Chapter 7: An Adama's Regrets



She froze, the words a catch in reality.

"Bill, I-"

"You lied to me. Did you think I'd never notice how much like Sharon she is? As if that face, be it Lt. Agathon or Boomer, will ever be erased from my mind?" He demanded, words colored by enough hurt to appear as simple anger. Laura couldn't speak for a few moments, mind stuck on the ache she knew the loss of a child evoked in Bill and the thought that she may lose him for it.

"Laura, talk to me. Explain this!" He begged, the eyes that looked into hers as he maneuvered both of them to sit on the end of their bed. He gently cupped her face in one hand and forced her to look at him. She felt tears sting the corners of both her eyes as she gathered courage from his tone. He didn't hate her!

"I...I was afraid of what the Cylons would do to us to get at Hera," she began, " I thought she was a danger, Bill. But...Gods I couldn't let her die...she didn't choose to be half-Cylon. How did you find out?"

"Maya had her in for a small cut when Sam and I got there." He replied.

He said no more, walking away from her to look out at the grey landscape of their new prison. Laura wanted to say something, anything. Hate her he may not, but she knew very well how much he knew Helo and Sharon's pain. Zak's death had destroyed him, and she knew the merest trigger could bring back that pain.

" Bill..." She said, voice trembling.

"Hera goes back." He said simply, still not turning to face her, "do we agree?"

The President in her nodded slowly, stiffling a sob, "Yes." Part of her winced at the ease with which her defense and her pride bowed, but she had never really felt comfortable as Laura with her decision. The President, she believed, made the right choice, but the woman inside squirmed the second she took Hera in her arms.

A hand under her chin forced her gaze from the floor to his face. Gone was the stormy expression of a moment ago, replaced by a weary smile and soft eyes.

"I'm not angry at you, Laura. Just...please let me know next time. I'll support you."

"You can't protect me from my regrets, Bill."

" No, I can't. They're our regrets, Laura. I hold them with you."

"Ours." She said.

"Always."

They began to take care of Isis soon after, giving Maya a break during the week. To see Bill with the little girl, her face always animated by some story he told in that wonderful voice of his, charmed Laura with it's earnestness ans sincerity. He seemed determined to care for his people's child, to make sure that she was loved by as many people as possible even in exile.

It didn't matter that Hera didn't really understand what he was saying. Voice was enough.

"And Tam looked over at us in the crowd, beaming. Around her, the other girls were either pouting or cheering.."

It surprised her, though, that he chose to talk about his sister. Before, she wouldn't even of known that Tamara even existed if it hadn't been for a mention of his family in the dossier she'd received before coming to the decommissioning ceremony, and yet now the girl was as real as the rain outside and a lot more welcome in her new life.

" Soup's ready!" She said proudly, turning to them and place three bowls of her meager soup on the table," Care to accuse me of not knowing how to cook now?"

Bill smiled softly at her, Hera wiggling in his arms at the mention of food.

"That remains to be seen." He replied, setting Hera down in a cushioned chair and pulling two bowls of the soup towards them. Gently, he tested the meal's heat before offering it up to Hera, who slurped it happily.

"She likes it."

"She's a small child. She'll love anything you put in front of her."

"Smart mouth."

He smiled up at her in reply. The moment was beautiful, the sight of man and child (and surely, from an outsider's view, herself) throwing off the dark world they lived in enough so that she could pretend that she was a mother on Caprica. They ate in blissful peace, silent but happy for what seemed merely seconds.

It was gone just as quickly as it came, the sound of the curfew siren making Hera emit pained little moans and wiping the smile from Bill's face as he let her bury her little face in his sweater. Laura cursed the Cylons, meeting her husbands eyes.

They felt so helpless, despite the respites they were given with Hera. Bill knew Saul was furiously thinking of a way to save them, but each night as he lay in bed, he thought through scenario after scenario and was unable to find one that worked. And Laura often came in crying over a "mysterious death" or another person stolen away. They hadn't seen Kara since the week after occupation began, either.

"Let me take this one back to Maya before second siren." Laura said, conscious of the meaning of each siren's tone. She had about twenty minutes until the final siren sounded.

"Be careful." He warned, standing with Hera in his arms and handing the child to her. Bill kissed her softly over Hera's curly head before the two of them walked to the tent's entrance before Laura and Hera slipped out into the twilight.

Bill took to the dishes while she was gone, humming that old ditty he'd sung to Laura only a few months before. He had just dried the last dish when he heard the sound he feared the most.

Laura was screaming.

He dropped the dishrag, grabbed his hooded coat, and raced outside just as Sam, Ellen, and the Tyrols made it. Ellen flashed him a look of warning and took off with Chief and Cally towards Laura. She stood about twenty feet away, struggling in the grip of a Centurion. Her face was livid, but pained. There was blood seeping down her arm from the force of the robot's hand on her wrist. Bill made a move to run to her, rage blinding him to everything but the sharp red color of her blood against her pale skin. A hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

He turned, ready to let the offender have it, but the look in Sam's eyes stopped him.

"They may not hurt her. But they'll kill you. And I am not letting you die, sir. I'm not going to watch Laura be widowed or Kara come back to your grave." He said darkly, straining to keep Bill routed in place as he fought against the younger man's grip.

"My wife...my wife."

"Your President." Sam retorted. Both of the broke their gaze to look back at Laura.

" Let her go!!! She's just a schoolteacher, let her go!" Chief yelled as he got nearer. He tackled the Centurion, actually shoving it off balance enough to topple it into the mud. But no sooner had Laura pryed herself free during the distraction than three humanoid Cylons—a Sharon, a blonde, and a dark skinned man—knocked Chief to the ground and pulled Laura to them. Weak from her struggle with the machine, she slumped against the Sharon-who-was-not-Sharon. The woman shot the dark skinned Cylon a dirty look.

"You didn't need to let them be so cruel." She said, and Bill instantly recognized Boomer.

"She didn't need to struggle." He said harshly. He turned to them, the crowd that had gathered in anger.

"Go back to your homes. This woman is charged with building a resistance against the peaceful intentions of the Cylon Fleet. Six explosive devices were found this morning. We know you still follow Mrs. Adama as a leader, but let me tell you this: Your faith is foolish. This is your life. Live it in peace."

"Not without the Old Lady!" Shouted one of the pilots in the crowd. Several angry replies of "so say we all" rose up. The dark Cylon and the Blonde exchanged agitated glances. Bill broke free from Sam's grip and made a run for Laura.

"Return Mrs. Adama!"

The dark skinned Cylon turned to the Centurions and nodded, " Knock them around a bit-"

"NO Deaths!" Shouted Boomer. The Centurion bowed it's head to her and then turned on to the humans just as Bill reached Boomer and Laura. It's arm came down on his head just as Laura recognized him. She screamed, wrestling against Boomer futily, tears in her eyes.

The last thing he remembered was the sound of his people crying out in anger or pain and Laura's agonized face, her tears joining the first drops of another New Caprican rain.