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Chapter 2

Kara removed her muddy boots before entering the kitchen. She was soaking from the rain and she was sure she smelled as bad as she felt, but Mary just laughed.

The elder woman was the only friend Kara had now; her only friend for almost three years.

"You know, you don't have to tend to the animals when it's raining; I can send Joe out there instead," Mary explained, referring to her teenage son.

Kara shook her head, not realizing it was making water fly everywhere. "No, it's okay. I missed the rain so much and for so long, that I don't mind it now."

Mary nodded and threw Kara a towel from the laundry room. "That's fine; just make sure you dry yourself before I make you mop the whole kitchen!"

Kara laughed and did as told until a small body lurched itself at her leg and latching on.

"Mommy!" Aria screamed against Kara's damp jeans, and Kara bent down to pick the toddler up.

"Hey there. How's my little nugget?"

Aria giggled, her bright blue eyes sparkling and her rosy cheeks showing her dimples. "I'm not a nug-it," the little girl replied, still unable to pronounce the word correctly.

"Nugget," Kara repeated, before continuing, "and what did you do while I was taking care of the horses?"

"I pwayed with Joe and Jess," she explained, and Kara couldn't help but realized once again that Aria, although still young, already preferred spending time with Mary's sons than daughter. Luckily the teenage boys were accepting of the toddler and allowed her to tag along with them; in fact they were better at babysitting than Mary's eldest daughter Lisa.

Kara sent a silent thank you to Mary before heading to the upstairs bathroom that only she and Aria used. She'd been meaning to take a shower herself to wash away the mud, but after Aria had attached herself to her mother's leg, she was just as dirty and Kara realized she was going to have to wash her toddler as well.

The two were almost to the top of the stairs before Kara heard Mary shouting from the kitchen, "You might want to hurry up there, because the television is airing a bunch of specials about the Survivors!"

After so many years using communal bathrooms in the Fleet, Kara was happy to realize that desertion hadn't made her forget how to take quick showers.

Three Years Before

"I guess it's just you and me," she echoed her own words from years before.

And then she was drifting towards him like a shiny viper after a Cylon EM pulse. His lips tasted of sweat, but his mouth tasted like Lee—that taste she'd grown addicted to over the past few years.

Her fingers let go of his so they could help him out of his flight suit. When it was off, he pulled her to him, and she could feel every muscle in his body screaming for her; the desperation was familiar because it was also her own, and she moaned in relief as his lips found her neck.

His uninjured hand tried to unbutton her pants with no success, so she moved her own hands to assist him, stopping to quickly kick off her boots. She pulled back from him as she stepped out of her pants, feeling immediately drawn back to him but she resisted long enough to throw one of her boots outside the hatch.

Lee had followed her, and as soon as the hatch was closed, he was pressed into her back, pushing her against the metal door. The hand that was wrapped pressed against her stomach, increasing the contact of his erection against her ass, drawing a moan from both of them.

Teeth gently scrapped against her bare shoulder and then her earlobe, and she almost came right then. His torso pulled away from hers, hips still connected intimately through layers of clothing, and his good hand tugged at her top. She realized what he wanted and pulled the remaining tank and her bra off at once. Both his hands moved to cup her breasts, the fabric of his makeshift bandage feeling strange even though it was her own shirt. She knew his hand was probably hurting like a motherfrakker, but he didn't seem to care so she tried not to.

She'd missed this for so long, that she didn't care if he frakked her on the table or against the hatch door; Lee had to be the one to move them toward the bunks until they found hers. Both stood next to the entrance to her bed and they finished disrobing; the two were mere inches apart, eyes roaming the expanse of familiar skin.

They slid into the cramped bunk together, rubbing against each other more than necessary as they held each other's gaze. She couldn't breathe or blink until he was completely inside her; when she finally took a breath, his mouth was covering hers and his tongue had already tangled with her own. She was pretty sure that breathing whatever air he was exhaling was not giving her enough oxygen because she felt lightheaded, but she couldn't bring herself to break their kiss, not with the way he was expertly nibbling on her lower lip, or the way he was completely still inside of her.

When Lee finally pulled back, she felt a tear slide down her face and she didn't even remember it forming. She took a deep breath, feeling him twitch inside of her as her chest rose with much needed air. "Gods, Lee," she moaned as she exhaled, and he smiled a sad smile at her, his good hand reaching up and wiping the trail of her single tear.

It felt like forever had passed before he finally began to pull out of her body; she felt another tear begin to form as she clutched to him, only to realize he'd had every intention of re-entering her. He moaned and she felt a sense of pride wash over her, knowing that she affected him just as much as he affected her. His lips touched every inch of her face while he continued his slow thrusts; she had never been one to appreciate tender sex, and this time her orgasm took her by surprise. It was like a neverending wave of bliss, washing over her time and time again and taking with it all her fears and insecurities.

Lee was apparently as surprised as she was by her climax because he was unable to hold his own. He collapsed next to her and she turned to face the curtain of her bunk, allowing him to mold himself to her back.

"Tell me about Earth, Lee," she whispered as she fought sleep.

"I didn't see all of it," he teased, lips right against her ear. "But what I saw… it's gorgeous. Like Caprica during Harvest time, and there's rain. And food that doesn't taste like processed algae."

She laughed, feeling lighter than she'd felt in months—years, even. "What are we going to do?"

His arm was draped over her waist, fingers tracing lazy circles against her stomach. "We're going to convince them we're not a threat, Kara."

"And then what, Lee?" She didn't want to sound so needy, but ever since she'd returned from the dead, she'd been the one people had turned to for answers. It felt good to be the one asking questions. She didn't ask about where Dee or Sam fit in because they didn't—this was Lee's dream world, and she wasn't going to bring their estranged spouses into it.

"And then you and I are going to find ourselves a nice house. And we're going to live happily ever—" he couldn't finish the sentence because her elbow had jabbed him in the ribs and both broke out in laughter. "Come on, Kara. Close your eyes and imagine it!"

She shook her head against her pillow but did as he asked.

"Imagine a nice house… three bedrooms, two bathrooms. Somewhere where Dad can come over for dinner, and with a playground so we can babysit Hera."

"Us? Babysit?" she asked, unable to stop herself from laughing.

"What do you call being a CAG? It's just like babysitting," Lee retorted and she was able to control her laughter again.

"Okay, tell me more," she begged.

"And then, when it rains…" his voice trailed off into a very dangerous low timbre that went straight to her core.

"When it rains…?" she asked, her question cut short as she felt his renewed erection begging for entrance.

"When it rains, I'll take you outside and do this," he explained as he entered her.

"I—," she stuttered, "I hope it rains a lot."

Lee laughed against the skin of her back. "Me too, Kara, me too."

Kara stood watch as he slept, her somnolence from before replaced by the many anxieties that Lee's view of their future created. It was New Caprica all over again, and a tear slid down her face as she realized no matter what she did, there was no way she would ever live to the expectations of the Adama men.

Her hands wiped her eyes as she silently slid out of her bunk. Kara allowed herself one last glance at Lee before she got dressed and did what she did best.

She ran.