CHAPTER 4

Tom couldn't wait to get out of his suit and into a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. He'd gotten most of the mess at the union cleaned up but there were still a ton of files to organize. The haphazard job he'd done to get the place in some semblance of temporary order wasn't going to cut it for the long haul. On his way back to Laura's apartment, he stopped to grab as many empty boxes from the local liquor store as he could fit into his car. He wanted to get her moved in with him as soon as possible and he wasn't relishing the idea of returning to his empty apartment tonight without her.

He opened the door and stepped inside Laura's place, half tripping over the too-large load of boxes he'd saddled himself with. Instantly, he felt like he'd interrupted something. His mother was still there, which was a surprise, and there was a telltale silence permeating the cozy eat-in kitchen - like his entry had stalled an important conversation between the two women.

Laura's eyes looked a little red and when his mother rose to greet him, three or four crumpled tissues fell from her lap onto the floor. Tom frowned.

"Oh, honey, look at your eye," Karen said, pulling him into an embrace.

"It's nothing," said Tom. "It doesn't even hurt anymore."

Karen gave the uninjured side of his face a light tap. She pointed a finger at him. "Don't you ever chase down dangerous men like that again. That was stupid and reckless of you, Tom."

"I know, Mom. Laura beat you to the lecture."

"She's absolutely right," Karen said fiercely. "And don't be flip."

Tom decided that right now wasn't a very opportune time to point out the fact that he'd inherited his fiery temper from her.

"Sorry, Mom. It was very reckless of me."

"And stupid," Karen reminded him, but this time her lips curled into a wisp of a smile. "I'm glad Laura let you have it. She has so much more sense than you do."

"Why do you think I'm marrying her?" asked Tom, glancing at Laura.

"Mmmmm, I highly doubt that's your primary reason," his mother said wryly, amusement twinkling in her eyes.

"Karen, why don't you stay for dinner?" asked Laura, blushing a little. "Tom made dinner for me last night and we have plenty of leftovers."

"Thank you but no. Young people in love need time to themselves." Karen kissed Tom on the cheek and then hugged and kissed Laura goodbye, too. Tom noticed that she placed a hand under Laura's chin and said quietly, "I am so happy for you."

Laura nodded and her eyes were glistening with moisture. His mother looked away and when she spoke again, her voice was shaky. "Tom, can I stop by the union tomorrow to help you re-organize?"

"Yeah, of course, Mom. Thanks." He looked from Laura to his mother, a bit baffled. "Is everything okay?"

Karen hugged him again. "Everything is just fine. Marriage is such happy news. We'll talk tomorrow."

"I'll walk you out," said Tom, reaching for the door.

"No need. Stay with Laura and enjoy your evening," sang Karen as she trotted out.

Tom closed the door behind his mother and turned around to watch Laura. She was straightening the boxes he'd brought inside into a neat pile. Too neat. She immediately segued from lining them up side by side to wiping down the already gleaming kitchen table.

"Laura," said Tom. "What's going on?"

"Thanks for bringing me some boxes. I'll start packing this week. I'd like to get moved in by the first. It'll be a bit of a crunch but I think I can manage it."

"I love all of this moving in with me talk and I'll do anything and everything to speed up the process." Tom stepped forward and reached out for her. "But you're changing the subject." He steered her closer to him.

She gave him a sly look, meeting his eyes head on. "I thought the subject was us moving in together."

"Oh, no." Tom shook his head at her. "The subject is what has you so upset."

"I'm not upset." She gulped in a quick breath of air, averted her eyes, and swallowed. "I'm pregnant. I was going to try to find a romantic way to tell you but you're so persistent. And it's not like I can hide anything from you anyway." She bounced on the heels of her feet. "Which is really inconvenient sometimes, you know. I'm still processing the whole thing myself. I'm so happy and I'm also absolutely terrified that something's going to go wrong." She paused, seemingly at a loss for words - which was not like her at all. "This is not how I wanted to tell you, Tom."

Tom tightened his arms around Laura's waist and lifted her off the floor with a giddy wallop. "A baby? I'm going to get a wife and a baby?"

"That's what the little plastic stick said, yes."

"I want to see this magical stick that bears such phenomenal news." Tom put her down but not before giving her an exuberant kiss.

"I threw it in the wastepaper basket in the bathroom."

"Oh, come on, Laura. We should put it in a baby book. Let's go get it." He took her hand and led her to the bathroom where he proceeded to dig through the basket until he found it. He peered at the small digital readout and proudly read the word that still showed through the window. "Pregnant. Oh, gods, this is amazing!" He grinned widely and his whole body felt buoyant enough to float. He looked over at Laura. She was smiling, too.

And crying.

She quickly wiped the tears that slid down her cheeks away with the back of her hand.

"Hey," crooned Tom, putting the pregnancy test down on the countertop and gathering her close. "Everything is going to be fine. Our baby is going to be just fine, Laura."

"I haven't even seen a doctor. I only just found out when your mom was here. She said I had lots of symptoms and suggested I take a pregnancy test. So I did. I still don't really believe it. It doesn't seem possible. What if the test isn't even right? Maybe I should take another one."

"Why don't we make an appointment with your doctor first thing tomorrow and get the results confirmed?" suggested Tom, rocking her back and forth. "I'll even be an overbearing dad and go with you. And in the meantime," he murmured into her hair, "we'll sing every single song that has the word baby in it."

She gave a little sob that turned into a laugh and kissed him. "You're already overbearing. Can you stay tonight?" she added softly. He felt her body begin to relax against him. He rubbed her back.

"Of course I can. You don't think I had any intention of going back to my apartment after that revelation, did you?"

"Well - no - but I do have to go out on a limb every so often and make you feel needed."

Tom smiled. If Laura needed an excuse for feeling a little vulnerable tonight, he wasn't about to fight it. "Right. Even if it goes against the very fabric of your nature, huh? I am so onto you, Roslin."

Laura sighed and nodded, nuzzling a little closer. "Even so."

Tom made good on his baby-song promise once they got the news that both mother and baby were healthy. In the two weeks that followed, he sang every song imaginable that contained the word "baby" to Laura. And when he ran out of those, he re-wrote familiar tunes with new lyrics. He was in the middle of just such a rendition while Laura was busy packing her bags for Caprica.

"Tom!" she snapped, stopping him mid-lyric and yanking her make-up bag off the dresser. She tucked it back into her suitcase. "You're going to make me forget something if you keep doing that." He'd been picking things out of her suitcase all morning long. He didn't even have the good grace to look contrite about it.

"Come on, Laura. You just moved in. I know you're exhausted from all the running around. Put it off a few days. Once this grant thing is over I can go with you."

"I feel like a liar every time I talk to a member of my family. No, I can't 'put it off a few days,' They need to be told. Now." She quickly zipped up her suitcase before he could pilfer any more items.

"Will a few more days really make a difference?"

"Yes!" she said, throwing up her hands. "It's the principle of it. They're my family."

"Tell them then. And then we can visit together in just a few days."

"I am not telling my family I'm getting married and that I'm pregnant over the frakking phone."

"You're being unreasonable about this."

"I am perfectly reasonable; you just don't like not getting your way."

"That's true. But not in this case. Your parents already hate me. Don't you think me not being there when you tell them demonstrates a lack of solidarity?" He raked a frustrated hand through his hair. "Is this some passive-aggressive way of punishing me because I can't go right away?"

Laura reached for her suitcase but Tom was too quick.

"I'm not punishing you, Tom," she said quietly. "I'm trying to make this easier on everyone."

He set the suitcase on the floor. "Easier? Do you know how hard it is to talk to you about this? I don't know why you can't just give it a couple of days. Clear your head. You've been running ragged and with all the hormones and everything - "

"You did not just lay down the you're-a-hysterical-woman-card. I am capable of having an opinion that isn't dictated by my body."

"That's not what I meant, Laura." He sighed. "I'd like to think our impending marriage is happy news - not something you have to prepare your family for like I'm some kind of pariah. Not a message of impending doom you have to break to them. Marriage and babies should be something to celebrate."

Laura bit her lip, suppressing the building ache in her throat. How could he think she was anything but deliriously happy? She just wanted a little time to show her family how much this meant to her. And she wanted to protect him, too - until things got sorted out. Another minute and she'd soon be proving his over-emotional woman theory true. Gods, she hated feeling like this.

"I'm going to be late," Laura finally managed, glancing at her watch but not really reading the numbers on the face.

"Fine. Let's go," said Tom in a hollow and unfamiliar voice. He picked up her suitcase and headed toward the door.

They spent the hour and twenty minute drive in silence while only the radio droned on in the background. Tom clenched the steering wheel and stared fixedly ahead. He focused on the road and the driving without sparing her a glance. A five car pile-up had the traffic at a near stand-still and they arrived at the spaceport with only minutes to spare. Tom hurriedly wheeled Laura's suitcase to the gate. He didn't reach for her hand like he normally would. She thought about reaching for his but she was still angry with him. At least they were talking by then - in short monosyllabic snippets of essential-only conversation. Laura dug her boarding pass out of her purse for the attendant and her tense body relaxed a little when she felt Tom's hand pressing reassuringly against the small of her back. The hard line of his mouth had softened a little. He slipped an arm around her waist. She leaned in.

And then he noticed her hands.

"Your ring," he said, staring at her ringless finger like someone had just punched him in the gut.

"It wouldn't be a surprise if they saw it," said Laura.

"Yeah," said Tom. "Sure." The words came out too quickly.

"I have it. It's - "

The flight attendant handed Laura back her pass. "Ma'am, you're going to miss your shuttle."

Laura gave Tom a quick kiss that landed somewhere in the vicinity of his mouth. "I'll call you as soon as I get in." Her words were drowned out by the loud hum of an approaching engine. The line moved and the attendant ushered her forward. Laura tried to meet Tom's eyes one more time but he'd been swallowed up by the crowd. The only thing left for her to do was climb up the platform and board the shuttle.