1. Betrayal

**LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT II**

This is a continuation of a story that I posted almost a full year ago, _Letter to the President_. I've been mulling/sitting on this since I wrote the initial story. I'm not posting this as an additional chapter to _Letter to the President _for two reasons:  
1) I think the initial story stands alone quite well,  
2) I'm not sure if this is quite as good a caliber of a story to be posted with that.  
I feel very proud of the first installment, I really like how it turned out. And this... Well it's okay and I've been feeling very compelled to get this out in the open in lieu of what has been happening in Season Four thus far. In lieu of that, I don't think I'll have any spoilers for the fourth season or the bombshell that was seen in the last episode of Season Three, but I reserve the right to throw some things in... So consider yourselves warned.

If you have not read _Letter to the President_, READ IT BEFORE YOU START THIS STORY!! Otherwise you won't know what is going on.

Disclaimer: I am clearly not Ron Moore nor any of the other people who own, produce, direct, write, act, broadcast, etc. the wonderful show that is Battlestar Galactica. I am just borrowing them for some creative expressions.

* * *

**Letter to the President II: Betrayal  
**

_(Have you read _Letter to the President _yet? Last Warning...)_

"Sharon!"

She turned around at the call of her name and was surprised to see Lee Adama jogging to catch up with her. It was a strange sight seeing him in civilian attire. She paused as she waited for him to catch up with her.

When he was a few steps away from her he slowed down and began speaking, "Are you doing a transport run now?"

"Yeah," she replied wondering how he knew that.

He noticed the wariness on her face and explained, "I overheard Racetrack saying she was heading out on CAP, I figured you were geared up for a transport run." He shifted the box he was carrying in his hands.

She nodded her head in acceptance as she continued on her way to the flight deck.

"Can I ask a favor of you?"

Sharon stopped in her tracks and slowly turned to face Lee. "Excuse me?" To say she was surprised was an understatement.

"Can I hitch a ride with you? I don't care where you're going," he told her anticipating a question from her.

"Why?"

He hesitated before answering. She could detect the regret in his voice, "I don't belong here anymore."

Sharon studied him carefully. The man had given up his commission to defend Gaius Baltar in a move she couldn't quite understand. She saw in his eyes though that he just wanted to get away. A feeling that she completely understood after spending over a year locked up.

She nodded her head as she continued on, "Okay."

"Thanks," he told her as he walked alongside her in silence.

As they continued on the three minute walk to the flight deck she noticed that they were getting angry looks from some of the crewmembers. They were halfway to the deck when she realized that they were all directed at her companion. She looked over at Lee and began to study his reaction to the looks he was receiving.

Through her shared memories with the Sharon Valerii that had previously served on the Galactica, she knew what it was like to be accepted and respected by your workers to being hated by them.

Just before they entered the flight deck she turned to him, "Do you want me to load up your box on the ship so you can join me just before the hatch is closed?"

He hesitated momentarily before relinquishing the box to the pilot of his exodus. "Thanks."

She nodded as she accepted the box of treasures he was hesitant to part with. She entered the flight deck and proceeded to her raptor and loaded up the box.

"What you got there?" Tyrol asked as he walked up to go through her pre-flight with her.

Sharon turned and answered non-chalantly, "Some of Lampkin's stuff he wanted sent over."

Tyrol looked down at his transport checklist, "That's not on the list."

"I know," she added as she came down from the raptor and began inspecting her bird. "He asked me to take some files for him to the Rising Star since I was heading over there anyways. The box is packed up with some confidential files," she added hoping that he would stop asking her about the box.

Fifteen minutes later Sharon and her undocumented passenger were leaving the Galactica. Once they had cleared the flight deck Lee asked permission to join her up in the copilot's seat.

"What are you going to do?" she asked him as he stared back at the Galactica.

Lee tore his gaze away from the Galactica and looked forward. He had to he realized, that part of his life had been taken from him. By his father of all people. A father who wouldn't listen to him and didn't trust him.

"I don't know," he answered her truthfully.

They were coming up on the Rising Star when he broke the silence that had settled between them. "Sharon, I'm sorry for the way I treated you and lumping you in with the other Cylons."

She looked over at him, "Don't worry about it, I got used to it."

He looked at her compassionately, "Still doesn't make it right." He paused momentarily before looking away. "My father was able to distinguish you from the one who shot him and trust you." He laughed in disbelief when he spoke again, "I don't think he ever trusted me as much as he trusted you."

"That's not true," she told him as she landed her bird.

He shrugged his shoulders as he stood up and headed to the hatch and opened it, "I was his son... I was held to a standard that I could never live up to. All I did was disappoint him." He picked up his box and turned to the opened hatch.

"Will we ever see you again?" she called back.

He paused as he looked out to the hangar deck before looking back to Sharon and responding, "Tell Helo I said good-bye."

And with that he walked down the raptor wing and disappeared into the Rising Star.

* * *

"He's right... I lost sight of what it means to survive." She had stopped herself from using 'we', she didn't know what he thought.

William looked up from the letter in his lap, "There are other ways of trying a case-"

She looked at him. "No there wasn't, not from where they were sitting. Most everyone in the fleet, including myself, had already convicted Baltar and you know it. He did what he had to do."

"Lee didn't have to attack you," he told her.

"It hurt because he knew us... Because he's your son... You didn't see the fear in his eyes when I told him to continue with his line of questioning. He was hurt just as much as we were by what was revealed during the trial. It hurt him even more because he had to ask the hard questions to make sure the system worked... He rolled the hard six... And he still lost."

She looked at him meaningfully for several moments before she offered her final thoughts. "Despite what he did, he still couldn't betray the one person who means the most to him. He refused to indict you for pre-trial prejudices... That was the one line he could not and would not cross."

Adama looked away from the President and to the letter in his lap. His son's words jumped out at him, _This trial destroyed me. I have lost everyone that is important to me, I have lost my family._

Without another word he returned the letter to Roslin and excused himself from her presence. Roslin watched him leave wondering what he would do now.

When she could no longer see him her gaze returned to the letter's last few lines. "You never forgot who you were... It was me who lost sight of what we were fighting for," she whispered to herself as she recalled how she had told Lee how disappointed she was in how his behavior had changed. "I was the one who changed."

She stood up from the makeshift desk and reached for the phone. "CIC... Captain Agathon, can you please locate Lee Adama for me?"

* * *

William Adama was walking towards his quarters mulling Roslin's words and recalling his sons actions. Unexpectedly he found himself in the memorial hallway. He found Anders there standing in front of the picture of Kara.

He looked on at the picture and thought of his children who had died. A father wasn't supposed to outlive his children.

He looked around the multitude of pictures in the hallway representing a miniscule fraction of all those who had perished since the Cylon attack on the Twelve Colonies. A picture of Ellen Tigh caught his attention.

"Were you there when Ellen Tigh died?"

Sam looked up startled by the question, he hadn't noticed his arrival. "Excuse me?"

The Admiral walked over to the picture of his best friend's wife, "Were you there when Ellen Tigh died?"

Sam looked from the admiral to the picture, "Uh... Yeah."

"Was anyone else there?"

"Uh... Charlie Connors, sir. Why?"

He didn't answer the question posed, but rather asked another one of his own. "Did you ever tell anyone about it?"

Sam was slow to respond as he tried to find the right words, "You don't share with anyone when someone is forced to kill their wife... He suffered enough in what he had to do, knowing how she betrayed him and the rest of the resistance... We told him what she had done... And what he had to do... That's a burden that we have to carry in silence."

The Admiral closed his eyes as the words sunk in. His son had told him the truth about not knowing about Ellen's demise.

Sam could hardly hear the Admiral's words when he spoke, but he didn't ask him to repeat them knowing that they weren't meant for his ears.

"I betrayed my son"

**TBC**

Please feel free to leave me a comment - especially your honest opinion and any constructive criticism. Thanks.


	2. Have you seen him?

**Letter to the President II: Have you seen him?**

"Any luck on locating my son Captain?"

Helo turned from the marine he was speaking with, "No sir. Security hasn't been able to locate him yet. They're still searching for him, sir."

Adama nodded as he made another order, "Page him over the 1MC if you have to."

Helo studied his commander and wondered why the two leaders of the fleet were so intent on finding him. "Yes sir." He watched the commander leave CIC carrying a sadness with him greater than after Starbuck's death.

Bill Adama walked through the corridors and found himself in front of his son's old quarters. He ordered a nearby marine to override the locking mechanism and entered the room. He didn't know what he was doing there, looking for a sign or letter from his son perhaps. He never found one.

But the longer he stayed in the room the more empty it felt. On the surface it looked like nothing had really changed, everything was in order. Lee had always kept things tidy. Not knowing why, he walked over to his son's locker and opened the door.

Realization dawned on him as the only things he found in the locker were military uniforms and accessories. Nothing of Lee's personal effects remained. Bill turned from the locker and reached for the phone on the wall, "Put me through with Captain Agathon… Captain, have you checked the passenger manifests of all ships leaving the Galactica since the end of the trial?... Check them, now… I'll hold… He's not on any of them?... I want you to personally speak with all the pilots and ask them if they saw him… He's emptied out his locker… Let me know when you find anything out."

He looked around the empty room and a deep sadness enveloped him. He had already lost two children, he couldn't bare not knowing what happened to his oldest son. Knowing that standing in his son's quarters was a futile hope he headed to the flight deck to speak with the Chief himself.

Four minutes later he stepped out onto the flight deck and was greeted by a yell of "Admiral on deck!" and crewmen scrambling to attention.

He saluted them and told them to resume their duties as he sought out the company of the Deck Chief.

"Chief."

"Sir."

He decided not to beat around the bushes, "Have you seen my son on the flight deck?"

Tyrol looked at him quizzically. "No sir."

"Anything out of the ordinary?"

He shook his head, "No sir."

Adama looked around the deck as he continued with his questions, "I'd like to see your ship and transport logs."

"Yes sir," he complied as he turned to his workstation and retrieved the clipboard. "Here you go sir."

Bill accepted the logs as he flipped through them trying to see anything out of the ordinary. He paused when he saw a scribbled '+1' next to Athena's transport run less than an hour ago. "Chief, what is this?" he asked with a small measure of hope.

Tyrol leaned over the clipboard to see what had aroused the admiral's interest. "Uh… Oh yeah, Athena loaded up one additional box for her run to the Rising Star."

He looked up, "What was it?"

"She said they were confidential files that Baltar's attorney asked her to send over ahead of his transport."

Adama nodded his head as he continued to page through the logs without any luck. Finished with the flights that had left in the last three hours he handed over the papers to the Chief. "Thank you Chief."

Tyrol quickly snapped off a salute that wasn't returned as a reserved Admiral walked off the flight deck.

The Chief's words had provided him with an additional avenue of finding out where his son was. He made his way towards guest quarters and was pleased to see a marine standing outside of Lampkin's hatch.

"I'd like to speak with Mr. Lampkin," he informed the guard on duty.

The marine nodded as he turned to open the hatch and announce the visitor.

"Admiral Adama," was the drawled out voice that greeted his arrival. "Come to gloat have we?"

He ignored his words and continued with his own line of questioning. "Have you seen my son since the trial?"

Lampkin studied the man before him through his dark shades wondering why he was looking for his son. The silent study lasted a minute before he finally answered. "We parted ways after making sure Baltar was back safely in the brig."

"Do you know where he went?"

Lampkin smirked as he saw the pained look of the father searching for his son. "I do not," he assuredly told him.

Adama gauged Lampkins appearance to see if he was telling him the truth. After several minutes he realized that he couldn't be sure with the shady character in front of him. He turned to leave but stopped when he heard the lawyer speak behind him.

"Your son is a better man than your father ever was. He never lost sight of who he was or what he believed in."

"Which was?" he asked back quietly.

"Honor."

Adama nodded his head as he proceeded back out of the hatch. He noticed though that in the corner of the room a stack of boxes remained.

"Mr. Lampkin, why did you only send one box of files with Lieutenant Agathon?"

"Excuse me?"

Adama detected the startled response and turned around and reiterated his question. "Why did you only send one box with Lieutenant Agathon?"

Despite not seeing his eyes, he could see the creases around his eyes confirming the confusion on the lawyer's part about what he was talking about.

"What box?"

The admiral was confused just as well about what this meant. Why would Athena lie about a boxes origins? Realizing that the man in front of him could offer him no clues he turned and left the room and headed to the nearest phone, "Connect me with Captain Agathon… Captain, recall Athena… Have her come see me as soon as she lands… It doesn't concern you Captain," he added forcefully before hanging up the phone.

* * *

"What's up?" Athena asked as she climbed down from her raptor and saw Helo waiting for her.

"The Old Man wants to see you ASAP."

"What about?" she asked cautiously.

He shook his head, "No idea… Maybe hoping you've seen his son who seems to have gone missing."

Sharon nodded slowly, she hadn't expected to be found out so soon. Her silence in part betrayed her to her husband as they walked towards the Admiral's office.

"Sharon?" he asked with a trace of shock in his voice. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Have you seen him?"

She ignored his question as they reached the marines in front of the Admiral's door. "The Admiral wanted to see me," she informed the marine.

As the marine stepped into the office, Helo approached his wife and placed his hand on her arm, "Sharon?"

She closed her eyes before turning to her husband, "He wanted me to tell you 'goodbye'" She then turned and silently entered her CO's office.

When she saw the stern and near angry look on his face she knew that he knew something. "Sir, you wanted to see me?"

"The Chief's logs indicate you were transporting a box that wasn't on the transport manifest. What was it?"

The fact that he hadn't invited her to sit did not go unnoticed by Sharon. "Mr. Lampkin asked me to-"

"Don't lie to me Athena," he charged her. "Who gave you the box?"

She studied the Admiral as she debated her response. She truly respected and was grateful of him and his actions concerning her. She and Lee had never gotten along, he'd always seen her as expendable. But something changed today as Lee was viewed as the enemy and betrayer. She could never escape the hated and wary looks of her co-workers. And neither would he had he stayed.

"Athena, I asked you a question. Who gave you the box?" His voice was more forceful now.

"I believe you know who, sir."

His eyes bored into her. "Did you transport my son off the Galactica?"

"Yes sir," she boldly told him.

Adama was actually surprised to hear her admit so readily that she had smuggled a passenger off the Galactica. "Where?"

"I don't think he wants to be found right now, sir."

His eyes blazed with anger at her insolence. "I don't give a damn what you think, where is my son?" he ground out.

"Why?" she asked him quietly. She never understood the strained relationship between the Old Man and his son. She'd heard rumors and whisperings, but it seemed that no one really knew the basis of their tenuous relationship. Having been a mother for only a few short months, she couldn't imagine letting things get so bad between either Helo or herself and Hera.

He ignored her question, "Tell me where my son is or I'll have you thrown in the brig for insubordination."

She silently stared back at him.

"Marine!" he bellowed.

The door opened and two marines stepped in, standing at the threshold of his quarters was Helo.

"Sir?"

"Escort Lieutenant Agathon to the brig."

"What?" Helo called out as he charged into the room trying to stop them.

"Yes sir," the marines replied as they stepped towards Sharon who was trying to mollify her husband.

"Helo, it's okay."

"Where's my son Lieutenant?"

Helo looked between his commander and wife as he tried to understand the situation.

"Tell him, Sharon!"

"Helo," she looked at her husband tenderly. She hoped that once this was over he would understand. "… I know what I'm doing."

The marines began escorting her out of the room but she paused before stepping out of his quarters.

"He doesn't want to come back sir."

The anger boiled in Adama's mind. "Ger her out of here," he ordered them.

"He doesn't want to disappoint you anymore."

The anger fell from his face.

"He doesn't think he can live up to your expectations, sir," she told him as she looked over her shoulder. Once she saw that he was considering her words she led the marines on her way to the brig.

William Adama absently stared into the vacated space as her words sunk in. The longer her words resonated in his mind the more exhausted he felt until he collapsed back into his chair.

His eyes fell onto the picture capturing a moment in time of him and his two young sons. Of a time when life was simple. When the love between father and son was so freely given and accepted. He had taken it for granted then. He knew better now.

Or at least he should have.

Lee was his own man now.

**TBC**


End file.
