Note: I wanted to apologize that it took me this long to get back to doing this next chapter. This chapter will take place during the episode "Hand of God", but I wasn't sure going into it how I wanted the AU elements to influence the events of the episode, especially Lee and Kara's interaction with one another. I went through four different draft versions of the chapter before finally coming up with a version that I liked. I hope you find it worth the wait.

Chapter Twenty-Three:

Lee stood looking at the plans for the attack on the Cylon refueling base, examining the images taken by the reconnaissance flights in every detail. He was committing the layout of the base and the plan to memory, as he would not have the plans to look at in the cockpit of his Viper.

He admired the simple brilliance of the plan laid out before him. At first, he had been more than a little perturbed at Kara for not only belittling his and Tigh's plan in front of his father, but for also coming up with a new one in half as much time as it took Tigh and himself. But then, he remembered how she had done the same thing to help him with an assignment when he was in War College. She had a brilliant mind for space combat tactics. Lee would be a fool not to recognize it. Not to mention he could take pride in the fact that the brilliant woman behind the plan was his wife, although he could not do so publicly.

The hatch to the room opened, and Lee heard Kara's distinctive footfalls coming into the room. He could hear the slight limp in her movement as she approached him.

"He didn't clear you for the mission, did he?" asked Lee, without even turning around.

"No," said Kara. "He demonstrated how my knee wouldn't take the G's. Not sure if I agree with him, but he's the boss, so…we do what he says."

"Well, most of the time," said Lee, rubbing his finger where his wedding ring should be.

"Yeah, well," said Kara. "If I can't be out there with you on this op, I want to make frakking sure you've got the plan down."

Kara went over every detail of the plan with Lee once again, giving him hints and suggestions along the way. All through the briefing, Lee could hear a tone in Kara's voice that bothered him. She was acting as if she was unsure about whether or not Lee could pull this off. At one point, Lee had to voice his concerns.

"You almost sound like you think I can't pull this off," said Lee.

"Of course not," said Kara, looking at Lee with a less than confident expression. "You'll do fine."

Lee took a deep breath. He knew Kara too well to know that what she last said was hardly a ringing endorsement. "Look, Starbuck, everyone on this ship wishes you were going. And you're worried that I won't pull this off without some last moment, hair-brained maneuver like Starbuck would. But don't think for a second that I can't get it done."

"Let's hope so," said Kara. "Because we've only got one shot at this. Don't frak this up by over thinking."

Kara turned to walk away, but Lee grabbed her arm. "Where the frak is this coming from? You are hardly showing much confidence in your husband's abilities to lead this mission!"

"I'm not speaking to my husband at this moment," said Kara, shaking her arm away from Lee. "I'm speaking to my CAG who has a tendency to over think things and not fly on instinct! Lee, this is going to be a quick op that requires split-second timing and decision-making!"

"Look, Kara, I'm not some frakking nugget! You're treating me like I'm Hot Dog or Chuckles! And the least I could expect from you is some FRAKKING SUPPORT!"

"What, you want me to hold your hand? Hmm? Is that it? You want me to stroke your ego and tell you it's going to be okay? Well, Lee, if you are looking for that, look elsewhere. I'm here to make sure you get your ass back here in one piece and get the mission accomplished!"

Kara turned back towards the door, and this time Lee didn't try to stop her. Instead, he turned back towards the photos of the base, and once again went over the plan. He was determined now more than ever to pull this off, if for any other reason and to prove to Starbuck that he was more than capable of doing it without her.

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Kara watched from the shadows as Lee sat looking at the Viper in front of him. She had gone to find him in his bunk, where hopefully she would find him sleeping. But when she found Lee's bunk empty, Kara went looking for her husband to make sure he was okay. She felt terrible about the way she treated him earlier, and wanted to try and make it up to him. Ultimately, Chief Tyrol said he saw him heading for the flight deck. That's where she found him, sitting alone and forlorn looking at the ship that would carry him into battle tomorrow.

She stood and watched him for several moments, both admiring her husband's beautiful features and pitying the lost look on his face. Kara was just working up the courage to speak to Lee when she saw his father approach him.

"Couldn't sleep?" asked Adama.

Lee looked up and acknowledged his father's presence, then nodded before looking back at the Viper. Adama stood beside Lee, leaning on the same railing that Lee was sitting on. "Neither could I the night before a big op," said Adama. The Commander then looked at Lee's fighter. "Mark II. Good ship. Got me out of a lot of tough scrapes."

Kara just stood in the shadows and listened to their conversation. She knew the two of them had been distant lately, mainly because of Lee's anger over his father's orders preventing him from publicly marrying Kara. Although he had married his beloved in secret, he was still seething from the loss of the right to call Kara his wife outside of private, intimate moments with her. Kara felt guilty about it, even though it wasn't really her fault.

"I've got something for you," said Adama, pulling something out of his pocket. He tossed it to Lee. "This belonged to your grandfather. It was a gift from your grandmother."

Lee examined the small object. Kara recognized it. It was a lighter that Adama had used to light his and Kara's cigars before. It was very old. The Commander had let Kara look at it once. It had Lee's grandfather's name engraved on it.

"Do you see the engraving there?" asked Adama, pointing to it on the lighter.

"I can just barely make it out," said Lee.

"He was a better father than I was," said Adama, in a startling admission. "Your grandfather used to carry that into court cases. He claimed he never lost, unless he left it behind."

Lee clenched the lighter in his hand, and then looked up with a sigh. "So you're worried, too?"

Kara closed her eyes briefly in shame, knowing that the other person he was thinking about who was worried was her.

"About what?" asked Adama.

"Sometimes it feels like the whole ship thinks that…Starbuck…would do better," replied Lee.

Kara had to hold back her tears. She felt so much the urge to run to Lee and tell him that she had every confidence in him, but she didn't want to interrupt what was supposed to be a private moment between father and son.

"I don't," said Adama.

"How can you be so sure?" asked Lee.

Adama looked up at Lee. "Because you're my son."

Lee looked taken aback, then looked at his father. The two of them shared a silent exchange of thoughts with one another, with their eyes saying all that needed to be said. Kara pondered Adama's words, tuning out the rest of the conversation. "It's that simple, isn't it?" she thought. "I love Lee. That's the only reason I need to show him confidence, to let him know that she believed in him. Leave it to the old man to have that little bit of wisdom."

As Adama left, Kara stood and watched Lee smile, knowing that his father had done what his wife failed to do earlier. The latter decided to do something about that.

Kara stepped quietly towards Lee, letting herself come into his field of vision. Lee looked up at her, a guarded smile on his face. The two of them just looked at each other for a few moments before Lee finally broke the silence.

"Gods, you are beautiful," he said.

Kara blushed, not expecting him to throw out that compliment. She always loved it when he called her beautiful. She thought about asking him why he was saying it at that moment, but decided to press forward with her reason for being there.

"Lee, I'm sorry about earlier," she said. "I just feel angry and guilty that I can't be out there with you. I took it out on you, and that wasn't fair. I'm also feeling a little scared. I mean, tomorrow you are going out there and risking your ass and possibly getting it shot off."

"That's a risk we face every time we launch," said Lee. "You know that."

"I know," said Kara. "But faced with the reality of it, combined with the fact I won't be out there to cover you, it just scares me."

Lee stepped down from his seat and walked over to her. He pulled her to him, and gently cupped her cheek with his right hand. Caressing her cheek with his thumb, Lee spoke while looking directly into Kara's eyes. "I'll be okay. I will come back to you. I just have to know that you believe in me."

Kara put her arms around Lee, and gently kissed him on the lips. "I do," she said. "I believe in you. Because you are a born leader, and a great pilot. And I love you for that, and so much more."

"I love you, too," said Lee. "You give me something to come home to. That's important."

He kissed her once again, then just rested his head against hers. After a few moments, Kara pulled back. "You should get some sleep."

"I should, but I can't sleep now," said Lee. "I'm too wired. But maybe if you helped me to work off some tension."

Lee made his intentions clear when he started rubbing her but with one hand, and pulled her back to his body with the other.

"Here on the flight deck?" asked Kara, with a mocked tone of shock. "My, my, what would they say if they knew, Captain?"

"Not on the flight deck?" asked Lee. "Someone might see. I was thinking we could steam up the windows in one of the raptors. Want to try?"

"Anything you say, sir," she said, as he pulled her towards one of the Raptors.

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