Seeds that Are Sown

With a soft sigh, Laura shifted her weight and tried to find a comfortable spot on the thin mattress, wincing as her back protested the slight movement. “Frak…” Closing her eyes for a moment, she counted to ten, trying to relax her back muscles against the pain.

“You okay?” At the rough voice, she turned her head, blinking in the dim light.

“Sorry.” She whispered back. “Did I wake you up?”

“Nah.” Saul Tigh continued to stare at the canvas over his head. “People actually sleep on these things?”

“I think the idea is that you’re either unconscious and don’t notice, or Cottle wants you out of here as soon as possible.” Gingerly turning on her side, she rested her head on her arm and gazed at him. “I don’t think he took into consideration those of us kept here against our will.”

”Still. Better than previous accommodations.” He grimaced.

“There is that.” She agreed softly, her mind wandering back to the cell she’d been in for…she still wasn’t sure how long. “How are you feeling?”

Saul turned his head and gazed at her with his remaining eye, squinting in the dim lamplight. “Cottle’s got me pumped full of morpha. Can’t really feel a thing.”

“Ah.” Her lips twitched. “Been there. Lovely cotton feeling isn’t it.”

“Feels like three or four bottles of silver ambrosia.” His lips twitched. “Without the fun part.”

“Hmm.” Laura’s smile widened wistfully. “Yeah.”

“Yeah?” He raised his head to stare at her. “You?”

“I wasn’t always in politics, Colonel. I did happen to have a personal life.” She lifted an eyebrow. “And I have very…vivid memories of too much ambrosia. That sort of thing tends to stick with you.”

“Yeah, right.” He snorted softly and stared back at the roof of the tent again.

“Speaking of drunk, where’s Ellen?” Laura narrowed her eyes.

“Cottle sent her home.” Saul grimaced. Cottle had sent her away, ostentatiously to get some rest, but he had a feeling she was somewhere drinking, now that he was out of detention. Although, based on the way she’d greeted him, almost desperately, and with love in her eyes to a degree he hadn’t seen from her in…well, frak it, a long time. They’d clung to each other all the way to the Medical tent, and she hadn’t left his side even when Cottle had settled him in the small sectioned off room in the back, next to Laura Roslin, curled up sleeping off the morpha pumped into her since her own release.

“Oh.” Shifting her weight again, she sighed. “So. Here we are.”

“Yeah.” He echoed her sigh and remained silent for several minutes. “How bad’s your back?”

She shrugged one shoulder. “Bruised, some strained muscles, Cottle doesn’t think there’s going to be much scarring.” At the comment, he turned his head sharply. “Well, he doesn’t.”

“Sorry.” Saul grunted. “Frak it. Bill’s gonna…” Realizing what he’d almost said, he bit his lip as she propped herself up on an elbow, staring at him.

“Bill?” Pushing her hair out of her face, Laura squinted at him in the dim light. “What are you…” When he remained silent, she frowned. “Colonel. Tell me.”

Automatically responding to the command in her tone, he spoke without thinking. “He asked me to watch out for you. When he wasn’t…frak it.” Unexpectedly, she started to giggle, muffling the sound with her fist. “What?”

“He told you…” Laura dropped her head forward, letting her hair fall around her face for a moment before flipping it back. “Frak it, Colonel, he told me to watch out for you.”

“He what?” His eye widened a split second before he started to laugh. “Well then, Madame…Doctor…whatever the frak I should call you, we’ve both done an outstanding job of watching out for each other, haven’t we.”

“Hey, at least I’ve experienced a brig before.” She grinned at him. “Remember?”

“Did my own share on shore leaves.” Still chuckling, he shook his head. “Piece of work, aren’t you Madame Pres… What the frak am I supposed to call you, anyway? Since Doctor Roslin’s a bit formal for where we are right now.”

”Laura.” She held out a hand. “Just Laura, will do. Colonel.”

“Mustered out. Saul.” He took her hand, squeezing it lightly before releasing it and settling back on his side, facing her.

“Saul.” Laura nodded thoughtfully and rested her head back on her hand, watching him. “I’ve been out for a couple of days, I think. Cottle kept me under for a while so my back… It’s all sort of run together.”

“Wondered what happened when I didn’t…” he swallowed. “I didn’t hear you.”

“Oh.” She closed her eyes. “I heard you too. I think they had us near each other for that reason. I heard when…and then Cavil came in and told me what he’d done to you…”

“Yeah.” Saul shuddered. “Hurt like frakkin’ hell.”

“I’m sorry.” Laura whispered. “So sorry…”

“Hell, Laura.” He shook his head at her. “Don’t be. They tried their best to break both of us and couldn’t. Didn’t.”

“This time.” Opening her eyes, she looked at him, eyes wide and frightened. “Saul…”

“They’re not gonna break you, Laura.” He glared at her. “Bill’s gonna figure out a way to get back here, and we’re both going to be waiting for him with our people. We’re going to work to get ready. To be ready.”

She stared at him, a tear trickling out from one eye, before slowly nodding. “I know he is, and I know we will…Sorry.”

“Hell, Laura. From what I heard, you took all they threw at you and then some.” Awkwardly, he reached out and brushed the tear off her cheek. “Didn’t know a frakking schoolteacher knew some of those words.”

“I guess I’ve been around the military too much lately.” Laura managed a weak smile. “And, I may have learned a few from the guy a few cells down from mine.”

“Glad to continue the education if needed.” He grinned. “Hell, I learned more than a few from Bill when we were in the brig…frak, where was it…some shore leave. One of us made a comment about some local, and the next thing we knew, we were waking up behind bars. And not the kind of bar we’d started in.”

“Not very smart of you, was it.” She sniffed. “Apparently you were released.”

“Yeah. Well, not a place we could go back to, well, when it was still there. Just leave it at that.” Saul chuckled. “Boring little place anyway. No good local…liquor to speak of.”

“Right.” Laura giggled softly. “Liquor. I’ve heard about you soldiers and shore leaves.”

”So. Fess up schoolteacher. Where’d you learn that language?” Resting back on his side, he watched her, a blush running along her cheek underneath the faint bruises he could still see on her fair skin. “Looks like a story to me.”

“Not really.” She smiled at him. “Just a college roommate, who didn’t care that I’d gone into politics. She kept me…true to myself, I guess you could say.”

“Really.” He drawled out dryly. “Come on. We’re stuck here, I deserve more of a story than that.”

“Fine.” With a sigh, she bit her lip, thinking. “Actually, she’s why we’re…here. Not here exactly, but the reason for Galactica.”

“Like her already. And not just for teaching you how to swear.” Saul grinned.

”And drink.” Laura took a breath. “Anyway, it was my last year of undergrad, I was already taking some graduate classes in addition to everything else. My roommate had just transferred in, it was her fifth college in three years. Her parents wanted her to room with an older student, help her settle down. The school contacted me, offered to cut my expenses if I’d agree to mentor her and help her. I think there was another financial arrangement with the school, since a new wing of the library was named after her grandfather.”

“One of those.” Saul grunted. “Trust fund brats.”

“So I thought.” She sighed, a smile crossing her face. “Three weeks after Sierra moved in, I’d discovered a whole different side of the city than I’d known in the entire time I’d been at school. Somehow I’d ended up in her clothes, with her in some of the most incredible places…so I lost a point or two of my grades, but…frak it, I was having fun. And, she stayed as my roommate for the next three years. Never quite slowed down, but at least she graduated. And, taught me an appreciation for the side of Caprica I hadn’t been aware of. And how to handle myself there.”

“Must have come in handy during politics.” He chuckled.

“Actually, it did.” Laura’s smile widened. “Learned how to hold my liquor, and my tongue. Be persuasive and vague; use the resources available to me in any situation, not just those involving children.”

“And how exactly did Galactica figure into your time of decadence on Caprica?” Intrigued by the completely unexpected side of Laura Roslin, Saul raised himself up on his elbow to watch her closely.

“Long after college. Several years ago, actually. I was Secretary of Education by then, and the times I could get away, or at least give myself the illusion of escaping from the government,” and Richard, she finished silently, “I went to visit her on Picon. She had a home there, and pretty much on every colony, but that was her favorite. And where she worked. Believe it or not, the trust fund party girl became a pretty damn good teacher. For which of course, her parents blamed me. The bad influence of me, instead of her going into the family shipping business. Didn’t really blame her of course, but…tolerated her choice of careers, as long as she stayed out of the tabloids. Anyway,” Laura sighed. “A few years ago, I was visiting her, and went with her to chaperone a field trip. Not that difficult to be unrecognized, as I was just her friend, in visiting. Put my hair up in a ponytail, wore casual clothes, any resemblance to the Secretary of Education was coincidental.”

“They didn’t recognize you?” He blinked.

“Be honest, would you have recognized the Secretary of Education if you hadn’t known I was coming?” Her eyebrow lifted.

“Honest?” Saul grinned. “I would if I’d seen your legs.” He ducked as her arm struck out and punched him on the shoulder. “Frak. Laura.”

“You want the story or not?” Wincing as she adjusted herself on her side, she sighed.

“I’m intrigued.” He winced. “And in pain.”

“Fine.” Laura pushed her hair back again. “Where…okay. So, we were on this field trip to a military base, and while they were touring, the soldier with them was amazingly energetic, he managed to make it fun, and by the end, they were coming up with ways to implement and involve their studies with things that they’d seen that day. All the history and things they’d seen weren’t just in books, but had come to life. All with this one small area of a base on Picon that had been modified for educational tours.”

“Yeah, remember hearing about that. Some family put up the money…” his voice trailed off as he stared at her. “Your friend…the Caraway Shipping family?” When she nodded, he shook his head. “And she was a teacher?”

“The same.” She sighed. “So, that night, we were out by…well, never mind where. But, started throwing some ideas around. She’d heard about a ship that was scheduled to be decommissioned within the next few years, one of the benefits of her…family connections. We were talking about her students, and how they’d connected, and what if that could be done on such a large scale. So, three years later, after meetings and negotiations, and more meetings…there I was at the decommissioning ceremony. And,” Laura held up her hand. “I had nothing to do with the gift shop. At all. Although, I had pushed for networked computers.”

“Well, all in all, glad you lost out on that.” Saul grimaced.

“What?” Concerned, she raised up on her elbow and gazed at him.

”Morpha wearing off.” He gingerly lay back down, perspiration beading on his face.

“Yeah.” Laura gingerly sat up. “Hold on, I’ll get Cottle.”

”He’ll be in here in a bit.” Shaking his head at her, he gestured to her bed. “Lie back down. Don’t want you collapsing on me. Depth perception is still off, don’t know if I could catch you.”

“Fine.” Truth be told, she hadn’t been sure if she’d be able to make it to the door. Slowly lying back down, she sighed. “So, now what?”

“We figure out who’s where, and what we’re going to do next.” His eye closed, Saul lay still, focusing on his breathing. “You strategize, we’ll work together.”

“That’s like mixing oil and water.” Laura watched him, if Cottle didn’t get in here in the next few minutes, she was heading out there no matter what Saul said. “Saul, I know politics and teaching. I don’t know anything about…what will we be doing, an insurrection?”

“You’re a survivor, Laura.” He took a breath. “And you know Bill’s coming back for us. We just gotta be ready, for anything. You know how to organize anything, and everything. We got the people, just got to figure out who. You’re the teacher, you can be in contact with people without it being suspicious.”

“I’m not putting children in danger.” Her voice was suddenly steely.

“Not asking you to.” Saul coughed. “People check on the teacher though. You’re centrally located and have reasons to request parent conferences.”

“Colonel.” Laura grimaced and made a conscious effort to control her voice. “Saul. What makes you think I’ll still be allowed to teach.”

“Cylons want us to keep a normal lifestyle.” He snorted softly. “School, market, pyramid games.”

“I don’t want the children in danger.” She repeated softly. “That’s not even an option.”

“Agreed.” He nodded. And, having her with the children would keep her out of danger as well. Whether she liked it or not, she was still a prime target of the Cylons, and they needed to have her keep a low profile. People still looked to her as a leader, even if they’d voted for Baltar, frakking idiots, since seeing his leadership, they’d returned to regarding her as their true leader. By keeping her involved, he’d be able to see what she was doing, and not control her, but keep an eye on her.

“Saul.” At her whisper, he managed to turn his head slightly.

“Yeah?” Opening his eye had been a mistake and he closed it again sharply against the dim light that skewered into his brain. “What is it?”

”I’m not a frakking innocent schoolteacher, you know.” Her breath was deep and shuddering. “I know what’s gotta…what’s going to happen. I survived…a lot. Before you knew me, and since. And we’re going to survive this. You need to know I can handle it. Whatever they throw at me. I can take it. And I will.”

“I know.” Saul grimaced against the pain. “Laura. Trust me. I’ve been through two Cylon wars, and you scare the frak out of me. You, I know can make it through.”

“Thanks.” She whispered, just as the curtain cracked open and Cottle stepped through, easing his way through the narrow space around her bed.

“You two should be asleep.” He muttered, pulling out a hypodermic needle. “Guessing yours wore off a bit ago, Colonel?”

”You could say that.” Saul winced as Cottle injected him. “Had to listen to Madame President here ramble on and on.”

”Better than listening to drunken incoherence.” Laura bit her lip as Cottle injected her with another needle.

“Right.” Quickly checking both of their vital signs, Cottle grimaced. “Morpha should put you both out for the rest of the night. You wake up, you can finish plotting whatever it is the two of you are going to organize to get us ready for the Galactica’s return.”

“Who says we’re plotting anything.” Laura yawned as she tried once again to ease onto her back then changed her mind, and shifted back with a wince.

“Us? Working together?” Saul snorted softly. “You’ve been into your own drugs, Cottle.”

“Right.” He waited until they were both settled, blankets covering them, Tigh on his back and Laura on her side, her head resting on her arm. “Sleep. I’ll send Ellen and Tory in when they get here in the morning. Few hours from now. Night.”

As the door shut behind him, they glanced at each other one last time before the morpha drifted them into darkness as Cottle sighed and moved away in to the main area of the Medical tent. Now how the frak was he going to keep his word to the Admiral to look after both of them?