A/N: Well, this is the end then. This chapter goes AU, obviously.

I want to thank you all for reading this story and especially for giving me wonderful feedback!

Epilogue; 10 months later: Living

The Raptor lands on Galactica hangar bay. I feel my hands get sweaty. I'm nervous, almost as nervous as I was before my wedding ceremony a few weeks back.

From the moment I flew away from Caprica I knew I would meet Anders again someday. I just hadn't expected it to take this long. After all that happened on Kobol we were on a constant run from the Cylons for a long time. Only after it had been fairly calm for a couple of weeks we dared to start thinking about other things than fighting. Like the wedding which was actually worse for my nerves than the fighting had ever been. And the rescue party I had promised. We knew it was risky and might lead the Cylons to the fleet's whereabouts which is why we made some precautions and left only one ship with a voluntary crew to the rendezvous point. Not the Galactica though.

I know I kind of broke my promise to Anders twice when I first was not part of the rescue team and then I was not even welcoming them on the Astral Queen, which had been waiting at the rendezvous point. I had had no choice in the matter, it had been a team effort to keep me from going. My darling husband had started the notion, doc Cottle had made a strong suggestion and finally the Commander had finalized the deal. It was presented to me as to either accept it or get sent to the brig right away to be released after the team had left. I know I ought to have been mad as hell but I just couldn't. I owed it to Lee to stay behind.

He knows about Anders, of course. To love and honor also means no big secrets. Actually he had already guessed something after I told about the survivors on Caprica and from Helo's odd comments now and then but he waited for me to tell him. I was so scared of something similar happening like after that thing with Baltar that I actually cooked up a big fat lie but in the end I knew that lying would just make things worse and come bite me in the ass someday so I just sat him down and told him the whole truth. I was so proud of him that I actually shed a couple of tears when he after closing his eyes for a moment and taking a few deep breaths eventually told me that it doesn't matter to him anymore because he knows that he has all of me now. I decided then and there that I wasn't going to be joining the future rescue team. I don't want him to ever be uncertain of me again.

I didn't see the need for exchanging any rings or wedding wows and frankly neither did Lee. The whole ceremony was for a greater cause, as the Commander so eloquently put it. He explained that not only would the ceremony make our relationship better accepted in the eyes of the military, it would also give a much needed morale boost throughout the whole fleet. It would show the civilians that even Viper pilots, their defenders, still dared to plan their lives ahead and create real relationships. And the huge party which was extended to every ship didn't hurt either.

Me and Lee, we guessed very early on that the one who actually needed the ceremony was the Commander himself. He was getting softer after being forced to face his own mortality. We saw it the minute we told him about our relationship. His eyes and a small smile showed that he started to plan the wedding right away and envision his proud double part as the father who would first give up the blushing bride and then stand by his son and keep him from fainting. Lee just never threatened to faint and I refused to blush. I stumbled while the walk and stuttered with the words but. I. Did. Not. Blush.

When we danced our first dance as a married couple we saw the looks on both the Commander's and the President's face. It was so smug it made as laugh at their apparent self-satisfaction. Evidently they both thought that this was all their doing and they were being very proud of themselves. Like me and Lee had nothing to do with this wedding or relationship happening, it was all orchestrated by them. Anyway, it was nice to know that we had given them something to be happy about and it made us feel a bit more comfortable with our "public humiliation". We tried to tolerate the party, without much success, until we could sneakily escape to our honeymoon quarters. Some honeymoon, 36 hours leave and then back to fly the CAP.

Well, the leave was longer than we had expected but the humiliation part lasted for days. We were referred as "the glowing newlyweds" or "the blissfully happy young couple" by our pilots and the deck crew gave us not so subtle glances and nods towards vacant storage rooms after our flight shifts. It lasted until I almost decked Jammer and Lee put Kat to the brig for two days for being 'unrespectful towards her commanding officers'. He should've thought of a better charge, I know. Well, that put a stop to it, mostly anyway, and Kat ended up spending two hours in the brig instead of two days and Jammer got a scare of his life but not a bloody nose. After that, we were left alone. I guess everybody just wanted to check out if the marital status had melted our brains somehow. They were pushing their luck to the limit, I say.

The Raptor door opening cuts my thoughts. Helo comes out first and right behind him the man I am dreading to meet. I try to plaster a happy welcoming smile to my face but I know it looks fake. Nevertheless, I am happy to see him alive and well and with so many other survivors.

- Kara? Kara! Thank the Lords you're alright! I was sure something had happened to you when I didn't see you with the rescue team but then Helo told me that you would be meeting me here with the rest of the fleet. Why didn't you come? You promised. I was waiting for you.

Anders runs to me and he encloses me to a tight embrace. I hug him back but then I think he senses my reluctance to stay in the embrace and he lets me go. He still holds me by my shoulders though.

- Hey. It's so good to see you're alright. I'm sorry I couldn't be there with the team but it was out of my hands. It was either brig or consent and that ultimatum came directly from the Commander with some help from the doctor. And since I already know the insides of the brig more intimately than I care to admit….

- Doctor? Are you injured?

- What? No, no injuries now, just … something. So tell me, how is Caprica these days?

In my nervousness I slipped out something that I really didn't intend to say so I needed to change the subject fast.

- Caprica is…. dead. I guess that's a right word to describe it. We sent search parties to as far as we could to try and find other survivors but we came up almost empty. One party found a small group of campers who also had found meds and food from some ruined city but that was it. We lost a few but we managed. Fortunately one of the campers was a trained nurse. And we waited for you. I waited for you.

He moves his hands from my shoulders down to my arms and looks at me from head to toes. Then he takes my hands in his and my gut reaction is to pull away from his touch. That's when he notices the slim band on my left hand and he squeezes my hands tighter.

- What is this?

I know I look as uncomfortable as I feel. I had hoped to tell him about this more gently but my way has always been more in the line of direct confrontation so I just blurt it out.

- Hmm, this? Well, you know it's actually kind of funny and it just sort of happened… You see, I got married.

I aim for a grin but it comes out as a weird quirk. Anders lets go of my hands as if they are burning him and he takes a step back.

- You what?

I'm silently praying for Lee to come and rescue me from this but I know he won't. I made him swear to me he let me handle this all by myself. What an idiot I was…

- I… ah… well, you see, there's this… I mean the marriage part was a bit of a surprise for me, but…

- This is… Frak! Just tell me one thing. Did you already love this guy back then… back in Caprica? Or is this a new thing or something?

I feel nauseous and I want to look anywhere but in his eyes but I owe to him, as well as to myself and Lee, to make this matter clear here and now. So I watch him straight to the eyes and take a deep breath.

- Yes, I did already love him.

- Then why? Why were you playing around with me if you already were in love with another man?

- Things were complicated and I was very confused. I think we both were, me and him I mean. But I still loved him. I had loved him for a very long time already. I thought that I had finally frakked things up completely to loose him forever but it was a relief to notice that I hadn't after all. I know this isn't much of an excuse but it's the only one I have. I'm very sorry I hurt you. I never meant to because believe it or not I really cared for you and you meant a lot to me. I hope you believe that. Some day I would very much like you to get to know my husband and then we could tell the whole story to you but I guess for now it is a bit too much to ask, from either one of you.

The man in front of me is quiet for a long time but he still looks at me. Then he looks past me, scans the crowd behind me and finally makes a small nod. I know Lee is standing there somewhere close observing this reunion. Not because he is jealous but just in case this guy isn't that much of a great guy I have assured him to be. So I guess it isn't that hard for Anders to figure out who my husband is. He just needs to find the one man who doesn't even try to hide the fact that he isn't going to leave his wife out of his sight. Apparently the man in front of me receives some sign of acknowledgment because he turns his eyes back to mine.

- Well, what else is there to say then? There's no point in me making a scene here because your husband there would probably break my neck himself or have me shot if I as much as raise my voice too much.

- Nah, he knows he wouldn't have to. I would do it myself.

- I bet you would. Wow, this was definitely not the way I had figured our reunion to happen. It included a lot more hugging, some kissing and maybe even a few tears of joy. Well, I'm happy you're happy and that you got what you wanted in life. Lords know it's not an easy achievement in this world these days.

- Yes, I am very happy.

- So what will I be calling you by then? Is it still Kara Thrace?

- Well, yes. Officially it's Lieutenant Thrace-Adama now but everybody still calls me Thrace. You know, to avoid any confusions.

- And your husband's name is…?

- Captain Lee Adama, Commander of Air Group aka CAG.

- If I get this correct he's your superior officer and your commander. Wow Thrace, that's….

- Stop it right there. He's a great CAG and he has earned everyone's respect, including mine. But everybody also knows that I just let him act all superior. Besides, I made him a promise that I would at least try to behave and be respectful when there are other people in the room. Good news is that he has sent me to the brig only once since I got back so I must be learning something.

- He sent you to the brig? He's your husband, that's not….

- Hey, the deal is that if I show disrespect in a wrong situation he doesn't have to show any respect to me either. Bottom line is that he's the CAG and I'm one of his pilots and I'm supposed to behave whether he's my husband or not. Will it make it better if I tell you that he spent the night in the next sell so that I didn't have to sleep alone?

- Why the next sell, why not with you?

- Come on, this is a Battlestar, we do not have group parties in our sells, at least not THAT kind of parties… Besides, there's a guard….

- Right, right. So, I guess I'll be seeing you around then.

- Yes you will, probably sooner than later.

I don't believe for a minute that Anders has been pining after me as much as he insinuates. When Anders was scanning to see who my husband was I saw some girl I didn't recognise in the group of survivors give me dirty looks. The kind of looks I know I would be giving if I saw someone flirting with Lee. I just probably wouldn't leave it to just giving the looks. I know I know, I'm a bad person, he's gorgeous and I get a little jealous sometimes. Something in the hormones, I think….

At first I thought I might feel something resembling jealousy because hey, I'm a woman, and Anders was supposed to be left feeling devastated after I left and not just jump to the next chick, but the feeling stays away. So there truly is nothing there anymore. It's really all Lee's, all there is inside me.

These new people are good fighters and with proper training they will get better. The fleet needs them. I know it will probably be Lee himself to approach first Anders and then the others. Lee wants to let Anders know that he doesn't feel intimidated by his presence and that he is ready to take the first step. Also it doesn't hurt that if Anders ever considers a career as a pilot he would already know who the boss is going to be. The identity of the instructor on the other hand might be good to be left as a surprise though.

I turn my back to my one-time lover and walk towards my husband's waiting embrace. I don't turn to look if Anders is still watching because he probably is and it doesn't matter. Right now I just want a hug and a kiss from my husband, screw the crowd and protocol.

Relief is washing through me and I can feel the tight knot in my stomach loosen. I survived this and nobody even got any permanent physical or psychological damage. The feeling of relief is so powerful that I feel there is nothing I can't deal with. Then I remember the reason why doc Cottle was involved in all this and the knot comes straight back. Oh crap. It will take a lot more than one hug and a kiss to make it go away again. Zak was so totally wrong. The promise he made me do in my dream got me grounded after all. Oh well, the blame is all on him then.

THE END