AN: For those who are interested. The characters Sydney and Vaughn are based on the characters from Alias written by J.J. Abrams. Great series as well.

Family Portrait.

In our family portrait
We look pretty happy
We look pretty normal
Lets go back to that
In our family portrait
We look pretty happy
Lets play pretend, act like it
Goes naturally

(Pink, Family Portrait.)

After his morning shift Lee had gone to his locker to grab his stuff for a long hot shower that he so desperately needed. It had been tree weeks since the cylons attacked their homeworlds. After they had found the planet the crew had fallen in a routine. Not much did happen the last few days and it left everybody on their toes. It was not like you couldn't do much on a Battlestar except piss each other off. He had seen Kara have some words with Leoben the last couple of days. He didn't really know why though and last night Kat and Hotdog nearly got in a fight because Hotdog accused Kat of cheating during Triade. Then there was Boomer who didn't really get along with Skulls, well that was actually from the beginning, but yesterday she threatened Lee not to fly anymore until he had given her another partner. So Lee had putted Sharon and Racetrack together now and Skulls with Duck, who wasn't really happy either. But Lee couldn't care anymore, sometimes he wished that they had killed him during the attacks as well, so that he didn't need to do this all anymore. It's in those moments that Lee thoughts went back to his brother, who he had lost during the attacks. Wishing that they had taking him with them.

Today was one of those days.

He was glad that there wasn't anyone else in the bunkroom when he entered, because he had no need of two pilots fighting again. But his luck was quickly turned when he heard someone grumbling and with an angry pace approach the bunkroom. Once again an unhappy pilot.

"Frakking Leoben." Kara grumbled on her way to the bunkroom. They had been playing Triade, Kara and some of the nuggets. Everything was fun and fine until Leoben started once again talking about 'her destiny'. It had been the fourth time this week that he started to ramble about swimming and standing on the shore, she really didn't give a frak about it, but he just kept going and going. She had lost her temper the last three times, and showed him the furious Starbuck, but it seemed that he wasn't really impressed by it and Kara wanted it desperately to end. It reminded her of her mother telling her she had a destiny. "You have a destiny, Kara. Why can't you see that?"

Lee's face lightened up when he saw who entered the room, off course he should have known it was her. There was only one person in the entire fleet, who would grumble and walk like that when she was pissed off. If there was one positive thing Lee found about the attacks then it was meeting Kara Thrace, finally. Of course there were moments when he just wanted to smash her in the face and she probably wanted to do the same, but they always seemed to get passed that and go back to their playful banter and talking, enjoying each other's company. Then there were those moments when she looked at him and he looked back and in those moments he was sure that all she wants to do is kiss him, because he wants to do the same, but both of them always seemed to afraid to act on it. At least he was.

"Hey," Lee greeted silently. "Leoben again?"

"He frakking annoys me with his destiny talk, he thinks I'm destined to do great things. Rambling about a river and him standing on the shore, who cares where he stands it's not like there's a river in this open space anyway." Kara said angrily, walking to her locker.

"Maybe you should tell him that." Lee joked.

"You guess I didn't try, he just keeps rambling on. I swear if he says another word about destiny I'm gonna kill him before the cylons ever have a chance. Gods he sounds like my mother."

Kara startled when she said the latter. She hadn't meant to tell Lee about her frakked up mother and childhood.

"What do you mean?" Lee responded, when he saw her reaction.

"Nothing. Just leave it." Kara answered and turned around to her locker, she didn't want to say more then she already did. Since the day Kara had left her mother for good, she hadn't talked about her mother, the only thing people knew about her mother was that Kara never wanted to see her again and she wanted to keep it that way.

"Fine." Lee said, knowing her well enough now that he knows that he shouldn't ask further. He turned to his locker to pick up his shower gel and get that shower he so desperately wanted. When he took the bottle a picture fell out of his locker. Lee squatted to take the picture from the ground and when he looked at the picture he felt the blood drain out of his face, the more happier thoughts from just a few seconds ago passed aside to be replaced by grief and regret of his lost brother Zak. The picture showed them together after a Pyramid game they had gone to.

After Zak had graduated from flight school, as a raptor pilot. Lee and Zak had gone out to celebrate. Going to a pyramid game was one of those things on their to do list this day. It had been a while since they had done something together. Zak needed to attend his lessons at school and Lee was at War College, the last year. Lee was glad that Zak wasn't passed for vipers, because he always knew that Zak wasn't cut out for it. Raptors were more his thing. Lee was grateful that Zak's instructor, Kara Thrace aka Starbuck, had failed Zak for vipers. Glad that she wasn't impressed that he was an Adama. He owed her.

"Come on Lee, you can't be serious. Sam Anders is amazing, I've never seen anybody play like he does, he's born to do this." Zak said, trying to convince his brother the last hour that Sam Anders was the best player ever.

"Maybe, but I still don't like to see him play. Agreed he's good, but he's not that fast though, I like shu-shaw more, she's fast."

"Yeah true," Zak admitted, "But Anders is more about perfection, you know the perfect throw, the perfect pass. Gods Lee I thought you loved perfection, seeing like you do it yourself." Zak sighed.

"Hey, hey." Lee joked "I love frakked up."

"Yeah, right." Zak said giving Lee a playful shove. "Even all the girlfriends you brought home were perfect."

"True, so that's why none of them lasted." Lee joked.

"What? So you're waiting for a frakked up girl?" Zak laughed loudly.

"Yes, I am and one day I'll find her and we'll be perfect." Lee said dead serious. Zak may be joking about it, but Lee meant it. He had had perfect and with none of them it felt right. He had thought that Gianne was the right fit for him, because she was the most perfect of them all. But that had gone totally wrong eventually. No, Lee never wanted perfect again.

"Yeah,Well let me know when you found her." Zak joked, still thinking that Lee was joking as well.

"I will." Lee stated.

"And just for the record Lee, Anders is the best player." Zak said playfully.

"You ok?" Kara asked a bit worried. After seeing Lee's pale face.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said quickly and then grabbed his shower gel and headed off to the showers.

Xxx

Laura was sitting on a bed in Galactica's sick bay a bit anxious, it was the first time since the attacks that she went to see a doctor concerning her disease. For now she had been able to keep it quiet, the only one who knew that she had cancer was Billy, her representative, and she wanted to keep it that way.

When Bill had asked her why she needed a doctor, she had just simply said that it was for her allergies.

Laura heard the curtains slide open and Doc. Cottle walked through, closing them behind him. "Madame President." He said with a gruff voice, walking to stand in front of Laura. "You are obviously an intelligent, well- educated young woman. Would you mind explaining to me why you waited five years in between breast exams?" Cottle asked her.

"Yes, I would mind." Laura answered back. "It's none off your business." Laura had always been afraid to take a mammographic, because she knew the day she would take one, she knew that they would say that she had breast cancer. After all her mother had died of it, so that meant that the chances were high that she would get it as well. Seeing that the doctor wouldn't settle with her answer she quickly added "I was Busy."

Cottle snorted at her answer, did she really think he would believe her. He still didn't get it why people always waited to see a doctor when it was too late. He lighted up a cigarette before saying the next. "And here you are."

"Yes, here we are. Would you mind?"

"I do actually, your doctor back on Caprica was right. It's too damn late to operate, the cancer is to far advanced. All we can do is try and trick the tumor with gamma treatments and follow that up with IV, CS and Diloxan. Did he explain to you the side effects of Diloxan?" Cottle asked taking a drag of his cigarette.

"Hair loss, nausea, muscle degeneration. I watched my mother endure two years of Diloxan before she died." Laura had sworn that the day they diagnosed cancer with her that she would never suffer like her mother had suffered just to die eventually. "I would like to explore alternate treatment."

"Prayer?" Cottle asked in disbelieve. He couldn't wrap his mind around it that such a smart woman as Laura would chose for something like that.

"Funny." Laura said dry. "Have you ever heard of chamela extract?"

"Oh, God. You're one of those." Cottle sighed, maybe prayers wasn't so bad after all.

"What if it works?"

Cottle shook his head. "All of the evidence on chamala is anecdote, it's nothing but a bunch of loose talk and false hope."

"I take that as a yes." Laura interrupted him, she didn't want to hear him telling her that it wouldn't help.

"Alright, I'll put out a med request to the civilian fleet. Maybe there's some wide eyed dreamer out there, with a secret hoard of chamala axtract in her luggage." Cottle smiled. "You can put your clothes back on."

"Thank you." Laura said back.

Before Cottle walked out through the curtain he turned one last time around to address Laura. "And for what it's worth, I would seriously consider prayer." And then walked out.

Laura felt the tears well up in her eyes. For the first time she heard the news she cursed herself for not going to a doctor sooner. Then they would have been able to operate it and she could have probably lived more carefree then now. Gods, the last time Laura really lived as carefree as possible was with her sisters.

"Gods it's so frakking hot." Laura's younger sister Cheryl complained. Waving with a paper in front of her face to cool down.

"I know, I thought they said it was gonna cool down, but it's even hotter than yesterday." Sandra her other sister answered, walking in the room with the third pack of ice, holding it on her neck to cool down. "I know, where is Laura by the way."Sandra asked, looking around the room.

"I don't know, she said something about needing something to cool off and then took off, haven't seen her since."

"Yeah, all of us needs something to cool off."Sandra muttered, getting so tired of the hot weather.

Before her sister could complain more about the hot weather, Laura walked back into the room, dressed in a red bikini with a big smile plastered on her face.

Both her sisters, gave her a wary look when she entered.

"Ok, Laura why are you walking in your bikini, We don't have a pool or anything to swim in, or did you just dig one." Her youngest sister joked.

"No, I didn't dig one and if you keep joking about it I won't tell you." Laura joked back.

"Ok, I'm sorry I won't do it again, but can you please tell us why you are walking in your bikini?" Her sister begged.

"You're forgiven." Laura said, "Now, if you just follow me and I will show you why I'm walking in a bikini."

Both her sisters jumped up from their seats and quickly followed Laura to the outside. There was no denying that it was way too hot for normal circumstances, you could see and hear it on everything, the grass saw brown instead of green, sweat immediately dripped of your skin the moment you walked outside, even the birds had reduced their chattering to only the necessary tweets, looking for shelter and cool water themselves.

"Ok, Laura why are we outside? I thought you had something to cool down, not warm up even more."

"Just watch." Laura grinned and before they could say more Laura had turned on the spray nozzle that stood there in their garden and she let the water fall on her skin. "This is heaven." She smiled, closing her eyes and letting the water fall on her skin to cool her down.

"This is amazing, why haven't we come up with this sooner." Sandra laughed and quickly stripped to her underwear, followed by her sister and they both joined Laura under the spray of the nozzle.

The next week Laura discovered a knob in her left breast.

Xxx

Since the moment the picture of him and Zak fell out of his locker all Lee could think about was his brother. Lee had hoped that the shower he took afterwards would help to put his thoughts about Zak aside. But in fact it made it even worse, in the shower he had more time to think of him. Paperwork didn't give him mush distraction of it either, he just kept staring at the pages.

Without much thought, Lee rose from his chair out of his office on his way to who knows where. As long as it was something that would help him to put his thoughts about Zak away.

Before realization hit him Lee found himself standing in front of his father's office. Maybe talking to him about Zak would help put his mind at ease. He knocked gently on the hatch before entering.

Bill looked up from behind his desk. He was a bit surprised to see his son entering through the hatch. Normally Lee wouldn't come within another hour or two. "Something wrong, with one of the pilots?" Bill frowned. He knew that there were some problems with the pilots, but he also knew that Lee was able to solve most of them.

"Not really." Lee answered, not really knowing how to begin.

"Something else?" Bill asked surprised.

"It's about Zak."

Bill felt the blood drain from his face. He knew that sooner or later Lee would come to him and would want to talk about Zak. In fact Lee had mentioned Zak a few times in the hope to start a conversation about it, but Bill was always able to deflect the conversation. This however was different it was the first time that Lee really asked the question directly. "What about Zak?" Bill asked reluctant, hoping that maybe this time he could postpone the conversation again.

"Dad, can we talk. It's just I found this picture of him and me and…"

"Why don't we talk about it another time Lee." As much as Bill tried, he still couldn't bring himself to talk about Zak.

"No, I won't turn my back on it again. Every time I want to talk about Zak, you ignore my question or you deflect it and I let you. But I'm done dad." Lee said hard.

"Lee, not now." Bill said cold.

Lee felt his temper rise quickly at the cold reaction of his father. "Why won't you talk to me about him, is it because you wished that it was me instead of him. Because you loved Zak more? Why dad? Just tell me why?"

"That's not true and you know it. I just can't talk about him now." Bill answered.

"Then why can't you talk about it." Lee shouted, angry at his dad reaction.

"Because I can't." Bill said trough gritted teeth and glared at Lee.

"Fine." Lee stormed out of Bill's office, angry at his dad, at the people that crossed his path, at the cylons for taking their homes, at Zak for dying. Just at everything.

Xxx

CAP had been horrible for Lee, his thoughts kept going back to Zak. Lee wanted to shut his mind off, just to stop feeling what he felt now. He had kinda hoped that flying would take his mind of it, but the silence in his viper made it even worse. And if that wasn't enough, something was wrong with his viper, every time he wanted to take a turn to the left, the stick shuddered.

So here he was on the hangar deck shouting at the chief, because Lee needed someone to shout at.

"Get it frakking fixed Chief." Lee shouted angry.

"I've looked all over it, there's nothing wrong." The chief said, annoyed at Lee's reaction, for now he was able to keep himself in track, but Tyrol could only take that much and he was getting to that line.

"Then look again." Lee shouted.

That was it for Tyrol, Lee just went passed it. He almost decked Lee, but Kara interrupted him.

"Hey, hey. Stop it alright." Kara said, walking between the chief and Lee, trying to keep them on a safe distance. She had seen the scene escalate, while she was working on the cylon raider.

"Chief check it again, Lee come with me." Kara said and had to practically drag Lee of the hangar deck.

Lee followed Kara angrily. She pushed him in a locker and shut the hatch close behind them. "What are you doing, Kara?" Lee shouted angrily at her now, because the chief was out of his options now.

"What's the problem, Lee." Kara said turning around to glare at him.

"My problem, Lt. is that there is something wrong with my viper and the chief isn't looking hard enough to fix it." Lee hissed. He knew that he was exaggerating but he didn't care, he just needed someone to vent and now that person was Kara.

"I don't mean that, Lee." Kara snapped. "You've been acting like this since you saw that picture of you and Zak."

Lee's face went pale when he heard Kara say it. Had she seen it? Off course she had, nothing gets passed Starbuck, without noticing.

"Yeah, I've seen the picture Lee and we're not gonna leave until you settled this." Kara said.

"What are you gonna do Kara, you're going to tie me up on a chair and beat it out of me." Lee snapped, his anger going dangerously high.

"If necessary, Yes." Kara hissed. "Because we can't have you act like this any longer. So you're gonna talk.". She walked closer to him, daring him to say no to her.

"Tell me Kara, why would you want to listen to me, when you only know me for three weeks and my dad doesn't and he knows me practically my whole life." Lee hissed back. His anger towards his dad turning to her. He knew that Kara her intentions were good, but he was so mad at his father that he didn't care.

It took Kara a lot of strength to not just deck him right here, right now and beat it all out of him. "Because someone did the same for me once. Listened to me when I had no one else to talk too and I barely knew him. So yeah, I can listen."

Lee's angry looked softened, to be replaced by a questioning look.

"What you think I never felt like what you feel now? Well think twice Lee, because I have." Kara said, remembering the time that Vaughn had listened to her when she was in a dark place.

Lee stared dumbstruck at her, here he was thinking that it was just him against the rest of the world, or what's left of it, and here she was offering to listen to him. Even if they knew each other only three weeks. True they became close quickly, but this brought their relation to another level. "I'm sorry." It was barely a whisper, but Kara heard it. "But I don't know what to do anymore, I just miss him so frakking much." Lee said, his voice breaking, he felt the tears well up, that he had kept in place all those weeks, but this time he couldn't stop them, wouldn't.

Kara drew Lee closer to her and took him in her arms, Lee buried his face in her neck and Kara could feel him start to cry. She started to say some comforting words, hoping that they would make him feel better. Lee was mumbling something but she didn't understand him.

They both lowered to the ground, still holding each other. Kara didn't know how long they sat there. Lee crying she trying to comfort him or just give him a shoulder to cry on, but eventually Lee stopped crying and they just held each other.

"You ok?" Kara asked softly after a while. Lee just nodded. "You know Vaughn once told me that crying was sometimes better then talking" Kara smiled at him.

Lee looked at her questioning, so Kara filled him in. "Vaughn was the one who helped me when I needed someone to talk about. He was supposed to be on the Galactica during the decommissioning ceremony, guess he never made it." Kara sighed.

"You're kidding right? You knew Major Vaughn?"

"Yeah, I did. Why?" Kara asked with a questioning look.

"He was on board of the raptor Zak flew. I heard Zak say his name." Lee almost whispered again.

"Vaughn was in Zak's raptor? I never knew." Kara said so quiet that if Lee wasn't sitting so close to her he wouldn't have heard her say it.

And just for a moment Lee wasn't sure if Kara was gonna cry now.

The new information she had on Vaughn's whereabouts the last hours before the attacks made her both feel sad and angry. She had thought that they were killed in Caprica during the first attacks, having no chance of survival. But knowing that they had survived them to be eventually killed to save other people, she didn't really know how to react to that. Part of her could understand why they did it, but the other part of her wished that they didn't so that Vaughn and his wife would now would be safe on the Galactica. That she would have her best friends with her, Kara considered them as her family.

"We once went to the Zoo together." Kara began, her eyes locked on the wall behind Lee, like she was reliving the story.

"You're kidding right, you never been to the Zoo?" Vaughn asked.

She and Vaughn had gone for a drink at the end of the day. It had become one of their habits, after school they went for a drink, Vaughn's wife Sydney would come there to. She and Kara had become good friends as well. It was one of the few woman Kara liked in her life.

"No never." Kara shrugged.

"You mean, you never seen the giraffe with the crooked neck?" Vaughn asked.

"Nope." Kara giggled "Why would I want to see a giraffe with a crooked neck?"

Vaughn wanted to answer the question, but his wife Sydney, who had walked in minutes earlier beat him to it. "Because he's just the most lovable giraffe you ever seen." She answered, giving Vaughn a quick kiss and then took a seat at the empty chair next to Vaughn. "You know what, we're taking you to the Zoo this weekend."

"You're kidding?" Kara asked, eyes wide. Remembering once that she wanted to go to the Zoo when she was a little girl, whining in the hope that her mother would give in, but she just slapped Kara hard in the face and Kara never asked again to go to the Zoo.

"No, we're going, this will be so much fun."

"I don't know." Kara said reluctant.

"Come on, Kara. Besides you don't want to miss the place where Vaughn proposed."

Kara jerked up in surprise. "He proposed in the Zoo?"

"Yes, He did." Sydney smiled, remembering every detail. "Right in front of the giraffe with the crooked neck."

"No wonder you guys like him so much." Kara joked.

"Hey, don't mock me Thrace. It was the perfect moment." Vaughn smiled. "I actually had this whole romantic weekend planned, presidential suite at the Biltmore. Candlelit dinner on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. So we went into town and Sydney wouldn't stop talking about the zoo. So we went to the zoo. I figured I had to get it over with. Then I saw how happy it made her. So that made me forget about all my stupid plans. And here we had a personal chef making this unbelievable meal at the hotel, and instead of asking her in the hotel, I proposed on one knee in sawdust in front of a giraffe with a crooked neck." Vaughn said, looking at Sydney intently.

All Kara could do was smile when she heard the story and for the first time in her life Kara knew what she wanted, she wanted what Sydney and Vaughn had. Someone you want to spend the rest of your life with, someone who could make you feel so happy that you would shout it too the stars. "Ok, you convinced me, maybe I find the man of my dreams there as well."

"Great." Sydney smiled.

"It was one of the happiest days of my life." Kara smiled sad. Somewhere during the story, tears had fallen down her face as well. Lee wiped them away carefully with his thumb.

"I'm sorry." he whispered.

"It's ok, you know. I find comfort in knowing that they died together, that they had each other. They really loved each other, completed each other." A smile appeared on Kara's face as she remembered them together.

"Some people are meant for each other." Lee said softly. The words hang there for a moment, Lee wasn't just talking about Syndey and Vaughn and they both knew it.

Silence stretched for a moment, but then Kara found her voice again, before the silence came uncomfortable. "So, don't think because I talked that you don't have to talk now." Kara said, trying to get the tension that hang earlier shrug off.

"I don't know, Kara. I'm not good at talking. The only person I really talked with about my feelings was Zak, and that was because he had always this way about getting me into talking." Lee sighed.

"What did you guys talk about?" Kara asked.

"Just stuff, who the best pyramid player was, about our choice of girlfriends, school. I remember one day that our dog had died. Zak and I were lying in the grass, looking at the clouds that drifted by. We were like eight and ten years old…

"You think that we will see Pira again someday." Zak asked, his eyes following a bird that flew over them.

They had buried their dog Pira this morning. She was part of the Adama family for almost thirteen years. Bill had given her as a puppy to Caroline, so that she wouldn't feel so alone when he wasn't planet side. So the dog had been there whole Lee's and Zak's life.

"I don't know." Lee answered honestly, he never really believed in the Gods or life after dead, but he had also no proof that there wasn't life after death. "But, you know." Lee continued, knowing that his last answer wasn't gonna make the grief for their dog easier. "As long as you won't forget her, she'll keep living. As long as someone remembers her she'll keep living."

"But what if I forget her one day?" Zak asked.

"You won't." Lee answered back.

"How can you be so sure that I won't forget her."

"Because I know that I will never forget her. She will always have a part in my heart."

"In mine too." Zak whispered, watching at the sky again as a big cloud drifted over them. "What if I would die." Zak suddenly asked.

Lee was a bit shocked at Zak's question. He had never thought about that. They were still so young, they had a whole life waiting ahead. Besides Lee was the oldest one, so it would be most likely that he would pass first. Of course there was always a chance that something could happen, but those chances were so small that Lee had never thought about it. Lee had always imagined his future with Zak involved.

"Then I would remember you every day the rest of my life. But you won't die, until we're both so old that we can't walk anymore." Lee joked lightly.

"How can you be sure that, one of us won't die sooner?" Zak asked.

"Because I won't let that happen, I promise. I'll protect us both." Lee could only hope that he could hold his promise.

"Good, then We both will grow old." Zak grinned at the image of two old brothers refusing to die until the other one let him.

"I promised him that I would protect him, that I wouldn't let him die, that we would both grow old together. But all I could do was leave him there to die. I broke my promise." Lee said with a breaking voice. The tears in his eyes welling up again.

Kara took him in another embrace and traced with her hands small circles on Lee's back. "You didn't broke your promise Lee." She said softly.

Lee lifted up his head from her shoulder. "What do you mean I didn't break my promise? I let him die."

"You told Zak that as long as you remember someone he's still alive, You also told him that, if he died, that you would remember him every day." Kara looked at him intently. Her eyes locking with his and the blue of his eyes pierced through her core. "He is still alive. You didn't break your promise." She added softly, stroking Lee's cheek with her right hand.

For the first time since Zak died, Lee felt some of the burden he had, lift off his shoulders. Since the day Zak had died, Lee had hated himself for not being able to hold to that promise. While on the other hand, he had always kept his promise. He just needed someone to point that out and he was grateful for that.

They both kept staring to each other, none of them daring to move away or come closer to the other. And then Lee moved an inch forward and moved his hand to brush kara's cheek. He heard Kara take a startled breath at his touch, but she didn't move away, she just kept staring at him. Lee took it as a sign and moved closer, He could feel her breath, could almost feel her lips, but before their lips were able to touch each other, action stations, was called through the speakers.

Xxx

After her visit at Galactica sick bay, Laura had gone to Bill's office. She had heard action stations were called out through the Galactica and because she was on the Galactica anyway, she wanted to know what their situation was.

Bill had told her that the situation was back under control, apparently it was a false alarm. Someone in CIC had thought that a raider appeared on dradis, but before anyone else noticed, it was already gone. Never leaving a trail of a cylon raider, but just for the safety of the Fleet Bill had made them jump. You never know.

But Laura couldn't deny that Bill had something else on his mind as well. "You're so quiet Bill. Something wrong." Laura asked.

Bill snapped out of his daydream, he was currently in. He kept thinking of what Lee had said earlier and had to admit that Lee had a point. Without really thinking Bill blurted out the words. "Lee, came to me today. He wanted to talk about Zak."

"And did you?" Laura asked, knowing on the scene that she had seen earlier on the hangar deck that he probably hadn't.

"I couldn't." Bill confessed.

"Why not?" Laura frowned.

"It's not that I don't want to, I'm just afraid to say the wrong thing to Lee. Our relation wasn't so easy going. If we talked it always ended in someone hurting the other. I'm just afraid that if we talk again that I would hurt him more, because I said the wrong word and I can't lose another son."

"So, it's better not to talk to him about it. Because if it is Bill, why do I get the feeling that this isn't the solution as well. I saw Lee on the hangar deck. Lt. Thrace had to drag him away from the chief before he could deck him."

"I didn't know that Lee was so upset." Bill sighed. Apparently not talking about it didn't make it any better.

"Maybe now is the chance to talk to him." Laura tried to encourage him.

"What would I say to him. It's not like we were on the best terms the last years."

"Bill, Lee came to you on his own terms to talk, you didn't need to order him in. I think Lee would be quiet open to the things you say. Now I'm not saying that he will forgive everything that lead to the situation you're in now, but you have a chance to make it right again. Not a lot of people have that left."

Laura had a point. Here Lee was offering to talk and he just said he had no time. Guilt started to rise, Bill's eyes drifted off to the model ship that he had started too built, before the attacks. A smile appeared on his face as a memory of Lee and Zak entered his mind.

Zak and Lee had been near the big pond they had at the back of the yard for almost the whole afternoon and Bill had been curious about what they were doing. So he went to the pond as well. Bill had been away from home for almost three months and was now, since a week, home. He was glad that he could get some down time with his sons, truth be told the relation between him and Lee had shifted, the time that Lee worshipped him was gone. The moment Bill had stepped through the door, announcing that he was home, he could see that something in Lee had changed. The young boy who jumped on his feet at the arrival of his father was gone, he was turned in a more serious boy. Their relation from playful banter had shifted to something way more complicated. Bill thought that it was because Lee was growing in to a man and hoped that now that he was home that they could get some time together to fix whatever was broken between them.

His relation whit Zak was still the same, but Zak was always the easy one. Bill knew that, Lee had always been the more serious one of them, but they were always able to have fun. But the last week Bill had seen Lee barely laugh like he used to.

"What are you boys doing." Bill asked surprised when he walked closer to the pond and saw Lee and Zak built something that looked like a raft.

"We're building a raft." Zak grinned, tightening one of the ropes to keep the raft together. "And then we're gonna sail with it on the pond."

"You're sure you won't sink." Bill smiled.

"Yeah, we're sure." Lee said confident. "Voila all done. Now we can put it in the water."

They were able to put the raft in the water, and for now it seemed that it would keep floating on the water. That was until Lee went to sit on it.

"Frak. That's cold." Lee shouted, when he felt the water around him close in and he jumped back from the raft to the shore.

Bill and Zak were laughing out loud at the scene that they had witnessed.

"It's not funny." Lee said, trying to suppress his own smile. "I thought that it would keep floating, according to this book it should."

"The problem is Lee, that this book forgot to mention that you have different sorts of wood. This wood is too heavy to keep floating, especially if you go sit on it." Bill smiled, typical for Lee to do everything according to the book.

"So, we need to built another raft with lighter would?" Zak asked.

"No, there's another solution." Bill grinned. "We take some empty barrels and we put them under the raft. The air in the barrels will keep you floating. We have four barrels standing behind the garden house."

After they had attached the barrels under the raft they putted the raft again in the water. Lee went once again as first on it and this time it kept floating. "It worked." Lee smiled surprised.

Seconds later Zak was on the raft as well, feeling the same excitement and surprise on their accomplishment. All Bill could do was smile, he was so proud of what his sons had become and for the first time Bill was sure that they would become fine men.

"Well come on dad." Lee said. "You should join us, after all you helped as well."

So Bill went on the raft as well and they started to sail in the pond. "I'm proud of you Lee." Bill said, when he sat next to Lee on their raft. "You did a good job, together with Zak off course." Bill smiled, seeing that Zak was going to say something as well, so he beat him to it.

"But it wouldn't have worked if you didn't come up with the idea of the barrels." Lee answered.

"Well, sometimes you have to think outside of the box and not do everything according to the book. That's something still one thing you have to learn." Bill smiled.

"We sat on that raft for almost three hours, just peddling and sailing in our pond, laughing and talking. I never felt so proud of my sons then on that day." Bill smiled sadly at Laura. He didn't really know when he had started telling Laura this story, but somehow he had started. "I just wish that I could tell him that."

"Well, why don't you. I think that are the words Lee is waiting for." Laura smiled at him. The more she started to know the commander, the more she started to like him.

xxx

Later that evening Bill was wandering the halls of Galactica still contemplating on what Laura had told him earlier. She was right, once again. All he needed to do now was just to find Lee after all he was his only son left and he couldn't lose him as well, even if that meant with some bumps during their ride to a better relation between them.

As if the Gods had heard his thoughts, Lee crossed Bill's path. "Lee."

Lee looked in surprise when he heard his father call his name. He was just so caught up in his own thoughts that he hadn't seen him. Lee just kept thinking about what happened earlier between him and Kara. He had never thought that he would be able to talk like that to anyone except to Zak. But the talk made him feel better. "I'm sorry for earlier today." Lee blurted out.

"I'm sorry too, Lee." Bill said and took his son in a fierce hug. "I'm proud of you, son. I may not say it that much, but I am proud of you. I've known the day you and Zak had built that raft that both you guys would become fine men." And with them Bill left Lee an opening to talk about Zak. He made the first move this time. Bill felt the tears well up in his eyes again. "I love you, Lee. You're my only son left and I don't want to lose you as well." Bill said, tears falling down now. He loosened his grip on Lee to look at him. He could see the tears in Lee's eyes as well.

"I love you to dad." Lee practically cried. "And it was one of the best afternoons we had with our three." Lee answered.

Xxx

Somewhere on a basestar.

"Leoben just transmitted a message through our raider. It seems that our subject isn't as cooperative as we thought she would be. Apparently she isn't as open for destiny as we thought she was. He says he needs more time. He's gonna try another approach, but it will take more time."

"As long as he don't blow his cover, he can do whatever he wants."

Xxx