[A/N: Sorry for the delay with this one, life's been keeping me busy and it took its toll on my goal to have a new chapter of this one out for every new episode of 4.5. But hopefully now I will be able to get that back on track.

Also, here is a clip that I recently found which actually works nicely as a prelude to this fic (and will be mentioned later in this chapter). Some of you may have seen it already, but it's definitely worth watching again: is killing my link, but here's the end, just add it to the regular Youtube address /watch?v=oiSmZXiuKBU]

4. Nothing's Gonna Harm You, Not While I'm Around

Isis was crying.

It was impossible to focus on anything, except for that fact. Isis had been crying all last night. And all day. A few times she had fallen asleep briefly, only to wake an hour later, screaming again.

Eventually Maya had come to Laura in tears, exhausted and panicked because her little girl was sick and they could do nothing about it. What medicine was left on New Caprica had to be saved for life or death situations. Upset babies hardly counted.

"You need to sleep," Laura told Maya, after the woman had finally calmed down. Laura's mind drifting back to those horrible days of jumping every thirty-three minutes, remembering the sheer exhaustion she had felt then and how every little action and thought had taken ten times the effort it normally would. From what she could tell, Maya was even worse off. "I'll take care of the baby; you go and lie down for a bit."

Maya was too exhausted to object, which worried Laura more than anything else. Taking Isis from her, Laura quickly sent Maya back to her tent, while also asking Tory to find Doc Cottle. The whole time, Isis continued to cry, clearly in pain and exhausted. That sound, she though, could break anyone's heart.

It already had hers.

Laura sat down near the crib once she got into the tent, bouncing Isis gently in her lap. Most of the time that calmed the baby down. Right now was clearly not one of those times; if anything, it made it worse.

"Oh honey," Laura said softly as she stood up again and began to pace around the room. "It will be okay, I promise."

Isis didn't seem convinced as her cries continued, though Laura thought they might be quieter now. Or perhaps she just wanted to believe that, like she had wanted to believe so many things.

She heard Cottle coming before she saw him. It was always easy to recognize that gruff voice, filled with complaints and usually accompanied by tobacco smoke. Where he got so many cigarettes Laura didn't know. At least he always left them behind when examining any children.

He walked into the tent, his eyes immediately locking on Isis. "What the frak have you been doing to that child? Put her down on the bed; let me take a look at her."

Laura did what he told her without a word, hoping that somehow he would have a miracle cure. A miracle cure that didn't involve any actual medicine nor reveal Isis' true parentage to the world.

"So?" she asked when he straightened up.

"Just a cold, though she's certainly squalling enough to make you think it's worse than it is. Her temperature's a bit high, but nothing to worry about. Make sure she gets lots of fluid and rest, same as anyone else."

"That's it?"

He looked at her, clearly annoyed. "Yes, that's it. That's all anyone can do right now and you damn well know it, young lady. Why you even called me out here for this I'm sure I don't know."

Laura looked over at him, her gaze level. "I think you know exactly why I asked you to examine her."

He scoffed. "Yeah well, I'm going now; you've wasted enough of my time. For all intents and purposes, this child is a human as any other. She gets sick, her immune system will deal with it. Satisfied?"

Laura felt her old politician's smile falling into place. "Yes, thank you, Doctor."

She watched impassively as he left the tent, before walking to stand by the bed. Isis was still crying but now Laura was sure she was quieter. She might even finally be ready to fall asleep. Carefully, Laura lay down beside the baby. She reached toward Isis' hand and soon found it clasped firmly around one of her fingers.

"We did this a long time ago," she whispered. "You won't remember but I always will. It was just after you were born and you were so small. I was almost afraid I'd break you, just with a touch."

Laura stared up at the ceiling – or what passed for a ceiling when you were in a tent – and sighed. "This world's such a mess, Isis. I'm sorry we couldn't give you a better one to be born into." She paused. "Hmm…of course, in any other world you wouldn't have been born at all, so maybe some parts aren't so bad after all."

She heard voices outside and stopped, waiting until they had drifted away before speaking again. "I know that what I did was cruel. I know that and I accept it. But that doesn't mean I don't have regrets. But even so, it kept you safe, safer than you would be if the Cylons knew you were here. And that I will never regret."

She looked back over at the baby, who was finally – blessedly – asleep. Laura leaned over and lightly kissed her forehead, before lying back and closing her eyes, trying to get some sleep of her own.