Bill sat vigils every night at her bedside, waiting for the fleeting moments of lucidity where she would greet him with soft sleepy eyes and a warm smile.
This was one of those moments.
He held her hand between his two, gently stroking her knuckles. "You know what I'll miss most?" she rasped softly.
"Politics?" he joked.
She gave him a brief smile, shaking her head, "Dinners on Galactica."
He pulled his chair closer to her bedside, leaning down to kiss her palm, "The food on Galactica is hardly anything to miss."
She struggled to sit up, and he helped, piling up the pillows behind her. "You know what I mean Bill."
He nodded, "I'll miss those too."
She entered his quarters with a smile, "Who's coming to dinner tonight?" Their occasional dinners in his quarters had become a weekly tradition. They had even started inviting guests to share the meal with them.
"And if you tell me that Ellen Tigh will be dining with us again, I will throw you out the airlock."
He laughed, "Trust me that's not an evening I want to repeat anytime soon. Actually I invited Lee and asked him to bring a date."
She sat down on the couch, smiling as he pulled her feet into his lap and began rubbing them. "My guess is Lee will bring Lieutenant Thrace with him. I have to admit I like her spunk."
Bill shook his head, "I don't think Kara will be on Lee's arm tonight. I bet you it will be Dee, I think there has been something brewing between them the last week or so."
Laura closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on his ministrations. It had been nearly 2 months since Billy had died, but she still missed him terribly everyday. At first she had liked the Petty Officer, even going so far as to let Billy go off on his own whenever they were aboard Galactica just so he could see her.
After Billy had died Dee didn't seem to grieve at all. Laura even approached her personally to offer her condolences, thinking the woman had lost someone very special to her. The Petty Officer had been polite but almost seemed bored with the conversation. Billy had been ready to marry this woman, and yet she was already starting a relationship with another man. Billy deserved so much better than Anastasia Dualla, Lee Adama did too. She just hoped Lee was more immune to Dee's charms than Billy had been.
Bill squeezed her toes to get her attention; he realized where her thoughts had led her. She opened her eyes and looked at him. He slid his hands up her legs, firmly caressing her calves. Her heart fluttered in her chest, she loved Bill Adama's hands, especially when they were on her body. "What do I get when I win?" he asked, his voice suddenly very husky.
"Desert" she answered. Standing as she heard the hatch creak open.
Bill watched her smooth the wrinkles out of her skirt, she looked every bit the professional woman who wore the mantle of the Presidency with courage and grace. But her eyes betrayed her, they smouldered with desire, something Bill could more than relate to.
The hatch hadn't when been half way open when it was swiftly slammed shut. Bill and Laura exchanged curious glances, before sharing knowing smiles.
"Don't be an ass, Lee."
"But he's expecting us."
"I don't care. It's polite to knock on the damn door. Just because we have no fraking privacy doesn't mean that it's true for everyone."
A long suffering sigh was heard before a light rapping on the door.
Both of them tried to smother their laugher as Bill barked out, "Come."
Kara Thrace sauntered into the room, grinning at the Old man, before biting her lip when she saw the President. "Hello Madame President." She turned swiftly on her heels and punched Lee in the shoulder.
He rubbed it, glaring at her. "What the heck was that for?"
"You knew we were coming to dinner with the President. Did you think wearing tanks and sweats maybe a little under dressed?"
"Well…I…actually I…."
She huffed, sitting down at the table.
"Play nice children." Laura chuckled, sitting down beside Kara. "Actually I'm glad you came Lt. Thrace, you won me a bet."
Kara immediately turned to the Old man, "You bet against me sir. I'm heart broken."
Lee laughed, sitting down beside his father, across from the two women. "I'm surprised dad; I learned not to bet against Starbuck years ago."
"Let's just say this is a bet I don't mind losing." William Adama replied.
Lee missed the President's blush, but Kara didn't.
They shared dinner and stories all through the night, chatting amicably with both Kara and Laura doing a little light flirting with their respective Adamas'.
"That was peanuts compared to the stunt Starbuck pulled a week later." Lee responded.
Laura turned to regard Kara Thrace, "I'm almost afraid to ask."
Kara grinned, "Lt. Colonel Frohike was a sexist ass. He hated the fact that a woman was the best pilot in his class. The fact that she happen to be breaking all sorts of records added fuel to the fire."
Lee smirked, he loved hearing one of Starbuck's stories, even if he had lived through the event with her. "Imagine despising women in flight school and having Starbuck be the top of your class?" he shook his head, turning to Starbuck, "I'm surprised you didn't deck the superior asshole."
Bill, Laura laughed as Starbuck took up the story, "Anyway, one day I was late for class, because Mr. Dependable here didn't set the alarm. "
Lee leaned back in his chair, "Don't look at me. I was on time for class." He put on an innocent face that neither woman believed.
Kara stuck her tongue out at him, "Frohike dressed me down in front of the entire class. Claiming my being late as a reason why women shouldn't be in the military let alone be able to fly. Of course I couldn't let that one go."
Adama blinked in surprise, "You must have been calmer in your younger days Starbuck, I can't imagine you not dropping him like a ton of bricks for those comments."
"I probably would have if it wasn't for Lee. I was so angry my fists were shaking. Lee came up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder, telling Frohike he would make sure I was caught up on the work I missed. It calmed me down enough that I didn't punch the fraking bastard's face in. But I did use the rest of the class to plan my revenge."
Laura smiled; she knew there was something special about those two. "Well don't keep us in suspense. What did you do?"
Kara and Lee shared a grin, "I snuck into his quarters and painted everything hot pink. The floors, walls, doors, ceilings, everything was pink. Then I replaced everything I couldn't paint, so it was hot pink too. His hair brush, towels, kitchen sponge, tooth brush, I even put in pink tooth paste. All of his clothes, tanks, underwear, socks, I made them all pink, including his dress uniform. "
Laura and Bill laughed heartily, "Remind me never to get on your bad side." Laura told her when she got her breathing under control.
"That's not even the half of it. Kara pulled that stunt right before the Officer's Ball, a big event that all the upper brass attend. It's very prestigious and it's by invitation only. If you're invited you know your career is on the rise, making a bad impression or not showing up at all could damage it forever." He explained, mostly for President Roslin's benefit.
Kara smirked, "He had thirty minutes between the end of class and the ball. He didn't have time to find a replacement set of dress blues. He went to the ball in his dress pinks."
Kara and Lee cracked up, laughing like school children. "Lee and I hopped the fence and watched Frohike mingling with the other guests through the windows. He was really easy to spot. " Laura and Bill chuckled at that.
"And you got away with this? Didn't he realize it was you?" Laura asked, impressed with the young Lieutenant. Spunky was putting it mildly.
"Of course he did." Lee answered, "He was pounding on our door at 5am, ready to throw Starbuck in the brig."
"I out foxed him there too." Kara responded, "The night of the ball I went out and got stinking drunk. And I mean completely loaded."
"So loaded that Starbuck passed out in my lap. I had to carry her home. I gave her some aspirin and water then tucked her in. "
Laura had no idea the depth of history the legendary Starbuck and Apollo had between each other. She understood why Bill Adama held out hope that Kara Thrace would marry into his family, even though he already considered her his daughter.
"So at 5am Frohike showed up, screaming that Kara Thrace had ruined his life. I calmly told him that Kara couldn't have done it. That she had been sick the last few days with the stomach flu. Of course he didn't believe me. But he didn't half to. Starbuck looked absolutely horrible, like death warmed over. "
Kara finished her drink, "I was very convincing, especially when I threw up on his shoes. His pink shoes." The table erupted into laughter.
It went on like that for the rest of the night. Until Lee and Kara excused themselves, needing to get some sleep before an early CAP in the morning.