{A/N: Thank you all so much for reviewing, following and adding this fanfiction to your favourites. This chapter focuses more on the Laura/Bill/Pandora relationship than the actual events of 'The Passage' but if you've forgotten the events of this episode, you can read about it at Battlestar Galactica wiki. Don't forget that reviews get a virtual hug and a cookie. Shall we call this chapter the calm before the storm?}
The Passage
"Pandora, you have to eat" Bill argued, holding the half broken protein bar out for the child, who simply crossed her arms and shook her head defiantly. "No" The young child protested, her voice sharp and laced with annoyance. "You're being as stubborn as your mother" He concluded, sighing to himself while putting the protein bar down on the lustrous walnut table. Pandora simply accepted his statement with a nod and a teasing smile, reaching out for the protein bar, she broke it in two, holding the larger part out for Bill "You eat to!" She demanded, looking up at him with pleading eyes until he lifted the bar from between her snow kissed fingers. "Thank you" Bill said, having given up fighting with the young child.
Tearing the bar into little, compact pieces, the child savored a handful of them, allowing them to fill her empty stomach before safely wrapping the bar back up into its plastic packaging. Bill watched as the child slipped it into the pocket of her light pink rain jacket. Sensing the older man watching her, Pandora glanced up. "Laura needs a piece!" She exclaimed, giggling to herself as she pulled over the zip to hide her treasure, keeping it safe and sound until her mother could eat it. The young girl's maturity and selflessness never failed to surprise the Admiral of the Colonial Fleet. If Bill hadn't been exposed to the truth about Pandora, he would have mistaken her as Laura's child - something many in the fleet had done.
"What do I need?" Laura made her presence known as she leaned against the cold grey door frame of the Admiral's private quarters. She had watched the scene from the surrounding shadows for several minutes, content to simply watch the man and child bonding together like any other father and daughter. It was small moments like this that made their battle against the Cylons worthwhile. All Laura wanted was for Pandora to be able to run through the damp emerald grass, to smell the aroma of the freshly bloomed flowers as the sun beamed down against her porcelain skin. That's what Laura prayed to the Lords of Kobol for each dawn and dusk. "Food!" Pandora exclaimed, undoing the zip of her coat and producing the safely guarded broken protein bar, handing it out for her mother. "You have to eat" She demanded, sounding older than her four years as Laura advanced towards the small child.
Taking the protein bar, Laura split it down the middle before handing one half over to Pandora. "Only if you eat to" She protested, only satisfied when the child gobbled the food down in front of her. Laura would rather starve than have Pandora do so, no matter how hungry or emotionally drained she was. Her daughter was her main concern. The food rations seemed to be worsening by the hour; much to Laura's constant stress and anxiety. Even as the leader of the Colonial Fleet, there was one person who Laura feared for most ... Pandora. Perhaps the hierarchy of her roles in life had changed since the mysterious child waltzed into her life - with her role as Pandora's mother coming before even that of her supreme status in the fleet.
Pandora seemed glad to have at least a little something more to fill the empty pit of her small stomach. When the child had finished every last crumb of her bar, Laura hid her piece away, deciding to save it for Pandora to feast on later. "Are you coming?" Laura asked, watching as Bill rose from his seat beside Pandora, picking his jacket up with one hand and Pandora up, holding her as though she weighted little more than a feather.
Walking between the Admiral and President, the girl reached out to slip her small fingers through Laura's longer ones, before clasping her hand around Bill's well worked hand."Where are we going?" Pandora wondered aloud, looking up at her parental figures with widened eyes. Bill and Laura exchanged a look then - Pandora would be far from pleased to be told that she had to go to the daycare. In fact, Laura was preparing herself for an endless river of tears and a temper tantrum - and that was the best case scenario!
It seemed that the further they walked through the cluttered hallways of Galactica, the more Pandora's face became masked with realisation followed by a sudden pang of fear. By the time they had come to a slow, steady stop outside the daycare, Pandora had all but attached herself to Bill's leg continuing to clutch onto their hands as though they were her vital life support. "Pandora" Laura said, her voice laced with concern for the child as she bent down to her daughter's height. Bill felt his heart fill with guilt, unable to ignore the look of pure terror that ran through his precious Pandora in that moment. Though Pandora was stubborn. Shaking her head before burying it in the creases of Bill's cotton navy trousers, the child refused to look the woman in the eyes. "I don't want to go" Pandora confessed, her voice shook as the girl swallowed a sob, her breath catching in her throat as she shut her eyes in a bid to block out the rest of the dark and dangerous world around her.
"What if I promise you can see Lee and Kara afterwards?" Bill coaxed the child, hating to see her in such a state. Laura had told him of her ongoing battle with Pandora about the dreaded daycare, he decided to put it down to typical infant clinginess, praying to never be separated from their parents. "You'll come back?" Pandora asked, her voice begging for some form of reassurance from her father figure as she glanced from Bill to Laura then back to the Admiral again, finally opening up about her deepest and darkest fear. Losing Laura and Bill. "Always" Laura promised, her voice filled with unconditional love and reassurance, the sort only felt between a mother and her child. Pandora sniffled then, feeling Bill touch her thin chocolate hair as Laura ran a comforting arm up and down her thin shoulders.
"Okay" Pandora said, sniffling away the crystal droplets that filled her widened eyes. Lifting her head from Bill's leg, she stepped forward to hug Laura, locking her arms around the woman's pale, thin neck and resting her head there for a moment before unwillingly pulling away. Pandora raised her anxious plagued eyes in an elevator motion towards the daycare worker that came to a stop beside her. "Is Pandora ready to come in now?" The bubbly blonde asked, her rosy red cheeks setting off her soft baby pink lips. Laura returned to her full height as Pandora began to drag her feet along behind her, keeping her gaze focus on the cold grey tiles below her feet as she walked towards her personal prison.
As Pandora disappeared inside, Bill brought his hand to rest under Laura's elbow, guiding her around the corner before his hand slipped down to her slender back, resting there as they walked in time with each other. "I worry about her, Bill" Laura confessed in a small whisper, keeping her eyes straight ahead of her, as though she knew that Pandora was silently sobbing her small soul out, simply from being separated from her parents. "Cottle says she's perfectly fine" Bill said, attempting to reassure the woman beside him, Laura's worry lines became more clear by the minute. "I know but it's just..." The President began, sighing to herself as she spoke, finding herself at a loss of words "It's a mother's prerogative to worry" Bill concluded, seeing the understanding wash over Laura like a wave as they arrived at the door of the CIC. "Something isn't right Bill, I can feel it" She admitted, as though she could feel it in her very bones - haunting her during every waking moment of her day, not even in her restless sleep could she escape the constant fear that ran through her. Either something was wrong with Pandora and they simply hadn't found it yet, or something horrible and haunting was going to happen to the child. Laura had a horrible feeling. Was it over exaggeration or some sixth sense preparing her for a battle that lay ahead?
Stepping into the CIC, the pair did their best to stay camouflaged at the corner of the room, attempting to make their presence known to only Cottle and Helo. After catching the younger man's eye, the Admiral signaled for them both to step into the side room with them. "How long do we have?" Laura spoke, starting the conversation as the Helo and Cottle arrived in front of them. "I'd say seven to ten days" Cottle admitted with a heavy heart, he was even beginning to doubt that they would find some sort of eatable food before their ever nearing deadline - not that he was a generally optimistic person. One person instantly entered Laura's cluttered thoughts. Pandora. A child so young couldn't survive long without food...a mere handful days at the most. Fear for her daughter ran through every bone in her body, remembering the look of starvation on Pandora's face earlier that morning. Could she face that haunting look ever day, only for it to increasingly get more grave with each passing hour? Bill could feel the fear rolling off Laura's skin, he too worried about Pandora, but at least one of them had to focus on the fleet for now.
The rest of the conversation had went by in a breeze for Laura, who found herself unable to focus on anything - or anyone - other than her daughter. Bill was right, it was a mother's prerogative to worry, but Laura found herself unable to focus on her duties as President. Perhaps it was down to the daunting feeling of dread that filled the very depths of her stomach? She watched silently as Bill, Kara and Lee plotted their route to the algea planet, moving the miniature scaled vipers and ships across the map as they planned their battle strategy. She couldn't help but wonder if they would ever get a break - for even a day, where they didn't have to worry about being pounced on by the cylons, running out of their basic necessities like water or being faced with a prophecy that they no longer seemed to be able to fulfill. A day was all she wanted.
As the Admiral and President were left alone once more, Laura glanced at the clock in the right hand corner of the dimly lit room. It had been three hours. Three hours since they had left Pandora off at daycare. Laura silently kicked herself. The child had never been left alone for longer than an hour and a half at a time, with either herself, Bill or Tory picking her up after that time. The Lords of Kobol only knew what thoughts must have run through Pandora's poor mind. "Pandora" Laura said, annoyance for her lack of thinking laced her voice as she headed towards the nearest route to the daycare. One of the many benefits of spending extended periods of time on Galactica was that she now knew the ship like the back of her hand. Bill was quick to follow her, walking almost on her heels as they turned the corner to the daycare.
Laura wasn't sure what she had expected - but it certainly wasn't that. In the back corner of the room, Pandora had pressed herself up against the wall, barricading herself with firm pillows and plastic chairs on either side of her small body, in a desperate attempt to block out the other children and adults around her, the girl had curled herself up in a small ball shape, with her head buried in her knees as her arms locked around her lower legs, holding them tightly against her chest. Exchanging a troubled look, the pair advanced towards the anxious child. "Pandora?" Laura spoke, her voice soft and gentle as she lowered herself onto the floor beside the distraught girl. As though in a state of disbelief, the girl raised her head to look up at the source of the noise. "I thought you weren't coming back!" Pandora protested, her eyes swollen and tinted red from her tears as she ran her fingers under her button nose as she sniffled, her beloved elephant held tightly against her chest.
"What did I tell you?" Laura asked, reaching out to touch the girl's arm as Bill lowered himself down next to her, cautious of how exactly he was going to get back up again. "You'll always come back" Pandora pondered for a moment before speaking, her waterworks coming to an end as she remembered her mother's earlier words of comfort. "Didn't we?" She asked, feeling as though she was slipping back into a teaching role. Pandora had to learn that both she and Bill were not going to just up and leave her, and that they would always come back for her, no matter what - even if Laura wanted nothing more than to scoop the child up and rock her off to sleep with a false promise that it'll never happen again. Regardless of that, Pandora had to learn.
The girl nodded her head at her mother's words. Moving the pillow nearest to her, she retrieved the item hidden underneath for safe keeping."I made you something" Pandora revealed, her damp eyes looked up at Bill for the first time as she held the thread bracelet out for the older man to take. The three strings were braided through each other with such precision that Bill doubted that it was Pandora who had made such a piece. Her colour choices stood out. The red was the same shade as Laura's infamous New Caprica outfit, while the navy blue reminded him of his own colonial uniform, with the third thread of lavender being Pandora's favourite colour. Had the child consciously chosen such colours? From the ground beside her, Pandora produced a second bracelet, identical to that of Bill's and held it out for her mother. "For you to" She said, her voice low and weak as she patted her porcelain cheeks that were covered in a blanket of tears.
After examining the bracelet in detail, Bill loosened the threads for a moment to slip it over his burly wrist before tightening it once again, receiving a nod of approval from Pandora. Reaching forward, Laura moved to lift the child away from the cold, grey wall and into the safety of her welcoming arms. At once the girl clung to her, burying her head in Laura's neck, with her small fingers gripping the pure silk material of her mother's blouse. "She'll be fine after she rests for a while" Laura thought aloud, seeing the concern and worry coat the man's aging skin. It was Bill's sense of duty that stopped him from following the mother and child out of the daycare. He had a duty to the fleet, to ensure that this mission was successful, and locking himself away in his quarters with no one but Laura and Pandora for company was going to achieve nothing at all. Setting off in the opposite direction, Bill made his way towards the CIC, calmed and comforted in the knowledge that both Pandora and Laura were on Galactica if anything should happen.
It was never easy to see a comrade in such a state, even more so someone as young, healthy and determined as Kat. In recent months, she had seemed to naturally slip into the space in his life once allocated for Kara. He entered the sterile room after the blonde viper pilot with a heavy heart, filled with regret, remorse and sorrow. How had he not seen the path of self-destruction that Kat was following?
"Are you staying?" Kat said, her voice laced with uncertainty as it shook with each sharp intake of air. "Oh, I'm staying" Bill confirmed, his voice filled with self-assurance and determination as he lifted the metal chair from the corner of the room and lowered it down next to Kat's rigid eggshell white hospital bed. Kat couldn't deny the disbelief that ran through her, her frail and weak fingers clasping around the vial of sleeping pills. Bill leaned forward in his chair, folding his worn hands together as he raised his head to look at the woman who appeared childlike and vulnerable on her death-bed.
"The sick bay reminds me of where my son Zak was born. Caroline was so happy..." He couldn't help but remember the beaming smile that had graced his ex wife's features that day, finding his own lips curling up at the mental image. "She was convinced - both times - that she was having a girl, so it was a surprise at the end." Bill confessed to the woman, regardless of the fact that Bill would never have changed anything about either of his sons, he had always felt that a hole in his life had never been filled.
"Did you want a girl?" Kat asked, her numb blackened cheeks flinching as she attempted to force some form of a smile. Regardless of the rumors she had heard floating around the fleet, Kat had always suspected that Bill had been an extraordinary father; you only had to look at him with Pandora to see that. "Yeah" He said, feeling a ping of sadness as he began to fidget with his hands absent-mindedly, glancing down at the thread bracelet that graced his wrist, a constant reminder of the daughter figure in his life. "Three's a good round number" Bill admitted, having always wanted three children, though by the time that his youngest son was born, his marriage was already beyond the point of no return - not even the Lords of Kobol could have saved it.
As her thick eyelashes fluttered under the weight of her eyelids, Kat nodded her head in a feeble manner."You have Pandora now" She whispered, her eyes falling for a moment before she forced them open again, struggling to keep herself awake. While he may have mentally connected Pandora as the 'daughter figure' in his life, a space once occupied by Kara, Kat was the first to bring the matter up in conversation. Did he want to raise a third child? In these uncertain circumstances, with no clear sign of tomorrow and a fearful prophecy to contend with?
"Yes, I do" Bill accepted without much more consideration. Pandora was his daughter, perhaps not in blood or name, but he cared about her unconditionally, and that was all that mattered. Though, he couldn't shake the fear that lay deep inside him. He couldn't put his finger on it. The wind was changing, he could feel it in his very bones. Whatever it was however, the man was confident of one thing; he would protect Pandora, as well as Laura, till his dying breath, regardless of when that faithful day may come.