Release

By: Megan

Main Characters: Athena, Helo, Adama

Genre: Drama/character development

Disclaimer: Spoilers through season 3. This story takes place during the missing year of Lay Down Your Burdens, Pt. 2. All characters and story-arcs courtesy of Ronald D. Moore and Battlestar Galactica.

Beta: Many thanks to Little Bird for the multiple betas. You pushed me to be a better writer and I am so grateful for it.

CH: 1

["Hey! Sharon, I love you! And I'm not giving up this frakking easy! Not after everything!"

Helo's words echoed in Sharon's mind. It had been two days since their return from Caprica and Sharon had not spoken to anyone during that time. When Helo came to visit, she had sent him away. When Adama came to question her, she had refused to answer.

Sharon laid on the cot in her cell, aimlessly running her hand over her once-again flat stomach. She closed her eyes and tried to remember what it felt like when Hera was still inside of her. It took a few minutes, but Sharon was finally able to remember the sensation of her unborn daughter's kicks. Sharon had heard the phrase "butterflies in your stomach" many times, but she had never understood what it meant until she became pregnant. Hera's tiny kicks felt like the fluttering of a butterfly's wings against the lining of her stomach. But those memories were all she had left now. Hera was gone; murdered by someone Sharon was supposed to be able to trust.

Sharon was not sure who had ordered her daughter's execution, but she believed it was either Roslin or Adama. She had never trusted Roslin. And the former president made it clear that she would never trust Sharon. After all, it was Roslin who wanted to throw her out of the airlock the moment she arrived. The only thing that had changed her mind was Sharon's usefulness. Sharon had information that Roslin needed, so Roslin kept her around. But Sharon never believed for a moment that Roslin wanted her there and if she felt that Sharon's presence was a threat to the Fleet, Sharon knew Roslin would have thrown her out of that airlock without a second thought.

But with Adama, it was different. There were times when Sharon would catch him watching her and she thought she saw…something. It had started back on Kobol, when she shot the man who wanted to kill Lee. Once they had returned to Galactica, Adama began to visit Sharon on a regular basis, for the purpose of interrogating her. She gave him information about the cylons and in exchange, he had allowed her and her child to survive. When Sesha Abinell took a room full of people hostage in an attempt to bring about Sharon's death, the Admiral had protected her. Sharon knew this was because he did not negotiate with terrorists, but she also believed it was because he wanted to keep her around. In part, because she had been a useful source of information, but also because he was beginning to believe in her. Or at least, that's what Sharon had thought.

But she had been wrong. Adama had never trusted her and he never would. He saw her as a machine; as something less than human. And that's the way he had seen her unborn child. Hera was not a person to him, she was a threat. And he took care of that threat the way he would any other: he got rid of it. Adama had disposed of Hera just like Leoben, and D'anna, and all of the other cylons he had come across; all except for her. Sharon could feel the anger build up inside of her. It was like a force invading her body, filling up every cell until there was nothing else left. She felt the sting of hot tears run down her cheeks.

Sharon brushed the teardrops from her eyes and turned over on her side. She looked around the tiny cell she was confined to and began to cry even harder. Hera had been the reason Sharon was able to put up with all of this. It did not matter how she was treated, as long as her child was safe. But now, Hera was gone and Sharon felt like she had nothing left. No reason to go on living. The only thing that kept her from disappearing inside herself was the rage. Her daughter was murdered and someone had to pay. At that moment, Sharon was ripped out of her thoughts when the door to the brig opened and Helo walked in. Sharon quickly wiped her tears away so he could not see that she had been crying. Helo had come to visit her a few times a day since they had returned from Caprica and Sharon had sent him away each time. He picked up the receiver and waited for Sharon's response. For a few moments, Sharon did nothing. She just turned over on her side so she would not have to look at him.

But then, Sharon remembered the look on Helo's face when Cottle had told them of Hera's death. In that moment, something faded from Helo's eyes. The sparkle they once had was no longer there and in its place came a deep sorrow. Helo had carried around that sorrow ever since. But Sharon did not want to care about his feelings. She was so angry that she wanted to hate everyone and everything. But she could not hate Helo. Next to Hera, he was the most important thing in Sharon's life. And she loved him with all of her heart. Not that she was supposed to.

Helo had been a mission; a way of fulfilling God's plan. But as Sharon began to connect with him, she realized that the cylon way of thinking had been wrong. Sharon learned that humanity was not the enemy she had believed them to be. Helo was proof of that. He was a good man who always did what he thought was right. He was kind and funny and strong. And every time he looked at her, Sharon could see how much he cared for her. Slowly, Sharon began to care for him as well, until what she felt could not be denied. Sharon had fallen in love, with Helo and the child they had conceived, and that love forced her to re-evaluate everything. That love turned Sharon against her own people and away from the only life she had ever known. And for what? So her child could be murdered and her family destroyed?

When Sharon came to Galactica, it was because she believed it was the only way to keep her family safe. But it had failed. And now all she was left with was anger and pain. But even as every fiber of her being was filled with rage, Sharon could not shut off her feelings for Helo. Sharon rolled over on her side once again, so that she was facing him. Helo's eyes pleaded with her to talk to him. Sharon slowly stood up and walked over to the receiver. She picked up the phone and held it to her ear. Helo had been so surprised that she had actually responded to him that he was at a loss for words.

"Hi," Helo said, at last. Sharon remained silent, simply nodding her head. "What you're feeling…I feel it too, Sharon. I miss Hera, all the time. I'm so angry at what happened to her." Helo placed his hand against the glass of Sharon's cell. "But we can't stop living. We owe it to Hera to go on."

"No," Sharon said, tears filling her eyes once more. "We owe it to Hera to avenge her death. Adama and Roslin murdered our daughter and we can't let them get away with it."

"Sharon, what happened to Hera wasn't anyone's fault," Helo said. "She wasn't murdered. She died. Her lungs just weren't strong enough for her to survive." Sharon could see the grief in Helo's eyes. "There is no one to blame. It was just…it just happened."

"No, Helo, it didn't just happen," Sharon said. "Hera was fine. When we left her, she was fine. She was healthy. And then, she was dead. Her lungs didn't just give out," Sharon said. "Hera was murdered. They killed her, Helo. They killed our little girl and I will not rest until they pay."

Before Helo could respond, Sharon slammed the phone into the receiver. Helo tried to say something, but Sharon could not hear him. She walked back over to her cot and sat down. Helo stayed for a while, hoping she would talk to him again, but she did not. After a while, he gave up and left Sharon alone in her cell.

[Quote from Lay Down Your Burdens Pt. 2