Starbuck woke to find that Rene had made him breakfast. He tried to apologize, even though he still didn't understand what he was apologizing for. She had smiled at him, said it was okay, she'd just been tired. But he found it a bit odd that she changed the topic. It was obvious she didn't want to talk about it. They had parted for the day with a hug and a kiss, but something didn't feel quite right to Starbuck. He found himself wishing again that he had Apollo to talk to, but then dismissed the idea. Apollo had been clueless where women were concerned. Plus his friend was such a paragon of morality, he'd probably just tell Starbuck to get over his jealousy.

But that wasn't what it was. Something about Crius's story had killed the green eyed monster lurking inside him. Realizing that half the men Rene had slept with probably were not consensual had silenced the jealous demon that had whispered in his ear. Starbuck had slept with plenty of women so he had no right to claim the high ground in this fight, but all of the women had been willing. He had no right to win this fight and that was what bothered Starbuck the most he realized. This should have been a fight because it sure felt like one. Rene had been angry in the OC, but now she was trying to make him feel better. Crius had described the situation well, Rene just flew away from the problem.

The problem was she didn't do that with other issues that came up. No, with most everyone else, she was dead on target and had no problem telling them how she felt, like the time she found out Jason had cut classes. As his guardians, she and Jake had been called for a meeting with Jason's teachers after school, had to leave their duties early to attend, and arrived back to the Council Chambers just as dinner was being dished up.

Rene stalked into the room shouting, "Where is he?!" She walked right up to Jason who was loading up a plate, knocked it from his hand shattering the dish and spilling food everywhere. She shoved him hard in the chest, knocking the stunned kid into the table. Thank the lords that Jake was only a step behind her as he pulled her back, restrained her from whatever damage she had planned to do to the kid. That didn't stop her shouting.

"You do not cut classes, ever, do you understand me?" Jake had to hold her back as she lunged for Jason again.

Starbuck had to give the kid credit for his nerve and a darn good argument as he shouted back, "Why not? You and Jake cut all the time when you were my age. I've heard all the stories. You're proud of it!"

The logic didn't calm Rene down, only made her lunge again and curse forcing Jake to drag her back another step. Rene just shouted even louder. "Want to know why we skipped? Have you figured it out yet since you're so smart you don't have to go to school?"

Jason did look a little scared by now, but he didn't back down. "So, you could have some fun, duh."

Rene's voice rose even louder. "No, you fracking genius. Because no one gave a flying frack what we did, if we lived or died. No one cared enough to make us go! And I swear until your dying breath, you will know that I cared! And if you skip again, that will be your last fracking dying breath!"

She shrugged off Jake and stormed from the room. Starbuck knew he probably should have let Jake handle the problem, it was a parenting issue so to speak, but Starbuck hadn't seen that much emotion from Rene since the meltdown over Gage's confession. Not even at the funeral held for those that had perished at Dilmun did she show any emotion. So Starbuck decided to take advantage of the moment and followed her.

He caught up to her as she stomped down the hallway, muttering under her breath, having a conversation with someone who wasn't there. When he got up the nerve to ask her who she was talking to, she just continued the conversation like she was talking to him, lamenting how stupid the kids was, how awful foster parents were, and that the kid was damn lucky to even be on the Galactica since he actually wanted to be a viper pilot. The tirade didn't stop until she reached the gym where, without stopping her conversation, she headed into the locker room. Starbuck decided he'd do the same and follow where this went. When he came out, she was taking out her frustrations on a punching bag. Starbuck took up the other side holding it from swaying for her and it was a good thirty centons before she calmed down. The words flowed, and Starbuck learned a lot about her views on how to raise kids. He knew he'd never have to worry about disciplining them. She seemed to have some pretty strong views on how they should fall in line, which Starbuck couldn't help but to laugh at a little since they ran so contrary to Rene's personality. She followed orders, but kind of in her own way, and the "sirs" were still surly. But he kept his laughter to himself for the most part and thought the outburst was a sign of progress.

It was the most emotion he had seen for a while other than behind the closed doors of their quarters. There, she was passionate, the pace still a bit faster than necessary as it wasn't like someone was going to interrupt them. Even the Cylons had the courtesy to not intrude on their time alone in their bed. She was more than attentive in their chambers and maybe that's why he missed the signs.

He thought things were better as Rene never mentioned the night when he grabbed her in the OC again and the sly conversations with Jake slowed, almost completely stopped. Rene and Jake began to talk out loud, where the conversations should be, and Starbuck tried to give them the space and time to have those talks mostly because the conversations Starbuck and Rene were having increased, especially those they had alone behind closed doors.

Knowing what he knew now, he should have been concerned. But he'd been clueless and he trusted that Rene would tell him if she wasn't doing well. He didn't understand that even she didn't know what she was doing. He was being manipulated, but not by Rene herself, but by her abuser, now long gone.

In public their routine was predictable, duty, details, and then time with the family with dinner and children. But once the kids were asleep, they wasted no time heading for their quarters. Rene only waited until the door was closed and locked before she would be reaching for her clothing, shedding it easily and helping Starbuck to shed his own.

The first nights in their quarters on the Galactica, Rene was almost frantic and Starbuck attributed it to her being young and wanting desperately to find some pleasure at the end of days that he knew were hard for her. It was something they had both needed after the horrors of Dilmun, to feel young and alive, to forget what they had done. Once under the covers Rene would breathe easier, and Starbuck was able to get her to slow her pace to match his. But some nights, it was less than lovemaking and more like she was desperate to find an escape. Some nights she seemed to fight his attempts to take things slow, to take the time to enjoy it. Other nights, she clung to him as he showed her the pleasure found in gentleness. He wanted to think that all of this was the normal rhythm of a relationship, but this was nothing like he had experienced before. Lately in their quarters they were doing far less talking and even more lovemaking. Wasn't it supposed to slow down some?

He needed some advice, but he wasn't sure who he should ask. Most people that Starbuck would go to for advice were against him being with Rene. Half, the male half, would likely laugh at him for being concerned that they were spending too much time in bed. The one who probably had the most information to help him happened to be his former lover. He knew if he went to Cassiopeia, he would have one hades of a real fight on his hands with Rene.

Or would he? Rene's compliance was concerning. He was a little too familiar with that coping skill. It had served him well in secondary school and the academy. It was an easy way to get by, agree to what everyone wanted, nod and smile, and then just ignore them all. Oh yes, Starbuck had perfected that talent, charming everyone, letting them think he had met their expectations while doing what he wanted behind everyone's back. For now, he was hoping that he was the thing Rene wanted to do behind everyone's back. But he had to wonder what was she ignoring? Was this all because of one quasi fight? Before the flight from Dilmun, she'd had no problem defying him. He wondered what had changed? Who could he talk to about the fights he and Rene were not having?

It was the fights that were happening to the others in the family that finally moved Starbuck to take action. Jake had shown up at the end of a cycle sporting bruises and wouldn't say who or what. Then Nik nearly got into it with an instructor at a training session, and had to be physically restrained by the others, and then put on report. That was about the same time Starbuck learned that some of the younger Caprica recruits were taking long routes around the corridors of the Galactica to avoid some officers. When he asked Rene about it, he found she was doing it as well, but she wouldn't answer as to who she was avoiding. She told him it didn't involve him, and wouldn't listen when he explained that it did.

Furthermore, Rene's nightmares were not lessening as time went on, but instead were increasing in intensity. Starbuck did some research and decided it was time to have that discussion those from Dilmun had long avoided. The question was how to initiate it. Starbuck didn't want to be the bad guy who opened up the wounds they were all trying to heal.

It seemed obvious to begin the talk with Crius, the only one who seemed able to talk about any of this. Since the night in the OC when he explained the issues between Jake and Rene, Starbuck had come to rely on Crius. It was with Crius's help that Starbuck had begun to get to know Jake. After dinners and homework which now most of the adults had as well due to the trainings being held for the Copper Squadron, the new name Adama had given the Sewer Rats, Crius had begun to set up board games and card games for most of the family. The older kids were taught the rules and Starbuck had begun to appreciate how card games could help with math and reasoning skills. Crius made sure that Starbuck and Jake were teamed up, or at least seated side by side. Starbuck had to admit that Crius had a good understanding of how to create a team and increase trust.

Plus it was Crius that had helped save Starbuck's astrum when it came his turn to make dinner for the family. Starbuck had never made a meal in his life unless you counted the ready-made packaged cardboard that they ate while on training in the academy. His first turn at the duty, Crius and Lizbet had quietly stepped in and helped, from writing out a plan for him, to showing him how everything in the food prep station worked.

Crius had also taken Apollo's place as Starbuck's triad partner for the Inter Fleet games since Apollo was so busy with his new duties. He was beginning to spend as much time with Crius as he did with Rene and could see why the man had joined in with the rats. He was a decent guy with a strong sense of right and wrong, but also had his own murky past. Crius too had spent some time in the foster system, sent off to a work farm as a preteen. It was a common narrative of the rats, no parents or bad ones, and time spent in the system before the destruction. Most of the kids and teens had a different story. Most had been at the celebrations for the armistice with their parents when the attack occurred. It was Crius that had told the Starbuck these stories one by one. His wingmate was helping Starbuck navigate the distances between all the members of the family. Starbuck reasoned Crius would be the right one to help him with the distance between himself and Rene.

Starbuck waited until a long range patrol to begin asking the questions that had been keeping him up at night long after Rene would drift back to sleep from her night terrors.

"So Crius, how long have you known Rene and the others? You didn't come from the Zakar right?"

"No, I was on one of the ships left behind. Got recruited first though, being a pilot and all. So I wasn't quite on the inside if you know what I mean, so you meet a lot of people on the outside. Plus I didn't think it was right that they gave the guys from Caprica less than a basic training and then tossed them out a tube. So I set up some training when we were off duty. Rene and Jake showed up, dragged some others along when they started to trust me. I didn't get included until I…" There was a long pause and Starbuck wasn't sure if he would continue.

"I didn't like what was happening at the parties and found out you could...Look, it's just between us out here, right? Just me and my wingmate, right?"

"Yeah, I swear. You can trust me."

"I don't want the others from the Galactica knowing. I want them to think that Lizzie and I, we met, we fell in love, that's all they need to know, alright?"

Starbuck took a micron to digest that information. It's what he had thought had happened, but like everything else from the Zakar and Dilmun, you couldn't trust what you were told. What the survivors of Dante's fleet wanted you to think was often very far from the truth.

"By my word as a warrior, just you and me talking here. I won't share with anyone else."

"I bought her for the night. Not like what you think. I had met her in those study sessions and, I had heard what was going on and found out that if I, well, got myself in on the action that I could buy a girl and then, no one else could have her that night. So when I heard about the parties some of the more out of control pilots were having, I made sure Lizbet was busy with me that night. Couldn't save her every night, but, well she's got less marks than the other girls from Caprica. From there, yeah we wound up together and yes, it's pointed out that maybe she just uses me for protection or whatever. That she doesn't really love me, but," the comm went silent again.

"Yeah I've heard that already about Rene and me. I don't think that's true though. I've seen you and Lizbet together. I mean, I'm no expert on what love is, but I think I know what it's not."

"Guess we'll find out soon enough, right? I mean now that we're here in the fleet and no one is making them ….do what they don't want to do."

"Yeah, I guess we will." Starbuck didn't want to think too hard on that statement. He knew the fleet wasn't what Rene had really wanted. He wasn't even sure if she wanted to stay in the service. To be honest, he had no clue what she wanted, which is why he was trying to talk to Crius.

Crius's comments were what he needed to start the conversation he didn't really want to have. He could understand why the Rats wanted to just forget. And Rene had been right, it did change how he viewed them. Not in a bad way actually. He was impressed more and more each day with how strong the women were, and how hard the men had worked at trying to protect them. It helped Starbuck to understand why killing Dante had been the right move. Part of him needed to know more to understand Rene better. No, he really didn't want to think about Rene being bought and sold, but Starbuck was learning that his imaginings were often far darker than the truth.

"So wingmate, between just you and me," Starbuck began again since Crius was being a bit more open and honest, "I need to ask a few things. I've been doing some research and, Lords, there's no good way to ask this. I mean, I want to know, but I don't want to know. Rene's had some rough nights and, what with the fight Jake had and Nik on report. . . Add that to some other things the family has said, I think it would help to know a few things, you know about Dante and all that went on."

"Oh man, you're killing me, Starbuck. These conversations go better with ambrosia. You know that, right?"

"How do you do it? How do you live with what happened? I mean, were you able to protect Lizbet the whole time?"

The empty hiss of the comline was more answer than Starbuck needed. He found himself mumbling an apology. "Yeah, sorry, I'm just trying to help here and you were right. Rene and I, well something's not quite right. You and Lizbet, you two seem to be happy and normal. I've been doing some research and…"

"Research? What kind of research?" Crius's voice was wary.

"Psychology texts on abuse. I've been, well trying a few things and, it was working for a while there."

"You are psychoanalyzing the rats? You think that's such a good idea?"

Starbuck had thought that himself a few times, but what he had found actually seemed to have some good information. The symptoms detailed had fit Rene nearly perfectly.

"Yeah, actually. It's working. She's doing okay, we're doing okay. Things are getting better, aren't they?"

Again, there was the hiss of an empty comline. Starbuck jumped into the silence, "Okay, so we're working on making it better. And I want to keep doing that. Her nightmares have been better but, look I'm just going to spit it out. Here, between you and me and space, I have a question that I just need to ask." But Starbuck suddenly found he couldn't voice the dark thoughts in his head.

The com stayed quiet while he tried to put it into words. "That story you told me, about Rene and Jake, who was it that put Jake on report? Is he still in the fleet? How often did Dante…" Starbuck almost choked on the words, but he needed to get the words out before they drowned him late one night, "did Dante make Rene one of his …favorites? Rene mentioned once that it was like half the captains. Is that true?"

Crius's viper suddenly took a dive away from Starbuck's. He could hear Crius cursing before he answered. "Why the frack would you need to know all that?"

"Well for one, the stuff I read says this all gets better if we talk about it. Plus, if they're still having to interact with their abusers, that could explain a lot of what's going on, the fights and the nightmares." Starbuck paused to work up his courage to ask what he really wanted to know. "In our chambers, Rene takes the lead and," he sighed and tried to continue, "she does a great job of making sure that in bed, it goes the way she wants. And I'm okay with that, really, it's just the texts mention flashbacks and avoidance and…Look I just think I can make this easier if I know. I know it sounds crude, but I think I need to know what Dante did so I can avoid being like that."

The hiss of the commline was deafening, and Starbuck thought maybe he'd taken that one step too far. He was about to tell Crius it was okay, to forget the whole conversation, but then Crius spoke. The words came through as a fast burst, like ripping off a bandage fast. "Dante liked her best. She fights back. First time was on the Zakar, more than a sectar, the longest, after that, maybe a couple of times. She knew how to keep him away from others. So Binder cuffs your thing? Yeah, you might want to avoid that and I think you'll be fine, Bucko. Look, I wasn't there for it. The girls would know better and I'm thinking if your research is right, you should ask Rene, not me. For the love of the lords, do not ask Jake."

"Okay, wasn't planning on it. Just…thought this would go easier if I knew. Dante's the one who did the damage, most of it, right? But Rene said something about…" Starbuck sucked in a deep breath before diving in deep into the mong. "She said half the captains were involved. I know Dante had a few perversions, but, how many of the others were involved? I guess what I'm really asking, are they still having to still deal with those astrums? Are there still Captains they have to deal with now in the fleet?"

It took a long time for Crius to answer and Starbuck thought he wouldn't. "You owe me a lot of drinks tonight, ya know that right?"

"Yeah, I know." Starbuck tried not to grin. The two were becoming friends, and he needed a few right now with Apollo busy with his command of the Zakar. Then he wiped the grin from his face and braced himself for what he needed to know.

"I'm not sure your command is going to appreciate you killing people."

Starbuck felt his blood chill. He'd been right. While the abuse may have stopped, having to answer to the abusers within the capacity of their duties had not. "So they are here. Some of them.

"A lot of them, Starbuck, Captains mostly and some of the Lieutenants, one of the Colonels, and I'm thinking most don't want your command to know. Look some of them, well, it was a boy's club, you know? Many wouldn't even think of trying half of what they did if it weren't for the fact that someone else started it, and sometimes it was a loyalty test. You had to play along or else. Many didn't want to, myself included, buddy, but if you didn't, then it happened to you or the ones you cared about. The rats and I, we faked fighting and we tried to make the verbal abuse seem like a joke. If I didn't play along, then it got worse for them."

"I get that, I do, but some were worse than others, weren't they? Some didn't do it because they had to. Some of them started it and kept it going, even when a lot of you fought back. So who?"

"Uh huh, no way, Starbuck, and I'm telling you no because I like you. You are family now and it would kill me, kill us if you wound up on the prison barge. I am not giving you names so you can plan a termination."

"I'm not going to kill anyone. Hey, it was Rene that did all the shooting on the planet. And she didn't shoot anyone who hadn't shot at her first." The comline stayed quiet, the defensive tactic of the family. They took the "loose lips destroy ships" to the extreme. "Look, I just want to make sure they get transferred to another ship in the fleet, away from the family. You would want that too, right? Not having to see Lizbet deal with her rapist every day, that would be a step in the right direction, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Crius answered slowly, "that would be nice. Might help Jake live a bit longer too. Nik needs off report or he's probably going to wind up doing some damage. But if we lose you to the prison barge, I'm going to do some damage."

"Just looking to get them a transfer, that's all, I swear."

"You know I don't fracking believe you, right? Fine, one name, that is all you get. If he lives and is transferred, maybe we'll talk more."

"Deal. You can trust me."

"And if you plan the guy's termination, you better include us. We know how to make it look like an accident. Captain Pallus."

Starbuck took in the name and wanted to vomit. The Captain had been put on most of the duties involved in training the Copper squadron. Jake and Rene dealt with the man on a daily basis and it helped to explain why the recruits had been so damn quiet about how the training was going. The man had quarters just down the corridor from the family. It explained so much, and despite Starbuck's promise, he began plotting the man's demise. There were a million ways to die, weren't there?