Ch 24

The woman before him had to be an illusion. He blinked several times to dispel it but there she was, "Lauren? Oh, Gods…I…" He started for her, raising his arms to wrap her in a hug but she shook her head sharply and glared at him, holding out her hand to shake his. She grabbed his hand and shook it roughly, rolling her eyes over her shoulder at Taylor. Lee understood her meaning and recovered quickly, "It's so good to see you alive and well."

Lauren looked up at him with relief in her eyes and then turned to the second new person in the room, "Kara! I'm so glad to see you still around, we can use all the hotshot pilots we can get these days." Her hand reached out to grab Kara's as well and she once more rolled her eyes over at Taylor, to let Kara know not to say anything either. Kara also got it and nodded, "Lauren, glad to see you're still with us."

"Please, have a seat you two. Can we offer you any coffee or anything?" she said as she walked over to the opposite side of the table and sat next to Taylor as they declined the beverages. She smiled weakly at Taylor and he eyed her suspiciously.

"I take it you know each other?"

"Yes, Lieu…er, Captain Adama and I were in a course together a few years ago. Congratulations on the promotion Captain, it's very well deserved. And Lieutenant Thrace and I were stationed on Saggitaron together for a time." her smile never made it to her eyes but the gleam in her eye told another story to the two across the table.

"I see you've received a promotion as well Captain Baker," Lee grinned. "Congratulations to you as well. It's long overdue."

"Captain Baker certainly proved herself worthy of the rank back during the attack. She started out kind of rough but I think she's become an officer that the Admiral can be proud of." The way Taylor gushed about Lauren, Kara wondered exactly what was going on but she held her tongue, trusting her friend to enlighten her.

They spent the next hour pouring over manuals that had been written and rewritten during the six months that Pegasus had been on it's own. Taylor seemed to treat the manuals as if they were scripture and Lauren seemed bored by it all. Lee's heart was in his throat the whole time but he knew that Lauren wouldn't act like she had unless she had a damn good reason so he kept quiet. Kara had looked over at Lauren several times during the hour and she had caught Lauren's eyes rolling at Taylor and his pompous attitude a few times and had to stifle laughter. Lauren had obviously perfected that maneuver in the past few months. Judging by that alone, Kara knew that Lauren was fine but that she couldn't talk in Taylor's presence.

Noting that the Galactica's representatives were quite bored listening to Taylor speak, Lauren brought up the subject of the stealth ship the Galactica's crew had built. Having been on one of the fighter test teams she was fascinated with their ideas and her excitement was evident. Suddenly she had an idea and she sat up straighter, "Cole, why don't we take them down to the deck and show them how we work? I'm sure they could pick up a few pointers to introduce to their own crew. I can't imagine they are quite as up to spec as we are over here and we really should get them dialed into the way things work."

Kara almost choked on that, but she believed that Lauren had her reasons for the condescending attitude.

"You're right. I'm sure that the crew of a museum piece would enjoy seeing a modern fighter at her best. Shall we?" Taylor rose from the table and motioned them towards the door.

Lauren made a show of piling up the paperwork she'd spread out all over the table and Lee knew she was stalling so he motioned for Kara to step up and go with Taylor. She nodded imperceptibly and deftly stepped in front of Lee, positioning herself by Taylor and acting like she was interested in him. When Lauren rounded the table, Lee looked at her imploringly and she shook her head sharply mouthing 'later' to him and walking out into the hallway.

They followed behind Taylor and Kara through the long hallways and Lee noted that not only were Pegasus' halls brighter but they were also free of clutter. Galactica, being a much smaller ship was very short on space so every inch of free room was utilized on her, including the hallways. Lee was almost caught up in scoping out the ship when he felt Lauren tug on his sleeve. He didn't pay attention to it until she tugged on it again. When he looked at her she made a rolling motion with her eyes but obviously still didn't think she could talk. Finally, she pulled him backwards and he got the idea, let the others go ahead.

When they had dropped back behind Taylor and Kara sufficiently, Lauren ducked down a side hallway, dragging Lee with her. He started to ask her what was going on but she put a finger up to her lips to quiet him. He relented and followed her rapidly down several more hallways until they came to an unmarked door. Lauren punched a code into the keypad and looked up and down the hallway to see if they were being watched. Once the door slid open she pushed Lee into the hatch and turned to key more numbers on the inner keypad. Lee had enough time to note that the room was empty.

Lauren turned back to him, "Lee…Oh Gods I…" He stopped her words by crushing her lips with his and she melted into his warm embrace. He held her face in his hands and pulled her deeper into a kiss which she returned with as much passion as she received. He felt moisture on his finger and realized that she was crying so he pulled back and looked at her.

"Lee I can't believe you're here. I can't believe any of this. I'd given up hope of ever being able…" her voice cracked as she choked on a sob.

"Shhhhh, Lauren, I'm here now. It's all right I'm here," He pulled her into a soft hug and he felt the heartache of the past few months, of not knowing, leave him with a rush.

Lauren pushed him back away and began wiping the tears from her eyes, "We can't stay here long. Lee you have to promise me that no matter what I say or do you'll still believe that I am me and I haven't changed."

"Lauren, I don't understand. Tell me what's happened. What is going on around here?"

"Lee, I can't talk, not here. I'll have to find a way to get over to Galactica but promise me please. Know in your heart who I am even if I say things you don't understand please!"

Her words shook him but he felt the passion in her and he nodded in assent. "Good, now we have to get back to them before he sends people out looking for us. Remember, I'll explain it all to you when I can but trust me for now okay?" She'd already keyed the code in the door again and it was sliding open as Lee nodded at her. Lauren smiled at him and looked up and down the hall before darting back out and relocking the hatch. Then she quickly lead him down a few more hallways to the flight deck. Stopping him at the hatch for the deck she looked over at him and mouthed "I love you," then walked through the door.

When they found Taylor and Kara on the crowded deck, Taylor looking wildly around for his missing officer and Kara looking thoroughly disgusted with the man she was next to, Lee watched as Lauren suddenly morphed back into the hard edged person who'd been in the conference room earlier. When Taylor spotted them he stormed over, glaring daggers at Lauren and he pulled her by the sleeve back behind a Viper nearby. Lee went to Kara who immediately asked if Lauren had explained anything. He told her no but that she would when they were alone. Kara was just about to voice her hatred of the pompous Captain when he returned to them and Lauren wandered up sheepishly.

"Captain, Lieutenant, I'm glad we had a chance to see each other and I'm sure we'll have no problems working together as a cohesive team. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a shift to run." She saluted them and walked quickly off the deck.

Having no idea what Lauren had said to Taylor, Lee looked to the other man nervously. "Well Captain, I hear my 2CAG took you on an impromptu tour of the ship. What did you think of her?"

Lee desperately hoped that Taylor meant the ship when he said 'her', "Yes, it's been some time since I've head the pleasure of visiting a Mercury-Class Battlestar. I'd forgotten all of the modern amenities they carry. She's a beautiful ship."

Taylor ate up the praise and beamed at them. "I expect after being trapped on a museum piece for so long that you'd be ecstatic about finally getting back to a modern ship."

Kara began to get ruffled and Lee knew she couldn't take much more of this without starting trouble so he decided it was best to get away from the man. "Certainly. Now I think it's about time for Lt. Thrace and myself to get back to Galactica. We've got a lot to talk about and I'm sure our pilots will be eager to begin working with yours. Thank you for your time Captain." Lee saluted him and waited to be dismissed. He and Kara couldn't get into their Vipers fast enough.