Omerta: Chapter One
Title: Omerta: Chapter One
Rating: T
Word Count: ~2200
Disclaimer: don't own them.
Characters/Pairing(s): Bill/Laura, Bill/Laura/Saul (eventually); mostly gen for now.
Summary: Guatrau Laura Roslin and her Consigliere Bill Adama pick up the pieces after a tragedy and then they follow the code of Omerta - all the way to the end...
A/N: This is a "sneak peak" at one of my WIPs posted in honor of plaid_slytherin's birthday. Much thanks to my lovely betas lanalucy and laura_mayfair for supporting this project the last year - and all my other ones. *hugs all around*
She returned to her condo after climbing out of the fountain. She was sopping wet, but it didn’t bother her. Nothing could get through to her. Not with them gone. The phone rang. She picked it up on her way to her bathroom and answered it. It had better be important.
“Laura.”
It was Bill, and he sounded distraught. “Yes?”
“There’s been an accident.”
She sighed. “I know, the police came and left. About an hour ago.”
“I’m at the hospital now.”
Of course. He would do what he did best. And so would she. “Call back in an hour.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” His tone softened. “And Laura...I’ll get to the bottom of this.”
“I know you will.”
She ended the call and stepped in her shower. The fountain had served its purpose: it cleansed her and washed away her tears. The shower would serve another. It would mark a new beginning for her.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
He stepped in front of the door to the ICU, where an officer was stationed. “Is the DUI in there?”
The officer looked torn. “Who wants to know?”
Bill schooled his features to be the picture of professionalism. “I’m Laura Roslin’s attorney. That man killed her family.”
The officer nodded. “From what I hear, he probably won’t last through the night.”
No? She wouldn’t like that.
“Would it be okay if I saw him?” The officer was prepared to say no. Bill put up his hand. “I just want to look him in the eyes. For my client.”
The officer nodded. “Two minutes.”
Bill thanked the young officer. Nice kid. Reminded him of Zak. He stepped into the ICU and nearly gasped when he saw the patient. After so many years with the Roslins, Bill wasn’t often surprised. “Frak me.”
He exited as quickly as his legs could carry him. She would want to hear about this RFN. He waved to the officer and headed toward the elevator.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////
She answered her phone. “Yes?”
She had just finished putting on the finishing touches on her suit. It was the last thing she wanted to wear that day, but she needed to. And she needed to go home and begin her plans.
“It’s the Families.”
She hmmed into the phone. “And the driver?”
“A low-level thug.” She could hear his sneer. “Frakker probably got drunk for courage.”
“He’ll wish he’d had more when we get started.”
A beat. What hadn’t he told her? “That’s the thing. He’s not long for this world.”
If he were standing in front of her, she would shoot him her glare. She would rely on her voice instead. “I know you’re not punning, right?”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t...never. He’s just in bad shape.”
“Oh. Report in, then.”
On this day, she needed her best friend more than ever before.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
She sat in her father’s old office - her office now. Bill entered slowly, bowing his head. She rose from the chair and offered her hand. He took it in both of his and kissed it. “Guatrau.”
She hmmed. “Not yet.”
“Maybe not officially, but this is yours.” He gestured around the office. “All of it.”
She sat back down, and he sat across from her, as he had so many times facing Edward. “What do you suggest?” she asked.
He thought for a minute. He’d been thinking for the duration of the ride through Caprica City. “The Families may be responsible, but--”
“--But it’s all because of her.”
Bill nodded.
“You know what has to happen.”
He sighed. “Yes.”
“I know you trained her, Bill. But this goes way beyond Omerta.”
He didn’t like it. He’d grown up hearing how his dead older brother had been a casualty of his father’s and uncle’s foolish struggle against their former Guatrau. People made mistakes. Feelings got hurt. But in his and Laura’s familes’ business, that could be deadly. It was a fact of life they’d learned to accept. And anyone who crossed them knew it too. He met Laura’s eyes and nodded sharply. “Helena Cain is a dead woman.”
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
“What have you learned?” Laura asked.
He sat at her family’s dining room table, as she walked in from the kitchen holding a cherry cake. It smelled delicious. “You baked?”
She sat down after placing the cake platter in front of her place. She shrugged. “Your uncle’s recipe. Somehow, it always makes me feel...better.”
She picked up the knife and cut two pieces, one slightly larger than the other. She transferred the slices onto the dishes and handed him the larger piece. She moved the cake dish to the side and dug into her own piece.
She was there with him, but her mind had returned to the past, a simpler time, he knew. “Uncle Sam adored you, you know.” He grinned. “He always said you were the Αφεντικό στην εκπαίδευση.”
She smiled fondly. “I used to sit at the top of the stairs listening, when your father and uncle talked business. I was hiding when my dad--” She broke off, tears streaming down her face.
He stood up, strode around the table and put his hands on her shoulders. She was his Guatrau, but she was also his dearest friend, and that’s what she needed. He would be her Consigliere again in a few moments.
“Only I wasn’t hiding as well as I thought,” she continued, covering one of his hands with hers. “Sam came around to the staircase and winked at me before he left that night.”
He remembered that night, and most nights following it. The flashes of red hair through the banisters. The ill-timed giggles. But when he had glanced at her face, there’d been a seriousness, an understanding far beyond that of a child. Mostly he remembered the way Edward’s face lit up every time she accidentally revealed her presence. When Edward Roslin had accepted the title and responsibility of Guatrau, his eyes had been smiling because Laura had chosen that moment to giggle. That was the night the Adamas had sworn their allegiance to the Roslins. Now it was just Laura and Bill.
He squeezed her shoulders. “Your father always knew, Laura. His world rotated around you, like the brightest star.”
She looked up at him. “You always did have a way with words, Bill.” She cleared her throat. “Now, what have you learned?”
He removed his hands from her person and returned to his seat. “My sources say she went to ground immediately after...then she joined the Fleet.”
Laura raised a brow.
“She must have used some connections. Her new friends,” he said without bitterness. As personal as it was, it was still business.
She became every bit the Guatrau. “Her friends. Surprised she’s not with them.”
He shook his head. “The Families know the score. They’d never let her in their fold. They wouldn’t want that on their heads.”
Breaking Omerta meant death, but more important, it meant dishonor, and no respectable Ha'la'tha would ever aid Helena Cain after what she’d done. Not even those who’d benefitted from her treachery.
"Then we'll have to change directions. For now."
He picked up his fork. "What do you have in mind?"
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
“Always faithful to the soil,” the priest said as he spread the ashes exactly how Papa had wanted. Laura had decided the girls would go with him. It seemed fitting.
Like the remains of her family, Laura’s mind was scattered - past, present, and future collided. She shook it off. She was truly the Guatrau, and the people responsible for this...massacre - all but the one she really wanted - were in attendance. Paying their respect. It was good. They may not like her; they may not have liked her family, but they would respect her because she had what they needed: the means to ensure their long-term survival.
If she were Cheryl or Sandra, she would glare over at them all. Or, worse, she would threaten them in the middle of the service. Her sisters had inherited Judith’s fiery spirit; whereas Laura was much more subdued, like her father. So Laura didn’t glare at them, and as they arrived she had shaken each one’s hand and kissed everyone’s cheek, allowing them to follow suit. It was what her father would have done, and it was necessary. No matter how personal it was to her, to Bill, it was business. And she wasn’t willing to go to war. Her father’s role had been the result of the previous war. She had only been a child then, of course, but she had heard her parents and Joe and Sam Adama talking enough to know it had been bad. That her father had been meant to be the Guatrau who would end the conflict, and he had. And she would follow his legacy until she returned to the soil.
Bill squeezed her shoulder. “You okay?”
“Hmm. Just thinking.”
“You ready?”
“Absolutely.”
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////
He was the consigliere for another Guatrau at another funeral service. So much of their lives seemed to be centered around them. He dabbed his eyes. In the chaos surrounding the last several days, he hadn’t had a chance to mourn properly. He would let go for the service, and then he would need to be the impartial consigliere for Laura.
Laura sat at his side, straight, poised, and ready. He had always admired her strength, but he couldn’t remember ever being prouder to serve her than he had been the last few days.
She had been his pillar when his father had died. She’d also convinced him to change careers.
After the service ended, Laura patted his arm. “Let’s get a drink.”
They entered Laura’s study, which was right next to her father’s, and she poured two glasses of ambrosia. They sat on her sofa - the big brown leather one he had helped her pick out and move into her office. “What are you gonna do?” she asked.
“About what?”
“Your life.”
He gazed at her. “What’s wrong with it?”
She rolled her eyes. “Nothing is wrong with it. But I think you have more potential than this.”
He furrowed his eyebrows. “Your dad--”
“Thinks the world of you.” She smiled. “What I’m talking about is a promotion. A big one.”
“Okay. I’ll bite.” There really wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for the Roslins.
“Dad needs a new consigliere.”
“I don’t have a law degree.”
Her smile only widened. “You’ll get one. And on my father’s cubit.” She paused. “And in the meantime, I’ll attempt to fill your father’s shoes, but I’ll need a little help, I think.”
He nodded. Laura Roslin would be acting Consigliere to her father. It was perfect. She was ideal for that role. “I’ll help the family any way I can, you know that.”
She nodded. “I do.” She patted his hand. “Your father would be so proud of you, Bill.” She sighed. “Are you okay? Do you need to talk? I’m not sure how good I’d be at it.”
She was doing that nervous talking thing. He fought the urge to grin. The Family’s Αφεντικό στην εκπαίδευση was more than proficient in the ways of business, but there were moments when he saw a glimmer of the young girl she’d been. “I’m good. I should get home.” Before his lovely bride laid into him again.
He stood and she gave him a quick hug, said she’d see him the next day, and he left, the warmth of her wedging deeper into his heart, and there was nothing he could do about it.
It had taken a few years, but he’d ended up following in his father’s footsteps instead of his uncle’s after all. If Bill had truly believed in the gods, he’d say Joseph was laughing at him from Elysium. Laura and Edward had guided him through every step. She had even stayed up with him several nights a week to study for his bar. Of course, that had only added fuel to Carolanne’s fire, but he hadn’t cared. As wrong as his wife had been about his involvement with the Roslins, the fact had remained that he had always been calmer and more content in the Roslin home than he’d ever been in the one he shared with his wife. Divorce had been inevitable, and Laura and Edward had helped him through that as well. It was his turn now.
The service ended, and everyone headed inside for the reception. Laura stood to meet the other Guatraus. He squeezed her hand. “I’ll be right inside, okay?”
She nodded. “I’ll get them started. You know what to do.”
“Wilco.”
She entered her home, and Bill went to the spot the ashes had been spread before the wind took them. “Always faithful to the soil, Guatrau,” he said. “You taught us both well, I promise. And I’ll protect her. Make sure she eats since she always forgets.” He chuckled. “I have to go. We’re gonna continue your legacy, make you proud.”
He wiped his eyes and schooled his features, ready to glower at the Families as Laura spoke.
Next Chapter
Rating: T
Word Count: ~2200
Disclaimer: don't own them.
Characters/Pairing(s): Bill/Laura, Bill/Laura/Saul (eventually); mostly gen for now.
Summary: Guatrau Laura Roslin and her Consigliere Bill Adama pick up the pieces after a tragedy and then they follow the code of Omerta - all the way to the end...
A/N: This is a "sneak peak" at one of my WIPs posted in honor of plaid_slytherin's birthday. Much thanks to my lovely betas lanalucy and laura_mayfair for supporting this project the last year - and all my other ones. *hugs all around*
She returned to her condo after climbing out of the fountain. She was sopping wet, but it didn’t bother her. Nothing could get through to her. Not with them gone. The phone rang. She picked it up on her way to her bathroom and answered it. It had better be important.
“Laura.”
It was Bill, and he sounded distraught. “Yes?”
“There’s been an accident.”
She sighed. “I know, the police came and left. About an hour ago.”
“I’m at the hospital now.”
Of course. He would do what he did best. And so would she. “Call back in an hour.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” His tone softened. “And Laura...I’ll get to the bottom of this.”
“I know you will.”
She ended the call and stepped in her shower. The fountain had served its purpose: it cleansed her and washed away her tears. The shower would serve another. It would mark a new beginning for her.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
He stepped in front of the door to the ICU, where an officer was stationed. “Is the DUI in there?”
The officer looked torn. “Who wants to know?”
Bill schooled his features to be the picture of professionalism. “I’m Laura Roslin’s attorney. That man killed her family.”
The officer nodded. “From what I hear, he probably won’t last through the night.”
No? She wouldn’t like that.
“Would it be okay if I saw him?” The officer was prepared to say no. Bill put up his hand. “I just want to look him in the eyes. For my client.”
The officer nodded. “Two minutes.”
Bill thanked the young officer. Nice kid. Reminded him of Zak. He stepped into the ICU and nearly gasped when he saw the patient. After so many years with the Roslins, Bill wasn’t often surprised. “Frak me.”
He exited as quickly as his legs could carry him. She would want to hear about this RFN. He waved to the officer and headed toward the elevator.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////
She answered her phone. “Yes?”
She had just finished putting on the finishing touches on her suit. It was the last thing she wanted to wear that day, but she needed to. And she needed to go home and begin her plans.
“It’s the Families.”
She hmmed into the phone. “And the driver?”
“A low-level thug.” She could hear his sneer. “Frakker probably got drunk for courage.”
“He’ll wish he’d had more when we get started.”
A beat. What hadn’t he told her? “That’s the thing. He’s not long for this world.”
If he were standing in front of her, she would shoot him her glare. She would rely on her voice instead. “I know you’re not punning, right?”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t...never. He’s just in bad shape.”
“Oh. Report in, then.”
On this day, she needed her best friend more than ever before.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
She sat in her father’s old office - her office now. Bill entered slowly, bowing his head. She rose from the chair and offered her hand. He took it in both of his and kissed it. “Guatrau.”
She hmmed. “Not yet.”
“Maybe not officially, but this is yours.” He gestured around the office. “All of it.”
She sat back down, and he sat across from her, as he had so many times facing Edward. “What do you suggest?” she asked.
He thought for a minute. He’d been thinking for the duration of the ride through Caprica City. “The Families may be responsible, but--”
“--But it’s all because of her.”
Bill nodded.
“You know what has to happen.”
He sighed. “Yes.”
“I know you trained her, Bill. But this goes way beyond Omerta.”
He didn’t like it. He’d grown up hearing how his dead older brother had been a casualty of his father’s and uncle’s foolish struggle against their former Guatrau. People made mistakes. Feelings got hurt. But in his and Laura’s familes’ business, that could be deadly. It was a fact of life they’d learned to accept. And anyone who crossed them knew it too. He met Laura’s eyes and nodded sharply. “Helena Cain is a dead woman.”
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
“What have you learned?” Laura asked.
He sat at her family’s dining room table, as she walked in from the kitchen holding a cherry cake. It smelled delicious. “You baked?”
She sat down after placing the cake platter in front of her place. She shrugged. “Your uncle’s recipe. Somehow, it always makes me feel...better.”
She picked up the knife and cut two pieces, one slightly larger than the other. She transferred the slices onto the dishes and handed him the larger piece. She moved the cake dish to the side and dug into her own piece.
She was there with him, but her mind had returned to the past, a simpler time, he knew. “Uncle Sam adored you, you know.” He grinned. “He always said you were the Αφεντικό στην εκπαίδευση.”
She smiled fondly. “I used to sit at the top of the stairs listening, when your father and uncle talked business. I was hiding when my dad--” She broke off, tears streaming down her face.
He stood up, strode around the table and put his hands on her shoulders. She was his Guatrau, but she was also his dearest friend, and that’s what she needed. He would be her Consigliere again in a few moments.
“Only I wasn’t hiding as well as I thought,” she continued, covering one of his hands with hers. “Sam came around to the staircase and winked at me before he left that night.”
He remembered that night, and most nights following it. The flashes of red hair through the banisters. The ill-timed giggles. But when he had glanced at her face, there’d been a seriousness, an understanding far beyond that of a child. Mostly he remembered the way Edward’s face lit up every time she accidentally revealed her presence. When Edward Roslin had accepted the title and responsibility of Guatrau, his eyes had been smiling because Laura had chosen that moment to giggle. That was the night the Adamas had sworn their allegiance to the Roslins. Now it was just Laura and Bill.
He squeezed her shoulders. “Your father always knew, Laura. His world rotated around you, like the brightest star.”
She looked up at him. “You always did have a way with words, Bill.” She cleared her throat. “Now, what have you learned?”
He removed his hands from her person and returned to his seat. “My sources say she went to ground immediately after...then she joined the Fleet.”
Laura raised a brow.
“She must have used some connections. Her new friends,” he said without bitterness. As personal as it was, it was still business.
She became every bit the Guatrau. “Her friends. Surprised she’s not with them.”
He shook his head. “The Families know the score. They’d never let her in their fold. They wouldn’t want that on their heads.”
Breaking Omerta meant death, but more important, it meant dishonor, and no respectable Ha'la'tha would ever aid Helena Cain after what she’d done. Not even those who’d benefitted from her treachery.
"Then we'll have to change directions. For now."
He picked up his fork. "What do you have in mind?"
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
“Always faithful to the soil,” the priest said as he spread the ashes exactly how Papa had wanted. Laura had decided the girls would go with him. It seemed fitting.
Like the remains of her family, Laura’s mind was scattered - past, present, and future collided. She shook it off. She was truly the Guatrau, and the people responsible for this...massacre - all but the one she really wanted - were in attendance. Paying their respect. It was good. They may not like her; they may not have liked her family, but they would respect her because she had what they needed: the means to ensure their long-term survival.
If she were Cheryl or Sandra, she would glare over at them all. Or, worse, she would threaten them in the middle of the service. Her sisters had inherited Judith’s fiery spirit; whereas Laura was much more subdued, like her father. So Laura didn’t glare at them, and as they arrived she had shaken each one’s hand and kissed everyone’s cheek, allowing them to follow suit. It was what her father would have done, and it was necessary. No matter how personal it was to her, to Bill, it was business. And she wasn’t willing to go to war. Her father’s role had been the result of the previous war. She had only been a child then, of course, but she had heard her parents and Joe and Sam Adama talking enough to know it had been bad. That her father had been meant to be the Guatrau who would end the conflict, and he had. And she would follow his legacy until she returned to the soil.
Bill squeezed her shoulder. “You okay?”
“Hmm. Just thinking.”
“You ready?”
“Absolutely.”
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////
He was the consigliere for another Guatrau at another funeral service. So much of their lives seemed to be centered around them. He dabbed his eyes. In the chaos surrounding the last several days, he hadn’t had a chance to mourn properly. He would let go for the service, and then he would need to be the impartial consigliere for Laura.
Laura sat at his side, straight, poised, and ready. He had always admired her strength, but he couldn’t remember ever being prouder to serve her than he had been the last few days.
She had been his pillar when his father had died. She’d also convinced him to change careers.
After the service ended, Laura patted his arm. “Let’s get a drink.”
They entered Laura’s study, which was right next to her father’s, and she poured two glasses of ambrosia. They sat on her sofa - the big brown leather one he had helped her pick out and move into her office. “What are you gonna do?” she asked.
“About what?”
“Your life.”
He gazed at her. “What’s wrong with it?”
She rolled her eyes. “Nothing is wrong with it. But I think you have more potential than this.”
He furrowed his eyebrows. “Your dad--”
“Thinks the world of you.” She smiled. “What I’m talking about is a promotion. A big one.”
“Okay. I’ll bite.” There really wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for the Roslins.
“Dad needs a new consigliere.”
“I don’t have a law degree.”
Her smile only widened. “You’ll get one. And on my father’s cubit.” She paused. “And in the meantime, I’ll attempt to fill your father’s shoes, but I’ll need a little help, I think.”
He nodded. Laura Roslin would be acting Consigliere to her father. It was perfect. She was ideal for that role. “I’ll help the family any way I can, you know that.”
She nodded. “I do.” She patted his hand. “Your father would be so proud of you, Bill.” She sighed. “Are you okay? Do you need to talk? I’m not sure how good I’d be at it.”
She was doing that nervous talking thing. He fought the urge to grin. The Family’s Αφεντικό στην εκπαίδευση was more than proficient in the ways of business, but there were moments when he saw a glimmer of the young girl she’d been. “I’m good. I should get home.” Before his lovely bride laid into him again.
He stood and she gave him a quick hug, said she’d see him the next day, and he left, the warmth of her wedging deeper into his heart, and there was nothing he could do about it.
It had taken a few years, but he’d ended up following in his father’s footsteps instead of his uncle’s after all. If Bill had truly believed in the gods, he’d say Joseph was laughing at him from Elysium. Laura and Edward had guided him through every step. She had even stayed up with him several nights a week to study for his bar. Of course, that had only added fuel to Carolanne’s fire, but he hadn’t cared. As wrong as his wife had been about his involvement with the Roslins, the fact had remained that he had always been calmer and more content in the Roslin home than he’d ever been in the one he shared with his wife. Divorce had been inevitable, and Laura and Edward had helped him through that as well. It was his turn now.
The service ended, and everyone headed inside for the reception. Laura stood to meet the other Guatraus. He squeezed her hand. “I’ll be right inside, okay?”
She nodded. “I’ll get them started. You know what to do.”
“Wilco.”
She entered her home, and Bill went to the spot the ashes had been spread before the wind took them. “Always faithful to the soil, Guatrau,” he said. “You taught us both well, I promise. And I’ll protect her. Make sure she eats since she always forgets.” He chuckled. “I have to go. We’re gonna continue your legacy, make you proud.”
He wiped his eyes and schooled his features, ready to glower at the Families as Laura spoke.
Next Chapter