Reconciliation
Reconciliation
Title: Reconciliation
Rating: K
Characters: Laura, Lee
Word Count: 5961
Summary: Laura and Lee have a little chat after Daybreak
Disclaimer: Sadly not mine.
Laura was sitting on a small wooden bench by the edge of the lake enjoying the crisp air, the sun on her face, and the stillness of the water when she heard footsteps behind her. This lake was her quiet place, her oasis away from everything, filled with serene glassy water and pine needle scented air. She liked to come up here and escape for hours, or perhaps it was days - time had a funny way shifting around here that Laura still wasn’t entirely accustomed to. She’d come sit by the lake and simply enjoy the solitude. Whoever would’ve imagined that someone would have to actively seek peace in the afterlife?
Laura assumed that once she was finally done leading her people to earth - done suffering through each agonizing breath it took to maintain the willpower to stay alive just long enough to get them there - that she would be finished. That she would be finished dealing with stressful situations for that life and the next. As soon as she stepped off the ship and arrived on the shore, however, Laura realized the fallacy in that assumption. There were so many people to talk to, to reassure.
Some of them were people she couldn’t wait to speak with, who caused her eyes to sting and her throat to tighten in a feeling of joy so overwhelming she had to steady herself against the rail of the ship to keep from stumbling before walking down to greet them. Her parents. Her sisters. The baby girl in her little sister’s arms. Billy. They were all there waiting for her on the shore after she’d closed her eyes in the raptor and woke up on a boat streaming across the water.
There were others there as well, lining the shore, as she descended from the boat. It was a vast crowd of people, some crew from the Galactica, members of the fleet, colleagues from her days as a Cabinet member, acquaintances from her apartment complex in the Riverwalk of Caprica, and many more. Most hung back and observed her, simply honoring the occasion her arrival on the shore called for, a few came forward and offered her their murmured thanks or greetings, but they all quickly departed after her arrival leaving Laura alone with the people she’d been closest to in life.
Her sense of peace, however, was very brief, and Laura soon found herself confronted with at least four or five new people seeking her out every day. Some just wanted to express their gratitude to her for all that she’d done, others wanted to ask her about the fate of the fleet, their loved ones and what sort of condition she’d left them in when she died. Some merely wanted to meet her after hearing about everything that she’d done.
Still others wanted to apologize to her for something they felt they’d done wrong (meeting Dee in such a situation had been particularly painful, while meeting Zarek had simply been surprising), or confront her about decisions they felt she’d made incorrectly (Gaeta’s judgment about her decision to trust the cylons without properly explaining it to the fleet had been harsh but merited, while Richard’s attempted critique of her presidency had just been laughable).
No matter their motive, for some reason or another, people continually sought Laura out until it reached a point where she couldn’t deal with it anymore. Laura knew that many people looked to her for advice, for answers, for closure…and she felt that she owed it to many of them to be available to speak, but she simply couldn’t be available all of the time…which is how Laura encountered her lake.
She still didn’t understand exactly how it had happened, but much like the shifting time, this new world seemed to have its own set of unspoken rules. And one day, when she had truly been nearing her breakpoint, after repeatedly justifying her political position on various issues to former members of the sagittaron faction in the fleet and receiving the thanks - the thanks - of a young girl named Cami’s parents for the kindness that they felt she had shown their daughter on that first day before the cylons found them, Laura stumbled across her oasis.
She’d merely been walking to try and get away from her last encounter with Cami’s parents, not headed anywhere in particular, when she rounded a cluster of pine trees and came across the most pristine lake she’d ever seen in her existence. There was a path around the edge of the lake perfect for meditative walking, lots of tall trees to ring the perimeter and provide solitude, and even the perfect wooden bench to sit on overlooking the entire scene.
Laura had come to the lake many times since that day, sometimes with a picnic and a good book to read, and other times just to enjoy the quiet beauty that the lake provided, but never once in her time here had another person approached her. Laura believed that it was part of the magic of this place, that somehow people understood an unspoken rule that she was not to be disturbed here…that if they left her alone here she would be willing to meet as many of them as necessary during the rest of her time…which is how she knew that the footsteps approaching her on this sunny afternoon by the lake meant something out of the ordinary.
She waited without turning around for the footsteps to come up directly behind her bench, and then sat in silence with her eyes closed, absorbing the warm rays of sunlight on her face until her visitor spoke. “I couldn’t find you anywhere after I arrived,” a slight smile crept onto her face as she recognized the voice of her companion, “so after a while I just started wandering and ended up here. And lo and behold here you are.”
Leave it to Captain Apollo to come and find her in the one spot she’d thought no one knew existed. “Here I am.” she replied with a small hum as she continued to face straight ahead and opened her eyes to gaze out over the lake.
“Do you mind if I sit down?” He asked as he rounded the bench to enter her line of sight for the first time since her death. Knowing that he was here to have the conversation that they’d needed to have for a while now and that he wouldn’t be deterred, Laura simply inclined her head towards the bench as she took in his appearance.
He was as muscular now as she remembered him being when they first met. He was wearing a set of green outdoors clothing similar to the last time she’d seen him, but his hair was somewhat shorter (someone must have convinced him to let them cut his hair on the new planet). Overall the look suited him, he seemed calm and fully at peace in his own body…something that Laura couldn’t remember associating with Lee during their times together in life.
“I’m glad I found you” Lee said as he sat on the opposite end of her bench and turned to his body to face her, “There are some things that need to be said…”
“Yes, I suppose there are,” Laura replied with a gentle, if somewhat sad, smile. “I guess we could start with, when did you get here?”
“I’m not sure I could really tell you how long I’ve been here per se, but if you mean how long was I on Earth after you…”
“Died?” Laura completed his sentence in a wry tone, showing the first real hint of humor they’d felt in their interactions in a long time, “You can say the word you know. At this point I’d assume that to be here you must have died as well.”
“I guess that’s true” Lee huffed with a small laugh, “Well then, if you want to know how long I was on Earth after you died, the answer is somewhere around three years.”
“Three years, hmm.” Laura said as she picked a piece of imaginary lint off of her skirt, she’d taken to dressing similarly to how she had during the springtime on New Caprica since there were no weather issues here and she no longer had to dress to suit her political image. “I’d seen a few people that were still alive when we landed, but I didn’t think it had been quite that long. I haven’t seen Doc Cottle or your father, and I always assumed that…”
“Both were still alive last time I saw them.” Lee cut in before she had a chance to finish, “Cottle was acting like his usual cantankerous self and barking doctor’s orders to everyone around the settlement, though he was a little worse for the wear once his last pack of cigarettes ran out…which happened a few days before I left the last time. And Dad…” Lee trailed off, not quite sure how to finish his sentence.
“Well let’s just say I was clearly the most adventurous of the bunch,” Lee paused to shoot Laura one of his well known boyish grins, “so it was probably inevitable that I would end up getting here first.”
Laura felt herself smiling a bit in response to Lee’s enthusiasm, and she realized that even in death it was hard to resist responding to his charming nature. “I’m sorry, by the way,” she added, realizing that it perhaps should have been the first thing she said to him, “I was hoping that you wouldn’t be here for a long time. That you would have the chance to experience life to the fullest before getting here.”
Not liking the rather remorseful look that was taking over Laura’s countenance, Lee jumped in, “Well yes, but wasn’t that the whole point of this new Earth? To explore, to experience, to live life to it’s fullest?” Laura’s expression had changed from remorse to a sort of amused indulgence, like the look that one might give a child.
“I mean, I honestly think I got to experience more of what the planet had to offer than almost anyone else. I got to explore, to climb mountains,” by this point Laura was full-out grinning at the man in front of her who reminded her so much of the young Captain Apollo she’d met on her first day aboard the Galactica, “To climb mountains, can you believe it?” Based on the ridiculous way he was smiling right now, she most certainly could, “It was the sort of thing that I always said I’d wait until after I got out of the military to do, and once the cylons attacked I just figured that I’d never have the chance…but I did Laura!”
He was looking at her with so much excitement and joy, that Laura wondered if he even remembered why he came to find her in the first place, if he remembered how stilted and reserved many of their last interactions were, or if he was aware that he had used her first name for possibly the first time ever?
As if realizing the oddity of the moment himself, Lee cleared his throat and adjusted his position on the bench, “And besides, it was probably just my time. After so many close calls in a viper I was bound to get here eventually, “ he paused and looked at her with that oh-so-sincere expression that Laura remembered from many of their earliest interactions, “and there were some people here that I needed to talk to…needed to make amends with”
Laura sighed and ran a hand through her hair before taking a deep breath and turning to face Lee in anticipation of the discussion that she knew was about to happen. He started a bit as she turned, as if just now fully taking notice of her for the first time since he arrived at the lake, and then said, “You…you’re hair, you’re skin…” Laura knew he was referring to how sallow and thin her skin had been before she died, “I didn’t realize at first…you look good.” This caused Laura to laugh a bit, “It’s just…it’s nice to see you so…healthy.”
“Thank you Lee” Laura said, responding to the genuine happiness in his eyes as he really absorbed the fact that she was no longer suffering from the disease that had haunted her since they first met. For a while they just observed each other and sat in a somewhat companionable silence until Lee finally lowered his head, inhaled deeply, and then looked straight at her.
“I think there are some things we should talk about” he started as he self-consciously ran his hand up and down the material of his pant leg, “I’m just not quite sure where to begin, and I really don’t want to get this wrong.”
Taking pity on him, and knowing that this really couldn’t be a one-sided conversation since many of their problems were as much her fault as his, Laura said, “Well why don’t you start with anything that feels right to you, and we’ll take it from there?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t say ‘hi’ to you during the ground-breaking ceremony on New Caprica.” Laura stared at him. She felt the corner of her mouth twitch, and then she burst out into a fit of giggles, ‘That’s…that’s what you’re going to go with as your first big statement?” She gasped as she tried to catch her breath between giggles, “That’s your biggest regret out of the entire saga we’ve been through since we met?”
“I didn’t say it was my biggest regret,” Lee replied with the corners of his mouth twitching as well, “I just felt that it was a place to start.” After taking a few minutes to get her breathing under control Laura smiled, “It’s been a long time since I’ve had the chance to laugh like that, thank you. And I guess you’re right, the ground-breaking ceremony is as good a place as any to start.”
Turning on the bench so that her arm was resting across the back and she could look straight at Lee again Laura continued, “So Lee, I forgive you for not coming to greet me during the ground-breaking ceremony.”
“Thank you Madame President” Lee said with a small nod, earning him a raised eyebrow from Laura, “I’m not sure that Madame President is the most appropriate title anymore Lee.”
“You’re right, I guess I just don’t know…” Lee began before Laura cut him off with a small wave of her hand, “You were doing just fine a minute ago with Laura,” she stated with a slight smirk, “and it’s probably the most fitting after everything we’ve been through, don’t you think?”
Chuckling a little he said, “I suppose it is, Laura.” “Ok then,” she said with a nod, “Now that we’ve got that settled I suppose it’s my turn. I’m sorry for not being there for you after you almost died in the blackbird.” She said it very directly and honestly, and Lee was left floundering for a response.
“I...that’s not…you were dying, I don’t blame you for…” smiling softly at him, Laura placed her hand on his arm and said, “Let’s not lie to each other here, ok? Whether or not it’s logical, and whether or not you want it to be true, a part of you is mad at me that I wasn’t there for you. And I am sorry that I couldn’t be there for you. Regardless of the cancer or of anything else that I might have been dealing with, I wish that I could’ve been there to help you.”
She continued to look straight at him, trying to convey the sincerity of her words, until he finally gave her a slight nod and looked away. Still looking at his shoes, Lee added very quietly, “I’m sorry I didn’t come visit you then when we thought you were dying.”
Feeling the same painful tightening she got in her chest whenever she thought about his choice not to see her, Laura took a deep breath to try and lessen the sensation, gave his arm a small squeeze, and stood up. As she rose of the bench, she brushed the wrinkles out of her skirt and then offered Lee her hand, “Why don’t we go for a stroll around the lake?”
“It’s lovely out, and if we’re going to have an in-depth conversation I’d rather be walking through the scenery than stuck on this bench. How about it?” She made an ‘up’ motion with her hand and then laughed as Lee made an ‘oof’ noise when he propelled himself off the bench.
“You’re not allowed to be making sound effects,” she said with a shake of her head and a smirk, “unlike the rest of us you never got to be old enough to actually have creaky bones or aching joints.”
“Well I’m not sure you’re really allowed to call yourself old at this point either” Lee stated as he gestured to their location and her appearance complete with flowing skirt and long, vibrant hair, “In fact this is probably the youngest looking I’ve ever seen you.”
“Gee thanks, Lee.” Laura said with a huff and Lee scrambled to amend his sentence, “I’m not saying you didn’t look good when I knew you alive…I mean you were always wearing suits, but everyone knows you had the best legs in the fleet, and then on New Caprica after the ground-breaking ceremony everyone was talking how good you looked - among other things - and there was that time with that blue silk robe…”
Laura held up her hand to stop him before he could dig himself any deeper, and admired the amusing shade of pink his cheeks were turning. Not one to pass up such an excellent opportunity to lighten the mood through teasing, Laura waited until he’d regained enough composure that he could look her in the eye again and said, “So everyone knows I had the best legs in the fleet, hmm?”
The statement promptly brought back the blushing and led to Lee sheepishly running his hand through his hair and responding with a very eloquent, “Umm…”
Unwilling to let him off the hook quite yet, Laura simply raised an eyebrow and looked to him to continue.
Feeling more light-hearted than she had in a long time, Laura gave Lee a falsely conciliatory pat on the shoulder and began to walk off towards the path around the lake saying, “You got yourself into this one Lee, best you can do at his point is keep up and start explaining.”
Shaking his head, Lee took off after her and caught up just as she reached the little dirt path around the edge of the lake. Laura kicked a pebble into the lake, and after watching the ripples for a moment, turned back to Lee and prompted him with a brief, “So?”
Lee put his hands in his pockets and looked ahead as they began to stroll along the path, “Well I guess I can’t speak for everyone in the fleet, but there was some talk once or twice in the pilots rec room, “
“Just once or twice?” Laura cut in with a smile, “Ok maybe a bit more often than that” Lee relented with a side-long glance at his companion, “and I’m fairly certain there was some speculation about if you’d ever been a dancer before going into politics circling around the fleet at one point…so yes, I think it’s fair to say that everyone knows you had the best legs in the fleet.”
“Glad to know our fleet was focused on the really important matters,” Laura responded, “but I guess if it took people’s minds off their troubles, I can’t really complain.”
“Besides…” she continued as she stopped walking for a moment to lift the edge of her skirt and playfully rotate her leg as if examining it, “I probably ought to be flattered that the members of the fleet who spent their time thinking about my legs decided they were gossip-worthy instead of plain.”
Seeing a spark in Lee’s eyes ask she was talking, Laura waited a moment after she’d finished to see if he would enlighten her, and when he remained silent she laughed, “What?”
“Oh nothing,” Lee said with a smirk as they resumed their walk, “I was just thinking about the time in the rec room when Hotdog felt the need to explain exactly what some of that gossip was in detail, and he was in the middle of particularly enthusiastic retelling when the XO walked in…and the look of Tigh’s face when he heard what Hotdog was saying…” Then, as if suddenly realizing exactly whom he was telling this story to, Lee cleared his throat, “Well, maybe that’s a story for another time.”
Lowering her eyebrows from where they had risen up her forehead, Laura put on her best political smile, the one that Lee knew looked nice and inviting but really meant that she was waiting to pounce on the recipient’s first misstep, and said, “No really, I’d love to hear the rest of the story. Just what was Hotdog telling all of you in the group that made Colonel Tigh respond that way?”
Sensing danger, and realizing that Laura was loving every minute of his discomfort, Lee tried to backtrack, “It really isn’t important. It was probably one of those ‘you had to be there moments’, not even worth re-telling at this point.”
“Ok” Laura said as she bent down to pick up a stone and skip it across the lake’s surface. “That’s fine.” Breathing a sigh of relief Lee followed her example and picked up a couple of stones to skip across the water.
He’d just thrown his second stone when Laura brushed off her hands and continued along the path with a brief, “I’d be just as happy to hear the continuation of your first comment…I believe you mentioned something about my blue robe?”, once again leaving a stunned Lee behind to catch up with her.
When he fell in step with her a couple seconds later, Laura continued, “I’m fairly certain that that particular robe was traded for another business-appropriate suite pretty early on in my time aboard Colonial One, which makes me think there’s only one way you could remember that robe.”
Blushing even deeper than he had earlier in their conversation, Lee decided to try and regain some control of his dignity by giving her a direct answer rather than letting her revel in his embarrassment, “Well we had just recently met, you had excellent legs, I liked your stubborn attitude and unwillingness to concede to what others’ though you should do, and suddenly you were inviting me into your private quarters in nothing but a silk robe. How am I not supposed to remember that?”
“Let me get this straight,” Laura said enjoying their banter, and loving how easily they were communicating for the first time in years, “While I was telling you that I had cancer and was probably going to die before the next election, you were paying attention to how I looked in blue silk?”
“No, well yes, but not after you said…” He cut himself off to mock glare at her, “You’re having entirely too much fun with this. I refuse to indulge your enjoyment at my expense any further.” Crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow at her, Lee stayed in one place until Laura laughed, “Oh all right you’re off the hook”
“Besides,” Lee said casually as he made an overly-gentleman-like show of offering her his arm while they strolled along around the lake, “I didn’t stoop to mentioning any of the times that you could’ve been accused of admiring my physique.”
Smirking sideways at her, Lee began to list off events on his fingers, “There was Kobol of course, all that time we spent in the brig together, and who’s to say that you weren’t really just admiring my arms when you were telling me about your cancer?” Chuckling in acknowledgement of the absurdity of his last statement, Lee dramatically flexed his arm that wasn’t linked with hers and said in an arrogant tone, “After all, they are quite nice, aren’t they?”
He then had to support a good amount of Laura’s weight on the arm that was linked with hers as she collapsed into a fit of deep, stomach-aching laughter. Glad that he could make her feel light-hearted, even if it was at his own expense, Lee held her up while she fought through her laughter and finally regained her balance.
They strolled along in comfortable silence for a while, content to just enjoy the beautiful surroundings of the lake, the pine needle scented breeze, and one another’s company. When they had been walking for another five or ten minutes and were about halfway around the lake, Lee knew that he needed to talk.
They’d touched the issue of her cancer briefly in jest, and he hated to break up the jovial atmosphere that existed right now between them, but he knew that they weren’t done with their conversation.
“Laura,” he began in a much more subdued voice, “about the cancer,” she sighed deeply before he got any further and moved to sit along the shore of the lake.
He joined her and continued, “You trusted me enough to confide in me as one of the first people in the entire fleet you told about your illness,” she gave him a slight nod with a tight smile before looking out over the lake, “and I later took that trust and information and threw it back in your face.”
Laura took a calming breath as she waited for him to continue, and was startled into looking at him when he placed a hand on her shoulder, “I’m not going to tell you that I’m sorry for giving Baltar a fair trail. I can't tell you that I’m sorry for it, and I won’t say it just to placate you…that wouldn’t be fair to you.”
Shaking her head and taking off her shoes to put her feet in the soothing water Laura huffed, “Of course not Lee. That simply wouldn’t be like you, you always have to do what you think is right, no matter what it means to anyone else.”
Breathing deeply and reaching a hand out to push her hair behind her ear so he could more clearly see her face, Lee said, “I’m not sorry that I helped Baltar, but I am sorry that you got hurt in the process.”
Shifting to face her more fully where they sat along the edge of the lake with water lapping at Laura’s ankles, Lee moved his head to make eye contact with her and continued, “I’m sorry that I used the information about the chamalla against you, I’m sorry that I didn’t try and ask you why you were using the chamalla in person, and I’m sorry that I forced you into revealing your illness to the fleet before you were ready. “
Laura blinked furiously against the tears that were threatening to overwhelm her as she remembered the trial and heard Lee’s apology, “But,” he continued as his hand drifted up, as though considering wiping her tears away, before slowly moving back to its place at his side, “I know I can’t apologize for all of the things you want me to. I won’t apologize taking the stand at the trial, and I won’t apologize for agreeing to the Quorom spot Zarek offered me.”
“I know” Laura said in a voice that was tighter with tears than she would’ve liked, “You wouldn’t be Lee if you didn’t do what you thought was right.” This time when she said it though there was no disappointment or accusation in her voice, just a gentle understanding and maybe even, dare he hope, a hint of admiration and approval.
Moving her feet softly through the water Laura said, “I spent a long time in life staying angry at you for what you did at the trial and for your naïve idealism in the Quorom, but I spent so long living with that anger that I realized it just wasn’t worth it.”
Looking back at Lee, she said calmly, “I’m glad that you’ve gotten to a point where you felt ready to discuss this with me, I appreciate that you weren’t trying to hurt me, and I should probably apologize for being somewhat caught up in my personal ideas of justice and revenge…but I think this might be one of the issues we simply have to leave in the past.”
Lee stayed quiet and looked down at his feet as he pushed around a couple of pebbles with his boots. Sensing his resigned demeanor Laura reached out to put a hand on his arm and said, “Don’t get me wrong Lee, I’m thankful for the apology, and I think that we can move on from here without any unspoken anger or hurt between us, but this is simply going to be one of those things that we can’t agree on. I’m always going to be too emotionally attached to it, and you’re always going to believe that you did the right thing. The best that we can do now is to acknowledge that it’s a painful part of our history and try to move forward.”
Seeing that he was still unsure, Laura moved her hand down to the laces of his boots and said, “It’s not a bad thing Lee, most healthy adult relationships are able to handle some conflict. It’s what makes them mature friendships. So take off your boots, dip your feet in the water, and stay a while.”
By that point she’d managed to undo his laces and was starting to yank on his boots with a little smile that forced Lee to shake his upset mood, pull his feet from his boots, and dip them in the lake. Looking pleased that he’d listened to her and decided to let the trial lie in the past, Laura stretched her feet back into the water and contentedly leaned back on her hands.
“So,” Lee said after a time, enjoying the sun on his face and the quiet of the lakeside, “If we’re done talking about hurtful issues of the past, what are we going to talk about?”
Pursing her lips in a pensive manner Laura looked over at him and said, “Green.” “Excuse me?” Lee said, certain that he’d missed something. “Green’s my favorite color, what’s yours?”
“Oh,” Lee said catching on to her train of thought, “I always said blue was my favorite color when I was little, but after all of the events in my life I may have to change my answer to Galactica grey.”
“Galactica grey?” Laura asked with amusement in her voice as she flicked her toes in and out of the water, “Galactica has its own specific color type now?” “Well no,” Lee laughed, “but I guess I just got used to seeing the grey color of Galactica’s walls, and when I was commander of the Pegasus I could always look out the observation deck window and see the grey hull of Galactica nearby. It made me feel…”
“Safe” Laura said to herself with a smile. “Yes,” Lee smiled, “Safe and at home. So I guess I’m now that boring guy who’s favorite color is grey.” “It’s not boring,” Laura said softly as her eyes focused somewhere far away.
“My dad used to take my sisters and I camping every summer by this little lake in the mountains, and every summer we’d build a fort in the middle of the woods.” Not sure where she was going with her story, but knowing this was more than he’d ever learned about Laura in the past, Lee was content to just watch her sit and remember.
“My sisters were both younger than me so they weren’t really big enough to help with construction…but they would get so excited about playing in the fort. So, my father and I would hike out into the woods early one morning while they were still sleeping in the tent and we’d find the best clump of pine trees in the area to build the fort.” She was now beaming at him with the most serene smile he’d ever seen grace her face as she continued to recount the story of her family.
“My dad and I would hike into the woods every morning for the first couple days of the trip, building the perfect fort out of pine branches from the woods, until it was finally done. Then we’d bring my little sisters to the fort and the four of us would spend hours lying under the pine branches watching the sun stream in and telling each other stories.”
Lee found himself grinning at the idea of a young Laura Roslin hiking around in the woods, “And ever since those camping trips, I remember the smell of pine trees and think of the soft green of the needles inside our forts and I feel at home.”
“Safe.” Lee concluded for her with a gentle smile. “Exactly,” Laura agreed, “Safe. And ever since then green has been my favorite color, so like I said, choosing grey as your favorite color doesn’t seem boring to me.”
“I never knew you had sisters.” Lee said as he leaned back on his palms and looked over at Laura, “Yeah,” she told him happily, “Sandra and Cheryl, they were both younger than me and full of trouble.”
Lee wanted to ask her what had happened to them, why she seemed used to using the word ‘were’, even now that they’d undoubtedly been reunited on the shore, but not wanting to darken the mood he instead said, “Younger than you?”
Laura nodded in response to his seemingly obvious question, “And full of trouble? I can only imagine what they must be like if they look half as gorgeous as their sister.”
Laura flicked water at him with her toes as she laughed, “You stay away from my little sisters, you hear?” “Whatever you say Laura” Lee replied as the lifted his hands to shield himself from the next torrent of water she sent his way.
“I didn’t know you had sisters, I didn’t know your favorite color was green, what else don’t I know about you?” “A lot,” Laura said as she stopped splashing him with water from the lake, “just like I’m sure there’s a lot that I don’t know about you.”
Nodding a bit to himself in acknowledgement of her statement Lee wondered, “How is it possible that we’ve been through so much together, spent so much time together, yet we know so little about each other?”
“We were a little busy dealing with the end of the worlds” Laura laughed at Lee’s guilty expression, “You can cut yourself a bit of slack Lee, it’s not like we had a lot of time to discuss random personal tidbits and memories.”
“You’re right,” Lee said and then murmured under his breath, “as usual,” causing Laura to laugh at him, “but I still feel bad that after all this time we don’t really know each other.”
“Well,” Laura said as she leaned back and surveyed her surroundings, relishing the peace of the tall pine trees, pristine lake, soft sun, and most importantly the comfortable relationship with her companion, “We’ve got an eternity to learn, don’t we Captain Apollo?”
Happy to hear her first earnest use of that endearment in a very long time, Lee sighed contentedly, “Yes. Yes we do Laura.”