"Mysteries of the 12th Colony?" she asked as she read the gilded title. "I didn't figure you for a mythology fan. You keep surprising me.," she said through a dainty hand covering her yawn. Now that she'd eaten, sleep was creeping in to take her.
"I can see you find me riveting," he joked.
She smiled, "I'm sorry. It's not you. It's just been a long couple of days. I should get off your lap. Aren't you afraid your legs are going to fall asleep?"
"I doubt they'll fall asleep before you do."
"Why don't I just sit next to you. I promise not to stand up."
"I've heard that before. Along with, 'the check's in the mail and I'll respect you in the morning'."
She was too tired to argue. Her conscience was soothed since she'd made an effort to do the right thing. He was the one who thwarted it. She shouldn't feel too bad, therefore, about taking advantage of his protective nature to revel in the warmth of his lap and the strength of his arms. "Alright, but don't blame me if you can't move in the morning," she said as she settled her head on the arm of the couch.
"I've heard that before too," he bragged.
The President laughed. "I'll bet. Quite the popular fighter pilot, were you?"
"I had my share of fun, but I wasn't adding scores of notches to the bedpost like some of the guys. The kind of woman I like was hard to find among the fighter groupies."
"Hard to get?"
Adama chuckled. "Yes. And, most of those women were sort of dim and clingy while I always had a penchant for smart women who could hold their own."
Laura had closed her eyes but a smile brightened her face to hear that even though he was a fighter pilot, he had discriminating taste.
When the commander looked at her smiling countenance, he realized the woman lying across his lap fit the description of hard-to-get, self-possessed intellectual to a T. Funny. He had never seen it, or at least admitted it, to himself before. He thought it was just a physical attraction, but it was disturbingly deeper. He returned to the topic of the book to keep from thinking about what might be between him and this woman.
"The reason I like this book is it intrigues me and inspires me."
She opened her eyes. Adama couldn't catch a break. The spirit in her eyes made him realize he could say the same thing about her as he said about the book. Luckily, she asked a question about the book which let him pull back from his dangerous thoughts.
"What's your favorite passage?"
"There's one about discovering a new continent populated by nations of warriors that…"
"Read it to me," she requested as she closed her eyes again.
Adama was glad to oblige. It was the only innocuous diversion he could latch on to right now.
Laura liked the story. As he brought it to life, she realized his voice was one of the things she liked best about him. It was sensually deep and rough. There was a powerful, dangerous edge to it that drew her to him. She felt safe now that she knew he dedicated that power and ferocity to her protection. By the eighth page she was asleep.
On the ninth page, he noticed her face was completely relaxed, like an innocent.
"Madam President," he murmured. He wanted to wake her to take away the temptation to kiss her again.
"Mmm?" she responded without opening her eyes.
"It's time for all bad girls to go to bed," he said as he put the book down and made his way off the couch with her in his arms.
"I guess you're right. I'm exhausted." She lolled her head against his shoulder which he found completely disarming. She no longer had her guard up with him and he didn't want to betray her trust.
He carried her over to the bathroom and set her down on her good foot where she could lean on the sink. "I'll get your nightgown and robe."
"Thank you," she said as he disappeared.
Next to the sink, in addition to a fresh towel and facecloth, he'd put out a new toothbrush for her. This very small thing told her volumes about him. He thought about her and her needs more than she did herself. He did this out of loyalty and concern with no thought of repayment in kind nor even any thanks. As she picked up the toothbrush, she concluded that this man whom she barely knew, and could barely tolerate a week ago, was now invaluable as a friend and confidant. She would do whatever it took to protect their fledgling friendship, including keeping her desire for him to herself. President Roslin thought about the nightgown and called out, "Commander! You don't have to go routing through all of that stuff. You can just bring me the whole box and I'll dig out what I need."
Too late. Adama already opened the box and was holding up the completely inappropriate nightgown. She knew this when she heard him exclaim, "Holy…what was he thinking!" It was full length flesh-tone satin but there were panels of soft, see-through mesh cut out around it from the hips to the hem. The cups were made of the same mesh. As he held it up, he could see straight through them to the rear wall.
Adama answered his own question. He knew what the kid was thinking because he was thinking the same thing now. How was he going to get the image of the President in this gown out of his head? "Damn that kid," he cursed.
He was relieved to find the robe was not see-through. He wrapped the gown inside it and brought it to the bathroom. "I already found them," he said as he put them on the counter while avoiding eye contact. Laura felt better when she saw Husher was embarrassed too.
"Thank you. I'm just going to take a quick shower. The sponge-bath in sick bay didn't cut it."
Adama had to look at her. He'd have been OK if she hadn't brought up the sponge-bath. The bathroom was small. She was one step away from him. He had to change the subject or he'd make a fool of himself. "Aren't you supposed to keep that foot dry?"
"I think I can sort of prop it outside of the stream of water."
"I'll bring a chair in and prop it against the stall for you to lean on," he said, grateful for the opportunity to escape.
When she finished showering and getting ready for bed, she discovered she'd forgotten to ask for fresh panties. She decided it was better to go without than put Husher through any more lingerie hell. As soon as she opened the door, he rushed over from the couch to pick her up. Silently, she warned herself not to get used to this. For months, she'd been starved for human contact without even noticing it. Now he was lavishing her with it. She had to remind herself not to ruin the friendship by taking the contact too far.
Adama pulled the covers of his bed back with one hand and gently laid her down. Though she still had her robe on, Laura pulled the covers over herself. She wasn't about to take it off with him this close to her. She did, however, venture to put a hand on his arm. "Thank you for everything, Commander. You've been really gracious considering I invaded your home without invitation. Not to mention breaking your back to carry me everywhere."
He sat on the edge of the bed and looked her with warmth shining in his dark eyes. "My back is fine. Military men enjoy being chivalrous, you know. It feeds our insatiable egos."
She laughed at his exaggerated confirmation of her initial opinion of military men.
"As for the invitation, any time you want to grace my doorstep, Madam President, as long as it's not to chew my ass, you're more than welcome here. I don't get many beautiful women visitors these days, gimpy or otherwise."
She smiled up at him. Overwhelmed with happy relief at finding a friend and confidant in the last person she'd expect, she sat up and hugged him. "Thank the gods I have you," she murmured.
Adama was surprised by her flood of emotion but he responded instinctively by closing her in an embrace and stroking her back. "Ditto. You saved my life in more ways than one," he admitted.
Unwilling to let him go, she almost fell asleep sitting up because she held on to him for so long. Finally, she slowly released him and laid her head back down on the pillow.
Adama pulled the covers up to her shoulders and said, "Good night," before withdrawing reluctantly to the couch.
They both drifted off quickly after the emotional day.
Pounding and yelling woke Adama with a start. He shot out of bed to where the blue night lighting on the ceiling partially illuminated Laura Roslin leaning and beating on the wall next to the head of his bed. She was sobbing and yelling, "Don't leave me!"
Adama came up behind her. She'd beat her knuckles raw, not to mention waking the entire ship, if he didn't do something. He stretched his arms out underneath hers. He turned his palms toward them as he braced his hands against the wall to catch her blows.
When she felt his presence, she turned around. "Mother?"
He wasn't ready for that. While he was stunned, she grabbed onto him, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Mother, I thought you were dead!"
Adama went along with it in order to get her back into bed. She might have already damaged her foot. "I'm fine," he whispered as he picked her up.
"Mom, I have it too. But the herb is working, as long as it holds out."
He wondered what that meant as he laid her down. "That's good," he whispered.
Laura didn't resist being put to bed but she held onto his neck even after she was settled. "I love you, Mom."
Adama was practically on top of her because of her grip on his neck. She'd discarded the robe under the covers sometime during the night. The soft mesh and satin of her gown against his bare skin made it nearly impossible for him not to kiss her…and not the way her mother would kiss her. "I love you too," he whispered. "I'll never leave you."
Satisfied, she released her grip. He sat up, staring at her as she drifted back to normal sleep. He felt like a voyeur for seeing everything the gown revealed but he lingered on the sight before checking her foot and pulling the covers up to her shoulders again. It was going to be very hard not to recall how she looked in long briefings and meetings. When his mind began to wander, he knew it would wander to that vision.
His more immediate problem was how to keep her from sleepwalking on that foot. It looked like she didn't damage it this time but he was mad at himself for not hearing her get out of bed. He thought about tying a string to her ankle and attaching the other end to his wrist but then he would wake up every time she rolled over. Sighing, he retrieved his pillow and blanket from the couch and laid them out on the floor perpendicular to her pillow on the bed. He hoped from here any first move she made out of bed would wake him so he could put her back in bed before she hurt herself.
Neither of them woke until his alarm sounded at 0600. Laura was disoriented for a moment until she remembered where she was. She smiled to herself and rolled over to see if her host on the couch was awake. All she saw were legs stretched out from the floor near the bed until she hung over the edge of the bed and saw him stretching.
"What are you doing down there?" she asked as he got up and turned off the alarm.
"You walked in your sleep again," he replied. "I didn't hear you at first so I moved closer in case you did it again. I'm worried about you hurting your foot even more."
"I'm sorry," she said with real guilt in her voice. Under the covers, she patted around until she found the robe and put it on so she could get out of bed. As she did, she realized he must have seen her without it last night. After the initial embarrassment, she pushed the idea to the back of her mind since she couldn't do anything about it now. Tomorrow night, she'd sleep with the robe on.
"We'll have to think of something else tonight. I can't stand the idea of you to sleeping on the floor just because I might sleepwalk."
"We can worry about that later," he answered, determined to do exactly the same thing tonight. "Right now, I've got to get ready for changeover at 0630. Coffee?" he offered from the galley.
"Oh yes, thank you," she said as she swung her legs over the bed. She was about to try to stand but remembered how he was about that. "When will I get my crutch and shoes?" she asked.
"I'll have someone bring them to you as soon as I get up to the CIC," he replied as he handed her a cup of coffee on his way to the shower. "I told Billy yesterday to clear your calendar until 9 o'clock so you can take your time getting ready."
While he showered she tried to recall her dreams to see if she could piece together what happened. She didn't want to ask him because she hoped he would forget about seeing her in this nightgown. She might as well have been naked. Try as she might, she couldn't come up with anything.
Adama came out of the bathroom 15 minutes later, fully dressed in his uniform. Even though she never cared much for the military, she always thought men in uniform were attractive. Now that she knew more about Commander Adama, he seemed exceptionally handsome in his.
He noticed she was sitting at the table with her coffee, his favorite book was open under her palm.
"You walked on that foot didn't you?"
"No. I levitated over here…really."
"I spent all night on the floor so that you wouldn't walk on that foot. The least you can do is sit tight until my runner comes by with the crutch. It will be less than a half hour."
"Yes, Sir," she said, mocking his stern rebuke.
"Alright. I have to go. What time will I see you tonight?"
She was surprised at the pleasure the question gave her. She must miss company more than she thought. "Is 6:30 OK?"
"I'll have dinner ready. Don't be late," he instructed as he turned to go.
She braced herself against the table and stood up, "Husher…"
He turned back to her and pulled her bracing arm to his chest so he could support her. Genuine gratitude shone in her eyes. "Thanks again," she said as she hugged him. He did not want to let go as he closed his eyes and returned the embrace. Had it not been for duty, he's not sure he would have.
"You're welcome," he said and ventured a kiss on her cheek as he set her back down in the chair. "Be good," he commanded as he shut the hatch behind him.
