Finally, an update. You'll find that this chapter is shorter than the last. I spent an awful long time writing the court scenes for the last chapter so I've cut them down significantly for this chapter. I managed to delete the first 3,000 words by accident so I've basically written this chapter twice, which is one reason for the delay. I think this chapter should be nicknamed 'the twist'. We're also now at the end of series 3, meaning we have a total of twenty one chapters left of this fanfiction.

Crossroads Part 2

Tapping the side of his razor against the sink, Bill glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping pair. Without much surprise, Pandora had demanded to stay in the bunk with Laura, as though she was afraid that she might wake up and not find her mother there waiting on her. He couldn't blame her.

Bringing his razor to his cheek, he dragged the blade down against his skin, freeing it from the shaving foam. Running the water, he cleaned the surplus foam off the blade, careful to make as little noise as possible for fear of waking the pair in the next room. Bringing his razor to his neck, he was distracted by the blinking of the light above his head, causing him to lose his grip of the razor and cut against his skin, the crimson liquid pooling out of it.

"Frak me" He muttered under his breath, reaching across to lift a handful of tissues, pushing them up against his bleeding skin is a battle to stop the blood pouring from his cut. Stupid lights. Making a mental note to have someone come and check the lighting, he turned to examine the cut through the magnified mirror.

"Yell at me, I don't wanna get out of bed" Laura's breathy voice came from the darkness of the next room. Dropping his razor into the sink, Bill switched on the bedside light as he went past, sitting himself down onto the side of the bunk. "I was just thinking about going back to bed" Bill confessed, wanting nothing more than to lock the hatch door and forget about all their worries. Forget about the fleet. Forget about Laura's cancer.

"Are you feeling alright?" Laura asked, pushing herself up against the pillows, careful not to wake Pandora as she reached across to touch the man's neck, her delicate fingers pushing back his makeshift bandage. It wasn't like Bill to want to avoid anything - even if it was Baltar's trial. "Says the cancer patient" Bill protested, earning a charismatic smile from the woman, who pushed the tissue paper against the cut on his neck. "I'm fine - I just cut myself" He explained, answering her earlier question as he lifted her hand away from his neck to examine the cut himself.

Leaning back against the pillows, Laura tangled her fingers in Pandora's soft hair, the child still peacefully asleep beside her - as though she didn't have a single care in the world. "I don't want to face them" She confessed, remembering the question that had been hurled at her the day before, not just about her cancer but about Pandora and Bill as well. Could she go through that all again? "I don't want to face any of them, I just want to stay in bed all day and sleep" She revealed, knowing that nothing would make her happier than being able to catch up on some much needed sleep. The constant stress and the fatigue brought on by the chamalla was starting to catch up with her. Rubbing her eyes for a moment, she watched on as Bill tapped the tissue against his cut, looking down at the crimson covered ivory tissue to see if his cut was still producing any blood.

"I think I've stopped the bleeding" He announced, lifting the tissue away from his neck to examine it. "If you still need to be yelled at, I could give you some volume" Bill suggested, dropping the used tissue into the bin before turning to his wife, glad to see the amused glimmer in her eyes. "Alright, give it your best shot" Laura teased, one arm wrapped around Pandora while her other hand rested on Bill's arm.

"Get out of that bed" He demanded, although his tone lacked the usual commanding and booming tone that usually laced Bill's voice when giving an order. "That's not your best shot" Laura declared in a 'matter of fact' tone, raising an eyebrow as she waiting on her husband to try again.

"Get your fat lazy ass out of that rack, Adama" Bill ordered, his voice filling the dimly lit room as he tried his best to put on his 'Admiral' voice and persona, though it quickly disappeared when he caught sight of the way Laura's face seemed to brighten up as her lips turned up into a smile. "Yes Sir, okay Sir, anything you say, Sir" Laura teased between her giggling, her hand trailing down the man's arm to take ahold of his hand.

Bill's face with masked with a somber expression as he clasped his free hand over their joint ones. "Don't let them see you sweat Laura" He reminded her, his gaze fixed on the woman before him as he tried to reassure her. If anyone could do it, then would be Laura.

"Why did you say that Mama had a fat lazy ass?" Pandora mumbled against her pillow, her voice filled with sleep as she let a yawn escape her lips while stretching her arms out beside her "Why papa?" Pandora repeated as she rested her head down on Laura's chest, looking up expectedly at her father for his answer. Laura wasn't sure what to do other than chuckle to herself. The surprised look on Bill's face; the way his eyebrows seemed to disappear in his dark hairline while his eye widened.

"I said no such thing!" Bill joked, moving to nudge Pandora's shoulder in a playful manner as he beamed down at the child. Pandora shook her head defiantly, knowing exactly what she had heard. "I heard you, didn't I Mama?" Pandora protested, turning her head from her father to her mother with pleading eyes, worried that she had somehow offended the man. Nodding her head, Laura was glad of blissful moments like this, where the three of them could forget about the rest of the fleet and just be happy in each other's company. "Yes you did, little one" Laura assured the child while stroking the loose strands of her hair that had managed to escape from her ponytail.

Glancing at the clock, Bill sighed heavily before pushing himself up from the bunk. "I'll need to go soon" He thought aloud, for the first time he hated the idea of having to go to the CIC, even more so today. "I'll need to get ready to go to see Cottle" Laura added, pushing the hair out of her face as she felt Pandora pull at her arm. "I can go with you right?" Pandora pleaded with wide eyes, hunching forward as she waited for the woman's answer.

Watching someone you loved - even more so a parent - battle their way through an illness was never easy. Laura herself had been forced to endure her mother's suffering under the same treatment for two years. Yet she was not Pandora. No doubt the girl would find a way into the hospital wing regardless of whither or not they allowed her to come. "Go and get ready" Laura replied, nodding her head as her lips twitched up in an assuring smile.

As Pandora lowered herself off the bunk in search of something to wear, Laura pushed herself forward in the bed, throwing the covers back to the side as moved to sit beside her husband. "She'll be fine" Bill reminded her, knowing that if there wasn't many children as stubborn and persistent as Pandora. Laura hummed in response, resting her back against the pillows as she shut her eyes for a moment.

Why couldn't things be simple for once?

"Well, congratulations. You've survived your first diloxan treatment" Cottle announced, checking that the IV was correctly inserted into Laura's arm. Once satisfied, he took a step back from the bed, crossing his arms as he watched his patient.

Laura groaned as she lowered herself down onto the bed, her arms wrapped around Pandora as the child curled up to her side. "Talk about the cure being worse than the disease" She muttered, feeling the drugs running through her veins, a bitter taste gathering in the back of her throat.

"Well next time, bring a book or some paperwork to help keep your mind off of it and it'll also help keep your blood pressure down" Cottle suggested, although his voice was laced with sarcasm as his eyes glanced around the remainder of the sickbay.

Laura rolled her eyes as she rested her cheek against the crown of Pandora's head. Cottle clearly knew nothing about paperwork. "Yeah right. Pandora's all the distraction that I need" She reminded him, her arms wrapped tightly around the child, who buried her head against her mother's neck, content to simply enjoy the woman's presence.

"Now if you don't mind, I have other patients" Cottle declared, sensing that the President would be far from happy if she had an audience to her suffering.

Resting her head down onto the pillow, she used the hand that was wrapped around Pandora's shoulder to shoo the doctor away. "All right go" She said, shutting her eyes as she silently wondered how she had eve r gotten into this situation.

She moved her head against the pillows in a bid to stop the pain that was running down her neck. "Oh gods..." Laura groaned, trying to disguse the flash of pain that came to her face as she shut her eyes. Stretching her jaw, she curled up her shoulders as the diloxan started to kick in.

There she was again. Right back in the Opera House.

Turning the corner, her eyes darted around the room in desperate search of the girl. On the balcony across from her, she spotted the two girls walking hands in hand. Pandora was in her crimson red silk dress while Hera wore a virgin white top and skirt, paired with a matching beanie.

Quickening her pace, Laura arrived at the top of the stairs in time to spot the pair disappearing down a side staircase, Pandora leading the way while Hera held onto the handrail.

"Pandora! Hera!" She called, her voice travelling through the deserted Opera House. Making a dash down the staircase, she spotted the Six out of the corner of her eye.

There she was again. Arriving at the bottom of the staircase, Laura felt as though she was frozen to the spot as the Six bent down to lift Hera from the ground while Baltar reached out to take Pandora's hand before they disappeared into the blinding light behind the set of golden doors that acted as the gates for their journey

Laura's shattering, shrilling scream woke herself up, her arms tightening in a deadlock as she clasped Pandora against her chest, her eyes being forced open as she shot up from the bed, taking Pandora along with her.

"Mama?" Pandora's voice was filled with fear as her arms wrapped around her mother's neck. Sleep laced her eyes as she tried her best to keep them open as her hand tried to disguise a yawn that escaped her lips.

Putting Pandora down onto the ground, Laura kept a tight grip of her daughter's hand as she lead the way out of the cubicle, throwing back the generic grey curtain as she walked, her diloxan treatment trailing behind her.

"You're both freaking out at the same time!" Cottle exclaimed, his eyes darting from one mother to the other. Standing between the pair, he stood expectedly, waiting on an explanation from one of the pair.

Laura took in the look of fear and terror in Sharon's eyes. There was only one explanation for such a look. Sharon had shared the vision with her. How was that possible?

Feeling Pandora rest her head down against her leg, she turned to face Cottle."We need a moment" Laura confessed, her hand coming to rest on the back of Pandora's hair as she tried to force her shaking hands to be still. The fear, adrenaline and terror were still rushing through her veins.

"Take this off, get this off me please" Laura's voice changed from one of desperation to a simple plea. She couldn't hold Pandora in her arms if she had to drag along the diloxan equipment as well. Right now, all she wanted to do was carry Pandora back to their quarters and lock the hatch. Yet, you couldn't run away from your fears - especially not one like this.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on here?" Cottle demanded, growing tired of his questions being ignored by the women. He was silenced by Laura's infamous glare before he moved to disconnect the IV from the President's arm, knowing better than to challenge Laura any further.

As Cottle, along with several watching medical staff, left the area of the sickbay, Laura returned her attention back to Sharon and Hera. She knew the look on Sharon's face all too well. It was the look of a mother terrified for her daughter. She knew it because she was wearing the exact same expression.

"We need to go and see the Six" Laura decided, if they had both shared the vision, then no doubt Caprica Six had also been there.

Laura had insisted that the girls would be kept in Bill's quarters along with Tori and several armed guards. "She might have some of the answers that we need" Laura explained to the cylon woman beside her as they walked through the deserted grey hallways of Galactica, heading towards the temporary home of the blonde cylon model.

Arriving at the sealed metal door, Laura nodded her head at the two armed guards who stood watch at the prisoner's cell. Waiting for the men to enter, Laura followed behind them, Sharon on her heels as she eyed the blonde woman who sat on the sterile grey bed in the middle of the empty room.

"Go outside" Laura ordered, the palms of her hand resting against her lower back as her eyes rested on the anxious woman before her. "Shut the door" She added a moment later as the two men advanced towards it. With a mutter of 'Yes, Ma'am' and a nod, the two guards disappeared through the door, following the President's order by locking the door behind them.

"I'm sorry about the shackles" Laura began, deciding that it would help to gain the woman's trust before she started questioning her about the vision; more specifically Pandora's presence in said vision.

Caprica Six's lips curled up slightly, though the smile was flat as her eyes wandered to the ground

"Were you with us a moment ago...?" Laura asked, her question caught the cylon off guard as her eyes darted up to the redhaired woman. "..in the lobby of the opera house?" Laura folded her arms in front of her chest, trying her best to read the woman's reactions. It didn't take a genius to work out Caprica Six's answer.

The Six lifted her elbows off her bare legs, her back becoming as straight as an arrow, her eyebrows almost disappearing into her light hairline. Her eyes widened as she looked from one woman to the other.

"I'll take that as a yes by the look on your face" Laura thought aloud, confident that her apparent dream was something much more if not only her and Sharon were sharing the dream, but also Caprica Six. "I was there too" Sharon added, making her presence known as she sighed heavily "So was Hera" She revealed, watching as a look of realisation masked Caprica's face.

"As was Pandora" Laura spoke once more, knowing that the girls were central to the vision. Everything seem to revolve around Hera and Pandora. Why?

"That shouldn't be possible" Caprica Six protested, her voice low as she spoke in a state of disbelief.

"Add it to the list" Sharon said, shaking her head as she came to accept the latest hurdle that they were going to face. The Gods really did enjoy testing them all.

"Were you trying to reach Pandora?" Laura asked, trying to keep her anger - which was only increased by her anxiety and fear for Pandora's safety - at bay as she questioned the cylon. She had to take a reasonable approach with this, surely there was a simple explanation for all this.

Caprica shook her head slowly. "I don't know" She admitted, lifting herself up from the low bed so that she was at eye level with the two mothers.

"I just knew that I had to protect her with my life - Hera as well" The Six confessed, pleading with the older woman to understand her position before her eyes shifted over to Sharon for a moment, then back onto the President.

"Why?" Laura demanded, her hands coming to rest on her hips as she grew impatient, sensing a need to understand Pandora's presence in the visions - they could no longer be written off as dreams - that she was sharing with both the Six and Sharon. Was she really having vision with two cylons about a cylon-human hybrid and Pandora? It didn't seem possible.

"I don't know, but I feel like...like I know her from somewhere" Six revealed, staring at Laura with wide eyes as she brought her fingertips to rest on both sides of her temples. She knew Pandora, she just couldn't figure out where from. It was as though her mind was blocking the memories out. A wall that she couldn't break down.

"One of your other models might have been in contact with her before the exodus from New Caprica" Sharon suggested, pursing her lips as she tried to come up with a reasonable explanation for what Caprica Six was feeling.

"Does Pandora remember anything before the exodus?" Caprica Six asked, tilting her head as she frowned her brow, her features masked with confusion. Maybe the child could explain their connection.

Shaking her head, Laura crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Pandora had nothing to do with the cylons. Laura refused to believe that she , everything was pointing towards it.

"You need to find a way to tap into the memories she's hiding away" Sharon spoke up from the corner of the room, taking three small strides towards Laura, looking the woman in the eyes as she straightened her shoulder.

"Why do you want to help?" Laura questioned suspiciously, moving to fold her arms defensively in front of her chest. After all, she was the woman who had faked Hera's death, handing her over to another mother to be cared for.

"If they want Pandora, they want Hera. Regardless of if you like it not, Madame President, we're in this together" Sharon reminded her, looking the President in the eye as she spoke to her.

Laura was positive that their day couldn't get any worse. Until it did.

Pandora slipped forward in her seat, her eyes darkening with confusion as she took in the appearance of her the former C.A.G sitting in the witness box. "Mama, what's he doing?" She wondered in a hushed voice, slipping her hand through her mother's arm before she glanced back at her brother.

"I don't know, Pandy" Laura confessed, resting her hand on the crown of the child's head, unable to hide her anxiety over the fact that Pandora and Baltar were in the same room. Did he have knowledge of the vision as well? What could he possibly want with Pandora?

As the prosecution began to protest, Laura tilted her head towards Pandora, her eyes trained on her step-son. "You can appeal to the President once there's a verdict..." Bill began, looking from left to right at his fellow judges. "but I for one, would like to hear this witness testify" He concluded, resting his back against his seat as he waited expectedly for his son's testimony.

Lee had already betrayed their family once. Laura silently wondered if he could do it again. He had already put the knife through their chests, he may as well give it a twist, even dig it in deeper.

As her stepson spoke, giving his testimony to the anxiously waiting court room. Laura could see the anger boiling up in his husband. It didn't take a genius to work out that Lee's testimony could turn the entire court case on its head.

When it rained, it poured. Lee seemed intent on making that the truth.

Slipping the frames of her glasses against her shirt, Laura straightened her shoulders as she sat like a judge, waiting to hear the verdict.

"This tribunal, on a vote of three for two..."

A collective intake of breath could be heard throughout the room.

"...finds you not guilty"

The room fell into a momentary silence before the shouts began to sound, echoing off the walls as many in the audience stood to their feet in protest.

The shock hit Laura first, before she was filled with a dying need to put as much distant between herself - along with Pandora - and Baltar. Clasping the child's hand in her own, she led the way towards the door, ushered forward by her attendants.

Maybe it was the knowledge that Baltar could now walk freely through the fleet, maybe it was Lee's betrayal of their family; but Laura felt a need to tell Bill everything.

As she heard the hatch door opening behind her, she took a deep breath as she walked to the side of the room.

"I had a vision" Laura spoke from the shadows of their quarters, her back to the man as she poured herself a healthy glass of whiskey.

Bill sat himself down on the bunk, looking up at his wife with a worried gaze. If he knew anything about Laura's visions, it was that they were not often of a pleasant and happy nature.

"Pandora's in it - and Hera too" Laura revealed, her voice breathless as she raised the glass to her soft lips, allowing the cold glass to chill against her lips before she took a sip. "One of the cylons took them" She pulled her whiskey glass away, putting it down onto the table as she heard Bill's sudden intake of breath.

Bill's heart felt as though it had dropped out of his chest. Pandora. Innocent little Pandora.

"Nothing is going to happen to her, Laura. I promise you" Bill swore as he pushed himself up from the bunk, his long strides brought him to his wife's side in a few short seconds.

"What if they had hurt her Bill?" Laura whispered, her voice laced with fear as the tears began to pool around the corner of her eyes as Bill wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her back against his chest.

"You don't know that..." Bill began, trying to work out a reasonable explanation for Laura's alleged vision. "Are you positive it was a vision?" He asked, earning a nod from Laura in response.

"Sharon had the same one. She was there too - and Caprica Six" Laura confessed, feeling Bill's sharp intake of breath against her neck, causing the hairs against her skin to stand straight.

"One of the Sixes knew Pandora before the exodus.." She added, feeling his grip of her tighten as he tried to access the situation in his head, no doubt coming to the same possible conclusion that she had.

As the hatch door was pulled open, Pandora's voice echoed around the silent room "Mama?" She called as she stepped into the room, her small legs carrying her towards the couple.

Laura's eyes fell to the ground, trying to hide the fear in her eyes as Bill reached out for their daughter.

"Papa, what's wrong with Mama?" Pandora asked curiously, watching as her mother move to stand behind her father's oak desk, flicking through various files in search of one particular item.

What if Pandora was a cylon? Finding the item she had been searching for, Laura made her way across the room once more.

Seeing Laura sitting herself down at the table, Bill carried the young girl over, placing her down on the seat across from Laura. "I need you to tell me everything that you remember Pandora, before I found you" She said, leaning forward in her seat, the photograph sitting on her lap as she looked at her daughter with pleading eyes.

"There was a blonde woman" Pandora announced, folding her hands on her lap, her eyes looking out into the distance. Bill sat down beside Pandora, resting his elbow on the table as he watched the child closely.

Placing the picture down on the table, Laura held her breath as she waited for Pandora's reply. "That's her" Pandora replied, nodding her head with slight hesitation, feeling the tension, fear and anxiety rolling off her mother in waves. Laura shared a knowing look with her husband.

The woman in the photo was Caprica Six. Her story seemed to be true.

"She took me to your ship" Pandora announced, her eyes brightening as she recalled the events. "What?" Laura asked in disbelief, her eyes widening with shock as her brow began to crease.

Pandora hadn't found her way onto Colonial One by accident.

The cylons had put her there. Was this all some scheme?

"She told me to close my eyes and not make a sound, that you would find me" Pandora explained, her hands moving in front of her in gestures which showed her excitement at remembering her past.

Instead of putting the pieces of the puzzle together, the pieces just seemed to be accumulating in front of Laura's eyes.

Standing up from his seat, Bill took the photograph with him, crumpling the edges up as he tried to breath deeply to calm himself down, disappearing off to the shadows of his desk.

After tucking Pandora under the covers, Laura watched the sleeping child, taking in the gentle rising and falling of her chest. All the seemingly human features of her. Pandora had been with the cylons before the exodus from New Caprica, everything was pointing towards her being a cylon.

"What does this mean?" Bill asked, cradling his glass of whiskey between sips of the burning liquid.

"No one can know - not until we've figured everything out. Even then we can't tell anyone. We both know what they would do if they got their hands on her. She and Hera are in that vision for a reason, we just have to figure out why" Laura thought aloud, Pandora and herself were the only humans in the vision - yet she had been injected with the Hera's blood and was under the influence of Chamalla, though Pandora... could her mysterious past involve the cylons?

"Bill, what if she's a cylon?" Laura confessed her greatest fear, the one that had been eating away at her from the night of her first vision. The elephant in the room had been addressed.

The Six claimed that she knew Pandora, or one of her fellow models did. Pandora's identification of Caprica Six from the photograph was evidence of that.

"She's our daughter first and foremost, regardless of what else she is" Bill remained her, placing his glasses down onto the table as his eyes glanced over at the sleeping child.

Sharon had proven that being a cylon did not make you the immortal enemy of the Colonial Fleet. Sharon had proven that cylons could change. Hera was a human-cylon hybrid, yet Laura had seen first hand that Hera was like any other human child. Pure, innocent and gentle.

"We'll take her to Cottle tomorrow, he can do a full blood test" Bill said, the wheels turning in his head. Pandora was family - Pandora was their daughter. Anything else that she might be was insignificant.

As Bill headed towards their bunk, Laura sat in the welcomed darkness of the room, allowing the vision to replay itself over and over again in her head.

Pandora was a cylon. There was no other explanation.

As the shrilling ring of the phone echoed around the room, Pandora groaned as she woke up from her sleep while Bill pattered across the room to lift the receiver off its stand as Laura went in search of her blazer.

"They're preparing for the next jump" Bill revealed as he put the phone down, throwing on his jacket as Laura lowered herself down into her heels while Pandora lifted her blanket from her bed, heading towards the door. They had all fallen into a routine over the past weeks. As Bill led the way down to the CIC, Laura held onto Pandora's hand as the child tried her best to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

As Bill entered the room, he headed towards the main console. "Mr. Gaeta, prepare jump. We're going to the Ionian Nebula" Bill announced as he came to a stop, watching as the younger man nodded before preparing the coordinates for the jump. Laura stood at the side of the console, allowing Pandora to lean up against it as she ran her fingers carefully through the girl's gentle curls.

"Jump complete" Gaeta spoke, lifting his hands from the controls as he addressed the President and Admiral. "All fleet ships reporting in" He revealed, looking up at the various screens above their heads.

"Let's see what's out there" Bill suggested, his own eyes darting up to the monitors.

It was as though the room was spinning. It was as though the air had been knocked right out of her chest. Taking her glasses off, Laura abandoned them on the controls, covering her face with her hands before grasping onto the sides of the console, lowering her head down as she tried to block out the spinning motion and blurred vision. Bill reached his hand out towards his wife, taking in her pale complexion and the shaking of her hands.

The lights began to flicker, bringing the room in and out of momentary darkness. The motions shut off one by one, then the lights stopped completely. It was as though everything was dead.

"Zip rep" Bill called, his attention taken away from his wife as his eyes darted around the room to access any and all damage that the power loss had caused.

"Mama?" The child's concerned voice brought Bill's attention back to Laura's condition. "Are you okay?" He asked, stepping forward to rest his hand on his wife's shoulder. Her skin had turned ghostly pale. "Forget about me. I'm fine" Laura assured him, her words muffled into the sleeve of her blazer. "I could never forget about you" Bill reminded her, making small circles on her back in a bid to offer her some form of comfort.

Pandora reached up to wrap her arms around the woman's middle, resting her head on Laura's hip as she shut her eyes. A mixture of fear and anxiety ran through the child's veins.

Taking the flashlight from one of the junior officers, Bill shone the bright light down onto the console, trying his best to read the system. "Some kind of power surge" Bill suggested, his eyes glancing over to his wife as the redhead slowly raised her head from the console, her own eyes glued to the monitors above them as they jumped back to life. "Can we have a damage report immediately?" Bill requested, moving towards his daughter as he watched the girl's eyes widen. Pandora had always been afraid of the dark. "The black out is fleet wide, Admiral" Dee called from her desk, looking over her shoulders as the monitors began to come back online. Dropping a reassuring hand on Pandora's shoulder, he glanced over at his daughter in law with a worried expression. "It was also simultaneously restored to all ships" Dee revealed, her voice laced with confusion while Bill read through the monitors. Dozens of ships didn't naturally lose power at once then regain it simultaneously. Especially when they ran on separate power sources.

It was then that Laura noticed it.

"Admiral. Admiral!" She called, gaining not only her husband's attention, but that of several of the crews. "Dradius contact!' Gaeta announced, moving across his station as he spoke. "Massive cylon fleet on intercept course" He informed the admiral as he moved to put the stations onto red alert. "Mr. Gaeta. Sound action stations immediately, I want to emergency jump our entire fleet" Bill ordered, feel Pandora beginning to flinch at his side, her shoulders tensing as she looked between Laura and Bill for some form of explanation.

"Sir, all fleet ships were powered down during the outage. It'll take at least twenty minutes to spin up the FTL drives" Helo confessed, a sense of dread overcoming him as he dropped the bombshell on the Admiral and his crew. Moving around the console, Laura gently pulled her daughter away from Bill's side, moving her into her own arms as she looked across at her husband.

"We just don't have twenty minutes" Bill announced somberly, they couldn't hold off a cylon fleet for twenty minutes, not without being able to jump away. Laura stood silently, clutching Pandora to her side as she watched the crew moving throughout the CIC to get to their action stations. She glanced over her shoulder as Tori and Tigh appeared through the hatch door, each returning to the side of their respective leader.

"Alert vipers are aware!" Gaeta announced over his shoulder. Pandora bit the inside of her lip, pulling both her cotton blanket and her stuffed elephant up close to her chest as she tried to block out the noise. "Who's in Viper Three?" Helo asked confused as he looked up at the monitor. "It's got to be Lee" Laura said, running her eyes across the other vipers. There was one too many for the amount of pilots they had, and it would be just like Lee to jump into a viper in the middle of a fight.

As though to confirm her suspicions, Lee spoke over his intercom system "Apollo in Viper 3. I have a boggie on my ten, I'm going to go and check it out" He said, turning his viper to the side as he went to investigate. Bill sighed as he rested his hands down onto the console, pressing all his weight down as he felt the burden already starting to build on his shoulders. This was all they needed; Lee caught up in the middle of the fight.

"What the frak?!" Lee's voice sounded through the CIC, earning an exchange of confused glances between his father and stepmother, who both narrowed their eyes as they watched the monitors, trying to piece together the situation.

"Hi Lee" The voice spoke over the intercom.

Laura stopped, as though frozen in time as the voice echoed through the CIC.

Kara.

"Kara?" Lee asked in a state of disbelief, his lips parting as his eyes widened.

"It really is me" Kara announced between chuckles.

It couldn't possibly be her. Could it?

"Kara?" Pandora whispered fearfully, lifting her head from Laura's hip as she cautiously opened her eyes.

"It's going to be okay" Kara promised as she beamed the man a smile. "I've been to Earth. I know where it is and I'm going to take us there."