“What is this? A damn baby boom?” Cottle muttered as he spread the cold gel on Kara’s stomach and then turned the Ultrasound scanner on, ready to see if there was a child inside.

“Less of the sarcasm please Jack, there’s an infant in the cubicle.” Laura commented from the seat at Kara’s bedside. She smiled as the Doctor grinned at the little girl.

“Indeed there is. The Galactica’s miracle baby and a beauty she is too.” He told her as Lily looked at him with watchful blue eyes.

“Erm hi?” Kara called out, nerves getting the better of her, as was the knowledge that soon Lee and Bill would be back in Bill and Laura’s quarters without a clue where any of the girls were. “We’re kinda on a deadline here.”

Cottle muttered something under his breath and grabbed hold of the ultrasound wand. He placed it on Kara’s stomach, moving it around carefully.

Kara found herself unable to look at the screen. Instead she looked at Laura and Lily, so grateful that she wasn’t there alone. When Laura smiled Kara turned and was faced with the image of an unusual blob on the screen.

“There it is. Starbucks spawn.”

Kara was too lost for words to even find a sarcastic response. All she could do was look at the picture on the screen of the baby that she was carrying inside of her. For the first time in her life when thinking about children she didn’t want to run away.

“It’s about two months in gestation. You can see the heartbeat there. It’s too early to hear it yet but you’ll be able to at the next scan. You’re very lucky. Everything appears to be fine. I’m grounding you as of right now. I take it that you’ll tell the Adama’s...seeing as the youngest decided to procreate with you.” Cottle told her with a raised eyebrow as he finished off the scan and froze the image on the screen for her.

Kara nodded.

“It’s really okay?” She asked timidly and Cottle looked at her shocked.

“Why, I do believe I’m seeing actual concern.” He commented.

“Of course you are. I wouldn’t be a mother if you weren’t.” She snapped, grabbing some tissue off the trolley next to the bed and wiping her abdomen clean.

“It’s perfectly healthy as far as I can tell. I’ll see you again in four more weeks for another ultrasound. Until then eat well, drink plenty of fluids and get plenty of rest...and keep an eye on that tongue of yours, stress isn’t good for any baby or mother to be.” He warned her.

Kara nodded and then froze as she looked again at the image on the screen.

“You’d better not frak this up Starbuck.” She whispered to herself as her hand fell to her stomach, her fingers digging into the skin with fierce protectiveness. She looked at Laura wide eyed.”I’m gonna be a mom.” She whispered.

Laura nodded, getting up from the chair and walking over to Kara. She rubbed her back as the Pilot watched Lily wriggling around in the sling as if she was trying to escape.

“Thank you.”

Kara looked up at Laura with tearful and sincere eyes.

Laura nodded in response.

“It’s what moms do.” She replied, sitting down on the bed and carefully taking Kara into her arms as she cried with both relief and with gratefulness that for the first time in her life there was someone giving her what her mother never could, without her even having to ask.

The girls entered the Adama quarters to find Lee and Bill already back and chatting over a glass of Scotch. Both men had their feet up, Lee sporting a black eye and the Admiral an iced wrist. Bill watched Laura curiously as she walked over to him with Lily, allowing him to take the baby out of the sling and into his arms. Lee meanwhile immediately jumped up and walked over to Kara, putting his hands on her arms.

“How are you feeling? That was some technique you showed back there.” Lee asked with the worry evident on his face.

“I’ll say. They were still cleaning up your mess when we left.” Bill teased. “Speaking of messes...” He muttered, taking his daughter over to the changing mat and undoing her babygro. “Lily Rose Adama I swear you save these for daddy.”

Laura giggled and joined him.

“Lee we were just in the Infirmary.” Kara told him simply, and she could see Bill watching worriedly out of the corner of his eye.

Lee took hold of Kara’s hands and led her to the sofa where they both sat down. He ran his fingers through the blonde hair that today fell limp onto her shoulders, matching the dark circles under her eyes.

“There’s a reason why I didn’t fly today.” She admitted, a hand resting on her stomach. She looked down at it and Lee followed her gaze.

“Kara...”

“It’s the same reason why I’ve been grounded for the foreseeable future.”

Kara’s gaze didn’t leave her stomach. Her eyes filled with tears. She was paralysed with fear.

Lee looked at Kara’s hand and his face paled in shock.

“Are you...” He asked motioning to her stomach, unable to find the words.

Kara nodded, finding strength from somewhere and taking Lee’s hands in her own. She stroked the soft skin with her thumbs.

“Think about it, I’ve been nauseous, tearful and tired. You haven’t been able to touch me...” She added in a whisper looking down at her chest and giving him a mischievous smile.

“Oh Gods.” Lee whispered softly.”Are you happy about it?” He then asked; his own eyes wide with fear.

Kara knew how much Lee wanted to be a father. She had watched him with Lily plenty of times since her birth; had babysat Lily with him and watched as he carried her around with bare arms singing softly to her and talked to her like she was the only person in the world. She had sat with him as he had rocked her to sleep, unable to take her eyes off the strong man holding the beautiful baby girl, his blue eyes shining as he looked at the baby and then at her as if giving a silent prayer for a child of their own. She could tell that the fear on his face was not due to her carrying their child but was fear that she may not want it and it pained her to see such fear on the face of someone so loving. She loved Lily and she had grown to be comfortable taking care of a person so small. She loved Lee more than anything else in the world. She was terrified of getting hurt again like she had been with Kacey but then this was her own child and one she was actually carrying inside of her.

“I wasn’t happy. When i first realised. I wanted it to be gone. Even after spending time with Lily I wished it away because that’s what I do. I wish away the good things because I worry I’ll just frak them up anyway.” Kara admitted and Lee looked at the floor, unable to meet her eyes. “But then I realised that I’d been flying and I shouldn’t have been and I just couldn’t do it again. I couldn’t take that chance with our baby’s life. I realised when I climbed into that Raptor this morning, thinking that I may be pregnant, that any fear I had about carrying our baby was nothing compared to the fear that our baby could have been harmed. That’s why I came to Laura and why we went to Cottle. We went to see if I’d hurt our baby.”

Bill put his hand on his fiancées back as he heard her name. He couldn’t help but smile with pride that Kara had come to her and that Laura had helped the young woman find some sort of peace with her pregnancy. He kissed her forehead, watching as she held the child they had made gently in her arms and thanked the Gods his family had someone so special at the heart of it.

“And had you...? I mean I know if there is something...it wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know about the baby...but...”

Kara shook her head. She could feel her hands trembling in Lee’s.

“There’s a blob in there Lee. A little blob with a heartbeat. It has a heartbeat already.” Kara assured him with tears that for once were tears of happiness.

“Oh Kara.” Lee whispered as he took her into his arms and held her tightly, stroking her hair as he held her.

“I don’t want to frak it up Lee. Please don’t let me...” She pleaded as tears streamed down her face and made her eyes sore. “I love this blob.”

Lee moved away from her, cupped her face in his palms and looked her directly in the eyes.

“That’s exactly why you won’t frak this up.” He told her. He brought his lips to hers and gave her a passionate kiss.

“I’m gonna be a dad.” He whispered tearfully into her shoulder.

“You are. You really are.” She emphasized to him, looking him right in the eye and giving him a meaningful nod. She truly was going to do this.

Kara then kissed Lee’s cheek with the force of the love that filled her heart, burying her head in the crook of his neck.

“And you’re gonna be a mom Kara. A mom. Nothing like yours.”

Lee put a hand on her stomach and grinned. Kara smiled back at him, still a little unsurely but still with genuine happiness.

“I’m terrified Lee.” She admitted and once again he took her hands in his own, her whole body now trembling. He brought them to his lips.

“Then we’ll be terrified together okay?” He whispered, his breath making her skin come up in goose bumps before he rested his lips on her soft skin.

Kara nodded, her eyes falling on Bill and Laura who were watching the touching scene discreetly from the other side of the quarters, Laura cradling her daughter against her chest and Lily’s head resting against her mother’s cheek. She gave them a small smile.

“Okay.” She answered, letting Lee take her into his arms again and closing her eyes with contentment as he held her close. The nausea seemed to subside somewhat as he embraced her and she truly knew that she wasn’t alone in the pregnancy and as her stomach pressed against his warm body with their baby safe inside she felt herself shiver.

Laura and Bill joined Lee and Kara on the sofa with Lily, all entangling each other in a group embrace as the child cooed happily in her mother’s arms unaware that in a few months she would be an Aunt; still too young to even understand what that meant. A year ago the Adama family had been split into pieces and threatened with despair but in just eight months it really would finally be complete and so would Kara, for the first time in her life.