A Different Beginning

by remake

What if Kara and Lee had never met prior to the start of the mini-series?

20. Chapter 20

A Different Beginning-Chapter 20

A.N.-Sorry I took so long getting back to this and as always any mistakes are all mine.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

When Kara left Lee outside of the restaurant she went in search of a clothing store hoping that one still existed. After searching for thirty minutes she finally found what ended up being the last store open. As she looked around she realised it was more of an exchange store for several different things and found very few dresses. Kara hated shopping for clothes and after looking at the few dresses she had found she put them back knowing that she did not like any of them. With a frustrated sigh she left the store and went to meet up with Lee.

As she entered the restaurant she saw Lee and Mark sitting at a small table overlooking the garden outside. Kara stopped for a moment to watch them, she was glad to see that they were chatting and seemed relaxed with each other. Since she didn't know Lee from before the attacks she had no idea how he would react in a social setting. Kara was glad that her instincts were right because Mark and Lee seemed to like each other. As she moved to go and join them Lee looked her way and smiled.

Mark turned to see what had caught Lee's attention, not surprised it was Kara. He stood up and waited until she reached them and pulled a chair out for her. After motioning to the waiter he let him know with a gesture to bring more drinks.

Lee could tell something was wrong with Kara " Did you take care of your personal business? "

Kara shrugged " Not really, what have you guys been up to?"

Lee knew she wouldn't say anything else about where she had been " We were talking about how busy Cloud Nine would be tomorrow "

Mark spoke up then " I had to hire a few people to work tomorrow especially with Adam being away for a couple of days "

Kara waited until the waiter left after bringing their drinks " Where did Adam go? "

Lee asked his own question before Mark answered " Why would he leave when he knew you would be so busy?"

Mark put his drink down after taking a swallow " Adam goes over to the Aurora several times a month "

Lee thought a minute trying to remember the Aurora " Is that where most of the religious people live?"

Kara answered " Not all of them, just the priests, priestess and the most devote "

Kara had been a few times herself " It has a temple on it where people go to pray Lee " Kara paused " It is not large enough for every religious person to live there "

Kara looked toward Mark " Does Adam believe in the Gods?"

Mark nodded his head " I think so, he goes to help them stock their rations and helps them with other things if he can " Adam paused wondering if he should say more and decided it couldn't hurt, Adam had told him about his visits to the Aurora and he also told him he believed in the gods, but more than that he believed in the prophecy about Aurora " Actually the people living on the ship believe that Aurora is or will be with the fleet soon"

Kara's eyes widened " Why would they believe that?"

Mark shrugged " They claim that an oracle had told them about it a long time ago and told them to prepare for it "

Kara was trying to wrap her head around it all " How did they know to be on board a ship before the colonies were destroyed?"

Mark didn't have an answer for that except what Adam had told him in a round about way " From what little I know it seems they have been living on the Aurora for many years "

Lee knew Kara believed in the Gods, but he wondered if Mark did " What about you Mark, do you believe in the Gods?"

Mark laughed " If you had asked me that before the attacks I would have said no, but in light of new information I am beginning to " Mark looked at Lee " What about you Lee?"

Lee looked at Kara " No not really, I choose to believe in people, one in particular "

Kara blushed at Lee's remark then looked at Mark " Before you ask, yes I believe in the Gods, always have "

Lee needed to go to the hotel " I need to pick something up from the hotel desk clerk, I should be back in thirty minutes if you want to finish your drink Kara and visit with Mark "

At Kara's nod he excused himself.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Kara and Mark sat in silence for a minute. Mark could see Kara's mind was on something else. " What are you thinking about Kara?"

Kara had forgot he was sitting there " I told Lee I had something to do earlier, but didn't tell him what, now I'm glad I did not say anything because it didn't work out "

Mark waited a second before commenting " Tell me about it maybe I can help "

Kara laughed " Unless you like dressing up as a woman I doubt you can help " Kara sighed " I wanted to find a dress for the dance to surprise Lee, he has never seen me in anything but military clothes except the time I had dinner with you and that was just jeans and a shirt "

It was Mark's turn to laugh, he stood up and reached for her hand " Come with me I think I can help you "

Kara was intrigued so she followed him and they ended up in what had to be his room at the back of the restaurant. The room was about the size of the commanders quarters, it had a double size bed and a desk in the corner with a couple of paintings on the wall. Kara began moving closer to look at the paintings when Mark spoke.

Mark pointed to a chair at the desk " Sit down Kara, I just need to get something "

Kara sat and watched as he opened what seemed to be a closet and brought several dresses and a box and laid them on the bed " My girlfriend kept a few things here, she would help out as a hostess when I had to work "

Kara looked back and forth between Mark and the dresses " I can't wear those Mark they belonged to the woman you loved, it wouldn't be right "

Mark took her hand and pulled her up " Yes you can Kara, besides I was going to donate them to the exchange store, but I would much rather you wear one of them "

Kara could not think of a reason not to since he was going to get rid of them anyway, so she went and picked up one of the two dresses on the bed. The first one was a half sleeve dark blue one that looked like it would fall just below her knees, she put it down and picked up the second one it was a sleeveless black dress. " What is in the box Mark?"

Mark smiled " It is a new dress that I picked out for her as a surprise the next time she came to visit, open it up, since I've met you I think this dress is more like you than it would have been for her "

Kara felt bad going through Mark's girlfriends things and even worse opening a gift that she would never know about, she looked at Mark " I can't Mark it doesn't seem right "

Mark picked the box up and handed it to her " This is now my gift to you and if we don't hurry Lee will be back and it will spoil the surprise "

Kara knew he was right so she opened the box. She gasped as she pulled the dress out and held it before her. It was a silky dress with different shades of green, sleeveless with one inch straps, a zipper in the back that ended just below her shoulder blades leaving the rest of it backless. When she held it against her it fell about three inches above her knees and she wouldn't have to worry about a bra as it had cups in it. Kara loved it.

Kara turned to Mark " I like this one, I just hope it fits, and now I just need to find some shoes " Kara held out the dress to Mark " Can I leave it here until I can sneak back over to try it on?"

Mark took the dress and put it on a hangar and put them all back in the closet " You can stop by whenever you get a chance "

Before they left the room Kara grabbed Mark and hugged him " Thank you Mark for the dress and for being mine and Lee's friend "

Mark pulled back from Kara " Your welcome Kara and I should be the one thanking you " she gave him a questioning look " I don't have many friends either, just co-workers like you and Lee have "

As they were headed back Kara thought about Racetrack, she glanced sideways at Mark " There is someone coming to the dance that I want you to meet "

Mark looked at her and laughed " So I take that to mean you have basically picked out my date for me "

Kara shrugged " Kinda, but I think you will like her Mark she is a raptor pilot "

Mark just shook his head and laughed.

They had just sat back down when Lee joined them, but he remained standing " As much as I would like to stay and have another drink we have to get back to the Galactica "

Kara nodded and got up.

Lee waited until Mark stood up " Thanks for the drinks Mark, if we don't see you tomorrow we will see you at the dance "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

When they arrived back on the Galactica Kara headed to the showers after agreeing to meet Lee in the mess hall later. Lee went to his office to drop off the hotel guest list and grab a shower himself.

After getting dressed Lee sat down at his desk to write up his report on the raider. He decided to postpone Kara's test in the raider until the day after the dance. Lee needed to make sure the colonial transponder was working without glitches, besides they had a full day planned tomorrow between security for the election and the dance.

After stopping by the CIC to hand in his report and speaking with Gaeta he headed to the mess to meet up with Kara.

When he entered the mess hall he saw Kara already eating. Lee grabbed something to eat and joined her.

Kara looked up when he sat down watching him poke at what was on his plate, she laughed " Don't bother asking me what it is, I don't know "

Lee took a bite and was barely able to keep it down " I wonder how often I could get away with eating at Mark's restaurant?"

Kara chuckled " I was thinking the same thing and I plan on finding out "

Lee silently agreed " I postponed your raider test jump for the morning after the dance " he hoped it wouldn't make her mad

Kara gave a relived sigh " Thank gods, after the day we just had and the full day we have tomorrow I was planning on asking you to delay it "

They finished eating in silence.

Kara finished first and stood up " I am so tired I am going to hit my rack, I'll see you in the morning " she laid a hand on his shoulder as she walked by on her way to put her tray up.

Lee had gotten up also " I'll walk with you, I think I am going to turn in also " Kara nodded

Before they parted Lee gave her a quick kiss on her cheek after checking to make sure no one was watching " Don't forget you need to write up your report on the raider " he reminded her

Kara rolled her eyes " You have already turned yours in, haven't you?"

Lee nodded and chuckled before walking away " See you in the morning Kara, sweet dreams " he said over his shoulder.

[Break]***************************************************************************************************************

Kara woke up feeling refreshed, she couldn't believe how well she had slept without Lee having to be there with her. She stood up next to bunk stretching out her muscles when she felt someone walking toward her, she stopped and looked up to see Racetrack heading her way.

Maggie cleared her throat before speaking. Even though Starbuck had asked her to meet her friend she was still nervous around her because of Apollo. " Were you able to find a dress for the dance?"

Kara smiled thinking of the dress " Yes, but not in a store, the only one left is an exchange store, but I still have to find some shoes " Kara paused before asking " What are you wearing?"

Racetrack went to her locker and finally came out holding a short black dress that looked like it would be a couple of inches above her knees " I kept this one so I would have one when I had downtime off plus a pair of black slip on shoes "

Kara smiled " I'm sure Mark will love it, I might have to go barefoot I don't think I will have any luck finding shoes that will go with the dress I will be wearing "

Racetrack put her dress away " What color is the dress?"

Kara snorted " About three different shades of green "

Racetrack thought a minute " You might have to go with sandals, if not I am sure Apollo wouldn't mind you be barefoot "

Kara who was getting dressed for Cloud Nine snorted " I am not going barefoot I will just have to find some " she said as she got ready to leave.

Racetrack spoke as Kara was leaving " I'll check around for you maybe between the two of us we will find something "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Lee had been waiting for Kara on the flight deck, she was already ten minutes late. He finally saw her making her way to him and spoke when she reached him " Where have you been you are ten minutes late?"

Kara rolled her eyes at him " I was talking to Maggie and "

He didn't let her finish " Who the frak is Maggie?"

Kara pushed past him into the raptor as she answered " Maggie is Racetrack Lee, gods do you know any of your pilots real names?"

Lee took the co-pilots seat " I know yours " Lee took a breath " Anyway I only need to know their call signs "

Kara didn't respond.

As they powered up the raptor he asked " What would you and Racetrack have to talk about anyway?"

Kara mind was on finding a pair of shoes and trying to think of a way of getting away from Lee long enough to try on the dress " It was personal "

Lee knew better than to ask so he let it drop.

Kara looked over at Lee wondering why he had gotten so silent " What are you thinking about Lee?"

Lee looked at her " The security detail, all of the marines will be in plain clothes inside, while the others in uniform will remain on watch outside "

Kara knew that wasn't all " Where will we be?"

Lee was watching them approach Cloud Nine " We will be inside the meeting hall, I want you to stay close to Roslin and I will keep watch on Baltar and Zarek "

Kara nodded and after getting clearance landed the raptor on Cloud Nine.

[Break]****************************************************************************************************************

Kara sighed she was getting bored standing here listening to them talk politics and while keeping one eye on Roslin she started checking out the shoes of the women closest to her. So far she didn't see any she liked, so as soon as they took a break she was going to try on the dress Mark had given her and then head back to the exchange store to look for shoes. Kara knew Lee would wonder where she was so she would have to hurry.

Kara could here Lee calling her through her ear mic "Starbuck report "

Kara glanced across the room at him and he looked mad, she wondered how long he had been calling her " I hear you Apollo and there is nothing to report "

Lee knew Kara had zoned out, but he let it go " We will be breaking in five minutes, do you want to meet up?"

Kara would have to lie to him " I can't I need to hit the head and pick up something I'll see you back here after break "

Lee wasn't happy about it but he wasn't going to push her about it either " Fine, just be back here on time "

Kara sighed " I plan on it sir " she couldn't help being snarky

Roslin called for a break and Kara fled the room almost before she finished.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Lee was heading over to Roslin when he saw her speaking to the priestess who must be Eloshi. He stopped and waited for her to finish. He could see that she was holding a book.

After reading a few passages Roslin handed the book back " Eloshi are you sure this has to be done?"

Eloshi put her hand on Roslins arm " The way Pythia wrote it, Kobol is the place that the thirteen tribe first saw there way to Earth and we will need the arrow of Apollo so that we may see what they saw "

Roslin nodded " With us finding Kobol the sooner we get the arrow the better " Roslin squeezed Eloshi shoulder " Don't worry about it I will find a way to get the arrow "

After Eloshi left Lee walked over to the president. " I saw you talking to Eloshi, were you asking for guidance about the elections?" he asked joking

Roslin shook her head " That and other things as well "

Lee turned to leave " I have to check in at the hotel I'll be back soon "

Before he took another step Roslin asked " Is the cylon raider ready for flight again?"

Lee wondered why she would want to know that " It is, but Starbuck will be taking it for one more flight in the morning "

Roslin walked past him after saying " Thank you Captain Apollo "

Lee left heading to the hotel, he was also going to reserve a room in case Kara wanted to stay after the dance.

[Break]

Mark looked up from behind the bar when Kara came trotting in. When she saw him she motioned toward the back.

He smiled " Go ahead I'll keep watch out here " he knew she was afraid Lee might come in.

Kara nodded and took off. Once inside she locked the door and pulled out the dress. She stripped off everything she did not want to mess the dress up with her sweat.

Kara took the dress out of the box and put it on. Even though the dress hadn't been meant for her it fit her body perfectly. Kara needed a second opinion so she opened the door slowly and walked into the corridor close to the bar so she could get Mark's attention. When he finally looked her way she motioned him to follow her.

Kara stood in the middle of the room so he could see her when he walked in " Wow Kara "

Kara spun around once " So, do you think Lee will like it?"

Mark chuckled " Lee will love it, you will be lucky to get one dance before he drags your ass out of there "

Kara was puzzled " Why do you think that?"

Mark chuckled " Kara the way you look in that dress is going to drive him crazy and he is going to want you all to himself "

Kara blushed " Thanks Mark for everything, now I need to run down some shoes before I have to get back to work "

Mark thought for a second " My girlfriend has two pair of shoes in the closet, I know they don't go with that dress, but if you can't find anything else those are here if you need them.

After Kara put her uniform back on she dashed out of the restaurant after making sure Lee wasn't there and headed to the exchange shop.

Kara rushed into the store and went straight to the shoes. Lucky for her they has separated the men and women shoes. After digging around and finding nothing she was about to give up when she spotted what looked like pale green shoes. Kara pulled them out and sat down to take off her shoes. They were green open toed shoes that had a three inch heel and looked like they had green glitter on them. Kara prayed they would fit as she tried one on she then put the other one on and stood up to see how they felt. They were half a size to big but she didn't care. She took them off and after putting her boots back on she went and gave her last cubits for them.

Kara knew she was late but she needed to hide the shoes. Kara made a quick dash back to the bar and threw them on the bar " Mark please put these in your room "

He nodded and she trotted off.

[BREAK]****************************************************************************************************************

Kara rushed back into the meeting stopping to stand behind Roslin. She looked across the room and saw Lee glaring at her. " You are late Starbuck"

Kara whispered " I know Lee and I'm sorry but there was something I needed to do "

Lee whispered also " What was so important that you would be late for security detail?"

Kara glared at him then " I will tell you everything at the dance "

Lee nodded and they went back to work.

After an hour Tory came and whispered to the president. " I'm sorry, but I have to call another break something important has come up, we will reconvene in an hour " then she left

Lee met Kara half-way and they went to the outside bar to have a drink. Well Kara had a drink Lee had water. They sat at the table not talking until Kara spoke up " Don't be mad Lee, I had something to do and that was the only time I could do it "

Lee finally looked at her " Fine, but don't forget you promised to tell me at the dance "

About that time Mark walked over to them " Is it over or are you guys on break? ' he asked as he sat down

" Break " they both mumbled at the same time

Lee had been listening to some guy talking on and on about how bad of a president Roslin was. He was sick of it. " I am getting another water do you guys want something?"

Mark grinned " I'll take a beer "

Kara knew what Lee was doing she just hoped it didn't turn into something bad " I'll take another one of these fruity things "

Lee nodded and went to the bar. Kara backed her chair away from the table, while keeping an eye on Lee.

Mark noticed " Are you leaving?"

Kara didn't look at him as she was watching Lee " No, just getting ready "

Mark followed Kara's line of sight " Getting ready for what?"

To the untrained eye no one could tell something was going to happen, but Kara knew Lee and how mad the drunk guy was irritating him.

Kara couldn't here the words but she could hear the tone and in an instant the man had knocked Lee to the ground and he continued to try and strangle Lee.

Kara got up as she saw another man headed their way, but before she took two steps she bumped into another man who was trying to flee. His briefcase fell out of his hand knocking it open and Kara immediately saw it had a gun in it. Before Kara went for the gun she kicked a bottle in Lee's direction which he grabbed and knocked the man on his head with it knocking him out. Lee pushed him off and found Kara struggling with a man as she tried to reach the gun before he did.

When she saw Lee had the gun she stopped struggling and elbowed the man as hard as she could with a backward elbow hit. Lee walked over and helped her up.

Lee radioed two marines to come and place the two men under arrest. After they were arrested Kara and Lee went back to sit with Mark.

The bartender brought their drinks over and said they were on the house. " Frak Lee I think I just found a way to get some of my drinks for free"

"Don't even think about Starbuck" Lee took a swallow of Kara's drink, all of a sudden water wasn't enough. " Keep your hands off my drink Lee, get your own " she then winked at him

Lee stood up " I need to brief the president and then we need to start the interrogation Captain, so I'll meet you in thirty minutes, I'll see you later Mark "

Kara looked over at Mark " Why are you so silent?"

Mark rolled his eyes " Does this sort of thing happen often to you two?"

Kara chuckled " Not really, we are just viper pilots, security is not really our thing "

Mark shook his head " Well you both seem to know what to do "

Kara smiled " Some of it is military training and I don't know about Lee, but I learned most of it in bar fights "

Kara finished her drink before getting up she asked Mark " Is it okay if I get dressed at your place for the dance?"

Mark stood up when Kara did " Sure most of you stuff is here already "

Kara looked out over the courtyard " I will probably ask Lee to bring Maggie over with him and hope people don't get the wrong idea, I would hate to end up in the brig "

Mark let that slide " So Racetracks name is Maggie?"

Kara nodded " I'll see you later Mark "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Kara met up with Lee on the first floor of the hotel in a room that was used mostly for storage. It was far enough away that know one could hear him if he yelled. They had agreed for Kara to play the good cop and Lee the bad cop.

Kara had to agree Lee made a very bad cop but after two hours they were still not getting answers.

Lee knew they had wasted enough time with him and needed to move on. " Captain let's go and see the guy who had the gun and see what he has to say "

Kara took one last look at the guy tied to the chair " Don't go anywhere we will be back "

They were on their way to a regular room to see the guy with the gun he probably just got paid to bring the gun onto the ship. he didn't seem like one of Zareks regular goons.

When they entered the room they found him hanging with a noose around his neck with a rope thrown across a beam.

Kara scoffed " Well there goes that information "

Lee nodded, but he really didn't think this guy knew anything other than the person who paid him. " Oh Gods, Kara we need to get back to the other guy it looks like somebody is tying up loose ends "

They took off running back only to find this guy dead too, it looked like he had been stabbed to death.

As they were walking back to the meeting Lee stopped Kara " There is a leak somewhere, this was too easy to be anything else "

They stepped back into the meeting just as Baltar was named Vice-President. They both thought they had failed at their jobs.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

After all the debriefings it was time to get ready for the dance. " We need to get back to the Galactica to change before the dance Kara "

Kara grabbed Lees hand until he was facing her " Lee I am getting ready here, all my things are here already " she paused " Could you do me a big favor and give Maggie a ride over here with you?"

Lee studied her for a minute " Is this also because of what you were doing earlier?"

Kara grinned " Yep "

Lee rolled his eyes " What if I can't get her to come with me?"

This time Kara rolled her eyes " She will come Lee, besides she already knows I want her to meet Mark "

Lee looked around and didn't see anyone and pulled her close " I hope your matchmaking doesn't backfire " then he kissed her slow and deep and when he pulled back from the kiss he held her close " You are gonna owe me big time Kara "

Kara was still in his arms " I pay my bets Adama "

[Break]****************************************************************************************************************

Kara stayed until the raptor Lee was piloting left and then she headed inside the restaurant.

Mark met her as soon as she came in " I know you came to get ready, but you probably haven't eaten all day " he saw her start to say something "Look Kara I haven't eaten either so I made us a couple of sandwiches and found an empty table so please join me and eat something "

Kara nodded " Okay you twisted my arm so let's eat " she followed him to a table already set up with food and drinks

They were both silent as they ate, Mark paused before taking another bite " Ever since we talked about the gods and Aurora I have been wanting to ask you something "

Kara with food in her mouth simply said " Shoot "

Mark put his sandwich down " Were both your parents religious?"

She wasn't expecting that " At first they both were then my mom drifted away from it " she paused to take a sip of her drink " My dad was the one that was fully devoted to it, I used to go with him a lot, but I became a believer for myself not because of my dad. Even after he left I still snuck away from my mom and went to temple wherever she was stationed "

Mark knew his next question might make her mad " When and why did your dad leave Kara?"

Kara didn't know why Mark was asking her all of this, Kara placed her hands in her lap " He left when I was eight, I don't know why except that my mom said he left because of me "

Mark closed his eyes a moment " I'm sorry Kara "

Kara looked at him " Why did you ask Mark?"

Mark sighed " I have recently began to believe in the gods and you believe so easily I just needed to understand why "

Kara gave him a small smile " After my dad left and my mom became what she became the gods was all I had left and they have never let me down"

Mark nodded " One more question and I will stop, do you believe Aurora is or will be with the fleet someday?"

Kara thought about it " I don't believe that we will see the actual goddess herself, but she could take the form of someone worthy that the gods have chosen, but we will probably never know who that person is "

Mark finished his sandwich while she was talking " It is time for you to get ready and I have to get back to work "

After Kara stood up she asked shyly " Is it okay if I use your shower?"

Mark chuckled " Go ahead and there is probably some stuff my girlfriend left behind so feel free to use it "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

When Lee made it back to the Galactica he headed straight to the mess. He had forgotten if he ate today. After getting his tray he looked around for a place to sit. Lee saw Dee sitting by herself and looked away there was no way he was sitting with her.

Finally he saw Crashdown and Racetrack sitting together so he headed their way. " Hey guys got room for one more?"

They both motioned for him to sit and Lee looked up catching Dee looking at him like she was angry. Lee literally shook.

Racetrack caught it and glanced behind her to see what was bothering Apollo " Looks like she still hasn't given up "

Lee sighed " I know and it is starting to creep me out "

Chrashdown chuckled " I wouldn't worry I'm sure Starbuck will straighten her out, by the way where is she?"

Apollo finished swallowing " She is getting ready on Cloud Nine " he looked at Racetrack " Kara told me to escort you to Cloud Nine for the dance"

Racetrack looked at him like he was lying " I swear that is what she told me and we need to leave in an hour " Lee thought a minute " Is that enough time for you to get ready?"

Racetrack laughed as she got up " I'll be ready Apollo "

Lee turned to look at her before she went through the hatch " I mean it Maggie one hour if I am going to escort you to the dance "

They heard a gasp and turned to see Dee covering her mouth with one hand. Crash looked at Apollo " I bet you ten cubits she thinks you are taking Racetrack to the dance "

Lee sighed " Probably I wonder how long before that rumor starts up?"

Lee got up and left to go get ready.

[BREAK]****************************************************************************************************************

After Kara laid out her dress and shoes she headed to take a shower. Mark was right there was some vanilla scented shampoo, vanilla scented soap and a razor. Kara spun around in the shower smiling she had hit the jackpot with all this stuff.

Kara washed her hair first taking her time instead of rushing then she washed her body. After soaping her body one more time she grabbed the razor and shaved herself thoroughly. With that done she washed her body one more time since this would probably be her last chance to do so.

She turned the water off and stepped out grabbing the towel she had hung on a hook outside the shower door. Kara then walked to the sink and saw a small tube of toothpaste she squeezed out a small drop on her finger and brushed her teeth as well as she could.

Kara stepped away from the sink and finished drying off her body and then flipped the towel around and dried her hair.

Kara walked into the bedroom and on the nightstand she spotted some lotion. She only meant to smell it, but it smelled like vanilla also. Feeling guilty she put some in her hands and rubbed it on her legs, gods that feels good she thought.

Kara then walked to the bed and put the dress on finally managing to zip it up. All of a sudden she remembered she did not have clean panties, she wondered if she could call Lee up and have him grab her blue ones. No she couldn't do that, that only left one thing to do go without any. She sat down and put on her shoes, now she needed a brush.

So Kara went in search of a brush trying not to snoop. Luckily she found one in the bathroom hanging on a nail, so she quickly brushed her hair hoping it would dry soon.

Kara went out to let Mark know she was finished so he could take his turn. She saw Mark sitting at the bar so she went over and sat down beside him, she reached out to touch his shoulder and he jumped before turning around and seeing her. " I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you Mark "

Mark looked her over " Stand up Kara " he waited until she did " You look beautiful "

Kara blushed " Thank you and I'm sorry I think I used every vanilla scented product you had "

Mark laughed " That's okay I don't think smelling like vanilla would make me very manly "

Kara sat back down " It is your turn to get ready Lee and Maggie should be here soon "

Mark looked around " I should stay here and work "

Kara stood up and pulled him to his feet " No you don't, your staff can handle it you need to take a night off " she shoved him towards his room "Go get ready "

Mark started laughing " I'm beginning to think you are a bad influence "

After he left Kara sat back down and ordered a fruity drink, she didn't know what they were called but she liked them. As she sat there she looked around, everybody seemed to be happy for a change.

Kara was into her second drink when Mark showed back up wearing a white shirt and a pair of black dress pants trying to put on his tie. He sat down next to her and after a second try he just stuffed the tie in his pocket.

Kara stood up " They should be here soon let's walk toward the docking bay "

About half-way there they met up with Lee and Maggie they all stopped and stared at each other. Kara noticed that Maggie had worn her hair down she had no idea Racetracks hair looked like that.

Kara then looked at Lee " What's wrong Adama, did you forget how to talk?"

Lee shook his head no, Kara looked at Mark who was looking at Maggie " Mark this is Maggie and Maggie this is Mark "

Mark finally found his voice " Nice to meet you Maggie, you look beautiful "

Maggie was having difficulty speaking this guy is gorgeous " Hi Mark "

Racetrack looked at Kara " Starbuck I hate to say this, but you look stunning in that dress, it's like it was made for you "

Kara was stunned for a moment " Thank you, your dress looks good also, but your hair is pretty, wow I never knew you had hair like that"

Racetrack nudged Lee in his side with her elbow " Apollo you still with us?"

Kara started laughing loudly " I finally figured out how to shut you up Lee "

Lee still didn't say anything he just reached and grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him, he took his fingers and lifted her head and leaned in and kissed her then pulled back " My gods Kara you are so beautiful "

Kara gave him a once over " You don't look so bad yourself Lee " he was in his dress greys

Kara turned around and saw Mark and Maggie talking " Let's head to the dance guys "

[BREAK]****************************************************************************************************************

As they were nearing the ballroom Kara started getting scared about seeing the commander. She pulled on Lee's hand to stop him.

Lee could tell something was wrong by the look on Kara's face " What's wrong Kara?"

Kara wrapped her arms around herself " Maybe we shouldn't go in together "

Lee sighed " Is this about dad Kara?"

She nodded

Lee saw Mark and Maggie waiting " You guys can go on in we will be in shortly "

Maggie still had her arm in Mark's " Come on Mark we will find a table "

Mark nodded and walked with her " Is something wrong with Kara?"

Maggie wasn't sure " She is fine, Starbuck and Apollo have a lot of history even though they just met a few months ago. If I had to guess it is probably about Lee's dad Commander Adama "

" Let's find that table, then we can watch when they come in because in this case seeing it is easier than explaining it " Maggie said as they sat down

Lee took Kara's hand " Come on Kara dad will be okay with it, besides I thought we agreed to do it my way this time "

Kara laughed Lee is right " Fine let's get this over with so I can get one of those fruity drinks "

They linked their hands and walked through the door, at first nothing happened then word must have spread quickly because half the room stopped what they were doing to look at them.

Kara whispered to Lee " Guess who owes who now Lee?"

Lee ignored everyone else looking for his dad, finally he saw him next to the bar watching them.

Lee tugged her hand " Come on Kara I see dad "

Kara walked along with him until they were standing in front of the commander " Hello dad, are you enjoying the party?"

Adama gave Lee a look that could have meant anything " I would ask you to introduce your date to me but since I already know her, Kara look at me"

Kara looked up slowly to meet her commanders eyes " Hello sir "

Adama reached out to touch the side of her face " You look beautiful Kara, my son is a lucky man to have you as his date and in his life personally"

Kara was trying so hard not to cry so Adama pulled her into a hug while she got herself together.

He let go " Now go enjoy yourselves with your friends and save a dance for me Kara "

When Lee and Kara turned to head over to Mark and Maggie she was smiling from ear to ear.

Mark looked at Maggie " That was a bit tense no wonder Kara was worried "

Maggie agreed " The commander has always treated her like his daughter, his approval means everything to her "

They reached the table and sat down "Lee I want one of those fruity drinks now "

Lee looked at her " They have names Kara how will they know which fruity drink you want?"

Mark stood up " I'll get us all one I know which one she is talking about "

Kara nudged Lee " Go help him "

As soon as they left Kara pounced on Maggie " So do you like him?"

Maggie nodded " Not only is he good looking, he is interesting also"

At the bar Lee asked Mark the same thing " Do you like her?"

Mark looked at him " She is very pretty and easy to talk to "

Crashdown walked up where they were " Apollo what bet did Starbuck lose for you to get her in a dress?"

Lee smiled " She didn't lose any bet Crash she wore that all on her own "

"Crashdown this is Mark a friend of mine and Starbucks, Mark this is one of our viper pilots Crashdown "

Crash seemed to think a second " Are you the one with Racetrack tonight?"

Mark nodded " Yes I'm here with Maggie "

Crashdown looked at Lee " Trouble on your six Captain "

Lee was thinking frak how am I getting out of this.

Crash spoke again " Don't worry Apollo Starbucks moving to cover your six "

Lee thought that might just make it worse.

Mark saw Lee stiffen up " Something wrong Lee?"

Lee shook his head " No just getting ready "

Mark knew he had heard those exact words before, frak now he remembered.

Lee turned and was face to face with Dee " You gonna ask me to dance Lee?"

Lee shook his head and said " No and you need to leave now "

Dee stepped closer" What's wrong

She never got to finish because Kara grabbed her and spun her around to face her " I am telling you for the last time petty officer stay away from Lee or the next place you find yourself will be in sickbay or worse, now get the frak away from us " she finished by shoving her away from them

Kara reached past Lee and picked up her drink and headed back to the table.

Crashdown was laughing " I have seen Starbuck all kinds of pissed off, but that was a new level "

Lee shrugged " I don't think she likes to share "

Mark had watched the whole thing " I bet things on the Galactica must be pretty interesting "

" Especially when it involves Starbuck and Apollo " Crashdown couldn't help but add

Mark and Lee headed back to the table and the rest of the night was spent talking, drinking and dancing until President Roslin showed up and asked Kara to take a walk with her.

As they walked away Lee felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck.

Racetrack asked " Captain do you know what that was about?"

Lee shook his head " No Racetrack, but I have a bad feeling about it "

Mark was concerned about Kara especially since Lee and Maggie were both worried.

[Break]****************************************************************************************************************

A,N.- The dance is not over yet. I stopped here because I could not fit everything into one chapter.

---

( Leave a comment )