Bright, Shiny Futures - Chapter Thirty-Five

Even before he was fully awake he was aware something was wrong.

Galen Tyrol opened his eyes to find the bed empty save himself, which was odd since he was the early riser of the family and had always been up long before Cally. She's gone. He fought down the instant feeling of panic and forced himself to breathe. She wouldn't leave without Nicky. His eyes darted across the room and he heaved a sigh of relief as he saw his son's body tangled up in the covers.

He did wonder, as he showered and did the usual morning things in the bathroom, what it was that had gotten her up and about so early, and what it was she was still doing. Taking a walk perhaps? It would make sense, given how much she'd loved the openness on New Caprica (if not the conditions themselves). But given the situation right now, both with Kara's husband's disappearance and the political unrest surrounding them, he didn't really think they'd be free to come and go as they chose.

The door clicked softly as she came in, obviously trying not to wake anyone.

"Hey babe," he said lightly. "What got you up so early? I was surprised to find you gone."

"I'm leaving."

He frowned. "Leaving? To go where?"

"Leaving you Galen," she said, face expressionless.

"What?"

"Shh, you'll wake Nicky."

He grabbed her arm and dragged her into the bathroom. "What the hell is going on Cally?" he demanded in an angry whisper.

"It's not like you haven't seen it coming." She crossed her arms over her chest. "We've never really been happy."

"We haven't been unhappy either."

Her face was blank.

"Come on Cally, sure it's not like it's been hugely romantic, but given the circumstances ... it hasn't been that bad, has it?"

She said nothing.

"I haven't hit you and we haven't fought, hardly at all. I've tried to be a good father ... "

"And you have been," she cut in. "But you've been a lousy husband." She hastened to explain as his face reddened. "No, you haven't yelled or hit me, but you never talked to me either. You never shared anything with me. You're closed and you keep secrets, and I can't live with that anymore."

"I don't have any secrets Cally." Forgive me the lie.

"Then tell me. Talk to me. I can see it in your eyes. There's always something there you won't share with me. Is it that I'm not good enough? Not smart enough? Not Sharon ... ?"

"Cally, I don't love ... "

"Maybe it's an affair. Are you seeing someone else?" Her arms untangled themselves and her hands found their way to her waist. "Are you in love with someone else and you're just afraid to leave me and Nicky? Because you don't have to leave, I'm more than willing to ... "

He grabbed her wrists and held her hands between the two of them. "It's not an affair, I promise you that."

"Then what is it?"

His mind spun round and round. Should he tell her or shouldn't he? The ramifications either way were too terrible to face. He was damned if he did, damned if he didn't.

"I can't tell you."

They stared into one another's eyes, equal measures of hurt and anger in both.

"That's exactly why I'm leaving."

The bathroom door, slightly ajar, pushed open all the way. "Mom, dad? You guys aren't fighting are you?" Nicky's eyes reflected the same pain they were both feeling.

They turned and began to speak at the same time.

"No, sweetie, we're just ... "

"It's okay Nick. Sometimes people just need to ... "

Tyrol turned and met his wife's eyes as they both fell silent.

"Why don't you get dressed and head down to the Agathons for a while," he said, turning back to his son. "Your mother and I have some things to talk about."

The boy looked from one to the other and back, then nodded sullenly. Tyrol sat on the bed while Cally paced the room, waiting for him to leave. Ten minutes later, he was ready. Tyrol stood and reached out an affectionate hand to ruffle his son's hair, then dropped it to a more manly gesture on the boy's shoulder, flushing as he did. "I'll pick you up in a little while, okay?"

Nicky nodded and left without a word.

Cally grabbed her duffel bag out from beneath the bed. "Nicky's coming with me."

"No he isn't."

"You are not keeping my son from me!"

"Cally, I don't want to but I have no choice. He stays with me. Of course he can still see you ... "

"There is no way I'm agreeing to that!" she shouted.

"You have to."

"Why?" She threw the bag down on the bed. "Tell me why the hell I have to agree to that?"

Tyrol drew in a deep breath. "Because I'm a Cylon. And Nicky is one of us."

XXXXX

"What's going on mommy?" Zach rarely whined and refused to cooperate, so when he did, Kara stopped everything to make sure he was okay.

"You need to pack your things. Some clothes, some toys, some stuffed animals..."

"But why?"

Kara sighed inwardly and cursed the stubborn streak he'd inherited from her. "We're going to visit some people and then we're going back to Galactica. I'm not sure when we'll get back here so you need to take everything you'll need for a while." She placed the clothes she'd laid on his bed into the suitcase with hers and Sara's.

"We're not coming back."

Kara's whole body prickled with fear and broke out in goosebumps. She turned to face her daughter.

"We're not coming back mommy. Not ever."

Their eyes held for a long, silent moment. Kara gave way first.

"Pack everything important to you," she said softly, trying to keep her voice even.

"Are we going to take Lee with us?" Zach asked as he pulled his favourite model - a Viper - off the shelf and carefully laid it in the suitcase.

"We can't yet, but I promise we won't leave him behind."

Zach frowned but didn't argue. "What about daddy? Is he coming back?"

"We'll meet him there." Sara's voice was cheerful and it scared Kara even more.

"Let's go," she said, zipping the suitcase shut and hefting it up off the bed.

She looked back at the place she'd called home for several years as they pulled out of the driveway, and silently said a thank you and goodbye. She had a gut feeling Sara was right and that they'd never be coming back.

XXXXX

Kara's heart pounded as they walked down the hallway to the Agathon's room. In light of the worldwide discord, security had been tightened and she'd nearly been refused entry to the hotel.

She had to admit she'd been surprised at how quickly the leaders of her country had lost their suspicion of Galactica and the rest of the humans. She'd expected it to be a lot worse than it had, which is why when she'd arrived eight years earlier she hadn't said anything. Only Michael had known the truth about her - she'd not told anyone else in all the years she'd been here. It was surprising they hadn't been more interested in her story now that they knew it, but she guessed maybe they had more important things on their mind. What with imminent nuclear war and all ...

Sharon opened the door and nearly fell over backwards when Kara immediately engulfed her in a huge hug. "It's good to see you Sharon. I've missed you."

Sharon's eyes misted. She knew in that moment that she was as human as she ever would be; her heart was overflowing. "You too," she said, squeezing tightly.

As the door shut behind them Kara felt a sudden chill up her spine and a vision of a ruined planet, crumbling buildings and a charcoal sky replaced the cheerful flowery decor of the hotel room. She shook her head, heartbeat rocketing.

"Are you okay?"

Kara swallowed and nodded. "I'm fine. It's just a headache."

Hera however, was not fine. She stood perfectly still, face chalky white, as she stared at Sara. "It's her," she said in a trembling whisper. "The girl in my dream."

Sara nodded confidently. "I dream about you too. All of you." Her eyes lit on each child for a moment - her brother, Hera, Kiera and Nicky.

"You have dreams about these children?" Kara asked. Sara didn't respond.

The five children stood in a circle, as if mesmerized. Their hands reached out simultaneously and joined, and their eyes all widened, as though seeing something inwardly.

"What's happening to them?" Kara asked, panic making her voice edgy. She reached for Sara's shoulders.

"Don't." Sharon pulled her away. "Leave them be."

"Are they going to be okay?"

Sharon nodded, meeting Kara's eyes. "I think this is supposed to happen." Kara's forehead wrinkled as she frowned. "Cylons are meant to communicate like this."

"Zach isn't part Cylon like the others though," Kara argued.

"He's been in Hera's dreams. Or at least, she described someone who looked like him," Sharon explained. "I'm sure he's a part of their destiny, whatever it is."

"You don't know?" Kara's eyes pleaded with her for answers.

Sharon shook her head. "I can only see so much ... and it's fuzzy. I used to be able to connect with the others and we shared thoughts but it's never worked like that with my children."

"Can you try? I really want to know what's going on."

Sharon nodded and stepped forward, placing her hands on Hera's shoulders.

XXXXX

The sun shone and the air around them was warm and humid. Insects buzzed, breaking the silence.

"Where are we?" Zach asked. "And how did we get here?"

"We're home."

He turned to stare at Hera. "It doesn't feel like home."

"Not Earth. Our new home," Sara said.

"How do you know?"

"I've been here before. In my dreams."

"So have I," Hera said.

"Me too."

Hera looked at her sister curiously. "You have dreams too? How come you never said anything?"

She shrugged. "I didn't remember until just now. But I know I've been here before."

"How did we get here?" Zach repeated, seemingly the only one curious about the fact that they'd traveled from a hotel room to here, wherever here was, in a split second.

"We're not really here," Nicky said. "This is the future. We will be here."

"If we make it," Sara said. "Earth is going to be destroyed. We have to leave now."

"Why is it going to be destroyed?" Zach argued. "How?"

"Because of us."

"This has all happened before and it will all happen again. We're at the end of a cycle now and it's time to begin again. Somewhere new, with new people."

Zach frowned at Hera, frustrated at not being able to understand as everyone else did. "How do you know all this?"

"I just do."

The five stared at each other in silence.

"What happens if we don't make it off the Earth before it's destroyed?"

"We have to."

XXXXX

"What the hell kind of stupid joke is this?" Cally demanded. "You're a Cylon. Yeah, right," she spat.

"I am."

"You are not. This is just some weird story you're making up to keep Nicky away from me."

His temper began to flare. "Get real Cally. If I were trying to keep Nicky away from you, I'd be telling people you're a Cylon. I'm telling you the truth. I'm one of the five unknown models."

"You are not a Cylon!" she screamed, losing her hold on herself. "I have not been married to a Cylon - frakking a Cylon for the last ten years! My son is not a mutant! He's human!"

Tyrol shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

Cally's face crumpled and she ran over to the bathroom, throwing up several times before sinking to the floor in a shaking heap.

"Cally, I'm so sorry ... "

"Stay away from me." Her voice was barely a whisper but the tone was venomous.

"I didn't want to keep it from you but I knew you wouldn't understand."

She laughed hollowly. "Sure, I understand. You're a machine. A frakking machine. Have you enjoyed deceiving me all this time?"

"I only just found out myself. I had no idea ... "

"When?"

"When we arrived on Earth. It was like something here triggered it."

"So they're here already?"

"Who?"

"The other Cylons. Boomer's copies and her cronies."

Tyrol shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't seen any of them."

"So what do you know?" she asked weakly, standing up and wiping her mouth with her shirt sleeve.

"I've been seeing visions. I know who the other four unknown Cylons are, and I know something bad is coming."

She laughed derisively. "Something bad is coming? Come on Galen, you can do better than that, can't you?"

"I don't know anything Cally!" His temper finally burst free. "It's frustrating as hell! I can feel something terrible is coming but I don't know what it is. I think it's something to do with being here on Earth and I think we need to leave. That's all I know."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't believe you. I don't believe a word you're saying."

"Fine, don't believe me. But you're the one who asked for the truth and I'm just giving it to you. I'm getting off this planet as soon as I can and Nicky is coming with me."

"Over my dead body."

His face set firmly. "If need be."

XXXXX

The atmosphere in the room was decidedly bleak.

"I do appreciate you coming all this way, even though it doesn't seem to have done much good." The Vice President looked apologetically around the room. Their faces were downcast.

"Is there nothing more we can do?" Helo asked.

The Vice President shrugged. "I doubt it. We can keep talking but they're not really listening, and sooner or later - sooner I'm guessing - they're going to get tired of us and kick us out. Better we lave while there's at least the pretense of civility."

"When do we leave?" Roslin asked.

"The plane is scheduled to take off in three hours."

She nodded and the room fell silent. Several minutes later the Vice President made his exit to do some paperwork and left them alone.

"You're in an awfully big hurry to leave," Helo noted, looking directly at Roslin. "Shouldn't we be trying harder to stop ... "

" ... the inevitable?" Adama interrupted. "I'd like to think we can make a difference and save lives here but there's only so much you can do when the other side won't listen. Trust me, I've had a lot of experience negotiating with uncooperative people. I'd rather not waste my time here when I've got family back there that I need to take care of."

"Other people's families are going to die if we don't do something," Helo argued.

"You're absolutely right and I wish there was something we could do," Roslin countered. "But sometimes you have to be selfish and worry about the ones you love first." She reached for Adama's hand and twined their fingers. "Our families are waiting for us and they may need our help, especially if the situation is as dire as it seems. Be selfish and get your family to safety first Major. Then you can worry about saving the world."

Helo smiled, nodding his head in deference. "Yes Madam President."

TBC