Hey everyone! School will be starting for me in about two weeks. It shouldn't affect my updates, but if it does, I'll let you guys know.
nw150: Thank you so much for pointing that out for me! I hope things will be a bit more consistent from now on. I'm glad you're enjoying!
just-melancholy: We were robbed of Bad Batch and Ahsoka interacting. Maybe in the Bad Batch? Fingers crossed. I'm glad I'm doing the clones and Ahsoka and their relationships justice!
kungfuslippers: I just need Fives and Echo to be happy. Is that too much to ask? Rex probably did make it sound like a report at first. It's not like dramatic reading was a course on Kamino. But he got the hang of it. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!
There is a very mild description of bodily fluids in this chapter, but just in case consider yourself warned.
Mando'a translations at the end of the chapter!
General Skywalker was already gone by the time Rex and Ahsoka arrived. Chancellor Amidala was sitting on the couch.
"Hello, you two." She said with a smile. "I told Ani that I'd be fine, but you know how he is."
"All too well, ma'am." Rex said.
"I'm surprised to see you here Rex." Chancellor Amidala said as they came to sit next to her.
"I thought the commander would like some company." Rex said.
It wasn't a complete lie.
"And I'm not company enough?" Chancellor Amidala said with a twinkle in her eye. She silenced Rex's stuttering response with a raised hand. "Have you two eaten yet?"
"No." Ahsoka said with a glance at Rex. "We were busy this evening."
"Let me and 3PO fix you something up." Chancellor Amidala said.
Rex grimaced as she struggled to her feet. He was suddenly aware that he had come uninvited to a pregnant woman's house with the expectation of being fed. His cheeks grew warm.
"That's not necessary, ma'am." Rex said. "I'm sure we could have something ordered."
"No, it's no trouble." Chancellor Amidala said, beckoning to 3PO. "Besides, from what Ahsoka tells me, you don't get many home cooked meals."
Rex looked at Ahsoka with a raised eyebrow.
"We don't!" Ahsoka said. "Fives mostly buys premade meals. The only time we get anything is when Jesse cooks and he's gone half his nights!"
"What about me?" Rex asked with a small smile.
"Your cooking is edible, but I wouldn't call it home cooked." Ahsoka said. "I'm not much better; in fact, I'm probably worse."
Chancellor Amidala made her way towards the kitchen.
"Let me give you a hand, Padme." Ahsoka said, standing.
"From what you just said, I don't know if I want you to." Chancellor Amidala teased. "Don't worry, I know something simple that will be quick. And 3PO will be doing most of the work."
She suddenly winced and faltered.
"Padme?" Ahsoka asked.
"Nothing, Ahsoka. I've just been feeling tired today."
Rex studied Chancellor Amidala's face. She seemed pale and the way she moved made Rex think she was in pain.
"I'll be fine." She said. "You two sit tight, it'll just be a few minutes."
Ahsoka and Rex looked at each other. Rex saw his own guilt reflected in her eyes.
"I forgot." Ahsoka said. "Whenever I show up for dinner, she has it almost done already. I mean, it is mostly 3PO."
"She doesn't seem to mind." Rex said.
"Padme wouldn't mind if we asked for a favor during the end of the world." Ahsoka said tersely. "I wish she'd let us help."
"But you were right. We're no good in the kitchen." He told her.
They fell into silence, listening to Chancellor Amidala give 3PO orders.
"I was really enjoying the book, Rex." Ahsoka told him.
Rex felt himself flush a little.
"Can't have been that good." He replied.
"You did a fine job." Ahsoka said. "I mean, I didn't fall asleep."
"It looked like you did." Rex said.
"But I didn't. I was completely riveted." Ahsoka said with a teasing lilt.
Rex shrugged.
"That's the book, not me."
"Thank you, though." Ahsoka put her hand on his arm. He looked down at it, blinking. "It was nice to have something to do."
"We can do it again, if you like." Rex offered, struggling to get the words out as he stared at her hand. "It's not like you're Fives and we never see you."
"I'd like that. " Ahsoka said. Her hand was still on his arm. "I'd like to know what happens to Captain Enas and his intrepid crew. We need to find out what happened to his 'lover.'"
Rex cleared his
"We won't find out." He said. "I've read this author before. He'll write some scenes involving the Captain and his lover, and I tend to skip those types of scenes.
"What? Why?" Ahsoka asked.
"They make me-" He paused. "I'm not used to scenes like that."
Understanding dawned on Ahsoka's face and she grinned.
"You've seen Anakin and Padme."
"I actually try to avoid looking at them when they're together." Rex admitted.
Ahsoka started laughing.
"They're pretty embarrassing alright." She said with a smile. "I'd volunteer to read the romance scenes but I have just as much experience as you in that area."
They looked at each other. The silence was a pressure on them. He was very aware of the feeling of her hand on his arm. He noticed how blue her eyes were. They were almost 501st blue. He really loved that color.
There was a crash from the kitchen.
"Padme!"
Ahsoka was on her feet immediately with Rex only a second behind. They rushed into the kitchen. 3PO stood over a collapsed Padme and shattered pieces of glass. He was vibrating with worry.
Chancellor Amidala was hunched over on her knees and clutching below her belly.
"Padme?" Ahsoka said again. Her voice was scared.
Chancellor Amidala's breathing was heavy. A jolt ran through Rex as he saw the liquid pooling around her legs.
"What happened?" Ahsoka asked. "What is that?"
R2 came whistling in. The droid surveyed the situation and began beeping to Ahsoka.
"Does that mean she's having them now?"
"Ahsoka?" Chancellor Amidala's voice was tight. "They suddenly got so strong."
She caught her breath and curled in on herself. She let out a low, long groan. Ahsoka knelt at her side. Rex joined her. Chancellor Amidala's eyes opened after about a minute.
"We need to get to a medcenter." Rex said.
"I don't think-" Chancellor Amidala was breathing heavily. "The contractions- there might be something wrong."
She looked at Rex and Ahsoka. Rex had the feeling she was sizing them up.
"Ahsoka, go call the medics and try to contact Anakin." Chancellor Amidala said.
Ahsoka nodded and scrambled out of the room. Rex wanted to call her back. Chancellor Amidala suddenly gasped and shrank. Rex hovered over her, unsure what to do. After it had passed, she turned intense brown eyes to him.
"Rex, you need to be ready for the babies if they come before the medics get here. Get a towel."
The tone of her voice turned a switch in his mind. The fear was pushed aside. He was a soldier with a mission. He would do what he had to do.
Ahsoka burst back into the kitchen, and then froze. Padme was upright, holding her own legs apart. Rex was pressing down on her knees. Ahsoka edged closer. The expression on Rex's face was one she had seen on him only on the battlefield: the one he wore when trying to keep his men alive. The intensity of the expression was mirrored on Padme's face and they were breathing together. Padme tensed with pain and Rex automatically raised a hand. Padme grabbed it and seemed to crush it between her fingers, giving a guttural yell. Neither took any notice of Ahsoka.
Rex was already holding a squalling pink thing when the medics burst into the room. Ahsoka was clutching Chancellor Amidala's hand. One of them took the baby and moved Rex out of the way. After a moment the medic broke away. Rex watched as the medic washed the baby and wrapped it in a blanket.
"Tait, the other one's breach, I need you!" The medic kneeling in front of the Chancellor said.
The medic holding the baby glanced back and swore. He looked at Rex.
"Hold her and get out of the kitchen." He instructed as he held out the bundle. "And for kriff's sake take the armor off."
Rex numbly accepted the still crying baby. He felt his legs move him into the living room. He remembered to divest himself of his chestplate and vanbraces. Then he just held the screaming child.
Rex looked down at it. Her, he reminded himself. Her eyes were screwed up in her wrinkled pink face and she waved her clenched fists in the air. If anything, she seemed angry to be out in the world. Rex found himself smiling.
"You're a verd'ika, aren't you?" He said to the baby. "Just like your buir'e."
He held her closer with an instinct he didn't know he had. He pulled up a memory of the nursing droids of Kamino. He tried to imitate their rocking motions. The baby's cries grew softer and soon she was quiet. Rex grinned.
"There we go. The world's not so bad, eh?"
For a second he realized he was talking to a baby. The little ik'aad had no idea what he was saying. But it was chasing away the reality of the situation that he was currently avoiding. The fact that he had just delivered his general's baby.
"Your buir'e and I, both of them, are good friends of mine." Rex said to banish the memories of what he had just seen and heard. "Been through a lot with them."
He continued his stream of words to avoid thinking about how he had seen more of the general's wife that would ever be appropriate.
Someone tugged at his arm.
"Rex." It was Ahsoka. "They've delivered the other one. They want to take Padme and the babies to the medcenter."
Rex looked down at her and nodded.
One of the medics approached.
"The baby, please." The medic said. Chancellor Amidala was being pushed by the other medic on a stretcher. The other baby was on her chest.
Rex found himself reluctantly handing the small bundle over and watching the medic place the baby on Chancellor Amidala.
"Wait." That was Chancellor Amidala's voice, though it was weak sounding. "Rex, Ahsoka."
Rex followed Ahsoka to the stretcher's side. Chancellor Amidala's face was wan and she looked exhausted. She reached out and took their hands.
"Thank you." She said.
Rex nodded, unsure what else to do.
"Of course, Padme." Ahsoka said.
"We need to be going." One of the medics said.
Rex and Ahsoka stepped back and let them leave.
"We should go to the medcenter too." Ahsoka said. "Just to be with her until Anakin can come."
Rex nodded again.
Ahsoka looked at him and grinned. She was still a little pale and Rex could see she was shaken. But she still smiled.
"You're good in any emergency, huh?"
Rex stared down at the two bundles in the sleeping pods. The medcenter was quiet around him and Ahsoka, save for soft beeping noises and the occasional click of footsteps. The light was low.
The babies were both wrapped in white blankets, but Rex knew exactly which one he had helped deliver. She had a bit more hair than her brother, and well, she just looked different. The shape of her nose and mouth were completely different from her brother's.
"They're so tiny." Ahsoka whispered.
Rex glanced at her.
"You've been around babies before, haven't you sir?"
Ahsoka shook her head.
"Not around ones this young."
There was a moment of silence between them.
"You did really well tonight, Rex." Ahsoka said.
Rex shrugged.
"Just did what I was ordered to." He muttered.
"You helped deliver a baby!" She said.
"Don't remind me."
She laughed, but he was serious. It had been both awe inspiring and something he wanted to completely erase from his mind, if only for his General's sake.
"You were still amazing." She said. "You follow orders in an exceptional way."
She turned her face back to the rows of cribs.
"I don't know if you noticed, but I was panicking." She said.
"So was I." Rex admitted. "It was a stressful situation."
"We've been on literal battlefields, Rex." Ahsoka protested. Rex thought he would rather take the battlefield than what he had just gone through, and the look in Ahsoka's eyes told him that she felt the same.
She paused, thinking.
"To be honest, I was overwhelmed. I've never felt the Force like that before. I know how it feels when someone dies, but not when someone's born."
"How did it feel, then?" Rex asked.
"It was loud." Ahsoka said. "Like every living thing was welcoming them.
Someone entered the room. It was General Skywalker.
"Padme's asleep." He said. "They'll bring the twins to her once she wakes up."
They had managed to contact him soon after arriving at the medcenter. He had come as quickly as he could and had been with Padme as the medics checked her over.
"They want to keep her and the babies overnight." Anakin went on. "How are they?"
"Take a look." Ahsoka said.
She gestured towards the twins. Anakin seemed nervous. His footsteps were hesitant. Then he broke into a trot, rushing towards the glass. His eyes grew soft and he put a hand on the window.
"Can you feel them, Snips?" He murmured. "Can you feel how alive they are? They're here."
Ahsoka put a hand on Anakin's arm.
"I can." She whispered. "They feel like you."
Anakin shook his head.
"I can only feel Padme from them. There's no way I feel like that."
His voice was filled with wonder. Rex cleared his throat.
"Congratulations, sir." Rex said. "You've got a batch!"
Anakin let out a tired laugh.
"I do, don't I?" He said. "A small one, though."
"They're lucky, they're batchmates." Rex went on. "I can't imagine being the only one in a batch."
"How's Padme?" Ahsoka said.
"She's doing just fine." Anakin gave them a grateful smile. "Thank you for being there. I hate to think what would have happened if you weren't."
"I bet R2 could have delivered them." Ahsoka said. "He was the one giving Rex most of the instructions."
"R2 doesn't have arms!" Anakin protested.
"3PO does." Ahsoka said with a smirk.
Anakin laughed.
"I still rather it be you two."
"Have you thought of any names yet?" Ahsoka asked.
"Names?" Rex said. "What are you doing naming them? Unless you want them to be Wailer and Crier.
Ahsoka laughed and patted Rex on the shoulder.
"What?" He asked.
"Rex, natural born babies are given names right after they're born." She told him.
Rex frowned.
"That doesn't make any sense. How are the names supposed to have any meaning? What if they don't like it?" He protested.
"Clones are unique that way." Anakin said. He looked at Rex. "I heard what happened. Thank you, Rex."
Rex shrugged, embarrassed.
"Just doing my duty, sir."
"I'm pretty sure your job description doesn't include helping your CO's wife give birth." Anakin said. "In any case, you two should get home."
Rex and Ahsoka shared a glance.
"You'll be all right, sir?" Rex asked.
Anakin nodded.
"Go on, go home. You look exhausted."
Rex hesitated, though he did feel like he'd been up for days. He didn't feel quite like the battle was over, so to speak.
"Come on Rex." Ahsoka said.
Rex let her lead him back through the medcenter and down to their speeder. They settled in and looked at each other.
"Can we get something to eat now?" Ahsoka asked.
It was after midnight, with Rex and Ahsoka indulging in some greasy diner food, when Rex got a frantic comm from Cody. Five troopers had gone missing from their apartment.
Oops. Rex delivered the twins, or at least Leia. At first I wanted him to panic, but Rex really isn't the panicking type when he has orders. He and Leia are going to have a special relationship. Also, I have a headcanon that most if not all clones have a very strong parenting instinct. I mean, look at Jango. In case you're wondering, Padme went into precipitous labor, which is just extremely fast birth. All labor descriptions were approved by my sister and my mom, who are both very familiar with giving birth. And uh oh missing clones! Things were going a little too well for everyone.
Mando Translations:
verdi'ka: little soldier and Leia's new nickname
buir'e: plural of buir, parents
ik'aad: baby, child under 3