When she hears Kara Thrace's voice - this is Starbuck - Laura Roslin is very pleased, of course, but she is also aghast at the small part of herself that is watching Apollo.
It says: have you seen him smile since his father was shot?
It then reconsiders, and says: have you seen him smile since she left?
It says: he's not your man, when all the dice are rolled.
She hates herself.
She looks around unthinking for Billy, whose voice can drive the cynicism out of her head, and her heart falls in a jolt when she remembers where he is.
She's wondering how to do this, what the best angle to play in front of the Quorum will be; but then Lee Adama strides foward, past her, and takes the decision out of her hands as though it's the most natural thing in the world.
And it is. She pictures Billy's face and tells herself that she has to remember that. She's worrying about consequences and forgetting that there are other important things, like the tiny grin on Starbuck's face as she ducks her eyes to the ground. Like the way the pilots hug, warm and close and ringing with home.
She smiles, rubs her hands together, and she's about to open her mouth and say something Presidential when Apollo kisses Starbuck.
She doesn't miss the way the girl's eyes fall closed immediately, as though she was expecting it. She doesn't miss their crowded breathless silence afterwards, and for a moment she wonders if this is her Captain Apollo at all. The Lee Adama who got almost all of the way through a speech denouncing his father, who is so careful of the persona he projects, who cares deeply but never too much...she would not have thought him capable of standing there as though the room were not full of politicians and plans and priorities, staring down with a half-open mouth at an insubordinate pilot whose hair is coming out in messy strands.
That small part of her says: so this is what it takes to push him, and she realises that she isn't actually surprised.
Starbuck breaks first and makes a joke. Zarek whispers something, off to one side, and she can't hear what it is but she tucks away his interest to be studied later. She walks forward and Starbuck meets her eyes for a brief second before looking back at Apollo. It's not quite a greeting, not quite an apology. She doesn't know what it is.
"Lee," Starbuck says. "There's something you should know."
no subject
It says: have you seen him smile since his father was shot?
It then reconsiders, and says: have you seen him smile since she left?
It says: he's not your man, when all the dice are rolled.
She hates herself.
She looks around unthinking for Billy, whose voice can drive the cynicism out of her head, and her heart falls in a jolt when she remembers where he is.
She's wondering how to do this, what the best angle to play in front of the Quorum will be; but then Lee Adama strides foward, past her, and takes the decision out of her hands as though it's the most natural thing in the world.
And it is. She pictures Billy's face and tells herself that she has to remember that. She's worrying about consequences and forgetting that there are other important things, like the tiny grin on Starbuck's face as she ducks her eyes to the ground. Like the way the pilots hug, warm and close and ringing with home.
She smiles, rubs her hands together, and she's about to open her mouth and say something Presidential when Apollo kisses Starbuck.
She doesn't miss the way the girl's eyes fall closed immediately, as though she was expecting it. She doesn't miss their crowded breathless silence afterwards, and for a moment she wonders if this is her Captain Apollo at all. The Lee Adama who got almost all of the way through a speech denouncing his father, who is so careful of the persona he projects, who cares deeply but never too much...she would not have thought him capable of standing there as though the room were not full of politicians and plans and priorities, staring down with a half-open mouth at an insubordinate pilot whose hair is coming out in messy strands.
That small part of her says: so this is what it takes to push him, and she realises that she isn't actually surprised.
Starbuck breaks first and makes a joke. Zarek whispers something, off to one side, and she can't hear what it is but she tucks away his interest to be studied later. She walks forward and Starbuck meets her eyes for a brief second before looking back at Apollo. It's not quite a greeting, not quite an apology. She doesn't know what it is.
"Lee," Starbuck says. "There's something you should know."