Lee sat on the couch staring at the hatch; he'd little else to do since he surrendered Pegasus to Admiral Cain. He'd tried to read reports or the few novels he'd managed to acquire since he originally arrived on Galactica months ago. The truth was that the tribunal's decision weighed heavily on him.
Despite the calm he projected in front of Kara, the idea that he could be found guilty of mutiny and treason was always foremost in his thoughts. He'd faced death before; in the cockpit, on Caprica and in combat but in each of those occasions it would have most likely been a split-second death. This time he'd been contemplating his death for a week, almost constantly since the moment Tigh had drew his sidearm in CIC.
There'd been moments when he could ignore it; with Kara in this room, while the initial rescue attempt was underway and swearing Sharon into Fleet to name a few. Those times allowed him to think only of the moment and not the moment his fate was revealed.
Perhaps it was being locked up in his cabin that was getting to him; he'd never been one to tolerate long bouts of inaction. From the time he was six years old, he's always had to be doing something, or he went stir crazy far too easily.
Then again, perhaps it was just the feeling of uselessness. He'd suffered through this feeling while training under Tigh to take over as Cain's XO. The feeling of not doing anything to help those around him was not something Lee enjoyed. Especially after over a month of commanding this crew, he'd grown to care for each officer under his command and felt keenly responsible for their well-being since returning to Caprica and the thought of anything going wrong ate away at him.
The hatch opened and Lee shot to his feet when he saw it was Admiral Cain flanked by Kendra and Kara. Cain waved him off and roamed the room. His eyes casually scanning the room, landing first on the patches Lee's father had given him when he took over as XO. He nodded approvingly then continued his tour; he paused in front of the sextant and then crouched down to look through it. He roamed towards the bar and turned to look to Lee, "I gave this bottle of whiskey to Helena when she was promoted to Admiral." He grabbed a glass and held it up, "Do you mind?"
Lee shook his head, "No sir, by all means."
He gave Lee a grin and poured himself a glass, "Never could stand ambrosia, too smooth. Alcohol should punish you for a moment before it soothes you." He took a sip of the brown liquid and grimaced for just a moment.
He came to Helena's display case next and nodded approvingly at the sight of the antique flintlock the President had mentioned. He paused at the photo of Lee, Zak and the Old Man in front of his old Mark II. He chuckled, "I took this picture, do you remember?"
Lee smiled, "I do remember, 'Uncle Will.'"
The Admiral laughed loudly, "'Uncle Will' I imagine Caroline wasn't too happy about that. She was never a fan of me. She considered me a bad influence on your father." He sobered a little, "I'm sorry about Zak, I hadn't spent as much time with you two as Bill or I might have liked but the few times I did I was impressed by you both."
He completed his circuit of the cabin and took a seat on the couch, "Please, everyone sit. This will be informal; I wanted to take a few minutes to chat. You look tense enough to climb a bulkhead, Commander. I'm afraid if I told you anything now you won't hear it." He looked to Shaw and said, "Major, grab the bottle and some glasses for yourself and Starbuck, then refresh the Commander's drink." Kendra followed her orders and brought the bottle over to the table, she refilled Lee's drink then poured a drink for Kara and herself before leaving it on the table.
Lee took a seat across from Cain while Kendra took the leather chair at the end of the table. Kara casually came around the couch, her fingers ghosting across the base of his neck as she did. She then took a seat on the far end of the couch. She leaned forward and picked up her glass and took a sip.
The Admiral looked the room over and shrugged, "Knowing Helena, it surprises me to find chairs anywhere on Pegasus."
Kara and Kendra chuckled while Lee smirked slightly and said, "Forgive me sir, but I was under the impression that she learned to do away with chairs from you."
The older man grinned, "She did, but eventually even a crusty old Admiral just wants to sit the frak down at the end of the day." All four laughed before the group settled into a less tense silence.
Lee merely stared at his glass until Cain's voice brought his eyes up, "So, it's been a long time since I spoke with Bill, how is that old bodocker?"
Lee shrugged, "He's alright, considering the strain he's been under; Cylons, politicians, prophecy, Kobol and mutinous command officers to name just a few."
He nodded, "What I find funny about this whole Earth thing is that Bill was the most devout agnostic I'd ever laid eyes upon, almost to the point of atheism and yet here he is right in the middle of an ancient prophesized journey to find the fabled Lost Tribe." He paused long enough to cross his legs, "I bet it just eats him up sometimes to think about it." He chuckled then took another sip of his whiskey.
"You know, Zak may have looked more like Bill, but you remind me very much of him. When I met Billy Adama he was a rook. We'd been at war over a decade and here comes another fresh-faced kid in a long frakking line of fresh-faced kids. I'd been Galactica's CAG for almost a year by that time, and a newly-minted Major and my first impression with your old man was catching him and one of my best bus drivers in the Deck Chief's office. Bare-assed naked and just going at it like the ship was going down."
Kendra looked intensely into her drink while Kara howled with laughter, Lee found himself grimacing at the thought of his father with a woman. "Now bear in mind, Bill hadn't even been on the frakking boat a week by this point and we had been at Condition One at the time. I was understandably upset, I mean it'd be one thing if it was two veteran pilots but this kid was just barely done being a nugget and he's christening the chief's desk.
"I bark out, 'ADAMA, MCGAVIN, ON YOUR FEET' and I lit into both of them and ordered them to scrub the flight deck. I'll give your father credit, not every man could manage to stand at attention and have his superior officer berate him while he's swinging in the breeze, not only did Husker manage that but when I asked him what the frak he was thinking, he just spoke calmly, 'Just doing my part to keep up morale, Major.'
"That's probably the reason why I didn't report them and it's sure as hell the reason Bill became one of my best friends before too long." He smiled sadly, "McGavin's ECO station blew up in her face a few days later and she died in sickbay, Bill took it hard. It was the last day of the war, he was shot down and saw something on the planet below." He studied his glass for a moment before he downed it in one gulp.
"We never found out what because Commander Nash had his report classified to the hilt, but whatever Bill saw shook him to the core. He grew up pretty much overnight, that might have been why I took him under my wing, I missed that kid who just smirked in my face after being caught violating every single letter of the frat regs."
Lee nodded along, Grandpa Joe had always raved about his father's sense of humor as a boy, often launching into comparisons between Zak and their dad and he'd see hints of the young man Cain had just described, mostly when his father was bantering with Kara or when Tigh said something amusing but he'd never learned until now what might have cause that man to be buried. He' also wondered as he grew older why he'd choose to marry a woman like their mother and now Lee knew why. When he'd lost this McGavin, he'd lost a piece of himself and he never even tried to take that piece back.
Lee decided then to ask about this woman when he returned to Galactica.
For now, Lee had to contend with Cain, "So, I can't help but notice the matching rings."
Kara looked to Lee with a smirk and he could see one word written on her face, 'Busted!' Meanwhile he felt the tips of his ears burning, "Sir, I would point out that Major Thrace is still assigned to Galactica-"
Cain waved him off with a chuckle, "That wasn't an accusation, the frat regs are all well and good when there's a whole fleet out there to serve in, but when it seems that there are only two battlestars left in the universe, they might not hold up as well."
He took a deep breath and sat his tumbler down, "Well, I suppose that's enough small talk, down to business." Lee set his glass aside and most of the tension from before return as he sat forward on the edge of the couch. "The tribunal has discussed the incident at length and made their recommendation to me this morning. I've considered their findings and decision carefully and have decided to clear you of wrong doing."
The tension flowed out of him and Kara both while Cain continued, "You did violate a direct order not only from your commanding officer but the President as well but we have considered the numerous mitigating circumstances; not least of which was the possibility that the orders of President Cain and Admiral Adama were themselves immoral and therefore illegal. We've also considered that your actions not only saved the lives of nearly twenty-three thousand people and led to discovery of numerous military and civilian assets but may have very well ended the war with the Cylons once and for all.
"As for the matter of Colonel Tigh pulling a firearm on a superior officer, we've cleared him as well. The two of you are to resume your duties immediately, with a written account of the incident entering into your records."
As Cain spoke, Lee's hand reached out and plucked Kara's from her lap and squeezed hard. When he finished Lee felt Kara's breath on his ear as she whispered, "Thank the Gods."
Lee could only manage to mumble, "Thank you, sir."
Cain rose to his feet, "We intend to start jumping backing to the Fleet in ten hours and I expect you in CIC at that time." He turned to Shaw, "Major, we should leave Starbuck here to debrief the Commander."
The young woman rose to her feet, "Of course Admiral."
With a wink, Cain merely said, "Ten hours Commander, try to get a little sleep in that time."
A moment later, he and Kendra were gone, but Lee had already forgotten them, he was more concerned with his lips as they captured Kara's hungrily. She barely had time to fumble her tumbler onto the table top before Lee had pushed her back against the couch.
She chuckled against his mouth and he pulled back with an annoyed arch of his eyebrow, "What the frak, Kara?"
She smirked, "I'm just happy you're here to do your part to keep up my morale. Wanna go down to Laird's office and christen it?"
With a sigh he reclaimed her mouth before she said something that would really frak up the mood.
&&&&&&&&&
Lee and Kara left his quarters nine hours and forty-five minutes later, the former making sure he was buttoned up and the latter with a smirk a mile wide. Kara had "debriefed" her husband enthusiastically twice and after snoozing for a few hours once more before they decided to leave his cabin in favor of the outside world.
After a shower that was equal parts cleansing and near-frakking, the pair got dressed with only minutes to spare before Lee had to be in CIC. They started off in the direction of the command deck before Kara spoke, "I still say we'd be better served if I was down on the flight deck."
He chuckled, "A few hours in CIC won't kill you Starbuck."
She laughed incredulously, "Speak for yourself… Better yet, take a look at yourself. Since you've come over here, you've sold out." She bumped her hip against his to soften any slight he'd take from her words, "I bet you couldn't even identify a viper anymore if you didn't have Kendra there with a dossier."
He turned to her with a mock-scowl and she grinned defiantly, "What's the matter, boss man? Truth hurts?"
He shook his head, "I'll show you, when we get back, I'll tell the Admiral how much you enjoyed logging hours in CIC, maybe even your desire to study under Saul." He raised an eyebrow and said, "How does, 'Major Kara Thrace, Executive Officer' sound?"
She scowled, "Almost as good as making the hubby sleep on the couch."
He held up his hands in surrender, "Forget I said anything." The pair then continued on towards CIC.
They only made it a few yards before someone called his name, "Apollo!" They turned to find Sam coming up the corridor. He had cleaned up since getting off Caprica of course but looked a little out of place in BDUs instead of the C-Bucs gear he'd been wearing before. The refugee grinned as he crossed the remaining few yards between them and Lee held out his hand; Anders gripped his forearm tightly before yanking the officer into an enthusiastic hug. Sam laughed as he and Lee noticed Kara's raised eyebrow, he clapped Lee on the back before he stepped back. "I came by your cabin a few times to talk but those marines had you locked down tighter than the President."
Lee shrugged, "Sorry about that Sam, we had some issues to discuss the last couple of days. Plus with all the brand new civvies floating around, the leathernecks got a little worried. They're like a bunch of mother hens that way." The former pyramid player laughed then Lee said, "So where do they have you bunked down?"
He looked back the way he came while trying to recall where he was bunked, "Pilots quarters, Red squadron I think. The place is full to bursting so we have to sleep in shifts at this point."
Lee grinned while Kara said, "Sorry about that Anders, but the VIP quarters are full-up."
He chuckled, "It's okay, you'd be surprised how easy it is to sleep in a rack with the right company. Helo told Jean and I that you two got hitched, congratulations."
The pair nodded and Lee might have said more if Kendra's voice handed sounded over the PA, "Attention Pegasus, jump prep underway. Pass the word; Commander Adama report to CIC, Commander Adama report to CIC."
Lee frowned, "Sorry Sam, come by my cabin after the third jump. We'll have dinner and I'll catch you up on everything." The other man nodded and headed back the way he came and Kara and Lee continued on towards CIC.
When they arrived and joined Saul and the Admiral at the TAC table. Final jump prep was underway but Lee noticed several of the officers on deck looking at him approvingly as he entered. However they all came to attention and saluted when Cain said, "Commander on deck!"
Lee put them at ease then took his place at the table. The Admiral looked him over then said, "Commander, the con is yours."
Lee took in the officers on deck for a moment, by no stretch of the imagination did he think the rescue would go down like this but he couldn't contain his pride. Hoshi spoke from communications, "All ships report in, the link to our FTL is green, we're go for jump sir."
He nodded and said, "Thank you, Mr. Hoshi." He raised his voice and continued, "Thank you all, I'm proud of each of you. Flight ops, start the clock."