Kara woke up in the spare bedroom of Caroline Adama's house to feel the bed empty beside her and vowed to herself that the first time she had one drink too many with Lee would also be the last time.


Kara woke up in the spare bedroom of Caroline Adama's house to feel the bed empty beside her and vowed to herself that the first time she had one drink too many with Lee would also be the last time.

It had been innocent enough in the beginning. Zak wanted to go visit his mother during the Academy holiday, and he invited Kara along. Kara was never one to turn down some time with a fascinating woman like Caroline.

Then it all went south.

Zak got the call that he had to stay on campus because of some botched test whose results didn't come in. He insisted that she still go visit his mother. Caroline had been talking non-stop about how much she was looking forward to it. When Kara knocked on the Adamas' front door, she was shocked when a man answered the door.

"Is… is Caroline home?"

The young man smiled and pushed the door open. "You're Kara. My mom's been expecting you."

Kara's eyes went wide as she realized this was Lee, the man Zak never stopped talking about. "I thought you were supposed to be gone."

Lee shook his head. "The War College is on break just like the Academy. I thought I'd come home for a bit."

Kara nodded and stepped into the house. Caroline Adama's voice beckoned to her from the kitchen, announcing they'd have sandwiches for lunch.

The afternoon passed by quickly. Kara had to admit staying at the Adamas' without Zak was a lot less awkward than she thought it would be. After lunch, Kara helped Caroline finish the chores around the house and then they went down to the market in Caprica Square to purchase dinner.

Kara was surprised to watch Caroline hand off the bags of groceries to her son the second they stepped into the door. Caroline then told Kara she would see her in a bit and walked upstairs. Kara wasn't sure what to do next, but luckily Lee told her to follow him. He motioned for her to take a seat on one of the stools at the breakfast bar and, grabbing a bottle of wine off the rack in the kitchen, poured her a glass.

"You're making dinner?" she asked.

"My mom put me to work in the kitchen from the moment I was old enough to use the stove so you don't have to worry about being poisoned or anything," Lee assured her.

Kara chuckled. How he had known that was what she was thinking was beyond her.

They shifted into a comfortable sort of exchange of information. Kara found she had a lot in common with Lee from their love of pyramid to their need to feel the open space around them. She was surprised when Caroline popped into the kitchen to ask if dinner was ready. It seemed two hours had gone by without her noticing.

Dinner was refreshing in a way that made her wish Zak was here. He would love to see his girlfriend and his family getting on so well.

Kara was helping clear the table when Lee suggested she come with him into the city. A few of his friends from primary school were also in town, and they had invited him out for beers. Kara declined at first but Lee persisted until the last glass was cleaned, dried, and put away.

"Please, Kara. The guys won't know what to do with a girl like you, and I would love to watch them try."

It was the glimmer of mischief in his eye that pushed her over the edge. She rummaged around her bag for the best outfit, ending up with a tube top and jeans. It wasn't like she expected to be hitting the town on this vacation so it would have to do.

Lee's friends made her laugh. They reminded her of her fellow teachers at the Academy in the way they dished it out as good as they took it. Kara found herself forgetting that she was out with her boyfriend's brother and should probably be wishing Zak was here. It most likely had something to do with getting away from military life completely. She hadn't done that in years.

The only moment of discomfort had been when a rather skuzzy looking man came over and wouldn't take no for an answer. He followed her over to the table, and she was about to let her fists do the talking when Lee grabbed her waist and pulled her into his lap. A few whispered words in her ear and a well-timed giggle and the man was gone.

It wasn't until an hour later that Kara realized she hadn't moved out of Lee's lap.

The night started blurring about the time that Lee claimed he could drink anyone under the table. Kara's pride had come out immediately, and before she knew it, they had gone through two bottles of ambrosia. She challenged him to an arm wrestling match which somehow ended up with her pinning him to the ground.

After that it was all just flashes of memory. Lee's friends leaving at two in the morning. The two of them stumbling down the road as they searched for a cab that would take them home. Trying not to giggle as Lee dropped his keys for the tenth time on the doorstep. Tiptoeing past Caroline's door and feeling Lee's hands on her back as he shoved her into the next room.

Then everything went black.

She woke up alone in a bed that she was pretty sure wasn't the one she had intended to sleep in with a hangover that threatened to split her skull. She shut her eyes and prayed that she would just die.

A blare of sunlight hitting her face was the only thing that brought her back to the land of the living. She opened her eyes to see Lee smirking at her. He was leaning up against the window wearing only a towel. She managed to hiss "go to hell, Adama" before pulling the sheet over her head. She did a quick check and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her bra and underwear exactly where they should be. "Where am I?" she asked through the sheet.

"You're in my bedroom." She could hear Lee laughing and fought the urge to jump out of bed to slug him. "Actually, to be accurate, you're in my bed."

"Why am I in your bed?"

"My guess is I was tired last night and just wanted to go to sleep. I probably dragged you in here with me."

"Why didn't I protest?"

"I distinctively remember you saying you were tired, too." She heard a rustling and a few minutes later, she felt the bed dip beside her. After a few seconds, she felt a poke in her side. "Don't fraking touch me if you want to keep that hand," she growled. Lee kept poking her, though. "Get the frak away from me, Adama."

The bed shifted again, and Kara felt the sheet pull away from her head. Lee let out a sigh of relief when he saw she was smiling. "Time to get up, Kara."

"No fraking way," she objected and tried to pull the covers back up. Lee fought her and before she knew what was happening, they were wrestling again. It felt different doing this sober, not exactly dangerous but still exciting.

Once they were both out of breath, Kara sighed and let herself lay down next to Lee. After a moment, Lee shifted to rest his head on her stomach. It should have felt weird considering she had only met him the day before, but somehow it didn't. "Why do you want me to get up so much? It's not like you want to use the bed."

"I was going to go for a run around the block, and I remembered Zak saying you liked that kind of thing. I thought you might want to go with me."

"What am I supposed to wear?"

Lee's eyes went down to the bag on the floor. Kara couldn't remember bringing that in here, but she must have. "You can't tell me there aren't running clothes in there."

Kara rolled her eyes and pushed Lee's head away. She got to her feet and rummaged around the bag until she found her sports bra and shorts. She motioned for Lee to turn around to which he rolled his eyes but did as she asked.

"It's not like I haven't seen it before," he pointed out.

"I don't think Zak would like you seeing his girlfriend's plumbing." She quickly changed and gave Lee's shoulder a shove. Within thirty seconds, their running shoes were on and they were fighting their way down the stairs.

When they reached the downstairs, Lee put his hand up to block the front door. "Something wrong?" Kara asked.

"If you don't have anything to do later, there's a lake on the other side of the city that I think you would love. Zak mentioned you were an artist, and I think I could be really quiet for you if you wanted to sketch or something."

Kara smiled and gave a small nod. Going to see a lake with Lee sounded perfect. Zak would be here in a day or two so she probably wouldn't have that much quiet time. He kept talking about all the places he wanted to show her, and she knew that Caroline would want to spend time with the two of them.

Satisfied, Lee grabbed Kara's hand and pulled her out the door. They fell into a steady rhythm, running side by side.


Caroline Adama paused in her baking and smiled. She picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number of her younger son's dorm room. He sounded half-asleep. "Zak, honey, it's Mom."

"Hey. How's it going? Did Kara make it in okay?"

"Yes, and Lee, too." Caroline could practically hear the smile on her baby boy's face.

"So how'd it go?"

"Your Kara has the distinction of being the first woman to pass the Lee test."

Zak let out a loud cry of triumph, and Caroline smiled. She loved that her younger son used his brother's approval as a way to figure out if the girl he was dating was really as great as he thought. "No way. Lee was actually civil to Kara?"

"More than that, the two of them wouldn't shut up during dinner and then he took her out into the city with the guys."

"Frak me. He hasn't even taken me out with his friends!"

"And guess where they are now? Running."

"Mother fraker! Oops. Sorry, Mom."

"He's taking her to the lake later today."

"Good thing this is Lee we're talking about or I'd be jealous."

Caroline smiled, but there was a nagging doubt at the back of her head. "I'll let you get some sleep, baby. Call later today so you can hear how much fun your girlfriend is having with your crazy mother."

"Thanks, Mom," Zak said. "I love you."

"Love you, too."

"Tell Lee not to steal my girlfriend," Zak managed to spit out before the line went dead.

Caroline hung up the phone and shook her head. Everyone told her that having two young boys was going to be a handful, but it seemed that things had only gotten worse now that they were grown-up. At least there was Kara. Maybe having another female perspective in the family would calm the two Adama brothers down a bit. Gods know she needed the help when it came to those two.