Chapter Eleven
Jessica dreamt of her father. The father that wasn't Alexander Talbot. The one whose blood flowed through her veins. The one she'd never known. He was walking beside her down a warmly lit street that reminded her of the countless suburban neighborhoods back on Caprica...and yet, Jessica knew she had never been here before. This was not home.
"She must be raised here." Her father told her, his voice deep and strong with a hint of the raspiness she shared. "They think it does not exist, your people." Jessica turned away from him with a scowl.
"They're not my people."
"They will be. You must lead them here." He took her hands. His green eyes were a deeper shade than hers and yet Jessica felt as if she were looking into a mirror.
"They'll never stop hunting you." He said, cupping her face in one hand.
"The Cylons?" Jessica asked with a shudder of dread.
"As long as they think you know where Earth is, they will hunt you."
"But I don't know where it is! I only know it exists. What good does that do me?" Jessica asked helplessly.
"You do know. Your mother told you. You have only to remember." Her father assured her, kissing her forehead.
"Everything is messed up in my head." She insisted, fighting back tears. "I don't think I can remember."
"You will. And you will bring your daughter here." Her father stepped back and crouched down onto a richly green lawn, patting the space beside him. Jessica joined him on the ground and drew her knees up to her chest.
"Why? Why does it have to be here?" She asked.
"So that the war can finally end. This will be your new home." He kissed her cheek and stood up. She watched him walk away, wanting to call him back, ask him more, but the words would not come.
"Home..." Jessica sighed lowering her head onto her knees. "I wanna go home...wanna go...go home..." Jessica murmured, slowly drifting awake. Opening her eyes, Jessica recognized Dr Saliks concerned gaze.
"Welcome back." The doctor said with a small smile. Jessica looked around, realizing she was back in Life Station. Remembering why, she groaned into her pillow.
"Ah crap."
"You only passed out. Your system's a bit weak still and it had quite a shock fighting off Mr Morgan. Add to that, Captain Apollo said that you were talking about the temperature in your room being too hot-" Jessica searched the room for Lee. Not finding him, she felt a surge of both relief and dissapointment.
"Lords, the last time I'd seen him he looked like he'd been about to kiss me!"
"Is that right?" Dr Salik asked, having heard her. Jessica jumped in her bed, then remembering her verbal diarreah, closed her eyes, wishing for the floor to open up and swallow her.
"I...well...he was just trying to make me feel better...I...he..." Jessica shook her head. "Forget I said anything, please. I'm just making myself feel worse."A tightening in her belly taunted her with the fact that she wouldn't have minded the kiss in the least. How in the world was she gonna face him after the things she had seen? Her face blushed hotly at the very idea.
"Do you want to tell me about what you saw?" Dr Salik asked, fascinated.
"No I do not." Jessica said firmly, her cheeks must have explained all that the good doctor needed to know because the woman smiled sympathetically.
"He smashed up his hands pretty badly. I gave him some pills to help him sleep through the pain. If ever a man needed a night off it's the CAG."
"He strikes me as the type who'd rather be working." Jessica admitted.
"He would. But luckily, the commander listens to me and not his son. I want to keep you here for another hour to get your blood sugar back up. Funny, Captain Apollo gave me that same look. Why don't you take a nap? I'll wake you when you can go." Remembering her uneasy dream, Jessica shook her head.
"Can I get some paper and a pen?" She asked. Dr Salik nodded and returned shortly with a notepad and pen. "How is Morgan?" Jessica asked, holding the notepad to her chest.
"He's in one of the other rooms right now. Unconscious so you have nothing to fear. They'll be moving him to The Astral Queen when he's well enough. Despicable, what he did to you. You were very lucky Captain Apollo was there."
"Yes, I was." Jessica agreed, wishing she could tell him so.
"Well, I'll be back to check on you in an hour." Dr Salik said, leaving her with some privacy for the moment.
Well, she was certainly glad Morgan was gonna be alright. But only for Lee's sake. She was especially glad that Gary Morgan was being moved to the prison ship. The farther away from her the better.
Going back to her dream, Jessica bit the end of the pen. Her father told her that she knew where Earth was. She had only to remember. The Cylons had tried all they could to get her to tell them. Her mother made her vow to keep it secret until it was time to reveal it. Ironic that now was the time, and she couldn't remember. Jessica jotted down the specific details of her dream which she could recall, hoping something she'd seen would jog her memory.
The streets had seemed familiar to her and yet she knew she'd never seen them before. She went to write down the street name and then frowned. Number. All the streets she'd known had names...not there. Twenty-fifth street. Jessica glanced down at her bandaged arm and then lifted it and fingered the gauze. She peeled the tape back slightly. The skin was still pink and raw. It had begun to itch lately. The numbers were gone. Jessica was swamped with relief. She would remember them for the rest of her life. Seven.Five.One.Two. And the star. Can't forget the star, Jessica thought bitterly. That was gone too. The numbers played themselves over in her head, Seven.Five.One.Two...Two...Five...Twenty-Fifth Street. The house they had stopped in front of had been numbered seventeen. Jessica physically jolted at the realization. But what did it mean? Jessica wondered, straining her mind for more.
Jessica's thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. Looking up, Jessica was greeted by Laura Rosilin's...make that President Laura Rosilin's hesitant smile.
"You must really like this place." Laura joked.
"Maybe my subconscious is telling me I want to be a doctor."
"Do you?" Laura asked coming into the room at Jessica's nod.
"Hardly. Blood makes me queasy...well, everything makes me queasy these days...and dizzy...and weepy, can't forget weepy. I'm pretty much suffering from the worst case of PMS in history." Jessica told her.
"Hmm, wait until menopause." Laura warned, sitting by her bed.
"Ah, something to look forward to." Jessica said rolling her eyes. It felt good to actually be able to talk with the woman when Jessica's former method's of communication consisted of throwing objects at President Rosilin's head.
"I'm sorry about before...the cup and all that." Jessica offered.
"I've been knowing to throw a few things in my time. Though since taking office I've tried to refrain from throwing them at actual people." Laura said with a comforting smile that Jessica know there were no hard feelings. The president's easy forgiveness made Jessica's eyes burn with tears.
"Oh for frak sakes." Jessica sniffled as Laura smiled sympathtically and handed her a kleenex. "That's it. When Dr Salik comes back, I'm asking her for a sex change."
