A/N: Obviously, this is now gonna be totally AU from the series. I'm still mad about the end of episode four, so I'm retreating to my happy little fanfic universe where everything goes exactly the way I want it to. Thanks to everyone who's also coming along for the ride and has left me feedback. Comments, concerns, and questions are very much appreciated
Sam and Kacey were still asleep when she got back, so Kara was able to take a shower and get dressed in peace. Once she was ready, she started getting Kacey's clothes together, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Helo was in the hall.
"You're early," Kara told him. He was supposed to be babysitting Kacey for the morning.
"Tigh wants me over on the Pegasus this morning; we're trying to do crew coordination. I would have given you more notice if I had it."
Kara nodded. "I know. I'll find someone else."
"Sorry," Helo told her as he headed back down the hall.
"What's the matter?" Sam sleepily asked as Kara shut the door.
"I need to find someone else to watch Kacey."
"Just leave her here."
"You're supposed to be recovering, not chasing after a little girl. There's gotta be someone else not on shift who wouldn't mind."
"You could always stop by the Tigh's quarters."
She sent him a murderous look. "For frak's sake, I am NOT leaving her with Ellen."
Sam laughed. "I can take care of her Kara, I swear. I'm doing better. You can even make jokes without causing pain."
She sighed. There really wasn't a better alternative at the moment. "I just don't want you to wind up back in the Life Station."
"Your concern is noted. Now go get your ass in a plane."
After breakfast in the mess – and after Sam cleaned breakfast off of Kacey's face – he decided a little walking tour of the hangar deck might be fun. Growing up on Galactica, the kid was destined to work with fighters in some capacity, so why not start her early?
"You're going to really have to impress Mommy before she lets you in one of those," Sam told her, pointing to one of the MarkVII fighters that was by the ladder down to the deck. "Those aren't for your average nugget."
"Raptors are better anyway," Sharon said as she approached them. She was in off-duty tanks and sweats, having been doing some maintenance. "What are you guys doing down here?"
"Oh, we're just poking around a bit while Kara's on duty."
"How are you doing?" she asked him. Sam smiled.
"The Doc's got some REALLY nice pills. Okay, Kacey, which planes do you like better? Vipers or Raptors?"
The little girl grinned. "Vipers!"
Sharon rolled her eyes. "You guys are corrupting the poor girl already."
"I think Kara's already gotten her in a cockpit."
"Why am I not surprised? Come here, sweetie," she told Kacey, picking her up. "You want the grand tour from an actual pilot?"
Sam pretended to stab himself in the shoulder. "That cut deep."
"Right, C-Buck."
They walked around the deck together, looking at the Vipers and Raptors and random parts that were lying around. One of the MarkIIs was getting a total engine overhaul, and Kacey giggled as she watched them use a crane to lift the huge piece of machinery up to its spot on the fighter.
"Okay, last but not least," Sharon told her as they walked over to a just-arrived Raptor. "This girl just came over from Pegasus. Brought the Commander for a meeting with the Admiral."
"Grandpa?" Kacey asked.
Sharon smiled. "Yeah. Admiral Grandpa."
"Hey," a voice yelled, and Sharon looked up to see that the Raptor's pilot and ECO were standing in the craft's hatch. "Get the frak away from my ship." She put Kacey down.
"What's your deal?" Anders asked, stepping forward, but Sharon lightly put a hand on his chest to stop him.
"Just leave it."
"Why don't you take your own advice?" the other pilot suggested. "And leave."
"They might have let you out of that cage, dressed you up all nice and pretty in a uniform, and put pips on your collar," the first continued, "But you're still nothing but a Gods damn skin-job."
"Skin-job or not, as you so eloquently put it," Sam spat, "She risked herself to save a lot of people on New Caprica."
"Yeah, right, like they were actually going to kill her."
"Sam, let's just go," Sharon said. "They're not worth your time. Come on, Kacey." She reached for the little girl's hand.
"Yeah, you and the frakking Cybrid get out of here." That was the last straw.
"What did you call her?" Sam asked.
"A. Frakking. Cybrid," he clearly annunciated. "The thing is an abomination."
"Don't let me hear you call her that again. And you REALLY don't ever want to let her mother hear you call her that."
"If she can't handle the truth, she shouldn't have brought the thing back to the ship. Just the idea of somebody making a toaster baby is an insult to the Gods." Sharon was done taking the high road.
"And I'm sure God would be thrilled with you right about now," she shot.
She'd underestimated how far away she would need to be to be out of the ECO's arm's reach. His fist shot out and solidly connected with her face. Anders completely forgot about the fact that he had a few bullet holes in his side until he felt the retaliation for the punch he landed.
A few of the deckhands came over to try and break them up, but it took several moments before everyone was pulled back to respective corners. "What the frak is going on?" Hotdog asked as he walked up. All four of them were bruised and bleeding.
"I don't need a frakking skin-job talking to me about the Gods."
He looked between the two sides of the fight. "Right, I get it. How about you guys take a little walk with the marines when they get here." He then moved over to Sharon and Anders, the latter of which wasn't looking so good. "You okay?"
"I'll get back to you on that," he muttered.
Sharon wiped the blood from her split lip, looking around. "Wait, where's Kacey?" Sam turned around as well, but the toddler was nowhere in sight.
"Kacey?!" he called. "Kacey, come here. It's okay now." Nothing. Sharon bent over, looking to see if she was hiding under one of the nearby ships, but didn't see her anywhere around them.
"Grab everyone who's on deck at the moment and ask them to start looking," Sharon told Hotdog. "We need to find her, now."
TBC...