Laura and Bill sat in silence. She glanced at him curiously, waiting to hear his opinion on the situation.

"It's bullshit," Bill said gruffly. Laura smirked. It was an opinion, though not as helpful as she was hoping.

"Of course he doesn't care about the law, but I should have seen it coming. He's always been power hungry," she said calmly.

"That man cannot be allowed to hold the presidency," Bill countered in irritation.

"What are you gonna do about it, Bill?" she asked with an amused smirk on her lips. He looked at her and returned his own smirk.

"I don't know… I'll think of something," he finally said. Laura laughed.

"I'm sure you will," she said, "I should be getting back. I have a campaign to prepare for."

"Goodbye Laura," Bill said as he stood and kissed her on the cheek.

"Goodbye," she said as she turned toward the door. She stopped just before exiting. "Is Lee still aboard?" she asked. Bill furrowed his brow.

"He's headed back to the Pegasus to start his command, but I don't think his raptor has departed yet."

"Good," Laura said, "Thank you, Bill." With that she left the room, leaving Bill slightly confused. Laura quickly walked down to the hanger bay where, to her relief, Lee was waiting for his raptor to be cleared for departure. "Commander Adama," she called with a smile. Lee turned and blushed as he smiled back.

"Madam President," he greeted.

"For now," she commented with a half eye rolled. Lee grimaced at the implication. "Congratulations Commander," she said to lighten the mood.

"Thank you," Lee said gratefully, "still trying to get used to the title. That's been my father's title for so long, it feels weird to use it for myself."

"Well you've earned it," she said proudly.

"Thank you, that means a lot," he said, "was there something you need Madam President?"

"Actually, yes there is," she said, remembering why she came to find him in the first place, "I wanted to talk to you about Kestra." Lee's brow furrowed quickly.

"Is something wrong? Is she okay?" he asked.

"Yes, she's fine," Laura assured him, "but I wanted to know what your intentions are with her?" Lee looked confused.

"Intentions? I don't understand," he said.

"Well, you can't intend to hide her aboard Colonial One forever," she said frankly, "especially if you're not going to visit her at all." Lee scoffed slightly.

"I was shot. I've been by to visit when I can, but I've been very busy the past few months," he said.

"Well, visiting when you can isn't enough, Lee," Laura said pointedly, "you are all that girl has, and you've visited her once in the last two months. When you were shot she came over every opportunity she was given, risking her own safety in the process. Now I know that your duty to the fleet keeps you busy, but if you intend to keep your relationship with her, you're going to have to try harder."

"President Roslin, it's not that simple. I've just been given command of the Pegasus. I'm not going to have the time to take care of Kestra while trying to establish command of a new vessel. Kestra will have to wait. Once I get a handle on the Pegasus situation, I'll find a way to take her off your hands," Lee said diplomatically. Laura narrowed her eyes at him.

"It's not a matter of taking her off my hands," she said authoritatively, "it's what you are putting that young woman through while you go about your life as though she doesn't exist. It may be nothing to you, but your visits are all she has to look forward to. She stays away from Galactica for her own safety, like you told her too. She is dependent on your visits, yet you find it more worth your while to stay on Galactica frakking petty officer Dualla." Lee's eyes shot open.

"Madam President… I," Lee stuttered in shock. Laura did not avert her gaze as Lee floundered for something to say. She locked him with an accusatory gaze. "President Roslin, I don't think my private life is any of our business," he finally said.

"No, I don't think it is," she said curtly, "but I have always considered you a man of strong moral fiber, and I am disappointed at the disrespect with which you have treated this woman who you once threatened me over. I didn't think you would throw her out as soon as you got bored of her. I thought more of you than that." With that, Tory came up behind her and whispered in her ear. "If you'll excuse me, Commander. I have other issues to attend to." Laura nodded to Lee and turned on her heel toward her own raptor. Lee watched her go in a daze.

When Laura was back aboard Colonial One she received a communication. It was from Commander Adama's raptor.

"They're requesting permission to dock aboard Colonial One for an hour," Tory said guardedly. Laura smirked.

"Give them permission," she said dismissively. I'll be in my office. I don't want to be disturbed unless it is important. Tory." She turned with Tory on her heels. Meanwhile, Lee Adama's raptor was landing aboard the president's ship. Lee told his pilot to wait with the ship as he went off in search of Kestra. He made his way to her quarters where he found her sitting in one of the conference room chairs and looking out the window. He came up behind her and saw that she was drawing the ships she saw outside the window.

"That's pretty good," he said over her shoulder. She turned to find the source of the voice and smiled softly at him.

"Hello Lee," she said mildly as she turned back to her drawing. Lee sat in a chair next to her.

"I wanted to see you before I went to the Pegasus," he said conversationally.

"Why are you going to the Pegasus?" she asked. He furrowed his brow.

"Roslin didn't tell you?" he asked. She shook her head. "Oh," he said almost shyly, "well, I've been promoted to Commander of the Pegasus since the death of Commander Garner."

"Oh," Kestra said as she continued drawing, "congratulations." Lee looked sadly at her.

"Look, I know that it's going to be hard for me to get time to see you now that I have a whole ship to command, but I'm going to try. Okay?" he said hopefully.

"Okay," she replied calmly. Her eyes never left the paper in front of her as she etched stars into the sky.

"Kestra," he pleaded. She stopped her pencil and looked up at the window. Lee stared at her until her head turned to meet his eyes.

"Lee, I understand that you have responsibilities, and that you can't be expected to be here all the time. You have a job to do, and this is a great opportunity for you," she said with a faint smile. Lee frowned. He had expected her to chew him out like she had in her cell on Galactica or like the president had. This Kestra was different from the one he'd known on Galactica. All the fight had gone out of her. She sat there, passively drawing the fleet as he told her that he would have even less time to see her now than he'd had before. She should be furious.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned. She laughed, but it was short and forced.

"Lee, I'm fine. I'm safe, and you have a job to do," she said, "I don't want to keep you."

"I have time. I thought we could talk," he said. She shook her head.

"Your raptor only has clearance for an hour," she said knowingly, "even if you wanted to stay you couldn't."

"We have time, and if we need more I'm sure the president would be okay with it," he argued.

"Lee, you're in command of a ship. You need to be there now. The Pegasus is your first priority, so go," she said. There was no venom or resentment in her voice, just a passive acceptance. It was unnerving to Lee, who was used to Starbuck's aggressive arguments. The problem was, she was right. He'd already altered his flight plan to come here, and staying any longer would look bad on his first day as a Commander. He needed to get to his ship. He sighed.

"You're right," he said as he stood up, "but as soon as I get things settled on the Pegasus, I'll come back to see you. Then we'll really talk. Okay?" he asked. She looked up with a smile.

"Okay," she replied. Lee smiled back lightly. He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"See you soon," he said as he left the room. Kestra leaned back in her chair and looked at her drawing.

"See you soon," she echoed in an empty voice. She let the paper fall and closed her

eyes. Laura found her hours later asleep on the chair with a drawing of the fleet at her feet.