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After settling on Tattooin with the rest of the Bad Batch, Omega and Kanan had experienced two fun and new holidays. One was Halloween. They had loved dressing up in costumes, getting candy, and the ghost stories. The other, Thanksgiving, was a bit more tame but just as fun. Now they were going to experience another new holiday: Christmas. The moister farmers had been talking about it & their little family had put lights & decorations up in the store & their living quarters. Both Omega & Kanan loved the blinking lights & the holly. They had a lot of fun helping to decorate. Even Crosshair had gotten into the fun. But one thing still confused them. What is Christmas?
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"Phee, what's Christmas?" Omega asked one day while helping to get dinner ready.
"Well," the former pirate said trying to think of the best explanation possible, "according to an ancient religion, it celebrates a very special birthday."
"Aren't all birthdays special?" Kanan asked.
"Yes, Kanan. But this one is a little different. The story goes that the child was conceived by a spirit."
"How can a baby be conceived by a spirit?" Omega asked.
"The Jedi believe that the Chosen One would be conceived by the medaclorins," Kanan said.
Omega looked at him confused.
"You do know how babies are made, right?" Kanan asked.
"Of course I do. In growth jars," Omega said.
"Omega," Phee said with a slight laugh, "that's not how babies are made. Just baby clones."
"Well, then how are they made?"
"We'll talk about that in a year or two."
"Okay. But I still don't understand what Christmas is about."
"It's kind of hard to explain. There are two sides to it; a religious side that's spiritual and a commercial side of songs, movies, and presents..."
"Presents?!" both children said excitedly. They had quickly learned to love the concept of presents.
"Yes presents," Phee said with a laugh. "After dinner, how about you two make up your lists of what you want."
"Anything we want?" Kanan asked.
"Within reason."
"Is a dewback within reason?" Kanan asked.
"And an eopie?" Omega added.
"We'll have to talk to Hunter about that," Phee said.
"Let's add them anyway," Kanan said to Omega. "Just in case."
Omega nodded giggling.
"We should make a list for Batcher, too." she said.
At the mention of her name, the family's lurac hound looked up. Batcher had been a guard dog on Tantiss. When Phee and the rest of the squad had rescued Omega and Crosshair, Batcher had come with them. Batcher had taken to life on Tattooine right away; warning the family of approaching Jawas, Tuskan Raiders, even saraccs and krayt dragons and chasing womp rats out of the barn and storeroom.
"Come on, kids," Phee said. "Let's get dinner on the table."
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"Here's our lists," Omega said as she and Kanan each handed a data pad to Hunter.
"We made one for Batcher, too," Kanan said.
"Let's see what you have here," Hunter said taking both data pads. “Cloths...toys...games...and a dewback and eopie?"
"Those last two we can pick out right now," Kanan said.
"We'll talk about that. And by 'we' I mean the adults."
Omega and Kanan didn't point out that they were both older them most of the adults in the house.
"Alright," Hunter said changing the subject. "Time for you two to get ready for bed."
"Do we have to?" Kanan asked.
"Yes. Now go on."
Omega and Kanan knew better than to argue. With Batcher on their heels, they head down the hallway to their rooms. It had been a long day and the next day was going to be the same.
"I still don't understand what Christmas is," Omega said when she and Kanan got back to the living room.
"It's a holiday, Omega," Echo said. "We'll figure it out as we go like with the other holidays."
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Omega couldn't sleep. She couldn't stop thinking about Christmas. She just couldn't figure out what it was. Giving up on sleeping in her own room, she took Lula and went across the hall to Hunter's room.
"I thought we were at the point where you were going to sleep in your own bed the entire night?" Hunter said as Omega crawled into his bed.
"Sorry," Omega said. "It's not because I'm scared. I just couldn't sleep."
"And why couldn't you sleep?"
"I was thinking about Christmas. Do you know what it is?"
"Not really. We didn't celebrate Christmas on Kamino or in the field. There was a war going on and we had other things to think about."
Omega snuggled closer. Despite being a desert planet, Tattooin got very cold at night and it only got colder during the winter. Smiling, Hunter draped the blanket over her. He knew he should really encourage her to sleep in her own bed. But it actually gave him a sense of pride that Omega came to him when she was scared or needed comfort.
"Get some sleep," he told Omega. "We have another busy day ahead tomorrow."
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Despite helping out in the store and preparing for Christmas, Omega and Kanan still had lessons. It wasn't easy keeping up with everything, but they did their best. There were a few times, though, that Hunter would find them both asleep at their desks over their lessons.
"Maybe we should give the kids a break from their lessons. At least until the holidays are over," Hunter said. "They've been having trouble keeping up with how busy things have been."
The others didn't argue. They had seen how tired the kids were. A little break from their lessons wouldn't hurt.
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"I can't wait for Christmas," Omega said as she and Kanan wrapped presents in her room.
"I know," Kanan said. "We never really celebrated the holidays at the temple."
"We didn't really celebrate them on Kamino either."
Both of them had been experiencing new things since joining the family. But that's what Phee and the Batch wanted for them. Kanan had known no other life but that of a Jedi and Omega had lived her entire life on Kamino. Now they had a chance to be regular kids. Batcher laid next to Omega as she wrapped her presents, being careful that Kanan didn't see his. Both kids were getting excited the closer they got to Christmas. They had put a countdown calendar on the fridge and were taking turns marking off the days.
“That’s the last of my presents,” Omega said.
“Mine, too,” Kanan said. “Should we put them under the tree now?”
“Let’s ask Hunter first,” Omega said.
She preferred not to get into trouble for making a mess in the living room. The two headed for the living room but stopped short when they heard the adults talking.
“Do you think we should invite Ben to spend Christmas with us?” Phee said. “He’s all alone.”
“It would be nice. But we have no idea where he lives and he only comes to the store for supplies and to train Kanan,” Hunter said.
Kanan and Omega looked at each other. Maybe they could find Ben and extend the invitation.
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The Dune Sea looked so different at night. Omega brought her eopie closer to Kanan’s dewback at the sound of a strange noise. They had no idea what was out in the desert at night. Suddenly both animals stopped in their tracks. Something had found them. It was a bantha and on it’s back was someone they knew.
“What are your children doing out so late and so far from your home?” A’Yark asked.
“We’re looking for Ben,” Kanan said.
“You shouldn’t be out after dark. The sands hide many dangers. Come. We’ll return to the camp and tomorrow my warriors will escort you home.”
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The suns dawned bright the next morning as Omega and Kanan exited the tent they had been sleeping in. They knew they were going to be in trouble when they got home.
“Hello there,” came a voice.
“Hi, Master Kenobi,” Kanan said.
“I’m guessing that Hunter and the others don’t know you’re here.”
“No, sir,” Omega said.
“Then let’s get moving. If we leave now, we can be back at the store by dinner time.”
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It was Christmas Eve by the time Kanan and Omega were allowed to leave their rooms outside of meals and doing their chores. They had gotten a big lecture about going out after dark without telling anyone and how lucky they were that A’Yark had found them before a Krayt dragon or sarlacc did. They were both very careful to be on their best behavior. They did their chores without complaint and went right to bed when they were told. They didn’t want to get into anymore trouble than they were.
On Christmas morning, when they wanted to wake the others and open presents, they waited patently until the others woke up. They didn’t even argue when they were told that they had to wait until the presents were passed out before they could open them. They knew they would have to work hard to gain back the trust they lost.
“I still don’t understand what Christmas is,” Omega said as Hunter handed her one of her presents.
“Look around you, youngling,” Obi-Wan said. “This is what Christmas is about. Spending time with the ones you love.”
“And I think there’s one more present for each of you outside,” Hunter said.
Omega and Kanan ran to the back window and looked out before heading out the corral. The eopie and dewback they had taken out stood there each with a red ribbon around their neck.
“What are you going to name them?” Echo asked as the grownups joined them.
“Tup,” Kanan said petting the dewback.
“Kamino,” Omega said stroking the eopie.