Starbuck paced back and forth in Apollo's quarters. Soon to be Apollo and
Serina's quarters.  "You're really going through with it?" he asked the
Captain incredulously. "You're really going to marry her?" 

"I have to," stated Apollo simply. 

"You still haven't explained that part," Starbuck noted.

"I know."

"Apollo, you owe me this much. If you're going to marry her instead of me,
at least have the decency to tell me why." 

With a sigh, the darker warrior explained. "Several yahrens ago, before
you were assigned to the Galactica, I was on Caprica visiting my family on
shore leave, and I met Serina for the first time." 

"You mean you knew her before the destruction?"

Apollo nodded. "We had an affair. No strings, or so we said at the time.
Then after the destruction, she showed up with a child - Boxey - saying
that he's mine." 

"That's ridiculous. He doesn't look a thing like you," the Lieutenant
protested. 

"I know. But she says he's mine. And the timing's right."

"So get a genetic test done. That should prove that she's lying." 

"She won't put Boxey through that. She says he's scared of doctors and
needles and the Life Center in general. I don't blame her. It can be a
pretty intimidating place, especially for a kid.  Anyway, like I said, the
timing fits. He's mine, and I have to take responsibility for him." 

"Frack, Apollo, just because you have a child doesn't mean you have to get
married. If she wants you to be a father to him, surely she'd let you see
him without you actually living with them." 

"And how would that look to my father? To the Council? To the rest of the
fleet?" Apollo asked bitterly. "Especially if Serina told them the reason
I won't marry her is because I want to marry my male lover." 

Starbuck didn't have an answer to that question. "Pol - I love you. We
were going to be sealed.  Having you drop this on me ... I won't lie and
say it doesn't hurt." 

Reaching out, Apollo pulled his lover into his arms. "The last thing I
ever wanted to do was hurt you. I'm so sorry, Star. So sorry." Tears ran
down his face as he held Starbuck for what he was certain would be the
last time. "Can we ... can we have one more night together?" he asked. 

Reluctantly, Starbuck moved away from the other warrior. "No. You're
engaged to be married, Apollo. I can't make love with you knowing that
you're committed to someone else." He headed for the door. 

"I love you," Apollo called after him with a sob.

"I love you too," the blond man replied sadly as he left.


Apollo stood staring at the scanners. He couldn't believe Starbuck was
gone. He should have realized that being replaced as Apollo's wingman by
Serina - who had already taken what should have been Starbuck's rightful
place in his life - would hurt the Lieutenant terribly. Being asked to be
Apollo's best man at his wedding couldn't have helped, either. Especially
when he'd timed it so that Starbuck couldn't refuse without arousing
suspicions. 

He noticed that Serina was leaning over his shoulder. "I loved him too,"
she said. 

"You did not!" Apollo exclaimed hotly. "If you loved him - if you loved
either of us - you wouldn't have split us up. You wouldn't have threatened
to go to my father if I refused to marry you, telling him that Starbuck
and I are - were - lovers." 

"Like it was some sort of big secret?" she asked, noticing that the others
on the bridge couldn't help but overhear their conversation. "You were
going to be sealed to him, weren't you?" 

"Quietly. We were going to have a private ceremony," Apollo answered,
noting the irony of his words. "I loved him," he said, trying to brush
away his tears. "And now he's gone." 

"Sssh." Serina brushed at his cheeks. "Apollo - let's get married.
Tonight." 

"Tonight? Are you out of your mind?" Apollo demanded. "My best friend is
*dead*, the other pilots could be dying, we're in the middle of an endless
void, and all you can think about is getting married?" 

"We need a celebration, something to take peoples' minds off everything
that's been happening.  A celebration of life," she answered him. 

"Lords, woman. You're insane."

She smiled and kissed him, to his obvious discomfort. "Maybe I am. Marry
me anyway." 

Apollo sighed. "May as well, I suppose. There's no way this day could get
any worse." 

So the wedding took place, and just as the vows were said a planet
appeared at the end of the void. Commander Adama declared it to be Kobol,
the planet on which all human life was said to originate. Apollo was happy
to see it, if for no other reason than it meant he could go down there and
explore it, and not be expected to consummate his marriage to Serina right
away. There was no way he could have sex with Serina right now - perhaps
not ever. 

They were down on the planet, exploring one of the ancient tombs of Kobol
when Apollo heard the shouts from one of the sentries. "Starbuck!" 

Starbuck? Starbuck was here? Baltar had mentioned having him as a
prisoner, but Apollo hadn't dared to believe him, not wanting to get his
hopes up that his lover was still alive, only to have them dashed if it
turned out not to be true. Ignoring his new wife, the Captain ran out of
the tomb towards the camp. 

And there was Starbuck, looking slightly embarrassed at the young woman
who was obviously very happy to see him. 

"STARBUCK!" he exclaimed as he threw his arms around him, grabbing and
holding him in a fierce embrace. 

Surprised, Starbuck said, "Don't you know it's against regulations to hug
a junior officer?" Then he added, more quietly, "Unless you mean it." 

Unless he meant it? Didn't Starbuck know how much he meant it? Then he
remembered how he'd been treating Starbuck lately and realized the
Lieutenant probably had good reason to doubt him. "I mean it," he
whispered in the blond man's ear before releasing him, only to reconsider
and hold him at arm's length.  "I thought you were dead." 

"You thought I was dead?" Starbuck forced a laugh. "What's a Cylon
base-star to an old war dog like me?" He tried not to let any emotions
show on his face. Apollo was obviously still with Serina - judging by the
way the woman had been glaring at the both of them. And he wore a wedding
band on his finger. They'd gone ahead with the sealing, even though they'd
apparently believed the best man to be dead. He tried to push that out of
his mind and concentrate on the questions Apollo was asking him about the
base star. 


After it was all over, nobody could say for certain exactly what had
happened. Adama told them that Baltar swore he hadn't ordered the Cylon
attack on Kobol, and apparently he believed him.  It didn't really matter
whose idea it had been. The attack had happened, many of the historical
landmarks were destroyed, and several Galactica personnel were dead -
including Serina.  However, the sick pilots - Boomer, Jolly and the others
- had recovered completely from their illness. One bright spot in an
otherwise tragic day. 

Starbuck let himself into Apollo's quarters, where he found his friend
sitting, staring off into space. "Hi there," Starbuck said softly. 

Apollo looked up at him with an odd expression on his face. "I didn't know
if I would ever see you again," he said. 

The blond warrior smiled. "What kind of a friend would I be to leave you
alone in your time of grief?" he asked. 

"A better friend than I ever was," Apollo muttered darkly.

Starbuck noticed the small boy sleeping in the next room. "So, what are
you going to do about him?" 

"He's mine now," the Captain answered. "Even if he's not genetically mine,
I'm his legal parent, and I won't send him to the Orphan Barge." 

"I didn't expect you to."

"Look, Starbuck, about everything that happened ..." Apollo began.
Starbuck held up a hand to shush him. 

"Forget about it. It's all in the past now."

"Can you ever forgive me?" his former lover asked.

The warrior shrugged. "I'll think about it," he said teasingly. 

Apollo allowed his gaze to fall on his son again. "I guess I have a son to
raise," he commented. 

"You mean *we* have a son to raise," answered Starbuck.

"We?" Apollo asked, hardly daring to believe what he had just heard.

Starbuck put an arm around Apollo's shoulders. "Apollo, I love you. I'm
not going to leave you alone with a child to raise. Even if you don't want
us to be lovers anymore, I'm still your best friend and I intend to be
around for a long time to watch this boy grow up." 

"Who says I don't want us to be lovers?" the Captain asked. "I love you. I
never stopped loving you or wanting you."

"Apollo, how is it going to look for you to start up an affair with your
wingman so soon after your wife's death?" 

"I don't care how it looks," Apollo growled in response. He explained the
very public fight he'd had with Serina on the bridge, and how he'd pretty
much outed himself and Starbuck as a result.  "I lost you once, and I
thank the Gods that I got you back, that I got another chance. I'm not
going to let you go again." He ended his speech with a firm kiss to
Starbuck's lips. "Stay with me tonight?" he asked hopefully. 

Starbuck stood and followed him to the bedroom. "There's nowhere I would
rather be."