Roslin Residence, Unit 6, Mauvaise Chance Apartments, After Classes
Laura didn't realize she was holding her breath until Helo's voice poured over the line and she exhaled. "This is Galactica," he said. "Please identify."
"Galactica, this is Roslin. Connect me to Actual and begin encryption."
"Yes, ma'am. Connecting you to Galactica Actual and beginning encryption."
There was a momentary pause, then the rough baritone of Bill Adama came over the line. "This is Actual. Go ahead."
A slight smile played over Roslin's features. "Great pick up line, Admiral. Do all the girls fall for that one?"
"Only the school teachers-turned-presidents," he quipped. "Something about my boyish charm..."
"So if she can understand her five year old students, she can understand you?"
Adama chuckled. "I have it on good authority that she's teaching high school students."
"So, hormonal teenagers who run off and do things without thinking? Well, not exactly a step up from the five year old..."
At this, the admiral laughed; Laura imagined she could see his smile. "Probably closer to accurate -- especially if you ask my son."
"Yes, well I've talked to your son. You're at least partially right." She sobered. Grimacing, she paused, reorganizing a few things on her already clean desk. "He doesn't think you understand the repercussions."
Bill sighed audibly. "I'd heard he wanted to talk to you. Dualla must've worked her magic. Was it at least an interesting conversation?"
"Short and to-the-point. I...told him I couldn't ask you not to do this; that I couldn't ask you to do less than what you feel is your duty." Laura shook her head. "And then I hung up on him."
"You hung up on him?"
"Mmhmm. I felt bad as soon as I --"
"Laura, you do realize you've never even hung up on me?"
"There's a first time for everything, Bill," she replied. She was only half-teasing, however, and her tone conveyed that. "Gods, but I was sorely tempted a time or two. Still, I felt bad about it afterward. He was my military adviser. He trusted me enough to even talk to me about it.
"He does care, Bill. He just..." Roslin waved her hand as she sought the most diplomatic statement of what was rushing through her mind. "...doesn't understand."
"Understand? No, probably not." The admiral gave a snort of sarcastic laughter. "All this lounging around, waiting, has made him soft. The fleet tailor ran out of extra seam allowance weeks ago."
"I..." She didn't know what to say. The image of a chunky Lee Adama was hard to imagine; to her, he'd always be the very young, trim "Captain Apollo." And, while his father wasn't exactly a lightweight, it suited him. She wasn't sure she could ever say the same of a heftier Lee. In the end, she decided to avoid the topic all together. "I...led the students through the Exodus today."
"From Kobol?"
"Mmmhm." Laura nodded. "It was...harder than I expected."
"You doing all right?"
The concern in his voice plucked just the right nerve, and a lump rose in her throat. It took a long moment of silence before she was able to speak again. "Fine," she said. She picked at the leather padding framing the blotter on her desk, struggling to keep control of her voice. "We, ah, certainly paid a price in blood, didn't we?"
"We did. But the lives weren't wasted, Laura. We came away with a few good things."
A laugh escaped her then -- not the laugh of happiness, but one of desperation, of disbelief. "I didn't care about Meyer," she admitted. "I didn't then, and I don't now. Especially since he was perfectly willing to kill you. No...it was worth his life. I'll never be sure it was worth Elosha's."
"I hate to contradict you, Madam President, but it was entirely worth it. Not only were we able to find a map to Earth, but we were also, if you'll recall, able to forge a peace accord between us. Without that? The map was worthless. We'd have torn the fleet apart before reaching the Thirteenth Colony."
Laura smiled despite herself, a soft smile that spread slowly across her lips. Her fingers traced over the embossed leather before her, and she shook her head. "You're right -- about the peace accord. But I happen to know, Admiral, that you love to contradict me."
"Well, there you have me." His voice softened and a chuckle could be heard. "Done feeling sorry for yourself?"
"Hah. Yes." A giggle escaped her as she leaned back in her chair. Her eyes made a study of the ceiling fan as it rotated overhead. "Sometimes you are good for me. Thank you."
"Keep that in mind the next time you're tempted to hang up on me." Over the line, a muffled voice could be heard beyond, the words unintelligible. The admiral sighed. "I need to go, Laura. We just lost two of our nuggets on a training run."
"Don't go too hard on them, Bill. They really are between a rock and a hard place."
"I know. But we're really running out of time." A pause. "Talk to you again soon?"
Roslin nodded, even knowing he couldn't see her. "Definitely. Be careful out there, hm?"
"Always. 'Bye, Laura."
"'Bye, Bill."
The connection was broken and Laura sat for a long moment, contemplating the receiver. They were a long way from Kobol these days...and that was probably a good thing.
[Conversation NFB. Apartment door is knockable, if need be. Extremely mild spoilers for S3 under the cut; if you haven't seen "Home, Pt. II" already, I got no sympathy for ya. ;)]
"Galactica, this is Roslin. Connect me to Actual and begin encryption."
"Yes, ma'am. Connecting you to Galactica Actual and beginning encryption."
There was a momentary pause, then the rough baritone of Bill Adama came over the line. "This is Actual. Go ahead."
A slight smile played over Roslin's features. "Great pick up line, Admiral. Do all the girls fall for that one?"
"Only the school teachers-turned-presidents," he quipped. "Something about my boyish charm..."
"So if she can understand her five year old students, she can understand you?"
Adama chuckled. "I have it on good authority that she's teaching high school students."
"So, hormonal teenagers who run off and do things without thinking? Well, not exactly a step up from the five year old..."
At this, the admiral laughed; Laura imagined she could see his smile. "Probably closer to accurate -- especially if you ask my son."
"Yes, well I've talked to your son. You're at least partially right." She sobered. Grimacing, she paused, reorganizing a few things on her already clean desk. "He doesn't think you understand the repercussions."
Bill sighed audibly. "I'd heard he wanted to talk to you. Dualla must've worked her magic. Was it at least an interesting conversation?"
"Short and to-the-point. I...told him I couldn't ask you not to do this; that I couldn't ask you to do less than what you feel is your duty." Laura shook her head. "And then I hung up on him."
"You hung up on him?"
"Mmhmm. I felt bad as soon as I --"
"Laura, you do realize you've never even hung up on me?"
"There's a first time for everything, Bill," she replied. She was only half-teasing, however, and her tone conveyed that. "Gods, but I was sorely tempted a time or two. Still, I felt bad about it afterward. He was my military adviser. He trusted me enough to even talk to me about it.
"He does care, Bill. He just..." Roslin waved her hand as she sought the most diplomatic statement of what was rushing through her mind. "...doesn't understand."
"Understand? No, probably not." The admiral gave a snort of sarcastic laughter. "All this lounging around, waiting, has made him soft. The fleet tailor ran out of extra seam allowance weeks ago."
"I..." She didn't know what to say. The image of a chunky Lee Adama was hard to imagine; to her, he'd always be the very young, trim "Captain Apollo." And, while his father wasn't exactly a lightweight, it suited him. She wasn't sure she could ever say the same of a heftier Lee. In the end, she decided to avoid the topic all together. "I...led the students through the Exodus today."
"From Kobol?"
"Mmmhm." Laura nodded. "It was...harder than I expected."
"You doing all right?"
The concern in his voice plucked just the right nerve, and a lump rose in her throat. It took a long moment of silence before she was able to speak again. "Fine," she said. She picked at the leather padding framing the blotter on her desk, struggling to keep control of her voice. "We, ah, certainly paid a price in blood, didn't we?"
"We did. But the lives weren't wasted, Laura. We came away with a few good things."
A laugh escaped her then -- not the laugh of happiness, but one of desperation, of disbelief. "I didn't care about Meyer," she admitted. "I didn't then, and I don't now. Especially since he was perfectly willing to kill you. No...it was worth his life. I'll never be sure it was worth Elosha's."
"I hate to contradict you, Madam President, but it was entirely worth it. Not only were we able to find a map to Earth, but we were also, if you'll recall, able to forge a peace accord between us. Without that? The map was worthless. We'd have torn the fleet apart before reaching the Thirteenth Colony."
Laura smiled despite herself, a soft smile that spread slowly across her lips. Her fingers traced over the embossed leather before her, and she shook her head. "You're right -- about the peace accord. But I happen to know, Admiral, that you love to contradict me."
"Well, there you have me." His voice softened and a chuckle could be heard. "Done feeling sorry for yourself?"
"Hah. Yes." A giggle escaped her as she leaned back in her chair. Her eyes made a study of the ceiling fan as it rotated overhead. "Sometimes you are good for me. Thank you."
"Keep that in mind the next time you're tempted to hang up on me." Over the line, a muffled voice could be heard beyond, the words unintelligible. The admiral sighed. "I need to go, Laura. We just lost two of our nuggets on a training run."
"Don't go too hard on them, Bill. They really are between a rock and a hard place."
"I know. But we're really running out of time." A pause. "Talk to you again soon?"
Roslin nodded, even knowing he couldn't see her. "Definitely. Be careful out there, hm?"
"Always. 'Bye, Laura."
"'Bye, Bill."
The connection was broken and Laura sat for a long moment, contemplating the receiver. They were a long way from Kobol these days...and that was probably a good thing.
[Conversation NFB. Apartment door is knockable, if need be. Extremely mild spoilers for S3 under the cut; if you haven't seen "Home, Pt. II" already, I got no sympathy for ya. ;)]