Laura sat at her desk trying to review reports. She couldn't keep her mind on her work this morning as her thoughts kept drifting to the disagreement she had with her Admiral the previous evening.
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"C-O-N-F-R-U-F-F-L-E-D… yep, that works! For 20 points"
Laura quickly picked up the rulebook to check the point count as she gave him a disapproving look.
"What?"
"That's not a word Bill."
"Yes it is. Confruffled : to be distracted and mesmerized by something or someone, or to feel unable to control the emotional stir within…."
"You just made that up! I can't believe you….. you're cheating!"
"Am not!"
"Bill… I was a teacher for 10 years. I think I know a thing or two about our vocabulary. You are sooooo cheating!"
"Prove it."
"I intend to." she got up and turned to his bookcase.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going to look that frakking word up Adama."
"Good luck with that Roslin. It should be an interesting task, since I don't have a dictionary."
"How can you not have a dictionary? You have hundreds of books here and you don't have the very foundation on which they were built?"
"nope… I guess you're just going to have to trust me."
"No Dictionary! That's preposterous!"
With a greedy grin he quickly looked down at his tiles. "Preposterous … Can you spell that for me?"
… she threw the rule book at him.
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Without realizing, she was openly giggling to herself when Tori walked in. "We're in a good mood this morning." She chimed.
"Good morning Tori. What's on the Agenda today?"
As she and Tori reviewed the day's schedule she couldn't help but wonder just how Tori managed to stay so organized. "Does this woman ever sleep?" she wondered.
Before Tori turned to leave Laura looked up at her "Tori?"
"Yes Ma'am."
"I'd like you to track something down for me. It's not urgent and should not take precedence over anything else, but if you could try to find a dictionary somewhere that would be great."
"Sure thing Madame President."
As Tori left her office, Laura's thoughts once again turned to the new word Bill was trying to induct into the English Language. "I'll show you! Adama." she thought
Laura's thoughts were once again brought back to the present as she heard Tori re-enter her office.
"Ma'am?"
Laura looked up to see a very pale and panic-stricken Tori. "You need to get to Galactica immediately Laura." She said.
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The instant her Raptor landed on Galactica Laura was ushered to sickbay. The sight of him nearly made her physically ill as she stood aside and watched Cottle and his staff urgently work on him. At the sight of Bill lying on the gurney with what seemed like 20 tubes connected to him she began to tremble and could feel her legs give way.
Saul managed to catch her before she hit the floor and quickly helped her into a chair that one of her guards had the presence of mind to fetch.
"Saul. What happened?" She asked in a shaky voice.
"I dunno. I just showed at his quarters for our morning briefing and found him on the floor."
Laura brought a hand to her mouth in an effort to stifle a sob. "Oh Gods Saul. Is it as bad as it looks?"
"Laura. He wasn't breathing when I found him, he had no pulse. They had to resuscitate him."
Laura just sat there gently rocking to and fro with her arms wrapped around her abdomen. Finally Cottle came out from behind the curtain to speak with them.
"Where's Lee?" he asked.
Saul looked at Cottle. "Lee is out on a recon mission right now. He's not expected back for at least 2 days. What's the situation Doc?"
"It's hard to tell what happened. Looks like a heart attack but we won't know for sure until he wakes up and we can run some tests."
Laura somehow found enough voice to ask, "When will he wake up?"
Cottle put a hand on her shoulder. "We don't know. Right now he's in a medically induced Coma and we intend to keep him that way overnight. If he wakes up it won't be for at least 24 hours."
The alarm in Laura's face nearly matched the panic she felt in her gut "What do you mean IF?"
Cottle slowly pulled up a chair and sat next to her. He knew how close they had become and he knew how important he was to her. "We don't know how long Bill's heart was stopped before Saul found him. That means we don't know how long his brain went without oxygen. There's a chance… a possibility… that there might be some long term damage."
Laura gasped when she heard his words.
"Now lets not panic just yet. There are a few good signs here. He's breathing on his own, and his vitals are good. All we can do now is wait and see what happens tomorrow."
Unable to speak, Laura just nodded.
"Now, I want everybody out right now. He needs complete and total rest and I don't want any visitors."
Laura shook her head at him "No. I'm not leaving him alone."
"Yes you are Madame President. I know you mean well but your presence, even just sitting in a corner, is a distraction for my staff. They need to focus on him and they need to be able to do that without the President of the 12 colonies looking over their shoulders. Now you can have me air locked for this later if you like, but right now you can consider this a direct order."
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Tori was waiting for her just outside SickBay. "Madame President. I've cleared your schedule for the day."
"That's good Tori. I thank you for that."
"I also have a Raptor waiting to take you back to Colonial One, as soon as you're ready, so you can rest."
Laura hated leaving Bills side and she certainly didn't intend to leave the ship. She wanted to be as close to him as she could be. "That won't be necessary Tori. I'll be staying on Galactica tonight."
"Then I'll make arrangements for guest quarters right away Ma'am."
"No Tori. That won't be necessary either. I'll be staying in the Admiral's quarters. If you would be so kind as to return to Colonial One and get my candles and prayer books, as well as a change of clothes, I'd very much appreciate it. After that you can take the rest of the day for yourself."
"Madame President. Are you sure you don't want me to stay around for the afternoon? Just in case you need me?"
"No. Tori if you don't mind, I need some time to myself."
"Yes Ma'am."
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The sight of his quarters sent a shiver through her. The coffee mug he was holding when he collapsed still lay on the floor, the coffee still soaking into the rug. Some furniture had been shoved aside, in order for the medics to tend to him, no doubt. She could feel the sting of tears coming as she took in her surroundings and the magnitude of what had happened this morning.
As Laura went to the table to move it back into place, she saw the "Word Twist" board that was still set up from the previous evening.
C-O-N-F-R-U-F-F-L-E-D…. She ran a finger over the tiles he had so deviously laid no more than 12 hours before. Lost in thought she was startled by Tori's voice.
"Madame President."
"I'm sorry Tori, I didn't hear you come in."
"The hatch was open Ma'am, I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all. Did you get all I needed?"
"Yes Ma'am. I also managed to find a dictionary while I was on Colonial One. It's in the bag as well."
"Thank You Tori."
Laura sat on the couch and slowly opened the dictionary. Her tears began to blur the pages as she found what she was looking for.
CONFRUFFFLED: [Con-Fruff-eled]
1. to be distracted and mesmerized by something or someone
2. to feel unable to control the emotional stir within
3. To feel deep infatuation or adoration towards someone slightly out of ones reach.