A/N: This chapter brings my story to a conclusion. It was never my intention to take this all the way through to the show's canon timeline/ending, but I've brought the relationship arcs to a point where I'm satisfied, and I hope that you will be, too.

More A/N at bottom :)

Chapter 98 Coronation

A week later, over another sparse dinner with Karl, Sharon and Hera in their quarters, they discussed the newest rotation of scouting missions. With the food shortage getting worse, the Admiral had been forced to schedule round-the-clock Raptor forays, trying to locate any planet with resources that could be processed for human consumption.

Kara glanced up from poking her small piece of cornbread and caught Helo watching her.

"I know you hate cornbread," he nodded towards the crumbling square, "but you should eat it. You're still too thin."

"I'm fine," she said, trying not to get irritated at his hovering. "Cottle's clearing me to fly tomorrow, so I'm fine."

"Heard that before," he said, then gave her an apologetic shrug. "Look, I'm not trying to bust your chops. It's just that that's probably the last piece of cornbread we're likely to ever have."

Catching the look exchanged between Sharon and Karl, she realized that there as more going on than just her picky eating habits.

Leaning forward, "Ok, guys. What's gives? she demanded, sliding the tray aside.

Sharon's sigh drew her eyes and Kara saw the smaller woman cast a worried look at her little girl, so recently returned to them.

"Sharon?"

"The fleet's out of food." At Kara's skeptical look, Sharon nodded and looked over at Karl. Her husband's face was grim and eyes dark as his glance went from his family to Kara.

"It's true," he conceded. "What we've got in the cupboards—and it's next to nothing—is all that's left. The food on the processing ship got contaminated and was added to stores before anyone knew it." He nudged Kara's tray towards her. "So eat the damn cornbread, Starbuck."

The tension she'd felt since arriving suddenly made sense. And it was stupidly comforting that it wasn't about her this time.

Just great, Thrace. We're all gonna starve to death, and you're just glad it wasn't your fault.

Eying the yellow brick, Kara's stomach tightened and her gaze flicked to the side where Hera had climbed onto Sharon's lap.

"Frak, Karl, then save it for Hera," she said, pushing the tray towards her friend and watching the brief conflict in his eyes before he took a napkin and, careful not to miss any crumbs, wrapped the food for later and rose to tuck it safely away in a locker.

Sharon shifted Hera to her shoulder in a brief hug, and Kara felt her chest tighten as the image of blonde curls replaced dark ones. She quickly looked away. It was getting easier now, dealing with her feelings about Kacey. They'd even painted together two more times. But there were still moments, like now, when Leoben's lie and the little girl's loss caught Kara like a slap to the face. Focusing on Helo as he returned to the table, she pulled her thoughts back to the subject of the contaminated food stores.

"How come I don't know about any of this?" she asked Karl as he pulled his seat closer to Sharon's and settled again.

"Just got the news this afternoon," he said, reaching to take Sharon's hand in his as he continued. "The Admiral wants to keep it under the radar. At least until tomorrow. The last of the ration packs are being distributed to sickbay and the Doc's in charge of making sure that those in desperate need and small children receive them."

"What difference is a day going to make?" She knew she was still missing something as the tension in the small room ratchet up. What the frak wasn't Helo telling her? And why did he look so frakkin' pissed? As Karl refused to meet her apprehensive gaze, it was Sharon that finally spoke up.

"Gaeta's identified a star system within Raptor range. He's says it has a good probability of including a planet capable of producing flora that we could process for food."

"So… That's great, right!" she said, again looking between her two friends.

"Would be if there weren't a truly huge frakking radiation field between us and any planet that might hypothetically exist," Sharon grimly explained.

"Ok… So, there might be food, but we can't get at it."

"Actually," Sharon reluctantly said, "Gaeta thinks it might be possible to plot a course through the field. He's hoping to have some preliminary numbers tomorrow or the next day, then…then a Raptor will try to make the jump."

Kara saw Karl's face tighten and he looked off towards the corner. Then it all came together for her. Kara suddenly knew. Knew just who the Admiral had ordered to make the risky scouting mission. Her gaze narrowed on Athena where she sat rocking her little girl.

"It's you. Because you're a Cylon, the Admiral's sending you," Kara flatly said, more a statement than a question. The darker woman nodded, and Helo abruptly rose, leaving the room and shutting the door to the tiny bathroom behind him. Kara brows drew together at her friend's uncharacteristic retreat, and looked back to Sharon questioningly.

"He's kind of got a thing about radiation…since Caprica," said Sharon, her eyes flicking to the closed door and back to Kara. "Can't say I blame him. But the Admiral's right. I'm the logical choice. According to the Doc I've a much higher tolerance to exposure than humans, so it only makes sense for me to go."

"Frak. Frak!" Kara's chair fell backwards as she jerked to her feet and took a quick turn around the small cabin before stopping in front of Sharon and her child. "I'll do it. I'll go tell the Admiral," she said through gritted teeth. As the dark head opposite her began to shake a no, she hurried on, "Forget it, Sharon. You've got a kid now. You can't go on a suicid—"

"Kara, stop!" Athena broke in on her. "It's has to be me. I've the best chance of making it through and back. Not that I don't appreciate the offer, but…but I can do this. It's not necessarily a… It just has to be me."

With her hands flexing at her side, Kara regarded the younger woman a long moment before finally conceding her point. There were just too many lives riding on this. If Cottle said Sharon had the best chance to succeed, then it had to be her.

"Godsdamnit! You'd better double-time your Cylon ass back here, Lieutenant!" Starbuck fiercely said as she jabbed a finger at the other woman.

"Fak, fak, fak," Hera happily rattled off, looking up at Kara with a wide innocent look.

Both woman blinked at the child before their eyes met over the black curls, and Sharon started to grin, then Kara's own lips twitched up.

"Seriously, Starbuck," said Sharon, miming covering Hera's ears. "You're going to have my daughter sounding like a foul-mouthed Viper Jock before she even knows her ABCs."

"Like that's bad?" The Starbuck smirk fully in evidence now. "Better that then bobbling on like some Raptorhead. Least the kid'll know how to properly express herself."

With the tension broken, they silently agreed to leave the subject of the scouting flight alone and turned to discussing the Eye of Jupiter temple the Chief had found a couple of weeks back.

"By the way, Karl had something he wanted to show you," Sharon said. Then, glancing at the still closed door, she shrugged. "Nevermind. He can see what you think about it later."

"Yeah," Kara agreed, her eyes dropping to the empty trays, and her thoughts returned to the problem of the food shortage.

Starbuck was glad she'd successfully badgered Cottle into agreeing to clear her for flight duty the next day. She was even more determined now to get back out there, knowing that the more eyeballs they had searching, the better chance of finding something before Athena had to make her attempt. Besides, it didn't sound like Gaeta was even positive that they'd find food even if a path was found through the radiation field. And if they couldn't locate a viable source soon, then people would eventually start looking to other options…

Kara grimaced as her imagination supplied suitably gruesome images pulled to mind from stories she'd heard of people that had turned to cannibalism in other desperate situations.

Let's just say that there aren't a lot of folks I'd like to eat.

At that, Kara's thoughts took a radical turn down a detour about a certain Major that did look good enough to… She broke off, feeling the flush of her cheeks and mentally mocked her girlish reaction. What was she, like sixteen and swooning over a boy in gym class just because he took off his shirt?

Kara sobered. Since being grounded until her forehead healed, she had again been helping Lee with his CAGly duties. She'd also assigned herself the chore of making sure that he ate enough to keep his strength up, knowing damned well that before he'd been stinting and giving her part of his rations. Last thing they could afford was Apollo making some rook mistake because he was light-headed. So, each morning this past week she'd made a point of insisting he eat one of the military issued ration bars, not particularly appetizing, but chockfull of calories and nutrition. He had protested of course that they needed to be saved for emergencies, but, met with her stony glare, he'd finally relented and now ate his serving with only the occasional clucking sound at her about her mother-hen ways. Though, from what Karl said, even those bars were a thing of the past.

Rounding up her wandering thoughts, Kara looked up as the bathroom door opened and Karl rejoined them. He flashed them a small, but genuine smile as he crossed to give Sharon a quick kiss on the top of her head.

"If you girls are all done gossiping, I thought we might drop Hera off at the daycare for a little while and go look up a card game together," he said, then gently lifted his daughter into his arms so Sharon could rise.

"Feeling Lucky, Helo?" Kara taunted him. "Or, just eager to donate to the Starbuck vacation fund again?" she asked, rising with a grin and rubbing her hands vigorously together. As his lips pulled back to reveal white teeth, there was just the slightest devious look in his eyes that had Kara wondering what she'd missed? Dismissing the passing thought, she followed the trio, suddenly eager to have the chance to sit around the Triad table and give everyone a sound thumping. The relaxed evenings card games were one of the things she'd sorely missed from her life prior to New Caprica.

A short time later, Kara entered the lounge and scanned the full room, searching for a certain pair of blue eyes.

There.

Her gazed locked with Lee's over the crowd and for a moment in time she was oblivious to everyone else as he communicated his pleasure at seeing her. The charged exchange between them was broken as a cheer crashed in on her. Blinking, Kara finally took note of the faces all turned expectantly towards her as shouts of 'Starbuck' sent glasses rattling on tables and froze her in place in surprise.

Helo took hold of her elbow and drew her further into the room, people parting before him as he moved forward. With an orchestrated flourish, a last group of pilots moved aside, revealing a decorated chair situated at Starbuck's usual place at the Triad table. Her brows rose as she recognized one of the nicer chairs from the Admiral's quarters. It's armrests had received a recent coat of paint—the exact off-white used on Vipers—and detailing had been added to increase it's resemblance to her spacecraft. As the chair was rotated, her eyes widened further when she saw the 'Captain Kara "Starbuck" Thrace' nameplate attached to the back. Laughs ricocheted about at her stunned reaction, and Kara pulled her gaze up to look around with bewildered eyes.

Was this some sort of joke? Their way of saying that she should be riding a desk instead of a Viper?

Lee appeared at her other elbow, leaning forward to whisper in her ear, "They wanted to welcome you back, that's all." His words making it clear that he'd read her misunderstanding of the crew's gesture.

As voices raised, "Speech! Speech!" she slipped into full Starbuck mode with an ease that felt like coming home.

"Well, shut the frak up so I can be heard!" this brought a round of laughs, everyone knew Starbuck never had problems making herself heard. "I see you all finally realized that my ass should only rest on the best of padding." At someone's shouted, "Your ass is padded enough," she shot back, "Trapeze, you swinging for more double-shifts?" Sliding a grin at the man still at her side, "Cause I've got the CAG's ear and I'm sure I can arrange it." The tall Raptor pilot threw his hands up in mocking surrender and laughter again flowed around the room.

Starbuck turned and, with exaggerated care, lowered herself into the chair, smirk prominent as she leaned back. Her eyes tightened ever so slightly in wariness, though as Kat stepped forward. The darker pilot held the Top Gun stein in her hand.

When she raised it, the room fell silent.

"We all decided," a wave of Kat's hand indicating the surrounding crowd, "that this only belongs to one person." She extended the mug towards Starbuck without hesitation or jealousy in her manner. Looking at it, Kara felt a small shudder release a tension she'd been holding for so long she'd not even known of its existence. Silently, she berated herself for missing something so stupid, and yet…she couldn't deny it. Her sense of self was so tied up in her abilities as a Viper Jock that she hadn't consciously realized how much it bothered her, watching the other pilot using her mug. Meeting Kat's eyes, Kara saw an understanding she hadn't expected.

"This is yours," Kat said quietly, her words conveying both acceptance and the offer of a truce.

Taking the prize, "Damned right it is," the words true Starbuck, yet belied by green eyes that met Kat's with a new calmness. Then, raising the stein, "Well, whose gonna fill this? What sort of party is this when my glass is empty!" Breaths that had been held in anticipation of the exchange between the two rival women, gusted out as relieved laughs from the watching crowd.

Kara noted it was Lee that filled her mug from a flask he pulled from his pocket. Taking a sip, she wasn't surprised to find that she'd be drinking water the rest of the night. Obviously he'd known of tonight's planned festivities and had taken it upon himself to help her follow doctor's orders without dimming the Starbuck reputation. She tipped her cup to him with a smile of gratitude and he reached forward to clink his flask against it before knocking back a swig, smacking his lips in faux appreciation of the contents. A giggle slipped past her own lips at his act.

Pointing imperiously at the nearest chair, Starbuck ordered, "Have a seat, Apollo. Now that I've a throne, I'm in need of a court to pay proper homage to my most excellent personage," she intoned, lifting her nose and putting the haughtiest lilt she could into the words.

"So, what, I'm your court jester, Starbuck?" he asked, reversing the indicated chair and straddling it.

"Nope. Already got one of those," this said as she nudged HotDog's chair where the younger pilot perched with it tilted back on two legs. As he started to tip backwards, Constanza's arms flailed and he cried out. Kat, standing right behind, deftly caught him and righted the chair.

"Hey! Not frakkin' funny, Starbuck," came HotDog's chagrined protest.

Kara let her smirk, and the chuckles from around the room, speak for her as she pivoted her attention back to Lee, catching him trying to suppress a grin of his own at the byplay.

"Like I said, Apollo, that's post's already taken." Her eyes locked with his, and her voice was complex with meaning as she said, "I'm in need of a Royal Consort, though." With a quirk of her brow, "Think you're up to it?"

The blue eyes gleamed with an enthralling intensity as Lee answered even the unspoken questions she was asking.

"With you beside me, Kara, I'm up for anything."

THE END

A/N: First off, thank you to everyone that took the time to read my little fic. And a MegaTHANKS! to those of you whose comments kept me primping and posting this thing, I have so looked forward each day to your thoughts and remarks.

I hope you'll be free and loose with some last comments, suggestions, concrit and the like. It really helps to know what did and didn't work for you.

As for where I ended this: I wanted to leave our people at a point where anything was possible, including a future with no 'poof', and hope was the dominant feeling. Let me know if I succeeded.

Again, thank you for coming along for the ride!