Slide 27: Cold and Consequences

New frakking Caprica.

Laura Roslin wore her day clothes, was huddled under a pair of thick blankets — a makeshift mattress of ticking beneath her and the heating stove, which a thoughtful Bill Adama had built, at her back — and she was still frakking cold!

She’d been on the surface a week. The first few nights hadn’t been too bad, cold but not frigid. Then a cold front had moved in, turning the tolerable chill into a veritable deep freeze. If she didn’t know better, she’d think they’d settled on the polar cap. When she breathed out, she swore she could actually see, just barely, her breath. Of course, that could just be a figment of her imagination, but that didn’t make her feel any better about the fact her toes felt like ice cubes in her shoes.

Laura was seriously worried about the people in these temperatures, though she knew those who weren’t alone were better off than she was at the moment, including her assistants. Always resourceful, Tory had recruited someone to bunk with for the night, a strapping young man from the Picon delegation, while Maya had also engaged a suitor willing to snuggle for warmth.

Laura was jealous of them and yet not. Call her a prude, perhaps stupid even, but she just couldn’t share her bed with someone that easily, not even to stay warm. It wasn’t pride so much as that she wasn’t comfortable with people in her personal space. It usually took her a long time to feel at ease with contact and proximity.

Now, if Bill was here…

That thought brought a smile to Laura’s face and prompted her to turn over and look at the stove that sat not three feet away, putting out a small area of heat and a soft amber glow through the small venting grates near the top of the barrel. On a normal night, it would be sufficient to keep her comfortable, but not tonight, the coldest frakking night ever.

For a moment, Laura considered moving closer to the stove, but decided that probably wouldn’t be too safe were she to bump it in the night. Blisters and burns wouldn’t be any better than a case of frostbite.

Tugging the blankets tight against her body, Laura drew her knees up to her chest and tucked her gloved hands beneath her chin and considered the wisdom of praying to Prometheus. Maybe he would be willing tempt Zeus’ wrath again so she and the other Colonials wouldn’t freeze to death in the night on this godsforsaken rock of a planet. In the end, though, she decided against it and whispered a prayer to Zeus himself, pleading for warmer weather in the days to come — right now, if he was so inclined.

He wasn’t.

“Frak,” she muttered then tried to turn over quickly when she heard the flap of her tent opening. Eyes wide, she fought with the blankets as they clung to her clothing, tried to throw them off to defend herself if necessary. “Godsdamnit … who’s there?” she called out, heart racing.

“Your personal heater,” was the reply, the voice one she knew so well and was so glad to hear that tears sprung to her eyes.

“Well, get your ass in here,” she commanded. “I’m freezing.”

A deep chuckle greeted her words and, within moments, she was gazing on a most welcome sight — Bill Adama bundled up in a heavy overcoat, a hat on his head, gloves on his hands, and that marvelous moustache framing a grin bright enough to light the universe. He was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen.

Happiness untold filled her as she watched him seal the flap of her tent, securing against any drafts, then walk over to her. As he came, he yanked off his gloves then doffed his hat. He dropped them near her bed then eased down to his knees, reached for the blankets, which to her annoyance obeyed his touch without fuss. If she hadn’t been so thrilled to see him, she’d have sneered at the fabric. As it was, she just grinned, turned her back to the stove and welcomed Bill’s bulk and warmth into her bed.

“Thank the gods. You’re an answer to my prayers,” she said as she all but launched herself into his embrace, snuggling against his body. His clothes were cold, but she knew there was warmth beneath. Blessed, wonderful warmth. To get to it, she snuck a hand up between their bodies and worked the zipper down on his jacket. He chuckled when she then wiggled her arms inside and around him. He hugged her closer and wrapped a leg over hers. She hummed and tucked her head under his chin, burrowing her face into his chest, pressing kisses to him through his uniform tunic. “Mmmm, you feel so good.”

He kissed the top of her head and she shivered feeling the warmth of his breath filter through her hair to her scalp. It was a delicious sensation. He lingered, much to her joy, spoke softly. “I saw the meteorological report and figured you might need more than your stove tonight.”

“You were right. It’s frakking cold,” she confirmed, rubbing her cheek against the material of his jacket, enjoying the warmth created by the friction, that she could feel seeping through from beneath. It caused a bloom of heat within her own flesh, which made her smile then giggle at herself. With him less than two minutes and she was already entertaining thoughts of intimate activities.

“What?” Bill asked when her giggles continued.

She shook her head, rubbing her brow now against his chest. “I’m already thinking of frakking you.”

His body began to shake with a nearly silent laugh. “And that makes you laugh?”

“Only because I’m with you a couple minutes and I’m immediately ready to strip down in this cold,” she confessed, drawing back to look at him.

His grin was irrepressible. He brought a hand up and caressed her cheek. His fingers were cool, but not cold and she felt them warming against her skin as his touch lingered, drifted down to her neck. “Well, that’s one way to keep warm,” he said softly, his tone tinged with amusement and interest. His blue eyes sparkled in the firelight with both, causing Laura’s breath to catch and her giggles to end.

So, so slowly, he leaned in and kissed her, murmuring against her lips, “Firelight becomes you.”

His mouth moved against hers, tender and lazy, sending tingles of delight through her, making her heart quiver. She loved when he kissed her like that, especially when it tapered into a series of even slower, longer kisses. She sighed in utter contentment when his lips eased away from hers. Looking at him through half-lidded eyes, she said, “That was nice.”

His hand slipped into her hair. “Yes.”

Laura closed her eyes, tilted her head back as his fingers moved through the mass of curls. She loved when he did that, too. It made her palms itch to do the same for him, but they were currently staking claim to his shoulder blades, under his jacket where his body heat was building and taking the chill from her flesh.

“Hmmm,” she hummed when he ducked down and leisurely explored her neck with his lips.

“Frakking is probably a bad idea,” he whispered then kissed the dip in her throat. “Leads to…” He kissed the indentation again. “Extreme exertion…” Another kiss. “Loss of moisture…” Yet another kiss and a brief excursion of his tongue. “Loss of body heat…”

With a smile, Laura added, “Extreme pleasure.”

He smiled against the side of her neck. “There is that.”

His kisses continued and she prodded further, “Heat…”

“Yes…”

His mouth moved to her jaw, grazed the line to her chin.

“Joy…” she breathed.

Lips sliding over hers, he murmured, “Oh yes…”

That was the last either of them said for a while as their mouths melded repeatedly in luxurious kisses. Laura held to him the entire time, relished when he wrapped both his arms around her again and held her close. She felt safe and deliciously warm.

Laura couldn’t say exactly when their kisses ended, when they’d ended up just laying together, foreheads touching, hands idly stroking each other’s backs. But they had, and she was immeasurably content.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she confessed after a time, her voice a breathy whisper.

A broad hand traveled along her spine. “So am I.” There was a pause, then, “How have you been?”

Laura sighed, the question pressing on the bubble of contentment she found herself in. It didn’t burst it, but it brought reality with it. “Truthfully?”

He tilted his head and kissed her brow, murmured against her skin, “Always.”

Laura smiled in spite of herself. With Bill, it was truth, always.

“Frustrated,” she said after a few moments, her smile fading with the word. “I’m enjoying teaching again but… so much more needs to be done here, Bill, and Baltar and his administration aren’t doing it. If the chief and your crew hadn’t provided the stoves, helped with cutting the wood…” Her voice trailed off and she sighed again.

“You don’t like being helpless to meet their needs.” There was no accusation in his tone, no scolding, just understanding.

Laura met his steady gaze. “I hate it.”

“You should,” he told her. “But these are the consequences of their choice. They have to live with them.”

At his words, Laura remembered having a similar conversation about choices and consequences with him on the Galactica’s Observation Deck. It seemed like yesterday and a lifetime ago.

“Not everyone made that choice.” Her voice was hushed, barely louder than a breath.

He sighed. “No, but they have chosen to follow the path the others set.”

“Even me,” Laura confessed.

“To an extent,” he replied, “both of us have.”

There was truth in his admission. “We hobbled our ability to make a difference,” she noted.

He did not waver. “Yes.”

Searching his eyes, she asked, “Was it the smart thing to do?”

“Probably not,” he replied. “But it was what we had to do.”

Laura slid a hand down the length of his back in a caress, mirroring the one he’d given her minutes earlier. “And now we wait.”

His answer was a crooking at one corner of his mouth, an expression that stirred her heart. She found herself mirroring it when she eased her hand around to his chest. Invariably, her gloved fingers located the buttons on his uniform jacket, undid each one slowly.

“Do you feel like doing another less-than-smart thing with me?” she asked when she began pulling the shirttails from the waistband of his trousers.

The crooking became a tender smile at her question, and his blue eyes transformed into fathomless seas of happiness.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

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