9/13/04

GOD IS LOVE

Chapter 6

He had been staring at the same paragraph for nearly twenty minutes and he still had no idea what it said. With a resigned sigh, Adama took off his glasses, dropped them onto the desk and rubbed his tired eyes. This was getting him nowhere. Earlier Salik had urged him to return to his quarters and get some sleep. The doctor had pointed out that he had no idea what they would be getting into, so the surgery could take quite some time.

But, of course, Adama hadn't left. He had paced around the waiting area for nearly a half hour before one of the medical technicians, Cassie, had threatened to sedate him if he didn't go and, at least, lie down. So, the commander had returned to his rooms, but feeling too restless to lie still, he had thought to catch up on his paperwork. That had obviously been an optimistic thought. He couldn't even get past the first paragraph of the very first report he had picked up.

He couldn't seem to concentrate on anything. Whenever he tried, his mind would seem to just drift off. He wasn't dwelling on the past. He wouldn't allow himself to do that. That would be too much like grieving and he simply refused to do that yet. He refused to accept that he could lose Lee this way. He hadn't been able to speak to his son before he'd lapsed into the coma. It would just be too cruel for the Lords to give him his son back, only to take him away again, especially without even letting Adama make peace with Lee first.

The commander was actually glad when the obsessive circles his mind kept turning in, were interrupted by a knock on the hatch to his rooms. Too tired to stand, he simply called out for the person to enter. He was only mildly surprised when Pres. Roslin stepped into the room.

"They told me at Life Station that they'd sent you to bed, but I figured you'd still be awake," she said as she sat down on the couch. She was wearing the comfortable sweatpants and sweatshirt so, for the moment, she abandoned her usual dignity and tucked her feet under so that she was sitting cross-legged.

Dressed casually and sitting as she was, she looked years younger and, for the first time, Adama thought he could see what had attracted his son to his woman. He had to admit that she was beautiful. He could see more than a little of Ilya in her and he supposed that had also played some part in the attraction. Lee and his mother had always been very close.

"We need to talk," Laura said.

"Yes, I suppose we do."

"The fact that you disapprove of Lee and I, isn't going to stop us from being together. But it would make things easier, at least on Lee, if you could manage to tolerate us."

"Yes, I suppose I have been rather unreasonable, haven't I?"

"Not unreasonable, no, just... overprotective," she said with a smile, "which is understandable, to me, at any rate. But surely you can see Lee's side. He's an adult. He expects to be treated like one."

"I know. I've handled things badly with him of late," Adama said sadly. "But it seems like only yesterday he and Zac were children, begging me to come outside and kick a ball around with them... And I swear I only looked away for a moment and... Suddenly they were grown men, leaving for the Academy. And I had completely missed everything in between. And then Zac was gone and Lee... Because I never saw the transition, I never learned how to deal with them as adults. Oh, I can deal with Lee as an officer, a warrior, and a fellow pilot, but as my own adult son, as a person..." the commander shrugged and shook his head in frustration.

Laura gave him a slight, mysterious smile. "Do you honestly think it's any easier for him? For his entire life you have been this mythical icon that he has spent his life trying to emulate. Of course, he would probably rather die than admit any of this and he resents you like hell for it, but the fact is, he's spent his life trying to impress you and now that he finally has your attention, he has no idea how to deal with it."

"And I haven't exactly made it any easier for him, have I?"

"No, you haven't, but then he hasn't made your life any easier, either."

Adama gave a short, humorless laugh. "Sort of takes the word 'dysfunctional' to a whole new level, doesn't it?"

"It's not that bad. At least the two of you keep trying and that's the key. Words can be hurtful, yes, but they can always be explained or taken back or apologized for, but the silences... those are the real killers. When we're left with nothing but silence, it's only human nature to try to fill it, in our own minds. Unfortunately we tend to fill it with our own fears, our own neuroses. And the next thing you know, an impenetrable wall has been erected between two people, without a single word ever having been spoken. There's been enough silence between you and Lee. Please, promise me that...when... Lee gets through this, the two of you will talk."

Adama nodded gravely. "Very well," he said softly. "Now that you've had your say, it's my turn."

"Fire away," Laura said, her chin lifting somewhat defiantly. "Say what you have to say."

"When I told you that I disapproved of your relationship with Lee only because of your health, I was lying. It was because of your age as well... I want grandchildren. I know it's selfish, idealistic, and downright inconvenient, but damn it, I want grandchildren! I want to see little faces with my son's blue eyes and..." his voice caught for a moment. When he continued, it was barely above a whisper, "My wife's smile."

"And I would love nothing more than to give them to you," Laura said softly. "But I can't. I never could. I've never been able to bear children."

The commander looked up and their eyes met and he could see her pain. But, although he regretted causing that pain, he didn't regret his words. They reflected his feelings and no amount of regret was going to change them.

"Lee has taken some form of male birth control which lasts for ten years," Laura continued. "He still has three years left before it wears off. Which means there's very little chance of him fathering any children for a while... I want Lee to have children as well. I won't stand in the way of that, but these next three years are mine... for as long as he'll have me. After that... we'll see."

"I can live with that."

"I'm so glad you approve," she said dryly.

The remark Adama had been about to make was cut off by the sound of the phone on the wall beside him buzzing loudly. The two exchanged tense glances, before the commander picked up the receiver. He took a deep, steadying breath before speaking.

"Yes?"

"I know I'm not the person you want to hear from, but I do have some important news, I think you'll want to hear." The voice was Tigh's and, no, he wasn't who Adama was waiting to hear from.

Just managing to keep the disappointment out of his voice, the commander said, "Yes, Colonel, what is it?"

Across from him, Adama watched Laura's reaction. By his verbal cue, she knew that this was not the long anticipated call. Her face fell and she slumped back on the couch, every line of her body radiating her impatience. He understood exactly how she felt.

"We've just received a transmission from the drone we sent out," Tigh was saying as the commander forced his mind back to his duties. "It sent us images of three Cylon basestars trying to camouflage themselves at the edge of a small asteroid field. The drone's transmissions stopped abruptly, so I think we can assume they destroyed it and they know we're onto them. I've already got Lt. Gaeta working on coordinates for a jump. We're notifying the rest of the fleet now."

"Good work. You have my permission to order the fleet to jump as soon as everyone is ready."

"Yes sir."

Replacing the receiver in its cradle, Adama turned his attention back to Laura, who looked at him curiously. "We're jumping?" she asked.

After he had explained about the star chart, the drone and its discovery, she nodded thoughtfully and said, "So, that's what Enoch's plan was. He wasn't going to lead us to Earth, he was going to lead us into the waiting arms of the Cylons. If he hadn't gotten impatient and tried to force his hand through Lee, he might have succeeded. He was gaining support, slowly, but steadily. If he could have waited a while longer, he probably could have simply led us to our doom, like lambs to the slaughter."

110011001111100010101100111100011101110111000010010100000

Adama sat in the uncomfortable, plastic chair in Life Station and simply watched his son sleep. The surgery had been successful. The implant, as it had, indeed, turned out to be, had proven easier to remove than Salik had anticipated. The entire operation had taken only four hours. Nearly eight hours later, though, Lee had still not woken up, but the doctor did not seem concerned yet, so neither was the commander.

Laura had sat with the captain for most of that time, so that Adama could finally get some sleep. He had only relieved her an hour or so earlier. Although he had a stack of paperwork sitting nearby to work on, he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the bed. It was as if he needed the constant reassurance of seeing his son's chest steadily rising and falling to be convinced that he was alive and that this ordeal was over. But of course, that wasn't true. The ordeal would not be truly over for a very long time.

When Adama had finally allowed himself to lie down and try to sleep, even as exhausted as he was, it had not come easily. He had been plagued by nightmares where he saw Lee standing over Zac's dead body, staring accusingly at his father and pointing the loaded gun. But in the dream, Lee had actually pulled the trigger. Adama would wake up suddenly, his heart pounding and his body sweating... No, this ordeal would definitely leave a lingering stain.

As though reacting to his father's thoughts, Lee made a small whimpering noise and shifted in his sleep. The commander stood and moved to stand beside the bed. Resting his hands on the bars, he watched the younger man intently to see if this increase in movement would herald an imminent return to consciousness. At his adamant insistence, the restraints had been left off, although they still dangled threateningly off the sides of the bed, should they prove to be necessary again. Lee's increasingly agitated movements were now restricted only by the IV tube in his arm and the bars still attached to the bed.

"Lee," Adama called softly. His eyes fell on the bandaged left side of Lee's face, where the doctors had removed the implant. Luckily it had been small and shallowly placed, so that the surgery had not needed to be terribly invasive. They had not even needed to shave more than a small portion of his head.

Lee's movements continued to become more strenuous, more frantic, and he moaned softly as he turned his head on the pillow. Wishing to ease his son's obvious distress, Adama reached over the bars to lightly touch the younger man's face. At that touch, the captain jerked awake with a gasp, flinching away from the touch. He would have tried to sit up, but his father quickly caught hold of his shoulders and held him down.

"Easy, easy, lie still," the commander said gently. "Your head's going to be very sore, so you need to lie still."

As he watched the panic and confusion recede from Lee's eyes, he relaxed his grip on the captain's shoulders. Lee glanced around, taking in his surroundings and his memories began to sluggishly return. Bringing a hand up, he gingerly touched the bandage just to the side of his left eye. He looked at his hand for a second, as though noticing it for the first time, and his body suddenly stiffened.

"The restraints!" he gasped, looking around for them.

"Sshh, take it easy, you don't need them anymore," Adama said quickly. "Dr. Salik found a Cylon implant in your head. The doctors have removed it. That's what was probably making you act so strangely."

"But you don't know that for sure," Lee whispered.

"I'll take my chances," the commander said, smiling warmly

"But I could st-."

"Sshh," Adama interrupted, "don't, Lee, it's over. Let it go..."

The captain nodded, but despite the reassuring gesture, Adama did not miss the haunted look that remained in his son's eyes. He offered a quick, silent prayer to the Lords that this ordeal would not leave any permanent scars, physical or mental. Feeling a sudden need to offer comfort, he touched Lee's cheek again, brushing lightly at the almost four days' growth of stubble.

"Go back to sleep," he urged gently. "Your body is still healing."

Lee murmured something unintelligible, but his eyes were already sagging heavily and he didn't seem to have the energy to repeat himself. Adama let his hand linger for a moment longer, watching his son drift back to sleep.

0001101011101100001110100011100010000100111000011

When Lee awoke next, he found Laura seated in the chair beside the bed. She was flipping through some kind of a report. After several minutes, when she looked up and saw that he was awake, she smiled and moved to sit on the bed beside him. It was then, that he realized the bars had been removed.

Gesturing to the side, he said, "So, I'm going to be trusted with a big boy's bed again?"

"Only if you promise not to fall out," she chuckled. "I don't think your poor head could take much more abuse."

His expression sobered. "Laura, I'm sor-."

"No," she interrupted quickly. "Don't apologize. Don't ever apologize to me. This was my fault entirely, I took you there. I left you alone with that..." She let her voice trail off, suddenly unable to continue.

"You were alone with him, too, at least once. Are you...?"

"I'm fine. Once the doctors knew what to look for, they did an MRI on me, too. I passed, no implants. They've been bringing over Enoch's stronger supporters and testing them as well. So far, they're all clean."

"So, I was the only one who got the secret toy surprise, huh?" he asked bitterly.

Quickly deciding to change the subject, Laura said, "I had Dr. Soter run some other tests as well... My cancer is in remission."

Lee looked up sharply at that. "They're sure? It's not a mistake?"

"They ran the tests twice, just to make sure. It's not a mistake. Evidently Enoch didn't lie about his ability to heal... Of course, my cancer isn't gone, it's in remission," she repeated, wanting to make sure he understood the difference.

"Yeah, but... Laura..." he breathed, unable to articulate his feelings. Giving up, he settled for pulling her close and kissing her deeply.

"Hey, hey, hey, this is a family establishment," a brash voice interrupted their tender moment. "I want to see at least fifteen centimeters of daylight between you two."

Lee and Laura both turned toward the doorway, to see Kara standing just inside the room. In a more serious tone, the pilot added, "You do remember that there's a great big picture window right in front of that bed, don't you?"

She could tell by their sheepish expressions and the way they quickly broke apart, that they had forgotten about the one-way glass. "Lucky for you two, I was the only one standing out there at the moment, because there's been a steady parade of people walking by here all morning!"

As she spoke, she crossed the room to stand on the far side of the bed. She leaned over and gave Lee a quick kiss on the cheek. At his slightly bemused expression, she said, "That's because I'm so glad to see you looking better." Stepping back slightly, she slugged him on the shoulder. "And that's for scaring the crap out of me! You ever do that again, Adama, and I'm going to kick your ass!"

He just stared at her, shocked, and rubbing his shoulder. Instantly she felt guilty. "Oh, I didn't hit you that hard."

"Yeah, but I'm supposed to be resting and recuperating," he said, "not being assaulted by junior officers."

"Oh, please! It didn't look like you and Laura were 'resting' two minutes ago!"

Laughing softly at their friendly banter, Laura stepped back from the bed, hoping to stay out of the line of fire, verbal or otherwise. As she did, her attention was drawn by the sound of running feet and the flash of movement from outside the room's open doorway. Seconds later, Maeve, Enoch's assistant from The Bird of Paradise, burst into the room, followed closely by Capt. Kelly.

"Murderer!" the girl shrieked as she started towards the bed. Kelly managed to grab one of her arms before she got very far. "You killed him, you son-of-a-bitch! You murdered him!"

Tears of rage flowed freely down her cheeks and her face was distorted horribly with her fury. With a violent wrench, she managed to pull away from the burly security officer. Quickly stepping up and placing her own body between the younger woman and the bed, Laura said, "He was a Cylon, Maeve!"

"No, he wasn't! You're lying. Don't you think I would have known if the man I loved was a Cylon? He was a good man, but he found out the truth about the commander's lies. And that's why you had to silence him, didn't you? That's why you killed him!" She was craning her neck, trying to see around Laura, so that she could spew her venom directly at Lee.

Laura stepped even closer, more effectively blocking the girl's line of sight. "Control yourself," she said in a low voice. "You're making an ass of yourself."

"I'm making an ass of myself?" Maeve responded, her voice pitched low enough that only Laura could hear it. "Well, at least I'm not sleeping with a murderer... Yes, I know your little secret. I know whose bed you sleep in. I wonder how the rest of the fleet would like it, to know just how cozy you are with the little Adama Clan. You're supposed to be on our side, not theirs, remember? ...Tell me something, do you sleep with the commander too? You know, let them do a little father-son tag tea-."

As Laura's punch landed, it staggered the girl back and only Capt. Kelly's arms catching hold of her, kept her from hitting the floor. As Maeve stood upright and swiped her hand across her mouth, it came away bright with smeared blood.

"She hit me!" the girl yelled accusingly, turning to face Kelly. "She assaulted me! Do something!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm afraid that I was too busy trying to keep you from assaulting Capt. Adama. I didn't see anything," Kelly said, his tone dripping with icy courtesy. "Starbuck, did you happen to see anything?"

"No, I didn't see a damn thing," the pilot answered, grinning. "Lee, did you see anything?"

"No, I'm afraid not," he answered.

"Fine, I see how it is," Maeve said, with a grimace, her teeth visibly stained with her blood. "Just remember, Madam President, you're going to have to hold an election eventually. The people will demand it, soon probably. And when that happens, I will make damn sure all of this becomes public knowledge... and as for you..." She turned her attention back to Lee. "You might not want to stray too far from the Galactica for a while. You're not very popular in the fleet right now. And the next time you come to The Paradise, you definitely might want to watch your back."

"Capt. Kelly?" Laura spoke up. "Did she happen to pass her MRI scan?"

"Yes sir, unfortunately, she did."

"Mmm, that's too bad... Please get her out of my sight before I lose my temper again," the president said in a slow, tightly controlled voice.

"Yes sir. Come on, there's a shuttle in the hangar with your name on it," the security officer said, taking the girl by the arm and starting to drag her towards the door.

"Wait! I'll come with you," Kara said, hurrying to join them. "We can't be too careful, now can we? After all, we wouldn't want, Princess here, to have another accident."

As she was following Kelly and his charge out the door, she stopped in the threshold and turned back to Laura. "Nice shot!" she whispered, grinning hugely and flashing a thumb's up sign.

Shaking her head at Kara's words, the president turned back to the bed. Moving slowly, she went to sit beside Lee. He leaned forward and rested his aching head against her shoulder. "My hero," he said softly. "Thank you for defending my honor."

"How come in all those romantic stories, they never mention how much it hurts to punch someone?" she asked, messaging her painfully bruised knuckles.

"You have to learn how to avoid the teeth. You know, if you're going to start brawling on a regular basis, you might want to have Kara teach you how to throw a proper punch."

"I'll keep that in mind," Laura said, testily. "I shouldn't have let her get to me like that. I shouldn't have hit her. It was inexcusable and unprofessional... but, damn, it felt good."

"Maeve had a point though, it could come back to haunt you at election time."

"I'll worry about that when I have to..."

"What did she say to you that got you so worked up? I couldn't hear it, she was speaking too low."

"Oh, nothing, don't worry about it," Laura said dismissively.

"That bad, huh?"

"...Yeah... Lee, you don't believe all that crap she was spouting, do you? About being a murderer? You don't feel guilty for killing Enoch, do you?"

"No, I don't," he answered honestly. "I just... wish she believed the truth."

101011100111010010000111010100010010001110001000

"Ah, Dr. Baltar, come in, come in," Salik called from where he sat at his desk in his small, cluttered office. Standing, the doctor began shuffling objects and stacks of paperwork around until he found what he was looking for. Turning toward the younger man, he held out a small glass jar. "I suppose you're here for this."

"Uh, yes, thank you," Baltar said, stepping forward to take it.

Floating in the clear liquid of the jar, was the implant which had been removed from Capt. Adama's head. It looked nothing like Gaius had expected it to. He had assumed it would look more like a computer chip, small and hard. It didn't. Instead, it looked more like a tiny jellyfish. A sickly grayish-white in color, it was a small, gelatinous mass with several, long, string-like extensions. It glittered slightly in places where it appeared that microscopic bits of metal were imbedded. Staring at it, Gaius felt slightly sick. Is this what the thing in my head looks like?

"So, do you really think that you can learn anything about the Cylons from studying this thing?" Salik asked, interrupting Baltar's morbid thoughts.

"Well, that's the intent anyway."

"Oh, come now, Gaius, what do you really hope to learn? Are you going to try to evict me?" Baltar ignored the low, sultry, slightly mocking, voice in his head, as well as the beautiful blonde woman who stood beside him, leaning close. He ignored the feel of her warm breath teasing across the skin of his neck. It wasn't real, he told himself. She wasn't really there, but apparently, she truly was in his head.

"Um, I-I notice that it has these... um, extensions," Baltar pointed out. "H-how can you be certain that you got it all out?"

"Well, yes, that was the tricky part. You see, it pretty much mimicked an organic brain tumor, which spreads by creeping into all the folds of the brain. Now because of this there is always a danger that you might miss something during the surgery. But I'm confident that we got all of it in this case," the doctor said, his voice reflecting his certainty.

"So, do you have any idea how the Cylon was able to... um, i-insert... t-this?"

"No. And that's the part that has me completely stumped. When we shaved the hair away from the site, we found no scarring, nothing to indicate any kind of previous surgery... I have no idea how it was done... Unless... considering what that thing looks like, it could be possible that it was introduced through a mucus membrane, the nasal passage, for instance. The Cylon could have-."

"Uh, thank you, Doctor, th-that's quite alright," Baltar interrupted quickly, feeling his stomach give a decided lurch.

"Oh, sorry, I get carried away sometimes, occupational hazard. I'm sure you understand."

"Yes, of course. Uh, tell me something. If the implant was designed to mimic organic tissue, why did it make Capt. Adama ill?"

"Well, anytime you introduce a foreign object, organic or inorganic, into the human body, there's always the chance the body will reject it. That's what happened here. His body simply rejected the implant."

"Oh, I see..." He glanced briefly to the side, but saw that the blonde had conveniently disappeared. "Um, h-how is Capt. Adama doing, by the way?"

"He's recovering very nicely, better than I would have expected, in fact. The fever's gone, there don't appear to be any side effects, no more headaches, well, nothing worse than you'd expect after having someone cut a small hole in your head."

"So, did you find anything... unique about Capt. Adama's physiology which allowed him to override the commands of the implant?"

"Unique? No, but we don't really know how that thing works or what exactly it was supposed to do... But, off hand, I'd say that it was simply a matter of Capt. Adama having a stronger will than it did."

"Well, that's good to hear, thank you, Doctor. I'll keep you informed if I find anything useful," Gaius said, gesturing to the jar.

"Good luck with that."

101110010110010100110010101000101000110000101111010001001

William Adama took a deep breath before he opened the door to Lee's hospital room. He had seen through the one-way glass that Mother Naomi was already there. She had requested to speak to both father and son at their earliest convenience, well Adama's convenience. Lee wasn't going anywhere for a while yet. He was still confined to his bed. While Salik had said that he was impressed with the young man's recovery rate, he was still concerned about infection and possible side effects, so he wanted to keep Lee a little longer for observation.

As he stepped into the room, Naomi looked up from where she was seated at the foot of the bed and smiled. "Ah commander, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with us. Please, have a seat." She gestured to the plastic chair beside the bed.

As he lowered himself into the chair, she continued, "I've been meaning to get together with both of you to have a little family session for a while now, but I could never find the time. But I figured I should make the time after everything that's happened. I think you both have some things to say to each other and I think you're both going to need a little help in getting started... William, why don't you go first? Do you have something you'd like to say to your son?"

Adama cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Uh, I'm glad to see that you're looking better."

When he said nothing more, Naomi prompted, "And....? William, your son pointed a loaded gun at your head. Somehow, I think you have more to say to him."

Adama stared at the priest blankly. Oh, there were many things he wanted to say, but he couldn't seem to force the words past his lips. His heart was pounding almost painfully and he realized that he was sweating. Lords, what the hell is wrong with me, that I can face two Cylon basestars calmly and rationally, but I can't seem to talk to my own son without having a panic attack? Surprisingly, it was Lee who finally threw him the lifeline.

"Why did you trust me?" the captain asked quietly.

"What?" Adama asked, confused by the abrupt question.

"After they brought me back from The Paradise, Tigh told me that you wanted to wait in the room with me, but he and Kelly wouldn't let you because they didn't trust me. He said that you did trust me. Why? I tried to kill you. Why would you ever trust me again?"

"But you didn't try to kill me. You pointed a gun at me, but you never pulled the trigger. Enoch threatened Laura and you still didn't pull the trigger. You had a Cylon implant in your head, telling you to pull the trigger, but you still didn't... Now, I admit that initially I didn't trust you. You had been acting strangely. You had become moody and volatile. That's why I brought Kelly and his men with me. But after I saw you fight back against Enoch, I knew that I could trust you, even with my life. Despite having Kelly take you into custody, I did trust you. I had to do that, you understand, but I trusted you and... I was very proud of you."

He saw Lee swallow noticeably, before the younger man looked down, suddenly fascinated with the weave of the blanket spread across his lap. Naomi laid a hand on Lee's leg, which lay beside her.

"Lee," she said gently. "Do you have something to say to your father?"

He nodded, but didn't look up. It seemed to take a moment for him to compose himself. When he did finally lift his head, his eyes seemed a little brighter than usual.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I feel incredibly foolish. You tried to warn me about Enoch and I didn't listen."

The commander gave a rueful smile. "I didn't exactly offer that advice in the most tactful way. I can understand you rejecting it. And it's not as if I'd been around to offer much advice in the past... I am sorry about that. I should have been there more for you and Zac."

"Are you ev-," Lee started to ask something, but quickly stopped himself. "Never mind."

"What?" Naomi spoke up. "What were you going to ask?"

"Nothing... it's not important and it's..." He didn't continue.

"Lee, whatever you're feeling is valid. Even if it's selfish or irrational, or 'out of line', if that's what you're feeling, it's valid. And it's always better to get it out in the open and deal with it, then let it fester below the surface, unspoken. Now, what did you want to ask your father?"

The young man took a deep breath, as though steeling himself for something unpleasant. "I know that you were always closer to Zac than... Are you ever... sorry that it was Zac who died and not me?" When he finished, he was barely speaking above a whisper.

Adama fell back against the chair. He felt all the air leave his lungs, as though someone had just kicked him in the chest. Is this what Lee had been thinking all this time? That I would have preferred him dead to Zac?

"Lee... God, no..." he breathed. "I never... I thanked the Lords every day that I still had one of you... I..." But he couldn't seem to put the strength of his emotions into words. So, he put them into action.

Standing, he moved to the bed and pulled his son into a fierce hug, cradling the back of Lee's head gently with his hand and carefully pressing the right side of Lee's face into his chest. After a minute or so, he felt Lee's shoulders start to shake as the captain finally surrendered to his tears. The commander continued to hold his son and murmured soft words of comfort, tears of his own starting to silently slip down his cheeks. He was only vaguely aware of Naomi standing and starting to leave.

"My work here is done, at least for today. I'll just leave you two alone," he heard her say. He distinctly heard a loud sniffle as the priest left the room.

101011011000110010001001111000010001110001010000111

"My, my Gaius, I never would have imagined you as the sentimental type."

Baltar glanced to the side slightly. He could just see the faint reflection of the tall blonde behind him in the one-way glass, where he stood watching the emotional meeting between the two Adamas. The scientist resisted the urge to lash out at his incorporeal companion. He knew that it would be a wasted gesture, but he was truly not in the mood to deal with her mocking presence.

"I never got along with my own father," he said softly instead, his eyes never leaving the scene of warm paternal emotion before him. "He worked in a factory. He barely had a secondary education. We lived in a tiny apartment in a bad part of Caprica City. I always knew that I was destined for bigger and better things. And the fact is that I was always embarrassed by him. After I left for college, I never saw him again."

"So, is standing here and watching this maudlin, paternal melodrama, some sort of penance?"

Abruptly turning to face her, he asked, "So, did you know that there was a chance that my body might have rejected the implant you put in my head? That I could have died, like Capt. Adama almost did?"

"Yes, I was aware of the danger. It was a risk I was willing to take," she said with a slight shrug.

"Oh, I see. Your concern for me is quite touching," he said sarcastically.

"Gaius, what are you so upset about? Your body didn't reject it and you're fine. What's the problem?"

"The problem is that you put one of those... things in my head. But, no matter, I've seen now that it can be overridden. If a person has a strong enough will, they can override the implant. And if that single-minded, testosterone-riddled space jockey can do it, someone of my intellect should have no problem."

"How do you know that?" the blonde asked. "The implant in your head serves an entirely different function than the one that was in the captain's head. I'm not trying to control you. I just want to communicate with you."

"Yes, so you say, but why should I believe you?"

"Because I love you," she said simply and sincerely.

"Well, you have a truly sick way of showing it."

Reaching out an elegant hand, she caressed his face. "One day you'll understand, Gaius, and you'll thank me," she said softly.

"Somehow, I very much doubt that," he said, jerking his head away from her touch and walking away, leaving her watching his retreating back, looking confused.

THE END

Author's note: Yes, I realize that this was a rather ambitious concept to undertake and I'm not entirely satisfied that I pulled it off as well as I would have liked, but thanks to everyone for their reviews. And thanks to Kaarlo for the chats which influenced the ending.