Ch 6

When Lee returned to Caprica he sent several messages to Lauren on Geminon but he never got a response. He'd reached the personnel department at the base several times to verify she was indeed there and they assured him she was, so why wasn't she answering him? All at once he felt as if she'd betrayed him, used him and never intended to keep up with him. He liberally berated himself for being so foolish to think that she'd wanted anything more than someone to pass some time with. After a week and a half of trying unsuccessfully to reach her he finally gave up and went about his life. Four days later he got a surprising call from Kara. She was bubbly and full of wild tales about how horribly Zak was acting off duty and Lee laughed at them all. Then Kara made his night perfect.

"Oh Lee, by the way I wanted to let you know that Lauren is okay. She got reassigned a week after she got to Geminon. It was a good thing, bumped up a pay grade too! Damn shame I lost that bet."

"What bet was that?" Lee released the breath he hadn't realized he was holding and he tried to look as if he didn't care too much. The truth was that he was close to bursting from this wonderful news. She hadn't discarded him after all!

"Oh a long time ago when we first got ranked as Lieutenants we made a bet about whoever got promoted to the top of the heap first. I seem to have lost." She pouted a bit for him but it was an act and he could see that she was proud of her friend. "Anyway, she's out at Scorpion Ship Yards now. I talked to her the other day and she told me to tell you she'd call you soon. Guess that makes you happy now huh lover boy?"

The goofy grin on his face was enough for her. She laughed a bit more with him then signed off and Lee danced around his room laughing at himself.

When he finally did get in touch with Lauren he told her how silly he'd been about the whole thing and she reassured him that she wanted nothing more than to remain friends with him, as well as any other relationship 'upgrades' that happened.

They spent the next few months contacting each other as often as they could and simply making each other laugh. However, both of them could tell the other was yearning for more contact. Lee suggested one night that he pull some strings and get Lauren transferred back to Caprica. She sighed wistfully and told him to let it all happen naturally. She later confessed to him that she'd been trying to get the transfer there all along. They made plans that they both knew would never happen and they talked about what life would be like after the Fleet.

Lauren felt herself falling for this man and she was pretty certain that he felt the same about her. She loved sitting in front of her comm with her eyes closed and listening to his voice. She could picture his deep blue eyes and feel the silkiness of his hair. Many times she caught herself gazing out a window and looking in the direction of Caprica. Other times she spent hours staring at the picture she had, the one of all three of them, Lee with Kara and Zak. She loved that picture and after a while she had to have another copy made since she'd worn creases in the paper of the original.

Six months went by and Lee was asked to teach a class on Aerelon regarding dogfight tactics. He'd been working with several test pilots that had been working the bugs out of the new model fighters and he'd learned quite a few things about their capabilities. So when his CO asked him to instruct the class he agreed. He hadn't had time to let Lauren know he'd be gone but he'd try to reach her as soon as he got to the base on Aerelon. He arrived late in the night and had to begin the class the next morning so he went to sleep, reminding himself to try to comm her as soon as he had a chance.

The next morning he reported to a Lieutenant on the base who lead him to the room he'd be using for the next three weeks. Lee slid a few charts up on the board behind him and was getting ready to put his papers in order when the first of the pilots in the session walked into the room. The boisterous men in the front of the small knot of pilots looked like they'd be the troublemakers of the bunch and Lee made a mental note to keep an eye on them. He went back to his papers and paid no attention to the rest of the people filtering in until he heard a loud cough at the door. He looked up and was shocked to see Lauren standing there. A huge grin split his face and he began to walk towards her to wrap her in a hug. Luckily he stopped himself because the base CO walked in the door directly behind her.

Lauren grinned and went to her seat as the CO directed Lee off to a corner to offer up words of advice about the pilots in the room and what to watch out for. Lee took it all in with as much attention as he could muster but his gaze kept wandering back to Lauren. He ran his eyes up and down her and he didn't think he'd ever seen her look more beautiful than she did right now. He loved the way her tanks hugged the curves of her arms and chest. The flight suit that was unzipped to the waist and wrapped around her hips emphasized the gentle swell of her butt and Lee began to become exceptionally glad that he had a podium to stand behind.

He took roll and introduced himself and smiled constantly at the fact that Lauren was acting strictly professional about the whole thing. Unfortunately he didn't have a chance to actually speak to her until the morning break was called. She made a point to stay behind the others who were going to grab drinks or smoke and Lee rewarded her by pulling her into a side room and kissing her with all of the built up passion he couldn't expel in the past months. She returned his passion and any doubts of her not wanting to be with him flew from his mind.

They made plans to leave for lunch together and Lee could hardly contain his excitement. They wandered around the base trying to avoid senior officers and the rest of the class, catching each other up on the turn of events that brought them back together. Every few minutes when they would pass a doorway or an alley between buildings Lee would pull Lauren into a deep kiss and she would happily respond until it became something of a game to see what they could get away with. Lauren suggested a nice quiet restaurant she knew nearby the base for dinner and Lee agreed to meet her there after the class was over. They came to a decision on the way back to the class to avoid letting anyone else know about their relationship and they both put on their game faces and returned to the class.

The rest of the day was difficult for both of them because they couldn't help but smile at each other from time to time and Lee had to do his best not to continuously pick Lauren to answer questions just so he could hear her voice. When the class ended, Lauren bolted for the door and practically ran back to the small dorm room she was sharing with another pilot in the class. When Susanna came through the door Lauren was already out of her flight suit and putting on a soft pair of black pants and a plain white t-shirt.

"Going somewhere?" Susanna asked with a grin.

"Yeah, you know I'm a home town girl right? I thought I'd head over to the town and look up some old friends of mine."

"Mind if I tag along? I've got no plans tonight," she said as she threw her gear on her bunk.

"Well I'm not sure if you'd have fun with a bunch of farmers kids. We'll probably just hang out and hash over old times ya know. Not much fun unless you were there." Lauren hoped the edginess in her voice wasn't overly telling.

"Yeah, guess you're right. So do you know if there are any decent bars on this rock?"

Lauren advised her of several in the immediate area and started for the door. Susanna reminded her not to stay out too late since she didn't think Lt. Adama would take to kindly to her being late or inattentive in the morning. Lauren tried hard not to laugh and vowed to return at a decent hour.