[A/N: Just so you know, I have two more chapters planned after this one. All good things must come to an end…hopefully this fic qualifies as a good thing (I think it does but of course I am biased).]

6. Children Will Listen

It had been one of those weeks when each day seemed to stretch on forever. Laura knew she wasn't the only one who felt it. She saw it reflected in the eyes of her students, in the slight, weary slump of Maya's shoulders. Thank the Gods it would be over soon.

"Alright everyone," she called out. Thirty-two eager faces looked up at her, not about to be disappointed. "That's going to be it for the day; off you go to your parents. Have a lovely weekend, everyone."

She'd never seen the school clear out so fast. She and Maya immediately began to clean and tidy things up. "Shouldn't take too long," Laura said with a smile as she began collecting drawing materials.

She was straightening up her desk when she heard a familiar voice.

"Is school out already?"

Her blood ran cold. Gaius Baltar, President of the Twelve Colonies and of this lovely, little planet.

"Maya, why don't you go home for the night," she said, her voice sounding so hollow. Maya nodded, picked up Isis, and left without a word. Laura drew in a deep breath before finally turning and facing him.

"What can I do for you?" she asked with a smile.

He walked further into the classroom, his hand touching the front table that served as a desk for three students. Laura pushed away the thought that she would have to clean that table again, this time with the strongest soap she could find.

"Nothing in particular, Laura," he said. The way he so casually used her name was grating. "I was just in the neighbourhood, making the rounds. Checking up on my constituents."

Laura clasped her hands behind her back.

"I do hope everything is going well for you, even if it is a step down the career ladder."

She squeezed her hands tight.

He continued to survey the room. "You've certainly done well with the limited supplies."

"Thank you, Gauis." She knew the lack of a title would not be lost on him. "We do the best we can."

"Yes, well…that's good." He turned and looked at her for a moment. She forced herself to meet his gaze evenly, calmly. Her nails dug into skin deeply, though not quite breaking the skin. Yet.

Finally he looked away. "Well, I should be off. Lots of people to see, important things to do. All part of being President. But of course, you know that."

Her arms were beginning to shake as she watched him leave. The smile never left her face. She stood there for a few minutes, breathing deeply and willing her mind to push away thoughts of violence and airlocks. It wasn't going to happen and so thinking about it wasn't going to help.

It only took another ten minutes to finish cleaning and so Laura soon found herself walking back towards her tent, trying to think of anything that wasn't Gaius frakking Baltar. Along the way she passed a dog sitting near a yellow bowl and stopped to pet him.

Jake was the dog's name; the same as Billy's dog back on Caprica. Even though this dog wasn't the same one, Laura always felt a closeness to Billy when she was here. She still missed him so much. She couldn't help but wonder, every now and then, what he would have been doing today, if he was…

She made herself walk past the dog.

Maya's head was poking out of her tent flap, watching. She smiled when she finally saw Laura. "I was worried we'd have to send a rescue party," she called out.

"Don't worry about me," Laura replied.

"Oh, we weren't. The rescue party would have been for Dr Baltar." Both women laughed. "Come on in, Laura, I have supper for all of us ready."

Laura inhaled deeply. "It smells wonderful."

"It tastes even better."

Laura smiled to see Tory inside, already enjoying a bowl of Maya's special chilli. Laura filled one for herself and sat down on the bed. She soon found small hands clutching at her pants. "Hello Isis, honey," she said with a smile. "I hope you didn't get too scared by the big bad President."

Isis pulled herself into a standing position, one of her favourite new skills. She smiled when she was finally upright. Laura smiled back, finally beginning to feel relaxed. "Mmmm, this chilli is wonderful, as always," she said after her first spoonful.

"Thank you," Maya said, coming to sit beside her on the bed.

"Mama," Isis said, reaching a hand over.

"Hi sweetie," Maya replied, reaching to let the girl grasp her hand.

Laura watched them as she ate. Maya was just glowing, as she always did whenever her daughter was in the room. And Isis? She was the most darling child in the world. The sweetest, most perfect…and most normal. Sometimes Laura even forgot that this was the child of Sharon Valerii, now Sharon Agathon.

It was easy to forget about the Agathons here; neither of them had ever come down to New Caprica. It made things so much easier to hide the truth. It was still only known by three people: herself, Tory, and Doc Cottle. There were times that she had wondered about telling Bill but when he'd been the one to marry Helo and the Cylon, Laura had remembered why she could never tell him. He was still too close to Sharon. He was too close to everyone under his command; that was his greatest weakness…and his greatest strength.

Laura swallowed another mouthful of chilli, reminding herself how useless such thoughts were. Isis was safe and happy here. She was loved. Sure, the conditions weren't 100% planetside but Laura was convinced that this was the best place for the child to be.

She finished her meal and helped clean up. She'd almost completely forgotten about seeing Baltar – almost.

"I should get going," she said after the last dishes were dried. "It's been a very long day."

"Alright," Maya told her, quickly putting the last dish back in its place. "Goodnight, Laura."

"Lala.'

Laura turned to look at Isis. "What's that…?" she asked, her voice trailing off as she walked over to the baby.

"Lala!" Isis said, holding her hands up towards Laura.

And now she had forgotten about Gaius Baltar and Cylons and everything she hated about this planet because everything she loved about it was right in front of her.