After discussing patrol schedules and duty rosters with Tigh and Apollo, Starbuck and Boomer headed back to the OC. Starbuck was tempted to check on Rene, but he figured with the amount of painkiller in the hypospray, and the lack of sleep for almost thirty-six centaurs, Rene was probably still fast asleep.

Starbuck settled back in to enjoy his fumarello, now nearly falling apart from his fiddling with it, and drink his ambrosia, now warm from being in his pocket. The combination was perfect, especially with the easy murmur of his buddies around him talking and laughing. He put up his feet and before he knew it, he had dozed off.

Boomer nudging him in the shoulder awakened him. "She's here."

"Thanks, Boom Boom," Starbuck said, running his hand through his hair to fluff it, and then checking his chrono. It had only been four centaurs, and it was right around dinnertime. He almost didn't notice her, as she now wore a traditional Colonial Warrior brown uniform. He was also reminded again of how small and how young she was. She seemed hesitant to come all the way into the OC, standing still in the open doorway.

"Hey, you coming by the Commander's tonight?" Starbuck asked.

"No, Dietra and I have a date," Boomer replied.

"So bring her too," Starbuck said, getting up and waving to Rene.

"Not that kind of date, Bucko."

"Ohhh. Have fun," he said, starting to walk over to Rene.

He met her as she headed towards the bar, reaching to pull out the icepack, and negotiating with the bartender for more ice.

"Hey, how'd you sleep? How's the shoulder?" Starbuck asked, pulling up a stool first for Rene and then for himself so they could wait for the ice.

"Hey, handsome," she smiled, then looked around the OC again and seemed to duck a little. "It's stiff, and a little swollen, but not too bad. It will pass." She took the pack from the bartender and thanked him.

"Here, let me do that," Starbuck took the pack from her, stood up and lifted her jacket to arrange it on her shoulder. "You look good in brown. Brings out your eyes."

"Thanks," she said, closing her eyes in pleasure as Starbuck lightly massaged the muscles around her shoulder with his fingertips.

"That better?" he asked when she had not said anything for a few moments.

"Yeah, it is. You did that like a pro. Where'd you learn that?" She said, slowly rolling the shoulder, testing to see how much mobility she had.

"Someone I knew taught me," he said taking his seat, and ordering for each of them. "So, let's have a drink and then head to the Commander's for dinner, what do you say?"

"Yeah, about that," Rene said taking the drink, and then looking away. She did not complete the thought. At least not aloud.

Starbuck allowed her a few moments longer to say something, to say anything, but she sat there, looking tense and uncomfortable.

"Hey, what's up? If you're in pain, we can get you more meds at the Life Center, or . . . "

"No!"

"Okay, okay, no Life Center. Are you in pain?" She shook her head no, but looked down into her drink. "Hey," he whispered, reaching out to touch her hand, "what's wrong?"

"Sorry, it's just, where I'm from I'm not allowed in here. I guess I'm waiting to be kicked out." She looked over her shoulder at the room full of pilots.

Starbuck laughed lightly, "Well, you're with me now. You're not getting kicked out, that's for sure. You're a lieutenant, which makes you an officer, as well as my guest. You're allowed to be here. This isn't the Zakar."

"Okay," she looked up, and found his smile infectious. "You have a great smile."

"I know," he winked. "Now, about dinner." He cut off any objections with a raised hand, "Adama, Apollo and Athena are looking forward to it, and they're not such bad people if you give them a chance. In fact, they're like family to me."

"Family? I didn't realize that," she said looking down into her drink, swirling the amber liquid in her glass before taking a sip. "So, how much do you know about me Starbuck?"

The question threw him off and he found himself answering with complete sincerity. "Only what you have told me. I mean, I heard that you spent a summer with Apollo and Athena that didn't go so well. Something about running away, or being sent back early and then you ran away, or something like that. But no real details other than what you've told me, if that's what you mean." He squeezed her hand, pulling it over into his lap. "Hey, I like to get to know a person on my own. I don't care what others have to say. I care what you have to say. Ask anyone, you'll find it's true."

She nodded, casting her eyes up at him, before lowering them again. "And Zac," she finally said, "I spent the summer with Zac. He was fun to hang out with and, I don't want to sit around and talk about him being dead, okay?"

"It won't be like that," Starbuck reassured her. "That was a long time ago. I knew him too, by the way. Good kid, and yeah, he was fun to hang out with."

"Well, I wasn't a good kid. I was just a messed up kid and, I know now that I was an ungrateful snot. I mean, Oren and his wife taking us in meant I could be back with Ari and Daniel. And they sent us to good schools, I just," she shook her head unable to put into words everything she was going through back then.

"Who's Daniel?" Starbuck asked, having heard the name for the first time.

"My older brother. Adama got him into the academy, and…he died on a training mission."

"Oh, I see," Starbuck said, and squeezed her hand. "So you had two older brothers, and your dad."

"Yeah, my mom died when I was little and," she shrugged, "my dad died when I was nine. Lived in the orphanage for a yahren before Oren and Sarah took us in. They were good people and all, it's just…"

"Look you don't have to explain. I've been there."

She snorted in disbelief, "Right. You went to the Academy. You're family had connections. My dad was just regular old infantry recruit."

"So you haven't heard all the stories have you?" Starbuck sat back for a moment in disbelief. He was so used to everyone knowing his background, his history, that it was a bit unsettling to have someone actually assume he'd come from a family, one with connections, wealth and power, no less. Being "Warrior of the Centaur" had made his background public knowledge, which in a way had made some things easier. Less to explain to strangers that you meet when they already know most everything about you, but at the same time, Starbuck had also found that people had preconceived notions of what he was like based on that fifteen centons of fame.

Yet sitting before him was someone who knew almost nothing about him, except what a few acquaintances from the Academy had told her. Not that those were bad stories and all. He'd had some fun in the Academy, pulled a few good pranks, glory days and all that. But the Academy was over ten yahrens ago and he was a different man, well, at the very least a man now, not a kid.

"Well, I'm starting to realize that maybe some of them are, well, made up stories," she cast a shy look at him, smiling mischievously.

"They are all true, especially the one's where I save the day and get the girl."

She laughed and shook her head, "You are a bit full of yourself aren't you?"

"It's hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way," He enjoyed the chuckle that elicited. He waited for her to finish laughing before he squeezed her hand again and said, "Rene, I'm an orphan. I was raised in the system. I went to the academy on a scholarship from the state. I aced the tests and got lucky. Trust me, I know what you're talking about." He gave her a moment to absorb his words before he went on; "I spent time in a foster home or two. They were all okay but…" he trailed off too, unable to find the words to describe how despite the kindness, the caring of the adults around you, it just wasn't the same as having a home. And of course some of them were merely in it for the cubits, taking the currency in exchange for three meals a day and a bed to sleep in. There was no emotional investment; it was strictly business. One more orphan placed in a warm, loving environment, making some bureaucrat somewhere feel better when he went home at night. Yeah, right.

She looked up to him, "So you do know," she said, hushed.

"Yeah, I do. Something about the charity of it, just didn't feel right I guess. Like it's not real or…"

"It wasn't unconditional." She stated. "There were conditions and rules and expectations that I didn't get, or couldn't meet. They expected me to be something I wasn't."

"Yeah," Starbuck nodded his head, realizing how her words described it well.

She continued, "You knew if you screwed up, you'd be sent back. Parents don't get to send you back. So I screwed up a lot, just to prove it or something."

Starbuck laughed, "So that's why I did all those stupid crazy things. Huh?" He sat back, stunned for a moment at the epiphany.

"Yeah, it's like you need to see where the line is or something, and the only way to find the limits is to push beyond them. Only once you do that, well the game is over, and you're back in an orphanage. Alone. Alone with the others, just as alone. So then I'd try to be what they wanted me to be, but that wasn't me, you know?"

"Not exactly, but I think I get the idea." Starbuck said. "And in order to not wind up back in an orphanage, you ran away instead. I did that a few times myself. Thought I'd find something better, or at least some place I'd feel less invisible. Always ended up picked up or going back on my own though."

"Easier for a girl," She said, looking down again. "Someone's always willing to buy you something hoping to…get something. They didn't," she hastily added, "but still they try."

Starbuck just nodded, remembering the few times that trick had been tried on him on the streets. The man, always a man, would seem so friendly and caring. They'd buy you a meal, or a drink, and then when it came time to part ways, they'd make their play for something from you, something that shouldn't be given for just a meal or a drink. Starbuck got good at getting the cash or the meal, and knowing just the right moment to cut himself loose. "Never let them get you alone." He said out loud, and she looked up meeting his eyes.

"Exactly," she nodded, staring deeply into his eyes. After a few moments she squeezed his hand back. "So, how old were you when your parents died."

"I don't know exactly. I was found as a toddler wandering in the Thorn Forest after an attack on Umbra. I don't even know their names." He paused thinking, needing to lighten the moment. "Although, I had an epiphany one night after a dream . . . I tried to look up 'Mama', but there were about 2500 listed."

"See, this is some of what I'm trying to say!" She looked away again. "I was such a stupid kid."

"What do you mean? I'm confused here."

She looked up to him again, "I thought my life was so rotten, that I had it so bad. When in reality, what I went through was nothing compared to other people."

"You can't do that. You can't measure what I went through as better or worse than what you went through. I think I had it better because you can't miss what you never had, you know? I didn't lose a brother or a sister, so I didn't miss not having one."

"That is such felgercarb, and you know it!" She said.

He realized it felt like someone was finally calling his bluff. "What? It's the truth."

She shook her head emphatically, "No it's not, Starbuck. That line might work on other people, but it's not going to work on me. I at least have memories to keep going. I at least know my parents loved me, my brothers loved me. It sucks not having them, yes, but I at least can remember that it was mine once. Just that thought can keep me warm on a long cold night. You don't even have that. You must always wonder. That must just drive you insane! See, that's what I'm saying. I was blessed. I walked around for yahrens moaning about how my life sucked, and then the Cylons came and…my life really did suck. I don't know, in a weird way, the destruction was the best thing that ever happened to me."

She dropped his hand, and covered her mouth with her hand. "Sorry," she said around her fingers, looking to see who overheard her.

Starbuck chuckled. "It's okay. Want to know a secret?"

She took his hand again and nodded.

"I sometimes feel that way too. And you know, I've never been able to say that to anyone." Their hands were clasped tight, as if making a secret pact.

"I wouldn't have been able to get into the Academy," she confessed. "I wouldn't be flying a viper, and by the Lords of Kobol, I love to fly."

"Well, seems we have that in common too," he smiled, feeling the warmth of it spread all through him. He mused to himself, so this must be what everyone talks about, that when you find the right one you will just know it. At that moment, Starbuck felt it as if a lightning bolt had shot him through the heart and traveled all the way down to his toes. He closed his eyes, trying to stop from feeling dizzy. "Ahh, I can't wait to get out there in the stars with you."

She giggled, "You make it sound better than sex."

"If you don't agree, then you must be doing it wrong," he smirked.

She laughed out loud at his joke. "Well, I'd like to see how you do it then."

"All in good time," he smiled at her, "on both counts." He watched her eyes light up and he knew he'd better watch himself. He was falling hard, and he'd have to play this one just right. This wasn't just about him or his broken heart. The fleet depended on how he played this round. He took a deep breath and willed his heart back into its cage. "But first, I think we should go to dinner, don't you think?" He saw her smile slip. "It's going to be okay. I promise."

She nodded in agreement, "As long as you're there." Her eyes were sparkling as she squeezed his hand again. Starbuck got up suddenly, knowing if he didn't he was going to have to kiss her right here in front of everyone, and suddenly that didn't seem like such a good idea. Not here for everyone to rib him about it. He wanted this all to himself for a while. He didn't want to have to justify it or explain it. He just wanted it.

He leaned down, brushing his lips against her ear as he whispered, "I'll be there." He felt her tremble as she looked up to him in adoration. Starbuck felt his knees melt, and pulled away before he did something he would regret.

"Shall we?" he said, indicating the door. She nodded and still holding hands they left the OC to head to the Commanders dining lounge.