Chapter Text
It was nearing her little one’s entrance into the world. She was round and happy. She dreaded working off the baby fat but Padme offered to help her.
She had grown close to the soon to be ex-senator of Naboo as the woman let her practice baby care on her two infants and also explained how birth felt.
She was sort of dreading it but also, eager for it. She couldn’t wait to meet her’s and Fox’s son.
The clones finally had rights. The Singer had changed into a Senator as the clones were given their own spot in the Senate. The Singer was in her element. She was incredible. She even managed for the troopers to be compensated for their fighting.
Letters did get published and last she heard, Steady was working his way through medical school. Brush had thought about it and agreed to be Letters’ illustrator.
The Traveler and Cody had taken to exploring the galaxy. They flew off in the Uninhibitor with the promise of returning for her baby’s birth.
She was two weeks from her due date and felt as huge as a whale. Fox comforted her as best as he could when she got into mood swings. He was amazing and she loved him with all her heart and soul.
Letters had been teaching her Mando’a with the words of … “His ori’vod needed to know their language to teach it to his nephew.”
Rex and the Jedi were dealing with the Order and how messed up it had been. With the Traveler’s help, she had gone over the issues most people had with the Order and now things were looking up.
She reclined in her armchair with her feet up on an ottoman. Fox had put together a crib in her guest room and had changed it into a nursery.
The bed in there she had given to the Jedi and Rex because she had seen the beds the Jedi have and she was not impressed. They were little more than mats on the floor.
She rubbed her back when a twinge happened. She rested a hand on her baby bump. “Soon, we’ll get to meet you and hold you. Your Dad is a good guy. He loves you so much. He’s out getting you some toys because he read that you needed things to help your mind. I told him it would be a couple of months before you could but he doesn’t care. He’s waiting to meet you and I’m waiting to meet you. Mama loves you, little guy.”
Another twinge across her back. This one was sharper and made her wince. Her back had been getting worse and worse as her pregnancy continued. Must have been from all the weight she was carrying.
She stood up to go to the bathroom. The baby had been pressing on her bladder lately and she felt like a dog that peed when it got excited.
She didn’t make it. Halfway to the fresher an intense pain hit her back and stomach. She gasped and bent over as a gush of wetness stained her pants.
She wanted to panic but waited for the contraction to pass. She went over to where her com was lying on the table. She punched in a number she knew by heart. It beeped twice before Fox picked up.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” He immediately asked.
“I think I need to go to the hospital. How soon can you get here?” She breathed deeply as another cramp hit her middle. That wasn’t good. How long was she in labor for? Was the back pain she had been feeling for hours actually contractions?
Fox sounded like exactly what he was doing. Dropping everything and running. “I can be there in thirty minutes. I went to a shop a little farther away than normal.”
“No time. Meet me at the hospital. I’m calling Letters. He’s at the old offices right?” She moved to gather the bag they had prepared.
“Yes. He should be at the barracks. Are you sure you don’t want to have him there?” Fox’s end made a noise as he climbed into their speeder.
“I’m sure. I’ll see you soon. I have to-” She hunched over as another contraction hit her body. “I gotta go.” She hung up and dialed Letters com’s number.
The trooper turned author answered the call. “Hello?” He said her name cheerily.
“Letters. Fox isn’t here and I need you to come to get me to drive me to the hospital. He’s pretty far away and I don’t think he can make it back in time. I told him to meet us at the hospital. Hurry. Please.” She let out a slight moan as the contraction eased.
“I’ll be there in two minutes. Hang on, ori’vod .” Letters hung up the com.
She was waiting outside her apartment building when Letters pulled up to the platform. She climbed into the speeder. Letters immediately pulled out into traffic.
She was pretty sure that he broke a few traffic laws by the time he pulled up to the hospital.
She was wheeled into the building as droids and nurses fluttered around her. They tried making Letters stay out but she protested.
“He’s my brother. Let him into at least a waiting room. My husband should be here soon.” She ordered between bouts of pain.
She was taken into a private room and was placed in a bed. She waited for what felt like hours for Fox to show up. She couldn’t wait anymore and was forced to push.
She gave birth to a little boy in the evening in what passed as fall on Coruscant. His father barely made it in time.
“Ni kry’tayl gai sa’ad, ad’ika.” Fox touched his forehead gently to the baby in greeting. The infant cooed and reached out to touch his cheeks. “Ner ad.”
She smiled from her bed as the new father greeted his son for the first time.
“Ner Kar’ta? Vor entye.” Fox’s eyes were suspiciously shiny.
She reached out her hand. Fox shifted the baby over to his right arm and grabbed her hand with his left. “There is no thanks needed, Ner Runi.” She carefully pronounced the words that Letters had been teaching her.
At Fox’s choked breath, she rubbed her thumb over his knuckles. “We are a family. Families look after each other and we always take care of each other.” She brought his hand to her face and kissed it. “We are a family. You, me, the little one and his four million uncles and we can’t forget his aunts.” She smiled at Fox’s slight laugh. She gave her own chuckle as a thought occurred to her. “And he just might have some cousins soon. If your brothers can get their act together.”
Fox stilled for a moment. “We are not letting Wolffe or any of the Wolfpack watch him alone. None of the 501st either.”
“Agreed, Ner Runi.”
The infant let out a soft cry. Fox immediately shushed him and fixed him in his arms.
“You’re good at that.” She gave a small yawn.
“Four million younger brothers. I’m good with kids.” Fox brushed his lips over her forehead. “Get some sleep, Ner Kar’ta. I’ve got him.”
She hummed and let her eyes slip close. A thought came to her right before she fell asleep. “Fox? If Wolffe ever reproduces, we are taking the kid as much as we can for a proper influence.”
Fox’s laughter was the last thing she heard before the exhaustion crept up on her.
****
She woke up feeling empty. Where was her baby? She reached for her stomach only to encounter the flabbiness from carrying an infant for nine months. It all came back to her.
She sat up slowly. The room was dark and an even darker figure was standing by the window.
“Fox?” She whispered.
“I’m here, ner Kar’ta.” The figure moved and she saw that he was still holding their baby.
Fox sat next to her in a chair.
“Can I hold him? Or are you going to hog him?” She teased softly.
Fox gave a quiet laugh. “You better hold him while you can. With all his uncles and aunts you can bet he won’t be put down until he is at least six and too big for people to hold him.”
Fox gently shifted the infant into her arms. She cooed at her little boy. He had the same eye shape and skin tone as his father but he had her hair color and her nose.
“I can’t wait to see who’s eye color he got.” She murmured.
Fox frowned. “What do you mean? They are blue.”
She shook her head as she rocked her sleeping baby. “All nat born babies are born with a specific shade of blue eyes. As they grow older their eye color will change to what they got from their parents. It will either darken into a shade of brown or stay blue and just change shade or they will turn green. Green eyes are incredibly rare on my planet though. I hope he gets your amber color.”
Fox reached a hand out to her and cupped the back of their son’s head. “He needs a name. A proper name.”
She thought for a moment. “Names on my world have meaning. My name means…” She told him the meaning of her name. She remembered the name she had read about and always wanted to name her son.
“What name do you want to give him?” Fox looked at his son with awe as he yawned and blinked open his eyes.
“Casey.” She answered. “It means brave in battle and I think it’s a perfect name for our little warrior. He wasn’t even born yet and he still faced a battle and survived.”
“Casey,” Fox spoke the name softly. “I like it. Casey.” He touched his finger to Casey’s and the infant reflexively closed his hand around it. “Ner ad, Casey.”
They were quiet as they watched their son.
“What does Fox mean on your world?” Fox asked after a few moments. She could hear the curiosity in his voice.
“Foxes are an animal on my planet. They are sort of like wolves as they have a lot of similarities. Foxes are sly and there are a lot of stories about them. They have red fur and long fluffy tails. Some are grey or white though.” She kept her voice low to not disturb the baby. “The name Fox means a sly animal.”
Fox said nothing and kissed her hand when she placed it in his free one. That was how they sat for the next hour. Her right hand holding their son, her left hand holding Fox’s. Fox’s right hand was in hers and his left hand was cradling their son’s head.
The sun fully came up over their side of Coruscant when a nurse poked her head into the room. “You have a bunch of visitors. Should I let them in or…”
She stirred from her half doze. “Maybe a few at a time?”
“That may take a while because it seems like half the troopers on the planet are in my waiting room.” The nurse let out a soft smile when she saw the baby. “I’ll only let six in here before you need rest. The bunch of them have to wait until you are home to visit with you.”
She and Fox shared a look. She turned to the nurse. “We want Rex, Wolffe, Letters, Steady and…” She spoke the two women’s names last. “Can we do two at a time? They know who goes with who.”
“Sure. I’ll go get the first two. Someone needs to get those men out of my waiting room though. Some of us ladies can’t concentrate.” The nurse sent a wink her way before leaving the room.
Fox stood up. “I’ll go talk to them.” He seemed reluctant to leave.
“Go. We’ll still be here when you come back.” She promised.
Fox leaned down and kissed her on the mouth before kissing Casey on the forehead gently. “I’ll be back.” Fox left the room shutting the door behind him.
She waited for a few minutes. Casey woke up, whimpered, and started nuzzling her chest. “Hold on, ad’ika.” She murmured. She grabbed the bottle that the nurses had left on the table. She popped the teat in his mouth.
While she could breastfeed, she was expecting company and didn’t want to flash and scar her brothers for life.
A soft knock came on the door before the Singer poked her head in the room. “Knock, knock.” She greeted cheerfully as she came into the room. “How’s my little niece?”
“Uh… your ‘niece’ is actually your nephew.” She deadpanned. “And if you had actually listened to me when I told you that it’s a boy then you wouldn’t have made that stupid bet and be deep in denial.”
“Rude.” The Singer scoffed.
“She has a point Mesh’la.” Wolffe came closer to the bed and sat down in Fox’s chair. “How’s the ad’ika?”
“Casey is just fine.” She pointed out his name.
“Casey,” Wolffe repeated. “Unusual name.”
The Singer echoed him but this time added the author’s last name to it. “Sounds perfect.” She beamed. “Brave in battle? Perfect name for the little one. Hi, Casey. I’m your aunt.” The Singer came close to the side of her bed. “Can I hold him? Please?”
Fox entered the room and she met his gaze. She turned to the pleading Singer. “Don’t drop him.” She warned. She transferred the baby to the Singer’s waiting arms.
“As if I would.” The Singer cooed at the baby. She swayed over to the window, chatting to the baby as she went.
Fox caught her eye and motioned to Wolffe with a slight tip of his head.
She had to bite back a smile at the sight of a slack-jawed Wolffe. Seems with Casey around now a case of baby fever might hit. It was unusual to see it in a guy but… they were Mandalorians. Weren’t they all about kids?
“Wanna hold him, Wolffe?” The Singer, oblivious to Wolffe’s stare, moved over to the Commander.
She and Fox shared amused looks as Wolffe swallowed so harshly that she could see it from her spot on the bed.
The Singer gave the baby over to Wolffe. “Here. Watch his head. Nat borns as you say don’t have neck muscles when they are this little. That means their head is not very stable. In a few months, he should grow those muscles to hold up his head.”
Wolffe held the baby like he was a stick of dynamite about to explode.
Casey started fussing. Before either Casey or Wolffe could react, the Singer sighed. “You have to relax. Babies can sense when the person holding them is nervous. You won’t hurt him. Hold him closer to you… there you go.”
Casey settled down and stared up at Wolffe.
“Hi, ad’ika. I’m your Ba’vodu Wolffe.” Wolffe spoke to the baby softly.
She looked over at the Singer to see her own slack jaw and dazed eyes.
She snickered into her palm. She had to agree with the Singer though. There was nothing hotter than a handsome man holding a baby.
****
After a few more minutes of visiting the Singer and Wolffe left the room.
“Who are we going to watch fall into baby fever next?” She asked into the quiet.
Fox snorted. “I have never seen my brother look like that and I frankly never want to see it again.”
She smirked. “Ten credits say that they left and are going to do the nasty as soon as they get home.”
Fox groaned. “There are little ears in here, ner Kar’ta and I never want to picture that ever again.”
She laughed.
The Jedi poked her head into the room. “What’s going on? I could feel Fox’s groan through the Force a mile away.”
“I’ll tell you later. As Fox said, there are little ears now.” She smiled at the Jedi. “Come meet Casey.”
The Jedi and Rex stepped into her hospital room. The Jedi let out an uncharacteristic squeal and cooed at the little one in her arms. “Oh, he’s so adorable. He’s got your hair but Fox’s eye shape. Oh, he’s going to be a looker when he’s older.”
A few minutes of visiting has Fox and Rex leaning against the wall talking quietly as the Jedi rocked Casey and was chatting with the author.
“What did you want to tell me? Does it have anything to do with Wolffe dragging her off without saying goodbye?” The Jedi hummed as she swayed.
She snickered. “So… I have figured out that a case of Baby Fever might break out. Wolffe took one look at her holding Casey and you could read everything on his face.”
The Jedi shrugged. “They are Mandalorian despite what the Duchess says. It’s embedded into their genetic code to cherish kids and think that child-rearing is attractive.”
“How are you going to handle that with Rex? Because with the way he’s sneaking looks at you…” She smiled as the Jedi smirked.
“Simple. I’ll just steal your kid and have him experience the ‘joy’s of parenthood’ all the screaming included.” The Jedi laughed deviously.
She frowned as a thought occurred to her. “You just said that they find child raising attractive. Won’t your plan backfire on you then?”
The Jedi froze. “Shit.” She cursed.
Rex and Fox looked over at them.
“We’re fine.” She waved them off. “I hate you.” The Jedi hissed. “Here. Take your hellion.”
Casey was placed back in her arms.
“There go my plans. Damnit. Now I have to think of another plan because there is no way I am having a baby for another three years.” The Jedi paced back and forth.
She smirked as she cuddled Casey. “I told you… Baby Fever…” She sang out. “How can you resist this cute little face? You know you want one of your own. Blonde hair, amber eyes, looks just like him except the little things that are from you.”
The Jedi cursed again.
Fox came over to them. He took Casey from her and carried him off. “Since you can’t mind your language, I’m taking him. I don’t want my son’s first words to be cussing.”
Fox went back to talking with Rex while holding a sleepy baby. She watched him as Rex held out his arms. Fox transferred Casey to the blonde captain’s arms.
She turned to face the Jedi. “You know you want one.”
“Fuck. You.” The Jedi scowled. She turned away but snuck another peek at Rex holding Casey. “You and your demon spawn.”
She cackled.
*****
Letters and Steady were the next to show up. The two seemed to be experiencing the baby fever less than Wolffe and Rex did. Probably because they didn’t have ladies of their own.
Steady was eager to talk about how things are medical wise while Letters just hummed as he held Casey.
“Why did you name him Casey?” Letters interrupted Steady’s ramble of his schooling.
“Names have meaning on her world and she liked the name and what it means. I like it too.” Fox answered before she could.
“What does Casey mean?” Steady looked over at the infant with curious eyes.
“Brave in battle.” She answered. “I thought it fitting for our little…” she paused. “What’s the Mando’a word for warrior?”
“Verd.” Letters spoke up. “But you are looking for verd’ika . It means little warrior or little soldier.”
“Or cuun verd’ika . Which means our little warrior.” Fox approached Letters and took Casey from him when the infant began to fuss. Casey wouldn’t calm down and his sniffles became almost a full-on cry.
“Give him to me. I think he’s hungry.” She held out her arms. She knew a bottle was not going to cut it this time. “I’m sorry to cut this visit short boys but Casey needs to eat.”
Letters looked confused. He pointed at the bottles. “Aren’t you just going to give him that?”
A flush broke out on Steady’s face. “Right. We’ll leave you to it. Come on, Letters. Don’t you have that deadline in a week?”
Letters opened his mouth to protest but Steady leaned down and whispered in his ear. Now both men were flushed and they couldn’t leave the room fast enough.
“Letters?” She called out before the door shut.
The trooper turned around. His face was red through his tanned skin. “Yes, ori’vod?”
“I thought you should know his full name.” She spoke Casey’s name, adding in the middle name of her son. “See, in my world, names can also be something passed down and I wanted my son to have his Ba’vodu Letters’ name because he probably wouldn’t have been born here without you.”
Now Letters was red for another reason and his eyes were suspiciously shiny. “Vor entye Ori’vod.”
Casey began full-on screaming.
Letters nodded to Casey. “Feed my nephew before he dies of hunger.” Letters turned and left the room.
*****
It was afternoon before she was released from the hospital and sent home. She carefully sat in her speeder as Fox drove through traffic.
“What was…” Fox spoke the name of the Jedi carefully. “Upset about?”
She laughed happily and a little deviously.
Fox side-eyed her. “I don’t think I like that laugh.”
“You saw how Wolffe was with his girl?” She started to explain. At Fox’s slow nod she continued. “Well, Rex was sort of the same. I’m sure you noticed the sneaky looks he was giving her as she held Casey?”
Fox nodded again. “I still don’t understand why she cussed like that. It’s not normal for her.”
“Oh, it’s normal when her plan backfires so epically on her.” She cackled. “Our little one is inducing a case of Baby Fever among your brothers. Baby fever is practically what you saw. The longing for a baby of your own.” She smirked. She spoke the Jedi’s name with an evil twist on it. “She decided to just borrow our baby and let Rex get the ‘idea’ out of his head by experiencing parenthood without actually having one of her own. I told her that idea would likely backfire on her because of what you are.”
“What we are?” Fox sounded confused.
“Mandalorian.” She elaborated. “By what she said it is deep in your culture to cherish and find child raising attractive.”
Fox looked away then back at her. “I wouldn’t say that-”
She rolled her eyes. “You cannot honestly tell me that you did not find me carrying your child unattractive and the thought of doing it again doesn’t make you want to-”
Fox’s grip tightened on the steering yoke of the speeder. “Little ears, Ner Kar’ta.” His voice sounded deeper than normal.
“That’s what I thought.” She sat back smugly.
“Gar gotal’ur ni dini’la, Ner Kar’ta.” As Fox spoke his grip turned white-knuckled on the steering yoke.
She had a feeling she knew what those words meant. “Me too, Ner Runi. Me too. But… we can’t do that for a few weeks.”
Fox parked the speeder and gathered their things from the back.
She picked up Casey and his carrier. “Hey, have you heard from Cody recently?”
“Yeah. He commed while you were sleeping last night. He should be here in a week? They are traveling from Mandalore. Something about visiting her ori’vod? I didn’t know she had family here.” Fox unlocked the front door and held it open for her. “Welcome home, verd’ika ,” Fox murmured.
“She does and she doesn’t. He’s not her brother by blood but Jango took her in when she first got here and trained her. She actually managed to get him to take back Mandalore. I think he is in discussions with the Duchess.” She turned back when she saw Fox’s shocked look.
“I thought he didn’t care.” Fox set down the bags of things.
“Nope.” She shook her head. “She saved his life and managed to work her way under his skin. Boba calls her ba’vodu.” She headed for the kitchen, thirsty for a glass of water. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they officially adopt her and she has her own set of armor soon.”
Arms came around her waist as she tried reaching for a glass.
“I love you, ner kar’ta.” Fox pressed a kiss to her neck. “What do you want for lunch? I can make you a sandwich or I can order something from somewhere?”
She melted into his arms. She had an amazing loving guy and a sweet new son. What more did she want?
She was happy to be brought here. She had a family.