Yes, I'm alive. Blame exams, stress and a certain 'idiot' for delaying the publishing of this chapter - and the shortness of it. I feel horrible that it's a month tomorrow since I updated. Though you'll all be thankful to know that my exams all finish next Thursday, the 12th of June, so I can dedicated the vast majority of my time to writing. Trust me, doing fourteen exams in four weeks is not easy. I do hope this chapter makes up for the massive delay. It's shorter than normal - the second shortest chapter in fact - and is much more of a 'filler' chapter. However, from the next chapter onwards, we'll be very much at the center of the plotline.
Chapter 14 | Maelstrom
Laura was still fast asleep, exhausted from her emotional turmoil, while Bill pottered around the room, arranging his uniform with military precision. He had prayed to the Lords of Kobol that it was all just a horrible nightmare, created from his worst imaginable fears. They were not of his own demise, or of Earth being nothing more than a myth; but that some sort of harm would come to the small family unit that he now treasured close to his heart.
Pandora appeared into the doorway, her eyes still filled with sleep as she clasped her cotton blanket in her hand, her plush elephant held under her arm. "Looks like sleeping beauty is awake" Bill declared as he sat down on the edge of the sofa, patting the space beside him for the child to sit down.
"Is Mama okay?" Pandora asked curiously, a look of concern masking her face as she rested her soft cheek against her the man's shoulder. The child could sense that something was wrong, after all, both of the adults were acting strange, and there was a notable aroma of despair hanging over their heads - even Pandora could notice it. "She'll be fine, Pandy. How about you keep a close eye on her for me?" Bill suggested, brushing off the child's concern with his best attempt at a charismatic smile. There was no need to worry the girl yet, not until they knew exactly what they were dealing with.
"Okay, Papa" She promised, deciding that it would be best not to ask anymore questions. Wrapping her arms around the man's neck, she buried her head in his shoulder as he stood from the couch, walking towards the sleeping area of their quarters. He placed Pandora down in the bunk beside the sleeping woman, watching as the child curled up beside her, Laura instinctively accepted the child into her arms, even in her sleep-like state.
He couldn't help but think of how much his life had changed - for the better of course. Laura and Pandora filled a gap in his heart that he hadn't even know existed; they made things complete for him. Perhaps that's what made the idea of losing Laura all the more difficult to accept.
As he adjusted the top buttons of his shirt, the gold band on his finger caught the dim light of his office area. It didn't seem right to wear it anymore. Carolanne was in the past, another lifetime ago. Taking the cold metal band off his finger, he placed it down into the deep drawer of his desk, leaving it in eternal darkness.
With one last look at the sleeping figures in the bunk, Bill set off to do his work, content that the pair was safe and well.
"Are you ready to go?" Bill asked as he pulled back the hatch of the door as he stepped into their quaters, watching as Laura readjusted her blazer for no doubt the tenth time in as many minutes. He could almost feel the anxiety rolling off her like waves. Nodding her head, Laura attempted to stay calm as she accepted the hand that Pandora was holding out for her. She was thankful now more than ever that the child couldn't understand anything that was happening. A small mercy.
As they walked down the quiet cold, grey hallways of Galactica, Pandora stood between the pair, her head moving from left to right as she tried to divide her attention between them both. Holding on to Laura's hand, she looked up as she caught sight of a familiar blonde viper pilot ahead of them. "Kara!" She exclaimed, jumping up slightly in her black patent shoes as the woman approached them, the child's smile reaching her ears as she eagerly waited on Kara.
"Hey kid" Kara greeted, stopping in front of the infamous trio. "Admiral, Madame President" She said, respectfully addressing the couple in front of her with a nod of her head before returning her attention to the child. "Gotten any miles in yet kid?" Kara teased, moving down to the child's height and watching as the girl shook her head in a manner that reminded her of Lee; annoyed, irritated and unamused. "Papa says I have to be at least...sixteen" Pandora confessed, looking up at the man beside her as though to remind him of his earlier warnings.
Pulling herself back up to her full height, the viper pilot reached inside the interior pocket of her jacket and pulled out a golden figure of a mermaid. "For your model ship, Pandora said you needed one final piece" Kara explained, holding the object out for Bill to take, looking rather pleased with herself. "Thank you" Bill accepted the figure from the woman, holding it in his free hand as he gave Pandora's hand a gentle squeeze, silently thanking her as well. "It was good to see you, Admiral, Madame President, Nugget" Kara said, bidding her farewells as she earned a playful giggle from Pandora.
As the blonde pilot stepped around them, heading to the steps behind them, Bill turned on his heel to face her once more. "What do you hear?" Bill asked, gazing at the young woman in front of him, admiring who far she had come in a few short years. He guessed that being faced with tragedy after tragedy forced a person to change. "Nothing but the rain" Kara informed him, her lips teased a smile as she allowed her eyes to linger on the makeshift family for a moment longer before she turned on her heel and continued her journey through Galactica.
Bill laid his hand on the small of Laura's back, guiding her through the shadows of the corridor towards Cottle's office. Last thing any of them needed was someone seeing them in the sickbay, the Lords of Kobol would only know the sort of rumors that could start, and Bill thought that they had enough rumors to last a lifetime - or two.
Stepping into the privacy of Cottle's office, Laura was glad that Pandora was too young to understand any of what was to come - something she was eternally thankful for. Sitting herself down in the low sitting, leather chair, she watched as the greying doctor sat himself down at his desk, dropping a series of test results and highlighter filled papers. "Do we have a plan?" Bill asked cautiously, throwing a glance at Pandora, who sat on the small sofa at the right hand side of the room, content to look over the book that Lee had bought her.
"Doloxan" Cottle replied, remembering how Laura had protested to using the drug last time, arguing that she had watched her mother waste away for two years on the drug. With a heavy heart, Laura stole a glance over at Pandora then at Bill. If Doloxan was going to be her best chance, then she would take it. This time she had something to fight for. In fact, she had two people to fight for. "With chamalla?" Laura inquired, raising an eyebrow at the man across from her. Cottle waited a moment before reluctantly nodding his head in acceptance. "With chamalla" He confirmed, looking down at the ruffle of papers. "If you come by the tomorrow, we can start your Doloxan treatment" He revealed, deciding it would be best for the President to begin her treatment as soon as possible. The sooner they started, the sooner they could kill the cancer. The sooner they started, the better the chance of Laura recovering.
Nodding her head, Laura accepted the treatment plan. "Tomorrow" She accepted, feeling her nerves starting to get the better of her as she anxiously folded her hands on her lap. As Bill stood from his seat, she followed behind him, watching Pandora as the child skipped beside the Admiral as though she didn't have a single care in the world. Oh, to be so young and innocent. Watching the pair with a content smile, Laura knew had something to fight for this time. Her family.
Stopping at the hatch to Bill's quarters, Laura turned to look at the man as he sighed beside her, noticing the two guards advancing towards him. "I'm needed in the CIC" He admitted, reaching out to lightly squeeze Laura's shoulder. "Don't wait up if I'm late" He warned her, knowing how tired she was getting day by day. She deserved at least one early night. "I'll not make any promises" Laura confessed before watching the man head down the hallway. It was amazing how much thinking one could do when their death was approaching. All the regrets. All the 'What if?' scenarios. Though those were thoughts for another day, another time.
Pushing open the hatch, Laura allowed the child to enter first as she headed over to the desk at the center of the room, sitting herself down on the cold unwelcoming wooden chair, bellowing in her own thoughts.
Laura glanced over the rim of her glasses, her eyes resting on Pandora, watching as the child lay on her stomach in the middle of the room, an array of colouring books and pastel crayons surrounding her as she kicked her feet up in the air as she scribbled across the paper with her crayons - a gift from Lee.
She was glad of Pandora's ignorance to her illness, after all, the last thing she wanted was to worry the child. Having Pandora in her life only made the reappearance of her illness even harder to accept.
Pulling off her glasses, Laura sat them down on the desk beside her as she buried her head into her aging hands. "Mama" The small voice beside her pulled her out of her chaotic train of thought, causing her to lift her head and look down at the child beside her. "What is it, Pandy?" Laura asked, lifting her glasses up and readjusting them on her nose, watching as her eyes focused on the child. "Papa said I had to keep an eye on you" Pandora revealed as she casually dropped her head into her mother's lap as she wrapped her arms around the woman's waist. "Did he now?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, leaning her tired back against the chair as her growing fatigue seemed to wash over her like waves.
Pandora nodded her head in acknowledgement. "What's wrong?" The child's curious, concerned voice filled the room as she looked up at her mother with a confused expression. Children always could sense when something was wrong. Laura wondered how they would ever explain it all to Pandora. "Mama just isn't feel very well at the minute" Laura said in an attempt to brush away the child's concern. She had watched her own mother go through the hells of cancer. That alone had been agony. Laura wouldn't wish that pain on even Gaius Baltar - let alone someone as important to her as Pandora.
"Can I make it better?" Pandora wondered aloud in a small voice, playing with the buttons of her mother's silk blouse. Laura had to resist the urge to fall apart right there and then. Feeling her bottom lip beginning to tremble, Laura took a deep breath, feeling the tears beginning to pool in the corner of her eyes as she tightened her hold on Pandora. "If only you could, little one. If only you could" She whispered, resting her cheek down against the crown of Pandora's head.
Why were the gods being so cruel to her? What was the purpose of their wicked game?
By the time Bill returned from the CIC, Laura was putting Pandora to bed. Hearing the hatch door opening behind her, Laura finished tucking Pandora in before standing to her full height. "Have you eaten yet?" She began to speak, though stop upon turning around to look at Bill, seeing the state of the man at the other side of the room.
Laura knew that look all too well.
It was the same look Bill wore on the faithful day when he came to tell her that Billy was dead. It was as though all the happiness in the world had been drained away, the temperature of the room seemed to drop as Bill walked inside.
"Who?" Laura asked, swallowing her words as her breathing became slightly labored, fearful of the man's answer. "Kara" Bill breathed, as though he couldn't believe his own words. Laura let out an audible gasp, her breath catching in the back of her throat as she attempt to comprehend the meaning of what Bill had just said. "Kara?" She asked, as though searching for some form of confirmation. Kara couldn't be dead; could she? The quick tongue, no nonsense viper pilot that Bill saw as the daughter he never had.
She couldn't be dead.
Yet she was.
Reaching forward, she moved to take the man in her arms, allowing him to bury his head in the curls laying against her neck; as though he was trying to hide himself away from the horrors of the world they had found themselves in. Kara was one of those people that Laura believed would be immortal - cheating death on a regular basis. Death had visited today, and taken Kara as his victim.
As Bill's shoulders shook against her own, she could feel her curls fill with his tears. How was she ever going to tell Pandora? The child worshiped the ground that Kara had once walked on. Declaring she wanted to be a viper pilot just like Kara. Would Pandora even remember Kara when she would be old enough to be a viper pilot?
That night, Laura rested her head down on the man's chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart under her ear as she pulled the covers around them. She attempted to seek some form of comfort from the man, though her grief was nothing compared to him. Whether he was willing to accept it or not, he had lost more than just a pilot. He had lost a daughter. He had lost yet another member of his small family.
"Laura" He spoke for the first time that evening, hoping to gain her attention. She hummed slightly in response to show that she was still awake. "Marry me" He spoke, his voice gentle as his fingers came to rest on the ends of Laura's fire kissed hair.
The fear of losing Laura, Kara's death and his role as Pandora's father figure showed him that life was too short to wait for anything. Not when the cylons could drop in on them any day; and it could be game over. End of the line.
Laura's eyes widened, thinking for a split second that she was hearing things in her advancing age. Had Bill really just asked her to marry him? As the man waited silently for a response, Laura attempted to settle the thoughts that raced around her troubled mind. Yes or no?
"Yes, I will marry you, Bill" Laura breathed as she lifted her gaze to the man's face, watching as the realisation dawned on his face before she pressed a kiss against his lips. Death had visited them that day. Yet even the darkest of days had a silver lining.