I cried so much writing this chapter. Enough said. Enjoy!
As soon as Ezra got in the car, he was firing questions at his older brother.
"Zeb what's going on? Is everyone alright?"
Zeb just sighed, his grip on the wheel tightening.
"Kid, mom went into labour this morning."
Ezra whipped his head around to look at the older of the two.
"What?! She's not due for like another month! What happened?"
"Don't ask me, I'm no doctor!" Zeb snapped back. He quickly composed himself at turned his attention back to the road before continuing, "Sabine's taking mom and dad to the hospital, I came to get you and we're meeting them there."
The rest of the ride to the hospital was uncomfortably silent. Ezra tried to remind himself that lots of early babies were okay in the end. He remembered Padmé saying that the twins were early, and they were both fine. Still, something really didn't feel right.
Finally, after what felt like years, the two arrived at the hospital. They asked a nurse at the front desk where their family was, and she pointed down a long corridor. It took them a few minutes to find the room but when they found it, Ezra's heart dropped to his stomach.
Sat outside the door was Sabine, tears streaming down her face.
"Beanie, what's going on? Where's mom and dad?" Ezra urged. Sabine just looked at him, he had never seen her look so sad before.
"They did a scan and determined that something has gone very wrong. They said they had to get the baby out as fast as they could, if they didn't then…" She sobbed again before continuing, "If they don't get the baby out, both of them could die. Mom and the baby."
Ezra slunk to the floor, willing himself not to cry. They couldn't die, not the great Hera Syndulla-Jarrus. She'd be okay. She had to be.
He vaguely registered his phone buzz, but didn't check it.
He looked at his siblings; Sabine had fallen asleep and Zeb was staring into space.
His phone buzzed again and he finally gave in, checking it.
Luke:): Is everything okay?
Luke:) : Ez?
No. It wasn't. That's when Ezra's blockade broke and the tears started to fall. He covered his mouth to try and stop the sobs, his whole body shaking. He felt Zeb sit next to him and wrap him in a hug. He didn't know how long it was, but he had fallen asleep at some point.
Luke was starting to panic, Ezra had read his message but not replied. He tried not to worry too much and just listen to the overly dramatic story Ahsoka was telling them.
"I'm not kidding, these idiots were trying to steal babies! I had to go after them." Ahsoka was talking animatedly, her arms flailing in every direction. The others just laughed at her, Anakin shaking his head at her storytelling.
Luke's method of 'not worrying' wasn't going so well. He just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
Ezra was sure no baby should be that small. He was sure that no baby should be attached to so many tubes.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see his dad, looking exhausted.
"He's going to be okay. They just need to keep him here for a while." He stopped for a moment and then spoke again. "Ez, what does he look like?"
Ezra's heart broke and he tried to compose himself before answering. "Well, he's very small. He has mom's nose and dark hair, before she started dyeing it green. But he looks like you, he's definitely your son."
Kanan laughed at that, "I'd be concerned if he wasn't, kid."
Ezra looked over at Hera; she looked so tired, but she was smiling and talking to Zeb and Sabine. He walked over and sat on the bed, and she took his hand in hers.
"Mom, I thought you were going to die." He said, his voice so quiet he was surprised she heard him. He heard her sigh before speaking to him.
"Ezra, love, look at me. I'm okay and so is the baby, he's just small. He will grow." She brushed a piece of hair out of his face and put her hand on his cheek. "Sweetheart please don't cry; I'm not going anywhere."
Ezra nodded and hugged her, careful not to hurt her. She hugged him back, smiling at her family.
"Right, who wants to hold him first?" Hera asked, jumping when Sabine gasped,
"Me! Me, please!"
Hera laughed at her enthusiasm and nodded. Sabine was instantly up and walking over to where the baby boy was sleeping. Kanan helped her hold him, as much as he could anyways.
Sabine sat in a chair, holding the baby close to her.
"Oh my god, he's so tiny." She whispered, tears forming in her eyes.
"Hey, does he have a name or are we just going to refer to him as 'the baby'?" Zeb asked, laughing.
Kanan shrugged, coming to sit next to his wife on the bed. "We thought we had some more time. We had girl names but no boy names." He said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Kanan and Hera, ever the prepared." Ezra said sarcastically, making Hera jab him in the side. It was quiet before Zeb had an idea,
"Hey, what about Jacen?" He suggested.
Hera looked thoughtful for a minute, then smiled. "Jacen Syndulla-Jarrus. I like that. What do you think, love? She asked, putting her hand on Kanan's arm so he knew she was talking to him.
Kanan nodded, repeating what she had said. "Yeah, Jacen Syndulla-Jarrus. It sounds good."
Baby Jacen was passed around for the next few hours, and it was obvious he had his siblings wrapped around his tiny finger. A nurse soon came in to check on both mother and baby.
"I know you're all excited but only dad can stay overnight, sorry guys." The nurse said, he looked genuinely sorry that he had to tell them to go home.
"Alright. Dad can I have the house keys?" Zeb asked and took them from Kanan. "Come along children, we can come back tomorrow."
Ezra watched as Sabine handed Jacen to Hera, he really was a small baby.
"Ezra, come on." He felt Sabine put her hand on his shoulder and he waved to his parents, laughing when Hera made Jacen's little hand wave back.
They made it home and Ezra went to the sofa, plopping down on it. He fussed over Chopper when he came over to see him. "You wanna go out, boy?"
As he walked to the backdoor, he realised he had never replied to Luke. Pulling out his phone, he dialled his number.
"Hello?"
"Luke! I'm so sorry, it's been a pretty hectic day."
"Hey, it's fine I understand. Everything okay?"
Ezra smiled before answering, "Yeah, it's all good. Guess what?"
"What?" Luke sounded suspicious.
"I've got a baby brother."
"You what?! Seriously?" Ezra had to pull the phone away from his ear when Luke shouted.
"Yeah, he's tiny but he's okay. He was premature."
"Ahhhh, right. Well me and Leia were born at seven months and we're fine. I'm sure he'll grow really fast. How far along was your mom?"
Ezra knew Jacen would be fine, but hearing it from someone who understood personally was reassuring all the same.
"She was eight months, give or take." Ezra answered the question.
"Oh yeah I'm sure he'll be absolutely fine! What's his name?'
"Jacen. He's amazing honestly."
"Awh, cool name. You seem to be obsessed with this little brother of yours, you better not forget about me." Ezra knew it was said jokingly, but he couldn't help but feel that there was a small bit of real concern in it.
"Hey, don't worry, I love you."
"I love you too. I've got to go, I think Ahsoka is about to kill my dad. Am I okay to tell Leia or do you want to?"
Ezra's heart swelled with love, he was so sweet.
"No it's okay, you tell her. I'm pretty sure your mom might want to know as well. I'll send you a photo tomorrow."
"Okay, I'll see you soon?"
"Absolutely. Bye." He hung up the phone and saw Sabine stood in the doorway.
"Who shouldn't worry because you love them?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"No one, just a joke." Ezra brushed it off, hoping she didn't see the blush spreading up his neck as he got off the sofa.
"Oh, so it wouldn't happen to be a certain mister Skywalker then?" She smirked at him, but he was already walking up the stairs.
"Shut up, Sabine." He called as he walked into his room, shaking his head as he heard her cackle from downstairs.
As he lay in bed, he thought over the day. It felt like days ago that him and Luke had woken up together. When he thought about what followed, he felt his face flush. That had really happened. Then, of course, there was that awful period of the day where he didn't even know if his mother would survive. But she did, and their family gained a new member.
The chaos of the day caught up with him, and although it was only half past eight, Ezra felt his eye lids drooping.
Nothing wrong with an early night he thought as he closed his eyes. He didn't think he'd ever fallen asleep so fast in his life before.
Oh wow I updated fast. Anyways, I really like this chapter, am I getting better at dialogue? who knows? I hope you enjoyed!