WHTMT - chapter 31 - THE FINAL CHAPTER
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Tigh and the Lieutenant held their guns steady as he and Dee studied each other.
"Come on," Tigh called over his shoulder to Ishay, who, followed by her assistant, strode into the cylon ship. "How did you manage to have us convinced you were one of us for so long?"
Her lip curled in disdain. "It was easy. You wanted to believe."
"Oh no you don't, don't be blaming us for your evil ways," Tigh warned.
"You humans think you're so superior don't you?" she spat out.
"We were the ones willing to live in peace with you. I know I'm getting old and fuzzy but I'm pretty sure you were the ones trying to wipe us out."
"You were a flawed creation. You didn't deserve to live."
Tigh took a step closer and looked intently into her green eyes. "If we're so flawed, how come you were in love with Lee, a human?"
Her face worked as she sought to control her emotions. "He was part of the plan. We had to have control of someone near the top of the chain of command, and it was easier to seduce him than to try to get to you or Adama." She gave a self-conscious chuckle. "You don't really think I loved him, do you?"
Tigh shook his head. "You just keep on telling yourself that and maybe someday you'll believe it." He turned back to Ishay as a look of pure venom crossed Dee's face. "Put her out. I don't want her alerting the others."
Ishay pulled a needle from her case. "I'm not sure this will work," she said tentatively.
"Try it anyway," Tigh encouraged. "Hell, it's not like it's human - we can try every drug you've got in there till we knock it out."
He strode forward and grabbed her arm in a brutal grip. She offered no resistance, perhaps because she was all-too aware of the gun leveled at her head.
Ishay stuck her and within moments she dropped to a heap on the deck.
"Stay and watch her," Tigh nodded at the Lieutenant. "I don't trust them."
He and the two med techs gingerly tiptoed through the other airlock and stood in a storage area of the ship, listening to the conversation going on not far from where they were standing.
"You look a little rough around the edges," Anders said, eyes roaming over Kara's body.
"Yeah? You try giving birth sometime. It's not as easy as it looks," she answered acidly.
They studied each other for a moment and Kara shivered at the icy-cold look in his blue eyes. How could she have read him so wrong? She'd always seen those eyes as warm, happy, loving ... had she just seen what she wanted to see? Or did he have some sort of way of controlling her mind and making her believe something that hadn't been there? Perhaps she'd never know the answer. She wasn't sure she really wanted to anyway.
"I want my baby," he said, breaking into her thoughts.
Reflexively, she pulled her daughter closer to her.
Lee's arm stole around her waist involuntarily - he'd always had the urge to protect her even when it seemed she didn't need it. Now she did, and she'd finally allowed it to show in their growing relationship.
Anders didn't miss it.
"So, didn't take you long to go back to him, did it?" he asked bitterly.
Her eyes blazed. "It wasn't 'going back'. There wasn't an 'us' before you."
Lee squeezed her tighter, remembering only too well the 'there is no us' declaration she'd made when it was all-too obvious there was. She hadn't been ready for it then, and in hindsight Lee could admit he hadn't been either. They'd each needed their experiences with others, and time apart to really see things for what they were. Technically she was right though - there hadn't actually been a 'them' till after Anders' death. Before that it had been a chaotic, wild, painful attraction that had nearly destroyed them both - not love.
"That's bullshit Kara. I knew from the moment you introduced me to him that there was something going on between you two. I watched you carefully but you never showed any other signs so I figured it was over. I always had a feeling someday you'd go back to him."
She stepped forward angrily. "He never lied to me! He's human and he loves me! He's not planning on taking my baby away!"
"It comes down to that does it? I thought you didn't even want to have kids. Here's your out - give her to me and you'll be free again."
"Not a chance," she said in a voice that was deadly quiet.
"You don't want me to have to take her by force do you?" He nodded his head knowingly. "You thought you were a match for me - well that was when I was going easy on you, pretending to be human. And you were in much better shape then." He looked her up and down disdainfully.
Lee felt Kara's shame and a flush rose to his cheeks. He stepped forward till he stood between them.
"You have no right to say that, you son of a bitch," he growled in a low voice. "You did this to her, without her knowledge or consent. Whether or not she wanted to have a baby is irrelevant. She would never have been willing to have a cylon hybrid but you gave her no choice." He glared at Anders - the man he'd often thought of killing, just because he had Kara. Now there was a good chance he was going to get to fulfil that fantasy and a part of him was smiling at the thought.
"I'm giving her a choice now. She can give me the baby and I'll let her live."
"No frakking way!" Kara said loudly, barely remembering not to shout.
Anders chuckled. "You know I always admired that stubborn 'Starbuck' streak and it certainly was useful in keeping you alive," his grin suddenly took on an evil look, "but now it's going to cost you your lives." He lifted his weapon and pointed it at Lee's chest. "Move or I'll shoot you."
Lee stood firm. "I won't let you take her."
Anders cocked the gun and began to pull the trigger. "I hope you've made peace with your gods then, because you're about to go meet them."
There was the sound of a gun firing.
"Lee!" Kara screamed.
But when she opened her eyes, he was still standing there in front of her ... and Anders was ina heap of blood on the deck in front of him.
Saul Tigh stood in the space where he'd been, a cat-ate-the-cream expression on his face as he blew on the end of his gun, reminding Kara of the old western movies she'd seen when she was younger. Her mouth hung open in surprise.
"Well, that was good timing, wasn't it?" Tigh said dryly, a cocky look on his face. One that looked eerily like the expression Kara often wore.
"I ... you ... how ..." Kara stammered, completely at a loss for words.
"It's okay, you can save the mushy crap for the old man," he said, eyes twinkling despite his grouchy words.
She smiled thankfully at him, their eyes meeting in understanding.
Unfortunately they'd all forgotten about the blonde cylon. She grabbed Lee suddenly and pulled him against her, twisting his arm almost enough to break it. He grimaced and let out a small grunt of pain.
"Give me the baby or he dies," she said in a low, firm voice.
"What do you want her for?" Kara demanded, attention focused completely on her now. "She's not your child."
"She's God's child. She belongs to Him, not to any of us. She has a higher purpose."
"So why were you willing to go along with him then?"
"I wasn't, but getting her from you seemed easier with his help. Once we had her I had every intention of killing him and taking her myself."
"I don't know why you're so obsessed with becoming like humans," Tigh put in, "since you're already almost there. You're willing to kill each other over a disagreement of opinion ... I'd say you don't have much farther to go."
His words angered her. "Enough chatter. Give me the baby."
"No Kara, don't do it," Lee pleaded in a raspy voice, lifting his head to look at her. "I'm not worth her life."
Kara shook her head, tears in her eyes.
"Oh come on, it's just a baby," the woman said condescendingly. "If you try to keep her, you lose your lover. If you give me the baby, he lives and the two of you can make more of them."
Kara walked forward slowly, holding the baby out in front of her. "I won't let you die," she said tearfully to Lee. She turned her eyes to the cylon. "Let him go and she's yours."
"No! Don't - please Kara!" The pain in Lee's voice was agonizing.
"Just think how much she loves you," the woman said, releasing his arm and pushing him to the floor. "Give her to me," she demanded of Kara.
Tigh watched, open-mouthed as Kara prepared to hand over her child. Even though he'd had trouble picturing her as a mother, he would never have imagined she could do this. He tried to speak but no words would come. There had to be another way ...
A shot rang out, not as loud as the other one, but the woman dropped to the ground, blood spilling everywhere.
The baby began to cry, and Kara pulled it close to her, dropping the gun and rocking it, whispering hushed words of comfort.
"Lee!" Tigh leapt across the room as he saw blood spatter on the younger man's body and face.
"I'm okay. Just get this frakking thing off me!"
Tigh and the Lieutenant, who'd watched the proceedings with amazement, pried the cylon body off Lee and pulled him upright.
"Gods those things are heavy ... for something that looks human."
His eyes met Kara's and something passed between them. He pulled away from his rescuers and went to her, catching her in his arms as she was about to collapse, and sitting them both on a couch to the side.
She buried her face in his neck, ashamed to have Tigh see her cry.
Tigh felt just as uncomfortable as she did, so he busied himself with collecting the guns from the deck and unloading them.
Kara managed to pull herself together and handed Lee the baby, standing and walking over to where Tigh was fidgeting.
"I don't care if you don't like the mushy stuff," she said, and she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him like there was no tomorrow.
At first he was shocked, then he put his arms around her and hugged back - not to tightly lest he hurt her, but feeling her warmth radiating into him and relaxing him. She was okay - he was relieved. She might be a pain in the ass ... okay she was a pain in the ass, but he'd miss her if she were gone. In a strange way, she reminded him of himself in his younger days, before things started to go wrong and he immersed himself in alcohol to numb the pain. He and Ellen had never had children but he suspected if they would have, they'd have turned out exactly like her.
"The old man will be happy you're okay," he said gruffly, trying not to let his feelings show.
She knew though, and gave him another squeeze before letting go and heading back to Lee and her baby. Once Lee was free of the baby, he strode over and shook Tigh's hand heartily.
"Thanks," he said simply, and their eyes met, more being said silently. Their relationship had not always been a smooth one, but they had something in common, though neither of them showed it often - their love for the old man.
"How did you get here?" Lee asked.
Tigh gave him a condescending look. "Surely I shouldn't have to explain flying to you," he said sarcastically.
"I meant why are you here? I thought the XO wasn't supposed to go on dangerous missions like this."
Tigh shrugged. "Sometimes you've just got to break the rules." He glanced over at Kara, immersed in the baby and not listening to them. He glanced back at Lee and recalled the brief conversation he'd had with Bill before leaving.
"I'm going with them."
"Oh no you're not, I need you here."
Tigh snorted. "You've never needed me, I'm just someone to fill the uniform. Let me do something useful for a chance."
"What if something happens?" Adama said, a worried frown crossing his face.
"Think about it Bill - who else is there? Aside from you and I, our two most senior officers are gone. Do you trust leaving their rescue to a few green junior lieutenants and a couple of med techs?"
Adama didn't answer.
"I didn't think so." He put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Let me go. I know how important this is to you, and I promise you I'll get them back safely."
"Or die trying," Adama added.
Tigh shrugged.
Adama's lips turned up in a small smile. "You're a good friend Saul. And one of the bravest men I know. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
Tigh cleared his throat in embarrassment at this show of affection. "We should go."
"Good hunting."
The two men's eyes locked.
"I'll find them and bring them back," Tigh said, voice full of determination.
"I know you will."
"Colonel, we've got a problem." The junior Lieutenant's voice broke through the memories. "She's awake."
He came walking in, a familiar dark-haired figure in front of him.
"Dee!" Lee said, taking a step back in surprise. His face paled. "But you're ..."
"She's a cylon. One of them. Had us all well and truly fooled," Tigh said, anger evident in his voice.
"Dee ... how could you ...? You lied to me." His surprise turned to anger. "How could you do this to us? To my father? He's going to be so disappointed when he finds out ... he trusted you!" Lee spat, anger forming red splotches on his cheeks.
"Well maybe you should be a bit more careful about who you trust then. Both of you!" She looked pointedly at Kara.
"Don't you dare insult Kara!" he said angrily. "She's a hundred times the woman you are, even if you had been human!"
Her eyes narrowed. "I always knew you were still hung up on her, even when you were busy telling me you loved me."
"I don't think it took much insight to figure that out," Tigh muttered.
Kara looked down at the sleeping bundle in her arms to avoid showing her embarrassment. Lee's cheeks turned a further shade of red.
After a few moments of embarrassed silence, Tigh spoke again.
"Well Captain, what shall we do with our 'friend' here? Bring her back with us or toss her out the airlock?"
Kara looked over at Lee and saw the indecision written all over his face. She imagined Roslin's voice - ' toss that thing out the airlock' and knew she would agree whole-heartedly with that decision. Anyone who toyed with you the way she had and Anders too, deserved death.
But Lee was not the hardass she was and she could tell he was struggling with it. After a few moments of tense silence she saw his face set resolutely and knew he'd made his decision.
"Put her in shackles. We'll take her back with us." Dee smiled thankfully at him, green eyes soft. "But she'll be our prisoner. There's no telling what kind of intelligence we can get from her ... with the right stimulation."
Tigh nodded, a slightly put-out expression on his face. He'd so hoped for the airlock ... but Lee was obviously more like his old man than he cared to admit.
Dee's face turned downcast as they handcuffed her. "I thought you cared for me," she pouted.
"My mistake," Lee answered coldly. He turned and noticed Kara, still standing beside him, looking pale. He looked pointedly at Ishay.
"Shouldn't you be taking care of them?" He nodded his head towards Kara and the baby.
Ishay coloured but she and her assistant took Kara and the baby back to the sleeping area as Lee followed Tigh down to the cargo section of the ship to secure Dee.
"So what's her name?" Tigh asked suddenly, out of the blue.
"What? Who?"
"The baby," he said condescendingly. "What's the baby's name?"
"Oh. Um... she doesn't have one yet ... I guess ... Kara never said ..."
Tigh shook his head. "You two are impossible, you know that?"
Lee gave a small sigh, then he smiled. "I've heard that."
"Go on then. Go see how they're doing. We'll take care of getting us home."
Home. Home. Galactica had been anything but when he'd first boarded her two and a half years earlier. Now he couldn't imagine being anywhere else.
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As they approached the fleet, dozens of twinkling lights in the darkness, Lee stood watching intently through the front window. A lump caught in his throat as he watched them draw closer to the only place they knew as home. Galactica - 'the bucket' had never looked so appealing.
Kara and the baby had been attended to and were sleeping peacefully as they journeyed home. Lee felt a heaviness in his eyelids as well, but though there were others with them now, he still felt responsible for bringing Kara and her daughter - their daughter, home safely.
His father's anxious face was the first thing he saw upon debarking from the Raptor, Kara by his side. A look was exchanged between the two - one no one could mistake, then Adama stepped forward and enclosed his son in a giant bear hug.
"It's good to be home," Lee murmured, heaving out a big sigh.
Eventually they pulled apart and Adama turned to Kara, lifting a hand to her cheek and stroking it gently.
"I see we have a new passenger," he said softly, amused at the shy smile on her face. She nodded.
"Is everyone okay?" Concern wrinkled his craggy features.
"We're fine," she answered quietly.
"Boy or girl?"
"Girl."
He smiled widely, as though the baby was his. "I always wanted a daughter to go along with my boys. What did you decide to name her?"
Kara's mouth opened but no sound came out. She looked over at Lee who shrugged, almost imperceptibly. Then she looked back at Adama.
"Erin Lee," she said softly.
"Erin Lee Thrace. That's a beautiful name," he murmured, hand dropping from Kara's cheek to stroke the baby's fuzzy, wrinkled head.
"Actually it'll be Erin Lee Adama," she corrected him shyly.
Adama's shaggy eyebrows raised as Lee encircled Kara's waist with his arm.
"Kara and I are engaged," he said simply, smiling radiantly.
Adama looked at the two of them, glanced back at Roslin who was also on hand to greet them, then back at Lee.
"I was wondering if you were ever going to realize what the rest of us have been able to see since the beginning."
Lee flushed as he and Kara shared a look. "I remembered some of the words to a poem I once heard - 'yesterday's gone and tomorrow may never come but we have this moment today.' It wasn't till a few days ago that the significance of those words hit me, and I realized I didn't want to waste another day waiting for the 'right' time to come. Our bright, shiny future isn't off in the distance somewhere, it's right here, right now."
Adama put his arms around his family and beamed as he led them through the hangar bay.
"So say we all."
the end
A/N: A great big huge thank you to everyone who's stuck with this story since the beginning - way back in the week between LDYB1 and 2. I can't believe it's taken this long and gone in such different directions than I'd originally planned, but I've enjoyed the journey and I hope you have too. Thank you especially to all who've written notes of thanks and given me feedback - it's helped inspire me to continue, and it's wonderful to know what parts of the story you've liked, not liked or had trouble believing. Thank you one and all.
Tracy