AN: My first BSG/Roslin & Adama fic - be gentle with me!

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Sixty Seconds Later - Part 1

Chaos reigned. Laura had grabbed Zarek on her way down and now, dazed and bruised, he was dragging her to her feet again, the air full of gunfire and screams. 'Get up! Run! Run!' he was shouting, shoving her ahead of him towards the tree line. Laura didn't need telling twice but they hadn't made it more than a few feet before Zarek was down. Laura turned back, thinking he'd fallen - easily done on the rock-strewn and uneven ground - but it took no more than a glance to realise that he hadn't tripped. She didn't get the chance to start running again, she hadn't even turned when she felt the impact to her stomach. She stumbled backwards and to the ground, pressing her forearm over the wound as her hands were still bound together by thick plastic cuffs.

Up on the ridge the insurgents, having arrived a little late to the party, were drawing gunfire away from the helpless crowd of humans, most of whom were by now cowering on the ground with their arms over their heads. The Centurians suddenly found themselves on the back-foot, unable to get a clear shot at their attackers, until the gunfire began to peter out and finally stopped and they were left in pieces on the ground.

People began warily lifting their heads as their saviours made a beeline for the trucks, guns at the ready in case there were any skin-jobs still kicking. Tyrol and Cally were the first to reach them, checking the bodies still prone in the road for signs of life. 'Chief!'

Tyrol turned to see Seelix skidding down the embankment, rushing towards -

'Frak! That's Laura Roslin,' he swore, rushing after her, kicking up a trail of dust as he slid on the loose earth.

'Laura, can you hear me?' The use of the former president's first name was a little familiar but when she was bleeding out in front of them, appropriateness be damned.

Laura was still conscious, though was perhaps wishing she weren't. 'I've been shot,' she said.

'I know,' said Seelix, cutting off her restraints and unzipping Roslin's coat. 'I'm just gonna take a look, okay…'

Laura nodded, looking up at the clear blue sky. Probably better that she not look, given that she was already teetering on the brink of outright panic. She imagined she could feel her life's blood draining out of her - maybe she wasn't just imagining it. She'd never experienced major blood loss before (been eaten alive from the inside out, sure, but never critically injured), she didn't know what to expect.

She hadn't expected this. She'd known from the day the cylons moved into the neighbourhood that her life could very well be hanging in the balance but she had lived six months with cancer, six months in the shadow of Death, and refused it any credibility this time until she was staring down the barrel of a gun - which, admittedly, she'd done more than once on New Caprica. And still after all that, in all honesty, she'd never imagined herself coming to quite such an abrupt and pointless end…

Oh gods, she was going to die on this planet, die never knowing if her people found a true home and the lives they so desperately wished to resume, never knowing if Baltar would get his comeuppance. And she was never going to see Bill again -

'Laura, you need to stay calm,' said Seelix, as Tyrol reappeared with an armful of rags he'd gotten from who-knows-where. 'Take deep breaths. Help me turn her,' she aimed the last at Tyrol.

Roslin couldn't help crying out as they turned her, albeit gently, onto her side so that Seelix could check for an exit wound. The ground beneath her was soaked in blood and Seelix had a wad of rags at the ready. 'Through and through,' she said, careful to keep her voice even though her face told a different story behind Laura's back, and not one with a happy ending. 'At least the doc won't have to go fishing around for the bullet,' she said optimistically, running a long wide piece of material under Roslin's body before they rolled her back onto her back and knotting it so it would hold their makeshift gauze in place. 'But we have to get her there now - I mean right now.'

Seelix knew that Tyrol was thinking the same thing she was: if they transported her in one of the trucks (and that was the only way they would make it in time), the odds of them making it back into town without being stopped were not good. Laura realised it too. 'Don't risk anyone else,' she said. It wasn't that she wanted to die but by the growing lack of sensation in her extremities, she was going to anyway.

'We're getting you help,' said Tyrol firmly, turning towards the road where most of the survivors were now watching. 'Tobias! Get down here! Cally, go borrow a couple of balaclavas off the traitors!'

'Chief -' Laura protested.

'I don't wanna hear it, Roslin. I am not gonna be the guy who has to look The Old Man in the face and tell him that you gave up days before he got here, you hear me?' said Tyrol. Not exactly how he had envisioned breaking the news of their imminent rescue…

Roslin, weak as she was, still managed to fix Tyrol with a stare that made him swallow, wondering if he was just saying this to give her something to fight for. 'Adama?'

'He's coming,' he promised. 'And you're gonna be here to meet him, understood?'

'Okay,' she nodded, taking a deep breath and gathering whatever strength she had left to her. She had already deduced that if being moved a little had frakking hurt, being manhandled up that hill was going to be about as much fun as sticking hot pokers in her eyes.

'Good. Tobias, help me get her to the truck.'

Laura had been right, it was excruciating, though some small part of her mind was still able to wonder why the hell her hands and feet would go numb when she'd really much prefer it if her GSW would. They threw down coats and jackets to cushion her on the uncomfortable metal floor in the back, tucked halfway under the bench so they could throw a tarp over her. It wasn't much of a camouflage but it might get them past a brief visual inspection.

'She's going into shock,' said Seelix, pulling on a black balaclava. 'Let's go already!'

'Cally, go with the others, they'll take you somewhere safe,' said Tyrol, pulling on his own balaclava and climbing into the driver's seat.

'What about Nicky?' she asked, as he slammed the door shut.

'Tobias will bring him to you as soon as you're safe. I'll see you soon, okay.' He didn't give her a chance to respond, starting the engine, tires spinning up dust as he pulled away.

AN: I loves the lovely feedback. Please review!