I'm heading off for a couple of days and thought I'd leave this behind. While I'm away, I'll be working on the last details of the next chapter and hopefully finishing the chapter after that. Cross your fingers for me - and please, leave a review for me for when I get back, if you're so inclined. I'll appreciate the welcome back .
By the way...Kara again has front and centre stage for some of this. I'm so enjoying her reaction...
Disclaimer: Still don't own anything but what's mine.
Too High a Cost
By: Mariel
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Chapter 35
Revelations
Meyes read the report Cottle passed to her, but looked up questioningly when she didn't find anything significant.
"Look again," Jack urged.
She did as he asked and an expectant silence again filled Cottle's office. Cottle was tense - she could feel him waiting for her to find whatever it was he wanted her to find. It didn't surprise her when he lit a cigarette.
When she look up the next time, her face showed her shock.
"Gods..." she said softly.
His reply to her comment came embroidered with cigarette smoke. "Yeah, that was kind of my reaction, too," he said dryly. "It just goes to show you're never too old...or too busy."
"She isn't too old," she said pragmatically, "you know that." She was unwilling to touch the 'too busy'.
"True," he acknowledged, "but still..."
"You'll have to test to make sure. Those levels aren't really conclusive."
"Once again, you're absolutely right," he acknowledged. Amusement warming his eyes, he added, "But your mind went right to where mine did, didn't it?"
"Perhaps," she admitted, "but only after a little prodding, and you're definitely going to have to do the test to know for sure."
"Do I?"
"Of course you do!"
He grunted. "You going to let me hide behind you when I ask permission?"
"Oh," she said, acknowledging that slight problem. Caprican law dictated that no medical test could be done on a patient without that patient's consent - if said patient were of sound mind.
She tried to picture the President's reaction to a request for this particular test.
After a few moments of silent pondering, she said in a small voice, "So they have been..." In spite of everything, she found it hard not to smile. She pursed her lips, trying to stop herself, but soon gave up and grinned broadly.
Enjoying her enjoyment and knowing this appealed to the romantic in her, Cottle's eyes twinkled at hers. "Guess so," he nodded, "though when they had the chance..."
"The planet?" she suggested.
He nodded, and put out his cigarette in an already over-flowing ashtray. Meyes hadn't been as successful as she'd liked to have been in her campaign to reduce his smoking. He took secret pride in that fact.
"That seems about right," he said. My guess is it's only a couple weeks along. They were too mad at one another before that." He paused, remembering the sound of a slap and the silence that followed it and the reasons for Meyes not allowing him to enter the room. "Maybe."
He placed the papers in a file folder and slid it into his desk drawer. Then he closed and carefully locked it. "Her hormone levels could be off for a whole bunch of reasons." He shook his head. "But gods, if she's got an embryo that managed to survive what she's been through it would have to be as stubborn as both of them combined." Shrugging, he said, "The up side, I guess, is that all things considered, a spontaneous termination is more than likely in the next few weeks. If she is pregnant, there's not much chance she'll stay that way."
There. He'd said the word aloud. Pregnant.
It was a word he didn't like the sound of. Not when talking about the President.
Dana didn't like the sound of something else: "Don't say that," she scolded. "If she is pregnant and were to lose it, it'd be a tragedy. This could be the best thing to happen to the fleet since our escape," she said.
Cottle frowned. "Are you crazy? We'd have a frakking circus on our hands! Look at their ages! They're too old for that sort of nonsense! No one has a baby at their ages anymore! No one! People have more sense! And you know damned well the Quorum would demand her resignation, and who'd we have in charge then? Zarek? Adama calls him a traitor and a crook, and I have yet to hear anyone disagree! And as far as maintaining the fine line between the military and civilian..." he snorted and shook his head. "If it's true, there'll be no keeping their relationship a secret, and then we'll be totally screwed," he pronounced.
Meyes inhaled deeply and strove for patience.
"Too old?" she asked. Her voice rising slightly, she continued, "You know better than that! Women used to give birth into their sixties! Just because society has changed doesn't mean our biology has! Of course she's not too old! Besides, we can't afford thinking like that anymore. It would be a gods-given blessing if she had a child. And we wouldn't be screwed. Things are different now. We can't keep thinking in terms of having millions of people and addressing thousands of agendas. There's only a few thousand of us left - the size of a town, for frak's sake - and the top thing on our agenda is survival. They're the ones ensuring that! People know that. People trust in them."
Cottle wasn't convinced, but could tell there wouldn't be talking any sense into her just yet. Looking at her, he decided to take another tack: "When Adama hears this, it'll send him right back into his coma."
"Don't joke," she scolded.
"Who's joking? Maybe we should just stay quiet and let things take their course..." His mood took a mercurial change as he considered both Bill's and the President's reaction and the hullabaloo that would arise in the unlikely event his suspicions were right. He chuckled. And he'd be the one who got to tell them.
"Gods, I love my job. People would freak if they knew about this."
Dana frowned at him. "You are being evil."
He winked at her and smiled a very self-satisfied smile. "And people love me anyway."
In spite of herself, Meyes' lips curved upward.
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Unaware that Kara was presently on her way, Tigh seated himself comfortably on Adama's bed to wait for Bill and the President's return. He'd read an article in the evening paper that, though amusing, caused him some concern now that he knew what he knew. So, as soon as Bill had called to let him know he was leaving for Life Station, he'd given Gaeta his orders, arranged coverage in CIC, and then scooted down to wait for them, figuring he'd better do what he could to discreetly warn them about the latest rumours.
When Adama and Roslin arrived, he was amused to see how relaxed they both looked. Hiding his grin, he eyed the two and observed genially, "Well! Your little detour seems to have agreed with you both."
"It was good to have a change of scenery," Roslin said in a gracious tone. "Life Station gets a little boring." She glanced at Bill and lifted a slender hand to move a lock of her hair behind her shoulders as she added, "Admiral Adama and I have a lot to catch up on. We needed to get a start on some of what we've missed over the past couple of weeks." Moving towards her bed, she took off her jacket and placed it on the back of a chair.
Tigh carefully controlled his features. Her hair, he remembered, had been done up when she'd left for the meeting with Valerant. She and Bill had obviously forgotten that fact, for it now hung in luxurious, tousled waves around her shoulders. He cleared his throat. "Well, the Admiral's quarters would be an excellent place for-" His voice caught as his imagination took flight, and he coughed before continuing, "-for catching up on whatever you need to, I'm sure." Now utterly convinced that everything Kara had said was true, and that the rumours printed in the paper were too close to the truth, he held out a copy of The Evening Post. "I just stopped by to show you this. I didn't think it would dawn on Cottle to mention what's being said out there, and it's something you might need to consider."
Handing Bill the paper, he resumed his position on Bill's bed. Comfortably swinging the foot not planted on the floor, he watched as they stood together reading the article - and enjoyed being a first-hand witness to an almost imperceptible tightening of Bill's jaw and a slow rise of colour on the President's lovely features. He watched as one finished the first page and waited with practised ease for the other to signal they were ready for the page to be turned. Bill then folded the paper to the correct page and they continued reading together. When they were finished, they shared a careful look. Saul almost slapped his thigh and chuckled. Instead, he said solemnly, "Obviously it's all rumour, but it might be wise to be careful. You know how out of hand these things can become."
Bill looked at Tigh closely. There was something behind his friend's manner he didn't trust. He was convinced that from behind Saul's outwardly relaxed facade, he was being observed closely, and it made him uneasy. He also wondered when Saul had started worrying about rumours. There had been plenty in the past, and he'd never seemed to pay any attention to them. He'd certainly never mentioned them in conversation.
Or made a special trip to notify him about one.
Before he could say anything, though, Kara breezed into the room. Slightly out of breath from making it from the Admiral's quarters to Life Station in record time, she stopped in her tracks when she saw that the Colonel was also there. "Oh," she said. "Colonel Tigh. You're here."
He nodded. "I just dropped by to say hello and to share the evening paper with the President and Admiral Adama," Tigh explained.
Kara recognised the paper the Admiral still held.
"So you saw it as well," she said.
Tigh nodded. "I figured it'd be best if they knew about it," he admitted.
Kara nodded solemnly. "I thought so, too."
Feeling a little left out of the loop, Adama and Roslin both shared a frown. Kara, interested in rumours, too? Since when? What made this rumour so different from all the others?
The young woman looked over at Roslin and the Admiral. "You've read it?" Observing their relaxed stances, she frowned and said, "You don't seem very upset."
After a glance at Bill, the President opted for the obvious truth.
"They've said all this before," she said in her best, offhand manner. "And more than once," she added pointedly. "I don't see why it should cause any more concern this time than any other."
Shocked by the President's inexplicable lack of concern, Kara looked at Adama. He, too, did not seem unduly worried by the blatant insinuations made in the article, and looked back at her with a practised nonchalance.
"You agree with the President? You read the article and still think there's nothing to be concerned about?" she asked.
"I agree with her, yes," he said in a low voice. "I don't see why we should be any more concerned this time around than any of the other times."
Her disbelief showing clearly of her face, she spoke impulsively.
"You don't see why- Sir, Madame President! It's a whole different thing when what they're saying is actually true," she exclaimed. Spreading her hands out for emphasis, she continued, "When it's true, you have to start worrying about covering up; you have to start thinking about-"
She stopped abruptly as her brain caught up with her mouth.
Frak.
Lee was going to kill her.
"When it's actually what?"
Kara looked quickly at Adama. The tone of his voice when he'd said 'what' made her take a step backward. The look on his face made her consider taking two. She bit her lip, and began to babble in a totally un-Kara-like fashion.
Frak, frak, frak.
"Did I say true?" she asked. Trying to back-peddle furiously from what she'd said and avoid the Admiral's eyes all at the same time she exclaimed, "What was I thinking? Why would I think something like that? Of course it's just another rumour." Then, not wanting them to think that she was against the whole idea, she quickly added, "Not that it would be such a terrible thing if it were true... I mean, if you two are happy, the fleet's happy, I'm happy..." She lifted a hand, then dropped it. "...everybody's happy..." she ended weakly.
She closed her eyes. Neither Roslin nor Adama looked too happy.
Way to jump into your own mouth with both feet, Thrace she told herself. This was not how she handled difficult situations, and definitely not close to what she'd anticipated saying. Lee was going to come up with a spectacular way of making her pay for this. She looked at Tigh, who still held his position on the Admiral's bed. Curse him for being here and breaking her momentum. Curse Adama and Roslin for being so frakking unconcerned when they should be worried silly. And curse Lee because... well...just curse him. How could you warn someone about something being found out without letting them know you know about the something they need to be warned about? Taking a deep breath, she muttered frak it under her breath and said, "Look. I'm just concerned about what they printed, that's all. So I stopped by because I thought you might want to come up with a story about where you were that included a few other people so that the rumours die an easy death."
She took another step backward. Glancing at Tigh's shocked expression that she'd revealed what she knew, she figured she wouldn't be getting much support from him, so when no one broke the silence, she said, "Well, it's something to think about anyway, right? It never hurts to have an alibi. Putting together an alibi is always a good strategy..."
Adama and Roslin continued to stare at her. Pointing to the door, Kara smiled feebly and sidled towards it. "I think maybe I should just go now. I'm sure the Colonel has some things he needs to discuss with you." She turned to make her escape.
"Stop where you are."
At the Admiral's command, she stopped and turned around slowly. His face bore far too similar a look to the one he'd carried during the past several months. It was a look far too like the one he'd had after their return from New Caprica, when he'd dumped her out of her chair after she'd had her little bout of breeding dissension among the crew and then had smart-mouthed him to boot. With foreboding, she waited for him to speak.
"I believe you owe an explanation for-"
Movement at the doorway made him stop mid-sentence.
To Kara's infinite relief, Lee stepped into the room.
A diversion - even one that might kill her later - was always good.
Adama watched his son take up position beside Kara. "What are you doing here?" he asked with a frown. He didn't like the way things were adding up here: Saul sitting here waiting for them; Kara saying what she had; and now his son showing up and looking at them expectantly - this whole situation made him uncomfortable. Once again things were happening around him that he was not privy to, and he didn't trust it. That distrust made his voice curt and cold.
Lee's eyebrows rose at his abrupt reception. Looking at Kara and wondering what the hell she'd said, he answered carefully, "I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd drop down to say good night." Noticing the paper his father held, he guessed the topic had been safely broached, so he added, "I see you've read it. Have you decided what you're going to do about what they said?"
Adama moved his hands in exasperation. Holding the paper up, he asked, "Since when has anything printed in this rag been a cause for concern to anyone?"
Tigh cleared his throat. Bill had a point. But that point got lost somehow for those who now knew that there was some truth to what was being said. Rumour seemed suddenly more dangerous. He opened his mouth to speak when the arrival of two more people again temporarily stopped all conversation.
Karl and Sharon Agathon - the latter carrying a sound-asleep Hera - stepped inside the room and halted in surprise.
"Well," Tigh smiled wryly. "Guess we're all here."
Bill turned to look at Laura, who now sat on the end of her bed, her arm draped over the footboard so that she faced everyone. They shared a look, then turned to their 'guests'.
"Sharon, Helo. What brings you two here?" Bill asked. His expression was closed, and though his voice was lower in deference to the sleeping child, the coolness of tone was unmistakable.
Helo looked around the room at Tigh, Kara, and Lee. Their presence here explained why he hadn't been able to find them to let them know about what he'd just read in the evening paper.
He now looked at the Admiral. Having no clue as to what caused his stony expression, he hesitated. "Sorry for interrupting, sir." Glancing briefly at the others again, he slowly drew a newspaper out from under his arm and said, "Sharon and I were just reading the paper this evening. I'm not sure how important it is, but we saw something we thought you might want to know about..."
His voice trailed off when he realised that there were already two copies of the offending paper in the room, one of which was being held by Adama himself.
"Oh," he said. "I guess you've seen it."
An uncomfortable silence descended.
Not knowing if he could trust any answer he got, but needing to ask anyway, Adama questioned, "Would one of you care to take me to what this is all about?" His tone was so mild the danger behind it was etched in sharp relief on each word.
It was no surprise to him when everyone became interested in the floor tiles.
Patience being one of his strong suits, he stood at the foot of Laura's bed and waited stoically for the somewhat pained silence to end.
End
Chapter 35
Thanks for reading!