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Part 2 of Daphne: Sacred Laurel
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Peja's Wonderful World of Makebelieve Import
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2020-11-05
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An Ocean Away

Summary:

With the revelation of the impending Cylon Invasion, Felix resigns himself to a life with Lee.

Work Text:

Title: An Ocean Away

Author: Lopaka Tanu

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Battlestar Galactica.

Characters: Gaeta, Lee, ensemble

Wordcount: 22961

Prompt:

Fandom: Battlestar Galactica

Pairing: Gaeta/Lee

Rating: Adult

Warnings: Language, Violence, Alternate Universe

Summary: With the revelation of the impending Cylon Invasion, Felix resigns himself to a life with Lee.

Author's Note: Gaeta never served on the Galactica.

______________________________________

 

 

"It's chamalla poisoning, plain and simple." After signing the register, the doctor handed it back to the nurse. Turning to Lee, he smiled to comfort him while placing a hand on his shoulder. "We got him in time that there won't be any permanent side effects. He's very lucky, I've seen Oracles die from lesser doses."

"How much did he ingest?" Relief caused Lee's body to sag in his chair. Unshaven and suffering through his hangover, Lee knew he looked like hell.

"None. It was an injection." Taking the chart off the end of the bed, he examined it. "Let's see. Pure chamalla extract, fifteen times the lethal dose, that can't be right." Frowning, he checked the numbers again, doing the calculations mentally. "I could have sworn that said one-point-five. It will take a little longer for it to clear his system, but he should be right as rain."

"Thank you, doctor." Dismissing the man from his thoughts, Lee went back to focusing on Gaeta. He was pale and thin, constantly shaking in his bed and Lee felt helpless looking at him.

"I am sorry, Mr. Adama, but there is something we have to deal with." He waited until Lee looked at him again before speaking. "There are signs he was restrained for a long period of time. That makes it questionable whether he took the chamalla extract of his own free will. The police will have to be notified."

"All right, just keep this low key." It was one step too far. He didn't care what anyone thought any more, he needed contact. Ignoring the doctor, Lee lifted the blankets beside Gaeta, and rolled him on his side. Climbing in behind him, he brought the man back against his chest. Pressing a kiss in Gaeta's curls, he stroked his shoulders to comfort him despite the fact he was unconscious.

The doctor was about to protest, but a look from Lee silenced him. Nodding, he backed out of the room and turned off the light.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coming awake, Felix blinked his eyes. Something was wrong, he was not where he was supposed to be. The beeping of a heart monitor drew his attention to the side of his bed. He was in a hospital. Since he couldn't see any other beds, that meant he had a private room. Along with a private room came a handset.

Reaching out proved almost an insurmountable task due to exhaustion. Several of his attempts ended in his arm hanging off the bed. Opening his eyes, he scanned the dark room for the bedside table. It was there, he just hadn't reached it. In his next attempt at capturing it, his hand fell short, but hit something else in its place.

The lights came on a moment later and a woman in a blue uniform entered. "What can I do for you, Mr. Gaeta?"

Too tired to protest much, he allowed her to put him on his back and pull up the blankets. As she started to back away, he caught her hand. "They're coming, we have to warn them."

"Who is coming?" Mildly alarmed, she kept up a calm demeanor. Some times patients dreamed things, but some times they were right. He had been attacked, after all.

"The cylons. They're coming." Releasing her hand, Felix yawned. When he opened his eyes, he found her injecting something in to his IV line. "No! You have to warn them. You..."

Patting his shoulder, she put him back under the blankets. "I know, Gaeta, I know." Turning around, she pushed a lock of her blonde hair off her face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We're moving." Running a brush through Gaeta's hair, Lee grinned. The reaction he could see in the hand mirror made him want to break out in fits of laughter. "Don't look at me that way. Every time I go away something happens and it's weeks or months between the next time I see you again."

Barely able to hold the mirror up so he could see what Lee was doing to his hair, Gaeta frowned at it. "And just where are you taking me?"

"We're going to Pycon." He jerked out another knot in the mess that was Gaeta's hair. "I've been offered a promotion to CAG of Charybdis Base. It's a great career opportunity for me."

Gaeta was silent for a minute. Taking his time to rest before he felt the need to explode in a rage he didn't have the strength for. There were other important things than worrying about on what colony they would live. The fact that Lee cared enough to drag him along was important. Patting Lee's leg, he sighed. "Fine."

"Good, now on to other things. Since you will essentially my little woman, I expect you to..." He broke off laughing as Gaeta's hand dug in his thigh. Since the other man was fatigued, it didn't hurt. They were lying in Gaeta's hospital bed, him helping groom his lover out of the need to be useful.

Gaeta had been there for four days, or so the doctor had said. He couldn't remember two of those days and spent most of the third day drowsing. So far, he had drawn a blank for the previous three months. Since he really couldn't tell what he had been doing during his last memory, he had lied about that.

He knew something was bothering Lee. Something had happened while he was gone and it had pushed Lee over the emotional edge. Lee was clean shaven now, but when he had first woken, it was to a scraggly man. Every time he tried to engage the man, he changed the subject. "What does your family think of our move? I know you are close to Zak, he might feel..."

"Zak's dead." Tugging on Gaeta's hair, he pulled the man's head back so he could look him in the eyes. "Leave it, Felix, please."

He saw such pain in those eyes, Gaeta hurt for him. Despite the weariness it cost him, Felix slid an arm up around Lee's neck, pulling him down. Lee's face against his neck, he hugged him as tight as he could.

Tears came to Lee's eyes. He quickly wrapped his arms around Gaeta's chest, returning the hug. "Don't leave me again, please. Just, never again."

"Are you asking me to marry you?" He meant it in jest, something to lighten the mood, but Lee nodded against his skin. Breath catching, Felix closed his eyes. It was wrong, they weren't ready. They were never ready for any of this. "All right."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Holding the handset to his ear, Lee waited for the base comm officer to pick up. He figured while he was at his apartment selecting clothes for him and Felix, he might as well make a few calls. He knew it had been a while, but he was ready to move on with his life again. When the comm officer responded he had his message clearly thought out. "Yeah, Lieutenant Thrace please."

"I'm sorry, sir, but Lieutenant Thrace has been reassigned. Who is calling that I may transfer you?"

"Transferred?" For a moment he could barely think about it, the idea was too alien to him. Frowning, he remembered there was someone waiting. "Uh, this is Captain Adama."

"Captain, I am surprised you didn't know. Your father requested her personally. I will reroute you now to the Galactica."

Galactica. That one word brought up enough emotional baggage that Lee almost slammed the handset down. However, he was already on the line, he might as well go through with it.

"This is the BattleStar Galactica, I am transferring you to the pilot's wardroom. Please stand by, Captain Apollo."

Lee took a deep breath. Then he took another. He hadn't figured it would be this hard trying to talk to his friend. He waited four rings before his resolve faltered and he was ready to give up.

"Starbuck here, this had better be important." Her voice was tense with anger.

"Nice to hear from you too, Lieutenant." His ire was up. They were supposed to be friends, friends told each other things. "When were you going to tell me you transferred to the Commander's boat?"

"When were you going to pull your head out of your ass long enough to listen? You weren't the only one who lost someone dear that day." Glaring back over her shoulder as the wardroom went silent, Kara flipped off the others.

Lee felt like gnawing off his own arm because his hand refused to put the handset down. "I know this is a little hard for someone like you to understand, but there were other things..."

"No, you don't understand! You were my friend, he was my fiance! You were supposed to be there for me and all you did was cut everyone off. I waited weeks and still no call, no comm, not even a letter. When the old man asked, I said yes because he was the only one willing to give me the time of day! Now, if you can't get over yourself to realize this wasn't only about you, then you can go frak yourself!"

"You're right, Kara, as usual." Snarling with disgust, he knew she did have a point, to a point. "Then again, turn your argument back on you. Where the hell were you and Zak when I needed you? You didn't even so much as bat an eye when I told you he was missing."

"What? What are you talking about?" Frowning at the handset, Kara tried to recall what he was talking about. Then it came in stunning, clear memories. "Daphne?"

"I found him five days ago, Kara. Whoever had him," he swallowed, his voice cracking. "They tried to kill him."

She went silent.

"Kara?" When she still didn't respond, he stared at the handset in shock. The line cackled with static before it went dead. Setting it down in the cradle, he couldn't believe it. She was gone, his best friend had hung up on him.

Lee had to force his body to move. Felix was depending on him. Robotically, he marched to the door and out. Climbing in the lift, he was still too dazed to believe it.

In his apartment, the handset rang.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Standing at attention next to Gaeta, Lee held his hand as the priestess wrapped the golden chain around their wrists. He was in his uniform while Gaeta wore his suit. It was baggy on his still thin frame, but at least he could stand now. Leaning on the cane, he kept most of his weight with Lee.

The priestess was an old friend of Lee's aunt, she was currently serving as an advisor to Adar. When he learned she was visiting a friend at the hospital, he had asked her to officiate the ceremony.

Smiling at them both, Elosha, joined their hands together. "As the gods have set down upon the world since the joining of Epimethius and Pandora, the first humans, we have bound to each other. Seeking the halves of each soul, two become one in the eternal union of matrimony. May your union be strong, fruitful, and eternal. So say we all."

"So say we all." The benediction was echoed by the occupants of the hospital's temple.

Happiness flushing him, the blood rushed from his head and Felix swooned in to Lee's grasp. He had to be helped in to a wheel chair by an orderly and Lee. Holding Lee's hand, he smiled for him. "Thank you, Lee."

"Anything for the new Mrs. Adama." He grinned even as Felix found the strength to glare at him. Chuckling, he took the handles of the wheel chair and guided him away from the temple. "What do you think she meant by fruitful?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Yawning, Felix patted Lee's hand. "She wants you to plant an orchard."

~~~~~~~~~

The transport arrived early in the morning. Lee had been expecting it, but not the army of privates that piled out of it. He had to hand it to them as he watched from the side lines. They knew what they were doing and how to do it efficiently. In thirty minutes, everything he had earmarked for taking was wrapped, crated, and loaded. Everything happened so quickly, his neighbors weren't even aware what was going on.

Taking one last look around his apartment, Lee spent a great deal of time in his father's room, staring at the tapestry. In his mind he could picture the look on his face when Caroline had given it to him. There was so much pride and happiness, Lee had thought he would never see such emotions from his father again. Closing the door on the room he locked it.

He had been right.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The transport Bellindie was an old workhorse left over from the cylon war era. Kept in top shape, her captain was especially proud of her. Lee knew the Commander would have spoke to the man on her, but he kept to himself. He wasn't his father.

Glancing to his right, Lee allowed himself the time to enjoy staring at his new husband. It was still a bit surreal to him. Everything about him was neat and efficient, despite the fact he still couldn't dress himself without help. Out of a need to make him real, Lee twisted a curl at Felix's temple out of place. The gel kept it stiff and in the form he molded it in to. Grinning, Lee quickly stared ahead.

Felix was perfectly aware of what Lee was up to. When the man's head was turned, he put the curl back in place. Of course, the action required immediate retaliation. Stretching, he let his arms drop over Lee's shoulders. His questing fingers soon found the rank insignia. Deft in his actions, he removed it. Moving to the other side, he removed the insignia there too, then let his arm drop to the rest.

Lee frowned. He knew the action had been wrong from how long it lingered. His hand quickly went up to his shoulder to check if anything had been smeared on him and found the pins missing. Turning to Felix, he saw the man grin at him, his rank insignia between his teeth. Holding out his hand, he gave a mock stern glare.

Felix spit them in to Lee's hand with as much saliva as possible. When Lee ran that through his hair, Felix smacked him in the gut and tried to rearrange his curls again. He didn't anticipate Lee taking advantage of his arms being up and tickling him.

The captain had to come back personally and tell them to keep it down. This was repeated several times over the four hour journey to Pycon. Eventually, the captain had ordered a FTL jump just to get there faster and get them off his ship.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Handset against his ear, Felix coiled the line nervously. He had been on for a half hour, trying to get through. So far, all his attempts were met with false luck. This was his last try, a direct line to her home.

Finally the other line picked up. "Metahart, who is this?"

"Admiral, so nice to hear from you." Felix was proud all he did was make his voice patronizing. "I have something I need to tell you."

"Who is this?" Her voice betrayed her age in the crackle due to her anger.

Felix put on his sunglasses to block out the sunlight as a curtain across the room was thrown open. "That isn't important. The message is as follows: Armistice broken, the children of humanity are returning." A flashing light indicated their transport had arrived. Holding his hand over the receiver, he tried to keep all other sounds out. "There was no date for the information, just the warning. What you do with this knowledge is up to you."

He hung up, and turned up his collar. The northern hemisphere of the planet was in winter and he wasn't taking any chances. As he limped to Lee's side, he smiled for his husband. "They weren't home, I had to leave a message on her machine. Shall we go?"

~~~~~~~~~~~

Their first day at the new base was a disaster.

"I'm sorry, sir, but according to the official fleet personnel records, you are not married, thus not entitled to the house." Shuffling her papers, the base clerk looked for the correct form. Upon finding it, she spun her chair to face Lee and Felix again. She handed it to him over the counter. "Fill this out, get it authorized by your commander, I will file it, and the admiralty will officially notarize it."

Putting a hand to his forehead, Lee grit his teeth to keep from yelling at her.

Being a quick study of Lee's body language, Felix stepped in between him and the counter. He quickly sized her up from the appearance of her uniform. "You will have to forgive the Captain, he's a pilot." Taking the form, Felix began to fill it out. At the bottom where the signature was required from the C.O., he handed it to Lee. "Take this to your C.O., I will handle the rest."

Lee knew when he was out of his depth. Giving a mock salute to Felix, he turned on his heel and walked out.

Waiting until Lee was gone, Felix turned his full attention on the bored clerk. He leaned across the counter to get her attention. "What is the situation?"

"Former Captain's wife hasn't got her shit out of the house. Is pursing legal action to keep her place and support. It's out of my hands." Stamping a pack of documents, she readied them to be signed. "Colonel Augusta is two months from retirement, he's leaving the decision up to his successor."

"What can you get me on short notice and what will it cost me?" He knew he had her when she put the stack of forms in the wrong tray.

After correcting her mistake, she looked up at him. "Your husband is quite well known. His feud with his father is legendary."

"Ah, double the normal price, I can tell already." The familiarity between them slipping in, he grinned at her. "What did you do to earn a place among the supply clerks, Amalthea?"

"Triple." The Lieutenant studied her finger nails with a frown. "I have a week's leave coming up. Memphis sounds nice this time of year."

"A week at Hedonism Exhibition?" His tastes ran directly opposite, but he knew that many people enjoyed it. "Fine. In return, you also keep my name off the form. It is signed the way I want it officially."

"Done." Sitting back in her chair, she placed her feet up on the desk. "Nice doing business with you."

"My keys?" Holding out his hand, he shared a grin with her. He knew the place had already been set up, their stuff waiting to be unpacked. Judging from the price, she had probably set them up in one of the senior officer's cabins.

"The front door will need to be replaced. Major Coburn didn't go easily." Handing the keys over, she let her fingers linger over his palm. "Such a waste, I hope he enjoys you."

"Never happening." Taking his keys, he walked out of the clerk's office to wait for Lee. Charybdis Base was above the arctic circle, making it frozen most of the year. Lucky for them, they had arrived at the beginning of the frost and could enjoy the next eight months of winter delight.

~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time Lee had gotten back from his orientation meeting with his new squad, Felix had the entire house set up with the things Lee had brought. It was similar in size to the rooms the possessions belonged in, thus arranging had been easy. The one major difference in placement was the plaque that used to reside in Lee's underwear drawer. Felix had placed it on the wall above a fire place between pictures of Lee's family.

Taking in the appearance of the house, Lee knew it was a stark contrast to what it had been that morning. Despite that, it felt like he was coming home. Every where he looked, he would become disoriented if he moved too quickly. His possessions were the same, their location was similar, but the dimensions and colors were wrong. It would take some getting used to it.

"I am getting the paint tomorrow. With the right shading, I should be able to settle some of the disorientation." Felix felt in his element as he handed Lee a summary report of their housing and official status with the base. There were several things they needed to stock the house, but he had those on another list. Handing it to Lee when he finished reading the report, he gave him a pen. "Add things you can think of we will need."

"Everything looks in order." A smile came to his lips as Felix began to undo his uniform. "Let me guess, you've drawn up a schedule and put in time for sex."

"Yes, the appropriate requisition forms are filled out in triplicate on your desk awaiting approval." Lee thought he was kidding, that would change went he for a pencil or pen. After Lee had put on a few items including shoe polish, Gaeta took back the list and signed it.

Lee frowned at Felix's actions. "Why did you sign that?"

"It's a requisition form." Removing it from the clipboard, he slipped it in to a stack of papers next to the door on a table. "Amalthea's idea. She can add it to the base supplies that get delivered once a month and it is automatically deducted from your pay. Anything else you need that isn't on the list you can obtain at the commissary."

"Well, I guess that will work." Peeling off his flight suit, Lee shrugged it off. He was pleasantly surprised when Felix came back to his side, wrapping his arms about Lee's waist. "Did you miss me?"

"There was a moment or two." He chuckled as Lee's hands roamed down to cup his bottom. "Now, Mr. Adama, you're a married man. What would your wife think?"

"Naughty Nurse or Disobedient Secretary?" Feeling up Felix's back, he discovered a band around his chest. "Oh, evil double agent!" Grinning, he slid his hands in Felix's shirt, removing the recorder and it's belt. "How long were you going to wear that?"

"Long enough to get blackmail material." Taking the contraption from Lee, he pinched him on the ass and walked in to the dining area. "Dinner is almost ready. Be sure to check your desk before dinner."

"Right." Sighing as Felix disappeared from sight, Lee walked towards the living room. Off to the right there was a small bedroom that had been converted in to a study. Upon seeing what was on top of his desk, Lee paused, frowned, then snorted. "Okay, now you've gone completely out of your mind with this."

"If you want sex, check the box and sign the forms." Putting down the forks, he had a hard time not laughing.

"I don't think half of these things are possible given your sex." Marking the boxes next to the items he wanted to try that night, he signed the forms, all three of them. "Where do I put these?"

"By the bed, of course." This time he didn't stop himself and held on to a chair for support as he cackled.

"Of course."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Okay, I get it." Kissing Felix's shoulder, Lee luxuriated in the warmth of their bed. He had gotten everything he had checked off on the list plus a good night kiss. It made a day of endless scrutiny bearable. He didn't want to think about what he would be doing without Felix in his life, taking his mind off everything that had happened. Hugging Felix tight, he enjoyed the grunt he let out.

"You get what?" When he could breath again, Felix fought against the need to squirm. Lee was already hard again. Six months ago he would have cheered Lee on, right now, he wanted nothing more than to sleep.

"You need something for yourself. The question now is, how can I help?" It wasn't something he had thought about before. There had no thinking about the future beyond what he already had achieved until now. With everything that had happened in the month since Felix came back in to his life, he hadn't the time to think.

"We'll talk about it in the morning. It's nice that you noticed, but really, not tonight." He felt more than heard Lee sigh. They could deal with things in the morning. Pulling the covers over his shoulder, he snuggled back in to Lee. "Sleep."

"Fine, but don't complain to me that I don't try to talk." Rubbing his hand up Felix's side, Lee let him fall asleep. Watching as his husband's chest rose and fell, he wanted nothing more than to lay there for all eternity. "I think I love you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lee sat at the table eating his breakfast. He felt a little guilty that Felix was doing all the cooking and cleaning, but that passed with how good breakfast was. It was warmed up leftovers from the night before with cheese served in a flat bread. 'So he hadn't really gone to too much trouble,' Lee thought.

Sitting at the table naked as the day he was born, he knew his mother would have a heart attack if she saw him. A pang of guilt hit him and he realized he hadn't spoken to Felix yet. Swallowing his breakfast regretfully, he cleared his throat. "Um, breakfast is great, really great. My mother is coming for a visit at the end of the month. Is there any more?"

"I know, I made it myself. I already heard and filled out the appropriate forms for the land mines to put in her bed. As a matter of fact, there is just enough for you to have some." Leaning over Lee's shoulder, he up ended his pan on to Lee's plate. "The bread is hot, wait til it cools before you eat it."

"I like it hot." Putting a piece in his mouth, Lee held his mouth open and breathed carefully to let it cool.

"Do you realize how ridiculous you look doing that?" Sitting down to his own, Felix picked at it with the fork until it was in bite size chunks. "While we are making a breakfast table confessional, I've already made arrangements to continue my studies. I will assist the base doctor in his duties as long as he can tutor me through my degree."

"Sounds like you had a busy day yesterday." Shifting on his seat, Lee reached down to tug on his balls. The chair was making them itch. When he looked up, he caught Felix watching his movements. "What?"

"Hurry up." He sucked his bottom lip between his teeth, in a clear signal of his intentions.

Setting his fork down, Lee cleared his throat again. "This can wait."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Rosy cheeked with half lidded eyes, Lee kissed Felix's lips twice before backing away. "You were wonderful, Felix." He pulled the zip up on his flight suit before walking out the front door. "I will see you tonight."

"Tonight." Touching his lips, Felix closed the door and went in to the dining room. Their cold breakfast was still on the table, Lee having run out of time before he could finish. Smiling, he picked up his fork and sat down to eat.

"You can't stop us, you know that." From her place on the kitchen counter, Six picked up an apple out of the bowl.

"I don't have to." Putting the bite in his mouth, he slowly chewed. The flavor was bland and the food rubbery in his mouth. Swallowing with a grimace he put the fork down. "All I have to do is prove you exist."

"How do you plan on doing that?" When he didn't respond, Six threw the apple at him. It missed hitting him, but bounced off the table and landed on the floor. "I asked you a question."

"When I do, they will know you are planning something. In turn, that will let them know you are coming." Turning to face her, he smirked at her scowl. "And all I will have to do is sit back and watch as they stop you."

"Think you've got it all planned out, do you?" Sliding off the counter, she stalked over to him. She took in his smug face and back handed him out of the chair. "Open your eyes!"

Felix gasped in pain. His face hurt and his body ached. Blinking to clear the blur from his eyes, he tried to focus on what was going on around him. When finally saw, it was to find a worried Lee standing over him. "Lee?"

Pulling Felix up off the floor to his chest, Lee rocked him gently, stroking his hair. "It's okay, you're all right now. You're all right." Running his hand through Felix's hair, he continued to calm his panicking heart. It hurt against his chest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Closing the curtain, Dr. Suetonious smiled for his patient and his husband. "You are going to be just fine, Mr. Adama. The tests came back negative."

"Then what the hell happened?" Angry, Lee stood up to face the doctor down. The man was going to pay if he frakked up.

"It was a flash back." His tone made it sound like the most natural thing in the world. "It is a common occurrence for people who've taken drugs for a long period of time and stopped, or in your case, have ingested a massive quantity. This is simply your body continuing to remove the drug from your system. Eventually all of it will be gone, but until then, I would suggest having someone keep an eye on you in the future."

"How long can I expect to keep having these flash backs?" The very idea of it scared Felix. What if he got hurt the next time? "Is there any warning sign?"

"Frankly, I'm not sure. I've never encountered a case where someone ingested such high levels of Chamalla before. As for warnings, unfortunately they can be triggered at any time without notice." Sighing, the doctor figured it was best to lay it all out for him. "I'm afraid this means you can not be allowed to serve in my clinic." He held up a hand to forestall their responses. "I see no reason why you can't continue your studies, under my strict guidance. You will have limited access to the lab, only when I am in it and can verify your safety. That's the way it has to be."

Lee was going to protest, but Felix's hand on his arm prevented him. Gripping his hand in support, Lee nodded. "Very well. We would like to be alone now."

"Of course. Take all the time you need." Pulling back the curtain a bit, the doctor walked out and shut it behind him.

Lee waited a while after the doctor left before reacting. It had nearly killed him to come home and find Felix on the floor. Clasping his husband's hand in his own, he tried to come up with the words to express his feelings. There were so many nothing would come. In the end, he simply pulled Felix to him, kissing his forehead.

For his part, Felix felt relieved. It was a hallucination. He had been having hallucinations. They weren't real, they weren't coming. He was safe from the cylons.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The base for all human genetics is the same. There is actually very little difference between the varied races and colonies. Each person can trace their origins to one or more of the twelve tribes through their genes." Changing the image on the screen from a cell to a picture of people, Dr. Suetonious gestured to it. "All these people share the same ancestor, one of the original colonists. While there is very little known of the lives of the settlers, we have come across the remains of a few. These people were tied to one by DNA tracing."

Jotting down the information in his book, Felix made mental comparisons to what he already knew. He had heard theories about tracing genetics when he left the course six years ago, but a lot had changed in that time. "How long will it normally take for a comparative genetic analysis?"

"Given the restrictions on technology, anywhere between twelve hours and ten days. It depends upon the purity of the samples." Clicking the remote again, the doctor changed the image to a bone fragment. "It took months to extract viable DNA from these remains, and they were preserved in permafrost."

"All right. What about the plants? Do they have an effect on our DNA?" At first, he didn't know why he asked. Seeing the house plant behind Dr. Suetonious, Felix got a clue and snorted.

"Everything in our environment effects our DNA. The plants we eat can trigger responses programmed in to our DNA, that reaction can kill in some instances." Suetonious had caught Felix's eye and knew where he was looking. "This plant is a perfect example. In most animals, the plant is harmless, in the human, the auto immune reaction can prove fatal."

"Funny, and here I was thinking it was just ugly." Laughing, Felix checked the time and closed his book. "Well, for our first session, how did I do?"

"Very well. I think you will have a degree in two years, a doctorate in four." Closing his lecture book, Suetonious picked it up and placed it in his leather satchel. It was one of a dozen that had been delivered the day before during the monthly supply drop for Felix's courses. "In these classes, most of what you will learn is the methods for mapping, extracting, and manipulating DNA. If you think about it, genetics is really a simple idea for such a complex set of variables."

"In a uterus, crack an egg, throw in a pinch of sperm, mix well, let bake for forty weeks, and tada, one baby!" Enjoying the joke, Felix gathered his books to him and rose. "Well, this has been most fascinating, Doctor. Thank you."

"My pleasure, young man. Make sure you read the materials I gave you at the beginning of our session. I will be testing you over them tomorrow." He watched as Felix walked out the door then followed him out. "I will see you tomorrow same time."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Heavy freighter Amarna, this is colonial fleet patrol zero zero eight, your course will violate military space in thirty seconds. You are ordered to alter your heading immediately or be prepared to be fired upon. This is your last warning!" Checking his dradis console, Lee frowned. The freighter still hadn't shown any sign of responding after three minutes of repeated hails. "CAG to fighter squadron, open fire on my command. Take out her engines."

Counting down until the ship crossed the boundary line, he waited for the time. When the ship began to cross it, he took aim at it. "CAG to fighter squadron, take her out!" Pressing his own fire controls, he watched as one of the six drives was blown off the freighter.

Rolling from the sudden explosion, the ship veered off course. The other Vipers broke formation to pursue, taking their cues from Lee. One by one they began picking off the other engines until the freighter was tumbling adrift in space.

Lee flashed the communications lights on his Viper to signal his pilots to take up orbital formation. Watching as they took their sweet time, he frowned and wrote it down on his mark board. When they finally attained their positions, he signaled again. "Let's see how well you paid attention in flight school."

The first shots rang out from a Viper with an inexperienced pilot. He was closely followed by the rest. The resulting impacts caused the freighter to spin. The fuselage of the freighter clipped the wing of one of the Vipers sending it spinning in to the next one. The remaining Vipers fired their maneuvering thrusters to draw themselves away from the tumbling ship.

In a move of spite, Lee fired his guns at the freighter's power core until it exploded. As he figured, four of the remaining five undamaged Vipers were caught up in the shockwave, knocking out their engines. "Congratulations, roaches, you've been stomped! I think I'll let you rotate for a few hours while you think about what you did wrong." The control lights on his console let him know the environmental seals on the Vipers were still holding. "Anyone have to use the bathroom, I suggest you hold it!"

After sending out the signal for the carrier to come pick them up, but to take their time, he reached in to the pocket on the side of his Viper. The pocket usually only contained his clip board and the assignment sheets for their test flights. Today he had added a letter from Kara. If she had been there in person, he would have commented on how he never thought she was the literate type.

Cracking the seal, he pulled out the letter and opened it up. It was a single page with only a few words on it. He knew the quote on it by heart, it was from the sacred scrolls. "And Apollo punished Belerophon for his arrogance by cutting him down with his arrows until he fell back to the land, dead. For no man shall assume himself among their numbers based solely upon his deeds." Folding it back up, he placed it back in the envelope.

The message was clear and it wasn't from Kara. Putting the letter back in his pouch, he made a mental note to burn it when he was off the ship.

~~~~~~~~~~

Exhausted, Lee opened the door to his house to find it a veritable jungle. He stood there openly gaping at the only greenery not covered in snow for miles, unable to think of what to do. A sneeze some where off in the thick of the forest of flowers and plants knocked him from his stupor. Wiping off his feet, he entered the house and closed the door.

A horrible grinding noise filled the house followed my many sneezes. "Damn," another sneeze, "it all to hell!"

"Daphne?" Lee carefully made his way through the rows of trees and potted palms that lined the entrance hall. In the front room, the living room, he found hundreds of hanging flowers falling from a dozen planters anchored to the ceiling. Scattered under them were various urns and vases filled with flowers. As he inhaled the overwhelming smell, his own nose became stuffed. "Where the hell did all these flowers come from?"

"Your mother's idea of a peace offering!" The grinding sound started again followed by another round of sneezes.

Lee followed the noise in to the kitchen. In the place of the table was a medium sized wood chipper. In his spare flight suit with goggles and gloves, Felix was feeding a bouquet in to the maul as the shreddings shot out the end in to a trash can. "I take it you don't approve?"

"I'm allergic to Corinthian Lilies." Shoving the next bundle in to the feeder, Felix wiped at his red nose.

"My mother's favorite." He felt the insane urge to giggle. There were at least sixty dozen of them piled on the table in neat stacks waiting to be shredded. "What about the others?"

"The base needs some color, Amalthea has agreed to spread them around tomorrow." Cheerfully shoving another arm load in to the chipper, Felix hummed to himself, until he sneezed. "Can you imagine, this handy little machine was just lying around collecting dust in a maintenance shed? Apparently they rarely use it because the growing season is so short." He tossed in the next batch of Lilies with gusto.

"Something tells me you're not forgiving my mother so easily." Lee had to cover his face with an arm as something plastic shot out of the wood chipper. "What did the card say?"

"How happy she was to hear her son had married someone with such a pretty name. Then she wondered how long it would be before she could expect grand children." Felix's expression took on a devilish appearance as he slowly fed a set of long stemmed lilies in to the feeder. "Do you know why your mother knows you married 'Daphne Adama'?"

"Because, as I recall, someone signed that as my spouse's name. After that, it is easy to surmise that she would keep an eye on me through her familial connections for two reasons. One, I am her only remaining child. Two, we left without telling her good bye." At Felix's glare, he waved it off with a growl. "You don't get it and probably never will. Just trust me, things could be a lot worse, they could still get that way. When she comes in two weeks, I want you to be on your best behavior. She's had enough stress in her life, you don't need to add to it!"

"Yes, sir!" After saluting Lee, Felix threw the last batch of flowers in to the chipper and stormed out of the kitchen. When he reached their bedroom, he slammed the door shut and locked it behind him. If Lee wanted to be a commanding dick, then he could command his dinner to make itself.

In a fit of rage, Lee kicked the chipper. This only served to heighten his anger so he grabbed the nearest thing and beat it until the motor shut down. Panting as the engine died, Lee glanced down at what he held. It had been a metal urn. Wrapped around the neck was a ribbon and a note.

Removing the note, he flipped it over to see if his mother had written him a message. What he found made him wish the wood chipper was still working. Closing his eyes, he tossed the note in the trash can, then carried the can out the back door. He pushed the wood chipper out the back, uncaring that it fell off the steps in to the snow. Lee slammed the door and threw the bolt.

After he resettled the dinner table and chairs, he walked in to the kitchen to begin dinner. In the silence of the house he heard the sound of Felix in the bedroom. To drown out the crying, he flipped on the media network feed from Caprica and went about his business.

~~~~~~~~~~~

It was after midnight when Lee slipped in to their bedroom. Striping down to his boxer briefs, he slipped in to bed next to Felix. As he curled up behind his husband, Lee wrapped an arm over his waist. His other arm came up beneath Felix's neck to support his head. He sighed as Felix rolled over in his arms to face him.

"You found the note." He could still hear the ranting Lee had done while fixing dinner, yelling at his invisible mother.

"I used it to kill the wood chipper." Sliding his hand up in to Felix's curls, he drew him close. Slowly, he pressed their lips together, heated breath flowing over his skin. When he pulled back, he licked his lips. "Listen to me closely. She's wrong. It will never happen."

Closing his eyes, Felix didn't trust in that word.

~~~~~~~~~~~

He wasn't sure how it happened. It was two in the morning, he had to be up in four hours. The only visible lights came through the windows, yet it was enough to see. Sliding his hands up Felix's chest, Lee slowly melded their bodies together. Together, they swayed slowly in a circle, listening to the music on the television Lee had left on.

Every few turns, a part of their bare flesh would catch in the lamp light. Pressing his lips to Felix's neck, he hummed in time with the music. It was slow and tender, making his heart skip every couple of beats. Breaking apart, he spun Felix around to face him.

Felix was almost heart broken. The look on Lee's face made him ache inside, longing to be back in his arms. "Don't let go."

"Never." Swaying his hips, Lee pulled Felix in to his arms again. This time, his fingers slid down the other's back, over his butt and between his legs, then back up. Letting his head rest on Felix's shoulder, he went back to swaying to the music. They would get through this.

~~~~~~~~~

Double checking his results, Felix knew they were correct. He had repeated the experiment four times. Every time he got the same results. It was impossible to dispute. Jotting down the results on to his test sheet, he signed his name at the bottom and handed it to Dr. Suetonious.

For his part, Suetonious scanned over the series of sheets attached to the clip board with a critical eye. After he reread the fourth set of results, he set the board down next to Felix. "High quality work, but your conclusions are wrong. Better luck next time."

"Check again." Holding up the clip board, Felix glared at the man. He knew he was right, there wasn't a mistake in the calculations. "This man is not a relative to the base sample."

Not bothering to check the results again, Dr. Suetonious effected a stern demeanor. "There is a ninety-nine percent genetic match among the base chromosomal sequence. There is no denying the fact they are related."

"There is a ninety-seven percent match. They share a similar genetic anomaly which is deceiving the computer read outs. The physical match up clearly shows the differences. The anomaly, which appears in both samples, is caused by an environmental factor, not a direct genetic link." Pointing to his research, he almost smiled when the doctor took the clip board again.

Examining the physical comparison, which he had skipped in favor of the computer readouts, Dr. Suetonious frowned. He checked each of the four results carefully before setting the clip board down. "You're right. How did you know?"

"I've worked with the GenieAcad before. The sensors are notorious for missing the obvious, depending too much on the chemical readouts. I would suggest requisitioning a GeneDex, it is a little more expensive, but with less of a risk of making another mistake." Felix knew the doctor was full of questions about his knowledge, but his life depended upon not revealing too much. The man would simply have to content himself with Felix's work and recommendations.

Rising from his stool, he stretched and moaned. It had been a long series of days studying and preparing for today's test. After working two weeks with the old man, Felix had learned practically nothing he didn't already know. Even the few tidbits of medical knowledge he let Felix examine were already covered in his past experience. "Can we move on to the next series tomorrow, doc? I have to deal with the mother-in-law tonight and am, frankly, exhausted."

"Actually, Mr. Adama, I believe we are finished." Putting the teacher's aide back in his satchel, Dr. Suetonious locked the leather case. "Aside from a few routine tests to determine your proficiency in the matter, I don't see why we can't skip ahead to the finals."

"There has to be more in those books than this." Felix frowned. He knew he hadn't learned everything there was to know about Genetics, it was simply impossible.

"Certainly, and you can read them at your own leisure. What I am saying is that your experience in these matters far surpasses that of my own and I can teach you no more. I will administer the tests, but I have little doubt they will be a waste of time. The results will only show what I already know." Carrying his satchel to the door, the doctor smiled at Felix. "You are already a geneticist in all but name. Once you have completed the finals, not even that will be a problem. If you wish to get another degree, I would be happy to mentor you. Don't make up your mind now, wait until tomorrow. Until then, good night, Mr. Adama."

Felix sat down stunned. He couldn't believe it. Who knew there was a use for the past year of his life?

~~~~~~~~~

Entering his home, Felix felt a little light headed and his vision seemed cloudy. When he saw a few pink hearts float over the flight suit hanging next to the door he knew he was having a flashback. Unlike last time, this one seemed to be functional and not leave him a drooling idiot in his doorway. He decided to take things slowly and see if it would pass without assistance.

Taking off his jacket, he hung it next to Lee's flight suit, stroking the cold resistant material lovingly. Then it hit him. The familiar scent of expensive perfume. Closing his eyes, he saw hundreds of arrows fall around him and swayed a little.

"Drunk already? I'd have thought you at least waited until I started talking." Standing in the doorway of the living room, Caroline had a clear view of Felix's actions. Her tone was meant to be teasing, but it dropped to disappointment when he swayed again. "I should have guessed."

"Correction, you are a guest, which means you will abide by those rules or you will be thrown out on your ass." Felix knew well the ancient rules of hospitality. No guest should make unreasonable demands of their host. Fending off her bitch of an opinion was unreasonable. Turning around despite his better judgement, he snorted as he tried to cover up a laugh.

Caroline looked down, not seeing what was so funny. "Are you on something?"

"Chamalla flashback," he said with a dreamy tone. Waving his fingers at her, he narrowed his eyes and grinned. "You are covered in shit and flies."

"Oh. Oh! Damn, Lee warned me about those. Perhaps you should come sit down. I am terribly sorry, I shouldn't have assumed anything until I knew the whole truth." Rushing to his side, Caroline grabbed him by the arm and shoulders to help guide him in to the dining room. Much to her surprise, he went without any resistance. "How long will this last?"

"I'm not sure. Last time was all day, but then I had passed out at the time, so I think this is a marked improvement. Wouldn't you agree?" Not really interested, he reached out to finger the plants as they passed them. He hadn't let Amalthea take the trees and palms. Since most of the flowers would have been dead by now, he hadn't felt guilty getting rid of all of them. In the living room, the place was still draped in hanging vines that had shed their flowers a few days ago. "If you see a group of parrots, I think you should stop taking your happy pills." Felix laughed so hard at his own joke that he fell from Caroline's grip.

She stood there over him frowning. He was already too heavy as it was. Getting him up off the floor was going to be too much of a challenge. "You lie there, I will get you a pillow for your head."

"You know, killing her right now would be so easy." Kneeling down beside Felix, Six's shirt spread open. When he didn't sneak a peek, she frowned and sat back out of his viewing range. "Human bodies are so fragile, a few well placed blows and no one would know. One is all you really need to do the job, but what's the fun in a quick death?"

Felix giggled.

"I'm so glad I could amuse you." Sighing with disgust, Six leaned back on one arm. "She despises you, you know. There will come a time in the future that she will pressure Lee with just the right amount of force that he will give in and drop kick you out of his life. Then where will you be?"

"She won't live that long. None of them will." That made him laugh even harder, rolling on his side to help ease his breathing.

"True. The day is coming when all of them will be wiped out." Resting her fingers on his forehead, she began to tap out a repeating rhythm. "I guess the real question is can you wait that long?"

"Here we are!" Holding the pillow triumphantly, Caroline knelt down beside Felix. Unknowingly, she mirrored Six's original position. Lifting his head, she placed the pillow underneath. "There, that should hold. Now, if you tell me what we were having for dinner, I can go about making it."

"Not making, Lee is bringing home with him." Eyes suddenly heavy, Felix fell unconscious.

After watching Felix for a minute, Caroline glanced over to the woman. "I'm sorry, dear, what were we talking about again?"

"The effects of the Adar administration. You thought he had a lot to learn, I said he would never learn." Rising from the floor, Six grinned at Caroline. "And, please, call me Amalthea, all my friends do."

~~~~~~~~~~~

When he awoke, there was a cool cloth applied to his brow. He moaned from the relief in his headache as Lee's fingers slid over his temple. "Don't stop."

"Your wish is my command." Rubbing at Felix's temples, Lee let his fingers slide over all of his skin. "You really scared the hell out of my mother."

"Good." He began to drift off under his husband's ministrations. This was far more pleasant than the last time and there weren't any strange hallucinations around either.

Lee was exasperated. After calming his mother down and making sure she was entertained by her new best friend in the whole wide colonies, he had carried Felix in to their bedroom. He felt a little self conscious at having to take care of his sick husband, but that was a worthless emotion. He wasn't a kid any more, it wasn't his problem to take care of his mother and keep her from being sad any more. The memory of seeing Felix unconscious on the floor made his heart ache and took away the old childish need of her approval.

As Lee released him, Felix felt a grin tug his lips. "Thank you."

"Any time." Lee sat there watching him for a moment, enjoying the peace between them. His husband was so beautiful to him in that moment, he was grateful to him for being in his life. Not wanting to disturb him, Lee climbed off the bed and moved for the door.

Rolling over, Felix tugged at the covers around him. "Love you, Lee."

Closing his eyes, Lee forced himself to go out and face his mother again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Having set up a cot for his mother in the guest room, Lee went in to the kitchen to wash the dishes. After a tense meal with her and Amalthea, the latter had gone back to her bunk in the barracks. That left him and his mother to talk about life after. He had told her as much as he could without revealing too many details about his life.

In the guest room/study, he heard his mother arranging her trunk of clothes and pieces. There was a bathroom in the guest room, which would keep her from taking up the one off the living room. He knew the counter in it was too small for all her beauty concoctions and hair supplies, but couldn't be brought to care. Her incessant need to be on the cutting edge of beauty was sickening.

She would no doubt want a tour of the base. Her connections with the Admiralty would ensure she probably already had the permission. There would be something lacking, there was always something about the military she found lacking. It stemmed from her constant feud with his father, how she was never enough for him. Much like his mother, Lee got defensive and blamed the group rather than the real cause.

Putting the last of the dry dishes back in the cabinet, Lee wiped off his hands and put the dish towel in the handle of the stove. He loved his mother, he really did, but some times he wished she wasn't such an unhappy bitch. If only she would find someone that would bring back up her spirits he could finally stop feeling guilty about it.

Turning out the light, he snorted.

His mother being happy, that would never happen.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Your options here are limited, I know, but there could be worse things in life." Dr. Suetonious finished grading the second round of tests he had been using on Felix with an astonished expression. "This is quite remarkable. Not even I knew half of these without the book."

"That's me, Mr. Special." Fiddling with the paper that was left over from having to break the seal on his test booklet, Felix tried to form it in to a tiny tiger. He always liked tigers.

Taking off his glasses with a sigh, Dr. Suetonious glanced over at Felix. "Are you going to take this serious?"

"Probably not. I've met all the qualifications, I'm a certified geneticist. Send my degree in the post." Crushing his tiny tiger, Felix gathered his books and put them in his own bag. Standing up, he walked out of the lab.

Suetonious sat there, confused. Felix had seemed so happy about it yesterday. He wondered what had changed so drastically the night before.

~~~~~~~~~~

It had only been a matter of time, Lee knew. Destiny and fate had determined his mother would always find fault with his choice in life, his husband, and even his hair style. They hadn't even made it to lunch before she started in on him.

"All I'm saying is, Lee, I want grand children. As my eldest," she paused to look away, "my only child, it falls on you to carry on the line. You can't do that with a man."

"We can adopt." Like hell. They had enough problems without adding children to the mix. He wasn't sure he even wanted the little devils. There was just something unsettling about having someone so small depend completely upon him. Then, there was the other person to consider, since Lee was a pilot, Felix would be the one stuck with the child. "It's not like it matters at the moment anyways, mother."

Stopping their tour by a hand upon his arm, she stared at him through her snow visor. A bitter smile twisted on her lips. "You have no idea how much I wish that were so. But the fact is, you are in the same profession that killed your brother."

"There's a difference. Zak was incompetent." He could tell he'd pissed her off by the tightening of her face. Too damned bad.

"Your... husband said the same thing to me the day we met. At first, I thought he was talking about you, then I finally understood. Zak had known him before you did and complained about him often." Looking out over the snow fields the lined the base, Caroline tugged at her jacket. "Your husband was right. I had no right to treat him that way, but what happened is in the past."

"Then why won't you accept him?" Lee longed to shake his mother, she was so damned frustrating at times. Instead, he kept his hands clenched and at his sides. "Why am I never enough?"

"That's the same question I asked of myself a thousand times over the years. I was once carefree, very much like your brother was." Her voice went husky as she wiped at her face. "It's hard to believe it's been three months. This morning I woke up and had to remember he is gone and not coming back."

"Yeah, well I try not to think about it. It's over with, Zak's gone and weeping like an old widow won't bring him back." He was tired of talking about his brother. He was gone, but Felix and he were still alive, yet she didn't seem to care. All she wanted was a secured legacy, acting like he was scheduled to die next week.

"Don't be a bastard, Lee! That heartless son of a bitch was hard enough to live with, I won't have my only remaining son become him!" Getting in his face, she suddenly appeared much larger than her normal self. Her anger was almost visible in the brilliance of the sun drenched snow. "You even try it and I will knock you flat on your ass, so help you!"

"Then get your head out of your ass, mother! I am not going to die and I am not going to give up my husband because you have some twisted need for me to replace your son." He expected the slap, but did nothing to stop her. She had every right to react that way, he wanted her to. May be if he could get her to take out her emotions on him, she would finally see reason. When she tried to storm away, he played the final card. "If you want a baby that badly, have one of your own."

Caroline didn't bother to respond, choosing to continue walking away.

Lee nodded to two of the marines that had been shadowing them to follow his mother. Wandering off on his own, he needed to think.

~~~~~~~~~~

Felix heaved a sigh of relief the next morning. It felt like the world was a better place. The air was easier to breathe, the sky bluer over head. Everything was just perfect. He awoke beside his husband, he was curled up in a comfortable bed, and Caroline Adama was riding her broom back to Caprica.

Humming tunelessly under his breath he threw back the covers and rose from the bed. He stretched out his back, popping all the joints back in to whack. Plodding to the bathroom, he bounced to a song he heard in his mind. Everything was perfect.

As he passed a mirror, he caught his reflection and almost let it pass. Then something about it caused him to frown. Backing up until he could see his own profile in the full length mirror, Felix tried to figure out what it was. There was a definite change in his appearance. He slowly scanned his body starting at his head and going down. His hair was okay, so was his face, neck and shoulders. His chest was a little out of shape from not working out. Going lower, he frowned.

Sitting up in bed, Felix clutched his chest, trying to stop his pounding heart. It was just a dream, a really bad one. "I'll be glad when this Chamalla is out of my system." As he climbed out of bed, he noticed Lee wasn't in the room. A note on the night stand told him Lee had left early for flight patrol training again.

It was the third time that week. In the past five days since Caroline had left, he had been brooding and it was driving Felix insane. Lee wasn't the pouting type, normally. Ever since Caroline had announced before she left that their marriage didn't exist as far as she was concerned, Lee had stopped talking. Never more than now did Felix wish a convenient curse would strike her.

Pulling on a pair of Lee's boxer briefs, Felix strolled through the house to the living room. Lee wasn't the only one sulking, but Felix didn't care. He had nothing to do since he'd passed his last exam. Dr. Suetonious still wouldn't let him deal with any of the patients in the infirmary, so he didn't really have a lot of options.

There were always the other base 'wives'. He had been offered recently to join them in their social circles. Because of the diverse population, there were nearly as many women as men on the base who were married to the military as well as their spouses. That meant a lot of lonely people. Felix's one problem with all of them, they based their lives around their children. Not a one was without or not expecting a child.

The very thought of having a child made his skin shudder. He had heard Lee and his mother get in to an argument before she left about him having children and lately it seemed all he could think about. That bitch had ruined their domestic ignorance.

Turning on the news, Felix began to hope for something interesting. Only one thing that popped up caught his attention. Unmarked, untagged civilian vessels were picked up on dradis near the armistice line. The thought of what lay beyond that line made the room feel as if it dropped in temperature. "They're coming."

He didn't want to believe it. The whole thing was a chamalla induced night mare. There were no big bad cylons going to come in the middle of the night and kill him. He was safe. He was safe.

They were coming.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unhooking his helmet from the life support hoses in the Viper, Lee pulled out the chin guard and took it off. He handed off the helmet to the crewman, and climbed out. There was something very depressing every time he climbed out of a Viper. Lee felt it weigh on his chest as he lowered himself down the trolley.

As he spun, a crewman was suddenly there saluting him. Lee returned the salute. "What's the sitrep, Specialist?"

"Colonel Grayson wants you in his office ASAP!" Having delivered her message, she ran around the Viper to aid in the maintenance.

"Great." Just what he needed to end a particularly brutal training mission. He wondered what it was this time. Last time it had been a pissy pilot who complained because Lee kicked him off the squad. If they couldn't fly the birds, they shouldn't be in the damned things. Incompetence got people killed!

As he passed one of his squad, he sent the man a warning glare. Wouldn't do to let them think they would get away with that shitty flying like they had tried today.

~~~~~~~~~~

The lights were off in the house when Lee opened the front door. On the table next to the door, a plate filled with lit candles flickered in the breeze. Lee had been hoping to speak with Felix first thing, but his tongue felt tied. Closing the door behind him, he unzipped his flight suit. "Felix?"

"In the living room, Lee." His voice was throaty.

Swallowing, Lee followed a series of candles from the front door to the living room. With each step he was careful not to touch the flames. Upon reaching the living room, he found all the tables covered in an assortment of candles. At the center, awash in their light, Felix sat in his chair.

Hair strung out, unkept and ungelled, Felix grinned at Lee. He was wearing one of Lee's dress shirts unbuttoned and splayed open. Pulling out the pellet gun from the pair of Lee's briefs he wore, he blew on the end. "How was your day?"

Mouth suddenly dry, Lee forgot what he had wanted to say. "Sweet Aphrodite."

Pointing the pellet gun at Lee, Felix closed one eye. "Bang!"

~~~~~~~~~~

When he woke the next morning, Felix was sore every where. His body ached in places he hadn't felt since the academy physical endurance course. He was pretty sure the teeth marks on his neck would be gone in a few days, but the ones on his thighs would take at least a week. It even hurt to sit up because the palm shaped bruises on his cheeks.

Snickering, Felix waddled his way to the bathroom to get a hot bath. As he tested the water to the right temperature, he tossed in a hand full of bath soaps. Catching his reflection in the mirror reminded him the bed sheets were a total loss and would need to be replaced. Lee had been very amorous the night before.

He was about to slip in to the tub when the handset rang out. Rolling his eyes, Felix turned off the taps. He walked to the living room, each step carefully taken to avoid further aches. Picking up the handset mid ring, he exhaled loudly. "Hello?"

"Daphne? How are you doing?"

"I am doing fine. What is this about, Amalthea?" He was two seconds away from hanging up on her.

"Wow, you sound like you are taking the transfer better than I thought."

Frowning, Felix turned to look out the front window. He heard someone pull up out front and was trying to see who it was through the curtains. "What transfer are you talking about?"

"You mean Lee didn't tell you?"

"Obviously not." Rubbing at the scratches on his neck, Felix grinned. "We were a little busy last night."

"That would explain why he looks like he fought a blender and lost." She paused long enough to snort. "I suppose I should warn you before the panic sets in so you can be prepared. The Admiralty, in all their wisdom, have decided to close the base. Half the personnel are being transferred as we speak, mainly the marines and a few of the flight crew. The rocket jockies, however, are being dismissed from service. All except Lee of course."

Rubbing his forehead, Felix felt a headache coming on. He sat down at the table and leaned over it for support. "All right, Amalthea, start over from the beginning. What prompted the Admiralty to do this?"

"It's been a long time in coming. Charybdis Base was a hold over from before the ratification of the articles. She's been outdated since the cylon war. The only reason she was still in existence is because they needed some place to send old colonels before they retired. Colonel Augusta was the last, his replacement, Colonel Grayson, was brought in to either fix her up or shut her down."

"And after a month on the job he's decided to close the base." Felix felt like letting his head drop to the table. This just made his frakking day.

"It gets better. I am sure you can tell already what kind of people are assigned here." She didn't bother to give him a chance to reply. "Most of them are idiots, but some like me, just have a string of bad luck with our COs."

"You never did tell me what you did to piss off Commander Inyaga." And she probably never would, he mused.

"Those few of us who are useful, are being reassigned to different parts of the fleet. The rest are being given their marching orders. It seems Colonel Grayson doesn't like idiots. Also, I don't know the full details, but because of Lee's performance reviews, not one of the thirty pilots assigned under his command are being reassigned. The Admiralty just fired the whole lot of them." Now she was out right laughing. "I've never seen so many people scratching their heads in my life!"

"Get to the point, where did Lee end up?" His ass was starting to hurt him again and sitting on the hard wood chair wasn't doing him any good.

"Border patrol. According to the transfer papers sent in from the Admiralty, Lee's skills are needed along the Armistice Line. Civilian miners have been spotted trying to cross it and fleet is despatching a Battlestar with full accompaniment." Her voice went cold sober. "It's a six month rotation, I'm sorry, I hadn't read that far."

Closing his eyes, Felix shook his head. "All right. Thank you, Amalthea."

"Good bye and good luck."

Hanging up the handset, Felix stumbled to the bathroom. He gently eased his body in to the water and ignored the sounds of the base being dismantled outside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Their time together was short. Lee had come home at midday to tell Felix what had been happening to find his lover packing their house up. Coming in to the living room where most of their small possessions laid in boxes, he found Felix busy dumping the contents of the kitchen drawers in a box. Felix's actions were mechanical, each motion not without purpose. It made his chest heavy to see his husband so focused on a painful cause. "You don't have to do that, they'll be by soon enough to do it for us."

"It gives me something to do other than thinking about it." Yanking out the next drawer, Felix upended it in to the box, not caring what was inside. He left the drawer on a stack of them next to the fridge. There was only one left and he made short work of it. "Lunch is on the table, I suggest you eat it, other wise it is going in the trash. I'm not taking the perishables back to Caprica..." He trailed off as Lee took him in his arms.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you last night." There were perfectly good explanations that they both knew, but he still felt he should say it. Not that it did any good.

Felix kept his back straight even as Lee tried to pull him flush against his body. "I have to finish packing, Lee."

"Forget about that for a minute." Lee pulled back until he only held Felix's hands in his own. It was a quiet moment they shared, staring in to one another's eyes. "We will get through this, I promise."

"There is no getting through it, Lee, it is a simple matter. You're in the military, I'm not, you go out on patrol, I set up home some where else while I wait for you to come back." Six months should give him time to work out a nice new home for them, if Lee wasn't transferred again. There was no guarantee Felix wouldn't have to pull up stakes again in six months. "Amalthea commed before you came, the pilots were shipped out this morning to Pycon Fleet Command for debriefing. They didn't waste much time with them."

"That's because they were bad pilots." Lee tried for humor, but sighed when Felix refused to even crack a smile. He felt helpless against his husband's emotions. "What can I do to cheer you up?"

"Stay awake. Out there, on the border, there is something going on." Felix felt his world begin to spin as he fell in to Lee's arms. "They're coming."

"I'll be ready for them if they do." Holding his husband, Lee let him rest in his arms. There wasn't much time for anything more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning the transport came. An army of grunts came piling out much like they had four months before. This time it was Felix who oversaw the removal of their possessions. Unlike Lee, he took part in the guidance of the men. His own inventory lists were the basis of the move. It took slightly longer than before, but Felix was thorough and knew what he wanted done.

Lee had left with the dawn, riding on the carrier that had taken the last of the base's transferring personnel. He hadn't known what battlestar he would be assigned to was called, but would once he arrived at Topaz Station. Felix hoped it wasn't one he had served on, none of their commanders could be trusted.

Felix took the next civilian transport out after that. There was nothing keeping him there. He didn't know what they would do with the base, but he had heard some civilian operation was moving in. Even after all this time, he still thought of civilians as a different race than himself.

Watching through the airlock window as the transport left the ground, he felt little. Lee was gone, leaving him alone once more. In the haze of his shock, Felix could feel another wave of dizziness coming on over him.

"Boring, isn't it." Coming to stand beside him, Six cocked her head to the side. "After everything that has happened, you just feel numb to the world. It really is too bad that even now it won't leave you alone and go away."

"I could say the same about you." Leaning his against the hatch, Felix closed his eyes. "Make it all go away."

"Soon." Six tenderly brushed his hair off his face. "Very soon."

~~~~~~~~~~

The streets were busy in the heart of Caprica City, busier than he had hoped. All the people soothed his headache, their lives making him feel adrift of his own problems. Standing off in the corner of a store front, he watched the passing crowds in the reflection on the windows. Their varied colors and sizes became almost hypnotic from the distortion. He was lost in thought when he heard a familiar voice.

"It is my opinion that robotics should be more infused with our society. Now, don't get me wrong, I, in no way, believe they should think for themselves, but a mechanized automaton would make many jobs a lot easier." On the screens of televisions in the store front, Gaius Baltar looked slick and professional. "When we rid ourselves of even the simplest of robots fifty years ago, we were blinded by our fears and ignorance. People believed that every machine would suddenly rise up against us and wished to return our society back to the stone age. The notion of it all is simply ridiculous."

Attention focused on Gaius, Felix never saw the woman come up beside him. The moment she was within reach, he knew who she was. "I understand your interest in him."

"He is very useful." Cocking her head to the side, Natasi effected a pout. "But, his ego does tend to blind him."

"Isn't it always the way of his kind?" Felix checked his reflection in the glass, comparing his to that of her own. His hair was almost as long, but more curly. "It's a shame they don't pay attention."

"You warned them, I assume?" Her hand reached out to trace the front of the screen on the window pane.

"Yes, little good it did." Frowning as they replaced Gaius with an old man with a rebuttal, Felix lost interest in the program. "He's helping you?"

"Not that he knows." Her hand slipped from the window to grasp Felix's shoulder. "Do not worry, Gaeta, they won't find anything on the border. He is safe so long as he does not cross the line."

"Thank you, I suppose." When her hand disappeared from his shoulder, he waited long enough for her to disappear in the crowd before he went back to crowd watching. They really did look like sheep.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Lee was worried by the lack of contact. He had been on the border for a month and yet there hadn't been one word from Felix. Despite the constant drills they had been running, most of his time was spent thinking about his husband. Out of desperation, he had sent his mother a message to track down Felix.

So far, she hadn't got back to him.

Laying in his bunk, Lee tiredly wondered what was going on. He couldn't lodge a missing person's report unless the police in Caprica City could reach him. His mission prevented direct communications. The fact of the matter was, he might not know anything until his rotation was up. Fear of that made him sit up. He had to do something about it.

On his way out of the pilots' berth, he nearly ran down a fellow pilot. The man would have to forgive him later, right now he had a message to send over the wireless.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Using the key that she hadn't looked at in six months, Kara pushed the door open. There had to be a logical reason for it all, surely Lee wasn't just panicking. Daphne wasn't exactly a crazy bird, just a little cranky. Still, her gaze darted back and forth as she entered the apartment. The lights were off in the hallway and the bedrooms. Other than that, Lee's apartment was exactly as she remembered it when Zak had brought her there.

She took a moment to push his memory from mind along with the boat load of emotions that came with it. She was there on a mission, Lee was counting on her. Taking a slow, steady breath, she crept down the hall. In the distance she could hear the tinkling of bells and the slow rumble of base drums.

Smoke filled the apartment, flooding back towards her. Frowning, she continued on. The smell of the smoke was acrid, almost acidic in her nostrils. Kara had smelt it before, but only on holidays when the priestesses would burn... "Chamalla. Shit!"

Lee had warned her about the damned drug.

She started to rush in to the living room but was brought up short by the wall of smoke that greeted her. Whipping it away with her hand, she felt her eyes watering and her throat constrict. The stench was every where. She pushed onwards in to the smoke to reach the living room where every thing seemed to be coming from.

In the doorway, she stopped. Sitting around a brazer were three people. Two were on the floor while a third sat upon a tripod over the brazer. The smoke emanated from the brazer and the woman on the tripod breathed it in deeply. Kara wanted to demand what the frak was going on, but found her mouth sealed shut.

"Apollo will give you what you want, for a price." Holding out her hands, the Oracle looked down upon the two who had brought her there. They were flat, palms down. She used them to bring the smoke to her. Inhaling deeply, she moaned in distress. "The child you seek will come, but your flesh will not touch his. He will be born of great sorrow, no peace will his ancestors know except in Great Hades' embrace."

On the Oracle's right, Caroline sagged down, her body wracked by coughs and sobs. She shoved at the smoke, trying to drawl in fresh air. "It's not fair."

"He is not fair, life is not fair, only Death is fair and so we shall all be grateful." The Oracle's features were harshly outlined in the smoke as she glared at Caroline. "Your losses will mount, but so will your joys. Never let the scales tip one way or the other or all will come crashing down!" Pain shot down the left side of her head, through her shoulder, and in to her finger tips. Crying out, she twisted to face the third person by the brazer.

In his gas mask, Felix glared at the Oracle. In actuality, he had no use for her sorcery and superstition. When she looked at him, he felt a grin tug at his lips, not that she could see. That made it all the more funnier. An Oracle was a great show to watch, from a distance.

"You, who cavort with devils in human skins, you who sings the praises of traitors. What right have you to claim the greatest love, Daphne?" Twisting under another twinge that shot all down her left side, she continued to cry out. "Apollo chases you only because his lusts are false. Eros does deceive with his bow and arrows, blinding to even the greatest of mortals and gods. Harlot, shamer, disgusting goat frakker! You will lay with the beasts of burden, but give your heart to the sins of man."

"One more word out of you and we will test your ability to fly." Rising from his spot on the floor, Felix picked up the bucket next to the brazer and dumped the contents on it. The hissing and popping of the dying fire threw up great plumes of the smoke and he knew the smell would linger for weeks. "We are done here, Caroline, I think your friend should leave now."

Standing from the floor, Caroline stretched her aching legs and back. She wasn't a young woman any more, sitting for hours in an uncomfortable position did nothing for her back. While she started to stretch out her back, Felix came up behind her and lifted her from around her ribs. She was about to protest when her legs swung down and her back popped. The relief was instant and she frowned. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it, just get her out!" Walking around the room towards the kitchen, Felix turned on the fans. It wasn't until he was nearly at the dining room he saw Kara. The events clicked in to place and he grinned at her. "He finally get desperate?"

"Sounded like it." Kara let him slip passed to open the kitchen windows and turn on more fans. "So, Lee posed a question and I got to get an answer. What's the deal with not talking to him?"

Gas mask still firmly in place, Felix sat down at the kitchen table. "Call it a cooling off period." He gestured to a seat across from him as he ignored the duo in the living room. "A friend of Lee's mother works in the temple. Caroline received Lee's message and came to visit me. At the time, I didn't feel like talking to anyone, so I listened. The priestess told me what I already knew, my relationship with Lee isn't healthy. I have been taking a step back, giving myself a chance to remember who I am. Be sure Lee knows that I am making nice with his mother."

"Oh yes, very nice." Helping the Oracle carry her equipment to the door, Caroline gave Felix an aggravated glance.

"I didn't automatically throw her and you out the window. I would say I have been making great progress." Felix was well aware the menacing air the gas mask gave him and he reveled in it. It was a wonderfully fascinating experience to see Caroline off her game. The ice queen did have bad hair days. "Be sure to tip her extra for the bull shit fortune, it was very entertaining."

Limping through the kitchen for the hall, the Oracle cast an angry glance towards Felix. Cocking her head to the side, her vision flashed. Super imposed over the relaxing figure of Felix she could see another image. Cackling, she walked on. "Revenge, young Daphne, revenge for the children of man is upon you. Your father has cursed you in to a tree!"

"Well, if every day is like this, it's no wonder you haven't contacted Lee." Plopping down on her chair, Kara reached out and plucked an apple out from under the pomegranates in the fruit dish. After biting in to it and swallowing the piece almost whole, she wiped her chin clean with the back of her hand. "Don't ask me why, but the smell of burning Chamalla leaves always make me hungry. And horny."

"Be sure to wipe the seat when you get up." Felix ignored the pomegranate she sent soaring at his head. It wasn't worth making an issue over. Besides, the spray pattern it left when it crashed in to the cabinet was interesting. "It is nothing on Lee, I just need time to myself."

"Understandable. But you can't leave a guy like Lee hanging, he gets needy." Finishing off her apple in two quick bites, Kara tossed the core in the trash without getting up. It was a new personal best. "Lee needs someone to constantly remind him that he is needed and wanted."

Felix snorted. He had known people like that before, never thought he would get saddled with one. In the past week, he had begun to feel more like himself than he had in a long time. Amazing how simple things were when you knew the world was ending. "I don't know how much of a comfort I can be."

"Send him a dirty letter, may be some nude pictures." As they shared a look, Kara exploded with laughter. "Never mind, just do something before he goes AWOL."

"Very well." Felix glanced up at Caroline as she came back in to the kitchen, ashes falling from her clothes and hair where she had held the brazer. "I'll run you a bath. Starbuck, would you like to join us for dinner?" He rose from the table, pushing passed the glaring woman to head to the bathroom.

"Sure, might as well. I need a place to crash as well," she called as he disappeared down the hall in to the master bedroom.

"Zak's room is open." Caroline noticed Kara's flinch, but ignored in. Sitting down at the table, she broke open a pomegranate. Frowning when she counted them, she searched for the missing one. Upon finding it in the kitchen floor, she sighed. "We are happy to have you over at any time, Kara. How is your career going?"

"It goes." Smiling awkwardly, Kara tried not to appear too nervous. From what Lee had told her, Caroline and Felix were supposed to be mortal enemies. Yet, in what little she had observed, they were cohabitating like wild greer falcons, nothing nice, but they stuck it out. "What about you?"

Spitting out the seeds from the pomegranate, Caroline gesture carelessly in the air. "I'm getting along. How is the bath coming, Daphne?" Hearing him drop something in the bathroom made her smile. "He hates that name."

"I couldn't tell." Despite the situation, Kara found herself chuckling. The entire moment felt surreal. In the past six months there had barely been a moment of peace, now it felt as if she were finally waking up. The air in the apartment was still hard to breathe from the smoke, but the fans had sucked most of it out. Allowing herself to be calmed and centered by their dull roar, she closed her eyes.

"I can still hear them, late at night. The laughter of them doing something they shouldn't echoes through the apartment. I hear them, probably only in my head, but I can sleep finally." Wiping at her eyes, Caroline stood up from the table. "I'll have Felix turn down the bed and put on fresh blankets. It gets cold in the bedroom at night." She quickly made her way down the hall to her bedroom.

Felix barely had enough time to get out before she slammed the door on him. He frowned in confusion, but let it go. "You're welcome, you old harpy!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dinner was a flashy affair for Kara. Used to a plain meal in the pilot's mess with the rest of her crew, she hadn't expected much in the kitchen. Caroline and Felix had bickered about him wearing her old blue apron which had frills and lace. Kara had snorted her drink as Felix ranted and raved over making dinner about how she refused to get a new one because she liked watching him humiliate himself.

Serving had been something else entirely. Felix had served the women while still cooking the other courses. Caroline had acted as if this was normal fare, commenting on how he hadn't cooked anything correctly until he was forced to sit down and eat with them. Then it was his turn again, commenting on Caroline's table manners and Kara's lack there of.

Not to be outdone, Kara had went about properly eating, at least she assumed it was proper. Caroline was her example after all. That lasted all of two bites then she was back to laughing. Felix made a joke about how she had been corrupted by Caroline. In the end, Kara hadn't felt so content in a long time.

After the excitement of dinner had died down and they retired to the living room, stocked with new furniture more comfortable than was plausible, Kara had laid there watching them watch the television. The program was an update in the daily politics in the colonies, one topic in particular about the Admiralty fascinating them. Kara turned to the screen in time to watch Negala step up to a podium among flashing lights.

Standing up at the podium, Negala put on his glasses effecting a somber demeanor. He kept his eyes on his notes. "At nineteen hundred hours fleet standard time, the BattleStar Demeter was completing routine FTL Drive maintenance. We are unsure what caused the ship to jump, but her final destination was found only an hour ago. It is my sad duty to report the loss of the Demeter, and with her, all thirty-six hundred crew members." Silence reined in the press room and living room. "We would ask that you respect the families of those who were lost and give them the proper time to grieve. That is all, thank you."

Standing up, Felix couldn't breathe. His pulse was weak and his chest hurt. Shaking his head, he couldn't think. He had to get out there, he needed to breathe. Before he knew what was happening, he was on his knees in the center of the living room. "Can't be real. No. Not!"

Sitting up in alarm, Caroline reached out to catch him as he fell. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

"The Demeter was his ship." His voice was breathy, almost non existent. Shaking his head, Felix tried to catch himself but found himself in Caroline's arms. "No. This is not happening. It's not! Not!"

Hand flying to her face, Kara couldn't hold in the tears as they fell.

"No. It's not true." Rising to his feet, Felix shrugged of Caroline's arms. "I'm going to Athens, he will be there, I know he will be. She promised, she promised me." Staggering in to the kitchen, Felix used the walls to guide him towards the hall. At the door, he grabbed the keys off the hook. "Caroline, I'll be back, I'll... Back."

Caught up in her own grief, Caroline just shook her head.

Unable to think of anything else to do, Kara knelt down on the floor and took Caroline in her arms. Felix had to be right. There was no other option.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Getting on the base was relatively easy. Panic and grief had taken the will out of the guards and his actions were determined. Felix knew what he needed and where to find it. He had on his flight suit and was in the Raptor hangar before the guards were found. By the time the base had been put on alert, he already had the Raptor powered up and was plotting the jump.

The hangar doors had opened to let in a search team when he finished. Entering in the coordinates in the jump computer, Felix engaged the FTL drive. It wasn't the first time he had done a jump from that hangar. It was to much shock that his Raptor disappeared in front of the four person search team.

~~~~~~~~~~

Coming out of the jump, Felix flipped the switches to begin active Dradis scan. Watching the board from the co-pilot's chair in the back, he waited for a contact, any contact. There was absolutely nothing out there beyond spacial debris. Switching the parameters to stop filtering out the back ground radiation, he searched for a heat signature.

After five heart stopping minutes, he finally hit something. There were four of them adrift in a loose cluster. Climbing in to the front of the Raptor, he scanned the controls. Basic helm design was part of his training, but the Raptor wasn't a battlestar. Not giving a damn, Felix took a seat and strapped himself in. It was going to be hard.

He clutched at the controls, igniting the thrusters. The Raptor controls were much more tactile than the battlestar and too sensitive for his liking. He was going too fast for him, but there was no stopping. Keeping a close eye on the dradis console next to his controls, he watched as one of the warm spots suddenly went out. It didn't effect him, he knew it wasn't Lee.

Closer, the blips turned in to large blotches on the screen. When they were taking up most of the screen he turned on the Raptor's flood lights. Ahead of him less than a thousand kilometers away lay ten Vipers, only three still had their seals intact. Cutting the thrusters, he let his inertia take him in to the center of the group.

He could detect no noticeable power signature coming from any of them, but a light flashed in the cockpit of the one furthest away. Maneuvering the Raptor to the closest one with a heat source, he opened the hatch to space. The suction nearly pulled him out, but his restraints kept him in the chair.

Out of the corner of his eye, Felix saw the canopy of the Viper open and a body drift out. He rolled the Raptor to intercept the pilot as he drifted out of the Viper. Half expecting it, he still jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder. He emphatically gestured to the pilot seat next to his until the pilot took the hint and strapped himself in.

Felix turned control of the Raptor over to the pilot and unstrapped himself from the chair. Using the consoles to guide him, he floated in to the back and strapped himself in the co-pilot's chair. Before he was certain he was secure, the Raptor was rolling again, hard enough to throw him against his restraints. The hatch remained open, but another Viper came in to view through it.

Felix ignored the pilot as she climbed in beside him, choosing instead to continue scanning for heat signatures. The third pilot, the one farthest away, was using a flash light to cause spikes in the dradis sweep. Felix flipped on the comm and shut the hatch. "Take us to the third pilot, now."

"There's too much debris, I'm not sure..." The pilot didn't get to finish as he saw a gun pointed at him in the reflection of the glass. "Maneuvering there now."

The Raptor shuddered as pieces of Vipers and spacial debris bounced off the hull. When a particularly large rock bounced off, warning lights flashed and the console screamed about a hull breach. Felix killed the alarms with a vicious twist of the knobs. Eventually, they reached the third Viper, having to avoid two dead ones adrift next to it as they slowly spun.

Opening the hatch, Felix turned his chair to watch the Viper's canopy open. Elation and relief filled him as he caught the eye of the pilot. He opened his arms, drawing attention to himself. Felix watched with baited breath as the pilot released his straps and used his legs to launch himself out of the Viper. He caught the man's hands as he came rocketing in to the Raptor.

He had to force himself to push the man aside enough to close the hatch. When he saw the door closing down, he allowed himself to wrap his arms around Lee. Unbuckling the straps when he couldn't get a good enough grip, he wrapped arms and legs around Lee. Over the comm, he could hear Lee's chuckle.

"Lieutenant Endelman, get us out of here." Lee settled himself in the co-pilot's chair with Felix draped over him. He had to hold on to the chair with his legs as the Raptor impacted against an asteroid while maneuvering out of the debris field. Allowing his hands to drift and cup Felix's ass, he grinned at his husband. "It's okay, we're alive."

"Nothing else matters." Felix kept himself as close to Lee as possible. He could barely feel Lee's rapidly beating pulse through the flight suit, but it was enough. Closing his eyes, he knew it would be okay now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"And then, charging through the debris field as if he had Cerebrus himself at his heels, this madman in a stolen Raptor came like the sweet answer to every prayer. I have no idea who he was or where he came from, but I thank him, for my life and that of my family." Hand on her cheek, Lieutenant Assala wiped away the tears and bit her lip to keep silent. Surrounding her were dozens of people labeled on the screen as her family. Hands shaking, she took a shuddering breath. "I thought it was over, they hadn't even noticed us when they came through. If he hadn't... I'm happy, just so grateful. Thank you, please, just thank you!"

Shutting off the screen, Lee allowed himself a shiver of sympathetic fear. On the couch across from him was Kara passed out drunk. He had come in to find her and his mother sharing a bottle. There were three other empty ones in the trash. Caroline had held him and wept for over an hour, apologizing for everything she had said and done wrong in her life. After the hour, he had carried her to bed and let her sleep it off.

Walking back to his bedroom, he leaned on the doorway to watch Felix. His husband was staring out through he window above the headboard. "What are you looking at?"

"It was nice of your friends to drop me off before they returned to the base." He wasn't about to tell Lee what he had been really thinking.

"They figured they owed you one." Coming in to the room, he flexed his sore back muscles and laid down beside Felix. "Besides, your presence would have only caused more questions and problems. It's better to let them think it was a miracle." He felt his back ease when he stretched out. "Speaking of which, how did you know?"

"A little cylon told me." Felix snickered, but felt Lee tense beside him. Reaching out, he placed a hand upon his husband's chest. "I have friends who have access to the defense mainframe. Once I had the Demeter's last known location, it was easy to project the final course." He squeezed Lee's chest, letting his fingers bite in to the flesh. "Never doubt my commitment to you ever again."

"Never." Stroking Felix's arm, Lee relaxed in to the strained grip. If his husband wanted to keep a death grip on him, he was fine with that.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Walking through Agamemnon Park, Felix watched the birds land over the monuments. It was a pretty display of aerial talent he appreciated more now that he had been behind the controls of their metallic cousin. The way they never really touched, seemingly dancing on the wind as they fluttered about. The sheer beauty of their acrobatics made him smile. For a moment, he yearned to be among their numbers, free of the constraints of his flesh. It didn't last long.

Turning his attention to the benches ahead, he switched the bag over his shoulder from his side to the front. Checking the contents, he made special note that everything was there. When compared to his mental check list, he felt it was complete. He sealed the bag and continued on.

Coming around the bench that over looked the Riverwalk Market, he sat down. It wasn't a minute later before he was joined. Her fingers tangled in his hair as he leaned his head on her shoulder. She patted his head comfortingly. Felix took off the bag and pushed it in to her lap. "It was worth every bit."

"I am sure it was." She continued to stroke his hair with her one hand while she checked the contents of the back with the other. "Thank you, Gaeta, you have no idea how much this means to us."

"It was worth it." Raising his head, Felix pulled his hair back in to a single pony tail. He stood up and walked away, hands stuffed deep in his pockets. It was a cold day for early spring.

~~~~~~~~~~

Lee had been gone for two days, reassigned temporarily to Fleet Command on Pycon. Felix was under no illusions, he was there so they could keep an eye on him. No one had let slip about his involvement in the rescue as far as he knew, but they hoped Lee would. He gave it another week before Lee's mother stepped in and had his uncles get him reassigned again.

In the week since it happened, Felix had spent every moment keeping a close eye on Caroline. She hadn't given any overt signs, but he knew she had broken down with Lee. Despite her strong demeanor, he knew how badly it had effected her.

Kara had left the night before, Adama summoning her back for an update on his son. Before she had left, he had made her swear not to reveal his marriage to the senior Adama. Having that man look at him closely was the last thing he ever needed.

Now, it was only him in the apartment. Caroline was out for the day with her sister doing what he didn't know. He wasn't sure what her work was, just that she spent most of her days there. Felix wasn't sure when she had moved in, it just happened over a period of days. Coming over every day to snipe at him and eat whatever he was fixing had turned in to her moving some clothes and then she wasn't going away any more. The entire situation still made his head hurt.

He was walking to the kitchen from the living room when he heard the buzzer from the front door. Everyone who knew about his apartment, knew that the back entrance was the one they used. Frowning, he walked over to the display room's door and pulled the key out of the lock box next to it. After unlocking the door, he heard the person at the front door try the handle. "Hold on, I'm going."

Picking up the service piece off the display table, Felix cocked it and walked up to the front door. "State your name and your purpose."

The person released the handle. "Hello, Mr. Adama?"

"There is a gun leveled at you, I am warning you, don't test my patience." He grew confused when there sounded like a scuffle outside his door.

"Captain, that will be quite enough." Her authoritative voice brokered no argument. "Mr. Adama, please forgive the intrusive behavior of my guard. I am here on an unofficial mission from President Adar. My name is Laura Roslin and I am the secretary of education. I am a close friend of the president, he trusts me to handle this with the utmost discretion. If you will please open the door, I will be happy to explain further."

Hand shaking, Felix glanced back to his living room door. He could possibly make it to the kitchen before they caught on he wasn't there any more. If she was from the president, the building would be surrounded. They found out about him, he wasn't sure which of the other two people he had rescued told, but they found out.

"Mr. Adama, Daphne, please." Laura tried for pleading. If all else failed, a little old fashioned begging wasn't much of a big deal.

It was of no use, he would never escape. Putting the gun back on the display, Felix walked over to the front door. With much trepidation, he opened enough to see who was on the other side. She didn't even remotely look familiar. "What do you want?"

Laura ignored the looks her body guards were giving each other and Felix. Taking a step closer, she placed a hand on his arm. "May I come in and talk with you, this is important."

Felix stepped back, gesturing for her and the others to come in. "Don't touch any thing in this room, it belongs to my husband's father, Commander William Adama." He stressed the name to let them know it was serious.

If she was impressed, she didn't let it show on her face. At least not until she actually got a good look at the room. Her breath caught in her throat. "My gods, this place is a museum."

"Commander Adama calls it the 'Shrine of Belerophon' If you will continue on through the next door, we can talk." He made sure they went before he locked the front door and then followed them through. Upon entering the living room, he locked the door to the display room. "Now, Madam Secretary, what do you want that is so urgent?"

Still in awe of the artifacts in the next room, Laura smiled. "It's amazing. I had no idea some of that had survived the war."

"It's an obsession." Feeling uncomfortable, Felix eyed the two body guards. If they so much as looked at him funny, there were a dozen hidden weapons around the living room he had full access to.

"You always keep that locked?" At his nod, she glanced about the apartment. "We would have used the back entrance, but it was locked and heavily fortified. If that is the only one you use, it would certainly discourage visitors." Another glance to him, she smiled. "Then again, I think that is the idea."

"I won't ask you again, what do you want?" Sliding down to sit on the couch, he reached inside the vase beside it. The gun inside was an old fashioned repeater, but it would serve its purpose well.

"All right. We know you were the one responsible for the rescue of your husband. For some reason, you have done everything in your power short of murder to keep a low profile. Yet, when the time comes, you are throwing caution to the wind and putting yourself out there." This time, she allowed a puzzled expression to color her features. "The question is, who are you, Mr. Adama, and why are you trying to hide?"

"I am Daphne Adama and I have nothing to hide." Rising from the couch, he eased the gun under his shirt. He took a step towards her, expression light. "As for the security measures, I just moved here. If you really want to know, you should ask Caroline."

Seeing she wasn't getting any where, Laura glanced to her two guards. "I think you should leave us alone." She pointed towards the kitchen. "You know the way, you've seen the blue prints enough times."

The guards knew better than to object. After giving the apartment a once over, they left.

After they had left, Laura took a seat in the lone recliner, laying back to watch Felix. Her expression was that of resigned happiness. "You know, before we continue, I have a story I think should tell you. It's about a young man very much like yourself. Now, I never met him, only glimpsed him from a distance. The important thing is that I noticed him when a lot of people didn't. Whether this makes either one of us special, I'm not sure. The story is that he lived a life full of purpose and meaning. Everything he did was for the good of his ship, his crew, his family. Then one day, it was snatched from him.

"Here is where the story becomes unclear. For all intents and purposes, the day his dreams ended, he disappeared seemingly as if in to thin air. No one knows where he went, any reports on him might as well be false sightings because he is gone by the time anyone notices. A person with that kind of ability can be dangerous, or very useful." Leaning forward, she looked at him over her glasses. "The problem with my story is that we don't know which one the main character is. Until we do, we can't be sure how to proceed."

"You've over looked the obvious. Your main character's motives. Why does he do the things he does? That changes the variables. Now, it is no longer a question of is he useful or dangerous, but do you wish to provoke him or simply let him live in peace?" Turning away from her, Felix returned to the couch. She wasn't an immediate threat.

She continued to watch him carefully as he sat down and returned the gun to what she assumed was it's hiding spot. Laura was amused that the Tauron vase would be used for that purpose. When he had settled down, she pulled out the big guns. "Who do you work for?"

"Actually, I am currently unemployed." Now he was openly smirking. They were getting closer to the reason she was here. He had no doubt it was to judge how useful and dangerous he was, but there were other reasons for her visit.

"Fine, you want me to be honest, then I expect the same from you. I won't reveal which one told us who you were, just know they did it under duress." Taking off her glasses, she smiled prettily for him. If he wanted to be an ass, she could return it three fold. "You were sloppy. We have evidence of your meeting with a colleague of Doctor Baltar's. You walked in to the park with a bag, but she walked out with it. It took a few days to identify who she was, but when we found out, we got a surprise. From there, it was easy to identify where you got the location of the Demeter. What we don't know is your previous connection to Dr. Baltar and his companion. How do you know Gaius Baltar?"

"Fifteen months ago he gave me a ride during a rain storm and helped me get a job." With a wave of his hand to distract her, he released the vase and the gun. He relaxed back in to the couch to enjoy the rest of her interrogation.

"Well, that just conveniently solves everything, doesn't it?" Her tone was playful, but Laura was actually calculating what kind of man he was. There were things he wasn't telling her, but he hadn't out right lied to her.

"I guess it does." Standing, he waved his hand to signal she should too. "If there is nothing else I can help you with, Madam Secretary, I think you should leave."

Rising from the chair, Roslin knew this would be the turning point. The future of something great depended upon her next actions. One choice could involve her in whatever he was doing, the other could end him and whatever he might do. Both of them were terrifying because she had no idea what to expect. "I believe you know a great deal, Mr. Adama, and may be making a mistake, but I will leave you to whatever it is you are doing. However, there is one catch. You will keep me informed if something major or unexpected is about to happen. I don't like surprises."

"Be careful your legacy, Ms. Roslin." Escorting her to the door, he opened it and shook her hand. "I will keep your suggestions under advisement. Take care."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Adama." After he released her hand, she stepped in to the hall between her guards. Before she could do or say anything further the door behind her was shut. It hadn't gone as far as she had hoped, but better than expected. He hadn't openly threatened her, which meant he still felt safe. Whatever he was hiding, it either wasn't that big a threat, or she hadn't come close enough to revealing it that he was worried. The lingering feeling of danger was still there, though.

~~~~~~~~~~~

She stood with her hair carefully clipped and artfully arranged. Make up understated, clothes so straight they still held creases. Caroline looked every inch the cold bitch she felt. She didn't have to glance over to know her sister effected the same look in her business suit. Behind her in a supporting posture at parade rest, she had carefully placed her son-in-law.

They stood in Admiral Negala's office waiting for the old man to come. His secretary had said he would be in shortly, but they had been waiting fifteen minutes. Another two minutes and Caroline would tear the place apart in a rage. She held her clutch in such a tight grip the seams were coming apart. In her head she counted down the time waiting.

They had delayed her meeting with Negala for two weeks while her son remained at Fleet Head Quarters. Every attempt she made to contact him in person was met with half truths and blatant lies. After two weeks she had recovered her will and with it an entire life time's resentment at an organization that had taken and taken from her family and given nothing in return.

After a minute of waiting, a minute til her mental deadline, she decided not to wait any longer. Walking over to Negala's desk, she picked up the handset and hit the receptionist's call button. When the man answered, she looked at the door as if she could see through it. "All right, I am tired of this. Here is what we are going to do. You will get that fat son of a bitch in here right now, or I will hunt him down and personally tear him a new asshole. I have been far more patient that I have ever had the need to be. Now quit frakking stalling this instant or so help me, not even the gods will prevent me from skinning you alive. Do you hear me, you little bastard? I will rip your frakking head off and shit down your throat! I am not making an idle threat!"

She hadn't realized she was destroying the desk until she threw the handset at the door. Glancing down for something else to throw, she saw that everything else was either shattered or on the floor. The entire desk top had been scratched beyond repair from her actions. Looking at it only made her angrier. Walking around the desk, she picked up the chair and slammed it against the wall plaquereds until every one of them were on the floor. As the door opened, she threw it at the person who was entering, taking out the receptionist.

Admiral Negala stared in shock at the groaning figure at his feet. "What the hell is going on in here?"

"The end of your career if you ever frak with me again! Now, I am taking my son and we are leaving here." After she had come around the desk, Caroline stepped over the unconscious young man and got in Negala's face. "You even try to stop me and no one will be able to save your sorry ass! I know things about you, Ulris, I know every sordid detail. Just make a move, I dare you. I dare you!" Caroline was shaking by the time she finished her tirade. "Let's go!"

Felix made an effort of stepping over the lieutenant as he and Caroline's sister walked out of the office after her. He didn't miss the way the Admiral watched him, no doubt trying to figure out where they had met before. Let him try! Since Felix had never held a position of authority or a large set of breasts, he had never been worth remembering.

He was down the hall about to turn in to the central corridor for FHQ command when the admiral gasped. He had been recognized after all. Felix guessed the old man wasn't as dumb as he thought.

~~~~~~~~~~

Arriving at the pilots' barracks, Felix was hoping to get Lee and get out fast. Things had gone smoothly to that point until he entered the one Lee had been assigned to. It was there silence greeted him with wide stares. Taking the lead ahead of Caroline, Felix walked down the rows searching for Lee. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the open looks, but ignored it in favor of finding his husband.

At the end of the rows he came upon a set of lockers and two bunks. On the top bunk a woman sat with her legs swinging down, she ignored Felix in favor of watching the women behind him. Kneeling down at the bottom bunk, Felix placed his head in Lee's lap.

Sitting in his underwear, Lee stroked Felix's hair slowly. "What are you doing here?"

"Admiral Montrose owed me a favor." Taking her gloves out of her purse, Caroline put them on. "Get dressed, you've been reassigned to Athens base temporarily until a new posting can be found for you." She pulled out her sun glasses and put them on. "Daphne, I know it is difficult, but pull yourself together. Your aunt and I will be waiting at transport pad fifteen." Turning on her heel, she stormed out of the barracks, her sister not far behind.

For Lee, it was a surreal experience. Holding his husband's head in his lap was almost hypnotic in the tranquility. So much had happened in the last three weeks he was almost at a loss. Lee knew they were the center of attention. It wasn't everyday a civilian marched in like they owned the place.

Raising his head, Felix placed a kiss to the skin just above Lee's boxers. "I've missed you."

"Well, I know you've missed my dick, but what about the rest of me?" Laughing, Lee tugged Felix up in to his arms. "I've missed you so very much."

Feeling shaky, Felix squeezed Lee as tight as he could. Kissing his cheek, he brushed his lips over Lee's ear. "I love you."

Closing his eyes, Lee smiled. "I love you too."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Montrose turned out to be a handsome man in his mid fifties who looked much younger. Immediately, Lee could see why his mother had picked him to be friendly with. The fact he reminded Lee of a more emotional version of his father probably had nothing to do with it. He wasn't too tall, hair turning slightly gray at the edges, and he had perfect teeth. For a minute, Lee thought may be he was examining a horse instead of a man for his mother.

Not that his opinion mattered, his mother seemed too smitten to care much about anything else. How did she show her affections? Lee wouldn't exactly call her a cat in heat, at least not to her face.

Running a hand over the front of the Admiral's desk, Caroline effected a shy demeanor. Every time she glanced up, she would only do so through her bangs, and only for a few seconds. When he caught her eye, she would smile and quickly glance back down at his desk. For Caroline, Lee noted, this was frisky, yet reserved.

Clearing his throat, Lee fought off a blush at his mother's flirtations. He was right there in the room! "Admiral Montrose, sir. Please, let me express my gratitude for having me reassigned."

"Not a problem, my boy, not a problem at all. You have your beautiful mother to thank for that." Montrose smiled as Caroline bit back a giggle, but pinked for his comment. "I understand you've been put through the wash and they were about to hang you up to dry, permanently. We can't have that, not considering your service record."

"No, sir." Lee wasn't sure how much of that was for his benefit, but knew it was all for his mother. If he didn't get out of there soon, he might have to throw some cold water on them. They were acting worse than Zak and Kara. That thought brought him up short. His brother and his fiance, he hadn't thought of their relationship in any context since Zak had died. Now wasn't the time to start. "About my assignment?"

"Yes, about that." Taking his eyes off Caroline, Montrose sighed that he had to face Lee. "I'm working on it. In the mean while, take some time off, go home to your wife. If you haven't already started a family, get in some practice. When I have a posting for you, then I'll comm you. Dismissed." Letting go of his tough demeanor, Montrose stood up and sat on the corner of his desk to stare down in to Caroline's eyes. "Now, on to important matters. Will you have dinner with me tonight?"

Rising from her seat as the same time as Lee, Caroline picked up her clutch. Her smile was amused, but on the inside she was doing flips. "I'll have to check my schedule and see what I can come up with."

"Of course, of course. Take all the time you need. If you find yourself free, I'll be at the Persian Cafe on Atvium Boulevard." Taking her hand in his, he kissed her palm. "Until we meet again, Madam Caroline."

"Until then. Come Lee." Almost floating, Caroline sashied out of the office. He really was a stunning piece of ass.

Lee, just then recovering from his shock at the Admiral's words saluted him and followed his mother out. When he glanced her way, he wanted to yell at her for being so easy, just like Zak. It must have been genetic. Then again, he realized he really, really had no room to talk and kept his mouth shut.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"With the loss of the Demeter, all intelligence she had gathered on the cylon border went with her. There is quite simply no feasible reason to send such a large expeditionary force out that way again without breaking the Armistice." Captain Wallach stood at attention behind the podium after closing his report. This was the worst of his duties as mission's analyst, informing of the failures. "It is unlikely the civilians will give us a chance like this again soon."

"Very well, we are patient, we can wait. You are dismissed, Captain." Admiral Metahart banged her gavel, adjourning the board. Rising from her chair, she headed for the exit behind the board's table. She sensed the admirals following behind her as they entered the antechamber for their meetings. When the door closed, she took her arm chair by the fire place. "How much information did we get from the three survivors?"

"They had nothing. It wasn't their job to do the scanning." Admiral Kelmut took up his drink from earlier as he walked around the billiards table. It was covered in maps and old texts, but he felt it gave the room a more primitive feeling. "Their failure will not reflect upon the mission, but what happened to the Demeter was no accident."

"You think the cylons infiltrated the ship and deliberately jumped her in to the core of Lesbos Drift?" Cain watched the man with a calculating gaze. He had been only recently appointed to the board to replace Etrinni, but he already was making a name for himself.

"There is that possibility. It is a given the crew wasn't experienced with jumping a vessel larger than a Raptor, but not even they should have made such a mistake. Besides, the Demeter would not have left out a patrol that close to the border. Her orders were to ensure all her birds were on the deck before FTL jump, no matter the circumstances." Finishing off his drink, Kelmut shared a look with Cain that made her look away. He knew what she was thinking about him.

Metahart raised a hand to silence them. Her head ached from the whole situation. She hated to think about the loss of life, resources, and intelligence if that had been a mistake. But, if it was an attack, then the cylons were mounting up for something. "We do not know enough about the situation to make a discernable effort one way or the other. The decision at this point is to begin actions in preparations for an attack. I want us to be ready for them if they do come."

"Agreed." Cain nodded. "As to that, Dr. Baltar's new programming looks promising. The early estimates claim he will be ready in nine months, we can begin uploading it to the rest of the fleet after that."

"There still remains the question, who rescued the survivors? None of them are willing to speak." Admiral Kandariak left the question hanging in the air. After a minute, he smiled. "I guess we still have to earn the title of Fleet Intelligence."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Your mother has gone out again." Slipping off his shirt, Felix let it fall to the floor. It was rare he and Lee had some alone time any more. Ever since they had returned from Pycon, either Lee had been at the base or Caroline was latched on to him. "I think she has taken a real shine to this Admiral Montrose. I think I might like him myself if he can keep her off my back."

"Well, I wouldn't be so quick to judge if I were you." Grabbing Felix by the waist, Lee tugged him down on top of him. "He seems to think you are a woman. Also, that I should do my solemn duty and knock you up."

"Is there anyone over the age of forty who hasn't lost their mind?" Chuckling as Lee shrugged, Felix leaned forward to kiss Lee's cheek. "I love how your skin feels under my lips. Even with those whiskers you are so keen on keeping these days. Rumpled may be sexy in the morning, Lee, but if you wear it all the time, it loses it's appeal."

"Come on, Felix, give it a try, you'll find having a beard will grow on you." It was Lee's turn to laugh as Felix nipped at his lips. "I've missed this."

"As well you should. If I find out you've been sleeping with other people, I'm afraid I will have to cut your balls off." He sighed. There was just something so beautiful to him about Lee. Each moment together was almost unreal. "I'm glad we got married."

Sobering up, Lee nodded. "For a while, I had my doubts. Now, I think we might have a chance." He paused a second. "But only if we have lots of sex. If we are going to have a relationship, it has to be built upon common ground. Good sex is always a great foundation."

"Oh yes, Captain Apollo, good sex as the basis of our relationship is solid!" Snickering, he let himself relax on top of Lee and let nature take its course.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Closing the apartment door behind her, Laura Roslin began to unbutton her shirt with relief. The suit felt more and more constricting as time went by. She was a teacher, how the hell had she ever let Adar talk her in to taking a more permanent job in politics? Laura was half way to her bathroom door when table lamp across the room turned on. "Who... Mr. Adama, what are you doing here? How did you get passed security?"

Twirling a curl of his hair in thought, Felix grinned lazily at her. "Your security system lacks imagination." Shrugging, he sat up in the wingback chair.

"What do you want?" More curious than angry, she took a few hesitant steps towards him.

"That will be quite far enough." When she stopped, he stretched. "I've been waiting for you to come home for a while. You and that boy of yours do like to keep long hours."

"Leave David out of this, he's only an intern." The simmering danger she had sensed before began to blare warnings in her body and she felt like running for the door. "I won't ask you again, what do you want?"

"You asked the question, I have finally decided to answer. Please, have a seat." He gestured at the chair across from his. Felix waited until she took it before he continued. "Two years ago, my name was Lieutenant Felix Gaeta on all official documents. Then, because of my previous...encounters with the Adamas, I was denied a posting upon graduation. For reasons that should be obvious, I made a deal with Admiral Etrinni to work for Fleet Intelligence for six months. After that time, I would be considered and granted a posting to a battlestar as a Junior Tactical Officer."

"Admiral Etrinni is dead, he died this morning." At his nod, she narrowed her eyes. "Did you have anything to do with that?"

"Sadly, no. He lied to me and I was forced to resign all together." Cracking his knuckles, Felix shifted in the chair. The memory still made his gut sour. "What I came here to tell you is a few details not even your president knows. But first, tell me what you know of Dr. Shenkar."

Laura had to consider the name for several minutes. At first it didn't ring any bells for her. Then she began to recall some information. It wasn't much, but she hoped it was relevant. "He was a geneticist who was disgraced by the Ministry of Science. His work was banned after his death during the cylon war."

"Correct, but not complete." She knew less than he had hoped. It explained why she hadn't caught on to what he was doing. "Dr. Shenkar believed the creation of cylons was a mistake. He believed that nothing artificial should be given intelligence. Only human beings had a soul, therefore we should concentrate on making more of us. His fields of expertise reflected this; genetic modification, cellular replication, and human reproduction. In short, he wanted to make a new race, a perfect race."

Rising from his chair, Felix flicked the fringe of the lamp shade. "His theory was that if we could modify the genetics of our own species, we could weed out the impurities, create a perfect human being. Of course, once he had succeeded, he learned there was a problem with this new being, it developed lots of defects from the process. To fix this, he focused on the replication of the cells, how they divided and how to make sure these new cells carried the selected DNA without mutating. Of course, these hybrid cells made the new person genetically sterile. Which leaves his final field of study."

"Human reproduction." The very thought of Shenkar's work made her skin shiver. If the cylons were supposed to be the perfect tools and they nearly wiped out humans, what would a perfect race do? "What does this have to do with you? Were you involved with the projects?"

"Yes, and no, but I am getting to that." He favored her with a frown. "One of the keys to Dr. Shenkar's work was that he believed, as a whole, these new beings would not have the one flaw the cylons suffered from. An inferiority complex." Snorting, Felix turned away from her. "Anyone who has encountered the cylons can tell you, they definitely did not feel inferior."

"All right, I understand why Dr. Shenkar became an outcast. Let's get back to why you are here." She was starting to feel more confidant as she grew to understand more about the man in front of her. The fact he was confessing this to her meant he had an agenda. If she could figure that out, she would have him. "I did a little more digging on you since our last encounter. You studied Dr. Shenkar's work before you went to the academy. From what I gather, your job as an FI Operative depended upon that knowledge. Did you have something to do with..."

"What happened to them was unfortunate, but necessary. They violated the statutes of the Ministry of Science's code of ethics." Back ramrod straight, he turned on her. He made sure with his expression that this part was not up for discussion. "At the end of the six months, I reported my findings and my actions for the FI Board of Admiralty. It was there I learned my contract with Etrinni was void. They gave me six weeks leave before I was to complete my next assignment or resign. I chose to resign."

"Why now? Why did you wait to tell... Etrinni." It became clear to her. He hadn't told her anything beyond general facts. "Your contract with Etrinni ended with his death. Everything you did for him is no longer protected."

"Fleet Intelligence believes other wise, and for now, it will remain so." Walking to the chair he had been sitting in, Felix sat on the arm. "Do what you wish with this knowledge, it is nothing you wouldn't have uncovered eventually." He started to reach for the light switch on the lamp, but stopped with his fingers on the knob. "There is one other thing. I have a message for your president. They're coming. Good night, Madam Secretary." With a flick of the knob the light was out and they were plunged in to darkness.

Diving for the table beside her, Laura pulled out a gun from the stand while simultaneously turning on the lamp on it. By the time she turned it on and took aim around her, Felix was already gone. Letting a shiver over take her, she glanced around one more time just to be safe. Something about him made her nerves twitchy.

Sitting back in her chair to let her heart settle down, Laura rubbed at her forehead. He was certainly good for a cardio work out. It would take some time to confirm what he said and draw her conclusions about his involvement, but there was one mystery solved. Felix was doing his duty, at least as he saw it. He was giving her an opportunity to prove herself worthy of his loyalty. There was just one problem with that.

She wasn't sure she wanted it.

 

 

THE END............................

 

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