Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 14: Wedding plans

Not long after Cottle and Sorenson had stopped by, Bill and Laura decided that it was time to plan their wedding. They decided to bring Dee, Kara, Saul, and Caprica into the discussion, also inviting Lee. Bill sat at his desk while Caprica, Kara, and Dee took the couch. Saul and Lee took the chairs. Laura paced in front of the desk as everyone arrived. Once everyone had glass of water, Bill cleared his throat and she stopped pacing, slowly turning to face the others.

"I've asked you all here for an important reason. I," she paused, glancing at Bill, "we have an announcement."

"You're either getting married or you're pregnant," Kara blurted out.

Lee spit his water out. Laura sighed, running a hand through her hair. "How in the world is it that obvious?" As a complete silence greeted her, she realized that she should answer one of Kara's assumptions before the others figured out that she was referring to both. "The admiral and I have decided to get married."

Kara grinned. "Way to go, Old Man, Madame Prez. What can we do?"

"We need help planning the wedding," Laura replied.

Dee flipped over the duty roster on the clipboard that she had been carrying. "What do you need? Let's see… a priest, enough food for maybe eight guests-"

"Actually we might need more than that," Bill interrupted.

Laura folded her arms in front of her. "We need to plan a big wedding, a really big wedding."

Saul stared at them incredulously. "Bill, Laura, what are you two thinking? The whole fleet's gonna find out and then the press-"

"That's exactly what we need," Laura interjected.

"I'm lost," Saul admitted.

Laura exchanged a glance with Caprica, who rested a hand on her growing abdomen. "Is the wedding a distraction from something else?"

Unable to trust her own reaction, Laura looked back to Bill. "The president wants to resign for personal reasons."

"In other words, you need a big wedding so people don't dig too far into what those reasons might be," Kara deduced.

Laura nodded. "Yes. The reason I'm giving them is that I want to marry the admiral and want to resign because such a marriage would be a conflict of interest."

"This is going to take six months to plan," Dee mentioned, frantically writing suggestions to make the wedding bigger.

Panic flashed in Laura's eyes for a moment. "That won't do. This can't take any longer than a month to get together."

"Then we've got major work ahead of us," Dee mentioned.

"I want the wedding on Terra Prime, which means I'll need to ask that doctor, I think the name was 'Sorenson' about finding a location, as well as flowers," Laura remarked, having regained her sense of calm.

"And food," Kara chimed in.

"And booze," Saul added.

Lee cleared his throat. "Ma'am, doesn't that mean you'll be telling Premiere Blackwell about all this?"

Laura sighed. "Unfortunately yes. However, I've given that situation a great deal of thought. We should discuss that part later."

"Of course," Lee said with a nod.

Dee, who had been busily writing the comments down, looked up. "We need to find you a dress, as well as bride's maid's dresses. If you want a big wedding, we'll need all the trimmings."

Kara chuckled. Bill raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny, Starbuck?"

"Nothing, sir. It's just that a lot of girls always want big weddings and end up with small weddings. I know that you and the president would rather have a small wedding, but to hide whatever it is that you're hiding, you get stuck with what will probably be the biggest event since the Ground-Breaking Ceremony on New Caprica. I just think it's ironic."

"Are you gonna just sit there laughing, or offer to help?" Saul questioned.

"I'm totally helping. I can organize where everybody's going to sit, direct traffic," she suggested.

Caprica looked at Laura from the couch. "Excuse me, Madame President, but what can I do?"

Laura smiled politely. "Actually I wanted to discuss that with you privately. As for everyone else, I think we're done here. Thank you for coming."

Bill walked over to Lee and Saul just outside of his quarters. "I need to find a ring."

"We'll check with the merchants, see if there's a jeweler around," Saul stated.

Lee put a hand up. "Actually a couple of the delegates might know of someone. We could start looking now."

The admiral nodded. "You do that. I'll be in CIC in case anything else comes up. Good hunting."

While Bill headed back to CIC, Laura joined Caprica on the couch. "I'm no good at figuring out dress designs. I thought that you might be interested in helping me organize the brides' maids' dresses, as well as my own. And I heard a rumor that you sew."

Caprica smiled graciously. "Thank you for including me in something like this. I do sew, as do some of my sisters. We just need measurements and how many dresses you will need. What colors are you thinking of?"

This is the most human I have ever heard her sound. Perhaps we all need tasks to do in order to treat each other like people, Laura mused before replying. I was thinking of a white dress for myself, and pastel green for the brides' maids, or maybe lavender."

A spark of excitement passed through the blonde Cylon's eyes. "I can do that. It might be nice to have the same pattern for all the brides' maids' dresses, but have some be green and some be lavender. Was there anything else?"

Laura's gaze again drifted to Caprica's abdomen. Maybe I should tell her. She opened her mouth to speak, but different words came out than she had intended. "You and I are more alike than I had ever thought possible."

Caprica turned her head to the side in contemplation. Then her eyes widened with the realization. "You're pregnant too! That's why you couldn't have the wedding in six months!"

She nodded slowly. "Apparently the girl in the dream is my daughter. The Three Sisters Prophecy most likely refers to Athena's daughter, your daughter, and eventually my daughter. Unfortunately, it still doesn't make much sense."

The other realization suddenly occurred to Caprica as she continued to stare at Laura. "That means you're the Fifth, doesn't it?"

"That too. I have to resign for my own safety as well as my daughter's," Laura explained.

Caprica nodded. "I wish I could tell you more about the dream."

Laura raised a hand dismissively. "It's alright. I do have one more thing to ask you though."

"You don't have to worry, Madame President. I won't tell anyone what we've discussed," Caprica relayed.

"Thank you," Laura said with a small smile.

The blonde Cylon left as Bill returned. Laura let out a long sigh and sank into the couch. He joined her, reaching to grasp one of her hands. "Are you alright? Can I get you anything?"

She smiled at his concern, leaning over to kiss him softly. "You worry too much. I'm just a little overwhelmed at all the things that need to be done. I've also been thinking about how to handle the Terran leader."

"This I've got to hear," Bill said with a smirk.

Rolling her eyes, she told him "It's nothing mischievous if that's what you're thinking."

He snorted. "Pity."

"Bill, he adamantly refuses to deal with anyone else but me. Therefore, I can only see one logical solution," she stated.

He pulled her closer to him so that she was resting against his chest. "Something tells me I'm not going to like this idea."

"No, you're probably not. I was thinking of staying on as an ambassador of sorts between our people and his. In that way, I don't have to be too directly involved with our government, and I wouldn't have to stay long when I visit his," she suggested.

"You're right. I don't like the idea. Just what do you think he's going to do when he finds out you're pregnant? He's going to come to the conclusion that it's medically impossible and know that something's way off," Bill argued.

She extracted herself from his arms and walked over to the desk to pour herself a glass of water. "We never told him what I was recovering from, or what my treatments had been."

Bill shook his head. "This time I'm putting my foot down. We have absolutely no reason to trust that man. I will not take the chance that he could hurt you or the baby. We'll talk to him together and make it clear to him that if he doesn't work with me or Lee, he doesn't work with anyone."

They decided to head down to the surface, intending to meet with Premiere Blackwell. Tiberius greeted Laura with a warm handshake and smile, then greeted Bill with a cool nod. "What can I do for you, Madame President?"

She glanced at the admiral, then turned back to Tiberius. "I wanted you to know that I have still resolved to resign."

He stared at them, wide-eyed. "Madame President, we've been over this. You and I will continue to work together and Dr. Sorenson can see to all your medical needs."

Adama was tired of being talked around. "She's resigning as president due to a conflict of interest."

"I don't care about your people's disagreements; I won't deal with anyone else. President or not, I insist that Roslin is the only one of you I'm forced to deal with," Tiberius argued.

Adama took a deep breath as he thought, what the frak do I have to do to get through to this guy? "Look, I'm sorry we've upset your applecart, but she and I are involved in a situation that-"

"Say that again," Tiberius insisted.

The admiral had his stoic mask in place to hide his irritation. "She and I are involved-"

"I should've known when you were over-protective of her on her first visit. Just how are the two of you involved?" he demanded.

Laura glanced from Bill to Tiberius, taking a deep breath. "The admiral and I are getting married."

A red color seeped into his skin from the neck, slowly moving up. "What! Are you out of your mind? He's nothing but an overbearing, lumbering, grouchy, old-"

Adama grabbed Tiberius by his shirt collar so quickly that the shock was clearly written in the premiere's face as his eyes widened. "I've had just about enough of you and your petty-"

"Gentlemen!" Laura shouted. Bill and Tiberius immediately faced her, Bill having yet to let go of the other man's shirt. "I will not split up two grown men like this again," she scolded through gritted teeth. "Admiral, please wait for me outside the office."

He reluctantly released Tiberius, sparing him one glare before stepping toward Laura. His voice was barely above a whisper. "If he so much as breathes wrong-"

The glare she dealt him caused him to let the sentence drop. After he had exited the office, Roslin turned back to Tiberius. "Premiere Blackwell-"

"Please, Tiberius," the man interjected.

She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Very well, Tiberius, I am only going to discuss this one more time. I need to resign and you need to either deal with the admiral, or Lee Adama."

He perched himself on the edge of his desk. "Madame President, am I really so terrible to work with?"

"No, I need to resign for personal reasons," she mentioned.

Tiberius looked her up and down. "You don't have to marry him, you know. My government has a good housing plan down here. If you're doing this because he's got some sort of hold over you…"

I don't believe this. Do I have a sign somewhere on me that says 'Likes men in power,' or do I just have bad luck with guys like this? She gave him the political plastic smile. "I appreciate your offer, but I can only promise you that I am not being coerced into marriage. I love him."

The man in front of her raised an eyebrow. "Forgive my bluntness, but you have terrible taste in men."

She sat back in the chair in front of his desk, folding her hands in her lap. "How you feel about my taste is irrelevant. The fact remains that I have to resign."

He returned to his seat behind his desk, sitting and then staring at her for what felt like a long time. "If you insist on resigning, then I will talk to the younger one. But I refuse to speak with the admiral again."

She left quickly, finding Bill walking up to the office. "Where did you go?"

"Not far. I went for a short walk and ran into Galen Tyrol," he answered.

Laura folded her hands in front of her, watching him. "And?"

Bill took a deep breath. "I told him about what we had come to suspect about Tory. He was angry that nobody had investigated the matter further when Callie died, but he didn't blame me. He seemed relieved though. I think you were right about him feeling better that she didn't kill herself because of him."

"Did you tell him about Baltar?" she probed.

He shook his head. "I didn't see a reason to. The man's already been through enough pain. To tell him that his son, the one link he has to his wife, might not be his, it wouldn't be of any benefit to either of them."

"As much as I hate to admit it, sometimes ignorance really is bliss," she told him.

Bill glanced at the government building, then back to Laura. "So what happened with the premiere?"

"He's willing to work with Lee," she told him.

"I hope you didn't have to promise anything for him to deal with someone else," Bill cautioned.

"Fortunately no. Now we need to find that doctor. I believe she works over there," Laura stated, pointing to the hospital building.

They took the short path that Tiberius had shown Laura earlier. When they reached the front desk, they asked for Dr. Sorenson. She emerged a moment later, adjusting her white lab coat. "Madame President, Admiral, what can I do for you?"

Laura fidgeted with her hands. "Could we talk privately?"

"Of course," Morgana responded.

She led them to her office. "It's not medical, it's just a personal situation," Laura began.

Morgana raised an eyebrow. "Why come to me?"

"You're the only person I can actually say that I know, aside from the premiere, and I am certainly not asking him for anything," Laura replied.

The other woman smirked. "Smart move."

The president proceeded with what was on her mind. "I am resigning for reasons that I'm sure you can guess, but to cover those, I'm telling my government that I am stepping down so that I can marry the admiral. Basically we need a big wedding and I don't know anything about floral arrangements here."

Morgana bit her cheek to keep from laughing. Of all the things to ask, she had not expected a wedding announcement. The absurdity hit her full force and though she did not laugh, a grin spread across her face. "You've caught me by surprise. I was expecting something a bit more… challenging. We replanted flowers from Earth here and I know a few people that I can point you to. Was there anything else?"

Laura thought for a moment. "I need material for a wedding dress and brides' maids' dresses."

The doctor walked over to her desk and rummaged through a desk drawer. Then she headed back toward the others with a notepad and pen in her hand. "I'm going to give you the addresses of the people you need to see and how to get there. I know your people don't have money, so just tell them you're on Dr. Sorenson's tab."

"Thank you," Laura said.

"We also need a good location to hold the wedding," the admiral added.

"Not a problem. There's a big open field near where your people are building their settlement," Morgana told them.

They left the hospital, wandering in the direction that she had pointed out to them. They walked down what appeared to be the shopping district. Shops along the sidewalk had pictures of what they were selling. The aroma of multiple flower varieties reached Laura's and Bill's noses long before they actually saw the quaint shop. The buildings all had a similar light brown-orange look to them, as if constructed out of something natural. As they looked around, Bill and Laura noticed the lack of trees on the planet.

"What a strange place. The shops remind me of the dirt on this planet, and I only see a few trees by what I'm sure is a set of houses," Laura remarked.

Bill nodded. "I suppose they brought a few trees with them. From what the recon teams have told me, there are a lot more in the suburban areas. I think the buildings are made out of something like plaster or cement, but with the local dirt mixed in."

They entered the flower shop and Laura picked out what the clerk told her were white roses, along with ferns. As she picked out more flowers, Bill looked outside of the shop window to watch what looked like a miniature train zip through the street. Laura joined him after ordering some of the floral arrangements. "Is that what I think it is?"

"I think so. I haven't seen one running since I was a kid. The Caprican Transit Museum had one like that. Who would've known that they would be using cable cars on this planet?" Bill mused.

"It appears that public transportation is what they use here. I haven't seen one car," Laura added as they left the flower shop.

Bill took another look at the shops. "Have you also noticed that these shops look like Caprica thirty or forty years ago? I'm almost surprised to see electricity around here."

Laura laughed, swatting his arm playfully. "It's not as if they live in the Stone Age. From what I understand, they gave up a lot of their technology because of the nuclear war on Earth, but they still kept a few basic things around."

The two ended up walking over to where their people had been allowed to begin a settlement. Basic structures were standing such as the hospital and some sort of safety department from what they could make out, even some houses had been built, in similar style to the Terrans. However, it would be several months until the Colonials would be able to move in.

She wandered over to the empty field a few yards away from the construction sites. "I suppose it's as good a place as any to hold a wedding. At least it has grass." As she glanced at Bill, a grin spread over his face. She raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You and I get to be the first ones of our people to have a wedding on solid ground," he told her. Glancing around first to see that they were not noticed, he kissed her tenderly.

Laura smiled when the kiss ended, looping her arm through his. "I guess the biggest question now is who to pick for my maid of honor."

(My thanks to Manora and carolann for reviewing :D)