A/N: Thank you for all your reviews, and to the first guest reviewer I totally agree with you. I didn't notice just how difficult it was to read until you pointed it out, so hopefully this chapter is a little easier to read with more spaces and such! Please let me know if it isn't and I'll try to accommodate you as much as possible. Also, if anyone has amazing photoshop skills - especially when it comes to manips and has a little extra time - I would love some cover art for this fanfiction. I'll give you a virtual hug and a cookie in return!

Chapter 2 - Collaborators

When Laura woke up the following morning, her arm felt as though it was being crushed by a dead weight, trapped underneath. Bringing her free hand to rest over her mouth, attempting to hide the yawn that left her lips, Laura's thick eyelashes fluttered several times as she opened her eyes. The lights almost blinded the former President as she awoke from her slumber. It was only whenever she attempted to push herself up off the makeshift cot that she felt the weight again pressing down against her arm.

Pandora.

The child had insisted on staying with her that night, and of course Laura had been more than willing to indulge the child just that once. Deciding that there was no way of getting her arm out from under the girl without waking her, Laura rested her head down against the ivory pillow once more.

She almost jumped out her skin whenever the phone began to ring, its cry shrilling through the room like a fanfare. Reaching across as best she could, Laura managed to pick the phone up mid way through its third ring. Thankful that the girl had remained asleep.

"Hello" She greeted, resting the phone between her shoulder and right ear as she lowered herself back down into the cot once more. "I hope I didn't wake you" Bill replied as he lowered himself down behind his desk. He could imagine Laura rolling her eyes at such a statement, as time went on, he began to feel that he could read her like an open book. Not that he would tell her that of course.

"No, I actually had just woke up. Still stuck in bed though" Laura confessed, giving Bill a mental image that he wasn't sure he would be able to shake off for the rest of the day. It seemed Laura caught on as she chuckled softly to herself and shook her head. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Bill. Pandora's trapped my arm under her." She teased, feeling Pandora stirring beside her slowly. Bill shook his head at that, leaning back against his chair and he tried to picture Colonial One in his head.

A comfortable silence fell over the pair as Laura silently waited for Pandora to wake up from her peaceful sleep. "Has she remembered anything else yet?" He wonder aloud, the concern visible in his voice. Whatever Pandora had been forced to endure on 'New Caprica', it must have been unimaginable if she had forgotten everything in her short life because of the trauma of it. "Nothing yet"Laura admitted with a heavy sigh, thinking along the same lines as Bill. Unconsciously, the woman found herself reaching out to push a strand of Pandora's thin hair behind her small ear.

It was Bill who broke the silence between the pair, "You're not in this alone Laura" He reminded her, knowing exactly what Laura was like; strong, independent and self-assured, not the sort of person who asked for help from anyone - not even Bill himself - regardless of the situation.

Laura found her pale lips turning up into a smile at his words, remembering how Pandora had reached out for the man the night before. She liked to imagine that even with his problems with his sons, Bill was an extraordinary father.

As Pandora lifted her head from Laura's arm in a state of confusion as she woke up, her heavy eyes struggle to stay open, her thick eyelashes felt as though they weighed half a ton. "I'll talk to you later, Bill" Laura spoke softly, wishing she could talk to him for at least a little longer before putting the phone back down once more as Pandora yawned audibly beside her.

"Five more minutes" Pandora pleaded as she moved to bury her forehead between Laura's shoulder and the soft pillow under her head.

Laura couldn't help but chuckle to herself at the girl's words before reaching out to touch the girl's flushed cheeks. "We need to go back to Galactica today" Laura coaxed, hoping that the idea of being somewhere other than Colonial One might appeal to the girl, there was only so much of the ship that Laura herself could even take. "I don't have to go and see the smelly man, do I?"Pandora turned her head but kept her eyes shut, deciding that she would rather stay tucked up in bed than go and see the strange man in the white coat. Pandora really did have a way with words. Laura moved to rest her elbow down next to the pillow as she turned herself to face Pandora.

"What if I said we could visit Bill?" At the mention of the man's name, Pandora opened one eye and looked up at Laura for a moment, her lips teasingly pulling up in a small smile. "I'm awake!" She announced happily, all but jumping up from the bed, no longer needing those 'five more minutes' as she attempted to climb over Laura to get out of the cot.

Tom Zarek's arrival on Colonial One would ultimately delay their visit to Galactica, much to Pandora's displeasure.

When the man appeared in the room, Laura stood to shake his hand, trying to break the tense atmosphere by calling him 'Mr. President' and putting on a firm smile. Pandora moved to step closer to Laura, attempting to hide herself behind the slender woman's legs, keeping herself out of Zarek's view as best she could.

"Who's this?" The man asked with a bewildered expression, Laura hadn't mention any sort of child to him on New Caprica, and he was positive that she had boarded 'Colonial One' after it by herself. He was sure that he would have seen a child with her if there had of been one. "This is Pandora" Laura attempted to sound as enthusiastic as possible, but Pandora's behavior around Zarek was worrying her, though she tried to calm her fears by thinking it was simply a 'shy stage' that she was going through.

"Ah, Pandora" Tom Zarek attempted his best dashing smile as he bent down on knee so that he was at eye level with the girl, but the closer he got to Pandora, the closer the girl got to Laura, her arms become deadlocked around Laura's right leg. Her eyes seemed to fill with tears as she bit her lip so hard that it looked as though it was about to start bleeding.

Pandora reached up to pull at the woman's skirt slightly, causing Laura to look from Tom to Pandora "Can we go and see Bill now?" Pandora all but begged, looking as though she was about to start sobbing in fear of the other man as she tried to hide her face behind Laura's thigh. "I'm sorry, Tom" Laura threw the man an apologetic smile as she reached down to pick Pandora up, placing the girl onto her hip and carrying her over to the sofa and picking up the stuffed elephant on the way.

Placing Pandora down onto the sofa, she took the blanket and wrapped it over the child before bending down beside her and handing over the elephant. "Please, Pandora. As soon as I'm done speaking to Tom, we'll go to Galactica and see Bill" Laura promised, hoping to calm Pandora's river of tears before they started to overflow. The girl simply nodded her head, sniffling as she curled her hand into a small fist and wiped away her unshed tears. With a reassuring squeeze of Pandora's hand, Laura moved back over to the perplexed looking man.

Perhaps it would be best not to explain her situation with Pandora.

"So Mr. President, how long until the new quorum of twelve is formed?" Laura began as she sat herself down one the right hand visitor's chair while Tom took the one across from her. "Three days. I will personally put your name down as my vice-president" He sighed, personally relieved to be losing the title of 'President' in the extremely near future.

After all, would William Adama really work with him? Even more so given his apparent fondest of Laura Roslin? He could imagine the criticism he would receive for breaking up the 'golden couple'. "Then I will resign with immediate affect and you'll be President again before the day is out" He continued, watching as Laura simply nodded her head while appearing to study him closely.

"You're stepping down without a fight, it means Tom Zerek wants something" Laura concluded, surprised that the man who had helped Baltar's presidential campaign against her was quickly stepping down from power. Their conversation was brief, with Tom casting several bewildered glances over Laura's shoulder at the restless four year old behind her. Where on earth had the girl come out of?

Standing up from his seat, Tom reached out to shake Laura's hand and forced a smile. "Good luck, Laura" He said, unsure if he was wishing her luck with her new Presidency or the unfamiliar child that had seemed to come under her care.

As Zarek silently walked out of the room, Laura made her way back over to Pandora once more. "Can we go and see Bill now?" Pandora asked, attempting to pull her best 'puppy dog' eyes as she rested her head down against her stuffed elephant while holding her blanket close against her chest. Shaking her head with a smile, Laura moved to help the girl off the sofa, taking her hand as she guided Pandora to the raptor that had been waiting on them prior to Zarek's visit.

It seemed that her visit couldn't have been more perfectly timed.

No sooner had she boarded Galactica than she was told that Adama wanted to see her in regards to an 'important issue of fleet security'. Leaving Pandora with Tori, who had accompanied them as she was heading to Galactica herself, Laura headed into the makeshift conference room.

What had surfaced was not what Laura had expected.

When Zarek walked out of the room with his tail between his legs, Laura found herself leaving against one of the metal tables, resting herself on top of it. "Frak" She muttered to herself, lowering her head into her hands as she attempted to wrap her head around everything that had just surfaced.

"Did you have any idea about this?" She quizzed the man in front of her as she ran her fingers through her soft curls. "Lee told me that people were going missing - but I had no idea about this" He confessed, moving to take a step closer to the slightly distressed woman. "The press will have a field day with this" Bill thought aloud, suspecting that Laura would be plagued for weeks - if not months - by the press about these 'juries' and their 'sentencing'. Though he wouldn't admit to Laura that he did agree with Zarek on one point; Laura's second term should not be spent as 'executor in chief', if nothing else, he wouldn't allow that too happen to her.

The door creaked open, followed by Pandora's head appearing through the small gap as she looked apprehensively around the room before her eyes landed on the two adults in the right hand corner. "Bill!" The child all but screeched, acting as though it had been a short lifetime since she had last seen the man. Appearing out from behind the door in record speed, she moved to hug Bill as best she could. Though given the extreme height difference, this resulted in her simply wrapping her arms tightly around the man's legs, just above his knees.

"It's good to see you too, Pandy" Adama couldn't keep a serious face for all the money in the world. He attempted not to think of what his sons were like when they were that age; had he even been around for most of their early years? Bending down, he moved to pick the child up and set her onto the table beside Laura.

"That strange man was here too!" Pandora hissed, as though informing the two adults of the universe's greatest secrets. "Oh, Pandora" Laura sighed, deciding that people were not her strong point. First Cottle, now Zarek.

She decided it would be best not to allow the child anywhere near Gaius fraking Baltar if he ever showed his sly face again.

"At least he doesn't smell bad" The child thought aloud innocently as she swung her legs backwards and forwards. "She does have a way with words, doesn't she?" Adama watched as the child simply nodded fiercely at his comments on his observation of the child. "Don't I know it?" Laura found herself smiling as Pandora pulled a joking smile as she leaned in against the older woman's arms, wrapping her hand around Laura's elbow as she did so.

Once again, the door creaked open, the visitor cautious of just what sort of scene she could be walking in on.

However, when the trio came into view, Tori stepped forward and allowed the door to close behind her. "Madame President, there's a call for you" Tori revealed, feeling as though they were already being thrown back into their pre-New Caprica roles before Laura was even officially made President for her second term.

"I hate too have to ask but could you...?" Laura turned to look at Bill with pleading eyes, knowing that she couldn't - and wouldn't - trust anyone else with the young girl. Pandora herself didn't seem to trust anyone other than the two of them, and that included even Tori.

"Don't worry about it" Bill insisted as he moved to pick the girl up from the table and began carrying her out of the room. "Would you like too meet your Uncle Tigh?" He joked, expecting that Laura rolled her eyes to Tigh's new title, already knowing what the stubborn man would think of such a nickname. It did seem strange to see Bill with a child, but there was something about seeing him with Pandora; it was as though they were pieces of a puzzle that fitted together. Perhaps that explained why he was the only other person that Pandora trusted?

Tori cleared her throat in an attempt to get the older woman's attention. "Right, yes, the telephone call" Laura recalled as she headed out of the room in the opposite direction to the man and child as they disappeared into the CIC.

It seemed the rumors were about to get more fire to their flames.

"With every fibre of my being" Laura repeated, finding the corners of her lips turning up in a smile as she finished. "Congratulations, Madame President" With that, the man reached out to shake the newly appointed President's hand before stepping back.

Pandora moved to clap her small hands together before realising that no one else was doing so. Pushing herself back in the chair, her feet high above the floor, allowing her to swing her legs backwards and forward absentmindedly.

Originally, she had been seated between Bill and Zarek, but almost as soon as the latter had sat down beside her, she had all but got onto Bill's knee, resulting in the man swapping seats with her, leaving the child content at the side of the aisle. It did help that it also separated her from the press a little more, something Laura had worried about. Until they figured out what exactly was happening with Pandora's memory loss, Laura was content with not having to speak directly with the press about her new charge.

"Thank you all for once again entrusting me with this high office of civil service, today is a new beginning for all of us. We share a unique destiny, our future is ours to shape but our past cannot be forgotten. A new day requires new thinking; and while I had intended on using this occasion as an opportunity to announce the formation of a new prosecuting office charged with the responsibility of investigating acts of collaboration with the enemy, I have decided that instead a different gesture is called on this, the first day of my next term as your president. We all feel the need for justice and we all feel the need for vengeance and telling the difference between the two can be difficult at time. We are all victims of the cylons and none of us can be impartial, I certainly can't. So today I am forming a commission on truth and reconciliation to hear our stories and record them for prosperity there will be no prosecutions. I am issuing a general pardon for every human in this fleet. This will not be a popular move today but I truly believe this is the only way for us to move forward in strength, in a spirit of healing and reconciliation. I thank you for your continued patience and courage. Good day" Never had Laura Roslin been more relieved to get a speech finished that she was at that moment.

A tense silence filled the room then before Adama moved to stand up from his seat; slowly but fiercely clapping his hands together in his remarkable way until everyone else joined in. It was then that Pandora all but jumped to her feet, clapping as loudly and as quickly as her small hands could manage as she beamed up at the woman at the podium. While Pandora didn't exactly understand it all, she did know that Laura was something called a 'President' and that today was important too her.

Laura flashed a grateful smile at Bill. It seemed every time she received a standing ovation or claps for her speeches, he was responsible for them, usually the one starting such sessions. Her next term wouldn't be easy - and it would no doubt be interesting and eventful - but she was sure of one thing.

They would Earth, and they would find it together.