Fic: Breaking New Ground (Astral Planes, Part 2/4)
Title: Breaking New Ground
Author: afrakaday
Word Count: 5000
Rating: MA
A/N: Part 2 of what I've dubbed the Astral Planes series. Part 1 is here and Part 3 is here (yes, I have written them out of order). Thanks to nixmom for the beta.
“You’re what?” Zak gaped at Bill, nearly dropping the espresso that had been halfway between the table and his mouth when Bill announced the news.
“Getting hitched. Married. Laura and I.” Bill couldn’t wipe the smug grin from his face. “We’re thinking of having the ceremony and reception at our house in six months or so. Gives us a little motivation to get the yard finished.”
Zak groaned at the mention of the yard, subconsciously rubbing at the calluses that had developed on his palms over the past few weekends’ efforts, but reached out across the small circular table and grasped Bill’s shoulder. “I’m happy for you, Dad. Laura’s really good for you. I’m glad you found each other.”
Bill silently thanked the gods for the circumstances that had brought him together with Laura and allowed them to stay that way, then shuddered at the thought of how close he’d come to losing her. The love of his life, he could easily admit. “I never thought I would marry again, after the way things ended with your mother. But Laura is different.”
A snort indicated Zak’s concurrence. “That’s for sure.”
“I think Laura would have been content to remain as we are,” Bill continued, “domestic partners, you know?” He looked thoughtfully at Zak. “But something about hearing that you and Kara were expecting, thinking about family, and love, made me realize that I want her to be my wife. So I asked her.”
“Sounds pretty possessive, Dad.” Zak smirked. “Laura seems like the independent type to me. She’s never been married before, right?”
Bill shook his head. “No, she hasn’t. Why?”
Zak let out a low whistle. “Don’t blame you for wanting to lock that up, especially those legs. I’m just impressed you were able to.”
“Hey now.” Bill gave his son a warning glance. “You keep your eyes off my fiance’s legs, all right? And give your old man a little credit.”
Zak threw his hands up in surrender. “I’m a married man and father-to-be! What, you want me to promise to avert my eyes whenever Laura wears a skirt from now on?”
Bill glared silently and responded with a curt nod before bursting out laughing, Zak’s mischievous look inhibiting Bill’s ability to maintain the stony facade. “They are great legs, huh?”
“Not answering that one.” Zak calmly sipped his espresso.
Looking around the coffee shop--Joe’s Coffee Bar, Zak had named it--Bill decided a change of topic was in order. “You’ve got some nice pieces in here since my last visit.” A series of dark backgrounds contrasted with prominently featured bright concentric shapes, the wavy imprecision of the brushstrokes evocative of an indecisive anxiety.
Turning in his seat to look around, Zak agreed. “All Kara’s. She’s been painting a lot lately. She gets home from the academy, I make dinner while she paints, we eat, she paints some more. When they’re done I mat them and put them up in here.” He shrugged. “Seems therapeutic for her. I think she’s a little stressed about the baby.”
“Having a baby’s a big change,” Bill acknowledged. “But one of the best.” His brow furrowed as he searched for words. “Zak... I’m sorry... I wish...” He looked out the window, regrets washing over him in waves.
“That you’d been around more when Lee and I were kids?” Zak shrugged. “You were great, when you were around. We idolized you, you know. So yeah, it was tough that you were off-world so much when we were young. And of course Mom didn’t help matters, bashing you all the time to us.”
Bill reached out to rest his hand on Zak’s forearm. “I just want you to know, it was a mistake to be gone as much as I was. I didn’t do everything I could to stay in touch.”
Zak smiled sympathetically at his father. “Dad, it’s all right. For one, I learned from your experience.” He gestured grandly around the bustling coffee shop. “I’m staying right here. Great place for a kid to hang out, don’t you think?” He grinned. “And Kara’s got a good gig at the flight academy, shouldn’t have to go off-world unless we go to war or something.”
“I’m glad.” Bill smiled at his son. “You have it all figured out, smart guy.” A shadow crossed his craggy features. “Wish I could say the same of your brother.”
“Last I heard, he’s thinking about mustering out and going to law school.” Zak rolled his eyes. “I don’t hear from him much. I think he talks to Kara once in a while but that’s all she’s mentioned to me.” He regarded his father thoughtfully. “You’ve mellowed out a lot since your retirement. I don’t know if it’s because you’re retired, or that you’re head over heels in love, or what, but I’m glad I’ve gotten to spend so much time with you now, as an adult. Lee is missing out on seeing this side of you.”
“Maybe I’ll try to call him soon.” Bill checked his watch; it was almost time for him to leave in order to meet Laura for lunch in downtown Caprica City. “Thanks for the coffee, son. I should head out.” Both men rose from the table, and Zak walked with Bill to the door.
“I’m really happy about you and Laura, Dad. Thanks for coming down to tell me in person.”
Bill embraced his younger son. “Tell Kara I said hello and let’s have you both over for dinner again soon, hey? Or maybe we’ll come down here and take you both out.”
His son nodded, smiling. “We’d like that. Whatever works best for Laura’s schedule.”
With a wave, Bill took his leave to go meet his fiance.
* * *
Laura’s cell phone rang on the vanity, eliciting an exasperated sigh from its owner, who was struggling to remove an earring in her attempt to transform from the perfectly put-together Secretary to casual Laura for the evening. It had been an exhausting day, negotiating academic freedom policies with university administrators in the morning and then participating in a school lunch nutrition panel with the Secretary of Agriculture and their respective staffs in the afternoon, and she would be pissed if someone was about to intrude on the quiet Friday evening at home she had planned with Bill. Finally tugging the post free from the backing, she snatched up the phone and held it to the now-unadorned ear. “Roslin.”
Laura strained to hear the mumbled greeting on the other end.
“Kara? Slow down, I can’t understand you. What’s going on?”
”I think I’m having contractions and I’m only at six months and I can’t get in touch with Zak!”
“Oh, dear. Where are you right now?”
”At home. I wasn’t feeling well at work this afternoon but I just thought it was regular pregnancy tiredness...” Kara’s voice broke, and Laura’s heart went out to her.
Laura thought back to the last time they’d seen Zak and Kara; about two weeks ago, for dinner. Kara had been drawn and tired, with dark circles under her eyes, and the younger couple had left the restaurant early after Kara had only pushed food around on her plate. Laura hadn’t thought much of it then, had just made some semi-snarky comment that it was a good thing one didn’t need to be pregnant in order to have an excuse to order dessert as she dug into her creme brulee, but now she wondered if she should have been paying closer attention.
“Kara, I think Zak is out with Bill, running some errands here in C-City, okay? Can you call for an ambulance to take you to the hospital, or do you want me to?”
”I can call...I want Zak!”
Laura sighed. “I know, sweetie. We’ll get him for you, I promise. Look, which hospital do you go to?”
”Ilithyia Women’s.” Kara sniffled.
“I will leave right now and meet you there. I would offer to pick you up but I don’t want you to wait for me, you need to call for help right now, all right?” Laura’s schoolteacher tone brooked no argument.
”Yes. Thanks, Laura.”
“I’ll get in touch with Bill and Zak and have them meet us there, too. See you soon, Kara.” Laura reluctantly disconnected the call, hoping Kara would follow through on her promise to call the rescue squad.
Sighing, she removed her other earring and splashed some water on her face. Patting her face dry, she moved to the walk-in closet, efficiently stripping off her suit, tights, and silk blouse in favor of a pair of jeans and a red cashmere sweater. She slipped into tan driving loafers and grabbed her purse, distractedly running her fingers through her hair as she hurried to her car.
Pulling out of the driveway and heading toward the expressway, she commanded her phone to ‘call Bill’ and the phone obediently connected her. She pressed a few buttons to set it on speaker.
Finally he answered. “Hi, honey.”
“Bill.” Her tone was urgent. “Is Zak still with you?”
”Yes, why? We are just finishing up picking out some lumber.”
“Kara is headed to the hospital with contractions. I’m on my way there now. You both need to stop what you’re doing and go to Ilithyia Women’s in Delphi.”
”Damn. Okay.” She could hear Bill relaying the message to Zak in the background. ”Zak says he forgot his phone at the coffee shop and to let her know he’s on his way.”
“Will do. I’ll see you soon.” Laura disconnected the call and focused on the road.
Forty minutes later, Laura was sitting in the waiting room when Bill and Zak burst in. “Where is she? How’s Kara?” Anxiety was written all over Zak’s stricken face.
Laura stood and walked over to them, slipping her arm around Bill and leaning against his comforting bulk. She directed her gaze to Zak. “She’s stable, being seen by the doctor right now. That’s all I know. I’ve only been here for ten minutes myself.”
Zak relaxed slightly. “Thank you for coming, Laura. I’m so glad she called you.”
She gave him a quick hug and pushed his hair off his forehead. “We’re family, right? I’m happy you’re here now, though.” She stepped back and sighed heavily, thinking back to the younger woman’s uncharacteristic panic and pleading for her husband.
Just as they had settled into a row of three plastic chairs bookended by piles of well-worn magazines, a woman in a white coat came through the swinging double doors, calling, “Mr. Adama?”
She felt Bill react to the inquiry, but placed her hand on his thigh to restrain him as Zak went to the doctor. “That’s me.”
“Wait a second,” Laura whispered to Bill. Zak looked back at them and waved for them to join him, and Bill gave her a look that said I told you so.
The doctor was already speaking when they joined Zak. “The baby is fine, that’s the important thing,” she was saying. “These type of false contractions are actually quite normal. It’s the body’s way of preparing for the real thing, though it is often mistaken for actual labor. She is not dilated at all, and the baby’s heart rate is normal, indicating that the baby is not under stress.”
Bill squeezed Zak’s shoulder. “That’s good.” Laura let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.
The doctor continued. “I am a bit worried about Ms. Thrace, though. She’s slightly underweight for this point in her pregnancy, and seems more fatigued than is to be expected. She doesn’t need to be on bed rest-- the contractions will actually be less noticeable if she engages in moderate to light activity, like walking or swimming-- but to the extent her mental state can be improved, it’s worth exploring.”
Zak looked confused. “What does that mean?”
“Therapy, a counselor. Prayer, if that is her way. Perhaps a parenting class,” the doctor explained. “Her anxiety could be a problem for the baby if it persists.”
“But...Kara is happy, I thought.” Zak pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes downcast. “I know she’s not sleeping well, I just thought it was normal ‘cause she’s uncomfortable, or something.”
The doctor reviewed the chart she held. “I see here that she is still working full time and expects to do so until two weeks before her due date? That plan may need to be revisited. I would recommend that she go part-time or, ideally, stop working entirely for the duration of the pregnancy.”
“She’s not gonna be happy about that,” Zak said ruefully, “but I’ll talk to her about it. Can I see her now?”
The doctor nodded. “Sure, she’s just resting. Room 114. I’m heading that way now, actually.”
Zak turned and went with the doctor, looking back at them appreciatively before disappearing behind the wide white doors. Laura and Bill slowly walked back to the waiting area. Bill sat first and pulled Laura onto his lap. Suddenly exhausted, Laura let her head fall into the crook of his neck.
“Close call, grandma,” he said, stroking her back lightly. “Thank you for being there for Kara.”
“Really, Bill,” she murmured against the skin under his ear, “what did you and Zak think I would do, just try to pass this problem off to him? Call the rescue squad and consider it done?”
He shifted so he could look at her. “Not at all.” He kissed her forehead. “We’re both just grateful, and feel bad that we were unavailable to her when she first started having problems today. And so we’re glad that she called you.”
Mollified, Laura nestled back against him. “Okay.” She let out a long sigh and began to toy with the placket of his button-down. “How did it go today at the lumber yard, anyway?”
His smooth baritone calmed her; though her plans for a relaxing evening at home may have been dashed, she was finding that a deserted waiting room wasn’t such a terrible consolation, especially in light of the doctor’s good news. “We found some really great Virgonese hardwood for the pergola and some cheaper stuff, Scorpian timbers, for building the garden beds. It’ll be delivered to the house on Monday. Zak and I used spray paint to outline the beds this morning and hit the gardening store for seeds and some tools and equipment in the afternoon.” He squeezed her tight and shifted her weight over his lap. “How was your day, love?”
She groaned quietly. “Long. The transition with the Gray administration is eating up so much of my time on top of my other commitments.” Looking up at him, she kissed the tip of his nose. “But we’ll get through this tonight. It doesn’t sound like the doctor wants to keep Kara overnight, so why don’t we send the kids home in your car and we’ll take mine, since Kara got here by ambulance?” She considered for a moment. “Or we can ask them if they want to come home to our house tonight, since I’m guessing Zak’s car is there.”
Bill yawned. “Both good options. We’ll ask what they want to do.” He stroked her arm absently. “You’re wonderful, do you know that?”
She smiled. “Just trying to be a good grandma.”
Zak came back into the waiting area, clearing his throat to get their attention. “Uh-uhm.”
Bill and Laura looked up guiltily, Laura sliding off Bill’s lap and over into her own seat. “How is she?” Laura asked.
“You’ll see for yourself, she’s okay but a bit of a mess emotionally. She’d like to say hi to you both, though.”
Bill helped Laura up and placed a hand at the small of her back as they followed Zak back to the room. Once they entered, Zak sat in the room’s only chair while Bill and Laura took up station at opposite sides of the bed.
Kara looked pasty and wan in her gray hospital gown under the harsh glare of the fluorescent hospital lights--the opposite of how a six-months-pregnant woman should look, Laura thought. “Hey, Madam Secretary. Commander.”
“How are you feeling?” Laura took Kara’s hand.
“Like a frakking idiot,” Kara croaked. Laura held up a glass of water for her to sip through a straw as Bill looked on in concern. Once Kara had sipped sufficiently, he leaned down to kiss his daughter-in-law on the cheek. “Whaddya year, Starbuck?”
“Nothing but the rain, sir.” Kara gave him a weak smile.
Laura turned a discerning gaze to the younger woman. “What’s going on, Kara? We didn’t know you weren’t sleeping or eating well.”
Kara shook her head, not meeting their eyes. “It’s nothing.”
As Kara flexed her hands nervously at her sides, Laura noticed for the first time the strange angles her fingers formed, and worried her bottom lip at the realization that followed.
“The doctor said you can go home now, Kara,” Zak said tentatively. He rose and spoke from beside Bill, concern evident on his face. “Dad offered to lend us his car to get home tonight, then we’ll meet up again tomorrow or Sunday to swap back. Sound good?”
Kara nodded. “Yeah, I’d like that. I’m thinking a warm bath might be the perfect place to think over what I’m going to tell the Admiralty about suddenly needing the next couple of months’ leave from the academy.”
“You’re gonna go on leave? Take it easy until the baby’s born?” Zak beamed, obviously relieved. “I thought for sure you’d want to keep working at least part-time.”
She shook her head slowly. “Nope, doc said it’d be best to stop working, and I think I’ve got some things to figure out before this baby shows up.” She forced a smile.
Bill walked around the bed to join Laura. “Good girl. Take care of yourself and that baby for us, all right?”
“We’ll leave you two to get yourselves home, but we’ll call you tomorrow morning,” Laura added. She hugged Kara goodbye. “I’m glad you called me earlier,” she whispered in Kara’s ear. “We’re here for you.”
Bill squeezed Kara’s hand in farewell. “Bye, Starbuck.” He nodded at Zak. “Talk to you soon.”
As Bill and Laura left the hospital, arms linked as they walked to Laura’s car, Bill sighed. “She doesn’t look right, does she?”
Laura hummed. “I feel bad for not noticing it earlier.”
They reached the car and Bill pulled the passenger door open for Laura, who sank down gratefully. Once Bill was seated behind the steering wheel, he started the ignition and turned back to her. “Yeah, Zak felt it came a little out of left field, feels like a jerk for thinking everything was fine.” Bill shrugged. “I told him that when you live with a person or see them every day, it can be hard to notice the subtle changes.” He leaned in toward her and pushed Laura’s hair behind her shoulder. “Especially when you are so in love with a person that you become blind to the circles under their eyes, or the paleness of their skin, because every time you look at them it’s like you’re looking at the most beautiful person on the planet.”
The epic proportions of his statement amused Laura, but she tried hard not to laugh. “Most beautiful on the planet, huh?” she teased him. “What about the rest of the Colonies?” Kissing his neck and biting his earlobe, she amended, “No, no, don’t answer that. Just take me home and put me to bed...Commander.”
* * *
Laura stood in the kitchen, absently stirring a pitcher of lemonade as she watched Bill working in the garden through the window over the sink. The early evening twilight made his skin look even darker than usual, set off by the white undershirt he wore as he labored. The garden was coming along, neat rows of green sprouts popping up through the soil that Bill carefully avoided as he loosened the dirt around them to remove unwanted weeds.
She smiled at the thought of joining him in the maintenance of a verdant and bountiful backyard oasis. Just two months remained of her tenure as Secretary of Education, after which she intended to enjoy a quasi-retirement, at least for a while, of consulting and liaising between educational institutions and the incoming administration. Working from home would allow her to spend more time with her soon-to-be husband. And besides, she had a wedding to plan. Shaking her head in wonder at finding herself a blushing bride on the verge of fifty, she poured two glasses of the tart concoction and kicked off her pumps before stepping outside to make an offering to her betrothed.
“We need some more growth out here, I don’t want to get married in the midst of a dirt field.” Laura’s light tone contradicted her critical words.
“Tell it to the peppers and arugula.” He accepted the tall tumbler gratefully and took a long sip, decimating half its contents. “You’re good at getting people to follow your orders, why not plants?”
“Hmm.” Perching on the edge of a raised bed and taking care not to sully her skirt suit, she patted the dirt surrounding an optimistic scaffolding intended to support nascent tomato plants. “Grow faster.”
“You can do better than that.” Bill wagged his finger at her playfully. “Give it to ‘em good.”
Laura assumed a more authoritative tone. “Get your lazy asses out of the ground and grow already.” She held her hand out to Bill and, when he took it, pulled him down next to her as she curled her toes into the lush grass. “This is silly.”
He shrugged. “Hey, it was worth a shot.”
“Speaking of growing, how are Kara and Zak doing?”
Bill patted her bare knee, little specks of dirt from his hands disappearing against the background of her lightly freckled skin. “They’re happy. Kara’s getting big, complaining about not being able to tie her shoes. I kept her company this morning for a couple of hours while Zak was working in the shop. They’re coming by here day after tomorrow to help me do some things around the house.”
“Is she frustrated to not be working?”
Shaking his head in the negative, he said, “I think she misses it, but she knows she’ll go back in a couple of months, and in the meantime she’s keeping busy enough. She had some big project she was working on that she wouldn’t let me see. So I set up the crib while she was doing...whatever it was she was doing.”
Laura giggled. “You? Set up a crib?”
He smiled at her incredulous expression. “Yeah. I did. It’s really just like model-building, writ slightly larger, you know.” He took another sip of lemonade and exhaled loudly in satisfaction. “The nursery’s coming along--Kara’s actually painted it already--and I think they’ve tabled the idea of moving until a couple of months after the baby arrives.”
“That’s probably for the best. I don’t imagine babies take up too much space, and finding a house and moving would just cause stress that neither of them needs right now.” She brightened. “Plus, I’ll be ‘retired’ by then. It would be fun to help them find a place.”
Bill draped an arm over her shoulders. “Not until after the wedding, please.”
Laura snorted. “Oh, don’t worry. As soon as my successor is sworn in, I will be in full party-planning mode until you and I exchange vows right here.”
“Good.” He tilted her chin up with his fingers and kissed her deeply. He tasted of tart lemon and hard work and insatiable lust.
“It is good,” she sighed in affirmation once they broke for breath. Trailing her finger down his sweaty chest and wrinkling her nose at the salt and dirt that accumulated, her eyes gleamed with anticipation. “Let’s go get you cleaned up before dinner. I’ll even scrub your back for you.”
He shook his head. “You, Madam Secretary, need to cultivate your appreciation for the great outdoors.”
“Then shower, huh?”
“That’s right.” He pulled her into his lap, shifting her skirt up her hips so it rode up, exposing more of her soft flesh.
“This seems ill-advised, Bill,” Laura said, even as she shrugged out of her dove-grey suit jacket and tossed it onto the lawn, now darkened by the house’s creeping shadow as the sun approached the horizon.
Bill began unfastening the buttons of her blouse, sure fingers making short work of the task. “We put a premium on privacy for a reason when we decided to buy this place, remember?”
“I do.”
“Well, then...”
Laura stood, unzipping her skirt and sliding it off, tossing it toward its companion jacket. “As long as my clothes don’t get grass-stained, I’ll be your acolyte of the outdoors.” Now wearing only her underwear and a blouse fully unbuttoned down the front, she gingerly lowered herself to the ground and was pleased to find the lawn soft and springy. She stretched her legs out in front of her. “Get down here, Bill.”
As he hovered over her with a predatory look in his eyes, she tugged him closer so she could whisper in his ear. “I’ve never done this in a yard before, you know.”
His eyes locked with hers as they both silently recalled a similar confession on Bill’s part during their first encounter in his quarters aboard the now-decommissioned battlestar. “Well, good. I believe I owed you a first of some sort, since you were so good as to indulge me.”
“Oh, I was more than happy to indulge you, as you’ll recall, Commander,” she assured him as she worked to unbutton the fly of his shorts. She pushed his shorts down over his hips and he shrugged out of them, adding them to the growing pile of garments. Reaching beneath his boxers, she was unsurprised to find him already hard.
She wrapped a leg around his waist and drew him down against her as she stroked his cock with a firm grip. “Is this for me?” she asked with a possessive twist of her wrist. He answered by pushing her shirt aside and lowering his mouth to her lace-clad breasts, drawing her nipples through the fabric until he grew frustrated, even as she squirmed under his ministrations, and he pushed her bra cups down to reveal the rosy buds.
“Oh gods, yes,” Laura sighed contentedly as Bill nipped at the sensitive skin. She pushed his boxers down so she could roll her hips against his and appreciate the full effect of his arousal. He did the same for her, pushing her panties out of the way and off her legs so that the soft skin of his cock could finally brush against her damp curls.
She wrapped her leg around him again and used the leverage to roll them both onto their sides, facing each other, and placed his cock between her legs against the apex of her thighs, moving against him purposefully. One hand found her ass, clasping her closer against him, and the other reached up to cup her face, pushing her hair back as he kissed her neck and whispered in her ear.
“Starting to see the benefits of the great outdoors, Laura?”
Her only reply was a whimper as she moved faster against him.
“The lawn...feels...amazing,” she finally panted, smirking.
“Oh the lawn does, huh?” He pushed her onto her back and sheathed himself inside her slowly, savoring the feel of her body accommodating his own. Once he was fully seated, she started moving against him again, which he took as his cue to thrust. He braced himself over her and looked into her eyes, sure he would never tire of this playful and adventurous woman and finding himself once more thanking the gods for bringing her to him and letting him keep her.
Laura, meanwhile, had wrapped her legs around him once more, enjoying the deep angle of penetration it allowed. “Love you,” she breathed before he covered her mouth with his own.
He sucked on her bottom lip and pounded into her hard, burying himself over and over as they breathed in the same air in alternate turns. Only when he could feel her beginning to tense around him did he break the kiss, enough for them to both inhale deep draughts of intoxicating fresh air and for him to reorient himself enough to slide his hand down between their bodies.
Laura’s head rolled back further into the grass as his thumb circled then pressed down on her clit, exposing the long column of her neck for him to place tender kisses against as she shuddered around him.
Bill only lasted a few more strokes before he followed his lover over the edge and collapsed on top of her.
She ran her hands in soothing motions along the back of his sweaty tanks as they both regained their equilibrium; being on the ground, amid the moving shadows of the large swaying trees surrounding them, seemed surreal in these precious postcoital moments.
“You’re going to have to check me for grass stains,” came a wry voice from beneath Bill.
He pushed himself up slightly, enough to drop light kisses to her brow and temple. “Shower, remember? And I’m more worried about what damage we might have done to the lawn.”
Laura pushed him off her and rolled off the spot, propping her head up on her elbow and examining the depression critically. “It’ll pop back up...right?”
“Please tell me you mean the grass.”
She patted his thigh reassuringly. “Of course.”
He groaned and sat up, reaching for their clothes and tossing Laura’s suit and panties to her.
“You know, Bill,” she started, grinning, “I think this spot might be the perfect place to have the ceremony.”
Next part- Inaugural Baby (rated T)
Previous part- Via Familia (rated MA)
Author: afrakaday
Word Count: 5000
Rating: MA
A/N: Part 2 of what I've dubbed the Astral Planes series. Part 1 is here and Part 3 is here (yes, I have written them out of order). Thanks to nixmom for the beta.
“You’re what?” Zak gaped at Bill, nearly dropping the espresso that had been halfway between the table and his mouth when Bill announced the news.
“Getting hitched. Married. Laura and I.” Bill couldn’t wipe the smug grin from his face. “We’re thinking of having the ceremony and reception at our house in six months or so. Gives us a little motivation to get the yard finished.”
Zak groaned at the mention of the yard, subconsciously rubbing at the calluses that had developed on his palms over the past few weekends’ efforts, but reached out across the small circular table and grasped Bill’s shoulder. “I’m happy for you, Dad. Laura’s really good for you. I’m glad you found each other.”
Bill silently thanked the gods for the circumstances that had brought him together with Laura and allowed them to stay that way, then shuddered at the thought of how close he’d come to losing her. The love of his life, he could easily admit. “I never thought I would marry again, after the way things ended with your mother. But Laura is different.”
A snort indicated Zak’s concurrence. “That’s for sure.”
“I think Laura would have been content to remain as we are,” Bill continued, “domestic partners, you know?” He looked thoughtfully at Zak. “But something about hearing that you and Kara were expecting, thinking about family, and love, made me realize that I want her to be my wife. So I asked her.”
“Sounds pretty possessive, Dad.” Zak smirked. “Laura seems like the independent type to me. She’s never been married before, right?”
Bill shook his head. “No, she hasn’t. Why?”
Zak let out a low whistle. “Don’t blame you for wanting to lock that up, especially those legs. I’m just impressed you were able to.”
“Hey now.” Bill gave his son a warning glance. “You keep your eyes off my fiance’s legs, all right? And give your old man a little credit.”
Zak threw his hands up in surrender. “I’m a married man and father-to-be! What, you want me to promise to avert my eyes whenever Laura wears a skirt from now on?”
Bill glared silently and responded with a curt nod before bursting out laughing, Zak’s mischievous look inhibiting Bill’s ability to maintain the stony facade. “They are great legs, huh?”
“Not answering that one.” Zak calmly sipped his espresso.
Looking around the coffee shop--Joe’s Coffee Bar, Zak had named it--Bill decided a change of topic was in order. “You’ve got some nice pieces in here since my last visit.” A series of dark backgrounds contrasted with prominently featured bright concentric shapes, the wavy imprecision of the brushstrokes evocative of an indecisive anxiety.
Turning in his seat to look around, Zak agreed. “All Kara’s. She’s been painting a lot lately. She gets home from the academy, I make dinner while she paints, we eat, she paints some more. When they’re done I mat them and put them up in here.” He shrugged. “Seems therapeutic for her. I think she’s a little stressed about the baby.”
“Having a baby’s a big change,” Bill acknowledged. “But one of the best.” His brow furrowed as he searched for words. “Zak... I’m sorry... I wish...” He looked out the window, regrets washing over him in waves.
“That you’d been around more when Lee and I were kids?” Zak shrugged. “You were great, when you were around. We idolized you, you know. So yeah, it was tough that you were off-world so much when we were young. And of course Mom didn’t help matters, bashing you all the time to us.”
Bill reached out to rest his hand on Zak’s forearm. “I just want you to know, it was a mistake to be gone as much as I was. I didn’t do everything I could to stay in touch.”
Zak smiled sympathetically at his father. “Dad, it’s all right. For one, I learned from your experience.” He gestured grandly around the bustling coffee shop. “I’m staying right here. Great place for a kid to hang out, don’t you think?” He grinned. “And Kara’s got a good gig at the flight academy, shouldn’t have to go off-world unless we go to war or something.”
“I’m glad.” Bill smiled at his son. “You have it all figured out, smart guy.” A shadow crossed his craggy features. “Wish I could say the same of your brother.”
“Last I heard, he’s thinking about mustering out and going to law school.” Zak rolled his eyes. “I don’t hear from him much. I think he talks to Kara once in a while but that’s all she’s mentioned to me.” He regarded his father thoughtfully. “You’ve mellowed out a lot since your retirement. I don’t know if it’s because you’re retired, or that you’re head over heels in love, or what, but I’m glad I’ve gotten to spend so much time with you now, as an adult. Lee is missing out on seeing this side of you.”
“Maybe I’ll try to call him soon.” Bill checked his watch; it was almost time for him to leave in order to meet Laura for lunch in downtown Caprica City. “Thanks for the coffee, son. I should head out.” Both men rose from the table, and Zak walked with Bill to the door.
“I’m really happy about you and Laura, Dad. Thanks for coming down to tell me in person.”
Bill embraced his younger son. “Tell Kara I said hello and let’s have you both over for dinner again soon, hey? Or maybe we’ll come down here and take you both out.”
His son nodded, smiling. “We’d like that. Whatever works best for Laura’s schedule.”
With a wave, Bill took his leave to go meet his fiance.
* * *
Laura’s cell phone rang on the vanity, eliciting an exasperated sigh from its owner, who was struggling to remove an earring in her attempt to transform from the perfectly put-together Secretary to casual Laura for the evening. It had been an exhausting day, negotiating academic freedom policies with university administrators in the morning and then participating in a school lunch nutrition panel with the Secretary of Agriculture and their respective staffs in the afternoon, and she would be pissed if someone was about to intrude on the quiet Friday evening at home she had planned with Bill. Finally tugging the post free from the backing, she snatched up the phone and held it to the now-unadorned ear. “Roslin.”
Laura strained to hear the mumbled greeting on the other end.
“Kara? Slow down, I can’t understand you. What’s going on?”
”I think I’m having contractions and I’m only at six months and I can’t get in touch with Zak!”
“Oh, dear. Where are you right now?”
”At home. I wasn’t feeling well at work this afternoon but I just thought it was regular pregnancy tiredness...” Kara’s voice broke, and Laura’s heart went out to her.
Laura thought back to the last time they’d seen Zak and Kara; about two weeks ago, for dinner. Kara had been drawn and tired, with dark circles under her eyes, and the younger couple had left the restaurant early after Kara had only pushed food around on her plate. Laura hadn’t thought much of it then, had just made some semi-snarky comment that it was a good thing one didn’t need to be pregnant in order to have an excuse to order dessert as she dug into her creme brulee, but now she wondered if she should have been paying closer attention.
“Kara, I think Zak is out with Bill, running some errands here in C-City, okay? Can you call for an ambulance to take you to the hospital, or do you want me to?”
”I can call...I want Zak!”
Laura sighed. “I know, sweetie. We’ll get him for you, I promise. Look, which hospital do you go to?”
”Ilithyia Women’s.” Kara sniffled.
“I will leave right now and meet you there. I would offer to pick you up but I don’t want you to wait for me, you need to call for help right now, all right?” Laura’s schoolteacher tone brooked no argument.
”Yes. Thanks, Laura.”
“I’ll get in touch with Bill and Zak and have them meet us there, too. See you soon, Kara.” Laura reluctantly disconnected the call, hoping Kara would follow through on her promise to call the rescue squad.
Sighing, she removed her other earring and splashed some water on her face. Patting her face dry, she moved to the walk-in closet, efficiently stripping off her suit, tights, and silk blouse in favor of a pair of jeans and a red cashmere sweater. She slipped into tan driving loafers and grabbed her purse, distractedly running her fingers through her hair as she hurried to her car.
Pulling out of the driveway and heading toward the expressway, she commanded her phone to ‘call Bill’ and the phone obediently connected her. She pressed a few buttons to set it on speaker.
Finally he answered. “Hi, honey.”
“Bill.” Her tone was urgent. “Is Zak still with you?”
”Yes, why? We are just finishing up picking out some lumber.”
“Kara is headed to the hospital with contractions. I’m on my way there now. You both need to stop what you’re doing and go to Ilithyia Women’s in Delphi.”
”Damn. Okay.” She could hear Bill relaying the message to Zak in the background. ”Zak says he forgot his phone at the coffee shop and to let her know he’s on his way.”
“Will do. I’ll see you soon.” Laura disconnected the call and focused on the road.
Forty minutes later, Laura was sitting in the waiting room when Bill and Zak burst in. “Where is she? How’s Kara?” Anxiety was written all over Zak’s stricken face.
Laura stood and walked over to them, slipping her arm around Bill and leaning against his comforting bulk. She directed her gaze to Zak. “She’s stable, being seen by the doctor right now. That’s all I know. I’ve only been here for ten minutes myself.”
Zak relaxed slightly. “Thank you for coming, Laura. I’m so glad she called you.”
She gave him a quick hug and pushed his hair off his forehead. “We’re family, right? I’m happy you’re here now, though.” She stepped back and sighed heavily, thinking back to the younger woman’s uncharacteristic panic and pleading for her husband.
Just as they had settled into a row of three plastic chairs bookended by piles of well-worn magazines, a woman in a white coat came through the swinging double doors, calling, “Mr. Adama?”
She felt Bill react to the inquiry, but placed her hand on his thigh to restrain him as Zak went to the doctor. “That’s me.”
“Wait a second,” Laura whispered to Bill. Zak looked back at them and waved for them to join him, and Bill gave her a look that said I told you so.
The doctor was already speaking when they joined Zak. “The baby is fine, that’s the important thing,” she was saying. “These type of false contractions are actually quite normal. It’s the body’s way of preparing for the real thing, though it is often mistaken for actual labor. She is not dilated at all, and the baby’s heart rate is normal, indicating that the baby is not under stress.”
Bill squeezed Zak’s shoulder. “That’s good.” Laura let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.
The doctor continued. “I am a bit worried about Ms. Thrace, though. She’s slightly underweight for this point in her pregnancy, and seems more fatigued than is to be expected. She doesn’t need to be on bed rest-- the contractions will actually be less noticeable if she engages in moderate to light activity, like walking or swimming-- but to the extent her mental state can be improved, it’s worth exploring.”
Zak looked confused. “What does that mean?”
“Therapy, a counselor. Prayer, if that is her way. Perhaps a parenting class,” the doctor explained. “Her anxiety could be a problem for the baby if it persists.”
“But...Kara is happy, I thought.” Zak pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes downcast. “I know she’s not sleeping well, I just thought it was normal ‘cause she’s uncomfortable, or something.”
The doctor reviewed the chart she held. “I see here that she is still working full time and expects to do so until two weeks before her due date? That plan may need to be revisited. I would recommend that she go part-time or, ideally, stop working entirely for the duration of the pregnancy.”
“She’s not gonna be happy about that,” Zak said ruefully, “but I’ll talk to her about it. Can I see her now?”
The doctor nodded. “Sure, she’s just resting. Room 114. I’m heading that way now, actually.”
Zak turned and went with the doctor, looking back at them appreciatively before disappearing behind the wide white doors. Laura and Bill slowly walked back to the waiting area. Bill sat first and pulled Laura onto his lap. Suddenly exhausted, Laura let her head fall into the crook of his neck.
“Close call, grandma,” he said, stroking her back lightly. “Thank you for being there for Kara.”
“Really, Bill,” she murmured against the skin under his ear, “what did you and Zak think I would do, just try to pass this problem off to him? Call the rescue squad and consider it done?”
He shifted so he could look at her. “Not at all.” He kissed her forehead. “We’re both just grateful, and feel bad that we were unavailable to her when she first started having problems today. And so we’re glad that she called you.”
Mollified, Laura nestled back against him. “Okay.” She let out a long sigh and began to toy with the placket of his button-down. “How did it go today at the lumber yard, anyway?”
His smooth baritone calmed her; though her plans for a relaxing evening at home may have been dashed, she was finding that a deserted waiting room wasn’t such a terrible consolation, especially in light of the doctor’s good news. “We found some really great Virgonese hardwood for the pergola and some cheaper stuff, Scorpian timbers, for building the garden beds. It’ll be delivered to the house on Monday. Zak and I used spray paint to outline the beds this morning and hit the gardening store for seeds and some tools and equipment in the afternoon.” He squeezed her tight and shifted her weight over his lap. “How was your day, love?”
She groaned quietly. “Long. The transition with the Gray administration is eating up so much of my time on top of my other commitments.” Looking up at him, she kissed the tip of his nose. “But we’ll get through this tonight. It doesn’t sound like the doctor wants to keep Kara overnight, so why don’t we send the kids home in your car and we’ll take mine, since Kara got here by ambulance?” She considered for a moment. “Or we can ask them if they want to come home to our house tonight, since I’m guessing Zak’s car is there.”
Bill yawned. “Both good options. We’ll ask what they want to do.” He stroked her arm absently. “You’re wonderful, do you know that?”
She smiled. “Just trying to be a good grandma.”
Zak came back into the waiting area, clearing his throat to get their attention. “Uh-uhm.”
Bill and Laura looked up guiltily, Laura sliding off Bill’s lap and over into her own seat. “How is she?” Laura asked.
“You’ll see for yourself, she’s okay but a bit of a mess emotionally. She’d like to say hi to you both, though.”
Bill helped Laura up and placed a hand at the small of her back as they followed Zak back to the room. Once they entered, Zak sat in the room’s only chair while Bill and Laura took up station at opposite sides of the bed.
Kara looked pasty and wan in her gray hospital gown under the harsh glare of the fluorescent hospital lights--the opposite of how a six-months-pregnant woman should look, Laura thought. “Hey, Madam Secretary. Commander.”
“How are you feeling?” Laura took Kara’s hand.
“Like a frakking idiot,” Kara croaked. Laura held up a glass of water for her to sip through a straw as Bill looked on in concern. Once Kara had sipped sufficiently, he leaned down to kiss his daughter-in-law on the cheek. “Whaddya year, Starbuck?”
“Nothing but the rain, sir.” Kara gave him a weak smile.
Laura turned a discerning gaze to the younger woman. “What’s going on, Kara? We didn’t know you weren’t sleeping or eating well.”
Kara shook her head, not meeting their eyes. “It’s nothing.”
As Kara flexed her hands nervously at her sides, Laura noticed for the first time the strange angles her fingers formed, and worried her bottom lip at the realization that followed.
“The doctor said you can go home now, Kara,” Zak said tentatively. He rose and spoke from beside Bill, concern evident on his face. “Dad offered to lend us his car to get home tonight, then we’ll meet up again tomorrow or Sunday to swap back. Sound good?”
Kara nodded. “Yeah, I’d like that. I’m thinking a warm bath might be the perfect place to think over what I’m going to tell the Admiralty about suddenly needing the next couple of months’ leave from the academy.”
“You’re gonna go on leave? Take it easy until the baby’s born?” Zak beamed, obviously relieved. “I thought for sure you’d want to keep working at least part-time.”
She shook her head slowly. “Nope, doc said it’d be best to stop working, and I think I’ve got some things to figure out before this baby shows up.” She forced a smile.
Bill walked around the bed to join Laura. “Good girl. Take care of yourself and that baby for us, all right?”
“We’ll leave you two to get yourselves home, but we’ll call you tomorrow morning,” Laura added. She hugged Kara goodbye. “I’m glad you called me earlier,” she whispered in Kara’s ear. “We’re here for you.”
Bill squeezed Kara’s hand in farewell. “Bye, Starbuck.” He nodded at Zak. “Talk to you soon.”
As Bill and Laura left the hospital, arms linked as they walked to Laura’s car, Bill sighed. “She doesn’t look right, does she?”
Laura hummed. “I feel bad for not noticing it earlier.”
They reached the car and Bill pulled the passenger door open for Laura, who sank down gratefully. Once Bill was seated behind the steering wheel, he started the ignition and turned back to her. “Yeah, Zak felt it came a little out of left field, feels like a jerk for thinking everything was fine.” Bill shrugged. “I told him that when you live with a person or see them every day, it can be hard to notice the subtle changes.” He leaned in toward her and pushed Laura’s hair behind her shoulder. “Especially when you are so in love with a person that you become blind to the circles under their eyes, or the paleness of their skin, because every time you look at them it’s like you’re looking at the most beautiful person on the planet.”
The epic proportions of his statement amused Laura, but she tried hard not to laugh. “Most beautiful on the planet, huh?” she teased him. “What about the rest of the Colonies?” Kissing his neck and biting his earlobe, she amended, “No, no, don’t answer that. Just take me home and put me to bed...Commander.”
* * *
Laura stood in the kitchen, absently stirring a pitcher of lemonade as she watched Bill working in the garden through the window over the sink. The early evening twilight made his skin look even darker than usual, set off by the white undershirt he wore as he labored. The garden was coming along, neat rows of green sprouts popping up through the soil that Bill carefully avoided as he loosened the dirt around them to remove unwanted weeds.
She smiled at the thought of joining him in the maintenance of a verdant and bountiful backyard oasis. Just two months remained of her tenure as Secretary of Education, after which she intended to enjoy a quasi-retirement, at least for a while, of consulting and liaising between educational institutions and the incoming administration. Working from home would allow her to spend more time with her soon-to-be husband. And besides, she had a wedding to plan. Shaking her head in wonder at finding herself a blushing bride on the verge of fifty, she poured two glasses of the tart concoction and kicked off her pumps before stepping outside to make an offering to her betrothed.
“We need some more growth out here, I don’t want to get married in the midst of a dirt field.” Laura’s light tone contradicted her critical words.
“Tell it to the peppers and arugula.” He accepted the tall tumbler gratefully and took a long sip, decimating half its contents. “You’re good at getting people to follow your orders, why not plants?”
“Hmm.” Perching on the edge of a raised bed and taking care not to sully her skirt suit, she patted the dirt surrounding an optimistic scaffolding intended to support nascent tomato plants. “Grow faster.”
“You can do better than that.” Bill wagged his finger at her playfully. “Give it to ‘em good.”
Laura assumed a more authoritative tone. “Get your lazy asses out of the ground and grow already.” She held her hand out to Bill and, when he took it, pulled him down next to her as she curled her toes into the lush grass. “This is silly.”
He shrugged. “Hey, it was worth a shot.”
“Speaking of growing, how are Kara and Zak doing?”
Bill patted her bare knee, little specks of dirt from his hands disappearing against the background of her lightly freckled skin. “They’re happy. Kara’s getting big, complaining about not being able to tie her shoes. I kept her company this morning for a couple of hours while Zak was working in the shop. They’re coming by here day after tomorrow to help me do some things around the house.”
“Is she frustrated to not be working?”
Shaking his head in the negative, he said, “I think she misses it, but she knows she’ll go back in a couple of months, and in the meantime she’s keeping busy enough. She had some big project she was working on that she wouldn’t let me see. So I set up the crib while she was doing...whatever it was she was doing.”
Laura giggled. “You? Set up a crib?”
He smiled at her incredulous expression. “Yeah. I did. It’s really just like model-building, writ slightly larger, you know.” He took another sip of lemonade and exhaled loudly in satisfaction. “The nursery’s coming along--Kara’s actually painted it already--and I think they’ve tabled the idea of moving until a couple of months after the baby arrives.”
“That’s probably for the best. I don’t imagine babies take up too much space, and finding a house and moving would just cause stress that neither of them needs right now.” She brightened. “Plus, I’ll be ‘retired’ by then. It would be fun to help them find a place.”
Bill draped an arm over her shoulders. “Not until after the wedding, please.”
Laura snorted. “Oh, don’t worry. As soon as my successor is sworn in, I will be in full party-planning mode until you and I exchange vows right here.”
“Good.” He tilted her chin up with his fingers and kissed her deeply. He tasted of tart lemon and hard work and insatiable lust.
“It is good,” she sighed in affirmation once they broke for breath. Trailing her finger down his sweaty chest and wrinkling her nose at the salt and dirt that accumulated, her eyes gleamed with anticipation. “Let’s go get you cleaned up before dinner. I’ll even scrub your back for you.”
He shook his head. “You, Madam Secretary, need to cultivate your appreciation for the great outdoors.”
“Then shower, huh?”
“That’s right.” He pulled her into his lap, shifting her skirt up her hips so it rode up, exposing more of her soft flesh.
“This seems ill-advised, Bill,” Laura said, even as she shrugged out of her dove-grey suit jacket and tossed it onto the lawn, now darkened by the house’s creeping shadow as the sun approached the horizon.
Bill began unfastening the buttons of her blouse, sure fingers making short work of the task. “We put a premium on privacy for a reason when we decided to buy this place, remember?”
“I do.”
“Well, then...”
Laura stood, unzipping her skirt and sliding it off, tossing it toward its companion jacket. “As long as my clothes don’t get grass-stained, I’ll be your acolyte of the outdoors.” Now wearing only her underwear and a blouse fully unbuttoned down the front, she gingerly lowered herself to the ground and was pleased to find the lawn soft and springy. She stretched her legs out in front of her. “Get down here, Bill.”
As he hovered over her with a predatory look in his eyes, she tugged him closer so she could whisper in his ear. “I’ve never done this in a yard before, you know.”
His eyes locked with hers as they both silently recalled a similar confession on Bill’s part during their first encounter in his quarters aboard the now-decommissioned battlestar. “Well, good. I believe I owed you a first of some sort, since you were so good as to indulge me.”
“Oh, I was more than happy to indulge you, as you’ll recall, Commander,” she assured him as she worked to unbutton the fly of his shorts. She pushed his shorts down over his hips and he shrugged out of them, adding them to the growing pile of garments. Reaching beneath his boxers, she was unsurprised to find him already hard.
She wrapped a leg around his waist and drew him down against her as she stroked his cock with a firm grip. “Is this for me?” she asked with a possessive twist of her wrist. He answered by pushing her shirt aside and lowering his mouth to her lace-clad breasts, drawing her nipples through the fabric until he grew frustrated, even as she squirmed under his ministrations, and he pushed her bra cups down to reveal the rosy buds.
“Oh gods, yes,” Laura sighed contentedly as Bill nipped at the sensitive skin. She pushed his boxers down so she could roll her hips against his and appreciate the full effect of his arousal. He did the same for her, pushing her panties out of the way and off her legs so that the soft skin of his cock could finally brush against her damp curls.
She wrapped her leg around him again and used the leverage to roll them both onto their sides, facing each other, and placed his cock between her legs against the apex of her thighs, moving against him purposefully. One hand found her ass, clasping her closer against him, and the other reached up to cup her face, pushing her hair back as he kissed her neck and whispered in her ear.
“Starting to see the benefits of the great outdoors, Laura?”
Her only reply was a whimper as she moved faster against him.
“The lawn...feels...amazing,” she finally panted, smirking.
“Oh the lawn does, huh?” He pushed her onto her back and sheathed himself inside her slowly, savoring the feel of her body accommodating his own. Once he was fully seated, she started moving against him again, which he took as his cue to thrust. He braced himself over her and looked into her eyes, sure he would never tire of this playful and adventurous woman and finding himself once more thanking the gods for bringing her to him and letting him keep her.
Laura, meanwhile, had wrapped her legs around him once more, enjoying the deep angle of penetration it allowed. “Love you,” she breathed before he covered her mouth with his own.
He sucked on her bottom lip and pounded into her hard, burying himself over and over as they breathed in the same air in alternate turns. Only when he could feel her beginning to tense around him did he break the kiss, enough for them to both inhale deep draughts of intoxicating fresh air and for him to reorient himself enough to slide his hand down between their bodies.
Laura’s head rolled back further into the grass as his thumb circled then pressed down on her clit, exposing the long column of her neck for him to place tender kisses against as she shuddered around him.
Bill only lasted a few more strokes before he followed his lover over the edge and collapsed on top of her.
She ran her hands in soothing motions along the back of his sweaty tanks as they both regained their equilibrium; being on the ground, amid the moving shadows of the large swaying trees surrounding them, seemed surreal in these precious postcoital moments.
“You’re going to have to check me for grass stains,” came a wry voice from beneath Bill.
He pushed himself up slightly, enough to drop light kisses to her brow and temple. “Shower, remember? And I’m more worried about what damage we might have done to the lawn.”
Laura pushed him off her and rolled off the spot, propping her head up on her elbow and examining the depression critically. “It’ll pop back up...right?”
“Please tell me you mean the grass.”
She patted his thigh reassuringly. “Of course.”
He groaned and sat up, reaching for their clothes and tossing Laura’s suit and panties to her.
“You know, Bill,” she started, grinning, “I think this spot might be the perfect place to have the ceremony.”
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