Title: Flying Lessons

Genre: Humor/friendship

Rating: K/ Everybody

Characters: Kara "starbuck" Thrace, Laura Roslin, Lee Adama

Pairings: A/R on the side.

SPOILERS FOR REVELATION!! But honestly, its total CRACK anyhow...

Note: This is all Lanzer/kit466's fault. She promised me a piece of fanart for this if I wrote it. XD

"Are you sure the Old Man said yes?" Asked Lee, staring in shock at the woman behind Kara, who was inspecting one of the few double-pilot crafts in the Fleet.

"I told him I wanted to do it. Lee have you seen those two lately? Shut up here orbiting a dead planet they worked so hard to find? She needs this, especially now that she's decided to keep you where you are as President." She replied, looking over at Laura in one of their spare jock smocks.

"She looks really cool in that outfit anyhow." Kara laughed. Lee smiled. He had to agree with her. Laura Adama indeed looked the part of an aged Viper pilot. His stepmother had her hair tied back for the first time in Lee's knowing her, and the sparkle had somewhat returned to her eyes.

"Besides, Vipers are lighter, burn less fuel. This is a good idea for conservation. Plus, the distraction will be worth it. And of course, she needs to know the controls just in case."

"Are we ready to go, Starbuck?" Laura said, smiling broadly at Lee. She kissed him on the cheek and gave him a hug to which he blushed and looked anywhere but at Kara. She chuckled.

"Oh you're so not living that down, momma's boy."

Lee shot her a glare and leaned in as if to grab her, but Laura put a hand up between the two of them.

"Don't make me get your father." She said teasingly to the pair of them. Both blushed scarlet at the joking reprimand.

"Lets get going, old lady." Kara said with a grin. Lee expected his predecessor to blanch at the name, but to his surprise she smiled softly. To Lee's shocked expression she said "Fleet has an old man, figures they'd want his old woman too."

"Need help getting up there, mom?" He said after a moment. Laura nodded so he cupped his hands and crouched down, pushing up on her foot and standing so that he held her at the height of the two man viper. She nodded to him and smiled, suddenly looking quite nervous.

"Just realized you're going to fly with KARA, didn't you?"

Laura gulped, "Yes, yes I did."

He laughed and tossed her a helmet, which she took gracefully and began to secure herself in the Viper. Lee smiled as he took in the image and couldn't help but wonder what would have been had she come aboard Valkyrie as Lt. Laura Roslin and not Galactica as Madame Secretary. Years ago, would the sparks have turned into a wildfire between her and his father? Would Zak of liked her?

Of course he'd of liked her. Zak was such a teacher's pet in grade school and secondary (around the time he imagined Laura would of met them). And she was a beautiful woman, probably even more so ten or twelve years before. His father would have stood more chance unarmed against twenty Centurions.

"Starbuck calling CIC." Said Kara as she lowered herself in front of her passenger.

"You're cleared for launch, Starbuck." Came Adama's voice, "hows the nugget?" He added with a hint of the humor they all missed.

"Wondering what the frak possessed her to want to learn to fly and not just get a feel for her new mode of transportation." Laura said from behind.

"Suck it up, Laura."

"Thats no way to talk to your wife." She snapped.

"All do respect, Ma'am, you're in a jock smock. That makes you a nugget and therefore target practice." Kara interjected, listening carefully to catch Adama's low chuckle. When she heard it, a part of her still reeling from the shock of Earth being a dump seemed to grow smaller. She'd missed that laugh.

"Clearing for launch."

"Ready. Laura, check the pressure gage on your right. Is it between 300 and 450?"

"Yes. And before you ask, the thrusters are at full till."

Kara cocked and eyebrow, looking marginally impressed," Good, you actually read the flight materials. Thats new from a nugget."

Kara switched the safety off and taxied into the launch tube, checking behind her every so often to make sure Laura was doing as she'd instructed her from before. To her amazement, the instruments indicated Laura had remembered all her pre-flight instructions and was good to go on the first step of being a Viper pilot.

"Man, where the frak were you fourty one years ago?" She groused. Laura giggled a bit in response before speaking.

"Secondary school, trying to get Danny Atalou to ask me out." She quiped.

"OK, Starbuck. You're clear."

"Laura, I'm going to take us out but once I do, primary controls will be switched back to you, leaving me on weapons."

"Understood."

Kara hit the release on the floor clamps, and the Viper shot out of the launch tube with ease. Once they cleared Galactica's firing solution range, she converted the flight controls to the secondary pilot apparatus. The first few seconds were unsteady enough to make her slightly nauseous, but eventually Laura smoothed out her flight. Her heavy breathing, however, told Kara just how hard it was for the woman's nerves to handle the huge responsibility of piloting.

"Easy. Just return controls if you feel its getting too much. Now, remember the routine I showed you yesterday?" The day before, Kara had taken her out simply as a passenger and gone through the basic flight maneuver.

"Yes."

"Then show me."

On the observation deck, Adama and Lee watched Laura go through the simple flight pattern. Her moves were obviously those of a nugget, but she handled her first time with total control decently.

"Makes you wonder about missed opportunities." Lee said, recalling his earlier thoughts.

"Mnn.." His father said, watching his wife with pride. He'd never of guessed she'd actually go out and do it. He knew most of the pilots were in the room with them, curious as to how well their former President did. She was going to win a lot of loyalty if she handled herself as well as she was right then for the rest of the flight.

From the patched comm relay, they heard Kara's interested comments and small praises as well as Laura's own voice.

"Not bad, not bad at all."

"I'm going to be sick." Laura's voice said, sounding nauseous even over the comm.

"Thats typical for a new pilot. If you keep learning, you'll get over it." Kara replied, "Hey Admiral, you hear me?"

Adama reached over and picked up the comm," I hear you, Starbuck. What do you need?"

"I have a...request. Proper initiation." She said, a hint of mischief in her voice. The pilots in the room exchanged knowing smiles.

"And that would be?" asked Adama, knowing full well what his ace pilot planned to do.

"Permission to execute Barrel roll." Lee's priceless expression greeted his father when the man turned around to gaze out the window at the Viper.

Laura's voice, suddenly panicked, broke the spell of silence that Kara's words had created, and most of the gathered pilots had to bite their tongues to keep from laughing again.

"WHAT?"

"Granted." Adama rumbled.

In the Viper, Laura felt the controls loose their power as Kara took full control of the craft.

"Get ready, Ma'am." She said, not even waiting for a reply, she launched the Viper into a wide barrel roll, twisting the ship like it was an extension of her own body. The pull of the negative gs became intense for a split second before she pulled out of it and turned her head to check on Laura.

"Forgot to mention a little tradition here on Galactica. Gets you ready for instances when you need that roll to avoid getting killed."

Laura was pale and shaking from the roll, and immediately flicked on her own comm.

"Bill, I always thought I'd die first, but frak it if Im not KILLING you for this." She barked, voice breathless from the sudden strain.

"Not a very good threat, Laura." Adama replied, smirking, "fourty one years and two Cylon wars didn't kill me, I'll be damned if my wife gets that honor."

There was silence over the comm for a long time as Kara began to turn back towards the docking bay. Then Laura, seeming to of regained her dignified tone, spoke very slowly and tartly through the comm.

"Fine. Have fun sleeping on the couch for the next month."

Adama's face fell and Lee shook his head with a smile. After a moment of amusement, however, he looked fondly from his father to Kara and Laura's Viper and back again.

It was the first time he'd felt like he had a family in over ten years.