Galen was restless tonight, walking around the small quarters, picking things up and putting them down. Cally sat on the floor with Nicky, flipping through a worn book, reciting it from memory and watching him with concern.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he muttered. But he continued to prowl around the room.

Cally narrowed her eyes. "Right," she said. "That's why you can't sit still for two minutes. If it's secret Cylon stuff, just say that."

"It's not secret Cylon stuff," Galen muttered. He sighed. "You know that saying, right? This has all happened before, and will happen again?"

"It's not so much a saying as a piece of scripture," Cally said dryly.

Galen waved a hand in vague acknowledgment of her correction. "Whatever. It's just… look, I know you know about the Circle, okay? And trust me- I had no frakking clue I was a Cylon then. None of us did. And there were humans in that Circle, too. And it was wrong. And it's going to happen again."

"The Circle?" Cally asked with a little alarm.

"Not the Circle itself. But the mockery of a trial. The execution. It's wrong."

"You're talking about Boomer," Cally realized. She'd heard rumors that the Cylons wanted to extradite her. "She picked her side."

"And she brought Ellen back," Galen pointed out. "It should count for something when someone changes their mind." He looked at her sharply, and Cally flushed. "Look, I know you can't be sympathetic to her. I'm not asking for that. But there's a big difference between sympathy and justice, and Boomer deserves justice. Real justice. She deserves to tell her side of it."

"And what happens then?" Cally wanted to know. "What if they listen and they still say she deserves to die? What are you going to do then?"

Galen inhaled. "If that happens, I'll accept it," he ground out, and Cally could see the lie. "But she deserves a chance." Cally pressed her lips together and looked down at the floor. "What?" Galen demanded. "You don't believe me?"

"I didn't say anything of the kind," Cally said shortly. "Let's talk about something else."

"You asked."

"And you answered my question. Let's talk about something else." Cally's voice was hard. "How are the repairs coming? Do you think the resin is working?"

Galen glared at her for a long moment, and then his shoulders slumped in. "It's not working," he said, and his voice sounded tired and resigned. "We might buy Galactica a jump or two, but not much more than that. And that's assuming she doesn't take any hits from Cylons- which isn't a very good assumption at all."

"What are we going to do when Galactica dies?" Cally said, choking a little on the words. "Has the Admiral said?"

"There's really only one thing we can do, and that's use the baseship as the military ship," Galen said. "We'll have to move most of the crew over there, and find someplace else for the civilians."

"It's not a good idea," Cally said flatly.

"What other choice is there?" Galen asked.

"That doesn't mean it's a good idea."

"I know."

Nicky took the book from Cally and began turning the pages himself. Cally sighed heavily, watching the pictures go by. "I wish he was old enough to start learning projection," she muttered. "Get him out of this hell."

"Yeah," Galen agreed. "Me, too."

***

Cally wished the soap supply wasn't so low. The smell of tylium was strong, and it was still on her when she rinsed her hair under the water. She wished that she could use a little of what she had left, but it wouldn't help enough, and it was better to save what she had for Nicky.

She turned off the water and stepped out of the shower into the head, picking up a worn towel and catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She was losing weight again, and there were dark circles under her eyes. Her hair was uneven, and her bangs needed to be trimmed again. At least that she could do. She was thinking about finding a pair of scissors when she almost tripped over Danielle.

"Hey. How are you?"

Danielle looked just as bad as Cally did, sitting in her grease-covered overalls. Her hair was lank and dead-looking, and she had a strange expression on her face. "I'm all right," she said distantly, not looking at Cally. She was staring at the locker across from her.

"You sure?" Cally asked skeptically, pulling on her bra and underwear and then yanking a comb through her hair. Gods, she missed conditioner.

"Yeah. I guess. I don't know." Danielle shook herself and looked up at Cally with wide, haunted eyes. "Cally, I'm pregnant."

Cally froze, comb halfway through a tangle. "What?"

"I'm pregnant," Danielle repeated. "I lost track of the days and I forgot to get my shot and… and I'm pregnant."

Cally sat down beside her cautiously. "Are you sure?" she asked.

Danielle nodded. "I just came from sickbay. Ishay said the blood test came back positive."

There was no tactful way to ask it, so Cally gave up trying. "Are you happy about it?"

Danielle shook her head, wiping at her face. "How can I be happy about it?" she asked. "I want to be, but what the frak am I doing? Bringing a baby into this mess? With everything that's happening to Galactica and the Cylons lurking and I don't even know what's going on for sure with Tony and I just know he's going to be mad and…" her tears were flowing fast now.

"I guess if you wanted you could always-"

"I don't want to," Danielle said sharply.

"Right. Sorry."

"No," Danielle took a deep breath and dragged the sleeve of her coveralls across her nose. "It's a reasonable question. I just… I can't." The storm was letting up, and she was relaxing back into herself. "Although in some ways, I guess it seems kinder, doesn't it? The idea of raising a baby on the Cylon basestar… I'll probably leave the military, first."

"How far along are you?"

"Only seven weeks." Danielle sniffed again. "Isn't it terrible that I almost hope it comes to nothing? I can't bring myself to end it, but all I can think is what kind of life is this for a baby? At least when you had Nicky there was hope. Now, there's nothing."

"Do you want me to go with you to tell Tony?" Cally offered, because she couldn't think of anything more helpful to say.

Danielle shook her head. "No. I'll tell him. When I'm ready. Just… please don't tell anyone before I'm ready."

"Of course not," Cally promised.

***

A week passed by without any word from Danielle, and Cally wished she could say something to Dee. But if Dee knew, she had been sworn to silence as well, and Cally wouldn't break that. No matter how much it was killing her.

But a week later, Anthony Figurski waved the "old crew" over to the side after a shift. And as she stood there with people that she'd known since before the attacks, a bottle of Joe's finest on the work bench, Cally knew exactly what Figurski was going to say.

"I know it's crazy," he said, opening a bottle and pouring out the bitter liquor, "but I'd given up hope of ever being able to say this. I'm gonna be a father. A father! Can you believe it?" His eyes were shining as he handed out the cups. "In about seven months, Danielle and I are going to have a baby."

Galen's eyes were on Cally. She felt them, but she couldn't meet them. She held her glass up with the others and toasted the new baby, trying to forget the day she'd had to laughingly tell Jammer that she couldn't drink the toast because she was pregnant, for frak's sake.

"Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?" someone asked.

Figurski snorted. "Boy, girl, twins, quadruplets, Cylon, looks like her, gods help the poor thing, looks like me- I don't give a frak." He held up his glass, and hush fell over them all. "Right now, when it feels like we've got nothing, I've got more than any man could ask for. I've been blessed by the gods, and I hope you all know this happiness that I never thought I was going to find. It's early, but to the baby, and to Danielle. May the gods bless her and keep them both safe."

"So say we all," was the general echo. Cally's voice broke as she said it, and so did Galen's. Because gods knew, once they'd felt the exact same way.

***

"So I hear Figurski got some," Hot Dog said as he sat down at the table Cally was already occupying.

"Lovely way of putting it," Cally said sourly.

Hot Dog shrugged, completely unaffected by Cally's tone. "But true. It's nice to hear some good news for a change."

"I hear that's not the only good news," Cally said. "Rumor has it you're up for promotion."

Hot Dog flushed and shrugged. "Yeah," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't know if I should be, but-"

"Why shouldn't you be?" Cally demanded. "You've logged the hours, you've made the kills, you're-"

"Getting promoted because a lot of the better pilots are still in lockdown after the mutiny," Hot Dog said. He was completely serious now, and Cally understood. "But that's what's left, I guess."

"Yeah."

"So yeah, it's nice to hear that someone's got some good news. Real good news."

Cally chewed slowly. "You know, you talk about all these girls," she said, "but I never actually see you with any." Hot Dog shrugged. "Do you have any plans for the future?"

"Who can make plans?" Hot Dog asked. "I've got hopes, but not plans."

"Well?"

Hot Dog stared down at his food fixedly. "I'd like a family," he finally admitted. "I get it with Figurski, actually. I'm not ready for one right this minute, but I guess I don't have to start off with a baby right now. Even if I knocked some chick up, I'd have time to get used to it, right? And if I found this amazing girl who already had a kid, well, my dad split when I was a baby, and I had a stepfather. I could do it."

"Yeah? You'd be good at it," Cally said.

"You think?" Hot Dog looked at her sharply, and Cally nodded.

"You would be."

He smiled. "Glad you think so," he said, and Cally had the feeling something had shifted between them. His smile was more open, less goofy, and somehow warmer. It just felt warmer and more intimate at the table, and Cally relaxed.

Later, she thought of Hoshi telling her how much he wanted kids, and how badly that had ended. It was funny, but somehow, she got the feeling that that wasn't what Hot Dog was telling her at all.

***

The work roster was posted in a hand Cally didn't immediately recognize, not Galen's familiar handwriting. She stared at it for a long time, trying to place where she'd seen it before, and who would put her on fuel line maintenance when Viper 1927 still needed repairing. The initials at the bottom were APF, and it was only when Figurski came up behind her that she put it all together.

"You really want me on fuel line maintenance?" Cally asked.

Figurski shrugged. "It's what you're technically allowed to do."

"But Ga- Chief puts me on the birds whenever we're short, and no one's on 1927. It makes more sense."

"I know."

"Then why?" Cally turned around, and the look on Figurski's face made her heart freeze before she even registered that something was wrong. "What is it? Where's Chief, anyway?"

Figurski's concern deepened. "You haven't heard?"

"I just came on shift," Cally said by way of answer.

Figurski put a hand on Cally's arm and pulled her away out of a nonexistent stream of traffic. "Boomer escaped," he said in a low voice. "Chief helped her. He admits to it."

"What?" Cally's mouth dropped open. "When?"

"A few hours ago."

"He admitted to it?" Cally found that more baffling than anything.

Figurski wiped his face. "Boomer didn't just escape, Cally. She took Hera. I'm surprised you haven't- hey! Where are you going?"

It didn't matter that she was meant to be on duty. Someone else could take care of the frakking fuel lines. Cally was running as fast as she could towards the nursery. Please let him be there. Please let him be there. Please, whatever gods are listening, or God, or whoever the frak exists, don't let her have taken Nicky.

She burst into the nursery, startling the teachers and the children. "Nicky," she gasped out, looking frantically around. She didn't see him.

She took him. She took him.

One of the teachers stepped forward and put a hand on her arm. "Cally? Are you all right?"

"Where's Nicky?" Cally knew she must look like a mad woman, but she couldn't control her breathing and her heart was pounding so loudly she was sure it must be audible.

"Calm down, Cally. He's getting changed. Jenny took him."

As if on cue, the door to the head opened and an older woman came out, Nicky balanced on her hip. Cally cut across the room, the need to touch Nicky and be sure of his presence overwhelming her. She cupped his cheek and pressed her forehead against his, breathing in the scent of him.

"Cally? Are you all right?" Jenny asked.

She took a deep breath, and then another. "I'm all right," she finally said. "He's here."

"Of course he's here. Why wouldn't he- oh. Oh. I see. No, sweetie, he's fine. But you're going to have to pick him up tonight, right?"

"Right," Cally agreed automatically. Then her brain kicked in. "Where's Galen?"

"In the brig. Where he belongs." Jenny's face was firm. "You should have seen poor Sharon in here. She was torn apart."

"I can imagine," Cally said, and she could. All too well. She took another deep breath, and then remembered she was supposed to be on duty. "I'll be back to pick him up."

"We'll see you then," Jenny said. "And don't worry. We won't let anything happen to Nicky."

"Thank you," Cally said, but her shoulders were still tense. She forced herself to leave the nursery, to believe that Nicky would be okay and that he'd be there when she was done her shift.

She tended to the fuel lines almost automatically, her mind far away. She was just about finished when she spotted Sabrina approaching, remnants of the goop smeared across her forehead. "I heard about Hera," she said without any preamble. "Is Nicky all right?"

Cally nodded dully. "He is. I went and checked as soon as I heard, since Galen had him last night. She didn't take him."

"I'm glad," Sabrina said, and she looked completely sincere. "I'm not surprised, but I'm glad."

"You're not surprised?"

Sabrina shrugged. "Without resurrection, we need to rely on reproduction. From what I understand, the Final Five were not incapable of reproducing. Nicky isn't so much of an anomaly as Hera is."

Cally remembered the jacks Hoshi had been holding on Earth and nodded. "That's right," she said.

"I would have liked to have known life on Earth," Sabrina mused. "It would give so much insight as to why they created us as they did."

"Created?" Cally asked.

Sabrina looked at her oddly. "Yes. The Final Five created us- the seven. You hadn't heard that?"

"No." Cally tried to process that.

"Maybe I wasn't supposed to say anything," Sabrina said, worried. "But the Cylons know, and I just assumed-"

"It's the military," Cally interrupted. "Everything's classified." Because Adama knew we would kill them if we knew…. Her head was beginning to hurt. "But what is he going to do with Hera?" she asked.

"I guess he wants to figure out what's so different about her. Try the same trick." Sabrina shrugged. "I've never fully understood the Ones, even back before we began to differentiate. They're very secretive."

"Well, unless one of his secrets is that he's got copies of Ellen and Tory over there, he's only got male Cylons."

"You're right." Sabrina giggled. "I wonder if Cavil thought of that. Can you imagine what they're going to do, even if they figure out what's so different about Hera?"

The image of a pregnant Five was what finally broke Cally's brain and pushed her over the edge, and she found herself laughing without really realizing it. Sabrina smiled, and before Cally knew it, the two of them were leaning against each other, laughing so hard that tears were streaming down their faces. The laughter turned to crying, and Cally leaned against Sabrina, utterly overwhelmed.

The Final Five had made the Cylons that destroyed the Colonies. Galen had done that. Cally couldn't even begin to wrap her mind around it. She remembered the day Galen had begun building the blackbird, the day it was revealed. It had been effective, but it had been clunky and nothing like the sleek newer Vipers they'd been working with. That that same Galen had made the woman that Cally was now leaning against- a woman who felt as real as she did- was impossible to comprehend.

"Are you all right?" Sabrina asked when Cally's body had decided she'd had enough.

Cally shook her head. "I need a drink."

"I don't blame you," Sabrina said.

Cally looked at her. If, a few months ago, someone had told her that she'd cry on the shoulder of a Cylon, she would have either laughed at them or smacked them. Now, she heard herself saying, "Do you want to join me?"

Sabrina's eyes widened. "Do you mean it?"

"Yeah," Cally heard herself saying. "I do."

Sabrina nodded. "All right," she said. "I will."

***

Dee didn't look surprised when Sabrina was at Cally's side at Joe's, and Danielle even greeted her warmly. But Caroline's eyes widened in shock.

Sabrina shifted uncomfortably. "If it's a problem…" she began.

"No. It's not a problem," Caroline said, moving over to make room. "It's just a surprise. And I don't mean you." She looked at Cally, and Cally felt her stomach freeze. It was the first time she'd met Caroline's eyes since Caroline had trained the gun on her in the Memorial Hallway. She kept her gaze even, and Caroline looked away first.

"How's Helo doing?" Danielle, ever the peacemaker, asked Dee.

"Not so good," Dee said. "Not that you can really expect anything else. But Boomer also attacked Athena, and Athena is furious with Helo…"

"She should have gotten a tattoo," Caroline opined grumpily. She took a drink and glanced at Sabrina. "Sorry. I can usually figure out the difference with the Sixes, and even the Twos, but would it kill a few of the Eights to cut their hair or dye it or something? They're really hard to tell apart."

"They are," Sabrina agreed neutrally. She fingered her glass. "But regardless, it doesn't make what Boomer did right."

"Didn't say it did."

"I know."

"So, is Adama going to do anything about Hera?" Danielle interrupted.

"What can he do?" Dee asked, but she looked angry. "He can't send Helo and Athena- they're too valuable. Any pilot that could attempt a mission like that-"

"Well, what about someone like Racetrack?" Cally interrupted. "It's not like he's using her."

"You think he's going to trust Racetrack to go after a Cylon kid?" Caroline asked.

"I think he should trust Racetrack to go after Athena and Helo's kid," Cally said. "She would do it." Caroline didn't argue that point- she just looked away.

"There's still the problem of equipment," Dee sighed. "With the Galactica failing, even the Raptors have become infinitely more precious. Add in ammo and fuel and the fact they have no idea where they're going… it's just not feasible." Her scowl deepened. "Not that I think the Admiral is handling the situation well. But I can see his thought process."

Cally found herself automatically looking at Caroline, only to find Caroline looking back at her in shock. Dee openly criticizing Adama was almost unheard of. But Dee didn't notice their moment of solidarity.

"It's funny, but it's actually Helo I'm the most worried about," Dee continued. "Sharon's broken before this, and she's come back. But Helo hasn't. Not really. How much more can he take? And what Boomer did…" Dee's face turned angry. Really angry. "After everything Helo's done, he deserves better. Frak, he's the only reason she's still alive."

"Not really," Sabrina pointed out. "Galen got her out of there before the Cylons could extradite her. What is the Admiral doing about that?"

"He's in the brig."

"The Cylons will want a say," Sabrina said, but her voice was more musing than strident. "They aren't happy about what he's done. And he should pay the price."

She was so calm, as were the others, but so definitive at the same time. And suddenly, Cally understood exactly how Galen had felt when he'd first heard the news about Boomer.

***

She balanced Nicky on her hip and took a deep breath. "We aren't going to be able to touch Daddy," she told Nicky, yet again. "But we can see him, okay?" Nicky nodded. Cally wasn't sure that he understood, but it didn't matter. This trip wasn't necessarily for Nicky.

She'd never been down to the Cylon cell, and it was cold. Very cold. She shivered and pulled her BDU jacket tighter around herself, and clasped one of Nicky's hands. He didn't seem very bothered.

The Marine looked bored. He glanced at Cally, looked at Nicky a little longer, and then apparently decided that an unarmed knuckledragger and a toddler were no threat and waved them in. Cally nodded her thanks and approached the window.

The brig looked a lot like the brig upstairs, which Cally was very intimately acquainted with. But there was something different here; something a little darker. Dingier. More permanent. She couldn't put a finger on it, but it was there. Galen was sitting on the cot in the center, his head cradled in his hands. Nicky lit up. "Daddy!" Needless to say, Galen couldn't hear them through the soundproof glass.

She approached and knocked on the glass. It seemed like an eternity before Galen raised his head, slowly, like it was a great weight. She could see the guilt all over him, and she felt for him. She could guess his thought process, she knew what he'd been thinking. He came over slowly, and picked up the phone.

"How are you?" she asked, when he didn't speak.

Galen shrugged. "I am what I am," he said, and his voice sounded dead. "What are you doing down here, Cally?"

"What does it look like?" Cally asked, shifting Nicky again. Nicky was reaching forward, trying to get to Galen. "We wanted to see you."

"Cally-"

"Every night, for how long? Every night it's been both you and me taking care of Nicky. He needs us both. It took me long enough to get that." Cally couldn't stop staring at the bare cot, at the walls, at the grating. "And he's going to have us both, as long as he can."

"No. Not after-"

"Yes, after. You know what?" the words were spilling out of Cally, but she couldn't stop them. "When I found out you were a Cylon, I wanted to believe you were nothing like the man I thought you were. But you are. You are still exactly who you've been, aren't you?"

"If this is a romantic reconciliation, your timing really sucks."

"It's not," Cally said. "But… I don't know who you were on Earth, but I knew you on Galactica. And you covered for pilots and taught us to make booze and yelled at the Colonel to give you just a few more seconds to save eighty of your men." Galen looked away. "And you fought for us on New Caprica."

"New Caprica," Galen spat. "New Caprica's half of what got me into this mess. You know what, Cally? I should have known. I should have- you know why none of us believed Gaeta at first? Because it doesn't happen like that. Usually the people that are being accused of something deserve to be. And if I could just learn that- if I could just frakking learn! Sam tells me I've been around for two thousand years, and the one thing I can't seem to get is that machines are machines, and they're all just going to frak you over in the end."

"Even Nicky?" Cally shot back. "He's half machine."

"Well, I frakking hope your half wins out, Cally." He looked away. "Just go. Don't come back down here anymore."

"Galen-"

"Cally, for once in your life, don't argue with me, all right? Just do what I'm asking. Please."

"All right." Cally smoothed Nicky's hair, and he leaned his head against her. In a perfect world, she could put Nicky's hand against the glass, and Galen would make that contact. But Galen had already hung the phone up and retreated to the cot, closing in on himself. Cally stared at him for a long moment, until Nicky began to cry, and then she retreated herself.

She knew that there was justice in this, and she knew that Galen saw it- that he yearned for it. But for once, she wondered if justice was really going to solve anything.

***

It could have been me, she thought, when she caught sight of Helo climbing into a Raptor, dark circles under his eyes and grief stamped across his face. It could have been Nicky she took, looking for revenge on Galen. Nicky is a hybrid, too. It could have been me.

She looked away, trembling so hard that she had to sit down.

***

Callly heard the rumor from Figurski, and from the way he spoke, she suspected it was true.

"We're going after Hera." Figurski looked uncertain. "At least, that's what I'm hearing. It's going to be a volunteer only mission, so they say, and gods know we aren't likely to make it back."

Cally looked around the hangar bay. Fight 'em til we can't. She closed her eyes.

***

The Admiral was standing on the scaffolding, his face hard and angry, and Cally remembered the time he'd promised them all Earth. She'd believed him, then, and she felt naïve and bitter for it.

"Let there be no illusions! This is likely to be a one way trip!" the Admiral was saying. "So don't volunteer out of sentiment or emotion! There is a line running down this deck." Everyone moved off it, staring down. "Volunteers, move to the starboard side. Everyone else, to the port. Make your choice!"

Cally was standing on the port side. Her throat closed as she looked around, watching.

Dee stood where she was, firmly on the starboard side, her arms crossed. She was standing next to Helo, a pillar of support. Cally knew she would do that, just like she knew Caroline would step up to Dee's other side, her face set into the blank expression she wore for combat. Caroline had been prepared for this for a long time.

Danielle moved over to the port side, and Cally was glad. She was carrying a new life, and she should stay. This baby deserved every chance to find a new world and maybe even grow up in the sunshine. Cally whispered a small prayer.

Sabrina stepped over to the port side as well. Her face showed her conflict, but Cally knew her hopes and dreams, and she found that she was glad. But the four final Cylons, including Galen, stepped over to the starboard side. And that made her glad, too. And of course, Sam Anders was already volunteered, whether he wanted to or not. But it didn't matter, because everyone knew what his answer would have been.

Cally was standing next to Anthony Figurski. She looked at him, his worn face, his gray hair, and the resignation in his eyes. She could see his thought process. There would be no Chief Tyrol on this mission; whatever he did, launching Vipers wouldn't be it. But this was a one-way trip, not a suicide mission. There was a chance it could succeed, so they needed a deck chief. Figurski began to move, and Cally caught his arm.

"No," she told him, pulling him back. "You have Danielle and the baby."

Figurski's face was set. "And you have Nicky, who's already here and alive. Any argument you give me is only applied doubly to you."

"It doesn't matter," Cally informed him, pushing him back onto the port side. "I'm going."

He didn't argue.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. And for a minute, it all flashed around her. Her first day on Galactica, the home it had become, the hangar deck, the Raptors and the Vipers and the oil and grease and metal. Jammer laughing, Sonicus and Tarn joking around, and her, always aware of the Chief, always watching him, always waiting. She saw Boomer landing, the pilots laughing, the world ending, the deaths and the explosions and the electronics sparking. She saw New Caprica, she saw Nicky, she saw their tent and the raiders streaking across the sky and the mobile that had hung above the crib. She saw Louis Hoshi and Felix Gaeta standing together on the edge of a Raptor, their arms around each others' waists, both of them happy and whole. And she saw Nicky, as a baby, as a toddler, as a young man… as a crying, scared child in the hands of the Cylons, helpless and alone.

It all passed through her in seconds, and then she stepped over the line.

And when she opened her eyes, she saw that she had stepped right next to Hot Dog, and he was smiling at her. He draped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her to him.

"I knew you would come."

***

A Raptor landed, and a small contingent climbed out. Cally knew them, knew their faces, even though she hadn't seen them in over a month. She smiled to see Skulls and Narcho, but when Racetrack climbed out, looking angry and on edge, Cally ran over to hug her.

Racetrack's hug was as warm as it had been before the mutiny, and her smile was hard and bitter. "All right," she said, as she pulled away. "Let's shoot these frakkers down."

And Cally could only laugh.

***

"Cally." Galen looked haggard, upset as he entered their quarters.

"Galen, I know what you're going to say, and I-"

"No, you don't." Galen stepped to her side, and surveyed the bed where Cally was jamming all of Nicky's things into bags. "Did you get all his binkies? I know he should be off them soon, but now's not the time. Danielle and Figurski will have a much easier time with him if he's got them."

"I found two of them," Cally said. "I can't find the third."

"I'll look."

They worked together in silence, with only Nicky's occasional babbling breaking the room. And yet, the silence was hardly uncompanionable. They packed up their sons things, and then stood in the middle of the quarters, staring at each other for a long time.

"Galen," Cally began, but he interrrupted her.

"I have something for you."

He took the pins off of his coverall and handed them to her. Cally had known this was coming- it was what she volunteered for- but it still hurt to feel those two small insignia pins in her hands anyway. "I'm going to have to be doing Cylon stuff," he said, trying to make a joke of it, "and the pilots will need you, Chief Henderson."

Cally took them and solemnly pinned the one onto her own uniform. Galen took the other back from her and pinned it to her. "There you go."

"Thank you." She wiped at her eyes and looked over at Nicky. "I mean it. Thank you."

"Oh, hell, Cally." Galen reached out and pulled her into his arms, and she leaned his head against his chest. For the first time since before she'd found out he was a Cylon, this felt right. This felt safe.

"I love you," Cally whispered, hoping Galen would understand exactly what she meant.

She felt him shake under her cheek, and he pressed his hand to her hair gently. "Yeah," he said gruffly, and she knew he understood. "I love you, too."

Nicky made a noise and they broke apart just enough that Galen could pick him up. And then he was between them, his soft baby skin and his curls, his breath and hands warm on them both. They stood there as a family, saying goodbye to the life that was behind them forever.

***

The hangar deck echoed with emptiness, and one final Raptor was waiting. Cally held one of Nicky's hands and Galen held the other as they all walked towards it. Danielle and Figurski were waiting. Cally squeezed Nicky's hand.

"Okay, buddy," she said, when they reached them. "Go with Danielle and Tony, okay? Be good for them?" She hugged him tight. There was so much more she wanted to say, but she couldn't act like this was the last time they'd see each other. Nicky needed her to be strong.

Galen had the same view. He ruffled his son's hair, and then picked him up and kissed him on the cheek. "Don't raise too much hell. At least, not yet. Give them a fighting chance, okay buddy?"

"We'll keep him safe," Danielle said.

Cally nodded. "I know. I never doubted it. And make sure that Sabrina-"

"I will," Danielle said.

Galen handed Nicky to Figurski, his reluctance written all over him. Cally swallowed hard, but Nicky went to Figurski willingly, and Cally set the bag she was carrying down. "Good luck," she said to Danielle, hugging her.

"You too. Make it back safe," Danielle said. She squeezed Cally tight.

"Good hunting," Figurski said, and his eyes were shining.

Cally was about to say something else when she heard footsteps. "Doggy!" Nicky said gleefully, pointing.

"Dog?" Galen turned. Lee Adama was approaching, with Dee on one side and Romo Lampkin and his dog on the other. He paused and said something to Romo, and then shook his hand. Romo glanced at the Raptor, although Cally would bet he was listening intently to whatever Lee was saying to Dee.

Finally, Dee approached. Her eyes were on Cally. Cally noticed her bag.

"I thought you were staying."

"I thought so, too." Dee sighed. "Adama had other ideas."

Cally looked at Dee's collar and saw the pips. "Wow."

"That's what I said." Dee looked embarrassed, but not completely uncomfortable.

"Good luck, Admiral Dualla."

"You, too, Chief Henderson."

They embraced, and then Dee turned to the Raptor, where Lampkin was waiting. Danielle and Figurski had climbed on already, and Nicky was patting Jake.

Lee Adama came up behind Cally. "The President of the Colonies, and the Admiral of the Fleet," he shouted, and everyone on the deck snapped to attention. "Last Raptor out!" Lee shouted. "Anyone left, your ass belongs to us."

Dee stood on the Raptor, her ex husband saluting her with pride in her eyes. She looked confident but tense, ready to take on a very heavy load. But Cally's eyes were fixed on the tiny figure behind her, patting the dog. Danielle pointed to her, and Nicky waved. Cally waved back, and Galen put his arm around her shoulder. The hatch began to shut, and then the two of them watches as the Raptor carried their son away from them to safety.

Cally gave herself one moment, and then pushed her hair back and pulled away from Galen. "All right!" she shouted, raising her own voice to address her small crew. "Let's get these birds ready for flight!"

***

She couldn't think about Nicky now. The deck was hers, and she needed to do her job. Cally met with Helo, Apollo, Starbuck, Adama, and Tigh, wishing she had time to feel awkward. Of all the times to be brought into the rank structure- especially from a crewman- this was probably the most difficult. And yet, none of them said a word about the mutiny or what she had been doing just days before.

But there was no time to dwell. "Keeping the birds in the air won't be the hard thing," Tigh was saying to her. "It will also be defending the bays. We'll have squadrons of Marines and Centruions down there, but it won't be enough. Once we ram the Colony, every one of your people is going to have to have a gun in one hand and a wrench in the other."

"Yes, sir," Cally said, and her voice was sure and steady.

"Emergency landing protocol, you know the drill," Adama told her. "If we can get ourselves out of here, we will, and I want as many pilots on board as possible."

"Yes, sir. I can do that."

"Good," was Adama's response, and there was confidence in it. "Go get your crew ready, Chief Henderson."

Chief. It wasn't Dr. Henderson, like she'd once wanted, but even now, Cally could take one quick moment to smile. She'd been called lots of things in her life, but if she died today, she was glad she would go out as Chief.

Cally saluted and left to do her job.

***

The sound of metal joints announced the Centurions. A Six led them, her face set into stone, a gun across her torso. The Centurions had red stripes painted across them, like sashes of honor. Cally had never thought that she'd be glad to see them, but anything that made this work had her respect for the moment, even if she still couldn't stand them.

She looked away to see the Marines strapping on body armor and loading weapons. And she saw Caroline watching her.

Caroline finished loading her gun with a decisive click, and then came over. Her lovely face was smeared with some sort of paint, and her helmet wasn't strapped on quite yet. But she was smiling. Not a big smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"I'm heading this squadron," she told Cally. "We'll be defending the starboard bay. How many knuckledraggers can you get me?"

"I've got ten on the starboard and twelve on the port," Cally said, "and a buttload of grenades."

"That's it?"

"Maybe some rocks we can throw."

"Keep 'em nearby, Chief. We might need 'em."

"You got it, Gunny."

Caroline extended her hand. Cally hesitated a moment, and then took it, and Caroline pulled her into a swift but hard embrace. She released her as suddenly as she'd grabbed her, and Cally did the only thing that she could; she thumped Caroline on the helmet in an encouraging gesture. Caroline smiled.

"We're gonna do this."

"Frakking-A," Cally agreed, and went back to check on her crew.

Racetrack was going through her pre-flight check. Narcho, Starbuck, and Helo were deep in conference about the attack plan. Skulls was checking the weapons on his Raptor, Twofer was arguing with one of the deckhands, and Quince was helping load ammunition. It was such a small group. Cally thought they didn't stand a chance.

"Miracles happen," someone said.

Cally turned. "What?"

"Miracles happen," Hot Dog told her. He had his helmet off and was staring at her intently. "That's what I keep telling myself. Miracles happen."

"Not these days," Cally said resignedly.

"You never know," Hot Dog said, and then leaned in and kissed her. Cally's eyes flared open in shock.

It wasn't the kiss of a lifetime, and Hot Dog wasn't a particularly good kisser. It wasn't long or passionate or drawn out, and it wasn't a prelude. But it was honest and sincere, and when he pulled away, Cally felt her lips curving into a smile. Hot Dog watched her carefully, and then winked as he turned to head towards his Viper.

"Like I said," he said over his shoulder, "miracles happen. Maybe I'll get one."

For a long moment Cally stood still, her hand on her warm lips. But then the comm unit beeped, and she was jerked back into the reality, and a world where miracles could never, ever be counted on.

"You ready, Chief?" It was Galen's voice on the comm; he must be up in CIC with the other Cylons.

"We're ready," Cally told him.

"Good. Jumping in five… four… three… two… one."

They jumped, and immediately the Galactica began to shake as she came under fire.

***

The smell of metal, the smell of blood. Her throat raw and aching, even as she screamed out orders. Launch the Vipers, launch the Raptors. Cold metal against the palms of her hands, a gun in one hand a wrench in the other.

The lights went out on the deck, and the emergency power kicked in.

It was a nightmare; a nightmare of waiting and bullets, of Cylons and explosions. Centurions attacked, fought back by their squadron and by the Centurions they had brought with them. Cally barely even noticed when the Galactica stopped shaking, because there were fast repairs to do and leaks to fix and pressure gauges that sent her flying. She was down tight vents, up ladders, hollering at her people to get on it, to get this fixed and to hold that together. They heard the sound of gunshots and the screams of the dying, and more than once Cally tensed for an explosion that never came.

She had no idea what was happening, no clear idea of who was where. She thought she saw Baltar at one point, and maybe Helo, but she couldn't be sure. She couldn't take the time. Al that mattered was doing what she was meant to do.

Galacitca shook again, hard. Cally went flying against a console, caught herself just in time. She clung to the console, forcing herself to stand. The birds were landing, and she forced herself to do that, to count them as they came in, to get each pilot to the deck safely. Metal on metal screeched as craft after craft hurtled in, far fewer than had gone out. She tried to tally them all in her mind, who had left and who had returned, but she couldn't.

She felt her stomach lurch as Galactica jumped.

There was a scream, and it didn't come from any human throat.

It was long and it was loud and it sounded like a movie that Cally remembered from her childhood, when they'd learned about whales. It drove down her spine and shattered her soul, and the emergency lights flickered and died completely. She fumbled for a flashlight, trying to yell to her crew.

One by one, flashlights came on, lighting up the darkness of the bay like tiny stars.

Smoke. There was smoke.

Cally began to run, her body protesting and her lungs crying out, but there was smoke and that meant there was fire and if the lights were out, there was no emergency sprinkler system. She found the hose and twirled the old rusty wheel as fast as she could, and then began to run.

The hose got lighter, and it took a minute for Cally to process that someone had picked it up and was helping her. The fire was burning bright now, tylium that had spilled and ignited. She aimed the hose at the base of the fire, praying to the gods they could get it out. She felt the heat on her face as the fire gained strength, and her fingers began to blister, but she clung to her hose.

There was shouting- Marines were helping pilots from a twisted heap of metal. Cally couldn't see what was happening, but whoever was behind her muttered "fak". A man behind her then, and Cally was sure that he was crying. But he held the hose with her, and there was no time for fear or for tears, only for the desperation of the fight. And the flames began to die.

Only when they were completely extinguished did Cally allow her knees to buckle, and she pitched forward. Her last conscious thought was that it was strange she never hit the ground.

***

There were beeps. She knew those beeps- slow and steady, like a heartbeat. She pried her eyes open, and was greeted with light and white. The infirmary then.

A hand on hers. Warm, very warm. She turned to the side to see Galen. He smiled. "You did good, Chief," he told her quietly. "Better than I could have."

"You did." Both hands were warm, Cally now realized, and when she looked she saw Caroline, her face dark with soot and streaked with blood, sweat, and tears.

"Am I badly hurt?" Cally wanted to ask, but it came out a croak.

Caroline shook her head. "Don't try to talk," she told her. "Doc said your throat is raw from the smoke and all the shouting you were doing. You inhaled too much smoke and they had you on oxygen, and you have a few cracked ribs, needed some stitches, and had a concussion, but let's just say that right now, you're very low priority."

"Good," Cally tried to say, but the word burned her throat. She sighed and lay back.

Galen cleared his throat. "There's more news," he said. "Good news." She raised her eyebrows, and he smiled. "Helo and Athena got back on Galactica with Hera. She's all right. And about sixty percent of our people survived. And the Cylons… one of the Raptors didn't make it back in time, but managed to use their mag locks to get on the ship. Twofer says that there was a nuclear detonation as we jumped away. The Cylons aren't gone, but they aren't the threat that they were."

"And more than that," Caroline said, "we're in orbit around a planet. Can you believe that? We jumped, and we had no idea where the frak we were going, and we're in orbit around a habitable planet." She squeezed Cally's hand. "They sent Hot Dog to the rendezvous point. He's getting the rest of the Fleet."

Cally managed to form a word. "Nicky."

Galen nodded, and a tear slipped down his cheek. "Nicky."

She was tired and sore and she was pretty sure she was drugged, but Cally felt like laughing. Nicky. Whatever happened, whatever else was coming their way, she could face it if she knew Nicky was all right and got to hold him in her arms at least one more time.

Her head fell back against the pillow, and she closed her eyes. She didn't mean to, but she didn't open them again for another twelve hours.

***

Cally stood next to Caroline, watching as the Raptors docked and fidgeting eagerly. "It feels a little like New Caprica again," Caroline muttered, but Cally shook her head.

"More like the Pegasus finding us," she said. She thought about that, that heady moment when they'd added so many to their number, even if it hadn't been easy. "By the way," she said suddenly, scanning the deck, "I haven't seen Racetrack."

Caroline's smile dropped. "I know," she said, but before she could say more, Dee was exiting the Raptor.

"Admiral on deck!" Lee Adama shouted, and they all snapped to attention.

Dee stepped off the Raptor and approached Adama, and then saluted. Adama returned the salute, and then hugged her like a daughter. Cally watched them, about to say something more to Caroline when she heard it.

"Mommy!"

Then Nicky was hurtling across the deck, and his arms wrapped around Cally's legs. She bent over to pick him up. His little body was warm against her, and he resented his cheek for a kiss. Cally complied, laughing as she did so.

Danielle caught up. "I tried to keep him in line," she said, "but somehow, I'm not sure anyone cares."

"I don't think so," Cally agreed. "Have you seen the planet yet?"

"I have," Danielle sighed happily. "It looks beautiful." She hugged Caroline. "Where's Racetrack?"

Cally remembered that Caroline had never answered, and the happiness drained out of her. Caroline swallowed hard. "She never made it back," she said, her voice hoarse. "She never made it back, and I never got the chance to tell her,…"

Cally closed her eyes, hugging Nicky tighter and burying her face in his shoulder. There were some things this miracle couldn't fix after all.

***

It had been Racetrack's Raptor that had nuked the Colony, and Racetrack was being hailed as a hero. They had Racetrack's funeral on the new Earth. "She would have liked that," Dee said, wiping her eyes. The crowds had gone, it was just Dee, Danielle, Seelix, Caroline, and Cally. "She would have liked this."

"Although she would have hated not flying," Danielle added.

Caroline nodded glumly and drifted off. Cally watched her with concern. "Will she be all right?"

"It will take time," Danielle said with a sigh. "Racetrack was really her best friend."

"We've all lost best friends," Seelix said quietly. "I miss Jean. When Jean was around, I never felt alone."

"Felix," Dee added quietly. "And Billy. Gods, the two of them and their ideals… I hope they're in the afterlife changing the world."

"Sarah," Danielle said. "She never made it off New Caprica, because she had to help everyone else first. I have no idea how many lives she saved."

"Jammer," Cally said, "and Louis. Both of them were there when I really thought I had nothing left to live for, and they made me realize I had hope. That there was still life."

"To all of them," Dee said, her voice cracking. "To all those best friends, living and dead."

They didn't have glasses to raise or drinks to toast with, but if they had, they would have. And Cally heard herself saying the words Racetrack had said that night months ago:

"We're all frak-ups, and we're all heroes. And we all pay the price. So say we all."