Lee Adama did his best to concentrate on the drink in front of him and not on the pretty blonde down at the other end of the bar. He was supposed to be getting some r & r on the Rising Star. It was the only place to grab a few moments away from the military life, and that's just what he needed right now. Even if it meant you had to be shoulder to shoulder with a thousand other people, downtime was still a good thing.

What wasn't a good thing was the fact that the blonde was openly staring at him.

Lee wasn't an idiot. He knew that he was an attractive man. Since he was of legal age and even a little before then, he had been going into bars and attracting all kinds of interesting attention. Those were back in the days where he was allowed to give attention back. Now, among other things, he was the last Commander of the only Air Group in the Twelve Colonies. CAGs weren't allowed to have fun like that.

Lee shut his eyes and took a deep breath. Right now, it was the "other things" that were driving him to seek out the bottom of a bottle of ambrosia. His father, the Commander, had just informed him that the number of pilots they had was unacceptable. It seems William Adama had gotten it in his crazy head on top of being the CAG and the best pilot Galactica had, not to mention President Roslin's personal military advisor, Lee was now going to be a certified baby-sitter for the rejects the Fleet never wanted.

Opening his eyes, Lee let out a sigh and motioned to the bartender for another. The burly looking man shook his head and held out a beer for Lee to take. When Lee raised his eyebrows in question, the bartender cocked his head down to the end of the bar the blonde was sitting at. Everything would have been all right if Lee could only have given her a small salute of the bottle as a thank you. Then it would have been over.

Trouble was, the blonde wasn't there anymore. It must have taken the bartender awhile to snap Lee out of his thoughts.

"Looking for someone in particular, flyboy?"

Lee felt himself cringe. He knew her voice would be the husky kind that called for a man's attention. HE would be damned if he was going to let her see him shiver, though. "Some nice woman bought me a drink, and I wanted to thank her," Lee whispered back.

The woman gave him a small shrug and smiled. "I wouldn't thank her too quickly. She might be trying to liquor you up so she can have her way with you later."

Lee chuckled while motioned for the blonde to take a seat. "She wouldn't do that."

"Too bad. Because I sure as frak would." She motioned for the bartender to bring over another round of ambrosia and then turned to him. "Kara Thrace."

Lee narrowed his eyes. He had heard that name before.

"And you are?"

"Lee."

"Got a last name, tiger?"

"Lee Adama," Lee said, still smiling at her even though he knew he shouldn't.

"That name sounds familiar."

"You've probably heard of one of my family members. They're all over this Fleet."

Kara set her drink down with a little too much force. "So, let me lay this out for you. I've been giving you my 'come frak me' eyes for over an hour now. You've noticed, and yet you didn't come over. Are you rejecting me or playing hard to get?"

"I can't get tangled up in something like that," Lee said, matching her bluntness.

"You don't have an hour to spare?"

Lee shook his head, recognizing what he was about to say would not be good while still knowing he was going to say it anyways. "I have a shuttle to catch in three hours, and it would take me at least that long." Kara's eyes went wide, and he saw her struggling to swallow. "Not used to someone being as direct as you?"

"Not used to it being a turn-on," Kara answered, quirking an eyebrow. She looked him over with a steady gaze, her eyes lingering on the dog tags hanging around his neck. "Where the heck did a guy like you come from, flyboy?"

"Galactica. Before that, it was Atlantia. Before Atlantia was Picon for training. Lastly, Caprica."

Kara gave him a small toast before slamming down her glass again. "I can relate." She held up her fingers. "Caprica. Leonis. Geminon. Aerelon. Leonis. Picon. Some shithole of a military outpost. Tauron. Picon. Caprica. I was living on Caprica for about six years before the attacks."

"It must have made you stir crazy to be in one place," Lee observed.

"It was actually a nice change of pace." Kara smiled at him. "Look at us, flyboy. We're actually in a bar having a honest to goodness conversation about something not involving where my room is and how quickly you can get the job done."

"I told you I don't have time for that," Lee teased. "And would you stop calling me flyboy?"

"Is it a derogatory term?"

"Most of the time, yes."

"And this time?"

"This time, it's a turn-on," Lee said, echoing the words she had used only minutes earlier. Someone yelled Kara's name, and Lee took the momentary distraction to look her over. He had been right to think what looked pretty from far away looked downright dangerous close up. From the soft, smooth nape of her neck down to the sinfully low-cut top, she was screaming pure sex. And gods didn't he want to be the one to give it to her.

Lee had been painfully aware of the complete lack of a sex life he had now that he was one of the leaders of the Fleet. The CAG couldn't have a relationship with the pilots under his command, and he didn't have the time to even speak with anyone who wasn't a pilot, let alone think about fraking them.

"If you're really looking for a quick frak, you shouldn't bother with charming me," Lee blurted out as Kara caught him staring.

"Who said I was looking for a quick frak?"

"You did actually."

Kara shook her head. "You assumed, flyboy."

"You said you were trying to get me drunk so you could have your way with me," Lee reminded.

"And I meant it," Kara smirked. "Only I'm not looking for some faceless guy to get me off." She let that sink in before leaning over to whisper, "It's you specifically that I'm looking to frak, Lee."

Lee hated the way his name sounded so right coming off her lips. He also hated the way his body couldn't help but respond to her. He really wished that he was irresponsible enough to give this woman what she wanted. He would drag her by her hair to the nearest hotel room and pound into her like there was no tomorrow if only he didn't have to start training those damn nuggets in the morning.

"Seriously, Kara, I'm not that fun to be around tonight. My brother says I tend to depress people if they spend more than a few minutes with me."

"Five and counting," Kara said, looking at the clock over the bar, "and I am far from being sad that I'm sitting beside you. Hell, if nothing else, the skuzzy old men have stopped hitting on me now that I'm talking with you. It must be all those intimidating muscles you have under that uniform."

Lee could feel himself blush as Kara shamelessly gave his body a once over. They needed a change of topic before the energy between them got even warmer. "So, Kara Thrace, what's a girl like you doing on a ship like this?"

"Ending a chapter in my life and beginning a new one," she said cryptically. "How about you?"

"Drowning the sorrows of taking on yet another responsibility that will probably end up getting people killed."

"Sounds like fun."

"Sounds like we need another round." Lee motioned for the bartender to come over.

"So obviously you're a pilot."

"I fly Vipers on Galactica."

"I heard boys with Vipers are the best of the best. Lots of… stamina."

"Everyone has a skill," Lee whispered.

Later, he would tell himself that he was simply reaching out to order them another round. He didn't mean to stumble off his chair and have to use the bar and Kara's body for support. He didn't mean to moan slightly at the feel of her skin against his. He certainly didn't mean to pull in her close in order to kiss her with a passion he didn't know he still possessed.

It really should have been short and sweet, just a light touch. He only wanted to know what it was like. The second he tasted her lips, though, there was no chance of letting go.

Kara was tense at first, surprised that Lee had made the first move, but soon her mouth fell open with a soft sigh. Without warning, her tongue glided out to taste him, and he could feel a sudden pulsing need to forget that he was the CAG, forget that he was the Commander's son, and just show this woman how exactly he got his call sign. A chuckle escaped his lips as he realized she didn't even know they called him Apollo.

Lee's hands worked up her arms to cup her cheeks. It was a move that was supposed to be help slow things done. Instead it came out fierce and dominating. His strength was the only thing holding her still while he moved over her mouth.

She clung to him desperately as he tilted her head to gain better access. His hands fell from her cheeks as he rotated their bodies up against the bar. He groaned against his lips as he settled himself in between her legs. Only a few layers of clothing separated him from finally finding a release with the most fraking beautiful woman he had seen in years.

"Get off the bar." The bartender's growl made Lee snap back into reality. He practically had Kara on top of the bar, and… oh frak. His hand was definitely up her shirt. That alcohol must have went straight to his brain.

"Frak me," Kara said, letting out a small giggle. Her hand came up to feel her already swollen lips. "I guess you weren't kidding when you said it would take you hours to do that properly."

"I wish I had time for it," Lee said. His eyes glanced down at the folder he had left on the bar seconds earlier. The papers were now spread out and there were a few places that had gotten soaked with alcohol. Good thing these weren't the official copies.

"You brought your work to the bar?" Kara exclaimed. "How cute!"

She made a move to grab the papers, but Lee's hand stopped her. "Those are confidential documents." He thought she'd put up a fight. She seemed like the type of girl who would fight everything you said or did. Much to his surprise, she gave him a nod of understanding and sat back in the chair.

"So how much time do you have left, Lee?" She asked even though she knew the answer was none at all.

Lee was about to speak when someone yelled out Kara's name again. This time, Lee could see the large group of people motioning at her. "That's my cue to pack it up," Kara groaned. "I have to sober up by morning."

"I thought you were on the prowl tonight."

Kara gave him a sly smile. "I was. I caught myself a flyboy." She leaned in and gave him one long, lingering kiss that was as slow as the first one was fast. "Next time you have a full night off, look me up. Most people in this Fleet know my name. It won't be that hard to find me."

Lee watched her walk over to her friends, and for the first time, he noticed the group of people she was with. His heart froze as he suddenly remembered where he had heard her name before. Looking down at his roster of nuggets, it was right there between Louanne Katraine and Conner McCrathy.

Kara Thrace, the most promising nugget his father had lined up for him. She even had a call sign already. Starbuck, whatever the frak that meant.

Lee tried to shake off the alcohol as he looked back at the door in time to see Kara give him a wink before stepping out in the corridor. He was in so much fraking trouble.