Bridging the Gap
By Melissa Burnett
1998
Rating: PG
Disclaimer:  This is a fiction story based on the series 
Battlestar Galactica and its characters created and owned 
by Glen A. Larson.  This story is not being sold for profit 
and no infringement of any copyright rights are intended.  
All unrecognized characters and plot lines are mine and any 
resemblance to any person living or dead is purely 
coincidental.

Chapter 1

	Sheba was doing her usual pre-flight check.  So far 
everything was normal, except for the absence of her 
wingmate. This was definitely out of character for Bojay. 
He was never late for a patrol. Usually she was the one who 
was a centon or two late, always hearing about it from her 
wingmate of many yahren.
	She sighed. She considered herself lucky. Many of her 
friends had had to endure the loss of their wingmates, some 
a few times over. She and Bojay had met at the Academy and 
become fast friends. He had respect for the woman who had 
established herself as an accomplished warrior in her own 
right while constantly living in the shadow of her father, 
the great Commander Cain.
	When they had both been assigned to the Pegasus, they 
had requested each other as wingmates and had been 
fortunate to this day to still be a team. They had beaten 
the odds, not unlike Apollo and Starbuck. Which brought up 
an always troubling thought.  Apollo, Starbuck and Bojay 
were alike in so many ways. Why couldn't they get along? 
They had never come to blows or anything, but there was a 
constant state of rivalry between them. She couldn't 
understand it.
	Well, she thought further, maybe with Starbuck she 
could understand.
	A few yahrens ago she had played matchmaker between 
Bojay and Athena. They were both friends of hers, both 
available, both had a lot in common... the match seemed 
perfect. And while she did expect a slight backlash from 
Apollo, being the protective big brother and all, she 
certainly did not expect the angry reaction from Starbuck. 
He had been with Cassiopeia for a long time and they seemed 
perfectly happy. Sure, Starbuck still had feelings for 
Athena, but that was expected. They had grown up together 
and they had always been close.
	But when Athena started dating Bojay, Starbuck went 
through the hull! Sheba wondered if it was because Athena 
was dating again or if it was because she was dating Bojay.  
Sheba recalled how she was quick to remind Starbuck that he 
had a good thing going with Cassiopeia and he was going to 
blow it as Cassie had noticed his renewed interest in 
Athena. That put him in his place for a little while, but 
she knew that he was secretly doing cartwheels when Bojay 
and Athena broke up.
	Apollo's rivalry with Bojay was another story. A 
mystery to her really. They were both so alike that it 
seemed that they should've become the best of friends. 
Apollo had once admitted to her, rather reluctantly, that 
he was a bit jealous of all the time she spent with Bojay 
as her wingmate. She told him that he was being ridiculous 
and attributed it to his old-fashioned values. She reminded 
him that if anyone was to be jealous, it was her. He spent 
more time with Starbuck than he did with her, and that was 
even when they weren't on patrol.
	"That's different," he had told her.
	He didn't understand how two people of the opposite 
sex could share the same bond he and Starbuck did and not 
have it result in intimacy.
	Well, she decided, most men can't handle relationships 
like that and she knew that she was fortunate to have found 
someone mature enough to be her wingmate and not have to 
deal with any unwanted emotions. Besides, she didn't owe 
Apollo any explanations anyway. He was her companion, Bojay 
was her wingmate, end of story.
	Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice across the launch 
bay. "Sheba, I am so sorry," Bojay said as he approached 
her, a look of shame on his face.
	"Don't worry about it Bo," she replied, her hand on 
his shoulder to reassure him that she wasn't upset. "Is 
everything okay?"
	"Yeah," he said, a slightly embarrassed smirk breaking 
across his face. "Believe it or not, I was watching 
Starbuck beat the pants off a couple of Leonids in Pyramid 
and I lost track of time."
	"Pyramid! At this centar?!" she exclaimed with annoyed 
surprise.
	Starting to do his own pre-flight check, Bojay 
replied, "Apparently it had been an all-nighter. I have to 
admit Sheba, it was a great game."
	"For Starbuck's sake I hope it was the best game 
ever," Sheba said, shaking her head in disappointment. 
"He's got a woman who loves him, a beautiful daughter... I 
just don't understand why he wants to risk losing..."
	"Sheba," Bojay interrupted, " do yourself a favor. 
Don't try to figure out Starbuck. You'll only give yourself 
a headache."
	Sheba rolled her eyes and said, "I suppose you're 
right. I just hate to see Cassie get hurt."
	"She's a grown woman, fully capable of taking care of 
herself. I must say though," he said, looking up from his 
control panel, "it looks like Athena was the smart one in 
all of this."
	"What do you mean?" she asked. She didn't hear Bojay 
mention Athena's name often. Their break-up had not been a 
pleasant one. Although occasionally she wondered if he 
still had feelings for Athena.
	"When Starbuck asked her to be sealed to him, she said 
'no'. It seems to me that, for as long as I've known 
Starbuck, he attracts women who want a commitment. And yet 
the one woman he proposed to dropped him flat."
	"I wouldn't say that she dropped him flat," Sheba 
offered. "His timing wasn't exactly great."
	"I don't know Sheba," Bojay remarked, "for most women 
that would've been the perfect time. Tragedy tends to bring 
people together."
	"I suppose you're right. It brought Starbuck and 
Cassie together."
	"My point exactly," he said, throwing his hands up in 
the air. "One centon he's asking Athena to be sealed, the 
next he's finding someone new. I hope Athena is relieved 
that she did not make that mistake."
	"I take it then that you never discussed it with her," 
Sheba asked, knowing that she was treading on dangerous 
ground.
	"Nope," he replied, obviously perturbed. "Starbuck was 
a subject we never discussed. My choice really. I knew that 
deep down she still cared for him and, to be honest, I 
think it’s what kept her from committing to me."
	"I understand that," she said, thinking of her own 
situation with Apollo and Serina.
	With that thought, she changed the subject. "So, did 
you want to do anything special for your novayahren?", a 
wry smile beaming from her face.
	"That's a few days away Sheba. I haven't given it much 
thought."
	"Well, we'll have plenty of time to discuss it on 
patrol. We haven't seen Cylons in a few sectars, I'm going 
to be optimistic that we won't see any today either."
	With that they took off, both talking about party 
plans while their thoughts were elsewhere... Bojay, 
steaming that he had let Starbuck, a man with whom he 
clearly had issues, distract him from his duty... and 
Sheba, wondering if her friend Cassie needed someone to 
talk to.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

	"Starbuck, we need to talk."
	Certainly not the words one wants to hear first thing 
in the morning, but they were exactly the words Cassie 
used. And who was he kidding... he never liked hearing 
those words, no matter what time of day it was.
	He had asked if it could wait until later. After the 
long night in the O-Club and the intense game of Pyramid 
that he had just finished, he really needed some sleep 
before his mid-cycle patrol.  But she made it clear that 
she wanted to talk to him after she had taken Dalton to 
school and now he was sitting on the sofa in her quarters, 
awaiting whatever bombshell she was about to drop. 
	As he waited for her to return from the Education 
Center, Starbuck had flashbacks to one of the last BIG 
bombshells she had unloaded.
	About 8 yahren ago, Cassie had surprised Starbuck by 
greeting him in the landing bay after one of his patrols. 
She rarely came to the landing bay anymore... as a healer, 
she had started to equate vipers with certain injury and 
death.
	She embraced him and then uttered the magic words, 
"Starbuck, we need to talk," followed soon after by, "I'm 
pregnant."
	Starbuck recalled feeling as though all of the blood 
had just rushed out of his head. The first words out of his 
mouth had been, "Really, how?" Okay, not the most 
intelligent thing to say, but, then again, he really hadn't 
know what to say.
	He loved Cassie very much and had always thought she 
would make a great mother. She had come such a long way 
since the destruction of the Colonies. She had put her 
"socialator" past behind her and become a respected Med 
Tech and he was so proud of her for that.
	He just wasn't sure if he would be a good father.
	Even though he and Cassie had been together for two 
yahren, he still hadn't been ready to formally settle down. 
For a moment, only a centar before he had met Cassie, he 
had thought about getting sealed, but rejection had forced 
him to quickly revert his thoughts back to bachelorhood. 
	Nevertheless, one thing was for sure. He loved his 
daughter very much.
	He remembered holding her when she was born, a 
thousand emotions pouring through him at once. He had made 
a silent promise to her that he would always be there and 
would never allow any harm to come to her. Laughing to 
himself, he remembered making that same promise to another 
little girl once, but that was many yahrens ago.
	And while it would be obvious to assume that it was 
the previous all-nighter Cassie wanted to discuss, he had a 
feeling that it was the "little girl-not so much anymore" 
that she wanted to talk about.
	He recalled being brought to the home of Adama and Ila 
after being orphaned on Umbra. He felt so lost, his future 
completely uncertain. But Adama had been drawn to him. 
Perhaps it was some deeper sense that told him that 
Starbuck was destined to be a part of his family.
	Starbuck had hit it off with Apollo immediately. From 
the moment they met, they had taken off to the lake by the 
house to play, pretending they were viper pilots saving the 
universe.
	Starbuck laughed aloud. "Boy, if I had known then what 
I know now," he thought. 
	They had returned to the house to get something to 
drink when he first saw her. She was sitting in her 
mother's lap playing with some flowers she had picked.
	Starbuck was just a little boy but he remembered 
thinking that she was the most beautiful girl he had ever 
seen. He instinctively walked towards her but was brought 
to a screeching halt when she looked up at him. Her big, 
crystal-blue eyes stared at him in wonderment and he felt 
his knees buckle.
	"It's amazing," he thought now, "she could do that to 
me even back then."
	"Athena," Ila said, "this is Starbuck. He's going to 
live with us."
	"Hello," Athena said, now looking up at him with a 
smile, her eyes growing ever brighter.
	It was the sweetest voice he had ever heard. Any 
sadness that he had felt, any fear, any uncertainty had 
been washed away forever. He was home.
	He had gotten so wrapped up in those eyes, he hadn't 
realized that his new best friend had been yelling at him 
to come back down to the lake, clearly angry that Starbuck 
was spending time with his little sister.
	"Oh, the shades of things to come," Starbuck thought 
now.
	About half-way back down the hill, he stopped and 
turned. It was then that he offered his silent promise, the 
valiant young hero-to-be to his princess, "As long as I 
live, you will never come to harm."
	Well, a lot had happened since then. They had all 
grown up, gone to the Academy, led separate lives. It 
wasn't until they had been reunited on the Galactica that 
he had experienced the full scale of his emotions.
	Sure he had made himself quite a reputation as a 
ladies' man throughout his Academy days and as well as on 
the Galactica. But when Athena was assigned to her father's 
ship, those old feelings had crept back up again. Crept? 
They had hit him like a Borellian cruiser! She had grown 
from his perfect little angel into the most beautiful woman 
he had ever seen.
	And he wasn't the only one that thought so. From the 
moment she stepped foot on the Galactica, she had attracted 
the attention of every viper pilot on the battlestar. A 
fact not lost on her older brother.
	"Starbuck," Apollo had confided to him, "I want you to 
help me look after Athena. She's still too young to be 
getting involved with any of these guys and I know that 
they're going to be hovering over her like daggits in 
season. Make sure she doesn't get into any trouble."
	"Sure, no problem," Starbuck responded. He was 
wondering if Apollo had meant that for him as well.
	He found out soon enough. While he had tried to fight 
his urges, he'd found that he just couldn't. His feelings 
were too strong. And, as it turned out, much to his 
surprise, she had felt the same about him.
	He couldn't believe it, "The most gorgeous woman on 
the ship and she's mine!" he thought.
	"I don't believe you!" screamed Apollo. "I asked you 
to look after her, not claim her for yourself!"
	"Apollo," Starbuck responded, "what was I supposed to 
do? Ignore the attraction between us?!"
	"You could have any woman on the ship," Apollo 
scolded, "you didn't have to pick my little sister!"
	"She's not little anymore Apollo," Starbuck stated the 
obvious. "Besides, it's like putting the finest bottle of 
Ambrosa in front of me and asking me not to take a drink!"
	"Well I'm not going to be responsible for what my 
father is going to say when he hears that you two are an 
item," Apollo said as he stormed off.
	Starbuck hadn't exactly thought that far ahead.
	He knew that Apollo would calm down. They were best 
friends after all and they had always vowed to never let a 
woman come between them. Of course, he was sure that Apollo 
had never anticipated that Athena would be part of the 
equation but he would just have to get over it. Adama was 
another situation entirely. It was one thing to be involved 
with your best friend's little sister, but to be involved 
with the Commander's baby daughter, that was something 
else. But, as happy as he was, he decided that whatever 
trouble he was in for was well worth it.
	He thought so even now as he was sure that he was in 
trouble with Cassie for the time that he had been spending 
with Athena lately. Granted, it had been completely 
platonic and innocent. Just two old friends having dinner, 
having drinks, playing a game of Pyramid, watching the 
Triad tournaments... Okay, they had been spending a lot of 
time together but, with Cassie so involved with her work 
and with Dalton, Starbuck missed the company of someone 
that enjoyed the same things he did.
	He still spent a lot of time in Cassie's quarters. 
When she had gotten pregnant, they had had many a 
conversation about the future. Cassie had used the word 
"sealed" a few times but had eventually had let the subject 
drop, realizing that she was beating a dead equine. After 
Dalton was born, she subtly suggested that he might want to 
at least share quarters with her and his new daughter. He 
had contemplated it a few times but, for some reason, 
couldn't bring himself to commit to even that.
	"What's wrong with me," he had argued with himself. 
"Here I have a beautiful, loving, caring woman who has 
given me an equally beautiful daughter and yet I can't give 
in just a little."
	This was nothing new though. He had always had trouble 
deciding between the two women that he loved, and who loved 
him in return.
	While Starbuck considered both women to be beautiful, 
they were both quite different.
	Physically, Cassie was very characteristic of a Gemon. 
She was fair-haired, fair-skinned and petite in frame. Her 
figure was demure, often hidden by the Med-Tech robes that 
draped her.
	Athena, on the other hand, had inherited her mother's 
Caprican beauty. She had dark hair, blue eyes, and was 
taller than most women he knew. She'd always been athletic 
and had a fantastic figure, accentuated by the uniforms she 
wore. Starbuck loved seeing women in uniform, especially if 
they filled it out the way Athena did. This thought brought 
a smile to his face just as Cassie entered her quarters.
	She stopped, put her hands on her hips and smiled back 
at him. "Amusing yourself in my absence?" she inquired.
	"Trying to," he replied, not looking forward to the 
conversation at hand. "What took you so long?"
	"Dalton wanted to show me some of her drawings that 
were up on the wall in the classroom. She's very proud of 
them you know. You should go by and see them sometime," she 
said. She'd hoped that her last statement hadn't implied 
that he didn't spend enough time with their daughter. As 
far as she was concerned, Starbuck had been a very good 
father. Probably more so than he had expected he'd be.
	Beaming with pride, Starbuck replied, "I'll go by a 
see them later. She's quite the little talent that one."
	Cassiopeia took a deep breath. "Well, thank you for 
waiting," she started. "I know you must be tired but I want 
to talk about something important."
	"And what would that be?" he said buoyantly, 
attempting to keep things light.
	"Us," she replied, in a tone that told Starbuck that 
his attempt had failed.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

	The rumors had already begun. It never took long on 
the Galactica, as big a ship as she was.
	Even before she and Bojay had landed, Rigel and let it 
slip that Starbuck and Cassie had broken up. Tigh had 
quickly reminded  Rigel that discussing such matters over 
the com-link was inappropriate, but Sheba's head was 
already swimming with assorted scenarios.
	Had they really broken up or simply had an argument?
	Was Cassie finally fed up with Starbuck's hedonistic 
lifestyle?
	Had Starbuck decided that being with Cassie and Dalton 
was just too close to a commitment for comfort?
	Sheba realized that it was pointless to speculate.
	Once she and Bojay had landed, Sheba made a b-line for 
the Life Center. As she knocked on the door and was asked 
to enter Cassie's office, Sheba had expected to find her 
friend depressed and broken. Cassie and Starbuck had been 
together for ten yahren, a long time by Starbuck standards, 
and Cassie had confided to Sheba that lately she had 
questioned his love for her. He had never asked her to be 
sealed, even after the birth of their daughter. Sheba had 
wondered about that herself, but had hoped that one day he 
would grow up and want to settle down.
	This only caused confusion as Sheba entered the office 
and was surprised to find Cassie in extremely high spirits.
	"Hey Sheba!" Cassie greeted her, looking up from her 
desk. "I'm glad you're here. I was just getting ready to go 
over to the commissary. Want to join me?"
	Sheba looked puzzled. "Sure, actually I came to see if 
you wanted to talk."
	The perma-smile expression on Cassie's face turned to 
one of concern. "What's wrong Sheba? Has something happened 
with you and Apollo?"
	Sheba just looked at Cassie with a blank and confused 
stare. "No... I figured you might need to talk."
	"Oh, I see," Cassie said, laughing. "I forgot how 
quickly news travels around here."
	"So, it is true then?" Sheba asked, now even more 
mystified by her friend's cheerfulness.
	"That depends on what you've heard," Cassie responded, 
knowing that gossip always distorted the truth. "If it's 
that Starbuck and I broke up, then yes, it's true."
	Sheba, dumbfounded by Cassie's casual demeanour, 
retorted "Pardon my saying Cass, but you don't seem too 
upset by it."
	"Sheba," Cassie stated directly, "I've spent the last 
few yahren being upset, but I've come to realize that I 
have myself to blame and well as Starbuck."
	Cassiopeia motioned for Sheba to sit in the chair 
directly opposite of her own.
	"I know that I've changed Sheba," Cassie explained. 
"Before the destruction of the Colonies, I had a very 
different life, a different lifestyle. I may have even 
continued being a socialator if I hadn't met Starbuck. He 
inspired me to do something different, something more 
rewarding, something that would give me a sense of 
accomplishment. Becoming a Med-Tech was the best thing I've 
ever done and, while it isn't always easy, I truly feel 
that I make a contribution now."
	"And yet," she continued, "I did a horrible thing in 
return. I had completely turned my life around and, in 
doing so, I expected Starbuck to do the same." To Sheba, it 
almost appeared that Cassie was hanging her head in shame. 
"I fell in love with him because he was so optimistic, so 
carefree... and I tried to change that. I had no right to 
do that."
	"Wait a minute Cassie," Sheba interjected, "who broke 
up with whom?"
	Cassie smiled once again. "It was a mutual decision 
Sheba," she replied. "We both realized that we had both 
grown together and yet had grown apart. He still enjoys the 
spontaneity of his life, the irregular schedule of a viper 
pilot and the risks involved, the all-night Pyramid 
parties..." Cassiopeia knew that she could go on for 
centons but was pretty sure that she had made her point. 
"I'm a mother now," she continued, "I want stability in my 
life and, no offense Sheba, I want a man with a normal job! 
Someone who works the same cycle as I do and who wants to 
come home at the end of the day and spend time with me.
	"And I want a man who wants to be sealed and have a 
family," Cassie concluded. "I love Starbuck very much, but 
he's obviously not that man."
	"And you're okay with this?" Sheba asked, a bit more 
comfortable, yet still somewhat speechless.
	"I am," Cassie assured her, albeit a little exhausted 
over the days events. "Let's go eat."
	The two women rose from their chairs and began their 
trek to the commissary.
	There was one detail Sheba was still curious about. 
"What about Dalton?"
	"I'm not kicking Starbuck out my life Sheba," Cassie 
explained. "He is Dalton's father and I have no plans to 
replace him as such."
	Sheba knew that she was treading on thin ice with her 
next question, but Cassie was one of her best friends and 
Sheba was hoping that she was not putting up a facade to 
hide her true feelings. "Even if he falls in love with 
someone else?"
	"Sheba," Cassiopeia responded flatly, "he is in love 
with someone else."
	Sheba decided to play ignorant. "Who?" she asked, 
trying to look surprised.
	"Oh please Sheba," Cassiopeia replied, noticeably 
annoyed, "our circle of friends is too small for you to 
pretend you haven't noticed."
	Sheba knew exactly what and who Cassie was talking 
about and felt a little guilty now that she had tried to 
feign otherwise.
	"Cassie... I don't know if he's in love with her..."
	"I do," Cassiopeia interrupted. "No offense Sheba, but 
I know Starbuck a little better that you do and I can tell 
when he's in love. He was in love with me for a few yahrens 
and I know that look in his eye."
	They entered the commissary and decided to sit at a 
table away from the main area. As they started to eat their 
rations, Cassiopeia could tell that Sheba was restless.  
She knew that Sheba and Athena were good friends and she 
didn't want Sheba to feel that she had to choose sides.
	"Sheba, I like Athena," Cassie assured, "I like her a 
lot. I'm not surprised that Starbuck is still in love with 
her. They have a long history, much deeper that anything he 
and I ever had."
	Sheba continued to analyze Cassie's facial 
expressions, still wondering how could she talk about this 
so casually.
	Cassie, sensing Sheba's discomfort, wanted to give her 
friend some more insight as to why and how she had found 
peace with her decision. "Have you ever heard the term 
'carus spiritus'?"
	"I don't think so," Sheba replied, wondering if they 
were changing the subject.
	"It's a word from an ancient Gemon text," Cassie 
explained. "It means 'soulmate'. I believe that Starbuck 
and Athena are just that...soulmates. Most people spend 
their entire lives looking for that one person and most 
never find them. Starbuck and Athena were brought together 
as children. It would be a tragedy for them not to be 
together now."
	Sheba laughed, albeit cautiously. She could tell that 
Cassie believed in every word she said and she did not want 
to hurt her feelings.
	"What make you think their relationship is that deep?" 
Sheba asked.
	"Starbuck told me of when he first saw her, first 
spoke to her..." Cassie was now fighting back tears. 
"Sheba, he spoke of her with such passion and affection... 
I had never seen him like that before. It was then that I 
remembered my mother telling me of when she met my father. 
She used the term 'carus spiritus'.  I knew that I had to 
let Starbuck go. I couldn't stand in the way of that kind 
of love."
	Sheba reached across the table and grabbed Cassie's 
hand. "I'm sorry Sheba, let's not talk about this any..."
	"No Sheba," Cassie insisted, "I'm not upset over 
Starbuck. I'm happy for him. As I said, most people never 
find the person they were meant to be with. He and Athena 
are incredibly lucky."
	Cassie realized that she hadn't completely convinced 
Sheba. "It's hard to explain Sheba, but have you ever heard 
a love song so passionate that it overwhelmed you with 
emotion?"
	Sheba had to admit that, as a warrior, she often 
stifled her emotions. But she now confided in her friend, 
"Not a song so much... but I remember, one night, listening 
to Adama tell a story about his wife, Ila. He talked about 
how beautiful she was and how much she had made him laugh. 
He loved her so much. I hadn't realized it but I had tears 
in my eyes as he spoke of her."
	"Then you do understand," Cassie said gently. "I just 
about fell apart when Starbuck told me of their childhood 
together. He thought I was upset over his feelings for her, 
but I had to explain to him that I was overwhelmed by the 
intensity of his emotions, emotions that I had not seen in 
him before. I actually told him that he had been foolish 
for giving up on her so quickly after she had turned down 
his proposal to be sealed. I scolded him for his 
insensitivity towards her during what was undoubtedly the 
most devastating day of her life."
	"Wow," Sheba mumbled, knowing full well that she would 
not have had the strength to have the same conversation 
with Apollo if he were in love with someone else.
	"I know," Cassie admitted, "I was pretty surprised 
that the words were coming out of my mouth too. But I'll 
tell you Sheba, I felt like an incredible burden had been 
lifted from me. I know the gossip mill is probably painting 
an unflattering picture of the whole thing, but I know that 
Starbuck wants nothing but the best for me and I want 
nothing but the best for him."
	Cassie now resumed a smile and cheerful disposition. 
"And what's best for him is Athena."
	"Although," she pointed out, anticipating a challenge 
for her ex, "after Starbuck's callousness all those yahren 
ago, who's to say if Athena is willing to involve herself 
with him again. After all, she's grown a lot as well."
	"That's true," Sheba agreed, "I guess we'll just have 
to wait and see."
	And with that, they decided to change the subject and 
discuss plans for Bojay's novayahren.   Now that Starbuck 
was no longer her companion, Cassiopeia didn't want to 
spend her entire day talking about him. He was Athena's 
headache now.
	Still, Sheba couldn't help but feel that there was 
something Cassie wasn't telling her.