Z-minus 8 months: Part Two

The civilian ships had already had to deal with people challenging the termination policy, but Galactica hadn't – until now. No one was very eager to have to deal with the issue. For the time being, the policy stood.

"You think we're making the right decision?" Lee asked his father one night when he went up to see Adama in his office. Half the ship was talking about the predicament they were all in.

Adama sighed. "It's not as though it was an arbitrary principle. Roslin had it ratified; President Rawlings is upholding it…"

"That doesn't answer my question…I think Kara would terminate if she was given the choice." Adama looked up, surprised. "She's looking at an unintended nine months - at least - out of a cockpit. For someone like her, that's eternity. She becomes a pain in everyone's ass if she doesn't fly weekly at the minimum."

"Unintended isn't the same thing as unwanted, son."

"I know, just…I'm afraid she's going to end up resenting me, or this baby, because of the circumstances. As much as I hate the idea of…not going through with this, I hate the idea of forcing her into it more." Adama was quiet for a long moment.

"I guess it wouldn't surprise you much to hear you weren't planned."

A small smile crossed Lee's face. "No, Sir."

"Well, that might not have been true for your mother. She'd hoped you would keep me planetside for a while; her timing needed some work."

"She got it right with Zak."

"Yes, she did. And I realized what I'd missed with you…give Kara some time, Lee. It's easier for her to push away her fears than deal with them, but I think she'll be okay."

He nodded. "Yes, Sir."


Life on a Battlestar could be extraordinarily boring when you didn't have anything to do. In between a few random shuttle flights or CIC duty shifts, Sharon and Kara wound up spending most of their time in the mess hall, talking or playing cards.

"How's Boxey taking the news?" Kara asked her friend one afternoon as they started their fourth game of pyramid for the day. They never played for profit against each other, just tried to pass the time.

"Really well, actually. And he's glad that I've been around our quarters a lot more as of late. He's an amazing kid; I've been trying to keep finding books for him. He soaks everything in like a sponge." Kara laughed.

"You teach him how to play pyramid, yet?"

"No," Sharon replied with a laugh. "I'm not going to have my son gambling before he's thirteen." Kara smiled at that.

"Your son…how are things going with the adoption?"

"Everything with the civilian system is so disorganized and slow. His court guardian came this week, though. She's supposed to be putting all the final paperwork in, so we'll see. It'll probably be a few months before everything's finalized."

"I'll keep my fingers crossed for you."

"Thank you. I've been so on edge lately, wondering if something's going to go wrong, if they're going to take him away. I think I can breathe a little easier now…He wants to change his name once things are final."

"Boxman Tyrol?"

"Yep. We're supposed to be a 'real' family then, according to him. I can't argue with that, especially with the baby, too."

"This is what you always wanted, isn't it?" Kara asked. Sharon smiled.

"A family? Yeah…I barely remember my parents anymore. Growing up in the military…it was never lonely, but it wasn't a true family, either, you know?"

"Yeah."

"What about you? Is this where you imagined you'd end up?"

"I don't know…sometimes I wonder if we're crazy."

"Why?"

"Bringing children into a world like this? I mean, I know it's the only way we're going to keep going, but…Yeah, I guess I saw us having a family someday, but I never saw it happening on Galactica."

"On Earth?"

Kara slowly nodded. "Maybe…I don't know, just…not on Galactica. Not now." She looked down at the hand of cards she was holding. "Full colors," she told Sharon, unable to force much emotion into her voice. The younger of the two recollected the deck and started shuffling it.

"If we're supposed to be just sitting around for the next eight months," she told her friend, "We're going to need a new game."


"Pull the whole thing out," Cheif Petty Officer Lewis told one of his Crew Four deckhands as he inspected the Viper engine that the younger man was trying to fix. "Lost cause; we're going to have to replace it."

"Yes, Sir." Lewis was about to move on to his next task, when he saw one of the Crew Five specialists approaching him at a run.

"Sir?" the girl asked, and Lewis was pretty sure her name was Turner. " Major Cottle wants to see you in the Life Station, Sir."

"I'm on shift, Specialist."

She nodded. "I know, Sir. I bunk with Specialist Hernandez. We found her this morning, Sir, real sick. The Doc wants to see you." Lewis swore under his breath, turning around to try and locate the most senior crewman on duty, other than himself.

" Mason!" he called to the PO-Second. "You have the deck."


By the time Lewis got to the Life Station, the CAG and Commander were there as well. Cottle was holding up a pill container for them to see. "It's a simple painkiller," he told the men. "But from her blood work, I'd say she took nearly half the bottle."

"Is she going to be all right?" Lee asked him.

"She'll live, but she was lucky her bunkmates found her when they did." Lewis nodded. He'd have to talk to CPO Tyrol, make sure their crewmen received their thanks. "However," the doctor continued, "I'm afraid her child did not survive. The medications we had to give her…we would have lost them both otherwise." Adama slowly nodded. He looked across the room at the Specialist, who was lying on a bed with a nurse hovering around.

"We can't start gaining new lives at the price of the ones we've already got," he quietly said to Lee. "This shouldn't have had to happen…" He turned to Major Cottle. "Get someone to talk to Lieutenants Thrace and Valerii and Specialist Baker. Find out what they want to do. We can't always live by civilian policies on this ship." The doctor nodded.

"Yes, Sir."

The Adamas left and Lewis went to see his crewman. They just held each other's looks for a long moment. "They told you?" she finally asked.

"Yeah, Allie."

A nod. "Doc said I'll be cleared for work in a couple days."

"I'll put you in the rotation once you are."

"Thank you, Sir." He started to leave, but had one more thing to say.

"Just wondering, Allie – do you really think it's going to be easier this way?"

She didn't answer.


Lee went to find Kara and talk to her himself. "They're seriously rescinding the policy?" she asked her husband. He nodded.

"In this case, yeah. I'm just not sure if it's going to make the whole thing easier or more of a mess." Kara didn't respond. "Do you know what you want to do?"

"This became my decision…when?"

"Kara, at the moment, it's your life that's being turned upside down."

"Oh, and this is nothing for you?" she shot back.

"No, it's not nothing, I just…we didn't plan for it, and since we have the option, I just want to know what you want to do."

"I'm not terminating, Lee." She noticed the color start to come back to his face.

"You're sure?" he asked one more time.

"You want me to change my mind?"

"No."

"Then stop asking. What's done is done, right? Can't change the past."

Lee smiled; he liked this no-looking-back type of attitude that she had developed somewhere along the line. "No, you can't."


Major Cottle was taking care of speaking with Sharon and Tyrol. They both came down to his office in the Life Station once they were off shift. "The commander has decided that the civilian policy on termination will not apply on Galactica in this circumstance," the doctor told them. "You are therefore being given the choice of whether or not to continue with this pregnancy."

"What?" Sharon asked, her face halfway between a mask of shock and anger.

"The decision does not have to be immediate, and if you so choose, the procedure is non-invasive – "

The sound of a weapon being removed from its holster was the only warning they got before the first shot that was fired. Lucky for Cottle, it went wide. Tyrol grabbed Sharon, pinning her to the wall.

"What the hell are you doing?" he cried, trying to make sure he had control of the hand that had the gun. The thing that scared him the most were her eyes – he suddenly didn't recognize them.

"No one will harm this child," she said, her voice colder than ice. He was surprised to find that her strength was actually a match for his; that hadn't ever happened before. Cottle had gone to have someone call ship security.

"Sharon, you're not making any sense." He could feel the barrel of her gun brush against his arm - too close for comfort. "Frak, Sharon, stop!"

And then the marines were there, pulling her away from him. It took three of them to get her under control. Tyrol was left holding his wife's weapon and wondering what the frak had just happened.


TBC…