Kara waited quietly in the back of the room while Commander Adama and his visiting son finished their photo op and interview. She had just gotten out of hack when Stinger told her Lee was on the ship. She hadn't even known the Fleet was flying him in for the decommissioning ceremony, though in retrospect it made sense. The Commander certainly couldn't fly a Viper anymore.

The room cleared slowly, and Kara was able to pick up bits of the exchange between father and son as people pushed past her. The topic of conversation surprised her.

Lee voice's cut through all other sounds as she heard her name. "Where's Kara, Dad?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Adama growled.

"You're her commanding officer."

"She's an unruly pilot who likes to put herself and her fellow pilots in unnecessary danger. I've always made it a habit of distancing myself from people like that."

Lee looked like he was about to question his father further, but his eyes drifted to the back of the conference room and he smiled. Kara gave a small wave.

"Are we finished here?" Lee asked, addressing both his father and the nearby photographer.

"I think that's all we'll have time for," Adama answered. "I have a meeting with the Secretary of Education."

"I'm just going to wander the old girl one last time," Lee informed his father. He watched Kara get up and walk out the door, and he prayed that she would be willing to wait a few more seconds. He had been dying to see her since he came aboard Galactica.

"The fly-by's in two hours. Don't be late."

"I won't."

Lee found Kara leaning against a wall in the corridor outside and breathed a sigh of relief. She fell into line next to him as he continued to walk. "I wasn't sure you would want to see me," Lee said after a minute's silence.


"Why would you think that?"

"You haven't spoken to me in a year. I wrote you letters."

Kara nodded. "I know."

"You didn't write back."

"No, I didn't." Kara desperately wanted to explain to him why that was, but she also wanted to keep herself out of Lee's relationship with his father. She would drive a nail between them if she explained that the Old Man kept her too busy to even think about finding a spare piece of paper and pen to write to his son. Kara often wondered if that was the real reason behind Adama's decision to work her to the bone. Then again, he didn't even know that Lee was writing to her. Regardless, his constant commands did the job.

"How's life on Galactica been for you?" Lee inquired.

"Same old, same old. I feel like a fish out of water."

"Well, at least you got a year cut off your assignment. I can't believe they're actually turning this thing into a museum."

"It deserves a lot more," Kara agreed. "So how's Atlantia?"

"Still the best Battlestar in the Fleet," Lee confirmed. An odd look flashed across his face, but he quickly covered it up before Kara could notice. "The Admiral prides himself on having all the best pilots and crew."

"And one horribly conceited Viper ace," Kara teased.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I really wish I was good enough to get a slot on Atlantia's roster," Kara whispered. She had been trying for months, ever since the news of Galactica's decommissioning broke. The pilots on board had to go somewhere, and even though they were promised their wishes would have an input in the decision, she still couldn't get a definite on whether Admiral Nagala's ship would take her. She wasn't even sure if she was good enough to be considered.

Kara became aware of the silence hanging between them and looked over to see Lee staring at her. His face was a mask of confusion, and she realized what he must be thinking. She should never have mentioned her wish to be a part of Nagala's pilots. She did not want Lee to know how much she was hoping to get placed on the same Battlestar as him. That would bring up drama and guilt they didn't need right now.

"Anyway, I'm not sure where they're going to put me. The placements aren't going to be announced until tomorrow," Kara said, trying to cover her tracks.

"Maybe you and I will get to be on the same ship for once. I'm dying to see if the stories are true."

"You asking to be my wingman, Apollo?" Kara joked as they headed down the stairs to the lower deck.

Lee shook his head. "No, I'm telling you I would consider your application to be mine. There's a long line, but I think I can push your name to the top of the list."

Kara giggled. "If only we were on the same ship."

Lee's face sobered as he turned to look at her. "It could happen, you know."

"Come on, Lee," Kara said, pulling to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. "There's no chance I'll get put on Atlantia without finishing the rest of my three year sentence on another Battlestar like Galactica. They don't put pilots with only two years on-ship experience on the best ship in the Fleet."

"I know that, but considering the fact in a few days I won't be on Atlantia anymore, it's still a possibility."

Kara's jaw dropped. "What the frak are you talking about/"

"That was one of the reasons I was asking the Commander about where you were. I'm getting transferred, Kara."

"To where?"

"The Pegasus under Admiral Cain. The relocation of Galactica's pilots has shaken things up a bit. The Fleet doesn't know where to put you frak-ups." Lee shrugged. "They're promoting me to deputy CAG under Captain Cole Taylor. It seems like I'm on the fast track to moving up another notch on the chain of command."

"That's great, Lee," Kara said. She realized it hadn't come off quite as convincing as she would have like when he glared at her. "I've heard great things about the Pegasus. She's a good ship."

"You're making that up," Lee pointed out. "You don't know two fraks about Pegasus."


"No, I don't," she admitted.

"The part the pisses me off the most is I have no real idea as to why it was me that had to be transferred. As much as we joke about it, I was on the fast track to what would probably be at least a slot as XO on one of the Battlestars. That means I'm supposed to be on Atlantia." Kara watched as Lee tensed up with anger. "It just fraking blows."

"I'm sure there was a good reason."

"Oh, there's a reason for the transfer, but it's far from good." Lee let out a cold chuckle. "In fact, it's downright shitty. I never would have been transferred if some hotshot pilot wasn't dead set on coming to Atlantia. We didn't have room for this stupid fraker so they had to shuffle around some of us to accommodate."

Kara's heart dropped out. "You didn't have room and yet a new pilot was accepted?"

"Admiral Nagala liked their application. He said something about the pilot being a persistent bastard. I wish I could be around to give him a piece of my mind, and by mind, I mean fists. Though rumor has it this pilot is a bit of a handful. Maybe it's better that I'm not on ship for that." Lee shook his head. "I didn't think it was possible to be this pissed off at someone I don't even know."

Kara pulled to a stop. They were in front of the hangar bay doors, which meant her instinct to run still had perfect timing. "Listen. I have to go make sure the Vipers are ready for the ceremony. It was nice talking to you, Lee." Kara gave him a quick wave and rushed into the chaos that was a colonial hangar bay.

"Nice talking to you, too," he said, even though she was already out of earshot. It seemed all things having to do with Kara Thrace were still as bizarre as ever. He had been hoping to talk to her about what he said in his last letter, but it looked like that was going to have to wait.

When Lee first slipped two tickets to the Galactica Museum into her hand, Kara thought he was kidding. Now that they were waiting to board the shuttle Raptor, it didn't seem like a joke anymore. There were civilians all around them, excitingly chattering about being able to go onboard a real Battlestar. Kara desperately wanted to hiss at them that it was nothing special, just a big tin can in the sky, but she knew that was just her nerves talking. She had loved this tin can once.

Kara lifted her head up off of Lee's shoulder. His arms were holding her tightly against him, his hands resting behind her back. It was like he knew how soothing his touch could be to her and how much she needed that right now. "I don't want to see that ship again," Kara whispered.

"You have just as many demons there as you do on Picon and Caprica," Lee pointed out. "I want what we have to work, Kara, but that will only happen if we stop letting the fear of what could be control us."

She raised her eyebrows. "Us?"

"I have demons, too."

"Let me see. First, there was Helo, my best friend who I abandoned without a word. Then there

was your mother, who worships every single inch of you and therefore has every reason to hate me. Finally, there was Zak, the man I drove to his death."

"A little melodramatic today, aren't we?"

Kara ignored him. "All of those confessions were mine to fear."

Lee sighed. "I might not have as many demons as you do, but the one I do have more than makes up for it."

"I still maintain the notion that we don't have to tell your father," Kara insisted.

"Can you imagine what it would be like when he hears it through the grapevine?" Lee's voice dropped down an octave. "Commander, will you pass on my congratulations to your son and the Lieutenant on their marriage?" Kara pushed back to glare at him and had to bite back a laugh as he shifted his voice up a few octaves. "Oh, William, how does it feel to know in a few months you'll be a grandfather?" Lee's grin died down, and he gave Kara the scowl he had been perfecting since he was five. "I have no idea what you are referring to. My son would never do something like that without telling me, and for you to insinuate that he would is completely out of line."

Kara lost it. Lee's impression of his father was so spot on that she actually felt the need to throw her hand up to cover her mouth. She had to fight the urge to collapse into a fit of giggles. The people around them were already staring. Her hysterics would only make it worse.

When she got control of herself, her mind finally grasped what Lee had just said. "Children, Lee?"

Lee's face broke out into a rather stupid looking smile. "Eventually, yeah."

Kara was still trying to figure out how that made her feel when the Raptor shuttle clicked into its dock before them. She went to step back from Lee's arms, but she only made it a few inches before he had pulled her back. "I can't get over how nice it is to hold you in public," he whispered.

"You're going to have to let me go if you want to go on this stupid tour."

Lee chuckled but loosened his hold. "You just don't want to admit how much fun this is going to be."

"If by fun, you mean painful, then sure, it'll be loads of fun."

Kara was still rolling her eyes at Lee when she stepped onto the Raptor, which is why the situation hit her like a brick wall. She felt Lee's hands come up to grab onto her as she stopped in her tracks and his body slammed into hers.

"Kara?" Lee said. He followed where her eyes were staring. All that was in front of them was a standard Colonial Raptor cockpit and the shuttle pilot. He watched the pilot turn to see what the hold up was, and it surprised him to see her face pale.

"Hello, Meg," Kara said before continuing to her designated seat.

Lee managed to see the pilot narrow her eyes before he had to turn away in order to take the seat next to his wife. "Are you going to tell me what that was about?" he whispered when they were both settled.

"That's Meg Edmonson. She was a Lieutenant on Galactica with the call sign Racetrack."

"Never heard of her."

"She dropped off the radar around the time Zak died. Everyone always assumed she had gotten reassigned."

Lee waited a moment before asking, "So what was that little exchange all about?"

Kara took a deep breath and turned to look at him. Lee was startled to see the pain had found its way back into her eyes. "She was Zak's best friend."

Lee gave Kara a quick nod of understanding. Those five words said a lot. Lee turned to look at Meg Edmonson as she piloted their Raptor towards the floating museum. She was seemed good at her job. She was a fairly pretty woman with little to no battle scars from her time in the military. He could imagine his brother drifting towards her.

He was so engrossed in his evaluation of Racetrack that he didn't realize they had landed until Kara tapped him lightly on the shoulder. Her face was the same stony mask he had gotten used to seeing during the four years he spent with her on the colonial outpost. She gave him a small nod as she pushed past him

Kara was halfway out of the shuttle when she realized Lee hadn't followed. She turned to see he was standing between the two pilots' chairs, waiting for Racetrack to look up. A feeling of uneasiness washed over her as Lee cleared his throat.

"Hi, I'm Lee Adama," he said, holding out his hand.

Racetrack glanced up from her pre-flight list, took a good look at the man in front of her, and completely froze. "Oh gods." Her hand flew up to her mouth, and Lee watched her struggle to hold in the tears. "He told me you looked nothing like him," she said accusingly.

"I don't," Lee said, shifting into the empty co-pilot seat.

Kara watched his hand come out to rest on her shoulder. That was Lee, too stupid to know when comfort was inappropriate. "You look like him when you smile," Kara said, walking back onto the shuttle. She had never told Lee that. She knew the way he thought, and knowing he shared a smile with his brother would only make it worse. Plus, Lee would never believe her when she told him that from the second he first smiled at her, something shifted, and not in the way anyone would have expected. As soon as she know both the Adama brothers, it has always been Zak's smile that reminded her of Lee.

"I didn't recognize you when you got on," Racetrack said, sniffling slightly as she regained control of her emotions. "I would have said something." Her eyes shifted to look at Kara. "I guess I assumed you wouldn't have anything to do with Thrace after what she did."

"She didn't do anything," Lee corrected.

"It's a matter of opinion," Kara added. She wasn't sure where she stood on the idea. It seemed like every night, she blamed herself for what happened to Zak, but when she woke up in the morning, the guilt was gone. Then, halfway through the day, it would come slamming back into her. "What are you doing flying shuttles, Meg?"

"It pays well, and I needed the money," Racetrack said cryptically. The hatred was raw in her voice.

"Kara tells me that you were close with my brother."

Lee saw something flash in the Raptor pilot's eyes before she shoved it away. "He was a walking disaster." She chuckled softly. "Zak couldn't pilot worth shit, but for some reason, I found that endearing. He was a little lost when he got to Galactica so I took him under my wing. It was something any pilot would have done in my place."

"She was a good friend to him," Kara added. Racetrack shot her a bewildered look. "I paid attention. Even if I couldn't love Zak, I still cared for him."

Racetrack shook her head. "That's an odd phrase, Thrace. You couldn't love Zak?"

"No, she couldn't," Lee said.

"Wow, Thrace. I don't know how you did it, but this older Adama seems awfully protective of you."

"He has a right to," Kara insisted, holding her left hand out for Racetrack to see. "So say the gods."

Racetrack's eyes went wide as her gaze shifted from the ring to Kara then over to Lee and finally back down to the ring. If Kara hadn't been living in a perpetual fog of nerves, she would have felt the need to laugh.

"I don't understand," Racetrack blurted out.

"There's a lot of that going around right now," Kara smirked.

"I thought you loved Zak."

"I did. Right up until the day he died, I cared for him deeply." Kara felt Lee's hand reach up to rest in hers. He seemed to be a endless well of support these days. "I was in love with Zak from practically the moment I met him until months after I broke off our engagement. Then the love shifted into something different. Zak healed something inside of me I thought would always be broken, and I'm grateful to him for that. The gods knew our destinies, though, and they didn't rest with one another. We were on different paths."

Lee was having a hard time understanding what was going on. He knew what Kara was trying to do. Her words were meant to heal whatever rift had been cut between herself and Meg Edmonson, yet the Raptor pilot still looked like her whole world was crashing in on itself. "Are you okay?" Lee asked.

Racetrack looked up at him and shook her head. "I didn't know."

Kara must have picked up on the fact that something was off about Racetrack's demeanor because she let go of Lee's hand to kneel down in front of her. "What didn't you know, Meg?"

"I knew Zak was still head over heels for you, and I really thought you were still in love with him. I would have told you if I had known. Gods, you're going to hate me."

Lee shot Kara an inquiring look, and she just shrugged before directing her attention back to Racetrack. "I'm not going to hate you, Meg. You did nothing but watch out for him while you were on Galactica. I wasn't a strong enough person to do it, but you were. You helped heal the damage I caused, and I'm grateful he had a friend like you."

The deep laugh rose from the pit of Racetrack's stomach to shake her whole body. It immediately put Kara and Lee on edge. Racetrack wiped the tears from her face and stood up out of her seat. "The Education Department gives me a small break while I'm on call," she said with a smile that broke Lee's heart. It was so similar to the way Kara had looked for years. "There's something I'd like to show you if you'd give me a chance."

Lee looked over at Kara and saw she was still just as thrown off by this situation as he was. "We were planning on walking the ship," Lee said after a moment, "but I think I'd rather spend my time with someone who knew Zak so well."

Racetrack gave him one final sad smile before stepping off the Raptor. Lee and Kara silently followed her through the familiar corridors of Galactica. When she reached a door to the old senior officers' quarters, she turned to look at them. Lee couldn't help but notice the smile that had seemed so sad before now had a glimmer of hope to it.

"You asked me what I was doing flying shuttles, Kara."

"You said you needed the money."

"And I did. Now I want you to see why." She reached out to punch a code into the keypad, and the hatch door slipped open. "Ty, baby! Mommy's home."

A small boy slid out from behind a closed bunk curtain and ran into Racetrack's arms. "I was playing in my secret hideout," he chirped.

"That's great, sweetie."

The kid immediately started to rely every detail of his morning to his mother. It probably would have been extremely amusing if Lee hadn't lost all ability to focus the second Meg's son popped out of the bunk. "Kara?"

"Gods," she whispered, looking over at her husband. "He has Zak's eyes."

Lee swallowed and gave a small nod. "So it's not just me."

Racetrack cleared her throat, and they both realized that Tyler had stopped talking. "Lee, Kara, this is my son, Tyler. Tyler, these are some old friends from when I used to fly with your daddy."

"Pilots?"

"Not just any pilots, kid," Kara said, stepping forward. "We flew the Vipers." She was rewarded with the sight of Tyler's eyes going wide. Kids were always suckers for Vipers.

Lee walked over to stand next to Racetrack. "How old are you, Tyler?"

"I'm going to be six in a few weeks," he said proudly.

They stood there in silence for a moment before Racetrack shifted to set her son down on the ground. She led him over to a bunk and pulled him up to sit on her lap. "Remember that talk we had the other day about how all the other kids have big families and you only have me?"

"I don't mind. You're a good mommy," Tyler insisted.

"That means a lot to be, baby," Racetrack said, leaning down to kiss the top of her son's head. "Do you remember what I told you about your family?"

"You said that I did have a big family only they were really important people and they were busy protecting everyone and they would visit when things finally quieted down but not to worry because they love me," Tyler rambled.

"Well, I figured it was time you met some of them." Racetrack looked up to smile at Kara and Lee. "This is your Uncle Lee and your Aunt Kara. Lee is your daddy's brother."

Tyler looked over at Lee for confirmation, and Kara's heart tugged at the look of wonderment on her husband's face. That's when it hit her. She wanted to have this man's children. She wanted to be the one to put that look on his face every day for the rest of their lives. Gods, twenty-two days ago, she would never have believed she would be happily married with a desperate desire to have children. Sometimes, she couldn't comprehend the things Lee did to her. There was only one thing that she never lost sight of, and that was how he made her better for wanting.

"I always wanted an uncle," Tyler said and then added as an afterthought, "An aunt, too, I guess."

Racetrack laughed. "Tyler is going through a phase right now where he's not too happy with the girls he meets. Why is that, baby?"

"Because they're girly. They won't play Vipers and Raiders with me."

"Well, I have great news for you, kid. I think you're going to love your Aunt Kara. There's not a girly bone in her body." Racetrack saw Lee and Kara try to keep from laughing. If she had been talking about anyone else, that comment would have come off as an insult. With Kara, it was simply the truth.

"Are you guys going to go bye-bye soon?" Tyler asked.

Lee looked over at Racetrack, and she nodded. "No, we have a few hours before we have to leave, and after that, I think we'll be seeing you a lot. You have a grandma and a grandpa who have just been dying to meet you, and I think things have finally settled down enough that we can make that happen."

Tyler's face lit up. "The rest of the kids are always saying how great grandmas and grandpas are. They say they get all this cool stuff like Tommy Hinkins got a new set of dog tags for his birthday. Ooo! And Josh Wilson got the new Mark VIII Viper model and those things are hard to get so his grandparents must really love him."

Racetrack reached over to tap her son on the nose. "All right. I think that's enough talk about grandmas and grandpas. Why don't you go play in your secret hideout while I talk to Uncle Lee and Aunt Kara for a while?"

Tyler grinned and gave his mom a quick kiss on the cheek before running back to his hiding bunk. He turned at the last minute to give Lee and Kara a small wave and then disappeared from view.

"So, now you know," Racetrack sighed.

"That's why you left Galactica," Kara acknowledged.

"It was a mistake at the time. I was trying to help Zak keep his mind off of you, and we had a little too much ambrosia. I didn't even know I was pregnant until he was gone." Racetrack turned to look over at the closed curtain hiding her son from view. "Tyler's my world. I wouldn't give him up even if I had the chance." She turned to smile at them sadly. "What hurts the most is knowing what would have happened if Zak was still around."

"He would have taken care of you," Lee insisted.

"I know. He would have done the right thing, and it would have killed me to see him give up his dreams because of a stupid one-time mistake. We didn't love each other, at least not the way he loved you, Kara. He would have insisted I marry him, though. It would have ended his career. There isn't room for married pilots who haven't even hit the Captain rank."

"Why did you hide it from us?" Lee interrupted. The shock was staring to wear off, leaving him with an intense feeling of having been cheated. "Why would you deny me the right to know my nephew?"

"I saw the way your family looked at Zak's funeral. You wouldn't have been able to handle the news. I figured I could just wait and let you know when I got closer to my due date. Then, my due date came and past. I gave birth to Tyler, and after that, it felt too late. I mean, would you really have believed a washed-out Raptor pilot who showed up out of the blue claiming the toddler by her side was really your dead brother's child?"

"I would have given you the benefit of the doubt," Lee swore. "Frak, Meg. He looks just like my brother."

"Maybe I was just being selfish, keeping him all to myself."

"And maybe Adama here is a big, fat liar," Kara said, earning herself a glare from him. "You would have kicked her right to the curb, Lee. At the time, we all wanted to put Zak up on a golden pedestal. We had our own guilt to deal with, and it felt better if we could just blame ourselves for what happened. Admitting that Zak could make the kind of mistake that creates a new life would have gone against what we wanted."

Lee didn't respond. He knew she was right

"I want you to be a part of Tyler's life," Racetrack insisted. "I was stupid not to tell you. All I was doing was hurting my son."

"It's okay," Lee said after a moment's pause. "I understand why you did it, and I just want to thank you for not letting me leave this ship without knowing. It probably took a lot of courage to do what you did."

"You'd be surprised what being a mother can make you do."

"Lee," Kara hissed. He followed her eyes and saw a small head peaking out of the bunk.

"I don't care about seeing the rest of the ship," Lee said softly.

"Me, either," Kara agreed. She gently nudged Lee towards his nephew. "Go talk to him."

It took a lot of effort to get himself to make the first step, but when no alarms started blaring to tell him he had to stop, it got easier. He pulled the curtain back a few inches and kneeled down in front of the bunk. "I bet Josh Wilson rubbed your nose in that new Mark VIII, didn't he?"

"Yeah. He kept telling me that no one loved me because I didn't have one."

Kara watched Racetrack's jaw tensed and realized that her old shipmate really was a mother now. It was odd. It seemed like everyone had had kids while she was stuck on a rock in the middle of nowhere. Kara reached out to rest a hand on Racetrack's shoulder and shook her head. This wasn't the time for Mom to get involved. Lee was doing the male bonding thing with his nephew.

"I bet you wanted to hit him pretty hard."

"Yeah," Tyler said, his face showing his determination. "I wanted to yell at him that he didn't know my mommy and if he did, he would know that someone did love me a whole lot."

"Well, I have news for Josh Wilson. Your mother isn't the only one that loves you." Lee paused before smiling up at his nephew. "And you know what? You have something that Josh Wilson will never have."

"What's that?"

"An uncle who's the CAG on a Colonial Battlestar."

Tyler's eyes went wide. "No way! You're a CAG?"

"On the Atlantia," Lee added.

If it was possible, the admiration on Tyler's face grew. "Mom didn't lie. I do have a really important family," Tyler whispered. Kara felt herself bearing witness to the beginnings of some rather intense hero worship.

"I have to make some calls to my Admiral, but I think I can get you something for your birthday that will show Josh Wilson just how much more your family loves you." Lee looked back at Kara and gave her a small wink. "Did you know that most CAGs get to fly the Mark VIIIs?"

"No!" Tyler cried.

"Yeah! And your Aunt Kara even got to fly one the other day, too."

Kara grinned at her husband. Of course Lee would want to spread the hero worship around. She sat down next to Racetrack and held the woman's hands as Meg fought to hold back tears. Kara could only imagine how hard it was to raise a son all on your own. To finally have help might be a little too much for even a tough colonial veteran to handle.

"I hope you don't mind your son flying a Viper," Kara whispered. Racetrack gave her a puzzled look, and Kara just nodded towards where Lee was still talking to Tyler.

"We're going to have to wait until you actually turn six, but I think I can arrange to take you up with me in my Mark VIII."

Tyler let out a squeal and flung himself right into Lee's arms. Lee felt the little boy squeeze him tight as he whispered, "I love you, Uncle Lee."

Kara was pretty sure she was witnessing the most beautiful sight to ever be seen in the history of the Twelve Colonies, and she knew no one in the room would argue otherwise.