Chapter 52
Sons and Daughters
The Planet
Day 18: Today the alpha team left for the surface of the planet. Alpha team is composed of sixteen mercenaries, a leader, twenty crew members, eight scientists, an engineer and twelve robots. The robots have been provided by the Vergis Corporation. As I understand the robots were provided at no charge if an engineer from Vergis was allowed to accompany them. Captain Prolmar explained that the robots were here to do the 'heavy lifting'. They are voice activated and understand simple commands. The engineer said he can modify their programming 'on the fly' as new tasks are found for them to perform. They will help clear the area and establish a base camp. Only when base camp is ready will the rest of us be allowed on the surface of the planet.
Day 22: We go tomorrow. The tents are pitched. The cots are set up and supplies are stocked. The perimeter of the camp is secured. After the better part of a month spent on the Hyperion, I am very excited about standing on the surface of another world. Tonight I ate dinner with Irina. We shared a bottle of wine and she confessed to me that she has a crush on one of the young scientists who has already gone to the surface. His name is Joshua Hoshi. She asked me to keep an eye on him and let her know if he flirts with anyone. Poor girl. I hope her affections are eventually returned.
Unpublished Manuscript (Notes) by Aimee Singh, MD, PhD
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As their car approached the old Officer's Club, John knew D'Anna would be waiting for them inside. Instead of the usual one MP jeep, there were three of them nosed into the curb in the parking lot.
John got the infant carrier from the seat and slung the diaper bag over his shoulder. He could tell that Bianca was tired. She picked up his coat and tie.
"I think we've got everything," she said and checked the back seat of the limo one more time.
John thanked Edgar and their driver. An MP let them in the door downstairs and they climbed up to the second floor. The two MPs at the exit doors were there as usual, but there were also an additional two outside the apartment at the far end of the hall. There had been two others on the downstairs door.
"As if you couldn't guess," he said to Bianca, "D'Anna's already here."
"I didn't think the welcoming committee was for us."
"I'm going to see her," John said after he had carried Rachel into Bianca's apartment. "I'll check on you later."
"There's no need. I'm going to put Rachel in her crib and then I'm going to take a bath and go to bed."
"I know today was a long one for you."
"I wouldn't change a thing. It was such a joy to watch you with your son and Esmari, and I thoroughly enjoyed talking to Laura and Kara and Maya and the young men. It's probably none of my business, but will you be moving soon?"
"Moving where?"
"Into Marble house with your wife."
John shook his head. "No. Right now I'm still…I'm not sure what you'd call it. I'm not exactly under arrest, but I'm not free to go where I want to, either. It's better for me to stay where I am. I'm going to stay here even if Bill releases me."
"Why?"
He smiled. "Because I couldn't leave you and Rachel here alone. I'd miss you both too much."
Bianca was having none of his teasing. "That is ridiculous and you know it. You belong with your family. Now tell me the real reason."
"Because when word gets out about D'Anna and the baby and my part in it, it will be much better for Laura that we're separated."
Bianca sighed. "How unfair to you. And to her, too."
"Laura told me that she'll let Edgar bring Brae out several afternoons a week. Kara will visit me, too. Lee and Hunter both think Bill will start including me in their meetings about the return to Nereid."
"Will Laura not visit you or you visit her?"
"It's really better if we stay away from each other. She knows I've got my mobile phone now. She can call if she wants to talk to me."
"Do you not want to see her?"
"It's hard to be around her and not want to…" he stopped. Bianca was perceptive. He was sure she understood.
"Dear gods," she said in an exasperated tone. "After all you've been through and now this. You and your wife should be together. You should be able to make love to each other." She put her hand on his arm. "Forgive me. It's really none of my business. I should stay out of it."
"I always want you to be frank with me. For right now, though, I'll just have to be content with dreaming about her."
"That's so unfair…to both of you."
He shrugged. "Is Rachel waking you up much at night? Because if she is, I'll be glad to take her for a night or two. I don't sleep much anyway."
"She's fine. Several times she's slept through the night."
"I'll be over in the morning to cook breakfast. I'm going to check on D'Anna right now. Tomorrow evening she has an appointment with a Dr. Debra Delos who is a high-risk pregnancy specialist. I don't know if anyone thought to tell D'Anna."
"Is she the physician who delivered the preterm baby for the Eight?"
"That's her. According to Kara, Dr. Delos is the best."
Bianca sighed. "I'm beginning to see that you're really in a no-win situation."
He smiled. "Maybe some of D'Anna's strong faith will rub off on me."
"If those guards will let me, I'll go visit her in the morning while you're talking to Major Parker. If someone could get me a monitor, I can take her blood pressure like we were doing at the clinic on Nereid."
"I'll see what I can do. Call me tonight if you need me for anything."
John turned and walked down to the end of the hall. The two Marines came to attention and one of them opened the apartment door.
"Is Dr. Cardenas allowed to visit as well?"
"Yes, sir," one of them answered. "But the Cylon can't leave this apartment unless Major Parker okays it."
"Thank you. It always helps to know the rules."
John went through the doorway and the Marine closed the door behind him.
D'Anna was sitting on the couch wearing a baggy gray jumpsuit that was clearly a size too large for her. The only place it fit was across her abdomen. Her face brightened when she saw him. He put the coat and tie he was carrying across the back of a chair and sat beside her.
"Did they tell you why you were being moved?" He asked her.
"No."
"I talked to Laura today, but she'd already decided to have you moved out of the brig. She was upset at first about…a lot of things. Once she calmed down, she realized that holding you as a prisoner was wrong. This is better than the brig, isn't it?"
She nodded and reached for his hand. "When they came for me, I was afraid because nobody said where they were taking me or why, but I had faith that God would protect me and our child."
"Admiral Adama got you an appointment with a doctor for tomorrow evening, a specialist here in Caprica City. She's going to see you after her regular office hours. Her name is Debra Delos and Kara says she's the best. She got an Eight here on Caprica through her pregnancy. Sharon delivered early, but her little girl is doing fine now."
"Admiral Adama did this for me?"
"No, actually he did it for me. Bill and I were good friends back before…never mind. I asked him and he did it. That's what's important."
"Will you go with me?"
"That's part of the agreement. And you won't be sitting alone here in this apartment all the time, either. Dr. Cardenas is going to visit with you tomorrow morning. She'll bring Rachel."
"Will you visit me, too?"
"I talk to Major Parker in the mornings. He'd like to talk to you, too. If I sit with you, will you answer some questions for him?"
"He won't send me back to jail afterward, will he?"
"No. This will be your home for a while. I'm not sure about the future. After the baby comes…we'll just have to see. I can't make plans that far ahead right now."
"Can you stay with me tonight?"
John took a deep breath. "No. I've got my own apartment."
She accepted his answer although it seemed like she was disappointed.
"I'll see if I can get you something to read. Have you checked out the television?"
She looked at him blankly and he realized that on Nereid she'd never seen a working television. Many of the apartments in the city had sets that had no doubt been taken off a transport ship or maybe off the big cruise ships, but since there were no broadcasting stations, the televisions displayed nothing but gray static. He went over to the set and retrieved the remote control. He showed her how to turn the set on and off and change channels. He found the guide channel and went through them until he found the one that was the home of a monotheist group that had branches in Caprica City and Delphi.
D'Anna was enthralled.
"I don't know if they're on twenty-four hours a day or not. Just remember the channel number if you want to watch something else."
He sat with her for twenty minutes and they listened to a priest with a Gemenese accent who talked about a passage in their book of scriptures that related one of the many persecutions of the Thirteenth Tribe on Kobol. The priest drew comparisons to the persecution of some of their members living today on Caprica and talked about how God would one day liberate them from their suffering. He got very fired up talking about a New Exodus.
"Is that true?" D'Anna finally asked. "The monotheists are hounded and not allowed to worship here?"
"There might have been a few incidents in other places, but here in Caprica City one of your sisters, a Six named Natasi, preached the monotheistic faith in an old warehouse near the waterfront. I never heard about her having any problems."
"What happened to Natasi? Is she dead?"
"No, she's living somewhere in the city."
"Could she visit me? Maybe Leoben could come back and bring the Sharon who has the baby."
"I'll ask," John said. "I don't know if I should push it right now. Let's wait a couple of days. I don't want to seem ungrateful for what we've gotten so far."
"Are you sure you can't stay tonight?"
John stood and picked up his coat and tie. "I'm sure. Don't stay up all night watching television. I'll check on you in the morning."
D'Anna's eyes had already drifted back to the television and the handsome, charismatic preacher who reminded John a little bit of Tom Zarek. The television audience seemed to be composed mostly of women.
He walked down the hall to his apartment. For the first time since he'd been home he really wanted a drink. He took out his phone and called Kara. She'd turned off her phone because it went to voicemail immediately. He left her a message.
"Hi, baby. I'm sure you and Lee are together now. I just wanted to tell my favorite daughter good night. And ask you to bring me a bottle of booze if you can. And no lectures. I enjoyed spending time with you and Brae today and hope I can do it again soon. I love you."
...
Kara listened to her father's voice message as she walked from the guard's gatehouse at the rear parking lot of Marble House to the rear entrance. So her dad wanted a bottle of booze. That was no surprise. She wondered if there had been any booze in the city on Nereid. Some of the Cylons drank alcohol and some didn't. Laura kept plenty of booze in her sitting room although Kara thought the person who drank most of it was Admiral Adama. She would ask Laura if she could take one. She couldn't imagine Laura would say no.
As Kara passed Laura's sitting room, she saw that the door was partially open. She heard voices and caught a glimpse of Maya.
"Come in and join us," Maya called.
Kara walked in and flopped on the end of the couch.
Laura said, "Brae did not want to go to bed tonight. He kept asking me where his dada was. I just got him settled so Maya and I are putting our feet up for a few minutes. Would you like something to drink?"
"I'll pass tonight. Could I take a bottle of whiskey or something to Dad? He left me a voice message. I guess when they moved everything to the new o-club, they took the booze."
"That would be fine," Laura said. "I wonder why he didn't call and ask me."
Kara shrugged and bit her tongue and managed to keep her mouth shut. Her father had asked her to stay out of whatever issues were between him and Laura.
"So I guess you've got a wedding to plan," Kara said and watched the smile suffuse Maya's face.
"Will you go shopping with me next Saturday?" Maya asked. "I saw a dress when we were in Maximillion's. It wasn't very fancy. I'd like to go back and try it on."
"Sure. I'll go. You can tell me what you want me to wear. I don't mind buying something new." She grinned. "For your wedding I'll go another dress over my limit. Lee's lucky. He's going to wear his dress uniform so he doesn't have to do anything."
"Have you talked to Hunter about renting a tuxedo?" Laura asked.
"I mentioned it. Maybe Lee can help him," Maya answered.
"I'm sure he will," Kara said. "Are you going to have a reception?"
"We thought maybe a quiet dinner afterward for a few friends."
"Which will be served here at Marble House," Laura said.
"Oh, no, I couldn't ask you to do that."
"I'm afraid I'm going to insist. Our chef and his staff are experts. A wedding reception will be a joy for them to plan and prepare, especially since it's yours."
Tears came to Maya's eyes. "I never dreamed…" she couldn't continue.
"Maya, if anyone deserves happiness, it's you. If I can contribute in any way, it would give me a great deal of pleasure."
"But to get a man like Hunter and a beautiful little girl like Esmari…I just never dreamed…"
"You sound like my dad," Kara said and then stopped.
"What do you mean?" Laura asked.
"Nothing. I should keep my mouth shut."
Maya said to Laura, "John doesn't think he deserves you. He never did."
"He told you that?" Laura asked in surprise.
"No. He didn't have to. He used to tell me how he always thanked the gods for his good fortune. He met you and found Kara and you have a beautiful little boy. He…sometimes I think he was afraid something would happen and it would all be taken away from him."
They sat silently for a few minutes. Laura sipped her drink. She wondered if the others were thinking the same thing she was. Something had happened and it had been taken away from him. But he was back now.
Kara stood. "On that note I'm going to hit the sack." At the door she turned and spoke to Laura. "If it's okay with you, I'm going to have Dad's car washed and serviced. If Admiral Adama lets him go, he's going to need transportation."
"That's fine," Laura said.
"I haven't driven a car since I lived in Kinsdale," Maya said. "I was at the grocery store with my little girl the day the Cylons started bombing us. All I could think about was getting home. I tried over and over to call Peter. I didn't know that his office building had been one of the first ones hit. The roads were clogged with vehicles and nobody was moving. We finally started abandoning our cars. I walked for over a mile and then I met some people who told me that the bridge into the city had been destroyed. I couldn't get home. I didn't even know if I had a home to go to by then. Hanna and I spent that first night huddled with fifty or sixty others in the dark basement of a big department store while people looted above us. They had no idea that the stuff they took would be useless in the days to come. What good are televisions with no electricity?"
She stopped talking and looked at Kara, at the one who understood what had happened to the people who had become refugees in the days after the bombing. Then she shook her head.
"I shouldn't have brought that up. I haven't thought about those days in a long time."
Kara said. "I haven't either."
"It's all in the past," Laura said gently.
Tears came to Maya's eyes. "I know I'll never be able to replace my Hanna, but Esmari is so sweet and she's the same age as Hanna when I lost her. I look at Esmari sometimes and I see my Hanna. Am I wrong to feel like the gods have given me a second chance?"
A wave of empathy swept Laura and she found her own eyes were filling with tears. She couldn't imagine what losing her son would do to her, especially under the circumstances which Maya had lost her little girl.
"No," she said gently. "You're not wrong. For years I loved Bill Adama even after he had rejected me very cruelly. When I met John, I felt like the gods had given me a second chance at love. You're not wrong, Maya, to take a second chance and to cherish it."
"Are you going to destroy the city on Nereid like the Cylons did some of our cities?" Maya asked. "Will there be refugee camps for the Cylons like there were for us?"
"That's not the plan," Laura said. "I envision Hunter's homeworld as a place where there can be a peaceful co-existence between us and the Cylons. I'm sure you'll agree that could never happen on this planet. Dear gods, we humans can't even get along with each other. Look at Sovana. And I'm not talking about just the monotheists and the polytheists."
Kara didn't say anything for a minute. Then she asked, "So how are you going to turn Nereid into this paradise where humans and Cylons and monotheists and polytheists and atheists all live together like one big happy family?"
"You sound like you don't think it can be done."
Kara shrugged. "I've got my doubts, but maybe I'm wrong."
"Several of the Cylons helped your father."
"I heard. I think the operative word there is several. From what Lee told me, there's roughly two thousand skinjobs per settlement and the city. Eight settlements plus one city. That's eighteen thousand skinjobs. I'm no math genius, but even I can figure out that a couple of skinjobs is a very small percentage. I don't see how a few of them helping my dad makes you think they'll all agree to live together with humans and play nice?"
Maya said, "I think you and Hunter have been comparing notes. He said the same thing."
"Hunter has fought them since he was fourteen years old. I'd consider him the resident expert on how Nereid's Cylons feel about humans."
"What do you suggest we do?" Laura asked.
"I don't know. That's up to you and Admiral Adama. I just don't think the Cylons on Nereid are going to roll over and let us free their human slaves and then embrace us with open arms. I think you've got your head in the clouds if you believe they will."
"You may be right," Laura said. "This might turn into a fight to the death for them. I hope not, but we will free those humans. Then we'll pick up the pieces and go from there. You're still young, Kara, but one thing you must have realized about the human race is that our will to survive is very strong. You not only saw it in the refugee camp, you lived it."
Kara shrugged. There was no need to go on and on about the obvious so she asked, "How does the theoretical Cylon civil war figure into all this?"
"When John left Nereid, he said the war hadn't started yet. Depending on what happened to the Cylons who helped him, it might not be happening."
"I'd be nice to know," Kara said and smiled. "Oh, I forgot. That's what the guys will find out when they make their secret recon mission to Nereid. Right?"
"Bill hasn't blessed anything like that. I'm leaving the planning of the military side of this operation to him. If he thinks such a mission is warranted, he'll plan it."
"You know who needs to go besides Hunter and my dad and Lee and a few Marines is a Cylon or two. It's too bad Sharon just had a baby or she would volunteer. I talked to Leoben and he's not much on leaving Caprica. It seems like Leoben thinks of this as his home. Lee has a theory about why that is, but we won't get into it right now. So I guess that leaves Natasi. I can't believe I'm asking this, but how do you think she'd feel about helping us in return for her freedom?"
Maya said, "I'd trust her about as far as I could throw her. Send her to the planet with our men and she'll betray them."
"That won't get her a life spent with Gaius Baltar," Laura said shrewdly. "And right now that's what she wants. Because of her love for him, she's already betrayed her people. She might go if we promise to set them up in a permanent little love nest and keep Gaius happily employed."
Maya said, "So you see Nereid as a chance for us to start over and try to get it right this time."
"Something like that. If there are only a few Cylons who join us and want a peaceful coexistence, then we'll start with those few."
"What are you going to do with the rest?" Maya asked. "Kill them? They'll just download."
"John mentioned something called boxing. They download but are then switched off. I don't really understand it, but I would think that would be a possibility."
"So you box the ones who don't want to play nice. Then what?" Kara asked.
"Until we can figure out something, I suppose we'd leave them boxed. John told me that D'Anna had been boxed for a number of years because of her religious fanaticism. A One or a Four kept tweaking her programming until they got the fanaticism toned down but left her religious convictions intact."
Kara asked. "What about the humans on Nereid after we free them?"
"The ones who want to stay on Nereid under a blended government will be allowed to stay. The rest of them will be allowed to immigrate to Caprica. Then we'll allow Capricans who want to live on Nereid to apply to go there. We'll screen out the criminals and adventurers and those who want to exploit the planet. We'll look for tolerance and a willingness to work with another race and…"
"Whoa," Kara said, "who's going to pick these perfect people? You?"
"I'll admit I really haven't gotten that far with my plan yet. The Caprican Bureau of Immigration still employs a small staff although there has been very little for them to do since the holocaust. Perhaps we'll put them to work screening visa applications for Nereid."
"You've still got a couple of months. No big rush." Kara walked to the door. "I've got to hit the sack. I'm now fully qualified on the Mark VII Viper. I start flying CAPs tomorrow. I need to be sharp."
Laura watched her stepdaughter exit the room. After a minute she sighed.
"I don't believe Kara has any faith in my plan."
"You've got to admit she's got good reason given the Cylon's track record here and on Nereid in dealing with us."
"Do you agree with her?"
"I don't know. I hope you're right for all our sakes, but..."
Laura sighed. She could understand Kara and Maya's concerns. "Have you and Hunter discussed where you will live after everything is over? Are you seriously considering moving to Nereid and living in a primitive valley without electricity?"
"It couldn't be any worse than the refugee camp."
"But Maya, what if Esmari gets sick? What if…any number of things happen?"
"I don't know." Maya rubbed her forehead. "I just don't know. I want to be with Hunter, but I'm not so keen on living like a pioneer when there's a city not that far away."
"I would really like for Hunter to be a part of the new government and that would involve living in the city. Do you think he would consider moving?"
"He might. But the even bigger question is whether he'd be willing to work with the Cylons to form a coalition government. Kara is right. For Hunter they've never been anything but the enemy."
"Which is all the more reason I need his support for my plan. The symbolism of a man who was once a warrior fighting them and is now a leader working with them would be worth more than all the platitudes about peace and harmony that I could ever say."
"Then maybe you should talk to him…just the two of you."
"Humans first came to this solar system over two thousand years ago. Since then we've fought many wars. Some were between different Colonies and some were civil wars on the same Colony. Most went on until one side won, but there were several that were fought to a stalemate and ended only when the leaders on both sides sat down and forged an agreement, an alliance. That's what I hope we'll see happen on Nereid. I don't expect everything to be sweetness and light at the beginning, but I believe if we want it enough and work hard enough to achieve it, it will eventually happen."
Maya stood and picked up the monitor for the room where Brae and Esmari slept. "It's been a long day. I'm going to follow Kara's example and call it a night."
After Maya left, Laura got up and poured another drink. She had always believed that people could find a way to work and live together if they really tried…if they wanted it badly enough. She realized how many obstacles she faced in implementing her plan on Nereid, but if the humans and Cylons couldn't work out their differences now, they were doomed to continue the struggle to exterminate each other.
Learning to live together was their only hope. After all was said and done, the Cylons were still the creations of humanity and good parents did not kill their children.
Laura closed the door of her sitting room and turned off all the lamps except a small one on the desk. She went into the bedroom and closed that door also before she placed her phone on the table beside the bed. The clock said 11:04. She wondered if John was still with D'Anna or if he had gone to his own apartment. She wanted to hear his voice and picked up her phone…then decided against calling him. Today had clearly shown her that the love that had brought them together in the beginning was still there. She didn't really want to know if he was with D'Anna. She had to trust him to do the right thing.
Sadly she put the phone back down and looked at the picture of them on her bedside table. She had never wanted his arms around her as much as she did at that moment, but remembering the happiness they had shared would have to be enough for now.
Then Laura's thoughts returned to D'Anna and she had something of an epiphany. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it before. The child D'Anna carried, John's child, was foretold by both the monotheistic scriptures and their own Sacred Scrolls. Even those Cylons on Nereid who would not welcome a coalition government might accept one that brought their prophesied peacemaker back to them. Laura suddenly saw the child in a different light, not as a mystical being or as a painful symbol of what her husband had done on Nereid, but as a means to achieve what some of them ardently wanted…a lasting peace. Her plan now had a second important component. Along with Hunter's acceptance of a coalition government, it now included the Cylon peacemaker. The moment was an intensely spiritual and emotional one for her.
As she said her prayers that night, she included a special one to Zeus's wife Hera who safeguarded women through pregnancy and childbirth. She prayed that Hera would keep D'Anna in her care and that she would watch over the unborn child. For the first time since Laura Roslin had received the agonizing news that a Cylon was carrying her husband's child, she went to sleep with a measure of peace in her heart.
...
The car that picked up John and D'Anna late the next afternoon was neither a jeep like the MPs drove nor a limousine like Laura had sent for him and Dr. Cardenas the day before. It was a standard issue military vehicle, dark blue and three years old.
D'Anna was wearing the dark slacks and white blouse that she had worn on the night they'd left Nereid. The outfit had been laundered and returned to her. He'd left Kara a message that afternoon asking her to pick up a few more things for D'Anna to wear.
Now he helped D'Anna into the back seat. An MP got into the front with the driver, a young ensign.
"So you drive for Bill Adama," John asked him.
"Yes, sir. Most of the time."
Traffic was heavy and they crawled along the I-6. D'Anna looked dazed at the thousands of vehicles and the many lanes of traffic although the lanes leaving the city were clogged and moving slower than those heading into it.
"Do we have far to go?" She finally asked.
"About ten more miles and then we'll leave the freeway. Fortunately the place we're going is not too far off the exit."
It was another thirty minutes before they pulled up outside the Hobarth Medical Plaza and the conglomerate of buildings that made up the largest cluster of physicians' offices and other treatment facilities in the city. The huge Kings Bay Medical Center was two blocks away. John had been here to the Hobarth Building a number of times. His doctor had an office in one of the buildings and both Laura's and Brae's doctors were also located there.
He felt a strange sense of both the past and present as he helped D'Anna out of the car. The MP also got out and accompanied them inside. John read the directory in the lobby. Dr. Delos was on the twenty-third floor. They rode the elevator up in silence with D'Anna gripping his hand like it was a life-line.
The outer office door was locked, but the MP knocked and in less than a minute the door was opened by an attractive red-haired woman that John judged to be about his age. She was wearing scrubs and a knee-length white jacket.
When they were all inside, she locked the door. She looked at the MP. "You can wait out here. I can assure you I'll bring them back as soon as we're finished."
"You've got my word," John said to the MP. "We're not going to try to escape. Where would we go?"
For a moment he thought the MP was going to insist on going into the exam with them, but he finally said, "Yes, sir."
Dr. Delos led them through a door and a short distance down a hall. They went into her office and she closed the door. She finally held out her hand. "Debra Delos."
John shook her hand and introduced himself and D'Anna.
"Admiral Adama's office gave me very minimal information so I'll have a few questions. I have to put D'Anna into the system so I can track her pregnancy as it progresses. I'll need a last name since the computer won't accept a blank."
John looked at D'Anna. "Do you have a last name?"
She shook her head. "I never had a first name until you gave one to me before I took you to the city."
"D'Anna Biers," John said to Dr. Delos who entered it into her computer. He gave the airbase as her address and Admiral William Adama as the emergency contact. They made up a date of birth since the computer required that as well. D'Anna suddenly became thirty years old since they didn't want to use her Cylon age of twelve as measured since her copy's creation. Dr. Delos told them that would trigger all kinds of red flags in the system and prompt a visit from Social Services since legally a pregnant twelve-year-old was considered a victim of abuse.
"Before I get to the medical questions," Delos said to John, "I assume you're here with her because you're her child's father."
"That's right."
"Do you want your name listed on the birth certificate?"
"Yes."
"I'll need your full name."
"John Spenser Gallagher."
Delos entered the information then looked up and smiled. "I'm sorry I'm a little slow at this. Normally intake forms are processed by one of my staff."
"We're not in a hurry," John said. "We really appreciate you staying tonight to see us."
Dr. Delos looked at D'Anna. "I'd like to get an idea of how advanced the pregnancy is. We're going to do an ultrasound tonight and knowing how far along you are will help me determine how everything should look. Can you tell me the date of your last menstrual period?"
"I've been pregnant a hundred and thirty-one days," D'Anna answered.
Dr. Delos looked skeptical. "You seem very certain."
"It happened the third time that John pleasured me. Sonja told me that it would be good, but I didn't know how good until John…"
"Dr. Delos doesn't really need to know all that," John said as he felt his face grow warm.
Delos was making notes on a piece of paper now. She kept her head down for a moment as she scribbled, but John could tell she was smiling. She finally looked up.
"So we'll say roughly eighteen weeks. Have you had any problems? Spotting or cramping for example?"
D'Anna said, "About six weeks ago I had a little spotting but Dr. Cardenas put me to bed and it stopped. I haven't had any since. Sometimes I have headaches. Dr. Cardenas said my blood pressure is high."
John quickly explained who Bianca Cardenas was.
"Do you have a headache now?" Dr. Delos asked.
"A little one. It's not bad."
Delos nodded and made some more notes. "Okay, what I'm going to do now is ask you to step next door with me to an examining room. Have you ever had a pelvic exam?"
"Simon did one on our homeworld and then Dr. Cardenas did one. She said everything looked all right. She's just worried about my blood pressure."
Dr. Delos stood and they followed her next door. John waited in the hall while Delos handed D'Anna a hospital gown and asked her to take off her clothes and put on the gown. Then Dr. Delos joined him in the hall and closed the door.
"If I hadn't recognized your face, I would certainly have recognized your name," Delos said. "I assume President Roslin is fully aware of this and it has her blessing."
John took a deep breath. "I can't say it has her blessing, but she's fully aware of it and decided to allow it. So did Admiral Adama."
Delos paced a short distance away and then turned. "Normally I would never ask such a personally invasive question, but how do you feel about D'Anna? Are you in love with her?"
John shook his head.
"I ask because the only other Cylon woman I've treated was married and in a very stable and loving relationship. I feel like that went a long way toward getting her pregnancy as far along as we did. She had the complete support of a husband."
"I know Sharon and Karl Agathon. But I love my wife and that's not going to change. D'Anna knows it, too. I'll support her as best I can, but we're not living as husband and wife. In fact as soon as she found out she was pregnant, that was the end of the physical relationship we had. Look, I can't really talk about what happened to me on her homeworld, but we weren't together because it was my idea. I was taken out of the prison and to the city to be her breeder. And that's all I can or will say about it. But now that she's pregnant, I want the baby to have a chance at life. He's my child, too."
"He?"
"She says she knows it's a boy."
"We might be able to find out today when I do the sonogram. How long has her blood pressure been high?"
"At least two months."
He then explained to her about D'Anna's morning sickness and the headaches and dizziness that had helped convince her to seek the medical care of a human instead of the Four who saw the rest of the Cylons.
"I'm beginning to get a clearer picture of the situation," Dr. Delos said. "Now let's get the exam done and then we'll do the sonogram."
"I'll wait out here."
But that's not what D'Anna wanted. She wanted John holding her hand while Dr. Delos examined her. Delos took her temperature and blood pressure and listened to her heart. She placed the stethoscope on D'Anna's abdomen. Then she covered the lower half of D'Anna's body with a sheet and had her slide down and put her feet in the stirrups. John kept his eyes on a life-sized plastic model of a full-term fetus in the womb that sat on a counter beside the exam table.
After a few minutes Dr. Delos peeled off her latex gloves and told D'Anna that she could scoot back up on the table. John's eyes met the doctor's.
"Everything looks good," Delos said, "with the exception of her blood pressure. Ideally it should be 120 over 80 or lower. D'Anna's is 144 over 93. That's not dangerously high, but it doesn't leave us much room to work with."
"That's roughly what it was every time Dr. Cardenas took it," John told her. "She was concerned about preeclampsia."
"Her concern is legitimate. With preeclampsia there will be an elevated protein level in the urine. Do you know if Dr. Cardenas did a urine test?"
"She said they didn't have the test strips to make that determination. They had almost nothing in the way of equipment to work with."
"We'll do a complete lab workup at D'Anna's next visit. I'll have to keep my lab tech here. If we don't find elevated protein levels, then my diagnosis will be gestational hypertension. If we do find protein, then that will complicate things. Now let's walk down the hall and do that sonogram." She addressed D'Anna. "Did you have a sonogram on your homeworld?"
"They didn't have that kind of equipment either," John said.
When D'Anna was on the table in the room with the ultrasound machine, Dr. Delos told her. "What I'm going to do is put some clear jelly on your abdomen and run a small wand over it that will let us see your baby with sound waves. It's a painless procedure. The worst part is that the jelly is a bit cold."
A few minutes later John and D'Anna were watching a computer screen as Dr. Delos moved the wand slowly over D'Anna's abdomen. John saw the skull and then what had to be a shoulder and then he saw his son's heart beating. It was a very emotional moment for him, as emotional as when he and Laura had first seen Brae's heart beating. Dr. Delos was very thorough and finally printed two images for them to see. She gave one to D'Anna and the other one to John.
"I'm reasonably certain you're carrying a boy," Delos told them. "Your son's heartbeat is strong. He's almost six inches long and weighs about half a pound which means you're in your eighteenth week just as you said. The position of the placenta looks good, the amount of amniotic fluid looks good. At this point I don't see anything abnormal."
D'Anna clasped the ultrasound picture of her son like it was a priceless Monclair painting.
"He's perfect," she breathed.
"He's very active right now. You should be able to feel him move."
"Yes," D'Anna smiled. "He moves a lot."
Dr. Delos took a towel and rubbed the gel off D'Anna's abdomen. "Why don't you go put your clothes on and we'll talk in my office."
In her office Delos took a packet of pills out of her drawer. "Here's a week's supply of prenatal vitamins. You can buy them at any pharmacy. You need to take one of these every day. Here are some pamphlets about the stages of pregnancy and what to expect. There's another one about diet and exercise, but I'd like for you to take it easy and rest as much as you can although a short walk each day would probably be good for you. I'm concerned about your blood pressure, but I don't want to take one reading and make a diagnosis. I'd like to see you again in a week and we'll do some lab work. Will you be able to come back?"
"I'll see that she gets here," John said.
"Do you have any questions for me?"
John hesitated and then asked, "If anything were to happen soon, would the baby stand a chance?"
Delos pondered her reply. "By soon I assume you mean in the next few weeks or month."
John nodded.
"I never like to answer questions like that with a definite yes or no. If D'Anna can make it six more weeks, and right now I don't see why she shouldn't, the baby might stand a chance. I delivered a little girl who survived just shy of twenty-four weeks, but the child has numerous problems. We'd like for D'Anna to make it at least thirty-seven weeks. She's barely half that far along now, and each week we get closer to thirty-seven, the better chance the baby has."
D'Anna was still gazing at the ultrasound picture. "He has blond hair and blue eyes," she said. "He's the peacemaker. He's very special."
Dr. Delos glanced at John again and then back at D'Anna. She smiled.
"All children are special, D'Anna, every single one of them."
...
Lee and Hunter sat in the conference room near his father's office. Six of his senior staff officers, four colonels and two majors, waited with them. Two of the colonels and one major were females. Also seated at the table was General Nathan Vargas who would head the contingent of Marines deployed to the planet. Bill entered the room and sat at the head of the table.
"We'll wait a few minutes," he said. "We're expecting two more."
Lee glanced at Hunter just as Major Parker and John walked in. John was wearing his duty blue uniform as were the rest of them with the exception of Hunter. Lee wasn't sure why, but the uniform seemed to accentuate the weight that John had lost.
"Sorry we're late, sir," Parker said to Bill. "Traffic was heavier than I expected."
Bill nodded. "I don't think I need to introduce the gentleman with Major Parker. He's the man who brought us a great deal of information about Nereid. I asked him to join us in our Friday meeting this week because his intel was largely responsible for convincing me that we need to send a very small recon team to the planet ahead of the main strike force."
Lee could sense the surprise in some of the senior officers.
"Aren't you afraid that will tip our hand," one of the colonels said.
"We think we can pull it off without doing that," Bill said. "We have two Cylon Heavy Raiders, but I'm only going to allow one of them to be used."
"How will they communicate their findings?" The female major asked. "If we wait for them to return and something happens to them, what do we do then? How would we even know?"
"I'm going to park a couple of battlestars at the far edge of our solar system. They'll relay any communication."
Another colonel asked, "You're going to park battlestars in the Armistice Zone?"
"Beyond it. Between us and the Prolmar sector there's an area of space that conceivably belongs to both. It's not like there's a fence between their solar system and ours."
"Do you not think they'll be patrolling that area of space?"
"It's a possibility, but we're going to have to take a chance. We're not going to send the recon mission until we're a hundred percent ready to make our move on the planet."
John glanced at Bill and Bill said, "Do you have something you'd like to add Major Gallagher?"
"The Cylons have no idea that their brothers and sisters are no longer in control of this planet. My opinion, for what it's worth, is that they're either overconfident or they've gotten slack. While I was in their city, I overheard a conversation between a Six and a One. After my Raptor wound up there last November, some of them got concerned that an attack force was on the way. They sent a basestar all the way to the Armistice Zone and found nothing except the debris of the Armistice Station. Later I asked the Six if they regularly patrolled that deep into space. She told me they didn't. They're keeping their baseships close to home."
"And you believe her?" One of the Colonels asked suspiciously.
"I'll tell you all like I told Admiral Adama and Major Parker. At the time none of them had any reason to think I'd ever leave Nereid. I don't know why she would have bothered to lie to me."
"Because she's a Cylon?" Another colonel said and got a chuckle from several others.
"Won't they pick up our communication from their planet?" The female colonel asked. "They wouldn't have to be monitoring deep space to do that?"
Bill took a deep breath. "We have the Cylon Raider that did the original recon of the planet. We're going to send it along with the Heavy Raider. The Raider will bring us back the information we need. There will be no wireless communication. We know from their own admission that the Cylons can't detect a jump if it occurs below the tree line of a forest. We know that when Lieutenant Thrace returned in the Raider the last time, the Cylons were not aware of her departure."
"Will Lieutenant Thrace be piloting the Raider this time?"
"She's already volunteered," Bill said.
"No, sir," John said. "My daughter is not going back to that planet."
"I can pilot the Raider," Lee said.
"We'll have that discussion off line," Bill told them. "This is not the time or the place. Lieutenant Thrace also had another idea that I have given careful consideration and just today gave President Roslin the okay to go ahead with it. We're going to ask Natasi and Leoben to accompany the mission back to the planet. I personally have my doubts that either of them will cooperate, but they will be asked."
"Before we go any further, what do you hope to accomplish with this recon mission?" A colonel asked. "We know where the city is. We know where the settlements are. We know the approximate strength of the enemy. I don't see why we can't proceed with destroying them like we originally planned…take out their basestars and then put boots on the ground to start taking out their centurions and liberating the humans."
Bill looked at John and he realized that Bill wanted him to say it.
"Because they might already be involved in a civil war," John said. "If that's the case, we might be killing the very ones who will side with us."
"Meaning no disrespect to you, Major Gallagher, but does anyone else have a hard time taking the word of a man who just two weeks ago was their prisoner?"
There was subdued agreement from several of the officers.
"How do we know," the colonel continued, "that we wouldn't be flying into a trap?"
"Because I'm going with them," John said.
"You're leading the mission?"
"I'll be the senior military officer. It will be a joint mission with Hunter and some of his soldiers."
"I don't like it," the colonel said, his tone edging toward aggression.
"Meaning no disrespect, sir," John said, keeping his cool, "but Lee Adama will be on the mission. Do you really think I would put the life of the man my daughter is going to marry in danger?"
"How long do you think the mission will take?" The female colonel asked.
"Several days to a week, maybe slightly more," Bill answered. "We'll set an arbitrary time limit based on our best guess of how long it will take the team to determine the situation. If we haven't gotten word in that amount of time, we'll proceed with the plan to jump in, destroy the basestars and then start landing our troops."
A colonel who had not yet spoken and who had a softer voice than the rest asked, "In your opinion, Major Gallagher, do you think the Cylons will fight?"
"Yes, sir. I think some of them will fight, but not all of them. There's a big difference between the humanoids who run the prison and those in the city."
"Don't you think they'll rely on their centurions to do the fighting for them?"
"Most of them will," John said and then he thought of Jade, "but some of the humanoids fought Hunter's men in the forest. I think those will fight."
"Out of an estimated eighteen thousand, how many do you think that is?"
John glanced at Hunter and Hunter said, "Every time we killed one, it downloaded. I couldn't say if we were fighting different ones or the same ones over and over. They seemed to learn from their mistakes, but that might be because they were sharing with each other in that datastream they use to communicate. We could have been fighting a few or many."
"So if they shared their information, they might all know how to fight."
"Theoretically," Bill said. "I think we all know we're going into a situation with no guarantees of what's going to happen. It's the first time in Colonial history that we've fought an enemy under these circumstances."
"Is it even worth the losses we're going to take?" The soft-spoken colonel asked.
"The President thinks it is and so do I," Bill said. "If you were one of those forty-five thousands human slaves on the planet, I think you'd agree. We'll meet again next Friday when we've firmed up some things. Same time. Same place."
Everyone stood and the other officers exited the room except Lee, Hunter, Bill, John and Parker.
"About Kara going to Nereid," John started.
Bill held up his hand. "Lee can't function as your copilot and fly that Raider, too."
"We don't need the Raider," Lee said.
"The Raider is our backup," Bill said. "It doubles the odds that one of you will make it back."
"I will not let you risk my daughter's life," John said hotly.
Bill asked, "You'd rather have her in a Viper fighting Raiders over the planet when we go in to destroy those basestars? She's a fighter pilot, John." Then his voice softened. "I'm a father, too. I understand your feelings, but she's got a skill we can use."
John looked at Lee and half-smiled. "Why aren't you helping me?"
"Because if Kara has volunteered and my father has approved it, it's a done deal. You won't talk them out of it."
John looked at Bill. "And you know if I was lying about the situation on Nereid and was going to deliver the mission to the Cylons, I sure as hell wouldn't do it with my daughter along."
Major Parker, who had been silent until then, said, "John, nobody is questioning your loyalty or your patriotism. Kara has a skill that no one else has. Bill would be remiss not to use it. We're playing for all the marbles this time. We need every resource we've got."
"You're right," John said. "I'm sorry. I have a hard time being objective when my daughter's life is on the line."
"I have an idea," Lee said. "It's almost four. Why don't we all head out to the airbase and go to the new officer's club? I'll call Kara and tell her to meet us there. You need to come, too, Dad."
Lee thought his father would refuse and then Bill said, "Maybe for an hour. I'll go call my driver." A hint of a smile curved his mouth. "We can't have our mission team locked up for DUIs on the eve of going to war, can we?"
...
Romo Lampkin sat in Laura Roslin's office while her secretary brought both of them a cup of tea. They waited until the secretary had retreated and closed the door behind her.
The previous night had brought a thunderstorm over the city that had knocked out power in several places and caused flash flooding in others, but the heat that had plagued them for nearly two weeks had finally broken.
The late afternoon sun slanted through the gardens outside the huge bay window behind Laura's chair. Bees and hummingbirds moved from flower to flower. She saw Lampkin's eyes taking in the scene of pastoral beauty, a stark contrast to the subject he was here to discuss.
"So you think Natasi will cooperate with us and agree to accompany the recon team to Nereid."
"She didn't turn me down flat. She wants more details about what her reward will be if she agrees to do it."
"You told her we would set her and Gaius Baltar up in a home of their choosing and make sure Gaius stayed gainfully employed in a good job."
"I told her. I said she could choose anywhere here on Caprica or Nereid."
"And she still wouldn't commit."
"She's toying with us. She knows she's in the driver's seat on this one. I think perhaps if you were to go see her and…"
"Beg her?" Laura asked trying to hide her distaste at the thought.
Lampkin couldn't look at her. His eyes drifted back to the flowers. He knew how disgusting the suggestion was to Laura.
She took several deep breaths and opened the electronic tablet that lay on her desk. She touched her calendar and then touched the following Monday. It opened. The entire morning was blocked off as always for her weekly meeting with the Quorum of Twelve. She picked up her phone and buzzed her secretary.
"Shift our Monday afternoon staff meeting to Tuesday and notify everyone. And call Edgar and tell him I'll need transportation to safe house number one at four o'clock."
After she ended the call, Lampkin asked, "You want me to let Natasi know you're coming or are you going to surprise her?"
"Get in touch with her security detail first thing Monday morning and have them notify her. That should give her just about the right amount of time to anticipate and relish her victory."
Lampkin was studying her. "Ah, Madame President, you have something up your sleeve."
Laura smiled. "Yes, I do."
"Would you care to share it with me?"
"Natasi is obviously quite religious. So much so that she preached their faith in an old warehouse to anyone who would listen to her."
"Yes. I know. At her request, we've given her both a book of the monotheistic scriptures and some prayer beads along with a biography of the first Reverend Mother."
"Then you've no doubt she believes the prophecy about the peacemaker."
Lampkin eyes lit for a moment and then his look darkened. "She doesn't trust you. What makes you think she'll believe you?"
"She might not believe me, but she would probably believe D'Anna. She'd believe her sister if she saw her nice round belly."
Lampkin's mouth curved in a sly smile. "You're a devious woman."
"I'm just doing my part to insure the success of our mission. The beauty of it is that I don't have to tell a single lie. My conscience will be clear."
"I'd like to be with you when you talk to her."
"Of course. That was my plan all along." Her phone buzzed and she recognized Billy's extension. She held up a finger to Lampkin and picked up the receiver.
Billy said, "I've got James McManus on line three. He's very insistent. I think you need to talk to him."
"Did he say what he wants?"
"He says a very reliable source has told him that your husband brought a pregnant Cylon home with him. He says he's doing you the courtesy of letting you know before he goes to press with it and wants to know if you have a comment."
"Tell him I'm just finishing a meeting and will call him back in five minutes. Get a number where he can be reached."
"Will do."
Laura hung up the phone.
"What's wrong?" Lampkin asked.
"What I knew would happen sooner or later. Far too many people are aware of the situation with John and D'Anna and the baby. Everybody on the Galactica knows and I'm sure by now everyone who works in the brig plus the MPs at the airbase. James McManus has gotten wind of it. He's always disliked me. There's not a snowball's chance in Hades that I could talk him out of publishing it."
"Then use it to your advantage."
"How can this possibly be used to our advantage?"
"Spin it like it was prophesied in Pythia."
"Which is was."
"If it is the will of the gods, all of them including the Cylon one God, who can blame either the Cylons or your husband."
"Do you really think the average Caprican will buy it?"
"Laura, most of Caprica sees you as a believer, as a spiritual woman. The skeptics and atheists will have a field day, but no one will be able to fault you for your beliefs."
The phone buzzed again and Billy gave her a number. She jotted it on a pad.
"Should I leave?" Lampkin asked.
"No, I'm not going to talk to him tonight. I'm going to offer him an exclusive interview tomorrow. What do you want to bet he'll go for it." She put her phone on speaker and punched in the numbers. When McManus answered, she said sweetly, "Hello, Mr. McManus. What can I do for you?
"I've got a very reliable source who has told me that your husband brought two women back from the Cylon homeworld with him. One of them is a Cylon who is pregnant with his child. The other woman is a doctor who brought a half-breed baby with her."
"What do you want from me?" Laura asked in the sweet tone.
"Confirmation. Comments. I'm going to run this story with or without your approval."
Laura sighed audibly enough that he could hear her. "Would I be asking too much for you to tell me who brought this news to you?"
"You know I can't reveal my sources. I'd never get another tip in this town. What do you have to say, Madame President? Confirm or deny?"
"How would you like an exclusive interview with me tomorrow morning in my office?"
There was a long silence on the other end. Laura tried to imagine the look on James McManus's face. It was all she could do not to laugh.
"Let me get this straight," he said. "You're offering me an exclusive interview."
"Yes. But there are two stipulations. You submit a list of questions to me beforehand and you agree to hold the story until Sunday morning."
Another silence. "I'll hold the story until Sunday but I want a level of spontaneity so I'll say no to the list of questions."
"Then you'll have to be prepared for me to say no comment if I think your questions are too personal so please keep that in mind. If you abuse my trust, I'll end the interview. Believe me when I say this, the public will be on my side from the beginning."
"Agreed," he said quickly.
"I'll see you in the morning at ten o'clock. Please come to the back gate. I'll leave word for you to be admitted."
"You won't regret this, Madame President."
"I hope not," Laura said sweetly. She ended the call and smiled at Lampkin. "How did I do?"
"You'll have him eating out of your hand."
Laura walked to the door with Lampkin. "Be here Monday afternoon by 3:30. We'll go see Natasi together."
"It'll be my pleasure."
Back at her desk Laura picked up her phone and punched in Billy's extension. "Get Leoben Conoy on the phone for me please. I think he's listed under Conoy's New and Used Books. I have some questions I need to ask him."
As she waited for Billy to buzz her with Leoben on the line, she thought about what she planned to do. She needed to discuss it with John. She would call him later. She couldn't let him be blindsided.
Her phone buzzed. Billy said, "Leoben Conoy is on line three."
Laura switched lines. "Hello, Mr. Conoy. I hope this is not a bad time for you. I have several questions to ask you about the peacemaker prophecy. I need to make sure I have my facts straight."
...
Thirty minutes after Bill's staff meeting broke up, Lee, Hunter, Bill and John walked into the new officer's club at the airbase. Major Parker had declined their invitation because he'd made reservations to take his wife out to dinner that night.
Kara was already sitting at a table in a corner near the back. She had a beer. She stood as they got to the table. John put his arm around her and kissed her forehead. Lee went to the bar and asked the bartender to bring mugs and a large pitcher of beer.
When they were all seated and had a mug, Lee said, "To the mission."
They raised their glasses and touched them together. As Kara looked at her father, she knew that Admiral Adama had told him about her volunteering to pilot the Raider to Nereid.
Another officer fed some cubits into the jukebox and a slow song began playing. She looked at Lee and knew he had read her mind or her maybe her look. He stood and held out his hand. Without a word to the others and in their own world, they walked to the small open space near the jukebox. She put her arms around his neck. He put his around her waist and they began to move slowly, neither speaking, just feeling everything that had passed between them, everything they had shared, the fights, the passion, the differences, the love.
Kara finally said, "Your father told everybody about me taking the Raider to Nereid with you."
"Yeah."
"Don't say it."
Lee's arms tightened around her slightly. "I won't. Trying to stop you from doing something is like trying to stop the planet from spinning on its axis. I knew you'd find a way to go."
"You didn't seriously think I could stand by and let two of the people I love the most go off to war without me, did you?"
"I knew. I think John knew, too."
"He argued with your dad, didn't he?"
"Of course, but then I think he realized he was fighting a losing battle." He chuckled softly. "You cause the stars to align in your favor. You change the orbit of planets. You call meteors down from the heavens."
"Oh, shut up," she said. They knew what they were facing and she also knew that joking about it was the only way Lee could handle it right now.
He brought his mouth close to her ear. "I love you."
"I know," she said. "'Til the rivers all run dry, 'til the mountains fall into the sea."
"Until you start singing in my ear," he said.
"Oh, shut up," she whispered and pressed herself a little closer to him.
…
At the table John watched Kara and Lee dance. Bill's eyes were also on them as were Hunter's. Even though the backgrounds of the three men were very different, they were all warriors and they were all fathers. They all knew how it felt to watch a woman's body grow and change with their child, and then see that child brought into the world to become subject to the whims of fate.
John looked at Kara. He hadn't even known he had a daughter until she was almost five months old, but the instant he had seen her, she had taken his heart. And now she was old enough to have children of her own. He was sure one day she would. He felt mellow and incredibly sentimental.
"One day we'll watch them dance at their wedding," he said.
"I hope so," Bill echoed.
"Do you think the next generation might be free from war?"
"That's why we fight. So life will be better for our children and for their children."
"I wonder how many fathers on Kobol said the same thing five thousand years ago," John mused. "We've been fighting ever since."
Carefully he slipped the ultrasound picture of D'Anna's child out of his jacket pocket. He placed it on the table in front of Bill.
"My son," he said. "He's six inches long and weighs half a pound right now. He wasn't conceived in love the way Kara and Brae were, but he's my son just the same."
Bill picked up the image and studied it. "I think I remember Carolanne showing me one of these with Lee or maybe it was Zak. I was there when Lee was born. I missed Zak's birth by six hours. Carolanne went into labor a week before her due date. I was on Picon at Fleet Headquarters. I couldn't get back in time."
"I was with Laura when Brae was born, but I didn't see Kara until she was almost five months old. I didn't even know her mother was pregnant. She'd broken up with me before she started showing."
Hunter said, "Esmari was almost three months old before I saw her. I knew about her, but her grandmother wouldn't let me see her. Dessa would come back from visiting and talk on and on about how pretty she was. It tore me up. I stayed in the forest fighting as much as I could. I used to dream about getting killed and seeing Esmari's mother in the Elysian Fields and have her look at me like I was scum because I wasn't taking care of our daughter."
Bill drained the mug of beer, went to the bar and came back with a tumbler of whiskey. None of them spoke again until the glass was half empty.
"Lee wasn't conceived in love either," Bill said with a candor that surprised John. "But I do love my son. I love both my sons. They aren't responsible for the mistakes I made. Just because a man doesn't love his children's mother the way he should, it doesn't mean he can't love his children."
He's telling me he understands about what I did on Nereid, John thought.
Carefully Bill slid the sonogram back across the table. "Watch after my sons on Nereid," he said. "They're all I've got now."
"Until those grandchildren start coming along," Hunter said. His statement broke the somber mood.
John smiled and so did Bill. They looked at their children start back toward the table after the song ended.
"I guess that means we're going to be stuck with each other for a long time," John said to Bill.
"I hope so," Bill said.
Lee and Kara sat at the table and each picked up a mug of beer. They looked at each other. Then Kara reached over and picked up the sonogram. She studied it for a few minutes before she smiled at her father and handed it to him.
Here we sit, five warriors and three fathers, John thought. Someday he hoped the warriors were a thing of the past. He hoped it would be four fathers and one mother...and two grandfathers.
TBC…
