InsaneJournal

Reports
Dani slowly lumbered her way to Major Simmons' office the morning after her trip to Shangri-La, folder in hand with her report on the interview on Derrick Princeton's talk wireless show. The young woman had written it up earlier in the morning after letting the small staff in the Air Liaison office that she would be going on maternity leave after all. Trying to work full time in her condition was becoming too much of a drain and she had to do what was right for herself, her babies, and the fleet in general.

She was half-dreading talking with Jill about the interview, it hadn't gone well to put it mildly and Dani was still upset about it. Even if she had come up with a way to possibly turn things around to the military's advantage she never should have let the interview get out of control in the first place. Dani should have known better than to trust a politician and it wasn't a mistake she would make again.

The grounded pilot was also annoyed at her appearance. Her one good uniform tunic that came close to a proper fit was now on its way to the laundry after she'd spilled her drink all over it at breakfast. She'd tried in vain to squeeze into one of her older tunics, but the material had refused to stretch over her stomach enough for her to get the buttons into their holes and Dani had been forced to leave it hanging open. At least the altered tank and t-shirts were still clean underneath, so she didn't look a complete mess.

She waddled her way into the Operations office and approached PO3 Linus, Major Simmons' clerk. "I'm here to see the Major, Linus. She should be expecting me."

At her desk, Jilleen rubbed the back of her neck with her hand, when Linus knocked at her office's door. "Enter," she commanded. She returned her hand to the top of the desk to pick up a pen.

"Lieutenant Kypros is here to see you," she said after opening the door and showing herself.

"Have her come in." Jilleen had forgotten about Dani. When Linus turned round, Jilleen quickly signed a document that she had just completed and then put it off to the side of the desk.

Dani moved into the office and nodded with a smile of thanks toward Linus as she passed the clerk. She stood in front of Jilleen's desk and tried not to look longingly at the seats on either side of her. They'd be a pain to get out of by herself but would be better than standing for long.

"Good morning, ma'am," Dani greeted the other woman respectfully, not greeting her as a friend but as a superior officer since they were on duty.

"Good morning, Lieutenant have a seat," she gestured to the chairs.

"Will there be anything else, sir." asked Linus.

"Nothing at the moment, Miss Linus. You may close the door," replied Jilleen. The clerk stepped back and shut the door. Jilleen's attention was back on the pregnant woman as she took a chair.

Dani gratefully sank into one of the offered seats and breathed a sigh of relief as she got off her feet. "Thanks," she told Jilleen as she sat. It was stupid of her to have stayed on active duty as long as she had, Dani now realized. She should have taken the doctor's offer earlier.

"I brought my report on the show from last night. Did you hear it?" Dani was halfway hoping that the other woman hadn't, it would make things go easier. At least she had an idea on how to try and fix things.

"You know, I missed it." It was the truth, Jill had been too busy with trying to coordinate resources to get the Brownlee battle worthy again as quickly possible. "Tell me about? How did it go." She expected that it went well.

"Not good, the frakker ambushed me." Dani removed the short typewritten report on the interview and her idea for the follow up interview on life in the military three years after the fall of the colonies. "He kept asking about my pregnancy and what family life would be like on a battlestar. Basically he's trying to promote some sort of agenda about living conditions in the fleet but I'm not sure what it is. I did manage to get a plug in about recruiting and how to join up, but that was about it."

She was disappointed in Princeton and it showed. "If I had faith in politicians it's gone now."

"Are you not pregnant?" Jilleen smirked. "I don't see how that is an ambush. Its pretty obvious that you're well along in your pregnancy. He is a human interest commentator, after all." She paused. "Was there something else? Was he against allowing women in the military or something?" She knew that Dani was not a trained public relations officer, but she trusted that the woman could perform in that capacity.

"I don't think he was," Dani replied with a shrug. "Though I got a strong hint that he thought this," she gestured at her stomach, "was the best thing women could do for the fleet, provide the next generation."

"There was one other thing. I think he was just on a fishing expedition, but he asked if he could have an interview with any Cylon prisoners we have. I told him I didn't know what he was talking about and he dropped it. If he'd had more knowledge I think he would have pressed harder."

Dani was kicking herself now about not following up off the air about what she'd heard, but she wasn't a trained public relations officer or an intelligence officer.

Jilleen nodded. Her mind was on the last comment. The Cylon prisoners had been one of the worst kept secrets in the fleet, the military had never directly confirmed or denied them. Rather, PSYOPs had planted false information out in the public about Cylon agents. It was deemed too disturbing to let them know the truth, that the Cylons were capable of downloading into a new body. The scientist who had study the corpse and experimented on the prisoners did not have a clue how they did it. In every way they simulated the human body.

"I don't think that is going to happen anytime soon." Jilleen looked at the Lieutenant. "You did good. I wouldn't worry about the interview. None of the higher ups have made any negative comments about your performance on the wireless."

"Thank you ma'am," Dani was pleased that the interview hadn't been a total disaster. She shifted in her seat and wondered what the best way to broach the idea she'd had after the show.

"I was thinking that maybe we could do a follow up, since he was so interested in the living conditions on Avalon." He'd seemed more interested in her living conditions than for the crew in general, but Dani wanted to keep the focus on the crew. "I was thinking we could have him aboard along with a reporter and photographer for the Fleet Gazette, let them do a story on living conditions on a battlestar and how they've changed since we left the Colonies. It would help get the word out that we aren't living in the lap of luxury."

"Yeah, that sounds like an excellent idea," Jilleen tried to sound and look excited about the suggestion. Her mind had been drifting and thinking of others things since the last attack. The damage to the Brownlee had caused a temporary strain on resources as personnel were shifted around to get the destroyer back into regular service. The group had been struck hard in the last engagement more than any other in the last couple of years. Jilleen had read the reports, and none of them gave her much comfort.

"Are you all right? Jill, hello?" Dani leaned forward as best she could to see what had caused the other woman to drift off into space. She hadn't seemed too enthusiastic about the idea of inviting reporters on board ship, but it didn't explain the distant expression the other woman sported. "You look a million miles away." It was why she'd used the other woman's nickname while she was on duty, something she normally didn't do. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh...no, no." She shook her head. "I'm only a little tired." She glanced at the folder that was in Dani's hand.

"Believe me, I know that feeling." Dani commiserated at Jill's comment about being tired. "It's been crazy lately."

"Is that your report?" Jilleen asked pointing to the folder.

"Um, my report is on your desk?" She'd placed it there when she entered the other woman's office. She wasn't sure if now was the right time to bring up the issue of leave and decided to keep her mouth shut for the moment.

"Oh, right," said Jilleen after she saw the report laying on her desk. Another report she would have to look over today on top of all the rest that she received on a daily basis. "Was there anything else?" She said with her hands together and fingers interlocked on top of Dani's report.

Dani nodded somewhat reluctantly. "Yes, ma'am, one more thing." She had the doctor's permission to go on maternity leave, it was noted in her personnel file, but she would still need her acting CO, Jilleen, to sign off on it. The other woman was a friend but Dani wasn't sure Jilleen would understand her asking to go off work with months still to go in the pregnancy. She opened the folder and removed a single typewritten page with her formal request, and handed it to Jill. "The past few weeks have made me come to the conclusion that maybe it's time for me to quit working until after the babies are born."

Jilleen did not verbally respond right away as she had been some what surprised by the request for the extended leave of duty which had been sooner than expected. She took the written formal request and read over the words. Such a lame excuse she thought to herself as she read on. It only made her suddenly angry.

If it had been before the war, Jilleen might have had different thoughts on the matter. If the Colonies had not been destroyed, she would had thought differently in that case as well. She could at least then count on replacements, but their situation was entirely unprecedented. There was no such replacement pool.

The Major returned her eyes on Dani. "Isn't that convenient, after I had put you ahead of the list for new quarters. So do you plan on lounging around for the next six months, because I suspect you would want some time to take care of your little ones too." She was upset that the woman was not thinking about the ones that would have to pick up the slack in her absence. "I'm sorry but everyone aboard this ship has to earn their keep, and I don't think expecting a child excuses that at this point. Everyone has to do their share." She blinked. "I...we are loosing people. We lost Lieutenant Bell, I don't have anyone to replace her. I got Ensign Fox doing her job now and as well as his regular position. I got to give someone to Pacifica, and you know, the air wing is looking for trained pilots...so I'll probably lose more people." She threw up her hands in frustration.

Dani blinked and felt her blood begin to boil at the implied accusation. "Permission to speak freely, ma'am?" She asked tightly. It was one thing for Jill to simply say she was stretched too thin to let her go, but quite another to imply that Dani was deliberately trying to shirk her duty. Jilleen knew her better than that.

Jilleen remained still with her arms now crossed on her chest, "Go ahead. I would like to see what you have to say."

"I understand we are short staffed Jill, believe me I didn't come to this conclusion lightly. It's one thing to deny my request because you don't have anyone to replace me, it's another to imply I'm just taking a six month holiday! You try having these two inside you, constantly growing and distorting your body beyond all recognition!" She put her hands on her belly, emphasizing just how large it had grown in the past few weeks. "It's extremely tiring just going through the day and it's only going to get worse. The past few weeks have been horrible." She teared up just a little bit, lately she'd been sleeping most of time she wasn't on duty, and it was impossible to find anything that fit her.

"You can deny my request, that's your prerogative, but don't you dare accuse me of not wanting to do my share!"

Jilleen took a breath and forced herself from not rolling her eyes at the tears on the other's face. "I won't deny the request if that is what you want. I'm just disappointed is all. I will have to find someone else to pick up the slack," She then picked up her pen, and signed her initials to the written request. They could not use someone who was not willing to give more than a hundred percent. She was afraid that this would support those with the beliefs that women did not belong in combat because of old thinking that declared women are needed to give birth to the new generation. One flaw, there was no guarantee that they ever survive beyond the present age.

"If you're really that short handed..." Dani wavered just a bit. She really didn't want to keep working at this point, but at the same time she felt guilty about leaving the crew even more short handed. "I could probably handle half days for a few more weeks, if that would help, but it really is getting difficult now that I'm in the end of the second trimester." She did want to do her share, but doing much of anything was becoming progressively harder with the way the babies were growing. Full days were just impossible. "I don't think I can give you full days anymore, I'm sorry."

"OK," her expression lightened as Dani offered to give more of her time. "I'll take that then, I can take you off watch duty, so you won't have to stand on that. I will also have to relieve you as the Air Liaison." Jilleen leaned forward. "What if you can manage the office for me, that would give others relief." There was a stereotype out there that many Virgonese were not very duty orientated as many of them did not join the military. "I will be blunt with it. We need your help here and I need team players."

"I'll go for as long as I can," Dani assured her, "but I don't think I'll last much more than another month even at half days. I'm not sure you'll want me in the way by then anyway, as large and awkward as I am already." Virgonese did tend to be nonconformists when it came to military regulations, and she was a prime example of it considering who the father of her children was. But that didn't mean those who did join up were any less devoted to the overall goal of service.

She didn't like the idea of being an office manager, but if that's how she could be of service then so be it. "If being an office manager in the time I've got left can help you make do, then I guess you've got yourself a new office manager for the next few weeks."

Jilleen got up on her feet and finally smiled. With her hand extended out to the expecting mother. "Deal"

Dani took the extended hand and shook it, pleased that she'd be able to help out a little longer. One more month of half days didn't sound so bad, it would let her get more rest and still be able to help fix up the quarters she shared with Rhys. Then she could go on leave after that with a clean conscience. "It's not a viper cockpit, but I guess it's the best way I can serve right now. Thanks for all your help."

Jilleen nodded. "You'll get used to it." After letting go of Dani's hand she pointed to her own aviator wings. "I haven't been in a fighter in nearly four years, mind you I wasn't as gifted as many of our veterans." She could freely admit that, otherwise she was certain that she might have been killed earlier inside the cockpit of a viper in one of the many battles. She was grateful that others more talented could fly and keep flying, though she did miss it on occasion.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to it Jill, no offense." Dani shook her head. The day she got used to not being a fighter pilot would be the day she'd hand in her papers to become a civilian again.

Jilleen stood by her chair and looked at the woman's belly and then into her eyes. "Daniella, you're lucky to have someone." She paused. "Under different circumstances I might have been brave enough to have my own."

"You just have to find the right man, Jilleen," Dani replied, smiling softly up at her friend, hands resting gently on the top of her swollen abdomen. "I bitch about it, but I'm kind of excited about becoming a mother. I'm looking forward to seeing them for the first time, after they're born." She had made a point of not looking too closely at the ultrasounds, not wanting to know if they were boys or girls until they were born. Call it superstition but all she cared about was that they were healthy and had all the correct parts in the correct places.

"Right," she pointed at her undone tunic. "You might want to consider wearing over-sized ODs as your uniform now. The blues just don't seem right for your present size." She smirked as she realize that she was starting to nitpick "You better leave now before I have another bitch fit," and then laughed.

Dani nodded reluctantly about the ODs, they would be more comfortable but wouldn't seem as professional as the blues. By the end of it even the ODs might not fit, but it would be better than what it looked like now. "As long as I have your permission to deviate from the Uniform of the Day I guess that would work."

She laughed along with Jill, but for different reasons. "I'll be happy to get out, but I'm trapped in this chair unless you can give me a hand up."

Jill walked over and helped her up. "You useless cow." she joked.

"I'm not a cow yet," Dani joked back as she used Jill to haul herself out of the chair. "But give me a couple months."