After stopping by their quarters to pick up Laura's red plaid blanket, Bill makes his way to the hanger deck with Laura in his arms, preventing an argument about using a wheelchair. He sees Kara and Lee walking together down the halls and calls to them, "Kara. Lee."
"Yes?" they both answer as they turn around to face him.
"I am taking Laura down to Earth and I'm wondering if you two would come with us, maybe pilot the raptor," Bill says hesitantly and then looks down at Laura, "I don't think I can do it. And we're all a family."
"Sure," Lee says with a sad, knowing smile.
Kara and Lee follow Bill and Laura down to the hangar deck. They climb up onto the raptor first and sit in the front seats. As they are buckling up, Bill sets Laura carefully on her feet and helps her climb into the raptor. They sit down on the bench in the back and Bill puts his arm around Laura. He feels her lean into him heavily.
After they've taken off, Kara glances back to Bill and Laura and then says quietly to Lee, "Do you think he'll ever recover?"
He looks over at her and as he shakes his head he solemnly says, "No."
The rest of the flight is quiet as everyone realizes that this is the end. Of this life. Of this journey. Of this family. Of this love.
As Lee lands the raptor, he notices that some of the crew has already arrived, as per Lee and Kara's orders. He and Kara had been on their way down here when Bill had asked them to come with them instead.
Lee and Kara unbuckle as Bill stands up to open the door of the raptor. The door slowly opens, not only revealing Earth, but also the crew that were able to come down who were now standing at attention for their president. Laura gasps and says, "Oh my gods."
Kara stands next to her and says in a soft voice, "Surprise."
Laura shakily stands up with help from Bill and says, "Is this for me?"
Kara gives an affirming hum.
"You shouldn't have done this. Earth is for the people, not for me."
"But you brought us here," Bill says.
Bill and Lee help Laura off of the raptor as Kara prepares her speech. Once Laura is standing securely on her feet leaning against Bill, Kara begins.
"Madame President, you once made a speech when we finished the Blackbird. You promised us that despite all we'd lost, we all would get though this, together. We didn't believe it at the time, but we had hope. We want to thank you for keeping this family together and for becoming part of this family. Thank you for never giving up on us. And we also wanted to thank you for loving the Admiral. You will always be part of this family, Laura. We love you. On behalf of the crew of Galactica, we are proud to call you part of our family. Since you are part of us now, we thought it was necessary to honor you with a call sign. We know you won't be able to use it for long, but we thought you should have one."
With a smile Lee says, "Madame Airlock, welcome to Earth."
Laura takes a deep breath and smiles through her tears, "Thank you."
At once, the crew gathers around Laura and she weakly shakes their hands. After the crew disperses, Lee and Kara are the only two still with Bill and Laura. Bill helps Laura sit on the edge of the raptor when he notices that Lee and Kara each want some time with her.
Bill gives Kara a knowing smile and a nod and then says, "Lee and I are going to go check and see how settling is going. Come and get us if you need us."
Laura gives him a curious look and then Bill and Lee walk off.
Kara waits for a moment and then sits down next to Laura on the raptor. They sit in silence for quite awhile, Kara searching for the right words to say. She takes a deep breath and says, "I just want to say, I'm sorry, for everything I caused you and for holding you at gunpoint."
Laura wraps her arm around Kara but continues to listen.
"I never had a good mother figure as I grew up. And, you've become that through this journey. You always looked out for me and you always forgave me. I really didn't deserve your forgiveness for all I did to you after I came back, but you gave it to me anyway. Thank you for that," Kara pauses and after she takes a deep breath she continues, "I know that you will always be loved and remembered, by everyone, for everything that you did. We all love you, especially the Admiral. You really changed him, Laura. I don't think you could ever realize how much he loves you. Thank you for putting our family back together. I love you, Laura."
Kara turns toward Laura and looks at her with tears in her eyes that are being barely held back.
"Thank you, Kara." Laura places her arms around Kara and pulls her in for a hug. Kara tightly holds onto Laura and carefully rests her head on Laura's gaunt shoulder. Laura begins to gently rub Kara's back, and even though her hands are shaking Kara finds it comforting.
"I'm going to miss you, Laura," Kara mumbles into Laura's neck.
"I know, Kara. I know." Laura comforts a sad, scared little girl whose tears are falling onto her shoulder. Kara's tears bring tears to her own eyes and soon she is crying along with Kara.
They stay that way for quite awhile until Kara feels Lee's hand touch her on her back.
Kara pulls away from Laura so Lee can sit down beside her. Kara starts walking away so Lee can have some time alone with Laura to say good bye.
"I'm guessing it's your turn now, Captain Apollo," Laura says with a smile, "Are you going to make me cry as well?"
"Most likely," Lee says. Instead of Laura wrapping her arm around Lee, Lee wraps his arm around Laura. Lee takes a deep breath and then begins. "I want to apologize for not respecting you and your privacy. That was a horrible thing I did when I forced you to reveal that your cancer had come back. I will never forgive myself for that but I want to thank you for forgiving me. That couldn't have been an easy thing to do and I didn't really expect you to do it. So, thank you. I wasn't surprised at the very beginning that you hated my father. I mean, I hated him. Turns out, I am what I thought he was, a huge ass."
Laura weakly chuckles and says, "No, you're not."
"Yeah, I am. You are a wonderful woman, Laura, and I'm sorry I doubted you. You were a great president and a great woman, and I'm going to miss you as my mother. I know Zak would have loved you. You did so much for me, and I appreciate that. I also appreciate you loving my father. You did so much for him and you really changed him. He acted so differently with you than he did with my mother. You two were perfect for each other. He loves you very much, I hope you know that."
"I do, Lee. I do," she says, her voice wavering slightly.
"Goodbye, Laura. I love you," Lee says as he pulls her in for a hug.
Laura startles slightly when he hugs her, but then she relaxes. She is not used to Lee showing her compassion.
Lee feels his father and Kara appear before he sees them. Bill places his hand on Lee's shoulder and squeezes it with a wavering grip.
Lee releases Laura from his arms and then stands up.
"Bill, would you please help me up?" Laura asks as she puts her hand out for Bill to take.
"Laura, I really think you should stay sitting."
"I know you think I should, but I need to stand up and it seems that I will need a little help to do that," she weakly argues.
"Fine," Bill grumbles, knowing that it is a losing argument, and grips Laura's hand tightly. He helps her stand up and when she is on her feet she waivers, but she stays upright.
Lee and Kara are about to silently walk away and give them their time alone when Laura says in a cracky, raspy voice, "Where do you think you two are going? I stood up so I could give you two both proper hugs."
"Oh," Kara says, so quiet that it is almost a whisper.
They both walk back over to Laura. Kara is the first to wrap her arms around Laura and Laura hugs her tightly in return.
Bill keeps his hand on Laura's lower back as Kara hugs her. He looks over at his son and notes the tears that are now filling his eyes.
"I love you, Laura," Kara says as she steps back from Laura and lets Lee take her place. She steps next to Bill and Bill places his arm around her.
"I'm going to miss her," Kara mumbles to Bill.
"I know you are, Kara."
Lee steps way from Laura and Bill says to Lee and Kara, "I'm going to go show her around."
"Alright," Lee states. He and Kara walk away, giving them some time alone.
Once Lee and Kara leave, Bill gets the red plaid blanket, wraps it around her, and then picks her up in his arms, one hand around her back and the other underneath her legs. He walks over to a shady spot under a patch of trees and gently lays her down against a wooden log. He lies down beside her and wraps his arm around her.
"Well, Madame Airlock, what do you think of Earth?"
"It's beautiful," Laura says with a sigh of relief.
"It's our new home."
The End. I hope you liked it. Reviews are appreciated.