Head Games
By: LittleStrawbaby
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Yes. For "Fragged."
A/N: This is in response to a sorta-challenge to/from Linna. Heh.
"Madame President?"
"Captain Apollo," Roslin says, surprised.
"May I speak with you?"
"Of course." She thinks longingly of the forty-five minutes of freedom she has between meetings and paperwork and the quick nap she'd planned. However she's willing to forego her plans for her handsome advisor. "Please, sit down."
"Thanks, I'll stand. This won't take long."
"Of course, please go on."
"I just want to know," he begins, leaning across her desk, "when you're going to dispense with the crap."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
"Things are fine as they are."
"They aren't 'fine,' Laura! Things suck, okay?"
"What do you want from me?"
"I want what you're holding back."
Her nostrils flare; she is surprised and impressed by his chutzpah. "No one is ever all they seem, Captain."
"Stop with the mystic prophet crap for a minute, please. It doesn't become you. I don't want to see you hailed as a fanatic in your final days."
"Well, I guess I should feel honored that my brave Captain Apollo is looking out for my reputation," she retorts. "Or is it your own ass you're looking to cover?"
"You don't truly believe. You're grasping at straws, looking for a miracle, because you're scared as hell. You're scared this has all been for nothing, that your whole life has been a waste," he says harshly. He sees her stricken expression and softens. "It wasn't a waste, Laura."
"I don't want to die, Lee," she says, naked terror in her eyes.
"We're dying the moment we take our first breath, Sparky. None of us want to die, but it is inevitable. And no one knows what tomorrow will bring." He circles her desk and she swivels in her chair to face him. He helps her to her feet and pulls her into a hug, one hand splayed on her lower back, the other buried in her long auburn hair. "Know this, Laura Roslin: You will always be loved."
Laura's smiles tearfully and touches his cheek with the backs of her fingers. Chuckling, she says, "Don't call me Sparky, you know I hate that nickname!"
Billy Keikeya sits on the edge of Roslin's cot, brushing a damp lock of hair from her forehead. She has finally stopped speaking and he seizes the opportunity to put an end to the painful withdrawals she's experiencing.
"Madame President? Can you hear me? It's Billy. I have the chamalla."
"Billy?" Laura croaks, struggling to focus on his face. "Where is Lee?"
"Captain Adama is on patrol, ma'am."
"But he was just…"
"No ma'am, you were having an hallucination. Come on now, you need your medicine."
Keikeya takes her arm, pulling her into a seated position, carefully leaning her back against the wall. He shakes out a capsule and instructs her to open her mouth, then lifts a glass to her lips, advising her to swallow.
And they wait—and Billy wonders, with a grin, why Captain Adama calls her Sparky.
The End