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Kara Thrace was falling, and she was falling fast. She couldn't see anything and she closed her eyes anyway, wondering if she'd even make it. Or if she'd reach the ground and die.
All too quickly she hit the ground, landing on her back, hard. She let out a few deep breaths and groaned in pain. She took a moment to lay there before trying to sit up, wincing.
She looked down at her hands, watching them tremble as she let out a shaky breath of relief that sent pain shooting through her. She was still alive. The fall hadn't killed her. But it sure as hell felt like it should have. Everything hurt and she knew she probably had some broken ribs.
Once she was sitting upright she looked around, taking in her surroundings. She was thankful she had landed on a grassy area, or she might not have survived the fall. The only mentionable thing she could see was a small cabin, with some candles lit in the windows.
She studied it for a long moment, noticing how it definitely looked like someone had built it, and possibly alone. It wasn't super clean or polished but it was functional, and just big enough for one person.
After a few moments the front door opened and someone stepped out onto the porch, causing her to let out a breath.
It was him. Lee Adama. She wondered what had become of him. She wondered if he had exploded Earth like he told her he wanted to.
She was thankful she was partially hidden out of his view, as she did not feel like dealing with that right now. She didn't want him seeing her like this, anyway.
But she knew that sooner or later she’d have to approach the door and knock. To get help since she was in rough shape.
What would she even tell him? She had been gone for over a year and now she was just suddenly back, and severely hurt.
She wasn't here because the Gods had let her, it was because she had forced her way to leave, and she had certainly paid the price for it.
Her fall to Earth had been mere seconds and she had hit the ground with so much force she was surprised it hadn't killed her. But she reminded herself that she wasn't human anymore, so things like that didn't affect her as much as they used to. But damn, it still hurt like a bitch.
She watched Lee for a little bit as he sat on the end of his porch, letting his legs hang over the edge. She had missed him so unbelievably much and it took everything in her to not rush over to him right then and there.
But she knew she couldn't do that quite yet. She needed to give it a little more time, and she needed to figure out what she would tell him. So, she sank her head back down out of his view and laid, plotting and planning in her head, thinking of the millions of possible outcomes.
As much as she liked to think he would respond positively, she couldn't know for sure and that scared her a bit. What if he had forgotten her? What if he had moved on and he had a girlfriend, or even a wife? She tried to shove all her worries aside. They didn't matter, she just needed to figure out what words would come out of her mouth whenever she’d inevitably knock on his door. When she’d no longer be able to stand the pain.
***
But when she was standing in front of his door, a hand leaning against the doorframe for support and the other clutching her stomach as he opened it, all her planned thoughts and words disappeared.
“Kara?!” He immediately exclaimed and she let out a sigh of relief at the fact that he at least knew who she was. That he hadn’t forgotten her. A part of her had been worried that he had just completely forgotten about her, despite how he had assured she wouldn't be forgotten.
She managed a small pained smile and that’s when she started to feel faint. It had taken her an embarrassingly long time to make it from where she landed to here, and it had only made all the pain ten times worse.
“Hey Lee… frak,” she muttered, wincing as pain shot through her body and she felt her knees starting to become weak. She hated whenever he saw her like this, but right now she didn’t have any other choice. He was the closest person and the only one who could help her. Besides, he was the whole reason why she had returned, anyway.
That’s when he realized she was injured and he reached his hands out towards her to try and help her in. But before she could take even one step forward, she had passed out, falling forward, Lee catching her just before she hit the ground.
***
When Kara woke, it was to an unfamiliar voice. “Lee, who the hell is this?”
The blonde immediately made sure to keep her eyes shut, wanting to hear the conversation unfold. So maybe she could figure out who it was that was talking.
“Kara.” Came a simple response and she could tell by the tone of his voice that he was trying to focus. That he didn’t want to be having this conversation right now, not when he was trying to help her. She suddenly became conscious of the feeling of his hands on her, resting on her arms.
“Kara? As in Kara Thrace?” The voice sounded angrier.
“Yes.” Another quick response. His hands moved off of her to grab something.
The person raised their voice. “You told me she was gone. Dead!” Kara flinched and she hoped neither of them noticed.
They didn’t. Lee yelled back. “She was!”
“So how is she here now and why is she in our house!?”
Our. Our house. That didn't bode well, Kara thought to herself. She tried not to fear the worst. That Lee had moved on.
“Look at her, Ashley! She’s injured!” He was stressed now, she could tell by the tone in his voice.
“Well, take her somewhere else! I don’t want your old girlfriend here!” Oh. So that’s who it was. Lee had found someone else, someone new. She couldn’t blame him, she really couldn’t. He had thought she was gone for good, and he had needed to move on with his life. But it stung and she turned her head slightly to make sure it wasn’t visible as she bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut even tighter than they already were, using everything she had in herself to not cry.
“And where do you want me to take her, huh? The nearest doctor is miles away!” Lee was angry now and she felt him move away from her, likely to stand up and approach Ashley.
“I don't care! I just want her out!” Gods, what did this girl know about her and Lee that made her want to kick Kara out like this? Or maybe she was just insecure and worried. Jealous. In shock. It wasn't everyday your boyfriend came home with his past lover who had been dead.
“No! I'm going to at least help her first and you're going to have to deal with it!”
Kara flinched again at the sound of a slap.
***
She woke with a gasp, trying to remember where she was before Lee's concerned face hovering above her came into focus.
An expression that she had only gotten a handful of times but was all too familiar. It was like the face he had during their talk before she went into her Viper before the maelstrom accident.
“Are you okay? You passed out,” he immediately spoke, bringing a hand up to feel her head, and she let him.
“I'll be okay,” she quietly managed to get out. Just the truth.
He nodded, pulled his hand back. Studied her for a long moment. “What are you doing here?” He then asked her, and it was clear he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that she was here. Physically here. On Earth. In his house.
“I got tired. It was so frakking boring and I…” She hesitated. Thought for a long moment. Should she tell him how it was also because of her feelings?
She decided she was tired of holding them back, of not admitting the truth. She hadn't done enough of that when she had been alive. And she knew Lee felt the same so what reason would there be to lie?
“Godsdamnit, because I missed you,” she finished, giving him an almost embarrassed look and it made him smile slightly.
She then felt panic rush through her at wondering if that girl, Ashely, was going to walk in and catch them. Yell at them. Yell at her, tell her to get out, to leave Lee alone.
But she wasn't sure if that had been real, a conversation she overheard in the middle of the night when she had been half coherent, or if it had just been her imagination, her dreams.
She lifted her head up to try and look around but Lee immediately pushed her back down when he noticed her wince, her face scrunching up in an expression of pain. “Hey, take it easy,” he coaxed her, and usually she’d punch someone for using that sort of tone with her, but right now it somehow only comforted her. Maybe she was more broken down than she thought. Physically, and mentally.
“Ashley?” Was all she was able to muster out, already feeling exhausted despite having only just woken up. She wondered if he had fed her some pain medicine, or morpha. Gods knew she could take some of that right now.
He furrowed his eyebrows at her. “Who's Ashley?”
And just like when he had recognized her she let out a sigh of relief. While she knew he needed to move on because he couldn't remain stuck on her for years, she was glad that he hadn't. That she still had his heart, because he sure as hell still had hers.
She shook her head and let out a scornful laugh that burned. Gods, she felt stupid. “Nothing. Just a dream,” she mumbled dismissively, hoping he wouldn't question her further on it.
And he didn't. Instead, he held up a glass of water to her and some pills before putting them into her hands and helping her sit upright, slowly and carefully against the bed frame.
“Take those,” he gestured with a nod of his head, “it'll help the pain.”
She nodded, doing as she was told and finishing the entire glass of water, having been more thirsty than she thought. She handed the glass back to him and he set it down on the small table next to the bed.
“What the hell did you do? You look like you fell off a building,” he asked, unable to help the small chuckle that escaped his lips and despite how it was almost an insult, Kara found herself laughing slightly too.
“Well, I kind of did,” she told him back, which made him raise an eyebrow at her.
So, she explained. “I forced my way out of Heaven. Which means I basically fell from the sky to the ground. Wouldn't recommend it.” She cracked a smile.
And Lee smiled back. She was still the same old Kara. Starbuck. Even while in tremendous pain, her humor wasn't lost.
His face turned more serious after a moment, almost contemplative, before it became teasing. “And you did it for me.” It wasn't a question. It was a statement.
She suddenly felt small as she shrugged, avoiding his gaze. “You're not that special.”
“Kara-”
“No. Just… just take care of me, you frakking asshole.” She was trying to sound serious but her voice betrayed her, clearly showing how she was trying to hold back a laugh.
“That's a first,” he automatically replied in amusement.
She furrowed her eyebrows. “I've called you plenty of-”
He shook his head. “No. Telling me to take care of you. In the past you almost always refused help. Especially from me.” He gave her a pointed expression and she knew he was right. So maybe she wasn't exactly the same Kara. But she was still Kara and that was all that mattered to him.
“Well, considering I can barely move, I don't have much of a choice,” she spat in return, getting defensive.
He immediately grinned. “There's the Kara I know. Welcome back.”
“Oh, frak off,” she made a lazy attempt to smack him in the shoulder with one of her hands but he easily dodged it.
“I see your punches still suck.” He couldn't help but to tease her.
She narrowed her eyes. “That was me putting barely any effort in. Once I'm better I'll prove you wrong.”
He scoffed, giving her an amused expression. “I look forward to it.”
As his expression slowly returned back to normal she noticed him glance at her lips for a brief moment and she immediately commented on it. “Pervert.”
His eyes immediately fell back onto her own, holding her gaze with an intensity that sent a pool of heat rushing into the pit of her stomach. “You're no better.”
“How?” She immediately challenged, keeping up her facade. Not wanting to let him see just how weak and pathetic he could make her. Had already made her. How he could turn the rebellious cocky Starbuck into something like a blushing nervous teenager.
You'd think after a year apart he wouldn't still have the same effect. His touches, his gazes. But damn, they did and she wanted to hate it so much, but she couldn't find any reason to.
“You remember that time when I almost flashed that camera crew?” He started.
She smiled fondly at the memory and her smile quickly turned into a smirk. “Yeah, I remember.”
“I know you looked at my ass.” He finished with a look and it made her clutch her stomach in pain as she burst out laughing.
“O-oh, you're funny. That's funny, r-really Lee, you should be a c-comedian,” she teased in between sharp intakes of breath.
He placed a hand on one of her shoulders to help steady her a bit as he narrowed his eyes at her, clearly confused.
“In your dreams,” she added, giving him a look in return once her laughing died down and her breathing got back to normal.
He raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying I'm wrong?”
She pretended to contemplate for a moment before she shrugged innocently, playfully. “Wouldn't be the first time, Apollo.”
“Shut up, Kara.” He replied just as playfully, rolling his eyes at her.
Her response shouldn't have, but it surprised him. “Make me.”
“Oh, now who's the pervert?” He immediately quipped back.
She gave him a fake appalled look, bringing a hand up to her heart mockingly. “Not me. I was just thinking you could smack one of my bruises or some-”
But he didn't let her finish her sentence as he kissed her, forcefully. Passionately.
And despite the pain that flowed through her at the harshness of it, she kissed him back. Maybe the pain wasn't so bad, if she could get this. Maybe it made all the pain worth it.
She pulled away first to catch her breath as he looked at her fondly, almost like he was trying to read her thoughts. After a moment she let out a small laugh, commenting, “I guess we're both perverts.”
He scoffed and rolled his eyes, though the fondness stayed in his gaze. “Nope. Only you.”
“You sure about that?” She asked in a tone that made him think she was up to something but he answered, saying yes anyway.
So, she decided to try and test that, starting to take her shirt off as best as she could and his eyes immediately fell down to the curves of her breasts.
“See? Told ya.” Her smug voice startled him, him tearing his gaze away to meet her hazel eyes.
“Two can play that game.” He stripped his own shirt off as her eyes looked over his chest and arms. She had to admit, he was more muscular than she had ever seen him. She figured it was probably from building the house, she knew that had involved a lot of lifting and exercise.
“See? You are too,” he commented just as smugly as she ogled at his chest for a few moments before she met his piercing blue eyes.
“I'm just vulnerable,” she mocked with a shrug before she gestured to herself.
He scoffed. “As if that has anything to do with it.”
“It does.” She insisted with a look that was so Starbuck and it made Lee briefly think about how far they've come.
“So if I got hurt would that give me an excuse?” He asked her curiously as he crossed his arms.
“No.” She deadpanned in return, keeping her gaze steady on his.
He let out a small laugh as he shook his head, muttering under his breath, “hypocrite.”
She smirked, humming in satisfaction. “Typical me, right?”
He gave her a genuine smile and he felt the happiest he had in ages. He finally felt alive, for once. And he had something to live for.
It felt good. They were being Lee and Kara again, Starbuck and Apollo. It felt like nothing had changed even though absolutely everything had.
But that didn't matter. What mattered was that they were together again. Finally had the chance to be happy together. And neither of them planned to let that go to waste.
He sure as hell was going to make sure he never lost her again. He had dealt with that pain a few too many times.
And Kara decided that some broken ribs were a rather small price to pay to get this back. To have him again. Her Apollo, since the beginning and till the end of time.