A/N: Once again I really appreciate all the reviews. This chapter was done fast but it would not wait for me to take more time. I hope you all enjoy and know things might get a little exciting. At least I hope you all think so

Chapter 7: Apollo and Starbuck?

Starbuck walked around her FX-98 fighter jet doing her pre-flight checklist. She had scheduled herself to head up Alpha squadron for patrol today so she could get a little down time from paperwork. She spent as much time as she could in the air, but being CAG meant she spent a whole lot more time with paperwork and just making sure her pilots got everything they needed.

Her pilots also took care of her. They had planned a huge birthday party for her 2 weeks ago right on the hanger deck and it later spilled over into both the pilot's rec room and the officer's lounge. They had barely managed to keep the Commodore from throwing them all in the brig. It was only after they pointed out if all of them ended up in hack, there would be no one to fly patrols the next day. So he only threw everybody from the officer's lounge into the brig for the night. It had not kept them from partying down the house from inside the cells. Kara shook her head, smiling at the memory. Her friends also held a very small and private party on the Delta Four to celebrate the life of her brother. There had been some tears but mainly people talked about his antics and remembered what a great friend he had been to all of them.

"Captain, you ready to go?" Cally asked her. She had paused at the top of the ladder about to get into the cockpit when she stopped. Starbuck glanced back and saw Cally waiting on her. She shook her head and dropped down into her seat taking the helmet from the specialist.

"Thanks Cally. Is the Wolf Pack still on for tonight?" Kara asked before settling the helmet on her head.

"Yes sir. We'll meet at 1800 in the mess and then onto the Blue Lounge," Cally replied before helping Starbuck check her harness. Kara smiled at her then gave her the thumbs up as the canopy settled.

Her bird, often referred to as the Valkyrie was loaded into the tubes and soon Starbuck found herself in the comforting vacuum of space. Arrayed around her was the rest of Alpha squadron and before them the Pieces.

"Alpha squadron this is Alpha Leader. We are going to have a nice four hour patrol, take a couple laps around the beltway, then I am going to kick your assess in a nice friendly game of Texas Hold'em when we land.

"Sounds like a challenge is on the floor people," Cupid replied.

"Sorry Cupid that is not a challenge just the truth," Starbuck laughed.

"Alpha leader this is Yankee leader, we have you guys on radar," said Cosmo.

"Copy that Yankee leader. Lima squadron leader do you read?" Starbuck asked.

"We got you Alpha leader. We'll take the perimeter and meet you on the other side," replied Reno. "And Starbuck I'll meet you for that game of poker."

"Alright everybody; Lima has the perimeter, Alpha has the beltway and that leaves Yankee with the inside track. Everybody keep your eyes sharp, we have no idea if we are out here by ourselves," Starbuck said.

Starbuck was smiling four hours later when she landed back in the hanger bay of the Capricorn. Patrol went smoothly and the back and forth banter had been light and easy, and there was a game waiting on her to start in the pilot's rec room. It was going to be a good day for the last of the Terrans.

"Welcome back Captain," Cally greeted her as Starbuck handed off her helmet.

"Thanks Cally," Starbuck replied stepping out of the cockpit. She looked around the hanger bay spotting a transport from the Pisces. "Commodore has guests tonight?"

"You could say that," Cally replied looking at Starbuck. "The Fleet Admiral is here on the Capricorn."

Starbuck faltered and almost lost her footing on the ladder. She turned and looked at Cally to see if this was some kind of joke. The set look on the young Specialist's face let her know that no one was trying to pull a fast one on Captain Thrace. Her mother was on the Capricorn, this was not good.

"Thanks for the heads up," Starbuck replied. She needed a shower and a quick bite, then she was sequestering herself in the pilot's rec room. "Cally let's cancel the Wolf Pack for tonight and reschedule. Let the others know for me."

"Not a problem Starbuck. I'll catch up with you for that game of Texas Hold'em."

After signing off on her post flight check list, Kara headed to her quarters for a nice long shower. Helo was waiting for her in the sitting room.

"Hey Starbuck," he greeted her as she came in stripping out of her flight suit.

"You up for some dinner and then a game?" She asked him turning the water on in her shower.

"Yeah I could use some excitement. I was asked to deliver a package to you," he said stopping her from dashing back into the bathroom. He held out a medium sized square white box; attached to the top was a folded piece of paper with her name boldly printed on the front.

"I don't want it," Starbuck replied.

"Look, it does not really matter if you want it. I am leaving it and what you do with it is up to you. The two of you can't hide from each other forever," he said placing the box on her desk. He gathered her in his arms and gave her a big hug. "I will meet you in the mess in half hour. I hear they have made your favorite again. Seems like either everybody loves you or is afraid of you," he said heading out the door.

After several hours of a rousing game of Texas Hold'em that turned into strip poker somewhere along the way and more drinks than anyone could count Starbuck called it a night. She was not sure if it was the alcohol or the pointed looks that she kept getting from Helo but she headed to the set of offices and rooms that were held in reserve for the Fleet Admiral. She had no idea what the hell she was going to say when she got there but it was time for her to say something.

It did not take her nearly long enough before she was standing in front of the door that belonged to the Fleet Admiral. Kara took a deep breath, said a small prayer and knocked on the hatch. At first nothing happened. There was no sound at all from the other side and Kara realized that maybe the Admiral was not in. She could be tied up in meetings or a late night dinner with the Commodore. Although she was sure the Commodore's wife would not like that very much. Whatever the reason it seemed that the Admiral was not in, so she was off the hook. She turned around to leave when the door opened.

"You weren't going to knock a second time?" The Admiral asked her.

"I figured if you did not answer after the first knock that you probably wasn't in," Kara replied turning back around to face the Admiral. They stared at each other for a while trying to size each other up. Kara figured she had taken the first step in coming here, the next should be up to the Admiral.

"Do you wish to come in?" The Admiral asked her stepping back from the door. "No pressure Kara."

Hearing her mother call her Kara for the first time since she had graduated from the academy, Starbuck felt the flood gates begin to open. She stepped forward closing the door quietly behind her. The ball was back in her court and at first she was unsure of what to say. They had a lot of air to clear between them but they had a more pressing issue than the personal ones that had been dogging them.

"For the past 9 months I have been having dreams," Kara began as mother and daughter moved to the couch.

&&&&

Lee was standing on the beach watching the waves roll in. As he was going over the details of what had happened in the brig; he saw Kara emerge from the beach house. She was wearing running shorts and a white t-shirt with a flag and the words "Land of the brave and home of the free," emblazoned across the front.

"Hey gorgeous," he replied when she got close enough.

"Hey yourself mister," she said steeping into his embrace. She kissed him lightly and then pulled back.

"Want to join me for a run?" She asked him. She looked him over noting the blue shorts and light blue shirt and not at all surprising, no shoes. "Why is it that whenever I see you, you have no shoes on?"

"It's a dream, no shoes required," he replied with a smirk.

"Well let's see if you can keep up shoe less wonder," Kara said, as she started jogging down the beach. They seat an easy pace as they got use to each other's running pattern. No words were necessary and after only a few minutes they were running in sync, breathing in time with each other. Lee thought he could get use to this. Early morning runs on a beach with her, followed by a nice hot shower together. His stomach grumbled at him for being left out of the equation. He turned his head in Kara's direction as she laughed at him.

"I guess someone is hungry," she replied. They had turned after running for about a half hour and were heading back towards the beach house. "Race you. Last one there has to make breakfast." And before he could fully comprehend what she had said, she surged ahead of him arms and legs flying. Oh she was so gonna pay.

Lee was taller so he had a longer stride and it did not take him long to catch up to Kara. Once he had caught up with her, he grabbed her around the waist swinging her up into his arms. He kissed her and then dumped her onto her butt in the sand and then took off. He had the beach house in sight and so he pumped his legs harder and jumped onto the deck about 5 seconds before Kara ran into him. They fell to the deck in a tangle of arms and legs, laughing as they wrapped their arms around each other.

"You cheated," she accused pinning him to his back.

"No, I just used all the weapons at my disposal," he replied reaching up for a quick kiss. "I want bacon, eggs, pancakes, and if you have strawberries and whip cream I want those too," he said standing and pulling her up. "First you need a shower. You stink."

Kara punched him in the arm as they went into the beach house. They both stopped when they saw a large black dog laying on the rug in the kitchen. He raised his head and looked at them both, then got up and padded over to sit in front of them. They looked at each other quizzically.

"I always wanted a dog," Lee said bending down to pat him.

"Me too," Kara responded. "I guess we have one now. Or is it I have one?"

"Well I am going to say he is probably your's. This house is your's and it is filled with all your things. So I am just your guest, and good hostess does not leave her guests starving." He could not help but bait her.

"Just remember what they say about house guest and fish," she replied heading towards her bedroom. "And if you want to eat sooner rather than later I would suggest the guest bathroom," she said as she sauntered pass him.

Lee laughed as he headed for the other shower. The dog followed him instead of her though. He looked back at the dog and realized that it was his dog not her's. Lee cocked his head to the side studying the animal. It was almost as if he could hear the dog in his head. Note to self, schedule a therapy session with Cottle as soon as possible.

When Lee was finished with his shower he went into the guest bedroom to root around for some clean clothes. What he found surprised him. There were several pairs of sweats and jeans in the dresser, as well as t-shirts and sweatshirts. All were masculine and all were his size. He grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and took a glance into the closet. There were several pairs off shoes on the closet floor. He smiled, she was not even close to being subtle.

As Lee walked towards the kitchen he could smell bacon frying and the woman he loved singing softly. He stopped dead in his tracks. Did he really love her? Yes, there was no denying it. He was in love with a dream, but hell who wasn't. There was a chance though that his dream was real and she was somewhere out there.

"Hey flyboy come and grab your plate,' she said staring at him from the threshold to the kitchen.

"We are eating in the den. I started a fire in the fireplace before slaving over this hot stove for you."

"You are such a good loser," he replied grabbing two plates from the kitchen counter. He swiped a piece of bacon and snuck it to the dog.

"Stop feeding Buck bacon you will make him sick," she chastised. Lee looked at the dog and shrugged his shoulders.

"Sorry buddy but she is the boss," he said looking at the dog apologetically. Lee walked into the den and took a seat on the floor facing the fireplace. He had surely died and gone straight to heaven. He had not had bacon in so long he had almost forgotten what it smelled like.

"Are you going to eat it or just worship it?" Kara asked him.

"I don't know how long it has been since I have had bacon and real eggs. Not to mention whip cream," Lee said in a very quiet voice.

Kara reached down and grabbed his shoulder. "I promise you that if we find each other, I'll cook this for you everyday of our lives."

"I am going to hold you to that," he said, finally digging in.

They ate in companionable silence while Buck looked between the two of them; hoping one of them would drop something. Lee looked around the room and realized that some new pictures had been added. There was a picture of Kara as a small child blowing out candles on a huge birthday cake. What was surprising was that there was a blond hair woman helping her. Lee assumed it was her mother as Kara looked just like the woman.

"I talked to my mother a couple of weeks ago," she replied seeing him looking at the picture. "I told her about some of my dreams. She did not think I was completely crazy, but she still remained cautious. It is at least a start."

"I am glad that you are keeping that open mind," Lee replied reaching up to squeeze her hand.

He looked around the room and spied a couple more pictures. In one Kara and about 5 other women all wearing flight suits were gathered together on a small stage. He guessed it was some kind of a ceremony. Something else caught his attention when he turned to look at her. It was gold and at first he though it was just a necklace, but when he looked closer he realized it was a set of dog tags. He looked at her closely and noticed that she had another set of tags around her neck.

"You have two sets of dog tags?" He asked quizzically.

Kara looked up at the bookshelf where the gold set of tags were hanging from a nail. "Yeah I guess I do," she replied looking at him with a secretive smile.

"Are you going to tell me about it," he said. The look on her face screamed I have a secret and I am not sharing.

"Why should I. You won't tell me your call sign," she replied. She saw the laughter drain from his eyes and the stoic mask slide back into place.

"I thought we had already covered that," he said going to stand up.

She placed a restraining hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Let me take these plates into the kitchen then I will come back and tell you all about my two sets of tags."

Lee felt like a heel about snapping at her. He was still not completely sure why he did not want to tell her his call sign. He had gotten used to it, but there were times when it was also a source of embarrassment. But he should tell her. They had been intimate and he knew that he was falling for her; there was no reason not to tell her. Kara came back into the room and sat down on the floor next to him. He moved so that he could hold her in his arms with her back resting against his chest.

"My mother had the gold dog tags commissioned just before Devon and I were to graduate from the academy. We had already received our assignments, he to the Sagittarius and I was not only going to the Capricorn; but I would be the CAG. At first it felt good that I had managed to one up Devon on that, but the reality set in soon that I would probably never see again. There were bets flying around the academy that since our mother was the Commanding Officer of the Sagittarius and we were her twin fighter pilot children our call signs would be Artemis and Apollo," Kara stopped as Lee began to choke. She looked at him with concern until he signaled that he was alright.

"Seems you always find a way to choke me up," he replied grinning at her. She still wasn't sure he was completely ok, because he had a funny look on his face.

"It pretty much became such a given that those would be our call signs that people started using them in relation to us and my mother had the gold dog tags made. It seems pretentious now that I think back on it, but at the time it seemed of vital importance. So about a week before graduation my flight instructor called me into his office. He was handing out call signs privately and they would be announced in the closing ceremony. He told me that my mother was very correct in assuming that my call sign would indeed be Artemis..."

"But your call sign is not Artemis; I know it is Starbuck," Lee said interrupting her.

"Keep quiet and you will hear the rest of this story," she said kissing him. When she went to pull back he grabbed the back of her head and deepened the kiss. Kara was rapidly losing her focus as Lee's tongue swept into her mouth.

"Later; let me finish," she said pulling back. He shook his head and allowed her to put a little distance between them. "He told me that normally he would not divulge another's call sign, but he wanted to head off any trouble that was going to be caused. He told my that my brother's call sign was Hermes; not Apollo. At first I was dumbfounded and then anger quickly followed. How could I be Artemis and my twin was not Apollo? He told me quite seriously that Devon was not the Apollo to my Artemis. He said it was very important that I remember exactly what he said next."

"He told me that Hermes was the messenger of the Gods. Since Devon was born first he felt that signified that Devon carried the message that Artemis was entering the world. Please don't ask me, the man was old and quite batty. He also told me that I would need to find Apollo on my own. That he was out there and it was up to me to hunt him down; afterall Artemis is the goddess of the hunt. Needless to say my mother was livid and tried to get him to change his mind, but he wouldn't. My brother seemed alright with it, but I still could not accept it so I asked for a different call sign. If he could not be Apollo, I WOULD not be Artemis. The old man relented and gave me Starbuck; but he was so adamant that I not forget what he had to say. Lee he was so serious that when he was on his deathbed he had me called into his hospital room so that he could reiterate that I had to find the Apollo to my Artemis. To this day I still think the old man was crazy as a loon," Kara said. "Just recently my mother gave me the gold dog tags that say Kara "Artemis" Thrace. She told me they were my birthday gift and that I deserved them." She said glancing at the gold tags swaying slightly on the nail.

Lee on the other was starring at her with something akin to wonder. He knew it was now or never. He had never believed in the Gods, but he was seriously rethinking his stance. He pulled his dog tags from around his neck and glancing at them once; he went to hand them to Kara. Just before he let her take them he cupped her cheek and softly kissed her.

"Sometimes things happen for a reason," He replied placing the cool metal tags in her hand.

"I thought you did not want me to see these ever," she replied looking at him seriously.

"I didn't, but I realize now that it was never really up to me," he said.

Kara looked at him and then carefully took the tags. He was so serious watching her face for every little change in her expression. She was beginning to feel a little unsettled. Kara turned the octagonal tag over in her hand so that she could read the writing. Major Lee "Apollo" Adama. At first she really thought it was a joke; so she looked at the second tag and it too said Major Lee "Apollo" Adama. There was no denying it, his call sign was Apollo. That would mean he was...that she was...Kara looked at him and then fainted dead away.

Lee chuckled as he tucked her into his arms and settled them both onto the couch. He never imagined that she would faint, but maybe what all the women had to say was true; he really was a God in man's body.

&&&&

When Lee came awake he realized that he was back on Galactica. He was hoping that he would wake and still be with Kara, holding her in his arms. One day hopefully soon that would be the case, but today he had CAP and then paperwork. To be followed by more paperwork. He knew there would be a triad game going on later and maybe if things went his way he could get in on it.

He swung himself out of his bunk and headed to his locker. He had enough time for a quick shower, he could definitely skip breakfast and head on down to the hanger deck. He knew that there would be Raptors going out scouting for resources that were desperately needed by the fleet, He also knew that both his father and the President had wanted him to stop going on patrols after what had happened with the cylon. He tried to get them to understand that he faced death everyday and just because they were gunning for him, it did not mean he should stay on board Galactica and hide.

The one thing that the 3 of them had agreed on was that he should not tell Kara just yet. She might think it was her fault and do everything she could to prevent from seeing Lee in her dreams. They all agreed that if Kara and her people were real, then the colonials needed to find them and fast. They could not risk the cylons finding them first.

Lee was mostly through his pre-flight when Racetrack and Dingo came into the hanger bay. He knew that four Raptors were going out today and he had told them all the same thing. Be careful out there and take no chances.

"Racetrack a second," Lee called out to her.

"Yes sir," she responded turning to walk over to him.

"I would like you to take special care out there today. Anything not seem right to you get the hell out. No heroics," he said. Lee felt in his gut that something was going to happen soon. Knowing the cylons had it in for him unnerved him a little, but he did not want his people caught in the crossfire.

"I understand sir. We will be extra careful," she said.

With that she was gone, heading to her Raptor and her list of jump coordinates. Lee sprinted up the ladder and dropped into his seat grabbing his helmet from the deck hand. As the canopy settled into place, he felt that sense of dread creep over him. He shook it off and tried to focus on the task at hand. If something was going to happen there was nothing he could do to prevent it.

&&&&

Racetrack was not having a good day. The list of jump co-ordinates they had been assigned was not panning out very well. They had struck out four times so far and they were both getting tired; and irritable.

"Alright there are only a couple more co-ordinates for us to check and then we can call this mission a scrub," Dingo replied. He was feeling the same stress that Racetrack was. They both knew how important it was for the fleet to find a planet to replenish their supplies. Things were starting to get desperate for everybody.

"You ready?" Racetrack asked him.

"As ready as I am going to be?" he replied. "Let's get this over with so that we can get to the last one and get the hell out of here."

"FTL is spinning and jump in 3,2,1...jump complete," Racetrack informed him.

"What do we have?" Racetrack asked once the jump was complete.

"Scanning now. What the hell?"

"GET US OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!!" Dingo yelled. Racetrack looked around to see what had gotten him so upset.

Holy shit. She saw ships everywhere. "FTL is already up, imputing co-ordinates now."

"Come on, faster, FASTER!!!" Dingo yelled as 2 ships turned to face them. "There's frakking CYLONS EVERYWHERE!!!"

"Jumping now. Jump complete. Get ready for second jump and jump complete," Racetrack informed Dingo. "Galactica this is Raptor 457."

"Go ahead Raptor 457."

"Heavy cylon presence at last jump co-ordinates. Fifth set on our list. We were noticed," she informed them.

"Get those birds landed and let's get out of here before they come looking," Bill said quietly to his XO.

"Inform the civilian fleet to power up there FTLs," the XO said to the comm specialist.

"Apollo this is Galactica."

"Galactica this is Apollo."

"Raptor 457 has run into a heavy cylon force and we are clearing out of here. As soon as all civilian ships are away, combat landings."

"We read you Galactica," Apollo replied. "Ok people let's look lively. We could have incoming any second." That bad feeling was coming back strong and hard. Lee felt as if he was just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

&&&&

"What the hell was that?" Sage yelled over her headset.

"CONTACT!! WE HAVE CONTACT!!" yelled Reno.

"What was that?" Cupid asked..

"I said we have CONTACT," Reno repeated.

"Hotel squadron leader can you confirm that?" Starbuck called to the pilots who were on the outer edge.

"Yes Alpha leader, we have contact!!" Sage exclaimed. "But they jumped away as we were turning to face them."

"Can you track and extrapolate on possible co-ordinates?" Starbuck asked. She was feeling both excitement and trepidation. It could be Lee's people or these cylons.

"Working on that as we speak sir," Sage replied.

"Capricorn this Alpha leader."

"Go ahead Alpha leader we read you loud and clear."

"Please tell the Admiral I need to request an immediate meeting with her as soon as I land," Starbuck replied turning the Valkyrie towards home.

"Acknowledged Alpha leader. Safe landing."

"Pass the word to the hanger deck that I am coming in fast and hard. I am going to burn rubber on their floor," Starbuck replied.