Later that evening Laura found herself seated across from the President, swirling a glass of red wine gently as she stared into it's depths. She stills her hand before bringing the glass to her lips and taking a small sip, humming gently as she swallows.

"Good?"

"It's been a long time since I've had anything that wasn't rotgut, let alone wine," Laura says with a small smile, taking another sip before setting the glass down on the coffee table between them, "But it reminds me very closely of my favorite Caprican Red."

"How has your first day down been?"

"I don't think overwhelming would describe it," Laura smiles as she crosses her legs, "It's just a lot of new experiences and old memories. At this point I don't know what I was expecting to find when we set out on this journey. A copy of Caprica? We would just pick up where we left off? How could I expect that of a tribe that's what...3000 years removed from the last time we had contact with them?"

"You were looking for home," Jed reasons with Laura. She shrugs slightly and sighs as her gaze flicks out the window again, "And home is an abstract thought."

"Abstract thought?"

"Home doesn't have to be a place. It can be a memory, a person, it can be whatever you want."

"What's yours?" Laura inquires softly as she turns her eyes back.

"Abbey, the kids, a cold fall night in New Hampshire."

"Sounds nice."

"I think it would be right up your alley. In the fall all the leaves turn different colors of gold and red, the air is crisp. We have a farm with some acreage. And part of it has a small cabin next to a lake. We go down there in the summer, kids go swimming, we have a bonfire...it's great." A small warm smile curls over Laura's lips as she listens to him.

"I think you're right," She agrees, grabbing her glass and taking another drink, "The plan for after the decommissioning was that Bill and I were going to retire for the most part, take Aurora and move up to our cabin in the woods north of Caprica City. It wasn't anything special, but it was on a lovely little pond, with water as clear as glass."

"Are you old enough to retire?" Jed smiles, a hint of flirtatiousness on his lips. Laura laughs and rolls her eyes, taking another drink.

"You're not being ageist are you, Mr. President?" Laura replies with a teasing lilt to her voice, "I had two administrations of being the Secretary of Education under my belt by that point so I had a pension coming my way, Bill has been in the service since he turned 18, and my family had money. I figured we would take advantage. Enjoy our kids, each other, just...enjoy being for once."

"It's a good plan. I wouldn't turn my nose up at it. Though I suppose once I'm out of here I don't have to do too much," Jed grins.

"No, I suppose you don't," Laura smiles, looking up as Bill comes into the sitting room, unbuttoning the top of his tunic, "Hey stranger."

"Hi," Bill rumbles, leaning down to kiss Laura. He takes her glass from her, taking a drink before sitting down, "Kids in bed?"

"Mmhm," Laura nods, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Fitz seems quite taken with you," Jed comments to Bill, "Especially the war stories you have to offer."

"It's quite refreshing to be able to talk shop again," Bill agrees, "He's also been very helpful coordinating."

"Good, unfortunately I would have been quite useless to talk to about getting your fleet actually physically landed here," Jed says before finishing his own glass of wine, "I do believe it's time for me to turn in. Is there anything else I can get you this evening?"

"No, thank you. You have been so helpful today," Laura assures with a smile.

"Alright, good night."

"Good night, Mr. President," Laura murmurs, watching him go before turning her eyes up to Bill, "Good day?"

"Mmhm, you?"

"Long, but yeah, good," Laura presses her lips to Bill's, "We should probably get some rack time in, I have a feeling we have quite a few long days ahead of us."

"Probably," Bill agrees, kissing Laura back before standing. He holds his hand out to her and helps her up, walking back towards the bedroom with her. Laura pulls him to the side and quietly opens the door to the kids' room. Aurora was sprawled out on one side of the bed and the boys curled up on the other, moonlight filtering through the curtains to light up the room in a soft glow. Bill rests his hand on her hip and his chin on her shoulder, watching the kids sleep along with her.

"Where did the time go?" Laura asks quietly.

"I don't know," Bill murmurs with a sigh.

"We spent so long on that godsdamn ship, but I look at them…and I see the babies that I rocked to sleep, and I feel like I've missed so much the last four years," Laura says, turning her head to look at Bill.

"You haven't," Bill assures her, pressing a soft kiss to her lips, "Come on, let's go to bed."

"Yeah," Laura sighs, closing the door again before pulling Bill towards their room. Laura nudges the door shut with her foot, her fingers already pulling the zipper to her dress down. She steps out of the cream fabric after shrugging it off, draping it over a chair in the corner. Her feet flick her shoes under the chair as well before she flicks through the stack of clothes waiting for them, tugging out a cotton nightgown.

Laura reaches back and undoes the clasp on her bra, tossing the object on top of the dresser before tugging the nightgown over her head and going to the bathroom to find Bill. She practically groans as she sees him brushing his teeth furiously, white foam dotting his lips.

"Oh gods, is that toothpaste?" Bill nods and holds the tube out to her with another toothbrush. Laura rinses off the brush before putting a heaping dollop onto it's head, starting to brush. She leans her back against the sink as she works the brush over her teeth, working the paste into a foamy lather for quite a while. She turns around to spit, rinsing her mouth out with a few mouthfuls of water before scrubbing her hands over her face to wash away the little makeup she had on. Bill hands her a small towel after she turns the faucet off smiling as she dabs her face dry.

"Good isn't it?"

"It's practically heavenly," Laura replies, setting the towel on the counter with a small smile. She tugs Bill out of the bathroom and flicks the light off on the way, pulling him over to the bed. They both pull the covers back, tossing a couple of the decorative pillows to the side before climbing in between the sheets. Both of them let out groans of satisfaction as they sink into the soft plush, "I feel like we're going to look like complete buffoons at all of the little things we find enjoyable."

"I don't care, four solid years of sharing a single rack with you, and a lot of the time the kids, this bed is starting to make me believe in Elysium," Bill comments, his voice already starting to tire. Laura chuckles and turns off the lights before shuffling closer to him.

"Does that mean you don't want me all the way over here?"

"Not at all," Bill gruffs, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her back to his chest. Laura hums happily before yawning as she settles in.

"Good."

"Night, Laur."

"Night, Bill," Laura murmurs, her eyes already drifting closed.

[TBC]