[A/N: So I've been watching that last A/R Raptor scene over and over and over again and it keeps actually getting harder and more upsetting. So I decided to see if writing fic might make me feel at least a little better because as heartbreaking as it was it was also beautiful and wonderful and almost everything I could have asked for (though a ferry scene would have been nice…but that's what other fics are for).

Oh, and I'll be going with RDM canon here, where the first A/R frak is in A Disquiet Follows My Soul.]

Band of Gold

"I love you."

"About time."

Laura made a noise halfway between a hum and a laugh as she slipped into Bill's embrace. He was right, it was time; it had been for so long now.

She stood still for a long moment, enjoying the warmth and perfection. However she did eventually step back, regretfully. "What are you doing here, Bill?"

He smiled at her, that beautiful smile of his. "I knew you'd make it and someone had to be here to meet you."

Laura smiled back and was about to respond when she saw something move at the edge of her vision. She turned to see a Centurion walking past, reminding her of where she was. She looked back over at Bill. "Let's sit down," she told him as she stepped onto the wing of the Raptor. "We can talk for a bit on familiar ground."

He followed her wordlessly. As she stepped into the cabin, her eyes were immediately drawn to a book sitting there, looking both in and out of place. "Searider Falcon," she whispered, reaching out to touch it reverently. "You found it."

"I did," Bill said from behind her, his mouth inches from her ear. "Had to make sure we get to that ending."

Laura laughed as she settled down into the seat. She watched as Bill moved to sit across from her and smiled at him once again, before resigning herself to discussing business. "Who's leading the Fleet?"

The changes on his face were subtle but she could read them like a book now. She knew this was a question he didn't want to answer. But she also knew it had to be asked.

"I left Tigh in command of the military. Promoted him to Admiral, until I get back."

That was what she had figured. Even though it wasn't unexpected it still did nothing to quell her unease. "And Zarek is acting President, I imagine?"

"No. Lee is."

Laura blinked, taken aback. "Lee?" She waited for Bill to explain that one.

"I told Zarek I wouldn't recognize him. Made them pick someone better."

"And then you came out here on what could have been a suicide mission." Laura shook her head. "Oh, Bill. Not that I don't appreciate the gesture, but I-"

"It was a military decision."

She began to giggle, then outright laughed. She looked over at him, laughing along with her. "Well, what can I say about that?"

Laura sighed deeply. "I am so glad you're here," she said softly, after a moment.

Bill reached over to her, placing his left hand over her right. "No place I'd rather be."

She smiled, looking down at his hand. A glint of gold caught her attention, reminding her of the visions she'd had. "Bill, I…mmm, there's something I need to tell you."

She looked back up at him and found him watching her and waiting. "While we were travelling toward the Resurrection Hub, I experienced these moments, visions or dreams I'm not really sure." She studied him carefully as she spoke and was pleased to see no disbelief there, not anymore. The days of Admiral Atheist really were at an end. "I saw Elosha and we were on the Galactica, only it was empty. Except for you and Kara and Lee. You were all there…as I lay dying."

Bill's hand tightened around hers at that but he didn't say a thing, waiting to hear the rest.

"It was hard to watch, as I'm sure you can imagine. There I was, standing outside the room and at the same time there I was in a hospital bed. You were reading to me, reading Searider Falcon – a part we've already reached, not the ending. And then…and then…"

She rested her left hand on top of his, her index finger sliding along the metal of his ring.

"And then I died. And you kissed me and put this ring on my finger."

The depth of emotion in Bill's eyes always thrilled and terrified her. It was one of the reasons she had tried to maintain some distance. The idea of what her death would do to him was near unbearable – even more than the dying part itself.

She made herself look into his eyes now. No more running. No more hiding. That was what today meant, accepting what they had together and enjoying it despite certain responsibilities. She wasn't surprised to see the sadness in his face, with barely contained denial around the edges. She was however, surprised to see him smile. He held onto her hand and lifted it up toward him, pressing his lips to her skin.

"One day, I promise, this ring will be yours. Whenever that day comes."

*

"So much…life."

"It's a rich continent. More wildlife than all the Twelve Colonies put together…Just looking for a quiet little place for that cabin. Maybe a garden. I don't have much of a green thumb so I'm hoping you do."

Somewhere in the space, she slipped away. Bill knew this when he looked over at her. Her hand was still warm but fading fast. He held onto it tight, never wanting to let go.

He pulled the wedding band off his finger, slipped in onto hers. He had promised. But he had still never wanted to admit that the day would come. Giving it to her was accepting the end. And while he did, while he knew he had to – another part still screamed that somehow it wasn't true.

He kissed her hand, the skin so soft. He looked back out the window, looking for a place to land. He wasn't about to let a crashed Raptor be her grave and he knew soon he would be in no condition to fly it.

"Right there. I'm going to build it right there, Laura."

There wasn't a stream or a lake with water so still it was like looking through glass. But there was him and there was her.

That would be enough.