[for childofhumanity]

[instrument_of]

He hasn't gone home since his second Nexus kidnapping. It's funny because this time he actually wants to, this time he knows he needs to escape this hell. But then there's the Pegasus (why is it even there?) and a likely civil war, and the fact that everything he did in that world was probably destroyed in the time he went missing from it. The vice

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[childofhumanity]

Cylon-occupied Caprica is a new kind of home for her. It's different; the memories of the Caprica she once lived on are ever prevalent in her mind, even though this body wasn't physically present when the humans were still living here. Now all she sees are Eights and Twos and Threes, all of whom whisper while she passes by, whispering about the Cylon hero. She doesn't like to even think about that word. It evokes emotion that she isn't prepared to handle.

You shouldn't be surprised, her Gaius says, strutting behind her in his pristine suit as he lifts a cigarette to his lips. You're the one they hold responsible. And why shouldn't they?She digs her fingernails into her palms and tries to refrain from hitting him in the face, because D'Anna's still waiting for just one reason to discredit her sanity. It's impossible; up until a few days ago, she'd thought Gaius was dead, killed in the explosion that tore apart his home. But on the urgings of the Eight that continues to call herself Boomer, Six is forced to come to the

[instrument_of]

The voice is familiar, but the wavering is new. He's sure she's upset with him, sure she's here to rebuke him for his screw ups, but the uncertainty... since when does that happen?

"What do you want?" he asks, voice sullen and exhausted as he lifts his eyes. He's expecting to see nothing different here. He's expecting to see a slim, red dress--or maybe blue-- and calm, half-mast eyes. He's expecting nearly bare legs. He's expecting certainty. But the woman in front of him doesn't quite match with this image, somehow, in a fundamental way he can't even explain. No. No. There's something different.

Familiar.

He stares at her, weariness slipping to confusion, confusion to a sort of fear, because what's going on here? What is this supposed to mean? Or maybe it isn't fear-- maybe the blood rushing through his body means something else, something like hope or excitement or relief. All he knows is that he can't stop staring, and that he can't open his mouth to speak.

[childofhumanity]

His voice isn't brimming over with confidence, not the way she's been hearing it. It sounds almost as tired as he looks, and she pauses, waiting for the inevitable shift - for him to chuckle and tell her that it was just an act, to taunt her some more, to -

- no. As she nears him, she knows. This isn't a trick on the inner workings of her mind. She's not dreaming. She's not even projecting this.

Slowly, she takes another step forward, and another, and another - until her body is positioned just shy of the couch where he sits, and after some hesitation, she finally joins him, clasping her hands in her lap while she tries to subdue her obvious surprise and shock. The realization that Gaius - the real Gaius Baltar - is alive... she doubts she's even equipped to handle this.

"You're alive," she finally states, an observation instead of a question.

[instrument_of]

His first instinct is to recoil, because he doesn't understand what's going on, but he can't really bring himself to move away. Her presence has become a constant in his life-- something he probably couldn't escape even if he wanted to-- and so why would that be any different now? He fidgets instead, bringing his own hands together, linking his fingers. He hasn't looked away.

"Of course I'm alive," he says, defensive, as if her merely suggesting his death would wipe him clean out of existence. "I mean... you would-- you should--" Know? Should she?

He swallows.

"I don't know what this is about." He breaks his stare finally, and lowers his eyes to watch his hands and fingernails. He speaks almost to himself, voice low and wavering. "I don't even know who you are."