BSG Fic: Pax
Apr. 15th, 2008 09:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
andverygingerTitle: Pax
Fandom: BSG (Adama/Roslin)
Author: Becca (aka Galatea)
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: These characters are not my own. They belong entirely to Ron Moore/SciFi/et. al. I use them here for my own amusement and the amusement of others. No profit is to be made from the publication of this story.
Warning: Spoilers for 4.02, "Six of One."
Summary: The words are true – she was right – she doesn't want to take it back. But she does want to ease his pain. There will come a time far too soon when she can't.
Author's Notes: Some say that fan fiction is supposed to be the great "fix it." Given the growing number of fics with this theme, I suppose they may be right. Still, I thought I might take a swing at it. Reading "A Day Late" by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
aphroditesreign, I was taken back to the few times my husband and I have had a few knock-down-drag-outs. I stewed on it over the weekend. Then, on Sunday night, I woke up at 12:30 and started writing. An hour later, this is the fic I had.
Posted sans-beta. Any mistakes you see are my own.
***
She is laying in the darkness, adrift somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, when she hears it – the quiet, metallic grind of the hatch mechanism. Laura knows without looking that it's him. He's come back to complete his nightly rituals and take his place on the overstuffed sofa. Wrapped in the warmth of his blankets, and lulled by the promise of sleep, she watches silently as he moves toward the head.
There are lights – muted as he can make them – and the sound of rushing water. Despite their earlier words, he moves through the old habits as quietly as he can, an effort not to disturb her. But as she watches him through narrow slits, she realizes he is tired. The slump of his shoulders; the deepened creases around his mouth and eyes; the way he shuffles as he goes from one side of the room to the other – she can see it now, in the faint whispers of light. If she asked him, he would say he was still a little drunk. But they would both know he was lying.
Inwardly, she cringes. How much of that is her fault? They've grown closer, she and the Old Man, and her cancer is taking its toll; his denial could only last so long. And then he would lose someone else. Like sand sifting through his grasp, she thought wearily.
Still, the words have already been spoken. Like daggers, she has harbored them inside, waiting, festering until they could escape toward their target. They are true – she was right – she doesn't want to take it back. But she does want to ease his pain. There will come a time far too soon when she can't.
She continues watching in silence as he switches out the light. In the darkness, she can almost see his silhouette, just behind her reach. Finding her voice just then is difficult. Like the rest of her, it lingers in the void between waking and dreaming, the lethargy heightened by the Diloxin. He is almost across the room when she finally manages to make her lips move and her voice emerge.
"Bill," she says quietly.
He pauses. Laura can sense the sudden stillness, almost hear the wheels grinding in his mind. There's more vulnerability in her voice than she planned – than she wanted – but it can't be helped. And then he's moving again. Wordlessly, she moves over and he slips into the rack next to her. There are no apologies. Her head comes to rest on his shoulder, hand on his chest; she can feel the warmth of his arm encircling her. His breath steadies; she can feel the steady rise and fall of his chest beneath her. A rueful smile flickers across her own lips as she finally drifts off…and peace settles over the room.
***
While the title is usually used to refer to the "Pax Romana," in this instance I drew from the end of Donovan's Reef. It makes things a little more tongue-in-cheek, and serves as more of a "cease fire" than a real "peace accord."
For anyone else looking at some good S4 spec fic, you should take a peek at "Peace that Comes at Length" bygidget_zb. Warning: Spoilers in the fic and the LJ layout!
Fandom: BSG (Adama/Roslin)
Author: Becca (aka Galatea)
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: These characters are not my own. They belong entirely to Ron Moore/SciFi/et. al. I use them here for my own amusement and the amusement of others. No profit is to be made from the publication of this story.
Warning: Spoilers for 4.02, "Six of One."
Summary: The words are true – she was right – she doesn't want to take it back. But she does want to ease his pain. There will come a time far too soon when she can't.
Author's Notes: Some say that fan fiction is supposed to be the great "fix it." Given the growing number of fics with this theme, I suppose they may be right. Still, I thought I might take a swing at it. Reading "A Day Late" by
aphroditesreign, I was taken back to the few times my husband and I have had a few knock-down-drag-outs. I stewed on it over the weekend. Then, on Sunday night, I woke up at 12:30 and started writing. An hour later, this is the fic I had. Posted sans-beta. Any mistakes you see are my own.
***
She is laying in the darkness, adrift somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, when she hears it – the quiet, metallic grind of the hatch mechanism. Laura knows without looking that it's him. He's come back to complete his nightly rituals and take his place on the overstuffed sofa. Wrapped in the warmth of his blankets, and lulled by the promise of sleep, she watches silently as he moves toward the head.
There are lights – muted as he can make them – and the sound of rushing water. Despite their earlier words, he moves through the old habits as quietly as he can, an effort not to disturb her. But as she watches him through narrow slits, she realizes he is tired. The slump of his shoulders; the deepened creases around his mouth and eyes; the way he shuffles as he goes from one side of the room to the other – she can see it now, in the faint whispers of light. If she asked him, he would say he was still a little drunk. But they would both know he was lying.
Inwardly, she cringes. How much of that is her fault? They've grown closer, she and the Old Man, and her cancer is taking its toll; his denial could only last so long. And then he would lose someone else. Like sand sifting through his grasp, she thought wearily.
Still, the words have already been spoken. Like daggers, she has harbored them inside, waiting, festering until they could escape toward their target. They are true – she was right – she doesn't want to take it back. But she does want to ease his pain. There will come a time far too soon when she can't.
She continues watching in silence as he switches out the light. In the darkness, she can almost see his silhouette, just behind her reach. Finding her voice just then is difficult. Like the rest of her, it lingers in the void between waking and dreaming, the lethargy heightened by the Diloxin. He is almost across the room when she finally manages to make her lips move and her voice emerge.
"Bill," she says quietly.
He pauses. Laura can sense the sudden stillness, almost hear the wheels grinding in his mind. There's more vulnerability in her voice than she planned – than she wanted – but it can't be helped. And then he's moving again. Wordlessly, she moves over and he slips into the rack next to her. There are no apologies. Her head comes to rest on his shoulder, hand on his chest; she can feel the warmth of his arm encircling her. His breath steadies; she can feel the steady rise and fall of his chest beneath her. A rueful smile flickers across her own lips as she finally drifts off…and peace settles over the room.
***
While the title is usually used to refer to the "Pax Romana," in this instance I drew from the end of Donovan's Reef. It makes things a little more tongue-in-cheek, and serves as more of a "cease fire" than a real "peace accord."
For anyone else looking at some good S4 spec fic, you should take a peek at "Peace that Comes at Length" by
gidget_zb. Warning: Spoilers in the fic and the LJ layout!