Chapter 2

Trigger warning I guess: there is one joke related to diaper changing here later in the chapter

( I leave this because someone accused me of a weird fetish) It's literally just part of caring for children.

Just going to say this now: please no weird comments. This is supposed to be a wholesome story a bit Krystal. It makes me feel uncomfortable

Also sorry about not uploading the next chapter of SFA A Tale Retold; my wifi screwed up and the next chapter was on google docs, so I could not access it to finish. It's about half done. I should have it up soon. I had this ready so I thought I would upload it in place to keep my intended goal of at least one fanfic chapter per week

Only a few minutes later, Falco had pulled into the hangar, followed shortly by a Slippy. Everyone was wearing their typical attire; mostly their white pilot's jackets.

Parking next to the other Arwings currently in the docking bay, Falco parked the Arwing in the center of the bay, carefully unloading the pod into the center. The pod was round and rusted, though Krystal could see it was a faint grey. It had been without maintenance for years.

Krystal was already at the pod before Falco even dismounted his ship. Krystal stared into the pod window. It was fogged up and she could not see anything but she sensed thought patterns inside. Strangely enough, they felt unfiltered and unfocused. Like that of a child's dreams.

She immediately began inspecting the control panel on the side.

"Careful there Krystal; we don't know what's in there. We should take it slow." Peppy's voice sounded behind her.

Krystal shook her head. "Someone's alive in there! I can sense it! I need to get them out." She insisted, trying to figure out the input to open the pod. However, try as she might, should could not figure it out in her frenzied state.

Without her noticing, Slippy walked up next to her. "Krystal, let me have a go." He said, urging her aside.

Trusting the toad, she stepped back and let him work. He was wearing his usual orange mechanic's jumpsuit and white piloting jacket. He pulled out some kind of device, a pad, from a brown supply pouch on his side and began typing into it. The pad lit up red, as did the buttons on the pod's control panel.

After a minute or two of him typing, the light on the pod's control panel lit up green.

"Got it. The pod's security override was triggered and had been on for a while it seems, to prevent the risk of the pod opening from impact in space I suppose. But I managed to bypass it; it was older tech anyways, so not too hard." Slippy explained. "It should be opening now." He added. Stepping back and putting the electronic pad back in his pocket.

Krystal and the team watched with eagerness as the pod's mechanism started churning on. As the pod's locks were undone and the door finally began to open, Krystal mentally braced herself. She felt a hint of nervousness but above all: excitement.

This was a fellow survivor; she was no longer the last Cerinian! She could barely contain herself. Part of her was tempted to even jump for joy. However, of all the surprises of finding a surviving Cerinian, she most certainly was not expecting what she saw next.

As the pod's door opened, the whole team gasped in shock at what they saw.

A baby girl, hardly even 10 months old, was fast asleep within the pod. She was a fox kit: blue, much like Krystal herself. She lacked the white fur on her face that Krystal did however but had a 'short hairstyle' to her top. Her shade of blue was lighter than Krystal's. She was clad in an old white robe, sized for a toddler like her, with a white cloth diaper visible underneath from where she was seated in the pod's chair. She wore simple sandals on her feet.

She did not seem to notice the pod's opening. Her eyes were closed and she was snoozing away in the comfort of the pod, which was lined with soft fabrics and cushions, including the chair she was strapped into. She appeared to be strapped into the pod by a seat belt and harness.

"She's just a baby…" Krystal said in disbelief.

"Woah… did not see that coming," Slippy said.

"Kinda cute actually…" Falco noted.

Fox remained dumbfounded. "Was not expecting her to be so young…" he added.

Peppy, however, just stared on with a mixture of relief and mild sadness. Krystal guessed he was wondering about the parents...

Some kind of maternal instinct deep within Krystal seemed to activate within the vixen. She immediately stepped forward and started undoing the harness and seat belts keeping the child fastened into the pod's seat. She hastily undid the belts and picked up the sleeping child, holding her firmly in her arms, and resting her against her chest. At once she checked her pulse.

To her relief, the baby was breathing alright.

"Her breathing is stable. Doesn't seem to have suffered any adverse effects to her lungs from prolonged stasis, but I don't know if there are other complications." She added, overcoming her shock and channeling it into resolve. As a warrior, she had practiced putting emotions like shock aside and instead focusing on matters at hand.

As the baby shifted a bit in her sleep, Krystal held the child even more firmly to her chest, ensuring the baby was warm. The rest of the team shook off their initial shock. Fox regained his bearings and began barking orders.

"Alright, good. But we should properly evaluate her condition." He said, turning to the hare.

"Peppy, have ROB ready the ship medical equipment and scanners. " He stated.

"Got it," Peppy stated, leaving to get the medical area ready.

"It was a stasis pod; we've got a toddler alive but she needs a proper evaluation. Krystal confirmed her breathing is stable, but I wanna run another scan on her physical health. And grab something soft for us to wrap her in." He added.

He turned to Falco. "I need you to make a final pass for any more survivors. If her parents or anyone else is alive, we need to be certain." He ordered.

Falco sighed but nodded. "Got it. I'll search the nearby debris." He stated, turning to ready the Arwing for another pass.

Fox turned to the toad.

"Slippy, I need you to prepare sleeping arrangements for the child. Think you can fasten a cradle of sorts?" Hd inquired.

Slippy nodded. "Easy. I can have it ready within an hour; I've modified ships in less time. This is nothing." He stated, confidently.

Everyone left at once to handle their tasks. Fox turned to the adult vixen, who was staring intently at the child.

"… you ok Krystal?" Fox asked.

The vixen sighed and nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just… shocked is all." She said. She began turning toward the hallway leading to the medical wing.

"Come on, let's get her examined," he suggested.

Fox started leading Krystal down the hallway, with the vixen clutching the baby close to her chest.

As the two adult foxes walked down the hallway, the baby started shifting in Krystal's grasp. Slowly but surely she blinked her eyes awake, staring groggily and in confusion at her new caretakers. Krystal noted she had baby blue eyes, which complimented the child's fur.

Krystal smiled. "She's awake." She told Fox.

The team leader looked down at the child. "Huh. Seems that she is…" he noted.

Krystal looked at her and cooed. "Welcome to the ship little one." She said softly.

The girl stared at her in confusion, her innocent blue eyes fixated on Krystal. She could not help but cock her head in curiosity.

Krystal could not help but blush. "She's adorable." The adult vixen gushed, before she hugged the child more firmly, nuzzling her affectionately.

"Yeah. I'll admit that." Fox agreed, shooting another glance at the baby. "Wish we had a name to call her though…"

"It's Shira," Krystal stated. "I scanned her mind for anything we could go off about her origins. She recalls very little, but this name was implanted in her mind. I'm positive it's hers." The vixen stated.

Fox nodded. "Well then, Shira it is then." He affirmed.

By now they had made it to the medical bay. The room was a pristine white, like the rest of the ship after the recent repairs. All kinds of medical technology were present. ROB and Peppy were in the room, the hare seated in a chair near Rob. He had a holo pad in his hands.

"Ah, you're here. Good." He greeted the pair. When he laid eyes on the child, the hare gave her a warm smile. "Oh, she's adorable." He commented. "Reminds me of my daughter when she was that age."

Both adult foxes smiled but Krystal briskly walked forward. "Can I hold her while we do the examinations? I want to make sure she feels comforted. She just woke up." She insisted.

Peppy nodded and had Rob hand him a scanner. The device was rather simple, it was merely a white stick with a camera lens and scanner at the end of it. Doctors and field medics used it to get a quick diagnosis of one's physical condition. It was the latest version in a long line of medical products produced by certain companies. That it could give a thorough diagnosis within seconds made it powerful yet expensive; luckily the Star Fox team could afford that kind of tech after the Sauria job's paycheck.

The old hare walked over and scanned the child with the device. A few light rays appeared over the girl, moving from her head down to her legs. Within a few seconds, it was done. Peppy looked over the results on the screen found on the back of the scanner. It could not tell them every specific physical problem one might have, but it was certainly useful for picking up any serious wounds that needed more thorough examination.

As Peppy read the result, Fox noted Krystal looked particularly weary and anxious. He would have spoken up, but Peppy finished his diagnosis rather quickly.

"I've got the results. She appears to be in decent shape." He said simply.

Krystal raised a brow. "Are you sure? No breathing problems, malnutrition, or protein deficiency? She must have been in there for years." Krystal pointed out.

Peppy shook his head. "This things meant to be thorough. If something were wrong, it would have alerted us." He said, handing Krystal the scanner. "Take a look."

Krystal took the scanner in one hand and firmly held the child in another one. Shira looked around at the various blinking lights from the equipment in the room.

Krystal read through the results thoroughly. "Incredible! I would have expected at least malnutrition. I guess the stasis pod worked quite well." She noted, searching through the results. She could see no sign of physical injuries, or deficiencies in vital functions or proteins the body needed to survive.

She handed the device back to Peppy. But something crossed his mind. "What about sickness? Children her age can get sick easily. What if-" she trailed off, beginning to fret again.

Fox took note of her anxiety and moved to comfort the vixen. He put his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay. If anything is wrong, we'll know." He insisted, signaling to Peppy to grab another medical device. Fox did not need to be telepathic to sense his teammate's stress.

He didn't blame her, though. This was the very last Cerinian as far as they knew, how could she not worry about a fellow survivor? Especially a baby.

Krystal took a deep breath and nodded to him. "Thank you…" she muttered. She looked at the baby, who was curiously looking around the room. She smiled warmly at her.

Finally, Peppy brought over another piece of supplies: another stick-shaped device with an end intake of one's salvia.

"We can use this to check for any kind of sickness. Just need a sample." Peppy said.

Krystal nodded and brought up the child towards the hare. He held it out to the child's mouth, but to their amusement, Shira snatched it from his hands and started teething on it. The three adults shared a laugh.

"Having fun there, little one?" Fox joked. The baby did not do a whole lot, too caught up in her teething.

Peppy chuckled a bit, before reaching for the device from the child's mouth. However, he could not get her to let go

"Come on now, younin', no need to be feisty." He said as the child refused to let go. Peppy sighed and signaled for Fox to hand him a soft fabric sitting on the table. He offered it to the child, who let go of the device and replaced it will the fabric. The child began teething on it.

Krystal raised a brow in confusion, as Peppy laughed.

"Babies teeth at random. It's better to replace the item they are using than yanking it away. Took me a moment to recall, though." He noted.

Fox just looked on in confusion, as Peppy inspected the device.

"I'm gonna run this through the scanner, and see if it picks up anything.' Peppy noted.

Krystal nodded and sat down in one of the nearby chairs, next to Fox. She could not help but act amazed at the potency of the technology they had on board. The "scanner" and other examination tech they had in this room could give detailed feedback about a patient's condition within minutes, something that could usually take a regular doctor a while longer to do depending on the ailment or injury. Fox had told her it was all cutting-edge technology straight from Corneria's top pharmaceutical firms. She recalled Fox mentioned paying a good deal of money to have them installed onboard the Great Fox. Given the dangerous life they lived as mercenaries, though, who could blame him for doing so? They were too useful, in Krystal's opinion.

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, as she thought she felt something from the child. She seemed to be focusing. Though she had not had a chance to sit down and think since picking up the child, she took the moment to channel her telepathy and read her emotions. The child's mind seemed… different than other minds.

"Hey, Fox. I'm sensing something from the baby." She said, getting his attention.

"What's wrong?" The tod asked.

Krystal looked at the focused expression on her face. She seems to be… focusing on something." Krystal noted.

"What is she doing?"

Krystal paled. "I'm not sure." She added nervously. Suddenly, however, Krystal felt something, for lack of better words, happen to her mind.

She felt like a sudden bond had just formed between her and the child. As if a newfound sense of duty and desire to protect was just implanted in her mind in an instant. Like feeling the kind of affection one has for a parent or close loved one. The sensation was sudden; it had to be empathic. Almost like… her telepathic abilities…

Then it dawned on her what was happening. She nearly jumped for joy. She dropped any weariness in her attitude and hugged the child firmly yet comfortably.

"Seems you have a special gift, little one." She said, dotingly. Shira laughed and smiled at Krystal and hugged her back, eliciting a blush out of the adult Cerinian.

Fox watched this unfold, bewildered. After letting Krystla hug her ward for a moment, he shot her a questioning gaze. "What's all the excitement?" He questioned.

Krystal sat Shira down and smiled at him. "I just realized what she did: she was forming a telepathic bond with me!" The adult vixen proclaimed, in an excited tone.

Fox gave her a confused look. "What?"

Krystal smiled sheepishly at him and thought to herself as the child began poking at her earrings. "How to explain? Well, you see my telepathic abilities were somewhat rare amongst my people. However, the abilities would always manifest themselves in our infants initially through 'mental links' or bonds, much like Shira here just did. It's the first sign she had these powers." She stated.

Fox nodded. "Okay. Not something I would know about but I follow. So the girl has abilities like yours?" He inquired

Krystal nodded"Yes. Or she will in the future. Telepathic abilities lay dormant in their users for years until they are at least about ten or eleven years old. Shira won't be able to control them or even really use them effectively for a while yet. The most that comes out of telepathic children her age are a few headaches with their linked guardians." She explained.

"Alright. But can you explain this "telepathic bond" to me a bit more? What is it exactly and what does this mean for you?" He pressed.

Krystal thought for a moment. "Think of it like a subconscious bond between a child and their parent. It normally only happens when a child becomes emotionally attached to someone. It's a sign of trust." She said, smiling happily at the little fox girl. She patted her head affectionately. "However, it also means she can both read my emotions and project her feelings to me in times of need." She explained.

Fox nodded. "That's good; it means she likes you." He said, eliciting yet another smile out of the vixen. Fox then seemed to realize what the other part of this entitled, however. 'But I guess it means she can literally give you headaches when she cries." He stated.

Krystal nodded, a bit wearily. "Sadly, yes. It's a good sign for her mental health, though. She doesn't seem to carry much trauma, though I don't know if she realizes what happened to our world." She said, a bit sadly.

Before Fox could comfort her, ROB spoke up, causing both foxes to drop the subject.

"Scan complete. "The android announced. He handed a holographic tablet to Peppy, who enlarged the screen to show it to Fox and Krystal.

"Good news, we found no adverse effects on her health. No illness, no hypothermia, or any sort of sickness. That pod she was in must have been pretty efficient." He noted.

Both adult foxes smiled. Krystal sighed in relief. 'Thank the Krazoa for that." She muttered.

Fox's scanner started beeping, signaling an incoming call.

"It's Falco. I'm gonna return to the hangar to speak to him if that's fine. Will you all be alright?" He asked.

The hare and blue vixen nodded. Fox nodded in acknowledgment and stepped out for a bit.

After doing so, Peppy turned to the blue vixen. "Well, seems her health is in order. But there is still more to do." He stated. "I know we just found her but… what are we going to do with her?" He asked.

Krystal raised a brow. "Can you elaborate?" She pressed. She had an idea of what he meant be it was better to be direct.

"Well, it's soon, I know but we still got to have some sort of plan for what to do with her, Krystal. We have a few options; we give her to an orphanage, pass her off to one of the team members' family or friends for adoption, or keep her. "

Krystal grew silent. She could deny Peppy's point: they had to figure out something. Finding a suitable family to raise the child certainly seemed like their first bet. It's not like most on the team, including her, we're exactly adept at caretaking. Neither did the Great Fox have a stocked nursery or kang of the faculties needed to take care of a baby; it was not built for raising a family, and it was meant to lodge mercenaries in their day-to-day lives.

Still, Krystal could not help but already feel attached to the child. If part of it was maternal instinct, she certainly would not know. But this was perhaps the last Cerinian alive, other than her! And she had telepathy. It was likely Krystal could teach her of their kind's ways and how to use her gifts.

"I don't know yet, Peppy. I know we just found her and all, but she could be the only other of my people left; I can't just let her go so easy." She stared, unsure.

To her relief, the hare seemed to sympathize with her.

"I understand. It's a big decision and I understand your circumstances. I just need you to think about it is all, no need to rush your decision." He stated.

He then glanced at the baby again. "However, she still has needs to attend to in the meantime. Just how exactly are we going to take care of her? We don't exactly have baby supplies or much of a place to sleep for her. She can't just be left in any bed without guards to keep her from falling off." He pointed out.

"Slippy is working on a cradle for her as we speak." She responded. The old hare nodded to that.

"Alright, but there's more to a baby than that. We got to figure out what to feed her. She looks only about nine or ten months old: no way she is fully weaned off milk yet. She'll need formula and soft foods." He pointed out.

Krystal was at a loss. In times past her tribe had various caretakers who would nurse the children of others as needed, but Krystal was not exactly lactating right now.

"Umm, maybe we can get some more at our next stop?

Peepy shrugged. "I'll run it by Fox. He'll understand the necessity for this stuff. I'm sure regular milk will do the trick for a single night." He mused

"But finally, what if we need to change her?" Peppy pointed out. "It will likely be until tomorrow that we can find a place that sells supplies. We are pretty far off from any habited world as it is." He stated.

Krystal growled again. She thought for a moment, trying to come up with a solution: this child would need diapers but they had none. She tried to think back to what the tribes of Cerinia had traditionally done before importing more modern toiletries. Then it hit her:

"Uh, fabrics and linens I guess," she suggested.

The old hare shrugged.

"I suppose. Well, if it's all good for the moment, I do have to ask: are you ready for something like this? Taking care of children her age is a handful. I would know. And before you say it: I am aware that we just found her but are already seems attached to you. " Peppy reasoned.

Krystal was silent for a moment, thinking how to respond. "I understand," she replied.

Krystal looked at the child-rearing comfortably and back to Peppy. A sudden wave of confidence washed over her." I think I can handle whatever comes up. She already seems to like me, as you aside ." She said, with an air of certainty to her tone.

Preppy lightly chuckled. "Confident, are we?"

Krystal shrugged. "I mean, we already confirmed she is in good health and discussed all the things she needs at the moment, plus we figured out how to cover those needs right?" Krystal responded. She was unaware the child started showing an expression of concentration on her face.

"She's not even a year old yet, it can't be too complicated to care for her, can it?" Krystal mused.

The old shot her chucked again. "You would be surprised.

Krystal shrugged and smiled at the child.

"I mean, how much trouble can one baby be?" She asked.

As if on cue, the child started crying.

The vixen panicked, any confidence she had suddenly lost. What was she doing wrong? She scrambled to figure out why the baby was crying, trying to figure out what was wrong.

However, a rather nasty smell hit her muzzle, nearly making Krystal gag. Then it hit her what might be the problem.

Krystal stood the girl up on the nearby table and lifted the back of her robes to check her. To her dismay, she noted that the child's diaper was a bit expanded in the back.

She looked wearily at the girl, nearly panicking. Peppy, who was nearby, laughed a bit.

"You were asking?" He teased lightly. Getting out of his chair, he signaled Krystal to follow. Krystal looked at him with unease, and then back to Shira.

"Come along now. I've done this kind of thing before; we can use some spare fabric for her." He noted.

The blue vixen looked at him with unease. "I don't suppose… you could change her for me right?" She tried, wanting to avoid having to do this.

The hare laughed her off. "This time, sure. But you're gonna need to learn how to do this if you are to look after her." He pointed out.

Krystal sighed and held the crying child firmly but a bit away herself.

This was going to be harder than she thought…

Back in the hangar, Fox greeted Falco after he had landed and got out of his Arwing.

Fox looked at him but the pheasant just shook his head.

"As I said, got nothing sadly. The poor kid is likely all that's left." He stated.

Fox sighed sadly. He knew this was likely to be the case when they found the child but it did not make this reality any less grim.

"That's a shame. But thank you for checking again." He added.

The avian nodded in acknowledgment. However, he then shot Fox a questioning gaze.

"Soooooo…" he began, circumspectly. "What we gonna do with the kid?" He asked.

Fox raised a brow. "Haven't figured that out yet." He said simply. "Going off how Krystal toon to it, I guess it's up to her." He stated.

Falco looked at him wearily. "Forgive me but: are you sure that is such a good idea?"

Fox grew slightly mad at that. He did not take too kindly to any sort of jab at the vixen. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, a bit sternly.

Falco shot up his hands( feathers) defensively."Take it easy Fox. I mean no offense to her of course. It's just; are any of us cut out for this babysitting thing? I need not remind you that we are mercenaries, it's not like this lifestyle is exactly, ya know, safe or particularly stable income-wise. And kids are expensive " he pointed out.

Fox nodded in agreement. It was true, that being a mercenary was dangerous and never guaranteed solid pay per job; they often put their lives on the line and sometimes they barely covered the cost of operating their equipment. Hardly ideal for the guardians of a toddler.

"Sure, but we had to do something. We could not just leave her there." Fox responded.

"Of course, we couldn't do that. I don't doubt we did the right thing by saving the kid, but we are gonna need to figure out a plan for her really fast." The pheasant pointed out. "I don't know about Krystal but I don't think the rest of us here are exactly ready to handle something like this; our babysitting skills are a bit lacking ya know," Falco added, before thinking. "Well, maybe besides Peppy but his parenting days seem pretty far behind him. " he stated.

Fox could not counter any of those points. Everyone on the team was, practically speaking, soldiers and pilots. Sure Slippy's skills were a bit more on the technical side but even he was a fighter through and through. Krystal especially struck Fox as a warrior first and foremost.

"I suppose you're right about that, too. I'll admit: I would probably just put the kid up for adoption or give her to a friend who could take care of her, but…" Fox trailed off.

"But what?" Falco pressed

"Well, the thing is Krystal seems to have already become attached to the kid. She's hardly let her out of her grasp since she picked her out of the pod. Was already hyper-worried about her every possible problem." He stated.

"Can't say I blame her; we did just pull a baby out of a, I'm guessing, several-year hypersleep. Who wouldn't be worried?" He pointed out.

Fox nodded. "Yeah, but even then she already seems attached. Though, given what she's suffering with the loss of her planet, who could blame her?" Fox mused. He was not surprised she would quickly become attached to perhaps the last survivor of her home world.

Falco shrugged."Yeah, I get that. I don't know anything about paternal instincts or whatever maternal instinct Krystal might have, but more power to her." He said. "So, I'm guessing you'll give her the final say on what to do?" He questioned

Fox nodded. "I suppose. I don't know what else to do, nor do I wish to deny Krystal this. I can't imagine the mixture of emotions she feels right, He stated. " All we can do is give her space and figure this all out once we get a better grasp on things." He stated.

Falco shrugged. "Fair enough. Can't say I disagree,

though perhaps we should wait a bit. I think we are jumping to conclusions about the situation a bit quickly. " he stated.

Fox nodded, as he began walking into the hallway with Falco

"Sorry to drop all that on ya at once but I feel it's. better we discuss it sooner than later. I'm no expert on babies but it's better to prepare yourself as best you can; they can change your life pretty fast, imagine." Falco stated.

The vulpine again nodded in agreement.

Falco, however, gave him a weary glance. "Although, I might request you not come to me for help babysitting. If none of us are prepared for this kind of thing, then let me be clear, I especially am not," he said, emphasizing the last part.

Fox sighed and nodded, walking down the hall with the bird to Slippy's room. With any luck, the toad would be done with the cradle…

Krystal's room

Krystal let out an exasperated sigh as the toddler finally began to fall asleep. Peppy had managed to change her successfully a little while ago, making use of some spare linens. Krystal berated herself mentally, "And there was me thinking I had the figures off." She didn't know what gave her any sort of confidence about this. Preppy had instructed her on how to change the baby, as well as how to hold and feed her properly with a bottle. They had to make use of a glass from the kitchen this time until they got the supplies tomorrow. It was already late in the afternoon, and Krystal was exhausted.

The mental taxation of returning to her homeworld's ruins and finding a fellow survivor had taken its toll on her. After getting over the stress of seeing home, she couldn't help but feel that today had indeed been a good day. In her arms was another Cerinian! She was no longer the only one of her kind left. Already the thought of passing on her people's ways to this child when she was older... then it dawned on her, was she up for that?

She had barely had Shira for a few hours by now. She had already proven a handful, of her antics in the medical bay, and changing her had shown the vixen anything. Yet, she could not help but be attached. Krystal cradled the sleeping child in her arms. It was crazy to think that, other than Peppy changing her, Krystal had not let her out of her arms at all. The vixen had already become protective of the kit, not just because of maternal instinct but because this, to her knowledge, was the only other Cerinian she knew of to still be alive. She had to be protected at all costs; the legacy of their planet and people had to survive. As far as the vixen could see, this child was the very last vestige of Cerinia, other than her.

Plus she is pretty darn cute at that.

As such, she was too precious to Krystal already

That being said, as much as Krystal was becoming attached to the baby, she had to admit she had only the faintest idea of how to take care of her. The vixen had no idea what being a caretaker was like; she had always focused on her training as a warrior. But now things were different; the child was her responsibility. Surely finding Shira was what the dreams were beckoning her to do right? What else could there have been amongst that degree that the team did not find during their search?

And there was the fact that she was the only one left who could impart the history of their dead planet and civilization onto the child, as well as the only one who could teach her to hone her powers when she was old enough to speak, of course. Could she be a teacher to her, as well as a caretaker?

She did not know. It was a daunting prospect.

A knock at her door broke the vixen from her thoughts. "It's Fox. Can I come in?" The male Fox inquired.

"Yes, just owe your voice. The baby is sleeping." Krystal responded. Telepathically at that; she could send signals to people's minds nearby if she was acquainted enough with them.

Fox entered the room, taking note to quiet his footsteps. He sat next to Krystal on the bed.

"How are you holding up?" He whispered.

"Fine," she said simply. She knew what he was here to inquire about. "Before you ask: yes, I am truly alright. It was… harrowing to return to Cerinia." She said, her expression falling. But her gaze lightened as she looked at the sleeping child in her arms. "But I think it was worth it. She would still be drifting in that pod if we did not find her. Thank you for bringing me back here Fox."

She stated.

Fox seemed a bit surprised, likely at her positivity it smiled and nodded. "In that case, I am happy to," he said.

He glanced at the sleeping child in her sense "How is she?" He inquired.

Krystal sighed. "Alright, but a handful. She had an 'accident' after you left; not gonna be fun getting used to those…" she mused, wearily.

She turned her head towards Fox to look him in the eye. "I do have to ask you something…" she began. "I know it's a big ask and I might be jumping to conclusions here but may I keep her on the ship; at least for a while?"

Fox was silent as if registering what she was saying. Krystal grew anxious. She had already asked so much from the vulpine; wasting fuel and valuable time to return to the ruins of her homeworld, spending hours scanning it, taking in this child. Now she was more or less requesting indefinite housing for the child she practically had already decided to adopt

Finally, he spoke up. "Before I answer

"I know I'm asking a lot… and you've already done so much for me" she acknowledged.

Fox free silent. "Before I answer that, I need to ask you a question: what do you plan to do with the child?" He asked her.

Krystal blinked. She got a feeling of what he meant, as she could simply read his mind, but she found it better to trust if she had him explain himself personally.

"What do you mean exactly, Fox?" She pressed.

He sighed once more. "I know it's early, we just found the baby a few hours ago." He reminded her. "But surely it's not too much of an assumption to say you seem attached to her; not that I don't understand why," Fox assures her.

Krystal nodded in acknowledgment

"With that in mind, what might you want to do with her? Keep and raise her? Give her up for adoption? Or do you know yet?"

Krystal sighed again. It was a heavy question but one that needed to be asked. This ship was far from an ideal place for a child to grow up, and if they were going to keep her here, at least for the time being, she had to inform Fox anyway so that they might be able to get what they needed to accommodate a baby.

"I…I don't know entirely. I've never really cared for children before, Fox. But… I already know I can't just part from her; she is the last of my kind. I have to at least be there to help her in the future…" she answered, unsure how else to respond.

Luckily Fox simply smiled at her.

"Then it's settled; we'll get what we need to care for her in the time being," he said simply.

Krystal looked at him. "Are you sure? I don't want to force you to."

But Fox shook his head. "It's alright; I understand Krystal. I can't force you to rush a decision like this. Besides, we still have plenty left over from the Sauria job; more than enough to get what child her age needs." he said, smiling at the sleeping toddler in Krystal's arms.

"... thank you Fox," Krystal muttered. Impulsively she got up and hugged him with her free arm while keeping the child carefully contained in the other.

She let go once she realized what she had, done and blushed. She swore she saw Fox's face turn bright red before he averted his gaze for a moment. Although she was positive she thought she saw a smile.

She had not quite seen the usually serious leader of this team quite so bewildered or awkward in her life. Nor had Krystal felt that kind of awkward ever before.

She did not even want to read his mind to know what he was thinking; to know how awkward this must have been.

He hurriedly turned around. "I'll let you take the rest of the night to think on things. We'll try to stop somewhere tomorrow to get more baby supplies," he said, before hurrying out

Krystal decided not to dwell on that but felt elated to know Fox would be so accommodating for her. She would have to thank him tenfold.

For now, though, she could not help but glance at the sleeping child in her arms.

She carried her over to the cradle Slippy had mustered, having readied it with soft sheets and fabrics. She set the child down in it and smiled.

"Sleep well, little one," she muttered, before returning to her bed.

Today had been… eventful to say the least. For now, the Vixen felt she would take a nap.

She could not help but wonder what tomorrow would bring….

Just in case there are any complaints about Fox being hesitant, I want to kind of put this a bit more into perspective: from his point of view, he used valuable fuel and the team's time and resources to go all the way to Cerinia, and scan just to give Krystal closure and help with her nightmares, then he took in Shira's pod and gave the baby medical treatment(which anyone with decency would)

But letting Krystal keep her is a bit pushing it, even for him. Understand, adoption is not any simple thing; it's hard to be a parent, especially if someone is coming from being a soldier or fighter of some kind with no experience in child care. And babies are extremely hard to manage and raise. Most people would not have gone as far to keep a child in this situation; they would have given it to a loving home as fast as possible.

Fox knows as well as the rest of the team that beyond Peppy none of them knew the first thing about taking care of young children, even Krystal does not. The Great Fox is a tight spaceship meant for temporary living between missions at most; it's not an idea place to raise an infant. That's without getting into the fact that, if Shira were to grow up there, she would be trapped and have like no friends her age, since they are going from place to place.

Just keeping a baby on board could be a huge detriment to his team, since they would have to focus on helping take care of Shira as well.

So, I just wanted to point all that out. Fox was not trying to be a dick by being hesitant or guilt her. I did note some of this in the chapter, but it is probably good to be overt.

And, the fact he is not only letting her keep the child onboard the ship but buying Krystal supplies should be a pretty decent thing to do right?

He's doing it because he is in love with her if that was not clear enough.

Anyway, just thought I would leave that here.

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