"She's our child. That's what she is." Lee stated simply, trying unsucessfully to hide his dislike for the priest. "We don't need you to tell us that."

"She is your child. That has never been in question." Father Monseau replied. "Born to another, but you took her as your own." His mouth quirked up slightly. "And you've loved her without reservation her entire life, haven't you?"

"Of course we have." Kara's voice quivered and her leg shook nervously. "We raised her, we don't care that she's biologically someone else's. That's never been what this was about. We feel something stronger than genetics when it comes to her."

"I know." The priest added. "Something stronger than genetics has always been in play here."

Lee stood up from his chair. "If you're going to tell us that it has something to do with the gods." Lee fumed, grabbing Kara's hand to pull her up as well. "Then we can go, because we've heard it all before." The two of them walked toward the door. "And we don't need you to explain anything about Laura to us."

"What about the fact that she has your eyes, Major?" Monseau shouted after them, stopping their exits. "And the fact that she has the Captain's smile? Have you ever been able to get an explanation for that?"

Lee and Kara froze at the door and after a moment, turned back around. Lee pointed at Monseau. "I don't know what you think you're trying to do here, but—."

"Laura has the same determination, drive, and obsessive organizational skills as you, Apollo." Dee interjected softly, staring at her lap. "And she has the same sense of humor as Starbuck, the same stubborness, and she bluffs just like her too."

"She even has the same tell when she does it." Tyrol laughed. "She taps her lips with her fingertips, just like her mother."

"That's because we've taught her. She's grown up around us." Kara whispered, looking confused and uncertain. "Of course she'll have some of our same traits."

"The child…………" Monseau began. "……….is yours. She always has been, always will be. And you've known that, you've known it since the first moment you held her." He smiled knowingly, looking down to a book in his hands. "One moment, you were just two friends, two warriors struggling to get by in a world that no longer made sense. And then the next moment, the world suddenly DID make sense, because you had become a family."

Lee shook his head, his eyes pleading as he looked to Billy. "That doesn't mean it has something to do with—."

"That day in sickbay, the road of your life took a sharp turn, but the two of you managed to stay on it." Billy chuckled slightly. "That's commendable. Most people would've veered off to the side and crashed into something." He looked at Lee and Kara appreciatively. "But you're not most people."

"I'll bet the baby that would grow to become your daughter wasn't even a blip on your dradis screen before you stood beside the Cylon's deathbed and she asked you to raise her." Monseau guessed accurately. "You were both too worried with combat schedules, pilot readiness reports, and staying alive until the next battle, to really take note of the fact that the baby was going to be born." He shrugged slightly. "Hell, I bet you didn't even call her 'the baby'."

Lee heard himself gulp and felt Kara squeeze his hand. She looked over at him and before he knew it, he was being gently pulled back to sit in the chairs with the others. She still held his hand as they sat down and she nodded, giving silent permission for the priest to continue.

"You had no idea that your life would change. You didn't know what was coming." Monseau sat back down as well and put the book in his hands down on the coffee table in front of him. "But something did. The story had already been written. And for many, many years, the knowledge of what was to come, was floating around and waiting to be revealed."

"And it was." Billy finished. "On the day that Laura was born, when the Cylon touched her arm, the truth was revealed to President Roslin."

"And a month later." Dee added sadly, shutting her eyes in guilt. "President Roslin revealed it to us."

"US?" Kara repeated, questioning harshly. "Who is us?"

Billy started to answer. "Myself, Dee, and Corporal Venner."

"Do you remember the first night that you ever let Laura off Galactica?" Dee questioned, her eyes still closed. "When the three of us took her to Colonial One?"

Kara felt a flush rise up her chest and onto her face. Yes, she remembered that night; the first night that she and Lee had proclaimed their love for each other, the first night they had ever shared a bed. She felt Lee's thumb stroke a small circle on her knee and she knew that he remembered it too. "Yes." She replied in a whisper. "I remember that night."

Dee opened her eyes and took a deep breath. "We didn't take her to Colonial One."

Lee's hand tensed where it lay on Kara's knee. "I'm sorry?" He hissed, pools of betrayal forming in his eyes. "Where the hell did you take her?"

"They brought her to me on the Ethereal Dawn." Monseau stated.

"Why?" Kara would've screamed if her voice could've risen above a slight croak. She silently begged for some sort of justification as she looked to Venner, Dee and Billy. "Why did lie to us…….and then take her to a missionary ship?"

"That night was the Delian Festival." Monseau told them. "It's a festival that only happens every four years. It's named after the island of Delos, where the twins of Zeus were born. It celebrates the births of Artemis and Apollo. We didn't think it was mere coincidence that the event would come just a month after you were given the child."

"Please tell me that you are not basing all of your beliefs about us on a stupid callsign." Lee muttered through clenched teeth. "I was almost given the callsign 'Squirrel' in flight school. Would that have changed your view of things?"

"No." Monseau chuckled simply. "I don't think it would've. It's not just about a callsign. The similarities between the Galacticans and the Olympians have always been vast. Have you ever read the children's book of scripture that I gave to Laura?"

"Of course." Kara answered. "We used to read it to her all the time. The tales inside were her favorite bedtime stories."

"Then you know what I'm talking about. Hephaestus, the god of craftsmen, built Artemis and Apollo their celestial chariots." Monseau gestured to Tyrol. "Laura's godfather is the mechanic who constructed the Blackbird that you and Major Adama piloted, is he not?"

"I am." Tyrol nodded, looking up at everyone with hesitation. "But I'm just a grease monkey; I shouldn't be compared to—."

"And the Aloedae, the two angry giants that Apollo killed with flaming arrows when they tried to storm Mt. Olympus?" Corporal Venner added. "When the Cylons stormed the ship, you destroyed the last two with explosive rounds, Major."

"And Delos was a floating island that Zeus raised from the dark depths of the ocean, so that his twins could be born." Dee said calmly. "Well, if you view things from a mythical standpoint, Delos could be considered………"

"Galactica." The Admiral finished, speaking for the first time and remembering all the times he had read that book to Laura. "A floating island where the twins of Zeus could be united with their father."

"All of these things could be viewed as coincidence. But my life has been spent trying to find symbolism in everything." Monseau sighed heavily and traced the octagonal edges of the book on the table. "And as soon as Laura Roslin pointed me in that direction, I found that nothing was ever going to be symbolic again; because it was going to be real………and playing out right in front of me."

"You're taking a bunch of children's stories that everyone learned in grade school and twisting them to suit your view of life." Lee snapped at him. "In the face of all the horrible things that we've dealt with, that we are dealing with—do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds?"

"That bunch of children's stories is actually scripture that billions upon billions of people have clung to throughout every hardship that man has faced in the last three thousand years, Lee." Adama admonished his son. "Let's not ridicule their beliefs simply because they aren't ours."

Lee at first shook his head, but after pointed looks from both Kara and his father, he reluctantly nodded.

"There is one story that was not taught in grade school; with one passage in particular that mirrors your life." Monseau declared. "It's called the Deliad prophecy."

"I've never heard of that." Tyrol said.

"He's never heard of that." Lee repeated, pointing to Tyrol. "And his father was a priest, and his mother was an oracle."

"And I've read scripture from cover to cover." Kara added. "I've never heard of it either."

"There are very few people that know of its existence." Billy defended.

"Very few groups, and I happen to belong to one of those groups." Monseau told them. "I am an Artemial priest; we pay homage to the celestial huntress. And since she is the goddess of childbirth and young children, we specialize in adoptions, blessings of mothers, confirmations of faith………..virtually anything that you could think of that would have to do with bringing a child into this world."

"That's one of the reasons that Father Monseau was sent over to Galactica on the day that Sharon Valerri died." Billy informed them. "When the Ethereal Dawn found out what the situation was, they sent over an Artemial priest."

"Situations like that are my order's specialty. We deal with the tragedy of childbirth, as well as the joy." Monseau added. "Artemis was known for delivering swift and merciful death to women who were languishing in painful childbirth." He looked up at Kara with sympathetic eyes. "Another similarity to your life, I believe. If everything that I've been told about your time on Caprica is true."

Kara's eyes were not sympathetic in return. In fact, they were cold and hard. "We won't be talking about that, Father. Not now. Or ever again."

Monseau nodded when he saw the pain in her eyes and chose to not go further with the topic. "The Cylon died giving birth to Laura. And I gave her last rites so that she could find peace in the next life, because according to the Deliad, she had already played her part in this one."

Kara glanced over to where Tyrol sat beside her, the man's pain at losing someone he loved almost filling up the small space between them. She reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, but was stopped when a voice finally spoke.

"You said that few people know about this prophecy. Well, why would anyone want to keep a prophecy secret?" Adama asked. "I thought things are prophesized so that we can be prepared for what is to come."

"It was kept secret because people were afraid." Billy admitted. "Afraid of what actually did end up happening."

"On Kobol, paradise was destroyed when one god attempted to elevate himself above all the others." Monseau explained further. "The harmonious balance between gods and man was disrupted, and it led to tragedy and the exile of the thirteen tribes." He looked to his book again. "The Deliad speaks of the destruction of the world by a superior force that looked to one god instead of many. It was erased from the scriptures for that reason."

"Religious leaders have been very gun-shy about anything resembling that ever since." Billy interjected. "To put it in layman's terms, it was deemed heretical because it spoke of monotheism instead of polytheism."

"It was expunged from the general public's knowledge over 1500 years ago. Only clergy know of it's existence, and only certain clergy know what it says." Monseau informed them. "Because it deals with the twins of Zeus, and certain other familial aspects, the Order of Artemis has been championed with the guardianship of this prophecy. I am the only Artemial priest on the Ethereal Dawn. So, at the time of the holocaust, I was the only one that knew of the Deliad."

"Father Monseau was supposed to have been doing a confirmation of faith on the Rising Star the day Laura was born." Billy said quietly. "He overslept and missed his shuttle. He wasn't even supposed to have been on the Ethereal Dawn when the call came in from Cottle."

"No one else would have known what was going on." Monseau sighed. "Any other priest would have listened to Roslin as she talked about her vision and been just as confused as she was. I was the only one that would've been able to understand what she was talking about. I was the only one that knew how to take her vision and put it into black and white."

"What does the prophecy say?" The Admiral asked decisively.

"It says something that you will find familiar, something that President Roslin spoke of greatly." Monseau told them. "Because certain aspects of the Deliad were taken and condensed. They were watered down and made innocuous and included in the Sacred Scrolls; in a book that was written by the same author of the Deliad."

"Pythia." Kara choked out. "You're speaking of the book of Pythia."

"And he's speaking of the Arrow of Apollo, the Tomb of Athena and the dying leader that would lead humanity to salvation." Billy lowered his head and gripped the arm of his chair. "I know that because the information we obtained on Kobol was eventually deemed fruitless, a lot of people thought that President Roslin's visions were fruitless as well. But Laura Roslin was not speaking nonsense; she didn't lead us on a wild-goose chase. She was given a mission, and with a little help, she accomplished it. We will find salvation. It just won't happen in the way everyone thought it would."

"In her prophecy, Pythia wasn't speaking of the Arrow in the Delphi Museum, and she wasn't speaking of the Tomb of Athena on Kobol." Monseau informed them. "They were both just assumptions."

"Why wouldn't they just give it to us straight? Tell us the truth?" Lee whispered.

"It's not about truth……..it's about everyone's take on the truth." Billy admitted, looking over at Dee, whose hand was covering her eyes. "Everyone has their own version, and everyone has their own reasons for keeping it under wraps."

"Not to mention, you've read the scrolls," Monseau lifted the book from the table. "How many times have the gods—or those who served them—just come right out and told you what you needed to know? Hardly ever."

"He's right." Tyrol laughed slightly. "It used to drive me crazy when my parents were giving me my scripture lessons. Most everything in the scrolls is told in allegory or riddle. The gods want you to work for it, because otherwise, they don't think you're worthy of the reward that they will give you."

"The life of a person of faith is not merely about the destination, but also the journey. Not knowing what's to come is actually sometimes a blessing, because it allows you to learn what you need to know along the way." Monseau added, he then chuckled. "Besides, the gods are famously known for using us mortals for their entertainment. How entertaining would it be for them to point in a certain direction and have us follow?"

"But the prophecies were gathered after the fall of Kobol, and the people that put them into the Sacred Scrolls were human." Lee pointed out. "Why would they want to deceive their fellow mortals?"

"They were servants of the gods." Kara answered, narrowing her eyes in accusation at the priest. "To them, following their will was more important then helping out their mortal brothers."

"That is true. A dedicated servant does not question the will of the gods. We merely have faith that the story will unfold as it is supposed to." Monseau lowered his head. "But, in this case, I actually don't think they were intentionally deceiving you. I think it was just a miscommunication." He glanced back up to them, but paused when he saw the puzzled looks on their faces. "Everyone knew of the Arrow of Apollo; it was one of the few artifacts that were taken on the Galleon during the exodus. And everyone knew of the Tomb of Athena on Kobol; where the body of each tribe's leader was offered to the gods. It's easy to see how they would make the jump in believing that those were the two necessary components."

"The prophecies were foretold in ancient Kobolian, and they were gathered and put into the Sacred Scrolls by people that spoke ancient Caprican, and then 1500 years ago, they were translated into new Caprican, around the time that the Deliad was expunged." Billy sighed, rubbing his eyes in exasperation. "That means they were double-translated. And since the full weight of the prophecy's meaning was hidden from them, it's not unheard of for them to get a few words wrong. And they got at least one word wrong."

"Which word?" Adama inquired in a hesitant whisper.

Monseau locked eyes with Lee. "In ancient Kobolian, the word arrod...means child."

"My gods." Someone whispered to themselves.

Kara didn't notice who, her heart was too busy dropping into her stomach. "What?"

"Yeah, it was a pretty important word to be mistranslated. But such is the way it goes sometimes." Monseau sighed and opened the book that he had with him since he entered the room. "The Deliad prophecy speaks of the Child of Apollo leading the people to Earth."

"I'm sorry." Tyrol choked out, his eyes wide as saucers. "But are you frakking kidding us with this?"

"No." Dee answered him, looking desperately over at Kara instead. "He's not. It's written in that book. And it has been……for three thousand years."

"Petty Officer?" Monseau passed the book to Billy and gestured for Dee to take it. "Will you read the passage?"

She took in a sharp, but unsteady breath and shook her head. "No, I don't think that I should be the—."

"NO." Lee rasped at her, holding Kara's hand in a death grip. "I want you to be the one to read it. I want you to be the one to tell us the truth." His eyes grew cold and betrayed. "For once."

A tear fell down Dualla's cheek and she looked away, grabbing the book and opening it to the page that she knew well. She began with a trembling voice.

The Child of Apollo was not born to the god, but entrusted to him. She was born of a lower demon, that which betrayed its family and helped the subjects of the gods through times of crisis, out of love for the child and her father: a noble warrior of the gods who died to keep the child safe.

Kara dropped her head into her hands, and Dualla heard Billy let out a choked sigh right before she read the next part, the one that it always pained him to hear.

The child was born amongst fear and doubt, and her future was in question. But a dying leader was asked to trust, and though she had no reason to, she believed. She convinced the Olympians to raise the child, because she had faith that the universe would lead them out of their darkness. It was only through this faith that the child would live to fulfill her destiny.

Dualla paused for a moment and looked up to Lee, willing him to understand. She then read on.

And though he despised that from which she came, the sun god took mercy on the child and claimed her as his own. She would forever be known as the Child of Apollo.

Lee clenched his eyes shut and leaned back in his chair.

By the sun god's side was his other half: the celestial huntress, a dedicated and beloved servant of the gods, especially her immortal father, Zeus. She was the guardian of the Child of Apollo, going to great lengths and enduring much suffering to retrieve the child from their enemies and bring her to Olympus.

As a reward for her faith and courage, the barren deity was given the child, and the animal of the stars became her worshipped mother.

"'the animal of the stars'" Tyrol repeated, looking at Kara, who had lifted her head again. "That's you, Starbuck."

Kara sucked in a breath as all of the information began to sink in. "Go on." She nodded at Dee. "Tell us how it ends."

Dee looked back down to the page and finished the story.

The child would grow amongst the gods. And she was beloved and blessed and protected. The child was once two conflicting halves, but through her love for the gods, she became whole. They completed her, as she completed them.

The enemies that sought to separate her from her family were overcome, ensuring that she would remain with the gods throughout all eternity.

But in the final battle for the child's soul, the wise one was struck down. And in gratitude for that sacrifice, the child would help the subjects of the gods find their way out of exile and to salvation.

When the battle ceased, the oracle took the child to mourn the goddess. There, she opened the tomb and showed her family the way of the true path: the one that led to Earth.

Monseau was the first one to speak. "Laura Roslin was given a vision, and we were led to Kobol for a very specific reason. If we had not found Kobol, there would've been no reason to send Captain Thrace back to Caprica. No reason for her to fly into enemy occupied territory just to retrieve a rusted artifact from the Delphi Museum." He looked at Kara. "But you found something else in the Delphi Museum, didn't you?" He folded his hands in his lap. "Some roads won't lead you to your destination, they'll just lead you to the roads that will. And the paths of the four parents of the Child of Apollo converged together on Kobol."

Lee leaned forward in his chair again. "How long have you known this? How long have you known that we were the people that Pythia spoke of?"

"Since the day I met you. Since the day President Roslin brought me aboard Galactica for the first time." Monseau answered sadly. "Since the day Laura was born."

"You've been lying to us." Kara whispered to no one in particular.

"It may seem like that to you now—." Monseau began.

"Seem? It may seem like that to me?" Kara hissed. "I asked President Roslin. I asked her specifically. She was holding Laura in her lap, she looked me square in the eye, and she lied to me!"

"She told me about that conversation." Monseau admitted. "But everything she told you was true. Love is your daughter's only purpose, Kara. It is only through love that any of this will happen." He lowered his voice and his eyes at the same time. "She still felt intense shame about misleading you, though."

"Then why did she?"

"That's the funny thing about destiny, Starbuck." Billy answered her instead. "Sometimes, when you know what yours is, you'll do everything that you can to try and prevent it."

"Everything in that passage either has or will come to pass. Laura Adama is the child of Lee and Kara Adama: Apollo and the animal of the stars." Monseau told them softly. "That was her only destiny. But it is through that destiny that she will lead us to ours. She is the fulfillment of the prophecy--and she will lead us to salvation."

"She's just a little girl." Lee hissed, rising from his chair.

"Except she's NOT." Dee rose from her chair as well. "And I don't just mean that because she grows so fast that she looks like she's a young woman. I mean that we have always known that she was something more. We didn't know exactly what she was—."

"Well, some of us did!" Lee yelled at her, the hurt showing in his eyes.

Dee stepped back for a moment, but then continued strongly. "We used to ignore that she was different, because it didn't have any effect on the way we loved her, or the way we would do anything for her." Dee let out a harsh sob. "But you can't ignore it now. This is the reason she was brought to us……….this is the reason she was given to you."

"STOP!" Lee shouted. "I don't want to hear this!"

"I know it's hard to hear, but—." Monseau started only to be cut off.

Billy—ever the diplomat—stepped in. "Father Monseau? Let's give the Adamas a little time to process this overwhelming information."

Monseau just stood there, gazing at Lee in disbelief. "Why won't you just let this happen?" He pleaded.

"You wanna know why?" Lee whispered back, on the verge of tears as he faced off with the priest. "Because if it's true—aside from the fact that it was pre-ordained from the heavens—there's really nothing special about it. Nothing special about the way we love her, about the way she loves us…….about the way we're a family."

"How can you say that?" Monseau asked with admiration. "The love that all of you have for each other is the most special gift in the world. It's a miracle."

"But it's not us! It's the gods making us feel this way!" Lee shouted. "The gods controlling our minds and manipulating our hearts so that we can………." He stopped as the tears came from his eyes. "……..love a toaster."

"No, Lee." Dee smiled sadly. "I never thought I would ever say this to you, but you're giving the gods too much credit."

"The gods may have made it easier, allowed you—allowed all of us—to take the first step." Monseau's voice got quiet and reverent. "But Laura was loved, is loved for who she is, not what she will do or what she will become."

"I don't want my daughter thinking that she was just something that we kept around as some sort of map or compass, so that she could lead us somewhere." Lee admitted. "I don't want her to be a means to an end."

"That's why you weren't told, so that she wouldn't be." Billy informed them. "We all love her……….even the one's that knew all of this. But we made a decision early on, and whether it was the right one or not remains to be seen. But we made it because the prophecy would not have been fulfilled if she was just something that we kept in a locked room and questioned until we needed her to point us in a certain direction. This whole thing only works if she grew among us………as one of us."

Kara closed her eyes as she remembered something President Roslin had said to her. This whole thing only works if you're a family.

"The prophecy will only be fulfilled if she is your child." Monseau added. "If she loves you, and you love her……….even though you had no logical reason to whenthis all began."

"And the prophecy has been fulfilled, because you do love each other." Dee spoke with admiration. "And it's time to let this happen, Lee."

Lee looked up to the ceiling and scrubbed his hands through his hair. He then looked to his father, begging for guidance. "Dad……… what should I do?"

Adama looked to the hands that he had been wringing and smiled pensively. "Well, son, sometimes you gotta roll the hard six. And trust that what you've been betting on will pay off."

Lee then looked down at Kara where she sat beside him. "Kara, what do you think?"

Kara looked at him with her eyes glazed over, and took a deep breath. "I think I'm gonna throw up."

Lee's eyes got wide. "Okay."


"Kara, are you okay in there?" Lee asked through the bathroom door.

"Oh yeah, I'm just frakking great!" She shouted back.

He knocked. "Let me in."

He heard her laugh. "You mean you want to see me puking my guts up?"

"I want to be with you." He told her softly.

He then heard the lock click and he opened the door. When he entered, he found her sitting on the floor next to the toilet, her back pressed against the wall. He came over to the counter and looked at the mirror, which had a distinct crack in it.

He pointed at the crack. "You do this?"

She nodded. "I had an intense desire to break something. Or kill something, more accurately. But since most of the people I want to kill are either heavenly, omnipotent beings that can't die or humans beings that died thousands of years ago………I guess the poor mirror caught the brunt of my anger."

"What is it with this mirror?" Lee shrugged and leaned against the counter. "You know I think that it got smashed once before too." He paused and looked down at her. "You never did tell me what you thought of all this."

She banged the back of her head against the wall and spoke in a desolate voice. "I never wanted this for her. I wanted her to have a destiny and a purpose that she chose. Not one that was handed down to her."

"Yeah." Lee agreed, staring at his distorted image in the broken mirror. "But I guess in light of things, what we want is kinda insignificant."

"Hasn't it always been?"

"You do realize now that we can't let Baltar have any sort of control over her life?"

"Oh…….DUH." Kara hissed, banging her head against the wall again. "Can't believe I let my brain get so clouded that I needed a revelation from the gods to figure that out."

Lee sighed heavily. "So I guess Father Monseau was right after all."

"Well," Kara also let out an exaggerated sigh and reached up to flush away the discarded contents of her stomach. "We were right too. Her only destiny was to be our daughter."

Lee started to laugh uncontrollably and she joined in. "We shouldn't be laughing. It's totally not funny."

"I just remember something that you told me a long time ago." He chuckled. "About how when things get weird and tragic, we have to joke about it, we have to laugh about it; because otherwise it would just be too much to deal with. So we wouldn't deal with it, and we'd just shut down."

"And we've got our daughter to think about." She smiled in understanding. "We can't shut down now."

He grabbed a towel and wet it with cold water from the sink, then knelt in front of Kara and pressed it to her forehead. "You want to see if Cottle can give you an anti-emetic?"

"I don't need a shot, Lee." She whispered and then bit her lip. "What I need is to catch a frakking break."

"We've caught enough breaks." He kissed her forehead when he moved the wet towel down to her tear-stained cheeks. "Did you ever think we'd be lucky enough to have this happen to us?" He chuckled again. "To let go of all of our defenses and insecurities and become a family so incredible that we were written about in prophetical texts?"

Kara started laughing again as well. "But I still contend that you were given your godly callsign simply because someone in your flight school saw you naked."

He pushed back the hair from her face and winked at her. "You look like hell, Mrs. Adama."

"But you still love me." She grinned back.

"Always." He stood up from the floor and held out his hand for her. "Let's get Cottle to check you out."

"That's not necessary. I'm not sick anymore, Lee." She took his hand and stood up too. "But I do want to go to sickbay."

He nodded. "As soon as we get back to Galactica, there's something we need to pick up before we go see her."


"The shuttle is waiting to take you back to Galactica, Admiral." Dee said as she came back into the office and found Adama still seated in his chair.

"What about Lee and Kara?" He whispered, not looking at her.

"They caught a Raptor twenty minutes ago."

The Admiral stood up from his chair and walked to her, gesturing to the exit. "Shall we?"

She just shook her head sadly and fought back her tears. "You still want to ride in a shuttle with me? You still want to be within fifty feet of me? Speak to me? Look at me?"

He touched her arm gently. "What are you talking about, Anastasia?"

"Please don't call me that." She cried, holding her head in her hands. "Please don't treat me like I didn't just admit that I've been betraying your family for nearly two years now."

"Stop that." He ordered firmly and watched as she complied with the order and came to attention. "You are way too smart a girl to think that way. Actually……I'm quite proud of you."

"Excuse me?" She laughed in disbelief. "Proud?"

"You handled yourself well, with dignity and purpose. I think that anybody else would've had quite a hard time dealing with something of these proportions."

"I did have quite a hard time dealing with it." She admitted, looking at him in awe and shaking her head. "I still can't believe you, how can you still—I mean, after what I did—?"

"You can't betray my family, because I love everyone on that ship like they are my family." He proudly smiled at her. "And you belong on that ship.We wouldn't have been able to get through these past three years without you. I know I certainly wouldn't have."

"You've made me feel like I belonged somewhere." She whispered. "I'd do anything for you, Admiral."

"Then give me some advice." He whispered back.

"I think I'm all adviced out, sir."

"Come on, Dee." He pleaded with humor. "You know I can't go to anyone else and let them know that I'm uncertain of something. People count on the Old Man to have the answer for everything."

Her face softened. "What are you unsure of?"

"What do we do?" He closed his eyes. "How do we do this, how do we make sure that she will lead us to salvation?"

"You DON'T." She answered bluntly.

He jerked at her firm response. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you let Laura be Laura." Dee replied. "We love Laura, she is precious to us. And if by being who she is, she leads us to salvation………then that's great. But if she doesn't, no one is going to force her to. No one is going to make her be anything that she isn't ready to be. So if she's never ready to lead us to Earth, then so be it. We'll just have to wander the galaxy for all of eternity."

"Just like that, it's that simple?" Adama asked softly. "We're being presented with a way to save humanity. That's not important to you?"

"Not as important as she is. I'm not the godsmother of humanity, only Laura." She answered firmly. "My job is to protect her." She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "And you need to know that I would die before I let anything hurt her."


"Those are my tags." Zak told Laura as they sat beside each other in Kara's apartment on her old couch.

"I know." She said as she lifted the chain from her neck and looked at them. "Grandpa gave them to me."

He reached over and traced the tags where they rested in her hand. "That was nice of him to do that."

"Yeah." Laura looked back to the window and out onto the view of the parking lot. "The sun is setting. I've never seen the sun set before." She laughed. "Hell, I've never even seen the sun before."

He gently took her hand. "Laura, you know that means it's—."

"Time for me to go." She finished for him, squeezing his hand.

"Good luck." He grinned at her.

"Won't need it." She shrugged.

He chuckled. "And why's that?"

She grinned back at him. "Because despite what you told me, I won't be doing it alone." She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. "You never do anything alone when you're a family."

"That's very true." Zak replied as he lifted her hand to place a small kiss on it.

"Hey?" She asked without opening her eyes. "Are you licking my hand?"

Laura woke up to the feel of a tiny tongue stroking her hand, but all she saw when she opened her eyes was a furry, little creature attempting to nudge her awake. "Hey, Boy." She picked him up as he crawled all over her sickbay bed. "What are you doing here?"

"It's time for you to be up from your nap, little Laura."

Laura looked over in the direction of the voice and saw her parents standing a few feet away. She smiled at them with tears in her eyes. "Hey, Starbuck."

Kara shook her head and moved to stand beside the bed. "My name is not Starbuck." She smiled back, tucking a strand of brown hair behind Laura's ear. "What's my name?"

Laura crinkled her nose. "Your name is Mama."

Kara nodded and pointed to Lee. "And who is he?"

Laura looked over to Lee and a tear fell down her cheek. "He's my father."

Lee came to stand on the other side of the bed and kissed her cheek. "Oh gods, we missed you so much."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She started to sob. "I was just so scared."

Kara kissed the crown of her head as the cat decided to climb up over her shoulders. "Shhh, baby. It's okay. Everything's gonna be alright, because you're with us now."

Laura pulled the cat away from her neck and set him in her lap. "Did you take good care of Boy?"

"Ummm," Lee laughed regretfully. "I think we might have forgotten to feed him for the last week."

"We kinda had our minds occupied with other things." Kara explained.

"HOLY GODS." Cottle croaked out when he opened the curtain and saw the family. "How did, how is this…………?" He came over to the side of the bed, pushed Lee out of the way and took out his stethoscope. "What the hell is going on here?"

Laura just shrugged as he took her vitals. "I decided it was time for me to wake up."

"Can you get the clothes that she had on when she was brought in?" Kara asked the doctor. "We need to take her somewhere."

"LIKE HELL!" Cottle hissed. "She's just now lucid after nearly a week and a half, and she's not going anywhere."

"Yeah, she is." Lee replied simply. "So unless you're planning on physically restraining us—."

"I won't." Cottle shot back and pointed to the other side of the room where Corporal Wilkes stood. "But that armed guard over there will."

"Actually." Wilkes spoke up, walking closer to them. "I'm pretty much gonna let them go wherever they want to go." She looked at Laura, wiped the moisture from her eyes and smiled. "It's good to see you, Laura."

Laura smiled back. "You too."

"Come on." Kara held out her hand for Laura to take. "We need to go somewhere." She then looked at Cottle. "Are you gonna get her clothes or not?"

"NOT. She's not leaving this sickbay." Cottle replied in angry disbelief. "You are all out of your minds!"

"Hey, Doc?" Laura stated as she pulled back the covers and set her feet on the floor. "You might wanna be careful of who you say that particular phrase to." She then pulled off the sensors that had been attached to her temple. "All things considered."

"Well," Lee began helping her out of bed. "Since the Doc seems to be uncooperative with the clothes situation, you'll just have to go in your sickbay gown."

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Cottle shouted. "She's not leaving sickbay!"

Laura stood up and walked over to the doctor. "I'm fine, Doc. I realize I was very sick, but I'm better now." She stroked the cat as he rested in her arms. "And I want to go home."

"Laura," Cottle whispered. "We don't know what caused you to be that way. You don't remember what you went through—you could still be sick and—."

"I remember. I remember every second." She whispered back, smiling gently at him as she shook her head. "That was a very lovely thing that you said when you were sitting with me two nights ago. I know you didn't think I could hear you, but I did." She felt a tear fall down her cheek. "You're a sweet man... and I always kinda liked you too."

Cottle slumped slightly. "Alright, you can go. But I still want you to come back tonight, so that I can examine you further and make sure that you're really okay." He saw her nod in obedience and he then looked to Lee and Kara, slightly indignant as he straightened up. "And I'm not a sweet man, I'm a total grumpy bastard."

"Sure you are." Laura replied sarcastically and transferred Boy over to Cottle. "Take care of my cat while I'm gone. And that way, you can be sure I'll come back to sickbay."

Lee wrapped an arm around her and Kara was on her other side, holding her hand. They all walked to the exit, followed by Corporal Wilkes.

"One hour! That's all I'm gonna give you!" Cottle shouted after them. When he heard the hatch close, he glanced down at the cat in his arms, who was staring back up at him. "What the hell are you looking at?"


"Where are we going?" Laura asked as they walked down the hall. She noticed that everyone they passed took note of her presence. Some stopped and smiled, some stopped and gaped with their mouths wide open, but they all stopped.

"Flight deck." Kara answered from beside her.

"Everybody's looking at me weird." Laura whispered.

"Yeah." Lee replied frankly. "They are."

"Dad! That's not a very nice thing to say."

"Laura," Kara defended her husband. "You had a mental breakdown, you've been in sickbay for eleven days, you're walking down the corridor in a sickbay gown and you haven't showered in a long time." She turned to wink at her. "Did you think people wouldn't look at you weird?"

"Point taken." She chuckled as they came to the entrance of the flight deck.

They walked inside and the few people that were working late stopped what they were doing when they saw them enter.

Cally stood frozen where she stood for a few moments, and then ran at full speed over to them, a huge smile plastered on her face as she embraced Laura. "Oh my gods! You're here, you're really here." She squeezed her tight, laughing and crying at the same time. "Oh, you have no idea how glad I am to see you."

"I missed you, Cally." Laura hugged her in return.

Cally pulled back in concern. "Are you alright? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"Nope." Laura smiled back. "I'm really good."

"Cally?" Lee spoke up, interrupting their reunion. "Where's the Blackbird?"

Cally pointed to the corner of the bay. "She's over there. She's completely powered down though."

Lee walked over to it and Kara pulled on Laura's hand for them to follow him. "Come on, little girl."

Laura started to walk with her, but turned back to Cally. "I'll talk to you later."

Laura and Kara followed over to where Lee was removing the tarp that covered the Blackbird, and they all three stood beside it.

"Do you know the story of the first Blackbird?" Lee asked, looking straight at Laura.

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Do you know who came up with the idea to build it?"

"The Chief." Laura answered.

"Do you know who allowed him to build it, even when he should have shut the project down?"

"Grandpa."

"Do you know who got the engines for it?"

"Colonel Tigh."

"Do you know who wired the engines?" Lee asked, tracing the side of the plane with tenderness.

"Cally."

"And the comm. system?"

"Dee."

"Do you know whose idea it was to skin it with carbon composite?" Kara took over the inquisition for a turn.

Laura took a deep breath and answered in a cracked voice. "Helo."

"Do you know who flew it for the first time?" Lee resumed asking.

Laura grinned. "Mom."

"And do you know who flew it for the last time?" Lee chuckled.

"But helped us win our biggest battle in the process." Kara interjected.

Laura looked at Lee and smiled. "That would be you."

Lee walked to stand in front of Laura and took her hand in his. "Do you know who we named it after?"

"The President, same as me." Laura answered, her lip trembling. She then looked around the deck. "What are you trying to tell me, Dad?"

He turned her so that she could fully look at the plane, and he stood behind her. "We all made the first Blackbird, all of us together. Everyone had a part in making it what it was and we were so proud of what it turned out to be."

Kara came up to stand beside them. "We were all so lost, and we had a hard time remembering what we were fighting for. But that ship gave all of us a reason to work together to create something. And it gave us hope."

"It was an act of faith." Lee whispered, almost to himself.

"I never thought I'd say this." Kara chuckled softly, gazing adoringly at her daughter. "But there are some things that are better than a plane."

"We were all so proud the day that the Blackbird finally flew." Lee came around to stand in front of Laura. "But I realize now as I'm looking at you—your hair all greasy, dark circles under your eyes, your teeth unbrushed for days and days—that I've never been as proud of anything in my entire life as I am of you."

Laura lowered her head. "You finally know, don't you? You know why I was brought here? You know what I am?"

"Yeah, we know." Lee lifted her chin and caught her eyes again."Do you know what you are?"

"Kind of. Maybe. Not really." Laura bit her lip. "I just know that there is something to know ………something about me that makes me special."

"There are close to a million things about you that make you special." Kara told her, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Tell us what to do, little Laura." Lee pleaded softly. "Because I honestly don't know what the right answer is."

"I don't know either, Dad." Laura laughed ruefully. "I don't have all the answers that people seem to think I do. Truthfully, there are really only a few things in my life that I am absolutely sure of. And one of them is that my family loves me." She smiled at them and reached up to touch the wing of the plane. "So you can do anything that you want, and I'll trust that it's what is best for me.We can follow the path that the gods have set before us, or we can go on a different path." A proud tear fell from her eye. "But whatever you decide will be fine with me, as long as you follow your heart. Because I don't have half as much faith in the gods……..as I have in you."

TBC