Bright, Shiny Futures - Chapter Twenty-Six

There was absolute silence for at least ten seconds. The sound of Sam dropping his weapon to the ground finally galvanized them to action.

Lee, as expected, ran to Kara, putting his arms around her and murmuring soothing words in her ear. Sharon went straight for Michael, checking for vital signs and murmuring words of her own as she tried to stop the blood flow.

"Come on, don't die! Be strong. You can do this! Don't die on me."

But it was obviously no use. The red stain on the pine needles was growing ever larger and Michael was unable to regain consciousness. Within a few moments he breathed his last breath and the air was eerily silent. Even the thunder of the incoming storm had stopped momentarily, as if paying homage to the life that had been taken.

Sharon stood and faced Sam, her face angrier than any of them had seen it in a long, long time. "What the hell have you done? What were you thinking?"

"I did what I had to do."

"Killing this man was what you had to do?" she demanded.

"Sharon, you don't understand ... "

"I do. I know all about you Sam. I know you're one of us. Karl told me."

"Then you know what I have to do."

She took a deep breath. "We've been distanced from the Final Five for so long that we know next to nothing about you."

Sam reached out suddenly and grabbed her arm.

Lee watched as her face went glassy. He wondered what it would be like to experience a joining of minds, to be able to see and feel everything the other person saw and felt. From the look on Sharon's face, it wasn't entirely pleasant. Sam let go after a minute or two.

"He was one of us too?" Sharon asked, obviously surprised.

Sam nodded. "He refused to follow his destiny so I had to make sure he didn't stand in the way."

"So if you and ... " She stopped, deciding it might be best not to reveal who the other Cylons were. " ... that only makes four. Who is the last one?"

"You're not going to believe me."

"Try me. It's been that kind of day. I might just be willing to believe anything."

"Colonel Tigh."

"No frakking way!"

Sam recoiled from the force of the words, spoken by all three of them at once.

"I swear it's true ... "

"It's okay," Sharon interrupted. "I believe you, but wow. I never would have guessed. I wonder if he even knew ... "

"I think the more important question now is what are we going to do about this situation? Do my father and Laura Roslin know about ... " Lee stopped as he and Sam made eye contact.

Sam shook his head shamefully. "I was going to tell him but when the time came ... I just couldn't. I was too afraid."

Lee wanted to be angry with him for withholding the truth but he couldn't. He too had hid things from his father, knowing that Adama's displeasure was something to be avoided at all costs. He put a finger under Kara's chin and lifted it to make her look at him. "Are you okay Kara?" he asked gently.

"We can't let anyone know about this," she said numbly, staring as if unable to recognize him.

"Don't you think we can trust them?"

"I might be willing to trust the Old Man and Roslin ... maybe. I remember how hot-headed they were about airlocking Cylons. But that's really not the point. Your father and Roslin aren't in charge here. They can't just hush up something they don't want people to know." She drew in a deep breath. The air felt charged - ready to explode. "The United States government doesn't take kindly to murder. Even if you have good reason. And telling them Michael and Sam, not to mention you, Sharon, and whomever else is an alien, is going to open up a can of worms you'll wish you'd never touched."

"What if we just let my father and Roslin in on it and keep everyone else in the dark?"

Kara shook her head vehemently. "If they ever found out about the secret all that diplomacy they're building now will be for nothing. We'd all be treated worse than terrorists."

"Come on Kara ... "

"You don't know them like I do Lee!" she argued, breaking away from him in her agitation. "I've lived here for eight years. I know how they work. Life in the fleet was not diplomatic, no matter what Roslin might have professed. You know yourself how many times a blind eye was turned on things people didn't want to see. That won't happen here. Trust me," she said, stopping to look at each of them in turn. "You don't want to find out how bad it will be for all of us if the truth comes out."

"Can I tell Karl?" Sharon asked after a long pause.

Kara nodded. "If he already knows about them it won't matter now. Besides, we might need his help."

Sharon nodded brusquely but stayed where she was, as if waiting for orders.

"What are you going to tell Zach and Sara?" Lee asked softly.

Kara exhaled slowly. "I don't know."

"We're going to have to come up with a cover story anyway," Sam offered. "Even if we don't tell anyone what really happened, he's still dead and you're going to have to come up with an explanation for his disappearance."

"I know," Kara answered, suddenly looking weary. "I'll have to think about that. Any suggestions would be welcome."

The foursome stood, staring at one another, circled around Michael's body. Though it hadn't been said aloud, a pact had been made. One that could never be broken.

"You have a car here, right?" Sam asked Kara. She nodded. "Maybe we could make it look like an accident."

"The storm would certainly help that story along," Sharon agreed. "You could say he'd gone out to pick something up and gotten into an accident because of the bad weather."

"There's only one problem with that," Kara objected.

"Two," Lee interrupted. "One - someone would actually have to have an accident in order for the car to be destroyed or it wouldn't seem authentic, and two - even if they found the car smashed up with Michael's body inside, they're still going to discover the gunshot wound and then the truth will be dug up eventually."

"So what do we do, pretend like he never existed?" Kara said, exasperation plain on her face. "How am I going to explain his disappearance to everyone?"

"Maybe you don't have to," Sam said slowly.

"What do you mean?"

"Just say he disappeared. Went out in the storm - against better advice - and never came back. They'll look for him, but they won't know he's dead."

"That's a good idea," Lee approved. "We don't even have to use the car then. We could just make it seem like he was attacked or kidnapped."

"What are we going to do with the body?" Sharon was ever practical.

"We'll have to dispose of it. Even if they find it later, they'll just assume his attackers killed him."

"You're really rather cold-blooded, you know that Sammy? Standing over the body of a man you just killed, talking about how to dispose of it," Kara said softly, a slightly disgusted look on her face.

"Well technically he's just a machine and so am I," he answered, acerbity biting his words.

"No you're not," Sharon argued. "Our brains contain more circuits than flesh but our bodies are ninety-five percent biological. We're very nearly as human as humans are."

"Discuss it later," Kara said tiredly. "We need to get this done now so we can head back inside."

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Lee asked, noting how Kara's face had paled during the conversation. He guessed she wasn't nearly as cool underneath as she was pretending to be.

"No I'm not okay," she said honestly, meeting his eyes. "But it's like any other mission - get it done first and worry about your feelings later. I'll deal with myself once this is taken care of."

He touched her cheek gently. "Remember what I said before," he whispered.

"I know."

Sam watched this quick affectionate exchange with a strange new feeling inside - non-jealousy. He didn't think that was really a word but it was the only way to describe how he felt. He'd always felt a slow burn inside whenever Lee and Kara had been together - particularly whenever they'd touched, but now he felt nothing. Nothing he could describe anyway. Not numbness, anger, hope ... just not jealousy. Perhaps knowing his true purpose made him understand what Kara really was to him. What she'd always been - on loan. Not his to keep. She belonged with Lee. He'd seen it in their destinies and realized, surprisingly dispassionately, that it was something he'd always known deep inside, even though he hadn't wanted to admit it during their marriage.

"You guys get back to your families," Lee said, nodding at Kara and Sharon. "We'll take care of things here."

"Are you sure?" Sharon asked.

Both men nodded.

Kara seemed loathe to move, standing still and staring at Michael's body with a wistful look on her face. "Come on," Sharon said, linking arms with her and drawing her forwards.

"Family?" Sam asked quietly, once the women were out of sight. "Does Kara have more than one child?"

Lee took a deep breath. "Yes. She has a son as well. He's seven years old." At Sam's questioning look he decided to be up-front. "I'm his father. She was pregnant when she disappeared."

Sam gave him an odd look. "Are you sure he's yours?"

Lee nodded. "We did a DNA test to be sure."

Sam's face fell. "Oh. I thought maybe ... but it seems Sharon was right. It takes love to make it work. And Kara never loved me."

Lee brushed that aside. "Of course she did."

"No she didn't," the other man said firmly. "She liked me and enjoyed my company but I could never win her heart because that already belonged to you. I'd hoped on New Caprica with you out of the picture ... but I see now why it was never meant to be."

Lee caught his eye and held the gaze. "I'm sorry Sam. I never meant for us to hurt you. I loved her too, I can't deny that but there was a part of me that hoped she'd fall in love with you and forget me. What we had was too frakked up, too painful. I wanted her to be happy."

"She will be happy with you Lee. But there's a lot of difficult stuff to come before the happily-ever-after. Make sure you stay with her. She's going to need you. Don't leave her, no matter what."

"You have my word." They shook on it.

"Let's get busy. We've a lot of work to do here and the storm seems to be coming quickly now."

XXXXX

"Dad."

Galen Tyrol dragged himself from his thoughts with an effort. Thoughts wasn't even quite the right word. Visions almost. His eyes were open yet he wasn't seeing the hotel room nor his wife and son. He was seeing people, places ... things he didn't recognize. Some he did, like Sam and Sharon, but the scenes were flashing through his mind quickly, like a movie on fast forward.

"What is it Nicky?" He cleared his throat as the words came out gravelly.

"I don't know dad but I need to talk to you. Privately."

Tyrol's inner anxiety increased. His son hadn't allowed him to call him Nicky in years. This slip had gotten through undetected which meant whatever was claiming his son's attention was serious.

"Let's take a walk," he murmured. "Cally," he called across the room. "We're going for a walk."

"Outside in this storm? Are you crazy?"

Tyrol sighed. "We'll just walk the hallways then."

"Why?"

"We need to talk."

"About what?"

It was like a needle jabbing into his skull. For a brief moment he wished he could just put his hands around her throat and ... "Guy stuff."

"Oh okay." She picked up the magazine she'd just put down and began paging through it.

Tyrol breathed a sigh of relief as he let himself and Nicky out. Cally was tenacious at times and though he wanted to tell her the truth, now certainly wasn't the time to get into it with her. There'll never be a good time, his subconscious whispered. She'll go crazy when she finds out the two people she loves most are Cylons.

"Something's going on inside my head dad," Nicky began. "I'm seeing all sort of things and people I've never seen before. Pictures, visions ... I feel like I'm going crazy," he admitted, voice shaking a little.

Tyrol put his arm around his son's shoulders, noting how tall the boy had become. Soon they'd be the same height. "You're not crazy son," he said softly. "I know exactly what you're going through."

"You do?"

Tyrol nodded, his heart aching at the boy's sad eyes. "It's been happening to me too," he whispered.

"Why? What's wrong with us?"

"I'm not entirely sure Nick. I'll need some time to figure that out."

"Will you tell me when you know?" Tyrol smiled at the boy's insistence.

"I promise." Nicky looked relieved. "But you have to promise me something in return."

"Anything." Nicky's face was the picture of abject devotion.

"Don't tell your mother anything about this. Not one word, you understand?"

"Why?"

He leaned in close and grabbed his son's arm, stopping them mid-stride. "She wouldn't understand. This is just between you and me."

"Okay dad."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Tyrol squeezed his son's shoulder then began walking again. "Tell me what you've been seeing."

XXXXX

"Tell me."

The words were barely whispered in her ear but Laura Roslin heard them loud and clear.

She turned her head and looked into Adama's troubled eyes. "Something's going on."

He nodded. "Has been ever since we were on Galactica," he whispered.

It was her turn to nod. "I'm not sure exactly what but I've got a suspicion it involves your son and Kara," she said in an equally quiet voice.

"I think you're right," he agreed, peeking across the room to where the children were playing on the bed. Good, they weren't listening. "I was hoping he'd have enough sense to stay away from her this time ... "

She leaned in close enough to brush his ear with her lips. "He's never had any sense when it comes to her. Love is like that."

"I suppose you're right," he murmured. "Like father, like son."

She chuckled in his ear but the amusement was short-lived. "I've got a bad feeling about this Bill."

"About them?"

"No, a feeling like there's something really important happening and we're just seeing the tip of the iceberg. Whatever it is, I think they're involved in it."

He pulled back to look her in the eye. "You've no idea what it could be?"

Roslin shook her head slowly. "The only time I had access to a deeper understanding was when I was taking chamalla."

Adama's eyebrow raised. "Is there any left?"

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" she whispered, but though her voice was quiet, the meaning was as clear as if she'd screamed it.

"I wouldn't ask but I think we both agree this is important - too important to sit back and not have a clue what's going on."

She frowned but didn't disagree.

XXXXX

Kara took a deep breath before opening the door to Lee's room. She could hear the children giggling inside - normally a welcome sound, but now she didn't quite know how to feel about it. She hesitated for a moment then put on a happy face and tried to pretend nothing was wrong. Adama and Roslin couldn't know what happened and if she appeared flustered they might suspect. Good as she was about locking her feelings inside and pretending they didn't exist, she'd rarely been able to do it with the Old Man. He had a way of always making her honest ... whether she wanted to be or not.

She walked in and hugged Zach and Sara as if nothing was wrong. "Hey guys, did you have fun?"

They both nodded, though she could see trouble in Sara's eyes. She felt a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach, knowing her daughter was a hybrid. It explained a lot though, how Sara had often been able to know things she shouldn't and why she seemed much older than she actually was. Perhaps there was wisdom locked in her head that they all needed ... Sam seemed to think so anyway.

Sam. That was another whole story. Once upon a time he'd have been right - she'd have put a bullet between his eyes without thinking twice. Now she wasn't sure what to think. He'd been a Cylon all along. He'd rescued her twice from the other Cylons ... that must mean he was good since they certainly hadn't had her welfare in mind when they'd kidnapped her. She knew in her heart that if she'd been found to be carrying a hybrid child after returning from Caprica that she'd have either aborted it or killed herself to prevent it from living. She wasn't quite sure how she felt now, knowing she'd given birth to not only a hybrid child but apparently the hybrid child - the one humanity was counting on to lead them to peace. Maybe that's why you never got pregnant before, her subconscious whispered wisely. You weren't ready for the responsibility.

As she led her children down the hall to the room the hotel staff had made ready for her, she felt Sara slip a small hand into hers.

"It's going to be okay mommy," she whispered. "I'll take care of you."

TBC

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed this last chapter. Special thanks to oakrook, Liastra Lee, LeahLooWho, Mariel3, Kou Shun'u, Elliesmeow, Phindle, xan-merrick, gatelover, blondevor and pilotlover for your wonderful comments. Just a reminder that this is a multi-person POV story so it will change back and forth - I'm aiming to make it as much like the show as possible so I'm trying to make it read as if you were watching an episode each chapter. And remember: not all Cylons are bad. I believe the Final Five (with perhaps the exception of Tory) are good, as is Michael in this story. Plus, he's not necessarily gone for good ... they do resurrect you know. :)