Starbuck and Apollo were parting ways at the Bachelor Officers' Quarters
after their latest win at Triad when Apollo suddenly asked, "You ever
think about getting quarters of your own?" 

The Lieutenant shrugged. "I think about it, but I haven't really gotten
around to doing anything about it. Maybe I'll just wait until I find
someone I want to share quarters with." 

Apollo ignored the pang he felt every time he thought of Starbuck settling
down with Athena or Cassiopeia, or anyone other than himself. "You're not
that serious about Cassie, are you? Or Athena?" he asked. 

"No, but things could change. You never know."

This was true. You never knew what could happen. As the survivors of the
Destruction knew, things could change in an instant. Apollo said good
night to his friend and headed toward his own quarters. 

That was the moment everything changed.

No one knew how the Cylon fighter had made it past their defence screens,
but it had. It slammed into the side of the Galactica, right above the
section that contained the Bachelor Officers' Quarters. 

The blast threw Apollo several metrons down the corridor. When he was able
to stand up and brush himself off, he saw that the BOQ had been buried in
a mountain of rubble. 

"STARBUCK!" he cried out as he began frantically digging through the
debris. 

Rescue and fire crews were soon there to join him. Apollo knew that he had
other friends and colleagues in the BOQ besides Starbuck: Boomer, Jolly,
Giles, Greenbean, and many others. But Starbuck was first and foremost in
his mind. 

But Boomer hadn't been in the BOQ after all. He appeared at Apollo's side
and pitched in to help with the search for survivors. So did many of the
other warriors who, for one reason or another, hadn't been in the BOQ at
the moment it collapsed. Some had been on patrol. Some had been at the
Triad match. Others had moved out and into their own quarters. But they
were all there to help search for the ones who had not been so lucky. 

Finally Apollo stopped digging and called for the other warriors to do so
as well. "I need a roll call," he announced. "I need to know who's
accounted for and who's not." 

An announcement was made from the Bridge that all warriors were to report
to Apollo in the Briefing room. When they had all assembled, the Captain
took a head count. Things were not as bad as he had first feared; there
were only about two dozen warriors unaccounted for. And the warriors who
were there were eager to help with the search. 

As the warriors headed toward the damaged section of the ship, Boomer
turned to Apollo. "He's in there, isn't he?" the Leonid asked. Apollo
didn't have to ask who he meant. 

"He'd just said good night to me and headed for his bunk," Apollo
answered. "If we'd just been a little bit later returning from the game
... if we'd had one more drink in the Officers' Club .." 

"Apollo, 'what if' doesn't do anyone any good. So stop it. There wasn't
anything you could do.  Something kept our defence screens from catching
them until it was too late. Someone has a lot to answer for." 

"If this was sabotage, I intend to find the person responsible and rip
them apart with my bare hands," Apollo vowed. 

"You'll have a lineup of warriors behind you waiting their turn," Boomer
told him. 

After they'd been digging for a couple of centares, Boomer turned to one
of the rescue personnel. "The ones inside ... what do you think their
chances are?" he asked. 

One of the men stopped digging for a micron and shrugged. "I honestly
don't know. It could be that the room itself is largely intact, but the
decks above it crumbled down on top of it. Or the debris from the crash
could have pierced the hull and everyone inside could have suffocated. 
There's no way to tell until we get inside." 

"He's alive," Apollo murmured. "He has to be."

Boomer just put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze,
without saying anything. 

After more centares of digging, the doors to the Bachelor Officers'
Quarters were finally uncovered. However, the electrical system was
off-line, and the doors would not open. A crew member was dispatched to
fetch cutting tools to cut through the doors. 

Apollo waited impatiently. He had to find Starbuck. He had to know that he
was all right. He didn't know what he would do without him. "How could I
have been so stupid?" he asked himself. 

"Stupid about what?" Boomer asked.

"I never told him how I feel. I always thought that there would be time
... that I could wait. Wait for what, I don't know. I should know better.
I should know that there are no guarantees that we'll still be here a
secton from now, or even a day from now." 

After what seemed like an eternity, the worker appeared with a cutting
torch. And, finally, the doors were opened. 

The Bachelor Officers' Quarters were a mess. Furniture, clothing, and
personal items were strewn all over among the rubble from the upper decks.
But at least the hull was intact; there was still oxygen to breathe. The
men were buried under all that debris. 

The rescue workers swung into action, with the warriors alongside them.
Every so often someone would call out, hoping for a response. 

Amazingly, people started responding. Voices called out for help, as one
by one the injured warriors were pulled from the rubble. 

There was still no sign of Starbuck. 

'He has to be here,' Apollo told himself. 'I can't lose him. I *can't*.'
He said a silent prayer to God and the Lords of Kobol, then took a deep
breath, trying not to choke on the dust, and called out, "Starbuck? Where
are you? Answer me!" 

From somewhere within the piles of debris a weak voice answered, "Apollo?
Is that you?" 

The rescue workers were on the site in microns. Apollo was there too. And
finally, Starbuck emerged from the rubble, pale, covered in cuts and
bruises, but alive. And, to Apollo's eyes, beautiful. Apollo met him with
a strong but gentle hug, mindful of his injuries. 
     
Starbuck was a bit unsteady on his feet, but he was able to walk
unsupported to a temporary life station set up by the med techs. Or he
would have been able to, but Apollo insisted on supporting him. When he'd
been treated and released, he said, "Well, I guess I have to find
somewhere else to sleep tonight." 

"You can sleep with me," Apollo told him. "I mean, you can sleep in my
quarters." 

Starbuck's eyes twinkled as he said, "I liked the first way better."

"You liked what the first way?" Apollo asked.

"What you said about my sleeping with you. With you, not just in your
quarters, but in your bed.  At least, I hope that's what you meant." 

"Is that what you want?" Apollo asked hopefully.

"Apollo, it's what I've wanted for yahrens."

Starbuck was rewarded with the biggest smile he'd ever seen from his
friend. "Let me see if the rescue workers need any more help, and if they
don't, then we'll go back to my quarters - only from now on, they'll be
OUR quarters." 

In the end, there was a total of ten fatalities from the Cylon attack. 
Happily, there were many more survivors. And it turned out that there had
been no sabotage; an electrical fault had caused the failure of the
defense grid. It was quickly repaired, and an alarm was added to alert the
crew to any future failures. 

As for Apollo and Starbuck, they moved in together and lived happily
ever after.

END