He`s My Brother? by Betty Date: March 2001 Fandom: Battlestar Galactica Rating: NC-17 Category: Slash Pairing: Starbuck/Apollo Disclaimer: I don't own them. Distribution: Please let me know where. Feedback: er.br@sympatico.ca Summary: Are Starbuck and Apollo brothers? Starbuck entered Apollo`s quarters to find his lover crouched over an old trunk looking at old photographs. "Apollo what do you have there?" "Hey Starbuck, these are just some old photo`s of my family we when we left Caprica, I couldn`t bring myself to look at them before, but now I can. But this photo of me sitting on my mother`s lap has me confused." Starbuck sat down beside him and looked at the photo. It was of Apollo when he was a toddler, the decorations in the background suggested that it was a taken at Apollo`s birthday celebration. Starbuck shrugged, not knowing what Apollo was talking about. "What`s so confusing about it?" "Starbuck this was taken at my first birthday." "Yeah so." "Take a closer look at my mother, she`s pregnant ,*very* pregnant." "With Athena." "Can`t be, I was three when Athena was born, and Zac was born three yahren after that." "Well maybe your mother lost a baby." "Maybe, but there`s another photo here with her in the hospital, holding a baby that`s *not* Athena or Zac or me, look." Apollo showed Starbuck the other photo. It was his mother all right, in a hospital bed, holding a new-born, the baby had a head full of blond hair. "Your right your mother did have another baby, maybe he or she died shortly after and you just don`t remember, you were pretty young." "This is the only photo of this baby, and I found the birth certificate." Apollo picked up the paper from the floor and showed it to Starbuck. "It`s states that the babies father is unknown." "What! Apollo that`s impossible." "I can`t explain it Starbuck but there it is, now I`m going through every little piece of paper and photo in this trunk, there has to be an explanation to this, if I don`t find it then I`m going to my father and I`m going to ask him about it. Athena has another trunk in her quarters that she`s checking." "Does this mean that dinner is cancelled," Starbuck pouted. Apollo looked at his secret lover and laughed "No I can take a brake for dinner, and some dessert." As Apollo bent to kiss Starbuck`s lips the door suddenly opened and Athena rushed in. "Stop that, you can`t kiss him look." Athena handed Apollo their mother`s diary. It was fifteen yahrens old, from the time when Apollo and Starbuck were in the academy together. Athena had marked the page she wanted Apollo to read. My Lord it was him. After all these yahrens I saw my son again. He came home from the academy with Apollo. He still has the same soft blond hair and the same bright blue eyes he was born with. Oh how I wanted to take him into my arms and tell him he was mine, but I couldn`t. That evil witch of a mother-in-law of mine had lied to me. She told me she had found a nice family for him and that he was happy and safe with them. She never even bothered to tell me that they lived in Umbra. How could she not tell me. Adama understood what happened, I didn`t even have to give him up, Adama had said he would raise the child as his own, I did what I did in order to keep food on the table when he was injured and couldn`t work, he understood. But that evil mother of his insisted that the father be listed as unknown, she didn`t want her family tainted. Adama had tried to tell her no one would know. Well our friends found out didn`t they. She took my baby away and gave him to someone else, and then when they were killed she didn`t even tell me and my baby grew up in an orphanage. Adama has promised me he would watch over him, make sure the boy was stationed on the Galactica. Maybe someday I can tell Starbuck the truth. That I am his mother. Apollo closed the book and threw it into the trunk. "Apollo, what did it say?" Starbuck asked "You were right, the baby died a few days after he was born, lets go to the Rising Star for dinner okay." Athena stood there silently as her brothers walked out the door. After a few centons she picked up the book and left. She had to talk to her father ***** Athena stood outside her father`s door for five centons, thinking. How could she tell him that she and Apollo had discovered that Starbuck was their brother and that Apollo has been having an affair with him. An affair that Apollo wasn`t willing to end, even though he now knows it`s wrong. "Their committing incest for Sagan`s sake." When she got up the courage to press the buzzer there was no answer. Then she remembered her father wasn`t home tonight, he had a date with Siress Tinia. This little talk was just going to have to wait until tomorrow. ***** Apollo remained quiet the whole evening. Nothing Starbuck did or said made him talk or smile. Starbuck decided Apollo was just upset because his parents never told him he had a younger brother who had died. He would feel better in a few days, he might confront his father about it, but Starbuck guessed Adama would just tell Apollo he was never told because it happened when he was so young. Apollo was deep in thought. 'Maybe my mother was wrong, she hadn`t seen the baby since his birth, how could she be so sure Starbuck was her baby, sure it would be nice for Starbuck to know for sure who his parents were, but my mother had to be mistaken if she wasn`t then that means he`s my half brother and we have to end our relationship, I won`t be able to love him the way I do, we`ll have to go back to the way things were before, loving each other like brothers, which we really are, I don`t want that, oh why is it whenever I`m finally happy the fates always do something to bring it all crashing down.' Starbuck didn`t think Apollo looked all that well, in fact his lover looked the same way he did the night Serina died, like he wanted to roll up and die himself. This didn`t make any sense, why was Apollo so upset about learning that a little brother he had never known had died shortly after birth? "Apollo do you want to go back to the Galactica, you don`t look so good." "Yeah that`s a good idea I need to do some thinking." Apollo then got up and quickly left. He didn`t even look to see if Starbuck was following. ***** The next day Athena couldn`t find any time to get her father alone. She couldn`t talk with about a family matter while on duty, and her break times were at different times than his. Then suddenly he was off the bridge, she hadn`t seen him go so she asked Colonel Tigh. "He had a council meeting and had to leave, is there a problem?" "Oh no, I just wanted to talk to him about a family matter, it can wait until later." ***** Starbuck was miserable. Apollo hadn`t spoken to him all day, and when he tried to kiss his dark haired lover he was pushed away and told that was not proper behaviour while on duty. Starbuck just didn`t get it, they were alone at the time and kissing on duty when they were alone had never stopped Apollo before. In fact it was usually Apollo who started the kissing. Apollo knew he should explain what was wrong to Starbuck. He really didn`t like the hurt look in those beautiful blue eyes when he pushed him away. He wanted to return the kiss Starbuck tried to give him but the words his mother had written in her diary kept coming back to him. His father had been injured and unable to work, Apollo knew all to well that warriors on sick leave didn`t get paid enough to feed a family. His mother had to find a way to feed them, so she had sold her body and became pregnant. He did agree with his mother, it was cruel for his grandmother to take the baby away from her, especially since his father knew the truth and had forgiven her. He wouldn`t be in this position now if that old crone had minded her own business. He and Starbuck would have grown up side by side, knowing they were brothers. Apollo wondered if his father knew the name of the man who fathered Starbuck. ***** Adama left the council chambers arm in arm with Siress Tinia. Athena saw the two head towards the shuttle bay, laughing and smiling at each other. It was clear they were going out on another date, and the last thing she wanted to do was ruin her father`s date. Once more she was forced to wait until another day to talk with him. ***** Starbuck sat in the OC, his drink sitting on the table untouched. Apollo still wasn`t talking to him, in fact he wasn`t even looking at him now. He couldn`t understand this, Apollo was acting like he, Starbuck, had done something wrong, but what? "You look like you have the weight of the worlds on your shoulders, what`s wrong Bucko?" he heard Boomer ask. Starbuck looked up at his friend, who gasped in surprise at the unshed tears shinning there. Starbuck explained what was happening with Apollo. "Hey he`s just upset, you know how Apollo gets when he`s upset, the guy closes up and keeps it all inside." Boomer said as he sat down beside his friend. "Not with me, he`s always been able to talk about his problems with me, maybe I`m the problem, maybe he doesn`t want me anymore." Boomer heard the way Starbuck`s voice cracked when he said that last statement, and his heart went out to him. Putting his arm around Starbuck`s shoulders and pulling him close he whispered "Come on now don`t go thinking that way, Apollo loves you just give him a few days and he`ll come around." Starbuck laid his head on Boomer`s shoulder and sobbed. Boomer vowed to kick Apollo`s butt for hurting Starbuck this way. ***** Apollo pressed the buzzer to his father`s quarters and waited. "He`s out on a date with Siress Tinia, again." Athena said as she came up behind him. "Oh, I guess I`ll have to wait then," "Yeah, just like me. It`s about what mother wrote in her diary isn`t it." "What do you think, I want to know why he never said anything, we had the right to know and so did Starbuck." "You two aren`t still sleeping together are you?" "No, we aren`t doing anything together and I`m going to have to tell Starbuck something soon." "What, you mean you didn`t tell him, you stuck to that story that the baby died?" Apollo reddened. "I know it was wrong but how do you tell the person you love most that you have to end your relationship because your brothers, he`s going to be just as hurt as we are that he was never told." "And how badly is he hurting now not knowing the truth." Apollo looked away, remembering the look in Starbuck`s eyes when he pushed him away that morning. When he turned to say something to Athena again, she was gone. ***** After stopping by her quarters and grabbing her mother`s diary, Athena went straight to the Officer`s Club, hoping she would find Starbuck there. Apollo may be to much of a coward to tell Starbuck the truth, but she wasn`t. ***** When Athena entered the OC the first thing she saw was Boomer holding a sobbing Starbuck. 'Why he`s crying, Apollo I`m going to kick your butt so hard you`ll know what your ass-hole smells like, but then Boomer always thought Starbuck was sexy, and they look cute together, maybe those two will get together, oh what am I saying I want Boomer for myself, but still they do look good together, what with the way Starbuck`s blond hair and silky white skin contrasts with Boomer`s black hair and chocolate brown skin, oh Athena get a hold of your self and get over there and let Starbuck know what`s going on.' She quickly made her way to the table and cleared her throat to get the two men`s attention. "Starbuck I think you should read this, I don`t know why Apollo told you the baby died, but I think you deserve to know the truth." Starbuck looked up at Athena then at the book she was holding. She had it opened up at the page he needed to read. Gently taking it from her hand he started to read what her mother had written there. His hands started shaking and the book fell to floor. Boomer`s concern grew as he saw his friend`s face pale, and quickly tried to pull him back into a tight embrace. But Starbuck pushed him away as he got up from his chair so fast that it fell back onto the floor. The sound made the other`s in the room stop their idle chatter and turn to see Starbuck bolt from the room, and Athena running after him, calling for him to stop. Wanting to know what the hell was going on, Boomer picked up the book and opened it to the page Starbuck had just read. "Oh Lord, why didn`t anybody tell him." ***** "*Starbuck please stop*," Athena called after him, but he didn`t hear. Fearing that Starbuck would do something stupid she followed him, fighting to keep up with him. She saw him turn the corner and then heard him cry out in anger and despair, "*Why didn`t you tell me, why didn`t anyone tell me, I had the right to know, I had the right to know*." Turning the corner she saw both Starbuck and Apollo on the floor. Apollo was holding Starbuck tightly with one arm while he gently stroked the blond hair. Both men were crying. "I`m sorry I know I should have told you last night but I didn`t know how, your the best thing that ever happened to me and I don`t want to lose you." "*I should have been told, why wasn`t I told, why didn`t your mother tell me she was my mother, why didn`t somebody tell me*?" "I don`t know baby I don`t know, but we`ll confront my father and we`ll find out, we`ll find everything out." "*He wasn`t told because your family is rich, and you damn rich bastards don`t want your damn good names tainted with scandal, it wouldn`t look good for anyone to know that the great Commander Adama`s wife gave birth to a baby that wasn`t his*." Boomer`s angry voice broke in. "Boomer you of all people know that isn`t true." Apollo gasped. "*Do I? Your family is just like all the rest of them, to hell who you hurt as long as your good name isn`t dragged across the coals, now let go of him, you and your family have hurt him enough*. "Boomer reached out and pulled Starbuck from Apollo`s grasp and cradled the crying man in his arms. He threw the book at Apollo, hitting him in the face with it. "*Here, better hide it again or the council might hear about it, we wouldn`t want the Commander being embarrassed about his wife`s dirty past now would we*?" Boomer led Starbuck away, ignoring Apollo`s protests. When Apollo stood and started to go after them Athena stopped him. "Don`t Apollo, Boomer is even more angry about this than Starbuck, you go after them and your going to end up in the Life Centre hooked up to life support." "But he`s wrong Athena that`s not why Starbuck wasn`t told about this." "Are you sure? What if what Boomer said is true, isn`t that what our grandmother was doing, trying to keep our family name nice and clean and free of scandal?" ***** The next morning when Adama came onto the bridge everyone grew silent. Apollo and Athena hadn`t seen the crowd that had gathered in the corridor until after Boomer had taken Starbuck back to his quarters. They all dropped their eyes, or turned away as the pair went by them, but that didn`t stop the gossiping. The entire crew now knew that Starbuck was the Commander`s wife`s illegitimate child, and no one was very happy about the fact that they had kept it secret from Starbuck. Adama however hadn`t heard the gossip, he had been on the Rising Star at the time and when he returned had gone straight his quarters. Now he didn`t understand why everyone dropped their eyes when he looked at them, and why the usual cherry chatter that went on during slow times like this was non-existent today. "Tigh is there a problem?" he asked his second in command. "I guess you haven`t heard the gossip, it seems something that happened twenty five yahrens ago has come out into the open, something that concerns your family, mainly your wife." It took a centon for what Tigh had just said to sink in, when it did Adama sighed and asked "Where is lieutenant Starbuck?" "Last I knew sir he was with Boomer, in his quarters." "Very well, have him come to my quarters, as well Apollo and Athena, I have something to explain to them, something I should have explained a long time ago." "Yes sir, and Adama I`m sorry, I know the true story but I didn`t know what to say when I heard the gossip, I`m afraid the crew all thinks the worse, from what I understand Boomer said some things to Apollo that were not very nice." "I`m afraid I know what they think, and I have an idea what Boomer said, but right now it`s Starbuck I`m concerned with." When Adama left the bridge he could have sworn he heard the crew breath a sigh of relief. ***** Boomer tried to tell Colonel Tigh that Starbuck wasn`t feeling well, but the colonel wouldn`t allow it. The Commander wanted to see Starbuck now. Boomer gently wiped Starbuck`s eyes with a warm cloth and offered to go with him, but Starbuck just shook his head. "Your still so angry at him I know you`ll say something your going to regret, or else you`ll punch him and end up in the brig." "Oh and you won`t?" Starbuck tried to smile, but only shrugged "No I`ll listen to what he says, there must be a good reason why I wasn`t told." "Your too forgiving you know that, you have to learn how to hold a grudge." "I can`t do that Boomer, makes life harder than it is, and like I said there must be a good reason." "Yeah they didn`t want their name dragged through the mud, even Apollo was thinking that when he read the diary." "I don`t think so Boomer, you said yourself in the OC, he loves me I know he does, he just didn`t know how to deal with this that`s all." "I know I`m repeating myself but I don`t care, your too forgiving." "Guilty as charged." Starbuck did manage to smile this time. ***** Apollo and Athena reached their father`s quarters at the same time and were told to sit and wait until Starbuck arrived. However Apollo couldn`t sit until he made a confession to his father. "Father I must tell you something before Starbuck gets here, you see um... well Starbuck and I we um... well we..." "You and Starbuck are lovers, is that what your trying to tell me? Don`t worry I already know, sometimes gossip *does* make it`s way to me, now don`t look so shocked contrary to what the two of you thought Athena, Boomer and Cassiopeia are not the only one`s who know, even the council is aware of it." Apollo flopped onto the seat. Surprised that his father wasn`t shocked by the knowledge, but more shocked that the man had never done anything about it. Especially with what they had just learned about Starbuck`s true relationship to them. If his father knew he was making love with his half brother, then why didn`t he come forwards and put a stop to it. Boomer`s angry words came back to him, and he prayed they were wrong. When Starbuck arrived it was plain to see he had spent the night crying. Even though Boomer had wiped them they were still puffy and red. Adama quickly put his arms around the young man`s shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug. "Stop crying Starbuck please, I`m sorry we never told you anything, but it really isn`t what you children think. Now you sit down over there by Apollo and Athena, and I`ll explain everything." Starbuck nodded and quickly sat down between the two. When Apollo wrapped his arms around his waist, Starbuck leaned towards him, and laid his head on the strong shoulder. Adama smiled at the three as pulled up a chair and sat down. In his hand he held an old envelope. Removing the paper within, he started to explain what had happened all those yahrens ago. ***** Adama started off by telling the three how he had been injured in a long and fierce battle with the Cylons. His ship had been hit, and he had somehow managed to make it back to the Galactica but his injuries were massive and it would be at least two yahrens before he would be able to fly again. Until then he was on disability, which wasn`t much. "One day when Apollo was only about four sectars old, a friend of your mother`s stopped by to see us. Her name was Andromeda and she was married to Sire Hector. Now Andromeda was very upset, you see she and Hector had been married for five yahrens and they desperately wanted to have a child, but everytime Andromeda became pregnant she would lose the baby in the third month, for no reason, the doctors couldn`t explain it. She told us that their doctor told then that if they really wanted a baby then maybe they should consider finding a surrogate, a woman who would be willing to have a baby for them, kind of like renting a womb, and the woman who did this would be paid handsomely for this, half when she conceived and the other half when the baby was born. Since we were having trouble making ends meet at this time, you see both our parents were alive so we didn`t have a lot of money like some people think we did, our parents had it all, and they were still using it, well Ila volunteered, and I allowed her to do it. So she went to see Andromeda`s doctor and everything was arranged. The doctor removed some of Andromeda`s ovum`s and they were artificially inseminated with her husband`s sperm and then inserted into Ila, so Starbuck your not really my wife`s son, even though she did think of you that way." "But what mother wrote made it sound like she had an affair, and sold her body and got pregnant." Apollo interrupted. "That`s not what happened, now let me finish Apollo, on the day of your birthday, Andromeda and Hector came to the party, it was late when they left, and Hector was tired. They only lived a few miles away from us so they left and went home. But on their way their vehicle was hit was by drunk driver, and they were killed. Your mother wanted to keep the baby, and I agreed with her, I saw no reason why she couldn`t, but my mother, well she threatened to disown me, and discredit Ila if we did, I didn`t care, I didn`t need anything from her and I told her so. My mother was an evil bitch and even I didn`t get along with her. But when you were born Starbuck, she went right after Ila, and insisted the father be put as unknown, she wouldn`t even allow the real parents names on the birth certificate, but Ila some how got her name onto it, and secretly kept a copy. My mother knew a couple who wanted to adopt a child, and she made a deal with them, but she never told us their names or where they lived. Then when you showed up at the house with Apollo, and she saw the birthmark on your back, she knew who you where, and she secretly had your DNA tested and it matched the records she still had for Andromeda and Hector." "But that doesn`t explain why he wasn`t told." Athena said. "She was going to, but Sir Uri heard about it and threatened to make Starbuck`s life miserable because of it by claiming the agreement with the parents didn`t happen, he threatened to ruin Starbuck`s career and make sure he never became a warrior, Ila didn`t want that happening, she also didn`t want Uri anywhere near any of you, his wife was a wonderful woman, but him, I never understood what she saw in that man. So I promised to make sure Starbuck would be posted here, so I could keep an eye on him and let her how he was doing. It was kept secret to protect you Starbuck, not our family." "So I`m not Apollo and Athena`s brother?" Starbuck asked. "No, not really, their mother gave birth to you, but there is no blood relationship, you are the son of Sir Hector and his wife Andromeda, and I even have some pictures of them for you if you want." Starbuck sat up and quickly said, "Yes please." Adama went to his desk and removed the photo`s and handed them to Starbuck. They had been taken at his parents sealing day. Both had the same blond hair and blue eyes as Starbuck, his father looked like a man who had spent his entire summer at the beach soaking up the sun. "I look like my mother." he laughed. "Yup, all us sexy guys look like our mothers, that`s why we`re so sexy." Apollo chuckled. The sound of his father clearing his throat made Apollo look up. The stern look on his father`s face made him cringe. "Sorry sir." Adama smiled at the three as he said, "Get out of here, you three have some gossiping to put an end to, and lieutenant Boomer to calm down from what I hear." "Yes sir." The echoed each other as they left. "Starbuck you want to try that dinner on the Rising Star again, I owe you an apology and some serious sucking up." Apollo said as the door closed behind him. "Well I do need to eat something, and there is a part of me that could use a good sucking." "I love you Starbuck, but I`m glad your not my brother." Apollo chuckled Starbuck quickly kissed Apollo and said, "Same here Apollo, race you to the shuttle." End.