Only two more chapters. Thanks for reading!! Special thanks to Drakkenfyre for beta reading for me!
Disclaimer: I don't own them Ron Moore and Sci-fi do.
Laura sat across the table from Six in the brig briefing room with her hands folded in front of her. Bill and Sharon were each standing in an opposite corner. Sharon leaned against the wall and Bill stood motionless. The light overhead sent rays down into the grey room creating a solemn atmosphere.
"I think the best way to begin is to dissect things logically," Roslin said.
Her mind was focused and her eyes were searching for truth in whatever form they could find.
"Agreed," Six responded a bit of hostility in her voice. Roslin chose her words carefully.
"We've discussed what we don't know. Let's talk about what we do know," Roslin stated.
She narrowed her eyes as she studied Six's expression. The cylon wasn't as open as she had been in the past. Perhaps the recent dreams were upsetting her as much as they were upsetting Laura.
"Hera is controlling the dreams," Sharon said from the corner.
Six's gaze shifted over Roslin's shoulder. Laura turned and looked at Sharon briefly before drawing her eyes back to the blond.
"Agreed," Laura said, and Six's back straightened.
"We all feel the need to protect her with our lives," Six said as she leaned forward.
"I don't agree with that," Sharon said, moving forward.
She stopped in front of the table and divided her attention between them.
"No offense, Madam President, but you could have opened the door. You had the key. We could have reached Hera in time, but you just stood there. I think you wanted her to die," Sharon accused, though her voice remained calm.
Laura's eyebrows came together in confusion as Sharon spoke.
"Door? There was no door. The two of you stood in a doorway watching me and did nothing to help Hera," Roslin replied. Sharon and Six exchanged looks.
"There was no door in my dream, but there was a maze. Sharon and I couldn't navigate it. Gaius was there, in my dream. He said you knew the way but as you stood facing Hera you wouldn't guide us through," Six added, watching Laura.
All three of them were silent as they took in the new information.
"We all see different variations of the same thing?" Six questioned. Roslin sat up in her chair.
"Did we? In my dream Hera was in the middle of the lobby—" she began but Six interrupted.
"Yes, but in mine there was a maze inside the lobby," Six explained.
"I couldn't enter the lobby because of the glass doors," Sharon added.
"Did you see the…dark figures," Laura asked, stumbling over the words. They sounded crazy when said aloud.
"Yes," the cylons replied in union.
"Okay…so, you're right," Laura gestured toward Six with her eyes, "A different variation of the same dream."
Silence again fell as each of them pondered what they had just discovered. In the back of her mind Laura wondered if Bill wanted to back out of his newly started relationship with her, the crazy-cylon-dream-sharing president.
"Each of us are in the opera house," Six commented, breaking the reverie.
"Yes," Sharon agreed, shifting her weight from one side to the other.
"I feel like that is important. Why an opera house?" Six questioned, looking to either of them as if she expected a swift answer.
Laura became a bit nervous. She had a theory about that, but saying it out loud might make her sound even crazier. With presidential dignity she cleared her throat gestured with her hands as she spoke.
"In our scriptures, the opera house is the residing place of Dionysus, the god of music. In some ancient texts Dionysus is also the god of fertility. In music, paintings and different art forms throughout Colonial history, the opera house has often been used as a symbol of fertility," Laura explained.
From the way Sharon and Six reacted, Laura thought she might have just sprouted another head. They both looked at each other with open jaws and their eyes darted as if they were panicking.
"Or not," Laura added, feeling a little self-conscious.
"No," Sharon said, shaking her head and smiling briefly. Six placed her hands flat on the table.
"Sharon and I discussed this a few weeks ago, though not in the context of the dreams. You see, Sharon is the first cylon to have a child," Six began.
"I'm aware of that," Roslin snapped. She didn't like Six's condescending tone. Six's eyes glazed over with anger before they calmed and she continued.
"For years, among my people I have been the one responsible for encouraging exploration into reproduction. I have always wanted my own child but I can't. I think somehow Hera knows that. I helped Sharon to create her. She's as much my child as Sharon's," Six explained, with a brief smile.
Roslin leaned back in her chair and felt Adama's hand on her shoulder. Six and Sharon both watched the Admiral's reaction with furrowed brows.
Everything was beginning to make sense now. The dream was beginning to make sense. Laura stood up abruptly and walked to the window, taking deep breaths.
"Laura," she heard Bill's concerned voice.
She turned quickly and with determination held up her hand to silence him. Now that she knew what was going on, she decided to tell the cylons.
"Six," she began, "In our religion number six is Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, love and reproduction. Eight, Athena, goddess of war and wisdom."
"What is she talking about?" Six asked with a lifted eyebrow sent at the Admiral.
Roslin, irritated at their lack of understanding, marched closer and leaned over the table.
"Hera is the mother of the gods. The dreams we've been having are completely symbolic. The three of us are in the opera house…the opera house, symbolizing fertility. Six, the maternal leader of the cylon race, me, the maternal leader of the human race are in the house of fertility yet both of us are unable to have children," Laura began.
The more she thought about it the more sense it started to make.
"You chose not to have children," Six replied, her tone skeptical.
"No," Laura said facing her, unable to believe what she was about to say, "I can't have children, just like you. I was in an accident when I was young."
Six frowned and Adama stepped a little closer to Laura. She was glad he offered to come with her, for moral support.
"Let's continue the symbolism. I stand for humanity, you stand for the cylon race," Laura continued.
Sharon picked up where Roslin left off.
"Humans and cylons will die if we don't unite. The only one in the opera house with a child is me. The child comes from both worlds," Sharon added.
"I don't believe in your scriptures, but if I am Aphrodite and Sharon is Athena then by your standards you are Demeter. In your scriptures Demeter is called mother earth," Six said as she stood, "Her child, Persephone, makes the seasons change. Each year the child gives Demeter rebirth."
Six's words sent chills down Roslin's spine. She also remembered a story from the book of Astralla about Demeter hiding the child away from the underworld in order to protect her.
"Hera extended my life, perhaps symbolic of bringing life to humanity," Roslin mused more to herself than anyone.
Silence again descended on the room as the occupants tried to comprehend the truth and possibility of what they were saying.
"And she is the hope of the cylon race," Six added, "Hera is the shape of things to come. We have to unite to protect her and to save both our races. That is the meaning of the dreams."
Six's raised voice sent chills down Laura's back.
"All of this has happened before…" Laura trailed off. She noticed she drew a skeptical look from Bill.
"What the hell are you saying? We should call a truce with the cylons?" Bill asked, his voice agitated.
Laura knew the topic of religion always made him uneasy.
"Of course not," she said. Her comment drew a hard stare from Six this time.
"Maybe it's not on such a large scale," Sharon suggested.
Roslin was grateful the officer was trying to maintain a level of peace inside the brig.
"Six, you and I can't save Hera in the dream because the president is holding back the key. Maybe it's only the three of us that have to unite," Sharon said.
"I had to face my own demons before I could reach out for your help," Roslin explained.
She didn't know why she felt the urge to say the words out of nowhere but to her surprise Sharon and Six nodded in understanding. A marine opened the door and stepped inside.
"Madam President, you have an urgent phone call," the marine said.
"I will be back to discuss this later," Roslin said.
"You better be," the cylon replied.
Laura smiled faintly and Adama and Sharon followed her out the door.
As it turns out, Laura's 'urgent' phone call was nothing but a delegate member wanting to complain about the recent change in ration distribution. She spent an hour on the phone with him before she finally managed to calm him down and then went straight into a meeting with a number of Chief Tyrol's union representatives who had complaints they wanted to address to her.
Though her day was busy, she was grateful for the distraction. She had two things on her mind. One, the meeting with Lee and Kara, which made her throat go dry just thinking about it. Two, the words 'I love you Laura' repeating in her head which made it entirely too difficult for her to focus on what she was doing.
Before she met with the Admiral, Lee and Kara, Laura had to return a number of phone calls. One, in particular, she was not looking forward to. When she had talked to Tory earlier that morning she had basically chickened out of telling Tory the real reason she stayed on Galactica last night. The bottom line was Tory expected Roslin back on Colonial One in a few hours and Laura didn't want to go. She knew her assistant well enough to know if she wanted to stay on Galactica she was either going to have to come up with an amazing excuse or tell Tory the truth. The amazing excuse option was looking mighty tempting.
Telling Tory the truth presented a problem for more reasons than just Laura's cowardice. The matter was not one easily discussed over the phone and once Laura returned to Bill's quarters she had to go through the trouble of getting a secured line. The subject was not something she wanted wandering ears to hear. Rallying her courage she waited for Tory to answer.
"Madam President," Tory's voice from the other end of the phone was concerned, most likely because of the use of the secure line.
Before Roslin could explain anything, however, Tory's mouth took off running.
"I moved the meeting with the Administration Committee to five o'clock today so you could have a few hours to catch up on paperwork when you get back."
Laura bit her lower lip and her cowardly side made her consider not telling Tory for a second time that day.
"Tory," she said, getting her nerve up.
"I also switched your weekly supply update meetings from the end of the week to the beginning," Tory continued.
"Tory," Laura tried again, but still with little success.
"I wanted to make sure everything runs smoothly the next time the Quorum requests your presence on the Rising Star so I spoke to Colonel Tigh about secure—"
"Tory!" Roslin lifted her voice.
"What?" Tory asked, finally stopping her rampage of words.
"I have something to discuss with you," Laura stated.
Tory's inability to shut up upset the already rattled Laura. A lot had happened in the last few hours and Laura was still trying to wrap her mind around all of it.
There was finally a silence on the other end of the line. Laura sat down at Bill's desk and twisted the phone cord around her fingers. She took a deep breath but kept her voice void of emotion.
"Last night I stayed on Galactica—" Laura began and was ticked off when Tory interrupted.
"Yes, I know. Next time you could at least let me—"
"In Admiral Adama's quarters," Laura said, not letting Tory finish.
"I…I thought last time we decided that was a bad idea, considering how the press could twist things," Tory stated. As if Laura needed the reminder.
Apparently, Roslin was going to have to paint her normally sharp-witted assistant a frakking picture.
"That was before we had something to hide," Laura said, evenly.
She heard nothing but static on the other end of the phone. Laura decided to take advantage of the speechless Tory and press on.
"I think I am going to stay on Galactica again today. Would you mind moving my appointments to tomorrow?"
Roslin held her breath while she waited for Tory's reply. She realized the phone cord was now tangled in knots around her hand just as Bill entered his quarters. He didn't hide his amused smirk as she tried to untie herself.
"Yes, of course, Madam President," Tory replied, her voice never losing its professionalism.
That really wasn't so bad, Laura thought as she watched Bill round his desk and search for paperwork.
"I'm assuming you want this to remain a private matter," Tory said.
Laura could almost see Tory jotting down notes with a displeased scowl. It wasn't like Tory was any good at hiding affairs. Laura knew how to hide an affair. This was her realm, not Tory's.
"Don't you?" Roslin asked with a bit of stinging sarcasm. Her tone was probably the reason Bill looked up at her. Laura covered the phone with her hand and mouthed the Tory's name to him. His features took on a look of understanding.
"This isn't a matter to joke about. This could have serious consequences if we don't take measures to ensure secrecy," Tory explained.
Laura didn't respond right away. She was incapable of doing so. With naughtiness in his eyes Bill leaned over Laura and kissed her. He refused to let her lips go and the seconds ticked by. She finally pushed him away giggling and exasperated. This was so unprofessional.
"You're right," she replied finally, almost hearing Tory's silent annoyance.
Bill took Laura's hand and began lightly pressing his lips to her fingers.
"When I get back to Colonial One I want to set up some ground rules," Laura told Tory firmly, as she pulled her hand away from Bill. With a finger pointed at him accusingly she whispered: "That goes for you too."
"Fine. I will see you tomorrow," Tory said and hung up the phone before Roslin could respond.
Laura knew Tory was irritated and would need a few days to cool off. On the bright side, Tory did take the news a little better than Laura expected. There was only a small lecture, probably because Tory felt hypocritical considering the bad job she did of hiding her affair with Kara's husband.
"Lee and Kara are on their way," Bill said once Laura hung up the phone.
She took off her glasses and let her head fall back onto the chair.
"How'd she take it?" Bill asked.
He stayed close beside her and Laura was pleased by the small way in which he acknowledged the change in their relationship.
"As well as I expected," Laura replied with little excitement.
"Are you going back to Colonial One today?" Bill asked casually enough to make Laura smile.
"Not until tomorrow," she said.
She giggled as Bill leaned in to kiss her again. Before their lips met the hatch opened and the sound of Lee and Kara's chatter filled the room.
Laura snapped up straight in the chair and slid into professional mode but Bill wasn't so lucky. He stepped backwards too quickly and his leg caught on the side of the desk. He was successful in stopping his fall by throwing out his hand but in the process he knocked over a neatly piled stack of files. Papers flew everywhere while the lamp wobbled and tumbled to the ground with a loud crash.
If Laura hadn't been so shocked she probably would have laughed. As it was Lee and Kara stared at the scene Laura and Bill's romantic flirting had created. Kara had mirth in her eyes and an amused smirk on her lips. Lee's eyebrows where raised in confusion with his mouth slightly open in surprise.
"Oh, I get it, clearing off your desk for other activities, right old man?" Kara said with an impish grin.
"Kara!" Lee scolded, sending an apologetic look at both of them.
Roslin felt her face turn bright red. This was certainly going to be an interesting conversation. Laura looked at Bill but instead of being embarrassed she could tell he was furious with Kara for making such a crude comment. Of course, at this point Laura thought it would be hypocritical for Bill to say anything.
"You wanted to see us?" Lee asked, as he and Kara stood at attention in front of the Admiral.
"At ease," Bill told them.
Kara bent down and picked the lamp up off the floor. When she set it back on the desk she briefly made eye contact with Laura.
"Everything okay, Madam President? You look a little squeamish," the Viper pilot said.
"What we have to say doesn't leave this room, under any circumstance. I don't care if you are threatened with your life. You don't talk about this. Understood?" Bill rasped.
"Well, now I am curious," Kara said, smiling widely.
Laura actually did manage to smile back, a little of her early mortification dissipating.
"Understood, Admiral," Lee replied, ignoring Kara completely.
Laura waited for Bill to continue with the information and she lifted her head up to see him when he didn't say anything. He was eying both of the young officers. Without him saying a word she knew Bill was reconsidering their decision to tell his son and almost daughter-in-law.
"We're waiting," Kara said, lifting up and down on her toes.
Laura straightened her back and decided to put Bill's mind at ease. They had to tell Lee and Kara. They couldn't do anything but tell them. She wasn't as close to either of them as Bill was so she figured it would be easier for her to blurt it out.
"The Admiral and I have decided to pursue a romantic relationship."
There, she said it. She was quite pleased with herself. Bill slowly turned his head and gave her a surprised look but he quickly returned his attention to the two children. Kara was the first to react, as Laura thought would be the case. Lee looked like he was trying to swallow a thick piece of meat.
"Whoa. Whoa," Kara said, taking a step backwards.
"Romantic? Romantic as in, you're frakking the president, sir?" Kara asked the Admiral. She was grinning from ear to ear but her crudeness was beginning to irritate Laura.
"Lt. Thrace," Bill began, his tone reprimanding, "Your mind might think those thoughts but I don't want to hear them coming out of your mouth. The President and I are still professionals, we are still your superior officers and we still require respect from you."
"Excuse me, Admiral," Lee finally spoke.
His jaw was tight and Laura could see her worse fears about how Apollo would take the news were about to come true.
"It's kind of hard to respect a superior officer who could be court-martialed because he has no self control," Lee said to his father.
Laura didn't care how it might look at the moment; she put her hand on Bill's arm to warn him not to react to Lee's words and make things worse.
To her relief, Bill thought for a few long seconds before he replied.
"Let me explain something, to both of you," he began.
Laura took her hand away and felt a little bit like she wanted to disappear through the floor.
"This isn't something we just decided to jump into one day. We've been thinking about it, discussing it, for a long time. We realize the position we are putting ourselves in and if you want to rat us out that is your prerogative…but, Laura is dying. She's dying…and I love her. Neither of us meant for this to happen, but it did. You can live with it or you can fight it, but it's not going to change," Bill explained.
Laura swallowed hard and hoped that neither officer realized the tears she had in her eyes. Bill's words touched her very deeply, more deeply than his words to her on Kobol. Lee and Kara both stood motionless. Laura was having a difficult enough time controlling her emotions; she couldn't compose herself enough to read theirs.
Kara interrupted the tense moment with a snort of laughter.
"Damn Admiral. That is the most frakking romantic thing I have ever heard," she said, with a pleased smile.
Laura fully concurred with Kara assessment of Bill's words.
"Congratulations," Kara said and extended her hand to the Admiral.
Laura was grateful Kara broke the mood as she quickly brushed away the smallest hint of a tear.
"Madam President," Kara said, letting go of the Admiral's hand and turning to Laura, "I'm not going to say anything. I think it's a good thing. I'm sorry if I was out of line earlier."
"Thank you, Lieutenant Thrace," Laura said with a swell of happiness.
"Call me Kara," the girl said, "What about you Lee? Are you going to get down of your high horse?"
"Kara, wait outside," he ordered his voice stern.
"I'll take that as a no," she mumbled.
Starbuck shook her head and then, with something rude muttered at Lee Laura couldn't hear, she stomped out of the room. Laura watched Kara until the hatch closed behind the girl. Then, quickly, Laura pinned her eyes on Lee, waiting on the edge of her seat for what he had to say. Their relationship had been rocky lately, and it almost made her physically sick to think Lee might never trust her the way he used to.
"This is never going to work," Lee began, pointing to the ground with his finger, "You can't…have everything you want."
Laura averted her eyes. She didn't want to hear Lee's words, or see the rage on his face. The look of disgust in his eyes was like a blow to the head.
"I…I don't want to see you screw up. The fleet needs you. We all need you. We can't get to earth without Admiral Adama or President Roslin. If this gets leaked to the press…," Lee trailed off as if saying the consequences might make them true.
What he added to the end of the sentence, however, was not what Laura expected.
"…it won't be by me," Lee finished, some of the tightness in his face dispelling.
He looked them over and then walked to the door.
"Dad," he said, drawing the attention of both of them, "I normally don't like your choice in women but…this time is an exception."
Laura let out a deep breath she had been holding through nearly the entire conversation. Bill put his hand on her shoulder. Now more than ever she knew the decision they had made was the right one.