Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 14: Memento

It had been six years since the fleet of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol had landed on Earth. The Cylons had held up their end of the treaty, remaining on an island-like land mass. A few, with permission, had mingled with the human populations. Laura Roslin had retired from the office of president not long after the settlement had been completed, so that Laura Adama could enjoy some time at her cabin by the lake with her husband Bill. The admiral, too, had retired, leaving command of Galactica to Helo.

Laura leaned on the railing of the porch, looking out at the lake, reflecting not for the first time on their travels and adventures since landing on Earth. She jumped, feeling a hand on her back. Turning quickly, she smirked, finding Bill behind her. "Without your military boots, you're as good as stealth," she teased him.

He smiled, kissing her softly. "Civilian shoes do have their advantages. What were you thinking about?"

"Everything, us, coming here. It's that kind of day," she responded as the wind stirred her hair. It had grown to its usual length and had remained auburn for the most part, only with the addition of gray streaks, which Bill smirked at every once in a while before running his fingers through it.

"Kara's coming by. I just thought you'd like to know in case you wanted to have lunch prepared," he mentioned.

Laura smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for telling me. What do you think, macaroni salad and meatloaf, or a garden salad and chicken?"

"Little Zachary might get a kick out of the macaroni," Bill replied as they headed into the cabin.

"He's not so little anymore," Laura reminded. As she reached for the noodles, she turned to see Bill ready to help. "As long as we both shall live, I'll never take real food for granted."

He chuckled and nodded. "Anything beats algae."

They began making lunch and while the meatloaf was cooking, continued speaking. "I ran into Cornelius yesterday. I forgot to tell you," she said.

Bill raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What is Mr. President up to these days?"

"He introduced me to his fiancé, Megan," Laura relayed.

"I'll bet she has red hair and green eyes," Bill teased.

Laura blushed. "Actually her eyes are brow, but her hair is definitely red. I think she suits him. They were making jokes about getting lost."

"He really does have the worst sense of direction for I man I've ever seen," Bill added.

She giggled. "At least it only took him three days to find the new government building."

When the macaroni salad was read, he added a few more spices to it. "I stopped by to see Dee the other day. She and Felix are doing well," Bill commented.

"That's good. I hear little William keeps them busy," Laura remarked.

Just as the meatloaf finished cooking, they heard a knock at the door. "Must be Kara," said Bill.

"You get the door. I'll finish up here," Laura suggested.

He nodded and walked into the living room toward the front door. The door opened to Kara as she led Zachary into the cabin with her. Bill hugged her and then turned to his grandson. "What do you hear, Zachary?"

The boy stood at attention. "Nothing but the rain, sir."

"Then grab your gun and bring in the cat," his grandfather stated before mussing the boy's brown hair.

Zachary Lee Adama was five, with his father's brown hair and the Adama blue eyes. In his little hand he held a daffodil. "Look," he said, holding the flower up.

Bill studied it through his glasses. "What have you got there?"

"This planet has so many strange flowers. Zachary found it on our walk here," Kara explained.

"It's for Grandma," Zachary mentioned. The yellow flower had six petals and a petal grouping that stuck out like a trumpet around the center of the flower.

"I'm sure she'll like it," Bill stated.

Kara and Zachary followed him into the kitchen where Laura had already set the table. She looked up at their guests. "We're having meatloaf and macaroni salad."

"Yummy!" Zachary exclaimed.

"Sounds good to me," Kara responded as everyone sat.

Then Zachary stuck his little arm across the table, showing Laura the flower. "For you, Grandma."

Laura smiled and took the flower. "Thank you. It's beautiful. I'll put it in some water."

The small group chatted as they ate. "Has Zachary found any playmates?" Bill inquired.

Kara nodded. "He's got a few in preschool. He was even teaching some of them how to draw a viper with chalk. Dani Tigh has him beat though. She's a regular little artist."

"Saul's told me as much. Says he lets her draw outside because she uses up all his paper. Caprica just thinks it's funny when Saul gets flustered," Bill remarked.

"Caprica is good at picking names though. 'Daniella' is a nice name for their daughter," Laura stated. I'm glad those two have finally found peace with what they are as well as each other. It took three years to get them married.

While the adults had been talking, no one had noticed that Zachary was trying to get his own macaroni salad. As he attempted to dish up a helping, some of it plopped onto the table instead of his plate. "Frak," he stated.

All three adults turned to stare at him. Kara shook her head. "Zachary Leland Adama, I told you we don't use that word."

The boy frowned and looked down at the mess he had made. "Sorry, Mama."

Bill looked at Kara, giving her a smirk. "I wonder where he learned that one from."

She blushed. "I've been trying to cut back, really. I never realized what kids pick up on."

"Yes, they do learn far more than we ever want them to at times," Laura mentioned as she stood. "I'll clean up the mess."

Later Kara and Zachary chased butterflies around the yard. Laura and Bill watched from the railing. "He reminds me so much of Lee. Even as young as he is, he's already thinking of Vipers," Bill remarked.

Laura looped her right arm through his left. "It's nice to have a memento of him like this, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Bill replied, sighing wistfully.

"And I think Lee would've been very proud of him," she added.

Bill looked from Kara and Zachary to Laura. "I think he would've been proud of all of us for how far we've come. Kara's turned out to be a good mother. And then there's you and me."

Laura smirked. "We have come a long way from a confused former school teacher and an irritable commander."

He was about to kiss her when Kara spoke up from the yard. "Hey, are you two gonna flirt over there all day, or are you going to come over here and see what Zachary found?"

Bill stole a kiss anyway. "I suppose we'd better see what they've got."

Laura giggled and followed him. They walked over to Zachary, who had his hands closed around something. Suddenly whatever he held made a sound that caused him to jump and drop it back onto the ground. "Why Zachary, you've found a frog," Laura told him.

The boy looked up at her. "What's it do, Grandma?"

"I think your grandfather and I have an encyclopedia. We can look it up together," Laura recommended.

"Okay. Maybe later we can catch more," Zachary suggested, causing the adults to laugh.

Kara took Zachary and they walked back inside, followed by Bill and Laura. "He'll probably try to save them now," Bill mentioned.

Laura nodded. "Saving the world one frog at a time. Soon it'll be galaxies."

Fin……………………………..

(A/N: The last line is in reference to Season One: "Captain Apollo, saving the world one galaxy at a time," I think. I've been trying to find the exact line, but failing miserably. Oh well).

(My thanks to voodooDRUG, Mamabella, SMCKI10, carolann, Mariel3, and Ms. McGonagall for reviewing :D)