(TM) 152. Road Trip
Road Trips, Expected and Unexpected
Bill Adama was bored.
Bored. BoredboredBOREDboredbored.
He didn't think he'd ever been this bored in all his twelve years.
The car trip with Dad had been exciting at first. Getting out of school for three whole days, driving all the way to Caprica City, visiting spots along the way and staying in a hotel for the first time ... it was fun. Just him and Dad.
But now he was sitting in his best clothes in the gallery of the Capitol building, watching the signing of something Dad had called the Articles of Colonization, except no one was signing anything. Instead, they'd all been making speeches. For hours.
BORING.
He must've sighed louder than he meant to, because he felt a hand squeeze his shoulder. "You okay, Bill?"
Bored or not, a smile lit his face as he looked up into blue eyes lighter than his own. He'd told his parents a few weeks ago that he wanted to be called Bill, not Billy. Mom still got it wrong sometimes, but Dad never did.
He tried to stop fidgeting. He knew that Dad had worked hard to get them these seats, but ... "How much longer will they be talking?" he whispered.
"Not much longer." A hug, followed by a thoughtful look. "I know it's a long ceremony to sit through, but it's important. Do you know why?"
Bill considered his teacher's explanations, and all of the discussions he'd heard between his parents, among other adults. "Because they're making a new government, one for all the Colonies."
"That's right, but it's more than that." Joseph Adama's eyes watched as the members of the newly created Quorum of Twelve got up to speak on behalf of the Colonies they represented. "For as long as our history goes back, we descendants of Kobol have discriminated against, fought with and even killed each other, more worried about what tribe we belong to or what planet we hail from than the fact that we're all one people. This ..." He gestured down at the people on the floor below. "This ceremony shows that for the first time, we've decided to try for something better. It's not perfect, and we still have a lot of work to do ... but we're trying." He grinned. "And yes, that matters enough for me to make you sit through this boring piece of history in the making."
They announced the Signing just then. Bill watched as each member of the Quorum stepped up to place pen to paper, some with smiles for the cameras, some with furrowed brows, some with tears in their eyes.
All with hands that shook just a little bit.
And when all were done, the Speaker of the Chamber announced that, from that moment forward, the Twelve Colonies of Kobol were united under one government, and that this day would be commemorated and celebrated each year ...
******
"You were a classic only child." Laura Roslin made this observation with no little satisfaction, in the tone of someone who'd just solved part of an interesting puzzle. "One minute an ordinary kid, the next, twelve going on thirty-two."
"I guess so." William Adama took a sip from his glass of water, to cover the little smile he always got when he saw his President curled up on his couch with her shoes kicked off. "You should have seen my reaction to the fireworks display we saw later that night. I definitely had an ordinary kid's affinity for bright lights and things going boom."
She laughed, which made him smile a little wider. He met her gaze steadily as she regarded him with thoughtful gray eyes.
"So William Adama became a patriot on the very day the Colonies were united."
He nodded slowly. "I didn't see it that way then, but over the years I've thought back many times to what my father said ... that the Articles represented humanity's effort to do better, to be better." Another sip. "That effort ... it's worth believing in. Worth protecting."
"So say we all." She took a sip of her own.
No, you could never know what you'd become at the end of the road, after all the forks, branches and twists. He'd certainly never dreamed that he'd find himself on a road longer than any human had ever traveled, sharing the guardianship of the last remnants of the Colonies with the quietly elegant woman who currently shared his couch.
He glanced up to find Laura's eyes on him again. She raised her glass. "I propose a toast: To Joseph Adama, and to trying for something better." She smiled warmly as he raised his glass in return. "Happy Colonial Day, Bill."
"Happy Colonial Day, Laura."
Muse: Admiral William Adama
Fandom: Battlestar Galactica '03
Word count: 790
Bill Adama was bored.
Bored. BoredboredBOREDboredbored.
He didn't think he'd ever been this bored in all his twelve years.
The car trip with Dad had been exciting at first. Getting out of school for three whole days, driving all the way to Caprica City, visiting spots along the way and staying in a hotel for the first time ... it was fun. Just him and Dad.
But now he was sitting in his best clothes in the gallery of the Capitol building, watching the signing of something Dad had called the Articles of Colonization, except no one was signing anything. Instead, they'd all been making speeches. For hours.
BORING.
He must've sighed louder than he meant to, because he felt a hand squeeze his shoulder. "You okay, Bill?"
Bored or not, a smile lit his face as he looked up into blue eyes lighter than his own. He'd told his parents a few weeks ago that he wanted to be called Bill, not Billy. Mom still got it wrong sometimes, but Dad never did.
He tried to stop fidgeting. He knew that Dad had worked hard to get them these seats, but ... "How much longer will they be talking?" he whispered.
"Not much longer." A hug, followed by a thoughtful look. "I know it's a long ceremony to sit through, but it's important. Do you know why?"
Bill considered his teacher's explanations, and all of the discussions he'd heard between his parents, among other adults. "Because they're making a new government, one for all the Colonies."
"That's right, but it's more than that." Joseph Adama's eyes watched as the members of the newly created Quorum of Twelve got up to speak on behalf of the Colonies they represented. "For as long as our history goes back, we descendants of Kobol have discriminated against, fought with and even killed each other, more worried about what tribe we belong to or what planet we hail from than the fact that we're all one people. This ..." He gestured down at the people on the floor below. "This ceremony shows that for the first time, we've decided to try for something better. It's not perfect, and we still have a lot of work to do ... but we're trying." He grinned. "And yes, that matters enough for me to make you sit through this boring piece of history in the making."
They announced the Signing just then. Bill watched as each member of the Quorum stepped up to place pen to paper, some with smiles for the cameras, some with furrowed brows, some with tears in their eyes.
All with hands that shook just a little bit.
And when all were done, the Speaker of the Chamber announced that, from that moment forward, the Twelve Colonies of Kobol were united under one government, and that this day would be commemorated and celebrated each year ...
******
"You were a classic only child." Laura Roslin made this observation with no little satisfaction, in the tone of someone who'd just solved part of an interesting puzzle. "One minute an ordinary kid, the next, twelve going on thirty-two."
"I guess so." William Adama took a sip from his glass of water, to cover the little smile he always got when he saw his President curled up on his couch with her shoes kicked off. "You should have seen my reaction to the fireworks display we saw later that night. I definitely had an ordinary kid's affinity for bright lights and things going boom."
She laughed, which made him smile a little wider. He met her gaze steadily as she regarded him with thoughtful gray eyes.
"So William Adama became a patriot on the very day the Colonies were united."
He nodded slowly. "I didn't see it that way then, but over the years I've thought back many times to what my father said ... that the Articles represented humanity's effort to do better, to be better." Another sip. "That effort ... it's worth believing in. Worth protecting."
"So say we all." She took a sip of her own.
No, you could never know what you'd become at the end of the road, after all the forks, branches and twists. He'd certainly never dreamed that he'd find himself on a road longer than any human had ever traveled, sharing the guardianship of the last remnants of the Colonies with the quietly elegant woman who currently shared his couch.
He glanced up to find Laura's eyes on him again. She raised her glass. "I propose a toast: To Joseph Adama, and to trying for something better." She smiled warmly as he raised his glass in return. "Happy Colonial Day, Bill."
"Happy Colonial Day, Laura."
Muse: Admiral William Adama
Fandom: Battlestar Galactica '03
Word count: 790