Reversus Patria
Part: 1
Rating: PG, maybe be PG-13 later on
paring: ensemble cast
Summary: continuation of Faoi Dheireadh
Note: I do want to thank AlbertG, James Axelrad, Moggie, and Rap541 for their expertise. Without their input this story would not be what it is today. Be warned, this takes place sometime near the end of season two. Anything after Epiphanies are conjectures from the author's warped mind. . . This is a sequel of Faoi Dheireadh.

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica and its characters are creations of Glen Larson and copywrited by Universal Studios. I make no money off this.

Colonial speech: " "
English speech: ' '

Prologue

'I still don't understand why you're asking me about this.'

'Lord Alistar, I want to know about what happened from your recollections of your parents talking about. That will never be known unless you or your brother and sister decide to talk about it.' The journalist paused before asking, 'Now, are you sure about what happened?'

'Only as good as my memory is, and it's been failing as of late. Plus, what you've been asking me about happened over eighty years ago, I wasn't even around at the time,' he commented in amusement.

'Obviously,' she smiled as she gathered up her things. 'My Lord, I'd like to ask you some more questions at a later time, hopefully to jog your memories more.'

'That's fine,' he commented with a smile. Even though he had servants who could do the job, he found it pleasing in his own way to actually escort the Avalonian journalist to the door. Alistar watched her get into her personal shuttle. Only when the engine had started the shuttle lifted into the sky did he back away and close the door.

As he went back into the study he stopped in front of the formal picture of his parents wedding reception. The two figures were surrounded by family and friends who were now long gone. There had never been a formal ceremony, just a quick civil one. He continued out loud, "Mum, Papa: she wants us to tell her your stories. I hope you don't mind. . ."

Chapter One

Admiral Jeremiah Orbach looked at the screen once again. Being an admiral was one thing, taking over Dolohov's position was something completely different. He was not looking forward to the increased responsibility it entailed. But, orders were orders.

It had all started with the surprise appearance of a refugee fleet, fleeing from certain destruction. No one ever expected the events that quickly followed. In less than a year they had been drug into a conflict that wasn't their own doing. It had remindeded Jeremiah of how the USA had been drawn into World War II, but only marginally.

With the former refugees now settled, everyone now had a chance to take a deep breath and back away from the brewing conflict. With Dolohov's death, though, he found himself in a position he had not completely worked for. True, he was one of the admirals, but he had never wanted ultimate control of the fleet. He had it now whether he wanted it or not. Plus, the Admiralty seemed to think he had the stuff it took to command the fleet.

That wasn't the only reason why he wasn't looking forward to leading the whole fleet. He had to think more about the future than ever before. Orbach's eyes strayed towards the holographic image he had placed on the desk. It was of an image captured over fifteen years ago at some sort of formal gathering. It was the first time he had gotten up the nerve to ask then Lieutenant Commander Mair O'Neill out to anything besides an innocent lunch at the officer's mess. Even at that time she had shown strong signs of being a brilliant tactician. For a moment he fingered his ring. It was the only piece of jewelry he wore on a consistent basis.

And now? He had the future to think about. What really bothered him was that he might not make it back from the front lines.

Orbach sighed while rubbing his face. For once, he wanted to be back at home and not chasing after the Cylons.

'Admiral?' Lieutenant Commander Erbe opened the door and poked her head through.

'Yes, Commander?' he made himself to look busy.

'I have just received word that the latest group of wounded are now on their way back to the closest fleet hospital.' The petite aide pushed further into his office. Once she was within arms reach, she handed over a datastick.

'Thank you.' He fingered the stick for a moment before dismissing the younger woman. A few minutes more passed before he plugged the stick into the computer. He needed to see who was being sent back before the hospital ship was out of range of regular communications.

After Admiral Dolohov was killed, Orbach had found himself swamped with paperwork. Which was another reason why he wished he weren't the fleet admiral. 'Okay, who's going back on this trip,' he muttered as he pulled up the file. Orbach already had a pretty good idea from the captains that had reported in. This would be the official report that would be sent back to the Admiralty, and be released to the public once the family members had been notified.

One of the first names that caught his attention was one of the Colonials; Aurorians he mentally corrected himself. He had already sent word back to the Admiralty and the Aurorian government about Felix Gaeta, but this other one was somewhat a surprise. Orbach looked for the reasons the officer was being sent back. The CMO of the Yorktown had reported that she was being sent back because of a non-combat condition.

Orbach sat back for a moment. The only reason that terminology was used was if the officer had somehow gotten pregnant. It takes two to tango, and he had a pretty good idea who the other officer was. 'At least they kept it quiet,' he muttered as he leaned forward to take a look at the other officers listed.

As he closed out the file, he noticed another, much smaller one with his name on it. Opening it up, he was surprised to find a bilingual document. It was from Admiral Adama telling him that he was sending another officer, a Captain Kelly, to replace Major Gaeta. Until he knew what the new officer was like, he was going to have him stationed here, on the Invincible.

---

Captain Angela Glennan looked out the window in one of the observation lounges on the hospital ship but wasn't paying any attention to what she was seeing. She hadn't even bothered to find out the name of the ship she was on, either. The only reason she was there in the first place was because Felix had attempted to convince her to keep the child. He'd done a good job at it, too. Now, however, all she could see was her situation and how it messed everything up. What surprised her was when Felix had asked her if she had even considered his thoughts on the situation.

She had to admit that she had not even begun to think about that. The thing was, she hadn't even considered her thoughts about the pregnancy and what she really thought about the whole situation. Just the look on his face had made her remember the devastating loss his people suffered. Now? His people were jumping at the chance of increasing the population. Word had filtered through to them out on the front lines that Aurora City was just on the cusp of a baby boom.

Angela picked up the glass of water that she had placed on the table beside her. Once Baker had found out about her condition he put her on a strict diet. Which meant no alcohol. And if she decided to nurse the child, then she'd have to stay clean even during that time.

It's not like she drank on a regular basis, but still. Not even being able to have a glass of wine sucked majorly. She fingered the glass before taking a sip of the clear liquid. Technically she could have non-alcoholic wine, but why would you want to do that, she mused. If you're going to drink wine, it should have alcohol in it.

'Captain Glennan?' One of the techs stepped into the room.

With her back to the door, she inclined her head towards him, letting him know that she was listening.

'We've finished settling in Major Gaeta. You can go in now.'

With a quiet grunt she got to her feet and retrieved the half empty glass. 'I don't see why I should be out here,' she grumbled. 'I do know what he looks like.'

'That may be so, but it's standard operating procedure. Plus, we like to allow all our patients have as much dignity as possible.'

Angela's shoulders dropped slightly. 'I know,' she sighed. She had also been given the same treatment while she was in the hospital.

The unnamed tech nodded. 'Captain, if you will follow me?' He took a step back and then towards the door. She followed him out of the lounge and into the corridors. In a short time she found herself being lead down a corridor of private rooms. For a moment she was surprised, then not so surprised, remembering that Felix was slowly recovering from another concussion. With his specific injuries it was best that he had a private room.

They stopped in front of a door. 'Here?' she indicated.

'Yes.' The tech hesitated a moment before continuing down the corridor. When he turned down another hallway Angela looked back to the door, then quickly drank the last of the water in the glass. With a slight smile she opened the door. The smile, though, disappeared almost as quickly as it had come. His room was dark. That could only mean one thing; he was suffering through another concussion-induced migraine. 'You all right?' she asked softly as she closed the door behind her.

'Does it look like it?' Gaeta muttered.

The only light in the room came from the computers that constantly monitored his vitals signs. It gave off just enough light for her to see the empty chair beside his bed. 'No,' she answered softly as she approached the bed. The one good thing was that he was sitting up. Angela placed the now empty glass on the night stand before sitting down. 'They told me that we're already on our way back.'

At about the same time the door opened once again spilling bright light into the darkened room.

"Frak!" Gaeta ground out as he covered his face with his good arm.

'Major, I won't have the light on for very long.' The doctor, Glennan hadn't even bothered to find out her name, quickly moved across the room and towards the bed.

'Don't care,' he muttered.

'As soon as I'm finished, I'll get you something to help with your headache.'

The wounded officer sighed. 'All right,' he muttered.

For Angela, the whole thing seemed to last forever. It was one thing to suffer through the pain an injury causes, but something entirely different when it was someone else. When the doctor was finally finished, including the painkiller, she made sure that the lights were turned back off. 'You said s-something before the doctor came in?' he asked tiredly.

'Only that we're on our way back.' She sat back down in the chair.

With each passing minute his responses were slowing down. It looked more like sleep than anything else, but Glennan wasn't that sure. 'Hospital ship?' he mumbled.

Before she gave him any type of answer, she reached over and took the hand control to call the nurses desk.

'Nurse's desk.'

'Yes, Major Gaeta seems to be falling asleep?' she asked worried.

After a moment's hesitation the voice answered, 'Yes, that's a normal reaction to the medication. It'll help him relax while the migraine is relieved.'

'Who was that?'

'The nurse. He said that the medication he gave you for your headache will also help you relax.'

''kay,' he mumbled. Minutes later he was asleep once again.

TBC...