A/N: Here is the next installment in my on-going fic of "missing" scenes for Season 4. This has massive spoilers for Sine Qua Non.

Title: Goodbye, again

Pairing: Lee/Kara

Summary: Lee knew he had about a million things to do, none of them involving staying on the Galactica for another minute or speaking with his best-friend-slash-CAG-slash-sometimes-lover. But he found he didn't want to do any of the other million things. He wanted to do this.

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I don't own it – although, I guarantee if I did, Lee would never take off that maroon shirt (well, okay, he would), but if he needed to be wearing clothes, he'd be wearing that shirt all the time from now on and appoint Kara as his military advisor, ensuring she was on Colonial One from here on out. … Just saying …

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He watched the Raptor depart, feeling a lump in his throat that he did his best to banish. His father would be fine. The man had been flying patrols and shooting down Cylons before Lee was even a twinkle in his eye. He could no doubt sit still, in the middle of deep space, by himself and wait for the President's wayward Baseship to appear.

"Hey."

Lee turned abruptly at the soft sound, blinking once as he registered Kara's familiar face. She gave him a small smile and took a step closer. "You okay?"

He nodded, inhaling a deep breath through his nostrils before slowly releasing it. "Yeah, fine. Just, you know, interim president of the twelve colonies."

Kara's eyes widened slightly before her hand flew to her mouth. Lee saw the spark in her eyes and knew she was holding back a raucous laugh. "It's okay to laugh, Kara. I know how ridiculous it is."

At his permission, Kara bent at the waist with her hands braced on her knees, and brayed loud and long. It was one of her old laughs, one she'd normally let lose during a particularly rowdy game of triad or as a result of one of Helo's bawdy jokes. Her entire body was shaking she was laughing so hard and the sound echoed around the bay, drawing odd stares from crewmen and other pilots. Lee simply gave them all a tight smile and slight nod. She'd tire out eventually.

As two minutes passed into three, Lee took a step closer and bent so his face was near hers. "Okay, Starbuck. I think I get the point."

She met his gaze, eyes swimming with tears of joy, face flushed and Lee couldn't help but return her grin. They'd had so little to laugh about lately – and, in truth, it had been quite some time since he'd heard her laugh at all.

Straightening, Kara placed a hand over her stomach, using the other to wipe away tears. "Oh, I gotta thank you for that, Apollo. I haven't laughed that hard in a good long while."

He inclined his head, still smiling. "Glad to oblige. But you do know it's the truth, right?"

Her eyes widened to the size of saucers and Kara stared for a full minute, making Lee decidedly uncomfortable.

"Uh, Kara?"

His voice seemed to bring her back to the present and Kara punched lightly on his upper arm, turning away and heading for the ready room. "Quit playing around."

"I'm not playing, Kara."

He followed her, knowing he had about a million things to do, none of them involving staying on the Galactica for another minute or speaking with his best-friend-slash-CAG-slash-sometimes-lover. But he found he didn't want to do any of the other million things. He wanted to do this.

Kara was already at the board, marker in hand, filling out the schedule as he entered. He shut the hatch and walked to the front of the room. It was amazing how familiar the space was to him – how even though he'd been absent from it for a few months now, he could still recall every briefing, every heated word, every shared laugh, every one of Kara's damned cigars stinking up the joint.

He smiled at the memory and then turned his attention back to Kara. She looked like a model of military discipline, hair pulled back, dress blues freshly laundered and pressed. She was still skinnier than he liked to see and the dark circles under her eyes he'd noticed a few days before were still present, perhaps slightly diminished, but still there. He liked that even less.

She kept filling in the board, either impervious to his inspection or unwilling to acknowledge it. With a sigh, Lee took a seat in the front and decided to wait until she addressed him.

It took four minutes and thirty-one seconds.

"So, Mr. President. What brings you to Galactica?"

Her voice had a slightly teasing lilt to it, one he would have recognized anywhere. "Well, aside from trying and failing to stop my father from undertaking this suicide mission, I thought it best I speak with Tigh, make sure he's going to recognize my authority."

Kara nodded, writing down another name. "Well, if he doesn't you could always hold a gun to his head."

Lee's eyes snapped to her face and he caught the smirk on her lips. "Ha, ha, Captain. Very funny."

She shrugged and chuckled softly before making the final addition to the board. Stepping back, she admired her work, scanning the names. Lee knew the procedure – he'd done it a thousand times as CAG. It was good to see Starbuck so at ease.

"How are you feeling?"

She stiffened slightly at the question and turned away from him, placing the clipboard with the schedule and briefing agenda back on the podium. Lee waited and watched as she turned back to face him, hands behind her back, eyes to the floor. "Fine, Mister President. Doc gave me a clean bill of health once we got back on the Demetrius."

Lee didn't like the formality of her speech, but he let it slide. He could care less about her physical well-being, although knowing she'd been to see Cottle did put his mind at ease – he wanted to know about her. About the nightmares, the vivid ones she'd been having – the ones that sent her crawling to the corners of dark rooms and murmuring incoherently.

"Kara, come on. How are you, really?"

She shrugged, toeing her boot against the decking and it took Lee everything he had not to cross the small distance between them and shake her for answers.

"Kara?"

She lifted her face to meet his eyes and simply stared. "Mister President, I believe you have far more important concerns, especially in light of recent events, than the well-being of one Viper pilot."

Oh, Lee wanted to hit her for that statement, but he immediately squelched the urge. He had vowed once Kara returned that he'd never hit her again and he was going to keep that promise. However, that didn't mean he still couldn't express his anger.

Rising, he crossed the room and was in front of her in three long strides. Taking her by the shoulders, he kept his hold firm, but not tight – if she really wanted to pull away, he'd let her. "Cut it out, Kara. We were – friends-" He found it hard to get the word out – they were so much more and they both knew it, but he was afraid what admitting it right now would mean. He didn't know if either of them was ready for that confession. "Interim president or not, I still care about you. You know that. So, I'm asking, how are you?"

Kara's hazel eyes met his gaze and Lee stared back. He imagined he could see a few different emotions swimming in those brown depths, and he wondered which one would surface. He imagined seeing defiance, stubbornness, denial and fear. He imagined even more avidly seeing love and vulnerability.

He wondered if the Quorum would remove him from office for delusions of grandeur.

"Pass the word, President Adama to the flight deck. President Adama, please report to the flight deck."

The page snapped Kara back to the present and she stepped back from him easily. "That should be your shuttle, Mister President. You don't want to miss it."

Lee had always known there was a reason he hated responsibility.

"This isn't over, Kara."

She smiled softly and then raised her eyes back to his and shrugged. "It is for now."

Lee's disappointment at being unable to stay must have translated to his features, because Kara did the most surprising thing. She stepped forward and kissed him. It wasn't a grand kiss or even a very long one, but it was enough to tell him she would be okay – they both would.

"I'll be back as soon as I can manage it." He made the promise; she knew he wouldn't break his word.

"Good, because I don't think I'll be taking any field trips to Colonial One any time soon. We're having a hard enough time flying a CAP without the CAG going AWOL."

"I'll be back soon." If he had to come to her, he would do it. Lee was interim president now, surely he could make a dozen excuses as to why he needed to visit Galactica. Actually, frak excuses – he was president, he didn't have to justify his decisions to anybody.

That thought made him smile.

"Go on, get out of here. I've got a briefing to prep for." Kara half-heartedly pushed him towards the hatch, but he grabbed her hand from his chest and held it before she could take it back.

Kissing her palm, he held her gaze, even as he noticed the tension return to her posture. "You know why he did it?"

Her brow furrowed and Kara took a step closer. "Why who did what?"

"My father." Lee tightened his hold on her hand, squeezing it gently. "Do you know why he decided to stay behind?"

"So he didn't end up risking the whole fleet on a fool's errand?"

Kara was always pragmatic to a fault. "That was one reason, the military reason. But do you know why he did it?"

He stared at her beautiful face, watching as the small crease above her nose worked itself out and her eyes focused on his. He felt the slight shift in the room and took a step closer, worried she might run, worried she knew what he was about to say and was afraid to hear it.

"No." Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Because he can't live without her." Lee watched her reaction, watched as she swallowed hard and her eyes clouded over for a moment with just the slightest film of tears. Rapidly, she blinked them away and cleared her throat. She tried to extract her hand from his, but Lee didn't let it go; using his other hand to cup her cheek, bringing their faces within inches.

"I know what that feels like," he whispered, noting how her eyes widened once more before he kissed her. This was a long kiss, a deep kiss, one that was even better than some they had shared a few nights before on Colonial One. It wasn't desperate, wasn't a diversionary tactic. It was truthful – it was a promise.

Lee pulled back after a moment and rested his forehead against hers. He could hear her breathing, could feel the gentle rush of her breath against his cheek. As it had been every day since he'd been back, he wished duty and responsibility didn't keep taking him from the once place he wanted to be – with her.

"Pass the word, President Adama, your shuttle is ready. President Adama, report to the flight deck."

He sighed and then pulled back, pressing a lingering kiss to her forehead. "I'll be back," he whispered against her skin and she nodded slightly, squeezing the hand he held before releasing it. He backed slowly out of the room, only turning once he reached the hatch and hurrying out before his resolve failed completely.

It seemed so ridiculously unfair that he had to say goodbye to her – again.