A/N: Here we are... the final chapter! I've SO loved writing this series, and each review and kind word is most treasured. Thank you for reading... =]

ELYSIAN

Bill Adama woke...

And smiled...

A great number of things about The Shore, fascinated the former admiral.

Like sleep, for instance. How could it be possible that when one was quite literally dead, the need or want to slumber would even exist?

Eating– and eliminating, were two more concepts that also were part of Shore Life... or death, depending how one looked at things. The former did not shock Bill that much, as partaking in a good meal or a tasty snack was one of the greatest pleasures known, while the latter was far less enjoyable. Although, the feeling of relief after, was admittedly pretty nice.

Work, was elective, although encouraged. One didn't have to work in Elysian, but loafing around for all of Eternity could get rather boring, so most chose to do something with themselves. Many pursued life-long hobbies or dreams, while others took on Guidance & Opportunity jobs, such as watching over loved ones who were still living, or assisting God in creative tasks like painting the sky at Sunrise and Sunset, and inspiring great thought among Humanity.

God, Himself, came as another big surprise to Bill, being the nearly life-long Atheist that he was...

As it turned out, the Cylons were right– and not the Humans...

There really weren't multi Gods, high on Mount Olympus, but one true God...

The fact that their creator looked human, was not too much of a stretch- but instead of having white hair and wearing a long flowing robe, the fact that the guy had dark shaggy hair and a neatly trimmed beard, and went by the name of Ron– well, that was possibly the most ironic surprise of all!

Not a shock, was the absolute absence of illness, pain, and war.

Bill Adama smiled and stretched, in the very comfortable and large bed that he shared with his wife, in the cabin of their dreams.

Outside, there was a beautiful stream that fed into a glassy lake. Tall, sweet smelling grass, and a sandy beach lined the crystal clear water.

The Adamas were officially married there, in the sight of both of their families and friends that had passed on, and had spent many a day since, swimming in that lake, or beside it while sharing a romantic picnic and making love in the sunlight.

Frakking...

Thank God– Ron, that particular joy from the land of the living, also existed in Elysian!

Bill reached for Laura, wanting to do just that, but found her to be missing.

And then, he heard the unmistakable sound of her retching, from just inside their en-suite bathroom.

Flashed memories of Laura's battle with cancer, and the effects of its treatment, caused a very worried Bill to jump out of the bed, throw on his jeans and tanks from the day before, and go with great haste to her.

Laura had just flushed the elongated toilet in their shared bath, when her husband padded into the room.

"I'm okay, Husker," she told Bill before he could ask.

He put his arms around her, and helped her to stand. "Are you sure?"

Laura nodded as Bill held her. "I think so."

"We should call someone..."

"Who? A doctor? Bill, we're both dead– I don't think one can die again, once you've already reached The Shore."

Normally he loved Laura's trademark dark sense of humor, but in that moment Bill Adama only wanted answers and not some glib retort.

"Honey, I'm fine," Laura soothed her husband, even as another wave of nausea churned her shaky stomach. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that I was–"

Before she could finish, there was a knock at their front door.

Torn, Bill looked to Laura, then out into the main part of their cabin. He was worried about his love, but if whomever was on the other side of the door could help her, then he was all for it.

"Go," Laura Roslin-Adama told her husband. "Get the door while I finish dressing. I'll be right there in a minute or two."

Before Bill could protest, she kissed him... and then she realized how bad her breath might smell from having been sick so recently.

"I don't care," he replied after her apology. To add emphasis, he kissed her back, then said, "I just want you to be alright."

"I am," she replied in his arms. Once Bill was gone, Laura smiled hopefully, then placed a hand to her abdomen and softly added, "And so are you, Jude."

# # #

"Laura is pregnant," the former priestess, Elosha, confirmed to them both.

"How'd that happen?!"

Sherman Cottle stared blankly at his former commanding officer, and wished for all of Elysian, for a cigarette. He would have enjoyed one in that moment, had he still been alive to partake in such a vice.

"Well, Bill, if you don't know by now, where and how babies come to be, then there's absolutely no hope for you at all!"

The father-to-be stared at Laura, who sat poised on the back of their sofa in the main room of their cabin. She was fully dressed, in yoga pants and an oversized t-shirt. Her hair and skin were practically glowing already, and the smile on her lips was beatific.

When the woman said nothing, Cottle rolled his eyes. "For Ron's sake, Laura, haven't you told your man yet?"

Sensing possible tension in the air, Elosha gave her warmest congratulations and blessings to the couple, then whisked her own partner out the door and into the Elysian day.

Cottle & Elosha, as a couple, were another surprising aspect of The Shore.

They'd already been well established, by the time Bill arrived.

Likewise, Kara and Sam had reunited, with little fanfare– but a whole lot of heat...

Anastasia Dualla, otherwise known as Dee, reunited with Laura's former aide, Billy Keikeya...

Tom Zarek took up with Laura's other aide, Tory Foster– and the other Cylon Good-Bad Girl, D'Anna Biers...

And somehow Louanne 'Kat' Katraine, found peace and true love on The Shore, with the other Adama son– Zak, who fit her quirky soul to a tee...

But the only couple that mattered in that very moment, was Bill & Laura Adama.

Each stared at the other.

And then Laura finally confessed to her partner, in life and beyond, the secret that she'd withheld for far too long.

"We made a baby on New Caprica. She was born during the Cylon occupation, and I named her Jude."

Bill took a seat on the edge of the sofa, near Laura, and stared at the hardwood floor of the cabin. A rug, similar to the one in his quarters on Galactica, lay nearby. It softened the space, with its warm colors, and looked very homey to them both.

"Obviously she didn't make it."

"No," Laura confirmed as she studied her hands. Bill's gold band graced her left ring finger, reminding her of their eternal bond. She looked him squarely in the eyes, and for the first time since they'd been reunited, there was pain in their dark blue depths.

"Then, how...?"

"I don't know. I looked for Jude, from the first moment the I arrived, until you came. But nothing. There wasn't even a cradle, waiting here in the cabin, that had been made for us. I asked everyone, but there were no answers. My sister, Sandra, who'd been pregnant when she'd died, had apparently arrived here– still pregnant, and gave birth to her son, not long after. Tomas was already grown to late adolescence, by the time I arrived, so I never saw him as a baby."

To either of their knowledge, no couple had ever conceived and bore a child in while in Elysian.

After many minutes had passed, Bill finally smiled.

"She's a miracle, Laura," he said of their child. "Jude is a miracle in every sense of the word."

"Yes, she is that indeed."

The couple kissed, finally enjoying the moment. It was a kiss that was not unlike the one they'd shared upon being reunited, when Bill had jumped from Charon's boat upon seeing Laura on the grassy Shore– and when she'd rushed out into the water to meet him halfway.

Bill swept Laura into his arms, and carried her back to their bedroom.

There, they made slow and thorough love to each other– another joy and pleasure of The Shore.

Sex in Elysian, was even greater than it was in the land of the living. As each party felt their own pleasure, they likewise felt the other's ecstasy as if it was theirs. There was total and instant response, with nary a bit of communication needed.

"Do you think we scared her? That I scared her when I was inside you?" Bill asked, sometime later.

Laura laughed sleepily, as she laid in her husband's arms.

Afterglow was another sweet discovery of The Shore, as each mate's body was softly illuminated in joyful light...

"No, honey. I don't think it works that way... If anything, Jude just knows how much her mommy and daddy love each other."

Bill huffed, then grinned. "I can't wait to see her."

Laura hummed. "Me too."

# # #

In the next few months, Bill and Laura enjoyed all of the tender and special moments of her pregnancy that they'd missed out on during the first go-around.

Cravings...

Nesting...

Kicking...

"She's going to be a star soccer player," Bill predicted one day.

"Or a boxer, like her Daddy," Laura suggested, as she felt a definite, yet tiny, fist punching from within.

While Laura tended to their garden and learned how to knit better, Bill added another room onto their cabin. He also raised the roof line and added a loft for their library of books. The cozy area would be a wonderful place for their daughter to play in the future, and dream as she gazed out the skylight at the clouds and stars above.

Then, one day, as the parents-to-be laid in the grass near their lake, Laura went into labor.

She wanted to stay there, to have Jude in the sun and by the water that she and Bill so loved...

But he said no...

Although Bill knew that there would be nothing to fear during the birth, he wanted the traditional safety and love of their home to surround his daughter in her first moments of New Life.

And so Laura said yes...

The pain of labor was the first discomfort that Laura had felt since her cancer, and was every bit as deep and real as it had been during Jude's first birth on New Caprica.

It hurt like a mother-frakker...

But the payoff would be oh-so sweet...

Bill was there with Laura, and that was all that mattered. He made her as comfortable as possible– rubbing her back, walking with her as the need came, and cooling her sweaty brow with a wet cloth.

He even sang to her, just to make her laugh through the painful contractions.

When Jude's head finally emerged, Bill saw a flash of fear in Laura's eyes. Quickly, he moved to kiss the emotion away.

"It's not going to be like last time, Teach. Our girl is strong, and destined to be with us. Remember what the oracle told you long ago, on New Caprica?"

Laura nodded through the pain, as Adama babies tended to have wide shoulders.

The Guide & The Mariner shall bring forth a New Life– and she shall be the tangible symbol of their love...

"It's going to be alright, Husker," Laura stated finally, as she kissed her husband.

And it was.

Mere moments later, Jude Persephone Roslin-Adama was in her daddy's large and very capable hands, crying her healthy little lungs out like a future president or admiral. It was music to both of her parents' ears, needless to say.

Tenderly, Bill laid his daughter on Laura's chest and joined them both in the bed.

Jude was a total and sweet combination of them both, with dark red hair and tan skin...

She had her mother's small and delicate hands...

And her father's wide feet...

"She's perfect," Laura declared.

"Just like her mommy," Bill added, as he kissed both of his girls softly.

Laura hummed, as she kissed her husband's smiling mouth. "And her daddy."

The new parents watched with pride, as Jude latched on easily to one of Laura's yearning breasts, and began to suckle like a little pro.

Both Bill and Laura agreed that it was the most beautiful sight that they'd ever seen, and well worth the very long journey that they'd taken to get there.

And it was about time...

#END#