Chapter Twenty:

"This is totally frakked, Lee," said Kara.

Galactica's medical bay was quiet. It was late at night on Galactica, and only a duty nurse was on watch in the bay. She sat at her desk working on paperwork, as Lee sat on Kara's bed and held her close to him. He had been doing this with her every night since she got back. The nurse who worked nights had a soft spot for the couple, and looked the other way as Lee and Kara would hold each other until Kara got tired and went to sleep. But this night, Lee had to tell Kara the news of his father's order. The normal joy and peace that filled those times they had spent there wasn't present on this night.

"I know," said Lee, kissing Kara on her forehead. "I still can't believe he would issue this order. He's always been supportive of our relationship."

"I guess he figures that he couldn't justify his orders to Tyrol and Sharon if he allowed us to be together," said Kara. "It's funny. I can see his logic, even though I am so frakking pissed over what that logic does to us."

"I don't know if I can ever forgive him for this," said Lee.

"Take it easy on him, Lee," she said. "The Old Man has a lot on his plate."

"I've taken it easy on him all my life, Kara," said Lee. "When he was away so much when I was a child, when he chose the service over his marriage and his children."

"Don't just see the negative, Lee," said Kara. "Remember he did save my tale two years ago. I owe him a lot."

"You've served him well, Kara," said Lee. "You've more than repaid his acceptance of you aboard this ship."

"I guess it's hard for me to hate him," said Kara. "He's been more of a father to me than anyone I've ever known. Especially compared to what I grew up with."

"I don't hate him, I just…I guess, to be honest, I should be just as mad at myself. If I hadn't been such a frakwit, we would have probably been married now."

"You thought you were doing right," said Kara. "Just as your father does."

"Your better at forgiving him for it than I am," said Lee.

"Don't mistake my understanding and desire to sympathize with him for acceptance of this," said Kara. "I'm pissed as hell at him. I just don't know what to do about it."

"I know one thing," said Lee. "He can't watch us 24 hours a day. We can still get together when off duty, in secret."

"Great," said Kara, sarcastically. "We could ask Tyrol and Sharon where they used to hook up. Secret fraks on the floor of supply rooms, or moments with my pants down around my ankles while you hump me against the wall of a closet just before we fly a CAP. Lee, that might have been good enough for me once, but…you've spoiled me. I want more than that. I DESERVE more than that."

Lee gently caressed Kara's cheek, and kissed her gently on the lips. "You're right," he said, kissing her one more time. "You do. I just don't know what else we could have together now."

They sat there for some time, silent and both lost in thought, while enjoying each other's closeness. Lee pondered what Kara had said about having more than just secret encounters with one another. The way she described it, such encounters did sound rather like they were guilty of something distasteful. But then Lee thought about what might make such secrecy seem less distasteful.

"Marriage," said Lee, out loud.

"What?" replied Kara.

"We could get married," said Lee. "Then if we did have brief encounters in secret, it would be more. It would be a husband and wife coming together."

Kara smirked at him. "That's brilliant, Lee," said Kara, her tone filled with sarcasm. "But we come back to the original problem. We can't GET MARRIED!"

"Who says?"

"Your father, frak-wit! Have you been smoking something you're not supposed to have on board?"

"No, Kara, think about it. I was right about one thing. My father can't watch us 24 hours a day. He can't prevent us from getting married, as long as we don't tell him."

Kara looked at him with understanding dawning upon her face. "Marry in secret."

"Exactly! We could marry secretly, so that when we did have secret encounters as a couple, it would be as a MARRIED couple doing what the gods bless married couples to do. We'd have to be careful and discreet, both with the marriage and the encounters. I mean, I want you to be the mother of my children someday, but it wouldn't do for you to get pregnant."

"I'd be birthing my baby in the brig for breaking the Commander's orders," said Kara. "In the meantime, you're father would have a COW!"

"We'd need a priestess," said Lee. "Elosha, maybe."

"The ceremony requires at least two witnesses," said Kara. "Who could we trust?"

"Maybe Tyrol and Valeri," said Lee. "They'd be sympathetic."

"Yeah, but Tyrol just suffered a very valuable lesson about personal relationships causing problems," said Kara. "He broke things off with Sharon because of it. He might not be the best choice. And Sharon…she's my friend, and she's probably heart-broken over Tyrol. I won't make her watch someone else buck the regs and marry."

"Then who?" asked Lee.

Kara smiled. "How's about you ask the President? You're in pretty good with her."

"Yeah, I could…" Lee paused, then grimaced. "Uhhh, no. I don't think it would fly. She just witnessed how much my father and I were willing to risk for our personal connection to you, and she was pretty pissed over it. She'd probably agree with my father's orders in this matter. Come on, Kara. You've been on this ship for two years. Who would you consider a friend you could trust?"

"Well, I would have picked Helo, but…"

"I know," said Lee, kissing Kara gently on the cheek. "You've lost a lot of friends on this ship since the war began."

"Maybe Dee would do it," said Kara.

"Dualla?" asked Lee. "She's always come off to me as being pretty hard nosed."

"It's just her exterior," said Kara. "She's a romantic at heart. Haven't you heard the scuttlebutt about her and the President's aid?"

"Billy Keikaya? Yeah, I heard. Hey, maybe he could be the other witness?"

"We can only ask," said Kara. "We still need to get Elosha on board for this. And we need to find a time and place where we can do it in secret."

"Let me work on that," said Lee. "I'll see if I can arrange to meet with Elosha as well. Hopefully, we can set something up by the time you are up and limping around."

"In the meantime, I'll talk to Dee," said Kara.

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A week later, Kara was on her way to the flight deck to help Chief Tyrol work on the Raider. She had been hobbling around Galactica's corridors on crutches for the past week and spending most of her time with two projects. One was the work on the raider. The other was her secret wedding plans. Dee, it turns out, was the perfect choice to be a witness for the wedding. She was hesitant at first because it meant going against the Commander, whom she loved and respected very much, but Dee finally decided to do it because she felt for Kara's and Lee's plight. Dee also used her influence to get Billy to sign on as the other witness to the proceedings.

As Kara came around a corner, she spotted Commander Adama up ahead talking with Lt. Gaeta. She hadn't seen the Commander since Lee relayed the news to her about the old man's orders to end their wedding plans. Seeing him now, Kara felt a sense of anger well up in her that she hadn't really expected. After all, she had been far more understanding of the situation than Lee had been.

"Good day, Starbuck," said the Commander. "What do you hear?"

Kara kept hobbling right by him. "Good say, sir. Not much."

The Commander watched her hobble along for a few moments. Finally, he called after her. "Starbuck, wait."

She dutifully stopped, turned and faced him. The Commander asked Lt. Gaeta to excuse them, and then walked over to Kara. "How are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm alive," she replied. "Thank you for your concern, sir."

"Kara, I haven't had a chance to talk with you," said Adama. "I hope you know my orders were not personal, nor were they any reflection on my feelings towards you. You know I love and respect you as my daughter, no matter what."

"Really, sir," said Kara, half-sarcastically. "Sure those personal feelings won't get in the way of anything? Perhaps you should order yourself to disown me."

For a split second, Kara saw a pained look cross through the old man's features. She knew that her last comment hurt him. Kara had never spoken to Adama like that before, and she could tell in that moment he felt betrayed by it.

"Um, sir," began Kara, uncertain how to proceed. "I'm sorry for being so snotty. I know you have your reasons for issuing the order you did. But don't expect me to not be angry about it, or to act the same way with you I always have. Like it or not, this order creates a wedge between us."

Adama nodded. "I know, Kara. I'm sorry. Believe that. It was a very difficult order for me to give. But the reasoning behind it is good. It had to be done. And I want you to know one thing. My order had NOTHING whatsoever to do with you, or my feelings as a father about your worthiness to be married to Lee. If that were all there was to it, I would welcome you to the family with open arms."

"Good to know," said Kara. "I'd hoped you felt that way. It doesn't do me a lot of good right now, though."

"I know," said Adama. He smiled slightly and decided to reach out to Kara once again. "So, you ready to grab your gun and bring home the cat?"

Kara knew what Adama was doing, but she couldn't meet him halfway. "Sorry, sir. The gun and the cat are going to have to stay in the rain. I don't feel like bringing in either, or listening to the rain at the moment. Good day, Commander."

She turned and hobbled away. Adama watched her go until she turned a corner and was out of sight. He stood there for a long time, contemplating what his decision had cost him.

End of Chapter Twenty. Chapter Twenty-one coming soon. As always, feedback/reviews are welcomed and appreciated.