Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

LOCATION: ALPHA SPACE STATION; approximately 200 miles above the surface of planet Earth

CORRIDOR C

MED WARD

YEAR: 2315

She knew that in space the concept of up and down didn't really exist but knowing that did nothing to stop the feeling of rolling and tumbling, spinning endlessly head over heels. From her cockpit she could see the moon, she could see the surface of Earth and she could see Alpha. Then just like that the moon was back in her sights, rolling into her line of sight. The few solid spaces she'd ever known swirled passed in a repeating spiral leaving her impossibly dizzy, disoriented and unimaginably confused. Her com system crackled but there were no voices coming through, no orders being given, no call signs being shouted because, as she realized while the moon, the earth and her home swirled passed again and again, there was no one else out there. There was no traffic, no shuttles, no fighters and not a guardian raider to be seen. If she could just stop spinning for a moment she'd have the wherewithal to send a distress signal to Alpha but she was in a constant state of motion. For a moment she wondered if it was her brain that was spinning. Perhaps she was totally still and it was her vision twirling about. She was no stranger to vertigo lately but she was too dazed to tell. The crackle of the static echoed through the cockpit again, reminding her once more of the abandoned empty airways. There was no one there, no one to help. The world seemed hopeless and desolate as it rotated in her vision once again. She was ready to give up, ready to give into the constant gyrating revolutions when she finally heard the faint echo of a voice through the fizzling speakers. It was a man's voice, or maybe two. They spoke faintly back and forth but she couldn't make out what they were saying or who they were. Summoning all of her will through the whirling fog she reached for her com button.

" This is Koshka, do you copy ?"

But only a gargled grumble behind the static answered.

"Blazer is that you?! Blazer! This is Koshka. Please come in!"

She felt her ears pop and her stomach roll and for a moment she considered that she might never stop spinning. The notion that she would spend her last hours in a state of lurching rotation caused her eyes to water with hot raging tears.

" Say again! This is Koshka, Luna Force, Blue Squadron; Alpha! Do you copy?! "

This time she was sure the mumbling echoes came from two distinct voices.

"I repeat; identify yourselves! " She shouted through frustrated and angry cries.

She could hear two male responses, muffled but definitely there. If the tumbling would just slow down maybe she could concentrate enough to understand. She decided that neither voice was Blazer's. She didn't hear Buck or Slip Shot or Mac Man…

"Katya, wake up," Laura urged as she attempted to gently rouse the distressed young woman out of her troubled slumber.

She hadn't even known the captain was in the ward just a curtain away until she'd heard her sleeping voice mumbling and crying out for Lt. Bishop. Laura had been left in her own exam station waiting for her appointment with Tawny Xao. The doctor was running late and after about thirty minutes of sitting there Laura started to hear the distressed muffled weeping behind the dividing drapes. She knew that she should mind her own business but once she was certain that it was her daughter in the next bed she just couldn't sit there and listen to her cries anymore. When she peaked passed the curtain and saw Katya fitfully sobbing in her sleep she'd rushed to her bedside.

"C'mon, sweetheart, wake up. Open your eyes. Wake up !" She repeated in a louder and more forceful voice, this time startling the captain's eyes wide open.

"It's Husker and Helo! " Katya shouted before her eyes even had time to register the light.

Laura jumped a bit, startled by the girl's waking outburst but she quickly composed herself.

"Katya what are you talking about? Are you alright?," Laura frantically asked pulling the ward bed covers down off of the captain's  perspiring neck and chest. "You were dreaming," She said trying to follow Katya’s eyes as they darted wildly around the room.

Katya's eyes stung in the bright light. She could hardly catch her breath and for some reason Laura Roslin was in her face. For a second she couldn't tell if it was reality or if she'd just slipped into another nightmare. Feeling far too vulnerable in her current position, she attempted to quickly lean up in the bed. Forgetting all about the IV in her arm she put careless pressure on her wrist, rolling the needled tube through her vein. She gasped as a sharp and unexpected pain shot up her arm and she collapsed back against the pillows with a hiss.

"Dammit!"

"Easy, easy," Laura cautioned wincing at the sight of the girl's pained expression. "Let me help you," She offered, finding the adjustment on the bed and slowly moving it into an upright position. Once the bed was in place she watched Katya take a few shuddering deep breaths as she held her hand over the sore puncture on her wrist,

"Are you okay?" She asked again.

Katya rubbed at her wrist and shut her eyes tight trying to figure out how to answer.

"Yeah," She nodded. "I think."

"I'll call for a doctor," Laura said moving to the opening in the curtain.

" No, no. I'm fine."

"You're sure?" She asked once more furrowing her brow with worry.

Katya paused to actually assess herself. Denying help was a habit. She forgot that at the moment she might actually need it. Except for her jostled IV she wasn't in any concerning pain. She was hot and sweaty and her face still felt flushed but she already felt her heartbeat beginning to slow. She didn't need a medic and she didn't need Tawny coming in and yelling. She'd already spent the morning listening to her.

"Yes. I'm sure," Katya nodded still trying to temper her breathing. Her eyes still stung and she attempted to fiercely rub the burn out of them until she saw stars beginning to fleck the darkness inside her lids. Her eyes peeked open to find Laura Roslin still watching with worry. "What the hell are you doing in here?" Katya finally asked, squinting at the concerned woman.

"I was over behind the next curtain waiting for the doctor. I heard crying and then…well, I was almost sure it was you. You were talking in your sleep. I probably shouldn't have looked in but no one seemed to be checking on you. You were so upset. I came over to wake you up," Laura explained, bracing for the backlash.

"You know, you shouldn't just barge through other people's curtains. This is an infirmary. People are entitled to some privacy," Katya complained as she ran her hand through her sweat dampened hair.

"I know. I do, believe me," Laura said remembering how much she hated anyone but Bill seeing her in Sick Bay. "I'm sorry. You just sounded so upset and I…"

"Wait…no," Katya shook her head. This wasn't right. Laura wasn't spying on her. She'd simply woken her up. She was cranky and tense and she hadn't meant to take it out on the other woman. When Tawny told her to get some rest she'd been afraid of falling to sleep in the ward. At night she had Alexi there to rouse her from the persistent nightmares but today she was alone. Laura had swooped in out of nowhere and freed her from an awful state. For that, Katya had to be grateful. "Stop…Don't apologize. I'm being an ass. I'm sorry…I just…Screw what I just said. Thank you for waking me up," She said putting both hands over her face.

Laura was relieved to hear her sudden backtracking and she took a few steps forward returning to the bedside.

"Katya, are you sure you don't want me to get a medic?"

The girl groaned into her hands before siding them down her face and into her lap.

"No, don't," She sighed. "I'm okay. I'm just glad to be awake."

"That was some dream you were having," Laura shrugged.

"Yeah, well they're never boring," Katya said with a displaced disdain.

Laura was hesitant to pry but the bit of Katya's unconscious mumblings she'd heard had her curious.

"Do you have them a lot?"

Katya nodded and huffed.

"Only every time I close my eyes."

"I know the feeling," Laura frowned.

Katya gave her a sideways glance wondering if the woman was referring to her old visions and trippy herb induced dreams that dotted all of Saul's stories. Somehow Laura's expression made Katya feel as though her empathy was fresh. Either way she had no intentions of asking.

"Dreams like this...they make you dread sleep," Katya moaned. "Even when you're fucking exhausted."

"And sometimes you're afraid you'll never wake up," Laura added looking down at the floor. "You'll just be stuck there…forever."

Katya squinted at Laura's description. It gave her an uneasy feeling to share such an awful notion with her.

"I just want them to go away," She said licking her dry lips.

Laura nodded in understanding. She tried giving a small smile of camaraderie to let Katya know that she understood but the smile never materialized on her lips. She knew it was nothing to smile about. She was too familiar with the dreadful sense of waking up aghast, disoriented and scared. Lately she could hardly go a night without waking up in a cold sweat. It had been that way since she'd resurrected on Alpha but recently her dreams had changed. Though she was still haunted by dreams of the baby she never knew, a new and more foreboding theme had been invading her mind while she slept. It was happening more and more. She was dreaming of things she didn't understand. It was a familiar but no less daunting plight. Laura knew by Katya's own admissions that as a child she too had been plagued by nightmares. She'd shared how she experienced awful dreams of her father's murder for years and how Ellen was always there to comfort her. Though the subject matter might have changed over time it was obvious that Katya still suffered from some awful dreams. Laura couldn't say that she was entirely surprised by their persistence into adulthood. She was living an entirely new lifetime and the same affliction still seemed to be plaguing her. She wished that she and Katya could have had something more pleasant in common. Their favorite color, perhaps. Though she was afraid to pry she was intrigued to know what was vexing the young woman as she slept.

"Katya what was it you yelled out when you woke up? Something about Helo?" Laura asked.

In all honesty she'd heard Katya just fine. She'd practically screamed it in her face as she woke. Laura was sure that she'd said something about Husker and Helo. She'd been dreaming about Bill and Karl.

"I…I don't know," Katya answered. "I can't remember," She shrugged, but her denial was an outright lie.

She'd been having the recurring dream since the Beta download. It was always the same with its nauseating swirling scenes and the infuriatingly garbled voices but it always ended before she could make out the hails on the crackling com system. This time though, they had finally come through.

"Are you sure?" Laura asked. "It sounded like Helo. Were you dreaming about Captain Agathon?"

"I dunno. Maybe," Katya huffed showing her frustration.

Laura nodded deciding to drop the inquiry. She was curious but she wouldn't press her. Katya looked pale and she obviously wasn't well. Laura didn't want to add to her current distress and even more so she didn't want to be dismissed. The poor girl had been all alone when she'd found her overwrought and weeping in her sleep and now Laura didn't want to leave. She'd never gotten to comfort her before.

"Can you pass me that water bottle?" Katya asked pointing to a tray close by.

Laura reached for the bottle and quickly handed it to her knowing she probably seemed far too eager to help. They hadn't seen each other much since leaving Beta Station. Almost two weeks had gone by since then and they'd only had passing interactions; never really addressing the mutual apologies they'd exchanged during the pre-download dinner. There was far too much chaos in the air.

Katya drank half the bottle in a few big gulps and placed it slowly down into her lap. When she looked up Laura was still staring at her with a concerned grimace. She'd spent the whole morning begging Tawny not to call Ellen. Now she'd wound up with a hovering babysitter anyway.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Katya asked interrupting Laura's gawking. "Are you alright? Not that it's any of my business," She added doing her best to seem unconcerned.

Laura was finally able to muster a small smile.

"I'm fine. Just a scheduled checkup," She explained.

It was her first exam with Tawny since the doctor's instance that she make a standing quarterly appointment for screenings. The reminder alert had sounded on her cuff early that morning. She'd forgotten all about it in the chaos of the last weeks. Momentarily she’d considered skipping it but with Bill heading back to Beta to see the Agathons, she figured it was a good day to do it. She would be alone on station without much to do and Tawny's urging recommendations were still pretty fresh in mind. Laura’s heart sunk remembering what the physician had shared about the genetics she'd passed down to her daughter.

"It's a…breast exam, actually," Laura shrugged, suddenly feeling compelled to share. "But my appointment was about forty minutes ago," She sighed checking her cuff for the time. "So I think I might just tell Dr. Tawny that I'm going to skip this one and…"

"No!"

Laura looked up from her wrist with wide eyes, startled by the sudden outburst.

"No, I mean, you can't!" Katya insisted. "You shouldn't ," She added in a lower tone but with no less vindication. "Just…don't…Don't do that."

Before she even finished her ridiculous reprimanding of a grown woman that she hardly knew Katya felt her cheeks and ears start to go pink with embarrassment. She hadn't meant to sound so manic.

Laura furrowed her brow, confused over what had just taken place.

"Okay," She said gingerly trying to assure. " You're right. You're totally right. I'll stay," She affirmed waiting for the look of near panic to fade on Katya's face.

The intensity and concern in the young woman's voice seemed to come out of nowhere until Laura suddenly recalled Saul's words to her the night of the Beta dinner. He told her that all four children had taken on the weight of their birth parent's safety. When the alarms went off right after the Agathon download Laura saw them bear that weight with the strength of Atlas with her own eyes.

The atmosphere hadn't simply been breached that morning. The station's quadrant had been attacked by a full fleet of Air-bots and Beta Station had been hit. With Margot, Saul and Ellen strangely incapacitated, Katya and Alexi had been frantic. They ran between the three cylon individuals just trying to rouse them while the doctors and techs anxiously worked on Helo and Sharon through the alarms. Katya was near tears trying to shake Margot and then Ellen out of their stupor. In turn Alexi did the same with Saul, trying to jolt the man back into focus. Then the sound of a far off explosion echoed through the walls and the com system confirmed that the station was hit. Katya and Alexi immediately left the Tigh's sides. They flanked Bill and Laura with their weapons drawn as if it were an automatic response. The ward was heavily guarded with marines for the download but even so, the captain and the sergeant took on the role of personal and devoted body guards. Even once Saul and Ellen snapped out of their strange trance state Katya hardly took her focus off of Laura's protection. Blaze did the same; standing guard in front of the Agathon's tubs as if he could make himself into some kind of iron barrier. Their children hadn't let them out of their sight until the threat was isolated, the station damage was under control and the quadrant was no longer in combat. The attack had shown Bill and Laura just how important their lives were to the people of Earth Orbit. With that in mind Laura supposed she shouldn't be so surprised at Katya's distress over her remark. It made sense that she would be just as concerned over protecting them from disease as she was flying bullets. Laura regretted her flippant comment as she watched Katya staring into her lap and shaking her head still in obvious dismay.

"Look,  Tawny always has the coldest freaking hands but she's quick with the soft tissue scanner. I ran out of new jokes to make during scans like a year and half ago but she still always laughs if you offer to tip her after," Katya half mused without looking up. "It doesn't take long. Besides, what the hell else do you have to do anyway?" She scoffed.

Laura had to chuckle at the captain's absurdly rude yet somehow sweet means of persuasion but the fact that she seemed so familiar with the routine made her feel awful.

"Katya, I'm staying. I promise. You're right. I already made that mistake once."

"Don't do it again," She said closing her eyes tightly and easing back against her pillow. "It's stupid…So, so stupid."

Laura narrowed her eyes as she watched Katya breathily repeat the words, almost as if she were reminding herself. She hadn't meant to upset her so much and she chastised herself for being such a terrible example. Why hadn't she thought of that? Tawny told her that Ellen physically dragged the girl to her exams and Laura couldn't even show her that it was something to take seriously. She hated that she seemed to lack the maternal instincts that seemed so strangely strong in Ellen Tigh. She wondered if it would ever change.

The rustling of the curtains distracted Laura from her self-berating.
Both women looked up to see the younger Dr. Xao pulling the barrier open.

" Katya why aren't you sleeping ?" Tawny scowled and entered without a further greeting.

"I was . I woke up, Tawny," Katya brusquely defended as the doctor hurried to her bedside and picked up her cuffed wrist. "That happens, you know."

Tawny ignored the sarcasm and read her patient's vitals.

"Your blood pressure is still too high," She said dropping her hand. "I told you that you needed to relax. Everything is alright now, Kat. I promise. I know this morning was scary but you need to try not to worry yourself sick."

Tawny noticed Laura in the room and gave her a quick smile. She glanced back at Katya as if to ask if the other woman was the reason that she couldn't seem to calm down. Katya shook her head in acknowledgment. If anything Laura had helped. She didn't know what kind of state she would be in if she hadn't woken her.

"I am trying."

"Try harder. I told you I wouldn't call Alexi but I'm starting to think I need reinforcements."

"Tawny, no! Don't you dare . He's not even on station!" Katya challenged. "He's over on Beta. My uncle brought the Admiral back there today and he wanted Alexi on his security detail. They won't be back until tomorrow so just leave him alone," She argued.

Tawny rolled her eyes.

"I'm guessing Ellen is still a no too?"

" Big no . And she's not on station either."

"Where is she?" Laura interrupted.

With Bill and Saul gone for the next day or so Laura had taken a strange but small comfort in figuring Ellen would still be aboard. Though they might never be on more than tolerable terms, Ellen was still one of the only people Laura had on station. Something about knowing that both she and Saul were away made Laura feel uneasy and even more alone. Besides Bill they were her only link to her old life. On days when the reality of her situation started to falter, knowing the Tighs were there had become a sort of oddly grounding comfort.

"She took Margot to the basestar,” Katya explained. “They're still trying to figure out what the hell is going on with them.”

Since the Beta incident everyone was on edge about the new cylon malfunctions. It wasn't just Margot and the Tighs who were affected. The raiders had been nowhere near as ready for the attack as they usually were. The delay in their reaction time allowed the enemy fleet to infiltrate further than they had in years. The last time the bots were able to actually attack a station the bodies of Gaius Baltar and Caprica had been destroyed aboard Gamma. This time they were lucky. They hadn't been boarded. A time stamped reading from the Beta Station centurions showed several glitches in their programming that lined up with the moments before the attack. Something was causing the cylon guardians to falter. Saul and Ellen had been suspicious during the last battles within the Alpha quadrant. At that point they had just been missing the coming attack warnings from the basestar but Beta proved to them that whatever was going on was getting worse. Both the Tighs and Margot went nearly catatonic for a short time during the attack. They each reported feeling dizzy and ill, then suddenly finding themselves unable to communicate with each other or any outside stimuli. The cylons succumbing to some unknown outside force could be devastating for the Earth Orbit System. The new threat became even more alarming when days later the atmosphere below the Delta quadrant was also breached. Though the attack was not as serious and combat never came close to the station, the same effects had been felt by the cylons and in addition, a few offshoots of their family tree. Saul, Ellen, Margot and even Sharon Agathon had each experienced a short catatonic state right before the coming Delta attack and though their symptoms weren't as severe, Blazer and Alexi also had become greatly disoriented. Whatever was going on was getting stronger, so strong that cylon-human hybrids were now feeling the effects. Katya was terrified to see it happen to her whole family, to everyone she loved. The new concern had turned the tables and she'd found herself hovering over Alexi and constantly checking up on Saul and Ellen. Any time one of them so much as yawned in her presence she became panicked; worried there was an attack on its way and that her loved ones were about to slip into some unreachable state. It had taken the focus off of her own condition and she would have been grateful if she wasn't so afraid. The stress was getting to her and with her family all off of Alpha and separated around Orbit her anxiety was as it’s height.

"When will Ellen be back?" Laura frowned.

Katya shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Well then,” Tawny interjected. "You need to calm yourself down, Katya. I can't give you any medication to help."

"You're the one that's making my blood pressure spike, Tawny. Stop threatening me with calling my family. No one's aboard anyway."

The doctor gave her a blank look.

"You're staying overnight," She said matter-of-factly as she slipped her tablet from her coat pocket and tapped in some notes.

Though Katya let out an audible sigh her usual protest was missing. Tawny knew she understood the gravity this time despite her complaining.

The captain had woken her up at 0530 with about a dozen frantic worried messages. With Alexi already up and gone Tawny rushed to Katya's cabin and took her into the ward herself. Though she knew that Katya would never be a model patient she certainly wasn't refusing her help this time.

Tawny had urged Katya to call Alexi or Ellen all morning. With all of her other patients she didn't have the time to sit and reassure her friend the way she wanted to. It was important that Katya keep calm. Tawny knew that the company of Alexi or the Tighs would help but she’d been forbidden to call them. Though Tawny was worried she had to respect that Katya just didn't want to alarm anyone else.

She tried to give her friend a sympathetic smile but she looked miserable.

"Laura, I'm sorry for the wait," Tawny said giving the other woman her attention, "I had a few unexpected emergencies. There was a little accident on the loading dock. I promise I'll be with you in just a few minutes."

"Thank you, doctor," Laura smiled.

"This IV hurts," Katya complained, holding her arm out.

"I think she might have knocked it out of place before," Laura added.

Tawny glanced at the injection site and then back up at Katya. She gave her a quick look of confusion over Laura's random presence. She'd been hesitant to put the woman in the curtain closure beside her daughter but it was the only space available at the time. She never expected to come in and find her playing patient advocate. When Katya smirked and shrugged and Tawny figured that it was alright. Maybe the captain had some family with her after all.

"I'll send someone in to redo it. Just sit tight, Kat."

"Will you at least come hang out with me later since I have to sit here all night? Please?"

Tawny sighed as Katya's eyes became sullen and pouty. The younger girl had always been able to tug at her heartstrings just as easily as she could tug at her nerves.

"I can't tonight, honey. I have civilian rounds. I'm sorry. I'll be in to check on you before I leave though," Tawny assured her. "If I finish early I'll come back. Okay?" She promised, waiting for Katya's sad reluctant nod. "Oh and my dad's coming in to see you in just a minute," She added as she started walking toward the curtain.

"Tawny, no! Please? I don't want…"

"Katya, stop it ," The doctor said cutting her off. "Relax. He's not going to do anything. He just wants to talk to you," She tried to reassure but Katya looked even more dejected. "I'll be right with you, Laura," Tawny smiled and walked out.

Katya buried her head in her hands hiding from the light.  At least Tawny had already told him. Telling Cmdr. Kaplan after had been hard enough. After returning from Beta Station Katya and Alexi had another visit with Tawny. After some tests and a great deal of debate she knew it was time to alert her commanding officer of her condition. She needed to let him know that she couldn't return to flight status for a while and that she'd need a new assignment. It had been a hard conversation but Kaplan was understanding and compassionate. He'd promised to keep the reason for her change in position confidential and offered his assistance in any way possible. She'd been temporarily assigned to flight ops as an LSO and put on call for shifts in the control room but Kaplan also wanted to take advantage of her downtime. She'd been charged with plotting hypothetical strategy scenarios for possible incoming attacks. Her new jurisdiction during high alert was now control room. It wasn't quite the decrease in stress level that Tawny had been hoping for but it would keep Katya out of the air for a while longer. Kaplan agreed to tell Saul and anyone else who enquired that the captain was grounded due to a failed vision test; a lingering but temporary result of the concussion she'd suffered during her collision. It was Tawny's idea and Katya had a feeling that Saul and Ellen only bought it because of how distracted they'd been lately. She wouldn't get away with it much longer and she knew Xao was about to come in and tell her just that.

"Katya, what's wrong?" Laura asked once they were alone again. "I mean I know that it's none of my business but is this all still from your accident? It's been weeks now."

Katya inhaled until her lungs hurt. She held the air in for a moment to feel the ache before letting it out.

"No," She admitted taking her hands from her face. "I…got dehydrated," She said picking up the water bottle from her lap and shaking it for emphasis.

It was part of the truth at least.

Laura nodded in acceptance.

"I'm sorry that your family isn't on board."

"They'd just worry and they have enough to worry about these days. I'd appreciate it if you'd keep the fact that you saw me here to yourself," Katya said sternly.

Laura felt a little uneasy over the request but after the way she'd dug into Saul and Ellen over how they babied the young women she knew she couldn't do the same. Katya was allowed her privacy and Laura felt almost privileged in a way to share a secret with her.

"Sure, if that's what you want."

Katya nodded.

"I hate this place," She complained looking around the room at the beeping screens and wires. "I hate staying here, especially overnight. "Aunt Ellen usually stays with me."

"I don't much like it myself. I've seen enough syringes, and IV's and gloves to last me ten lifetimes," Laura added taking in bleak the view.

"It's hard to sleep here too," Katya added with a sigh. "Everything beeps and clicks. It's just as well, though. Can't wake up screaming if I can't sleep to begin with," She shrugged.

Laura grimaced at the comment wishing there was something she could do to help her.

"Katya, those dreams you've been having, or I guess I should call them nightmares...have they…" Laura paused reconsidering her question but she made herself ask anyway. "Have they gotten worse since the attack on Beta?"

"Why?" Katya asked curious as to why Laura seemed so interested in her nightly torment.

"I dunno," Laura lied. "I guess it was just a scary time for everyone."

Katya bit her lip and nodded.

"Nǐ hǎo, ladies," Dr. Xao greeted, slipping through the opening of the curtain.

Laura gave the demure man a smile and a nod but Katya stayed silent.

"Ms. Roslin, Dr. Tawny is waiting for you over in the next curtain," Xao smiled.

"Thank you, Doctor," She nodded.

When Laura glanced back to say goodbye and wish Katya well she was surprised to see the girl's eyes filled with tears as she looked at the old doctor. The man almost seemed to be expecting his patient's reaction and smiled sympathetically at her as he walked toward the bed. When he reached her he took her hand and squeezed it between both of his own. Laura could see Katya's bottom lip already quivering. The scene was sweet but strange. The young woman seemed so brave. Laura wondered how a little dehydration and an overnight stay could upset the brazen fighter pilot to the point of tears. Still, she supposed everyone was entitled to a few irrational phobias and she didn't blame Katya for being afraid of the ward.

Laura wanted so badly to leave her with something comforting, to give her a hug or even just a pat to the shoulder but she couldn't make herself do it even as she watched the tears brimming the girl's long dark lashes.

"Feel better, Katya," She said before taking her leave.

As she started to walk out she could see the small man leaning over to hug her daughter closely and she couldn't help overhearing the exchange between doctor and patient as she made her way through the curtains.

" Dr. Xao, " Katya cried, her voice obviously breaking with emotion.

" My Yekaterina, bùyào kū. Yǒu xìnxīn. I know that you’re frightened. Everything will be alright," He told her softly.

LOCATION: BETA SPACE STATION; approximately 200 miles above the surface of planet Earth

MILITARY UNIT

CORRIDOR B

CONFERENCE ROOM 131B; UNASSIGNED

YEAR: 2315

"I'm sorry we can't bring you two back to Alpha with us, Helo," Saul explained. "It's just not safe to have the four of you together for an extended length of time," He went on, looking at Bill as though he were reiterating the facts to him as well.

The three men sat at a small oval table in an unused military meeting room aboard Beta Sation. Their coffee cups sat in front of them, barely touched and way passed tepid. Though Karl and Sharon had been alive for almost two weeks the others hadn't been able to spend more than a handful of days with them. Helo's condition had taken a brief but dangerous turn soon after his resurrection. He was put under sedation and back on a ventilator almost immediately. He was stabilized by the time the Beta attack had ceased but then fought a minor case of pneumonia caused by what was assumed to be residual stasis fluid in his lungs. Bill stayed by his bedside with Sharon for three days before Le Blanc and her team decided that it was safe enough to remove the intubation and wake him up. His second awakening was much less eventful. My comparison it was surprisingly calm but after two days of explanations, first meetings and sympathy there was another breach; this time in the Delta quadrant. Sharon had felt the effects of the new cylon affliction for the first time and everyone was there to see Blaze and Alexi suffer a similar spell. The stress of seeing Sharon in such a state had caused Helo to have a small relapse.

Bill and Laura hadn't wanted to leave Beta without the Agathons but after the Delta event Saul and Ellen didn't give them a choice. Once the airways were clear they were quickly flown back to Alpha and separated from the other two supposed saviors. They'd been communicating through the network on visual calls ever since. Though Saul and Ellen had alternated visits throughout the following week, it was Bill's first trip back to see them in person.

"I get it Colonel, it's just, Sharon and I, we're all alone here," Helo frowned.

"I know that and I'm sorry,” Tigh offered. “We won't stop visiting as long as it's safe. We'll make sure one of us comes and visits every few days until we figure something else out.”

"I know how alone you two must feel," Bill said thumbing at his now cool coffee cup. "Laura and I felt it too. We felt it even though we had Saul and Ellen with us. I honestly wasn't sure that Laura would make it through our first few weeks here so I understand how difficult this it must be for you and Sharon. It's just that your safety has to come first right now."

Helo winced and rubbed at the bridge of his nose.

"I just can't believe we did it again. It's like that old proverb from the scrolls was true and we really didn't break the cycle at all. We went through hell to get our people here and our descendants just did it all over. They played gods, created life and then expected subservience. Makes me feel like it was all a waste."

"It wasn't a waste, Helo," Saul snapped, "We gave humanity another 200,000 years when they could have perished completely. Nothing we did was a waste ," Saul repeated shaking his head, "I refuse to let it become one. There are other factors this time. These bots, they aren't just angry at being enslaved by their makers. They started to realize how humanity was treating their home. The planet had massive problems with civil war, population and pollution. The bots decided to take charge. They thought they could do better."

"Maybe they can," Helo said with a bitter shrug. " Humanity trashed the planet and now they want it back? It's like you used to say, Admiral; Why are we as a people worth saving? We never ask ourselves if we deserve to survive. "

Tigh leaned over the table like he was going to yell but he didn't.

"You keep forgetting, Helo, that this isn't just humanity, even if that's what they call themselves. This race is colonial and cylon and earthling. If you think about it, it's just their first shot."

Helo gave a cynical smile in return.

"And the races combined still couldn't get it right," He scoffed.

"It was inevitable," Bill interrupted in a low voice. "We had twelve planets to spread our people and problems over. Twelve planets to each endure a bit of the toll we took on nature. When we landed here this one little planet took on the symbolic weight and baggage of thirteen others. It's no wonder it's been abused," He said looking up to Saul and then Helo." But that doesn't mean we should give up. I think if humanity wasn't worth saving we would have been gone long ago. We've all felt the joys and sorrows of people on an individual level. That's what made life worth living. Maybe that's what makes it worth saving; not what we do as a collective entity but what we share with each other," He posed half trying to convince himself.

Saul cleared his throat and leaned back into his seat. He knew that Helo was still upset but there wasn't a doubt in the colonel's mind that he would eventually help in any way he could. Helo’s loyalty was unmatched.

"Lt. Bishop is grounded from flight duty until our…affliction passes," Tigh said testing the waters. Helo and Sharon had been informed about their son only days after their download. They'd taken it far better than either Bill or Laura but Saul knew that it was still sinking in. "He's been given permission to extend his leave and he's planning on staying aboard Beta a bit longer. This was his home for a long time. He's happy to be here and he he's glad to help you and Sharon with anything he can if you'll let em'."

Helo shook his head.

"It's just still so…I don't know, "He paused." I look in the mirror in the morning and I still can't get it through my head that it's me. I died an old man. Sharon, she never changed. She looks as beautiful as she always did."

"Ellen explained to you why we had to do that," Tigh interrupted.

"I know. I know. It's just, I look at myself and then I look at…that L.T and the fact that he's supposed to be my son just doesn't make sense. I don't know how I'm ever supposed to be his father. It's not that I don't want to be. He's a good guy and it's crazy how much he reminds us of Hera but I don't know how he could ever see me that way...Like a dad. It's just crazy."

"He isn't expecting anything, Helo," The Colonel insisted. "He just wants to help."

"Sharon's taken to him so well," Helo said bowing his head a bit. "She's taken to all of this so well. I'm still so confused."

"It's alright, Helo," Bill said firmly but reassuringly. "It's not easy. In fact it's godsdamn insanity. You should be confused and even angry. I sure as frak was. Hell, most of the time I still am. Thing is, we're here and there isn't much we can do about it but try to figure out why. You'll get there. Sharon's had experiences with resurrection before. It's understandable that she dealt with that part better than any of us have. As far as Lt. Bishop goes, you'll both just have to see where time and patients gets you. It's been just over a week and a half and you three are on pretty good terms. After a week and a half here Laura and I still didn't know who our daughter was and we're still struggling."

Helo grimaced.

"She's the captain right? The one who told me that she thought I'd be smarter?"

"Yeah. That's our girl," Saul beamed gaining a scowl from Bill.

"And she's married to...that big guy outside the door? And he's…the son of a Six and…Baltar?" Helo said asking for clarification for about the hundredth time.

He still couldn't wrap his head around any of it.

"Yeah, that's right, Helo," Bill affirmed.

"Caprica," Saul corrected gaining a bit of a look from both men.

"How did such a little man produce that?" Helo said with a snort.

"Well, he's all his mother," Saul answered with something akin to pride. "Plus he's spent more time pumping iron than chasing tail like his father. He's something of a mathematics savant, though. Least that creep Baltar passed down something useful," He shrugged.

"No kidding?" Helo said somewhat amused.

The sergeant looked more like he'd be a challenging opponent in the ring than he did a walking calculator.

Saul nodded

"And Lt. Bishop's academic credentials are nothing to sneeze at either," Saul informed the boy’s birth father. "He may come off a little goofy but that's mostly an act. On top of being an airman he’s trained as a rehabilitation therapists. You should be proud"

"Must get that from Sharon," Helo frowned. "I'm afraid your Captain was right on with her little assessment of me. Never been one for books."

"Maybe," Tigh shrugged. "But that boy didn't want to be a doctor, though he could have been a fine one. He wanted to follow in his family's footsteps. I'll tell you another thing about him; he's unyieldingly loyal," He said lifting his chin.

"That I know he gets from you, Helo," Bill added. " I remember that much."

Karl furrowed his brow and nodded.

"And he's…how old, again?"

They'd gone over this so many times over the last week. Ellen had lost her patience with him. At least Admiral and the Colonel were cutting him some slack.

"Well let's see, Katya just had a birthday two months ago," Saul pondered trying to recall the precise birth dates of each child. He couldn't. He'd long forgotten his own. Ellen kept track of those things, not him. "So that means his is coming up. He'll be twenty-two. They were all born within a few months after the other. He's second in line," He explained as Karl just continued to nod with a pained expression. "Listen, Helo; I know Ellen tried to explain this to you before but I think you should really try to take this all in. Don't be so concerned with being that boy's father. When it comes down to it you're the grandfather of the entire frakkin' race of people than inhabits this system. They all come from you and Sharon in one way or another. If you can get that through your head then having a son who looks like a brother might not seem as strange in comparison."

Helo let out a loud huff.

"Ya know, when Ellen told Sharon that…it was like she already knew. In a way I feel like she always understood what Hera was better than I did. We never had any other children but Hera gave me two grandchildren before I…before I died. I was mesmerized by them when they were born, in some ways even more so than I was with Hera. I was so proud to have a legacy…and now I realize...I didn't know what a frakkin’ legacy was,” Helo said shaking his head.

"Well you sure as hell do now," Bill answered, finally shoving his coffee way.

"Hang in there, Helo," Saul encouraged. "Ellen's decided that we can't wait much longer to bring back Sam and D'Anna. She's setting a date for next week just as soon as she comes back from the basestar. When they're here we'll find a way to get all of you together."

Helo nodded and bit his lip.

"Does she know why you all keep getting sick, Colonel? I don't know what to tell Sharon. We've been asked to help these people but I don't know how she can be expected to with what's been happening to all of you."

"We aren't sick ," Saul insisted with scowl.

"What the frak is it then?" Bill challanged.

Saul sighed and looked between his two old shipmates.

"I dunno."

LOCATION: CYLON BASESTAR; approximately 400 miles above the surface of planet Earth

CENTRAL COMMAND CONTROL CENTER

YEAR: 2315

The thrumming rhythmic sounds of the basestar hummed through Margot's body. Her hands tingled as they rested in the shallow console that ran with the flow of the cylon stream. The sensation whispered through her arms, up to her neck and into her mind where it murmured data to her like a secret. Her long legs faintly buzzed with the trilling purr of the ship's life force and she smiled as it spread to her stomach and into her chest.

When Ellen brought her there for the first time she was just fifteen years old, unsure of her identity and what it really was to be Cylon. She'd grown up raised by an Earthling Human whose cylon blood was muddled through thousands of generations. Before the Tighs presence Margot felt alone in a sense. Meeting them had changed so much for her. They told her she was special. They reminded her that her mother and father were just like her and that one day soon she would meet them. For the first time in her life she felt like she belonged. Sometimes Margot was envious of Katya for getting to live with the Tighs, odd as they were. Katya was a Colonial, the only living in Orbit at the time, the only human alive that should have had no genetic connection to the Cylon bloodline at all. Then the Tighs noticed her abilities; the cylon genetics passed down from her mother. Ellen helped Katya to understand that part of who she was. She helped her to build upon her abilities and lose the fear that came with them. By the time the girls were ten years old Katya seemed more comfortable with her cylon genetics than Margot felt with her own. It didn’t seem fair. For a time Margot tried to ignore it. She pushed away the things that made her cylon and tried to live a purely human life. She ignored the centurions that walked the halls of Delta Sation and forced herself to quit projecting all together. Eventually she'd started to think that it was the way she wanted things, until her first trip to the ship.

On the day of Margot's fifteenth birthday Ellen Tigh came to see her on Delta. When she saw the woman was without Katya she'd been disappointed at first. The girls lived for their visits together. Then Ellen explained why she was there. With her Le Blanc’s permission, Ellen was taking Margot to the cylon basestar. She told her she that was old enough to learn all that she could do and all that she could be. At first Margot was elated. She felt special and privileged. She was the youngest of the four and if Ellen had meant to take the other three they would have already gone. She knew this was something that would only be for her. She couldn't wait to see what the strange ship looked like inside but as their heavy raider neared the docking station she became afraid of what she would find within the unknown place. The fear followed her through the entire landing process. As Ellen stepped off of the raider she extended a hand to help Margot do the same but she was suddenly too afraid to take it. She'd started to panic. She apologized profusely for wasting Ellen's time and begged to be taken back to Delta. She felt embarrassed and ashamed of herself for being such a coward but she couldn't shake the dread that had overcome her. Ellen was patient and seemed almost amused at her reaction. She agreed to take her back under the condition that she exit the heavy raider and stand on the flight deck to wait for a new one. Margot was weary of leaving the vessel that had brought her aboard but wanting to return to her station as quickly as possible she’d agreed. She finally accepted the woman's hand and took her first step onto the surface of the basestar. Ellen pulled her in for what seemed like a reassuring hug but soon Margot knew it was much more than that. The Cylon woman held her tightly and told her not to be afraid. As they stood there Margot felt the pulsing vibration of the ship under her feet for the first time. It sent a warm feeling through her body that she’d never felt before. She was suddenly at ease. She felt a strange comfort she'd never known. She felt a connection she didn't think was possible.

"That's its heartbeat," Ellen had told her softly without being asked the

question. "The ship is alive just like the raiders and the centurions. It's alive just like me and you."

During those few moments in Ellen's embrace Margot's fear melted. She belonged there. It was already speaking to her and she could already understand. She never hesitated to make the trip again. She grew to love the ship for everything it was. When Ellen suggested she project to make the halls and lighting less disorienting she refused. She liked the way it looked. She found the lights almost enchanting and the sleek halls soothing. She didn't need it to look like anything else. She loved it there. If anyone ever asked her she would never admit it but sometimes she felt more at home while visiting the basestar than she ever had on Delta Station.

"How's it going kiddo?"

Ellen's voice broke Margot's concentration. She looked up and lifted her hands off of the luminous watery surface.

"You were just down there. You know as well as I do," Margot said with an arched brow.

Ellen had been a deck below with the hybrid, or at least what remained of it.

Not long after Saul and Ellen left new Earth they began to worry about the fate of the ship’s control system; it's brain, the hybrid who Ellen had come to call Lucy. For years it alternated between silent dormant states and manic mumblings of the same message that lead Tighs to their new journey.

THE ONCE PASSENGERS START A NEW. LAND WATER STILL THE CYCLE DOESN'T END. SIN AND WAR. AN EVOLUTION OF

IMPERFECTION GROWS TO POISON THE BLUE AND THE GREEN. REPEAT THE SINS OF THOSE WHO LEFT THE SEEDS. AN

ANCIENT PAIR BRING HOPE IN ALCHEMY AND WISDOM. PATIENTS. PATIENTS. THE BYGONE LEADERS WILL ENTER IN

THE DARKEST TIME BEFORE THE FLOCK MUST FLEE THE NEST…

When Saul and Ellen first decided to box themselves, Ellen knew she had to do something to safeguard Lucy. They couldn't stop the aging process on her body as they had with themselves. Most of her organic tissue was entirely human. She wasn't like Hera who's hybrid flesh and blood was true result of the mixing of two races. Hers were human parts, merely plugged into cylon conduits and connectors, responding to electricity that flowed in the stream. Ellen knew Lucy's human tissue would likely deteriorate while they were boxed for years on end and without the ship’s brain the entire vessel would cease to function. Abducting another human to make a new control system was out of the question. Lucy had come from a barbaric time in cylon history. One that Ellen would never think of repeating. It was Saul who came up with the solution. He recalled how the Colonial Fleet had once used a heavy raider's brain inside a raptor to avoid cylon detection. It was during a recon mission to Caprica. The very one which brought Anders to them. With Athena's help they had been able to disconnect the organ from its metallic interface and graft it to their own vessel. With that in mind Ellen had performed a similar procedure on Lucy. She'd taken her offline and dismantled her body from its cylon consol. The hybrid now only existed as a human brain preserved within the contents of its tub. She was in essence still alive but without a body. Her consciousness fed into the stream through organic cylon ventricles and connectors. Ellen had programmed it so even a replication her voice could be heard through the communications system as it relayed her thoughts. Ellen pitied Lucy and whoever she'd once been but she revered her for all that she had done for humanity and cylon alike. One day she'd be able to let her consciousness free.

"It took me ten minutes to walk back up here, Margot. I could have missed something," Ellen countered. "Besides I want your perspective."

"How was Lucy?" Margot teased.

Ellen smirked at the girl for ribbing her. Even Saul teased her about the so-called pet name she had for the ship's brain. She always just smiled along as they joked but if she ever shared how she'd really come to call it that she knew they wouldn't be laughing.

Not long before the hybrid's dismantlement Ellen had been lying by its tub listening to some of the last murmuring repetitions its lips and tongue would ever physically speak. As she lounged there she began to wonder about the person who was used to make the grotesque but almost divine amalgamate before her. No doubt the hybrid was once a citizen of one of the Twelve Colonies but Ellen wondered who she'd been, who'd missed her once she was taken. She began to wonder if the thing it had become could even recall the individual it had once been. As she lay with her head supported by her elbow she absentmindedly ran her fingers against the side of the vat until suddenly the hybrid's hand reached up, snatching Ellen's arm and pulling it into the tub's fluid. As her hand submerged so did her mind. The walls of the basestar were gone. Ellen saw nothing but dust and tiny flecks of debris flying around in her vision. Soon she heard the gunfire; machine guns and bombs in the distance. She heard people shouting. She heard the crumbling of stone and even more explosions. When her vision cleared all she saw was rubble. Wherever she was, it had been all but destroyed. Buildings lay in ruin, some burnt hollow, others with obvious combat still going on inside their cracking walls. She was terrified and disoriented. Her fear rose to a new height when she heard a voice; a little girl's cries and she realized it was coming from herself. She didn't understand. This wasn't a flashback. She'd never seen wartime as a child. It didn't make any sense. Suddenly she heard another scream. She looked up to see a frightened girl around twelve years old in dusty clothes shouting in her direction from just yards away. The girl was screaming at the top of her lungs. She yelled the same thing over and over again; C'mon, Lucy! Lucy! C'mon, Lucy! Ellen felt herself shrieking in response but she couldn't make out anything other than the frantic beckoning of the girl before her. Suddenly a shadow darkened the rocky grounds around them. She heard the roaring hum of an engine above her and then she saw the girl backing away from her and toward a ramshackled building. The girl screamed Lucy over and over until she disappeared inside a broken doorway. The shadow closed in making Ellen's vision darken until it turned black. As the whirring above her drowned out the sounds of bombs and bullets she could finally hear the name coming from her own mouth. Helena! Helena! she screamed in tears but the other girl was gone and she wasn't coming back for her.  In a breath Ellen was back on the basestar wrenching her arm from the grip of the hybrid and falling back hard on to the floor of the ship. Ellen panted heavily trying to catch her breath. She slipped a few times trying to get her balance with her hands covered in the slick fluid. She watched the hybrid mouth agape, still stunned over what she'd just experienced. It mumbled the same old message it had been, now acting as if it were unaware of her presence. Ellen's eyes watered thinking of the sights she'd seen and the children's voices she'd heard. Then in an instant she recalled what she'd been thinking of moments before it happened.

"Is that what you saw? Was that the last thing you saw?" She whispered unsure the hybrid was even hearing her.

It made no indication that it did. It only spoke its unchanging recitation in the same monotone voice.

"Was that girl calling for you? Who was she? She was calling for Lucy. Was that you? You called her Helena. Were you Lucy?" Ellen asked sitting up on her knees.

As the hybrid started on yet another familiar line Ellen's shoulders slumped. She was about to get up and leave when abruptly it's head cranked to face her and it's eyes seemed to focus right on hers.

"All is not lost. All is not lost," It told her before relaxing back in the vat and resuming its usual dialog.

Ellen was almost sure it had answered the question she'd been thinking of only moments before the awful vision. The hybrid's body was dismantled day's later but Ellen never called it by anything but its name ever again, even in the form in took now.

"Ellen? Ellen?" Margot called.

"Hm?"

"I said, what's up with Lucy?"

Ellen shrugged.

"She's active. Talking away. Same old lines, different day," She said smiling at the young woman.

Ellen had become very proud of Margot. She was proud of all four children but she'd watched Margot walk the precarious line of living as a cylon in a human world with grace. Ellen knew once Athena got to know the girl she'd find a kindred spirit. Margot had become a great help to Saul and Ellen in the last few years. They were grateful for her skill set, her chosen profession and helpful nature. She'd taken a large chunk of the burden off of their shoulders and she seemed happy to do it.

Though Margot so strikingly echoed her mother in appearance, Ellen saw Sam when she looked at the girl. He’d been her friend once; her confidant worlds and lives ago. Ellen was secretly anxious to have Sam Anders back. Just like Lucy, his lips had uttered the warnings of what was to come as he hurdled toward his fiery end. She'd made him a promise to help and though she knew he probably wouldn't remember his time on the sweltering broken and beaten battlestar, she still wanted to show him that she'd kept her word.

"You're avoiding my question, Margot. Tell me. What's your take?"

Margot looked around the room making sure they were alone. She'd taken a handful of Delta Station engineers along with them to help run diagnostics on the basestar's inter-Orbit System communications. Satisfied that they were all still spread out within the ship's spires she nodded. She ran her still wet hands through the roots of short blonde hair savoring the feel of the streams fluid as it cooled and tingled at her scalp.

"My take ," She repeated as she walked closer to where the other woman stood expectantly. "My take is that this is a lot worse than I thought," Margot admitted.

She nervously chewed at her bottom lip as she watched Ellen try to hide the concern in her face.

"What's your plan?" Ellen posed resuming an air of false confidence and straightening her posture.

" My plan? "

"Your plan, our plan," Ellen rolled her eyes, "What's the plan, Margot?"

The young woman sighed as she felt the weight of responsibility starting to make itself known.

"Well, the good news is that I don't think what's happening is any kind of virus; digital, biological or otherwise."

"I agree but what the frak is it?"

"Well, I had a theory. I made my team do some testing and they've given me some data that seems to back it up enough to explore further."

"Speed it up, Margot," Ellen said with a huff. "What's happening to us?"

"I think what's happening would be better compared to a sort of targeted power surge."

"A power surge?" Ellen scowled.

"Don't think of it as an electrical surge, at least not exactly. It's more like a surge to our software, excuse the term," She winced knowing Ellen hated the association but the woman just waved it off, encouraging her to go on. "There is some sort of signal being sent by the bots before an oncoming attack; a signal that's targeted specifically to effect the cylon race. It seems as though they're sending whatever it is right before the impending attacks just hoping it's strong enough to knock our raiders off their game long enough get the edge. I've gone over and over the ship's sensory outputs recorded during the time of the attacks. The entire system goes crazy whenever that specific force or signal interrupts it."

"Why are we feeling it?"

"The short answer? A cylon's a cylon," Margot shrugged.

Ellen glared at Margot with pursed lips and narrow eyes.

"But we weren't feeling it before. The raiders and our communications with the ship were obviously compromised during the last battles in the Alpha quadrant. Why did we only feel it on Beta for the first time? And why did it just now get to the boys this last time? "

"I thought about that too. Whatever this signal is, it started off just affecting the centurions, raiders and the basestar because those are their intended targets. It makes sense; disorient the things with the missiles. The alarming thing is that if you go over the ship’s sensory outputs during the last four attacks; Alpha, Alpha, Beta and Delta, you'll see that the surge gained strength each time. My guess is that by the Beta attack it was strong enough to affect you, me and Saul. By the Delta attack it was strong enough to affect Blaze and Alexi. I don't know if the gradual increase is purposeful or if they just happen to be getting better at it."

"That's just great."

"What I can tell you is that this doesn't seem to be coming from the Air-bots. This isn't something they're shooting in-flight. Whatever this force or signal is; it's coming directly from the surface. I called over to Delta and had them send a drone down low in orbit to scan for activity. The signal is constant and it's strongest right around the atmosphere line. The bots are just directing when and where it surges high enough to reach us out in Orbit."

"Margot, is there any good news to any of this?" Ellen said wincing and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Any at all?"

"Yes."

"Good, sweetie. What is it?"

"As soon as I have a full analysis of what the signal consists of I'm almost sure I can format a firewall to shield the centurions, raiders and even the ship. I'm not sure how long it will take but I'm pretty sure I can do it."

"That's my girl. That's what I want to hear," Ellen smiled.

"But there's a problem."

"There you go ruining it," Ellen said shaking her head and putting her hands on her hips. “Okay. Tell me.”

"I don't think the firewall will work on us. Our internal systems are too intricate. Even if we fed off the firewall from the ship I don't think it would be enough."

"What if we were inside the ship?"

"I don't think it works like that. I could be wrong but it seems like it's affecting the models on an individual level."

Ellen groaned out loud.

"So you can get our fleet and the centurions safe for combat but we are still going to turn into dizzy useless messes before every attack."

"Yeah."

"Godsdamn," Ellen muttered biting the nail on her thumb. They needed to get their machines working. That was more important. As much as she hated it the effects only seemed to last for a short amount of time. They would survive until they figured out how to stop it. "Okay. Fine. Get on it. We need our defense system working. We'll figure us out next. Saul and I will alert Sharon and the boys and we'll just have to be aware and take every precaution we can until we come up with something. If we have to go a little catatonic before the next few station attacks so be it. It's just the six, well…eight of us, once Sam and D'Anna get here," Ellen tried to reason to herself.

Margot cringed. She hadn't wanted to tell Ellen the next part.

"Well…that's the other thing…that's not necessarily true."

LOCATION: BETA SPACE STATION; approximately 200 miles above the surface of planet Earth

CENTRAL OPERATIONS AREA

EARTH ORBIT SYSTEM GROW CENTER

HYDRO GREENHOUSE IV; FLOWERING TREES & FRUITS

YEAR:2315

To an outsider who didn't know any better it would appear that there was an atmosphere above them. It would seem as though there were blue skies dusted with white moving clouds and even a yellow sun all shining into the glass panes that made up the false ceiling. There were even heat lamps hidden in the façade that made it feel as though there were rays of warmth coming from the heavens. Though the lamps were meant to encourage the lush growth below them they echoed the feeling of a warm spring day, at least what Blaze would imagine one to be like if he'd ever truly witnessed one. As he strolled along the system of high-rise catwalks that lined the greenhouse he smiled, enjoying the feeling of the artificial atmosphere on his face and the company of the woman beside him.

"We're so high," Sharon grinned as she leaned on the railing and looked down over the greenery that grew in every corner.

On the ground floor there were rows and rows of fruiting plants. There were lines of bushes and shrubs budding with berries and dozens of brightly colored flowers blooming. A lattice system of large beams was structured across the room at about the halfway point between the floor and the ceiling. From the beams hung chains and cords each with something living growing at the end of its tether. Some hung water filled globes which held the beginnings of submerged bean sprouts and spilled out with vines that grew down to the floor. Other's hung glass cubes and boxes in which flowers of all hues grew in watery beds. The strongest beams supported trees as they hung with their curled roots dipped into giant water vats on the ground floor. Also from the beams dangled a stringy system of thousands of interconnected thin transparent tubes all feeding into each living thing and supplying fresh H2O at all times. It made the whole place look like it was covered in some kind of aquatic web. A handful of workers milled around the grounds. Some pruned, some took notes on tablets charting growth and output. Others picked ripe fruits for food and harvested flowers and herbs for medicines.

"Too high?" Blaze asked putting his hands behind his back.

Sharon leaned over the railing a tad further and took a deep breath. She'd found herself doing it lately just because she could. The air smelled sweet and fresh without the tang of terrestrial dirt to muddy its scent.

"No. Not too high," She laughed. "You're aware I was a fighter pilot too, aren't you?" She smirked at him.

"Yes, Ma'am," He nodded, smiling in return. "It's just this pesky thing we call artificial gravity," He reminded her.

She leaned off of the railing and laughed as they continued to walk.

"Guess we better hope we don't have one of those episodes anytime soon. We'll fall right off," Sharon teased.

Blaze huffed and shook his head. Though he'd been trying to forget it, the fact that he and Alexi had suffered the effects of the new cylon predicament had him worried. It was an awful feeling. He'd never been so dizzy. His vision had turned into a spinning vortex and he was almost sure it would never stop. It lasted only minutes but it felt like an eternity. Though he hated being unable to report to duty he didn't blame Kaplan for ordering his CAG to take him off the flight board. In that state he would be useless. The thought of it happening again gave him chills and suddenly he wanted to get down off of the catwalk.

"Just be careful," Blaze mumbled.

"So what if I did fall?" Sharon scoffed, "Couldn't Ellen just grow me another body and bring me back?"

Blaze shrugged.

"You'd have to ask her. I'm not sure how that all works. Even the Colonel doesn't really know. She's the only one who does."

Sharon rolled her eyes.

"So after all of this is done what's gunna happen? I mean she can essentially bring cylon and human alike back from the dead with a matching body. What's to stop people from asking her to do the same for average citizens? Don't you think that technology could be made standard practice? Everyone could resurrect. It would turn this entire race into something closer to cylon than they already are. Dangerous, if you ask me. That was our biggest problem. We lacked mortality. What if humanity loses theirs?"

Blaze nodded in understanding.

"The Tighs brought that point up to the EOC a long time ago. Ellen said she didn't want that on her shoulders and they agreed it would be damaging to the society as a whole. Plans have been put into place to ensure that doesn't happen. It's why Ellen is the only one who knows how to do it. They did that on purpose. When Sam and D'Anna wake up she's suppose to destroy the tubs and anything used for the download process. Then, well…the Colonel is supposed to delete the information from her memory."

Sharon scowled and crossed her arms.

"How can they be so sure that he will? What's to stop Ellen from sharing the secret with someone else or hiding it in the basestar's software?" Sharon posed, "Who would even know?"

"I guess no one would," Blaze sighed.  “She could do that but I don't believe that she will. She doesn't want this anymore. She wants to do her part and then she wants it to be over."

“You trust her?”

“Of course I do,” Blazer said more forcefully than he meant to but he continued with a more composed tone. “Ellen Tigh is a good women. She’s the closest I’ve ever come to having a mother.”

“Me too,” Sharon noted with a smirk.

Blaze nodded and looked back down to the greenhouse grounds.

"It's so pretty here," Sharon observed as she looked up at the faux sky and down at the hanging gardens and rows of greens.

Blazer had just been about to suggest that they head back down but he was so pleased that she seemed to like the greenhouse.

"It's great, isn't it? I love it here. A lot more pleasing than the houses where they grow the wheat, algae and mushrooms. Smells a hell of a lot better too. Plus it's a lot quieter than the grain plants or the tofu dispensary. I think it's the most beautiful spot in the entire system," He agreed happily. "Well, the most beautiful man-made spot, I should say. If my squadron heard me say otherwise I'd get a few punches to the gut."

"Why's that?"

"I fly in Alpha's first squad; Luna Force. Named for our moon. It's kind of like our…"

"Mascot?"

"No, no. More like a symbolic high priestess or a mythical goddess or something. We call her the most beautiful gal in the system. We have all kinds of superstitions about its phases and stuff. Katya's got a crescent tattooed right on her ribs. Hurt like hell but she did it as tribute. Some pilots I know won't even go on dates when the moon is in its waxing phase cause' it's supposed to be bad luck. Kinda silly but it's tradition."

"Mythical?" Sharon said with a sly smile.

"Yeah…well I guess that's all in how you look at things, Athena ." He teased.

"Well I'm glad you took me here. It was getting kind of stuffy over in the barracks," Sharon said as they walked, "Can we go this way?" She asked when they came to an intersection of the catwalk.

"Sure."

Blaze stopped and motioned for her to take the lead.

Sharon paused to look down upon what seemed to be hundreds of vines dripping with grapes hanging from the beams below them. She felt Blazer stepping up to join her.

"You know," He started," I wish Cpt. Agathon would have joined us," He said putting his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah…me too," Sharon bit her lip. “He wanted to wait for Tigh and the Old Man. He's been anxious to see them. He’s still coughing a bit too. This might have been too much for him.”

"About that, do you want to head back?" He asked lifting his wrist and looking at his cuff. “ Tigh and Adama have been aboard a while now. I'm sure they want to see you too."

"They're staying overnight, aren't they?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"We'll go soon. I'm enjoying this."

"Me too," Blaze nodded with a grin.

"You know, you just need to give Karl some time," Sharon suggested as they continued walking on the high-rise. Blaze nodded but he didn't answer.!"He likes you. He really does. It's just that you…"

"I make him uncomfortable," Blaze finished.

Sharon glanced over at him and gave a sympathetic frown.

"He just doesn't know how to see you," She said matter-of-factly.

"Well you should tell him that if it makes him feel any better, I'm not exactly sure how to see him either. At least not anymore," Blaze offered. “You know when I lived here as a little kid my dad, Dr. Bishop, he would bring me to his lab now and then. He would show me the Captain's chamber and he'd say 'Son, this is your true father. This is the man who sired you and in a way he's my father too'. He told me how the people of Earth had all come from the descendants of your first child and how important you two were. I was really proud of that. I felt like I came from a great man….and woman," He added getting a chuckle from Sharon. "And back then I had no problem looking at you both as my birth parents. Then I started getting older and older and Ellen still hadn't perfected her resurrection process. Then one day I went to visit when I was about fourteen. It was a few years after my dad was killed. I came all the way from Gamma Station where I lived at the time with the Petrovs. I'd just had a big growth spurt and I remember how I just looked at you guys and thought; these people don't look like my parents anymore…I was catching up to you," Blaze sighed and shook his head, "And I guess now I pretty much have."

He stopped and looked at Sharon. Her expression was sad and for a moment he felt bad for bringing down the mood.

"This is hard for all of us, Blaze but I understand why this is especially hard for you and Karl. It's going to take time but if you're both patient with each other you'll see that the roles of a family aren't defined by titles or age. They are defined by how you treat each other and how you feel about each other. They develop out of respect and the parts that you play in the experiences that bond you," She explained.

Blaze bit the inside of his cheek as he considered her words. He wasn't sure she was right even though he wished that she was.

"But, you and I, we have the same issue and it doesn't seem to bother you the way it does him. I may not feel like your son but at least around you I don't feel like a freak."

"Helo doesn't think of you as a freak, Blaze. Don't put that on him," Sharon said sharply narrowing her eyes. "I understand that might be how you feel but he's never said anything like that and I know it's not what he's thinking. He's just been woken from the dead, asked to save to world again and told he has a son within the span of about ten days. I think he's doing pretty well with it all considering," She defended.

"I didn't mean it like that," Blaze said putting his palms up defensively and taking a step back. "That's not what I meant. Look, it's my problem, not his."

"No. You share it. So just share it and work through it and don't compare your relationship to me with your relationship with Karl. It's not fair to him…It's not fair to you either," Sharon said looking down between the patterned pinholes of the metal catwalk's surface.

Blaze swallowed. He knew he should be grateful. Despite being taken off duty, things had been going surprisingly well. He just couldn't help wanting more.

"Why does it seem so much easier for you? I mean…I know it's not easy. I guess that's not what I mean. I remember your face when Ellen told you. I know none of this is easy and for the record…I'm really sorry about what was done to you. About what was done to your body to…bring me here," Blaze blushed."None of this is fair and a lot of it has been really wrong, so I know you've struggled. It's just…Ellen told you and you were shocked and hurt and everything…but then the next time I saw you…it was like you were almost happy that I was here. And ever since then you've been so easy to talk to and willing to accept me for whatever I might be to you. I just don't get how you can do that. I mean…I'm grateful. Don't get me wrong. I've gone to sleep in my rack every night since I met you thanking the universe for how amazing you've been. It's just that, to be honest, I understand Cpt. Agathon's reaction a hell of a lot better," He admitted.

Sharon looked up to the false sky and watched the fake clouds roll past and off into nothing.

"Is there somewhere we can sit down, Blaze?"

After about a dozen staircases and a short ride on a lift Blaze and Sharon were on the ground floor. He lead her through rows of shrubs, passing a few busy workers who paid them little mind. They came upon a section of large watery vats that held the root systems of about a dozen hanging trees.

"This is where they grow some of the apples. House III and V have more but they're such big operations that sometimes it's a little overwhelming there," He explained as he gestured to a smooth white bench. "After you."

Sharon sat and Blaze joined her side. For a while they both sat watching the knotting gnarly roots suspended in the crystal clear water. A faint buzz whooshed by and Sharon swatted in front of her face before she even registered what she'd seen.

"Was that a bee?"

"Yeah…they introduced them to help pollinate the plants naturally. They used to have some birds too but they had trouble keeping them from tainting the water supply. We don't have a lot of animals on station but we have their DNA. Before anyone actually lived in the space stations permanently, scientists started to keep genetic catalogues of as much of Earth's plant and animal life as they could. Just in case," He shrugged.

Sharon nodded. They'd had similar practices on the basestars but their grow system was utilitarian. There was nothing so lush and green. There was nothing this peaceful.

"Blaze?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think you want children of your own one day?"

Blazer's eyes went wide and he blushed a bit.

"You know, someone asked me that recently. Got me thinking about it."

"And?"

"Well…unfortunately it would be easier said than done," He admitted. "As nice as that body they made for you is, cloning isn't exactly flawless. For some reason descendants of cloned bodies tend to have a poor success rate reproducing. It's not impossible. It's just not probable. It's something about the repetitive genetics. I could explain it but it's pretty boring. If I had one parent that was cloned my chances would be a bit better but I have two. That brings my chances down a good amount. Finding a partner without the same issue brings them back up slightly. Good thing there aren't a lot of people walking around with clone DNA," He laughed. "If I found the right girl then I might want to try. Especially if things calmed down in the system…if we really could move to the surface. Yeah…I guess I would want to. Being a pilot with a dangerous job makes it a little hard to adopt.” Blaze explained. “So I guess my answer is yes but it’s not very likely to happen.”

"It was beyond unlikely that I would have Hera. Ellen's cylon models weren't supposed to be able to reproduce at all. I had two children," Sharon countered.

Blaze nodded.

"So you and the Captain had another child once you came to Earth then?"

Sharon tilted her head.

"I was talking about you , Blaze."

Blazer felt his cheeks go red. As sweet as Sharon had been it was still seldom that she truly made reference to him as her son.

"Oh. Right."

"After Hera we didn't have any more," Sharon started as she leaned forward on the bench putting her hands on her lap. "We wanted to but it didn't happen. We considered her a true miracle. We lived in a tiny village made up of others from the fleet. Many were cylon. Some were human. Hera had other children to grow up with. It would have been nice for her to have a brother though," She said smiling. "I used to imagine having a little boy who looked just like Helo. I thought it would be nice for Hera to have more family so that if something happened to me and Karl she wouldn't be alone. She had lots of friends though. All the kids in the camp would follow her around when she'd go fishing and hunting. I loved watching her play and learn and grow. And then one day I looked at her…and she'd caught up to me," Sharon said echoing Blazer's words. "On top of that, Karl was aging and I wasn't. I always knew that was the way things would be. To me, I saw him as my husband. It didn't bother me and no matter how old Hera got or what she looked like I still saw my baby. That's the way things were. We just had to accept them. It was hardest when Karl died. He'd been slowing down and I knew he felt bad that he wasn't able to keep up with me anymore. We had two grandchildren at the time and I still looked and felt like I always had. I didn't want to say goodbye to him but I always knew there was a good chance he would go before I did. I lived over twenty more years without him and I never stopped missing him," Sharon said shaking her head.

"You lived twenty years after that? So that means your grandkids…"

"When I died my oldest grandson was older than you, Blaze," Sharon said firmly and waited for the reality to sink in.

Blaze's mouth hung open as he tried to compute what Sharon was explaining.

"And you still…"

"I still looked like…this," She answered. "A little more rough and worn. We didn't have an easy life by any means but I looked generally the same. It came to a point in time where Hera looked more like my mother than the other way around. She always knew where we stood though. She was my daughter. She knew that. Her children knew that. It was learned and it was understood. It's how our life was."

Blaze cracked his knuckles one by one as he tried to imagine what it had been like for his sister. If they all lived long enough he knew that one day he and Sharon would have the same experience.

"Do you mind if I ask how…"

"How I died?" Sharon finished.

"You don't have to."

"I was old. I might not have looked it and it took me a long time to feel it but I was. Cylon's without resurrection aren't immortal they're just more durable. If we had the medicine and technology that we'd abandoned I'm sure I would have lived a lot longer. You see for yourself how long the Tighs have lasted. That just wasn't part of our life anymore. There were new illnesses too. Ones the indigenous people carried. Diseases that Colonials and Cylon had never seen. Eventually the years of hiking and hunting and hard work caught up to me. I got weaker and slower. A bunch of us were out foraging one day. I went a little further off than I should have and a storm came. I was far from my group and I had to struggle the entire way back to camp in the pouring rain and mud on my own. I made it but I got sick after; really sick. I’d picked up something native to the planet that didn't discriminate between earthling, cylon or otherwise. I hacked my brains out for weeks. Hera and her family took care of me day and night. I felt awful making them work so hard and making them worry. Sometimes I felt like a burden but I was proud that I raised such a devoted family. It felt good to see that. One night I could hardly breathe. They put my cot by the fire because I was always cold and Hera was sitting there with me trying to keep me comfortable. She was so sweet. The last thing I remember was her telling me that she loved me and would miss me but it was alright if I wanted to go see Daddy again. So I did. I hated to say goodbye to her but I knew that she would be alright and that one day we would all be together again."

"And were you?"

"We were…I'm positive we were. It's hard to remember where Helo and I just came from. I don't know how to explain it. It's like I know what it felt like but I don't know what it was. We were together though…and we will be again. One day all of us will," She said confidently as she looked at her son.

"Thanks for sharing that with me, Sharon. I understand a lot better now."

"You and Helo will get there, Blaze. At least know that he wants to."

"I want that too."

LOCATION: ALPHA SPACE STATION; approximately 200 miles above the surface of planet Earth

CORRIDOR C

MED WARD

YEAR: 2315

Laura was hesitating as she stood in front of Katya's ward curtain. She'd spent hours debating whether or not she would return to the infirmary. Almost as soon as she'd left after her exam she'd wanted to go back. When she'd gotten to her quarters she found herself in tears. At first she thought it was because of how civil she and Katya had managed to be with one another, even pleasant. As the day went on Laura's tears returned whenever she so much as pictured Katya in the ward. It became clear where the tears were coming from. It hurt to see her child sick and in distress. She had felt it for the first time when she'd gone to confront Ellen. The girl she had newly learned was her daughter was sleeping on the Tigh's sofa with her head bandaged. It was all so new and confusing at the time but she remembered the awful pang that hit her deep in the chest just knowing that Katya was injured. She'd felt it again seeing her in the clinic bed with an IV in her arm looking white as a sheet. Laura cried once more as she wondered how Bill had ever buried a son and gone on to live his life another day. She hardly knew her daughter and just the sight of her a little under the weather had made her feel so terrible and helpless.

When supper time came around Laura tried ordering an in-cabin meal but with Bill away and her thoughts occupied she had little interest in eating it. She tried so hard to convince herself that returning to the ward would do more harm than good. She told herself that Katya would be sleeping, that she'd rather be left alone, that she wouldn't want her there. The latter was the only excuse she found any validity in. She had heard Katya asking for company and she saw the disappointment on her face when Tawny told her she wouldn't be there. Katya had said herself that she probably wouldn't get much sleep in the ward. The only thing that was stopping Laura from visiting was the thought that her daughter would rather be alone than with her. In the end though, the thought of Katya sick and all by herself was what finally drove Laura to go. She'd rather try and be asked to leave than lay in bed all night thinking that her child was lonely and ill. After discarding her dinner she'd grabbed one of her books and in a knee jerk decision employed Vladi to escort her to the ward instead of the human marine guard. Saul had never switched the machine out for another. Laura knew it, though she didn't know how. She could just tell. Vladi had stopped bringing her things and his affectionate behaviors had ceased. She figured the Colonel must have just given him some kind of order to cut it out and figured she'd be none the wiser. With his defining characteristics gone she knew she shouldn't have been able to tell it was still him but she could. After returning from Beta she decided that she wouldn't ask for him to be removed again.

When Laura left for the ward she figured the centurion would make the perfect excuse as to why she'd come back. Now as she hesitated to open the curtain Vladi's expectant eye swept back and forth as if it was urging her on. It was making her even more nervous than she already was. She wished she could knock first but the fabric partition didn't allow for such an announcement. Out of recent habit Laura reached her hand into the pocket of her sweater and felt around for the little object she knew she would find. She'd taken to carrying Katya's matryoshka baby around with her wherever she went. She knew it was silly but she just felt better having it with her. Once in awhile she would give the tiny doll a squeeze and remember the way her daughter had smiled when she first showed it to her. As she stood in front of the curtains Laura squeezed the baby doll as tightly as she could. It hurt her palm but it put a smile on her face. She took a deep breath and released the tiny toy into her pocket as a young medic passed by. Stopping him, she politely asked if he wouldn't mind alerting the captain to her presence. The testy medic seemed like he in fact did mind but with a look to the huge machine behind her he obliged anyway.

Laura watched the ill-tempered man flick the curtains back with a bit of disdain and she wondered if Katya hadn't made his shift just the tiniest bit unpleasant.

"Captain Isakoff, you have a visitor. Is that alright?" He halfheartedly announced stepping only halfway through the curtain.

Katya looked up from the screen projected over her station cuff. She'd been reading articles from a Gamma Station science journal all night and her eyes were starting to burn.

"Yeah, okay. I guess. As long as it's not you ," Katya told the irritated man.

He huffed as he backed away and Laura had to stop herself from laughing at the interaction.

"She's all yours , Ma'am," He told Laura without looking at her again.

She giggled quietly as she watched him walk off. Motioning for Vladi to stay put, she took a deep breath, tucked the book under her arm and stepped up to the gap in the curtains.

"I'm guessing he's not a fan of yours," Laura greeted with a smile.

When Katya looked up she was more than a little surprised. The expression on her face almost sent Laura running out of the clinic but she was relieved when the captain's eyes softened and her lips curled into an almost a sheepish smile.

"No. He sure isn't and the feeling is mutual," Katya answered.

She watched Laura as she stood at the entrance unmoving. She was confused as to why she was there. When Xao had come in earlier she'd been totally distracted. She'd hardly noticed Laura leave.

Katya had totally broken down in front of her lifelong doctor but their conversation had been a comforting one. She was glad to have spoken with him once it was over but she wished she'd been able to thank Laura once more before she'd left.

"What are you doing here? Tawny's gone for the night if you're back for more under the shirt action," Katya teased trying to hide her apprehension with a joke.

Laura blinked a few times at the bawdy remark but then couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her. At least Ellen had given her daughter a sense of humor. She supposed it was a good trait to have even if it was a bit off color.

"No," Laura smiled, "I came back to see how you were feeling."

"Oh…"

"I can leave if you want your rest. I just…I know your family is off station and you didn't seem too excited about spending the night here alone. I still remember how awful it can be. I don't have to stay. I just thought you might like some company…even if it is me," Laura shrugged at her own anxious attempt at humor.

Katya smirked at the woman's brave little quip.

"I look that desperate?" She teased in return but when she saw Laura's face fall she immediately scrambled to do some damage control. "That was a joke. Sorry, I thought we were…Never mind. Come in."

Katya rolled her eyes at herself. Maybe they just weren't ready for that level of banter.

"Sorry," Laura said making her way to the bed and setting her book on a nearby tray. She knew she was being over sensitive. “I…I really didn't know if I should come. I didn't want to bother you. Bill's off station too and I was by myself. I figured why not be alone together? I don't have to stay."

Katya bit her bottom lip. She tried to stop herself from being glad that Laura had returned but it wasn't working.

"Well you came all this way. Might as well stick around for a minute," She shrugged and pointed to a chair that was shoved off into the corner.

Laura nodded and dragged it over but she didn't sit. She hated that it still felt so awkward to be around her daughter. She knew that it shouldn't be that way.

"How are you feeling, Captain?" She asked crossing her arms.

Katya had a little more color in her face which seemed like a good sign. Despite having her father's eye and hair color Katya had inherited her mother's fair complexion. Laura knew that it didn't take much to dull the brightness in her own cheeks.

"I'm fine, thank you. Much better. Except for the mess that idiot made of my arm! " Katya shouted in the direction of the curtain, hoping the irksome medic would hear.

Laura looked back at the closed drapes and laughed.

"That medic? What happened?"

"He doesn't know what he's doing. Tawny had him redo my IV and it took him so many tries he collapsed the vein. I threw the moron out. They had to send someone else in to finish the job," Katya said holding out both arms.

Laura grimaced as she looked at the abandoned and bandaged injection site. She knew it was probably purple and bruised underneath. They'd moved the IV to her other arm. She remembered having to do the same after so many drips and injections in Sick Bay.

"I'm sorry," Laura said wincing at the sight.

"Yeah well, you know how it is," Katya mumbled.

Laura nodded and for a few moments an uneasy silence hung in the air. Looking down at the floor she saw the large shadow of her escort still standing guard behind the curtain. She'd almost forgotten it was there.

"Oh, I brought you something," Laura said with tentative grin returning to her face. "A surprise. It might cheer you up if you're up for it?"

Katya squinted at Laura wondering what in the hell she could have possibly brought her. She didn't think the woman knew her well enough to have the slightest idea of what would cheer her up.

"Okay…"

Laura nodded and quickly dipped outside of the curtain. Katya heard her telling someone to come in. The instruction was followed by the distinct zoom of centurion motion. In an instant Katya knew what Laura had done.

"I brought someone with me," She announced as she held open the drapes for the large machine to enter.

"Vladi!" Katya greeted happily.

The centurion trudged along, stopping at the side of the bed while Laura hung back by the entrance. She was immediately happy that she'd brought the cylon with her. Seeing another smile on Katya's face was enough to make her sure of that. She just wasn't sure she wanted anymore involvement in whatever sort of interaction was about to take place. Though she wasn't exactly against having the machine as her guard any longer, she still wasn't anxious to return any of its strange affections.

"I'm happy to see you, Vladi," Katya smiled.

The centurion extended a long spindly finger in her direction and she gladly grasped the smooth metal digit.

Laura frowned at the sight. The girl seemed happier to see the toaster than she was to see her and she didn't even blame her. While it was a strange meeting between two very different entities it lacked the awkwardness of their own communications. She couldn't believe she was actually envious of a bullet head.

"It's okay, Vladi," Katya said watching the cylon's eye sweep back and forth, "I’m alright. At least, it will be. I promise," She told him, still smiling. She held the palm of her hand up and the machine knowingly bent over allowing her to place it on his chest plate. He moved as close as he could, making sure she didn't have to lean too far off of her bed. Her hand rested on him for a few moments before his head tilted to the side almost as if he were pondering something. His eye zoomed across a few times before Kayta's eyes widened, "And how did you know that?" She asked surprised at whatever she'd reciprocated from him. "Because it's a secret," She answered with something like a pained smile painted on her lips. "Yes…Yes, we'll see, Vladi."

Laura marveled at the interaction but it was still so unsettling. She'd grown up terrified of the centurion machines. Her childhood nightmares of the First Cylon War were filled with visions of the long outdated model and their vengeful agenda. Now she was watching her own daughter happily converse with one. She had no idea how Katya was communicating with it but what scared Laura the most about the entire scene was that in theory she should be able to do the same.

"I'm glad you came to see me, Vladi. It made me very happy but you should be outside standing guard for Ms. Roslin. You get back out there and I promise to come see you soon." Without much of a farewell the Cylon guard turned and retreated. Laura ducked out of his way avoiding his supreme gate as he made his exit. "Bye, Vladi," Katya called as he disappeared behind the curtain. She laughed while she listened to his chromed feet stomping into position. Swallowing hard she looked down at her lap before glancing back up at Laura. "What made you bring him here?"

"I'd been led to believe you two were sort of…friendly. I thought it might be nice."

Katya was near stunned that Laura had thought to do something like that for her.

"Thank you," She said relaxing back on her pillows. "It was."

Laura nodded and took a few steps back toward the bed.

"I think it was a little upset. We didn't have time to stop for a gift."

Katya snickered at the remark. Saul had mentioned a few times that Vladi was very taken with Laura Roslin. He'd also mentioned that she was scared to death of him which Katya and Ellen had found quite amusing.

"I heard he's been bringing you things. He does it to me and Ellen all the time. He's just trying to be nice."

"I don't understand how you can communicate with it," Laura shook her head with a bewildered sigh.

"I don't understand it either," Katya said through a yawn. "I just do it."

Laura thought that Katya looked a little more tired than she had when she'd first arrived. She wondered if the cylon visit had been a bit much for the mending young woman.

"I can take it and go now if you think you want to try and get some rest?" Laura offered.

Katya bit her lip trying to figure out if she wanted Laura to leave or not. It was nice knowing she'd cared enough to come though she couldn't understand just why she cared. A few weeks ago Laura Roslin was just about the last person Katya would want keeping her company but she was almost happy to see her when she’d walked through the drapes. Having her there was still strange though. It was a little uncomfortable but she truly despised being alone in the ward.

"Do you want to go?" She tested.

Laura opened her mouth to speak but she forced herself to stop. She could hear the measured intent in the young woman's voice. She was still sharp enough to know when she was being tried. She'd been ready to answer with an automatic ' If you want me to, ' but that wasn't the answer to what her daughter was asking.

"No," She answered timidly but honestly. “ I want to stay."

Katya nodded and gestured to the chair for the second time.

"Then sit."

Laura inhaled deeply and she pulled the chair forward. She let her breath out slowly as she sat down.

"You'll let me know when you want to get some sleep?"

"I won't sleep tonight," Katya assured her.

Laura nodded.

"I spoke to Bill," She started, trying to keep the conversation going. "He said they'll be back before noon tomorrow."

"Yeah, Alexi said the same."

"You think you'll be out of here by then?"

"I should be," Katya said looking up at the ceiling. "I'm going to tell Alexi the truth. I just didn't want him rushing back here when there was no need. It's more my aunt and uncle I didn't want knowing. I'll tell them too…eventually. It’s not like you have to lie for me…"

"It's alright," Laura said holding her palms up to dissuade her concern. "It's your business. Have you spoken to Ellen?"

"She sent me a few messages. She says she'll be back tomorrow but she doesn't know exactly when," Katya shrugged. "I just hate being so far away from her."

It was rare that Katya or Ellen left the Alpha quadrant for more than a few hours at a time. When Katya first enlisted she knew that she could be assigned to any station or intersystem pod in orbit. She'd dreaded the thought of being separated from Ellen. She'd gotten lucky when she was assigned to her home station but she was always suspicious that the Tighs might have pulled some strings to make it happen. She knew Ellen felt the same way about the possible distance. They simply didn't want to be so far apart and she wouldn't put it passed her parents to have figured out a way to keep her aboard. Katya hadn't questioned it. It would have only complicated matters and made her feel guilty to know she’d gotten special treatment. She’d let it go. Alpha was her home and she was happy to stay there.

"Katya, what do you think is…happening with them? I mean Saul, Ellen, Sharon and…"

"The cylons."

"Yes."

"You know, you can say it. It's not a dirty word or anything. Ellen always said you were a cylophobe. You should probably work on getting over that already," Katya said raising her eyebrows.

Laura wasn't sure how to respond but when Katya suddenly continued she was grateful she didn't have to.

"To answer your question; I'm not sure what's happening but whatever it is it's not good. I'm afraid it might be the beginning of some kind of virus. Having Saul and Ellen affected…that was terrifying but now Blaze…Alexi…If they can feel it now then it must be gaining strength. I just hope Margot can figure something out. I have to believe she will. If she doesn't our defense system is screwed without the help of the Cylons . I can't watch my entire family turn into zonked out zombies every time there's an attack. I'm afraid one time they won't come out of it. If something happened to Ellen or Alexi…"

Laura glanced up at the monitor above the bed when she noticed some flickering numbers. Katya's heart rate was climbing. She'd upset her.

"I know it's hard, Katya but you have to try not to think that way. You're asking for the next crisis before it's even presented itself. Sometimes you have to just take a deep breath and trust in the people around you. If you can help them in some way then you will."

"I can't help them."

"Maybe you can. We've got to deal with things as they come."

Laura saw Katya's eyes water even though she quickly tried to hide them with her palm.

"I can't even fly anymore," She barely whispered.

Laura cringed. She'd meant to come cheer Katya up and now she was in tears. She didn't know what to do but she knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to scoot on to the bed and put her arms around her child. She wanted to soothingly stroke back her long dark hair and tell her that everything was going to be okay. She wanted so badly to do it but she'd never so much as touched her daughter before. At least not that either could remember. Laura knew she'd actually carried her baby safely for over six months until they were taken from each other. On the little girl's first night out of her gestational chamber Laura had even nursed her; their two bodies warm against one another within the cold laboratory walls. She knew Katya had fallen asleep at her breast and for that one night they were allowed to stay tucked together until morning came to take them apart again. She knew all of that but only because she'd been told by Ellen and then again by Bill. The two had seen the footage and been so moved by it but Laura still couldn't bring herself to watch it. There were dreams that seemed to echo the scene but she knew that they weren't her memories. There was no one inside the body that Katya came from. She knew she'd been elsewhere when her baby came into the world. There was no soul to feel the connection as her body fed her child, ceasing her cries, and Katya would never be able to recall their first and only contact either. As far as they were both concerned they'd never laid a hand on one another. As Laura considered it all, watching her daughter hide her teary eyes behind her hand she couldn't help herself. She was conscious now; body and soul. Now she could offer her baby a touch with actual emotion behind it. She couldn't pass up the chance. As Katya lay there blinded by the fingers of one hand Laura reached out to place a comforting palm over the other that rested by her side. When she finally felt the girls cool skin under her hand she thought her heart might burst into a thousand pieces. Then in an instant suddenly she was lost.

Katya immediately felt the woman's hand cover her own. It felt warm and oddly familiar. Her throat tightened up before she had the chance to quell the emotive response. With a shaky breath she took her other hand from her eyes and looked back at her birth mother only to see the woman's face in utter shock and astonishment. Something was wrong.

"Katya…what is this?"

Laura's voice was nothing but a frightened whisper. Her eyes moved from side to side taking in the scene around her.

They were still together but the ward room was gone. Katya's bed was replaced by a lounge chair and there was rocky sand beneath Laura's feet. She could no longer hear the beeps and clicks of the infirmary machines. Instead she heard ocean waves and gull calls. The antiseptic smell faded and she inhaled the salty breeze that was suddenly blowing through her hair. A look to the water made her squint as an orange sunset over the horizon.

Katya was confused at first. She didn't understand the fear on Laura's face. The hand that rested over hers started trembling and she wondered if the woman had suddenly taken ill. It was when Laura looked in the direction of the water that Katya realized what was happening. Her stomach dropped as she saw the Laura's eyes react to the sun's rays.

"You can see that?" She asked softly.

Laura's eyes darted around as panic started to set in. She barely nodded at Katya's question.

"I…I see the ocean."

" Shit ," Katya mumbled.

She quickly snatched her hand away from Laura's and broke the projection entirely.

Laura jumped as her surroundings changed in a blink. They were in Alpha's ward again. Katya was back in bed and even the sterile smell had returned. Laura put a hand over her heart. It was drumming on overtime in her chest and she was totally disoriented. She thought she might fall if she wasn't already sitting down.

"Damn it," Katya swore under her breath as she watched Laura's eyes grow to twice their size. "Ms. Roslin, are you okay?" Laura seemed totally out of focus. "Ma'am?!" Katya called a little louder.

Laura's eyes snapped back to the girl in the bed and she looked at her with utter confusion.

"What just happened?"

"I'm so sorry," Katya said with a palm to her forehead. She'd only just started to project once Laura brought up the cylon glitch. It was all so overwhelming. Thinking of her family spread out all over the system, vulnerable to whatever was affecting them. It was making her sick with worry. The fact that she was stuck in the ward made it all so much worse. Knowing she had to do her best to keep herself calm she'd employed Ellen's favorite projection. "I'm so, so sorry. You're okay. We're here on Alpha. What you saw; that was my fault…I didn't think…I didn't know you were going to…" Katya stammered not knowing how to explain. "Look, what just happened was me , not you. You're not hallucinating or going crazy or anything like that. Okay?"

" Then what was it? " Laura snapped.

Katya wanted to throw the sheets over her head and curl up into a ball. She'd made yet another mess that she'd have to clean up.

"It's just something I do sometimes…to relax. I didn't mean to have you see it," She bit her lip watching Laura's bewildered expression.

She could kick herself for what she'd just done. The woman was obviously totally freaked out.

Laura ran a hand through her hair and swallowed hard. She was trying to settle herself but the more Katya tried to explain the more it upset her. Visions and dreams, she could deal with. She was used to them but when her daughter claimed responsibility for the change of scenery, Laura knew in the back if her mind what it was and she found it terrifying.

"You did that?" She asked in a low voice.

She knew the answer but she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Yes…but I didn't mean to involve you. I guess when you held my hand you just…" Katya shrugged and let out a dejected huff.

She'd waited her whole life to know the woman's touch and now she'd ruined it. She figured that Laura would never want to touch her again.

"How do you…"

"I dunno," Katya frowned and let her shoulders slump. "The same way I can talk to Vladi, I guess. I don't understand it very well. I just do it. Ellen says I can because…well…once you had a transfusion from a hybrid. She says it came from you…I guess that's why you can…" She stopped when another look of fear washed over Laura's face.

"The lab," Laura abruptly said with a gasp.

At first Katya didn't understand what she was referencing but then she remembered the talk she'd had with Ellen.

"You mean with Ellen?" She meekly posed. Laura looked up at her. "Yeah, same thing," Katya nodded in affirmation.

Laura knew what Cylon projection was. She'd learned about it back when it was just intel gained by Athena. She and Bill had spoken about it long ago on Galactica. When he told her about Katya's genes he'd only slightly brushed the abilities she was supposed to have. It was hard enough to hear it. It was unnerving to see it but it was completely overwhelming to know now that she shared it. Laura had put what happened in the lab behind her weeks ago. She'd chalked it up to emotion and anxiety but now she knew exactly what she'd seen.

"She showed me…" Laura put her hand over her mouth getting choked up before she could finish.

"I know what Ellen showed you," Katya said quickly cutting her off. "Please don't be mad at her for that. Please? Believe it or not she thought she was doing something good."

Laura closed her eyes tight. She could still see it so clearly in her mind. Her baby in the lucite basket squirming under the pale blue blanket. She could remember the tiny sounds she made and how soft her skin looked. Ellen had shown it to her.

"I'm not mad. I'm…" Laura’s words were lost.

All she could manage to do was stare at Katya and shake her head.

"I didn't mean to scare you. You caught me by surprise. I'm really sorry."

"Katya, stop it," Laura said abruptly making the girl's eyes go wide in surprise. "I mean…Don't apologize for that. I know…I know you didn't do it on purpose."

She understood that Katya couldn't help who she was and every time she said she was sorry Laura felt like she was making her feel bad about it. Whatever it was, it had come from her. She was the one who was sorry for passing down genes that were altered by mechanical blood and tainted by the threat of disease. When Katya nodded in acceptance Laura relaxed in her chair a bit.

"I don't do it a lot. Just sometimes when I get too overwhelmed," She shrugged.

"So the whole time we've been sitting here you saw…" Laura started but Katya interrupted.

" No . Not the whole time," She didn't want Laura to think she'd been upset by her visit. "We started talking about everything that's been going on…I guess that got me a little worked up with everyone off station tonight. Ellen's so far away. I miss her. That beach is her spot. Sometimes it just helps me calm down."

"Her spot ?"

Katya tried to think about how she could explain what she meant but she was starting to feel a new cloud of guilt roll in. Not only had she scared the hell out of Laura, she'd inadvertently showed her Ellen's beach. It felt wrong. They'd always just shared that spot with each other. She'd never even showed it to Alexi. It was the first projection that Katya could remember sharing with Ellen. It was special.

"It's her projection. At least it was. I just copy it sometimes if she's not around to share it with. She showed it to me when I was a little girl…I liked it. I took me a while but eventually I could recreate it on my own."

Laura didn't know how to respond. She was partly terrified but part of her wanted Katya to go on. Like it or not this was part of who her child was. She'd made her that way.

"It's…a beautiful scene," She offered hoping Katya wouldn't hear the tremor in her voice. "I can see why it relaxes you."

Katya laughed cynically. Laura had just seen it too and she was anything but relaxed.

"I've never seen a beach in person," She shrugged. "I've never even been to the surface. All my references come from pictures and videos on the network. When I first saw Ellen's projection I was amazed. The sounds and smells, the feel of the sand; I'd never been anywhere but the stations and the pods. She showed me what it was my people were trying so hard to get back to. It made me understand it better."

Laura couldn't help but pity the girl. It made her sad to know that her child's feet had never touched the solid surface of Earth or any planet for that matter. The years she'd lived in the fleet were hard enough. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to grow up that way.

"It was so vivid ," Laura observed.” It's hard to believe we weren't just there."

"I've memorized that one the best. When I was little I didn't think I could project on my own. I just assumed I could only do it through Ellen. Eventually with her help I was able to. Things started to make sense after that. I think I'd been doing it without realizing in a way since I was born. It helped explain why my dreams were so lifelike…why sometimes I thought I saw things that weren't really there. At least once I recognized it I was able to see something pleasant."

Laura felt the blood drain from her face at Katya's descriptions. It all sounded too familiar.

"Sharing projections is how Ellen taught me about the planets she lived on. She showed me mountains and forests and cities. I'm not very good at making them on my own. I have nothing to reference except what I've seen through her or in pictures. When I try I always get something wrong. It doesn't look right, or smell right…or something's just missing or off. Aunt Ellen always thought it was funny when I would mess up. I guess it was. What the hell do I know about rivers and rocks and dirt? I liked it better when I could just replicate the places that she showed me. That beach is her favorite place."

Laura knew she should respond but she was too stunned. She was struggling to come up with something worth saying.

"I don't recognize it from the Colonies," She said attempting to shake the fog from her head.

"She says it was on her Earth. Uncle Saul told me that when you saw that planet it was a wasteland but it used to be beautiful. Ellen showed me parts of it. She showed me some things from the Colonies too. My favorite was this big beautiful concert hall. I can't remember what she called it. I think she said it was on…Virgo?"

Laura nodded and Katya was surprised to see her sport a shaky smile.

"Virgon. The Grand Boskirk Theater," Laura offered.

"That's the one. Sometimes I would use it when I danced. Our theater here on Alpha is okay but nothing like that. Projecting that hall made me feel like a true ballerina. Ellen mostly made me keep it a secret though. Uncle Saul didn't like me doing it."

"Why not?"

"He knew it would upset you and the Admiral once you found out."

Laura took a deep breath and looked away for a moment. She knew her reaction wasn't what it should have been. She just couldn't stop the fear within her.

"I'm not sure upset is the right word. It's very…shocking."

"He didn't want you to think I was a little cylon freak," Katya joked. When Laura's eyes nearly bugged out of her head it made her laugh. "The funny thing is even he showed me something once. He made me promise not to tell Ellen. I guess because if I did, he'd have to stop yelling at her for encouraging me."

"What did Saul show you?"

Laura was doing her best to keep composed. She truly didn't want Katya to think she was mad at her, or worse somehow abhorred by what she was capable of. It was just so hard to focus. So many things were rushing through her mind. Everything she'd seen after Baltar’s cure, her dreams in her last life and in this one. It wouldn't stop.

"Galactica,” Katya answered.

Laura's breath caught in her throat and suddenly she wasn't thinking of anything else except what Katya had just said.

"You've seen Galactica?"

As Laura tried to hide the reaction that was threatening to surface Katya nodded.

"Well just the CIC…oh and the landing deck but I had to beg him for that one. I don't know what made Uncle Saul do it. He was always so against it. I think I was eleven or twelve. One day when he was walking me home from the lab he told me that he was going to show me where I really came from. He never shared it again and it was too complicated to replicate myself."

It was hard for Laura to suppress the emotion she felt rising in her chest. She could kiss the old grumpy son of a bitch for being so sweetly sentimental. He'd shown Katya the ship that brought their people to Earth and its halls where her parents had fallen in love.

Laura painfully swallowed down the knot in her throat before she was able to speak.

"You'll have to excuse my reaction to this, Katya. I just never imagined I…" Laura couldn't finish the thought. She blinked away the few tears that welled in her eyes and tried to smile. "I guess it's nice to be able to…get away once in awhile," She mused and shrugged.

"Like I said I don't do it much anymore. You just happened to get caught up in a rare occurrence. I know it sounds stupid but even with all the beautiful sites Ellen's shown me, most of the time I'd rather be on Alpha. I don't really know anything else. This is where my family is, where my life is. I know that it's dangerous and that it will be better for my people to get back to the surface but Alpha is my home. I can't imagine leaving it," Katya said as she looked around the room, "I bet you think I'm crazy for saying that. I know you hate it here."

"I don't think that sounds crazy at all," Laura said remembering how Galactica had come to feel like home toward the bittersweet end of her last life. "And I don't hate it here."

At least she didn't anymore. Not everything.

"You know it's not bad…the cylon thing, I mean. I wouldn't ever wish it away. I'm glad to have the little bit that I do. It made feel closer to Saul and Ellen…Alexi too. Not just because of the projecting. Lex won't even do it. Says he hates it. It's something else. It's a connection, a sort of feeling of belonging...at least once you open yourself up to it…You don't have to be afraid."

Though Laura was moved by Katya’s thoughtful encouragement she just couldn't accept it yet.

"You look tired, Katya. Why don't you try and rest?"

"I told you, I won't sleep tonight," She insisted again. "But you should head home. It's late."

"What will you do all night if I go?"

Katya shrugged.

"I was reading before you got here."

"What were you reading?"

"A thesis on how applying synthetic chemistry methods can disrupt the circadian rhythm in humans and change their biological clocks."

Laura grimaced as Katya rattled off the long and clinical title.

"Were you punishing yourself for something?"

Katya let out a silent giggle.

"No. I was trained in biochemistry in school before I enlisted. We were all trained within a specific area of study. Margot's just the only one who still really uses hers. I haven't been in the lab since you…Well anyway I was starting to miss it a little. It was an interesting read."

"I'm sure it was," Laura smirked. Somehow it made her feel better to know that Katya had gotten a more than ample education before joining the service and getting married. Maybe she had misjudged the Tighs after all. She knew so little about her child. "How about a little change of pace?" She proposed, standing up to retrieve the book she'd brought from the ward tray it rested on. "I know you told me you've read this before but sometimes it's nice to reread a favorite."

Katya smiled seeing the big floppy paper mess she'd created. It looked worn at the edges and she could tell that it had been well read. She was glad.

"Thanks, Ms. Roslin but I think my eyes are done reading for the night. They were starting to sting before and I just can't get used to all that page turning."

"Well what if I read a little to you?"

Katya's brow rose.

"You want to read to me? Out loud?"

"Well I wasn't going to act it out with shadow puppets."

Katya felt her cheeks flush. She'd expected Laura to run out of the ward screaming after the accidental projection incident but she'd stayed and let her explain. When she gave her an out to go home she thought that she'd happily take it but now she was offering to read to her. She didn't know how to process her feelings about Laura anymore. It was easier when she hated her. It was easier when Laura was giving her reasons to. Now she didn't know what was happening. She wanted to tell her to leave but at the same time she hoped that she wouldn't.

"You don't have to do that."

"I know it's no sunset beach projection but it's a nice way to escape for a little bit."

"I dunno."

"I understand if you want to be left alone. Maybe I should let you get some sleep."

"I won't sleep," She repeated again.

"How about one chapter then? Or until you get sick of the sound of my voice?" Laura suggested with a hopeful smile.

After a moment that felt like an eternity Katya nodded in agreement and Laura's smile grew bigger. She reached for the bed adjustment and put it down a few notches.

"That okay?"

"Yeah," Katya yawned. "Thanks, Ms. Roslin."

Laura sighed for a moment and hugged the book close to her chest.

"Katya, do you think you could me a favor?"

"Hm?"

"Stop calling me that? It just makes me feel…really bad to hear you say it," She admitted. "Laura's just fine if that's okay with you?"

Laura hardly heard her first name during the last few years of her life. Mostly she was known by her title. Eventually it was only Bill who ever spoke it to her and she savored it every time he did. The lack of much formal appellation was one of the only things that she was grateful for in her new life on Alpha. She understood that Katya was just trying to be polite but her impersonal address was a kick in the gut every time. Laura didn't expect her daughter to give her any sort of maternal epithet. She knew she'd probably die again without ever hearing anything close. Katya didn't even call Ellen mother. She didn't need to be addressed as a parent but couldn't take being addressed like she was a stranger, like she was Katya's teacher instead of her mother. It was a repeating reminder of their estrangement and it hurt more every time.

Katya shrugged. She remembered when she was little and she'd called Laura her mommy without a second thought. She just wasn't around to hear it.

"Okay."

"Thank you," She said softly as she took her seat again.

Laura read through the first chapter and Katya found that she rather enjoyed the sound of her voice. It was smooth and even, feminine but strong. She even found that she liked listening to the sound of the paper pages turning when someone else was doing it. When the first chapter ended she looked up expectantly. She wouldn't ask her to continue but she didn't want her to stop. Laura hesitated, unsure of herself, but when she finally went on Katya was glad. She closed her eyes as she listened and by the end of the third chapter she was fast asleep.

Laura sat watching her for a moment trying to decide what to do. She knew she should probably leave and allow her to rest but thinking of the girl waking in the middle of the night and finding herself alone again made her heart hurt. Even worse than that was thinking of her having another nightmare. Katya hadn't wanted to fall asleep; not because she wasn't exhausted but because she was scared of what terrors it would bring. If that happened after Laura left there would be no one but the temperamental medic around to wake her. Laura knew going back to her cabin would just ensure that she'd likely have one of her own tormenting dreams and tonight Bill wouldn't be there to comfort her. If she left they would likely both end up alone and afraid. She considered that Katya might be angry to find her still there when she woke. She was already overstepping. It was too much too quickly and she knew it but as she watched her she simply couldn't make herself leave. Katya looked so sweet while she slept. She looked like a little girl. The suspicion in her face was gone, the stress around her eyes softened and Laura wanted to take it in for a while longer. Placing the book on the floor, she scooted her chair closer to the bed. She gently placed her palm over the hand that it had abruptly parted from on the surreal shore. She lightly brushed her fingers beside the slightly bruised skin that Katya's IV ran into and for the first time since her mother was sick she knew what it was to want to take someone's pain away, to wish to bear it for them no matter how big or small. She was grateful when Katya didn't stir. She relaxed in her chair as she watched her daughter sleep until her own eyes became heavy and she drifted off herself.

For a while the mother and daughter slept side by side as comfortable as either could be considering their surroundings and positions. Katya didn't stir and Laura's sleep was deep and uneventful until eventually the familiar sense started to plague her slumbering mind.

Laura had become used to the feeling. She experienced it almost every night lately. She'd almost come to expect it but that didn't make it any less terrifying.

All around her was a thick cool fluid. It was slick against every part of her bare skin and the way it suspended and supported her body was almost relaxing. At least it was until she realized that she couldn't breathe. Laura opened her eyes in the murky solution and saw a dim light coming from the surface above her. With all of her might she fought against the cold liquid embrace until she emerged passed the water line gasping for air. Her fists gripped for the sides of the vessel that contained her but her skin was coated and her fingers slipped and slid along the ultra smooth structure as she tried to pull herself up. Once she finally had a steady enough handle she stopped to catch her breath. She swiped away the fluid that clouded her eyes and panted as the tubs contents sloshed around her. She was in a resurrection tub. It was always the same. A look at her surroundings showed the familiar scene she'd come to witness over and over. The room was dark, so dark that she couldn't make out any walls or a ceiling. The room just eventually faded off into nothing. There were no corners, no doors just blackness in every direction. Only the area she was in was illuminated by some unknown light source. The floors were inky black and so shiny that they were reflective. There were glass pillars encircling the area as if they were supporting a nonexistent roof. Laura wasn't alone in the bizarre room. She never was. She was just the only one who was ever awake. She looked around to see about ten other tubs dispersed around hers. Some were empty; filled with only milky contents and other's held sleeping bodies, familiar bodies. Laura saw Karl and then Sharon peacefully resting in their respective tubs. Not far off was Sam Anders and a few empty tubs down lay the body of the woman she'd known as D'Anna Biers. As always, Laura saw Bill's body last and as always, she couldn't stop herself from rushing out of her tub at the sight of him. She slipped and slid against the vat as she tried to climb over its sides. She knew it should have hurt when she slithered out and hit the cold hard shiny floor but it didn't. She struggled to get to her feet but even when she did she couldn't keep the traction. The room was empty save for its pillars and tubs and there was nothing to help wipe off the hindering goo that coated her naked body. She crawled slick and slippery all the way to Bill's tub and fought like hell to pull herself up close enough to see his face. Her thick hair was so heavily saturated with the tub’s lingering waters that it almost seemed to threaten to tug her down backwards. Fighting against the pull she held herself up on her knees and leaned over to attempt to wake Bill's sleeping form. In this endeavor her attempt was always futile. She would reach in and shake him, call his name, run her wet hands down his cheeks and through his hair begging him to wake up. Though he never did, she always tried. When she exhausted herself she would slip down beside the tub and cry by his side until she woke but this time, she wasn't waking up.

After what seemed like an eternity Laura's cries were interrupted by a bubbling sound. Hoping it might be the sound of Bill moving in his tub she quickly pulled herself up to get a better view. She was disappointed to find he was silent and still as ever. The sound came again and this time Laura's eyes were pulled in the direction of two empty tubs. Suddenly their waters were moving. They bubbled and rippled as if something were cooking in the strange concoction. With great hesitation she crawled closer to get a better view, slipping and falling more than a few times on the way. She stopped short of the vats not wanting to get any closer. Watching the fluid bubble she curiously leaned up on her bare overworked knees to peer in. It was useless. She couldn't see anything inside the thick milky solution. She was just about to turn and make her way back to Bill when something shot up in one of the tubs. The other tub followed with a swish and a splash as its inhabitant popped up startling Laura and causing her to slide back onto her bottom with a thump. A body had emerged in each tub. Laura hurried to cover herself as the instinctive sense of modestly took over but soon she found she had no reason to shield her body. The forms in the tubs were still. She squinted trying to make out who they might be. Their faces were both coated in the same slick substance that covered her own body and in the dim light it was hard to make them out. She forced herself to inch toward one of the tubs. When she made it close enough she reached a shaky hand over the face of the person who lay inside. She gingerly wiped away the goo that concealed their identity. Laura yanked her hand away when it revealed a face she'd grown to despise long ago. In the tub lay the dormant body of Gaius Baltar. Laura turned around to the other newly inhibited vat and she knew that if she cleared the face of its occupant she'd find the Six they’d once called Caprica. The woman's body was as still as all the others and Laura was no less alone. She had no idea what to do. She didn't know where she was or why. She was exposed and afraid and all she could think of was making it back to Bill's side. Though his body seemed vacant she found comfort in being close to it. As she attempted to make it to her feet once more she felt the room's smooth shiny floor start to rumble and shake underneath her. The vibrations shook her down to the cold surface again and as she sat there it’s humming sounded deep within her core. Once again she heard the tub's waters start to ripple with  movement. Laura quickly glanced back at Blatar and Caprica. She watched as their bodies shook and then started to slide down back into the depths of the tubs. Soon they were gone. They'd disappeared almost as quickly as they had emerged. She started to panic as the rumbling grew stronger and she struggled even harder to get her footing and return to Bill. When she was finally able to stand she chanced a look inside the now empty tubs. There was no sign that the bodies had ever been there. They were gone. Laura jumped when she heard a sharp crackle. Losing the ever teetering balance that she so ferociously fought for she fell again, landing against the side of the tub that had moments before held Caprica's body. Laura winced expecting pain to shoot up her back but it didn't. She hardly had time to be grateful as the cracking sound grew louder and more frequent and the rumbling intensified. Soon the sound of gunshots rang in the dark distance. She rested for a moment trying to compose herself and form a plan but then she felt it; a cold splash to her neck and back. More gelatinous fluid poured over the sides of the tank that she rested upon and onto her shoulders. She was sure that when she looked back she would find that Caprica's body had reemerged.

Laura turned around using the side of the coated tub as support and was shocked to find Sgt. Petrov in his mother's place. Another sloppy splashing sound made her cringe and when she turned to Baltar's tub she found it now occupied by a much larger body. Inching closer Laura could see it was Lt. Bishop. Alexi and Blaze were both unconscious and unmoving save for the room's ominous vibrations. The cracking sound was becoming sharper and as Laura looked around she finally saw the source of the noise; breaks in the surrounding glass pillars. With a surge of fear and adrenaline she got to  hands and knees heading for Bill's tub and away from the splintering glass columns. She couldn't feel pain but she felt the pounding of her heart and the room trembling around her. Laura slid on one of the puddles that she'd made on her way and it sent her zooming straight toward the side of another empty tub. As she hit it hard the sides splashed over and she just knew that it wasn't the impact of her body that had done it. Laura looked over her shoulder as she scurried away and saw Margot's body bobbing limply inside. When she made it back to Bill's side she was in a panic. She tried waking him again; slapping at his cheeks and shaking at his slick bare shoulders but it was no use. She looked around the room. No one was moving. Besides her own empty vat, only two vacant tubs remained and their waters stood still as if even the quaking room had no effect on them. The sound of the nearest pillar split in her ears and she looked over to see the once crystal clear structure now marbled with a new web of fractures. She didn't know what to do. The floor shook beneath her as she saw the column starting to waver. She couldn't think of anything other than climbing in with Bill and holding him close. She braced herself and carefully lifted one long slick leg over the side of his tub. She heard a shattering sound and she closed her eyes as she prepared to sink down into the slimy shelter. Before she could bring her other leg over she abruptly felt herself being shoved out of the way by an almost inhuman force before the pillar crumbled and fell.

" Ms. Roslin, wake up ," Katya urged, nudging the fraught woman's sleeping shoulder.

She'd woken to find Laura leaned over in the chair with her head resting beside her on the bed. She was surprised to see that she was still there. The last thing she remembered was hearing her read the title of the third chapter in the book. She'd fought to stay awake, worried over the dreams that would come but in the end Laura's dulcet voice had lulled her to sleep and she hadn't woken all night. Katya could tell by the bustling and mumbling outside her curtain that the morning shift had come into the ward. Laura had stayed all night. Katya was even more surprised to find that she was holding her hand. She wished like hell that it didn't make her feel so uncomfortable but it did. It was a sweet gesture, one she'd longed for as a child but she didn't know this woman. She couldn't just suddenly bond with her. Her heart was telling her that it felt comforting and satisfying and that she should just embrace it but her brain was telling her heart to shut up. When Katya first tried to take her hand from Laura she'd found that she couldn't. The poor frightened woman was holding on to her with an iron grip and it was actually getting steadily tighter. Katya abruptly leaned up in the bed. The swift motion had made her stomach churn and her head swim but the pain in her hand was worse. She'd looked down at where Laura slept to find her in obvious distress. She was breathing heavily and her eyes were shut so tightly that they only allowed the tiniest of tears to squeeze out of the corners. Now after a few attempts Katya was finding it difficult to wake her and she was starting to worry.

"Ms. Roslin. C'mon, Ms. Roslin… Damn it , " She said giving her a more forceful shake. " Laura! "

Laura shot straight up with a gasp releasing Katya's hand. The gasp was immediately followed by a painful hiss as she felt the results of sleeping with her back hunched over all night.

" Careful, " Katya winced, "Are you alright?!"

Laura put a clammy palm to her forehead as she struggled to orient herself and catch her breath. Moving the hand to her heaving chest she looked around the room quickly remembering where she was.

"Yes," She said through her fast paced breaths, "Yes. I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

Laura inhaled as steadily and as deeply as she could. She let the air out slowly, hoping that it would calm her lungs. The dream had never gone on that long before.

"I am. I am. It was just..."

"A nightmare," Katya finished for her.

"Yes," She whispered and nodded.

"You have a quite a grip," Katya smirked holding up her hand and wagging her fingers.

Laura cringed as she realized what must have happened. She knew she'd fallen to sleep holding Katya's hand. It was the one her IV was feeding into and Laura felt awful.

"Gods. I'm so sorry. Did I hurt you?"

"No. Not really. No lasting damage. It's fine," Katya assured her. Laura's eyes looked different. They looked disturbed and Katya wondered what she could have been dreaming of. "Did you stay here all night?"

Laura sighed and licked at her dry lips.

"Yeah…I guess I did. I'm sorry. I must have just passed out."

Katya nodded.

"I guess it's a good thing," She shrugged. "If you were at home there wouldn't have been anyone to wake you."

"Thank you, by the way," Laura offered.

"Yeah well I’m returning the favor Besides, it was that or lose the fingers," She teased.

Slowly Katya eased herself back onto her pillow with a hand clutched to her queasy stomach.

Laura noticed her discomfort and frowned. A glance to her cuff showed it was passed 0600. She really had stayed all night.

"Has anyone been in to discharge you yet?" She asked, though at the moment Katya didn't look like she was in any shape to leave the ward.

Katya just shook her head and rolled onto her side curling her knees toward her chest. As if on cue the curtains parted and Tawny Xao entered with a bright smile on her face.

"Morning, Koshka," She greeted her friend. When she saw Laura sitting by Katya's side her smile changed from cheerful to just plain amused. "Ah, Ms. Roslin. Good morning," She said putting a bag she held by the foot of the bed.

"Good morning, Tawny."

"Back again, I see," The doctor ribbed.

Laura smiled somewhat uncomfortably. She didn't know how Katya really felt about her staying and at the moment the girl looked pretty miserable. Feeling like she was suddenly in the way Laura slowly got up out of her chair. Even her legs were stiff from her all night vigil. She moved to the other side of the room leaving the doctor some space.

"Hey, is the centurion outside the curtain, Vladi?" The doctor asked.

Laura hesitated but then nodded.

"Yes. Why?"

Tawny shrugged and rolled her eyes.

"He waved to me," She said turning her attentions to the young woman in the bed. "How's my number one patient doing?" Tawny winked as she reached for Katya's wrist to read her vitals. Katya didn't answer. Her teeth were clenched together just trying to keep from gagging. "Your pressure is great. Did you get a good night's sleep?"

Katya nodded softly.

"For once," She mumbled, glancing over at Laura who gave her tiny smile in return.

Laura knew that she should go but she wanted to say goodbye to her alone. She considered stepping out for a moment but when Katya looked over at her, she just froze in place. Her daughter didn't look well.

"Good," Tawny said reaching for her tablet in her coat pocket. "I want you to eat some breakfast and let me give you a onceover before I let you go."

"You actually think I'm going to keep food down?" Katya groaned.

"I think you're gunna try," The doctor retorted.

"Damn it, Tawny. You said this was going to go away," Katya whined curling up on her side again.

"Yeah, well everyone's different," Tawny said as she put her tablet back in her pocket and went to roll a tray by the bedside. With some antiseptic she cleaned Katya's injection site and disconnected her IV. As she put some pressure on the tiny wound and removed the needle Katya grimaced. Tawny couldn't tell if her reaction was the result of the stinging or her other affliction. She had a feeling it was the latter. "I'll bring you some mint tea," She offered as she went to the sink to wash up. “Should help the nausea subside enough for you to get a few bites in.”

"I want to be out of here before noon," Katya announced.

Saul and Alexi would be back by then.

"Then work with me," Tawny answered. She walked back over and leaned her palms on the foot of the bed beside the bag she’d brought in." I'll send a medic in to prep for the exam. You keep some food down after that and you can go but no work. I'm not clearing you for duty till tomorrow. I want you to go back to your cabin and rest. I'll come over later to check on you."

"Fine," Katya said without protest. For once she didn't feel like reporting at all.

"I brought you some clean clothes," The doctor smiled sweetly, lifting the bag.

In their hurry to the ward the previous morning they were in too much of a panic to pack any. When Tawny had finally gotten done with her civilian rounds that night she was too exhausted to visit Med Ward. Though everything had turned out to be fine she knew the morning's events had scared Katya deeply. It made her feel guilty for leaving her alone all night but she was so tired. Figuring the captain would be sleeping anyway Tawny returned to her own cabin. She packed her a friend a bag of clean clothes before bed hoping it would make up for her absence. She'd even thrown in the sweater Katya loved and crossed her fingers that she'd get it back this time without Ellen's freesia and brandy scent added to it.

"I took your other stuff home. I sent it out with the laundry. I don't think anything was ruined. I'll bring it when I come by."

"Thanks," Katya said softy.

With a look to the monitor above the bed Tawny stuck her hands in her pockets.

"You might feel like crap but everything looks good," She assured her. When Katya hardly acknowledged her comment she looked over at Laura and smiled. The woman looked positively worried. "Alright, Cap, just sit tight and wait for the medic. I'll be back in just a bit," She said making her way to the break in the partition. When her friend didn't answer she looked back at her over her shoulder. "You gotta hang in there, Kat. Just a couple more weeks. That's all we need."

Katya nodded and Tawny left her with a sympathetic smile.

Once the doctor was gone Katya rolled onto her back and put her knees up on the bed as she checked her cuff for messages. She was avoiding Laura's presence. She knew that the woman was staring at her and she knew why. She felt her moving closer to the bed. When she chanced a look at her out of the corner of her eyes she saw a worried and pained expression on her face.

Laura stood watching her trying to figure out what she'd just heard. Parts of the conversation were strange. They didn't add up. She wouldn't have questioned the rest if she hadn't heard Tawny's parting words. Something wasn't right.

"Katya, what's wrong?" She asked in a voice that boarded on begging her to answer.

Laura couldn't stop the overwhelming sense of concern. How she could care so much for someone she barely knew boggled her mind but she felt it nonetheless. She knew Katya would probably be angry at her for pressing but at least she would know she cared enough to ask.

"Nothing."

"There's something. I can tell."

"No there isn't."

"If you're worried about me running to Saul or Ellen, I promise you can trust…"

" Ms. Roslin ," Katya said cutting her off sharply. She saw the woman slightly wince at her name. "Laura," She corrected feeling bad about the slip. It really did look like it physically hurt her to hear it, "I really appreciate that you came down here and brought Vladi and everything but I think you should probably get going."

Laura sighed and dropped her shoulders. She couldn't disrespect her privacy. Her daughter was a grown woman. She wanted to help but she was being asked to leave and she knew she had to go. She nodded in acceptance and bent down to pick up her discarded book.

"I know that your family will be back today but if you ever want some company again…well…" Laura trailed off as Katya closed her eyes against the churning in her stomach and merely bobbed her head in a dismissive response.

Laura turned to leave. When she pulled the curtains back a medic was already entering with a small machine and some medical instruments on a cart. She almost paused to see what they all were but she stopped herself. She was overstepping in the worst way. She didn't even know what she'd be looking for. Things were so different there.

"Laura," Katya called just as she was about step out.

Laura looked back, surprised to hear her voice. The girl still had her eyes closed tightly and she had scrunched herself up into a pitiful little ball.

"Yes?"

"Thank you for…" Katya started but didn't finish the thought. "Just…thank you."

Laura put her hand in her pocket to feel around for the little doll. Once she found it she gave it all little squeeze.

"Feel better, Katya."

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Aprx tanslations:

E-Rep/Sector Chinese

-"Nǐ hǎo, ladies," Dr. Xao greeted... : *Hello, laides.*

-"My Yekaterina, bùyào kū. Yǒu xìnxīn. Everything will be alright.": *My, Yekaterina, don't cry. Have faith. Everything...*