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

Epilogue: An exercise in frustration

The date did not take place until a week after Adama's birthday. He and Roslin had finally been able to coordinate their schedules for an evening off. With a few dwindling spices and the ability in his kitchen to fry food, he had succeeded in making the algae into burgers. He had planned to bring dinner to Roslin on Colonial One.

As he arrived, Tory stopped him before he could enter the president's office space. "She's in the middle of a phone conversation with one of the Quorum delegates. I'll let you know when she has finished," the aide explained, returning to Roslin.

Fortunately he was not kept waiting long. He heard her voice as she scolded her aide. "You left him standing outside? Tory, it doesn't matter whether or not I was on the phone. Please tell him he can come in."

Tory reappeared and gestured toward the door. "This way, Admiral."

"Thank you," he stated, following her.

As soon as he had entered the office, Roslin looked at Tory again. "You've got the rest of the evening off. I don't expect to see you again until dawn," she remarked.

The aide left and Roslin strolled over to Adama. He smiled and they shared a few warm kisses. "So how'd your day go?" he asked her.

"The Quorum has decided that my phone line is open twenty-four hours a day. Just because they decided to postpone the meeting until next week, all of them think that they need to talk to me about something," the president admitted.

"Nothing too serious, I hope," Adama responded as they headed back toward her desk. He grinned as he set the plastic container he had been holding on her desk. "I brought food at least."

"Yes, thank you," she told him.

As he began to unpack the food, her phone rang. She had to answer it because Tory had already left. After ten minutes she told the other person that she had to hang up. She turned to her dinner and sighed. "I'm sorry about that. One of the Canceron delegates decided to ask me about something that we've already gone over."

"That's okay. Dinner's still warm," he reassured.

He was correct and they were halfway through their meal when the phone rang again. She rolled her eyes and reached over to answer it. "Excuse me, but could you please call back tomorrow? Mr. Horrelle, I'm in the middle of dinner. I- but they told me that was taken care of! We can still take care of it tomorrow- it's getting late, Mr. Horrelle, have a good evening," she finally hung up.

Dinner was finished in an uneasy silence. One would glance over at the phone every few minutes. As they finished, Adama finally spoke. "Why don't we have desert on Galactica? My quarters are more private than yours," he pointed out.

"It's fine with me. At this point I'll do anything to escape the phone," she admitted with a grin.

They took the raptor back to Galactica and headed for his quarters. Lee stopped them before they could enter the hatch. "Sir, I don't mean to interrupt, but you wanted my update on the pilots?"

Adama sighed and his son then noticed Roslin. He closed his eyes for a moment, not having realized the situation. The admiral opened his hatch and motioned for both to follow him. Then he faced Lee. "Can it wait until tomorrow?"

Lee nodded. "Yes sir. I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you two were- I'll be going now," he finished before departing.

"More private than my ship, huh? We'll see," she goaded the admiral.

For desert he had melted some of the chocolate he had received for his birthday over frozen fruit that had been in his freezer. They sat on his couch, each with a small dish and a spoon in their hands. She slid her shoes off and tucked her feet up. "This is really good," she conveyed.

"Thank you. Finding anything at all in my freezer was pure luck. What I'd really like to find-" someone was knocking on his door. "I'll be right back," he stated as he stood.

He opened the door to Tigh. "Saul, was there something important you needed?" he asked gruffly.

At first Tigh furrowed his brow, feeling offended. "No Bill, I was just gonna…" he trailed off when he spotted Roslin. A slow grin crept over his face. "I'll tell everybody not to bother you. Are you taking my advice?"

"Yes. And we've been trying to find some privacy all evening," he relayed.

Tigh left and Adama went back to Roslin. "On one evening that both of us decide to take off, the whole universe decides to bother us," he grumbled.

"Is there somewhere we can go that people won't notice us at?" she inquired.

He thought for a while and then remembered a conversation he had heard in passing two lieutenants earlier that day. "They're playing a movie in the observation lounge. It'll be dark and no one will notice if we drop in for a while," Adama suggested.

Roslin thought for a moment and then smiled. "Let's give it a try."

The observation lounge was dark as they passed through the door and over to the third row from the top, on the far end so that they were not easily spotted. "What movie did you say this was?" she questioned.

"It's an old one, sort of a blending of horror and science fiction. I don't remember the name of it, but I think someone goes into a cave and finds a way to revive a mummified Geminon mummy. The mummy ends up terrorizing people as some sort of zombie and it's up to the main character and his secretary to save the world," Adama explained.

Roslin chuckled quietly. "How old were you when you watched this?" she probed.

"I think I was ten. My cousins forced me to watch it with them. At the time I found it entertaining," he replied with a smirk.

She looked down at the other people, almost filling the seats in the room, staring up at the white sheets sewn together to make a movie screen, all sitting in pairs. "If it's the type of movie you've described, why are there so many people in here?" she inquired.

He smirked again and pointed out Tory and Gaeta sitting down in the front row. "People sometimes come here to enjoy a moment with significant others without being disturbed," he explained as delicately as possible.

Glancing over at her aide, she gasped. "Good grief, I didn't know they were actually seeing each other. If she finds us here, she'll think we dropped by as chaperones."

"They won't have to know we're here," he reminded with a wry grin. As the movie started, he slowly stretched out his arm so that it ended up resting across her shoulders. She moved closer and leaned into him.

After a while, she noticed that lack of interest that other couples were giving the movie. "Bill, why is this the observation lounge if no one is observing anything?"

"Because on a Battlestar, a sense of humor is mandatory," he remarked.

They watched the movie for another fifteen minutes until she spoke again. "You do realize that this movie is terrible, don't you?" she whispered.

He chuckled quietly. "We didn't exactly come equipped with a Caprican cinema."

She turned to him so that she could see his face. "And nobody knows we're here," they were almost nose to nose.

Closing the short distance between them, he kissed her lightly. "Why do you think I suggested this?"

"Bill Adama… you are one… very… sneaky… man," she relayed as they shared tender kisses. There were as much in each other's arms as the seats would allow. He kissed her soundly and she ran her fingers through his hair.

They were perfectly content to sit there kissing passionately until the door opened and someone shined a bright flashlight into the room. Quickly separating, both squinted at who had just entered. "Sorry to interrupt, but we're looking for the admiral. CIC is having some problems," Dee mentioned.

Adama swore under his breath and stood, offering a hand to Roslin. As the two left, the president distinctly heard Tory say, "Good god, she thought I needed a chaperone."

Out in the light of the hall, Roslin caught Adama's eye and ran her finger over her lips again. He wiped the lipstick off his face before Dee noticed. The petty officer turned toward the two. "Sorry about that sir, but you're needed in CIC."

"Can't I have one evening with out interruptions?" he complained to Roslin, who gave him a sympathetic smile and shrugged.

When they reached CIC, Tigh turned and eyed them with surprise. "Alright Saul, what's going on?" Adama questioned.

Tigh looked over at Dee. "You didn't need to find him. Apollo would've been fine. They're on a frakking date!" he scolded.

Dee looked back at the president and the admiral as she blushed slightly. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't realize-"

"I'm down here now, so what's the problem?" Adama continued.

Tigh showed him a planet on the viewscreen. It was an ocean-based planet with green-brown landmasses. "We scanned it and the planet looks like it might have real food. It's unoccupied and might be worth sending someone down to take a look."

"Go ahead and send Athena and Helo down, and tell them to be on the lookout. There's no telling what's actually down there," the admiral suggested. "Is there anything else?"

"Nope, so you two don't have to stick around," Tigh relayed.

Adama and Roslin left, heading back through the corridors. "It's unbelievable how popular we are tonight," she commented incredulously.

"Perhaps the next time we try this, we should pick the middle of a Cylon battle and everyone would be too busy to bother us," he joked.

After walking for a while with her arm linked with his, she slowed her pace. "I have an idea. It could be late enough by now that no one would call Colonial One anymore."

"Then we'll go back," he commented.

They sat comfortably in the raptor as it began its departure. However, as they continued their short trek, Adama realized something that had been overlooked. "Laura, we've got a small problem," he began.

She raised an eyebrow and glanced at the glowing instruments. "Which is?"

He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. "We're out of fuel."

"With the momentum, can't we just drift over to my ship?" she inquired.

"It would be too hard to dock correctly. Saul's never gonna let this one go," Adama grumbled. Glad that the equipment still functioned, he called Galactica.

"This is Galactica. What's going on, Bill?" Tigh's voice asked.

"The raptor we're in has run out of fuel," Adama replied flatly.

"We'll get someone to tow you in. Who's 'we'?"

"The president and myself," he admitted.

The admiral could hear his XO chuckling on the other end of the line. "Bill, when I told you to take my advice, that wasn't what I meant."

"Just bring us back to Galactica please," Adama requested.

As the conversation ended, he turned back to Roslin, who had moved up to where he was seated. "I'm sorry about all this."

She smirked. "I'm not. For however brief it is, we are finally alone," she reminded before sitting on his lap. His arms slid around her to hold her in place as she leaned toward him and kissed him affectionately. Then he trailed light kisses down her neck.

They kissed until the COMM interrupted them. Roslin moved back to her seat while Adama listened to it. "Starbuck here, sir. I'll be bringing you back," the transmission relayed.

"Thank you. We'll see you shortly then," Adama answered.

After the raptor had once again docked on Galactica, Adama helped Roslin down the steps to meet Kara. "Thanks, Kara."

The blonde woman grinned back. "Any time, sir." Then she glanced at Adama's face. "Sir, one more thing. It's really not your color," she stated, moving her hand across her lips before leaving.

He did not have to be told that he had lipstick on his face again. After wiping it off, he turned back to Roslin. "We need to find you some lipstick that actually stays on you, instead of coming off on everyone else."

She giggled and took his arm. "Unfortunately I haven't seen a store in a very long time. I suppose I'm in the guest quarters tonight."

They began walking toward his quarters. "Will you join me for a drink first?" he offered.

"Sure. We could both use one," she responded with a smirk.

As they sat on the couch with drinks in hand and the door locked, he spoke. "At least the Cylons haven't bothered us."

She smiled. "Thank goodness for small mercies. I've been thinking," she paused and faced him, taking another sip of her drink, "When you and I have a meeting, we aren't interrupted nearly as much as we were this evening. Perhaps for the next date if we schedule it as a meeting, we won't be disturbed."

"I like that idea. It's either that or we bring a picnic dinner onto a raptor and I'd really rather that they didn't have to track us down on own of those again," he admitted.

"It really wasn't so bad. Kara should've taken her time," Roslin stated as she giggled and removed her jacket, sitting it on the arm of the couch. Then she set her drink down and began rubbing her neck. "It has been a long day though."

He set his drink down on the table and began gently massaging her neck. She sighed in contentment as his hands moved back and forth over her neck and shoulders. "Mm, that feels wonderful. Who taught you how to do that?" she inquired.

"There are a few things that come naturally to me," he replied chuckling.

"Fine, don't give away your secrets. I may enlist you to do this more often though," she mentioned wryly.

He realized that her hair smelled like magnolias as he pushed it aside. "I might just volunteer."

When he began kissing her neck, she shivered slightly. "But this is even better," she remarked, turning her head to give him better access.

Then she turned and they kissed soundly. He slid his arms around her waist and she rested her hands on his shoulders. He deepened the kiss and she pulled him closer. She began to play with the buttons on his jacket, undoing the first few. They broke for air and rested their foreheads together.

"Something tells me that the guest quarters weren't what you had in mind," he teased in a gravely tone.

She kissed him passionately, managing to unbutton the rest of his jacket. "I've got a much better idea."

His lips caressed her neck and her collarbone. "And what would that be?"

One of her hands fingered his hair. "Another slumber party of sorts, but with a few improvements," she conveyed coyly.

The carpet was strewn with clothing between the living room and his bedroom. He woke and kissed her forehead to wake her as well. "Good morning," she mumbled.

He smiled back. "Good morning."

His alarm clock sounded off as she yawned and stretched. "I suppose that means we actually have to get up," she remarked.

Chuckling, he kissed her softly. "I'm not sure how we're going to explain your presence here again, considering that it was too late last night to figure out guest quarters. Last week wasn't as much of a problem, but explaining it twice might be tricky."

"You let me use your bed and you slept on the couch," she decided, leaving the warmth of the bed to find her clothing and head for the shower.

He smiled and shook his head, trying to decide if that excuse was even plausible. After their showers, they met in his living room. "I suppose it's time that I took you back to your ship," he stated with a sigh.

She groaned. "I wish that I didn't have to go back. I'm sure Tory will have a few choice words for me after last night."

"I wish that you didn't have to go either," he added.

"One of these days we won't have to make up excuses," she commented, holding onto his arm.

He patted her hand and kissed her cheek before they left his quarters. "One of these days I might end up marrying you to keep you on Galactica," he told her with a grin.

A rosy blush spread across her cheeks. "Perhaps, one of these days," she remarked with a smirk.

Fin………………………………….. (really)

(This is really the end. My thanks to carolann, kiyani, asouldreams, Jojo, csiAngel, Mariel3, Wander009, banana53080, and Ethereal Journey for reviewing :D. It has been greatly appreciated).