Chapter 1

December 5^th…

“Dada! Santa!” Grogu said and pointed at the kids lined up, waiting to take a picture with the mall Santa.

Din frowned. “No, kid. You are still too young for that, besides, I don’t want you to get scared.” He said and the little boy looked at his father with big brown sad eyes.

“Don’t give me that look, kid.” The man said.

Bo chuckled. “C’mon, Din.” She said. “Let Grogu take a picture with Santa.” She said.

The small family of three was at the mall doing their Christmas shopping since this year it was Bo’s first Christmas with the Djarin family and they would also spend Christmas with Bo’s sister, Satine and her family in New York (since their two-bedroom apartment wasn’t big enough to have guests); she had also managed to convince Din to buy some Christmas decorations for their apartment and the Christmas tree.

Bo-Katan had been surprised when Din had told her that he hadn’t celebrated Christmas in years, but she also understood why; he had spent most of Christmas alone since he had no one until Grogu arrived and even after the kid had arrived into his life almost two years ago, he was still learning how to be a father so this was going to be his first Christmas in many years.

Bo had always loved Christmas; it reminded her of happier times when Satine would visit her and her parents and stay with them until after New Year’s but after their father’s passing, Christmas became rather gloomy for her, especially after the fight with her sister so she stopped celebrating Christmas too and even if Koska, Axe or Ursa invited her to spend the holiday with either of them so she wouldn’t feel alone, it wasn’t the same.

Din sighed. “Fine but if he starts crying and gets traumatized for life it will be your fault.” He said as he transferred the little boy into Bo’s awaiting arms.

“Mama, mama! Santa!” Grogu said excitedly.

“I know, sweetheart.” She said. “Let’s line up while your daddy waits for us, here.” She said and turned to see Din with a smirk on her face. “It seems that your daddy is the one who’s afraid of Santa.”

Din blushed furiously. “That’s not true. I…I…it’s…” He babbled. “I just don’t like the guy, okay?” He said and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Bo chuckled and walked up to Din. “Don’t worry, Din. I’m sure your son will be braver than you, right Grogu?” She asked.

“Yep!” The little boy said. “I bave, dada.” He said.

“Don’t worry, Din. He’s going to be okay.” She said and kissed him on the cheek before lining up in the line that was special for kids under two years old.

Din sighed and sat on a bench that was nearby. He started to get anxious when he saw all the younger kids crying as soon as their parents handed them to the mall Santa. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes trying to relax and hoping that his son would be brave like he had said.

Bo-Katan set down Grogu when they were the next in line. One of Santa’s helpers greeted them and led them to the sofa where Santa was sitting.

“Ho, ho, ho!” Santa laughed and cheerfully greeted them when he saw them. Grogu gasped and pointed at the floor, indicating he wanted to be down.

Bo sent him down and smiled when she saw him bouncing up and down and pointed at the man dressed in red.

“Mama! Santa!” He said.

“Go and see him, honey!” Bo said, then, one of Santa’s helpers came and led the little boy to Santa’s sofa.

“Hello, little one.” Santa said as his helper picked Grogu up and placed him on his lap. “What is your name, huh?” He asked.

“His name is Grogu.” Bo-Katan said.

“Oh, that’s an interesting name.” Santa said. “And tell me Grogu, have you been a good boy?” He asked.

“Yep!” The little boy said excitedly.

Bo and Santa chuckled. “Well, I’m glad to hear it.” He said. “Now, Grogu. What do you want for Christmas?” He asked.

“Well, he showed some interest in some construction blocks and bath toys, right sweetie?” Bo said.

“Yep!” Grogu said happily.

“Very well! Let’s see what I can do, okay?” Santa said and he and Grogu posed for the photo, after that, Santa gave him a small bag with a coloring book and some crayons before handing him back to Bo-Katan.

“Alright, sweetheart. Say bye-bye to Santa.” Bo said.

“Bye, Santa!” Grogu said and waved at the man dressed in red.

“Ho, ho, ho! Goodbye, little one!” He said and waved at Grogu.

Once they left Santa’s hut, the little boy ran towards his father, babbling excitedly.

“Dada! Dada!” He said.

Din looked up and smiled in relief when he saw his son. “Hey, kid.” He said and picked him up. “How did it go?” He asked.

“Goo’!” Grogu said happily.

“Really?” Din asked.

“Yeah, he was very brave. Right, sweetheart?” Bo asked and Grogu nodded.

“I’m…glad to hear that, son.” The man said.

Bo smiled at her boys, then, she checked her watch and realized it was almost time for lunch. “C’mon, boys. We still need to buy our Christmas tree and the decorations for the apartment, but first, let’s have lunch.” She said.

“Yay, ‘unch!” The little boy exclaimed happily

A few hours later, the small family returned to the apartment. Bo unlocked the door and they walked quietly into the apartment since Grogu had fallen asleep on their way back.

The red-haired woman walked into Grogu’s room and went to lay the little boy down in his crib. She ran a hand through his messy locks and tucked him in.

“Sleep well, honey.” She said and left the room.

“Grogu still asleep?” Din asked.

“Yeah, he is.” Bo said with a soft smile on her face, then, she looked through the window. “C’mon, let’s bring the tree inside before it starts to snow.” She said and they went for the tree.

“Where do you want to put it?” Din asked as he and Bo walked into the apartment carrying the Christmas tree.

“Let’s place it near the door that leads to the balcony.” She said and they set the tree down.

After watering it and moving some furniture so the tree could have more space, Bo-Katan stepped back and surveyed the tree.

“I think it looks good there, what do you think?” She asked her boyfriend, but he didn’t answer.

“Din? Are you okay?” She asked when she saw him staring at the tree with a sad smile.

He took a deep breath. “Sorry, it’s just…” He said. “It’s been a while since I last celebrated Christmas.”

Bo smiled softly and placed a hand on his back. “I know and I understand, Din.” She said. “But this Christmas will be different for all of us.” She said.

“I know and I’m pretty excited about it.” He said with a smile on his face.

The red-haired woman leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “C’mon, let’s have dinner. Tomorrow we can decorate the tree with Grogu and do more Christmas shopping.” She said.

“Sounds like a good plan.” Din said and they headed to the kitchen.

New York City…

“Mom, dad! C’mon!” Korkie said as he ran ahead his parents and through the pines of the small farm where they had decided to buy their Christmas tree.

“Don’t go too far, sweetheart!” Satine said and Obi-Wan stood beside her.

“Relax, dear.” Obi-Wan said. “He’s just excited to see Bo-Katan again.” He said.

“Me too.” The blond-haired woman said with a smile on her face.

“I’m glad Bo and I could work things out and have her back in our lives.” She said. “Besides, I think Korkie loves to have another aunt and in the future, an uncle and some more cousins.”

Obi-Wan chuckled. “I know.” He said. “Ahsoka is also excited to see Bo-Katan again. When I told her what had happened while she was at the convention, she was surprised about Bo visiting us, but she was also sad that she couldn’t see her.”

“And what did you tell her?” Satine asked.

“I told her not to worry since you had invited her to spend Christmas with us and that she had accepted your invitation.” The CSI said.

“You didn’t tell her about her boyfriend, did you?” She asked.

Obi-Wan shook his head.  “No, I didn’t.” He said. “But I can imagine her face when she sees that Bo-Katan has a boyfriend.”

Satine chuckled. Bo-Katan and Ahsoka had become friends after Bo-Katan started to spend more time at the Jin-Kenobi-Skywalker-Tano home when Satine and Obi-Wan started dating; Ahsoka was glad to have someone around her age whom she could talk with and got sad when she had learned that Bo had joined the army and left without a goodbye.

“But I don’t think it’s going to compare to the look on Anakin’s face when he finds out Ahsoka has a boyfriend.” Obi-Wan said.

The woman looked at her husband with a confused look on her face. “Who?” She asked but the only answer her husband gave her was a knowing smirk on his face and the realization dawned on her.

“No way. Lux?” She asked and Obi-Wan nodded.

“But I thought Lux had moved back to Boston to study college.” Satine said.

“He did but they were reunited in Las Vegas; Lux was there due to a seminar organized by the law firm where he works at and the seminar was being held at the same hotel where she was staying, so…” Her husband said.

“Oh, wow.” The blond-haired woman said.

“Mom, dad! Come! I think I found the perfect tree for our house!” Korkie cried excitedly.

The couple chuckled. “C’mon, let’s see if the tree Korkie chose can fit inside the house.” Obi-Wan said and walked towards his son.

Satine smiled softly at her family and followed them.