This story is almost turning 5 years old now,
and to celebrate I managed to squeeze in another chapter this year.

I hope you enjoy it and if you are new, I am glad you found you way here!

This is mostly pining, dialect, and Mrs Agathon shipping Bill and Laura.

Disclaimer: I don't own BSG.

Chapter 7: Good Company

Maybe it had all been a fluke, Bill thought, as he was looking around at the still rather empty deck. Laura was nowhere to be seen, maybe she had already become sick of him and the children and had politely locked herself in her cabin next to theirs or had disappeared to find other distractions. He couldn't blame her, after all, the three of them were far from usual or everyday companions. Even after only the short amount of time he had gained the impression that she certainly liked kids, (after all, that was her job), but one couldn't expect another adult to have them around all the time. Additionally, their association had become quite improper, truth been told, but he wouldn't take all of the blame for it. Laura had certainly not complained when their fingers had linked, creating a surprising bond, but now she was nowhere to be seen.
He tried not to let his disappointment show as he watched his boys play with the other children, after all, none of this was their fault. It wasn't their fault their mother was dead, it wasn't their fault he was craving a bit of adult conversation. It also wasn't their fault that Laura Roslin had turned out to be charming, and lovely, and utterly, horribly perfect aside from being immensely beautiful, and that he felt himself being pulled towards her.

It had been a long time since he had done anything along the lines of flirting, so long that he had almost forgotten the innocent flutters it could bring, always too caught up in his job or caring for his sons. However - what he had felt when he had held her hand had been far from an innocent flutter. It had been more of a full-blown hurricane, almost threatening to blow him over. If he wasn't careful, it would swoop him away, and that was certainly something he couldn't afford. No, he had been sweped away by a tidal wave like that once, and he should have learned his lesson from it. Nothing good could come from head over heels romances with women that were far too pretty for him anyway. Carolanne had proven that over and over again with ehr increased spitefulness and resentment. Besides, Laura and him would likely never see each other again after the next couple of days. He would go to Boston and she would stay in New York, and that would be it.

Just as he had resigned himself to that thought, he could hear his boys squeal. With a a slight frown, he walked closer and around a pile of boxes at one corner of the deck, just to find the two talking excitedly to Laura who was sitting there in said corner, leaned against the wall. She looked up at him as he came closer and made a move to get up, but Bill quickly lifted his hands.

"Don't let us disturb you, Laura," he said apologetically.

She just laughed, but leaned back against the wall behind her again.

"It don't matter at all! I can share my little secret space here with ye, if ye would like to join me!"

Her invitation sounded genuine and his sons didn't bother anyway, both already sat down beside her. With a sigh and a smile, he joined the group on the floor. Bill could now see why she had picked that space, the sun was shining directly at them, warming the wood under and behind them and the boxes gave shelter from the rather rough winds from two sides. Still, her hair had become tousled since she had taken off her hat and it was now spreading behind her head and across her shoulders in a sort of reddish crown, even more breathtaking than he could have imagined. Suddenly, the wind blew a couple of her curls into her face with a vengeance. While Laura shrieked both boys laughed in delight, quite naughtily actually, but the woman didn't seem to mind. Instead, she just pushed the stray hairs away but nevertheless didn't put on her hat again, challenging the weather.

"Anyway, I didn't see you this mornin'" she told them and he shrugged.
"We didn't see you either. I thought you disappeared."
"Disappeared? Me? Without telling me friends? Never!" she exclaimed.

Lee giggled, then pointed at something next to her.

"What are you reading?"
"An adult book, Lee," she answered, "that ain't for you yet, my lads."

She winked at Bill, who had to grin back.

"Is it good?"

Laura nodded.

"Yeah. A mystery. I like mysteries. And detective stories."
"Dad reads too!" Lee explained, "he reads a lot, actually. And he reads to us!"
"Does he now?"Laura asked with the sort of smile that almost made Bill blush.

He shrugged, delighted by her pearly laughter. Soon watching the waves became too boring for the boys and they scrambled to their feet again and disappeared around the corner towards the other children. Silence stretched between the two adults, until Laura finally shuffled closer, leaning her head against his shoulder. His heart started to beat faster at the gesture and he silently took her hand, interlacing their fingers once more.

For her part, Laura smiled against his coat as she lightly squeezed back his fingers, so much warmer than her own. She really ought to wear gloves more often, but she had wanted to keep them clean and fresh for her new job, for now, so she had gone without. However, that she could feel his skin on hers now was certainly another advantage. Bill's hands felt rough from manual labour, he was a man who worked with his hands and maybe took less care of his body than he ought to. She idly wondered whether he could feel the difference as well, the two different worlds they had inhibited so far. If he did, he didn't comment on it, he only slightly traced her knuckles with his thumb. As she looked down, she noticed his wedding ring, gleaming in the sun.

"You are still wearing your ring," she commented.

He looked down at his hand as well, almost as if he were a little confused.

"Oh, uhm, yes. I am used to it, I guess. But -" he broke off.

What had he wanted to say? She tried to imagine it. That he was sad about his wife's death but didn't grief for her anymore? It didn't matter, it wasn't allowed to matter, since their ways ways wouldn't intertwine any longer after this trip. So she just hummed.

"I've almost finished the book," she suddenly told him, "would you like to read it then?"
"I'd love to," he ansswered lowly agaisnt her hair, "whenever you are ready."

She wasn't quite sure whetehr they were still talking about books, and for a couple of minutes, they simply stared across the water, both lost in their own thoughts, when Bill finally let go of her hand.

"I have to look for the boys now," he told her, almost apologetically, "and make sure they don't fall over board or something like that."

Laura smiled slightly. Even though she really would have liked him to stay, she understood his concern and was touched by it.

"Of course. Do ye want me to join ye?"

Bill decidedly shook his head.

"No, you enjoy the sun here! This is my job, you shouldn't miss out on your spot for this. Though I will say, I would be happy for some company this afternoon or evening, whenever it suits you."
"I will be happy to meet ye then," she agreed with a smile as he finally got up.

From this position, she had to look up at him, something she didn't particualarly like, but he only tipped against an imaginary top hat before he turned to go. The woman leaned back again, a multitude of thoughts swirling in her brain. Most were improper and included her lips on his, without any reservations or excuses. If she wasn't mistaken, he might not be that opposed to it as one might think - despite his obvious care for his children, who certainly came first. How to go about it was another question though, Laura was very afraid she might be reading things wrong and end up bringing them all into a really awkward situation - ll while they were locked up on a ship where there was a rather limited option for avoiding each other. She sighed, grabbing her book again to distract herself. Unfortunately, that worked only partly since she had read it a couple of times already and her mind kept wandering off.

When she finally re-emerged from her little hiding place, her hat kind of in place and skirts at least somewhat orderly, most people of the third class didn't seem to care, far too busy with their own families. Bill and the boys were nowhere in sight, in fact, nobody she knew was around anywhere. Maybe they were playing inside? She decided to find out, if only to make a stop at her own room to fix her hair and outfit.

Bill sighed for about the 20th time as the boys were sprinting through the ship, absolutely not caring where they were going or who they were running into. Both had far too much energy, and after they had started to feel a little bit cold outside, they had decided to move their activities inside - to Bill's chagrin. At least the other children weren't much better, so the two Adama's didn't stick out too much while they were almost running over other passengers and increasing the noise level. He let his gaze wander through the room, it came to a stop at Mrs Agathon who had just entered the room, apparently in search for her children. He waved at her and she smiled back gratefully.

"Hello! Ye know where me children are?" she wanted to know.

He nodded.

"Yes, I think they are running around with my boys. Somewhere here. I told them to stand down, but they don't really care."

Bill didn't mention that he hadn't been too serious, if he had, Zak and Lee had probably complied. They usually could tell very well when he was serious and when they could still get away with their shenanigans.

"Ah!" Mrs Agathon answered, "wel, good. Fen der tired in fe evening, ye know?"
"Oh, absolutely! And it's good they have found other children to play with. Company is important for them, I reckon."

She gave him an odd look.

"Not only for ye lads, I reckon."
"Well, I have heard these kinds of voyages are supposed to be rather communal experiences. But I suppose, in my opinion that's mostly the case on ships. Many people on very little space. And I have to say, I am quite positively surprised about most aspects so far."
"I bet."

Now she was grinning in a mixture of amusement and slight exasperation. When he didn't say anything further, she rolled her eyes.

"So, fat are ye gonna do 'bout fe gal of yers?"

Finally things started to shift into place for him, after all, there was only one woman he had been spending more time than average with. He hoped he didn't blush. At the same time he wondered once again how this could have happened in all but two days - they had just met and people were already suspecting things. Was Laura suspecting something as well?

"Don't ye worry, nobody cares," Mrs Agathon suddenly told him with a calming smile, "fis is a ship to fe New World. Everyone want a new start. Fey dunno bovver 'bout fese fings as soon as fey are in America. Ye're just anuvver man and ledy in fe mids of many."

He sighed. That was likely true, which made him question again where they stood in all of this and what he had gotten himself into.

I hope you enjoyed this!
Also - please don't leave your children unattended on deck!