Disclaimers-I don't own these characters, Ron Moore does

Chapter 25

Kara can tell by the low level of the lights that it's third shift. Despite her dozing off for a couple hours, Lee is sitting exactly where she left him. She smiles drowsily, "Have you blinked since I fell asleep?"

Lee tilts his head, "Look what happened the last time I did?"

She blows out a deep breathe, pink flushing her cheeks, "I still can't believe your mother had to bail me out."

"You're just too used to saving yourself." He gets the cocky Starbuck smirk he was aiming for in reply. Lee closes the distance between them and ravishes the delicacy of her soft lips until she breaks for air. He sits on the bed and pulls her up alongside him, lightly caressing the skin beneath her ear as he whispers, "Even the great Starbuck isn't capable of escaping bondage while unconscious."

Kara quirks an eyebrow and turns to look at him, "Is that a challenge?" She can feel his cock twitch against her thigh and she wonders what dirty little games he's got her playing in his mind right now. The possibilities of Lee and restraints are too tantalizing and the combination too perfect for teasing him. She pitches her voice low and husky, "Brig or handcuffs Lee?" Kara rolls herself so that she's half draped over his body and she rocks her knee lightly up against his erection, causing enough friction and embarrassment to make the tips of his ears burn scarlet. "We could always combine the two?"

The mixture of mischief and truth in her taunts, reiterates what Lee already knows, "You're evil." He dips in to kiss her again, more urgent and passionate than before. His hands dance across her body, always mindful of the tender cuts on her back. Gentle fingers under a breast make her moan, while the other hand skimming her bottom, makes her bite playfully at his lip.

"As much as I enjoy being a diversion," Kara pulls back and holds his gaze, "Don't you think it's time you stopped hiding here and dealt with your parents?"

Lee tosses his head back and groans loudly. "Kara, it's been a hell of day and…"

"And you don't want to deal with it," she finishes. "But this isn't going to go away and it's not going to look any better tomorrow."

Lee sighs, "I spent the last three hours thinking about it…about her." Lee stares up at the fluorescent lights humming above them, "While you were sleeping, I did nothing but think about One."

"Your mother." She knows that he's trying to distance himself by using that moniker, but she's not sure why he's doing it. "I thought the other night you'd come to accept your nature…"

"This isn't about that" Lee dismisses the notion, but doesn't take his eyes from the ceiling. "I'm the First…a hybrid. It's just, before I felt like I was more human than Cylon, but seeing…my mother today, made me think about how much I'm like her. How much I'm like a Cylon."

Kara hoists herself up to stare down at Lee, "My mother was a physically and mentally abusive drunk and she didn't have the excuse of being a Cylon. There are things she instilled in me that I doubt I'll ever break free from, but I'm not her." She brings her forehead down against his, "Parents teach you who to be based upon who they are, because it's all they know…but, Lee, you've always chosen to be your own man and followed your own path."

"Much to my father's disappointment" Lee grumbles.

"Exactly," Kara crows with unexpected excitement, "Because you're not him!" His amused expression melts into comprehension and she ghosts a kiss across his furrowed brow, "And you're not her either."

Lee smiles at her crazy logic, "I've never been so happy to be a disappointment to both of my parents before." Her laughter quells the rest of his worries, "And to think I wasted all those years trying to make them proud." Kara snorts at that and it's so delightfully inappropriate that Lee can't help himself, "Marry me." Kara stills above him and the emotions running through her eyes are so inscrutable, it's painful to watch. She drops her eyes, leaving Lee to focus on her body language for clues. Her hands are clasped tight, tensing the muscles of her arm and drawing his gaze. Lee runs his finger along the black wing imprinted on her pale flesh, declaring her taken by another, "I forgot."

"Nice to know someone remembered." Sam manages to keep most of the bitterness out of his voice, but since her return, he hasn't had a single moment alone with Kara. Seeing her with Lee in such an intimate fashion isn't a surprise, but that doesn't make watching her happiness with him any less agonizing. "I'd like to talk to my wife," he pauses until Lee looks at him, "alone."

Kara's head whips around and she pins Sam with a glare that would make the Old Man proud. He actually takes a small step back at the look on her face. "Looks like I've got a family affair of my own to attend to," she slowly disentangles from Lee, but squeezes his hand as he stands until he meets her eye, "I won't be long."

Author's Note: Super short, but hopefully you'll agree, also super sweet. The last chapters have been really intense and it's going to take that turn again, so I wanted to say thanks for 200 reviews and with a little fluff. Another chapter of substance is in the works and I hope to have that up by Friday night. Cheers!