THE GENETIC DUPLICATE – Day 11 Part 4

On board the Rising Star, Lucy was introduced to Dr. Cottle. Dr. Cottle's interested was raised when he learned that Lucy was a doctor and began to test her knowledge of medicine almost immediately. After five hours of testing, he found her to be more than competent to practice medicine in the fleet.

Kim was in a coma for six and half hours when Beth's astral projecting spirit appeared at Kim's sickbay room. Beth quickly saw Kyra sitting at Kim's bedside while holding her hand. Beth looked around and when she realized where she was, she uttered out, "My god, Kim, what happened to you." Beth thought for a second before continuing to say, "Dr. Clu-Isic can see and hear me. He can tell me what happened." Beth closed her eyes and concentrated on going to Dr. Clu-Isic.

Dr. Clu-Isic was walking through a busy corridor and was walking towards the mess hall when Beth appeared in front of him. The crewmembers close to Dr. Clu-Isic gave him a curious look without stopping when Dr. Clu-Isic abruptly stopped walking and appeared as if he was saying to the air, "We met once before. Kim was genetically duplicated after you. I can't remember your name though."

"You can call me Beth," she said. "I'm coming to you because I just saw Kim unconscious in bed in the infirmary… sickbay or whatever it's being called. Can you tell me what happened to her?"

"I didn't know she was there, but come with me and we'll find out together," said Dr. Clu-Isic.

"Thank you for doing this," said Beth.

Dr. Clu-Isic nodded just before he began to lead the way to the sickbay.

In sickbay, Diamond and Alec had been gone for a few hours. Seth and Adonis were sitting in the waiting area while Kyra was still in the Kim's room.

Adonis was the first to see Dr. Clu-Isic and said as he gestured towards him, "I heard about Dr. Clu-Isic from Kim and now I get to see him."

Seth turned to look. As Dr. Clu-Isic stepped up to him he glanced at Beth and said, "Seth, Beth is here. She came to me to find out what happened to Kim."

Before Seth was able to say anything, Adonis spouted out, "Kim pushed the most unworthy person of being saved away from a falling light fixture and got hit by it herself."

Seth uttered out in a warning tone, "Adonis."

"Dr. Clu-Isic, tell Adonis that Kim would have felt unworthy if she allowed anyone to get hit by anything if she could prevent it," said Beth.

After Dr. Clu-Isic repeated what Beth had said, Adonis said, "It's not fair that Kim's in a coma."

"Dr. Clu-Isic, ask Seth about Kim's condition," said Beth.

Seth told Beth and Dr. Clu-Isic about Kim's condition. Once Seth was done, Dr. Clu-Isic led Beth into Kim's room. Kyra stood up and said, "I'm surprise to see you here, Dr. Clu-Isic."

"Beth is here with me," said Dr. Clu-Isic. "She came to me when she saw Kim lying there."

"Oh gods… god." Kyra closed her eyes to get a handle of what she was saying. After a second she opened her eyes and continued to say, "Beth, I forgot about you coming and I'm sorry I wasn't prepared for you."

"There's a lot on her mind so there's no need for her to apologize," said Beth.

"Beth understands and she feels that you don't have anything to apologize for," said Dr. Clu-Isic.

Kyra nodded before saying, "We should put going over the formulas on hold until Kim can continue."

Before Beth was able to respond, Dr. Clu-Isic said, "I'm guessing that Kim was only an interpreter for Beth and I can do that."

"I don't have a problem with that," said Kyra.

"That's fine with me too," said Beth.

"Beth is fine with that too," said Dr. Clu-Isic

"I didn't think to cancel things with Dr. Atkins, so most likely he's still expecting Beth," said Kyra.

"Beth and I will go to his lab," said Dr. Clu-Isic.

"I'll walk with you two to the waiting area," said Kyra. She then followed behind Dr. Clu-Isic out of the door.

In Cmdr. Adama's quarter, Dr. Salik and Lucy were taking their seats in front of Cmdr Adama. As soon as they were comfortable, Cmdr. Adama said, "Dr. Cottle found you to be creditable as a doctor and I would like to offer you a position as a doctor on the Leonis Freighter. Leonis Freighter currently doesn't have a doctor assigned to her and she's carrying about five hundred passengers."

"So I'll be the only doctor there?" Lucy questioned.

"Yes, and you'll be treating people with only minor ailments," said Cmdr. Adama. "Anything major like surgeries, you are to send the patient to the Rising Star. You will also be given a list of diseases that are common in the fleet and the procedure on how to handle each disease."

"That sound simple enough," said Lucy.

"Do you have any questions?" asked Cmdr. Adama.

"I believe I'm good," said Lucy.

"Dr. Salik, do you have anything to add before you two are dismissed?" asked Cmdr. Adama.

"Lucy, since you and Kim would have similar brain development, I would like you to look at Kim's latest brain scans, before you…" Dr. Salik was able to get out.

"Is there something I should know about my brain development?" asked Lucy.

"Just that the planet's atmosphere and elements have a direct influence over brain development," Dr. Salik assured her. "Your brain, Kim's brain and the brains in the other five genetic duplicates will be enough alike that you couldn't tell the difference between them without a closer examination. The difference between someone's brain from the colonies and your brain would be the first thing you notice as you look. By you being more familiar with how your brain is developed is why I would like you to take a look at Kim's scans."

"Well, I'm not a brain specialist, but I'll help out with her case where I can," said Lucy.

Dr. Salik faced Cmdr. Adama and said, "If there nothing else, Commander, Lucy and I will go check on Kim's condition."

Cmdr. Adama gestured towards the door and said, "You two are dismissed."

Once Dr. Salik and Lucy got on their feet, they left the quarters.

Minutes later, Lucy was looking at Kim's brain scans with Dr. Salik looking over her shoulders. After a few seconds of gazing over the scans she pointed at certain areas and said, "There are signs of swelling here, here and here."

"With Gods help, there won't be any memory loss from brain damage, but I fear that there might be," said Dr. Salik. "What do you think?"

"From these scans, it possible, but I wouldn't climb out on that limb until the swelling goes down and take more scans or she wakes up," said Lucy. "I would like to physically see Kim if I can."

"Come with me," said Dr. Salik.

A short time later, Lucy was checking Kim's vitals. Kyra was in the room and just stood back while watching. Once Lucy was done, she looked at Dr. Salik while standing at Kim's bedside. She was about ready to say something, but before uttering a syllable she was slightly startled when Kim grabbed her arm. Lucy looked at Kim and saw her in a trance like state. She placed her opposite hand over Kim's hand and said in a gentle voice, "Kimberly."

Kyra saw what was going on and as she stepped closer, she said, "She having a psychic vision."

Kyra heard the skeptical tone in Lucy's voice when Lucy questioned, "She's a psychic?"

"She is," Dr. Salik verified.

"In one afternoon my disbelief in life on other planets and psychics are turned upside down," Lucy uttered out.

Kyra grinned, but before she was able to respond, Kim came out of her vision and asked, "How's Diamond and the others?"

Kyra stepped up to Kim and while giving Kim a pleasant smile, she said, "Diamond is fine. Everyone's okay, but you gave us a scare, Young Lady."

Kim grinned and asked, "How long have I've been in a coma?"

Dr. Salik stepped closer and asked, "You know that you just woke up from a coma?"

"I had a weird dream while I was in the coma and in that dream my grandpa appeared to me and told me what was happening with me," said Kim.

"I'm very interested in hearing about that dream, Kim, but before I do, this woman is Dr. Lucy Young," said Kyra. "She's also a genetic duplicate from Earth."

Kim grinned and said, "Hi, Dr. Lucy Young."

"You can call me Lucy," she said.

Before Kim was able to respond, Kyra asked, "Kim, what was your vision about that you had a moment ago of Lucy?"

"Oh, I saw a woman telling Lucy about how Lucy had to have an emergency cesarean in sign language after she woke up in the recovering room," said Kim. "She was a saragent mother for that woman."

Lucy gave Kim a stunned look and said, "I know the event you're speaking of and the woman is my sister, Ruth. Also in that event everything was spoken in sign language between Ruth and me. You must know sign language for you to know what was said."

Kim grinned and said in sign language, "A friend of mine taught me sign language when I was nine."

Kyra gave Kim a curious look and asked, "Are you doing some form of communication?"

Kim grinned and said as she nodded, "It's called sign language."

"On Earth, there are individuals who are born with a hearing disability and the only way for those individuals to communicate is by sign language," said Lucy. "What Kim had told me in sign language is that a friend of hers taught it to her when she was nine years old."

"My friend's mom was deaf and my friend taught it to me so I could talk to her mom while I was at her house," Kim added. Kyra just gave Kim a proud smile. Kim also smiled when she saw Kyra's expression. "So can I get out of this hospital bed and go home?"

"Not yet," said Dr. Salik. "I want to run a few tests on you along with repeating the memory tests that Dr. Randall did with you several days ago."

"How long will it take?" asked Kim.

"Be prepared, Kim, to be here for at least twelve hours," said Dr. Salik.

"Those tests are going to take twelve hours?" asked Kim.

"Well, I also want to keep an eye on you and make sure that your recovering doesn't regress," said Dr. Salik.

Kyra took hold of Kim's hand and said, "If you would like, Kim, I can bring you your sketchpad and a book so you don't get too bored."

Kim grinned and said, "I would like that." Kim's stomach growled loud enough for everyone to here. "I'm also a little hungry."

Dr. Salik grinned and said, "I'll get you something to eat."

Before Dr. Salik had a chance to move, Kim said, "No one ever answered my question about how long I was in a coma."

Kyra looked at her watch and said, "Close to seven hours."

"Kim, I'll be back with some food for you," said Dr. Salik.

"Kim, it was interesting meeting you, but I should go too," said Lucy.

"It was nice meeting you," said Kim. Dr. Salik was close to the exit when Kim uttered out, "Dr. Salik, wait."

Dr. Salik face Kim and asked, "Yes, Kim."

"I don't know if this helps, but Dr. Ravishol is the one who created or help created the human-like Cylons," said Kim.

"How did you learn that?" asked Kyra.

"That weird dream I had, had began with me waking up in an alternate reality," said Kim. "I heard about him assisting the Cylons then."

"I think I know what you mean by alternate reality and alternate realities don't exist, so I wouldn't put too much faith in weird dreams like that, Kim," said Dr. Salik.

"Do you know of Dr. Ravishol?" asked Kim.

"Kim, Dr. Ravishol is just a made up character that your mind created during the dream," said Dr. Salik. "Anyway, I'll be back with your food."

"Bye," said Kim.

"Bye," said Lucy. She then followed Dr. Salik out of the room.

Once Kyra and Kim were alone, Kyra said, "You definitely raised my interest in that alternate reality dream of yours, so tell me about it."

Kim smiled for a second before she began telling Kyra about her dream.

While Dr. Salik and Lucy were walking through the waiting area, Dr. Salik took the time to tell Seth and Adonis that Kim was awake and appeared to be okay. As Dr. Salik and Lucy continued into the corridor, Seth and Adonis joined Kyra in the Kim's room.

Lucy had accompanied Dr. Salik as he walked towards the mess hall. Not even midway there, they ran into Cmdr. Adama and Pres. Roslin. Cmdr. Adama immediately introduced Lucy to Pres. Roslin.

Once the introductions were done, Dr. Salik said, "Commander, Kim has awakened. We haven't run any tests yet, but she seems to be perfectly fine."

"Does she still possess her excellent memory?" asked Cmdr. Adama.

"I haven't tested that yet," said Dr. Salik. "She still has her psychic ability though. She told Lucy something about herself after waking up."

"Any concerns about her at the present time, Doctor," asked Pres. Roslin. She then noticed a hesitation in his response. "What is your concern?"

"Well, I'm not really seeing this as something to be too concern about, but I think Kim might be blurring reality with a dream she had," said Dr. Salik. "I'm certain that she will come to realize that her dream was only a dream."

"What is Kim blurring?" said Cmdr. Adama.

"Before Lucy and I left her room, she told me that Dr. Ravishol is the one who created the human-like Cylons," said Dr. Salik. "I assured her that Dr. Ravishol was only a made up character from her dreams."

Pres. Roslin had an expression on her face as if Dr. Salik had raised the dead and said, "Dr. Ravishol is or was very much a real person."

Cmdr. Adama was the one to ask first, "Who is he?"

"Twenty… twenty-five years ago, Dr. Ravishol was on trial against humanity for creating clones, but midway through his trial, several people broke him out of prison along with stealing his equipment from the evidence room. The authorities gave chase that lasted for a week. In the end, Dr. Ravishol got away and a total of fifty people in three colonies were killed while trying to recapture him. My father's brother was one of the fifty who were killed."

"So Dr. Ravishol could have created the human-like Cylons?" Dr. Salik questioned.

"Well, whether he did or didn't is irrelevant," said Cmdr. Adama.

"I wonder if Kim learned anything that is relevant," said Pres. Roslin. "So Commander, perhaps you and I should talk with her."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to find out," said Cmdr. Adama.

Dr. Salik gestured down the hall and said, "Well, Kim woke up hungry; which is always a positive sign. I'm going to get her something to eat."

"Carry on, Doctors," said Cmdr. Adama.

After Dr. Salik nodded, he and Lucy continued down the hall.

In Kim's sickbay room, Kim was in the middle of telling Kyra, Seth and Adonis about her dream when Cmdr. Adama and Pres. Roslin opened the door and stepped into the room.

Kim paused from what she was saying and when she saw who was walking in, she said, "Hi, Cmdr. Adama. Hi Pres. Roslin."

Cmdr. Adama and Pres. Roslin said in unison, "Hi, Kim."

Pres. Roslin continued to say, "We heard that you were awake and remembering an interesting dream."

Kim thought for a second before saying, "Dr. Salik or Lucy told you about Dr. Ravishol."

Pres. Roslin smiled and said, "I see that bump on your head didn't dull how quick you are." Kim just grinned. "Anyway, I want you to know that Dr. Ravishol is a real person; however, learning about his involvement would have only helped twenty years ago…"

"I guess knowing that information is like shutting the barn door after the animals had ran off," said Kim.

Pres. Roslin grinned and said, "Anyway, I would like to hear more of your dream."

"Well, the dream was kind of a vision of an alternate reality," Kim began. "The Cylon war never ended forty-five years ago; the human-like Cylons were never created and… oh Commander Adama, in this dream you had a daughter name Alethea."

Everyone noticed Cmdr. Adama turning slightly pale while looking at Kim as if she was a ghost. Kyra was the first one to ask, "Commander, are you okay?"

Cmdr. Adama swallowed before saying, "I had a daughter. As Kim said, her name was Alethea and she died in an accident at the age of nine. Alethea's death greatly affected my marriage for the worse." Cmdr. Adama saw the remorse look in Kim's eyes and he knew that Kim was scared to continue while he was in the room. "Kim, tells us about your dream from the beginning and it's okay not to leave anything out."

"Yes, Sir," said Kim. Kyra slightly grinned as Kim began again from the beginning.

Kim was able to talk about her dream for thirty minutes before Dr. Salik returned with a tray of food for Kim. When Cmdr. Adama saw the tray, he said, "We should leave and let you eat. Pres. Roslin and I will be back later to hear more of your dream."

"Yes, Sir," said Kim.

"Kim; Seth, Adonis and I are going to go too," said Kyra as Dr. Salik was setting up the tray in front of Kim. "I'll be back though with a book for you to read."

"Hurry back," said Kim.

Kyra grinned and said, "I'll see you in a little bit."

As everyone was leaving the room, Kim began to eat her food.

As Cmdr. Adama and Pres. Roslin were stepping into the corridor, Pres. Roslin saw Cmdr. Adama being miles away in his thoughts. She put her hand on his arm and asked, "Is there anything wrong?"

Cmdr. Adama grinned before saying, "Two weeks ago, we were certain that someone seeing the future or the past from a vision was impossible. Kim entered our lives and proved that our belief of it being impossible of having psychic visions to be false. We also strongly believe that alternate reality can't exist, but Kim gets a vision of an alternate reality."

"That wasn't a vision that Kim had gotten, it was only a dream and Kim even recognizes it as being only a dream," said Pres. Roslin.

"Dreams don't normally bring hidden facts to the surface the way that Kim's dream did, so I'm more incline to call that dream a vision," said Cmdr. Adama. "I'm going to have Dr. Atkins to go over everything that we deemed to be impossible and start looking at each one as if it is possible."

"Even if alternate realities are real, we have no business with trying to break the walls down that separate those realities," said Pres. Roslin.

"I'm not interested in crossing into another reality, so I agree that those walls are to be left alone," said Cmdr. Adama. "I'm more interested in finding weapons that we can use against the Cylons."

"I strongly recommend caution if you proceed with that course of action," said Pres. Roslin.

Cmdr. Adama grinned and said, "For you to caution me, you too must believe that some of our belief could be wrong."

"Like you, Kim has also put doubts in my head as to what can or can't be true," said Pres. Roslin. Cmdr. Adama just smiled.

An hour later, in the Galactica's mess hall, Apollo took a seat with his rations across from Starbuck while she was eating. As Apollo took a bite of his rations, he gave Starbuck an emotionless stare.

Starbuck saw the stare and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that for."

"Oh, I'm just trying to picture you as a man," said Apollo.

Starbuck looked at Apollo as if he had lost his mind and asked, "Is there a reason why you're doing that?"

"I'm sure you heard about Kim being in a coma," said Apollo.

"How does Kim being in a coma has anything to do with you trying to picture me as a man?" asked Starbuck.

"She woke up and told my father about this dream she had," said Apollo. "In that dream, your name was Terrance Thrace."

"Terrance?' Starbuck questioned. "Terrance was my mom's dad's name. Why is Kim dreaming of me being a man?"

"Her dream was more than a dream," said Apollo. "It was more of a vision of an alternate reality."

"So in another reality, I would have been a man," Starbuck commented.

"It is interesting to think about what would be different in an alternate reality," said Apollo. He then took a bite of his food.

"Besides me being born a male in Kim's vision of the alternate reality, were there anything else different?" asked Starbuck.

Apollo swallowed his food and said in a remorseful tone, "Alethea was still alive in Kim's vision."

"Alethea?" Starbuck questioned barely loud enough for Apollo to hear. He was about ready to say who Alethea was when Starbuck continued. "Zach mentioned Alethea… she was your sister. She was killed in an accident at the age of eleven, right?"

"Alethea was nine when she died," said Apollo. "By Kim mentioning Alethea is why my father is calling Kim's dream a vision of an alternate reality."

"I might check in on Kim and hear more about that vision," said Starbuck. She then took a bite of food.

An hour and half later in Kim's room, Dr. Salik was repeating the memory tests that Kim was given several days ago. Kim's responses were quick and precisive. Just after Kim answered the last question she continued to say in a proud manner, "And I still have it."

Dr. Salik laughed and said, "If it's even possible, I think your memory had improved since a few days ago. You still have to stay here until I'm certain that your recovering doesn't regress."

"I have a novel and my sketchpad to keep me from getting bored," said Kim.

"I'll check on you later," said Dr. Salik.

"Bye," said Kim.

Dr. Salik left the room and went to join Kyra and Seth in the waiting area. Adonis didn't return to the Galactica with Kyra and Seth once they were back on the Solar Flare.

Kyra stood up followed by Seth when they saw Dr. Salik approaching. When Dr. Salik stepped up, Kyra asked, "So how's her memory?"

"She again scored off the charts," said Dr. Salik. "She's still the smart and confident fourteen-year-old who you knew."

"Thank god," said Kyra.

As Seth gave Kyra a hug, he said, "That's great."

When the hug ended, Kyra said, "Well, I'm going to visit Kim."

"Well, I have other patients to look in on," said Dr. Salik.

As Dr. Salik walked away, Kyra and Seth entered Kim's room.

In Kim's room, Kim was drawing a picture of Alethea when Kyra and Seth stepped in. Kim looked up at them and said, "I breezed through that memory test again."

Kyra smiled and said as she stepped up to Kim's bedside, "I heard." She then caught a glimpse of the drawing that Kim was working on. "Who are you drawing?"

"This is Alethea," said Kim. "I felt like I had to draw her. There are a few other people… teenagers who I feel like I should draw too."

"Are you going to give the picture of Alethea to Cmdr. Adama?" asked Seth.

"I'd be too scared to," said Kim.

"Why would you be scared of that?" asked Seth.

"The picture might be too upsetting for him… and Apollo, and I'm scared of how either one would react to it," said Kim.

"Cmdr. Adama wasn't upset earlier; the facts about his daughter weren't really known by anyone other than him and Apollo, and you just surprised him when you spoke his daughter's name, that's all," said Kyra.

"Well, I don't want to take the chance," said Kim.

"It's your decision," said Kyra. "Anyway, Kim, it's getting late and I know that you're fine, so unless you want me to stay, I need to get home and go to bed."

"I'm okay with you leaving," said Kim. "Just come back to get me in a few hours because I want to go home too."

Kyra grinned. After taking hold of Kim's hand she said, "I promise." She gave Kim a hug and kiss on the head before continuing to say, "I know you're not tired, but try to get some rest. Okay?"

"I'll try." Kim then grinned and said in a playful manner, "I could always stay up for the next twenty-four hours and go to bed the next time it's bed time."

Kyra slightly shook her head and grinned before saying, "Goodnight, Kim."

"Goodnight; goodnight, Seth," said Kim.

Seth gave Kim a quick hug before saying, "Goodnight."

Kim gave Seth a pleasant grinned before saying, "I love you, Mom… and you Seth."

Seth slightly grinned as Kyra said, "I love you."

"Ditto, Kim," said Seth.

Kyra gave Seth a curious look while Kim just grinned. Once Kyra and Seth left the room, Kim went back to drawing.

Midway to the shuttle area, Kyra and Seth came up to Apollo and Starbuck. Kyra and Seth said their greetings, but before they were able to pass, Starbuck asked, "Is Kim okay to have visitors?"

"She's fine to have visitors." Starbuck caught an uneasy tone as Kyra continued to asked, "Were you going there now?"

"We shouldn't go there now?" Starbuck questioned.

"There's nothing wrong with you and Apollo visiting her now," said Kyra.

"Apollo walking in might catch her off guard, that's all," Seth added.

"Why is that?" asked Apollo.

"Kim is currently drawing a picture of Alethea and she thinks it would be too upsetting for you or your dad if you two find out about it," said Seth.

"I don't see that as upsetting," said Apollo. "My interest in actually peeked to see what my sister would have looked like if she would have lived past the age of nine."

"You may want to assure her of that if you dropped in on her," said Kyra.

"I will," said Apollo.

In Kim's room, Kim was focus on drawing her picture and didn't see Beth appearing in the room. Kim was slightly startled when Beth said, "I'm glad to see that you're okay." Beth realized she had startled Kim. "Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

Kim grinned before asking, "So, Sis, when were you here the first time to know that I was hurt?"

"You were in a coma for about six and half hours when I first came," said Beth. "When I saw you lying there I was able to go to Dr. Clu-Isic. We found out what happened together. So how do you feel?"

"Dr. Salik gave me a strong pain medication for the bump on my head, so my head doesn't really hurt," said Kim. "I do feel as though I'm wearing a cap. I'm just glad that they didn't have to shave my head or cut my hair."

Beth grinned before saying, "When I moved in with Grandma the fight with mom on how long to keep my hair ended."

"Beth, why did Grandma moved from that three story-house?" asked Kim.

"Oh, uh, Aunt April turned that house into a license daycare center," said Beth.

"So grandma still owns the house?" asked Kim.

"She and Aunt April own it together," said Beth. "It's no longer a house though. It's strictly a daycare and they're making a nice profit each year from it."

"Cool." Beth saw Kim's expression getting slightly more serious just before Kim asked, "Beth, do you still have stage fright?"

Beth grinned and said, "I overcame my stage fright."

"How were you able to do it?" asked Kim.

"In my sophomore year in high school, Brian noticed that if I was trying to warn people of something… like getting food poisoning from the cafeteria from bad meat, I don't care as to how many people who were staring at me," said Beth. "Brian suggested that when I get up in front of a group that I should get it in my head that what needs to be said is an important message that had to get out."

"And that works?" asked Kim.

"It didn't stop my nervousness right away, but it did help to keep me from getting nauseous," said Beth as Apollo and Starbuck were opening the door to walk in. "Eventually my nervousness faded away." Beth, Apollo and Starbuck saw a slight uncomfortable expression in Kim's face as Apollo and Starbuck stepped into Kim's view. Kim quickly closed her sketchbook and flipped it over. "What wrong, Kim?"

Before Kim was able to acknowledge Beth's question Apollo said, "Kyra told me about the drawing that you're doing of Alethea and I'm fine with you doing it. I actually like to see it."

"Who's Alethea?" asked Beth.

"She's Apollo's sister," said Kim. "She died long time ago at the age of nine, but I saw her as an adult in a dream …"

Starbuck quickly asked in a concerned manner as she stepped closer to the bed, "Are you okay, Kim?"

Kim grinned and said, "I'm fine. Beth is here."

Starbuck gazed around the room as if looking for a glimpse of her presence as she and Apollo said almost in unison, "Hi, Beth."

"Tell them I say hi," said Beth.

"Beth says, hi," said Kim

"So were you telling Beth about having a vision about an alternate reality while being in a coma?" asked Starbuck.

"You had a vision of an alternate reality?" Beth questioned.

"It was only a weird dream," said Kim.

"Dreams don't bring facts to the surface of an alternate existence," said Apollo.

"Well, the dream was created by the light fixture hitting me," said Kim.

Beth and Starbuck said in unison, "What do you mean?"

Kim glanced between Beth and Starbuck in a curious manner before saying, "The light fixture that hit me was created and placed in storage as a surplus item when the Galactica was being built. The dream I had was one possible future during that time."

"There's another fact that we didn't know," said Starbuck.

"There were so much military surplus items just before the original Cylon War broke out that most passenger ships constructed between twenty and fifty years ago, were constructed while using the obsolete components that were no longer used in the military ships," said Apollo.

"I didn't even know that," said Starbuck. "However, it does explain the age on certain manuals."

"Anyway, Kim, I would like to see that picture of Alethea," said Apollo.

As Kim was reopening her sketchpad to the proper page, she said, "It's not really done, but here it is." She then handed the sketchpad to Apollo.

Apollo looked at the picture with a long gaze before saying, "This is quite good." Apollo saw a prideful grin growing across Kim's face. "I do recognize her as being my sister. My sister had my mom's eyes and my dad's mom's mouth. You captured both. When you get done drawing the picture, I would very much like to have it; at least long enough to make a photo copy anyway."

"You can have it when I'm done," said Kim. Kim then noticed Beth grinning at her in a proud manner.

When Kim smiled at Beth, Beth said, "I really, need to get going, Kim."

"Okay; good night, Sis," said Kim.

"Good night," said Beth.

As Beth was fading from Kim's sight, Kim saw Starbuck looking at her in a curious manner. Kim gestured towards to where Beth was at and said, "Beth had to go."

As Starbuck politely grinned and nodded, Apollo said, "We should be going too, so you can rest."

As Apollo was handing back Kim's sketchpad, Kim said, "Okay. Good night. And thanks for visiting me."

Apollo grinned before he and Starbuck said, "Good night."

Kim watched them as they walked out. Once they left Kim's sight, she went back to drawing Alethea's picture.

(A/N: I was going to end the chapter at this point, but I decided to add to the chapter on Crashfourit's request)

Tobias Fisher, one of Dr. Cottle's second year medical student and medical technician, is the one to work in sickbay when Cassandra and Dr. Salik's shift has ended. He was only there for an hour when Geata walked in while carrying six books.

Tobias saw Geata walking in and as he Geata stepped up, Tobias asked, "What brings you in here, Felix?"

"Cassandra asked me for these books," said Geata. "I know she gone for the night, but I figured I would bring the books in now and she can get them when she returns."

As Tobias was taking the books, he read the title on the top book aloud, "The first steps to understanding computer programming." He looked into Geata's eyes. "Cassandra wants to learn programming?"

"It's not for her, but for someone she knows and these are the six books a person needs to become an expert programmer while starting from a nugget," said Geata.

Tobias pointed to an area to where a few books were kept and said, "Well, in case you come back looking for the books, they'll be among those books."

Geata nodded and said, "Thanks. Oh and before I leave, you should be prepared to receive wounded started in the next hour or so."

"What's happening then?" asked Tobias.

"Kat begins instructing new recruits in an hour and there are always mishaps during the first few days of training," said Geata.

"First few days, hell, you mean the first two weeks," Tobias corrected.

Geata grinned and said, "Well, have fun. Oh and don't forget to let Cassandra know that I brought in the books."

"Will do and thinks for the heads up," said Tobias. "In fact, I think I'm going to call someone else in to help with the wounded we'll be getting."

Geata just politely grinned and waved bye before walking towards the exit.

In Kim's room, Kim had been drawing for two hours and drew several pictures, including the United States flag along with including it's slogan. After putting the finishing touches on her latest drawing, she put her sketchpad away and picked up the book that Kyra had brought. When she opened up to the first page of the novel, her eyes had gotten wide before blurting out, "Chapter twenty-four?" She quickly turned to see the title of the book and because of the wear of the cover she was barely able to make out that it was a continuation from book one. "Oh no, this is book two. I bet mom didn't know that this story had volumes to it and I hate starting in the middle of the story." She then glanced towards the door. "I wonder if Dr. Salik has any books to read."

Kim got out of bed and left her room. The waiting room was slightly crowded with injured recruits. The injuries ranged from minor sprangs to fractures. Kim's eyes had widened when she saw the number of injured in the room.

Tobias saw Kim as she was stepping into the reception area. He quickly stepped up to her and asked, "Kimberly, right?" Kim just nodded. "Kimberly, I'm Tobias Fisher and unless you're out of bed because of a dying emergency then you need to get back to bed."

"There's no emergency," said Kim. "I just want to talk to Dr. Salik or Cassandra," said Kim.

Tobias pointed to the other medical technician and said, "He and I are the only ones who are here and we're slightly backed up at the moment. So you need to get back to your room so you're out of the way."

"Well, I'm wide awake with nothing to do and I only wanted a book to read," said Kim. "I promise to stay out of your hair if I had something to read."

Tobias pointed to the books and said, "There are some sorted books over there. Go over there and grab one or two books and go back to your room."

Kim grinned and said, "Cool." Kim didn't see the confused expression on Tobias' face as she was turning towards the books. "Thanks."

As Kim was walking away, Tobias said in an uncertain tone, "You're welcome." He then went to the next patient.

Kim looked at the title of each book. Most of the books were informational. None were novels. Kim finally picked up the book that read, 'the first steps to understanding computer programming,' and saying barely above a whisper, "Well, if I'm going to learn something, it's might as well be this." Kim looked at the other computer books that were there and collected the two sequential books that followed and went back to her room. Once Kim was back in bed, she flipped to the first page of the first book and began reading.

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