A Different Beginning----Chapter 10

AU and it starts at the mini-series. I am writing this solo so I am sorry for any mistakes.

Chapter 10

Once they stepped foot off the raptor onto the Astral Queen things started to go badly. The first thing they did was place them all in separate cells. Lee started demanding to see the person in charge, it seemed the prisoners had control of the ship.

After what seemed like forever two prisoners came and took Lee from his cell. Lee managed to break free from one of them, knocking him to the floor, then swung and hit the one still holding him. By that time the other one got back up and grabbed Lee from behind shoving him face down on the dirty floor. After they kicked him around a bit they picked him up and dragged him away.

Kara who had been watching started screaming " I am going to kill you mother frakers when I get out of here "

Billy and Cally could only stand there at their cell doors and watch in horror as Apollo was beaten up.

Kara was pacing her cell trying to figure out how to get out so she could go and help Lee. She could not believe how wrong this had all gone.

Lee was taken upstairs to the monitoring room and handcuffed to a chair. " I demand to see whoever is in charge."

He did not have long to wait before someone came in and ordered everyone out of the room " I heard you wanted to see me, Apollo."

Lee looked up at the man who had used his call sign and saw that it was Tom Zarek. " So I take it you are in charge?" and added " How long have the prisoners had control of this ship?"

Zarek took a seat in the chair opposite of Lee " We took control right after we jumped from Ragnar " he leaned closer to Lee " What are you doing here Apollo?"

" We need help getting water off the surface, as I am sure you are aware we have lost most of the water that supplies the fleet " Lee told him

Zarek sneered " Why should we help you?"

Lee looked Zarek straight in his eyes " You need water just like the rest of us "

Zarek leaned back and appeared to be thinking " What do we get out of this?"

Lee should have known that someone like Zarek would want something in return " We can offer points towards early release for most of you "

Zarek sneered again " That is not enough "

" What else do you want?" Lee asked getting fed up with the run around he was getting from Zarek

Zarek stood up " We want a new election for the President of the fleet "

Out of all the things Zarek could have asked for this was the last thing Lee expected " There can't be another election for at least six months, Roslin is serving out President Adar's last term "

Zarek thought about that for a minute " Then I want a promise that we will have a new election in six months, in the meantime I think a Vice-President should be named "

Lee had not thought about it before, but what Zarek was asking seemed reasonable " Let me call the Galactica and confirm these things with the commander and the president, also I want to know that my people are okay before I make the call "

Zarek moved out of Lee's way so he could see his people on the monitors " As you can see, they are fine "

Lee saw that they were " Then uncuff me so that I can make the call "

Zarek removed the handcuffs from Lee and gave him the phone. It took a while before they could reach an agreement with the Adama and President Roslin. Lee knew that his father would be sending in a squad of marines, he hoped to contain this situation before they arrived. " I would like to go below and speak to my people "

In the meantime down in the cells something was happening. Kara had been laying in her bunk trying to figure a way out of this mess when a prisoner decided to go into Cally's cell. Kara did not move a muscle while she waited to see what was going to happen, although she had a pretty good idea.

Kara noticed that Cally who had been laying in her bunk did not move either. Kara and Cally watched as the prisoner approached Cally and sat on the side of her bed. He started talking to her and when Cally ignored him he got angry and started whispering in her ear exactly what he was going to do. As he started trying to take her clothes off Cally turned her head and bit part of his ear off even though he had a gun.

Kara had gotten up by this time and was standing by the bars that separated her cell from Cally's. As soon as Cally bit his ear he jerked back against the very bars that Kara was standing by. Kara reached through the bars and grabbed him around the throat causing him to misfire the gun which ended up grazing Kara's thigh before he dropped it. Kara knew there was nothing she could do for herself at the moment, but keep a choke hold on the prisoner so he could not get to Cally. " Cally get his gun " Cally looked around until she found the gun and picked it up pointing it at the prisoner. Kara knew the sound of gunfire would have someone coming soon. " Just hold the gun on him Cally " Kara said as she hobbled back to sit on the cot.

As Lee and Zarek were walking to the cells they heard gunfire and Lee took off running with Zarek right behind him. When they reached the cells Lee stopped a moment to take it all in " Open their cells Zarek " Lee yelled. Lee looked at Kara and knew she was okay for now, but he needed to get into the cell with Cally, he could see the gun shaking in her hand. Once the cell door opened he went in and took the gun from Cally. Lee noticed that Zarek had entered the cell with him. Before anything else could be done they were surrounded by marines who had sneaked aboard while the prisoners were distracted. Lee noticed that one of the marines had Zarek in his sights " You had better decide now if you are ready to die or be here to see the election process through "

Zarek who realized he was not ready to die told his men to lower their weapons. The cell doors were opened and the prisoners were placed back inside. Once Lee saw that the marines had the situation under control he rushed into Kara's cell and knelt down by her " Kara, are you okay?"

Although it was only a flesh wound, her thigh was throbbing " It's fine Lee, it is only a flesh wound " and then she looked at him " Are you okay?"

Lee reached down and pulled her up off the cot " I'm doing better than you are, so lean on me and I will help you to the raptor "

Kara really did not have much choice, but to lean on him, she knew she would not be able to get to the raptor without his help. " Let's go " Kara knew she would have to go see Cottle, she just hoped her injury would not keep her out of the cockpit for long.

As Lee was helping Kara to the raptor he started thinking about his upcoming meeting with the president and his dad. He had to make sure that the bargains he had made with Zarek would be honored by them. He looked at Kara and saw her grimacing in pain and wished he had not asked her to come on this mission with him. " I'm sorry Kara, I should never have asked you to come "

Kara glared at him " For frak's sake Lee, it was a mission, I do go on missions, you know "

" Yeah but... " Kara interrupted him " No buts Lee, besides the bullet just grazed me "

Lee knew it was no use arguing with her and let it go, because they were landing on the Galactica. As soon as they entered sickbay Lee saw his dad pacing and watched as he came rushing towards them when he saw that Kara was hurt.

Adama reached out for Kara as soon as he reached them. " Are you okay?"

" Yes sir " Kara tried to remove her arm from around Lee's neck, but he had her hand and did not let it go " I've got her dad, find a bed that I can put her in "

Adama looked at his son and did not understand why he would not let Kara go, then he noticed the cuts and bruises on Lee " I will take her son, you need to be checked out yourself "

Finally Lee released her to his dad " Make sure you stay with her " Lee said as he walked away to find a nurse.

Adama asked her again " Are you sure you are okay?"

Kara looked at him and grinned " It is just a flesh wound, sir "

Once Kara was settled and Doc Cottle had came into the room, he sent Adama to the waiting area. Lee came out of one of the rooms and sat beside him " What happened over there Lee, I thought everything was under control?"

After looking around to make sure no one was listening Lee told his dad as much as he knew. " Everything was okay until some prisoner went into Cally's cell and tried to attack her "

Adama shook his head " How is Cally and how did Kara end up getting shot?"

" Cally is fine "Lee had to think back to what Billy had told him " Cally bit off a piece of the guys ear causing him to jump back against the bars of the cell Kara was in " at his fathers nod he continued " Apparently Kara grabbed him in a choke hold and his gun went off grazing her thigh "

Adama looked towards the curtain Kara was behind " Thank goodness it wasn't worse, I know Kara and this will keep her out of the cockpit for a few days "

" So?" Lee knew that, he just did not understand why his dad had brought it up.

Adama had to smile about how naive Lee was when it came to Kara " Son, by the time Kara can fly again she will have run everyone crazy "

" Why should it bother her to rest for a couple of days?" Lee asked wanting to understand

" Let me put it this way, we are going to have to find a way to keep her busy, and I think I have the perfect solution " Adama said still smiling

Now Lee was intrigued " How?"

Adama stood up to stretch his legs and turned to look at Lee " I was going to tell you later, but now is as good a time as any " he sat back down before continuing " I am sending you and a team of marines down to the surface to supervise the prisoners, and I now think that sending Kara with you would be a good idea "

Lee nodded his head in understanding " So this way she will be kept busy "

" Yes and I'm sure that everyone on the Galactica will be thankful " Adama told him just as a nurse was walking over to them

Before the nurse made it to them Lee had to ask " Is she really that bad when she can't fly?" Adama nodded " Sometimes "

The nurse stopped before them, so they stood up " She is going to be fine although it was a little more than just a graze "

Adama got a worried look " How much more?"

" Not much, she had to have a few stitches, but she can walk, she will have to use crutches for a couple of days " the nurse told them before she left

Adama turned to Lee " The president is waiting in my office for your debrief, just give me a minute with Kara and then we will head up "

Lee wanted to go in and see her too, but he felt it would be better if he just waited. Lee knew his father was worried about Kara, but so was he. Lee took a chance and peeped through the curtain and saw his dad sitting next to her, brushing the hair back that had fallen in her face. Lee guessed his father really did think of her as his daughter. He sat back down and waited on his dad. As soon as he emerged from Kara's room it was back to business as usual " Let's go Captain, we have kept the president waiting long enough "

Lee fell in next to his father as they headed to his office. Lee really hoped they would not go back on the things they had promised Zarek. He was ready to get this meeting over with so he could shower and go visit Kara. Lee was looking forward to being down on the surface for a few days, he just hoped Kara would feel the same way.

Thankfully the meeting had not taken long. Even though Roslin was upset that she had to make a deal with someone like Zarek, she agreed to uphold it. Lee found out that he would be heading down to the surface in the morning. After the meeting broke up he headed to take a shower and change.

Kara had taken a short nap after the Doc finished putting on her bandage and now that she was awake she was bored. She knew Lee had brought her in, but she had not seen him since. She was going to ask Adama where he was, but decided against it. As she lay there thinking about the past week she could not get over how close she and Lee had become. She barely knew him, but sometimes it felt like she had known him forever.

Kara heard someone headed towards her room, so she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. As that person walked up to the side of her bed she knew without looking that it was Lee. He stood there a while before he reached out and picked up one of her hands and whispered " I am so sorry that you got hurt Kara "

Kara waited a minute, then stretched and yawned like she was just waking up and Lee let go of her hand. She opened her eyes to see him standing there and she could tell by the look on his face that he blamed himself for her getting shot. " It was not your fault Lee, so quit thinking it was "

Lee pulled the chair that was in the room up next to her bed and sat down " So, how long before you can fly again?"

Kara scooted up in the bed so that she was sitting up. " Doc says at least a week "

Lee wanted to touch her but didn't " The commander has another mission for us if you are up to it "

That got her attention " What do we have to do this time?"

" He wants us and a team of marines down on the surface supervising the prisoners and the civilians as they gather the water " Lee was not sure she would agree to this

" It beats doing nothing, when do we leave? "Kara asked

" First thing in the morning, if Cottle thinks you are up for it " Lee told her

Kara snorted " He will agree believe me, he does not want me in his sickbay any longer than I have to be "

Lee knew he still had a lot to learn about Kara Thrace, but he was looking forward to it. " I had better go so you can get some sleep " when he got up he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek " See you in the morning Kara " and he was out the door before she could say anything.

Kara was smiling as he left, she found out she was looking forward to spending some time with Lee off the Galactica. She fell asleep thinking of the way he had kissed her cheek and if she had anything to do about it he would be kissing a lot more than just her cheek.

As Lee was heading to his office he realized that he was looking forward to tomorrow. He would spend time getting to know her better and maybe steal a kiss or two. When he reached his office he sat down to write up the report about what had happened on the Astral Queen. After he finished he packed a small bag to take with him to the icy planet in case they stayed overnight. He did not think they would because it was probably to cold to stay past dark. Once he was finished with everything, he climbed into his bed and just like every night he started thinking about Kara. He could not believe how enthralled he was with her. They had been through a lot with each other since the worlds ended, and it had brought them closer to each other. Lee soon fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Kara woke the next morning with Cottle changing her bandage, and he was not being gentle about it. " For fraks sake, do you have to be so rough?"

Cottle just glared at her " The sooner I get this changed the sooner you can get out of my sickbay. " he finished taping it up " I am allowing you to go down to the planet, but that does not mean you can just run all over the place and try to stay off your feet as much as possible." he gathered his stuff together and before he left he told her " You can leave as soon as you get dressed, come back in a couple of days so that bandage can be changed "

Kara saw a pile of her clothes at the foot of her bed so she grabbed them and got dressed. She scooted to the edge of the bed and tried to stand up, but she could not walk without the crutches so she grabbed them and headed to her bunk room. She threw a few things into a bag and sat down and waited on Apollo. As she sat there she looked around and saw that their bunk room was only half full. Before the cylons decided to end their worlds the bunk room was completely full. Kara got up and went to her locker and pulled out her idols, she then said a prayer for all the people they had lost. Just as she had put the idols back, Apollo walked in " Are you ready to go?"

" Frak yes " she said as she stood up " Who else do we know that is going with us?"

Lee wanted to help her, but if he had learned anything about Kara, it was that she did not want help that often, so he watched her get up and grab her bag. " Cally and Jammer will be going along with a couple more of the deck crew."

As they went through the hatch he reached down and grabbed his bag. He walked beside her slowly all the way to the hangar bay, once they got there she handed him her bag and crutches as she backed down the ladder. The second he stepped down she took her bag and crutches back. "So do we get to take our own raptor or do we get a chauffeur?"

He motioned toward a waiting raptor and she saw Cally and Jammer waiting on them. When they made it over to the raptor Cally grabbed her bag and threw it into the back with theirs. " How is the leg Starbuck?"

" A pain in the ass, but I'll manage " she said as she went into the raptor and sat in the ECO chair. After that the rest of them boarded and before they knew it they were on there way down to the planet. The marines and some other civilians were brought down in a couple of raptors that would not be staying on the planet.

Once they were all there Cally, Jammer and two other civilians went to work setting up the equipment that would be needed to melt the ice. The marines set up a perimeter and Lee and a few others set up a large tent that would have portable heat in it. Kara looked around and saw that the prisoners were already at work chipping the ice that was to be melted. She did not understand the whole process so she quickly became disinterested and went into the now set up tent. She grabbed the first chair she saw and sat down, wondering what the frak she would be doing. She did not have to wonder very long, cause Lee had came in and handed her a bunch of paperwork. " What is this?" she asked while waving the papers at him.

Lee sighed and sat down beside her after pulling over a table and a chair " It will be your job to keep up with how much water we move each day."

" Oh joy " Kara remarked in a snarky way

" Someone has to do it, so it might as well be you " he told her. Lee started thinking maybe this was not such a good idea after all. He took another chance and said " There is a cot set up over there in case you need to lie down "

Kara scowled at him " Fine, now is there something you need to be doing besides babysitting me?"

Lee stood up " Yes, but I will be back to check on you shortly " and walked out of the tent.

Lee did not show up until the end of the day and when he entered the tent he found Kara fast asleep on the cot. He wanted to wake her and see if she wanted to go back to the Galactica for the night, but he decided to let her sleep. The marines had stayed but everyone else had gone back up. Lee figured it was warm enough in the tent to stay, so he went about fixing them something to eat before he woke her up.

After he had their dinner ready he went over and shook her awake. Without opening her eyes she asked " Why did you wake me up?"

Lee sat down on the edge of the cot and watched her stretch before she opened her eyes and looked at him " What?"

" I fixed us something to eat, I figured you haven't eaten today, I know I haven't " Lee said as he stood up and went to the table and sat down to wait on her

Kara sat up slowly and moved her legs off the side of the bed. When she tried to stand up she fell back down on the bed " Frak "

Lee laughed but did not move he just watched to see if she tried to stand again " You might want to try it with your crutches "

Kara did not reply, she grabbed her crutches and was able to stay standing this time. She hobbled over to the table and sat down " Where is everyone else?"

Lee fixed her a bowl of noodles and passed them to her " Except for the marines everybody else went back up "

Kara watched as he fixed his bowl " Why did we stay "

Before Lee took a bite he said " You were asleep and I was not sure if I should wake you, we can stay here or go back up after we eat "

Kara looked around the tent it seemed cozy and warm " I guess we should just stay here, it would keep us from having to get up early and fly back down here "

Lee smiled " I agree, now let's eat before it gets cold "

After they finished eating Lee cleaned up while Kara went to a corner of the tent where a make shift bathroom had been set up. She washed up as best she could and came out so Lee could take his turn. As she was waiting she wondered where he was going to sleep, it was to cold to sleep on the floor.

When Lee came out Kara was back in her cot, he looked around for a place to lay out his sleeping bag. Kara watched him trying to find a place to sleep. " Lee it is too cold for you to sleep on the floor, we can share the cot "

Lee hesitated " Are you sure?"

Kara smirked at him " Yes I'm sure Lee, look we both have our own sleeping bags so we will just be sharing the cot " she patted the side of the bed by her " Come on Lee, I don't bite, I promise "

Lee grabbed his bag and went over to the cot, once he laid it out he climbed inside " This is much warmer than the floor would have been and more comfortable "

Kara laughed " You left out the company, now isn't this better than sleeping alone?"

Lee turned over so that he was facing her " Much better, now close your eyes and get to sleep "

Kara winked at him " Is that an order, Captain?"

Lee nodded " Yes it is " and he closed his eyes to keep from looking at her. He was much to close to her and it was starting to effect him. After ten minutes he opened his eyes and saw that she had fallen asleep, so he watched her until he drifted off.

Kara woke up first and found herself cradled in Lee's arms. Sometime during the night she must have turned over with her back to him and either he had pulled her close or she had scooted back up against him. Kara had never been held that way, so she stayed still and fell back to sleep.

When Lee woke up he felt a warm weight in his arms and when he remembered that he was in bed with Kara he opened his eyes. She looked so peaceful in sleep, so he pulled her closer to him and just enjoyed holding her. He knew that she would wake up soon so he closed his eyes and waited for her to wake up to see what she would do.

When she first woke up she stiffened, then she relaxed and started stretching like a lazy cat. Then she turned to look at him and found him looking back " That was the best nights sleep I have had since the worlds ended "

Lee reached up and pushed her hair behind her ear " Me too, and I really don't want to get up "

Kara had been looking at how blue his eyes were in the morning and almost did not hear what he said " Me either, but we have to "

Lee tapped her on the end of her nose before sitting up " Stay in bed a little longer, I will get ready first "

Kara was not going to argue with that " Sounds like a plan " she said as she scooted further under the covers and watched him get ready.

Lee was amazed at how right it felt to wake up with Kara in his arms, and they had not even fraked. It was all he could do, not to try and kiss her, but promised himself he would before they went back to the Galactica. Lee had never been one to stay with a woman after they had fraked, he either always left or made it plain that she should leave if they were at his place. He could not imagine doing either with Kara. Lee found he could hardly wait for the day to end so they could repeat the last night. If sleeping with her and holding her was all that happened he would be happy with that. He looked over to find her watching him and wondered if she was thinking the same thing. It was time for him to leave " Do you need anything before I go?"

Kara was enjoying laying there watching Lee get ready for work. She wondered if he would want to stay down here tonight, she sure hoped so. Kara really was hoping that the commander and the president was making some headway regarding the frat regulations. When he turned and saw her watching him she did not look away. " No, maybe some lunch later on "

He pulled the tent flap back " I'll see you at lunch, we need to get a report together to send to the commander " and then he was gone

As soon as he left Kara got up and got ready. She decided to go for a little walk to work out the stiffness in her leg. Kara grabbed her crutches and walked out into the morning sun. It was beautiful down here, but to cold to live here. She saw Cally and hobbled over to her " Do you need some help?"

Cally who was absorbed in her work jumped when Kara spoke " Frak Starbuck you scared me " Cally was nervous around the prisoners after what had happened.

" Frak I'm sorry Cally " Kara had forgotten for a moment that Cally had been attacked

Cally pointed to a crate " Sit there and feed me this hose as I need it "

Kara put her crutches to the side and sat down picking up the hose " So, you guys went back up last night?"

Cally smiled at her " We did, but it seems you and Apollo decided to stay down here, is there something you want to tell me?"

Kara laughed at Cally's attempt to find something out " Nothing happened, if that is what you are thinking "

Cally stopped what she was doing and looked at Starbuck " That's a shame cause I heard there are several females on board the Galactica hoping to get his attention "

Starbuck smirked " Well, they will have to get in line because I have first dibs "

" Thought you might, but you had better hurry " Cally said as she went back to work

Frak Kara thought, if he did not make a move soon she was going to have to. Kara wondered which females it was that was after Apollo. It looked like she was going to have to mark her territory sooner rather than later. She continued working with Cally until it was time for lunch and headed back to the tent. When she got there Lee was already making lunch. " What do you have there?"

Lee turned around when he heard her come in " It seems someone sent me a basket of food "

Kara walked over to the table and sat down " Who?"

Lee sat down and finished going through the basket " The card said it was from Dee, the comms officer " he said smiling

Kara gritted her teeth, she should have known Dee would be one of them " Ooh how nice, Apollo has an admirer "

Lee continued smiling " If you are nice I will share it with you "

" No thanks, I'll just have some more noodles " she said as she made to get up to go fix her lunch

Lee wondered what was wrong with her " Don't be silly Kara, there is plenty here for both of us "

" I said no thanks, now leave me alone while I fix my own lunch " Kara said a bit snarky

Lee left her alone and just chalked it up as another thing he did not understand about her.

After she hobbled around fixing her lunch she sat back down and without saying anything to him started eating.

Lee watched her as she ate wondering what had pissed her off. " What did you do today?"

Kara took another bite before answering " I helped Cally out "

Lee stared at her " While you were out I got a message, Racetrack has volunteered to bring some supplies down later this afternoon "

There's another one Kara thought " Great " she said as she stood up " I am going for a walk " and out the tent she went.

Lee could not figure out what could have happened since this morning to piss her off. Maybe she was mad that Dee had sent him something to eat and not her, or maybe she was jealous. Lee thought he might have to test the jealous theory. He smiled the whole time he finished his lunch thinking of ways to rattle her.

While Kara was hobbling around she stopped to speak to a few of the marines she knew. As Kara made her way over to Cally she made sure to avoid the prisoners. Once she got there she made sure to cough so she would not spook Cally. " What can I do to help?"

Cally thought about it for a minute then handed her a clip board " You can keep up with each ship that comes down to collect it's water."

Kara took the clip board and sat down on a crate " Why are the smaller ships coming after their own water?"

" It's just easier to fill them now instead of the Galactica having to give it to them later " Cally explained

" Makes sense " Kara said as she made a notation of the ship that had just left " How much longer do you think we will be her?"

Cally stopped a moment to rest from pulling on the large hoses " Today and tomorrow and we should be finished, how did your lunch with Apollo go?"

Kara made a face " Dee sent him down a picnic basket and then I found out that Racetrack has volunteered to bring down supplies today "

Cally chuckled " I told you that some of them were trying to get his attention "

Kara did not think it was funny " They are starting to piss me off "

They worked for a while in silence, then they heard a raptor coming in.

Kara looked over at the raptor that had just landed and then she saw Lee heading towards it. After she saw Lee go inside she grabbed her crutches and headed that way.

Cally called after her " What are you going to do Starbuck?"

Kara called back " I'm not sure yet "

Kara walked slowly up to the raptor, when she got close she could here them talking. She wondered why they were inside.

She could hear Lee saying " I appreciate you doing this during your free time "

Kara could here Racetrack using her sweet voice " Anything to help out our CAG."

" How are things up on the Galactica?" he asked

" Boring, you should come back tonight, we are going to play cards in the rec room " she said sweetly

After what seemed like a minute Lee answered " I might, it just depends on how things are going down here "

Kara had heard enough of Racetrack's flirting, so she banged her crutch on the side of the raptor " Need any help Captain, or are you planning on staying inside all day?"

Lee stuck his head out to see a very irate Kara " Just taking the opportunity to get out of the cold for a minute "

Kara sat down on the wing of the raptor " Don't you think it is time to start unloading the supplies that Racetrack so generously gave up her free time to bring?"

Racetrack stepped out of the raptor then " It's okay, I am not in a hurry "

Lee came out next " Kara's right we need to get this stuff to the tent, I am going to grab a couple of guys to help "

After Lee left Kara glared at Racetrack " What are you trying to pull?"

Racetrack glared right back " Nothing, just trying to help out the CAG, plus I heard a rumor that the frat regs might change "

Kara looked her up and down " What does that have to do with the CAG?"

Racetrack looked at Starbuck like she was crazy " Have you not noticed how hot our CAG looks?"

Kara folded her arms across her chest " So, I take it this is you trying to get his attention "

Racetrack nodded " Of course it is "

Kara looked and saw Lee and a couple of guys headed back their way so she let the subject drop.

Kara asked Racetrack to bring a box inside the tent so that she would see that their was only one cot, because she knew that everyone knew they had spent last night down here.

Kara smiled when she saw Racetrack had figured it out. As Racetrack passed her she whispered to Starbuck " This doesn't change a thing "

After everyone had left Kara and Lee were alone inside the tent " What was up with you and Racetrack?"

Kara shrugged her shoulders " Nothing "

Kara knew Lee did not believe her " So are you going back up tonight to play cards?"

Lee who had been unpacking boxes turned to look at her " It depends "

Kara sat down and pulled a box towards her " It depends on what?"

Lee walked around the table and knelt down beside her so he could look her in the eyes " On you "

Kara could not help but stare into his blue eyes " On me how?"

Lee reached for one of her hands " Do you want me to stay down here with you?"

Kara's brain screamed yes, but " You can do whatever you want to do Lee "

Lee let go of her hand and stood up and went back to unpacking his box " Since you don't care I might as well go back and play cards "

No Kara thought, that is not what she wanted, but she would not ask him to stay. Nothing else was said between them after that. Kara got up and went outside to get away from Lee, so she could think. Before she knew it Lee came out dressed in his tanks and a pair of off duty pants. " I am off, do you think you can manage down here on your own?"

As he was pulling his jacket on she went to walk inside the tent " I'll be fine, just worry about yourself " she said tersely

Lee did not really want to go, but when Kara did not ask him to stay he decided to go just to show her that he could. All he wanted was to stay right here with her, maybe she did not want to have anything to do with him. All he knew was that he kept getting mixed signals from her. Lee knew that Racetrack had been flirting with him earlier and it seems Kara knew it too.

Lee knew the marines would be here if Kara needed them so he took the raptor and headed to the Galactica. It was not long before he was involved in a game of triad. Lee looked around the table at the people he was playing against Duck, Crashdown, Boomer, Racetrack and Dee. Lee also knew that Dee and Racetrack had been flirting with him, he was not interested in them though, it seems only Kara could hold his attention.

One of the players, Duck, asked " Where is Starbuck tonight, it's not like her to miss a game."

Crashdown spoke up " Don't care, at least we have a chance of winning with her not here " The rest of the table agreed as they all nodded their heads

" Why, you guys can't beat her " Lee asked surprised, he did not even knew she played cards

" She plays triad almost as good as she flies, so no we rarely ever beat her " Duck chuckled as he said this

Racetrack asked " Does anybody know if they are going to change the frat regs?"

" I sure hope so " Dee answered as she looked over at Lee and winked at him

" Me too " Racetrack added also looking at Lee

Boomer who had been listening to it all just kept quite.

" Maybe Flat Top will finally get his chance with Starbuck " Crashdown said and the whole table started laughing except Lee.

Lee had only come to try and make Kara jealous. He became tired of the flirting and the game so he stood up " I am going to bed I have to leave early in the morning "

As he was walking to his office he thought about just hopping in the raptor and going back to Kara, then he ran into his father " I did not know you were back Lee, where is Kara?"

Lee knew his father would not like the answer " She wanted to stay down on the planet "

" My gods Lee you left her down there by herself?" Adama yelled

" The marines are down there " Lee told him

" That is not good enough Lee, she can barely walk, what if something happens and she can't get help "Adama said sternly

Lee did not think about that " I was just about to head back down there "

" I think that would be best " Adama said as he walked off

Lee headed straight for the raptor.

Back on the icy planet Kara was in the tent fuming. She thought something might happen between her and Lee tonight, but he left instead. Maybe she should have sucked up her pride and told him that she wanted him to stay. Kara could not help but wonder what was going on at the game. Finally after a lot of time spent being fussy she ate and climbed into bed, missing Lee immediately.

When Lee made it back to the tent he slipped in quietly and saw Kara asleep on the cot. He undressed down to his tanks and boxers and grabbed his sleeping bag and slipped into bed beside her. Kara immediately backed up to him, so Lee draped one of his arms over her and placed one under his head. He was glad he had came back tonight and it was not long before he fell asleep.

Kara woke up the next morning laying half on top of someone. She looked up very slowly and saw that it was Lee. Kara tried to move to get off of him but he pulled her closer. The hand that was on her back started to move up and down her back, she looked up to find two blue eyes staring at her " Hi " he said.

Kara blinked, but did not move " Hi yourself " she laid her head back down on his chest " I thought you were not coming back until this morning "

" When dad found out that I had left you down here he kinda ordered me to come back " he said as he continued rubbing her back. " What he did not know was that I was already planning on coming back."

Kara raised her head up to look at him" So anything interesting happen at the game?"

" Not especially " he said as he raised up on his elbows putting his face closer to hers. They just stared at each other and than Lee took a chance and leaned up further and kissed her, softly brushing his lips across hers before he leaned back down. Kara scooted farther up his body until they were face to face and kissed him like he had done to her. Lee then put his hand on the back of her head holding her still while he kissed her again and as soon as she gasped he stuck his tongue inside her mouth to stroke hers. While they were still kissing he rolled her to the side of him and leaning over her he deepened the kiss. Kara did not know how long they had been kissing, she was so caught up in it. Finally they broke apart to catch their breath. " What are we doing Lee?"

Lee quickly kissed her one more time " Breaking frat regs ".

Kara rose up to a sitting position and looked back at him over her shoulder " I thought your dad did not want anything to happen until they made a decision "

Lee reached up to rub her back " He didn't, but I have been wanting to kiss you for the last few days "

Lee sat up then " You are not sorry it happened are you?"

Kara looked over at him " No, but somehow I don't think your dad is thinking about anything happening between us as he thinks about changing the frat regs."

Lee stood up to get dressed " If it will make you feel better we want do anything else until after the decision is made "

As Kara had gotten dressed she had been thinking " So, you think after what just happened that we are going to be able to wait?"

Lee walked over to her and tipped her chin up so he could look her in the eyes " Probably not " and then he kissed her again

They had one more day here and tonight they would be heading back to the Galactica. Which was probably a good thing, because Kara was not sure she would be able to keep her hands off of Lee.

Kissing Kara had been everything Lee thought it would be. And she was right, his dad would probably have a fit if he thought Kara and him were hooking up. Lee knew they had to leave tonight, but he was going to miss sleeping with Kara.

Everybody spent the rest of the day finishing up, and as a result Kara hardly saw Lee. In what seemed like no time at all they were heading back to the Galactica. The mission had been a complete success, now they could jump out of this area.

Over the next two weeks Kara and Lee never kissed again, but they still hung out together. They ran together in the mornings and worked out together at night. And they found ways to accidentally touch each other as often as they could.

It seemed all anybody talked about was when the regs were going to change. Kara had to stand by and watch as Dee and Racetrack flirted with Lee ever chance they got. And for some reason Flat Top had been paying her a lot of attention.

Lee had just found out from the commander that a decision had been made regarding the frat regulations. Adama had told him to assemble the pilots and deck crew who were off-shift in the morning for a meeting in the briefing room. Although he did not tell Lee about the decision, Lee was still glad it had been made. He was getting tired of fending off the women who were flirting with him, and promised to deck Flat Top the next time he came around Kara.

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