Starbuck would have been shouting if not for Kamea's presence, and there would surely be some yelling going on later when he was able to speak with Lani one on one. But, for now, calm was needed. This wasn't an easy situation for either of them. No, Lani hadn't done the right thing in keeping this from Starbuck, but he could tell by her expression and body language that she was highly uncomfortable right now, and he didn't think it would do anyone any good to chastise her tonight. Starbuck wondered briefly if his mother had yelled at Lani. He'd never really seen her genuinely mad before, let alone heard her shout in anger. And that brought another thought to mind, Starbuck would definitely be calling his mother later to have words with her. She clearly knew about all this, and he was furious with her for keeping something so huge a secret. Hell, it wasn't just huge, this was pretty much the greatest shock of his life!
Starbuck didn't reply when she further tried to justify her reasoning for keeping something so important from him. Maybe he wouldn't have been ready, he wasn't sure he was ready now, but that didn't matter. They'd conceived a kid together, and it was practically criminal of her to have not told him. He had rights as the father! Responsibilities too, and while those were daunting, he was an honorable guy, and he would do whatever necessary to make sure Kamea was happy and healthy. Looked like she already was, and that gave him so relief. Lani might have fucked up in keeping this secret, but at least she'd taken good care of their daughter.
He was nervous after asking if he could hold Kamea, worried Lani would say no because she didn't trust him with something so simple. But at her smile, he couldn't help but reflect the expression with a grin of his own. Starbuck was still nervous as Lani slipped Kamea into his arms, but he'd stopped shaking for the time being. He just stared at her for a moment, wondering what was going on in that head of hers. When her big eyes stared into his own, he definitely felt a little choked up. "You're bigger than ya look," he said with a little awkward laugh, working to cradle her better in his left arm. He stroked through her hair with his free hand. "She's beautiful..." he said in a near whisper to Lani. Looking up at the mother of his child, "My mom met her?" He was still upset with his mother, but he hoped that Kai had had the joy of meeting her first grandchild.