"Easy does it, Zara. There. Nice and comfy. Need another pillow?"

Letting Jim help her into bed, Zarabeth could only laugh at Jim's flustered expression, the look he always got when he was trying to be helpful without a clue as to what he was doing.

"No, I'm alright. Unless...Do you have time to sit with me? Just a few minutes. I know you have to meet Silver, but-"

"Nonsense. He can start without me."

The boy was quick to crawl under the covers beside her, pulling his wife into his arms so that she was practically lying in his lap, leaving a few kisses in the waves of her hair before leaning his head against hers with a sigh.

Zara's hands mindlessly ran over the fabric of the sleeve of his uniform jacket, closing her eyes to calm her racing mind.

Comfortable silence permeated the room for what felt like so much longer than the few minutes that they were, Jim's hushed words breaking the illusion as he hesitantly spoke. "It-It's not too late. I can still stay."

"Jim."

She didn't mean for it, but her tone did give the impression of slight frustration as Zara slowly sat up, turning to face her husband as she smiled softly in an attempt to make up for her initial reaction.

"You've been putting off this mission for weeks. I'm surprised they even let you drag it out this far. You have a job to do, you and Silver." Lifting her hand to let it rest against the side of Jim's face, Zarabeth let her thumb gently caress his cheek as she managed to procure a smile from him in return. "I will be fine. I promised, remember? I won't let this baby come home before you do."

"If...If anything does...happen-"

"Your mom has everything we need in the next room, B.E.N. goes to get Doc Winters, and Morph is sent for the Dopplers."

Jim's brows knit as his lip twisted in uncomfortable uncertainty. "I don't like the idea of B.E.N. getting Doc."

"Or Delbert can do it if Winters isn't here by the time the Dopplers arrive. Jim." Sitting to completely face him now, leaving only enough room for her swollen middle to not be up against him, Zara laid a reassuring hand against his arm. "Everything's going to be alright. But now I need you to promise me you'll come home." Her soft smile, so steady a moment ago, was now only betrayed by the hints of nervousness showing in her eyes.

"Zara..."

Leaning over her to plant a gentle kiss against her forehead, Jim's eyes were bright with confidence, his hand tangling itself in her hair as he smiled patiently.

They'd gone through this ritual before every mission since the attack almost a year ago, but no matter how many times, it was still difficult to ease Zarabeth's mind, her biggest fear always being that she would hear of his capture or death months following without being able to do a single thing about it. With Silver instated as Jim's first officer, some of her worries could be eased, but not all of them. No longer afraid of another mutiny, Zara would instead thoroughly question Jim concerning each mission, what it entailed, where they were going, who or what they were intended to transport or rescue. She was surprised that after the last seven or so months, he was still putting up with it, always willing to walk her through every worry and concern until she was nearly as certain as he was that everything would be fine. It helped Zarabeth sleep better, if nothing else, except until the night before when all the fears and doubts she thought she'd conquered would reappear without her consent, making the morning of his departure the hardest part of all. It still scared her to say 'goodbye'.

"Zarabeth, look at me."

Not realizing how her gaze had drifted away from his, Jim's gentle tone brought her back to the present, her heart still racing a little as his eyes found hers.

"This is an easy one. It's long, but no sweat. We could sleep the entire way if we wanted to and we would still be safe. Pandaros is safe. We drop the cargo off, which except for the fact that we're carrying it in bulk, isn't worth a whole lot to anyone except the Pandarosians. Besides. I have Silver to keep me safe, Tucker to keep me almost as well fed as you do, and a crew I trust with my life."

Gently urging her face closer, Jim's crystal gaze never left Zara's till their lips met for a few moments, his slight motion of pulling away from her to end it forgotten as the girl sat up a little higher, leaning in to only deepen the kiss for as long as it would last. Separating only enough to let their foreheads cradle against each other, the silence between them was first broken by Zarabeth, her voice barely above a whisper as she laid a hand over his own pressed to her cheek.

"Be safe. I miss you already..."

About to reply, Zara had to stop him, pulling her husband's hand to her stomach as she moved it to a certain spot, letting him feel the gentle movement coming from beneath.

"See? Even our little one woke up to send off their daddy."

With a low chuckle coupled with that half-smile Zarabeth loved so much, Jim leaned down to carefully lay his head against the place where he could feel the kicking, pressing a small kiss there before speaking softly. "You be good for mommy and don't come until after I'm back, alright? I'll be home soon."

Sitting upright once more, Jim's look grew distant as his eye caught the time on a clock hanging on the opposite wall, the boy running a hand through his hair before looking back at Zara almost apologetically. "Silver will wonder where I'm at..."

"I guess you can't make him do inspections all by himself."

Not expecting it, Zara could only sit there as Jim caught one more kiss, his words spoken against her lips as he slowly rose from the bed. "Three weeks. Wait for me."

"Always."

She watched with a heavy heart as Jim retrieved his captain's hat from the chair where he had disposed of it earlier, fixing it back atop his head with a habitual tug before nodding back at her with a sad sort of smile. "I love you. Both of you."

"I love you too."

And with that, Zarabeth was alone, sitting in the silence of her old room, her eyes looking but not seeing as she fought past the familiar pang of loneliness she always felt the first day of Jim's missions. Her hand methodically rubbed over where the baby's sporadic kicking could be felt, swallowing past the lump in her throat as she tried to distract herself with looking around her.

Everything looked the same. Sarah had kept it as Zarabeth had left it. Even though none of her pictures or personal touches remained, it still felt like a piece of home to her. She had spent so many years in this place.

Getting up slowly, the effort of shifting over the top of the bed requiring more time and effort than she had expected, Zara took her time in looking through the few things she had chosen to leave behind in the dresser or vanity, gradually moving to sit at the window seat like she always used to. She could recall so many hours spent in that exact spot, times alone or with Jim, mostly happy memories with a few difficult ones to make the happiness mean more.

Looking about the room once more, Zara released a deflating breath, hoping to let her every worry slip away with it as she glanced down with a small smile. "Three weeks. Just three weeks."

Three very long weeks.