Star Wars does not belong to me, just Sky & Co.

I've had some wonderful people review my story since I've come back.

Thank you so much to TessaFred and MaisyMason. Also to an unnamed Guest.

And a 'Thank you' to all you wonderful readers.

Ya'll are awesome!

I do apologize for the lack of action at this point in the story. It's coming, I promise!

Side Note: I know Sky normally isn't this emotional, but I figure her hormones are throwing her for just as much a loop as they are Fives.

Trigger Warning: Talk of loss and miscarriage.

As usual, Mando'a translations at the end.

Fives scooted over some on the medical bed, giving his wife more room to get settled as her crying quieted slightly. He rubbed her belly, "So… you really are going to stay home?" Sky pulled back to look at him questioningly. "I'm not saying permanently," he backtracked, "I know that I can't ask that of you."

Vivi trundled out of the medbay, whistling that she was going to find her mistress now that she knew that Skylar was okay. More like she's trying to give us our space.

His wife started to remove his armor. "And I'm grateful that you understand that," she answered softly between sniffles. He stopped her long enough so that he could wipe the remaining tears from her face. She smiled softly at him, "I can't sit on the sidelines while my other half risks his life, but you are right that the baby needs to be kept safe." She removed his pauldron, chest, and stomach plates along with his belt and kama, then leaned over to let them settle on the floor beside the bed.

Fives kept one arm around her to keep her from leaning over too far. She straightened back up and pushed him to lean forward so that she could remove his back plate. "And I can't fight properly anymore to protect him or her, I can't even wear my armor," she dropped his back plate then gestured to her exposed belly. She let him relax as she leaned forward to start working on removing his thigh plates. "I figure, even though I'll hate being confined to Corrie and I'll feel totally useless, I'll just have to find some way to deal with it until the baby's born and through the few weeks it'll take me to recover after."

She went to reach for his left shin and calf plates when Fives stopped her again. He wrapped his arms around her and held her to his chest and kissed her, then pulled back, holding her face gently in both of his hands, "Vor ent'ye, ner Cyar'ika. Thank you."

"You're welcome, ner Kar'ta." She dipped her eyes, still red from crying, down sadly, "I'm just sorry I put you through so much before I finally realized how di'kutla I was being."

"Cin vhetin, S'ika," Fives whispered. "Just as long as this kind of thing doesn't happen again." He tilted his head, "Wait a second, did you just call me your other half? And your heart?"

She nodded, snuggling against him with a sigh, "I'm not whole when you're not with me, F'ika. It feels like something is missing, right here," she gestured to her chest. His breath caught at her declaration. Even though he'd had time to adjust to the fact that he'd married the woman of his dreams, she still knocked him sideways when she said things like that. Some part of me still doesn't believe all of this is real. His wife continued, "So yeah, you are my other half and my kar'ta." He kissed the top of her head. "Now," she started firmly, "will you please let me finish getting your armor off? This cannot be comfortable with your leg like it is." Her voice wobbled at the end, almost as if she was going to start crying again.

He tensed as he saw his wife's expression begin to crumble and her breath hitched like it had while she'd been sobbing earlier. His wife could cry, and did, but usually only after she was certain that everyone was safe. She never broke down this easily. As he thought this over, he felt himself tense further as worry bubbled up in his chest.

Then one word came to his thoughts: Hormones. Gabe had warned him about that, and the whiplash of emotions that came with it. He said the best thing that helped him through it when Deena was pregnant with Briika was keeping her distracted.

I can do that. I've done it plenty of times with Tea when she has her nightmares. He smiled at his wife and responded softly with a very slight teasing note in his voice, "Just can't wait to get me out of my clothes." He relaxed and laughed as he pretended to flinch when she lightly smacked his shoulder.

She rolled her eyes, which looked just a little drier, "That's kind of why we're in this situation in the first place, F'ika."

"Not like it can happen again right now."

He froze, going still with panic when he realized what he'd just said.

"F'ika, are you okay?" Sky asked, worry coloring her voice.

He forced himself to speak, his tongue felt like lead, "It can't happen again now, can it?" He winced at the way his voice squeaked.

Sky started laughing so hard she had to stop working on his armor.

Her hormones, they've made her snap. He felt like his heart was in throat, his panic rising with it, "S'ika, this is a legitimate question here!"

She fought to catch her breath. "You. Are. Adorable," she managed to gasp out, a chuckle escaping between each word. She took a few more breaths, fighting for control, before she could finally manage to speak, "No, it can't happen again." Another chuckle escaped, "At least, not until a bit after this baby's born."

She was still laughing. He shook his head and glared at her. The glare made her laugh harder and he rolled his eyes, "This is not funny."

"Oh, it's pretty funny."

"It isn't."

"Yes, it is," she choked out through another round of giggles. "It is. It is, and I'm telling our vode."

"Oh no, you are not!" Fives cried out in indignation.

"Oh yes, and I'm telling Rex first," she added, sounding as serious as she could while trying to calm herself down.

Embarrassment flooded through him, and he just knew that his face was turning red. "Please, please don't." His face, even his ears, felt hot.

Sky caught sight of his blush and lost control again as a whole new round of giggles started. "Sorry, Cyar'ika," she gasped. "This is way too good to pass up."

This is not what I had in mind when I wanted to distract her. He tried another tactic, hoping he could dissuade her, "And you really think he's gonna believe that?"

His wife smirked at him, "You really gonna try that, ner riduur? You really think he's gonna believe you over me? The one who's pregnant with his niece or nephew?" She settled her hands on her belly, doing her best to look as innocent as possible.

Just by looking at her, at her big brown eyes, Fives knew he was screwed. He'd never been able to look that innocent in his entire life. How does she even do that?

His wife got off the bed and walked to his left leg, smirking as she finished removing the armor plates there. "Tell you what," she stated as she worked on unclasping his boots, then removing them, "I won't tell." She met his eyes again with a sincere look as she put his boots down, "This will stay between you and me, I promise."

He rolled his eyes, exasperated. He knew his wife well enough to know when there was a but coming, "Sure you won't tell. You'll just torture me with it for the rest of my life."

She laughed again as she removed his arm plates and gloves, "Not for the rest of your life, Babe." She winked, "Just until you start to find it funny too."

"That will never happen," he responded with surety in his tone.

"Oh, I think it will. Now, do you think you might be able to stand on your left leg for just a bit?"

"For what?"

She rolled her eyes again at him and sighed, placing her hands on her hips in the same manner he'd seen her brothers copy time and time again. "In case you haven't noticed, there are only two more pieces of armor that need to come off."

He blushed fiercely again as he knew exactly which two pieces she was talking about.

"Seriously, Cyar'ika," she responded as she helped him stand and find his balance. She gestured to herself, "Your wife. Who is pregnant. With your child." She quickly removed both said armor pieces, then helped him lay back down on the bed. "I believe I've seen everything you've got at least a few times," she chuckled as she went about removing her own armor. "And you weren't this shy just a minute ago," she stated as she grabbed a blanket and laid down beside him.

"We're not exactly alone on the ship right now, S'ika. And that was joking," he answered as his wife unfolded the blanket and covered them both. "The last thing I wanted was Lyle to walk in. Or your mother."

And just like that, Fives watched her humor vanish. Kriffing hormones. "I don't shabla care, F'ika. I'm not going to live my life, our life, to convenience her."

"S'ika," he started, trying to put as much reassurance in his voice as possible.

She shushed him and her voice broke, "No more talk about her right now, please." She turned towards him, resting her head on his shoulder as she snuggled close to him, "No more talk of Tar-… No more sad talk of any kind right now. Just you. And me." He felt another tiny movement against his side, where her belly was pressed against him.

Fives gave a resigned sigh. Well, at least she's not sobbing anymore. He rested his cheek against the top of her head, "We do have to at least let our daughter know we're okay. And Tor needs to know what's going on. I'd hate for them to walk blindly into this." Sky's brothers and Tea were close to Tarcca too, they had loved that Wookiee as much as she had.

She sighed deeply, resigned, "Okay. Then just you and me."

Kot froze in the doorway.

The rest of Beta walked into the waiting room and took seats on either side of Gabe's hoverchair, which was parked in a corner of the otherwise empty room. The men spoke quietly with the former sergeant in an effort not to wake Tea and Briika, who were both asleep in Gabe's arms. From his spot at the door, Kot couldn't make out what was being said.

Obviously, his brothers weren't quiet enough. Tea started to stir and looked around at her uncles, who greeted her warmly. She responded to them in kind but kept turning her head this way and that, making her little lekku swing as her face grew more concerned. She'd noticed that one of them was missing. "Where's Uncle Kot?" she asked, panic rising in her voice.

Kot wanted to respond, to let his niece know he was there and that she had no reason to be scared. He couldn't find his voice. His mouth felt dry.

Hew motioned towards the door as he murmured something to the little Togruta. Tea locked eyes with Kot and she slipped off Gabe's lap. She ran to him, heedless of Top telling her to slow down, and smacked into Kot's leg. Thank the Force we put our civvies on before we left the barracks, he thought, grateful. At least the little girl wouldn't bruise herself on his armor.

"You're okay too!" she exclaimed, her little hands latching onto his pant leg. Kot gave a watery chuckle as he picked her up to hold her close. Her little arms looped around his neck and her right lek pressed against his ear.

Now that his oldest niece was in his arms, Kot looked to Briika. He was relieved to see the littler girl's chest and shoulders move as she breathed deeply in her sleep. The girls are okay. Thank the Force, they're okay. He gave another watery chuckle as he noticed the wet spot on Gabe's shirt where Briika had drooled on him while she slept.

"It's gonna be okay, Uncle Kot," Tea murmured. She pulled back in his arms to look him in the face.

He couldn't help but notice the white mark on her forehead had started to change. The beginnings of four wavy lines had appeared, each starting at a point of the white diamond. The white mark also seemed to stand out some as her creamy skin was also starting to darken just a little. Her dark blue montrals with the even darker blue stripes hadn't changed color but were more pointed at the top than they were the last time he'd seen her.

Can't let myself get distracted. This isn't the time to start thinking about how much my nieces have grown. I can't let my mind wander like I did when I lost my first squad.

Kot tried to smile at Tea, but it felt more like a grimace. "I wish you had your optimism, T'ika," he answered softly.

He'd expected her to attempt to say optimism as she asked what it meant, but his breath caught in his throat when she spoke.

"Aunt Zeph's baby is okay," Tea said, with a certainty that only a child could have.

Kot felt the grief hit him again, starting from his chest and radiating outward. She's a kid, she doesn't understand. She wants things to be okay, so she's going to believe that they are.

I don't blame her. I wanted Zephyr to have her kid too. I wanted to… I wanted to be there with them. Help her raise him. He had wanted to hold that little one. He realized then that he had started to want to be able to look at that child like Fives looked at Tea and like how Gabe looked at Briika.

He shook his head slowly and sniffed, fighting tears. "Tea," his voice broke, forcing him to start again, "Tea, he's-"

"With my Momma Clia and Daddy Joph," Tea said as simply, as if the matter was closed. "They'll take care of him."

Kriff, she does understand. He thought back to everything Sky had told him had happened to his niece: orphaned at the hands of Separatist battle droids, forced to work as a slave. She understands too much. He kissed her forehead marking, "Thanks, ad'ika. I hope you're right." His heart hurt for her, she was too little for this.

Tea nodded solemnly, looking, for just a moment, that she was much older than she actually was. "I am right, Ba'vodu. They're in the manda, just like Momma says."

"And your Buir's a smart woman," a feminine voice spoke from behind Kot, nearly making him jump out of his skin had he not recognized the speaker. He turned, "Hey Deena."

She rubbed his arm gently, giving him a comforting look, "Hey Kot'ika. Zeph's been asking for you."

He nodded, "Thanks for looking out for her. I know you're supposed to be in the emergency department. I hope you haven't gotten into any trouble because of… this," his voice shook.

"No, no trouble at all. I told my boss she was my sister-in-law. Just like I did when Sky was here." She reached out to take Tea, who shook her head and clung tighter to Kot. "C'mon, ad'ika. I know you love your Uncle Kot, but it looks like your other uncles are beginning to feel a bit left out." There was a small chorus a quiet chuckles from Kot's brothers as Tea's hands tightened on his shirt.

"Go with your aunt, Tea," Kot said softly. "I'm going to check on Zephyr."

"You're coming back, right?"

He pressed his forehead to hers, "Absolutely."

Tea held his gaze for a moment before leaning out of his hold and into her aunt's arms. Deena took the little girl to Hew, kissed Gabe briefly, then came back to the door. Kot opened his mouth to ask Deena where he should go but stopped when she inclined her head in a way that meant he was to follow her.

Kot didn't remember the walk from the waiting room to Zephyr's room. It feels like I just blinked and here she is.

Zephyr had a room to herself, probably arranged by Deena. The Wroonian girl was propped up in her hospital bed, her blue face blank and unfocused yellow eyes staring in the direction of the big window on the other side of the room.

The half Firreorreo woman touched his arm, getting his attention for a moment. "If you need me, I'll be at the nurse's station," she whispered.

He looked at her confused. She sighed, "The big desk right outside the door."

So, she did arrange for Zeph to get this room. She made sure Zeph was as close as she could be to the nurses just in case she needed help. A feeling of gratitude washed through him, "Thanks Deena."

She shook her head, a warm look in her eyes, "No thanks necessary, vod'ika. We're family."

"Kot, is that you?"

His heart clenched at how weak Zephyr sounded. Deena rubbed his arm again, still whispering, "She'll be okay, she just hasn't slept since… I'll be right out here."

Kot nodded, his eyes on Zeph's as his sister-in-law walked away. He walked into the room and let the door close behind him. Zephyr usually was more relaxed when it was just the two of them. "It's me, Zeph."

"Are you okay?" she asked as he put his robotic arm in the chair by the door. She'd grown accustomed to the thing, sure, but he wanted her to be comfortable around him.

He walked slowly to the bed and put his right hand out to her, "I'm not hurt. You gave me quite the scare." I need to let her lead here. She's not like Sky, or Tea for that matter. If I move too, even it it's just to hug her, she'll shut down.

She looked down at her hands, still clasped in her lap, "I'm so sorry."

He pulled his hand back and sat on the side of her bed, his right hip close to her knee but not quite touching her. "Z'ika," he said softly. She looked up at him, tears welling in her eyes. He sniffed trying to hold his own tears back, "You have nothing to be sorry for. You did nothing wrong."

She looked away, out the window again, "I lost the baby. Just when I-" she shook and he gently placed his hand over both of hers. She unclasped her fingers to hold his hand in her grasp. She held onto him as if she was holding on for dear life and Kot was grateful that his brothers talked him into coming. She needs me.

"I know," he said softly, watching her. She looked back at him. He tried to smile but couldn't. "I know you'd started looking forward to…" He shook his head.

Her right hand came up and touched her face timidly, "So did you." She choked a sob as a few more tears ran down her face, "I'm s-so s-sorry that I t-took that from y-you." She looked down at their clasped hands and started sobbing in earnest.

His heart plummeted. Now I know what Hew felt back at the apartment, when I said this was my fault. "Zephyr, Cyar'ika." He pulled his hand out of her grip and cupped her face. "Look at me. Please."

She looked up, her tears running freely now. He wiped a few away with his thumb, "This isn't your fault." It isn't my fault either. "You didn't take anything from me." He sighed, "If I'm being honest, I am sad about your baby. But I don't blame you, I could never blame you for something that's out of your control." He leaned forward slowly, giving her time to move away in case he was making her uncomfortable. She didn't move, not even a flinch, when he pressed his forehead to hers. She relaxed, closing her eyes as she brought her hand up to keep his hand in place on her cheek.

Kot felt his breath hitch as his own tears finally escaped, "I'm so sorry this happened to you."

She scooted toward him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He wrapped his good arm around her, holding her to his chest as she sobbed into his neck.

"I'm g-glad y-you're h-here, K-Kot."

"Me too."

Mando'a = the Mandalorian language

Kama = belt-spat (affectionately called a 'skirt' by Sky's commando brothers, especially when they're trying to irritate Fives)

Vor'entye = Thank you (much stronger feeling behind this term than ba'gedet'ye)

Ner = my

Cyar'ika = sweetheart

Kar'ta = heart

Di'kutla = stupid

Cin vhetin = clean slate, fresh start

F'ika = little Fives (term of endearment)

S'ika = little Skylar (term of endearment)

Vode = siblings (in this case, means brothers)

Riduur = spouse

Shabla = starts with an 'f' and ends with a 'g'. Not word to be used around younglings.

T'ika = little Tea

Ad'ika = little one, child

Buir = in this case it means Mother, but is also the word for Father

Manda = collective oversoul (Mando version of the afterlife)

Ba'vodu = in this case it means Uncle, but is also the word for Aunt

Kot'ika = little Kot

Vod'ika = little sibling (in this case, means little brother)

Z'ika = little Zephyr