He's not sure why he did it. With a recent divorce, two small boys, and a psychotic ex-wife who'll always have a place in his heart, Bill is in no position to be asking schoolteachers on dates. And yet last night, as they stood on his porch and she expressed her concern for his kids, with those eyes of hers and the way her hair fell, and then when he'd kissed her . . . .
"What the hell are you smiling at?"
Bill quickly stands to attention, pushing himself off the counter of his still-in-the-rough bookstore and pretending to have been filling out paperwork as his oldest friend, Saul Tigh, walks into the room.
"Was I?"
Saul sighs. "Who is she?"
"Who?"
"The woman who's got you wrapped around her finger."
"There is no woman, Saul."
"Do you know what a terrible liar you are?"
Bill sighs and rolls his eyes, returning to his paperwork.
"There's no woman," he says gruffly. He hears Saul snort.
"Right."
But there is a woman. Her name is Laura. She's a schoolteacher. She loves his kids. She's pretty, and kind, and funny, and patient, and when he's around her he never wants her to leave and when he's not she's always on his mind. Maybe tonight he could ask her on a real date, without the kids getting in the-
"Bill! Cut it out, will you? You're freaking me out."
"Sorry."
As Saul carries some boxes from the room, Bill pulls out his phone and dials Laura's number, but ends the call before the phone even starts to ring. Maybe this isn't a good idea. He's being stupid, right? She doesn't want to get into a relationship with someone with as much baggage as he has. And what about the boys? What if they get too attached too soon? They already like her so much . . . But thinking about her smile, the way she'd hummed when he kissed her, the smell of her hair, and the way she'd made herself right at home in his house, convinced him otherwise. He had to see her again – just for dinner. What harm could one dinner date do? He calls her again, butterflies fluttering in his stomach, and he jolts when she answers sooner than he expected.
"Hello?"
"Uh, Laura? Hi, it's Bill. Bill Adama."
"Oh, hi Bill."
She sounds a little nervous. Is that a good thing? That's a good thing, right?
"Hey, I was wondering . . . I had a good time last night, uh . . . and . . . I was wondering if you-"
On Laura's end, loud voices and the rattling of some sort of equipment reach his ears from over the phone. Are those doctors yelling?
"Oh my gods! I'm sorry Bill, I-I need to call you back - bye."
"Wait, Laura are you all right? Are you in the hospital?"
But before she can answer his questions, she hangs up.