Kacey's vision deeply concerned the Cylons that had learned to trust what the little girl saw. They'd already failed at an attempt to slaughter the resistance's top leaders during a secret meeting in the woods. Two Colonial Raptors had been seen taking off from the surface as well – the insurgency had received backup. Another effort to retaliate against the recent Cylon killings by the resistance had also gone south when the human police force sided with their prisoners. Control of New Caprica was slipping.

Kara was starting to worry about what exactly Kacey's purpose was. How a toddler was supposed to have 'spiritual clarity' was beyond her, but who would she grow up to be? A prophet for the Cylons? A threat to humanity, or a friend?

"How do you know the things you know?" Kara asked the little girl the following afternoon as they sat together in the living room, working on their puzzle. It was a rather deep question, for someone so small, but Kara had no doubt she'd get an answer. Leoben had gone out for a few hours, to some Cylon meeting that Kara really didn't want to think too hard about.

Kacey looked up, and shrugged slightly. "Daddy…and I just know."

"What has he told you about Humans and Cylons?"

"I'm both."

"Yeah, you are, but…" She didn't even know what to ask, or how to ask it.

"Humans made Cylons," Kacey spoke up without another question being posed. "They're the mommies and daddies. Both are good, but together they're better."

"Why?"

Kacey got to her feet with a smile and gave Kara a kiss on her cheek. "Mommy, Daddy, and me." Kara supposed that would make perfect sense for a child. If humans and Cylons hadn't been brought together – even if it was in a Petri dish – she wouldn't exist.

"Why are you special, Kacey?"

"Because of love." With that, she sat back down and returned to her puzzle.

By the time Leoben got back, the sun was setting. "That took longer than I expected," he offered up as he came downstairs. The girls were on the couch, reading a book together. "I'm sure you two have been having more fun than I have," he commented with a smile as Kacey reached for him for a hug. Kara didn't answer. "Did you eat?"

"Yeah. There's another plate on the table."

His smile grew. "Thank you, Kara."

She shrugged, "Not like I had to cook it."

Kacey yawned, putting her head on his shoulder. "Someone looks sleepy," he told her. "Did you con your way out of a nap again?"

"I got her down for a half hour," Kara cut in.

"Mmm. That's about as good as most of her aunts can do." She decided not to think about that too much, either. The thought of any of the Number Sixes – or most any of the other models – being responsible for Kacey wasn't a good image.

"All right, I think that it's bedtime," Leoben continued. "Say goodnight to Mommy." She leaned over and offered Kara a hug as well.

"'Night," the little girl whispered.

"Goodnight, honey."

Once they'd disappeared into the bedroom, Kara got up to start cleaning up the things they'd been playing with all day. She was getting herself something to drink when Leoben came back. "She asleep?" she asked him.

"Out like a light." Leoben sat down at the table to eat his dinner, and Kara found herself voluntarily sitting at the other end, although silence reigned for a long moment. Then, something outside caught her eye. A bright flash out in the city. Another one followed a moment later – explosions.

"What did you do all day?" Leoben asked her, then realized that she wasn't paying any attention. He, too, turned to the window, and saw what had Kara frozen in surprise. By the light of the city, and of the now burning fires, ships could be seen descending from the sky.

The building rattled a bit as an explosion occurred much closer than the others. Leoben simply got up and closed the shades, then returned to his dinner. "Are you crazy?" Kara asked.

"Finish your drink." The walls shook again. She got up, going to look outside, but he stopped her, forcefully holding her wrists.

"Get off of me!"

"You're safe here. This will be dealt with."

Kara yanked her arms away. "You don't think they're going to try to bring this building down? The headquarters of the occupation? The human race is never going to bow down and let you be our masters. Those ships out there mean this will be the end of everything, live or die. If you keep us here, you're going to kill us."

In a move so fast, she didn't even see it coming, he grabbed her by the throat and pinned her to the wall. "You belong here, with me. I won't let anything happen to you. You will always be mine, Kara. It's our destiny."

The sound of at least five gunshots rang in her ears, and suddenly the hand on her throat was gone. Kara fell forward, gasping for air, barely registering the footsteps racing down the stairs towards her. As she looked up, however, she saw the face of someone she never thought she'd see again.

"Sam?" she gasped out, not sure if she was dreaming or not. He just smiled down at her as he knelt at her side.

"You can be one damn hard woman to find, you know that?"

Kara sat up, rubbing her neck. "How'd you pull it off?"

"Had a friend that thought they saw you in the medical center a couple days ago. After that, I just needed an inside edge from a friend." He tipped his head back towards the stairs, and as Kara looked up, she realized that a Sharon model was on the landing, keeping an eye on their escape route.

"You're working with the toasters now?" Kara asked him, incredulous.

Sam shook his head. "The Admiral sent Lieutenant Agathon to us to coordinate the rescue."

"Lieutenant What?"

"We can give you a history of the past few months later," Sharon told her. "Right now, we should probably get the frak out of here." Sam helped Kara up, but she turned away once she was on her feet.

"Wait a sec," she told them, heading for one of the other rooms. He was absolutely floored when she returned with a sleepy and pajama-clad Kacey in her arms, carefully holding the little girl's head to keep her from looking at Leoben's body on the floor.

"Where we going?" Kacey asked, her little voice full of fear.

"We're getting out of here, honey. We've got a new home waiting for us."

"Where Daddy?"

Kara started walking up the stairs. "Daddy's not coming with us."

TBC...