WHTMT - chapter 25

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"Where are we going?" Kara asked a short while later, coming to join him at the front of the craft. "Your father was right, we can't get far without FTL drive."

Lee nodded. "That's why we're picking up another ship."

Kara looked up in amazement. "We are?"

He nodded. "The Aerilon Moon. It has the least number of passengers to redistribute."

"How are we going to get it? It's a civilian ship." Now that Kara's nerves were calming, her brain kicked itself into military mode. "We don't even have a President to allow ..."

"We don't need one. My father is declaring it a military emergency. All civilian resources are military property in time of need."

Kara's eyebrows raised. "All that just for me?"

Lee finally turned to look at her. "My father and I would do anything for you, you know that. We almost sacrificed everything the time you went missing on that moon."

"What stopped you?" she asked curiously.

"Roslin."

Kara nodded knowingly. "She is the practical one isn't she? I'm sure she convinced you I wasn't worth it."

He turned to look at her again. "You're worth any sacrifice."

Kara blushed. She still wasn't used to praise, especially from him.

He smiled briefly then turned back to the controls, slipping his helmet back on. "I'd best concentrate if we want to land safely."

Kara nodded and sat back, allowing him to do his job while she let her thoughts drift.

She looked down automatically as she felt movement inside. Feelings of despair washed over her as she pictured the baby with metal appendages. She knew in her head that it would appear normal - Sam had had her fooled for nearly a year and she'd seen every inch of him - but the thought that her child was part-machine caused feelings of disgust to well up inside her.

Still, her baby was a part of her, they were joined and that part was human. She couldn't deny that as the months had passed she'd grown accustomed to the idea of having a baby and had in fact been looking forward to it, especially now that she had Lee to help her through.

Lee! How would he react to the fact that the baby was a hybrid? He hadn't had time to process the information yet; they'd just been reacting as the situation unfolded. Would he still make good on his promise to help her raise it? Would he be willing to love it and take it as his own? She began to fear he wouldn't. He was a good man, one who was always willing to take on responsibility, and stepped up to new challenges willingly but this was pushing it. Even for him. Taking care of the child of the woman he loved was one thing, even if the baby wasn't his, but finding out the baby was sired by his enemy and was only half-human? She couldn't really blame him if he chose to leave once he got her away from them.

"This isn't the Aerilon Moon," she observed as they docked on Colonial One.

"No, but they need time to evacuate the ship and stock it up for us. Besides, I thought you might want to visit with an old friend while we wait." He gave a lopsided grin as he pulled off his helmet.

The hatch hissed open and Kara stepped out first, smiling immediately as Laura Roslin stood before her. The two women hugged as Lee hopped out, tugging the zipper of his flightsuit down.

"Not so easy to do this anymore is it?" Roslin said with a smile as they broke apart. She grinned widely at Kara's tummy. "I see things are still growing well."

"Did the Admiral tell you ..." Kara began softly, eyes shadowed in fear and sadness.

Roslin nodded. "Yes. But you mustn't allow that to change how you feel about it. That child is yours, you will give birth to it, raise it and it will become a wonderful person. I know."

Lee stepped forward with a smile.

"Captain Apollo," she said impulsively as they hugged.

"Not exactly 'Captain' anymore," Lee said with a smile.

"I know. I just consider it my pet name for you."

Kara snickered.

They both turned to look at her.

"What?" she shrugged. "It's funny. Lee Adama, former Commander of his own ship and son of the only living Admiral, heir to Galactica someday and here you are calling him by a nickname like he's a little boy in the third grade."

"I can't help it. I guess it's just the teacher in me," Roslin admitted, smiling at her. "At least you find something amusing in these trying times."

Kara smiled ruefully. "I have to laugh at something otherwise I'd cry."

Lee came back over to her and put his arms around her. She put her hands on his chest, glad he'd unzipped himself so she could feel the comforting beat of his heart. She shivered suddenly as she thought of how many times she'd been in bed with Sam, head laying on his chest as she'd listened to his heartbeat. Nothing about it had ever struck her as odd, and she'd found it warm and comforting too in their difficult life. But he'd been a frakking cylon - a monster created by monsters. No better than the metallic model; worse perhaps because you could be fooled into thinking they weren't the enemy. No matter what he'd said and done or how he'd poured his heart out to her willingly - that which had drawn her to him in the first place, he'd had an agenda the whole time. One that involved using her to get what they wanted then discarding her.

Lee pulled her close and buried his face in her hair. "I'm here," he whispered, sensing her dismay.

She lifted her face up and looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"But knowing what you know now, will you still keep your promise?" she asked sadly.

He lifted a hand to her face and began stroking her cheek. "You don't need to ask. I love you Kara, always have and always will, till the day I die. Nothing will ever change that, even finding out you're a cylon wouldn't change how I feel. I meant what I said - your baby is a part of you and I'll love it because of that, because of how special you are to me. Yes, it may be a hybrid, but it is half human and it will need love and nurturing even more than a normal child so it can learn tolerance and love and how to deal with being different. Who knows how many others they've created? Our only chance to make sure they grow up understanding and loving humanity, however flawed we may be, is to have them grow up with humans who will treat them no different than a normal child."

Tears were raining down Kara's cheeks as Lee spoke; the dam that she'd been holding in check ever since her first paralyzing thought that Lee might not be there for her. He was going to be though, and she felt for the first time since learning the news, that perhaps it wasn't going to be so bad.

Roslin smiled, tears glistening in her eyes as she watched them. He really is a chip off the old block, she thought. No matter how much father and son refuse to admit it, they're much more alike than they know.

Thinking of Bill gave her shivers of pleasure. She hadn't seen him - really seen him in far too long. He'd been the one to call her, tell her the news and beg for a favour. She'd gladly have done whatever she could even without Bill's pleadings. While she'd almost detested Kara in the beginning and had only come to grudging admiration of her abilities the first year, she'd really gotten to know and like her in their time together on New Caprica. Kara was all bristles on the outside, like a porcupine, but if you could get through those to the interior, someone very special awaited you inside. She'd have been happily willing to put her life on the line for Kara's though fortunately she hadn't had to.

Since her return from the planet, there was a clamour of nearly unison voices begging her to take charge again and so she had, at least temporarily until it could be finalized by law. She did miss the teaching though - politics was all good and fine - necessary even, but there was something much more fulfilling about taking young, fresh minds and teaching them how to explore and think. For now though, the people needed her and she stepped up to the job. Maybe someday when her time here was done she could return to teaching. And maybe then Bill and I could ... it's just not feasible for us in the roles we hold now.

"Come. Let's go sit and have a a drink. Your ship won't be ready for another thirty minutes. It seems we have a little time to catch up."

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Adama took Tigh aside to an almost unused corner of CIC.

"I want you to log everything, I mean everything that comes through the comm over the next six hours."

Tigh gave him a look - the look.

"When they jump, they're going to send back the coordinates of where they are, but it will be a scrambled transmission. Knowing Starbuck, it'll be damn near impossible to figure out, but we didn't have time to get into explanations before they left."

"Do you really think the cylons will be monitoring us?" Tigh asked, obviously doubting it.

"I'm sure of it Saul. They want that child and I don't think they'll stop at anything to get it."

Tigh shook his head. "I still can't believe you let them go, just the two of them!"

"I'm not sure it was the right decision either, but what's done is done and now it's our job to make it work for them. Make sure you record everything - we need to know where they're hiding. At some point we're either going to need to get them back here or the nurse there. It won't be much longer now ..."

Tigh shook his head again. "Starbuck a mommy. Somehow I just can't see it."

"Stranger things have happened around here," Adama reminded him, smirking slightly.

Tigh snorted. "You can say that again." His face became serious. "You know we're at a serious disadvantage with the two of them gone. If we get into another firefight ... and our two best pilots not here?"

"It's not like Starbuck would be able to fly even if she were here."

"True, but we could use her tactical skills."

Adama's look was worth a thousand words. "Saul, you don't mean to tell me you think she's a good strategist do you?"

Tigh hedged. "Well she ... I mean ... sometimes it happens ..." He gave up the struggle. "Frak, we really could use her."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. She can be really difficult at times but man, no one can think out and execute a crazy-ass plan like she can."

Tigh nodded, silent for a moment. "Do you think they'll be okay?" he asked hesitantly.

"They have to be," Adama answered grimly. "I'm not willing to lose the only children I have left."

Tigh clapped his shoulder briefly before heading back into the main area of CIC to get back to work.

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"My gods, this is a palace!" Kara said, eyes wide as she took in the interior of the Aerilon Moon.

"Well, it did house nearly two hundred people you know," Lee said, finding his way through the main area of the ship to the cockpit.

"Yeah, but we were over seven hundred on Galactica and we lived like frakking sardines."

Lee laughed. "That's only because of the armaments. This is a luxury ship - no weapons."

She put a hand on his arm to stop him. "So what do we do if they find us?" she asked worriedly.

"Run like hell."

Kara smiled in spite of her fear. "I like the way you think Captain."

He raised his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. "I seem to recall that's not the only thing you like about me."

Kara coloured and gave him a playful slap. "You think too highly of yourself."

He gave her his best smile. "That's why they call me Apollo," and he continued on, sitting down and perusing the ships controls.

"I always wondered how you got that ridiculous callsign," she muttered, coming up front to sit beside him.

"You ready?" he asked a few minutes later after having started pre-launch.

She drew in a long, shaky breath. "As ready as I'll ever be." She gave him a weak smile. "I only have one question."

"Shoot."

"How are we supposed to contact Galactica and let them know where we are without tipping off the cylons?"

Lee paused, helmet half-way to his head. He smiled at her. "That's where you come in."

"Me?"

"Remember that code we used when my father and Cain were bent on destroying each other?"

"Vaguely."

"Better start remembering." Lee pulled on his helmet and zipped up his flightsuit.

Kara sighed. It seemed like those days were a lifetime ago. She wasn't sure she'd be able to remember, but she had no choice - their survival might depend on it.

TBC