Part 2 Battlestar Galactica Finding Humanity: Saving Grace

Chapter 7

VII

The Next Day

Kara knew that she couldn't simply lie here in this big, comfortable bed-the bed that she and Laura would share-drowning her sorrows. She was alive, and off that hellish planet. Her wife and daughter were here, along with people that would lay down their lives for all three of them if it came to that.

Yet despite the joy of being reunited with her new wife and her daughter, Kara's mind rebelled against the comfort, her subconscious harking back to the hell that had been that prison. Kara Thrace had always been the type of person allowed her demons to get the better of her, at the worst times, but she knew she couldn't afford that. She was married, and had a daughter to take care of, and she would also be expected to get back in a Viper and take out Cylon Raiders when they visited.

The only problem was that she had no idea how to simply put it behind her. She had been raped, sodomized, forced to perform oral sex on more than one person. It had been a terrifying, humiliating experience. How do you get over that?

She wasn't sure.

She knew she had to try, and her first step was seeing the two people who were as close to family as she had, before Kacey and Laura had become her family. Right at the moment, she didn't want to see anyone other than Bill and Lee Adama. The rest of her friends and colleagues would have to wait for her to get her bearings. She and Laura still needed to sit down for a long, quiet, private talk.

Kara was still weak from her ordeal, but she was getting real, decent food now, and clean, fresh water. She still hurt from her bruises and cuts, but she had felt far worse. When the two Adama's arrived, she was sitting at a table set up for the Roslin family. The two men smiled warmly at Starbuck, their faces obviously relieved that she was doing better.

Without a word, she stood up and made a beeline for the Admiral, neither one saying a word, simply wrapping each other in a consoling hug, Bill in his own way letting Kara know that her ordeal was over.

Laura and Lee both teared up watching the silent exchange. It was an affirmation of the bond that the elder Adama and Kara had shared. They had gone through some rough patches in their personal relationship, but since she had dated Zak, Bill Adama had thought of her as his daughter. Now his daughter had come back from a terrifying ordeal, and with a daughter of her own. That wasn't lost on Bill.

After five minutes at least, Kara broke the embrace, smoothing out his uniform, then wiping at your eyes. "I hope you got the gun and brought the cat in while I was gone."

Bill let out a jolly laugh, that broke the tension in the room, all four of them laughing, the Admiral giving her another sweet hug.

"An Admiral takes care of the little details, Starbuck", he said in turn. He kissed her lightly on the cheek. "It's so good to see you again, Kara. I've missed you. Oh, and congratulations on becoming a bride and a mother."

"Thank you, sir", Kara said with a blush. "See what happens when you let me out of your sight. I go off the reservation."

Bill chuckled a little more. "Well, it looks like you done good. Your daughter is beautiful, and your wife isn't too bad looking, either."

"Hey", Kara said, lightly thumping the Admiral on the chest, "no flirting with my woman, got it?" She laughed as she looked over at Laura, who simply rolled her eyes.

She hadn't really noticed Lee in the room, even though she knew he was there, so immediate had been her desire to embrace the Admiral. She looked over at her sometimes friend/sometimes enemy/a few times lover, and gave him a tender, but fierce hug, again not saying any words for a long moment.