Disclaimer: I do not own the rights; I just play in their world. Not meant to infringe.

Universe: Kara Thrace isn't in the military and the worlds haven't ended, and yet she still meets him.

Kara walked into her favorite dive bar on Picon, without so much as a smirk on her face. Her last delivery had taken the wind out of her sails a bit. She had almost gotten her crew into a bind they wouldn't get out of alive. She sighed heavily as she sat at the bar. This didn't used to happen to her, but now she was a ship captain, not just some hotshot pilot on a battlestar.

It'd been a year since Zak's death and her court marshal. She couldn't find enough courage to behave, knowing that she had killed someone she loved. She sighed again. The military had been her life, and now that life was over. She'd coped by joining a "shipping team" (read pirates) and that had been enough to distract her for a while but she grew into the role of captain as the last one was shot a few months back, and now she had more responsibility that she would ever want.

The bartender wandered over to get her drink. He was new, she thought, when she looked up into his eyes. His eyes were like ice, until he added a smile and asked what she would like. She frowned, usually no one at Joey's bar smiled, just wasn't the smiling type of place. She asked for some ambrosia, knowing she shouldn't. His smile widens as he sets down her glass and walks away to help another customer.

A while later, most of the bar has cleared out leaving the new bar tender with little to do but converse with Kara. He moves down the bar, "Hi." He says friendly. She looks at him sideways. "Are you always this full of life?"

"Are you always this friendly?" She says vehemently.

"Basically." He smiles. It infuriates her, although most things do on most days so that's not new. "What are you in town for?"

"That obvious, huh?"

"Not really, but I like to study people. That's why I accept jobs like this." He leaned on the counter some more. "Let me guess?"

"Sure bud, whatever floats your boat, as long as the stiff drinks keep coming." She nodded down into her fifth glass. He was sure she would be on the floor soon.

"Caprica. Born and raised." He smiled as she seemed to twitch; he knew he'd gotten it right.

"You know, Joey doesn't usually hire such talkative employees, tends to annoy the customers."

"Maybe I only annoy the beautiful women," he paused looking around the darkened room, "And as you can see the crowds a bit thin on beautiful women."

"Wow, what a line." He just laughs and moves to get something from the back. When he gets back Kara is studying him intently. Before now she hadn't really noticed anything except his cool stare, but from far away his sandy hair looks nice, and she definitely didn't miss when he bent over to pick up a case of something to bring to the front. The night wears on and Kara asks if Joey is around.

"He'll be back in a while." The bar tender comments putting down her seventh drink. Now she is the only customer. He moves to her side of the bar and sits next to her. "So what are you drowning?"

"Excuse me?" She looks at him sidelong.

"Well, we're doing a pretty good job of getting that bottle into you so I was just wondering what you were drowning?"

"Not what, who."

"Alright I'll play. Who are you drowning?"

"Myself."

"This I can see, but why is the more important question?"

"Gods you are the nosiest bar tender I've ever met."

"You should meet the rest of my family, you're getting off easy."

"Well then I guess I should count my lucky stars." Kara commented sarcastically. He laughed.

"You need to loosen up."

"That's what the liquor is for."

"Well obviously you're not a light weight." He reached over and grabbed the bottle.

"So new bartender man, you have a name?"

"Why, you planning on ever talking to me again?"

"Maybe." She said.

"Leoben." He reached his hand out and she took it getting a vague sense of déjà vu.

"Kara." She said. "You're obviously not from Picon either. In fact I get the feeling that you've never called one colony home for very long."

"Guilty." He said pouring her more to drink and getting his own.

"So what do you do that allows you to move around like that?"

"You're looking at it."

"What, bartending?"

"Naw." He laughed and took a sip of his drink. "I can talk. I can mediate; I even have a license to listen on some of the colonies."

"Wow, I'm getting my head shrunk by my bartender at 11 at night. Where is Joey by the way?"

"Dunno, should have been here by now. Why?"

"Oh, I need a night away from my crew and he usually sets me up upstairs."

"Ah, you're that Kara." He pours her more, not really paying attention to his drink any more.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She tosses the shot back in one quick motion instead of nursing the drink. He watches as her short blond hair falls into her eyes and she bats it away, annoyed. He laughs again.

"You really are some kind of woman." He says softly. When she looks like she's going to deck him he holds both his hands up. "Whoa, whoa. Joey said that you were the only woman he'd ever met who could hold her own in a group of men."

Kara thought about that for a while then grinned.

"I do throw a mean punch." He smiled at her as her whole face lit up. "And I obviously can hold my own."

"What made you so independent?"

"Oh here we go. My head shrinking."

"Ha-ha, well I didn't really mean it like that but I guess it's ingrained in me. Almost like breathing." He waited for her to respond to his question.

"What?" She asked getting irritated at his looks.

"Just waiting."

"For what?"

"For you to answer my question."

"What question?"

"The one that's making you so irritated."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I can guess." He said.

"Great. Just what I wanted with my drink."

"You were a lonely child, just like a lot of children but you didn't have any siblings. One or both of your parents left you early in your life and the other blamed you." He paused more to take in her reaction more than for effect. "You don't look back, you don't surrender unless you were going to anyways and you've figured you'd frak up everyone's life you come in contact with."

"Anything else?" She is grinning at him now, trying to hide her reaction under her bravado. He leaned in very close and whispered in her ear, causing his lips to brush against her ear "You frak like a goddess." He quickly moved out of arms reach and grins broadly as she tries to stay composed. She knows she can't contain it with this much alcohol in her.

"You'll never know." She says and she looks back as the bar door squeals open. Joey stands in the door way looking at his newest employee and his angel.