This will be a series of stand-alone stories which deal with the choices that the characters on Battlestar Galactica have made throughout the first half of the second season (I'll be posting in as much of the order of the season as I can). I want to explore what would have happened/changed if things had gone differently. Some of the stories will be angst, some will be shippy, some will be funny. There will be different pairings throughout. Don't feel like you have to check out each one to understand the others. All I ask is that if it intrigues you, then give it a try. Hope you enjoy reading the stories as much as I enjoyed writing them!

There are pivotal moments in one's life where if you take the wrong path everything may change. Those changes may be for the good or for the bad. The possibilities are endless.

Sharon Valerii would never know if she had made the right choice.

There were certainties to her decision. She would not make it out of this one alive. Someone was bound to shoot her and her child dead. Everyone whose trust she had worked so hard to regain would undoubtedly feel betrayed yet again. Each one would want to be the one to put the bullet in her. The ironic thing is no one would ever know the service that had been done for the Fleet.

The understanding had come to her the second she pushed that fibernetic core into the wound on her hand. The Cylons called out to her and asked her to come home. They offered her solace from a world that had hurt her in more ways than she could count. She desperately wanted to lay down her head and let someone else carry the burden.

There was only one thing that remained uncertain, one thing that made her wonder if she was ready to give up. Would Helo ever forgive her for sacrificing herself and their unborn daughter? Would he ever understand that she had no choice?

The voice drifted into her head to mingle with the thousands upon thousands already there. "What is she waiting for?"

"This," Sharon hissed before the first missile connected with Galactica's shields. It took only a second to feel the reaction. She collapsed in a heap as the gun fired and the bullet lodged deep in her chest.

Sharon looked up at her executioner and felt a sense of rightness. It always should have been the Commander who put an end to the small hope she still held. Her last memory was struggling to not let her consciousness be taken into the whole, and then everything was white.

She had failed. At the exact moment she accepted she could handle the job, she had failed.

Laura Roslin was just a small girl from the forests of Caprica. She was not the President of the Twelve Colonies.

Colonial One was probably out there with its small shields, doing its best to keep the damage light. She knew that it wouldn't hold for much longer. The Commander had been right to demand she stay on board Galactica until the problem was resolved, especially since they were relying on a Cylon to do the resolving.

It had been her choice to have the conference room patched in to the CIC comms. She had wanted to hear every single development as it was happening. Now she was starting to regret it.

The screams of pilots as they were hit would haunt her for the rest of her life. Thankfully, Laura Roslin knew it wouldn't be that long. As a deafening boom filled the corridors, it suddenly occurred to her that the doctors were wrong. It wasn't the cancer that would kill her. The ship lurched, forcing her to brace herself against the table.

As was natural at a time like this, Laura found herself reliving the mistakes she had made. There were many choices she had been forced to make as President, and all of them she still supported with her whole being. They had given the remnants of humanity hope when there was none to be had. She had been right to do what she did even if she risked destroying the lives of those closet to her. They thought she was oblivious to it, but she saw the way Petty Officer Dualla had pulled away from Billy and the way that Lee seemed to give up his duty to Galactica and his father piece by piece. She had killed the future of those two young men in order to get her agenda accomplished. In the end, she had thought it was worth it, and yet still she knew she failed.

There was only one regret she had. She had always dreamed of being a ballerina when she was little. It was a shame she never gave it a try.

Laura Roslin smiled to herself as the heat started to build up in the room. The comm channels were buzzing with reports of fires in corridors, holes in the outer walls, and missile-torn skies. They were fighting until their last breath like she had always known they would.

There was a slight sucking noise in the air around her, followed by a temperature drop, and Laura Roslin felt herself fade to sleep with dreams of the ballet fresh in her mind. When she woke up, she would see if there were any dancers left in the Fleet. The people needed a distraction.

Hot Dog could still hear everything happening around him as he sat in his Viper. He couldn't figure out why he was on the ground. Shouldn't he be in the air with the rest of his squad? There were plenty of Raiders that needed shot down.

A siren somewhere above him sounded familiar. It was Galactica's action stations warning. Hadn't that rang half an hour earlier when the rest of the Vipers joined him in the air? He had been tired from flying CAP, but he didn't have the luxury of resting.

There was a small explosion in the control panel in front of him, and Hot Dog began to recognize his surroundings were less than optimal. There was a large crack in his cockpit hatch, and if he wasn't mistaken, it looked like his control stick had lodged itself firmly into his thigh. He found himself wondering why that didn't seem to hurt.

There was a loud flash as something ignited behind him, and Hot Dog abruptly recalled what had happened. He had been taken on two Raiders when a missile nicked his left wing. The Viper had gone spinning out of control, and there was only reason why he hadn't been just another splat on Galactica's hull. His luck had held through enough for him to crash into a hole already made by a downed Heavy Raider.

Hot Dog could feel his ship begin to burn and realized there was no way he was going to get out in time. The pain was flaring up on his leg, and all he could think about was how proud his parents would have been to see him flying Vipers. It had destroyed them when he washed out of Academy.

"I'm a Lieutenant now, Mama," he whispered before his eyes rolled back in his head. Black surrounded him.

The Chief was desperately trying to keep order in his hangar bay, but it was damn near impossible. About two minutes earlier, a handful of Heavy Raiders had blasted a launch tunnel open. Now the Centurians were filtering into his ship, and the only available people to push them back were a handful of Marines and his deck crew.

In his heart, as he worked to lock the hangar bay doors, he knew it was futile. It would only delay the Cylons a few moments before they started through the rest of Galactica. It was all he could do. He loved this ship, regardless of how much pain it had caused him of late. He would give his life for her in a second.

This was the end of it all. There were blasts and explosions all around him, and he could hear the screams of his men as they valiantly did all they could.

Tyrol was ashamed to admit his thoughts were not with those under his command. Instead he thought of Sharon. Not that copy that he was so sure had caused this end of days, but the copy that he had loved with all his heart. He wondered when this was all over, would the gods allow him to see her one last time?

It was her name that was on his lips when the Centurians pushed past the crew to advance on the rapidly closing hangar bay doors. They shut with a satisfying bang, and Tyrol let himself slid down to the floor. Let the Centurians take him now. His job was done.

Gaius Baltar clutched the ends of the CIC table as voices screamed. The Cylons were past the hangar bay and into the corridors. Everyone around him was shouting orders and yelling at him to get out of the way.

Everyone except for the blonde woman standing next to him.

"I don't understand," Baltar hissed. "Shouldn't I be saved from all this? Haven't I earned at least that much?"

"Gaius, darling, I never promised you anything of the sort," Six chuckled.

"I handed you the defense systems of all Twelve Colonies. I hide the true identity of Sharon Valerii from the Fleet. I supported you in every decision you had me make." Baltar's eyes shifted to where a display unit was knocked lose. "I can't go out this way."

Six reached out to rest her hand on top of his. "There was never a choice. You are human. You always have been."

Baltar shook his head furiously. "No. I will not accept this." He pushed away from her touch and hurried towards the CIC exit. There had to be somewhere on this ship that was still safe.

"Stay with me, Gaius!" Six yelled.

Baltar ignored her. She was willing to let him be killed. He had made a grave mistake in loving and trusting her.

"Please, it's for your own good."

Her pleading made him pause, but he couldn't turn back to her. He would only seem weak in her eyes.

The doors to the CIC exploded just as he reached them, and he was surrounded by red.

Lee had lost sight of Kara about ten kills ago. They had been flying side by side, using each other's momentum to keep fighting. It was the first sign that things might not turn out so well. They had never had to rely on each other so much.

Now he was alone. His right wing had sustained some damage earlier when one of his pilots went spinning out of control. His ship was nicked and now maneuverability wasn't quite as easy as before. He had flown with worse.

Lee heard his father instructing the Vipers to hold their ground and destroy as many Cylons as they could. He wished he had time to speak with his father. No matter what had gone on between them, he had grown to feel comfort under his father's watchful eye. It had taken the end of the world for him to understand why so many people respected William Adama and his command.

It was odd. Up until his last few seconds, he hadn't believed he would die like this. It just never seemed right to him. Unlike Kara or his father, his place had never been in the air.

His last thought as he saw the Raider's missile coming towards him was how strange it was to be in trouble and not have Kara there to swoop in to save him. If he was being honest, and at a time like this it couldn't hurt, she was always with him. No matter how much distant was between them, she was a part of him.

That was the one soothing thought in all of this. He wasn't going to make it out of this one alive, but at least he would no longer have to worry about how much he wanted to possess his brother's girl.

At the last moment, he swung his Viper to the left. If he was going out, he was taking a few of those bastards with him.

It was odd. They were in the middle of a battle, and yet no one was being taken to the sickbay. Usually this whole place was overflowing with downed pilots and injured crewmen.

Kat growled in frustration, flinging herself back against the sickbay bed she was calling home. She should never have resorted to stims to keep herself on top of the game. She could have been out there with the rest of them, showing the Cylons that they couldn't frak with humanity and get away with it.

The room shook again under the impact of something, and the anger inside of her only increased. What the frak was going on out there?

Kat pulled herself to her feet and did her best to ignore the headache associated with stims withdrawal. "Can anyone here tell me why it feels like there's an earthquake in space?" she yelled as she pushed open the curtain around her bed.

Her eyes went wide at the sight in front of her. Sickbay was deserted. Machines were pushed over. Beds were flung halfway across the room.

"Hello?" she whispered.

The doors of sickbay banged open. A man walked in with purpose and smiled at where Kat stood. "Lieutenant Katraine. I heard you were still here."

"Who the frak are you and how do you know me?" Kat demanded. Her hands came up to unconsciously clutch her hospital robe.

"I know everyone on board Galactica."

"You're with personnel." She couldn't believe it. Something big was going down, and she had to run into a paper pusher. This guy had no clue about anything.

"Something like that."

Kat had barely a second to brace herself before the man threw an uppercut at her jaw. Her knees gave out, and her body hit the cold sickbay floor with a thump. The quick series of kicks to her midsection left her gasping for breath. She would tell herself later, in those rare seconds of comprehension before the black, that he only got his shots in because she was in withdrawal.

"All of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again," the man whispered before his boot connected with her head.

She could hear her heart beating loudly as she cowered underneath her comm station in the CIC. Dee had never been the type of woman who would hide in the face of danger, but she had never had to face a danger like this before. She had never felt fear like this.

Her father had always said enlisting in the military meant looking death in the face and inviting it to take you. She had never believed him until now.

"I don't want to die," she whispered quietly. She tucked her knees in tight and rested her chin on top. "I don't want to die. I'm sorry, Dad. You were right, but I don't want to die."

There was a loud bang. She screamed. Then it was over.

He should have never trusted a Cylon.

Every fiber of his being told him not to do it yet William Adama pushed his gut instinct to the side. And now look where that had left him. He had forty thousand people to protect, and his girl was acting up against him. Galactica had been the child he always wanted. Unlike Zak, she had a focus and a talent to make her presence known. Unlike Lee, she refused to keep people at arm's length for her own good. Those who served on her fell in love.

He wished with all his heart he had taken the time to have a daughter with Caroline. It was what he had always been missing.

Adama continued to scream commands into the only remaining comm link as the whole CIC self-destructed around him. He had people to protect.

He tracked the progress of the Centurians. Their intentions weren't even in question. They were coming to the CIC for him. He had been fielding reports of attacks for five minutes now. Each attack was bring the Cylons to him. There was a load bang followed by an unseen explosion. Adama braced himself for the inevitable battle.

It was at that moment that the tightness in his chest appeared. He could feel his body clench in pain as his hands instinctively came up to grab his heart. A shooting pain traveled down his body, and he feel to his knees.

"I am not going out this way," William Adama hissed to the gods. "Do you hear me? I will not leave my girl."

The banging on the CIC blast doors increased. The Centurians had arrived.

What the priestesses had always said was true. He could feel his life flashing before his eyes. This ship was his life for years, but all that had changed when the Cylons attacked. For the first time in so long, he had a family to care about and watch over. "I will not leave my children." He braced his hands on the floor as the pain swelled. "I will not leave Lee."

He thought of his son, flying out there in his Viper. Lee was a good flyer. He would make it through this. William Adama had finally made peace with his son. If he couldn't stick around to protect both of his girls, he knew his son would.

The doors burst open, and his face slid into a smile. It was finally time to rest.

Helo stood frozen in the corridors outside CIC. He had thought he could help somehow, but the destruction was too much. It had overwhelmed him.

There were Centurians and those human Cylon models everywhere. None of them were Sharon. She was missing.

A little voice in the back of his head told him she was more than missing.

"What did you do, Sharon?" he whispered.

The machines pushed past him almost as if he was not there. Every inch of his being begged them to take notice. He finally could understand what the others had gone through on the day of the holocaust. The world was over. His world was over. All he wanted to do was die.

Helo had brought her here. He had taken her to the one place that had always been home to him. He had convinced Kara she was not a threat. He had put a gun to Lee Adama's head to protect her.

He had loved her.

The world was over, and Helo blamed himself.

Kara knew Lee was gone the second her Viper was forced to break with his. She knew Galactica was lost the second those Centurians found the opening in their defense ships. She knew her Viper wasn't going to make it the second her mind overtook her instincts.

She was surprised by where her thoughts went now that she was facing her own mortality. She knew that you were supposed to remember all the good points in your life. Kara had never been one to follow convention.

She felt regret over not keeping her promise to Anders. She had said she would come back to get him, and now there was no chance for that. She did not regret her decision to leave him. Coming home one last time meant the world to her.

She felt sorrow over the prospect of never seeing the picture taped up in her locker again. That had been the happiest day of her life, and all she had done was throw around a stupid football.

She felt angry about never really getting over what her mother had done to her. Every frak-up in her life stemmed from being raised by that alcoholic. She had always thought she would get past the beatings and the complete destruction of all confidence if she only had a little more time. It seemed life loved to shortchange her.

She felt relief knowing she wasn't the one who had to live on while everyone else she loved died. It had killed her to abandon Lee in the air, but she had to do her job. Galactica needed protecting. It hurt to know she had killed yet another Adama, but at least time it was out of a sense of professional duty. There was nothing personal about it. Lee would forgive her. He always did.

Her eyes locked on the base star looming in the air before her. It was the end of the world. It was the end of her life. Kara Thrace could not go out without a bang. She pushed the thrust as far as it could go, and a smile spread across her face on impact.

The beautiful blackness of space mixed in with the whiteness around her. She could see the gods smiling down.