Archiving- BSG 2003, Apollo/Starbuck Fan Fic, Fanfiction net, Flesh and Bone, my website, all others please ask
Warnings- Sexual situations, violence, language, angst
Spoilers- Seasons 1 and 2 (however, the spoilers are interspersed with lots stuff from my brain so… ;-)
Disclaimers- I don't own these characters and I am not making any profit off them. I'm just borrowing them for fun (well, maybe not the poor characters'...). ;)
Many thanks go to Audrey for the great beta:-)
Summary part 6e- Our characters spend a good deal of time dealing with the repercussions of recent events. Lee and Kara spend some quality time together. :-)
Author's note: italics indicate characters' thoughts, except in some cases in the present section where they are used for single word emphasis.
Additional author's note: While the chapter below is rated PG-13, it was originally written as an NC-17 version. While you do not need to read that version in order to follow this story, it is available in the NC-17 section of my website (linked to in my user profile). Please DO NOT read this version if you are underage or object to graphic sexual content. Thank you.
-Colonial One-
Colonial Fleet
105 days since arrival of survivors from Caprica
A few hours later she awoke feeling warm and safe, which was rather unusual for her of late. She felt some confusion when she couldn't immediately identify the familiar surroundings of her rack, then relaxed when she realized where she was. Smiling, she turned onto her side to face the sleeping man beside her.
She'd already known Lee Adama didn't snore, which pleased her no end, but she had never realized how different he looked while asleep. Tracing a finger over his familiar features she looked at him, considering.
The difference was… The difference, she decided, lay in the fact that in sleep he relaxed as he never did while awake. Despite his protestations to the contrary, in some ways he was just as frightened as she was: frightened of failing, frightened of not being good enough, of not living up to expectations –his father's in particular. Frightened of losing the control he had built around him like a shield. Frightened of living, frightened of dying, for what if there were no Gods? But he still tried despite it all, just like she did, and when he relaxed some inkling of his fears and weaknesses made its way onto his face.
She kissed his lips softly, gently. He kept trying because he was one of the good ones.
She smiled again as he stirred and opened his eyes. "Hi there." She whispered, and he smiled in return.
"Hey." He replied, and she felt his arms go around her. She moved closer to him and his arms tightened about her. "This is a nice way to wake up." He whispered into her neck. She pulled back a little and he saw the agreement in her eyes which she couldn't voice just yet, and kissed her. They were silent for a moment as they considered all they had and all they could so easily lose.
Then, moving into one another's arms they slowly made love, before once again finding peaceful sleep.
When Kara awoke an hour or so later, it was to find a pair of blue eyes studying her thoughtfully from across a few centimeters of pillow.
"Hey." He said to her.
"Hey there. You look more a bit more rested." She replied, putting her arms about him.
"It looks like I wasn't the only one who needed the rest, though." He pointed out, and to his surprise, after a moment's hesitation she simply nodded in agreement.
"What happened, Kara?" He asked, and she sighed.
"How much have you heard?" She asked, her eyes moving away to look over his shoulder in an attempt to keep herself detached from the conversation.
"Enough. Including some interesting information about just what happened to you yesterday." She didn't reply, but moved away from him and onto her back, one of her hands worrying the frayed edge of the blanket beneath it.
"Lee-" She said, but he interrupted her before she could finish.
"Kara, I won't insult you or your intelligence by saying I'm upset at your being out there and in danger while I'm here. Just like I won't tell you that I don't miss my old job because I miss it like hell, especially because I really never understood just how hard it can be sometimes to just sit on the sidelines when those you love are in danger."
"My point though is that this is war, and you're a soldier. I get that at least partly because, in my own way, that's what I'll always be as well." He said and paused, sighing.
"What I'm trying to say Kara, is that I love you. I love you for who and what you are and one thing you are is incredibly brave. Another is an incredibly gifted pilot, and a very fine tactitian… and someone for whom the military is an essential part of life. I get that. The last thing I ever want to do is try to change you." He continued, and paused as he rubbed sleep from his eyes, thinking through the rest of what he needed to say to her so that his initial anger upon finding out the risks she had taken the day before wouldn't be the only thing she heard in his words.
"But Kara… Sometimes I have to wonder if you realize just what it would do to all of us, and to my father and me, if we lost you." He said, his voice becoming very soft and quiet as he choked back emotion at that unthinkable but very real possibility.
"I talked with my father a few hours ago." Kara's eyes flew back to his in surprise at that bit of information, and he nodded.
"He called because he wanted to meet sometime soon to talk, and I agreed. Something he told me then stuck in my mind and it confirmed other reports I'd gotten... Something about a certain CAG ignoring regulations concerning a pilot's fitness for flying yesterday?" He said pointedly, and she had the good grace the look embarrassed.
"Lee…" She began, looking distinctly uncomfortable.
"Kara." He said, interrupting her defense, and sighed again. "What I wanted to say… All I wanted to say was to… ask you… if you could do something for me."
"Do what?" She asked warily, looking up at him.
"I just want you to promise me that you'll be careful. That you'll remember that you have people who care about you, who love you so much and who would be devastated if we lost you." He finished softly, his blue eyes shining with the truth of his statement.
She looked deep into his eyes and slowly nodded, before wiping away her tears. "I promise." She agreed softly and moved forward almost hesitantly into his arms.
"I take it things were pretty crazy on Galactica yesterday?" He asked as he held her close.
She was silent for a moment, not replying. "Yeah, they were." She finally agreed, speaking the words in a hushed tone into his shoulder.
"It's okay." Lee said quietly in reply. "You're here now, and that's what matters."
Her only reply was to move closer to him, feeling warm and loved within the circle of his arms.
It felt like coming home.
It took another hour for them to get up and dress as their eyes often met or lingered on each other. Their progress was slowed, also, by frequent pauses to exchange warm, passionate kisses. It was during one of these pauses that Kara once again noted the worry in his eyes, directed at her.
As she watched him her mind took her back to her talk with her Commander, the day before…
…After the two of them had walked in silence for some time, Kara had reached a point where she couldn't take it anymore.
"Was there something you needed to say to me, sir?" She had asked abruptly.
He had stopped walking and turned to face her. "Yes Kara, I do. There are a few things I needed to say to you, and first…" He had seemed to brace himself. "The first is to tell you that I was wrong to treat you the way I have since you came back from Caprica, and to apologize for that."
Kara had felt her mouth drop open. He was apologizing to her? She had quickly closed her mouth when she had noticed the gleam of humor in his eye –a gleam he had been too well-controlled to let show on his face, but that had been visible nonetheless.
She had cleared her throat. "I don't really know what to say." She had finally managed to get out.
At that the smile had broken onto his face, and he had actually grinned at her. She had flushed in embarrassment and shuffled around uncomfortably for a bit, which finally made him take pity on her.
"I also wanted to ask something of you." He had continued then, his tone and expression becoming serious.
"Ask me what sir?" She had asked, and he had sighed. This time, oddly, it had been he who had seemed uncomfortable.
"I wanted to ask you to be careful out there." He had said in a quiet tone, as he grasped her shoulders with both hands. "Just… be careful, all right? I don't want to lose you. None of us do." He had said softly, and gently kissed her forehead.
"You won't lose me, sir." She had finally managed to reply, but he shook his head.
"If you keep taking chances like you did today I might." He had said solemnly. "No one is immortal Starbuck, not even you. You saved all of us today, and I need to thank you for that. But I also need to ask you to be careful. I can't chastise you for what you did, but please… please be careful." He had finished softly as the love he felt for her -the woman who had loved and killed his son and the woman he'd come to love as a daughter despite that fact- shone brightly in his eyes.
"Come on. Let's get you checked out." He had said finally, and they had headed for the Life Station together…
"Kara?" Lee asked, bringing her back to the here and now.
She smiled at him. "Sorry, got distracted there."
He returned the smile as they moved into an adjoining room and sat down to eat. "When do you have to leave?" Lee asked.
"In an hour." She said, grimacing. Neither of them wanted this day to come to an end.
Lee's expression became solemn as they ate, and he appeared to be deep in thought.
"Something on your mind?" Kara finally asked.
He nodded, seeming to brace himself. "Yes. Kara, there's something I really need to tell you."
"Oh?" She said, his tone and demeanor causing her to pause in her meal and lean back against her chair. "Like what?"
To her surprise he let out a short laugh, shaking his head. "Gods Kara, this sounds so insane now that I'm here and about to tell you about it."
She frowned. "Well, how about starting from the beginning? That seems logical to me." She pointed out. He was starting to worry her a bit. "What's on your mind?"
"Well Kara… You know that after leaving the military and before President Roslin's death, I was working with her."
Kara nodded. "Yep. Military advisor, like you did before." She said, but he shook his head.
"No Kara, that's just the thing. It wasn't like before. The fact is that since I left the military –and left it on bad terms the way I did- I no longer had the contact with the Galactica that I'd had before. I couldn't act as liaison to the Galactica because I wasn't based on Galactica anymore. And while I did know how the military works, it was also obvious that there were many times, most of the time in fact, where I wasn't exactly useful to the President or anyone else."
"I honestly wondered why she kept me on and I kept asking her about it. She didn't give me an answer though, until a few days ago…" He took a deep breath, "when she asked me to run for the Presidency after her death."
Kara blinked. The President had what?
She cleared her throat. "This is a joke, right?" She took note of the seriousness of Lee's expression. "And the answer to that question would be no." She said and paused after answering her own question, needing a moment to take in the idea.
"Wow. Frak me." was her eloquent response, and all she could manage once that moment was over. Then, "What did you, um, say to her?" She asked.
Lee shrugged self-deprecatingly. "I was pretty shocked, I can tell you that. I finally told her I'd have to think about it. Later though, after thinking it through, I went back and told her I'd do it." He said, and Kara's mouth dropped open as she was once again rendered speechless with surprise.
After a few moments of waiting for her to think on it, Lee grasped her hands. "Kara? Can you say something to me? Like how you feel about this?" He asked anxiously.
She shook her head, shaking away her stupor, and looked back at him. "Me? How in the Gods' name do I have anything to do with this?"
Lee gave her an incredulous look. "Kara, do I really need to answer that question or should I just hit you over the head to get rid of the last vestiges of denial in that brain of yours?"
She glared at him. "All right, all right. Yes, you're right. I admit I have something to do with it. I accept your wisdom, Oh Wise Master of Knowledge…" He grinned as her words trailed off, and she paused.
She considered the idea a bit more, and sighed. "I don't know, Lee. This is all pretty sudden. I-"
He broke in at that moment, interrupting her. "Just promise me one thing, Kara." He said, looking at her earnestly.
"Promise what?"
"Promise me that whatever you decide, you'll remember that I love you. And that nothing is ever going to change the way I feel." He said quietly as he tightened his grip on her fingers. "I don't want to be parted from you." He continued softly.
Faced with the worry in his expression she moved to sit on his lap, putting her arms about him and looking into his eyes. She traced a gentle finger against his lips as she replied, "Lee… I don't ever want to be apart from you either." She took a deep breath to brace herself, then gave him the rest of her reply.
"I need to think about this, but I can tell you now that nothing is going to change how I feel about you, or the fact that I want to be with you. Okay?"
Lee nodded in agreement, relief evident in his face.
"But you do realize that I'm going to have to brace myself because…" She began in a mock serious voice as laughter danced in her eyes. "When the press finds out I'm frakking the President…" She managed to get out, before dissolving into laughter.
Faced with the ridiculousness of that thought, Lee laughed along with her, tightening his hold on her as he felt a deep sense of relief that she wasn't going to give up on them.
-The Battlestar Galactica-
Colonial Fleet
106 days since arrival of survivors from Caprica
Lee Adama felt rather uncomfortable and in the way as he stepped off the shuttle that had brought him over to Galactica from Colonial One, and he moved off to one side as the craft's pilot exited after him only to become involved in a technical discussion with a member of the deck crew. Glancing at his watch he saw that he was a few minutes early and began to fidget. He felt oddly conspicuous as he stood there in his civilian clothes, trying to avoid collisions with various people hurrying to and fro in the landing bay.
He had come to Galactica to meet with his father. After a short uncomfortable discussion covering many superficial topics unrelated to their recent personal difficulties and with no explanation of what he wanted, Adama had said he would like to meet with Lee at his convenience. Considering recent events it was truly an odd request and one which was only stranger for its politeness.
Lee straightened and braced himself as he glimpsed his father making his way towards him across the busy docking bay and made himself stop fidgeting. He stood waiting, giving the appearance of calm as he watched the man come to a stop before him. There was an uncomfortable silence between them for a few moments as they both stood there, a silence highlighted by the cacophony coming from the busy landing bay around them.
Adama cleared his throat. "It's good to see you Lee." He said quietly and fell silent, discomfort evident in his usually stoic face.
His brown eyes set in a weathered face stared silently at his son until Lee finally decided to break the silence. "You wanted to see me, sir?" He asked, and saw Adama flinch at his formality.
"Yes." Adama nodded before turning, indicating with a sweep of his arm that Lee should follow him. "But we should find somewhere more quiet to talk." Lee followed him as they left the docking bay.
Their short walk through Galactica's corridors passed in further silence, before Adama sat down across from Lee at a conference room table, and the silence between them lengthened.
"I… I asked you here for a reason, Lee." Adama said finally, his tone and manner uncharacteristically hesitant. "Simply put, I need to apologize."
Lee's mouth fell open in shock. His father had never used that word. Never. What in the Gods' names was going on? "I don't really know what to say. Apologize for what?"
Adama sighed before continuing. "For all the mistakes I made recently with you, including driving you out of the service. For driving you away." He said and paused, looking down at his hands before looking up at Lee again, a strangely pleading expression on his face.
Though Lee didn't understand this yet, Adama was pleading for understanding.
"I need you to understand where I was coming from, Lee. I have to say… I've known for a long time I wasn't very good at personal relationships, but it was something I usually pushed to the back of my mind. I suppose I tried to convince myself I didn't need anybody." He said and paused again to take a deep breath, then continued.
"The military has been my life, as you know. I suppose… When military discipline breaks down or doesn't apply, the truth is that I don't know how to react. I've known this for a long time now. But it's only been recently when several things happened, including getting to know you for the first time, that I truly realized everything I've missed in my life."
He shook his head. "I don't want to miss anything more, especially not with you –because I love you, Lee. And no matter what happens between us or how much we disagree, I don't want you to ever doubt that, or to doubt how proud of I am of you." He smiled ruefully. "But I'd like to try and find some common ground so we can agree, at least on occasion, rather than argue."
Lee felt stunned. Whatever he had expected before coming here, it wasn't this. He felt stunned, but also happy.
Slowly, a smile crept onto his face. "I'd like that too Dad." He said quietly. They both sat in silence after that, but this time it was a strangely companionable one.
"There is one thing I need to talk to you about while I'm here." Lee finally put in, clearing his throat. He hated to break into their peaceful moment with more worries, but he had no choice.
"Oh?" Adama said, leaning back in his chair, and Lee sighed. This was going to be a bit complicated.
"Well…" Lee pondered the best way to say what he needed to say. "I'm going to run for President." He finally blurted out.
Right. And the unparalleled eloquence he had just demonstrated was certainly going to help with that.
To his surprise, he noticed what appeared to be a gleam of humor in his father's eye. Lee coughed, feeling uncomfortable. "That didn't really come out right. What I meant to say was-"
When his father interrupted him, the gleam had turned into a full-blown, jaw-breaking grin. "I think I get the picture son. This was her idea, wasn't it?" He asked, his voice softening at the end.
Lee smiled ruefully and nodded, neither of them needing to specify who she was.
"I wouldn't be going ahead with it though, if I didn't think she was right." Lee said, his expression turning grim. "For one thing, I really don't want to see Tom Zarek win the presidency and at this point I don't see anyone else who could win against him –certainly not anyone I'd trust, anyways."
Adama nodded, his expression as grim as his son's. He hadn't considered the possibility, but now that it was before him, it actually didn't seem that crazy an idea.
As he closed his eyes for a moment to consider the potential ramifications, he smiled inwardly. Wherever she was, he was sure Laura Roslin was laughing her head off at him right now. She'd certainly gotten the last word. It was comforting really and something he should have seen before. The truth was that a person, a woman, like her never really died since they always left such an imprint of themselves behind in the people around them. She would therefore always be with him, despite everything.
He opened his eyes and looked at his son. "It looks like we need to plan you an election campaign then, doesn't it?" He said, and the twinkle was back in his eye.
-Colonial One-
Colonial Fleet
106 days since arrival of survivors from Caprica
The Presidential suite was again quiet and dimly-lit as Lee Adama made his way through it to his sleeping quarters. Today had been a long day, but he was glad of the work. It was almost inconceivable somehow to think of Laura Roslin as being dead, and working helped him forget his worry over what would happen to them all now that she was gone.
He couldn't help laughing at the insane thought that she had chosen him to replace her. He shook his head. Now there was a truly frightening thought.
Oh well. He didn't really have a choice, now did he?
As he walked into his room he pondered the recent upheavals in his life. So many times he had found himself torn from whatever anchor he'd managed to find –no sooner did he try to frame his life in a way that could yield some happiness than that comfort was torn away from him once more.
He said a silent prayer to the Gods, if they indeed existed and in case they were disposed to listen, to spare him this time. He knew it was a selfish prayer, but there were so many things in his life he couldn't bear the thought of parting with. He asked the Gods to spare his friends and his family –in essence, to grant him what so many had been denied. A selfish prayer and yet such a simple, human one. He simply hoped the Gods would forgive his selfishness, just this once.
His head hit the pillow upon completing that thought and he quickly fell asleep and knew no more.
He found himself walking along a field, watching tall grass waving in the wind and feeling a breath of spring on his face. He suddenly came face to face with a structure, complex yet elementally familiar somehow. What was this place? Standing within the strange building-structure was a beautiful blonde woman. She turned to smile at him, but her eyes were deadly cold.
"We are here. We are waiting, and the cycle will be completed." She said as her smile took on a mocking tone. He had the certainty he had seen her somewhere before.
"The cycle is well on its way to being completed." She said, her smile cold and menacing as the sky grew dim and dark. Her smile grew wider as all around her everything began to fritter, before falling to rubble. Somehow the falling structure didn't even mar her beautiful skin.
Kara Thrace was panting, choking with fear as she awoke from her latest nightmare. What in the Gods' names had her mind conjured up to frighten her with this time?
She considered that question with annoyance as she irritably punched her pillow and turned around in her rack, trying to find a marginally comfortable position now that her sleep had been ruined.
-The Battlestar Galactica-
Colonial Fleet
107 days since arrival of survivors from Caprica
"So, how are we today?" Lieutenant Kara Thrace asked Lee Adama in a droll tone of voice as he stood before her in her ready room, wearing an elaborate civilian suit. He rolled his eyes.
"I'm fine, and if you're going to make any smartass comments, how about I just save myself the trouble and tell you to frak off right now?" He answered as he tugged at his jacket.
"Frakking thing. I never thought anything could be more uncomfortable than a damned dress uniform…" His voice trailed off as he raised his eyes and saw that Kara had gone from amused to openly laughing at him.
Commander Adama's raised eyebrow spoke to them both eloquently and wordlessly as he stepped into the room and caught them mock-glaring at each other. "The ceremony's about to begin", was all he said however. Together the three of them left, heading for the docking bay.
Kara supposed they could have laid the President of the Colonies to rest somewhere else than on the fleet's warship, but she understood the reasons for the ceremony taking place here on Galactica. It was a sign to all in the fleet that the divisions of the past were in the past and that the future lay in unity.
As they entered the docking bay Kara looked around her at the changes that had been made in preparation for the occasion. The room appeared elegant yet sober, which somehow suited the personality of the woman they were here to honor. She grimaced at the gaggle of reporters which immediately surrounded them as they entered.
None of them paid attention to the press however. They stepped forward to make their way to the front of the room and the small group of VIPs which included one Tom Zarek, looking appropriately solemn and respectful as he contemplated the coffin bearing his longtime political rival.
Frakking hypocritical little weasel. Kara thought to herself angrily as she watched him keep his head bowed and his expression clear of the blissful smile he must be feeling now that his greatest rival to his bid for the Presidency had been eliminated -and without any effort on his part, to boot.
They stepped up next to the man and she managed to keep a polite expression on her face as he nodded to the three of them with exquisite courtesy. She'd decided she was going to do the old man proud even if it killed her, and she therefore determinedly turned her eyes towards the reporters and listened as the one nearest to her gave his narration of the event for talk wireless.
"…And now Commander Adama has taken his place near Sagittaron Representative Tom Zarek, as old enmities are laid aside for what is truly a day of mourning for all…"
Kara snorted at that, but quieted when she caught Adama's warning glance in her direction.
"And on another note of interest, standing beside his father is Lee Adama, until recently a Captain in the Colonial Military. Captain Adama had had an exemplary career, including such heroic actions as the recent destruction of a Cylon base, until his recent resignation from the service. A resignation which has been widely believed to have been forced as a result of his involvement in a recent uprising involving many military officers."
The gray suited man continued on, blissfully uncaring that the subjects of his discourse stood only a few meters away from him, serene in his rights as a member of the free press. "That event and any enmity which may have been associated with it seems forgotten however, on this solemn day. One cannot help but wonder however, what the situation will be once the election campaign begins –a campaign which will pit Mr. Zarek against none other than the aforementioned Lee Adama."
Kara suddenly had to restrain an urge to chuckle as she contemplated Tom Zarek's stunned face out of the corner of her eye. Kara, Commander Adama and Billy Keikeya had up until now been the only ones who knew what was coming, since Lee had submitted the documents required for his presidential bid this very morning. Though they hadn't expected the press to get wind of it quite so soon, Lee had already planned his first campaign speech for a few days hence, once the formal mourning period for Laura Roslin was over.
During their discussions a few days ago, Kara had quickly found herself in agreeing with Lee that politics was a rather distasteful business, before pointing out that he would always be one of the few exceptions to that rule. For some reason, that had made him smile.
As she thought of that smile, she moved her left hand over a few millimeters to touch his as they stood listening to Tom Zarek give a long, drawn out, unending, flowery speech on one President Laura Roslin.
And flowery doesn't make it smell any better. She thought disgustedly as she tried to keep a pleasant expression on her face while waiting for the frakhead to finish. Finally the boredom of it was over, and she watched as Commander Adama stepped up to podium to give his own speech.
Adama cleared his throat. Everyone in the room gazed at him expectantly, waiting until he spoke.
"It has been my honor and privilege to know Laura Roslin. Knowing her has taught me a great deal and I deeply regret her death." Then, stepping off the podium, he returned to his place near his son and Kara Thrace and a buzz of surprised discussion arose as a result of the extreme brevity of his speech.
William Adama didn't much care what anyone else thought however. What he had said was the absolute truth, unlike any of the other words that had been spoken about her this day. Standing silently and stoically, he saluted as did his people and watched as her coffin was sent out into space to drift into interstellar dust.
He didn't need flowery speeches to say his goodbyes. He had already done that, alone, while she was being arranged for 'burial' and just after she had been placed in her coffin. And so he knew that, clutched in her still hands was a flower: a single almond blossom.(2)
He had had many regrets in his life, not the least of which the fact that he had been such a poor father to his sons. When his wife Caroline had divorced him he had wondered, without quite knowing the answer to his question, why he still wore his wedding ring. Strangely, it was only in the past few days that he had been able to admit to the answer: he wore it as a reminder that he had once been something more than a soldier and commander.
He had told the truth in his speech –he had indeed learned a great deal from Laura Roslin. As he turned and looked over the gathering of people present, he saw his son reach over to grasp Kara Thrace's hand. Turning towards Lee she smiled, and the father in him couldn't mistake the deep feeling in her eyes.
Yes he had learned, and despite what might have been and the many regrets attached which he would have to live with -secretly and in the depths of his heart- for the rest of his life, he would keep his word to her and keep the faith.
Because there was hope for the future.
-The Battlestar Galactica-
Colonial Fleet
109 days since arrival of survivors from Caprica
These past few days had been quite eventful really, Gaius Baltar decided as he entered his quarters. After Laura Roslin's funeral two days ago the election campaign had begun, and in true campaign style it was already chock-full of nastiness. Lee Adama had formally announced his candidacy, and had given an appropriately stirring speech which Tom Zarek had promptly buried in criticism.
On another front, with regard to the debate concerning Earth, many people in the fleet had recently begun to cling to the prophecies as their last hope for salvation. With the recent upsurge in Cylon attacks and Laura Roslin's death, the people were becoming desperate for a way out of the desperation of their lives, and the prophecies Roslin had clung to had only grown in prestige in the peoples' eyes.
It seemed the tide of public opinion was turning.
At the same time another debate had come to the fore in public forums. Rumors of prisoner camps on Caprica had recently surfaced and had left everyone wondering at what might be. Virtually everyone had lost someone in the Cylon attacks and all were now wondering, as they had begun to do since the arrival of the survivors from Caprica, if their loved ones might still be alive somewhere.
Running a hand through his hair, Baltar put unpleasant thoughts of politics aside and began to remove his jacket. He smiled when a smooth set of hands joined his own on his shoulders. Leaning back he felt her warm, sweet breath in his ear.
"And how has the Vice President of the Colonies been on this day?" She asked, and Baltar grimaced.
"Please don't call me that. You know as well as I do that politics isn't something I enjoy."
She walked around him and came to face him, smiling. "You say that because you lost. If you'd won, I think you'd be saying something quite different." Moving forward, she kissed him, hard and sweet.
"But you will win. We'll see to that."
He pulled back in surprise. "What are you talking about?" He asked, genuinely curious.
Her smile turned wolfish. "I'm surprised you haven't guessed, Gaius, what's going to happen next. A genius like you…" She said in a tone heavy with irony.
"The prophecies will come to pass and humanity's children will rule even from the place of her birth." She said cryptically, before disappearing from his sight.
The End :-)
(1) Denn's fate as detailed in part 6c was an idea suggested by Kou Shun'u, who reviewed an earlier chapter of this story on Fanfiction net. Thank you for a neat idea!
(2) I used this flower because for some this flower signifies constancy and hope, as well as love not conquered by death (because of the story of Phyllis, in Greek mythology).