Disclaimer: BSG (2003) and all the characters are property of Ron D. Moore. I merely borrowed his playthings to play a bit in his sandbox.

Enjoy! L

- Four years later -

Standing in front of their house with a steaming cup of coffee in her hands, Laura was breathing in the crisp morning air, looking into the garden and at the flowers that were beginning to blossom in shades of tangerine, purple and burgundy. It was an early Saturday morning and she was on her own because Bill had left to spend a weekend with Saul on the boat the two of them had built together.

A smile tugged at her lips when she thought of how long it had taken her husband and his best friend to finish the project they had decided to start together after all of them had properly settled again. First, Bill had been asked to return to Galactica for several days a week to help improve the information centre on war history there since it had become increasingly popular and was incredibly crowded at times. He had been obstinate about not wanting to teach kids about his insights into the military, but Laura saw how his eyes began to sparkle every time he left for a flight to "his" ship.

After that, Saul had had an accident with Ellen during a skiing holiday in the mountains. It had been nothing to worry about really, just a twisted ankle, some bruises and contusions on his knees and back, a light concussion and a broken arm. Nothing that would have meant for him to stay in hospital anyway. But, surprisingly, Ellen had insisted on him staying at home for a few weeks to get well again. Laura and Bill had talked about that for a long time one night, wondering what suddenly had gotten into Tigh's formerly so freedom-loving wife who never refused a good flirt (or wouldn't say no to more than just that) and why she had become the oh-so-caring housewife who felt responsible for her husband and even accepted taking care of him at home. They never found out why, but Bill jokingly concluded the topic, stating that he would never understand the secret to Saul's and Ellen's marriage anyway.

Then, on New Year's Eve four years ago, Kara and Lee, who had come to celebrate over dinner and drinks with Laura and Bill, hinted that the little family of the four of them that had grown very close would be extended by one person the next time they celebrated – which had been obvious from the moment Kara had asked Laura for a glass of soda instead of wine. Particularly Bill could not hide his excitement over the announcement and much later when he and Laura had gone to bed, holding each other close and remembering how different this New Year's Eve could have been for at least one of them, he was still thrilled with the prospect of a small Kara or a tiny Lee.

The first months of the year passed by quite uneventfully, Bill was working on Galactica more often and Laura still enjoyed teaching in the school that had brought a new meaning to her life. They made the most of the weekends they both had to themselves with hiking trips into the mountains, working in and outside their house and laying out a little lake that would be filled with the water that came down from the hill in a clear stream, glistening in the sun. Bill was happily teasing Laura about the fact that she who had refused to do any gardening at the beginning of their relationship had gotten really passionate about planting flowers, dividing their vast garden into different areas to grow all sorts of vegetables and a variety of sweet berries, all of it surrounded by cherry and apple trees. They had created their little paradise there and it had taken them a while, but they were rewarded with admiring looks from those who passed by and even Kara who certainly was not keen on digging in the ground or cutting back branches admitted that she loved coming over on mild spring evenings to enjoy some peace and quiet.

However, the relationship between her and Lee had been put to the test during her pregnancy with her becoming increasingly irritated and moody, not being able to work anymore as a flying instructor in Caprica City. She had gotten bored and fed up with the fact that she could no longer move around as easily as she used to and more than once started meaningless fights with Lee after he came home late from work, particularly when he was working extra hours. As Secretary of Defense of the new administration under President Alex Denerra (funnily enough, a former colleague of Laura's at the ministry of education and a good friend of hers), he certainly had been given the right job: his policies were effective, he loved his work even seven days a week if necessary and was respected and liked by his colleagues, until unfortunately a series of strikes in the military had led to staff shortage and problems with the education of future soldiers. Of course, Lee felt it was his personal responsibility to deal with this particular crisis.

Laura, although she had not had any children herself, felt for Kara whom she by then already loved like a daughter and whenever the young woman called her, crying angry tears on the other end of the line, not knowing how to go on, she offered to come over and either stay there overnight or take Kara home with her, sit next to her on the couch, arms wrapped around her and calm her down with a cup of tea and some soothing and well-placed words. Lee knew that Kara did not really mean the things she said (that she regretted carrying a child because it would end up being as much of a frak up as she was or that she would not be able to take care of it in a responsible way or that he'd really be better off without her and should try to get away as long as he still could) and, of course, they hurt him deep inside every time she had one of her anxiety attacks. But one night, after a particularly tearful and loud argument that had resulted in Laura taking Kara to bed and staying by her side until she finally was fast asleep, he had sat down with Laura and opened up how he really felt about their situation. Of course, he was scared, too. He came from a difficult family background and yes, he knew how much children would hurt if their parents couldn't face and solve their problems together anymore. Lee was aware, though, that he had every right to be optimistic about his own family and to try to make things better for his daughter – they finally had found out about the sex of their unborn child just that day which certainly had triggered memories from Kara's own childhood and caused her to act the way she had done – than they had been for him. Laura, taking his hands in hers, promised that both, he and Kara, would receive all the support they needed from her and his father and they would get through this as well – together, as a family.

When it was only one more month until the due date, they all sat down together again and discussed options for how to proceed from then on. The situation in the ministry had not improved and Lee was working more than ever before, which was why Bill and Laura had decided to offer Kara to stay with them until she gave birth and if necessary also after that because she certainly would require some help. Both Lee and Kara had at first disapproved of the idea, suggesting that Laura and Bill had their own lives and jobs, needed their space and certainly would not want to have a newborn waking them up every night. Laura and Bill, exchanging knowing and amused looks, however, listed all the advantages of their idea and in the end Kara and Lee gave up, warning them that they certainly would regret their generosity.

They did not. Of course, it was not easy for Laura to schedule work, Kara's appointments with her doctor and Bill's long travels so that nothing really interfered with each other. But in the end, all of them agreed that Kara having someone around her almost 24/7 made them feel safer and Lee still tried to come over as much as he could, being able to calm down a bit while enjoying a quiet night in with his parents over a glass of wine and cake.

Then, 10 days before the due date, Laura received a call from the hospital while she was marking essays in her office at school in the afternoon. Kara had been taken there because of premature labour, but everything seemed to be under control – as far as that could be said about someone being about to give birth. Laura immediately packed up her things, got into her car and drove the 15 minutes to the hospital, almost wrecked with tension, trying to call Lee and Bill multiple times without any success. Arriving there, she was told by a very boisterous nurse that Kara had been admitted to the delivery room and that she could either get herself some coffee and sit down in the area outside or, if she felt up to it, join her. Laura did not have to think about that for long. Pictures of Bill staying with her all through her doloxin treatments and the pain she had endured during each of them came up as very vivid memories before her eyes. She gave a short nod into the direction of the delivery room and followed the nurse who had already started scurrying there.

The next 5 hours were only a blur in hindsight: Kara screaming her head off, tightly squeezing Laura's left hand who was feeling horribly helpless, and people bustling around them, making short comments on Kara's state and heading in and out of the room. In the end, however, two exhausted women in a small hospital room were marveling at a third tiny one who was lying on Kara's belly. Laura had finally reached Lee and Bill as well, the latter being beside himself to miss this since he would under no circumstances be able to get back from Galactica for another two days, and Lee screaming into Laura's ear so loudly that she was afraid she'd hear a ringing until the end of her days. When he finally had arrived an hour later, hugging Laura tightly and planting a kiss on Kara's and their daughter's foreheads, Laura quietly exited the room to give the new family some time to themselves and decided to get that cup of coffee the nurse had talked about before. Sitting down with her cup in one hand and her phone in the other, she called Bill again who still was ecstatic and expected hourly updates and pictures, which made Laura, who found the days without him increasingly straining, miss him even more.

While Laura was musing about all that over her coffee in the garden now, thinking of how much had changed since little Sophie had entered their world and conquered all their hearts, she began to wonder what the next two days with her granddaughter would be like. Lee and Kara had been invited to a friend's wedding and she had offered to take care of her little girl. For one thing, because Kara had mentioned that she would have been the only child there and would most likely not have enjoyed herself among so many strangers, and for another Laura hadn't seen her in quite some time since work had been really busy. Exams were coming up, a couple of teacher conferences had to be organised for the next few weeks and ever since she had become assistant head of the school eight months ago, she felt the additional responsibilities change her everyday life immensely. She certainly did enjoy her new position and working together with Emily, the head of the school whom she had met at the election party of the new president back then, was more than enjoyable, especially since she had gotten engaged to Alex and they saw each other more often outside of work, too. Yet, this weekend Laura was more than grateful to have some time on her own with Sophie and had been planning all sorts of activities the little girl loved doing when she visited her grandparents: baking cookies which she usually did with Bill, going for walks along the river and watching the water running down the hill, being taught the names of flowers and plants in Laura's and Bill's garden and, after a long day filled with all of this, cuddling on the couch with her grandma, listening to her soft voice reading a story from her favourite book on animals and nature.

Slowly, the sun had started to rise above the hills and bathed the garden in a warm light. Laura took a deep breath, stretched her legs and got up to move back into the house, wash her cup, take a shower and get dressed before Lee and Kara would arrive an hour later. Just after she had finished drying her hair, she heard the doorbell buzz several times and Sophie's excited voice babbling through the open window of the living room. When she opened the door and could detect Lee and Kara exiting their car in the distance, she immediately felt two small arms hugging her legs and saw two sparkling blue eyes in a face surrounded by blond curls expectantly looking up to her.

-TBC-