Rated: T for now
Summary: Another Alternative Universe after Bill and Laura spend the night together on New Caprica
Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica and its characters don't belong to me. I make no money from this work of fiction.
A/N: Thank you to Laura Mayfair and her cat who proofread the story. And thanks to all of you who reviewed and let me know what they though about the story.
Zagreus
Part 2
New Caprica
Day 219 of the settlement, fourteen weeks after the ground breaking ceremony.
After over three weeks of not finding any way to contact Bill by herself and after a lot of hesitation, Laura had finally requested a one on one meeting with the President. It had been granted and she was now sitting on the other side of her former desk in what used to be essentially her living space for nearly ten months. Baltar had changed it so much that it didn't feel like hers anymore. She was somewhat grateful for the fact since it eased some of the lingering longing she sometimes felt when she caught a glimpse of her ship. It wouldn't help her cause to mention it. Acknowledging that it wasn't going well would have been paramount to saying that the Cylon weren't fond of the human race.
"Do you take me for a fool Laura? How old are you? Fifty-seven, fifty-eight years old?"
"I'm fifty-two."
"And you really expect me to believe that you are pregnant with the Admiral's child and that I should grant you a standing visiting pass for the Galactica?"
"Yes, that is exactly what I expect, Mr. President."
Although she had spent years using this title with Richard Adar, the title felt foreign on her lips. So much had happened since she had seen her former lover in a professional capacity that it felt like it was another lifetime. It was in a way, but the main thing was probably whom she was supposed to use it with now.
"And exactly what are the odds of you being pregnant at your age?"
"Exactly the same as you finding a cure for my cancer. For it was the starting point."
"Don't be silly, the blood injection only attacked your cancer cells, it didn't reboot your entire system."
"Well then maybe they also attacked whatever caused my premature menopause in the first place. I don't even know why I'm arguing that point with you. Doctor Cottle can confirm the diagnosis. And once you're satisfied with his answer I'd very much like to go and inform the father of my child."
"I don't think so, Laura. Even if you are indeed pregnant, you can't prove that Admiral Adama is the father."
"As much as I loathe to suggest such a thing, we both know Doctor Cottle can perform a paternity test."
"A paternity test that would bring you to the Galatica. I don't think so. As I see it Laura, there are only two options here. Either we both forget this conversation took place and that the Senior military officer might have fathered your child or you continue in insisting that he is and I have no other choice than having him court martialed."
She stood up suddenly. Of all the things she had expected of the despicable - man that hadn't been one of them. Contrary to popular belief, not all teachers had limitless supply of patience. Laura had her fair share, but just being in the same room as her former head scientist drained it faster than a Tigh could consume alcohol.
"Court martialed? On what grounds exactly?"
"Fraternization with a superior officer. Namely you."
"I'm sorry? I'm not Adama's superior officer. I'm not even military."
"Not right now, no. But you were before losing the election."
"That's preposterous. There was nothing going on between us while I was in office."
"I don't think you understand me, Laura. It doesn't matter either way because you can't prove a thing and your pregnancy will give credence to anything I advance. Now it's your choice really. Unknown father or a court martial?"
"On second thought, I'm not sure who the father is, Mr. President." She spat the title this time and left Colonial One in a hurry, without waiting for an answer.
She headed toward the temple, hot rage filling her senses. For the first time in a long while she genuinely regretted stealing the election. Ever since her final decision she had enjoyed being someone people only remembered as their children's schoolteacher. Of course she wasn't just that to most people but she could pretend easily enough. She would take a classroom full of unruly children over a quorum any day, grading papers and planning lessons was so much more uplifting than reading and signing reports 'till she was blue in the face and students' question made so much more sense than journalists' wrongful curiosity.
To be finally rid of any political responsibility for the first time in over twelve years was heavenly. Although she wished some things were different, she wouldn't complain if she could see Bill a little more and had a solid roof above her head instead of a tent. But although she knew the planet was no haven she couldn't deny the pleasure of fresh air and trees. And days. She had missed days. There was only night in space. She loved nights but nights had no sense without days. So she had missed the night bringing days.
Now however she would gladly give up days, trees, fresh air and even anonymity if that meant she could be up there across a desk from Bill. It wouldn't matter whether she was pregnant or not, whether they were friends or lovers. Seeing him only once in seven months was simply not enough. She could still write him a letter, she ventured, but he would probably do something incredibly rash and stupid, like jumping in the first raptor down. That might get them both into trouble and she couldn't let him take that chance. If they behaved and they were lucky, perhaps Baltar would at some point stop holding such a grudge and allow at least one of them to retire and join the other. And then they would be able to raise their child together.
She scoffed inwardly. Even if the President did forgive them Bill was older than her and she was no prime chicken either. They could hope for what? Fifteen, twenty good years top? And that was if the Cylons didn't come back. Because even if they had survived a nuclear holocaust, there was no way they would do it again, not with so many people down on the planet. She would need to talk to the Admiral about having a contingency plan during their next meeting…
She nearly laughed as the idea popped into her head. A bitter laugh, of course, but a laugh nonetheless. She had no next meeting with Bill to look forward to. And if she ever talked to him again she would have far more personal things to discuss with him. Things that had nothing to do with bloodthirsty Cylons but everything to do with the blood given to her from a half Cylon fetus.
She suddenly realized that she was in front of the temple. She got in, nodded to the priestess and started praying. She spared a rapid thought for those who were once her people but quickly moved onto the one missed and the one she was yet to meet.
)-oO,o.
New Caprica
Day 228 of the settlement, fifteen weeks and a half after the ground breaking ceremony.
Laura was absentmindedly using a book to scratch her palm. She had picked it up to put it away after school but then her hand had started itching and the cover of the book scratched her just right. She was half considering taking it with her to her own tent when Doctor Cottle barged in.
"What did you say to Admiral Adama?"
She put the book back on one of the desks and looked up to watch her unexpected visitor with a frown on her face. He was wearing his uniform, probably just coming back from a trip around the fleet. He wasn't the only doctor fortunately, but he was the most experienced and the only non-civilian.
"I beg your pardon? I haven't seen or talked to him since he came down and you know that perfectly well. What happened?"
"I was aboard the Galactica to check on someone there and I paid the Admiral a friendly visit. When I mentioned your name in the conversation, he made sure I understood that if he heard one more word about you, I would find myself on the wrong side of an airlock."
"But why?"
"I was actually hoping that you could tell me."
"I can't. We parted good friend the last time we met. More than good friend actually."
She blushed a little and self-consciously put a hand on her slightly grown abdomen, massaging the small ache she sometimes developed. He followed the movement with his eyes and his tone softened – that is Cottle-softened. She had seen him often enough during her cancer to know that this was his way of being friendly.
"Does he know yet?"
"No. I all but begged Baltar to grant me visitation rights, but to no avail."
"I could probably invent some cancer related exam you would have to take aboard Galactica."
"It won't do any good; it would still have to be approved and that is not going to happen anytime soon. Besides, I have recently decided not to tell Bill for the time being."
"Would you mind telling me why?"
Cottle's gruff tone came back with a vengeance. He did not approve and made no effort to hide his opinion. He was Bill's friend, not hers, and never had been - no matter how many secrets she had him keep from everybody else.
"It's not really any of your business, but Baltar threatened him with a court martial if it ever got out. And we both know how rash the Admiral can be when he has something in mind."
"Maybe it's time to be rash."
"No. If the Cylons ever come back, we'll need Admiral William Adama in his battlestar to save us all. We can't afford to be selfish when so much hangs in the balance."
"He's bound to find out your situation at some point."
"I know. And I'm holding onto the hope that Baltar will have mellowed by then. I plan to keep this pregnancy hidden for as long as possible."
"I really don't think it's the right decision."
"Maybe not. But it's the smart one. You can't tell him anything without my consent. We still have the doctor-patient confidentiality, don't we?"
"I can't talk to him about you. He made it quite clear. But just like your cancer, the time is going to come when you won't be able to hide."
Laura shrugged and picked the book again to scratch her palm. The doctor frowned.
"Does that happen often?"
"What?"
"The itching"
She looked at her hands and noticed what she was doing. She dropped the book and crossed her arms.
"On and off for the last few days. Do you think I might be having an allergic reaction to something?"
"It could be a symptom of liver failure."
"I really don't need you to invent an excuse to take me to the Galactica."
"I'm not. But you have a history of ignoring symptoms. Are you still throwing up?"
"I haven't been throwing up at all. I just couldn't swallow anything before noon. But that's over now, has been for a week. Now I only stop eating when it's time to teach."
"That's good news. You could do with a little more weight. And now that you're nearly sixteen weeks along, I can do an ultrasound to tell you the sex if you want."
"I don't want to know. It will give me something to look forward to and I'm sure I'll enjoy the guessing game I'll have with myself."
"Suit yourself and good night, young lady. Don't work too hard."
She waved him out as he exited the tent. She looked around and decided that it didn't matter if the school was slightly messier than usual before she left. She made her way to her own tent, the scratchy book still in hand. What the doctor had revealed about Bill didn't make sense. Unless…
Unless like some men she had unfortunately encountered he was just after one thing and now that he had gotten it – and couldn't get it on a regular basis – he was no longer interested. It didn't seem like something the great William Adama would do, but how long had she known him really? A year and a half, more than a third of it without seeing him and another two months they spent at each other's throats.
On the other hand, he was still wearing his wedding band and that was not common behavior in ladies' men – actually married ones excepted. Perhaps he just got tired of waiting for her… but he had to know that it wasn't her fault, hadn't he? It was not as if she had wanted to settle on that god forsaken planet for which she had lost an election to. Unless…
Unless he thought she was the type to love and leave. The only one night stand she ever had was that ill-advised night with Sean Allison and she had had mitigated circumstance at that time. Bill had no way of knowing about it and frankly she couldn't recall saying or doing anything that would have indicated that what was happening between them wasn't something serious and significant for her.
What hurt the most was that all the nights she had spent comforting herself with the thoughts that he might be thinking about her or even missing her as much as she did him - were nothing but empty dreams and wishful thinking. That comfort was hard to let go of but she would probably need to: it felt wrong to delude herself with false hopes, wrong expectations and newly tainted memories.
)-oO,o.
A/N: Once again, I'd love to know what you think. I will probably post the next chapter on Friday or Saturday
