Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Prologue

Lee woke up when Dad's car door shut.

"Am I straight?" Saul asked, leaning out the driver's side window.

"Yeah. Be quiet, you'll wake the kids."

"Sorry."

Lee closed his eyes partway so they wouldn't know he was awake. He heard footsteps as Dad inspected the trailer. "You're good, babe. Back her up." Saul put the car in reverse and Lee opened his eyes again. Backing up was always an adventure. Dad couldn't do it, which was why Saul always drove when they moved.

In his car seat, Zak squirmed awake. "Are we there yet?"

"Not yet." Saul reached back to squeeze his foot. "We have to turn around because Daddy led us the wrong way."

Dad got back in the car. "It shouldn't be that far. We'll be in our own new beds tonight."

Zak seemed to settle down again, but Lee stayed awake, watching as they drove back down the forest road and headed for the highway. They were moving between bases on Virgon, so it wasn't that far considering that their move before had been from Caprica to Virgon, before Lee had started kindergarten.

"Are they still going to sing the Dragon Song at my new school?" Zak asked sleepily.

"Probably," Dad said. "I don't think you'll have missed much when you start on Tuesday. All schools on the same colony do the same things. It'll just be like you missed a couple days of school."

"Except all the kids and teachers are different," Lee said.

"You'll be fine, Lee," Bill said. "Saul and I have to meet new people, too, and so does Zak."

"But you're grown-ups and Zak's just a baby."

"I am not a baby."

"Yeah and you don't care about going to a new preschool and having new kids and a new teacher."

"I miss Miss Jamie," Zak said in a quivery voice.

Lee noticed Saul grip the steering wheel tighter. He hated it when there was yelling, whining or crying while he was driving.

"There's a Freezy Queen," he said suddenly. "Let's stop for milkshakes."

Dad looked at Saul. "Milkshakes? I want them to go back to sleep…"

"Well, I need coffee." Saul flipped on his turn signal and pulled across three lanes to make the exit. When they got to the parking lot, he parked in the middle of the lane.

"Saul," Dad said sharply.

"No one else is here, Bill." Saul unbuckled his seatbelt and got out. "Plus, I don't want to have to back up again." He opened Zak's door and began undoing the straps of his car seat.

Dad and Lee got out, too. "I guess we can all get something," he said. "But no chocolate."

Dad, Lee and Zak got vanilla shakes and Saul got a jumbo iced coffee. They sipped their drinks at a picnic table that was right on the edge of the light cast from the neon sign. The entire time they were there, no one else came in.

This, Lee was sure, would never happen if they still lived with Mom.

Zak fell asleep on Saul's shoulder and had to be carried back to the car. "I guess we'll make it before daylight," Dad said as he buckled Zak in. Lee climbed into his own seat. Saul had gone back in for another coffee.

"I think you'll like your new school," Dad said, coming around to his side and standing by the open door. "They have a really cool looking science building and there's a sports fair in the fall."

"Will we still be here in the fall?"

"Of course! You're going to finish first grade and at least second here." Dad dropped down and put his hand on Lee's shoulder. "And after that, who knows? We're going to be moving a lot, son, that's just a fact of being a military family. We want to provide as much stability as we can for you and Zak, but the moving is nonnegotiable. We want to make this fun for you guys. You know, I lived in the same little apartment my whole life until I joined the military and I know Saul never left his hometown until basic. We don't want that for you two. We want you to see the worlds."

Lee looked up at the sky, at how different it looked from at Grandpa's house on Caprica.

"We'll take lots of trips," Dad said. He hugged Lee. "Saul and I are trying really hard. Can you help us?"

Lee smiled. "Sure, Dad. I can."

"Okay," Saul said, jangling his keys. "Let's get this show on the road."

Lee and Dad smiled at each other. "Okay."

Dad and Saul got into the car and Saul did a U-turn in the parking lot, heading for the highway.

"I'm not going to turn around again," he muttered, sipping his coffee. "Not for the rest of this frakking trip."

Lee sat back and closed his eyes. At least living with Dad and Saul was fun.

Part I

"This is the battlestar Pegasus to the ship claiming to be the Galactica. Please respond."

Bill's heart lurched in his chest. Pegasus.

Saul.

He and Faraday exchanged looks. "Wasn't your husband on Pegasus?" his XO asked, eyes wide.

"Yeah. He was." Bill blinked back tears.

"Adama, is that you?" The voice on the other end of the wireless was familiar, one he remembered from Solstice parties and awards dinners.

"Admiral Cain." He felt elated to hear her voice, if only for what it might mean, but he couldn't get ahead of himself. This didn't mean anything, not yet.

"It's good to hear from you," she said. "I've got someone here who will be very happy to see you."

Bill grinned, causing Faraday and Gaeta to give him odd looks, and the tear that had been threatening finally slid down his cheek. "I can't wait."

**

Bill's heart was pounding as he watched the Raptor from Pegasus come to a stop on the hangar deck. The hatch opened and Cain stepped out, followed by her XO and a couple of officers Bill didn't recognize.

Then, out came Saul.

Bill had stopped trying to school his expression ages ago, but he was unprepared for just seeing him, alive and well. He stepped down from the Raptor and took his place at the end of the line of officers, looking every bit as stiff and disciplined as Cain's men were known for. There was protocol to follow, but Bill couldn't keep his eyes from straying down to the end of the line occasionally. Then, they were all shaking hands and Bill wasn't paying attention to who was in front of him until Saul was there.

"Commander," he said, sticking out his hand, but Bill ignored it and pulled Saul straight into a crushing hug.

"Babe, I thought you were dead," he whispered.

"So did I, Bill, so did I."

"Lee's out flying CAP," Bill said. He didn't know then if Saul knew Lee was alive, didn't know if he had known Lee was on Galactica that day.

Saul's voice cracked. "Oh, thank the gods. I had no idea if he—"

"Shh." Bill hugged him tighter. "We're all three together now. And Kara."

They stood there for a moment and then Bill pulled back to introduce Saul to Laura. She was smiling more than he had ever seen her. This was a good day.

"Madam President," he said, beaming, "may I present my husband, Major Saul Tigh."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Major." He and Laura shook hands. "Bill's told me so much about you."

"Good things, I hope." Saul was grinning like a fool. It reminded Bill of how he'd looked on their wedding day.

"Major Tigh has been of valuable service to me," Cain added, approaching them. "He was instrumental in Pegasus's survival in the aftermath of the attacks. And, Commander, I am dying to know how Galactica managed the same. Shall we adjourn to your quarters?"

Bill nodded. "Of course, sir."

**

He had to admit, it was hard following orders again. He'd gotten used to being the ultimate authority, the highest ranking officer in what was left of the Fleet. And now that Cain was here, he wasn't. Part of him was glad not to have to be so in charge anymore, but part of him…

Part of him was disappointed.

Bill also wasn't sure how Cain would treat him and Saul as a married couple. When they went to Bill's quarters, Saul had immediately sat next to Bill on the couch, much closer than he would have to Cain, but certainly not too close in Bill's opinion. He knew Cain was tough and serious about regs, though.

The true test came when the Pegasus staff took their leave. Saul stood with them and Cain said, "Major, I'm granting you eighteen hours' leave." She smiled. "Don't make a habit of it."

Saul saluted. "Sir!"

Bill barely waited until the hatch was shut before he threw his arms around Saul and kissed him. Saul responded in kind, his hands moving everywhere across Bill's back and through his hair.

"Gods," he breathed between kisses. "Gods. I still can't believe I'm not dreaming."

"I know." Bill nipped at Saul's lower lip. "And we have eighteen hours."

"I wasn't picturing spending the whole time in bed." Saul kissed his nose. "I thought I might see the kids."

Bill slipped his arms around Saul's neck and rested his head on his shoulders. "We'll see 'em in a bit. Maybe have dinner… I want you to get to know Laura, too. She's a good friend." He kissed Saul's exposed neck, pushing his jacket collar out of the way so the mark he was intending to leave wouldn't be visible when he went back on duty. "Let's have some time to ourselves, okay?"

"Gods, Bill, it's been months," Saul panted. "I just—"

"Don't think about that," Bill murmured. "Just make love to me. Like you would have if we'd met on Scorpia like we'd promised that day."

Bill chalked the hesitation in Saul's eyes up to the stress and the separation. When he pulled Bill toward his rack, it felt like old times.

**

Saul loved this feeling, when he had every eye in the room. He knew there was a nugget or two that was disappointed to have started their training on Pegasus right before Saul Tigh was to retire, but Saul knew being tough on them early would get them used to the routine. That's how it was with this ship. You needed to keep up, but if you did, you'd find yourself part of something for life.

"You're all here because some officer flying a desk thought you were ready to fly in space." He surveyed the assembly before him. Many of them squirmed. "You've flown low-orbit, you've flown under blue skies, you've flown simulators. But you haven't known the rush of shooting out of a battlestar's launch tube and into the big black." He stopped and looked around again. "That is an amazing feeling. And some of you are only going to get to do it once."

Was that a whimper?

"And that's the easy part," he went on. "Landing is the hard part, which is why my whole job is devoted to making sure you nuggets do it right and don't ding up my flight deck. Looking at you, Raptor jocks." He narrowed his eyes. "That is why I am personally delaying my retirement by three months to make sure that when this ship goes back out into space you are ready."

Someone's hand shot up. "Major?"

Saul stopped, eyebrow raised. "Do you have a question, Ensign?"

"Yes, sir."

"I don't recall asking if anyone had any questions." He paused, to let that sink in. "What is it?"

The young man paled. "Um, sir, I was just wondering when the last time you flew was?"

Saul smirked. "I take a Viper out at least once every—"

The deck shook violently. Saul was knocked off his feet, the breath leaving his body. Distantly, he heard the nuggets' screams. Had they run into the dock? The lights flickered and Saul dragged himself up to his feet as the deck rocked again.

No. This was no accident.

Alarms began to blare and Saul blinked as his vision stopped swimming.

"Look alive!" he snapped, gripping the podium. "Eyes front!"

The sharpness of his voice startled most of the new pilots that they looked at him and Saul felt his lips curl in satisfaction. Three months from retirement and he still had it.

"Sir, what was that?" someone asked, panicked.

"I don't know, Ensign," Saul said. "But there's one thing I do know and that's that regardless of what that actually was, there's only one thing we have to prepare for."

Only one of them said it, someone in the back, in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Cylons."

There was another violent hit, but Saul kept his feet this time and he was pleased to see the nuggets all did, too.

"Pilots, get to your posts!"

"Yes, sir!"

**

It had been hours since the attacks, but Bill was still numb.

One stray Raptor from Triton and a couple more civvies. That was all that had answered his call to Ragnar. No Pegasus. No Saul.

He sat at his desk, staring at the picture he kept there. It was an engagement picture and he remembered how he'd felt to stand there in Saul's arms, beaming at his fiancé, trying to count the colors the sun turned his red hair. Had that really only been twenty-three years ago? It felt just like yesterday that they'd been on Atlantia and Bill had proposed, down on one knee on the hangar deck in front of a stunned Saul, who had stood there in front of his Viper, mouth agape, with a wrench in his hand.

The hatch opened with a creak. "Dad?"

Bill looked up. "Lee," he murmured.

"No word yet?"

"No word." Bill got up slowly and made his way toward his son. "There won't be any word. We're out here alone."

"I'm sorry, Dad." Lee crossed the room quickly and enveloped him in a hug. "I am so, so sorry." He was fighting to hold back tears himself. "I can't believe they're gone. Saul and Mom and—" He stopped there.

Bill squeezed him back. "I know, son. I know." He had long stopped trying to keep his voice even. "We just have to keep going. Saul would want us to keep going."

He could say that, but when he actually considered life without Saul, he gave a wracking sob he couldn't control.

Bill knew they had to keep going, lead this new fleet. He could put on a brave face. But deep inside, he knew how deep the pain would go. After losing Zak and Saul, Lee was all he had left.

"I'm glad you could come today, son." His voice had almost stopped shaking.

"Get some rest, Dad." Lee hugged him one more time. "We'll take stock of the situation in the morning."

"You're right." Bill squeezed his son's hand and then watched him go.

He managed to hold his tears until the hatch was closed.

**

"Saul?"

Saul looked up from his position sitting on a crate on the hangar deck. "Hey, Jack."

"This the first rest you've had in two days?"

Saul rubbed his eyes. "Has it been two days?"

Fisk crouched down next to him. "Yup. You need some rack time, Jinx."

Saul shook his head. "Naw. Chief's dead. I have to keep things going down here."

"Not your responsibility. Look around. We're on standby now. This is when you sleep." Fisk threw his arm around Saul's shoulders and pulled him to his feet. "We're still waiting on reports from the Raptors we sent back. I'll wake you when they come in."

"Okay."

"If he's out there, we'll find him."

"I know."

The trek up to their quarters was slow. Two days. Had it really been two days?

Two days ago, he'd gotten up, pleased that he'd soon be able to see Bill that night. They had plans to take an apartment just off base while Saul was finishing out his tour. That wouldn't be happening now. Saul would be happy if Bill was even alive.

He was beginning to think he wasn't, though.

After the first nukes had hit, Saul had run down to the hangar deck with his pilots, but they weren't launching Vipers—they were jumping. Saul had taken command down on the hangar deck and gotten the ship secured before jumping. They'd lost plenty of men, but he felt confident he'd saved plenty, too, letting just under a hundred come back in from outside before he'd personally sealed that final bulkhead.

When they reached their quarters, Saul swiped his ID, then keyed in his personal code. Bill's birthday.

Which was in two weeks.

He had to be there to celebrate. He had to be able to give him the sculpture he'd bought on Aquaria. It had been so very Bill, the stone bull.

Saul would definitely be able to give it to him.

**

Bill stood in front of the memorial wall, staring at it. He hadn't been down here, though people had been using this place for a week now. He just hadn't had the time, and if he was honest with himself, he didn't want to believe Saul was gone.

He looked down at the picture in his hands. It was recent, taken at the cabin Bill had inherited from his uncle. They'd planned to retire there and they had spent plenty of leave up there, since the boys had been small.

In the photograph, Saul sat on the dock, bare feet dangling in the water. He was grinning that infectious grin he had, lucky fishing hat balanced jauntily on his head.

They'd had so many plans, Bill thought, remembering their last trip there that spring. Saul had been full of ideas, talking animatedly about everything he planned to do when he retired.

"But mostly," he'd said conspiratorially, leaning over to whisper in Bill's ear as they sat on the porch eating the fish Saul had caught and grilled, "I want to spend time with my husband. How about we finally take that honeymoon?"

Bill blinked as a tear hit the photograph. They hadn't taken a regular honeymoon after they'd been married; they'd taken Lee and Zak to Wonder World instead. But Saul had been talking about Virgon, the mountains, maybe.

"I love you," he whispered, wiping his eye. "Don't know how I'm going to make it without you." After spending a few more long moments gazing at Saul's face, he carefully stuck the picture on the wall.

"Sir?"

Bill turned, startled. It was Kara.

"Sorry to scare you," she said. "I just wanted to see if you were okay."

"I'm fine." He put his hands in his pockets and looked down at the religious display. Should he light a candle?

"I'm sorry," she said, nodding at Saul. "I can't believe he's gone."

"Neither can I." Bill trailed off. "I keep expecting him to just show up. He was like that. Would have taken a Raptor and come himself if he could." Bill didn't want to think about Pegasus being in dry dock, so vulnerable.

"Was this taken at your place on Tauron?" She indicated the picture.

"Yeah." Bill nodded. "Saul loved fishing, loved swimming. If he had to be anywhere but space, he'd want to be in the water."

"Do you mind?" Kara indicated the candles.

"Go right ahead." Bill stepped back.

"I noticed at Zak's funeral that he was a follower of Artemis?"

"He was." It hurt so much to talk about Saul in the past tense. "Always had a medal in his pocket."

She gave him a small smile. "Then I'll say a prayer to Artemis."

"I think he'd like that."

**

Saul stood on the hangar deck, trying not to cry. He knew the crew was looking to him, as a senior officer to remain stoic and that Admiral Cain wanted him to be an example. Beside him, Fisk shifted his weight.

He wasn't listening to the priest. It seemed wrong somehow to commend Bill's soul to the Lords of Kobol, Bill who had never believed. He reached into his pocket for his Artemis medal. Or maybe he just didn't want to let Bill's soul go because he didn't want to believe he was dead.

It was a symbolic funeral, of course. The bodies in the flag-draped caskets were Pegasus casualties that day, but there was an extra, representing every other member of the Fleet who'd been lost. Cain had had Saul put the coin for the ferryman in that one, the only one of her senior staff to have a spouse in the military. It had given him some small bit of closure, but he still knew it was an empty coffin, which did nothing to shut the hopeful part of his brain up.

The doors to the airlock closed and Saul snapped off a salute with everyone else. He clenched his left hand, feeling his wedding band. He had a job to do, an important one. Keep Pegasus's flight operations running smoothly, train up those nuggets. He knew they'd be scared, anyone would be. He knew they were looking to him for guidance. He had to be able to give it.

"Major Tigh?" Cain's voice cut through his thoughts. "Will you join me in my quarters?"

Saul nodded. "Yes, sir, of course."

He followed her there in silence, wondering what she wanted. She didn't speak until she had closed the hatch.

"Major, I want to start by saying how sorry I am for your losses. I knew your husband and he was a good officer." She went over to the table and poured two drinks. "I remember we often spoke about our shared Tauron heritage and what that meant in today's Fleet. I also know how proud you were of your stepson."

"Thank you, sir," Saul said. He was still standing at attention. Somehow, that felt more comfortable. "But we've all lost people."

"Too true." She offered him a glass and raised hers. "To those we've lost."

"To those we've lost." Saul looked down at his drink. He hadn't had a drink since the attacks and he was starting to feel that old, familiar longing again. Just like years ago. Before he'd married Bill.

He closed his eyes and took a sip.

"How is morale down on the hangar deck?"

"People want to fight." Saul was grateful for the chance to talk about work and not about Bill. There was no way he could break down in front of Cain. "They took your speech to heart, sir. We all want to hit the toasters back as hard as we can."

"Yes, we do," she agreed. "As LSO, you'll be instrumental in carrying that out. Are you up to it?"

Saul blinked in surprise. "Of course, sir. You know you can count on me." He cringed inwardly. Had she been reviewing his service record? Was she thinking about all those times he'd been brought up on disciplinary review after losing himself in the bottle?

"That's good." She paused, taking a sip. "Major, I'd like you to serve on a special command taskforce to help direct the war operations. You have more experience than anyone else on my staff, and you have experience with war, with Cylon tactics. Will you do it?"

"Of course, sir."

"Excellent." She smiled. "I'll be glad to be able to make use of your wisdom and experience. Of course, you'll continue with your responsibilities as LSO—we have a whole squadron of nuggets who need training."

"Yes, sir."

"You're dismissed."

Saul saluted sharply and took his leave.

**

"You worried about Tigh at all?" Garner asked him this when they were in the mess line. Saul was still on duty, which was good because they couldn't have this conversation with him around. Jack wasn't the most perceptive guy in the universe but he knew enough about Saul Tigh to know that letting him overhear this was a sure way to lose a couple teeth.

"Hell, yeah, I'm worried." Jack set his tray down at an unobtrusive table. "He's riding the nuggets hard. I mean, he always does, but this seems worse."

Garner made a noise of agreement. "We have to do something."

"Well, it won't be me who asks him if he wants to talk. I already did that. He wouldn't."

"I guess he's avoiding you, too?" Garner snorted and looked at the wall, where there was a picture of the three of them among other pictures of Pegasus crew. "He's going to work himself to death."

Jack's lips twitched. "Imagine if Bill could hear you say that. He'd never believe it. Remember how he used to goof off?"

Even Garner cracked a smile. "We gotta do something to remind him of those days. Like on Medra. Remember when we took the kids camping?"

Jack did remember. It was during what passed for winter on that boiling hot excuse for a planet and the three of them had decided that the five kids—Bill's two and the Garners' three—needed some wilderness training in the jungle. They'd gotten lost and stayed out a night longer than anticipated, but the kids had had a ball.

He laughed. It was the first time he'd heard real laughter since the attacks and it felt odd. "I remember. I don't know who was madder, Bill or Emily."

Garner grinned. "Yeah, we both got skinned for that."

"Hey, you know what?" Jack said suddenly. "Cain's doing a dance on Friday night. You know, relieve tensions. We gotta get Saul out for that."

"Would he come?"

Jack grinned. "I'll make him."

**

Saul was sitting in his rack, reading a copy of Satyr—an amazing Friday night—when Fisk came in.

"There you are," he said. "Been missing you downstairs. There's a dance on."

"A dance?" Saul didn't look up. "Have fun."

"Oh, come on, Tigh. Don't tell me you're gonna look at porn all night when you could be watching the fights."

"I'm reading it for the articles—hey!" Saul grabbed for the magazine, but Fisk tossed it onto his own rack.

"This'll be good for you," Fisk said firmly. His eyes were serious, like Saul had only seen them recently. "Remember how Bill loved a good dance? You go for him."

Saul frowned. Bill had been boxing-mad—always going to fights when they were on leave, doing it himself. Hell, the dance on Atlantia had been their first official "date" after they'd gotten engaged, before Saul's transfer had come in.

Saul pushed himself up off his rack. "Yeah. I'll go."

**

Saul heard the shouts before they'd even entered the hangar deck. When he stepped into the heat and smelled the staleness, he was back, twenty years ago, when he had participated in these things.

"You wanna put your tags in?" Fisk grinned.

Saul shook his head. "I think those days are over, Jack." He stepped closer to the ring. "Who've we got?"

Garner answered him, handing him a bottle of booze. "Taylor and Reynolds." He smirked at Saul. "Pilots versus engineers, that's the way to do it, am I right?"

Saul took a swig, swallowing hard when tears formed in the corners of his eyes. Were they really down to this swill? "Stinger's winning."

Garner rolled his eyes, but Saul could tell the venom wasn't there. He could appreciate his friends trying to make him feel better—and hell, they'd all lost family. Fisk hadn't been married, but Garner had lost his wife and kids.

He handed him back the booze. Maybe he'd stay and watch a couple fights.

Taylor wiped the floor with Reynolds effortlessly, which certainly didn't surprise Saul. He'd worked with the CAG himself, based on Bill's theory that boxing helped pilots with their reaction times…

"Garner!" When he pulled the next set of tags from the box, Belzen was grinning. "Get your ass up here."

"You put your tags in?" Saul asked, bewildered.

"Yup." Garner handed the bottle off to Fisk and hauled himself into the ring. "Can't let these kids be showing me up all the time."

Saul shook his head. "It's your funeral."

"Yours, too." Garner tossed him a pair of gloves. "Come on."

"What?" Saul looked down at the gloves like he didn't know what to do with them.

"My tags got pulled." Garner began wrapping his own hands. "I'm calling you out. That's how we do things. Why are you gaping at me like a rook?"

Saul opened his mouth but no sound came out. He wanted to suggest all the logical reasons—he wasn't twenty-five years old anymore, they were supposed to be role-models, senior officers.

"C'mon, Tigh," Fisk said. "I'll wrap you."

Saul took another look at Garner. "Pilots versus engineers?"

Garner popped his mouth guard out. "That's right."

Fisk did a good job with the wraps—he'd taken over for Bill when they were apart after having been trained by him personally, and Saul was glad he remembered how after all this years.

"Do I need to tell you how to take him?" Fisk asked.

Saul flashed back to that assignment on Medra, when they'd been working at the listening station. Bill had been XO on Epimetheus and Saul had been in command of a squad of engineers working on the dishes.

He and Bill and the boys had lived in a little on-base house, the smallest of any of the accommodations they'd had over the years and while the boys had at first resented being pulled out of their school on Caprica, they'd eventually grown to love it.

Medra had been a hard assignment for the men—murderously hot and unexciting, a whole bunch of marines and pilots and ship's crew going stir-crazy waiting for the defense outpost to pick up something. They'd had a lot of dances and Bill and the boys had always been in his corner, cheering him on.

"I can handle him," Saul muttered, turning and advancing on Garner.

It wasn't like their fights in the old days. Usually, they'd go a full ten rounds, do it up right, but they were old now and it was an abbreviated fight that would have made their thirty-year-old selves shake their heads in disgust at what they'd become.

Garner locked him in a hold, which turned into a hug. "You okay, Tigh?" He slapped Saul on the back.

"Yeah." Saul was breathing hard and he closed his eyes. "I'm okay."

Bill and the boys were gone now. The Pegasus crew was his family now.

He turned to see Admiral Cain standing in the ring. "That's enough, Major," she said. Gradually, the crowd quieted.

"I have an announcement to make." She surveyed the crew. "Ms. Inviere has discovered an unprotected Cylon communications relay." She beamed at Gina who was standing by the ring. "We will be launching an attack in thirty-six hours. Break this down, get some rest. You'll all be briefed tomorrow." She smiled. "We'll have our first taste of revenge."

The crew instantly broke into a wild cheers and chanting. "So say we all! So say we all!"

Saul clapped right along with the rest of them, a tear pricking the corner of his eye. That's what they all needed.

Revenge.

**

Saul was tensed and ready for battle. He ran through the scenario in his mind. They'd jump in, launch Blue Squadron, destroy the target, jump out. He'd suggested to Cain that they do this a lot—fly under the Cylons' DRADIS but keep hitting them. They'd take care of this one and then find other, similar targets.

He surveyed the hangar deck. The deckhands, the pilots, they were all ready.

He felt the ship jump and gave the microphone. "All tubes, launch." He watched on DRADIS as Blue Squadron headed to the target. So far, so good.

Something changed on the DRADIS monitor. "What?" he muttered.

Fifteen new contacts. Saul's breath caught. There was always the chance…

And then the computer processed the IFF signals. Cylon. Fifteen new Cylon contacts. Saul leaned forward, heart in his throat, begging the comm to buzz, waiting for new orders.

It seemed like hours, but it was probably only a few minutes before Fisk's voice crackled over the loudspeaker.

"This is the XO. Launch all remaining squadrons."

Saul stared in stunned silence. Fisk? What had happened to Belzen?

And what were they doing up there? Were they insane? Saul looked out over the hangar deck. They were all looking at him for instruction. Was he going to tell them to follow those orders or not?

He reached for the comm. "Combat, LSO. Can I have confirmation on that?"

Hoshi's voice answered shakily. "Major Tigh, the order is to launch all remaining squadrons."

"What the hell is going on up there?"

"The order is to launch all remaining squadrons. Sir."

Saul was about to ask Hoshi to put Cain on the line, but something in the younger man's voice made him thinking better of it.

"Thank you, Lieutenant." He flicked a switch on the console so he was broadcasting to the hangar deck. "Launch all remaining squadrons, repeat, launch all remaining squadrons." He couldn't even bring himself to look at DRADIS and see what was happening to their men.

The ship shook and Saul gripped his console. They'd make it through. Even those new pilots of his were well-trained now. They'd make it.

The ship shook again and another alarm began to blare.

Ignore it, Saul told himself. This is combat. This is normal.

Losing all those men, though. That wasn't normal.

**

"Saul!"

Kara launched herself at him as soon as the hatch was open. He hugged her tight. "There's my girl."

"I thought you were dead." Her voice shook and he hugged her tighter.

"And what do you know, I'm not." He grinned and looked her in the eye. "Takes a lot more to kill me."

She laughed. "Same with me."

When he got to Lee, he had tears in his eyes. "It's so good to see you, son."

Lee hugged him tightly. "When I saw Pegasus, I didn't believe it."

"Felt the same way when I saw Galactica."

Saul stepped back and offered his hand to Laura. "And Madam President. It's good to meet you again."

"I assure you the pleasure is all mine." She smiled at Bill. "I feel like I know you already."

Saul turned to look at Bill. "What's he told you?"

She laughed. "Good things. All good things."

Saul smiled. He wasn't going to push Bill on this. He could imagine the things he'd told her, when he'd been mourning for his husband.

Bill put his hand on Saul's elbow and they smiled at each other. All that was behind them now.

Their dinner conversation generally kept to light topics, which Saul didn't object to. They talked about Lee and Zak's childhoods, something Kara seemed happy to hear, too. He was grateful they didn't ask him about Pegasus.

There were some things he just wasn't ready to tell Bill…

**

Several hours passed before Fisk got back to their quarters. His jacket was hanging open and he looked utterly exhausted.

"You okay?" Saul asked. He was sitting up in his rack, waiting, arms crossed over his chest.

"As okay as I can be." Fisk took his jacket off and flopped down on his rack, rubbing his eyes. "We're all frakked, Tigh."

"We got out of it, didn't we? Took out a lot of toasters, too." Saul didn't let himself dwell on that order, the men they'd lost. He couldn't. Not if they were going to keep going at all. He needed to be a razor, like the Admiral was always saying…

Fisk stared at him blankly. "You don't know, do you? Have you been in here the whole time?"

"Yeah." Saul shrugged. "They said for nonessential personnel to stay in their quarters."

"Oh my gods." Fisk put his hand over his mouth to compose himself momentarily, then said, "Belzen's dead, Saul."

Saul's eyebrows rose. "Dead? When? How?"

"The Admiral." Fisk moistened his lips. "She… She shot him."

Saul sat straight up. "What? Don't frak around with me, Jack."

"I'm not." The story he told was one Saul wouldn't have believed if it wasn't his best friend telling it. Belzen hadn't wanted to launch those Vipers. He should have known, he'd be arguing.

"I'm sorry, Saul," Fisk said, at the end of it. They were each lying on their racks in stunned silence. "I wouldn't have launched those birds, but…"

"I know, I know, she'd have shot you, too." Saul rubbed his eyes. "We're frakked, Jack."

"And that's not all… did you hear about the Cylon?"

Saul sat up. "I heard they look like us now."

"Yeah, and one looked just like Ms. Inviere."

"You're shitting me."

Fisk smirked. "Cain's pissed."

"I'd bet." Saul felt a shiver crawl up his spine. What would it be like to find out your partner was a Cylon, that it had been touching you, hearing your most intimate secrets? "What did she do with it?"

"In the brig for now. Who knows what next?"

**

"Do you remember the wedding, Lee?" Bill asked, smiling.

Lee looked sheepish. "I remember Wonder World."

Bill laughed. "That's it?"

"I remember Grandpa driving us to the spaceport." Lee looked thoughtful. "I remember getting a sip of Saul's champagne at the reception. But I remember all about Wonder World."

Laura looked amused. "You let him, Bill? I'm surprised."

"I didn't know." Bill gave Saul an affectionate glare. "Not until just now, actually."

Saul grinned. "I guess I've been a model stepfather since Day One."

"I'm sure you were great," Kara said. "I know Zak always talked about the trips you took. He loved all the traveling."

"I did, too," Lee added. "Seriously." He looked at both of them. "I know you didn't like having to keep pulling us out of school, but I love that we got to live all those places, try all those things. And it made me know I wanted to be in the military, too."

Bill smiled at his husband and son. "That's good to hear. We were never sure we were doing the right thing."

"I think you were," Lee said. "You two have always done the right thing."

Saul wasn't too sure about that.

**

"Hey, Tigh. Got new orders." Jack was standing in the doorway of the LSO's station and for a brief second, it looked like it was twenty-five years ago and he was about to suggest some crazy adventure for two young pilots.

That fantasy ended with the next words he said.

"We found a convoy of civilian ships." Jack looked grim. "The Admiral wants us to take a look… see who we can use."

"Use?" Saul's eyebrows knit. "You mean…"

"Yeah. We've requested copies of the manifests. We're drafting people with useful experience."

"So, what kind of ships are these? Science? Freighters?"

Jack frowned. "Civilian transport." He didn't elaborate. "Some of these people are pretty shaken up. Be careful."

"What do you want me to do?"

Jack didn't look happy about it, a look he'd been wearing too much lately. "Cain wants you to talk to some of the pilots they've got. Some kids who washed out of the Academy, a few bush pilots, a commercial pilot. Get a sense of their skills and see if you can do anything with 'em."

"Sure." Saul pushed himself up. "One thing I can do, it's weed out bad pilots."

The first group was milling around on the hangar deck when Saul arrived.

"Excuse me," one young woman said. "Are you in charge?"

"I'm in charge of this hangar deck." Saul crossed his arms over his chest. "What do you need?"

"My husband and my children."

"Ma'am?"

"They're back on Scylla." She glowered at him. "Don't you people talk to each other?"

Saul bristled. "Listen, lady. I'm supposed to be evaluating you pilots—"

"Yes, and then the mechanics are coming over and my husband is a mechanic. What will happen to our children then?" Her eyes had a fire that reminded him a bit of Bill. He swallowed hard.

"Your children?"

"Yes, our two boys."

The deck seemed to lurch under him and not just because the family reminded him of his own.

"You can't leave your children," he said, his voice thick.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you."

Saul opened his mouth but no sound came out. "You spoke with Colonel Fisk."

"They shot people."

A chill shot straight through him. "Colonel Fisk shot people?"

"No. The woman. Shaw. And the Marines."

Saul nodded. Jack hadn't mentioned this.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," he said softly. "We can't have children on a battlestar during wartime."

"Then you can't take both of us. You can't take our FTL."

Saul felt his breath catch in his throat. They took their FTL. What would he and Bill have done…?

"You're married." She pointed to his hand. "You have kids?"

Saul swallowed hard. "Yeah."

"And what would you do if you were in my shoes?"

He frowned. "My husband and my son died in the attacks. The Cylons killed them. If you want even a chance of your family making it, you need to be out there fighting Cylons."

"They won't survive without FTL."

Saul looked at the hangar deck, the huddle of refugees.

"We jumped before I could find out about my husband's ship for sure. I have hope he may still be alive. You should do the same." He flipped a page on his clipboard. "Can you describe your flight experience for me?"

**

Saul hugged Lee and Kara before they left.

"I'm so glad you kids are okay," he murmured. "We'll see each other soon."

Then the hatch shut and he and Bill were alone again.

"Hope you're staying the night," Bill murmured, coming up behind him and slipped his arms around his waist. "I wasn't through with you." He kissed Saul's jaw. "Ready for bed?"

Saul turned to kiss his lips. "I love you, you know that?" he said, emotion choking his voice.

Bill smiled and cupped his cheek. "I love you, too. I wanna keep saying that. Make up for all that lost time."

"Lost time? It was only a few weeks."

"Worst weeks of my life."

Saul kissed him again. "You can say that again."

**

Saul avoided going to see the Cylon. He could understand the need for revenge. It had impersonated one of them, gained their trust. He could understand Cain's rage. He really could.

But this was overkill. He wouldn't have had a problem with airlocking the damn thing, or even torturing it for information. He'd heard it hadn't given them anything, which made the whole thing useless, anyhow.

He had to walk by them every day as they lined up, had to hear their cheers of congratulations as another of their number returned from raping the prisoner, his body tensed uncomfortably, hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. If he hadn't known about what Cain had done to Belzen, he might have had the courage to stand up and say something, but he figured he had more important things to stick around for.

It didn't mean he slept easy, though.

Jack was gone, moved into the XO's quarters now, and Saul had realized how used he'd been to someone else's presence when he was trying to sleep until it wasn't there. Having been in the military since age sixteen and married for over twenty years meant he could probably count the number of times he'd truly slept alone on one hand.

The ship was noisy and while Fisk had been a loud snorer, he was nothing compared to the creak of the engines. Saul thought as senior officers, they should have gotten better digs, but apparently these two-man quarters were hard to fit in Mercury-class battlestars.

He found it worked out well enough, though, because he didn't need much sleep. He'd get a couple hours, go for a walk, and then crash until reveille.

Walking past the brig at night was better than in the daytime. There were fewer people, but that meant he noticed the Cylon more, so he always walked a little faster.

One night, Hoshi was there. Saul stopped dead. He didn't want to be there if Hoshi was going to go in. He'd stopped noticing who was in line besides the usual suspects; he didn't want to know who had, who hadn't, who came more than once.

But Hoshi. He'd thought better of Hoshi.

"Lieutenant!" he barked, striding forward. "You're up late."

Hoshi stepped back. "Couldn't sleep, sir." He was looking at the floor, not at the Cylon.

"So you thought you'd come down for a little nightcap?"

Hoshi's face went red. "Sir, I—"

Saul came up beside him. "Listen, son, I can tell you haven't been down here. Don't have to if you don't want to."

Hoshi was silent.

Saul jammed his hands in his pockets, forced himself to look at the prisoner. "I haven't."

That one revelation seemed to make Hoshi relax more. "Me neither, sir. I… I just can't."

Saul put his hand on the younger man's shoulder, gingerly guiding him away from the window and they began to walk together through the silent corridor. "People giving you a hard time?"

Hoshi shrugged. "I don't know. I mean… everyone talks about it. They all assume you have. I just don't say anything."

Saul ran a hand over his head. "Well, I haven't run into that, but I guess I'm not the type most people want to be best pals with."

That made Hoshi smile a little. Good.

"I think if they did ask me about it, there are a couple things I could go to. I'm religious, I'm married, I like men. Now the fact is that none of these things is what's keeping me from going down there. But if they're the type that are inclined to ask, then probably at least one of those things is a good enough answer."

Hoshi nodded. "I see what you mean."

"And," Saul added, clapping a hand on his shoulder, "if anyone gives you shit, send him to me."

That got a real smile. "Thank you, sir."

"And if you ever need to talk again, you know where to find me."

**

Bill woke Saul before reveille and they made love again. He wasn't ready to go, but he needed to be back on duty.

"Just knowing you're here is plenty," Bill said as he kissed him good-bye. "Maybe we can talk on the wireless?"

"That'd be nice." Saul hugged him tight, memorizing the feeling of solid old Bill in his arms. "And I'll come over when I can."

They kissed once more and Saul left.

The walk to the hangar deck reminded him of how old and small Galactica seemed. She had been about to be turned into a museum when the attacks had occurred and Saul could see little markers of that wherever he went.

She was certainly nothing compared to Pegasus.

Chapter Text

The Admiral was there to greet Saul when his shuttle touched down on the Pegasus hangar deck.

"Permission to come aboard, sir?" he asked, standing at attention.

"Permission granted, Major." They exchanged salutes and Saul stepped down from the gangplank.

"It's good to be back, sir." Saul looked around. "I hope I'm not late for anything."

"No, actually, you're just in time." She handed him a clipboard. "I'm transferring a few of Commander Adama's men to Pegasus."

Saul took the file from her. "Lee and Kara?"

She nodded. "I've been reviewing their records. I didn't like the idea of having a son under his father's command, and while I know you're his stepfather, I also know you can be impartial. I think Lieutenant Thrace would be a good fit here as well."

Saul considered this. "We certainly get on well, sir." He paused. "She was engaged to our—to my husband's younger boy. Zak."

"Yes, when she taught at the academy." Cain's face seemed to register mild disapproval, but maybe it was just Saul's imagination. "I also know she has some disciplinary actions in her past… as do you." Saul winced. "I think you might prove a good influence."

"Yes, sir."

Saul obviously didn't need to spend much time with Kara and Lee's files, but he flipped through them as he headed back to his quarters. Kara had gotten herself in the brig a few more times than he knew. He smiled. Cain was right that Kara might end up being a good fit for their ship. She was certainly tough enough.

And Lee, he'd be glad to be close to Lee.

But why had Cain decided to transfer them? Pegasus was a tight ship. Saul wasn't sure bringing in two new people wouldn't just upset the balance, as much as he liked Kara and Lee.

Well, he'd do his best to help them get adjusted to Pegasus.

**

Saul was sitting at his station when the comm buzzed. "LSO."

"You didn't ask for two of my pilots, did you?" Bill asked.

"Nope," Saul said as he made an X on the duty roster. He went away for one day and the whole operation had gone to pot.

"Then why do I have transfer orders for Kara and Lee?"

"Admiral Cain's orders." Saul went to the board and began making changes, comm balanced between his ear and his shoulder. "You should talk to her, sir."

"Saul—"

"I'm working, Bill," Saul said firmly. "My commander informed me we had new transfers. That's it." He didn't understand why Bill was doing this. They'd worked together on the same assignment once before, on Medra, and Bill hadn't been nearly this nosy. It was an annoying change.

"I understand." A pause. "I'm sorry, babe."

Saul sighed. "It's okay. I love you."

"I love you, too."

**

Bill hung up the receiver and sighed. He hadn't really expected to get any special leeway with Cain for being married to one of her officers, but he hadn't expected her to break her word like this.

"What are you going to do?" Laura asked.

Bill had almost forgotten she was there. "I don't know."

"So are you going to just let them go?"

"There's nothing I can do, Laura." Bill stood up and went into the head. He splashed some water on his face. "She's my superior. Saul serves under her and Kara and Lee do now, too. She's the fleet commander. I have to follow her orders." He blotted his face with a towel and turned back to her. "It's not as much fun, is it?"

Laura smirked. "I guess you got used to being in charge."

"I guess I did." He hung his towel up. "But I'd've given it all up to have Saul back, so I'm glad for that."

"I know, Bill." She rubbed his shoulder. "And I'm so happy for you. It's just that I've only seen you as a commander, even though—"

He grinned. "I've been taking orders my whole career, yeah. Truthfully, I'm glad for this. I was never going to make admiral. It's good to have more support, too. I should apologize to Saul. We'll need to use their Viper repair facilities."

"Mm."

They said good-bye and Laura left for her shuttle, something in her demeanor that told Bill somehow she wasn't totally convinced.

**

Lee approached the LSO's station on Pegasus cautiously. The transfer had come as a shock, but the strangest part had been his father's reaction to it.

"I want you to be careful, son," Bill had said, as he'd walked him to the shuttle. "I know you'll be with Saul and Kara, but I don't completely trust Cain."

"Well, Saul does," Lee said. "He thinks the world of her."

"I know." Bill rubbed his upper lip. "But I can't understand why she'd transfer you two after she said she wouldn't."

Lee wasn't sure how to answer that and he hadn't raised his concerns to Kara. He didn't think he would with Saul, either. He wasn't about to be some go-between for his parents.

"Welcome to Pegasus," Saul said. He saluted and they saluted back. "I have to say this is a pleasant surprise."

Kara was grinning. "For us, too."

Lee nodded. "It's good to see you."

Saul laughed and pulled them both into a crushing bear hug. "Good to have my kids around."

Lee followed Saul into his office. "So, what are we doing?" he asked.

Saul grabbed a rag and scrubbed at the board. "I'm going to put you in Blue Squadron, Lee, I think you'll be a good fit there. Kara, I'm going to put you in Green. It's got a lot of nuggets, and I think your experience will be helpful there."

"Of course, sir," Kara said.

"You two are going to be fine." Saul clapped Lee on the shoulder. "I know Dad's worried, but it'll be fine."

Lee smiled at his stepfather. "I hope so."

"All right." Saul grabbed a file off the console. "You two are now officially on duty as Pegasus pilots. Report to your CAG."

"Yes, sir." They both saluted and Kara headed for the stairs. Lee followed, but paused, glancing backward. He'd never worked with Saul, true, but was he different somehow now?

"Are you Adama and Thrace?" a voice asked, as they crossed the hangar deck.

Lee turned. "Yes, I'm—"

"Good. I'm your CAG, Captain Taylor." He looked down at his clipboard. "Thrace, you're Green Squadron."

She nodded.

"And Adama…" Taylor paused. "You're with me."

"With you?" Lee's eyebrows knit.

"My ECO." He tucked his clipboard under his arm. "Briefing at 1700. Don't be late."

There had to be some mistake. "Sir," he began, gritting his teeth, "I'm not an ECO. I'm a Viper pilot. I just got orders from my—from the LSO that I was to be with—"

"I know that." Taylor smirked. "This is direct from the Admiral. You go run to Daddy and tell him that."

Kara opened her mouth to say something, but Lee grabbed her arm. Taylor was already gone.

"Lee," she said sharply.

"I know, Kara. We can't make things difficult for Saul here."

In fact, he was already thinking of a Plan B.

A Plan B he was considering not including Saul in.

**

"I'm sorry, Bill, but I really can't do anything about your men." Saul leaned back against the wall behind his rack. He had been looking forward to their phone call all day and he wasn't happy that Bill wanted to talk about work again.

Bill sighed. "I'm sorry, Saul. This is just…"

"I know," Saul said soothingly. He wanted nothing more than to hold Bill, reassure him. "I can't see her budging, though. And frankly… Thorne saved my life, too. Can't say I loved the guy, but something's got to happen here."

"I know." They were both quiet for a while, before Bill said. "I'm sending one of my men over tomorrow to get a look at your databases. Don't keep him, okay? I need him."

Saul laughed. "I won't."

"I miss you."

"I miss you, too." Saul lay down. "This is just like old times, though, right? How many times did we talk all night on the phone? You in bed?"

"Not yet."

"Get in bed."

Saul waited while Bill got into bed. "Aren't you more comfortable now?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, what should we talk about?"

"What were you going to do when we met up that day?"

Saul propped his head up on his elbow. "Well, I was at work. Then, I was going to go get the keys to our apartment and come meet your shuttle."

"On what?" Bill knew the answer and Saul could practically hear his grin.

"My bike. Yeah, that'd be my first stop, actually. Get my bike out of storage."

Bill made a noise of contentment.

"Then we'd take the long way back to the apartment, go down the sea highway…"

**

Saul felt much more refreshed the next morning after his long chat with Bill. If they could do that every night—and Saul thought maybe he could talk Hoshi into opening up a wireless line for them—it would be almost as good as getting to see him.

He glanced down at his clipboard. That was right. Today, the officer from Galactica was coming to study Pegasus's records database. Pegasus had a more extensive record of Cylon action in the past and all of that would have to be transferred to Galactica.

"Lieutenant… Guy-ta, is it?"

"Gaeta, sir." The young man saluted. "Colonel Tigh, I presume?"

"That's me. Have you served on a Mercury-class battlestar, Lieutenant, or do you need help getting to CIC?"

Gaeta looked somewhat embarrassed. "Galactica was my first posting, sir."

"No problem." Saul tucked his clipboard under his arm. "I'll take you."

"Thank you, sir," Gaeta said gratefully. He fell into step beside Saul as they headed for the stairs. "If you don't mind my asking… did you by any chance have a couple papers published in the Fleet Journal of Military History?"

Saul felt a smile spread across his face. He hadn't thought about that in years. "As a matter of fact, I did. I can't believe you remembered my name. I wrote those when I taught at the academy. That had to be fifteen years ago."

Gaeta nodded. "I used them in my final project… the probabilities of the Cylons adapting their tactics directly from our own maneuvers."

"Oh, and what did you find?"

"That they didn't, sir. That's what was so odd about it. They clearly advanced their abilities throughout the war, but they didn't directly copy us."

"Well, everything's changed now." Saul swiped them through one of the security doors. He noticed Gaeta stop and study it. Galactica had nothing like this. "None of that research I did is of any use now."

Gaeta gave a small smile. "Well, I graduated because of it."

Saul laughed. "Well, I'm glad I could be of help." He acknowledged the marines outside CIC and entered. "Hoshi!" he announced, as he approached. "I've got a friend for you." Hoshi stood. "This is Lieutenant Gaeta, from Galactica. He needs to learn our computer system and get a copy of our action history. Can you help him do that?"

"Of course, sir." Hoshi glanced at Gaeta. "Do you have experience on a Mercury-class battlestar?"

Gaeta looked somewhat embarrassed to have to answer no to the same question in ten minutes.

"There's not much difference," Hoshi said, smiling and pulling up a neighboring chair. "Have a seat and I'll show you the ropes."

Saul left them to it, wondering how much difference there really was, considering how many times Bill had refused to have his computer systems upgraded. This was probably going to take longer than Hoshi thought. He hoped they were going to get along.

**

"Are you sure, Lieutenant?" Bill asked. He understood the words Gaeta was saying, but he had trouble believing they were true. Not that he suspected him of lying—Gaeta was one of his most reliable men.

He just couldn't comprehend that this might have happened.

"As sure as I can be, sir." Gaeta looked uncomfortable himself. "I'm only relating to you what he said."

"I understand, Lieutenant. I don't doubt you in the slightest."

"I know it's hard to believe, sir." Gaeta's voice was shaking slightly. "To think that they just left them."

"I know, son." Bill reached to pour himself a drink and offered Gaeta some. He refused. "Thank you for telling me."

Gaeta nodded. "I thought you needed to know, sir."

Bill sat alone at his desk for a long time after Gaeta left. This would require some thinking.

**

"Jack! Do you have a minute?"

Jack turned. "Bill. Hey." He pulled Bill into a somewhat awkward one-armed hug. They hadn't spoken beyond the initial greeting since Jack had arrived to tour Galactica—Bill had been having his XO occupy him, but it was nice to see him. They weren't especially friends, but he was Saul's husband, after all, and they'd been neighbors.

"You want to have a drink?" Bill kept his hand on Jack's shoulder. Clearly, "no" wouldn't be an acceptable answer.

"Sure." Jack followed Bill back to his quarters and accepted a glass. At least Bill always had the good-quality stuff.

They chatted for a few minutes, but Jack could tell Bill had something he wanted to say, so he wasn't committing to any one topic. Let him steer the conversation.

It didn't take long to drift back to Saul.

"So," Bill said, leaning forward, "how's he holding up?"

"Pretty good." Jack glanced around Bill's quarters. "Lots going on, keeps him busy." He paused. "Y'know, I think deep down, he wasn't ready to retire anyway."

Bill laughed. "You're probably right." He looked down at his glass and Jack knew something big was coming. "I need to clarify something. One of my men heard a rumor about something that occurred before our two ships found each other."

Jack's stomach tightened. "What was that?"

"Did you encounter a group of civilian ships?"

Jack swallowed hard and nodded.

"Is it true that Admiral Cain ordered them to be scavenged for parts and crew?"

"Yes, sir."

Bill nodded and Jack felt oddly like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

**

Saul was sitting in his station, staring at the picture he kept there—Bill and the boys in the cockpit of a Viper. That had been taken at the airfield at the Academy when Saul had taught there, and he knew Bill kept the corresponding picture with Saul and the kids by his rack.

Lee and Kara seemed to be avoiding him now. He'd thought this would be good for them, that they'd be able to bond with him and the Pegasus crew, but apparently, Galactica having been on its own for so long that they'd forgotten what it was like to be part of the Fleet.

Or maybe it was Pegasus that had forgotten.

All those things he'd been afraid—ashamed?—to tell Bill… What was going on here?

His thoughts were interrupted by the alarm beginning to blare. Fisk's voice came over the loudspeaker.

"This is the XO. Launch the alert fighters."

Saul glanced at DRADIS. No Cylons. All the signals were Colonial. But Galactica was launching fighters, too…

Saul grabbed the comm.

"Combat, Hoshi."

"Are the Cylons masking DRADIS?"

"Er, what, sir?"

"I said are the Cylons masking DRADIS?" Saul watched with one eye as the deck crew moved the birds to the tubes. They were making good time. "We're only getting Colonial signals down here."

Hoshi paused. "Sir, there only are Colonial transponders."

"What?"

He could hear Hoshi's voice shout. "LSO reports all Vipers are away, sir!" even though Saul had done no such thing.

"Do you mean to tell me we're attacking Galactica?"

Hoshi paused. "Yes, sir," he said reluctantly.

Saul gripped the comm tightly to keep from dropping it. "Are there any other orders?"

"Not at this time, sir."

Saul hung up, trying to ignore the roaring in his ears. Attacking Galactica. How could they have let it get this far?

**

"Is there a reason you didn't tell me where you were going?" Saul leaned in the doorway of the pilots' duty locker, looking at Kara.

She looked up, startled.

He pushed way from the doorframe and dragged a chair over to her rack, dropping into it backwards. "I mean, I can congratulate you on becoming CAG. I am proud of you."

She sat up and swung her feet over the edge of the bed. "I'm sorry, Saul."

"Don't say that! You don't need to apologize."

"It was Lee's idea," she said. She pushed her hair back from her eyes. "He could see things were getting bad and the Blackbird was a better solution. There wasn't time to tell you. You know we would have if there was."

"I know," Saul said, though he wasn't sure. "Just see it from my view, okay? I care about you kids. I want to know what you're up to."

Kara laughed. "What, is that the same speech you gave Lee when you caught him climbing back in his bedroom window at night?"

"Oh, no, when that happened—wait a minute." Saul couldn't help but smile. She had that that effect on him of making him forget why he was ever mad in the first place.

Kara dissolved into giggles. "Now that you've started, you have to tell that story."

Saul ran a hand over his head and groaned. "Okay. We were living on Caprica, just outside Delphi…"

**

Bill stood by the window on Colonial One, watching Cain's shuttle make its way back to Pegasus.

"She didn't admit it," he said.

"Mm." Laura was at her desk, fingers steepled in thought. "We have confirmation from Fisk and the officer Gaeta spoke to. She ordered the murder of civilians and she killed her own XO. "We have to stop her."

"I'll take a look at the regs surrounding this when I get back," he said. "I have to challenge her command."

"It's bigger than this, Bill, you know that. If she left hundreds of civilians to die without a second thought, what makes you think she cares about the Fleet Code of Conduct now?"

Bill sighed. "I know. Maybe I can talk to Saul, get him and Fisk to do something. They could invoke Article X."

"Article X?"

Bill came over and leaned on her desk. "Article X of the Colonial Military Code states that an XO of a ship can remove the commander from her post if she is unfit for duty. Admiral Cain is certainly unfit for duty, but Fisk has to be the one to do it."

"Well." Laura stood. "Get in touch with Saul, then."

Bill nodded. "I think we should wait until after the strike on the Resurrection Ship. We need that to go well. Then we'll do it."

**

The next day, Cain called Saul into her office.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" He stopped in front of her desk.

"Yes, Major." She closed the file she'd been looking at. "I understand you've been making a lot of calls lately."

Saul's stomach dropped. He hadn't expected this. He'd been expecting something about work, something about flight schedules, maybe about how Kara was adjusting.

"That's on my own time, sir, and I'm not tying up any lines."

She pursed her lips. "Be that as it may, I need you to concentrate on your work. We have a very important operation coming up and I need both you and Commander Adama to be free of distractions."

"Sir—"

"I'm talking, Major," she said sharply, and Saul flinched. "I'm restricting your comm privileges. No ship-to-ship calls and no after-hours calls."

Saul was about to open his mouth, but he bit his lip. He couldn't do that. Sure, this was his first time being reprimanded in over twenty years, but he couldn't be insubordinate on top of all this. He could see her pen hovering over his record, writing this in.

He knew what the last one was—striking a superior officer just a few days before Bill had proposed. Marriage had calmed him down and he couldn't let this get to him.

"Will that be all, sir?" he forced himself to say.

"That's all." She went back to her paperwork. "You're dismissed."

Saul snapped off a salute, turned on his heel and left.

**

"Sir?"

Saul looked up from his work. Hoshi was standing in the doorway to the LSO's station.

"What's up, Lieutenant?"

Hoshi glanced over his shoulder as if he expected to be spied on. "Your husband called, sir. I couldn't… I couldn't put it through but I told him you were on the restricted list."

Saul smirked. "How'd he take that?"

"He thanked me and hung up." Hoshi looked down. "The thing is, sir, this is against the Code."

"I know." Saul leaned back in his chair. "That's exactly what it is."

Hoshi looked nervous. "I—I'm sorry, sir. I'm sure you must want to talk to your husband."

Saul's eyes drifted back to the picture on the console. "I sure do, Lieutenant. I sure do."

**

The Admiral's words were rolling around in Jack's mind when he sat down at his usual table in the mess.

Terminate Adama's command… starting with Adama.

Jack wondered why she'd picked him. She had to know he was Adama's husband's best friend. Was that too far removed for Cain to think he had any qualms about shooting the guy? Would Cain have happily shot her best friend's husband, and thus was her standard for everybody else somewhat skewed?

He thought he knew the answer to that one.

"Hey, Fisk."

Frak. Saul. The last person he needed to see.

Saul set his tray on the table and dropped lazily into the chair in front of Fisk. "What'd Cain want to see you about?"

Jack stabbed a carrot with his fork, but didn't lift it to his mouth. "Just some stuff for the mission. I'm gonna be over on Galactica."

Saul rolled his eyes. "Think she's gonna get tired of playing musical chairs anytime soon?"

"Not likely." Jack shoved the carrot around on his plate, concentrating on it and not his best friend's face.

"Well, next time she starts shuffling stuff around, see to it that I end up on Galactica, okay? Or maybe have her bring Bill over here."

Yeah, in a body bag, Jack thought. Instead, he said, "With the rate he's going, if he comes over here, he'll be Specialist Adama."

Saul took a bite of his roll. "At least he'd be close by."

Jack looked up. For an instant, he saw Saul in his dress uniform, freaking out about the wedding, having to be dragged out of the car and into the chapel. Jack remembered how he'd calmed down the second he'd seen Bill, like he'd just had a shot of Quaaludes.

Saul will go right off the rails if Adama dies. Jack didn't have an especial affection for Bill—he'd probably not have met him if Saul hadn't married him, but he certainly had a vested interest in keeping the guy alive.

Jack stared long and hard at the back of his fork, studying the tines and the space in between, while Saul wolfed down his dinner.

Don't waste food, said the shrill voice in the back of Jack's mind that sounded an awful lot like his Great Aunt Maggie. It's the end of the universe and you need to eat your whole dinner, Jackson.

Jack shoved the mangled carrot into his mouth. It tasted like sawdust.

"Saul?"

"Mm."

He pushed his plate aside. "I have something to tell you."

Saul folded his hands on the table. "What is it?"

Jack looked over his shoulder. "I think we should go somewhere more private."

"Okay…" Saul swallowed the last of the juice from his fruit cup. "You gonna eat that?" He pointed to Jack's. Jack shook his head and Saul grabbed it. "You shouldn't waste food."

Saul's quarters were closer so they went there. On the way there, Jack turned over in his mind what he was going to do. He had to tell Saul; there was no other option. He had to tell him. Because if he went through with it, Saul would kill him.

Or himself.

As he told him, he watched Saul's expression fade into one of open-mouthed horror.

"You're kidding," he murmured after Jack was done.

"Wish I was."

Saul buried his head in his hands. "She's gonna kill him."

Jack eased himself down onto his old rack. "That's not happening," he said firmly.

"So what are we going to do?"

Jack sat back with his hands behind him. "Well, when I go over there, I'm not gonna shoot Bill, that's for damn sure. I'll talk to him. I can come up with a good excuse. We'll figure something out."

Saul rested his chin on his hands and already, Jack could see the cogs starting to turn in his head. "We'll need more people," he said. "Kara. Lee. Hoshi."

"What are you suggesting?" Jack didn't like some of the things he'd seen and been forced to do, but the prospect of the M word made him nervous.

Especially since I know damn well who has the hearts and minds of this ship.

"Article X," Saul said. "Just say that to Bill. If I know my Bill, he's thinking it."

Article X. Jack liked the sound of that a lot better.

**

"These are the printouts you wanted, sir." Hoshi handed them to him. Saul glanced at them briefly—the CO2 scrubber schematics—and tossed them aside. "Is there, um, anything else?"

Saul laughed. "Saw right through my ruse, did you?"

Hoshi inclined his head and smirked, seeming not to want to say yes out loud.

Saul bobbed his head. "Okay. Sit down. And close the hatch before you do."

**

They were all going to die, Jack decided as his shuttle carried him towards Galactica. They were all going to be shot.

Well, Saul, Jack thought cheerfully, at least you and hubby are going to get to be together forever.

Bill met him on the hangar deck, all formality. Jack still had Marines with him who would probably attempt to carry out Cain's orders even if he didn't. He wasn't religious in the slightest, but he offered up a little prayer to Ares. It would have to depend which side the patron god of soldiers would come down on.

"Will you join me in my quarters? I know my old commander in the war never said no to a drink before battle."

Jack relaxed. "I never say no before, during and after." He and Bill laughed—a bit forced—but thankfully, they were able to leave both of their Marine tails outside.

"Okay," Bill said firmly as soon as the hatch was shut. "Here's what we're doing."

It had been hard to plan this alongside the op, without raising suspicion. Jack hadn't been able to talk to Bill before this, which had made it difficult to prep Saul and Hoshi. Starbuck and Apollo were in on it, but they'd decided a plan that didn't depend on them was best—who knew if they'd have recovered the Vipers before all this went down, not to mention the pilots on Pegasus were more ruthless than the CIC officers.

Your husband got them that way, Jack thought, looking at Bill, who was going over a crude map he'd made.

"Do you think you can do this?" Bill asked, looking Jack in the eye. Jack had been prepared to read derision into it, but there was only honest concern. "I'll understand if you can't. I can go over there. Technically, she is my direct superior and I can—"

"No," Jack said firmly, remembering those people on the Scylla. "I can do this."

**

It was easier said than done, he reflected later. Jack had always prided himself on being a loyal officer, not one to make a fuss. He'd never expected to wind up an XO, and even that had been an accident.

He was a rule-follower, a keep-your-head-down kind of guy. But he did draw a line at just-following-orders. He cast a glance over at Bill, who caught his eyes and gave him a reassuring nod. Jack could kind of see what Saul saw in him and he felt a little better to know that Bill was nervous, too.

Jack cast another glance at his contingent of Marines. They were all prepared to shoot Bill, he knew, so they had to act quick. He went back to watching the DRADIS monitor. This had to work.

**

Saul paced, listening to the wireless chatter.

They'd lost Lee. He was safe, of course, but he'd been picked up by Racetrack, which meant he'd be on Galactica at the wrong time. They'd be doing this without Lee.

He began recalculating quickly. He'd have to delay bringing in the Vipers while giving Jack's Raptor priority. He couldn't risk too many pilots around.

And he'd have to tell Laird.

Cautiously, trying not to arouse suspicion, Saul left his station and made his way down the stairs to the hangar deck. Laird was nearby, ready to bring out the reserves if necessary.

"Chief!" Saul barked, trying to make this look like he was going to give Laird a talking-to. That would give him some pretense for pulling him away…

"Sir?" Saul had always felt sorry for Laird. He looked like a lost kid. He had no sense for military bearing, for authority, and it was a damn good thing Cain hardly knew he existed because if she did, he'd probably be in the brig. "What do you need, sir?"

It had taken weeks for the guy to get used to calling him sir and now he did it every sentence.

"Just need to talk to you." Saul led him away from where the reserves and the knuckle draggers were, pausing at the base of the stairs. "You might be the only one down here I can trust."

"Sir?"

"You know I'm married to the commander of Galactica?" Laird nodded. "Well." Saul cast a glance over his shoulder. "We're invoking Article X."

"Article X… sir?"

Of course he wouldn’t know what that was. "We're removing her from command, Laird."

His eyes widened. "What can I do?" he asked quickly. No sir. Saul smirked.

"Keep an eye on things down here. Will the knuckle draggers listen to you?"

Laird's lips twitched. "Doubt it."

Saul ran a hand over his head. "Okay. Well, just try and distract them as you can. Whoever you think might get in our way, put 'em to work when Colonel Fisk comes on board."

Laird nodded and turned to go. Then, he paused. "Sir? Is this mutiny?"

Saul waved a hand dismissively. "Nah. If it was mutiny, you'd know."

**

"Mission accomplished," Galactica's communications officer announced. There was a round of scattered applause and Bill and Jack shook hands.

"Signal from the flagship, sir. Admiral Cain on the line."

Bill reached for the comm. "Put her through."

Jack's heart began to beat rapidly. He knew he'd get the order now. This had to be smooth. He barely heard Bill's conversation with Cain until Bill was handing him the comm.

"She wants to talk to you," he said with a smirk. Jack nodded. Then, Bill said, "We should all have dinner sometime. You, me, Saul, Lee. It'd be like Medra."

That was the signal. Woodenly, Jack raised the comm to his ear. "Yes, sir?"

"Congratulations, Jack."

He could barely hear her over the pounding in his chest. "Thank you, sir."

"Execute case orange."

So they were really going to do it. "Yes, sir."

Behind him, the hatch opened and Bill's XO entered, a group of Marines behind her. Jack hung up the comm.

"Nobody move," he snapped at the Pegasus men. He put his hand on his weapon and went to stand between Bill and his XO. "Nobody move, nobody gets hurt."

"Sir, what are you doing?" Sergeant Conrad asked him. His hand hadn't left his rifle.

"What's in all our best interests, son." Jack held his eyes until he'd let go of the gun. "Now, let's go."

Bill turned to his XO. "Jen, can you take these men to the brig?"

She nodded, eyes on the Marines. "Yes, sir."

Bill turned to Jack. "Your men are waiting in a Raptor. Good hunting, Colonel."

**

Saul watched the Raptor move towards Pegasus's airspace. He lifted the mic. "Give priority to Raptor 219," he said. Hopefully, up in CIC, Hoshi wasn't breathing a word.

They'd discussed that if she gave the order to kill Bill, Fisk would pretend he'd done so. No hails from Galactica—the ruse was that there would be some fighting and it would take a while for Jack to secure the ship. Saul drummed his fingers on the console, imagining, with his heart in his throat, what might have happened if things had gone differently.

He felt relief wash over him when he finally saw the Raptor stop on the hangar deck and he trotted down the stairs.

"Colonel," he said, saluting. A group of Bill's Marines exited behind Jack. "We're secure down here."

"Good." Jack went past him. "You're with me, Tigh. I'm in this for you, so you bet your ass I'm not leaving you out of it."

Wordlessly, Saul followed.

As they climbed the stairs, Jack said, "If this works without us getting ourselves shot, you're gonna be my XO. Been through too much to let you off this light."

Saul smirked. Jack could be sweet sometimes, too. He was a good friend. "Yes, sir."

Cain let her shock show when she saw them come into CIC. "Colonel Fisk," she said firmly. "You're supposed to be securing Galactica."

Saul thought for a moment that Jack might waver, but he didn't. "Admiral Cain," he announced, "under the authority granted to me by Article X of the Colonial Military Code, I hereby relieve you of command."

Bill's Marines stepped around him and moved to arrest her.

"On what grounds?" she asked. She signaled to her own guards who fanned out around them. Saul kept his eyes trained on the one who had his gun pointed at him. If he couldn't stare down one of Cain's B-team, he wasn't fit to be XO—not that he'd ever considered it before five minutes ago.

"Murder of civilians, unlawful restriction of an officer and overstepping the bounds of your command authority. Sir." Saul had to admit that old Fisk was pretty good at this.

Saul glanced between Cain, her Marines and Shaw. He hadn't been sure if he expected her to try something, but he'd been ready. And she did seem to be watching him with a calculating kind of expression that would bear keeping an eye on.

"Stand down," Cain said to her Marines after what felt like an eternity. "You've made the wrong choice," she told Jack.

"We'll see what the Quorum has to say about that, sir."

Jack left to escort Cain to her quarters and Saul stayed in CIC. He put his hands behind his back and surveyed the crew. "I assume you're all used to staffing changes on this ship by now," he said. "If anyone disagrees with this decision, they're free to go." No one moved. "We are now under the authority of Commander Adama on Galactica. He has designated Colonel Fisk as Acting Commander and he has designated me as Acting XO. Are there any objections?"

No one said anything.

"Good." Saul reached for the comm. "Galactica, Pegasus."

Bill answered and Saul felt the smile spread across his face. "It's good to hear your voice, Pegasus."

Epilogue

They decided together that there couldn't be a ceremony. It didn't seem appropriate with the funeral. Cain would be given full military honors. It wasn't right to do anything else, considering she was dead before they'd even had a chance to contact the Quorum about a hearing. Saul's throat was still hoarse from reaming out the guards who'd left their posts, and when he'd stopped, Shaw had taken it up. She'd be loyal; he was sorry he'd ever doubted it.

It hadn't been the finest hour to start their command—to have the Cylon escape and to have Cain shot. He assumed it was responsible, not that he blamed it after what Cain had put it through. As for how it had gotten off the ship, well, Saul would have to be very careful in choosing his replacement as LSO.

He had more to think about now.

XO.

Gods, he never thought he'd get that far. He squeezed the Artemis medal in his pocket. Across from him, Bill's gaze drifted his way, his expression impassive and professional. Jack's speech didn't reference their brief act of mutiny and Saul wondered what might have happened if they'd had to go all the way through with it. In a way, maybe this was better. If a fight had had time to break out, he wouldn't be standing there.

He saluted with everyone else when the launch tube closed. She deserved this. Yes, she'd gone too far but damned if Saul would have been able to keep the crew together in a situation like this.

After, Bill joined Saul and Jack in what had once been Cain's quarters.

"We're lucky this ended the way it did," Bill said, taking the glass from Jack. "I can't say I was looking forward to a formal hearing."

"I'll drink to that." Jack knocked back his glass. "At least it's over now."

"How do you feel, Commander?" Bill smirked.

"Hell, I don't know. Just going to try and keep this ship going best as I can." He glanced at Saul. "You still in?"

Saul laughed. "Didn't think I had a choice." Realizing he could now do this, he reached for Bill's hand. "Thanks by the way. We appreciate it."

"I can't see myself as a murderer. Didn't think she'd do it, but…" He shrugged, then paused. "Hey, that reminds me." He stood up and set his drink aside. "I know you can be XO as a major, but I thought I'd offer you these…"

He reached into his pocket and withdrew a pair of pins. "What do you say?"

Saul stared at them in his hands. "Gods, Jack."

Jack was grinning. "Let him put 'em on you. That's supposed to be how it's done, right?"

Bill smiled and put his drink aside to take the pins from Jack. "It sure is. Here. Get those off."

Woodenly, Saul removed his Major's insignia and slid closer to Bill, allowing him to pin the new ones onto his collar. His mind flashed back to his last promotion—it had been a proper ceremony, with a dinner and everything. He preferred the informality of this, though. Bill cupped Saul's cheek and leaned in to give him a chaste kiss.

"You've earned it, babe," he said. "Colonel."

Saul chuckled and kissed Bill more firmly. "Yeah, I'm not gonna get tired of that anytime soon."

Jack cleared his throat and Saul tore himself away from his husband. "You want to go over to his anytime you want, be my guest." He got up and made his way over to the desk. "But no making out in my quarters."

Saul laughed and he caught Bill's smirk out of the corner of his eye. "Yes, sir, I'll be sure to keep that in mind."