In The Distant Future

By caramelapples

Chapter 11

Bill pinched the bridge of his nose as he sat, his heart beating wildly. Kara and Lee sat opposite him and occasionally said comforting things but never quite reaching his seemingly faraway mind. Dozens of thoughts ripped through his mind like a tornado threatening to break his calm resolve. He kept his gaze on the floor most of the time and stared at the small patterned tiles.

His view of the floor was replaced by the white shaping the obvious end of a nurse's attire. "Mr. Adama." It was a pleasant believable voice. Perhaps kind and caring even. His head shot up and he quickly stood. Kara and Lee followed suit.

"Doctor Roberts has told me to inform you that Laura is doing fine."

It was the most magical words Bill has ever heard. He restrained himself from launching into a hug with the nurse-the bearer of wonderful news.

"The baby however will have to be delivered soon," the words arranged and so very gentle. Bill felt his heart sink and the beating of his heart returned to it's previous state, wild.

He saw Doctor Roberts approach and the nurse, who also saw the doctor, excused herself and went to the doctor. Bill waited anxiously and felt his palms turn cold as the doctor came to him. "Bill," the doctor said.

"Yeah, is she okay?"

"She's stable for the moment."

"For the moment?" Bill heard his own voice rise in panic. "What does that mean? What's wrong?"

Kara and Lee both kept silent but listened intently for what the doctor might say.

"A few complications have occurred in the pregnancy. Why don't you come with me so I can explain to you both as to why the bleeding happened." Bill nodded and they walked out of the waiting room. Kara made to follow but Lee grabbed her arm and shook his head. She understood the silent message he told her through his eyes.

The sight of Laura on the hospital bed was almost to much to bear. It was a painful reminder to her mortality. The monitor beeped by her side, telling Bill that she was still there. She was awake and looked at them as they entered the room.

"Hi there," Bill said and went to her side. She smiled at him. Why the hell were there so many machines when she seems fine?

"As I think you should have guessed by now, complications have occurred in your pregnancy," doctor Roberts said, smiling kindly.

Laura nodded tentatively. "Yes, I should think so."

"What happened was that the placenta has separated from the uterus wall. It's called placenta abruption. This will cause bleeding, sometimes excessive as in your case. It isn't too severe but I would prefer to induce labour now as to prevent foetal distress in the future and to prevent too much blood lost. You are bleeding quite profusely and soon, we would have to give you blood transfusions. Your body has weakened from the cancer and losing blood isn't advisable. And the more you delay this, the more bleeding will occur."

Laura swallowed and reached for Bill's hand, feeling him squeeze back. "It's all right, sweetheart," he told her. "Whatever you say, doctor," Laura said.

"All right, then." He smiled at them. "I'll give you sometime to think and I will be back later so we can get through with this. Don't worry," he added. "You'll be fine."

"What-uh-caused this to happen?" Laura asked.

"There are many causes for this to happen. I should think in your case, the most likely cause will be your age. Older mothers have a higher risk for this to happen."

"Thank you," Laura said, her lips feeling dry and uncooperative.

The doctor left the room and she sunk into the pillows. Try as she might, she couldn't stop the tears. Laura Roslin hated to cry because it was rarely that she could stop once she started. She felt frustrated at herself and at her body for always betraying her at the time she most needed it to be strong.

"Hey," he said, cupping her cheek, making her look at him. "It'll be all right, Laura." He told her, trying to fight tears of his own. "Don't worry about it. The baby will be all right."

"It's not that," she said and brushed at her tears angrily. "It's me. I'm sorry, Bill. I'm so sorry. I hate this. I hate being sick all the time. It's my fault that caused this. Did you hear what the doctor said? Older mothers have a higher risk. It's me." She was trembling now and she hated herself for being weak.

"Don't you ever say that," he said sternly. "It's not your fault. It's not."

"Bill-"

He sat on the bed and pulled her close. He understood the need in her voice. "I'm sorry," she said into his shoulder.

"No." He cradled her and kissed her forehead. "She's a little fighter," he told her, placing a hand on her stomach. "We're going to be okay. I promise you that."

Her head shot up in surprise. "You promise?"

"I promise."

For Laura, it was the most magical words she has ever heard. Because when Bill promised, he will never break it. She was sure of that.

Laura leaned back on the pillows and tried to shut everything around her out. A sharp pain shot through her body and she gasped, tears forming in her eyes when it was unbearable. Bill stood beside her, stroking her sweaty cheek and matted hair, whispering sweet nothings of encouragement. She looked to him as if to say she couldn't do this anymore. Doctor Roberts who also noticed her lack of strength called her name and smiled at her. He showed nothing but a sunny disposition.

"Laura," he said. "Just hold on in there. Don't stop pushing."

She nodded weakly. "But it's so hard-"

"Come on, sweetheart. Don't give up." Bill squeezed her hand and felt her squeeze back harder than was necessary.

Laura did as she was told, feeling as though she was going to be torn apart. The harsh fluorescent lights of the room made the atmosphere seem so cold and unsympathetic. The air in the room was thick with her fear and also anticipation.

"Oh Gods, Bill-I-ah!" She gasped as she felt the baby's head crown, gripping Bill's hand in an iron grip.

"Yes, Laura. You're doing a good job. Give it a big push," Doctor Roberts told her encouragingly.

Doctor Roberts had told her that since this was a premature birth-although not too premature, the baby would be smaller and easier to deliver. But she had never expected this. She did as she was told, pushing with all her strength and trying to keep her muscles' grip. At the moment the baby slid free and Laura slumped back into the pillows and let out a sigh of relief, breathing raggedly. The baby did not cry, her precious child did not cry and she started to feel rising panic in her throat. Just as she was about to ask, angry squalls erupted and brought the otherwise drab room to live.

"It'll all right." Bill told her, seeing the panic in her eyes as they took her child away. Doctor Roberts did not leave and continued cleaning her up. "I love you," Bill said. He really loved telling her that he loved her. And now, he was feeling proud like a peacock. His darling Laura had given birth to their precious child. The thought of that made him grin smugly like a child who had just stolen a chocolate chip cookie from the baking tray before his mother returned.

"Doctor, is my baby all right?" Laura asked, afraid of what the answer might be.

"She's doing fine and I think her lungs have developed enough to enable her to breath on her own since she was crying a bit louder than a normal baby would."

"Well, she has spunk," Laura commented almost defensively.

The Doctor smirked at that comment "But I'll have to do some check ups to see if she's healthy. And she'll have to be placed in an incubator for a while. The both of you will have to stay here for a while. And you'll start treatments in no time. Doctor Meyers will administer treatments for your cancer." Laura's attention was distracted once the nurse holding her baby came to her. "But you can hold her now," he added.

"Here," the nurse said, handing the tiny infant to Laura. She took her child nervously, afraid of dropping her. A small face looked up at her and Laura almost cried with relief. The baby looked at her through large green eyes and made small noises of content to be held by her mother. She held the tiny bundle gingerly and kissed the newborn's cheek. It was the prettiest baby she had ever seen.

"But you won't be able to breastfeed your baby because of your cancer treatments," Doctor Roberts said.

Laura nodded regretfully but did not let it upset her too much. Now, she was more preoccupied with her family.

Kara stood up and walked towards the door. "Do you think everything is all right?"

Lee joined her. "Yes. I'm sure they're fine. And as I recall, Laura has a very high pain tolerance."

Kara allowed herself to smile. She looked down the corridor and saw Cally walking down the corridor holding a her son. Her hair was now cut short into a bob. Cally saw her and sped up her pace.

"Cally!" Kara exclaimed. "Where's Galen?"

"He's behind. Somewhere…" Cally turned and waved to her husband.

"I'm so glad you could come," Lee said and as Tyrol approached, the two men hugged. "This means a lot to us."

"We wanted to do this," Cally said. "How is she?"

"Well, the baby wanted to make an early appearance," Kara said and shrugged.

"Cottle is on his way. He found something he liked here. Golf and a really nice woman," Tyrol said. "Laura doesn't know about this?"

Lee shook his head. "We'll have to convince her. She's stubborn."

"We know. But it was Hera's blood. Is Nicky's the same? Will it be able to work?" Cally asked.

"We don't know. That's why we need Cottle. Hopefully he can do it," Lee said, rubbing his forehead.

"It's not that simple," Cottle said standing at the entrance. "It would be most likely that Laura's body has developed an immunity to the cylon blood. It won't be as effective anymore or worse, it might regard the blood cells as a virus." They all turned to look at him, each trying not to laugh at his dramatic entrance.

He was the same with the cigarette hanging from the corner from his mouth. But he was wearing a polo shirt instead if the usual white coat. "But we can try as long as the stubborn young lady agrees."

And they all broke into smiles.

To be continued…

A/N- Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review!