Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. Star Trek stuff belongs to Paramount Studios.

Epilogue

Bill joined Laura in the stands as Charlotte sat on her right. "Mommy, look! Daddy's here!" the girl exclaimed.

Laura smiled as Bill took a seat next to her. "I almost worried that you weren't going to be here this time."

"I came to all her other games. A decommissioning ceremony wasn't worth missing her championship," he replied, kissing her on the cheek.

Four years had passed since the Colonials had settled Alexan II. Though Galactica was being decommissioned to become a museum, the Colonials would still have a military, being that they had the ability to build new ships. Hannah was now in high school and the pitcher for her school's softball team. The Colonials had latched onto the sport of baseball, preferring it to paresi squares.

Jacqueline, called 'Jackie' by her family, was seated in Laura's lap. She giggled at the players on the field. "Grandpa, they need to share the ball."

Bill mussed Jackie's blonde hair. "That's not how the game is played. You'll understand when you're older."

Laura smirked at Jackie before speaking to Bill. "Do you know when Kara and Zack will be back from the ceremony?"

"Probably some time this evening. Zack asked me to make sure that Jackie gets dinner," Bill replied.

"Look, it's Hannah!" Charlotte exclaimed, pointing to the pitchers' mound.

Bill quietly watched the wind up, the release, the smack as the ball hit the catcher's mitt. One down, two to go. The next pitch was hit, but it was a fly ball, being caught by the short stop. Hannah struck out the next two batters and Bill breathed a sigh of relief.

"You know, I think you concentrate harder than she does," Laura teased him.

"I just want her to do well. I know she enjoys the game," he responded.

Laura smiled, eating a few of the peanuts she had brought along as a snack. "Better not let any of those hit the ground. We'll have squirrels in the stands," Bill remarked.

They had not been able to replicate the rice they wanted to throw at the wedding, so Hannah had suggested using peanuts. Bill walked out in his dress grays with Laura, as she wore a flowing white bodice-top dress. To the rest of the fleet, they had been renewing their vows. But for the two of them, it was cementing a new beginning. As they walked out, fingers entwined, to the crowd of family and friends, peanuts flew overhead. However, it was then that they discovered the thriving squirrel population on their new planet.

Jackie giggled, squirming on Laura's lap. "I wanna see squirrels," she stated, reaching for the peanuts.

Laura moved Jackie from her lap to Bill's. "Not this time, young lady. People might trip over the squirrels."

The blonde girl looked up at Bill. "Grandpa, can I have a snack?"

"Only if you feed yourself and not anything else," he told her. Then he faced Laura. "Why don't we get them some hotdogs?"

Charlotte, Jackie, Bill, and Laura watched the next inning, eating their hotdogs. Later in the second to last inning of the game, Zack and Kara arrived with Dee and her sons. "Sorry we took so long. Helo's finishing up things over there," Zack mentioned.

Bill smiled. "I didn't expect to see any of you here. Hannah will be happy you've decided to join us."

"Mama!" Jackie exclaimed from Bill's lap. She moved over to Kara.

"Hey you. Have you been good for Grandpa and Grandma?" Kara asked the girl.

"Yep," she responded.

"She's been fine," Laura chimed in.

"That's good. Listen, Kira came over to Galactica before we left. She's got some new gizmo to show you. She said she'd drop by your place later," Kara mentioned.

"Sounds interesting. It's been a while since we've seen her," Bill remarked, turning back to the ball game.

Hannah's team won as her final pitch was a fly ball to the girl in center field. Her family left the stands to greet her. Laura embraced her while Charlotte stood by Bill. "Congratulations, sweetheart. That was terrific."

The teenager returned the embrace, but squirmed slightly. "Mom, not in front of the team." Then she looked past her mother to see the rest of her family. "Hey! I didn't expect to see you guys here. Glad you could make it."

"Even a decommissioning ceremony couldn't keep me from watching my little sister's championship," Zack told her with a grin.

"You did well," Bill relayed.

Hannah spoke as they walked over to the transporter pad. "I was tired by those last three batters though. I really thought that pitch was out of here."

"Way to roll a hard six," Zack commented.

When they had transported to the two-story house with log cabin siding, Bill and Laura set out to fix dinner, deciding to add an extra plate for Kira. As the family sat down to eat, they heard a knock at the door. Laura left the table to open it.

"Nerys, it's good to see you," Laura mentioned as Kira stepped inside. The women embraced.

"Something smells good," Kira stated.

"We've got a plate for you," Bill added as Kira joined them.

Kira put her free hand up, as the other held a gray metal box. "Oh I wasn't-"

"Stay. Then I can tell you about the ball game," Hannah invited.

"She's the pitcher for her team," Zack informed the colonel.

"Alright. I am hungry," Kira remarked.

After the meal, Dee and her sons had to leave. She had a job interview scheduled the next morning, since her post on Galactica was no longer necessary, and had to excuse herself to prepare for the interview. When the dishes had been cleared away, Kira showed Bill the box. "I have something that might interest you, Admiral."

"I've retired these days, so it's just 'Bill,'" he mentioned.

Kira smiled at him, then at Laura. "So you've both decided on the quite life?"

"Yes, and it suits us fine. I didn't want to run again, and I genuinely believe that President Howard has the Colonials' best interests in mind. I'm happy to be teaching Kindergarten again," Laura said with a warm smile.

The colonel opened the box, removing what appeared to be a round disc, eight inches in diameter and four inches thick. "This is a trans-dimensional radio. This screen toward the top lets you see the frequency, and the dial here helps you find it. The radio acts like a window. If you hold the lower left button down, you can say the number of the station that you send transmissions on. The button on the right there, if you hold that down, you can talk and someone will hear you. That speaker in the lower middle area lets you hear the other person."

"So basically I can use it to call the other universe?" Bill inquired.

"Yes. I'm leaving this one with you for that purpose," Kira relayed.

I can talk to Saul and Lee. Bill smiled politely. "Thank you, Colonel. You don't know what this means to me."

"You're welcome. I hope you can contact them. I should be going," she stated, adjusting the dimensional frequency for him.

After she had left, Bill inputted the Colonial wireless station. The family gathered around him in anticipation. Suddenly Tigh's voice was heard. "This is Commander Tigh, of the Battlestar Galactica. Whoever you are, state your identity and send us your codes."

He's become more efficient, and it sounds like Lee promoted him. "It's me, Saul. It's Bill. I know you're probably going to think this is some kind of trick, but I guarantee you it isn't."

"How in Hades is this possible?" Saul questioned.

"They've got some new radio that allows for 'trans-dimensional' discussions. It would be a little complicated for me to send you my Colonial codes," he told his former XO.

Saul chuckled. "I guess you're right."

"Is Galactica still looking for a planet?" Bill probed.

"Found one and settled. You'll never believe what happened. We found the real Thirteenth Tribe. Apparently they had some kind of war and nuked themselves, but some had evacuated and found another planet. The survivors didn't know much about our history, but they were glad to see us. What've you been up to?"

"Not much. I'm retired now, and Galactica was decommissioned today as a museum. We've settled on a planet that Starfleet pointed us to as a colony. One continent belongs to us, the other two are occupied by other groups from the Federation. We've joined that too," Bill recounted.

"Sounds like you've been busy. Our Galactica is still in use because the people we found wanted to build a replica of it. Their own ships are 150 years out of date. They spent their time on the planet cultivating the land instead of improving the technology."

Bill paused before asking his next question. "How is Lee? Is he still the president?"

"He's right here. You can ask him yourself," Saul responded.

"Dad?" Lee's voice said.

Bill smiled before replying. "Hello, Lee. Have you been listening the whole time?"

"Yeah. And yes, I'm still the president. I was reelected. Kara and I got married two years ago, and you have a grandson, William Joseph," Lee relayed.

"That's really Lee!" Zack exclaimed over Bill's shoulder.

"Dad, who else is there?" Lee inquired.

"Zack, Kara, their daughter Jackie, Laura, Hannah, and Charlotte."

"Is it alright if I talk to him?"

"Sure," Bill stated, letting Zack sit in front of the radio. "I'll let you two talk for a while," he told Zack.

Then Bill headed out to the back porch, his head swimming with memories of his previous life. As he placed his hands on the porch rail, he felt a hand on his back. "That was thoughtful of Nerys to let you talk to your universe," Laura remarked.

Bill turned to smile at her. "Yes, it was." He led her over to the porch swing and both sat down. "However, as nice as it is to hear Lee and Saul again, it makes me miss them more."

"I figured that's why you'd left the room," she stated. A breeze blew through and she rubbed her hands up and down her arms. He encircled her with one arm and pulled her close to him. She spoke again, leaning into him. "Do you regret it, joining us here?"

He sighed heavily. "I regret not being able to bring Lee or Saul with me. However, if I'd brought Lee, the government over there would've had more problems, and if I'd brought Saul, his being a Cylon would've been a problem over here."

"And Laura Roslin?" she probed.

Bill stroked her hair with his other hand. How does she always know what I'm thinking? "Some regrets are easier to put words to than others."

He felt her take a deep breath. "Indeed."

"But I don't regret the time I've had with you, or the family here," he amended.

"That's good to know," she said as she moved closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Maybe we should just enjoy this."

Her words brought back the one moment of peace for him on New Caprica. This time I will. The hand that had been stroking her hair moved to her cheek, brining her eyes up to meet his. He brushed her cheek with his thumb. She smiled, letting the 'hum' slip out. "I am," he responded, closing the distance between them with a kiss.

Fin…………………………………………….

(A/N: Thank you to all for being so patient with me. It's finally over. I hope you enjoyed reading it)

(My thanks to Idellis65, McGonagallFan, Ceridwyn2, Mamabella, and carolann for reviewing :D)