"Hold still," Sharon Valerii told Kara with a smile.

"Are you giving orders to your commanding officer?" Kara asked, feigning shock.

"Yes, Sir, now do it." They both laughed, but Kara obligingly stopped messing around with her dress uniform. They were both standing in front of the mirror that was in Sharon's locker as she finished fixing her friend's hair. Kara hadn't found the time to get her blonde locks cut in the past few months, and her hair was officially the longest it had been since primary school: just about chin length. Sharon had put makeshift-curlers in her hair when it was wet earlier in the day, and they were now seeing how well their experiment had worked.

"Wow," Sharon said as she took out the last curler and admired her handiwork. "Pretty nice job, if I do say so myself."

Kara laughed. "Very nice."

"Lee's going to be in awe."

"Yeah, I can't remember when was the last time he saw me dressed up…or at least as dressed up as you can get while in uniform."

"You could have worn a dress," Sharon reminded her.

Kara shot her a Look. "Yeah, like that was going to happen."

"Okay, turn around, let me see." Kara obeyed. She was in full dress uniform, actually wearing some make-up that Sharon had somehow managed to find, and, of course, there was her hair. "You look amazing."

"I look like a girl," Kara countered. Sharon laughed.

"Yeah, you do, but that's okay, because you're getting married."

There was a knock on the hatch, and Adama entered the pilot's bunkroom. "At ease," he told them both before they could react. "I'm not a commander today."

"I'm going to go see how close they are to being ready," she told Kara, excusing herself.

"Thank you for your help," she told her friend. Sharon smiled.

"I'm just returning the favor." Kara had helped her out a few months ago when she'd married Tyrol. It was amazing how parallel their lives had become.

Alone with her soon-to-be father-in-law, Kara felt a blush warm her cheeks as he took in the sight of her. "I'm cutting my hair tomorrow," she told him, only half-joking.

"You look beautiful," he replied.

"Thank you, Sir…So are you nervous, or is it just me?"

Adama smiled. "What are you nervous about?" he asked. Kara was quiet for a long moment.

"That this is all a dream…and all too soon I'm going to wake up."

The hatch opened again, and Sharon stuck her head in. "They're ready," she told her friend. Adama extended a hand to her; even though he was actually receiving her into his family instead of letting her go, she couldn't have imagined anyone else giving her away.

"Shall we?" he asked. Kara smiled, putting her own hand inside of his. Just before they left the room, he whispered in her ear, "If this is a dream, then hopefully none of us wake up."


The ceremony was being held in the officer's mess hall, and Lee did have to remind himself to breathe when he saw Kara. He hadn't asked what she and Sharon were going to be doing all day, holed up in the latter's bunkroom, but he hadn't expected this.

"You lose a bet?" Lee whispered in Kara's ear as she stood beside him in front of the priest. She gave him a sideways look that let him know she'd pay him back later.

"We are here on this day," the priest began, "To celebrate one of life's greatest moments, to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love, and to add our best wishes to the words that shall unite Kara and Lee in marriage. Aphrodite, hear our prayers: Lord of love, lend your bright powers. Guide this pairing with wisdom, fill their hearts with tender devotion, and let them dance the love and passion of equals." He then directed his words toward the couple. "Life is given to each of us as individuals, and yet, we must learn to live together. We learn to love by being loved. Learning to live and live together is one of the greatest challenges of life – and is the shared goal of a married life."

On the Colonies, it had been tradition for a couple to crown each other with flower stems woven together into circles, symbols of unending devotion. Living among the fleet, flowers were scarce, but they had wound some spare wire into shape, and the meaning behind the tradition hadn't changed.

Lee placed Kara's crown upon her head first. "I take thee to be my wife, my constant friend, my faithful partner and my love from this day forward. I promise to love you unconditionally, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both live."

"I take thee to be my husband," she responded, putting his crown in place, "my constant friend, my faithful partner and my love from this day forward. I promise that I will love you unconditionally, honor and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, and cherish you as long as we both shall live."

"May the Lords bless you and keep you," the priest told them. "May they be gracious unto you and give you peace and happiness. So say we all."

"So say we all," the small group assembled echoed. Lee leaned forward and kissed Kara.

"I guess we're stuck with each other now," he told her. She laughed.

"Oh, darn."


Several of their other friends joined them for dinner in the mess hall after the ceremony. By the end of the meal, it felt like they'd been congratulated by the entire crew. The couple finally slipped away from the crowd intent upon enjoying the fact that they'd managed to get the next twenty-four hours off.

"Lee, where are we going?" Kara asked once she realized that they weren't heading towards his office.

"Our quarters," he easily replied. She smirked.

"You get lost, or are we taking a long way for some reason?"

"Not lost at all." A moment later, he took out a key and unlocked a door that was on their right. They were down in the area that had gotten designated as family quarters. "Tada," Lee said with a little grin as he opened the hatch. Kara stared for a moment.

"Don't even think about carrying me inside," she told him.

"Wouldn't dream of it. I have a healthy respect for your right hook." They both went inside and looked around. It was much larger than their old room, probably twice the size. The bed was actually designed for two people, as was the storage space. There was also a smaller room off to the side.

"Is that your new office?" Kara asked.

"I was thinking about just getting one set up by the CIC. Make it easier for people to find me when I'm on-duty, and harder to get interrupted when I'm not."

Kara grinned. "I like that idea."

"I thought you might."

"So this place is really ours?"

"It really is. Unless you've got some objection."

"Nope." She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her lips to his. "So do you think we ought to…make it official?" she asked with a wicked grin.


TBC...