Echo And Omega Rescue A Cat Who Turns Out To Be Preggers, And They Have To Convince Hunter To Keep Her.

Echo and Omega rescue a cat who turns out to be preggers, and they have to convince Hunter to keep her.

In the months following their escape from Kamino, Hunter had learned to expect the unexpected; something he would have thought himself well versed in already, as a soldier trained to adapt and survive in scenarios where a split second's decision could be the difference between life and death, and not just for yourself.

"Please?" Omega asks, as Hunter stares in disbelief down at her pleading, earnest brown eyes.

He's not sure what shocks him more; the fact he can hear several tiny, fluttering heartbeats that beat rapidly beneath the pace of the likewise accelerated, stronger vibrations of the two people before him... Or that his initial gut-reaction is to say "Yes, of course."

He wasn't terribly surprised by Omega being the source of shock for him today, but to have Echo standing beside her, a hand on the kid's shoulder, hovering protectively over both the child and the large, furry cat that has settled herself comfortably in the cradle of Omega's curled arms, has him reeling.

Two pairs of pleading eyes stare at him imploringly.

Hunter puts a hand to his head, still momentarily speechless. It's too early in the morning for this. How did they even find..? Not important. Not for now, anyways. He runs a hand down his face.

He blinks one eye open to stare at Echo when the man's heartrate suddenly speeds up.

"At least until she has the... Y'know," Echo falters, gesturing with his scomp-arm in a soft whirr of moving parts, belaying his hopefulness.

Hunter follows his gaze to the large, happily swollen belly of the long-haired loaf of silky fur. She blinks serene, crystaline blue eyes at him, then purrs once, a brief, short sound.

The vibration makes Hunter blink, remembering a hazy memory from last night, when he thought he heard rumbling in his sleep, but everything was too peaceful to...

Ah. So that's when they found the cat.

All three of them look -- four, counting the cat -- to the doorway of the Havoc Marauder's entry ramp as Tech enters the ship, staring down at his datapad.

"There is bad weather forcast for the next fortnight," he says without preamble. "This planet's monsoon season is setting in and the feline's nest of origin was not located in a safe area. I predict that she was someone's former pet, either abandoned or cast away, perhaps due to her gravid condition," he says in his absent-minded, factual way.

"You, too?" Hunter asks dryly, wondering just how they managed to sneak outside at night without waking him. "Where was she?"

"In a drain pipe located east of the well we have been using to supply our clean drinking water an--"

"Awww c'mon, just say yes!" Wrecker interrupts, rolling over in his bunk abruptly. "She's cute and fuzzy and she makes the kid happy."

Hunter's eyes slant to the side and upwards as he turns at the hip, narrowing his eyes at the soft stutter of someone else's heartrate.

"She's tidy," Crosshair comments, somehow knowing Hunter's attention is on him.

"And how would you know that?" Hunter wonders.

"Because there's already a litter box by the gunner access, these idiots were going to make her walk outside."

Hunter looks at his wrist to check his vambra--

The sight of his alarm-clock setting turned to inactive status has him do a double-take at the time. Shocked, he looks towards the suddenly rapid heartbeat who is responsible for the act.

Her grin is as unapologetic as her cleverness.

--

Omega's laughs echo down the hull of the ship as Hunter sits on the ramp, knees bent, elbows draped across them and hands hanging down.

"You're trying to look grumpy, and it's not working," Echo comments as his soft footsteps stroll down the metal. His limbs make a quiet whirr and clinking sound as the soldier sits.

"Hard to be mad when she's smiling like that," Hunter says honestly, allowing a small twitch to his lips. He sighs. "I hope you're not going to ask me to keep all of them. You know we--"

"Of course not," Echo assures him. But that smile on his face does nothing to ease Hunter's mind as he promptly continues, "Just the momma. Omega named her--"

"Jasmine," Hunter says with a sigh.

"Hunter! Hunter, look!" Omega suddenly cries, her voice shrill with excitement.

He's never told her, because it makes him so dang happy to hear the kid so excited, but her voice really hurts at some decibles.

"What is it?" he wonders. He's about to stand up to oblige, when he hears the pitter-patter of rapid footfalls down the ship, Omega's heart fluttering like a butterfly as she slows down, then carefully approaches him.

Twisted at the waist, Hunter's eyes widen a bit when he spots the small ball of fluff the kid is holding. Tiny blue eyes are just barely peeking out from between sticky eyelids.

"Aww, his eyes are opening," Echo coos adoringly. It's strange and pleasant to hear the soldier's voice so warm and softened, and Hunter can't stop a smile at his brother's own smile sitting so easily on pale, hollow features.

Hunter's brothers might think he caved for Omega's sake, but if he's being honest... It was the look on Echo's face that had him accepting the fate of yet another mouth to feed; and for at least a little while, several more. Echo hid his anxieties well, but there was no hiding them from Hunter's sharp senses.

If the cat made his brother sleep soundly at night, purring on his chest or curling up around his head, Hunter was glad for it. The anxiety meds the GAR had once provided were no longer an option to them.

"Cute," Hunter comments on the little kitten, then sucks in a startled breath when the tiny baby is suddenly thrust into his hands, Omega blissfully ignorant to Hunter's immediate distress.

"I, uh--"

"Awww, c'mon, you haven't held any of them," Echo encourages, throwing a smirk his way. "Afraid to lose your heart?" he taunts.

No, definitely not, but the little creature looks far more appropriate in Omega's gentle, delicate, tiny hands--

He stares down, wide-eyed, at the little black ball of fuzz. Hair sticks up every-which-way, unevenly tufted as the long hair grows in, its little tail curling around Hunter's wrist. Squinty eyes stare blearily around at wherever it's head ends up pointing, the muscles not yet developed enough to give the kitten any grace in movement.

It looks so small and fragile in his large, calloused hands.

"You look like you just got handed a live grenade," Echo comments with amusement. "Hey! Tech, grab the holopad--"

"No!" Hunter snaps, shooting him a glare, alarmed to feel his ears get warm. He doesn't need them snapping pictures of--

"Already done," Tech's dry voice informs them absently, as he steps into view tapping a few buttons on his vambrace. Their goggled brother picks a holopad off an ammunition's chest. Hunter had noticed it there before, but hadn't thought anything of it.

As he stares at Tech's small smile while his brother examines the screen, he rolls his eyes.

Unbelievable.

Omega looks cheeky. Hunter takes a moment to appreciate her wit and cleverness, because he has no doubt this strategy was probably the kid's idea, or at least the idea's origin point.

"I think you should, uh, take it back to its mom," he suggests, looking back down at the creature a split second before the tiny rush of air in its throat explodes out of its mouth as a tiny, high-pitched mewl.

The kitten's wide eyes stare up at him, fierce and angry and needy and so blue.

"Awwww he sees you!" Omega coos, already carefully scooping her slender fingers under the kitten's body and hind legs, supporting its weight carefully as she lifts the wee one up and away, hugging him protectively to her chest. "Don't worry, he's just crying because he wants more snuggles, he gets cold easily. He's like Crosshair was as a baby, always needy," she says in a conspiratorial stage-whisper.

Hunter smiles bittersweet at the memories her comment provokes, but chooses to settle on the good that Omega has highlighted.

"It's a shame we can't name him," she says sadly.

Hunter blinks at her, looking down at the kitten.

"Why not?" he wonders. Omega looks up at him, startled, as Hunter thinks of what name might suit those bright, fiery eyes and squeaky little meow. "Call him Gizmo."

He completely misses Echo's startled glance.

Omega's smile slowly stretches all the way across her face as she beams brightly up at him, and Hunter wonders faintly what memo he just missed.

She runs off to return the month-old kitten just as he opens his mouth to speak, so he directs his question to Echo.

"What? Is it a weird name?" he asks, baffled. If the Kaminoan's could assign them numbers as names at birth, then he didn't see why the kittens had to wait to earn a better one.

Echo looks at him like he should know exactly what he'd just done, one eyebrow raised.

"What?" Hunter repeats, his own heartbeat starting to pick up.

Echo just shakes his head at him, while Tech has been just staring at the whole interaction with raised brows.

--

Three months later, and they have rehomed six out of the seven kittens from Jasmine's litter to familys Omega and her brothers scoped out in town.

As the Havoc Marauder takes flight for its next destination, Hunter sighs, shaking his head at Echo, who sits in the pilot's seat with a purring feline comfortably napping.

He turns his head at the soft pad of feet, and can't stop the smile when Gizmo hops up onto his lap, and lays down.

Eyes are on him, but he doesn't care. Once that little purring rumble starts, Hunter's heart melts, and he quietly pets the silky fur as the brilliant streaks of hyperspace jump into being around them.