"No." Laura told her daughter firmly.

"But why?" Venus whined in response.

Laura sighed and put her hands on her hips, an act that may have been a little more intimidating if she weren't five months pregnant, and glared at her daughter.

"Venus Elosha Adama, I am the parent. I don't have to give you a reason," Laura huffed, feeling very exhausted.

"What's going on in here?" Bill asked, poking his head into the kitchen to see Laura looking more than a little disheveled, and Venus looking as though she would cry at any moment.

"Your daughter has decided she wants to paint, and will not take no for an answer," Laura said. That was all it took to turn on Venus's waterworks. Laura knew her referring to Venus as Bill's daughter was what did it. If using her middle name hadn't been enough, that certainly had been. Venus ran into her father's arms, crying even harder when he picked her up. Laura hated seeing her so upset, but she knew she needed to hold her ground on this one. Venus had to learn that no means no.

Normally Laura would be all for painting, after all, she encouraged Venus to do artsy things more often than not. Today just wasn't the day for it. Laura wasn't feeling well, Bill was leaving for Lee and Kara's to help them do some roof-work, and Kara was leaving Brooke with her. She simply didn't have the energy, or the time, to clean up the mess that was sure to come with painting today.

As Venus continued to cry, Laura decided she couldn't stand it anymore. So, in the spirit of not giving in, Laura left the room. She heard her daughter's cries increase as she made her way to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. She sat down on the bed and took a few deep breaths, trying to stay calm. She couldn't believe there was this much drama over paint. Paint.

About twenty or so minutes passed before where was a light knock on the door, followed by Venus slowly moving into the room. She walked over to her mother, looking up at her with tear filled eyes.

"I'm sorry mommy," she said, her voice breaking. She hated being in trouble, but she especially hated being in trouble with Laura. Laura didn't get angry with her daughter very often, which meant when she did, it was quite unsettling for both of them.

"It's alright sweetheart. Come here," she said softly, patting the spot beside her on the bed. Venus did as she was asked, snuggling as close as she could to Laura.

"I love you, mommy," she said. Laura smiled and leaned down to kiss Venus on the top of her head.

"I love you too."

Laura was laying with her arms around Bill, her body pressed against him while they slept. Laura usually wasn't the 'big spoon,' but that's just how things had worked out on this particular occasion. Bill liked the feeling of her being so close to him, her arms around him, her growing belly resting against his back. He had almost been asleep, when he felt a few small taps against his lower back.

"Laura," Bill said, rolling over to face her.

"Huh?" She asked, not bothering to move, or even open her eyes for that matter.

"I think the baby just kicked me," he said in shock.

"Mmhmm she kicked me too," Laura mumbled. Obviously she was not sympathetic.

"How do you sleep when she's doing that?"

"I usually wait for her to stop. She'll settle down," Laura told him, rolling over onto her back. Bill placed a hand on her belly, rubbing it when he felt another kick.

He smiled and propped himself up to look at Laura. He loved the way her red hair glowed in the small amount of light coming in through the window.

"You look beautiful," he whispered.

"You look beautiful too," she yawned.

He chuckled and kissed her on the cheek, pulling her closer, and nuzzling her neck gently. It was moments like these that he lived for.

After the paint incident was taken care of, Venus settled for regular coloring, and Bill left to help his son and daughter in law. Brooke was seated across from Venus at the table, both of them coloring away without a care in the world. Laura liked that about children. They didn't have much to worry about. She found their innocence to be comforting in some strange way.

"Mommy?" Venus asked, looking at Laura with caution. She was still a bit shaken up from earlier.

"Yes?" Laura answered, sipping her tea while she waited for Venus to continue.

"I drawed you a picture," she said proudly, holding out a piece of paper with something that resembled an elephant scribbled on it.

"Thank you, sweetheart. It's beautiful," Laura smiled and moved to hang it on the refrigerator.

"Aunt Laura, can we go outside?" Brooke asked, putting down her crayons and pushing them aside.

"I suppose," Laura said. Both children quickly ran out of the kitchen toward the back door. Laura sighed and followed them, hoping they'd behave so she could relax in one of the chairs on the back porch while they tired each other out.

While Venus and Brooke were engaged in a game of tag, Laura sat with her feet up, rubbing her belly. She jumped slightly when she felt a definite kick.

"Oh my Gods," she whispered, pressing her hand against the spot where she'd felt the movement. She felt a bit bad that Bill was missing their daughter's first kicks, but he'd surely have plenty of other chances to feel. The kicks continued, and Laura decided to share this moment with Venus.

"Venus, Brooke, come here," Laura called excitedly. They did as they were told, stopping in front of her. Laura took Venus's hand and placed it on her bump.

"Is baby kickin'?" Venus asked, looking at her mother with wide eyes.

"She was a minute ago..."

They waited several minutes, but the baby suddenly seemed to be very content with staying still, so Laura sent the girls back to their playing and promised she'd call them if the baby kicked again.

When Bill arrived home later, Laura was waiting on the couch with a bright smile on her face and her hands on her belly.

"The baby kicked today," she said, sounding completely over the moon.

"Hello to you too," he joked, sitting down beside her and placing his hand on her stomach. He waited.

"I'm not feeling anything."

"Huh... that's odd, she wouldn't move for Venus either," Laura said. "Maybe she's shy."

Bill leaned down and kissed her belly, then he placed his ear over it. Still nothing.

"I guess she only wants to kick for her mommy today," Laura said proudly.

"Well we can't have that, can we?" Bill asked, smirking at Laura.

"Wh-" She began, but stopped when Bill started tickling her. She burst into a fit of giggles immediately, swatting at him as he continued to tickle her.

"William Adama you... stop that... right... now!" She yelled, gasping for air. She quickly became serious when she felt another kick. Grabbing Bill's hand, she pressed it against her stomach, hoping the baby would kick again. Of course, they had no such luck.

"Stop being so stubborn and kick your father." Laura ordered playfully, rubbing her belly slowly.

The baby kicked, but sadly, Bill's hand had not been on her stomach. She sighed. He had to feel one eventually, didn't he?

"I want to throw you a baby shower," Caprica said, smiling brightly at Laura.

"I really don't think that's such a good idea," Laura replied, taking a sip of the tea that she had yet to touch.

"Why not? It's your first baby. I think you deserve one!"

Laura sighed and nodded. "Alright, go ahead."

Laura could never resist Caprica's excited tone, especially when it was accompanied by that big smile of hers. After settlement, Laura and Caprica had become quite the unlikely friendship pair. It started out with simple conversation, which led to lunches and dinners, which led to general "hanging out." Laura found that she and Caprica got along very well. So well, in fact, that Laura was more than willing to overlook that fact that she was married to Gaius Frakking Baltar. Her relationship with Gaius had improved, however. She didn't consider him to be a friend, which Caprica was perfectly fine with, but they were civil.

So that is how Laura Roslin found herself sitting on Caprica's couch at seven months pregnant, surrounded by Caprica Six, Kara Thrace, and Ellen Tigh. Caprica and Kara both looked perfectly happy to be there, but Ellen looked less than thrilled. Laura understood that this was not Ellen's kind of party, and was sure to thank her extra for coming.

"So, should we do presents?" Caprica asked, nearly bouncing up and down. Laura giggled, unable to hide her amusement at her friend's excitement. When asked what she wanted for her baby shower, Laura had said a small gathering. When asked what gifts she wanted, her answer had been similar: small gifts. She just wanted a nice afternoon with her friends and a few little things.

"Whatever you want, you're in charge," Laura joked.

"It's your shower," Caprica reminded her. Laura rolled her eyes playfully.

Kara, much to everyone's surprise, got the ball rolling. She handed Laura a neatly wrapped white package, tied together with a pink bow. Laura set the package on her bump while she opened it, smiling wider than she thought humanly possible when she saw what was inside. It was a pair of tiny shoes.

"Oh Kara, they're perfect," she said, outstretching her arms to give her a hug. "Thank you," she whispered, kissing her on the forehead.

Laura placed the shoes back in their box and set it aside. Caprica delicately placed another small box on her stomach, smiling the entire time. Laura removed the lid from the box and smiled once again. A set of pastel colored pacifiers were neatly tucked under a piece of tissue paper.

"Thank you so much, they're beautiful," Laura said, outstretching her arms once again. Caprica gladly leaned in for a hug and received a kiss on the forehead, just as Kara had. Placing the second box next to the first, Laura turned her attention to Ellen, who was reaching behind a chair for something that was out of Laura's line of vision. She quickly produced a bottle of champagne from behind said chair, handing it to Laura with a wide smile.

"Ellen, you do realize there's not much I can do with this right now besides watch Bill drink it and be jealous, don't you?" Laura teased.

"Of course I do! It's for after the baby's born. You can celebrate, or just drink it whenever," Ellen said.

"Thank you, Ellen. We will definitely find the right time to share this." Laura held out her arms, for a third and final time, and pulled Ellen in for a tight hug. She kissed Ellen on the cheek instead of the forehead, feeling it would be much less awkward for both of them that way.

The rest of the afternoon was spent chatting and being very content with each other's company. It truly was the perfect shower. Exactly what Laura had wanted.

Laura had gotten the call from Cottle early that morning. He said he wanted to see her, and he sounded very urgent. Laura immediately panicked. Over the past three years, she'd learned to be optimistic more often than not, but that didn't stop her from thinking the worst on occasion. This was one of thos occasions.

Bill was silent as he drove her to the doctor's office. Neither of them wanted to talk about it. They didn't want to admit they were terrified. As they sat in the waiting room, Laura caressed her bump lovingly, smiling at every little kick and turn she felt. It was still rather early for her to feel too much movement, but there still seemed to be a fair amount.

Once they they were actually in Cottle's office, he explained that he'd been looking over her charts, and he'd found something a bit out of the ordinary. He told them he wanted to do another sonogram. He didn't tell them why.

After the sonogram was complete, they were sitting in his office again. He was behind his desk examining her charts again. Bill was holding Laura's hand as tightly as he could, her other hand resting protectively over her belly.

"Alright, I have some... er, news for the two of you," Cottle began. "I didn't want to say anything until I was absolutely positive, but it would appear during your first two sonograms, I missed something due to the way the baby, or should I say babies, were positioned.

Laura held up her hand to cut him off. "I'm sorry, did you say babies? As in plural?"

He nodded. "It's twins."

"Oh my Gods," Bill said, looking back and forth between Laura and Cottle in disbelief.

"That's why you've been feeling a bit worse during this pregnancy than you had with your first. It's also why you've gained more weight," Cottle explained. "Now, knowing you two, I'd assume you'd like to know the sex of the other baby?"

"Yes, of course," Laura said, ignoring his comment about her extra weight, even though it was an accurate one. Laura hadn't given much thought to her bump being a good bit bigger than it had been the first time around. She'd read in a pregnancy book that women often gained more weight with their second child as opposed to their first.

"It's another girl," he informed them, trying to hide his amusement at both their reactions.

"Twin girls... I can't believe it," Bill said, turning to give Laura one of those bright smiles of his. The kind of smile that told Laura everything would be okay. She smiled back at him, a wave of relief washing over her. They had been so afraid something was wrong with their baby, and it turned out to be something completely different.

"Wait until Venus finds out about this," Laura laughed.

It was a reaction they were both looking forward to as they drove home.