Nothing But You (Part Two)

By Socket

Laura closed her eyes and held her face up to the sun drenched sky. It's a glorious feeling – actual sunlight caressing her skin. She inhales the fresh air, relishes the sound of nature and the absence of a constant low hum of a ships engine.

She smiles blissfully, then opens her eyes and takes in her surroundings, suddenly struck by a wave of nostalgia as it hits her that she'll never see home again. She forced her mind from these thoughts – it was no good pining for what she couldn't have. She had to concentrate on the task at hand – locating Athena's tomb.

As the motley troop decided which direction to head in, there was a noise in the shrubbery nearby. Instantly, Apollo was next to Laura, gun drawn, he put his arm around her waist and pulled her behind him. Laura leaned against him as he aimed his gun at the unseen prowler.

A small animal emerged from the bush, saw them, took fright and scuttled off into the undergrowth. Roslin felt Lee's body relax. He lowered his firearm and turned to face her, he touched Roslin's forearm, she nodded that she was fine and he smiled. Then, realising that they were being watched by the others, he took a step back from her.

"Geez, Lee – take a pill!" Kara teased.

He glanced at her sideways. "It could've been a cylon centurion," he snapped.

Disregarding the brief distraction, Elosha moved towards Laura. "Lets get started shall we?"

Starbuck and Apollo were on point, scouting ahead of the others. Lee kept checking over his shoulder, making sure that Laura was never far from him.

Noticing his near obsession with Roslin's whereabouts, Thrace asked. "What's with you and the President?"

Lee retuned his gaze to the trail in front of them. "What do you mean?"

"The two of you have this whole clique thing going on where you're the only members," she said, trying to keep her tone light, trying to suppress her envy.

Lee slowed his pace, he didn't look at Starbuck as he answered. "We've been through a lot together."

Kara's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "We all have, Lee. End of the world – ring any bells?"

Lee shook his head; he didn't know how to explain it, he barely understood it himself. It was just something he felt. "It's different between us… we survived the initial attacks together, we stood against my father together, were imprisoned together, escaped and went into hiding together - "

Thrace held up her hands and declared. "Alright - I get it! There was a lot of 'togetherness'!"

Apollo grinned.

Thrace scowled. "What?"

"I love her, Kara," he stated simply.

Thrace stopped dead. "What?"

Lee held the blondes gaze. "I love her."

Kara stared at him in disbelief, then burst into laughter. "Yeah – good one, Lee! I'll tell ya – you had me going there for a minute!"

"I'm not joking. The way she makes me feel… I've never been so sure of anything in my life."

"This is all messed-up!" Starbuck exclaimed ardently. "There's so many reason why this is a bad idea, lets list them shall we? She's dying, she thinks she's a prophet, she's twice your age, she's the President and you're just the CAG, she's - "

"None of that matters when I'm with her," he interrupted.

And he seemed so secure, so certain that it disarmed Thrace. She continued to walk. "Well then, if that's how you feel… you're frakked!"

"Ever the wordsmith!" he teased his friend.

"You're letting yourself in for a world of heart ache, you know that, right?"

"It's not something I have a choice about, Kara. It just is."

Starbuck shook her head. "I hope she's worth it, Lee."

Apollo smiled confidently. "She is."

Laura stared at the Priests body, unable to grasp what had just happened. In that moment, Lee was the only one who could reach out and touch her, the only one she would respond to. She let him lead her away, let him comfort her as she tried not to cry.

They continued their journey in silence; he stayed by her side, watching over her.

When they stopped for respite, she read the scrolls, memorised passages and tried to remember everything Elosha had told her. Tried to hold-on to the belief that this was her path, that she was the chosen leader… but it all seemed so hopeless now; an impossible undertaking.

When the light began to fade, they set-up camp.

Roslin sat apart from the others. The rain came and went and Laura's heart felt heavy. Weighted down with grief. Zarek kept giving her odd looks and Thrace's unrelenting gaze kept falling on her... she wanted to escape their scrutiny, if only for a few minutes. So, without a word to anyone, she stood and slowly ventured further into the forest.

Starbuck caught sight of Roslin disappearing into the woods. She tapped Lee's arm. "Your girlfriend's deserting, Lee – you'd better go after her."

Lee turned to see Roslin's auburn hair glistening through the trees as she moved away from the camp. Immediately, he took off, in pursuit of her.

Laura doesn't go far – she's already exhausted from walking all day and the cancer is starting to slow her down – she can feel it now – inside her, eating away at her. She thinks of Elosha and wonders why her life was spared yet again when she was destined to die soon anyway? Hot tears streaked down her face. Nothing made sense anymore and she was tired of the injustice of it all. She wanted to quit, she wanted to scream and pound the forest floor. She wanted to cry till she burst, wanted to leave all of this behind her. But she's the President and a Prophet - she doesn't have the luxury of weakness. She has to pull herself together, she can't afford to lose control now.

Laura heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Captain Apollo.

"Ma'am?" his expression is filled with concern when he sees her tear-stained face.

Laura wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand.

"Are you alright?" he asked with trepidation.

"Just peachy," she mocked, her lip quivering with barely contained sorrow.

"I know that Elosha meant a great deal to you - " Lee began.

"I don't want to talk about it!" she stated firmly.

He moved closer to her. "But Ma'am - "

"Lee!" she warned, her voice rising an octave.

He can't let her fall to pieces, not after all they've been through to get here, so he pressed on. "She's gone, Laura… and we have to carry on, you still have to lead."

Roslin's eyes soften as she looked upon her Captain. "I know. I just…"

"There is no 'just', Ma'am. We're on Kobol because you brought us here. Now you must complete what you came here to do."

Laura squared her shoulders, her body filling with rage. "I have every intention of fulfilling my promise. I'm not falling apart – I'm mourning a friend! Aren't I allowed to grieve? Must everything I do be measured and controlled? There's only so much I can repress, Lee…"

Instinctively, he reached out and stroked her cheek. Their eyes locked and Laura stayed motionless.

"Grieve for her later. Let's get through this, and then grieve for her," he said gently.

Roslin gave him a half smile. "You're always my voice of reason, you know that?"

Lee let his fingertips trace the shape of her neck, then he slid his hand down Laura's arm and took her hand.

"Let's get some sleep," he suggested.

Laura nodded and they headed back to camp, hand-in-hand.

When they reached their tent, Laura crawled into bed. Lee lay beside her and they looked at each other across the distance separating them.

Laura studies Lee. He's so idealistic; sometimes it scares her. He has so much belief in goodness, too much faith in her… and her feelings of gratitude and devotion to him overwhelm her sometimes. Elosha, Billy and Lee had been with her since the very beginning. Billy had turned his back on her and Elosha was dead. Lee was the only person left that she could count on.

"It's just us now," Laura whispered.

"I'll always be here," Apollo promised.

Laura smiled. "I know," she murmured, then closed her eyes, letting sleep overtake her.

Lee watched her until his own eyelids grew too heavy and he fell into slumber.