Title: The Lullaby
Author: Cassie Kirk
Rating: G
Warnings: None

Part 2

Disclaimer in Part 1


"Oh! I remembered that. I doubt I'll ever forget. It was the nickname
that Darshan gave us I almost forgot."

Giles looked away. Athena gently placed a hand on his cheek. "I'm sorry,
I didn't mean to upset you."

Giles placed his hand over Athena's and gently pulled it away. He kept
her hand in his and held it to his chest and stared deep into her shining
blue eyes.

"Thug mi gaol d'ar righibh dhuit," Giles whispered before leaning toward
Athena and kissing her gently on the lips.

Athena stiffened for a moment before relaxing and leaning into the kiss.

Giles took advantage of the moment and wrapped his arms around her waist and
pulled her closer. Athena's threaded her fingers in his hair and deepened the
kiss. Athena's lips parted and Giles gently thrust his tongue inside her
mouth. Athena shivered at the intimate caress. After a moment she pushed him
away, and stepped out of his embrace. Her breathing came in long ragged
breaths.

"Giles," she choked out. She placed a hand on the wall and leaned
against it for support.

Giles took a step forward and Athena took a step back and found herself
almost hugging the wall.

"Athena, I'm sorry." Giles ran a hand through his hair. "I shouldn't
have done that."

"It's alright," whispered Athena. She couldn't look at him. She was more
embarrassed by her reaction to the kiss than the kiss itself.

"No, it's not." Giles turned away. "I've probably wrecked our
friendship, and Lords know we won't make very good partners out on patrol if
we can't get along." His shoulders sagged slightly. He glanced at the
chronometer on his wrist. "We're going to miss our shuttle to the rising Star
if we don't go soon."

Athena just looked at Giles,.her breathing had almost returned to normal, but
her heart was still beating a bit fast. "Yes." She punched in the code to her
door. It opened and she stepped inside. "You're welcome to come in and wait
for me. That is, if you still want to go to the party with me."

"No one else I'd rather go with." Giles grinned.

Athena smiled before heading to the turboflush to freshen up. "Giles?"
She called out to him from the tiny room.

"Yes?"

"What was it that you said earlier? My Leonid is a bit rusty."

"What did I say earlier?" Giles asked feigning ignorance.

"You know, right before you.kissed me, you said ' Thug mi gaol d'ar
righibh dhuit' and I wondered what it meant."

Giles was glad she wasn't in the room with him. That way, she couldn't
see how relieved he was that she didn't understand what he said. "If you
can't remember, I'm not telling," he teased.

"Well, fine then," Athena huffed, only half-serious.

The door to the turboflush opened and Athena emerged. She heard Giles'
sharp intake of breath when he saw what she was wearing.

"How do I look?" Athena asked as she slowly spun around.

Giles had trouble finding his voice. "You look.beautiful," he finally
choked out.

Athena smiled. "Thank you," she whispered. "I'll be ready in a moment. I
just need one more thing." She crossed the room and entered the bedroom.

Giles watched as she crossed the room. The deep red dress she wore
gently clung to every curve. The low neckline caused his heartbeat to speed
up. The dress only fell to her mid-thigh, showing off her long legs.
Giles rubbed his hands over his face. Lords, she was beautiful He had
the same thought the micron he first saw her. He had been all set to ask her
out when he found out who she was. Commander Adama's daughter. After that he
knew he would have to be content to simply be her friend. There was no way
she would ever be interested in him as more than that. There were so many men
who would be better suited to a woman like her. The only problem was
friendship wasn't enough. He wanted more.

"How can I ever tell her I love her?" Giles whispered to himself.

*****

Athena sat on her bed carefully looking in her jewelry box. There was a
necklace she had to find. It was a simple chain with a tiny pendant that
Giles had given her several yahrens earlier for her Naturadiem.

She smiled to herself as she remembered the look on Giles' face when he
saw her in her dress. Athena sighed as she thought of the kiss they shared
earlier. It was so different than anything she had imagined it would be when
he kissed her. It was better than any fantasy, because, it was real.

She blushed as she remembered how she responded to him. If she hadn't
stopped the kiss when she did, she knew that they wouldn't be on their way to
the engagement party on the Rising Star.

She remembered the words Giles had said right before he kissed her. It
bothered her that she couldn't recall any of the Leonid that Giles had taught
her. She desperately wanted to know what he had said.

Athena found the necklace she was looking for and looked at the pendant
for a moment. She gently ran a finger over the violet stone set in the middle
of a wooden flower carving. Giles told her he bought it from a band of
Wanderers outside of the city Lirmil, where he grew up.

Tears formed in her eyes as she finally admitted something to herself.

"I love Giles. Oh, Lords, I love him. But, how am I ever going to tell him?"

End Part 2

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