Hi Everybody, I'm sorry it's been a while since I've uploaded a chapter. To make up for it I'm posting four chapters today instead of two. Again, thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed my story. It's really the only thing that's keeping this story going. I hope everyone's having a great summer and I hope you enjoy these chapters.
-CD
Kestra entered the school tent quietly. Laura was in the middle of a lesson, and if any student heard her behind them, they would be spending the next ten minutes trying to regain their focus. Kestra sat at a table in the back and began grading papers. There was really no school system set up, so her grading was only an exercise to help the children know where they made mistakes and how to fix them. She wasn't very familiar with the history of the Twelve Colonies, but she had gotten a grasp on their current level of math and science enough to help teach the children. Maya was already sitting at the table working on a history lesson for tomorrow. Kestra smiled warmly at her as she took her seat. She glanced beyond the table to see the bassinet that held Maya's baby.
"How's the baby?" Kestra asked softly. Maya beamed at the mention of her daughter.
"She's been very good today. She's such a quiet baby. If I wasn't paying attention, sometimes I would forget she's even here," Maya said with pride.
"What an angel," Kestra praised.
"Just having her is such a blessing. I wouldn't mind if she cried every second as long as she's with me," Maya said wistfully as she watched the baby sleep.
"I know what you mean," Kestra said, "it can be rather lonely in this fleet. It would be nice to have someone to take care of." Maya nodded.
"You don't have any children, do you?" Maya asked tentatively. Kestra smiled and shook her head.
"No, but I would've liked to," Kestra said as she cast her eyes back to the papers before her.
"Don't sound so negative. You're young. There's still time," Maya replied encouragingly. Kestra breathed a cynical laugh.
"There are more obstacles to that than you could possibly know. It's easier for me to let it go than to hold onto something that will never be," Kestra said, but brightened up after, "besides I get to see these kids every day, and that'll have to be enough for me." Maya smiled out at the class.
"If you'd ever like to help me with Isis, I'd be very grateful," she said, "raising a baby alone is not an easy task. Not that Laura hasn't been helpful, and Tori. I just thought that if you wanted to spend some time with her."
"I'd love to," Kestra said gratefully, "thank you, Maya." Both women smiled at each other. Laura's voice reached them at the back of the room as she started dismissing the student.
"Alright everyone, that's it for today. I'll see you all tomorrow," she said cheerfully. Kestra loved to see Laura teaching. She was clearly more comfortable in the classroom than in a press conference. She hugged the children goodbye as they rushed past her to find their parents. Kestra and Maya bid some of the students goodbye as they left as well. Laura approached the pair as she followed the last of the students out.
"Whew," Laura said with a laugh, "it's been a while since I've actually been teaching in a classroom. I need to readjust to speaking to children rather than angry politicians." Maya and Kestra laughed with her. "Thank you two for helping with this. I really appreciate it. It's going to take a lot of work to set up any kind of education system here, but this is a wonderful start."
"I'm happy to help, Laura," Maya assured her, "after all you've done for me, and the children are a delight."
"Speaking of children," Laura said with a smile, "why don't you take the baby home. It's been a long day. We can finish up here."
"Are you sure?" Maya asked, glancing at Kestra. Kestra nodded with Laura. "Alright, well I finished the history lesson for tomorrow. It's in the folder over there. She pointed to the table.
"Thank you so much," Laura said gratefully, "we'll see you tomorrow.
"See you tomorrow." Maya crossed to where Isis laid. Maya picked up the baby and turned back to Laura and Kestra. "Say goodbye, Isis," Maya cooed as she waved Isis's little hand at them.
"Bye bye," Laura said to the baby. Maya gave another grateful smile before leaving the tent. Laura sighed when they had left. Kestra began gathering papers the students had left behind and straightening up the tent in preparation for the next day's lesson. "Do you have any plans this evening?" Laura asked. Kestra looked up briefly as she continued to move through the room.
"When do I ever have plans Laura?" she asked sarcastically. Laura shrugged.
"I thought maybe you'd meet up with a friend. You should let loose a little," she replied.
"Laura, you're the only friend I have," Kestra said.
"Now we both know that's not true," Laura said firmly. Kestra finally stopped moving and stared at the older woman.
"We're not going there today," she said.
"Then when are you going to do something about it?" Laura asked pointedly.
"I am under no obligation to do anything about it," Kestra said, shaking her head. Laura crossed the room to her.
"No, you're not, but you said so yourself; you don't have any other friends."
"No, I don't, and I'm fine with that."
"Are you really?"
"Laura, I really don't want to talk about Lee right now."
"Then talk to him."
"Lee doesn't want to talk to me."
"Lee cares about you a great deal. You're both being stubborn, and one of you is going to have to give in if you're ever going to get past this." Kestra barked a sharp humorless laugh at this.
"Maybe I don't want to get past this, Laura. I don't want to be desperate enough for Lee's attention that I ignore his lies and disloyalty. I don't want to spend my life looking the other way just to keep him in my life," Kestra spat. Laura's eyes widened.
"What did he do?" she asked. Kestra rolled her eyes in an attempt to keep her tears at bay.
"He's in love with her, Laura. And I'll never be able to change that, so why fight it," she said, defeated. Laura rested her hand on Kestra's shoulder.
"Are you willing to lose his friendship, because he's in love with another woman?" she asked softly. Kestra shook her head.
"That's not… he said he loved me. How am I supposed to trust him now?" she asked. Laura shook her head too.
"I don't know, but I know that he would have better answers to your questions than I do," she said. Kestra heaved a big sigh.
"I doubt it," Kestra replied, "he didn't seem to have many answers after sleeping with her." Laura paused for a moment in shock, but she quickly recovered her voice.
"Did you give him a chance to answer?" Laura asked pointedly, "you can't keep pushing him away and expect him to stick around. Eventually, he'll stop trying to answer."
"You know what, Laura? I think you shouldn't be so hypocritical," Kestra said, "I'm no more distanced from the people around me than you are, and you've been living with them for much longer than I have." Laura scoffed.
"You're right. Maybe we shouldn't talk about this today," she said. Kestra looked at Laura, clearly apologetic for her previous comment. Laura held her gaze but kept her expression impassive. Suddenly, Kestra let out a burst of laughter. Laura furrowed her brow, slightly hurt by her reaction.
"I'm sorry," Kestra said through her laughter, "it's not… I didn't mean…" Kestra's laughter was not stopping, and it caused Laura to crack a smile. The laughter was infectious and soon they were both laughing. After a few moments they calmed down and met each other's eyes again.
"I'm just worried for you," Laura said, her smile softening to show her sincere concern for her friend.
"And I appreciate that, but I need to do this my way," Kestra said. Laura nodded.
"Ok," she said plainly, "but I still don't think I am the only friend you have. You and Maya seem to be getting along." Kestra smiled.
"We are," Kestra said, "and Isis is precious."
"Isn't she?" Laura said in agreement, "come on, let's get out of here." She wrapped an arm around Kestra's shoulders and led her out of the tent. They walked through the streets and ran into Galen Tyrol.
"Chief, it's lovely to see you," Laura said with a bright smile.
"It's good to see you too Madam President, or I guess," Tyrol stuttered as he tried to correct himself.
"Laura is fine," she said kindly. Tyrol sighed in relief.
"Laura," he said, "you're heading up the school, right?"
"Yes, I am," Laura said happily.
"That's good. Must be weird going back to teaching school after… everything," he said. Laura laughed a little.
"It's been a long time since I've actually taught in a classroom, but now I'm reminded of how rewarding it can be. Speaking of which, I hear you have a little one of your own on the way. Congratulations."
"Thank you," Galen said, beaming, "Cally and I are very excited."
"Well, it won't be long here before I have your child in my classroom then, will it?"
"I guess not. It's nice to know that he'll have some sort of stability growing up. Cally didn't want to raise him on Galactica."
"I can understand that," Laura said with a nod, "a military ship isn't the easiest place to raise a child."
"No, but it hasn't been easy trying to be a civilian again either," he commented. Laura gave him a sympathetic smile. He was distracted when he noticed the woman standing behind her, looking quite uncomfortable. Laura followed his gaze and noticed what had drawn his attention.
"Oh, how rude of me," she said, pulling Kestra forward, "Chief Tyrol, this is Kestra Riker. Kestra is one of my aids at the school." Tyrol smiled and stuck out his hand in greeting.
"Galen," he said.
"Pleasure to meet you, Galen," Kestra said shyly.
"I feel like I've seen you before," Galen said as he stared at her intently, "were you ever aboard Galactica?" Kestra glanced at Laura nervously before answering.
"Yes," she said, "I came over a couple times when Lee Adama was still the CAG before he was transferred to the Pegasus."
"Oh, you're a friend of Lee's," Tyrol said curiously, "I must have seen you when you were aboard." Kestra smiled falsely.
"Yes, I was only on the Galactica briefly. I spent much more time with Lee once he was Commander of the Pegasus," Kestra said, trying to keep the conversation moving forward so he wouldn't ask where she was from. Something in Tyrol's brain must have registered, because his eyes lit up briefly.
"You must be the reason he stopped seeing Dee," he said thoughtfully. Kestra blushed furiously, and Laura sucked in a sharp breath. Galen noticed their reactions. Laura was looking at Kestra with concern while Kestra averted her eyes from both of them. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you," Galen said quickly. Kestra looked at him.
"Oh, no. You didn't offend me," she said with a small smile, "Lee and I haven't spoken in some time and it's a… sensitive subject."
"Ah, I see," Galen said, "well, I'm sorry to hear it. I've always respected Lee." Kestra laughed a little.
"Me too," she said with a roll of her eyes. The three of them chuckled a bit, but Kestra stopped when she caught sight of Starbuck and Anders walking by. Galen followed her eyes.
"I see," he said again. Kestra looked back at him and shrugged.
"It doesn't matter. I'm here now, and glad to be. It feels good to be back on solid ground," she said, diverting the subject away from Lee and Starbuck. Galen picked up on the hint and obliged.
"It certainly is. As much as I miss being deck chief, I can't deny that it feels good to breathe fresh air again," he said.
"I can agree with that," Laura said, "well, we won't keep you. It was nice to see you again."
"You too," Galen said, "nice to meet you, Kestra."
"You too," Kestra replied as she walked off with Laura.
"I'm surprised he didn't recognize you. He was on Kobol when we found you."
"I was dirtier then," Kestra joked. Laura laughed. "He seems nice."
"He is," Laura said thoughtfully, "you handled his questions well."
"What? The questions about me or Lee?" she asked. Laura laughed again.
"Both."
