- God, Interrupted, Chapter 8

Lee scanned the area quickly for any signs of Six. He didn't hear gun fire, and that was good. It meant she had missed running into these seven or so people and their semi-automatic weapons. Now, if they weren't people….well, that would be a problem.

"You've got ten seconds to show me you're not a Cylon, or you've got a bullet." A man shouted at him. He had broken away from the group and was moving closer to Lee.

"How do you expect me to do that?" Lee asked.

"Start with your name." The man was now close enough to not have to shout.

"Lee Adama. I'm a captain in the Colonial Fleet."

The man raised an eyebrow. "Lee Adama, is that right?" His eyes moved to the patch on the sleeve of Lee's flight suit. "You're a viper pilot?"

Lee nodded. "Yes."

"What ship?"

"I was on the Galactica right before the attacks."

A huge smile crossed the man's face and he lowered his rifle. "Well, frak me, Captain Adama." he said, shaking Lee's hand. "I know someone who's been looking all over the place for you."

Lee's heart and mind started to race at the same time. Someone was looking for him? Was there a rescue party? "Who?" was all he could manage.

"Lieutenant Kara Thrace. Say's her call sign's Starbuck. Know her?"

Lee's stomach twisted into a knot. Kara? "Yeah, I know her."

"Apparently, she found your viper," the man continued, "and she swears she's not leaving this planet without you, dead or alive." He gave Lee a conspiratorial wink. "'Alive,' was definitely her first choice."

Lee tried to hide his shock. Based on his last conversation with Kara, through the bars of Galactica's brig, he was sure 'dead' would have been her first choice. Maybe she just wanted to kill him herself.

"Oh, hey," the man said, shaking Lee's hand again. "I'm Samuel Anders, by the way. Captain of the Caprica Buccaneers."

"The pyramid team?" Lee asked.

"Yup." He motioned to the others. "That's some of my team. We were training in the mountains when the Cylons attacked. That's what kept us alive, initially. Since then, we've formed a small resistance force against the Cylons with other survivors. Our camp is in Delphi, at the high school. There are twenty-five of us…or twenty-six now." He slapped Lee on the shoulder and smiled. "Come on, I'll take you there. I can't wait to see Kara's face when she sees you."

Lee hoped that was a good thing.

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As they walked, Sam told Lee that the man he and Six had encountered a few days back was one of the resistance fighters and that he had reported Lee's location back to them. Curiously, it didn't seem that the man told them that Lee had shot at him.

"What happened to the toaster?" Sam asked.

Lee wondered how many times had he called her a toaster in his head, but, strangely, hearing someone else call her that put him on the defensive. He understood that that was all she ever would be to them, and knew they would never understand what she was to him. He quickly swallowed the ball of resentment that rose up inside him.

"I don't know." He answered softly. "She was gone when I woke up."

"Should have killed her when you had the chance."

Lee shook his head. "She saved my life."

Thankfully, Sam left it at that.

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Lee decided he liked Samuel Anders. The man was friendly and open and Lee respected the fact that he was capable of keeping himself and twenty-four other people alive for as long as he had. Not bad for a jock.

The two men fell into easy conversation, trading stories along the way, and by the time they reached the high school, a casual observer would have thought they were old friends. That's why Kara didn't pay much attention at first when she saw the group walk over the hill. Then her mind finally processed what her eyes had seen: there were eight. When Sam had left that morning, there were seven.

She checked again. Eight. She lifted the binoculars to her eyes for a closer look and her hands started shaking.

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Lee heard her call his name and looked up. Kara was just a few yards away from him and quickly closing the gap. She was smiling broadly at him through tears that were running down her cheeks, and any reservations Lee had about this meeting going badly flew out the window. He met her in two long steps, grabbed her into a hug, lifted her off the ground and spun her around before setting her back down. She didn't let go right away. She held him for a little while longer before pulling away to look at him.

Her eyes moved over his face like a soft caress before locking onto his. He brought his hand up to her hair and ran his fingers through it. "You're letting your hair grow." He whispered, keeping his eyes on hers.

She nodded almost imperceptibly.

"I like it."

She smiled at the compliment. Slowly she slid her hands up the sides of his face and into his hair, pulling his face closer to hers. She kissed him so softly that Lee thought he was imagining it, but as she became more confident, the kiss became stronger and he allowed himself to get lost in the feel of her. Finally, she broke off the kiss and hugged him again, burying her face in his neck.

"Lee Adama," she said softly, so only he could hear, "I made a promise to myself that if I ever saw you again, I would hold onto you and never let you go."

A/N: Thanks to all who have read and reviewed so far (or just read - you're important to me too). A special thanks to the Lee/Kara shippers who have suffered through Lee/Six for seven chapters...I appreciate yourhanging in there and for keeping the faith. I can't promise a happy ending (she says with a wink) but please keep reading!