It seemed to take forever for the raptor carrying her husband to make a full touchdown on the landing bay. Rebecca Lynn knew however that the process was taking no longer than usual. She was just anxious to see for herself that Lee was okay, despite the report that had been given over the radio. The fact that Lee and Lonewolf had carried out their plan to capture the suspected Cylon without informing them did not surprise him. She had a feeling that Admiral Adama and Colonel Cruise were not surprised either, though her father-in-law was clearly frustrated at not being kept up to date.
The hatch to the raptor opened, and personnel began to disembark. Two marines, stepped down, each holding one end of a stretcher with a blanket covering the person on it. As the only fatality had been Marcus Doral, Rebecca Lynn assumed that was the cruise director. The man had seemed nice enough the few times she had met him. It made her realize that the Cylon infiltrators were good at their subterfuge. She could only hope they figured out who they were before more damage was done. They had already lost so much already.
Spotting Lee, Rebecca Lynn broke from the place she was standing and ran to him. Seeing her, Lee opened his arms and held her close as she crashed into him. "I'm so glad you are alright," she said, her face buried in his neck.
"I missed you too, Becca," Lee countered quietly as he held her close for a few moments before letting her go.
Remembering where they were, Rebecca Lynn released her hold on her husband. She spotted her CAG standing just behind Lee. Though his injury was covered by the flight uniform, she knew from the report given immediately after the incident to those in the War Room that he had been shot in the arm.
"How are you, sir?"
Belmont shrugged. "It'll take more than a graze wound to my arm to stop me. Astral Ore's doctor patched me up in no time."
"I was already diving for cover myself. If you had gone the other way, neither one of us would have gotten shot," Lee countered.
"Maybe," Belmont replied. "However, I was determined that you were coming home to your family this time."
"Well, I thank you even if Lee won't," Rebecca Lynn told her former flight instructor.
"I'll second that," Admiral Adama said. "Even a cat only has nine lives, and Lee has been racking up some close calls. Still, I'm glad it's only a minor injury."
"Thank you, sir."
"Are you feeling up to a debriefing right now?" Colonel Cruise asked his CAG.
"I am, sir." Belmont replied. "No sense in putting it off."
"I'll go letting Laura Jean know that her father is home safely," Rebecca Lynn said, knowing that her presence was not needed for the debriefing.
"I'll come find you as soon as we're done," Lee promised her.
Rebecca Lynn nodded, and then standing on tip toes, placed a quick kiss on her husband's cheek. Still, being a civilian had its advantages.
With the debriefing over, those involved stood up and filed out of the Pisus' conference room. Not only had the debriefing of the latest mission taken place but plans for the future had been discussed as Roslin, and Reed were both still present. With their commands assured, Reed and Cruise were both relieved to have a bigger group to be a part of. It was agreed that Galactica would jump back to the rest of the fleet and bring them into the system. William Adama had contacted Saul and given him the order to do that while he remained onboard Pisus for the time being. Major Hennessey would escort Roslin and Billy over to Cloud Six to introduce the civilians there to their new president. Roslin planned to assure them that once the fleet was together, they would receive regular news updates from the fleet's news reporters. Belmont was heading to medbay to check in with Pisus' doctor before going to his rack to rest while William new that his son would be seeking out his wife and daughter. He was glad his son would finally have some time with his family now that things were quiet. He hoped that the rest of their time in this system gathering supplies would remain that way.
"I guess you'll want to transfer Phoenix to the Galactica," Colonel Cruise said, as the door to the conference room closed leaving him, Colonel Reed and Admiral Adama alone.
William looked from the door to the Colonel. Giving both Cruise and Reed a promotion to Commander was one of the first things he intended to do as things got reorganized. He had gone from commanding one ship to having four under his command. He wanted the addition of Pisus and Ares to their ranks to go smoother than the addition of Pegasus had.
"I want my son on the same ship as his family, yes. That doesn't necessarily be Galactica," William replied.
"I think it does," Cruise replied. "As much as I've come to rely on Rebecca, both for her skills and as a sounding board, given the current situation, families need to be together miliary protocol be damned. Apollo is your son, and I know I for one would feel better with him under your command."
"I'll second that," Reed replied.
William nodded, touched at his comrades support. "I will admit I would prefer that myself," he said, thinking of the short time that Lee and Starbuck had both been assigned to the Pegasus. It hadn't sat well with him. "I do think Apollo and Phoenix should have a chance to chime in as well. Both have ties to their respective ships. Lee was supposed to take over as Pisus' CAG and it might be less disruptive for everyone if that still takes place. It is something that I think the both of them and Lonewolf should have a say in."
Cruise and Reed nodded.
"In fact, though I do think we need to get some of your younger pilots onto either Pegasus or Galactica and give both the Pisus and Ares some more experienced pilots and perhaps mechanics, I don't think we should force reassignments on anyone. I am certain I can get some of my crew to agree to a transfer."
"I think I've got some on the Ares who would be open to a change," Reed said.
Cruise nodded. "I agree. Not forcing personnel transfers might be for the best if we don't have to."
"Then, I suggest that we get department heads to talk to their people and try getting volunteers for a transfer. Once we have those names, we can reconvene along with Pegasus, commander and figure out how to integrate the crews for the best of the fleet."
"Yes, sir," the two colonels replied.
William paused for a moment, wondering how much to reveal to his new colleagues. Deciding that full disclosure was best, he started filling them in on the events that had transpired after Galactica had stumbled upon Pegasus.
"Now, you two have clearly not taken the same route of survival as Cain did. However, I want to be sure that I do not become so narrow minded that I start down the road she found. While I do need your oath to follow my orders in a combat situation, I want you to know that I want to hear your honest thoughts when we are behind closed doors. Fleet command had a council for a reason, no one man can think of every possible angle. I expect you to be my council and perhaps my moral compass from time to time."
Cruise and Reed nodded.
"We're in this together, sir. Sticking together is the only way we are going to make it."
"Agreed," Adama replied. "If there isn't anything else for now, I think we should adjourn for now. I'll be in touch about a time for our next meeting."
"Yes, sir," came the reply as all three officers rose from their seats.
Closing the book, Lee looked down at his daughter. Laura Jean's eyes were half closed.
"One more, Daddy," the little girl said sleepily requested.
"No. Time for you to go to sleep."
"Will you still be here in the morning?" she asked.
Lee hesitated, knowing his daughter wasn't going to like the answer. Still, he was still Galactica's CAG and that came with responsibilities. He needed to give his pilots a briefing in the morning. Until things got figured out, he had a feeling he would be going between Pisus and Galactica quite a bit.
"I'm afraid I need to be on Galactica very early tomorrow morning. I plan on coming back in the evening though."
"Will we always be on two ships?" Laura Jean asked, her lower lip sticking out in a pout.
"No," Lee replied confidently. "It is going to take some time, and I don't know which ship we'll be on, but soon we will all be on one ship."
"Even Grandpa?"
"We'll have to see on that one," Lee replied, not wanting to make a promise that wasn't in his power to keep. "Good night, sweet pea," he told her, leaning over to place a kiss on her forehead.
"Goodnight, Daddy."
Lee watched his daughter for a few moments. Laura Jean quickly fell asleep, the events of the day having worn her out. Satisfied that she was fast asleep, Lee eventually stood up. Placing the book of fairytales on the shelf nearby, Lee slipped from his daughter's room, pulling the hatch closed behind him.
"Is she asleep?" Rebecca Lynn asked, looking up from the paperwork she had in front of her.
"Yes, though she would still be trying to stay awake if I hadn't said no to reading another story," Lee told her, walking over and sitting down on the couch next to his wife. Reaching out, Lee took the paperwork from her hands and placing it on the coffee table in front of them. "The paperwork won't go anywhere," he told her softly.
"I guess not," Rebecca Lynn replied. Lifting a hand, she placed it softly against the side of his face. "Are you?"
"Not until I need to leave for the morning briefing on Galactica tomorrow," Lee told her, leaning into her touch. "I'll talk to my Dad tomorrow about how the three of us can be on the same ship. I was thinking it might be better for Laura Jean if she could stay here on Pisus. If Lonewolf doesn't want to take my place on Galactica I can work underneath him."
Rebecca was already shaking her head.
"You don't agree. I know we can't give her the stability we had planned, but we need to do what we can."
"Yes, which is why I think we need to try to convince your father that where this family belongs is on Galactica—all four of us."
"Are you sure that is best? I mean you didn't exactly leave Galactica on the best of terms."
Rebecca snorted. "That is one way of putting it," she said, lowering her hand from his cheek but taking his hand in hers. "But I can handle whatever talk is going on. Your father seems to have decided to let things go."
"And Tigh."
"I'll offer an apology and try to stay out of his way as much as possible," Rebecca Lynn replied. "I'm a different person than I was back then."
"We all are," Lee said. "We've been through too much not to be," he told her. "There is something that I want to discuss though. It is about you flying."
"Are you going to tell me that you can't handle me being under your command?" Rebecca Lynn asked, trying to pull her hand away. "Because believe me, returning to the cockpit wasn't my first choice. I thought I had left that part of my life behind me when I left Galactica. However, we need pilots and I am still a skilled pilot. I need to do what I can to protect Laura Jean."
Lee held onto the hand she was trying to withdraw. "I get it. I am thinking of Laura Jean as well, which is why I don't think both of her parents should be out in the middle of a firefight. Now, I am not saying your skills are not needed but perhaps we need to be a little selfish, for our daughter's sake. Perhaps we need to make each other a promise that we won't both leave the ship at the same time unless we have her with us."
"You really think we can negotiate that."
"You're not military, and I will walk away for the sake of my daughter if I have to, though I don't think anyone is really going to let me do that. My proposal is this though—you fly CAP, you train with the squadron in case an attack comes in while you are on CAP but if you are onboard when Condition 1 is called, that is where you stay."
"And if I am out on CAP and an attack comes in? Are you willing to be the one to stay onboard or would you join the fight?"
"I can follow the action and give orders from the War Room as well as the cockpit," Lee replied without missing a beat. "We need to be united in this. Are you with me? For Laura Jean?"
Rebecca Lynn nodded. Lee had a point. They were all facing risks they wouldn't have before the Cylon attack. The chances of Laura Jean losing one parent were still high. Why risk making her face losing both of them at the same time if it could be avoided?
"I'm with you," she assured him.
"I'll talk with my father tomorrow then."
"Let's talk to him together," Rebecca Lynn said. "United front, remember?"
Lee gave her a wry smile. "United front," he agreed, with a nod. "As for tonight, what do you say we retire for the night and truly celebrate this reunion."
"I do like the sound of that," Rebecca Lynn replied, her paperwork a distant memory already.
Getting to his feet, Lee pulled his wife to her feet. Hand-in-hand they headed for the other bedroom of the quarters. Stepping inside, Lee pulled the hatch shut and gave the lock a spin. Turning, he found Rebecca hadn't gone far. As their lips found one another's their hands started to remove the last obstacle between them right now. Lee wasn't sure how much sleep he was actually going to get but he really didn't care. Reminding Becca just how much he loved her was far more important.