Hide Not Thy Poison Words

Disclaimer/ Author's Note: Nothing belongs to me. I've only borrowed the characters from Ron Moore. The title is paraphrased Shakespeare, and the final two lines of dialogue were borrowed from the song that was the inspiration for this piece- Poison and Wine. I recommend The Civil Wars version. Happy reading! Please review.

"Make sure that he stays awake for the next few hours. Any signs of concussion call immediately." Cottle rattled off instructions, then looked at the pair on the couch in front of him. Neither seemed to be paying attention.

"I can send Ishay if…" He began, but was interrupted by the soft, firm voice of the president.

"I'll take care of him." She said. "Thank you, Major."

Cottle recognized a dismissal when he heard it. "Yes, Ma'am." He needed to be getting back to the ring anyway. There were plenty of other bumps and bruises from the 'dance' that he needed to tend. Shaking his head, he exited through the hatch.

Only when the hatch clicked shut behind Cottle did Laura move, bringing the hand holding the ice away from Bill's face so she could look him in the eye.

"What the hell was that?" she asked, not angry, but hurt.

Bill sighed. "Laura…" He seemed unable to come up with the appropriate words. "You don't need to stay. I can manage."

She brought the ice back to his bruised face with a little more force than was necessary. "I told Cottle that I would take care of you. I intend to keep my word."

"I'm fine."

"Clearly not." She said. "And even so, I'm not. I want to know what you were thinking."

"Do you?" He asked.

"You know I do." He looked disbelieving. "Bill, do you know how much it hurt me to watch you let yourself lose? To take a beating that you didn't deserve…"

"I did deserve…"

"No." She cut him off, raising her voice for the first time during their conversation. "You did not."

"This was exactly my point." He rumbled softly. At her raised eyebrows, he continued. "You're too close. We're too close. It's dangerous to get attached to people."

"I disagree."

"You would."

"Bill," she dropped all pretenses of tending to his face, setting the ice on the table beside them, and gently cupping his cheek in her palm, begging him to look at her. "We said, on New Caprica, that we wouldn't fight this anymore."

He turned his head away, flinching against the pain, physical and emotional. "It was a mistake, Laura."

Her hand fell to her lap.

"You don't mean that."

"Yes, I do. I made a mistake."

"Bill," her voice came out a hoarse whisper. "Please. You… you told me you loved me. I believed you. I've never believed those words before."

"This has to end, Laura. It's the only way."

Tears flooded her eyes, but he refused to meet them. "Tell me.." she choked on her own words, and took a deep breath before beginning again. "Tell me that you don't love me, and after I've fulfilled my promise to Cottle, I'll go. We won't speak of it again."

The salt of his own tears was stinging the cuts on his face.

"Laura, don't…"

"I want to hear you say it. Tell me." Her voice faltered only slightly.

"Fine." He looked up, his tears spilling over to run in rivers identical to those on her cheeks. "I don't love you."

She held his gaze for as long as she was able, before the pressure in her chest became too much to bear. Tears flowing freely now, she bolted for the head, closing the door and leaning on it, trying to control her emotions.

She might have been able to, had the door not been thin enough to hear his final words.

"But I always will."