"Well, why isn't she coming?" Fasha asked. There was a slight whine to her voice. Bardock was pleased to hear that Fasha actually enjoyed having Sona around.
"She's not hurt is she?" Tora asked, slightly concerned. Bardock shook his head.
"No, no it's nothing like that. Malaka just said she wasn't fit for duty," he replied. This was a lot harder than he had expected. He didn't think telling his two closest friends that he was going to be a father in a few months was going to be such a challenge. But it was.
"Not fit for duty? Not fit for duty my ass! Where'd that crack study medicine anyway?" Fasha asked, angrily. "Sona's perfectly fine."
"Haven't you noticed anything… different about her?" Bardock asked. This whole beating around the bush thing was lame, but it was all he could think to do.
"Well, I've noticed she's put on a few extra pounds," said Tora. He said this as delicately as possible, so as not to offend Fasha. "That doesn't mean you're not fit for- Oh, Supreme Kai above!" Tora exclaimed, finally getting it. "Is Sona pregnant?" Bardock nodded. Tora and Fasha both stared at him with expressions of disbelief for several seconds.
"When did this happen?" Fasha asked, finally breaking the silence. "We've been on missions practically every hour of every day. And when we're not, she's always hanging out with that doctor guy. She couldn't possibly have had time to mate. And you would think she would have at least told me," Fasha said. "Did she say who the father was?" Bardock sighed. Now for the moment of truth. He wasn't quite prepared for this; his two friends were staring at him expectantly. Both Fasha and Tora knew that Bardock was a bit of a rule breaker, but he doubted that would save him. He was just glad Tora was here. If Fasha tried to kill him, at least Tora could intervene.
"I am," he said at last. As worried as he was, he was relieved to have told someone. Tora and Fasha stared at him for several seconds more.
"I'm sorry, I think I heard you wrong," Fasha said, folding her arms. "You couldn't have said you were the father."
"I did," Bardock replied.
"You imbecile!" she screamed. She flew at him, swinging wildly. Bardock was able to block most of her hits. "You know you're not supposed to mate with crew members! How many times do you have to hear that? And when are you going to start thinking with your brain?" Bardock managed to grab hold of Fasha's wrists, ceasing her attacks.
"Fasha," he said. He wasn't really sure how to calm her down this time. He knew she wouldn't be happy with him, but she should at least try to be understanding. "I'm not stupid. I know that you're not supposed to mate with crew members. So I broke another rule," he said, shrugging. "And c'mon. It's not like none of us know about you and Tora." He glanced over at his friend who put his hands up in surrender, sheepishly. Fasha managed to pull her wrists out of his grip. Her anger hadn't faded any.
"You promised me," she whispered, before storming out. Bardock sighed. He looked to Tora for advice.
"You'd better go talk to her," he said. "I'm sure you'll manage to calm her down." He paused. "A father…" Tora was having just as hard of a time with the concept as Bardock. He scratched his head. "Huh," was all he could think to say. He clapped a hand to Bardock's shoulder. "Well, congratulations, I guess," he glanced warily towards the door. "And good luck."
Bardock walked outside after Fasha. She hadn't gone far. She was leaning her back against the building, her arms folded, and her expression stoic. She hardly acknowledged Bardock's presence as he walked up to her.
"Fasha," he started. Upon hearing her name, Fasha looked at him. Her stoic expression faded. He could see something written on her face, but he wasn't quite sure what it was. Before he could continue with the rest of his sentence, she interrupted him.
"Do you remember when we first met?" she asked. "I hated you. I thought you were a pig. Since then, you haven't really proven me wrong," she laughed slightly. "We've saved each other's lives countless times. You were the only one that's ever really looked out for me." Bardock looked at her with a puzzled expression. Fasha wasn't one to show emotion. She rarely talked of how she felt, and hated reminiscing about the Tuffle war. She sighed. "I just don't want you to forget that, Bardock. I don't want you to forget me."
Bardock almost laughed. Sometimes Fasha let her insecurities run away with her. She was one of the only people he knew that he would actually consider to be his friend. In fact, she was more than that.
"Fasha," he said firmly. "You're practically my sister. I'm not going to forget about you," he smiled. "You make it sound like you're going to die or we're never going to see each other again. This kid isn't going to change that much around here." Fasha smiled a little.
"If it's a girl, you'd better name the damn thing after me," she said, folding her arms again. "And you're right, I'm sorry. I overreact all the time. I just didn't want something like this to break our crew apart. I guess I should have realized that sooner or later you were going to break the only rule you'd left un-broken." She smirked at him. "I think I'll go visit Sona before we leave," she said, and walked away.
Bardock could finally breathe a sigh of relief. The hardest part was over. He would have time to break the news to Borgos and Shugesh on a mission, not that they would really care to know. They would have time for at least two or three missions before his child was born. He was still unsure of how to feel, but realized that whether he liked it or not, this child was coming. Perhaps circumstances would change. Perhaps he was ready to be a father. After all, how hard could it be?