laurie31: Thank you so much! I'm glad you felt something. And, yes, I absolutely had to have a scene with Lee, Bill, and baby.

FreddyTeddy: Ah, yes. I had to have a bit of the happiness that use to be before everything went to hell. So glad you liked it! Updated as quickly as possible!

Lostineden: Happy to hear it! Loving the next chapter of yours as well!

Opapea: Yeah, I skipped, but school's almost out. What could it hurt? (Looks at grades) Oh, right those things! Meh…Kidding! Thank you for the beautiful compliment! Next chapter is here!

Marisolcaley: YAY! Glad you liked it! Thanks so much for the review!

Vangoghadmirer: Thank you so much for the review! Those things always inspire me! I hope you're not away so you can read! And if you are…well…hope you read it when you get back! Sorry it took so long last time! Here's chapter 8!


2 Years Ago

Battlestar Galactica

Laura Roslin was furious. There was no other word for it. He had no right to do this! The man had gone insane! She was not above admitting there may have been a slight chance that she had gone a little far, but it certainly wasn't enough to warrant such treatment as this! She had done what was necessary, and if William Adama couldn't see that, then it was his own fault! Did he really expect her to resign simply because he was unhappy with one much needed decision? To think she had even started to like the man – even danced with him.

And sending the marines after her? Now that was something else. Hadn't the man ever heard of polite conversation? Then sending Captain Apollo with them was the icing on the cake! He was her military advisor for gods' sakes! It was a deliberate move. A proverbial kick in the groin – one that had backfired completely. As it turned out, the commander's foot had swung around completely to nail himself in a very sensitive spot. Serves him right too. Although, she was a little worried about Captain Apollo. They were separated the moment they set foot on Galactica. Laura knew Adama would never purposely harm the boy, but she wasn't so sure about Colonel Tigh. The man had looked very angry. As quickly as the thoughts had come, she pushed them from her mind. They were ridiculous anyway.

All she could do now was wait. Laura hated to wait. But she knew Adama would be coming back. Admittedly, it would take some time, but he would be back. And she would be waiting. She would not be intimidated. She would not back down this time – now that lives were no longer immediately at stake. She had shown him that with her eyes as they met his own stern, angered, and disappointed ones – this was not over.

Laura jumped as, without warning, an ear-piercing alarm rang out. She put her hands to her ears and looked over to her marine guard for answers. The expression on his face made her stomach turn to ice. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Cylons were the first thing that came to mind. Perfect. Could anything else go wrong? She put her arms down as the uncertainty won over the need to protect her inner ear.

"What's going on?" she asked the slightly agitated guard.

"I'm not sure, sir," he answered quickly.

"Aren't you going to find out?" she inquired as politely as possible.

"If I'm needed, I'll be informed," he responded. His voice was polite, but the conversation was obviously over. So Laura took to pacing. It wasn't something she did often for the simple purpose of always needing to maintain a calm demeanor, but, at the moment, she was too emotionally flustered to care. It seemed to take an eternity for any news to come, but when the alarms silenced, the hatch finally opened and a blood-soaked Apollo stepped through, Laura found no comfort. Had they hurt him after all?

"Captain, what have they done to you? What's going on?" she asked quickly, not caring about the panic she could hear in her own voice.

"My father's been shot," he looked down at his hands then away quickly as he spoke to her in a slightly quivering voice. The words hit her like an icy wave, washing away all the fury and leaving only a sickening sense of horror. Wanting to be closer to the captain and needing some form of support, Laura slowly grasped the cold steel bars that separated Apollo's cell from her own.

"What?" in her shocked terror, her voice would not raise above a whisper.

"Someone get this frakking thing off me please?" Apollo ignored the only half rhetorical question and addressed the marine guard instead.

"I'm not authorized to do that yet," the young soldier began to explain.

"I'm behind the frakking bars!" the captain's voice echoed furiously throughout the small metal room.

"Captain…how bad is your father?" Laura felt her voice shake as she continued her questioning, not really comprehending Apollo's shouts.

"Bad," he emphasized as he sat down exhaustedly. "Two bullets in the chest." The president could feel her heart pounding furiously against her chest. This couldn't be happening. This shouldn't be happening. Not now. She took a breath and tried unsuccessfully to choke back the tears that were rapidly forming in her eyes.

"Is Doctor Cottle with him?" Cottle was the best. He'd take care of the commander.

"No. Doc Cottle's not aboard," Apollo then turned and looked down, his back to her, and sighed sadly.

Laura said nothing. All her energy was focused on keeping herself together, and she wasn't doing so well. The commander had been shot, and, by the look in her captain's eyes, he would probably die. The thought drew even more tears to the president's eyes. Even after all the man had done that day, he was still her friend. They had lived through the end of the world together and were better for it, as strange as that may sound, and she depended on the man for comfort and a source of hope. Now all of that may be gone. Just like that. She would never get the chance to make amends. There would be no more one on one meetings in his quarters, no more arriving early to sneak a peak at yet another chapter in one of his wondrous books so that he would not be compelled to give anymore away, no more small talk or words of solace when business conversations turned personal, no more glimpses of that rare smile he reserved only for her…Suddenly, Laura felt extremely nauseated. Yet another way of life she had come to know had been ripped away from her without warning, and, for a moment, she found herself questioning what kind of gods would do such a thing.

Present Day

New Caprica

Laura Adama was running. She was frantic. Sticks and stones cut through the rough skin on the bottom of her feet as they collided with one another, but she didn't care. Somewhere out here in the unknown expanse of this ominous forest, her baby was crying for her. But Laura could not find him. The cries grew louder and more frantic as she ran, faster and faster, toward the heartbreaking sound, but the infant was nowhere to be seen. Laura was desperate. Surely her child would die without her to protect it. How could this have happened? Someone had stolen her baby from her. What kind of heartless being would steal a child from its mother?

Laura froze as a terrifyingly familiar sound suddenly echoed from somewhere close to her amidst the never-ending labyrinth of trees – cylon centurions. They were close, approaching at breakneck speeds. Icy fear spread through her body as she realized there was nowhere for her to hide. The cylons were everywhere, outnumbering her a million to one. There was no hope for escape or victory in any confrontation. She wasn't even armed. But a pleading baby's cry could be heard above the clamor of the robotic soldiers surrounding her, and her muddy feet began moving once again. She had to find the child before the cylons did.

She would have screamed when a pair of hands seized her from behind and pulled her roughly against a tree if not for the fact that one hand was kept clamped over her mouth. Laura watched in horror as at least ten centurions marched hastily past the tree to which she was pinned, her heart beating faster than it ever had before. Once the enemy soldiers were out of her line of sight, Laura wasted no time in turning her eyes to observe her captor. She could feel hot bile rise in her throat as the horrifyingly familiar man placed a finger to his lips in a request for silence before taking his hand slowly away from her delicate lips. Laura said nothing, waiting for him to speak first.

"I have a surprise for you," Leobon smirked in his usual way. "You have a destiny, Laura." There was a bright flash of light and suddenly it was now Boomer who stood before her.

"You have a destiny, Laura," Sharon's voice could be heard as Leobon's was still fading. Another flash.

"…destiny, Laura," the voice of Number Six, who stood before her now, overlapped Sharon's. "Do not carry it lightly. You must – " Flash.

"Guide it," Leobon whispered. Flash.

"Protect it," Boomer urged. Flash.

"Love it." Six pleaded. "Or all is lost." Flash. Leobon was back.

"The fate of both cylons…" Flash – Boomer.

"…and humanity now rests within you." Flash – Six.

"…within you." Suddenly, the baby's cries were louder than ever. Laura's instincts drove her to turn her head to the right, toward the sound. She gasped as she saw a small white crib standing only a few yards away. Like the nightdress she was wearing, the crib seemed to glow in the darkness of this mysterious place. Unexpectedly, a thin hand grasped Laura's tightly. She looked up to see Six standing next to her.

"Don't be afraid," the blonde smiled sweetly as she began to lead Laura toward the cradle. Laura allowed the cylon to guide her, no longer feeling any fear from its presence. The baby continued to cry, and the teacher's desperation to reach it grew with each passing moment until, finally, they stood beside the child's crib. "Isn't she beautiful, Laura?" Six asked with adoration in her voice as Laura began to lean over the child, ready to take it into her arms, but she never got the chance.

Laura was thrust backward without warning as a sharp, intense pain impacted her lower abdomen. The image of Six, the baby and the cradle dissipated before her as she lowered her hands quickly to grasp the injured area and found herself to be swollen with child once again. While her hands held her stomach tightly, she cringed at the feeling of a warm, thick fluid slowly oozing down her bare legs. Her left hand then made its way down to her thigh to feel the foreign liquid. Then she lifted it into her line of vision, immediately regretting the action. Absolute terror ripped through her entire body as she saw that her hand was stained in deep crimson. Looking down, the horrified woman was greeted with the sight of her radiant ivory dress now rapidly turning red. She clenched her eyes shut, and a soul-shattering cry escaped her lips. When she opened them again, Leobon stood in front of her once more.

"You have a destiny, Laura," he repeated emotionlessly as the pain in her abdomen intensified. "Wake up!" As if cued by his words, the pain instantly elevated to a level beyond excruciating while the blood between her legs flowed freely. Lost in a world filled only with pain and fear, Laura screamed.

Not fully back to reality, Laura continued to scream and grasp at her now only dully-aching belly and fight against the hands that were now holding her in place. Lost and confused somewhere between dreams and reality, it was all she could do. Hot tears streamed down her face as she screamed and cried. She cried for help, she cried for her husband, she cried for her child, she screamed to the gods not to take her child from her. Then, through the panic and fear, a familiar voice made its way into her mind – soothing her, and pushing her back toward reality.

"Laura? Laura, wake up now. You're safe. Everything's okay. Wake up. Come on. You were only dreaming," Colonel Tigh spoke softly into her ear as her struggles began to lose strength. "There now, that's better."

"Saul?" she whispered feebly, still slightly dazed as she attempted to open her eyes. A strong hand was lifted from her forearm and came down to grasp her hand firmly.

"Right here, Laura," he whispered reassuringly as she worked to focus her tired eyes.

"The baby," her voice was still barely a whisper, but the colonel seemed to understand.

"Baby's fine. Don't worry. It was close though," he responded.

"Close? What happened?" she questioned, feeling the panic begin to grow inside of her once again.

"You were attacked by a ceiling," a different, more gruff voice replied sarcastically. Slowly, Laura's gaze slid over to the man sitting on her opposite side. "A small potion of the roof collapsed, and a fairly sizable chunk struck your abdomen. You lost a good amount of blood. Almost lost you both. That's one tough kid you've got there, Madam President." Dr. Cottle gave her a brief explanation. Laura relaxed with overwhelming relief. It was only dream.

"Isis?" Laura suddenly remembered holding the child as their world collapsed around them.

"She's fine. Got a couple of bruises and a splinter or two, but other than that she had no injury. She's one lucky kid," Cottle reassured. "She's sleeping now, but I'll bring her in later if you're up to it." Laura nodded the affirmative. "Are you in any pain?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you," she responded, attempting a small smile before turning back to Colonel Tigh once again.

"So, how'd it go?" she questioned, pushing her anger toward him for his actions aside for the time being.

"Not very good," Tigh replied gravely his reassuring grin fading as his eyes darkened.

"We lost?" Had she really expected them to win?

"You could say that," Cottle added roughly.

"It wasn't a complete loss. A couple of us managed to sneak explosives into most of the basestars during their time as a runner. They're down to three," Tigh allowed a certain amount of pride to enter into his voice. Laura felt herself swelling slightly with pride as well, but she still needed the answer to one nagging question.

"Was it worth it?" she inquired, trying to shake away the cobwebs in her head.

"Loss of human life was…extensive," Tigh replied solemnly. Laura took a deep breath.

"How many did we lose?" she inquired, unsure whether she truly wanted to know. A look pasted between the colonel and the doctor before there was a reply.

"Over two thousand," Saul stated somberly. The only sign of a reaction from the president was the sudden slight stiffening of her muscles and the miniscule widening of her eyes. She was wide awake now.

"Two thousand," her voice was a whisper again and broke slightly as she repeated the number. "Who –" she cleared her throat, attempting to sound much stronger than she felt. "Who did we lose?" The question was vague, but Tigh understood.

"Kara, Kat, and Tyrol were all injured, but they'll be alright. However, Racetrack, Jammer, Lair, Cally, and Maya didn't make it," Saul tried to keep his face impassive and strong for her, but Laura could see the emotion in his eyes. They were just a few familiar names out of a list of so many. The schoolteacher closed her eyes tightly in an attempt to hold the tears at bay as yet another wave of grief washed over her. "I'm sorry, Laura." The colonel's own voice broke a little as he spoke, and she knew he was. But that couldn't bring their friends back.

All three women were someone's mother, two of them someone's wife. Racetrack and Stinger had recently welcomed their twin boys into the world, and Cally's daughter was only a little over two months old. Now none of those children would ever have a chance to know their mothers. Then there was Maya. The woman had become one of Laura's closest friends over their stay on New Caprica and was the only mother little Isis knew. What would they do without her?

"Where is Isis?" Laura questioned both the men surrounding her.

"In the next room, but she's sleeping remember?" Cottle answered.

"I want to see her now. Take me to her," the former president demanded.

"Oh, no you don't, young lady. You are nowhere near strong enough to get out of bed yet," the doctor placed a gentle hand on her chest to keep her from sitting up.

"Does she know?" Laura questioned.

"No. We thought you might like to tell her. She's closest with you," Saul answered carefully, apparently unsure of how she would respond.

"I'd like to see her now, please," Laura requested as politely as possible.

"Alright, just hold on a second or you'll hurt yourself," the colonel resigned, putting a hand on her shoulder and standing quickly before exiting to the next room. Doc Cottle sighed heavily next to her, and she turned her head to face him.

"Are you sure you're up to this?" he questioned skeptically.

"If I don't do it now, I never will," she responded simply, turning back to watch the doorway.

A minute or so later, Colonel Tigh re-entered with a still sleepy Isis attached to his neck. Laura patted the bed in a silent instruction for the child's placement. The toddler made an unhappy noise as Tigh placed her bottom next to Laura and did not release her grip around his neck. Patiently, Saul reached up and detached the tiny fingers gently. Too tired to hold herself up, Isis plopped backward onto Laura's side, eyes still closed but not quite asleep. Grinning unconsciously, the redhead reached down to stroke the child's soft, ebony hair.

"Isis, it's time to wake up now," she spoke softly so as not to startle her but loud enough to be effective. Hearing the familiar voice, Isis stirred as though willing herself to awaken.

"Auntie Laur?" she questioned sleepily. Ignoring the slight twinge of pain it caused, Laura bent over to plant a soft kiss on top of the child's head.

"Yes, baby. It's time to wake up," she responded before looking up at Tigh and Cottle. "Gentlemen, could we have a moment alone please?" Both men nodded hesitantly before silently leaving the small hospital room.

"Better now?" Isis looked up at Laura while rubbing the sleep from her tired eyes.

"Yes, I'm feeling much better now," Laura grinned. "What about you? Are you alright?" Isis nodded.

"Uh huh. Scary dough. Big boom! Boom! BOOM!" the toddler spread her arms three times as if to show the size of each boom. Laura gasped as she caught sight of a large yellowish bruise that covered at least three inches of the girl's forearm. Frowning, she took a hold of the tiny wrist and pulled it toward her gently.

"Big ouchy too," Isis confirmed. Laura said nothing as she felt her earlier anger rise once again, but she quickly suppressed it, not forgetting what she had to do. "Want mommy, Auntie Laur." Tears once again made their way behind the schoolteacher's eyes.

It wasn't fair – to either of them. How could Maya do such a thing? How could she go and fight a war she didn't know how to fight? How could she leave them? How could she abandon such a special little girl like Isis? And the child was very special indeed. At seventeen months, the girl had already developed mentally beyond the level of a two-year-old. She was comprehensive, visibly intuitive, verbally advanced, always willing to learn, and doing so more and more with each passing day. She was probably the happiest child you could ever want to meet, and Laura hated the thought of having to change that for her now.

"I know, sweetheart, but something's happened," Laura began gently, focusing on controlling her emotions. As always, Isis saw right through her.

"Wazza matter?" the toddler questioned, now wide-awake and looking concerned. "Mommy?" The tears brimmed in Laura's eyes. Sometimes she wished her adopted niece wasn't so smart.

"Yes, baby. It's mommy," she could no longer hide the despair in voice, and the tears began to fall.


End Chapter 8! I hope everyone enjoyed it! I've already begun typing out chapter 9, but schoolwork will take precedent. I promise I will update as quickly as possible though! Remember, REVIEWS EQUAL LOVE!