Life=Unpredictable

Chapter Eight

Cody's POV:

I walked down the streets and alleys of Coruscant, lost in my thoughts. I can't believe Rex is pregnant. He's going to have a baby. My baby. He's pregnant with my child. I'm going to be a father. It's all too much. I stopped briefly to catch my breath before walking again.

I've never given thought about having kids. Mainly because we're in a war; there's never any point in thinking towards the future when you're expendable. I'm not ready for this. This pregnancy has so much risk involved. We could lose our ranks, our lives, and the baby's life if the wrong person found out. Even if we managed to survive all the suspicion and the questions, what if I won't be a good father? How will we keep the kid a secret? Will we have to leave the army? Without telling the Jedi anything? This is too much. I want the child, but I'm not sure if I'm ready...

Suddenly, I was slammed against the wall and punched hard in the face. I groaned and looked to see an angry Fives with Echo and Kix behind him looking just as angry. "How dare you do that to Rex!" Fives yelled. I sputtered in shock. "D-Do what? Get him pregnant?" I flinched when he snarled. "Not just that you bastard! You up and left him!" He punched me again in the face. "I didn't up and leave him; I just needed a few minutes to process. Being told you're going to be a father isn't a surprise to be taken lightly," I coughed out, gasping for air.

Fives' glare was still holding strong, even when Echo stepped up. "That still doesn't mean, leave the room of your pregnant boyfriend who is also injured! He finally just got you back, Cody! After four months! He's only known about the pregnancy for two of them! We've had to step in and do your job, which is taking care of Rex and helping him through this. He is, not only physically, but extremely emotionally vulnerable as well. All he talked about during these two months was how he couldn't wait to tell you and how he wished you were there. Now, we understand that you were busy. We all get it. This war takes up a lot of our time. But you broke his heart when he is most emotionally unstable."

I went wide eyed. "I-I did?" Kix nodded. "When he woke up, he was overjoyed and touched that you stayed by his side. He was ecstatic to see you. Then when he told about the pregnancy, it was like you abandoned him. You sat there not moving, and then when you did move, you walked right out of the room with an excuse every pregnant person fears of hearing." I stared at all of them in shock. I did that to him?

I gritted my teeth, turned around, and punched the wall hard. "I'm such an idiot! How could I have been so stupid?! Rex probably hates me right now!" Tears prickled in my eyes, threatening to come out. I turned back to them. "I didn't mean to make him think I didn't care about him; it was just a lot to process. I never thought about the future, or thought about being a father. That always seemed impossible with the war we're fighting. It's not that I don't want the kid, of course I do! I'm just afraid. What if I don't become a good father? What if something bad happens to it or Rex? Or both! We all know Count Dooku is after Rex for something. What if... What if I'm not able to give the life my child and Rex both deserve?" I looked down at the end. The tears threatening to spill were already spilling.

"I love Rex so much. He's my world. I just don't want to lose him. Lose them both." A hand gently pressed itself on my shoulder, and I looked up to see it was Fives. He was staring at me again, but with a softer look. "Then go in there and get your man and child before you lose them for good. Rex loves you too, and while this journey will be hard, you'll have each other to get through it. Rex is just as scared as you are, believe me." I nodded and wiped my tears. I stood up straight and looked at them. "I know what I have to do." I walked off down the streets of Coruscant again, but this time with Fives, Echo, and Kix in tow.

I hope I'm not too late.

---

I woke up slowly to see I was still in Ahsoka's arms. I panicked and started to pull away when she looked down at me. I gulped. "I-I'm so sorry commander; it won't happen again." I got out of her arms, only to pulled back in. "Don't you dare apologize Rex. You needed the comfort. Do you need anything?" I was tense for a few moments before slowly relaxing. I looked down at my stomach and realized I was hungry. "I'm starving. I could go for some food. I-If you don't mind, commander," I said sheepishly. Ahsoka only smiled and kissed my head. "Rex, I don't mind a bit. I meant it when I said I wanted to help you. Anything, in particular, you'd like?" I bit my lip and blushed in embarrassment.

"Come on Rex, tell me." I shook my head. "You'll think I'm weird," I whispered. Ahsoka rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. "Rex, I may be a Jedi, but I know that cravings are a part of the pregnancy. They're inevitable. Those cravings will help that baby grow and become healthy. So tell me what you need. I'm more than happy to get it for you." I hugged her tightly, and more damn tears fell from my eyes. "Thank you. I-I'd like some pickles and ice cream with sardines and syrup on top, please." I whispered. I heard Ahsoka chuckle. "I'll be right back." She wiped my tears before walking out of the room.

A few minutes later she came back with the food. "Here you go." She set it on my lap, and I gave her an amused look. "How many people gave you looks carrying this?" She shrugged. "A few, but I don't care." I nodded and dug into the food. We sat in silence like that for a while, me eating with her massaging my back. After a while, I stopped and sighed. "Do you think Cody will come back?" Her hands paused for a moment before resuming. "I honestly don't know," she said, "what do you think?" I chewed on my lip. "I hope so. We've been through so much together. If he leaves now, it'll certainly leave a sting."

"I forgot to ask earlier, but how long have you two been together?" A small smile tugged at my lips. "Four years." I could feel her eyes going wide. "Wow! That's a long time. How'd you manage to keep it up so well?" I turned to her. "We listened to each other. We put the missions before us. Then when we get alone time, we put each other first. It's all about priorities. We promised each other, at the beginning of this war, that we would not let the love we had on one another cloud the mission. If one of use ever got hurt, we would keep our heads on a swivel no matter what. We would keep fighting, but we would fight for a different reason. We would fight for the chance to see each other alive and well the next day. It was pretty easy getting a lot of alone time together, being that General Skywalker and General Kenobi join up on almost every mission." Ahsoka smiled. "I'm happy for you both. Don't worry, though, if he ends up leaving you for good, he'll have to answer to the end of my lightsabers."

"I don't think that'll be necessary, Commander." I looked towards the door to see Cody standing there. We had stared at each other before he rushed over to me. "C-Cody I-" I was cut off by him kissing me passionately with his hands cupping my face. I kissed back with my good hand resting against his neck. We stayed like that for until our lungs screamed for air. We pulled away, but his hands still caressed my cheeks. "Rex, I am sorry for leaving you like that. I didn't mean to make you think I abandoned you; I was just scared. Scared of what would happen if anyone found out, scared that I wouldn't be a real father, afraid that I would lose both of you, scared that I wouldn't be able to provide both of you with the beautiful lives you deserve. There was so much to wrap my head around. But that is no excuse for leaving you here alone like that. I love you so much; I love both of you. I'm ready to be a father. I promise I'll never do something stupid like that ever again." He rested one hand on my stomach, stroking it gently. I cried with a smile and kissed him again. "I love you too, you big idiot." We laughed a little before he looked down at my bump.

He pulled the blanket off and lifted my shirt up, leaving the skin of my belly exposed. He looked at me for permission, which I happily gave, before leaning down and pressing a kiss to my stomach. "Hey baby, I can't wait to meet you. Neither of us can. I promise I'll protect you both and not to make stupid decisions like I did an hour ago. I love you so much, baby." He looked back up at me. "And I love you, my love." He kissed be again, this time it was slow and deep with loads of love poured into it.

If we ever heard footsteps of four particular people leave the room and close the door, both Cody and I ignored it. We just kissed, cuddled, and talked; enjoying the company of each other.

Finally, everything seemed to be turning upright.