Commencement I
by Athena13

Rated: PG - for strong language
See Chapter 1 for disclaimers and copyright information
See End of Story for lyric and poetry credits

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Growing up and Moving on
Is a natural part of life
But do we have to leave things behind
or can they survive the tests of distance
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Chapter 3

"I won't let you," Cole said, Athena settling down by his side as they settled in to watch another beautiful sunset by the lake.

"So what did you do while I was busy with Mom?" Athena flushed, refusing to look him in the eye and instead concentrating her gaze at the flaming suns.

"Finished packing," Cole told her as he clasped her hand and watched her profile.

Athena sighed and entwined her fingers with Cole's.

"What if you want to, you know, date other people when we're apart?" Athena leaned her forehead against his chin.

"You mean when you want to date a hot shot pilot?" Cole asked tersely.

"No! No one could mean as much to me as you. You know that," Athena looked up at him questioningly.

"You'll be at school surrounded by warriors, I know you've always had a thing for them," Cole said, remembering the crush she had on her brother's friend a few yahrens ago. Cole couldn't bear the idea of her dating other men and he refused to allow that to happen. He wouldn't let her break up with him before they went away.

"Oh Lords, I was sooo young then," she giggled, remembering what an idiot she had made flirting with Starbuck before she realized she was in love with Cole.

"Still," Cole enunciated carefully. "You admire warriors, it's understandable considering your family," he finished quietly.

"Not as much as I admire you," she pressed her lips to his cheek.

"We'll make it work then," he whispered.

"How? We'll be so far away. I'm so afraid that if we stay together and try to keep up a relationship being apart we'll end up hating each other. We've seen it happen to our friends," Athena turned and caught him looking at her.

"It won't happen to us. We're stronger. We love each other more. We've been friends forever - that will never change. So no, I won't let you break up with me out of fear," Cole stroked her cheekbone with his thumb. "You know you don't want to. We've talked about this before."

Athena turned and caught his palm with a gentle kiss. He was right. She didn't want to break up with him. The thought of going away, alone, without being able to hold onto him was far scarier than a future she couldn't really believe in, logic and advice to the contrary. Their love was different, after all.

"How soon do we have to be back?" he asked, allowing her to remain silent for the moment and process her thoughts.

"As soon as the suns are down. Mom's been cooking up a storm," Athena chuckled as she remembered the mess she had left behind in the kitchen. Not that she escaped for long, she was sure they would all have to help with the clean up after dinner.

"Then come here," Cole pulled her closer and began to kiss her.

Athena allowed herself to get lost in the feel of him, and in doing so she was able to forget that this was their last night together. Forget that tomorrow they were both leaving to start their new lives. Lives separate from each other for the first time.

Cole pulled away as the suns disappeared over the horizon.

"Athena, we were meant for each other. I'll visit when I can, you'll visit when you can," he reminded her. "And there's always comms."

"What about when I get assigned to a battlestar? What then?" Athena silently pleaded for him to refute her logic and beat back her lingering fears.

"By then we'll be married. Our parents can handle being apart, we'll learn how. We don't need to figure it all out now. It's yahrens away," he told her, silently determined that she would change her mind about serving away from the Colonies. "What we need to face now is not seeing each other every day."

"That's why...," Athena's heart was still pounding.

"Will it be easier being apart if we're broken up, just friends? Without knowing that we're committed and faithful and belong to each other?" Cole asked her.

"No. You are right," she admitted.

"And me with no recorder," Cole chuckled and began to stand up. "Let's get to dinner before we get in trouble," he reached a hand down to help Athena stand.

Athena groaned. She really wanted to spend their last cycles alone, not with their mothers and Zac.

"Are you coming?" Cole laughed at her forlorn expression. Cole grabbed her into his arms and held her tightly for a few centons. Athena sighed in contentment. She knew that no one would ever know her as well or love her as much as this man. They couldn't lose each other. She wouldn't survive it.

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Athena and Cole came barreling into the dining room of the Adama household where Zac, Ila and Breil, Cole's mother, were waiting patiently for their arrival.

"Aren't you a bit tardy, Sis?" Zac ribbed Athena, enjoying the slight blush that she tried to hide as she slid into the seat across from him. He even moved his ankles just in time to avoid her kick and looked at her smugly, chuckling at her glare that promised retribution later.

"Leave your sister alone," Ila scolded, even as she bit back a laugh at her children's antics. The house was going to be quiet without their bickering. "We'll bring the meal in," Ila said as she and Breil rose to get the dishes from the kitchen.

"Sit down, sit down," Zac stood up and waved them back to their seats. "Cole and I can handle it. You did say that Athena didn't help cook right?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes, I didn't," Athena assured her brother. No one wanted to taste what _she_ could cook, not even herself. She couldn't fault him for that comment.

With an exaggerated sigh of relief, Zac, along with Cole headed to the kitchen.

"I notice my son wisely chose to stay out of that one," Breil chuckled.

"Oh, he definitely would've been in trouble if he had," Athena laughed. "It was rather restrained of him actually. It must be my going away present."

Ila chuckled at her daughter's humor. As she looked over at her friend she noticed Breil's smile seemed forced. 'She's thinking about when they're gone,' she recognized the bittersweet expression. While they were proud of their children, with their husbands still gone their houses would quiet. Too quiet. Ila, however, was a trained diplomat

and she had no intention of allowing the evening to become melancholy.

"Speaking of going away presents, I have some messages here from Apollo and Adama. They're sorry they couldn't make it home to see you off," Ila told her daughter.

"Really!" Athena looked pleadingly at her mother.

"Fine, fine, just hurry back. They're in the office," Ila waved her daughter away.

Athena didn't wait another micron and bounded off to listen to the messages.

Ila watched her daughter run off, a wistful smile on her face. "It's like they're still young children when I see her like that," she observed aloud.

"She's so energetic," Breil shook her head in awe. "I can hardly remember being like that."

"There's no reason we shouldn't be, we won't be chasing around our children anymore," Ila pointed out.

"True, true. I think I'll enjoy the relaxation before I run out and join a triad team though," her friend chuckled.

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Athena was eagerly pressing buttons on the comm, scanning to find the messages from her brother and father. She definitely expected that they wouldn't be able to come back just to see her off to the Academy, and would have been embarrassed if they had - she wasn't five yahrens old - but she was glad to have messages from them.

Her father's message came up first.

Athena put her legs up on the table and crossed her arms with a grin as the message loaded.

"Hello Athena, and get your legs off your mother's desk," Adama's image smiled at his daughter.

Athena began to sit up and move her legs and then remembered he really couldn't see her. She stuck her tongue out and settled back.

Adama shook his head. "If she catches you...," he said ominously, obviously knowing his daughter's penchant for trying to get away with things.

"Well, tomorrow you leave for the Academy. I wanted you to know how proud of you I am. I know that you will work hard and distinguish yourself. I look forward to you joining me on the Galactica, as your brother did this yahren."

"Oh yeah, right," Athena snorted. Her father was still convinced she would change her mind and want to be under his command. That was the last thing she wanted. It was hard enough growing up known as "Adama's daughter". She shuddered to imagine what it would be like on the same battlestar.

"I know how busy you will be, but don't forget to correspond with your mother and I. I love you Athena, good luck." Adama's image disappeared.

"I love you too, Father," she reached a hand over and queued up Apollo's message.

"Hi Sis," Apollo grinned. "Bet you have your feet on Mother's desk. Bet she catches you."

Athena rolled her eyes.

"So tomorrow you leave for the Academy. I really can't believe it. I still see you as the little girl I used to tuck into bed at night and tell stories to," Apollo shook his head, a rueful smile on his face. "I know that's not what you want to hear, but it's true. I do know,

however, that you will do great at school. You'll probably put my record to shame," he chuckled, his green eyes sparkling.

Athena had always wanted green eyes.

"So good luck and knock 'em dead," Apollo finished and his image faded out.

Athena put her legs back on the floor and was about to turn the Com off when another face began to appear on the screen. Athena's breath caught in her throat as Starbuck's grinning face came into focus. Her hand dropped into her lap.

"Hey Brat," Starbuck waggled his eyebrows as he called her by her hated childhood nickname. "Guess I'll have to stop calling you that now. You're going to be a warrior soon enough, and if armed you may just shoot my cute astrum off. Apollo said he was sending you a message and I just wanted to wish you luck myself. As for what Apollo said, I know you're not still just a little girl," Starbuck winked. "Just don't let some hotshot warrior sweep you off your feet, you have to save yourself for me."

Athena's face turned red as she was reminded of the time yahrens ago when she had thrown herself at the handsome warrior and told him to wait for her. He would have to tease her about that now.

"I'm just teasing. I know you'll blow them away at school. But while you're busy becoming a hotshot pilot don't forget to drop me a message every now and then," Starbuck finished, his tone more serious. "You're my little sister too you know. See ya!" he waved and his image disappeared.

"Wow," Athena mumbled to herself as she turned off the Com. Starbuck rarely sent her messages, in fact he never had before. "He must have been in an excessively playful mood, or Apollo made him do it," she rolled her eyes and headed back to the dining room.

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"So how are Apollo and Adama," Ila asked as she sat down.

"They're fine. Starbuck sent a message, too," Athena busied herself putting her cloth in her lap, avoiding her mother's knowing gaze.

"Oh, I didn't know that. That's nice of him. He's such a lovely young man," Ila bit back a smile.

"Lovely young man is not a phrase often associated with Starbuck," Athena snorted. "So where are the boys with our meal? What are they doing, cooking it?"

"They are taking a rather long time," Breil said worriedly.

"We're here, calm down. Just some technical difficulties," Zac appeared and set a couple of serving dishes down in the middle of the table.

"Do I even want to see what my kitchen looks like now?" Ila asked with a sigh.

"Um, not right now," Zac admitted as Cole appeared with his load of dishes.

After Cole had finished setting his burden down and took his seat, Ila looked at her son. "Zac, why don't you say our blessing tonight."

Zac obediently lowered his head. "We are thankful to the Lords of Kobol and God for the meal before us. We are thankful that we can all be together for this meal and send our prayers to those family members who cannot be here with us tonight. We pray that the Academy will survive my sister and that she didn't cook anything for this meal." Zac looked up. "Time for grub!"

Ila sighed in exasperation at her son, but refrained from comment knowing it would be a waste of time. Besides, it appeared that her daughter took care of herself from the pained look on his face.

Athena smiled as she began to pass dishes to their guests. Her own toes throbbed at the shot she took under the table at her brother so his shin must hurt worse. Good!

Breil and Ila shared a look of amusement across the table.

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"Isn't Sheba in her last yahren at the Academy Zac?" Ila asked her son, referring to a family friend's daughter. Sheba was the child of Commander Cain and Bethany. Cain and Adama had been at the Academy together and the two families had spent a lot of time together until Sheba had graduated and gone off to the Caprican Academy.

"Yeah she is," Zac shrugged. Sheba was way too zealous for Zac's taste. Something, he suspected, highly encouraged by her father.

"Oh, you don't hang out with her?" Ila asked, disappointment in her voice.

"No Mother," Zac sighed, knowing his mother wasn't going to let it drop.

"Why not?" Ila asked as if on cue.

"Because Sheba doesn't 'hang out'. All she does is study and practice," Zac mumbled.

"Oh, well I'm sure she'll be glad to see Athena," Ila said confidently, apparently certain that it was a male-female issue between Sheba and Zac.

Zac shot a look from under his lashes at his sister. Athena was looking intently into her plate, biting back a smile. Athena had heard from Zac and some friends how intense Sheba had gotten, trying to impress her father. Suddenly Athena's amusement vanished. How different would she be? She certainly wanted to impress her own father and overcome the shadow of her oldest brother's reputation at school. She even had to compete with Zac, who was still at school and doing exceptionally well in his studies. The dinner conversation next time might well be about herself!

'No! I won't allow that to happen!' she swore to herself.

"You will look her up once you get there, won't you?" Ila turned her attention to her daughter.

"Of course," Athena shrugged her shoulders. She would say hello, but she would definitely avoid her old friend otherwise. She didn't want Sheba's attitude to infect her, after all.

"Good. Perhaps I should invite Sheba and Bethany for Yule," Ila contemplated the holiday. "Perhaps Apollo and Starbuck could get Furlon, I'm sure they would be able to give Sheba some career tips."

Athena almost dropped her eating utensil and Zac broke out in a coughing fit, both recognizing the incredible possibility such plans might hold for them. Apollo and Sheba had never gotten along.

"That would be a great idea," Zac said between gasps of air.

"They have no idea do they?" Cole leaned over and whispered to Athena.

"Apparently not," Athena surreptitiously wiped the moisture from under her eyes away. "I can't believe it. They used to fight like felettes and daggits!"

"Parents," Athena shrugged, desperately looking for something to say to change the subject. Her brother came to her rescue.

"Do you know anything about your roommate Athena?" Zac asked, suppressing a laugh of his own.

"Her name is Dietra. She's also a first year and comes from Taura," Athena told him.

"Taura? Wow, they rarely come to the Caprican Academy. What is she planning on studying?" Zac wondered aloud.

"I'll have to ask her," Athena didn't have an answer to that. Most Taurans attended the Leon Military Academy, rather than the Caprican, due to the geographic closeness of the two colonies.

"Perhaps one of her parents is originally from Caprica or went to the Academy here," Cole ventured a guess.

"So what's for dessert?" Zac interrupted.

"Do you ever think about anything besides your stomach?" Athena asked her brother.

"Sometimes, but not when I'm sitting at the dinner table and I know there's chocola cake in the other room," Zac stood up and began to clear the dishes.

"I made the cake," Athena called out, stopping her brother in his tracks.

"You did not!" he looked at her, appalled that she could even suggest such a thing.

The entire table broke out laughing.

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"Finally alone!" Cole exclaimed and grabbed Athena by the waist and pulling her back against him.

"Hey, I thought you wanted to go to the vids?" Athena pretended to protest.

"Yeah right, as if anyone believed that story, never mind you," Cole whispered in Athena's ear.

"Just keeping up appearances," Athena giggled as Cole tickled her stomach. "Hey, stop that!"

"Ah, I just want to see you smile," Cole turned Athena around in his arms and pulled her arms around his neck. "I'm going to miss that smile."

"We have holopics," Athena stared into his eyes.

"Not the same," Cole whispered, bringing his lips close to hers.

"I know," Athena said before pressing her lips against his and initiating a kiss.

After a few centons Athena pulled away and rested her head on Cole's shoulder. 'How can I live not doing that everyday?' she wondered as a shiver trailed up her spine.

Feeling her tremors, Cole tightened his embrace. "We'll make it through," he told her as he gently stroked her back.

"Let's say goodbye now, while we're alone," Athena pleaded.

Cole let out a breath before responding. "How can I say goodbye?" he wondered out loud. "I won't, I won't say goodbye. How about 'see you later'?" he tilted her face back with his fingers.

"Sounds appropriate. We'll both be too busy studying to even notice the other isn't around," Athena predicted.

"Somehow I doubt that, but we can pretend for a while. I don't want you showing up at a military school tomorrow with your eyes all red. You know that's something we haven't talked about in a while," Cole let Athena pull back so they could talk more comfortably.

"About school. Wow. We're finally doing it aren't we? Both of us," Athena said with wonder.

"Me to engineering school and you to the Academy. This is what we've been talking about for as long as I can remember. In the grand scheme of things this is just a few yahrens," Cole observed.

"So we'll go and work out astrums off and be together for the rest of our lives when we're done."

"Hey, you'll learn how to build me a really fast viper!" Athena's eyes widened.

"Oh boy, look out universe here she comes!" Cole chuckled.

"So, see you later?" Athena turned serious.

"Yeah, see you later," Cole nodded and leaned down to kiss her.

END CHAPTER 3
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