The new surroundings had been fun to explore after being cooped up so long on a ship. Kacey happily played on the couch, singing a song to herself that her father had taught her. One of the Eights had said that it was morbid – Daddy explained that word meant it was a bad thing – but Kacey didn't know what was so wrong about rings and flowers.

"Wanna sing?" she asked Kara, who was ignoring her to the best of her ability. The ex-pilot turned away from her, walking to the other side of the room. Kacey got up and toddled after her, reaching for her mother. "Sing?" she asked her again. She wound up being deposited back on the couch without a word. Kacey watched her resume pacing.

"Frak!" Kara finally exclaimed, frustration bubbling over. She'd been prisoner in this hell for too long; all she'd ever asked for in life was a few good drinks, a few good cigars, and a cockpit. Too much had happened to her in the past two years, and now this?

Walking away from Kacey, she shut herself into the bathroom. She just needed a minute to pull herself back together, and then everything would be fine. She'd sit there with that thing until Leoben came back. There was a good chance he would die for a sixth time that night.

Kacey slid off the couch when she saw the bathroom door close. Kara had run away from her, and despite her father's warning, Kacey felt like she'd failed. She needed Leoben to make Kara come back; she could try harder next time. As she carefully began toddling up the stairs, she could hear her father's voice in her mind, telling her what a good girl she was. Pain shot through her head, making her cry out, and then she knew nothing.

Kara looked away from the bathroom mirror at the sound of Kacey's voice whimpering "Mommy!" and a distinct thud. What the… Almost afraid of what she would find, she stepped out of the bathroom. Kacey wasn't on the couch like when she'd left. She didn't see her anywhere in the room – and then noticed little feet hanging off the stairs. Her body was in an unnatural position, and blood was coming from her head.

"Kacey?" Kara asked, but got no response. The child was completely still. She bent down, about to touch her, but suddenly realized she didn't know if she'd make it better or worse, if her daughter would even have a pulse to look for. She turned away from the little girl instead, running up the stairs instead and opening the door to her 'cell'.

"Hey!" she yelled down the hallway as loud as she could. "Somebody, please! It-she's hurt! She's hurt really bad." It almost didn't surprise her when Leoben and one of the Sharon models instantly came running down the corridor towards her. She should have known he was watching his little test.

"Get back," the Sharon model ordered, motioning her away from the bars, unwilling to risk that this was just an escape tactic. Kara wasn't even thinking about that.

"What happened?" Leoben asked her as Sharon opened the door.

"She fell. She fell on the stairs." Kara just watched as they brushed by her, running into the apartment and down to Kacey's prone form. Leoben carefully turned her over, cradling her in his arms.

"Kacey? It's Daddy, can you hear me?"

"We need to get her to the medical center," Sharon told him. He nodded, scooping Kacey up. He noticed Kara as they went back upstairs, and decided that in this situation she had to be a mother instead of a prisoner or else it would all be in vain.

"Let's go," he told her, and Kara followed him out the door and down the hall.

If Kara had been thinking a little more clearly, she might have entertained ideas of trying to escape, but she probably wouldn't have gotten far. So instead she stayed to see how bad of a mess she'd made this time. Kacey was pale and still on a bed in a private room, and Kara found herself captivated by the sight. The little girl wasn't human – was one of THEM – but although she had no proof of it, she knew that Kacey was part of her. Kara had hurt a part of herself; she'd turned into her mother.

"Kara," Leoben quietly said as he came into the room as well and offered her a mug of tea. She wordlessly accepted it, and he took a seat on the other side of Kacey's bed to watch both of the girls in his life. He had faith that Kacey would be all right – she was strong like her mother and it wasn't her time yet. But Leoben knew Kara's secrets and knew what would be running through her mind.

A glimmer of a smile crossed his face. It was working.

Kara turned back towards Kacey, putting her mug down on the bedside table, and hesitated for a moment as she saw Leoben out of the corner of her eye. The look on his face was something she'd seen before – he thought he had her. She'd fooled him so many times in the past, but this time, she'd be fooling herself if she didn't admit that something had changed. As much as she wanted to hate the little girl lying on the bed, she couldn't, because she'd always promised herself that she'd never do anything like that to a child. And he knew it…Oh Gods, he knew…

She looked down at Kacey, to the bandage on her head, hiding a nasty gash. The position that the little girl had been in on the stairs flashed in her mind. How could she have wound up like that from falling? It didn't make sense…unless it hadn't been an accident. He was using Kacey; he'd created a person just to be a pawn. The thought made Kara sick. Even a hybrid deserved better; Kacey hadn't asked to be born into this life.

"Are you hungry?" Leoben asked, moving to stand beside her. She felt a pang of guilt as she realized she'd never actually fed Kacey.

"No," she quietly replied, her voice rough. He sat down with her, and silence reigned for a long moment. Finally Kara sat forward, taking Kacey's hand. "Lords, please don't take her life," she quietly prayed, wondering if the Lords would actually listen to prayers for Cylons. "It was my mistake; don't punish her for it."

She felt Leoben's hand on her bare arm. "It was an accident, Kara," he told her. "Nothing more."

Oh, if only, she thought to herself.

It took her brain a moment to process what had happened when she felt a tiny bit of movement under her hand – Kacey's fingers had moved. As Kara stared in surprise, the little girl's eyes slowly opened. "Kacey?" she whispered standing up. "Kacey, oh my Gods. Hi, honey." Hazel eyes, just like her own, stared back up at her. In that moment, Kara knew what she had to do. She'd never asked for the little girl in front of her, but she had to protect her. She'd figure everything else out later.

Still holding Kacey's arm in her left hand, Kara reached her right hand back to Leoben, wrapping her fingers around his own. She could feel his surprise, but his grip tightened a moment later, and she could imagine the satisfied smile on his face.

Kacey just watched her in silence. She finally had a mother.

TBC...