17. Impact

Swaying to the rhythm of the music which was player on his old adapter, Bill sat on the couch with a glass of Ambrosia. This was one of Laura's favorite songs. They were listening would listen to it during dinner or when he was reading her a book with Laura's head on his lap. Bill placed his hand beside him, where Laura always sat and gasped heavy. On the coffee table in front of him were laying the divorce papers. He couldn't watch at them, it was still a fresh wound and this documents said how much he hurt her, broke what they had- friendship.

The Admiral put the glass on the table. He couldn't force himself to sign the documents. Laura wanted him to do it, wanted to end their marriage, and he couldn't blame her. It was his entire fault; he'd hurt her deeply and said all those stupid words. But he wanted to fix it, fix them. Adama grasped his head and started walking around the room.

I can't do that. I can't sign them. I love her too much. Lee said she loved me, so if it was true, I just ruined everything. She will never forgive me. I have a baby with another woman. I'm frakked up.

The Admiral stopped in front of the wall where there was a picture of him and Laura at the ceremony which took place after their return from Kobol. He slowly reached for it and placed his fingers above Laura's happy face, gasping.

This ends now Laura. I love you and I have to try to fix it. I'll not let you go again!

Bill left his quarters and headed to the Life Station by dark and lonely hallways. He was walking there for the second time today. Now it was late, and he hoped Laura would be sleeping. He just wanted to see her and take her hand and kiss. He turned right and stopped in front of the Life Station's hatch. He gasped and took a big step forward walking through the door. He went inside Cottle's kingdom and looked around.

The sickbay was empty. He slowly started approaching the Roslin's bed. He drew the curtain back. There she was, sleeping on her right side with her hands under her face and auburn hair messy and sliding over the pillow. Bill took a chair and quietly sat beside her. He carefully studied her face; she was pale with dark circles under her eyes and a wet path of tears on her cheeks. He raised his hand and gently wiped away a lock of her hair, placing it behind her ear. Bill smiled when she stirred, but fortunately, she didn't wake up. Bill studied her again for several minutes before he took her hand into his palms.

"Oh, Laura, I'm so sorry, my love. I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't want to sleep with her. I know you will never forgive me, and I'm ok with that. I frakked up our relationship, our marriage, our friendship. Oh sweetheart… I just want you to know that I love you and will never leave you. I will always love you, Laura, no matter what." He put his second hand on her cheek and then stood up, only to place a kiss on her forehead. When he sat down on a chair, Laura's green eyes were staring directly at him.

"Bill?" Roslin's sleepy voice asked.

"Shh. Go back to sleep." Bill said.

Laura only smiled and tangled her fingers within his. Seeing everything in blur, she slowly sat up on the bed, still holding her husband's hand.

"Bill…"

"Hey, go back to sleep. Cottle will kill me if he finds out I didn't give you a chance to a rest."

She smiled yawing. Bill stood up and settled her pillow and then he gently pushed her on the bed.

"Go to sleep!"

" M'kay." She muttered to the pillow, still holding the Admiral's hand.

Bill smiled sadly, knowing she was still mad and this moment of friendship was probably caused by the medicines and the Chamalla extract. He let go of her hand and turned to exit.

"Bill? Stay with me, please. I don't want to be alone. I'm scared."

Adama didn't say a word; he only sat down on her bed and gently took her face into his hands, placing a small kiss on her forehead and then lips.

"I'll never leave you, Laura. I know I hurt you, and I have nothing to my defense, but I'll never leave you, honey." She put her small palm on Bill's one shyly smiling. He tangled their fingers together and kissed her hand.

"I forgive you Bill. You were right…" She didn't finish because Adama placed a finger on her lips.

"Shh…I don't ask for your forgiveness."

"Still, you have it."

"Why you want to forgive me? I hurt you."

"Because I love you, Bill, from the dance on Colonial Day, to Kobol and to New Caprica, I fell in love with you even more. Besides, if you love someone, you want to be with this person, no matter how he is, what he likes and what he's done. I love you, Bill, and I want to fix our marriage. I want to get it right. I didn't marry you because of the Quorum but because of my feelings." She explained and then took a deep breath. When she wanted to add something, she was cut off by the tender kiss; not Admiral's, not a soldier's, but Bill's kiss- a man and her husband. When they pulled away from each other, he smiled and pulled her into a hug.

"I love you too, Laura. The first time when I saw you in that pink suit of yours, I thought you were a manipulating, bighead and irritating politician and you still are, but it is what I love the most about you."

Laura hummed placing her head in the crook of his neck. Bill ran fingers through her hair.

"Bill, what will happen now? The baby needs a father, and I can't take you from him or her."

"Don't think about it, ok? We will manage, somehow, but we will."

Kara and Lee were sitting in Lee's quarters and planning the rest of their plan, when the hatch opened. The very pregnant and angry Dee came inside closing the hatch behind.

"It was the last time, you hear me? The last time, Lee! She was so drunk that if she really was pregnant the baby… lords! I just I can't even imagine this. She thought I was Zerek." Dee placed hands on her stomach and with frustration slowly sat down on the rack.

"So what did you learn?" She only shot a glare to Kara.

"Well, you were right. She wants to get rid of Laura. She told me something about the second part of a plan. Something about Laura's cancer and Zerek. I don't know. And before you two ask, I don't know how they found out about it." Dee explained while looking at Lee and Kara.

"Ok, but you don't know if she's really pregnant!" Lee said and Kara rolled her eyes.

"Really, Lee? Who made you a CAG! We do know she's planning to get rid of the Prez. Besides, she was drunk under the table! It's enough. And, don't worry if someone catches us, we will spend some nice time in jail."

"Oh, no, I've been there, and it wasn't nice." Kara laughed and stood up with a grin.

"Ok, it's time to go. Lee, take your toys and get your frakking ass to the Life Station." Kara ordered him with grin and walked out.

They walked away from Lee's quarters and turned left down the next hallway. They walked down the hallway and then took a second right. They found themselves in a long, gray corridor which was heading straight to the Life Station. Kara stopped and looked around. The hallway was empty, so they quietly walked into Life Station. She told Lee to watch her six and then disappeared in Cottle's office.

In the mean time, the young Adama leaned against the bulkhead. He closed his eyes. He didn't even know when he started falling asleep; the two quiet voices woke him up. He opened his eyes and looked around, but the Life Station was empty. Then he heard it again. He started to walk towards the voices. A few meters later he stopped, hiding behind the curtain. Lee held his breath and slowly looked through the curtain. He saw Laura in his father's arms, lying on the bed.

"Bill?" she whispered trying to hold her tears.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Bill my…my cancer is back." She whispered into his neck. Her tears started to flow down her cheeks.

"I know, honey, I know." Adama kissed her hair. "But we'll fight it, together. I'm not going to give up, and neither will you Laura. I love you, we will fight it together." She sobbed into his neck still staying in his embrace.

"I love you too, Bill." His father kissed his wife and she hummed, nestling into his body and fell asleep. Bill put his arm around her waist and kissed her hair.

The young Adama smiled and turned back giving them some space. He walked back to Cottle's office where Kara was. He looked at her.

"Got something?"

"No." she said and looked at him. "You know, you could help!" she mentioned still searching the files.

He frowned and took the next stack of documents. After a few seconds Kara grinned and took the files which she found. She opened them and started reading with Lee. When they finished, they looked at each other with mouths hanging open.

Lee was the one who broke the quiet. " We, we have to tell him. The President, she… she… my dad… frak, Kara we have to tell him. Before it's too late. I mean she can hurt Laura, and Zerek is involved."

"Ok, stop right now, Lee!" Kara said. "Take a deep breath and turn around."

He did like she said and saw his father. The young Adama opened his jaw.

"Starbuck, Apollo, what are you doing here?" he asked and gazed from his son to Kara. She pushed Lee a little bit forward his father. "Lee?"

"Uhm..." The Major looked down, still holding the documents. Kara cleared her throat and nudged him.

"Kara? Will someone explain me what this is all about?" The Admiral frowned.

"Yes, sir! We - I mean Kara and I have something which clearly shows Carolanne Adama isn't pregnant, and she's planning on getting rid of the President with Zerek." Lee said all in one breath.

The Admiral frowned again.

"What?"

"Ok, see yourself." Lee gave him the medical files, and Bill started looking through them. "They want to get rid of Mom."

The Admiral opened his mouth but words stacked up in his throat. His ex wife was faking the pregnancy. But why? This was the question he would like to know the answer to. He sat down in the nearest chair and looked at Kara and Lee. They were officers, and had broken a rule, but he just couldn't punish them. Ok, maybe he'd lost his objectivity, but they found out something important to him and Laura.

"It was you idea, Captain? This whole 'breaking into Cottle's office' thing?" he asked a few minutes later.

"Yes, sir. I'm a patriot, and I can let Zerek take over the presidency just because he destroyed the President's marriage and that broke her down." Kara said.

Bill looked down like he was ashamed of something. The blood in his veins froze and a chilly shudder went through his body. Laura forgave him, but did she really, or say it? Maybe she said "I forgive you" but deep inside she still hadn't done it. She loved him, right? He looked at the files once again. And, he loved her. They had a chance to start once again, but the only problem was the trust issues. He trusted his wife, well maybe not completely. Laura was a beautiful woman, innocent and yet a devil and men found her attractive, like Zerek or Colonial One's Captain. The truth was he didn't like when someone was ogling his wife. It wasn't a nice feeling, the lust mixed with envy and helplessness. He couldn't touch her while the rest of men society could, they could have her heart and body if she let them.

Face it, you're jealous, always was and will be. Laura is a woman out of your league. Is that the reason I hurt her so much? Because she wasn't supposed to be my wife? Oh, well. I guess I'm a moron. Now, we have a second chance to start again. Carolanne isn't pregnant, Laura isn't sleeping with Zerek, and I… I'm sitting here…

Bill stood up and looked at his children, and then he gave Lee the documents and left the Life Station heading to Carolanne's quarters. In the meantime Kara nudged her friend and jogged out following the Admiral. Lee rolled his eyes and ran after them. He knew or the thought he know what they want to do and this was the right. His father was finally putting his family together. Major Adama smirked.

The three of them and a few marines, who were standing guard around the hallway; Bill called to them as he marches to the quarters with orders for them to follow him, were walking to Carolanne's quarters. It was the middle of the night, and the hallways were empty, the few people who were still on their shifts were trying to hold in their curiosity. The Admiral tried not to notice their looks and moving down the hallway, he had more important matters to attend to right now. Beside the crew always will be spreading the rumors, even the most discreet like his.

They stopped in front of the hatch. The Admiral knocked to the door, and by the way he done it, he could have woken up the dead. When no one answered the door, he gave one of the marines the order to open the hatch. They carried out the order and after opening the hatch, they came into the small room where they found a complete mess; the laundry was on the floor and a chair mixed with some magazines and bottles full of moonshine and several empty bottles of whiskey, two plates with spoiled food among them. Soldiers looked attentively around and nodded to the Admiral, who was two steps behind them. He shook his head when he saw the mess and, careful not to step into something, approached to the rack, where he saw Carolanne sleeping. The smell of booze was floating all around her and filling the room, so he covered his nose because the smell was terrible. He dismissed the marines and looked at his ex wife with disgust stopping in front of her bed and tangling his hands and looking at her in silence.

Kara and Lee, who were right behind Adama, looked at each other. They had come here to get answers but the Admiral… He was just standing above her and looking, thinking. Lee sighted shocking his head and made a step toward his father. This wasn't right; they had to do something, if not for themselves, then to Laura, to his mother. Lee put his hand on his father's arm; he turned his head to face his son. He nodded to his son giving him one of his looks, which told him to leave it alone. This was his battle to fight. Lee pressed his lips together but took out the files and gestured at his father so he saw Lee place them on a small table. Then he left the room with Kara, leaving his parents alone.

Bill was still standing above his ex wife just looking at her. When they were married, he had loved staring at her while she was sleeping. That was the only moment when he could do what he always wanted to do, keep her close to his body, run his fingers on her skin, play with her hair, and look at her. He would be a fool if he didn't say she was a beauty right then. She really was. Well not like Laura, but she took good care of herself. The alcohol and cigarettes destroyed her, even if she stopped drinking and was sober, that didn't return her beauty.

Bill sat down on the bed and put his hand on her shoulder. One of Bill's best memories was one night after their wedding when she slept peacefully in the in their new small flat. He started at her almost all night, admiring her beauty, telling himself how lucky he was to be her husband and smiling. The curve of her breasts and hips, under the cheap material of their cream-coloured bedding, her little smile which was hiding under the cascade of her straight blond hair. They were so happy that day, the night they convinced Zack. It was his last night before shipping back to the Galactica, where he was a Captain. When he came back to the surface, Zack was already two months old. They were, of course, happy to be parents again, but something in their marriage died. She was cold when they were alone, spending all the time with her friends out of the house. They barely talked to each other, their love burned out. It wasn't a lie that they had stayed together only for their sons' sakes. It hadn't made sense to him to sleep in a bed with her when she didn't even speak to him anymore, so he'd decided to sleep on the couch. It was only a matter of time until she started sleeping with other guys, and he didn't mind because when he wasn't in the space and was at home, he was there only to his sons.

Maybe it was my fault, I was never around, and so she started looking for love in different places.

Admiral cleared his throat, but she was still sleeping, so he gently rubbed her shoulder hoping that this would wake her up. Despite his efforts, she didn't even move, so he took a deep breath and stood up from the bed. Bill made his way to the hatch and the moment he put his hand on it, when he heard her voice. He slowly turned around, trying to stay calm. She had betrayed him and lied about the baby, tried to destroy his marriage, even though he consider her a friend; despite their history, the divorce, they were parents to two handsome boys and had to get on well with each other. He approached her with his poker face one thing he learned from Laura; never show emotions because someone could use it against you, in the meantime Carolanne slowly sat on the bed. She was dizzy with the worst hangover she had ever had. She put her hand to her head and looked at Bill with small smile.

"The baby gave me a headache. I had to lie down."

Bill opened his mouth in shock, but as soon as he noticed what he had done, he slowly closed it and pressed his lips together taking one more step forward. He saw the documents which Lee had left and he took them in his hand glancing at the first page taking before throwing them at Carolanne on the bed.

"Don't lie to me. I know you ain't pregnant!" he hissed while she was staring at him; comma her eyes open widely and eyebrows halfway up her forehead where there were a few small wrinkles. She didn't notice when he walked to her, because in the next moment he was standing over her and frowning with anger in her direction. He grabbed both her wrists into one palm, forcing her to leave the bed and follow him to the hatch.

"Where are we going?" she asked, when they left her room to face Kara, Lee and two marines.

"Take her to the brig solider and wait there for me!" he ordered. One of the marines saluted and took Carolanne's arm and lead her to brig, while Bill and the rest of the party headed to the Life Station.

Zerek looked at the clock in the presidential office on Colonial One. It was still early morning and the Quorum meeting wasn't supposed to take place for another half an hour. He looked around the office. It wasn't too personal but at the same time he smelled Laura everywhere. It was her office and no one would ever change it; it was the simple fact. He walked to the brown armchair and sat down looking at the white board where a black number was written: 41,418. The number which mean everything to her, the number which represented the future and the past, life and death, but most importantly this number meant hope.

When he was thinking about Laura and the mad plan of his, one of presidential aides came into the office and announced that The Quorum had arrived. Zerek stood up nodding to the young man and made sure he looked presentable. Then he left the office heading to conference room with his usual poker face. He stopped in front of the curtain taking a deep breath.

"Show time, it's now or never." With that he walked into the room and welcomed the Quorum's members with a big smile on his face.

TBC

thanks to Alicia