Kara had nicknamed her the Blackbird when she'd seen it yesterday, it was fitting. Lee felt an inexplicable pride to see her finished and in front of her launch tube for the first time. Weeks of work had brought him to this point, he looked up and found Kara regarding him with a raised eyebrow from the cockpit. "Are you done copping a feel Apollo?"
He shrugged, "Sorry Starbuck, it's just… I feel a bit like a father sending his child off to school for the first time." He frowned and looked to Kat and Hot Dog performing their final launch prep. The two young pilots would be spotting Kara on the test flight. He turned back to Kara and shrugged, "I'd feel better if I was out there with you." He'd attempted to get cleared for flight yesterday but Cottle had said he was still underweight and his back was still bothering the doctor.
Kara gave him a wicked grin and before she could mock him for his choice of phrase he barreled on, "Now, don't worry about putting her through the paces this flight, we're just making sure she can fly. Stick to the manual for start up and be careful, she's gonna try to buck you off the stick, forgive the pun. I'll be on the headset in CIC and the Chief will be on the line too so-"
Kara laughed as Cally handed her helmet over, "For frak's sake Lee, you'd think I'd never grabbed the stick before. Stop being a mother hen, I'm pretty sure as CAG that's my job anyway."
Lee grinned, "Just come back in one piece."
She gave him a sappy expression, "Aww, Apollo I didn't know you cared. Are you gonna miss me?"
"Of course, Starbuck." He winked, "You still owe me fifty cubits from last week."
"You cheated!"
"Did not!"
"Did so!" She pulled her helmet on and checked her seal before pulling the canopy closed then gave Lee a thumb up. She then began her checklist and Lee trotted off the flight deck. He arrived in CIC moments later and stepped over to the tac table. He opened the flight manual he and the Chief had written while a technician fitted him with a headset. While the flight chatter would be over the speakers Lee needed direct contact with both Kara and the Chief in case something went wrong.
"…Fuel pressure, nominal." Starbuck was finishing up the checklist. He turned to communications and nodded to Dee who cleared the flight for launch. "Run up." After a moment Lee heard Kara's voice again, "Oh, don't blow up on me now." He noticed his father stifle a smirk from his position across the table.
Moments later he heard Dee declare the Blackbird away. He heard some grunting over the coms and at one point Hot Dog's worried voice came through, "Quit showing off, Starbuck!"
"Who's showing off? This bitch is fighting me!"
Lee triggered his mic and said, "Ease off on the power, Starbuck."
"Stand by… Oh come on you bastard… Stand by Apollo… Got it!"
"Galactica/Kat, confirmed, Blackbird has straightened out."
Lee felt some of the tension in his spine slip away, he flipped a few pages forward and triggered his mic again. "Starbuck/Galactica, put her through a few basic maneuvers, nothing fancy."
When he heard Kara say, "Let's see what you can do." He knew she wasn't listening.
A moment later her exclamation and Kat's startled voice confirmed his suspicions. "Galactica/Kat, I've lost visual contact, negative DRADIS contact! Blackbird is gone!"
Adama nodded to Dee and she began calling Starbuck while Lee just stared at his whitened knuckles as he clutched the edge of the table. Seconds were ticking away and the mood was becoming bleaker the longer Kara was off the grid. He finally triggered his mic, "Kara? Are you out there? Are you all right?" His voice was strained and all he could think was, 'Lords of Kobol, please tell me I haven't killed my best friend.'
It was at that moment that the Lords seemed to answer his prayer as Starbuck's laughing voice burst over the wireless, "You all seemed to forget this was a stealth ship, of course you lost contact."
Hot Dog's laugh erupted as he said, "Galactica/Hot Dog, visual contact with Blackbird."
There was a burst of relieved applause through CIC while Adama said, "Dee, bring them in." Lee removed the ear piece with a smile as Bill turned towards Lee and gave him an approving nod, "Congratulations Captain." He held out his hand across the table and shook Lee's hand. When Lee went to step away, the Commander held strong, "A request, Captain?"
Lee nodded and said, "Please sir."
"On the next flight, it might be better to have a test pilot who won't scare the hell out of the CO."
Lee stifled a grin, "Of course sir, I'll be sure to pick a pilot who won't decide to play pranks on the CIC."
He released Lee's hand and continued, "I'm sure they're celebrating on the flight deck, you should join them."
Lee took it for the dismissal it was. He saluted then gathered his manual and left CIC.
&&&&&&&&&
Lee took a seat on a crate near the Blackbird and smiled at several of the Chief's deck crew as they congratulated each other and indulged in champagne or Galactica's Finest. Just a few minutes ago the President christened the Blackbird with the name "Laura," she was impressed with her namesake and spoke about how important it was to build the Blackbird because of the hope it inspired in the crew. Despite his lingering distrust of Roslin, Lee had to admit that her words rang very true.
The crew had come together to build the Blackbird and people like the Chief and Cally did seem more hopeful since they began work on the fighter and it was heartening to see so many members of the crew give of their time to work on it. He'd even admit that it felt good to oversee the project instead of merely working on his rehabilitation and trying to plan a rescue operation.
He could see the power of hope right now in the way Karl was seemingly the life of the party. It had been his idea to use the composite hull when they ran out of metal. For the first time in the almost three months since Starbuck and gotten them off Caprica and back to the Galactica, Helo didn't seem to be attracting the distrustful glares of their fellow pilots. Lee felt a little less on trial himself.
"Apollo?"
He looked up to find Hot Dog and two other pilots, Redwing and Catman, each of them holding a drink. Lee cocked an eyebrow at the Viper pilots then spoke, "Hot Dog." He wondered what to expect and judging by the way Helo, Flat Top, Kat and Duck were inching their way over, he was sure he wasn't the only one.
"I just wanted to congratulate you on your work, sir. You and the Chief have probably put the most into the Blackbird and it really came out well. I know I'm not the only jock really looking forward to getting a chance at the stick."
Lee felt a grin tug at his lips, "Thank you Constanza."
Hot Dog frowned and looked into his glass, then Catman spoke up. "We also wanted to apologize for the way we've been treating you and Agathon. It's just… I mean… Boomer was really close to the CAG and the Old Man and she did what she did. You and Helo had been on the Colonies for two months and a lot of us were afraid that you guys were only on Galactica to bring the Cylons down on us."
He gave the trio of pilots an understanding nod and waved Karl off as the pilots left to talk with other friends. Racktrack and Seelix came up to him a moment later. Racetrack sat down next to him on the crate and topped off his glass of champagne, "Mighty fine work, Captain. Congratulations."
Seelix nodded and Lee smiled at the pair, "We've all done a lot of work 'Track. Congratulations to both of you."
The ECO took a sip out of her glass and Seelix said, "You should join the party in the Rec Room sir, we're putting together a few Triad games. Lieutenant Edmonson and I are headed there now."
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Kara smirking at him from over by the Blackbird. She pointed at the two young women and nodded approvingly. Lee gave the pair a gracious smile and said he'd stop by later. The ECO and the deckhand smiled and said their goodbyes before leaving him alone.
Moments later, Lee found himself with more company. "I see how it is, you're the man of the hour so it stands to reason that you've got a couple of hot dates."
Lee grinned over his glass at Kara as she settled onto the crate, "I don't think so. Seelix is a nice girl, Racetrack too…"
Kara chuckled, "Lee, the way Seelix blushed every time you talked to her the first couple of weeks and the blatant staring Edmonson was doing in the head this morning, provided you aren't a complete clod you could probably get them both in a supply closet…" He turned to her with a raised eyebrow and she winked, "At the same time."
Lee held on to that thought for just a moment before shaking his head, "That wouldn't be right as I'm hopelessly in love with you. Remember?" He punctuated the question by resting his head on her shoulder with a swooning sigh.
She chuckled and took a sip of champagne, "How could I forget? Why just the other day, I was in a briefing with the XO and got in trouble when he caught me doodling 'Lee and Kara Adama' in my notebook. For the record, I get all twisted up with jealousy and angst every time some other woman bats her eyes at you."
"Good, 'cause I spend long nights just watching you sleep in your bunk." She chuckled again and nudged his cheek with her shoulder until he sat up. "So, how does she fly?"
She looked to the Blackbird with an almost longing expression, "She fights you every step of the way, she'll make you work for everything and she's fast as hell."
Lee grinned, "Sounds like another woman I know."
She downed the remainder of her glass then refilled as she said, "Don't know who that would be, I'm demure."
Lee laughed at that, "Oh yeah, you're like one of those high society women in Caprica City who call each other 'daah-ling' and kiss each other's cheek." She pretended to take offense before sipping her champagne with her pinky in the air. "I'll be honest Kara, I don't think I could love you like I do if you were like one of those women. I certainly wouldn't secretly write 'Lee and Kara Thrace' in the margin of my notebooks."
"Well, now I know who to ask to carry my books to class." He threw her a wink and she grinned into her glass while they enjoyed a companionable silence.
After a few minutes, she took a deep breath and spoke, "I've decided to grant your request for a mission proposal, Lee." The look on his face must have matched the surprised relief he suddenly felt because she shook her head with a little smirk and continued, "You and Helo bring me your plan and I'll decide whether or not to bring it to the Commander."
He leaned back against the bulkhead and said, "Thank you Starbuck… I just… I know I've been…"
"An ass? A dick? A thorn in my side?"
He chuckled, "Got any more?"
She waggled her eyebrows, "A borderline-insubordinate son of a bitch?"
"I was going to say a pain in the neck, and I'm sorry."
"Lee, this is important and I get that. I know in the first few weeks after the attacks that I thought about it every day and when I saw the yellow sky and rubble that had once been my home it burned me up inside. I'm not making you any promises but if you can come up with a way to save the people left behind that has a real possibility of success, I'll back you up when you go to the Commander."
He felt as though some of the weight on his chest had lessened with those words. Kara may not agree with him but she had his back anyway, because she trusted him, because she cared for him and because she believed he'd do the same for her for all the same reasons. "You know, you scared the crap out of me with your little disappearing act during the test flight."
"What I remember is this pleading voice that dropped all wireless protocol. 'Kara, are you okay?' You're such a girl sometimes Lee, it's touching."
He grinned, "You know, if I'm going to be ridiculed for having feelings, I can go find Racetrack, Seelix and a supply closet like you suggested."
Her eyes narrowed slightly, "You wouldn't break up our happy home, would you?"
He shrugged, "I wouldn't if you'd give me a reason… I mean, 'I'd hate to have to do something stupid and frak a bus driver and a knuckle-dragger when I could have a perfectly good viper jock instead.'"
She cocked an eyebrow, "Boy, you've waited a long time to use that one on me, haven't you?" He smiled at her as if to say, "Wouldn't you?" She seemed to come to a decision then, she knocked her champagne back and grabbed his hand as she stood up. Lee quickly found himself being practically frog-marched across the flight deck while enduring a pair of smirks from his father and the President. "You want a reason, fine we're going to my office and I fully intend for you to walk out of there with a 'reason.'"
They were out in the corridor before Lee could stop his chuckle, "Why Kara, I didn't know you cared."
He found himself pinned between the wall and Kara then his CAG suddenly captured his lips in a brief kiss before dragging him along again. "You aren't paying attention then."
End Part