"Are you kidding me?" His voice was harsh – rage bubbling on the surface, his anger uncontrolled. "You told them?" The pauses he made were dramatic. He hoped to trigger a reaction, get a response from her. She simply looked at him with tired eyes.

"You frakking told them! Laura, what the hell..." He shook his head. "What were you thinking?" Richard threw his phone on the couch in his hotel room. It was ringing non-stop.

"If you're mad with me, tell me. For frak's sake! You don't just sit in a press conference and admit that you are screwing your boss. You're married boss. The President. The frakking President of the... oh I don't know. Talk to me, Laura! I mean it, talk to me. This has to make some sense. Something I don't see. On some level this has to make sense because I know you. You don't just drop a bomb like that after ten years. After ten years of, of..."

"Of what, Richard?" She interrupted him quietly. "You don't even have a name for what we have."

"That is not true." After thirty minutes he finally stopped pacing.

"Oh isn't it? Then tell me what it is that we do. How do you call it when you frak me in some hotel after a meeting that didn't go your way? How do you call it when you call me late at night to ask me what I wear? How do you call it when you allow your Secretary of Education to give you blow jobs in-between hearings? I'm asking you Richard, how do you call this us?"

"Do you hate me that much?" He stared at her, unable to fully grasp her words.

"I don't hate you, Richard." Laura's voice was soft when she got up to close the distance that seemed so cold between them. "I never did."

"Why, Laura? Why?" He allowed her hands to cup his face. His pulse slowed down at her touch.

"I told you." Her thumbs caressed his skin.

Richard laughed. It was a small laugh, desperate in a way. He didn't know what to believe anymore. "You love me..." He whispered to her, eyes closed, his shoulders dropped. He looked small to her for the first time.

When she slipped her arms around his neck, he held her close. He buried his face in her hair, so beautifully soft – he loved the taste of her on his lips when he nuzzled her. Her moan made him smile when he moved his hands up and down her waist and butt. They stood - stood for a while.

"So where do we go from here?" His voice was calm against her skin.

Laura silence was interrupted by his raging phone.

"I should..." Richard freed himself from their embrace enough to look into her eyes.

Laura nodded. "Talk to her. She deserves to know the truth."

A week had passed until the press had finally stopped camping in front of her house. Billy had checked on her mail and messages. Laura was grateful for that. He was discrete, he didn't judge. That was a rare virtue in people of any age.

Richard had offered her to stay at his summer house outside of Caprica City. He had followed her there, suitcases in hand. Laura didn't dare to ask if had moved out on his own.

It was strange to be with him on most days, away from work. A week at home for him was like a month for others. He was fidgety, scanned the papers in spite of the gossip and the lies. It was obvious to everybody now what had been going for years. Advisors, staff, personnel. Everybody knew a secret or a story. It seemed to be common knowledge now that Laura had had an abortion once to cover their affair. It was also a fact that she had been caught naked in the President's bed in his residency on Colonial Day. Moreover, Richard used to call her sugar if he thought they were alone and gave her gifts that were supposed to benefit the First Lady. And numerous interns had caught the President coupling with his Secretary on a copier or printer.

Of course none of this was true. She ignored the lies as best as she could. The stories that included a sparkle of truth affected her more deeply than any of the ridiculous fairy tales. Her so-called abortion: a miscarriage. The memory of it added to her cancer and her pain.

After a week, the storm finally eased down. Richard had asked Wally Grey to leak the information about an averted Cylon attack – the one he had told her about. It was the first time in seven days that Laura felt able to breathe again. She remembered the feeling of shock. She could've been dead. Despite all of what had happened, Laura now knew she didn't want to miss a single day.

She made love to Richard that night. Something had changed. When his skin electrified hers, she closed her eyes and lived in that moment alone. Her with him, his hands around her waist when she dozed off to sleep. His legs entangled with hers when she woke up.

"I love you." The words had fallen from his lips when she had least expected them. He finally let go. Laura smiled when she woke him, his words still fresh in her memory. Her lips kissed his chest and jaw, her fingers played with the curls of his hair on his skin. Richard grumbled.

"Go back to sleep."

Laura rested her head on his shoulder. "I want to see that specialist of yours."

Richard opened his eyes and blinked to adjust to the semi-darkness around them.

"Excuse me?" He moved his arm around her hips. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm ready now."

Richard looked at her, uncertain about what to make of her sudden change of heart.

"You don't believe in Diloxin."

"No, I don't. But what if there's another way?" Her voice sounded hopeful.

"You want to fight?" Richard propped himself up on one arm to look her straight into the eyes.

Laura nodded.

"Why now?"

"I just remembered who I am."