Admiral Bill Adama sighed as he sat down on his bed. "Are you sure about this?" he inquired of the redhead beside him.
"Of course I'm sure," Laura Roslin replied. "I've been sure about this for a long time now," she continued, reaching up to touch Bill's cheek affectionately.
Bill smiled nervously, wrapping his fingers softly around hers and bringing both their hands down to rest in the small space between them, not breaking the contact. "I've just been having second thoughts," he confessed.
"Bill," Laura responded, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze, "we've talked about this. I know you want this as much as I do, and who knows how many opportunities we'll have. I won't be around forever," she finished letting the implication hang in the air.
"I know," the Admiral conceded, "and I want this more than I can say..." he trailed off.
"But?" Laura encouraged.
"If someone were to find out, it could cause...problems," Bill stated gravely.
"No one is going to find out," Laura assured him, pulling soft grey material over her stockinged leg. "They won't be able to see us. Everything will work out fine as long as we do this the way we've practiced. Besides, you promised me."
"I know..." Bill started.
"Aren't you tired of doing things just because you have to? I didn't want to become President, but I did it because it was my duty. I didn't want to be a prophet, but I followed the scrolls because that was what was needed of me. I don't want to make impossible decisions regarding people's lives every day, but I do. This is something I want, and I know you want it too." Laura looked at Bill, letting her words sink in as she slid the grey material up over her other leg.
Bill nodded in agreement. "Let's do this," he responded, standing as he pulled his own pair of large grey pants on and slipped the suspenders over his shoulders. He fondly brushed a stray hair from Laura's face. "I never thought I'd meet someone who would share my dreams of running through the halls of a battlestar dressed as a pantomime horse."
Laura smiled back at him. "The gods work in mysterious ways," she said as she stood, pulling the pantomime horse pants the rest of the way up and stepping in front of the Admiral in position to cover them with the rest of the costume. Once Bill was fully covered, the two made their way to the door, Laura grasping the horse head beside her. She slowly opened the door to peek outside.
"Is the coast clear?" Bill asked, slightly muffled under the pantomime horseback.
"All clear," Laura answered pulling the head on. "Ready?" She felt Bill nod. "Let's go!" The two sped down the hallway in a matched pace that belied their age. As they rounded the corner, they were greeted by several surprised soldiers, none of whom had time to process the strange event before they were far past them.
Running up the steps, they almost knocked straight into Saul Tigh, completely unawares as they approached from his blind side. A quick hand signal from Laura and a maneuver from them both and they weaved around merely grazing the Colonel and sped forward, vaguely making out a disgruntled, "Frakkin' pantomime horse!" from behind them.
Rounding another corner, Laura spotted Lee, and with another hand signal and maneuver, the bewildered Major was knocked flat to the floor, but the pantomime horse continued on flawlessly. Laura and Bill barreled down 13 hallways, leaving a trail of confused and disconcerted military behind them before they finally made it back to the corridor that led to Bill's quarters. Making sure no one was around, the pair ducked into the hatchway and tumbled onto the bed, costume and all, consumed by uncontrollable fits of laughter.
Laura finally removed the horse head and top bit of the costume. She looked at Bill, still giggling, and grinned. "Was it as good for you as it was for me?" she asked impishly.
Bill snorted through his laughter and responded, "Abso-frakkin'-lutely!"