Hera shot a small look of sympathy towards Ezra as they waited for the thermometer to present its readings. Even if it was just a little bug, she never liked to see one of her crew members in pain. Call it what you may, they were a family, and she wanted her family to be as happy, healthy, and safe as they could possible be.
After a moment, the thermometer gave a few shrill beeps and Hera retrieved it, giving a beaten look at the result.
"103.3, it's gone up quite a bit," she explained, professionally masking her worry as she put away the instrument.
Kanan displayed a concerned yet pensive look. "Do we have any fever reducers we could give him here on the ship?" He didn't want to say anything in front of him, but he was honestly surprised the kid was as lucid as he was with a fever that high, and he definitely didn't want to think of the consequences of it continuing to elevate at its current rate.
"Unfortunately, no," the Twi'lek replied, retrieving a small juice packet from a nearby cabinet. "Med supplies are pretty sparse in this region, and I don't know of anywhere where we could get any quickly or easily without leaving the Mandalore system. Heck, I had to battle just to get a hold of Ezra's T for this month..." She paused, seemingly weighing her options. "How do you feel?" She asked, turning to face the slightly dazed teenager.
Ezra just shrugged in return, seemingly thinking it over before answering in a hoarse voice. "I've been better, but I think I can hold out until this blows over. I've had worse on the streets without any medicine at all; I think I'll be alright." He smiled weakly as if trying to convince her, but his drooping eyelids and flushed cheeks did just the opposite.
Hera shot a smile smile back, although it ended up more like a grimace, and handed him the juice pack.
"Well, I guess we'll just keep an eye on that fever for now and go from there. In the meantime, make sure you stay hydrated, that may be part of the problem. And I know that food probably doesn't seem very appetizing right now, but you also need to make sure you eat something soon. Keep up your strength," she said, maintaining her stoicism all the while. "Hopefully your fever's just spiking right now and it will break here very soon, but just to be sure, I'm going to be checking your temperature every hour or so to see which direction it's heading. Other than the nausea, have any new symptoms been bothering you?"
Ezra shook his head slightly, grimacing as if it hurt, and looking overall just thoroughly drained.
Hera nodded. "Alright then, just rest up. You look like you could use it."
The teen gave a small smile followed by a harsh series of coughs which he muffled into the crook of his elbow. Wincing in sympathy, the two adults helped the young man to his feet and led him back to his shared bunk, convincing him (with no shortage of argument) to take off his binder, and tucking him in almost like a child before preparing to return to their typical duties.
But before they could get very far, Hera found herself stopped by Kanan.
"Hera, can I talk to you for a moment?" the older Jedi inquired, worry seeping through his tone.
The Twi'lek woman spun stiffly on her heels, humming a questioning response, lips pulled in a taut line and lekku trailing gracefully behind her.
"Tell me honestly," Kanan began, breath catching slightly within his throat, "should we be worried about Ezra? It's been at least 10 hours and his temp has only gone up. There has to be a Rebel ship nearby that could at least spare some fever reducers or something. If nothing else than for our own peace of mind."
Hera sighed, all too aware of the points her beloved was making. "I already checked. No cells nearby have supplies to spare. The attack on Chopper Base not only wiped out most of Phoenix squadron, but caused enough injuries that the majority of the Rebellion's medical supplies in this sector have been depleted. All that remains is being directed towards Yavin. We're lucky to be alive all things considered, much less have the supplies we need to maintain basic functions."
"But is this something we should be worried about?" he questioned again, his tone pushing further this time. "I can tell you're as concerned about Ezra's fever as I am. He hasn't gotten sick like this in awhile," he recollected, reminiscing upon the first year in which Ezra joined the crew, where it seemed as though the kid was ill every other week.
Hera sighed knowingly. "I know, love, but he's tough. It's probably just a bug that has to get worse before it can get better. Even if it's been awhile since he's gotten sick, Ezra always bounces back eventually. And, in reality, his fever isn't quite dangerous yet. He's young and fairly healthy, a fever is simply a sign that his body is properly fighting off infection. I don't think we have to panic quite yet."
Kanan was silent. Deep down, he could tell that even Hera herself wasn't entirely certain of her own claims, but he tried to believe them anyways. Perhaps a part of him truly did believe her, or perhaps he just desperately wanted to believe, but either way, he didn't put up any more of a fight despite his gut instincts.
"Alright. I trust you," he softly submitted, "I'll be meditating in my room. Let me know if anything changes."
And with a small, affirmative grunt, the two parted ways for the evening.
A/N: A short chapter today, but hopefully it helped get the ball rolling a bit more. In case you were wondering, I h/c Ezra as a trans boy so there will be subtle references to that in my fics. Again, this has been very difficult for me to write. My writing skills and talents have changed over the course of a year and it's difficult to go back and fix or change what I've already written without a total rewrite, considering the amount of time I've already invested into this fic, I just don't have the freedom to do that at the moment. Maybe when my classes are over for the summer I will come back and change some things, but until then, thank you all for bearing with me. Your reviews and follows mean the world to me. Remember to follow me on tumblr mrntanksart and on Instagram mrntanks, and until next time: May the Force be with you... Always.