Chapter 5

Sarah was lying down. She relished the feeling, as it had been a while since she had slept on a bed. This bed was not very luxurious, she knew, but it was soft, and had blankets to keep her warm.

It reminded her of Gaius's bed on Caprica. She had never actually slept in that bed, but when Caprica Six downloaded, Sarah had accessed her memories. At the time, she thought that she knew what she was doing. She told herself that it was for research purposes only; that it was necessary to learn about the humans and their way of life in order to defeat them.

But when she experienced Caprica's memories, something changed. The humans did not seem barbaric; in fact, most of them were polite and courteous to her. That is their greatest weapon, Cavil had once told her. They seem inherently civilized. But be careful, Caprica. They talk of freedom and equality, but underneath it all, there is nothing but greed and corruption. She had nodded, thinking she understood. But did she?

And then there was Gaius. Sarah did not love Gaius Baltar, but Caprica Six did. And in experiencing her memories, Sarah loved him. She saw him the way Caprica did, through rose-colored glasses. She saw his self-absorption as confidence, his narcissism as a way of protecting himself from the world. She lived for the sound of his laughter, the way he cocked his head and looked at her, a small smile playing on his lips. She would do anything for him. She would die for him. Is that what death is, Sarah thought. The ultimate expression of love?

Sarah wondered idly if she had been captured. Yes, that must be it. She had been fighting the Centurions, but she had been shot. Cavil would come in any time now, ready to taunt her. She was not looking forward to that. She just wanted to die and get it over with.

"How is she doing, Doc?"

Sarah didn't recognize the voice, although it sounded male. She didn't recognize the gravelly voice that responded either.

"Well, I managed to stop the bleeding, although she's not in good shape. You're going to have to look after her down here. I don't have the time to stay any longer."

There was silence. The first man spoke again, quietly.

"The others aren't going to like it. They're already angry that I brought her in."

"Well, how the hell is that my problem?" the gravelly-voiced man retorted, a hint of anger in his voice. "In my opinion, it was a bad idea to bring her in the first place. But it's not my place to make these sorts of decisions."

Sarah listened to the sound of footsteps as the gravelly-voiced man walked away. She was puzzled, and she had a feeling that she did not belong here. The air, the feel, even the smell of it was wrong. Wherever she was, it wasn't with the other Cylons.

"Sarah? Sarah, can you hear me?"

It was the voice of the first man. As she thought about it, he did sound vaguely familiar. She wanted to respond to him, ask him where she was. She tried to move her lips, but nothing came out but a soft moan.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Sarah felt a slight bounce as he sat down on the end of the bed. She wanted to open her eyes, but it seemed as if her lids were glued shut. Besides, she was very tired. She gave up, and focused on the sound of his voice.

"I just wanted you to know that we are all right, Laura and I. We made it out alive. But you…you might not be so lucky."

Sarah listened to his breathing. It seemed slightly labored, as if he was suppressing some sort of emotion.

"Since I might never get the chance to thank you when you're not in a coma, I thought I'd just do it now." He paused and spoke his next words in almost a whisper. "Thank you, Sarah. Thank you for everything."

The bed sprang back up as he stood. She wanted to speak, to ask him where she was, what was happening. She needed answers to her questions. But most of all, she didn't want to be alone.

However, she could not speak. So she just lay there helplessly as his footsteps receded into the distance.

Who was he? Who was Laura and…

Oh God. Tom.

*******

The power of sight was restored to her eventually, and she was able to verify what she had discovered that day. The man was Tom Zarek, and she was living with the Resistance.

The accommodations were sparse, to say the least. They were underground, she supposed, and the Resistance headquarters seemed to be a system of dingy rooms. Her room was a curtained off space in the corner, sectioned off for her privacy, or to stop her from seeing too much.

The doctor's name was Cottle. He was kind in a rather gruff way, and he seemed to have no qualms about treating her. She respected him for that. Cottle told her that she had been shot twice in the stomach, and once in the chest.

"It's a miracle you survived, you know," he had said. "That bullet nearly hit your heart. Another two inches and you would have been dead."

When he said this, she smiled. It was a miracle from God.

Aside from Cottle, Tom was her only other visitor. Some others peeked through the curtains at times, but they never came in. She didn't like the way they looked at her. As if she was a stone, or an insect. But Tom didn't look at her like that.

One day he came in as usual, smiling at her.

"So," she said as he sat down on the end of the bed, "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

Tom looked up innocently.

"What do you mean?"

Sarah laughed. A pain ripped through her chest, but she didn't care. She gestured for him to come closer.

"Are you going to tell me what really happened the day I was shot? How you managed to overpower a force of twenty Centurions? Not to mention how you managed to prevail against Cavil."

Tom looked uncomfortable.

"It wasn't very difficult," he said. "When you were shot, your body rolled down the hill. You looked dead." He laughed. "Completely dead."

Sarah frowned. "I'm not following."

"Cavil ordered the Centurions to stand down. And then he just left. I suppose your kind doesn't bother with bodies, because you know that you're going to resurrect." He laughed again, but this time with a slightly bitter edge.

"I wanted to leave right away, but Laura convinced me to stay. She thought she saw movement." He shrugged. "And she was right."

Sarah bit her lip, and wondered how Laura Roslin was doing now. She started to ask Tom, but then stopped herself, without quite knowing why.

Tom continued speaking. "You were wounded pretty badly when we found you. But you were still alive, so we bandaged you up as best as we could, and we carried you back. And now you're here."

He took a deep breath and looked around the little cell. "I'm glad you're alive, Sarah," he said quietly.

Sarah looked up at him with a smile. "Me too."

He looked at her for a moment, an unreadable emotion on his face. Then he looked away.

"But there are others who aren't glad. In fact, some of our most prominent members are very unhappy. And honestly, even I don't know what we're going to do with you when you're well."

Sarah searched his face, seeing his pain. She had always been good at reading people, but Tom Zarek was an enigma. She chose her next words carefully.

"Cavil knows I didn't die. He'll be looking for me, and when he finds me, he'll find you. It's better for everyone if I get out of here as soon as possible."

Tom nodded. He looked agitated. Sarah reached out and touched his arm. He flinched a bit at her touch, but gave her a nervous smile. Sarah frowned.

"Tom? Is there something wrong?"

He shook his head. Sarah sighed and took his hand, running her fingers over his palm. His hand was rough and callused. The signs of a life of hardship, she thought. Gaius's fingers had been that way as well. Sarah had always wondered what sort of hardships he might have endured in his past.

"You know, Sarah, I always wanted children. Ironic, isn't it?"

Tom seemed relaxed by her ministrations on his hand. She continued, applying light amounts of pressure to his palm.

"I mean, being a domestic terrorist didn't exactly provide many dating opportunities," he continued. "I knew there was no chance of settling down and starting a family. But even so, I used to dream of having children. I wanted to leave something good, you know?" Something better."

Sarah looked at him curiously.

"Better than what?" she asked.

Tom turned his head to look at her.

"Better than death."

Sarah considered his words before speaking again.

"Death is only a form of creation."

He shook his head. "Not for humans, Sarah. We're different. I've done things I'm not proud of. I've killed people. When you take a life, you develop a strong desire to atone by bringing in a new one. Besides, I didn't want my only legacy to be a blown-up building and some out-of-date ideology."

Tom's face tightened, as if he was wondering whether he had said too much. Sarah squeezed his hand reassuringly. He gave her a little smile.

"Can I tell you something?" he asked.

Sarah nodded. Tom stared at her, looking into her eyes for the first time in their visit.

"If I had a daughter, I'd want her to be just like you."

The statement hung in the air. Sarah felt her cheeks heat up, and she looked away. As he saw her expression, Tom dropped her hand and stood up hastily. She wanted to say something, apologize, but the awkwardness had opened up between them like a chasm.

Tom looked down at her, stammering slightly.

"I should go."

Sarah opened her mouth to speak, but he pulled the curtains aside and was gone. She sighed and lay down helplessly against the pillows.

She would apologize to him later. But now, she needed sleep. Her head was throbbing painfully, and her whole body felt heavy with fatigue.

Sarah closed her eyes and fell asleep.

*******

She was walking through the streets of New Caprica. The streets seemed empty at first, but she soon noticed many of her fellow Sixes walking as well. She raised a hand to them in greeting, but they shunned her.

One of the Sixes had dark blonde hair. She glared at Sarah, and Sarah felt apprehension creep up through her body. The Six leaned down and picked up a rock.

With a cry, she threw it at Sarah's head. Sarah screamed and broke into a run. She looked behind her, and found that all of the Sixes that had so far ignored her were now chasing her.

Their eyes were gleaming and malignant, flashing with rage. She could hear all of their voices, although they were not speaking. You betrayed us.

Sarah tripped and fell to the ground, her face buried in the dust. So this was how she would die. They were going to kill her, and she wouldn't be allowed to resurrect, not after what she had done. She started to sob painfully, and her tears ran into the ground.

She felt a soft hand caressing her hair.

"Get up, Sarah."

An order. She raised her head, and saw that the Six with the dark blonde hair was pulling her to her feet, wiping the tears from her cheeks. The other Sixes were gone.

She leaned on the Six, and together they walked towards the base of a hill. Sarah looked up, and shivered when she saw who was standing on the top of the hill.

Cavil stared down at her, but he wasn't smirking. His face showed no emotion but deep love and caring for her.

"Don't worry Sarah," he called down. "We know where you are, and we're going to come get you.

The Six turned to Sarah. "Did you hear that?" she whispered, her eyes filled with tears.

"We're going to bring you home."