Thanks muchly to those who took the time to review Part 1. You have no idea how it's appreciated! I wasn't certain about continuing, but hey, if there are a few of you enjoying it, it makes it worthwhile.

So... it's full steam ahead...Part 2 is a bit different from Part 1 - and certainly longer - but it holds some of the same elements. And will probably indicate to you how I figure the rest will go. I'm thinking maybe 3 or 4 more - up until Pegasus, anyways. After that, I think I'll have to wait for the dvds to come out before writing more. If there's more in there to write. We'll see.

And since I'm going away for a while, I'm going to have to try to get everything written and posted before the weekend. Wish me luck.

Disclaimer: They're not mine and I make no money from them. Nor do I mean to offend.

Call It What You Like
 By: Mariel

2 - Home

- Make-up -

Betrayal, near death, and forgiveness. Then make-up sex on the ground under a tarp that kept the steadily falling rain at bay.

No regrets there.

Their initial meeting had been restrained. Arm around his son, he'd turned and said it was good to see her.

She'd merely smiled in return.

He'd brought her Billy. A father knows how important a son is to his mother.

Eventually, the evening routine set in and a fire was built and food eaten. As night settled and the fire lowered, people quietly drifted off to their sleeping areas.

Set further away for a measure of privacy, Laura's tarp protected both her and the Commander from the planet's precipitation while they talked. They had remained separate from the group, choosing not to join them for either the comfort of the fire or for the evening meal. Both pleased and relieved the two leaders were no longer at each other's throat, everyone had kept their distance. They understood - or thought they did - the need for the two of them to talk out their differences without interruption.

And talk out their differences they had, though more easily and quickly than most might have supposed. When the universe rights itself, understanding and forgiveness come with surprising facility.

They spoke at length, quietly revelling in the sense of rightness they felt at being where they were.

Together.

It had been a long time in coming.

In the darkness of Kobol's night, with the rustle of their movements drowned out by the sound of raindrops beating a steady tattoo against their tarp, they carefully moved towards one another. Sitting shoulder to shoulder at first, they listened to the rain and spoke of things other than the Fleet. And when everyone was settled and the night had turned quiet, they reached an accord of a different sort. In the darkness, his arm encircled her. She leaned against him and whispered that it was good that they were here.

Together.

And so, before seeking to find the tomb of Apollo, they sought and found each other.

It had happened before; it would happen again...

She'd needed to trace the raised scar on his chest with her fingertip, delicately trailing along its length from its beginning to his waist.

Needing no reminders of its presence, he had not let her dwell on it for long - the pain of it was too constant a reminder of yet another betrayal that would haunt his sleep. Tonight, he wanted it overridden by sensations more pleasurable - and prayed his body was ready for it. Driven by the need to consummate their reunion, he pulled her close and took her mouth with his.

Laura pressed herself against him willingly. The needs being met this time would be different and not so easily defined as on Colonial Night, but she did not question that they would be met. Opening her mouth readily, she returned his warmth, letting him know she was ready and willing.

And eager.

He tasted as she remembered, and she was quickly carried away by the wave of sensation he created in her. It felt both familiar and new, and it was so, so very good...

But when he rolled her onto her back and leaned over her to kiss her more deeply, his body stiffened. She felt his harsh intake of breath; heard his struggle to breathe. With a muttered curse, he slowly released his hold on her and turned onto his back, his hand pressed against his chest.

Instantly afraid, she sat up. One hand joined his on his shirt front, the other moved to the side of his head, its fingers sliding through his hair. "What's wrong?"

She felt him pause.

"This might be more difficult than I'd hoped," he said.

His wry, slightly irritated tone reassured her. She remembered him leaning over Sharon in a similar, though less amorous position; remembered also the way he had suddenly clutched his chest...

"You're in pain."

"No-" He hesitated, then admitted, "Some. I just have to be careful, that's all. Sorry."

"Are you sure?" she asked, wanting to believe him, but feeling a fear she didn't want to examine too closely.

"Yeah. When I lean forward, my insides fall against my ribs. It hurts, but it's not fatal."

Relaxing, she smiled even though it was too dark for him to see it. "What a lovely mental picture," she murmured, still running her fingers through his hair.

"I'm an artist," he responded dryly. Reaching up, he took the hand that caressed his hair and brought it to his mouth. "I really am all right, though," he said, kissing her palm. He inhaled deeply, loving the scent of her. Placing his lips against her wrist, he said, "I just have to be careful, that's all."

She leaned over him and gently touched her mouth to his.

He responded, teasing and biting her lips before reaching up a hand to hold the back of her head and plundering her mouth with his tongue.

By the time they were finished, there was no mistaking his state of arousal.

Or her own.

She half lay on him, with one of his thighs creating a delicious pressure between her legs she wanted more of. Touching him, she felt his hardness and smiled at the reflexive response her touch elicited from him.

"All is not lost, then?" she questioned in a low, amused voice.

He reached under her sweaters to warm her skin. "All is not lost," he assured her. His hands moved to the waistband of her pants, seeking the clasp to undo them.

She shed them quickly.

Eventually they were undressed enough. Weighing need and practicality, she moved to straddle him. Sighing as she settled onto him, his thickness slid into her warm wetness with just enough resistance to cause them both to exhale a soft moan.

Such pleasure.

He used his hands to increase her response to him, trailing them across her body, caressing and teasing her as she rode him until she wanted to scream from the pure joy of him. Of this. Of the night and what they were creating. When she was so taut the world could have ended and she wouldn't have cared ...when she was so taut she was breathless and focussed and lighter than air... he paused and whispered her name, and for one, eternal moment the sound resonated in the air around her and through her and into her heart. She opened her eyes and thought she saw his eyes glitter back at her in the darkness.

Then he resumed his movements and she hers and they built their rhythm until it and his touch took her over the edge. As her body stretched and took flight, she exhaled his name softly, sending it to join hers in the darkness.

-xxx-

She tightened around him, and he released himself into her, thrusting deeply as he clasped her against him.

Pulling her down onto him, he enjoyed a feeling of peace he wouldn't have thought possible only days ago. Enduring the pressure of her weight as long as he could, he finally suggested gruffly, "We might not want to fall asleep like this. It's how rumours get started."

She nipped his neck with sharp teeth, then slowly slid to one side and nestled against him. "Let's just rest for a while. I'm too comfortable to move just yet," she told him. "It's good to feel warm."

More than happy to have her with him, he pulled his sleeping blanket over them more securely and breathed a sigh of satisfaction. Wrapped neatly together, they both dozed contentedly.

Some while later, a slight movement alerted him that she was awake. She must have made the same realisation about him, because she whispered, "I suppose I should find my pants."

"Me, too," he said, knowing his were pooled around his ankles.

There were a number of things he would have liked to suggest they do instead of dress, but he was a realist. Most of them would need to wait until he was more fully recovered. And in more private surroundings.

Unwilling to have her leave him just yet, he ran a calloused hand up and down the bare thigh she had flung across him, relishing the silk of her skin beneath his palms. They lay like that a while more, enjoying the skin-to-skin contact - he gently caressing her leg, she gently moving her fingers on his chest beneath his undershirts.

It felt good.

Finally, reluctantly, she withdrew her leg and moved to feel about for her pants.

After a moment's rustling, all was put back in place. He saw her shadowed form pause and stare over at where her bed sack lay a few feet away. After a moment, she appeared to make a decision.

Something warmed in the air around them when she turned and crawled towards him, whispering, "I'll wake up before daylight and move then."

Wordlessly, he spread out his arm to welcome her back. When she was settled with her head on his arm and her body comfortably spooned against his, he tucked the sleeping covers securely around them once again. With his arms tightly wound around her, they drifted off to sleep.

-xxx-

As early dawn chased the first stubborn shadows of night away, Kara observed movement under the president's tarp. Unsure of what she was seeing, she stepped forward and narrowed her eyes as one dark form separated into two. Immediately recognising Roslin's shadowy figure as she began to move from the Old Man's side, Kara watched silently as a hand reached out to stop her. The president paused, then allowed herself to be drawn back.

Kara saw their lips meet in a kiss, then continued to watch as Roslin pulled back, then leaned in for another. Finally, the President moved several feet away from the Commander and slid into her bed sack.

Kara smiled. Morning watch always revealed secrets. This was one she would keep. It was, she thought, a happy secret. A good secret.

End
Part 2