Eli's awake. Awake and happy instead of awake and worried or awake and depressed or awake and exhausted.
Family
Eli's awake. Awake and happy instead of awake and worried or awake and depressed or awake and exhausted.
He's awake and watching Ar'alani and Thrawn sleep. Surprisingly - though in a few ways not surprisingly - Ar'alani is the big spoon with Thrawn held quite firmly lest he steal all the blankets. Also surprisingly, he is watching them sleep from the left side of Ar'alani's bed.
It's been a wild, wild month in which they managed the following.
Rescued Thrawn and the rebel from a planet not too far out in the Chaos - in a Purrgil spawning ground. The Steadfast having been found by a Purrgil and forcibly towed there.
Made the trip back to Csilla, where Thrawn was summarily booted out by the Mitth and then hustled across town and booted into the Admiralty with Ar'alani and Ba'kif right there as he was formalized as Raw'nuruodo.
Eli was snagged by the collar of his black uniform and went from being Eli'van'to to being Van'to and an argument between Ar'alani and Ba'kif as to whether he was a brigadier or commodore.
Thrawn advised him to stay out of the argument. As usual, he was right.
The Kivu were pissed at the Mitth for first adopting then unadopting Thrawn. For a colonial family, they managed to kick the Mitth in the slats hard, then tried to reel Thrawn back in.
The Mitth retracted the un-adoption in the face of even the other ruling families calling them asshats, and then the field and flag ranks weighed in. However, he and Thrawn slept through that one. It did not go well for the Mitth and led to a number of defections.
Bridger tried to escape the Steadfast and after a 'meeting' with Ar'alani, asked both himself and Thrawn if anyone ever said no to her. Thrawn said not if they have an iota of self-preservation and Eli added, "Or common sense."
A minor civil war among the Nine.
A coup among the Nine.
A colonial uprising against the coup.
The Admiralty getting tired of this dumbassery and knuckleheadedness and booming down on everyone involved.
Akosha Tano and Sabine Wren showing up to reclaim Ezra Bridger and the two of them meeting with Ar'alani - results inconclusive.
Ezra Bridger becoming instructor to the Navigators - and having the whole ship complain about his name. He is finally called Ez'ra'bridger.
And maybe, just maybe they can get some peace before the next crisis.
Or before Thrawn's feet steal the blankets from Eli's side. Which they are doing right now.
It's good to know some things never change.
Eli turns on his left side, backing into the spoon of his former commanding officer who is spooned up against his current commanding officer and puts the journal into the niche on the headboard. Thrawn does not truly wake, but his arm loops over Eli's waist and pulls him closer, nuzzling the back of his neck.
It's good to have Thrawn back. Eli missed him body and soul.
Ar'alani reaches over Thrawn and ruffles his hair. "Eli. Go to sleep. More disasters and crises tomorrow."
"Yes'm."
It's good to have a family.