"There it is." Lee said happily, "Enough tyllium to last the fleet a few months."

"Well, make a record that we found it, going into investigate." Kara replied, trying to be professional with Lee wasn't easy, it wasn't like small talk was in their collective vocabulary. And her obvious advances just caused him to talk about Dee.

They brought the raptor closer to the asteroids, only then noticing the cylons swarming toward them. Firing their weapons. Kara steered the raptor toward them, then abruptly veered off, going as fast as she could, weapons were firing, jolts to the raptor and Lee rummaging around in the back of it to patch up any holes warned her that she was getting hit, she tried to jump, it was too late.

"Frak." Kara cursed as another jolt to the raptor warned her that they had been hit again, something else broke, sparks flying out of the panels nearby.

"We're hit again!" Lee yelled back at her, "Starbuck can't you get us out of here?"

"FTL's damaged," Kara replied trying to keep her concentration on the helm, "Navigation and engines are down and we're dead in space. Drifting." Kara got out of her seat and began to inspect the damage around the cockpit.

"Raiders are retreating, they chased us off well enough, so what can we do?"

The voice that responded was calmer that he expected, almost comforting, "All we have is life support systems backups, we have six hours of oxygen left." Kara's eyes were suddenly wide, no longer narrowed or seductive, fearful and full of remorse.

"We aren't due back from the tyllium scouting mission for eight." He replied angrily.

"We'll be dead before they realize we're missing." Kara responded in a bitter tone. Strange enough, acceptance of her fate had found it's way into her mind.

"So that's it? You're just going to give up?"

Kara felt the panel cautiously; it was hot, "What do you expect me to do Lee? The wires for navigation are on fire. I'm not a mechanic, and we can't set down anywhere."

"I don't know, maybe have gotten us out of that asteroid field before we we're attacked? Escaped from the cylons."

"I forgot I was in a raptor." Kara answered slowly, " I thought I could take them, by the time I realized…"

"You forgot you were in a raptor!" Lee yelled at her, "What the frak is wrong with you Kara?"

"It was an ambush! It's not my fault! Maybe if you had been paying more attention to DRADIS!" Kara shouted back.

"Me? You're the one flying this thing! And thanks to you we're both going to die in this thing fighting with each other."

"I never thought I'd die this way, I was supposed to get shot down in a viper and that would be it! Now I have six hours to try to deal with everything!"

"No thanks Kara, I'm not going to spend my last six hours helping you work out your problems! I don't want to die with you!" Lee screamed at her. Lee breathed heavy even as there was no response from Kara. He hadn't meant it, not really. He didn't want to die at all. He didn't believe in the afterlife or gods, this was it, and had they ever frakked it up.

Kara knelt on the floor a few steps away from him, head bowed. Lee turned away from her for a few minutes, guilt rising in his chest like a flood. But she should have gotten them out; they shouldn't have to die. He briefly examined for damage, Kara was right, there was no way out of this one. He looked over to see her again, he couldn't die like this, angry with Kara.

Lee didn't have to see her face in the darkened raptor to know she was crying, hard, "Kara, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." This was a show of vulnerability, and he wasn't going to miss this chance to be close with her, not now. Lee pulled her into a tight hug. Kara responded ardently; kissing him and pressing her body against his, as expected, Lee permitted himself to return her kisses for a few minutes. But he knew he had to push her away, he cursed Kara silently in his mind, and also himself for marrying Dee. I wouldn't do any good now anyways, they were both going to die, and nothing could change that.

"Kara we can't do this, not like this, you have a husband who loves you and I have Dee. Even if we die, we'll still be married." Lee spoke very quietly, and ran his hand over Kara's face as he did so.

"Sam may be my husband, but I belong with you;" Kara avoided his gaze for a moment and continued in a uneasy whisper, "I belong to you; you can feel it too. This isn't right; it's not how this was supposed to be."

"Starbuck belongs with Apollo; that doesn't mean that Kara belongs with Lee. Lee's married, to another woman and that means something to him." Lee answered, hating himself as soon as he said it; there wasn't a day that passed when he hadn't wished he was married to Kara instead. Not to mention it was entirely bizarre to refer to himself in the third person.

"What's the difference? So let's be Starbuck and Apollo." Kara replied; if that was how to be with Lee, she'd let him call her Starbuck, hell at this point she'd let him call her Dee. Kara leaned forward and kissed him deeply.

Lee pushed her away gently, "That's not what you want Kara, and it's not want I want either."

And then he could hear Kara murmuring softly, not to him. Tears still running down her cheeks. Kara was praying. And he nearly choked when he listened enough to hear what she was praying for.

Kara continued her murmurings, tears still running down her cheeks, "Lords, please release me from my vows, set me free from my bond with Sam Anders, I was a bad wife and did not deserve him. I profaned my marriage, and I married him under false pretences, for all the wrong reasons. I do not want him. I guess I never really did. I'm going to die anyways, allow me to die being honest with myself; clean up some of the mess I've made of my life. Don't make me die as the wife of someone I don't want to be with."

Lee had backed off and blinked his eyes wonderingly at Kara, who smiled, tears still in her eyes, and responded, "I know you didn't mean what you said, but…"

"I know." Lee answered.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"You have to do it too." Kara responded as if he should have guessed her plan. It was the only way, to attempt to make this right.

"Why?"

"Because if you don't you'll still be married to Dee when you die in slightly less that six hours, and that's something neither of us can live with." Kara joked slightly, attempting to draw Lee physically closer.

"Kara praying to the gods doesn't end your marriage."

"I believe I just did, besides it's the best I can do under the circumstances, they'll understand."

"When and if they find us they won't know the difference."

"Unless we make it obvious to them."

"And how do we do that?"

"We'll leave them a note. Just do it."

"I don't pray Kara."

She leaned and kissed him lingeringly on the mouth, "Please."

"Lords, please release me from my bonds to Anastasia Dualla. Whom I married out of spite, and I do not wish to die married to a woman I do not love." Lee struggled not to laugh as he prayed head bowed, but he'd do it for Kara, to make her feel better about dying. But they still couldn't be together, not that way… it wasn't legal.

Kara whispered quietly, "Do you feel better?"

"Not really."

"But we aren't married to other people now." Kara reminded him.

"Kara I-" Lee cut himself off; reminding Kara of his atheism would not do any good. "Okay. So we aren't married, now what?"

"What do you think?" Kara rubbed herself up against him teasingly.

"We talk out all of our issues, and come to an understanding before we die." Lee silently apologized with his eyes for what he had said to her previously. At least if they talked that would give them something to do for the next few hours other than frak.

"I'll go first," Kara started bravely, "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I married Sam. I'm sorry I left you sleeping naked and alone on New Caprica. I'm sorry I tried to make you jealous. I'm sorry I didn't realize I wanted you all along. I'm sorry I teased you when you told me you loved me. Anything else I need to apologize for?"

"Baltar." Lee prompted.

"I'm sorry and disgusted at myself for frakking Baltar. I'm sorry I pretended he was you, when I could have had the real thing." Kara replied with a hint of laughter in her voice.

"You what?" Lee stared at her incredulously.

"Pretended he was you, he wasn't the last one either."

"You didn't? You did." Lee realized she wasn't joking, she never jokes when she thinks she's going to die.

"And I got carried away too, I called out your name." Kara laughed as she said this.

"This really isn't funny." Lee laughed in spite of himself.

"So what are you sorry for?"

"Not convincing you to marry me that night on New Caprica before you married Anders."

"Lee." Kara pleaded with him slightly.

"I'm sorry for not trusting you. I'm sorry for marrying Dee. I'm sorry for frakking a prostitute. Anything else?"

"You frakked a prostitute!" Kara repeated angrily, "A whore?"
"You frakked Baltar." Lee pointed out.

"But I didn't pay for it!" Kara replied with an effort not to yell.

"Next topic." Lee said quickly, they do enough fighting as it was.

"Not cheating on Dee?" Kara attempted not to think about Lee paying for sex. The notion seemed ridiculous.

"I'm sorry for not cheating on Dee."

Kara kissed him again, deep and sweet, her hands yanking down the zipper on his flight suit. "Good."

"Kara, if they find us naked-"

"Nothing says 'property of Kara Thrace' like finding your naked corpse entwined with mine."