Chapter 27 Ultimatum

The next day Kara jammed metal chopsticks into Leoben's neck during dinner and stabbed her rage into his chest over and over, then calmly returned to the table to eat the steak he'd cooked. His stoic return a few hours later mimicked so many of their encounters during her first two months that Kara let the knife slip from her fingers rather than trying to kill him again. For a moment, hope had appeared in the form of the incompletely closed apartment door, and she'd sprinted for her chance, only to find the same bars blocking her way as before. Returning to the apartment had tasted like ash, the flicker of hope quickly snuffed.

The following evening Kara used a piece of toilet assembly to try to slash her wrists.

Leoben found her before she'd completed more than the first cut.

The day after, he brought Kacey.

And everything changed.

Her child. Half human…half Leoben. Kara had denied it at first. It wasn't hers, couldn't be, Starbuck wasn't anyone's mother. Then Kacey was hurt and Kara knew she was to blame. She'd tried to defy the gods yet again and was being punished for it. Worse, a child was being punished for her sin. Sitting beside the little girl's hospital bed, she prayed for the gods to grant her this pardon. And, as the child's—her child's—eyes had flickered open, Kara had reached a hand instinctively out to Leoben where he stood silently beside her, sharing in the relief that the gods had spared at least one from the curse that surrounded her.

Caring for Kacey as she recovered from the head wound consumed all of Kara's thoughts that week. She treated the nasty gash each day just as Simon had instructed, and cleaned the little girl in the shower, taking extra care not to get the bandage wet. While assisting Kacey in getting her top and pants on in the right direction, Kara discovered that the child was ticklish and giggles filled the apartment as the pair tussled. It was Kacey that taught Kara the joy of a raspberry buzzing against her belly when the little girl noticed the scars on Kara's abdomen and blew bubbles of air against them.

Each day brought a new discovery for Kara.

She'd always thought of kids as rugrats that were a nuisance to be barely tolerated. It had never occurred to her that their innocent delight in each experience could be shared. Even meals, messy as they were, were a revelation as Kacey's face either puckered or grinned with each new food she tried.

For three weeks, Kara Thrace learned what it meant to be a mother.

During that time, Leoben mostly kept his distance, only interacting with them whenever their child initiated it, sometimes sitting on the floor and playing blocks or teaching Kacey the letters of the alphabet. Kara forced herself to be civil around the little girl, but rebuffed all of Leoben's attempts to connect on any other matter. And, each night he still issued the invitation to his bed, and continued to stoically accepted her refusal.

The beginning of the fourth week Kara's pretend-world tilted off it's carefully balanced axis as reality again inserted itself in the form of D'Anna holding a subdued Kacey in her arms.

Kara had been in the bathroom, having left Kacey playing in the living room with Leoben before breakfast. When she stepped out, her gaze was immediately drawn to the blonde Cylon as she stood holding the child at the foot of the staircase.

Leoben was nowhere in sight.

Kara tensed but she held herself still as she met the calculating eyes of the skin-job that had killed Sam.

"Hello, Starbuck. Me and the tyke here were just getting acquainted," D'Anna said as she shifted the child to her hip and one arm. "Quite a little armful, huh. I could take her off your hands if you'd like?" The Cylon woman's expression left little doubt of the implied threat.

"Where's Leoben?" demanded Kara, hoping that he'd return and put a stop to whatever game D'Anna was playing at.

"I had him called away. Offered to watch Kacey." A smug smile tipped up the corners of her lips as she said, "Leoben's gullibility is downright shocking sometimes."

"You won't hurt her. You've been trying too long to get someone like Kacey," Kara said, praying she was right and the skin-job was bluffing.

D'Anna opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again as her expression became thoughtful. "Right again. Wouldn't wanna hurt our little hybrid here. But I was thinking…spending so much time exposed to a tainted human influence mightn't be so good for her either. I'm sure I can swing a vote to have her taken away. Somewhere safe from your corrupting presence."

Kara's breath caught in her throat and she bit the inside of her lip to keep the automatic protest from bursting forth. They were going to take Kacey away from her. She hadn't considered that. She'd been a fool not to.

The smile on the Cylon woman's face grew as Kara remained silent. D'Anna set Kacey down on her feet and gave a small nudge, urging the child towards where Kara stood transfixed. The little girl didn't need any more encouragement, toddling across the short distance and bouncing in front of Kara with arms stretched upwards. Scooping her up and hugging the little body close, Kara knew she'd given the Cylons a lever to use. One she'd never foreseen.

"I'll be back tomorrow after the vote. If you can convince me that you're not such a bad influence, maybe I can talk the others into leaving this munchkin in your care."

"Galactica's changed all her codes and procedures by now. There's nothing useful I can tell you, even if you do manage to catch up with the fleet," Kara said, hoping the woman would believe that Kara didn't really have any valuable information and would leave them alone.

"Oh, I know that, Captain. Never really was about getting any usable intel. It just gave us a way of judging your compliance. Figured if you told those secrets, you were finally ready for my real purpose."

A chill passed through Kara as she asked the question D'Anna was obviously expecting, "And that is?"

"Let's just say that Gauis Baltar has been a mite ineffective as a figurehead." D'Anna tapped her finger on the rail of the staircase as she gave Kara a head to toe once over. "Now Starbuck, she's another story altogether. Not sure whatcha got girl, but there's something special about you that I can use. With you to encourage the colonists to cooperate, this stupid insurgency will end."

"You're joking, right?" Kara asked, eyebrows raised in disbelief. "I'm just a Viper pilot. Not even one of those any more," she protested, especially hating the Toaster's insistence that she was special in some way…just like her mother.

"What? You think it's my destiny to be some sort of…of…frakkin' puppet?" she demanded.

"No. That's my brother's obsession." D'Anna gave a flick of the hand, obviously dismissing Leoben's dogma as she climbed the stairs, then paused at the top to add, "We just want to use your reputation. It's not a lot we ask. Just say what you're told, then smile and wave to the crowd." The Cylon woman gave a sweep of her hand to indicate the apartment as she continued, "Do it and you keep your little life here all nice and snug." Opening the door, D'Anna called over her shoulder, "I'll be back tomorrow. See you then, Starbuck."

As the latch clicked closed, Kara hugged Kacey firmly to her and began to pace. What was she going to do? She couldn't do what the skin-job demanded, and yet… Could she survive the loss of her child now, on top of everything else. Would Leoben really let them take their daughter away?

She buried her face in Kacey's neck, breathing in the clean scent of the little girl even as two small arms wrapped around Kara's neck and returned the hug.

Lords of Kobol. What was she to do?