Chapter 12

"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office."

- Aesop

She was careful not to pull anything out; she didn't want to be the reason why something that was supposed to save Bill's life ended up with him dying because she was kissing him. Laura kept running her fingers over his lips and his eyelids to really prove to herself that he was awake and he was going to be okay.

"How do you feel?" Laura asked him, leaning her head against his, but not applying too much pressure. He was still weak.

"Like someone decided to shoot me," Bill said hoarsely, trying to get the words out. He was so happy to see her; he thought he was going to never see her again.

"Gods Bill I love you."

"I love you too. Think you can get me out of here, I don't like laying down so much."

"Don't worry, I'll give you something nice to think about."

She returned to kissing him lightly on the mouth, her tongue trailing the outline of his lips. Laura could hear the heart monitor that Bill was hooked up to, and she could feel it increasing. Smirking to herself she pulled back until she found Bill's hand in her hair bringing her closer.

"Can I help you?"

Turning around, Laura came face to face with a doctor who was wondering who the woman was and why she was making out with a patient who had been in a coma ten minutes earlier. Laura stood straight from Bill's bed, while the doctor checked all of Bill's vitals before leaving with a stern glance. Thinking that they could be alone some more, Laura knelt down by Bill's bedside to talk to him again. However, loud voices interrupted them and the door was jerked open and in piled most of the people who had been in the waiting room.

Saul smirked at the sight of Laura, and Ellen's face fell. Bill watched as Lee rushed over to his bedside on the other side of Laura, and Alex looked very uncomfortable as if she didn't think it was her place to be there. Bill also saw that Carolanne was with them.

"Carolanne?" Bill croaked, very confused as to why his ex wife was there. Lee was unlikely to have called her, so the only person that would have done was Ellen. Manipulative bitch that just arrives out of nowhere. Or possibly not nowhere, Bill thought to himself.

"Oh my Gods, look at you Bill. What are you doing here?" The question was directed at Laura, and the offending party stood up and crossed her arms over herself.

"I wanted to see Bill."

"Don't you think we all wanted to? Did you just sneak off? How disrespectful of that to his real family."

"Real Family?"

"This is not helping matters!" Lee yelled from his father's side, wondering just what his mother's game was. As the two women argued, Bill struggled to speak to calm the situation and his heartbeat rose.

Doc Cottle, who chose that moment to enter and saw what was happening, yelled for quiet. Moving over to the bedside, he checked Bill's vitals, which were steadily returning to normal. He and Laura helped Bill prop himself up on his pillows so he could speak to his variety of relatives.

"Carolanne, we have been divorced for a hell of a long time, so I don't know why you…why you come barging in here and start yelling at Laura, who is part of my family." To further secure the point, he wrapped his fingers around Laura's and looked at her with so much love in his eyes.

Cottle, seeing that the group wouldn't get anything else comprehensible from the former Commander, shuffled the group bar Tigh and Laura out of the door so Bill could get some rest. Turning to the couple and Tigh, Cottle shook his head and removed another cigarette from his packet before heading to the door himself.

"You guys make my head hurt."

X

"You saved him. Are you going to give us a reason why Cavil?"

The other Cylons were looking at him and D'Anna, but Cavil didn't think he had an answer straight off the bat. He could explain why he saved him; he saved him to protect the baby, which was necessary in the grand scheme of things. But why had he been there in the first place? Why had he ridden with Adama to the hospital?

"I was following Adama, I was planning on having a little 'chat' with the former Commander about things."

"Adar tried to bribe him with those two pilots, and failed. What made you think you stood a chance where he failed?" D'Anna asked. Of all the other Cylons, she was the worst. She liked to poke and prod and challenge his authority whatever they decided to do. Sometimes she was more annoying than the damn Humans.

"Well first off, I'm a machine. Second, I wasn't going to threaten the pilot's lives. I was going to kill them."

Even D'Anna had to agree that that was certainly a step up from Adar's original plan. They were sitting in one of the apartments that they 'rented' (the owner of this particular building who had charged them for rent was now currently in some form of ditch), and it was much more comfortable than standing on the top of a windy building.

"I think we're just going to have to concede that the Commander and the fiancée's relationship is going to go ahead for now, but I have a plan in place. Six, you will continue to work with Baltar and his cure. Leoben, continue to look after the baby. D'Anna, please keep helping Adar's competitor. If by some 'miracle' he makes it into office we'll need all the leverage we can."

The other Cylons drifted away to continue on with their own tasks, and Cavil sat in the apartment by himself drinking coffee. He had answered all his questions, except why he had ridden with Adama in the ambulance. Taking another swallow of his coffee and letting it swill in his mouth before swallowing, Cavil came up with no answer. The woman on the other end of the phone had caught him off guard; maybe she had persuaded him into doing it? Or perhaps he just wanted to make sure Adama was all right so they could continue on with the next phase of their plan. Or maybe he was becoming a bit human.

"Frak that. I'm going to go find someone to kill."

X

Carolanne leant against one of the hospital walls, for she wanted support and to be alone. She got neither, for Ellen soon sidled up to her. She gave her old friend a hug and a very sympathetic that came off pitiful look.

"I know I said that I was here just for Lee, but Ellen, I think I still love Bill."

Ellen feigned a look of shock on her face, she had known probably before Carolanne even did that there was still something going on, and to be honest Ellen preferred her to be Bill's partner then Laura Roslin. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing I can do. Me and Steven should go, call me Ellen, okay?" And with that, Carolanne departed from sight with her fiancé in tow.

Meanwhile, inside the hospital room, Tigh had told Bill what had been going on so he could deal with their troublesome pilots.

"Call Admiral Nagala and give him my name. Tell him he owes me one favour, tell him that I'm using it to keep my pilots permanently out of hack unless they actually do something illegal," Bill ordered, and Tigh left the hospital room and the couple to themselves.

Sighing to himself, Bill looked at the beautiful woman next to him. He would do it all again, get shot included, just to see her look so calm by his bedside. Running his fingers through her hair, he stroked the spot behind her ear and she moaned.

"Shouldn't do that while you're in a hospital room. I won't be accountable for my actions."

"Too bad."

Laura looked up from where she was resting her head and smiled wildly at him before placing another kiss on his lips. Then, realising that his body was telling him to go back to sleep, Bill listened to it just so long as he knew that Laura would be there when he woke up. They both slept clutching each other's hands.

X

It had taken Bill a week to recover, and although the Doctors wanted him in longer he wouldn't allow it and had taken himself out of the hospital. Laura was driving him home, and Saul was coming over later, thankfully without Ellen, for a couple of beers. They made it to the house in one piece, and Bill leant on Laura as she helped him up the path. Putting her own key in the lock, Laura let them in.

It was still the same place as it once was, although Bill felt different since he had been shot. He felt calmer, more collect. He felt that he could see things clearly now, more than he could before. They travelled up the stairs together, and Laura helped Bill onto the bed. He groaned at the pain he felt, his wounds were still a little raw.

Rolling her eyes, Laura started unbuttoning his shirt. Suddenly, Bill clutched her hands and stopped her from moving any further.

"Don't unless you plan to go somewhere with it."

Laura smirked and leant into kiss Bill. His eyes closed as he felt her mouth pressed against his, and revelled in her taste. She slipped her tongue into his mouth to tangle with his own, and it drove him crazy with need for her.

"Doctors said we couldn't."

"Frak Doctors, we'll just have to be careful."

Bill moved over to lie against the pillows and he enjoyed watching Laura undress him, even if he felt a bit like an invalid. He growled at the back of his throat as she kissed the scars that were forming on his chest, but they were butterfly kisses so they felt pleasurable rather than anything else.

Laura straddled his hips, and started to unbutton her own shirt very slowly. When the last button was undone, she slid the fabric down her shoulders achingly slow too, but the sight was worth it. Bill was enjoying watching the show, especially as she traced a path with her fingers from her collarbone to her breasts and ran her fingers around the brassiere. Unclasping it, she took that off as well, leaving the top half of her bare. Her hand moved again, this time down her stomach and further. However, just as Bill was getting aroused with anticipation, her hands changed course and they pulled down her trousers.

Smiling at his reaction, she slipped her underwear down her legs and crawled on top of Bill, settling herself down on him gently. They moved together slowly, not wanting to hurt him. They came quietly and in each other's arms, and Bill chuckled against Laura's ear as she kissed his neck before they fell asleep.

X

Everyone had assembled in Bill's living room to discuss the situation. Bill was lying back in his chair; Laura perched on the arm of it. Lee and Starbuck were sitting on the sofa; Helo and Alex had claimed floor space. Ellen and Saul Tigh had taken two chairs from the kitchen and had moved into the living room.

"So. What do we know about Richard Adar? Starbuck, you start." Bill was the Commander in Chief, he led the discussion.

"Well, what we know is that he wants Secretary Roslin and he's willing to do anything to get her. He blackmailed you to give her up and save our sorry asses. He's also not above lying; he lied and said we attacked him when you broke his jaw."

Bill nodded, and Helo continued on the discussion.

"When we broke into the government headquarters to see about the Captain's idea on getting dirt on Adar, we found conclusive proof that he had called the Colonel that had set us up. That wasn't all we found though."

Alex groaned and buried her head in her hands at the image. "He was screwing his other assistant on the desk."

Laura stood up on that and turned away from the group. Bill turned with her and laid a comforting hand on her arm. She just couldn't believe it, she had guessed that Richard had probably been frakking his assistant, after all when the mistress becomes the wife someone has to fill the vacancy. But for a moment, even if it was just for a moment, Laura had thought that Richard had loved her. But that moment was gone, and all her feelings for Richard were ash. Returning to the group, she sat in her rightful place at Bill's side.

"We know he's not above domestic abuse and shouting matches," Laura stated grudgingly, and felt Bill's lips on her hand in comfort. The bruises were getting fainter every day, but it would still be a while before they would fade from her mind.

The group tried to think what else they knew that Richard Adar was capable of, but Bill was the one to speak first. "He's also capable of murder."

"How do you know that?" Laura asked.

"Because he was the one who shot me."

X

Bill walked down the street; mentally counting how much money he had on him to pay for dinner. He was planning to get a takeaway, bring it home and then spend the rest of the night working it off with Laura. He didn't remember the last time he was this happy, he was sure it had been years ago in Space. Maybe even longer. Adar was behind them, and all he could see was their future, however short or long it may be.

"Adama."

He turned around to see Richard Adar standing in the middle of the street. There were no bodyguards around, no press, just him and Bill. He placed both hands over his chest in a threatening motion. He did not like this man, and Bill was glad to see that his face was a multitude of different colours. Good. Maybe that will teach him not to hit women.

"You think you're a big hot shot, don't you Adama? Stealing Laura away from me."

"I didn't steal her Adar. I loved her, and that's all she needed, all she wanted. All that you never gave her."

Bill turned his back on him, not wanting this conversation and wanting to return to Laura as soon as he possibly could. But as he did so, he heard the familiar click of a safety being removed. Going back to Adar, he could see the idiot had pulled a gun on him.

"Don't do this Adar."

"You threatened to shoot me if I ever went to Laura again. Thought I'd get there first, considering I'm going to go back to her."

It was then that his phone started to ring. Bill tilted his head in defiance and pulled out his phone. Opening it up and smiling at Adar, he answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey handsome, it's me."

"Laura, now's not really a good time." He watched Adar's face start to change as he realised that it was Laura on the other end of the phone. He had the speaker up loud enough so that Adar could hear what she was saying. From the way Adar's hand started to shake, Bill realised that Laura had never spoken to him with affection in the same way she was doing with Bill.

"Oh, that's fine. Just wanted to let you know that Saul and Ellen have dropped over. Figured you may want to get some extra food, but probably some extra alcohol too."

"Don't worry, I will. Laura, you know I love you right." He was just baiting him now, but Bill needed Adar to realise that what he was doing was stupid, considering that Laura would never return to him.

"Yes, of course I do."

"Good, because I love you so much. Do you love me?" Adar's hand was really wavering now, and he moved a couple of steps forward so he could take the gun from the President. He didn't look like a professional. Gods know where he had got it.

"You should never need to ask that. I love you more than anything, anyone I have ever met. Bill is everything okay?"

"I hope so." As Bill had moved forward to Adar, his hand had steadied, and he was pointing the gun directly at Bill's chest.

"Bill, what do you-" He didn't hear anything after that as he had fallen to the ground. Adar that rat bastard had put a round on his chest. He could hear Laura screaming from the phone as he lay in the gutter. Adar stood over him and fired another bullet into him, and then he walked away. That wasn't his first time, Bill thought, before he began to lose consciousness.

X

There were loud choruses as everyone turned to Bill in dismay. No one had asked him about his shooting; they were all waiting for him to talk about. Most people had assumed that a mugger, not the President, had shot him.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Laura asked beside him as a tear escaped her. Gods this was one frakked up situation.

"Because after what he did to you, and what he did to me and what he did to us and my pilots, its time for some payback."

Everyone looked around at the word 'payback'. Bill Adama had a plan. Using Laura as a crutch, Bill stood up to survey the room and his friends.

"Richard Adar is running for re-election. We have a good amount of information to bring him down: blackmail, domestic abuse, adultery again and attempted murder. It doesn't matter if we prove any of it, what matters is that the public hate him enough not to vote him in. Then he loses everything, he loses power over us."

There was quiet around the room, but in everyone's faces they could see that it was a good idea.

"The only problem is that Adar has a spy. Ellen, how much did he pay you to return?" Saul turned around to his wife on Bill's words and she rolled her eyes before stating the exact amount. That was a lot of cash.

"Ellen, if you agree to tell Adar what I say, I'll buy all your alcohol for a year."

"That's a lot of alcohol, Bill."

"I call it a worthwhile investment."

She already had the money from Adar, and if they were taking him down then he couldn't do anything to her when she betrayed him. And with Bill buying all her alcohol, Ellen was very happy.

"Deal."

Bill nodded. "Good. Alex and Lee, I want you to use your positions in the government building to make Adar's campaign on rocky ground. I also want you to get any dirt you can on him, the more the better."

"Starbuck, Helo. I want you two to stay put on the Barracks, I may need you and Admiral Nagala wants you training his recruits. I think we can put together a plan that will ruin Richard Adar."

There was cheering from the four younger adults in the room, but the Tigh's were very quiet. The betrayal wasn't going to help their relationship. Laura hugged Bill, so happy that things were falling into place.

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier? It's a brilliant plan if we can pull it off," Laura whispered in his ear, kissing his cheek.

"I didn't tell you because I need to ask you something that I don't want to. Something that will probably kill me more than the bullets did."

Laura released Bill from her embrace and turned to him. The look in his eyes made her realise exactly what she had to do. For the plan to work, for Adar to let his guard down so they could destroy him, she needed to go back to him.

"I'll ask Lee to be more at the house, he won't lay a finger on you. I don't want to ask you to do this, I want you to be safe and I want you to never see that bastard again. But we've got to nail him. And to do that…"

"He has to trust me."

"Yes," Bill choked, and Laura kissed his fears away, making a note to deal with her own later.

X

She didn't know why she was staring at the sky, but it just seemed like the right thing to do. Alex sat up and fingered the small item between her fingers; it was her father's wings. He had given them to her when he was diagnosed; he said that he wouldn't need them anymore. As a kid she had always been fascinated by them, and used to tell all the other children at school that her father had wings.

"You okay?"

It was Billy, still dressed in his suit and tie. He hadn't been present at the meeting; Laura hadn't been sure whether he would have agreed on what they were doing. Alex was in all the way, she had nothing much to lose anymore.

"I'm fine. At least I think I am."

"Better than nothing."

Billy sat beside her and wrapped his arm around her. She sighed against him, she always felt at peace when she was with him.

"Hey, you know that assistant that replaced you, Ellie?"

"Yeah, what about her?"

"Well I heard from some of the other staff that she's been declared missing, her parents tried to call her but no luck. There's no trace of her, she's just vanished."

The last time that she had seen Ellie the blonde assistant, her skirt had been hoisted to her waist and Richard Adar was engaging in some overtime work with her. Alex shook her head; it was an image she definitely wanted out of her head, and quickly. Billy hadn't been there that night that they had broken into the building. In fact, she had been spending so much time on her dream of being a pilot and training with Starbuck and Helo that she felt she had completely forgotten about Billy.

"Billy, I love you. You know that right?"

"Yeah, I know. And I love you too." He kissed her then, gently, as was Billy's way. Afterwards they went out to dinner, and Alex put the wings back in her pocket where they belonged, at least for the moment.

X

"To family. Sometimes it's the craziest thing in the world and you wish to distance yourself from it as quickly as you can. Other times, you're grateful of the moments, grateful of the time you spend together. To family."

"To family!"

Lee put down his glass after his toast and smiled. All around the table where his friends and family enjoying a last dinner together before their little plan began, and before the storm started brewing. He and Paula were sitting on one side of the table, next to Alex and Billy. His fiancée was smiling and enjoying herself, although she felt a little out of place. However, all Lee could think about was the feel of Starbuck's lips against his cheek. He thought he was over her, maybe not.

Alex and Billy were having a pleasant conversation, and over the past two days had been busy getting reacquainted with each other and their relationship. Billy had gone to dinner with her and her father, and they were planning a week's break together to visit all his family on Picon. She rested her hand on Billy's under the table and took a sip of her wine. It felt nice to be here, with family, even if she felt more comfortable being a friend of Adama's then of Laura's. Her wings were back in her drawer at home, and she had decided to pack in flying for now. Billy was more important to her.

"I still remember the time that we met up with those pilots from the Orion, and Starbuck challenged their top gun to a game of strip triad, the loser having to fly CAP in nothing but their underwear…"

"Helo!"

Helo and Starbuck, although not a couple, were sitting at the table together and were observing the others. Ellen and Tigh were subdued, Billy and Alex were quiet but pleasant and Lee and Paula were overcompensating. Starbuck kept looking at Lee to see if he was looking at her, and on two occasions she caught his eye. Helo, on the other hand, was watching Alex. She had told them about her decision to stop flying, and he wasn't so sure. Once you get into space, it's hard to get out again. Taking a swig of his beer, he continued his story and brought the entire table to laughter.

Saul and Ellen Tigh, usually the boisterous couple at any gathering, were quiet as temple mice. Not that they knew what temple mice probably sounded like considering that neither of them had probably been in a temple since they were married, and that was only at the insistence of Ellen's father. He was pissed at her betrayal, even if she had agreed to help them. She was pissed at his loyalty to Bill, and for the fact that Bill had chosen Laura Roslin AKA schoolteacher and President's slutty fiancé over Ellen's fellow drinking buddy Carolanne. They would move past it, eventually and drunkenly.

Laura and Bill were sitting at the head of the table in his house and were enjoying Helo's stories, Lee's toasts and Alex's friendly attempts in the conversation. Underneath the table and underneath their smirks, Laura's hand was buried against Bill's and resting on his thigh. They were enjoying tonight, and for once Laura could see an end in sight for the Adar debacle. They had been going through things blindly for the past few months, not realising how determined Richard would be. But now he would be taken down. It was not about how bad a President was, or that they didn't want him to be re-elected, it was about revenge pure and simple. The only thing he seemed to care more about than Laura was the Presidency, and he was about to lose both.

"How about we get these people out of here quickly and I take you upstairs and show you a few things I learnt from my piloting days," Bill winked as he whispered in Laura's ear, and she smirked. Gods how she loved that man. She kissed him then, light but lovely as they had company.

Rolling his eyes at his father and his love, Lee continued on the conversation. Laura and Bill didn't notice, they were too busy gazing at each other.