"No Pegasus. Just Galactica."

"Why? Why no Pegasus? What happened?" Laura asked suddenly. Kestra's face paled.

"Don't know, sir. Way beyond my paygrade," Mathias answered. Laura's gaze shot to Kestra, and she recognized the panic in the younger woman's eyes. Laura tried to smile reassuringly at Kestra, but she just shook her head and left the room. Laura shifted in her chair to watch her go but couldn't leave for fear of missing details about the evacuation plans. Kestra stepped into a room further into the cavern and braced her arm on the wall. If Pegasus wasn't coming, that meant something must have happened to it. Maybe Pegasus never made the jump away from New Caprica. Lee may have been dead for months, and she'd been waiting around for him to come save her.

"Kestra are you alright?" Kestra's head shot up, and she looked at Maya with tear filled eyes.

"Yeah, yeah I'm… no," Kestra said as tears started streaming down her face.

"What happened?" Maya asked as she stood up with Isis in her arms.

"Um, Pegasus… Pegasus isn't coming, and they don't know why," Kestra said haltingly as she tried to keep her emotions in check. Maya was instantly sympathetic.

"Oh, Kestra," she said as she approached her, "I'm sure they're fine. Any number of things could have happened. There's no reason to believe they're in any trouble."

"Of course there is. Pegasus might not have even jumped away in the initial attack. We have every reason to believe something terrible has happened," Kestra argued. Maya sighed and wrapped an arm around Kestra's shoulders.

"Don't give up hope yet," she said softly, "miracles happen all the time out here." Kestra let out a sob before covering her mouth. She and Maya sat in silence for a few moments as Kestra tried to collect herself.

"Hope was all I had," Kestra said, "I don't know what to do now. What's the point?"

"You still have us," Maya said, "me, and Laura, and Isis." Maya smiled down at her baby before returning her attention to Kestra. "You have friends who care about you. We're all going to get off this planet, and we'll find Earth together. It'll be alright. You'll see." Kestra nodded and wiped away her tears.

"Thank you Maya," she said sincerely, "it's just… if Lee's gone…" She trailed off as more tears came. Maya pulled her closer and stroked her hair.

"I know," she said sympathetically. Laura came around the corner and saw Maya and Kestra.

"Kestra?" Laura asked gently as she approached. Kestra looked up and began wiping the tears out of her eyes.

"I'm good. I'm good," she insisted as she shook her head vigorously, "and you shouldn't be walking around. You should be resting." Laura just tilted her head and frowned.

"We don't know why the Pegasus isn't coming," she started to say.

"I know," Kestra said dismissively, "Maya's already said as much. You'll forgive me if I can't be as optimistic about it as you are." Laura was taken aback by the sudden coldness in Kestra's tone. She waved Maya away as she came to look squarely at Kestra.

"Kestra, we're only trying to help," Laura said softly, "we're so close. You can't lose hope now." Kestra laughed bitterly as she looked up at the ceiling.

"Hope," she said sarcastically, "Laura I don't know what I've been operating on, but it isn't hope. You have your gods to tell you what to do and explain all the things that go wrong in your life, and that's great Laura. Good for you. But I don't have gods. There is nothing out there to explain why everyone I love is constantly ripped away from me. Your gods can't explain why Thad died, or why I was brought here, or why Pegasus isn't coming. Your gods can't tell me where Lee is!" Kestra was shouting by the end of her rant and Laura was watching her with wide eyes. Laura's eyes had glazed with tears as she listened to Kestra. A few men, including Sam, came around the corner to see what was going on. Laura waved them away impatiently, but Sam didn't go. He looked pointedly at Laura until she nodded.

"Kestra?" he asked. Kestra turned to face him with red eyes. She just stared at him and waited for him to talk.

"I know," he said tentatively, "I know what it's like to not know." Kestra blinked as tears continued to fall and choked back another sob. Sam took a step forward. "I don't know where Kara is… or if she's alive," he continued, his voice shaking slightly. Kestra put a hand on his forearm and took a shaky breath. "But I don't know that she's dead, and that keeps me going. We have to fight… for them. We have to hope." Kestra shook her head.

"I'm tired of fighting, Sam," she wept, "I haven't had a home for four years. All I do is fight, and I'm tired. Lee is gone, and I don't even know what I've been fighting for." Sam shook his head.

"You have a home, Kestra," he said as he pulled her face up to meet his eyes, "we are your home: Laura, me, the Chief and Cally, and Lee. We're your home now. I don't know where you came from, but you're here now."

"You Sam?" she asked, "you hated me as soon as Kara told you what I was. I'll never belong in this fleet, because every time someone finds out who I am I have to fight all over again."

"No you don't," Sam said, "you have us now. When the Chief and Jammer found out you didn't fight alone. Laura defended you. You never have to be alone again, Kestra. That's what you fight for. You fight for the people you love, and you keep going for them." Sam turned back to Laura. Tears were streaming down her eyes as she nodded. Kestra took a shaky breath. "And when you can't fight anymore… we'll fight for you." Sam took her hand and squeezed it gently. Kestra nodded and flung herself into Sam's arms before he could see the fresh set of tears rolling down her cheeks. Sam held her tightly until she was done crying. Kestra pushed away from him and wiped her tears away. She looked up at Sam and did her best to smile.

"Thank you," she whispered. Sam nodded.

"Any time," he said, "we're gonna need you tomorrow." Kestra sucked in a breath and nodded.

"I'll be ready," she said with as much confidence as she could muster. Sam smiled, nodded, and left. Kestra turned to Laura. "I'm sorry," she said measuredly to avoid provoking more tears. Laura shook her head with a smile.

"You don't have to be sorry," she said as she approached her, "sometimes I forget just how much you've been through. I'm sorry if I ask too much of you. You've always been so strong… resilient." Kestra smiled.

"It's a comfort to have friends like you… and Sam. I never thought I'd be able to depend on anyone but myself again," Kestra said, "I guess it's hard to let go of what little control I have." Laura chuckled.

"Don't I know it," she said, "I'm still holding on for dear life." She put her arms around Kestra, and they shared a hug.

"Now, it's my job to make sure you get your rest. Bill Adama will be very upset if I let you die before he's had a chance to save you," Kestra said mischievously. Laura pulled back abruptly.

"What is that supposed to mean?," she asked. Kestra laughed.

"Nothing," she said as she walked toward the exit, "come one. We have a big day to prepare for."

"Kestra," Laura called as she followed stiffly, "I wanted to talk to you about that. I have a favor to ask you."