Dee's POV

This was my last tour in the military then I was going home. It was always my intention to finish my graduate degree and join the family business. I was tired of fighting with father about my choice, and I missed the family. I had made some great friends but it was time. After the decommission ceremony, I planned to put in my resignation. "I am really going miss military life, but I am looking forward to being home". At least that's what I thought.

Then, the impossible happen. The Cyclons attacked and everyone was gone. In a spit second I became homeless and an orphan. I was alone in the world, running and fighting for my life.

I looked around me and there was chaos. My life as I had planned was gone. No more plans for graduate school, no more working in the family business, no more pleasing father…no more anything.

I did my job, I ate, I laughed, but it was all so surreal.

I do not remember when it first happened. We would often talk after our shift. Just the two of us. We were two people alone in a world that has just been turned upside down, so we reached out to each another. After a while, we grew to understand one another. It became natural for me to climb into his rack after a hard day's work and snuggle with him. He did'nt mind and I took it all for granted.

We were never lovers but I knew almost everything there is to know about him. How his muscles tensed up after a difficult day; how he flexed his toes when he wakes in the morning; how he stretches like a cat getting ready to pounce; the length of his manhood before he relieves himself in the morning, all this I knew about the man I called friend. His smell I knew very well and his laughter imprinted in my ears. How he loved to tease me, as we gossiped along the corridors, his moods changing when he felt that he or I was threatened, all this I knew about Felix.

When he left the ship for New Caprica I nearly went crazy because I missed him so. I never thought of how much of my time was spent with him. When we all came back to the ship, it was just natural that we picked up where we left off. The knowledge of each other made it easy, and no one, not even marriage could separate us.

Except for some minor changes, his smell was still the same. His moods were a little darker, and his smile never seems to reach his eyes except when he was with me. There were secrets that he was reluctant to share, so I waited until he was ready to share them with me.

We fell into the old work routine and life seems good for a moment. But, like before, things change without any warning. My life became a public spectacle, gossiped and rumored about along the corridors. My only refuge, my best friend, Felix.

He never said a word, just pulled me into his rack, wrapped his arms around me and went to sleep. At a time like this, I could not imagine being anywhere else but wrapped in Felix's arms. Here I am secure and safe, shutting out the cruelty of the outside world.

When I walked down the corridor, he is most often there with me. When I looked up from my workstation, his smiling eyes always seem to catch mine. I never realize how much strength I drew from him on a daily basis. Sometimes when sleep evades me, I usually found his rack and curled up beside him; yet, we were not lovers, just friends. He gave me what I could not get from my husband. Or, maybe what I never require from my husband because I had him.

When my husband asked me for a divorce, I wasn't surprise and neither did I feel alone because I had Felix. I signed the papers, walked over to Felix's rank and climbed in beside him. He wrapped me in his arms and went to sleep. I know that I do not have to worry because in Felix's arms I am always safe.

Was I surprised when he woke up and say "don't you think its time we got married"? No

To be honest we have been married for a long, long time. We just never got around to saying the words.

Don't get me wrong, I loved Lee, but with Felix, it's more than love. I can't explain it. You would have to experience it yourself.

Some people may be surprise by this, but if they knew us, they would probably ask, "what took them so long"?

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Felix's POV

I first met her when she came abroad the ship, young, full of life, and a propensity for mischief. It didn't take long for her to fit into the daily routine of life on a battle ship. Her smile lit up the entire place and it was easy to be on friendly terms with her. I am the Tactical Officer and there are strict rules against fraternization, so I not only kept my distance, but my career took precedence over everything else.

Sometimes when we had down times together and we were in the dorm alone, we would talk, exchange simple pleasantries. She is a Sagittarion, so I would ask questions about her people since I did not know much. She was often reluctant to talk about her culture, so we talked about trivial things. I liked her very much, she was peaceful, intelligent and very much a no-nonsense type person. She reminded me of my Aunt Thalia.

I remembered her mentioning leaving the military and going back to school to get her graduate degree, subsequently, joining the family business. I was impressed by her plans for the future. I think she would be leaving or submitting her termination papers after the decommission ceremony. I was a little depressed at the thought of her leaving, but this was the military after all, and people are always changing duty station. I was looking forward to my next assignment. It was one of the newer model battle cruisers.

No one expected the Cyclons to attack, or even the ferocity of the attack against the colonies. In an instance, everything changed. All our plans went flying out the airlock as we scrambled to stay alive. Days, weeks and months flew by as we struggled to reassemble what passed as life on our way to find a new home-earth.

Like everyone else, I was a walking zombie, my mind trying to wrapped itself around what had happened to us. One day I walked into the dorm after my shift and she was just sitting there, so alone and sad. The smile and bright eyes were marred by the grief and loss we all felt. I couldn't move because I was arrested by her small frame just sitting there, lost. I sat down beside her and she rested her head on my shoulders. I put my arms around her and drew her close for a hug. We both needed to be touched, to feel the warmth of someone else.

That's how it started.

We would often sit and talk after our shift. Before we knew it, we were sharing intimate information about ourselves as well as antidote about our families. I remembered the first time she crawled into my rack to snuggle. It was her parent anniversary after the attack. It was a particular hard day for her. She came in from the lounge, looked at me and said "do you mind if I lay next to you"? One look at her face and I couldn't say no. So, I moved over and wrapped my arms around her and felt her heart beat, and her body relaxed snuggled into my arms. We slept like that all night.

This was the first of many nights when she would climb into my rack when the world seems too much for her.

We were never lovers, but I came to know her body almost as much as I knew my own. How she stretches from head to toe before waking up in the morning or how her legs intertwine with mine when she has had a restless night. Even her scent was imprinted on my senses. All this and more I knew about her body. Yet we were never lovers, just friends.

My daily routine on the ship seems to include her whether walking down the corridors, or just watching her at her workstation, my days were filled with my best friend, Anastasia. I was protective of her as she was protective of me, and to keep my mind from wandering I teased her mercilessly.

The day came when I left the ship for New Caprica. I have always been ambitious and the events of the past months, made me want to leave the ship and start a new life for myself. It never occurred to me how I would feel not seeing her every day. It did not take me long to realize that I missed her very much and the thought of her marrying someone else was too much to bear, but I was the President's aide, I was making a career for myself. So, I told myself.

I did not see her for a long time, and the situation on the planet deteriorated. In retrospect, I am glad she was not there. I could not fathom anything happening to her.

After the rescue, things on the ship slowly went back to normal. I was worried about our relationship, but I was surprised to see that time and marriage did little to the bond we had formed. Everything fell into place. We were friends if nothing else. I was content to be just her friend, to watch her flitting around the ship and occasionally catching her eyes across the room.

Yes, there were minor changes, like, a cloud would come over her when she thinks I am not watching or the smile that does not often reaches her eyes, an unexplained tenseness in her body.

I had heard rumors but I kept silent because I knew she would come to me if she needed me.

Then, one night she came to my rack, told me to move over, and crawled in with me. I didn't ask any question. I just wrapped her in my arms and went to sleep. After a while, it became a habit. She needed a place of refuge, so she would come to me. I never asked any question, just moved over, pulled her into my arms and held her tight. Even then, we didn't become lovers, just friends who needed each other.

I wasn't surprise when her husband asked for the divorce. Everyone saw it coming, but I knew I would be there for her. So, when she came to me that night, I did like I have always done, and that was to take her in my arms and hold her tight. She thought I was sleeping but I wasn't, I was just waiting for the right time to ask her if she was ready to be my wife, and tonight, I knew she was ready. Her body told me so.

Am I surprise that she said yes or that it is so soon? No

Do I care what people think? No

Am I ever going to let her go again? No

I have always loved her. Always….