Chapter 10

Kara had decided that waiting wasn't so bad when you knew what you were waiting for — and when that something you were waiting for was worth it. For a woman who hadn't wanted to be pregnant, much less to be a mother, she found herself looking forward to the visits that Salik made to her beside with his equipment, and to the glimpses she managed to get of their child.

Their child.

Lords, but Lee was getting excited. They had managed to almost keep their enthusiasm tempered by caution until Lee had felt the baby kick. From that moment, all bets had been off. Kara had never thought that anyone could be so absolutely silly about anything, but Lee was setting new records. If she hadn't felt so much the same way, she wouldn't have let him live it down. But a grown man carrying on conversations with her belly button had a certain sentimental appeal for her at this point, and she loved it. She loved him. And damn-it she loved the tiny little life that they'd made, even as she had no clue how she was going to raise him.

And yes, it was a him. Salik hadn't been able to tell from the ultrasounds, but the small biopsy he had taken once they had reached a safe stage had shown a "structurally normal male". They were having a son. Lee was so frakking proud of himself that he was barely tolerable. Again, if she hadn't shared his feelings so closely she might have been annoyed.

If there was a downside to the situation it was that the two weeks Lee had requested more than two months ago had come and gone and she had yet to get the nerve up to ask him again. She was going to have to get it done. Finally, she had reached the twenty-four week point — the point at which Salik had relaxed his restrictions and allowed her to start acting like a human being again — and this baby was going to definitely, without a doubt, no-way-out-of-it be born. Even if she had him now, the Galactica had the support systems to keep him alive. It wouldn't be easy, but the bottom line was that she and Lee were going to be parents.

If she didn't say something quickly, they might just be unmarried parents, and that bothered her more than she like to admit. She understood why Lee hadn't said anything more about marriage. She knew that a part of him was still slightly wounded from her doubts and fears earlier in the pregnancy, but she had shown him that she was ready. Hadn't she?

Lee had taken to spending every non-working moment with her, either snuggling up to her while they watched a vid, or sitting next to her for a game of cards or a meal. He took her arm when they walked through the corridors of the Galactica, and he lavished more attention on her than she'd known he had for anything. But he hadn't yet mentioned marriage. Not since she'd asked, and he'd told her to wait. She had waited. She was still waiting. And while she knew it was her turn — that she needed to bring it up again — she was scared stupid that he'd make her wait again. Or worse yet, that he wouldn't.

She was clueless why she was afraid to marry Lee. She wanted it more than just about anything, and yet it terrified her on a level that was beyond conscious thought. What if something happened to him? What if he'd changed his mind, and he didn't even want to marry her? What if something happened to the baby, and he didn't want her anymore? The "ifs" were making her crazy, and the only way to alleviate her concerns would be to just take a deep breath and ask him. Again. She wished she knew why it was so frakking hard.

Chapter 10

"I do not like this," Kara said through clenched teeth.

"A few more minutes," Lee begged, wishing he could withdraw his hand, which had gone numb nearly an hour before. She was squeezing it with both of hers, and he was half-afraid it was going to come off. Lords, he was going to have bruises, but he wouldn't be hurting as badly as she was now.

They had made it. Regardless of the frustration, and the irritation, and even their own doubts — they had made it. They were going to have a baby, and damned soon if Lee was any judge of things. Salik hadn't said much, but neither was he looking concerned, so Lee decided that things must have been going along according to plan. At least Lee really hoped so; Kara looked positively pathetic.

She was propped with pillows on her bed, similar to the position she'd endured for the first four months of her pregnancy. The only difference really was the size of her belly and the expression on her face. Kara was hurting, and that was clear. She was taking it well, or at least as well as anyone could. If a few of the words she had spoken hadn't been exactly polite, well then it was no worse than what had been heard in the locker rooms at the Academy.

William Adama had told Lee how difficult this would be. It wasn't that he hadn't believed his father, but Lee had really thought that after all the difficulties in the pregnancy, something should come easy to Kara. It didn't look like that was going to be the case. She had gone into labor over ten hours before, and she was still at it.

The pressure on his hand lessened for just a moment, and he squeezed her hand in return. It wasn't meant to be a comforting gesture, but rather to restore some circulation before the next contraction hit. He wasn't entirely successful, because as soon as she had eased her grip, she had tightened it again.

"No, no, no, no," she was saying, her voice just over a whisper. "Not again; not another one." Lee thought it might have been easier if she had just started screaming. I was certainly what he would have expected. Hell, it was likely what he would have done.

Looking at the monitor that Salik had brought from the Life Station, Lee could see what she meant. This contraction hadn't even completely subsided before another had begun. Her breaks had been getting shorter, from minutes to seconds, and now they were nothing at all. He wondered how much more she could take.

As it turned out, she took quite a lot. After the contractions had become almost continuous, Kara had still had to lay there and do nothing more than fight the pain for another hour. Finally, after she had thrown up all over everything, the doctor had decided that she was ready to push. Both encouraged and relieved to see her doing something besides trying to relax through intense pain, Lee had taken up a position near the head of the bed to stay out of the doctor's way.

Later he would think back that it had all happened so quickly, but at the time it seemed an eternity while Kara pushed and counted, muttered and cried. The baby's head became visible almost immediately, but getting from there to having the baby in hand took considerably longer. Lee stopped looking at the clock at some point, mesmerized by the sight of his son emerging into the world.

Lords, he was ugly. That was the first thought Lee had when he saw the slightly blue, bloody, and entirely too still form slip from his wife and into Doctor Salik's waiting hands. Lee felt more than a moment of panic as the doctor laid the baby on a towel and began rubbing him vigorously. Weren't babies supposed to cry? Lee wondered. Weren't they supposed to be red and squirmy?

"Is he okay?" Kara was asking quickly, urgently. "Lee, is he okay?"

Lee couldn't speak. The baby didn't look okay at all. He didn't even look alive. His eyes were open, his body was blue, and aside from the movement caused by Salik's vigorous rubbing the little body was still. Oh Lords, not this. After all they'd done, and sacrificed, the thought that anything could be wrong with this tiny scrap of life was enough to make Lee's world drop out from beneath him.

Even as Lee started to go from worried to truly scared, little Zak Adama took a deep breath and screamed. Loud. Really loud, and really long. Lee let out the breath he'd been holding, finally smiling as he watched his son's skin quickly go from a bluish tint, to purple, and finally to pink.

"Lee?"

He planted a quick kiss on Kara's forehead, never taking his eyes from the baby. "He's okay," Lee told Kara. "He's gorgeous."

And he was. Now red, and wiggling, and his eyes were huge and blue and so very wide. He was screaming at the top of his lungs, and the volume was enough to give Lee pause. Would they be able to handle this little life? Would he always be this loud?

Salik used something to tie off the umbilical cord, and then clipped it with scissors before wrapping little Zak in a clean towel and handing him to Lee. The doctor hadn't said a word during the entire process. Lee supposed it was all more than routine. He delivered from one to three babies on most days, in addition to all his other duties. The doctor was probably seeing yet another patient to care for, but Lee was watching a miracle happen.

It wasn't the first miracle he'd seen in recent weeks. The look on Kara's face when she had felt the baby kick for the first time had been amazing. He had never thought she could become so attached to something she hadn't really wanted in the first place. Another sight that had struck him as unbelievable had been Kara in a dress for their wedding. He didn't think he'd ever seen her in one before — not in all the years they'd known one another — but watching her waddle down the aisle in a borrowed maternity dress had become a favorite memory. It had been almost as miraculous as her becoming his wife.

Months back, he had told her to wait two weeks. Lee had wanted to be sure that she was emotionally ready to commit to him, rather than simply turning to him from some kind of obligation or fear. The weeks had come and gone, and she hadn't mentioned it. Lee had been disappointed, but also grateful that he hadn't jumped at her proposal. Clearly she hadn't been ready. Or at least that was what he had thought.

When Kara had reached the eighth month of pregnancy — the time at which their baby's birth would no longer be considered an emergency — Doctor Salik had allowed a very bored Kara to return to light duties. After her first day back at a desk, she had come to him, put her arms around him, and asked him, "Now that I'm allowed to walk, how about letting me walk down the aisle to you?"

He never had been able to tell her no.

So Kara had borrowed a dress, his father had produced the rings, and they had been married on the flight deck with all of their friends looking on. Visions of Kara in the pink dress, her hair pinned back and what passed for flowers in her hands and in her hair, often came to Lee when he least expected it. He had never asked her to be beautiful for him; she simply was. But seeing her dressed up had been a sight. She had laughingly told him to enjoy it, because it would never happen again, but he hadn't cared. She was still the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen, even in grubby orange coveralls or a hospital gown. Especially in a hospital gown as she held their new son, whom Lee had just placed in her waiting arms.

Kara was intently digging through the towel for some reason, until she'd finally uncovered the baby's arm. "What are you doing?" Lee asked in confusion.

"Counting fingers," she muttered. "Sharon says you do it for luck."

Lee laughed softly, nearly oblivious to the physician who was still between Kara's legs taking care of things that Lee would rather not know about. "They're all there," he told her. "He's perfect."

"He is," Kara said in wonder. He couldn't fault her for the tears on her face; he'd been wiping away his own since he had seen the baby's clear blue eyes.

"I take it you already have a name in mind," the doctor called from where he was working.

"Zak Adama," Kara said softly. "He even looks like him."

"He does," Lee agreed. "Except the eyes. Zak's were brown, not blue."

"He gets those from his daddy," Kara told Lee with a wink, and then she turned her attention back to the baby who was nuzzling up against her as though seeking something. She ran a finger across his mouth, touching tiny pink lips and the little pink tongue that was moving all over the place.

"You're going to need to feed him," Lee said softly as he watched his son — wow, the thought amazed him, his son — search around for something to latch onto.

Kara looked up with an expression just short of panic. "I don't know how," she whispered.

"How hard can it be?" Lee asked, and then he reached behind her neck to release the tie on her gown, allowing one side to fall and expose her breast. "He's already looking," Lee reasoned. "So long as we point him in the right direction"

Kara looked uncomfortable, and a little uncertain, but she held the baby closer to her. As Lee had suspected, the baby did most of the work. Truthfully, he'd gotten that hint from Chief Tyrol, who had told him more than one thing during the pregnancy that had saved Lee's butt. Experience, it seemed, was a pretty good teacher. Little Zak clamped onto the offered nipple with an enthusiasm that Lee would have found comical if Kara hadn't jumped in surprise.

"Hurt?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Weird," she admitted. "Not painful, but it'll definitely take some getting used to."

"You'll have plenty of time for that," Salik told them as he finished whatever he had been doing and folded up the wet and bloody towels that had been placed beneath Kara to catch the worst of the mess. Beneath them was a plastic sheet, and a second layer of towels. By the time the doctor had pulled all the excess bedding away and pulled up her covers, the baby was already asleep. "I put in several stitches," the doctor told them. "You're going to be sore. No getting up without help; not even to the bathroom. Understood?"

Kara nodded, and Lee did the same.

"Good, then I'll get out of here. I'll send Cassie down in half an hour to check you both again, and then we'll take him to Life Station to get him checked more thoroughly."

"Do you have to?" Kara asked, and Lee heard pure panic in her voice.

"Your husband can come with him if you're worried," the doctor said. "But there are a number of tests I like to run to be sure the little guys are ready for the world. He'll be okay for an hour or two, but then I'll need to get some data."

Lee nodded again, and watched as Kara clutched Zak closer to her. "I'll go with him," he assured her. "I won't let them lose him."

She gave him a tired, but good-natured glare as Salik left, and he couldn't believe the relief that washed over him. He decided that it must be true about women forgetting the pain, because since she'd seen the baby she hadn't complained once — not through the mess, the stitches, or even the nursing. She had just stared at the baby as though she couldn't quite believe he was there. Lee knew the feeling.

"He's so little," she marveled, running a finger along the side of his face, smiling when his little mouth started sucking even though there was no longer anything in his mouth. "Do they dream when they're this little?" she asked.

"No clue," Lee admitted. "I'd guess he would. Not sure what he'd have to dream about, though."

"Did you see how blue he was when he came out?" Kara asked. There was clear fear in her voice as she said it, and he saw her arms tighten on the baby once more.

"Doctor Salik didn't seem worried," Lee assured her. "And I'll stay with him while the techs check him out."

"You need to call your dad, too," she added. "I know he'll be wondering."

Lee nodded. His father had wanted to be close by when the baby was born, but Kara had refused. She had said that a room full of people listening to her screams was not her idea of a good time. So everyone had stayed at work, and Salik had met them in their own room when her labor had gotten serious, rather than Lee taking Kara to Life Station. Thankfully there had been no complications, because Lee had liked having just the two of them present for the birth. Just as they had been with the baby's conception, Lee and Kara had been a team for the birth. Granted, Kara had done most of the work, but the blue and gray areas on Lee's hand showed that he would be a while healing from the birth himself.

So Lee had some errands to run, but he didn't want to leave Kara to do it. He would have to call his father to come stay with her until he and the baby could get back from Life Station. Lee had no clue how long it would take. He needed to find something for Kara to eat, too, and himself for that matter. Reluctantly, he went to the phone by his desk and punched in the number for CIC. His father was working, having said that it would keep him from worrying too much. Lee knew that was a load of crap; his father worried about Kara nearly as much as Lee did himself.

"Command." The voice was low and authoritative, and Lee had to smile. The Commander of a Battlestar answering his own telephone seemed to be fairly amusing.

"Hi, Grandpa," Lee said with a smile.

William Adama's laugh was soft but genuine. "You make me feel old," he complained. "How is he?"

Lee thought about that. He was pink and perfect and as cute as anything or anyone Lee had ever seen. "Beautiful," Lee answered. Then, with a glance at his wife, "Just like his mother."

She rolled her eyes, but his father laughed again. "How did she do?"

"How do you think?" he asked. "I don't think there's anything she can't do if she puts her mind to it."

"Any problems?"

Lee shook his head, oblivious to the fact that his father couldn't see him. "It just took forever," Lee said. "Kara's tired, I think."

"And my grandson?"

Lee smiled again. "Already sleeping. The doc wants to take him to Life Station for a once over before long. Would you mind sitting with Kara. She's fine — probably she'll just sleep — but"

"I'm on my way," the Commander said. "I want to see that baby before Salik gets a hold of him."

"Then I'll see you in a few minutes," Lee confirmed. "And, thanks."

"It's not a problem, Son."

When Lee hung up, he looked over at Kara and wasn't surprise to see that she was as near sleep as his son. His son. Would he ever get used to that? Somehow, he didn't think so. He would have to ask his father.

"Kara, let me take him," Lee said softly. She put her head up, alert for just a moment, but released the baby.

"Are you going?" she asked.

"Not for a bit," he told her, carefully sitting on the edge of the bed to cradle his son in his arms. He was so tiny. Lee didn't think he'd ever seen a baby so small. He had no idea how long he was or how much he weighed. Lee supposed Salik would give him that information. He hoped so; weren't proud fathers supposed to brag about that sort of thing.

William Adama arrived moments later, wearing a huge smile as he greeted his son with a one-armed hug that was careful not to squish the baby between them.

"I forgot how little they were," Lee's father said softy, moving a corner of the towel away from the baby's face to get a good look.

"Tell me about it," Lee said.

Gesturing to Kara, the eldest Adama asked, "How is she?"

"The same," Lee said softly, looking over at his sleeping wife. "She was really amazing."

"Women are," his father agreed. "All that stubborn in such a beautiful package."

Lee smiled at that. Kara fit his father's description exactly, both in the stubbornness that was as much a part of her as blond hair and hazel eyes, and in the beauty that was evident regardless of makeup or fancy clothes. Even dressed in an orange coverall with grease smeared all over her face, she was the most beautiful woman in the world to him.

The knock at the hatch was what Lee had been dreading. His father opened it to reveal Cassie standing there with a reluctant expression on her face, as though she knew how difficult it would be for him to leave his wife. "It'll just take a moment," she said with a smile. "I promise. You can hold him most of the time, too."

His father gave him a little push, and Cassie led the way down the Galactica's main corridor. There were more than a few people who glanced at the bundle in his arms with wide smiles and words of congratulations as Lee made the walk to Life Station. He didn't stop to talk though; he wanted to get back to Kara.

Once in the Life Station, Cassie took the baby and weighed him, revealing a relatively small six pounds and four ounces, although Zak was tall at twenty-two inches. Next came identification criterion — footprints, handprints, and a retinal scan — and then a scan of his heart and lungs. Lee held his breath through each procedure, willing the results to be good. He had never been so worried about anything in his life. Much to his relief, his son was revealed to be perfectly normal, very healthy, and according to more than one of the techs, absolutely beautiful. Lee could have told them that.

The final step in the procedure was a warm bath for the infant. Lee held little Zak nervously in the pan of water while Cassie showed him how to wash all the tiny baby parts and keep his umbilical cord dry in the process. Lee did his best to remember all the details, but the tech assured him that they would be available to answer any questions that he or Kara thought of along the way. Little Zak was then diapered and wrapped in a clean and dry blanket. Less than an hour after coming into the Life Station, Lee walked back to his room with a clean and tidy baby sleeping in his arms. Cassie had said that the baby would need to eat again soon, and that if Kara had any trouble they were to contact the Life Station immediately.

Lee met a few more friends on his return trip, but they all seemed content to congratulate him and take a peek at the baby without expecting him to linger. He finally made it back to the room, and Lee was more than a little exhausted by the time he settled into the bed next to Kara.

"Everything go okay?" his father asked as Lee shifted the baby and tried to get comfortable.

"Fine. He's perfect."

"I could have told you that," his father remarked. "Now can I take him?"

Lee smiled and passed the baby to his father, who held the tiny infant with a surprising ease and a silly smile. Lee relaxed back onto the pillows next to Kara, smiling softly as she moved towards him, cuddling close even in her sleep.

"I wasn't around much when you were born," William said softly. "I always seemed to be in one position or another that kept me shipboard. I missed so much with you. Your mother did most of it herself, so when she got pregnant with Zak she pretty much ordered me to take shore duty." William smiled fondly at the memory. "I hated the duty, but I loved holding Zak. He was so tiny."

"Does it get easier?" Lee asked.

His father shook his head. "Not really. Once they're yours, you worry for the rest of your life. Not theirs," he clarified. "But yours. You'll always worry about him; every day of your life."

"Thanks," Lee said dryly.

"Just giving fair warning," his father said with a wink. The baby was moving restlessly, his head turning slightly and his little tongue appearing and disappearing randomly. "He's hungry," William said.

Lee nodded, and took the baby back. Nudging Kara, he said, "Honey, wake up a minute."

"Hmmm?"

"I'll go now," William said softly. "This is your time. Enjoy it."

"Thanks," he said honestly. "And thank you for staying with her."

William smiled at that. "I never mind spending time with one of my favorite pilots," he said gently. Walking around the bed, he placed a kiss on Kara's forehead. "Congratulations, Mama," he said gently.

"Thanks," came her sleepy reply.

Once his father had left, Lee found himself faced with a fussing baby and a groggy wife. "Okay little guy," he muttered in concern. "You figured this out by yourself before. Help us out again, will ya?"

Kara had dropped the gown on one side again, and took the baby when Lee handed him to her. "Hey, guy," she said softly. "Quit that. I don't have a clue what to do with a crying baby, so don't even start."

Thankfully, Zak found himself near a food source and latched on happily. Lee wondered if all babies were so brilliant, or if he and Kara had gotten lucky along the way. Lee stayed close as the baby ate, mostly because Kara was still half-asleep. Cassie knocked on the hatch and stuck her head in the door a few minutes later, then came in to check Kara's blood pressure and press on her stomach, then checked to see how much Kara was still bleeding. Kara grunted and shifted away from the touch, but Cassie assured them that the discomfort was normal. Lee certainly hoped so.

"How long has he been nursing?" Cassie asked as she noted something on her clipboard.

Lee shrugged. "Ten minutes, maybe."

"You'd better shift him. Here, let me" She gently took the baby, turned him so that he was facing the opposite way, and helped Kara adjust her gown. This time when the baby latched on, Kara jumped.

"Ouch," she muttered. "Take it easy, brat."

"Watch the name calling," Cassie said with a smile and a grin. "No more than fifteen minutes on each side, then shift. Got it?"

Kara nodded, but was too busy watching her baby now to look up. Cassie just shook her head, complimented them on such a lovely son, and finally left them alone.

Lee put his arm around Kara, barely able to believe that they were finally alone, or at least as alone as they were going to get. "How you doing?" he asked her.

"Sore," she admitted. "But okay. I'm glad it's over."

Lee laughed. "I have the feeling it's just starting," he said carefully.

"Yeah, it is," she said softly. "He really does look like Zak, doesn't he?" she asked.

"He does."

"And your dad, he was okay with the name?"

"He said he thought it would be perfect."

Kara smiled, gently caressed her baby's soft hair, and looked up at Lee. "Thank you," she said softly.

"You did all the work," he told her. "You stayed in bed, you followed orders, and Lords what you did to give birth to him!"

She shrugged. "Maybe it wasn't so bad," she admitted.

"So you might want to do this again?"

She glared at him, but she had a smile slipping through. "Not in the immediate future, no," she muttered.

"Maybe someday?"

She laughed. "Lee, let's get through the first day with this one, okay."

"Fair," he admitted.

Lee watched his wife and son for a moment more. He never would have expected Kara to want to be a mother, but watching her hold Zak was like watching her fly a Viper. She was just meant for it. "I love you," he told her, then kissed her softly on the lips.

She kissed him back, and when he looked again she was smiling. "I love you too," she said. "But I'm still not planning on having another one real soon."

"I wouldn't ask," he said. And he wouldn't. He wouldn't go through the last few months all over again for anything — well, anything except the beautiful boy who she was holding. He watched her for a long time, and when both she and the baby dozed off, he adjusted her gown and made sure that little Zak was covered warmly. Then he settled his arm around the both of them and drew them close, content to rest with them. It had been a long day, and he was tired. They all were.

"Lee?"

"Hmm?" He looked up at her, surprised. He had thought she'd been sleeping.

"I really love him," she said softly, her voice on the edge of sleep.

"I know, Kara," he told her. "Me too."

And with that, the family slept. In a couple of hours, they would be awoken by the tech again, checking on both Kara and Zak. An hour after that the baby would need to eat again. And only two hours after that, Kara would need to get up and walk to the restroom. But for the moment — this one precious moment — Lee just lay there and enjoyed his family.

Lee had never expected to fall in love with his best friend. He'd never expected to have a son, or to name that tiny boy after his brother. He'd never expected to see the pride on his father's face, or the love in Kara's eyes as she looked down at the baby. Lee had never expected any of it — any of it at all — when the world had crashed in around them nearly four years before. But out of the worst situations, a grain of goodness could usually be found. The greatest catastrophe known to man had produced unexpected consequences, and Lee Adama had never been happier.