Author's note: This will be a series of stand-alone stories which deal with the choices that the characters on Battlestar Galactica have made throughout the mini-series and first season (I'll be posted in as much of the order of the season as I can). I want to explore what would have happened/changed if things had gone differently. Some of the stories will be angst, some will be shippy, some will be funny. There will be different pairings throughout. Don't feel like you have to check out each one to understand the others. All I ask is that if it intrigues you, then give it a try. Hope you enjoy reading the stories as much as I enjoyed writing them!
There are pivotal moments in one's life where if you take the wrong path everything may change. Those changes may be for the good or for the bad. The possibilties are endless.
Lee stretched his legs as he slid out of the Cylon Raider. His mind flashed back to months earlier when President Roslin had approached him with this crazy plan. She had told him that there were so many things falling into place around them and so many things that just made sense. She had implored him to hear her out and listen to the rightness of her words.
"Who better to get the Arrow of Apollo than the god himself?" Lee said, only slightly mocking her words and knowing tone.
That one sentence had made him defy his own father's wishes and take the Raider on an unscheduled jump to the smoldering ash that used to be Caprica. It had taken him too long to get the Arrow safely away and get the ship back in the air. It was the frakkin' blond bimbo of a Cylon who kept showing up to try to kill him. She had come close quite a few times, but whenever he got in trouble, he just thought about the fleet, hovering over Kobol, needing his help. That kept him going.
He had been gone too long. Things would be different in the Fleet. But at least he made it back alive. That was all he really cared about right now. It was nice to have things so simple after the confusion that had been his life for so long.
Looking around, his eyes fell on a few familiar faces. Cally, the young deckhand, was smiling hesitantly at him from across the hanger bay. He could tell she wanted to come up and welcome him back. He shook his head at her, telling her not to even try, and she turned her back on him. He would have to remember to stop in to talk with her later.
Next, he saw a rather confident pilot talking to a rookie, and if his eyes served him right, that confident pilot was actually Hot Dog. He wasn't even looking twice at the sudden appearance of a Cylon warship landing on the deck and a presumed dead pilot stepping out. It made Lee wonder if they had somehow gotten used to accepting Cylon Raiders onto the ship. Maybe Starbuck had gotten herself another souvenir. Then again, maybe they were just pretending not to notice. He wouldn't put it past his father or Tigh to have ordered everyone to ignore him if ever he returned.
That was the real reason why he had expected this type of reception. He had committed a crime in times of war, and everyone probably had been warned of what would happen when he returned. No one wanted to share in the military pain he was about to be dealt as soon as the Commander and the XO hear he was back on board.
"Where are the Marines to arrest me and take me to the brig?" he asked no one in particular.
"They're not arresting you," said a familiar voice from behind him. "Though I might just kick your ass for stealing my ship and doing something so frakkin' suicidal with it."
"Kara," Lee said, smiling without turning around. This was the one voice he hadn't been afraid to hear. "I knew you wouldn't be intimated into ignoring me."
"Turn around, Lee. I don't like to hit a man when he has his back to me."
He did as she asked and took his first good look at her. Not much had changed. Same smirk, some lack of hygiene, same open-ended threats. She still looked like the stubborn girl that would probably end up punching him at some point in this reunion. She was still Kara.
He hadn't even known he had been afraid of her changing until he saw with his own eyes that she hadn't. It made him wonder if everything else was the same onboard Galactica. He walked the few steps so that he was standing right in front of her. "How is everyone doing?"
"We're doing. You lost your job. Helo's the CAG now." She unconsciously played with the sleeves of her sweatshirt.
"You're still not a big enough dipstick to take the job?" he asked.
"Your father tried to pawn it off on me. I refused. Leadership of a mass amount of people is not what I do. I lead in the sky, on my own." She gave him a smile. "The Cylons still attack on a weekly basis. They still get blown to pieces on a weekly basis. We're no closer to Earth than before, even though Kobol floats below us in this system. Maybe your new good luck charm will change that, but until then, there's plenty of Cylons to be shot down one by one."
"Don't make me jealous. I haven't been able to take one shot at a Cylon since I was trying to camouflage myself as one of them in order to get home safely. Tell me. How many have you shot lately? Let me live vicariously through you."
She averted her eyes almost immediately after the question left his mouth. "Actually, I haven't shot a Cylon in over three months."
He noted the sudden discomfort in her voice. He had no idea how or why, but he had overstepped some sort of boundary she had put up. Whatever it was, it definitely hadn't been there when he left. "What's wrong, Kara? What's happened to keep you out of the air?"
"Nothing, Lee," she said. His heart dropped out as he recognized the look on her face as the one she reserved for the special times. Those were the times in which she didn't think she had any other option but to lie to ease the pain. The last time he had seen this face was the day his brother had died.
"You're lying. I need to know what's happening in the Fleet if I plan on staying a part of it. Which I do."
Kara glanced around the hanger. "Do we have to talk about it here in the middle of everyone?"
His stomach started to tighten even more. If it was something Kara thought she couldn't say in front of people, then it really was bad. Their public interactions spanned the gamut from a complete emotional breakdown to an all-out fistfight. There was nothing they hesitated to do in public. Nothing before now, obviously. "Just tell me what's changed."
She took a deep breath and grabbed Lee's hand with hers, giving it a squeeze. Physical contact helped calm him nerves but only for a moment. "Two things. First, the President's had another one of her crazy prophecies. It seems like your father actually believes her now that we know she was right about the whole Arrow thing."
Lee knew instinctively that wasn't the part he should be worrying about. At least, it wasn't the part that she was worried about. "What's the second thing, Kara?"
She bit her lip, nervously, and looked anywhere but in his eyes. "I really didn't want to tell you like this. I had this whole thing plotted out, but true to form, you're screwing up my plans."
"I want you to tell me like this. I just want to know. Whatever it is, I can deal with it."
"I'm pregnant, Lee."
Kara Thrace stared at her friend from across the Pyramid table. It was well past four in the morning, and for the first time in years, she found herself playing an intimate game for two in Pyramid. This was when she was at her best. No distractions to keep her from learning about her opponent and figuring out what they have in their hands. Nothing to tear her away from the cards in her hand and the stakes on the table. She glanced over the top of the cards to stare at the man trying to steal her last pair of socks.
"You don't scare me, Starbuck," he taunted while sticking out his tongue at her.
"Oh, Karl. Of course I do. You just don't want to admit it."
Helo flinched at the use of his first name. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me by my first name?"
"At least once more," she said, giving him a wink. "So, how's your ankle healing?"
"It's getting there. The Doc says that I should be flight ready in a week or two." He threw two cigars into the pile in front of him. "I see your socks and raise you a cigar."
"Bastard."
"So, are we going to talk about why both of us are up at this early hour?"
"No," she answered simply.
"Just checking." He rearranged the order of the cards in his hand. "Speaking of checking, I never recall you apologizing for getting me hurt."
"That has nothing to do with checking."
"I know. I just wanted to point out that you haven't apologized."
"How do you see your stupid injury being my fault?"
"Well, you did throw the table that broke my ankle in order to get a few good punches in at the XO. So, I think you're pretty much the only reason I've spent the past few weeks with my ass stuck to a bed in sick bay. I think that warrants an 'I'm sorry'."
Starbuck closed her eyes and smiled to herself. "It was worth it. Those few punches have kept me sane since the world came to an end." Her eyes shot open, and she trained her gaze and trademark grin onto Helo. "And with that thought, I think I've just decided you owe me a nice big 'Thank you, Starbuck'."
"How so?"
"Well, if you hadn't been on Galactica healing, you would probably have been in that Raptor with Boomer when the Patrol got attacked by Cylons. If I hadn't broken your ankle with that table, you would probably have died in the air along with your partner." Kara threw a cigar and a couple coins into the middle. "Raise."
"I don't want to talk about Boomer," Helo warned, staring at his cards.
"Why not? You haven't said one word about her since we heard her Raptor got destroyed. I know you had a thing for her, Karl." She smiled at the dirty look she got for using his name again. "You practically followed her around in awe."
"You're not one to talk, Starbuck," he spit back at her. "You don't think I see the way you look at the CAG."
"Lee's my friend," she said simply, playing with the cards in her hand.
"Lee? Since when has it been okay to refer to a superior officer by their first name?"
"Since I became a member of their family." She stiffened slightly at her small slip. "I mean, I'm practically a member of their family."
"And how does being in love with the CAG fit into that picture?"
"I don't love Lee. At least not like that."
"Sure," Helo said, obviously not buying a word she said. "I'm calling. I don't think you have a thing."
Starbuck shrugged and laid her cards down. "Full colors. You never could read me, Helo."
He smiled at her. "No, I never really could."
Lee grabbed his best friends arm and dragged her through the corridors of the ship he had once thought of as home. He glanced back at her periodically. Why hadn't he noticed how uncharacteristically baggy her clothing was? Why hadn't he noticed the slight bulge in her belly? She was his best friend. He should have noticed right away.
When they reached the CAG quarters, he halted in his tracks. He turned to look at her and gave her a sheepish look. "I didn't think. These aren't my quarters anymore, are they?"
She walked around him and punched in a code to open the door. "Trust me. Helo won't mind."
"I never really did get a feel for that man while I was his CAG," Lee said, following her into the room.
"He's the third best pilot in a Viper that I've seen." She stared at him until he understood what she was trying to tell him.
Lee blushed slightly, knowing there was a compliment somewhere in there. It was probably the first time she had ever admitted that he was a good pilot. Compliments just weren't exchanged between the two of them. "That's strange. I mean, he never even flew a Viper the whole time I've worked with him."
"Helo went through the Academy training. He was needed more in keeping the Raptor pilots in shape on Galactica so your father transferred him. With you gone and me refusing to take the position, he decided to go back to the Viper. I think Boomer had a lot to do with why he stuck with Raptors for so long. He really loved her."
"So, he's finally over her death?" Lee asked, taking a seat on the small bed.
She gave him the first genuine smile he had seen in months. "Yeah. You should see him. He's happy."
Lee glanced around the room. "This is a lot more decorated than my quarters ever were."
"Well, we've had more time to settle in. We've been staying stationary in this system the whole time you've been gone. It was the one thing that the Commander and the President could agree on. They weren't leaving the system until they knew your mission had failed."
"It's nice to know my father was telling me the truth." He reached out and touched a framed photo on the small nightstand by the bed. It was Helo and Kara with their arms draped over each other's shoulders, smiling. "I never realized you two are so close."
"He helped me deal with the idiotic decision my best friend made without consulting me." She sighed and sat down next to him on the bed. "Are we done avoiding why you pulled me in here to talk? I really want to get this over with now that it's been started."
"I honestly don't want to know what could have possessed you to risk your flight status by becoming pregnant," he admitted.
"I didn't choose to, but apparently, even if I had a choice, the President is convinced it would happen." Kara let out a small laugh. "Actually, it didn't really happen like she thought it would."
"What wouldn't happen?"
"The prophecy. The kamala she's been taking gave her another vision right after you left the Fleet. It seems that the Lords of Kobol had left a scripture behind on the planet that was pertinent to our survival."
"And you guys recovered it while you were conveniently waiting for me to get the Arrow and come home?"
"Yes. The President is convinced that was why it took you so long to return. We had to have time to fulfill our part."
"You sound convinced of her role as a prophet. I thought you considered this type of stuff pretty much all bullshit."
"I did. But that's before it started involving me directly." Kara took a deep breath. "Let me explain. The scroll pointed out a parallel running between us now and the gods of Kobol when they set up the Twelve Colonies. There was a royal line created from the womb of the greatest pilot of their time and fostered out of the admiration of the man who loved her."
"So, that was you I take it?" he said, unable to hold his laughter in.
She shot him a look. "Don't be too amused by this."
"I just still think it's hilarious that you got knocked up because of some crazy drug-induced vision."
"You wouldn't find it so funny if you had bothered to stay around on Galactica instead of going on your adventure," she accused.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"If you had stayed, this baby would be yours," she said, standing up and walking to lean against the opposite wall. She stared at him defiantly, daring him to comment on her statement. When he didn't, she continued to talk, "You see, the President told me that she had this crazy vision that I was going to be the key to the continued existence of our race. She didn't tell me quite a few details of this vision, though. If I had known I was meant to get pregnant…"
Her voice faded off, and Lee decided to finish her sentence for her. "You would have kept your pants on?"
She flinched slightly at his harsh words but didn't deny that was what she was going to say. "I like to think I would have. But you see, the President didn't really think I would have much of an option even if I knew what was to come. Because she knew who the father was going to be." She shot him a knowing look out of the corner of her eye.
"Me?" he said, a confused look plastered across his face. He had heard her before when she said that the President thought he was going to be the father of her baby, but this really wasn't adding up in his head. "Why would she think that my being the father would change your mind?"
Kara refused to meet his eyes, and it suddenly dawned on him why she wouldn't have cared if he was the reason she lost her flight status.
She loved him.
Kara heard him enter the bunkroom before she realized that he was probably there to get her to talk. She hadn't spoken to a soul since Lee had jumped away from the protection of her Viper for parts unknown. She didn't want to talk to anyone. Her body was running on autopilot, and her mind was barely there. She didn't think she could talk to anyone if she wanted to.
"Starbuck," he said, hesitantly, standing in front of her bunk.
"I don't want to talk about it," she hissed. She turned to face the wall and hoped that he would leave her alone. It had taken her hours to find a spare moment to herself. She wanted to be left alone.
He didn't. "I just wanted to let you know that you're off the hook. They've found someone else to take Apollo's position."
"He's coming back, Helo. No one has to fill a position that isn't vacant."
"Sure, he is. But until he does, I'll be the CAG."
She flipped over to face him, hoping he didn't notice her red noises and puffy eyes. "You? They got you to accept the job?"
"There was no one else. When you said no, the Commander got desperate. He heard about my previous skill in Vipers, and he ordered me to take the position. I don't understand why he just didn't order you to take it."
"I wouldn't have listened. The Commander knew that."
Helo sat down on the edge of her bed. She could tell he was being careful not to touch her. At least he understood that much. "While I'm here, Starbuck, I did want to talk to you. I'm tired of having to lie to you. I know how much he meant to you, but you have to start trying to accept that Apollo's probably not coming back."
"He is," she insisted. "He wouldn't do anything as stupid as dying. And I refuse to leave this system without him. He would never leave me behind."
"Okay, with a comment like that, I'm positive that all my teasing you about him was actually right. Are you finally willing to admit that you're in love with Lee Adama?"
"Frak you. I am not in love with Lee."
"Fine. Continue to lie to everyone. You're not fooling me." Helo slid so that his back rested against the wall. "The Commander gave me twelve hours to get your talking. The sooner you start, the sooner I can let you and me get some rest. So, start telling me about why the mutiny of one man has screwed you up so royally."
"Is that an order?" she said, glaring at him.
"Is that an order, sir," he corrected. "I'm your superior now, Kara. You're going to have to start treating me like that."
He watched as her eyes started to fill up with tears again. She bit down on her lip so hard that he thought it was going to start bleeding. Helo had no idea what he had said, but something had upset her. "I'm going to sit here until you tell me what I just did wrong," he said in what he hoped was a comforting tone.
"You want me to treat you like the CAG because that's the way things should be. I understand that. I respect that. Sir." She sat up and looked him in the eye. "I spent so much of my time, yelling at Lee. He wanted to be my friend and not my superior officer. He wanted to be everyone's friend. I think I spent almost all my time trying to destroy that."
"And now you just wish he was back here, trying to be your friend?"
She nodded and lay back down on the bed. "I care for him, Helo. That's all I can tell you right now."
Helo stretched out so that his feet rest near her head. "Well, this is going to be a long twelve hours. Commander Adama gave me my first order as CAG, and I can't risk screwing up this early in the game. So, we'll just sit here and stare at each other's ugly mug until you do feel like talking."
"Even if I did talk, it's going to take a lot longer than twelve hours. Anything involving Lee and I is as complicated as you can get."
"I've got time. I need to start learning how to listen to my pilots' problems. I'm the CAG."
Starbuck let out a laugh and Helo smiled. This was the first gesture of any positive emotion he had gotten out of her. "We are so frakked if you're the CAG," she said. Taking a deep breath, she started in on her story. "Fine. Consider this a gift of pity for the dipstick stupid enough to accept the job. Lee and I first met during a face-off dogfight simulation in the Academy…"
"I loved you," Kara admitted. "Once."
"But not anymore," he said, nodding his head. This was a little hard to believe.
"When the world was destroyed, you were my rock. I depended on you." She finally looked up into his eyes, and her hard gaze made him shiver. "And you abandoned me."
"I'm sorry."
It was simple, but she knew he really meant it. She was fairly sure that Lee wouldn't have left her if she had told him how she felt. At the time, she had been fairly certain that he might feel the same way about her. She would never know, though, if she had been right. He had left, and she had learned to accept that he might not be coming back.
Lee was about to ask her a question when the hatch slid open, and Helo entered his room. "I had a feeling you two would be in here. You two always were joined at the hip if you got an inch of free time."
"I figured you wouldn't mind me using your quarters," Kara said, rolling her eyes. "In fact, I know you don't. So do not start trying to make me feel guilty for coming in here."
Helo smiled at her. "Well, don't mind me. I'm just going to grab some gear and head down to the gym."
"I was just telling Lee here about the baby," she said, unconsciously placing a hand on her stomach and rubbing gently.
"You really don't waste time, do you? I thought you were going to wait until he got settled in."
"I realized something was wrong almost immediately. I pushed her into telling me." That was all Lee volunteered. He didn't really want to say much more. The limited time he had had with Helo was not enough to fully gain his trust. It was odd. Karl Agathon had the exact same personality as Lee's best friend, and yet that same personality kept Lee from opening up with him. "She was just telling me about the crazy prophecy that the President is using to explain her lose of sanity in giving up her flight status. I still don't understand."
Kara silently sent him a look of thanks. Helo had interrupted a really awkward moment between the two of them, and she didn't want to have to explain to him that they had been talking about her one-time love for Lee.
"I'll get out of your way," Helo said, making his way to the hatch. "Let you get back to business."
Lee nodded and turned his attention back to the woman in front of him. "So, Kara, you have yet to mention who the father actually is."
Lee watched as Kara stiffened slightly, and her eyes flickered to where Helo had frozen in the doorway. Helo turned back, and his eyes locked with hers.
"Oh," Lee whispered.
Kara stood in front of the door to the CAG's quarters for ten minutes before she could find the courage to even lift her hand. She needed to talk to someone, and Helo had been the only person on board not currently pushing her to give up all hope of Lee's return. So, she had slid out of bed and made her way down the corridor to where he slept. And now she couldn't even knock.
Groaning at her waste of time, she turned on heel and began to walk down the corridor. She paused in her steps when she heard a hatch door slowly creak open.
"Is that you, Kara?" Helo called out in a sleepy voice.
Rubbing the tears from her eyes and taking a deep breath, she turned around and gave him her most convincing smile. "Yeah. I couldn't sleep. Was wondering if you wanted to start a game of Pyramid."
"I'm on call in three hours," he stated simply.
She nodded. "All right. I'll just go see if someone else is up and willing to lose their money to me."
She only got three steps down the hall before his voice stopped her again. "Kara, stop feeding me the bullshit and get over here."
Taking a deep breath, she turned and followed his order. He held the hatch door open as she entered the room.
"How sparse," she said, taking in the surroundings.
"I don't have time to decorate. My lead pilot keeps getting her ass thrown in hack."
"That cheat bastard, Mahoney, asked for it."
"He didn't deserve a broken arm and two black eyes." Helo motioned towards the bed. "Sit down. I'm sorry that I don't have any chairs yet."
"Bed will work."
He sat down next to her. "So why are you really here?"
"I was lying in bed, thinking about the frakked up situation we're in here. I started thinking about what our next move was going to be once we realize this stupid prophecy thing of the President's is wrong." She stopped to wipe her eyes again. They were itching rather badly now that she was trying to hold the tears in. "And… and Lee wasn't a part of where I thought we would be going. For just one second, I forgot that he was going to be coming back. For a moment, I gave up."
She collapsed into sobs as the last words escaped her lips. Control wasn't really an option for her at the moment.
Helo wasn't sure what to do with this new development. Kara had been closed off from everyone since the moment she had lost her best friend to impulse. Now here she was, admitting that she actually could show weakness. He wasn't really sure why she had come to him and not William Adama, but he wasn't about to ask her.
He placed his hand on her shoulder gently and was surprised to feel her collapse into his body. There was really something wrong with her. Why hadn't anyone been able to see that before?
"I feel so guilty," she whispered into his chest. "I gave up on Lee for a moment. He's trusting me to keep the Fleet in place long enough for him to get back, and I'm starting to lose faith."
"Did he ask you to keep the Fleet here at Kobol?" Helo didn't wait for an answer. "No, he didn't. You didn't even know what he was going to do. Otherwise you would have tried to stop him. You are in no way responsible for his actions. So stop feeling guilt."
Kara shrugged out of his arms. "I should have known you wouldn't understand."
"I find myself wondering why you came to me if you already knew that."
She glared at him. "You can be such a bastard sometimes."
"I'm blunt. That's why you keep coming to me and not any of your other superiors. That and you trust me to keep you on active flight status, no matter how much trouble you get into." Helo pulled her back in close to him. "And I understand what it's like to start giving up hope that the person you love is going to come back."
Kara just nodded as the tears started to flow again. She always forgot the Helo was still dealing with the fact that Boomer had died back in the first few days of the war. He hardly talked about her, and if he was upset, the façade he had created was highly effective.
"We're really the same, aren't we?" she said, looking up at him.
"What do you mean?"
"We're both mourning the loss of the people we love. But we can't let anyone else know how much we're hurting inside."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Helo said in what he hoped was a light tone.
"Right. You're not in pain like I am. Sure." She reached up and touched his cheek lightly. "How do you know so much about what I'm going through, then, Helo? The pain is written on your face just as much as it's on mine."
As she moved her fingers down his face to brush lightly against his lips, he narrowed his eyes. "What do you think you're doing, Kara?"
"I'm trying to find a little comfort. If I remember correctly, you once told me that your door was always open to a pilot in need." She sat up slightly and slid her leg over to the other side of where he sat, effectively straddling his body. "I'm in need."
"You're frakkin' insane if you think that I'm going to let you do this."
She leaned in and nibbled on his earlobe lightly. With a small groan, she ground her body into his lightly. "Give me a break from thinking. Distract me."
Helo shook his head but let his hands rest on her thighs. "You're just going to imagine that I'm him."
"Yes, I am," she said honestly. "And you can imagine that I'm her if you want. Just don't make me leave."
Helo knew that as her superior officer, this was the stupidest thing he could be doing. He knew as a pilot, how stupid a risk this would be to her flight status. He knew as her friend, that she deserved more than just a simple people-passing-in-the-night kind of frak. And he knew as a man who had once loved a woman with all his heart, he couldn't turn her away. Not when she needed him so much.
Helo and Kara only locked eyes for a second before he let himself out of the hatch. But it was enough for Lee to understand all the missing parts to her explanation.
"He's the father."
"Yes. Helo was there for me when I needed him."
"And he's your CAG. He's living in the quarters that were meant for me, flying the same Viper I once flew, spending time with the girl that was my best friend."
"Is your best friend," she corrected, pulling his hand into hers. "That won't change, no matter what else has."
"That's why the President thought I was going to be the father," Lee said, shifting to an easier topic that kept both of them from having to dig into their deeper issues. "It was a superior officer that was prophesized to be the father."
"At the time, the President thought my only options were you, your father, or Colonel Tigh. She said she saw the way I looked at you when I thought no one was watching. The choice was easy for her to make."
"She didn't know what she was going to cause, though, by sending me away. She brought a new player into a game set up by the gods in ancient times by taking me out of the equation."
"And maybe frakked us all. I know." She gave him a weak smile. "I like to think that it doesn't matter who the father was supposed to be and who it actually is. My genes should steer this kid down the path to being a hero."
"A hero, huh?"
"The President seems to think the baby inside me is going to grow up to lead the Fleet to salvation. I just think the kid is going to grow up to piss everyone off and end up in hack like his mother."
"Your theory makes more sense." Lee froze as Kara jumped slightly. "What's wrong?"
"Looks like the kid has taken a liking to his Uncle Lee-Lee."
"He kicked?" Lee said.
"Yeah. It's a new skill he picked up a few days ago. Want to feel?" Before he could say yes, she was placing his hand on top of her belly. They only had to wait a few more seconds before the baby kicked once more. Lee looked up at her and grinned.
She smiled back at him for a moment before her look turned serious. "We're going to be okay, aren't we? You and me?"
He nodded. "I think we are." He reached up and ruffled her hair. "And before I forget, don't you dare start calling me by my childhood nickname."
"But Lee-Lee sounds so cute," she teased.
Rolling his eyes, Lee stood up off the bed and offered her a hand up. "What say you and I go see the old man together? I think he might actually give me a chance to talk before skinning me alive if you're there."
She left her hand in his even after she had regained her balance from the process of standing up. Stopping to look at him, she couldn't help but smile.
Yeah, they were going to be just fine.