Chapter 25 – Just Shoot Me
"THEY WANT TO DO WHAT?" She exclaimed.
"Madame President… please don't make me say it again… please." Tori pleaded.
Laura groaned as she threw her head back in desperation. "Gods! Tori, I hate those things…. So does the Admiral by the way…. Has anyone pointed that out to them?"
"I mentioned that, yes. But the Quorum insists on doing something to thank him."
"Why can't they just send the man a card? Why are they insisting a semi-formal cocktail party? " Laura scrunched up her face as though she had just been presented with a plate of Liver and Onions for dinner.
"Maybe I can talk some sense into them in our meeting later this morning." Laura finally said.
Tori shook her head. "They cancelled the meeting. Said that they wanted to give everyone a break from it all, enjoy the evening, and then resume business as usual tomorrow."
Laura gave her a pleading look that screamed "Please don't let them do this to us"
Tori just shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what you want me to tell you Ma'am. I tried to convince them it was a bad idea but they are insisting on it. What would you like me to do?"
Laura's eyes lit up as though she'd finally solved the mystery of the universe. "The Airlock!" She said.
Tori gave her a quizzical look, indicating she had no idea what her boss was talking about.
"I'll get in the Airlock, and you push the button!"
"That's your solution? You want me to put you out an airlock?" Tori just shook her head in amusement.
"YES! It's a fantastic idea. I'll get in there and then we can somehow make it look like I managed to push the button myself!"
Tori feigned a hurt look. "I can't believe you would say that! I could NEVER do such a thing!"
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"THEY WANT TO DO WHAT?" He exclaimed.
"BILL… please don't make me say it again… please." Laura pleaded.
Bill groaned as he threw his head back in desperation. "Gods! Laura, I hate those things…. Has anyone pointed that out to them?"
"Tori mentioned that, yes. But the Quorum insists on doing something to thank you."
"Why can't they just send me a bottle of booze? Why are they insisting on a semi-formal cocktail party? " Bill scrunched up his face as though he'd had just been asked to hold his girlfriend's purse at the mall.
"Maybe you can talk some sense into them in your meeting this morning." Bill finally said
Laura shook her head. "They cancelled the meeting. Said that they wanted to give everyone a break from it all, enjoy the evening, and then resume business as usual tomorrow."
Bill gave her a pleading look that screamed "Please don't let them do this to me"
Laura just shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what you want me to tell you Bill. Tori tried to convince them it was a bad idea but they are insisting on it. What would you like me to do?"
Bill's eyes lit up as though he'd finally solved the mystery of the universe. "My Sidearm!" He said.
Laura gave him a quizzical look, indicating she had no idea what the man was talking about.
"Just shoot me Laura…. SHOOT ME RIGHT NOW."
"Bill, I can't shoot you." She said as she shook her head in amusement.
"Please baby! When was the last time I asked you for anything?" he pleaded.
Laura sat pensively, thinking his request over carefully before she responded.
"Alright Bill, here's my compromise. While I won't be able to pull the trigger myself I can certainly make arrangements for it to happen. But first! I need you to push a button for me…."
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Laura sat quietly in their study. Their study. She smiled at the realization that it was done. While they had grown to think of the confines of these walls as theirs, it felt so nice to finally make it official.
Since the meeting with the Quorum had been postponed, so was the press conference. The basic logic behind this was:
No Quorum Meeting = No News to Report = No Press Conference.
The fact that the entire Press Corps could give a rat's ass about the Quorum meeting and wanted to get the story behind her new place of residence was moot. Much to Laura's relief and the press's chagrin, the briefing had been re-scheduled, leaving Laura with an open afternoon for the first time in longer than she could remember.
Laura and Tori had taken this time to discretely move the last of her things off Colonial One and into the Admiral's Quarters. Their Quarters. Laura smiled.
"You sure look happy" he said.
So caught up in her thoughts she hadn't even heard him come in. She opened her eyes and a huge smile swept across her face. "Hey" she said.
"Hey back." He said with a smile. He then looked around the study and noted "You've moved your books and the rest of your things in."
"That I have. In fact, there's someone else moving into my space on Colonial One as we speak… No going back now Admiral."
"Good." He said. "Like it or not Madame President, now you're mine for the long haul. "
"Oh I like it…." She said as she got up from her chair and made her way to him. "I like it a lot."
Their kiss was sweet and tender. Laura emitted a contented humm as his tongue caressed her lips, asking for permission to enter. She gladly opened the delicate gates to her mouth as he drew her in even closer.
Breaking away in search of air he held his forehead to hers. "How much time do we have?" he asked.
"Sadly my love, not enough." She said.
"Can we be late?" he asked, as he placed hot wet kisses on her neck, down her collarbone, and back again.
"No Admiral you can't" she answered with a giggle. "You're the guest of honor."
"Alright." He said as he released his grip on her. "How do you want to do this?"
"Well." She said. "I've been thinking about that."
"No doubt you have." He answered.
"It's a cocktail party." She continued, ignoring his smart assed remark. "And any delegates who have spouses or significant others will be bringing them."
"No doubt they will." Agreed Bill.
"So." Laura continued. "I think we should go together. As a couple."
"Is that really how you want to tell the Quorum about us?" he asked.
"In a way… yes." She said as she perched herself on his desk. "I don't want to have to stand up in front of them and make a sudden announcement. I'd like to ease them all into the news…. Maybe make it a little less awkward for everyone."
"I'm listening…. " he said, with an intrigued look on his face.
"Well, my announcement about moving to Galactica has them wondering what's going on. I would suspect that some of them will be watching me a little closer than usual tonight, trying to figure out what the scoop is."
Bill leaned up against the Bulkhead and tilted his head slightly to one side as he took in her plan and assessed the logic behind it.
"While we often go to things together it always seems more like we're just showing up at the same time as actually showing up together. We've gotten very good at that."
"Yes we have." He agreed.
She began to wiggle her foot as it dangled over the desk. "So, this time we will show up together and we will walk in together….. as a couple. Unlike every other time we've gone somewhere together, we won't try to make it look like we're not together. Because we are together and we will proceed like any other normal couple. "
"Can we pull that off? I mean, we've been at this for so long, do we even know how to act like a normal couple at a party?" he asked.
She nodded. "We do what feels right for us. We will not worry or think about what everyone else should or should not see. We go to the cocktail party like any other normal couple. We won't' spend the entire night joined at the hip… we will mingle apart from one another like any other normal couple would do, and we will also mingle together as well…."
"… like any other normal couple." He continued for her.
"Exactly." She said. "Bill I don't want to make this some big spectacle. Yes, I'm the President…. Yes, you're the Admiral. But apart from the jobs we do, we are no different than ANY OTHER NORMAL COUPLE. I'd like to show them that tonight…. Or at least show those who are astute enough to figure it out."
I'd be very happy to escort you to this party my love." He said. "I love the idea of letting everyone know that you're mine… and mine alone. And I'd be very proud to show up with you on my arm.
Her eyes misted over slightly but her smile told the real story. "You know what? I'm actually looking forward to this party."
"Good thing we couldn't find the keys to the Airlock" he said.
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He sat on the couch in his Dress Grays and waited. "Getting ready for a party like this was an event in itself if you're a woman" he thought.
"Laura, we need to get going honey" he called out.
"Ok! Just a few more minutes and I'm good to go" she bellowed from the head.
Bill impatiently fidgeted with one of the medals on his sash. He got to his feet and went to the service cart for a drink of water. He didn't know why he was so nervous, there was no reason to be…. Or was there?
Hearing a shuffled behind him he turned around and stopped dead in his tracks. All thoughts were abandoned and his mouth went dry as he took in the incredible sight before him.
While her hair was swept up in an elegant partial updo, several soft tendrils caressed her face as a glorious cascade of waves graced her shoulders.
The subtle red fabric of her cocktail dress made her eyes look like emeralds as they sparkled with the reflection of the crystal beading.
Bill's breath quickened as she turned to find her shoes, the dress cut perfectly to fit the delicate contours of her slender body. Bill emitted a small wanton grunt as she bent to collect her shoes, giving him a full view of the elegant slit that ran up nearly mid-thigh exposing those incredible long legs.
Simply put, the dress was perfect. It somehow managed to maintain presidential propriety while reminding anyone who saw her that she was most certainly a woman. "An incredibly beautiful, desirable, and sensual woman." he thought.
With her necklace in her hand she came to him and turned around "Would you do the honors?" she asked.
"Yeah." He said, in a barely audible whisper.
Laura shivered at the feel of his fingers on the back of her neck. Necklace safely in place, he traced his fingers along her jaw line as he guided the delicate chain with his thumbs to ensure it hung properly. He then leaned in and whispered in her ear. One word. The only word in his vocabulary at that moment. "Beautiful."
Laura hummed as she leaned back into him, savoring the intimacy of the moment.
"If we don't get out of here right now Laura, we won't make it to this party at all." He whispered in a husky voice, laced with want and desire.
"Easy now Admiral." She said. "Do you have any idea how long it took Tori to get my hair like this?"
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Heads turned on a dime as they made their way through the halls of Galactica and to the raptor that awaited them. Bill smiled as she took his hand in hers and allowed him to help her up and into their ride. While the pilot and the deck crew pretended not to notice, he knew they had seen the way she'd smiled at him as she thanked him for helping her up, the way she'd laced her fingers with his, the fact that she hadn't let go of his hand as they settled into their seats.
Laura took a deep cleansing breath as she felt the raptor lift off.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. "It's not too late for us to show up individually if you want."
Laura shook her head as she hummed a negative. "No, the time is right to do this. After all of my protesting and my fighting to keep us a secret, I must admit that I'm tired of it. I'm tired of sneaking around. I'm tired of pretending that you're not the center of universe. I'm ready for this Bill."
He smiled at her as he rubbed his thumb over the inside of her wrist.
"So am I." He said.