DAD LIKE YOU Words and Music by David Morgan (c)1999 Daybreak Moon Productions Story by rita (mommacita1@juno.com) Rating: Maybe PG for reference to same-sex relationships and bigotry. Pairing: various, no sex to speak of. Summary: What might have happened if the Colonial Fleet had arrived on Earth and decided to settle, not as a group, but dispersed among the different locales. Maybe it would have been different if we hadn't been welcomed so warmly by the Earthers. Welcomed and taken in with open hearts. So we all scattered with the four winds to the corners of the Earth and kind of lost track of each other. Well, of course families stayed in touch and friends with things in common - like learning how to raise families on a planet. So Father and Tinia became Grandpa and Gram instead of the Commander and the Councilor, although Tinia still dabbles in what's termed "local politics" and Father "globe trots", as it's called, giving talks on space warfare and the need to accept differences in looks, speech, and customs. Athena and Omega and their brood live and work in LA. And if we extend the family, Bojay and Sheba are movers and shakers on the East Coast, "BosWash" I think they call their running ground. Then there's Boomer; who'd have thought he'd settle down with *two* wives! But he discovered an extreme form of Mormonism, did Boom-Boom, and he lives with Jenny and Dietra and a passel of kids in the mountains of Utah. I had lost touch with a lot of people. Cassiopeia lives and works in Las Vegas, where she found kindred spirits, she said, but I'm not about to bring Boxey there and neither are any of the rest of the parents likely to. We Galacticans tend to be conservative that way. Jolly is in Hollywood with a redhead on each arm. I read about him in the gossip columns from time to time, but haven't seen him in years. Boxey and I live in a suburb of New York City and visit the City at least once a month, just to have fun. *** Me and my son were out having some fun We were donut shopping all over town We were sugared up good, we was out on the neighborhood Laughing and messing around He was asking me questions I was doing my best To tell him everything he wanted to know When a guy with a cart came in out of the dark Ordered a coffee to go *** I don't really know what happened to most of the other warriors, although I guess I should. Including Starbuck. Especially Starbuck. Right after I had explained that he couldn't be part of our family anymore, he'd vanished. "These Earthers don't understand same-sex relationships," I explained. He'd nodded and somehow wasn't on the same shuttle to Earth that we were. Wasn't anywhere to be found. At least nowhere my cursory search had found. *** He was reeking of gin, he was ragged and thin And he looked like he'd been hungry awhile He was 'bout out of gas, but he paused as he passed Gave my boy a wink and a smile So I said, "Give him five son, to show you're alive" And my baby slapped his hand like a man The guy looked at me, and said "Sir, if you please, Answer me this if you can." *** I wasn't expecting to see him at all, let alone in such a derelict condition. But I should have recognized him, even so. Boxey looked at me strangely when I told him to give the man a high-five - that should have clued me in even if nothing else did, but sometimes I'm really dense. Starbuck always told me that. But all I saw was a harmless, if drunken, bum, so I just looked politely interested and waved the shop manager away when he approached to intercede and probably throw the drunk out. *** "Why didn't I have a dad like you Someone to care for me, someone to talk to Who loved me enough to do the best he could do Why didn't I have a dad like you Why didn't I have a dad Like you" He said, "I grew up wild, as an unwanted child And I never did quite understand Cause the father I had wasn't much of a dad Lived with a drink in his hand And he'd get in his cups, and he'd beat us all up And when he wasn't drunk he was gone But the hardest for me, was just knowing that he Wished I had never been born." *** If I had been listening, surely I would have recognized the history - he was speaking of his foster father, of course, but it was a story I knew well. But I wasn't listening. *** You take him for donuts, you dress him for school You tell him you love him, he knows that he's cool He's learning the things that a boy needs to know He's with you wherever you go *** He must have recognized me right off; I haven't changed much, just a little grey around the temples. But even as he complimented me and Boxey stared at me in disbelief, I was thinking about whether I should offer him money and how much. Not really listening to him saying things a stranger wouldn't know. Of course, that brings up the question of how he knew - but then Starbuck *always* knew everything that happened in my life. *** I said, "Thank you my friend, and God knows I'm tryin' And I'm glad you think I've got what it takes And I wish it were true, but between me and you I know I'm making mistakes" *** He answered me in typical Starbuck fashion, reassuring and praising, negating my self-criticism. *** He said, "There ain't no rules, there ain't no daddy schools I'm not talking 'bout what's wrong or what's right Cause you're doin' your best, and you're passing the test Every time you kiss him good-night" *** I thanked him again and then asked if he could use some cash for food. And only after he stiffened and straightened up did I realize I'd made a mistake. "No, thank you, Captain," he said. He looked at Boxey before he turned. "Take care of your Dad; he's a keeper." He turned with military precision and strode away to reclaim his cart, back ramrod straight. He had just about reached the door before Boxey's agonized "Dad!" shook me from the shock that paralyzed me. "Starbuck! Wait!" I knocked the chair over in my haste to get to him before he vanished again. As he had the day we left the Galactica for the last time. But, never quick with my words, all I could think to say was, "What happened?" "I could have done better. I stayed in Vegas with Cassie, but she didn't want to be second-choice. When she threw me out - told me I cramped her style - I fell apart. I eventually gambled and drank everything away. I came East and watched you from a distance." He sighed. "I guess I don't do too well on my own. But I wasn't looking for a handout, Apollo. I manage. I just wanted ... well, I'm not sure what I wanted. Maybe just to let you know..." He trailed off with a typical shrug then turned back to his cart and the door. "I'll be on my way." "No. Not this time." My hand grabbed his arm and he froze. "What about the Earthers not understanding?" he whispered without turning. "We'll teach them," I replied. "Come home with us, Starbuck." He paused and those blue eyes searched my face before he spoke quietly. "I'd like that. I'd like to come home."