Title: Tangible Illusions (2?)

Author: oregonblondie

Contact Info: PG

Characters/Pairing: Caprica!Sharon/Helo, Eight (see summary)

Summary: Helo has his own Sharon.

xoxo

Helo sat on the hard concrete rubble, watching a rat struggle along. Somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered how a rat could have survived so long on this post-nuclear world, but any thought he had managed to have in the past few hours was soon abandoned. The wear on his body and mind was taking its toll, especially without Sharon to take him away from it. Either one of them.

After the first few encounters with his Sharon, he had become accustomed to seeing her. She was with him almost every night on Galactica, satisfying his need and keeping him from pursuing the woman he rode with nearly every day. As long as he could spend his nights in paradise, he could endure the days in hell.

Then the world ended, and he sacrificed any future life on Galactica for one on the run. He sometimes saw her, sometimes heard her voice, but he could never spend too much time dwelling on it. There was always another Cylon, always another enemy and never a moment to rest.

When the blond woman kissed him and then was shot by Boomer, he was sure he was going crazy. He silently wondered if maybe his fantasy had come to life, but it only took a day to fall into the rhythm of being on the run again, only this time, with someone to protect, to live for. A few days of being with Sharon, his specter returned, always in slinky green silk, always asking him the questions it hurt to say. She had guided them towards the bunker, but hadn't appeared since the surprise attack when Boomer was taken. Without the adrenaline of the hunt constantly pounding in his ears and no Sharon to talk his ear off, the silence of his mind's absent guest was near deafening.

All through the day he kept expecting her to show up or to make her presence known. He passed the empty time weighing his options, figuring some sort of plan. He could head south, try to stay a step ahead of his enemies and find a way home on his own, without Sharon. He knew the other option was to go north, toward the center of Caprica City, where his partner would be if she were still alive. He would only move once it was dark, one way or the other.

xoxo

The Caprican sun was lowering in the sky, casting shadows on the surrounding building and structures. Helo knew he needed to start moving, even if he still wasn't sure which direction. His head told him to run, that maybe there was never a Sharon that came back from him. He reflected on the fact that maybe the radiation had a stronger effect than he first realized, that his mind had simply created yet another Boomer. But there was still that overwhelming notion that she was real, that even if he had been crazy enough to have one of his own, he could have never crated two Sharons. And the fact that every moment since she'd rescued him had been slightly more real.

All of this pounded in him as he silently climbed down from the alcove he'd been hiding in. The thoughts were still bouncing around in his head by the time he'd made it to the empty street. If he had any hope Boomer was still alive, he was sure he would walk with the sun on his left. Still, on a Cylon occupied world post nuclear attack, what chance was there?

Helo started slowly heading towards the south, the remnants of sunlight falling across his body, causing elongated shadows to fall across the cracked pavement. He only limped a few steps before he noticed a second shadow next to his. He stopped and turned to see his Boomer in green, a frown on her face and tan arms crossed over her chest.

"You're really going to leave us? After everything, after I saved you, you're just going to give up? I guess you really are a coward. There really is no question to why I picked the Chief over you. He was brave enough to let me know he wanted me. He would save me." She spat all of this at him in a single breath and he wasn't sure it was possible for her voice to carry more disgust and loathing than it did. At this point he stopped, casting one look at Boomer and another over his shoulder. He forgot how long he had waited for her to show up and focused solely on her words. Maybe she was right, maybe he had been a coward, but if any time was right for him to prove himself to Sharon, it was now.

He turned around, pulled his side arm and began to limp towards his love. If he had looked back over his shoulder again, he would have seen her, his Sharon standing still on the street. The last beams of sun were still slipping away to leave her in shadow, the smile that had appeared on her face only barely visible in the swiftly fading light.

xoxo

The pigeons flew past, them too barely casting faint shadows, falling erratically around. Helo made his way into an abandoned building, so similar to every other building around it. The metallic clanking noises can be heard in the distance, and they add to the dangerous mystique of the situation. He had one objective, to get Sharon and get out. He drew his arms back and forth, pistol always leading, searching for any sign of life. After about 10 minutes of searching, he passes over a hole in the concrete floor that looks down onto a lower level and sees a Cylon Centurion marching along, a dragging a captive behind it.

Helo breathed, not believing his luck It had to be Sharon, her small frame recognizable in the flight suit even with a burlap sack obscuring the view of her face. He waited a few minutes, crouched next to the hole before dropping down and landing as softly as someone of his size could. Regaining his composure and sidearm, he scanned the level searching for the machine. He was about to lose hope that he would catch up to them when he turned around. In front of him was a sickening sight, enough to make anyone's blood run cold, even a man who'd fought them up close for more than two weeks. The Cylon swung its metal arm out, connecting with him and sending his gun skittering along the cement floor, just out of arms reach. His mechanical enemy began transforming one metal arm into a gun as Helo tried to scoot over to where his only hope lay. He used a burst of strength to grasp the gun and pulled off two quick shots, no hesitation.

There was a horrible shriek and Helo opened his eyes to see the machine fall towards him, metal face half melted and scanning red eyes moving back and forth once. He rolled out of the way just quickly enough to keep from being crushed, but its arm still fell heavily onto him, momentarily pinning him to the floor. He rolled to the side and the metal arm dropped to the ground.

His breathing retunring to normal, it only took a few seconds to locate Sharon. Her hands and feet were bound tightly with rope and he could see a few fresh smudges of blood on her suit. He sits her up and pulls the bag off her head. Sharon sobs at seeing him and he can't help but smile. "Shh," he says, trying to comfort her. "It's okay." He quickly does to work untying her bonds and kisses her on the face a couple of times.

She sobs, visibly relived he is who he is, and not another Toaster keeping her hostage. "Helo…" she chokes, "how did you know I was here?"

"Shh, it's okay," he says as he finishes untying the ropes. "Okay, can you, can you walk?"

She fives a week nod as he helps her stand up, "I think so."

Helo chuckles lightly, "Come on. Okay, I think were even now." He swings one of her arms around his shoulders to help her move.

"I think we should go," she says with a cautious voice, looking over her shoulder and back into the building.

He is so glad she is back with him he just blindly agrees, even though she's right, "Come on." The urge to comfort her is so strong, he can't stop talking. "It's going to be alright. You're gonna be just fine."

They limp out together, back onto the street. Most of the time he keeps his eyes on the Sharon on his arm, but every time he glances up, he sees the woman in green, ever present, ever radiant and still haunting him