A/N: Here's another chapter about a little Lasat baby being found on Lasan a few days after the attack on the planet. In this chapter, Petra and T'Pell Gronek are realizing that raising a Lasat baby isn't as easy as it looks. I hope to update in a regular manner but it depends on how I feel. I am currently undergoing chemo treatments for breast cancer and feel crappy most of the time!
Chapter 2: D'Aris' First Days
The Groneks were thankful for the help in getting supplies delivered to their house for little D'Aris. The Lasat baby was constantly fussy and no matter what T'Pell did he wouldn't stay calm very long.
"What is wrong with him?" Petra asked as he checked the baby's diaper, "He's not wet, messy or hungry!"
"Maybe we should take him to see Dr. Covina," T'Pell suggested as she rocked the crying infant in her arms for the umteenth time, "Maybe he's sick. His fur is a little warm."
The Twi'lek couple took the baby to the medical facility in Lessu where they lived. They hoped that the doctor whose specialty was babies and small children, could figure out what was wrong with D'Aris.
"Well...I'll be!" the elderly doctor said seeing the squirming Lasat baby in T'Pell's arms, "A Lasat infant! Where did you come to have him with you?"
"We were on a mercy mission hunting for survivors of the massacre on Lasan, and we found this little guy alone and amongst the wreakage of what was probably his home," Petra answered, "There was no sign of his parents or other Lasat still alive."
"He was all alone," T'Pell said hugging D'Aris closer and the sobs eased up a bit, "I...couldn't leave him there! He's just a baby!"
"I do have a little experience at caring for Lasat children, but not such a young infant," Dr. Covina added, "But I do know that they require a lot of care. Lay him down on the examining table here."
T'Pell set D'Aris down and the baby began to cry again not feeling the comforting arms of his adopted mother. She watched as the doctor with the loving care of a children's physician, began to examine the tiny furry infant. He ran a medical scanner over D'Aris and that made the baby cry louder.
"Ssh...ssh, little one," the doctor crooned, "Don't cry. I won't hurt you. Ssh...ssh...easy now."
D'Aris listened to the soothing tones of Dr. Covina's voice and the crying eased off to a sniffling. The Lasat baby thrust his left thumb into his mouth and stared up at the Twi'lek with wide eyes. That made Dr. Covina smile and he knew that he had won D'Aris' trust.
"He is healthy considering that he was probably out in the elements for a few days. By the medical readings, I'd judge his age at about four months if he were a Twi'lek infant. What do you intend to do with him, may I ask?"
"My wife and I...are adopting him as our son," Petra said watching T'Pell pick D'Aris back up.
"That may be difficult considering he is a Lasat and not a Twi'lek child," Dr. Covina answered.
"I don't care!" T'Pell said her voice in a harsh tone, "D'Aris is going to be our son no matter what! He has no one! His parents are dead!"
T'Pell buried her face in the baby's furry head and that made him purr softly.
"D'Aris? I see that you have already given him a name. Don't you worry, either of you. I will help you in the adoption process. You aren't the first Twi'lek couple to adopt an alien baby. I know of an elderly couple who had adopted a human infant and he grew up to be a freedom fighter who is with Cham Syndulla's group now."
"How do we take care of him?" Petra asked, "He's fussy most of the time and everytime we leave him he cries louder! There has to be something we can do!"
"Just show him a lot of affection. Lasat babies of this age are usually attached to their mother's breast most of the time to feel secure. T'Pell, I know you can't nurse him, but just hold him as much as you can. He should get used to both of you...eventually. Lasat kits can be a handful!"
"Kits?" T'Pell asked.
"Yes, that's what an infant Lasat is called; a kit."
T'Pell looked down at D'Aris seeing that the big green eyes were closing with sleep. She leaned down and gave the kit a kiss on his furry cheek.
Dr. Covina smiled seeing that the Lasat kit wouldn't starve for affection with the Groneks. T'Pell was already showing the unconditional love of a mother and Petra the doting father. He turned to his computer console and printed out a list of things that D'Aris would need. The doctor had most of the supplies needed that would suffice for a Lasat kit, they always worked for Twi'lek babies. Other than fur, and a few species differences, D'Aris wasn't much different than a Twi'lek baby of the same age.
"Here try this when he gets fussy," the doctor said handing T'Pell a device that looked like a bottle without the bottle. It was a nipple on a plastic device.
"What is it?" T'Pell asked turning the thing over in her hands.
"It is called a pacifier," Dr. Covina answered, "It seems to calm fussy babies, at least human ones. I've tried it on a few Twi'lek babies and it worked. You just put it in his mouth and he sucks on it. Simulates nursing at the breast, or a bottle. Go ahead and see if D'Aris will accept it."
T'Pell nodded and seeing that the Lasat kit was partly awake, put the pacifier up to his mouth. D'Aris stuck his tongue out thinking it was a bottle and latched onto it. He sucked hard and finding no milk, he began to whimper. T'Pell murmured to him and he looked up at her with his trusting green eyes. A smile formed past the pacifier and he accepted it. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"I think he'll do just fine," the doctor said as he patted the kit on the head, "Since he was orphaned, don't be surprised if he has bad dreams for awhile. Even though he's so young, he was traumatized and that could take awhile to get over if he ever does. Both of you be patient and D'Aris will adjust..."
D'Aris' first night was rough for the Groneks. The Lasat kit cried most of the night until he was cuddled close and even ended up sleeping with Petra and T'Pell which they didn't mind. The love they felt for the baby grew with each passing minute.
A month went by and D'Aris adjusted to being the son of Twi'lek parents and showed that he was a healthy Lasat kit. True to Dr. Covina's promise, the adoption process went through with no problem, even though several people doubted that Petra and T'Pell were capable of raising a child of a near extinct species. Many of their friends were concerned when D'Aris was introduced to other Twi'lek babies the same age as he was. The babies didn't care about his furry countenance for he was a fellow baby to babble at and play with. One little Twi'lek/human hybrid girl took a shine to him and shared her toys with the Lasat kit. The little girl whose name was Isisa Iytta, was blind. Her parents Cyphia and Trudi Iytta were friends of the Groneks and accepted D'Aris.
"Isisa really has taken a shine to D'Aris," Cyphia said looking over at his human wife Trudi who was fussing over Isisa, "She usually doesn't warm up to strangers, but look at them! It's as if her and D'Aris have been friends forever."
T'Pell was staring at her child with the pure love of a mother and caressed the Lasat kit's head of purple hair that always got in his eyes.
"You need a haircut, kiddo," Petra said seeing how loving his wife was to the alien child.
More time passed and D'Aris continued to flourish under the care of his adopted parents. The Lasat kit grew bigger and began to crawl all over the house. He started to pull himself up against a chair and would proceed to climb up on it. T'Pell was worried that he would hurt himself, but Dr. Covina reassured her that Lasat kits at age eight months would climb and crawl all over the place before they learned to walk. One day, D'Aris would surprise them at speaking his first words. T'Pell had just given him a bath and was getting him dressed in a clean diaper and a baby's tunic, when he began to babble more than ususal. She set him on the floor where he was surrounded by his toys that consisted of various rattles, blocks, and stuffed animals. D'Aris' favorite toy was a stuffed Loth-cat that he would hug every night as he slept in his cradle.
The Lasat kit sat babbling to his Loth-cat toy and then turned to T'Pell. His babbling took on a different tone and then two words came out plain as day:
"Ma Ma."
T'Pell's eyes widened in shock and she picked up D'Aris making him giggle.
"Ma Ma!" he babbled out and threw his little arms around her neck making tears form in her eyes.
"Petra!" she called out. The Lasat kit continued to babble out "Ma Ma" even when his father came running in thinking something was wrong, "Listen! D'Aris said Ma Ma!"
"Ma Ma!" the kit babbled out making Petra's green eyes widen in shock. The baby turned his head and saw Petra smiling at him.
"Da Da!" the baby babbled out getting Petra nearly to break down in tears. T'Pell held D'Aris closer and at that moment knew that this Lasat orphan was truely their son.
By the time D'Aris reached his first birthday, he was speaking nearly like a Twi'lek child of the same age. Other children didn't mind that he was different than they were and one of his best friends was a Twi'lek boy whose father was a senator in the Ryloth senate. He also liked to spend time with Isisa the blind Twi'lek/human girl and was sad when her family moved away. As time went on the Lasat kit neared the age of attending school and that would test how he'd fit in with other children his age. Since his arrival on Ryloth, D'Aris being Lasat, lived as a Twi'lek and embraced the Twi'lek way of life. He learned the native language, dressed like a Twi'lek youth and wore a head covering similar to the other Twi'lek boys his age. In D'Aris' mind, he was a Twi'lek boy that was a bit...different than the others and everyone treated him as if he were Twi'lek. That would change when he reached the age of twelve and his differences would be noticed...
