Hera's mornings still started early. Turns out peace could only be so peaceful with a newborn around. Not that she was complaining.
Jacen Syndulla was born the day that the Empire fell. Kanan said it was a work of the force. A cosmic sort of gift, representative of the peace and the hope that they had all given so much of their lives to achieve. Hera just chalked it up to good timing.
Ezra took to Jacen like Purgill took to the sky. There had been some initial hesitancy when she and Kanan first found out that they were expecting. With Ezra still fairly early in his recovery, the idea of adding another big change to all of their lives was more than a little scary. But when they told the crew... Hera didn't think she'd ever seen Ezra so happy before. It was sweet, and he fell into the roll of big brother incredibly well.
Which is why Hera was not at all surprised to see Ezra already awake that morning, warming up a bottle for an already cleaned, changed and dressed Jacen.
"Mornin', Mom," Ezra smiled over his shoulder at her and she returned it in full force. Him calling her 'mom' was still fairly new, and it felt special every time she heard it. At first, they all justified it through Ezra's recovery. 'Mom' was easier to say than 'Hera', and on the days that words were more difficult for him, it would be a good shortcut. Now the justification was that it would be less confusing for Jacen. But the whole crew knew that their reasonings were hollow. It had been a long time coming.
"I made caf already," Ezra grabbed his crutch and turned back towards where Jacen was sitting in his high chair, bottle in hand. "It's over there." He tilted his head back towards the counter where a fresh pot of caf sat, just awaiting her.
"You're the best." Hera leaned down to where he was settling down and kissed the top of his head, which he pretended to bat away. Hera was trying to be better about showing affection ever since Ezra had first gotten sick. There's nothing quite like nearly losing one of the people you love the most to put some things into perspective for you. And it seemed to help his recovery along, as well. That physical assurance of love and support. The promise that even though his whole universe had been flipped on its head again, this time he wasn't going it alone.
"Do you and Kanan have any training plans for the day?" Hera threw the question over her shoulder as she poured herself a cup of caf.
Ezra didn't process her words right away, his focus entirely on Jacen. He held the infant in his arms, holding in a coo at the little sounds he made as he took his bottle. It was perhaps the most precious thing he had ever experienced in his entire life.
Hera cleared her throat a bit, catching his attention this time. She settled down in the seat next to him, reaching out to hold Jacen for herself.
"Sorry, what was the question?" Ezra's brows furrowed as he passed Jacen to his mother. It had taken Ezra nearly a year to stop getting frustrated with himself every time he couldn't make out the words he was being told. He still struggled with the anger sometimes. For all the danger that he had been in throughout his life, it had seemed so... innocuous that an illness would be the thing to alter his life and body so permanently. Granted, he'd recovered better than the doctor's expected, but he'd most likely forever have mobility issues. And conversations could still prove challenging on some days. Everything would be fine one moment and the next it was like everyone else was speaking a different language.
"Are you and Kanan doing any training today?" Hera repeated, hoisting Jacen up against her shoulder and patting his back gently now that he was done with his bottle. Ezra appreciated her normalcy. She was never one to patronize, and after everything, the steadiness of her attitude was a balm against an open wound.
"Oh. Uh, yeah, pretty sure he wanted to do some meditation exercises before lunch and some PT stuff after." Ezra stood up, rolling his wrist a few times before grabbing his crutch. "Don't worry, he said we'd be done before the lovebirds get here tonight." Ezra rolled his eyes, but there was no real heat behind it. They both knew that he was happy for Zeb and Kallus, even if their PDA could be a bit... gratuitous... at times.
Hera chuckled, sitting Jacen back down in his high seat with a toy he was guaranteed to drop onto the floor in the next 5 minutes. She began to tidy up around the living space as Ezra started making his way back towards the sleeping quarters.
"I'm gonna go wake up Kanan," Ezra threw back towards Hera, who gave him a little nod in return.
"Tell him the next diaper is his responsibility!" She quipped back towards him as Jacen, as predicted, threw his toy down on the floor, grunting and grabbing at it like it had been entirely unintentional.
Ezra's laughter faded down the hallway.
Dinner with Kallus and Zeb had been running too smoothly.
Everything, really, had been running too smoothly as of late. It had only been a matter of time before something came along to shatter the fragile life the crew had built for themselves on Saleucami.
And shatter it did. Just, perhaps, not in the way any of them had been expecting.
"So, whad'ya think?"
Zeb's question hung in the air between them, the only sound breaking it up being Jacen's happy babbling as he clumsily fiddled with the toy that Kallus had brought for him.
"We could go back to Lothal...?" Sabine breached it first.
Ezra was still holding his breath. It all sounded too good to be true. Sure, he could survive just about anywhere, but his heart had never really left Lothal. Never left his people. And now there could be an opportunity to go back and make a real difference.
All it required was uprooting his family and jumping back into the fray, this time with an infant to consider.
They would be taking on more administrative roles, to be fair, now that they would be working for the government instead of against it. But none of them were naive enough to think that they would no longer be attracting enemies. The New Republic was doing their best to fill the power vacuum left by the fall of the Empire, but that didn't mean that opportunistic individuals with less-than-pleasant intentions weren't going to attempt to take advantage of the awkward transition.
"How long do we have to decide?" Hera muttered, looking strangely helpless. Her hands twitched in her lap like they were trying to escape the conversation.
"The New Republic wants to get people out there as soon as possible, but they'd probably be willing to wait a week or so for your response." Kallus folded his arms against the table, leaning his weight into them with a sigh. "I know it's not ideal, but the New Republic is trying to establish a strong relationship with the outer rim planets. And yours are all faces that the people of Lothal trust. You've proven your good will towards them. It would be better to install you guys as representatives for the area over some stuffy inner-rim type."
Hera just nodded, refusing to meet anyone's gaze. She just needed to think for herself, for a moment.
"It all makes sense," she eventually settled on, "I just... wish the timing were better..."
"The timing will never be better," Kanan interjected, reaching a hand out to cover her own. "Good timing has never been in the cards for us, Hera. And this is a great opportunity. Steady work in a place we're all familiar with. Work that we're passionate about. Work that is going to help the people we spent so many years trying to protect."
"I think we should take it," Sabine chimed in. "Or at the very least consider it."
Kanan and Sabine were right. She knew they were right. But the prospect of it all was so big, it was hard to get a handle on. For the first time maybe ever, she had carved out some sense of normalcy for her and her family, and having to start that entire process over again was daunting to say the least.
"Hera," Ezra interrupted her thoughts with eyes pleading enough to rival a tooka. "I'm with Kanan and 'Bine on this one. I know it's a lot, but a really wise lady once told me that if all you do is fight for your own life, then your life is worth nothing. And this seems like a pretty great chance to fight for some people who could really use someone in their corner."
Hera smiled, suddenly struck by how much Ezra had grown right in front of her eyes. She was proud of the young man he had become and beyond honored that she got to be a part of his journey.
"Alright," Hera sighed, a smile betraying her exasperated act. "I think my mind has been made up for me. Jacen?" The infant cocked his head towards her like he was listening, his new toy now crammed halfway in his mouth and covered in slobber. "It looks like we're moving to Lothal."
A few cheers were shared around the table before logistics started getting passed back and forth. If she closed her eyes, Hera could almost pretend it was a different time. A time when things were even less certain, but they had each other, and that was enough. But when she opened her eyes, she could admire how her family had grown. The future was constantly changing, and the truth was that in a lot of ways, she was scared. Scared of the uncertainty of life. But as she watched Chopper whiz around the table in circles, Zeb batting at him after every pass, and Ezra cracking jokes with Sabine, and felt Kanan's slip his hand into hers, warm and steady and real, she realized that some things would never change. No matter how it may shift, Hera would always have this family. And as long as that was the case, she could handle whatever the future sent their way.
AN: Well, this is officially it folks. The very end. Ngl, it's going to feel SO cathartic to close this google doc and move it to the "finished" folder haha. Thanks again for going on this insane ride with me. I started writing this when I was 17 and I am going to be 24 in less than a month. Life is crazy. I love you all.