some of the tension that was between them. Lee stepped closer, resting his forehead against the bars. Without even thinking, Kara did the same, their foreheads barely touching through the cold steel. They stayed that way for what seemed an eternity before Kara spoke.
“I’m guessing you know…Frak, I think the entire fleet knows…”
“Yeah” Lee spoke, his voice sad and trembling. “You’re somewhat of a celebrity at the moment…” His voice caught in his throat, making him swallow hard to fight back the emotions that so desperately wanted to spill out. “So…” he choked again “who’s the lucky guy”
Kara sighed. “Well… that is a little complicated.” She managed in a very serious tone. “Look at me… please…”
Lee looked up, meeting her gaze; her soft eyes had a way of looking right through him. How could he have been so blind for so long.
He wasn’t sure if now was the right time to say anything, but he may not have another chance.
“Kara… there is something I should have told you years ago” he finally managed to speak, his voice trembling. Frak, he wasn’t a schoolboy anymore, so why was this so damn hard. He had been so afraid of his feelings, tucking them neatly away. He worried that if she knew, she would push him away, and that he would lose a piece of himself. Now, standing here, it seemed his inaction had caused the same result; he had but one chance now to tell her… now, before he knew who had stolen her heart from him. “I…” he swallowed hard, his palms were sweating, and he could feel his knees shaking. He prayed that they would hold him up. “I… love you… I know I should have told you this long before now… but I couldn’t… I…”
He dropped his gaze, unsure of what to say
Kara slipped her hand under his chin, lifting up so that she could look him in the eye once more. “Ok... lets just get this out, now” She said in a steady voice, her eyes never leaving his. “I want you to understand one thing…” Lee’s heart sunk, here it came… his worst fears were being realized…. “I love you too.”
Lee stood there, dumb struck, he couldn’t have heard her right, could he? She continued. “I know I should have said something sooner, but… I was afraid to lose you. I can’t imagine ever being as close to anyone as I am to you. We’re two halves of a single person, Lee. You know it, and I know it… and quite frankly, everyone in the frakking fleet knows it.”
Kara took a deep breath. This was harder than she thought. She had to get it through to him. Baring her soul was not something she was known for… “Do you remember our first mission together, when we were teaching at the Academy? When we had to leave you behind? I thought I had lost you… I couldn’t function… Even Zac noticed” her voice was shaking “Lords this is so hard… I’ve never told anyone this before… Zac broke off the engagement the night before the solo flights... the night you were found…” she fought to hold back, tears rolling down her cheek. Lee reached through the bars to brush them away.
“I want you to understand, Lee…” she managed to continue” There is no one else. There has never been anyone else… Zac and I never…” she blushed slightly, looking away for a moment. “The academy party… first year… I’m sure you remember it… was the only time… ever…”
Now it was Lee’s turn to blush. He remembered that party… well most of it anyway. It was the first time he and Kara had gotten into the ambrosia. The details were fuzzy, but when they woke the next morning, the both agreed that it was best not to talk about it… At that time he still saw her as a sister, or at least he told himself. Then something hit him… if that was the only time… then... how? He gave her a look that must have asked the very question he was thinking.
Kara placed her hand on her slightly rounded belly. “Which brings us to this… Dr. Salik says that this little one was conceived 14 weeks ago… Now the funny thing is… I have this little problem… There are 3 days I cannot remember; when we were on that recon patrol… maybe you can help me.”
“You know I don’t remember those days either,” Lee sighed bowing his head. Then it hit him that meant the baby was very likely… he looked up, wide eyed, Kara was smiling at him. She simply nodded. He pulled her as close as the bars would permit, just holding her.
Someone cleared their throat, snapping them back to reality. There stood Commander Adama, smiling a rather lopsided smile. “Shall we get you out of here? I really don’t want my grandchild to get too used to this place…”
Chapter 4
Sitting alone in her private quarters, Kara finally had a chance to think about the events of many weeks past. They had stayed up most of the night talking about it, rehashing over and over the things that they could remember. Though there was so much that still remained unknown. Kara was frustrated to say the least, as was Lee, but at least he had routine patrols to keep him busy. She had all the time in the world to think.
“There has to be some way to trigger our memory…” she muttered. It was eating her up. No matter how they tried, they cold not recapture those three days… Kara felt her eyes begin to droop. She hadn’t slept much last night. Hell, she hadn’t really slept much in the past few days. Not since finding out that she was going to be a mother… and that she wasn’t even going to have the luxury of a full nine months to get used to it. Damn… things were so complicated. It was good to be in private quarters… and yet it seemed so empty. She had slept in barracks with dozens around her for many years, ever since her days at the academy. How the hell was she going to sleep anywhere so quiet?
Unable to rest, she decided that it was time to get out of this room. After donning her track pants, she reached into the closet to grab a shirt. The first shirt she grabbed made her smile. Gods, if this shirt could talk… She had kept it since college. It was her one piece of comfort in a world gone mad. She had never worn it, but just kept it nearby… For the first time in many years, she slipped it on. It had always been too big for her, but right now loose and comfortable was what she needed. With a quick look around, she closed the hatch and set out for a good, brisk walk.
Two laps of the ship later, she found herself approaching the mess hall. She was actually hungry, for the first time in as long as she could remember. She glanced around as she entered the hall. God, the food looked horrible… she wasn’t even sure what it was that they were eating… she shuddered at the thought, but she knew she had to eat something. She took her place in line; it was going to be a long wait.
Kara wasn’t paying much attention to those in front of her, but suddenly the line seemed to be moving much more quickly than she had anticipated. She looked around, and became confused when she noticed that the line had shifted from being in front of her to being behind her. Then she remembered… it had been the same with all of the other pregnant women on the ship, it had become standard procedure that those expecting went to the front of the line. She shook her head slightly… this was definitely going to take some getting used to. She took her plate and went to sit down.
Lunch couldn’t have passed quick enough for Kara. The continual stream of congratulations and good wishes was driving her insane. All she wanted to do was get out of there. She ate as quickly as she could and set about finishing her walk. Before returning to her quarters, she stopped by the ready room to see if there was a card game going on, then by the flight decks to visit her bird. By the time she got back, she was tired… hopefully tired enough to sleep.
She was pleasantly surprised to open the hatch and find Lee sitting on her bed waiting for her. “hey…” she smiled at him.
“Hi…” he smiled. “I tried to find you when I came on off shift, but everywhere I went you had just left… so I figured if I waited here you would come back eventually.”
Kara smiled, closing the hatch behind her. Lee stood up and walked over to her. Before she could say another word, he took her in his arms and squeezed her tight.
“What was that for?” She asked, somewhat confused.
“Just been a really good day and I couldn’t’ wait to get back here and share it with you.” He was grinning ear to ear; Kara gave him a puzzled look. “On patrol we discovered a planet, very rich in tylium. Preliminary reports estimate that we should be able to harvest enough tylium to fuel all the ships and fill the reserves within about 6-8 weeks time.”
“That is great news; I knew we were starting to get more than a little low.” Kara smiled; things were looking a little brighter. While most of the fleet wasn’t always aware of just how low fuel reserves got, as a pilot she was.
“It gets better…” Lee had a very mischievous sparkle in his eye and he couldn’t hold back a grin. Kara looked at him unsure whether she should punch him or not…
“Spill it...” She tried to hold back a smirk, but she just couldn’t he looked like a kid in a candy shop.
“Well… I spoke with Dr. Salik… I found out that the reason you can’t fly Vipers is because of the high-g launch and maneuvers. However… there is no such problem with raptors and shuttles, and we’re going to need some shuttle pilots for running supplies down to the mines…. I was thinking if you’re feeling up to it…”
Kara’s eyes widened “Are you frakking kidding me?” She hugged him tight. Just the thought of being able to fly something had lifted her spirits considerably.
“There is one condition though…” He said; his voice more serious than it had been before. “Dr. Salik said if he clears you for Raptor and shuttle piloting, you will have to check in with him after each flight, just to make sure all is well. He’s never allowed this before…”
Kara nodded. “I guess it is a small price to pay… just so long as he doesn’t make me wait around there any longer than is absolutely necessary.” Kara smiled at Lee, pausing for a moment. “Thank you.” She closed her eyes for a moment and just rested against him.
“You should lay down and rest” Lee spoke softly, gently kissing her forehead. He gently led her over to the bed. She nodded and lay back on the soft mattress… much more comfortable than her bunk had been… she could really get used to this. Kara laid down and closed her eyes for a moment, rolling onto her side as Dr. Salik had told her so many times to make sure of. She could hear Lee move towards the door. She didn’t want him to go. There was so much they had to talk about… but she didn’t know how to even begin. She just knew that she needed him there.
“Lee…”she called out softly. She heard him stop. “Can…. Would you stay?” She felt so insecure at that moment… like a single statement had laid all of her feelings out on the line. She waited what seemed and eternity for his response. She could hear footsteps moving closer…
“Of course I’ll stay…” he said softly, laying down, and curling around her, his arm slipping around her waist. Very gently he rubbed her belly. It made Kara smile, but at the same time, a part of her was still feeling a little sad.
“Do you think we will ever remember…” she whispered softly.
“I hope in time we will. Remember when we first got back, Dr Salik said it may take quite a while before we remember anything, if we remember at all. We both had pretty heavy concussions at the time… we shouldn’t have even been able to fly. All we can do is hope that something will trigger our memories…”
“I hope it happens soon… this is driving me crazy… I know something important happened… between us… and I really want to remember…” Kara sighed. Lee shifted, turning her to face him for a moment. He very lightly brushed his finger across her lip.
“Don’t worry so much about it… I know, I wonder too… but what I know is what is happening between us now… and right now I love you, and it feels damn good to finally be able to say that to you.” Lee lowered his head, his lips just brushing against hers for a moment, then deepening into a gentle kiss. Kara could feel he was trembling, she understood how he felt… she had kept her feelings for him bottled up inside for so long it seemed strange to let them out. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him there. When he broke the kiss, Kara pulled him back into another, silently reassuring him that everything was alright. When their lips met again, there was no gentle questioning… Kara lightly brushed her tongue across his lower lip, deepening the kiss even further. Lee responded immediately, groaning softly and nipping at her lip. They both surrendered to the kiss, giving in to one another completely. When finally they did break the kiss, they lay in each others arms, just holding on.
Kara cold keep her eyes open no longer and she fell asleep, curled against Lee’s chest, his arms around her. Lee gently kissed her forehead and they both drifted off to dream… and remember.
Chapter 5
It was 0500; over an hour until shift change. The corridors were nearly empty at this hour. Kara could hear the soft echo of her footfalls as she ran through the corridors. When she ran she could shut out the rest of the world, and that is just what she wanted to do right now. She didn’t have patrol for another four days, and being cooped up in the squadron barracks was the last thing she needed right now.
If only people could just keep their noses out of everyone else’s business it would be fine, but the lack of activity lately had resulted in everyone’s lives being public knowledge, or at least public speculation. There were times she longed for the early days, when they were worried abut running into the Cylons at every turn, where they were tense and battle ready… but now… over a year had passed since they had last faced the Cylons… since the last of the cylon sleepers had been removed from the fleet. It was still hard to believe Sharon was gone…. She was probably the last person Kara would have even suspected of being a sleeper agent… and Baltar… well that one didn’t surprise her at all. However, since they were discovered, there were no more unexpected run-ins with the Cylons, and that was a good thing for the fleet.
It was bad for her though. It seemed that recently she had become the favorite topic of speculation, and it was driving her frakking insane. Just because she didn’t fawn over every male that passed through the Galactica did not mean she was interested in women! And she was about ready to flatten the next person who said anything about her love life. Hell she didn’t even HAVE a love life at the moment.
“Hey, Starbuck” A familiar voice called. Lee fell into step with her, running silently by her side for a few minutes. Finally he spoke once more. “Going to tell me what’s bothering you?”
“Nothing except nosey people...” Kara smirked, nudging him with her elbow.
Lee laughed quietly. “How would you like to get out of this place for a day or two?”
“Like to? Who do I have to shoot?” She smiled. Anything would be better than being stuck here. She thought to herself.
“No one this time... There is what could be a habitable planet just on the outskirts of sensor range. They want a couple volunteers to go out there with a Raptor and take a look see.”
She thought for a moment, “A Raptor huh? What poor sap do I get stuck with?” Lords, please not an over-eager rook.
Lee laughed. “That would be yours truly, I need to get out of here as much as you, so… are you with me?”
“Definitely, what time do we leave?”
“0700, meet me on port flight deck ready to go, be prepared for a 3-4 day mission” Lee waved and jogged off down another corridor, and Kara grinned, returning to the barracks to get ready.
Just over 2 hours later, the raptor launched from the Galactica. It was no Viper, but Kara was just happy to be in the air, even if it was as co-pilot.
“Galactica, this is Raptor 325, coordinates locked in, preparing for FTL jump.” Lee spoke into the comm.
“Raptor 325, this is Galactica, coordinates confirmed. Jump is a go. See you in 4 days at rendezvous point.” Dualla’s cheery voice echoed back over the comm.
Kara gave Lee an odd look, not really sure why they were jumping if they had 4 days… but who was she to argue. She needed some time away from the Galactica, with a final look back, she nodded at Lee. “All systems ready for jump” She reported, checking the controls.
“Initiating jump in 5… 4… 3…” Kara could see Lee brace himself back against the seat in preparation for the jump. Kara did the same, no matter how many times one jumped…you just didn’t get used to it. “2… 1… Initiating Jump”
The Raptor seemed to melt around them; everything became distorted as a sickening feeling developed in the pit of Kara’s stomach. In a fraction of a second, the Galactica was gone, and a blue-green plane was visible out the port window. They had achieved successful orbit around the mysterious planet.
“Starting a sensor sweep” Apollo announced. “lets see if this little beauty is habitable.”
Kara smirked. “So when are you going to tell me what’s really going on?”
Apollo looked at her, trying to look shocked. “Whatever do you mean?”
“Well, just doesn’t make a lot of sense, we’re jumping out to a planet that is within a day and a half flight, less with a Viper. We have 4 days before we meet back up with Galactica… and why are we here, rather than a couple of the less experienced pilots who usually do this sort of thing in a day??” Kara started at Lee with a wry grin. “So… spill it”
“Alright…” Lee said, chuckling. “I pulled a few strings to get us on this mission, and to use the jump.”
“Why?” Kara looked at him with an arched eyebrow.
“Well… I figured that there was a certain pilot who could use a bit of a vacation. She seemed to be a little on the tense side and as CAG I made a decision that she needed some leave or I was going to find my best pilot in the brig… Again. So if this planet is hospitable, we get a bit of a reprieve before the fleet gets here.”
Kara rolled her eyes, then chuckled a little. “Lords I didn’t think I was that bad…”
“You’re not… just those of us who know you well enough can see it coming.”
Kara punched Lee in the arm, turning back to the controls. “Well, looks like we’re in luck, atmosphere is habitable, slightly lower oxygen level than we’re used to, but not significant. Scanning coordinates for suitable landing spot.”
Only an hour since they had left the Galactica, Kara found herself standing on solid ground. It had been so long that she had nearly forgotten what it felt like. The grass was green… a brighter green that Kara remembered. Her memories of Caprica were beginning to fade after so long in space. They had found a clearing near a large body of fresh water. The sun was high overhead, but not too warm… There was only one, not the two that she had grown used to on her home world.
The camp was set up and she soon found herself sitting on a large rock on the shore of the lake, looking out over the water. It was so quiet… the wind was perfectly calm, not even a ripple broke the surface of the water. It was a perfect reflective pool. She had no idea how long she had been sitting there, when Lee spoke. “So, are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?”
“Nothing…” Kara replied, looking out over the lake, not once turning around to look at Lee.
“Well, that’s a load of crap if I ever heard it. Remember who you’re talking to…” Lee smirked, sitting down beside her. “I’ve known you long enough, Kara. Something has you all riled up.”
Kara stared out at the lake. How could she tell him what was wrong, she didn’t even understand it herself. For the past few weeks, she had been growing increasingly restless. She couldn’t sleep at night, she could barely eat, and everyone was getting on her nerves… well… not everyone. Lee was the only person she wanted to be around. She guessed this was understandable; they had been best friends for nearly 2 decades, ever since Adama had taken her in after her mother’s death. They had gone everywhere together, gotten into trouble together… and she had been in love with him for as long as she could remember. A lot of frakking good it did to fall in love with someone who only saw you as a sister...
It seemed like hours passed, just sitting there, staring out over the lake, neither one speaking. Lee couldn’t’ stand it anymore. He cared too much about her to let her shut him out. “Kara… tell me what’s bothering you.”
Kara jumped to her feet. “Why do you care? Why can’t you just leave me the frak alone?!” She turned to leave; Lee got to his feet and caught her by the arm just before she was out of his reach. Kara spun back around. Lee quickly stepped back to avoid the right hook heading for his jaw. The rocks beneath his feet were slippery, and he lost his footing, sending him tumbling into the water. He completely forgot to let go of Kara’s arm, pulling her in with him.
The water was so cold it took his breath away, even through the heavy material of his flight suit. His thoughts went immediately to Kara, she had her flight suit half stripped off… she must be freezing… He quickly looked around, his eyes met hers and for a moment he was very glad that the water was so cold, for it seemed to take a bit of the wind out of her sails, because if her eyes were any indication, he could have been a dead man. He quickly made his way to the shore and out of the water, offering a hand to Kara who was right behind him. She accepted, but only because her suit was so waterlogged she could barely move. The moment she was out of the water, she released his hand, giving him a look that was far colder than the water had been. Lee decided it was best for him to return to the campsite and get a fire going. It was getting on into the evening and they were going to need it to get dried out.
Fortunately it didn’t take long for Lee to start a fire. He found a length of rope and strung it between two trees near the fire. Without looking at Kara, he stripped of his flight suit and hung it over the rope. Fortunately his clothing underneath was mostly dry… Kara’s flight suit hit him in the back with a cold, wet thud. So much for dry. He picked up her suit and hung it over the rope with his. He stripped off his now wet clothes and hung them on the rope with the flight suits. He was quite thankful that at least his underwear managed to escape the whole incident still somewhat dry. He turned back towards the fire to put his wet boots near the heat so that they stood a half chance to dry.
He froze for a moment, watching Kara. Her back was towards him, but that didn’t matter… she was stripping off her soaked tank tops, and he couldn’t tear his eyes away. The sun was starting to go down, and the light from the fire highlighted every curve of what he considered to be the most perfect body he had ever seen. He missed living in crew quarters with her… at the academy, and in basic, he had many an opportunity for a stone glance, but in the past few years, those opportunities had eluded him. For a moment he was very thankful that unlike him, she was soaked to the bone… he watched for a moment as she stripped out of the last piece of wet clothing and grabbed a towel to wrap herself in. Feeling guilty about how cold she must be he quickly ducked into the tent to grab a large blanket.
When he came out, she was sitting on a log near the fire. She was very obviously shivering. He walked over and sat down beside her on the log, wrapping the blanket around them both. She sat perfectly still at first, trying not to acknowledge his presence, but she soon gave in and moved a little closer, needing the warmth he was offering.
Kara leaned in closer in spite of herself. She was still mad as hell at him. Why could he not just leave things alone? It was his fault that they were both sitting here soaking wet and cold, he didn’t let go… it was his fault they were even on this planet. It had been his idea… Hell it was his fault he was so damn easy to love… Kara sighed. Well, maybe falling in love with him wasn’t completely his fault, but it was his fault he never noticed.
The warmth was almost intoxicating, and she snuggled up closer, feeling the heat radiating from him. Damn it was so frakking hard to stay mad at him. He shifted around so he was sitting behind her, his arms around her waist. She leaned back against his chest and watched the fire, feeling her anger slipping away.
“You must think I am frakking insane…” She said softly, finally breaking the hours of silence that had passed.
Lee held her a little tighter. “No, not insane… just Kara”
She smiled in spite of herself, the last of her anger slipping away. “You always know just the right thing to say…” she said quietly, beginning to feel a little drowsy from the day’s adventure. “Guess that’s why I love you…”
Kara froze, her eyes going wide. She hadn’t just said that out loud, had she? Lords she was glad her back was to Lee, she did not want to see his face right now… she wanted to just crawl away and hide under a rock… She held her breath as the world stopped turning for a moment. In the next moment the world fell right out from underneath her as his arms tightened around her waist and she felt the warm soft caress of his lips at the nape of her neck.
Chapter 6
Lee’s heart stopped at the words he heard… he couldn’t have hear her right… he had wanted to hear those words for so long…Only moments ago, he was beginning to fear she may never speak to him again, and then… Taking a chance, he leaned forward and lightly kissed the nape of her neck. He was glad he was sitting down, his legs felt so weak they never would have held him up… “I love you too…” He said, barely above a whisper.
Good going Lee… you just told your best friend you love her… what now? He thought to himself. He had held back from telling her so many times, he didn’t want to mess up what they had. It was so comfortable, being able to talk to her about anything… and now; would he still be able to… he had to fix things… “I’m sorry, Kara, I didn’t mean that…” he began to say not really sure what he was saying anymore.
Kara turned to look at him, meeting his eyes with a mix of hurt and confusion in her eyes. “What do you mean you didn’t mean it? Why say it if you didn’t…” Her voice was shaking, as though she was fighting to keep her emotions under control.
Lee couldn’t stand the look in her eyes at that moment. Frak. All he wanted was to save the close friendship he had, and he was making things so much worse. “I didn’t mean that I didn’t mean it… I just didn’t mean to say it…” he began, stumbling over his words.
“Frak. Lee, just shut up already…” Kara said, frustrated, but a smile crept across her face. She placed her hands on his cheeks, pulling his face close to hers. “Just shut up…” she said softly, and pressed her lips to his.
Lee felt like he was in a weightless fall, drifting in and out of his senses. Having her so close was intoxicating… He deepened the kiss, lightly teasing his tongue across her lips, trembling like a nervous schoolboy. She responded immediately, moving her hands from his cheek, and slipping her arms around his neck. She lightly nipped his lower lip, then ran her tongue across it before devouring him in another kiss. Lee’s heart was pounding in his ears, he fought to retain control of his ability to think coherently, but it was a losing battle. All he could think of was Kara. He had loved her for longer than he had cared to admit, but he had never taken the chance, truth be told he had probably blown more than one good chance to keep her near…Frak.. he had her in his arms once before… thanks to a bottle of ambrosia smuggled into the dorms by his roommate…. He could still remember how good it felt to hold her then, she had wanted him as much as he had wanted her…
He had held onto the memories of those moments for 8 years… he only wished he could remember everything that happened between the time they were necking on the couch in the common room and the time that he woke up the next morning with her soft, warm, body next to his, and their clothing scattered across the floor. Damn, he had panicked and woke her; afraid of what the repercussions might be if anyone found out. She had taken his college shirt, unable to find her own at the time, and left. They had never spoken of it again…
Now, here she was in his arms once more… he broke the kiss; breathless. “Kara… I do love you… I always have...I…”
“… You were afraid of messing things up…” Kara finished. “I know… I’ve been in love with you for nearly as long as I have known you…but I was afraid…”
“Lords, Kara…” Lee murmured, pulling her close, his lips closing over hers once more…
Kara struggled to remember what she had been worried about… she hadn’t intended to tell Lee that she loved him… it had just slipped out. She was glad it did… the tension seemed to melt away in the moments that followed. From his actions, it was quite obvious he had been battling with the same emotions she had. She quickly pushed regrets of time wasted aside, choosing instead to focus in him… on their moment.
His lips closed over hers, pulling her under again, drowning in the depths of emotion that came pouring forth. His kisses became more intense, more desperate, as did hers… years of penned up emotions flooding out, she could feel the warm, damp tears that fell from his eyes, trickling down onto her face, mingling with her own…
Pulling back, she kissed the tears from his cheek, salty, sweet and warm, he was trembling, and holding to her like a frightened child would a favorite blanket. She slowly trailed soft, butterfly kisses down past his ear, nipping lightly at the soft flesh between ear and neck. He groaned, letting his hands slide down her back, along her thigh, pushing the towel aside. She could feel her breath catch in her throat at his touch, sending a surge of warmth through her.
Another hand crept up to brush across her nipple, making her groan softly, burying her face in his neck as he kissed down the side of her neck and along the edge of the towel. Kara shivered as droplets of cool rain began to fall, splashing softly against her back. Lee slowly stood up, pulling her up to stand in front of him. He bent down and scooped her up in his arms, his blue eyes smoldering as they locked on hers. He carried her into the shelter he had set up earlier, laying her down on one of the bedrolls that had been spread out on the ground. He lay down beside her, first dropping the now damp blanket off to the side and grabbing another from the nearby bedroll. He wrapped the blanket around them both, pulling her close to him once more. Kara wrapped her legs through his as his mouth captured hers once more, his tongue tracing along hers, groaning softly. Kara wrapped her arms around him, savoring the feel of soft flesh stretched over the taught muscles of his back.
Kara gasped softly as she felt the towel slip from around her, replaced by gentle, firm hands caressing down the length of her body. His mouth descended from hers, tracing a line of soft kisses along her neck, descending to the soft, rounded flesh of her breast. She closed her eyes, moaning softly, tangling her fingers in his hair. He pressed into her, rolling her onto her back, the weight of his body coming down gently on hers. She moaned. Sliding her hands down his back, she brushed past the waistband of his underwear to caress the warm, soft flesh of his buttocks. Squeezing gently, she pulled him to her, pressing her thigh against him, moving gently against his hard length.
Lee groaned, burying his face in her neck, his hand slipping lower, caressing across her hip, her thigh, moving achingly slow. Kara thought she was going to explode when his hand found its way between her legs, lightly stroking, teasing… Kara returned the favor, slipping his underwear down, one hand slipping between him and her thigh, lightly caressing along his length. He was trembling as much as she was. “God… Kara… I... I don’t know if I can wait…” He groaned, nipping at her neck.
“Then don’t…” Kara whispered, her voice shaking. She was nervous, she had never consciously let things let things get farther than this… even with Zak. He had wanted to wait; something Iilya Adama had did her best to instill in both of them. It was also the same life lessons from Iilya that lead to her and Lee’s decision to never mention the college incident… it would have broke her heart. But now, things were different… she had no doubts that she loved him…
Lee shifted his weight, kicking off hit underwear the rest of the way, and settling himself gently between her legs. He must have felt her trembling, because he just rested against her, holding her. “Are you sure? He whispered softly in her ear.
Unable to speak coherently… Kara nodded, slipping her arms around his neck, and hooking her legs over his. Kara gasped as he pressed into her, holding tight. She felt as if she was being torn in two, she buried her face in his neck, barely breathing until the burning pain began to subside. In moments the pain was replaced with a warm pressure that quickly turned to pleasure. She relaxed back, looking up at Lee, reaching up to brush away a tear that was trailing down his cheek.
Lee’s heart stopped. He couldn’t believe what had just happened… It shattered his perception of the events of his past. Nothing had happened in his dorm room… Kara and Zak had never... she had never…. His head was spinning. Had she waited for him? He could feel his breath catch in his throat. He wished he had known... He gasped slightly when he felt her brush the tear from his cheek. He held her tight, burying his face in her neck. “I’m sorry… Kara… I… I didn’t know…” Kara cut him off, lifting his face up to hers, kissing him long and deep. Lee trembled, slowly moving his hips against hers, feeling her tighten around him. He didn’t know how long he could hold out, he felt like he would explode, and yet, he held back. He didn’t want to rush... he wanted her to enjoy every sensation… he wanted her to enjoy this as much as him… he wanted her to…. Hell he just wanted her… He pushed himself to the limit of his willpower, stopping more than once to get himself under control. She was so perfect, like she was made just for him. Just when he thought he could hold back no longer, he could feel her begin to tremble, she whimpered, softly at first, then growing increasingly louder with each movement he made, he could feel her tighten around him, destroying the last of his reserve and he let go, letting the sensations draw him into sensual oblivion with her.
He collapsed to his side, pulling her with him. Not wanting to ever let go. Gently he kissed her forehead, both of them still struggling to catch their breath. After a moment, he was finally able to speak… “Lords, Kara… I love you…” he whispered, hearing no reply, he looked down at the woman n her arms. Her eyes were closed, a peaceful expression rested on her face. Her soft, rhythmic breathing indicated that she had drifted off to sleep in his arms. He kissed her forehead softly, then lay back, closing his own eyes and drifting off to sleep…
Chapter 7
Kara woke early the next morning. She lay quietly, not wanting to disturb Lee, who was sound asleep beside her. The rain had stopped finally. It had rained most of the night… but it was quiet now. Kara remembered their flight suits still hanging outside. There was no way they were going to dry now… Fortunately she had packed an extra set of clothing, and equally fortunate for her, she had been too upset yesterday to remember, which had lead to the most incredible night of her life.
Admittedly, the first time had been a little awkward… but after that it had been incredible… She had lost count of how many times they had woken up last night… most of the time they just kissed and cuddled, but more than once… Kara sighed, looking down at Lee. She kissed him gently and slipped away to get dressed and go try get another fire started.
It was quite some time later when she heard Lee moving around inside the tent. He soon emerged, wearing only duty pants, his shirts still crumpled in his hands. He looked even more wonderful in the morning light. Crossing the distance between them quickly, he pulled her into a warm embrace, kissing her tenderly. “Good morning” he said, his voice still soft and gravelly from sleep.
“Good morning, sleepyhead” she smiled. Turning back to tend the fire, she continued. “Our flight suits are still a little on the wet side…” she laughed. Good thing we have another day down here…”
Lee wrapped his arms around her from behind, kissing her neck lightly “And another night…” he teased playfully. Kara was tempted… so tempted... but they still had their jobs to do.
“Mmmm maybe later… but right now we had better get the information collected to take back with us… this place just might be habitable”
“It can wait a little while… Please…” Lee said, softly, holding her tight. “Why didn’t you tell me…” he started to ask. Kara managed to turn in his arms and cut him off with a soft kiss.
“I didn’t really know, honestly… I had always assumed that, well… you remember the ambrosia incident…I thought we had.”
Lee nodded and smiled. “I did too… but, Zak…”
“We had agreed to wait… mostly thanks to a lot of persuasion form your mother… and now… I’m glad I did…” She kissed him deeply, tenderly exploring his mouth with hers, pulling back a few moments later, breathless. “We can talk later… right now we have to get those samples…”
Lee sighed and nodded. “You’re right… because if I don’t let go of you now… it won’t be getting done today.” He growled playfully, nuzzling her. Kara pulled back, laughing. “Finish getting dressed and we’ll go look around. Hope you don’t mind wet boots…” They both laughed.
Kara and Lee set about gathering the information required for the geologists in the fleet to analyze. By the time the soil, water and vegetation samples were loaded, it was getting close to sunset. Lee loaded the gathered samples into the raptor for safe keeping while Kara checked on the still damp flight suits. “They should be dry by tomorrow, provided we don’t get them rained on again…” Kara said, winking over at Lee who laughed. She was just about to go and grab some rations for them both when a blinding flash caught her eye.
“Frak! What was that?” She yelled, getting Lee’s attention. As he looked over, they could both see a large glowing object hurtling towards the ground only a few hundred yards from their camp.
Kara set off to investigate, Lee close behind her. It was not hard to find the spot where it had landed, steam boiled up from the wet ground where the heated object had impacted. There were pieces scattered throughout the mid-sized crater. Kara knelt down, studying the largest piece nearby. It was a large, circular piece, about 12 inches across. Kara slipped on a set of heavy gloves that had been in the survey toolkit, reaching to pick up the piece. Upon closer investigation, she noticed it covered with symbols. Of the symbols that were there… one stood out… she recognized it, but she didn’t know from where. Lee had reached her side, and was studying the object over her shoulder. She pointed to a symbol of two circles joined by a line, there were other smaller markings in and around the circles. “This looks familiar… but I can’t place it.”
“Yeah… I’ve seen that before somewhere, but what it is I couldn’t tell you… maybe we should take it back with us… let the scientists take a look.”
Kara nodded “Good plan.” Just as she stood up to go back to the raptor, there was another flash and another glowing object, hitting further off into the distance, followed soon by a flash and a fireball, hitting close by.
“Frak… Lee shouted. I think we need to get out of here fast!” They both turned and ran back to the camp, grabbing their wet flight suits and dashing into the Raptor as another meteorite hit a little closer to the camp. Kara slammed the Raptor hatch shut; Lee was already struggling to get the wet flight suit on. Kara tossed her flight suit aside and tucked the disk in with the secured samples. She slipped into the pilot’s seat and fired up the engines.
“Worry bout the suits later… some of those rocks are getting pretty close!” She shouted over to Lee, who had managed to only get his suit half on. A large fireball streaked overhead. “Frak Hurry up!” she shouted at the Raptor, waiting on the green light that indicated the engines had reached liftoff temperature. Lee slipped into the co-pilot seat just as the light hit green. Kara jammed the lift thrusters into full throttle, catapulting them off the planet.
The meteor storm was far worse once they broke the atmosphere. The small craft was tossed and tumbled around by smaller rocks while Kara did her best to steer them clear of the larger ones.
“Frakkin Hell, she screamed as a large chunk of rock bounced off the side of the hull, hard. She nearly hit her head on the side of the cockpit, momentarily losing control. She regained what little maneuverability they had and breathed a sigh of relief when open space could be seen in the distance, only a couple more clicks to go… She looked over at Lee. He was slumped over the side of the seat, he had apparently hit his head at the same time she narrowly missed hitting hers. “Lee!” She yelled, panic creeping into her voice. She prayed he was ok, she couldn’t take her hands off the controls to check, if she did they would lose everything.
A large meteorite was coming directly for them, the last hurdle to pass before open space. Kara maneuvered her best to avoid it, but it was going to be close. At the last second, Kara realized she cold not avoid some impact and launched an emergency beacon. She saw the flash of the beacon streaking out into open space, then the rock hit and everything went black.
Kara woke with a start. She felt disoriented for a moment, until she felt Lee’s arms around her and the soft pillow beneath her head. She was in her new quarters… Lee was here… and most importantly, she remembered. She wanted to wake Lee, but looking over at him, she could tell by his pained expressions that he was quite possibly remembering too… she could not take that away from him. A few minutes later, his eyes opened wide, meetings hers. “I remember….” He said groggily, then grabbed a hold of her and held tight for a moment.
“We should probably go see Dr. Salik… “ Kara said softly, “Let him know we’ve remembered… and I want to know what happened to that disk…” She paused, placing a hand on her belly… She looked back at Lee, smiling “I think I felt him move…”
Epilogue
The room was still spinning, but the pain had subsided a little. Frak, Kara thought to herself… I can’t do this… Lee wasn’t due back from patrol for another 2 hours… and there was no way she was going to do this on her own. She wasn’t even sure if it was the real thing this time. It was the fifth time in two weeks that the contractions had started… though this time, they were definitely stronger. She doubled over as another one hit. Shit it hadn’t even been five minutes… why now? Lee had taken the patrol today because she had felt fine, and quite frankly she was glad he went at the time... His constant fussing over her was really getting on her nerves. But now, she needed him… All she had wanted was to have a good night’s sleep… it was 0300 now, and she hadn’t slept a wink since the contractions started nearly 3 hours ago.
Bracing herself against the wall, she fought the urge to just scream. She fought to control her breathing like she had been told… but it wasn’t helping. Damn, she wished she hadn’t broken the phone the last time… She hadn’t intended to, but it was the first thing she grabbed that could be thrown. Now she needed it… she needed Lee… She sighed, catching her breath. CIC was only a short distance from here… she could make it. She could get someone to call him in… yes... that sounded like a plan… Slowly, holding the wall with one hand for support, the other hand cradling her belly, she moved towards the hatch.
A few steps out into the vacant corridor, another one hit. She was thankful that there was no one about at the moment. Eyes closed and fists clenched against the wall, she rode it out, cursing under her breath. Just a little further she told herself… willing her legs to move again. She managed to make it around the bend before having to stop again… managing this time to breathe through it… it didn’t seem as bad… maybe it was just another false alarm... maybe just walking would help… She relaxed a little, CIC coming into sight. It was just below, the corridor opening to a balcony around. Only a few steps to the stairs… Kara gripped the rail, choking back a scream as a particularly hard contraction hit. The room was spinning, she felt like she was going to split in two… She couldn’t open her eyes, everything hurt… just when it felt like the pain might go away.. it hit again.. harder. She could feel her legs give way, and a pair of strong arms slipped around her, helping her to ease down to the ground… offering support. She could hear the commotion… she could hear Tigh order someone to radio Lee and get Salik up to CIC.
Wonderful… probably the person she least wanted to see her like this… Between contractions, her mind flashed back to bits of a conversation she’d had with the Commander a few days back. “Give him a chance, Kara…” he had said to her… She had to admit he had improved considerably since he lost his bottle… she agreed to at least consider it… then Adama had said the words that would change her view of the world, “He’s your father…”
She had asked… he had answered…though it was not the answer she necessarily wanted to hear. There was a lot of unanswered questions, and a lot of anger… But right now none of that seemed relevant… She screamed as another contraction came over her, hitting harder than a high-g launch. She doubled over, and soon felt the arms slip from around her and scoop her up. In silence, she was carried to the Life Station.
It seemed like an eternity later, when she could finally open her eyes again. Lee was there, holding her hand… she felt somewhat numb… Dr. Salik must have given her something… she could feel the pressure… but the pain wasn’t there… she could breathe…
“Lee…” she whispered. He gently kissed her.
“Rest Kara”, he said, his voice gentle, yet trembling. “Dr. Salik says you have a long way to go… save your strength.” He looked nervously at the door.
“What is it…” She asked, growing concerned. Lee shuffled his feet nervously.
“You have a visitor… I’m told he carried you here from CIC himself…”
“Who?”
“Colonel Tigh…” he managed to squeak out, taking a step back.
Kara didn’t know what to say… he had been making many attempts in the past few weeks to make peace with her… she was the one being stubborn, and now he had been there for her when she most needed someone…She hadn’t told Lee of her conversation with his father, she was still trying to make sense of it herself. “Send him in…” She said softly… Lee looked stunned. “He’s my father…” she stated simply, and Lee looked like he was going to faint.
Lee nodded to the nurse near the door and she disappeared. Moments later, a very nervous looking Colonel Tigh came through. “I just… wanted to make sure you were…alright.”
Kara nodded, feeling sleepy. “Thank you…” she managed to whisper before drifting off for a brief nap.
Not long later, she woke again, the medication Dr Salik had given her was definitely wearing off. She could feel the pain returning with a vengeance. Lee was there… holding her. The rest of the room was a blur. All she could feel was the pain. Frak, nothing was worth this... she just wanted to leave… there had to be a better way.
Dr. Salik smiled at her. “Ready to have this baby?” He asked.
Kara glared at him, “You frakkin tell me! You’re the frakkin Doctor!” She growled at him. Dr. Salik seemed unaffected by her outburst, and motioned for a nurse to come join him.
It seemed like an eternity passed, Kara had pretty much used up every colorful word in her vocabulary when she finally heard the words that helped put the wind back in her sails, “You’re doing great… just a couple more pushes.”
Kara gave it everything she had… she fought back a scream as she felt the burning pain, she fought past the fear of becoming a mother, and just pushed, with everything she had. She collapsed back on the bed, she could feel the sweat pouring down her back… and then she heard the most beautiful sound in the world. His cry.
They lifted the tiny infant into her arms, she was mesmerized. Lee sat down on the bed, holding her and the infant close… He kissed her tenderly, then sat quiet, just watching. The techs wrapped a warm blanket around her and the tiny child as the infant nuzzled at her breast, searching for its first meal.
“Welcome to the world, Zackary Paul Adama” She whispered, seeing the smile and confusion on Lee’s face. It had been a spontaneous decision to give baby Zak her father’s name as a middle name.. but it seemed like a good start to her. “New beginnings” she said to Lee, who smiled softly.
Just then a voice echoed over the comm… “All stations prepare for FTL jump in 5...” Kara froze… “4…” No.. not the cylons.. not now after all these years… Lee must have read her thoughts, he held her tight, and whispered reassuringly. “3…”
“Don’t panic… this is a good jump…” He smiled as Kara gave him a confused look. “The fourteenth pulsar… we found it…” Kara’s eyes went wide.
“2…1…”
The room lurched sickeningly, everything became distorted, then in a flash, the stars beyond the window disappeared, and in the distance, a blue green planet could be seen. Kara looked up at Lee, then at the now sleeping infant in her arms. She couldn’t help but think of the many curve balls that life had thrown her way… and for once she was thankful for the many twists of fate.
END