Silver Linings

Set at the end of 'The Captain's Hand' - directly at the end of the Lee/Kara scene.

Summary: "She would never have expected Lee Adama of all people to cheat on her."

ooooooooooooooo

"What is wrong with you?" Gaeta asked as Dee came storming into their bunkroom, slamming the hatch after her and throwing herself down on her bunk.

She threw him a venomous look then turned her head to stare at the wall.

"Okay," he muttered slowly, giving his reflection in the locker a knowing look. "All is not well in paradise obviously." He pulled on his uniform jacket then turned and sat on the table that divided the room.

"You wanna talk about it?" he offered. "I've got a little time before my shift."

She snorted angrily. "I thought he was different," she choked out.

"You mean ... Captain ... Major Adama? I take it you two have had a fight?"

She sat up and faced him, eyes blazing with anger. "No. That's the problem. Things are just fantastic. It's like we don't have a care in the world," she bit out sarcastically.

Gaeta shrugged and shook his head. "So, what's the problem then?"

She stood up, hands firmly planted on her hips. "I just caught him frakking around with someone else!"

Gaeta's eyes widened, more at her use of the word frak than at the knowledge that Apollo was cheating on her. He'd never heard Dee swear before - she always seemed so ... ladylike.

"Oh," he said shortly. "With whom?"

"Who do you think?" she threw out at him angrily.

He nodded, comprehension dawning. "Starbuck."

She nodded, tears filling her eyes at the memory, still so fresh in her mind.

She walked slowly up to the hatch, hearing subdued voices. Not wanting to intrude, she stood just outside listening, wondering if one of the people she could hear was Lee. It was, and the other was Starbuck, and it sounded like they were having an intimate moment. Their voices were low and Dee could barely make out their words. She wasn't generally an eavesdropper, but now that she and Lee were together, she felt as though they shouldn't be keeping secrets from one another. She moved closer, holding her head so she could just peek at them.

"Are we okay?" Kara asked in a small voice, looking extremely sad and vulnerable, something Dee had never seen before.

Lee's brow furrowed, but a smile played around his lips, showing her he was teasing. "You have a brain?"

Kara made a face at him, and Dee noticed, for the first time, that their hands were joined in what looked to be a friendly handshake. Very friendly.

Lee pulled her into a hug and they stayed that way for a few seconds. Kara fought the tears she could feel pricking in her eyes. Fighting with Lee always hurt so much more than fighting with anyone else. Her whole world felt as though it was thrown off it's axis when the two of them weren't getting along, and it was an incredible relief that he'd forgiven her and everything was okay again after all that had happened in the previous month.

She was about to pull away when she felt him bury his face into her neck and sigh. So she waited, wanting to know what was up with him. He tightened his arms around her and murmured her name, sending shivers down her spine. She cursed herself mentally for being so frakking attracted to this man that all it took was a whisper of her name for her to become jelly in his arms.

"Lee," she murmured back, then shuddered involuntarily as she felt his lips connect with her neck. He's kissing me - holy frak, he's kissing me! she thought, and she pulled him closer, loving the feel of his warm lips on her skin and knowing he could feel her body responding to his touch.

Dee's mouth dropped wide open as Lee kissed his way along her jaw and up to her lips, one hand firmly twined in the hair that had come out of her ponytail. Their lips met and even Dee, ten feet away, could feel the room heat up instantaneously as passion built between them.

"Kara, gods Kara, I've wanted this ever since the last time," Lee murmured, never slowing the pace of his kisses, just speaking as he took quick breaths. "I know you don't want me but ..."

"I never said that," Kara said, bringing her hands up to cup his face. "I want you ..." Her mouth hung open as she gasped for air and Lee was transfixed by her tongue. He had to taste it. He pulled her to him forcefully and kissed her had, tongue pushing firmly into her mouth. Gods, it was so sweet - so powerful in it's will to devour him - it brought goosebumps over his entire body and he wasn't sure how he was still standing, his knees were feeling so weak.

She moaned and the sound of it drove him insane. The hand at the small of her back slid under her sweatshirt to caress her bare skin and, no word of a lie, the heat burned his fingers deliciously. He peeled his other hand out of her hair and it joined the first, pulling the shirt up in the back so he could stroke all of her up to her sports bra.

"Lee, Lee," she moaned, fingers digging into his short hair and pulling his mouth closer. He unzipped her sweatshirt and threw it off, mouth never leaving hers.

His hands now roamed freely over every inch of bare skin he could find, feeling himself grow harder and harder at the touch of her skin. Kara was obviously feeling it too, as she ground her hips against his, the friction multiplying his arousal infinitely more.

Before he was aware of what was happening, he'd let go of her and pulled his jacket off, the better to feel her aroused nipples. Kara's hands began exploring his tank-clad torso and she moaned at the feeling of his taut muscles straining to pull out of the thin fabric.

His hands traveled around her sides to brush against the swell of her breasts, and he felt her shiver against him as he stroked the sensitive flesh through her bra. He slid his thumbs across her nipples, rubbing them gently, their hardness bringing him to full arousal immediately.

Kara's hands ran along the length of his waistband and settled at the front, beginning to undo his pants.

"Kara," he moaned gutterally, "we can't - I have to go."

"Frak that," she swore, "I'm not letting you go again."

"My raptor leaves in a few minutes." He pulled away from her mouth reluctantly and let his hands drop to her waist. "I have to go."

"Is that the only reason you can't continue?" came an icy voice from the doorway ... Dee.

Lee pulled away from Kara as if stung suddenly. "I uh ... I ... Anastasia ..."

She held up a hand to forestall him. "Don't even bother," she said, voice pitched low, obviously holding back tears with effort.

Kara wiped her mouth, cheeks burning. The thought of frakking Lee while he was 'with' Dee didn't really bother her, but actually getting caught in the act was something she had a little more difficulty with. She crossed her arms over her nearly-naked chest, acutely conscious for once, of her undressed state.

"I thought ..." Dee began, "I thought that ..." she choked out. "But obviously I was wrong. It's over." She turned and fled before the tears came and she embarrassed herself by crying. They'd only been together two weeks, but already she'd begun to feel there was something special between them. Obviously Lee didn't feel the same way. She now felt like a fool.

Gaeta gave a small, sympathetic smile. She'd only given him the barest gist of the situation, but he could fill in the details. He'd seen it between others he'd served with too many times to count. Dee thought it was something unique - that her pain was unique, but in reality it was more commonplace than the happy, long-lasting relationships that sometimes occurred.

"Was it me? Did I do something wrong?" she asked tearfully, hurt and anger now giving way to self-doubt and shame.

"I'm sure that's not the case. Sometimes these things just happen," he said, trying to be helpful. It didn't seem to be helping though, from the expression on her face.

"But why did it have to happen to me?"

"If it wasn't you, it would have been someone else," Gaeta replied, in a slight frustrated voice. Life happened, you dealt with it, and you moved on. That was his philosophy.

"What do you mean?" she demanded, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Come on Dee, haven't you seen the way they look at each other? You've been on this ship with them long enough."

She frowned.

"It was only a matter of time before something happened between them, and you just happened to be the unfortunate soul who was caught in the middle when all the pieces came together." He shrugged apologetically. Yeah, the truth probably hurt but she needed to hear it.

"What do you mean 'the pieces came together'?"

"You could see it every time they were together, feel it every time they talked to each other - I think they've both known since day one that they wanted each other but all sorts of things kept them apart. The fact that Apollo nearly died and Starbuck was the one who shot him was, I think, the catalyst that made them realize that denying what they feel for each other is stupid."

Dee's eyes narrowed. "So you're on their side? You think it's okay for him to start a relationship with me and then be all over her?"

"That's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying I think the Apollo - Starbuck pairing was inevitable and that there's unfortunately nothing anyone can do to stop it. I'm sorry you got caught in the middle - you're a really nice girl and you don't deserve this kind of shit, but sometimes it happens and well ... maybe it's better it happened now before you made a commitment."

"But I did - I dumped Billy for Lee," she whispered sadly. "Guess I made the wrong choice."

Gaeta put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. Dee looked into his eyes - deep, dark, sympathetic eyes. And remembered again, why he was her closest friend here.

She smiled weakly. "Thanks."

He returned it. "I'm on shift now, covering for the XO for a few hours - how 'bout we grab something to eat after that?"

"That sounds good."

"Meet you in the mess hall at 1900 then?"

"You bet." She smiled. Life could definitely be shitty sometimes, but there was always a silver lining.

The End