Kestra woke up early before the sun had risen over the horizon. She threw on a cardigan and strolled through the empty streets of New Caprica. She kept walking until she found herself beside the lake where Laura told her she wanted to build a cabin. Kestra sat at the edge of the water with her toes just barely submerged in the frigid lake. She sat there for some time with her eyes closed, relaxing in the solitude of the morning. She was interrupted by a whirring sound, like a ship engine. She looked up to see a ship descending from the clouds toward the lake. Kestra stood up, and as she studied the approaching ship, she realized it was not a raptor. It was a Starfleet shuttle. She sprinted along the shore toward the spot where the shuttle was landing. Kestra stood breathlessly as she watched the hatch open to reveal a familiar face.

"Uncle Worf!" she exclaimed as she flung herself at him. Worf chuckled heartily as he lifted Kestra up off the ground. She embraced him so tightly that he had to pry her away from himself to see her face.

"Kestra," he said fondly, "it's a miracle. You're here." She smiled with tears in her eyes.

"How did you find me?" she asked eagerly. Worf's face fell, but he quickly covered it up with a forced smile.

"As a favor to your parents, Data reprogrammed a transporter to be able to transport us to you. We put your DNA in the transporter and took it through a black hole. It was a long shot, but it worked," Worf said, finishing with a big grin, "I can't believe I found you." Kestra smiled and hugged him again. Suddenly, she pulled away and frowned at him.

"Where are my parents?" she asked cautiously, "they never would have sent you alone to find me." Worf's sorrowful look from before returned as he avoided her gaze.

"Kestra, your parents spent every second looking for you after you disappeared. After Thad… they just couldn't handle losing you too," he said slowly as he rested his hand on her shoulder. Kestra began to shake her head. She knew the tone he was using, and she didn't want to hear the end of his tale. "Kestra we found their ship adrift in the Paulson Nebula. Will and Deanna are dead, Kestra." Kestra's sobs started before Worf had finished speaking. She didn't know how long she cried into the fabric of Worf's shirt.

"They died looking for me," she cried. Worf shook his head and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"They did not die because of you. They could have died just as easily in any other part of the universe. It is not your fault," he insisted.

"They would have been safe on Nepenthe if I hadn't gone missing," she argued.

"We don't know that. We'll never know if they would have been safer at home. What we do know is that when they died, they still had hope that you were alive, and they were right," he said as he stared into her eyes, "finding you alive means that they did not die in vain. You were worth every danger to them." Kestra collapsed back into his arms and let him hold her close. After a while her sobs finally quieted, and she backed away from Worf. She wiped her tears away.

"Thank you," she said softly, "for coming to get me."

"Of course," he said with a smile, "are you ready to go home?" Kestra's eyes widened.

"Right now?" she asked, "I… I have friends and…" She trailed off as she looked off toward New Caprica City.

"The wormhole is unstable. I don't want to stay here any longer than is strictly necessary," Worf said rather forcefully.

"But I can't just leave without saying goodbye," Kestra insisted, "Laura will worry if I just disappear. I can't do to her what I did to my parents." Worf sighed heavily.

"Okay," he said in a tone that implied defeat, "but we have to be quick. I will have come here for nothing if we both-" Worf's words were cut off by a grunt, and his face contorted in pain. Kestra watched him in shock as he dropped to his knees and blood began to trickle from the corner of his mouth. She was frozen on the spot as she watched him fall. As soon as his body hit the dirt, she was snapped back into reality.

"Worf!" she screamed as she dove to the ground where he lay. Worf's breath rattled as she pulled his body up into her lap. As she picked him up she noticed the bullet hole in the center of his back. "No no no no no, Worf, stay with me. Please. Look at me Worf," she begged as she turned his head to face her with her palm on his cheek.

"Kestra," Worf choked out as he reached up to cover her hand with his.

"Worf, please," Kestra begged as his eyes began to flutter. His hand slipped from hers, and his body fell limp. "No please… please," she cried as she rocked back and forth. She grabbed his hand and pulled it back up into hers as if she could revive him with her touch.

"What the frak is that thing?" she heard a harsh voice ask to the left of her. Kestra's red rimmed eyes met those of Kara Thrace. Kara's expression was one of disgust. She still held the gun she had used to kill Worf in her hand. Kestra's grief was quickly transformed into fury as she took in the image of Kara standing over her with the gun in her hand.

"You killed him," she accused in a dangerous voice. Kara's mouth opened, but she didn't have time to speak. In an instant she was on the ground with Kestra's hands around her throat. Kestra had knocked her down with such force that the gun slipped from her grip, and Kara now thrashed helplessly beneath her. Kestra's only reaction to Kara's struggle was to squeeze harder around her windpipe.

"Kestra stop," came a voice from above them. Kestra looked up but did not loosen her grip on Kara's neck. Lee stood above her with a gun pointed between her eyes. "Let her go Kestra," Lee ordered. Kestra's eyes narrowed, and she gritted her teeth.

"No," she growled.

"Let her go," Lee repeated with more emphasis on each individual word. Kestra stared at him, but Kara continued to struggle and fight for breath beneath her hands. "Kestra!"

"No!" Kestra yelled, her eyes blazed with unbridled fury at Lee Adama. His eyes softened for a second, but in the next second they narrowed as he pulled the trigger, sending a bullet straight between Kestra's eyes.

Kestra screamed as she woke up covered in sweat. She shook fiercely as her eyes darted around the room. She was in New Caprica City. She was still in her bed. She had never gone to the lake. Worf was never there. Her parents could still be alive. Lee had never killed her. Kestra tried to lay back down but found she could not stop her body from shaking or her mind from replaying the horrifying events of her nightmare. The image was interrupted when Laura came rushing around the divider between their "rooms".

"What happened?" Laura asked breathlessly as she walked the rest of the way to Kestra's bed. Kestra shook her head.

"Nothing, I'm fine," she said, surprised at how shaky her voice sounded. Laura frowned.

"You don't sound fine," she said as she sat on the bed beside Kestra. Kestra felt guilty for having woken Laura up in the middle of the night, but in the moment her fear trumped her guilt.

"I," Kestra choked out but found she could not find the words to explain what had happened. "Can I have a hug?" she asked weakly. Laura was shocked by her request but didn't question it.

"Kestra, honey," she said and pulled the girl into an embrace. Kestra wrapped her arms tightly around the older woman. Laura was surprised by the force with which Kestra held onto her, but she returned the embrace in kind. She stayed silent as Kestra cried softly into her nightshirt. After some time had passed, neither of them could say how long, Laura stopped her hand that had been lightly running through Kestra's hair. She looked down at the top of Kestra's head.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked softly. Kestra was silent for a moment.

"No," she breathed out. She slowly untangled herself from Laura's arms. "I'm sorry, you can go back to bed now. Thank you," she said as she sat up and scooted away to give Laura the opportunity to go.

"Hey, no you don't," Laura said as she pulled her back into the crook of her arm. Kestra looked back at Laura, her eyes still swimming with unshed tears. "Now I might not know exactly what's going on," Laura said gently, "but I do know that I'm not leaving you alone tonight. Not like this." Laura squeezed her shoulder. Kestra curled up into Laura's embrace. Laura resumed stroking Kestra's hair as she had before. "I'll be here as long as you need me."