Sherman Cottle sits the infant on the exam table, handing him a small block to keep him occupied. "Alright, little guy. Let's see those big blue eyes of yours." He uses his otoscope light to peer into the infant's eyes, moving the yellow hued light quickly as to not blind the boy.

Laura cradles a small tin cup of tea in her hands, reentering the room, "It's freezing out there." She sighs, watching her son with a soft smile, "How is the patient?"

"Best one I've had all day. As usual." He gruffly admits, attaching a plastic piece from his pocket to the front of the otoscope, "Has he been coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath? Isis was in here a week or two ago with a cough."

"Not at all. She's much better now, by the way." The woman shakes her head slowly, taking the small block when her son offers it to her, "Thank you, Sloane." When he holds his hand out for something else, she offers him neon green, hard plastic toy covered in nubs and other things.

Cottle stands up a minute, scowling toward her, "Is that a dog toy?"

"Yes, it is." Laura smirks, "While that sounds questionable, he loves to feel things with different textures. Never does it go to his mouth. He only chews on the pacifier."

He gives a low hum as he returns to examining the boy, showing him what to do as he mimics the old man, letting him see into his mouth, "Two teeth." Sherman nods, "Not bad. Looks like he has a few others trying to break through. That can come hand in hand with diarrhea and colic behavior, but you shouldn't worry too much about it." He lies the boy back, feeling his bone alignment and abdomen, "Have you noticed any types of skin rashes or dry patches?"

"No, not at all. I rub him with baby oil every night. Someone sells it in solid bars, like soap, within the marketplace. Maya buys it. Smells great too." Laura shrugs, her son focused on the toy in his hands. She runs her warm hand over his scalp, taking another sip of her tea.

Cottle nods, "Is he talking at all?"

She hums with a nod, "To Isis. They jabber back and forth to one another. He talks to Bill and Saul too. I guess Maya and I just aren't good enough." She laughs to herself catching Sloane's attention, the boy glances back to her, offering her the toy within his hands again, "You don't want it anymore?" When the boy shakes his head, she tilts her head to the side, giving him a look, which only causes him to give a throaty chuckle.

Sherman smirks, watching the boy, "How is he doing with food?"

"He still likes his bottle before bed. I try and give him those root things...whatever it is they've been growing around here. I put some on the spoon and he gives it to himself."

He glances to her, "You're kidding"

Laura shakes her head slowly, an expression of alarm starts to creep across her face slowly, "Why, is there something wrong with that?"

"No, not at all. When they're premature like he was, we usually expect the milestones to occur starting at the date they were supposed to be born. If he were on time and you went into labor between thirty-six and forty weeks, he would be about five months now. So, I would base my expectations on that. However, he's exceeding them. He's right at his actual target month." Cottle lifts the boy into his arms, letting Sloane lean his head against the man's shoulder. The usually gruff older man smirks again, ever so slightly, "Don't know why I expected differently of a kid from a school teacher."

She watches their interaction, smiling to herself, "How have things been? We haven't seen you for a week or two."

Cottle shrugs, "Bronchitis, the flu, colds...the usual ailments of cold weather. How about you? Do you need anything?"

Laura shakes her head slowly, "The burner went out the other day, hopefully the heater doesn't since they're all one unit." She glances into her cup, taking another sip, "If we need hot water, I can always come over here and steal yours though."

Sherman nods, "I'll see what I can do about getting that fixed for you. Probably just needs more propane." He kisses the infant softly on the head, "Here, take this. I have a few other patients. You and Maya come over at supper time. Ishay said something about soup. I can't make any promises, but the girl tries. I'll give her that."

The woman finishes her drink, setting the cup down before taking her son from him, "Come on, Honey." Laura mutters softly to the boy, "Thank you, Doctor." When he grumbles, waving his hand, she grins more.

Tom Zarek glanced around the small village type community the people had pulled together within a few months. He smiled broadly, waving to a few people who waved to him first. He noticed the children file out of one of the larger tents. He had heard Laura Roslin had gone back to teaching, but he had to see for himself. He stepped into the tent, glancing around at the picnic benches that were being used as desks for the students. Resourceful, he thought. His head turned to the woman leaning back in her desk chair, her hand on her very obvious extended middle. He didn't want to alarm her, instead he watched for a few minutes.

Laura released a soft groan as she edged herself back up, jumping slightly when she noticed the man standing there, "Mister Vice-President." She slowly stood, nearing her seventh month of pregnancy, she was less than comfortable, "I didn't hear you come in."

"That's the beauty of tents." He shrugged, "Or the curse...matters how you look at it, I guess." The man walked closer to her desk, "You're pregnant." Tom started to grin, "Congrats."

She nodded, still unable to say it out loud much, "Few more months left, I've noticed two stretchmarks, but Cottle says he has ears now, so I guess everything is fine." Laura offered a reassuring soft chuckle, "What brings you down here?"

"Well, seeing as the President can't be bothered, I wanted to see how everyone was settling in." Zarek noticed as she placed her hand on her back, "Oh, gods. Please, have a seat, Laura. No need to stand on my account." He gently took hold of her arm, slowly leading her back to the chair she was in before, "You have everything you need for that?" He motions to her abdomen with a nod of his head.

Laura lowered herself, ungracefully, leaning back slightly once she grew more comfortable, "I suppose I do. I mean...no one has the things we once used. It's a new way of life, so we have to try to find a new way to do things. By reverting back to the old ways..." She shrugged, "I have no frakking idea. I just listen to what Cottle tells me I need and Maya helps me as well."

"Maya?" Tom raised an eyebrow, sitting on the edge of her desk, honestly interested.

"My roommate and teacher's assistant. She has a little girl, almost four months old." Laura smiled proudly, "Probably wouldn't be able to get through this without the two of them."

He nodded, not wanting to pry much. He didn't know whether or not there was a father or if it was the result of a donation treatment that were growing increasingly popular among single women and lesbian couples to aid the growth of the human race. "You're settling in okay?" Tom watched her, even uncomfortable and largely pregnant, she was an attractive woman.

It touched her that he wasn't going to ask specifics, "As well as one could." Laura adjusted her position again, "How is it working with President Baltar?"

"Haven't seen him in months. I'm not even sure he exists." The man started to laugh when he saw her smile genuinely, "Do you need extra blankets, food, an extra baby...bed...thing..." Zarek attempted to demonstrate with his hands what he was referring to.

"A crib?"

"Yeah. I mean, I don't know what you have for the kid that lives with you now, but did you need another one?" His arms slowly folded into one another, "You're a former President, Laura, a really fantastic one. We take care of our former Presidents. Now is no exception."

Laura appreciated his sincerity, she knew it existed, but he wasn't one to show it much, "Can I talk with Maya about it first? See what she thinks?"

Tom nodded, "Oh, of course. I'm not going anywhere. I can check back in a week." He smirked, "It gets cold out...especially at nights. You have a heater?"

She placed her hand over her abdomen absently, relaxing a bit more, "It's very sweet how much you're worried about me when you fought me tooth and nail to obtain my position for Gaius Baltar."

"It's all politics, Laura. It's not meant to be personal." The man shook his head slowly, "I do wish I would have backed you instead though. I mean, I think settling here was the right choice. Even if we're only here a few more months, it would be better than not having the opportunity to walk on solid ground at all again." He sighed, "You had a real love of your people. That's what makes you different from him. He could give a single frak about the living conditions, labor conditions, ration organization...he doesn't care. It's all about the title. You, on the other hand, gave that title real meaning."

Laura placed her hand on her chest, her eyes wet, "Thank you." She whispered softly.

Maya reads the book that Laura loaned to her a few months ago, a mystery. She wasn't particularly fond of mysteries, but something was better than nothing. She rests her back against the headboard of her bed, enjoying the silence. She picks her head up, noticing the shadow of Laura's feet at the tent flap. She folds her book, setting it under her pillow.

Laura unzips the enclosure, smiling as her son hums to himself. She grins to Maya, "Hey."

"How did it go?" She holds her hand out, taking the boy when Laura hands him over, "Is he the biggest and the strongest?" Maya holds Sloane's arms up, demonstrating with him what she was saying.

"Always." The other woman closes the enclosure, removing her jacket, "He's ahead of what Cottle thought he would be. Exactly on point with his age group, which was highly unexpected. I'm pretty thrilled about the whole thing." Laura grins broadly, "How about you, how was today?" She gently recovers the sleeping girl in her crib, knowing she often kicks off the blanket during her slumber.

Maya shrugs, "I let her play in the mud for a while. She loved it. Loved the soak in the bath basin even more, to which I added some lavender oil to the water. Which resulted in her becoming even more exhausted than she already was. I'll let her sleep for a few hours before I get her up for dinner." She kisses the boy's belly, causing him to give a low toned giggle before leaning his head against her.

Laura smirks, glancing to her, "Doctor Cottle invited us over for dinner. Said the burner probably isn't working because we need more propane, but he said he will handle that for us. If the heater portion stops, to let him know."

"You have that old man wrapped around your finger." The younger woman smiles softly, running her nails through the infant's hair softly as he settles against her. Maya watches her friend, "Why is that?"

"We've been through a great deal together. He's a fantastic doctor, especially as busy as he is...the only licensed physician in the fleet." Roslin nods, "He aided in our pursuits to Kobol, tended to my Cancer, helped me through Billy's death, my pregnancy, my delivery, and stepped into a very different role after Sloane was born." Laura smiles softly, "He's a man of great compassion...others may not think so, but that's because they haven't experienced enough with him."

"And here I thought you had some kind of crush on him." She hums a laugh to herself, smiling after, "Tory stopped by while you were out. Said there were more letters for you, but that she will bring them again after school tomorrow in case you needed help."

Laura nods, "I'm receiving more letters now than I ever did as President." She walks over to her bed, taking a seat, "Letters of well wishes and requests of prayer. Some still see me as the dying leader despite no longer being a leader. Hundreds every day, but I reply to them all."

Maya's face softens a little, "You don't just have some generic letter printed up for you to sign?"

She shakes her head, "No, of course not. There's never a generic story. Each one is completely unique in their own way. I read the letter or Tory reads it out loud to me. I dictate to her what I want her to write, some I reply by my own hand. It's the only way we could possibly get through them all each day."

The young woman notices how honest the other woman is, how pure and not at all calculated. "That's awesome that you do that."

Laura shrugs, adjusting her position on the bed as she puts her feet up, "Some talk about their families on the colonies that they lost, their pets, their jobs, their dreams...the way things have been for them since leaving the Galactica and living here, the way the things were on Galactica...how much they miss their favorite candy bar or their favorite soda." She shakes her head, smiling sadly, "but most of them are about how much they miss their own bed at night or pictures of past generations that are now gone forever." She sighs, "It's sad...We have all experienced it, but...you never truly realize how different experiences can be until you read a letter from a seven year old child that says all of these things."

Maya nearly has tears in her eyes, "It means that what we do everyday has a purpose." She swallows, "For a few hours each day, we are able to help them forget about all they've experienced. We're able to give them the opportunity to speak up...and to give them the ability to talk about their experiences."

"Right." Laura stares off, looking at nothing in particular, "Many parents don't allow them to talk about what happened on the Colonies and they need to. Children need to talk about all the things they've been through regardless of how much it may hurt themselves."

Lee Adama laid in the hospital bed, recuperating from a gunshot wound to the chest. His mind was constantly in and out due to pain medication. He didn't remember much about the night before. He remembered going out on a date with Anastasia Dualla, he remembered the people bursting into the bar with guns pointed to everyone, he remembered tricking them with Ellen Tigh's drink. He remembered speaking to his father. However, much after that was a blur. His finger twitched as he slowly opened his eyes, feeling a soft hand around his own.

Laura stroked the back of the young man's hand, slowly tracing the veins that signaled he was alive. She picked her head up, noticing his face move, "Captain Apollo?" Her voice was gentle, low toned, smooth.

He smirked, "Hey, gorgeous." Lee opened his lids more, gazing to her. He could tell something was wrong with her though. Was she crying because she was worried about him? He didn't know.

She sucked her breath in quickly, attempting to calm herself some, smiling sadly. She didn't know what to say to him, if she should say anything. "How are you feeling?"

"Role reversal, huh?" He smirked, "I've been better, but...what can you do?" He smiled a little more, but then noticed as she let a tear escape her eye, "Hey, everything is okay. I'm fine."

"I almost lost both of my boys last night." Laura shook her head, her chin trembling slightly, "Don't risk that again, please." Her voice was just above a whisper, the most emotional he's ever seen her. Even after the attacks months ago.

"Both of your boys?" Lee watched her, "What are you talking about, Laura?"

She opened her mouth, quickly realizing he didn't know. She closed her eyes a moment, releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding, "Lee-"

"Who died?"

Laura licked her tongue over her drying lips quickly, taking a moment before she could answer, "Billy."

"Gods..." He felt like a raptor had just struck him in the chest, "I'm...Laura, I'm sorry."

She shook her head as she looked down to his hand in between hers, "Reports from eyewitnesses say he was trying to save you all." Laura huffed a soft laugh, "Imagine that...young, naive Billy trying to save a pilot like yourself." She met his eyes again, offering a soft smile.

"Dee's okay?" Lee asked quietly, not remembering the young woman had been sitting with him earlier in the day.

Laura nodded and watched him for a few moments. She knew how much Billy loved the young woman, how in love he was with her. "Were you with her on Cloud Nine?"

He sighed, "Laura-"

"I'm not jealous. Nothing like that." She shook her head, "Just tell me, were you with Petty Officer Dualla while on Cloud Nine the night you were shot?"

"We were on a date...drinks." Lee nodded honestly, watching her, "Why do you ask?"

Laura hummed softly to herself, a sad smile seeping across her face, another tear escaped as she looked toward the floor again. Only for a moment. She looked back to the young man, "He wasn't trying to save you or the rest of the people there...he was trying to save her."

"I don't really...I don't understand."

"He was going to ask her to marry him. Had a ring and everything, his high school ring. He was...he was so excited. They had been dating for a while." She shook her head slowly, "He returned to Colonial One so...so downcast...more than I've ever seen him. He said she declined his offer." Laura swallowed, looking to the young pilot who only a few nights ago, was frakking her on her desk, "Now I know why. Why have a mule when you can have a stallion?"

"I didn't know." Lee watched her, he could tell how much pain she was in. He knew nothing he could do would be able to help her then. This was his fault, "You've gotta believe me. If I would have known he was seeing her, I wouldn't have asked her on a date. Please." He needed to hear it from her. Lee needed to hear that it was okay.

"I know." Laura whispered, feeling that her emotions were going to betray her again. She leaned forward, kissing his cheek by his ear. "I have some work to do with your father. I'll...You know where I am." She stood, looking down to him once more before turning, "Feel better, Captain Apollo."

"Saul showed you this way?" Bill Adama holds his grandson in his black jacket covered arm as he walked with Laura. "Sloane, what do you think, fella? Think we'll get lost?" He grins as the boy reaches up to touch his mustache, "You like it? Few more months and you can grow one too."

Laura rolls her eyes, grinning with a giggle, "There are markers, Admiral. Have I steered you wrong once?"

"No, but there can always be a first time." He lets the boy continue to be completely fascinated by the hair on his upper lip, "You been alright down here?" Bill kisses the infant's hand, causing Sloane to giggle.

"Why is that everyone's first question? As if I lose all abilities to care for myself and a small child once there is ground beneath my shoes." Laura shakes her head, "We're fine. Doctor Cottle has become a close confidant and since you instructed Saul to check on our well being each time he visits, he's started making it a point that he takes us for walks every day that he's here. It's going to be terrible if Ellen successfully manages to convince him to move here." She folds her arms around his elbow, "He calls it walks with Uncle Saul."

"He's named it?" Bill raises an eyebrow, chuckling to himself. He shakes his head slowly, "I never know what to expect from that guy."

"Exactly. You shouldn't worry though, there are plenty of people keeping an eye on us for you." Laura leans her head against the man's forearm, "How is Lee?"

He shrugs, "We talk here and there. You know how he is. You were always the one he went to so he could talk." Bill kisses the infant's cheek as the boy with the knit brown cap places his head against that of his grandfather, "He's let himself go. Misses the people, I think."

She nods slowly, "I'm going to tell him when he comes down next month."

Bill smirks, "Good. It will be good for him."

Laura glances to the cloudy sky, taking a deep breath, "Let's hope."

Tory carried a folder of papers into the President's office, setting them onto her desk, "Here is the information about hunger and the civilian fleet that you requested, Madam President."

"Thank you." Laura slipped her glasses onto her face, placing her fingers over her mouth.

"Are you okay, ma'am? You look a little green in the gills." She offered a smile to the older woman, taking a seat next to the desk.

She nods, "I'll be fine. I think the algae I had last night was a little off."

"Would you like me to inform Doctor Cottle?"

"No, no. It will go away on it's own, I'm sure of it." Laura reached forward, picking up the mug of water and taking a sip, "Is Major Apollo coming over this afternoon?"

"Oh, you didn't hear?" Tory paused when her boss gave her an odd look, "He was promoted. He's now in charge of the Pegasus, taking over his father's old title...Commander Adama."

She shook her head slowly for a moment, "No one informed me."

"The other Commander died." The young woman motions to one of the folders, "Cloud Nine is actually-"

"Tory, would you mind giving me a few minutes alone, please?" Laura didn't look to her assistant.

"Of course, ma'am. Call if you need me for anything." Tory rose from her seat, leaving the room quickly as asked.

Laura stared out in front of her. The harsh reality that even though Lee could barely look at her since Billy had died, she still needed to know he was close by. She still needed to know that he was accessible if she called to him. However, now that he was on board the Pegasus as the new Commander, she probably wouldn't see him for a very long time.