DISLAIMER: Characters and the universe of Battlestar Galactica do not belong to me.
BETA'ed by AMMONITE - thank you!
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GROUSE by -yannik-
Chapter One – THE CEREMONY
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Galactica was about to be decommissioned. And it's Commander was generous enough to invite his son to the Decommissioning Ceremony. What had changed? – the latter mused. What did that invitation mean? That his father was reaching out? That he was searching for some kind of redemption? Did it matter after such a long time? Two years… Hard to believe they were at odds for that long, not talking to each other even once, but William Adama was one stubborn bastard. And his son wasn't much better – he had to admit to himself.
But if this invitation was a gesture on his father's part, not taking it would mean they'd be at odds forever. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to start making things better between them. So there was only one choice, in fact.
Plus there was one other person he was looking forward to seeing onboard Galactica.
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"Ah, Mr. Adama, finally you're here."
How did Madam Secretary Roslin manage to make him feel so intimidated? They have met a couple of times before, and each time he felt like a kid. Probably because Madam Roslin had once been a teacher, and young "Mr. Adama" had often heard teachers talking to him in this manner – especially when he was late.
"I'm not late" he said, trying out his most charming smile on her. "Not technically, as the ship has not lifted off yet."
"Not technically," she repeated, not amused. So his Adama charm didn't work this time. "You've met Billy Keikeya?" she introduced the tall man sitting next to her.
They had met, in fact; they had been in the same law school for the past two years, though they were far from being friends – rivals more likely. And they had both applied for internships in government departments. One got the position in the Ministry of Education, while the other was in the Ministry of Defense, which was quite understandable given his family connections and previous attendance at Military Academy.
Shortly after they exchanged polite greetings and finally took their seats, the captain announced preparation for lift off, and soon Colonial Heavy 798 was on it's way to the rendezvous with Galactica.
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Once onboard the Battlestar, Secretary Roslin and Billy Keikeya were approached by a smug guy in a leisure suit who presented himself as someone from Public Relations. The twosome followed him to their quarters, but the Galactica Commander's son was to have a slightly different reception.
"I am Petty Officer Dualla" a female voice caught his attention. "Commander Adama will meet you in his quarters as soon as he is available." The petite dark-skinned girl with a lovely smile gestured for him to follow her.
The girl and the smile were lovely alright, but the words not quite. 'As soon as he's available' was not exactly the right welcome if his father wanted to make amends.
"So while he's not available…" After all the Old Man was not the only person he wanted to meet here. "Could you direct me to Lieutenant Thrace's quarters?"
The girl nodded with a strange smile.
"I'm afraid you can find her in the brig right now."
Why wasn't it surprising?
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"Wait a minute, when have I seen that last?" he asked, smile evident in his voice, as he saw the muscular blonde doing pushups on the cell floor. Of course he was happy to see her, and happiness prevailed over any anger he could feel for her ending up in the brig for some stupidity once more.
To be honest her unruliness was one of the things he loved in her.
"So, what have you done this time?" he asked as she got up to greet him through the bars.
"Struck a superior asshole," she replied with a smile.
"Right. I bet you've been waiting all day to say that."
"Most of the afternoon, yeah."
She was smiling so broadly, he thought the top of her head might fall off.
"Missed me?" he asked, knowing his face looked equally stupid.
"Mmhm" she nodded. "Me… and your father both."
"Right," the happy atmosphere vanished in an instant. "I haven't seen him yet."
"Why not?" she asked with accusatory tone. How often had he heard that over the last couple of years?
But this time it was hardly his fault! "Kara, don't even start," he tried to warn her, but she pressed on.
"How long are you gonna do this?"
"I'm not doing anything. I'm not the one responsible for all that! He rejected me after I decided to quit the military!" he raised voice and her face contorted. She was getting hurt so easily, and he really didn't mean to scream at her. He hadn't seen her for months, and their first encounter ended up in argument after just a few sentences. If he really wanted to save whatever was left of their relationship, this was not the way.
She was the first to break the silence though. "Now he's reaching out to you," she said softly, but with determination. She tried so desperately to repair what was probably beyond repair.
He looked at her sadly, almost with compassion. "Somehow I have a feeling this was not really his idea, was it? Somehow I think it was all your doing."
She lowered her gaze, and that was enough for him to confirm his suspicions. Commander Adama sent this invitation only to please Starbuck. Or to get her annoying persona off his head.
"He really does love you, Zak. No matter what he says" she said looking into his eyes again.
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Zak was not convinced. Kara could tell that by the look in his eyes. Damn, why was he so stubborn? Why was his father so stubborn? And added to that was Lee, who seemed to give absolutely no crap about what was happening with his family. If there was one person who could bring Zak and his father together – it was Lee. But the latter just didn't seem to care.
That's why when he came to her cell shortly after Zak had left, she nearly jumped at him.
"Look who's here – Captain Adama himself!" she started angrily. "Sorry I wasn't there to greet you with the rest of the squadron. Did they kiss your ass to your satisfaction?"
His only reaction to her insult was a slight rise of his brows. He seemed to have learned to ignore her over the years.
"So, what's the charge this time?" he changed the subject.
"The usual" she replied. She definitely wasn't in the mood to entertain him.
"Right." He stared at her for a while, but not having found any fitting response, he changed the subject. "So… I guess I'll go get dressed more… ceremonially then. The ceremony starts in a few minutes."
Frakking quitter! – Kara thought angrily.
"You're going to see your Old Man, right?" She stopped him from walking out on her.
He half turned back to her, and nodded. "Right." And he searched her face, knowing that there would be more, his eyes wary.
"You know that Zak's here?" Kara asked.
"He is…" Lee hesitated. They gazed at each other, unspoken words passing. But they'd had those conversations so many times, each could tell exactly, what the other wanted to say. Finally Lee sighed. "Kara. I have no influence on my father, you know that."
"No, I don't" she cut in. "I know that you don't want to try."
Lee just shook his head. "I gotta go. Really, the schedule is pretty tight. Pity you won't be flying with us, could be some fun," he smirked at the end, but she was not amused.
When he left, Kara slammed the call bars with such force, she feared some bones in her hand could get broken.
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As the ceremony was unfolding, and Lee was interviewed and photographed over and over again, with various officials or members of Galactica's crew, he started feeling bored and annoyed. The biggest ceremony was still ahead – all the speeches as well as the fly-over – and the Captain was thankful he'd get to spend that time in the cockpit. Being the Battlestar Commander was a tough job – he thought. His father must have endless patience to endure those politics and press. Somehow Lee felt compassion towards his Old Man, and when the Commander lingered in Ready Room after the group of visitors, led by an irritating guy in a leisure suit, had passed to their next destination, Lee stayed behind too.
"You want some coffee?" Bill Adama asked, noticing his son.
"Yes, please. Thank you, sir." Lee stepped closer and took the cup from his father's hand.
"So…" They started simultaneously.
Lee looked up, sheepishly, and they both gestured – you first. Awkwardness ensued.
"Congratulations on making the Captain" Bill said finally. "Sorry I couldn't be there, but we had a real glitch."
Lee nodded. "It's okay. I got your congratulations note." He really hadn't felt offended then, strangely enough he'd been quite relieved when he'd gotten the notice that his father wouldn't be present. Took off the added pressure to be two hundred percent perfect at the promotion ceremony.
"I'm very proud of you son," Bill smiled.
Of course you are – Lee thought with odd bitterness. And said simply "Thank you."
"What did you want to say?"
Lee looked up at his Old Man. He didn't want to say anything. Especially this. But he knew he had to. "Have you seen Zak yet?"
The Commander's face hardened, as he turned away, sighing. He sipped on his coffee, staring at the wall ahead, and Lee regretted pulling his brother's name out.
"My guess is," finally Bill spoke slowly "that Starbuck told you he was coming."
"Actually, she told me he was already here," Lee admitted.
"Is that right?"
Silence fell again, and the younger Adama felt as uncomfortable as one can get. He desperately searched for some subject he could change this conversation to, but his mind was empty. Frakking Starbuck!
"My guess is, it was her idea all along?" he said suddenly, and the Old Man smiled.
"Well, you know Starbuck."
Yeah, Lee knew Starbuck. And he also knew the affection his father felt for the crazy pilot. So seeing that half-smile on his dad's face, he jumped at his chance. "Listen dad. Maybe Kara is right. Maybe you could get over it and…"
"Don't even start, Lee" Commander Adama interrupted, his smile vanishing. He was none to be intimidated by those childish attempts, especially not from Lee, who had, so far, never questioned his authority.
But this time Lee didn't want to back down. The pressure from Starbuck was one thing, but Lee knew that, for the whole last two years, his father had been utterly wrong.
"Zak is a grown man, Dad," he said calmly. "He has a right to make his own decisions. And maybe this one was…" Lee hesitated, seeing his father turn towards him. "the right one." he finished.
An Adama Glare pierced him to the very core. "What?" the question was hissed through a clenched teeth. Oh, no decision that didn't meet the Commander's expectations could be a right one, Lee knew that very well. Very well indeed. He braced himself, for there was no giving in anymore.
"I don't know" he said with an odd feeling in his guts – like there was nothing to lose anymore. His voice was calm and steady as he spoke the next line. "Maybe he felt that he wasn't cut out to be a pilot."
Lee saw a brief flicker of fury in his father's eyes. A flicker he saw once before – on the day William Adama came to Caprica to see for himself if his younger son was indeed quitting the military. A flicker that expired immediately, for William Adama was a man who controlled his emotions outstandingly.
"That will be all, Captain" the Commander uttered, placed the empty cup on the table, and turned away to walk out of the room.
And just as Lee was musing at how inefficient his attempts always were, he heard a voice form behind his back.
"A man isn't a man, until he wears the wings of a Viper pilot." The tone was light, but mocking. "Hello Dad. Lee." Zak was smiling at both his father and his brother, but Lee saw that the kid's eyes were somber. And the Old Man – though startled – was starting to boil inside. This wasn't going to end well. And Lee, being Lee, had no idea how to solve this situation. While Zak, being Zak, knew exactly what to do. He kept talking. "Won't you say 'hi' to your daughter? Zakaria it would be, or what?" he checked with Lee, if the idea was plausible. And came up with another. "Or perhaps Starbuck is your son, and… well… I'm just this girl he's in love with. What would you say, Lee, about having a brother like Starbuck?" he asked, stepping near and elbowing his big brother.
Lee stifled a chuckle "Not really into it, he's a frak-wit. I mean she… I mean…"
"Yeah, well" Zak interrupted Lee's stammer. And looked at his father, who was still standing at the opposite exit, staring at his two boys. "Good to see you Dad" he said straightforwardly. And expected nothing but positive response.
"Good to see you too," Bill Adama answered. And after a split second added "Son." They both stood eyeing each other, and Lee looked from one to another, completely bewildered. He was expecting a nuclear blast, but there was calmness and sort of… mutual respect… hovering in the air. Finally the Commander spoke. "I'll talk to you later. After the ceremony. We need to get ready. Lee, you should change into your flight-suit." He turned to his older son. "The show begins in fifteen minutes."
With that he left, and the two brothers stood in the room, reeling on the past conversation. The tension lingered. And of course it was Zak to relieve it.
"Well. For the first meeting after two years it didn't go that bad, did it?" he joked.
"Yeah" Lee sighed, smiling. "Not bad at all."
"Won't you give me a hug?"
Just as they were patting each other's backs, there came an announcement for the service to report to the hangar bay.
"I'll walk you down there," Zak offered.
They strolled side by side in silence for a while. Lee was amused with the outcome of the short meeting between the Old Man and Zak. Why hadn't they met earlier, why had it taken so long? If they'd met, they would make up, they surely would. Why had they suffered separation for that long? And why he hadn't tried harder to repair things? Was Kara right, that he didn't want to try? But that made no sense, he honestly hated seeing his brother and his father hurting.
"So how does being the captain suit you?" Zak's question startled him out of his revere.
"Great" he breather out after a moment.
"Atlantia?"
"The best Battlestar in the Fleet."
"That's what everybody says" Zak scrutinized his big brother for a few seconds. "You proud of yourself?"
"Yeah." Somehow Lee didn't feel like talking about his promotion. It didn't feel like an important enough subject at the moment. "So… Kara is pursuing you and dad to get along?" he returned to the more weighty issue.
"She's one stubborn lass," Zak smiled.
"More stubborn than William Adama?"
"Yeah."
Lee wanted to make sure they didn't frak it up this time. He wanted to tell Zak how to behave, what to say to the Old Man, not to make the latter upset. Or pissed off even. But truth be told he had no idea what Zak should do. He had never been on such a shaky ground with his father. On the other hand, Zak had this ability to break Old Man's defenses with just a few words, what they had all just witnessed back in the Ready Room. That made Zak so similar to Mom.
"Mom was like that, too," Zak whispered, and Lee looked up at him, startled. Did the kid just read his mind, or what?
"What do you mean?" he asked carefully.
"Stubborn," Zak repeated, staring ahead. "That's why it didn't work out between them. That's why they always argued."
So that was what he meant. Yes, mom was stubborn. Zak was stubborn too, they all were.
"Yeah," Lee nodded not quite knowing what to say.
They neared the locker room, and Lee expected Zak to say 'bye' here, but the kid didn't seem to notice where he was.
"That's why it won't work out with me and Kara," he admitted softly, not looking up at Lee.
"You're still together" Lee observed.
"Well… a relationship after a marriage proposal is rejected, is a bit awkward, you know," Zak reminded angrily, looking around, but still unaware of why they had stopped. Lee knew that the thing with Kara was eating up at him, so he decided to give his bro a few more seconds. He knew how Kara Thrace could get under one's skin; it got him years and love for his little bro, to scratch her out from under his own. "Besides we're seeing each other what? Twice a year for a few days?" Zak complained.
"It's gonna change, so I've heard," Lee said, probing if the rumors he'd heard were true.
"Yeah," Zak nodded. "She got that post in Caprica's Defence Base. She's coming there in a few days, when everything here calms down."
Lee smiled. A ground base was not exactly a dream come true for a viper pilot, but they were talking about Starbuck. "Given her record it's the best she could get," he smiled sadly. "A shame, she's such a great pilot."
"But the authorities look at all aspects of the service, not just the flying ability," Zak commented, and Lee disliked him for a moment.
"You're already talking like a lawyer," he said with resentment. The kiddo went to flight school, alright, but he never fully understood the excitement of real space flight. Frak, he never even felt it! He could not identify with Kara in this.
"Sure," Zak nodded sadly, and Lee put his dislikes aside. Kara could take care of herself, and pilot's principles were not what his bro needed right now.
"Bottom line is you're going to have her at your side every day now," Lee smiled reassuringly. "Guess that's good?"
"Frankly – I'm afraid of that" Zak admitted, but he relaxed visibly too. How was he able to always be such an optimist? "I'll try my best to win her back, anyway. And to win her for real this time. Go get changed, time is running out." Zak smirked, and patted Lee on the shoulder.
"Sure," Lee complied. Turning away he added, "When Zak Adama sets his mind on something, his prey is surely lost."
"Break your wings!" Zak smiled broadly.
"Right." They parted, but Lee remembered something else. "You'll be on Colonial Heavy later? I'm appointed to escort her back to Caprica. One fancy flight – five hours in a cockpit there, five back. Frak."
"But you love it" Zak had to remind him. Always the optimist. "No," he answered. "I guess I'll give Kara's efforts a shot and stay. Dad said he's going to have a chat with me after the ceremony, and my guess is this whole ritual will be over enough for him to have a minute for his prodigal son not sooner than tomorrow morning. Plus I can have five more arguments with Kara in the meantime, so... I'll stay. I'll see you on your next shore leave, right?"
"In four months then."
"You'll be staying at my place again?"
"If you clean the mess!"
"C-ya!"
"Sure! And uh… say 'hi' to Kara for me."
"I will."
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t.b.c.
I hope you like this set up. If you feel like reviewing, don't hesitate to do so!
