Note: This chapter puts me over 100,000 words for this series. Thank you so much to everyone who has stuck around this long and has enjoyed what I've brought to the table with this fic! We're not done yet, so please keep reading and reviewing!

Laura stands quietly next to Bill off to the side of the stage observing the reporters in the room, furiously taking notes and recording, cameras clicking away in the background. Her palms were sweating as she viewed the crowd. She had participated in many large press conferences during her time as part of the government on Caprica and she had stood in front of crowds of hundreds, speaking on live tv. Yet as she stood in front of this crowd, Laura had never felt more terrified.

"...Ladies and Gentlemen, please allow me to introduce to you, President of the Twelve Colonies, Laura Roslin," Jed says, stepping away from the podium and holding a hand out to Laura. Bill squeezes her hand in support as she takes a deep breath, painting a smile on her face before she steps up to the podium. She puts the portfolio she had been holding onto the ledge and opens it up, scanning the words she had written out multiple times the night before.

"Thank you, President Bartlet, for that warm introduction," Laura says, offering a smile in Jed's direction before orienting herself in her speech, "Life here, began out there. Most of us from the Twelve Colonies grew up hearing these words. A reminder of where we had come from, of the time that we had lived with the Gods on Kobol. But thousands of years ago, we left. We embarked for the stars, intent on starting a new life. Twelve tribes of us left and claimed our spots over twelve planets, twelve new homes. We grew, we thrived, life went on.

"Yet, there was a thirteenth. The thirteenth tribe left intending on finding a new home. On starting over, and creating a new life. Intent on breaking the cycle. They came here, they left all of the bells and whistles behind…and they integrated. They made this place their home, they made each and every one of you. They instilled so many values and ideas. But they always knew…they always knew we would come back. That we would come home.

"All of this has happened before and will happen again. It's another phrase we're no stranger to. We've uttered it many times over the last four years as we were once again driven from our homes, as we paid a price in blood…for not being better, for hurting each other, for thinking that we were above others. We were a people of over twelve billion…and we've dwindled down to thirty thousand, only twice as large as the original thirteenth tribe was told to be.

"We've come many miles in the last four years. We are tired. We are broken. We are lifting our hands up in hopes that someone will pull us into the light. In the last three days…I have begun to see a light I haven't seen since the last time I sat on a balcony and watched Geminon rise over the horizon, bathing the Caprican night sky in reds and violets…glistening just beyond reach. President Bartlet and the Council of Kobol have brought that light back," Laura swallows as she takes a breath, her eyes scanning over the crowd before looking back down at her notes, "If there is one thing that has stuck with me from my brief time here…it's an inscription on a plaque, inside a statue that, as I have come to learn, has lit the way for many a weary soul.

"The second part of the inscription reads - Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp cries she with silent lips. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

"We are tired, we are yearning to breathe free, we are homeless…and we are hoping that our brothers and sisters have not forgotten us," Laura finishes quietly, her voice thick. She closes the portfolio in front of her and lets out a soft breath before stepping back and letting CJ take her place.

"There is going to be half an hour for the Presidents to take questions, if you just give us a moment to reset the stage," CJ tells the press, surprised at their relative silence, a heavy murmur floating through the room as they look at each other. Bill reaches out and takes the portfolio from Laura, their fingers brushing briefly.

"You did great," Bill says.

"I've only ever had to sell myself, Adar's administration, I've never had to sell our entire civilization…" Laura says softly as the stage gets reset with two podiums.

"You did great," Bill reiterates, catching her eyes.

"So say we all."

"So say we all," Bill smiles. Laura looks back at the room for a moment before looking at her husband and arching her eyebrows, "Go."

Laura steps away from Bill before backtracking and taking her portfolio. He grins and winks at her as she shakes her head. She makes her way back up onto the stage and takes her place at her podium bracing her hands against the edge as they finish wiring it.

"How am I supposed to answer questions?" Laura asks CJ, "I have no idea who any of these people are."

"The President will call on people, their questions can then be directed to you or him," CJ explains, "Half an hour. That's all you have to do today."

"Right," Laura nods, taking a bracing breath.

"You'll do fine," CJ assures her with a smile before stepping off the stage. Laura watches as the reporters bounce to their feet, finally starting to show some life as Jed walks back on stage, immediately trying to get his attention for questions.

"Bill," Jed calls after taking a sip of water.

"Mister President, how long have you known about the aliens?"

"They're hardly aliens, Bill…they're more like cousins," Jed says as he looks over at Laura with an amused smile, "But to answer your question, since day one of the presidency. It's one of the first items that is covered after the inauguration."

"Did any other White House staff know?"

"No, this was a very special security clearance," Jed shakes his head, pointing to another person on the other side of the room, "Sarah."

"Madame President, how can you be certain that your presence here won't simply be a burden on our world?"

"We have no intention on being a burden," Laura says, "We come not only offering advancements in technology but people who know how to use them. We're educated. We're ready to pitch in. We have no problem earning our place at the table."

"Nathan," Jed points to the back of the room.

"When will we know more about settlement plans?"

"President Roslin and I will be meeting with the rest of the Council over the weekend, plans will be shared as we agree on them," Jed answers. The two of them continue to answer questions for the next half hour before CJ steps forward and taps Jed on the shoulder to motion that it was time for their last question, "Okay, last question, Daniel."

"President Roslin, how many children are in your fleet?"

"Based on fleet census' we estimate that approximately 74 to 7500 of our fleet are under the age of 18. Of those approximately half are under the age of ten," Laura answers, removing her glasses and folding them in front of her, "Three of them are my own. No matter the trials we have faced over the last four years, our children have been educated, they have been cared for, and they have been loved. We recognized early that our children were quite literally our future."

"That will be all for questions today everyone, another briefing will be held later this afternoon and as President Bartlet mentioned as the Council meets over the weekend information will be released as it is confirmed," CJ says as she wraps up the press conference. Laura closes her portfolio and steps off the stage with Jed, holding her hand out to Bill as they head down the hallway. He squeezes her hand and lifts it to his lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles.

"You did great."

"Thank you," Laura smiles, squeezing his hand back softly. Jed turns to her as they move to pass the Oval Office.

"I have a few meetings that I need to attend to. The Prime Minister should be getting here later this evening," He tells her, "You know your way around I assume?"

"I think we do," Laura smiles, "I will see you later this evening, Mister President."

"Until later, Madame President. And good work today."

"You as well, sir," Laura nods before walking with Bill and two secret service agents up to the residence.

"Mama! We saw you on TV!" Liam yells when he sees them, running over from his spot on the couch next to Lee and Alex.

"You did?" Laura smiles, sweeping him up onto her hip, "How did I look?"

"Very pretty," Liam smiles. Laura smiles and presses a kiss to his cheek before taking a seat on the couch across from Lee.

"You did a great job, Laura."

"Thank you, Lee. It was…nerve wracking to say the least," She laughs softly as Liam sits with his back against her chest. She wraps her arms around him and holds him close, "I feel like this whole weekend is going to be nerve wracking."

"You'll do fine," Lee assures her. Bill ruffles Alex's hair as he stands behind the couch, looking across at Laura.

"I need to get down to the base and meet up with Zak and Kara. I might need to go back to Galactica, but I won't be longer than a few hours."

"Stay safe," Laura says, holding her hand out to him. Bill walks around to the other couch and leans down, pressing a kiss to her lips.

"I love you."

"I love you too," Laura murmurs as she strokes Bill's cheek. He presses a kiss to Liam's head before heading back downstairs. Laura sighs as she squeezes Liam a little more, turning her wrist to check her watch, "Lee, do you mind keeping an eye on them a little longer? I'm supposed to take Aurora to an eye appointment."

"Yeah of course."

"You're gonna go again?" Alex says, leaning against his brother's shoulder.

"Just for a little bit, baby. I have to take your sister to an appointment and then we'll be home."

"Okay," Alex sighs, looking down.

"When I get back the four of us can snuggle up and watch a movie okay?" Laura suggests, nudging Liam down off her lap before standing up. Alex nods, a small smile spreading across his lips. Laura smiles back and presses a kiss to his head, running her fingers through his hair, "Good. Lee. I should only be a couple hours."

"It's fine," Lee assures her before waving her off. Laura makes her way downstairs, meeting a car at one of the private exits before climbing into the back. She closes her eyes as the car drives along to the school, her head snapping up when they stop. She climbs out and makes her way into the office, smiling when she sees Aurora waiting to be picked up, chatting with the secretary. She looks over when she hears the door opening hopping up from her seat when she sees her mother. She grabs her bag and waves to the secretary before walking over and wrapping her arms around Laura's waist.

"Hi Mama."

"Hi sweetness," Laura says as she wraps an arm around Aurora before leading her back out to the car that was waiting for them, "How was your day?"

"It was good. I like this place."

"Yeah?"

"Mmhm. Can I go here when we move here permanently?"

"We'll see. Maybe we can work something out," Laura says as she opens the back door and lets Aurora in before getting in herself. They make their way across town to the optometrist that Abbey had suggested to them the day before. Laura sits with Aurora through her appointment, watching as her daughter picks between slides before the doctor gazes into her bright green orbs.

"She actually doesn't need too much of a correction, but it should definitely help with any headaches she's been having," The doctor says as he types everything into the computer, "It's simple enough that if you wanted to pick out a pair of frames today we could have them ready to go in about an hour or so."

"That would be great," Laura says.

"Go ahead and head out to the show room, one of our assistants will meet you out there," The doctor says with a smile, "It was a pleasure to meet you two."

"Thank you," Laura says, shaking his hand before guiding Aurora out to the show room. She shows her over to where the kids glasses are, helping her pick out a few pairs to try on. The assistant helps Aurora try them on in the mirror, telling her and Laura what they could shape to fit her, before Aurora tries on the last pair and grins as she looks in the mirror.

"I like these," She says as she turns to look at Laura. She had picked a pair of purple, thin framed, wayfarer style glasses. The purple played well against her green eyes and tan skin and the shape complimented her face well. Laura was struck by how much older she seemed with the frames on. She reaches out and tucks some of her hair behind her ear as she cups her chin in her hand.

"You like those?"

"Mmhm," Aurora nods, turning back around to look in the mirror again to double check, "They're perfect."

[TBC]