This will be a series of stand-alone stories which deal with the choices that the characters on Battlestar Galactica have made throughout the first half of the second season (I'll be posting 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 possibilities are endless.


The sunlight streamed through the room's lone window to gently warm Kara's face as she lazily pulled herself from the comfort of sleep. Blinking her eyes a few times, she carefully inched herself out from underneath the bedcovers. She grabbed her underwear off of the ground, slipped them on, and turned to pick up the first sweatshirt she could find. Sliding it over her head, she realized it wasn't hers. That didn't matter.

Kara tiptoed into the small bathroom and hit the hot water faucet in the shower. Being so far away from any of the Twelve Colonies, technology didn't run so smoothly. Water took at least five minutes to heat up.

She pushed the medicine cabinet door closed and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was thin but healthy. Her eyes still had that haunted look about them. She never could get rid of that. Her head tilted to give her a good look at the still-forming bruises on the side of her neck. Her fingers brushed lightly across the teeth marks. It had been a rough night.

Kara's eyes drew away from the mirror to stare at where her hands lay on the counter. The ring on her left hand still looked foreign to her even after twenty-four hours. She touched the small brass band softly with her other hand. It looked like it might break under even the slightest pressure. It was so thin.

Closing her eyes, Kara let herself drift back to the memory of the night before as steam began to fill the room. It was hard to believe that she had agreed to his request to marry her. It hadn't surprised her. They had been carrying on this affair for years now. She had just never let herself believe the best Viper pilot in the whole Colonial Fleet would want to make an honest woman out of her.

So caught up in her thoughts, she didn't hear him until he had wrapped his arms around her and gently rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Good morning, Mrs. Adama."

His small chuckle made a smile slowly spread across her face. Turning in his arms, she reached her hand up to guide his lips toward hers. "How are we going to explain this to everyone?"

Lee Adama pulled back to look at her. "We'll figure it out, Kara."

Kara gave him a small nod before moving her hands away from his face so that she could skillfully run her fingertips along the lines of the muscles on his arms. She let him push her back gently until she was seated on top of the counter with his body planted firmly between her legs. A sigh passed through her lips.

"No one even knew about us, Lee. I've been living on this rock of a colonial outpost for years now. I don't even speak to your father anymore." A look of guilt passed through her eyes before she could stop it. "He wouldn't approve."

"I don't care," Lee said, bending down to meet her eyes. "This isn't about him."

She gave him a small nod. "We're going to do this."

"Frak yeah, we are."

"I'm scared," she admitted, sliding off the counter.

"Don't be," Lee insisted. "Whatever happens, I know what we're doing is right. I don't want to feel guilt about loving you anymore."

Kara stared at him a moment in silence and then asked, "So where do we go from here?"

"We'll just take it one person at a time. As long as we do this together, it will work."

His strong words of determination were just another reason she loved him and knew what they had done the night before was the right decision. No one had ever made her feel this secure.

Kara silently shrugged out of Lee's sweatshirt, handing it to him, and her underwear soon followed. Wishing she could pull Lee in with her, she stepped into the warm shower and sighed. "You're going to be gone when I get out, aren't you?" she asked through the curtain.

"You know my pass expires soon. I can't push it this time, Kara. We don't want everyone to find out about us because I've been brought up on disciplinary procedures."

"That would be bad," she agreed. Letting out a deep breath, she poked her head outside the shower. "I don't want you to leave."

"I don't want to leave, but I have to." Lee leaned in. He meant to give her a quick kiss, but like everything in their relationship, it soon filtered out of control. He just let himself enjoy the moment for a few precious seconds, and then he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. "How hard would it be for you to get someone to fill in for you?"

"I have quite a bit of leave set up considering I haven't left this place in over a year, and I could probably get a replacement some time next week. Why do you ask?"

"I want you to come see me on Atlantia." He chuckled lightly as her mouth dropped open. Unable to resist the urge, he pulled her into another kiss, this one substantially longer and more involved if that was even possible. When he pulled back, his front was slightly damp and her breath seemed to have disappeared. "We'll start on Atlantia and work our way through the Fleet." Lee gave her a smile. "How's that for a plan?"

"It's Galactica I'm worried about," Kara pointed out.

"Because of Dad or Zak?"

"A little bit of both."

Lee nodded in agreement and stepped in to give her one last kiss. Kara pulled the curtain shut. She hated when Lee left her alone.

The shower went cold after a few minutes, and for the millionth time, Kara wished there was some other place she could have gone. After what she did, though, she had been lucky to get this outpost job. The Colonial Fleet didn't like people who used their rank and position to frak with the decisions the higher-ups made.

Kara sighed and knocked off the water. She had had no choice. There were some things she would give her life to keep safe, and that day she had proved it. In the end, it was a good trade-off. She lost her wings, but she gained true happiness for the first time in her life.

Wrapping a towel around her body, Kara stepped out into the cold. The tiny apartment was quiet. Lee always left quickly. Just like her, he hated when he had to go. Kara's eyes landed on the bed, and her lips turned up in a smile. He had left his sweatshirt behind. Lee knew how much she loved wearing his clothes. Grinning like a complete idiot, she let the towel slid to the ground and pulled the soft material over her head.

"We can do this," she repeated, lifting the material up to her nose to inhale. "I know we can."

Smiling, she settled down to another day of monotonous work.