1. Chapter 1

Have you heard anything I have said

Have you heard anything I have said?

Bill emerged from the head and grabbed his jacket from the back of his desk chair. As he pulled it on, he continued the snippets of conversation Laura and he had been having since they had shared breakfast, "You know I'm sure I saw Tory in the bar the other day and frankly she looked about under the…"

"I'm not sure about this thing; does it really look alright to you?" Laura asked barely glancing his way as she sat with a folder open on her knee, a cup of tea in one hand and the other pulling at a strand on her head.

Knowing full well what she was talking about having already answered the question about hundred times, or so it seemed to him, he stalled her with a, "Huh," Before turning back towards her and replying quickly, "Yes, it's fine, stop fiddling."

She dropped her hand and started back in on the report that was on her lap.

"Do you have much on today?" Bill asked as he buttoned up his jacket and came to sit next to her on the couch. Receiving no answer he carried on, "I'm meeting with the Captain of the…"

"What time are we having dinner tonight?" Laura blurted out in the middle of his sentence interrupting him for the second time.

"You're doing it again," He sighed, "You haven't heard a thing I've been saying have you?"

"I have!" She argued.

"What did I say then?" He challenged.

"Um…"

"See!" He laughed.

"Wait…" She smiled cheekily putting her hand up to her head and briefly shutting her eyes, "It's coming back to me, you said, yes here it comes, you said how much you love me and wanted to marry me."

Adama's eyebrow shot up, "You want me to marry you!" Bill laughed out loud, "That's new, don't you think we should be dating first?"

"Oh, I suppose," she pouted, "well no marrying then," she sighed theatrically.

Bill smiled and started to move off the couch when Laura's hand gripped his arm, before he looked round, he was surprised to hear her voice hesitant, so unlike the strong authoritive sound that the President of the Twelve Colonies used or the playful woman that she had been a few seconds ago.

"You could still tell me that you love me though."

Bill stopped dead at the words and the seconds started to tick by in an uncomfortable silence.

Laura looked at the still, stiff man that remained sitting barely on the edge of the couch and cursed herself for such foolish words; she had embarrassed herself and him. They had grown so comfortable in each others' company of late. He was always there for her but now she seemed to have mistaken kindness for something else, something that she thought was unwritten between them but it was silly and faintly ridiculous now, times had changed, she had changed, why would he find this version of Laura Roslin attractive.

"Or not," she said, trying desperately to sound upbeat. When he still made no attempt to move or speak again, Laura felt a rising panic that she had overstepped their tenuous line of mutual consent. She moved forward in her seat to try and look into his face but it was still tilted slightly away from her.

"Bill?" She said really starting to get alarmed by his lack of response. She fought a sudden need to burst into tears at the way her remark, said in jest, was being ignored. No she corrected herself it wasn't made in jest if she were honest with herself; she meant it, testing the waters so to speak. Now it had suddenly spiralled out of control with his simple lack of response, she found herself back peddling fast as she watched his hands fist up and then unwind to grasp his knees tightly.

The mounting waterworks overflowed and a few tears escaped her eyes, she reached out and placed her hand gently on his forearm trying not to scare him off, any more than she already had.

"Bill, I'm sorry…"

His response when it happened was quick and his right hand left his knee and grasped firmly onto Laura's hand squeezing it fiercely.

He finally brought his face round, so that Laura could see the play of emotions that sang across his face. She closed her eyes at the rawness that she saw there; her eyes were not the only ones valiantly try to contain the flow of tears. She knew in that moment that she need not doubt him.

"I really am sorry, it was a silly thing to say," She fretted.

Bill shook his head despondently as he sighed, "You shouldn't have to ask, Laura, you should know."

The President of the twelve Colonies sat wide eyed looking straight at the Admiral of the fleet as they walked a very dangerous ground but this was their time and there was no going back now. Laura nodded her head once and bit her lip hesitantly.

"Do you need to ask me the question?" he said reading her body language. "Do you?"

Laura started to shake her head negatively and she said, "No…" But stopped and looked nervously at him, "Yes." She looked away from him for a moment before continuing in a sombre manner, "I don't have time any more, every minute is precious, I want clarity, certainty in everything I do, I can't wait for things to sort themselves out in the natural course of time."

Bill watched as she leaned back against the couch looking tired of the emotion load she was carrying. She closed her eyes as she continued in a strained voice, "Time is running out for me, for all of us one way or another," she smiled despairingly, "and we waste too much of it feeling sorry for ourselves." She threw her hands up in the air in dramatic gesture, "here's an idea, lets just go out and get what we want," Laura finished smirking slightly at him.

Bill waited for a moment watching her face as she tried to read his, "and what is it that you want, Laura Roslin?" he asked, his voice slow and low.

Her breath caught slightly at his tone but she gave him one last get out clause as she said lightly, eyes dancing with mirth, "Where would you like me to start? There are so many things."

Bill didn't take the bait though and moved back to make himself more comfortable and turned his body so that he was closer to Laura as he said seriously, "How about you start here in this room, right now?"

Laura looked down at her lap, she had brought them to this moment with one flippant remark but this act they had been playing out for so long needed to end.

"I want you to love me," she said quietly.

Bill started to open his mouth to answer but Laura stopped him with a finger pressed to his lips. She had started it and now she was going to finish it once and for all, good or bad.

"I want you to make love to me," she said self consciously, "I know I'm not attractive as a woman anymore," she faltered pointing up to her hair, "certainly not the pick of the bunch but…" she trailed off, looking at him to see his reaction.

Bill didn't hesitate in his answer as he said robustly to her, "You will always be desirable to me, Laura, no matter what."

"Hair or no hair? She smiled.

He nodded his head with a gentle smile on his face but watched as her previous words sank in and her face start to crumble. "Ssh, I mean it Laura; you never need worry about that. I will always make love to you, gladly, believe me!" He said making Laura smile once again.

His face grew serious again as his eyes dropped briefly from hers and summoned up the courage to ask a nagging question that he dreaded to hear the response to, but he had to know the truth.

"Laura," he said making eye contact again. "I need to know, it will make no difference to what happens here next but I… I have to know, I understand the way you are feeling but..."

"Bill, just ask me whatever is on your mind."

"Do you… making love to me does it mean… or do you simply want, need to feel like a woman again, which is fine, I totally understand, I just need to know were I stand?" He finished, not really sure that she had any idea that he was asking her the simple question, how do you actual feel about me, but it was to late to clarify as he watched the tears started to form and fall down Laura's face and his heart sank.

Did she feel sorry for him? Could she not give him the answer he so desired even though he said it didn't matter.

Swallowing Bill said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster, "It's alright it's fine, please don't cry, I told you it's not a problem." He reached forward to brush the tears sliding down her face away with his thumb.

Laura's own hand came up to hold Bill's hand in place, "Bill, I do so much want to just… feel something again, I do, I can't deny that but you mean too much to me to risk our relationship on the opportunity to…"

"Get laid?" He quirked his eyebrow at her.

"Have sex," she said equally bluntly, "Do you need me to say it?" She repeated his words from earlier.

He leaned forward and captured her lips with his, in a gentle if not soft kiss, pulling her lower lip as he moved away to her neck, bring his cheek to rest against hers, he felt confident in pre-empting her words with his own, "I love you, Laura Roslin, and I want to make love to you forever."

"Forever sounds good," Laura said lightly, but pulled away from him and took his head in her hands, looking him straight in the eye and with every ounce of conviction she said, "I love you Bill, I truly do, and you never need to ask again."

He brought their forehead together as he said hoarsely, "Gods, Laura, we make hard work of these things, don't we? Do we get to the fun part any time soon?"

"Yes please," She giggled. Then she sighed as she said regretfully, "of course it is time for work, which…" she looked at the clock, "I believe you are late for…" giving him a small peck on the cheek she pulled away and gather her belongings together before standing up and making her way to the hatch, turning she said straight faced, "and you have to go meet Captain something or other, plus I guess I had better go have a word with Tory about her behaviour outside working hours, can we come back to this?" She waited for his stunned nod and continued, "Did you decide what time dinner was this evening? I think we both could be in for a treat!" She finished not waiting for an answer as she walked out of his room with a stronger gait than in recent times, leaving Bill Adama on his couch watching her disappear wondering how quickly he could get away for dinner.


	2. Chapter 2

_So I finally got round to the second part of this. It's my take on what could take place after Sine Qua Non. Enjoy!_

Laura felt a little self conscious as she walked towards his quarters, everyone she walked past sent her a smile or happy remark, she could almost feel their need to reach out and touch her, but etiquette and military protocol prevented that.

The last time she had walked these well known corridors, she and Bill had just come to what she had hoped to be a life changing decision for both of them. The trouble is she hadn't returned for the promised dinner that night nor for the delights that would have surely followed. She had instead found herself whisked away aboard the Cylon basestar by the freshly awakened hybrid.

Although that had all happened barely a week ago, this would be their first face to face meeting since they had been reunited with the fleet. They had spoken of course, when, what was left of the rebel fleet had managed to stumble back to the rendezvous point, but that conversation had been on an open channel and what had come across was a cool unemotional welcome, even if the bare fact that Bill Adama was sitting alone in a raptor waiting/hoping for their return told her a different tale.

It was his face Laura had sort out of the crowd first as she stepped off the returning raptor earlier to the cheers and whistles of Galactica's crew. What she saw was a brief flicker of relief upon her emergence, before the stoic features returned. His eyes told her a different story, there was fear and, yes he was annoyed, anger sparked through him, well - two could play at that, Laura thought.

Tory pounced upon her, before she and Bill had been barely able to share a nod to each other. Zarek then squeezed his way through the assembly to the front and started manoeuvring the procession away. She watched as Bill's eyes drifted to his shoes and she was forced away from him by the crowd. As Laura took one last glance towards him from across the deck she watched as his head raised and his face broke into a gentle smile as Saul Tigh rested his hand on Bill's arm in an obvious gesture of support. His eyes tracked once more across the crowd and found hers from a distance and she was grateful that his features didn't harden again but he gave her one last nod.

It was hours later that she found herself hesitating outside the 'Lion's Den'. Bill had been present through most of the Quorum meeting and press conferences but no further slips of emotion had been allowed to escape, not that Laura would expect it, this was a game they had perfected, down to even fooling each other.

As she stepped over the threshold into his cabin for the first time since her return, her eyes were drawn to the empty table. Her thoughts drifted back to before this had all happened, had it been laid ready for their dinner date that night? Had he been waiting for her to return home that evening?

She had a much better understanding now of the lengths he had gone too in their/her recovery; she was full of mixed feelings for his efforts. Laura Roslin, the President of the Twelve Colonies, couldn't stop the instant of sadness, disbelief and anger that he had abandon the fleet in its hour of need but… But Laura Roslin the woman felt a warmth infuse her body that she had never felt before with any man, he was a hero, of course his record to date screamed it, hadn't he come back for them all at New Caprica? This was different; she knew he hadn't come back for them all this time. He had come back for HER; He had risked it all for her. It made her wonder if he had actually done the same thing on New Caprica, He was an emotional man, driven by his values, but his values seemed to have changed from seeing the fleet to safety and she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

As her eyes lifted from the table, they immediately fell upon the man of her thoughts. Bill had emerged from his head, towel round his shoulders, his jacket must have been abandoned somewhere around the room she imagined but she wasn't going to take the time or her eyes off him to look round for it. He stood in his tanks now staring back at her. For once in her life she felt numb, completely hypnotised, and unable to say a word.

It was Bill who spoke first in the end, "You've finished with the Quorum?" he said as he moved across to his desk and started to pull his jacket back on, much to Laura's disappointment.

Laura managed nothing more than a slight nod but Bill noticed and continued on in the same vein, "They behaved like a group of frakking children while you…." He trailed off, obviously not finding the right words for her unplanned trip; instead he waved his hands dismissively in her direction.

"Zarek was his usual power hungry irritating self," he finished.

Not knowing why in the world she would want to defend Zarek but finding Bill's manner a little too dismissive she found herself saying, "From what I heard I'm surprised you knew anything about what was going on in the Quorum, I was told you had no time for them or the people of the fleet."

He turned to her in surprise and shock, this wasn't quite how he imaged her reacting to him, so he said warily, "Really and what else did you hear?"

"That you jumped Galactica away and left the fleet undefended, without a word," she added.

"You're having a go at me?" He added annoyed.

Sensing his growing annoyance and not in the mood for a confrontation, she started, "Bill…"

His voice cut through her words though, "What the hell were you thinking, Laura, running off to that basestar without a word?"

"It wasn't like that," she said defensively, "I needed answers."

"You needed answers…you needed answers so none of the rest of what we are doing is important, just you getting answers on your own, again!" He bellowed. "How many times are you going to do this?"

"Do what?" she asked.

"Leave me out," his eyes blazed angrily.

Laura said crossly back, "I'm not at your beck and call, Bill Adama and I don't have to tell you every single thing I do."

He rounded his table quickly and stepped up in front of her, practically snarling in her face, "You are the frakking President of the Twelve Colonies, you don't have the right not to…" He paused slightly as his voice calmed in tone and grew quiet, "When in the gods' names are you going to trust me, Laura?"

As she looked at his hurt face, her annoyance ebbed away, "Bill, I had no idea that was going to happen."

He turned away from her in disappointment, "Why didn't you come to me, instead of going behind my back with Kara?"

Laura reached out with her hand to stop him moving away. "I…it wasn't a conscious decision."

He turned back towards her, looking deeply into her eyes and spoke softly, "That's what scares me Laura, do you have any idea of the danger you have been in? I can't afford to lose you."

She started to move away from him, and said sharply, picking up his earlier words, "As the President?"

Adama stopped her suddenly with a slight shove which sent her back against the wall of his cabin. "No damn it, as Laura Roslin, the woman I have fallen head over heels for. The woman I can't live without."

Laura stared into his eyes in shock at his confession, it was more than she ever expected, even hoped for and for the second time that evening she found herself at a loss for words. She started to shake her head in denial of his frankness but as she did his arms came up to grasp her shoulders with both his hands.

"I can't live without you, Laura, I don't care anymore about what the future holds, you are the most important thing to me."

She found herself shaking her head again, "Bill, the fleet…" unable to form more than that, the raw emotion evident in his voice rocking her again. She found herself afraid of his feelings, if they let go now, and it was certainly a two way thing, would they be able to return to their duty towards the fleet. If his words were true and she believed with all her heart they were, his actions recently only echoing that all the more, Then did that mean the goal of finding earth was no longer as important to him, she didn't want that, was she the water that had put out that flame, could she live with the knowledge that she could become the distraction that would put this fleet in danger? As his thumbs made gentle patterns on her shoulder blades she knew for certain that she wasn't in much of a better position. At what stage she wondered had her long fight for survival become less about the fleet's safety but more and more about Bill Adama.

"I love you." Bill once again sliced through her thoughts in a dramatic way.

As the tears began to pool in the corners of her eyes, Laura could only nod and say, "I know," before his hands began a slow descent down her silk clad arms, his fingers barely touching the skin underneath the fabric, sending shivers down her spine.

His eyes bore into her, pleading not to be rejected by her. Any thought of that had left her long before this moment Laura admitted to herself. It seemed a lifetime ago that the thought of his hands caressing her body didn't excite her in places long since left dormant since the attacks. His mere presence now sent her flirty tendencies into overdrive, all her time now spent on reining it in for the public but if she were honest that policy had been long since abandoned within the confines of their cabin. Touching had become the norm as they shared their everyday life together.

His hands finished there journey as they reached her hands and entwined their fingers fiercely. He stepped forward pressing his body lightly into her own, his breath whispered against her cheek as he sealed their fate with the words Laura needed to hear, "We are so close, Laura, Earth, It's a breath away, can you feel it, our duty is almost done."

As he spoke, his lips feathered over her ear, making her face turn involuntary into the feel. His breath hot almost moist against her cheek. Unable to speak, Laura shut her eyes and tried to pull some much needed air into her lungs, her whole body sizzled with sensations that had been missing for so long. A long awaited awakening of her own body, her own female body, and as her eyes opened, she looked into his intense depths feeling a complete confidence in her desirability to this man and she whispered, "Yes, I can feel it…" the rest of her words were swallowed up by his mouth as it descended upon hers, hungrily, forcefully, pushing her back once more into the wall.

Laura pulled her hands away from his and immediately threaded them in his thick hair, leaving his to snake around her body, pressed her tightly against him as they kissed over and over again. Bill started to run small kisses along her jaw ending at her ear, as her head fell forward deeply into the crook of his neck. Her hands flatten out on the back of his head holding him tightly in embrace as the kisses stopped and they were both left breathing hard intertwined in a loving hug more profound than and affirming in love than even the kisses had been.

As Laura regained her ability to breathe once more she found her emotions overwhelmed as tears tracked down her face, which left her with only one thing to say, "I love you, Bill, and we will find Earth, but I don't want to do it alone anymore."

Bill pulled away from her, his thumbs brushed away her tears as his own filled with tears as well, "You don't have to anymore."

He brushed a gentle kiss across her lips and turned his head slightly towards the empty table before returning his gaze to her, "Have you eaten? We could have dinner," he said as he sent her one of his most charming smiles. Laura nodded in agreement as she debated whether there was a woman alive who wouldn't stop in that moment and bask in the warmth of it.

_Please tell me your thoughs :)_


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