A/N: I was highly amused by most of the responses that I got to the last chapter. I'll apologize now to the K/A fans out there, because this isn't gonna stay a K/A story for much longer. You have been forewarned! 8-)

Kacey was quiet the next morning while Sam got her socks and shoes on so they could go to breakfast. He eventually realized that she'd been quiet for the past couple of days, at least with him.

"You ready to go?" he asked her, trying to see if he'd get a response. Kacey slid off her bed, and obediently reached up to take his outstretched hand, but didn't say a word. "Okay, kiddo, what's going on?" he asked. She looked up at him, but wouldn't answer. "Am I not your preferred company for breakfast?" Kacey considered that for a moment, then shook her head. "Well, that's a start. Did I do something?" A nod. "Wanna let me know what it was?"

"Made Mommy sad."

Sam sighed. "I'm sorry about that. Sometimes things with adults are kind of hard to understand. But now me and your mom are trying to figure out how we can both be happy living here with you. It'll be okay, I promise." Kacey nodded slightly. She knew that Sam was right; things would be okay, just not at all in the way that he thought.

"All right, then. Breakfast?"

Kacey offered a little smile. "Okay."

Kara had been right when she speculated to Sam about how the crew integration would result in a few shifted positions. Adama was letting Kara and Kat each have a squadron and both of them would report in to Lee. The ship's new CAG was noticeably absent from their morning meeting, and Kara asked Adama why once they'd finished talking business.

Ten minutes later, when Lee opened the door to the temporary quarters he'd been given, he found Kara standing in the hall. "What's the matter?" he asked her.

"Your dad told me what happened."

Lee sighed. "Oh."

"Are you okay? I mean – I know you're not, but…frak. You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do." He stepped back, allowing her to enter and closing the door behind her. "I'm not really sure what I am…Numb, maybe. I can't believe that this is real…and I feel horrible for not feeling worse than I do."

Kara frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I miss her. This shouldn't have happened to her, but…I wonder now if I actually loved her." She was surprised speechless for a moment.

"You married her, Lee. You had to love her."

He raised an eyebrow, incredulous. "You think so?" It was entirely possible to marry without love, and both of them knew it.

"That statement might not hold true for everyone," Kara clarified. "But I know you."

Lee scoffed. "Right. Why couldn't I protect her, then?! We knew the ship wasn't going to make it long before you could see the damage on the outside. She wanted to stay with me, but I told her no. I told her she had to go ahead. I sent her to that frakking landing pod."

"You couldn't have known, Lee."

"I was never what she wanted. I couldn't give her the marriage that she wanted, but I tried to protect her. She went first to be safe, so why the frak am I here and she's not?!" A glass exploded against the wall after he hurled it, punctuating that last bit.

Kara grabbed his arms to keep him from breaking something else. "It's not your fault. You didn't want anything to happen to her. You tried your best…I-I'm sorry, Lee. If it wasn't for me, none of this would have happened in the first place."

That got his attention. "What are you talking about?"

"They were after Kacey, not the Pegasus. If I hadn't brought her back – "

"You didn't have a choice, Kara. You couldn't have left her on that rock."

"She led them straight to us."

"Not on purpose. And they would have found us eventually anyway."

Kara sighed. "So if it's not my fault, and it's not your fault, whose fault is it?"

That hung in the air for a long moment. "Thank you," Lee finally said.

"For what?"

"For being you. I needed that."

She nodded. "Anytime."

They planned a service for that afternoon to honor those that had been lost. Kara stood in front of the mirror in her quarters for a long time, staring at her reflection, before picking up a pair of scissors and chopping off a good six inches of hair. It wasn't a perfect haircut, but she had wanted the change.

"What do you think?" she asked Kacey. The little girl looked up from playing with her stuffed animals on her bed.

"Good," she told her mother. Kara smiled.

She put on her dress uniform, and then considered the smaller jacket that she'd gotten from the quartermaster. It would practically be a dress on Kacey, but it was the thought that counted. Kara hadn't decided yet whether or not to bring her daughter to the service. Cally had agreed to watch Kacey if she didn't go, but if the little girl was able to understand what had happened the day before, her mother wanted her to have the chance to pay tribute to those who had died protecting her.

"Hey, Kace, com'ere for a sec," Kara told her, sitting on the couch. Kacey toddled over. "You know yesterday, when Sharon helped you feel better?" A nod. "There were a lot of other people that were helping, too. People that were protecting you and everyone else on this ship."

"From what?" Kara briefly wondered how replying 'your father' would go over.

"From…from the Cylons." Kacey looked down, silent. "What is it?" Kara asked her, gently using a finger to tip her chin back up. She was surprised to see that Kacey's eyes were full of tears.

"I'm sorry," the little girl whimpered.

"Why, honey?"

"They try and see God, but they not know love."

Kara frowned. "I don't think love is going to help them."

"Love can do anything. But I'm here, not with them."

"That's because you belong here, with me, okay?" Kacey slowly nodded. "I'm gonna go down to the hangar in a little bit, and Cally said she would look after you, all right? You remember Cally and baby Nicholas?" Kacey nodded again.

She may have understood what had happened, but she definitely didn't need to be at the service.

TBC...