Title: Blurry
Rating: PG to PG13 -ish
Characters (in this chapter): Kara, Kasey, Sharon (Athena)
Summary: Season Three AU. Fate had a tendency to tie him to Kara in the most unusual ways.
AN: Lee/Kara story - no, he is not in this chapter. Gotta get a little background working first - but I promise he will appear.
AN2: Edited version - went back and read it and I was horrified. So I fixed it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. (Seriously - I am a broke grad student that eats spagettios just about every night. So don't sue me...there is nothing to get.)

The niggling pain slowly brought her back and a soreness in her abdomen nagged. More needles, more prodding, more drugs that sent her back into unconsciousness.

Why aren't you fighting?! You are weak, weak and worthless! Her mother's voice penetrated her state of rest and her eyes flew open. Suddenly jerked out of her lethargy she began to struggle against the bonds that chained her to the hospital bed. She saw two more skin jobs approach the bed with caution; one held a needle, filled with God's knows what.

If there was ever a time when she hated seeing Sharon's face more, she couldn't remember, even when she first realized that she was a skin job. Staring up at what should have been one of her best friend's face, connected to the arm that injected her – Kara had never hated the Cylons more.

She snarled viciously and yanked her arm away just as the needle entered her skin, ripping it out of the imposter's hand. Then more hands were there, holding her down – two were particularly cruel, squeezing around her neck tightly until she faded once more.

Kara woke suddenly, gasping for breath. She bolted up and nearly hit her head in her haste. Those months on New Caprica, after everything had gone to Hades were a blur. Much as she tried the memories remained elusively out of her reach. Snatches would return in dreams, but they were disjointed and out of context. The night terrors were getting worse, more graphic in nature.

She sat with her legs hanging over the side of her bunk with her head between her knees. She breathed deeply, attempting to wash away the terror and anger she felt. She wasn't suprised when the nausea that had plagued her for the last few weeks returned, violently. After every dream, it came. She had to run as if Leoben himself was chasing her to make it to the head in time.

After relieving her stomach of last night's dinner, she lay on the floor with her forehead pressed against the cool tile. There was a buzzing in the back of her mind, a twitch of recognition. They had done…something to her. She just wished she knew what. She had been feeling more desperate to find out lately. Nothing stopped the nightmares, not booze, or double CAP shifts, or exhausting herself in the gym – nothing.

She sat up slowly, leaning gingerly against the wall. An image of two other women, sitting in a familiar room flashed behind her closed eyelids. She opened them and looked out into the head, expecting to see them both there. Why? Why would they be here? They were nameless, at least in her mind. Though, she had a feeling that she should know their names. She shook her head. Too much to think about right now.

--- --- --- --- --- --- ---

She stared at her reflection, there were circles around her eyes and her face was gaunt. The hot shower had only helped so much, she was warmer now, but still tired. She averted her eyes from the reflection and began to brush her teeth. Ava. She paused, looking back up at the mirror. Lynn and Ava. Attached to the names were pictures of two Viper pilots…from the Beast. She vaguely remembered seeing them in their pressure suits, talking quietly to each other on her short stint there. But the strongest impression of both of them was more recent. She shivered and her mind fell into another memory.

Two other women, pacing angrily around a small room. Being dumped by a Chrome job into the same room and the door shutting quickly behind her. They both turned to look at her…

"Buck? You with us?" Sharon's soft voice echoed into her conscious mind and she leaned away from the source. She felt Sharon put her hands on her shoulder. Suddenly terrified she reacted on instinct, she grabbed and twisted, pinning Sharon to the wall. She stared into Sharon Agathon's eyes, and saw something that was absent from the other sets of identical eyes. Sympathy, understanding, perhaps even a sort of platonic love.

Kara swallowed and released Sharon slowly. She didn't move and didn't take her eyes away from Sharon's. Sharon seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and slowly relaxed. She looked down for a moment and then slid out from between the wall and Kara's body, padding away quietly.

Quiet, like the whole damned room. Kara glanced around and everyone that had been watching quickly found something else holding his or her interest.

--- --- --- --- --- --- ---

"Kasey, what do you remember about when the Cylons brought you to me?"

Kasey looks up from her pad of paper and colorful pencils, "Scary." She rubbed her nose on her sleeve and looked down at her drawing.

Kara ran her fingers through her close-cropped curls gently, trying to sooth both of them. "What else do you remember?"

"Took you away. You were gone." She sniffed and looked up into Kara's face, "Was scared, they took me too."

Kara's mind stuttered, "What?"

"When you was gone, they took me. Put me with Ava. When they took Ava, they put me with Lynn." She abandoned her drawing and climbed into Kara's lap, "When they took Lynn, put me back with you."

Kara rocked with Kasey for several moments. Kasey snuggled in and stuck her thumb in her mouth. They sat quietly like that until Kasey whispered, "Scared when you throw up."

Kara leaned back so she could look at Kasey's face, "I was sick?"

She shook her head, "Just throw up. No sick."

Kara smiles ever so slightly, "Kase, I am pretty sure that is the definition of sick."

Kasey crossed her arms, pouting. She turned away sitting on Kara's knees with her back to Kara, "Nuh uh! Not always!"

Kara sighed tiredly, "You are right Kase, probably the stuff they stuck me with"

When Kasey immediately went back to snuggling, Kara grinned. Children are so easy.

Julia often said that Kasey had been a rambunctious child. Kara never saw it; Kasey had always been quiet and subdued. It is heartbreaking, that a child so young should have that carefree attitude ripped from them. Kara glanced up at the bulkhead above her. No child should have to live like this.

She closed her eyes, sighing and rocking Kasey. Another memory surfaces slowly, more gently. Leoben stood in front of her, curled up because her abdomen was sore…

Leoben walked down the stairs calmly. He was holding an obviously terrified child in his arms. His eyes stared at her with a mixture of longing and determination, both of which made her sick to her stomach, "Kara, meet Kasey. She will be staying here for a while."

She saw red, now they steal children. "Take her back to her frakkin' mother." Kara stated quietly, not looking at either of them. Gods how she hated him, he came most often; she knew it was the same one. He was always the one that would 'wrangle' her so the others could…do whatever they were doing.

A cold smile spread across his face, "She isn't going back to her mother. She is going to stay here with us. But I suppose if you can live with this child being raised by a Six…then I can take her away."

Kara shuddered. She would take the girl, if only to keep her away from…that. She gritted her teeth and nodded.

Leoben released the girl and she immediately backed away from him. She ran over to Kara and grabbed her shirt, tugging on the sleeve until Kara leaned forward. The girl then slid herself between the wall and Kara's body. Once she succeeded, she wrapped her arms around Kara's midsection and squeezed tightly, causing Kara to flinch as another flare of pain coursed through her.

Kara glared at Leoben "What have you done to her?"

"She needed a medical exam before we could bring her here." Kara's eyes went wide and she clenched her fists. She fought to keep herself sitting in that corner. If she killed him again they would just drug her, strap her down, and take Kasey to that frakkin bitch, Six, anyway.

Leoben stared at the two together and smiled. "You are made to be a mother Kara." He turned and left, quietly closing the door behind him.

Kara put her head to her knees and asked the child "How long are you going to be back there?"

The girl shakes her head and grips her waist even tighter, causing Kara to tense. Kara sighed - she wasn't cut out for this - she just wanted to be with Sam again and forget about this place and the exams, the drugs, the frakkin' Cylons.

At the thought of Sam, Kara is jolted out of the memory. Kasey, who had fallen asleep, whined at the sudden movement. Her eyes watered. Probably left to rot by the Cylons, not given the dignity of a proper funeral.

She sniffs and looks down at Kasey. The kid is staring up at Kara sleepily, smiling. Kara was always amazed at how well Kasey had learned to comfort her. Hades, if not for Kasey, Kara wasn't sure how long she would have kept her sanity in that cell.

They both turned when they heard Julia's voice call Kasey's name quietly. Kasey smiled again, hugged and kissed Kara, then hopped off her lap and ran to her mother.

Kara smiled tiredly, "Sorry. I guess we were both tired."

Julia smiles gently down at her daughter, then at Kara, "No need to apologize. You have been looking rough lately."

Kara shrugged. "Nightmares."

Julia nodded and quickly changed the subject, "I am working again tommorw…would you mind?"

"No, never."

Julia turned to head back to the cargo bay that she and Kasey called home, "I can't thank you enough for what you have done for me…us."

Kara shakes her head. "It's nothing. Anyone would have done it."

"Not everyone." She looks down at her daughter and tickles her neck lightly. "No, not everyone." She paused, "Anyway we have to go get some food into my little monster before our group's shift is over."

As they leave Kasey turns around and waves to Kara. As they rounded the corner and left her sight Kara felt two tears trail down her cheek. She felt so lonely.