Moaning, Kara drew herself upright and perched on the edge of the couch, holding her head in her hands. It throbbed, and her mouth felt like someone had violently stuffed cotton in it. She noticed the Old Man sitting in a chair close by. He regarded her warily but kindly, and this was moderately reassuring; last time Kara had gone traipsing back into his life after dying she'd ended up in the brig. They stayed silent; both were busy assessing the other.

"Kara, here," someone said, touching her shoulder. Kara turned and saw Roslin's outstretched hand. Two painkillers lay in her palm, and Kara gratefully took them along with some water.

"How are you feeling?" Adama asked gently as Laura walked away again.

"Like the Lords of Kobol rejected me from the fields of Elysium, and I got angry drunk in response," Kara spat out.

Adama let out a grunt which wasn't quite a laugh at her dark humor. She wouldn't be Starbuck without trying to hide her feelings behind a wall of sarcasm, booze, and bravado. He wondered if she really believed that the Gods she and Laura had once (and maybe still) believed in had not allowed her into paradise.

"I don't think that's what's happening," Adama said, and Kara shrugged.

They both heard Laura walking back into the room. She handed one steaming mug of coffee to Starbuck who gratefully accepted it and another to Bill before perching on the arm of his chair. The rich aroma of coffee filled the air, and Kara cradled the hot mug in her hands; its warmth spread up her arms and into her body. The nutty smell filled her nose and woke more of her senses. She took a sip. Madame President makes frakkin' good coffee, Kara thought.

"Well, you remembered me last night," she began.

"You are a bit unforgettable," Roslin chuckled. Kara pursed her lips into a thin line, unsure of how to interpret the remark. Her natural defensiveness boiled up within her, like a cornered tiger ready to take a swipe at whoever got too close. Kara tried to beat it back down. Roslin had just given her coffee after all. Don't bite the hand that feeds you.

"We both know you," Adama assured her. "Can you tell us how much you remember?" Kara's body tensed as she thought about Galactica, her shipmates, and her viper. Clenching her teeth, she remembered saying goodbye to Sam. See you on the other side, he'd said. Her heart throbbed; this wasn't the other side she'd expected or wanted. White hot fire raced through her veins at her memories of Sammy and Lee. Were they lost to her now?

"Almost everything, I think," Kara began. "I remember the times on Galactica pretty clearly." She looked at the two people across the room, taking in their appearances. They were younger and no longer had one foot in the grave. "I remember the Holocaust, the arrow, New Caprica, Earth, better Earth, and Lee…"

"He doesn't remember anything, Kara," Laura explained in a gentle voice. Kara bit her lip and looked back down into her mug so that the other two didn't see her reaction.

"So, the three of us just wake up and remember a whole future that hasn't happened yet? Is this some sort of cosmic joke?" Kara asked. The other two didn't seem to have an answer for her. "Zak's alive, isn't he?"

"He's sixteen and probably still asleep upstairs," the Old Man confirmed.

"Oh Gods," she muttered, her heart beating wildly in her chest, and her stomach knotting. Her once dead fiancé was now a 16-year-old teenager. "This…this is frakked up."

Laura saw Starbuck's hands trembling as they gripped her mug. The coffee threatened to slosh out of the container. Laura moved over to Kara and gently pulled the mug away and put an arm around the overwhelmed woman.

"I remember feeling at peace for the first time in my life. I died, but I'd finally done something good with my life. Gods! Why are we back?" she yelled.

"It's alright to be angry," Laura said, rubbing a hand on Kara's back.

"How are you not angry right now?" Kara snapped, looking between the two of them with wild eyes that flashed with her ferocious temper.

"I was angry, Kara. At first. At the end I was at peace too," Roslin told her. "I died, but I had done my job, and I knew my people were safe. Now…I don't know what the future holds."

"We've remembered for years. Had time to get used to the memories and this world," Adama explained to her.

"How long have you both…been aware?" Some of her anger faded into curiosity.

"Seven years," Adama told her. Kara's eyes widened further, and her brain began catching up with her. She looked between the two of them.

"I, umm... know you said Zak was asleep upstairs, but, umm... whose, ummm... whose house am I in right now?" Kara probed, and Roslin blushed.

"Ours. Mine and Bill's," she replied and watched the wheels turn in Kara's head. Kara's eye traveled to Roslin's left hand, and she noted the wedding band. A few taunts and jabs were on the tip of her tongue but instead Kara found herself frowning. A pang of sadness hit her; she had no one now, and they had each other. Part of her resented that, but it also ignited a spark of hope in her.

"Kara, we are here for you." Adama came to sit on the couch as well, framing Kara between him and his wife. It was almost familial, but Kara was too angry and irritable to be comforted by this.

"I don't want to do this all again. The stress. The danger. Making constant mistakes. I don't want to be the frak-up again," she lashed out in anger. Her nails dug into the palms of her hands. She was almost cold with fury now toward the whole universe.

"Kara, that's enough," Roslin snapped, and Adama's eyes widened at her sudden harsh approach. Kara however, felt like someone had just pressed a pause button on a bomb. "You will stop talking and thinking about yourself like that. We're stuck in this life, that's a fact. What's also true is that you weren't a frak up. You made some mistakes. We all did. But you have a second chance now, and you are going to make the most of it. Got it?" she ordered, and her tone was firm and commanding. Everyone was stunned into silence for a moment by it.

"Yes, mom," Kara tried to snap at her in retaliation, but it came out far more softly than she'd intended; her impulse to explode had faded somewhat. She found that she wanted to believe the former President. For a few minutes, everyone sat stunned into silence by Laura's fierce lecture, until Kara's stomach growled awkwardly. She blushed. Roslin rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to go make breakfast. Why don't the two of you catch up?"

"This is crazy," Kara muttered as Roslin left. She looked over at Adama sitting next to her. The Old Man nodded and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Yes, it is," he acknowledged. "Now, you said you remember Galactica. What about other memories?"

"Most other memories are fuzzy and fractured. I know some are missing," Kara admitted. "I don't remember war college, or my first posting. I remember bits and pieces with Zak, but I know a lot of that is gone." He nodded and understood how hard this must be on her. He was intrigued that some of her memories weren't restored.

"We remember everything. Cottle is the only other person who knows anything."

"Aren't we quite the group," Kara snorted. They sat there in silence for a moment.

"I guess I should get out of your hair soon." Kara suddenly felt like retreating.

"I told you before, you are a daughter to me," Bill assured her "You are welcome here."

"You have your real family back, sir. You don't need cheap replacements getting in the way now," she muttered, draining her coffee and moving to stand. She refused to meet Adama's gaze as the silence stretched between them.

"Do you really think so lowly of me, Kara? That I would be such a shallow, desperate man to need a replacement?" he growled and watched Kara wince and then shake her head. Kara wouldn't insult Adama like that. She still felt tense and ready to bolt. Bill sighed; here was another woman who he'd never really told how much she meant to him. That just hadn't been their relationship. He stood and grasped her shoulders. "Kara, I love you as my daughter. Always will."

"Your wife and I had a rocky relationship, you know. She might not want me around," Kara huffed, a bit of fight was left in her.

"She's missed you," Adama assured her.

"I held a gun to her."

"I threw her in the brig."

"That has to be like your version of a hug."

"Funny."

"I thought so, sir," she said, and they both laughed. Kara relaxed and grinned at her adoptive father.

"There it is. The attitude and sass that is Kara Thrace," Adama said. She barked out a small laugh at that, but her face froze when she saw a kid barrel into the room and latch onto one of Bill's legs as he stood.

"Mommy's making pancakes!" the kid cried out happily jumping up and down. His thick brown hair stuck out in every direction, and he was still wearing his viper jammies. "She's putting chocolate chips in mine!" he announced, before noticing Kara. His bright green eyes, his mother's color, took in the newcomer. He held on a little tighter to his father's leg, and Bill rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Daddy, who is she?"

"Liam, this is Kara. She's a really good friend of ours," Bill explained.

"Kara is family, Liam," Laura chimed in, having followed her son into the room.

"Family?" Liam asked looking up at Bill. "Like you and mommy and Zaky and Lee?"

"That's right," Bill nodded, looking at Kara. She stared at what was unfolding in front of her wide-eyed. Holy Sweet Lords of Kobol — they have a kid, she realized. Kara felt her brain going fuzzy again.

"You got me the sister I asked for!" Liam exclaimed, looking at Laura. She blushed several shades of red.

"Uhmmm… well, if she doesn't mind, she can be your sister. An adopted sister," Laura said, tripping over her words. Bill's mind was torn between explaining Kara to Liam, and Liam asking for a sibling. He noticed his son letting go of his leg and moving over to Kara.

Kara looked down at the innocent face approaching her and bent down. Her secret; she liked children. Not only were tiny humans always impressed by her daredevil stories, but (unlike far too many adults) they spoke their mind honestly and still enjoyed life for the sake of simply enjoying life. Her kind of people.

Liam's chubby cheeks and bright eyes reminded Kara of Kacey, and tears prickled at the back of her eyes at the thought of the little girl she'd once known and loved. Kacey had made it to Earth. Kara had observed her from a distance as the child bounded through the green grass of the planet.

"Hi," Liam greeted.

"Hi, Liam. I'm…I'm your big sister, Kara," she said. The rejection of sisterhood had been on the tip of her tongue along with the thought that people were better off away from her. She hurt the people she cared about, but Kara was tired of fighting and pushing the people who cared about her away was too much energy. They were the only others who remembered anyway.

"You're in the Fleet like daddy?" he asked, reaching out to touch the cadet rank bar on her uniform.

"Yep. Viper pilot," she said. Liam gasped in excitement and showed Kara his pajamas.

"I want to be a viper pilot too!" Kara high fived the kid while Bill grinned proudly. Laura huffed and left the room after glaring at all of them. Did her entire family have to join the Fleet?

…

Breakfast had been a surprisingly normal affair. Liam was enamored with Kara. When Zak joined them downstairs, Kara had shyly and quietly introduced herself and was surprised that the only emotion she felt was a sense of guilt. She barely remembered Zak. Maybe it was better that way. He was still a kid, and she couldn't stop thinking of Lee and Sam. She decided to be grateful that Zak was alive and made a silent promise to flunk him if he went through flight school.

Laura explained to Zak that Kara was a longtime friend of her family and had been like a daughter to her before the young girl had moved to Picon. Bill accepted the new twist to the story. It was the only way to explain why Kara wouldn't have known the Adamas already. Sadly, there were no other Roslins around to confirm or contradict this cover story.

After breakfast, Zak and Liam left the three adults alone at the table after being kindly asked to let them talk alone.

Roslin and Adama told Kara about seeing Cavil and Doral. She agreed with their plan to tell Adar what they knew when he was elected President. That time was drawing near and Kara agreed to add her testimony to theirs. She agreed to help Cottle and Adama create stockpiles of supplies; it would be useful to have a pilot help sneak shipments around.

As the conversation lulled, Kara stared down at her hands. She'd emotionally flat-lined. The chaotic rush of emotions had drained her system.

"What are you thinking, Kara?" Laura asked, noticing her faraway look.

"Leoben." All the Cylons were on Kara's mind, but she fixated on Leoben most of all. "He talked about being in a stream. About how he floated in the stream and could see how it would flow. He knew we'd find Kobol before we found it. He knew I had a destiny. He just seemed to know things. Now we are like him. We know things. It's like we all hopped out of whatever stream that was carrying us through our lives and decided to take a hike back up stream before jumping in again. At least we know where all the rapids are."

"Leoben did have an uncanny ability to predict upcoming events," Laura acknowledged as she thought over Kara's metaphor. She thought of the coincidences she'd noticed. The Final Five in the fleet. Strategically placed Cylon agents. She thought about people and Cylons remembering other timelines and trying to alter the future.

"All this has happened before and all this will happen again. Maybe there have been people or Cylons like Leoben who might have been like us and remembered one of the cycles." Kara muttered as if she shared Laura's thoughts. Laura remembered her visions in the hospital; she'd seen herself die repeatedly. Each one of those visions could be a lifetime she'd lived and forgotten, Laura mused.

"This has all happened before…" Laura muttered.

"You know what? Frak prophesy," Kara snarled.

"Couldn't agree more," said the Prophet to the Harbinger.

…

It was dark outside and the house had grown quiet. Kara was passed out in the guest room, having accepted the invitation to spend the night again. She'd assured Adama that she hadn't gone AWOL, but cheekily asked if she could use the house as a hide out when she inevitably did. Zak and Liam were in their rooms asleep as well, leaving only the two parents awake.

"You have all of your children back, Bill," Laura whispered, coming to stand next to him. Her husband sat on their youngest son's bed with his glasses perched on the tip of his nose. He'd been reading a book to Liam, and the boy had fallen asleep while listening to his father's voice tell him the story of Perseus and Andromeda. Bill was taking a few moments to simply observe him. Even though he read to Liam over the phone, reading in person was so much better. He turned his head toward Laura and grinned.

"All our children, it feels good," his deep voice was extra gravelly as he spoke quietly so as not to wake the sleeping child.

"He's growing so big," Laura sighed, moving over toward Liam to brush a kiss on his forehead. "I love you my darling," she whispered, tucking the covers around him. She straightened and extended a hand to Bill silently inviting him to join her. He grasped her hand in his and stood.

"Can I…. ask you a question?" she asked nervously as they made their way to their bedroom. Bill raised an eyebrow at her uncharacteristic shyness. He nodded, closing their bedroom door behind them. Laura slowly turned to face him, and Bill was momentarily mesmerized by the silk purple robe she wore and the way that it flowed around her. He noticed her restless hands.

"I've been wondering, umm… I wanted to know if…" she cleared her throat and took a breath. Bill closed the distance between them and took her fidgety hands in his, hold them affectionately against chest while and waiting for Laura to continue. He didn't prompt her to speak but simply tilted his head to the side and waited. She sighed. "Oh, the Adama silence. OK, what did you think when Liam asked for another sibling?" she asked and looked into Bill's eyes, waiting for his reaction.

"Are you..." His eyes widened.

"I'm not pregnant," she assured him quickly before he could even ask, "but, what if?"

"I've thought about it before. Wanted another, but…" his voice trailed off.

"But…?" she pushed.

"Didn't know how to talk about it," he admitted in a quiet voice. Bill looked down, embarrassed and thought back; his children had all just kind of happened. Lee had been unexpected, and a large reason for his first marriage. Then one day, Carolanne had announced that she was having another. Truthfully, Liam had been an accident as well. He was a wonderful accident but still unplanned. With Laura having taken in Lee and Zak, it hadn't seemed fair to even ask Laura if they might have another, and he didn't know how to broach the subject.

"I've been your wife for years, and you didn't know how to talk to me?" Laura asked, frowning. Her heart ached at the thought that somehow Bill still found strange to be a normal couple. She pulled away and walked over to the bed, pulling the covers back.

"I'm in space a lot. It wasn't fair to bring it up," Bill said, and Laura heard the sadness in his voice.

"Bill, we've been married for years. We're supposed to be able to talk about anything together," Laura sighed, looking up into his eyes and trying not to sound too accusatory. Bill's reticence ebbed and flowed between endearing and absolutely infuriating.

"I was thinking of you, Laura. It's a lot to take on while I'm with the Fleet." Bill said, trying to explain as they both climbed into bed.

"I like knowing what's going on in that thick head of yours," Laura said, pausing her movements to look him in the eye.

"Do we want another?" Bill asked. He thought of the daughter he'd always wanted.

"We could just see what happens?" Laura suggested with a smile, laying down on the her side of the bed. She'd stop taking her medication.

"If you are sure, Laura." Bill agreed, joining her. "But you do realize that we frak each other senseless every chance we get, right? It could happen fairly quickly."

"One can hope. And what can I say? I'll never get enough of you, Bill," she grinned, gripping his dog-tags and pulling him to her. It was a wonderful feeling; loving and being loved by the other. It was more than just seeking pleasure from their partner; it was the closeness, the connectedness, the giggles, the moans, the freedom, and passion. That the two of them had shared so much and that they continued wanting to share their lives was a testament to how strong their bond was.

…..

After they fell asleep that night, Laura's visions returned. The same ones. Bill was leaving and as he left, Tory handed her a letter. As soon as the letter touched her hand the clanking started, deep in the bowels of Colonial One. It sounded mechanical. The metal clanged around her, and her mind screamed at her to hide. She needed to find something first. Frantic, she looked everywhere. Her throat was hoarse from yelling, but she couldn't hear what she was saying. She couldn't leave without finding it. The clanging got louder. Centurions surrounded her, and she was pressed against the wall. She screamed and everything faded to black.

...

Cavil felt the years ticking past, and it grated on his nerves. He'd acted benign and calm for long enough that the others had started to trust him again. Apparently, they weren't just going to trust that he knew the future, so he'd stopped sharing all his knowledge. The grumpy Cylon had felt cooped up as time passed on the colony ship.

It was wonderful to be free again. He had a plan, and a couple of options for how to get what he wanted. The Cylon had managed to get himself to Troy without being detected. Now, he was arranging for smugglers to bring him closer and closer to Caprica.

...

Author's note: Kara was a bit of a challenge to write, but hopefully her reaction to being awakened is believable.