"Captain." The President stepped on the flight deck on the Colonial One. "Lieutenant Thrace?"
"Sir." Kara said. "The Captain went to get something to eat; I offered to keep an eye on things."
"Does that comply with the no flying order?" Roslin inquired.
"That would be a grey area sir. I'm not actually doing anything other than just keeping an eye on the systems. We're in a stationary position within the fleet. If the Cylons come he can be back here in time to get us out of here."
"What were you looking at when I got here?" Roslin asked.
"Just the stars." Kara replied. "I'd forgotten how much I like looking at them."
"When I was a little girl I used to lie on the grass near our house at night and look up at the sky. It always seemed to be a place of wonder, where anything could happen. Things were much less complicated."
"With age comes responsibility." Kara said.
"Very true." Roslin agreed. "And very profound."
"It wasn't that profound, my mother used to use as the beginning of her rant when I fra…screwed up." Kara corrected herself. "I guess that's something I never grew out of."
"Did you see Apollo when we were on Galactica?"
"The Commander made telling him part of the conditions for me being able to come back."
"How did he take it?" Roslin inquired.
The President and Kara had many discussions not related to work over the past few days. Laura Roslin liked having someone who was expecting her to solve a problem to talk too.
"I think he understands that I needed some time away from Galactica, but I don't think he understands why." Kara guessed.
"Being away from somewhere that expects you to be one person and allows you to get in touch with another part of yourself is something everyone needs once in a while."
"It sounds like you could do with that yourself sir." Kara remarked.
"Vacations from responsibility aren't an option for me at the moment." Roslin replied. "But it's nice to have five minutes to relax once in a while."
"Yes sir." Kara sighed.
"Is something bothering you Lieutenant?"
"No sir. Maybe that's what everybody needs."
"Five minutes?"
"Yes sir."
"You could be right. Five minutes to remember what life was like without responsibility. Do you think we could make it a fleet policy?"
"You're the President sir." Kara reminded her.
They sat in silence for a few minutes before the Colonial One pilot returned.
"Madam President." He said surprised to President Roslin there. "Is there a problem?"
"The Lieutenant and I were just admiring the stars."
"Several of the other ships have observation decks." He pointed out.
"We were just fine here."
"Yes sir. Lieutenant Thrace any problems?"
"Everything is just the same as you left it." Kara replied.
"I this would be an indication that our five minutes are up." Roslin said.
"Yes sir."
"Lieutenant we should discuss our plan of action for tomorrow." Roslin suggested.
"Yes sir." Kara agreed.
BSG
There was a knock on the CAG's office door.
"It's open." Lee replied he was still bogged down in paperwork. Kara's request not to get a paper cut had long since passed since he had two.
"Working hard?" His father inquired.
"Yes sir."
"Good, do you have a minute to take a break?"
"Of course." Lee put down his pen. "Is this a social call?"
"Did Kara come by?"
"She did. She's staying with the President for a few more days. She looked happier."
"Did she explain why she left?"
"Only in the obscure sense." Lee replied. "I've come to the conclusion that women were never meant to be understood; otherwise they would come with instruction manuals."
"I'll take your word for that." Adama said. "Come and have dinner with me, this will be waiting when you get back."
"Yes sir." Lee agreed.
TBC