Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. Violet Adama and Priam Bennick are mine. The hallucination is in italics.
Chapter 10: Keeping records
After Priam had volunteered to cook dinner, Adama told him that he and Violet would be cooking for eight and then offered his and Roslin's help. With four people in the kitchen, it soon became crowded. Roslin was walking past the cupboard to find silverware in a drawer while Adama was perusing the top cabinet for syrup. As he brought his arms down holding the syrup to set it on the counter, Roslin had not yet passed him and he ended up unintentionally barricading her with his arms.
"Looks like I caught you," he teased as Priam picked up the syrup to use on the food.
She chuckled and her eyes sparkled at him flirtatiously. "In that case I had better make a hasty escape," she commented, holding his left arm up as if to step under it.
With his right arm he caught her by the waist, sliding his arm around her and pulling her back to him. They had momentarily forgotten that Violet and Priam were still in the kitchen. "Not so fast," he told her. She looked over her shoulder at him.
"Oh really?" her eyes seemed to encourage the game further.
Priam caught Violet's attention and gave a nod to the living room. They grabbed the silverware as well as the food, having finished cooking it, and then headed into the living room. "I've honestly never seen them do that before," Violet conveyed as she set out napkins.
"They certainly aren't fighting anymore," Priam mentioned. "So who's coming to dinner again?"
"Kara, Lee, Dee, and Anders," she answered.
They looked back at the table arrangement. He sighed and moved the forks as she raised an eyebrow. "It seems that I'm the outsider of the group. Kara and Sam are married and the admiral regards them as family, Lee and Dee are his son and daughter-in-law, and you're his daughter," Priam pointed out.
"You forgot Laura," she added.
He glanced back toward the kitchen. "That's another story."
She chuckled lightly and shook her head. "It'll be fine."
In the kitchen, two people were still oblivious to the world around them. "Since you've captured me, what do you plan on doing with me?" Roslin inquired, turning so that she was facing Adama.
Chuckling, he grinned at her. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
She giggled and glanced around before their foreheads met. "I think we scared off Violet and Priam," she teased.
He found himself starring at her lips, but then he looked away. "I'm trying to figure out how we ended up here," he admitted.
"It's better than where we were earlier," she chimed in, smirking.
Turning slowly to glance into the living room, he released her. "We should probably join them so they don't worry," he suggested. She nodded and they walked into the living room.
Anders, Kara, Lee, and Dee soon arrived and everyone seated themselves. As Lee walked in, Violet sauntered over to him and gave him a tight hug. "Thank the deities you're not dead," she conveyed.
He chuckled and returned the hug. "It's good to see you too, Vie."
The main meal consisted of fried algae patties that had been marinated in syrup for a sweet tasted. With flour and a few other ingredients, they were also able to have algae biscuits. As Anders was eating, he looked over at Kara. "You were right, we should stay for dinner when we're invited. This is great."
Kara smiled and glanced at the admiral and the president before seeking Violet's attention. "Food's great Vie, who do we owe compliments to?"
Violet looked to her left and right. "The four of us cooked, but the recipes were all from Priam," she informed the woman.
"A good catch then," Kara told Violet with an approving smile.
Violet blushed and studied her food. Priam, noticing her discomfort, decided to change the subject. "Are you still coming by to teach physics tomorrow?"
"Of course," she said, having regained her composure. "I might even be able to make it work with the history lesson."
"You two teach?" Anders inquired.
"Yes. I teach math, history, and biology while Vie teaches applied physics," Priam explained, turning back to Violet. "I'm talking about the first years of flight and some of the early models that led to what we have now."
Violet smiled. "I was planning on talking about basic propulsion anyway."
"Would you ever have a guest speaker? The class might benefit from the chief coming by and explaining a few things too," Dee suggested.
Priam and Violet faced each other and seemed to confer silently. He shrugged his shoulders and she smiled before turning back to Dee. "That sounds like an interesting idea."
"It might also help if you let the children make models from time to time. I'm sure we could find something for them to use," Roslin suggested.
Dinner continued pleasantly and then Kara left with Anders. Dee headed out too after Lee explained that he wanted to stay a little longer. He, Priam, and Violet cleaned up the table and the dishes. Then they sat in the living room with Adama and Roslin. Violet told Lee that Priam knew the family secret. "So you're the guy who's dating my sister," Lee blurted out.
Violet gave him a scolding look that reminded him of the president before she swatted his arm. "I can't date until I'm eighteen."
"We work together," Priam interjected.
Roslin watched at the scene and looked over at Violet and Lee. "Do you two need to be separated?" she teased.
Violet shook her head and sighed as Lee chuckled and Priam smirked before standing. "I think that since dinner is cleaned up, I really should get back to my lesson plan for tomorrow."
"Wait," Lee stated as he quickly rose. "Look, I was just giving you a hard time. If you leave because of what I said, she's never going to let me hear the end of it," he attempted to fix what he had started.
Priam smiled politely. "It's been a long day and the truth is that I have classes tomorrow. I'd sooner throw myself in the brig than cause her any trouble."
Lee grinned and offered his hand. Adama and Roslin sighed with relief as the two young men shook hands.
Violet stood and walked with Priam to the door. "See you tomorrow," she stated as she gave him a quick hug. Though surprised, he returned it.
Roslin and Adama headed over to him. "It was nice to have you over. Thank you for dinner," the admiral told him with a sincere smile.
"You're welcome, sir," he replied.
The president had something to say also. "Tory has a cold and Vie is going to need a ride. Would it be too much trouble for you to stop by Colonial One in the morning?"
Priam said that he would pick Violet up in the morning. As he left, she looked over at Roslin. "Are we going back to the ship now?"
The president was about to say yes, but then looked over at the admiral as he answered for her. "Vie, is it alright if Lee walks you back? Laura and I want to talk for a while," Adama requested.
The girl smirked. "No fighting?"
They both held up their hands. "No fighting."
Violet headed over to her bag and pulled out the photo album, bringing it to the president and the admiral. "Before I go, I want you two to see this. It was always the first thing I grabbed in an emergency."
Roslin accepted the heavy well-used worn album. "I'll bring it back with me tonight," she mentioned.
"Thanks," Violet stated as she left with Lee after hugging Adama and telling him goodnight.
Adama smirked as he and Roslin sat down on the couch. "She's going to give him one hell of a lecture."
Roslin laughed softly. "Not that it isn't undeserved. Poor Priam, I hope he forgives all of us for this evening," she remarked.
"At least they shook hands on it. Give him time and he won't be as nervous," Adama added chuckling.
"You may have to amend that one," Roslin commented.
He raised an eyebrow. "Amend what?"
"The dating idea," she pointed out.
"They've known each other for a week. It's better for all parties if they're friends first. I might subtract a few months though."
The hard front of the album opened with a soft pop to reveal a three-ring binder holding tan pages with pictures neatly tucked behind sheets of plastic. They stared down wide-eyed at the first picture as if it could move.
"This is so strange. It's us, but it isn't us," Roslin remarked.
"I wonder whose idea keeping my mustache was," Adama added.
Right in front of them was their wedding picture. Both were obviously younger and grinning brightly at each other. It had been a military wedding, with Zack and Lee trailing along. The next photo set was a birthday party for one of the boys, but time had obviously passed because the woman was pregnant.
As they continued to flip carefully through the album, Violet was a tiny baby. They watched her and the boys grow up. School achievements and science projects were also in the album. Zack and Kara were married in another photo. Holidays rolled by and the last pictures were of Violet's seventeenth birthday and her parents' nineteenth anniversary. In a pocket on the back cover, Violet's birth certificate was also present.
Roslin had tears in her eyes as they finally closed the album. Adama also had to wipe his eyes. "She has a record now, not only of herself, but of her family," Roslin mentioned.
"She's been dealing with this really well, hasn't she?" Adama commented as he sighed heavily.
Standing, Roslin held the book closely and Adama walked with her to the door. "I'll head back to my ship."
"I'll walk you there," it was a statement.
They walked in contemplative silence for a while, until they reached the docking bay. "I wish there was something more we could do for her," Roslin conveyed as Adama dismissed the guard.
Adama thought for a moment as he faced Roslin. "We could have a small service for them," he suggested.
"I think it's a good idea, and I'll run it by her," Roslin responded.
They stood facing each other, suddenly nervous. "They… looked happy, didn't they?" the president finally said.
He knew whom she was referring to. "Yes, they did. Do you think that…" he trailed off, not knowing how she would react.
"I've been wondering myself…" she could not find the right words either.
"Do you really think-"
"It might work if we-"
"Work together at this-"
"Bill, this is-"
"I know, Laura."
They had moved closer to each other. He gently grasped her upper arms as her arms were still wrapped around the album. They met each other half way in a searing kiss that left both of them breathless. "I love you, Bill," she breathed.
"I love you too, Laura," he whispered before his lips claimed hers again in another passionate kiss.
When they broke away, both were grinning and blushing like teenagers. "Well, goodnight," Roslin nervously squeaked out.
"Goodnight," Adama managed to sound more calm than he felt. They smiled at each other again before she left.
On Colonial One, Violet raised an eyebrow to see Roslin walking into the room, holding the album as she blushed furiously. "Hi Mom, what's up?" the girl probed as she stood.
The president handed Violet's album back to her and sat in one of the seats. "We looked through your album," she paused as the girl waited with interest. "I'll be honest and say that it was odd seeing another version of myself. Bill and I wondered if you wanted to have a small service, for your Galactica."
By Violet's rapid blinking, Roslin knew that she had surprised the girl. Violet had shown them the album with the hope that they would see that it was possible to be a couple. She had not expected this sort of offer at all and had to sit down. "You guys would do that?"
The president smiled and touched Violet's shoulder. "We wanted to give you a sense of closure."
Violet allowed a few quiet tears to slip through as she smiled and managed a thank you. After they had prepared for bed, the two sat on Violet's make-shift bed and chatted. "This has been one of the strangest days," the girl began.
Roslin nodded in agreement. "For all of us. Did you lecture Lee when he walked you back?"
The girl laughed. "Let's just say he knows that he stepped over a line," she answered. "Now what happened in the kitchen?"
Blushing again, she thought back to the incident. "You could say that we were putting things back together," she responded.
"Or flirting," Violet pointed out.
"Alright, it was flirting. The point is that you don't have to worry about us anymore," Roslin commented.
"What did you two think of the album?" Violet inquired.
Roslin was glad for the change of topic and sighed, pausing for a long moment. "It was strange to see myself in a life that wasn't mine, but it was an interesting way to learn more about you and how you grew up," she responded.
Violet yawned. "I think it's time for bed."
The older woman yawned too. "I agree. Goodnight, Vie," she stated, giving her a hug.
"Goodnight, Mom," Violet said as she returned the hug.
As she slept, Violet found herself on the current Galactica again. "What's wrong this time?" she asked, looking around her as klaxons went off.
Suddenly standing in CIC, she watched from the viewscreen as the Cylons attacked. Then she was whisked away to the engineering section. Damage from the attack had caused pipes to burst and had closed crawl-way access points to manual switches. She turned as someone tapped her on the shoulder.
"Jake, what do I need to do now?" she asked him.
He walked over to a wall near one of the closed crawl-ways. After he moved his hand in front of a space, that part became transparent and she watched as a few pipes turned off a red switch. "They will win the battle, but they won't survive long. You know this game, Stats. What happens when there's no gravity and things collide?"
She turned to hear an engineer yelling about a fire before she heard an explosion. Flames and smoke blocked her view of anything else. Then she heard the call again. "This is Admiral Adama, everyone abandon ship. I repeat, everyone abandon ship."
Violet woke up coughing again. Roslin rushed in and handed her a glass of water. "I'm sorry I forgot to get your other medication from Bill. The doctor gave it to him yesterday afternoon. You had another dream, didn't you?" she inquired.
"Galactica's going to be attacked again and I've got to fix something," the girl explained.
Roslin studied her for a moment and moved a few stray hairs behind Violet's ear. "You will. Now go back to sleep," she relayed with a mixture of gentleness and confidence.
Priam took Violet to the school the following morning. "You were awfully quiet on the shuttle," he mentioned as they entered the classroom.
"I had another dream," she told him as she set out her files on his desk to arrange a few handouts for the students.
"You're not back on chamalla, are you?" he asked with calm concern.
She shook her head. "No, thank goodness. There's just something else I need to do."
He took out a few photos of old planes and clipped them to the top of the white-board. "I don't pretend to understand, but I believe you."
"Thanks," she added.
Students soon filed into the room and took their seats. They were two hours into the lesson when the klaxons went off. "Everyone stay where you are," Priam advised.
Violet stood and froze as she heard Jake's voice again, "You know the game, Stats." She looked over at Priam. "I have to go."
He caught her arm before she could dash out of the door. "Do you know how to fly the shuttle?" She noticed sincerity mixed with concern in his onyx eyes.
"I can manage enough," she replied.
"You mean you flew one once because you had to and now you're hoping to do it again by the same luck," he assessed.
She smirked. "Pretty much. I have to do this."
He sighed and let her go, calling after her, "Be careful."
(I'm sorry that it took so long to update, I partly blame the Super Bowl. My thanks to Gabe, carolann, Mariel3, Trinity Everett, csiAngel, and kywildcat for reviewing :D).