Just to clarify – Kara is now about 29 weeks along (7 mos. 1 week), Ana is about 30 weeks (7 ½ mos.), and Lynn is 31 weeks (7 mos. 3 weeks).

Kara feels Lee getting up and groans, "It can't be 0600 yet."

Lee's voice is rough with sleep, "Yes, it can."

She rolls onto her back and holds out her hands. Lee grabs her and helps her out of the bed, once standing she stretches carefully.

Lee yawns and glares at her, "Go back to bed."

Kara rolls her eyes and ignores the order. "Not tired. Going to take a shower and bug Athena after she gets off her CAP shift."

"What about Casey?"

"She is going to be up in ten minutes anyway – I'll just take her with me. Besides Sharon loves kids."

He looks over at the cot Casey was supposed to be sleeping on. "Hey, where did she go?"

Kara shrugs, "She musta woke up early today."

"Early? Right now is early!"

She sneers at him playfully, "Gods Lee, what are you going to do when the girls wake us up in the middle of the night?"

He walks up behind her and nibbles on her neck. "Beg or bribe you to get up for me?"

She snorts, "Yeah, right. Sorry flyboy, but you are going to do your fair share of nightly wake ups. And if you give me a hickey before I have a shift in CIC, not only will I cause you a great deal of pain but you will also never sleep with me again. In any sense of the word."

He pauses, "What is it with you and threats of violence?"

"They work. You stopped sucking my neck didn't you?"

He rolls his eyes, "Right. I have to get moving…I will see you in a few days."

As he turns down the hallway, he hears her call, "Bring lots of food or I'm not talking to you anymore!"

Kara and Casey walk into the mess. Because of the lack of food it has become more a gathering place than a place to eat. "Hey Sharon, I bring a rambunctious child." Casey runs in behind Kara and hugs Sharon's leg. "You look like the hells."

"Thanks Starbuck." She replies dryly.

Kara grins, "No problem."

"Why are you even conscious at this unholy hour?"

Casey slips away from Sharon and begins to play with something under a table. "Kid doesn't sleep past 6:30. And neither do the girls apparently." Kara pats her rounded stomach in exasperation.

Sharon pauses and smiles sadly, "Hera always started moving in the middle of the night too." Sharon shakes her head and seems to collect herself. She smiles at Casey, "What a brat…"

Casey pokes her head out from under the table, "Not a brat!" Then continues playing under the table.

Kara reaches out and touches Sharon's shoulder, "Naw, all kids do it. Or so Rosalin tells me."

Sharon is silent for a moment. She shakes herself again, "So want to play triad?"

"Sure, let's teach Casey."

"Is that…wise?"

"Wise, probably not. But I cleared it with her mother so it's okay." Kara pauses and snickers, "Actually Julie said it would be a useful skill to have."

The two women get Casey situated and start teaching her how to play. Sharon grins at Casey, "You are bluffing. You can't have anything."

Casey just giggles. Kara looks at both Sharon and Casey and decideds to call. "Show me whatcha got short stuff."

Kara lays down her hand, four on a run. Sharon sighs with disgust, "Of course." She shows her pair. Casey, giggling madly, shows the two women her full colors.

"Well I'll be damned. She beat you Starbuck."

Kara grins proudly and ruffles Casey's hair, "That's my girl. You are the one and only person that is allowed to beat me."

Casey giggles, "Told ya, not a brat!

Kara walks into the Life-station and walks toward Doc Cottle. "Oh joyfulness, the highlight of my day."

Kara smirks, "Nice to see you too Doc."

He motions to a nearby bed, "Lay down and don't talk."

Kara crosses her eyes and sticks her tongue out at him but doesn't say anything. Without warning her, Cottle pulls up her shirt and presses a stethoscope to one side of her stomach. He listens for a minute then moves to the other side.

They go through the routine, heart, lungs, and blood pressure. Once it's all finished Cottle says, "Gods save me, you are going to be a nightmare. I shudder at the thought of you in labor."

"What can I say? I like to make life interesting. How long do you suppose till I get to be your nightmare?"

He rolls his eyes, "Hopefully another month and a half but that is pushing it with twins. You're fine, the twins are fine. You can work so…get out." He turns away abruptly. "And Starbuck?"

"Yeah Doc?"

"You get your ass here as fast as possible if you think anything might be wrong."

Kara rolls her eyes, "Doc? Think about the men in my life…I won't have a choice."

He grunts, "Right because all of them have been successful in getting you to do what is good for you. And don't you have a shift to be late for?"

She glances at the clock, "Frak…" And waddles as fast as she can toward CIC.

Kara is uncomfortable when she arrives in CIC. It has been a couple months since she has done a shift here but now that Dee is gone, Lynn and Ana won't trade shifts with her anymore. She hasn't been able to fit in a standard uniform for months. The jumpsuit was fine for a couple months after she couldn't fit into a regular uniform but she outgrew that too. So she has been doing most of her shifts in a pair of Helo's tanks and his fatigue jacket and sweats the President had found for her.

Gaeta and the new communications officer are bent over the nav computer working out the final details of the jump. It was going to be a little more complicated because of how close the President and the Admiral wanted the fleet to get to the planet.

Kara walks over to the center of the room and stands next to Tigh. "Sir."

"Captain. Shouldn't you be resting?"

Kara resists rolling her eyes. What is it with the men around here, "No sir. Cottle cleared me for this shift."

He grunts and goes back to the print out that he had been looking at. "Apollo just reported in."

"Uhh, yay sir?"

Tigh snorts, "You're lucky I'm in a good mood."

Kara rolls her eyes and walks toward Gaeta. "Anything I can help with?"

Gaeta shakes his head, "No, we have everything pretty much worked out. Now we are just working out some last minute calculations for some other ships."

The new officer glances up and says, "I heard that Apollo called in and was raving about some of the fruit that is down there."

Kara's stomach growls loudly. "Can we not talk about food? It is making me even hungrier. If that is possible."

The Admiral enters CIC a few minutes before the scheduled jump."Status?"

Kara replies, "All ships reporting as ready to jump."

"Spin up the FTL drive. Jump when the fleet is ready." Gaeta nods and repeats the order to the fleet.

There was a slight pull in her stomach as the FTL drive engaged. Then it was done and everything was still.

The Admiral shakes himself and says, "Report."

"Jump successful. Ships reporting in." he pauses, "Sir, the Adriatic is unaccounted for." Gaeta replies.

Kara looks up, surprised. All of CIC is silent, waiting for the ship to pop up on dradis. After several minutes Adama says, "I want a Raptor to search the Adriatic's last known location. Find Helo, tell him to put a team together and find out what happend."

"Yes sir."

Kara bites the inside of her mouth to keep from saying anything as Adama comes to her side. He touches her arm in comfort, "You should go find Casey. She needs to be prepared."

Kara shakes her head frantically, "Please don't make me tell her."

Adama rests his hand on top of hers and says quietly, "I think it would be best if it came from you. She trusts you; she knows you won't lie to her." He pauses and looks at the dradis screen for a moment, "Besides, it could just be a problem with their FTL drive. Just go and keep her calm."

Kara holds Casey while she sobs. Casey's little body is racked with sobs and the child won't let her go. Helo had come back and from looking at him, she just knew. If she were completely honest with herself, she knew before that. Casey's head is cradled against her shoulder and she hiccups.

According to Helo, it looked like sabotage. Someone had rigged the FTL drive to blow on its next jump. Which meant that there was a Cylon agent in the fleet. And that meant that they needed to get food and water quickly before the Cylon fleet caught up with them.

Eventually Casey's cries get softer as she falls into sleep. Kara finally lets her tears come after that. She kisses Casey's cheek and brushes her hair away from her tired and tear-stained cheek. Sighing she gives into her sadness and exhaustion and falls asleep.

Piercing cries echo in Kara's head and she wakes up in an unfamiliar bed. At first, Kara thinks it is Casey crying again and she gets up to find and comfort her. As she leaves her quarters to look outside she notices that the halls are sterile, cold…, and deserted. The cries echo down the hallway and Kara turns toward the sound. Through several turns, she finally comes to an opening. Through the doorway is a large room. The cries are loudest in here.

As Kara goes deeper into the room, she sees a small, white crib. Inside is an unfamiliar toddler. She looks worn out. Her face is red and sweaty. Suddenly the dream changes and Kara sees dozens of bio-Cylons. They all appear agitated.

"How long has the child been like this?"

"Three days." Kara grits her teeth as she sees Baltar attempting to examine the child.

A Simon, "And why haven't you found out anything?"

"Because this is the first time any of you have let me near her!" Baltar stutters and nearly drops the instrument he is holding. "And I can't examine her when she is like this."

A Leoben sneers, "With good reason, who would trust a man that betrays their own race?"

One of the Sixs replies harshly, "Enough Seven, Giaus has helped us every step of the way."

The child continues to avoiding Baltar. Finally sick of waiting, one of the Cavils grabs the girl roughly and holds her still. Her crying gets louder and she tries to bite him.

"Frakking brat."

Cavil suddenly is thrown backwards, away from the toddler and is held by two Sharon models. "If you touch Hera again we will make sure you know what pain truly feels like."

Hera? Wait, isn't she supposed to be dead?

"Eight! This is getting us no where."

Kara walks to the crib to get a closer look at Hera. Yup Karl's eyes and Sharon's nose, that's Hera. She reaches out to try to touch Hera. Just as her fingers brush her curly hair Hera stops crying and looks up at Kara. Hera's eyes seem to plead with Kara..

Around her all the Cylons stop talking. They are all looking at Hera. "Why has she stopped crying? And what is she looking at?"

Kara gasps as she feels Casey tug roughly on her hair. Casey looks into Kara's eyes and says ominously, "Hera alive."

Sorry that this took so long! Hope you enjoyed.

Reviews are loved!