Chapter Nine - Jealous Guy
William Adama looked away from the Arrow of Apollo and directed his gaze to the President of the Twelve Colonies. Had she really just asked him to find Kobol? A mythical planet which had been apparently inhabited by Gods and humans alike.
He didn't believe in the Gods. He, therefore, would find it difficult to believe in a planet where they supposedly lived. After seventy-five odd years of space exploration, no one had come across any habitable planets other than the twelve they already resided on, and now, she expected him to find two he didn't even believe existed. Kobol, then Earth. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak.
"Laura, I thought you must have left and I'd missed you." A male voice came from behind them.
She swung around and a smile lit up her face. "Wally!" she exclaimed. "I didn't know you were here. I didn't see you earlier." She let go of Bill's arm and took a step closer to 'Wally'. She then leaned over and allowed the man to kiss her on both cheeks.
He was shocked at the way his body tensed up at the sight. He was also fairly rattled 'Wally' called her by her first name. Even Billy, whom he knew was as close to Laura Roslin as anyone, still addressed her as Madam President and never as 'Laura'.
"No, I was running late. Mini crisis at Grayson Holdings, I'm afraid."
Bill couldn't help but notice the man never let go of her hand as he spoke.
"You know you can come back and work for me any time the high flying corporate world gets to be too much."
She never seemed to be in any rush to extract her hand from the other man's clasp.
"I've told you before, Laura, I'm not interested in politics. Never was, just got caught up with Adar like you did. Unlike you, I had the good fortune to get out."
'Wally' looked across at Bill then.
"Oh," Laura Roslin gasped, swinging around to give Bill an apologetic look. "This is my new Military Adviser, Commander William Adama. Commander, this is Wallace Gray. Wally used to work in the government before he left to start up Grayson Holdings. You've heard of them?"
"Yes," he answered. Who hadn't, he thought, this guy not only called the President by her first name - kissed her, held her hand - but he was also a multi-billionaire. The old fool taunt came burning into his brain again. He begrudgingly held out his hand for Wallace Gray to shake.
Gray took hold of his hand and gave it a lacklustre shake, looking from the President and back to him again.
"A Commander?" Gray raised an eyebrow. "What have you done with that Admiral of yours? Nagala, isn't it? I thought he was becoming the permanent fixture on your arm at these sorts of functions."
He whipped his head around to check her reaction to this statement. She seemed completely compose, while he felt his heart was being squeezed tightly.
She had been escorted by Admiral Nagala? Nagala had held her arm? Nagala had sat in the back of that limousine with her? Nagala had eyed her off in these types of dresses? He had always gotten the impression that she and Nagala had a tenuous relationship at best and yet, now, he finds out he had been her escort on several occasions.
"He was unavailable and, conveniently, I was able to mix in some business tonight with the Commander," she said.
Business, she said. Tonight was business. Only because Nagala wasn't available. How many times was he going to call himself an old fool tonight?
He felt Wallace Gray looking him up and down again. He wondered how many of the emotions that were now charging through his body were showing on his face.
"Shouldn't you have an Admiral as an Adviser?" Gray asked.
The President didn't seem to notice the sarcasm in Gray's voice.
"He'll be an Admiral in two weeks time," she replied.
He clenched his fists by his side. He was glad they were in a public arena as the rage building inside him was threatening to explode.
"Excuse me," he bit out. "I'm just going to get a drink." He had to get away for a moment to calm down. "Would you like anything Madam President?" he asked, still unable to completely shed his manners. However, he certainly wasn't going to go as far as to ask Gray if he wanted anything.
She looked across to him and he could tell she was attempting to get him to make eye contact with her, but he kept his eyes averted in case she saw the hurt and anger he was feeling reflected in them.
"No," she answered slowly. "I'm okay, thank you."
With that, he turned on his heel and headed for the bar.
Later that evening, unlike the drive to the Museum, they sat in the back of her car engulfed in an uncomfortable silence.
As if his jealous reaction to Wallace Gray wasn't enough of a shock, then he had to cope with the image of her and Nagala together. To top it off, she had brought up his promotion to Admiral once again. They had, of course, never finished their conversation on this point due to obvious reasons, and now didn't seem the right time to bring it up either.
Although he may as well, he thought. After all, she had said tonight was 'business'. He opened his mouth to speak but she beat him to it.
"Are you going to tell me why you're so mad?" she asked.
He looked over at her then. He wasn't the only one mad, he realised. Her green eyes were positively glowing with passion, but not the type of passion he had hoped for on too many occasions.
"It's the Admiral thing again, isn't it?" she snapped.
"Are you so used to getting your own way that you think you can manipulate everyone?" he snapped back.
"You have got to be kidding me," she ground out. "Manipulate the great Commander William Adama?" she scoffed. "I'd have more luck at piloting a Viper!"
After that comment, they sat in silence again. She sat with her arms crossed over her chest, apparently now spellbound by the view out the far window. He sat in the corner, as far away from her position as possible, equally spellbound with the view out his window.
When the car came to a stop, he never waited for the bodyguard but pushed the car door open with excess force and stepped out onto the kerb. He had planned on slamming the door shut but once again, his innate manners took over. He looked over to where she sat, still concentrating on the glass of her window. He sighed and she slowly turned at the sound. Their eyes met for what seemed like hours. He was surprised to see hers swirling with unshed tears.
He sighed again, climbed back into the car and sat in the seat, not saying anything but hoping to convey he still was her loyal servant.
"I guess I'll see you in the office," she finally said in a quiet voice.
"Yes," he acknowledged. With that, he once again climbed out of the vehicle and walked towards his apartment.
"I'm afraid I don't have much good news, Madam President," Billy stated. "Dr Baltar has come out today and given several interviews vigorously criticising your decision to make the Battlestar's computers stand alone. He has brought up his program in the Defence Main Frame as well as, as Tory predicted, the comp mail and mobile phone systems."
"Hmph," Laura grunted. "I bet he never mentioned the millions of cubits he's stands to miss out on when we no longer have to pay him commissions for using his programs."
"He's gaining a lot of popularity, Madam President," Tory added. "Maybe you should rethink your stance on this issue."
Laura remained silent. She would take the Commander's advice and fight one battle at a time.
She had a dossier locked in her desk drawer detailing everything Home Security could find out about Doctor Gaius Baltar. She had ordered the report several months ago after the doctor had featured in two of her dreams.
In one dream, he was kissing a tall blonde woman. In the second, she had been chasing a child and the doctor was standing with the same blonde woman, before he had lifted the child into his arms and walked out of the room, which she was almost sure had been the Caprica City Opera House. Nothing incriminating in either of the dreams, but seeing she had only met the doctor once briefly at a function with Richard years ago, she couldn't quite explain why he would be in her visions.
There also wasn't anything in the file which incriminated the man. Nothing endeared him to her - he was a serial womaniser - but that wasn't actually against the law.
"What else have you got for me, Billy?" she asked, effectively changing the subject.
"Well, as I said, not good news. Tom Zarek has been released from prison," he said.
"Yes, last week," she said. She was confused as to why Billy was raising this issue again after they had discussed it previously - once at the Admiralty meeting, as well as at her Home Security meeting - with the same outcome; they had to accept the judges' decision.
"You'll get to meet him in a month's time, Madam President."
Laura looked up at Billy, confused. Why would she be meeting with the former convict?
"He has just been voted in as the Sagittaron representative on the Quorum," Billy explained.
"What?"
"Under their Law, a citizen gets full rights as soon as they are released from jail," Billy informed her.
"Oh my Gods." She rested her head down on the desk, wishing to be anywhere but where she was at the moment. "Okay," she mumbled into the wood of the table before lifting her head to face her two aides. "I'll think about both of these subjects and get back to you. Tory can you let Commander Adama know I want to see him when you go please?"
0.0.0.
William Adama hadn't seen the president for over a week, and now, as he walked into the inner sanctum of her office, he guessed she hadn't summoned him for a social visit.
She barely looked up from where she was busy scribbling notes. He sat in the chair opposite her and waited patiently. Finally she peered at him over the top of her glasses. Next, she reached over, grabbed a folder, removed from it a sheet of paper, and threw this sheet over the desk towards his general direction.
"The list of candidates Billy did up for me for the position of Military Adviser. You'll see it's in alphabetical order. You're first. I concede that when I saw your name I remembered your views on networking of computers and thought they would be comparable to my newly-found ones due to my dreams, but it wasn't the one and only reason why you were chosen for this position."
She was still mad, he could see. He wondered if her gorgeous red hair and the temper were linked.
She pulled out another piece of paper.
"Unbeknownst to me, my security officers are given a list of promotions for the Fleet to carry out background checks on the recipients. It apparently wouldn't look good if the Fleet promoted anyone with a record. Here's the list the Fleet sent over to the Home Security Office." She roughly threw the paper at him. "Once again, it's in alphabetical order. Once again, you're first."
He looked down at the paper. William Joseph Adama, it read, current rank Commander, proposed rank, Admiral. He looked back up at the President. She was still seething.
"You may note the date on the top of the memorandum," she ground out.
He looked back down and read the date. Five months ago. His eyes flew back up to hers.
"That's all, Commander. You may go," she dismissed him and started concentrating on her paperwork again.
Laura Roslin sat at a table near the edge of the dance floor. Now that the fireworks had finished, a jazz band was playing an up tempo song for the several couples enjoying themselves on the dance floor.
She was not enjoying herself. Her conversations had been limited. It was Colonial Day and most of the people in attendance of this celebration did not want to spoil their revelry by getting into a discussion with the President. Obviously, none of them could think of anything other than the business of politics to discuss with her. She wondered what time would be polite enough for her to leave.
"Hello." A familiar husky voice spoke the greeting near her ear. She swung her head to be dazzled by his spectacular blue eyes.
"Admiral Adama," she said. His newly acquired title sounded good, she thought.
"Hmph," he snorted as he fingered the bright gold pips on his collar. "I never gave up hope. I just stopped trying to get these a long time ago."
"Just goes to show you, Bill, never give up hope." She looked over at him and smiled, faintly surprised with herself for using his given name. He didn't seem offended, though, and just smiled back at her.
"I didn't expect to see you here tonight. I thought you hated these things," she said, gesturing to the crowd gathered on the dance floor and bar area.
"It's Colonial Day. I got the Presidential Invitation. Where else would I be?" he asked.
She hummed a response and rocked slightly in her chair in time with the music.
"And I can dance," he said.
She looked over at him as he wriggled his eyebrows at her and offered her his arm. She tossed her hair back and laughed with delight, and then let him lead her out to the dance floor.
They danced to a jaunty upbeat number. He was a good dancer and she laughed this fact to him between twirls.
"I've done a lot of boxing," he explained. "You pretty much use the same principles when you dance."
She giggled and smiled up at him again. She had missed him. The last couple of weeks had been different from when they had been apart while he was recovering on Pegasus. She had known that had been involuntary. Their argument after the opening at the museum and their subsequent hostilities and remoteness had been completely intended.
A new song started. A much slower song and she stood back awkwardly before he took the initiative and pulled her close.
He smelled nice.
She finally got to feel his uniform. Some sort of wool mixture, she supposed. It was a lot smoother than it looked.
She looked at his shoulder. It looked comfortable. It looked safe. She decided she didn't want to resist any longer, so she leaned her head down, placed her cheek on his strong body, and relaxed.
