Disclaimer: BSG is not mine, and thus, Laura Roslin might be in my heart and in my head but she is not in my possession. I like to believe that she is MM's, and hers alone. :o) Setting: Galactica and Colonial One
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Laura was sitting at her desk, her mind trying to process the information her eyes were scanning from the files in front of her.
She was tired. She was exhausted.
And yet she knew that her day had just begun.
When she heard the familiar footsteps of her aide approaching her desk, she raised her head and reached out for the tea mug.
The tea was cold.
"What is it, Tory?", the President asked while swallowing the bitterness of her hour-old tea.
Tory handed her several editions of recent newspapers. "You should read this."
Laura Roslin wrinkled her forehead at the sound of annoyance in Tory Foster's voice. "Alright.", she answered quietly. "Anything that keeps me distracted from those supply reports..." She stopped. The columns and gossip sections circled in a bright red catching her full attention."What's this?"
Tory took a seat in the chair next to the presidential desk. "Read it."
The room was enveloped by silence for a couple of minutes. The worst kind of silence.
Tory, tapping her left foot quietly on the carpeted floor, didn't even bother to hide her mood about these articles. She frowned.
Laura, gasping every now and then, appalled and frustrated, finally removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes.
Keeping her eyes closed for the beat of a moment, she shook her head and suppressed an unnerved chuckle when she addressed her aide.
"Are you frakking kidding me?"
Tory shook her head.
"Tory, that's gossip. We ignore gossip."
Tory nodded. "I know ma'am. But it doesn't work anymore."
"What do you mean?" Laura shot her a puzzled look.
"Do you see the amount of papers that cover that gossip crap?"
The President shrugged. "There hasn't been much going on in the fleet lately. They don't know what else to write. It'll pass."
"No it won't." Tory said calmly, her voice crisp and serious.
"Excuse me?"
"Ma'am, I know we have a no comment policy about gossip, but this is going out of hand. It shouldn't go unnoticed."
Laura Roslin laughed. "Oh my Gods, Tory. If I would listen to all the gossip about me I'd sure be dead by now." She sighed. "I don't like it either, but I can't just comment on every frakking lie out there."
"It's a lie that proves to be consistent, ma'am."
"What do you mean?" Laura caught the severity in her aide's voice.
"I mean, that this isn't the first day that almost every paper picked that issue. And it's not the first time that it was used for a column."
"Well, then give it a week. Next week Tuesday you'll see it's dead like wood in the water." President Roslin tried to shrug it off.
"No, ma'am. I don't think so. It'll be worse by next week if we keep on ignoring it. It's been weeks already now."
"What?" The presidential undertone was not amused.
"5 weeks to be exact, ma'am. 5 weeks and 2 days."
"And why wasn't I informed about this earlier?" Laura asked, her voice low and hoarse.
"You asked me not to bother you with issues of secondary importance during the trial."
The President closed her eyes and nodded. "I did." And she inhaled deeply. "And how come it's an issue of primary importance now?"
"It seems to have found ground after your statement on your health. Well, and after one of the papers published a picture of you from New Caprica's Ground Breaking Day."
Laura raised her eyebrows. "What picture?"
Tory grabbed one of the papers from earlier that week and pointed to a small picture in the gossip section. "It was that picture that triggered questions about the Admiral and you. We were flooded with questions about your relationship with him."
"It's none of anybody's business." The President hissed.
"They want to know. Especially since the rumors are rising again that Admiral Adama literally forced Tom Zarek out of presidential office to reinstate and support you. The press indicated that he might follow his own interests and that his influence on you might be too strong."
Laura got up – her rage evident in her eyes, disbelief written all over her face.
"This is ridiculous!"
"I agree, ma'am. If anything it's you who controls the Admiral."
The President shot her aide a look that expressed so much more than just the intended not funny, not now message.
Tory cleared her throat. "I'm sorry ma'am. But I think you should react to this." She paused, waiting for some protest. But Laura Roslin listened carefully. "Ma'am, I think you should make a quick statement at the end of your next briefing with the press."
"I won't." The President shook her head. "I wouldn't even know what to say."
"The only thing they want to know is whether you have a relationship with the Admiral. That's all."
"Of course I do have a relationship with the Admiral." Laura answered her with a frown. "A working relationship." She paused. "And we're friends."
Tory rolled her eyes. "That's not what the press means."
"Really?" Tory heard the dry undertone in her boss's voice. "Do you think I'm particularly stupid, Tory?"
"Why, ma'am?"
Laura sighed. "Okay, the immediate answer I was fishing for was no, ma'am, of course not – and then a possible what do you mean?."
Tory chuckled. "I'm sorry." And she redirected the President's attention to the printed picture. "But this is why people want to know."
Laura looked at the picture again. It was Ground Breaking Day, alright. And she was wearing that casual dress – and he was holding her hand, and she was holding his – their fingers entwined, content smiles on their faces. An aura of satisfaction surrounding them.
Laura closed her eyes for a second and nodded. "We are friends."
Tory studied her expression for a moment before she chose her words with care. "With all do respect, ma'am. You are not."
And she continued at the rising protest in Laura Roslin's eyes. "I'm sure you will be able to fool the press, but I'm working with you all day. I know how your mood changes when a meeting with the Admiral is due. I know how impatient you get when we have to postpone your nightly one-on-ones or how chipper you are in the mornings when he's called you. So please, don't play the coy card with me, ma'am. I truly believe that he's good for you. I think it was about time. But I also have to say that you deserve better."
Laura looked at her aide for a short while, her eyebrows raised, her forehead slightly wrinkled, she gave her a dangerously calm reply that was hidden under a chuckle. "Excuse me?"
Tory shook her head. "What I mean is, you sacrificed your life for this fleet, for humanity. You're willing to work 24/7 to guarantee life on every single ship, to make it look as normal as humanly possible regarding the circumstances. Your cancer has returned and you didn't take the time to be angry about it once. You have to watch out for yourself, ma'am. And if you can't, let him. He's doing a great job so far. But the way the press is treating you lately is unacceptable. You don't deserve that your privacy is invaded like that. You deserve some downtime from it all. And you're the only one who could possibly address the press about that without making it sound like a defense or a plea."
Tory sighed. "I'm begging you, ma'am. Be as witty and dry and sarcastic as you like, but face the press about this. Don't hide, don't ignore them, don't bow to them. Just let them know that there are limits. Tell them that by not covering your cancer in every detail they didn't win the carte blanche to dig deep in your personal life."
Tory Foster shot her boss an uneasy smile. "I'm sorry if I stepped over a line just now. But I just can't witness how you try to handle it all on your own without knowing what's going on behind your back."
Laura had sat down again, taking in the words of concern with a surprised smile. She stared at her aide for another moment before she addressed her with a calm voice.
"Are you for real?"
And when she saw the confused look on Tory Foster's face, she simply continued. "Since when do you know?"
Tory chuckled. "For a while now. And I'm not the only one who knows."
The President shot her an embarrassed look. "Who else knows?"
"Colonel Tigh. He suspected it way back on New Caprica already. He just thought that it wasn't anybody's business, so he kept it to himself."
"I see." Was the scanty answer to that, and a look of relief on Laura Roslin's face. "So what do we do now?"
Tory got up and smiled. "I think you should call Admiral Adama first, and then you should prepare a statement for tomorrow's press conference."
It was later that night when Laura Roslin had dinner with her Admiral. They had discussed the situation. And he had been anything but pleased.
Enjoying some of his last Ambrosia, they settled on his couch to bring some comfort to their discussion.
"I seriously don't know what you expect me to do, Laura." Bill's tone was caught between frustration and annoyance.
"I want you to tell me what you think." She met his mood with perfect calmness.
"What do I think. Think about what?"
"This. Us." Laura moved her hands to emphasize her own helplessness.
"Is there an us?" Bill's voice hardly dared to ask.
"Would you want that?" She met his careful demeanor.
"Laura. Stop tiptoeing around this. New Caprica. Your weed, the Chief's best..."
"...the sandbags." She giggled.
"Were we about to become an us?" His voice was low and tender.
Looking into his eyes, she felt how she lost herself in the situation. That happened far too often in his presence – in her opinion at least – but she usually found a way to talk herself out again somehow.
"I don't know. We were drugged." She tried to escape his winning look.
"You caressed me that night."
"You kissed me."
"You slept in my arms." His breath was warm on her face as he spoke.
"You jumped away."
"I came back."
"To rescue the colony."
"I came back for you." He leaned in to kiss her. Softly, his own lips barely touching hers, giving her a chance to pull back again – like he always did.
Enjoying the tenderness of his kiss for a moment, Laura gave in for a second and allowed her own emotions to guide her. Deepening their kiss, she brought her hands around his body, fondling him – probing him. Startled by the deep moan that escaped from her own throat, she broke their kiss to find his eyes closed and his hands pulling her back to meet his mouth again. Tired of fighting her own heart, remembering their sensual games on the phone and her picturesque dreams in the past weeks and months, she allowed herself to fall into him. Feeling his hands exploring her, she moved closer to him and buried her own hands underneath his uniform top. Urging him to remove it, her palms sought contact with his bare skin and she started to caress him.
Pictures of New Caprica came to her mind in short flashes. Everything she was able to remember. Everything they did do to each other – teasing each other – and everything they didn't.
The feeling if his warm hands in her half-opened blouse brought her back to reality and she began tugging at his belt. Smiling at her impatience, Bill assisted her almost shaking fingers and pulled her into another kiss – lingering and deep. Gentleness forgotten – desire dancing from one tongue to the other.
Feeling his frustration at another layer of clothes underneath her blouse, Laura released a hoarse giggle and stepped out of the silky material, watching him losing his pants.
She smiled seductively when he crawled on top of her, his eagerness to make love to her not only evident in his eyes. Resting her head on his couch, she closed her own eyes when Bill's hands tugged at her skirt and she released a frustrated moan at the sound of his phone.
Bill, not less frustrated, sank to her side for a moment and kissed a tender I-am-sorry onto her neck before he forced himself up to answer the disturbing phone.
"Yes?" His voice was gruff and annoyed. "What the frak? And you cannot deal with that yourself, Saul?"
Laura observed him – standing by his bed, his arousal still distracting her, her own no less urgent. She grinned.
Getting up, she tiptoed through his dimly lit quarters and slung her arms around his back. When he turned around, she moved with him and ended up in his embrace, bringing his full attention back to her.
Shooting her a half-controlled quizzical look, he continued his conversation on the phone while she started to place quiet kisses onto his skin.
Forcing a steady "Put him through," through the receiver before he covered it, he asked her huskily, "What are you doing?"
"I am answering my own question," she gave back below a whisper. "I'm working on becoming an us."
Bill, caught between duty and the maddening feeling of her sensual lips on his neck and chest, heard the voice of a supply ship captain and mumbled a quick answer to a question he had barely noticed.
Laura, a wicked smile dancing around her lips, pulled back from his embrace and left a relieved Admiral to his phone.
Walking over to his rack, she lay down and whispered his name. Bill, obviously annoyed with the captain on the phone locked eyes with her when she started to undress herself in slow motion. Swallowing hard, Bill tried hard to focus on his duty at hand while his eyes were all too busy enjoying other things.
Laura, tickled by the look of pure pleasure on his face, decided to switch into her seductive mode. Feeling the Ambrosia spurring her on while slowing her movements, she removed every piece of clothing with a care and patience she knew he wished to have time for now.
Stretching her limbs like a cat, she made herself comfortable as soon as she had stripped down to a bareness he had often dreamed to see. Laura Roslin, natural woman, no title attached to her. Beautiful. Playful – teasing him with a smile and her hands on her own body.
Finding an excuse that was too hasty but never giving him away, Bill Adama hung up and joined her on his bed. Pulling her into a needy kiss, he brought his hands onto her bare skin to caress her. He wanted to study her, hoping to find out what pleased her most and what left her soul untouched. Nuzzling her, he kissed his way down her jawline and her neck, smiling at the way her laugh lines changed when she giggled or moaned.
Moving his hands over her curves, he loved to caress her hips and belly – trained, but not perfectly so, he enjoyed the combination of softness and strength. Praising her beauty, Bill reduced her to the comforting feeling of love she felt for him. His voice low and rich met hers, tender and deep when he became one with her.
Sensations taking over, he knew that this was so much more than he had ever hoped for. She gave herself to him – opened her heart, knowing that he did not give his own away so easily. The sound of his name falling from her trembling lips when she came was followed by a perfect sound of bliss from his own.
Collapsing into her arms, he turned around to keep his weight off her. Taking her with him, she made sure they remained one and placed a tired kiss onto his lips. Feeling how she drifted off to sleep, he whispered his love against her messed-up hair, smiling about the feeling of home that nestled in his heart. The woman who had long been his family was now what made him an us. And if he had ever expected that to fill him with pride, his heart now showed him the next step of love – gratitude.
It was all too early that Laura woke from what she feared to be a dream.
Feeling his heaving chest against her own, she was relieved to find that she had indeed made love to him. Bill. His face so soft and at ease when he was asleep. His arm protectively slung around her waist, a tiny smile painted on his rough lips.
Snuggling up closer to him, she enjoyed the warmth of his body next to her. She felt so tiny next to him, but never lost. She giggled to herself when she rested her head in the crook of his arm again.
"What so funny," Bill whispered.
Placing a soft kiss onto his lips she whispered back, "I didn't mean to wake you."
"That's alright. You have permission to wake me anytime."He returned her kiss. "Now, what's so funny?"
"Nothing really. I'm just glad that this wasn't a dream."
"Oh my Gods, yes," Bill answered from the depth of his heart.
"Glad we agree," Laura teased him.
"What time is it," Bill asked after a a moment of just studying her.
"Too early."Laura tried to suppress her yawn.
Snuggling closer to her, Bill took a quick glance at his alarm clock. "5 frakking 30." He growled. "I gotta get up in half an hour."
"Me, too." Laura tried to hide away in his embrace. "Couldn't we just call in sick?"
Bill chuckled. "Oh, I'd like that. But don't you think it would just stir more gossip if we called in sick together?"
She moaned. "Don't remind me of that."
"What do we do about that now?" Bill began to caress her absent-minded.
Laura sighed. "I... I don't know. Tory suggested to confront the press, to basically tell them to go frak off."
"You wouldn't do that of course." He pulled her into a tender kiss.
"Not so bluntly, no." She moved on top of him. "Good morning."
"Is that your way of avoiding this topic?"
"No." Laura placed another lingering kiss onto his hungry lips. "That's my way of welcoming a new day."
"Well, good morning then."Bill smiled into her. "Is this something I should get used to?"
"You better." She began to kiss her way down his jaw line. "It's been a while, you know. I gotta catch up."
"Relieved to know that we are on the same page." He moved his hands down her spine and indulged in the slowness of her lovemaking. Gotta love her enthusiasm, he thought to himself before he returned her tender treatment and spoiled her with kisses and moans.
It was a couple of hours later that Laura was sitting in her office again. Lost in thoughts over some less than exciting reports.
Tory approached her boss from the right and handed her a portfolio and startled her out of her thoughts.
"If you'd care to go over this speech before..." Her voice was calm, a smile dancing around her otherwise neutral lips.
"Oh my Gods, Tory." Laura jumped.
"Sorry, ma'am. Any thoughts you wish to share?" Her smile grew wider.
"I don't know what you are talking about." Laura tried to avoid the topic with a blushed but hidden smirk.
"Anything interesting happen last night?" Tory continued to tease her boss. "I mean, I think it was awfully nice of you to stay on Galactica when your one-on-one with the Admiral began to run late. How considerate of you not to have a pilot fly you back in the middle of the night."
"Is there something you wish to say to me, Tory?" The President's voice was perfectly calm.
"I'm just wondering if you actually need that speech for the press conference. Maybe you got some hands-on advice from Admiral Adama." The presidential aide chuckled.
"Are you fond of your job, Tory?" Laura Roslin returned in a mild tone, her face stony.
"Sorry, ma'am." She bit her lip to hide her perpetual amusement. "The press is waiting for you. Whenever you are ready."
It was a couple of minutes later that President Roslin stepped through the curtain that separated the press briefing room from her office. Uncertain of what to say, she was in full control over her exterior. Oozing calmness and presidential grace, she approached the podium and unfolded the speech her eyes had hardly scanned.
Taking a deep breath, she put on her glasses and shot Tory a quick look before she started to address the press. Her voice determined but low, she stared at numerous microphones and professional faces.
"This isn't a classic press conference. I am here to present a statement as a reaction to the disrespectful articles in the gossip sections of every single paper that is published in this fleet. My staff prepared a written statement and Tory Foster even volunteered to deliver it to you. I decided against this procedure. I will instead say a few words myself, so please bare with me if I may sound unprepared."
Laura took another deep breath, ignoring the worried look on her aide's face.
"It was brought to my attention that you have taken great interest in my personal life in the past few weeks. An interest that was met by ignorance and a no comment policy from this office. I will make an exception today because I think that things are getting out of hand."
She paused for a beat.
"I appreciate that you are not covering my cancer in every ugly detail. I am glad to know that you respected my dignity when I was lying on my death bed, and let's face it, resurrected from the dead. I further appreciate your coverage of the recently closed trial and I think I understand your concerns about certain issues concerning my Chamalla treatment. My personal life or friendships however are nothing that should concern you. I want to point out that you might regard me as a public figure and I accept that to a certain degree. Spreading rumors about persons who are not in public service however but who have proven to protect this fleet with all of their resources and manpower is something I will not tolerate."
Waving a question off with a quick movement of her hand, she continued with an equally calm but stern voice.
"Speculations about a possible romantic relationship between Admiral Adama and me are way out of line and unacceptable. They do not only cross the line of respect, they also violate the Admiral's right of privacy. I can only address your sense of morality and support when I ask you to drop these coverages. I will not comment on them directly and I refuse to believe that you will abuse the important value of freedom of the press in times of war when you should have other stories to fill your papers with."
Clearing her throat, Laura took down her glasses.
"Thank you, that is all."
Giving her aide a wry smile, Laura Roslin turned around to leave the briefing room when a voice stopped her.
"Is it true that you spent last night in the Admiral's quarters?"
Putting her glasses back on, Laura turned around, almost in slow motion. Her face cold, her eyebrows slightly raised, her lips pursed.
Stopping Tory from jumping at the press corps, Laura returned to the podium and smiled sadly to herself.
"I seem to have made the wrong assumptions when I chose to address your common sense and your dignity. I tried to explain the indecency of your behavior towards the military leader of this fleet. Scratch that. Let's make this about you and me. I am your President. You should be concerned with my political decisions and my professional failures. My personal life doesn't have anything to do with that. And if you are afraid that my personal feelings for anybody I am working with might affect my sense of justice or the process of decision making, I can assure you that that is not the case."
The President took a deep breath.
"I am human. I make mistakes. We all do. But this fleet has become my family and I am trying to guarantee the survival of what is left of our family. I get up at 6am every morning to go through fleet reports and complaints and union business. I get together with Admiral Adama to discuss strategies to outwit the Cylons who have nothing else on their minds but the destruction of mankind. We discuss. We argue. We agree. It is like that with my Vice President and every single member of my staff I am working together with. I do not expect you to praise me for that. It's my job. I accepted this office again knowing exactly what it meant. And I try to serve you well. So call me demanding when I ask only one thing of you. Respect. Respect for this office, the society we are desperately trying to hold together and yes, for my personal life. Because once a day is over and my work is still piling up on my desk, I tend to rely on the few friends that I learned to trust in times of war and betrayal. And even if I might not only discuss every single detail of fleet business with Admiral Adama, I think I have the right to allow someone to hold my hand through Diloxin treatment. And it is none of anybody's business if it is the hand of a friend or a partner."
Her voice crisp and clear, Laura fought hard to suppress a tear that threatened to creep down her cheeks. Winning that fight, she hardly noticed the awkward silence in the room when she turned to leave for good.
When Laura Roslin returned to her office, she immediately called for her raptor. Packing some reports, she grabbed her bag and walked past an emotional Tory Foster.
"Don't, Tory. Really, don't." Laura shook her head to avoid any argument. "I got personal, I shouldn't have. But please, let's discuss damage control tomorrow. I need to get out of here. Now."
Nodding, Tory let her pass without showing any form of protest.
Sitting in Adama's quarters, Laura had lost every sense of time when Bill entered his rooms. Smiling at her in that subtle way of his, he approached her with two glasses of Ambrosia.
"Rough day?"He placed a soft kiss onto her head before he sat down opposite of her at his dinner table.
"Oh my Gods. What time is it?" She looked up from her work.
"Past 8." The Admiral took a sip of his favorite liquid.
"I think I lost track of time." Laura sighed and stretched her suddenly stiff limbs.
"Come sit with me on the couch." Bill reached out his hand to her. "You look like you could need a massage."
Circling her head she nodded. "Oh, that sounds just divine."
Walking over to the couch, Bill made sure that she rested fully against him when he began to treat her tense muscles.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" His voice was low and soft.
"So you heard it." Laura closed her eyes, moaning at the feeling of his hands airlocking her tension.
"Every single heartfelt word." He placed another kiss onto her head. "Not very presidential of you to make this personal."
"I acted out of the moment. I should know better than that, I know. But I act on my impulses from time to time." The President in her sighed.
"Really? Who would have thought."Bill leaned down to kiss her tenderly."I think you did well."
"Well, I think it's safe to say that Tory disagrees."
"You think so? I don't see her around arguing with you." Bill continued to kiss her.
"I told her that I needed some time. Tomorrow will be another day to handle the mess I got myself into."
"That's the spirit I like." He chuckled and pulled her onto his lap. "Care to spend the night with your favorite Admiral?"
"Do you promise to hold me tight?" Her voice was barely audible.
"Anything you want." He replied through deepening kisses. "I am here to hold your hand for the rest of my life."
The following morning, Bill Adama woke to the ringing of his phone. Picking it up as fast as he could, he whispered in the receiver, hoping that he wouldn't wake his sleeping beauty.
"Yes? Who? Oh sure. Let them in."
Feeling Laura snuggling up closer to him, her covered her quickly with another blanket to avoid their early visitors from seeing her bareness.
It was seconds later that Tory Foster entered the room with a pile of papers in her hands, closely followed by Colonel Tigh.
"Good morning, Sir." Tory's voice, dry and calm, met Tigh's, chipper and rough.
"Morning," Bill grumbled, indicating for them to wait by the couch.
Waking her up, ever so softly, Bill whispered her name onto her skin. "Laura, honey. Wake up. We got visitors."
Laura, mumbling a sleepy 5 more minutes, Bill onto his chest opened her eyes to his warm smile. "Visitors?"
"Saul and your aide are here. I think it is urgent." He whispered through a morning kiss.
"It better be." Laura grumbled.
Bill, who had somehow managed to put his boxers on, handed her his bathrobe and jumped into his uniform in no time. Tickled by his expertise, Laura leaned in to place another soft kiss onto his lips while she tied a knot to his large robe. "Got practice, huh?"
"Military training." He grinned.
"Presidential mistress," she whispered.
Shaking his head, Bill pulled her into another quick kiss. "So some rumors are indeed true."
Straightening her hair and trying to wipe off the happy grin from her face, Laura walked towards her aide and Adama's XO.
"Good morning." She was all professional.
"Good morning, ma'am." Tory handed her the papers.
"How bad is it?" Laura Roslin tried to hide the annoyance in her voice.
"Not bad at all." Tory Foster answered with a grin. "You actually managed to hit a nerve."
Scanning the papers, Laura sat down, feeling Bill approaching her to go through the papers along with her. Polls and interviews supporting her plea for respect filled numerous pages of each newspaper.
Tom Zarek attacking the press in his own way.
"Laura Roslin is the best public servant this fleet could hope for at the moment. She did put her presidency first for all this time. Even if she did have a romantic relationship with the Admiral, I don't think that she deserves anything else but our support and well-wishes."
Doctor Cottle.
"The President is an extremely patient person. She has suffered through immense moments of pain and she has just learned that the cancer we had all hoped to have vanished is threatening her life again. I don't think she should have to deal with anything else at the moment. And if she should allow the Admiral to help her through this, I couldn't be happier."
Saul Tigh.
"Romantic relationship my ass. And yes, you can quote me. It's none of our business whom the President fraks in-between press conferences, trials, Cylon attacks and cancer treatments. She is doing a frakking good job and that is all that should count."
And Sara Porter.
"President Roslin is a committed leader who has tried to serve her people in the best of ways. Although she might've left the path of the Gods at some point, I trust in her faith that she will not be misled by personal feelings. She is too strong to allow that to happen."
Laura put down the papers and giggled. "What's happened?"
Bill sat down next to her and held her close.
"You have more support than you thought you did." Tory smiled.
"Thank you." Laura looked at Saul.
Saul, growling something like don't mention it, returned a quick smile and nodded towards Bill. "Be happy. Okay?"
Answering his friend's unusual reaction, the Admiral placed a soft kiss onto Laura's lips. "I am."
Fin