There were a lot of things that Kara could have been thinking about other than flying her fighter – the fate of Galactica, what was happening with Kacey, the pilots dying all around her – but splitting her attention probably would have gotten her killed. She was determined not to end up a burning wreck drifting dead in space; someone was waiting for her back on her ship.

A burst of fire streaking across space in front of her caught her eye, and for a terrifying moment, she thought the basestars had received backup, but she then realized that the salvo fire was coming from another battlestar – Pegasus. The ship steered into position to act as a shield for Galactica, putting itself between the wounded battlestar and the basestars. The Cylons pounced on their new target.

"Galactica, Starbuck; tell Pegasus we'll cover her squadron as they launch."

"Starbuck, Galactica; Pegasus isn't launching." They'd left their squadron behind to protect the fleet – although a couple dozen Vipers would be absolutely no match for a basestar if one happened to find them out there alone.

The Vipers divided their efforts between backing up Pegasus and continuing to defend Galactica. They'd taken heavy losses, but weren't giving up. Kara made mental note to praise the survivors when they finally landed.

Sam nervously watched Sharon as she stood beside Kacey. The Cylon's eyes were closed in deep concentration, while the little girl silently watched her, still as a statue. They'd been like that for several minutes, even as sparks flew from damaged consoles in the room and the ship rocked beneath them. All he could do was pray that whatever Sharon was doing, it was working.

Sharon suddenly stood up straighter, opening her eyes. "It's done," she quietly said, pressing her hand to her forehead. She was now the one who didn't look so good.

"Are you all right?" Cottle asked as he walked up behind her, dodging a shower of sparks with a muttered curse. Sharon pulled the cable out of her arm.

"Yeah, I just – " She didn't get any farther than that before blacking out for a moment. Cottle led her to the next bed over.

"Just rest for a minute," the Doc told her, pressing a pad of gauze over the hole in her arm before turning to tend to Kacey.

"You feel better, kiddo?" Sam asked her as Cottle took the wire out of her arm and bandaged the hole that remained. Kacey didn't move. "Is she okay?" he asked the Doc.

Cottle checked her pulse, breathing, and eyes before looking up at him. "I honestly don't know."

"Galactica to all pilots: come on home," Helo finally called over the wireless. "I repeat, come on home. Combat landings authorized."

"Roger that, Galactica," Kara replied. Out of the corner of her eye, as she brought her Viper around to make a run for home, she noticed a large explosion on Pegasus. The ship's starboard landing pod flew off, striking one of the attacking basestars. "Galactica, Starbuck; Pegasus has taken extreme damage! She will not be able to make the jump."

"Understood, Starbuck…That was the sacrifice they made."

Their combat landings were jarring, like always, but Kara barely felt it. The Pegasus had been offered up like a lamb in a battle that she had started by trying to save her daughter from the Cylons. Lives had been lost – people that flew for her and trusted her. They'd done everything they were supposed to, but they still weren't coming home.

"Captain?" she heard a voice ask, and looked to see that Tyrol was on the ladder to her Viper. The ship had jumped, and they'd brought her down into the hanger and gotten her canopy open without her even noticing. Kara pulled off her helmet and undid the collar-seal before climbing down to the ground. She started to leave, but then turned back to the deck chief.

"How many?" she asked him.

"Twelve," he replied, knowing what she meant. Out of the twenty-nine birds that had left his deck, twelve hadn't come back. "Could have been a lot worse," he told her.

As she walked off the deck, she decided that was a cold comfort.

Kara headed straight for the Life Station. Sharon and Sam were still with Kacey, but neither one of them looked happy. "Did it work?" she asked. They weren't going to survive another battle, not in the shape they were currently in.

Sharon nodded. "It worked, but…she's not really awake. The Doc thinks her mind got over-stressed and kind of shut down to give her a rest."

Kara sat next to Kacey, taking her hand. "Hey, honey, I'm back. I'm going to stay right here with you, okay? So if you're tired, just go ahead and rest."

"Did we really lose the Pegasus?" Sharon quietly asked after a few moments of silence. Kara slowly nodded. "Were there survivors?"

"I…I don't know." She decided to stop asking questions at that point.

They all stayed with the little girl for the next hour, just waiting and hoping. Kacey's test results were normalizing, she just wouldn't wake up. Sam finally volunteered to go get Kara some food, since she hadn't eaten all day, and a couple of Kacey's toys to make her feel more at home and hopefully encourage her to wake up. Sharon remained behind, sitting with – and supporting – Kara. The Cylon was the first to notice when a person stepped into the opening of the curtain that surrounded Kacey's bed.

"Kara…"

She turned around, and just melted when she saw who her visitor was. Standing up, she wrapped both arms around Lee. He returned the embrace. Sharon slipped away to give them privacy.

"I thought you were dead," Kara whispered. Lee smiled.

"Yeah, but at least you weren't in hack this time."

She laughed slightly, although it mixed with a sob. "It's still good to be wrong, though. And I'm definitely used to it by now."

"Mommy?" a little voice asked, and they both turned to look at Kacey, who was finally truly awake and watching both of them.

"Oh, Gods. Hey, honey," Kara told her, sitting on the side of the bed and taking her hand. "How are you? Are you feeling better?" She nodded slightly. "Look who came to visit you." Kacey's attention shifted to Lee, and she smiled up at him.

"I heard you were very brave," he told her.

She looked back to Kara, her expression turning contemplative. "Mommy?"

"Yeah, honey?"

"Daddy's gone." Kara and Lee shared a look. Could she simply sense what Sharon had done within her mind, or was she talking about something else, something bigger?

"Yeah, he is," she finally told her daughter. "And you belong here with me."

None of them noticed that someone else was watching them from across the room. As he observed Kara and Lee together with Kacey, Sam wondered exactly how much he didn't know.

TBC...