[A/N: Alright, so this is the last chapter. I've skipped past the occupation, since we saw a fair amount of that in the show itself, and gone right to the aftermath. The original idea of this chapter started out as being its own fic, showing the A/R reunion scene we never got after New Caprica. However, while I was plotting it out, Isis decided to pull the idea into itself, which it did without consulting me.

That said, I feel like I should note that it's not the uh, most joyful of reunion scenes, mainly because the themes of this story wouldn't really let it be. And, of course, I am going with RDM canon for the A/R relationship in this one, in which things did not become intimate between them on New Caprica.

Anyway, thank you everyone for reading this, the reviews I've gotten have been lovely and really made me smile. I hope you all like how this story ends.

Thanks goes out to my beta Jes, who still needs to actually watch BSG, and also to Margaret, for looking over scenes for characterization when I needed a second opinion.]

8. When I Think of Home (pt 2)

When Laura looked out the window, she saw the familiar – though long missed – sight of Galactica's flight deck. When she looked inside the room, she saw the last remnants of Gaius Baltar's presidency, mixed in with artefacts of her own. Her ship, Colonial One was her ship again. And she was back in space, every moment taking them farther away from New Caprica and all the many horrors they had witnessed there.

No distance, be it time or space, would ever be enough to erase it from their minds. Everyone who had come back alive would carry their memories and scars with them for the rest of their lives. Every one of them was a little bruised, a little damaged, and a lot worse for the wear.

She walked over and sat on the chair behind the desk. It felt the same as she remembered, as if no time had passed. A few moments later she heard footsteps, also familiar. She'd known it wouldn't take long. She drew in a deep breath, her racing heart a testament to how suddenly nervous she felt. She looked up at the doorway and saw William Adama appear.

He'd shaved. She'd almost forgotten what he looked like without the moustache. Even though she had once been used to it, the sight of bare skin was strange.

She wondered in the moment of silence that followed his arrival what looked different about her, what looked strange. She'd lost weight, but he'd seen her with less. But she couldn't believe that this was the only change. There had to be more, to make him look at her like that.

Someone had to break the silence. It might as well be her. "Admiral," she said softly, setting the tone with one word.

"Ms Roslin," he said, something he hadn't called her since they first met. He walked into the room and sat down on the other side of the desk. Yet another familiar scene.

She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again without a word. She didn't know what to say. She had thought it would be easier to shift back into official business, pushing aside the personal relationship, but it felt so wrong. She dropped her gaze from his face to her desk, shaking her head slightly as she rested her forehead on her hands. Throughout it all, he waited. She wondered what he must be thinking.

She raised her head, resting her chin on one hand. "Bill," she said finally and finally she felt at ease.

"Laura," he said, his shoulders relaxing slightly. "Good to have you back."

She nodded. "Good to be back."

He nodded. "So, what now?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "And I'm not sure it's really my decision."

Bill's raised eyebrows clearly showed his opinion about that. "If you think I'm going to accept Tom Zarek as President…"

"He stood up to the Cylons," she reminded him.

"And he's a terrorist."

She smiled slightly at that. "Fair enough. That doesn't change the fact that he was elected and I, as we both well know, was not."

She tried not to sound bitter but one look into his eyes showed her that she had failed. It was impossible not to regret the decision to back down. It didn't matter that it had been the right choice for them; despite the voters being so very wrong, she couldn't take that last step past the line. Even Laura Roslin had her limits.

"Let me talk to him," Bill said eventually, dispelling another awkward silence from settling. "Without military support, he has nothing."

She paused a moment before nodding. She was done trying to fight him on this because she wanted it back too. She longed for the old status quo, or as much of it as could be restored.

She sat up, straightening her spine. It was going to be a slow process but she was feeling more centered. Maybe even…safe. At the very least, safer.

"Are you alright?" Bill asked.

She thought about her answer for a moment. "No," she finally admitted.

He absorbed that news seemingly impassive but a slight flicker in his eyes told her it upset him – you could always tell what he really felt by looking in his eyes. "Will you be?" he asked.

"Yes," she said quickly, glad to find she believed it enough to sound convincing.

Bill nodded and slowly got to his feet. "I probably should get back to CIC. I just needed to see that you were doing…as well as you could be, under the circumstances."

Laura stood up as well, walking around the desk to stand in front of him. "I am now," she told him. She reached out, lightly touching his arm. "Thank you for rescuing us."

"Anything for you, Madame President," he said with a small smile, before turning and leaving. She watched him, until he finally was out of sight, then she walked back to stand at the desk.

She had thought about seeing him again for months and what would happen when they did. Things had changed on New Caprica but now all the old…complications were back. They both knew what that meant.

That wasn't the only thing on her mind, holding her back from truly celebrating the escape. She kept seeing movement out of the corner of her eye and turning, expecting to see Isis running past. She kept searching crowds for Maya's face. But they were gone and ever moment that truth ripped Laura's heart to pieces.

And the worst part is she couldn't say a word about it; couldn't risk drawing too much attention to a teacher's aide and her baby, two dead among hundreds. Especially in the event that they were not dead but had been captured by the Cylons. If that had happened....Laura had no idea what it might mean.

She sat down on the chair and pulled open her desk drawer. She had already placed the paper that said "Olympic Carrier" there. Now she had two more pieces to add.

One was her journal, to stand for everything that New Caprica had come to be. Everything she might have stopped, at the small cost of her soul.

The second was the picture of Maya and Isis. So happy. So young. She placed the photograph inside the book and laid both in her drawer, her file of regrets.

She would never forget any of it.

[A/N: And that's all she wrote…except for a little acknowledgement here that each chapter title has been a song lyric from a musical. Songs are as follows:

Chapter 1 & 8: "Home," the Wiz

Chapter 2: "Legally Blonde," Legally Blonde

Chapter 3: "As Long As You're Mine," Wicked

Chapter 4: "Not While I'm Around," Sweeney Todd

Chapter 5: "Try to Remember," The Fantasticks

Chapter 6: "Children Will Listen," Into the Woods

Chapter 7: "For Now," Avenue Q]