Chapter Ten

Three months later

Kara pushed open her office door, balancing a stack of files under one arm and a cup of coffee in the other. She took a few cautious steps towards her desk, spilling a few drops of coffee on her hand. She swore as she put the coffee safely down, adding the files to the pile that almost covered her desk.

Gods, how she hated paperwork. Evaluations, assignments, reports, profiles – why couldn't she just teach the damn cadets to fly without having to fill in six thousand papers to prove it?

Still, at least there was only a week of term left. Two blessed weeks of freedom stretched out temptingly before her. Zak was already making plans. A few days walking in the Caprican mountains, he'd suggested. Kara had never been there. And they could stop in at his mother's on the way back.

Kara had found herself agreeing without protest. Visiting his mother at Solstice hadn't been half as bad as she had feared. She had even kept her promise and rung Caroline to tell her all about the VIP trip to the Panthers game. When she put the phone down, she saw to her amazement that she'd been chatting for an hour. She was quite relaxed at the prospect of visiting her again.

Lee might be there too. Kara had been surprised how much she'd missed him these last couple of months. Particularly when she'd only known him for a week.

It was just little things, really. She'd hear jokes that would amuse him, and wish he was there to tell them to. Or she'd be beating everyone at triad or video games or pyramid and wish he was there to give her a proper challenge. Or she'd be loading a new programme into the simulators and wish he was there to test it out with her.

It would be good to see him again. He was a nice guy. She'd been afraid he would pass on what she'd said to him about her mother to Zak, but he hadn't said a word. Made it clear to her that he wouldn't bring up the subject again unless she wanted him to.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her office door.

"Come in!" she yelled, seizing at the distraction from her paperwork.

One of her fellow instructors popped his head around the door. "Hey, Starbuck. You've got a visitor."

She frowned, puzzled. Who could that be? "Show them in."

His head disappeared, and Kara got to her feet. The door swung wide and her mouth opened with surprise as a familiar figure walked into the room.

"Lee!"

"Hi, Kara." He looked slightly awkward. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," said Kara. She felt a huge grin spreading across her face. "Lee, what the hell are you doing here? Zak didn't tell me you were coming!"

"He didn't know." Lee smiled slowly. "Well, even I didn't know until I was already on my way – I wasn't sure I'd be able to swing the leave pass. There wasn't time to call – not that Zak's ever easy to get hold of, anyway."

Kara rolled her eyes. "Ain't that the truth. So how long have you got?" She waved him to a chair.

Lee sat down gratefully. "Long weekend. I have to fly back Sunday night."

"Have you seen Zak yet?" Kara still couldn't believe he was really here.

"Not yet. The woman in the admin office said he was in a class. So I thought I'd look you up instead."

"I'm touched," said Kara teasingly, putting a hand over her heart.

Lee flushed slightly. "Well, I also thought – it might help, while I'm staying. If people think we're friends, they won't think it odd if you spend time with me and Zak."

Kara stared at him for a moment, mouth open. "You know, that's really quite clever of you, Lee. I didn't think you had it in you."

Lee sent her a sarcastic glance. "What can I say? I have hidden depths."

He certainly did, Kara thought. She wouldn't have expected him to be so considerate.

"So it sounds as if Zak is in class all afternoon," said Lee, leaning back in his chair and stretching his arms. "Do you mind keeping me company until then?"

"Not at all."

He looked uncertainly at the papers on her desk. "I can always go and wait in the mess hall. I don't want to keep you from your work-"

Kara let out a groan. "Please, Lee, keep me from my work."

Lee laughed. His shoulders relaxed and his face cleared. "That bad, is it?"

"You have no idea," said Kara fervently.

"Very well, let me distract you," said Lee. "What do you want to do – grab a coffee?"

"Well, we could," said Kara slowly. An idea was stirring in her brain. "Or-"

"Or what?" said Lee. He was looking at her warily.

"Or you could finally take me up on that simulator challenge." Kara smiled at him, eyes sparking. "I think there are some free this afternoon."

She was pleased to see a matching spark kindle in Lee's eyes. "You're on."

Kara grinned, a surge of anticipation running through her. "Then what are we waiting for?"

She really had missed him.

---------------------------

There was indeed a free simulator. Kara stripped off her jacket and started programming the machine.

"What are we going for?" asked Lee, coming to stand by her shoulder. "Time trial? Highest Cylon kill?"

Kara turned to look at him, smiling challengingly. "No. One-to-one combat. Winner takes the other one out."

Lee grinned, an answering challenge in his blue eyes. "You don't pull your punches, do you, Kara? I'd forgotten that."

"And I always play to win," she said arrogantly. "Don't forget that."

Lee laughed. "Never."

Kara settled herself into the simulator chair and closed the door, heart thumping in anticipation. She'd played this scenario dozens of times and it had never lasted long. No-one had ever gone against her for longer than five minutes before she took them out.

She had a feeling that was about to change.

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It did.

Lee lived up to all the skill he had shown in that arcade game. He circled and dived around her, keeping just out of her reach, skipping nimbly out of every trap she set for him. When she pulled difficult manoeuvres to scare him or force him to crash, he managed to follow her through them.

When she finally caught a breathing space to glance at the timer, she saw that they had been at it for ten minutes.

Finally, finally she'd found someone to challenge her, to keep pace with her. Gods, she wished they'd met at flight school.

He fired a shot that nearly took out the nose of her viper. She twisted away just in time, cursing. She couldn't allow herself to be distracted. Time to raise her game.

She pulled away from him in a classic textbook manoeuvre, one that would allow her to circle around him and catch him from behind.

She knew he'd recognise it, wouldn't fall for it. Knew he'd turn round, ready to face her. So halfway through the turn she flipped her viper, muscles screaming at the force required for a 180 degree turn at that angle. Headed right back to where she had been, guns ready to hit his blind spot.

Except it wasn't his blind spot. He hadn't turned. He'd stayed right where he was, waiting for her.

She was heading right into his line of fire. And she couldn't stop, not at this speed and angle.

Frak it. She pressed the buttons and fired, full power, just as he did the same.

Game over.

Her viper was blown apart, but so was his.

Dead heat. It seemed fitting somehow.

She unfastened the seat straps, and pushed open the door of the simulator, blinking in the sunlight. The adrenalin was surging through her and she couldn't stop grinning.

She reached Lee's simulator as he stepped out of the door, grinning just as widely as she was.

"Kara, Kara," he said, shaking his head. "Did you really think I'd fall for that old trick?"

She shrugged. "Plenty of people have."

"Ah, but I've seen enough of you to be wary. Nothing is ever as it seems with you. So when I see you pulling a stunt as obvious as that-"

She smiled smugly, leaning towards him. "Hey, I still blew you up."

"Don't forget I blew you up too." His eyes were smiling directly into hers. Kara vaguely wondered if they had always been such a vivid blue; she'd never noticed before. It was nice that they were much of a height and she didn't have to stare up at him...

She shook herself mentally. "Want to try it again?" she asked, and found she was still staring at him.

"Hell, yes," he said, eyes never leaving hers.

Kara's breath caught in her throat. Suddenly she was catapulted back to his mother's garden three months ago, lying on top of him and staring at him just like this, feeling her heart thump and the world fade away just like this…

She knew she should step back, pull her eyes away, but she couldn't. Couldn't do anything but stand there, staring at him, feeling his warm breath against her skin as he moved closer, closer, until every nerve in her body was screaming with the need to touch him.

His lips brushed hers just as the outside door flew open with a bang.

The spell shattered.

Kara and Lee jumped apart as if they had been burnt.

One of the cadets stood in the doorway, looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I didn't realise there was anyone in here-"

"It's all right," said Kara harshly. "We were just leaving." She grabbed her jacket, and blindly headed for the door, keeping her eyes well away from Lee.

Dear Lords, what had she nearly done?

He was Zak's brother.

She couldn't breathe. She needed some air.

Her mother had always said that if there was a way to screw something up, she would find it.