The Morning After

Disclaimer: I don't own BSG and/or its characters. I'm just borrowing them.

Happened after Lee and Kara declared their love to each other under the New Caprican moon.

His eyes fluttered as he woke, for a moment he forgot where he was, he smelled the sea, the scent of freedom, he thought, while the grains of sand on his back reminded him to keep grounded. He could sense the warmth of the sun on his skin as the gentle morning breeze greeted his naked skin. He soon remembered that he was no longer abroad the Battlestar. A smile formed on his face as his mind replayed the night prior, where he declared his love to his woman for the whole world to hear. Still smiling, he moved to his side, expecting to find her by his side, when his arm reached to an empty space, he slowly opened his eyes… she was not there.

Looking around, he didn't find her anywhere near. It was time for him to get up anyway, he picked up his clothes and started getting dressed.

"Lee Adama loves Kara Thrace" he mumbled, replaying the memory. Wearing that happy smile, he walked away, back towards civilization.

"G'mornin" Galen gave a lazy half salute to her, while his other arm was Cally's shoulder. She smiled at her, giving a salute that mimicked her husband's. Kara nodded with a smile, her boots felt heavy as her feet dragged in the sand. She had been awake for a few hours by then, and her mind had wandered and replayed the event that took place the night before.

"Morning Starbuck" Kara almost tipped over as a voice full of authority greeted her. Looking up at the pair of blue eyes she was familiar with, she smiled.

"Good morning, Boss" she smirked at the Old Man.

"Have you seen Lee? The shuttle is here, and Dee was looking for him"

Kara's heart skipped a beat, she took a quick glance to where they were at last night, then swept her gaze through the rest of the beach before returning to the Admiral

"Nope…" she began to answer, but the corner of her eyes spotted the man in question coming from the camp site.

"Well, let him know if you see him. I have to go and get ready" he squeezed Kara's shoulder before moving off.

She stood there for awhile, waiting for the younger man to approach her. There were worries in his eyes as he drew near.

"Hey…" his voice was uncertain.

"Hey" she replied with the same weight of uncertainty. Her eyes were searching for reassurance from him.

"I've been looking for you"

"The shuttle is here" they spoke at the same time. Both stopped and looked at each other. Lee stared at her for a few seconds, studying the sadness in her eyes.

"I've been looking for you" he repeated, moving closer to Kara. There was hesitation as his hands touched hers. Her body tingled at the touch, responding to him, grateful for the companion and comfort the man offered.

"I'm not very good at goodbyes, Lee" she mentioned, eyes still sad. She felt a slight tug on the tip of her fingers as he involuntarily tensed. Lee wanted to run so he didn't have to hear the words, that after last night, she'd still choose to be planet bound, away from him.

"My…" she cleared her throat, "My transfer request has been approved"

He knew Kara had requested to be on planet side. And so it's final. Lee thought, he still looked at her with a lot of unspoken questions, his mind played their night together again, desperately hanging onto those memories. He didn't want to go back out there without her, but he knew there was no way he could change the woman's mind once she made a decision.

"That's… good…" he wasn't sure what to say anymore, he just looked at her with puzzling look, trying to make sense of why.

"I'm sorry..." she wiped her tears, "It's just hard… " she said again not able to finish her sentence, Lee's heart clenched. Please stop. Came the voice in his head. Kara took a deep breath before smiling at him.

"I'll get my things and meet you at the raptor?"

"Huh?" he involuntarily let that out before he could stop it.

"Have you been listening?" she drew her hands from him and rested them on the side of her hips, foot tapping the ground.

"Yeah… I…"

"Oh good gods! If you back out on me, Apollo, I'll make sure I'll kick your sorry ass so hard, you'll end up back in Caprica! No takebacks, remember?" she glared at him, eyes still red from holding back her tears only moments ago.

"Wait… are you…" Lee couldn't find words to complete a sentence, not that he knew what he wanted to say to start with anyway.

"Transferring to Pegasus? Yes! I thought you need a new CAG anyway?" she maintained her posture.

Lee laughed nervously, moments ago he thought he was about to lose her, the sudden realization of the opposite was a blessing to him. Without realizing, he moved and embraced her with a bone-crushing-hug.

"You're… that's good!"

"You're weird" Kara shook her head as she returned the hug, trying to breath at the same time.

"When did you ask?"

"Early this morning, you were still asleep. The Admiral was more than happy to have me back in the viper"

"Sam?" he had to ask.

"Not happy, and I feel like shit about it… I told you I'm not good with goodbyes. But he'll get over it" she answered while her mind wandered back to that particular conversation earlier in the morning.

"You what?" the splitting headache was nothing compared to the almost one way conversation he was having. Kara had told him her plans, the one without him in it. Less than pleased, he dragged himself up to where he was sitting, leveling with her.

"I'm leaving" she repeated.

"Kara… I thought we…"

"I'm sorry, Sam" she cut him off, shaking her head before she took a step back from him.

"It's not fair to either of us" she added. Sam snorted in response and put his hands in the air, not believing what he was hearing.

"Tell me something, Kara. Do you love him?" his gaze locked with hers, demanding truthful answer.

Without a doubt, she nodded and said yes.

"I'm sorry" she said again, sadness filled her eyes, not because of regrets, but with guilt for letting them go on for so long.

"Yeah… me too"

"Dee?" she asked in return.

"Angry doesn't even cover it, but I believe she'll be okay. The Admiral may want an explanation when her paperwork to be transferred back arrived on his desk though"

When he couldn't find Kara earlier that morning, he had gone down to look for Dee, who came back to pick him up. What happened wasn't his proudest moment, but he couldn't keep pretending anymore. When the woman cried, it broke his heart and he regretted that it had to happen the way it did. Taking her hand in his, he thanked her for the time they had together. When it was her palm connected with his cheek with such force, he knew he deserved it, and simply walked away after giving her another apology.

"Oh gods, your father" Kara gasped, forgetting about how the Admiral would react. Lee stole glances towards his father, he was back at the camp site, bidding his farewell to Laura, his hands stayed a heartbeat longer on Laura's.

"I think he'll be okay with it" Lee finally said, putting his arm around Kara's shoulder and ushered her towards the camp to get their things.

"Let's go home" he whispered. Kara leaned her head onto Lee's shoulder, she was sad to leave, her heart was still heavy with regret and guilt after what he did to Sam, and she was sad that she wouldn't be on Galactica, but her lips curled into a smile at the thought of making Pegasus her new home. She liked the way home sounded when Lee is in the equation.

END