Laura loved water: the sound, the feel, and even the smell. Maybe that's why her dream cabin always had a lake next to it and why a thunderstorm never failed to put a smile on her face. Some of her earliest memories were of curling up on her father's lap and watching lightning split the sky. She waited on the balcony off her bedroom looking at the sky, needing a reason to smile. A warm hand came to gently rest on the small of her back, letting her know she wasn't alone.
"I smell rain coming," she explained to Bill. He looked up at the clear blue sky and decided not to point out the obvious lack of rain clouds. He was more concerned with his wife's distant gaze and slumped shoulders. She fiddled with her silver bracelet absentmindedly. "I'm glad you were able to come home," she admitted.
"Wasn't taking 'no' for an answer," he replied but frowned. He nearly hadn't been able to get leave to come back and support Laura before and after her surgery. The fact that he couldn't always be physically present for his family was the hardest part of their life together.
"I wish I could stop overthinking for one afternoon. I know the doctor said that with this surgery, it will be almost impossible for the cancer to develop, but it's still possible," she whispered, taking a deep breath. She took a deep breath and smelled rain again. "I keep thinking of the press conference after everyone learned the cancer came back. One of the reporters asked me how long I had to live."
"You should have told her to go take a walk out an airlock. What kind of person even asks that?" Bill huffed, and Laura chuckled.
"Thank the Gods you had me to deal with the press," she muttered. They'd had more than one fight over the metaphorical fires she'd had to put out after he'd said the wrong thing to the press.
"You made dealing with them look easy. How was anyone supposed to know how hard it really was?" She chuckled, but the light didn't reach her eyes. He slipped an arm around her. "Laura…the surgery will work. We are going to have many more years together."
She hummed but didn't reply. She wanted all the time she could get with him. They'd had a good life together. The first clinking sound of raindrops splashing down could be heard. The sound grew louder and heavier.
"More years of you being right," he muttered, and his joke pulled a small giggle from her as he dragged her inside. In the distance, thunder rolled over Caprica City.
…
At the hospital the next day, the anesthesia put her right to sleep.
She hadn't expected dreams to haunt her while she was under. Opening her eyes, she knew she stood in a vision. Galactica was deserted. She shuddered; this cold deserted perversion wasn't how she wanted to remember her old home. She walked through the corridors until finding herself in sickbay.
Another Laura was lying in a bed surrounded by Bill, Starbuck, and Apollo. Laura remembered Elosha showing her this in a vision. Grief surrounded the group like a thick cloud; Apollo's distant stare, Starbuck's trembling chin, and Bill's slumped shoulders. Laura watched the children walk away, giving Bill the last few moments alone with the dying woman. The heart rate monitors flat-lined, and Adama leaned forward to place a last kiss on her lips. Pain was etched on every bit of his face while he took his wedding ring off and placed it on the dead woman's finger. Tears sprang to Laura's eyes, and she ran a reassuring thumb along her own wedding band.
Everything blurred around her, and the scene changed. She was on a raptor right behind the pilot and copilot seats. Pink birds flew in every direction below the ship. The end of her previous life, she realized. Bill was flying the raptor and her old self sat next to him, wrapped in a red tartan blanket.
"So much life," she whispered, and her hand slowly fell. Laura pressed a hand to her aching chest and watched. Bill stopped speaking and clutched her counterpart's wrist in a desperate attempt to find a pulse that he knew was no longer there. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the realization cross his face that she was dead. She'd never seen him look so devastated. Her heart physically ached when she saw him pull his old wedding ring off and slip it on her finger. As the cries of a heartbroken man filled the raptor, she looked down at her right hand where his old band still adorned her finger, long ago resized. Tears ran down her cheeks as she listened to him promise to build their cabin. She longed to take him in her arms and promise him that everything would be alright; he'd find her again.
The scene changed once more. She was on a Cylon Basestar where a raptor was landing. Bill climbed out, but her counterpart wasn't there to greet him this time. This scene was new to Laura. Karl Agathon waited instead with a sad look in his eyes and asked for the Admiral to follow him. Laura followed behind as Bill was led through the Cylon Basestar and into a room where another Laura was lying on a cot. Her breathing was rough and labored. Bill rushed to her side, taking her hand. The dying woman opened her eyes and smiled when she saw Bill.
"Missed you," she croaked, her voice hoarse and faint.
"Missed you too," he replied, and she gave him a weak smile before her eyes fluttered closed. She let out a raspy breath, but no more came after that.
"I love you," Bill whispered in a cracked voice, kissing her hand. His tears fell on the woman's skin, but she didn't stir. "Rest now. You rest." He pulled the ring off his hand and slipped it onto her finger.
My Gods, Laura thought. She recoiled as more scenes played out in front of her; the observation deck, the CIC after their last battle, in his quarters. She watched herself die over and over having never stood on Earth. Each time, Bill slid his ring on her finger, but she was never his wife. A voice echoed around her.
"All this has happened before," an old man's rasp filled the air. Laura looked down and found herself holding a glowing orb. The importance of the object permeated every fiber of her being until Laura awoke in her hospital room. The procedure had been successful.
….
Richard Adar had just announced his candidacy for office. He declared his intention to be the next President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. Adoring fans had cheered him on, and the cameras had gone wild. Adar was a popular man and played the crowd like a master. After consulting with his aides, who handed him favorable poll report upon favorable poll report, he found his way to Laura's office. He knocked and immediately entered.
"You know the first thing I am going to do when I am President of the Twelve Colonies?" Richard asked, striding into the room with a confident swagger. He removed his jacket and helped himself to the drinks cart. Grinning at the woman behind the desk, who looked up at him over her glasses and raised an eyebrow, he raised his glass in a silent toast.
"*When* you become President?" Laura's tone was light and teasing, calling him out on his presumptuousness. She also made it sound like she might not care one way or the other if he was elected or not, and Richard found her lack of simpering deference almost intoxicating. His popularity had caused him to become accustomed to people fawning over him; except for Laura. He strode over to her desk and stood over her. His height forced her to tilt her chin up to look at him. She almost laughed at his power pose and was clearly not impressed.
"When, yes *when*, I become President," he repeated leaning onto her desk. "The first thing I am going to do is appoint you Secretary of Education," he promised. He took another sip of his drink and waited for her reaction. He wanted to see her exclamation of gratitude at his generosity. She gave him a pretty little laugh instead.
"Whatever you say…Mr. President," she teased, rolling her eyes and then continuing to work. Her day had been all about playing catch up after her medical leave. He reached over and took her chin in his hand and forced her to look back up at him.
"When I am President you are going to have to learn some respect you know," he murmured to her. His eyes burned intently into hers.
"You know I respect you," she commented lightly.
"Maybe in public. But, in private I never get the right response from you, never the one I want," she pulled away from him, looked down, and reached for a folder on her desk. She walked a fine line with Richard, building friendship and trust in preparation for the day they'd reveal the future to him. But he never stopped flirting with her and made his desire for her plain. Laura knew the firm telling off Richard deserved could irreparably damage the relationship, so she tolerated the man and his advances.
"We could do such great things together," he murmured, "for the good of the Colonies," he added. He was always toeing the professional line. Laura ignored him, reaching past him to grab a pen from its holder. Richard's eyes followed her movements as she worked.
"Have a drink with me Laura? Celebrate your return to the office and my candidacy?" he invited. "Just a quick drink between friends."
Before she got a chance to respond another person knocked on her door and entered. Richard gave an audible sigh but didn't immediately move away when he saw Bill Adama entering the room. Instead he leveled a gaze at the man, as if daring the Commander to comment on his presence or his proximity to Laura.
"The wayward husband returns," Adar proclaimed. Laura ignored Richard and stood, moving around her desk and towards Bill. Grateful for her husband's presence, she placed her hands on his chest and stood on her toes to kiss him in greeting, knowing Richard was glowering somewhere behind her.
"Dropped by to check on you. The Doctor told you to take it easy on your first day back," Bill murmured to her.
"It's only been paperwork today, Bill," she tried to assure him, but caught the hard look he gave her. "Let me finish up here," she acquiesced and turned her attention back to the other man in the room. "Richard you should go. Johnathan Burr is about to announce his candidacy. You and your aides should be ready," she said and with that began moving around the office, wrapping up her day.
Richard bristled at his obvious dismissal and the ease with which it was delivered. He nearly growled out loud in frustration at the fact that he'd been about to take Laura out for a drink until Bill Adama showed up. Instead, he pulled himself up to his full height, scooped up his jacket and began to leave. Then, he stopped next to Bill and whispered in a low voice.
"You know, I would never leave my wife while she's recovering from surgery," he hissed.
"Military doesn't always get the same luxuries you civilians do. I do my duty," Bill snipped back.
"To the Fleet or to Laura?" Richard asked but didn't give Bill the chance to reply. He strode out the door instead.
Bill shook his head and clenched his fists before taking a deep calming breath. He wouldn't let that moron get to him. He mentally assured himself that he wasn't making the same mistakes of his other life and turned to Laura. She was zipping up her bag and hadn't heard the conversation between the two men. She looked up at him and smiled.
"Take me home?" she asked, and Bill was only too happy to comply.
…..
Saul Tigh, the newly promoted XO of the Battlestar Valkyrie, muttered and swore from the floor next to Commander Adama. They'd been thrown clean off their feet during the last barrage of attacks. Sparks reigned down around them as consoles protested their power surges. Metal groaned against the incoming fire slamming into the sides of the ship.
In the air around them sweat and adrenaline mixed with smoke; the smell of battle. Men and women raced around CIC, their bodies slamming into consoles and colliding with one another as the ship lurched with each hit. Reports were shouted over the sound of shattering glass and blaring alarms. Many officers had expressions of fear. Theirs wasn't a world of battle after battle after battle. The constant combat Adama had once known was not their reality.
Adama pulled himself to his feet and stood tall at the head of the tactical table in CIC. He eyed the DRADIS screen and calmly issued commands on where he wanted his viper squadrons to engage. The powerful man made the tactical table an island of stoic calm that waves of panic and fear couldn't reach. Instead Adama's calmness radiated outward and comforted his soldiers. He'd seen more battles now than any other Colonial officer in the Fleet.
Rebel Librans were a troublesome group. They were known for being violent when caught, and Adama had caught them. The battle raged, and the Valkyrie was sustaining extensive damage. Casualty reports came in, and Adama knew there were soldiers who'd be lost in this battle. Now wasn't the time to mourn.
He led the men and women under his command to victory, but the Valkyrie needed at least three months in dry dock to recover from its battle with the rebels.
…
Laura waited on the sidewalk by her car for Bill. Her irritation flared, she ended up dodging far too many inebriated soldiers who were hanging out around the spaceport. Laura didn't know and didn't care what was going on; she was too busy looking for her battle-weary husband.
So, when a young blonde woman staggered into her, she had to bite back the tongue lashing she wanted to give. The drunk girl laughed at her own clumsiness before looking up into Laura's face. Laura froze.
"Hey, Madame Prez!" she laughed. "Didn't think I'd see you again." She pulled herself moderately upright before taking a swing from the bottle she was carrying.
"You know me?" Laura asked tentatively.
"Not you too. Frak! Does no one remember?!" Kara stumbled backwards, and Laura quickly moved to try and catch her, but Kara swatted her hands away. "You…. you of all people should…" she tried moving backward while shaking her head. In her drunk state it only made the world spin around her.
"Starbuck!" Laura snapped. Kara fell on the ground and stared up at Laura. The older woman knelt next to her. "What do you hear Starbuck?" Laura asked gently looking Kara in the eye. She saw Kara's lip tremble, but instead of letting a single tear fall she took a swing of booze.
"Nothin'…. nothin' but the rain."
"Come on, I'm taking you home. We'll show Bill what the cat dragged in." Kara snorted with laughter.
"Not sure you've built up an alcohol tolerance yet," Laura muttered, bending down to help the girl to her feet. Kara's arm was slung around Laura's shoulders, and the two women stumbled over to the car. All the way Kara kept muttering about no one remembering, and Laura's heart went out to the girl. She'd panicked herself when she'd woken with memories of the future.
Laura unlocked the car and gently pushed Kara into the backseat while also taking the bottle away from her. "Lie down," she ordered, rolling her eyes when she heard Kara's reply of, "Yes Madame Prez," instinctively come out.
Meanwhile Bill had exited the spaceport and moved along the sidewalk until he spotted his wife waiting by the car. Unaware of the situation, he pulled her into a kiss, thrilled to see her.
"Home?" he asked, reaching out his hand for the keys.
"I've got a surprise for you first," Laura said and motioned for him to look into the back seat. Bill peered through the window and nearly jumped in shock at the sight of Kara passed out. "Kara crashed into me and started calling me Madame Prez. She's a bit rough right now."
"What the…" Bill began but Laura cut him off.
"Let's take her home and go from there," she suggested, dropping the keys in his hand before moving to get into the passenger seat. Bill shook his head and took his place behind the wheel.
"Who's dat?" Kara groaned from the back seat.
"Still getting into trouble, Starbuck?" Bill asked.
"Ohhh! Madame Prez, it's the Old Man!" Kara exclaimed. Laura rubbed her forehead and snorted in the front seat. "Oh yea. You were gonna show him what the cat dragged in." Kara remembered. Bill glanced over at Laura with a raised eyebrow.
"Grab your gun and bring in the cat," Laura said with a shrug.
"Nuttin' but the rain," Kara recited in a slurred voice.
"I can't believe this is happening," Bill muttered as they began to drive home.
"That's not the lineeee. You're supposed to say grab your cat and bring in the gun. Hey, you two know each other? Right?" Kara asked, shifting around in the backseat trying to get comfortable as her intoxicated mind tried to process everything. Before Bill or Laura could reply Kara's snores filled the car.
"This is going to be an entertaining conversation when she sobers up."
...
Laura went inside first and thanked the babysitter for her time. Then she went upstairs to check on the sleeping boys while Bill brought in Kara from the car. Satisfied Liam and Zak were safe and snug, she went back downstairs. Their guest had passed out again after being plopped down on the couch, and Laura found Bill sitting in one of the chairs nearby observing her. Laura moved to him and placed her hands on his shoulders and began massaging.
"Knew you'd be tense," she mumbled to him. "You're going to stay up with her, aren't you?"
"Do you want to see the chaos Starbuck can cause when she wakes up in an unfamiliar place?" he asked, and Laura chuckled. He sighed and relaxed at her touch. The first time she'd massaged the tension away from his shoulders he'd been almost speechless at the seemingly small act of intimacy; he'd loved it. Stress left its physical mark on him, but he'd never asked Laura to help ease the tension away. He'd made that mistake with Carolanne. So, when Laura approached him the first time and placed her hands soothingly on his knotted muscles, he'd fallen in love with her even more.
"I'm a little antsy. Need to do something with my hands," Laura explained as she worked. At Bill's chuckle she swatted the back of his head lightly. "Mind out of the gutter dear."
"Why antsy?" Bill asked his wife who sighed and shook her head.
"Kara now remembers, and I wonder who else suddenly will. What if Lee one day comes home and starts calling me Madame President too instead of just Laura or mom?"
"One day at a time, Laura," he advised.
…..
Kara cracked an eye open and moaned. She looked around and saw the two figures in the living room with her. They stared back at her with curious expressions. She groaned at her massive headache and pointed at her head.
"Boom…boom…boom…"