FIC: Alive Again

[embolalia]

Title: Alive Again (sequel to Alive)

Rating: PG-13
Characters: Caprica Six/Gaius
Words: 512
Summary: Caprica Six thinks of her children. Post-Daybreak.

AN: Written for a sequel promt from sunshine_queen at bsg_epics, and a little bit for the marriage&babies ship-swap prompt there yesterday.

Alive Again

The knowledge arrives suddenly, as she's walking from the garden to the house, and Caprica stops in her tracks. A dozen small changes in her body come to mind all at once and she knows. The basket of tomatoes falls to the ground unheeded as her hands press over her abdomen. Caprica stares down at her fingers, at her still-flat stomach. Someone's alive in there.

She returns the tomatoes to their carrier and leaves them, wanders down to the lake beside which she and Gaius have built their house. He's off in the east field today. For a little while at least, Caprica is alone.

She settles on the rocky shore, her feet in the water. It's summer on Earth and the breeze-driven waves that reach her on the bank are warm. Caprica watches the ripples, the perfect circles. That first time, that first baby, she didn't understand the fragility of life, the way a human being could be gone as quickly as the plucking of a flower. The way she could be, now. For seven years she has tried to put that child out of her mind, but now she wonders: what if she'd stopped everything? What if she and Gaius were still back on Caprica, sending their child off to school and tucking her in at night? She looks across the lake to the tent near the town center where the children spend their days. She laughs in delight. It's not too late.

Then she sobers. The second time, Saul's baby, taught her the price of hope. Little Liam, laying cold and blue outside of her body where she couldn't protect him anymore--Caprica is flooded by terror for just a moment. She can't do that again. There are already two children in her heart who have never drawn breath. Liam would be walking by now, struggling to speak. Sarah would coddle him, her little brother, their second miracle.

"Caprica?"

Turning, she sees Gaius approaching, his skin tanned and his hair cut short against the heat. She smiles.

Gaius settles himself beside her, his foot in the water touching hers. He lays a hand on the back of her neck, stroking her hair. "I love you," he says.

Tears flood her eyes; she pitches forward against him as Gaius catches her close.

"Well--I--Are you alright?" he stammers, eyes flashing in concern.

Caprica kisses him hard, sighing when Gaius pulls back to hold her face between his hands and study her seriously.

"Darling, what is it?" he asks.

She closes her eyes. "Back on Caprica," she says softly, and feels him stiffen. They both know their responsibility for everything that's happened to their races; they rarely discuss it. "Did you love me then?"

"Yes," he says, with such certainty that tears flood her eyes. “As much as I knew how.” Gaius wipes away the one that escapes her lashes, his voice pleading, "Tell me! What's wrong?"

Caprica opens her eyes, blinking the tears away, smiling at him in awe. "We're having a baby."

Comments

[deborah-judge.livejournal.com]

Eee! This is lovely. Caprica Six gets all the barely-earned redemptions and second-chances the BSG universe has to offer, and somehow I just want her to have all of them. I'm glad she gets another chance to have a miracle baby, and I'm also glad it doesn't erase all the pain in her past.

[embolalia.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I really do like her, so I'm glad there was some relief to the angst of the first part of this story :)

[sunshine-queen.livejournal.com]

Oh my goddddd, my heart, my heart! I love it so much, from start to finish! My sweet Caprica and Gaius being so loving and OH MY GOD IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL. ♥ ♥ ♥

[embolalia.livejournal.com]

YAY!!! I'm so happy you like it :) They do deserve their happy ending, especially her!

[rirenec.livejournal.com]

This is a sweet ending for her, she deserves to have an ending in peace. Lovely.

[embolalia.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[korenap.livejournal.com]

Awww cute

[embolalia.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[sabaceanbabe.livejournal.com]

I love remix challenges. Not only do they bring new fic from old, but they bring new-to-me fic.

Caprica deserves this bit of happiness to filter some of the ugliness that she's experienced on both the giving and the receiving ends. I love this.

[embolalia.livejournal.com]

Isn't that great? I got to read lots of new pieces this time :) I'm glad you liked this!

[hobbit-kate.livejournal.com]

I love this! All of Caprica's second thoughts about the war, and her fears for her unborn child. And she and Gaius being so cute together, of course :)

[embolalia.livejournal.com]

Aren't they adorable? Hee! Glad you enjoyed it :)

[nicole-anell.livejournal.com]

Here via the remix, and (shockingly) I LOVE this. So heartbreaking but hopeful at the same time. There's something so tragic about her still imagining how old her previous children would've been now if they'd lived.

That first time, that first baby, she didn't understand the fragility of life, the way a human being could be gone as quickly as the plucking of a flower. The way she could be, now.
*heart breaks* This line is so beautiful and sad. But the endingggg, it's everything I want for them - as much as my heart glows at the possibility of them having a baby, even more I just love how quick he is now to say that he loves her (and did then, too). OTP. <3

[embolalia.livejournal.com]

I'm always glad to hear I haven't done anything disastrous to someone else's OTP :P So glad you enjoyed it!