"No lifting. The only exercise allowed is walking. No jogging, no gym, no Pilates, no swimming in chlorinated pools. You're not to drive a car. Don't do anything that requires you to stretch your arm up over your head."

"I can type and write though?"

"You thinking of going back to work? No, Madam Secretary, I'm not giving you a work clearance."

She made no attempt to hide her impatience with the young doctor who was apparently a specialist but barely looked old enough to shave, let alone completed the necessary studies to be in such a professional position.

"I'm not a bricklayer, doctor. I sit at a desk. I'm sure I won't strain anything."

"No, Madam Secretary. I'll make another appointment for you this time next week and we'll check how you're healing. Until then, go home, put your feet up, and relax."

"I can't afford to be away from my position for another week."

"That's not my issue, Madam Secretary," he said. His arrogant tone and superior attitude belied his wholesome youthful looks. "My job is to get you completely well again. I'm sure the Colonial education system will survive for a few more days."

She held her tongue. She realised if she protested too much, he might change his mind about releasing her from the hospital at all.

"Oh, and no sexual activities," he added.

"Excuse me?" She arched one eyebrow at the baby-faced specialist.

He met her gaze. "Sex, Madam Secretary. Don't have any."

"Ever?" she asked.

He ignored her sarcasm. "Eleven o'clock next Tuesday. We'll discuss returning to work and normal activities then."

0.0.0

"Is it just me or has the last 48 hours been the worst of your life too?"

Bill laughed and poured himself a generous amount of whiskey. "It was a relief to see the shuttle hatch closed and it set off back to Caprica, that's for sure."

Saul ran a weary hand around his chin, rubbing at the stubble. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd rather deal with that frakkin' woman than that arrogant little upstart any day. At least I can amuse myself by checking out her legs during the meetings."

"You check out the Secretary of Education's legs?" Bill asked nonchalantly.

"Don't you? Godsdamn it, Bill, we may be retiring next month but we still have a pulse last time I checked!"

He chuckled again and flopped into his couch. "Wonder why she didn't attend this time?" he mused out loud.

"Probably busy. Apparently Adar's about to call an election. She'll be busy over the next few months with all the hype involved with that."

Bill swirled the amber liquid around in his glass. She was a career woman, this was obvious. He would never begrudge her that or her ambition. She had admitted to being restless and despondent in her position of late, but that could be a temporary thing. He didn't need to read the polls to know she was good at her job. All their dealings had been evidence enough.

He needed to telephone her. He should have called her and asked why she was a no show. He'd let his pride get in his way. He had told himself he was in love with her. People in love didn't allow stupid suspicions to become misunderstandings and misunderstandings to become riffs.

He would have to come to terms with her choosing her position and her career over him. She wasn't the type of woman to stay at home, bake cookies and let a man take care of her. No matter how tempting it was to assert his caveman instinct, she was a woman who had her own life and he would need to fit into it, not make her fit into his.

"One more month to go," Saul murmured.

The last few months had flashed past. So much had happened –being told Galactica was being decommissioned and him along with it, Lee leaving the Fleet, meeting and falling for Laura Roslin.

"I called Ellen," Saul added.

"Yeah? That's good." He must be feeling sentimental if he thought Saul and Ellen working things out sounded like a good idea.

"She's agreed to take a small holiday on Virgon with me after the ceremony. Just the two of us."

"You're going to decide what to do together?"

Or Ellen would decide what they would do and Saul would have to agree or else, Bill thought. Of course, to be charitable, it had been Saul's idea to follow him back into the Fleet a few years ago. To be less gracious, Ellen had certainly made Saul pay for it ever since. She tortured him with her infidelity.

"I just might decide to do nothing. I'm sure we can live on our pension for more years than we can live."

Saul was right. He didn't need to seek a new job because of money. He was a Commander in the Fleet. His pension would be more than generous. Everyone expected him just to retire and live quietly on Caprica, or perhaps Picon or Tauron.

But he didn't want to retire yet. That was the problem. He still felt like he had something to contribute. He just wasn't sure what it was.

"Anyway, I'm beat, Old Man," Saul said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Bill sat in the couch for another few minutes after Saul had left. He checked the converted time of Caprica on the chronometer on the wall. It was 2200 hours, but almost midnight there - too late to politely call anyone. He'd have to wait until the morning.

0.0.0

Laura was just sipping on her first coffee of the morning when her telephone rang. She had insisted Billy keep her up to date with the happenings in the office. Surely the doctor wouldn't find a problem with her answering the phone.

"Roslin," she spoke in her usual professional manner.

"Laura. I thought I'd ring to check on things."

"Mr President?" She was a taken aback. She shouldn't have been. It was obvious that Richard would call to check on what was going on when one of his cabinet members was away from the office for over a week. "My staff is handling everything in the office with an efficiency that would make you proud," she said defensively.

"I know. I've talked to your Aide. I was actually meaning you. How are you feeling, Laura?"

She placed her coffee cup onto the kitchen counter and shuffled into one of the stools. Did he have an angle? Were his next words going to be that she should think about retiring before the election? Maybe he would now suggest she could easily cite health reasons?

"I'm sure I can adequately carry out my duties without you worrying, Mr President," she said, her tone cool.

Richard sighed loudly into the phone. "Laura, I don't care about the position or your duties. I was asking about you. Is your heart so made of stone that you didn't think I'd at least be a little worried about you?"

"I'm fine," she murmured. "The prognosis from the Specialist is very optimistic."

"Good."

She chewed on her bottom lip. An uncomfortable silence echoed across the line. She'd had a relationship with this man for so long, but now she felt nothing for him. His words made her feel guilty for her suspicions that he only cared about her because of her job, but that was all. She felt no regret that their affair was finished or that their friendship was over. If one could even call what they had a friendship.

Finally, Richard steered the conversation back to business. "What do you think of the date for the election? Do you think we'll be ready in time?"

"Yes. You will. But I won't. I'm not running again, Richard."

The words were out of her mouth before she knew it. While ideas of resigning from her position had been swirling around in her mind for a long time, she hadn't made a final decision about anything until now. It was the right decision.

"What are you talking about?"

She was surprised to hear shock in Richard's voice. "I think this is the best time, Mr President." Surely, he would agree with her that this was a good idea. She'd fully expected him to be utterly relieved to be rid of her.

"Best time for whom? Laura, we need you. You're one of our strongest candidates! You are probably just feeling a little shaken from the ordeal of the last couple of weeks. Don't make any rash decisions."

"It's something I've been thinking about for a long time, Richard." She broke her golden rule and called him by his given name, instead of his title.

"Surely, I can convince you to change your mind."

"You must know I wasn't happy about the Community School's Program."

"Laura, we honestly don't have the funds for that in this budget. What if I promise to include it in the next budget if you agree to stay on for another term?"

"What if you just promise to include it anyway because it's the right thing to do, rather than using it as a bargaining chip?"

His voice hardened. "I won't be above using it as a sweetener to keep you with me in the next election. There's also the Vice-Presidency."

"What?" Had she just heard him correctly? Had Richard Adar just offered her the position of Vice-President?

"Laura, you and I both know that you are completely wasted in a position so far down the order of succession. It's no secret that I'm unhappy with the current Vice-President. Now, as I said, don't make any rash decisions. We probably have another three weeks before we need to name our candidates. I fully expect yours to be on that ballot."

Ten minutes passed before Laura placed the beeping handset back into the cradle and moved to pour herself another coffee.

She came back to the same stool and picked up the telephone again to dial a number she should have over a week ago. She had been acting like a teenager, waiting for a boy to ring her first, and it was ridiculous. She wanted to talk to Bill Adama. She wasn't sure if she wanted to confide in him about any of her personal or professional concerns, but she wanted to hear his voice. It would soothe her better than any painkiller available in the Twelve Colonies.

A Communication's Officer on Galactica finally picked up the line. Disappointingly, it was only to inform her that the Commander was unavailable.

She thanked the girl, hung the phone up, and moved to pace in the living room.

Was sacrificing another four years of her life worth it to save the Community Schools Program? She had never felt so passionate about any of her other education projects, and Richard knew it. If she became Vice-President, she could ensure there was no way the program's funding could be denied. Was she willing to basically whore herself for the greater good?

She startled when the door bell chimed.

If she had thought she was surprised that Richard had called to check on her earlier, she was completed shocked to see the man standing outside her door, holding a bouquet of flowers.

"Commander... What are you doing here?"

"Visiting you."

She giggled and stepped aside, allowing him to enter. "Shouldn't you be in space?"

"I have about two years leave coming. They can certainly grant me a few days." His eyes wandered over her robe, making her intimately aware of her nakedness beneath. He then glanced behind her and frowned at the folders and paperwork strewn across the coffee table in her living room. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Bed?" Her voice was almost a breathless whisper.

"Yes. Resting. Not out here working."

"I haven't been up long. I was only making phone calls while I had coffee." She didn't know why she was explaining anything to him.

"Have you eaten?"

"No, not yet."

"Have you got anything in your kitchen, or would you like me to go and get something? Is there a bakery close?"

"I've got some groceries, but something from the bakery sounds much more appealing. There's one on the corner. Two blocks. If you go toward the water."

He smiled and handed her the flowers. "You put these in a vase, make your calls, clean up your paperwork, and I'll be back in ten minutes. Any special requests?"

She took a deep breath of the flowers. "Surprise me."

He bent down and their lips met for a kiss. She automatically opened her mouth and their tongues tangled hungrily. His hands swept beneath her robe, swirling up and down her sides before resting on her hips. He eventually came up for air, chuckled and rested his forehead on hers.

"Hi," he murmured.

"Hi," she answered quietly.

His lips feathered kisses across her hairline, before he pulled back. "Bakery," he said.

"Bakery," she agreed firmly as her stomach grumbled in hunger.

He smiled again. "Ten minutes," he promised, then was gone.