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The President is in jail. Apollo is under arrest for mutiny in disobeying orders. The Cylon basestar around Kobol is destroyed and we can proceed to search for our missing people.
It's a fast-changing situation, but one that I believe we can handle. For the moment, the worst of it seems to be over. However, I should never let myself think that way. It tends to come back to bite us in the ass.
The first gunshot rings out through the bridge and, for a split second, I freeze. The Commander was just congratulating Racetrack and Boomer for a job well done in destroying the Cylon basestar and then Boomer's shooting him. For a horrible moment, that's the only sound on the bridge. Suddenly, the air is filled with shouts and she manages to get off another shot at point blank range before security pounces on her.
He collapses back on the table. I don't think about Boomer's motives or what I'd like to do to her. I put my hands on the wounds on his chest, trying to apply pressure so he won't bleed to death before the doctors can get to him.
He's unconscious and Apollo is cradling his head in his arms, begging his father to stay with us. I know that the old man and Apollo have had their differences and they tend to fight like cats and dogs but their bond of trust and love is a fierce one. If Bill were to die like this, I don't know how long it would take Apollo to get over it.
Dualla rushes over and takes one of Bill's hands. She holds it to her lips in silent prayer. I can see all of the bridge crew's anxiety on her face. I don't think there's one of them that doesn't admire Bill. They've all served with him so long that it would be hard not to. He's a man that has always commanded respect.
Here I am. Thinking of him as Bill: the man I admire above all others and who did not show his own hurt when I chose to discontinue our personal relationship when Ellen returned. I do not love her more, but she is my wife. I thought I owed it to her to try and make our marriage work when she swore to me her affairs were over.
"Saul, I know that she's your wife, but she brings out the worst in you," Bill had stated the morning after our last night together.
I didn't want to listen. "How dare you say that," I said angrily.
"You only try to drown yourself in the bottle because of what she does to you. She chews you up and spits you out."
I stubbornly held fast. "She is my wife and I love her."
Bill put his hands up. "All right, Saul. If that's what you want, I respect your decision."
Now, he's bleeding to death in front of my eyes and I wonder if I made a mistake. When I thought Ellen was dead, I mourned for her but part of me felt relief. She really does have the ability to turn my life upside down.
"Dad, please," Apollo pleads. His voice is gut-wrenching.
I blink and swallow. I don't want to think about how empty my life would become without him. That's nothing to say about the sad state the fleet would be in without its head.
The doctors come in and urge us all out of the way. I know that they are the ones that can help him but I'm still reluctant to back away. "Colonel, let us do our jobs," one of them says quietly but firmly.
I set my jaw and take Apollo's arm. "We have to get out of their way."
"But--" Apollo tries to protest.
"No," I snap. I draw him away and motion to the guards to release Apollo's restraints. "I don't think we'll be thinking about that charge of mutiny for a while."
Apollo stares at the blood on his hands and arms and his shoulders slump. "No."
Bill's blood covers my hands, too. I stare at it. He can't die. He can't die. I repeat it over and over in my head. I try to offer the best encouragement that I can. "He's too stubborn to leave us."
The guards bring Boomer over. One of them has his gun to her head and bares his teeth. "What should we do with her, Colonel?"
Apollo tenses beside me. "Easy, Captain," I murmur only loud enough for him to hear. Throwing her out the nearest airlock is the first thing that comes to my mind. But I hold that impulse in check. I glare at her venomously. "Take her to the brig. We'll deal with her later."
"Yes, Sir."
I put a hand on Apollo's shoulder. "She'll get what's coming to her but we have more important things to worry about right now."
"You're right." Apollo takes a deep breath and nods. We both go back to watching the doctors work and pray that Bill lives because none of us are ready to lose him.
The End...for now