Chapter 56 Reservations

"You what!" Lee choked out, sure he'd heard his father wrong when he said Kara was moving into the Admiral's quarters with him.

"Kara's bunking on my couch until further notice," the older Adama repeated for his stunned son's sake. "She'll stand a short shift on maintenance each day and take lunch in the mess, but will be confined to my quarters in the afternoons. Join us for dinner sometime," his dad suggested, looking amused at his son's flummoxed expression.

"Dad…Sir. Have you thought about what people will say when they hear about this?" Lee asked, still trying to wrap his mind around the idea.

"I don't give a damned what anyone thinks. We almost lost her, and I won't take the chance again," the Admiral bit out, anger replacing the amusement of the moment before. Lee saw his father take a visible grip on himself before continuing in a calmer tone, "Besides, everyone that matters will understand."

Lee considered it for a minute more. It still sounded…unmilitary. But Kara was family. Most of the crew of Galactica knew the that the Old Man viewed Starbuck more as a daughter than a subordinate. Now that Lee gave it some thought, he suspected that the malicious talk and innuendos he feared were not very likely. Both the Admiral and Starbuck enjoyed too much respect for that type of thing to get started.

"I want to run some ideas by you," his father said, pulling Lee's attention again. "I've asked the President—Laura—to meet with Kara. We need to get her to talk," he said soberly, his forehead creasing with renewed worry. "and I think Kara might be willing to open up to Laura." Lee thought his dad sounded like he was trying to convince himself of it, too.

"I don't know, Dad," he said, then wondered if his resistance to the idea was because a small part of him wanted to be the one to 'fix' Kara. He felt the need to do something, anything, to help her. Running both hands through his hair, Lee forced himself to face what the Cylons might have done to her during her time in their hands…in Leoben's hands. His father had confided in him that there was a good chance that the Cylon male may have…done things to Kara. Did he really want to be the one to hear those details, could he remain dispassionate enough regardless of what he learned?

"But I do know," his dad said, breaking into Lee's thoughts. "We're too close. As a teacher, Laura at least has some background. What do we know? Sure we know Starbuck, but what about Kara? Neither of us knew what type of childhood she'd survived.And as much as we might deny it. The Kara that left New Caprica isn't the same person we once knew.

"It's just…" Lee signed his frustration. "I feel so damned helpless…useless."

"I do need your help with her. You know she's going to be climbing my walls unless she can work off some of that famous Starbuck steam," the Admiral said with a faint smile. "I've asked Laura to come over after dinner, when she can spare the time. I'd like you to be available in the evenings to take Kara to the gym for a couple of hours. I've the feeling she's going to need something to hit after meeting with Laura."

Lee understood what his father wanted. Someone in the know to supervise Starbuck when she was mostly likely to turn violent. He wanted Lee to act as a buffer and friend when Kara was at her most vulnerable.

The only thing…

He was already spending so much time away from his wife that Dee was starting to lose patience. How could he be there for both of the women in his life? Clenching his jaw, Lee decided that Dee would just have to understand. Kara needed him right now. He'd left her behind on that planet to have gods-know what done to her. He'd be bedamned himself if he would leave her again when she needed his help. He owed her this.

"I'll be available, just have the President page me when they're done," Lee said, meeting his father's solemn gaze, wondering if his dad had known the position he was placing Lee in with his wife.

Probably…

Definitely.

With a nod of understanding, the Admiral held out several training manuals to his CAG. "I've been thinking. What Kara needs is something to focus on while she's still grounded. And those," pointing at the books, "may be just the answer." Lee listened as his dad laid out his plans for bringing their lost pilot home again.