FIC: The Stars in Their Courses - Chapter Fifty
Summary: A desperate Sharon asks for Baltar’s help; Bill and Laura find out each other’s secrets.
Rating: T
Genre: AU, Adventure, Romance, Angst, Drama
Word Count: 2,200
Chapter Fifty:
At the sound of the hatch opening, Baltar glanced up from his work. He expected another oppressive visit from Adama, but it was a young female pilot--the one who’d rescued him from Caprica. He slid off his stool.
“Lieutenant Valerii, what a pleasant surprise,” he gabbled, giving her a tremulous smile.
Sharon looked around the laboratory nervously. “I don’t want to interrupt--“
“No, no. No interruption.” The Doctor rushed to her side and offered her a stool.
She shook her head. “I won’t take up too much of your time--“
Six leaned on Baltar’s shoulder. “Wonder why they call her Boomer?”
“Please, what can I do to help you?” asked Gaius, stepping away from Six.
“I was wondering...if you’ve finished that Cylon detector?” The young woman failed miserably at appearing nonchalant.
Baltar pursed his mouth. “The Commander has shifted me to a more urgent project.”
“What could be more important than finding out who’s a Cylon among us?” Sharon burst out in obvious distress.
Baltar put an arm around her shoulder. “Is there something wrong?”
“No,” she insisted. “It’s just...if you had a Cylon detector...I was going to offer to go first.”
He carefully stepped away. “I see.” He pushed his glasses back up his suddenly sweaty nose.
Shoulders slumped, Sharon waited.
“Perhaps you can help her,” suggested Six.
Baltar whirled around, looking for his notepad. “Perhaps I can help you.”
“Do you think so?” Sharon’s relief was palatable.
“I don’t have the device completed, but I believe I can do a tissue test that will give me results.”
“How soon?” Sharon’s dark eyes were desperate.
Irritated, Baltar began to prepare his instruments. “I’ll have it done when I have it done.”
She started to remove her tunic. He smiled. “No, I’ll need access to your hip. I’ll be taking a bone marrow sample.”
She slowly undid her pants.
When the Doctor finished extracting the sample, he offered her a pain killer.
The PA suddenly crackled to life. “Lieutenant Valerii, please report to the Ready Room for your pre-flight briefing.”
Sharon quickly buttoned up her tunic. “Please Doctor, as soon as you know anything, let me know.”
“Of course, my dear,” Baltar said soothingly. He watched her limp out his laboratory. Holding up the test tube, he examined it in the light.
“You’re hoping she’s a Cylon?” asked Six.
He only smiled in reply, all the delicious ironies tumbling together in his mind.
~*~
Lee and Bill circled in the workout room, eyeing each other warily. Bill saw that his son was hung over, but he felt no mercy. He could still hear Laura’s casual reply to his question: what’s on your calendar today?
“First up, I have an appointment with Cottle.”
“I’ll come.”
She had held up her hand as she drained her teacup. “No need. Billy’s going with me.”
“I want to come.”
“I don’t want you to.”
Bill’s jab snapped Lee’s head back. The younger man regained his balance and raised his hands as a shield.
Laura should still be at her appointment. Bill had called Cottle, trying to pressure the doctor into allowing him to attend, but he’d been shut down cold.
“Dammit, Bill, you’re only going to push her away if you keep this up.”
Bill thumped Lee’s ribs with a left hook. As if Laura were anywhere close enough to push him away. Every time he thought they’d reached some level of intimacy, he was slapped with reality.
And then there was the little matter of his son abandoning his duty.
Lee managed to tap his father in the chin, and Bill staggered. He waded back in, landing a blow to the side of Lee’s head that sent him to the mat.
Shaking his head, Lee rolled over and slowly pushed himself upright.
Bill stood over his son. “You don’t lose control.”
“Thanks.” Lee got to his feet with his father’s help.
“No.” Bill shook his head. “You gotta lose control. Let your instincts take over.”
“I thought we were just sparring.” Lee licked his swelling lip.
Disgusted, Bill turned his back. “That’s why you don’t win.”
~*~
Elosha lit prayer candles on the coffee table. The President had requested her presence and the moment she’d seen Laura’s face, she knew comforting was needed.
“I had an appointment this morning with Doctor Cottle,” Laura said, her voice numb.
Elosha blew out the match and waited.
“He says I have six months at the outside. He said the cancer moved into my lymphatic system. Aggressively moved in.” Laura’s tone was now determined.
Elosha leaned toward her friend. “I want you to hear me on this,” she said with equal strength. She squeezed one of Laura’s thin chilly hands. “I know you’re the one to lead us to our salvation. You are going to guide us to Earth.”
Laura’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Then we better find it soon.”
Billy quietly entered the room. “Ma’am?”
“Yes, Billy?” Laura replied, still holding hands with Elosha.
“Today’s recon mission has returned,” he said, excited. “They appear to have found a habitable planet.” He held up copies of the aerial survey photos.
The two women looked at each other, smiles spreading on their faces.
~*~
Lee found Kara on the hangar deck, doing her final pre-flight checks on the captured Cylon Raider. Although she appeared as hung over as he was, she was gamely checking the ship’s systems.
He sidled up and grasped the scythe-shaped wing. “Hey.”
Under the carriage, Kara didn’t look at him. “Hey,” she mumbled back.
Lee jumped right in. “Listen, it was nothing...you know, one of those things that happens at a party--“
Her gaze snapped up and she peered at him from under the wing. “Zak was right,” she hissed. “You are a girlfriend stealer.”
Puzzled, Lee shrugged. “I didn’t know she had a boyfriend.”
“You didn’t notice.” Kara crawled out from under the Raider. “That’s different.”
He pursed his lips.
She tapped him on the chest with her wrench. “And as for it being one of those things, I’ve know Anastasia Dualla for a lot longer than you--“ She laughed cruelly at the confusion on his face. “You didn’t even know her full name. Sweet, Adama.”
“I knew that,” he protested.
Kara simply raised an eyebrow. “And if you think she’s just gonna go back to patching your calls through, you’ve got another thing coming. She’s strong-willed and she knows what she wants, and for whatever reason--“ Kara looked him up and down. “She wants you.”
~*~
While Bill carefully examined the recon photographs, Laura paced his quarters. It felt odd for their home to be full of people for serious business meeting, not a dinner party. It was a strange sense of invasion; although their large bed was chastely closed up in the wall, she noticed her hand lotion and book on the rack’s headboard and wondered if anyone else did.
Lee perched on the arm of one chair, looking tired and worn. Elosha also perched, like a bird on a wire, at the edge of another chair, her bright eyes taking everything in. Tigh, much more comfortable in this space than any of them, lounged at the table, checking photographs, waiting for his superior to speak first. Billy lurked in the shadows, looking no better than Lee. Neither man would meet each other’s eyes.
Bill laid down his magnifying glass and looked around the room. “You might be right. This may be Kobol.”
Laura wanted to blurt out about her vision of the Opera House, the bright arrow so clear in her mind, piercing through her formerly sluggish thoughts. She had to be patient, though. She had come to learn that Bill thought things through carefully, weighing evidence. He could move quickly when need be, but this was not one of those instances. She must lead him carefully to her view.
“We should seriously consider permanent settlement on this planet,” he said, a moment of brightness flitting across his face. Green trees, running rivers, sunrises, sunsets, a house big enough for all of them.
Laura’s heart lurched. She opened her mouth, but Elosha cut her off with a sharp glance. “The scriptures tell us that Kobol points the way to Earth,” said the priestess.
“Kobol, Earth, what does it matter as long as there’s water and food?” asked Tigh. Bill nodded in agreement.
Laura spun on her heel and begun to pace again. Billy lowered his head, shielding his worried gaze from her.
“Organize a ground survey team,” ordered Bill, watching Laura with narrowed eyes. “Three Raptors. I want a complete survey of the ruins immediately.”
“Yes, sir,” Tigh said.
“We need to talk,” Laura told Bill, her gaze sweeping the room, clearing it with her glance. Everyone rose from their seats. Lee and Billy avoided each other as the group left.
Laura took Tigh’s seat and touched the photographs. “Bill, there’s more than a habitable planet here.”
“Are we looking for more than that?” he asked, leaning back in his chair.
“We’re looking for Earth. The prophesies foretell that we shall find our new home on Earth.”
He furrowed his brow, his gaze becoming concerned. “Laura, how did your appointment go?”
She ignored his question; she was bursting with her knowledge. “According to the scriptures, if we have the Arrow of Apollo, we take it down to Kobol. There, we use it to open the Tomb of Athena and find our way to Earth.”
Bill’s concern became something more--embarrassment. The chronometer ticked loudly in the silence. He finally spoke, choosing his words carefully. “I didn't know you were that religious.”
Laura’s heart was beating at a frantic rate. “Neither did I. Something wrong with that?”
“No. It’s just new.” He glanced away for a moment, then brought his powerful gaze back to meet hers. “There is no Earth. You understand that.” He was reminding her of the burden of their lie. Never acknowledged, but not forgotten either. Or so he had thought.
She fought to keep from giggling irrationally. “It would seem that we were wrong. Bill, just because you and I don’t know where it is doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”
“Laura, I am not trying to mock your faith, so please understand me.” He stood, leaning on the table heavily, as though a weight had settled on him. “These stories about Kobol, Gods, the Arrow of Apollo, they’re just stories, legends, myths. Don’t let it blind you to the reality that we face.”
She crossed her arms and stared back at him. He appeared wounded, uncertain. They’d worked together, for the most part, since the attacks, and suddenly they were cleaving apart with a loud crack.
“There’s something else,” she told him. “The Scrolls say that a dying leader will lead us to Earth.”
He reacted violently, spinning away from the table, sending his chair crashing to the floor. “What the frak, Laura? Is that what this is about? You’re some mythical figure that will guide humanity to their salvation?”
“That’s about it,” she said tersely.
His bleak eyes stared at her. “That’s why you haven’t been trying to get well?”
She lowered her head and rubbed the back of her shaking hand across her brow.
He moved to her side, taking her hand. “Laura, look at me.”
She tipped her head up.
“I didn’t want to tell you until there was some definite progress.” Now his eyes were the ones bright; his voice light. “But I’ve assigned Doctor Baltar to finding a cure for your cancer.”
His astonishing, insane words fell on her like blows. “What?”
He knelt beside her chair. “I know, I know, it sounds crazy, as crazy as what you’re telling me, but he’s made some progress--“
She leapt up and pushed away from his touch. “You’ve set the destroyer of humanity on the task of saving my life?”
“Who else?” He rose, supporting himself on the chair.
“Have you told Elizabeth about this...idea of yours?”
“Yes,” he confessed.
“Dammit, Bill!” she yelled. “I’m dying! It’s one thing for a child to not accept that, but now you’re pulling her into your delusions!”
“Doctor Baltar has made significant progress using Cylon stem cells to replace human tumor cells.” He balled his fists at his sides. “And Elizabeth and me don’t have to accept anything. You’re still alive; you’re not going anywhere.”
She pulled off her glasses and gripped them so hard she could hear the frames groaning.
“Commander Adama, as the President of the Twelve Colonies, I am formally requesting that Lieutenant Thrace be sent back to Caprica to retrieve the Arrow of Apollo.”
He put his hands on his hips and glowered back at her. “The Raider’s a military asset. I’m not gonna use it to go chasing some mythical arrow.” His rigidity collapsed. “I’m sorry.”
She had no time for his apologies. She bit down on her words. “It is not a ‘mythical’ arrow. It’s in the Delphi Museum--“
The comm rang. “Frak,” grumbled Bill as he snatched the handset off the wall. “Yeah?” He listened, his face tightening. He slammed the handset down.
“What’s wrong?” Laura asked.
He brushed past her. “We’ll take this up later. One of my pilots just shot herself.”
The end Chapter Fifty-one>>>
Rating: T
Genre: AU, Adventure, Romance, Angst, Drama
Word Count: 2,200
Chapter Fifty:
At the sound of the hatch opening, Baltar glanced up from his work. He expected another oppressive visit from Adama, but it was a young female pilot--the one who’d rescued him from Caprica. He slid off his stool.
“Lieutenant Valerii, what a pleasant surprise,” he gabbled, giving her a tremulous smile.
Sharon looked around the laboratory nervously. “I don’t want to interrupt--“
“No, no. No interruption.” The Doctor rushed to her side and offered her a stool.
She shook her head. “I won’t take up too much of your time--“
Six leaned on Baltar’s shoulder. “Wonder why they call her Boomer?”
“Please, what can I do to help you?” asked Gaius, stepping away from Six.
“I was wondering...if you’ve finished that Cylon detector?” The young woman failed miserably at appearing nonchalant.
Baltar pursed his mouth. “The Commander has shifted me to a more urgent project.”
“What could be more important than finding out who’s a Cylon among us?” Sharon burst out in obvious distress.
Baltar put an arm around her shoulder. “Is there something wrong?”
“No,” she insisted. “It’s just...if you had a Cylon detector...I was going to offer to go first.”
He carefully stepped away. “I see.” He pushed his glasses back up his suddenly sweaty nose.
Shoulders slumped, Sharon waited.
“Perhaps you can help her,” suggested Six.
Baltar whirled around, looking for his notepad. “Perhaps I can help you.”
“Do you think so?” Sharon’s relief was palatable.
“I don’t have the device completed, but I believe I can do a tissue test that will give me results.”
“How soon?” Sharon’s dark eyes were desperate.
Irritated, Baltar began to prepare his instruments. “I’ll have it done when I have it done.”
She started to remove her tunic. He smiled. “No, I’ll need access to your hip. I’ll be taking a bone marrow sample.”
She slowly undid her pants.
When the Doctor finished extracting the sample, he offered her a pain killer.
The PA suddenly crackled to life. “Lieutenant Valerii, please report to the Ready Room for your pre-flight briefing.”
Sharon quickly buttoned up her tunic. “Please Doctor, as soon as you know anything, let me know.”
“Of course, my dear,” Baltar said soothingly. He watched her limp out his laboratory. Holding up the test tube, he examined it in the light.
“You’re hoping she’s a Cylon?” asked Six.
He only smiled in reply, all the delicious ironies tumbling together in his mind.
~*~
Lee and Bill circled in the workout room, eyeing each other warily. Bill saw that his son was hung over, but he felt no mercy. He could still hear Laura’s casual reply to his question: what’s on your calendar today?
“First up, I have an appointment with Cottle.”
“I’ll come.”
She had held up her hand as she drained her teacup. “No need. Billy’s going with me.”
“I want to come.”
“I don’t want you to.”
Bill’s jab snapped Lee’s head back. The younger man regained his balance and raised his hands as a shield.
Laura should still be at her appointment. Bill had called Cottle, trying to pressure the doctor into allowing him to attend, but he’d been shut down cold.
“Dammit, Bill, you’re only going to push her away if you keep this up.”
Bill thumped Lee’s ribs with a left hook. As if Laura were anywhere close enough to push him away. Every time he thought they’d reached some level of intimacy, he was slapped with reality.
And then there was the little matter of his son abandoning his duty.
Lee managed to tap his father in the chin, and Bill staggered. He waded back in, landing a blow to the side of Lee’s head that sent him to the mat.
Shaking his head, Lee rolled over and slowly pushed himself upright.
Bill stood over his son. “You don’t lose control.”
“Thanks.” Lee got to his feet with his father’s help.
“No.” Bill shook his head. “You gotta lose control. Let your instincts take over.”
“I thought we were just sparring.” Lee licked his swelling lip.
Disgusted, Bill turned his back. “That’s why you don’t win.”
~*~
Elosha lit prayer candles on the coffee table. The President had requested her presence and the moment she’d seen Laura’s face, she knew comforting was needed.
“I had an appointment this morning with Doctor Cottle,” Laura said, her voice numb.
Elosha blew out the match and waited.
“He says I have six months at the outside. He said the cancer moved into my lymphatic system. Aggressively moved in.” Laura’s tone was now determined.
Elosha leaned toward her friend. “I want you to hear me on this,” she said with equal strength. She squeezed one of Laura’s thin chilly hands. “I know you’re the one to lead us to our salvation. You are going to guide us to Earth.”
Laura’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Then we better find it soon.”
Billy quietly entered the room. “Ma’am?”
“Yes, Billy?” Laura replied, still holding hands with Elosha.
“Today’s recon mission has returned,” he said, excited. “They appear to have found a habitable planet.” He held up copies of the aerial survey photos.
The two women looked at each other, smiles spreading on their faces.
~*~
Lee found Kara on the hangar deck, doing her final pre-flight checks on the captured Cylon Raider. Although she appeared as hung over as he was, she was gamely checking the ship’s systems.
He sidled up and grasped the scythe-shaped wing. “Hey.”
Under the carriage, Kara didn’t look at him. “Hey,” she mumbled back.
Lee jumped right in. “Listen, it was nothing...you know, one of those things that happens at a party--“
Her gaze snapped up and she peered at him from under the wing. “Zak was right,” she hissed. “You are a girlfriend stealer.”
Puzzled, Lee shrugged. “I didn’t know she had a boyfriend.”
“You didn’t notice.” Kara crawled out from under the Raider. “That’s different.”
He pursed his lips.
She tapped him on the chest with her wrench. “And as for it being one of those things, I’ve know Anastasia Dualla for a lot longer than you--“ She laughed cruelly at the confusion on his face. “You didn’t even know her full name. Sweet, Adama.”
“I knew that,” he protested.
Kara simply raised an eyebrow. “And if you think she’s just gonna go back to patching your calls through, you’ve got another thing coming. She’s strong-willed and she knows what she wants, and for whatever reason--“ Kara looked him up and down. “She wants you.”
~*~
While Bill carefully examined the recon photographs, Laura paced his quarters. It felt odd for their home to be full of people for serious business meeting, not a dinner party. It was a strange sense of invasion; although their large bed was chastely closed up in the wall, she noticed her hand lotion and book on the rack’s headboard and wondered if anyone else did.
Lee perched on the arm of one chair, looking tired and worn. Elosha also perched, like a bird on a wire, at the edge of another chair, her bright eyes taking everything in. Tigh, much more comfortable in this space than any of them, lounged at the table, checking photographs, waiting for his superior to speak first. Billy lurked in the shadows, looking no better than Lee. Neither man would meet each other’s eyes.
Bill laid down his magnifying glass and looked around the room. “You might be right. This may be Kobol.”
Laura wanted to blurt out about her vision of the Opera House, the bright arrow so clear in her mind, piercing through her formerly sluggish thoughts. She had to be patient, though. She had come to learn that Bill thought things through carefully, weighing evidence. He could move quickly when need be, but this was not one of those instances. She must lead him carefully to her view.
“We should seriously consider permanent settlement on this planet,” he said, a moment of brightness flitting across his face. Green trees, running rivers, sunrises, sunsets, a house big enough for all of them.
Laura’s heart lurched. She opened her mouth, but Elosha cut her off with a sharp glance. “The scriptures tell us that Kobol points the way to Earth,” said the priestess.
“Kobol, Earth, what does it matter as long as there’s water and food?” asked Tigh. Bill nodded in agreement.
Laura spun on her heel and begun to pace again. Billy lowered his head, shielding his worried gaze from her.
“Organize a ground survey team,” ordered Bill, watching Laura with narrowed eyes. “Three Raptors. I want a complete survey of the ruins immediately.”
“Yes, sir,” Tigh said.
“We need to talk,” Laura told Bill, her gaze sweeping the room, clearing it with her glance. Everyone rose from their seats. Lee and Billy avoided each other as the group left.
Laura took Tigh’s seat and touched the photographs. “Bill, there’s more than a habitable planet here.”
“Are we looking for more than that?” he asked, leaning back in his chair.
“We’re looking for Earth. The prophesies foretell that we shall find our new home on Earth.”
He furrowed his brow, his gaze becoming concerned. “Laura, how did your appointment go?”
She ignored his question; she was bursting with her knowledge. “According to the scriptures, if we have the Arrow of Apollo, we take it down to Kobol. There, we use it to open the Tomb of Athena and find our way to Earth.”
Bill’s concern became something more--embarrassment. The chronometer ticked loudly in the silence. He finally spoke, choosing his words carefully. “I didn't know you were that religious.”
Laura’s heart was beating at a frantic rate. “Neither did I. Something wrong with that?”
“No. It’s just new.” He glanced away for a moment, then brought his powerful gaze back to meet hers. “There is no Earth. You understand that.” He was reminding her of the burden of their lie. Never acknowledged, but not forgotten either. Or so he had thought.
She fought to keep from giggling irrationally. “It would seem that we were wrong. Bill, just because you and I don’t know where it is doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”
“Laura, I am not trying to mock your faith, so please understand me.” He stood, leaning on the table heavily, as though a weight had settled on him. “These stories about Kobol, Gods, the Arrow of Apollo, they’re just stories, legends, myths. Don’t let it blind you to the reality that we face.”
She crossed her arms and stared back at him. He appeared wounded, uncertain. They’d worked together, for the most part, since the attacks, and suddenly they were cleaving apart with a loud crack.
“There’s something else,” she told him. “The Scrolls say that a dying leader will lead us to Earth.”
He reacted violently, spinning away from the table, sending his chair crashing to the floor. “What the frak, Laura? Is that what this is about? You’re some mythical figure that will guide humanity to their salvation?”
“That’s about it,” she said tersely.
His bleak eyes stared at her. “That’s why you haven’t been trying to get well?”
She lowered her head and rubbed the back of her shaking hand across her brow.
He moved to her side, taking her hand. “Laura, look at me.”
She tipped her head up.
“I didn’t want to tell you until there was some definite progress.” Now his eyes were the ones bright; his voice light. “But I’ve assigned Doctor Baltar to finding a cure for your cancer.”
His astonishing, insane words fell on her like blows. “What?”
He knelt beside her chair. “I know, I know, it sounds crazy, as crazy as what you’re telling me, but he’s made some progress--“
She leapt up and pushed away from his touch. “You’ve set the destroyer of humanity on the task of saving my life?”
“Who else?” He rose, supporting himself on the chair.
“Have you told Elizabeth about this...idea of yours?”
“Yes,” he confessed.
“Dammit, Bill!” she yelled. “I’m dying! It’s one thing for a child to not accept that, but now you’re pulling her into your delusions!”
“Doctor Baltar has made significant progress using Cylon stem cells to replace human tumor cells.” He balled his fists at his sides. “And Elizabeth and me don’t have to accept anything. You’re still alive; you’re not going anywhere.”
She pulled off her glasses and gripped them so hard she could hear the frames groaning.
“Commander Adama, as the President of the Twelve Colonies, I am formally requesting that Lieutenant Thrace be sent back to Caprica to retrieve the Arrow of Apollo.”
He put his hands on his hips and glowered back at her. “The Raider’s a military asset. I’m not gonna use it to go chasing some mythical arrow.” His rigidity collapsed. “I’m sorry.”
She had no time for his apologies. She bit down on her words. “It is not a ‘mythical’ arrow. It’s in the Delphi Museum--“
The comm rang. “Frak,” grumbled Bill as he snatched the handset off the wall. “Yeah?” He listened, his face tightening. He slammed the handset down.
“What’s wrong?” Laura asked.
He brushed past her. “We’ll take this up later. One of my pilots just shot herself.”
The end Chapter Fifty-one>>>