Takes place roughly a month after Chapter 3 of The Tanos and extends through Chapter 3 of The Kryze-Kenobis.

Shaak burst awake, fumbling in pain and fear, the Force's warning ringing in her montrals, even though as soon as the bleariness cleared from her vision, she saw there was nothing wrong. She waited, sure the alarm was about to start droning or an intruder would make just enough noise for her to hear him, but all was quiet.

Sharp pain and tension gripped her middle, sudden enough to make her groan through gritted teeth. The small sound was enough to jolt Colt awake besides her.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"I don't know. The Force is screaming at me, but I have no idea why. And my stomach hurts."

"Is the baby okay?"

She hadn't thought about the baby. "I'm going to call Ahsoka?"

"Not Master Che?" He tumbled out of bed to follow her, raking a hand through his bedhead.

"Vokara might be a doctor, but she's never given birth. Ahsoka knows what it feels like."

Ahsoka picked up almost immediately, but it felt like a small eternity. "Master Ti, what's wrong?"

"I don't know. I woke up to the Force screaming at me and pain in my stomach."

"Pain? What kind of pain?"

"Dull, but intense. And everything gets tense."

"You're only week 29 right? When were you due?"

"Not until after New Year."

"You shouldn't be having contractions this early. I started feeling them in week 31, but I was due three weeks later. If you're feeling contractions at week 29, this is a problem. Don't you dare panic, but you might be going into preterm labour."

"How am I supposed to not panic?"

"I have no idea. I was totally panicking. But you need to stay calm because if your body is tense, labour will be harder and more difficult. If you can manage it, meditation is great. Barriss made my doctors let me meditate through several hours of my labour. Went by so fast they had to pull me out of it because Ella was crowning. But if you can't, I understand."

"I'll try. Oh kark!" She groaned, almost doubling over.

"Breathe, okay? Just try to take deep breaths and relax."

"It's a little hard to relax right now!"

"I understand. Do your best. I tried to contact Vokara, but she's not there. The receptionist told me she left four days ago for an undisclosed reason. I don't have her personal number, so I've got no way of contacting her."

"She gave me her personal number for emergencies. I'll call her. I just, wanted to talk to you since you know what labour feels like."

"I get it. High-energy snacks and stuff are good, rest as much as you can. Meditation helps if you can manage it. But mind over matter is not going to help here. It hurts like hell. I didn't have any sort of pain meds, but if you want them, that's your choice. There's no shame in it. It won't hurt baby, and they're on their way out anyway. I hope you guys have a nursery ready."

"We don't."

She winced. "Good luck."

Vokara wasn't on Coruscant because she'd had a weird feeling and left for Kamino the week before, just barely on time.

Colt met her at the landing pad, a little unsure. Shaak had told him he was looking for a blue Twi'lek woman who scared him.

"I assume you're Master Che."

"I assume you're Commander Colt." She looked him up and down. "Where is Shaak?"

"Our apartment. Not that far away."

Shaak was exhausted, even though she'd only been in labour for five hours, when the average for her species was twenty-eight. Colt had been researching Togruta pregnancies as much as he could. That was his nervous habit. Not the worst nervous habit in the world. It wasn't really helping.

Before they stepped into the room, Vokara turned to him and commanded, "You are not allowed to panic."

"Got it."

"You panic, she panics, we risk fetal distress, everything goes horribly wrong and we risk the death of both mom and baby."

"That's encouraging."

"Don't panic."

"Understood." Because he totally wasn't panicking after that statement.

Shaak was lying on her side hugging her pillow. Colt knelt next to the bed, gently rubbing her lek. "I'm here, cyare."

She squeezed his hand. "Don't leave me."

"I'm not going to. Vokara's here and she's gonna take care of you, okay?"

Shaak nodded.

"Hey there. Will you let me take a look real quick?" Vokara had pulled gloves on, the same shade of blue as her skin. "Promise I'll be quick."

"I'm moving. Just slowly." Shaak shifted to her back. "This is all I can do right now."

"This is fine. I'm just going to toss the blanket over your legs, just because it's cold. Is that okay?"

"Yes."

Colt wasn't paying attention to whatever Vokara was doing. He just held her hands and distracted her when necessary. But he knew what the word 'crowning' meant.

"The baby's crowning already?" He was not panicking, but concerned was close to the mark.

"Preterm labour is often faster because baby is smaller and it takes less effort. Shaak, I need you to push, okay? Just a gentle push."

"Okay." Her grip on Colt's hand tightened.

"I've got you."

Vokara smiled. "You have a lovely baby boy."

Shaak almost collapsed into his arms, smiling deliriously. "I'm not pregnant anymore."

Colt kissed her montral, overjoyed for a split second until he realized Vokara wasn't smiling.

"Is something wrong?"

Her brow was pinched and lips a thin line. She was holding the baby in a blanket, rubbing his chest. And then Colt realized his son wasn't crying. He didn't know much, but he did know that a silent, still baby wasn't good.

"He isn't breathing. I'm trying to clear his airways. Come on, little guy, breathe."

Shaak looked at Colt, more terrified than he'd ever seen her. "Is he going to be okay?"

Vokara pressed her lips together tighter, carefully flipping him onto his back and striking lightly below his shoulders blades.

The baby coughed weakly, and let out a tiny cry.

"Welcome to the world, little one." Vokara smiled, wrapping him up in the blanket and carefully setting him in Shaak's arms. "Does he have a name?"

"His name is Jace. It means 'free'." Colt leaned over to kiss Shaak's forehead.

Jace was tiny. Small enough that Colt could hold him with one arm and his son's tiny feet wouldn't reach his elbow. But he was so precious. He had thin wispy blonde hair, curling at the ends like Colt's did when his hair grew out. He hadn't moved much and his crying was weak, but at least he was breathing.

"You can keep holding him for now, but I need to look him over soon. I just want to check on his lungs. You don't need to worry yet, but he's just small."

Shaak brushed her finger over his cheek in awe. "He's perfect."

"He is."

"He looks so much like you."

"He has a human skull, of course he does."

"No really. The shape of his chin and cheeks. He's not as chubby as I thought he would be, so it's easier to see. And his hair is all you. He's going to have curls."

"He's got your nose though."

"No he doesn't."

"Yeah." Colt traced a finger down the side of her nose. "You have very graceful features. Wonder who's eyes he'll have."

"My apologies, but I have to steal him for a moment." Vokara held her arms out. "He is extremely premature, so I need to check him as soon as possible."

Shaak sighed, but she passed the baby over. "Colt, you'll stay with him?"

"Of course. I don't think she's going anywhere though."

"Not if I don't have to. But they depends on what I find. I tried to warm up the stethoscope, little one, I know it's cold, I'm sorry."

Jace squirmed, but he didn't cry.

Vokara's expression darkened as she adjusted the position of the stethoscope. "Shaak, are there any doctors on Kamino you would trust with Jace?"

"Just Pots. He is Rancor's medic."

She sighed. "Okay. Are there any besides him you trust to take care of you?"

"I would trust most of the Kaminoans with my own care. They wouldn't dare do anything without my permission."

"Okay. I don't know what, but I think something may be wrong with his heart and lungs. You also need immediate medical attention. You'll be with whoever can take care of you. Colt and I will stay with Jace. I promise, I will not let any of them hurt him. But you both need care. Is that okay?"

Shaak bit her lip. "Is he going to be okay?"

"I am not going to lie to either of you. I don't know. But if he is going to have the best chance he can, we need to act now."

"I trust you, Vokara."

Shaak wanted to scream.

All she knew was that something was wrong with her son and no one would tell her what or if he was going to be okay.

Nala Se had tried to scold her for not telling anyone she was pregnant. She'd stopped after Shaak threatened her life.

Colt had stopped by briefly, only long enough to give her a hug and tell him that they were still running tests, but Vokara was keeping him safe. He had been able to tell her that Jace was in an incubator on oxygen and that the Kaminoans were too frightened of the wrath of Vokara Che to do anything without her express permission.

So she was lying in her bed, terrified. It had been hours, and she hadn't seen her son since Vokara left with him and Colt brought her here. And there was nothing she could do about it.

Someone knocked on her door. She sighed, rolling onto her back. "Come in."

Vokara opened the door, taking the seat next to her bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Where is Jace?"

She sighed. "He's stable for now. Colt is staying with him." Vokara's face was perfectly blank, the face of someone about to deliver very bad news. "Do you want me to be blunt?"

"Yes, and no. I'm…scared of what you'll say, but also want to get it over with. I know it's going to be bad."

"Would you rather I started with you?"

"Yes."

"I don't have a lot of good news. But you are going to be fine. You shouldn't have any hip problems. But you will not be able to have any more children."

Shaak sighed. Even if she were able, she wouldn't. She and Colt had decided that they would be taking whatever precautions they could to prevent her from getting pregnant again. But if she couldn't, it would make things easier. "I understand. What about Jace?"

Vokara sighed. "If I'm being honest, I am still gathering information. I ran a few tests and I'm still waiting for the results. But from what I can gather, and what I managed to wring out of the scientists, Jace did inherit the accelerated growth hormone from Colt, but it is only present in some of his cells. That in itself is dangerous. I managed to learn from some of the scientists that the growth hormone requires a lot of extra nutrients, which explains why you went into labour so early. Your body had to expel the baby because it could no longer support both of you."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"I will need the results of the blood tests to be certain. But I do know that his heart and lungs are underdeveloped. I don't know yet how the accelerated growth hormone will affect everything else, but I do know that it may mean his heart and lungs don't grow at all. The rest of him could grow normally, but if his heart doesn't keep up, he'll die. If that's the only problem, then he will probably make it to adosolence. But it almost certainly isn't."

"Oh."

"I have him stable for now. When the tests come back, I can possibly devise a treatment plan based on what I find out. But from what I know at this moment, he was lucky to survive birth. I will see what I can do to get him moved in here, since he might not have much time."

Shaak squeezed her eyes shut, trying in vain to stop the tears. If Vokara Che wasn't sure what to do, then the situation was dire.

"I'm sorry. I'm doing the best I can, but Jace is very, very sick."

"I…It's not okay, but…what can I do? I don't know anything about this. Even if I did I'm still on bedrest. I haven't even seen him."

"I'm working on the last two points. I will get you out of bed as soon as possible. If I can't get you to him, I'll get him to you. You won't be able to hold him, with all the tubes and wires he has, but you can see him at least."

"That's enough. I want to hold him, but I understand why I can't."

"Okay. I'm going to go check on him and see if we can move his incubator in here. We probably can't, but I'll try. How are you feeling physically?"

"Sore. My abdomen hurts."

"I'll see if I can twist arms enough to get you some painkillers, if you haven't gotten any already. Get good sleep tonight and you should be able to get up and walk around tomorrow. You're a lot easier to move, so I'll talk to Nala about moving you closer to Jace."

"You call her by her first name?"

"And it drives her crazy."

He was so small.

Colt sighed, watching Jace's chest rise and fall. It was reassuring, knowing that he could breathe. Not on his own, not well, but he could breathe. He'd barely understood what the

Kaminoan doctors had told him, but from Master Che's expression they'd been doing that on purpose. Her explanation had made more sense.

Somehow, the accelerated growth was only affecting some of his cells and as a result some organs, bones or muscles may not grow at all. He wasn't sure what that meant, but Master Che had explained that it could cause severe and possibly fatal heart problems. That he understood.

Come on little guy.

"Commander?"

"Master Che." He stood to attention out of habit, even though he was exhausted. "How's Shaak?"

"Recovering. She'll be on her feet in a few days. You should get some rest."

"I can go up to 48 hours without sleep. I'm fine."

"And I can Force-heal around 200 patients in a day. That doesn't make it a good idea. Go sit with Shaak. I will stay with Jace."

He sighed. "I can't leave him."

"I will be right here. They won't do anything to him."

"I promised Shaak that I would keep him safe. I'm not leaving him."

"Colt." Vokara set a hand on his shoulder. "Jace is stable. There is nothing more anyone can do until we know more. I've already reached out to as many of my peers as I can. I am running every test I can safely perform. But right now, you need to rest."

"There has to be something I can do."

"Go support his mother. Go be with your wife. And prepare yourself for fatherhood because I will make sure this little one pulls through."

Colt sighed, but he took her advice. He had no idea where his helmet was, probably left in their apartment, so everyone he passed could see how exhausted he was.

"Commander?"

"Hm?"

"Commander Colt."

"Wha-, oh, hey Blitz. What do you need?"

"You alright Commander?"

"As okay as I can be."

"With all due respect sir, you're missing most of your armour and look like you haven't slept in days."

He looked down and sighed. He'd slapped on what armour he could find in a timely fashion in an effort to not be in just his blacks, which was an assortment of leg pieces and one shoulder plate. "Shaak went into labour."

"But I thought she wasn't due until New Year."

"She wasn't. But apparently you can't really stop it once it starts and kid decided he wanted out. His name is Jace. He was born this morning at 0338. Three pounds even."

Blitz was smiling until Colt mentioned his weight. "Three pounds?"

"Yeah. He's in intensive care. Possible heart problems. I'm headed to see Shaak."

"May I join you?"

"Sure, if she's up to visitors."

She was asleep when he got there, but thankfully no IV and only a vital monitoring bracelet around her wrist.

Colt was trying not to wake her up, but her eyelids fluttered and opened as soon as he got close. "Hey there."

She smiled slightly when he kissed her forehead. "How's he doing?"

"He's still breathing. He can't on his own yet, but he's doing okay."

"You're a mess you know."

"I know." He leaned down to kiss her lip, tucking one hand underneath her back lek.

Blitz cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable.

"Commander Blitz," Shaak recovered faster than he did. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, yeah, of course General. Just wanted to see how you were doing. Heard the kid decided to show up early."

"He did. Gave me a good scare. I hope nothing happened while I was out of commission."

"Nothing you need to attend to. Wrecker, I'm sure you remember him, started a food fight in the cafeteria. Someone had the genius idea to put the 501st's Echo and Fives on the ARC rotation at the same time the Bad Batch was on leave on Kamino. That was around noon, it's now," he glanced at the chrono, "2332, and they're still cleaning rations out of the ceiling vents. Please do not ask how they got there. But nothing serious. Just some troopers having fun. How are you feeling?"

"Of course. I'm doing better than expected. Vokara is trying to have me up on my feet again by day after tomorrow, assuming nothing happens in the meantime. We're hoping to have a better verdict on our son's condition by then."

"Well, good luck for what it's worth. What's his name, Jacen?"

"Jace. It's the Togruti version of the Twi'lek name." Shaak leaned her head against Colt's shoulder.

"It's a nice name. I hope he pulls through. Just wanted to tell you both not to worry about Rancor. As long as you need to focus on Jace, Havoc and I will keep things running smoothly. If anything needs your attention specifically, then we'll let you know, but don't worry about anything else. We'll keep Rancor running, the Kaminoans in line, and ourselves alive for as long as you need us too."

Shaak smiled. "Thank you. Hopefully everything will go as smoothly as it can."

I've been feeling kinda crummy. But I can finally go to the doctor's so maybe I can figure out what this random dizziness is from. And then I can stop missing work because I can't drive.