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Author: JPBryant
Characters: Sharon/Helo
Rating: Mature, for descriptions of violence, language and sexual situations.
Spoilers: Through 'A Measure of Salvation", everything after that is AU.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Summary: After rescuing Hera from the Cylons, Helo and Sharon try to start a new life. Set after "A Measure of Salvation", it goes completely AU after that.
A/N: The ninth of seventeen chapters to the story, I'll be posting them as I finish them. Thanks to wintergreen126, Lightn, and Jazmin22 - I can't thank them enough for all the time they put into helping me with this.

Chapter 9

He stared out through the falling rain to the mountains beyond, where the uppermost trees had already felt the effects of the changing seasons. The brilliant yellows and oranges spread out from the peaks of the hills, and soon the valley itself would be painted in autumnal hues. Sitting in the doorway of the temple and waiting for the storm to pass over, he wondered where the last two months had gone.

A flash of lightning in the clouds above was followed by a slow rolling thunder that made its way through the valley. He rested against the white stonework, just inside the temple and only feet from the pouring rain. The rain splashed against the outside walls, filling the air with its sound, while the inside of the temple remained perfectly silent.

Looking into the sky, he guessed it would be another hour or two before the rain let up and he could return home. The storm was not unlike the others that had come through in the past week, though this one had brought a chill the others had not. He wished he could tell Sharon that he would be late returning, but the radios had died and he had yet to find replacements.

He contemplated heading out into the storm, but there was no real rush beyond his own desire to be with his family. It was his fifth trip down into the town, and he had yet to see any sign of survivors or Cylons during any of them. The speck he had watched from the trees more than a month ago had never surfaced again, though the memory stayed fresh in his mind.

Turning away from the rain, he wandered back into the temple and walked over to the statue of Hestia.

A stop at the temple during each of his trips down had become part of a ritual for him. He had even managed to convince Sharon to spend a few evenings telling him stories of the goddess he had forgotten from his youth. And though his belief was closer to a guess than faith, it was quite possible he was the last living human to worship the goddess of hearth and home.

Setting his pack on the floor, he reached inside and searched for something suitable to offer. Pulling out a can of chili, he hoped Hestia would somehow know how much he liked it, and thus not find insult in its offering. He was always torn between leaving the best or worst of his salvage at the foot of the shrine; after all, the gods could hardly be fastidious these days about who paid tribute or how they did it.

Turning back to the altar, he placed it beside the cans of corn and soup he had left during his earlier trips.

The sound of the storm was barely audible from where he stood in the center of the pantheon. But looking out the doors, he saw the rain had started falling harder, and another flash of lightning was followed by its companion thunder. He thought of Sharon and Hera back at the house, remembering how his daughter had looked as she slept in her mother's arms that morning.

Walking back to the doorway, he took a seat on the stone floor and waited patiently. Reaching out into the rain, he smiled to himself as the drops of rains splashed off his palm and pooled in the lines of his hand

---

"Helo!" Hera shouted, scrambling as best she could off the porch and running towards him. Her gate was awkward, lacking the appropriate coordination required to advance so quickly, and he moved to intercept her before the inevitable fall. Catching her mid-stride, he scooped her off the ground and into his arms.

"Where you going, kiddo?" he asked, squeezing her tightly.

"Up!" Hera exclaimed, pointing towards the sky.

The sun sat low on the horizon, and the rain that had kept him waiting inside the temple had passed, leaving clear blue skies above them.

Sharon made her way slowly down from the house, smiling at the sight of their daughter in his arms. Wearing her grey sweats, a white shawl was draped over her shoulders to ward off the cool fall air. She pulled the shawl tighter as she approached, then crossed her arms over her stomach to try and warm herself. The bulge in her mid-section could no longer be mistaken for anything but what it was, and he wondered how cold it would be when their second child was born. Looking over Sharon's shoulder, he was thankful for the solar panels and the heat they would help provide when winter arrived in full force.

"She wants to go back up," Sharon said when she got close. Her warm, familiar smile seemed ever-present these days. "She's been waiting all day for you to take her back up the mountain."

"Up!" Hera repeated, pointing to the sky once more.

"Again?" he asked Hera playfully, poking her lightly in the belly.

She nodded enthusiastically and he soaked it up, smiling like a fool. She had become more and more animated each day, with new words and expressions to share with her overjoyed parents. There were still times when she would go silent and turn inwards, reverting to the child they had first met, but those moments were few and far between.

Sharon leaned in and brushed a lock of hair from Hera's forehead, still smiling softly. There was a peace in her eyes that he had never seen before they had returned to Caprica, a content happiness that followed her all day and all night. On Galactica there had been moments of joy and elation, nights of bliss, and days of success. But there had never been the completeness that he saw in her eyes now.

Looking up into the sky, he knew it would be dark within the hour. The sun would set and the stars would come out, and those fiery points of light were exactly why Hera wanted to go back to the peak of the mountain.

"You up for a small hike?" he asked Sharon, though he already knew the answer; the shawl had given away her intentions.

"Sure, babe," she said, hooking a hand under his free arm and pressing herself against him.

He looked back to his daughter. "Let's go, Hera."

---

"Stars! Lots!" Hera said, pointing excitedly into the heavens. "Look mommy!"

He laughed quietly to himself as she gestured at the sky; she had only started pointing days ago, and already it was one of her favorite forms of expression.

"Aren't they beautiful, Hera?" Sharon replied, her body tucked closely against Helo's.

They sat with their backs resting against the one room shack that marked the top of the mountain, while Hera stood a few feet away, staring straight up. If he joined her in standing, he would have been able to see clearly in every direction; down into the town below, as well as into the neighboring valleys. But from the ground he still had an unobstructed view of the horizon, where the last hints of lavender marked the end of the day. Looking up, he saw the stars twinkling against the black canvas, countless thousands of them visible in the night sky.

Sharon rested her head on his shoulder as they both watched their daughter marvel at the lights above, and he remembered a night more than two years ago when they had done the same. It was a night he would never forget, a night that had changed everything for both of them forever. And now they had returned to the place where it all began, with the result of that night standing before them, pointing to the sky.

He snaked his hand under the hem of Sharon's sweater and rested his palm against her stomach. She flinched slightly as his cold hand came into contact with her warm skin, but made no attempt to avoid his touch, taking his hand and holding it in place. As his fingers spread out over her stomach, he knew this night was different than the one from his memory in another important way. That night he had been searching for a way home; tonight he had found it.

Looking back to the stars, he wondered if his own people would ever be so lucky.

"Can you tell me where they are?" Helo asked quietly, and then corrected himself. "Where they were."

Sharon thought about the question for a few moments, then turned her eyes skyward. She searched the stars and then looked back to Helo. "Do you see Aerelon?" she asked.

"Yes," he nodded, finding the five star cluster that marked the home of the colony.

"And the blue star beneath it?" she continued.

His eyes drifted down till he found a star brighter than those around it, light blue in color. "I see it."

"There," she said quietly. He looked away from the spot they had left Galactica, and down to Sharon. She stared into the distance as she spoke again. "But farther than that. Much farther."

Helo looked back to the blue star, and his mind filled with thoughts of friends and comrades. He would never see them again, but the memories of them, and the hopes he had for them, would always be close to his heart.

Before his thoughts could wander too far, though, Hera's voice brought him back to the here and now.

"Names," she said, taking a tiny handful of Sharon's sleeve and tugging it.

"Names?" Sharon repeated, unsure of what her daughter meant.

Hera tugged her mother's arm again, and pointed to the sky. "Names! Names!"

"Oh, okay," she replied as understanding came to her. With a smile, she pulled her girl into her lap and kissed her cheek. "Which one, Hera?" she asked.

Hera pointed towards the sky, and though Helo couldn't make out which star she indicated, Sharon answered without pause. Star after star and constellation after constellation, Hera demanded the names of everything in the sky, and Sharon provided them happily. He wasn't sure from which parent she had gotten her insatiable curiosity, but perhaps it was inevitable that the two of them would create a child so eager to understand the universe.

"That's Picon," he heard Sharon say. "That's where your daddy is from."

Hera glanced over at Helo, then to the sky, and once more back to Helo. He laughed as he saw her trying to work out the problem in her mind.

"It's not as far away as it looks," he assured the two-year-old.

She seemed to accept the answer, or in the least, forget the question. Looking back to the sky, Hera moved on to another point of light, and Sharon named it for her.

His hand had not moved from Sharon's stomach, and he rubbed it gently as the astronomy lesson continued. It was something he had never been able to do while she carried Hera, with the two of them stuck on opposite sides of a steel cage.

But soon their family would grow by one, another girl, and he couldn't wait to meet her.

"Names," he said, staring up into the sky.

Sharon looked over at him quizzically.

"I like Hestia," he said, splaying his fingers out across her belly and meeting her gaze. "What do you think?"

She bit her lip gently and looked away as she thought about it. "Hera and Hestia," she whispered, digesting the sound of the names together. She stared into the night for a moment, then looked back at him with a smile. "I like it," she said. "It sounds right."

"Yeah?" he asked, smiling back.

"Yeah," she replied, leaning in for a kiss.

---

"Sharon you're too-" he started to whisper, but the sentence was broken in half when she covered his lips with hers, pulling away and laughing with delight at having interrupted him. "You're too loud," he tried again, barely able to keep his own laughter contained.

"Do you want me to stop?" she teased, leaving a trail of kisses across his chest as her naked body pressed against his.

"I didn't say that," he corrected her quietly, running a hand along her smooth side. "But if you wake up Hera we won't have any choice, will we?"

She laughed again, but this time paid heed to his warning and kept it quiet enough so that only he would hear. He wasn't sure how long they had been playing like this, but it had been pitch black outside their window when she woke him, and now the dawn's light was making its way slowly down the walls.

Hera slept in her bed across the room, covered up to her neck in blankets to stay warm, just as they were. He had yet to find a silk comforter for Sharon, but the lack of the luxury hadn't prevented the two of them from making good use of the bed.

"Don't go," she whispered, her legs running sensually over his. "Don't go and I'll be quiet."

"Are you blackmailing me?" he asked with a hushed laugh. He turned to face her, and found a smile stretching from ear to ear.

"Yes," she answered, letting her hand roam slowly down his torso. "I promise you'll be happy you stayed," she purred.

Her words and tone brought a laugh from him, just as she had intended. He quickly bit down on the sound, coughing as he tried his best to keep it inside. Across the room, Hera turned away from the noise, but remained asleep.

"We need food, Sharon," he said once he had composed himself. Turning the tables, he pulled her hands away and pressed his lips hungrily against her neck. "It's been two weeks since we've restocked," he whispered between kisses.

"We have enough food," she replied, squirming under his touch, tilting her head back to give him better access.

"Sharon-"

"One day," she said, pulling his head up to hers and whispering into his lips. "Wait one day."

"You said that yesterday," he replied, his words muted by her kiss.

"One day," she repeated breathlessly.

She was right, he thought. They had enough food. They had a roof over their head. They had water to drink and bathe in. They had blankets and fire for warmth.

They had their daughter.

They had each other.

"Okay," he whispered. "One more day."

---

It was three days before he found the willpower to leave the warmth of the house and Sharon's embrace. Autumn had settled over the valley completely, and the leaves that had been the first to change color were now the first to fall from their branches.

He walked down the main street of the town before turning onto a side-street that would lead him to his final stop before returning home. His pack was heavy with food and clothing for Hera, and he was beginning to rethink the decision he and Sharon had made regarding their stolen ship. He knew keeping it hidden and out of use was the right choice; nothing would give them away faster if the Cylons were watching. But that didn't stop his aching muscles from playing devil's advocate.

The narrow road that led from town to the temple felt as lonely as ever, though the well paved path showed few ill-effects from the years of neglect. A few stray weeds grew between the cracks that had formed in the blacktop, but the temple itself shined brightly in the midday sun.

Walking up to the entrance, though, he slowed his pace. He wasn't sure why at first, but something was out of place.

Reaching the doorway, he stopped dead, and pulled his sidearm from its holster.

A strong gust of wind pushed by him, causing the open doors of the temple to swing freely in its wake.

He had repaired the broken doors during an earlier trip, returning the temple to the condition he had found it in. But the doors he had put so much energy into fixing were now swung wide open, the opposite of how he had left them, and dead leaves had collected in the entrance.

He leaned over to check the latches and found them to be in working order. Without stepping inside, he peered into the temple, but saw no sign of what might have opened the doors.

The wind continued to blow across the valley, sweeping the leaves into the air and pushing them further into the temple. He took a cautious step into the hallway entrance.

"Hello?" he called out, keeping his back against the stone wall as he inched forward.

The dead leaves crackled under his feet as he worked his way further inside, holding his sidearm close to his chest. Slicing the corner slowly, he did his best to keep the stonework between him and main room.

The leaves swirled along the ground as another gust of wind from outside reached him. He stopped, pressing his back hard against the wall as he thought about his next move. If there was someone inside, they weren't replying.

Of course not.

He frowned as his mind worked through the logic. Of course they weren't replying; there was nobody there. In nearly three months on the planet the closest he had come to seeing another living being was a black speck to which he had bestowed life while sitting at the top of a tree.

But logic did nothing to ease his mind, as his instincts kept him from stepping out into the open.

Looking down, he checked his firearm to make sure a round was in the chamber. With his free hand, he reached into his pack and blindly pulled out a can of food, then placed the pack on the floor. Steeling himself, he closed his eyes and imagined the room, walking through what he was about to do.

Opening his eyes, he counted silently to three, and threw the can as hard as he could into the room.

A split second later he followed it in, dashing towards the nearest pillar. He scanned the room in an instant as he stepped in, his eyes and his sidearm searching for a target. The can hit far wall with bang, falling to the floor as he reached the pillar and took cover.

Nothing.

The sound of the slowly rolling can was the only sound that reached his ears. His mind processed the image he had seen as he ran into the room, and came up empty. There had been no motion, no sound, nothing out of place.

Did you really expect anything else?

He straightened up against the pillar and took a deep breath. Peeking around the edge of it, his eyes confirmed what he already knew; he was the only person in the room.

He shook his head, though he couldn't quite manage a smile. Holstering his weapon, he wondered how long it would take until he really believed they were alone.

Wandering over to the far wall, he leaned over and picked up the battered can. The lid had bent off on impact, and the can had left a trail of corn and water as it rolled away. A few stray kernels even remained stuck to the stone wall itself. The sight brought out the smile that he hadn't been able to muster before.

"At least Hera will be happy," he said, placing the can upright; corn was low on his daughter's list of edibles. He scraped the kernels off the wall, flicking them off his fingers when they stuck to him. Looking down at the mess of wasted food and brown leaves that littered the floor of the shrine, he tried to figure out how best to clean it all up.

He walked back to his pack, shaking his head again at the foolishness of the entire episode. Lifting the pack off the floor, he laughed to himself as he imagined the sight of can of corn flying through the air while he ducked for cover from a non-existent enemy.

He headed over to the statue of Hestia, looking through his pack as he walked. Pulling out a can of preserved fish, he looked up and stopped.

Gone.

He froze in place.

Gone.

Dropping the can to the floor, he quickly drew his weapon back out of its holster, and searched the room. It was as empty as it had been when he first entered, but he was not alone.

He turned back to the empty altar, devoid of the offerings he had left during his previous visits. Hooking his pack over his shoulders, he ran back to the entrance and looked out into the valley. The peaceful, relaxed feeling he come to associate with the view from the temple doorway was gone, and he doubted it would ever return.

---

"Sharon," he called out, flying up the porch steps. His footsteps echoed loudly off the wood planks as he opened the front door and stepped in.

"Here," she called from up the stairs.

Dropping his bag at the foot of the staircase, he made his way up to the bedroom. There he found Sharon sitting on the floor with her back resting against Hera's bed, a book in her hand. Hera sat beside her mother, looking away from the story Sharon had been reading to her and up to Helo.

"You okay, babe?" Sharon asked with concern.

He realized that his expression must have reflected the troubles in his mind, and tried to relax the muscles in his jaw. But the look in his eyes had already revealed his thoughts to her.

She looked over at Hera, contemplating the change of reality, then turned back to Helo.

"Human?" she asked quietly.

He shook his head as he walked over. "I don't know." Taking a seat beside her, he stared at the floor and slowly unlaced his boots. "They took my offerings from the temple," he said. "I didn't see them."

"They know we're here," she said. It was a statement, not a question, but he nodded in acknowledgment. He glanced over at Hera, who was watching her parents intently, trying to understand tones she had never heard before. Sharon stared through him as she thought. "Not Cylon," she whispered to herself.

"What?" he asked.

"Most Cylons would never enter that building," she replied, her voice as distant as her gaze. "None would steal from it."

He thought about her answer, but human or Cylon, it didn't really matter. He was human, she was Cylon, and neither race would understand why one was with the other; in the time since his first stay on the planet, he had learned that both races were equal threats to his family.

"Human," Sharon said definitively, breaking out of her own thoughts and focusing on Helo. "Maybe they're like us, Helo. Maybe they just want to be left alone."

He stared forward, digesting her words. "Maybe."

"It's been nearly three months," she said, shaking her head. "They probably don't want anything to do with us."

"Maybe," he repeated, uncomfortable with her conclusions. They were hopeful, and he wouldn't take them from her. He understood why she needed them; he understood why she wanted nothing in their lives to change.

He had unlaced his boots, but didn't slip them off. Walking down the stairs, he checked his sidearm once more, leaving the round in the chamber before stepping outside. The rest of the day was spent staring through a pair of binoculars at the town below. He watched until the sun set behind him, and even then he remained on the porch, searching by the light of the stars and moon.

It took Sharon waiting outside in the cold with him before he finally relented and went back into the house. And after they had all eaten some dinner and prepared for bed, he stared out the window while Sharon tucked Hera in for the night.

She didn't say anything when he placed his loaded sidearm into the drawer of the night stand before joining her in bed. There was a sadness about her as she held him in the darkness, but she kept her silence, drifting off to sleep without a word.

And though he wasn't sure when he finally fell asleep himself, he would remember the moment he woke up for the rest of his life, as a series of loud knocks echoed through the house.

--- End Chapter 9 ---