Summary: It's now a week and five jumps later and the fleet seems to have lost the cylons for the moment. They have entered a system with numerous planetary bodies, one with a viable source of water and plants. A ground survey team has been put together and is heading to the planet. Lee and Kara are both going as team leaders for a group of nuggets that haven't had any type of planet-side survival training.

We pick up with the ground survey team doing their thing and the nugget trainees being led by our pilots on a planetary trek packed down with bivouac equipment for an extended stay.

PART 10

The group is walking up a steep embankment, scouting an area to break camp for the evening. Kara and the nuggets are loaded down with equipment; Lee has the same plus an extra pack holding fitness reports. They've been hiking all day and it's time to call it quits, before they lose the light. The nuggets are holding up, but very tired. They've begun bickering back and forth about who is in the best shape and Lee and Kara have decided to just let them argue. It's all in good-natured fun. Lee has trekked ahead to scout out the best place to break camp and Kara picks up her pace to catch up with him. She's more than ready to settle for the day.

"Frak. How did we end up pulling babysitting duty, Apollo?" Kara adjusts her pack and glances over at Lee.

Lee scans the tree line at the top of the embankment and spots the place they're going to make camp. "Senior pilot privilege, maybe?" He points the chosen spot out to Kara and starts to head in that direction. "I'm going to go on ahead and check out the area. Can you manage to get our bickering trio up there?"

"Ah-ha-ha. With pleasure." Kara turns to the nuggets and shouts at them. "All right people. We've got our spot picked. The person or people, who makes it to the CAG without bickering, get an extra MRE for the day. Let's GO!"

The nuggets all groan in relief and catch up to Kara. To their credit, they all remain silent as they walk to the area where they are going to break camp. Lee leaves his gear in a small clearing among some of the tallest trees he's ever seen. There is an outcropping of tall boulder like rocks behind the tree line and nothing but forest on all the other sides. Lee is checking out the boulder area, walking up and around to see how far back the rocky area goes. Kara's group reaches the spot and gratefully begins unloading their packs. She directs the nuggets in setting up their shelters and gathering up what they'll need for fires.

While looking around the ridge Lee makes an interesting discovery. On the other side of the boulder, about ten feet down there's an opening to a cave that would need to be looked at later. He walks back over to the other side of the outcrop and scans the area where camp is being set up. He listens to Kara instructing the nuggets and smiles. She's part arrogant pilot, part troop leader as she explains to the group what has to happen before they can take a well-earned rest. He shakes his head in amusement. It's going to be an interesting couple of days.

Kara looks up to see Lee standing on top of the boulders. She sticks her tongue out at him. "All right, Captain. Are you going to join us down here, or do we have to do all the work?"

The trio of trainees all chuckle and stop what they are doing to listen for his answer.

"Oh, I'm coming down." Lee starts his descent. "Then we'll draw straws to see who gets first watch."

Kara and the group finish setting up the encampment. Lee makes it down to them and pitches in. They have a fire going and begin to eat their MRE's, while Lee and Kara throw questions at them. The nuggets all comment on the meals and ask Kara when they get their extra one. She tosses them out and suggests they stow them with their gear and get another fire started by their shelters. "Hey. But not too close; this is a test."

Hotdog puts the meal in his pack. "When does first watch start?"

Lee stands and stretches out the kinks in his muscles. "It doesn't. I've set perimeter sensors we got from one of the cargo ships. We'll be alerted if there's trouble." He shoots a grin at the group of trainees. "Your first night is a free one. Tomorrow, we all have a turn at watch. Go. Relax. It's been a long day."

The nuggets all head to their shelter area and begin to start a fire. Lee and Kara sit by the fire already going and quietly go over the plan for the rest of the week. They will be putting the small group through the wringer and they'll all be exhausted by the time they're through. Lee is staring at the flickering flames when he remembers the cave entrance. There's not much time left before they completely lose the light and he wants to check that cave out. He stands and grabs a light, just in case.

"What?" Kara looks up at him. "Do you hear something?"

"No. I forgot there's a cave entrance on the other side of the ridge. I want to check it out before the light is gone." He looks over at the trio, arguing again, to see how they're doing on the fire. "Can you stand to listen to these guys bicker while I go?"

Kara stands. "I can take it, but you owe me. That's two, you know." She walks over to the group and checks their progress.

Lee hides a grin and goes back up to the ridge. He part walks; part slides down the ten-foot drop to the entrance of the cave. He turns his light on and enters. This part of the cave isn't huge, but it angles off to the side and slopes down. Lee follows the slope, shining the light back and forth as he goes. The walls are warm to the touch, instead of cool like he expected. The slope angles again and opens up wide to a room-like area. Lee can hear water trickling from somewhere and he shines the light all around to find the source. He draws in a breath when he discovers a wide trail of water barely flowing down from the top of the cave. It has formed a half circle shaped pool of water about 10 feet wide along the cave wall. It must be flowing out somewhere as the pool slopes toward the wall. Lee reaches out and trails his fingers in the water. It's warm; must be a hot spring that feeds into here. Wow. This would be a wonderful place to get Kara alone. Lee decides that once the trainees are down for the night, he and Kara are going to be coming here. It's the only night that someone won't have watch and the only night they can get away with it. The hot spring is too tempting not to take advantage of. Lee walks back through the cave, out into the descending darkness and heads back down to the encampment.

Kara and the nuggets are playing cards by the fire closest to the trainees' shelters. She glances up when she hears a twig snap and watches as Lee strides into the camp area. He's got a very smug look on his face and she loses focus on the game. She quickly folds her hand and the nuggets start grumbling. "Hey guys, you can carry on without me. Gotta go check and see if Apollo needs help with anything." She leaves them to their game and walks over the Lee. In a low voice. "Find anything interesting?"

Lee just grins at her and gives her a quick nod. He signals for her to walk the perimeter with him, and then addresses the nuggets. "The Lieutenant and I are going to be setting the perimeter sensors. We'll be back in a while."

The trainees all acknowledge they've heard him and go back to their game.

Kara questions Lee. "So?"

Lee glances back at the campsite. The nuggets are still playing cards. Then, "You and I are going up to that cave after the group settles in for the night."

Kara narrows her eyes. "Why…what did you find?" She reaches down and sets one of the sensors.

"Uh-uh." Lee strides on ahead to the next one and sets it. "No details. It would ruin it."

Kara scowls. "You know it's gonna bug me, if you don't tell me what's up there." She hits the third sensor and arms it.

"Patience, Kara." They reach the fourth sensor and arm it. "You need to learn it sometime."

"What about our trainees? It probably won't be a good thing to leave them alone." Kara arms the fifth one; one more to go.

Lee stops a moment, so Kara holds up. "Look. It's the only night we'll be able to get away. From here on out, we'll all be taking a watch. It's tonight or not at all."

Kara ponders the possibilities. "It's risky."

Lee starts toward the sixth and final sensor. "I know. But we've got the sensors and the area has been thoroughly scouted. We could even potentially use it as part of the training, if anything should happen." He arms the last sensor and they start back to the shelters.

Kara is silent, letting the implications run through her head. Frak it. She wants to see what the hell is in that cave. "Right. We'll go after they settle down and fall asleep." They reach their shelter area and settle by the fire. Lee pulls out the fitness reports and hands one over to Kara.

Two hours later. The trio of trainees is finally down for the count.

Lee does a quick walk around the perimeter, then nudges Kara on the shoulder, whispering. "Starbuck." She stirs from a light sleep. "Let's go."

Kara gets up and follows Lee. Both have flashlights and portable lamps. They walk over to one of the sensors and Lee deactivates it. They cross through and reset it. The trek up to the cave is silent, with Lee leading the way. At the edge of the ridge, Lee hands Kara the lamps and then drops down close to the cave entrance. He reaches up to grab both lamps from Kara, and then she drops down beside him.

Lee flashes Kara a smile. He grabs her hand. "Ok. Just close your eyes and follow me." At her giggle, Lee makes sure her eyes are closed and he leads them into the cave.

Kara hates trying to walk with her eyes closed. "This better be worth it, Lee." Then she adds. "So help me, if you lead me into a wall, I'll hurt you. Bad."

Lee just keeps walking. "The floor slopes right here. Watch your step." He can't wait to see her face when she sees what's up ahead. When they enter the area with the hot spring, Lee stops and turns on his lamp. "All right Kara, open your eyes."

Kara opens them and gasps. "I thought I heard water. Oh my gods, Lee. This is amazing." She turns on the other lamp and looks around.

"I thought you'd like it." He shrugs out of his jacket. "Feel the water." Kicking off his boots, he watches as she stoops down and runs her fingers over the water.

"It's warm." She laughs. "Oh…this is great." She looks over at Lee, who now has his socks off. "Leave it to you to find something like this on a strange planet, in the middle of a war."

Lee walks over to Kara and puts his arms around her. "I have the luck of the gods with me." He nuzzles her neck and slides her jacket off her shoulders.

Kara shivers, but it's not from the cold. She turns to face Lee. "I'd say we're a little over-dressed. Unless you plan on just looking at this lovely little pool." She toes her boots off and starts undressing.

Lee quickly follows her lead. He knows they won't have much time, but he plans on pleasing Kara at least twice, before they leave. His mind flashes back to their last encounter, which was interrupted by the cylons. Kara had bound his hands and taken control. The things she did to him after that still come back to haunt him at the most inappropriate times. He's definitely going to repay her for that bit of wonderfulness.

Kara is now completely undressed and has waded into the water. "Hey. How deep do you think this is?"

Startled out of his thoughts, Lee looks up at Kara and is struck dumb. Standing in the water, backlit with the lamplight, she's beautiful. The ripples her feet make in the water reflect off her body, giving her an otherworldly appearance. He shakes his head. "Uh, I don't know." He quickly sheds the rest of his clothing. "I didn't get a chance to find out."

Kara moves further into the small pool. The water is only rises up to just below her knees when she reaches the wall. "Not very deep. It's just about bath water height." She sits down and scoops up a handful of water and sluices it down her arm. "Gods, the temperature is perfect."

Lee moves into the pool with Kara. He sits behind her, slides his hands through the water, and up her arms to her shoulders. He pulls her back against his chest and smoothes his hands over her breasts, cupping them while kissing the column of Kara's neck. Lee slides his fingers over her nipples and gently tugs, drawing a moan from Kara. He twists his head toward her and kisses her gently, then with increasing intensity. He flicks his tongue over her lower lip and she opens her mouth to him.

Kara's tongue dances around Lee's as their kiss deepens. She feels his hands move lower and spreads her legs slightly in anticipation. She twists around and draws her arms up around Lee's shoulders, one hand shooting up to the back of his head as their kiss grows more passionate. One of Lee's hands skims over her thigh to the center of her legs and the other reaches under her behind, gently pulling her up onto his thigh. The hand between her legs moves lazily along the water until it reaches its destination. Kara lets out a soft moan and breaks their kiss. She rests her head on Lee's shoulder and waits.

Lee's fingers find their entry, slowly moving along Kara's folds. One finger gently enters her and draws a small shudder from Kara. When a second finger is added, gently moving in rhythm with the first, Lee feels Kara begin to shake. Pushing slightly faster with his fingers, his thumb brushes over the soft core of nerves at her center and Kara's back arches away from him and the only thing keeping her upright and out of the water is his arm.

Lee's persistent touch is making Kara's limbs feel heavy and she is skittering along the edge of desire. Her breathing quickens when Lee's thumb changes direction against her and his fingers delve just a little deeper inside her. She wraps her arms around him and lifts her hips slightly to meet his fingers as they enter her yet again. Her breath is coming in gasps now and her fingers are tingling. She calls out his name on a whisper and her head falls on his shoulder. Her hips move faster to meet his fingers and her legs tense while he pushes her to cross over the elusive pinnacle of pleasure.

Lee feels Kara getting closer to the edge of reason. She's beginning to tighten around his fingers. "Come on, Kara." He presses his thumb against the nub at her center. "Let go."

Lee's fingers moving within her and his thumb pressing against her has Kara almost to the breaking point. His voice in her ear urging her to let go shatters her control and she flies over the pinnacle, pleasure spiraling through her. "Ah Lords, Lee. It's too much." Swirling on a tempest, she sucks in air and tries to wrap her mind around something solid. Inhaling and exhaling, her breathing ragged, Lee's face swims in and out of focus on pinpoints of light bursting in her mind. She lets out a long moan and sags against him; her arms limp at her sides.

Lee wraps Kara in his embrace and kisses the top of her head. He's very pleased with himself. He's also very hard. He wants nothing more than to be inside Kara when she loses control, but is glad he waited. He loves watching her when all of her defenses are down and it's just her, him and a pleasure almost unbearable in its intensity. He tightens his arms around her as she presses kisses along his jaw line and he remembers that this isn't over yet.

As Kara is kissing Lee, she runs her hands up his arms. She loves the way they feel, all hard muscle and shadowy planes. Throwing her thigh over his, Kara turns to face Lee; sitting with her breasts brushing his chest and his erection cradled between them. This feels good also. The almost but not quite touching, is somehow more arousing than the actual caress. She holds his shoulders and leans in to kiss him, running her tongue along his lower lip. She pulls back before he can catch her lips with his, and moves to his ear. With a husky voice, "I want round two." She feels his hands skim down her back as he chuckles.

Lee brushes his lips over Kara's shoulder, and then smiles at her. "Consider round two underway." He kisses the column of her throat and moves down to her breasts. He props up his knees and leans Kara against them so he has better access. He laves both breasts with his tongue and teases her nipples with his teeth. He feels Kara sit up and shoots her a questioning look.

Kara gives Lee a hard kiss on the mouth. She then pushes him back so he's leaning against a slope in the pool. The warm water slaps gently against their hips in the deeper section of the pool, but the rest of Lee's torso reclines above the water. Kara smiles and lifts her hips. Then she sinks herself slowly over Lee's shaft. Once they are hip to hip, Kara pulls Lee up to her and feels his arms go around her and settle on her hips. She holds his face between her hands and kisses him deeply, sliding her tongue along his in a toe-curling kiss. She breaks the kiss and watches Lee's face as she begins to rock her hips; his eyes darken and he groans.

Lee knows he won't be able to last long. The combination of Kara's hips rocking and the warm water caressing the two of them already has him close to the edge. He tightens his grip on Kara's hips and feels her hands slide down his back to pull him closer. Lee surges against Kara and increases the friction between them. He gasps when she tightens her legs and grinds herself around on his lap. He releases her hips to give her free reign, and moves his arms up her back with one hand holding her shoulder. The other hand cups her head to pull it back slightly to expose her neck to him. He kisses her throat as his breathing becomes labored. He leans his head back slightly, while tilting Kara's head forward so her forehead almost touches his.

They watch each other with passion-dazed eyes, as the heat builds between them. Rocking their hips faster, the flames climb higher. The water ripples around them almost unnoticed as they both hover, waiting for the fire to consume them. Surging together a final time, both call out as they simultaneously find their release. Their breathing raspy gusts of air between them; foreheads are resting against each other.

Kara clings to Lee after their explosion of passion, trying to catch her breath. She still has a tingling awareness of him inside her and she's reluctant to let it go. She wishes she could hold the moment, but knows it's really not possible. As her breathing returns to normal, she lets out a small sigh and leans back to look at Lee.

He looks closely at Kara and knows exactly what she's feeling. He just knows. His thoughts are the same. Stolen moments are what they have and it works for them, but just once he'd like to hold her throughout the night. Lee straightens and cups her face with his hands. He holds her gaze as he tenderly kisses her with an emotion he's not ready to define.

Kara returns Lee's kiss and she knows what he's saying with it. She can't wrap herself around it yet, but deep down she feels the shift. It's been there a long time, just waiting for them to get it together enough to not frak it up. They aren't there yet, but they are heading in that direction. Strangely, she's not skittering away from it. The realization settles in her bones and she pulls away from the kiss and flashes a smile at Lee. At his wary look, she laughs. "Lee. We have to get moving. If we stay any longer, it'll be daylight." She gives him a quick kiss and scoots back into the warm water.

Lee feels the difference in Kara, but keeps the mood light. "It would be easier to see if was daylight." He begins pulling on his clothes. "Difficult to explain, maybe, but I'm sure you could come up with something."

Kara is hopping around, trying to get her pants over her still wet legs. "Me? Why do I have to be the one to come with an excuse?"

Lee chuckles. "Do I even have to answer that?" He's grabbing the lamps as he says this and narrowly misses getting beamed in the head with Kara's boot. He picks it up and tosses it back to her, shaking his head in mock sadness. "Now how would you explain my concussion, if that boot had knocked me out."

Kara has the flashlights and is heading for the entrance of the cave. "If that boot knocked you out, I'd be too busy laughing my ass off to even worry about an explanation."

Lee chuckles and follows Kara out to the entrance. "Yeah, well it'll be a sad day when Starbuck can't lie her way out of a situation."

Kara rolls her eyes. That doesn't even warrant a comeback. "Let's head back." Holding one flashlight between her teeth and the other in her hand, she climbs up to the top of the ridge. She lights the way for Lee, then grabs one of the lamps and hands him a flashlight.

In companionable silence, they start back for the encampment.

Meanwhile, back at Nugget Central.

"Kat." Hotdog tries to wake up his fellow trainee. "Kat!"

"Wha-?" Kat stirs and looks at Hotdog with sleep bleary eyes. "What the frak, Hotdog?"

"Have you seen the CAG?" He's still whispering. He doesn't want to wake the other trainee up, but he's a little worried.

"Hotdog, you woke me up. Why the hell would you think I've seen the CAG?"

"He not in his shelter. Starbuck's not in hers either."

Kat's mouth dropped open. "They're gone?" Hotdog nods affirmative. Kat ponders for a moment. "Frak, Hotdog. They probably went to walk the perimeter. Even with the sensors, I'll bet Apollo isn't taking any chances. Go back to sleep." She lies back down and waits for Hotdog to follow suit. "And, Hotdog?" When he raises his head. "Next time you decide to have a freak out, wake someone else up." She turns over on her side muttering about stupid men and their insane need to wake people up in the middle of the night.

Lee and Kara return to camp never knowing that two of their trainees know they weren't in their shelters the whole night.

FIN