FIC: Beginnings (Laura/Lee)
Title: Beginnings
Author: The Plaid Slytherin (plaid_slytherin)
Characters/Pairings: Laura/Lee, Bill/Saul
Rating: T
Summary: Saul and Laura bond during the first weeks of the Cylon occupation of New Caprica, while Laura discovers she's pregnant.
A/N: First in a series of fics set in this Laura/Lee babyfic universe. Thanks to newnumbertwo for the beta and the members of Bsg_checkin for much encouragement.
Laura first realized she was pregnant a week after the Cylons showed up. It took a long time for her to notice it for what it was. Intellectually, she knew it was a possibility-what would her mother say if she knew her daughter was seriously saying to herself But it was just one time?
At first, she thought it might be her age-she’d be younger than her mother was, but that didn’t mean much, plus she’d been in worse health and had poorer nutrition and more stress. That could easily contribute to earlier menopause.
But then, her mind went to the symptoms. She still couldn’t believe it. All these years, a few scares and oopses here and there, but it had never happened to her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she might have grown complacent, might have thought it could never happen, especially now at her age…
But there was really no doubt about it.
She didn’t know what to do about it other than to keep it a secret. The Cylons were already taking people into detention and doing gods knew what to them. Laura didn't even want to think about what they might do to her if they found out she was going to have a baby.
A baby.
Laura had never really wanted children. She’d been looking forward to becoming an aunt, but she’d always assumed she wouldn’t have children of her own, had never felt the desire to be a mother that other women spoke of. Sometimes, she thought it was because she was too exhausted by caring for other people’s children as a teacher. Either way, she’d just been too busy and she’d always thought she’d missed her chance. Even with Lee, the possibility hadn’t crossed her mind. She really should have known better, but given the circumstances, protection was one of the furthest things from her mind.
“You okay, Roslin?” a voice asked.
Laura turned, sending another wave of nausea rolling through her. Saul Tigh was staring at her, wide-eyed and wary.
“I’m all right, Colonel,” she said. “Don’t worry about me.”
“You want Cottle?”
She sighed and wiped her mouth. “I don’t need Cottle. I just need to get home.”
Saul offered her his arm and she accepted it, hoping it would help ward off the dizzy spell that threatened. “You sure look like you need Cottle for me.”
Laura was past worried about how it looked for Saul Tigh to be holding the arm of a woman not his wife. “I don’t need Cottle because I know what’s wrong with me.”
Tigh pushed the flap of her tent opened and let her in first. “Okay, if you say so.” He eyed her skeptically. “You want me to stay? Get you anything?”
Laura hesitated, her mind trying to remember all the nausea cures she knew. She didn't know if he would be able to find any ginger ale, though.
“Maybe some crackers?” she finally asked. “I have some in a box in the kitchen.”
Tigh looked around as though trying to determine what counted as the kitchen. “You know,” he said as he strode across the room “If it's something you ate, maybe you shouldn't be eating”
Laura pushed her hair back from her face and closed her eyes. “It's not something I ate.”
“Okay.” Tigh still sounded skeptical. He handed her the box of crackers. “Anything else?”
“Water, please.”
“Water.” He looked around. “The pump, I'll go to the pump.” He grabbed her water bucket from beside the door and left.
Laura took a tentative bit of cracker and chewed slowly. She felt bad asking him to do this, especially if he could never know what was really bothering her.
Never? Of course he would know eventually. She couldn't keep this a secret forever, assuming everything went well.
Sighing, Laura buried her face in her hands.
“You really okay?” Tigh had returned and Laura looked up at him. His eyes were full of concern, something she'd never seen on his face before. He looked worried for her.
“Actually,” she began and stopped. She couldn't tell him.
Could she?
He was trustworthy; Bill obviously thought so. He had stolen the election for her-did she owe him something in return?
She took a deep breath and met his eyes. He moved over to sit next to her.
“Laura, what's wrong?” Her first name felt odd coming from him, but his warm hazel eyes seemed welcoming.
“I'm pregnant.”
His eyes went wide and he jerked back slightly. “You're what?”
“I'm pregnant.”
“Sweet Hera.” He scratched his chin. “Are you... sure?”
She smirked. “Well, I haven't taken a pregnancy test. It isn't as if there's a Delphi Drug right around the corner.”
“Right. Of course not.” He looked up, as though seeking Olympian guidance. “You're sure about no Cottle?”
“I'm sure about no Cottle.”
“Okay. Laura. Can I call you Laura?”
“Of course.”
“Right.” He ran a hand over his head and cleared his throat. “Do you, um, know who...”
“Lee is the father.”
He nodded, seeming to take this, at least, in stride. Laura cringed inwardly to think that maybe their relationship hadn't been such a secret after all.
“And he doesn't know?”
“Of course not,” she said quickly, but then realized that sounded harsh. “I mean, I didn't find out until after the Cylons came.”
Saul nodded. “You have a plan for this?”
Unconsciously, Laura put her hand on her stomach. “Colonel-Saul, I don't know what's going to happen to me tomorrow. My plan is to try as hard as I can to keep this child safe.”
“Well, you'll have a devil of a time doing that with bulletheads and skinjobs all over the place. Seems to me like you'll need some help.”
Laura frowned, not having planned on having any help. She'd been expecting to go it all alone; she hadn't even let herself hope that Lee might come back for them. The only thing she could do was be cautious; nothing was for certain.
“All right,” Saul said, standing up and brushing his hands on his pants. “You need me for anything, you come to me, all right? No matter if it’s the middle of the night.”
“Are you sure?”
“If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t be offering.”
“Thank you.” Laura drew her shawl around her shoulders.
He nodded to her and turned to go.
“Why are you doing this?”
He stopped, hands in his pockets and turned back to her. “’Cause that’s Bill’s grandchild, that’s why.” Then, he ducked out of the tent and was gone.
**
Lee paced his quarters, unable to sleep. It was his fault. That thought had kept him up late every night for the past month. They had left them all behind and it was Lee’s fault. He’d been the one to encourage his father to jump. He’d been the one to ignore his father’s protests, even his whispered “What about Laura?”
Lee ran a hand through his hair. As if on cue, the comm by his desk buzzed and he went over to answer. “Adama.”
“That’s my line.”
Lee relaxed, a slight smile on his face. “Hey, Dad.”
“Couldn’t sleep either, huh?”
“What would you say if you’d woken me up?”
Bill paused. “I knew you’d be up. I’m still up.”
Lee sat in his desk chair. “What are you doing?”
“Running through some more plans.”
Lee frowned. “Dad…”
“It’ll work, son. We’ll get them back.”
Lee wished he had his father’s optimism. Or perhaps he was wishing he could have his father’s firm knowledge that there was someone back there waiting for him.
He and Laura had already been growing apart when they’d found New Caprica, with his responsibilities as commander of Pegasus taking up his time and then her moving down to the planet…
The last time his father had gone down there to meet with Baltar, Lee had accompanied him-partially to act as a witness and partially because Bill had talked him into visiting.
He’d known that was a mistake when his father had revealed he wasn’t going back until morning, so Lee would either have to wait or find his own transportation.
He had wound up going to see Laura and they’d stayed up the whole night talking until just before dawn, one thing had led to another.
He'd left the next morning with the intention of not letting this slip away again, but they'd both been busy and then the Cylons...
“We should get some sleep,” Lee said, though he knew it was just empty words. Neither of them would sleep.
“You're right.” He could hear his father stifle a yawn. “Good night, son.”
“Good night, Dad.”
Lee hung up and settled back into his desk chair.
**
Saul had quickly figured out how to walk through the market without attracting attention. Not closed and skulking, no, that would make them think you were up to something. He walked normally, bag under his arm, like he had someplace to be.
Which he did, of course. Laura was so incapacitated by morning sickness that she could barely get out of bed. Why the frak did they call it morning sickness anyway? It was 15-frakking-30. He'd stopped by to ask Cally what had helped her (which had been hard enough without looking like he was up to something) and then he'd gone to get them at the market.
He saw the toasters out of the corner of his eye, two of the blonde ones, watching him. He tried not to quicken his pace, but his legs didn't quite obey him.
“Colonel?” A hand descended on his shoulder and Saul whipped around, his shopping bag in his wake.
“What do you want?” he snapped.
The Six eyed him for a moment and then let go of his shoulder. “I just wanted to let you know it's almost curfew.”
He knocked her hand away. “I know when curfew is.” He grabbed his bag and stalked off.
“What did you get?” Laura asked him, meeting him at the door of her tent.
“Some ginger.” He handed her the bag. “Also some more vegetables. Best they had. You'll have to make do with that if you can't eat meat. We'll figure out how to get some protein into you.”
She smiled. “I must say you're proving to be very helpful.”
“The bread should help, too.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I'd stay, but...”
“I understand. It's almost curfew.”
He gave her half a salute. “If you need anything...”
“I'll know right where to go.”
Saul glanced briefly at her midsection, but he couldn't see anything with the baggy clothes she was wearing. Bill's grandchild.
As he walked home, he entertained a brief little fantasy-that the baby had come and the Cylons had not, and on a nicer day, he and Bill might take the baby for a walk.
He was almost home when they got him.
“Saul Tigh?”
He looked up. It was a Five with two bulletheads behind him.
“It's not curfew yet,” Saul said. He kept walking. “They didn't sound the alarm.”
“This isn't about curfew.” The next thing Saul knew, he was on the ground and the Five was wrestling his hands behind his back. “You're under arrest.”
“What for?” Saul spat.
“You assaulted a Six near the marketplace today.”
Saul swore under his breath, but he let himself be dragged to his feet. It was only a matter of time. They'd been rounding up humans on trumped-up charges for the last few weeks and Saul had known his turn would come sooner or later. He might as well go quietly and let the attention pass. At least they hadn't gotten him at Laura's.
**
Bill was hunched over the console studying his models. Saul had always been better at this than him. He hadn't seen personally how he'd performed at OCS, but he knew his scores on his sims had been high. He was good with taking apart battle scenarios, seeing them from all angles.
He sighed and drummed his fingers on the model Galactica.
“How's it coming?”
Bill raised his head to see Lee come in. He knew he looked bad-he hadn't shaved and his rumpled jacket was hanging unbuttoned from his shoulders.
“Can't figure out how to make this work,” he mumbled, throat dry from not having talked to anyone for several hours.
“Let me see.”
Bill stepped back, knowing his father had done nearly as well as Saul on his sim exercises.
“You don't think the Cylons will see through a decoy like this?”
“Not if they jump in first, draw their fire to the other side of the planet.”
Bill nodded. “So we send in the Raptors first...” He frowned. “Then Galactica and Pegasus.”
“Both of them?”
“Both of them.” Bill studied his son's face, looking for an objection.
“I can't see this being popular with my men.”
Bill ignored this. “We need someone on the ground as soon as possible. Who knows what they're doing to them down there?”
“You’re right,” Lee said. He took a deep breath. “Listen, I think I have a plan.”
“Go ahead, son.”
**
Laura finished her transaction at the clothing stall and headed for home. She hadn’t realized how dependent she’d been on Saul until he’d been taken. He had brought her everything she’d needed so she wouldn’t need to go out and attract the Cylons’ attention.
“Maybe if they don’t see you, they’ll forget you’re here,” he’d told her.
Laura had protested this at first-she was a grown woman and could take care of herself, but Saul had insisted.
Now, however, she went out herself and she was surprised at how hesitant she was to do it.
Don’t be ridiculous, she thought. You’re an adult. You can go out without help.
And so, for two weeks, she’d managed. She’d gotten baggier clothes which she hoped were doing the job of concealing her pregnancy and she was able to find food she could keep down. The nausea seemed to be passing, though she still wasn’t wild about meat-not that there was any meat to be had, nowadays.
She was almost back to her tent when she heard the moan, coming from the alley between two tents. She remembered Saul’s admonishment to keep to herself, but her feet moved unbidden.
It was Saul.
He was lying on his side and at first, she thought he was dead. She dropped her bag and felt to her knees, reaching for a pulse. He opened his eyes.
“Hey,” he said.
“What happened?”
He winced and tried to sit up. “They arrested me. Had to be… a week ago?”
“Two.”
“Frak.” He took a deep breath. “How are you?”
“I’m fine. You need a doctor.” She slipped his arm around her shoulder and pulled him up.
“You sure you can do this?”
“Yes, Saul, I’m sure. Now, walk.”
He grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”
As they made their way to Cottle’s tent, she got a good look at him. His face was bruised and swollen and he wasn’t wearing a coat, just a thin T-shirt.
Laura waited outside while Cottle patched him up and then she walked him back to her place.
“You don’t have to do this,” he said.
“You take care of me.”
She sat him down and began getting something together for them to eat.
“You’re having Bill’s grandson.”
“Grandson?”
“Grandkid. Sorry.” Saul smirked. “Thought about it while I was in detention.”
Laura left the counter and sat down across from him, taking his hand. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”
“No. In fact, it makes me even more sure that we need to be doing something about this instead of sitting on our asses.”
“You’re hardly sitting on your ass.”
“Bill’s coming back for us-and Lee. We gotta keep the toasters on their toes until then.”
Laura made a skeptical noise.
“Won’t be much,” he said, putting his hand up to the stitches on his forehead and then yanking it away again. “I might go talk to Tyrol tomorrow.”
Laura frowned.
“You don’t like this,” Saul went on. “But it needs to be done. Something needs to be done.”
“I need to keep you in one piece for Bill.”
Saul jabbed a finger at her. “No, lady, you are priority one. I can take care of myself. I’ve been through wars.”
“They tortured you.”
“I got beat up a bit.”
“Colonel,” she said sharply. It was her teacher-voice and his shoulders twitched, nearly snapping to attention.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll lay low for a bit. Can’t be leaving you on your own, now can I?”
“No,” she said firmly. “When Lee and Bill come back, you and I will be right there waiting for them.”
Author: The Plaid Slytherin (plaid_slytherin)
Characters/Pairings: Laura/Lee, Bill/Saul
Rating: T
Summary: Saul and Laura bond during the first weeks of the Cylon occupation of New Caprica, while Laura discovers she's pregnant.
A/N: First in a series of fics set in this Laura/Lee babyfic universe. Thanks to newnumbertwo for the beta and the members of Bsg_checkin for much encouragement.
Laura first realized she was pregnant a week after the Cylons showed up. It took a long time for her to notice it for what it was. Intellectually, she knew it was a possibility-what would her mother say if she knew her daughter was seriously saying to herself But it was just one time?
At first, she thought it might be her age-she’d be younger than her mother was, but that didn’t mean much, plus she’d been in worse health and had poorer nutrition and more stress. That could easily contribute to earlier menopause.
But then, her mind went to the symptoms. She still couldn’t believe it. All these years, a few scares and oopses here and there, but it had never happened to her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she might have grown complacent, might have thought it could never happen, especially now at her age…
But there was really no doubt about it.
She didn’t know what to do about it other than to keep it a secret. The Cylons were already taking people into detention and doing gods knew what to them. Laura didn't even want to think about what they might do to her if they found out she was going to have a baby.
A baby.
Laura had never really wanted children. She’d been looking forward to becoming an aunt, but she’d always assumed she wouldn’t have children of her own, had never felt the desire to be a mother that other women spoke of. Sometimes, she thought it was because she was too exhausted by caring for other people’s children as a teacher. Either way, she’d just been too busy and she’d always thought she’d missed her chance. Even with Lee, the possibility hadn’t crossed her mind. She really should have known better, but given the circumstances, protection was one of the furthest things from her mind.
“You okay, Roslin?” a voice asked.
Laura turned, sending another wave of nausea rolling through her. Saul Tigh was staring at her, wide-eyed and wary.
“I’m all right, Colonel,” she said. “Don’t worry about me.”
“You want Cottle?”
She sighed and wiped her mouth. “I don’t need Cottle. I just need to get home.”
Saul offered her his arm and she accepted it, hoping it would help ward off the dizzy spell that threatened. “You sure look like you need Cottle for me.”
Laura was past worried about how it looked for Saul Tigh to be holding the arm of a woman not his wife. “I don’t need Cottle because I know what’s wrong with me.”
Tigh pushed the flap of her tent opened and let her in first. “Okay, if you say so.” He eyed her skeptically. “You want me to stay? Get you anything?”
Laura hesitated, her mind trying to remember all the nausea cures she knew. She didn't know if he would be able to find any ginger ale, though.
“Maybe some crackers?” she finally asked. “I have some in a box in the kitchen.”
Tigh looked around as though trying to determine what counted as the kitchen. “You know,” he said as he strode across the room “If it's something you ate, maybe you shouldn't be eating”
Laura pushed her hair back from her face and closed her eyes. “It's not something I ate.”
“Okay.” Tigh still sounded skeptical. He handed her the box of crackers. “Anything else?”
“Water, please.”
“Water.” He looked around. “The pump, I'll go to the pump.” He grabbed her water bucket from beside the door and left.
Laura took a tentative bit of cracker and chewed slowly. She felt bad asking him to do this, especially if he could never know what was really bothering her.
Never? Of course he would know eventually. She couldn't keep this a secret forever, assuming everything went well.
Sighing, Laura buried her face in her hands.
“You really okay?” Tigh had returned and Laura looked up at him. His eyes were full of concern, something she'd never seen on his face before. He looked worried for her.
“Actually,” she began and stopped. She couldn't tell him.
Could she?
He was trustworthy; Bill obviously thought so. He had stolen the election for her-did she owe him something in return?
She took a deep breath and met his eyes. He moved over to sit next to her.
“Laura, what's wrong?” Her first name felt odd coming from him, but his warm hazel eyes seemed welcoming.
“I'm pregnant.”
His eyes went wide and he jerked back slightly. “You're what?”
“I'm pregnant.”
“Sweet Hera.” He scratched his chin. “Are you... sure?”
She smirked. “Well, I haven't taken a pregnancy test. It isn't as if there's a Delphi Drug right around the corner.”
“Right. Of course not.” He looked up, as though seeking Olympian guidance. “You're sure about no Cottle?”
“I'm sure about no Cottle.”
“Okay. Laura. Can I call you Laura?”
“Of course.”
“Right.” He ran a hand over his head and cleared his throat. “Do you, um, know who...”
“Lee is the father.”
He nodded, seeming to take this, at least, in stride. Laura cringed inwardly to think that maybe their relationship hadn't been such a secret after all.
“And he doesn't know?”
“Of course not,” she said quickly, but then realized that sounded harsh. “I mean, I didn't find out until after the Cylons came.”
Saul nodded. “You have a plan for this?”
Unconsciously, Laura put her hand on her stomach. “Colonel-Saul, I don't know what's going to happen to me tomorrow. My plan is to try as hard as I can to keep this child safe.”
“Well, you'll have a devil of a time doing that with bulletheads and skinjobs all over the place. Seems to me like you'll need some help.”
Laura frowned, not having planned on having any help. She'd been expecting to go it all alone; she hadn't even let herself hope that Lee might come back for them. The only thing she could do was be cautious; nothing was for certain.
“All right,” Saul said, standing up and brushing his hands on his pants. “You need me for anything, you come to me, all right? No matter if it’s the middle of the night.”
“Are you sure?”
“If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t be offering.”
“Thank you.” Laura drew her shawl around her shoulders.
He nodded to her and turned to go.
“Why are you doing this?”
He stopped, hands in his pockets and turned back to her. “’Cause that’s Bill’s grandchild, that’s why.” Then, he ducked out of the tent and was gone.
**
Lee paced his quarters, unable to sleep. It was his fault. That thought had kept him up late every night for the past month. They had left them all behind and it was Lee’s fault. He’d been the one to encourage his father to jump. He’d been the one to ignore his father’s protests, even his whispered “What about Laura?”
Lee ran a hand through his hair. As if on cue, the comm by his desk buzzed and he went over to answer. “Adama.”
“That’s my line.”
Lee relaxed, a slight smile on his face. “Hey, Dad.”
“Couldn’t sleep either, huh?”
“What would you say if you’d woken me up?”
Bill paused. “I knew you’d be up. I’m still up.”
Lee sat in his desk chair. “What are you doing?”
“Running through some more plans.”
Lee frowned. “Dad…”
“It’ll work, son. We’ll get them back.”
Lee wished he had his father’s optimism. Or perhaps he was wishing he could have his father’s firm knowledge that there was someone back there waiting for him.
He and Laura had already been growing apart when they’d found New Caprica, with his responsibilities as commander of Pegasus taking up his time and then her moving down to the planet…
The last time his father had gone down there to meet with Baltar, Lee had accompanied him-partially to act as a witness and partially because Bill had talked him into visiting.
He’d known that was a mistake when his father had revealed he wasn’t going back until morning, so Lee would either have to wait or find his own transportation.
He had wound up going to see Laura and they’d stayed up the whole night talking until just before dawn, one thing had led to another.
He'd left the next morning with the intention of not letting this slip away again, but they'd both been busy and then the Cylons...
“We should get some sleep,” Lee said, though he knew it was just empty words. Neither of them would sleep.
“You're right.” He could hear his father stifle a yawn. “Good night, son.”
“Good night, Dad.”
Lee hung up and settled back into his desk chair.
**
Saul had quickly figured out how to walk through the market without attracting attention. Not closed and skulking, no, that would make them think you were up to something. He walked normally, bag under his arm, like he had someplace to be.
Which he did, of course. Laura was so incapacitated by morning sickness that she could barely get out of bed. Why the frak did they call it morning sickness anyway? It was 15-frakking-30. He'd stopped by to ask Cally what had helped her (which had been hard enough without looking like he was up to something) and then he'd gone to get them at the market.
He saw the toasters out of the corner of his eye, two of the blonde ones, watching him. He tried not to quicken his pace, but his legs didn't quite obey him.
“Colonel?” A hand descended on his shoulder and Saul whipped around, his shopping bag in his wake.
“What do you want?” he snapped.
The Six eyed him for a moment and then let go of his shoulder. “I just wanted to let you know it's almost curfew.”
He knocked her hand away. “I know when curfew is.” He grabbed his bag and stalked off.
“What did you get?” Laura asked him, meeting him at the door of her tent.
“Some ginger.” He handed her the bag. “Also some more vegetables. Best they had. You'll have to make do with that if you can't eat meat. We'll figure out how to get some protein into you.”
She smiled. “I must say you're proving to be very helpful.”
“The bread should help, too.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I'd stay, but...”
“I understand. It's almost curfew.”
He gave her half a salute. “If you need anything...”
“I'll know right where to go.”
Saul glanced briefly at her midsection, but he couldn't see anything with the baggy clothes she was wearing. Bill's grandchild.
As he walked home, he entertained a brief little fantasy-that the baby had come and the Cylons had not, and on a nicer day, he and Bill might take the baby for a walk.
He was almost home when they got him.
“Saul Tigh?”
He looked up. It was a Five with two bulletheads behind him.
“It's not curfew yet,” Saul said. He kept walking. “They didn't sound the alarm.”
“This isn't about curfew.” The next thing Saul knew, he was on the ground and the Five was wrestling his hands behind his back. “You're under arrest.”
“What for?” Saul spat.
“You assaulted a Six near the marketplace today.”
Saul swore under his breath, but he let himself be dragged to his feet. It was only a matter of time. They'd been rounding up humans on trumped-up charges for the last few weeks and Saul had known his turn would come sooner or later. He might as well go quietly and let the attention pass. At least they hadn't gotten him at Laura's.
**
Bill was hunched over the console studying his models. Saul had always been better at this than him. He hadn't seen personally how he'd performed at OCS, but he knew his scores on his sims had been high. He was good with taking apart battle scenarios, seeing them from all angles.
He sighed and drummed his fingers on the model Galactica.
“How's it coming?”
Bill raised his head to see Lee come in. He knew he looked bad-he hadn't shaved and his rumpled jacket was hanging unbuttoned from his shoulders.
“Can't figure out how to make this work,” he mumbled, throat dry from not having talked to anyone for several hours.
“Let me see.”
Bill stepped back, knowing his father had done nearly as well as Saul on his sim exercises.
“You don't think the Cylons will see through a decoy like this?”
“Not if they jump in first, draw their fire to the other side of the planet.”
Bill nodded. “So we send in the Raptors first...” He frowned. “Then Galactica and Pegasus.”
“Both of them?”
“Both of them.” Bill studied his son's face, looking for an objection.
“I can't see this being popular with my men.”
Bill ignored this. “We need someone on the ground as soon as possible. Who knows what they're doing to them down there?”
“You’re right,” Lee said. He took a deep breath. “Listen, I think I have a plan.”
“Go ahead, son.”
**
Laura finished her transaction at the clothing stall and headed for home. She hadn’t realized how dependent she’d been on Saul until he’d been taken. He had brought her everything she’d needed so she wouldn’t need to go out and attract the Cylons’ attention.
“Maybe if they don’t see you, they’ll forget you’re here,” he’d told her.
Laura had protested this at first-she was a grown woman and could take care of herself, but Saul had insisted.
Now, however, she went out herself and she was surprised at how hesitant she was to do it.
Don’t be ridiculous, she thought. You’re an adult. You can go out without help.
And so, for two weeks, she’d managed. She’d gotten baggier clothes which she hoped were doing the job of concealing her pregnancy and she was able to find food she could keep down. The nausea seemed to be passing, though she still wasn’t wild about meat-not that there was any meat to be had, nowadays.
She was almost back to her tent when she heard the moan, coming from the alley between two tents. She remembered Saul’s admonishment to keep to herself, but her feet moved unbidden.
It was Saul.
He was lying on his side and at first, she thought he was dead. She dropped her bag and felt to her knees, reaching for a pulse. He opened his eyes.
“Hey,” he said.
“What happened?”
He winced and tried to sit up. “They arrested me. Had to be… a week ago?”
“Two.”
“Frak.” He took a deep breath. “How are you?”
“I’m fine. You need a doctor.” She slipped his arm around her shoulder and pulled him up.
“You sure you can do this?”
“Yes, Saul, I’m sure. Now, walk.”
He grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”
As they made their way to Cottle’s tent, she got a good look at him. His face was bruised and swollen and he wasn’t wearing a coat, just a thin T-shirt.
Laura waited outside while Cottle patched him up and then she walked him back to her place.
“You don’t have to do this,” he said.
“You take care of me.”
She sat him down and began getting something together for them to eat.
“You’re having Bill’s grandson.”
“Grandson?”
“Grandkid. Sorry.” Saul smirked. “Thought about it while I was in detention.”
Laura left the counter and sat down across from him, taking his hand. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”
“No. In fact, it makes me even more sure that we need to be doing something about this instead of sitting on our asses.”
“You’re hardly sitting on your ass.”
“Bill’s coming back for us-and Lee. We gotta keep the toasters on their toes until then.”
Laura made a skeptical noise.
“Won’t be much,” he said, putting his hand up to the stitches on his forehead and then yanking it away again. “I might go talk to Tyrol tomorrow.”
Laura frowned.
“You don’t like this,” Saul went on. “But it needs to be done. Something needs to be done.”
“I need to keep you in one piece for Bill.”
Saul jabbed a finger at her. “No, lady, you are priority one. I can take care of myself. I’ve been through wars.”
“They tortured you.”
“I got beat up a bit.”
“Colonel,” she said sharply. It was her teacher-voice and his shoulders twitched, nearly snapping to attention.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll lay low for a bit. Can’t be leaving you on your own, now can I?”
“No,” she said firmly. “When Lee and Bill come back, you and I will be right there waiting for them.”