Thank you to everyone who is sticking with this story. I love all the likes and reviews. I know I've been terrible about posting on a regular schedule, but I'm trying really hard to fix that. Once finals are over I should be able to consistently post two chapters a week. Until then, please bear with me. Thanks to all.
Laura rushed through Colonial One. She passed many confused reporters and crew members, but she didn't pay them much attention. She had a limited window and wasn't about to waste it on pleasantries with these people. She made it to a secluded hangar of the ship and opened the bulkhead door. Behind the door, Kestra was lying on the floor scribbling on a piece of paper as she had been inclined to do for the last couple weeks. Laura smiled as she gazed around the room. Kestra's head popped up and she smiled.
"Laura, you came," she said happily.
"Of course I did," Laura said, "I'm sorry I haven't made the time recently, but it's been hell out there."
"Wanna talk about it?" Kestra asked as she sat up. Laura sunk down onto the floor bedside her.
"Ah, I don't know," Laura said hesitantly.
"Something's bothering you," Kestra observed, "it might help." Laura sighed.
"The cylon we are holding aboard Galactica had her baby. It died," she said haltingly. Kestra frowned.
"That poor woman," she said softly. Laura raised a brow. "I know how you feel about the cylons, but losing a child is terrible no matter what the species." Kestra looked pointedly at Laura and she sighed.
"Yes, but it does take another unknown out of the equation for me," Laura said.
"I'm sure she doesn't see it that way," Kestra said flatly. Laura knew that Kestra was trying to make a point, but she did not want to get into a discussion about the supposedly dead cylon baby.
"What's this one?" Laura said, picking up one of Kestra's drawings to change the subject. Kestra gave her a withering look to let her know she knew what Laura was trying to do.
"This is the bridge of the U.S.S. Titan. It was my father's first command," Kestra said, touching the drawing lightly. Laura smiled.
"It's so open," Laura marveled, thinking of the dinging bridge on Galactica. Kestra laughed.
"I've never seen the bridge of the Galactica, but I imagine it is very different. The halls of the Titan were white, and all the equipment was sleek," Kestra remembered.
"Sounds like a hospital," Laura mused.
"It did feel rather sterile. I always preferred our home on Nepenthe. We had a cabin in the woods, and there was a big lake right outside our door. Mom had a garden, and my father would bake pizzas in the oven outside using the garden vegetables. I always liked planets more than I liked Starships," Kestra said.
"A cabin in the woods sounds lovely," Laura said dreamily, "I wish I could hide out there until this frakking election is over." They both laughed. "Do you have one of the cabin?" Kestra nodded and walked across the room. She returned with a drawing of her family's home on Nepenthe. "Oh, it's perfect."
"Thad and I used to swim in the lake for hours, and he taught me how to shoot a bow in those woods," Kestra said.
"Bow?" Laura questioned. Kestra smiled.
"Of course. I've never liked phasers, or violence for that matter, I used the bow to get dinner. Besides, the Viveen didn't have phasers," she said.
"And Viveen is the made up culture your brother created?" Laura asked. Kestra nodded.
"Among others, but I always wanted to be Viveen. Even after Thad died, my father still called me a wild girl of the woods." Laura smiled as she looked around the room. The floor was littered with drawings. It appeared as though Kestra just threw them down when she was done with them. Laura picked up a drawing of a young boy's face.
"Is this Thad?" she asked. Kestra nodded.
"As well as I remember him," she said, "it's been a while." Laura nodded.
"I know what you mean. I don't know if I can remember my mother's face anymore. Not the way she was at the end anyway," Laura mused.
"Did any of your family survive the attack?" Kestra asked. Laura paused.
"I didn't have any family left by the time of the attack," she said tersely. Kestra put a hand on Laura's arm.
"I'm sorry," she said. Laura forced a smile.
"In a way it made it easier," she mused, "while everyone was mourning their loved ones left on the planet, I was able to think more clearly. I'd already done all of my mourning."
"You're never really done," Kestra said knowingly, "I miss Thad every day. My parent's too I guess." Laura smiled.
"Yes, I do miss them, but I've moved one with my life too," Laura said.
"By shutting everyone else out?" Kestra asked. Laura groaned and rolled her eyes.
"I don't need a psychiatric evaluation here, Kestra," she said playfully, "I know that I may have handled it poorly, but I also should get some latitude for the destruction of my home and most of my race."
"Okay," Kestra conceded, "but you could use more friends, like Admiral Adama." Laura's eyebrow raise a little.
"Like Admiral Adama?" she asked pointedly.
"He is the closest thing you have to a friend," Kestra insisted, "and if you treated him more like a friend and less like a tactical resource you might enjoy his company more."
"I do treat him like a friend. We've come a long way since the attack," Laura defended herself.
"If he were a friend I would get more information about him than his opinions in your briefings aboard Galactica," Kestra argued. Laura rolled her eyes.
"Very well," she said checking the clock on the wall, "I have to go now, but next time I'll try to come back with a more interesting interaction with Admiral Adama for you." Kestra sighed.
"Thank you for coming. I really appreciate it," she said sincerely.
"I wish I had more time, but with the election and the first debate is in a few days," Laura said but trailed off.
"I understand," Kestra said. The two women hugged briefly then Laura headed for the door. "If you see Lee," Kestra added when she reached the door, "say hi for me." Laura smiled warmly.
"Of course," she said. She knew it was highly improbable that she would run into Lee Adama, but she always promised just the same. "Do you love him?" Kestra was taken aback by Roslin's question. Her relationship with Lee was something that she didn't even understand, much less explain to Laura.
"I thought I could," she said, "but I don't think he was ever interested in that."
"I think he was," Laura countered as her hand came off the door. Kestra smirked.
"He may have been interested in me because I was new and mysterious, but I don't think he ever planned to love me."
"What makes you say that?" Laura said.
"Officer Dualla. Starbuck. I didn't know much, but I knew enough to guess that Lee isn't the type to fall in love with one woman. It may be my own limitation, but I don't just want to be a fling in Lee Adama's relationship history. I want a deeper love than that," Kestra said. Laura smiled.
"I can understand that," Laura said. Kestra looked at her thoughtfully.
"I thought he might love me like that when I first met him, but after I was released I realized I was wrong," she said not directly to Laura, but seemingly to the wall behind her.
"Why?"
"I've never been able to read a nontelepath's thoughts. I thought that it meant there was a different connection, between me and Lee. Something likeā¦" Kestra trailed off. Laura took a step toward her. She was clearly curious to hear the rest of that thought. "Imzadi," Kestra finished, knowing she would have to explain, "it means beloved on Betazed, but it's deeper than that. My mother is an empath, but she was able to sense my father's thoughts when they met on Betazed. Even after they were separated for years, their bond never faded and they ended up married. It was like they were destined to be together despite the unpredictability of their circumstances."
"That's lovely," Laura commented. Kestra sighed.
"I don't think I could ever have that with Lee," she said.
"Why not? He's known Dualla and Starbuck for years. He's only known you for a few months. He may surprise you," Laura said encouragingly.
"You think he'd ever settle down?" Kestr asked. Even as she asked it, she remembered that her father had been the same way even after he met her mother. He still found his way back to her.
"I do," Laura said with a knowing smirk. Kestra smiled.
"I'll keep that in mind," she said, "you'd better go or Tory will stop letting you come to see me." Laura laughed at that.
"Alright, but I'll see you soon," she said as she turned and left the room. Lestra sat back down with her drawings, her thoughts on Lee Adama. She thought about reaching out to him, but decided against him. Whatever she felt for Lee, she needed to wait until she was able to see him in person to work it out. For now, she would draw. She touched the pencil to paper and began to sketch the outline of Commander Adama's face.
