Disclaimer: I don't own the characters; I just enjoy making them suffer

Notes: Takes place during "Home" Parts 1 and 2, but I've played around with the timeline.

Thanks to Ysrith for being my beta.

I have italicized both flashbacks and internal thoughts (as that's what gramatically correct), but if you can't tell which is which, please let me know and I'll figure out a way to differentiate the two for following parts.

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I maneuver my Viper effortlessly through the narrow mountain pass, but suddenly a red light on my console signals trouble: fuel line breach. I press on, knowing in the back of my mind that I should stop and send a distress signal, but not caring. My brother is dead, and that thought drives me forward despite the instincts screaming for me to stop. However, the turbulence from the storm impedes my progress and my Viper is thrown around as fuel continues to seep out of the line. Then I hear an explosion and smoke fills the cockpit as something ignites the fuel. Suddenly I am in an uncontrolled plunge towards the rocky terrain below. I manage to get the craft into something resembling a glide before the smoke filling the cockpit blinds me. Now all I can do is brace for impact. Then my world is enveloped by flame.

Lee Adama wakes with a start as he dies in his dreams yet again: the same vivid dream that has been haunting him for the last week or so. Why does he keep dreaming about that crash? It had been a bad one, which had resulted in him being lost in the wilds of Picon for almost two weeks, but it had been nothing compared to the ordeal of the last few months. Just mechanical failure, a freak accident, and an impromptu camping trip while waiting to be rescued. Terrifying at the time, yes, but looking back on it, he knows that it's not the stuff that nightmares are made of. He hadn't even thought much about it until recently, since his memories of that time had always been foggy: the results of a concussion, he believes.

Why does the dream feel more real than a dream, while what really happened fades away like a dream in my memory?

He staggers out of the uncomfortable bed and into the small, dirty washroom that is characteristic of a prison ship like the Astral Queen. They don't even have hot water, but that suits his mood just fine. He steps into the shower and turns the dial, welcoming the wakening shock of icy water hitting warm flesh.

A ball of agony rolls through my body as I am crushed and broken by the impact. Then all is darkness.

The vivid vision causes him to gasp in shock, hands slipping on the slick, dirty white tiles in front of him as he leans heavily into the spray. It's only a residual dream haunting his waking hours, he tells himself, but yet it's so vivid that he can almost feel the impact, the warm metal slicing into his skin.

As he steps out of the shower and dresses, he can't shake the feeling that the dreams mean something; that they're more than just dreams. But what are they?

He slowly walks down drab, dimly-lit halls. He knows that he's late for a meeting, but he can't bring himself to care as he ponders the meaning of his dreams. He's not a religious man, but he can't help but wonder what they mean.

Are they a warning or a prophecy?

Is Zak trying to tell me something by making me relive some weird, alternate version of his death?

The rational part of his mind tells him that the dreams don't mean anything, that they're merely a projection of what's going on in his subconscious. He still hasn't reconciled himself with what happened to Zak, and these dreams are just a reflection of that, brought on by the emotional strain of recent events.

I must finally be just losing it.

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"People have been divided. They're separated from their parents."

Bill Adama sits at his cluttered desk, halfheartedly working on the ship model in front of him. Books haphazardly stacked everywhere reflect the emotional turmoil raging within his apparently calm exterior. Even now, hours after that conversation, Dee's words still echo in his ears. Lee's betrayal still stings, but even as he feels a surge of anger towards his wayward son, he can't help but remember the time when he thought he had lost him for good.

I stare in horror as Colonial One is destroyed by a nuclear detonation. Lee. He's gone, and he'll never know how much I loved him; our last words to each other were spoken in anger and as Commander and Captain, not as father and son. His loss is almost too much to bear, but I have to be strong; I have to honour my son's memory by avenging him.

He gets up from his desk, wincing as some residual pain from his wound flares through his torso. But that doesn't stop his determination to get his son back.

I won't lose him again.

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Eyebrows raise as Lee walks into the storage room of the Astral Queen uncharacteristically late. It has been temporarily converted into a planning room, with a large and battered metal table occupying most of the small space. President Roslin is sitting at the head of the table staring intently at the map of Kobol spread out before them while Kara pauses in the middle of whatever she was saying.

"Lee, you look like hell."

"Thanks Kara," he mutters, squeezing around the perimeter of the table and taking the last empty seat, next to a handcuffed Sharon. He doesn't bother looking at the Cylon to his right as he sits down.

"Alright, just to get you caught up on what you missed while you were enjoying your beauty sleep, Sharon has told us where the Tomb is, but that area's too rocky to set a shuttle down on. The closest we can do is a spot about 10 km away." Kara gestures at a mountainous location in the northern section of the map.

"We took out the basestar, but are there any Cylons left on the surface?" Lee inquires, finally looking at Sharon

"Hundreds. But the planet's large enough that they'll be fairly spread out."

Lee nods as he stares intently at the map, working out a plan.

"This will be difficult, which makes me hesitant to bring civilians along," he mutters, glancing to his left at President Roslin.

"I am going along on this mission; I am obligated as the President of the Twelve Colonies to see this through to the end, Captain Apollo."

"But with all due respect, Madam President, it'll be difficult enough for trained soldiers to avoid the Cylon patrols and reach the Tomb, let alone for civilians untrained in combat situations," he objects apologetically.

Before they can finish their discussion, Zarek walks into the room.

"Zeus is coming."

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Adama steps out of the Raptor and into the small landing bay of the Astral Queen. It is very dim in here, with many of the lights broken, which makes the atmosphere very forbidding. But Adama is going to his son, which is all that matters to him. He quickly goes down the dark corridor and into the reception room. It isn't lit any better, but he instantly recognizes Lee standing in the middle of a small group. As he gets closer, he can see that the group consists of President Laura Roslin, Billy Keikeya, Priestess Elosha, Kara Thrace, and Tom Zarek, who steps forward to welcome him. Then President Roslin steps forward.

"Commander."

There is some uncertainty in her eyes as she greets him.

"Madam President," he acknowledges.

Formalities over, he turns his attention to Lee, who hesitantly steps forward, an uncertain expression on his face as he's not sure if he's greeting the father he abandoned or the commander he betrayed.

"Son." Adama speaks first, tears glistening in his eyes as he pulls his son in for a hug. This time, unlike the last time they had hugged, Lee doesn't hesitate to wrap his arms around his father.

"Dad."

They part slowly, reluctantly, knowing that there is a small group of people watching and waiting. Suddenly, they are once again made aware of the space between them – not just the physical space, but the emotional wounds that time has not healed. But despite that, they finally realize how deep the bonds of parent to child really go.

As he parts from his son, Adama smiles and gives Kara a quick pat on the shoulder.

"Good to see you sir." She grins.

"Good to see you too Kara, and the rest of you as well," he amends, glancing at the rest of the group. Then his gaze falls on President Roslin.

"We have things that we need to discuss."

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A ball of agony rolls through my body as I am crushed and broken by the impact. Then all is darkness. When I regain consciousness several minutes later, I can feel flames looming behind me. I ignore the agony coursing through my body as I attempt to eject. I finally manage to grab the ejection handle and pull it, sending a wave of intense pain through my broken arm, but it's jammed. By now the cockpit is shrouded in black smoke, and I also know that I've broken other bones as well. The flames are all around me now and I can feel the intense heat through my flightsuit.

"Lee! Lee!"

As he wakes up, it takes him several seconds to realize that he's in his bunk on Galactica, and that Kara's shaking him.

"What the frak did you do that for?" he mutters groggily.

"Well for starters, you were tossing around, muttering, and making so much noise that I decided to do a public service to all the sleeping pilots and shut you up. And secondly, Dr. Baltar's finished jabbing me with needles, so now it's your turn," she says as she pulls off her flightsuit and sprawls into the bunk across from his.

"Great…" he groans as he drags himself out of bed and quickly rummages through his few belongings for a clean uniform. As he dresses at his locker, he can't help but catch a reflection of himself in the mirror and is struck by how large the circles under his eyes are, how thin his face looks.

Gods I look like death warmed over. Guess that's what happens when you die every time you go to sleep.

He shuts the door softly as he exits the room and walks out into the crowded hallway. He can't help but feel like everyone's watching him, because he knows that until the results of the Cylon detection test that had been ordered for all key personnel who had fled to the Astral Queen come back negative, there's still some suspicion surrounding him and the others. But consciously he knows that he's just imagining things, that the people who are saluting him are just happy to have their CAG back. Even then, he can't wait until the test is done and over with.

Then I can get a clean bill and get on with my life, frakked up as it is. But why do I get the feeling that this won't be over so fast?

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Adama wakes up to the sound of insistent knocking on his door. He reluctantly throws on a robe and quickly goes to answer the door, knowing that whatever it is must be important, to warrant getting their Commander out of bed.

"Come in, Saul."

Tigh walks slowly into his quarters. Adama's never seen him like this before, not even after the end of the world. There is something in his eyes: a mixture of horror, sorrow, and pity. He knows immediately that something's wrong, very wrong.

"What is it?"

In response, he's handed a stack of papers: the results of the Cylon detection tests. He glances at the results and quickly spots the one "positive" in the column. With a growing sense of dread, his eyes look at the name beside the condemning positive result.

It reads: Adama, Lee.

The papers flutter to the floor as the man sinks into a chair.