Chapter 61

Trust

In a rumor circulated during the spring of President Adar's last year in office, Dr. Gaius Baltar was alleged to have embraced the monotheism of the Cylons. When asked by journalist D'Anna Biers, Dr. Baltar claimed to have no religious beliefs, either in the many gods or the one God. When then asked about his attendance at some of the warehouse sermons preached by his former colleague, the Cylon Natasi, Dr. Baltar refused further comment.

-Bartell, History of the Second Cylon War

.

On Monday Lee got out to the Academy in time to eat lunch for the first time in weeks. Even though the students attending War College were not allowed to eat at the faculty table, they could eat with the staff. Staff members rotated assignments at the cadet tables, but the others sat at their own table.

Lee took his tray and sat down beside Lieutenant Tucker Duck Clellan who had been in his class at the Academy. They had also gone through Flight School together and had been posted to the Triton together. Clellan was now on the staff at the Academy as resident-in-charge of the men's dorm.

"Duck," Lee said as he sat.

"Apollo," Clellan answered. "Keeping it in the air?"

"One morning a week."

Clellan snorted. "Same here. Colonel Winters lets me go on Wednesday mornings."

"Mondays," Lee said. "I just came from the airbase."

"What are you doing out here?"

"War College."

Clellan took a bite of his hamburger. "I applied. I didn't make it. Too far down in our class, I guess."

"You still dating Nora?"

"Who else?"

"Is she still on the G?"

"Yeah. I've put in for a transfer three times, but I've been turned down so far. I talked to Colonel Burgher. He thinks the Cylons are turning down all requests for experienced pilots to transfer to a battlestar. He thinks the only ones they don't have a problem with are the nuggets. Every fall a dozen nuggets rotate onto each battlestar, and a dozen experienced pilots get shipped back to Caprica."

"It looks that way. How much longer does Nora have?"

"Another year. We're not sure why they've decided to keep her there. I told her it's probably because the CAG has the hots for her, but it's not his decision who stays and who goes. We've been talking about getting married. She gets one ten-minute ship-to-shore call a week. The Cylons don't seem to understand why any of us want to talk to each other more often than that. We write each other a lot of letters, too. The mail bag on the weekly personnel transport is huge."

Lee grinned. "Writing letters isn't such a bad thing when you're apart."

"I hear you're dating Major Gallagher's daughter."

"That's right."

"She's hot."

"What would Nora think if she heard you say that?" Lee joked.

"She knows I love her. She knows I look, but I would never touch. I heard Cadet Thrace is walking off demerits right now for mixing it up with another cadet."

"That's true, too."

"Is it true the other cadet accused her and her father of cheating?"

"I haven't talked to Kara since it happened. I'm not sure of all the details."

"You know the latest wrinkle on it, don't you?" Clellan asked.

"No. What's the latest?"

"Last week some tabloid reporter called Colonel Winters' office trying to get confirmation that two cadets were walking off demerits for fighting over a guy and that one of them was the stepdaughter of a certain Presidential candidate. The reporter claimed to have pictures of Cadet Thrace marching on the quad."

"You think they've really got pictures?" Lee asked.

"We think so. This morning the colonel himself got an email from some anonymous user that told him the pictures came from a mobile phone registered to Cadet Eammon Pike. I went with Winters to search Pike's room. We found the phone. The dumbass was too stupid to delete the pictures. He denied everything. Said that somebody must have borrowed his phone and taken them. How stupid does he think we are?"

"What did Colonel Winters do?"

"He took the phone. He's trying to decide what to do to Pike. Winters is in a dilemma. Pike is a good student and he's got a lot of potential as a pilot but Winters can't ignore the phone issue either. I imagine Pike is going to be walking off some demerits of his own fairly soon."

"For doing something like that, he deserves it. And I'm not just saying that because Kara is my girlfriend. Cadets should stick together and watch each other's backs. That kind of betrayal is the worst kind."

"Winters said we couldn't prove Pike took the photos or sent them to the tabloid, but cadets can't have mobile phones on campus, so they're going to get him for that."

Lee nodded and took a bite of his mashed potatoes. "Frak, these are awful. What are they, ground-up cardboard?"

Clellan laughed. "Never get the reconstituted spuds without lots of gravy. Then put on plenty of salt and pepper. We changed food vendors. Budget cuts. Colonel Winters is juggling other expenses so he can maintain staff and train pilots."

"So we eat potato-flavored paper so we can put pilots in the air."

Clellan laughed again. "Talk to your father about it."

As Lee was putting salt and pepper on his mashed potatoes, Shelley sat down beside Clellan and across the table from him.

"Hey, Shelley," Lee said. "What's up?"

She smiled. "Help me convince Duck that he should show up at the spring dance next weekend. He doesn't want to go without Nora even though we need him as a chaperone."

"The spring dance is next weekend?" Lee said in surprise.

"Cadet Thrace will still be on restriction next weekend." Shelley's voice was full of sympathy. "Her last weekend on restriction and she'll miss the dance."

"Damn," Lee said.

"You could still come to the dance and help us chaperone. Since you're in War College out here, you're invited anyway. Your friend Major Gallagher will be there." Shelley smiled again. "He may or may not bring his wife. I heard she didn't want to politicize the event."

"I don't know how she could politicize a dance."

"Not everybody who teaches or works out here is a supporter of hers."

"They should be," Lee said defensively. "Education is a high priority for her. She'll make sure the Academy gets its share of funds."

"Some don't think she'll be sympathetic to the military. Some think she'll cut our funding."

"You're forgetting who really controls the budget, aren't you?" Lee asked in a quiet voice. "We're lucky to continue to get any funds at all."

Clellan snorted. "Cavil's a power-hungry little bastard who likes to surround himself with a pack of neutered politicians and other advisors."

"Like my dad?" Lee asked.

"Sorry. I forgot your dad works for Adar. Is he going to work for Roslin if she's elected?"

"Neither one of them has thought to discuss that with me, yet."

Lee knew that by the time of the inauguration in January, Caprica would either be free and their Colonial battlestars would possibly be engaging the Cylons on Nereid or they would all be dead. He hoped it was the former.

Shelley looked at Lee. "Back to the dance, won't you consider helping us chaperone?"

"I don't think so, Shelley."

"At least say you'll think about it."

Lee shrugged. He had no plans to attend the dance without Kara, but it wouldn't hurt to let Shelley believe he was thinking about it.

"Did you ask Lieutenant Gaeta to this one?" Lee asked.

"Felix was home last weekend. He'll be back on the Galactica before the dance. So no, I'm going to do my duty since I've been asked to coordinate the staff chaperones. I've already been told it takes more effort during the spring dance to keep the cadets on the dance floor and out of the bushes. The weather during the winter dance makes the outdoors less attractive."

"Maybe it'll rain," Clellan said.

"You're a big help," Shelley smiled and Lee realized once again how attractive she was. But like Clellan said, looking was all he would do. For Lee the past was the past and his heart belonged to Kara.

John was waiting for him outside the cafeteria. They began walking toward the Math and Sciences Building.

"I saw you come in for lunch," John said. "Did you have a good training flight this morning?"

"I did. Every time I go up now, I try to imagine what it's going to feel like to line up on one of those Raiders and pull the trigger for real. It's going to feel good." They walked in silence for a few moments before Lee said, "I heard about Cadet Pike."

"What about him?"

"He's the one who took the pictures on his mobile phone of Kara walking off demerits. He said somebody must have borrowed it, but I doubt that. Winters has the phone, but the tabloid still has the digital images. I'm surprised they haven't hit the internet yet."

John grinned. "That's not going to happen."

"How do you know?"

"A friend of a friend. Some computer geek was hacking around on servers and just happened to get into the one where the tabloid kept all their pictures."

"Some computer geek?" Lee asked skeptically.

John smiled. "I've told you all I know."

"Resistance?"

"I didn't use that word. I just mentioned the rumor about the pictures to one person. Then I was out of it. You've got to understand why."

"I've got something for you to give Kara."

Lee handed the letter to John who unbuttoned the breast pocket of his uniform and put the folded envelope in it. "I'll walk this over to her dorm after I'm through in the simulator this afternoon."

"We're going to miss the spring dance."

"Kara knows. She's trying not to let it get her down, but I think it has. She feels like she's disappointed you."

"Tell her I could care less about going to a dance. No, don't tell her that because I wanted to take her to her spring dance, but it's one night out of our lifetimes. I'll find a way to make it up to her."

"Laura wants to surprise Kara so don't say anything about this, but she's already reserved the small dining room at Bonnie Patrice and is planning a graduation party. She wants us, me and you, to quietly invite Kara's friends. She wants to invite your dad and Dreilide Thrace, too. I don't have a problem with that if he can take being in the same room with me."

"He seems like a mellow kind of guy…at least the time I met him."

"I always had trouble picturing him with Kara's mom. The Marine and the musician. That's how I thought of them. So you think the graduation party is a good idea?"

Lee smiled. "I think it's a great idea. And don't worry, I can find a way to get Kara there without giving it away. I'll tell her I'm taking her to dinner at Bonnie Patrice."

"Laura and I knew we could count on you."

"Are you both going to be chaperoning the dance?"

"Right now that's the plan."

"What are your plans after graduation?"

"Kara graduates on a Saturday. On Monday, Laura, Brae and I are on a ship to Delphi with her staff and some volunteers for a week of campaigning there. Then we're back in Caprica City for a week and then we head north on a campaign bus. I read the schedule, but I zoned out after the first couple of stops. You know this is not how I want to spend my summer break. I'd rather work with Bill on the scope of Operation Sadie and what follows depending on what we find there. But I support my wife and her campaign so I'll go with her."

"You won't be gone the whole summer."

"No. It just seems that way."

"I'd like to take Kara somewhere before she starts Flight School."

John grinned. "Somewhere like an island?"

"An island would be nice."

"I'll take you down there and back as part of her graduation present, but you rent the jeep and buy the food."

Lee smiled. "You've got a deal. Do we keep this a secret, too, and surprise her?"

"That's going to be hard to do since Kara has already asked me for the same thing."

Lee glanced at his watch. "I've got to get to class. Shelley has asked me to help chaperone the spring dance. I told her I'd think about it, but I'm not going to do it. It wouldn't seem right without Kara."

"That's between you and Kara," John said. "She'd trust you to chaperone a dance, especially since she knows I can chaperone you."

"You're funny," Lee said as he started toward his classroom. "In a few days I'll tell Shelley I've thought about it and I'm declining."

...

Kara lay on her stomach on her bunk rereading all of Lee's letters. She knew the dance hadn't started yet, but she could already hear the music in her imagination. She could hardly wait for Sharon to leave so she could be alone. Her only consolation was that on the third floor of the dorm, Maggie was in her room, too. Karl was taking Sharon to the dance and Zak was probably out with one of the hot twins Lee had written to her about…or maybe both of them.

Sharon had been considerate and not talked about the dance. Kara had asked to see her dress and Sharon had shown her a simple, long satin sheath in a lemon yellow color. It was a far cry from the frilly, purple dress that Boomer had picked for the winter dance.

Kara looked up as Sharon finished putting on some lipstick. She adjusted her strapless bra, took the dress off its hanger and stepped into it. Kara got up and zipped the dress for her.

"Thanks," Sharon said. "I'm really sorry you can't go. You'd think they would have made an exception for the spring dance."

"Why should they?"

"At least Cadet Pike is sitting in his room tonight, too."

"It couldn't have happened to a nicer person. He'll probably try to sneak out so he can get a glimpse of Mrs. Nagala in whatever hot dress she decides to wear."

"Is she bringing Lee's dad tonight?"

"I think so. She likes to flaunt her admiral," Kara said sarcastically as she wondered about Fiona's other relationship with Frogman and whether it was still going on. She liked and respected Admiral Adama, but she liked Paul, too.

"I guess your dad and Laura will be there," Sharon said, interrupting Kara's thoughts.

"Of course." Kara went back and sat on her bunk. "You look really nice tonight. That color is good on you."

"Thanks."

"You and Karl keep an eye on Lee."

"Lee's going to the dance without you?" Sharon asked in surprise.

"My dad told me that Lee had gotten a hand-signed invitation from Colonel Winters asking him to help chaperone. He said that Bill had advised him not to turn it down. Shelley's behind it. I know she is."

"Don't worry about Lee and Shelley. She doesn't stand a chance with him. Didn't you say they had something once and he broke up with her?"

"She got jealous and broke up with him when he started dating another girl."

"Oh."

"It didn't exactly break his heart, though, because it wasn't his heart she appealed to."

"See? You don't have anything to worry about."

"Tell Karl I said hello."

After Sharon had gone, Kara lay back down on her bunk and let the pain wash over her. She knew that it was only a dance that she was missing, only a few hours out of a lifetime, but she couldn't stop the thought that Shelley was up to something.

"I love you, Lee," she whispered. "And I trust you, but I don't trust Shelley."

...

Lee was talking to his father and Mrs. Nagala when John and Laura walked into the ballroom. Colonel Winters immediately detached himself from a group of faculty members and went to greet them.

Lee saw his father watching the small group that quickly gathered around Laura and John.

"Your brother knows where his funds are coming from next year," Bill said to Fiona and smiled.

"For a former CAG turned XO turned school administrator, Chuck has grown very adept at playing the political game," Fiona retorted. "Laura looks lovely tonight. She and John are a very good-looking couple."

Bill didn't reply, but Lee had noticed that Bill had glanced at her a number of times.

Shelley walked up to them. "Good evening, Admiral Adama, Mrs. Nagala. I need to borrow Lee."

"We'll just go speak to John and Laura," Fiona said. She took Bill's arm and they walked off.

Lee had to admit that Shelley looked good tonight. Her hair, usually worn pulled back or put up was down on her shoulders…her bare shoulders. Her dress was strapless and black. She filled it out well. He immediately lifted his eyes to her face.

"You look very nice tonight, Shelley."

"Thank you. So do you."

"So where do I post myself tonight to keep wayward cadets from sneaking out?" Lee asked.

"I think we have you patrolling the terrace."

"All evening?"

"Of course not. Just wander up and down every fifteen minutes. You won't be the only one keeping an eye on the terrace."

"And if I catch a couple…misbehaving, what do I do?"

"Ask them to return to the ballroom. Make it an order if you have to. I hope you and I might share a few dances tonight."

"I don't think that would be a good idea. Someone would be sure to tell Kara before I could." He saw the disappointment in her face. "It's nothing personal, Shelley. You really do look good tonight."

"I need to make sure the others know what their assignments are." She smiled, a tight smile, before she turned and walked away.

Lee joined the group that included his father and Fiona Nagala and now John and Laura.

As he walked up, Fiona was saying, "Three more weeks and we start final exams. I can hardly believe it."

Laura smiled at Lee. "I don't think John would mind if I asked you to dance."

"Just don't take her out to the terrace," John said and grinned. "I know what happens out there."

"Oh hush," Laura laughed.

Lee offered his arm and they walked onto the dance floor. "You look very nice tonight."

"Thank you. So do you. Dress grays are so becoming on handsome men like you and John…and your father. I do hate that Kara couldn't be with you tonight."

"Not as much as I do."

"Did John tell you about the graduation party we're planning for her?"

"He did. I think it's a great idea."

"She's done so well this year. I know she hates to have this on her record."

"She'll be fine…as long as she doesn't make a habit of it. Aggression is a good thing in a fighter pilot…to a degree."

"John is struggling with letting her go. He feels like he just got her back and now she's going to become a pilot and go to a battlestar and of course next winter…" she didn't finish the sentence.

"None of us wants to think about that right now."

"I'm equally as concerned about what will be found on Nereid. If that planet has become the Cylon homeworld, defeating them here on Caprica will be just the beginning."

Lee said emphatically. "We can't leave them there. We can't trust that they wouldn't come back and try to destroy us."

"I know that. I want my son to grow up without having that fear. I want him to grow up in a universe free of the Cylons."

"When we defeat them here on Caprica next winter, what do you plan to do with the Cylons here on the planet…with Cavil and Simon and Natasi...and the others?"

"Provided I'm elected, of course, I haven't decided yet which solution I'll propose to the Quorum of Twelve. I'm sure there are many who will want them executed."

"And if any of them help us? What about them?"

"If that happens, we'll make a decision at the time. The question will be could we ever trust any of them? Could we trust their programming not to…revert to whatever it was when they were created and decided to destroy humanity? Could we trust them not to turn on us in the future?"

"That's the whole crux of the matter, isn't it?" Lee asked. "Trust. To have a true alliance whether it's between governments or friends, you've got to have trust or you don't have the basis for the relationship to survive."

Laura smiled. "Well spoken, Lee. I should have you helping write my campaign speeches. You have a knack for expressing your thoughts very well."

"Thank you. My grandfather's probably smiling right now."

The song ended and he and Laura began walking toward the side of the room. Bill met them.

"I'll have to claim the next dance," he said.

Laura smiled and turned around. Bill took her in his arms and began to dance. There was no denying there was an easiness and familiarity between them. John was standing beside the refreshment table with a cup of punch.

"Too bad this is not stronger," he said as Lee walked up. "If I wasn't driving, I'd have pulled a Colonel Tigh tonight and brought a flask."

"Where's Mrs. Nagala?"

"She got a call on her mobile phone and went outside to take it."

"My dad's not the only man she's seeing."

"I know."

"The other guy is married."

"He's separated," John said.

"Mrs. Nagala told you that?" Lee asked in surprise.

"She didn't. Someone else did. I feel sorry for Fiona's other lover. How do you compete with an admiral? Of course it would be a lot worse for this other guy if the admiral was in love with Fiona, but he's not. He's in love with my wife. And I'm in love with my wife. I'm not sure who the hell she's in love with. Maybe both of us, maybe neither of us. Sometimes I think she loves her job and serving the people more than anything else. So everywhere you look there're these neat little triangles."

"John, I…"

"No, Lee. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I just did. It's been a long week. Brae's been fussy for the last couple of nights and I haven't gotten much sleep. I need to keep my mouth shut. This is not your problem."

"My dad would never. I don't care if he does still have feelings for Laura. He would never act on them."

"I know that. I've got nothing but respect and admiration for Bill. And that just makes this situation all that much harder for me to handle. To have accomplished what he has with his life…and to have worked out the details of this operation for the future. It's nothing short of military genius."

"He's had help," Lee said. "He didn't do it by himself."

"He's had help in carrying out the logistics of all the preparations, but it's still his ideas everybody is working on."

"He's sacrificed himself to do it."

"He feels like it was worth it…will be worth it...if we succeed."

Shelley beckoned Lee.

"Time to go to work," he said. "Terrace patrol. Don't let this eat at you, John. You don't have a thing to worry about."

John finished his punch. "I wish I could say that with your confidence. Time to be sociable. I'd better get used to it since next January, everybody will be calling my wife Madame President."

Lee walked out to the terrace. A few couples were standing at the balustrade as far away from the light coming through the windows as possible. Lee strolled down the length of the terrace. He saw some hand-holding and some kissing, but nothing that he felt like he needed to stop. Before he went back inside he looked out over the land behind the Admin building. The wooded hillside dropped away sharply to the running track and playing fields. The hardwood trees were lacy with new growth, the small lake beside the parade field was silver in the moonlight.

He thought about the time he had spent there, just three years earlier. It seemed now like such a long time ago. Then he thought about Kara as he had done frequently all evening. He had wanted to stand here with her tonight. He'd wanted to take her hand and kiss her and have this memory.

"A cubit for your thoughts," Shelley said as she walked up beside him.

"Just remembering when I was a cadet here."

He realized immediately that she had misunderstood his remark because she slid her arm through his.

"We stood out here during our winter dance. I was freezing. You put your arm around me. You always could warm me up, Lee."

He turned to her. "Things have changed a lot since then."

"Kara doesn't have to know. It'll be our secret."

He lifted her hand from his arm in preparation to back away from her. Shelley took the opportunity to put her other hand behind his neck and pull him to her. She kissed him hard on the mouth and for a few stunned moments he didn't seem to be able to react. Shelley's mouth was soft and insistent, her tongue searching. He finally pulled away from her.

"Come on, Shelley. That's enough. Stop it. This is not going to happen."

She smiled, and he realized that she was looking over his shoulder.

Lee turned and saw Sharon and Karl standing hesitantly just outside the terrace door. He was sure they had seen Shelley kiss him.

Without a word he walked past them and back into the ballroom. John and Laura were talking to Hugh and Stacey Connelly. Lee walked over to them.

"I need to see you outside," he said to John.

"That sounds serious," Laura said.

When they were outside the ballroom, John asked. "What's wrong?"

"I've got to see Kara."

"You can't."

"Please, John. Karl and Sharon saw…something."

"Something?"

"Shelley kissed me. I know if I don't tell Kara right now that Sharon will."

"Let me go talk to Kara."

"I'll walk with you."

"You'll have to stay outside the dorm. I won't take a chance on getting her into any more trouble."

"Okay. I'll stay outside."

"Let me tell Laura where we're going."

When John got back, they started across campus to Kara's dorm.

"I used to date Shelley," Lee said.

"I remember you talking about her at McGee's. You thought she was hot."

"I don't feel that way anymore. I didn't even want to come tonight."

"You told me, Lee. I believe you."

"I'd never do anything to screw things up with Kara. Never!"

"Lee," John finally said. "You don't have to convince me. I know you love her."

They reached Kara's dorm. Lee paced the sidewalk while John went inside.

...

Kara was lying on the bed when she heard the knock at her door. She opened it to a cadet who said, "Your father wants to see you in the lobby."

Filled with both dread and curiosity, Kara went downstairs.

Her father was standing near one of the couches.

"What's wrong?"

He smiled. "Does something have to be wrong for me to come see my daughter?"

"In the middle of a dance, it does."

He stepped up close to her and asked softly. "Have you been crying?"

"No. It's just a stupid dance. Why would I cry over a stupid dance? There's other cadets who didn't have dates tonight. We've been having a blast…twice as much fun as anybody at the dance is having. Now tell me what's wrong."

"Let's walk outside a minute."

"What's going on? Has something happened to Lee?"

"No, baby, nothing's happened to Lee." Her father put his arm around her shoulders and they began walking toward the door. "I was going to give you a message from him, but I think it should come from the horse's mouth so to speak."

"Lee's with you?"

As they walked past the desk, John said to the lieutenant. "We'll be back in five minutes. I need to talk to my daughter in private."

They walked down the outside steps.

"Lee!" Kara said.

John said, "Make it quick. Otherwise we're all in trouble."

Lee grabbed both of Kara's hands and held them. "Shelley made a pass at me tonight. Karl and Sharon saw her. I wanted to tell you first."

"What did she do?"

"She kissed me."

"Did you kiss her back?"

"No."

Kara wrapped her arms around him. "My thirty days is up on Wednesday. Will you come see me after class?"

He held her tightly. "You know I will."

Having her in his arms was good. It was so right with Kara. He kissed her hard and quickly. The kiss was right, too.

"Come on," John said. "Kara needs to go back inside."

"I love you," Lee said softly to her.

"I love you, too."

Her father walked with her back up the steps. At the top she looked up at him. She was so happy that she almost felt like crying.

"Thank you."

He grinned. "You should probably thank Shelley. Now go back in so Lee and I can get back to the dance before we're missed. I'll see you Monday."

Kara was in her bunk when Sharon came in that night.

"I already know about Shelley," she said.

"You do?"

"I'm okay with it."

"You are?"

"I trust Lee. It was her doing anyway. She kissed him not the other way around."

"I'm surprised that you don't want to kick her butt."

Kara smiled. "I do, but I don't want to get kicked out of school, either. My thirty days is up Wednesday. Lee will make up for it next weekend. I know he will."

...

Laura was surprised when John pulled up outside the front of their apartment building and said, "Send Maya down. I'm going to take her home."

"Why would you need to do that? We pay for a transport for her?"

"I'll tell you when I get back."

Doug had already opened the car door for her. She got out.

Maya was reading when Laura entered the den. She capped a yellow highlighter and closed the book.

"Did you have a nice evening?"

"Very nice," Laura said. "John is waiting for you downstairs. He said he would take you home."

Maya looked surprised. "He doesn't have to do that."

"He's says he does."

Maya hastily picked up the book and her purse. "Braedon's been asleep about an hour."

"Thank you," Laura said. "I'll check on him."

Unsure of exactly what she was feeling, she walked into the nursery. Her son was sleeping soundly. She gently touched his silky brown hair, much thicker now than when he was born. She wondered briefly whether she had made a mistake in running for President and then lifted her head. Her course was set. She would follow it to its conclusion.

She had washed her face, put on her gown and robe, and was sitting in the den with a drink when John came in. He pulled the sash off his dress uniform, put it on the back of a chair and unbuttoned the tunic before he went to the liquor cabinet and also poured a drink.

"I took Maya home because Doug told me that instead of calling a transport, she's been walking ten blocks to the subway whenever she works for us at night. It's not bad in the afternoon during rush hour, but at this time on a Saturday night, she's got no business walking alone, especially on the other end. She lives off Forty-Ninth Street."

"Why would she do something like that?"

"My guess is she needs the money."

"I give her twenty cubits for a transport. That's hardly a fortune."

"It is to someone who's trying to put herself through college, plus pay rent and utilities."

"You and Maya have become quite close, have you not?"

"What do you mean by close?"

"Do you know how many evenings I've come home and found you sitting here talking to her?"

"I give up. How many?"

"You know what I mean," Laura said, surprised at the shortness in her voice.

"Ninety-five percent of my conversations with Maya deal with Braedon."

"And the other five percent?"

"This is starting to sound like an interrogation. Are you trying to pick a fight with me, Laura?"

"No. I just expect an answer to my question."

"Occasionally Maya and I talk about what she's doing in school. But most of our conversations are about Brae. They're really conversations I should be having with you."

"So now I'm a bad mother."

"I didn't say that."

"You implied it."

He downed the rest of his drink. "I'm going to bed."

"We're not through talking, yet."

He put the empty glass down on the bar and turned to her. "I am. I'm tired. I was up with Brae a couple of times last night. If we keep on, I'll probably say something I'll regret."

"I think I can handle that."

For the first time she heard an edge of anger in his voice. "You know what your problem is?"

She very carefully put her empty glass down on the table, stood and faced him. "No, please tell me what my problem is."

"You've got to control everything. You want to talk tonight, then we're going to talk tonight. You don't care whether it suits me or not. You know when I saw you go through having our son and you wouldn't take anything for the pain, I didn't understand it. Now I know it was a control issue with you. You didn't want to give up even a tiny bit of control. So you suffered and I suffered watching you go through it."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't I? Everything is always your way. I said it on the island. I haven't seen anything that's made me change my mind. You question me for taking our nanny home after midnight. You try to read something into me talking to her about our son, but you don't see anything wrong with meeting your former lover for lunch or tea a couple of times a week."

The undercurrent of anger in John's voice had gotten stronger. It was a tone she didn't think he had ever used with her before. She knew she should probably stop now, but she had never been one to back down from a fight.

"When did this become about me and Bill?"

"It's always been about you and Bill! You don't think I know that if it hadn't been for Braedon, you'd be with him now. If you hadn't gotten pregnant, even if you'd still been seeing me when Carolanne died, you'd have dumped me for Bill Adama so fast I'd have felt like I was in a freefall."

She walked over to him. She saw the anger, but she also saw the pain in his eyes. It made her want to cry.

"You're so wrong about that! I love you. And not just because you're the father of my child. I love your gentle ways and I love how you take care of our son and the way you love him and Kara. Bill Adama is my past. I can't deny the bond I still have with him. But I'm with you now because I want to be with you."

He finally put his arms around her and his mouth down against her ear. The anger was gone, his tone was mocking now, and sarcastic.

"Are you sure you're with me now because you want to be with me or because you're running for President…and dumping your husband for a former lover wouldn't look so good? It might even cost you the election."

He must have anticipated how angry his words would make her because his arms tightened around her as she tried to twist away from him.

"That was completely uncalled for. Let go of me!"

His mouth was still against her ear. "You don't really want me to, do you? That's why you picked this fight, isn't it? Tell me again to let go of you and I will."

The feel of his body, hard and lean under his uniform was too much of a promise of what was going to happen. He knew just how to get to her, and she realized that in this one area of their life, she had never been in control. Even when their lovemaking was slow and gentle, she had never been in control with him.

Her arms went around his neck, her mouth seeking his, unashamed of her surrender.

It was the only answer to his question that he needed.

...

Early the next morning Laura got out of bed as soon as she heard Braedon start to fret. John rolled over.

"Go back to sleep," she said quietly. "I'll get up with him this morning."

An hour later she was sitting in the kitchen with her son on her lap when John walked in.

"I've got the coffee ready. All you need to do is turn it on."

He flipped the switch and then came and sat down at the table. "I'm sorry about last night."

She smiled. "All of it?"

He smiled, too. "No, not all of it."

At the sound of his father's voice, her son began bouncing on her lap. John reached out and she handed Braedon to him.

"We need to talk," she said.

"I know."

"I've already called Billy. I'm afraid I woke him up, but I told him I wouldn't be coming to the campaign headquarters today. We're going to take Braedon and we're going to the park and we're going to push our son in his stroller and we're going to talk. I have made a number of unilateral decisions that I should have discussed with you first. It's something I've done for most of my career and it's a hard habit to break. I have come to rely on you so much. I have taken you for granted and that has been wrong of me."

"Laura, you don't need to…"

"No, I need to say this to you because I've been sitting here for the last hour thinking about how much you mean to me and what it would do to me if you said you were leaving me for…"

"There's just one thing that would ever make me walk out on you, and I think you know what that is."

"I know you loved Kara's mother."

"Yes, I did, and I didn't leave her. She left me. She stayed behind. She left me and Kara both. Not the other way around."

Laura nodded. "You're a wonderful father to Kara and to our son. I want you to know how grateful I am to you for that." She struggled for a moment and finally said what she knew, had known in her heart for years. "Bill Adama was a terrible father. I couldn't even imagine raising a child with him. If he and I had married years ago, my life would have been…miserable."

John's eyes met hers and she saw the surprise. "He seems to be trying now. People change. Just look at me. I'm not the same man I was twenty years ago."

"Bill's trying now because during one of our lunch meetings I talked to him. On the island Kara made me aware of Lee's efforts to forge a closer bond with Bill and the way Bill always shut him out. Despite what you might think, it's not easy for me to talk to Bill about something that personal. Bill is a very proud man. He's very stubborn…very opinionated."

John nodded. "I know."

"He thinks a great deal of you."

"I admire and respect him, too."

"I can't promise that life is suddenly going to be easy for us, but I want to try. I want to make things better for you than they have been."

"Things haven't been bad for me, Laura. Last night I was tired. I was upset because my little girl was in her dorm room instead of at the dance with Lee. And I was upset because I saw you dancing with Bill and it was hard for me to take."

"And I was upset because I thought you had…romantic reasons for wanting to take Maya home. You know, Lee said it very well last night. Trust. It's the one absolute ingredient to a successful relationship, whether personal or professional. Trust is the foundation."

"Lee's a smart guy."

"And love is as important as trust."

"Did Lee say that, too?"

Laura smiled. "No, I said that. I want to try. I want us to start talking again. Will you help me try?"

"It hasn't all been you. I've been wrapped up in this thing with Nereid."

"You think we'll find Cylons there, don't you?"

"Yes, and Bill thinks we may find humans on the planet, prisoners from a number of ships that disappeared during the fighting almost four years ago. Lee brought up an interesting point too, on our way back from talking to Irina Hoshi. He mentioned the fact that survivors were found on Tauron when Zarek's mining crew got there. Now we wonder if the Cylons might not have taken survivors from some of the other planets, too, before the radiation from the nukes and their centurions killed everyone."

"Why would they want human prisoners?"

"The same reason Baltar needed humans to try to create a hybrid. The prisoners might be their lab rats."

"Oh, dear gods."

"Bill and I both think they may have had been trying to double their chances of success in mixing human and Cylon DNA. They had Baltar and crew working on it here and probably some of their Simon models working on it there."

"What does that mean for us?" Laura asked.

"It means Bill has to make a decision. Do we destroy Nereid without regard for the humans who might be there, or do we try to save the humans and destroy the Cylons at the potential cost of more Colonial ships and personnel? It won't be an easy decision especially since there's some indication in Irina Hoshi's journals that more clues to the location of Kobol may be hidden somewhere on Nereid."

"What if the Cylons on Nereid…assuming there are Cylons on Nereid…have already discovered the clues to the location of Kobol? What if they've gone there?"

"That's a very good question. One I'm sure Bill has thought of. I guess we build more battlestars and follow them until we've destroyed them. As long as there are Cylons out there anywhere, I don't think the human race is safe."

"It's such a beautiful spring day," Laura said. "Let's eat breakfast and put the stroller in the car and go to the park. Let's forget about the Cylons and the Presidency and Nereid. Let's enjoy the day."

John smiled. "Did you really want me to kiss you that day you met me in the park two years ago?"

"What do you think?"

"I think you should ask me again today."

...

Kara pulled her Viper through a series of fast-paced turns in the simulator, through an obstacle course of asteroids, any of which could hide Raiders. She had already taken out three of them. Her eyes constantly scanned the screen outside the canopy. Her dradis was useless because of the asteroids.

She was almost through the asteroid field when the Raider appeared, a slice of wing coming at her with the sun at its back. She held up her left thumb to block the glare as she keyed the trigger on her machine cannon. The tracers arced out and the ordinances found their target before she pulled the Viper up quickly to avoid an asteroid. A second later and she would have impacted the surface. One dead Raider, but also one dead Viper pilot.

She cruised out of the asteroid field and the sim ended. The canopy slid back.

It didn't seem right to climb down the steps and not see her father. She was still trying to get used to it.

Colonel Burgher was at the computer. She walked over.

"Another perfect score, Cadet Thrace."

Kara beamed. "I'd like to try that sim that no cadet has ever successfully flown, sir."

"What sim would that be?"

"I heard you have a sim that no cadet has ever beaten."

Burgher scratched the side of his jaw and smiled. "Your father mentioned that to you?"

"No, sir. It was not my father."

"When do you want to try?"

"You tell me."

"Next Saturday morning at 10:00."

"I'll be here," Kara said.

"I allow my top five students to try each year if they ask. I think we can safely say you're one of the top five."

"Thank you, sir."

Kara climbed the stairs to the third floor and went to her father's office.

He stood up and hugged her. "Hey, baby. How did your sim session go today?"

She grinned. "Another perfect score. Colonel Burgher is going to let me try that special sim next Saturday."

"It's hard."

"You've seen it?"

"I've flown it."

"Did you beat it the first time?"

He grinned but didn't answer her.

"Don't tell me anything about it."

"Are you coming home this weekend?"

Kara smiled. "My first weekend off restriction? What do you think?"

"I don't guess we'll see too much of you."

"Kiss Brae for me tonight."

"I'm glad to see you in such a good mood, baby."

"I feel like I just got out of prison."

"Being in hack is no fun. Just remember what put you there."

"Did you ever get sent to the brig?"

"No, but I should have. Chuck Winters was my CAG on the Solaria. Let's just say that he's a merciful man. I got away with a lot more than I should have."

"You think Colonel Winters is merciful? I just spent a month confined to campus for one little fight. The worst thing that happened to me before in school was I had to take a note home to mom."

"The colonel has to enforce the Academy's rules. It's a bit looser on a battlestar. But that doesn't mean you and Maggie can take up where you left off if you both get stationed on the same ship."

"It's not Maggie's ass I'd like to kick."

"It's probably a good idea if you forget about kicking anybody's ass right now. You're too close to graduation."

"I know. In a couple of weeks I'll graduate and Lee will finish War College and we won't ever have to see Shelley Sydell again. How's that for being mature about things?"

"Colonel Burgher's sim is hard, baby. I don't want to see you beat yourself up if you don't get through it."

"You didn't make it on the first try, did you?"

"I made it on the second."

"What are you going to say if I make it on the first try?"

"That you're going to be a better Viper pilot that I was."

Kara smiled. "I'll settle for as good as."

"I want you to be better because next winter when…" he stopped and took a deep breath.

"Next winter I'm going to kick some Cylon ass just like my old man did."

...

Friday night at Lee's apartment, he put on a CD by the band that had played at the Academy's spring dance. He and Kara walked into the kitchen where he poured them each a small glass of ambrosia. He raised his glass.

"To Kara Thrace's freedom," he toasted.

"To Kara Thrace learning a lesson."

Lee took a sip of his drink and Kara did the same.

"Do you want to dance?"

"Here? Now?"

He put his drink on the counter and then took hers. "Here and now. You missed your spring dance."

She smiled as she put her arms around his neck and smirked. "You didn't."

"Don't remind me." He put his arms around her waist and they began to slowly dance around the little kitchen.

"I've missed you. Gods, I can't tell you how much I've missed you."

"Not as much as I've missed you."

Kara put her cheek against his. "You write the best letters. I would read a few each night and then when I finished, I'd start over."

"Your letters are in the drawer by my bed."

"Being on the Galactica is going to be hell without you."

"You'll stay busy. There's always something to do on a battlestar."

"Are you trying to make me feel better about going?"

Lee kissed her neck and felt her shiver. "I think I'm trying to make myself feel better."

"Do you think you can get posted there?"

"I doubt it. I was talking to Tucker Clellan a few weeks ago. He's tried to get on the G a couple of times because his girlfriend Nora is on there, and he's gotten turned down."

"I'm sure your dad could make it happen."

"Maybe. Maybe not. The Cavil copy on each battlestar has to approve all transfers."

Kara sighed and pressed her body against his as they danced.

"Would you really write my name across the sky in your Viper?" She asked.

"I've gone to sleep a lot of nights thinking of exactly how I'd do it."

"Would you really shout it to the skies?"

"Do you want to go up to the roof of the building? I'm ready to go right now."

"I'd rather you kissed my neck again," she whispered.

"You like that?" Lee asked as he complied.

Kara shivered. "Yes."

It was a very short distance to her mouth. His lips found hers and explored slowly, savoring what had been denied to them for the last month.

She took her arms from around his neck and slid them under his shirt, feeling the hard muscles of his back. He moved his mouth to the other side of her neck and heard the soft intake of her breath.

"You're going to drive me crazy tonight, aren't you?" She asked.

"For as long as I can stand it. It's been a month. I want it to last long enough to make up for all those times we missed."

Her hands found the button of his jeans. "That might take all night. I've still got a curfew."

He took her hand and led her into the bedroom. The bedside lamp was dim, just enough light to see Posiden's Daughter.

"Where were we?" Lee asked and kissed her again, the kiss more urgent this time, their mouths greedier.

She unzipped his jeans. He pulled the t-shirt over her head and pushed one strap of her bra off her shoulder. He kissed the hollow of her neck as he slid the other strap down. He found the clasp in the back and her bra dropped on top of her t-shirt. Her hand had found him inside his jeans. He had to stop her. "Not yet," he groaned. "I don't want it to get too good too fast."

She unbuttoned his shirt and slid her hands up the muscles of his chest before she pushed the shirt off his shoulders. "More pushups?" she murmured.

"It helped keep my mind off what I really wanted to be doing."

Kara kicked off her shoes so Lee could help her out of the jeans. He slid her panties down and nudged her back onto the bed before he lay beside her. He started at her mouth again while his fingers found her nipple and squeezed gently. He knew what she wanted. His lips followed his hand and he took her nipple in his mouth.

She was making the soft breathy whimper she did when the feeling was getting almost too good to take.

"You like this, don't you?"

"Yes," she moaned. "You know exactly what I like...yes, exactly...just like that."

Kara meant to stop him before she came. She meant to have him inside of her, but it had been so long and what he was doing felt so good that she let him keep going. The soft whimpers turned into a sharp cry. The fingers of one of her hands clutched the sheets and the fingers of her other hand dug into the muscles of his back.

Her breath was still coming in short gasps as she felt him kick his jeans off. She moaned as he entered her. It still felt so good. Her hands slid down his back, encouraging him, helping him as he moved. "Yes," she said again. "Yes."

Lee closed his eyes for a few moments and thought of how right this was with Kara, how right and how good. "I love you," he said. "There will never be anyone for me but you."

"I trust you, Lee. I love you. Say my name. I want to hear you say my name."

He had waited so long to have her in his arms again that it was almost like the first time. He put his mouth against her throat and surrendered to the feeling, her name on his lips like a prayer, the right name this time, the name of the woman he knew he would always love.

Kara.