Almost not making my promise of posting a chapter a day already - but I'm having a hell of a week - and not in a good way. Anyway here is chapter 3... so enjoy.

It Shouldn't Be Easy.

Chapter 3.

It was the second week of the break and Kara was officially bored. She'd studied so much her head hurt and she couldn't face doing anymore. She was now wondering if she should've gone to stay with Lee. She regretted the way things had gone since the break began but she was too embarrassed to face up to it. She just wished she wasn't the only person here. She was lying on her bed staring at the ceiling and wondering what she was going to do for the next fortnight or so. She was just starting to doze off when there was a knock on her door. She turned her head to look at it and stared as if trying to see through it; she had no idea who it could be; everyone else had gone home. She slowly pushed herself to her feet; knowing she was going to probably be disappointed when she opened the door. As she began to walk towards it there was another timid tap on the door. She opened the door and was surprised to see Lee standing on the other side. "Lee?"

"Hi." He said softly.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at your parents."

"I came back early."

She stared at him and could tell he seemed upset about something. He seemed to be avoiding looking at her; almost as if he thought she'd be able to see exactly what was wrong. She knew there was more to it than just deciding to come back early; part of her wanted to know what was going on; part of her was suddenly scared to ask. "Do you want to come in?" she said as she stepped back and opened the door further. He walked past her and stood in the center of the room. "Are you okay?" she finally asked him after staring at his back for some time. He looked at her over his shoulder and shook his head. She didn't need to see his eyes again to know there was something bothering him; and whatever it was it was serious. Maybe she could help him; if he'd let her anyway. Things still seemed different between the two of them; strained somehow and Kara had no idea why. "Do you want to talk about it?" He was silent for a couple of minutes and she knew he wasn't going to let her be there for him. And it hurt a lot that he wouldn't. "You don't have to if you don't want to." She added; backtracking and wishing she hadn't asked in the first place. It was none of her business.

"Can we not at the moment? I just want to think about nothing for a while." He still stood with his back to her and she saw the tension in his shoulders; tension that was increasing as time passed.

Kara instantly knew she was the cause of the extra tension and felt bad for doing that to him. That was the last thing she wanted. "Of course. If you want to talk though, I'm here for you."

He seemed to be comforted by what she'd said. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

As he spoke she heard the smile in his voice and it brought a small smile to her face too. The room fell quiet again. "I've missed you." She admitted to him quietly; needing to fill the silence in the room and speaking before she thought about what she was saying.

He turned and looked at her after she'd spoke; staring into her eyes deeply. Another smile appeared on his face; one she could see now and it reassured Kara more than she thought it would. "I missed you too." He looked around her room as he stood in front of her; Kara's eyes following his movements intently. "Can I sit down?" She nodded at him. He sat on the edge of her bed and held out his hand towards her. She took his hand and he tugged her over to sit next to him; not letting go of her hand as she took her seat. Kara found she wasn't that reluctant to do as he silently asked. "So have you been the only one here?" He seemed concerned about her and her heart fluttered in her chest.

"Yeah. It was okay at first, I've got a lot of work done but the last couple of days have been a little lonely." She stopped; realizing she was beginning to babble slightly. Why did he always have this affect on her?

He squeezed her hand a little bit tighter. "You could've called me, you know."

She looked down at their hands and bit her lip nervously; her stomach lurching at the few words he'd said. "I know. I nearly did but I didn't want to disturb you while you were with your family."

"I wish you had." His words had a slight bitter tone to them and were also tinged with a hint of longing that puzzled her.

She turned her head and looked at him as he sat beside her. She was more worried about him now than she'd been since he turned up; something was really wrong. She hated seeing him hurting like this. Of its own free will her other hand reached up and touched his face; caressing his cheek with her fingertips. Kara wasn't sure what had made her decide to take this course of action but she couldn't say she disliked it either. She was still confused by the way he was behaving towards her; this was not how they usually were with each other and yet it seemed so right as well. Lee turned his face towards her and stared into her eyes deeply. Kara stared at him; captivated by the emotion she saw there and surprised to see tears welling in his expressive eyes. Suddenly she had to know what he was thinking; if there was a way she could help him. "Please talk to me, Lee. I can tell something's wrong and I want to help. You trust me, don't you?"

"Of course I trust you. I just can't talk about it. Not yet anyway." There was desperation in his voice and it made her sad; her heart aching for the pain he was in.

"So how can I help you?" She was almost pleading with him and she hoped he would let her in.

He looked at her intently; working out if he could really ask what he wanted to. "Can you…?" he stopped and dragged his eyes from hers; chickening out of saying the words.

Her interest in what he was trying to say was piqued. Her hand urged his face back to look at hers and she smiled at him softly. "What?" she murmured.

"Can you hold me?" he whispered.

It wasn't what she'd expected him to say but her smile grew and she moved her hand from his face; across his shoulder and pulling him towards her. His arms moved easily around her waist; holding her tight in their grip; the tension still obvious in his body. His head rested on her shoulder and she rubbed her hand up and down his back gently. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes; Kara continuing to brush her hand over his back; feeling the tension gradually fall from his body. She couldn't argue with the fact that she also feeling better from this as well.

She had to admit though that this wasn't enough; not for her anyway. She pulled away from him and looked down at his face. She took his hand in hers again and squeezed it gently. She shuffled back on the bed and lay down; pulling on his hand gently so he lay down next to her. He rolled onto his side and looked at her face; staring into her eyes. "Lee…" Her voice drifted away as she was hit by the power of his eyes; always the eyes.

"I had a huge fight with my dad." He said softly; suddenly needing to tell her what was wrong.

"What about?" She was aware it must've been huge if he'd come back to the Academy. What could make a father and son fall out so badly; she had no experience of that. She'd never got on with her mother; she knew Lee did get on with his dad; at least a little bit.

"Everything I guess. It's been building for a while and today I couldn't hold back any longer. The tension since I got home has been increasing; I'm not used to my dad being there and he hates being land locked. Today was the culmination of all that." His eyes were shining and again they bewitched her and distract her for some time.

She knew there was more to it than a row with his dad. There was only one other thing that could upset him this way and Kara had a suspicion she knew what it was. "What did your mum say?" She knew how close Lee was to his mother and it was the only thing that could affect him this badly.

"Nothing at first, then she tried to talk to me while I was packing my stuff. She took my dad's side and told me I was wrong. I don't understand how she can agree with him all the time. He's not always right." His frustration made its way into his voice and shame washed over his face as he realized it.

She was silent for a second and stared into his eyes. "Were you right?"

He stared at her for a moment; a lopsided grin pulling at the corners of his mouth. "Maybe. I don't know. I can't remember all the stuff that was said. I know some of what I said was right but some of what he said probably was as well."

Somehow they seemed to lying closer to each other than they had been but Kara couldn't remember either of them moving. Her hand moved to his face again and Kara tried not to notice how her heart beat a little faster when his eyes fluttered shut as her thumb brushed his cheek. "Why did you come back here?" she said softly. She needed to know the truth behind his decision to come back to campus. There were many other places he could've gone. Could it really be just because he wanted to see her?

His eyes opened and his hand moved up to mirror the action of hers on her face. "I wasn't intending to originally; I was going to go and stay with my grandparents for the remainder of the break but after my mum came and spoke to me I got so angry." A blush marred his face as he spoke and he tore his eyes from hers for a fraction of a second; then bringing them back to hers again. "When she left I knew I needed to get further away from them; I thought of you and I realized I'd missed you so much. I wanted to see you so I decided to come back early. I dropped off my bags at my room and came right here. Being here was the only place I wanted – no, actually needed to be."

Her mouth went dry as she processed what he'd just said. Kara didn't know how to respond. She wasn't sure how to take what he'd just said to her. Why did her heart speed up when he said those words? She just didn't know how he meant it though. Was she reading too much into what he'd said? She licked her lips and then finally spoke; her voice quiet. "I'm sorry you had a fight with your parents but I'm glad you're here. I've spent the last week wishing you were here and now you are." Her words were soft but he stared into her eyes for some time after she fell to silence and she felt a weight lift off her shoulders to finally admit to him a little of how she felt.

"I'm glad I'm here too." He finally murmured.

He was still staring at her and Kara couldn't help staring back at him. Her brain was whirling; wondering what it was that was happening between them. Was she imagining the signs she thought she could see? She could see how upset he was; it was still written over his face and she pulled him closer to her so she could hug him again; needing to break the contact with his eyes so she could regain some of the control she felt she was going to need. His head was cradled in her neck and she brushed her fingers through his hair gently. They lay this way for some time; Kara giving him comfort and relief from the thoughts resonating through his brain. Lee's hand had moved down to her waist as they lay there and was now splayed across her back. The heat of his hand seemed to be searing into her skin and Kara felt a buzz flowing through her. It was all very confusing; to her at least. Somehow she got the impression Lee wasn't as confused as she was.

Her confusion increased further when she felt his lips brush the skin of her neck as his head lay on her shoulder. Her hand stilled in his hair and she closed her eyes as he sucked gently at the point where her neck met her shoulder; a point she'd always found particularly sensitive. A point where she was sure he'd be able to feel the pounding of her blood through her veins. His hand was creeping up her back; leaving a burning trail in its midst and Kara unable to work out how she should be reacting to what was happening; she could barely breathe she was so unsure of what to do. Her hand began to move in his hair again; her instincts taking over as her mind continued to spin.

His mouth was moving up her neck now; edging ever closer to her mouth. She continued to hold her breath as his mouth kissed her jaw; his teeth softly nipping at her skin. Her heart was racing quicker now; even faster than it was when he'd first kissed her. The hand on her back pulled her closer to him; pressing her body against his; her breasts squashed against his chest. Time seemed to stand still for Kara; a vacuum being created in the room as she felt him kiss her over and over.

"Lee." Her breath finally left her body; his name a sigh from her lips. Her voice made him stop; his mouth stopping its progress and he hesitantly pulled away to look at her face. She stared at him; looking deep into his eyes; into the dark blue; trying to work out what he was thinking once more. As always it was proving difficult.

His hand rose to her face and stroked her cheek. His eyes moved slowly across her face; measuring the look on it; finding a stunned but not unwelcome expression on it. Slowly his head moved back towards hers; his mouth softly pressing against her lips. He kissed her as tenderly as he'd done her neck earlier; slowly increasing the pressure on her mouth. Kara's eyes fluttered shut the moment his mouth met hers and she allowed herself to enjoy the experience of Lee Adama kissing her. Her hand was now holding his head in place; ensuring his mouth didn't move from hers until she allowed him to. She was still trying to work out if she wanted him to stop what he was doing; from the way her heart was thudding in her chest, she didn't think she did.

Lee was happy to continue worshiping her; his tongue brushing across her lips; wanting to gain access to her mouth. His heart was also racing; he was finally doing something he'd wanted to do ever since he'd met her that first combined flight class; even longer really – ever since the first time he saw her across the courtyard in the first week of being at the Academy. Now his initial attraction to her was finally breaking free; the more he'd got to know her the more he'd longed to do just what he was doing now; he just hoped Kara was as into this as he was.

Finally the need for oxygen forced them apart; their heavy breathing echoed round Kara's room. He opened his eyes to find her soft brown ones staring at him; shining brightly. His fingers stroked the skin of her cheek again as he stared at her. Neither of them spoke; both scared to break the fragile moment between them. A slight tension had seeped back into the room and both of them could now feel it cushioning their bodies as they tried to work out their next step.

TBC

A/N: Sorry - that's probably a really rubbish place to stop - but hey, at least you only have to wait until tomorrow... Let me know what you think. Like the direction it's going in?