It had begun so quickly that Laura had not had time to breathe. Elizabeth had been eight months pregnant and had declined to go to their end-of-the-year party. Why don't you take Laura?, she had said. You know she doesn't have anybody special in her life; this way she won't be all alone. I feel so sorry for her sometimes. Always the dutiful husband, Richard had agreed. Oh, if Elizabeth had only known what she was doing.

Laura had thought nothing of it. He picked her up and they went off to the party, which was uneventful. There was the usual mingling and small talk, the making of promises that no one would ever keep, and of course, the drinking. Everybody knew that the First Lady was only weeks away from giving birth, so no one thought twice when the President showed up with the Secretary of Education on his arm. Even if Elizabeth Adar hadn't been pregnant, no one would have thought twice to see Laura on Richard's arm; they had worked together years before so of course it stood to reason that they were good friends.

At the end of the evening, he had driven her home and she had invited him in for coffee. Her father's and sisters' deaths had left Laura paranoid about drunk drivers and driving at night. Do you really think I would have driven you home if I was drunk? he had protested, but Laura had retorted that she wanted him to be fully awake so that he could be aware of other drivers on his way home. I will not go through that experience again, I care too much about you. They sat on her couch talking and sipping coffee well into the night. When she had finally looked at her watch, it was almost 2:30 in the morning.

I don't mean to be rude, but I'm afraid I have to kick you out… I have to be at the office at seven and my boss is kind of a hard ass when I'm late, Laura said with a smile. Richard stared back at her with a silly expression on his face. What?, she asked. She had not been prepared for his answer. You know I've always wanted to frak you, Laura, followed by several seconds of silence. Not knowing what to say, Laura stared at Richard before busting out laughing. That's a good one, Richard. More silence. I'm serious, Laura. I've wanted to frak you since the day I met you… and now… I don't think I can hold back anymore. I love you… always have, probably always will.

Before she knew what was happening, Richard had closed the distance between them and was planting a deep, sensuous kiss on her lips. Laura kissed him back wantonly, partly driven by the alcohol she had consumed and partly driven by her repressed feelings for the man. She finally broke away. No, stop. Richard, this is wrong. We can't. Elizabeth-

My marriage is dead, Laura. It has been for years… the baby was a n accident, a mistake… I got drunk one night and things went too far. Our marriage has been over for years… I plan on asking her for a divorce as soon as my term is up. A year, Laura… less than a year… and then I'll be free. We can finally be together. Don't think I haven't noticed how you look at me… I know you want me.

His lips were on hers again and this time, Laura didn't stop him. Of course it was still wrong; she should wait until he was completely free, but in that moment, she didn't care. Her whole life had been about caring for others: her sisters during the war; her mother while she was sick; her father after Judith Roslin had died. In that moment, she didn't care to think that this was wrong; for one of the first times in her life, she chose to think about herself and only herself.

His lips parted hers and he kissed Laura with a passion and fervor she had never experienced before. She moaned as he positioned himself on top of her on her couch to better wrap his arms around her and kiss her. After an unknown period of time, Richard pulled back, stood up, and picked her up in his arms. He had no idea where her bedroom was but he figured it out pretty quickly without needing her help. Once in her room, he placed her on the delicate purple bedspread and continued where he had left off. Laura was no virgin but never had a man made love to her in that way; never had she known such passion. Afterwards, she had laid in his arms sleeping lightly and feeling truly happy.

"Madame Secretary?"

Billy's voice broke Laura out of her reverie and she opened her eyes. "We're almost at the Galactica, Madame Secretary. Can I get you anything before we land? Er... dock?"

Laura smiled at the boy. "No, Billy… thank you". She waited for him to leave her section of the cabin before shutting her eyes again. How could he have asked for her resignation after everything they had been through? Had all of those years meant nothing? Did their relationship mean nothing? Did she mean nothing? Feeling herself about to cry, Laura did her best to push all thoughts of Richard Adar out of her mind. On the bright side, I won't be alive to live with my broken heart for long, she thought miserably as she caught sight of the Galactica. She sighed. Laura had no desire to go through with the decommissioning ceremony after the morning she'd had and had even less desire to meet Galactica's curmudgeonly commander.

"Frak me", she said with another sigh. Could this day get any worse?