Thirteen

Chapter Ninety-Seven

Picking Up The Pieces

The war was over. As it always seemed to her, Ivanova couldn't believe it at first. She always expected the enemy, even after their defeat, to somehow come out of the woodwork and attack again anyway. But the Cylons were silent, having surrendered and allowed themselves to be isolated on Marcab under the supervision of the Interstellar Alliance.

It was a time of transition for those on Kobol. Now that the Cylons were gone, the Colonials were really beginning the process of settling into their new home. They had rebuilt the Temple to house their religious ceremonies, the Forum to serve as their center of government, and the Opera House to serve as their main cultural center. They had tried to resurrect the old city of the Gods by maintaining to the blueprint set out in the Sacred Scrolls.

It was at the dedication of a monument to those Colonials who had died during what was being called the Second Cylon War that Susan Ivanova and Nelena Cain had a chance to spend some time alone together. After the war, Cain had returned to Kobol to help Admiral William Adama with the set up of the Colonial Defense Force, while Ivanova had gone back to Tuzinor to resume her duties as Entil'zha.

After the ceremony, Ivanova took a break from the reception to go over to Cain's apartment to have a talk that they've both wanted to have for a long time. Over the years, they knew that there was an attraction there, but neither of them had a chance during the war to act upon it. Cain had left discreetly earlier so that suspicions were kept to a minimum and to prepare the place for the meeting.

When Cain opened the door to her flat and welcomed Ivanova inside, the Russian was taken by the sight of the late day's sun streaming in through the window, which set a very nice mood for the meeting. Cain was still in her dress uniform from earlier in the day, while Ivanova wore the uniform of the Entil'zha, which was a long flowing brown robe, black tunic, and black pants.

While on Earth, Cain had gained a taste for iced sweet tea, which was the specialty of a restaurant in Geneva that she ate at on a regular basis and was renown for its American (specifically that of the southeastern part of the country) cuisine. She sat a chilled glass full of the refreshing liquid down in front of Ivanova and took one of her own to the seat next to Ivanova.

"Ahhhh…that's good!" Ivanova said as she sipped some of the cool drink. She sat the glass back down on the coaster and turned to Cain and asked, "So, where do we go from here?"

Cain paused to sip some of her own tea and to think of what she wanted to say. "Well, I think you know by now that I have a lot of feelings for you. I never expected to have these feelings for another woman. I never expected to have feelings for anyone ever again."

"I know. I was kind of surprised myself, especially considering how we first met." Ivanova said.

Cain laughed at the memory. "You know, in all my years, I've never known anyone, male or female, to yell that loud to me or anyone else!"

Ivanova laughed as well, then added, "Well, your fighters had shot up some of mine, so I was highly pissed. Yelling was the least of what I wanted to do to you at that moment."

Cain gave her a look and asked, "So what do you want to do to me now?" She had intended it as a joke, but Ivanova's face changed and she got up off the couch and walked over to her. She reached down and took Cain by the hand, lifting her up to a standing position. They stared into each other's eyes for a long time in silence before Ivanova raised her hand up and brushed Cain's cheek with it softly.

"You sure you want to get involved with me?" Cain asked Ivanova softly. Ivanova nodded and leaned in towards her, touching Cain's lips with her own and gently kissing her. Cain's hand came up behind Ivanova's head and pulled her in closer. Their bodies came together as they embraced and kissed with slowly building passion.

After a few moments of that, they moved to the bedroom and Cain laid down on the bed as Ivanova climbed on top of her and started to make out with her. Both took their time with this, giving the other the chance to bail out if they didn't feel comfortable with what was going on, but neither was willing to stop. They slowly undressed each other and, as the sun set in the west, their naked bodies touched for the first time.

Nelena Cain had been with a woman sexually before, but that had been in military college and that had never been more than just a casual thing. Muriana Bolinaras had graduated with her, but after her commitment was up, she had decided to go into civilian life. After Nelena had divorced, they had gotten together from time to time, but it was never more than just a friends-with-benefits deal, as Muriana had married an artist who was bisexual and didn't object to their liaisons.

This was different, though. Nelena had grown close to Susan over the years, and now realized that Susan had felt the same love for her as she had. Their lovemaking was slow and sensual as they took their time exploring each other's bodies. Nelena had never imagined that sex could be this powerful, this beautiful, and this intense.

They fell asleep in each other's arms, only to wake up sometime during the night to make love again. They woke the next morning lying beside one another as the sun came in from the east-facing windows of the bedroom. Susan ran her fingers through Nelena's graying hair and softly said, "I guess I'm not too old for something like this after all!"

Nelena smiled and kissed Susan's breast, burying her head into her new lover's shoulder. "I'm just glad that we came together! I've wanted so much to be with you, but we never had the chance to do anything about it until now!"

"I know, but we can be together now. We're both getting older and the time's approaching where we'll have to pass the torch on to the next generation."

Nelena nodded as she ran her hand over Susan's belly, tracing her bellybutton with her finger. "Apollo can handle the duties of commanding the fleet along with his father, so I can step down and move to Tuzinor to be with you, if you'd like."

Susan smiled and said, "You'd do that for me?"

Nelena rose up and moved so that she was face to face with Susan and said, "For you, I'd do anything to be with you!" Susan smiled and pulled her in for another kiss, and they made love once again. After all the pain they had both been through, they both enjoyed the fact that they had found happiness with one another.

Several streets over, in the Forum, Apollo was officially being promoted to commander. As his father pinned the new rank badges onto his uniform, Lee Adama couldn't help but notice some moisture in his father's eyes. Their estrangement was long in the past, and they were the closest that they had ever been. Losing his brother Zak still hurt him deeply, but he no longer blamed his father for what had happened, because he had come to realize that his own father blamed himself far more than Lee ever could.

The reception afterwards gave him the opportunity to make an announcement of his own. Dee Dualla came up to him with a beaming smile, picked up a glass and a spoon, and tapped the side of the glass with the spoon to attract everyone's notice. "May I have your attention please?" the young representative to the Quorum said, "Commander Adama wishes to make an announcement to you all!"

Laura Roslin and Admiral Adama looked over at them with some surprise, not realizing what was going on. Apollo looked at Dee and then said, "I would like to announce that I asked Dee to marry me last night and she accepted my proposal!" Applause and shouts of glee rang through the hall, and Admiral Adama came over to hug his son and his daughter-in-law-to-be. As he embraced his son, the elder Adama joked, "You're determined to get me to cry in public, aren't you?"

"Can't fool you, can I, Dad?" Apollo joked back, and Adama smiled and patted his son on the back. He left his son's side as the others came up to the engaged couple to congratulate them. Roslin hung back and Adama walked back to join her at their table.

"They make a lovely couple, don't they?" Roslin said with a smile.

"Indeed they do. With Starbuck getting married in a few weeks, this dress uniform will get plenty of use over the next year or so." Adama replied.

"You look handsome in it, Bill." Roslin said.

Adama nodded and replied, "Thanks! Nice to know one of us thinks I'm still handsome!" Roslin laughed and sipped some of the wine in her glass. Adama went on, saying, "So when do you go back to Minbar?"

"Whenever Entil'zha Ivanova goes back, because I'm hitching a ride with her on her personal craft. Those Whitestars don't waste time getting where they're going, that's for sure!"

"Indeed! Doing anything for dinner?" Adama asked.

Roslin's eyes went wide momentarily and she said with a smile, "Are you asking me out, Admiral?"

"I do believe I am, Madam President!" Adama said, returning the grin.

"Well, I would be glad to go to dinner with you tonight. Besides, I'm a lousy cook and I'm always up for eating out!"

"You think you're bad, Laura! You should have seen some of the crap I fixed for myself after I got divorced!" Roslin laughed and they sat back down to the table to chat some more, watching on as the long line of well-wishers surrounded the newly engaged couple.

From another table, Galen Tyrol and his wife Fabiana, pregnant with yet another child, sat with Garrison Hollifield and his wife Twanissa, looking on at Lee and Dee as they weathered the storm of excited people congratulating them and waiting until it subsided before giving the couple their own best wishes.

"This is what makes this victory sweet, you know?" Garrison Hollifield mused.

"What is that?" Galen asked.

"Seeing couples in love and getting married." Garrison pointed to Fabiana and said, "Seeing families come together and grow. That's what makes all the sacrifice worth it."

Fabiana noticed her husband had cast his eyes downward. "You're thinking of them again, aren't you?"

Galen nodded and said, "Yeah. I just wished Boomer and Helo could be here to see this! It took me a long time to come to terms with those two being together, even though it was another Boomer instead of the Sharon I knew. Now they won't be able to see their son grow."

Twanissa sighed and said, "I remember when a friend of mine in school had both her parents killed in the Dilgar War on the same day. They were on different ships and in different systems when they perished in attacks. She never was quite the same after that, but she's still around. She's Catholic, and she went into the priesthood. Last I had heard, she ran a monastery outside of Canberra."

Garrison added, "I miss them too." He sighed and added, "Even though I know that their sacrifice wasn't in vain, it still doesn't take away the pain of losing people like that. We lost so many young men and women during this war."

Just then, Ivanova and Cain came in together, and the four at Hollifield's table looked at them as they made their way to the lucky couple. Galen asked, "Do you think the rumor of them being an item is true?"

"If it is, then I'm happy for the both of them!" Garrison said, "I've suspected that they might get together, and now with the war over with, it seems like that they have. Feels a lot like spring to me, doesn't it honey?" He looked over at his wife as he asked that question.

Twanissa smiled and replied, "It certainly does, my dear! It certainly does!"