FIC: The Stars in Their Courses - Chapter Sixty-four
Summary: The rescue party heads down to Kobol.
Rating: T
Genre: AU, Adventure, Drama, Romance, Angst
Word Count: 2,500
Chapter Sixty-four:
Tigh followed Bill into his quarters. Billy shadowed them and noted the Commander’s pale face with concern.
“How soon will the Raptor be ready?” asked Bill, filling a glass of water. “I want you to take the Galactica back to the Fleet as soon as we launch, Saul. We’ll join the Fleet when we’ve picked up the President.”
Tigh shifted on his feet. “Sir, if I may--“
“What is it?” Although his hand lifting his glass had a tremor, Bill’s eyes were bright. He was ready to leave, now.
“With your permission, may I take a Raptor to the surface? To bury Ellen.” Tigh stared down at his writhing hands. “I’ll do it quickly. Just an hour--“
Bill clasped him on the shoulder. “Of course, of course.”
Tigh raised his damp eyes. “I’ve got the chance to bury her in real earth; she would want that; not the cold of space. I’ll put her by that Opera House. I think she’d like that.”
Smiling, Bill nodded. “She liked a good show.” He pushed his friend away. “Go. We’ll wait.”
Murmuring his thanks, Tigh strode from the quarters.
Billy nervously paced the room. Bill sank to the couch, giving off a sigh. “The first battle’s over. Now we face Laura,” he said.
The young man attempted to laugh and failed.
“I want you along, son,” said Bill.
Billy stopped pacing. “I don’t think this is a very good idea, Commander. The last time she saw me, she wasn’t too happy with me.”
Draining his glass, Bill set it on the trunk. “She trusts you. Values your counsel. She’ll listen to you.”
“I doubt that very much.” Billy sank into a chair. “I’m her assistant. She doesn’t put any more stock in what I say--“
“She thinks you’ll be president one day.”
Billy blinked, shocked. “Excuse me?”
Bill nodded. “That’s what she said to me once. That you reminded her of President Adar when he ran for his first office.”
Elizabeth hurried through the hatch and stopped short when she heard what her father said.
“I don’t really know how to respond to that, sir.”
Bill looked at his daughter and held up his hand to her. She flopped down beside him. “Don’t let it go to your head. Adar was a prick.”
Elizabeth snorted and poked her father gently in the ribs. “Mr. Adar could be totally nice.”
Bill grunted. He turned his sharp gaze on Billy, who stared at Elizabeth. “Well, yes, and I’m sure Billy can be a very nice boy too.”
Billy blushed bright red and looked away. Elizabeth poked her father again.
“Where’ve you been?” asked Bill. “All the birds were back on the hangar twenty minutes ago.”
“Gotta celebrate a successful op,” said Elizabeth, nestling her head on his shoulder.
“Hmmm...so a bottle got passed around?” Bill suggested.
Seeing the concern on Billy’s face, Elizabeth rolled her eyes.
“Yes...but I didn’t drink,” she said.
“Let me smell your breath.”
She pushed herself up. “What?”
“Come on.” Bill motioned to her. “Give me a puff of breath.”
“Okay, maybe I took a sip.” She hopped up. “But only so I didn’t look like a prig.”
Bill crossed his arms. Billy rubbed the toe of his shoe on the rich carpet.
“Anyway, when do we leave for Kobol!?” asked Elizabeth.
“You’re staying on Galactica,” said Bill firmly. “Billy and I will tell her she has to come back with us.”
“What!?” Elizabeth shook her head, her curls whirling. “I thought you were going to try and see Mom’s side of things!”
Bill clenched his jaw. “I do. I will. Later. Right now, your mother’s ill, the Fleet is still vulnerable--“ He rubbed his chest subconsciously. “We need to regroup. No time for wandering around hostile planets, looking for tombs...”
He shook his head. “I’ve read her damn Scrolls. And Zeus warned the leaders of the Twelve Tribes that any return to Kobol would exact a price in blood. That’s no place for my wife in her condition.”
“Dad!” Elizabeth turned to Billy. “Make him see we need to help Mom, not shut her down.”
Billy dropped his head.
“You don’t believe her either?” Elizabeth lifted her hands, then let them drop in frustration. “We can’t do this to her. Not after everything she’s done--“
“You mean inducing one of my pilots to desert and steal a military asset in the process?” said Bill.
“Are you still wrapped up with that?” Elizabeth put her hands on her hips.
Bill pursed his mouth. “Yes, I’m kinda tough-assed about things like that.”
“This is something bigger than your beloved military discipline,” insisted Elizabeth. “She’s trying to save humanity, not earn Kara a good conduct medal.”
“Your mother could be very ill down there, Elizabeth,” said Billy. “At the least, we need to ascertain her condition and take it from there.” His innocent face turned crafty. “There’s something else, sir. Doctor Baltar claimed that he’d found the cure for cancer.”
Bill started. “What!?”
Elizabeth shot Billy a sharp look. “Yes, Dad.”
“So we need to get that Cylon with her too,” Bill said slowly, thinking. “Get both of them back on Galactica.”
“I’m going.” Elizabeth drew herself up tall. “Someone’s got to be on Mom’s side.”
Both men leapt up to protest that they had Laura’s best interests at heart. She held up her hand to silence them. “I’m going,” she said stubbornly.
Bill folded his arms and narrowed his eyes. “Fine. But if your mother’s not well, we’re bringing her right back here.”
Elizabeth stood toe to toe with her father. “You’re going to drag her back by her hair to your cave?” she sneered.
“I didn’t say that--“
“But you thought it.”
As Billy wedged himself between the two of them, he was visited by the vague vision this would be his future, constant role. “We all want what’s best for President Roslin--“
The two of them ignored him.
Leaning back on his heels, Bill raised his eyebrows. “There’s the matter of your action in the battle--“
“Are you trying to blackmail me?”
Father and daughter’s jaws clenched; their wide mouths pressed into obstinate lines. Billy grabbed Elizabeth’s arm, tugging her away.
“He’s right, Elizabeth. We need to handle this information delicately--“
She shrugged his grip off. “I can deal with Mom. I’ve got more experience than either of you.”
“This isn’t staying out too late with your boyfriend,” pointed out Bill. He sighed deeply. “I’ll deal with it--“ His eyes shifted. “Later. We’ll tell her later.”
Elizabeth chuckled snidely.
Bill turned to go. “Before we go, I’m going to see Baltar. Meet me on the hangar deck in twenty minutes. We leave as soon as Tigh returns.”
~*~
Gauis’s head snapped up when the hatch to the brig opened. The Commander entered, nodding at the guard to open the cell door.
“Good to see you back with us, Doctor,” rumbled Adama.
“You as well, Commander,” blathered Gaius, smiling insincerely. He glanced at Adama’s chest and then away.
Adama gave him a tight smile. “I hear that you found that cure before you decided to leave us.”
Baltar opened and then shut his mouth.
Lacing his fingers below his belt buckle, Adama glared at Baltar. “Consider your answer, Doctor. If you lied up on those gallows to save your life, I understand. But if you don’t have the cure, you better tell me before you try to help the President and fail. However, if you have the cure and lie to me now and she dies, I will break your neck like a rat’s.”
Chewing his lower lip, Baltar stared back at the Commander’s impassive face.
Six leaned in close. “Tell him yes.”
Baltar snapped his head around to look at her. She nodded at him assuredly.
“Ummm...”
“You told me that you believed Cylon stem cells would be part of the cure,” said Adama. “Were you able to accomplish this with the dead Cylon tissue we have?”
Blinking rapidly, Gaius opened his mouth, then shut it.
Adama smiled grimly. “Or did you happen to get your hands on some live Cylon cells? Say, from Boomer?”
Baltar pressed his lips together.
Chuckling mirthlessly, Adama shook his head. “You are the sneakiest little frakker I’ve ever met, Doctor Baltar.”
“It’s not what you think--she came to me for a Cylon test, and in the process--“
“So it worked; her cells destroyed the cancer cells.”
Baltar’s folded his hands and dropped his eyes. “Yes.”
“Excellent.” Adama released a long breath. “You’re in luck, Doctor. There’s another Sharon Valerii and she’s with the President now.”
Baltar gawked at him. Excited, Six leaned forward.
“I’m going to retrieve them from Kobol now,” Adama said. “You will go to your lab and ready. I expect to be back within a day.”
Leaping from his cot, Baltar gave a limp salute. Adama rolled his eyes and turned away.
Six squeezed Baltar’s arm with exhilaration. “She’s coming.”
He ignored her, his only thought--freedom from his cell.
~*~
Dawn slowly seeped into the hollow where the search team had camped for the night. Laura lay curled in her damp sleeping bag, ignoring the light, ignoring the faint heat from the dying fire. She flinched at every boom in the sky above as yet another piece of debris entered the atmosphere. All she could think about was what if Bill and Elizabeth had died? She’d survived her mother’s death. She’d survived her father and sisters’. But she didn’t particularly like the person she’d become during those years of trial. Going on without the last two precious pieces of her heart was incomprehensible.
Across the clearing, Helo woke and found Sharon hunched beside him, wide-awake. “Did you sleep at all?” he mumbled, rubbing his face.
“No. It doesn’t matter.”
Helo pushed himself up and peeled down his sleeping bag. “Are you afraid of Lee?”
“Should I be?”
Helo crouched beside her and stared over at Lee’s slumbering form. “Cally kills Sharon and the Old Man only gives her thirty days in the brig. For murder.”
Sharon lowered her voice. “They don’t see it as murder, Helo. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. To Lee, to the President, to all of them, Cylons aren’t people. I’m not a person to them; I’m a thing.”
He grabbed her hand and squeezed it hard. “I won’t stand by and let them kill you like the other Sharon.”
“I believe you, Helo. I do.” She hugged him fiercely. “We have to take care of each other and our baby. First they killed me--what will they do to our baby?”
“No,” he said. “The Commander wouldn’t--“
Pulling back, she stared into his confused face.
Suddenly the birds’ morning song fell silence. Lee’s head popped up from his sleeping bag and he struggled free. Kara yanked out her weapon and silently signaled her intention to take a position higher up the slope from their camp. Laura pressed against the back of her tarp, peering into the heavy underbrush, trying to make out anything moving.
In the silence, a twig snapped like a gunshot.
Lee crept forward, his pistol raised.
The leaves parted and Adama stepped out, his carbine pointed at his son.
“Put down your weapon, Captain,” he ordered.
Lee gaped in disbelief, but he lowered his pistol and holstered it.
Bill pushed past Lee to stand before Laura, suddenly unsure of his welcome.
Laura was stunned. Looking at Bill, standing strong, his expression steely, she suddenly felt like a teenager, the sort of silly girl who couldn’t catch her breath when her boy was right there in front of her.
“Missed you,” she gasped with what little air she could find in her lungs. What a stupid thing to say, she chided herself as she watched a grin spread across his face.
“Me too,” he replied simply.
All her strength gone, she fell into his arms and he mercifully caught her. She grabbed onto his neck for dear life and squeezed him until he groaned. She didn’t care if she was cutting off his breath so soon after his surgery. She wanted to feel him close.
“I love you,” she said huskily, tears close. She was making a fool of herself in front of everyone and she didn’t give a damn. This woman who had carefully carried on an illicit affair for years was smearing snot on the Commander’s neck and blubbering out a declaration of love.
He chuckled. “’bout time,” he rumbled smugly, squeezing her back. He was warm and solid against her frail and chilled body.
Conscious of the others, Laura pushed away, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand. Bill reached to Lee, grasping his son’s shoulder. “Good to see you, son.”
Lee laughed shakily. “Good to see you, Dad.”
Elizabeth and Billy stepped out of the woods. Even as she chided them, “What are you two doing here?” Laura opened her arms.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “It’s good to see you too,” she said but hugged her mother fiercely. Billy smiled, fighting back tears.
Kara climbed down the slope and eased forward.
Bill walked to her slowly, stopping before the uncertain young woman. He reached out and tenderly pushed back her damp bangs.
“Are you okay?” she asked, touching his chest.
“You know me,” said Bill. “A couple of bullets aren’t gonna keep me down.”
Sharon watched the family reunion from the shadows. Worried about Adama, she came forward to see for herself that he was well.
The Chief had brought up the rear of the group. “Oh my gods, Commander!” he warned.
Helo hurried after Sharon. “She’s with us, Commander,” he said.
Sharon halted, sensing danger. Adama approached her slowly, looking at her from head to toe.
She looked exactly the same. He’d hoped to see some difference, but everything was the same, from her slightly twisted right little finger to the lower set of her left ear lobe.
Blood rushed to his head; the instinct to fight for his life, even as she stood before him unarmed. He grabbed her neck and slammed her to the ground.
“I want you to die,” he hissed.
Far away through the red haze, he heard Laura’s faint voice. “Bill, please don’t. We need her.”
Yes...yes, they needed the Cylon alive for Laura’s cure. He pushed off the young woman and clutched his chest.
Lee rushed to assist his father rise, leading him to the tarp shelter. Laura and Elizabeth followed closely.
Helo helped Sharon up. She gasped for breath. “You see, Helo?” she rasped. “You see what I am to them. Where our loyalties should lie.”
The end... Chapter Sixty-five>>>
Rating: T
Genre: AU, Adventure, Drama, Romance, Angst
Word Count: 2,500
Chapter Sixty-four:
Tigh followed Bill into his quarters. Billy shadowed them and noted the Commander’s pale face with concern.
“How soon will the Raptor be ready?” asked Bill, filling a glass of water. “I want you to take the Galactica back to the Fleet as soon as we launch, Saul. We’ll join the Fleet when we’ve picked up the President.”
Tigh shifted on his feet. “Sir, if I may--“
“What is it?” Although his hand lifting his glass had a tremor, Bill’s eyes were bright. He was ready to leave, now.
“With your permission, may I take a Raptor to the surface? To bury Ellen.” Tigh stared down at his writhing hands. “I’ll do it quickly. Just an hour--“
Bill clasped him on the shoulder. “Of course, of course.”
Tigh raised his damp eyes. “I’ve got the chance to bury her in real earth; she would want that; not the cold of space. I’ll put her by that Opera House. I think she’d like that.”
Smiling, Bill nodded. “She liked a good show.” He pushed his friend away. “Go. We’ll wait.”
Murmuring his thanks, Tigh strode from the quarters.
Billy nervously paced the room. Bill sank to the couch, giving off a sigh. “The first battle’s over. Now we face Laura,” he said.
The young man attempted to laugh and failed.
“I want you along, son,” said Bill.
Billy stopped pacing. “I don’t think this is a very good idea, Commander. The last time she saw me, she wasn’t too happy with me.”
Draining his glass, Bill set it on the trunk. “She trusts you. Values your counsel. She’ll listen to you.”
“I doubt that very much.” Billy sank into a chair. “I’m her assistant. She doesn’t put any more stock in what I say--“
“She thinks you’ll be president one day.”
Billy blinked, shocked. “Excuse me?”
Bill nodded. “That’s what she said to me once. That you reminded her of President Adar when he ran for his first office.”
Elizabeth hurried through the hatch and stopped short when she heard what her father said.
“I don’t really know how to respond to that, sir.”
Bill looked at his daughter and held up his hand to her. She flopped down beside him. “Don’t let it go to your head. Adar was a prick.”
Elizabeth snorted and poked her father gently in the ribs. “Mr. Adar could be totally nice.”
Bill grunted. He turned his sharp gaze on Billy, who stared at Elizabeth. “Well, yes, and I’m sure Billy can be a very nice boy too.”
Billy blushed bright red and looked away. Elizabeth poked her father again.
“Where’ve you been?” asked Bill. “All the birds were back on the hangar twenty minutes ago.”
“Gotta celebrate a successful op,” said Elizabeth, nestling her head on his shoulder.
“Hmmm...so a bottle got passed around?” Bill suggested.
Seeing the concern on Billy’s face, Elizabeth rolled her eyes.
“Yes...but I didn’t drink,” she said.
“Let me smell your breath.”
She pushed herself up. “What?”
“Come on.” Bill motioned to her. “Give me a puff of breath.”
“Okay, maybe I took a sip.” She hopped up. “But only so I didn’t look like a prig.”
Bill crossed his arms. Billy rubbed the toe of his shoe on the rich carpet.
“Anyway, when do we leave for Kobol!?” asked Elizabeth.
“You’re staying on Galactica,” said Bill firmly. “Billy and I will tell her she has to come back with us.”
“What!?” Elizabeth shook her head, her curls whirling. “I thought you were going to try and see Mom’s side of things!”
Bill clenched his jaw. “I do. I will. Later. Right now, your mother’s ill, the Fleet is still vulnerable--“ He rubbed his chest subconsciously. “We need to regroup. No time for wandering around hostile planets, looking for tombs...”
He shook his head. “I’ve read her damn Scrolls. And Zeus warned the leaders of the Twelve Tribes that any return to Kobol would exact a price in blood. That’s no place for my wife in her condition.”
“Dad!” Elizabeth turned to Billy. “Make him see we need to help Mom, not shut her down.”
Billy dropped his head.
“You don’t believe her either?” Elizabeth lifted her hands, then let them drop in frustration. “We can’t do this to her. Not after everything she’s done--“
“You mean inducing one of my pilots to desert and steal a military asset in the process?” said Bill.
“Are you still wrapped up with that?” Elizabeth put her hands on her hips.
Bill pursed his mouth. “Yes, I’m kinda tough-assed about things like that.”
“This is something bigger than your beloved military discipline,” insisted Elizabeth. “She’s trying to save humanity, not earn Kara a good conduct medal.”
“Your mother could be very ill down there, Elizabeth,” said Billy. “At the least, we need to ascertain her condition and take it from there.” His innocent face turned crafty. “There’s something else, sir. Doctor Baltar claimed that he’d found the cure for cancer.”
Bill started. “What!?”
Elizabeth shot Billy a sharp look. “Yes, Dad.”
“So we need to get that Cylon with her too,” Bill said slowly, thinking. “Get both of them back on Galactica.”
“I’m going.” Elizabeth drew herself up tall. “Someone’s got to be on Mom’s side.”
Both men leapt up to protest that they had Laura’s best interests at heart. She held up her hand to silence them. “I’m going,” she said stubbornly.
Bill folded his arms and narrowed his eyes. “Fine. But if your mother’s not well, we’re bringing her right back here.”
Elizabeth stood toe to toe with her father. “You’re going to drag her back by her hair to your cave?” she sneered.
“I didn’t say that--“
“But you thought it.”
As Billy wedged himself between the two of them, he was visited by the vague vision this would be his future, constant role. “We all want what’s best for President Roslin--“
The two of them ignored him.
Leaning back on his heels, Bill raised his eyebrows. “There’s the matter of your action in the battle--“
“Are you trying to blackmail me?”
Father and daughter’s jaws clenched; their wide mouths pressed into obstinate lines. Billy grabbed Elizabeth’s arm, tugging her away.
“He’s right, Elizabeth. We need to handle this information delicately--“
She shrugged his grip off. “I can deal with Mom. I’ve got more experience than either of you.”
“This isn’t staying out too late with your boyfriend,” pointed out Bill. He sighed deeply. “I’ll deal with it--“ His eyes shifted. “Later. We’ll tell her later.”
Elizabeth chuckled snidely.
Bill turned to go. “Before we go, I’m going to see Baltar. Meet me on the hangar deck in twenty minutes. We leave as soon as Tigh returns.”
~*~
Gauis’s head snapped up when the hatch to the brig opened. The Commander entered, nodding at the guard to open the cell door.
“Good to see you back with us, Doctor,” rumbled Adama.
“You as well, Commander,” blathered Gaius, smiling insincerely. He glanced at Adama’s chest and then away.
Adama gave him a tight smile. “I hear that you found that cure before you decided to leave us.”
Baltar opened and then shut his mouth.
Lacing his fingers below his belt buckle, Adama glared at Baltar. “Consider your answer, Doctor. If you lied up on those gallows to save your life, I understand. But if you don’t have the cure, you better tell me before you try to help the President and fail. However, if you have the cure and lie to me now and she dies, I will break your neck like a rat’s.”
Chewing his lower lip, Baltar stared back at the Commander’s impassive face.
Six leaned in close. “Tell him yes.”
Baltar snapped his head around to look at her. She nodded at him assuredly.
“Ummm...”
“You told me that you believed Cylon stem cells would be part of the cure,” said Adama. “Were you able to accomplish this with the dead Cylon tissue we have?”
Blinking rapidly, Gaius opened his mouth, then shut it.
Adama smiled grimly. “Or did you happen to get your hands on some live Cylon cells? Say, from Boomer?”
Baltar pressed his lips together.
Chuckling mirthlessly, Adama shook his head. “You are the sneakiest little frakker I’ve ever met, Doctor Baltar.”
“It’s not what you think--she came to me for a Cylon test, and in the process--“
“So it worked; her cells destroyed the cancer cells.”
Baltar’s folded his hands and dropped his eyes. “Yes.”
“Excellent.” Adama released a long breath. “You’re in luck, Doctor. There’s another Sharon Valerii and she’s with the President now.”
Baltar gawked at him. Excited, Six leaned forward.
“I’m going to retrieve them from Kobol now,” Adama said. “You will go to your lab and ready. I expect to be back within a day.”
Leaping from his cot, Baltar gave a limp salute. Adama rolled his eyes and turned away.
Six squeezed Baltar’s arm with exhilaration. “She’s coming.”
He ignored her, his only thought--freedom from his cell.
~*~
Dawn slowly seeped into the hollow where the search team had camped for the night. Laura lay curled in her damp sleeping bag, ignoring the light, ignoring the faint heat from the dying fire. She flinched at every boom in the sky above as yet another piece of debris entered the atmosphere. All she could think about was what if Bill and Elizabeth had died? She’d survived her mother’s death. She’d survived her father and sisters’. But she didn’t particularly like the person she’d become during those years of trial. Going on without the last two precious pieces of her heart was incomprehensible.
Across the clearing, Helo woke and found Sharon hunched beside him, wide-awake. “Did you sleep at all?” he mumbled, rubbing his face.
“No. It doesn’t matter.”
Helo pushed himself up and peeled down his sleeping bag. “Are you afraid of Lee?”
“Should I be?”
Helo crouched beside her and stared over at Lee’s slumbering form. “Cally kills Sharon and the Old Man only gives her thirty days in the brig. For murder.”
Sharon lowered her voice. “They don’t see it as murder, Helo. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. To Lee, to the President, to all of them, Cylons aren’t people. I’m not a person to them; I’m a thing.”
He grabbed her hand and squeezed it hard. “I won’t stand by and let them kill you like the other Sharon.”
“I believe you, Helo. I do.” She hugged him fiercely. “We have to take care of each other and our baby. First they killed me--what will they do to our baby?”
“No,” he said. “The Commander wouldn’t--“
Pulling back, she stared into his confused face.
Suddenly the birds’ morning song fell silence. Lee’s head popped up from his sleeping bag and he struggled free. Kara yanked out her weapon and silently signaled her intention to take a position higher up the slope from their camp. Laura pressed against the back of her tarp, peering into the heavy underbrush, trying to make out anything moving.
In the silence, a twig snapped like a gunshot.
Lee crept forward, his pistol raised.
The leaves parted and Adama stepped out, his carbine pointed at his son.
“Put down your weapon, Captain,” he ordered.
Lee gaped in disbelief, but he lowered his pistol and holstered it.
Bill pushed past Lee to stand before Laura, suddenly unsure of his welcome.
Laura was stunned. Looking at Bill, standing strong, his expression steely, she suddenly felt like a teenager, the sort of silly girl who couldn’t catch her breath when her boy was right there in front of her.
“Missed you,” she gasped with what little air she could find in her lungs. What a stupid thing to say, she chided herself as she watched a grin spread across his face.
“Me too,” he replied simply.
All her strength gone, she fell into his arms and he mercifully caught her. She grabbed onto his neck for dear life and squeezed him until he groaned. She didn’t care if she was cutting off his breath so soon after his surgery. She wanted to feel him close.
“I love you,” she said huskily, tears close. She was making a fool of herself in front of everyone and she didn’t give a damn. This woman who had carefully carried on an illicit affair for years was smearing snot on the Commander’s neck and blubbering out a declaration of love.
He chuckled. “’bout time,” he rumbled smugly, squeezing her back. He was warm and solid against her frail and chilled body.
Conscious of the others, Laura pushed away, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand. Bill reached to Lee, grasping his son’s shoulder. “Good to see you, son.”
Lee laughed shakily. “Good to see you, Dad.”
Elizabeth and Billy stepped out of the woods. Even as she chided them, “What are you two doing here?” Laura opened her arms.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “It’s good to see you too,” she said but hugged her mother fiercely. Billy smiled, fighting back tears.
Kara climbed down the slope and eased forward.
Bill walked to her slowly, stopping before the uncertain young woman. He reached out and tenderly pushed back her damp bangs.
“Are you okay?” she asked, touching his chest.
“You know me,” said Bill. “A couple of bullets aren’t gonna keep me down.”
Sharon watched the family reunion from the shadows. Worried about Adama, she came forward to see for herself that he was well.
The Chief had brought up the rear of the group. “Oh my gods, Commander!” he warned.
Helo hurried after Sharon. “She’s with us, Commander,” he said.
Sharon halted, sensing danger. Adama approached her slowly, looking at her from head to toe.
She looked exactly the same. He’d hoped to see some difference, but everything was the same, from her slightly twisted right little finger to the lower set of her left ear lobe.
Blood rushed to his head; the instinct to fight for his life, even as she stood before him unarmed. He grabbed her neck and slammed her to the ground.
“I want you to die,” he hissed.
Far away through the red haze, he heard Laura’s faint voice. “Bill, please don’t. We need her.”
Yes...yes, they needed the Cylon alive for Laura’s cure. He pushed off the young woman and clutched his chest.
Lee rushed to assist his father rise, leading him to the tarp shelter. Laura and Elizabeth followed closely.
Helo helped Sharon up. She gasped for breath. “You see, Helo?” she rasped. “You see what I am to them. Where our loyalties should lie.”
The end... Chapter Sixty-five>>>