Anders & Company

by meenajon

Kara may be married to Sam, and Lee's half cylon, but she just can't let him go yet Now in the 40something chappies! Yay!

1. 1 thru 9

Lee smiled as he strolled out of the head into the locker room. He was more than glad to be back on the Galactica. Starbuck was still prone to rib him after the kiss he had given her. That had been almost two months ago. He found himself touching his lips at the memory.

Racetrack stumbled up behind him.

"Watch out, Apollo!" she laughed as his towel slipped from his grip and he struggled to keep himself covered. He almost tripped into the officer's quarters.

"So, is our CAG ready to do maneuvers, or is he going to take a little rest after his vacation to Kobol?"

Starbuck cocked an eyebrow as she furtively watched him enter. She caught a glimpse of the well-toned backside that usually remained snug within a cockpit. "Well?" she prodded.

Apollo waited until the other pilots had left before he spoke. He got in close to her shoulder and said quietly, "There are no maneuvers scheduled for today, Lieutenant. You know that, and I know that. So do you mind telling me what you're thinking about this time? Don't tell me you've still got that stupid idea in your head about going back to Caprica. Kara?"

Starbuck slammed her locker shut and almost knocked him down as she pushed past him.
"Don't start, Lee. I am going back. I don't know how. I don't know when. A promise is a promise. I'm not going to leave those people down there to die, and just because the President of the Colonies doesn't think it's priority, I..."

Lee grabbed her firmly by the shoulders to get her attention as she was ranting on.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa there."

She wouldn't meet his eyes. He stood patiently waiting until she did.

"Kara... You're preaching to the crowd, Kara. If there was something I could do to save the lives of more innocent people, I would. Believe me." He shook his head when he knew he wasn't getting through to her completely. "Starbuck, I've got more than enough responsibility on my hands trying to keep my pilots alive, not to mention more than 47,000 colonists..."

"Alright! Fine! Can I go now!"

"Actually, no," came a voice from behind them. Helo had a little grin on his face as he looked at one, then the other.

About three hours later, they were in a Raptor on their way to do a 'jump-ahead'. Lee was the pilot, using the excuse that his other Viper pilots needed rack time. Helo went along as the ECO. Tyrol, shaking his head and muttering about 'procedure', kept his mouth shut when Starbuck decided to tag along.

Dee's soft, reassuring voice came over the com.

"Apollo, you are cleared for FTL jump. Good hunting."

"Roger that, Galactica. Raptor 249 initiating sequence."

Two seconds later, they were on the dark side of Caprica, looking for a place to hide.

"Apollo," came Helo's voice. "Land over there." He pointed to Starbuck, who relayed the ECO's instruction to the more nervous than usual pilot. They were making a shaky descent through the atmosphere.

"Starbuck, you owe me big for this one. The only thing that might save our asses is that my Dad is a huge fan of the Caprica Buccaneers."

She shook her head at him. "Well I wouldn't be doing too much talking, Lee. We need to hurry this one, and by the Lords of Kobol, we might get in and out without running into the fracking Cylons for once. Helo! Any activity on your screen?"

"Not where we're landing, Starbuck. But you're right, we're going to have to hoof it. There's almost five miles between the compound and the landing site."

Apollo grimaced as they touched down, muttering under his breath.
How did you let them talk you into this?

Kara reached out and touched his arm.
"I never break a promise."

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Helo and Starbuck were hurting as they came up to the last ridge. Old injuries felt new with the added strain. Apollo had been waiting for them at least five minutes with an evil grin on his face.

"Too bad we don't have any new recruits so you two could get discharged for disability."

The look on Helo's face said it all. "Funny Apollo. You're a regular comedian."

Click. The noise repeated over and over.

'Frak,' thought Starbuck. 'Right into a gods damned ambush.'

"Too bad we're not the Cylons," said a deep voice. "We could have had quite a catch with you three."

Starbuck whirled around with a broad smile.

"Hello stranger," he said as he looked down at her. "Keeping a promise?" Anders gave her a slight hug. "Helo," as they shook hands. "And you are...?"

Apollo turned to greet him, barely concealing his suspicious look.

"Adama. Lee Adama. Call sign is Apollo."

"Apollo, nice to meet you. I'm Sam Anders. This is Kripke, JoeMan and Morris Fink," as he pointed to each in turn. They lowered their weapons. Anders looked toward the sky.
"Get down!"

They all hunkered beneath the brush. He inched his way up between Apollo and Starbuck.

"Looks like we caught you just in time... There!"

As he pointed toward the north end of the compound, a heavy raider landed. Two, five, ten, twelve toasters piled out of it and began scanning for survivors.

"We've been waiting for this one," he said as he passed the binoculars to Apollo. "They haven't attacked us until now. We have surveillance of them searching the countryside for the past two weeks. Must be getting desperate for more guinea pigs for their farms."

Starbuck lowered her head as Lee questioned, "Farms?"

Anders looked at her intently. Helo interrupted. "Farms, Apollo. They were collecting women to 'breed' with the Cylons. Don't look at me like that, Apollo. Sharon's different. My Sharon's different. They can't reproduce. They can't figure out why yet..." His voice trailed off.

Lee looked past Anders to Kara

"Now I know why you wanted to get back so soon. You told me there were survivors, but you didn't so much as..."

She became her defensive old self.

"Well, you didn't ask, did you? It wasn't a priority, was it?
He tried to apologize. "Hey, I..."

Kara wasn't listening. She had already turned back to Anders, putting her hand on his arm. The gesture did not escape an increasingly curious Apollo.

"So what's the plan?"

Anders looked at each of them in turn. "Well, we sit back and wait until they're heading for the raider, then take out the toasters. Now that you're here, maybe you can load us all up and fly us out of here."

She sat thinking for a few minutes, becoming more and more angry.

"I say we take the raider and go find as many farms as we can, free as many of the colonists as we can and..."

"Hey wait! Look!" Helo was pointed to the raider. "It's not as empty as you thought."
Starbuck took the binoculars then passed them quickly to Apollo.

"That bitch!"

A Six model was coming out of the raider, followed by a copy of herself. Apollo's jaw dropped.

"I'll never get used to that. Do they always come together like that?"

Helo laughed. "And to think I thought they were twins once. That's why Sha-why we kept running.

Anders signaled some of his fighters. They started spreading out.

"They must have seen you on radar or something when you flew in. Not good. We need to move; NOW. You guys ready?"

"Wait!" Apollo started. "Where are we going? That's your compound, isn't it?"

Grinning was coming easier for him today. He was more than glad to see them.
"Was our compound. We've gotten ourselves a new one. Let's move."

After what seemed like a small eternity, they reached what had been an elementary school, given away by the smallness of everything. Knocking twice, two of the guards pushed open the double doors. There were two more at the ready on the other side. One of them recognized Helo and Starbuck. He nodded as they passed by, following Anders down the dimly lit hallway.
They looked at the walls as they walked past, covered with bulletin boards and children's artwork, waiting for their owners to come collect them. Apollo shuddered at the thought of the billions of children who would never return to walk these halls.

Anders began to speak as they came to the end of the hallway, at the back of the school.
"There's a cellar back here, with an underground exit. It's our main escape route if we come under attack. This school was built during the last Cylon War. I think I actually went here, " he said with a grin. "Showers are that way, " he indicated to the left. "Infirmary is a little further down the hall, office on the other side. Gymnasium's on the other hall, if you like Pyramid games. Cafeteria is...well, you'll smell it in a couple of hours. Food is served usually around 0600, 1300 and 1900, if we're not out doing recon."

Starbuck carefully took it all in. "Looks like you guys have gotten more organized." She could barely hide the sarcasm. "Thought you said you needed some help the last time we were here."

"We found some. A few days after we raided our third farm, we ran across some people holed up in the mountains. Turned out one of them was ex-military. Old guy named Taggart."

Apollo and Helo perked up a bit. "Taggart?" Lee began. "Not Charles Taggart?"

Kara looked curiously from one man to the other. Anders replied,
"Yeah. Charles Taggart. Said he was a retired Colonial Marine. Came to Caprica to visit his daughter and grandson when everything went down."

She still looked utterly confused. "What the frak are you two talking about?"

Helo grinned and shook his head as Apollo tried to explain it to her.

"Kara, did you forget about 'Uncle Charlie'? You can't tell me that in all the time you were with Zak that you never met Uncle Charlie."

"Gotta say, I'm drawing a blank here. What?" she yelled when Helo laughed out loud.
Apollo turned to Anders. "Can you take us to him?"

"Yeah, sure. Follow me."

They went through the gym to a courtyard with a couple of swings and a slide. A young woman, looking a little worse for wear, was pushing a little boy in a swing. On the bench to his right, an older gentleman was watching proudly. He craned his neck toward them as the door slammed shut.

"Well I'll be a monkey's uncle! Lee Adama, here, on Caprica!"

Lee walked over and shook the man's hand.

"How's your dad? Did he make it through the attack?"

"Yes sir."

"Your mom? Zackie?"

Lee's response was a little more subdued. "Mom didn't make it," he sighed. "Zak died two years ago. Viper accident."

Taggart coughed. "Sorry son. Sorry about that." He looked past Lee to the others. "Who'd you bring with you?"

Lee smiled again. "You'll never believe this. Karl Agathon..." Helo shook hands heartily with the older man. Taggart laughed in return.

"I remember you. You had the hardest time at the academy trying to decide if you wanted to fly a Viper or be on a Raptor. Guess your grandma convinced you to take the safer route?" he said, looking at the patch on his uniform.

"I guess so, sir. Good to see you again."

They turned to Kara. "And may I present Lt. Kara Thrace. Best Viper pilot we have...at least she thinks she is, " he finished dryly.

The old man's eyes twinkled as he looked her over. Kara began to squirm like a worm under a magnifying glass. Now he began to chuckle.

"Little miss K-K. I'd have thought you'd be an athlete."

Recognition finally passed over her face-the light bulb popping in her head.
"Uncle Charlie! Lee, why didn't you tell me this was Uncle Charlie.

He shook his head as everyone began to laugh at Starbuck.

"I did, Starbuck. You just weren't listening."

They were introduced to his daughter and grandson, then followed Anders back to find their bunks.

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Lee thought about the strangeness of the Universe after they had finished dinner. Helo and Starbuck had gone off to play a game with the Bucs, giving Apollo a little time to himself.

Starbuck. He had surprised even himself when he told her he loved her. Every day it was becoming harder and harder to hide his feelings. Lee worried about her every time she got into a cockpit. 'What if we lose her again?' 'What if she takes off again, pulling some stunt and she can't get back?' It was the latter thought that made him come with her and Helo on this escapade. He knew she'd do it with or without him, and he'd rather be able to keep an eye on her.

"Apollo, you okay?" Helo had come back from the game.

He looked around a minute, then replied. "Lost in my thoughts, I guess. Where's Starbuck?"

"Oh, she and Anders and a few of the Bucs kept playing. I came in to get some sleep. That, and my leg is starting to cramp up. You should go watch. When I left, she was wiping the floor with them."

Lee laughed. "Same old Starbuck, heh?"

Helo concurred. "Yeah. Same old Starbuck. I'm gonna turn in."

"See you, then. Think I'll go and check out the rest of that game."

He walked down the hallway, passing a few of the Pyramid players as he went. If he'd expected to find Starbuck in the gym, he was sorely disappointed. She was nowhere in sight. Regulation-sized Pyramid court all right. It's a wonder they put it in here in the first place...don't have enough other things to worry about. They had to put a fracking Pyramid court in. He was more than a little irritated with Starbuck.

"Where the frak are you, Kara?" he said aloud. He hadn't meant to. The sound of his voice reverberated through the rafters. The sound of the metal doors clicking shut behind him echoed through the room, too. He turned around to gripe at the person who had entered, but stopped quickly in his tracks.

"Shelley Godfrey."

She smiled at the mention of this name.

"Shelley. Gina. There are many names, many forms. We are here. We are there. We are nearly everywhere."

The Cylon was having too much fun with this.

"The almighty Apollo. Taking the name of a false idol...one of great power."

Apollo wasn't even listening to her. He was checking to see if there was another way out of the room, besides the doors she was now blocking. He didn't get a chance to find out; his world went black.

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"Open your eyes."

The terse command came from behind him. Lee began to squirm, but he felt cold metal at his ear. His eyes began to adjust to the light. There was a curtain in front of him.

"Enjoy the show," Six said insidiously.

The curtain creeped open. Lee slowly realized that he was standing behind the mirror in the old office. He saw a bed, some dirty clothes thrown in one corner. The door opened, then slammed shut as two people entered the room, laughing.

It was Starbuck with Anders. They were dripping wet from a shower they obviously had just taken. Lee felt his ears turning red as he became very uncomfortable. This was something he had no desire to watch. Starbuck was as well known for her escapades in bed as she was for her ability to fly a Viper, but it wasn't something that Lee wished to watch firsthand. The jealousy began to bubble up inside of him.

Told her I love her. Guess that didn't mean as much to her.
He was just glad he could only watch, not listen.

As if reading his mind, the Six model turned on a switch on the panel next to the curtain. The metal behind his ear became a little more insistent.

They had fallen into bed. Anders looked down at Kara in amusement. She thought she was so tough, but he had seen a crack in that facade.

"What?" she wanted to know. It made her extremely uncomfortable to be stared at like this.

"Nothing. Just surprised you actually kept your promise after all. Missed me, did you?" He carefully touched her face, moving a stray piece of hair. She batted his hand away.

"Don't start that," she began. Kara didn't like opening up for most people. The only people she trusted besides herself were the Adamas. And now maybe one handsome man named Samuel T. Anders. He began kissing her throat. Then moved to her belly. Starbuck started to giggle from the quivers she was experiencing.

Lee was squirming just watching them. He so wanted to reach out and choke Six, so he could walk out of the room and get them off of this fracking planet!

"Okay, okay, okay, Sam. Yeah. I missed you, all right! The past two months I've been thinking about that promise that I made and wondering if you were dead or alive. Hey, you down there...are you even listening?"

Anders' voice was a little muffled as he responded.
"Heard every word. Now shut up, will you? I'm trying to work here."

She laughed out loud. "Do a good job and you might get paid."

"Might?" he stopped again. "I'm counting on it."

Turning to look at the Six model, he pushed back against the gun at his head.
"What? Is that what you wanted me to see? One of my pilots fracking a celebrity? Listen, you stupid toaster, I've seen your kind before. You can't frak with my head that way, so you're wasting your time."

Six grabbed him by the throat and slammed his face up against the glass with a resounding thud. The lovers on the other side, in the throes of passion, did not take notice.

"I said, Enjoy the show. The show's not over, Captain Adama. Keep watching."
He did, helpless as they were reaching their climax. The door opened, and the Cylon known as Doral, followed by two centurions, entered the room.

"No! Kara! Kara! Starbuck, Look OUT!"

"Enough. Let's go. Let him go, I said!"

Thud. The world was becoming black again as he succumbed to the darkness the blow to his head had provided him. But not before he uttered one word.

"Zak...?"

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"Apollo. Apollo…Lee! Wake up! Lee! I don't understand. What was he doing in here anyway?"

Anders pulled back the curtain. He could see into the room they'd just left, and the bodies of Doral and the Centurions lying on the ground.

"From the looks of it, he was watching us. Nice shot by the way."

Kara was completely confused.

"Thanks. Watching us? Why? That's just not like Lee. No," she said, looking around the room. "Someone or something was in here with him. Helo?"

"Right here," sticking his head into the room. "Whaddya need?"

"Set up a perimeter. We need one set of guards here and one set to go out and scout the raptor. You know what? Frak that. Set up a perimeter, and as soon as Apollo can walk, we're getting the frak off this gods forsaken planet."

Helo nodded. "Yes sir."

Anders grabbed her right shoulder.

"Sorry about your friend. How many people can you fit into that thing, besides you three?"

"Seven."

"Kara, we've got at least fourteen that need to get off this rock…."

She whipped around to look at him. "Look. I left you once before and I'm not leaving you here again. Let somebody else be their leader for once! No arguments, you got that!"

Lee was beginning to stir below her. His head was aching so badly that it hurt just to move. Fracking toasters, he thought. Wait a second, Starbuck….

"Starbuck!" He called aloud, moving wildly about. She turned to help him off the ground.

"Starbuck, you're okay?"

"Yeah, I am. What about you?" Kara looked him over to make sure there was no permanent damage.

"Are you sure, Kara?" He continued, holding onto the wall for support. "Dora…."

Kara pointed at the window. "Toast, in a manner of speaking. What, do you think I can't take care of myself? You're the one who looks like he needs watching, not us."

Again, Lee's color began to rise. Sensing the awkwardness of the situation, Anders stepped into the conversation.

"Taggart saw them coming toward the office. Owe the old man our lives." He smiled. "That, and I always keep something special stashed under the pillow, just in case," he said as he fingered his pistol. "She's a pretty good shot," he continued, looking at her appreciatively.

Lee agreed. "Just wait until you see her in a cockpit."

He tried to stand alone, but he had a pretty good concussion. The two had to hold him upright as they walked down the hallway to his bunk.

"What happened to you?" Kara began as they laid him on the bed. "I don't think you suddenly spazzed out and hit your head, though I guess I would if I were in your place, watching me, um, well…." She finished sarcastically.

Lee took her hand. Anders looked away and took this as his cue to leave them alone for a minute.

"I'm gonna go check on Helo and how it goes at the perimeter."

Apollo nodded. "Thanks."

"No problem. Can't be letting any more of those toasters creep around here, can we?"

After Anders left, Lee began again.

"Kara. I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to you."

She laughed. "Yeah. Tell me how you'd explain it to the Old Man."

He looked up at her again, making her uncomfortable.

"No, Kara. Seriously, I wouldn't. First Zak, then my mother. I couldn't lose you, too." He looked back down at the floor. "Shelley Godfrey was here."

"What?" Her face got very serious. "What do you mean, Godfrey was here?"

He sat up a bit. "Not her, exactly…. A copy of her model. That….THING was here. Not just Doral. They grabbed me in the gymnasium and brought me here so I could…well, you know; watch you two!"

"Why the frak would a toaster care if you saw me fracking someone, Lee? That just makes no sense!"

He laid his head back down. Holding it up to talk to her was just taking too much effort.

"To frak with my head, I'm guessing! She told me to 'enjoy the show!' I think they were going to execute you and they wanted me to watch." Starbuck rolled her eyes. He became even more annoyed. "I don't know why! Does it look like I understand any of these damn things? As far as I know they wanted to kill all of us, but maybe they wanted to play a little first."

Starbuck stood up straight.

"They wanted me, Lee. They wanted me. They were probably going to shoot him and take me and they wanted you to feel completely helpless."

Apollo didn't get it. "Why? Why would they want to take you, Kara? That is what makes no sense."

"Because Sharon…because the last time we were here, Helo's girlfriend said that I was special…. That I have a 'Destiny', whatever the frak that's supposed to mean. I just say we get the hell out of here as soon as we can and don't look back. Agreed?"

"Yeah, sure. And just how do you propose we get out of here? These people can't hike all the way back to the Raptor. And in case you hadn't noticed, we can't take all of them, either."

Starbuck looked up at the sky. "Lords of Kobol…" she began, looking back down again. "We can only take seven. Taggart, his daughter and grandson, Anders…. That leaves room for three more, Lee. There are no more kids here, so we're going to have to draw straws."

She hated the idea of leaving all these people here. "We should've brought Sharon with us…dammit! Get some rest, Lee. I'll come back and get you when we're ready."

He tried to rise again, but she pushed him back down on the bunk.

"Your pain is my pleasure. Isn't that what you said to me?" she whispered in his ear. "Rest! I'll be back."

Giving up, he relaxed onto the sheets. Watching her walk away, he wondered why he hadn't told her…. Told her about hearing Zak's voice.

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The Raptor was in the clear. It took a few minutes for her to remember how to lift off in the thing, but she thought she was doing okay.

"Just like riding a horse…bike. Whatever!"

Her two male companions laughed out loud. Anders was holding on for dear life.
"Is she always like this?"

Helo laughed out even louder.

"What!" she demanded. Kara Thrace did not enjoy being made fun of.

The ECO was shaking in his seat. He obviously found it very amusing. "Let's just say that you've never been subtle, Starbuck. It's not exactly like flying a Viper. That's why you're in charge of training Viper pilots; not Raptor pilots."

He had ticked Kara off. "Yeah, well, I'm not programmed to be smooth, Helo."

His smile vanished. "After all she's done for you, you still can't get past it, can you?"

The Raptor dipped violently. "No Helo, I can't just get past it. Her race's entire existence is based on destroying ours. It's gonna take a little more time than that!"

Anders turned to the both of them as he pulled his restraining belt tighter. "Hey, let's just keep to the mission at hand. Let's get off Caprica so you can show me this home of yours, okay? No more arguing."

"Fine!" they barked in unison.

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The Raptor made a safe, if bumpy landing outside of the school. Taggart and the others were standing outside, ready to go. Apollo had ignored Starbuck and risen shortly after they'd left.

She began yelling at everyone to get inside. "Helo, we got any activity?"

"No, nothing on radar as of yet. Not even a whisper. It's a little weird. Too quiet…." He trailed off.

Apollo didn't like the sound of that. He jumped into the Raptor. "Let's go Starbuck. Something's up. The faster we get the frak out of here the better." He turned to the ECO. "Helo, keep your eyes open."

He made his way to the front. Anders quickly gave up the co-pilot's seat. "Thanks."

The sky was eerily clear before them. No movement above or below. "Maybe they're off our radar."

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Far below, somewhere in the woods, Six, Doral and Sharon were watching them leave.

"Let them go," he began to an unwilling Six. "Sometimes it is good to sit and watch for a while. Besides, he'll keep us updated."

Six wasn't convinced. Her attitude was conveyed through her stance. "You're so sure, are you? What if they find him?"

"They won't," replied Sharon. "He'll be dead before they do."

"Sacrifice for the greater good, hmm?" Six did not like it, but it was a fair idea.

"One of us will make sure he's long gone before they figure it out. Let's go." Doral finished. Sharon began to lead the way back toward the small school. "We have work to do."

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The trip back to Galactica was blissfully short.

"Galactica, this is Apollo. Request to speak to Galactica Actual."

Dee let go a sigh of relief with the communication. They had been gone almost an entire day and the Old Man was starting to pace back and forth. "Commander, Apollo requests to speak to Actual."

Adama's eyebrow cocked to one side. "Patch him through," he said gruffly, trying not to reveal the worry that had begun to eat at him.

Dee nodded. "Apollo, this is Galactica. Go ahead."

The Commander responded before the Captain could open his mouth.
"Apollo, where were you? Did you encounter any of the enemy?"

Apollo smiled before responding. "Yes, Commander, we did. But…we came bearing gifts."

His father was not amused. "I'll see you on the flight deck. Colonel Tigh, you have the CIC."

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When the Raptor came to a halt, Adama and a security detail were waiting for them. He had his usual calm but aggravated stance; as if he wished his son were still a boy, so he could give Lee a good spanking.

The hatch opened. Out climbed a small boy – Taggart's grandson – and his young mother. They were followed by a young man – a surgical resident sure to become useful to Doc Cottle. As they squinted their eyes in the bright lights of the flight deck, they were followed by a carefully watchful Starbuck. She appeared a little sheepish as she saluted Adama.

The Commander returned the salute, griping beneath his breath, "I should have known you were behind this."

"Thank you, sir," she muttered in return. Kara turned back to the Raptor. "May I present…."

Adama beat her to the punch. "Charlie Taggart! Thank the gods."

"Bill, Bill Adama," the other man said as he heartily shook the Commander's hand. "Haven't lost any of your grip, son."

Two more men and a middle-aged woman followed Taggart, with Apollo and Helo bringing up the rear. Almost the entire deck crew recognized Anders from his Pyramid games. There were audible gasps and whispers coming from Tyrol's men and women.
The Commander wasn't going to let that last long.

"This is a military vessel. Quiet! I expect you to conduct yourselves as such."

Tyrol started shooing his crew about, trying to find them something to do while also keeping an eye on the others. It made Anders extremely uncomfortable to be watched this way.

Again the Commander spoke. "So. The Captain of the Caprica Buccaneers is here to grace my ship? How is it that we've managed that?"

Before Anders could respond, Lee interjected. "Well…we jumped to…."

The look his father gave him shut him up quickly. That old family eyebrow cocked to one side again. Even so, he began to be amused.

"Let me see if I can get this right, shall we?" he began. "Helo and Apollo, you were sent on a jump, but apparently stowed away one Lt. Kara Thrace. To do so means you had the assistance of Chief Tyrol, and if not him," as Tyrol looked the other way, "his deck crew. Am I right so far?"

Starbuck looked ready to burst, wanting to explain.

"Quiet." He growled.

Taggart looked ready to roll on the floor with laughter. He was enjoying seeing his old friend at work.

"Now, after being cleared to jump, you went to Caprica, against orders, instead of your designated coordinates. The first time you went to Caprica, it was with a specific purpose. Please explain to me why one of my Raptors chanced a jump there this time, again without any permission?"

Anders stepped forward. "I think I can explain that, sir. Lt. Thrace made a promise and then she kept it. We couldn't get more people off because we ran into too many problems with the toasters, Sir."

"Then you shall join Helo and Apollo in the briefing room in ten minutes, Mr. Anders. Starbuck," he motioned to the waiting security detail. "You've just earned yourself another stay in the brig."

"Just like old times," she released sarcastically. "How long this time, sir?"

Adama looked down his nose at her. "That depends on what I get out of your friends here." He motioned again and she was escorted off. The Commander turned his attention to the three men before him.

"Gentlemen…."

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Starbuck had to spend two weeks in the brig, while Anders, Taggart and the others got transferred to the Rising Star. Apollo and Helo didn't escape punishment. They were both sentenced by Commander Adama to pull two weeks in the brig as well, only they had to do it two days at a time. With Galatica's Viper pilot trainer in hack, he couldn't put his other two senior-most pilots in at the same time; it was bad for morale. While Helo looked at his time as having fringe benefits in the form of being closer to Sharon, Apollo found his to be a minor annoyance. He was constantly being taunted by Kara.

"Thinking of making this a habit? Hmm? Galactica's CAG taking up permanent residence in the brig," she giggled. "No, seriously," the laughter increasing more at the anger in his expression. "They…they're gonna think I'm a bad influence on you! Ha-ha-ha!"

"Shut up, Starbuck." Lee was so ready to get out of there. "That's an order, Lieutenant."

"Yes sir, Captain Adama, sir." Kara gave him a quick salute.

The door opened with a loud thud. "Oh goody, lunchtime." She feigned interest. "The only thing worse than lunch in the mess hall is lunch in hack." The closer the food got, the less interest it held for her. Lee noticed her aversion to it. He had noticed since the day before. In fact, she'd barely touched the food since they'd brought her to the brig, and the lack of nourishment was beginning to show.

"Kara, you need to eat," he said, concerned as she pushed it away. "You're losing weight. I can tell the difference since we've come back from Caprica."

"Lay off, Lee!" she replied angrily as she held onto her abdomen. "I can't stand the food here, that's all. I'll be fine tomorrow when we get out of here and I can eat what I want in the officer's quarters, okay?"

"Starbuck, you can't…." He didn't get to finish.

"Frak off, Lee! I can take care of myself, gods dammit!" She curled up on her bunk, moaning as she held onto her stomach. It had begun to hurt again.

Lee was still worried, though. "Starbuck? Kara, what really happened on Caprica?" She didn't answer. Frak it. He wouldn't let it get to him. She's got that Pyramid to look after her. Speak of the devil.

One of the guards was letting Anders into the brig. He nodded towards Lee who continued to look at him with indifference. His chilly attitude was not missed by Kara.

"Gods, men can be so stupid," she said aloud. Apollo turned away quickly so she couldn't see the disappointment on his face.

"Hey you." She reached through the bars to hold Sam's hand. "How's the celebrity life treating you?"

"Don't even mention it. It's been giving me a headache," he replied, shifting his weight. "And that damned Playa Palacios, always chasing me around; asking me why I'm always visiting the Galactica. What are my plans for the future? Do I have a girlfriend? The list goes on and on…."

Starbuck was feeling a little devilish. Partly to get a straight answer, and partly to drive Lee, who was listening intently, she knew, absolutely insane. "Do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Do you have a girlfriend," she said, with an evil grin on her lips.

Anders smiled gently at her. He pretended to give it a few minutes thought, looking up at the ceiling before replying. "I don't know, do I?" He questioned her.

Kara smiled back. "That's something we'll have to talk about when I get out of this place. Want to have lunch tomorrow?"

Lee spoke up quickly.

"You can't."

She spun around. "What do you mean, I can't?"

He didn't even lift his head. "You can't because you have the second shift of CAP tomorrow."

"Oh come on! My first day out and I have to fly the CAP? Whose idea was that one?" she asked, kicking the bars in front of her with her foot. "Ow! Dammit!"

Apollo couldn't help but grin on the inside as he calmly responded.
"I did. Thought you'd want to get right back in the cockpit after two weeks out. Sorry…I didn't know you had a social calendar."

"Frak you, Lee. Payback's a bitch."

Anders shook his head back and forth, barely suppressing a grin.
"Kara, I'll be on Cloud Nine all week, and doing some demonstrations here on the Galactica on odd days. Just come look for me. I'm sure I'll be in the vicinity of that dumb reporter, anyway. If you can't find me, look for her."

"Fine. I'll find you later." She was a little deflated.

"Take care out there guys. I've got to go. Autograph session in the mess hall," he said as he began to leave. She looked at him in disbelief.

"Who made that happen?" she asked.

He stopped to reply before the guard let him out.

"Some people up in CIC. Gaeta…and…Dualla? I think those were their names. See ya." He waved goodbye.

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Kara stood there for a moment, watching Lee as he feigned sleep. He once had said that he loved her, but she hadn't taken him that seriously. His reaction to Anders' presence made her think on it again. Doesn't matter anyway, it would never work, because of….

"Because of Zak," she said aloud, as she laid her head on her pillow. In no time, she was sound asleep.

I wonder what that was about. He rolled over to watch her sleep. It was the most peaceful he'd ever seen her. Zak…. I still didn't tell her about Zak.

Would he ever?

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Starbuck never made it to the CAP. Kat ran patrol twice to cover her shift. Most of the day was spent with her head over the porcelain god. Oh gods, not again!

She hurled what contents were in her stomach to be vented out into space. All she'd had was some plain cereal and a glass of juice. She couldn't even keep that down.

"Starbuck?" came Commander Adama's voice.

Frak. She visualized herself in his eyes…head over the toilet bowl, stringy hair hanging in her face; pale complexion beginning to turn a little green.

"Sir, yes sir," she managed to mutter before the next wave kicked in.

Adama looked closely at his best pilot. She looked horrible. He put an arm under her and lifted her up.

"Sir," she began to protest.

"Can you walk, Lieutenant? Or do I need to get you a stretcher?"

She shook her head.

"Then you're going to sickbay, now. According to the CAG, you avoided going when you came back from Caprica the first time. I've already called Doc Cottle to come back from the Rising Star. Let's go. That's an order, Starbuck."

They walked slowly down the hall together, Kara leaning onto Commander Adama for support. Like father and daughter.

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Doc Cottle pushed open the curtain, looking at her disdainfully, cigarette hanging from his lips.

"Gracing us with your presence again, Lieutenant Thrace? Or haven't you got enough of my charming good looks?"

"Everybody's a frakking comedian," she spit out sarcastically, hoping the look on her face conveyed what she was thinking. "Just tell me what the hell I ate in that damned cell that made me so sick, and how the frak to get rid of it."

Cottle look out the corner of his eye while also looking at the newest edition to her already lengthy chart. "Let me do a physical exam. Just lie back and I'm going to push down on your stomach."

Kara clenched her eyes shut, knowing what was coming. He prodded around, starting at her ribcage and moving down to her pelvis. He lifted up the edge of her dressing gown.

"Care to tell me what this is all about, Lieutenant?"

She groaned. "I don't know, Doc. I ran into a little trouble while I was on Caprica. I don't know what it is, or what they did to me." She shifted uncomfortably. "The one on the top right is where a bullet was removed. The other one…well, your guess is as good as mine is."

Chewing on the edge of his cigarette, he stood there, thinking. Why doesn't he just spit it out? Tired of waiting, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. "If you're finished…."

"Not so fast, young lady," he replied. "I want to run a scan of your stomach."

Starbuck didn't like the idea of that. Tight enclosed spaces, outside of a cockpit, had a tendency to remind her of her mother.

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"Clean bill of health? Are you sure?"

"Yes, Bill. Something she ate, after having ignored food altogether for several days, made her sick. Simple as that. If she continues to have symptoms, just send her back this way. I would recommend that she get a little more rest, though."

"All right, then." He looked over at the pilot in question. "Do you hear him, Starbuck? Rest. Take it easy for today. I'll have Lee find a replacement for tomorrow's CAP. After that you can go back on flight rotation."

"Yes, Sir."

"Dismissed."

With an easy salute, she turned on her heel and headed back down the corridor. Lee sidled up beside her about two minutes later.

"Where ya headed?"

Kara took a quick look at him, noticing how nice he looked in his sweats. "I don't know; you?"

He tried to keep up as she quickened her pace. "Thought I'd get a little exercise in the gym. Wanna come?"

She shrugged. "Sure. Since I'm off CAP for two days, might as well find something to do in this coffin."

"For two days? Says who?"

"Says the Old Man," she laughed. "Cottle said I need to rest; he didn't say I couldn't exercise…just no work."

When they got to the gym, the hatch was shut.

"That's odd." Lee knew for a fact that the door was always open. "Let me get it."

He pushed open the hatch and was surprised by what he saw. "Starbuck, wait…."

Kara moved past him, and felt the disappointment in her begin to rise. Anders and Dee had each other in a rather compromising position. The former looked up at their entrance.

"Thrace. Wait! Thrace, let me explain…."

Anders' words fell on deaf ears. Lee tried to hide his smirk as he followed her. When he caught her, she was fighting the tears that were ready to burst.

"Lee, don't…." Her eyes and nose were already read, from the strain of holding them back. This was not what she had expected out of Sam, ever in her wildest dreams.

Apollo leaned into her and put his arms around her. "It's alright, Kara. Come on. Let's head back to quarters."

She sighed, and they walked together, Lee supporting her as they went. She rested her head on his shoulder. Lee helped her to sit down on his bunk. For once, they were alone.

"Hey, Starbuck. Everything is going to be okay." He sat down beside her and put his arm around her. "I'm here for you, whenever you need me."

"I know, Lee." She leaned over and buried her head in his lap. This way she felt safe and secure. Kara knew he loved her now, and she was pretty sure she loved him. "Lee?" she began, raising her head to look at him. "Lee, I…did you mean it?"

"Mean what?"

She smiled. "Did you mean it when you said you loved a screw-up like me?"

He looked down into her eyes, searching. He found what he was looking for.

"Yes Kara. I meant it when I said I love you. I always have, and somehow I always will." Lee bent over and kissed her; a long, slow kiss. He brought his head up to look at her again, making sure that she was okay with it.

"Lee. Come here." Kara pulled him down with her.

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The next six weeks passed pretty calmly. Lee and Kara were in and out of rotation, stealing looks at each other here and there. They had a little private time together, more than once. But they made sure they didn't spend too much time alone.

Dee avoided Starbuck at every turn. She would leave the exercise room if Kara came in. She would take another corridor if they happened to cross paths. It had become a little amusing for Lieutenant Thrace. At least once a week, Sam tried to stop her to talk to her, but she kept on walking. Nobody could hold a grudge like Kara Thrace. Well, maybe Lee Adama.

Anders did manage to corner him, though. Lee saw the man coming from the corridor to his right. He knew that talking to him would be inevitable. Lee stopped walking and waited for him to catch up.

"Captain Adama, may I have a word?" The Pyramid captain's voice was shaky. Apollo turned to look at him closely; the dark circles under his eyes, the fact that the man appeared to have lost some weight.

"How can I help you, Anders?" Lee waited to see what BS explanation he would offer up.

"I need to talk to Lieutenant Thrace, but she won't stand still or she just plain ignores me when I'm right next to her."

A half smile crossed Apollo's lips. "Can you blame her?"

Anders looked ready to cry. He'd been frustrated with the situation for six weeks, and no one would listen to him. "I didn't do anything wrong, Captain. Ask Petty Officer Dualla. Remember that I said we were doing demonstrations? She tripped me up, said it was something she'd learned from you. I just happened to fall on top of her. She went and kissed me…not the other way around!"

Apollo's smile disappeared. "Are you serious? Are you telling me the truth?"

Sam sighed. This had been his last ditch effort; to come and talk to Lee Adama, his obvious competition. "Yes. I am serious. I am telling the truth. If you don't believe me, go and ask Dualla. Unless you think she'd lie to you?"

Lee was thinking about what he said. Dualla wouldn't lie to him, that was for sure.

"Okay. How about I give you the benefit of the doubt until I've talked to Dee. Then maybe, maybe I'll get Starbuck to talk to you. Okay?"

At this point Anders was grasping for straws. Lee was his only hope. He reached out to shake the Captain's hand.

"Thank you Captain Adama. I'll be waiting."

Lee watched the man as he walked away, head appearing to be held a little higher than when he arrived. Lee shook his head as he went off to find Dee.

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Starbuck again found herself in sick bay. She hadn't been able to force herself to eat. The pain in her abdomen had returned, followed by the most horrible nausea.

"Hello again, Lieutenant. Isn't there anything I can do to just make you stay away?" Cottle had run some lab tests while Kara had been waiting. He looked down at the chart, then back again at her. "Lean back, I'm gonna feel you up again."

Kara sighed as she lay back upon the table. She was getting tired of coming in here. The medicinal smell alone was enough to keep her away. "So Doc, what's the verdict? Do I have a parasite, or what?"

The doctor looked at her with a wry smile. "You could say that."

She didn't like the way that sounded. "What the frak is that supposed to mean?"

"It means, Lieutenant Thrace," he began in response to the increasingly confused look on her face; "you'll be coming to see me more often. You see, you're…."

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"Pregnant? How did this happen?" Lee couldn't believe his ears. Starbuck…pregnant. It took his father saying it three times before Lee took him seriously.

Commander Adama had never looked so serious and so…disappointed. "I was hoping you could tell me, son."

"I…I…what?" His father was staring at him intently. "I don't know how this happened dad…I really don't. Kara said she was taking her meds…I don't know how…."

Bill Adama was amused. He figured his own son knew enough about the birds and the bees to use a condom. Apparently, he had assumed too much.
"Just so we're clear, son."

Lee was still shaking his head in disbelief. "Come with me dad. I want to know what's going on."

He marched down to find Starbuck in the infirmary, but she wasn't there. Lee looked around and only found Cottle writing notes into her chart. The doctor looked appropriately annoyed at the interruption.

"What, you were expecting someone else?"

"How many weeks is she, Cottle?" The Commander wasted no time. He and his son waited patiently as the doctor took a long drag from his cigarette.

"Can't tell you," he blew out.

"Can't…or won't?" growled the elder Adama.

"Won't. It's the patient's privacy we're talking about here."

Adama got up in his face. "That patient you're talking about is one of my men, under my command!"

Cottle didn't miss a step. "Don't try that with me Bill. Your first wife gave birth in my operating room to that boy over there," he said, acknowledging Apollo. "It didn't work then, and it's not going to work now. If you want to know, I suggest you go and ask the patient. I've got work to do. Please, get out." He went back to puffing on his cigarette and making notes.

Apollo turned to his father. "Dad," he began, touching his arm. "Let me go look for her. She might be afraid that you're too disappointed in her."

"Fine." Commander Adama was already irritated.

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Apollo knew just where to look. He made his was to the Galactica museum; closed off since the Centurions had boarded. Sure enough, Kara Thrace was sitting in a corner of the gift shop, looking out at the stars. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't hear him enter.

"Kara," he began softly. She turned to look at him, her eyes swollen and nose red from crying.

"Lee, I…." She turned and looked out the windows again. "Tell me how the frak I'm going to be a mother."

"How far along Kara? How long until…?"

She laughed. Not from happiness, but because she was utterly depressed. "Let's just say that Colonial Day isn't the only thing we'll be celebrating seven months from now."

"We have options…."

She shook her head violently as she wiped away the latest round of tears. "Don't start that crap, Lee. For starters, it's my body, not yours. It is also against the laws of the gods! I'm not going to end an innocent life for no good reason. I…I can't and I won't. Don't even think about mentioning that again."

Apollo didn't know what to do. His life was beginning to read like a bad soap opera. Here in front of him was his best friend…his brother's ex-fiancée…the woman he loved most in the world. He'd just finished talking to her ex-lover, who was begging for another chance. Why the frak does this always happen to me? He slid down the wall and took a seat beside her.

"I talked to Anders today."

Kara looked over at him, wondering what he brought that up for. Anders was currently the last thing on her mind.

"I also talked to Dee," he continued, his voice sounding deflated. "You need to talk to him, Kara. At least forgive him."

She looked down at her fingers, bloody from where she'd been pulling at the cuticles. "Now, tell me why I should do that."

Lee hoped he wasn't making the biggest mistake of his life. "Because nothing happened between them, Kara. Nothing except for Dee making a huge mistake and kissing a man who wasn't the least bit interested in her."

Kara's head pulled up at this. She couldn't believe what he was saying. "And why should I believe you? Why are you telling me this, anyway?"

"Because I love you. And because life from here on is going to be difficult enough without you being stressed out over something like that. You need to be healthy for the baby."

"Lee? What are we going to do? I'm a Viper pilot, for gods' sakes. A battlestar is no place to bring up a child, but I don't want to give this up, either."

He shook his head, a grim look upon his features.

"I don't know, Kara. I just don't know."

Lee pulled her closer to him, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. And they sat there, for the longest time, just looking out at the stars.

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Four months had passed, and Kara still hadn't gotten used to her new belly. She smiled as she felt Lee's hand reach down to touch it. The Raptor made a bumpy landing as it touched down on Cloud Nine's landing bay.

"Helo, are you really that rusty in piloting this thing? I could get you some lessons, if you want."

"Ha-ha. Very funny, Apollo. Just try and have a good day. I should be back around 19:00 hours, barring a Cylon attack or if Sharon goes into labor."

Kara grimaced as she felt the acid rise in her throat. Doc Cottle had said her nausea should have gone away by now. But Helo mistook the look she gave. "Oh, look at it this way, Starbuck…. We'll be able to bring our kids here together to play in the park; spit up and all."

The thought did bring a smile to her lips. Apollo put a hand to the small of her back and gently nudged her toward the hatch. "Come on Kara. We've got some shopping to do. Cloud Nine has some of the best shops in the fleet."

She rolled her eyes and shot him a look that told him she knew what a load of bull that was.

"Okay…so they have the only shops in the fleet," he sighed. "And…we'll be lucky if we find anything that even fits."

Kara smiled wickedly at him, then back at Helo. "19:00, right? And Helo? Don't be late this time."

Helo waved goodbye to them as the hatch shut slowly. "Everybody's a critic."

As they made their way to the convention center, they noticed a small crowd gathered out front. Kara saw him the same time Lee did. She shook her head and with a little wave started walking a little quickly. Kara and Anders had already had their talk. Not much had come from it. He'd had a little trouble dealing with the fact that she was pregnant by her best friend. By the look she'd seen on his face, she knew then that she'd broken his heart.

Kara reached out and tugged Lee's arm. "Come on flyboy. We've got work to do."

They spent several hours perusing what clothes were there. Kara picked up one pair of sweats with a drawstring closure, and some yarn and needles. Lee found it more than just a little amusing. "The great Starbuck, a knitter?"

"Lee Adama, I have many hidden talents. But the kid's hungry. Right now. There's only one thing I need, and that's food!"

Lee grabbed the bag from her hands and held open the door for her. "After you. I know a nice little café, right in front of a fake horizon."

Not ten minutes into the meal, Kara felt the urge. "Frak, not again." She tried her best not to fall off the stool. "Gotta go to the head. Frak."

"Watch your mouth, Thrace. Your luck and frak is gonna be the kid's first word."

Kara rolled her eyes. "Remind me of that one when I go into labor, Lee. I plan on using it a lot."

As Lee watched her go, he imagined what Starbuck would be like in a labor and delivery room. He physically shuddered at the thought.

What's taking her so long? His food was growing cold, and Kara had been longer than her customary five minute bathroom trip. And unless she was vomiting, longer than five minutes was a little too much for a pregnant pilot to be gone to the head.

He decided to go check on her. As he rounded the corner to the women's bathroom, a familiar face appeared in his view. "Hello Lee."

The bathroom door opened and Kara watched in horror as she saw Simon come up from behind and hit Lee in the head, knocking him unconscious. From her vantage point, she still hadn't seen the other person.

The Six copy laughed as she held Lieutenant Thrace tighter, muffling her screams with a well placed hand. The human woman slowly began to relax as the injection Simon had given her began to take effect.

Two Cylon agents looked up at a third, who had the limp body of Lee Adama thrown over one shoulder. "Bring her."

Six looked through the slits of her envious eyes and spoke begrudgingly. "By your command."

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"Captain Adama, wake up." No response. Apollo was slumped, leaning backwards in a chair.

"Captain Adama, wake up!" Still nothing.

"Captain Lee Adama, atten-tion!"

Apollo's head snapped up. Wrong move. His head was throbbing like it was going to explode. Lee bent forward to put his head between his legs as a wave of nausea hit him. Bad move again. "Frak, that hurts!"

"It should, Captain Adama. An unfortunate side effect of the blow Simon gave you to the back of your head."

Lee looked in front of him, opening one eye, then the other, letting them adjust to the light. He saw the Cylon known as Doral, causing anger and panic to rise in unison inside his chest. Behind him were the Cylons known to Lee as Shelley Godfrey and apparently the other was Simon. They stood there; waiting.

"What are you waiting for? Where is she?"

Simon smiled. Shelley grinned. Doral, on the other hand, was not amused. "All in good time," he said, barely containing the growl in his voice. It was no secret that his model held nothing but contempt and disdain for the human race. He was tired of having to be a great actor and hiding it.

From the shadows came a familiar voice. "Leave us. Now."

Quietly, the three left the room, pulling the door behind them. As the door clicked shut, the owner of the voice came into the light.

"Hello brother."

Apollo expected an initial wave of shock to hit him. But it never came. Somehow, he had known when he heard the voice back on Caprica. "Zak. But I doubt that you're my brother. You're just a frakking copy!"

The younger Adama smiled. "Well, that's one hurdle we don't have to jump. Hmm…. But you would be interested to know, I wasn't supposed to be a copy."

If that was supposed to get Lee's attention, it worked. The older young man looked straight at his Cylon 'brother'. Again, that disarming Zak Adama smile he was so familiar with. It laughed.

"That particular copy wasn't supposed to die. It hadn't finished its mission yet."

"Mission, what mission?" He didn't expect Zak to answer him. Cylons were famous for not answering questions; not truthfully, at least.

"Ah, yes…the mission." As if on cue, the door opened. From behind, Starbuck was shoved into the room. She didn't get a look at the other man's face. She was too busy looking at Lee.

"Lee!" The yell ripped loose from inside her. She fell down on her knees in front of him, kissing his hands…looking earnestly into his eyes. She sobbed out the next sentence. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, he's fine, Kara. Probably suffering from the equivalent of a really bad hangover; but unfortunately, he'll live," Zak finished with an up note to his voice.

Ever so slowly, Kara turned, her face as white as a sheet. "Lee…what the frak is going on?" She saw the face of Zak Adama before her. "You're dead!" Then realization set in. "You're a Cylon? You're a Cylon! L-Lee? Lee, tell me how your brother is a Cylon?" She whipped back around to look at Apollo.

His face was blank. He had no idea. Lee understood the thing he thought had been his brother was a Cylon. But how? Not to mention…. Why?

"Gotta hand it to you, brother. You actually managed to do it."

"Get to your point, Zak…."

Kara was amazed at Lee's calm. He took her hand in his and squeezed it tightly for reassurance. Zak turned around toward the door, then back to the two frightened people in front of him.

"You never were one for riddles and games, were you, Lee? Or were you? Ah…Kara…. If you only knew how much I loved you…. How much that copy of me loved you!" He spat the words out like acid. "We thought the Zak model was the only one that was flawed enough to succumb to human emotions. But God has proven us wrong before." He continued in a mocking voice. "And then there was Sharon."

The scraping noise he made dragging a metal chair across the floor was enough to abruptly bring Kara out of the haze she had been sitting in. She had been staring on the floor, vaguely aware of her surroundings. She absentmindedly put one hand to her stomach as she felt the flutter of the baby kicking. The movement didn't go unnoticed by Zak. He smiled a broad smile.

"The great and all-powerful Starbuck. Pregnant by my wonderful older brother. The same age is more like it." His teeth gleamed at her quizzical look. "And as a favor to him and to Zak; your Zak," he said pointedly to Kara. "I'll let you in on a few little details that are sure to make your brains itch!"

Zak rose from the chair and stopped about two inches in front of her. Kara thought he was so close to her that she could smell his breath.

"You, Kara Thrace. No matter what you previously thought…you are not, and never were, responsible for the death of Zak Adama." He waited for her initial shock to turn to anger. Then he continued. "That particular copy killed himself, because he loved you."

"Frak you-you frakking Cylon! Leave her alone!"

"Oh, dear brother…get a new life." The Cylon was looking intently at Lee. He could see the twitching start behind his eyes…the confusion had begun. "The Zak you all knew as your brother, he really did love Kara Thrace. But when he started having dark thoughts like your…what was she called? Oh yes, Boomer. He crashed his Viper." He focused his attention back on Kara. "He loved you so much that he couldn't complete his mission."

Starbuck's head shot up. The tears had been flowing for some time. Between ragged breaths, she managed to reach up with both hands and wipe her face clean. She reached down again to hold Lee's hand for strength. Lee could feel the anger boiling in her blood.

"Frak you, Zak! Frak you, and your god, and your frakking mission!"

The laughter started softly. Then slowly, it grew louder…and louder.

"But Kara, my dear," he said, rather sarcastically. "…the mission is already complete." Zak looked pointedly at the growing belly holding her and Lee's child.

"No." Kara rose and let go of Lee's hand with a jerk. She understood the meaning of his riddles and words much quicker than it dawned with Lee. "That would mean…."

"That he's a Cylon, too." Anders had quietly opened the door. He stood there, one gun trained on Zak, the other on Lee. He'd been listening long enough from outside the door. And he'd been watching Captain Adama's facial twitch, too. He'd suspected as much. "Kara…Kara, get over here, with me."

She started to move forward. Lee reached out to touch her and she recoiled instinctively. He grabbed his aching head. Zak was standing there, a wide, knowing grin on his face.
A tiny little voice escaped from Starbuck's throat.

"Sam?"

Anders nodded. He knew she wanted to know how he had gotten there, how he'd found them. And more importantly, how he'd known to come.

"Some of these guys aren't so good at the stealth thing. That blonde chick? The one we saw before? I thought it was bad when I saw one of her, then a second…and a third? Then I saw him." He nodded toward Zak. "Remember when you showed me his picture? You told me he was dead. I figured dead men don't just get up two years later and start walking around…do they?" He trained the pistol on Lee a little more carefully. "I followed him here, and I've been waiting for the best time to get through the toasters and get you out of here. Time to go, Kara."

"Kara…don't…." Lee's words fell on deaf ears. She was too busy with the ringing inside her own; the thoughts buzzing around her brain. Starbuck was now on autopilot, and self-preservation was key.

"Kara, please!"

Anders slowly backed out of the room, handing his pistols to Kara long enough to put something large in front of the door to bar it. The last thing Lee saw as he pressed his face to the glass window, was Anders…guiding Kara by the elbow away from there. Away from him.

Sam led Kara to the landing bay. There was a Raptor there waiting for them. He looked down at her. "I called Helo the moment I knew something was up."

Helo looked towards the hatch. He noticed she had begun shaking. "Thrace, you okay?"

Truth was, she could barely stand. It had all come at her so fast – Lee, Zak, the Cylons, the baby…. She didn't know what to believe anymore.

"Don't worry, babe. She'll be fine."

When Sharon spoke, Kara lost it. Sam had to hold onto her to keep her from hurting herself, or anybody else. He pulled his former lover up close against him.

"Helo, let's get out of here."

"Okay. Let's go."

But they didn't go back to Galactica. And for the moment, that was just fine with Kara Thrace…though her conscious mind really wasn't paying much attention. The familiar lurching feeling came as the Raptor jumped away.

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Back in the room, Lee Adama was still rubbing his head with one hand, the other trying to smooth out the facial twitching below his left eye.

"Good of you to join us," Zak said in a mechanical voice. "Maybe we shouldn't have pushed her like that."

"Don't worry," he stretched. "They won't get that far, little brother. She's still carrying around my DNA. It will wake up soon."

"So, what are we going to do about the Old Man.?"

With a wicked grin, Lee turned to look at Zak.

"Why don't we go and introduce ourselves."

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Wiping the sweat from his brow, Samuel Anders wondered what they would do after the baby was born. Would it be human? Would it be Cylon? It was the not knowing for sure that was killing him.

Agathon and Valerii's kid had been born last week with no sign of Cylon in her. She was just a beautiful baby girl, with every bit of spunk as her parents. Though on occasion he was sure she had inherited her mother's brains. He heard Helo call to him from inside the cabin.

"Hey, Anders! Chow's up!"

He dropped the ax he had been using to make jagged beams for a security trap. They hadn't seen or heard a Cylon in two months, but he wasn't taking any chances. Sharon was sure they wouldn't be bothered. She'd known the cabin would be there, and wasn't surprised when it was stocked full of all the amenities.

"I'll be there in a minute. Let me go wash up."

The water was cool as it washed the grit and grime away. He thought of the last time he had a real shower, not just a bath like they had inside. It was on Cloud Nine, the day he had to rescue Kara Thrace from her best friend.

Poor Kara. She was barely functioning now as it was. Every day he would wake to see her still staring off into space. And every night he would painstakingly bathe her to try to wash away the salt of her silent tears. He loved her dearly. He had never put up with any of her bull, except for when she'd decided to choose Adama over him. It had been too good to be true for her, but he'd known in his gut that something was just not right.

Lunch was hot, and delicious. According to Sharon, this cabin had been stocked in anticipation of her and Helo coming to live there. Then she had run from the Cylons, not wanting them to take away the two things she truly loved, her child and her mate. Anything he could have ever wanted was here to survive on, and in bulk. There was a secret cellar beneath the cabin.

Still, they had made sure to destroy the Raptor after landing. If the Cylons came upon it, they would think it was just another piece of space trash that had fallen down to the plantet's surface. At least that's what they hoped the Cylon's would think. He didn't pretend to even know. And Anders wasn't really sure that Helo's toaster girlfriend even knew anymore, seeing how she'd disconnected herself from the rest of them right before she'd had the baby.

He walked over and sat down where Kara was still perched in the same spot he'd left her in that morning.

"Come on baby. You've got to eat."

He held up the spoon to her mouth, trying to get her to take some of the stew Helo had made. Kara absentmindedly sniffed it before opening her mouth to let him put it in there. She never seemed to have a reaction if it was hot, cold, salty or sweet. That part of her brain had shut down when she found out Lee was a Cylon…or at least working with them.

For once she ate the entire contents of the bowl. Maybe she was getting better after all. Sam set the bowl down on the nightstand and took her into his arms, rocking her back and forth. Except for the extremely large belly, she was still Kara Thrace…his Starbuck.

"It will all be fine, honey. I promise you. Everything will turn out just fine."

"Make it stop."

Surprised, Sam looked down at Kara's face. She was no longer staring at something on the wall behind him, but looking up at him with a sad puppy-dog look. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, trying to figure out in his tiny little brain what it was that she meant.

Sharon walked over with her newborn daughter in her arms. She looked curiously at Sam, then at Kara. Handing the baby over to her father's waiting arms, she bent down to touch Kara's burgeoning belly.

"It's almost time. This baby will be coming early."

Helo's mouth hung open. She never ceased to amaze him.

"How do you know that?"

"I can hear him. He's talking to her. That's what she means when she asks if you can make it stop."

Sam was more concerned now than ever. There was nothing he could do for her. He wasn't a Cylon, and he was pretty sure if the kid was talking to Kara through its blood, then he had to be a Cylon.

"Talk to him, Sam."

"What? Are you nuts! I can't talk to that thing!"

He cringed at the thought of it.

Sharon didn't have much patience these days. It made her long slightly for the days when her Cylon programming would have taken over and she would have just killed Anders where he sat, taken the baby out of Starbuck, and then left her there to die, too. She sighed as she thought of the stupidity of some human males.

"Talk to the baby. He. Not It. He's just a baby. He wants to hear his father's voice. And as far as I'm concerned, that's gonna be you from now on."

"But…"

Kara entreated him once again. Three little words. Just not the ones he wanted to hear most in his life right now.

"Make it stop."

He resigned himself to the fact that no one else here was going to do it. He would have to talk to the baby himself. And Samuel Anders would have been happy once upon a time to be a father, but not exactly like this.

They left him alone with Kara. He moved to lie down next to her, only lower so he was positioned right in front of her belly. He'd heard tales from some of his married friends about how they'd talked to their babies while still in the womb. Weird. It just felt weird.

But as he began to talk to it, he saw Kara begin to relax for the first time in months. He reached up to stroke the taught skin of her abdomen as he told the unborn boy about regulations that were used in a Pyramid game.

Finally, Kara Thrace stopped hearing the voice inside of her head. It had gone to sleep. And she was soon to follow.

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Lee Adama stood there…waiting for what was supposed to be his human father's heartbeat slow down and then stop. But he knew something that his brother Zak didn't.

There were two factions of Cylons. One that did what God wanted, when God wanted. And the other had started following the Doral model, long ago, thinking that It knew what God had wanted. But in the world of Cylons, for the last twenty-five years, he and Zak Adama had been unique.

Their mother, Caroline, had been model # 1. God had created her to beguile the one threat that He had seen there would be to the future of the Cylon race. Somewhere along the line, God had discovered that the Cylons could not continue without love.

Caroline Adama had experienced love. If ever so fleeting, she had two children with William Adama, whom God had seen would one day be the Admiral of the Colonial Fleet, after his other children had gone wrong and followed the Cylon Archangel to their destiny. But He hadn't realized how wrong it would be.

And Zak had fallen for the Archangel's bull. Lee, being half Cylon, half human, had not.
Lee Adama would not allow his father to be destroyed.

After introducing Zak to his father again, Lee had watched William Adama's eyes grow wide upon the realization that he, too, was a Cylon. And then the doubt came…was he, William Adama, a Cylon? Quickly Lee had put that thought to rest. But he hadn't explained it fully yet, and what the Old Man saw before him was already bound to give him another heart attack. Bill Adama collapsed, and had to be rushed to sick bay by Doc Cottle before he suffered another myocardial infarction.

Colonel Tigh, in his utter disgust for all things not completely human, had tried to shoot Lee and Zak Adama without another word. But whereas Lee was half and half, this copy of Zak was not. Somewhere along the line, when he had been a student of Kara Thrace's at the academy, someone or something, had shown him his true nature, and talked him into giving up a sample of his own DNA. That was before his Viper had been sabotaged. For even though he wasn't the best pilot in the fleet…Zak had never been stupid enough to kill himself. And Lee well knew it.

He stood there, watching his father sleep; understanding that he probably would not be accepted by his own flesh and blood once he awoke. But in the back of his mind, he remembered Kara, and his child. He would do anything for that child…including murder. But first, he would have to find a way to take care of Zak.

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"Angel of mine, come to me now….
Angel of mine, where have you been?
Everything's fine; all this will pass….
Come back to me, Angel of mine."

He sang the verses over and over again, rocking Kara back and forth. It won't be long now. Anders stroked her hair back from her forehead, feeling the vacant breeze touch their sweat-laden skin. It was getting warmer outside. She'd been calmer these last few weeks, even smiling at him from time to time.

"I love you, Kara Thrace." He said the words lightly, knowing that she'd chosen Adama – or what she'd thought was Adama – over him. But it hadn't diminished his love for her. He'd let her go so she could be happy.

"I love you, too, Sam."

Anders' heart skipped a beat. She'd asked him to talk to the baby, go to the bathroom…. She'd even gotten to where she'd ask for something to eat. Now this. Nah, I'm hearing things. He looked down to find her smiling broadly.

She reached out and touched his face. Her eyes were searching for…something. Having found what they were looking for, she grabbed his right hand and put it on her abdomen, spreading his fingers out and pressing his palm flat.

Kara turned to where her back was pressed against his chest, feeling the baby kick hard in response to his presence. She settled in, reveling in the safety of his warm embrace. The baby would be coming soon, and she could think of no one who would make a better father – strong, compassionate, and true. Kara jumped slightly as the baby gave an even harder kick in response to her thoughts.

"You okay?"

Nodding, she turned back to look up at the man who had brought her slowly back from the brink. Helo had told her how Samuel Anders came in, day after day, singing and rocking her, often getting no response. He'd been patient and kind. Kara remembered why she'd fallen in love with him before, in only one day. That love had gotten shelved when she found herself pregnant with Lee's baby.

Lee. The thought of him made her eyes cloud over. Sam knew she was thinking again of her best friend who had turned out to be the thing she'd been fighting so hard against. He had to give Helo's girlfriend kudos. The woman had guts. At least Sharon had little to no fear in telling people up front what she really was, and for that, she'd at least earned his respect.

"Hey, babe…do you want something to eat?" Sam realized it was almost two o'clock Caprican time, and they still hadn't eaten.

"Mmmm. I'd like that." She laughed at the baby's rapid movements. "I think he'd like that, too."

Gently he extracted himself from behind her, leaving Kara to stare out the window at the hazy Caprican sky. He met Sharon and her daughter in the kitchen, making lunch for Agathon. The baby was growing rapidly, barely fitting into the dress that her mother had fashioned for her just the week before.

"Hello, little one."

Tanah latched on to Sam's finger, showing the strength her tiny little hands possessed.

"Hello Sharon."

The female Cylon acknowledged him with a nod. She had made a kind of papoose to hold the baby onto her back while keeping her hands free to do other tasks. The scents coming from whatever she was cooking were starting to make him salivate. Sharon smiled at his obvious reaction to the food. She'd often wondered if she'd make a good cook.

"Lunch will be ready in ten minutes, Sam. There's plenty here for all of us. Is Kara feeling any better?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "She's got more good days than bad days now. And she's speaking more, too."

Sharon stopped stirring the rice mixture she was cooking, turning to the side to listen more directly to what he was saying.

"What did she say, Sam?"

He smiled sheepishly at her question. "She said she loved me."

Reaching out and touching his arm, Sharon felt genuinely happy for him. She had grown tired watching a good man suffer for someone he loved like Sam did for Kara.

"That's good to hear. Could you go tell Helo to come in? He went out to do a perimeter walk before eating."

"Yeah, sure. Be right back."

Stepping outside, he could see patches of blue appearing in the orangey-green sky. It had been a long time since he'd seen a truly blue sky. The sounds of birds came to his ears in what had been, not six months before, a silent landscape.

Sam walked maybe five hundred feet into the woods before Helo came bounding up to him, out of breath.

"Get – inside – now. Raptor…landing…north…." Helo felt like he was going to pass out, he'd run so fast. He bent over, resting his hands on his thighs as he drew in long, deep breaths trying to slow down his rapidly racing heart. Once he could speak comfortably again, his voice trembled in thinly-veiled fear.

"We've got to get back to the house – quick! Turn off all the electricity and get the girls downstairs. I'll explain it all once we're safely underground!"

Nodding, Anders felt his old instincts kick in. He had to protect Kara at all costs, and the baby he'd begun to think of as his own.

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"Welcome back to Caprica, people."

The Raptor landed with a thud. It had been a while since he'd flown one, but this experience was starting out just like the last. A marine stood behind him, rifle trained at his head, ready to see if Lee Adama flinched. He wouldn't. He couldn't. Lee had brought his father and these people here for a sole purpose: To find Kara and his child.

"Put on the restraints."

Lee nodded and held out his arms as a waiting marine shackled his wrists and ankles and attached the customary collar. Every time they restrained him on Galactica, he'd felt sad as he now understood how it must have pained Sharon to feel trapped like this. Better than being thrown out an airlock.

He smiled lightly as he remembered the look on the Zak copy's face when Admiral Adama had given the order of execution. But it was only for Zak…not for him. The Cylon had clawed at Lee, trying to take him along into cold, empty space.

"Where do we go, son?"

Adama hadn't taken the new that he'd fathered a hybrid lightly. But it did explain a lot: how Boomer hadn't succeeded in killing him, coming within a fraction of an inch in permanently silencing him. Or how with the number of close calls that Lee and Kara had flying in their Vipers, they had never bought it. There had to be a purpose behind it all, in his mind's eye. And it did help a little that Cottle had already confirmed that Lee was his son, the original, and not some cheap knock-off.

"Sir, we need to go five miles south of here. The terrain is a little bumpy, as you can see from the topographic map that Chief Tyrol is holding." Lee pointed to the course they would be taking. "But we need to hoof it. I don't know how long we're going to be alone. That Zak copy will probably download into another body anytime, sir." He laughed lightly. "What? You honestly don't think that there was only one Resurrection ship in existence, do you?"

Lee waited patiently while the marines passed small arms out to the other members of the crew. Tyrol and Racetrack were there, along with another handful of marines who were exiting the second Raptor that had come along. Its purpose was for transport, and to take off and maintain orbit around the planet to alert if any Cylon presence was detected. Lee didn't like it that they had just up and left the planet bare. He didn't believe it.

"Move out."

They pushed the first Raptor into the underbrush, while Taylor took off in the second. They headed deep into the forest. Tyrol came alongside the Admiral, wanting to know where they were headed.

"Excuse me, sir, but would you mind telling me where we are going?"

Adama sighed. I'm getting too old for this. He had only told the crew that they were going on an ops mission to search for survivors. He'd said that Anders had told him there were more survivors on the planet…but it had been a lie. Until now, all of the other inhabitants were dead. He was hoping that Kara was still alive.

"Chief, just keep on course. I'd rather not share any more information…just in case."

In case there was another Cylon in their midst we don't already know about. Tyrol understood it perfectly. He knew that the Cylons were after Sharon and her baby…and now that they all knew Starbuck was pregnant with Apollo's kid, and that Apollo was a hybrid…. Galen could just imagine the crap hitting the fan.

"Yes sir. Sorry to bother you, sir." He fell back in line behind Lee Adama, whom he had taken an oath to personally keep an eye on.

It was going to be a long walk.

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There it is again. She'd felt it several time already - a tightening of the skin and muscles in her abdomen. Not now Lords of Kobol; please not now. This was not the time nor the place for this.

Around her, Helo, Sharon and Sam were feverishly throwing supplies into rucksacks and duffel bags. All that Helo had said when they burst through the door was, "Gotta go." Sharon had immediately passed the baby to Kara, and then began pulling stuff out of drawers and off shelves.

"Come on Kara; let's go downstairs." Sam took Tanah and handed her to her mother's waiting arms. He hefted one of the duffels over his right shoulder, then pulled Kara to her feet. He didn't miss the wincing look that quickly passed over her features.

"Kara, are you okay?"

She nodded, but didn't speak. She was concentrating harder on telling her body not to do what it was obviously trying to start doing.

"Frak me." Sam knew that her contractions had begun, but it was too early for her to actually go into labor. He went down the stairs backward, making sure that Kara didn't lose her balance on the way. Helo and Sharon were already a couple of meters ahead of them. At the rate that Kara was waddling, it wouldn't be long before they'd be left behind. He bent lower and whispered in her ear.

"Do you need me to carry you?"

Kara threw him a look that told him exactly where she thought he could stick that insane idea. She drew in a deep breath and quickened her pace. "Keep moving, Sam. It's not that far, remember?"

After a few minutes, they had caught up to the little family that was patiently waiting at the base of their exit. Sharon looked carefully at Kara, who had begun sweating profusely. She could tell that the older Viper pilot was close to being in full-blown labor, and that they needed to do whatever it took to stop it. Pulling out a med kit, she found the right vial and a clean syringe. Helo looked at her questioningly, while Kara nodded her acceptance.

"Hopefully this will stop you from having any more of those contractions. Do you know how close they were coming together?"

"I don't know. I was trying too hard to catch up with you that I didn't count!"

None of them missed the sarcasm-laced words. Sharon injected the medicine, then felt for Kara's pulse to gauge how far gone she really was. "We'll have to rest here."

"But Sharon, we need..."

Helo stopped his words as Sharon held up her hand. "She needs to rest, unless you want to help deliver a baby in the middle of a Caprican forest." She smiled as he adamantly shook his head. "I thought not."

They lowered their baggage and began to make themselves comfortable. Kara leaned her head on Anders' shoulder. She sighed as he placed an arm protectively around her shoulders, and then she spoke in a low voice.

"Did I tell you I love you?" Looking up at his face, she thought she saw tears glistening in his eyes. It was something she hadn't noticed since the last time she'd left him there on Caprica.

"Thank you." It was an odd thing for him to say at that moment, but he meant it. He'd thought he had lost her love completely when she'd decided to stick with Adama. Each time she might say it, he would think they were the most precious of words. "How are you doing?" Sam placed a hand on her belly, resting it where the baby was currently ramming a fist into his mama's tummy, trying to break out. But he didn't feel any more tightening of Kara's abdominal muscles. It was a good sign that the medicine had kicked in.

"I think I'm good." His hand was warm on her skin. The baby pushed harder in response, seeming to try to get closer and closer to Sam. The whole thing made Kara smile.

Helo and Sharon were quietly watching the two people in front of them. Tanah was busy suckling on her mother's breast, quickly falling asleep. Seeing Kara happy again had made Karl content, knowing she was going to be watched over and cared for by someone who loved her back. There was a softness to her features and movements when she was around Anders that had been missing when she'd been with Apollo. Helo knew that Kara had been in love with Lee for years, but it was a very destructive relationship - almost from day one.

Sharon reached out and touched the arm of the man she loved. "She's beautiful like this, isn't she?" Karl smiled and nodded, liking that the observation had come from Sharon first. She handed Tanah to her father and then got up to check Kara's vitals. Satisfied that everything was now okay, she made the motion for them to continue.

"I guess it's time to move out, then." Sam pulled her upright again, taking great care not to offset Kara's balance. He stood behind her as she slowly made her way yp the steps that had been carved into the earth. He was ready to catch her the second she may have fallen.

Helo went to scout ahead. Gone for about ten minutes, he returned with a sobering look on his face.

"Well, we definitely have company...but it's up to you guys to decided whether or not we call them friendlies."

Any other day, this would have been taken as a good joke from Helo. But not today. They followed him to where the trees opened up into a small clearing, taking care not to make too much noise with the crunching of fallen twigs and leaves beneath their feet.

Kara looked up to see a Raptor - Helo and Sharon's old one, to be exact - being guarded by two colonial marines. They had pushed it into the underbrush, trying to evade detection. She recognized one of the men from the Galactica, a Corporal Venner, if she was remembering correctly. Yep, they're here looking for us. Kara turned to look at her companions who were looking right back at her, waiting for an answer. She could only offer another question.

"Okay...now what?"