Part 8

Lee went searching for Kara as soon as he woke the following morning. She had left the rack early for her usual run according to Helo who, with only a hint of a grin at Lee's now shining black eye, had assured him that she had seemed much better that morning. Lee made a mental note to deal with Helo's earlier insubordination as soon other matters were less pressing. But right now Kara came first. So he traced her usual jogging route and checked the gym to no avail, then headed down to her other favorite place when she was upset. The flight deck. And, sure enough, there she was, banging at a viper trying to get it into shape again, grease smeared everywhere and cursing loudly and colorfully to herself.

'That's my girl.' Lee chuckled softly to himself, then stood staring at her as he tried to decide what to do next. He thought back to the cylon's words once more. 'I just ran up and grabbed her and I never let her go. I told her I loved her too, Lee. And it suddenly became so simple'.

Lee scratched his head, he still had difficulty believing the 'simple' part. And he knew any attempt to hug her right now was more likely to end up with him back in sick bay with a million broken bones than with the cylon's happy ever after ending. But then they never had been very good at talking. Maybe hitting him would make her feel better, and he rubbed his already swollen eye ruefully at the thought of his face taking any more punishment. Or maybe this was just one of those occasions when Lee was over-analysing again, after all Kara always had berated him for that.

'OK, Lee,' he chided himself. 'So now you're stood here thinking about whether you think too much. Great start.'

As he continued to stand there in confusion, Kara suddenly looked up as if she had felt him staring at her. Slowly she pulled herself out from under the viper and stared wordlessly back at him. Lee couldn't read the expression in her face. But he didn't think it was hate. Which left him with some hope for the safety of his body parts at least.

He searched again for the right words.

"Hey," he finally spoke, then stopped again. Was that really the best he could come up with? But they were now standing just a few feet apart, and even that one word had choked in his throat, so he made a hesitant attempt at a smile instead.

Kara stood before him now, hands firmly gripped on her hips, but did not speak. And she certainly did not smile back. Lee could feel the energy radiating from her. Gods, this woman was like a walking nuke. And woe betide anyone who got in her way when she exploded. He held her gaze as she stared at him for a few seconds before knocking past him to continue her work. But even that brief contact was enough to make Lee want more. He wanted to do just as the cylon had done. He wanted to grab her and hold her and not let her go. He wanted to keep holding onto her until she bent to his will. No matter how long it took.

He looked at his watch, the two of them were due out on viper rotation shortly. It hardly gave him much time.

"Kara," he began yet again. But she continued to ignore him. Lee shook his head as he remembered his damn order to her back in sick bay. Trust this to be the one time that Kara Thrace decided to live by the rules. He watched as she wiped her hands on her trousers and went to shoulder past him once more to attend to another part of the viper. But this time Lee was quicker and he grabbed her elbow as she went by. She shook him off roughly. Despite himself, Lee was starting to get angry again.

"I am your superior officer and I am talking to you. You will pay attention. Is that understood?" Lee kicked himself for falling back on using their ranks. He was already sure it was a mistake. But she pressed his buttons, made him so frustrated, that it had slipped out before he could stop himself. Some old habits died hard.

Starbuck paused and stared at the ground, her back to Lee. Then she slowly turned around and met Lee's eyes.

"Yes, sir," she answered, her voice strained. Lee noted the dark rings and drawn expression on her face. She looked exhausted. And Lee felt his anger disappear once more.

"I, um, that order I gave you," he began uncertainly. "Back when I was in sick bay. I ordered you not to address me unless I spoke to you or it was a direct order."

Starbuck made no comment but continued to regard him with a steady, unreadable gaze, so Lee continued.

"I think it's time I lifted that order, don't you?"

He held his breath, waiting for her reaction. But he did not expect the one he got.

"As you wish sir. Would that be all?"

Her voice was calm and it threw Lee completely. He had expected to be punched at, yelled at, or maybe, just maybe even make her smile. He missed her laugh. That all-encompassing, body-shaking laugh that could light up an entire room. He'd secretly hoped that they would be able to laugh together at the stupidity of his order. That she would tease him. Find fun in what a frakking idiot he'd been. He'd hoped that as soon as they laughed together again then it would somehow all be okay.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see the Chief watching them as he pretended to tinker with a nearby viper. Lee looked back at Kara sadly. He should have known nothing could ever be that simple.

"Would that be all, sir?" she asked again, with the same unnerving calm.

Lee held her gaze for a moment before responding quietly. "We're on duty in a few minutes. You need to finish up here and get ready."

And, as he turned away, silently berating himself once more, he was just in time to see the Chief look at him and shake his head in despair.

Twenty minutes later and Apollo and Starbuck were out where they belonged, flying in tandem as they took their turn out on the CAP. Flying helped Lee feel calm again, the enormity of space pressing down on him until his own troubles felt small and insignificant by comparison. But his calm was not to last. In fact it was not to last for very long at all.

His first warning came when he saw the flash of enemy contacts on his dradis screen. His second warning came at the sound of Dee's voice over his headphones.

"CAP. This is Galactica. You've got 20, correction 30, now 30 inbound raiders. Bearing 220-115. Speed 7 decimal 4. Range 705 and closing. Alert fighters ready and launching. All vessels preparing for emergency FTL jump. All vipers to perform immediate combat landing on my instruction."

"Copy that Galactica." Apollo responded, his pulse now racing. Thirty raiders. Not even the legendary Starbuck would bet their chances against those odds. They had to pull back towards the Galactica immediately and await the alert fighters for support before engaging the oncoming raiders. It was their only chance.

He barked these orders to Kara.

"Copy that Lee," he heard her respond. She spoke with the same unusual calm as before. It was unnerving. And the way she said his name. Lee shook his head. There was no time to analyse this now he thought, as he pulled his viper into a swift flip and began to pull back towards the oncoming alert fighters. But the uneasy sensation wouldn't leave him. Something wasn't right. And suddenly Lee didn't need any other warning to know what was wrong.

Kara. Kara was no longer by his side. She had ignored his order to turn back towards the fleet. She had gone on alone to take on all 30 raiders by herself.

And she was going to die.

To be continued….