Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. Some chapter titles are from the song "They Can't Take That Away," written by George and Ira Gershwin and sung by Frank Sinatra.

Chapter 1: There are many many crazy things

It had been two weeks since the remnants of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol had found Earth. With the amnesty policy, Saul Tigh, Galen Tyrol, and Samuel Anders resumed their jobs. Only Tory remained in the brig, for treason Bill Adama had decided. In truth he did not want Laura to face the woman before she died.

Earth had been a frightening wasteland where hope had hit the proverbial fan and been shattered. But on the ashes of the disaster, the people had forged through and decided to try despite the harsh conditions. Scans had indicated that the planet was not quite as polluted as they had perceived. While on the surface, Bill had given Laura his wedding ring, which she placed on the middle finger of her right hand. It was not a proposal, but an affirmation of what they already knew regarding their feelings. Earth had not been kind to Laura Roslin. When the landing party returned to Galactica, Cottle discovered that she had contracted a virus and her weakened immune system was unable to fight it.

She was dying. She was leaving him, but he would hold on until the very last. The scene in Life Station was like her vision, but instead of him sitting in a chair next to the bed, his shoes were off and he was lying on the bed next to her. They moved close to each other, laying as they had on New Caprica.

He held her to him securely, rubbing his cheek against her headscarf. "I love you."

She sighed, tracing circles into his chest with one hand. "I know that."

"I just want to make sure you remember," he stated.

Moving her head so that she could look at him, she smirked. "I'm dying, not dumb. If I don't know that by now-"

"I like telling you," he amended.

She resumed her earlier position. "That, I can accept. What have the people decided?"

Always a president. "The Quorum voted to keep Lee as president, and they approved the idea of Galactica going to search the area for another suitable planet," Bill told her.

"Something tells me you'll be accompanied by Colonial One," she assessed.

"Right. Lee wanted to help," Bill mentioned. Using his body as leverage, she pushed herself up to a sitting position, her face a grimace of pain, but one she was willing to ignore. "Laura, you don't need to-"

"I need you to listen. I've been having visions, stranger than other ones I've had. I can't explain how, but you'll see me again," she relayed, staring straight into his eyes.

"In your idea of an afterlife?" he inquired.

She shook her head. "No, here, but I don't know how."

When she lost her hold on life, he felt as though a part of his soul had left with her. His eulogy for her did not leave a dry eye in anyone who had heard it. No one questioned when he spent the day in the seclusion of his quarters.

Adama silently made his way to CIC the following morning, no one around him daring to say a word. He nodded cordially to Tigh as he stepped toward the middle of the room. Why am I still here? Why couldn't the gods just take me with her? Surviving his harder than dying, he reasoned as his mind drifted.

His gaze kept drifting over to Tory Foster. The Cylons had appointed her as their liaison, since Tigh had refused. They placed her on Galactica, intending to follow the Battlestar later to search for another habitable planet. The former aide occasionally looked up at the viewscreen, or she would look down at the panel, not making eye contact with anyone. He could not decide if her refusal of eye contact was out of guilt or disgust.

For the first three hours of his shift, nothing unusual occurred. Then the DRADIS beeped. "Admiral, we've got something," Gaeta pointed out.

The 'Old Man' looked over at the lieutenant. "What is it?"

Tigh studied the DRADIS with his good eye. "It's showing up as a Raptor, but it's not sending any codes," the colonel replied.

Dee suddenly looked up. "Sir, it's hailing us."

"Put it through. We might as well know what we're dealing with," Adama responded.

A voice that no one recognized came on the wireless. "Galactica, thank the gods you're here. This is Hannah to whoever's in charge over there today. Mom's hurt. I don't know how to dock this thing. And the Cylons are after us, but I don't know where they went."

Adama picked up the microphone. "This is Galactica Actual. We need your codes."

"That's a good recording. Sounds just like him. You guys know I don't know the codes. I'm serious. Mom's hurt. Could you please send someone to help us dock?"

The sudden and almost foreign sound of a baby crying in the background made Adama's decision. "Get me Starbuck," he told Dee. Then he looked to Helo. "Keep her talking until Starbuck gets out there."

After Dee had contacted Kara, Tigh walked over toward the admiral. "Think it could be the last of the Final Five?"

Adama's brow furrowed as he frowned deeply. "I don't know what we'll find, but we should bring a security team along with Dr. Cottle."

When the Raptor shakily landed, the admiral stood with Cottle and Tigh, watching the door expectantly. As it opened, a girl with caramel-brown hair, who looked to be around twelve, emerged from the ship. She was balancing a baby on one hip. "The baby probably belongs to the girl's mother," Cottle assessed, stepping forward.

The girl looked up at him with a sigh of relief. "Boy am I glad to see you. Mom hit her head when the Cylons started firing at us, oh and the pilot's dead."

Cottle motioned to the medical staff that had accompanied him. When he stepped inside, even his usual gruff exterior could not stop him from gasping. "How the hell is this possible?"

Hearing his exclamation, Adama and Tigh stepped over to the area. The girl noticed Tigh first. "I thought you got airlocked."

"Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated," the colonel grumbled.

Then her gaze shifted from him to Adama. Her eyes widened at seeing the admiral. "What are you doing here? How did you get out of Life Station?"

Adama blinked at her in surprise. "I don't know who you are or what you're talking about."

Her brow furrowed as she continued to watch him. "But you've got to know! You were in Life Station and they said you couldn't leave."

"I'm sorry, but you're mistaken," Adama insisted.

The girl pulled the baby closer to her. "Then you're a Cylon and I have to tell the rest of the ship before you try to replace the admiral."

Tigh and Adama exchanged glances. "I don't think this kid's playing with a full deck," the colonel suggested.

"Either that, or there's a lot more going on than we know," Adama added.

Cottle called over from the Raptor. "Admiral, I think you might want to take a look at this. Clearing the deck might be a good idea too."

Adama made his way to the Raptor, letting Tigh clear the desk. The girl moved to block Adama's path. "You're a Cylon and you're not getting anywhere near my mother."

"He's not a Cylon, but I think everybody's gonna have a lot of explaining to do," Cottle remarked.

Reluctantly the girl stepped aside and the admiral walked over to Cottle. What he saw made him forget how to breathe. His heart felt like a vice was squishing it as he studied who they had just placed on a stretcher. He could see that she was unconscious, but breathing. Putting out a hand, he braced himself against a bulkhead.

Tigh had watched the scene, looking over Adama's shoulder. "I think we've got a problem."

(A/N: Tigh's "Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated" was from Mark Twain)