-Chapter Two-

"Lee-Lee" a small quite voice rang out through the darkness nearly making Kara faint.

"I'm here Emmy" lee replied walking forward and picking up a little girl who looked about six or seven. She had curly brown hair and beautiful brown eyes. Once he had a secure hold on the little girl he walked over to confused and stunned Kara.

"Emmy do you know who this is?" he asked the girl gesturing to Kara.

The girl looked at Kara then back at Lee. Then as she looked at Kara again she said,

"Its Starbuck, the second best pilot in the universe".

She turned back to look at the man holding her to see if she was right. Lee nodded but Kara laughed.

"Kara this is Emma Wood" lee said gesturing to the girl in his arms ignoring Kara's laugh.

As Kara stepped forward the girl turned to look at her again.

"Kid I'm the best pilot in the universe" she stated as a greeting. The girl shook her head at this comment.

"No Lee-Lee's the best pilot in the universe, he saved me so he's the best" she stated before hugging Lee.

"That's right Emmy, but I have to talk to Starbuck so would you be able to play with your toys for a little while?" Lee asked placing Emmy down on a bed in the corner of the room that Kara had only just noticed. Emmy nodded before turning her back on Kara and Lee and picking up an old worn teddy bear. Sighing again Lee gestured a still stunned Kara to two chairs in the other corner of the room. She sat down and looked at Lee as he sat down opposite her. He had a lot of explaining to do.

"Lee Adama"

It was a statement as well as a question.

Lee shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Gods should he begin? Lifting his head he looked into his best friends eyes. He knew he could trust her.

"Alright better start at the beginning" he muttered under his breath Kara just stared as she awaited his explanation.

"okay when the president called me during that triad came she sent me over to the Geminon Traveler because there were rumors of fights breaking out and children getting involved." he stopped and looked over at the little girl who was playing in the corner. He looked back at Kara as he continued.

"When I got there I was directed by the captain to a section of the ship where most of the fights were. That's were I found Emma." lee stopped to take a breath. He hated this bit. Kara just waited patiently for him to go on.

"There was this guy there beating her up, got no idea who he was. Anyway I went over there and tried to get him to stop it but got punched instead"

"Ahh" thought Kara. That explained the black eye.

"We rolled around for a bit but the guy wouldn't give. It ended-" Lee stopped to take a breath but found he couldn't go on. Even after the life they had been living he still couldn't believe what he had done.

Kara took his hand when she noticed his hesitation. Lee took another deep breath to continue.

"Well he went for my gun but I was quicker. I swear I didn't mean to kill him Kara, it was just a shitty shot" He added almost in a whisper. Kara squeezed his hand as acceptance. She understood how hard it was sometimes to do your duty.

"Anyway I went back to the quarters to see if Emma was okay and she kind of just latched onto me and wouldn't let go" he looked up at Kara as he finished his story. He had left out the part about Emma having almost no clothes on and the fact that it looked like she hadn't eaten or drunk in about three days. Kara must have seen the pain in his eyes as he remembered Emmy's scared face because she moved her chair closer to his.

"But why have you been keeping her a secret Lee? Kara asked as she gently squeezed lee's hand again.

"Because when I called dad to see if I could bring her back he said no. I couldn't leave her there Kara, she would have died. I just couldn't do it" lee replied barely above a whisper.

"She cried when I tried to leave so I just thought that if I tried I could get her through security and into safety she would be okay" he added his voice still barely above a whisper. He then went on to explain how he had hidden her on the raptor and then hidden her here on galactica and sneaking her, his rations which explained why no one had seen him eat.

"So that's why you've been disappearing so much" Kara questioned when lee finished. Lee nodded and looked over at Emmy and smiled. She had fallen asleep.

"She was having nightmares so I came here at night to make sure she was okay". Lee stated.

Kara leaned over and gave lee a hug. He could be so sweet sometimes. If the hug surprised him, he didn't show it. Instead he held her tighter glad to have shared his secret with someone else. Pulling away Kara had a sudden idea.

"Lee I can help look after her if you want" she asked. Lee looked at her questioningly

"You sure Kara?"

"Yeah lee you look like you could use a break, but your dealing with the temper tantrums" she joked.

Lee smiled gratefully. Full time child caring was tiring him out a bit.

"Thanks Kara you're an angel, now my only problem is keeping this from my dad" he said as he pulled his hands away from Kara's to rub his face.

"Oh don't worry Lee-Lee, I think we'll work it out" starbuck stated smiling. Lee smiled too at her use of the nickname Emmy had created for him.

Suddenly the ships speakers were alive with Dee's voice,

"Could the CAG please report to CIC, pass the word for Captain Adama please report to CIC"

Lee groaned. Gods would he ever had time off? Unfortunately the announcement had also woken Emmy.

"Do you have to go fly vipers Lee-Lee?" she asked sleepily when he rose from the table. Lee walked over and gave Emmy a small kiss on the head.

"Sorry Emmy duty calls I'll be back later okay" he asked as he rose again. Emmy smiled

"As long as starbuck can stay with me" she said. Lee turned to Starbuck expecting to see a discussed expression despite their earlier conversation. He was pleasantly surprised by her smile.

"Oh course I'll stay kid" she said as she too rose and walked over to Emmy's bed.

"You sure Kara?" Lee asked again. Starbuck smiled and pointed to the door.

"Yeah I've got nothing better to do," she said still smiling

"Work calls Captain, don't be too long" she added.

Lee returned the smile and headed out of the hatch. Back to the reality of war.

A/N thanks to all the wonderful people who submitted reviews. They really helped. Hope I did better on the grammar this time. It really helps the writing process especially as this is my first fic. Thanks again!