Ch 14

Lee was jolted back to the present as the tram grinded into the station. He smiled as he thought of how wonderful his time with Lauren had been and he practically danced down the stairs from the station to the street below. He'd been running a scenario of how he'd make tonight perfect through his head all day and had even asked some of his buddies for advice on what to say to express himself but not sound like a sap. He decided on cooking Lauren her favorite meal and then dancing with her in the living room. Then he'd propose to her and if she said yes, well he'd make it up as he went along from there.

He walked down the block that their flat was on and he paused in the doorway once more to remember all of the things he wanted to say to her. Then he headed up the stairs to their flat. He should have just enough time to shower and get most of the meal prepared before she returned home. When he reached their doorway he was surprised and worried to find their door unlocked. He was pretty sure he'd locked it this morning when he left. Maybe Lauren had forgotten to lock it on her way out.

He walked through the tiny flat and found Lauren laying on the bed crying. His heart dropped as he rushed across the room to her side. "Lauren, baby, what's wrong?"

She choked on a sob and looked up into his face, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Lee…I…" she just couldn't speak for all of the crying so he pulled her to his chest and stroked her hair, waiting for her to calm down enough to speak. When she'd gotten her sobbing under control she looked at him with a face that made his heart break. Something terrible had happened but he couldn't possibly guess what it was.

"Lee, I got transferred!"

"What? Where? Why?" his exasperation was evident and he rose from the bed and began pacing back and forth, chewing on his lip.

"There wasn't anything I could do about it. Colonel Malakos ordered it and there's nothing I can do about it, I have to go."

"Where?"

"Picon. And Lee, I ship out in two days," her voice hitched as she began to cry once more. He returned to the bed, wrapping her in his arms and rocking her back and forth, all thoughts of the night he'd planned slipping from his mind.

Two days later Lee tearfully watched as Lauren walked up the ramp to the transport she was assigned to. He felt like his heart had broken and there was nothing that he could do about it. He'd gotten so comfortable having Lauren be a part of his life that he'd forgotten how to live with out her. He'd tried pulling strings to keep her on Caprica but the Colonel that had transferred her had done so specifically because Lauren was the best person for the assignment and Colonel Malakos very seldom did not get his way.

So a resigned Lee helped Lauren pack up her few belongings and they made plans for her departure. They had promised over and over that they would call each other as often as they could and when they had time of they'd meet at a hotel or resort and spend time together. Lee knew in his heart that he'd not seen the last of Lauren and that she was destined to be with him so he put on a brave face and watched her leave his life once more.

He knew her transport was a slow one and it would take her almost a week to get to Picon so he tried to distract himself by throwing himself into his work with all his attention. He'd been accepted a while back into a pilot test group and he was currently testing new design modification for the fleet. The opportunity was just what he needed to finally get the promotion he'd been waiting for and he was made a Captain. He'd almost gotten to the point where he wasn't feeling the pain of Lauren's leaving when a string of accidents at the test facility put everyone on edge.

The CO of the project ordered everyone to leave the facility while a crew came in to determine the source of the accidents so Lee was at home when the call came in. He had been cooking a light meal and chopping lettuce for a salad when the comm buzzed loudly. Thinking it must be Lauren finally checking in he ran to it and waited for the image to resolve, however he was disappointed to find a small man who looked amazingly similar to a weasel instead.

"Captain Adama? Oh…yes there you are. Captain, and congratulations by the way on your promotion, I am Aaron Doral of the fleet's public relations department. I'm sure you are aware of the Galactica's impending decommissioning ceremony correct?"

Lee had known about the ceremony and that his father had planned to retire along with his ship but he wasn't interested in the actual ceremony. He had no intentions of being anywhere his father was. They hadn't spoken more than two words to each other at any time since Zak's funeral nearly two years ago. "Yes I do."

"Well Captain, I'd like to formally invite you to the ceremony and to offer you the opportunity to participate in a dedication to the Galactica as well."

"Mr. ...Doral was it? You don't seem to understand, I'm a very busy person and I have a lot of duties to see to. I seriously doubt I'll be able to get away for the ceremony."

"Ah but Captain, I think you'll find that we've already cleared this with your CO. As a matter of fact he thinks it's an excellent idea to have you attend the ceremony. So if you'll be so kind as to give us your consent to send this small information packet to you it will outline the ceremony and your part in it." the small man smiled at Lee showing him his sharp pointy teeth and looking even more like a weasel.

"Fine, send it here. When do I have to be there?" the sigh should have been enough to get his displeasure across to the other man.

"Well the ceremony is on the third and then there is the dedication ceremony to make Galactica into a working museum which we'd appreciate your support in and…"

"Fine, I'll be there," he stabbed at the disconnect button with more force than he really needed, just eager to be away from this nasty little man. Lee stalked across the small flat going back to his kitchen and resuming his chopping. How dare that man assume he'd want to be a part of his father's ceremony? Lee looked down and realized that he'd been chopping the lettuce so hard that he'd chipped the knife and carved a groove into his cutting board. Exasperated he threw the whole meal out and went to find a drink at the local bar.