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ficsnooneaskedfor · 2 years ago

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Call the Twi'lek Midwife

Chapter 54: Momentous Occasions

Word count: 6.6k

Series rating: M

Chapter Summary: Omega and Tech have a talk about the operation and their respective futures, Citali has strange dreams that leave her with questions, and Anaasa and Ruzin tour the hospital with most of their care team. Melita supports Wrecker during a blood donation and accidentally says something that will change their lives and baby Marina's.

TW: some medical stuff, needle and blood mentions.

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Omega tugged at the hems of her pajamas, realizing that at the rate she was growing they would fit her only for a few more months if she was lucky. She already knew she'd be disappointed when that happened, she really loved them. The fabric was silky and felt cool against her skin, and the tiny cloud designs were so pretty she often wore the shirt during the day. The pajamas had once belonged to Citali, though she had been much younger than Omega when she wore them. Citali did not have all the clothing her mother had made her as a child but what she did, she happily gifted to Omega who treasured every piece. Omega never had attachments to clothes when she lived on Kamino and why would she? Her uniforms were for practicality, not gifts or a means of expressing herself. For Citali to trust her with beautiful things her mother crafted made Omega feel very loved. In fact, anytime she wore something Shi'ari Ulihira made, it was almost like Omega could actually feel the immense love she had for her daughter in every stitch and piece of thread. Strange to think that Citali's mother had long ago left this life yet so much of her lived on, even in people who had never known her.

It wasn't quite her bedtime yet so Omega went to her desk and began writing in her journal. She did not fill its pages anywhere near as fast as Echo did with his. Omega's was more of a log for recording appointments, births, and the skills she practiced but so much happened today that Omega felt writing the entire narrative was warranted. She had quickly written two pages when there was a knock on her door and she expected it was Melita or one of her brothers coming to tell her it was time for lights out. She said "come in" and to her surprise, it was Tech who entered her room.

"Tech!" Omega said happily, dropping her pen and rushing into his open arms waiting for her. "I thought you were still out. We missed you at dinner, where were you?"

"I returned to the hospital to work on a few things," Tech said. "I identified the faulty part that was giving those inaccurate blood pressure readings and located a replacement in adequate condition on another medunit."

"Weren't you tired after everything?" she asked.

"Somewhat," Tech said which was an outright lie. He had not slept enough last night but despite his exhaustion, he'd had a lot on his mind and needed the release of tinkering with something. "I uh...felt it was critical to determine what the issue with the medunit was so that when Echo and I return tomorrow, we can fix it in a timely matter. On the chance Anaasa goes into preterm labor, we need everything ready."

That was not a lie, they really did need everything ready well before the date of the operation. By combining conventional medical technology and the vast knowledge of her people, preterm births were relatively rare in Citali's practice. If a patient showed signs of preterm labor Citali would use the medicines and synthetic hormones at her disposal as well as herbs and simple, holistic approaches like stress management and preventing dehydration to attempt to stop or delay it. Her protocols had been an outstanding success with nearly every one of her patients that went into preterm labor, so much so that other midwives were now using her methods, but there was always the possibility they might not work. Hopefully, Anaasa and her baby weren't the first exceptions. The baby was already being delivered early, they needed to stay in utero for as long as possible.

"That is true, I guess," Omega said before noticing the visible bags under Tech's eyes, partially hidden by his goggles. "Well, you seem very tired Tech. There are leftovers in the kitchen, you should have some dinner and relax."

Tech smiled. Omega might be a clone like her brothers but she was so similar to Melita and Citali sometimes. "I will...I just wanted to see how you were doing first."

"Oh, I'm great. Really I am," Omega said truthfully. If anything, she was a tad concerned about Tech. The success of Citali's operation should have been a cause for celebration, she was confused why Tech did not seem as happy as she was.

"Would you like to have a short debrief about what happened today?" Tech asked. They were going to sit down with Citali and AZI at some point but Tech thought it might be beneficial for the two of them to have a discussion while everything was fresh in their minds.

"I think that's a great idea," Omega said. Maybe if they talked it out, they could figure out what was making him feel the way he did. She grabbed her journal and pen, sat on her bed, and waved Tech over to sit beside her. They went through the operation step by step starting from Citali's epidural, identifying their gaps in knowledge and what skills they needed to practice while Omega recorded it in her journal. After they discussed Citali's postoperative care, Omega asked, "So was all this as hard as you thought it would be?"

"In some way, yes. In others, no," Tech said honestly. "I think what I struggled with most was anticipating what AZI would need help with next and getting the feel for having to see what we were doing on a screen."

"It gets easier with more practice. The first operation I did with Nala Se...I had trouble with the same things. It was an appendectomy for a clone who was about eight years old physically. I didn't do a very good job."

Or at least Nala Se's disappointment in her afterward made it seem so. The Kaminoan's excessive perfectionism made it nearly impossible for Omega to determine what her true strengths and weaknesses were, and praise from Nala Se was pretty much nonexistent. Omega had realized long ago that Nala Se was not a good person but even so, it was hard not to miss her sometimes and she hated herself for it. She had a big family who loved her, it seemed like a slap in their faces to miss her.

"But..." Omega said, trying to get back on topic. "After some more practice, I got better at figuring out what to do to help. Eventually, I didn't need to be asked to do certain things I just...knew what to do."

Tech noticed Omega's apparent sadness at the thought of her former "guardian". "Well I have to say, you did an excellent job today Omega," Tech said, hoping some praise would make her feel better. "I learned a lot just by watching you."

"Thanks Tech. You should be very proud of what you did too," Omega said, reaching over to hug him again. "So, did this make you want to become a doctor more or less?" Omega asked curiously.

Omega knew Tech had been toying with the idea for months. He told her and Citali as much, Melita and his brothers had their suspicions as well. Tech knew he had a mind well suited to the profession as well the ability to perform under pressure yet something was holding him back from fully committing to it.

"I'm still not sure," he said. "I have no doubt I would enjoy the intellectual challenge of being a doctor or surgeon, and there is a great need for doctors out here. But this operation on Citali made it more evident that all the books, datatapes, and holos in the galaxy are not enough. Some people train for a decade or longer to do what we did today and the only reason we could do it was because of AZI and your previous experience."

And in ten years' time, Tech and his brothers would look and feel twenty years older if they did not find a way to counteract their accelerated aging. That was a lot of time to devote to education and training for a profession he might not have the ability to work in very long. Tech felt selfish for even taking that into consideration, that it shouldn't matter how long he could practice. If he only saved one person's life, wasn't that reason enough to do it?

"There is a reason medical droids are more common than doctors and surgeons on many planets. This is not a profession that I can learn on the job. I need to find someone to instruct me as you have if I'm going to do this."

"Well...we do have AZ," Omega said, now understanding why Tech had been so pensive. "He can teach you a lot of things. Citali and Iirde know a few doctors that might be able to train you too. And there are the healers in Jemala. If they're willing, maybe you could live there for a while and learn with them. In fact..." Now is not the time to mention this, Omega thought.

"You're thinking that maybe you would like to live in Jemala and train there as Citali did," Tech said, not needing her to say it.

"Not now," Omega said quickly. "I really like learning with Citali and I'm not ready to leave our family but...maybe someday."

For the first time since he and his brothers took her in, it hit Tech that there may come a time when Omega left them. Not that they might meet an untimely end that would leave her alone to fend for herself, or their accelerated aging would take them from her when she had so much life left to live, but that she might choose to leave them. Perhaps youth in the country would cause her to grow restless and seek excitement in a big city. Perhaps she would feel the skills she learned on Kamino and with Citali were needed more in another part of Ord Mantell or a different planet entirely. Perhaps she would simply desire to carve her own path and discover who she was apart from her family, and that was her right to do so. But the thought made Tech's heart ache, especially combined with the possibility that Crosshair might leave too, not knowing that he had already made up his mind on the matter.

They heard another knock on the door and Echo, Hunter, and Wrecker appeared. Wrecker was holding a bowl of homemade Mantell Mix and cheerily said, "Another successful mission! You weren't gonna go to bed before we had a chance to celebrate, now were you?" Their "missions" might have changed but their tradition had not.

Omega giggled. "Of course not."

"Make sure you brush your teeth before you go to sleep," Melita said as she passed by in the hallway.

"I will. Goodnight Melita," Omega said. Melita halted her steps toward the refresher and entered the crowded room.

"Goodnight sweetheart. I'm very proud of you," she said giving her a hug and a kiss. "Proud of you too, Tech," she said smiling as she hugged him intentionally, comically tight.

"Thank...you...Melita," Tech said jokingly feigning a struggle to breathe as he usually did. She did the same with the others and gave Wrecker a long embrace before giving him a quick kiss on the lips, making him grin.

They ate their snack and chatted for a while, and while Mantell Mix still was not something Echo particularly enjoyed, the homemade version was much more tolerable. The food, however, was not the point of this- it was about spending time together. Omega would have liked for Crosshair to join them but he had gone to sleep immediately after dinner, as was typical for him. She hoped there would come a time when he would become a part of their tradition.

Once Omega had brushed her teeth and laid down, Wrecker went to his and Melita's room while Echo, Tech, and Hunter went in the other. It was odd for Echo, sharing a room with his brothers again and being without Citali, Snowball, and music to fall asleep to. He used to prefer sleeping in silence but he'd grown used to it from Citali and the silence was almost irritating. It'll be fine for one night, he told himself. He thought his brothers had fallen asleep when Tech broke the silence.

"Omega mentioned Nala Se before you all walked in," he said. "You still have not told her that you saw her on Wayland."

"No, I haven't," Hunter answered solemnly, though he knew from Tech's tone it was not a question but a statement of fact. With everything that had happened recently, seeing Nala Se had been pushed to the back of his mind. He had no idea how Omega would react to the news. Would she be angry that Hunter had attempted to kill the closest thing she had to a mother or upset that he had not followed through with it? Would she feel nothing at all? He truly had no idea.

"Hunter...you said you were going to talk to her about it," Echo said. He understood this was a difficult subject but it needed to be done. If Omega somehow learned of it another way, she was bound to feel deceived.

"I know," Hunter said. "I haven't figured out how to tell her."

"I see," Tech said. "The longer you put this off, the harder it is going to be."

Hunter sighed. "I'm aware."

"Do you want me to tell her?" Echo asked. He was present for that confrontation and felt as responsible as Hunter to tell Omega what happened.

"No, it needs to be me. After Anaasa's baby is born, I'll tell her. You have my word. I don't want this to distract her." Hunter closed his eyes before they promptly snapped back open. He threw the covers off, put a sweater on, and grabbed his comm device.

"Where are you going?" Echo and Tech asked at the same time.

"To tell Izel everything worked out with Citali," Hunter said, kicking himself that he had forgotten. With the time difference, it was shortly before dawn in Jemala and Izel would still be on patrol duty. He hoped this was not an inconvenient time to call her. After cracking the door to Citali's office to check on Crosshair, Hunter went to the garden where the moons bathed the growing vines, flowers, herbs, and vegetables in silvery light. He pushed a button on his comm device and walked over to the raised bed where he'd planted the seeds Izel had given him, checking if the soil was dry. It was taking some time for her to answer and Hunter couldn't help feeling concerned. He had begun filling a watering can when her voice came through the comm device.

"Hello?"

"Hey Izel."

"Hi Hunter! Sorry it took me so long to answer, was in the middle of something."

He could hear the smile in her voice. The thought of her smile caused him to briefly forget why he'd called her."No problem. I uh...I wanted you to know Citali's doing great." He heard her sigh of relief on the other end. "No complications with the operation itself. Cid's been with her and AZI's checking on her periodically. He said everything looks normal."

"That's great," Izel said. "I just don't understand though...was there a reason she did not want to have the operation in Jemala? Our healers have the capabilities to do it. I mean, she had it done before when she lived here."

"I don't think she wanted to delay it until she could visit again. She might have also hoped it would give Tech and Omega a confidence boost before her patient's operation."

"I can understand that, I suppose. Did it work?"

Hunter chuckled. "I believe it did."

"Good! Will you let her know I wish her a speedy recovery and I'll call her tomorrow?"

"Of course."

"Thank you, Hunter. How are you doing?"

"I'm well," he said, nearly telling her that he missed her company. "It's taking some adjusting being back on account of..."

He was about to say that his headaches had returned. Though he'd learned to cope and conceal it, Hunter's enhancements made the electromagnetic frequencies of big cities almost unbearable at times. Living in the countryside was not as bad as walking the streets of Ord Mantell City but being in Jemala was the first time since serving on extremely remote planets during the war that he was truly free of his headaches. Despite the clone army being retired, Hunter knew he needed to protect his identity as much as possible, and to reveal his enhancements to Izel would be saying far too much.

"On account of uh...how much cooler the climate is in Jemala." Hunter grimaced as soon as the words left his mouth. He really did not like being dishonest with her, even if it was for the safety of her and others. Especially when he had been so quick to assure Echo that Citali was trustworthy and he could tell her who they were when they first met. Looking back, that had been quite reckless but after what transpired on Kamino, they were desperate for the love Citali eagerly showed each of them, even if they did not realize it. Crosshair was right, they needed to be more cautious.

"I can imagine," Izel laughed. "Believe it or not, it was unseasonably warm when you guys were here. I'm sorry to cut this short Hunter but I need to be going," Izel said and Hunter was grateful she could not see the disappointed expression on his face. "But call me again soon...if you want. I really like talking with you."

Hunter smiled. "Yeah, I like talking to you too. How about you call me when you're free? You have a much busier schedule than I do."

"All right then. Talk to you later. Hakshir, Hunter"

"Hakshir, Izel."

Despite not being able to use bacta, in the days that followed Citali's condition improved quickly but not enough that she could go back to her normal routines. She held back, albeit reluctantly, making arrangements with her family and friends to do what she could not. Iirde, Omega, and AZI saw her patients together for their appointments. Omega thoroughly enjoyed working with Iirde and was glad for the opportunity to see her way of doing things. Hunter tended to the garden, Echo handled all of the cooking, and everyone took turns helping Crosshair.

Melita made valiant attempts to get him to do music therapy yet after just starting to get comfortable singing in front of Citali, he was unwilling to do it in front of anyone else. He did, however, do it when he was alone so he did not lose the progress he'd made. His recovery had hit a bit of a plateau, as Citali warned might happen. He was taking steps in the pool with Wrecker's support and had more movement in his arm and hand, but his speech and cognitive function had remained much the same. It was hard not to be disheartened, despite telling himself he'd made a lot of progress in a very short time. It was possible that the only things that would improve his condition at this point were patience and persistence, and he had to accept that. Which he did with more ease than thought he was possible for him.

Citali wanted to use her recovery time to be productive or indulge in hobbies such as knitting that she hadn't been able to do recently, but as her "vacation" had never truly been one and her body was forcing her to rest, all she wanted to do was sleep. She slept so much that Echo grew concerned something was wrong and asked AZI to do another assessment of her.

"Her vitals are normal, scans are not showing any retained surgical bodies or internal bleeding, and she is healing normally," AZI said as he reached for her hand. "Apart from fatigue, do you feel that anything is abnormal, Ms. Citali?"

"No, I feel very much the same as I did the last time I had this operation," Citali said, and then she laughed quietly. "And really AZ...you don't need to keep calling me Ms. Citali."

"But you said referring to you as 'Mistress' or 'Mistress Citali' made you uncomfortable," AZI said perplexed.

"It does...just Citali is fine, okay? If we're with patients and you want to call me Ms. Citali that's cool, but when it's just us it's not necessary."

Living beings confused AZI sometimes but he understood that names were important to them. He must have learned that from someone he could no longer remember. Routine memory wipes on Kamino caused him to lose memories of specific experiences and people, but he sometimes retained bits of what he learned from them. "Very well, Citali," he said, giving her hand a squeeze as he'd seen her do with patients. "It is my opinion that Citali is simply in need of rest, Echo. She has a habit of neglecting her own needs for those of others and now that she has no choice but to rest, her body is taking advantage of it. I will leave so you can rest.”

Echo wrote in his journal for a bit before turning the lights off and holding Citali while they both drifted off to sleep, and once again Citali found herself in a dream. Since her surgery, she had been dreaming with more frequency. There were the ones of her father with Rex, Wolffe, Gregor, and Ahsoka. In another, she was seeing through the eyes of Morai, flying high above mountains and clouds on another planet, or on Ord Mantell flying with a flock of black-winged Zoftids. It made little sense to Citali. In yet another, she was operating on Anaasa with her team and she hoped it would show her how it would play out but it did not. The most fantastical of her dreams were of the myths her parents told her as a child of Kikalekki, the Mother Goddess.

The tales differed slightly between her parents' cultures. Rylothian Twi'leks believed the universe was born of her womb and it was her breath, some believing it to be the Living Force that the Jedi revered, which gave it life. Mantellian Twi'leks believed Kikalekki gave birth to the twins Juh and Sinya, the Light and Darkness, Life and Death, Creation and Destruction, and together they built the universe. Citali was never sure which version she found more compelling, both fascinated her. Tonight she was dreaming again of the version her mother told her. Citali witnessed the birth of the Twins, emerging at the same moment, holding one another's hand, and upon seeing their mother they immediately were filled with love for her. And she for them. Juh created galaxies, stars, and nebulae to honor their mother, filling planets with sunlight, plants, animals, water, and beings of all races. But constant sunlight caused plants to wither, people and animals grew weary as they were unable to rest. Waters became stagnant and life became too abundant until all were suffering. Juh went to Sinya for help and they knew what the beautiful creations their sibling made needed to thrive. Sinya made the night, fire, wind, predators, and other agents of death and destruction. It was a frightening yet wondrous sight to see, even in a dream.

But sentient beings came to hate Sinya for they could not see the true purpose of their gifts. They did not understand that the night allowed them to rest and witness the beauty of the stars in the heavens, that the fire that burned their forests and grasslands replenished the soil and provided them warmth in the winter, and that death was a means for their Light to manifest in new ways and become harmonious with nature. That without the gifts of Sinya the very fabric of the universe would tear apart. Some people feared Sinya so much it caused them to misunderstand the Darkness within themselves, corrupting and twisting it until Evil was created, and the poison spread.

Citali woke up wondering if the dream was just her mind running wild or if the Force was trying to tell her something. How did the Jedi know the difference between regular dreams and Force visions? How was someone like her whose knowledge and Force-abilities were so minuscule in comparison to a Jedi supposed to know the difference?

She continued to ask herself these questions over breakfast, so distracted she did not realize at some point Iirde had joined her family at the table. “Iirde, when did you get here?!” Citali said in shock.

“About a minute ago,” the Rodian woman said before laughing. “Still a little out of it I see. You still taking pain meds?”

“Oh no,” Citali said shaking her head. “I’m not really in pain anymore. Just sore.”

“Good,” Iirde said then wagged one of her fingers. “You are not ready to go back to work yet though, so don’t get any ideas.”

“I can handle the tour of the hospital with Anaasa and Ruzin today. Really,” Citali tried to say and there were stern looks from everyone, even Marina seemed to be scolding her. “Oh, all right. Goodness. I just feel bad you’re having to do so much for me.”

“It’s fine Citali,” Iirde said. “You’ve covered for me far more than I have for you, there is no reason you should feel guilty. Rest so you’ll be well before Anaasa’s operation, that’s what you need to focus on right now.” Then Iirde turned to Omega and said, “What is our schedule looking like for today?”

Omega grabbed her datapad and looked at her notes. “Tour of the hospital first. We’re also going to do a blood donation with Ruzin while we are there. We have two pints of blood already from compatible donors but he wants to donate also.”

“So we’ll have three total. That’s a great start but we should try to get a couple more donations,” Iirde said.

“All of us have 0- blood type,” Tech said looking at his siblings. “Which is apparently compatible for Togrutas. I am willing to donate.”

“I can as well,” Hunter said.

“Count me in!” Wrecker said enthusiastically. Then he remembered a needle would be involved and felt sick to his stomach. It’s okay, you can handle it. This is important .

“I can too!” Omega said but Iirde shook her head.

“Sorry, Omega. You don’t meet the recommended age or weight requirements yet. It wouldn’t be safe,” Iirde said and Omega frowned. Omega wanted to tell her she’d had blood taken from her more times than she could recall. This would have been the first time she gave it willingly and for a good reason. Iirde patted her hand gently. “Don’t worry, you’ll get your chance someday soon. You’re helping in so many other ways, we could not do this operation without you. Don’t let this discourage you.”

Omega nodded her head. “So after the blood donations, we’ll come back here for visits with patients. Most are postpartum and newborn care visits but we do have one initial prenatal visit.”

“Sounds like we’ve got a busy day ahead of us,” Iirde said. “Wia was asking about playing with you again. When we’re all done would you like to come to my house for a while? If it’s okay with your family of course.”

“I’d love to! Can I go Hunter, please?” Omega said looking at him with pleading eyes.

You’ve got to get used to this sort of thing he told himself. The girls still had not had their sleepover yet because Hunter kept finding reasons to put it off, fearing letting Omega out of his sight for even a night. But Omega needed a life outside of their family and her education. “That’s fine with me.”

Iirde, AZI, Tech, and Omega finished breakfast quickly and headed to the hospital in Iirde’s landspeeder, Hunter and Wrecker planning to meet up with them after the tour. Anaasa and Ruzin were waiting by the entrance when they arrived looking happy and excited.

“Good morning!” Anaasa said looking positively radiant wearing her best outfit for the occasion. She gave Omega a hug and said, “Nice to see you all again. How is Citali feeling?”

“She’s doing really good,” Omega said. “She wanted me to tell you she apologizes for not being here. She felt bad.”

“Oh the poor thing,” Anaasa said, putting her hand over her heart. “We just want her to get better. Will she be well by the time the baby needs to be delivered?”

“I would be extremely surprised if she wasn’t,” Iirde said. “The type of operation she had is a quick recovery, as long as the person takes it easy. Let’s take a look inside. Tech and Omega would you care to lead us?”

Omega and Tech took turns explaining what improvements had been made to the hospital and the equipment inside. Anaasa, Ruzin, and Iirde were all very impressed by how good everything looked. There were still parts of the hospital that were filthy and downright dangerous to walk through but what they saw was clean and bright. The surgical suite was not very inviting but it was a sterile environment with a working medunit and that was what mattered. The recovery room earned excited gasps from everyone with how wonderful it looked. A lot of time and care had clearly been put into it.

“Oh this is so cozy!” Anaasa said with a wide smile.

“When it’s safe, we can transport you to Citali’s office if you’ll be more comfortable there but I would advise you and baby to stay in here for at least the first 24 hours,” Iirde said.

“I would not mind that at all,” Anaasa said, still smiling as she looked at Wolffe’s painting on the wall.

Ruzin put his hand on her belly and said, “Wait until you see this place, little one. It’s wonderful, so many beautiful things to see.”

Anaasa and Ruzin took a seat on the bed, holding each other’s hand while Iirde explained the process of Anaasa’s surgery and what to expect during recovery as well as answering their questions. This alone took about fourty minutes but it was worth every second. Tech was glad for the opportunity to listen to Iirde speak for it gave him some insight into how he could be with patients of his own someday. Another concern of his with becoming a doctor was that Tech would come across as cold, not having the same warm and friendly personality that Citali and Omega had. Iirde had a practical manner of speech that was similar to Tech’s and she was not overly fond of physical touch. This had the potential of making one seem uncaring but she crafted her words in a way that made it obvious she was passionate about her work and had a deep respect for her patients.

Omega and AZI assessed Anaasa and the baby, checking her vitals, asking her the usual questions before taking the donation of Ruzin’s blood and putting it in the freezer with Ahsoka and Rex’s. “I will run some tests on the blood to ensure it is safe,” AZI said. “If my tests reveal anything abnormal, I will make sure you are notified.”

“Thank you AZI,” Ruzin said, smiling at the droid. “So we will see you all again in three days?”

“Yes,” Iirde said. “I will most likely be present, I hope that is all right.”

“Of course,” Anaasa said. “And next time we will be doing that uh…swab test thing right?”

“That is correct,” Omega said, pulling up some information on her datapad and handing it to Anaasa. “It is to test for something called Group B Streptococcal Infection or Group B Strep for short. It is a bacteria that is common in near-human species that does not usually make adults ill but can make babies very sick. If you consent to the test it is very simple and if you test positive we can talk about how you want to proceed.”

“Yes, yes…I remember now. You and Citali talked to me about this before. Sorry I forgot, pregnancy brain is so real,” Anaasa said laughing and Omega was glad to hear it. “I would like to do it. Any testing that is available I would like to have it. Thank you all for this. I know how hard you have worked to give my baby and me a fighting chance and…” Anaasa fought back tears and Ruzin reached for her hand. “I can’t tell how much this means to us.”

“If there is anything either of us can do to help, please let us know,” Ruzin said.

“I believe we have everything prepared,” Tech said, smiling at the couple. “Should anything arise, however, we will let you know.”

“Now is the time for the two of you to rest and finish your own preparations before baby arrives,” Iirde said. “I want to stress that should everything work out as we hope, this is still a major surgery for you Anaasa and it will take time for you to recover. You will be unable to do any farm work for six to eight weeks at a minimum, possibly longer.”

“We understand,” Anaasa said. “We’ll be going so you all can get on with your days. Thank you again.”

Anaasa and Ruzin walked out of the hospital into the bright morning sun, holding hands, and looking happier and more in love than Omega had seen since their first appointment all those months ago. She was still a little nervous about the operation and she was sure Tech, Citali, and Iirde were as well but seeing how much peace of mind they had given Anaasa and Ruzin filled her with a sense of duty. They could do this, they needed to do this.

Hunter, Wrecker, Melita, and Marina arrived riding in Citali’s speeder bike, and they went inside the hospital for the remaining blood donations. Melita could not donate as her blood type was incompatible but she tagged along to give Wrecker support. She knew of his fear of needles. She did not have the same phobia but she understood this was a hard thing for him and was proud that he was doing this in spite of it. Wrecker had Hunter and Tech go first, thinking that if he saw his brothers go through the process first it would ease his anxiety but it did the opposite. Once Hunter and Tech were done and having a snack, it was Wrecker’s turn. He felt like he was going to be sick just waiting for AZI and Omega to prepare the supplies. His eyes were closed and he was breathing fast, obviously terrified.

“It’ll be all right, Wrecker,” Omega said giving him a hug. “I know I need the practice but how about we let AZ do yours? He’ll be faster.”

“Okay,” Wrecker said, trying to steady his breathing.

“Do you have a phobia of needles, Wrecker?” Iirde asked and Wrecker nodded his head. “Hold on AZ. I’ve got just the thing for you.” Iirde went into her bag and pulled out a disk with dozens of blunted points on one side. “This is called a shotblocker. You put it near the injection or IV site and the points make it so you don’t feel the needle as much. It might help get you through this, if this is something you really want to do.”

“It is.” Wrecker had not given Crosshair his blood when he needed it after Wayland, others rose to the task and he regretted not doing it. He had a chance to help Anaasa or her baby now should they need it, he was not going to turn that down. “Let’s give that thing a try, I guess. Can’t hurt right?”

Wrecker turned his head away as AZI cleaned the site and Melita put her arm around his shoulder, smiling at him adoringly. “You are so brave, Wrecker. You really are,” she said, giving him a kiss on the lips. They had never outright told their family they had decided to start a romantic relationship but they did not need to. They knew so there was no point pretending they weren't affectionate with each other in this way. Melita put her hand on his cheek and said, “Would holding her make you feel better?” She looked down at Marina in her sling.

“It might,” Wrecker said and Melita took the smiling baby out, nestling her on Wrecker’s free arm keeping her hand on the baby’s chest and the other on Wrecker’s shoulder.

“There we go,” Melita said after giving Marina a kiss. “Daddy is doing something very brave, huh? We need to give him some love.”

Wrecker did not process what Melita said at first but once it hit him, he was embarrassed that it took so long for him to realize it. Then he was filled with a host of emotions he did not know how to articulate. All he could say was, “ Daddy ?”

You did it again! What is wrong with you? Melita had not realized she said it but the time had obviously come. She was grateful for her dark skin otherwise she would be blushing profusely. Melita was tempted to mumble the words but she knew she had to speak clearly, this was important. “Yeah uh…” She looked around to see that Hunter, Tech, Omega, and Iirde were suddenly very intrigued by the cookies they’d brought for a snack, and the sight of them trying to pretend they had not heard what she said almost made her burst out laughing. “I know we haven’t been official for long but…” she said in a whisper though she knew everyone could hear. “Whatever happens between us…whether we stay together or that changes…you’ve been her father from day one. Before then even. You’re the only father she’s ever known and I could not ask for a better one for my little girl. The job is yours if you want it.”

Wrecker’s eyes filled with tears and he started laughing, looking down at Marina's big brown eyes. “What do you think, Marina? Do you want me to be your dad?”

Marina giggled excitedly and Wrecker gave her a kiss, so filled with joy that he had not noticed that AZI had already placed the catheter for his blood donation. Clones felt closely connected to Mandalorian culture and Wrecker was tempted to speak the words of their adoption ritual right then and there but something held him back. His hesitation was not a lack of love or an unwillingness to accept the responsibilities of fatherhood, that ship had passed long ago. Marina has the right to have a say in this when she’s old enough. So Wrecker left the words “I know your name as my child” unspoken until the time Marina could fully understand their meaning. Melita recognized him as Marina’s father as did he and for now, that was more than enough. It was more than he ever dreamed possible.

AZI tapped the stress ball in Wrecker’s hand and said, “Congratulations on this momentous occasion.” He knew this was an important moment but the medical droid still had a job to do. “Please squeeze the ball periodically to keep blood flowing.”

Wrecker did as he was instructed before he and Melita started laughing uncontrollably, kissing each other and then their daughter, who was too young to understand what was happening but knew her parents were happy.

That made her happy too.

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