"By the power vested in me by the gods and as President of the twelve colonies…. I now pronounce you husband and wife. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel T. Anders. You may kiss the bride."

They both looked at President Roslin, then at each other. Sam bent down to kiss her, but Kara laid one hand on his chest to stop him.

"Wait, Madame President?"

"Yes?"

"Would you mind christening Billy? With his new last name, that is…."

Laura Roslin folded her arms and looked questioningly at the newlyweds. She wasn't sure it was the wisest decision, but the request had been made by the child's mother. This is going to bite me in the ass later.

"All right."

Kara motioned to Racetrack, who had been brought in as both a witness and as a babysitter. She was seated next to Sharon and Helo, holding little Billy, and on the other side was Corporal Venner, who had been assigned to bring Sharon to the service at Kara's request. No one had told the Old Man about the wedding. Kara was pretty sure he would have been the first one there to object.

Roslin motioned to the marine.

"I need some water, Corporal. You cannot to a proper christening without water."

"But ma'am…."

"No buts, Corporal…. If she was going to try something, I believe she would have already done so, don't you?"

"Yes ma'am."

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After a few minutes' pause, Kara handed Billy to the open arms of the President as a small cup of water was placed on the podium in front of them. Laura placed her fingers in the cup, sprinkled a little water on the child's forehead and then began to speak.

"I hereby baptize you Billy…. I'm sorry, what's the rest of his name?"

Kara let out a nervous laugh.

"Billy Alexander Anders."

"So be it. I baptize you Billy Alexander Anders. May the gods watch over you and protect you always. Now…back to your mother."

And with a quick peck at his temple, she passed Billy back into Kara's waiting arms.

"Now, if you'll all excuse me, I have other matters to attend to."

But Samuel Anders did not hear her. Tears glistened in his eyes as the realization of what the last half hour really meant to him. He now had both a wife and a child he was truly responsible for. Not just a girlfriend with a kid. We've come a long way from fighting toasters on Caprica.

"Excuse me, Lieutenant Agathon, Sharon. It's time to go."

Helo stood up and nodded at the marine. He knew the man was only doing his job. But at the same time Adama had let Helo and Sharon stay together with their daughter. They had been confined to quarters, just as had Lee. The Old Man still hadn't finished with the President's ordered interrogations of the brig's three newest occupants.

"Sharon."

She nodded and took the hand that he offered her.

"Karl, Sharon?"

The couple turned together toward Kara who had spoken to them.

"Thank you both…for everything."

They both nodded, and then left the room, followed closely by Corporal Venner. Kara turned to Sam and handed him the baby.

"So…Mr. Anders?"

"Mrs. Anders…little man Anders?"

Kara let go that classic Starbuck guffaw; the one that hadn't made an appearance in a very, very long while.

And for a short moment in time, her life felt complete.

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"I want to speak to my father, now."

"I've made the call, sir. That's the best I can do."

"Well do it again, Corporal!"

Lee punched the unforgiving bulkhead as his free hand slammed the door shut. He barely registered the pain radiating from the wound that had appeared when his skin tore on impact. Control yourself, Lee. You cannot lose that control.

He was absentmindedly looking for something to cover his bleeding knuckles when a knock came at his door.

"It's open!"

Cool, calm and collected. It was the persona he wished to convey, while on the inside he was anything but.

William Adama noticed his son's hand right away, but said nothing of it. To him, the tension radiating from Lee was easily recognizable. It was, after all, a family trait. Show no emotion on the outside, even if all you wanted to really do was pummel the frak out of someone. Or could that be the Cylon inside?

"You asked for me, son? What's this all about? We're supposed to have dinner together in less than an hour."

Lee turned and sat down on the worn out couch. He ran his good fingers through his hair and took in a deep breath.

"What's going on with Kara, Dad? Tell me what all the whispering's about."

Bill look curiously at him. He wasn't sure what Lee meant by 'whispering'.

"What do you mean, son?"

"I heard something when I went to the gym with my escort! Something about Kara and Anders…but nobody's talking to me, dad. Why isn't anyone talking to me!"

The desperation in his son's voice made him understand more of what the younger man must be feeling. Except for a morning run, an hour in the gym, and dinner with his father, Lee was being confined to quarters at all times. And isolation like that could make you start feeling crazy after a while.

"Maybe we need to find a way to get you out of here for a while, son. I don't know how to do it, but we'll arrange something else."

Lee kicked at the coffee table in front of him. His anger was beginning to rise.

"I'm not going crazy, Dad! Something's going on out there and I want to know what! And stop giving me that look. I am not a child!"

Bill gently laughed as he shifted his feet and made his way to sit down to his son's right. He didn't know what 'look' he was giving him, but Lee obviously didn't like it. The Old Man did his best to put on more of a poker face.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize that's what I was doing. But I can say this…I really do not know what it is you're talking about. I will do my best to find out."

Sitting there, Lee nodded his head in response. He'd heard everything his father had said to him, but couldn't believe exactly how in the dark the Old Man might really be where Kara and Billy's lives were concerned. He forced the breath out of his lungs to say something…anything.

"Okay. Thank you."

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An hour later….

"She WHAT! Tell the President that her presence is requested in my ward room within the hour. And if she doesn't agree with that then you can tell her it's an order!"

Dee pulled her headset back quickly as she heard Adama's words reverberate through CIC. As she looked up, she noticed that everyone else felt his anger as well.

"Mr. Gaeta, you have the comm."

William Adama turned and slowly and deliberately walked back out the door he had entered about forty-five minutes before. Now I understand why Lee was so concerned.

He walked slowly down to the ward room and leaned against the railing next to the planning table. Laura Roslin.

He didn't have to wait long. Within fifteen minutes, Dee had passed along that a Raptor from Colonial One had docked in the hangar bay and that the President would be escorted to meet him shortly.

She entered the room with a grave look on her face. Laura knew this was a day she might begin to regret. But she would not excuse her actions. I didn't get this far by apologizing to everyone for everything I've done in life.

"Now Admiral…."

"Stop right there. I want to know how two of my pilots, a civilian, a Cylon prisoner and my own grandson got off this ship without my knowledge, and why you were the one that issued the flight order."

There was an underlying current in Adama's cool tone. She had known him long enough to know exactly how angry he was on the inside.

"It was a request by two colonists for a marriage to be performed. Since there is no priest within the fleet, and they obviously knew you would object to the ceremony, I am the only person left that has the legal authority to do so."

Bill stood there with his arms crossed, mirroring Roslin's stance. It was clear that each one of them would have their say, and that neither one of them was willing to budge.

"I understand that you are the President, but again, this was one of my pilots. Therefore, the pilot in question has to have permission from the military to request the ceremony in the first place. Military law has been broken."

Laura smiled a victory smile. In uttering those very words, she knew that he had left the door open for her to get off the hook.

"Then the ceremony itself, and to perform it, was a civilian matter. But if military law has been broken by a member of YOUR military, then as a member of the colonial fleet, it is under your authority to punish that person. Am I correct?"

Slightly defeated, he sighed aloud.

"So what are you suggesting, that I put the mother of my grandson in the brig? The days of Kara Thrace residing in the brig are most likely over. Unless she decides to deck Saul again, that is."

They both laughed aloud together. But neither of them had moved. Laura had known that this one ceremony would lead to a world of problems, but she was now free of it. It wasn't her decision to make. For Bill Adama, there was no such luck. Nothing had ever been that easy for him.

"So, what do you suggest I tell my son?"

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Now for those of you who are ticked at me for the Kara/Anders thing and not letting it be Kara/Lee…patience. This thing will go on for a little while. You never know what will happen next dearies….