Sabine tried to smother a scream as it came out a loud, troubled groan of despair. She held her stomach as more tears dripped from her eyes and down her cheeks. When she thought it couldn't get worse, she felt a more sharp contraction hit her stomach and felt as though a knife had slipped through her. She let out a sharp cry, not being able to try and hold it back. She let out loud whimpers, crying harder now as she felt Hera run to her with a cold cloth to wipe her forehead and cheeks of sweat.
"Where's Ezra?!" Sabine whimpered.
Hera ran a hand through the girl's hair and she told her, "keep breathing, okay. I know it hurts, but Zeb said that they are on their way. He's coming."
Sabine whined as she felt another small rumble of pain go through her. She tried to breathe as she held her stomach, rubbing it every now and then to try and soothe both herself and the baby. She moved on the bed, curling her back. Even though it was an awkward position it helped ease some pain.
The contractions had started a couple of hours ago while the crew was on a supply mission for Sato. Because she was nine months pregnant, Sabine had stayed on the ship with Hera and six-year-old Dawn while the boys and Chopper went on the run. For the health of Sabine and the baby, Sabine had been staying on the Ghost with Hera on supply missions since she was five months pregnant and was already starting to show. Because of this, there was the arrangement that in every major mission they went on, Rex had joined them. It was a good addition to the crew so that there were replacement hands on the mission when Sabine was, as she said it, out of commission.
They had lost contact with the boys for a couple of hours as they went through a mental factory, trying to find as many scraps as they could for Sato that the rebellion could use and to get the plans for other factories that could be of use for them. Problem was, even though it was still at night, there were still workers and security around. Because the wires of the factory were jamming communications, Hera and Sabine had to wait to hear from them while Hera tried contacting them almost every other minute, especially as Sabine's contractions seemed to get greater and closer together even in the two, almost three hours. Not to mention the fear that something had happened to them. So when Hera finally got a hold of Zeb and told them what was happening, they said they would drop everything and make it back to the Ghost, which was blocks away so that they could hide before getting the pick up. It had been chaotic on the Ghost for hours. Hera tried to take care of Sabine, while also trying to help Dawn, who was scared and distressed from sensing Sabine's pain and hearing her cries, though Sabine tried to hold most of them in. So, Hera told Dawn to stay in her room, which was Kanan's old room on the Ghost, and rip up pieces of filmsi and paper until Kanan or someone else could help her—something that Kanan and Hera realized helped calmed Dawn when she was very stressed. Although Hera wanted to help her daughter, she knew that Sabine needed her. They weren't expecting the baby to come for another two and a half weeks and were surprised. But Hera was surprised how fast Sabine seemed to be progressing through the labour. She was already dilated to four centimetres in a matter of hours. Although it wasn't extremely fast, it was fast enough pace for them. They had agreed that they would try to make it to Phoenix Home, but at the rate Sabine was going Hera wasn't sure that they would make it to the base. Worse case scenario, Hera had read up on birthing, had talked with her grandmother, and with her experience of having Dawn, she felt someone confident that if Sabine had to give birth on the Ghost, Hera could do it.
Sabine held herself up with one arm before she admitted, her voice still in paints, "Hera, I don't know if I can do this."
Hera looked at her empathetically. The same words had went through her head over and over when she was having Dawn. Thank goodness her Grandmother was there to help ease her pain and guide her through the labour or else she probably wouldn't have been able to do it. But she definitely would not have been able to keep going had it not been for Kanan at her side the whole time, holding her and encouraging her. And she owed he and Ezra some part of that because she knew they were sending her comforting feelings as best they could through the Force to help her through it. She knew that Sabine would feel better with Ezra here, both because he was her husband and because he could comfort her through the Force. And she had no doubt that Kanan would try to do the same. And Hera would be there too and wouldn't leave her side to let her do this alone. Sabine had a lot of support for this.
Hera held her cheek and told her in a gentle voice: "yes, you can, Sabine. I know it hurts. I really do, but you'll be okay. Ezra is coming and I'm here. Everything will be alright."
Sabine groaned and whimpered, moving to go more to her side a little. She asked Hera, opening her eyes to stare at the green Twi'lek, "you promise?"
"Promise." Hera told her confidently, moving to wipe her forehead again. Sabine shivered a little at the sensation so Hera stopped and put the rag aside. She ran a hand through the young Mandolorian's hair and watched as that girl tried to get into a more comfortable position. She moved her hand to the girl's back to rub it. Sabine let out a groan and muttered, "it's never going to be comfortable, huh?"
Hera chuckled and told her, "not really, although I do remember that position. It does offer some stretch."
"Do you have any other ideas?" Sabine asked as she took in a deep breath to try and calm her heart rate and headache. She felt her shoulders relax a bit more as her contraction let up completely so that there was barely any pain now. It was more just being uncomfortable.
For now at least.
Hera told her sympathetically, "going on my knees and hands helped a lot. Helped me sway, but you have to be careful if you feel faint and to move or else your arms could go out. Doctor's warned me about that and had it not been for Kanan it might have happened once."
Sabine nodded and Hera told her, "drawing a bath helps a lot. The hot water eases a lot of the pain."
Sabine grunted as she moved again, moving to rest her weight on the other arm, "that might be a good idea if we had one instead of a shower."
She felt another contraction coming and any joking before went away instantly. She groaned and clenched her teeth as she felt another wave of sharp pain coming. Sabine leaned against Hera a little bit more and the Twi'lek took her in her arms, though awkward from the position, and tried to comfort her the best she could. Sabine held in her pain as best she could, Hera knew that. So when Sabine burst out another short cry, Hera knew that it really hurt. She hoped that Ezra and the others would be around soon. She knew that Chopper couldn't hold Dawn off too long. Dawn would sense Sabine's strong feelings and it would distress her and Hera couldn't comfort her because Sabine needed her. She knew that Chopper would be having a hell of a time too. Not to mention but they needed to start heading to Lothal. Although Hera had the confidence she could deliver the baby if need be, it could be better to do it at an actual hospital.
She heard someone bounding through the hallway after the scream and Hera let out a sigh of relief when Ezra bound into the room. Seeing his chest move up and down so rapidly, she knew that he had made his way back to the Ghost as fast as he could. She didn't know if the others were on the ship yet, but Ezra was here and for now that was what Sabine needed.
"I'm here, Sabine." Ezra told her breathlessly, moving to kneel in front of her.
Sabine grunted and tried to make a joke, feeling Hera move so that Ezra could take her place, "took you long enough. Having our baby here."
"I ran as fast as I could." Ezra told her as he sat beside her. Sabine immediately leaned into him and Ezra brought his arms around her as best as he could with her large stomach. The look of relief on the Mandalorian's face told Hera that Ezra had started to send calming and comforting feelings through the Force to help her and that just his presence seemed to make her feel better about the whole situation. It seemed to give her some relief and Hera smiled, relaxing a little herself.
Ezra looked at the Twi'lek as he rested his head against Sabine's and asked her, "how is the progress so far?"
"Little girl wants to come out with a bang, unsurprising with who her parents are. She's already getting a little excited. Sabine's only dilated about four centimetres so we still have some time." Hera answered him.
Ezra nodded and asked, "should she be in so much pain early on?"
Hera had noticed that Sabine was in a lot of distress, and the Mandalorian could take a lot. Her contractions were ten minutes apart, but they were hitting her hard. But Hera didn't want them to worry, so she told him, "every labour is different."
Ezra nodded and Hera looked at her com. She asked Ezra: "is everyone else on? We should get going to Phoenix Home." At least there they could administer her drugs and an epidural.
"Should be by now," Ezra answered.
"I'll go look, okay. You two stay here." Hera told them.
Both Ezra and Sabine nodded and Hera noticed Ezra's brows furrow before putting one of his hands on her stomach. With the other, he moved to gently hold her head against his chest and he rested his chin at the top of her head. Hera felt her heart drop a bit. Now she knew what she and Kanan looked like when they were having Dawn.
Deciding she needed to work fast, Hera left them and moved quickly to the back drop of the Ghost, noticing that no one was there. She grumbled to herself that they needed to hurry up before she moved down the hallway again to Dawn's room. Going inside, she saw Dawn shaking, ripping the filmsi into tiny pieces with some tears in her eyes. When she saw her mother at the doorway, she let go of the filmsi and ran to her. Hera met her with open arms and hugged her close. She held her up and let her daughter wrap her legs around her waist and her arms around her shoulders.
"It's okay, Little One." Hera murmured to her.
"No! Beanie's hurt!" Dawn sniffed.
"But she will be okay," Hera told her. "I'm sorry that you're here for all of this, and I'm sorry that I'm not with you, but Daddy should be here soon, okay?"
Dawn nodded, hiding her face into her mother's shoulders. Hera heard commotion around the Ghost and she then moved quickly to see that the other three and the droid were now on the ship, breathing hard as well. Kanan sensed them and Dawn's distress and he moved up the ladder.
"It took you long enough," Hera sighed and transferred Dawn to her husband. Kanan carefully took his daughter and let her latch on to him like he had to Hera. He looked over his daughter's shoulder and told her, "we ran as fast as we could."
"Ezra must have made a record then." Hera said before she moved to the side. "Chopper I need you to get us out of here and into hyperspace. We need to get to Phoenix Home as quick as we can."
The droid made some warped agreements before using his blasters to rise to the different level of the ship before rolling to the bridge. She looked at the others and saw they were still trying to catch their breaths.
"How's Sabine?" Zeb asked.
"It's going pretty fast." Hera told them, "and she's in a lot of pain."
"Does that mean that she might have the baby before we get to the base?" Kanan asked, rubbing his hand up and down his daughter's back to comfort her.
Hera nodded, "it might. She's only at four centimetres so far, but the contractions are pretty painful already."
Hera heard a muffled groan coming from Sabine's room and she looked back at Kanan, "I have to get back to her. Can you take care of her?"
Kanan nodded and Hera ran back to Sabine's room, soon feeling the Ghost lift off.
~.~
It had been two gruelling hours and they still weren't at the base. They weren't too close either. Hera was really regretting that she agreed to take a supply mission so far away from the base when Sabine was this close to her due date. And it made her feel worse every time she looked at Sabine.
The poor girl was shaking by now and crying. She had dilated to six centimetres, but the contractions were about four minutes apart. Or at least that was what she hoped. Sabine was losing colour in her face and she was almost hyperventilating in the pain. Hera had been in pain when she was having Dawn, but this was something else. Hera hoped that they would be at Phoenix Home by now. They had tried everything to calm her to warm blankets to pain medication to hot chocolate, but nothing was working for Sabine. She had been close to throwing up a bit too.
Hera was trying to help Sabine get comfortable on the bed when more pain came and Sabine doubled over. Ezra had never left her side, not for a second, but he found that he couldn't do much to help her.
Sabine let out ear-piercing shriek, gripping her stomach and sobbing. An hour ago she had stopped trying to hold it in for Dawn because she couldn't. It hurt too much. She whimpered, shaking her head as she felt Ezra's arm around her shoulders, "Hera, something is wrong."
The Twi'lek placed a hand on her shoulder. She told her, "I know it's hard, Sabine, but you are doing great."
"No, Hera." Sabine whined, sniffling before she cried out again, more tears coming, She shook her head, her voice cracking, "Hera, something is wrong! Something is really wrong!"
Hera stared at her. She felt fear creeping in her heart that she had tried to suppress for the past couple of hours. She knew Sabine was in pain, but this was too much. She was in too much distress and she knew it wouldn't be good for the baby. But it was Sabine's words that really got to her. Hera knew that Sabine knew her baby. She knew mother's intuition well. If Sabine said something was wrong then something was definitely wrong.
Hera thought quickly, her mind running at one hundred miles an hour. She stared at Sabine, trying to think about what to do. The baby needed to come out or else both her and Sabine could die. And Hera wasn't about to let that happen. She wouldn't let either of them die.
Ezra stared at her helplessly. She knew he could feel this too, but there was only so much he could do. Sabine was in so much pain and he had to try and control his own fear for her, but Hera could see it in his eyes.
She knew this was more than she could do.
Without another thought, she ran out of the room without telling them where she was going, although the two had an idea about where to go. Hera flew past the crew and to the pilot's chair to see that they were still going on autopilot. Kanan, Zeb, and Rex walked up behind her. Hera could feel them wordlessly ask the question, but she had one of her own.
"What's the nearest planet?" Hera asked, looking over the controls to try and locate where they were.
"Hera, what is going on?" Kanan asked her.
Hera shook her head and asked the question, this time with more demand in her tone, "what is the nearest planet!"
"Carlac." Rex answered immediately.
Hera looked over at him. Carlac. She had heard of it. Quiet, peaceful, a little cold, but they would have the medical care that Sabine would need.
"Do you know the planet well?" Hera asked.
"Been there a couple of times times before in the Clone Wars, but I haven't since." Rex admitted, "it was a more neutral planet."
"Would you remember where a hospital was?" Hera asked desperately, "or a big enough town that may have one."
"Hera?" Zeb asked, his voice suddenly on edge.
Hera shook her head, moving to take the Ghost out of hyperspace and off autopilot and started its course to Carlac. Hera told them, not turning around as she quickly did her work: "Sabine won't make it to Phoenix Home. She needs an emergency c-section soon and I can't do that. We need to get her to a hospital now."
There was an eerie silence from the crew as the idea of Sabine going into surgery. They may not have known too much about child-birth, besides Kanan, but they knew that surgery was serious. It meant that either Sabine or the baby's life was in danger and that was something that made the crew's blood run cold. They also knew that taking Sabine to a hospital could pose another major threat for her. Sabine would be placed into the hospital system and could be flagged by the Imperials. And if Sabine was just going through surgery then she would be at a risk since she couldn't be at her normal best for something like this. And the baby would be registered. That was the whole reason why they wanted a home birth like what Hera did with Dawn. Dawn was unregistered. The Empire didn't know anything about her and therefore no Imperial, Sith Lord, or Inquisitor would be on the lookout for her, believing that she inherited the ability to use the Force. This baby would be flagged because of her heritage and because of her last name. But they didn't have a choice. They would just have to be as anonymous as they could be and they would have to keep and ear and an eye out to be careful. Hera didn't have a choice. It was a chance they had to take.
Hera didn't say anything comforting as she turned the Ghost towards the planet. She looked over her shoulder and told them: "Zeb, I need you to go as fast as you can to a hospital. Rex, if you can't remember then someone get Chopper and get him to do some research. I need to get back to Sabine."
Not waiting for them to respond, she gave the controls to Zeb and moved back between them as she went back to their room. She could hear Sabine crying again and could hear footsteps behind her. She didn't need to know it was Kanan because she recognized his walk, and because Rex knew his neck would be hung if he wasn't directing Zeb.
"Kanan you can't get in the way. We need to start getting Sabine to the doorway of the Ghost." Hera told him as she went down the next hallway.
"I know. Hera, Zeb could probably carry her. I just want to help her and Ezra." Karan told her.
Hera sighed and looked at him before opening the doorway as she told him, "okay. Go get a wheelchair for Sabine."
Kanan nodded, running to the med-wing. Hera entered Sabine's room again to see Sabine leaning against Ezra as he held her as best he could against his chest, stroking her hair to try and offer more comfort. However Hera could clearly see the fear in his eyes. She knew he was terrified for Sabine and the baby. She was sure in her knowledge of Jedi and the force that Ezra could sense Sabine's pain and fear and could sense whatever distress the baby could be going through. Sabine was rocking slightly, moaning so much that it seemed like it was a long and continuous one. Her eyes were shut tightly, but Hera could still see the tears that came from them.
She moved to sit beside them and gently brought one hand up to stroke Sabine's hair too.
"We're going to land on Carlac as soon as we can. Kanan is getting the wheel chair now, if you think you can get into it, Sabine." Hera informed them.
Sabine nodded slightly, a moan sounding almost like a sickly banta coming out of her thinly pressed lips as she leaned into Ezra, trying to control her reactions as she was brought back into another strong contraction. Hera watched Ezra hold her closer, resting his chin on top of her head. When she was done, she laughed lightly.
"Carlac, of course." Sabine answered.
"You've been there?" Hera asked.
Sabine shook her head.
"No, but Death Watch has...and not on good terms. Hopefully they don't recognize my last name or they take pity on me." Sabine muttered as she felt another pang of electric pain.
Hera hoped that she was right but she definitely wouldn't ask.
"Kanan is getting a wheel chair for you, but Zeb is going to need to carry you down the ladder, okay." Hera told them.
Sabine nodded and leaned against Ezra again. Hera heard them whispering to each other, but she left them be for that. Getting up, Hera ran quickly to the bridge to see Rex guiding the Ghost to a town on the planet. Hera turned to Zeb and told him, "you need to carry Sabine down. Kanan's getting her a wheel chair but she can't get down that ladder herself."
The Lasat nodded and Hera again noticed Chopper was gone and hoped that he was at least with Dawn.
Zeb followed Hera to Sabine's room and stood at the doorway for a couple of seconds, shocked by her state. Only Hera and Ezra had really seen Sabine through this whole ordeal while Rex, Kanan, and Zeb had just heard her, cringing and hoping that it would end soon. So when Zeb saw how pale Sabine was, that sweat was coming from her forehead as she doubled over, leaning against Ezra, he was caught off-guard. He quickly snapped out of it though to catch his wits about him. Sabine needed him.
The Lasat walked up to them and kneeled down. Sabine looked up at him and Zeb felt something in him crush when their eyes met. He could see how scared and exhausted she was and how much she was in pain. It motivated him to get her down to that chair. Zeb moved closer and Ezra moved away a bit so the Lasat would have more space. Sabine moved forward a bit as Zeb moved in closer and carefully brought one arm under her legs and one around her back to hold her up. Sabine grunted as he moved to his feet, feeling the uncomfortable new position, but she didn't have much of a choice. They could feel the Ghost slowing down. Rex would land them on the ground soon.
Zeb walked slower than he wanted to, but still at a slightly fast pace. He didn't want to injure her more, but he wanted her down there now. Ezra and Hera followed as Zeb took her down the hallway. He worked cautiously as he went down the ladder with her, feeling the Ghost land on the planet. He had to work as carefully as he could so that he wouldn't hurt her more. In her larger state he couldn't hold her in one arm like he normally could.
Once on the ground, Ezra and Hera quickly followed him down. Kanan was already down there and at the opening as Rex put down the loading dock. Zeb carefully placed Sabine in the awaiting chair and almost at once she doubled over, holding her stomach again. Ezra ran forward to stand beside her and she whimpered, starting to cry again.
"We have to hurry." Hera told them.
"I'll run ahead and tell them so that they are ready for her." Zeb told them.
Hera nodded and Zeb was already bounding down the ramp as Ezra moved behind the chair to push Sabine. Hera turned to Kanan and told him, "stay with Dawn. I'll go in with them."
"We'll be in the waiting room soon," he told her.
Hera nodded and looked back down to see that Ezra was already down the ramp with Sabine, taking her through the light snow on the ground. Hera realized that she should have grabbed a blanket to keep Sabine warm, but she knew they weren't going to wait for it. And frankly, neither was she. She followed them down and when she was on the ground, Hera noticed that Rex had gotten them fairly close to a rather large building. She didn't know the native language, but she hoped Rex did and he didn't get this wrong. Rex had landed in a field a bit away from the hospital. It seemed like they were in a rather small town. Hera was sure that the locals wouldn't like some strange ship landing in the middle of the town, though still in a field but they didn't have a choice.
Hera helped Ezra push the chair through the snow. As they got closer, she noticed some Ming Po nurses come out of the hospital with Zeb. She was close enough to see that they all had distressed looks on their faces as they saw the group get closer. When Sabine was close enough, they moved forward to help the three into the building.
"How close are her contractions?" one nurse asked, her voice high pitched yet comforting as the nurses took Sabine down the hallways, some other patients looking at the new group coming in.
"About four minutes apart," Hera answered, "but something is wrong. She's in a lot of distress. Her and the baby."
The nurse nods and they move into the nearest open room, a couple of nurses already starting to set up some machines for an ultrasound and to check heart beat levels. Sabine tried to relax, but moaned again, feeling her baby jolt and move in her. Ezra helped her onto the stretcher as the nurses told them.
"Is she nine months?" a nurse asked Hera, "when is her due date?"
"Yes," Hera answered. "And it's in two and a half weeks, but…" Hera held up her hands to express an 'I don't know'.
"When did her water break?" another nurse asked, taking Sabine's heart rate.
Hera had to look at the time, "umm, almost five and a half hours ago."
The nurse turned and stared at her, surprised.
"Five hours?" she asked.
Hera nodded. The nurse seemed surprised before looking at Sabine.
"Is this your first time?" she asked her.
Sabine nodded, trying to relax as she laid on the stretcher, Ezra holding her hand.
"We'll get an ultrasound to check on the baby. This might be that it's your first time and it's a bit too much. Have you been taking any pain medication?" the nurse asked.
"Only small doses," Ezra answered.
"No, something is wrong. Something is wrong and she needs to come out!" Sabine told them.
"Please, she needs an emergency c-section." Hera told the nurse.
The woman looked surprised.
"That is a major surgery. Are you sure you want to try that?" she asked.
"Yes!" the three of them said at the same time.
"She is in too much distress for her or the baby," Hera told her.
The nurse didn't look completely convinced and looked to the ultrasound monitor. The machine looked older, but if it did its job then Hera had no complaints.
"Look, we are willing to pay for it, but she needs a c-section!" Hera told them as another nurse moved to help Sabine move her shirt up so that they could use the machine.
The nurse didn't answer her as another moved to put gel on her stomach before moving the equipment across it. Sabine moaned in pain as she squeezed Ezra's hand. The three held their breaths as the nurses frowned. The one nurse controlling the equipment turned to what seemed to be the head nurse.
"There is fetal distress. The baby's heart beat is extremely fast."
The older nurse nodded and then looked at Sabine, "alright, we'll inform the doctor and we'll get a room started for you immediately."
Sabine sighed with relief and so did Ezra and Hera. Finally some good news, or at least the best news that could lead to a positive ending to this.
"Nurse Di will get you some clothes for the surgery. Sabine we'll move you when the room is ready. In the meantime, the father can change." the head nurse told them.
"I'm going in too." Hera told her.
The nurse raised an eyebrow.
"Are you a midwife?" the nurse asked.
Hera shook her head.
"No, but…"
The nurse shook her head, "only the father or partner or a midwife is allowed. We can't have too many people in the operating room."
Before Hera could express her disapproval, Sabine and Ezra had already done so very loudly.
"No!" the two cried.
"I need her! She has to come in!" Sabine insisted.
"I'm sorry, but we can't have too many people in the operating room," the nurse told them.
"SHE'S COMING!" both Ezra and Sabine screamed at the nurses so loudly that they actually jumped back.
Hera looked over at the two women and told them, "I'll just be up with her, I won't be in the way. I promise."
They didn't look too convinced about the idea, but with one last look at a desperate Sabine who was panting and still holding her stomach they seemed to agree to do whatever that Sabine wanted for her comfort and Hera was grateful for that.
Turning to Ezra, she told him, "go follow the nurse to get a hospital uniform. I'll stay with her."
With wide eyes in adrenaline and fear, Ezra nodded and squeezed Sabine's hand and then let go, moving quickly to get ready for the surgery.
Hera looked back at Sabine to watch her reaction for his absence. Noticing that she was starting to hyperventilate, Hera looked down at Sabine in the hospital stretcher and leaned forward slightly. With one hand she took one of Sabine's and with the other she rested it on her cheek. Sabine looked terrified as she looked back up at Hera. Sabine squeezed Hera's hand tightly.
"Hera, I'm scared." Sabine whispered as doctors went past them, getting things ready for Sabine to go into the surgery.
Squeezing her hand back, Hera moved a hand through Sabine's hair and told her confidently as she leaned in closer to her, "Sabine, I promise you it will all be okay. And it will. I never broke a promise to you before and I won't break one here! Trust me, Sabine. Both of you are going to be okay."
Sabine closed her eyes and nodded. Hera leaned forward more, resting her forehead against Sabine's as she kept stroking her hair and repeating "it'll be okay. You'll be okay. I promise."
A couple of minutes later the two women heard scrambling of someone coming into the room. Hera didn't have to look up to know that it was Ezra. She looked up slightly and saw him rushing back to them. Hera leaned back up fully and looked down at Sabine. "I'll be right back, okay?"
Sabine nodded and Ezra immediately took Hera's spot as he sensed and Sabine felt herself go into another contraction. Hera looked back once when she was at the doorway before looking forward to find a nurse who could give her a uniform to wear so she could join them again.
~.~
A few hours later, Hera walked into the waiting room to see Kanan meditating with the other two sitting in chairs, watching something on a holoscreen to try and entertain themselves. However, she knew their minds were elsewhere. Dawn was playing with toys in the corner of the waiting room happily, talking with a little Rodian boy. She could see through the windows that it was now night and the waiting room was not as busy and the medical centre in general seemed calmer. The light was duller, creating a softer effect on the room. She was surprised that Dawn was still awake.
Kanan was the first to look up, sensing Hera come into the room. The others took his que and looked up as well. When all eyes set on Hera, the three males stood up instantly and walked towards her. Hera gave them a small, yet very tired smile. She was more exhausted than she imagined after helping Ezra and Sabine the best she could through the whole surgery and then helping Sabine get situated afterwards, though Sabine was out quickly after the whole ordeal. And then she helped Ezra, telling him to take some breaths or meditate to help bring himself to ease. Then, as requested by the two, Hera went around the hospital to get information about the little girl to find out where she was and if she was okay. After finding her and being told all the tests had been done, she followed the nurse as she took the new baby back to her parents, sleeping. Sabine was asleep now, exhausted after what happened while Hera helped Ezra hold the baby.
Hera was almost asleep on her feet like the new parents, but everything that they went through, every tiring thought vanished as she watched Ezra hold his daughter, a smile on his face with tears starting to form in his eyes. Hera smiled warmly and placed a hand on his shoulder, but Ezra didn't look up at her. Hera understood. Kanan was the same way with Dawn, looking down at her even though he couldn't truly see her. But he looked down at her like Ezra was looking down at his daughter. After she asked Ezra if she could go see the others and he agreed, Hera went to the washroom to let out what she had been holding in for almost six hours. Then she made her way to the waiting room where she knew that the other crew members would be waiting.
Without being asked first, Hera explained in a soft, calming voice to help them start to feel more at ease, "both mother and daughter are fine. Both are completely healthy and are recovering nicely now. And dad is also starting to breathe again too. The whole family is doing very well."
The other three instantly smile, Zeb letting out a small chuckle about the comment about Ezra. Hera gave them another smile and started to remove the gloves she had been wearing all day to try and get a bit more comfortable. She looks at them all after placing the gloves in her pocket throw out later.
"What happened?" Zeb asked.
Hera sighed, "major fetal distress. The doctors thought that it was at first because she was in a breeched position, but after the c-section they realized that somehow the umbilical cord got tangled and it was starting to cut off her oxygen supply. The doctors think that had she kept pushing that it would have most likely led to cord prolapse. We…cut it a little close, but with the c-section they were able to take the baby out safely."
"But the baby is healthy?" Kanan asked, "Sabine is okay?"
Hera nodded and answered, "Yes. She is perfectly fine and for being two and a half weeks early, she is a pretty solid weight; 7 lbs, 9 ounces. She went through all the tests and passed with flying colours. And Sabine is obviously very sore, but she'll recover with no problems."
The three nodded and Kanan asked her, "can we see them?"
"I'd give it a little bit. Sabine is sleeping right now and I think Ezra needs some time alone with the two of them to help calm himself down again. So maybe we could try in an hour or so." Hera answered.
"Do you know if Sabine will be in recovery long?" Zeb asked her.
"The doctors are hoping that she will be ready to leave by at least four days, though they are aiming for three, but her full recovery will take about four to six weeks," Hera answered. "I suggest that we land on Lothal for a couple of weeks. If Sato really needs us then we'll leave them on the Phantom, but for the next month or so we're going to need to slow it down for her."
The others nodded in agreement before a thought dawning on them, as though simultaneously.
"Do you think they will be safe at a hospital for a couple of days?" Rex asked.
"I was about to ask if you heard anything. Sabine's name would have been in the system by now." Hera answered.
The three males shook their head.
"I haven't heard of anything and I haven't seen any Imperials. I don't think she was flagged enough here. This planet isn't the closest with the Empire, or they might have only the basics for record keeping. Or old electronics. Who knows, but I haven't heard of any Imperials being called." Kanan answered.
Zeb nodded and Hera looked over at Dawn as she saw her daughter walking towards her. Hera smiled and kneeled down to give her a hug. Dawn brought her arms around her mother and Hera moved to stand up with Dawn now at her hip.
"Is Aunt Beanie okay?" Dawn asked.
Hera smiled and nodded, "yes she is. She is getting some rest."
Dawn smiled and Hera looked back up at the boys.
"I need a shower. I think you should go back to the Ghost and get something to eat. Give them an hour or so to calm down again, let them rest and have some time to themselves." Hera told them.
They nodded and Zeb told them, "I'll stay here, keep an eye on things to make sure no one gets suspicious of us."
Chopper made warping noises behind them, moving forward and almost bopping up and down. Zeb's face twisted slightly, "fine, you can stay too, but you shock me I'll make a scene and dismantle you, whether we are in a hospital or not."
As though pretending to be offended, Chopper made warbled sounds that was something akin to an eyeroll he was sure. Zeb gruffled out a sigh before looking back up at Hera and shrugging. She nodded, moving Dawn up so that she rested higher on her hip and could rest her head upon it, which she did. Hera didn't need to be a Jedi to know how nervous Zeb was about Sabine and he knew that it would only go away when he saw her. So, until then, he wanted to stay close and protect her as much as he could in any other way and she wasn't going to get in the middle of that.
"Alright. We'll be back in about an hour or so," Hera answered, much looking forward to that shower.
~.~
Sabine was faintly aware of a hand holding hers in the dark, foggy feeling her mind held as she was starting to stir. It was the only thing she was aware of before she began to wake up more, taking in more stimuli. The darkness soon turned into a grey, which turned into a yellow of the light. She felt something hooked onto her one finger and a thin mass over her, making her feel cold. She felt itchy too, all around her legs and a bit on her arms. It was slightly uncomfortable, but nothing in comparison to the annoyance that came with a constant beeping around her.
She groaned slightly, moving her fingers along the hand that held hers. The hand squeezed back and after a couple of seconds, Sabine recognized the feeling.
"Ezra?" she whispered, moving her head to try and wake herself up more. She forced her eyes open and squinted at first from the light before blinking a couple of times. The blurry, bright world around her came into more focus as she looked up and saw Ezra sitting beside her. He smiled down her with very gentle and warm eyes. She may have looked pale and her hair was greasy from the labour and very disheveled with bags under her eyes, he looked upon her with nothing but love.
"Hey," Ezra told her.
Sabine frowned and blinked a couple of more times to wake herself up. She felt a little nauseous. and the feelings in her legs was…confusing to stay the least. Everything was a prickly numb as the anesthetic was wearing off. Her legs felt itchy and weird and she didn't know if she could trust herself to stand if she tried.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"My legs feel weird," she answered, "I've never had them be this numb before. It feels odd."
"Do you feel lightheaded?" he asked, remembering that she started getting the shakes a little after their daughter was born.
Sabine thought for a moment before shaking her head and turning to face him again, "I don't think so."
Before Sabine had only focused on his face and the feel of his hand holding her's before she realized that he was sitting in a chair beside her while holding something in his other arm. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized that it was her daughter. Her heart felt as though it swelled and reached out for the baby to hug.
"Is that her?" Sabine asked.
Ezra smiled as he sensed her emotions, nodding and looking at the bundle himself.
"This is her." Ezra told her.
Sabine let go of Ezra's hand to hold out her arms as a silent plea to hold her. She hadn't done so yet. After the surgery the baby was rested on her chest for maybe a minute for her and Ezra to see and wonder about before being whisked away. It was far too soon for Sabine. She remembered every detail, though it was blurry, but she remembered starting to cry and Ezra doing the same as their screaming baby was placed on her chest, how she wiggled, and even that she opened her eyes for a little bit before squirming and shutting them. She didn't get enough time with her, but Hera had promised that she would follow the baby around the hospital so that Ezra could stay with her. She didn't know that was exactly what she needed before realizing it, but the thought of Hera going around to watch her made Sabine feel better while she recovered from the immediate surgery.
As Ezra set the baby in Sabine's arms, the girl felt more tears come to her eyes, her heart rising out of her chest as she felt the bundle be transferred, getting excitement just from the solid weight that was slowly being distributed to her and slowly seeing more of her daughter's features. When the baby was completely transferred, being held tightly in her mother's arms against Sabine's chest, Ezra smiled and looked at Sabine's face as she looked over her daughter in wonder. Ezra had the past couple of hours to just hold her and look at her every feature, noting everything down almost as though to the last pore as he took her all in.
Sabine marvelled as she looked down at her sleeping daughter. She was tucked in safe in a blanket with a little pink hat on her head. Sabine brought up her one hand and gently moved her thumb gently across her cheek. Her skin was so soft and even though she was holding the baby, Sabine still couldn't believe that she actually felt the other's skin. The little thing in her arms felt like a dream. She had felt the baby inside her, protecting her for nine months but looking at her now, out of her and in her arms almost didn't seem real.
"What did the doctors say?" Sabine asked, her eyesight never leaving the little baby with pudgy cheeks in her arms.
Ezra moved closer, sitting on the bed beside her as he looked down at their daughter as well.
"They said she is perfectly healthy," Ezra answered her confidently.
"Despite…" Sabine didn't want to say it.
Ezra moved his one arm and wrapped it around her shoulders. He pulled her closer to comfort her and to just be close to her and their daughter.
"Yes," Ezra promised. "She passed every test and is a good weight."
Sabine nodded, her eyes still never leaving the face of her sleeping child. Sabine took in everything. She took in every feature her face, noticing that the baby had inherited her nose and chin, but seemed to have Ezra's broader cheekbones. The baby also seemed to have her father's slightly darker skin tone. She smiled as her hand moved to gently move the bluish-black hair that protruded from the blanket across her forehead.
"She has your hair," Sabine told him with a smile. She was glad that her daughter had inherited that feature. Her natural black hair was so boring.
Nodding, Ezra commented, "she has a lot of it already. I wasn't expecting a full head of hair."
Sabine smiled to herself.
"I had a full head of hair when I was born too. She must get that from me." Sabine answered as she gently stroked what was there again. "It's going to be very thick when she gets older."
She didn't have to look up to see Ezra's smile. She knew it was there. She couldn't bring herself to look up from the little angel in her arms just yet. She moved to gently lean on Ezra, resting her head on his shoulder before a memory moved to the front of all her thoughts.
"Does she have two eye colours?" Sabine asked, "I thought I saw that, but there were so many things going on."
Ezra nodded, resting his head against hers. He answered his wife, "yeah, she does. The nurses says it's called Heterochromia. She has one blue eye, like me, and one brown, like you."
Sabine smiled, gently moving her thumb down her daughter's cheek again.
"Our special little girl," Sabine commented. She was real. Her daughter, this baby in her arms, was real and she was theirs and she was so special.
Ezra nodded in agreement before he moved his head up and turned it still to kiss the top of her head. Sabine leaned into it a little, taking in all the calm peace of the moment. She was here, Ezra was here, and her daughter was here and safe.
"She looks like you," Ezra told her as he peered down at his daughter again.
"Really?" Sabine asked, "she reminds me of you."
"Oh no, she's all you." Ezra answered as he sensed their connection of mother and daughter in the Force getting stronger as their daughter kept hearing her speak. Ezra wanted her to keep talking, to sense his daughter's comfort in her mother's voice.
Ezra brought her closer to him and he rested his head against hers. After a moment, he turned his head slightly and kissed her head again, smiling as he whispered, "you are amazing. You made a person, our little person."
It was the first time that she looked away from her daughter. Sabine rolled her eyes playfully, "you are being way too cheesy. Besides, I kind of needed you for the kick start."
"I don't think you understand how much I love you, how much I admire you right now," Ezra told her.
"You are being far too sappy." Sabine tried, though deep inside she felt warm by his words.
Before Ezra could answer her with a joke, they heard footsteps coming to the door. Both new parents looked up and saw the rest of the Ghost crew standing there, looking at them a little awkwardly to know if they could come in with Dawn resting at her mother's hip. Sabine was surprised to see the six year old. She was sure it was hours after her bedtime. They also noticed that Dawn was holding what looked like to be a thick blanket. It didn't matter though. The rest of their family was here. Sabine and Ezra's smile widened and Hera told them, "they were getting a little anxious to see the new baby. I hope it's okay that we came."
"Of course! Come in!" Sabine told them excitedly, "she wants to meet you too."
Although the group smiled, they moved in slowly, almost like water moving through a crack to the main space and erupting all over, but it didn't feel like an invasion, like an expansion of a gentle wall of family, of love and care. Sabine could see the relief in the other crew's eyes and she knew that it was because they were so concerned for her. That made her feel safe and she felt something in her swell again.
"Where's Rex?" Sabine asked.
"On the ship with Chopper. He's talking to some not so happy locals." Kanan answered, "not many of them are happy some off worlders just landed in a field."
Sabine chuckled, "fair enough."
"Don't mind them. How are you feeling?" Kanan asked, standing near where Ezra was sitting while Hera actually sat down in the chair, resting Dawn on her lap. When on her lap and closer to the bed, Dawn moved to lean over closer to the bed a bit to get a closer look at the baby.
Sabine sighed and rolled her eyes, trying to make a more lighter atmosphere.
"Like I had just gone through major surgery and had my…" she stopped though, looking at Dawn and not wanting to scare her, "stomach opened."
"You had your stomach opened?" Dawn asked with wide eyes.
Sabine nodded, glad she didn't say 'cut' or other harsher words. Dawn didn't seem scared by the idea, more curious and interested.
"How did you do that?" she asked.
Sabine smiled, "I had some very good doctors open it. I didn't see it though so I can't explain it."
"And that's how they got the baby out?" the little girl asked.
Sabine smiled, "that's right."
Dawn nodded. Hera looked down at her daughter and smiled as she told Sabine, "you are very brave, Beanie."
The others all smiled and Ezra nodded, gently squeezing Sabine's hand.
"Yes she is, Dawn." Ezra agreed.
Sabine smiled at him before looking at the others. The atmosphere was lightened again and they all began to murmur something but then stopped. They became silent when they heard the baby in Sabine's arms coo. The new mother looked down and smiled as the baby moved slightly in the blanket before settling down again. Sabine smiled and gently moved her hand across her daughter's cheek.
"Can I hold her?" Kanan asked.
Both Ezra and Sabine looked up at him. The two new parents smiled.
"Of course!" Sabine answered with a smile.
Ezra helped Kanan come closer and Sabine moved the newborn into Ezra's arm and Ezra carefully transferred the baby into Kanan's arms. After being moved around a bit and sensed herself being moved away from her mother and father, the baby let out mewing sounds, a distressed expression taking over her features.
Kanan gingerly moved up and down slightly with the little baby girl in his arms so that she would be comfortable again, sensing that she was away from her mother and father's arms. However, soon she got comfortable in them. Kanan could sense the Force in her with every heart beat. He felt her reach out to him in the Force and after sensing his calm, safe, and familiar presence, she felt safe in his arms again and settled down. Kanan grinned. He wished that he could physically see her so he could see what traits she inherited from her parents. He had thought about different ideas of what the little girl would look like. Sabine's eyes with Ezra's hair and nose, or Ezra's hair and eyes with everything else looking like Sabine, or Sabine's hair and eyes with Ezra's nose and chin. There were so many different combinations that he thought of. He could feel that she had hair on her little head from feeling it on his arm as some of it fell out of the soft wrap.
Ezra could sense what Kanan wanted to know so he filled in, sitting down beside Sabine on the edge of the bed again. Dawn was now leaning up so she could try and see the baby that was in her father's arms. Hera smiled at her curiosity and gently stroked her hand down her daughter's lekku.
"She has a full head of hair already and it looks like mine. But she looks more like Sabine," Ezra explained, "and she's got really pretty eyes. One like mine and one like Sabine's."
The others looked up in surprise.
"Really?" Zeb asked, "that's a thing?"
Hera nodded, "Heterochromia. It's uncommon, but it's real. Only about six in one thousand babies have that unique feature."
Kanan smiled, looking down at the baby as though he was really looking at her. He imagined the baby's description in his head and put the descriptions together to create an image in his head. His smile widened as he thought of the image of the little baby wrapped in the pink blanket with those features.
Kanan moved his head to 'look' towards his Padawan and the young Madalorian, "What's her name?"
Ezra and Sabine smiled, looking at each other. Kanan could feel the warm and happy feelings they expelled like a wave in the Force. They were excited to reveal the name, he could feel it.
"Well," Sabine started looking at all of them, "we decided to name her after some very, very admirable people. We wanted to name her after very important and inspiring women who fight for what they believe in and fight for others."
"We decided on naming her after my mother," Ezra continued with a smile, "and someone else who is incredibly important in our lives and who we love so much."
Sabine looked towards the baby's name-sake before she continued, her voice soft and full of love and respect as she revealed the baby's name: "her name is Mira Hera Bridger-Wren."
Hera's eyes immediately widened, shocked by the fact that they would chose to name the baby after her. She wasn't expecting that at all. She felt her chin start to wobble a bit and she took in a sharp breath, moving her hand from Dawn's head to across her mouth as she tried to compose her feelings because she felt her eyes start to water as she stared at Sabine and Ezra. They others were all staring at her, surprised but happy by the choice as well. But Hera didn't want to cry in front of them. The two were smiling warmly at her. Dawn moved on her lap to look over at her mother.
"Mama, that's your name isn't it?" the little girl asked.
Hera looked down at her and smiled, letting of a sniff as she wiped her eyes with the hand that was on her mouth.
"Yes," Hera told her warmly. She looked over at Sabine and Ezra again, trying to control her tears, "you're really naming her after me?"
"We wanted her named after the most important women in our lives." Ezra told her with a smile.
Hera smiled warmly, wiping her eyes once more.
Ezra gave her a smile back before Kanan moved the baby closer to them to give back to Ezra, but the younger Jedi just turned to look at Zeb. Sabine looked over at the Lasat as well.
"Zeb, do you want to hold her?" Ezra asked.
The Lasat looked surprised as everyone then turned to him. He looked around at everyone before self-consciously moving his one hand up to scratch the back of his head nervously.
"Uh…yeah…sure," he answered.
Sabine smiled and watched the big Lasat move closer so that he could take the baby from Kanan. The Lasat moved carefully, not wanting to accidentally break the small thing. He was never really good at holding babies either. He was so nervous holding Dawn for the first time and he didn't hold the child often when she was a baby. Only when she was a toddler did her pick her up a lot because she would smile and ask, giggling as he placed her on his shoulders.
When the baby was comfortably in his arms, Zeb relaxed a little and smiled down at the newborn. He was already starting to feel protective over the baby. Mira was smaller than Dawn. He was a little surprised about how small the baby was. He was surprised first seeing Dawn since all the babies he had really seen were Lasat babies and those were generally bigger than the average size, but Mira could almost fit in his one hand. Maybe it was because human babies were smaller than Twi'lek babies, but he remembered thinking about how Dawn was a lot smaller than Lasat babies and this baby was even smaller. Zeb began to wonder how Hera could say that Mira was completely healthy. Wasn't she too small?
He was just glad that the little thing and Sabine were alive. He didn't know how he would deal if he lost Sabine and the much anticipated baby after how much they have been through together. He had lost so much of his family already. Sitting in that hospital waiting room, watching Dawn play was terrifying and had it not been for Kanan sending comfort through the Force to all of them Zeb would have been screaming at the doctors to let him see Sabine and just watch the procedure.
But Sabine and Mira were okay and Zeb had never felt so relieved walking to the hospital room and seeing Sabine smiling with this little bundle of pink in her arms.
The purple Lasat looked up at Sabine and Ezra and gave them a smile, "Good thing she looks like Sabine. No wonder she looks so cute."
Ezra rolled his eyes and Sabine giggled as she relaxed in the stretcher a bit more. Ezra got comfortable sitting on the stretcher beside her as well. The two watched the Lasat interact with the baby, wondering when they should tell him the news the had been eagerly waiting to share ever since making the decision four months ago.
Zeb grinned and moved his fingers over the hair again. The baby let out a small murmur before settling in his arms again. He told the two, not taking his eyes off of Mira, "she is pretty amazing."
Sabine and Ezra smiled warmly, watching their 'older brother' with the tiny baby. Sabine looked up at Ezra and he looked down at her. The two smiled and nodded to each other, agreeing that it was time they told Zeb the news.
Sabine coughed and cleared her throat a bit to catch their attention. She told him in a soft voice, "uh, Zeb, Ezra and I wanted to ask you something."
The Lasat immediately looked up at them, a little surprised that they had a question for him of all people right now. The look of shock on his face did nothing to stop the grins of the younger crew members from widening.
"Yeah?" Zeb asked, confused.
Sabine let out a small breath before continuing, "for months now Ezra and I were talking about it, and we thought about it long before I was pregnant about how if we ever had a child how we would want you to be in their life."
The Mandalorian let out another sigh before she told him, keeping her voice level, "Zeb, we want you to be Mira's Godfather."
Zeb's eyes widened as he stared at the two. Sabine couldn't stop a giggle as she saw the Lasat's shocked expression as he processed the idea…the honour. Ezra and the others smiled as well as Zeb just stared at them. It was almost a full minute before he finally blinked and looked back down at Mira. He then looked back at Sabine and Ezra and Sabine couldn't help but giggle again at Zeb's shocked expression turning to a smile.
"Really?" he asked.
The two new parents nodded, their smiles widening. They wanted to make sure that Zeb, a brother-like figure for both of them, was also a big part in their daughter's life.
Zeb cleared his throat, trying to find his words.
"I…uh…" he smiled widely.
"I'm going to take that as a yes?" Sabine prompted.
He nodded and the others smiled widely and letting out a soft celebration so that they wouldn't wake the baby. Zeb smiled and looked down at Mira again, the little baby sleeping. He could see both of them in her and he could only imagine how much trouble she would cause in the future considering she was the daughter of two of the biggest troublemakers he knew.
Dawn looked up at Sabine and Ezra before asking, "can I hold her too?"
Both Sabine and Ezra smiled before Sabine answered, "of course, Dawn!"
Zeb walked over to her and Hera before Hera carefully took the baby from Zeb's protective arms. The Twi'lek carefully set the baby on Dawn's lap, telling her how to hold it so that the baby wouldn't fall. When Mira was carefully set, Dawn beamed as she looked down at the baby.
"She is so small!" Dawn exclaimed.
The others laughed lightly before Hera moved to look over her daughter's shoulders and down at the baby too. She hadn't really seen Mira this close. The other times was when the baby was just born and she let Ezra and Sabine marvel at her before seeing her afar as she went from nurse to nurse. The still sleeping baby moved lightly in Dawn's arms, moving her head slightly to turn herself more as though turning to Dawn more before staying still again.
"She looks like you, Beanie." Dawn told her.
Sabine playfully rolled her eyes and Ezra smirked.
"I told you," Ezra grinned.
Sabine rolled her eyes, "I still say she looks like you."
The others were about to make comments before a younger, Ming Po nurse came in with some papers in her hands. She gave them a smile before telling the group in a smaller voice so that she wouldn't wake the baby.
"I'm glad that everyone was able to come in," the nurse told them before looking specifically at Sabine and Ezra. "These are the forms to fill out for her birth certificate and other details for the hospital. It would be great if you could fill those out as soon as possible."
Ezra took the papers and nodded, quickly looking over the front form before looking back at the nurse.
"Also, visiting hours are technically over, but the rest of the nurses and I thought that we would give you some time considering how the delivery went. Don't stay too long though," the girl told them.
They all nodded. Although they didn't want to part with Sabine, Ezra, and Mira so soon, they also wanted to go back to the Ghost and get some rest an they knew that Ezra and Sabine would be wanting some space for themselves.
The nurse asked Sabine if there was anything that she needed and after Sabine said she didn't, the young woman gave them all one last smile before leaving the room, the door shutting behind her. When she was gone, everyone let out a breath that they all seemed to be holding in that they didn't know ever since the nurse gave Ezra the papers. After the nurse left, Sabine and Ezra looked towards Kanan and Hera.
"Wow, this hospital really does things the old fashion way if they gave us paper," Ezra commented, looking at the front page again.
"What should we do? Just not fill them out?" Sabine asked, "we don't want her on the Empire's records."
Kanan nodded and answered them as Dawn kept looking down and marvelling at Mira: "Hera and I discussed it with Sato. He suggests that you fill out the form with a different name. It doesn't matter if it is similar in the first name or not, but he suggests at least a different last name than either of you. That way they don't get suspicious because if they don't know who Sabine is now then we don't want them to figure out. Since Carlac has older programs, he suggested that Chopper can hack the system and can get rid of some records. He will destroy the record that Sabine was ever here along with some others this week and in other weeks in the year and they will do the same with the fake certificate. That way it won't look suspicious that only one record or one part of the year was destroyed. And then like we did with Dawn, we'll fill out new forms and they can make fake certificates and such."
Sabine nodded, taking the papers and looking them all over too. So that was why Chopper wasn't here. If he got caught then the nurses couldn't link him to Sabine and Mira if there was an investigation. It was a good idea, and the best they could do on short notice. Although Sabine felt calm, she didn't exactly feel safe. They were still in a spot where weakness could easily come in and things could happen, but they would have to play it by ear and just be ready to run if they had to.
"When would we be able to leave?" Sabine asked.
"The average time after a c-section is three to four days so expect that, but afterwards you will have to take it easy. It's over a month long recovery, Sabine." Hera told her.
The new mother nodded, "trust me, Hera, I don't think that I can do much anyway if I tried." Sabine could start to feel her legs better, but the pain was slowly starting to ease its way back into her.
Hera nodded and looked down at her daughter holding Mira again before gently moving her hands up and down her daughter's shoulders and upper arms.
"We better get going." Hera told them, especially Dawn who was holding the baby, "and you should be in bed."
"Can we come back tomorrow?" Dawn asked her mother, turning her head to look at her.
Hera nodded, "yes we can."
Dawn nodded and let out a small 'okay' before Ezra carefully took Mira from Dawn, holding his daughter close to his chest. Dawn moved on her mother's lap and got off of it, walking towards the stretcher and holding out the blanket she had brought in.
"Daddy thought that you might get cold, so we brought you a warm blanket." Dawn told them.
Sabine and Ezra smiled and Sabine carefully leaned over, forcing a small grunt of pain down from moving. She carefully took the blanket. She smiled down at Dawn and told her, "thank you, Dawn. It is a little cold in here."
"That's from all the snow outside," the little girl answered, scrunching up her nose. Sabine and Ezra laughed at the expression. Dawn didn't have a lot of experience with snow, but like a lot of Twi'leks who lived on Ryloth who lived in more earthly climates, Dawn was not a fan of snow.
"Either way, thank you, Dawn." Sabine told her, "now Mira and I can stay nice and warm."
The little girl beamed as Sabine started to lay out the blanket. She did feel warmer and she smiled a bit, looking down at the purple blanket. It was soft and with a bit of pattern, but mostly it lit up the room a bit and that was something Sabine was excited about. She didn't like how white the room was.
When the blanket was spread out, Kanan picked up Dawn and the young girl set her head against her father's shoulder. At the same time, Ezra carefully transferred Mira to Sabine so that she could hold Mira again. Ezra then turned to Dawn and smiled before telling her, "don't worry, Dawn, we're going to be getting some sleep too."
Dawn nodded and Sabine was about to tell her something when Mira made a small moan and cooing sound. Everyone's attention was immediately caught and Sabine looked down as Ezra leaned in closer to them. Sabine watched as her daughter moved her head around a little bit before she before she made another cooing noise. Sabine held her breath as she watched her daughter settle down again. Ezra smiled beside her and so did Kanan as the two Jedi sensed Mira, already using her Force abilities, to reach out to sense Sabine again. When she did, Sabine gasped as the baby carefully opened her eyes, blinking slowly before looking up, actually focusing on what was above her. Sabine and Ezra's smile widened as they looked down at her daughter. Sabine saw the two different colours in her eyes, her daughter mirroring the eyes of both her parents.
"Hi," Sabine spoke softly, her attention was on Mira. It was as though it was just her, Mira and Ezra in their own separate world.
The baby instantly recognized the voice. Sabine felt her breath catch in her throat as she saw her baby open its mouth and notice that the ends turned up, almost in a smile. Sabine let out a shaky laugh at the realization that her baby girl was smiling up at her. Sabine looked into her daughter's eyes, smiling as she let out an airy and shaky "hi, ad'ika." The new mother smiled widely as she looked down at the baby. Looking at the smile made every thing Sabine was thinking about before disappear. All of her fears about something being wrong with her daughter's health was gone, her worry about being in the hospital and the Empire were gone. There was a calm beauty around the room now, and a calm wonder and love that swelled in Sabine. In that moment everything, every single thing around Sabine was perfect. Her smile made everything bad and scary disappear. Her smile made everything perfect. Sabine and Ezra loved her. They loved her so much.
Ezra moved closer to Sabine, kissing the side of her head again before resting his head against hers. Sabine and Ezra didn't realize that their eyes were getting glossy and that pretty soon, tears were coming out of them as they made eye contact with their daughter. Both of them were letting out shaky laughs as they stared down at her, leaning into each other. Everyone else in the room smiled warmly and were glad to be in attendance of their family members greeting their daughter for the first time.