Splodge's Home

<3

splodge04 — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:49:18 GMT

In memory of family and friends who have lost the battle with cancer; and in support of the ones who continue to conquer it! Re-post this in your LiveJournal if you know someone who has, had or has been affected by cancer. 93% won't even take the time to copy and paste this. Will you?

Snip Snip Snip. Snippity Snip Snip.

splodge04 — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:49:23 GMT

I just did a bit of chopping on the friends list. I think you know the drill by now, I cut you because we didn't talk anymore or didn't have much in common. These things are a pain in the butt, but at the end of the day with uni and stuff I really don't have the time to go through as many entries as I used to.

I've been dwelling upon minimising the friends list for a while, and I'm still going to be doing a bit of chopping over the next few days. It's always a tough choice, and I don't like to do it, and whether you comment or not I don't want you to feel as if I'm ignoring you because I don't have the time to comment on your LJ's if I'm too busy writing about cock rot. Classy hey? (No, I'm not going to get over staring at mouldy pene for days on end lol)

No hard feelings mmmmkay? All the best for 2010!!!!

<3

(P.S If you want to stay, and I've chopped you by mistake (the clicky boxes somehow merge when I do these things) then you're going to have to give me a holler

I bring forth icons

splodge04 — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:08:24 GMT

[1-6] BSG Icons from bsg_lims
[7-32] BSG Icons, Various Seasons.
[33-37] The X-Files Icons, Various Seasons
[38-41] The West Wing Icons, Various Seasons

Preview:-

The rest HERE @ cylonish

Who can take me away from my guy

splodge04 — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:24:04 GMT

- Friends cut is very much imminent. In fact, I am in the process of doing it now. I did say like over a month ago that I was going to do one, and because I'm going to be away from next Tuesday for 9 days it is going to be more than intense upon my return with regards to f-listing. There are quite a few people now who I just do not talk to or they do not talk back to me.

This post serves as a sorta "OMG YOU CUT ME!" post, where you can either tell me "GOOD RIDANCE" or "Maybe we can sort it out" either way is cool.

Also, if you can't wait to get rid of me, go ahead and cut me.

[EDIT]I has done it. 40 LJ's now removed. It's the closest I've been to 100 friends in a while.

VOTE VOTE VOTE!

splodge04 — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:27:46 GMT

THIS BITCH HAS AN AIRLOCK AND AN ADMIRAL AT HER DISPOSAL, AND SHE ISN'T AFRAID TO USE EITHER...(and we know she likes to use the Admiral. Oh boy does she EVER)

LAURA ROSLIN is the ultimate HBIC

splodge04 — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:10:44 GMT

Dudes! I is here to pimp bsg_lims ! go play, you know you wanna!!

This is all :)

ICONS

splodge04 — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 17:53:00 GMT

A lot of these icons have been lying around for a while, and with summer break underway I have time to make new ones. So, out with the old so I can make some more!

[20] BSG Icons Various Seasons (60% made for bsgpassiton
[18] Mary and Eddie Icons
[02] Spider!Adama and Wonder!Pres Icons
[12] The West Wing Icons.

Preview:-

( +Sam, Sam, sunshine man. Get on the couch, I wanna do you right now. )

I HAS ICONS FROM DENIAL LAND!!! :D

splodge04 — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:22:38 GMT

Ok, so, BSG didn't end so this meant we had to make LOTS OF PRETTY ICONS. *nods* (and go around laughing like Tigh...seriously, don't ask) MARY ICONS FTW! :D

We is currently residing in Denial Land, where the grass is green, the clouds are fluffy and a certain ship is off in the corner having lots of sex. DENIAL. WE LOVE IT.

BIG ASS ICON BATTLE BETWEEN ME AND angiescully

PREVIEW. I HAS ONE.

LOTS OF MARY PRETTIES (with EJO)

splodge04 — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 20:29:42 GMT

8x BSG 4x12 icons
12x BSG 4x14 icons
1x SpiderAdama icon.

There will be spoilers!!

Preview:-

Here @ cylonish

I has just removed people.

splodge04 — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:42:41 GMT

So, I just did a friends cut. I now know WHY I don't do them often. Frak me, it's hard work.

So, If I have removed you, it's because:-

You haven't updated in FOREVER
We don't talk.
There seems to be more work on my part and I feel as if we aren't getting anywhere.
I don't like you. You irritate me.
ETC
You know the score, I think.

However, if you think that I cut you by mistake (cus seriously, it can be hard on that little screen to be 100% sure you have clicked the right person) I will add you back :) And if you want to be on my f-list for whatever reason, then let me know. I'm not against adding ANYONE back. Seriously.

MUCH LOVE <3

splodge04 — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 21:38:45 GMT

Cus I don't feel like posting, I decided graphics would do.

13-The X-files IWTB

43-The X-Files Various Seasons.

Preview:

Here @ cylonish

splodge04 — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 22:44:16 GMT

It's now or never. MWAHAHAHA.

And for the record...I heart this movie so bad. I loves it, I loves it. I LOVES IT!!!!

27 X Dances With Wolves Icons

Preview:::

( TATANKA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! )

splodge04 — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 18:43:19 GMT

Just because it was about time ;) AND THE BSG ICONS ARE THE MINI SERIES AND SEASON ONE ONLY ;)

21 BSG (Mini & Season 1)
03 Mary McDonnell
34 The X-Files (Various Seasons)

Preview:

the rest here @ cylonish

30 x Dr Quinn icons

splodge04 — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:53:22 GMT

LOL this post will probably not interest everyone because it's for Dr Quinn, but you should watch it, it's hot and is so CUTE! AND IS 19th CENTURY PORN OF WIN!!!

I suppose I wouldn't have made that many but angiescully stood over me with a big whip shouting MOAR, MOAR! Until she thought I had enough- in a nice way of course. So yeah... *giggles*

30 x Dr Quinn Icons. Mainly from season 4 I think.

Preview:-

the rest here @ cylonish

splodge04 — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:11:10 GMT

1-43 The X-Files
44-51 Battlestar Galactica
52-53 Gillian Anderson.

Preview:

here @ cylonish

The Rising Red- Chapter 11- To Bring Back Reality

splodge04 — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:08:11 GMT

Chapter 11- To Bring Back Reality Count:8492
Chapter 1 can be found here. Chapter 5 can be found here Chapter 9 can be found here
Chapter 2 can be found here. Chapter 6 can be found here Chapter 10 can be found here
Chapter 3 can be found here Chapter 7 can be found here
Chapter 4 can be found here Chapter 8 can be found here

( It all continues under the cut. )

"THE XFILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE"

splodge04 — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:05:11 GMT

WOO

splodge04 — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 20:11:15 GMT

(1-10) Battlestar Galactica. (Including Season 4 icons)
(11-35) Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Various Seasons)
(36-64) House M.D (Wilson's Heart/ House's Head )
(65-115) The X-Files (Various Seasons)
(116-136) Dr Who (Season 4)

Here @ cylonish

Yes, I know. I still owe requests, but they will get done. I swear. I want to make them really pretty for you guys.

The Rising Red- Chapter 10- The Raging Bull.

splodge04 — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:27:17 GMT

Hai! Ok, so I haven't actually written a new chapter in a very long time now due to all of my revision and such. It's a good job I wrote on a 3 chapter basis. Posted one, once the one 3 ahead was written. This now, means I have one more back up chapter after this. This should be ok, seems my exams are over in 3 weeks :) So, here is the next chapter. Action packed I here? I wouldn't write anything else ;)

BSG Fic- The Rising Red
(It's also uploaded at Survival Instinct for those who prefer that format.)

Summary: An angsty and slightly AU fic surrounding Adama and Roslin. The President's life is jeopardy and it's only a matter of time until it's too late.
Rated: M
Disclaimer: These character are unfortunately not mine! I'm just putting them into my own little storyline to keep me entertained.
It's set after Epiphanies and before Sacrifice in Season 2.

Thanks to my two lovely beta's trickalicious78 and laharah

Chapter 10- The Raging Bull Word Count:5468
Chapter 1 can be found here. Chapter 5 can be found here Chapter 9 can be found here
Chapter 2 can be found here. Chapter 6 can be found here
Chapter 3 can be found here Chapter 7 can be found here
Chapter 4 can be found here Chapter 8 can be found here.

Chapter 10- The Raging Bull.

Bill walked into CIC, his face ablaze with fury. He’d heard that a raptor had managed to get off of the ship. Before him, with worried looks on their faces, stood the Chief and Tigh who were watching Bill avidly as he walked towards them.

A fire welled in his chest, making him choke down the words that he had wanted to say when he came to the console. Deep inside him, he felt the emotion bounce across his insides, making his heart rate increase and his body buzz. It was very uncharacteristic of him to be feeling such things, and the circumstances off. People made mistakes, but why was it ticking him off so much? Deep within him the passion of his anger was pulsing through his veins, making his head swim with dark aggressive thoughts that made him feel sick to his stomach.

“Sir, we couldn’t stop them. The Raptor was ready for take off and when the order arrived…well, we couldn’t stop them. Whoever it was blew some of the circuits and the area needs repairs,” Tyrol said, the grimace spreading over his face. “I’m sorry, sir.”

Bill didn’t say anything, trying to numb what was going on inside of him. He lifted his eyes to theirs, glaring at them briefly before moving over to the dradis console. He pressed his hands onto the metal, squeezing the edges until he felt his knuckles retort painfully. Taking a deep breath, he lowered his head to his chest before returning to look at the bright icons on the screen, watching them, listening to the buzz of the mechanics and mumbling of voices behind him. As he gazed at the small icons that represented each ship he felt his heart rate increase and his breathing speed up. This person was out there, hiding amongst the people, working his evil against himself and Laura and it infuriated him.

“We think that the prisoner might have been on board the escaped raptor. It would make sense because that was the run that Jones was meant to do. We’ve heard nothing from anyone around the ship. I don’t see how they would have missed someone so big. We don’t know where the ship went as the transponder cut out. What should we do?” Tigh moved to Bill’s side, gazing up at the screen with a wounded look on his face. The silence that was coming from his friend and the almost red tint to his face was unnerving, even for someone so familiar to him.

Bill looked to his side and then closed his eyes, relaxing his clenched jaw. “I want descriptions sent out to all of the various ships in the fleet,” he said in a quiet angry mumble. “I want the search continued on board. If that bastard hasn’t got away, he’ll be hiding somewhere.”

Tigh nodded, lowering his head. “Anything else?”

A tight pain ran through Bill’s chest and he grunted, letting it run across him like a knife being twisted in his chest. He didn’t know what it was, and he rubbed the centre of his chest, turning away from Tigh and moving over to the area where Gaeta was sat, ignoring it as the feeling seemed to burn his skin. He rested against the bulkhead and watched as Gaeta looked at him nervously, twitching slightly as Bill grunted again. “Mr. Gaeta, I want every piece of information we have on D .Jones. I want his shift rotations and every little thing we know about him.”

“Aye, sir,” Gaeta said, placing down the papers he had in his hand and slipping his hand over the receiver to his left.

Bill moved away, watching as the two men he had left continued to watch him. “Fleet status,” he boomed, looking at Dualla who was leaning over her console.

Dee looked up, startled slightly. She fiddled with a few buttons and then looked up. “The fleet is quiet, sir.”

Bill nodded. “I need to talk to the President. I want every spare person searching this ship. We have to find him.” He didn’t look at Tyrol or Tigh as he turned and left, knowing it would further enrage him.

--------

Laura sat on the floor, rubbing her knee, a small tear in the fabric showing a purple bruise that was beginning to form amidst her pale skin. Her breath had begun hitching in her throat as she felt herself panic, her mind wracking through every possible thing that could happen. Although she was having doubts about what he would do, thinking his heart was not leaning towards what she would call ‘the bad side,’ but towards helping her, she knew though that she couldn’t be sure. She didn’t know him, but she thought she had seen something familiar within him, his respect for the scrolls and the paths that their lives were to take. After her brief encounter with him, she had come to think that he was a good-hearted person, but how could she be sure when her situation had arisen from a breach in trust? What if he tried to kill her? She was pretty sure that the book foretold her death to be later on than at this present moment, but she couldn’t help but panic and think the worst. After all she had a gun pointed at her and that was enough sometimes to make you doubt.

Kara felt something grab hold of her hand, and she looked down to see the President’s fingers wrapped around hers. She opened her palm, letting the fingers grip her hand, and she looked at the President, seeing the slight look of panic on her face. Kara gave her hand a gentle reassuring squeeze, the only thing she thought she could do, and then returned her gaze to Geoffrey, letting her instincts take over. Adrenaline was pumping through her body, her torso and limbs buzzing and her mind reeling through as many possibilities for a resolution as she could. She looked at the gun and the grip Geoffrey had on it, analysing his hold and the strength at which he was holding it at, wondering if she could knock it from his grip. You could tell a lot about something by the way someone held their gun. Their intentions were clear and would show their intent, even if their face didn’t.

“I need you to understand,” said Geoffrey, moving so he was directly in front of them. “A path is meant to be followed.” He closed his eyes for a brief moment, and turned around.

Kara leaned forward and got ready to pounce, hoping to somehow knock the gun from his hand, or reach for hers. Just as she went to jump he turned around and shook his head.

“No, you aren’t meant to do that.” He held his grip on his gun and waited for Kara to sit back down. “

“What do you want?” Starbuck spat, anger rising in her chest as she watched him hold his gun tight.

“I can feel something in the air, something negative, strong, violent, tension. It’s from someone familiar. Someone close,” he said quietly, turning his gaze to Laura who was staring at him with an intense puzzlement. “I feel it. I know that I am meant to help and protect you.”

“What do you mean?” Kara spat, getting to her knees. “Who do you need to protect her from?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think it would be intentional or something, but, I can feel it none the less. It’s thick, in the air, like smoke.” He gazed up to the painting on the wall and then turned back to Laura. “The Greying Woman, by Patrick Tinsley. A highly relevant picture do you not think? She stands alone, surrounded by colour…by life. All of it passing her by, so bright, so colourful, so vibrant and alive.” He held out his hand to Laura. “Come, tell me what you think.”

Laura side glanced to Kara who was sat, her mouth open in confusion and her eyes, like a hawk’s, watching him carefully. “Drop your gun at least.”

“No.” Geoffrey said, keeping it in his hands.

“Then you won’t mind if I keep mine with me then, will you? I don’t trust you. I don’t trust you at all.” Kara turned to where her gun was lying and reached out for it, turning her gaze back to him as she moved.

“I know you don’t. But I won’t hurt either of you. I’m just curious.” He moved forward slightly so that Laura could take his hand. When she wrapped her hand in his and he pulled her to her feet she grimaced slightly as her knee ached and the muscles around it spasmed. “Are you ok?” he said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to get hurt. To be honest, I came here on unclear intentions. I wasn’t sure what to do and I went about it the wrong way, I know, but everything does happen for a reason. I didn’t mean to scare you. I didn’t mean to do what I did, but it happens how it happens and there is nothing I can do to rectify that, as everything that will happen will do so because that is as it was meant to be.”

Laura watched carefully as his eyes glistened with tears. She was confused and so unclear about everything that was going on in this room. At first he had appeared and held them at gunpoint, and now he was there to protect her and, the painting, which she had so clearly identified with, was now being looked at by her attacker as if he knew what she was thinking. “I’m fine,” she whispered, letting go of his hand and rubbing it nervously down her skirt. “Why are you so interested in that picture?”

Geoffrey stared at her for a few seconds, watching her face and her eyes. “I would say it was highly relevant, wouldn’t you?”

Laura swallowed as she turned to Starbuck who looked completely confused. Then, she looked slowly around the room, gazing at everything around her. Everything that would be there when she was gone. The picture of she and Bill on the wall, the pictures of Lee and Zach. As much as she wanted to live, she knew that she might, at one point, become a memory, a photograph, a smell or just a name. The picture of the woman made her eyes sting with fresh tears. “I suppose.”

“You suppose?” Geoffrey took it off of the wall and brought it closer to them. “This woman has been cast to aside, she looks withdrawn and ill and all around her is a bounty of colour and life in which she doesn’t seem included. She-”

“Wants to live, she wants to be with the people around her. The light, which doesn’t seem to touch her, is what she craves.” Laura wiped her eyes as tears rolled down her cheeks. She knew what she felt about the picture, about herself and the people around her. She’d been trying to hold onto something, something strong. “The people pass her by, continuing with their lives. She looks ill, and to me, it’s as if she has been excluded because of this. She has no one.”

“It’s only relevant because of the way you look at it. You need to understand something. I told you that there is always a glimmer of hope. You are not alone, you realise that, don’t you? I said it was relevant, I did, but, not because of what I see, but because I know what you see. You are associating yourself with this picture because of your perceptions and inner fears. If you fully embraced the possibility of survival, and not just as a side thought, because I know that you can feel yourself slipping away. If you stayed positive, you’d see beyond what was in this picture. This is another reason why I think I needed to be here. As many times as people say you are going to be alright, deep down inside you, past your thoughts, past your feelings, you aren’t sure.”

Laura took her glasses off and turned away from both of them, the tears rolling down her face. How, after everything, could he be so right about it all? Deep inside she knew he was speaking the truth. “Of course I’m not sure,” she sniffed.

“You were giving up, weren’t you? Before. Before you came to see me that time, you felt it inside and it scared you more than anything because all you know how to do now is survive. That’s what you’ve been doing for all these months, surviving. When you felt yourself cave it was something new, something alien. That’s really why you came to see me before, wasn’t it? To get answers, but what you got was hope.” Geoffrey moved a little closer to her and watched carefully as she nodded her head, knowing what he meant.

“I did.” She nervously looked at Kara. She wasn’t used to being so fragile and open in front of the younger woman and it was a little daunting. But Geoffrey seemed to know her so well that it was almost scary. His perceptions and ideas were off of this ship; what was it about him that made it easy for him to know these things? He reminded her of Billy, but slightly more perceptive. “I felt myself let go, deep within me. All of my strength, passions and motivations going, I’m getting more and more tired and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to do anything, let alone hold myself together. I don’t want to give up, but I can’t help but feel as if I am. When you said that the book wasn’t complete it brought me hope, of course it did. That little bit of light that you were on about. I’m trying, I’m trying as hard as I can, but I don’t know if it will be enough.”

“Hope and love are powerful emotions. Take my word for it, you will need them, I can tell you will. You need to surge past the doubt and the worry. You need to fight for your life the way you would in battle.” He hung the picture back on the wall, straightening it.

Laura felt her body quiver, her muscles aching and her mind craving rest. She knew she had to fight, she knew that she had to be strong, but it was so hard. You needed energy, you needed strength and motivation. “I know. It’s just so hard.”

Kara stood up and gripped her gun as she walked over to Geoffrey. “Oh, you’re real good. You said you were going to help us. Fat lot of good you are!”

“I said I would come and help if my path lead me here. I have helped.” He looked at Laura as she wiped away her tears, knowing he had done something. “It just takes a lot to see, that’s all.”

-----

Bill felt the blood pump in his ears and his heart beat hard in his chest, his temper beginning to blossom into a rage. Every cell inside of him wanted to lash out at the nearest person, hurt them, punch them, kick them, to just cause someone pain. It was a horrible feeling, his whole body trembling with every step he took. He needed to see Doc Cottle, but first he had to speak to Laura.

As he came to the corridor where his quarters were, he saw two marines walking towards him. “Admiral Adama, there are no signs of the prisoner, sir.”

Bill clenched his fists and tried as hard as he could not to lash out. “Why the frak aren’t you guarding my room?”

“We were told that you wanted us to go search, sir.”

Bill didn’t say anything, instead he pounded past them, knocking both of the marines out of the way, one of them falling to the floor. The worry which he knew he had inside of him was consumed by rage he never believed existed, something he had never felt before. Both of his hands went to his head as he stopped outside the hatch, breathing hard, his head swimming as the rage took hold of his body.

As the hatch opened he walked in and his eyes fell upon the three people before him. Starbuck was stood, facing the prisoner with her gun in her hand and an angry look on her face. When he looked around again his eyes fell upon Laura’s. She was crying, her face looked worried and looked her over, searching for any injuries, his eyes fell upon her knee, purplish hue flashing out at him like a disaster beacon. Something inside of him snapped and he surged forward with his fists clenched. The rage consumed him like a fire, his body and mind being overcome with a fiery passion and an overwhelming desire to hurt someone.

As Bill’s body flew forward he heard distant yells but his mind could not register them. He had to hit something, he had to hit something hard. The prisoner’s face came into view and he brought his fist up and slammed it hard against the solid cheek of the giant, sending him to the floor. Bill’s body landed heavily onto the man’s chest, the force of the punch making him overstep and lose his balance. As he peered angrily at the man beneath him, he could see the calmness behind his eyes. The deep pools looked into Bill’s and he could see the sorrow and kindness there. There was nothing but kindness and a desire to do what was right. Bill tried to pull away but his fist collided with the prisoner’s face again, blood gushing from the man’s nose, his eyes clenching shut with pain. He would not fight back, his hands stayed by his sides. This made Bill even angrier.

“Bill, stop,” Laura yelled, watching as two marines entered the room, running to Bill, who was frantically punching Geoffrey. A deep sickening feeling washed over her as she watched the blood pour from his nose, his eyes closed tightly and his hands lying limp at his sides.

Starbuck tucked her gun into her trousers and she moved to the Admiral’s side, her hands grabbing hold of his upper arms, trying to pull him away as he began beating Geoffrey into a state. As much as she didn’t want to trust Geoffrey, she couldn’t let him die right here. “Admiral, sir, STOP!” The arm she had hold of jerked away and then flew back again, knocking her back, sending her into the President who caught her by the arm but was unable to maintain her balance. Both of them crashed to the floor with a thud.

Bill watched them fall out of the corner of his eye and the rage increased, tears welling in his eyes as they caught sight of the horrified look on Laura’s face. Two strong pairs of hands took hold of his arms and pulled him back. “Get off me! That’s an order!”

Starbuck stood up quickly and ran over to the marines, standing in front of them so she could see the Admiral’s face. “Sir, you need to calm down.”

“Get the frak off of me!”

Laura got up, slowly, and moved to Starbuck’s side, her eyes wide with worry. What was going on? Never, in the entire time that she had known Bill, had she ever seen him so filled with rage and pain as what she had just witnessed. His eyes were wide and hard, his teeth bared like a wild dog and she couldn’t help but let the shock wash over her and tears slipped down her face. “Bill,” she whispered.

Bill looked up, still trying to get free, his eyes moving to Laura’s. He watched as the tears fell down her cheeks and he felt his chest ache. She was crying because of him. A sharp pain ripped through his chest and he cried out, letting his body fall forward, the marine’s taking the weight of him as his body went limp. When his knees touched the floor, one of the marines let go, and he brought his hand up to his chest, the rage and sorrow moving to his heart, the pain consuming him. Laura’s face swam in front of him, another pain ripping through his chest and he blacked out, his whole body going limp.

Laura moved to his side and took his hand, watching as a stray tear rolled down his unconscious face. “Get Doc Cottle,” she yelled, turning to Kara, who already had her ear pressed to the receiver, her mouth moving frantically as she eyed the Admiral and the unconscious and heavily beaten Geoffrey, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and puzzlement.

---

Gaius was leaning against the table, his head resting on the palm of his hand as he watched another chemical float before him under the microscope. It was tedious, and he was tired. All he wanted to do was sleep, let himself float away for a few more hours, just so he could stop his eyes from stinging.

“Aww, is poor Gaius tired?” she said from behind him, running her hands through his hair as he gazed lazily around.

“Yes, indeed I am, but I have a lot of work to do, so do you mind?” He picked up the slide and deposited it into the area he had decided to call, ‘failures,’ alongside his other area called, ‘crap.’ It seemed as if only a handful had done anything, even if what had happened had been highly irrelevant and no use to him, but it was something. He was getting highly irritated by this job, he knew that it was all basically relying on him, and that made it even worse. A pair of hands grabbed his waist and pulled him back on the chair and he rolled his eyes. “For Gods’ sake, will you give it a rest!” he said angrily, putting his feet down on the floor.

“No need to be so angry, Gaius,” Six said, stepping around so that her body was pressed against his arm.

“As I said to you earlier,” he mumbled, pipetting another solution onto the microscope. “You don’t know anything.”

Six grabbed his head and pulled it down so that it hit the tables surface. “You know nothing! We feel pain, we feel love, we feel anger and hate. I know what anger feels like and rage and betrayal.”

Gaius rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes, that’s great. Of all of the basic human functions they managed to make it so you are able to flawlessly lie!”

Six moved to his side, sitting down on the stool. “Why won’t you believe?”

“I have no proof and you are machines. What you have is what we programmed into you, it’s not the real emotion, it‘s a silicon representation.”

“It’s real, Gaius. You’ve listened to me before,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. “Why are humans so afraid to believe the truths that lie before them? Why are you so ignorant? It was one of the reasons that this happened to you.”

“Oh don’t start this now. I have another Gods knows how many slides to get through now and I really don’t need this!” He moved out some new slides and began swirling solutions together before pipetting them onto the clean slides, getting the microscope ready.

“I’ve felt pain, Gaius, I’ve felt everything. Through my whole life, Gaius, I’ve felt what you can feel. You shouldn’t be so ignorant. You say you feel pain? What if you are a Cylon? Wouldn’t that mess with your theories?”

Gaius felt his hand shake and he put the equipment down on the table. “A Cylon? Don’t be so absurd! Now, you are really being ridiculous. Emotion? Love? Hate? Your whole life? You mean after they pulled you off of the conveyor belt.”

“I had a life once,” she said quietly. I would have been as ignorant as you.” She stood up and walked off to the other side of the room, her eyes locking onto his as he looked up confused.

“Oh really? Did they tell you that? When they pulled you off of the line?” He snorted slightly and shook his head.

“Everything happens for a reason, Gaius, how many times do I have to tell you? I felt love, I felt pain, I feel what you feel.”

“And as I have told you, before, it’s PROGRAMMED! You only feel stuff like that if you are-”

“Human?”

Gaius laughed and shook his head. “We are not having this conversation. It was so peaceful until you came back. Why do you do this to me? I need to get this done!”

Six shook her head and then grabbed Gaius by the arm and turned him around, squeezing until she felt her fingers dig deep into his skin. “Sharon felt love, Sharon felt pain…she thought she was human.”

“Well, yes, that was slightly different, she was a-”

“Sleeper agent? Unaware of what she was until something happened. Emotion is relative, you know, Gaius. One man’s pain is another’s heartache. And we’re very similar.”

Gaius rolled his eyes. “Yes, well, you weren’t a sleeper agent, dear. You’ve always known that you are of metal origins.”

Six slipped to the side and began walking away from him, towards the open hatch, her face cold and dark. “I said that you didn’t know anything about me, Gaius. I came to you for a mission, but I’ve had them before. I was a sleeper agent. I had a life. I had everything.”

Gaius spilled the remaining solution onto the floor and watched her avidly as she disappeared. “No. No, wait.” He sighed and slammed his hand down onto the cold surface. “I’m just tired! I didn’t mean it. Please, come back. A sleeper agent? Please, I want to listen!” He ran his hands through his hair and adjusted his glasses. What if she was telling the truth? What if she had further information to offer? It had never occurred to him before now, that she had been anything more then just a skin job, sent to on a mission to annihilate the human race. What was it that she had done before? Who had she been?

“What the frak are you doing?” Cottle said, looking down at the mess on the floor. “I need you to come with me now. I need your advice on some blood work I just took from the Admiral. He’s just been brought into the sickbay.”

“Is he ok?” Gaius nervously stood from his chair and walked quickly over to where Cottle was stood. The Admiral had to be ok. No way could Tigh ever run the ship without the Admiral, the consequences of that had been seen before, and it was not good.

---

Laura stood in the sickbay with her hand planted firmly over her mouth, trying to control herself as she watched the medics hook Bill up to monitors. She was in shock, she knew it. Never had she seen such a deep and resonating rage before and she would never have expected it from Bill of all people. His eyes had been so unfamiliar and cold, the recognition not there, the warmth that his gaze usually offered gone. She moved her hand slowly and clasped both of her hands together, watching as the people moved around her, not sure what to do or say. She wanted to know why he had been like that and where it was going to lead.

Lee walked passed her quickly, so fast that she nearly didn’t notice him. As he walked towards his father’s bed she grabbed his arm, pulling him back. “No, they’re working on him now. You need to give them their space.”

“What’s wrong with him?” he said, his voice low and almost childlike, his eyes watering and his face revealing his distress.

“I don’t know.” Laura whispered, bringing her hand back up to her mouth as she felt the tears sting at her eyes, the image of his enraged face flashing before her, making her close her eyes.

“Starbuck said that he was like an animal! That he came in and started pounding the prisoner as if he was a Cylon or something? She had never seen anything like it. I don’t understand what’s going on. She said that someone did this to him, like they did to you. I don’t understand!” His arm pulled away from her. “He didn’t tell me! He didn’t! And now this!”

“I know. I suppose he didn’t want to worry you. You’ve just recovered from that ordeal y-”

“Starbuck knew.” He said coldly, glancing at the monitors as they began showing his heart beat on the screen. “She knew, and I didn’t. She is involved and I’m not. How is that fair?”

“You’re his son. He wanted to make it easier on you, at least that’s what I think.”

“Well, you should know, he’s been with you nearly every hour of every day.”

Laura lowered her face and bit her lip, feeling Lee’s bitterness wash over her. She didn’t want to retaliate, knowing that he was in a state and probably didn’t mean anything by it. He was worried about his father.

Cottle walked over and began assessing Bill, looking over his body, looking at the machines and filling out the form he had in his hand. Gaius was watching him nervously, observing from over his shoulder. “His heart beat is steady,” Cottle said, noting it down and then turning the sheet over.

Lee felt his body fill with anger as he watched his Dad lying in the bed. He looked out of the corner of his eye and glared at Laura, his mind telling him it was her fault, but his heart telling him the opposite. He bit his lip, clenching his fists. It was no use, his temper was rising. “This is your fault,” he spat, turning towards her.

“No, it’s not,” she said, her eyes filling with fresh tears. “This was going to happen. It was meant to happen. Lee, I know you want to be mad at someone, but it’s nobody’s fault but the person doing this. Someone is doing this to him.”

Cottle jumped when the machine’s started beeping, Bill’s heart rate skyrocketing as he lay there, he looked up at the arguing couple and then to Bill, his face scrunched. “How odd,” he said, moving around to the monitor. “Will you two stop your bickering, I need quiet.”

Both Laura and Lee looked at the bed and moved forward, watching as Cottle worked on the machine. The silence from both of them seemed to wash over the room and Bill’s heart-rate stabilised.

“If he dies…” Lee shouted, staring at Laura and then to his Dad.

Laura sniffed, turning her face away and wiping her eyes. “This is someone’s fault, Captain Apollo. Someone else needs to be stopped. I did my best to make him stay.”

The machine started beeping loudly again and Cottle stared at them. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

---------

Bill could hear the mumbling of voices around him, his head aching and his blood still pumping in his ears. He felt calm, he felt better. Tiredness was washing over him and he hovered around consciousness, wondering what to do, letting his mind think.

“This is your fault.”

“No, it’s not.” He heard Laura’s voice shake and he could tell that she was beginning to cry. Almost at once he felt his ears ring and the anger begin bubbling in his chest like a volcano. It wasn’t her fault. How could it be? He could hear nothing, just the deep reverberation of voices, words undistinguishable.

His heart slowed and his ears stopped ringing, his mind beginning to calm and the fire which had erupted in his chest died down. All he wanted to do was sleep.

“If he dies…”

“This is someone’s fault, Captain Apollo. Someone else needs to be stopped. I did my best to make him stay.” Bill heard Laura sob and he tried to call out to her, let her know that it was all going to be ok. As if by chance, his ears began ringing again and the burning sensation in his stomach started, his temper rising in his chest. He wanted to scream and yell.

----

Cottle stepped out of the curtain, pulling Gaius with him. “Madam President, this is not going to be good. This is not going to be good for either of you.”

</div>

The Rising Red- Chapter 9- The Ever Pressing Decision.

splodge04 — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:09:05 GMT

Just to quickly post this before I shoot out the door again!
This is, as I just found out, currently the 2nd longest fic on SI and I haven't even finished yet LMAO

BSG Fic- The Rising Red
(It's also uploaded at Survival Instinct for those who prefer that format.)

Summary: An angsty and slightly AU fic surrounding Adama and Roslin. The President's life is jeopardy and it's only a matter of time until it's too late.
Rated: M
Disclaimer: These character are unfortunately not mine! I'm just putting them into my own little storyline to keep me entertained.
It's set after Epiphanies and before Sacrifice in Season 2.

Thanks to my two lovely beta's trickalicious78 and laharah

Chapter 9- The Ever Pressing Decision Word Count:7683
Chapter 1 can be found here. Chapter 5 can be found here
Chapter 2 can be found here. Chapter 6 can be found here
Chapter 3 can be found here Chapter 7 can be found here
Chapter 4 can be found here Chapter 8 can be found here.

Chapter 9- The Ever Pressing Decision

Bill watched carefully as the Quorum members sat themselves down on the various chairs around the small meeting room. Their faces blank, completely unaware of what they were putting Laura through, oblivious to the situation and the mess which was going on throughout the fleet. Yes, they knew about the explosions, which might be why they were here now, but they didn’t know the dark work which was going on behind it.

Laura said her hello’s, shaking their hands and smiling politely whilst maintaining eye contact with each and every single one of them. She was good at her job, but there would be a cost from this meeting. When she sat down next to him, Bill caught her eye and they stared at each other for a brief moment, understanding what the other was thinking. Laura didn’t want to be here, but it was her job and that came above all else. Bill didn’t want her being there either, but knew that he couldn’t argue with her. What pained him the most was what she was feeling now and was probably going to endure throughout this meeting. She was in pain. It was a bad headache, he could tell by the way she kept avoiding the light and the brightness of the paper in front of her. Although, even in the beginning, Bill could tell that the lack of sleep was affecting her, it was so much more prominent now. Her eyes, her lovely green eyes, were surrounded by red, the area around her eyes was puffy and dark. This meeting was going to cost her more then he believed she had anticipated. The Quorum meetings were usually tiresome, but the energy required to maintain the constant bombardment from the 12 members was necessarily high. With the headache she had, the lack of sleep she had been having and, no doubt, the worry and pain she was holding in was going to make it that much more difficult.

When she caught him staring she looked away, watching as Starbuck entered the room, a package in her hand. After making eye contact, Laura put her hand briefly over her eyes as she gazed down at the bright white paper on her lap.

Bill rubbed his arm gently as he felt it throb under the thick material of this jacket. It had annoyed him greatly that the marine had barged into him like that, it just wasn’t acceptable. There was a rec room for silly games like that, the corridors were not a place for ball games.

“Madam President, so nice of you to agree to have this meeting with us,” a tall woman with thick blonde hair said, sifting through the papers on her lap. “I’m afraid we have a lot to talk about.”

Laura grimaced slightly, peering up at the woman, a forced smile setting on her features. “Well, I hope none of it is too serious.”

“Well, the topics are not good. We felt that we needed to get on top of all of the pressing matters of the fleet.”

“Of course,” Laura said, smiling into the distance as she peered over the tops of their heads. “Where shall we begin?”

“It has come to our attention, Madam President, that supplies are becoming more and more scarce among the three smaller liners. I’ve been told by the Captains of these vessels that issues have been raised, but nothing has come of it. I think that it is highly unacceptable that these three ships should be suffering the way they are.” She looked around the room at all of the nodding heads and handed Laura a piece of paper. “It says there that the transmissions were received, yet the goods have not been sent!”

Laura gazed wearily down at the piece of paper and read over the lists and numbers. It was true, the goods hadn’t arrived. “Admiral Adama, it seems as if these goods were requested from Galactica itself. Do you know anything about it?”

Bill caught her eyes briefly and then looked down at the piece of paper. “There are authorisation codes here.” He looked at the number. “They have either been acknowledged by myself or the C/O, this means they have indeed left the ship.”

“Well, where are the goods then? If you don’t mind me asking,” the woman said coldly, taking the piece of paper from him.

“I will investigate that matter and get back to you later. But it will be fixed, you have my word on that.”

The woman gazed at him and said no more; they very rarely ever questioned him after making a statement like that. They knew who he was and what he was capable of, it just stood to reason that they shouldn’t push him. The dark haired gentleman from Tauron twitched as he picked up his papers. “Well, Madam President, with regards to the explosions that took place, and the now overcrowded capacity of the ships where the occupants of the Carina were sent to, we need to know it will be acceptable for them to return to their vessel. The living constraints and the overall living conditions are now poor. We need to see some sort of movement or there will be rioting.” He smiled politely and passed her another piece of paper.

Laura nodded, a barely audible sigh crossing her lips as she gazed down at another brilliant white piece of paper. Bill watched as she recoiled, her eyes closing briefly before opening and gazing down again. “We know that repairs have started and I suspect that it shouldn’t be too long. Will you let the passengers know?”

“Know what, Madam President?”

Laura continued to gaze at the paper, trying to recollect her thoughts. “Oh, umm, just let them know what we are doing the best we can and we will have the ship ready as soon as possible.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“We’re still waiting for your report, too, Madam President.” The woman closest to her opened her briefcase and pulled out a book-like mass of paper.

“Report?” Laura said worriedly, putting down the paper in her hand.

“Yes, the one that we are having trouble collecting the data for.” Bill grumbled, eyeing the woman. “If I remember correctly, it was requested that there be a reshuffle of the passengers of various ships to maximise space and efficiency. Also, if I recall correctly, that was put to the bottom of the agenda. There are far more important things going on at the moment, as you will probably understand. We have an issue with terrorism and I can’t justify the movement of people. This report will wait until further notice. It will wait until I am satisfied that we have a hold on what is going on.”

The woman’s face turned red and she put her papers on the desk. “It was arranged that the data would be ready for the next meeting.”

“There will not be any movement within this fleet until I’m satisfied it is secure. If any one of these people gets on board another ship, do you want to be there when they try blow that one up?” Bill said angrily, leaning forward in his chair.

“No.”

“Exactly.”

Laura watched Bill gratefully as he leaned back. She lifted up her glass of water and took a few sips before readjusting herself. “What else?” Papers began shuffling and Laura rolled her eyes, realising she was in for a long day.

----

With the meeting finished and her head thumping at a completely unbearable level, Laura could not wait to get back to Bill’s quarters. She knew that it might not go away and it might be with her for another few hours, but at least she would be out of the way of the Quorum members. As passionate as they were about the cause, they were annoying and always extended things to the breaking point. Laura felt like she was about to fall apart.

Kara walked up beside her, Bill on the other. As she entered the corridor, she paused, closing her eyes and steadying herself. The light was torture. She squinted through the lenses of her glasses and continued to plough forward.

“Madam President?” Kara said, holding the package up. “I got something for you. Took me most of last night to sort out, but I figured it’d do you some good.”

Laura nodded her head slowly and gave Kara a faint smile, continuing to look forward as she felt her head thump and her eyes pound. It was slowly progressing into a migraine if she knew well enough. This was not good.

“I think it best if you take a lie down when you get back,” Bill mumbled quietly, walking beside her and keeping up with her quick pace. “You’ve gone all pale.”

Laura ran her fingers over her forehead, keeping her feet moving as fast as she could. She just wanted to lock herself away, turn the lights off and cry, do something to try and stop the pain.

Bill’s quarters came into view and she moved as fast as she could. Bill opened the hatch and Kara walked in first, giving it the once over before letting Laura in. As soon as she crossed the threshold, she turned the lights down and walked over to the couch, slumping onto it.

“I’ll leave this here for you, Ma’am. Just let me know if they fit ok.” Kara saluted and exited the Admiral‘s quarters, sensing that the President wanted to be alone.

Bill looked at the package, totally unsure about what it could be. Why would Starbuck be getting Laura something to wear? Then he sat down next to Laura, who had her face scrunched up. “You ok?”

Laura shook her head and grimaced, folding her arm over her eyes. She’d had very few migraines in her life, but each time she had managed to get a grip on it. Pain medication was a Gods send, and it did the job. With a little sleep it would go away. What does a person do if they can’t get chemical relief or sleep? The answer: grit through it.

Bill stood up. “Do you want me to get Cottle?”

Laura shook her head slightly, leaning back into the couch, lifting her legs up and lying down on her side. “He won’t be able to do anything,” she whispered. “I can’t have pain meds. There is nothing for him to do.”

Bill sighed, kneeling down on the floor so that he was eyelevel with her. “Laura, you know there is an option. Cottle gave you one.”

Laura moved her arm, peeking out at him from the shield of darkness she had made with her arm. “I’m not letting him put me under like that. It might not work anyway. People need me here, Bill.”

Bill shook his head before standing up and walking over to the water jug. He pulled out the biggest glass he could find and filled it up. He placed this onto the table in front of her. “You need to drink plenty of fluids.” Bill paused as she rolled over to look away from him, grabbing one of the large brown cushions and wrapping her arms around it. “How about you go lie down in my rack?”

“I don’t want to move. I’ll be fine.” She turned her head a little so she could see. “Will you be going anywhere?”

Bill looked at the clock. Tigh had told him that he would watch the fleet for as long as he needed, spending most of his time in the CIC until he needed to rest then Gaeta would take over. It wasn’t the best solution and Bill was going to do as much as he could. Maybe he could relieve him later? “I’m not going anywhere yet. I might have to later. I think I’m going to do some more reading and see what I can find.”

“Ok,” Laura whispered, rolling back over and burying her face into the cushion, pulling her legs up close to her body.

Bill heard her sigh and he shook his head. How was he to know that this wasn’t something to do with the drug in her system? He couldn’t help but worry because of the nature of her condition. Although it remained uncertain about how hard it would hit her at the end, he knew that without any intervention it would arrive and take her from him. Something would come for him too, but as much as he wanted to survive, he could sense deep inside himself that the need for her to survive was far greater. He was a man of fact, a man of truth, but sometimes Bill couldn’t help wonder if sometimes the scrolls held some element of truth. Was it Laura that was altering his perceptions? Or the uncertain times he found himself in? Either way, he knew that he must try and protect her more than himself. She was important, not only to him, but to the whole human race.

----

The light inside his quarters was dim, but Bill could still make out the writing beneath him because of the small lamp he was seated by. The light wasn’t too bright, but the orange rays were dancing on the paper letting him sit and ponder over the implicitness of the text. Why couldn’t something like this be obvious? Why couldn’t it be efficient at directing its words? A frustrated grumble passed his lips as he began another relentless reread of the page beneath him, his patience dwindling every time he had to re-evaluate the page.

After contemplating over another seemingly unobvious sentence with a number of different meanings, he glanced over to the form curled up on his couch. Laura’s slim fragile body lay quietly along the brown leather surface, her shallow breathing resonating around his room, reminding him constantly that she was still there and very much in pain. Migraines were frustrating, painful and a hindrance to anybody. What made the situation worse for him was the lack of means to do anything. Completely useless against something so minute, something so easily fixed with the right medication. Unfortunately, no matter what he thought he could do he knew he couldn’t, all he could do was sit and watch, trying to find anything that could help either of them.

Laura moved slightly, adjusting herself, the light from his lamp shining across her face, the pale pallor of her skin and the dark bags under her eyes were the main signs of her situation. She slowly scrunched up her face, her hand moving to her forehead where it rested just above her brow, her fingers pressing down on her eyelids. His gaze lingered long enough to see her mouth ‘frak’ and adjust her position again, turning her back on him.

The glass in front of him was filled with chilled water, and he took a few sips before turning back to the book and the paragraph which had plagued him the most, the meanings were in the masses and he wasn’t sure if he would be able to wrap his mind around it, having failed to think of anything straight away.

“An uncertain connection lingers in the air between two souls. Uncertain about the direction and uncertain about the truths. Their similar interests keep them in line. Like a caged angel, one will break free and make their way to the side in which they were destined.”

To Bill, there were so many uncertain possibilities that could come from such an obscure paragraph. When he thought about it, the idea of ‘two souls’ could ultimately make it many different people and even if he were to narrow it down, there were still more than a handful. If ‘similar interests,’ were to play a part in deciding the identity of the pair, there would still be a handful. It was decidedly difficult. But, ultimately, the line which had plagued him more than any other was this idea of an angel breaking free. If, as he had first thought, the pair to be himself and Laura, then was the angel that was to break free her? Would she take a dramatic turn? His eyes slid to her curled form and his stomach knotted with worry. The only way he could possibly get to the bottom was to plough on and evaluate this whole book, add to the timeline and try his damned hardest to make sure she was going to be ok.

As time progressed Bill couldn’t help but evaluate his own situation. Although they were both in a mess; like rivers, they would eventually merge, but until then they were rivers running parallel to each other, their courses twisting and moving away and towards each other in a vast array of plot lines. Since Laura had figured out that he would be targeted, he had not sat down and considered everything. All of his energy had been put towards Laura and her campaign for life.

The pages beneath him were not offering any consolation or comfort, but they weren’t giving him any insight into what was going to happen to him either. It was incredibly frustrating. All he knew really was that “aggression and misdirection would overcome him.” It made him dread what was coming in a way that he had never thought of before. If misdirection was on the cards, how did he know that he was going to be misguided from his mission to keep Laura safe? What if something happened that would make him divert from that? And aggression? Well, that in itself was a hard thing to comprehend. As a few days earlier when he has lost his temper he had felt a rage burn within him. Coming to terms with the idea that aggression might become hideously apparent made him worry for himself and people around him.

Today would be his downfall, apparently, but he could not hope that this book was pure and utter coincidence. As a skeptical man, he knew that things happened by chance and that they were never really as simple as they could be planned. Although accurate- scarily accurate- there was still a side to him that thought it could change. What if Laura was right- it was just something to overcome?

As well as beginning to think about what was going on with him, he suddenly felt daunted by what Laura might be going through. He had only really touched the tip of the iceberg as he contemplated his situation, and it worried him. Laura, however, had been dealt a pitiful hand and was trying her hardest to get through it. Before, he could only speculate and try and understand what she was going through, but now, from reading this he could understand slowly what she was trying to overcome, everything he had heard her talk about. The uncertain gazes, frustrated sighs, the moments when her eyes told him she was scared and the overwhelming fear he knew she must feel. Even more frightening, it was making more sense. Bill looked over to her, watching the way she had her arms wrapped around the cushion and her face slanted at an angle, her forehead creased. They were both in a similar boat, but he would do anything at that moment to take it all away from her. He couldn’t bare seeing this taking hold of her more and more each day.

---

Laura had felt the pain in her head slowly begin to lessen. The pressure behind her eyes and the pain in her head were now slightly more bearable. She blinked, and rolled over, slowly letting her eyes focus on the objects in the distance, small coloured dots dancing around. When her eyes began to focus she could make out Bill’s hunched figure, who was reading the book , a pen in his hand and a deep look of concentration etched across his face. That man was a fighter and as far as she could tell, was doing everything he could with regards to the book to help her. It made her feel warm inside because of the devotion he was showing her, but at the same time it increased her worry. If he was going over everything for her, when would he stop and try and help himself? She wanted him to stay out of harm’s way, the book telling them that something would happen to him today, yet he was still persistent in the quest for her.

Laura wrapped her arms around the cushion, tightening her grip on it, lying her head on the warm brown surface, continuing to gaze at Bill as he worked, watching as he absentmindedly scratched his arm and scrunched up his face as he read.. She was tired, and not just in a physical sense anymore. Her brain and it’s usual alertness was low, her mind tired and fuzzy. The concentration she used to have was dwindling, her brain finding it hard to concentrate on the simplest things. Her body was now turning against her, the tiredness of her muscles turning into aches. When she looked around she could feel her eyes burn slightly from their lack of rest that was brought about by sleep. She sighed lightly and hooked her legs up further to her body, a chill running down her side, she readjusted her skirt.

When her eyes lifted back up to Bill she caught his gaze. He looked over his glasses and his lips twitched into a small smile. “Hi.”

Laura sat up and brought her legs around so her feet were back on the floor. “Hi.”

Bill put the book down at put both of his hands down on the desk, eyeing her carefully, watching as she took a sip of water. “You feeling any better?”

Laura nodded, getting up and moving over to this desk, sitting down in front of him. “A little, yes.”

Bill nodded. “That’s good then,” he said, scratching his arm again and taking another sip of water.

“It is.” She watched Bill carefully, having noted that he had scratched his arm once before, and although it could be anything, he didn’t seem happy about it when he rubbed the area. “What’s wrong with your arm?” Laura said worriedly, peering at him as he scratched it again. She couldn’t help but worry, they both knew that something was going to happen today and it made her fear for him.

Bill could feel the itch on his arm heighten and it made his skin crawl. All he wanted to do was scratch it and scratch it, to feel the relief as his hands rubbed the area. “Oh, I just have an itch that won’t go away, you know how it is sometimes.” He looked back down at the book and turned the page over, sighing as he read yet another cryptic sentence. “These words are so…cryptic, I just don’t-”

“Bill, take your jacket off,” Laura said, peering at the area on his arm, his hands rubbing it again. She stood slowly and moved around to his side of the desk.

Bill looked at her, completely puzzled by her sudden actions. “Excuse me?”

Laura’s hands reached down and began undoing his top button. She could see the bewildered look in his eyes, but she had to do it just so she could see if anything was wrong. You could never be to careful, not at the moment at least. Even the most subtle things could turn out to be something bad, as she had found out for herself. “Bill, I want you to take off your jacket for me.”

Bill didn’t know what to think. Why would she want to undress him? A sudden thought dawned on him and he reached for her hand. “We can’t.”

“Oh Bill, I’m not trying to strip you down for reasons like that!” She pulled her hand out of his and began undoing the next button. “I want to see your arm.”

Bill moved out of her way. “Why?”

Laura rolled her eyes and folded her arms. “I want to see it because you keep scratching it! It could be something we need to see. So, come on, get it off.”

Bill began to undo his buttons, watching as she tapped her foot impatiently. When the jacket came away from his body he felt Laura’s hand wrap around his arm, looking at it carefully through the lenses of her glasses.

Laura ran her fingers over the surface, the area slightly purple where a bruise was forming. But, right in the middle was a small puncture mark, barely visible but most definitely there. She rested her hand on the desk and brought her other to her mouth. “Oh, Bill.”

Bill could see the worry fill her eyes along with the tears. “What?”

Laura felt sick, it had already happened. Someone had got to him and uncertainty would wash over him like it had to her. What if it was something worse then what she was going through? What if it was something quicker? Worry, sadness and a horrible sense of guilt washed over her as she looked down at his arm. She should have forced him to stay in, or she should have not gone to the meeting. “You need to see Cottle,” she mumbled, taking his hand and pulling him to his feet.

“Why? I don’t understand.” Bill said, alarmed by her expression.

“Look at your arm, Bill. Look,” she pointed to the puncture mark. “Can you see it? Right there. They got you.”

Bill’s face dropped and he shook his head. “But how?”

Laura shrugged and picked up his jacket. “Come on, I’m taking you to see Cottle.” And, alarmingly enough, Bill Adama did not complain, he got to his feet and walked with her to the hatch, his face blank.

-----

“Who was that on the phone, honey?” She said, slipping her hand around his waist as he put the phone back on the side.

“The lab. They want me to drop off some of my formula sheets so they can run through the preliminaries.” He took her hand in his. “I don’t want to go though.”

She smiled, her bright white teeth flashing as she moved forward and placed herself in front of him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Formula sheets?”

He smiled, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. “You know I can’t talk about them. The government isn’t all for letting out their little secrets.”

She ran her fingers down the side of his face gently, then mumbling, “are you going to go now?”

“No. I figured I’d drop them over later, after taking you out to dinner.” Her face lit up and she kissed him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

“You’re the best.”

What he couldn’t bear about the relationship that he had had with her was the fact
that, to him, it was perfect. He’d never thought that anything was wrong between them. She was always happy, and he was always happy because of her. It was simple, wonderful, perfect and when she had gone he had felt his heart crack into two. Time was meant to heal the wound he had received, but it hadn’t, it had only fuelled the passion inside him to get her back, to find her and make her his again.

------

“Oh for Frak sake,” Cottle yelled, pushing his way out of the curtain towards the Admiral and the President. “You mean to tell me, I have to worry about the two of you now?”

Bill side glanced to Laura who was stood, her hands clasped tightly together and her lips set in a thin line. “We don’t know,” Bill grumbled. “That’s why we’re here. My blood work has been clean, so hopefully you can check it again.”

Cottle walked off into the distance so Laura and Bill followed. “Sit,” Cottle mumbled, his cigarette stuck in his mouth. “Show me.”

Bill pulled his jacket off and moved his arm forward, the skin had turned a deep purple, the bruise deepening in colour. Cottle leaned forward and peered at the area, the small puncture hole hiding amongst the sea of purple. “That is definitely a needle mark. I take it you know nothing?”

Bill shook his head, staring miserably at the white cotton sheets around him suddenly becoming increasingly aware that he may be in here more often now, if things were to take a dramatic downfall with himself or Laura. He felt fine, nothing felt wrong…maybe it didn’t in the beginning.

Laura peered down at him, her heart in her throat. It was almost as if he’d gone numb, nothing passing his lips, nothing being reflected. Just nothing. He was gazing down at the sheets, his face blank and empty. A strong façade to take on the day, she had thought, but she wouldn’t have it, not from him. She felt a huge sense of responsibility towards Bill, towards his work and the way he was. He had been there, at the beginning, forcing her to come to terms with what was happening, helping her, holding her and making it known he would be there. Not in a million years would she toss that aside to let him plough forward alone. As stubborn as he was, and as strong willed, keeping his feelings as locked down as tight as he could, she wouldn’t let them simmer. They would both rise to the situation, taking it head on, fighting for their right to survive.

“Well,” Cottle mumbled, taking another glance at his arm. “The needle alone wouldn’t have caused such bruising. You been fighting or something?”

Bill shook his head, peering down at the bruise himself, his forearm purple in comparison to his olive coloured skin. “I don’t know how I got it.”

Laura looked at it, the area where it was and it suddenly dawned on her, making her breath catch in her throat. It was so obvious! “Bill,” she whispered, taking hold of the bed and closing her eyes. “Bill, do you not remember? That man, he knocked into you earlier. You took a heavy bash to your side…you arm.”

Bill peered at her face, watching as she opened her eyes, alarm and worry sitting in the deep pools of green. Pity washed over her face, making him close his eyes in retort. “The idiot,” he mumbled, grabbing his jacket. A sickly feeling rose in his stomach, anger bubbling beneath it. He had been fooled and attacked by his own officer. Someone who had worked with him for a long time.

When Bill raised his eyes to Laura she noticed at once the sudden change in his features. They were dark and deep, his eyes had turned cold and the area around them had narrowed. He began putting his other arm into his jacket, his lips pulled tight and his jaw clenched to an alarming point so that it stuck out. “Take the blood sample,” he mumbled angrily through his clenched jaw.

Cottle shook his head. “You aren’t going anywhere.”

Bill’s head turned at lightning speed, his dark glare washing over Cottle like a rash. “Take it.”

Laura put her hand on his shoulder and he pulled himself away. “I’m getting Starbuck down here, I have something to take care of. I know who it was and I am not frakking staying here letting the bastard do whatever the frak he wants,” Bill said, his voice dragging out in a hard aggressive mumble.

Laura, put her arm back down and looked to Cottle who was looking concerned, his cigarette sitting at his side. “I’m coming with you,” she said quietly.

“No you’re not.”

“I know you’re going to go. You want me to wait here for Starbuck to arrive? You want to me to wait? Here? Alone?” She folded her arms and shook her head. “You told me that it was called shadowing, I would be your shadow as you were to mine. Don’t you dare frakking think that you are going to leave me here. Impatience isn’t a good thing, and there you are, ready to jump the gun when you don’t know what is going to happen to you! You want to leave here like a raging bull. I can see it in your eyes. What good will it accomplish? What good? At least think about it!”

Bill didn’t look at her, he watched as Cottle pulled out a needle and scurried around to find a vial. “Listen to me. If I wait here, knowing full well who it is, he might get away. Then what do we have? WHAT? It all comes down to how we act, Laura, and I am not sitting here being poked and prodded in an attempt to find out if there is anything wrong. The blood will tell, but I’m not waiting to find out.” He watched as the needle went in and he sat fidgeting, waiting to get up and leave.

“What if you just keel over? What if something happens and you just-”

“Sometimes you have to take chances.”

“Chances, hah. What’s more important then life, Bill?” She turned her back to him and exited the curtain, tears stinging at her eyes.

Bill shook his head, pulling on his jacket and standing up, doing the buttons up quickly. “I’ll be back later.”

Cottle nodded his head. “I don’t know what it is about you two, but the pair of you are ridiculously stubborn to see and embrace the obvious.”

Bill gave him a side-glance before exiting the curtain. He watched as Laura stood back, wiping her eyes, her back turned to him. He shook his head and looked at the time, shift rotation would be starting now and he would have to move to catch this man. “If you’re coming with me then you’re coming with me. Stay by my side. We’re going to the CIC.”

-------

The marine opened the hatch quickly, stepping inside and standing tall, his gun in his hand and a hard look on his face. “I’m here to relieve you, orders from the C/O.”

The man who had been guarding the prisoners cell, eyed him up suspiciously, uncertainty washing over him as he had been unaware of shift changes taking place now. As far as he had been aware he wasn’t on the regular change. “I only take orders from the Admiral or the President. I’m not leaving until I get confirmation from either of them.” He pulled his gun up and pointed it at the marine, eyeing up the door. “So, go and get confirmation otherwise you aren’t stepping foot in here at all.”

Geoffrey watched avidly from behind his bars, noticing the tension. He peered forwards, seeing someone familiar standing by the door. He knew that man, and what came with him was not good. “You,” he said loud enough for the guard to hear.

As the guard looked to Geoffrey, seeing the recognition in the prisoners eyes, he missed the swooping hand of the marine, who knocked him hard on the head, sending him to the floor.

“You know what you need to do,” the marine said, pulling the gun out of the guards hand. “Come on, we’re going back.” He pulled out the keys and opened the door, letting him out.

Geoffrey stepped outside of the cell door and peered down at the unconscious man on the floor, his stomach knotting and his head spinning with possibilities. It didn’t feel right to him. He didn’t feel as if he was meant to go anywhere yet.

“You know what to do, he said you would.” The marine began undressing the guard on the floor. “You might want to step into these. They might be a bit tight, but he’s a similar build.”

Geoffrey walked over to the clothes and began picking them up off of the floor, sliding his big frame into each of the items. The marine, who he had seen before was waiting patiently for him, standing by the hatch with his gun in his hand. Geoffrey felt himself move forward quickly, taking the gun out of his hand and slamming his fist into his face. Blood splattered from his broken nose, and he fell to the floor, knocked out cold. He didn’t know why, but Geoffrey knew he had to find the President. This would be the ultimate showdown of faith and the side in which he must choose. Although he pretty much knew what he was going to do, he couldn’t help but wonder if other things would become apparent before then and swing him in the other direction.

-----

Bill entered the CIC, the familiar lights washing over him as he made his way down to the centre. Tigh looked up as he walked down, Laura at his side. “Do you have the sheets for shift rotations?”

Tigh stared for a few moments, slightly alarmed at the sudden presence of both the Admiral and President, their faces showing him that something was amiss. “They’ll be here somewhere. Mr Gaeta?”

Gaeta walked over to his terminal and fished through the massive pile of papers that had built up there. “These were submitted the other day, sir.”

Bill pulled it from his hand and put it on the light console, peering down at the list. It was good that Bill knew the names of pretty much all of his crew. Jones was who he was looking for, after thinking about it on the way he had recognised the young man’s face. The man had been assigned to his ship a few weeks before the attack, having been moved from his previous ship due to a decrease in work force. He was young and passionate about the cause, but now, Bill was having second thoughts entirely. “Get Starbuck down here now,” Bill yelled to Dee who was stood observing from her area, her headphones hanging around her neck.

Laura watched as Bill flipped through pages and pages of names, trying to find the man who had done this to him. The lights from the light table were washing over his face and she could see the anger on his face. It was a very unusual sight for her, as he had very rarely shown her that side of him, having kept himself to himself on most days. It wasn’t nice to see his face scrunched up and his eyes boring angry holes into the paper.

Bill’s eyes fell upon the name and he looked up to Tigh. “Jones, he’s doing supply runs?”

Tigh nodded. “Yes.”

Bill looked at Laura. It all began making sense, falling into place like a penny in the slot. The supplies that hadn’t been making it to their vessels, and here was the evidence that Jones was very much a key in this unravelling plot. It had been him all along. One of his own men! “What time is his first run?”

Tigh looked down at his piece of paper, glancing over it and then looking at the dradis console. “Well, I sent him down to the brig to hand the guard the rotation schedule, so he might still be down there.”

Laura stepped forward. “The brig?”

Tigh nodded, bewildered by the sudden bombardment of questions. “Yes, the brig. What’s going on?”

Bill curled up his fist and shook his head. “I’ll tell you later. Madam President, when Starbuck gets here I want you and her to go back to my quarters. I’m going to go down to the brig and deal with this.”

On cue, Starbuck walked down into CIC very quickly, her face puzzled. “You rang?” she said, walking to the side of Laura.

“Starbuck, take the President back to my quarters right away. Do not let her leave your sight.” Bill turned to Tigh and nodded his head. “I don’t want any raptors leaving this ship!”

Laura looked worried and Starbuck stood next to her. “What’s going on, Ma’am?”

“I’ll tell you when we get to the Admiral’s quarters. Lets go.” Laura took one last look at Bill,
his face crumpled, their gaze meeting briefly before she walked up the steps and out of the CIC, Starbuck right on her heels.

-------

Bill walked into the brig, four marines right behind him, his glasses resting on his
face. On the floor lay Jones, his uniform covered in drying blood, his nose dripping slightly, the red fluid dribbling down his chin. Behind him lay the guard, his uniform gone, his body limp. When Bill gazed around the room it became obvious that the prisoner was no longer around. He moved over to the phone and picked it up.

“Get me Colonel Tigh,” he yelled, peering around the room. “Sound the alarms, we have an escaped prisoner. You know what he looks like, get the description around. I want him found!”

High above him an alarm started to ring, the red lights flashed above, lighting the room every few minutes. Bill bent down, his heart beating angrily in his chest and picked up Jones from the floor, pushing him against one of the solid bulkheads.

Jones, who had been unconscious opened his eyes groggily before coughing and yelping in pain, trying to lift his hands to his nose. “Oh, sir, the prisoner…argh…he escaped. Got the both of us.”

Bill narrowed his eyes and pushed him hard against the bulkhead again. “I find that very hard to believe,” he growled. “You’re under arrest.” He turned to the marines. “Put him in the brig and get the medics down here to see to him,” he said pointing to the half naked and unconscious guard on the floor.

----------

The alarm started blaring and the lights started flashing, shocking Laura as she walked down an empty corridor. “What does that mean?” she said worriedly, slowing herself down and looking up to the ceiling.

Starbuck reached for her gun and took hold of the President’s arm. “We have an escaped prisoner. We need to get you to the Admiral’s quarters right away.”

“Geoffrey,” Laura mumbled, walking quickly as she felt Starbuck push her from behind. Bill had gotten to the brig, had there been a conflict? Had he been hurt? Laura’s heart started racing and she could feel her face flush with the thought of Bill getting hurt.

----------

Geoffrey paused, the whole corridor coming alive with bright red lights and a deep ringing noise. It didn’t sound good. He pulled the gun close to his chest and carried on walking, hoping to find his destination soon. Deep down he knew that he had to get to the Admiral’s quarters, his instincts telling him that would be where the President would eventually be.

After a few more moments of walking he came to a long corridor, a hatch situated on the right side, guards waiting outside. Geoffrey gulped, racking his mind, trying to figure out how to get them out of the way. It was horrible when he had to go on a hunch, you never knew how it was going to play out.

“We have a situation,” Geoffrey yelled, keeping most of his face covered as he ran. “A prisoner has escaped, we need to you to go and check down here. The Admiral wants all of the vents and unused rooms checked.”

The marines looked at each other, and then to the flashing lights. They nodded their heads, gazing at him briefly before setting off on a jog.

Geoffrey smiled, satisfied with his lie. He pulled open the hatch, looked down the corridor and then entered, turning the lights off hiding away until she arrived.

-----------

Tigh looked up at the dradis, watching as a raptor moved away from the Galactica, it’s transponder flashing awkwardly before disappearing off of the radar. He growled angrily, knowing that the Admiral was not going to be pleased. The prisoner must have been on that ship, that raptor being the one due to make the run out for the ambrosia later that evening.

“Frak,” he yelled, slamming his hand down on the dradis console. “Get me the Chief!”

----

Laura and Starbuck came tumbling down the corridor, walking speedily towards Bill’s quarters. Starbuck was not happy, she didn’t like the whole situation, her instincts telling her that something was going to happen. She tightened her grip on her gun, watching all around her as the alarm carried on ringing.

“Once we get inside I’m going to lock the door. We’re not moving until I hear from the Admiral.”

“That’s fine,” Laura spluttered, trying to catch her breath, the muscles in her legs protesting with every step she made in her heels.

Starbuck grabbed hold of the hatch and swung it open, walking inside. The lights were off, that wasn’t a good sign. “Step back,” she whispered to Laura, sensing something really was not right.

A strong arm grabbed hold of Starbuck, knocking the gun out of her hand and sending her to the floor. The hatch came to a close behind them, the sound of it locking as both of them peered around at the darkness.

Laura panicked and tried to run out of the way, but failed, only colliding with the body of Starbuck who was trying to get up off of the floor. Both of them cursed, trying to untangle themselves from the heap on the floor.

The lights came on, making both of them recoil before peering up at their attacker.

“Geoffrey,” Laura whispered, looking up at the monstrous man.

“I’ve been thinking, and I’m not sure where I stand at this moment. But…I’m here to choose my side,” he said calmly, holding the gun tightly against his chest.</div>

The Rising Red- Chapter 8- A Late Night Correspondence.

splodge04 — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 08:14:46 GMT

Chapter 8- A Late Night Correspondence.

Laura sat staring across the room where Bill was dozing at the desk, his glasses skewed and leaning at a dangerous angle as he rested his head on his arms. He’d spent the last few hours flicking through a book and the papers they had received from Zarek. Next to that, by his lamp, was the time-line which she had drawn out. Small intricate notes and phrases had been copied into each relevant space, the Admiral not wanting to leave anything out.

When he had asked her to do this line, she had done so, but her mind was not with it. As distant as she had been whilst he was picking out points and writing them down, she couldn’t help but drift further away, her attention waning as the minutes passed. He’d tolerated her quietness, turning to her every now and then to make sure that she understood what he was saying, writing it down and confirming its importance. She was surprised he hadn’t become frustrated with her; she didn’t say a word, just nodded or shook her head, her eyes staring at one of the many paintings on his walls. She wasn’t one for the intricacies and symbolism of the fine arts, but she was fascinated by the vast array of items that Bill had collected. His quarters were littered with different variations of art from books, pictures, statues and little ornate ornaments. The one thing that had caught her eye as he was rambling by her side was a small painting hidden away in the corner. A woman sat on the floor, her face withdrawn and grey against the multitude of summer colours splayed in the background. It dawned on her the relevance that the painting seemed to have at this moment in time. She felt like that woman who was sat by the side of a country road, the world continuing around her, glorious and bright. Wondrous things would continue around her, the birth of children, the love and passion of a newlywed couple. It was totally different in situation and there were never guarantees that the human race would survive and make it to Earth, but this woman, dressed in grey and her face pale, reminded her of herself at that very moment.

She didn’t mean to be so distant, but the whole conversation that had taken place in the brig had plagued her to the extent that it was all she could think about. The hope that she had held in her heart before conducting that conversation had rapidly evaporated as the man had spoken to her. There were so many questions she wanted to ask, and although she was pretty sure that the book which Bill now had his elbow on would house these answers, she felt much better about them coming from a person.

Inside she was giving up, but the line that the prisoner had spoken resonated with her. When she felt herself give in just little bit more it would rise to the surface, knocking her back into her senses. Deep inside she was giving up, but she was battling. She had to.

After Bill had been through the beginning weeks of the book, she could hear the familiar quietness of his voice as he had passed over the difficult areas. She didn’t want to hear them, so she lied about wanting to go to sleep. Of course, he hadn’t stopped her and she had taken her sleeping pills, hoping they would help quiet her mind and let her relax. After lying there for nearly an hour, she had found that they weren’t doing a thing. But, rather than letting Bill worry over her when he was so clearly engrossed in his work, she kept her eyes closed, just listening to him work and mumble little phrases. It was actually quite soothing to hear his voice. He would repeat a phrase over and over, his tone changing as he wrapped his mind around it.

What she wanted most at this moment was to get to the bottom of it all, but she knew that Bill would never let her go to the brig on her own, and she didn’t have the heart to wake him. She pulled the soft covers from her body, feeling the slight chill of Bill’s room wash over her as she sat up. She picked up a small blanket and wrapped that around her shoulders, treading carefully through his quarters, avoiding any crowded areas, just in case she was to bump into anything.

When she reached the centre of the room, she bent down and picked up her shoes, putting them on and then adjusting her clothes. If she was going to pull herself out of the hole she found herself in then she was going to have to find answers. She then made her way back over to the other side where the phone was, picking it up gently and placing it to her ear. “This is the President, I’d like you to put me through to Lieutenant Thrace, please.”

The corridors were even colder than Bill’s quarters, her tiny frame soaking in every cold particle that touched her body and made her shiver, her muscles spasming to create warmth. Kara should arrive soon and Laura was counting down the minutes until her body would be a little more active, making her way towards the brig.

It made her feel guilty, leaving Bill sleeping while she went out to find answers. But, she was a soft touch and couldn’t stand waking him up. He was exhausted, she could tell, and although he would have been useful, she almost felt as if it was something she had to do herself. After she had put the phone down, she removed Bill’s glasses and turned the lights down, leaving the room in a more comfortable environment for him.

“Madam President, it’s late.” Kara came around the corner, sporting a jumper and sweat pants.

“Yes, I know, I’m sorry to be keeping you up.” Laura gave her a courteous smile and fell into step beside Kara.

“I take it you’re not out this late to go and get drunk by any chance? I mean, I’m game and all.”

Laura laughed quietly; she had always enjoyed Kara Thrace‘s energy, and it was warming to hear jokes. It seemed as if many people were uptight around Laura when she was with them, giving her all the right attention a President was meant to receive. Kara, though, had a tendency to overstep that line, and Laura didn’t mind at all. It made her feel human. “Unfortunately, Lieutenant Thrace, getting drunk is the least of my worries at this moment. However, when the time comes, I’ll make sure you’re around to get that party started.”

Kara grinned, amused by the President’s retort, slightly taken aback by the statement. “You can call me Kara, you know, or Starbuck. Lieutenant Thrace is far too official for this time of night.”

Laura studied Kara’s face as they turned a corner. Although she hadn’t really gotten to know Kara as much as all of the other people around her, it was very clear to Laura why people liked her- Bill especially. “Ok, Staarrbuck,” she said, extending Kara’s name that bit more, adjusting to the way it sounded. “I must apologise again for getting you out of your rack at such a late hour. But, Bi- the Admiral was sleeping and I thought that he wouldn’t approve of me going out under the circumstances.” Laura blushed slightly at the obvious slip of Bill’s name.

“No need to apologise, ma’am, I was up anyway, playing cards. To be quite fair, I was getting bored, the people around me were such sore losers.” Kara moved to one side as a tall marine jogged past her.

“Laura, please. Well, I’m very appreciative.”

“That’s ok…Laura,” Kara said, scrunching her face up as she said the President’s name, not used to referring to the President so informally.

Laura turned down another corridor, eyeing the area carefully, hoping they were going in the right way. Upon seeing the same flight of stairs they had come by earlier, she nodded her head and mumbled to herself. As she stepped forward to start her climb, her heel got caught in the grate and she jolted to the side, knocking into Kara who grabbed her by the arm. “Whoa, there. You sure you didn’t start on the ambrosia already?” Kara giggled.

Laura smiled. “No, it’s these shoes, they don’t do so well on these standard military corridors.”

“You don’t have any flats?” Kara stepped back as Laura adjusted her footing and stance.

“No. I don’t really have any comfort wear aside from my sleepwear.”

Kara shook her head. “That’s wrong on so many levels. I’ll sort something out for you,” she smiled and waited for Laura to start up the steps. “Where are we going?”

Laura turned her head to look down the nearest corridor. “Well, I want to get down to the brig.”

Kara turned. “It’s probably best to go this way then. That way takes longer.”

Laura nodded her head and sighed. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to such a massive ship. I’ll almost certainly get lost.”

“Nah. You get used to it.”

“I hope so,” Lara chimed, following Kara down another extensively long corridor.

As they finally arrived on the same corridor that the brig was situated on, Laura slowed down, looking at a couple that were laughing and smiling in one of the small alcoves. Upon closer inspection, Laura couldn’t mistake the tall boyish figure of Billy, his smile wide and his hair, with the little curls, all neat and tidy in its usual style. A huge bout of warmth erupted inside of her stomach as she peered at the happy couple, seeing Billy plant a cute little kiss on Dualla’s cheek.

“Oh, give it a rest you two,” Starbuck shouted, putting two fingers in her mouth and pretending to gag.

Billy looked up and his jaw dropped, seeing Laura stood there a big goofy grin on her face. He blushed and looked at Dualla who was laughing at his reaction. He looked at his shoes and then lifted his hand and waved. “Hi.”

Laura just smiled, since first getting to know him, Billy had come a long way and she felt the pride well inside of her. “Don’t stay up too late,” she said, following Starbuck down the corridor. Once again she pictured the woman in the painting in Bill’s quarters, the world carrying on around her. The things she would miss if she went, or the things that would no longer be possible if the Cylons killed them all. A deep stab of sadness washed over her as she turned to see the pair walking slowly down the opposite corridor, hand in hand. They were happy, and she would never want anything or anyone to tear them apart.

“Here we are,” Starbuck announced, pausing in front of the hatch. She looked at Laura, her face puzzled. “You know, I only just thought about this…but why do you want to go here?”

Laura turned her gaze back to Kara who had her hands on her hips. “I came for answers.”

Kara nodded her head and pulled the hatch, a guard moving in front of the entrance, his gun in his hand.

“You can’t come in here without authorisation from the Admiral or the-”

“President, yeah, check your eyeballs, man, who do we have here?” Starbuck said sarcastically, pointing to the President.

“My mistake.” He grumbled stepping out of the way.

Laura wrapped her arms around herself and entered the brig, her eyes taking a long time to adjust to the darkness. “You can go.”

The guard just stared at her, and then looked to the prisoner.

“That means you’re dismissed,” Starbuck said, pointing to the door. “Geez, you can’t get good help these days, can you?” She watched as the officer left the brig, standing outside the hatch with his gun in his hand.

Kara pressed a button and the dim lights turned on, making the pair of them squint at the brightness. Laura, who had wandered over to the bars, could make out the outline of the prisoner who was curled up on his rack.

“I wondered if I’d get to see you again,” they heard him mumble sleepily, sitting up in his rack and looking towards them. The lines on his face were prominent as he yawned, his hair falling over his face. As he stood and stretched, Laura had to look up to take in the magnitude of this giant.

“I wanted to come and talk to you,” Laura said quietly, pulling the chair in the open cell, closer to the bars. “I know that this must be difficult, but I’d like to know a few things.”

Geoffrey stepped forward and planted his body on the floor, looking up at Laura as she watched him carefully. He crossed his legs, the blue fabric of his trousers straining as the muscles in his legs pressed against them. He did the top button of his pale blue shirt up and nodded his head. They had removed his red robes as soon as he had entered and he could now feel the chill of the ship. “Ok.”

Starbuck sat on the edge of the desk in the corner, keeping her distance, watched him intently, her whole body on full alert. After what had happened to her on that ship, she certainly was not going to risk anything else happening. Her fingers slid to her firearm that was under her jumper.

Laura contemplated her questions, lining them up in her mind so she could ask them in a better order. She wanted to get to the bottom of this, and she hoped that this man would give her some insight into the situation. “The person that is doing this, the man, do you know why he is doing it? I’m pretty sure that won’t be in the book.”

Geoffrey closed his eyes and Laura could see his body shiver. “I can’t tell you who he is, because I don’t know. But, from what I’ve seen and sensed from him, he is bitter, cold and empty. The motives behind this whole event aren’t clear to me, but I think he was hurt. I think that whatever is happening or is going to happen will be down to this pain that eats him inside. He wants something. The Cylons, to him, are very important. But, I do not know why,” he paused and crossed his hands in his lap. “I will be as honest as I can be, because I feel that the overall end point of all this is much more undefined to me as it was.”

“How did you get involved in this? I mean…you seem to be very clever and have your own ideas. You seem open to possibilities and you have a faith there. But, this whole charade doesn’t seem to suit you?”

Geoffrey pulled the blanket from the rack and wrapped it around his shoulders. “When I was younger, I was a bully. I used my strength, height and passion for violence to my advantage. I made people’s lives a misery. As I got older, and saw the way that life played out, something happened. You could even call it an epiphany. I was walking down the road and I saw this man beating up a boy and I used my strength as an advantage to help this boy. It dawned on me that I could offer more and be something. Before all of this, before the Cylons, came I was going to train to be a Priest. The words that the scrolls spoke made so much sense to me, there was a deep and intertwining truth that lay there, and I thought that was my path to follow.”

Laura watched as he gazed off into the distance for a few moments, his face blank and his eyes glassy. “You were going to be a Priest?”

“Oh yes. I have a theory that every person follows a path in life, and the scrolls are very much into that theory. So, since then, I have been following what I have felt was my path. It brought me to him. He needed help and I figured that it was my turn to help someone else. The book, the one that you have, has me in it, he told me. At first, I didn’t believe that the book was anything but fiction,” his eyes grew wide with intensity. “But it isn’t. Things started happening. It was uncanny and strange, but they happened. The words in that book were the future, and I was in it. What else could I think then that I was meant to be a part in this? I’ve never read it, not once, but I hear him speak. He thinks I’m stupid, my size and strength is all he really wants and he treats me like a fool. I’ve heard him read out lines and passages. I’ve seen him gaze at me. I know that I’m meant to be more than just his helper. I feel it inside of me that I was meant to do more then do his errands. When you said that you had the book, and you said that it might not be going the way I thought, it made sense. I don’t think I was destined to continue with the pain he was inflicting upon people- upon you.”

Laura was astounded by what he was speaking. This man that sat before her had so many layers. All he was doing was following his path, like her, like many of the other people in the fleet. “Do you know what is going to happen?”

Geoffrey shook his head. “No. All I know are the things he asks me to do, and the segments I hear him mumble. But you,” he said, squeezing the bar in front of him. “You have all of the answers. You have the same resources as he has and you could use that to your advantage. I know not of what will happen, but there is no harm in trying to be a step ahead. It’s correct that the words come true, it does, but every little thing that you know, might alter the ending, even if every other page is followed. The absurdity of it all is that he doesn’t even know himself how it is going to end as the book is incomplete. As you said to me before, it might be something for us, as a race, to overcome.”

Starbuck bit her lip and let go of her gun for a brief minute, letting the words sink in slowly. “You were so scared earlier that he would find out if you spoke, but you’re talking to us now? Why would you do that?”

Geoffrey turned to watch Starbuck who, he could tell, still didn’t trust him. “I’m sorry that I did what I did.”

“You didn’t answer her question,” Laura said quietly, wrapping her arms around herself as she felt the coldness of the air stab at her skin.

Geoffrey watched as the President shivered and he pulled off the blanket from his shoulders and offered it to her through the bars. “Fear is a terrible thing. Every person in this room has felt it.”

Laura took the blanket and wrapped it around her, the warmth from his body pressing against her cold skin. “It’s horrible.”

Starbuck stood up from the desk and picked up the chair, moving into the cell. “Fear is your friend.”

Laura turned to her and watched as she stared at Geoffrey through the bars. “Fear is no such thing. It eats you up, it makes you do silly things. These past few days have been pure hell, to know that someone is going to try and kill me. I’m scared because I don’t know if I am going to be here. I don’t know what will happen. Fear, is not your friend at all, it’s your enemy.”

Starbuck looked at Laura, her face lined with sympathy. “I don’t know what you’re going through, but I’ve felt it, and it’s kept me alive. When I was on that ship,” she said, moving her eyes back to Geoffrey. “And that smoke circled around us, I was scared, but that wasn’t fear. Fear was waking up, not being able to breathe or see where you are. Fear is what made me get up, get Lee and try and get out of there. The fear inside of me meant dying. If I hadn’t felt that fear, I would have let myself go. Fear stops you wanting death. Fear stops you from leaving this world.”

“Unless you’re meant to,” Laura whispered, looking down at her hands.

Starbuck watched as Laura sighed deeply, removing her glasses and rubbing her eyes. “I’ll do everything I can…Laura,” Starbuck said quietly. “You are our only hope. The Admiral knows how to fly a ship, but he doesn’t know where he’s going.”

Laura’s mouth twitched into a small smile and she put her hand on Starbuck’s. “I know you will.”

“I was scared that he would find out. The fear inside of me was for him finding out that I had done something wrong, something that would affect his plans. Now, I don’t fear that at all. I know that if my path is the right one, I will do what is right- what I am meant to do. I don’t need to fear my actions.”

“I just don’t understand what would possess anyone to do any of this,” Starbuck said leaning forward in her chair. “It’s just wrong.”

“Love can make you do silly things. You will sacrifice anything to save another.” Geoffrey stared at Laura when he said this. “It’s also important in the days to come.”

“This guy loves the Cylons?”

“I don’t know. I have heard him mention it many times. His love for what I do not know. I think that love should be embraced, I think that it should be acknowledged and used as a strength, especially in times like these.”

Laura peered into his eyes. “Will you read the book with us? If I was to bring it to you, would you help us?”

“If it is my path , then it will happen.”

Laura nodded her head, smiling gently at Geoffrey as she passed him his blanket back. “Thank you,” she whispered, standing up from the chair. “You’ve been very helpful.”

“Every path and decision has a starting point,” he chimed, standing up and walking over to his bed, wrapping the blanket back around the thin mattress.

Laura, slightly overwhelmed with the previous discussions, made her way over to the hatch, her eyes itchy with tiredness and her body beginning to ache.

Starbuck stood, watching Geoffrey as he climbed back into the rack, tucking himself under the blankets and sorting out his thin pillow. “Can I ask you something,” she whispered, looking at the President out of the corner of her eye. “How long do you think she has?”

Geoffrey turned to Starbuck. “A few days, a week at the most from what I’ve heard. She’s going to need support. Her wall, her support, is going to start to crumble. I heard that part before I came here. If she needs help, I think that she should get it.”

Starbuck gulped, watching as Laura waited at the hatch for her, rubbing her tired eyes and then stretching her arms. The man before her had almost killed her, but Starbuck could certainly sense something about him. There was truth behind his words, he believed what he was speaking and so did the President. Starbuck just hoped that she would make it, the fleet depended on it.

-----

The darkness of the room was menacing against the patch of light that highlighted his mouth, a grin spread across his features. “I want you on Galactica. I want you to get Geoffrey off of that ship.”

The man, dressed in his marine’s uniform nodded his head and got up from the chair. “I will go now then.”

“They think you are on a supply run?”

“Yes, sir. The CO gave me the ok to do so.”

“Don’t forget this,” he said, holding the needle up in his hand. “You know who you are meant to inject and you better do it,” he snarled.

“Yes, sir, the Admiral.”

“I’ll be seeing you soon.”

The marine left, leaving him alone once again in the darkness. Geoffrey had chosen his side, and he had gained their trust. It was all working out so nicely, it made him want to dance. “Victory will soon be mine.”

---

Laura walked slowly down the corridor with Starbuck at her side. They had both been silent, not saying anything as they both thought deeply about what had just happened. Starbuck was confused. Battling herself over the many different perceptions she had of the prisoner and the situation that the fleet had now found itself in. The man, who had been a part in what had happened to her and Lee, had somehow managed to push the anger she had towards him to one side. It was surreal as she was very good at holding grudges. She had sensed that he wasn’t to blame, he was very spiritual in the sense that he felt he had a path to follow. Whoever was directing him, was the one she wanted to kick the crap out of. If she had realised that someone could be self-centred and try and basically annihilate a whole race because of something personal, then she would have gotten involved sooner. Rather then anger, her stomach squirmed with worry as she laid her eyes on Laura, who was gazing into the distant hallway, her face completely blank. Starbuck didn’t know her as well as Bill, but she knew why he held her in such high regard. Both women had strength and persistence, but Laura held it very well. She was a fighter, Starbuck had always sensed that about her, and it worried her that someone was trying to break her will and kill her in the process. It wouldn’t just affect the people close to her like Bill, but it would affect the whole fleet. It was scary how dependent they were on her.

“Madam Pre-Laura,” Starbuck said, slowing her stride down. From what Geoffrey had said, she was going to need as much support as she could over the coming days and, although they were not as familiar with each other as she was with Bill, she knew that they had bonded to another level in the past hour or so, coming to a silent understanding. “If it all gets too much…I mean like, if anything happens and you find that suddenly you can’t talk to the people you had before. You know where I am right?”

Laura stopped, taken a back by this out-of-the-blue statement. She watched as Kara pierced her gaze with a caring and at the same time, worried expression. Kara had asked Geoffrey something, she could tell. “What did you ask him?”

Starbuck looked down the corridor at an oncoming group of men, walking steadily chatting and laughing as they walked. “What do you mean?”

“To the prisoner, what did you ask him?”

“I asked him how long he thought you had.” Starbuck began walking away slowly. “He said that your support was going to crumble and I figured I ought to offer some sort of support from myself.” Kara forced a small smile to spread across her face.

Laura, bewildered by the idea of her support crumbling, realised slowly that it was Bill. She already knew that whoever was behind it was going to target Bill, but, even if he got ill he would be there for her. Laura’s mouth twitched and she continued walking down the corridor. She wasn’t quite sure what to say or how to react. “Thank you, Starbuck. No, it means a lot, really.”

Bill’s quarters came into view and they slowed down. Starbuck saluted the President and then opened the hatch for her. “I meant what I said about getting you some decent gear. Nobody should have to live in heels all day.”

Laura smiled. “I will no doubt be seeing you soon, Starbuck. Goodnight to you.”

“Night, ma’am,” Kara said, turning around and walking off down the corridor, ready to
hit her rack and get some shut eye.

Laura blinked, watching the other woman turn the corner. There were certainly many layers to Starbuck, and it was much clearer now, why people had such a high opinion of her, as a person and as a viper pilot. She was strong, she was a fighter and yeah, she may go off the rails sometimes but she was certainly an energy that people were drawn to.

She closed the hatch slowly behind her and walked over to the desk where Bill was still dozing, his mouth slightly open and his arm draped across the top half of the wood. A small snore emanated from his mouth and Laura smiled to herself, turning his desk light on and giving him a gentle prod in the arm.

“Bill,” she whispered, giving him a gentle shake.

Bill’s arm jerked and he adjusted his heads position, his mouth closing and twitching. “Hmmm,” he mumbled, making Laura grin.

“Admiral Adama,” she said a bit louder this time. “We have a situation.”

Bill’s eyes snapped open. “Situation?” he mumbled sleepily, jerking upwards and sitting up in his seat.

Laura stifled a giggle, amused by his sudden movement, his eyes red and tight with sleep. “Yes, you were dribbling.”

Bill blinked, focusing on her face, it taking a few moments to realise what she had said. “Dribbl-oh,” he wiped his mouth and reached out for his glasses. “I must have dozed off.”

“You did. You should go get some sleep.”

Bill looked down at his notes, day 22 was complete and he had yet to start day 23, which was going to be today. “No, I have to finish this.” He readjusted his glasses and looked up at her, the dark bags under her eyes were prominent and her whole posture was poor. “Have you slept?”

Laura shook her head. “I tried, but I couldn’t. I thought I’d listen to you work instead…I also went to the brig.”

“The brig…on your own? Laura you should have woken me up!”

“Bill, I didn’t go on my own. I know I can be reckless, but I’m not stupid. I called Starbuck, she went with me.” Laura sat on the chair in front of his desk. “I spoke to the prisoner, I asked him some questions.”

Bill watched as she pulled the time-line from his side and began looking at it. There were so many quotes and lines linking things to other quotes that it made her head hurt. “Have you found anything useful?”

“Not really. I mean, it’s useful because I know what’s happened in general that I might not have known about before. But, there’s no indication of motive or why it should happen.”

Laura nodded her head. “I asked Geoffrey that.”

“Geoffrey?”

“The prisoner. He doesn’t know why it is happening, but he thinks it’s about the pain that this man is feeling over something. The Cylons, they mean a lot to him. That’s all he knew.”

Bill looked at her, slightly puzzled by why she would have wanted to go and see him. “Why did you go there? I mean, why would you need to, this book should have the answers, if you took the time to read it.”

“I didn’t want to read about why I’m going to die and how it will happen. I don’t want to sit there and go through pages of cryptic messages to come to the end where either myself or both of us is dead. I wanted answers. I wanted straight-forward answers, Bill. That’s why I went. I found out a few useful things, things that I think that the book might not have answered.” Laura pulled the book over to her and flicked to the back. “Zarek said that this book wasn’t complete and Geoffrey said this too. He said that he thought it was absurd that the person behind this didn’t actually know how it was going to end. Though he’s obviously certain that it will end in his favour. But, Bill, what if it’s just an obstacle, as I said to him, that we are meant to overcome?”

Bill listened to her, not sure how to feel at the current moment. She had trusted and taken in opinions from someone who had been a part of what was happening. Someone that was no doubt a very big part in what was going to happen. The prisoner, the giant of a man, could be trying to manipulate her. He instinctively turned to the back of the book and noticed that there was indeed a lack of completion about it. “How can we trust what he is saying? I mean, why should we? He is a part of this whole thing.”

“Bill, I think that he is just trying to follow his path in life and has gotten mixed up in this. We all have paths, I have a path- so do you. I think that he is good, deep inside, he was just following what he thought was right.”

“You believe this?”

“Well, at this moment there is nothing wrong with believing him. He was able to give me a little bit of hope, that has to be a good thing.”

“I don’t trust him.”

“No, I didn’t think you would, but do you trust me, Bill? Do you trust me?”

“Of course I do, I just think he’s manipulating you and your beliefs.”

Laura nodded her head. “If you trust me Bill, then you trust me. No ifs or buts. I don’t think we should discuss this now. I think tomorrow will be better. You need to get some shut eye. It’s no good if both of us are walking zombies. You need to be alert, for the both of us.”

Bill sighed, his brain filled with reasons why she was right and wrong. It was frustrating because he thought that her way of thinking, her beliefs could very much cloud her mind and make her miss what he thought was going on. Laura Roslin was very clever, but if the right buttons were pressed he was sure she would be an easy target for lies. “I want to go over all of this tomorrow then, first thing, and then we can look over the days events in the book. We can discuss everything before we take on the day, ok?”

Laura watched as he put everything in his top draw, slotting them somewhere out of view. “Of course.”

Bill stood and headed over to the bathroom. As his hand touched the door he turned to her. “What are you going to do?”

“Read, maybe, or just lie down. I’ll find something to do,” she said wearily before heading over to his book shelf, looking at the picture of the woman as she passed.

What Bill would give so that she could rest, even if it were just one night. He sighed and entered the bathroom. The days were just getting longer and more and more frustrating.

--

Laura sat on the couch, her head in her hands, the headache that had hit her as she read through one of Bill’s many books was relentless, pushing against her eyes and head like a sledgehammer. The worst of it was, she knew there was nothing she could do. Pain medication was out of the question and sleep, the usual remedy for a headache was unreachable. It made her head pulse and ache, the pressure forcing itself against her. Her eyes, which were tired and in need of rest were aching against the light in Bill’s quarters and she was finding it difficult to concentrate. What made it worse was that Billy had informed her that the Quorum wanted a meeting with her later that afternoon. An array of irritating people around her when she felt as if she was going to explode was not going to be fun. As the President, she had to, she had said she would keep up with what she was meant to do, and she was going to do that.

Bill was in the bathroom, washing and giving himself a shave, his stubble having reached an alarming length since the days before. The shower had been short and refreshing, waking him right up and increasing his alertness ten-fold. He’d slumped out of his rack, said his good morning to Laura and proceeded straight into the bathroom. He was hoping that today would be easy and things would run smoothly. He hoped.

The razor made its last swoop across his cheek and he washed it, drying his face with a towel and wrapping his freshly laundered jacket around himself.

As he exited the bathroom he looked at Laura who was slumped back on the sofa, her head in her hands. He was just about to walk over to her to see how she was when there was a heavy knock at the hatch. Bill made his way over to it, glancing quickly over her as he walked passed. He pulled the hatch open and Billy stood staring at him nervously. “Good Morning, Admiral.”

“Billy,” he said, moving back to let him in. “Good Morning.”

Billy nodded his head and walked in. “I just came to give the President the papers that the Quorum sent over. Preparations for the meeting this afternoon.”

“Meeting?” Bill took the papers out of his hand and looked down at them, a long and rather painful looking agenda on really petty things.

“Yes, I was going to tell you about that,” Laura croaked, not moving her hands from her face.

“I don’t think it wise for you to attend any sort of meeting today. You don’t look too good in all honesty.”

“Thanks,” she murmured playfully. “Glad to know you approve of my new look. I have to do it. It’s my duty as the President.”

Bill shook his head, side glancing to Billy who seemed to be looking quite worried as he looked at the President. “Can’t you postpone it?”

Laura looked through her fingers, the light stinging her eyes and making her close them again. “No, who is to say that it will be any better tomorrow or any other day for that matter. I’m anticipating the worst, after all. I just think if I get this out of the way then there is less to do later on. I’m sure you can see the logic in that?”

Bill nodded his head. “I suppose you’re right. What time is the meeting?” He turned to Billy who was flicking through papers.

“Well, they wanted to know from you, Madam President. They were content with arranging it when it suited your needs. I wasn’t sure so I though I would ask you, of course.”

“Schedule it for mid-day. I have some matters to attend to here with the Admiral and I think that it would be better to get over with sooner rather then later.”

Billy nodded and jotted the little note down in his diary. “Oh, and Madam President, I have a message from Starbuck. She said that she has something for you and she will be coming around at some point in the day to drop it off. She wasn’t specific about what it was, she said you would know, so I assumed you would.”

Laura’s mouth twisted into a smile. “Ah yes, thank you, Billy.”

“I’m going to go and arrange for the Quorum meeting to be held here in a few hours then, Madam President.” Billy nodded to Bill and then turned around to leave the room.

“Billy?”

“Yes, Madam President?”

“I hope you didn’t stay up all night.”

Billy blushed and looked away from the Admiral who was looking at him, confused. “Umm, no, ma’am, not all night, no.” He moved nervously to the hatch and then exited, his face red with embarrassment.

---

“Another run, you say?” Tigh said, walking down the corridor with the marine and a bunch of forms in his hand. “They say that they need more? I thought you went over to the other ship earlier to take some over?”

“I did, sir, this is for another ship.”

“Well, you know everything has to be ran by the Admiral first. Like before.”

The marine scrunched his face up with annoyance and then stopped. “I understand, sir.” He handed him another form. “This ship has a case of ambrosia they wish to send over this afternoon. That’s the confirmation note, there.”

“A case?” Tigh said, turning the corner and eyeing up the form carefully.

“Yes, sir. I was going to pick it up on my run, sir, to save fuel.”

“Good thinking,” he said, pulling out his pen and signing it. “Use a different raptor next time, the transponder seems to be playing up on that raptor you were on last time. Has Gambo looked at it, it’s his raptor?”

“Yes, sir, everything is in working order now. A wire came loose on the way over. But, the ship we were out at has confirmed us being there.”

“Yes, yes that’s fine. You’re dismissed.”

The marine nodded his head, folding the paper and putting it into his pouch. He was right, it would be very easy and things would work out the way he had envisioned.

--

Laura sat leaning against the desk, her eyes aching and her head still pounding hard. They had discussed the events that took place in the brig, and Bill still wasn’t having much of it, but they had agreed to be slightly open-minded about Geoffrey and his ideas. He had also decided that he would let the man look at the book, just to see if he was any better at finding answers. They couldn’t do anything but try.

Bill sat across from Laura, the book in his hand and his nose close to the pages. They had been reading through Day 23 for a long time now, trying to decipher what it all meant. Laura hadn’t really inputted much, her hands still resting against her face, shielding her eyes from the light.

“Day 23 would bring about the beginnings of the end for the male leader. Aggression and misdirection would overcome him. A path that was followed will crumble.” Bill looked up from the paper and wrote it down on his time-line. “This means it is meant to happen today.”

“What is?” Laura mumbled, pulling her hands away from her face, her red eyes looking over to him.

“Whatever is going to happen to me. It will happen today.”

Laura’s eyes grew wide and she pulled the pages from him. “Aggression and misguiding-”

“Misdirection,” Bill corrected, circling the quote on the page.

“Misdirection would overcome him? That doesn’t sound too good. Does this mean you’re going somewhere?”

Bill watched as her eyes closed, her hand going over her eyes again. She was certainly finding it hard to concentrate, one of the many side-affects of insomnia. “No, misdirection doesn’t mean I’m going anywhere. I think that it means that I’m going to lose my path…Laura, have you tried resting at all?”

Laura nodded her head slowly. “Nothing helps. Bill…I think that you should stay here today. I mean, if it’s going to happen then it won’t happen in here will it?”

“You don’t know that.”

“It might minimise the risk?”

“I’m going with you to the meeting. Starbuck and I will be accompanying you to meet the Quorum. I‘ve always said that the representative to Sagittaron was a bit shifty.” Bill read the page again, looking for anymore clues.

Laura did not find his comment amusing at all, she glared at him briefly. “I think that you should stay.”

“I’m not staying. I have to make sure that nothing happens to you.”

“And you call me stubborn,” she whispered, resting her head on the desk.

“Nobody is as stubborn as you are,” he mumbled, leaning back in his chair, his stomach knotting at the thought that something bad was going to happen to him today. Something that might be the end of him. Selfishness was not something that Bill was good at doing, his heart and mind were on Laura and her situation, if he were not to go, she would be an open target and he would not permit that at all. She was his top priority at this moment.

---

The marine wandered down the corridor, the needle in his hand, hidden out of the way so nobody could see. Any moment now he would see the Admiral and the President walking to a meeting. He had to get this done otherwise it wouldn’t run as smoothly as it should and he would have to come back and try again later, when it would be much harder.

The Admiral came around the corner, the President at his side, her face pale with dark bags under her eyes. So, that aspect of the plan was really coming together. She looked frail and ill and he was sure that it was only a matter of days, as predicted, until she was no more.

“Go long,” someone shouted from behind him and he turned to see one of the viper pilots holding a ball in his hand, getting ready to throw it. The marine started running, his hands open and a smile on his face. How very convenient.

The ball shot through the air, and the marine had to run fast to make sure he was able to catch it. As soon as the ball began its descent he jumped, getting ready to catch it. When the ball was firmly in his grasp he felt his body collide with another, the needle sinking into the skin of whoever it was. When he turned he could see the Admiral glaring at him. “Oh, Gods, I’m so sorry, sir,” he gulped, getting up and stepping back.

“You need to tone it down,” Bill snarled, lifting him up by his collar. “This is not a playground! You do not go around acting like frakking idiots. I should discipline you for that.”

The marine gulped, turning to the viper pilot who had began walking the other way. “I’m really sorry, sir. Are you ok? I really didn’t mean anything by it!”

Bill rubbed his arm. “No, I’m fine. Shouldn’t you be somewhere?”

“I’m not on rotation.”

“Get out of my sight.” Bill rubbed his arm again and turned to Laura. “You would have thought this was a holiday camp.”

Laura smirked slightly before linking her arm with his. “I hope this meeting doesn’t drag. My head feels like it’s going to explode.”

</div>

The Rising Red- Chapter 7- It's All Significant In The End.

splodge04 — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:59:07 GMT

Chapter 7- It’s All Significant In The End.

The light tunnelled around him from the sky outside, the moon’s light washing over her as she slept. Her long blonde hair sprawled around the pillow and her features soft and peaceful. Her hand was resting lazily against his and he felt her fingers twitch against his cool skin.

They had been lying in the garden for hours, watching the sun set and the stars begin to appear like someone stabbing a needle through a black blanket. He was so content lying with her, gazing up at the stars, her warm body lying against him like a blanket.

“I think it’s time we went to bed,” he whispered, moving her hair to one side and adjusting her position.

She opened her eyes slowly and smiled, her fingers tightening the grip on his hand. “Do we have to?” she mumbled sleepily, her eyes glistening underneath the moonlight.

“It’s starting to get cold.” He wrapped the edges of the rug around her body.

She didn’t reply, she just sat watching him, smiling at him and watching as he gazed into her eyes. “Ok,” she whispered, sitting up and taking his other hand, pulling herself up. “We get a lie in tomorrow,” she said playfully as she picked up the basket from the floor. “I’m expecting breakfast in bed,” she giggled.

He watched as she walked inside the house, her slim figure gliding over the linoleum surface of the kitchen floor. “Of course.”

When he opened his eyes he could see the stars through the window ahead of him and he sighed. It had all been so simple then, so easy. It was perfect. She was perfect. Only a few days after that she was gone and it had left him heartbroken, but he had trusted her and understood. One day they would be together again. Whether in this life or another, they would one day be truly happy. Until then, however, he had a mission to do and he would get it done. The fleet would one day be his and then the Cylon’s. The plan would work and he would reign supreme.

It had been a long and lazy day, the sunshine warm outside and the windows and
doors open, letting the fresh air drift in. The plan had begun coming together nicely. She would come home and he would propose to her and make her his wife. He wanted them to be together until the end.

“Honey?” he heard her call from outside. “Could you come and help me with the bags?”

He smiled, placed the small box in his pocket and leapt up from his reading chair. When he walked outside into the sunshine he was greeted with the sound of chirping birds in the big tree outside the house. When he looked over to her he paused slightly, watching as the thin summer coloured cotton moved swiftly in the breeze around her body. In both hands were a multitude of different bags and objects. Her hair, blonde and bright, was twisting and turning as the air rushed past her head, making her look windswept but even more beautiful. She was amazing.

“You sure went shopping didn’t you?” He laughed, walking over to her. “Please, put them down, I’ll do it.”

She smiled and began placing all of the things onto the ground. “There was a sale! I bought us a new lamp and a whole load of really gorgeous things. I thought you’d like them.”

“I’m sure I will,” he grinned. “But I need to ask you something. It’s really important.”

Her smile faltered slightly and her eyebrows rose, questioning him with her gaze. “Honey, what is it? Why do you look so nervous?” She lifted her hand to his face and cupped his cheek. “Is everything ok?”

A grin swept across his face like a bushfire. “Oh it’s more than alright.” He kneeled down on the floor and put his hand in his pocket, bringing out the box. He opened it slowly, watching as her eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped. “Will you be my wife?”

As soon as the last word left his lips she had jumped on him, knocking the lamp over with her foot. She wrapped her hands around his neck and kissed him several times, before putting her head against his shoulder. “Yes, of course I will.”

----

Gaius faltered as he pipetted a small solution into the test tube and began mixing. To his right stood Six who was wrapped in her red dress, watching him avidly as he did what he had done at least a hundred times already. “Gaius, what do you believe is going to happen?”

Gaius lifted his gaze from the tube and looked lazily at her as she leaned against the side. “What do you mean?”

“To the human race. Do you think you’ll survive? Or do you think you’ll fall, succumbing to a demise that was brought on by your own ignorance.” She moved, sliding quietly behind him, wrapping her hands around his waist. He jumped, spilling the contents of a small beaker onto the side. “There are very few humans that understand the meaning of true love, anger, hatred, remorse or even happiness.” She took his hand and leaned her head against his shoulder. “They know jealousy, they know fear and they know greed, Gaius. Why should you survive?”

Gaius looked up, sighed and put down the pipette on the side. “Oh come on, I’m sorry, I didn’t realise your kind were fully programmed with the whole spectrum of human emotion.” He picked his work back up and dropped some of the chemical onto a slide, adding some blood to it and placing it under a microscope. “What would you know about true love? What would you know about real passion. In fact,” he placed everything down and turned around. “You say that we don’t know this and we don’t know that. How do YOU know what it feels like? You criticise but what do you really know? You were created by us! You can only feel what we feel.”

“Gaius, you know so very little about me, you can’t pass judgement. God has a plan that we are meant to follow, and I followed mine. I’m here at this point for a reason. What I have done or haven’t done is only significant at the end when I have reached my goal.” She dug her fingers into his arm and clenched her jaw. “Even if we have to drop everything and leave our loved ones behind, we do it, because it is what we are meant to do. God has a plan for all of us.”

“Yes, you keep reminding me.” He looked through the microscope and stared for a few moments. “Can’t you come and pester me when I’m not busy?” When he turned around she was gone, all that remained was a red label attached to a small chemical container. When Gaius picked it up he raised his eyebrows. “Well, we could certainly give this a try.”

---

Bill stood angrily with his face almost pressed against the metal, staring at the man behind the bars who was sat huddled in the corner, his body turned away from them. “The President asked you a question,” he barked.

Laura stood quite far back, not entirely sure what to do with herself. She had asked him about what was going to happen and she had yet to receive an answer. The man in the cell was young but a giant in comparison to the people around her, yet there he was whimpering in the corner. It was strange and very uncharacteristic for a ‘bad-guy.’ She walked forward into the open cell next to the prisoners and took a seat. “What are you afraid of?” she said quietly, leaning forward so she could catch his face. She had seen it behind his eyes, the moment they had slapped the cuffs on him and dragged him through the halls of Galactica. She had followed at a fair distance, Starbuck cursing at her side. When they had rounded a corner he had looked at her, his eyes wide and full of fear.

At first he didn’t say anything, his gaze locked onto the bulkhead, his chin on his knees. Laura waited, watching him as he sat perfectly still. Something banged behind him and he jumped, his eyes catching hers as he turned to look at the people behind him. He opened his mouth to speak, but then paused, wrapping his arms around his knees tighter.

“Why did you come here? Were you coming to kill me?”

“I’m not here to kill you,” he said quietly, his eyes glistening with tears. “There is no need for me to do that.”

“Really?”

He moved a little so he could see her face properly. “Everything is mapped out. Everything has its order of events. It all happens for a reason. I am not here to do anything of the sort, it is not the way or the path I am meant to follow.”

Laura moved the chair closer and leaned herself against the bulkhead behind her. When she lifted her head she caught the wary look of the Admiral, who had now entered the cell with her, obviously not wanting her to get too close. A man of that size could probably do damage even with one arm through a cell. Laura could sense a spiritual side to the man, he was set in his ways, following a path that had been laid down. Like her, he seemed to have a job. “What is your path?”

Geoffrey closed his eyes and shook his head. “I can’t tell you.”

“Nobody will know what you say.”

Bill was watching carefully, not totally impressed by what was going on. She had surprised him with her rational thinking and level-headedness in such a situation. Bill wanted to find out the answers and make whoever it was pay, he was angry for her, and he would expect her to be angry also, but she wasn’t. Her face was calm and her eyes were warm in a purposeful way, she was being nice to him. Nice…to one of the people who had put her in this position. “I think you should start talking,” Bill mumbled angrily, his eyes wandering to Starbuck’s. “Or things won’t be easy for you.”

Laura looked at Bill, her eyes telling him to stop.

“It doesn’t matter what you do to me. Everything will come to play when it needs to. I won’t tell you because I can’t.”

Laura moved herself closer. “Why can’t you tell us? This place is secure. Nobody will know. Do you want to tell us?”

“He’ll find out. He knows everything. Everything that is going to happen is all written down…” he trailed off when he considered that he had said too much.

“In his book?”

Geoffrey lifted his gaze to hers, his eyes suspicious and worried. “How did you-”

“There is a reason for everything, as you said. Maybe this isn’t meant to plan out as it should?”

Bill could see now what she was doing. Obviously, having almost instantly worked out the man’s weaknesses and strengths she had began working against them, picking at him in all the right places so she could gain some sort of trust from him. She was very clever and he had figured out that using a more physical way of getting information was not the right way, because she was not into physical punishment and she had used clever tactics.

“How do you know that it isn’t meant to end with us overcoming this whole situation? A way for the humans to find a strength in themselves and overcome this? What if we, as leaders, were meant to live?”

Geoffrey looked into her eyes regret sparkled within them. “It doesn’t matter what will happen now. It all comes down to time, which you have very little of.” He reached his hand through the bars, reaching out to her.

Laura stared at it for a few moments, her heart beating in her chest. When she looked up at Bill, she could see concern lining his face. She reached her hand towards the prisoner and took his hand.

“I can see that there is a passion within you to survive. I can see that you want to live, and it’s for unselfish reasons. As a person, you long to love and be loved but you are set on a path to lead humanity to their final resting place. You want to succeed in this and you will do whatever you can to get there. You want the whole race to survive.” He paused and looked into her eyes. “But the course has already been set. If this whole situation is meant to plan out so that you survive then you shall, but by what means I do not know. I have learnt as much as I can, and I know that there isn’t an antidote for anything. H-he…he has never spoke of one. Although I see a light shining within you, I’m not sure how long it will burn.”

Laura felt her eyes sting, totally unsure of what to think. What if he were speaking the truth? He seemed like a man that wouldn’t lie, but how could she be sure? She dropped her hand from his. “I see.”

“Hope is a strong emotion and will guide you. You’ve overcome obstacles before and you will overcome more. Even in the darkest tunnel there is a small ray of light which hope can thrive on. You must not forget that.”

Bill stepped forward. “Who is doing all of this?” he shouted, his temper beginning to flare in his chest.

“I will not tell you.” He turned himself around and stared again at the bulkhead.

Bill watched as Laura clambered to her feet from the chair. She walked out of the cell, turning her head once to look at the prisoner and then she walked to the hatch, in which Starbuck followed. She left the room silently leaving Bill with the prisoner. “You have all the answers but you choose to side with whoever is behind all of this!”

“You, too, have all the answers,” he mumbled. “You have a valuable book there and you haven’t used it to your advantage. It’s been there from the start, and I have the feeling you haven’t given it your full concentration.”

Bill turned around and stomped out of the cell, his stomach in knots and his fists clenched. As he reached the hatch, he paused, turning to look at the prisoner one more time. “You said in the letter that you wanted your ideas to be heard. What were they?”

“I came here because I was told to. I was told to tell you one thing, but it wasn’t an idea, it was an ambiguous statement that I know nothing about.” he paused, turning around. “A leader who falls with love in his heart will be remembered by at least one person. Passion and idolism paves the way for idiocy. A careful step too many, or a blind jump will only make things worse. Remember. Love will make you fall faster-”

“And when you hit the floor, death in your eyes, all you will care about is the person you love and idolise. Love made you fall faster, but it softens the blow. Love will run within you like a poison and you will watch as the light fades around you. Ending. Love is the gateway to the Gods. Embrace love and you will not fear death.” Bill paused and looked at the prisoner. “The epilogue to Wartime Passion.”

“I figured you would know it.” He stood up and sat on the rack, lying down and putting the sheets over him. “Use your mind. You have the resources.” He yawned and closed his eyes.

Bill stood, his mind reeling with thoughts. He had this book in his quarters. He turned to the guard. “I want this room secure. Nobody in and nobody out without my permission.” Bill opened the hatch and walked into the corridor, confused and bewildered. What the frak was going on? It seemed that things had just taken a dramatic downfall yet again.

---

Bill watched as Laura lay on his rack, her face blank and her gaze distant. It had been a few hours since they had been to the brig, and since then she hadn’t said anything, too lost in thought. Bill had decided to let her mull it over, as he had tried striking conversation with her a few times and all he received was mumbles and grunts. They both had a lot to think about, and he was sure she was letting things sink in, so he would talk to her when she was feeling a bit more open.

The book lay open to his side and he had sat analysing today’s day, trying to make anything significant out. To the left of him sat Wartime Passion, which he was going to re-read in hopes of searching for clues. It had been a long time since he had given it a read and he had hoped that it would hold something. It was like following a breadcrumb trail that had been picked on by birds. In terms of absurdity, this whole situation was at the top. It was being dragged out, twists and turns being added right when they were over coming a hurdle. Would they ever get something to help them, really?

Laura blinked, altering her gaze from the ceiling to Bill who was bent over that retched book, his face close to the pages and his eyes moving from side to side. He was trying. He was doing more then she was at the moment. Of course, she wanted to get to the bottom of it all, so she could try and get herself out of this endless hole that she was being thrust into. But, deep within her, in the most distant parts, she knew that a part of her was letting go. It was a small part, but it was prevalent none the less. If things were really going to end then why should she hold on and try to fight it? The strength that she had been holding onto had waned and she seemed to be floating amongst this sea of hopeless emotion. The optimistic side of her was clinging onto every happy memory and every person she had ever loved, trying to keep her afloat in the sea of despair and fear. She was struggling, she knew, but she was going to try her hardest. Even in the darkest tunnel there is a small ray of light which hope can thrive on. You must not forget that. She closed her eyes, remembering the look on his face. He was right, of course, you should never give up until it’s over. The energy and passion required to do that was high, and although she had the backing of Bill and Billy, she could still feel herself falter.
Bill turned the page over and she watched him as he concentrated on the words. “Bill?”

Bill looked up, the creases in his forehead softening as he adjusted his focus. “Don’t let me give up,” she whispered, returning her gaze to the ceiling.

Bill didn’t say anything, he watched her for a few moments seeing the weakness on her face. A person was only as strong as those that backed them up, and she was obviously finding things more difficult then he had anticipated. He closed the book and stood himself up, walking over to the bed. Sitting softly down next to her he watched her as she stared. “You’re a strong woman, Laura, but I will never let you give up. You have the strength inside you to battle this, I know you do, I’ve seen it.”

“I’m just so tired,” she said, her eyes filling with tears which she tried to stop falling. “It’s just so hard.”

“I know you are. You have my support, and that‘s not going to change. I will stand with you.”

“I know you will, Bill, I know. It’s just, when I actually sit and keep myself quiet, thinking about what’s going on I can feel myself falter. I can feel myself moving away from it all. When things are bad you can wake up in the morning and tackle the problems, but in this case my problems stem from the sleep or lack of. What I’m working on is not sufficient anymore. It’s so hard for me to pick myself back up from a knock because I just don’t have the energy. I can feel myself letting go. When I was ill there was a strong motivation to carry on, that is there but it feels like I’m losing it. It feels like I’m losing everything. I just want to rest and let sleep take me away from all of this.”

Bill moved his fingers in with hers, that conversation had obviously been a strong hit to whatever hope she had left. Although it was difficult to know what to believe she had obviously taken this person’s words to heart. It was hard to sit and watch. Watching a person give up was one of those things he always found difficult to observe and although he would do what he could, there would only be so much he could do. He would use every resource he had to help and would work hard to keep her floating. “Laura, I want to ask you something.”

Laura didn’t even alter her gaze from the ceiling, still gazing lazily into the distance. “Ok.”

“Before all of this, before you found out that you had cancer what did you see yourself doing when you got older?”

“I saw myself in a small house by a small lake, spending my time fulfilling all the dreams I had never been able to do. Why do you ask?”

“I want you to hold onto that thought. You will make it and when we make it to Earth, you will have your house by the lake and I will promise you that you will fulfill as many dreams as possible.”

“You’re quite the optimist today, aren’t you?”

“For you I’d be anything, even optimistic.”

--

“How’s she doing?” Cottle said as he pulled up Bill’s sleeve in an attempt to draw some blood. He had told him that he had wanted periodic blood samples from him to make sure that he hadn’t been infected with anything along the same lines as Laura.

Bill looked down at his knees briefly before turning to the needle that was sitting near his arm. “Not particularly well,” he said sadly. “It’s beginning to get to her. I just hope she won’t give up.”

Cottle nodded sympathetically. He had had to resort to talking to Bill because he knew that he would be open about her condition. The President had been told about the need to be honest, but she always held back a little and it annoyed him. Brutal honesty was the way forward. “It isn’t going to get any easier, I’m afraid. We’re also not any closer to figuring out how we can stop it. If at all.”

“What have you found?” Bill watched as the blood was pulled from his body.

“Well we’re trying to find chemicals that will react or counteract what’s happening to her. It’s tedious but necessary. Baltar has a few good ideas, it’s just hard to implement them in such conditions.” Cottle placed the vial onto the cart and moved it out of the way. “Is she resting?”

“Trying to. You can see she is exhausted but she just can’t sleep properly. Is there nothing at all you can do for her?”

Cottle shook his head. “The strongest sleep meds I have are what I have given her already. They seem to be bouncing off of her. I mean, we could put her into unconsciousness and that might do something, but, she’s against that completely. It‘s an idea to try, but in terms of this actual chemical we still don‘t know an awful deal about it. It will stop her sleeping and it will react violently with any pain medication we give her. We have the chemical structure, but it‘s so complex.”

“I’ll have to talk to her.”

“Please do,” Cottle said lighting his cigarette. “Bill…I know that there is a chance that something might happen to you, but I hope that you will use your common sense and get your frakking ass down here straight away.”

Bill nodded. “Of course.” he stood up and rolled the sleeve of his shirt down.

Cottle walked out of the curtain. “Try and get her to rest, Bill, I’m serious.”

“I know you are, Jack,” Bill nodded his head and walked out of sickbay,

---

Bill opened the hatch and entered his quarters with a stack of blank paper. When he entered he could make out Starbuck who was sitting lazily on his sofa, her eyes looking down at an open book she had obviously taken an interest in. Bill did feel sorry for her, she was like a bird and didn’t do well being caged. But, she wasn’t allowed to fly and instead of her being a nuisance she would certainly be better off here with the President.

Laura was seated at Bill’s desk, her eyes red and her face blank as she looked down at the book which he had been scanning through earlier. It had only been two hours since he had left, needing to attend to some things down at CIC, and he could tell she was exhausted.

Starbuck stood up, closing the book and making her way over to the hatch, eager to get out of the room and roam free around Galactica. “I’m good to go now, sir?”

Bill nodded and watched as she exited, quickly and sharply, just like he had thought she would. Bill put the pieces of plain paper down on his desk and spread them out, taking a pen in this hand and placing one next to Laura’s hand. “I know you probably are finding it hard to concentrate right about now, but I think we should start mapping all of this out, from start to finish so we can get a grip on it.”

Laura nodded her head and rubbed her tired eyes, silently taking the pen and drawing a line down the middle of her page. Like a timeline she plotted out the days, not even saying anything to Bill to try and confirm that was what he was suggesting.

Withdrawn, was the best way to describe Laura Roslin’s actions, she was definitely beginning to detach from things. Or it was the pressure of not being able to sleep. Her body was only concentrating on the necessary things or she was detaching herself from the situation to try and overcome it. Bill didn’t like it at all. “So,” Bill said, taking his pen. “Day one.”

---

He hummed to himself as he flicked through the pages in the book which he had placed on his lap. It was so nice not to have Geoffrey babbling in his ear like a nervous idiot. He was annoying but useful. A spiritual giant who liked to follow a path, was the best way to describe him. He had delivered the message and it was a matter of time until he would start spilling information to the President. It was meant to happen, it had to happen, otherwise things would not follow the correct course.

Target number two, the ever pressing, ever strong Admiral Adama. Tomorrow was the day when things would begin tumbling for him, his strength which he was using to keep the President upright would be redirected. It would all take place and then things would truly begin to crumble. It would not happen quickly, and may not be fully prevalent straight away, but it would begin to be noticeable.

“Day 23 would bring about the beginnings of the end for the male leader. Aggression and misdirection would overcome him. A path that was followed would crumble."

----

Comments are love :D</div>

Recap Post 4x04 "Six Of One."

splodge04 — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 01:26:28 GMT

ZOMG. I am still getting over this episode which I watched 18 hours ago. So many questions, so many reactions and so little time!
But yeah, anyway. Here it comes, a picspam recap post for you lots to capslock and flail with me because yeah, this episode was certainly awesome on so many levels.
Please, come tell me what you think about the episode. I know there is a LOT to talk about ;)

There will be lots of spoilers in here, so beware!!!

Ok, ok. So, we know from last episode that something awesome is going to happen, and boy I was not disappointed in the slightest.

After the intro, cut to Tigh and Helo who are making their way down to Bill's quarters to go and save The Pres.

"Look Alive, and for fraks sake, don't shoot the Gods damn President."
HA, I kinda love Tigh a lot at the minute, he is making sense and even though he is a Cylon, he is doing his best to ignore that. Gotta love him for that! Also, he knows that if the Pres gets shot, Bill will kick his one-eyed ass!

Also, I have never seen Bill move so fast. When he hears that Kara has The Pres, he immediately drops what he is doing and runs for it. Boy, did that make me squee just a little bit. Like, a tiny weeny bit. But it was like "RUNNING BILL.!"

Then we go back to the Laura/Kara scene. We can see, just by looking at our poor Pres's face that she is in a bad way. The Dilloxin must be kicking the crap out of her insides :( And at this moment, I can't help but think, "How about you leave our poor Pres alone you meanie :("

Then Kara starts making her move, and you see Laura twitch when she shouts at her. I felt so bad for her, i really did. She was resting for a reason, but Kara is going all out on her and it's not fair :( You can also see that when she walks away she isn't doing too good cus she makes a face and grabs her stomach.

Ok, I can't help but get all defensive when it comes to Laura. IDK Y, i think it's cus she's my fav and she is awesome and deserves to be happy, or something. But yeah. When she gets to the couches, her face. OMG her face, it made my little heart break. She looks so fragile and I don't like it at all :(

I know this cap came before the others, but so what? ITS MY PICSPAM :D
Kara says. "I want to hate you so much." This to me says that she wants to, but doesn't quite. Ugh. Mary and Katee's acting is frakking awesome.

Also, something that made me laugh a little. Tigh and Helo are kinda walking fast. SOMEONE HAS THE PRESIDENT. YOU DO NOT WALK FAST YOU FRAKKING RUN! LIKE BILL! (who isn't even out of breath when he gets there. Dude, gots Stamina!")

"You had a vision, remember? The arrow. The temple. I went down to that planet with you. There was a frakking toaster party. A lot of good people died, remember?"
and Laura's relply? "yes I do." GOSH THAT GOT ME SO BAD. Of course she remembers. Elosha died. And like, and laura cried there too and it broke my heart. DAMMIT WOMAN.
I can understand that Kara would be frustrated by the idea of people not beliveing her. She did follow Laura over a vision. But, Laura has to protect the fleet, so I know what she means too. Ooh conflict.

"I trusted you, on a vision. That's it...a vision. I saw Earth. I saw it with my own eyes."
Ugh. Again. Awesome acting. Poor Laura, just look at her face. It's like she doesn't know what to do with herself, she feels rotten and like, she just looks so fragile (as pointed out AGAIN)

Then, Kara says, "Shoot me. If you think I'm a Cylon i'm your enemy, Shoot your enemy.."
We all know Laura doesn't like guns, especially from Valley of Darkness in Season 2.
But when Kara yells at Laura to tell her to shoot her, you can see the fear in Laura's eyes and she jumps. UGH. ZOMG SO MUCH AWESOME.

Then, Laura says, after Kara says "She is just as much Cylon" as Laura. She goes. "I wish I did." and her voice! OMG JUST OMG lol poor poor Laura. Starbuck, give her a break, Yo!

Here we go again, with more great acting by Katee.
"I have ate slept and fought next to the people that I love....I frakked up, ok! I messed up, but it is all that I have."

Laura's face, again, when Kara tells her to shoot her. OMGS the PRETTY
and then ZOMG HARDCORE LAURA GETS THE GUN AND GOES BANG, BUT MISSES AND GETS HERSELF AND BILL INSTEAD.

Then, the marines storm in, along with Tigh and they arrest Starbuck. Bill arrives, and his face is heartbreaking. You can tell that he is totallyangry. but, he goes to Laura and puts his hand on her back. AND IT DOES NOT MOVE. these caps are crap because of the shakey camera work but you can still see the awesome that is A/R here.

Look at Bill's face. That says to me. "You do not rough up my g/f and get away with it." I feel so sorry for him. He's conflicted. He's angry. He's sad. He's heartbroken and that gaze says it all. Go on, Bill, cry, it's ok!

Then we skip to a basestar, and we hear the Hybrid waffling on as she does. BUT, she talks about the final 5 and me and crazyvictoria got that theory right! YEY!
Oh and also, I love Cavill. I mean, he is so funny. I just laugh at him. He's such a twat, but it's funny none the less.
I liked this scene, it sure beat the whole Gaius worshipping of last week. I like that they can see the connections and they, along with the raiders know they are in the fleet. Cavill, though, doesn't. I mean, I just love the fact that they are really arguing over this. it's pretty awesome. I think, also, this arguing and stuff is another thing which makes the line between the Human's and Cylon's fade. They start killing their own.
I don't like the idea of reconfiguring the Raiders. i dunno lol I would feel sorry for them. *shrugs*

Secret CYLON MEETING! HURRAH!
"The President nearly put a bullet in her head for suspecting she was a Cylon. YOU ARE A CYLON!"
Yes, Tigh, I have a secret love for you and your honesty.
And then they go onto their theory that Baltar might know who the final cylon is. LOL their plan made me LOL
"He'd poke a skin-job"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH TIGH I LOVE YOU.

UHOH. SCARY ADAMA SCENE. SCARY ADAMA. (oh and for the record. Scary Bill and Angry Bill = most orgasmic voice ever.)
"What were you doing? What were you thinking? What happened to you?...... You're too stupid to realise that you just screwed over the one ally you had."

"Tell me, who's gona help you?" *Katie hides from scary Bill*
Starbuck: "You're the President's wet nurse." OH HAI, PISS HIM OFF MORE OK?!
THEN HE LIKE THROWS HER TO THE FLOOR AND SHE GOES "Nice to know you still care, Admiral." Well that was like a slap in the face. Then, she sort of laughs and then screams "We're going the wrong way." POOR BILL :( POOR KARA. EPIC ACTING FROM THE PAIR!

We go back to the Cylons and the vote has reached a deadlock as it's even. So, you think the Raiders are safe!! HELL NO. We find an 8, aka Boomer, who wants them to be reconfigured. This causes arguments and a very pissed of 6. Which was pretty awesome I must say. i still love Cavill.
"Nobody has ever voted against their model."
See, we have more free thinking here. There will be lots of this and this is going to cause a Cylon war between each other. interesting stuff.

OMG STRIP- WHATEVER CARD GAME IT IS. I kinda got geeky over a topless Hotdog. Do not ask me why.
It's time to say goodbye Lee. i loved this scene, because his toasts are really nice, and everyone seems to be having a good time. We do see Adama look at the picture of Starbuck on the wall and you can see his face, it's so sad :(

Then we see Baltar and Tory (the skin job he is going to poke LMAO) and they have a conversation. He thinks the Pres is spying on him, when really the Cylons are. Then, there is the whole Baltar and Head!Baltar banter scene. I laughed SO HARD. it was frakking awesome. I don't know why he is seeing himself? Maybe it's because he has accepted his role as the thingy of God and that was what Six was or something. Anyway. it was so funny.
"Oh My God. Oh my Giddy Aunt." I love that lol I use that line ALL the time! LOL
"She's hot."
"You slay me, you really do Gaius."
PMSL I was laughing so much, really, it was so witty and funky.

OH NOES. THE SCENE THAT BROKE MY HEART INTO LITTLE TINY PIECES

Laura: "You're enjoying that more than usual."
LOL LAURA SNORTS. OMG LAURA SNORTS WHEN HE WAS ONABOUT LEE'S PARTY.
"What do we do now? Do we put her on trial, find ROMO LAMPKIN." UGH, the way she said it. It was so funny in a way. THAT IS LAURA LADIES AND GENTS. SOMETHING WE DO NOT SEE VERY OFTEN.
Bill: "I don't know."
"Follow her into an ambush?"
"She's driven."
OMG AND I LOVE LAURA'S SHIRT

"You gona keep waltzing, or are you gona sit down and talk?" OH YEAH HARDCORE LAURA. "What's going on, Bill? Come on sit."
Drunken Bill, wibbles over to the chair, as commanded by his Mrs. I love how, you can tell that she doesn't really want to deal with him right now, but she can tell something is up, so gets on with it anyway. Even though you can tell she is really irritated.

"What if she is telling the truth?....What if it was a-"
"A miracle? Is that what you want to call this? Go ahead, say it. Grab your piece of the Golden Arrow. I wanna hear Admiral 'Athiest' say a miracle happened." You know, I can see why she might say this, because, after all, Bill didn't really believe her that much, and now, with Kara, he is sort of swinging towards it. It's like, why, after all this time, do you suddenly believe?

"You shot at her and you missed at close range"
"Dilloxin fraks with your aim."
"So does doubt."

"Is that your miracle? lets talk about miracles. On the very same day, that a very pale doctor informed me that I had terminal cancer, most of humanity was annihilated and I survived and by some mathematical absurdity I became president and my cancer disappeared long enough for us to find a way to Earth. You can call it whatever you want. And now, I'm dying"
"Don't talk that way."
"You gotta face this. My life is coming to an end soon enough and I am not going to apologise to you for not trusting her. And I am not, I am not going to trust her with the fate of this fleet. You are so buckled up inside (see she knows him so well) You can't take anymore loss, your son is leaving, this, me, I know it."
"No-One is going anywhere."
Ok, this is where I started to get all teary because you can see that Bill is in denial. and she starts getting upset.

"Ah, ok, here's the truth. This is what's goin' on. You want to believe Kara. You would rather be wrong about her and face your own demise then risk losing her again."
Bill looks at her. "You can stay in the room, but get out of my head."
Bill you naughty boy!

"You're so afraid to live alone"
"You're afraid to die that way. You're afraid that you might not be the dying leader you thought you were. Or that your death may be as meaningless as everyone elses."
BILL! guh, ok,. I know that things are tough, but I think that this scene is pretty important. Both of them have cards on the table, and they are close. They need to get this out in the open and it is better then having it happen from someone else. Bill Loves Laura and Laura loves Bill. Bill would never ever let her die alone, he will be by her side, he's just having a hard time. Laura, will do what she can to help him. It's how it is. They just needed to get everything out in the open. Yeah, it will sting the pair of them like a slap in the face with a wet fish, but it will bring home the importance of their relationship with each other.

OMG YOU GUYS I CANNOT HANDLE LAURA CRYING. THE WAY SHE TEARS UP AND TRIES TO HOLD IT IN AND SHE PLAYS WITH HER HAIR AND THEN IT STARTS FALLING OUT. THEN SHE GETS REALLY UPSET BECAUSE THIS JUST BRINGS IT BACK HOME SHE IS DYING. AND LIKE SHE PUTS HER HAND TO HER MOUTH AND I CANT TAKE IT AT ALL.

OH NOW WE GO TO LEE/KARA BIT. ( i still haven't gotten over previous scene, so, it kinda flies over my head anyway)
LEES GONA BE IN THE QUORUM!
Lee trusts Kara, they get all kissey, kissey. NEXT! It was a sweet moment anyway.

Lee goes for a look around before he leaves. and then he gets a suprise leaving thing. Where like everyone is there. it was a sweet idea. :) I feel so sorry for Dee in all of this. I know she knew that Lee and Kara had a thing, but she's still been dragged though it all. Bye bye Lee *waves*
ALSO I NOTICED THEY MISSED OUT THE GOODBYE WITH LAURA AND LEE. cus he is talking to Dee and then, all of a sudden you see Laura's hair. Like WTF? then he goes to his daddy.

Now we see Cylons. And yes. I still think Cavill is funny. BUT DO NOT PISS OFF SIX! She has her army of free thinking metal-jobs now.

OH. Baltar is poking his skin-job aka TORY! and Tory cries during sex. BUT, Gaius, instead of carrying on 'poking her; he stops and talks to her. Which, shows he is different, really, doesn't it?

UH OH> SEE I TOLD YOU NOT TO PISS SIX OFF! NOW THEY KILLED THE OTHER CYLONS> OH OH. MWahahahahaha. I love it!

The fleet take another jump and Bill watches from behind the window, watching as Kara freaks out, knowing they have jumped.

Then Helo gets her out and takes her to Bill who lets her go off on a waste ship to go explore. I've heard people say this is going against Laura, but i think it makes sense in a way, really. But it was a nice moment between then, really.
"And I won't lose you again" Aww Bill!

THE END!

So what did I think about this episode?
UGH IT WAS FRAKKING AWESOME ON SO MANY LEVELS. IT WAS SAD, BUT AWESOME.
Mary's and Katee's acting, along with Bill and Tricia was on top form and I really really adore this ep so much now. It's right up there in the top 10 I feel.

NOW TALK TO ME ABOUT IT!

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I is officially spammy today!

splodge04 — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:21:32 GMT

OMG, you guys, I just watched Resurrection Ship Pt 1 and nearly bawled my little heart out. The scene
between Laura and Bill is both heartbreaking and warming at the same time. There is so much visible, there, to me, as a shipper, that I just couldn't help but get all teary eyed and fuzzy. You know what I'm on about, right?

I bring you Resurrection Ship Pt 1 PICSPAM and thoughts behind this cut right underneath here :D

"I have good days and bad days, but don't look so worried, I'm not dying today."

"What's gotten into you? You've become so bloody minded" (ZOMG, I love this line so much. It's hardcore and it just explains that he's seen the differences with her *heart thuds* and his facial expression is priceless.

Bill looks after his lady *sniffles*

"I know that as long as Cain lives, your survival's at risk, I know that." *swooooooooooons* Looking out for the Commander, I see ;)

"What can I get you?"
"A new body, perhaps one of those young cylon models, from the resurrection ship"
"I can't see you as a blonde"
"You'd be suprised"

They take each others hands. It's such a touching moment. *tears up* HIs face OMG HIS FACE! It's so sad and it frakking breaks my heart when I see it like that. I can't handle it :(

Then, you see the tear roll down his nose and her eyes fill up with tears. Ugh, OMG, I just can't watch this now without tearing up! *sniff*

"She won't hesitate to kill you, don't let her." Bill wipes his eyes, and OMG it's so hard :( SO SO HARD TO WATCH!

From watching this I can see the parallels between this scene and the certain spoilery one that is floating around. You know which one I mean? I'm sure you do ;) There aren't many people on my F-List that haven't seen it! LOL

This scene is sort of personal, the Pres would not let anyone see her in such a state and the fact that she has let him in, when she is at one of her low points is proof that there is something there. Whether it be an undeniable trust between them, a respect, or whatever, it's just so warming to see, even under the circumstances. Also, Bill is a hardened and certainly stoic man, from what we've seen of him in general. But, when we see the points where he is vulnerable, it breaks my heart so much. When you see that tear flow down his nose, and his face crease up slightly, it kills me. Then, Laura sees it and her eyes well up. It's a touching moment and I think many things are said between them with just their eyes, you know? It's such a beautiful scene. Really is.

and yes,crazyvictoria noted the evil mistake I made. I swear! I just clicked on the episode and it came on. My dvds lied to me.

One of the many reasons why Battlestar Galactica 2003 OWNS MY FRAKKING SOUL! </div>

The Rising Red- Chapter 6- "Gone, Like A Tear In The Rain."

splodge04 — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 23:40:50 GMT

BSG Fic- The Rising Red
(It's also uploaded at Survival Instinct for those who prefer that format.)

Summary: An angsty and slightly AU fic surrounding Adama and Roslin. The President's life is jeopardy and it's only a matter of time until it's too late.
Rated: M
Disclaimer: These character are unfortunatley not mine! I'm just puttin them into my own little storyline to keep me entertained until Season 4!

It's set after Epiphanies and before Sacrifice in Season 2.

Thanks to my Betas laharah and trickalicious78 for getting me though this.

Chapter 6- ‘Gone, Like A Tear In The Rain.’ -Word count 8319

Chapter 1 can be found here. Chapter 5 can be found here
Chapter 2 can be found here.
Chapter 3 can be found here
Chapter 4 can be found here

Billy watched as Laura stood outside of the press room, her hands on her hips and her head lowered to her chest. She was nervous, he could tell, and he kept on watching as she started pacing in front of the hatch, giving herself a few moments before entering. Truth be told, Billy thought that the conference would cause her more hassle and stress then she needed at the moment, but she was set in her ways and he wouldn’t even try persuading her.

When he had arrived to greet her that morning, he watched her, hunched over an open diary, scrawling in it with a deep concentration etched across her face. It hadn’t occurred to him that she had even been keeping a diary, but these were scary times and maybe it was her outlet. It wouldn’t surprise him if she contained a basketful of different emotions all simmering beneath the surface. There were sides to her even he hadn’t seen, and as he knew there was a line, he would never cross that invisible barrier because he respected her- she was like a mother to him.

When she lifted her head, still pacing along the corridor, he could see that she was mumbling to herself, obviously going over some answers to imaginary questions that she had conjured. You could never be too wary of the press, they could ask some very far-out questions at times to catch you off guard or make you say something you shouldn’t. But, to this day, Laura had been very clever and had always evaded such disasters.

The hatch slowly opened and Billy watched as she looked nervously down the corridor, her tired eyes scanning the metal as if looking out for someone. Billy knew exactly who she was looking out for, he wasn’t silly. He’d heard from one of her guards that she had spent most of the night in the Admiral’s quarters. Whatever that man was to her, Billy was glad that he was there to help, she needed people like him around- especially in times like these.

Billy watched as she walked towards the open hatch, her face set hard and although he was sure that not many people could pick it out, her expression showed her nerves. When she walked slowly towards the threshold of the open press room he saw the blur of a blue uniform walk past him and Admiral Adama walked up behind her, placing his hand gently on her back and leaning forward to talk to her.

“I’m sorry I’m late, I got called down to CIC.” Billy heard his mumble.

Billy saw Laura turn, her mouth set into a quirky smile and her eyes looking eagerly over his face. She nodded, happy that he had arrived, her earlier nerves seemed to evaporate from her body and she stood up tall. “I’m glad you could make it, Admiral.”

There was something there between them, he had noticed. Billy had a knack for reading people and figuring things out without being told. This skill was the reason he had figured out that Laura had cancer and how he managed to do things for her without her request. At that moment, when the Admiral had walked up to her, placing his hand on the small of her back and the way she had looked at him, Billy could tell something had changed. It wasn’t a dramatic change because they had always had some sort of understanding, a line which they had drawn between them. To Billy, however, it seemed that this distinct line had faded and they had become closer. Whatever it was, it had to be something positive, and amongst the negative energy that was surrounding the fleet it couldn’t be bad. Billy was happy that it was having a positive effect on her. It was none of his business when it came down to the President, she could do as she wished, but Billy certainly had an inkling about the two of them and their relationship. Whether it be that it had strengthened due to the recent stresses of leadership, or that Admiral was helping her through a difficult time, he couldn’t help but feel happy at the idea of someone being there for her in a way that he felt he just couldn’t be.

“Are you coming, Billy?” Laura asked, her head popping out through the doorway.

“Sorry, Madam President, I sort of spaced out.”

Laura smiled. “Thinking about a certain person?”

Billy smiled. “You could say that, Madam President.” It was good to see her smile in a playful way at him, it had been a while since that smile had spread across her face. When she ducked back inside the hatch, he followed behind her and watched as she walked to the front of the room, her stance strong and her head held high.

The podium at the front was high and the usual array of microphones had been placed at the top, in the area closest to her. Many of the reporters in the room had ceased their murmuring and gossip as soon as she had entered, watching her as she made her way to the front.

Security was tight, much tighter then usual and the increased military presence seemed to be having its effect on the other people in the room. Billy could see many people looking nervously around at the guns and uniformed men. It was no surprise that they could tell that something was amiss. This meeting was not going to be an easy one.

Laura stood herself upon the podium, spreading her hands across the flat surface and gazing around the room. Billy watched as she began her usual routine of readying herself and composing her thoughts before talking, the people waiting patiently.

Billy had placed himself behind her, standing at the same level as the Admiral, who kept watch over the room with a sharp eye. It always amazed him how he was able to keep a room quiet with his presence. Although Billy was sure that the Admiral wasn’t a hard man, having seen him a few times when he was relaxed around the President, there was something about him. Whether it was his age or his military rank, or even the fact that he was a war veteran and had saved their collective asses on many occasions, it was good to have him there. The reporters, no matter how pushy and frustrating they were, didn’t seem as keen to step out of place with such a man in the room.

“I’d like to thank you all for coming this morning. I think that there are a number of things at this present moment that need addressing and I am here to do exactly that. This fleet is important,” she said, her eyes gazing around the room at the various people sitting before her. “As a race it is our mission to survive this, to build ourselves a home so that we can live on and continue the legacy of our people.” A few of the people in the crowd muttered ‘so say we all’ and this made Laura adjust herself on the podium so she could stand taller. “Inside each and every single one of us is a hidden light that burns within us like a candle. The Cylons are like a gust of wind, pushing against it to try and put it out, but we must not let this take place. I find it hard to believe that there are many people out there that would want to aid the Cylons in their endeavour, but it seems there are.”

A loud uproar of mumbling erupted from the press and a few of the members began jumping to their feet, microphones at hand. “Madam President, is this in regards to the explosions that took place aboard the Carina?”

Laura nodded her head. “Yes. It seems that someone out there took it upon themselves to damage the inside of that ship.”

Hands began raising and Laura took a deep breath. “Yes,” she said pointing to a tall brunette woman standing at the back.

“Is it true that you’ve been in ill, Madam President?”

“Is it cancer?” Another reported shouted, raising his microphone towards her.

Laura waited for a few seconds before shaking her head. “No, it’s not.”

“Are you ill, Madam President?”

“That topic is not up for discussion.” She eyed up the reporter that was sitting the closest to her, making it clear that she didn’t want the topic talked about again. “Yes?”

A tall greying man stepped forward and coughed lightly. “Could you give us any more information on the reason the Carina was damaged? Have you found the culprit?”

Laura shook her head. “We are still unsure who the responsible parties are, but the Admiral and myself have people working on that. I’d like to bring something to the attention of the fleet. We are not going to give up,” she paused, raising her head slightly. Although she knew that her message was going to be slightly cryptic, it would make sense to whomever was doing all of this. “As a race we are strong and we will never give in to terrorists or the Cylons. They destroyed our families, our loved ones and our homes. As long as we stick together and strive in the same direction, we will overcome this and get to Earth.”

Many of the reporters scrunched up their faces and began mumbling amongst themselves as they tried to comprehend her words.

“So say we all,” a voice behind her said, and she turned to see Bill glancing out at the room.

“So say we all,” another voice said, and Billy nodded his head.

This phrase carried itself around the room, people nodding their head in agreement at a speech they were certainly unsure of. They understood the sentiment, but not the underlying warning that Laura Roslin was sending out. Whomever was doing this to the fleet needed to watch out as she wouldn’t give up, and if she fell, there was always someone else that would go after them. Bill and Billy had certainly and unexpectedly backed that up.

“The security of this fleet will remain high. Transport will be limited and I ask all of you, if you see anything odd or out of sorts to report it to your ship’s captain as soon as possible. By making sure that the fleet remains as safe as possible, it will heighten our chances of making it in one piece, which I am sure you all want to. Anymore questions?…”

---

“That went reasonably well,” Bill said, sitting down at his desk and pulling out the book that he had hidden inside the secret compartment he’d made. “I mean, it could have been much worse, don’t you think?”

Laura nodded and sat on the couch, dropping her heels to the floor and relaxing into the softness of the throw that smelled so strongly of Bill. “I think it went very well.”

The book landed on this desk and he tried flattening the pages. They hadn’t gotten around to going through this the night before, having found that other things needed to be done, and it was worrying him slightly that she wanted to read this now. If it were true, and this book held keys to what was going to happen, what would it say? How would it affect her? How would it affect the fleet? This book should be priority, he knew, and it was certainly odd that they hadn’t looked at it once in over a day, but there was a moment for everything.

Laura sighed, and leaned back against the arm of the sofa, curling her legs up underneath her, watching Bill as he stared at the mass of paper on his desk. He was puzzling her slightly. She was just as unsure as ever about where she stood with him. After last night, and the direction their relationship seemed to go in, it still wasn’t clear to her. Was she reading him wrong? She was pretty sure she wasn’t, she’d grown so attuned to him, it was like he was an extension of herself. Things were different, but to what extent? “Bill?”

Bill looked up from the paper to Laura’s face, watching as the light bounced off of her glasses which now hung from her shirt. Her hair with it’s long auburn locks, was hanging around her face standing out against the white of her shirt. She seemed so much more refreshed after getting some down time the night before, and it almost made her glow slightly. “Hmm?”

“Can I ask you something?…”

“You don’t even have to ask me that question, you know,” Bill said, opening the first page of the book.

“You know when this is all over-”

“You’re not going to die.”

“No, I meant when we get to Earth or when we feel things are right, will there be room for me?” Laura watched as he closed the book and looked up at her. There was something there between them, and although at first it had seemed as if it were a slightly one-sided affection, after the night before, and the events that took place after he had kissed her, it had been confirmed it was very much a mutual thing. She knew Bill wasn’t someone that took things like that lightly, but she feared that when they finally got to the end, she wouldn’t be what she wanted- the woman by his side. Although, currently she was a woman by his side, it wasn’t at the level she longed for. When he took her hand or gazed at her like he did, she wanted it to be more then friends or as Admiral and President. That possibility was there, and she selfishly wanted it to happen and she didn’t want something to be built further if there was a chance that it would all crumble.

Bill watched her as she analysed his features, knowing exactly what her words had meant. He didn’t understand why she would ask such a thing after what they had been through and spoken about after he had so boldly kissed her, but he knew she was thinking things through more than she should. “Laura…there will always be room for you, you should know that…after everything.”

“I know. I’m just being silly,” she whispered, looking away awkwardly. “Now, the Book. We need to get through as much of this as we can before these people board the ship.”

Bill watched her as she stood and made her way over to his desk, moving a chair around the other side so she could see the pages. “You sure you want to do this now?”

“We have to. I’m hoping that when whoever this person comes on board you will be able to put them in the brig or something like that so we can interrogate them.”

The corner of Bill’s mouth twitched into a small grin. “I’d already arranged that.”

“Without telling me?”

“You were ill at the time.”

She eyed him suspiciously before pulling the papers from his hand and smiling. “Great minds think alike.”

“So say we all,” he grinned, turning his desk lamp on and placing his gaze back onto the open page. “So, we start at the beginning right?”

“I think that’s the best bet, isn’t it? It may explain why and when all this began.” Laura stared down at the page and then they both started reading.

“When times become hard and life becomes tough, we look to our leaders for hope and comfort. But, when it seems that the leaders are not fit to do the job and there is a higher level of being that can truly keep us safe and happy, why do we not jump for them? Why do we not seek out the higher being and make them our leaders?”

Laura scoffed and turned the page. “You have got to be kidding me. They think the Cylons are going to make it all better? You had finished that page, right?”

Bill nodded. “I think most of this is going to be…I don’t know how to put it…preachy? How about we skim through it and look for the important parts like how and why they are doing this to you.”

Laura nodded her head. “That sounds like a better idea. I know that this frakking garbage will make me angry. I just know it.”

The two of them sat hunched over the book, flicking through pages, skimming the words for useful information. It was going to be a pain, especially as they didn’t have long, a few hours at most until whoever it was would come aboard. They wanted to know what they were dealing with.

“Cylon’s are not our enemy. To make the war stop, we must bow down to them and make them our leaders. They are not the enemy, the government and the military are.”

“That line there is familiar,” Laura said, pointing to the page and looking around at Bill’s desk. “I’ve read that before…I read it on the flyer they were sending around. Do you have a copy?”

Bill nodded his head, pulling the red flyer from underneath a pile of paper on the very edge of his desk. “I was going to put it in the bin, actually.”

“It’s a good thing you didn’t. See, it’s here. ‘When the two leaders fall, we will once again be able to worship what we were meant to worship. On the 28th day of bombardment, the people will understand what we know to be true.’ Oh my gods, Bill, they mean us. It makes more sense now I’m reading it in context. Both of us are the targets.” She moved her eyes to Bill’s face and peered into them. “Are you feeling ok?” She put her hand to his head and felt for a temperature or something that wasn’t right.

Bill moved out of her hands way. “I’m fine.”

Laura’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I said that, didn’t I?”
“Well, there was something wrong with you, though, and you were being stubborn. If it makes you feel better I’ll go down to see the Doc later.”

“How about now?”

“Later. We need to read more of this. If the things in here are true, then we’ll find out if it has happened yet, won’t we?” Moving his eyes from hers, he placed his finger back on the sentence he had been reading and carefully read each word, trying to ensure he understood each line. He was pretty good at reading in-between the lines too and understanding oddly written sentences. The fact that this book could carry ideas about what was going on and what was going to happen, he had to remain vigilant. Although he was a skeptical man, he couldn’t overlook anything at the current moment, there were too many lives at risk.

Laura turned the page, skimming her eyes over all the various paragraphs and sentences, Bill taking more time to go over the words. She knew what she was looking out for and it would certainly give her more detail about which direction she was going to take.

Another page turned over.

Bill paused his reading and he felt his stomach clench when his eyes glanced over the sentence.

“On Day Three, the female leader would be injected with the deadly concoction by somebody she trusts. “

“Laura- I-um, well, read this.” He pointed over to the sentence and watched her face as she read over the lines below. At first he couldn’t quite make out if she was angry, her eyes glazing over and her brow creasing, or whether she was upset.

“Someone I trust,” she whispered, lifting her head up from the book. Faces flashed in front of her, her mind ruling out the many different people that she did trust, and there weren’t that many. Bill, her guards, Lee, Starbuck, Billy and a few other people. Someone she trusted? She sighed. Why did it have to be someone she trusted and not someone random that she wasn’t partially attached to? Apart from her guard, she was attached to the rest of them, and to a handful, a lot.

“Well, this narrows it down to someone that is in regular contact with you.” Bill said glumly, turning the page over so she didn’t have to look at it again. “This will make it easier to catch them.”

“If you can catch them.” She shook her head, her heart beating hard in her chest at the idea it was someone she was around a lot. Unless it was trust in another respect. It would certainly take a lot of thinking about. She stood up and took her glasses off, pacing in front of his desk.
As she paced, he could see the wheels turning in her mind, coming to grips with the idea and thinking about who it could be. The first thing he was going to have to do was to keep her close to him, it seemed that trust amongst the fleet was becoming a hard thing to give. “There’s you,” she said, looking at him slowly. “But, it couldn’t be you because you’re going to be targeted.” She ran her fingers through her hair and turned to walk in the other direction. “It couldn’t be Starbuck or Apollo because they have been targeted…Helo…no, I’m not around him very often.” She paused and turned to Bill. “It only leaves my guards,” she turned her face away quietly and bit her lip, “or Billy.”

Bill shook his head. “Don’t be silly, Billy would never harm you.”

“I know,” she said sitting back down and putting her head in her hands. “This is just…ugh…this is just frakking ridiculous. It’s all about mind games! Billy would never do anything like that, he’s such a good boy.” She sighed and rubbed her forehead, feeling her heart sink in her chest. How could anyone play with her and Bill like this? What possible advantages would it have? How would the fleet survive if they weren’t around? As arrogant as it sounded, they were the best people to keep this fleet alive. Bill was experienced, smart and he knew what to do. If they weren’t here and the Cylons came, the Cylon worshippers getting their way, the human race would be annihilated- and for what? What were their motives for that? She was pretty sure it wasn’t a suicide attempt on their part.

“I’m going to suggest something,” Bill said quietly. “I don’t want you to take it the wrong way.”

Laura lifted her head and watched as he turned his gaze to her. “What is it?”

“I want you to shadow me. Stay here, come with me during the day. Until we figure out who did this to you, you aren’t safe. If you need to go somewhere, I will come too. I’m going to get Starbuck to be a part of this. You need a personal guard, I can do what I can, but Starbuck has initiative and she is a very capable officer.” Bill looked up at her. “I don’t want you to think that I’m doing this for any other reason than wanting to protect you. I will dismiss your guard, and then slowly reassemble a new one after each of the men have been through checks and questioning.”

Laura blinked and then slowly nodded her head. “When you mean shadow you, does that mean-”

“All the time. Well, obviously not ALL of the time,” he said with a slight grin on his face. “But you know what I mean.”

“And Starbuck?”

“She’ll accompany you, when I am unable. She’ll be with us when you’re shadowing me. I just feel that it will be more beneficial for it to work like that.”

“OK. No, that makes sense. I just hope you don’t get bored of me,” she said, turning the page on the book and looking at him from the corner of her eye.

Bill didn’t say anything, instead he diverted his attention back to the book. How could he get bored of her, of all people?

“It’s just dawned on me, after reading through this how accurate it is. I mean, sure, someone can indeed write something that is very vague and there is always a likelihood that something will come true. But, I don’t know, there is something about this that’s scary. It’s so accurate, the detail is impeccable.”

Bill nodded his head. “This person has orchestrated it very well, I must say.”

“I don’t know. I think there is too much detail for it to be…planned, you know?” Laura turned the page again, staring at the words.

“As accurate as it may be, the likelihood of someone being able to predict such things is just-” he could see the look she was giving him, and he stopped. “You know what I mean though. It’s all about perception of people. What’s the likelihood of me assembling a guard to go to the ship after explosions have gone off? Then, with someone else’s plans added in-between the lines, it would all work.”

“Do you think we should show this to anyone?” Laura said, turning over the page.

“Is there anyone that we can trust to do so? Anyone we can trust to help us decode this stuff? I mean look, that line there could mean anything. Bill took a sip of water from a glass to his right.

“Gaeta?”

Bill shook his head. “I already have him decoding other things at the moment. I don’t think it wise to pass it onto him, even though I trust him.” Bill paused and turned over the next page. “I was going to suggest someone, but, I think that his attention is required elsewhere at the moment. Somewhere very important.”

“Baltar?”

“Yes. I think that he is needed though. You need him to be looking through the blood samples and trying to find a way to help you. We can’t pull him away from that.”

Laura nodded her head slightly. She had to decide. Baltar was very clever and was her best chance of survival at the moment, but, he might be able to help them with the reading between the lines of this text. As annoying as it was, she thought that if he could find something in the text, he might find something in her blood. If all of it was connected, then surely there could be a result found at the end of it? “No…no, I think that we should let Baltar take a look at this, after we are done.”

Bill shook his head, turning the page again. “No. We need to make sure you are the top priority in this. I refuse to jeopardise the progress made on your situation.”

“What progress?” she said bleakly, adjusting her glasses. “Bill, really, how much have they found? How many things of use? I am truly thankful for all of the work he has done on that, but how do we know he will find anything at all? If we think through this logically, this book is the key to the situation. The answers are in here. What have we found from looking in here, really? A few cryptic messages here and there about our deaths.”

“At least we know what is going to happen,” he said gently. “Look, I know that there are a lot of things to think about at the moment, but I think that we should get through all of this first. If, at the end of it, there are some areas that need a more detailed look, then we can go to him. But I think that his attention is needed elsewhere.”

Laura had wanted to reply but her breath had caught in her throat as she had read a small paragraph on the page. She hadn’t realised that they had gotten so far. She gulped slowly and felt her eyes glaze over with fresh tears, threatening to fall down her face and into her lap. She lifted her head and looked up at the ceiling, waiting for the tears to recede so she could get her head around what she had just read.

“Laura?” Bill said, turning to her as she looked away from him.

“Read,” she whispered, taking her glasses off and resting her hands into her lap.

Bill glanced down, reading the bolded words before him. When his eyes read over the sentences, he felt his heart contract and his stomach knot. His eyes began to sting and he turned to Laura who was now wiping at her eyes.

“Laura,” he croaked, swallowing slowly to remove the frog in his throat. “I will not let that happen to you.”

She turned her face towards him and she could see the tears in his eyes and it only fuelled hers. “You don’t-”

“I said I won’t.” Bill reached over to her hand and took it in his, entwining his fingers in with hers.

Laura put her other hand around his and gave it a gentle squeeze, her heart thudding in her chest. Why would anyone want to inflict pain upon her? Why would anyone want to do anything to him?

The phone began buzzing and Bill reached across, not letting go of her hand. “Adama,” he mumbled, glancing over at her and reassuring her with his eyes. “I’ll let the President know, thank you.” He put the phone down and closed the book, putting it back into the compartment. “You’re wanted in sickbay.”

“Are you coming too?”

“I’m going to be like your shadow, as you are going to be to mine.”

“Good then,” she said, wiping her eyes once more. “We can get you looked over.”

---

Laura sat in her room, writing in her diary again. She had spent a long time earlier in the morning, writing about her experience from the night before. She wanted to keep as much of this written down as possible. She paused her writing and flicked back to the previous two pages and began reading.

“At that moment I could see something in his eyes that had previously been undefinable when I had seen it. That spark and glint behind his eyes, which I had always took for a passion for his work, was not, it was for me. It had never been something I would have associated. Call it ignorance or just a misunderstanding when it comes to Bill, but it shocked me. That fire, which I had seen so many times, was for me, as a woman, and I could never have perceived such a thing.

When his lips touched mine and I felt the way he could be with me I could feel myself come alive. It was like a fire had started inside of me- he wanted me in a loving and protecting way, not like some men I have met in my life. Selfishness and greed overwhelmed me for a brief amount of time, making me want to be with him. But as much as I wanted to, there was something in the way and there had always been something there- the fleet and the responsibilities of being the leaders, but even more prominent than that this time was the idea that I might die. As much as I wanted to go there, I couldn’t, not when my mortality was in the way. If I die and the line between us had been crossed, the aftermath could be horrific.

Bill held me for what seemed an age, his head resting on top of mine. It wasn’t something I was accustomed to really. Obviously, Bill has been there on numerous occasions when I needed comfort, but this time, it seemed so much more. There was something more to be lost at that point- now we knew really what we were feeling. His aftershave, his steady breathing, his warmth and his grip were so overwhelmingly comfortable. It made me question why I hadn’t been selfish before…why I hadn’t stepped over the line. The grass IS greener on the other side and I really did want to be there.

Bill had understood what I was saying when I had mentioned death, and he knew what would be at risk. This man has gone from someone who I had to force myself to be around, to someone I wanted to be with. It’s strange, I know, but there are deep rooted feelings within me for him that I’m sure will never ever leave, even when I am no longer here.

Was it greedy of me to want to stay with him that night? Was it wrong of me to share the same bed as him, to feel his warmth, the softness of his skin and the comfort of being in his arms? It may have been a mistake, I’m not sure, but it felt right. Since the beginning of all of this, there have only been a few things that I have felt were the right thing to do and haven’t regretted. I think this thing between us may be on that list now. When I had stopped the tears from falling and we sat down on his sofa, I wanted to stay with him. I think he understood that and understood that I didn‘t want to be alone. Why would anyone want to spend the remaining hours on their own, when there was so much more to experience? He asked me, softly, whilst I leaned against him on the sofa, if I wanted to stay. I agreed. Part of me knows now that I wanted and still want to be able to do things while I am still capable. I don’t know if I will make it to Earth, I don’t know if I will be able to fully appreciate what we have and could have. But at that moment, when he asked me to stay, I could see what we could experience together, and I wanted it so much. It’s wrong of me to indulge, but the selfishness within me was telling me to let go, just this once, and do something that will make me happy…I don’t know when I will be able to do that again. I am happy that I did, when I think about it enough, I just hope that it will be there when the time is right.

Bill Adama, you do things to me that I just can’t explain. I hope and pray, that when the time comes, you will have me.

I crawled into his rack, the sleeping pills already in my system, and wrapped my arms around him, snuggling up against his body. It had been such a long time since I had been able to do that and I realised what I had been missing. When I felt sleep starting to overtake me, I looked up to him and smiled and he kissed me gently wishing me pleasant dreams. It was warm, comfortable and the steady beating of his heart sent me into a peaceful slumber. Oh, Bill…”

Laura looked up from her diary and sighed, it was certainly a frustrating situation, to not be able to take what’s in front of you because thousands of people are relying on you. It was even worse to think that she couldn’t take it because she was scared that once it was there, it would be ripped away from her if she didn’t make it over the next few weeks. She pulled out her pen and began writing again, having found a comfort in writing down her feelings.

“Fear is a terrible thing, it paralyses you and makes even the most simple decisions seem like a gigantic leap. I feel, at the moment, that everything is a huge step and one little slip could send me crashing down. I found some solace, days before, when I found myself sitting in the religious room of Galactica, pondering over my situation. I came to realise that there are certain things that scare me more then just dying, like my memory leaving too. Everything I have ever accomplished, loved, touched and devoted myself to would be gone…like a tear in the rain. My decisions, my hopes, my dreams and fantasies gone, evaporating into the air. The only essence of me left is what people remember me for, and when they are gone I am nothing- like I was never even alive. If I do die, what will people remember me for? Will they remember me for the way I dressed, or the decisions I have made? The intimate parts, the inner parts of me that have only been exposed to certain people, will eventually fade…everything I ever was, just gone.

Every fibre of my being is trying to be positive and believe that maybe I will make it to Earth, to see the people finally make a home after the disaster. The only thing preventing this positive attitude from being prominent is this barrier of uncertainty. I know that Bill and his men will do what they can, but what happens if there is nothing to be done? What if this was meant to happen? The dying leader was never meant to make it to Earth…and the illness which threatens me might not have been the cancer. What if this was how it was meant to be?

As scared and fearful as I am, I know that what will happen will happen and I will do whatever I can to keep this fleet going…even if I don’t make it.”

Laura looked up the clock and sighed; she had to leave soon, she wasn’t meant to be long, having told Bill that she was going to change. Obviously, he had to give her a little privacy, and himself and Starbuck were stood outside, her newly acquired shadows.

“I’m happy to say that currently Bill is ok. I was shocked to learn that he is also going to be targeted and that knowledge broke my heart more than any other news I’ve received today. Upon seeing Cottle, I urged Bill to get himself checked and it seems as if he is ok for now. I’m going to make him go often. I don’t want him to get hurt, I don’t want him to suffer.

In other news, it seems as if the sleeping pills, which had been working, are not going to last long. So, the small hours of sleep I have been getting are going to get fewer. I can’t fathom what it is going to be like. I know I’ve been struggling a lot these past few days, but it’s going to get much worse. I can’t imagine it being any worse and it scares me to know that it will.”

Starbuck stood lazily outside, leaning against the bulkhead, her foot tapping on the floor. She watched carefully as the Admiral waited anxiously outside the President’s hatch, his eyes wandering nervously down the hall, looking out for anything out of the ordinary. She had noticed, since been given the all clear, that he had been on edge. It was very strange for him to act like that and it bothered her. The Admiral was a calm and level-headed man and she rarely saw him falter. She hoped that he would let her know, but if she was going to bug him that would only make it worse.

At this present moment, Starbuck was very happy to be out of the sickbay. Although the Doc had been against it, she had been thankful when the Old Man had come to see her whilst visiting with the President. Although she wasn’t allowed back in the viper just yet, she was thankful to be given any detail, no matter how small. Although she did think that being drafted in to be the President’s own body guard was no small matter.

“You say that she’s going to get changed, sir? Is she having a meeting?” Starbuck straightened her jacket and watched as he looked down the corridor for the seventh time.

“Yes. I thought I told you?” Bill looked at her, his eyes narrowed, implying that she hadn’t been listening to him, one of his pet peeves.

“No, sir. You just told me that I’m going to be the President’s guard, nothing else.”

Bill looked back to the hatch and then back to Starbuck, confused that he hadn’t told her about the meeting. “It’s a meeting with a member of the Cylon worshippers. Apparently they have demands-”

“We don’t deal with terrorists, though, isn’t that what the President said?”

Bill nodded his head, knowing that they didn’t. It was also strange that they would have ideas or demands when they were just basically out to remove him and Laura from the picture. Why did they want a meeting with her? Why did they want any of this? He was hoping that they would get information from whomever came aboard. They had to find something. “We do not give into terrorist demands, no. We are just in need of some vital information.”

Starbuck nodded her head. “Gotcha…Sir?”

Bill turned his head back to her and he could see the confusion behind her eyes. “Yes?”

“Is everything ok?” Starbuck watched as his eyes hardened, the emotion and tension that had been so clearly visible in his eyes evaporating away. There was something wrong, she could tell. The Old man was a fighter, a strong one. He was always there when she needed support, but, when it came down to it, how many people were his rock?

The hatch slowly opened and Laura exited, wearing a new suit and a bewildered look on her face. She caught the glimpse of Kara, who was looking at Bill with a deep concern. “Lieutenant Thrace, it’s nice to see you.”

“Good Morning, Madam President.” Starbuck said cheerily, nodding her head and standing upright.

“I think it’s time we went.” Bill moved to Laura’s side. Laura hooked her arm through his and leaned against him as she walked down the corridor, totally unsure about what was going to happen. Would they get any answers? Would they find out if she was going to be ok?

Starbuck walked behind them, watching them carefully as they made their way down to the hangar bay. She watched carefully as the Admiral turned to look at Laura, who looked at him, a slight hint of a smile spreading across her face. They murmured amongst themselves and it made Starbuck recoil. Gods, she thought, the rumour mill WAS right for once.

--

The hangar was empty apart from Colonel Tigh, who was stood watching the other people enter, guns at the ready. They were all going to be positioned out of the way until the transport arrived in the pods outside, and the person, or people arrived. Upon stepping foot inside the hangar they were going to be arrested and taken to the brig for an extensive questioning, which he was personally looking forward to.

“Is it all set?” Bill said, making Tigh turn around to look at him.

“Yes, sir. I got as many men as I could. You never know what to expect in this Gods damn fleet anymore.”

Bill nodded. “Is the craft on its way?”

“Yes, sir, should be here any minute.” Tigh turned to look at the men around him and raised his hand in the air. This prompted the marines to scatter into various areas out of sight, just to be on the safe side.

A phone began buzzing behind Starbuck who turned and picked it up, pulling the receiver to her ear. “Starbuck.”

“Lieutenant Thrace, this is Gaeta, could you put the Admiral on, please.”

“Admiral, sir” Starbuck called, waving him over to her.

Bill turned and walked over to Starbuck. “Yes?”

“The ship has docked sir, they will enter the hangar in a few moments.”

“Thank you” Bill slammed the phone down and stood next to Laura. “I hope this works and we get some information.”

Laura nodded her head, looking up to him. “So do I.”

The whole hangar went quiet, Tigh stood at the front his eyes scanning the area, looking at all of the marines. Everybody else had their eyes on the same hatch, waiting for whoever it was that was going to enter. Starbuck had her hand on her firearm, standing close to the President and the Admiral. You could never be too cautious.

The hatch opened slowly and a tall muscled man walked inside, dressed in dark red robes, his face marked with a deep red bruise. His thick dark locks hung down by his face and he gazed around the room. When he looked at the back he could see a woman with blonde hair who looked familiar and made him stop in his tracks.

“Gods,” Tigh said, looking at the size of the man standing before him.

Starbuck had grabbed her gun and her eyes grew wide. “Frak,” she yelled walking forward. “You frakking-”

“Now,” Tigh yelled, raising his hand in the air.

A torrent of marines erupted from around the room, circling Geoffrey, pointing the guns at him and backing him against the nearest bulkhead. His eyes grew wide with fear and he crouched down to the floor. “Please don’t shoot,” he whimpered.

---

The room was still dark, his chair cold and the tray in front of him empty. The clock ticked slowly, the sound reverberating from a distant corner behind him. He had been sitting like that for a long time, his eyes closed and a small grin set across his face.

Memories were a wondrous thing. They had been the reason he had proceeded to do what he was doing now. Time had become so irrelevant now that he liked slipping back into the past where everything was perfect. It was peaceful now and he could have sworn he could hear the chirping of birds in the distance.

Geoffrey would be boarding the ship only to find that they were going to take him hostage. Poor man never knew what was going to hit him. Oh well, lives could be expended for such a thing.

He stretched out his legs, leaning further back into his chair, the book in his hand and his mind wandering to a distant time when he had been truly happy.

The sun was setting and she was sitting close to him, her hair hanging down across her face as she bent down to pick up a flower. The day had been long but each and every moment was spent doing something worthwhile, something that would form an imprint on his mind. As she turned towards him, the flower in her hand, he caught her eyes and they way they sparkled underneath the setting sun. The pinks and oranges reflecting off of her face reminded him of an image of an angel he had seen on a fine piece of art some years before. She was wondrous and he never wanted to let her go. The day had been perfect and he was hoping that there would be many more to come, he just had to give her the ring.

“Today has been perfect,” she whispered in his ear as she ran her hands through his dark brown locks, flattening the piece of hair which sat at a funny angle on the top of his head. “Are you working tomorrow?”

He shook his head, taking his hand into hers and pulling her onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her waist. The breeze washed over them, wrapping them in a warm envelope. “I’m not in for the rest of the week.”

She playfully pinched his arm. “You never told me.”

“I was keeping it a secret,” he grinned, picking up the ambrosia from the blanket. “I wanted to surprise you!”

She smiled, her lips parted, revealing her pure white teeth. Her perfect smile. “You’re full of surprises. Close your eyes.”

“What are you going to do?” He said playfully, locking his hands with hers.

“You trust me, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. I’ll always trust you.” Another gust of wind blew over his face. As he watched her grin playfully at him, he closed her eyes and let go of her hands. Unsure of what to do he sat there until he felt her hands wrap around his neck and her lips press against his cheek, moving to his lips.

The ship shook and he opened his eyes, looking out around the room and then down to the book in his hand. Soon, he thought before standing up and leaving the room, the book firmly in his grasp.</div>