The Bad Batch Short Stories

18. HC of the Batchers meeting a pregnant woman for the first time:

Head cannon: The Batch see a pregnant lady for the first time

The bad batch were transporting some refugees and helping them unload cargo from their ship. Among the small group of humans, Twi'leks, and other species is a human pregnant female. She is about 6 months along, so at the stage where there is an obvious baby bump and she feels good in her body, able to move about at her usual intensity.

Hunter:
-He's the first to notice her body looks different and can feel the heartbeat of the baby inside her.
-He stops unloading crates and stares at her, watching how she moves, and notices she's not overexerting herself.
-She comes to stand by him, to grab the data pad for inventory. He notices she smells different and can't help but follow her.
-She notices and stops to ask him, "Is there something wrong? You seem to be following me."
-Hunter turns red from embarrassment and stutters- "I apologize. I - I - Couldn't help but notice you are pregnant and I've never been around a pregnant female before. It just doesn't happen in my line of work."
-"I'm having a girl and human gestation is usually about 40 weeks. I'm 6 months along. I'm feeling pretty good right now and hoping to get settled soon." She looks down and rubs her belly. "She's been asleep for a while but if you stick around when I have a snack, I think she will move."
-His face lights up and he clenches his fists. "I'd like that," he replies warmly.

Echo:
-Echo, having lived on Coruscant for a while, knows just a tiny bit more than the others about pregnant females, but not much.
-Echo notices the female sitting cross legged on the floor as all the people are exiting the shuttle. "Can I help you up?" he asks and offers her his hand.
"Sure!" she replies with a smile. He grasps her hand and gives a tug but is surprised when she stands. There is a small bulge on her belly and he looks alarmed as he sees it.
-"Are you ok?" he asks her in a worried voice. She held onto his shoulder as she stood, waiting for the head rush to go away and her vision to brighten.
"I'm ok, sorry. Just had a bit of a head rush," she says as she rubs her belly.
-"No, I mean, are you ready to have the baby?" he asks as he points to her belly.
-The woman looks at his face, realizing he is serious, and then chuckles a little.
"No! I'm perfectly fine. I'm only six months pregnant. Honestly, I just stood up too fast," she assures him.
-Echo thinks for a moment, realizing he doesn't know how long a baby is supposed to stay "in" and asks, "How much longer do you have?"
-The woman looks down at her belly with a frown. "I didn't think I was that big. I have about 4 more months left."
-Echo, trying to recover from insinuating she is large, offers some help. "Do you need a drink of water? or a snack?"
-"I could do with a snack now."
-And that's how he ended up sitting and talking with the woman while eating some Mantell Mix.

Tech:
-Tech notices the woman right away with the small bump of her belly and has a million and one questions to ask her. He's only read about human reproduction and gestation and the cloning process, but never seen it in real life.
-"Pardon me, ma'am, may I ask you a question?"
"I think you just did," she said with a smirk.
"Forgive me for being intrusive. I am a clone trooper and have never encountered a pregnant human female before. May I ask you a few questions?"
-The woman, having compassion for him, says yes. He asks her a series of questions, from food cravings, to aversions, fatigue, and blood levels. He asks why she is not resting and instead doing work. She says she feels fine and wants to move around for as long as she can before the baby comes.
He asks her if he can scan her belly, for research purposes, and to satisfy his curiosity. He assures her the scans will not harm the baby.
-As he scans her belly, the baby gives a strong kick right up against the sensor, startling him.
"Oh, my! That was quite the kick! This must be very exciting for you," he says.
He finds the whole idea of passing on two halves of genetic material to another being fascinating. It inspires him to think about if he had a child; what would they look like? Would they be smart and inquisitive like him? Tall and thin? Or short and squat? Straight hair or curly hair?