XI
The Next Day
Laura and Kara had Kacey ready right on time for school, and for the first time, both of the woman boarded with their daughter to head to Galactica. Kara was nervous, at least a little bit, but she was needing to get back into some kind of routine, which meant eventually flying again, and most likely becoming CAG.
She was still taking it one day at a time.
As they landed in the Starboard hangar, and the Raptor's hatch opened, literally the first two people Kara laid eyes on were Chief Tyrol and his wife Cally.
"Robert", she heard the Chief yelling, "get that coil assembly over here, on the double, man!"
Kara looked at Laura and they both smiled. "Ah, some things never change", Kara said with a laugh.
Laura rolled her eyes at the same time Kara got up and went to the hatch.
"Hey Chief, not everyone can move as fast as you!"
Galen turned around, wondering who had said that...and saw the blonde standing on the wing.
"Starbuck?" Galen broke out in a grin, laughing as he approached the wing. "Who the hell let you back on the ship?"
Kara jumped off the wing, Laura and Kacey on the wing behind her, a set of stairs being placed for the other two."
"I still have a little pull around here", she said dead-pan, then laughed loudly, grabbing the Chief into a hug. "Gods, I've missed you!"
"I've been worried about you, Captain", Galen said seriously. "You're not looking to bad right now."
"Hey!" The looked to Galen's left, Cally Tyrol running over, hugging Starbuck as well. "Kara, gods, welcome back!"
Other mechanics and hangar personnel had seen the commotion, and gathered in the area, many yelling welcome and encouragement to Starbuck.
"OK, everyone", she said seriously, but with a smile that belied the voice, "I'm simply getting my daughter to school, you got it?" Everyone clapped, seeing Kara with Laura in person, with their daughter, for the first time. "I promise I'll stop by later and order all of you around." Everyone that heard it laughed.
"You better come back here, Kara", Chief said. "It's been a while since we got to chat."
"I know", Kara said warmly. "I won't forget what you guys did for me down there, Galen."
Galen blushed. "I would have done it for anyone, you know that?"
"I know", Kara said, grabbing his arm, "but it's still never going to be forgotten." She turned to leave, then stopped. "Oh, you're gonna tell me about when they brought the Raider yesterday, you go it?"
He gave Kara a sloppy salute. "Yes, Captain", he bawled, making her laugh as she walked away holding the hand of both her daughter and her wife.
Laura had a meeting slated with Admiral Adama right after they had dropped Kacey off at school. After her meeting, the President would return to Colonial One for a meeting with the Quorum, then she was scheduled to visit two ships, before returning home about 1700. Kara was planning to catch the Admiral before she left.
Kara walked the innards of Galactica toward CIC. Most everyone who saw her along the way said hi to her, or welcomed her back, or even congratulated her about Kacey and her marriage to the President. The response had Kara on Cloud Nine when she approached CIC. She could hear the usual, noisy chatter from within even before she entered.
She passed through the doors, two Marines guarding it. As she headed in, she could see Helo facing away from her, and Tigh bent over a map on his table.
"Galactica, CAG", Helo said, all business, "two hours left in CAP rotation, report fuel status?"
"CAG, Galactica." The equally serious voice of Hot Dog came over the intercom, "all birds showing four hours of fuel left onboard. Copy one-two-zero minutes till we head home. CAG out."
Tigh looked over at Lieutenant Anastasia Dualla as Helo finished. Kara and Dee had never gotten along. That had been Kara's fault-she had felt at one time that she had an equal right to Lee Adama as his wife. Kara knew those days were gone.
"Dee, did Kat get the updated roster for her CAP that the Admiral posted this morning?"
"Aye sir", came the crisp reply from Dee. "I handed it to her about two hours ago. She briefing her jocks now."
Tigh began to turn around, when he noticed someone not in uniform...
"Well what the frak", he said, the thin, tight smile crossing his face, "are we letting just any old person into CIC?"
Helo turned on hearing Tigh's words. "Starbuck!" He raced over to her, putting her in a mighty bear hug, then letting her down. "Gods, welcome back!"
Upon hearing Kara's Call Sign, everyone in CIC looked up. Applause, a few shouts of "welcome back!", and smiles lit up the room. Normally Tigh wouldn't have allowed such a thing.
"All right, everyone", he said in the no-nonsense voice that could make people shake in their boots, but with a twinkle in his eye, and the grin still on his face. "Let's save the party for later." He walked toward Kara. To his surprise, Kara walked up to him and hugged him.
Tigh and Kara had butted heads since Starbuck had first boarded Galactica four years earlier. Neither had respected each other, for many reasons. Now, after both of them had gone through their own individual physical, and emotional hell on New Caprica, they had gained a hard-fought respect for each other. Tigh had seen Kara grow a lot, and knew she had borne a large portion of the abuse from The Cylons. For her part, Kara had gained a lot of respect for him, as he had been the rock of the Insurgency on New Caprica. He had ruled with an iron fist, doing anything he could to play havoc with their captors, including suicide bombings.
But Kara had felt Tigh had actually gained a little humanity on that miserable rock. She was sure they'd disagree occasionally even now, but the mutual respect was hard to miss.
"Permission to officially enter CIC, sir", she said, after they broke the brief hug, and had saluted each other.
"Permission granted, although after today, Thrace...er, Roslin", he amended, which made the others laugh, "you need to be in uniform."
"Aye, sir", she said with a smile.
"What are you doing over here, Kara?" Helo had missed his long-time friend greatly when she was on New Caprica and he was dodging Cylons.
"I need to start getting out, Helo, and get my space legs back."
"So you're gonna come back to us", Sigh said with a sly grin. "May the gods help us."
Kara just laughed. "I'm still thinking about it, guys", she said in a lower voice, so only the two men could hear her. "I am getting better, I promise. I'm also here to find out a little more about how Bulldog got here."
Tigh looked at her sideways. "You've heard of Bulldog?"
Kara snickered. "I'm sure most of us have. He's a legend, and the Old Man has talked about him before."
"What do you want to look at, Captain?" Tigh didn't use her rank by accident.
"I want to listen to the audio, maybe look at any stills or video we got. I just am interested in all this."
"Dee", Tigh said, turning to Lee's wife. "after Kat is finished with her jocks in the pilot's room, can you have the video, audio and some stills of Bulldog coming here made available for Starbuck in there?"
"Aye sir", Dee said, but Kara could hear and see the resentment still in Dee's eyes. Kara didn't blame her one bit any longer. She hoped they could mend fences eventually.
Shortly after President Roslin's meeting with the Admiral, Saul Tigh turned CIC over to Helo and Louis Hoshi, and went to talk to Adama himself.
Their relationship had been a little strained since the return from New Caprica. Tigh had been critical of those who had rescued them, not giving due credit to how the people on Galactica and Pegasus had put their own lives on the line. He had spent a week locked away in his quarters, drinking far too much-which for Tigh wasn't really enough.
The memory of having his eye torn out; of Ellen's betrayal of the people of the settlement that almost lead to the capture of Athena when she arrived, and having to kill Ellen via poison, all grated on him, far more than the suicide bombings that he had ordered.
After a week, the Old Man had come to talk to him, explaining the situation aboard the Battlestars for the last eighteen months, and the frustrations of the length of time it took them to free themselves from contact with The Cylons, and to put a plan together.
Adama reminded him that they had lost eighteen pilots in Vipers, and two Raptor crews. No, it wasn't near the number that died on New Caprica, but he wanted Tigh to understand that they, too, had risked much to return to Gaius Baltar's dream world.
Tigh had taken a day to think things over, and, much to Adama's surprise, came back to CIC two days later, clean-shaven, in a pressed uniform. Helo had been the first to offer the XO position back to the Colonel, which mollified the Admiral. Since then, Tigh had buried himself, and in a good way, in his work.
It was still before noon, but the headaches, as usual, were already piling up for the man at the top. That's why they paid him the big money. Correction-that's why they had paid him the big money. There was no one left on the Twelve Colonies to pay him diddly now. This was all pro-bono work, for everyone in The Fleet.
Bill's door was almost always open, and Tigh strolled in.
"Colonel", Bill said, glancing up from some papers, "how goes CIC this morning."
"Oh, the usual, boring, run-of-the-mill, waiting for The Cylons crap."
"In other words, just another day in paradise, eh?"
"Mmm mmm mmm." Tigh rolled his closed-mouth laugh off his lips. "The Toasters have been quiet since we kicked their asses on New Caprica."
"And you're complaining about that?" Bill gave him a lopsided smirk.
"Who, me?" Saul gave him a look of mock hurt. "Not on Gaius Baltar's life." Both men shared a brief laugh. Tigh got up and walked over to Adama's "medicine cabinet", pulled down a small glass, and poured a very small dose of ambrosia, just enough to give him a jolt. "So how's Bulldog doing? I couldn't believe it when I heard he had survived. He's one tough son-of-a-bitch."
"He always was. Next to Kara, and maybe Lee, he's the best jock I ever saw."
"Mmm, I'll drink to that", Saul said with feeling.
"You'll drink to anything, if you want my opinion."
Again Saul gave that monotone laugh. "You're damn right."
It was silent for a moment, then Tigh said what he came to say. "You gonna tell him what you did?"
Bill looked over at Tigh, an annoyed look on his face. "I did what I had to do."
"So? Tell him."
Bill sighed. "It's not gonna make any difference. The past is the past."
"C'mon, Bill, you're equivocating on this. Tell him. He's gonna find out sooner or later. It's better he learns it from you, not from someone else."
"I'll think about it, Saul", he said wearily, his headache increasing. "He's talking to the same shrink that has been helping Kara."
"Starbuck's onboard today. She showed up in CIC a little while ago."
Bill smiled. "Yeah, Laura told me both of them brought Kacey over today. How's she looking?"
"Pretty good, Bill", he said, taking a small sip of the liquid. "How does the President say she's doing."
"Laura said she's doing a lot better. She had her best session with Dr. Tribe yesterday, and Kara thinks it's the breakthrough she's been hoping for."
"She seemed in a great mood. Very un-Starbuck like if you ask me."
Bill snickered. "Low blow, Tigh."
They talked over some business, with Bill heading to CIC. Saul had done an overnight shift, filling in for one of the late night Lieutenants. His day was over.
When Saul Tigh left to talk to the Admiral, Kara left CIC herself. Before sating her curiosity about Bulldog, she needed a one-on-one with the one person who she had to talk to on the ship-Apollo.
She hand Lee went back to when Kara had been engaged to Zak. Even then, much as she loved Zak, she had immediately formed a lust for Zak's older brother. Kara thought Lee was as brave as any soul in The Fleet. She felt he had a good heart, and that, perhaps had they not been thrown into a desperate flight for their collective lives, things might have turned out differently.
She had loves Samuel T. Anders, with all her heart. But she also knew she had married Sam the night after screwing Lee on New Caprica, long before the shit hit the fan on that rock. She was sure Sam knew, and there's no doubt Dee knew of their dalliances.
Starbuck was sure Lee Adama knew the score of what and who she was now: a married woman-married to the President-and with a daughter of her own. She had been through enough Hell on New Caprica that she didn't want to go back to the way she was, and she couldn't, even if she wanted. If she did, Laura would toss her out of an airlock, and Kara would agree with Laura doing it.
But beyond anything else, they were friends. They had shared many harrowing missions since the destruction of the Twelve Colonies. She owed him, as a friend, to talk to him, and to tell him what exactly happened after Pegasus and Galactica had fled New Caprica.
Lee had been at the gym for a workout, had taken a shower, and just finished changing his clothes when there was a knock on his door.
He opened the door-and the last person he expected to see was standing in front of him, a silly grin on her face.
"Hi, Lee!" Kara snickered looking at his expression. "C'mon, Apollo, you knew I was back-you do remember seeing me not long ago, right?"
"Kara", he said, still surprised, "uh, hi. What the heck are you doing onboard Galactica?"
"You gonna at least invite me in, Lee?"
"Oh, uh, sure", he said, still a little frazzled by Kara's sudden appearance. "Come on in. Need anything to drink?"
"Just water, would do thanks."
Kara took a seat in one of Lee's chairs in his living area, Lee bringing an ice water to her.
"What brings you over here, Starbuck?" Lee's equilibrium was back.
"I decided for the first time to accompany Laura and Kacey over here to school this morning, and I wanted to get out and start getting back into the swing of things. I've already been at CIC, and I'm gonna see your father later."
"That is good to hear, Kara", he said sincerely. "I've been concerned about you since you got back. I don't know everything that happened down there, but..."
She lightly interrupted him. "That's why I'm here, Lee: I want to tell you about what happened. I've told it all to Laura, and to Dr. Tribe. I need to tell my best friend, too."
Lee looked at her suspiciously. "Best friend, eh?" There was no anger in his voice, but surprise. Last time he had seen her on New Caprica was the day before the Cylon invasion, and they had parted less than amicably. "I know what happened down there between us is in the pass, and I'm not gonna bust your chops, not with everything you've been through. I think we have to do some work on our friendship."
Kara looked down after the mild rebuke. "Lee, I trust you. I wouldn't come here today if I didn't love you to pieces. I always will. I really need to tell you what happened. Maybe that can get us back on the same page?"
Lee thought for a moment, thinking of all the arguments they had been through, but also all the really good and funny times they had shared. They were friends. There was no denying that. He wondered if their checkered history would ever let them become easy friends, with nothing else between them.
He knew they had to try.
"You're right, Kara", Lee said, putting down his drink. "We've saved each others' asses enough over the years that I owe you that courtesy."
Kara raised her glass of water. "To new beginnings."
Lee did the same, quietly responding. "To new beginnings." They each took a sip. "How far back are you gonna go with what you're gonna tell me?"
"From the day The Cylons showed up, until right now, If I can?"
Lee nodded.
For the next ninety minutes, Kara recounted the day The Cylons arrived. She had been talking to Lee from the ground, asking for some medication for Sam. The Epidemic was not yet realized, but Sam had become terribly ill. It was during that call that The Cylons jumped in, forcing the two Battlestars to retreat for more than eighteen months.
"When I, and Tigh, and Laura, and so many others were taken prisoner", Kara lamented, "Sam was just so terribly sick. I figured he'd pull through, but the next shipment of supplies was supposed to arrive two days after that..." She paused, staring straight ahead, thinking about all that horror. She looked sharply at Lee. "He died four days after I was taking prisoner. That first confinement was its own hell."
She recalled for Lee the Doll House, Leoben's fantasy world, and did so in remarkable detail, not leaving much out.
"I came so damn close to losing my sanity, Lee", she said, again, staring off into space, as if looking backward toward New Caprica. "He'd act like we were this old-fashioned husband and wife, cooking dinner, talking about the day...then he brings Kacey home one day."
Kara closed her eyes, thinking about the first time she had seen the little girl, and thinking that she looked so much like she had looked as a child. It had scared her. "I didn't want anything to do with Kacey. Nothing. I was horrified to think that The Cylons had used my stolen ovary to get an egg, and fertilize it..." She almost couldn't say it without getting sick. "And fertilize it with Leoben's sperm."
Lee looked away, feeling sick to his own stomach. He took a large gulp of water, then refilled both their glasses, wishing it was later in the day so they could drink something stronger.
"I finally accepted her. I tell her the Sam is her 'real' father", she said with a small smile, Lee nodding in approval.
"Have you?" Lee left the rest unspoken. Kara caught it.
"No, I haven't taken a maternity test yet. I need to get over my...difficulties before I do that. No one has claimed her, so even if she's not biologically mine, I can't see giving her up, Lee. She and Laura are my life now."
"She does look like you, of that there's no doubt", he said with a helpful smile. "Just as long as she has Laura's temperament?"
"She's fraked either way, if she's like either one of us", Starbuck responded with a laugh. "She saved me, Lee. Kacey coming into my life got me through it."
Kara did break down when talking about her second confinement: the rapes, the torture, the humiliation. She didn't go into detail about how she had ended up in therapy, simply telling Lee she was having trouble being intimate with her wife. Lee didn't press it, and didn't want to. That was her information to share or deny.
"It's definitely PTSD", she said, almost embarrassed. "I just freaked out on Laura one morning. I'm getting there, Lee. Gods, Laura's been so damn patient with me, and I love her forever for it."
"How did...how the frak did you end up with Roslin?" The surprise in his voice, coupled with a goofy smirk, made Kara burst out in a loud laugh, Lee laughing with her.
"We found each other, Lee", she said simply. "We weren't looking for anything, the gods know, but...love is strange."
"So say we all", he said with a softer smile. He took a deep breath. "Gods, Kara, what you went through down there-what you all went through there. I see now why Tigh and a few others had a problem with our attitude on the ships. I can't...I don't think I could have survived it."
"I wonder if I really did survive it, if you get my drift". Lee again nodded his understanding. "I still feel like I'm in this surreal alternate reality some days. But...I am getting there, I promise."
"Are you gonna come back to flying?"
Kara shrugged. "Probably, in one form or another. Maybe I'll just be Laura's chauffeur around the fleet", she said with a snicker. "Maybe I can get a permanent gig driving Colonial One."
Lee laughed and rolled his eyes. "Gods help the President", he said with his own snort of laughter. "But, to be honest...you deserve to pick whatever you want to do, Starbuck. You've earned it, and earned it in a way no one should have to go through."
"I'll most likely come back as a jock", she hinted to him. "It's what I do best, and the lords know we need everyone doing what they do best right now. I'm gonna need a helluva lot of SIM and stick time, in both the Vipers and the Raptors. I'm sure I'm rusty."
"It'll come back to you in no time, Kara", Lee said confidently. "It's like riding a bike-and I'll bet you my last cubit that you fly a Viper better than you ride a bike."
She gave him another goofy look. "I don't know if that was a compliment or a criticism, Adama." They both chuckled.
Kara started to say more, but Lee knew where things were going next. "I'm...tickled pink that you've found Laura and Kacey, Kara. You know, we've had some very good times together-and we can still have some good times together-as friends." He paused for a moment. "You know, when we were away from Pegasus, Dee was my First Officer?" Kara looked surprised, but didn't comment. "She took a crazy situation, and made it manageable. She kicked my ass when I needed it. I've finally realize that, well, I'm so much better with her. She's good for me."
"Yes", Kara said with a surprising firmness, "she is, Lee." She looked carefully at him. "Dee and I will never buddy-buddy, but I hope we can come to some kind of truce, Lee. I have some issues right now-when don't I? But I've found the loves of my life, with Laura and Kacey. I don't want to frak that up."
"I don't want you too, either."
They quieted for a few moments, then Kara remembered one question she wanted to ask. "Oh, I almost forgot, Dee is actually setting up some things in the pilot room for me to study. I just want to make sure you're OK with that, or if the jocks will be needing it soon."
"I'm off-duty right now, but normal schedule, no, it should be free. What are you studying."
"I told the Colonel that I wanted to take a look at the Dradis, the video, and some stills from Bulldog's escape here. I'm just interested in seeing what happened." That wasn't the truth, but on this one, Kara didn't want to reveal what she was thinking.
"That's fine, Starbuck. You want any help?"
She shook her head. "Nah. I'm not used to so much mayhem, and a little quiet time to take a peek at the info is what I need."
"That sounds good", Lee said, rising. Kara rose with him.
The two looked at each other, realizing that the eighteen months apart-Kara on New Caprica, and Lee on Pegasus, while not pleasant, had matured both of them.
"Look, Kara", Lee said, glancing at his bare feet for a moment. "I know what I said earlier-yeah, we didn't end on a good note when we had to bug out, but you're always my friend, and I'm glad you felt you could open up to me."
"I needed to, Lee", she said honestly. "I've talked to the shrink, and my wife, and sometimes, you need that one friend who won't judge you for whatever you're talking about."
"I can't even put myself in your shoes, Starbuck, let alone judge you. I am so sorry that you lost Sam, and your imprisonments, but I'm happy with all my heart about Laura and Kacey. However", he said, just as she was starting to speak, "you have to make sure Kacey gets to know her Uncle Lee and Aunt Dee."
Starbuck snickered. "Uncle Lee?"
Lee looked slightly offended. "Well...Kacey's gonna have lots of aunts and uncles around here, at least honorary...I mean, shouldn't I be one?"
Kara laughed at him, but not in a demeaning way. "Of course you should. After all, every kid needs that one, crazy uncle."
"Oh", he said with a huff, "thanks a whole lot." They both laughed, then went quiet for a moment. Kara suddenly reached out and wrapped him in a hug.
"I do love you, Lee", she said truthfully, breaking the embrace and looking at him. "I always will. But I'm beginning to really find myself, despite...everything in the last few months."
"I'll always keep a special place in my heart for you, Kara. Just...don't be a stranger around here, OK?"
"You won't be saying that if I become CAG again", she said with an impish grin.
"You're right', he laughed, "so get out of here while I still feel that way." They both laughed, hugged once more, and Kara left without a backward look, Lee smiling.