Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.
Chapter 13: The way you haunt my dreams
Admiral William Adama was dead. He had died a few hours after Laura had retrieved his dress grays. The family held a small service the following day, burying him on Earth. The trip itself had been disguised as a visit to look at real estate. Then the family returned to Galactica. The new plan was for Bill Adama to transport into Life Station. He would make a miraculous recovery.
When Jake beamed him back to Galactica, Adama found himself in Cottle's office again. As he materialized, Cottle's head shot up and he spit out his coffee. "I wish you'd quit doing that. What do you think would happen if your doctor got a sudden heart attack?"
Adama raised a hand in defense. "Point taken. Are they here?"
Cottle nodded. "All except Laura. She's probably in their quarters, figuring out what to tell our press about your recovery."
"How about the 'infusion of Cylon DNA' excuse?" Adama mentioned.
"When we used that, we said that I was trying an experimental chemical and the reactions were unknown," Cottle explained.
"I'm sure Laura will think of something," Adama remarked.
Cottle stood as someone knocked on his door. "Can't even get a decent coffee break."
He opened the door to Hannah, who looked over at Bill. "Oh good, you're here. He told them about you and the plan."
"How did they take that?" Bill inquired.
Hannah shifted from one foot to the other. "Kara told him he was nuts, that he was irreplaceable. Dee looked really uncomfortable, but she smiled. Zack didn't say anything, but he looked relieved. He's been stressed over figuring out how to manage a whole fleet. The military part he's okay at, but when it comes to the occasional Quorum meetings, he trips over his words because he's too nervous."
"We shouldn't keep them waiting any longer," Bill remarked.
The girl stepped out of the office first, as if to act as a buffer between the family and Bill. They were seated in chairs outside of Cottle's office. Zack helped a very pregnant Kara to her feet while Dee managed her twin boys in their double stroller. All three adults stared intensely at Bill.
At last Hannah spoke. "Alright, let's leave the staring contest for another day. Yes, he looks exactly like our admiral did when he was healthy. No, he's definitely not a Cylon or a changeling. Any questions?"
"If you're here, what happened to the Laura of your universe?" Kara asked.
Bill folded his hands in front of him. "She was the dying leader. She's gone now."
Kara looked him over from head to toe, still glaring at him. "Just because it was what he wanted, doesn't mean I have to like it."
Hannah stepped closer to her. "Look, I know you're pissed off-"
"Language," Bill interrupted.
The girl turned toward him and raised an eyebrow, then turned back to Kara. "I know you're ticked off, but we all have to play along with this, at least in public. If you walk out that door looking mad, people will be suspicious."
Kara plastered a fake smile across her face. "Fine," she said before leaving, Zack trailing after her.
What have I gotten myself into? Bill sighed heavily, then noticed that Dee had remained. "What do you think of this?"
"Well sir, he asked a lot of you to be here. He and I didn't always see eye to eye, and I wish he'd asked us about it. Why did you accept?" she inquired.
"Aside from the fact that he didn't give me much of a choice, you mean?" Bill pursued.
Dee smirked. "He wasn't always quite that pushy. In the last two months he's been more controlling."
"I thought so. In a way I stayed because of Laura and her daughters," he replied.
"If you loved your Laura anywhere near as much as he loved his Laura, I think I understand why a man would trade a universe for a second chance," she mentioned. Then she turned back to her sons, "I've gotta go. You probably want to know their names. The one on the left is Isaac and the one on the right is little Will."
Bill watched as she left, thinking to himself. Is that really what I was trying to do? I thought I was helping this universe. I shouldn't even be thinking that. She's just lost her Bill and she needs time. I'm not trying to replace him, not in that capacity. What have I done? I really wish I had my shaving cream about now. It's been too long since my last descent shave.
Hannah broke into his thoughts. "I'll take you back to your quarters. Mom will probably turn up later if she's not there now. Oh, and Colonel Kira wants to talk to you. She's planning to stop by soon."
On the way to his quarters, he and Hannah walked slowly in order to maintain the rouse. Many crew personal smiled and nodded at him. People commented on how good it was to see him back on his feet. When he reached his quarters, Laura was not there. As Hannah dashed off to find Kira, Bill looked around his, or rather the other admiral's quarters.
He noticed several boxes, some closed, some opened. Most of the books on his shelves were gone, having already been packed and moved to the station, he recalled. His desk was still there, as was the couch. He closed his eyes to smell the familiarity, but what he smelled did not match what he remembered. His eyes flew open as he realized that he not only smelled the old leather and other military smells, but her perfume, and was what distinctly baby powder. Looking down into a box by his desk, he spied the culprit and smirked. A few of Charlotte's items had yet to be packed.
Glancing back toward the sleeping area, he spotted his rack, but something looked different about it. As he neared it, he realized that it was a good three feet longer, with two legs supporting the addition. So it was possible to make a double bed out of that, he mused. A knock on the door brought his attention back to business. He opened the hatch to find Kira.
"Come in," he said. She nodded and stepped in as he closed the hatch. "Hannah said you wanted to talk to me."
"Yes. The other admiral wanted me to look into a collaboration between my people and yours. She told me to tell you she's at the gym," she told him. She carried a stack of electronic pads with her, which she set on the coffee table.
He motioned for her to sit on the couch while he took a chair. "What did you have in mind?"
"I could send you some Starfleet personnel to add to your staff. We've used this idea before, working with the Klingons. The other admiral and I have also discussed sending a few engineers over here to help with repairs," she commented.
"That sounds reasonable. Approximately how long has the Colonial Fleet been here?" he inquired.
She folded her arms in front of her. "About three weeks. I wish these issues could've been attended to sooner, but the entire Alpha Quadrant is still fixing the mess from the war with the Dominion. Eventually I'd like you and the president to be able to talk with the Starfleet admirals. They've been evasive lately."
He smirked. "Politics as usual?" She gave him a half-smile and he continued. "We'll deal with everything one day at a time. What exactly is Starfleet?"
"It's basically the military, political, medical, engineering, and scientific branch of the United Federation of Planets. Starfleet Academy trains people to serve the Federation in some capacity, usually on a Starship or space station. It's a 'Federation of Planets' because it's made up of several alien races who have decided to join," Kira explained.
Adama nodded, absorbing the information. "Is the whole Alpha Quadrant part of it?"
She shook her head. "Groups like the Klingons, Cardassians, Ferengi, and Romulans have their own groups. And then there are worlds like Bajor that have a few infrastructure issues that stop us from joining. Speaking of joining, my other reason for coming here was to invite you to join as well."
He raised an eyebrow. "What did the other admiral say?"
"I had to go through certain channels before I could finally get a hold of Admiral Hayes and to ask if I could invite the Colonials," she replied.
"What does it mean either way?" he asked.
She rested her hands on her knees. "Whether you join or not, your people have the option of remaining as a separate entity, or integrating yourselves with the other humans. If you join Starfleet, you'll be another official culture within the Federation."
He rose to pour himself a glass of water and offer one to her. She nodded and he returned with two glasses. "What about settlement? We can't stay on the ships indefinitely."
Taking a gulp of water, she faced him. "There are about sixty thousand of you. It would be easier for us to place your people somewhere and call it a colony."
"I hope you realize that I need to discuss all of these things with the president," he reminded, drinking his water.
She nodded. "Of course. How are things, if you don't mind?"
Bill rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I should give you the military answer and say everything's fine. But I'd rather be honest right now. It's bad enough having to pretend I'm slowly recovering when I actually feel pretty good. His family doesn't trust me, can't say as I blame them though. Then there's Laura. I haven't seen her in days and I suspect she's been avoiding me."
Kira sighed, slumping forward with her elbows on her knees. "I wish I could help you with that, but it's out of my expertise."
"I didn't expect you to," he stated.
"Is there anything that I can help you with?" she asked.
He sat back against the couch. "I know very little about what you've called the Alpha Quadrant, or Earth in this universe."
She smiled politely. "Actually I can help you with those. I brought a few data pads with me," she remarked, handing him the pads. "As you'll read, the Alpha Quadrant expanded for the people of Earth when Zephram Cochran invented the warp engine."
Scrolling down, he read a few items before looking back at here. "And how do your people fit into all this?"
Kira set her empty glass on the table. "My people were farmers and artisans, until the Cardassians decided that we didn't know enough to use our resources properly. They barged in and placed us in camps during what we call the Occupation."
"The Cylons tried something like that with us after nuking our home-worlds," he began, going on to explain New Caprica.
They continued to discuss the Alpha Quadrant as well as how the different alien races related to each other. When she left, Bill noted that the visit had lasted roughly four hours. They had decided to send a few engineers over, as well as a few more officers. The rest he would discuss with Laura when they had time.
Alone again, Bill noticed a few pictures still on the wall, above several that were in a box. He looked closely at all of them to see that they were of Laura, Zack, Lee, Kara, Dee, and Hannah. There were wedding pictures as well as a photo of Dee in Life Station holding her twins with Lee at her side. Then he found one of himself and Laura. It was a wedding picture with her wearing a borrowed white dress suit. From the photo it looked like Saul was his best man, followed by Lee and Zack, while Kara was Laura's maid of honour, next to Dee and Hannah. I knew she wasn't the type to play flower-girl, he mused. The he found another Life Station photo, this one of him sitting next to Laura. Hannah sat on the other side of the bed and a newborn baby Charlotte rested in Bill's arms.
He set the picture back in the box and stood, taking a deep breath as his eyes misted over. Oh Laura, why couldn't we have shared a life like this? You deserved a life like this. Maybe if I hadn't been so stubborn… maybe if I had just realized… I don't know what I'm doing here. Everything is so complicated, he thought to himself. He wiped his eyes, hearing a knock at the hatch.
He opened the hatch, expecting to find Hannah or Colonel Kira, hoping to find Laura. He blinked in surprise to see Zack. "Come in."
Zack entered and looked around the room before returning to Bill. "I'm sorry about Kara."
Bill closed the hatch. "It's fine. She has a right to be angry. How do you feel about this?"
Zack sighed heavily. "I can't say that I agree with his plan, but I understand why he wanted things this way. I can command Galactica just fine, but I know as well as he did that I can't manage a fleet, not yet."
"I'm sure you'll learn in time. Colonel Kira wants to bring some Starfleet personnel aboard, starting with engineers that will help us with repairs," Bill informed him.
"That's good to know," Zack commented, walking toward one of the boxes. He started to take the remaining pictures from the wall and place them in a box. "He was hoping to retire soon, but the disease got to him first. He wanted Mom and the girls to live on Deep Space Nine while we figure out what to do for our people."
"Kira mentioned that too. I need to speak with the president about it. How long have you been calling Laura 'Mom?'" Bill inquired as he helped Zack with the packing.
"Since she and Dad got married after Kobol. Lee was calling her 'Mom' too. What are we like in your universe?" Zack asked.
Bill paused to face him. "My Zack died in a flight school accident."
Zack blinked. "Oh, the one that stopped me from flying?"
The older man nodded. "Yes."
"And Lee?" Zack pursued.
Bill smiled fondly. "He left the military and now he's the president. He and Kara have each other."
"You should've known she'd end up with one of the Adama boys," Zack joked.
"Yeah. What's the fleet status here?" Bill asked.
"Well sir," he began. 'Sir' is probably easier than 'dad' at the moment, Bill noted. "Everybody's restless. They want a place to call home and they want to get off these ships."
"As I've said before, Colonel Kira brought up a few things that I need to discuss with the president," Bill mentioned.
Zack looked down at his feet. "The president may be out of commission for a while. Mom is having a hard time dealing with everything. She can fake stuff for the Quorum, but you might have a bit of a problem."
Bill nodded. "We'll all take things one day at a time then."
"Was there anything else you wanted to know?" Zack inquired.
The older man thought for a moment. Then he remembered. "Just one thing. What is your call sign?"
The younger man blushed. "Light-weight."
Bill raised an eyebrow. "I hope that doesn't relate to your boxing ability."
"No, it refers to my inability to hold my alcohol. I got it from one of my flight instructors. You see-"
"You came to flight class drunk?" Bill questioned.
Zack shook his head. "No sir. We had an afternoon class, and earlier that day I had two midterms. I'd stayed up all night studying for them and I could barely stay on my feet by the time the flight class came around. I noticed that a couple of the other recruits looked tired two. What I didn't know until later was that there had been a party earlier and most of the other recruits were a little drunk. My instructor walked by me, looked me up and down, and called me a light-weight, meaning that I couldn't hold my liquor."
Bill laughed. Laura was right. "Sounds like your flight instructor might've been at that party."
The younger man glanced down at his watch. "I need to get back to CIC before they think I've been at a party."
As Zack left, Adama returned to packing. He had just picked up a sweater when he heard another knock at the hatch. As he opened it, a feeling of déjà vu struck him as he saw a repeated scene from his universe: Laura looking frazzled, holding a crying baby.
(My thanks to Mariel3, Ceridwyn2, McGonagallFan, Mamabella, Alecandrain2, and carolann for reviewing :D)