Once conscious, Kacey was declared out of the woods, and Leoben wanted to take her home. They got the little girl settled in on the bed in the master bedroom, tucked under the covers with her doll. "You hungry, Kacey?" Leoben asked her, and received a small nod in return. "Okay, I'll be right back."

"Mommy?" the little girl called out to Kara. "You stay with me?"

She smiled, lying down on the bed next to her. "I'm not going anywhere if you don't want me to, okay?" Kacey smiled a bit, too, curling up at her side.

Leoben stopped short when he returned, surprised by the sight before him. "You okay?" he asked as he stepped over to the bed. Kara reached to take the bottle he was holding.

"We're fine," she replied, giving the bottle to Kacey. "Right, honey?" She nodded.

"I'm going to go make some dinner for us."

Kara smiled. "We'll be okay. Honest." He hesitated a moment, but nodded and left the room.

Once Kacey finished her bottle, Kara put it on the nightstand. "Go ahead and go to sleep," she told the little girl. "You're probably still tired."

"You don't go?" Kacey quietly asked. Kara held her a little bit closer.

"I promise. I'll be right here when you wake up." Kacey closed her eyes, and after a few minutes, her breathing evened out into that of sleep. Kara gently brushed her little blonde curls back from her face. "I'm not going to let you get hurt again," she whispered. "I'll keep you safe."

When Leoben woke up the next morning, he found that the bed he'd been sharing with Kara and Kacey was now empty. A few seconds later, however, he heard giggling coming from the main room of their apartment.

A smile crossed his face as he discovered the pair on the couch, playing with Kacey's toys. "Good morning," he called across the room.

"Morning," Kara replied. "Someone, can't imagine who, woke up early and I didn't want to disturb you." Kacey smiled proudly, knowing exactly who her mother was talking about.

"I wouldn't have minded, but I'm glad you're getting along. Anyone want breakfast? I bet I could scrounge up some pancakes from somewhere."

"One of the Sharons already brought some food for Kacey," Kara told him. "She was hungry; I figured you wouldn't mind."

Leoben smiled. "She's your daughter, too, Kara. Do whatever she needs; you don't have to get my permission." She studied him for a moment, but nodded.

They had a nice afternoon together in the apartment. Leoben had managed to find a puzzle, and Kacey had eagerly attacked the challenge. Kara was captivated as she watched the little girl work on something she shouldn't have been able to comprehend at her age, let alone master.

"Pretty?" Kacey asked her mother at one point, indicating her half-finished handiwork. The several hundred pieced puzzle was a picture of a dozen toy animals, each wearing the colors of one of the Twelve Colonies.

"It's very pretty."

Leoben handed Kara a mug of what passed for coffee on New Caprica. "Has she always been like this?" she asked him as he sat down with her on the couch.

"Yes. She's been exceptional ever since the day she was born."

Kara cracked a smile. "Wish I could take credit for that."

"You can. She has your determination, your creative thinking – "

"So she's stubborn and rebellious."

Leoben smiled. "She is the best of both of us." Kara stared at him a long moment, unsure whether or not she should reply, or even what she'd say if she had to.

Lost in thought, she was taken by surprise when she felt a little hand on her arm. Kacey grinned at her, before pressing a puzzle piece into her hand.

"Am I supposed to be helping?" she asked the child, and received a nod in return. Kara got down on the floor with her and they resumed work on the puzzle. "Does it go here?" Kara asked, putting the piece down over an obviously incorrect hole. Kacey shook her head with a giggle, blonde curls flying. "No? Okay, how about here?"

That night, Kara forced herself to go sleep in the same bed as Leoben without Kacey between them as a barrier. The little girl now had her own bed in the corner and was fast asleep by the time Kara finished taking a shower. Leoben was a gentleman, and didn't try anything with her, but that didn't make falling asleep any easier.

She'd only just gotten to sleep when a little voice broke the quiet in the room. "Daddy? Daddy?" Kara started to turn over to look towards Kacey, but felt Leoben getting out of bed as well.

"What's the matter, Kace?" he whispered as he knelt next to her bed.

The toddler sniffled. "Bad dream."

He brushed her hair from her face. "What did you see?"

"There was peoples yelling and crying and fire."

"Where, Kacey?"

"Outside."

"In New Caprica City?"

She nodded. "Everyone was fighting."

TBC...

feedback is much appreciated!