Kara took a deep breath and knocked on the hatch door. She had been on Galactica for over a week now. She should have the strength to do this.

A strong voice beckoned her to enter, and she took one last deep breath. "I'm sorry for disturbing you, Commander, but I have a request for time off."

"Pilots have to log some hours before they get passes, Lieutenant. Then the request needs to be submitted in writing for both the XO and the commanding officer's approval." Adama didn't even bother to look up at her. "Anything else?"

"With all due respect, sir, I'm aware of protocol. I need you to break it just this once for me."

Adama's eyes lifted up to meet hers, and she could see he was intrigued. "Are you expecting special treatment from me because of the previous nature of our relationship?"

"No, sir," Kara said, stepping into the office. "In fact, I expect the opposite of you giving me special favors. I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't important."

"Tell me, Lieutenant Thrace. Do you make it a habit to find ways to break protocol?"

There was a hidden meaning laced to the words, and Kara knew that they were talking about Zak now. It was time to just cut to the chase and explain to him why he was going to hand her a pass in the next few minutes. "Sir, this is about your son."

"You needing time off has nothing to do with Zak," Adama insisted. "Unless you're planning on using the time to come up with a way to fix what you broke."


"In a way, I am, sir." Kara moved to stand in front of his desk. "I know Zak's going to be away on assignment with his ECO for the several days. I want to go down to Picon and get the things I left behind from our apar… his apartment. That way I can make this break clean and we'll both get on with our lives. I don't want to see him hurt."

"That's very noble of you." Adama set his pen down on the desk and leaned back in his chair. "Tell me, Kara. Why does this situation seem so easy for you? You just strolled into my office to ask me to help you put the last nail in the coffin for my son. You're calm and collected here when a normal person would be emotional."

"I learned to hide my discomfort at an early age," she answered honestly. "But please don't assume I'm not hurting, Commander. I love Zak."

"Loved," Adama corrected.

Kara stared at him a moment. She really wasn't sure if she was ready to take on William Adama when it came to loving his son. He had been a total absentee father in Zak's life and yet she had never seen someone so fiercely protective of his child. It was all new to her.

"It doesn't matter what you feel for Zak, Lieutenant. You knew what you were doing when you left him at the altar. I expect that you're handling this a lot better then him. Unlike you, Zak was blindsided when he found out the woman he loved didn't love him back."

Kara wanted to scream at William Adama to wake up and see what was right in front of his eyes. It was killing her to be so close to Zak and not be able to love him. This was the man she had spent months with in the flight simulators, re-teaching him how to fly after that Viper crash damaged the nerves in his right hand. She had spent hours at the hospital and their home trying to convince him his life was not over because he couldn't fly Vipers anymore. She had gone against everything she had ever learned in order to make him see that Raptors were just as important to the Fleet and that he shouldn't feel less of a man because his father pulled some strings to get him assigned to his ship. She had been two steps away from giving up her career with the military to just settle down with Zak in the forests surrounding Caprica City. She loved Zak. That was enough to make her hurt for a lifetime.

"Do you want to know what it was like after you ran away that day?"

Adama's question took her by surprise. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she had forgotten she was even in the Commander's office. "I'm sorry, sir?" she asked. The fear was starting to creep up inside of her already. Adama was asking that question for a reason, and it scared the frak out of her.

"The day you left my son, he turned to me and said his life was over. He couldn't figure out what he had done wrong to make you want to go."

"He didn't do anything wrong," Kara insisted.

"That's what his mother told him." Adama let out a small chuckle. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen Caroline so mad. She was ready to order the men on my ship to hunt you down, and she hates the military with a passion. Your little decision was making her baby boy hurt, and that is something Caroline cannot accept. Like me, she doesn't forget easily."

Kara gave a small nod. She knew William Adama was a good man to serve under, but even he had his limits. There was no way she could co-exist with a man who could have been her father-in-law. Looking at him, she felt the unspoken agreement. If they did their best to avoid each other, then the three years might fly by a little quicker. Now if she could only hold her temper in check, this might work.

"Dealing with the fallout was left on my shoulders," Adama continued, "as I was the only person who seemed to be coherent enough to handle it. I got to tell my whole family the wedding was canceled, and I couldn't even give them a reason why. You never stuck around to let me know."

Kara didn't know what to say to that, so she just stayed silent.

"The worst part was figuring out what I could do for Zak in the few hours I had left on my pass."

Kara fought the urge to shake her head in disgust. She had found it odd that Commander Adama would only request off only enough time to see the ceremony and nothing more. She had asked Zak about it a few weeks before the ceremony, but he just gave her a sad smile and looked away. Now with the Commander staring her down so intently, she understood why Zak hadn't answered her questions. This is not the type of man who thought he had to explain his motives to anyone. You don't ask him why he makes the decisions he does.

"You left Zak standing at the altar with your wedding rings in hand. He stared at them for hours. We practically had to drag him from the temple. He kept insisting that you were going to come back, that you wouldn't do this type of thing to him. So, Caroline got even more furious, and I was stuck trying to figure out even more of the logistical nightmare you created. You ripped my family's hearts in two, Kara."

Kara waited for him to continue, knowing there was one last member of the family he had yet to mention, but he only sat at his desk, waiting patiently for a response. She found herself wondering if he had really forgotten or maybe he just didn't want to tell her how Lee had reacted or somewhere deep in his subconscious he knew what had gone on minutes before she walked down the aisle or maybe there was more to William Adama's relationship with his oldest son than meets the eye.

"Sir? Where was Lee during all this? Couldn't he have helped some?" she blurted out, immediately hating that her curiosity had gotten the better of her. She knew the less she talked about Lee, the easier these three years were going to be. It was an added little bit of torment that Kara knew about his part in what happened that day while the rest of his family had no clue.

Then again, it was a burden she was willing to bear for the Adama family.

"From the second you stepped out of the temple, my oldest son seemed to check out. Like Zak, it seems he was devastated. I think Lee really sensed how much Zak was hurting. Honestly, I thought he might lose his temper. Lee is the type of man who would hunt you down and drag you back to the temple by your hair. It was odd that he just sat next to Zak, staring off into space."

Kara decided that made sense. Obviously Lee was just concerned for his baby brother's happiness and wanted to give him comfort. It had nothing to do with what happened between them right before she walked down the aisle. The fact that he had come to her and said she looked beautiful meant nothing.

Kara swore under her breath. She couldn't even get herself to believe that lie.

"How long of a pass do you need?" Adama asked abruptly.

"Forty-eight hours should suffice, sir." Kara paused before continuing on. "This will be the end of it. I think with the last reminders of me gone, Zak can finally accept I'm not coming back."

"Are you sure that's true?"

Kara wanted to swear. It seemed all the Adama men had a way of seeing right through her. "It has to be true, for Zak's sake. If I stay, I'll only hurt him again, and I don't want to do that."


William Adama watched her for a minute before pulling a piece of paper out of a folder. "This is an emergency pass. No one will question it, but all the same, don't talk about what emergency warranted its being given to you."

"Thank you, sir," Kara said, giving him a small smile. "I'm… sorry for the pain I caused you."

"Save your apologies for someone who needs to hear them."

"I already apologized to him, sir, even though I know it's not enough."

Adama was already engrossed in his papers again, and Kara figured that was his way of dismissing her. It didn't matter how much the Commander hated her. She had gotten what she needed, and if she was lucky, she wouldn't have to talk to him every again. A Battlestar's commanding officer lives a very separate life from those who comprise his pilot roster and the crew.

She had about a week before the next civilian shuttle to Picon leaves. That was plenty of time for her to figure out how she was going to face the ghosts of her past without breaking down.

"Where are you taking me, Lee?" Kara asked. She was starting to regret letting him cover her eyes as they went down corridor after corridor.

"I'm not telling," he whispered in her ear, and she had to fight back the memories of where they usually were when he was this close to her.

"Frak!" Kara hissed as her foot came into contact with something hard and metallic.

"Sorry," Lee apologized.

"I am going to kick your ass if I end up hurt for this stupid surprise."

"Don't you trust me?" Lee asked.

Kara shivered as he went back to that damn seductive voice he usually saved for when they were in bed. "Of course I trust you, Lee. I just like to have bones that are unbroken." There were whispers all around her as Lee continued to lead her down the corridor. "Being with you in public is strange."

Lee pulled her to a stop and let out a small laugh. "You'll get used to it. I'm not going anywhere."

She could feel the cool metal of his wedding band against her closed eyelid and knew he wasn't lying. They had vowed in front of the gods that this love would last their whole lifetime and beyond. Kara was going to do all she could to make that happen.

A metal hatch creaked as they continued to walk. Kara could hear the whispering get louder before cutting off completely. "Lee?" she said hesitantly.

"You said you trusted me, Kara," he reminded.

"I do. I just don't like it when everyone else knows something I don't."

"There was no way to avoid people on this one," he said cryptically.

"So this means you're not taking me off to some equipment locker or empty observation deck to have your way with me?"

"Not this time," Lee teased

"Because nothing could be a better surprise then some rack time with you, Adama."

"Actually, there is one thing," he said as he pulled her to a stop.

His hands came away from her eyes, and she took a look around. "Frak, Lee. I thought you said you weren't taking me to an equipment locker."

"We're not staying here. I just wanted to say something to you before you get the surprise." Lee leaned in to kiss her forehead lightly. "I love you, Kara. Even though I don't get the chance to say that often, I do. We've been through a lot to get to this point."

"That's the understatement of the year," she smirked.

"When I got back to Atlantia a few weeks ago, I requested a meeting with the Admiral."

Kara's eyes went wide. "You talked to Nagala?"

"I explained to him the situation. I was married to a military exile, and she was going to be frequently visiting this Battlestar in complete compliance to the spouse regulations in the Colonial Fleet charter." Lee chuckled. "I was scared shitless of what he was going to say to my little rant."

"What did he say?"

"He asked me my wife's name. When I said it was you, he congratulated me."

Kara's eyes went wide. "What the frak?"

"That's what I was thinking. It turns out Admiral Nagala noticed the flying you did when you were assigned to Galactica, and he reminded me you were about to transfer to Atlantia when you got kicked out of the military. I wanted to tell him that you're not being here was all my fault."

Kara bit down on her bottom lip to hold the smile in. She didn't like it when Lee remembered how much power he had over her. It went straight to his head.

"Nagala told me I had picked a fine wife, and he wanted to give me a gift. He offered to give me a month off for a proper honeymoon."

Kara's mouth dropped open. "That's fantastic! I always loved that man!"

Lee shook his head. "I turned him down, Kara."

"Are you stupid?" she exclaimed, pulling out of his arms. "Why the frak would you do something like that?"

"There was something else I wanted." Lee gave her a mischievous smile before walking over to the hatch. "I think this will mean a lot more to you than if the Admiral had given me a whole year off."

Kara stepped through the open hatch into the rather deserted hangar bay. Her eyes fell on the pair of Mark VIIIs sitting side by side. She turned to give her husband a look of bewilderment. "Lee?"

"You and I are going to show the pilots how it's done, Kara," he said, giving her a wink.