Aaand, the last chapter before the romance fluff- and one of my personal favorites to write. :3

Disclaimer: Where do you think I go when I'm forced to realize Disney owns Rebels instead of me? That's right- in the corner. To flounder some more.

And just about a year after they'd initiated Sabine into their little crew, Kanan had made one last addition that Hera suspected had the biggest impact on him than anything else- seconded only by her initial involvement.

Because to a Jedi, there was little in life more important than a Padawan.

Ezra's initiation to the Ghost crew had been nearly ten times more dangerous than Zeb and Sabine's. Because no, they didn't just have to take out a few bucket-heads- they'd had to infiltrate a Star Destroyer and go on a Wookie rescue mission on Kessel. Not only that-

But Kanan's Jedi status had been exposed to the Empire.

With that new knowledge, attention from the likes of the Inquisitor was only to be expected- as with the danger level of most of their ops doubling. Instead of being a simple thorn in the Empire's side, they were now being actively hunted by some of the most cunning minds the Empire had to offer. Which was, as their numerous close encounters proved, very dangerous. All in all, taking in Ezra had been one of the Ghost's crew's riskier decisions.

And not a single one of them would take it back.

For multitudes of reasons, of course, one of them being that he was irrevocably a part of their crew- they were a team; and they were loyal to one another to a fault. Ezra was one of the smartest and liveliest teenagers Hera at least had ever run across, and that was made pretty obvious when he ran circles around the Empire- sometimes literally in order to distract or evade. He was also small enough to fit inside ventilation shafts, which gave them access to all sorts of new territory. That and he just fit well with the crew- they laughed together, they fought together, and, when Chopper would intervene, both he and Zeb would take great pleasure chasing the astromech down. Ezra was... well, family. Just like Sabine, like Zeb, like Chopper, like Kanan himself.

And along with the protective instinct he shared with both Sabine and now Ezra, Hera could see Kanan's absolute care for the kid. He was... rather attached to Ezra, something he would occasionally muse about to her. Though, she didn't really need him to spell it out for her- she could see that both of them meant a great deal to the other.

Hera had a belief that they had both rescued each other- Kanan from the demons from his past Hera hadn't been able to reach, and Ezra from the loneliness in his heart and... well, the absence of a father-figure.

And it was so, so obvious that that was one of the main driving points of their relationship. With Sabine, there had been hints of a parental connection. With Ezra... it might be just because she knew Kanan so well, but to Hera it was plain as day that the two were acting almost exactly like a father and a son. Not that she ever told Kanan that- he already knew, somewhere in the back of his head. Ezra too, probably.

Which was the secondary reason why Ezra's addition to the Ghost crew was most likely the most important one for Kanan. Forging such a... paternal bond with Ezra only went to show Hera how far Kanan had come from the man she'd met on Gorse who had been hesitant to form even the most basic of attachments. Since he had been able to decide to care so deeply for Ezra, Hera knew, without a doubt, that Kanan wasn't scared of getting hurt from his bonds.

But, of course, that was the secondary reason. It was seconded, because the one thing that Hera knew made those two tick together in such harmony was their connection to each other in the Force. After all, as something that was like a 'sixth sense,' as Kanan had tried to describe it, it connected them much deeper than any physical force could.

That, and it was generally freeing them both. Ezra, because he'd found an actual purpose with which to devote himself other than their fight with the Empire, and Kanan... because he was able to make peace with his past.

Hera knew he was doubtful of his abilities to teach, because of his past and his own incomplete training. But she still smiled whenever she thought about it-

Because Kanan was pushing through those doubts and insecurities, and was actually training the wily teenager he'd grown so fond of. He didn't really know what he was doing- but the Force did, and Kanan was finally allowing himself to connect with it in a way Hera had never been able to coax him into doing. He might trust her with his life- and more -but it took an apprentice to finally getting Kanan to begin confronting his past in depth.

And he had been able to decide to take on a Padawan, because after all the years Hera had known him, she'd finally gotten Kanan to stop fearing being wounded from losing the people he cared about. He'd been able to make such deep, deep connections, because he was no longer completely convinced they would be lost- instead, Kanan was completely convinced (as were the rest of the crew) that he would fight with anything and everything he had at his disposal before he would lose those bonds.

That was another reason Hera was so happy for her partner: because he had finally pushed through his fears and his wariness, to come out a stronger man, and a definite part of the family he had helped Hera build around them.

He wasn't so scared of being hurt from losing his bonds that he no longer made them- instead he would fight with everything he had to keep those connections that they had both worked so hard to forge.

But- as she found out late at night after their terrifying encounter with Vader -that did not, by any means, mean he wasn't afraid of losing them.