"Power, pitch, yaw and roll." Laura answered as she sat on the couch next to her father.

"And why do we have to compensate for acceleration rate?" Lee asked her.

"Because if you didn't, the G-force would break apart the apparatus of the plane." She replied simply as she read through one of the books that Gaeta had gotten her about celestial navigation. "What is that?" She asked her father, pointing to a graphic on one of the pages.

"Some kinda astral-anomaly." Lee shrugged as he looked at the caption underneath. "A Habel void is what it says it is." He closed his eyes and exhaled, thinking of his next question. "What is the equation for—?"

"Force equals mass times acceleration." Laura mumbled absentmindedly, already knowing both what he was asking, and the correct answer. She then held the book up and pointed at the picture again. "Can this void fold over on itself? Distorting time? And what effect would the FTL have on its dimensional boundaries?"

Lee glanced over at Kara, who was sitting at the table going over flight rosters. She caught his look and her face grew puzzled.

"I don't know." Lee replied honestly, studying the page. "Astrophysics was never my strong suit. If it didn't directly affect the functions of the Viper, I guess I kinda glanced over it in flight school." He then looked back to Kara. "You were once an instructor; do you know the answers to Laura's questions?"

Kara snorted, returning to her papers. "No." She stated bluntly, shaking her head in amusement. But almost immediately, she looked back up, straight at Laura. "I could see about getting you another book, though."

"Don't bother." Laura sighed as she closed the book she was reading. "Another book wouldn't answer my questions anyway."

Kara and Lee exchanged another glance. "Okay, anyway……." Lee tried to change the subject. "What would the maneuverability be if the Viper was going to try to—?"

Laura cut him off again. "Are you talking about three dimensional? Or four?"

Lee stuttered as he tried to respond. "You can't do it in four dimensions, Laura; there are tangible aspects to flying—."

"Yeah," She pouted in frustration, tossing the book on the coffee table. "I know."

"Laura, don't get all snippy with your father." Kara cautioned her, tapping her pen on the table. "You were the one that wanted to know about this stuff."

"I already know about this stuff." Laura sulked with her arms crossed over her chest. "I read the flight manual today while you guys were at work."

"The whole flight book?" Lee questioned, totally dumbfounded. "Why?"

"I was bored." She answered, letting out a loud puff of breath. "And then I asked the Chief to show me where the stuff was on an actual Viper, and he did. That was better than just reading the book."

"Yeah." Kara said softly, in sympathy for her daughter. "I guess it is better when you can see what you're learning about first hand."

"Can I go look at the navigational computers in CIC, just to see if they have anything more on those voids?" Laura asked hopefully.

Lee sighed, regret in his voice. "Laura, you know you're not allowed in CIC."

"Fine." She stated petulantly as she got off the couch and grabbed the book that Father Monseau had given her from the nearby desk.

"Where are you going?" Kara asked in concern when she saw Laura moving away.

"Obviously not very far." Laura muttered, brooding in self-pity.

Kara watched her go into their bedroom and slam the door behind her. She then turned back to Lee. "Is it just me, or has she gotten moodier than Tigh gets whenever his liquor cabinet goes dry?"

Lee nodded and then leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "Let's hope she gets over it soon."


"It's been five months since Zarek died and two since the thing with Taylor, Lee. And things have been going fine. We can't keep her locked up on this ship like a rat in a maze." Kara told him a week later as they set up the small table in their quarters to have dinner. "I just think you're resistant to it because you're afraid to not be living in a constant state of fear anymore."

"Kara, it's a bad idea." Lee put down some napkins and walked to the sink to fill up a pitcher with water.

"If she went, we wouldn't have to keep taking opposite shifts so that someone could be with her. We could be off-shift at the same time, we could spend more time as a family." She stated as she followed him and reached up to get three glasses from the cupboard. "Why is it a bad idea?"

"She'd be on another ship for hours at a time; we wouldn't be able to keep an eye on her."

"We don't keep an eye on her now!" She responded as he walked back to the table. "At least four times a week we have to pawn her off on some poor, unsuspecting person who's just trying to get some peace and quiet during their off hours. At least this way, we'd be pawning her off on a child-care professional."

"But we know the people that we're pawning her off on here. They're our people." He replied as he put the pitcher down. "We don't know the people that you're talking about."

"I met with them." Kara said quietly. "They're very nice."

Lee froze and gave her an angry glare. "You met with them?"

"Yes, I did." She answered simply.

He shook his head in angry disbelief and turned away from her, walking several paces.

"You wouldn't even take the idea seriously, Lee!" She defended. "I wanted to check them out. And guess what? They do check out. Billy--President Keikeya, knows them because they worked with Roslin for close to ten years when she was Secretary of Education. That's why they survived—they were with her on Colonial One the day of the attack."

"So was Doral!" Lee shouted.

"They have records; certified and verified records. That's why Billy chose this particular school, because he trusts them implicitly. He would not let Laura near them otherwise." She said calmly, in sharp contrast to his agitation. "I've met both of the teachers. They're experienced, they're nice…….and I want Laura to learn from them."

Lee shook his head. "I don't like it."

"She's bored out of her mind, Adama. Why do you think she's been acting like such a little brat?" Kara groaned. "We can't keep doing this to her. We can't keep filling her days with busy work and stupid children's books that she's already too advanced for. She needs to learn from real people."

"That's precisely my frakking point, Thrace!" He shot back. "She'd be around real people. She wouldn't be in her protected little bubble anymore."

"She'd still have the guards—but really, what are you afraid of? She'd be in a room with a teacher and a bunch of kids. I doubt that the kids are terrorists, and if another kid in the fleet was a Cylon, I'm sure we would have heard about it by now." She smirked at him.

"What if those kids—." He sighed and sank heavily into one of the chairs. "She's not normal, Kara. And kids are mean to other kids that aren't normal."

Kara sat down across from him and took his hand. "We've had to deal with a lot worse than mean kids picking on her."

Lee shook his head again and pulled his hand away. "Kara, I said it was a bad idea." He stated firmly as he stood back up. "Discussion over."

She sat there frozen in disbelief for a couple of seconds, watching him continue to set the table. She then stood up and broke into a condescending smile. "Did you just say 'discussion over'………as if you thought that would actually end the discussion?" She chuckled, pointing to herself. "I'm sorry, have we not met?"

"I'm making a decision based on what I think is best for my daughter." He responded loudly as he went to the counter and got the trays of food.

"You just used the singular pronoun way too many damn times in that sentence!" She yelled back, gripping one of the chairs in anger. "There is no I when it comes to our daughter. We make the decisions together!"

He walked back to the table and put the trays down. He lowered his voice when he saw Laura walk out of the bedroom and sit down in the chair that Kara had ahold of. "Not this time."

Kara narrowed her eyes at him and cocked her head in defiance. She then looked down at her daughter. "Laura, sweetheart, would you like to go to school?"

Lee's eyes got wide and his mouth hung open at the unmitigated nerve of her. "KARA!"

"Really, Mama?" Laura's face lit up in pure excitement. "Like, real school with other kids? I can go?"

"Yes." Kara responded.

"No." Lee responded at the exact same time.

"I would love to go to school!" Laura shouted, ignoring her father's negative response.

Lee shook his head again. "Laura, wait—."

Laura jumped up from her chair and hugged Lee's waist. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you." She then looked at Kara. "When?"

"We have to set up some things so that you'll be safe. But you can start going the week after next."

"Where is it?" Laura asked as she disentangled from Lee and hugged Kara.

Kara kissed the top of her head. "The Greenleaf."

"Boy lives there!" She exclaimed.

"Yes, he does." Kara warned. "But this is real school, not just you sitting around playing with your cat for eight hours a day. So get that idea out of your head."

Laura squealed with excitement and pulled back. "I'm gonna go see if I have enough paper and pencils and…………everything else I need." She was practically jumping up and down as she ran to the corner of the living area to check her supplies.

Kara stood where she was and Lee just shot her a look that could melt steel. "What are you doing?"

"Making a decision based on what I think is best for my daughter." She replied with a similar look. "Kinda came back to bite you in the ass, didn't it, Lee?"

His voice dropped as he looked over at Laura. "Do you know how heartbroken she's gonna be when I tell her that she can't go?"

Kara took the lids off the trays and sat down, popping a piece of bread in her mouth. "Then don't tell her that."


"You did it just to piss me off!" A loud voice was heard shouting through the closed hatch of the CAG's office.

"Why would I do that?" An equally loud voice responded.

"Because you're still pissed at me because of the thing with Laura!"

"I don't use our personal life as a reason to get pissed at you professionally. I don't have to; you give me enough reason to be pissed at you while we're at work!"

Kat, Racetrack, Hotdog and Joker all stood around in the hallway outside the CAG's office, waiting for Lee and Kara to stop screaming at each other.

"Hotdog, get your ear away from the door." Racetrack hissed. "It's not like we can't hear everything that they're saying anyway."

Hotdog moved away from the door. "Well, I guess the honeymoon's definitely over."

"They never got a honeymoon." Kat shook her head. "They went from 1 to 100 in like, half a second."

"What happened to get them so mad at each other?" Joker asked.

"You know that order the CAG issued? About how we weren't going to use the Wahl maneuver anymore, and how nobody was to teach it either?"

"Yeeeaaaahhhh." Joker answered.

"Well," Racetrack continued. "Starbuck sort of………ignored it."

Joker snorted. "Yeah, now I forget—does the CAG like to be ignored?"

"You're not even listening to what I'm saying!" Lee's voice boomed through the wall.

"Obviously not." Kat chuckled as they all came closer to the door.

"I'm listening. I just think what you're saying is frakking STUPID!" Kara shouted in response.

The hatch opened suddenly and the four pilots quickly moved a few feet away. "I can't even talk to you when you're like this." Lee yelled, still looking back at Kara.

"So leave." Kara yelled back.

"Fine!" He shouted as he turned around and walked through the hatch, ignoring the people standing around it.

"Great!" She shouted as she stayed in the office. She then stomped to the hatch, screaming down the hall after Lee. "And find somewhere else to sleep tonight!"


At around 00:30 the next morning, Lee awoke to the feel of something gently stroking his arm. The next thing he noticed was the tickle of Laura's hair on his chin and the smell of it in his nose. He looked down to the child. She was still sound asleep, curled up next to him in her bed, her head on his chest.

Then he heard Kara's voice. "I'm cold."

He looked over at his wife as she knelt by the bed, her hand the source of the maddening, but very arousing sensation that woke him up. "You need another blanket?" He asked.

The small lamp on the desk that they kept as a nightlight for Laura made it possible for him to see Kara as she rolled her eyes at him. "No. I need you to be in the bed with me."

"We had an agreement to never go to bed angry." He smiled slightly. "Silly me, I thought that meant that we would always resolve our arguments before bed. Not just sleep in separate ones."

"I'm not angry, Lee." She whispered as she stroked Laura's head. "I just……. let her go to school, Lee."

He let out a loud breath and closed his eyes again. "Kara, what if she—she could have a seizure, she could get sick, there could be an attack on the fleet, she could get hurt—."

"There are a thousand different things that could happen." Kara tried to soothe him. "She's only had three seizures in two months and the marines know what to do if she has one. There's also a medic station on the Greenleaf that we'll inform of her condition. Epileptic kids go to school, Lee. It's not a condition that keeps them locked in a hospital for the rest of their lives. And yeah, there could be an attack, or she could get hurt, or sick—but that's true of any kid."

"I know I'm being annoyingly cautious about this," He began as he twirled a lock of Laura's hair in his fingers. "But if you could feel this constant………..I can't even describe it, it's like I'm on edge every second when it comes to her."

"If I could feel it?" She snorted. "You think I don't feel exactly what you do? But we need to get past it for Laura's sake."

"We'd be rubbing it in their faces; the kids at that school, their parents. What if they feel like she's the embodiment of everything that destroyed their lives?"

"There are thirty kids at that particular school, twenty-six parents. The teachers have spoken to all of them. They don't feel that way about her."

He reached up with his other hand and cupped her face. "You've really set the groundwork for this. You really want this for her, don't you?"

She nodded. "I know that hers is an unusual situation. But that's part of why I want it for her. She's growing up so fast, Lee. Who knows how long……….." She took his hand and entwined it with hers. "I know she's not a normal kid, but I want her to have some 'normal kid' experiences. I don't want the only memories of her life to be of this ship."

"We'd be taking a huge leap of faith." He said, and then watched her face split in a wide grin. He grinned right back. "But what else is new, huh?"

She leaned up and kissed him lightly. "Soooooo?"

"She can go." He confirmed, kissing her back. "I'm sorry I was being so stubborn about it."

She let her chin fall down to her chest. "And I'm sorry about ignoring your order; I'll try to show a little more respect from now on."

He chuckled lightly. "Are you telling me that you're going to stop being an insubordinate pain in my ass?"

"Are you telling me you're going to stop being an inflexible, overbearing pain in my ass?" She inquired in return.

"No."

"Then NO." She tugged on his hand and stood up. "Come to bed."

He smiled at her lustfully and tried to move off the bed, but Laura was unmovable from her embrace around him. "Laura? Sweetheart, you've gotta let me go." He sat up, but then winced because she had a firm grip on the chain of his dogtags that pulled at his neck. "Laura, you gotta let go."

Laura woke up slowly and loosened her hold on his body, but held staunchly to the chain. "What's going on?" She grumbled, irritated at having her sleep interrupted.

"Daddy's gonna sleep with me the rest of the night." Kara answered. "Let go of his dogtags."

"Can I have a set of tags too?" She asked as she let go and Lee got off the bed.

"Why do you want dogtags?" Kara chuckled.

"Because everybody else has them." Laura yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Maybe I could be a Viper pilot like everybody else in my family. Would I get a set of tags then?"

"Let's not jump the gun, little girl." Lee said as he leaned back down and kissed her forehead, tucking the blanket back around her. "But we could probably find you a spare set of tags if you really want them."

"Goodnight, Daddy. Goodnight, Mama." She mumbled as she drifted off to sleep. "Love you."

Kara started to lead him back to their bedroom. "Will you tuck me in too?" She teased.

"Sure." He whispered hotly in her ear. "But if I get my way, you won't be sleeping for the next couple hours."


"Hey, Grandpa." Laura smiled up from the table at the Admiral when she saw him come through the hatch of their quarters. Her mother was nearby, washing their breakfast dishes in the sink.

Adama waved at Kara and then walked to where Laura was. "Hello, little Laura." He smiled back as he kissed her cheek and sat down next to her. "Are you ready for your first day of school?"

"Yeah." She laughed wearily. "I'm a little nervous, though."

He laughed slightly as well. "I know. I always got nervous too before I went to a new school. And then the day I started flight school, I was so nervous, my hands were shaking so much that I couldn't grip the pen. I kept thinking 'How will I ever prove to these people that I have the chops to fly a Viper if I can't even keep a firm grip on……….."

He trailed off as he saw Kara stop rinsing out the dishes and turn away from them, her whole body going rigid as his words registered in her ears.

"Grandpa?" Laura asked gently, concerned about the new silence in the room.

"Kara?" Adama said softly to his daughter-in-law. She cautiously turned around to face him, her face expressionless."Will you excuse us for a minute while I talk to Laura?"

Kara nodded and pointed to the bedroom. "I'll just be in there."

Adama watched her go into the other room and then looked back to Laura. "Your parents tell me that you've been asking for something; something that everybody else on this ship has, but that you don't."

The child's face grew puzzled as she tried to think of what he meant, and then she smiled slightly when she figured it out. "Dogtags." She told him.

"They say that you've told them you want to fly Vipers. Is that true?"

"Maybe." She shrugged. "It seems like it's a lot of fun. And everybody else in my family has done it."

"That's not a good enough reason."

"Why not?" She asked simply.

Instead of answering, he reached in his pocket. "I have something for you." He pulled out the object for her to look at.

"A set of dogtags!" She whispered in awe as she took them from his hand.

"Look at the name." He pointed.

She read the inscription. "Cadet Z. Adama." She looked back up at him. "Uncle Zak's."

Adama nodded. "Your uncle had passed flight school, so they issued him new tags the reflected his new rank." He took a breath to try to keep his face from distorting in pain. "And he sent me a letter, asking me to come to his graduation. He also told me in the letter that there was someone he wanted me to meet—."

"Mama." Laura finished for him.

"At the bottom of the envelope was his old dogtags. He told me that he wanted me to keep them, because he wasn't a cadet anymore. And he told me that he would make me……….." The Admiral lowered his head and whispered sadly. "That he would make me proud of him."

"I don't get it." Laura said gently, laying her small hand on top of his. "Why are you sad?"

He looked back up at her. "He shouldn't have had to do anything. When you're family, pride should be unconditional."

Laura nodded. "I get it now."

"Laura, you don't have to be like us. You don't have to be anything other than what you are, little girl." He stroked her cheek with his thumb, smiling at her proudly. "What ever you choose to be, whatever you become……….your family will always love you."

She smiled back. "I know."

The Admiral took the chain from her hand and slipped it over her head. "Wear these tags and remember that." He stood up from the chair.

"Grandpa?"

"Yeah?" He looked back down at her.

"Sooner or later, the day comes when you can't hide from the things you've done anymore." She quoted his words from a long ago speech as she looked up at him. "What if that isn't always a warning? What if that's a promise………….that something good is going to come our way?"

He smiled at her, letting the essence of her youthful faith wash over him. "Wouldn't that be nice?"

"Yeah." She nodded, returning the smile innocently. "It would."

"KARA?" He called out. "You can come out now."

Kara came back into the room a few seconds later and stood next to them at the table.

"Thanks for the dogtags, Grandpa." Laura told him as she traced the chain around her neck.

He kissed her on the top of the head. "Have a good day at school."


"Laura wants to have some friends from school over." Kara whispered into the darkness of their bedroom as they tried to get to sleep one night.

"Why?" Lee asked. Kara could sense his apprehension from the way he tightened his hold on her.

"Because she's been going to that school for close to three months now, and after a less than perfect beginning, she actually has friends." Kara replied candidly as she lifted her head off his chest and looked at his face. "It's what kids do, they bring their friends home and they play."

"Most kids don't live on a heavily fortified battlestar." He cautioned. "It might scare them."

"Would you stop being such a nervous little girl about everything?" Kara groaned. "Gods, who wears the pants in this marriage?"

"Well," He chuckled low in his chest. "Since I've only seen you wear a dress once, I'd have to say both of us."

"Damn straight." She laughed as she shoved his shoulder. "The kids in her class have gotten used to being around military people; because of Laura's guards. And it'd just be one or two kids."

"Fine, she can have them over if their parents agree." He conceded. "But what would they do here?"

"Well………" She began hesitantly. "Do you remember what next week is?"

"Kara, I've worked 90 hours in the past five days. I don't even remember what this week is."

"We'll have had her for a year." She answered simply.

"Oh." He whispered softly, surprised at that revelation.

"Maybe she could have a birthday, some kind of party." Kara whispered hopefully. "It'd be fun for her."

Lee took a deep breath. "I would love to give her a party. But—."

"What?"

"Wouldn't it………rub salt in an open wound?" He reluctantly finished. "It'd call attention to the fact that she's one year old, but looks like she's ten. What if it makes her self-conscious?"

Kara snorted and laid her head back down on his chest. "Lee, as long as she's getting presents, I don't think she'll mind."

"Okay, we'll have a party for her." He grinned as he traced his fingers up her back."First thing tomorrow, I'll start letting people know about it. That should give them enough time to wrangle up a present that's suitable for a little girl."

"When you tell them about the party, instruct them that she's not to get any dolls as presents." She said as she looked up again.

"Why?"

"Because she's my child." Kara answered firmly. "And the child of Starbuck does not play with dolls dressed in frilly little dresses. It's unnatural." She tapped her index finger against his chin as he chuckled at her. "I'm serious. I want you to make it abundantly clear to everyone you invite that if someone gets her a doll, I'm tossing it out the airlock ………. and possibly shoving out the person that gave it to her as well."


"Can we have chocolate cake?" Laura asked as she sat on a sickbay bed after her weekly tests, waiting with her father for the nurse to tell her that she could go.

"Well, I requisitioned the ingredients, but you usually need two weeks notice." Lee told her. "We're trying, but don't be disappointed if we can't get it before your party."

"Okay. Do you think we could—?" She stopped when the curtain was pulled back. "Oh. Hi, Doctor Baltar."

Lee looked over to see that Gaius Baltar was now standing with them and he nodded at the doctor in unemotional greeting.

"Hello, Laura." Baltar smiled. "How are you feeling today?"

"Fine." She smiled back.

"Where's Cottle?" Lee asked nervously.

"Another patient just came in that needed some attention." Baltar said. "I was with him in the radiology lab, reading Laura's tests, and I told him that I would inform you of the results."

Lee again just nodded.

Baltar looked to Laura and winked. "Your tests were fine this week, you seem to be doing very well."

"Cool." She shrugged. She then looked out into the common area of sickbay. "Dad, can I go tell Nurse Coaker about my birthday party?"

Lee nodded yet again and Laura jumped off the bed.

"I hope you have a good birthday, Laura." Baltar said to her as she walked away.

She turned back and grinned widely. "Thanks, I'll be a year old."

Baltar watched her go up to the nurse and then he turned back to Lee, this time in full doctor mode. "She has some increased activity in her frontal lobe, but there's always increased activity in her frontal lobe, so that doesn't particularly surprise us."

It seemed all Lee could do in Baltar's presence was nod.

"Her last seizure was the one that she had three weeks ago?" Baltar asked.

Lee, of course, only nodded in response.

"And the headaches that she's been getting after that last episode, have they gotten any better?"

Another nod.

"So, the remedy that I created for her helped with the headaches?" Baltar inquired.

Lee nodded again, but this time worked up the nerve to speak. "Yes, it did. She felt much better after she took it." He then reluctantly added. "Thank you."

"Well, residual headaches after seizures are not unusual occurrences. And I was hesitant to give her any of the narcotics that sickbay keeps on hand. I didn't want her to have any sort of adverse reaction."

"Well, we appreciate everything that you've done to help her." Lee said grudgingly. "Can we go?" Lee added coldly, looking over Baltar's shoulder to keep an eye on Laura.

Baltar stepped out of Lee's way. "By all means."

Lee walked to Laura and they made their way to the door. "Bye, Doctor." Laura waved at Baltar.

He waved back as they made their exit. Six stepped up behind him and wrapped one arm around his chest, letting the fingers of the other hand thread through his hair.

"I doubt they'd be as appreciative if they knew that the headaches where an intentional 'adverse reaction' to a medication you secretly gave her when you treated her after the last seizure." She purred in his ear.

"Nothing that I gave her will cause her any permanent damage." He assured his sexy, invisible lover. "Those headaches brought her to sickbay four times in the last three weeks, and I was the only one that knew how to help her. That's four times that I was able to see our daughter when I otherwise would not have been able to."

"And the medicine you concocted as treatment for her headaches even managed to get you a little gratitude from Captain Adama." Six turned him around andsmiled lasciviously at him. "That is a miracle from God if I ever saw one."

"Well," Baltar grinned back with false humility. "You've always said that I was his instrument."

"Yes." She whispered as she traced his hairline. "So calculating, so willing to do whatever needs to be done." She then roughly yanked his hair so that he was looking straight in her eyes. "But know that if anything you do ever causes that child harm…………… you will suffer his unwavering wrath."


"Will it actually work?" Laura asked as she held up the short-wave com radio that Tyrol and Cally had given her, showing it to a school friend that was sitting next to her.

"Well," Tyrol laughed. "The signal won't travel across the galaxy. But Cally and I rigged it—with Dee's help of course—." He said pointing to the two women. "So that if the EM interference is low that day, you might be able to talk to Galactica while you're at school."

"Only on breaks and at lunch." Kara cautioned Laura as she and Lee poured drinks for every one. "I'm not above taking it away if I find out you've been using during class."

Everyone was sitting or standing around a table in the rec room, talking and laughing and watching Laura's face light up as she opened her presents. Laura then looked at her grandfather and smirked. "Where's my present, Old Man?"

The Admiral looked around in confusion. "Was I supposed to get you something?"

"Very funny." Laura rolled her eyes and held out her hand. "Hand it over."

Adama chuckled and picked her present up from the floor beside his chair. He then placed the brown-paper-wrapped item on the table in front of her.

She ripped into the paper. "Another book!" She stated happily as she looked at the cover. "Dark Day: by Edward Prima."

"Hey, that's a good book." Billy exclaimed, looking at the book as well. "I even think that President Roslin had—." He stopped as he looked to the Admiral and saw the bittersweet expression on his face. Billy then looked back to Laura and smiled sadly. "That's a good book, Laura."

"Little advanced for a one year-old, don't you think?" Tigh spoke up, snorting in amusement.

"Daddy, what does umbrageous mean?" Laura asked in response to Tigh's question as she thumbed through the book and found a passage.

"Doesn't umbrageous mean 'always present'?" Lee asked, looking to Kara.

Kara laughed as she took a drink from her cup. "You're asking me?"

"No, it's ubiquitous that means 'always present'." Laura retorted as she looked up at her parents.

Tigh snorted again. "So……..clearly not too advanced for a one year old."

"Umbrageous means 'casting a shadow': making something dark and offensive." Adama finally answered.

Ethan, the school friend of Laura's that was sitting next to her, handed her a bag. "Open mine now."

Laura opened it and looked inside. "Oh, WOW." She whispered in amazement.

"There are only ten, so you have to make them last." Ethan smiled at her. "My dad knows a guy who works at one of the gift shops on Cloud Nine. That's where he got them."

"What are they, Laura?" Kara asked, looking at the bag.

"Suckers." Laura exclaimed happily, pulling one out and showing it to her mother.

Kara closed her eyes in sudden sadness at the sight of the familiar candy and set her cup down on the table. She then walked away without a word.

"What's wrong with your mom?" Ethan asked Laura, noticing how Kara was facing the wall, her shoulders slumped in sorrow.

"Helo liked suckers." Laura said simply, looking after her mother in concerned understanding.

Standing at the wall, Kara felt a soothing hand run up her back. "You okay?" Lee whispered as he brushed his lips across her temple.

"Uh-huh." She nodded, fortifying herself. "I didn't mean to ruin her party. It's just—."

"The party's not ruined, and you don't have to explain." He assured her. She smiled ruefully at him and they walked back to the table.

"What flavor do you want, Ethan?" Laura asked.

"You're gonna share them with me?" The boy responded in surprise.

"Sure, you're the one that gave them to me." Laura smiled. "But I get the orange ones. Those were always Helo's favorite."

Kara smiled at the comment and picked Laura up from her chair, sitting down in it before re-depositing the child on her lap. "Yeah, they were." Kara said, kissing Laura's cheek.

"You can open my gift next." Tigh said as he grabbed the box and presented it to Laura. "I hope its okay; I don't know what it is." He explained. "Ellen picked it up on one of her jaunts to the Rising Star." Tigh then shrugged. "She said it was something that a girl like Laura needed."

Laura untied the string and opened the box. Her mouth dropped open in shock and she hastily put the lid back on.

"What is it, Laura?" Dee asked curiously from the other side of the table.

"I don't wanna say." Laura said fearfully, pushing the box away. "Mama might hurt Mrs. Tigh."

Kara pulled the box back and took off the lid. When she looked down into it, her eyes got wide and then became blistering with anger. Inside, a small ceramic doll in a pink dress rested on yellow tissue paper.

"Alright!" Kara hissed, looking at Tigh. "Where is the bitch?"


"Night, little Laura." Lee said after he tucked her into bed later that night.

"Night, baby." Kara added as she leaned down to kiss Laura's cheek.

They then started to walk to the door, but Laura's voice stopped them. "How long are you guys gonna keep this up?"

They turned around to face her, both smiling conspiratorially. "We don't know what you mean." Kara said, biting her lip to keep from laughing.

"Sure, you don't." Laura giggled in disbelief. "I'm tucked into bed, almost ready to go to sleep………..but I still know that you're not going to let my birthday end without giving me my present."

Lee grinned widely, pointing to the bedroom. "I'll be right back."

Kara came back over to sit on Laura's bed, pulling the child in next to her. "You really are too smart for your own good."

Lee came back in and handed Kara a package, keeping another one in his hands.

"Two?" Laura asked hopefully.

Lee nodded as he knelt by the bed. "One from me, one from your mother."

Kara presented her gift first and Laura took it out of the small box. "It's a music chip." Laura stated as she held it in her tiny fingers.

"It's a very special music chip." Kara corrected. "It's one of the things that I brought back with me from Caprica."

"When you went back to get the Arrow for the President?" Laura asked, already knowing the story.

Kara nodded. "It's a recording of your grandfather playing the piano. My father."

"I can have this?" Laura asked in a quiet voice, looking up into her mother's eyes.

"Uh-huh." Kara confirmed, smiling gently. "But you'll need to take extra special care of it. I went to a lot of trouble to go get that chip."

"But that wasn't the only thing you brought back with you from Caprica." Laura stated.

"No." Kara agreed, tucking a strand of Laura's hair behind her ear. "It wasn't."

"I'll take really good care of it, Mama." She gingerly placed it back in the box. She then looked at her father.

Lee handed her his gift, wrapped in tissue paper. Laura pulled it off to reveal two photographs set in a double frame.

"How did you get these?" Kara whispered in amazement, looking down at the pictures.

"I can be quite resourceful." Lee smirked at her in response. He pointed to the first picture. "We took the memory stick from the guy's camera before we kicked him out. I kept it locked in the safe in my office."

"That's me." Laura giggled, pointing to the baby smiling happily in President Roslin's arms. "And that's my bear." She added as she pointed to the bear in the picture, and clutched the same bear tighter in her arms.

"And do you remember who the lady holding you is?" Kara asked her.

"Of course." Laura responded simply. "That's the President. She used to make me laugh." She then looked at her father. "I liked her."

Lee smiled sadly and then pointed to the next picture. It was of two pilots in flight suits, practically doubled over in laughter. "Those are your parents."

"Helo and Boomer." Laura whispered as she traced the image, she then looked up at Kara. "He had just told her the joke about an elephant, a mouse and a Raptor pilot."

Lee chuckled and Kara looked at him with utter awe etched on her face. He just shrugged. "It was a publicity photo from the decommissioning ceremony; the photographers went around getting random shots of the crew." He answered in response to Kara's unasked question. "Granted, this picture was a little harder to come by than the first one."

"But, Laura?" Kara began hesitantly, pointing at the Boomer in the picture. "You know that she's not your mother, right?"

"Yeah." Laura said, looking up at her. "You're my mother."

"Yes, I am." Kara added proudly. "But what I meant was…………that Boomer was not the same one that gave birth to you."

"They had the same memories, they loved the same people." Laura told her wisely. "And that's what makes you who you are. That's what makes you the same."

"That's an incredibly smart observation, little Laura." Lee smiled at her.

"Do I look like them?" Laura asked softly, looking at the faces of Helo and Boomer.

"Yes, you do." Kara nodded, examining the child curled up next to her. "You have Sharon's hair, and a little bit of her skin color, and your eyes are the same shape." She then pinched Laura's nose. "And you have Helo's nose." She then moved down to her chin. "And his chin."

"I do?" Laura asked, touching her nose and chin.

"Uh-huh." Kara laughed. She then stopped laughing and looked at Lee with such love shining in her eyes that when he caught the look, he had to take a steadying breath. "But you have the same color eyes as your father; the same gorgeous blue eyes." She smiled.

"You have your mother's smile." Lee added, giving Kara the same affectionate look. "The infamous 'Starbuck grin'. No wonder I let you get away with anything, just like her."

Kara continued. "And when you quirk your eyebrows up, and look at all of us like we're crazy? You look just like your grandpa."

"And sometimes, you'll let out this nervous, breathy giggle." Lee whispered, looking down at the picture of baby Laura and the President. "And when you do, I swear it's like President Roslin is in the room."

Kara hugged Laura tighter. "The other laugh you have? The loud cackle that you let out whenever someone tells you a good joke? That's the Chief's laugh."

Lee then reached up and touched Laura's cheek. "And these freckles on your face? Those look just like Cally's freckles."

"And last week, when you were singing 'The Boy on the Flying Trapeze' with Dee…….. you had the same voice as her." Kara finished.

Laura looked confused. "How can I be related to all those people?"

"You're not." Lee confirmed, placing a hand on her knee. "But they're your family."

"And they say that kids take on the traits of the people in their families." Kara told Laura as she stroked her hair. "Maybe that doesn't just apply to biological families."


Umbrageous means 'casting a shadow': making something dark and offensive.

If she retrieves the arrow……………She'll retrieve the arrow.

They know who you are, Kara. You're special. Leoben told you that. You have a destiny.

………we pray that when the time comes, you will be able to let her go………secure in the knowledge that she is loved………..

Love is your daughter's only purpose, Kara.

Something ugly is coming. I can feel it.

Kara shot up in bed, the sheets around her drenched with sweat; shallow breaths escaping her lungs as rapidly as the frenzied beating of her heart.

"Just breathe, Kara."

Kara looked in the direction of the voice. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw the form of her husband, sitting immobile at the foot of the bed.

She started to get out of bed. "Laura. I have to check on—."

"I already did." Lee muttered. He then stood and moved back up the bed, stopping her movements as he slid in next to her. "She's fine. She's asleep."

"I just had…………I don't know." Kara whispered as she put her face in the hollow of his neck. "I don't know what it was."

"It was a dream." He told her without emotion, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "I had it too."

TBC