Enjoy!

"…According to this book, week fourteen marks the beginning of the second trimester – this is good news, because it means that there's a higher chance of the pregnancy progressing to completion."

Daniels was barely awake beside him, eyes closed as she stretched out on the sheets. "Yeah? Great."

"Your morning sickness has already worn off, which is also a good sign, as it means that the placenta is taking over the production of your hormones. Do you feel that you are in need of maternity clothing yet? Because I am more than happy to help you acquire some; I'm sure one of the colonists will also be able to provide a maternity bra-"

"Not quite at that stage yet," She chuckled sleepily, nudging closer to him. "As for clothes…well, I'm okay with wearing yours for now. They're always roomy on me. Now, stop reading and come cuddle with me."

Walter looked slightly put out but put the book down on the side table beside the bed before laying down next to her; immediately his lover curled around him, pressing herself into the warmth of his body and giving a content sigh. "I am just trying to be prepared, Danny; I want both you and the baby to be healthy during and after the pregnancy, and I want to assist in whatever way I can. I take your health and the baby's very seriously – I have to be certain that you will both be fine."

"I know, and you're already doing a great job," She assured him sincerely, pressing a hand to his chest and feeling the thrum of synthetic heartbeat. "But you said so yourself: the first trimester's out the way, which means there's less chance of something bad happening. We should be happy."

"I am happy," He stated, and he smiled to himself. "As I have said, I am the happiest I have ever been in my existence – but it is also my duty to keep you and the baby safe."

"And like I said," Daniels mused, closing her eyes and pushing her face into the fabric of his hoodie. "You don't need to worry, Walter; you're doing a pretty great job already – better than most people, I bet."

He was going to deny that he 'worried' – he was merely being cautious, given what had happened beforehand – but before he could find the words to express this to her, she had dozed off into a deep sleep.

"Fuck sake, can't you two keep your hands off each other?"

Daniels chuckled whilst Walter looked sheepish. "Sorry, Tee."

"Yes, apologies, Tennessee," Walter said. "Usually we do not engage in such public displays of affection, but-"

"But the baby, yeah, yeah, I get it," He snorted. "You know she's not showing, right?"

"I am aware, but we still know," The synthetic insisted. "I am not sure why knowing makes me want to touch Danny more-"

"Fuck, stop!" Tennessee gagged as Daniels laughed loudly. "I get it, you're both fuckin' horn-dogs – doesn't mean I wanna see it, 'specially over lunch. Besides, I thought you were both keeping it secret."

Walter cast a glance at his lover, who merely shrugged and started eating her food. "We are – still early days. Anyway, it's no one else's business; they already gossip enough as it is."

"Ain't that the truth," Tennessee muttered. "Once you start showing, though, they'll notice; good luck hiding a big bulging belly."

"We're not hiding it," Daniels huffed. "We're just not going around screaming it at the colonists. That's all. It's not like we've got anything to be ashamed about."

Walter shifted in his seat, somewhat uncomfortable. "There is no shame in procreation," He said carefully. "But you cannot deny, Danny, that some of the colonists will not…approve , given that I am…I am not…"

"Well, anyone who thinks like that can go fuck themselves," She stated, quite casually. "I don't care about that or their opinions, Tee doesn't, and the baby won't either."

"She's got a point," Tennessee agreed, giving him a grin. "Who gives a shit, so long as you two are happy 'bout it?"

They made it sound so simple – perhaps it really was, or really could be, he wondered.

Truthfully, Daniels preferred to work by herself; it was distracting to have people attempting to hold a conversation with her whilst she worked, and she hated not being able to focus. The only exceptions to this were Walter and Tennessee, for obvious reasons.

And yet, she couldn't quite bring herself to bother telling people to leave her alone – it was pointless, really, since they never did. No, it was better to save her breath most of the time.

"Nice work, Branson," Evans whistled; he was a broad-shouldered man who, since the beginning of the year, insisted on visiting and watching her work. "You sure know what you're doing with that machine."

Daniels forced herself to smile, concealing her annoyance. "Well, it is my job."

As she wiped her hands with an oil rag, Evans stepped closer; there was barely a few centimetres between them in height. "Let me take you out for dinner."

Fuck sake. "I already told you," She gritted out. "Not interested."

"You're playing hard to get," He chuckled, and he moved even closer. "I like that. Come on, it wouldn't hurt, would it?"

"I'm not interested," She repeated, annoyed now. "Evans, no matter how many times you stop by here and ask, I'm not going anywhere with you. You know I'm with someone."

His smile slipped. "You're not doing yourself any favours, Branson – you're not getting any younger, and if you insist on fucking that machine-"

"My relationship with Walter is none of your business," Daniels interrupted, glaring at him hard. "And it never will be – now get the fuck out."

Without warning his hands had gripped her arms and forced her backwards; she felt her back slam into the vehicle behind her, dull pain shooting up her spine. "When was the last time you had a real partner? Someone who can do it right-"

She struggled against him, feeling queasy as she remembered someone else – someone sinister, someone with a face she loved – doing the same thing. "Get your fucking hands off me-!"

Suddenly a pair of strong hands yanked Evans away; to her relief, Walter was pulling the man off of her. His face was livid – she'd only seen him so angry once, on a different planet so many years ago.

"Do not touch her," Walter said, voice low; his programming prevented him from intentionally harming a human, but there was no telling if Evans knew that.

"Fucking robot," Evans spat, disgusted as he eyed the synthetic. "She liked it."

Walter stepped forwards, and for a moment Daniels wondered if he was about to break his protocols – he'd never forgive himself if he did harm a human, she knew, not even if they deserved it. "Walter," She warned, placing a hand on his arm. "Don't. He's not worth it."

Her lover relaxed slightly, and his face was immediately concerned as he focused his full attention on her. "Did he hurt you, Danny?"

"Not really, I'm fine."

"And the baby? The baby is okay?"

"Yeah, I think so… Walter, I'm fine, I promise…"

Behind him Evans had frozen, mouth slightly agape as he stared at them both. "Baby?" He repeated.

Walter realized his mistake immediately, suddenly motionless. Daniels straightened up, however, looking at him challengingly. "Yeah, we're having a baby."

Evans' brow furrowed, a nasty look on his face. "Disgusting," He hissed, already starting to leave. "Bringing a kid into your fucked up 'relationship' – it's cruel."

She wanted nothing more than to go after him and punch him – it would have been all too satisfying, and she wasn't afraid to do it – but she felt her lover's hand on her shoulder, a subtle way of telling her not to do it. She turned to him instead, seething with rage.

"I'm contacting the board to make sure he's never assigned in this sector again," Daniels gritted out angrily. "Fucking asshole; I should have let you kick the crap out of him, should have done it myself…"

Walter was quiet, pondering over the encounter and frowning. "Daniels, we may have a problem."

"Oh?" She asked, raising a brow.

"He knows about the baby," He stated, almost anxiously; when she didn't seem to grasp what he meant, he shifted uncomfortably on the spot. "Do you think that he will tell the rest of the colonists?"

"The… Shit," Daniels sighed. "Yeah, wouldn't surprise me if that asshole goes spreading it about – he'll get a real kick out of telling everyone how 'wrong' it is, I bet."

"What should we do?"

She shrugged. "Not a lot we can do, really. I guess the colonists were gonna find out anyway, sooner or later… I would have preferred to deal with that later," She admitted grudgingly. "We're just gonna have to deal with it."

"But we agreed to keep the pregnancy between the two of us and the doctors, with the exception of Tennessee," Walter reminded her seriously. "We decided it was best to wait, given that…given what happened last year."

"I know, and I would have felt better waiting," Daniels said, somewhat miserably. "I'm trying not to worry too much, even though you said that there's less chance of something bad happening now, but I keep thinking about it. There's a reason you're supposed to wait to tell people, and I'd have preferred keeping it secret just a little longer, just to be safe. But we've got no choice now – I give it a couple of days before everyone's talking about it."

The synthetic seemed to grow even more unsettled by her words, looking anxious despite himself. "I am sorry for mentioning it in front of Evans, Danny – I should have taken a moment to filter my words."

"Hey, it's not your fault," She muttered, softening just a touch. "I'm not mad at you, Walter, honestly; you were worried about me and the baby, and I don't blame you for wanting to make sure I – we – were okay." She touched his arm, a tender expression on her face. "Besides, it's like I said to Tennessee; there's no shame in having a baby – it's a good thing, something to be happy about."

"I am happy," Walter agreed sincerely. "You know I am. And you're right, there is little shame in having a child."

This is not acceptable, his main processor screamed at him, not for the first time, synthetics should not be parents, you should not be a parent, she deserves better than this, a child deserves better than a poor imitation of a human for a father, deserves better than a synthetic-

"Walter." Daniels was frowning, as if she knew what was going through his mind. "You okay?"

"I am fine," He assured her, giving a rather poor imitation of a smile. "It is getting late – I think we should return to the cabin for some privacy."

"Yeah," She agreed, sighing to herself again. "Sounds like a good plan – better than waiting for everyone to come asking questions."

Those thoughts are unhelpful, Walter reminded himself as they started to make their way home; I should listen to Daniels.

It would take a while to override that part of him in his core programming – the part that constantly reminded him of what he was and how he was supposed to be – but he was going to do it for her and the baby.

As it turned out, it wasn't long until the entire colony became aware of this news - within a couple of days, it was all anyone could talk about.

It was rather strange, Walter reflected as he worked during the week, to see the various reactions to this piece of news. A few people had been pleasant and congratulated him whenever they saw him; he could only smile and nod when they did so, uncertain of how to respond for once. Others, however, didn't seem to react so well; on more than a few occasions, Walter noticed various colonists staring and whispering between themselves. His superior hearing picked up enough of the words to know what was being said.

"So strange…"

"...think she's officially lost it…"

"-can't believe the doctors are allowing it!"

"...poor child…"

He tried to ignore it as best as he could: he knew that people would react that way sometimes, he'd experienced it already firsthand just for being existent in the colony, and it was nothing new. And yet, he couldn't help but dwell just slightly on it.

Daniels, on the other hand, didn't seem to be paying any of them much mind; she was rather happy as she continued her work with Tennessee, laughing and joking with him as well as with some of the others. Seeing her continue to smile, almost glowing if he was correct, was enough to keep him from fretting too much over things – she was happy, and that was all that really mattered.

"People are assholes," Tennessee said bluntly over dinner one night, shaking his head; Daniels had disappeared to the bathroom, and Walter didn't want her to overhear the conversation in case it stressed or upset her. "Don't pay 'em any mind, Walter - you just send 'em over to me, and I'll sort 'em out."

"I see. Tennessee, do you…" He hesitated, unsure of whether to voice his query - then again, he trusted this man and knew that he would be honest. "Do you think it is wrong? That is, do you think it is wrong for Danny and I to have a family together?"

"Fuck no," Tennessee stated, surprised by this. "You and Danny, you'll be the best fucking parents ever! Granted, I don't know the first thing 'bout kids, but even I know you guys are gonna be awesome parents: my folks raised me to believe that so long as the kid is happy and loved, that's all that matters - and I know you guys'll do that, no problem."

"We will certainly try to make sure the baby is happy and has love in their life, yes," Walter agreed with a small smile.

The burly man chuckled, patting him on the back. "Then you got nothing to worry about!"

The synthetic briefly debated arguing that he didn't feel worried – but then it would be pointless, really; it was the sentiment that counted, he decided, and it would be counter-productive to start such a menial discussion. No, instead he would focus his processors on planning for the arrival of the baby – it would be best to be prepared as early as possible, after all.

I love writing Daniels and Tennessee – they both swear so much, it's hilarious XD

Sorry it's taken me so long to update, but I had issues with laptops and uni and work and…yeah. I'm hoping to finish this within the year, we haven't got that much further to go, so fingers crossed!

As always, reviews are HEAVEN :D