[A/N: Since my other fic, "Souvenirs," was received so well, I've decided to write another fic set in the same era. This one also deals with the Daybreak flashbacks a bit, if only using them to establish what I think is the timeline of Laura's life/career. Finally, I get to play around with the fascination I've always had concerning Laura's relationship with Richard Adar and what exactly it was between them. I always wished that this would have been addressed again after Epiphanies but, alas, it was not. Guess that's what fic is for.
A lot of ground for one little story ^_^]
In Memoriam
Laura was getting used to being watched. By her security detail, by her staff, by everyone she ever encountered. It wasn't something she had ever encountered before, even when she was still teaching (permanently attentive students was something a teacher could only dream of). And it certainly wasn't something she was comfortable with, not yet. Maybe not ever.
But it was different here in this one long corridor on the Galactica. Here, it was photographs that watched her, their eyes following her as she walked past them. There were glances from the living as well but anyone here was not looking to see her. They were looking for memories and for a past that she had ordered left behind.
She found a section that still had some empty space on it. She stood in front of it, her eyes scanning the images of dead strangers. There were so many. But for Laura, that was not the worst part. She knew there were so many more names and lives lost out there, billions of people for whom there was no one left alive to remember them. She closed her eyes for a moment, whispering a prayer to all of them. She wished she believed in prayer more, wished she could believe the Lords of Kobol were really out there, listening.
As Laura opened her eyes again, she reached into her pocket. Her fingers first came to rest upon a piece of paper - the Olympic Carrier. She reached past it to another paper, this one shiny and folded into a neat square. She pulled it out and slowly unfolded it to reveal a familiar face.
Richard Adar, former President of the Twelve Colonies. Her boss and sometimes lover. Their relationship had been…complicated, to say the least. Especially at the end, first when she suspected her diagnosis and even more so after she had it. But there had been good times. Without a doubt it had been the most important professional relationship of her life.
He had been a good friend too; a better friend than a lover. She remembered his support when her mother had died, offering her as much time off as she needed. When she refused, he had made sure she had a constant stream of work coming her way, realizing she needed purpose, not coddling. And now he was gone, like everyone else.
Laura stared down at his picture, trying to feel…something. For him, for the forty-two people who should have been President before her, for everyone she had ever known or never met. She couldn't. The number was just too great. One death is a tragedy; a million is a statistic. Or a billion, as the case may be.
She lifted the picture up, preparing to put it on the wall. Her fingers swept across the picture, feeling the texture. It had been cut out of a magazine, the only picture she could find. She had photographs of them together but they were all on Caprica, if Caprica still existed. This one would have to do.
"Madame President."
The sudden voice almost made her jump out of her skin. She turned quickly to find Bill Adama walking towards her. "Commander," she said quickly, pleased that her voice sounded more collected than she felt.
He came to stand beside her, his eyes quickly going to the picture in her hands. "President Adar," he said after a moment.
"Yes," Laura replied. "Is there something wrong with that?" There was something in his tone, a note of disapproval she was beginning to know all too well.
He looked over at her, meeting her gaze. "Let's just say I didn't vote for him."
No surprise there. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Lee says you worked with him since he was mayor?"
She was a bit surprised to find out that the Adamas had been gossiping about her behind her back. They must be on speaking terms again. That was good; now, if only it would last.
He was looking at her, waiting for the answer she'd forgotten to give.
"Yes," she said quickly, with a smile to cover up any awkwardness. "Almost twenty years. Of course, in the beginning I was still teaching. I only became involved fulltime when preparation began for the first presidential campaign. And I never looked back."
"All the way till the end."
Laura felt a chill run through her body, though she couldn't have said why. "That's right," she said after the feeling had passed.
They stood in silence for a moment, before the Commander took a step back. "I'll leave you to it," he said quietly.
"Thank you, Commander." She watched him walk away for a moment. With a small smile she turned away, focusing on the wall once more.
Why was this taking so long? She reached up and pinned the picture onto the wall. One face among hundreds, among thousands. That's all any of them would be at the end. No fanfare for Richard Adar. He wouldn't have liked it. But Laura did.
Some people wanted to be remembered. Some people craved fame and glory. Laura never had. She would have been happy to be a footnote, the frakking schoolteacher of the Adar administration.
As she walked down the hallway, all eyes turning her way again, she thought that such a fate now seemed highly unlikely.