Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. Violet Adama and Priam Bennick are mine. This chapter has spoilers from the episode "Rapture."
Chapter 9: Rebuilding bridges
Violet paced in front of the door a few times. He's going to think that I'm some sort of basket-case. Finally she knocked on the door. Priam opened it and eyed her with concern. "Vie, are you alright?" he questioned as he ushered her inside and closed the door behind her.
She took a deep breath and her eyes darted around the room for a moment, noticing a single bunk, a scrawny card table with two chairs, two filing cabinets, a counter with a sink next to a single cabinet, and an old couch. "I know I should've given you more warning, but I had to get out for a while."
They both sat on his couch. "What happened?" he asked.
"I don't know where I should begin," she stated.
He sighed, wondering if this was going to be a long discussion. "If you can't start at the beginning, why don't you start by telling me why you left Admiral Adama's quarters?" Priam suggested.
Violet fiddled with her hands for a moment. "He got mad and threw her out. I don't even know what they were fighting about, the admiral and the president. Then he told me that I was grounded and that I wouldn't be staying on Colonial One anymore. It's not as if he has an extra bedroom! This whole mess is ridiculous."
She was sitting with her elbows on her knees like the admiral. "I know you're related to the admiral, but how are you also related to the president?" Priam inquired.
Turning to face him, she smirked and he noticed weariness in her eyes. "I'm related to both of them because they're actually my parents, and Lee is my half-brother," she revealed.
"Holy lords of Kobol," he breathed incredulously. He eyed her curiously. "How is that possible?"
"I'm not from this timeline," she told him about her shuttle's engine and he listened patiently until she had finished. "You don't look too surprised," she mentioned.
"Your story explains everything I was wondering about concerning you. The question now is, what are you going to do about your current problem?" he reminded.
Violet sighed heavily and stood, pacing the room like the president. "I don't know. I've still got some catastrophic disaster to stop and I've got no clue how do to that."
Priam's finger had been on his chin as he processed all that she had told him. Suddenly he stood and walked over to her. "They don't know that you're over here, do they?" he questioned.
She shook her head and gave him a wry grin. "Now what would be the point of running away for a while if they knew where I was?"
"The point is that both of them will be worried sick about you. They'll think you took a raptor down to the planet to rescue Lee. Vie, they need to know where you are," he hoped she would understand as he picked up the phone, trying to call first Adama, then Roslin. Unable to reach either of them, he turned back to Violet. "If I had to guess, I'd say they were out looking for you."
Nodding resolutely, she crossed her arms. "I suppose I should go find them and tell them I'm alright. Maybe my now things have settled down. I just wish that the Cylons…" she trailed off and remembered something. "Priam, we have to find Sharon! The hallucination I had in the classroom warned me to keep an eye on her. I completely forgot!"
His onyx eyes studied her as he attempted to devise a good solution. "We'll leave a note for your parents first," he suggested, grabbing a pen and paper from one of his filing cabinets. He stuck the note to his door as they left, hoping that the admiral would see it and not think that his daughter had been kidnapped.
Adama knew that Violet was right, and after she had left, he realized that he had to track her down. Seeing that she was not at the gym, he swallowed his pride and called Colonial One. "Madame President."
"Admiral," Roslin stated curtly.
"Is Violet with you?"
She heard the concern in his voice. "No, you told me that she would be staying with you. Why do you ask?"
"She stormed out of here and I can't find her," he admitted reluctantly.
"I'm coming," she hung up, not leaving any space for further discussion.
As he hurried to meet the president at the docking point, Cottle found the admiral and handed him a bottle of pills. "Bill, I revised the prescription and took out the chamalla. It'll take longer, but it'll still cure the girl."
"Jack, what are you talking about?"
"Laura came by to yell at me about the girl's medication because there was chamalla in it and the girl was reacting to it. She didn't tell you?"
The admiral sighed heavily. "She did, I just forgot with all that's been going on," Adama admitted. Cottle had to return to Life Station, leaving the admiral to greet the president.
"Madame President," he greeted.
"Admiral," she returned coldly.
A wall of ice seemed to stand between them and he decided that being honest would be the best way to melt it. "I've checked the gym already and I don't have a clue where Violet went," he told her frankly.
"And what makes you think that I might have a better idea?" she questioned, still irked with him.
Laura, I am so sorry for what I said to you. He could almost feel the hurt and anger radiating from her. "She talks to you more. I figured that she might've said something about a place she likes to go to think," he admitted.
Roslin thought for a moment, trying not to look at the admiral. It figures that despite how angry you are at me, I'm the one you go to for help. At least when you've hit bottom in a day, you can only go up from here. "She mentioned the engineers, but I don't think that with what's been going on that she would go there. Wait, because of the Cylons and the general schedule, there wouldn't be any school today, right?"
He raised an eyebrow. "That's right. What are you getting at?"
"I think that she might have gone to see Priam Bennick, since neither Starbuck, nor Lee are here right now," she suggested.
Adama stopped walking and weighed the idea. "Come to think of it, he does still have quarters here," he reasoned.
"It's worth a try," Roslin added.
The admiral nodded and the two began walking toward Priam's quarters. Adama let a heavy silence hang between them, but only for a while. "Cottle gave me new medication for Violet. I forgot you told me that she was having problems with the other stuff," he mentioned calmly.
"I just took care of the matter when I noticed that she was hallucinating and with all that's happened, I forgot about it too," she admitted. Then she began to nervously fiddle with her hands. "Bill, I really frakked up, and I'm sorry. I ran into Athena in the hallway and apologized to her before I went back to my ship after I left your quarters," she added quietly.
He stopped walking and gently held her forearm. As they stood, their eyes met and she realized that he was no longer angry with her. "Laura, I owe you an apology. I let my temper get the better of me and I treated you badly. I'm sorry about what I said to you, and I'm sorry that I tried to keep you away from Violet. I used her against you and that was wrong. She's gotten closer to you than she has to me. I frakked up too in how I handled the news about Hera."
"What you said really stung," she mentioned.
Sighing heavily, he looked away for a moment. "I had no right to tell you that I was disappointed in you. Both of us have had hard decisions to make and at the time, you thought you were doing the right thing with Hera. All I saw was a child being taken from her parents. Fact is that we've both made mistakes. Hell, the Cylon assault on Caprica might as well have been my fault. I'm really sorry," he conveyed.
She hugged him and they paused in a warm embrace. One of his hands played with the ends of her hair and he pulled her closer. An understanding was met and they resumed their walk, her arm linked with his. "Apology accepted. Let's promise that when we argue, we'll keep our heads on straight and keep Violet out of it," Roslin suggested.
Adama nodded. "Deal. She told me that this was my mess and that I should fix it."
Sighing and shaking her head, Roslin gave him a small smile and touched his hand. "No, this was our mess, but I'd say that we're definitely on our way to fixing it," she corrected. "I do have one question though. Athena mentioned that you didn't tell them that it was my fault. Why did you take responsibility for my decision?"
"It's simple; even if it wasn't my decision, both of us have to live with the consequences, and when you make decisions that affect my fleet, it makes me responsible for the outcome," he explained.
"But you don't have to do that," she protested.
They stopped in front of Priam's quarters and he took both of her hands in his. "Every decision we make, we are supposed to make together. I know it's an old-fashioned idea, but I'm responsible for you," he tried to make her understand.
Roslin raised an eyebrow. "Since we are in this together, wouldn't that also make me responsible for what you do?" she asked rhetorically.
So much for being old-fashioned. "That wasn't quite what I meant. However, I see your point and the best plans usually do take teamwork to iron out," he mentioned as he patted her hand.
She blushed and then smirked. "Oh Bill, I've cause you a lot of trouble, haven't I?"
He smiled back and both of them felt forgiven. "No more than I expected," he relayed before knocking on the door. Not receiving an answer, he sighed and glanced down for a moment. Then he noticed a scrap of paper on the floor. He picked it up and read it aloud. "Dear Admiral Adama and President Roslin, your daughter Violet is safe and we have gone to look for Sharon Agathon. I tried to contact you about where she was by telephone, but I could not reach either of you. Priam Bennick."
"I guess we have our answer," Roslin remarked.
"And he knows the family secret. I'm glad it was him and not someone else." Adama eyed the note and then stuffed it into his pocket. "Why did they go to see Athena though?"
He and Roslin began walking in the direction of Helo and Sharon's quarters. "Maybe it has something to do with her hallucinations," Roslin suggested.
They arrived to find security guards pulling out a body on a stretcher from Helo and Athena's quarters. Priam and Violet were standing off to the side. The young man looked up as the admiral approached. He stood his full height and saluted, to which Adama saluted back. "Admiral Adama, sir, I heard a shot when we arrived, so I alerted the security-"
He put up a hand. "At ease, Lieutenant Bennick. It's fine. We read your note," he paused and turned to Helo. "I want an explanation, but first I need to deal with a personal matter."
Priam, Adama, Roslin, and Violet stepped away from the doorway, Violet choosing to stand behind Priam. She tapped him on the shoulder and when he turned to her, she whispered something. She stood next to him with her arms crossed and he faced the other two again, relaying what she had said. "Vie doesn't want to speak to you two until are on speaking terms with each other."
The admiral rubbed the bridge of his nose while Roslin stepped forward. "Vie," she began. "We have reconciled with each other, and now we'd like to fix things with you."
Adama moved toward the girl and offered his hand. "You told me to fix my mess, and I have for the most part. I'm sorry that I put you in the middle of it. You can stay on Colonial One. I really should thank you for giving me a good ass-kicking today. Do we have a truce?" there was hopefulness in his voice.
Violet smiled politely and shook his hand. "Yes Admiral, I believe we do," she stated, seeming more like her mother again. But then he watched as her expression became serious, as if she was debating something. She dropped his hand and suddenly threw both arms around him for a hug. Shock registered on his face, but a glance at Roslin told him that he should return the hug.
Then the girl broke away and straightened her uniform with dignity, clearing her throat. "Now that we've settled that, I don't like being upset with you guys and I'm glad that we're all on the same page again."
"Speaking of being on the same page, they probably want to know what we're doing here," Priam reminded.
"Right. We need to keep an eye out when Sharon gets back from the ship. Another Number Eight might try to follow her. In my hallucination, Galactica jumped, but the Cylons followed us because someone sent them our navigation plan right before we jumped," she explained.
"We'll keep that in mind," Roslin stated.
Adama glanced toward Helo's quarters and then back to his daughter and Priam. "We need to speak with Helo for a while. Do you mind going back to my quarters again?"
Violet smiled. "I'll behave myself this time," she mentioned with a smirk.
The admiral then faced Priam. "Bennick, would you mind walking my daughter back to my quarters?"
"That will be fine, sir," Priam replied, standing stiffly.
Adama grinned at the young man's nervousness. "I thought I told you 'at ease.' If you've got time, she'd probably like it if you wanted to stay and visit for a while," he turned his gaze from Priam to Violet, who nodded calmly. "Dismissed," he told the two.
The admiral faced the president as the other two left. Roslin glanced behind her. "I don't think I've ever seen him so nervous. Bill, I think you scared the living daylights out of him," she remarked.
He chuckled. "I didn't do anything."
"You didn't have to. The young lady he's been working with shows up at his door and then he has to explain to her father, who happens to be the admiral, what they've been doing. Wouldn't you be nervous?" she pointed out with a wry grin.
Thinking about it for a moment, he nodded. "Probably."
Adama and Roslin headed into Helo's quarters and watched him. "Helo, why?" the admiral began.
The man had tears in his eyes. /"She begged me,"/ he managed.
Sighing heavily, Adama rubbed the bridge of his nose. /"If only somebody had patience. Procedures, navigations, the tactical situation down on the planet, Cylons have access to all that now," he pointed out.
Helo was not deflated. /"She'll get Hera, she'll come back. Hera's alive. Athena wouldn't betray us."/
"She may not have a choice," Adama remarked.
Roslin had remained silent but then stepped forward. /"That's quite a leap of faith. You've put the entire fleet in jeopardy," she mentioned calmly./
Helo stood and glared at her, not knowing that she had already spoken with Athena. /"If you hadn't lied and stolen our baby, we wouldn't be here now!" He took a few steps toward her, but Adama held him back/.
The admiral and the president exchanged looks and she realized that it would be better to leave the two men alone. /"There is plenty of blame to throw around and I accept it/. I sincerely apologize for what has happened to your daughter. /All we can do is hope that your wife knows what she's doing,"/ she paused and looked toward Adama. /"You as well, Admiral,"/ she added softly before leaving, deciding to check on Violet.
On the way to Adama's quarters, Violet and Priam had chatted. "Why were you so nervous around the admiral?" she inquired.
"Because he's not only the admiral. He's your father," Priam explained.
"He thinks highly of you," she relayed.
Priam opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again, as if recalling another item. Then he spoke. "How did he like the quiche?"
She smiled at his change of subject. "We all thought it was great. Do you have any more recipes?"
"Sure. I even have a few committed to memory that I can write down for you. It always pays to memorize some things," he remarked.
"Like formulas, those really ought to be memorized. It makes it a heck of a lot easier to teach if I've memorized the formula," she added.
He smirked as they reached the door to the admiral's quarters. "I think that's called knowing the subject matter you're teaching."
They entered and she offered him a glass of water. He shook his head and took a seat on the couch when she offered it. Then she headed over to the desk to retrieve a pad of paper and a pencil. "You said you had a couple of recipes memorized?" she asked hopefully as she sat on the couch.
He was dictating the third recipe when Roslin entered. "Madame President," Priam greeted, standing slowly.
Roslin grinned and shook her head. "Priam, it's 'Laura,' and that's not going to change now that you know the… family secret," she explained.
Letting his shoulders drop slightly, he visibly relaxed. "That's good. I was giving her a few more recipes."
"The quiche was fantastic. Your father would've been proud," Roslin conveyed.
His cheeks colored a little. "Thank you," he paused as Violet stood and for the first time he looked at the two of them as they stood together.
Violet walked over to Roslin and gave her a hug, which she returned. "I'm glad things are better now. What's going to happen with the planet?"
"No beating around the bush with you. We don't know just yet, so I'll have to go back to CIC, as will your father. I wanted to see you first though," Roslin stated.
Priam had been silent for a while and Violet looked back in his direction. "What are you thinking?" she inquired. Roslin recognized the phrase as one she had used from time to time.
"You two really do have a resemblance. I can see why Tory would be worried, and I can't see a way to logically explain it, except that Vie could say that her hair color is really something else, in which case we would need a box of hair dye," he pointed out.
"I think we'll figure this one out as we go along," Roslin relayed. Then she faced Violet again. "I'm heading back to CIC to finish this business. The two of you can keep writing down recipes and later we'll have dinner," she suggested.
Violet looked over at Priam. "I'm fine with this idea, how about you?"
"It'll be a good plan until you run out of spices for the algae," he replied. They chuckled and went back to dictating as Roslin left.
Roslin entered CIC and walked over to Adama as Gaeta stated/"Sir, the Cylon fleet just jumped away."/
It was then that Roslin noticed the glowing mass in front of them that used to be a star. /"They don't wanna be here when that shockwave gets here," Tigh chimed in./
The admiral glanced over at the president and gave her a half-smile. /"Neither do we."/
/"Gonna be a photo finish," Tigh added before Galactica jumped./
Remembering Violet's concerns about Number Eight and Athena, Roslin, Adama, Tigh, and a security team headed down to the docking bay, also accompanied by medics. Their first surprise was Chief Tyrol bringing back Baltar. "Is he…," Roslin began.
/"He's not dead," Tigh stated dryly./
/"No, unfortunately" Tyrol confirmed./
/Disembarking from the raptors that had also arrived, Lee and Dee hugged as Kara and Anders hugged, though they both looked at each other for a moment./ Adama walked over to his son and daughter-in-law. He got Lee's attention by clearing his throat. His son turned to face him and, dirty as he was from the planet, his father pulled him in to an embrace. Roslin watched with a smile from a few feet away.
"Your sister will be glad you're back," Adama relayed quietly enough so that only Lee could hear him. He hugged Dee as well and then walked over to Kara.
"Starbuck what did you manage to do to yourself this time?" he goaded, sounding strict, but she knew him better.
"Nothing out of the ordinary, sir," she replied with her usual smirk as he pushed a lock of smoked hair behind her ear. To Anders he gave a handshake. "After you guys pay a visit to Life Station and get cleaned up, come join us for dinner," he invited all four of them. Then he turned his attention to the other raptor.
/Athena disembarked holding Hera, but it was a surprise when Number Six followed her. Number Six was taken into custody as people began to clear the deck./ However, Adama thought it might be wise to check the raptor for any other stowaways. To his surprise as well as Athena's and Number Six's, he found a Number Eight hiding inside.
Dragging the Cylon out of the shuttle, Adama turned the Number Eight over to the security team. /Before returning to his quarters, Adama and Roslin met in the lab with Gaeta and Tyrol to discuss the findings from the temple on the planet. "This could be a vision of what is to come,"/ Roslin suggested.
/"I don't know what else if could be," Tyrol commented./
Gaeta studied the maps. "It was a nova, seen 4000 years ago."
Adama rubbed his chin with his index finger. /"Maybe it was a road sign, showing what we are going to next," he added./
Tyrol and Gaeta exited the room, leaving Adama and Roslin alone. "Wherever we're going, we're traveling together," he mentioned with a smile, extending his hand to her.
She took it and smiled warmly. "Right now I think we're heading to dinner."
(I apologize for the long wait on the update. My thanks to csiAngel, Trinity Everett, carolann, code, asouldreams, Izabella Black, and Mariel3 for reviewing :D).