Chapter 11 – Morning Glory
Laura was standing in a beautiful meadow. Closing her eyes she could feel the sunlight kissing her face as she lost herself in the sound of a thousand birds signing. The feel of a warm summer breeze caressed her body as she stood in the tall grass as it danced in the wind around her. She was lost in his embrace as she took in the smell of his aftershave and buried her face in his neck.
As she drifted in and out of the beautiful haze of morning sleep it felt as though she were floating on a cloud, lost in this hazy heaven… a place in between sleep and awake where anything is possible.
As she had done every morning for the past month, Laura fought to remain in the sweet tendrils of sleep with all she had. For every morning since her return to Colonial One found her alone in her cot. Memories of her morning dream and the feel of his fingers caressing her back would always leave her cold and lonely to face the realization that it was just a dream.
Feeling her begin to stir he pressed his lips to the delicate shell of her ear. "Hello beautiful" he whispered. Laura's heart began to flutter as her insides turned to mush. As she nuzzled into him she emitted a contented humm. This was indeed a dream, a beautiful dream, and a dream that would not end with her cold and alone.
As she lost herself in the sensation of rough and tender fingers drawing lazy circles on the small of her back she wondered if he knew what this simple gesture did to her. She wasn't even sure he was aware that he did it. It was just there, every morning, like a breath of fresh air. The sheer intimacy in this act, so simple, so sweet, was what made it that much more dear to her. For this was an unconscious act, one that Bill simply did every morning for no reason other than to touch her.
The warmth and comfort of his embrace was heaven. It was like waking up Christmas morning to find a blanket of snow on the ground… it just fit.
Bill slowly moved his lips from her ear to her neck and then made slow gentle tracks along her shoulder. She shivered as she felt his lips against her ear once more. "Did you sleep well?" he asked.
Bill could feel the stir deep within him as Laura simply hummed an affirmative. Gods he thought. Never had he known a woman who could affect him in such a way by simply making a sound. He wondered if Laura realized that her humm was the sexiest thing he'd ever been exposed to. Each and every time she did it, it affected him in the most primal and profound of ways.
Laura was amazed by how much she wanted him. She had never been one for morning sex. She'd always found it to be too intimate, something she had worked hard all her life to steer clear of. The act of turning to your lover while still under the influence of sleep had always been something she was uncomfortable with. She had always felt as though it left her far too open and vulnerable… far too weak.
Laying in Bills arms none of these thoughts crossed her mind as she reveled in the feel of his hands caressing her body… awakening her in the most gentle and sensual of ways.
Laura emitted a tiny moan as he slowly explored her mouth, leaving her trembling and breathless when his mouth left her lips to begin its languid progression down her body. She exhaled a slow sleepy breath as his tongue found her most intimate places, sending lazy shocks of pleasure and electricity through her. The sound of his name on a whisper brought a smile to his face as he watched her come undone.
Their morning love was like an out of body experience. Gentle, tender, deliberately slow was this sweet melody of passion they were wrapped in. Laura felt like she was floating on a calm sea as wave after gentle wave of pleasure washed over her and then gently pulled them both under.
Bill slowly rolled onto his side as he drew her closer to him. She planted a kiss to the crook of his neck as she ran a finger down the scar on his chest. With a soft sigh she rested her head on his chest, reveling in the sound of his heartbeat.
Bill put a finger under her chin to bring her eyes to meet his. "Good Morning" he whispered, before planting a small kiss to the tip of her nose.
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Laura felt herself wrapped in comfort and warmth as she enjoyed a cup of coffee, bundled in Bills housecoat. While she knew she shouldn't have spent the night, this domestic bliss was more than she could have dreamed of. Dreading the conversation she knew they needed to have she broke the comfortable silence between them.
"We really need to talk about things Bill.
"Yeah. I guess we should."
"I'm a bit concerned with our ability to remain discreet."
"I was wondering when we'd get around to talking about yesterday." He replied with a small grin.
"We haven't exactly started this off on a cautious note. Oh My Gods Bill, we practically frakked on my desk. If I hadn't have knocked that pen holder off I don't know how far we would have taken it."
Lowering his head slightly he looked at her, trying to read her expression. While this was a very serious conversation they were having, he couldn't stop his lips from curling in a suggestive manner. "I have a pretty good idea where it was leading…"
"Bill. Please don't tell me you think this is funny, cuz it's not. We don't have many doors on Colonial one. Do you realize that anyone could have walked in on us? It could have been Tori or one of my other aides. Or worst, what if one of the delegates had come back, or a member of the press had come in."
"Please believe me when I say that I don't think this funny at all and I am fully aware of the consequences of our getting caught frakking on the President's desk. It's just that each time I think about you on that desk it makes me smile. You're right though, and I am sorry."
"Don't apologize, you weren't the only one in the room. It wasn't like I went to any great effort to push you away. We're both to blame here. Gods, you'd think at our age we'd be mature and professional enough to have a little restraint… instead of going at it like a couple of teenagers."
Bill started to laugh again. Laura shot him a look and he quickly switched back to his 'serious' mask.
"Ok. There's no value in sitting here fretting about what happened on Colonial One yesterday. It happened, nobody saw us, and we did manage to pull it together before things got completely out of hand."
"We did. Thank the Gods."
"So let's just let that water flow under the bridge and move forward."
"We need to lay some ground rules."
"Yes we do."
"Ok, I'll start. First of all, absolutely no inappropriate behavior outside of these quarters. Second, as much as I hate this, and this is not to say that I regret last night or that I would change anything but I don't think I should spend the night anymore."
To this particular rule, Bill protested. "Now hang on just a second Laura. I think we need to talk about that. Don't you think that changing our behavior now would raise a few eyebrows? Why would you all of a sudden stop staying in my quarters when you have to spend the night on Galactica?"
"That one should be obvious Admiral. Spending the night in your quarters with you is pretty much a flashing neon sign that says High Officials Frakking.
The discussion in general was leaving a nasty taste in Laura's mouth. She hated the fact that they had to come up with a 'Plan' to spend time together without being discovered. She resented feeling as though they were somehow doing something wrong and that they should have to sneak around for fear of getting caught. She hated all of it.
Looking down at her he could see that she was becoming upset.
"Laura, it only feels that way because we all of a sudden feel that we need to justify each and every moment we spend together. Before things changed in our relationship we'd spend time together without giving it any thought, not caring what people thought or how it looked… because we weren't doing anything wrong."
"So are we doing something wrong now? " Laura struggled to hide the hurt in her eyes as she found a focal point on the floor.
Reaching over he put a finger under her chin and brought her eyes back up to meet his. "You know that's not what I meant. This is new territory for us, we just need to find a rhythm. Before my heart attack we'd spend time together and never once did it cross our minds that we had to justify or explain it to anyone. That doesn't have to change now."
"Bill, the reason why it was so easy to do that before was that if we were ever questioned or directly asked if there was anything going on between us we could deny it. Now, it would be flat out lying… and that changes everything."
"OK. Here's my compromise on this one. When you do spend the night on Galactica, you will stay here and I will 'officially' bunk with Saul. He has always gotten up at 05:30 hundred for as long as I've known him, and he sleeps like a log. So long as I can manage to slip into his quarters before he wakes up he'll never know the difference."
"And the guards?"
"Baby, your guards already know. They are the brightest and most talented men I have, which is why they've been assigned your detail. They probably knew we were an item before we did."
"And you're sure they can be trusted?"
"Absolutely. That's why they were selected. I chose your guards personally Laura, they are the most dependable and discrete men in the fleet."
"Did you really?"
"Really what?"
"Did you really choose my guards personally? I would have thought that would be a job for Saul or even someone further down the line."
"Normally yes, it would be a task that would be assigned to the XO or a rank lower, but given the circumstances I wanted to select them myself."
"What circumstances would you be referring to?"
"I was concerned for your safety. I'm sure this will come as no surprise to you but not everyone was thrilled with the idea of the Secretary of Education taking over the Presidency. Especially given the circumstances under which it happened."
Laura gave him a challenging look. "Actually Admiral. If I recall correctly, you weren't too thrilled by that prospect either."
"No I wasn't. But I still had a job to do, and part of that job was to protect the President."
He smiled at her as he brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Besides, as far as Presidents go, you were the easiest to look at."
Laura smiled at this comment. "Did you really think I was attractive? Even back then?"
Taking her by the arms he guided her to her feet, just inches from his face. "Laura Roslin. The first time I met you was in the halls of this ship. We argued over whether a computer network would be set up or not. It was pretty clear that you were not impressed with me… but I was impressed with you."
He smiled down at her as he continued his count of their first meeting. "You wore a light blue suit, with blue flowers along the hem of your skirt. A skirt, might I add, that came to just above the knee. I remembered thinking My Gods that lady has great legs. You also had that purple blouse on under your suit coat… I don't need to tell you what that did to me. Your hair was shoulder length, and swept along your face... made you look like an angel. Although I may not have agreed with you that day, there's one thing that could never be changed. I thought you were stunning, and I wanted you even then."
He gently kissed her lips, leaving her speechless.
"How about you? What was your first impression?"
Laura looked down, a bit embarrassed. Truth be told, her impression wasn't quite as colorful as his. "I thought you were a hard-ass." She said.
Bill burst into laughter.
