Starbuck sat and observed his friend. It had become a habit lately, this
watching of Apollo, ever since Apollo had died at the hands of Count
Iblis and come back. Visions of his best friend falling dead in front of
him still haunted his sleep. They weren't quite as bad during his waking
centares, but they never left him completely. Watching Apollo was the only
way to combat the frightening scenes inside his head.

What haunted him most was the knowledge that he hadn't been able to save
Apollo. There should have been something he could have done differently.
The beings in the white ship had told him that they brought Apollo back
because of him. If only they hadn't let him die in the first place. No -
if only *he* hadn't let him die. He should have stopped Iblis, somehow.

"Stop that," Apollo said suddenly.

"Stop what?"

"Stop watching me."

"Am I watching you?" Starbuck asked innocently.

"Yes, you are. I don't know why, but I wish you would stop."

/If only you knew, Apollo. If only you knew why I watch you so closely./
But Apollo didn't remember his 'death.' He thought he'd been unconscious
and had dreamed about the white ship.  But he couldn't explain why
Starbuck and Sheba had seen it too.

"Fine. I'll leave you alone," Starbuck snapped and left the Officer's
Club.

Apollo, stunned, watched him leave. This kind of behaviour wasn't like
Starbuck. He was normally the most easy going one of all the warriors. And
he would never be rude or short with his friends.

Starbuck had been behaving oddly since their encounter with Count Iblis.
He'd said that Iblis had killed Apollo, and that some beings in a white
ship had brought him back. Apollo's own memories of his last encounter
with Iblis were rather vague and foggy. He assumed that when Iblis had
struck him with whatever it was he'd used, he'd hit his head or
something.

And Starbuck had kept him under surveillance ever since. He didn't know
why, but he assumed it had something to do with his supposedly having
"died."

Well, he couldn't let Starbuck leave like this. Obviously, he'd been hurt.
He'd go find him and apologize, and try to get him to talk about whatever
was bothering him.

Meanwhile, Starbuck sat in the observation dome looking out at the stars.
Normally this was Apollo's place to get away from it all, but Starbuck
hoped that because of that, Apollo wouldn't think to look for him here. He
knew that Apollo would come looking for him. If his friend thought he'd
hurt him, he'd feel obligated to come and set things right.

He didn't want to see Apollo right now. Sometimes he had to give up
watching him for a little while, because some very inappropriate thoughts
started intruding. Thoughts of what it would be like to take Apollo to his
bed, to cover Apollo's body with his own, to touch him and stroke him and
lick him and do any of a thousand other things to him until Apollo begged
Starbuck to take him, to possess him, to make him his own.

He'd had the feeling that Iblis knew about those thoughts, and he'd been
deathly afraid that the demon would tell Apollo about them. Though maybe
Apollo wouldn't have believed him, if he had. Fortunately, though, he
hadn't, if anything about Iblis' time on the Galactica could be considered
'fortunate.'

Opening the book on his lap, Starbuck started to read. Not long ago he'd
have laughed if anyone had suggested he'd be voluntarily reading the Book
of the Word.  He'd been subjected to religious instruction in
the orphanage like all the kids, but had forgotten most of what he'd
learned as soon as he left. But now he turned to the Book in desperation,
trying to find an explanation for what had happened to him and Apollo.

And what they could do if Iblis ever decided to pay them another visit.

A verse caught his eye. "The gods put the lonely in families," it said.
Well, that would explain why he didn't think much of the gods. No one had
ever put him in a family. He'd heard that verse in the orphanage, and had
hoped it meant that he would be adopted, like some of his friends had
been. But no one had ever wanted him. The gods hadn't given him a family.
He couldn't explain this to Apollo, who had the kind of family
Starbuck had always envied.

He had to admit that the Books had been right about Kobol. They'd gone
through the void and Kobol had been at the other end. But because they'd
found Kobol, the Cylons had destroyed it. And Serena, Apollo's wife and Boxey's
mother,  had died. He wondered if the gods had anything to do with that. How could
they take Boxey's mother away? Some might say that they'd given him Apollo to make
up for it, but why take her in the first place?

Then again, they'd taken Starbuck's mother, hadn't they? That was, if you
believed that kind of thing, believed that the gods "took" people. Too bad
they hadn't taken Baltar before he handed over the entire human race to
their mortal enemies. It had been Iblis, in fact, who had delivered Baltar
to them.

Apollo had been very suspicious of Iblis. Starbuck hadn't known why. Maybe
it was just Apollo's nature. Considering his father's complete faith and
reliance in the Book and the Lords of Kobol, Apollo showed a healthy
amount of skepticism for anything supernatural. Starbuck hadn't known what
to make of Apollo's distrust of the Count, but he trusted Apollo. He'd
insisted on following his wingman to the planet where they'd found Iblis'
ship. If he hadn't ... He didn't want to think about that.

According to Adama, the Books said that Iblis was actually Diabolis, the
devil himself. Lucifer, the Prince of Darkness, who appeared as an angel
of light.

Iblis had seemed strangely interested in Apollo. Apollo said that this was
because he had been the only one who hadn't believed in him, hadn't
swallowed his stories. Starbuck pointed out that he hadn't either - mainly
because he trusted Apollo's judgement. He believed that perhaps Iblis'
obsession with the Captain sprung from the fact that Apollo's family was
descended directly from the Lords of Kobol. If what Adama said was true,
about Iblis being Diabolis, then he was the Lords' adversary. And here was
Apollo of Kobol, the personification of the beings who were Diabolis'
enemies. Why Apollo and not Adama? Starbuck wondered about that. Maybe it
was because the people in the fleet were generally loyal to Adama. Once
Apollo had started making noises about not trusting Iblis, the people had
not been all that fond of him.

Here was another verse. "Greater love has no man than this, that he lays
down his life for a friend."

He would do that for Apollo. He'd said that in the shuttle taking Apollo's
body back to the Galactica, and that was why the beings in the white ship
had brought Apollo back. He loved Apollo that much. He didn't want to live
without him. His life would have no meaning without him. No greater love.
The books had that right.

Just then the hatch opened and the object of his love stuck his head in.
"There you are. I've been looking all over for you."

He should have known Apollo would find him eventually. "I wanted to be
alone."

"Look, Starbuck, I'm sorry if I hurt you with what I said earlier. It just
gives me the creeps having you watch me all the time. You've been doing it
ever since ... ever since He was here."

Starbuck could hear the capital letter Apollo added to the word 'he.' "He
killed you, Apollo. I saw you die. That's not something I can get over in
a day or two."

"I know you think you saw me die, but I'm obviously not dead. You must
have been under some sort of spell from Iblis. I didn't die."

"Fine. Believe what you want."

There it was again. Starbuck had put up a wall between them. He hated it
when his friend did that. "Starbuck, I'm sorry. I just don't understand. I
don't have any memory of what happened on that planet with Iblis. I don't
remember dying or white ships or angels or any of the rest of it."

"I remember it. I remember your dead body. I remember lifting you and
carrying you in my arms to the shuttle. You were dead, Pol. And I couldn't
do anything about it. I should have stopped him, somehow."

Apollo put his arm around his friend's shoulders. "There was nothing you
could have done. Iblis was too powerful for any of us."

Starbuck tried to stop the tears that were threatening. "You died, Apollo.
You died."

"I thought you were dead once," Apollo said. "I saw the Cylons take your
Viper. I thought they'd killed you."

Starbuck remembered that. It wasn't an incident he'd forget anytime soon.
The Cylons had captured him. They hadn't treated him too badly, though.
And then Baltar had released him on Kobol, and Apollo had come running to
him and thrown his arms around him and hugged him so hard he'd thought he
would stop breathing. "I thought you were dead," he'd said. For a moment
he'd believed that Apollo loved him as much as he loved Apollo.

And then he'd seen the ring, and seen Serena coming up behind Apollo, and
known he was wrong.

Remembering that, he pulled away from his friend, and Apollo reluctantly
let go of him. Apollo had thought he was dead, but he'd still gone ahead
with his wedding. How long had he grieved?  A centare?

Apollo saw Starbuck turn away from him. There were the walls. Why did
Starbuck keep putting up barriers keeping him away? Wasn't he Starbuck's
best friend? If only he could tell him how much he loved him. He kept
looking for some sign, something to tell him that his attention would be
welcome, but so far Starbuck was a closed book.

"That was different, Apollo. I didn't die. The Cylons didn't kill me."

"But I thought you were dead, just like you thought I was."

"No, Apollo, I did not *think* you were dead. You *were* dead. I felt for
a pulse. There was none. I saw your dead body. You didn't see me die. You
didn't search for life signs on my lifeless corpse."

"I didn't have a corpse, no. I assumed that the Cylons had blown you to
bits!"

"And then you went ahead and got married and carried on with your life
like I never even existed."

"Is that what this is about? Serena? She cared for you. She grieved too."
Actually, what she'd said was, 'I loved him too.' Had she known how he
really felt about his best friend? And if she had, why had she married
him?

"Really? For how long? Five centons?"

"Starbuck!" Apollo could hardly believe how Starbuck was acting, the cruel
words that were coming out of his mouth. He'd known Starbuck didn't get
along with Serena, and had even teased him about being jealous of her (how
he'd wished it were true). But saying these things about her?  Where had
they come from?

Starbuck stood and headed for the door. "Forget it, Apollo. Forget I said
anything. Forget that I care about you. Hell, forget I even exist if
that'll make you feel better. Then you won't have to worry about my
watching you." He climbed down the ladder and was gone.

Well, that had gone well, hadn't it? Apollo simply stared at the hatch for
a few microns. What had gotten into Starbuck? Was it something to do with
Iblis?

Starbuck stumbled into his bunk in the Bachelor Officers' Quarters. He had
a splitting headache.  All the time he'd been talking to Apollo he'd been
hearing things   voices telling him that Apollo didn't love him, that he
was better off without Apollo in his life. He had no idea where they had
come from. They'd reminded him of how Apollo had married Serena while his
best man was missing and presumed dead. The combination of the pain and
the voices in his head had caused him to lash out at Apollo. He wanted to
apologize, but he was afraid the voices would come back next time he saw
his wingman.

Back in the dome, Apollo saw the book that Starbuck had left behind. It
was the Book of the Word. Starbuck had been reading the
Book of the Word? Now *that* was strange.  Starbuck had never shown any
particular interest in scripture before. But Starbuck had been doing a lot
of strange things since Iblis was there.

He flipped through the book, looking for his favourite story. It was the
story of a king's son and his best friend, a shepherd boy. One was a
prince, the son of someone important, the other a commoner. But their
stations in life didn't matter. They loved each other. There were lots of
depictions of them hugging and kissing each other and even lying down
together. They swore a covenant to each other, and when the king tried to
have the shepherd killed, the prince protected him, defying his father.
He'd read that story to Boxey, who had enjoyed it and had tried to get
Muffit to pretend to be a lupine so that he could be like the shepherd boy
who had used his slingshot to protect his sheep. He didn't think Boxey
actually knew what a lupine was, but that hadn't mattered.

Wolves made him think of Puppis, the boy he'd met on Equellus. He'd stayed
with Puppis and his mother for a short time. Puppis had shot a lupine to
protect their animals, and had felt pretty proud of himself afterwards.
Apollo had been pretty sure that the woman had wanted him to stay with
her, the way Puppis' father, who had also been a Colonial warrior, had.
But he'd told her about Boxey, and she'd found him the fuel he needed to
get back to the Galactica.

He hadn't told her that he wanted to get back to Starbuck as well as to
Boxey.

Apollo thought of how relieved Starbuck had been to see him return. He'd
been missing for a few days - no one had known if he was coming back or
even if he was alive. Boomer had told him later that Starbuck had refused
to stop searching. He'd said he did it for Boxey, who had already lost one
set of parents. Starbuck had even taken it on himself to care for Boxey
while Apollo had been gone.

What had Starbuck said just now? 'Forget that I care about you.' Something
had hurt Starbuck - something or someone? Had he hurt the man that he
loved more than anything? He couldn't understand Starbuck's obsession, his
insistence that Apollo had died. But maybe he should stop denying it if it
affected the Lieutenant that much. He had to admit there were things he
didn't know, gaps in his memory.  Starbuck cared about him. But in what
way? As his best friend? As a man who was as close to him as a brother? Or
something else?

He felt a sudden pain in his head. *Starbuck doesn't love you.*

What the frack was that?

*Starbuck doesn't love you.*

He shook his head to clear it, then, taking the Book, headed for the
Bachelor Officers' Quarters.

Starbuck looked up from his bunk and, to his surprise, saw Apollo standing
there. "I brought you your Book," the Captain said.

"Uh, thanks," he said, holding his hand out to take it. Apollo pulled up a
chair and sat down.

"When did you start reading the Book?" he asked.

"After Iblis was here."

"Why?"

A shrug. "The Commander seemed to think there might be something about him
in there."

"What would Count Iblis be doing in the Book of the Word?" Apollo asked
skeptically.

"Not Iblis. Diabolis. The Prince of Darkness ..."

" ... disguised as a being of light. I understand. I'm surprised though -
I didn't think you went in for superstition."

"It's not just superstition, Apollo. Iblis wasn't human. You know that he
didn't show any life signs. The things he did were impossible for a mere
mortal."

"So he could do a few tricks. Even my father can do telekinesis. That
doesn't make him a devil."

"Adama is telekinetic? Really? How come he never showed us before?"

Apollo shrugged. "He said it frightened my mother, and she asked him not
to do it."

"But your father is of the same line as the Lords. That might be why he
can do some things that are, well, out of the ordinary. What about Baltar?
How did Iblis get him to surrender?"

"Maybe Baltar got a sudden attack of conscience."

Starbuck grabbed hold of Apollo by the shoulders. "Apollo, listen to me!
You know that I'm the last person to hold with a lot of religious
mumbo-jumbo. I stopped believing in the Book when I was a kid in the
orphanage. But what they say about Diabolis.... Frack, Apollo, even I'm
convinced!"

When Starbuck touched him, Apollo suddenly saw pictures in his mind. He
saw Iblis firing at Sheba, and saw himself jump in front of her. He saw
himself falling to the ground, and Starbuck running to him. Iblis
vanished, and Starbuck carried his apparently lifeless form to the
shuttle.  He saw the lights ...

"Apollo?"

He shook himself. What had just happened? Suddenly the pain in his head
returned, along with the voice saying *Starbuck doesn't love you.* He
grabbed at his temples uselessly.

Starbuck wanted to help, but he had a whopping headache of his own. And,
unknown to his friend, an identical voice in his head saying *Apollo
doesn't love you.*

Before either man could say or do anything, though, the pain and the
voices vanished as soon as they had come. Then an announcement came over
the ships's intercom: "Captain Apollo and Lieutenant Starbuck, report to
the bridge immediately."

All thoughts of voices were set aside for the moment.

Commander Adama was waiting for them on the bridge. He was pacing back and
forth in obvious apprehension. When the two warriors arrived, he pointed
to the view screen. There they could see balls of light flashing through
the sky. "What are they?" he asked.

"No idea," answered his son. "Why do you think we would know what they
are?"

"They appeared once before, Apollo. Or don't you remember that?"

Starbuck spoke up. "I remember, Commander."

Apollo suddenly felt cold. "Iblis?" he asked.

Adama and Starbuck nodded. "Iblis," they both answered.

"I'm going down to the planet," Apollo announced.

Starbuck grabbed him. "Pol, if Iblis really is down there, you don't know
what he could do. He could kill you again!"

"He wants me," Apollo stated. "If I don't go to him, he'll come to me. And
he might endanger the fleet to get to me. I'll make it easy for him."

"In that case, I'm coming with you."

Apollo shrugged. "If you want to," he said. He tried to sound nonchalant.
In reality, he was pleased that Starbuck wanted to go with him, but
terrified for his friend's safety.

The two warriors took a shuttle to the planet. They weren't certain what
had prompted them to do that rather than take their vipers. Perhaps it was
because that was what they had ridden in the last time they had confronted
Iblis.

When they arrived, Iblis was waiting for them.

"Captain Apollo, Lieutenant Starbuck," the Count said cordially. "Or
should I say, Apollo of Kobol."

"Count Iblis," Apollo greeted him. "Or should that be, Diabolis?"

"So, you figured it out, young Kobol. I must say, you're looking well
compared to last time I saw you."

Starbuck spoke up. "It seems there are those who weren't prepared to let
Apollo die at your hands."

"Oh, them." Iblis made a dismissive gesture. "The white ships? They do
have a tiresome tendency to interfere. But don't worry. Once they've
brought someone back, they're not likely to do it again."

"I've been reading about you," Starbuck continued. "In the Book of
the Word."

"Oh, really? That must be how the Captain here figured out who I am. But
do you know my other identity?"

"Other?" Apollo asked, curious in spite of himself.

"Yes. I am Iblis, and Diabolis, but I am also the Imperious Leader. Not in
this form of course,"  he added to forestall any objections from the men,
"the Cylons wouldn't follow a humanoid. But I can change my appearance."
And he changed into the form of the Cylon Imperious leader, then changed
back again. "Of course, they do - or did - follow Baltar, but only under
my command.  The attack on your Colonies wasn't entirely Baltar's doing.
He had some help from me."

With a cry of rage Starbuck threw himself at Iblis. The Count flung a ball
of energy at him.  Starbuck was thrown a hectare and landed on the ground,
completely still and lifeless.

"Starbuck!" Apollo tried to run to him but was unable to move. "You killed
him!" he shouted at Iblis in rage.

"He's not important," replied Iblis. "He just got in the way."

"Please, bring him back. If you can kill him, you can bring him back,
can't you?" Apollo begged.

"And what do I get if I do?" the demon asked.

"Me," answered Apollo. "You can have me. I'll go willingly. Please, don't
take him."

"Very well," answered Iblis with a smile. He waved his hand. Starbuck
turned over with a groan.

"Are you coming?" Iblis asked Apollo.

"Can I have a centon with him first?" the Captain asked.

"Oh very well," the Count sighed.

Apollo ran to Starbuck. "Can you get up?" he asked.

Starbuck stood, with Apollo helping him. When Apollo touched him, Starbuck
suddenly saw something - not in front of him, but in his mind. It was like
a holo program on IFB. He saw Apollo sitting on the bridge, staring at a
scanner, saying "I can't believe he's gone." He saw Serena behind him,
heard her say, "I loved him too." Loved?

He saw Apollo return to his quarters, saying goodnight to Serena at the
door. Apollo then went inside and knelt at an altar to the Lords of Kobol.
"Why did you take him from me?" he heard Apollo ask. "I loved him!"

"Come, come, young Kobol!" Iblis snapped.

"Apollo, what's happening?" Starbuck asked in confusion.

"Starbuck, I promised Iblis I would go with him. You have to go back to
the Galactica. You'll be safe there."

"Go with him? Apollo, are you out of your mind?"

"He killed you, Starbuck, just like he did to me. But I told him that if
he brought you back he could have me instead. Please don't argue with me.
Just go, now!"

"Not without you, Captain," Starbuck answered.

"I can't go. I promised Iblis."

"Captain, if you don't come soon, perhaps I'll take someone else in your
place. Someone else of the line of Kobol, perhaps. Your father, maybe?
Your lovely sister? Or your son?"

"I'm coming," Apollo sighed.

"Pol, listen to me. He only has as much power as we give him. The last
time he was here, we gave him too much power.  It was love that saved you
then, Pol. My love for you brought you back. And your love for me has
brought me back. If you refuse to go with him, he can't hurt you unless
you let him."

"I can't refuse, Starbuck! Didn't you hear what he said? He said he'd take
Boxey!"

"He can't," Starbuck answered. "Boxey is innocent. Diabolis can't hurt the
innocent." He held out his hand. "Take my hand, Apollo. Let's go."

Apollo stood, looking from Starbuck to Diabolis and back again. "I can't,"
he whispered.

"Apollo, take my hand. If you love me, take my hand!"

Apollo hesitated. He looked at Iblis, then back at Starbuck. He started to
reach out to Starbuck.

"Captain Apollo, let me tell you something about Lieutenant Starbuck,"
Iblis suddenly interrupted. "You may think he's your friend, but let me
show you something."

Images suddenly appeared in front of them - images taken from Starbuck's
mind. They showed Starbuck's fantasy of making love to Apollo.
Unfortunately for Iblis, he couldn't change them in any way, since they
came directly from Starbuck. He couldn't make them seem dirty, or make it
appear as if the sex was not consensual.

Starbuck turned to his friend. "Yes, Apollo, that is the way I feel about
you. Yes, I want to make love with you. I want that because I love you. I
love you, Apollo. And I believe that you love me.  So why don't we go home
and do something about it?" He continued to hold his hand out.

Apollo reached out and took hold of Starbuck's hand. As soon as he did so,
he could feel Starbuck's love filling him, making him complete for the
first time in as long as he could remember. He hadn't felt this with
Serena. It was almost as if the two of them had some sort of super power.

Iblis screamed with rage. He tried to fire bolts of his power at the two
warriors, but they bounced harmlessly off, not touching either man. The
devil threw everything he had at them, but nothing touched them.

"You haven't seen the last of me, Apollo of Kobol!" he threatened. "Or you
either, Lieutenant Starbuck!"

"That doesn't matter, Count," Starbuck informed him. "You see, Apollo and
I love each other.  And Apollo has a family that loves him. Love is the
one thing that defeats you. You can't fight it.  It says so in the Book.
Love conquers all." He turned to Apollo. "Let's get out of here." And the
two warriors strode hand in hand to the shuttle, leaving an impotent
Diabolis screaming in fury.

They didn't speak when they were in the shuttle. Starbuck piloted. Apollo
sat in the copilot's seat, looking stunned. He wouldn't say anything.

Starbuck was worried. He had believed that the visions he'd received while
on the planet meant that Apollo loved him. But he had no way of knowing if
they were real, or if they'd been sent by Diabolis to trick him. He was
pretty sure the voices in his head telling him that Apollo didn't love him
had been the demon's trick.

There was a flash, and a figure suddenly appeared in the shuttle with
them. Normally this would have surprised Starbuck, but with everything
that had happened in the past centare or so, nothing was surprising any
longer. "And who might you be?" Starbuck asked.

"My name is Gabriel," said the figure.

"Let me guess - you're from the white ships."

The white-robed figure smiled. "Yes. We have been watching Iblis -
Diabolis - closely since his last encounter with you."

"When you brought Apollo back."

"No, when *you* brought Apollo back, Starbuck. As you said, it was your
love for your friend that returned him to you."

"So, why are you here? What do you want?"

"To assure you that your visions were true ones, both yours, Starbuck, and
yours, Apollo. The things that the voices said were not true, but I'm sure
you've figured that out by now."

"Voices?" asked Apollo, speaking to Starbuck for the first time since
they'd boarded the shuttle.  "You mean you heard them too?"

Starbuck nodded. "They were saying that you don't love me. That's not
true, is it?"

"No," Apollo answered, his voice barely above a whisper. "It's not true. I
do love you."

"Good," said Starbuck with a grin. "And I love you. Thank you, Gabriel,"
he added.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Starbuck, and you, Captain Apollo, for standing up
to Diabolis."

"But I didn't stand up to him," Apollo objected. "I was going to let him
take me."

"Only because you believed that your family was in danger, Captain,"
Gabriel assured him. "You were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for
Starbuck, just as he was for you last time you encountered Diabolis.
'Greater love has no man than this, that he lays down his life for his
friend.' "

And Gabriel vanished as suddenly as he'd arrived.

When they arrived back on the Galactica, Apollo took Starbuck's hand as
they left the shuttle.  They were still holding hands when Adama met them
in the shuttle bay. He hugged both of them. "My sons," he said. "I can't
tell you how relieved I am that you've both returned to me."

At the surprised look on Starbuck's face, Adama said, "Starbuck, you are
just as much a son to me as Apollo, even if you weren't born into my
family."

Suddenly self-conscious, Starbuck mumbled a thank you.

"Is everyone okay?" Apollo asked his father. "You, Athena, Boxey?"

"All of us are fine," Adama reassured Apollo. "Boxey is with Athena right
now."

"Could you keep him for the rest of the night?" Apollo requested.
"Starbuck and I have some business to take care of."

"Surely whatever it is can wait until tomorrow."

"It's personal," Apollo told him.

"Oh, I see. That kind of business," said Adama with a look of
understanding. "Of course. I'd be glad to keep Boxey. I always enjoy
spending time with my grandson."

Apollo turned to Starbuck, still holding his hand. "My quarters?" he
suggested.

Once they were in his quarters, Apollo took Starbuck into his arms and
held him tightly. "I'm sorry," he said.

"What do you have to be sorry for?" Starbuck asked.

"For not taking you seriously when you told me how upset you were at
seeing me die. I saw Iblis kill you, and you were right - it hurt even
more than the time the Cylons captured you, when I thought you were dead."

Remembering the vision he'd had of Apollo watching the scanners for a sign
that he was still alive, and then asking the gods why they'd taken him,
Starbuck responded, "I know that when you thought I was dead you grieved
for me. What I don't understand is why you went ahead and got married
right away."

Apollo sighed. "When I thought you were dead, nothing mattered to me
anymore. Serena was trying to comfort me, and she suggested we get married
as a way to take our minds off of everything that had been happening. I
couldn't see any reason not to, so I went along with it."

"But if you loved me, why did you get engaged to her in the first place?"

"I didn't know you loved me. I assumed that you were happy with
Cassiopeia."

Starbuck shook his head. "We've both been blind, oblivious idiots."

Apollo tightened his arms around his lover. "Don't talk that way about the
man that I love," he said.

"I won't if you don't."

After a few centons of kissing, Apollo asked, "What happens now?"

"I don't get what you mean."

"Where do we go from here? I've told you how I feel, and you've told me,
but I don't know what kind of relationship you expect. You've never had a
long term relationship for as long as I've known you. And I don't think I
can bear to lose you."

"You're not going to lose me, Apollo. The reason you haven't seen me in a
long term relationship before is that I never met anyone that I wanted to
be in a long term relationship with except you.  As for what kind of
relationship I expect, the word that comes to mind is 'permanent.' "

Apollo smiled in relief, then turned serious once more. "When we were on
the planet, Iblis showed me a vision, something he said he took from your
mind, of the two of us in bed together.  You said that you want us to make
love. I want that too, but it's not something I have much experience
with."

"It's not like I have a lot of experience with men either, Pol. I do have
some, but it's been a long time since I was with a man. Still, what we
lack in experience I'm certain we can make up for in enthusiasm."

"You've been with men before?" Apollo asked in surprise.

Starbuck nodded. "Not for a long time. In fact, not since I've been on the
Galactica. I didn't want you to know."

"But why not? If I'd known, I'd have declared myself a long time ago."

"Like I said before, I'm an idiot."

"Starbuck ..." Apollo said in warning.

"Okay, okay, no talking about your lover that way. I was afraid you
wouldn't approve. I couldn't have taken it if you'd looked down on me for
any reason, or worse, if I'd disgusted you."

His lover. He realized that he and Starbuck were now - or were soon to be
- lovers. His dreams were finally coming true. He said a silent prayer of
thanks to the gods. "I could never look down on you or be disgusted with
you, Starbuck."

"I know that now, but I didn't know it then."

"Do you have a preference?" Apollo asked. "Do you prefer women to men? Or
men to women?"

"Gender doesn't matter to me, Pol. What matters is the person. And you are
the person who matters to me the most in the universe."

"And you to me," Apollo answered. "Listen, do you - do you want to go to
bed?"

"Pol, if anything about making love with me makes you uncomfortable, I
want you to tell me. I don't want to do anything that you're not ready
for."

"Oh, I'm ready, Star. I'm more than ready."

So the two of them went into the bedroom and began to undress each other.
When both were naked, Apollo gasped. "Starbuck, you're hurt!"

Starbuck's body was covered in injuries - cuts, bruises and burns.

"Life Centre," Apollo said. "Now."

"Oh, Pol, it's not that bad," Starbuck protested. "I've been running on
adrenalin for the last few centares so I haven't even felt anything."

Then he fainted into Apollo's arms.

In the Life Centre, Apollo was met by Cassiopeia.

"Apollo, what happened?" the med tech asked in concern.

"Starbuck's hurt," was all Apollo would tell her. "Look after him,
please?"

Cassiopeia and Dr. Salik sprang into action to care for the wounded
warrior. Apollo paced. As he did so, he berated himself for not being
aware of Starbuck's injuries earlier. What if this was another of Iblis'
tricks - bringing Starbuck back to life only so that he could die later?

Adama arrived in the Life Centre, with Boxey in tow.

"What are you two doing here?" Apollo asked.

"Cassiopeia called me. She was worried about you. And when Boxey heard that
Starbuck had been hurt, he insisted on coming too. How is he?"

"I don't know," Apollo answered. "They're working on him right now. He's
badly hurt, Father.  And I don't know if there's any other damage - maybe
internal injuries, ones I didn't see. I should have noticed he was hurt,
but everything happened so quickly ..."

"What exactly *did* happen, Apollo?" his father asked.

The Captain sighed, then, reluctantly, began the story. "Iblis said he was
the one who ordered the attack on the Colonies. Starbuck tried to attack
him and Iblis ..." Apollo couldn't continue for a moment. Finally, he took
a deep breath and said, "Iblis killed him."

Somehow, Adama remained calm. "And then what happened?"

"Iblis said he would bring Starbuck back if I took his place. I said I
would." Apollo explained what had happened after that - Starbuck's coming
back to life, his convincing Apollo to defy Iblis. He left out some of the
details. "But what if this is Iblis' doing? What if he's attacked Starbuck
again from wherever he is?"

Just then another med tech, not Cassiopeia, interrupted them. "Are you here
for Lieutenant Starbuck?" she asked.

Apollo jumped up. "How is he?" he asked. What he really wanted to ask was
if Starbuck was still alive, but he refrained.

"What is your relationship to the Lieutenant?" asked the med tech.

"Starbuck is my wingman," Apollo answered. "He's my friend."
*He's my life* he added silently.

"Are any of you his family?" the young woman asked.

Adama stepped forward. "Lieutenant Starbuck is my adopted son," he
answered.

Apollo could see the change in the tech's attitude immediately. Obviously,
Starbuck was someone *important* if he was a member of the Commander's
family.

"What is Starbuck's condition?" Adama asked.

"He has some quite severe injuries, but Dr. Salik is treating them. He
should make a full recovery."

Apollo released the breath he'd been holding. "Thank the gods," he
whispered. "May I see him?"

"Certainly," the med tech replied with a smile. "Take all the time you
need." And she walked away to tend to other patients.

Apollo turned to go to Starbuck, then hesitated. "There's something I
haven't told you about me and Starbuck," he said to his father. "You know
that I love him ..."

"That much is obvious," smiled Adama.

"I love him, but not as a friend or a brother. I'm in love with him, and
he feels the same about me."

"That's wonderful, Apollo. I'm glad you and Starbuck found each other.
There are not many people who would give their lives for another - both of
you are very fortunate."

Boxey, who had been listening carefully to everything his father and
grandfather had said, suddenly spoke up. "Dad, are you and Starbuck gonna
get sealed?"

Apollo grinned. "I don't know that yet, Boxey. But I hope so."

When he went to see Starbuck, Apollo was relieved to see that his lover
was conscious. He hurried to Starbuck's side and took his hand. "You
scared me there, buddy," he said.

"Oh, Pol, stop fussing," Starbuck scolded.

"I think I'm entitled to fuss. I already lost you once today - I'd rather
it didn't happen again."

"I'm fine, Apollo," the Lieutenant insisted.

"You are not fine. You have some serious injuries as a result of our
encounter with Iblis."  Apollo's expression was solemn. "Starbuck, if
anything happened to you - if I lost you - I don't know what I would do.
We've only just started this new phase in our lives. I want us both to be
around to enjoy it."

Starbuck squeezed his hand. "You won't lose me, Pol, I promise. I want to
enjoy our life together just as much as you do. Now kiss me, already."

Apollo leaned down and did as he was told. Unfortunately, he was
interrupted by a loud "AHEM!" from his son. Startled, he jumped back.

Boxey came running up to Starbuck's bedside. "Hi, Starbuck. How are you?
The lady outside said you were hurt."

"Well, Boxey, I did get hurt. A very bad man hurt me. But your dad saved
me from getting hurt worse. I'll be fine."

"I'm happy to hear that, Starbuck," said Adama as he entered the room.

Starbuck looked up at his lover. "Pol, what's everyone doing here?"

"We're your family," Apollo answered. "Where else would we be?"

His family. Starbuck looked around him. He realized that Adama had made
him part of his family for yahrens. Why hadn't he realized it before? "The
Book was right after all," he commented.

"The Book?" Apollo asked.

"When I was growing up in the orphanage, we were told that it said in the
Book of the Word that the gods find families for lonely people. When no one adopted
me I thought it wasn't true. But now I see that it is true."

"Don't ever doubt it, Starbuck," Adama told him. "You are part of my
family - thought I'm not certain if that's as my son or my son-in-law," he
added with a twinkle in his eye.

"Is that a hint?" Apollo asked.

"A hint? No, of course not," his father assured him. "Come, Boxey, I think
your father and Starbuck want to be alone."

"Are you going to kiss again?" Boxey asked.

"That's between me and Starbuck," Apollo answered. "Now go with your
grandfather."

When they were alone, Apollo kneeled by Starbuck's bed and kissed him
again. "I guess now is as good a time as any to ask. Will you marry me?"

"Don't you think it's a bit soon?" Starbuck asked.

"No, I don't. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.
You said you want a permanent relationship. But if you think it's too soon...."

Starbuck interrupted him. "No, I don't think it's too soon. I just wanted
to make sure it was what you want, too. I will marry you, Apollo of
Kobol."

And the promise was sealed with a kiss.

END