Note: The first part of this chapter is a little rough, but it speaks to Kara's insecurities about what she did and how it will affect her relationship with Lee. However, get ready, because our two lovers will be reunited in this chapter. What will happen when they meet again? Read on and find out.

Chapter Thirty:

Kara woke up in the bed. She couldn't see very clearly at first, but there was someone sitting in a chair next to the bed. When her vision began to clear, Kara recognized the form sitting in the chair. A smile formed on her face.

"Lee," she said, in a hopeful voice. "Oh, thank the gods, you're here."

"Yeah, I'm here," said Lee. "We hooked up with the resistance movement, found out you got hurt and were in this clinic."

"We?" she asked.

"Yeah, I brought a rescue party," he said.

Kara was smiling, but Lee was not. She could tell by his expression that he was angry. "Lee, you came for me, even though…"

"Even though what?" asked Lee. "Even though you betrayed me and my father; betrayed our trust in you. Even though you jumped away on some frakked up mission on the behest of a woman who thinks she is some kind of savior! You chose her over ME!"

"No, Lee, I didn't," said Kara, desperately. "I was just trying to save us all. I never meant…"

"And to top it off," said Lee. "You decided to have a fling with the first guy who got close enough to you to let you know he had a hard-on for you!"

"I stopped myself," said Kara. "I'm sorry. I never…"

"I don't want to hear it," said Lee. "I can't believe I put up with you for so long! You're a slut! A dirty piece of trash! You're may be female, but you're sure as hell not a lady! You walk like a boy and you smell like a pig! If you weren't so good under the sheets, I would have dumped you long ago!"

Kara began crying. Lee walked over and grabbed Kara between her legs. "This is all you are! You're a CUNT!"

Kara tried to fight her way away from Lee, and let out a scream. Just as she did, she woke up in the same bed. Lee was gone. It had all been a dream.

"Kara," said a familiar voice.

Kara woke up once again, for real this time, resting down on the floor of a ship. It was the Heavy Raider Sharon stole from her fellow Cylons; the one she used to help Helo and the Resistance rescue Kara from that Farm. She shivered at the memory of her experiences in there, and a dream she had while in a drugged sleep in that place had haunted her sleep even now.

"I'm okay," said Kara, coming back to full consciousness. Helo helped her stand up.

"You sure?" asked Helo. "You didn't look like you were sleeping soundly."

"I was dreaming," said Kara. "That's all."

"About the Farm?" asked Helo.

"After a fashion," said Kara. "So, that nap you made me take was really recuperative," she added sarcastically. "You been keeping an eye on the toaster as she flies this thing?"

"Yeah," said Helo. "We're just about to make our final jump to Kobol. I just hope the fleet's waiting for us like you said they would be."

"If all went well with the President's plan," said Kara.

"And if not?" asked Helo.

"Then we're frakked," said Kara.

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Lee stood behind the communications console on the bridge of the Astral Queen. Ever since coming on board this ship with the President, then jumping to Kobol with the portion of the fleet she had convinced to join her crusade, he had spent little time anywhere else on board. The President had asked Lee to help her speak to the Quorum members on board, but Lee told the President that she would have to handle things politically. Lee had little time or inclination to help Roslin further right now, at least until Kara was back with him. In pursuit of that hope, Lee stood and waited for a sign that Kara had succeeded and managed to get to Kobol. It had been several days since they jumped here, and still no word.

"Captain," said the voice of the man sitting at the dradis console. "We have dradis contact. Ship just jumped into the system and is closing on the fleet."

"I'll inform Mr. Zarek," said one of Tom Zarek's men, as he headed out the door.

"Tell the President as well," said Lee, to the man as he left.

A minute or two later, both Zarek and President Roslin came onto the bridge. "What's going on?" asked Roslin.

"We have dradis contact," said Lee. "We still don't know who it is."

"It doesn't match the configuration of Lt. Thrace's Cylon raider," said one of the men at the consoles.

"Could be a Raptor scout from Galactica?" asked Zarek. "We should take it out."

They began to debate the issue, but all discussion of what to do was interrupted by a voice that came over the comm. channel. "This is Starbuck. Can anyone hear me?"

Lee heard the voice and looked at the speaker broadcasting the voice into the room. He stood there speechless, as the sound of Kara's voice washed over Lee like a wave of cool water, providing instant relief to what seemed like an eternity of tension.

"Can anyone hear me?" asked Kara. "Hello? Hello?"

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Lee stood with the others and waited for someone to walk out of the landing bay hatch. He somehow knew the first person off would be Kara, and he waited with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation at the thought that in just a few moments, he would see her. Part of him wanted to scream at her for jumping away to Caprica and worrying him sick over her safety. The other half wanted to pull her into his arms and never let her go. Lee really didn't know which he would do until he saw her.

He heard the hatch open, and then a few moments later, she stepped into view. Lee was startled at first by her appearance. She looked like she had been through hell. Her face was slightly bruised, her hair was pulled back but slightly disheveled, and it looked like she has lost some weight. But through all of that, she was still his Kara, and in Lee's eyes, she was beautiful.

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Kara turned and looked at the crowd of people waiting to greet her as she exited the landing bay of the Astral Queen. But despite the crowd of onlookers, she only saw one person. Lee was here, waiting for her to return.

"Gods, I've missed him," she thought, as her eyes beheld her husband's handsome features. Ever since she first met him, Kara felt that Lee was the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life, and even though it looked like Lee needed a shave and a shower, he was still a sight for her sore eyes.

But Kara didn't know what to do; didn't know whether Lee was there to greet her or berate her for what she did. Was he going to welcome her back, or dress her down and thrown his wedding ring in her face for betraying him? She didn't approach him. Instead, she stood and waited to see what he would do.

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Lee saw Kara freeze in her tracks. She stood looking right at him, and Lee recognized her expression. To most, it would have seemed that Kara was just standing motionless for no apparent reason. But Lee knew Kara's moods, just by the look in Kara's beautiful eyes. Her eyes said to him that she was uncertain, even frightened, by her reunion with him.

"She must think that I'm upset with her," thought Lee. "Maybe I am a little, but she's back and that's all that matters."

Lee approached Kara with strong, purposeful steps, and pulled her into his arms. As soon as Kara figured out what Lee was doing, she flung herself into Lee's embrace, and held on tight as Lee held onto her just as forcefully.

They didn't say anything at first. Instead, they just held onto one another for dear life. They didn't care about anything else in the universe in that moment, except that they were holding one another. For the first time since Kara left for Caprica, Lee felt relief from his anguish over her safety and Kara felt safe from all that might harm her.

Lee cupped Kara's face, and brushed away a stray her from her eyes. She was smiling at him. He kissed her passionately on the lips. As they broke the kiss, Kara chuckled slightly.

"Good to see you, too, Captain," she said, as she kissed him back just as meaningfully as he kissed her.

"I should be throwing you in the brig right now," said Lee, after enjoying Kara's kiss.

"Yeah, well, you can confine me to quarters, as long as you're with me," said Kara.

Someone coughed off to the side, and both Lee and Kara looked over at the source of the noise. "Oh yeah, the President and entourage," thought Lee. But he refused to let go of Kara, as she turned to greet the President.

"Lieutenant," said President Roslin, warmly.

Kara took Roslin's outstretched hand, having to turn with Lee's arms refusing to release her. As the knowledge of where they were came back to Kara, she remembered something important.

"Lee, there's something I have to tell you," said Kara.

But before she could, someone stepped out of the landing bay hatch, and came into view of the assembled crowd. It was Sharon, walking slowly into view. Kara was still in Lee's arms as he saw who it was coming into view. As soon as he saw Sharon, Kara could feel Lee's muscle tense up. She looked at his face, and saw a look of pure rage come across his features.

Lee let go of her and ran straight at Sharon. The latter tried to back up, but the shock delayed her long enough to give Lee a clear chance to grab her by her jacket and fling her against a nearby support post. Lee's other hand pulled out his pistol from its holster and shoved the barrel of it into Sharon's cheek.

"LEE!" screamed Kara, running to him in a panic.

She looked back and forth between Lee and Sharon. The latter was clearly frightened, but the look on Lee's face scared Kara even more. She had never seen Lee so filled with anger and hatred in his life as his eyes bore into Sharon Valeri.

"Lee, calm down!" said Kara.

Just then, another person came running in from the landing bay. It was Helo, who ran up behind Lee and put a weapon to the back of Lee's head.

"Helo, DON'T!" yelled Kara.

"Drop your weapon, SIR!" said Helo, forcefully. "Drop your weapon!"

Kara stood in shock and fear, not knowing what was going on or what to do about it.

"Alright, everyone calm down and take a step back," said President Roslin, taking charge of the situation. "Captain Adama, and…I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?"

"Lt. Karl Agathon," said Helo.

"He was Sharon's ECO," said Lee. "I thought you were dead, Helo. You a Cylon, too?"

"Don't even try…"

"Okay, you are both going to put your weapons down," said President Roslin. "We will talk about this. No one is shooting anyone here."

"What do you say, Captain?" asked Helo. "Should we do what the lady says?"

"That lady is the President of the Colonies, you moron!" said Lee. "And yes, we are going to do exactly what she says."

Lee and Helo both put down their guns and stepped away from Sharon. "Good," said Roslin. She then gestured to several men standing behind her. "Now put that THING out the airlock!"

The men rushed Sharon and grabbed her, dragging her out of room kicking and screaming more men held back Helo as he tried to stop them. Kara looked on helplessly as she was still paralyzed with uncertainty about how to respond to all of this. Lee, however, could not stand by silently as Helo protested the destruction of what the former saw as a dangerous machine.

"Hey, Helo! Listen to ME!" yelled Lee, after closing the distance with Helo and getting near the latter's face. "One of those THINGS shot my FATHER in the CHEST!"

"It wasn't ME!" yelled Sharon as they dragged her towards the hatchway.

"Adama was SHOT!" cried Kara, in disbelief.

Lee looked at Kara with a mixture of pain and anger in his eyes. "You missed a few catastrophes while you were away!"

"She did not only shoot the Commander," said Roslin. "She shot Captain Adama as well."

"Wha..what," said Kara, quietly looking at Lee.

He met her eyes, and shook his head. "I'm okay, just a few stitches in the shoulder," said Lee, trying to assuage her fear.

"You were shot?" asked Kara, now coming closer to Lee. "You…I just can't believe this!"

"Lieutenant, I know you are upset, but do you have the arrow?" asked Roslin.

Kara pulled out the arrow from its case, and handed it to the President without taking her eyes from Lee. She felt ashamed of herself for leaving Lee at a time when he needed her most.

"I can help you find the Tomb of Athena!" yelled Sharon, as she was finally dragged out of the room.

Surprisingly, a few moments later, Roslin ordered someone to go and stop the men from disposing of Sharon. She felt that Sharon might have some information that could help them, and didn't want to take the chance of losing it.

Eventually, everyone left the room except for Lee and Kara. They stood there, looking at one another for a few moments, not knowing what to say. Finally, Lee broke the silence.

"Welcome home," he said. "Though you really should have left the trash on Caprica."

End of Chapter Thirty. Chapter Thirty-One coming soon.