After arranging his schedule so he can work from home in the afternoons, Bill leaves work at lunchtime every day, picks Laura up at the school, then drives home with her. He hasn't dared leave her alone for very long since her trip to the hospital. He also doesn't quite trust that she won't just go home and immediately begin working from there unless someone is around to stop her.

She's uncomfortable with the fact that he's babysitting her. On the one hand, it's sort of endearing how far he's willing to go to take care of her and their baby. A lot of women would kill for a husband that attentive. On the other hand, it makes her feel overly dependent on him and grates on her nerves. Still, she forces a smile as he orders her to change into something comfortable and then rest with her feet up on the sectional while he prepares lunch. He won't even let her eat at the table, instead bringing the food to her. Once she's finished, he lets her decide to nap on either the sectional or the bed and makes sure she's covered with a warm blanket.

Surprisingly, she has no trouble falling asleep, even if she doesn't feel tired. Pregnancy is deceptive. Just because she feels fine doesn't mean her blood pressure hasn't inched up or she could use a solid two-to-three-hour nap. Whenever she feels frustrated from the coddling, she reminds herself of her daughter, the reason for the change in her routine. The best reason in the universe.

Awakening fully refreshed from a nap late in the week, Laura decides to look over her emails. Bill is sitting at his desk which is still located in the guest room/baby room/office for now. His head is in his hands, and he's breathing heavily.

"What's wrong?" Laura asks, resting a gentle hand to his back.

"I have to go on assignment."

"When?"

"Next week."

"How long?"

"Two weeks," he groans. "I don't like the idea of leaving you alone. And I won't be able to get in touch with you most of that time."

"I can ask Sandra to stay with me. I think all her classes are in the morning except for art three days a week. I could stay at the school those days-"

"Laura-" he begins in a disapproving tone.

"Let me finish. I could rest on the sofa in the teacher's lounge until she comes to pick me up those days. You can even have the principal and the nurse check on me. It's better than being alone, right?"

"Yeah. But you have to make sure you take a nap. Your color's back since you've started doing that, and I can tell you have more energy. And please listen to Sandra. I'll go over instructions with her."

"Since when don't I listen?"

Bill looks at her flabbergasted.

"I'm joking, Bill. Lighten up," she says before putting her arms around his neck and giving him a kiss. "I haven't lost my sense of humor."

"You have a sense of humor?" he teases.

"I married you, didn't I?" she sasses back.

"You must be feeling pretty good today. You haven't been this ornery toward me in a long time."

She decides against checking emails, instead kissing her husband passionately. He's barely touched her since she was discharged last week.

"Ornery isn't the only thing I'm feeling."

When she insists on more kisses, he pulls away and tries to change the subject.

"Bill, the doctor said we can make love as long as it's not too intense. I miss you."

"You're sure he said that?"

"Positive. I asked him twice to make sure I heard him correctly. And since you're going to be gone for a few weeks, I think we should get busy now," she suggests, sitting across his lap and lightly running her fingers through his wavy hair. "We need to reconnect. I know you miss me, too." The way she lets her finger trace the contour of his ear sends an ache straight to his groin. It has been a while since they've made love, a week to be exact, which is a long time considering they have been sleeping next to each other every night. Sensing he still needs some encouragement, she adds to her seduction. "I have some maternity lingerie I can change into if these old sweatpants and t-shirt don't do it for you," she says, knowing this will tempt him.

When his eyes glaze over, she knows he's under her spell, imagining her in something lacy and see-through.

"Why don't you finish up that email while I change, and I'll meet you in the bedroom in a few minutes, Major Adama," she purrs, her fingers playing with the buttons on his uniform.

"Wait for me in bed," he replies, tracing his thumb along her lips.

"Yes, sir, whatever you say, sir."

Sandra vacated her usual spot in the library and changed to an entirely different floor. Scotty's constant leering in her direction was more than she could handle. Even after confronting him about it, it didn't sink in, the doofus convinced that she's playing hard to get. The added bonus of relocating is that Jeff can't find her, either. Suddenly she's much more productive in completing her homework when Mr. Buttkisser isn't there chatting away.

After a few days, Jeff finds her again, much to her chagrin. If the hovering bottle of water over her head doesn't clue her in, his new aftershave does.

"Do you bathe in that stuff?" she asks, disgruntled by his reappearance.

"Yeah, I have the body wash, then I use the aftershave, too. Don't you like it?" He appears worried that his new scent isn't as appealing to those around him as it is to him.

"I can smell you a mile away," she says with a wrinkled nose.

"But do you like it?"

"It doesn't matter what I think, Jeff. What matters is if Barbara likes it." Barbara is the latest in a long line of beautiful girls Jeff has dated. How he keeps attracting these women is beyond Sandra, but she is beginning to suspect that it may have something to do with the fact he's read 'The History of Sex, A Guide Based on the Scrolls of Aphrodite' book that her father lent her, a book she still hasn't had time to finish. Of course, it would help if she didn't linger on each page and daydream about herself in the arms of Rebound, her celebrity crush.

"I'm not dating her anymore."

"What's the matter? She find out how boring you are and dump you?" Feigning concern is second nature when Jeff's around.

"No, not my type. I broke it off with her."

"You dumped the drop-dead gorgeous dance major? I find that extremely hard to believe. Admit it, she was way out of your league."

"She might have been out of my league, but I like girls that can carry on more of a conversation. She wasn't very loquacious."

Sandra raises her eyebrows, taken aback with his choice of vocabulary. "That's a big word, Jeff. I'm impressed that you used it correctly," she smirks.

"I have my moments of brilliance. By the way, did you know Scotty is sitting two tables behind you?"

"Please tell me you're kidding," she groans, this time her concern very real, the smirk on her face replaced with a frown.

"Unfortunately, I'm not," he whispers. "Has he been bothering you?"

"He's been staring at me, which is why I moved."

Jeff turns and fixes his eyes on the date from hell, giving him an icy stare. At first Scotty gives him a chin up motion and a grin, causing Jeff to respond by furrowing his brow to let him know he's treading in dangerous territory. Scotty stares back but doesn't move. After Jeff stands and swiftly walks toward him, he gets the message, grabs his books, and disappears quickly, knocking a chair over in his haste to leave.

"Let me know if he bothers you again," Jeff says sitting back down next to Sandra.

"What'd you do?" she asks suspiciously, having sat with her head down in her book to avoid looking at Scotty and missing the minor confrontation.

"I let him know that his behavior is unacceptable."

"I don't need to be rescued," she huffs.

"I know. But he needed to be discouraged. Real men don't harass women."

"Says the guy who brings me water every day and overstays his welcome. Well, I have some news, Jeff. I won't be here for the next two weeks because I'll be watching after my incredibly pregnant sister."

"Oh. I hope she's okay. I guess this is goodbye for a while," he says with a small frown.

"You know, you're actually kind of cute when you're disappointed. You going to miss me?" she asks in a facetious tone, fully expecting him to say no.

"Yes."

"You're kidding, right?" she snorts.

"I like bringing you water every day. Sometimes it's the highlight of my afternoon."

"Alright, Jeff, I need to tell you something," she says, placing her hand over his. "I have zero influence over my father, so quit sucking up to me. I can't help you get into grad school. Shocking, right?"

"I've already been accepted to grad school, I thought you knew that."

"Oh. No, I didn't know that. Congratulations. So why do you keep bugging me?"

"I guess it's because I like talking to you. You're loquacious," he says with a shrug and a crooked grin.

Looking him over suspiciously, she tries to find a crack in his façade. She's convinced he has other motivations and is an expert at hiding them. "Here's the thing – I don't really believe you. You want something from me but won't admit it. But I'm warning you, I'll figure it out."

"Are you always this suspicious of people getting to know you?"

"Yes," she grumbles.

"Why?"

"I told you about my life from the past year. Practically everyone I thought was a friend was just someone using me for something. Theo, Honoria, Craig - it only took Scotty ten minutes to invite me to frak. The only friend I have is Willow, but I still don't trust her enough to tell her everything I told you."

"She's your only friend, huh? You sure about that?" He's spent more time talking to Sandra than anyone else has in the past several months, she's told him all about her past, yet she doesn't seem to recognize him as anything other than an annoying acquaintance.

His demeanor reminds her of her therapist. The woman always posed questions to her when she wanted her to make some startling realization about her life. But Jeff isn't a therapist, and she refuses to play whatever game he is trying to play with her. "I don't count family members, and then my dad's girlfriend…well…I've only met her once. Wait, JJ's my friend. I have two friends."

"Only two?" he asks, hoping she reconsiders her final tally.

"Two's a lot for me. Two's amazing. Two is two more than I had six months ago. Neither one of them has stabbed me in the back yet."

"It's hard for you to open up to people, isn't it?"

"Can you blame me? The last thing I need is for someone to gossip about everything I've done. Enrolling here early gave me a fresh start and I don't wanna screw that up."

"I get it. But part of a fresh start is making new friends, and I think your math doesn't add up."

"Huh?" The perplexed look on her face tells him she has no idea that he might be her friend. Rather than tell her, he decides to let her figure it out on her own someday.

"Never mind. I need to get to the office."

"Um, Jeff?" she says, grabbing at his arm so he can't leave. Leaning in close so that no one else can overhear, she says, "Try not to die of loneliness while I'm gone."

He places her palm flush against his chest. "Do you feel that? That's my heart breaking because I won't see you for two weeks."

"Gods!" she exclaims, rolling her eyes and pulling her hand away. "I really hope you don't talk to your dates like that because that is soooo cheesy."

"I'm telling you, it's breaking, Sandra. I don't think I can make it two weeks without seeing you," he says in a serious tone.

For a moment she gets lost in his brown eyes and wishes she hadn't pulled her hand from his chest so quickly. While he still thoroughly annoys her, there are times when she's curious about him, especially when it comes to his ability to attract gorgeous women. And he was quite cute when she announced he wouldn't see her for the next two weeks, the way his bottom lip stuck out in a little pout of disappointment. But then she remembers this is Jeff Buttkisser, and she chides herself for even considering him.

"Give me your number," she says pulling out her phone.

"What for?"

"So I can text you and make sure you're still alive while I'm staying with Laurie. It would be a shame if something happened to you. My father would miss having you around."

"Ohhh, okay. This is for Dr. Roslin's sake, good idea," he plays along.

After giving her his number, he asks for hers.

"You'll get it when I text you. Don't you need to be getting back to the office?"

"Yeah. See you in two weeks, Sandra."

He sprints across campus to the history building, knowing he is ten minutes late for a meeting he's supposed to sit in on with the Dean and Dr. Roslin. When he gets there, the conference room is empty, so he goes to Dave's office.

"I'm sorry I'm running late," he says, out of breath.

"No worries, Dean Stockwell had to postpone. Does the same time Monday work for you?"

"Yeah, and I promise I won't be late. Can you give me a hint what it's about?"

"You'll find out Monday," Dave smiles at him. "I don't really have much for you to do this afternoon, so if you want to pass the time studying at your desk, that's fine with me."

"Thank you - I have a ton of homework. But if you need anything, let me know."

While he was talking, he heard a text notification on his phone but ignored it, not wanting to appear rude. After he situates himself at his desk, he checks it and discovers it's from Sandra.

"3 - I have 3 friends."