Laura Roslin used to be a teacher. She believes in humanity's ability to grow and learn. Sometimes the best lessons come from failure. She knows this because she's seen it happen. Unfortunately, as she's gotten older, she's seen other failures, some of them more devastating than others. One made her President of the Twelve Colonies when she wasn't at all near the top of the chain of command.
And that is something Lee Adama knows. He knows responsibility. He's a military man, the son of a military man. Order, precision and rank—it's all very clear to him, even when it's not. But it is in times like this in the darkest hours that the character of all men is tested, and his rises to the surface. Somewhere deep inside him beats the heart of an idealist. And Lee still learns.
He has a brilliant mind. Laura sees that, and she needs it. She's still learning her way through. They're both learning lessons, many that they would rather not know.
Cancer (noun): Something evil or malignant that spreads destructively.
Laura knows she doesn't have long to live. She was diagnosed with cancer, one of the words that brings absolute terror into the hearts of men, right before she became the President of the Twelve Colonies. Meanwhile, cancer in the form of fear spreads through the Colonies, and she has to keep it in check as she keeps her own in control.
Few people know about it, but Lee does.
He respected her before, but now he thinks she's made of much stronger stuff. He watches her hide the pain. He doesn't tell her he notices, of course. They don't speak on these things.
If they did talk about it, she would say, "Everyone has to die eventually."
But they don't, so she doesn't.
Jealousy (noun): Zealous vigilance.
Is Lee a jealous man? He didn't think he was, but he's got scars. Some scars the world can see, but there are always the ones that people don't see that hurt more.
It is the same for all, he realizes. The body may heal, but sometimes the mind never does. That was why he was so swift of action to protect Specialist Cally. She doesn't need remorse. No one needs it.
Then there's Kara. She'd loved his brother, not him. When he drifted apart from his father after Zac's death, she is the one who grew closer to the elder Adama. For Lee, they are like lines that do not intersect, and yet Starbuck knows him better than to accept that. She knows him better than almost any other person there is.
And someone else is attempting to learn the same.
Hero (noun): A mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability.
Laura did truly think "Captain Apollo" had a nice sound about it. Apollo was god of the sun and prophecy, and so many more things. Sunlight brings hope after grey days of rain, and something about Lee Adama inspires a sense of hope in Laura Roslin.
The lives of all the people now are too full of ugly words no one wants to know such as destruction and anger. With a hero, troublesome times are easier to bear. But Captain Apollo doesn't think of himself as a hero. He's far too human.
And that's exactly what the President wants.
Without that essence of humanity, they are no different from the Cylons who look just like them. Looks can always be deceiving when no one knows the truth from a lie or a friend from a foe, and a hero has come to the people in spite of himself.
Respect (noun): High or special regard, Esteem.
Overtures of respect can be given. Apollo enlightened Roslin to that fact aboard the Galactica. It is a formality that makes sense to her now, but it has no personal value behind it.
From person to person, on the other hand, respect is earned. For some it may never be there, but the young viper pilot has cast his lot with her. He offered his vote when he believed that there would be a future that still held her in it.
Maybe it will because Laura is human, too, and humans have an innate ability to overcome. Sometimes it is the presence of sheer will. Cancers are defeated; battles are won; and despite insurmountable odds, people survive. It is the way of the species.
Hope (noun): Expectation of fulfillment or success.
After ancient Pandora's Box had been opened and evil escaped into the world, Hope followed to heal a broken humanity. Both fragile and resilient, this is what remains.
And it has to be enough because it's all they have.
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Note: All definitions come from Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition.