PART 21

As Adama gestures to the two additional chairs in front of his desk, he pulls one of them around to the side and places it down from his. He looks at Laura and offers the seat to her. As she makes a move to sit, the Commander takes her files and places them on the corner of the desk.

Lee watches the byplay with interest. Well, looks this looks official. The President did mention that she and the Commander had things they needed to discuss with them. He snags the other chair and glancing at Kara, who nods; he places it next to hers. He looks at the President one more time before facing his father. He meets Adama's eyes. "Commander?" What's the plan, Dad? Reports, documents, stacks of paper and files. Meetings with the President about changes in military protocol. What's going on? Lee is thinking all of this as he waits for his father to speak.

Adama addresses Roslin. "You want to go first? Or should I?"

Laura shuffles the order of her files. "I believe you should take care of the military end of things first, Commander."

Adama nods his head. "As you wish, Madam President." His countenance changes when he looks at Lee and Kara. "I'm not going to list all the charges that can be leveled against you. You both know what they are." He sighs in frustration. "I told you the night I found you here, that I didn't want to hear or see anything about the two of you again." He leans forward glaring at his two most trusted pilots. "A simple request. Something I thought you were heeding." He pushes his glasses up and rubs the top of his nose. "Then I get a call from the President, telling me she walked in on the two of you in a conference room." He slaps his hand on the edge of the desk. "A conference room!" Adama lets out a disappointed sigh as Lee and Kara both cringe. The President sits calmly glancing through a file, she's used to the Commander's stern lectures. "Bad enough my two best pilots can't keep their pants zipped. It's worse that they're breaking regulations, with each other, in the process." Adama glares at both Lee and Kara before continuing. "I need my pilots. The fleet needs my pilots. You two are supposed to set the example. See my dilemma?" He throws a disappointed look at both.

Lee can feel his father's frustration. He's sorry about that, but he wouldn't take anything back. "We've been careful, sir. No one else knows about this." He looks to Kara for support.

Kara is getting angry. They may have broken regulations, but the whole damn ship is betting on it. "If anyone else knew about it, they'd be a hell of a lot richer." She's not going to apologize for being with Lee. Not when everyone has wagers on it. "Not to mention bragging about it to anyone who will listen." She grimaces at the prospect of having to listen to that.

The Commander narrows his eyes. "That may be true, but word is out now." He looks over to Laura. "The President had to use a box phone when she called me." He looks pointedly at them. "Crewmembers were in the area when she called." He watches as Lee and Kara absorb that bit of news. "By now, the whole ship knows."

Lee's shoulders slump forward. Any hope they may have had of quietly handling the situation just disappeared. He glances at Laura, who looks back at him with an apology in her eyes.

Kara reacts with her usual bravado. "Frak this." She stands and paces behind her chair. "Just tell me how much time I have to spend in the brig." She looks at Lee who is staring at her like she's lost her mind. "What?" She realizes she only included herself for brig time. "Lee, they need the CAG. You can't be in the brig."

Lee just shakes his head. "Look, this is a 'we' thing. I'm senior officer. I'm responsible." He moves to stand up as well, glancing at his father. "You'll have to find a replacement as CAG." He stares at the Commander, daring him to say otherwise.

Adama watches them both for a few beats. "Sit. We're not through here." When both are seated again, "This is what will happen. You are both being brought up on charges." He hands them each a sheet of paper. "Conduct Unbecoming." Adama waits until both look at him before continuing. "You'll both serve 30 days in the brig." He pauses. "On separate decks. You'll both work your shifts as scheduled and report back to the brig." He looks over at Lee. "You'll still function as CAG, but you'll be performing those duties from your cell." Adama sits back in his chair. "Are we clear?"

Lee and Kara both nod. Neither is happy, but the outcome could have been worse.

Adama sighs. "It's unfortunate this happened." He turns toward Laura, who smiles a small smile. "The President and I have been discussing some changes. She'll fill you in." With that he turns back to watch the two people he cares most about.

Laura clears her throat. "Captain. Lieutenant. You're aware the human race has roughly 50,000 surviving members. We need to keep those numbers growing." She pulls out a file. "We won't always be on the run. I believe that. We will find a home. To that end, I've been working with the Commander on establishing a way for us to continue increasing our numbers, safely." She hands copies of a report to both Lee and Kara. "We realize that the Galactica's crew has little time to interact with the other members of the fleet. The numbers show that even if they did, they probably wouldn't. However, they will be given a chance to do so." Laura sits her file down. She knows every line in it. "The problem, as I see it, is that even if given a chance to go off board, there's not always sufficient time for personal relationships to develop. The Galactica's crew needs to be able to function and have the same chances as the rest of the fleet." She looks over at Adama whose face is impassive. Their arguments on the topic are far from over. "The Commander and I have worked out a tentative plan that will give the crew an opportunity to visit other ships in the fleet." She leans forward for effect. "And loosen the fraternization regulations."

Lee and Kara just look at each other. Loosen the regs? Lee feels almost betrayed. He's had no idea the President is even meeting with his father. Isn't he her advisor on military matters? Lords, if he and Kara had waited a month, they wouldn't be sitting in his father's quarters discussing matters he had no desire to talk about with his dad. Check that. If he and Kara hadn't hatched their plan, she would never have continued meeting with him. As far as Lee is concerned, that's the only thing that damn bet is good for. Bringing Kara to him.

Kara takes the direct approach. "So, what's this mean for us?" She looks to Laura for an answer.

Smiling briefly, the President answers. "It won't get you out of the brig, Lieutenant. And for that, I'm sorry." She takes a look at Lee. "Captain. I left you out of the loop on this as it directly affects you, as a member of Galactica's crew. I didn't want to put you in a position of knowing something in advance that may not come to light." At that she looks to Adama. "Our discussions have been rather heated on this topic. But the Commander recognizes that the crew needs to have a 'regular' life on occasion."

Lee still isn't happy about not knowing anything about their meetings, but he gets it. "I understand, Madam President." He glances over at his father. "How is this going to work, sir?"

Adama shuffles the papers on his desk, finds the report he's looking for and hands it to Lee. "The new regulations are listed here. We could have some trouble with this, so be prepared." He glances at Kara. "You'll get a copy, once you're in the brig. Colonel Tigh is supervising the distribution." He almost smiles when Kara rolls her eyes. "Madame President, if you'd like to continue."

Laura stands, walks around the desk and leans against its edge. She gazes down at the two pilots. "In short, the two of you will be free to pursue a relationship once you serve your time." She thinks of Lee's admission to her earlier. "Maybe you'll both take the opportunity to do some thinking about the future." She stands up and gathers her files. "I look forward to having you both back in the thick of things." She nods at Adama. "Commander." He lifts his chin in acknowledgement, as the President heads for the exit. She turns one last time before leaving, "For the record, I knew of the wager regarding you two, but I'm not a participant. I wanted you to know." She exits the hatch, closing it softly behind her.

The remaining three in the room all look at each other and crack wide grins. It serves to break any remaining tension among their familial unit. Kara is the first to speak. "Well, that's nice to know." At least one person isn't in on the stupid pool. She's also thinking if they'd found out about the tentative agreement just a little later in the game, they might not be here right now. Then again, they wouldn't be anywhere. Lee isn't one for bucking the system. She smiles. Maybe the bet isn't so bad after all. She sobers and faces the Commander. "Where do we go from here, sir?"

Adama eyes them. "Report to the brig. Kara you're on C-Deck. Lee, D-Deck." He gets up and walks to stand in front of them. "The President is right. You two should take some time to think things over." He sits back on the edge of the desk. "Serve your time. Do you jobs."

Lee and Kara shoot quick glances at each other, before rising. "Yes, sir." They both sigh heavily. They've got a lot to think about.

Adama watches as they head for the door. He adds one last statement. "You two set the example." When they turn to look back at him. "Others will follow your lead. Think on it." After nodding to him, Lee and Kara exit his quarters. The dad in him smiles to himself. Kara loves his son and Lee feels the same way. Laura's brief telling look at the beginning of their conversation confirms that for him. Thirty days apart should be long enough to convince them they can't get along without each other. He sits behind his desk and pulls out a journal. He opens it to last page marked and begins writing. "Lords, I'm too old for this, but…"

FIN