WAITING June 24, 2008

Title: Waiting
by:ellymelly
Rated: PG
Pairing: Zarek/Roslin
Spoilers: Sine Qua Non
Wordcount: 750
Author’s Note: Okay, so I decided to tack what was going to be a second chapter onto the end of this. :D

Colonial One was quiet without her. Not at peace – that was the wrong word for it. Waiting – the ship and all its occupants were waiting for their leader to return, and Thomas Zarek knew it.

He was President by default now, but it seemed like an empty victory. All the years he had dreamt of this moment, desired it with every pound of metal that he pushed against his cell, yet suddenly he couldn’t conceive of anything worse.

Zarek collapsed into the President’s leather chair. It should have been comfortable only its stuffing was moulded to someone else’s figure. Even the office itself was garnished with personal items that glared at his intrusion. He wanted to apologise, but felt foolish.

“Why’d you have to go and do that, Laura?” he whispered, trying to bury his face within his palms.

A flash of white caught his attention as the Galactica jumped back into the space between the fleet. Another reconnaissance mission no doubt, hauling bits of broken Base Star and the frozen remains of pilots. It wouldn’t matter what they’d found, Admiral Adama would not share it with the Administration.

There was a sharp buzz in the next room which snapped Zarek back from thought. He leant forward, found the folder containing draft press releases and started to file through them.

‘At this time, we have to assume that President Laura Roslin is dead and will –’

Zarek looked away from the page. He would not sign that, not yet.

*   *   *

“It’s the President for you…” Torri announced, poking her head through the curtain. “Line one.”

“Thank you – who?” he looked up from the desk. “I’m the President Torri,” he corrected her, wondering who was laying claim this time.

Torri shook her head, “No, she’s back.”

The heavy pen slipped from Tom’s hand and clattered to the table.

*   *   *

“Laura…” It was perhaps more guttural than he had planned, but he couldn’t help the way his voice dropped as she strolled into the room. He wanted to stand, but the sight of her glued his limbs together.

Laura Roslin eye lids threatened to fall closed as she walked. This was home, and her exhausted body knew it. She strode into the room slowly, placing a charred book on the coffee table as she entered. Thomas Zarek was seated behind her desk. He looked sombre, but not in the way that she had expected.

“Are you okay?” she asked, approaching cautiously. He smiled a little, and turned his head away.

“Am I okay?” he mumbled at the window. Everything was quiet – but this time it was warm. He sat there for a moment, enjoying the feel of her in the room.

“Look, Tom,” she began, placing her hands on the desk to steady herself. Her eyes glanced over a few of the unsigned documents. They all said the same thing – that she was dead. Thomas Zarek was President by right, so why hadn’t he signed and sealed the deal. “I know how much you want to be President, but I’m not ready to –”

“You are the President,” he said suddenly. In one movement he had cleared the papers from in front of her and deposited them in the bin beside the desk. “You always were – even when you weren’t.”

“Tom-”

“I’m – I’m in your chair.” Zarek used the table to leaver himself to his feet. The action brought him closer to the President than he had anticipated. He felt the brush of her hair over the side of his neck as he rose. It was only for a moment

“You can stay there for a little longer if you like.” He felt a fragile hand on his shoulder, urging him back toward the seat. “I’m going to lie down for a while.”

“Don’t do that again, Madame President.”

She stopped as she reached for the curtain that separated her quarters from the office. He was talking about the Base Star. Tom had warned her repeatedly not to go, that it was a bad idea. That is was foolish placing the hope of the fleet in the hands of the Cylons. “Why?” she pushed, she always pushed.

A tear accidentally slipped down his cheek. He wiped it away absently, as if it were no more than a rain drop on a sunny day. There was no point in saying it. “I’ll see you in an hour, we have a Press gallery to tame.”

Laura nodded gently, “Indeed we do.”

“I’ll be waiting,” he finished with a gentle smile.

“You better.”