Aurora's Gift

Post "Daybreak"

It had been a year since he had lost his father and Kara both in the same day. He had managed to get by, ignoring the concerned glances everyone gave him. Karl had made it his personal mission to make sure he was alright, though it was apparent that Lee was doing little more than surviving. His father's departure pained him deeply, but he reconciled himself to the fact that it was what his father wanted. Kara, on the other hand… While he had resigned himself to the fact that she was gone, the throbbing ache that had settled in would not go away.

As the anniversary drew near, Lee became fidgety. The settlement seemed to close in around him. He knew he needed to get away for a little while. He packed a bag and set out one morning, headed for the mountains. There was a lake about a day's walk from the settlement that he hoped would offer the quiet he needed.

His third day there marked one year exactly. Lee sat on the sandbar that jutted out into the water from the shore, watching as the surface rippled from each rock he threw in. With each stone came a new memory. Meeting Kara at his brother's apartment and the drunken double dog dare later that night. The Colonial Day Dance. The kiss when she returned from Caprica. The night in the desert on New Caprica. Flying alongside her viper in the nebula. Years of memories flowed, one after the other, blending together, creating a kaleidoscope of images that were ingrained in his mind.

He felt, rather than saw, a figure approach. The shadow moved until it mirrored his. He knew whose it was, and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had finally lost it. A year of simply existing had taken its toll, and he was now seeing things. He was now officially as frakked up as Baltar.

"Hi, Lee," the apparition said, and Lee honed in on the memory of the nebula. He had been in disbelief, then. Now he could only shake his head at the sense of déjà vu he was having.

"I shoulda been nicer to Baltar," he muttered, still not looking to his side.

"Excuse me?" came the response, and Lee could picture the confused look on Kara's face.

"He's the only other person I know of who knows how it feels to be insane," he explained, even as he wondered why he was explaining something to a figment of his imagination. "And now I'm talking to myself."

"I'm real, Lee," she intoned.

"You're a real hallucination," he corrected.

"Flesh and blood," she insisted. "I'm back for good."

Lee whipped his head to the side, finally meeting Kara's eyes. He wanted to be mad at her, rail at her for leaving yet again. He wasn't sure he could take losing her again. But as he looked into her eyes, somehow, he knew she was telling the truth, and all of his anger melted away.

Before he knew what he was doing, he had launched himself at her, capturing her lips with his own. He threaded his hands through her hair, holding her to him. Desperation and pent up frustrations were all unleashed as he gently pushed her back on the sand, his mouth moving down along her jaw and neck to a spot below her ear that he remembered drove her wild. As expected, she gasped loudly, arching her neck to give him better access. Clothes were somehow discarded, though he didn't remember removing them.

Three years of passion, angst, desire, and remorse were wiped away as they joined. Neither had any intention of going slow, and it was mere minutes before they came crashing together, out of breath and unable to move.

Their heart rates slowly returned to normal, and they gradually regained the feeling in their limbs. Lee slowly rolled to Kara's side, and she curled up next to him. He flashed back to New Caprica, and decided that this far out did it. There was no Dee and no Sam to get in their way, and he slightly regretted that thought since both were dead. Though there was one thing that nagged at him.

"Why?" he asked.

She knew he was asking why she had come back, not why she had left, and she answered in kind, "You."

At his confused look, she explained, "I tried staying away. I thought it was what I was supposed to do. But I was miserable. Apparently, I can't live without Lee Adama."

Lee smiled at her, "I know the feeling. Life without Kara Thrace isn't much of a life."

Kara leaned up and planed a soft kiss on his lips. "This feels familiar," she said softly.

He knew she was speaking of New Caprica, and that dampened his mood considerably. The joy he had felt after their night of passion in the desert had been destroyed when he found out she had gotten married the next morning. A part of him feared he was in for a repeat.

Kara seemed to sense what he was thinking, and a wide grin spread across her face. She gave him a firm but brief kiss, and hopped to her feet. She rubbed her arms, moisture from the lake chilling the breeze that had kicked up. Lee's confusion dissipated into laughter when he saw her cup her hands to her mouth, the déjà vu returning.

"My name is Kara Thrace, and I love Lee Adama!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, trying not to laugh. "And I don't care who frakking knows!" she added, causing Lee to laugh even harder. She turned back to him, "I'm not gonna stop until you do it, too."

Still laughing, Lee stood and stepped up to her, taking her in his arms. He smiled down at her, then turned to face out over the water.

"Lee Adama loves Kara Thrace!"

They both succumbed to fits of laughter, subsiding eventually as they held each other. Lee leaned down, gently claiming her lips, and thinking he had never been so happy.

Yes, he had lost Kara, but she had come back. She always came back. As they slowly made love a second time, his thoughts were that they always seemed to find each other.

This has all happened before, and it will all happen again.

Fin