Siren's Kiss

by JaneAus10

This AU story begins when a young Kara Thrace is rescued from a nuked and dying Picon along with her best friend Karl Agathon. It follows them to Caprica and her eventual meeting with Lee Adama and relates the ways in which their lives are changed forever when her destiny crosses his. Image Credit: Detail of The Kiss by Gustav Klimt. COMPLETE.

34. Assumptions

Chapter 34

Assumptions

Following the attempted assassination of Laura Roslin, Secretary of Education, just moments after she arrived in Sovana for the dedication of a new elementary school, President Adar declared martial law and sent the military to occupy the city. A curfew was imposed and habeas corpus was suspended. A large number of suspicious persons were taken for questioning, but no one was ever charged with planning the crime. No proof was ever found that the would-be assassin had any connection to the resistance, and he was later rumored to have been an agent of the Cylon Cavil. Because he was killed in the attempt, however, this connection was never confirmed.

-Bartell, History of the Second Cylon War

.

Kara sat in the deli near her old apartment on Thursday night and waited for Jared. She hadn't told him what she wanted during their phone conversation, and that, at least, he seemed to understand. He knew the less said over a phone the better.

The waitress came by the booth, stopped again and asked. "You sure I can't get you something to drink while you wait for your friend?"

"Sure, why not? Bring me a mug of dark lager."

"Coming up." Kara had eaten in the deli so often in the past that most of the waiters and waitresses no longer bothered to card her when she ordered beer.

Just as the waitress got back with the beer, Kara saw Jared walk through the doorway. He needed a haircut and he'd lost weight. He was also growing a partial beard that seemed to be popular among his age group. She waved at him.

"You just couldn't frakking wait for me, could you?" He asked as he sat down and gestured to the beer.

"I forgot my watch," she said lamely. "I didn't think you were coming."

"It's just now 5:30. I can't get here any faster from work. Didn't we agree on 5:30?"

"I said I'm sorry."

"So what is this favor you want from me?"

"Don't you want something to eat or drink? I'm buying."

"I don't know how long I'm going to stay. We talk first."

"My father is alive. I need your help finding him."

Jared sat for a moment studying her before he asked. "How did you stumble on that piece of information?"

"Tom Zarek told me. He didn't kill my father after all. My dad's here on Caprica, maybe even here in the city, but he's not in the phone book or the city directory. I don't know how to go about finding him. I don't even know where to start. I need your help. Please." She added.

He looked at her skeptically. "How did you meet Zarek?"

"Frogman set it up like he said he would do."

"That's not how we agreed to do things," he asked in an ugly tone of voice.

Kara tried not to explode back at him. It took her several deep breaths before she could say calmly, "Then take it up with him."

"What if I want to take it up with you?"

"Jared, what is wrong with you? What is the big deal about me taking orders from him? You take orders from him."

"I don't frakking take orders from him. We're not in the godsdamned military. He asks me nicely and I give him information."

"And he appreciates it. He has a lot of respect for you and what you can do."

"So now you two are discussing me?"

"I just asked him how you were doing."

"Like you really give a frak."

"I realize how much I owe you, how much you did for me…in the camp and here in the city."

Jared took a deep breath. "Not seeing you has been hell for me. You've got no frakking idea how much I've missed you."

She thought of Lee. "Maybe I do."

He looked at her again. Her gaze wavered and fell. "You bitch. You're not even thinking about me at all. Is it the guy who came to the apartment? Is that who you're thinking about? Or is it Sam Anders?"

"Sam?"

"Karl ran his mouth to Maggie. You didn't think he could keep quiet about you dating the great Sam Anders, did you?"

She looked up. "Jared, I just want to find my father. That's all that's on my mind right now. Not Sam. Not anyone else. Are you going to help me or not?"

"I need to think about it."

"Think about it?" she asked, exasperation finally clear in her voice. "What's there to think about? You're either willing to help me or you aren't."

"Part of me wants to help you, Kara, but part of me knows you're just using me. As soon as I help you, you'll disappear from my life again."

Kara slumped in the seat. He was right. As soon as he found her father for her, she would have no further need for him.

"Asking you was a mistake. Forget it, Jared. Just forget it." She pushed the half-full mug of beer across the table to him. "Enjoy. Take care of yourself. Tell Karl and Maggie I said hi."

She put a five-cubit note on the table, got up and walked out of the deli. She was half-way down the block when he caught up with her. "I said I'd think about it. How do I get in touch with you?"

"Call me at work and leave a message."

"How does Frogman get in touch with you?"

"This doesn't involve him. Just call me at work."

She walked away and this time he didn't follow her. She looked back carefully as she started down the steps to the subway. He was gone. She needed to talk to Lee. She wanted to do it tonight if she could. She took the subway to the stop nearest Zeno's, walked the five blocks to Lee's apartment, went up the steps and pressed his number.

She could tell he was surprised, but he buzzed her in the entrance door. He was standing in the doorway of his apartment waiting for her when she got off the elevator. He was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt and his hair was damp. He had a towel in his hands.

"Hi," she said.

"Is something wrong?" He asked as he closed the door behind her.

"You might say that."

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. It's not me. It's us."

On the way over there she had realized that she couldn't mention her father to him. There was no way she could do that without revealing who she was and she was afraid if she did that, then Lee would want to play the gallant knight and try to help her. She would never be able to get him to stay away from her and then there would be problems with Frogman.

"Us?" Lee said with a puzzled expression on his face.

She turned around and even she heard the anguish in her voice. "The guy I was with last night at Zeno's is my…contact with the…group…the resistance."

"I'd already figured that out, Carrie. Why do you think I stayed at the bar? I saw him with you before."

"Well thanks to Zak coming over to the booth and introducing himself, Frogman knows who you are. He knows that you're an interrogator. He's connected us."

Lee knew as soon as she finished her last sentence that this conversation was not going to end well.

"And?" He asked, the painful resignation already evident in his voice.

"He's given me a choice. I either give you up completely or keep seeing you and get information from you."

"Information?"

"We didn't get into that since I told him I wouldn't do that to you, but I imagine they would want to know what the military knows about them."

"I'm an interrogator. I question people. I don't have that kind of security clearance. Everybody in my department below my CO is on a need-to-know basis only. You can bet they don't share the high-level stuff with us."

"You know enough. Even knowing who you're questioning and what kind of investigations you're conducting would be something they'd want to know."

"Damn," Lee said. "And we've got Zak to thank for this. If he had just stayed at the bar like I told him to do, nothing would have happened."

"He's clueless like Anders. Sports and girls are their priorities."

Lee said as he went into the kitchen. "Would you like something to drink?"

Kara followed him. "Whatever you're having."

He got two beers from his refrigerator. "Sorry, I don't have any ambrosia."

She reached out and took the offered bottle. "You see the predicament I'm in."

"What does this do to your plans to go to the Academy?"

"I don't know. I can't think that far ahead right now. I've got something I've got to do before I can think about that. Something personal. And no, it doesn't concern a boyfriend."

"You told Frogman you wouldn't keep seeing me?" Lee asked.

"I told Frogman I wouldn't be a whore for the group and I won't."

"So you're telling me goodbye."

"It's temporary."

He took a sip of his beer. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"We're going to get rid of the Cylons and I'm going to be involved and then we won't need the resistance."

Lee smiled. "That's very interesting. How do you know that?"

"I just know it. Do you understand what it is to have a destiny?"

"Not really."

"Helping rid Caprica of the Cylons is part of my destiny, but you're part of my destiny, too." Her mobile phone buzzed. Kara put her finger to her lips and answered. "Hello."

A female voice said, "Sassy?"

"Yes."

"Mrs. Peele. Can we talk a moment?"

"How did you get this number?"

"I've had this number for quite some time. I have some news that you need to pass along to a friend of yours so I need to meet you for dinner again. Besides, I owe you one. The news is important but not urgent. How does tomorrow night look for you?"

"Fine."

"Same place, same time."

"I'll be there," Kara said.

The call ended.

"Resistance?" Lee asked.

She nodded.

"A dangerous mission?"

"Dinner tomorrow night. I'm an information courier now. I'd better go soon. I don't want to push my luck."

He looked at her. "How soon is soon?"

"You have something in mind?"

He smiled at her. "When you're around I always have something in mind."

She smiled back, turned and walked toward his bedroom. "I remember the way."

Lee was right behind her. "I hoped you did."

...

Laura was working on her speech on Thursday night for Friday's park dedication in Antioch when her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and as she answered, she had the warm feeling she always got when it was him.

"Hello, John."

"Laura. How have you been?"

She took a deep breath. "Fine. How are you?"

"I was looking forward to sitting in the copilot seat with Captain Russo tomorrow on the way to Antioch, but I've had a last minute change of schedule. I've been switched to the ship that's going back to the Cloud Nine to pick up those Quorum of Twelve delegates. I'll be gone overnight."

"I'm disappointed you won't be with us tomorrow."

"So am I, but there will be other flights. I've already checked on the one to Sovana next Friday. Nothing off-planet is scheduled."

"That's good. Is the rest of your weekend free, then?"

"That's the other thing I'm calling about. I'm going to be out of town over the weekend. I won't bore you with the details. It's business."

"Business?" Laura blurted. "What kind of business?"

He hesitated for a moment. "Two years ago I got involved in a business that's run by a friend of mine. I don't feel like I've got much to contribute any more so I'm getting out. I think I can get everything taken care of in one weekend."

Laura realized that he had really told her nothing. She couldn't get a feel for whether he was being truthful with her or not.

"I'm disappointed that I won't see you this weekend."

"Not nearly as disappointed as I am. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

In the background she heard a doorbell chime. "I believe you've got company," she said, feeling like a knife had suddenly been thrust into her heart.

"I ordered a pizza. I'd better go. I'll probably be late getting in on Sunday. I'll call you Monday night. Be careful in Antioch tomorrow. I'll be thinking about you."

She hung up and felt tears sting her eyes. "Damn you," she said to him even though he couldn't hear her. "Damn you, damn you."

She imagined him opening the door to a beautiful woman, a beautiful young woman, and she wasn't delivering a pizza either.

She had made a mistake, a terrible mistake. She should have known better than to get involved with a handsome rogue like him. What had Chuck Winters called John? A rascal. He'd said something else about him, too. The ladies loved him. Ladies. Plural. And wasn't it Chuck who had said. If you can clip his wings, my hat's off to you.

She had been such a fool.

…

Mrs. Peele's suit on the second occasion that Kara met her was dark blue, and she wore small diamond earrings and a beautiful gold necklace. Kara wondered where she had learned to dress and accessorize herself like that. Were certain women just born with that knowledge? Did they come from the womb looking like a million cubits? Women like Mrs. Peele and Laura Roslin whom she had met in the refugee camp?

"Hello, Sassy."

"Hi," Kara said. She sat down and noticed that sitting at her place was a drink identical to the one in front of Mrs. Peele.

Mrs. Peele smiled. "I'm sure I'm contributing to the delinquency of a minor."

Kara smiled, too. "Does it count that I feel like I'm fifty years old sometime?"

Mrs. Peele's smile faded. "Your life has been hard, hasn't it?"

Kara shrugged. "I'm doing okay now."

"You'll get a good meal tonight. Then I have a message for your contact. Do you have his number?"

"I know where he works. The only way I can get in touch is to wait for him after work."

"I can give you his number. I have it."

"What's the message?"

"Tell him that the second in command is leaving. Tell your contact everyone is moving up and that he's in the fifth slot now."

Kara waited. "That's all?"

Mrs. Peele smiled again. "That's all, but it's very important information. He'll understand. Each of the first seven slots has certain duties and responsibilities. He'll know what those are."

"How is the second in command leaving? I didn't think you could leave the group."

"I wasn't told any more than that. It's unusual, but it does happen. I would imagine there are some personal circumstances that preclude him…or her staying inside."

"You don't think something happened to him…or her do you?"

"It's possible."

During the meal that night Kara decided that if the second in command could get out, then so could she. The thought gave her hope.

When she got back to her apartment that night, she called the number Mrs. Peele had given her. She knew that none of the phones used by the resistance had voice mail. She let it ring seven times and was just about to end the call when Frogman answered. He sounded out of breath.

"It's Sassy," she said.

"What's up?"

"Are you all right?"

"Playing handball. Where did you get this number?"

"Mrs. Peele. She said to tell you that the second in command is getting out. Everybody's moving up. You're number five now."

For a few long moments Frogman was silent. "Damn," he finally said. "this is a surprise. We're going to miss him."

"Congratulations," Kara said before she ended the call.

…

Tuesday afternoon of the following week, Laura walked out of her doctor's office with an official confirmation of what she already knew. She was pregnant. She had the printed literature he had given her and the instructions about taking pre-natal vitamins and some basic dos and don'ts. The only don't that she would miss was having a drink, not that she needed to drink, but she enjoyed the occasional glass of wine or a straight whiskey…or lately, Siren's Kiss.

She'd had only a brief call on Monday from John. He was in Delphi and would not be back until late that evening. He said he would call her the next day, but she had not heard from him before she'd left for her doctor's appointment at four o'clock. He had pulled back from her and she knew the reason had to be another woman. Still she had to tell him about the baby. It wasn't fair to him not to.

She looked at her watch as she flagged down a transport outside of the Hobarth Medical Plaza. 5:30. She would go home and compose a letter of resignation. Being away from her office might make it easier to say goodbye to the life of public service that she had loved for the last fifteen years…and to the job of Secretary of Education that she had held for the last three.

At 7:15 that evening the letter was printed on her official stationery. She would make an appointment with President Adar and hand it to him personally before the end of the week. She would fulfill her obligation and go to Sovana on Friday. It would be her last official function as Secretary of Education.

She wanted a drink, but she knew she couldn't. Not only had the doctor warned her, the literature he had given her said it as well. She didn't think one small glass of wine would hurt, but she was afraid that if she took one drink tonight, she might not stop and she knew that whatever she drank passed directly to her developing child…now about the size of a small pea and looking more like a tiny tadpole or seahorse than a human.

She paced and finally realized that she wouldn't rest until she had told John. She called his mobile number and it immediately went to voice mail which meant he had the phone turned off. Over the next hour she repeated the call three times with the same results. She paced some more. She knew he lived six blocks from her. They had been to his apartment several times during the last month. They had made love there in his bed. The thought that he had done the same thing with another woman in the same bed hurt so much that it made her feel sick.

The March evening was cool and misty. She put on a hooded rain jacket and left her apartment. She felt like she had barely begun walking before she was there.

The garage apartment was set back from the road, up a winding driveway and behind a very tall hedge. She rounded the curve and her breath caught. There was a car sitting outside the apartment. John didn't own a car. She had been right, but finding out was still a blow to her heart. She climbed the outside steps and knocked on the door. Her heart was pounding, her mouth dry.

The surprise on his face when he opened the door was total.

"Laura."

At least he had his clothes on, but sitting on the couch was a woman, a beautiful, elegant woman with dark hair to her shoulders. She had a glass of wine in her hand.

John quickly stepped outside and pulled the door shut behind him. "Laura, listen, please. This is not what it looks like. This is business."

She couldn't get her breath. She had thought she was prepared. She was so wrong.

"Oh, gods," she choked. A wave of nausea overwhelmed her. That's all she needed to do…throw up on his feet. She turned and almost stumbled down the steps. Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods.

John was right behind her. He caught up with her a few steps away from the bottom. He grabbed her arm. "Laura, please."

"Take your hands off me," she hissed. "Don't touch me."

He let go of her. "Please. Don't leave here like this. I called your office as soon as I got back from Delphi this afternoon. I left a message."

"Telling me you had a date tonight?"

"Telling you I was still tied up with this business thing. I should finish everything tonight. We can go out tomorrow night."

"No, we can't. You and I are over."

"Why?"

"Is it not obvious?"

"I swear to you, Laura, the woman in my apartment is not a girlfriend. There is nothing personal between us. It's business."

"Then let's go talk to her. Let her explain your business to me."

She saw the anguished look on his face. "I can't. Please, Laura. You've got to trust me on this."

"No, I don't. It's over, John! It's over!"

She began to cry. He attempted to put his arms around her, but she pushed him away. She tuned and started down the driveway. He let her go.

She slept very little that night and the next morning she called Adele and told her that she was not coming in. She stayed in her bedroom behind the closed door. She paced. She cried. She refused her housekeeper's entreaties to eat something. Late that afternoon when she was finally alone, she went into the kitchen and made some tea and soup. She began to pull herself together. She took a shower and washed her hair. She put on a clean gown and robe. She felt minimally better.

Her phone rang. She had ignored calls from John several times that day. She had erased his messages without listening to them. Now she looked at the number on the caller ID. It was Doug, her doorman from downstairs.

"Ms. Roslin, I have a Bill Adama down here. He says he'd like to come up. Since he's not on the list, I told him I'd have to call you first."

"Yes, that's fine. Send him up."

It wasn't until she opened the door that she realized she was still in her gown and robe. She could tell he was surprised.

"Are you sick?"

"I've been under the weather today. I'm better now. What brings you here?"

"I'm on a mission for the President."

"That sounds ominous. Come in, please. Would you like a drink?"

"I'll have a straight whiskey."

She went to the cabinet beside the fireplace, poured the drink and handed it to him. She gestured toward the couch. They sat.

"Aren't you going to join me?" Bill held up his drink.

"Not tonight," she smiled. "My stomach's unsettled. What brings you here?"

"President Adar has decided not to seek a second term. Since he knows you and I are friends, he sent me to ask you if you would be interested in running. If so, he'll throw his support behind you."

"Me? Run for President?" Laura asked dumbfounded. "Are you serious?"

"Adar is very serious."

"What are your thoughts?"

"I think you'd make a wonderful President. You'd have a hundred percent of my support."

"I'm flattered and overwhelmed," Laura said, "but I'm going to have to decline Richard's kind offer."

"He's going to want to know why."

The doorbell rang. Laura knew who it was.

"Excuse me just a moment. This shouldn't take long."

She got up and went to the door. John stood outside.

"Hello, Laura."

"Hello, John."

"Can I come in, please? We need to talk. I'm just not going to accept that this is over between us. You've got to believe me when I tell you that woman is not a lover. She's not even a friend. She's a business acquaintance." He stepped inside the door.

"This is a very bad time, John."

"I won't stay long. I just want to talk to you."

She smelled the alcohol on his breath. "Have you been drinking?"

"I've had one drink. I wouldn't say I've been drinking."

"Why?"

"Courage?" He smiled that charming smile that usually melted her heart. Tonight it had the opposite effect.

Her voice rose. "You couldn't even face me without taking a drink. Does alcohol make it easier for you to lie to me?"

"No, Laura! You've got this all wrong."

Bill appeared at the entrance to the foyer. "Is there a problem?"

John looked from her to Bill and then back to her again.

"Man, I didn't see this coming. I didn't see this coming at all. It didn't take but twenty-four hours for you to move on after you dumped me, did it?"

"Bill has nothing to do with my decision."

"You're in your nightgown and robe. What am I supposed to think?"

Bill said. "You should listen to Laura."

John kept his eyes on hers. "You stay out of this, Bill. This is between me and her."

Bill's voice took on a hard edge. "Since when do you get off giving me orders in Laura's apartment?"

"Bill, please." Laura said. "Let me handle this."

"I'm leaving." John raised both hands slightly and backed away. "I won't bother you again. No way I could ever compete with Bill Adama for your heart. I know better."

He pulled the door shut behind him.

A wave of nausea swept her and she gagged. Pushing Bill out of the way, she ran down the hall and barely made it to her guest bathroom before she threw up, tears streaming down her face the entire time. When there was nothing left in her stomach, she washed her face in cold water and rinsed her mouth.

Bill was standing in the hall when she opened the door. "What in the hell is going on, Laura? I thought you and John were a couple. I thought you were in love."

"Not anymore," she said. She took a few steps and started to sob. "I've made such a mess of things…such a mess. You warned me about him. I should have listened."

Bill put his arm around her and helped her back into the den. She sat on the sofa and buried her face in her hands. A minute later she was aware that he sat down beside her. He nudged her hand. She looked up. He was holding out a drink.

"I can't," she said. "I'm pregnant."

If she had suddenly punched him, she didn't think he could have looked any more shocked.

"Pregnant?"

"With child…a bun in the oven…knocked up," she said and suddenly she went from tears to nearly hysterical laugher. "President Adar's Secretary of Education is unwed and knocked up. Now do you see why I can't consider running for President? My letter of resignation is sitting on my desk right now. I'm going to personally give it to Richard next week."

Bill's voice held tightly controlled fury. "Son of a bitch. How in the hell did you let John get you pregnant? You're an educated woman. Have you never heard of birth control?"

"You're a fine one to throw that in my face," Laura shot back.

Bill stood up and walked over to the terrace door and downed half of the drink he had poured for her in one swallow.

"Touché," he finally said. "What are you going to do?"

"Have the baby."

"You haven't told John yet, have you?"

"I went over to his place last night to tell him and caught him with a woman, a very beautiful young woman, I might add. I've been a fool."

"I don't care how you feel about him at the moment, Laura. He deserves to know he's going to be a father again."

"I know," she said quietly. "I will tell him."

"What do you want me to tell the President?"

"Tell him that I appreciate his thinking of me and that I will personally give him my answer next week."

"Fair enough. I'd better go. Carolanne slept a lot when she was pregnant with Lee and Zak. You need your rest, Laura."

She looked into his eyes, so different from John's. He still cared for her. And she still cared for him, the love of her youth, kept always in a special place in her heart. He leaned forward. His lips just brushed hers.

"Goodnight, Laura, I'll see myself out. I'm here for you. You know that."

After he was gone, she sat on the couch and once again put her face in her hands. Had anyone in history made such a mess of her life as she had done?

...

Lee was headed for the shower when his phone chirped.

A man's voice said, "Is this Lee Adama?"

"Yes."

"Lee, this is Rick McGee. I own McGee's near the Academy. I've got a friend of yours here in my office. John Gallagher. He's drunk and he almost got into a fight at the bar. He comes in here a lot and he's a nice guy and I don't want to call the cops. Could you come down here and get him. I don't feel right letting him walk out of here by himself right now."

"Sure. It'll take me thirty minutes, but I'll be there."

"Good. I'm going to see if I can get some coffee in him."

In the entire time that Lee had known John he had never seen him get drunk. Half-drunk once or twice, maybe, but not drunk.

When Lee got to McGee's he asked the bartender where the office was. He pointed Lee down a hallway. John was sitting in a chair and was talking to McGee. He didn't look all that drunk and he didn't sound all that drunk, but Lee felt like McGee should know.

"Hey," Lee said.

"I'm sorry Rick had to call you," John said shamefaced. "I would have been fine to leave."

"I've got a transport waiting outside. Come on, let's go."

John got unsteadily to his feet and said, "Thanks, Rick. You're a good man."

"Don't mention it, John. The next time you want to drink like that, do it at home. And the next time you want to tell a Buccaneers fan that the team sucks, don't do it in my bar."

"I won't," John answered.

They went outside and got into the transport. When they got to John's apartment, John handed his billfold to Lee. "Pay him, would you?"

Lee took out the fare and a tip and he and John got out. He handed the billfold back to John.

"Let's walk," John said. "Walking sobers me up quicker than coffee."

Lee started down the street. "No, not that way. That goes to her place. I don't want to go that way. This way."

Lee reversed course. "Okay, John, you want to tell me what's going on?"

"I had too much to drink."

"Why?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Problems with Laura?"

John ignored his question. "Do you believe in karmic justice, Lee?"

"Are we going to talk about your personal philosophy tonight, John, or are we going to talk about what made you go to McGee's and get drunk and nearly get into a fight?"

"What's the worst thing you ever did, Lee?"

"I don't know."

"You know the worst thing I ever did? The very worst thing?"

"No, John, I don't."

"I had a friend, Nic Singer. His father owned the little airport where I landed with Kara that night. Nic was a Viper pilot on board the Solaria and while I was still a cocky, dumb rook, I got in trouble and Nic saved my ass. We got to be friends, and later I saved his ass a couple of times. Nic was a good looking guy, a few years older than me and we were always competing for women."

"I should have known this story involves women," Lee said. "All of your stories involve women."

"Just hear me out. A couple of years after the war ended, me and him were on shore leave on Aerilon and we met this girl, Erin, and she was beautiful and sweet and naturally we both wanted her and to make a long story short, they started dating and then they got engaged. But I couldn't get over this thing I had for her, you know, I guess maybe because she'd picked him."

"John, what does this have to do with karmic justice?"

"Just hear me out. I'm getting there."

That's when Lee realized that John was drunker than he acted. He let him go on with his story.

"Nic asked me to be his best man and the night before the wedding we had a big bachelor party and all of us got wasted and I got back to my room at the hotel about four in the morning and she was naked in my bed."

"Erin was naked in your bed?"

"I thought I'd gotten into the wrong room so I opened the closet door to see if my dress uniform was in there and I guess I made more noise than I thought because she woke up and got up and came over and put her arms around my neck and told me that she had to know…before she married Nic if she'd picked the wrong man."

"Lords of Kobol, John, you didn't!"

"Yeah, Lee I did. I slept with my best friend's fiancé on the night before their wedding. And maybe because I was completely wasted, it wasn't that good. I'd been eating my heart out over this woman for over a year and it wasn't even that good."

"Did Nic catch you?"

"No, and that's the worst part. I wish he'd caught us and beat the hell out of me, but that didn't happen. The next afternoon I stood up beside him and I handed him the ring and felt like the worst bastard that ever walked the face of the planet. I couldn't even look at him. And I had to dance with Erin at the reception because I was the best man, and she told me she was looking forward to me visiting them after they got settled and the way she said it I knew what she meant."

"Did you?"

"No, I went back to the Solaria. Nic had gotten a ground assignment so he could be with her and the next time I got shore leave I went to Picon and had my motorcycle accident and you know the rest. And that's the worst thing I ever did. So I ask you, is there such a thing as karmic justice? Do you think that terrible thing I did years ago has come back to haunt me now?"

"I can't answer your question until you tell me what happened tonight."

"Take a guess."

Lee thought about the karmic justice angle. "You caught Laura in bed with your best friend? I thought I was your best friend." Lee said lightly.

"You are. But you're close," John said. "Real close."

"Don't tell me you caught Laura in bed with my father because I won't believe it."

"Not in bed, but he was at her place and she had on her gown and robe. Now is that karmic justice or not? Am I getting what I deserve for being such a bastard all those years ago?"

"I don't care if my dad does still care about her. He wouldn't do that. She wouldn't either. There's some other explanation for why he was there…and she was in her nightclothes."

"I love her, Lee. I love her so damned much. I've never loved any woman the way I love her, not even Kara's mom. Is this karmic justice? Is that the reason?"

"There's more to this story than you're telling me. Tell me all of it."

"Last night Laura came to my apartment. I wasn't expecting her. There was a woman there. She's part of a business venture I was involved in but I'm getting out. I've got some records that need to be turned over. I was going over some things with her when Laura showed up. She misread the whole thing and dumped me. I went to see her tonight to try to patch things up and caught your dad there."

"Laura knows you love her, right?"

"She should."

"What do you mean she should? You've told her, haven't you?"

"Not with words."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. I thought she could tell by the way I treat her."

"I don't frakking believe this. You need to tell her. That's the first thing you need to do. Now let's go back to your place so you can get some sleep."

They turned around and walked back to John's apartment. Lee called a transport and they waited at the end of the driveway until it arrived.

"Thanks, Lee. You're a real friend."

"And you're drunk, John. Get some sleep and promise me you'll tell Laura how you feel."

...

Early on Friday morning Laura climbed the steps to the ship that would take her to Sovana and back. Captain Russo was waiting when she got on board.

"Madame Secretary, I'd like for you to meet my new copilot, John Gallagher."

"Captain Gallagher, it's a pleasure," Laura said politely.

"Madame Secretary, the pleasure is mine."

Their eyes met and she immediately turned away. She was kidding herself to think getting over him was going to be easy.

Once they were in the air she tried to concentrate on her speech, she read and reread her notes even as she struggled with the nausea. She hadn't done too badly until she had smelled the tylium fumes and the coffee that was being served. Over the space of just two weeks she had gone from loving coffee to not being able to stomach the smell of it.

They were about half-way through the flight when John came out of the cockpit and made his way toward the lavatories at the back of the ship.

She looked out the window at the clouds far below. When she looked up, John was standing in the aisle.

"Could I sit down a minute?"

She gestured to the vacant seat. "You look tired, John."

"You're pale. Are you sick?"

"I'm fine."

He reached over and took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers like he always did. His hand, usually so warm, was cold and Laura felt a strange foreboding clutch at her heart. His eyes searched hers.

"I need to say a couple of things and I'd like for you to hear me out, please, before you say anything. Will you do that?"

She nodded.

"Okay, first you need to know about the woman at my apartment Tuesday night…"

"John, you don't owe me any…"

"Laura, you said you'd hear me out."

"I'm sorry. Go ahead."

"She's resistance. I'm resistance. I have been since the beginning. I was next to the top man in Caprica City, but I've gotten out because I think there's a better way and because of you. I couldn't have anything like that touch you. The woman was there because she's a messenger. She carries information and I had a lot of it to pass on. Okay, that's all I'm going to say about that. Second, I want you to be happy. If Bill Adama makes you happy, I want you to be with him. He's a good man. He…"

"John, stop…"

"Let me finish. And last…and most important to me…is that I love you. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone except my daughter. I want another chance with you. All I'm asking is that you think about it."

For the second time since she'd known him, John had rendered her completely speechless.

He squeezed her hand, brought it to his lips and kissed it. "Think about what I've just said and let me know. I've got to get back to the cockpit."

"Oh, John, we need to talk. We've got to talk."

"We'll talk tonight when we get back from Sovana."

She watched him enter the cockpit and close the door. He loved her. Of everything he has just said to her, those words were the only ones that mattered. He loved her. She would think about the rest later. She placed her hand over her abdomen, over the tiny being they had created together. She smiled. He loved her.

She didn't see John again until after they landed over an hour later. He came out and activated the door and waited while the steps were rolled up to the ship. Then instead of waiting for the passengers to disembark like the pilots usually did, John went down the steps first.

Billy helped her get her briefcase out of the overhead compartment. Two members of the press were already on the tarmac ready to document her arrival. As she went down the steps, Laura saw several dozen Marines, her security detail, begin to close ranks around the group. She saw John standing near the bottom of the steps. He looked at her briefly and smiled. She felt her heart lurch and then he turned around.

When she got to the bottom of the steps, she said his name softly.

"In a minute, Laura."

She never saw the man come around the side of the luggage carrier because at that moment John stepped in front of her. Someone later told her that's where the gunman came from. The first indication she had that something was wrong was the sound of a car backfiring twice and then a string of firecrackers going off. The Marine nearest to her grabbed her and took her to the tarmac, using his body to cushion her fall, and then he rolled on top of her to protect her. She heard shouts and screams and realized it wasn't firecrackers at all. Weapons were being fired. She smelled the acrid, sickening odor of cordite and gagged. The screams and weapons fire finally stopped and there was only confusion all around her.

Less than a minute had passed since she had stepped from the ship.

"Ma'am, ma'am, are you all right?" The Marine was no longer holding her down. His shoulder radio squawked. Clear…all clear. Dazed, she sat up.

She thought for a moment that she was going to be sick, but she overcame it. John should be here helping her get up.

Then she heard the shouts. "Man down! Get a medic! Now! We've got a man down! Get a medic!"

In the instant that she understood the shouts, she realized what had happened. Someone had made an attempt on her life. John had stepped in front of her and the bullets with her name on them had hit the man she loved.

Later she had no memory of how many people she had to push aside to get to him. He was on his back on the tarmac, a dark red stain slowly spreading beneath his right side. The black turtleneck that was part of his uniform was saturated over his chest. She fell to her knees beside him.

He looked at her. She thought he recognized her, but the beautiful green eyes were already losing focus. He was dying or losing consciousness, she didn't know which. He said a word that may have been Laura or may have been Kara. There was blood at the corner of his mouth. He was struggling to breathe. Russell Russo was on the other side of him. He had John's hand. Hang in there, John. Help is on the way. But as Russo looked up at her, he shook his head slightly. He didn't think John was going to make it.

Laura leaned over and put her mouth close to John's ear. Her voice was shaking so badly that she could hardly get the words out. "John, you've got to live. You can't die. You can't leave me. I love you. I'm going to have your baby, John, our baby. I can't do this by myself. I can't. I need you. I love you. Please, John, please don't leave me."

Arms were lifting her away from him. Billy and Captain Russo. The medics were there, intubating him, getting an airway down his throat and then lifting him onto a stretcher. One had a breathing bag, squeezing it. She saw John's chest rise slightly every time the medic squeezed.

The hands were pulling her back toward the ship. The Marine captain was speaking to her. "We've got to get you back to Caprica City. This was an attempt on your life."

Her world began to shrink. She heard her own voice from far away. "I've got to get…to…the…hospital." And then her world shrank to pinpoints of light as she felt herself falling into a welcome blackness.

She came to in a medical transport. "Her blood pressure is coming back up," she heard someone say. She kept her eyes closed. This was just a nightmare, nothing but a nightmare. She would wake up in her bedroom and it would be Saturday morning. John would be there beside her and they would talk about the baby just like she'd told him they would. He would put his hand on her belly and he would smile at the miracle of a new life…a human life. The Cylons couldn't make a life like this, not like she and John had done. Even Baltar in all his genius couldn't do this.

"Ms. Roslin," another voice said.

She opened her eyes. She was in a curtained-off cubicle in the emergency room. A man in light blue scrubs was standing beside her. There was a medical technician nearby.

"Where is John?"

"The pilot who was shot?"

"Yes."

"He was taken straight to surgery."

"I've got to go to him."

"There are some men waiting outside to take you back to Caprica City. They said the President had ordered them to bring you back."

"I'm going to stay with John."

The physician looked at her dispassionately. "He's going to get the best of care."

"I'm sure he is. I'm still going to stay."

The curtain was pulled back and a silver-haired woman in a dark suit and a white physician's jacket walked in. "Let me speak to Ms. Roslin alone, please." The other physician and the med tech left them. "I'm Dr. Tess Corin. I'm the administrator of this facility. You really should go back to Caprica City. We're a hospital. We don't have the kind of security here to protect you."

"I won't leave him," Laura said stubbornly.

"Is this more than just loyalty to the man who saved your life?"

Laura lowered her voice to a whisper. "He's the father of my unborn child. I'm not leaving him."

Dr. Corin said, "I see." She pulled back the curtain. "Bring me a wheelchair," she called to someone outside. When the wheelchair arrived she said, "Sit. We're going for a ride."

"I can walk."

"I think you need to ride," Dr. Corin said. "I don't think you're up to walking just yet."

Laura understood. Obediently she got into the wheelchair. They made a strange procession leaving the emergency room with Billy and Captain Russo following them as well as six Marines in full combat gear. Dr. Corin took her to the seventh floor and a private waiting room.

"There's nothing to do now but wait. The surgeon who's operating on him is the best cardio-thoracic man in Sovana. If anyone can save your pilot, it will be him."

"He's got to live," Laura said softly. "He's got to."

"Then you might also pray," Dr. Corin said.

...

Kara was finishing an early-afternoon delivery at the Methadone Rehab Clinic when her mobile phone vibrated. To her surprise, it was Karl.

"This better be an emergency," she said.

"It is. Are you anywhere near a television?"

"No."

"You've got to get somewhere you can watch the news."

"Why?"

"I think it's your dad, Kara, and he's been shot. The news guy said the name John Gallagher, and there was a little picture like might be on an ID badge or something. I only saw him that once, but I think it was him."

"Shot? Where? How?"

"Sovana. Somebody tried to assassinate the Secretary of Education. He saved her life. But it's bad. The news channel won't say anything other than he was taken to Sovana Medical Center in critical condition."

Kara felt like the pavement in the parking lot had just fallen out from under her.

"There's an electronics store that sells televisions about six blocks away. I'm going there right now."

She was shaking so badly by the time she got to the store that she could hardly breathe. She parked the bike on the street and went inside. The sales staff and a few customers were gathered around a dozen television sets, all tuned to the same news channel. The small picture was shown just as she walked up. It was her father. The newscaster repeated the same thing Karl had said. Critical condition. And added, in surgery. She turned and ran from the store.

She knew she broke a speed record getting back to MediFirst. She ran to Jack's office. His secretary said, "He had to leave. Someone rear-ended his wife's car at lunch today. He said he probably wouldn't be back."

"I've got to leave," Kara said. "It's an emergency. If Trevor can't cover the deliveries, see if you can call in one of the night guys. I've got to leave."

She put her helmet on the secretary's desk, ran outside and managed to flag down a transport. "The spaceport," she said. "As fast as you can."

Kara thought the driver took his own sweet time getting there. She threw some cubits at him and jumped out. He shouted something abusive at her and she realized that she hadn't tipped him, but she kept going. Once inside the terminal, though, she was confused. She had never flown commercially. She finally asked a man who was pulling a suitcase what she needed to do to get on a ship to Sovana.

"Antioch Air has the most flights going north."

"I don't want to go to Antioch. I want to go to Sovana."

"Antioch Air is your best bet." He pointed. "They're at the end down that way."

Kara started walking. She found Antioch Air and got in the long line. When she got to the ticket counter she asked about the next flight to Sovana. One left at four-thirty p.m. Connecting through Antioch with a five hour delay, she would arrive at two a.m. the next morning.

"I need to get there faster." Kara said.

"The only faster way is a charter," the ticket agent told her.

"You don't have any direct flights to Sovana?"

"Just one at seven a.m. each morning. You could wait for the one tomorrow morning and avoid the layover in Antioch."

"No, give me a ticket on the flight this afternoon."

"I'll need to see a picture ID."

Kara got out Carrie Warner's ID, the one that Jared had remade with her picture on it, the same one she used everywhere in Caprica City. The girl entered her Colonial ID number into the computer. She waited. Then she looked at Kara strangely. "I'm sorry. I can't sell you a ticket. Your name is on a watch list. We can't sell tickets to anyone who has been watch-listed."

Kara was confused. "What does that mean? I don't understand."

"It's probably a mistake," the girl said. "Maybe a number was entered wrong or something, but you're on a list of people who aren't allowed on ships."

"Who could put me on a list like that?"

"Someone in the government or the military."

Suddenly Kara knew who had done it. Ackerman. He'd found a way to get back at her and maybe at Lee, too. Ackerman had watch-listed her.

"I'm sorry," the girl handed her back the ID. Kara turned and left. She wasn't in a hurry any more. She followed the signs to the subway station under the terminal, waited twenty minutes for the next train, and rode it back into the city. By the time she came up at the station near Zeno's, the afternoon was almost over.

She was turning to Lee Adama in her time of need, just like the Oracle had said.

...

Lee got the news from his father via a phone call just before lunch. Bill didn't try to soften the blow. "John's been shot. It looks bad. The hospital won't tell me anything, but I spoke with the other pilot. He said John took two bullets to the chest. He's surprised John made it to the hospital alive. He's in surgery right now."

"What happened?" Lee asked.

"Somebody tried to assassinate Laura as she was getting off a ship in Sovana. John stepped in front of her. Darren and his agents are on the way up there right now. Laura's Marine guard shot and killed the assassin with rubber bullets. They're trying to identify him now."

"Is Laura all right?"

"The President wants her back here ASAP, but she went into shock and was taken to the hospital, too. A doctor up there is refusing to release her, but I spoke with her after I talked to the other pilot. She's fine. She just won't leave John. The President has Marines all over the hospital but we won't rest until she's back here in Caprica City."

"Get me orders to fly up there. Please, dad. Let me go up there. I'll bring her back. And I can see John."

"Let's wait until we see the outcome of the surgery. I'll keep you posted."

Lee walked to the door of Major Parker's office. "Come in," Parker said. "Bad, isn't it?"

"He's my best friend," Lee said and found himself struggling to keep his composure. "I just asked my father to get me sent to Sovana to pick up Laura."

"If your friend doesn't make it, just remember that he died a hero."

Lee nodded. Finally he managed to say, "Terrorists?"

"I have no doubt," Parker answered him. "I should have a report from Agent Darren any minute. He and his A-team are on the way up there as we speak. Cavil's trying to get involved, but Darren is standing firm. They've taken the dead assassin to a secret location for an autopsy and to try to make an identification. He's not going to let Cavil take this body away like he did the two dead guys at the lab."

"You don't think the assassin could be a Cylon, do you? A sleeper?"

"I wouldn't rule out anything right now. Whoever planned this one kept it really quiet."

"Would you let me know if you hear anything?"

Parker nodded. "I'm sorry about your friend. We'll catch these guys."

Lee returned to his desk. There was nothing to do now but wait.

...

Kara paced the sidewalk outside Lee's apartment building. He didn't answer his buzzer. She wanted to use the mobile phone to call him, but she didn't dare. Frogman would probably look at every number that she called on it. Finally as a woman entered the building with two bags of groceries, Kara ran over and held the door for her and then walked in behind her.

She was sitting on the floor in the hall in front of Lee's door when he got home. She scrambled to her feet. "I need your help," she said as he unlocked the door.

"This is a bad time. Can it wait?"

"No, it can't wait. Please."

He went into the kitchen and put his keys on the table before he took a bottle of water from the refrigerator and turned it up. "What is it?"

"Somebody watch-listed me," she said, trying to keep the desperation out of her voice. "I need to get on a flight to Sovana and the girl wouldn't sell me a ticket. I think Ackerman did it."

"That son of a bitch," Lee said. "I should have known he wouldn't let it go."

"Can you take it off my record? Please. There's a flight leaving at seven tomorrow morning for Sovana. I've got to be on it."

Lee had never seen such desperation on anyone's face before.

"Why do you need to go to Sovana?"

The control that Kara had been maintaining suddenly deserted her and she sat down hard in one of the kitchen chairs.

She choked back a sob. "My father is up there. Please, please help me."

"Your father?" Lee said in confusion. "Your father died in the bombing of Antioch. Your whole family…"

"No, I lied about who I am. I'm not Carrie Warner. My name is Kara Thrace. John Gallagher is my father. He was shot today in Sovana. I've got to get…"

"Wait a minute," Lee said. "Wait just one frakking minute. I checked you out. Everything about you checked out. You are Carrie Warner."

"Carrie Warner died in the camp during the flu epidemic. Jared deleted the record of her death. I took her ID. I took it because she was older and I used her ID here in the city so I could get a job and…"

"Stop. Just stop talking a minute. I've got to think."

Lee paced back and forth. The girl in front of him was either a terrific actress or she was telling him the truth. But she was resistance. She had killed for the resistance. What if this was a ploy to get to Sovana and finish the job that the assassin this morning had failed to do? It wouldn't have been that hard for the resistance to find out about John's daughter.

"John has a drink that he mixes. He told me he had shared it with his daughter. What's the name of the drink and what does he keep it in?"

"Is this some kind of frakking test because you don't believe me?"

"Lying is a way of life for the resistance. John Gallagher is my best friend. I'm not going to help you until I'm damned sure I know who you are. Kara will be able to answer those questions."

"He calls it Siren's Kiss," Kara said. "He keeps it in a silver flask. It's strong. It tastes like peaches. Satisfied?"

"Holy Hera," Lee said. "I can't frakking believe this."

She was Kara. She was John's daughter and she was sixteen years old. He had slept with a sixteen-year-old girl.

"Will you help me, please? Will you take that watch-list thing off my record? I've got to get to Sovana. I've got to get to my father. Please. He might…" another sob choked her and she couldn't finish.

"Only my CO can do that kind of override. There's no way I can get him to do anything without a lengthy explanation. There's no way."

"What am I going to do? I've got to get to Sovana. I can't ride my motorcycle over a thousand miles. Please help me. Please."

Lee took out his mobile phone. "I'm crazy to be doing this, but it's probably the only way. And I'm doing it for John. I'm doing this for my best friend. Not for a girl who lied to me from day one." He scrolled until he found the number he wanted. A few seconds later he said, "Hi. Dad, I need authorization to take a passenger to Sovana, John's daughter, Kara...She's sitting here in my apartment right now…Yeah, Dad. I'm sure it's her…It's a really long story…Please, for John. Do this for him…and for me."

When he ended the call, he looked at Kara. "Now we wait and now you talk. I want the whole story from the beginning."

For the next forty-five minutes Kara talked. She told Lee everything about leaving Picon and what Tom Zarek had done. She told him about waiting for four days for her father to return and how she and Karl saw the Viper fall from the sky and how she finally admitted that her father was dead. She told him about living in the little stone house and the garden and learning to use a slingshot to kill rabbits and other small game. She told him about the ice storm and the soldiers finding them and taking them to the camp. She told him about meeting Carrie Warner and about the flu and Karl nearly dying and meeting Jared and Maggie. She told him about the trip to Caprica City and how she got her job riding the motorcycle. She told him about meeting Zarek the previous week and finding out that her father was alive. She talked until there was nothing more she could think of to say. She answered all of his questions. She didn't dare ask him any because she could tell Lee wasn't in the mood to answer.

She simply sat dry-eyed, twisting her hands together and praying that the Oracle had been right.

Nearly an hour passed before Lee's phone chirped. When he finally ended the call, he looked at Kara. "You owe my Dad big time. A Raptor's being prepped out at the airbase right now for me to fly up to Sovana and bring Laura back to Caprica City. My dad just got clearance for you to go with me."

"Thank the gods," Kara said and could no longer hold back her tears.

Lee sat and let her cry. Under other circumstances he would have tried to comfort her, but in many ways he didn't even know the girl who sat at his kitchen table. She had lied to him from the beginning and he was going to have to work hard to overcome his resentment of that. If she had lied about something as fundamental as who she was, had she lied about her feelings for him as well? She was resistance, wasn't she? They were all good liars.

He sat and let her cry.

...

Laura sat by John's bed in the intensive care unit. Two Marines stood outside the door. Others patrolled the corridors. No one without the proper identification would get anywhere near either her or John. The President had seen to that.

A bank of monitors that displayed John's vital signs was located just above the bed. He was on a respirator that kept up a rhythmic hissing as it forced air in and out of his lungs.

Dr. Corin told her that three things had saved John's life...the speed with which the medics got to him and then got him to the Medical Center, the skill of his surgeon, and the good physical condition he was in. Laura added a fourth. She added their prayers.

When the surgeon, Dr. Bilosa, had come into the waiting room to talk to them late on Friday, he had explained to them the path of the two bullets and the damage they had done. One bullet had passed through the upper part of his torso, just under his right clavicle, tearing muscle and tendons. The second had penetrated his right lung, collapsing it and narrowly missing his pulmonary artery. It had lodged in his fifth posterior rib, breaking it in three places. It had also done the most damage.

Dr. Bilosa had explained that John was on the respirator as a precaution, that if he regained consciousness and was able to breathe on his own, they would remove it. If… Laura could barely think of the word. But Dr. Bilosa had also been honest in telling them that John was still in extremely critical condition. It could still go either way.

Billy and Captain Russo had left shortly after they got to the surgery waiting room. Captain Russo had been ordered to take everyone back to Caprica City. Laura had told Billy to go back with the ship. Dr. Corin and Laura's Marine guards had waited with her. Dr. Corin had food brought up, encouraged her to eat and drink. She told the staff of the ICU to take care of Laura as if she were a VIP patient.

When John was moved from the recovery room to the room in the ICU, someone brought Laura a pair of hospital scrubs and told her she would be more comfortable in them. It was almost like wearing a pair of pajamas. Someone else brought her a pair of soft booties so she could take off the heels. She was extremely grateful for both.

There is still a lot we don't understand about the unconscious mind, Dr. Corin had said. Talk to him. Maybe he will hear you. And so Laura had talked, for hours that night she had talked to John, so still and pale, so seemingly lifeless except for the hum and hiss of the respirator. She held his hand and watched his chest rise and fall with the rhythm of the machine, the chest where she loved to lay her head, and she talked to him. She talked about her childhood and growing up as a diplomat's daughter. She talked about the gypsy life they had led, moving from one embassy in the Colonies to another until finally settling back on Caprica before her senior year of high school. She talked about the university and her love of learning. She talked about her plans for them to raise their child together. She told him she loved him. She had no idea if he heard her or not, but still she talked into the early hours of the morning, until drowsiness finally overcame her and she put her head down on the side of his bed and slept.

She was roused by a sound and opened her eyes. Lee Adama in his uniform stood at the foot of the bed and with him was the girl from the camp, Kara, John's daughter. Laura closed her eyes. She knew she was dreaming.

"Why is a nurse holding his hand and sleeping with her head on the bed?" Kara whispered to Lee.

"That's not a nurse," Lee whispered back. "That's Laura Roslin, the Secretary of Education."

"Really? She's wearing scrubs like a nurse."

"It's Laura. Take my word for it."

"You think she's been here all night sitting with him like that?"

"Probably," Lee whispered. "They've been dating for a couple of months. Your dad's in love with her."

"Oh, right. I guess he just said to you, 'Lee, I'm in love with Laura Roslin, the Secretary of Education.'"

"Something like that."

Kara cautiously walked around the side of the bed opposite from Laura. She gently touched her father's cheek and leaned down by his ear. "Hey, Daddy," she whispered. "It's Kara." He was so pale and still. He looked like he was dead. Tears filled her eyes and spilled over. She brushed them away and tried to be brave. Her father would want her to be tough.

Laura opened her eyes again. Kara was standing on the other side of the bed. She wasn't a dream. "Hello," she said softly. "How did you find him?"

So her father loved this woman, this tough woman who had walked through a cold, muddy camp in heels.

"I saw it on the news," she answered. "Lee helped get me here."

Laura yawned and sat up. "How do you know Lee?"

"It's a long story. Is my dad going to be all right?"

"We don't know. He's been asleep since the surgery."

"Why are his hands tied?" Kara touched the soft restraints that fastened her father's wrists to the bed rails.

"It's a precaution. The doctor told me that when he regains consciousness he's not going to know where he is or what's going on. He said his first act would probably be to try to pull the ventilator tube out. That would not be good. When he can breathe on his own, they'll remove it safely."

Lee walked up beside Kara. "Hello, Laura."

"It's good to see you again, Lee, even under these terrible circumstances."

The sight of his friend looking so pale got to Lee. He remembered the last time he'd seen John, still half-drunk. He knew how John felt about Laura. The fact that she was here with him told Lee a lot about Laura's feelings for John. Maybe there was hope for them yet.

A passing breakfast cart rattled down the corridor. Lee realized he would love a cup of coffee. With everything that had happened the night before, he had not slept.

"Could I get either one of you some coffee? There's a machine just down the hall."

"I could use a cup," Kara said.

Laura declined. She was already nauseous.

Lee had been back in the room only a matter of minutes, and he and Kara were drinking the coffee when Laura felt her stomach rebel. She made it to the sink before she gagged.

"Oh, frak," Kara said. "Should I get a nurse?"

Laura shook her head as she gagged again.

As Kara watched, comprehension of what was wrong with Laura Roslin dawned on her. How many times had she seen a woman outside her tent in the refugee camp vomiting onto the ground in the early morning with one hand held protectively against her belly, just the way Laura was doing now? It took only seconds for her to understand exactly why Laura was sitting by her father's bed.

Kara thrust her cup of coffee into Lee's hand and went over to the sink, got a washcloth and held it under the cold water. She squeezed it out and handed it to Laura before she took her hair and gently lifted it out of the way.

Lee realized he was witnessing something that only these two women understood. He didn't have a clue until Kara said, "My father's knocked you up, hasn't he?"

"Carrie…Kara," Lee said sharply, "You can't talk to Laura like that."

Laura held the wet washcloth to her mouth for a moment before she stood up. "No, she's right. John has knocked me up as Kara so bluntly put it."

"Does he know?" Lee blurted.

"I told him yesterday after he was shot but I don't know if he heard me or not. I talked to him again about it last night, but I really don't know."

Suddenly Kara said in a panic-stricken voice, "Lee…Lee…he's awake."

John's eyes were open and darting wildly. He began to struggle against the restraints.

Laura was at the bedside in a second. "John, it's Laura. You're in the hospital. You were shot. You're on a ventilator, John. Don't fight!" She looked up at Kara and Lee. "Get the doctor! Now!"

Kara was already backing toward the door, everything in her in a wild panic. She turned and stumbled from the room. The Marines outside looked at her. Lee was right behind her.

The monitors attached to John must have signaled someone at the nursing station because two nurses and a doctor were already running down the hall. They entered the room.

"Oh gods," Kara said and started to hyperventilate, "Oh, gods, oh gods, oh gods."

"Carrie…Kara, listen to me, listen to me. They're going to take good care of him. He's going to be all right."

Kara shook her head and kept repeating her mantra, "Oh, gods, oh gods, oh gods."

Laura came out and leaned against the wall. She felt faint. The doctor had asked her to leave because they were going to take John off the ventilator. He had turned it off and John was breathing on his own. He told her that the sooner they got him off of it the better.

Lee took her arm. "Are you all right?"

The dizziness cleared. "He was fighting…he's…such a fighter. Even the doctor said it probably helped save his life." Then she noticed Kara standing against the opposite wall, her face white and her lips moving.

Laura went over to her and put her arms around her. She was really not much more than a child, after all, tough as nails, but a child who loved her father and couldn't bear to see him hurt like this. Kara turned her face against Roslin's shoulder. Laura could feel her trembling.

"He loves you more than anything in this world," Laura said gently.

"I thought he was dead," Kara said. "I just found out that he was alive a few days ago."

"He's looked for you. He's still looking for you. You have no idea what seeing you is going to do for him. He's going to get well just for you."

Twenty minutes later the doctor came out. "We've taken him off the ventilator. He's breathing on his own which is good. His vitals are good, too, but he's in a lot of pain, and we didn't help it any with what we just had to do. I've given him something to take the edge off. You can talk to him but try not to upset him. You've got maybe two, three minutes before he's going to be out again for a few hours."

"Go see him," Lee said to Kara.

"No, I can't just walk in there. You go first. You tell him I'm here."

Lee realized she was right. John needed some warning before Kara appeared before him.

"Try not to fall apart, okay? I realize that's asking a lot, but you heard the doctor. If you fall apart, he's going to fall apart. That won't be good for him."

"Okay, okay. Go."

Lee walked through the door and up to the bed. John's eyes were closed, there was an oxygen tube under his nose.

"Some guys will do anything to get a few days off work," he said as he took John's hand and squeezed it.

John's eyes opened and focused. "Lee," he rasped hoarsely. "Are we on the Galactica? Was that Doc Cottle?"

"No, John, he just looks like Cottle. You're in the hospital in Sovana. You were shot."

"Laura?"

"She's fine, John. You saved her life."

"Good," John said and closed his eyes again. "I love her. I'd…die for her."

"John, there's somebody here to see you. Stay awake just a few more minutes."

"I thought my Viper was hit and I ejected."

Lee reached for Kara and pulled her to his side. He transferred John's hand from his own to Kara's.

"Open your eyes, John. It's Kara."

The green eyes opened.

Kara was still trembling. She knew she would have lost it completely if Lee hadn't been standing behind her, his hands on the tops of her arms holding her so tightly it almost hurt. She drew strength from him.

"Keep it together," Lee said under his breath.

She smiled. "Hey, Daddy."

John frowned, confused and disbelieving. "Kara?"

She squeezed his hand. "Yes, Daddy, it's me. I found you."

John was fighting the drug, struggling to focus, struggling to stay awake. "Dreaming," he finally said.

"No, Daddy, you're not dreaming. I'm really here and I'm never leaving you again." She took a deep breath and then another. She was losing her battle to keep it together even as her father was losing his battle with the narcotic. "Go to sleep, Daddy. I'm not leaving. I'll be right here when you wake up."

The green eyes closed. "I love you, baby," he said. "I came back for you, but you were gone. I looked… and…looked…" his voice trailed off.

"I love you, too, Daddy. I know you looked for me. I'm not going anywhere…ever again." His hand relaxed in hers. His breathing was slow and steady. The painkiller had claimed him.

She turned and put her face against Lee's shoulder. He held her while she cried and she finally realized that he had choked up, too. By the time that Laura joined them, wrapping her arms around both of them, Kara was glad her father was asleep. Otherwise he would have thought that the three people who loved him the most weren't the least bit tough. He would have thought they were nothing but a bunch of crybabies.