266 - Start Something

[number_eight]

It was just another ordinary day.

Sure, Karl and I were about as depressed as anyone else once we'd walked around Earth, but Hera was back on Galactica, and I had to make sure she was okay. I just had to hold her in my arms. Once I did that, I couldn't stop because of her smile. Hera's laugh is infectious. Have you parents ever noticed that? How a child can laugh, and it doesn't matter what horrible thing has happened in your life? That laugh just makes everything better.

I guess that was why Karl and I started flying Hera around our quarters, playing with her. I can't really say now, looking back on it. I can't think of who came up with the idea to have our typical date night, either. It was my idea originally, though. With all the frakking stuff that Helo had to go through when he was in charge of Dogsville? He needed a break. Something where it was just us adults having fun. He was the one who came up with asking Dee if she'd babysit Hera.

And so a tradition was started. Dee would come over once she was done at CIC, and she'd be "Aunt Dee" to Hera. Hera loved it. How many other people on Galactica really care about my daughter other than my husband and me? Well, Cottle helped save her life, sure. And there's the Old Man, sure. But after that, on a personal level? Just Dee. Aunt Dee.

Earth was a waste, but it was just another day. I think Karl and I were going to hang out at Joe's, just to get some drinks and maybe play a few rounds of Triad. I can completely kick his butt at that since I had Kara as my teacher, so don't ever listen to Karl. Anyway, like I was saying, it was just a night out. Two parents leaving their daughter with Dee, who had become a great friend to not only Hera but to both Helo and to me. After all that frakking crap that happened with Dr. Robert and the Mellorak sickness, we ended up closer than I figured we would be. Who knew, right? But, it happens on a battlestar, I guess. Everyone becomes a family.

I think I'm not really making much sense here, though. You have to understand, I trusted her. Helo saved her life and the two of them ended up... and she was Aunt Dee to my daughter. She actually told us she looked forward to spending time with my daughter, the freak half-Cylon. God, I think... I think if Lee Adama hadn't been an idiot, then he and Dee would've... God, I don't know. But from watching Dee with my daughter when I had my date nights with Karl? I knew. I knew she would be a wonderful mother someday. Considering that Tyrol hasn't wanted his son hanging around Hera, I had this idea that maybe Dee would have a kid and we'd switch off on babysitting with our kids together and...

Frak.

She's dead. She's dead and I don't know why. Helo told me that she was freaking out in the Raptor taking people back from Earth to Galactica, but everyone did that once we saw the planet. Everyone was pretty much depressed. Lt. Gaeta told me she took a sidearm and just shot herself, after she'd been 'glowing' from... something. And all I can do now is look at Hera and wonder why.

Hera's smart. I am going to have to come up with some sort of reason as to why Aunt Dee isn't going to be around anymore to babysit her like she used to, and I've got no frakking clue what to tell my daughter. What do you tell a child? How do you tell a child?

I'm not looking for a new babysitter for Hera right now. I'm sure as hell not going on any date night with Karl anytime soon. I just can't. It's too soon, too fresh. We're going to try and find a new home, or at least, that's what the Old Man said to us.

Here's my problem, though.

What new home will be perfect without my friend? Karl's friend? Aunt Dee?

The answer is, it won't.

So, I'm here, holding my daughter in my quarters as she colors in a book, trying to figure out how to tell her that her favorite and only babysitter is gone forever. And frankly, all I can do is try really hard not to cry as I glance over to Karl and wonder not only 'why', but how. How could she leave us, so that our family isn't really a family anymore? And the answer is... we'll never know.

Dee, wherever you're at, I just hope you know you were loved. And you're missed.

Hera says 'hi'.



Muse: Sharon "Athena" Agathon
Fandom: Misc. TV/"Battlestar Galactica"
Word Count: 823
OOC Note: This prompt reply is dedicated to the original Dee!mun from Helo!mun, Hera, & Sharon.