Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. Major spoilers for "The Oath."
The Other Oath
His voice made her turn around. Her breath caught in her throat as part of her thought he was already dead. She slowly made her way down a few steps. At the sight of her, he ignored whatever had just been said behind him, dropping the guns he held on the floor.
They met in the middle, his hands to her waist. Then his lips crashed into hers, or perhaps her lips crashed into his. It did not matter who initiated it, or that they had a slightly stunned audience. Her hands went to his neck, wove their way into his hair for a moment. Passion, fear, worry, love, and sadness, all rolled into one long kiss. It was a conversation without words.
Missed you
Me too
Love you
You're still alive
You're not hurt
I'll always love you
You need to go
Be careful
Even after the kiss had ended, they clung to each other. "I came here because I don't want you to worry about me, and I know what you have to do," she whispered.
Tyrol's radio crackled. "Team just went past. Looks like their coming your way."
"We've got about two minutes," someone else said. Laura did not care yet. Her eyes stayed locked with Bill's.
This could be the end
I'm sorry about not coming home for dinner
I don't think I can cook with algae anyway
He made a quick movement with his hands and slipped something into her pocket. Then he turned back to the others. "Mr. Tyrol take them back the way they came. You go with them, Colonel."
As Tyrol was leaving, Saul came back into the room. "Come too far to walk out on you now, Bill"
Kara looked back, perplexed and worried. "What are you doing, sir?"
"The colonel and I are going to make sure that the president's Raptor gets out of here safely," Adama told her.
As Tigh shut the doors, Bill and Laura exchanged lingering looks again. Baltar, who had been sitting in the Raptor, leaned his head out enough to add, "Admiral, Madame President, please."
Adama stepped down from the ladder, watching the doors to the Raptor close. "Prepare to launch."
The Raptor left Galactica, enroot to the rebel base ship. Laura kept her eyes on the carpet, unable to look at anyone for fear of the emotion on her face. Her hand went to her pocket out of distraction more than curiosity. She felt something smooth and metallic. When she opened her hand, she saw Bill's ring. She took a deep breath, holding onto it tightly, imprinting it in the skin of her palm.
Why would he give this to me? As she looked at it again, she realized that she did not need to ask. No matter what happens, I am in many ways his wife. He wore this ring to represent a promise, a duty, and oath. So can I. She slipped it on the middle finger of her left hand.
And then she looked out of the window and prayed to whoever would listen that Bill would make it to the end of the day, that they both would.