The Family:

D98/15, Ryloth

Cham Syndulla watched the familiar ship land in front of the hangar with eager eyes. It had been more than two years since he'd seen his daughter. He found it somewhat ironic that it was another relief supply mission that had brought her back. They'd talked over the holo comm over the years of course, and he was proud of her accomplishments for the Rebellion, but he desperately missed having her in his life. The big house was even lonelier than ever without her. As a result, Cham spent as little time at home as he could manage, throwing all of his time into making the Imperial presence on Ryloth as miserable as possible.

As the ramp lowered, Cham drank in the sight of Hera, looking so incredibly grown up and self confident, followed by Kanan and that C1 droid that was somehow still functioning. He hurried over to meet them. "Daughter!" he called and opened his arms. Hera broke into a huge smile and flung herself into his chest. Cham wrapped his arms around her and hugged his daughter tight. "I missed you, Hera."

"I missed you too, Father," she said before pulling back and smiling up at him. "It's been too long, but we've just been so busy."

Cham smiled down at her before exchanging welcoming nods with Kanan. "I understand. We both do what we must in our fight against the Empire." He looked from Hera to Kanan and back. "How long can you stay? The longer the better."

Kanan and Hera exchanged glances. "I'm afraid only for a day, Father. We'll have to leave tomorrow. We have another mission lined up and it's time sensitive."

Cham sighed and just managed not to slump his shoulders. "Alright. At least we can have a nice family dinner tonight after we deliver the supplies."

Hera nodded and smiled. "That would be lovely. Thank you, Father."

A few hours later, it was like Hera and Kanan had never left; the old rhythms of preparing dinner together and setting the table falling into place seamlessly.

Sitting down to eat, everyone dug in and enjoyed the starter course of fresh berries and greens in a homemade vinaigrette provided by Hera and Kanan after making a raid on an Imperial supply ship.

"This is really good," Cham said gratefully. "I've been living on prepackaged rations for weeks now."

Hera looked up in alarm. "You should have told me, Father. I would have come sooner."

"I didn't want to trouble you," Cham said with a shrug before spearing another lettuce leaf. "Besides, I've lived on worse."

Hera cringed as she thought back to when EVERYONE was starving during the Clone Wars and how even a single stray grub would be considered a meal for one. "That is sadly true, but you shouldn't have to."

Kanan raised a brow and said in a teasing tone to lighten the suddenly sombre mood, "Then how come we eat them so often? It can't be for the flavour."

Hera smirked at Kanan and nudged him with an elbow. "No, dear. It's because of your abysmal attempts at cooking. The rations are cheaper than wasting the food neither of us want to eat after you're done with it."

"Hey!" Kanan said in mock offense. "It's not my fault none of my teachers thought that cooking was a useful Jedi skill. At least I'm trying."

Hera smiled sweetly at him. "I know, love. But until you figure out how to make more than instant batter space waffles, I'll keep buying rations."

Cham had to laugh at Kanan's look of resigned acceptance. "At least you get to eat Hera's cooking every once in a while. She gets the gift from her mother. I'm just as hopeless as you, even after all these years on my own."

"You should invite Gobi to come live with you," Hera said. "I remember him being a half decent cook."

"I guess I didn't tell you," Cham said seriously. "Gobi's gone and finally found himself a mate. He's got his own family to take care of now."

"Really?" Hera said in surprise. "Anyone I know?"

"Her name's Cena. She's the mother of that little girl that befriended the clones. I don't know if you remember Numa?"

"I do actually," Hera said with a raised brow. "I remember Cena too. She was very nice to me even after losing her husband to the war. I actually stayed with them one night while you were off fighting. Tell Gobi I'm very happy for him."

"I will," Cham said as he polished off his salad. "They're expecting their first child together to add to the two Cena already has."

"That's great," Hera said as her father rose and gathered up everyone's salad plates then disappeared into the kitchen. He returned a minute later carrying the nerf roast that had been staying warm in the oven.

"Speaking of children," Cham said as casually as he could manage while he sliced the roast. "Are you two planning on producing some grandchildren for me anytime soon?"

"Ummmmmm," Kanan said, staring down at the table and turning somewhat red in the face.

Hera just shook her head at her father for his audacity. "Not for a few years yet, Father. We're still much too young to have our lives added to in such a responsible fashion. But..." she added as she saw her father's face fall. "Children are definitely in the plans though for the future, I promise."

Cham grinned in relief and Kanan exhaled a huge breath at not having to get into too many awkward details with his father-in-law.

Fortunately for Kanan's peace of mind, the rest of the dinner conversation revolved around missions they had accomplished and included a lot of laughing at the increasing ineptitude of the stormtroopers as the old clones were gradually replaced with idiots.

Overall, it was a good day, and Hera and Kanan very much enjoyed being home again.

D60/14 BBY, Lothal

Hera turned on the Ghost's sensor scrambler as they approached Lothal. With the Empire now in control of the planet, it wouldn't do for them to notice how often their ship was in the vicinity at the same time that rebel activity was reported. She flew straight to Jhothal, where she landed for two whole minutes.

Kanan dashed out of the ship and into Old Jho's. The Ithorian already had the picnic basket prepared. With a, "Thanks Jho! You're the best," Kanan tossed some credits at him with a huge grin and grabbed the basket.

Old Jho called, "Happy anniversary!" after the quickly retreating figure. Kanan raised a hand in acknowledgement just before he disappeared from sight. Old Jho chuckled to himself. When they showed up on their first anniversary, asking for another picnic, Jho had been surprised and pleased. When they showed up for their second anniversary, Jho had a basket prepared in the back, just in case. This year, the basket was waiting on the bar, and Jho was happy that his instincts had been right.

After they finished their picnic, Kanan produced a small, brightly wrapped box and handed it to Hera. She looked at him with big surprised eyes. "A present? I thought we were saving our credits for fuel and supplies?"

Kanan stared at the ground bashfully. "I know, but I saw these and I just knew you'd love them. I couldn't resist."

Hera leaned closer to him and kissed his cheek gently. "Thank you, love. Even if you shouldn't have, I do love presents."

Kanan looked up at her and grinned. "I know. Now open it."

Hera tore into the wrapping and she gasped in surprise as the box was revealed. "Is this real Trammistan chocolate?" she breathed. "Isn't that dreadfully expensive?"

Kanan nodded and touched her cheek gently so she'd look at him again and see how much he meant his next words. "You're worth real chocolate, darling. And it's even better than just chocolate. Try one," he encouraged.

Hera opened the box and found a dozen balls of chocolate. She reverently placed one in her mouth and savoured the flavour before chewing. She moaned and closed her eyes as the delectable flavour of chocolate and meiloorun mixed. As she finished her treat, she opened her eyes, placed the box in the basket carefully, and threw herself at Kanan, knocking him back onto the blanket.

Kanan's chuckle was abruptly cut off as Hera kissed the breath right out of him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back. When she finally came up for air, Kanan smiled up at her sparkling eyes. "I take it you like your present?"

Hera nodded almost frantically and grabbed at Kanan's shirt, pulling it off. "I haven't got a present for you, love. But you definitely deserve something as a reward." She kissed a path down his jaw to his ear and whispered in it, her breath making him shiver. "I'm going to love you until you're too tired to move."

Kanan's eyes gleamed with anticipation. He ran his hands down her lekku, making her shudder, then linked his fingers behind his head, making all the muscles in his chest, shoulders, and arms stand out in stark relief, much to Hera's visual delight. "You're welcome to try," he rumbled in challenge.

Hera bit his shoulder in retaliation. "Oh, you're going to regret saying that."

Kanan smirked at her as he relaxed into the blanket with a shift or two of his body, finding just the right spot for the coming 'torture'. "No. I don't think I am."

Hera snorted under her breath, but he was right. Kanan had always been perfectly happy to let her do whatever she wanted to him. She decided to see if she could outdo her previous performances in regards to turning her husband into a puddle of exhausted male.

She whispered her tongue around the edge of his ear and then nipped it lightly, happy to hear his breath catch. "You're mine, Kanan Jarrus," she breathed into his ear. "I'm never letting you go."

Kanan slanted his eyes towards her. "A herd of crazed gundarks couldn't make me move right now."

Hera giggled as she pressed kisses down the muscled cords of his neck. "I don't think that's actually true, but I like the sentiment."

She loved kissing Kanan all over. Loved running her hands over his skin and muscles. He was so incredibly sexy to her. He wasn't the galaxy's buffest male by any stretch of the imagination, being more on the tall and lanky side, but every inch of him was hard and powerful. And he had the most intriguing hair patterns, so unlike a twi'lek, who were all hairless except for their fine eyebrows.

His scalp was graced by the silkiest long strands of brown hair that gleamed with copper, bronze, and red highlights in the sun. There were fine, almost invisible hairs on his forearms and calves, and an absurd but cute little bush of hair in each of his armpits. And for some reason that made sense only to humans, there was a tiny trail of hair that ran from below his belly button and down to his private parts, ending in another fine bush.

Kanan had told her at some point in the past that he had very little body hair compared to the majority of human males, and that some could be almost as hairy as a wookiee. She had seen shirtless male humans before, and noted they did seem to have a lot of chest hair. Unattractive chest hair. Hera considered herself very lucky indeed in her choice of a mate.

He'd offered to shave his body hair off for her once, when she remarked on how different he was from a twi'lek, but Hera had cringed at the thought of how much that might hurt, and it would just grow back again anyway, so she told him he was perfect as he was. To be honest, she'd come to adore his little patches of hair. It made him unique to her. And he was most sensitive where the hair was, which she took advantage of now with a grin.

Kanan had to concentrate on not curling up and laughing as Hera tickled him by running a finger over the hair in his armpit. He clenched his fingers together harder and bore the teasing touches like a man.

Hera glanced at his face and saw his mouth twitching. "You're so fun to tease." She reached across his chest and tortured his other armpit and Kanan's stomach muscles clenched in response as he held in his laughter. Suddenly moving her hands down to his ribs, she found his weak spot and tickled him until he gave up and laughed, while trying to squiggle away from her without actually using his hands, because he still had them locked behind his head.

Hera straddled his hips so he couldn't get away and continued her assault until he was nearly breathless from laughing so hard. Then she bent forward and attacked his tiny little nipples with her mouth, nipping them in turn and skimming her hands up and down his sides sensually now as opposed to playfully.

Kanan stopped laughing and froze as she stole his breath in a new way. And, oh Force, now her lekku were trailing over him as well. If he hadn't been fully hard before, he most certainly was now.

Hera slid up a little as Kanan let out a whimper and pressed her mouth to his. She kept her hands on his pecs and nipples and let her lekku twine around his forearms while she entwined her tongue with his in a very long and very hot kiss.

When she eventually pulled away, he looked up at her with heavy lidded eyes, the teal just showing through. "What you do to me, darling. I am unequivocally yours until the end of time."

Hera's lips curled up in a very satisfied smile as she sat up, lekku and hands caressing as she let him go. "I told you." She moved off him and focused her attention on his belt and trousers and the very dominant bulge in the crotch area. "And now I'm going to show you, as well."

"You have no idea how much I'm looking forward to it," Kanan said as he watched her undo his belt in what had to be slow motion.

"Oh, I think I do," she said, bending down and pressing a kiss to the centre of his chest over his pounding heart which thumped like a bass drum in the background of her extra sensitive hearing, since she wasn't wearing her usual headcovering and goggles.

Hera took her time undressing Kanan the rest of the way, much to his dismay. She knew he wanted her to go faster, but making him wait was half the fun.

She started with his belt. Then she teased him by brushing over his bulge with her hands before running her fingers down the length of his strong thighs, over his knees, down his shins, and then removed his boots one at a time.

Then it was his socks, pulling them off slowly, exposing his large feet. She ran her nails along the bottoms of his feet which made him curl his toes and hunch his shoulders up to ears and laugh, since that was another ticklish spot for him. She thought about spending more time making him squirm but decided against it since she wanted to move on to the first course of the five star meal that was her husband.

Her hands trailed back up his cloth covered legs as she shot a look at his face, catching him watching her with a rapt expression. She stopped at the waist of his trousers and undid the fastenings, still taking her time, now torturing them both, since she was just as hot and bothered as he was by her own actions. She deliberately grazed his erection as she removed his trousers and undershorts, pulling them down his narrow hips and off his legs.

Then Hera had to stop and admire the work of art that she had uncovered. He was perfection in male form; hard, lean, golden skin gleaming with sweat in the sun, gorgeous teal eyes staring at her with open adoration and trust, and a towering length of manhood between his legs that twitched with a life of its own as her hands grasped it lovingly.

Many many hours later, as the sun set over the plains, Hera smiled in satisfaction as she looked at the peaceful face of her sleeping husband. She snuggled a little closer to his chest and fell asleep as well.

Kanan woke up in the dark with Hera draped over him, and the sound of a child's laughter echoing through his mind. Hera's skin glowed in the light of the moons and the stars, making her look even more gorgeous than usual. He sighed in contentment and hugged her closer, relishing the heat generated by their fused skin. But then the evening breeze swept over their bodies and their combined heat wasn't near enough. Kanan shivered and saw Hera do the same in her sleep.

Since that wouldn't do at all, he gently placed her on the blanket and stood, removing everything from the blanket so he could wrap it around her. Then he pulled his clothes on double time. Kanan stuffed her clothes into the basket and then picked her up with the basket dangling from one of his wrists. Hera snuggled into his chest and Kanan smiled at her with all the love in his heart. She was so incredibly precious to him.

And how she'd loved him near to death. They'd been practically insatiable, coming together over and over again. She'd loved him with her mouth and hands until he was near begging for release. Then she'd stood and slowly stripped off her clothes in a sensual dance to the music of the grass in the wind, near blowing his mind.

Then she'd straddled him and lowered herself on his length, engulfing him to the hilt and then proceeded to NOT move for what had to be half an hour as they kissed slowly and passionately. It was maddening and incredible at the same time. By the time she actually did move, they were so tightly strung that it had only taken two shifts of her hips for them to both come.

She'd kissed him through the whole thing.

Kanan had been sure he'd died and gone to the Afterlife.

Once they'd both caught their breaths again, with her still impaled on him, she'd started rocking for real. Kanan finally given up keeping his hands off her at this point. He'd grasped her hips and helped her move on him, eyes trailing up and down her luscious body from her exquisite face, to her perfect bouncing breasts, to the place where they joined in her hot depths.

That round had lasted a while.

After they'd both come again and she'd collapsed on his chest, Kanan had turned them over and proceeded to worship Hera as thoroughly as she had worshipped him, but without the tickling, since she just wasn't ticklish. But wow, was she sensitive to touch, especially on her lekku. He'd made her come again just by loving her lekku with his mouth and hands.

It was a beautiful sight.

Then he'd crawled over her and kissed her in a mirror image of what she'd done to him, thrusting into her agonizingly slow and deep for what felt like hours.

He'd made her come twice more like that before he flipped her over and took her from behind in something resembling a wild frenzy. That one had been fast and furious and oh, so fulfilling, as she screamed his name to the sky.

And just when he thought they were done, she'd coaxed him back to life with her mouth again and then straddled him once more, determined to win the challenge of loving him until he was too tired to move.

She succeeded.

And how he loved her for it.

Now, as he walked back to the Ghost, carrying his beloved, the sound of a child's laughter whispered through his mind again. Kanan raised a brow in curiosity. With no better idea, he connected to the Force and let it sweep through him, bringing with it the wonderful sense of belonging. With the Force flowing through him, Kanan looked at Hera again, just because he always loved to see what her Force signature looked like at any given time. She shone like a star in the Force tonight and within that star was a tiny separate light of its own.

Kanan stopped moving. Stopped breathing. And just stared at the new life that lived in Hera as an overwhelming sense of joy filled him.

Kanan pressed a kiss to her forehead and started walking again, stepping onto the ramp. "I love you, Hera," he whispered to his sleeping beauty.

When Hera woke up, she was in her own bed with Kanan beside her, resting his chin on a fist and smiling at her with the dopiest grin she'd ever seen on him. "What?" she asked. "What is that look for?"

Kanan tried to straighten his face back into serious, but he was pretty sure he failed. "Just out of curiosity, person who takes care of these things, when are we due for another set of contraceptive shots?"

Hera raised a brow at the random question that didn't really answer her question at all. But she thought back through the days anyway. "Next week. Why do you ask?"

Kanan grinned at her some more. "I think we can skip them this time. Our last shots must have expired early."

"WHAT?!" Hera screeched, making Kanan wince. She toned it down a bit. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Kanan nodded almost reluctantly, no longer sure that her reaction was going to be as positive as his.

Hera stared at Kanan with wide eyes for a minute while her brain processed the new development. She glanced down at her stomach, almost expecting it to look different, then looked back at Kanan. She sucked in a big breath of air for courage and then let herself smile at him, which brought the beginnings of his dopey smile back. "Alright. We can do this. It's sooner than I wanted, but if the Force wills it, then I'm in."

Kanan looked back at her with relief in his teal eyes. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her gently. "I love you, darling. Forever. I think you'll be a perfect mother for our child."

Hera rolled her eyes and kissed him back. "I love you too, dear. And just so you know, the males raise the children in my culture," she said with a completely straight face. Kanan actually bought it as he gawked at her with blinking eyes and a dropped jaw. Hera laughed, pushed his jaw back up with a finger, and kissed him again. "I'm kidding, love. We'll both raise our child."

D120/14 BBY, Tatooine

Hera set the Phantom down on the sand beside another small shuttle near Ben's lonely home in a rocky crag of the Western Dune Sea. She'd left the Ghost and Chopper up in space, just in case one of Jabba's people actually spotted the ship. He could jump it to hyperspace and come back for them later.

Hera glanced at the other shuttle again and smiled. "Ahsoka must be here too. I guess she's going to get the news a few months sooner than I intended."

Kanan thought that wasn't a bad thing. In his opinion, Hera could stop running around and getting shot at anytime now, but she was determined to keep running missions for as long as she could.

They walked out of the Phantom at the same time that Ben, Ahsoka, and Lux emerged from the door of Ben's house. Hera nudged Kanan with her shoulder. "Look, dear. Your friend is here too. You boys can go talk guy things while Ahsoka and I talk missions."

Kanan rolled his eyes, but silently admitted she wasn't far off. It was nice having another man around his age to talk to about their feisty wives, and Lux had been one of his closest friends when he was younger; it had been easy to fall back into that friendship after he married Ahsoka and returned to Kanan's life in a roundabout way. Ben was a great friend as well, but there were just some things he didn't feel comfortable talking to the old Master about. Like how his whole life revolved around Hera. The Order would most definitely frown on that, and Ben had dedicated his life to the Order.

Although... There had been rumours about him and the Duchess of Mandalore at one point. Kanan didn't have the heart to ask about her though; he knew she'd been killed in front of Ben by Maul and didn't want to bring up any bad memories.

Hera and Ahsoka greeted each other fondly with a hug while the men wandered off to their own man talk after everyone had said hi to everyone else.

Ahsoka took one look at Hera and raised a brow. "When were you going to tell me?"

Hera shrugged. "In a few more months, when I can't run anymore." Hera glanced pointedly at the small bump in Ahsoka's stomach. "And when were you going to tell me?"

Ahsoka grinned. "Soon. Let me guess. You got your shot from the medbay on the Reckless?"

Hera nodded. "You too?"

"Yep. I'm not the only one either. At least five other females that visit the Reckless on a regular basis are all pregnant. I wish I knew who to blame for the faulty shots, but I can't honestly be too mad. I'm kind of looking forward to having a child."

Hera smiled sweetly. "So am I. And Kanan's over the moon about it. Needless to say, we'll have to cut down on missions for awhile. At least the more physical ones that need two people, anyway. I can still fly, though. So if you come up with something that fits those criteria, we're in."

Ahsoka laughed. "We'll see what comes up."

D28/13 BBY, Alderaan

Kanan and Lux paced the waiting room in the private hospital while Cham, Bail, and Breha looked on indulgently. Leia was asleep curled up in a chair, having grown bored with waiting long ago.

Both of their wives had carried longer than expected, Ahsoka by almost a month and Hera even longer, but with hybrid pregnancies, everyone knew that anything goes and to not expect the normal. And now they'd both gone and decided to have their babies on the same day.

Kanan had wanted the best possible medical team on hand in case there were complications, and Lux agreed. Bail had provided them with that peace of mind. Now all they could do was wait. And wait. Both men had tried to stay in the delivery rooms with their wives, but had been kicked out by the med droids when things got closer to the end. Kanan wasn't too sure he thought that was a good idea, but there was nothing he could do.

Both men turned to the door when a nurse appeared there. She smiled at Lux. "You're wife just had a healthy girl. You can come see them in a few minutes."

Lux whooped and grabbed Kanan in a bear hug. "You hear that? I'm a father!" Then he ran out of the room, leaving Kanan alone in his misery.

Half an hour later, the same nurse returned to the room and Kanan turned hopeful eyes on her. She smiled at his eager look. "Your wife just had a healthy boy. They're both fine. You can..." Kanan didn't let her finish. He dashed out of the room and down the hall to the delivery room. The door was blocked by a medbot, but the moment it allowed Kanan in, he hurried in to see for himself that Hera was all right.

He stopped just inside the door and had to remind himself to breathe. Hera looked beautiful, holding a tiny bundle in her arms. Exhausted and sweaty, but so beautiful regardless.

Hera looked up and beamed at Kanan. "Come on, dear. Come meet our son." Her eyes twinkled with amusement as he walked towards her as if in a trance.

Kanan stopped at her side and kissed her forehead lovingly. "Are you okay, darling?"

Hera nodded and smiled at him teasingly. "I am now. There was a point where I was wishing you had never been born, but I'm over that. Now I'm just tired."

Kanan smiled apologetically and finally looked down at his son. His eyes widened in surprise although he wasn't sure why. He was already expecting the unexpected with a hybrid, but the tuft of emerald green hair on the baby's head took him off guard. He took in the pale skin and pointy twi'lek ears that had a hint of green at their tips, and then he beamed at Hera. "He's perfect."

She smiled back at him. "I know."

"What are you going to call him?" Kanan asked. They'd talked about names, but hadn't come up with anything concrete; just some random ideas.

Hera looked down at her son, and he opened his dark blue eyes. Kanan raised a brow at the eye color. He wasn't expecting that either. As mother and son looked at each other, Hera smiled to him sweetly. "Jacen," she said. "He has my little brother, Jacen's, eyes." Hera looked up at Kanan imploringly. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to name him Jacen."

Kanan nodded and held his arms out, asking if he could hold his son. Hera raised him and Kanan took him gently into the crook of his arm. He smiled at the tiny boy, and felt his heart beat with joy when Jacen did something that almost resembled a smile back. "Hello, Jacen Syndulla. My son."

D12/12 BBY, Lothal

Kanan and Hera leisurely strolled through the market of Capital City, buying supplies. Jacen was in a carrier strapped to Kanan's back, and he could feel the boy's curiosity at everything he saw. Kanan glanced down at Hera, and smiled at her as she focused on a datapad with a list of things they needed. If it were up to him, they'd just buy things willy nilly, so it was a good thing it wasn't up to him. Hera was so much better at managing their credits.

As they stopped in front of a fruit vendor, Kanan felt something new surge through the Force, catching his attention almost insistently.

He looked around, eyes darting from person to person, trying to find the source of alarm and anger that wasn't his.

After what felt like an eternity of, 'Who? Who? Who?' he finally saw the reason all the fine hairs were standing up on his arms and the back of neck. About a block away, he could see two stormtroopers dragging a furiously fighting young boy down the road towards a speeder. Acting without thinking, Kanan took off Jacen's carrier and handed it to a surprised Hera.

"What...?" she got out before he was gone.

He bolted down the road as fast as he could without using Force speed, dodging surprised people, and drew his blaster as he ran.