A/N: Fluff warning. I wanted things to be happy for a little bit before all hell breaks loose again 8-).
Things went well over the next couple of weeks; Kara's life fell into a routine. Taking care of Kacey alone wasn't easy, but she had her friends and the Adamas to help. Lee continued sneaking Kacey sweets whenever he got his hands on some; he loved seeing the smile on her face when he offered her a present. Nothing much had changed with him and Kara. They ran together in the mornings and sometimes had lunch or dinner between shifts, but often those were group meals with other pilots. Kara decided that she wanted to plan a private surprise for a special occasion that was coming up.
Kara stopped outside of Lee's door, kneeling to set Kacey down on her feet. "You know the plan?" she asked her daughter.
"Uh-huh."
"Okay." Kara knocked on the door and then stepped away, leaving Kacey to carry out her part of their surprise.
Lee looked up from the paperwork he was doing when he heard the knock on his hatch. "Come in." He wasn't expecting Kacey to be the one to come inside. "Hey, what are you doing here? Does your mom know where you are?"
"Yep. You wanna play?"
"I can't right now, kiddo. I've got a lot of work to do before tomorrow."
Kacey shook her head. "Mommy says it can wait."
Lee chuckled. "Oh, did she?"
"Uh-huh. Come play now."
"Can I at least finish this one report?"
"I guess so." Kacey plopped down on the floor to wait. Lee shook his head with a smile. It was hard to imagine life on the ship without the little girl.
Ten minutes later, Lee put down his pen. "Okay, what do you want to play?" Kacey got up, grabbed his hand in both of hers and pulled, nearly toppling over and ending up back on the floor when Lee didn't move. "Am I supposed to follow you?"
"Uh-huh, let's go!"
Kara was waiting in the doorway when Kacey and Lee got down the hall. "I was beginning to wonder if you got lost," she told her daughter, picking her up.
"So you're in on this, too?" Lee asked her. "What's going on?"
Kara smiled. "Well, I just happened to look through the flight roster and saw that there's an extra name on there. Know anything about that?"
Lee laughed. "Yeah, I believe I do. The doc cleared me today."
"Congratulations."
"Thank you."
"We make dinner!" Kacey told him.
"No, we most certainly did not make dinner," Kara corrected her.
"Thank the Gods," Lee interjected. She shot him a look.
"We did, however, go put in a special request with the mess, and pick up three plates of dinner."
"Sounds good," he said. The food was waiting on the table by the couch. "Wow, a meal without pasta," Lee commented with a laugh as they sat down. It was one of those staples of shipboard food supplies that everyone had quickly gotten sick of.
Besides the dinner, Kara had also managed to get a berry tart that was the best anyone could do for dessert most days. Kacey, who was settled on Lee's lap, clapped with delight as her mother put the plate on the table. "You went all out," Lee commented.
Kara playfully saluted. "You're worth it. Celebration of the fact that you're once again not big enough of a dipstick for your job." He laughed, raising his cup to touch hers.
"Hear, hear!"
"Can I have?" Kacey asked her mother, pointing to the dessert.
"Sure, kiddo." She cut three slices, and held a fork for Kacey after deciding that the tart didn't need to become finger food for the toddler.
"Thank you for this," Lee told her as she started eating her own dessert once Kacey was finished and had taken a spot on the floor to start coloring pictures. "I'm not even sure my dad knows yet. I'm glad to be celebrating with you, though. You're the one that kicked my ass into gear in the first place."
"Just returning a favor. When I busted my knee, you sent Tigh up to rag on me, didn't you?"
"Um, I exercise my rights under Article 23."
Kara laughed. "As I suspected."
"So, how are you guys doing?"
She looked down at Kacey. "Good."
"You heard anything from Anders?"
"He's on the Geminon Liner. Which is good, I guess. He's happier there, so…We're having our marriage dissolved."
"Really?"
"Yeah, put the paperwork through a couple days ago."
"I'm sorry."
"Yeah, I am, too…Some days I miss him, but…I think some part of me knew it wasn't going to work, I just didn't want to admit it. We're too similar and too different at the same time, if that makes any sense."
"Somewhat. Is he going to see Kacey?"
"No, although I don't think she's terribly broken up about it. It's almost like she knew this was coming more than I did."
"She's an insightful kid."
"Yeah, and she didn't get it from me."
Lee smiled slightly. "Nah, probably not." She smacked his shoulder. "Seriously, though, Kara. Thank you. For doing this, and for putting up with me in general. There's no one else I'd rather have as my wingman."
"I guess I'm stuck with you, then," she replied with a grin. He returned it before taking advantage of the moment to lean forward and kiss her. Neither of them pulled back until the sound of a little voice giggling registered.
"Who invited the peanut gallery?" Lee asked.
Kara smiled. "She's part of the package."
"I guess I can handle that."
"Good." Something was changing between them, taking them somewhere they'd never been before. He'd almost slept with her a couple times over the years, but that had just been some unsuccessful attempts at casual sex, not…this. "I should probably head back to my quarters…" Lee finally said. "Still have a lot to do before tomorrow."
"Right," Kara replied, although neither one of them was moving yet.
"You leaving?" Kacey asked, snapping them out of whatever power they'd been under. The little girl crawled up Lee's legs to sit on his lap.
"Yeah, I am. Thank you for my surprise, though."
"You fly tomorrow?"
"Yep."
"What did I say to tell him?" Kara prompted her daughter.
Kacey grinned. "Good hunting!"
Lee laughed. "Oh, Gods, we ARE corrupting you. Can I get a hug goodnight before I go?" She eagerly wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Mommy happy now," she whispered in his ear. Lee smiled as his eyes met Kara's, realizing that the little girl was right.
"Good," he whispered back.
TBC...