Chapter Thirty-Four: The First Week

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Warning: This chapter is mature. 

Note: So the story is winding down! I expect there to be one more short chapter after this...A nice little epilogue. I just wanted to give a warning so no one is shocked when the next one comes out. I have so enjoyed writing this story, and thank you to everyone who has been so so so supportive! But all stories must come to an end and I've got more I wish to tell!

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Day I

Evangeline slept the entirety of the following day, and hours into the night.

Din figured it was something similar to the blood loss from the stab wound she had endured what felt like forever ago...Grogu could heal the wound, but her body would have to recover from such a shock – and this was much bigger. This was being sliced open, bare on their bed and Din had forced them to change everything...The mattress, the sheets, everything had been bled through and now she slept soundly, curled into the pillows and Grogu was pressed close to her body – slumbering as well. Despite the rule of not allowing him in the bed, Din figured he would never be able to deny Grogu such a thing again...Because of what he had done. The way he had once again saved Evangeline's life. The way he had once again been so incredibly brave for a being so small. Maybe he would never be able to tell him no again.

He sat near the window, turning his eyes from Evangeline and Grogu...Down to the infant in his arms. The baby had been refusing the bottles of formula they were using during Evangeline's sleep the past day and a half, and despite Din getting him to eat a few ounces here and there, according the nurse they had brought in to check on the kid after Pershing had been arrested...It definitely wasn't the amount he needed. He was being contrary, where Din had his head cradled in his hand, able to hold him with one forearm. Din used his free hand to attempt to put the end of the bottle in the baby's mouth, but his face scrunched in displeasure...A tiny cry escaped him as his fists clenched and raised towards the ceiling. Din let out a frustrated huff, taking the bottle back as he muttered, "You're gonna have to eat it, kid."

Maybe it was his tone, or his many attempts to force the bottle into the baby's mouth but his cry got a bit louder, fists moving to press into his cheeks and Din watched his face turn pink with anger to match Din's frustration. Of course. Din set the bottle aside, sighing as he lifted the kid up to press him to his bare chest. The nurse had told him to do that, since Evangeline couldn't at the moment, that it calmed babies down to feel someone's skin. He leaned back in the chair, the baby squirming on him a bit before he relaxed, ear pressed to Din's chest. He continued to make tiny sounds, wiggling just a little but the kid wasn't nearly as enraged with Din anymore, the force feeding forgotten.

Din pressed a hand to the baby's bottom, another to his back to keep him steady. Din had been so worried he was going to drop him, or break him. He had dropped Grogu a few times, but the kid was a lot more durable than a newborn. Din's chest rumbled as he muttered, "I know this isn't ideal. You want her, right? Probably used to it being warm...Her happy little thoughts. If you are a seer like she thinks...I hope you can't read mine."

His were still reeling from the entire ordeal. He wondered if that was why the baby refused to eat...But not to mention he was a few weeks early. The nurse had been mostly worried about his lungs and heart, but she had said they seemed fine. The kid seemed fine, just a little on the small side weight wise, but Din had figured it would be a small baby. Din's hand slid down, sliding over the baby's foot, running his thumb along the bottom. He was soft...Din couldn't remember ever holding a newborn, especially not so close. Din's eyes went to the window, and he pushed himself to stand, still holding the baby to his chest, supporting his head as he had quickly figured out the kid could not do that on his own.

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