TM 233 - Surprise
Jun. 2nd, 2008 11:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
arrow_of_apollo233 - Surprise! Your... is at the door -- and at a most inopportune moment! Now what?!
"Mr. President?"
Lee didn't turn around. The speaker cleared her throat and repeated, "Mr. President?"
Finally, he realized that Tory was talking to him. Sixteen hours into his presidency-- his interim presidency, Lee reminded himself-- and he still wasn't used to being addressed that way. Part of him hoped that Laura Roslin and his father would be back in a day or two and he never got used to it. He glanced up to see Tory standing with an unusual amount of apprehension clear on her face.
"What is it, Tory?"
The woman glanced through the door at someone unseen. "President Adama, it's your wi--" Tory corrected herself. "It's Lieutenant Dualla."
Lee set the hammer down on the desk and stood, his mind suddenly a thousand klicks away from Colonial One and the presidency of the colonies. "Please, Tory, show her in," he said quietly. Truth be told, Dee was just about the last person from the Galactica he was expecting to pay him a visit.
Lieutenant Anastasia Dualla strode into the President's office and stood opposite the desk at perfect military attention before snapping off a salute. "Mr. President," she said gravely.
Returning the salute by habit, Lee nodded. "At ease, Lieutenant. Tory, if you'll give us a few minutes?"
Tory nodded and left the room, shutting the door behind her. Lee's attention returned to the woman who used to be, and still was, legally speaking, his wife. Dee was barely looking at him, the officer's face still firmly in place. Lee sighed and gestured toward a chair. "Would you like to sit down? Do you want something to drink?"
That last question raised at least a sharp look directly at him. Lee winced. "I didn't mean--" Didn't mean to bring up memories of his drunken episodes while they were still married. "Dee, please," he asked in a whisper. With a resigned sigh, Dee sat and shook her head when Lee reached for the water carafe.
"So, uh," Lee stumbled, taking a seat behind the desk, "what brings you here?"
She nearly rolled her eyes glancing around the room at the Colonial flag and the various other emblems of the executive office. "You're kidding, right? You're the President of the Colonies, now, Lee." Now it was her turn to let out a breath. "Frankly, I came to find out if you were going to ask me to be First Lady."
Nothing hopeful about the statement that Lee could detect, not that he would have expected it.
"I would never do that to you, Dee. You've made it very clear that we're done, and I can't blame you."
Dee leaned forward. "Why not?"
"What?" Lee asked, confused.
"Why can't you blame me? It's okay, Lee. You're allowed to be angry. You're allowed to feel frustrated by it. You have to accept it, but you don't have to like it."
Shaking his head, Lee leaned back in his chair, staring back at her. Dee's crystal clear green eyes fixing him in the way he remembered being both one of her best facets and on of her worst. "I don't get it, Dee-- you want me to be angry?"
"It would tell me it meant more to you than an offhand joke on the flight deck."
Lee's stomach twisted, remembering the moment. Dee had presented him with a beautiful display box for his pilot's wings, and instead of thanking her, instead of telling her how much she had always done for him, he'd made a joke.
"I guess you got the house."
He didn't know why he'd said it, other than being completely at a loss for words and finding only the wrong ones to say. As he sat there, looking back at Dee and feeling the same disappointment he'd felt from her on that flight deck when she'd said goodbye, he still didn't know what to say.
Instead of talking, he stood and picked up the hammer he'd put down. "I was just finishing this when you got here," he muttered, driving a nail just a little further into the wall. As Lee set the hammer back down, he regarded the spot on the wall, just over the President's left shoulder when he or she was sitting at the desk. Roslin had always kept the whiteboard with the running tally of the human race's population, while Baltar had decorated it with a portrait of himself.
Lee picked the box up off his desk and finished hanging his wings on the wall.
Sitting back down at his desk, he watched in silence as Dee looked up and stared at the box for a few moments before turning back to him.
"It mattered," he said quietly. "It matters."
Dee nodded, then stood, snapping back to attention. Lee rose and returned her salute again.
"Then I won't keep you any longer, sir," she said.
"Always a pleasure, Lieutenant Dualla."
Lee watched as she walked toward the door. Dee stopped and turned her head toward him, not facing him all the way, but enough that he could see her face. "Good luck, Lee." Without waiting for a response, she was gone.
Returning to his desk, Lee took a last glance himself at the wings before touching the intercom button. "Okay, Tory, let's work on that speech."
(883)
OOC Note: This is a "missing scene" ficlet based on recent episode canon. The Dualla and Tory mentioned do not reference any specific muse version of the character.
"Mr. President?"
Lee didn't turn around. The speaker cleared her throat and repeated, "Mr. President?"
Finally, he realized that Tory was talking to him. Sixteen hours into his presidency-- his interim presidency, Lee reminded himself-- and he still wasn't used to being addressed that way. Part of him hoped that Laura Roslin and his father would be back in a day or two and he never got used to it. He glanced up to see Tory standing with an unusual amount of apprehension clear on her face.
"What is it, Tory?"
The woman glanced through the door at someone unseen. "President Adama, it's your wi--" Tory corrected herself. "It's Lieutenant Dualla."
Lee set the hammer down on the desk and stood, his mind suddenly a thousand klicks away from Colonial One and the presidency of the colonies. "Please, Tory, show her in," he said quietly. Truth be told, Dee was just about the last person from the Galactica he was expecting to pay him a visit.
Lieutenant Anastasia Dualla strode into the President's office and stood opposite the desk at perfect military attention before snapping off a salute. "Mr. President," she said gravely.
Returning the salute by habit, Lee nodded. "At ease, Lieutenant. Tory, if you'll give us a few minutes?"
Tory nodded and left the room, shutting the door behind her. Lee's attention returned to the woman who used to be, and still was, legally speaking, his wife. Dee was barely looking at him, the officer's face still firmly in place. Lee sighed and gestured toward a chair. "Would you like to sit down? Do you want something to drink?"
That last question raised at least a sharp look directly at him. Lee winced. "I didn't mean--" Didn't mean to bring up memories of his drunken episodes while they were still married. "Dee, please," he asked in a whisper. With a resigned sigh, Dee sat and shook her head when Lee reached for the water carafe.
"So, uh," Lee stumbled, taking a seat behind the desk, "what brings you here?"
She nearly rolled her eyes glancing around the room at the Colonial flag and the various other emblems of the executive office. "You're kidding, right? You're the President of the Colonies, now, Lee." Now it was her turn to let out a breath. "Frankly, I came to find out if you were going to ask me to be First Lady."
Nothing hopeful about the statement that Lee could detect, not that he would have expected it.
"I would never do that to you, Dee. You've made it very clear that we're done, and I can't blame you."
Dee leaned forward. "Why not?"
"What?" Lee asked, confused.
"Why can't you blame me? It's okay, Lee. You're allowed to be angry. You're allowed to feel frustrated by it. You have to accept it, but you don't have to like it."
Shaking his head, Lee leaned back in his chair, staring back at her. Dee's crystal clear green eyes fixing him in the way he remembered being both one of her best facets and on of her worst. "I don't get it, Dee-- you want me to be angry?"
"It would tell me it meant more to you than an offhand joke on the flight deck."
Lee's stomach twisted, remembering the moment. Dee had presented him with a beautiful display box for his pilot's wings, and instead of thanking her, instead of telling her how much she had always done for him, he'd made a joke.
"I guess you got the house."
He didn't know why he'd said it, other than being completely at a loss for words and finding only the wrong ones to say. As he sat there, looking back at Dee and feeling the same disappointment he'd felt from her on that flight deck when she'd said goodbye, he still didn't know what to say.
Instead of talking, he stood and picked up the hammer he'd put down. "I was just finishing this when you got here," he muttered, driving a nail just a little further into the wall. As Lee set the hammer back down, he regarded the spot on the wall, just over the President's left shoulder when he or she was sitting at the desk. Roslin had always kept the whiteboard with the running tally of the human race's population, while Baltar had decorated it with a portrait of himself.
Lee picked the box up off his desk and finished hanging his wings on the wall.
Sitting back down at his desk, he watched in silence as Dee looked up and stared at the box for a few moments before turning back to him.
"It mattered," he said quietly. "It matters."
Dee nodded, then stood, snapping back to attention. Lee rose and returned her salute again.
"Then I won't keep you any longer, sir," she said.
"Always a pleasure, Lieutenant Dualla."
Lee watched as she walked toward the door. Dee stopped and turned her head toward him, not facing him all the way, but enough that he could see her face. "Good luck, Lee." Without waiting for a response, she was gone.
Returning to his desk, Lee took a last glance himself at the wings before touching the intercom button. "Okay, Tory, let's work on that speech."
(883)
OOC Note: This is a "missing scene" ficlet based on recent episode canon. The Dualla and Tory mentioned do not reference any specific muse version of the character.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-06-02 07:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-02 10:12 pm (UTC)OOC
Date: 2008-06-02 09:37 pm (UTC)Re: OOC
Date: 2008-06-02 10:13 pm (UTC)And thank you! Lee's character has been in some serious flux lately, so it's been a fun challenge trying to see the through-lines and place his actions in context.