AN: Here it is, finally! I apologise for how ridiculously long this took. In my defense though, it's about 1000 words longer than the last two... it just kept growing!

A thousand thanks to Uberscribbler, Cliosmuse and Tracyj23 who betaread this for me, as well as the ficfinishing community on livejournal which enabled me to finally get this DONE. (Seriously, anyone who can't get their fic moving should sign up... it's great!) Special thanks also to jule1122 and ppyajunebug who were my first readers and encouraged this along. I've signed up chapter 4 for the next round, so hopefully you won't have to wait so long this time...

~ * ~

Chapter Three

~ * ~

When Sebastian Thrace arrived home from school that afternoon, everything had changed.

There were open boxes strewn about the living room floor, and his mom's pictures had been taken down from the walls. Some of the photo albums were laid open on the table, and Mama was pulling books off the shelves and putting them into boxes.

And she'd cut her hair. It was shorter than he'd ever seen it—just tickling the tops of her ears.

Seb frowned to himself. "Why are you packing stuff up, Mom?" he asked.

Kara continued to empty the shelves. "Go put your bag in your room and come sit with me, kiddo. We need to have a talk."

With a sense of foreboding, Seb did as he was told. When he returned, she had settled on the couch, so he made himself comfortable on her lap.

She fussed over him a moment without speaking; tucking his hair behind his ear and wiping a smudge of dirt from his chin with her thumb.

"How come you cut your hair?" he asked, just to break the silence.

"I felt like a change."

Seb frowned. She wasn't making much sense. "How come?" he asked again.

Kara got a funny look on her face, then. "You know how the commander came to visit us this morning?" she asked.

He nodded. "I liked him, Mama. He was nice."

She smiled a little at that, but quickly cleared her throat and looked serious again. "Yesterday you told me you would like it if we went to live on the Galactica. Did you mean that?" she asked.

Was that the reason for all the boxes? Sebastian really did want to go, but his mom had been so against it. "Please?"

"I guess it's a good thing I told the commander yes, then," she admitted.

"Really?" he asked in disbelief.

"Really," she confirmed.

"How come you changed your mind?" he asked, suddenly wondering. "Did Commander Adama order you?" Maybe that was why she was acting strange—he knew his mom didn't like to be ordered to do anything.

Absently, she tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. "He didn't order me," she admitted. She seemed to be looking at him and past him at the same time. "I owed him too much to say no."

"What did you owe him, Mom?" he asked, frowning.

She looked away then, and suddenly Seb thought she might cry. "Never you mind," she said softly.

He shut his mouth then, sorry that he'd made her sad. "I think your hair looks really pretty, Mama," he offered.

She smiled at him then, and it made him feel good to see her smile at him that way. "Can I go pack?"

"If you like."

Sebastian whooped in triumph, vaulted off his mother's lap and scurried into the bedroom. He dragged his suitcase from under his bed and started haphazardly throwing toys and clothes into it.

It wasn't that he didn't like living on the Star; he could barely remember living anywhere else. He'd been three when his mom had decided he was old enough to be away from her during the day, and she could go back to flying.

He knew that she loved flying, and although she never encouraged him, his dearest wish was to be a pilot someday, too. He'd have to grow up some before that was possible, but on the Galactica he could talk to other pilots and maybe, if he was lucky, get to sit in a real viper.

"Hey, take it easy kid! You'll never fit them all in like that," his mother chided, appearing at the door. "Besides, we're not leaving until tomorrow; I know you'll want your bear to sleep with tonight."

Seb frowned at the mess he'd made, and Kara laughed. "Tip it out, and I'll show you how to fold things so they fit better," she told him.

~ * ~

When he arrived back at his quarters after school the next day, Seb found his mother had finished packing the rest of their belongings into boxes.

"Raptor leaves at 1630, kiddo," she told him as he waved goodbye to Tommy, whose mom had brought him home. "Run and check your room; make sure we didn't forget anything."

He did as she asked, carefully checking under the bed and in the bathroom cupboards. He did find a half-used bar of soap, but decided it wasn't something they needed, so he left it there. His suitcase was packed, and he hauled it into the living area. "All done, Mama," he announced.

They left the boxes and suitcases where they were; they would be delivered to the Galactica later. Seb had a rucksack packed with Bear, a change of clothes and a few essentials. He threaded his arms between the straps as his mother slung her duffle over her shoulder, and they were on their way.

Sebastian was over the moon at the prospect of living on a real live battlestar. At school that day he'd announced to all and sundry that he'd met Commander Adama himself, and that he was going to live on the Galactica with him, until his teacher threatened to make him sit at the front by himself if he didn't stop chatting and get his work done.

He chattered nonstop all the way down to the hangar deck, and jiggled excitedly the whole raptor ride over, despite his mother's admonitions that his restlessness would throw the pilot off course. (He knew very well that his weight was much too small to have that effect, and so did his mom; so he figured she was probably just teasing him.)

He saluted everyone he met, from the deckhand who helped them with their bags, to the raptor pilot and his co-pilot too.

"C'mon, kid," Kara said as they landed. "Grab your bag and give me your hand."

Obediently, Sebastian slung his rucksack over his shoulder and took his mother's hand as the raptor's hydraulic seal was released and the door drifted open.

Seb looked about him, awestruck. He knew that Galactica's hangar would be much bigger than the Star's shuttle bay, but he had no idea it would be so busy. Men and women in orange overalls marched back and forth. There were several vipers off to his left being repaired, and to the right, two pilots were closing their canopies and preparing to launch their birds.

There were two people waiting to greet them. Seb spotted the Commander first and saluted him. So did his mom. Bill Adama grinned and saluted them back.

"It's good to see you, Kara," he said and then gave Sebastian a wink. "What do you think of my ship, son?"

He thought for a moment. "It's bigger than the Rising Star, but not as colourful. And there's more people."

The old man chuckled. "I'll see about a tour later. Maybe Lee can take you?"

Sebastian followed the commander's gaze to the man beside him, and realised that he was the same one who had visited them the day before. His mother's grip tightened on his hand as she evidently recognised him too, and she pulled him a little closer to her.

"Captain," she greeted him, and Sebastian frowned at the tone of her voice – she sounded unhappy. He glanced up at her face and saw that she was glaring openly at the Captain.

"Hello, Kara," he replied, ignoring her stare. "It's good to meet you, Sebastian," he added. Something about him made Seb feel uncomfortable, as if he was being closely examined. Captain Adama didn't look angry like Mama, but he didn't look happy, either.

Not sure how he was expected to respond, Sebastian saluted the Captain and politely replied, "It's good to meet you too, sir."

It seemed to be the wrong response, because Captain Adama immediately frowned and looked away. "You're not in the fleet, kid. No need to salute me," he said gruffly.

Seb dropped his arm, feeling crestfallen. He'd only been trying to show he was a good soldier, but unlike his father the commander, Captain Adama didn't seem to appreciate the gesture.

Commander Adama cleared his throat, then. "You should get settled in as soon as possible, Kara," he said. "Lee will show you to quarters."

"Thank you, sir," his mom replied, and she saluted the Commander again. The commander returned her salute, twinkled at Seb, and left them with the uncomfortable-looking Captain Adama.

The captain cleared his throat. "This way."

Kara waited until he was a few paces ahead of them before she followed, keeping hold of Seb's hand.

Seb studied the captain's back as they walked. Kara clearly didn't like him in the least, but Seb couldn't imagine why not—he hadn't been anything but polite to them. It was somewhat of a mystery, and he couldn't help but be curious.

Mama didn't say a word, and neither did the captain, until they arrived. "They're not as big as your quarters on the Star," he told them, "But I think you'll find them adequate." He looked down at Seb then. "You won't have your own room, kid, but there's a bit of privacy."

He seemed to be trying to be friendly, but Kara was having none of that. She let go of her son's hand. "Seb, why don't you go and put your bag down, and have a look around?" She opened the hatch for him, and after he'd gone through it she pushed it almost shut, clearly staying outside to say something to the commander's son.

Curious, he stood near the gap and listened.

"What are you playing at, Lee?" his mother asked.

"I can't talk to him?" the captain asked in disbelief.

"Keep your voice down!" she hissed. "No, you can't. You'll confuse him."

"Kara, he's—" Seb heard, before his mother interrupted.

"Don't, Lee. Just frakking don't, OK?" she hissed at him.

There was a pause, and then, "You're expected in the CAG's office at 1800 hours, Lieutenant. Don't be late."

Seb quickly moved away from the door so he wouldn't be caught listening. It was a good thing he did, because when Kara pulled the hatch open a few seconds later, she looked absolutely furious.

~ * ~

Six weeks ago

"Mom, how come I don't have a dad?" Seb asked. It was a question that had been bothering him for some time, but he'd never quite dared to ask it before.

The look on his mother's face made him wish he hadn't asked. Kara sat down heavily on the couch, and patted the seat beside her. Seb quickly scrambled over to her. She slung an arm around him, and he laid his head on her shoulder.

"You know your friends don't all have both their parents living with them?" she asked, looking serious.

He nodded. "Yeah, Tommy lives with just his mom. But he used to have a dad, he told me."

She studied his face for a moment, looking sad, and then she smoothed her fingers through his hair. "You did have a dad," she told him softly. "But he died."

He had feared as much. Tommy's dad had been on the colonies when the Cylons came and Seb knew that almost all the humans there were had died that day. "Did the Cylons kill him?" he asked. When he got big enough, he was going to learn to fly a viper and blow all of the Cylons out of the sky.

"I don't know exactly." She looked away from him for a moment, staring off into the distance. Then she pulled him close and hugged him tight. "But knowing him, he got shot down trying to be a frakking hero."

Sebastian snuggled close to his mother, turning over this new information in his mind. "I wish I got to meet him," he murmured.

Kara kissed his hair. "Me too, kiddo."

~ * ~

The pilots' rec room was a friendly looking place. There were several tables lined up neatly, about which several pilots lounged. Some were eating, others chatting, and at two of the tables, there were card games. The buzz of conversation remained unchanged when they walked in, and only one or two of the pilots even looked up.

Seb noticed a boy, a few years older than he, sitting next to a dark haired lady at one of the card tables.

"Boomer!" his mother exclaimed.

The dark haired lady looked up. "Starbuck," she smiled. "Long time no see."

"I didn't know you were here," Kara replied. "You still blaming all your spooched landings on a bad gimbal?" she teased.

Boomer raised an eyebrow. "Hey, it's a fundamental design flaw of the raptor. Not my fault the Cylons blew up the colonies before they got around to fixing it."

"Uh huh." Seb recognised his mother's skeptical tone. "It always seemed to me your botched landings had more to do with whoever was waiting for you on the deck than with any gimbal. Got your eye on somebody down there?"

Boomer looked flustered and quickly changed the subject. "I transferred to the big G, oh, two years ago now. Maybe you would have known if you'd bothered to stay in touch, Starbuck," she scolded.

Kara shrugged, "I dropped off of everybody's dradis for a while," she said. "Things changed."

Boomer looked down at Seb and raised an eyebrow. "I can see that," she laughed. "Never saw you as a mother, Starbuck."

Seb frowned up at his mom as she ruffled his hair. "Me neither," she admitted. "But we get by, don't we, kiddo?"

"Hey Boomer," one of the other pilots at the table called. "You in or out?"

Boomer looked at the boy next to her, who shook his head. "Out," she said, tossing her cards on the table and standing.

"Who's your protégé?" Kara asked, nodding at the boy.

The boy gave them a wolfish grin. "Andrew Boxman, at your service, ma'am. But everyone calls me Boxey."

Kara laughed. "Nice to meet you Boxey – you can call me Starbuck." She turned back to Boomer. "I gotta report to the CAG, but how about we catch up later?"

"Sure thing," Boomer smiled.

"C'mon kid, let's go."

"Actually, I can keep an eye on him for a few minutes, if you like," Boomer offered. "I'm sure Boxey here would enjoy having someone closer to his own age to talk to."

"What do you think, kid?" his mom asked him. Seb nodded, eager to make a new friend, so she ruffled his hair again and left him with Boomer and Boxey.

"What's your name, then?" Boxey asked him.

"Sebastian Lee Thrace," he announced proudly.

Boomer looked surprised. "Lee?" she asked, looking at him strangely for a moment. "Your middle name is Lee?"

Seb nodded. "People just call me Seb though."

"C'mon Seb, I'll show you around," Boxey offered.

Seb looked to Boomer for permission, and she nodded. "Just don't go where I can't see you," she told them, before sitting back down to her card game.

~ * ~

Boxey was several years older than Seb, and Seb thought he seemed very worldly. Boomer talked to him like a grownup, and seemed to trust him to be on his own. "Is Boomer your mom?" he asked Boxey curiously.

"Nah, my mom's dead. She died in Caprica City when the Cylons attacked. I was staying with my aunt when Boomer landed near her farm. She couldn't take everyone, so she just rescued the kids. My aunt had to stay."

Boxey didn't seem too sad about this, but maybe he'd just got used to it. Almost everyone Seb knew had lost someone close to them when the Cylons attacked, and eventually they just didn't cry about it anymore.

"So don't have any parents?" Sebastian couldn't imagine what he'd do if his mom died. Who would look after him?

"Yeah. But Boomer looks after me now. She's really nice." Boxey sighed, "My dad went missing before the attacks. He was the ambassador at the Armistice station, so I think they killed him too."

"My dad died fighting the Cylons," Seb offered. "My mom said he was a hero." He fought back a sudden feeling of sadness. "I never got to meet him. I wish I did."

"You still have your Mom though."

"Yeah, I guess. Do you go to school?" Seb asked. He hadn't seen Boxey at school on the Star, and he knew there weren't enough kids on the Galactica for a school. Seb didn't think Boxey was really old enough to be by himself, though.

"Nah. What's the point?"

Seb was shocked. His mom always told him how important school was. "What are you going to do when you grow up then?" he asked.

Boxey shrugged. "Who says we're going to grow up? The Cylons will probably get us before then."

"We're going to Earth," Seb protested. "Commander Adama said so!"

"Yeah, but the Cylons are still following us. And I heard there's a Cylon aboard Galactica."

Seb's eyes widened as he looked around at all the strangers in the rec room. "Do you really think so?" he asked worriedly.

Oblivious to the younger boy's distress, Boxey nodded. "Yep. Someone had to blow up the water tanks, didn't they? I heard Tyrol tell Boomer that someone planted G4 explosives in all the tanks."

"How could they do that and not get caught?" Seb asked.

Boxey shrugged. "Hey, do you know how to play triad?" he asked, changing the subject.

Seb shook his head.

"I'll teach you," Boxey promised. "Let's go find a deck."

~ * ~

When Kara returned a little while later, she had such an angry look on her face that Seb was worried for a moment that he was about to get the telling off of his lifetime.

When she saw him though, she smiled. "Hey kiddo, you make a friend?" she asked.

Seb nodded. "Boxey's teaching me to play triad," he admitted.

His mom raised an eyebrow at that, but she didn't comment. "Say goodbye, kiddo. Time to get some dinner in the mess before the rush starts."

~ * ~

He was running. He was running as fast as he could, but it was no good because the Cylon could run twice as fast, and it never got tired.

"Mama!" he called, "I can't find you!"

It was getting closer now. He could hear the clanking of its feet, and sense its long fingers reaching towards him, groping for him, brushing his shirt—

"Hey baby, wake up!" His mom was shaking him awake.

Seb blinked in confusion.

"You're dreaming, kid," she soothed. She was staring at him worriedly. "You wanna tell me about it?"

He didn't really, but he couldn't help himself. "There was a Cylon on Galactica. I couldn't run fast enough—"

She smoothed his fringe away from his face, and he realised it was damp with sweat. "There are no Cylons on Galactica," she told him.

"Boxey thinks there are," he said, without thinking.

"Oh, and how would Boxey know?"

"He said a Cylon blew up the water tanks, and that they'll catch up to us eventually, and we won't make it to Earth," he confessed in a rush.

Kara pulled him close and kissed his hair. "You listen to me, kiddo. Boxey's just a kid, like you. He doesn't know anything about the Cylons, even if he thinks he does."

"He said he heard someone say it to Boomer," Seb protested.

"Then he must have heard it wrong," Kara insisted.

"How can we beat them if they're machines, Mama?" he asked her plaintively.

"That's what the pilots are here for, baby. If the Cylons come back, we'll shoot every last one of them out of the stars."

"Promise?" he asked.

"Hey, they don't call me Starbuck for nothing, kiddo," she assured him. "I will blast every last raider into pieces before I let any of them get near you. I promise you." She kissed him again and gave him another squeeze.

Although he felt better now, Seb was reluctant to let go. "Can you stay with me, Mama?" he asked.

"Of course I will, kid," she replied. "Make room."

He shuffled over to the side and Kara squeezed into his little bed, pulling him close. With his head on his mother's shoulder and her arms around him, Seb knew the Cylons couldn't hurt him.

He slept.

~ * ~

Next chapter: Lee wants to make amends, but he just can't seem to do anything right...