Cam has to admit that he doesn't even remember which movie is on, but the kids certainly recognize it and plant themselves in front of the television. Tyler, Adria, and Aiden all sit on the floor while Lyra wants on Cam's lap. She's asleep before Vala and Sam even come back, clearly worn out by the long day. Aiden is similarly fighting sleep and doesn't even complain when Sam gathers him up, just resting his head on her shoulder and wrapping his arms around her neck.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Cam," she says, reminding him that unfortunately it's the end of the weekend and come the next morning he has to wake up early and show up at the SGC.
It doesn't take long after Sam leaves to coax the rest of the kids into bed. Cam carries Lyra, fast asleep, into her bedroom while Vala tucks in Tyler.
Adria, much too old to require tucking in, of course, still seeks out her parents for goodnight hugs. Cam wraps his arms around her skinny body and then picks her up, kissing her cheek. "Love you, Addy."
"Love you too, Daddy." She kisses his cheek then wiggles back down, heading into her bedroom. When he looks at her he still wants to see his baby girl but he can't help but also see who she's turning into, as her face loses the baby fat and she develops a more graceful way of moving.
He meets Vala back in the bedroom. "Now, where were we?" He nuzzles at her pointedly, far from forgetting where they'd left off earlier.
Unfortunately, Vala has plans for actual sleep. "I'm tired," she whines, looking back up at him. "You wore me out."
She's appealing to his manly ego and, of course, it works.
"I had very little to do with round three, If I recall. But I'll take the credit." He kisses her temple and splays his hand on her belly. her shirt has ridden up, abs exposed - begging him to touch them. She's on her back and he props his head on his hand and looks on as his fingers trace the lines of her muscles there.
"You really want another one, don't you?" He just gives her a soft smile and she reaches up and brushes her fingers through the hair by his ear. "What if I'm too old?"
"It's alright, baby. Three is perfect." It's true, nothing could make his family more perfect for him. Not ten more children with her. He would love another baby to hold and cuddle but he doesn't need it. "If you happened to get pregnant though..." His lips wisp across her wrist as she strokes his hair.
Vala thinks on it, carrying another child for nine months, the sleepless nights and endless feedings after it's born. Is it something that she wants to go through again. Weeks without sex, without the closeness making love provides them. But the thought of another little baby with his and her features all mixed together... It makes her want it too.
"We can try, if that's what you want." She leans up to kiss him. Sealing the deal with her lips. "I'll stop taking the pill, but you need to be sure."
"You need to be sure." Cam kisses her harder, pressing her back into the bed. "I'm not the one that has to lug it around, feed it every time it's hungry and soothe it when nothing else will."
"You have to do those things for it's momma, though."
"I'm not carrying it's momma around for nine months." Cam kisses her again. "It's a pain to go sideways through doorways, honey."
She wants it now. The look that crossed his face when she agreed... well nothing makes her happier then to see him like that. "It's a sacrifice you'll have to make."
He scoots down into the covers and pulls her to him. "Sleep now. Make baby tomorrow."
"I like that idea... We may have to try a few times to get me pregnant again..." Clearly it's something that she's looking forward to. "You're sure?"
He hums his yes against her hair, already slipping off to sleep. There's a tingle that flares through her and she feels warm inside just thinking about everything again. She finds that she misses having a small baby that relies on her more, even five year old Lyra is getting independent so fast. It's a strange flip of how she used to be wanting no one to rely on her and not relying on anyone to craving just that. A smile flits onto her face as she cuddles closer to Cam and lets sleep claim her as well. Dreams of a new baby flutter through her head. The smile remains most of the night.
xxxx
The next morning starts like every morning does for them now:
They wake up at the same time, a sleepy kiss before Cam heads into their bathroom to shower. Vala spends a few more precious moments in bed before walking down the hallway, sticking her head into each child's room to wake them up. In Lyra's, she's met with a wide-awake already little girl. In Tyler's, she's met with a whine and pathetic little whimper. In Adria's room, there's already an alarm going off. Like her mother, she's perfected the art of not even needing the snooze button - she sleeps right through the tone. Her mother's voice, however, rouses her every time.
She heads downstairs, pulling her hair into a ponytail and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. If she's had a particularly tiring night, up with a sick child or just talking to Cam in bed into the wee hours of the morning (enjoying the only time they get alone together usually, losing themselves in conversation that doesn't involve televised puppets or solving a fight over who took whose toy) she'll just pull out bowls of cereal and milk and start on the lunches. But this morning Vala's feeling fantastic, well rested and satisfied with life, so everyone benefits.
She starts bacon and eggs, popping toast in the toaster. She's become a whiz at multitasking, a skill that would have come hand in hand with motherhood even if she hadn't masted it beforehand. Adria comes down first, the only one that can get herself ready without her father's help, and slumps down at the table with her head cradled on her arms and goes back to sleep right there, fully dressed.
By the time Cam comes downstairs with Tyler in his arms and Lyra bounding ahead of him, full of unrealistic energy, Vala's got two lunches made and she's working on the third. She pauses to scoop the scrambles eggs out of the plate.
"Momma, I want some!" Lyra settles at Vala's heels and whines up at her, actually sitting on the floor.
Vala snaps off half a piece of bacon and hands it down to her. "If you want more than that, ask your father and maybe he'll make you a plate."
"Can I eat it down here?" Lyra asks.
"Doesn't matter to me." Vala truly doesn't see the harm in letting Lyra sit wherever she wants to sit. She turns the stove off and goes back to fixing the lunches, putting in a few coins for a snack or a drink in Adria's, an extra serving of raw carrots for Tyler - whose always seems hungry.
Cam dumps bacon and eggs on each plate, nudging Adria until she wakes up to eat hers and barely pulling his fingers away before Tyler's digging in.
"Not in front of the stove," Cam says to Lyra, who relocates to under the table, where Cam kneels and hands her a plate and a napkin. "No crumbs, okay?"
"Kay, Daddy!" She takes a huge bite of toast - of course, crumbs go everywhere.
After breakfast is done all around, Vala brushes Lyra's hair and Cam goes over the schedule with Adria. She's got special tutoring once a week at a local college, in addition to her extra classes at the high school, and softball practice.
Once Lyra's hair is neat, Tyler's changed shirts out of the one he's spilled jam on, Adria knows who to expect to pick her up and when, they're deemed ready to go. Cam buckles Lyra into her carseat while Tyler and Adria settle into their places, ready for Vala to take them to school. Cam gives Vala a smile as they stand between their cars. "Call you when I take lunch," he says, and heads off to work.
The silence always feels a bit unnatural, especially on a Monday. Vala does a quick turn around the kitchen, grabbing plates and cleaning up after breakfast. The dishes are put up in no time at all and she's swept and washed the counters. Lyra only does half days at kindergarten but it's still strange to not have at least one child around.
She checks her email and makes a list of things she needs to do for Daniel. A few translations to look over and some points to research. It's all blending into one big job now. She misses being a full time mom and she peers down at her stomach, wishing for a little life to take shape. There was some doubt, when Cam brought it up and it's still hard for her to believe that she actually enjoys being a mother that much, that she wants a fourth child.
"What do you think, belly? Time for another?" She pats at it then goes back to work. After all these years you'd think the hold that the Gou'ald had over multiple systems would have faded but there always seem to be new things. It can be difficult to work in that world still at times. Her past still haunts her a bit and it can leap to the surface sometimes when she's least expecting the reminder.
Pregnancy seems like the logical choice. Give Cam what he craves and allow her to do what she loves most. "I'll stop taking my pill." She talks to her belly some more. "We're gonna put a baby in you again."
xxxx
The science lab is pretty empty. Only a few kids at Adria's school signed up for the advanced lab as well as the advanced lecture. It's nice to be able to work in a quieter environment. Adria had little time for disruptions in class and much preferred to work on her own pace for the subjects she's more advanced in. The teacher let them work and discover and solve issues on their own. She was really learning much more quickly in here then she was before her parents moved her up.
"Did you get the DNA extracted?" Adria smiles up as Mrs. Hawnsen walked by to make sure that she was moving through the experiment properly.
"Yeah, I got all three ready to run." She's proud of herself. The actually processing of the DNA will take a bit of time, but she'll be back tomorrow to read the results. "I'll set it up and it will be good for tomorrow."
"You're doing so well, Addy."
She beams at the compliment. "Thanks. I'm almost done. Plenty of time to get to my math class." Adria cleans up her station, double checks her work and then rushes out to her next higher level class.
xxxx
It's early afternoon when Vala gets around to calling the school. The conversation is brief; she requests that the project be terminated, citing family reasons when the teacher begins to get inquisitive. Apparently she catches onto Vala's implied meaning, because she hastily agrees.
Vala thanks her and hangs up the phone, relieved that they won't have to worry about that. The call ends just as the doors to Lyra's preschool open. Vala parks her car and gets out to go collect her little girl. Lyra's a bundle of energy, running literal circles around Vala as they walk toward the car. "Momma Momma I drawed flowers and then a monster SQUISHING THEM you think Tyler will like it?"
"Oh, you know monsters are his favorite," Vala gushes, getting Lyra strapped into the child seat. "So, how do you feel about taking a little trip to visit daddy?"
"Under the rocks?" Lyra's face lights up. "Yeah! Momma, lets go see Daddy!"
Vala grins at her and kisses her cheek. She tastes a little bit like apple sauce, and smells like playdough and the fresh sweet little girl scent.
Vala stops off at a fast food restaurant on the way, and then heads on to the mountain. She flashes her credentials at the gate and before long they're in the parking deck. She has no idea if Cam will even be available, but if he's not she'll just take lunch to Sam or Daniel's lab. They all appreciate something not from the commissary, especially the ones that are notorious for overworking.
Luckily, Cam's in his office, and he's more than happy to see them. Lyra gets to sit on his lap at the "big desk" and stuff french fries in her mouth while Cam and Vala talk.
"I called the school," Vala says, phrasing things carefully to avoid Lyra repeating anything they don't want Adria to hear. "I took care of that matter we discussed."
"Oh, yeah?" Cam's even more relieved than Vala. "Good. That's good."
Vala smiles at him to reassure him. "You don't have anything to worry about, I promise."
Walter comes to check in on Cam and Cam tasks him with taking Lyra to the commissary to get some ice cream. This makes for a very happy little girl, and for a few moments of privacy for Cam and Vala.
As soon as Lyra's out of earshot Cam says, "So that's it? She's gonna throw out the project?"
"Cameron, darling, you under-estimate exactly what an impression you left when you showed up for parent teacher night in this uniform..." She reaches out and strokes his arm, feeling the stiff material of his jacket. "All dressed up today, aren't we?"
It's not what he'd been wearing when he'd left the house, but he keeps a spare dress uniform on base always for meetings.
Vala wouldn't mind it if he wore the uniform more often, and she also doesn't mind letting him know her views on it.
"Big meetings today, hon." Cam looks out the office door and when it's all clear he tugs her into his lap. "You weigh a bit more than our daughter."
Vala sticks her tongue out at him before planting her lips against his. "Are you calling me fat, dear?" A squeeze of her hip and she feels his interest beneath her thigh. "Doesn't seem to matter to you, however."
"You know you're perfect." He kisses her temple before standing up and letting her slide off his lap. Her waist is tiny under his palms as he steadies her. "You sticking around for a bit?"
"I was going to go look at the things that Daniel has set aside for me. You have to leave already?" She pouts as if that will keep him from his important meeting.
"Can't be late." He hugs her before he starts to leave. "Thanks, baby, for calling the school. It's just..." Her palm is soft and warm against his cheek as she cups his face.
"We need to tell her on our terms." Vala lets her hand slip down his face and chest. They both watch as she traces the lines of his uniform. "You really do need to wear this more often..."
"Can't risk having you tear it trying to get me out of." He kisses her and then waves as he heads to his meeting.