Chapter Twenty-Five:

Lee Adama was having a very good day. All of the flight schedules were done, the CAPs were going without a hitch for once, and the crew was still riding the high from the recent victory over the Cylons at the fuel base. To top it off, the night before, Lee had spent a very wonderful night with his wife on Cloud Nine. He entered the pilot's rec room to join in on a card game, the first he had been able to find time to play in a while. Lee sat at the table across from Dr. Baltar, who seemed to be around the rec room whenever there was a card game with big money to be won.

Laughing, drinking, and playing with the others at the game, Lee felt the war leave him for a while, receding into the background like a bad dream that couldn't intrude into real life. Usually, he only felt like this when he was with Kara. During the course of the game, Kara showed up and sat in for several hands. He had been able to put her back on the flight schedule for the day after tomorrow, and both were happy to have her back into the air.

A little while after Kara sat down, Lee was summoned over the PA system to the Commander's quarters. "A CAG's work is never done, eh Captain?" asked Crashdown.

"I guess so," said Lee. "I had a bum hand anyway."

Lee walked towards his father's quarters still riding the high he had been on all day. When Lee got to the door, he knocked and heard his father's voice call him into the room. Lee opened the door and stepped in to see his father sitting behind his desk. He was staring right at the door, a look on his face that carried quiet anger that Lee recognized. For a moment, a memory flashed into Lee's mind of a time when he was a boy, and his father caught him playing with one of the model ships the elder Adama built from time-to-time.

"Come in and sit down," said Adama, quietly.

Lee closed the door, walked over to a chair. His father's eyes followed the younger man as he crossed the room and sat down. They sat there staring at one another for a long time, neither one looking away. Lee felt as if his father was trying to intimidate him.

"So, um, is there something I can do for you, Dad?" asked Lee, trying to break the ice.

"You can tell me where you were last night," said Adama.

"Last night, sir?" asked Lee. "I was at the party on Cloud Nine, then reported back to the ship and hit the rack."

Adama simply stared at him quietly, letting the moment stand for a short while longer. Finally, the Commander stood up from his desk and walked over to a nearby table. He poured a glass of water. Without turning to look at Lee, the elder Adama drank from the glass.

"Lee," said Adama. "I know."

It took a few moments of silence that followed the remark for its implications to become clear to Lee. The Commander knew about his ongoing, forbidden relationship with Kara. Although, how much of it he knew still wasn't clear. Lee decided to play dumb and get more information.

"Know what, sir?"

"Lee, don't bull shit me," said Adama, as he turned to face his son. "I know about your little overnight layover on Cloud Nine with Kara. Colonel Tigh saw you going into your room with her. He also overheard your conversation. The two of you are married."

"So he knows that much," thought Lee. "No use denying it now." He decided to confront the situation head on. "Yes, Dad. Kara and I married in secret several weeks ago. We still wanted to be together despite your orders, but she didn't want to just have tawdry encounters in storage lockers. So, we married in secret so that the times we had together would have more meaning than that."

Adama simply stood and stared at Lee, his eyes condemning the young man in ways his voice was not needed to do. Lee stood up and continued his defense of his and Kara's actions.

"Look, we launch out into space in our Vipers to fight the Cylons, and Lords knows if we will come back alive! Kara and I can't wait until tomorrow, or the next day, or the next year, because we might not HAVE THAT! All we may have is today, because tomorrow, one or both of us might be DEAD! That's our reality now! Kara and I are in love, and we wanted to be married, and the only thing standing in the way was an unreasonable order from a man who claims to love us both! What did you expect us to do?"

"I expected you to follow your orders, CAPTAIN!" replied Adama, his voice raised and his body tensed with anger. He took a deep breath, and then quieted his voice, but his tone was still one of fury. "All I have heard you say is 'I want' and 'we felt.' You and Kara made a decision to put yourselves ahead of your duty as officers! This is exactly what I was afraid would happen if I let the two of you marry one another! It seems I was right to be worried! Despite my direct orders, you put your own personal feelings ahead of the regulations and ahead of your duty to all those we are sworn to protect!"

"Have my duties suffered in any way! Kara and I have been married for weeks! Have you noticed any lapses in my duties as CAG in that time? In no way has my marriage to Kara interfered with my duty or Kara's!"

"Yes, it has. Lee, I know that the two of you couldn't have gotten married in secret without assistance from at least some members of this crew. The same thing for your secret rendezvous last night. You have deliberately enlisted the assistance of your fellow crewmembers to commit acts that violated the direct orders of the Commanding officer. Is that what a CAG is supposed to do? What kind of leadership example does that set?"

"They never would have gone along with it unless they thought the order was unfair! Maybe that should tell you something!"

"Captain, the simple fact is that there are multiple charges that could be leveled against you. Fraternization with a subordinate in your direct chain of command, disobeying direct orders of your commanding officer, solicitation of acts of mutiny on board ship at a time of war. These charges could be filed against both you and Kara."

"So why isn't she here? She's a part of this."

"Because you are the senior officer. You bear the brunt of the responsibility. And it would not do to dress you down in front of your subordinate, even though you both share in these acts of insubordination. I'll deal with her separately. In the meantime, I've had to consider what to do with you. I need my CAG, but I can't just let this go. Therefore, I am sentencing you to 30 days in the brig, but you will only serve that time when you are off duty."

"So I'm being sent to bed without supper, is that it?" asked Lee, sarcastically.

"I see Kara's been rubbing off on you a little bit," said Adama. "But I suggest you take this a little more seriously. As for your marriage." Adama hesitated before continuing, letting the importance of what he was about to say sink in. He was also dealing with inner pain of having to say this to Lee. "I'm ordering that your marriage be annulled."

"Wha…What?" asked Lee. "You can't…"

"I can," said Adama. "Regulations stipulate that during a time of war, officers of the service must have permission from their commanding officer before they can marry fellow members of the service. You didn't, therefore your marriage to Kara is illegal and is now null and void."

"You bastard!" said Lee. "How can you do this!"

"I HATE DOING IT!" yelled Adama. He let his emotions shine through for a moment, but quickly checked himself before continuing. "You broke the regs, you knew it, now you have to pay the price for it."

"But…"

"Report to the brig!" said Adama. "There is a marine escort waiting outside!"

"Dad," pleaded Lee.

"Dismissed, Captain!"

Lee stood there for a few moments, as the two men stared at each other. Finally, Lee turned and headed for the door. But before he left, Lee said one more thing.

"You lost Mom, you lost Zack," said Lee. "Now you've lost me! I hate you!"

The younger man stepped out of the door, leaving his father standing alone in the room. Adama stood still for a moment, rubbing his eyes with his hand. After a few moments, Adama placed a call to CIC to call for Kara to come to his quarters.

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Kara was walking down the corridor towards the Commander's quarters. She knew Lee was heading that way, and she thought she might intercept him when he left. Even though they had spent the whole night together the previous evening, Kara couldn't get enough of spending time with her husband. She was going to grab him and lead him to a new secret spot she just found for their special times they spent together.

But as she rounded a corner in the corridor, Kara was surprised to see Lee being escorted down the corridor by Marines. They were either going with him under his command, or they had Lee under arrest. Either way, something was going on.

"Captain," said Kara, trying to play it professional with Lee in front of others. "What's…"

"He knows," said Lee, stopping and taking Kara's hand. "Tigh saw us on Cloud Nine. He knows everything."

"He's placed you under arrest!" said Kara, with an incredulous expression.

"Thirty days in the brig," said Lee. "To be served when off duty. But Kara, he also….Kara, he annulled our marriage."

Kara's face showed more shock and anger than Lee had ever seen. "No! He can't do that! He wouldn't!"

"He did," said Lee.

"Let's go, Captain," said one of the Marines.

Lee grabbed Kara and kissed her deeply. When he broke the kiss, he said. "I love you, Kara. No matter if he annuls our marriage or not."

The Marines led Lee away from Kara, who stood there not knowing what to do until she heard her name called over the PA. She was being ordered to report to the Commander's quarters. Kara stormed towards Adama's quarters as emotions swirled in her mind, heart, and soul.

She entered Adama's quarters without knocking, and slammed the door behind her. Adama was pouring a glass of water when Kara came in. He turned and saw the look of fury on Kara's face.

"You know," said Adama.

"Ran into Lee on the way here," said Kara. "Of all the people, I never thought you would betray us…betray me, like this."

"I could say the same to you," said Adama. "You both knew my orders and knew my reasons behind them. You disobeyed them. You left me with no alternatives."

"So am I to assume that I'm to be taken to a cell as well?"

"No. You're not. I need you to wrangle the pilots when Lee is off duty, in case of emergencies when Lee can't respond as fast because of his status in the brig."

"No, sir. I should get the same punishment as Lee!"

"Lee was the senior officer. He bears the brunt of the price to be paid. You bear a different burden. You will have to face knowing Lee is taking the brunt of the punishment for you. And, of course, your marriage is hereby annulled. I assume he told you."

Kara smiled at Adama, but it wasn't a pleasant smile. It was the confident smirk of defiance. She removed her wedding ring from her pocket, where she had been carrying it since she and Lee were married. Kara slipped the ring on her finger.

"Lee and I took vows of marriage in front of the eyes of the gods," said Kara. "I haven't been able to wear this ring publicly. Now, I can. Because no matter what you say, Lee is my husband and I am his wife. So with all due respect, sir, you can take your annulment and shove it up your ASS!"

Adama was angry at first over what Kara said, but he also understood that she loved his son deeply and saw him as the man hurting both of them. He decided to take a conciliatory tone.

"Kara…" began Adama, as he came closer to her to try and calm her. But before he could finish what he was saying, Kara slapped Adama in the face.

Adama physically reeled from the blow, as Kara began crying. "You gonna lock me in the brig with Lee now, too?" she said, in half sobs.

The Commander rubbed his face with his hand, and looked at Kara with carefully contained anger. "I'm tempted to take you over my knee because you are acting like a spoiled brat! I suggest you get out of here and pull yourself together! By you're actions you have already proved the correctness of my decision to keep you two from being together."

"I loved you," said Kara, tears falling down her cheeks. She then turned and ran out of the room.

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