CHAPTER X
Rating: M
Characters: Adama/Roslin (pairing) and various others
Spoilers Up to Revelations. We do not know any other spoilers.
Disclaimer: We own nothing to do with the show and are making no profit.
Warnings: None.
THE CIRCLE OF LIFE.
Tigh panicked as he heard her screaming his name from their bedroom. What the hell was he suppose to do when she went into labour?
“Think. THINK MAN” he told himself out loud.
“Saul!” she called again.
He almost ran into the bedroom. “Frak!” he cursed as his eyes followed her gaze down to the floor.
“Waters broke,” she explained before doubling over again, her breathing fast and deep.
“What do I do?” he exclaimed.
“Calm yourself and help me get to Doc Cottle,” Natashi told him, her voice softer now.
“Gods I hope you frakkin' make it that far!” he said grabbing her arm and allowing her to use him as support.
She clung to Tigh as they made their way out into the night. It was late enough that everywhere was quiet with the exception of a few people wandering around, minding their business.
Tigh felt her grip on his arm tighten as yet another contraction overpowered her and she gasped in pain.
“Erm...there there now,” he patted her hand gently in a desperate, albeit forced, attempt to sooth her enough to get them to Cottle.
He glanced up quickly to try and see in the dimly lit streets how far they were away from the hospital. He caught a figure walking in the distance and shouted for help. The person was out of ear shot and carried on walking - apparently lost to their thoughts.
“Kara!” he called after her, but got no reply. “Frak it!”
“Saul, I think I can carry on now,” Natashi told him in her soft voice.
He couldn't make out how she could be so frakking calm and collected. Where was all the screaming? The: I hate you for putting me in this situation rants he had seen on television programs and from the stories shared with his colleagues over a drink?
“We’re here now. It's gonna be ok,” he told her as he pushed open the doors and helped her through.
Immediately he was shouting for someone to help. His calls were answered by Cottle with two nurses in toe.
“Looks like we got a delivery to make,” he told them, lighting up a cigarette. “Take her into one of the private rooms, I’m sure she doesn't want the whole hospital watchin' does she?!” Cottle shoed them off and turned to Tigh.
“What do I do now?” Tigh asked. “I am a bit new to all this child birth thing.”
Cottle chuckled, “You can wait out here or ya can come into the room and hold her hand.”
“I'll wait here,” Tigh said gruffly.
***
Jack Cottle walked out of his office and was surprised to see Saul Tigh sitting in one of the chairs in the waiting area, “I thought you would be doting over those kiddies of yours.”
“They’re asleep.”
Jack took in the sombre form of Saul Tigh and sighed, “What’s your problem?”
The former Colonel shrugged and stared at the floor.
“You need to pull it together man; you have a … whatever she is to you, and two kids in there.”
Saul looked up, staring the doctor in the eyes, “I have sons,” he said emotionally.
“Yeah, healthy ones at that. Two arms, two legs… two eyes….”
Jack smirked as Tigh glared, “You have some stones doc.”
The doctor took a seat, “There’s something you need to know about those boys of yours.”
“You said they were healthy,” Saul said with concern.
“Yeah, that they are. Did you notice anything… unusual about them?”
“Get to the point… where are you going with this Major?”
“The twins are identical. They look exactly alike - didntya notice that?”
“All babies look the frakking same.”
Jack scoffed, “Not really, but thanks for your medical opinion on that one. I did some tests, in fact, I did some tests a while ago - lets call it a hunch.”
Jack flipped open a chart that read ‘Tigh’ and looked over columns of numbers, letters and hand scribbled notes that Saul couldn’t decipher. “The children have identical DNA; in short, they are direct genetic copies of each other. They will grow up to look exactly the same.”
Tigh rubbed his forehead, “So, I have cylon kids, makes sense considering the folks.”
Cottle shook his head, “Not exactly,” he ran his finger over some recordings in the chart, “Multiple births only occur when more than one egg is fertilised. So twins are the product of two fertilised eggs.”
Tigh merely stared at Jack, his one eye narrowed with irritation, “Yeah…”
“Well, your two seem to be the product of just the one egg. One egg - split, forming two. Hence identical DNA; identical babies. Not cylons… natural clones.”
Huffing deeply, Tigh sat back in his chair, his one eye rolling to stare at the ceiling, “Clones. Frak.”
“From what I can tell,” Jack continued, “There is something within the Cylon genetics that has a natural inclination to split … probably part of programming, a way to ensure the survival of the species. Other than that - it’s entirely normal, and I would predict that identical twins will be common for any couple where one or two parents have Cylon DNA.”
Jack snapped the file shut, “In short Colonel, welcome to the dawn of a new biological age. Looking a few hundred years down the line, once human and cylon start to reproduce, identical twins will be commonplace I would reckon.”
“I’ll write a damn diary entry.”
Tigh got up and grabbed for his jacket, “But they are both ok?”
“All THREE of them are ok.”
“Yeah, well, I meant her.”
“Oh and Colonel,” Cottle said making Tigh pause, “What exactly are you going to tell the Old Man about that lady you left dead in the dirt?”
“D’Anna.”
“Yeah, I’m aware of her name.”
“Centurion gunned her down.”
“On whose orders?” Jack asked bluntly.
Tigh said nothing, his lip curled and his eye flared with anger.
“I’ll keep the secret, but out of interest, what did she say to earn that bullet?”
“She had a problem with the Old Man and Laura. I protect my people.”
Jack nodded, “Anything else?”
“Something about the fifth?”
“Got a name?”
“She didn’t get that far.”
Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out his pack of cigarettes, “Shame. That could have been useful.”
Tigh shrugged, “I don’t give a frak who the fifth is.”
“Good to know,” Jack smiled. “Now go see those kids of yours. Name one after me.”
Tigh smiled in his trademark lopsided way, “Nah, don’t like the name ‘Doc.’”
***
“Starbuck! Hey, Starbuck…Starbuck!”
The blonde suddenly stopped and looked up in surprise. Turning, she was faced with the familiar form of Lee Adama, flanked by two guards, walking towards her. It was dark but she could still make out the rugged handsome features that tugged at her heart.
“I’ve been calling you for ages!”
“Sorry, I was thinking.”
“Makes a change,” he joked.
“Funny,” Kara quipped, “So- Prez - how’s all consuming power treating ya?”
Lee laughed, “So, so. How ya been Kara? Haven’t seen you around.”
Kara shrugged, “On The Bucket.”
The President frowned, “I thought that was on shift rotation, make sure you get ground time.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that,” Kara’s face twisted into a grimace, “Don’t want me missing out of the splendour that is sunny old Earth.”
“Hey, we’re getting there.”
“Your optimism is both worrying and sickening,” Kara teased. “Nah,” she continued, “I prefer it on The Bucket, feels more like home.”
“In time you will come to accept Earth as your home.”
“Yeah, I doubt that.”
Her tone made Lee frown, “It could be worse, we are lucky to have found a santury.”
Kara scoffed, “You say it enough and you start to believe it right? Fraks sake, look around you, this aint a santury. It’s a damn nightmare.” Suddenly her voice dropped to a low desperate whisper, “Don’t you feel it…”
“Sir,” the guard interrupted, “It’s 9 pm sir.”
Lee nodded and turned back to Kara, “I have a meeting with Zarek but after we can talk…”
“I’m not a great conversationalist,” she laughed, “or have you forgotten.”
For the first time he seemed to notice her dishevelled appearance - even for Kara she looked a mess, “Seriously Kara…”
“I’m fine Leeland, go Prez.”
She punched him lightly in the shoulder before walking off.
She broke into a light jog and ran towards the edge of the encampment, running briskly along the boarder. She dreamt of the space over the invisible line, she heard it calling to her. She ran along the edge, daring it, feeling like a child staring into the darkness and trying to combat her fears, “Come and frakking get me, do it.”
As she ran her tags thumbed against her chest, a rhythm that seemed to chant ‘Kara Thrace, Kara Thrace’ over and over.
As the camp became a brightly lit dot behind her she ran faster into the darkness, “Come on then.”
“Frakking come on then!” she yelled.
“Hello Kara.”
She stopped abruptly, almost falling over herself. She stood on the edge of the boarder and looked out into the darkness.
“Hey Kara Thrace,” a soft voice said… a familiar voice.
She squinted, “The frak?”
“Welcome to your destiny.”
“Leoban, where the frak are you?” she yelled into the darkness, desperate to chase after the disembodied voice but terrified to cross over the boarder, “Come out here you bastard.”
“You’re destiny is over here Kara.”
“I’m not coming over there, no way, you come here.”
“But the answers are here, every answer to every question you have ever asked - it’s all here. You want answers right?
“I WANT ANSWERS. WHAT DID I DO?” she yelled, “THIS ISN’T WHAT I SAW!”
The voice remained gentle, “The answer is here.”
“WHAT AM I?”
“Kara Thrace,” it said, “You are Kara Thrace and here is your destiny.”
She stepped forward and crossed over the line.
***
Laura moved from the kitchen into the living room with two mugs of hot soup for them both.
“Smells good!” Bill told her as she handed him a mug.
“Probably won't taste good though.” Laura chuckled. “You have to do that tonight Bill?”
“I want an early start tomorrow.”
Bill sat back on his heels surrounded by camping equipment. They had decided to take a short break. One weekend away from the settlement and all the questions they had been bombarded with since the statues had been revealed. Neither of them had any answers, they knew no more than anyone else. Every time either one of them left the house, someone would stop them (usually the press armed with their notepads and pens) all hoping for any snippet of information they could dig up on the two leaders.
They had only moved into their house a few days ago and already they needed to get away. It had been Laura's suggestion after seeing the effect the lack of privacy right now was having on Bill. He was stressed and she knew it had hit breaking point when he threatened to hit one reporter whilst out walking. So, tomorrow morning they would leave the world behind for a few days.
“Thank you,” he smiled at her as he took the soup filled mug.
“You’re welcome,” Laura replied leaning down to steal a brief kiss from him before heading back into the kitchen.
***
The next thing Kara was aware of was the blinding light of the sun peering over the horizon.
She whipped around quickly, taking in her surroundings with shock - not remembering anything except standing on the boarder the night before. Now, she was standing in the middle of No Man’s Land, so far out she couldn’t even see the camp in the distance.
She slowly became aware that she was holding something, looking down she saw it was a book. A perfectly preserved book; with not a single mark or wear on it.
“What the frak is going on?”
She sat down in the dirt and opened the book; she flicked through page after page of indecipherable writing, writing that looked like little symbols and strange lines and letters. Then she saw it, her destiny, printed in bright colours on the page in front of her.
***
“So much for that early start,” Laura teased, watching Bill struggle with the packing. It was still early in the morning but she knew Bill had wanted to be out by now.
“I swear this bag has shrunk,” Bill moaned as he tried unsuccessfully to cram a tent and sleeping sacks into a large bag.
“I don't think it has, Bill,” she chuckled at the perplexed look on his face, “more likely you didn't fold the tent correctly.”
He looked up at her and shook his head. “I have been folding tents for years, Laura. It comes with the job.”
“Okay!” Laura held her hands up and shrugged her shoulders, “I'll just leave you to........get on.”
Bill huffed and settled back to the task at hand. One by one he pulled the sleeping sacks and tent out of the bag. Laura was right, he hadn't folded the tent properly after the last time they used it. He smirked at thought of their last excursion off the beaten track, slightly away from the settlement but not so far as it took them into 'No man's Land'. The wind and rain had battered their tent all night and it had been so cold, although it had been far from cold inside the tent.
“What’s amused you?” Laura asked him from where she sat on the edge of the couch.
“Just remembering something.”
“Oh? And what might that be?” she questioned him, knowing full well what had played into his mind.
“Just the last time we went camping,” he grinned at her.
Laura returned the grin. “You can get that idea out of your head right now, Bill Adama!” she chided him wagging a finger playfully.
“We will see,” he chuckled before continuing to re-fold the tent and pack it into the bag.
***
A tear slipped down Kara’s cheek and splashed on the page. She sat in the middle of No Man’s Land gripping her book so hard her knuckles had turned white. On the page before her was the clear image of a Viper soaring through the sky like a comet, plunging down towards the lush green planet - straight towards the Temple of Aurora. One the next page was an image of devastation: a barren and destroyed planet.
She had stared at it for hours, feeling the rightness and pain of it. This was her destiny. The destroyer of worlds.
I bring death.
On the other pages were images of Bill and Laura, looking familiar but very different. Depicted as some sort of saviours, or frakking gods. Laura wore bright, luxurious dresses with a band of gold around her forehead and Bill - as always stood right next to her, usually brandishing a weapon. They were all artists’ sketches and drawings but there was no mistaking who they were of.
And there was no mistaking that Viper hurtling towards the peaceful and beautiful Earth.
I bring death.
All this has happened before and all this will happen again.
I am the destroyer of worlds.
***
Bill offered Laura his hand as they stepped out of the front door to their house. She laced her fingers with his and squeezed them gently. He insisted on carrying almost everything, not that they ever took much. He always travelled light and she had embraced the fact it didn't mean having heavy bags on their backs.
“At least it isn't raining today,” she noted, looking up into the dull grey sky.
Most of the time it was either raining or a bitter wind would be rattling around or worst case scenario, both.
“That's something,” he agreed.
“I think it rained for four days non stop this week,” she mused and pulled him closer to her, wrapping her free hand around their joined arms as they walked.
“It makes people turn into compulsive moaners,” Bill chuckled. “Especially a certain Admiral.”
“You moaned a lot this week? I can't say that I noticed,” she replied sarcastically.
“Very funny,” he nudged her playfully.
It was true, he had been considerably grumpy that week, nothing seemed to go favourably and he was hoping as much as she was that this little 'getaway' would snap him out of his sombre mood.
Laura also had an ulterior motive to this trip. She wanted to approach the subject of the statues with him. Try and get him to at least acknowledge the fact they couldn't push this latest discovery under the rug. Every attempt she had made so far had fallen on deaf ears. She understood why he reacted this way, he wasn't religious, a non believer in anything that wasn't black and white. Bill Adama worked in fact not theory, which would be fine normally but life for them was full of grey areas. Nothing was ever that simple.
“You are quiet,” Bill announced, breaking the silence that had fallen between them.
“Hmmm?”
“You are quiet,” he repeated, “something on your mind?”
“Can we talk?” she asked.
His body tensed slightly, “Of course we can.”
“It is about those statues.”
“I know.”
“Bill, will you finally discuss this with me. Please.”
He nodded and smiled slightly at her. “I know I have been avoiding this. I was just worried that....”
“It would change everything between us?” She finished for him.
“Yes.”
“It won't.”
“We fought so hard to get this far and what all of this means.....well it scares me Laura. It makes me nervous,” he explained with his eyes fixed on the ground.
She pulled him to a halt and then around to face her, “Do you think I’m not nervous?
“You never seem phased by anything Laura.”
“I only hide it better perhaps,” she said, brushing her hand down his arm. “The statues bother me because I don't know what it all means, for us or for the rest of the population here on Earth.”
“If anything at all,” he added.
“We both know that isn't true Bill.”
“I don't know what you want me to say or do about this.”
“Just tell me that we will face anything this planet throws at us. Together,” Laura told him, her eyes boring into his.
He nodded. “Together.”
***
They stopped at a small clearing, the very same place they had camped times before. Laura let go of his hand and he set the bags down on the ground.
“I'll have this up in no time,” he crouched and began to pull the tent from the bag, laying out the poles and the guide rope pegs in methodical lines.
“What can I do to help?” Laura asked him placing her hand on his shoulder.
“I got it covered,” he replied smiling up at her.
“Then I will collect us some wood for a fire,” she said walking off towards the water.
Bill watched her go and soft smile spread across his lips. After she had disappeared out of sight he began to get to work with the assembling of their tent.
“Ok, not as easy as I though,” Bill mumbled to himself after about 20 minutes of trying to figure out which pole went where and being none the wiser.
Laura returned with an armful of wood, and laughed at the sight of her husband cursing and stomping about. He picked up one of the tent poles and studied it as if he was hoping it would give the answers.
“You look like you could use some help,” Laura said dropping the wood to the floor nearby. “This tent seems to have it in for you!”
Bill let out an exasperated sigh and nodded, “I think I have been defeated. Help would be nice.”
With her help and calming influence on him they finally got the tent erect and the fire going. They huddled together in the entrance to the tent, facing the fire with a blanket wrapped around both of their shoulders.
“Be dark soon,” Bill stated, his hand gesturing to the sky.
“Hmmm. Yes,” she agreed with him.
“Laura?”
“Yes Bill?”
“I am a little cold. Can we go inside?”
“Is the fire not hot enough? I can always fetch some more wood,” Laura stated with a devilish grin as she made to stand up.
He wrapped his hand around her wrist and pulled her back down. “Not so fast,” he grinned at her as she landed in his lap and they both fell backward into the tent.
His arms wrapped around her frame as his lips crashed against hers, she hummed into his mouth as his tongue glided against hers. His calloused fingers caught in the wool of her sweater as they ran up and down her back.
“Bill...” she moaned as he pulled her flush on top of him, breaking their kiss.
He pulled his head back slightly and brushed his knuckles gently down her cheek before cupping her chin and drawing her lips back to his. The kiss was less heated this time; it was slow and sensual as trembling fingers sought out skin. He groaned as she snuck her hands up under the hem of his sweater and tanks and mapped the toned muscles of his stomach and chest.
Bill rolled them over and moved off of her. Kneeling back he lifted the sweater and his tanks over his head in one swift motion. Laura mirrored his actions with her own clothing, item for item until all that remained was naked skin. She reached up and took his hand, entwining their fingers as she pulled him slowly back down to her again.
He moved languidly within her, burying his head into the crook of her neck. His breathing was shallow and laboured as he whispered huskily all the intimate things he wanted to do to her.
She moaned his name as he took her over the edge and followed with two long strokes into the abyss.
Bill collapsed onto his elbows in an attempt to keep his weight off her. Their breathing and heart rates slowly returned to normal. When Laura finally opened her eyes she looked up to see a grinning Bill Adama.
“What’s amused you?” she asked.
“I seem to remember you asking me that not so long ago.”
***
One week later.
Kara Thrace approached the house where the Old Man and Laura lived. It was finished now, the structure complete, the windows fitted, the outside painted a nice cream colour with a beautiful oak door… something Kara knew Bill would have crafted by hand from the old timber that formed the ballroom floor of the Princess Ayrila. The porch running around the house was basically completed but still needed work. A half finished porch swing rested on the floor, half varnished. The front garden of the house was a mess, clearly Laura was trying to do something with it. The ground was dug up, with shovels and an overturned wheelbarrow abandoned in the middle.
Kara walked around to the back of the house. Laura was around the back rifling through a stack of wood, and other miscellaneous materials. The redhead glanced up briefly and smiled, “I want to make a fence.”
Kara folded her arms and just watched as Laura pulled a long piece of narrow wood from the pile. A fence seemed pointless and frivolous - no-one was going to try and break into the Adama-Roslin house, not unless they wanted the Old Man to dismember them.
Maybe that’s something Laura needed though - the illusion of control, of protection. Maybe she just plain wanted normality: a house with a fence.
“Bill has gone to congratulate Saul. Natashi has the twins last week.”
Kara nodded and said nothing; her mind felt it was overflowing, almost painfully with theories and confusions.
“Two boys,” Laura said, “He doesn’t say much but I secretly think Saul is rather pleased. Jack and William they’re called. Bill is very proud, I can tell you.”
The former president started to drag the wood around the front, Kara didn’t offer to help her carry it, sombrely she followed along behind, watching the other end drag in the dirt.
Unphased, Laura carried on talking, “Bill should be back in a few hours, if you come back this evening you will catch him.”
Laura let the wood drop to the floor in roughly the place she wanted to erect it later.
“This is my fault.”
Laura’s smile faltered briefly and seriously she asked, “What is Kara?”
“Earth: I am the bringer of death. All this is my fault.”
Laura stared at her for a long moment, her green eyes intense and unnerving. It was almost as if Laura has expected that confession for a long time. She nodded slowly, her lips curling into a knowing and bitter smile, “That’s pretty precise. So, are you ready to tell me what happened the first time you came to Earth?”
“I don’t remember,” Kara replied honestly.
Laura sighed in frustration, “That’s really convenient,” Laura snapped.
“Look,” Kara snarled, “I don’t know ok? I’m trying here, I’m trying to reach out to you - again. I need…” she run her fingers through her dirty blonde hair, her broken and bitten nails scraping her scalp, “I need you on this ok? I frakking need you more than I need the former bitch president glaring at me and waiting for the chance to airlock my ass.”
Laura’s face remained impassive, not a shred of emotion flickered over her features, her green eyes remained fixed and hard. Then, slowly, the mask faded and the frosty glare softened minutely, “I’m not President anymore and I doubt an airlock would work very well while grounded. You would step out and … carry on walking,” she smirked.
Kara stared in shock at the sudden and random joke, “You… you are something.” Kara laughed harshly, “Only you could laugh about a frakking airlock at a time like this.”
Laura shrugged and walked towards the house, “If you have something to say, you better come in and say it.”
It was the first time Kara had been inside the house since it had been completed. Obviously the inside was a work in progress. They walked straight into the living area which was sparsely furnished, just behind them through an open door Kara could see the bedroom, and clearly they had started decorating in their first. From what she could see the floor was carpeted in the red rugs Bill had had in his quarters, there was a large bed in the middle with sheets and coverings from Galactica and… Laura’s shoes were side by side next to Bill’s spare boots. It was so domestic it made Kara’s head hurt. It all seemed so… surreal. She looked back at Laura who was sitting calmly staring at her and felt like everything was so wrong. The book in her pocket proved that the woman sitting before her wasn’t any normal woman, wasn’t what she understood her to be - neither was the old man. Nothing was as she knew it to be.
The world had turned upside down, and reality had suddenly snapped inside out. She didn’t know who these people were, she didn’t know who she was and she didn’t know what the frak this planet was and she no longer had a godsdamn clue what reality was.
“I came to this planet three months before the fleet got here and when I was here it was green, lush and perfect. Blue skies and shimmering oceans. Then, months later I lead you here and it’s a nuclear winter.” Kara’s voice hardened, her eyes stormy, “Whatever happened I did it. I don’t know what the frak I did or how I did it but it was me.”
“Maybe.”
It was brutal. It hurt, even though Kara believed it herself. The truth of Laura’s answer tore at her though, “Be honest. Don’t frakking hold back.”
“What do you want me to say? You’re disappearance and reappearance defies logic and science. Yes, I believe something happened. I love Bill, but I have my own mind and I cannot blindly believe the best in you. I don’t understand you. I don’t understand a lot of things to do with this planet.” She sighed, “I don’t say it to hurt you, I say it because it’s true.”
Kara wasn’t sure what she wanted from Laura. Acceptance, understanding… hell, a stepmother? She felt constantly alienated and hurt by her and part of her knew she deserved it, but another part of her was just desperate to be loved. Maybe it was because the Old Man loved her so frakking much.
“You know, I never got what the Old Man saw in you. I really didn’t; but then I thought that if he loves you, you must have something going for you. For fraks sake, he waited in a raptor for you when everyone was certain you were dead. It was suicide - I wouldn’t have done that for Lee…he wouldn’t have done it for me,” Kara confessed. “Adama gave everything up for you; the Old Man threw it all away. The fleet, his family, me, Lee, it meant nothing without you. Most people would be pissed I suppose, but it made me realise how much he loves you and if the Old Man loves you that damn much then you must be worth my time at least. ‘Cause I trust that man, and I trust his judgement you know? I love you,” she confessed, “because he does. And Lee does. But you know what? Sometimes you don’t frakking deserve it.”
“I have done a good job I think. Despite all my doubts and misgivings I have done by very best to include you in our lives…”
“The frak? Include me? I was here first, I should be including you!”
Laura scoffed and then shook her head, “Ok, stop. We are getting off track here. Look, Kara, if I didn’t want you here, if I wanted you gone, you wouldn’t be here.”
It was like being doused with ice water, in that moment Kara realised the power Laura held. If she ever turned around and gave Bill an ultimatum - her or Kara, he would choose Laura every time. He would be miserable, he would be sick with grief, but he would do it.
“So what? You let me stay is that it? You want me to thank you?”
“No, I want you to appreciate how hard it is to trust you when you return from the dead.”
Kara’s hand dived into her pocket and withdrew the book in a flash, carelessly she threw it to Laura, “You are a fine one to talk.”
The blonde watched dispassionately as Laura picked up the book and flicked it open. The first couple of pages revealed nothing, just pages of illegible text. Laura’s face remained nonchalant as she turned over page after page of incomprehensible text and old scenes of earth. She paused at the pages that showed the emerald grass and majestic buildings, a wistful expression passing over her features.
Then, she turned to the page that had devastated Kara. With slight malice, Kara enjoyed the look of shock that passed over Laura’s face. Laura ran her finger over the page, tracing the line of the ship that was clearly a Viper, plummeting towards the Temple of Aurora.
“This is you,” her eyes darted up to look at the girl, “this is your Viper.”
Kara shrugged.
Laura’s face was etched with pain, “What did you do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Cut the crap, you must remember. How can you show me this and tell me you remember nothing!” Laura held the book up, and jabbed the picture, “This is you! You must know.”
Kara sneered, “Yeah? Maybe you know. Turn the page. Maybe you frakking know.”
Laura snatched the book back to her lap and roughly turned the page.
Kara had expected Laura’s gasp to make her feel vindicated - better, but it didn’t. She looked at the shock on Laura’s face and felt nothing but empathy, “It’s you and…”
“Yeah, I can see that.”
Laura turned the page again, flicking through page after page of images of her and Bill.
“So,” Kara said softly, “Do you remember what happened?”
Laura said nothing; she just stared at the pages, trying to work out the meaning of the pictures. She found her eyes returning constantly to the emblem of the snake eating it’s own tail… an image repeated throughout the book.
“This sign,” she got up and sat next to Kara.
“It’s all through the book, and on those statues,” Kara said.
“Yes,” Laura whispered, “It’s a circle, see?”
Kara nodded and learned closer to Laura, peering over her shoulder. Laura turned to the first page that showed the symbol in large form, surrounded by text, “It’s a shame we can’t decipher what it says.”
“Why a circle?”
Laura smiled sadly, “A circle has no beginning and it has no…”
“…End,” Kara finished for her.
All this has happened before and all this will happen again.
The two women sat side by side staring at the book as time ticked away. For the first time they sat as equals and for the first time they desperately wanted the comfort of the other. Kara leaned into Laura’s shoulder and when Laura tentatively wrapped her arm around her she let a tear escape her eye.
“Where did you find this Kara?”
“Over the boarder… I was led there in a vision.”
Laura merely nodded - nothing surprised her anymore.
Thankyou all for your comments last week (we will be replying asap) and we hope you continue to enjoy. :-)