The midsummer sun caressed the two riders as they rode double on the majestic black gelding, the rays lighting the threads of silver in his hair and the threads of gold in her auburn waves. Their mount picked his steps carefully over the rocky trail as the towering pines cast cooling shadows below.

Laura sighed with contentment as she snuggled her nose against the sun-warmed cotton stretching over Bill's shoulders. The fragrance of line-dried laundry mixed with his natural skin scent was one of her favorite little details about Earth. She tightened her grip around his waist as she swayed back and forth with each step that Blackbird took. The white of her hiked-up petticoats flashed in sharp contrast to the gleaming ebony of the horse's coat, her stocking-clad legs pressed tight against his sleek sides.

They had been following the river that fed the lake in Falcon's Rest, climbing higher as the morning went on. The water rushed and eddied in pools along the way, shallow enough to wade across in some spots, deep enough to swim in others. The sound of the flowing water and the gentle rocking rhythm of the horse's gait had almost lulled her to sleep when Bill squeezed her hand as it rested on his hip.

"We're almost there."

She looked at the stand of old growth trees in front of them, the stream cutting through the middle. The banks had become increasingly mossy as the area they rode through became more heavily wooded. The path under Blackbird's feet had narrowed, now not much wider than their two-person buggy Bill had crafted that spring.

"Where's 'there'? I thought we were just going for a picnic in the woods." The pouches tied to the saddle were full of roast beef, bread and cheese, and a cloth-wrapped assortment of fresh vegetables. A flask of good whiskey hung beside a canteen of fresh well water. A tightly rolled blanket rested between Laura and the back of the saddle, giving her some welcome padding as they rode.

The further they got from home, the higher her hopes rose for how they might make use of that blanket. A certain lack of privacy had become the cost of being recognized as "town elders" as the young settlement went through the growing pains of becoming a complex community.

It reminded her of working on Adar's first campaign, in a way. After spending the day teaching in the Deadwood schoolhouse (now boasting three classrooms) she came back to Falcon's Rest and sat with Bill as he went over the latest plans and developments from the town council. Invariably, someone would be waiting to talk with him, or her, or both. It wasn't as bad as the Quorum, but there were times when she missed the quiet, private hotel room that had been their first Earth home.

"Close your eyes for a minute, Laura." She could feel his shoulders tighten under her cheek and wondered where his tension was coming from.

"They're closed," she said as she complied with his request. The air turned cooler as she felt the shade deepen. A few more steps and she felt warmth and sensed sudden sunlight again.

"Now open them," he said, a note of pride in his voice.

"Oh my Gods, Bill—how did you manage this?"

He had brought them into a clearing, their rough footpath winding through a carpet of wildflowers blazing with a riot of colors. Patches of red, yellow and white blooms were interspersed with islands of blue and purple flowers. They all flowed into each other in a careless harmony, some growing close to the ground, others reaching up towards the sun. It was beautiful…and strangely familiar.

Bill turned in the saddle, his smile white and toothy against his tanned skin. "Remind you of anything?"

She gazed at the scene before her, delighting in the vibrancy on each side of the winding path. There was something familiar…if the path had been a lot wider, and straighter…something just on the edge of her mind was nudging her memory…. Cars! That's what was missing.The last time she'd seen this array of wildflowers had been when she drove through the green-spaces in Caprica City.

"These look like the wildflowers the Ministry of Transportation planted along the highways on Caprica. How—" She broke off, speechless at this patch of home from a world now desolate and deadly.

He turned further in the saddle, far enough to put an arm around her. "Believe or not, it was Baltar. Remember when the MOT sold packages of wildflower seeds as part of their highway beautification program? He found a box of seed packs in storage before we left the Fleet. He did some soil testing up here on Founder's Day and said he thought they'd do okay."

She snorted. "Founder's Days always seem to find that man digging in dirt some place or another."

They sat there, taking in the natural beauty around them, until Blackbird stamped his foot and snorted, clearly getting bored.

She ran her hands over the broad shoulders and back in front of her. "So, is this where we're stopping? I think somebody's ready to take a break."

"Not quite yet." He touched his heels to Blackbird's sides and continued on the winding path. Laura drank in the sight around her, as she wondered how many trips Bill had taken up here to seed the clearing, hauling straw in to cover the new plantings from hungry birds. She was still trying to work out how he'd managed this when they rounded a thick copse of trees.

"Last surprise, Laura. I hope this is what you had in mind."

At the end of the winding path was a small log structure, not much bigger than the bedroom in her apartment in Caprica City. She could still hear the rushing sound of the stream, and when she looked to the right, she saw it had widened into a pool of crystal clear water not twenty paces from the path.

"My cabin," she whispered. "You built my cabin." She beamed at her husband as a few happy tears began streaking down her cheeks.

"Yeah," he said, voice husky with emotion. "I finally did."

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Bill made quick work of unloading the horse, watering him in the nearby pool and tying him on a long enough lead so he could graze in comfort out back. He grabbed Laura's arm as she got to the front door of the cabin, scooping her up in his arms while she giggled in delight.

"This time, we're going over the threshold my way, Mrs. Adama." He nudged he door open with his foot and carried her inside.

"It's…it's just perfect, Bill. But how…why? I mean, we do have a perfectly fine house in town."

"Yeah, we do. And the whole town knows where it is, and knows when we're home," he answered with a wry smile as he set her on her feet.

She turned slowly, taking in the warm color of the log walls, the huge rocks that formed the fireplace and chimney, sparkling with flecks of mica and quartz. A rack had been put into the fireplace with hooks to hang pots for cooking and heating water. On both sides of the fireplace, he had built shelves, one already holding the books they had published this year.

Under her feet, covering the smooth plank floor, was a braided rag rug with all the colors of the wildflowers outside. A small table and two chairs sat in front of the fireplace, just the right size for two people to share a quiet meal. A smaller table had been placed under the front window, a large oil lamp standing ready to cast reading light over the twin rocking chairs on either side.

All the furnishings faded in comparison to the lavish brass bed on the left. Easily as grand as their bed at home, it took up at least a quarter of the space in the cabin. The polished brass glowed in the sun streaming through the window. The space was so much lighter and airier than she would have imagined from seeing it on the outside, especially in the area of the bed.

"Notice anything unusual?" Bill asked, his eyes crinkling with amusement.

"It's incredibly light, isn't it? It's all just so…perfect." She turned in a slow circle again, admiring the neat white curtains and the gleaming polished woodwork.

"You need the right vantage point to appreciate everything." He nudged her closer to the bed, then sat down and drew her into his lap.

"Well, I do like this vantage point," she said, with a pleased hum. She stroked her thumbs over his temples as she ran her fingers through his hair, pulling him down until his lips met hers. She took a second just to enjoy the warmth and softness of his mouth, humming again deep in her throat as he pressed against her.

He wrapped his arms around her, circling her shoulders and waist as he kissed her again, then gently lowered her until she was lying next to him. Her eyes closed as her tongue teased along his lips, then slipped inside, her sense of urgency building. His pulling away took her by surprise, and she looked questioningly into his dusk-blue eyes.

"What?"

"You're still missing something. Look." He pointed up at the ceiling.

Above the head of the bed was a thick glass skylight, built into the roof. Even in full sunlight, she could tell, come nightfall, the view would be a galaxy of stars, sparkling above them as they drifted off to sleep. It would be one of the few beautiful things of their old life, carried into their new one.

"I don't know what to say, Bill. This is…it's amazing. How did you get this built without me finding out?"

He stroked a tender hand over her cheek. "Some early morning meetings here and there, some creative explaining of how I spent my day when you got home from school…some help from others." He grinned again, all his emotions showing so clear to her in his eyes. "It came together, piece by piece."

He rolled over on his back, looking up at the skylight with a contented sigh of his own. "The first morning I was up here after I'd cut the opening, I got here a little before dawn. You should've seen it…the sun coming up through that front window, the sky slowly lightening up overhead as the stars faded. It looked heavenly."

He turned on his side to look at her, laying his arm over her waist. "I couldn't wait for this moment, when I could share this with you, watching your face while you saw what I saw that day."

The look in his eyes shot through her, so hopeful and satisfied at the same time. He looked…complete, somehow, like he'd clicked a last puzzle piece into place to create an incredibly beautiful mosaic. She touched his weathered, pitted cheek, the rough texture perfectly familiar under her fingers. Lying there, an image ran though her mind…her, looking up at a deepening blue sky, his face rasping against the sensitive skin of her inner thighs as his lips and tongue played her to a shattering finish.

Oh, yes. They could have everything, here. She shifted, putting her leg over him and pulling him closer, feeling his belt buckle press against her center through layers of clothing. His breathing quickened, stirring the wispy strands of hair that had fallen over her cheek. Tightening the arm over her waist, he brought his broad palm down to caress the curves of her bottom until she was moving against him.

Groaning, he rolled on top of her, his lips on her throat, then kissing the sensitive area just under her jaw. As he went lower, kissing and nipping at her collarbone, he ground his hips against her. She arched up, seeking more of the shivery sensation his erection was creating between her legs.

In another minute or two, they'd be naked, skin to skin, all wet heat and slick hardness. There was something delicious, though, about this delicate foreplay, reminiscent of those early stolen moments in her presidential office. They'd both ached for just a taste of what they'd shared before, a kiss, a touch, a whispered promise. Hurried caresses in an empty ward room would be enough to call up their memories and fuel their fantasies when they sought their separate releases hours later.

Laura's chest tightened as she realized again how far they'd come. No more twisting against her hand, a comm handset cradled between her shoulder and cheek as she listened to his gasps and moans on the other end. A sharp jolt of pleasure shot though her abdomen and she jerked, pushing against him with one hand.

"I'm loving this, but with all this privacy and time…." She quirked her lips in a suggestive smile as she met his half-hooded eyes, bright with desire. Even in their own house, their own bedroom, they were well aware that the walls weren't soundproof. The isolation here felt luxurious and freeing.

"Reminds me of all the times we couldn't do what we wanted…when we had to take what we could get," he murmured against her lips, punctuating his words with a kiss.

He feels it too, all the lost chances. Her heart twisted for both of them.

He got up, pulling her with him, and began unbuttoning her dress, trailing more kisses down her spine as he uncovered her skin inch by inch. Within minutes, her dress was hung over the back of one of the chairs. It was quickly joined by a white and pale peach pile of petticoats, ribbon-trimmed underthings and a satin brocade corset, its laces tied in a neat bow.

Bill was still admiring her naked body, warm and glowing in the sun pouring through the skylight, when she started on his shirt buttons with impatient fingers.

"My turn," she said.

As she pulled his shirt out of his jeans and started on his belt, she caught her bottom lip between her teeth. "I never get to see you in sunlight, you know. I love seeing you in lamplight, but this.…" Her voice faded into a happy hum as she unbuttoned his fly.

He ran his fingers over his raised scar. "I wouldn't think it was that much of a treat these days. Now, if I were twenty years younger—" He broke off as she slipped her hand under the snaps of his underwear and played along his length.

"If you were twenty years younger, you wouldn't be my Bill," she said, voice husky with emotion. "You're exactly how I want you, trust me." She wrapped her fist around his thick erection, the tip already beading with fluid that slicked her palm. A shudder ran though him as he grabbed her hair and guided her towards his lips, giving her a deep, scorching kiss before tugging her hand away.

Green eyes bright with joy, Laura watched him finish undressing as she pulled the covers back and settled into the welcoming feather bed. She still marveled at the effect life on Earth had on him. An hour a day in the Galactica gym, when he could spare the time, had kept him fit enough, but a year of the daily demands of life on the ground had sculpted him and melted away his slight paunch. His arms were bigger now, corded and taut when he held her. On nights when she bent over him to take him deep in her mouth, his thighs were like granite under her hands.

She wondered if he knew she found him beautiful either way. That she would always find the beauty within him, all the way to the end.

.

.

Laura's eyes had narrowed as she examined him, a cat-like smile playing over her lips. His chest expanded with pride as he watched the sunlight turn her auburn hair to gold-veined fire. The hours of labor would have been worth it just to see her like this, pale gold skin accented with a dusting of light freckles along her collarbone, a few loose curls falling over her shoulder to the deep rose shading of her nipples.

"Come to bed, husband." She patted the space next to her.

"I love the way you say that." He slipped into bed and pressed the length of his body against her. "Another promotion I'd given up hope on, then finally got."

"I know the feeling," she whispered as she ghosted her lips over his cheek, his temple, then nipped his sensitive ear lobe, making him shiver. He rose up over her, wanting to memorize the sight below him. Her hair was spread out over the pillow, and her eyes were now open and wide with so much love he thought he could drown there in the sea-green depths.

It was too much. His cock jerked against her belly as if in warning, and he pulled his hips back, leaning in to scatter light kisses along her throat. At her wordless encouragement, he moved his mouth down, closing his teeth gently over one nipple before licking and sucking the flesh to a tight peak. Her hips flexed under his as he moved to her other lush, full breast while her nails scratched lightly over his shoulders. He moved lower as he continued exploring her body. The fragrance of her white-flower perfume, the scent of her warm skin and her increasing arousal, melded into a heady mix that was driving him out of his mind.

His hands were firm on her thighs as he reached her center, pink and gleaming with her moisture. He gave over to a selfish enjoyment of her incomparable taste, a blend of salty sweetness and a faint mineral tang he never got enough of. Her hands wrapped into his hair, digging into his scalp as she pushed against him. One last deep lap and he settled in between her legs, using his lips and tongue to tease closer and closer to her clit, pulling back, then moving in again until her thighs were trembling around him, her low pleading becoming louder and louder.

Her silky walls were tight and hot as he slid two fingers inside her, the fluid from her arousal glistening on her skin. Bill lifted his head enough to drink in the sight of her, lush and swollen from his touch. Her movements were becoming needy, impatient. He lowered again and began the relentless rhythm of pressing and sucking that would give her what she needed to fly apart under him.

His cock leaked pre-cum over the sheets as he felt her belly tighten and her thighs begin to stiffen. She was vibrating like a wire pulled taut, almost to the breaking point, needing just a little more... He slipped a finger under her and pressed against her other opening, slick with her juices. He kept circling and dipping until he was inside her, his finger clutched impossibly tight as her gasping cries grew louder. A final hard stroking of his tongue against her clit and she arched her back off the bed, her hands fisting the sheets as she bucked and twisted against him, sobbing his name and crying out to the gods.

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As soon as Bill coaxed a second orgasm from her ready, willing body, Laura reached for him, still shaking. As they'd been undressing, she had thought of several delightful experiments they could try, putting the table, the rock chimney, and the thick rug to alternate uses. Now, though, her wants were primal and basic. She wanted him on top of her, inside her, balls-deep and hard while she locked her legs around him.

She wanted to see him, his face, his eyes, as he roared into his own completion. There was something about this place that called for that. She felt like fire was still running through her veins. Her cheeks flushed as she remembered how he'd had her screaming in ecstasy. Smart man, her husband, to build this far enough away to loosen any inhibitions she might still have.

He lay beside her, running his hand over her hip. His erection was rock-hard and dark next to the paler skin of his stomach.

"Gods, Laura, you're so beautiful when you come."

Her voice was husky. "I want to see that in you. Lie back."

She put aside her earlier need for the moment and knelt between his legs, letting her hair drift over and around his cock while she turned her head back and forth, teasing him with the feathery ends.

Temptation quickly became too much and she kissed the tip, licking away the moisture she found there, then slowly pulled him into her mouth as deeply as she could. She watched the ridges in his belly tighten and saw his hands gripping into fists. She wanted…oh, Gods, she wanted it all.

Laura felt him twitch hard against her lips and was not surprised when he sat up and grabbed her shoulders, turning her so that she was again on her back looking up at him and the sky.

"Don't…want this over too fast," he gasped.

She slipped one leg up over his hip and waited for him to catch his breath. He was backlit against the window's light, his features shadowed as a cloud passed over the skylight. Then the sun returned, highlighting his ocean-blue eyes and the thick lock of hair falling across his brow. She reached up to brush it back, and her hand continued to the nape of his neck as she gave him a deep, languid kiss, dancing her tongue against his.

He groaned and took her wrists, bringing them down to the bed. "Gods, Laura, I need you…need to be joined with you…."

She opened further and pressed her leg against his hip, guiding him. "Take everything you need, Bill. Everything you want."

His grip on her wrists tightened as he slowly made his way into her. He rocked against her center, flexing his hips to get as deep as he could. She met him thrust for thrust, angling up to catch his strokes against her clit as he frakked her hard. There was no distracting chatter from an outside street, no sound of horses clomping by…there was just him, and her, and the quiet of the hills around them as they moved together.

He turned her wrists loose to brace himself against the bed, sweat beading on his forehead. Laura drew one leg up and over his shoulder, pulling a deep groan from his lips. He was hitting that tight bundle of nerves deep inside now, and her palms grew damp as she gripped the brass bars of the headboard. She was almost on the verge of another orgasm…she could feel it building….

His eyes flew open.

"Gods, Laura—" he gritted out, teeth clenched.

She felt him shaking, trembling between her legs. His eyes were wide, staring down at her like blue flame as he groaned again and collapsed over her. She had just begun to stroke his damp hair when he stirred inside her again. His breathing was coarse and heavy.

"Bill? What—oh."

She gasped as he began moving again, hard and steady, pounding against her. Laura grabbed for the bars over her head again, anything to anchor her against him. He reached under her and pulled her up higher with one hand as he lost himself in the awkward fierce rhythm, pausing once to look at her with wonderment and crush his lips against hers in a bruising kiss.

She felt a final orgasm spool up inside her again, a sparking, rolling fire. Her soft cries mixed with his louder ones as he grabbed the headboard over her hands and lost himself in her with a roar, face twisted in ecstasy. She felt it then, the throb of him emptying himself into her heat. His sweat mixed with tears as he lowered his head to her shoulder, shaking hard against her, whispering her name again and again.

.

.

Laura looked up and saw the evening sky had begun to darken, the first stars starting to show. They must have dozed afterwards, his head still on her breasts. She stroked his hair and he gave a satisfied hum against her skin.

"You sound happy," she said, smiling at his bone-deep relaxation.

He glanced up at her, his smile touched with awe. "Did you...could you tell what happened?"

"I thought I knew what happened...you frakked me senseless." She fought the giggle that was forming in her throat.

"Well, yeah," he smiled. "But at the end..." Even in the dimming light, she thought she detected a faint blush. "I, um...I came twice. I never-that never..." He traced his fingers over her cheeks, then her lips, sighing deeply. "I love you, Laura." he rested his head back on her breast.

She let him rest there for a minute, letting the feelings of the day wash over her in gentle waves. She loved being "the Adamas," that was a certainty. But to be able to slip away to be just "Bill and Laura" for a day, an evening...she sighed as deeply as he had and leaned back against the pillows, content to have him resting against her.

"I love you, too, Bill."

A flash in the now-dark sky caught her attention. Bill looked up, following her gaze as she looked through the skylight. A shooting star raced across the darkness, its glowing tail spread wide and fiery behind it.

"It's flying towards Earth," he whispered.

"Good choice," she replied, and kissed him again as streaks of white and gold lit the sky.

FIN