Thrawn stuffed the last bag into the back of the tube car, running through his mental checklist.
"I think that's everything." Thara boosted Eli into his carseat and smoothed his jacket.
"Everything on my list," Thrawn agreed. "Did you bring Eli's new coat?"
"It's here beside him, but I don't think he'll need it. The snows on the slopes should have melted by now."
"It is possible we may have a few cold days and Eli must be kept warm."
Thara leaned over and kissed Thrawn's cheek. "He is blessed to have such a good father."
Thrawn kissed her in return. After making sure the house was securely locked, he slipped into the driver's seat beside Thara and pulled out of the driveway.
The mountains of Csilla loomed in the distance as they drove out of the city. Behind them, Eli sang Zoom, Zoom Starship, joyfully clapping his hands. Thrawn glanced at him in the rearview mirror.
When Thrawn and Thara got married, he had started a tradition of a yearly camping trip. They had had to suspend the tradition while Eli was a baby. Now Thrawn and Thara believed he was old enough to go camping with them. They took him to the park several times a week and he loved watching the birds and squirrels. Thara had played "camping" with him to help him prepare, setting up a play tent and toy camping stove in his bedroom and going on pretend hikes through the house. Thrawn hoped his little boy was ready for his first camping trip. It was the first long trip they had taken with him, other than on the Springhawk.
The singing abruptly stopped.
"Daddy! Eli need the bafroom!"
Five bathroom stops later, Thrawn pulled into a parking area near the foot of a snow-capped mountain. He loaded all their luggage onto a suspensor wagon while Thara unbuckled Eli.
"Daddy, we see bears?"
"I hope not!" Thara perched Eli on her hip and closed the car door. "Daddy and I have never seen any here before."
"I should think such a sighting unlikely," Thrawn assured her. Although, he mused, it had been three years since they had camped in these mountains.
"I want bear," Eli pouted. "Bear soft."
"Your lovey is soft," Thara pointed out, attempting to redirect his attention.
"Bear big," Eli insisted. "Bear pway wif Eli."
"You are not going to be playing with any bears." If Eli was truly this unafraid of wild animals, Thrawn would have to be on his guard even more than usual. "Bears are dangerous, my Eli. A bear would hurt you."
Eli drooped in Thara's arms. "No bear," he said sadly.
Thrawn started the suspensor wagon and took Eli from Thara. He guided the wagon onto the trail leading up to the campsite. They wound through tall trees, climbing higher into the mountains.
"Birds!" Eli pointed up. "I pway wif birds?"
Thara laughed. "If a bird wants to play with you, you can play with it, I suppose."
A family of chipmunks scurried across their path. Eli squealed.
"For Eli, pwease?"
"We can watch the animals," Thrawn said. He didn't want to crush his small son's enthusiasm, but he had to instill an appropriate amount of caution in him. "But we mustn't get too close."
The trail led them over a tinkling mountain creek. Beneath the wooden footbridge, iridescent fish wriggled in the water.
"Daddy! Fish!" Eli reached towards the stream.
Thrawn held him tightly. "Yes, my Eli. When we reach our campsite, you and I will go fishing."
"We keep fish for pet?"
Thara laughed. "Do you want a pet fish, Sweetheart?"
"Put it in Eli's tub!"
"I doubt a fish from the stream would be happy in a bathtub," Thrawn said.
"I pway wif the fish," Eli insisted.
Following the trail, they hiked around a wide curve and beneath the spreading branches of a large tree. A little valley opened up on the other side of the tree.
"I go find bears." Eli wriggled out of Thrawn's arms and scampered through the opening.
"Eli!" Thara dashed after him.
Quickly keying the wagon to pause position, Thrawn hurried after his wife and son. They found Eli peering down a deep hole at the base of a cliff. Thrawn scooped him up.
"Daddy, it a bear den!"
"Eli," Thrawn said sternly, "you must stay with your mommy and me. Do not run away again or I will have to punish you."
Eli looked at him with round eyes. "Eli sowwy! Pwease not be angy, Daddy!"
"I'm not angry, my Eli. I am worried for your safety."
"You could get lost or hurt if you run away," Thara added, petting his hair.
They made their way back to the path and the waiting suspensor wagon. Thrawn reactivated the wagon and they resumed walking. Eli looked around them in silence.
"We're almost there, Eli," Thara said brightly. "You're going to love our special camping spot."
Thrawn and Thara's special campsite lay in a sheltered curve of the mountainside, overlooking a small, brilliantly blue lake. Eli gasped as they entered the hollow.
"So pwetty! We go fishing now?"
"First we must set up our campsite." Thrawn handed Eli to Thara. "Stay with Mommy while I put up the tent."
Thara took her baby boy and settled down on a moss-covered rock next to the wagon. With one arm around Eli, she began sorting through the various supplies they had packed. Eli leaned over her arm, intently studying something on the ground. Laughing, she set him down.
"What do you see, sweet boy?"
"Bugs! I can have bug?" Eli crawled slowly after a large, shiny beetle.
"Thara!" Thrawn nearly dropped the tent.
"Thrawn, Love, it's all right. He's not going anywhere. He just wants to look at a bug."
Thrawn carefully inserted a tentpole, his eyes never leaving Eli. "He has never been in such an open environment before. He does not understand the dangers. I was shocked by his defiance on the trail."
Thara arched a blue-black eyebrow. "I would hardly call that defiance."
"He ran from us."
"He was running to look for an animal, not running away from us."
Stretching the first rope taut, Thrawn grabbed a tent peg. "He deliberately freed himself from my hold. We must watch him carefully, Thara. If he attempts to run again, I will have no choice but to punish him."
Thara didn't reply. Instead, she scooped Eli into her lap, a lump forming in her throat. He would be four in a few months. He was old enough to understand obedience. She knew Thrawn was right, but the idea of her precious, perfect boy getting spanked made her feel as if she had been struck. She looked up in time to see Thrawn hammer the last tent peg into the ground. He smiled at Thara and Eli and she managed to smile back.
"Let's help Mommy unpack the wagon and then we can go fishing." Thrawn caught Eli up in his arms and sat down across from Thara.
Thara tried to forget about Thrawn's words as they set up their camp kitchen, hung a light near their tent, and rolled out the family-sized sleeping bag inside the tent. They were on a camping trip, just the three of them, and she should enjoy it. When the campsite was ready, Thrawn carried Eli down to the sparkling lake. Thara followed, somehow feeling a need to be near them.
"I can keep the fish?" Eli asked.
"The fish are for our supper," Thrawn explained. "We will cook them on our campfire."
"I can keep one fish?" Eli tried again.
"These fish would not make good pets, my Eli."
"Eli need a pet," the little boy sighed.
"Thara, will you hold him while I prepare the fishing pole?"
"Don't you think he'd like to help you bait the hook?" she countered.
"I would prefer that you hold him. He can sit in my lap and hold the pole with me once it is in the water."
"If you say so." Thara took Eli again, noting the way he watched Thrawn slide a worm on the hook. As Thrawn prepared to cast the line into the lake, Eli's eyes darted to the surrounding woods. He jumped up and ran toward the treeline.
"Eli!" Thara reached for him, only to come up short. She dashed after him, catching him just before Thrawn could.
She turned anguished eyes on her husband, clutching Eli to her chest. "Please don't. He didn't mean to. He forgot!"
Very gently, Thrawn pried Eli from her arms. "You know I must. He must learn to obey."
Without another word, he turned and walked back up the hill to their tent. Thara sagged. At least she wouldn't have to witness it. Guilt pricked her. She should be with her baby. She should be with her husband. Spanking Eli was perhaps the hardest thing he had ever had to do.
Slowly, she willed her legs to carry her up the hill. She was just in time to see Thrawn emerge from the tent with a softly sobbing Eli draped on one shoulder. She fought back tears, grateful that Thrawn had made the punishment brief.
"Eli not run away anymore," Eli whispered as she approached, peeping out from behind his hands.
Thrawn's blue face was pale, his glowing eyes dim. The hands that held Eli trembled."I can't keep you safe if you disobey me, my Eli."
Thara drew a trembling breath and tried to smile. "Let's go catch some fish for supper. You know, Eli, Mommy can catch fish, too."
"Yes, Mommy."
Thara winced at the subdued tone in her boy's voice.
"I think I will catch more fish than Daddy," she tried again.
"Ah, I don't think so." Thrawn didn't smile, but at least his hands stopped trembling.
They returned to the lake and Thrawn's hastily abandoned fishing pole. Thara pulled out a second pole and baited her hook. She winked at Eli.
"This is Mommy's secret bait- a piece of nut-paste sandwich. The fish can't resist!"
"Eli …can help Mommy?"
Thara stole a glance at Thrawn. "You can help Mommy for a little while, and then you can help Daddy. Does that sound good?"
Thrawn stared at his pole as Eli settled into Thara's lap with a shuddering sigh.
"I so sowwy," Eli murmured. "Eli not make Daddy sad and angy again."
"We would both be very sad if anything happened to our Eli." Thara kissed the top of his head.
An hour later, Thara had three fish and Thrawn had two.
"I concede," Thrawn said with a small smile. "But you did have help."
Thara handed Eli to Thrawn. "It's time for you to help Daddy now, Eli."
Eli looked at her over his shoulder, hesitantly reached for Thrawn.
"We need to collect firewood for the camping stove," Thrawn explained, his voice gentle. "Come with me, my Eli."
As Thara carried the fish back to camp, Thrawn carried Eli into the woods. They walked in silence for several minutes.
"Do you see the squirrels, my Eli?" Thrawn pointed at a nearby tree where a family of squirrels played.
Eli nodded. "Yes, Daddy."
Thrawn's heart twisted. How could he make his son understand?
He found a pile of dry branches and placed Eli down on the ground. "Help me pick up some branches, please."
Eli joined Thrawn, picking up branches and putting them in the canvas bag he had brought. As Thrawn hoisted the largest of the branches and began to push it into the bag, Eli slowly turned his head. Thrawn froze, dropped the branch.
"What is it, Eli?"
"I see bear. Eli wants bear. Pwease?" Eli turned back to Thrawn, brown eyes wide. "I not run away ever anymore."
"My Eli, a bear is not a safe pet. When you're ready, I will find the right pet for you." Thrawn peered where Eli had been staring. Something large was moving through the trees. It was likely not a bear, but Thrawn was not taking any chances.
Swinging the firewood bag on his shoulder, he scooped up Eli into his arms. "Let's go back to Mommy."
A furry body shot out from behind a tall bush. Thrawn twisted, putting himself between Eli and the animal. He flung the bag in its face and reached for his charric. The creature's soft whimper brought him to an abrupt halt.
A large, fluffy growser sat on the ground, wagging its tail.
"Puppy!" Eli pointed.
A small puppy curled between the growser's paws. Thrawn chuckled. Apparently, the growser was doing the same thing he was: taking its little one for a walk in the woods.
A squirrel scampered up a nearby tree. The pup's ears perked up. Wagging its tail, it dashed after the squirrel, straight toward the big branch Thrawn had dropped.
"Careful, puppy!" Eli shouted.
Just as the puppy's head was about to collide with the branch, the mother growser caught it by the scruff. The puppy yelped and squirmed.
"Wow." Eli hugged Thrawn tightly. "Mommy gwowser save her baby."
"Yes. The pup wants to run and play, but his mommy knows best how to keep him safe." Thrawn lifted Eli's chin, making the brown eyes meet his gaze. "Just as your daddy knows how to keep you safe."
"Eli sowwy. I be good and never, ever run away from best Daddy."
Thrawn held him close. " And I will never, ever let you go, my precious son."
Thrawn cuddled Eli back to the campsite where Thara waited. She smiled when she saw them coming.
"I take it you had a good walk?"
"An excellent walk."
A soft bark interrupted the conversation.
Thara laughed. "I see you brought back company."
The growser strolled into the clearing with her pup at her heels. Eli grinned and clapped.
"It would seem so." Thrawn handed Eli to Thara. He approached the growser and she bounded forward eagerly. "I suspect these two have strayed from one of the other campsites in this part of the mountain. Will you and Eli be all right while I return them?"
"Of course. And we'll have the fish ready when you get back." Thara took the bag of firewood he held out.
"Eli come wif you, pwease?"
Thara kissed her little boy's cheek. "I think that is a wonderful idea."
With her pup held firmly by the scruff, the growser cheerfully followed Thrawn up a trail that led over a hill and into a secluded valley on the side of the mountain. A sturdy, elegant tent in a familiar burgundy sat in the shelter of a large tree. As they approached, the growser gently released her pup and barked a greeting. An older Chiss man appeared in the tent's opening.
"Greetings, Patriarch," Thrawn said, inclining his head.
Eli bowed his head in imitation of his father.
"Thrawn! I see you have finally decided to take your boy camping. And you seem to have found my growser. I was just preparing to go looking for her- she has a habit of straying too far."
The growser bounded up to the Patriarch, her tail wagging wildly.
"She found us, your Venerante. I am glad to be of service." Thrawn bent and retrieved the pup. "Here is her little one."
"Ah, yes. The last of the pups." The Patriarch gazed thoughtfully at the puppy. "I usually have no trouble finding homes for her offspring, but this one is so tiny, no one would take a chance on him."
"A runt," Thrawn said, holding Eli a little more tightly. "That is what some would call him."
"I'm afraid so." The Patriarch's eyes twinkled. "However, I think he's the perfect size for your Eli. What do you think?"
Thrawn blinked. "Your Venerante, I … am not sure Thara and I can afford to purchase a pup from your kennels at this time."
The Patriarch chuckled. "I doubt it. I think Syndic Thurfian nearly changed his mind when I told him the price. But you misunderstand. I wish to give him to Eli, as a gift. Consider it an early birthday gift."
"Puppy.. for me?" Eli slowly reached for the pup. "Fank you, you Benerante."
"I thank you, your Venerante. It is a most generous gift." Thrawn nestled the pup in Eli's arms. "I assure you, Eli and I are most grateful."
The Patriarch rose and clasped Thrawn's free hand. "It gives great pleasure to make your little one happy and to see the pup in a good home."
Thara heard Eli's laugh before she saw her husband and son appear through the trees.
"Look, Mommy! Eli have puppy! I not need a bear now." Eli hugged the growser pup as it tried to lick his face.
"A puppy?" Thara turned to Thrawn.
"It seems the growser we found belongs to Patriarch Thooraki. He gave the pup to Eli."
"For my birfday," Eli added.
"An early birthday present," Thrawn confirmed.
"I'm glad you got your pet, my Eli. He's much better than a bear. " Thara stroked the puppy's soft, floppy ears, then led them over to the camp stove where their fish supper waited.
They sat down on a log, with Eli still clutching his puppy. Thara snuggled up to Thrawn as the three of them partook of the meal. Eli offered tidbits to the puppy, giggling as the pink tongue tickled his fingers.
As the stars began to twinkle in the night sky, Thrawn gently kissed Thara. He held her hand as they entered the tent and slipped into the sleeping bag. Eli nestled between his parents, holding his puppy close.
"I take good care of you, Puppy. Just like Daddy take good care of Eli. You not run away from Eli, okay? I love you, Puppy."
In the starlight, Thara could see Thrawn's glowing eyes mist over as he kissed the top of his son's head.
"I will always take care of you, my Eli. I love you, more than there are stars in the sky."
Author's Note: I finally finished another Baby Eli vignette (fancy word for one-shot)! I haven't fallen off the earth- I got a new teaching job and I've been really busy, in good way! If you are following my LCC: Winter Wonderland story, I promise there will be one final chapter to wrap up that story. :)
How did all that angst get into my fluffy AU? I don't know- somewhere along the way, while I was writing, Eli decided to run and look for a bear and I knew Thrawn would react strongly (but in a Thrawn way). I hope I have not offended anyone by including mentions of spanking. Here in Alabama, it is legal as long it is done correctly. I don't recall reading any specifics of how Chiss parents discipline their children (I've now read all the Thrawn-related books, Legends and Disney), but I think that Thrawn's actions are more or less in character, even though I think he over-reacted a bit. (Of course, in this story, Thrawn has not joined the Empire or made the other choices that led him down a wrong path in Legends and Disney canon.) Thrawn sometimes think he's responsible for everyone and they should let him take care of them because he knows what's best for everyone else.
Of course, he's Baby Eli's dad and he does at least know what's best for his little boy, most of the time. The whole family is happy again and Eli has a puppy! He's a much better pet than a bear or even a squirrel or chipmunk. And unlike a fish, it can cuddle. Now Eli's puppy needs a name. Any suggestions? I'm thinking something from Lysatra, but I'm not sure. I'm also not sure how the Patriarch managed to go camping without a whole entourage, but I'm sure he's enjoying himself. I'm not entirely certain if this AU takes place in a Chiss city above ground or in the Mitth family cavern below ground. Either way works, I think.
I hope to add some more stories soon. We need to check in on Lorana and her baby girl and maybe see some of the other Chiss.
Thank you for reading my story! God bless you!