Ch 6:

I'll still have my baby and my babe would have me

Everyone's eyes were on him when he climbed down the ladder. Cassian did not like being the center of attention. It was what made him such a good spy.

"Do I have something on my face?" He barked at them.

"A mustache and approximately 4.5 days worth of regrowth." Came the robotic answer from the cockpit.

Chirrut chuckled and even Baze quirked a smile. It seemed he was, if not forgiven, at least tolerated. Cassian sighed in defeat. He'd been successfully avoiding social relationships for the best twenty-some-odd years and Jyn just barreled into his life tagging three other people along for the ride.

Whether he liked it or not…he had acquaintances now. A strange sort of crew. Possibly friends but that was too much commitment for now.

He thought of her and smiled, a warmth spreading in his chest that he thought he'd forsaken long ago.

It was late as Jyn huddled again by her father's unconscious form. Well, she couldn't tell that it was late but her eyelids were growing heavier by the minute. She'd have fallen asleep if not for Cassian approaching her. She felt him without needing to look up. More alarming than that, she could feel his hesitance.

"Jyn, come with me." He said. "Please."

It was the please that did it. She rose and followed him through the sleeping ship, stifling a yawn.

He led her to the cockpit. "Bodhi, get some sleep. I'll take over." He said.

Bodhi sprang up, he turned and saw Jyn there in the doorway and his cheeks flushed red beneath his dusky skin. Jyn couldn't help but laugh at his clear embarrassment. She leaned slightly closer to Cassian for effect. She was pleased when Bodhi scurried faster.

"This could be very fun." She said.

"You're more devious than I gave you credit for." Said Cassian.

"That's is because you underestimate her." Said K2, "I do not. Jyn is statistically more likely to play questionable pranks than you are Cassian."

"On that note." Cassian said, "K, out."

K2 argued but Cassian eventually won, much to the droid's dismay. Then, they were alone…and Jyn wondered where he was going with all this.

"Sit down." He motioned to the pilot's seat.

"There?" She said uncertainly.

He nodded already seated in the K's vacated copilot's seat.

Jyn sat down and looked at the switches and levers before her. When she didn't move Cassain rose and stood behind her leaning over so that his lips were by her ear, breath caressing her neck. His arms stretched around as if he meant to hug her from behind—or put her in a headlock—one never could be sure with him.

"Put your hands here and here." He directed her to the throttles.

She wrapped her palms around the mechanisms and then she remembered.

What's the one thing you've always wanted to do but haven't yet?

Fly a ship.

And then he'd kissed her.

He remembered.

She found herself smiling so hard her cheeks began to ache. She turned her face to his, which was right beside hers. His eyes were on the viewport, focused on his task. She pressed a kiss to his cheek and he let out a little gasp of surprise. Satisfied, she turned back to the controls.

After a few more instructions he let his arms drop away, instead of guiding hers, his hands found purchase on her hips— and it was all her guiding the shuttle. In that moment, she could no longer ignore her feelings, or avoid thinking about them. He'd said it right—somewhere between that night and now, she'd started to care about him.

She loved that he remembered her desire to fly a ship.

She loved that he'd given her this, even if it was all he could offer, it was enough. Just one moment of peace and calm.

She thought again of the night in the bar…I just want to forget, she'd thought…and with Cassian, she had. Now, again, he'd let her forget. She was starting to think it wasn't a coincidence. That maybe he was the answer all along.

"If you're not careful Captain, a girl might just fall for you."

She felt him inhale. "Turn about's fair play." He said, "One eyeful of you wielding a truncheon and I was done for." She knew that he was joking; and that he wasn't.

"Why Jeron?" She said offhandedly as the stars flew by.

She felt the small chuckle more than heard it. "It's my middle name."

"Cassian Jeron Andor." She said softly.

"Captain." He corrected.

She gently knocked her shoulder against his chest. "Pride doesn't suit you."

He laughed again. "Why Stardust, then?"

"It was my nickname." She tried to tuck away the feelings the name dug up in her. There was the thrill of his accented voice when he said it, the memories of Corulag, but also sadness and wrongness that hadn't altogether faded.

He must have noticed the change because he said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up the past."

She shrugged. "The past is bleeding out in the cabin—not your fault."

He said nothing. They existed for a while in comfortable silence. The weight of his hands on her hips kept her grounded to the seat, while the warmth of him at her shoulder reminded her that she wasn't alone anymore. Whatever this mission had been at the outset, it had become her personal salvation.

At some point she felt his lips on the side of her neck, his unshaven face teasing at her jaw. She sighed and let him do what he would. "Thank you." She whispered. "For remembering."

"Well, don't get too excited," he said between kisses, "The auto steering has been on the whole time."

"Jerk." She laughed as she said it and he stood. The loss of warmth surprised her. She whipped to face him, afraid she might've upset him…but he wore a lazy smile.

"We are only a few minutes out from Base. Time to wake the others." He dropped one last kiss to the top of her head, "Don't worry Jyn Erso, we will make a pilot of you yet."

Cassian gathered them all in the cabin as they approached Yavin IV. "Bodhi, Chirrut and Baze, you will all be interviewed by Alliance Intelligence while Jyn and I speak to the council directly. K2, follow the medical team when they take Galen. Stay with him and report back to me."

Baze sneered at that but was settled by Chirrut's hand on his knee. "We will show courtesy as guests in the rebel's home."

Bodhi was only half listening. He couldn't tear his eyes from the viewports as they came into atmosphere. Dozens of starships were speeding along side them toward the base. More varieties than he'd seen during his entire tenure with the Empire.

He'd never been so overwhelmed in all his life. He found himself at Galen's side. He placed his hand on his savior's shoulder and said, "We did it, Galen!"

Cassian must have heard him because he gave him a tight nod and what might have been a smile. Bodhi smiled back.

"You were his friend." Jyn observed. Bodhi couldn't tell if she was pleased by that. She tilted her head, considering her father's body on the floor.

"I didn't know him very well…but I did like him." Bodhi said.

Jyn shrugged, "You know him better than I do."

Bodhi had to work to keep smiling. A sudden wave of sympathy swept over him followed by gratitude. Galen saved him and brought him to these people. Even Cassian, gruff though he was, had played a hand.

If nothing else, he clung to those thought as he propelled himself down the ramp, into the next chapter.

Cassian led them off the shuttle and into the hangar. Jyn was at his side, matching his strides, but her eyes were on Galen, already being hoisted on a stretcher, K2 tottering after him obediently.

She fought the urge to seek Cassian's hand. In chorus with her thoughts he whispered, "It will be alright."

They were intercepted at once by a small fleet of Intelligence officers. Some of them smiled in greeting, glad to see Captain Andor returned, others were stoic. The were carried on a wave of flustered handshakes and whispered greetings into the briefing room, which to Jyn didn't look much different from the rest of the dank jungle base.

To say the room was crowded would've been a gross understatement. She was quickly forced to clutch Cassian's hand to keep from being separated by the tide.

Mon Mothma began the meeting, "I want to thank you all for coming…" She continued her opening speech while Cassian whispered into her ear, "Don't let them talk over you. Draven will be angry about your father—I'll call him out on it if I get the chance. It will throw him off and give us a chance to make our point—Jyn, you can do this."

"We believe the Empire has codenamed it the Death Star."

A series of Dravens and other high-ups cam next, discussing the Empire, Jedha, names Jyn didn't know…and then Cassian.

He cleared his throat, retreating behind the mask that she had learned was a far cry from his true self. At first the mask had fooled her, scared her even…but it almost made her laugh. He talked about Jedha and Eadu, leaving out…well, most of what happened if she was honest.

By the look on Draven's face, he wasn't buying it. Then, the eyes were on her. Cassian's hand discretely brushed the small of her back, or at least she hoped it was his. She didn't know what they wanted to hear.

She began recanting Jedha and her father's message. "It can be destroyed." She said, "When he wakes you can ask him yourself—not that we have time to wait for that."

New voices took the floor tossing around words like ultimatum and surrender. Jyn felt the hope that had been on a slow burn in her chest practically extinguish. They didn't understand because they hadn't been there in Jedha, hadn't witnessed first hadn't what the Death Star could do.

These people were comfortable.

These people were complacent.

These people were cowards hiding behind a mask of rebellion.

Petty statements were tossed around growing into shouts and swears and threats. Jyn had had enough. "What reason would my father ave to lie? What benefit would it bring him?"

Draven was at the forefront, "Your father," He said with more conviction than Jyn felt, "is either an Imperial or a fool. His story could be bait, knowingly or not, to lure our forces into a final battle. To destroy us once and for all."

Had she thought of that? Of course she had. But she'd dismissed it as impossible. My father is not a bastard. "You know the Death Star exists."

"We know a dangerous battle station exists." Draven again, "Able to destroy a city. We have no confirmation of its full capabilities weaknesses. This is how the Empire has always operated—the gun is less threatening than the lie."

Another man in blue said, "You want us to risk everything—based on what? The testimony of a criminal? The alleged words of her father—an Imperial scientist?"

A new voice, "Don't forget the Imperial pilot."

Jyn found Bodhi in the crowd. He looked like a lamb bring brought to slaughter. Who knew it was possible for a man so tall to shrink so much. She tried to pour everything through her eyes. Please, tell them. Make them see.

"Everything she says is true." His voice cracked on the words, but gained strength as he went on, "Galen gave me the message. He told me I could change my story, do right by myself, if I got the message to Jyn. If I helped her destroy it…he was risking his life but he did it anyway. I guess that made me less afraid to do the same."

Force, she could've hugged him and never let go. Thank you Bodhi Rook. I won't forget.

"If the Empire has this kind of power…what chance do we have."

"What chance do we have." Jyn practically screamed, "The question is what choice? You want to run? Hide? Plead for mercy? Scatter your forces?" Her breathing was too fast and loud. She felt her fire dimming again but then she turned her face and saw Cassian.

He was beaming at her, and she thought that no one else had ever seen her the way he did, then. No one had looked at what was inside and thought it was beautiful and worthy…and for that she could never repay him…but she would spend her life trying. She turned back to the group at large, "You give way to an enemy this evil with this much power and you condemn the galaxy to an eternity of submission. The empire doesn't care if you surrender. The Empire doesn't care if you're hopeless. I've given up before, and it doesn't help. It doesn't stop." She turned again to Cassian and said, "I've seen people who've lost everything. The time to fight is now."

"What exactly would yo have us do?" This from Mon Mothma who was watching her with a gentle, but still chilling smile.

"Send your best troops to Scarif. We need those plans."

"Forgive me…" the man in blue, "But Galen Erso is, in fact, alive…is he not? Why do we need the plans when we have the man who made them?"

Cassian said, "He is in critical condition. If he wakes up, it won't be in time to stop what's already in motion."

"Regardless, I would hear Galen Erso's testimony from his own mouth before we proceed."

Jyn wanted to scream, or break something…possibly both. As the room erupted in chaos anew, she saw Draven pull Cassian aside and whisper to him.

"Draven wants to speak with me in private. I'll catch up with you. Meet me in my quarters."

Jyn nodded.

"Good. If I'm not back in a few minutes go there. Gather the others if you can. I want to talk to everyone."

Cassian slipped into the crowd and Jyn was forced out with the rest of the rumbling council.

Cassian found himself in a private meeting room, hand clasped behind his back, squaring off with Draven, Mon Mothma and Admiral Raddus. He wanted this to be a secret meeting to give him permission to go with Jyn to the fight. Based on their expressions alone, he was not hopeful.

"You believe her story, Captain" Mon Mothma asked.

"Affirmative." Said Cassian, "I believe that Galen's message was the truth and I witnessed Jedha first hand."

"Did you see the message?" Admiral Raddus asked.

"No sir."

"So your assumptions are based off what—a hunch?" Draven stalked closer, circling Cassian like a predator, "I noticed something between you and Erso the moment we brought her here. You are compromised, admit it."

"I don't understand, Sir." Cassian lied, hoping his face hadn't faltered.

"I gave you strict instructions Andor. Find Galen Erso. Terminate Galen Erso. I didn't believe screw Galen Erso's daughter was on that list—"

The words were barely in the air before Cassian's fist connected with his superior's jaw. The punch knock Draven flat on his back—less through force and more because Draven hadn't expected Cassian to attack.

Cassian would've gone after him but he found himself held back by two soldiers. Mon Mothma looked horrified, but not at Cassian.

"Is this true, General?" She asked, "Did you give Captain Andor termination orders against my initial orders to bring him in alive?"

Draven picked himself up, glaring at Cassian as he sucked blood from his bottom lip, "Erso is a liability. Both of them need to be silenced."

"If you touch a hair on either of their heads—I will make sure they never find your body." Cassian stepped back, certain he had just stripped himself of his titles.

"Be careful Andor." Draven hissed, "Is she really worth your career?"

"Enough!" Mon Mothma shouted. "Captain Andor, you are dismissed. We will discuss your behavior at a later date—when a reckoning isn't upon us. Draven, stay."

Cassian bowed and marched out, his limbs shaking with rage. That rage had come out of nowhere. He'd just attacked his superior officer. What was happening to him? Was Jyn rubbing off on him? Was that a bad thing?

He meant to go find her but he found that his feet carried him to the medbay and suddenly he was at Galen's bedside. He was informed by a medical droid that his vital were stable and now it was a matter of when he would wake up. Cassian sat in the uncomfortable chair against the wall and stared at the man who had set al these events in motion.

How could he have built it? Why? Sure, he might have feared that they would move ahead with or without him…but was it worth sacrificing his family? His life? His soul? Now that Cassian knew Jyn intimately he could say with authority that is was not worth the sacrifice.

She deserved more then that.

She deserved better than what the men in her life had given her…and he was going to break that pattern or die trying.

"She's wonderful…no thanks to you." He heard himself say aloud, "There is this fire in her eyes and it burns everything down. She will stop them. She'll fix what you did…and she shouldn't have to. How could you ask that of her?" His eyes were stinging. He wouldn't allow himself to cry. He hadn't since childhood. But if he'd ever been close to it, this was it.

"She is lucky to have you." The voice startled Cassian so much he briefly thought it was Galen who'd said it…but it wasn't. It was Chirrut. How the blind holy man had managed to track Cassian down, he didn't know…but there was a lot about Chirrut that Cassian didn't know.

"She deserves better than me. The things I've done—"

"Have led you here. Have given you the knowledge and tools you need to be what she needs. The force works in strange way, you know."

"Yes, I am beginning to realize that."

Chirrut smiled at some secret thought, then he chuckled. Out loud all he said was, "I can't wait to see her face."

Cassian got the feeling that Chirrut was a few parsecs short of a light year. "Get Baze, and meet me in my Quarters—it's in the officers sector—"

"—We will find it."

"Right. Meet us there." Cassian rose and cast one last glance at Galen. "I hope you are everything she believes you are." With that he went to find Jyn.

Jyn and Bodhi sat in awkward silence in Cassian's modestly sized quarters. Jyn's head was in her hands, the weight of defeat like a crushing force on her shoulders. Bodhi wasn't looking much better. K2, for his part, was not silent. (How did you know the entrance code. Only I know Cassian's code).

Jyn sighed in relief when Chirrut and Baze joined them and a few minutes later.

"They didn't lock you up?" She asked, "The debrief really was just a debrief?" She hoped it sounded cheerier than it felt.

"You don't look happy," Baze said.

Jyn shook her head, running her hands down her face, "They prefer to surrender."

"And you?" Baze was somber as only he could be. The polar opposite to his partner—or maybe the complimenting shade.

"She wants to fight." Chirrut affirmed with a conspiratorial smile.

"So do I." Said Bodhi. "We all do."

"The Force is strong."

Cassian stepped in at that moment, he paused in the doorway and said, "Why do I get the feeling I just walked into an ambush?"

Jyn went to him. She didn't care if it made her look weak. She just needed to know he was still with them. He came back for her.

"What did Draven say?" She asked.

"Nothing worth repeating." Cassian glowered. Chirrut wore a knowing smirk and Jyn was sure that he could read their thoughts. She'd have to question him later.

"Does that mean they're not with us?"

"It means they all want to wait to hear your father's testimony. They think his insight could prevent a suicide mission."

"What do you think?" Baze asked.

Jyn felt his fingertips brush her cheek in that way that was becoming familiar. "They were never going to believe you. Not the council, not today."

She frowned. That was not what she'd expected from him. "I appreciate the support." She growled folding her arms defensively.

"But I believe you. They believe you." He pointed to their audience and grinned. "Do you all feel like going on a suicide mission?"

They nodded their agreement one by one. All except K-2 who said that they were 100% crazy to agree to such a proposition—before he promptly agreed.

Cassian nodded, "Good. Go get some sleep. You'll need it. We will meet in the hangar at 0400. Be packed, armed and ready."

"Um…where should we sleep? We don't have quarters."

"Right." Cassian frowned. Jyn tried to hide her disappointment. She had been hoping for a moment alone with Cassian…that wouldn't be possible with Baze snoring on the rug.

"I can show them to the guest quarters." K-2 piped up.

She and Cassian shared a quick but pining gaze…at least, she thought it was quick until Bodhi said, "Yes! Please, show us before I witness more bits of my friends than I need to see—ever, ever again. Ever."

Jyn's mind stuck on the word. Friends. She smiled…she had friends. Friends, a father…and a Cassian, whatever that meant.

The others said their goodbyes and filed out and they were alone…again. She'd imagined this in her head but now that it was time she didn't know where to begin. Did Cassian happen to have any whiskey?

She perched on the edge of the bed. "Are we kidding ourselves? We can't pull this off with the five of us—six with K."

He tilted her chin up toward him. "Don't worry about that part." There was more to that sentence but she didn't press it. She found that there were so many things she wanted to ask him. How he felt about that night nearly two-months ago now on Corulag. What the kiss on the shuttle had meant to him. If all of this was going somewhere, or was it only the convenience of two people with shared suffering, finding comfort in each other?

"I can hear you thinking from here." Cassian said with an amused smile.

"We might not come back...from Scarif." She said.

"Don't talk like that Jyn." He said, removing his jacket and coming to sit beside her on the edge of the bed. It was awkward now in a way it hadn't been before. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what he wanted. If they had more time...but they didn't.

"You're right." She said, turning to face him. "If this is all the time we have...we should enjoy it. Here's to pretending...right Jeron?"

His eyes moved over her face for what felt like an eternity. Finally, he said, "I'm not pretending anymore, Jyn." She didn't have long to ponder it because he scooped her up in his arms and carried her toward the bathroom. He set her gently on the sink counter and stepped between her thighs. Then, he paused, poking into her eyes with that soulful lok he got when he meant to ask her something but found that words were not enough.

"Are you with me?" He asked softly.

She didn't trust her voice just then. She nodded and he closed the distance between them. He nipped at her bottom lip with blunt teeth his hands already adeptly working the buttons of her shirt. "I dreamed about you." He murmured against her lips, "After that night." He ghosted his hands up her ribs making goosebumps pucker her skin. She groaned and clutched him closer. Inhaling him. Smoke, engine oil, peppermint, sweat, rain, Cassian.

She helped him rid her of the rest of her clothing, ignoring the cold air when he stepped away to turn on the water. She watched him step out of his own clothes, marveling at the familiarity of it. He hadn't hesitated this time. He'd taken charge. Shown her that he wanted this. Cassian...and Jeron...Cassain Jeron Andor wanted Jyn Erso. He wasn't running from it anymore and so, neither would she. "I dreamed of you too."

A part of her considered that perhaps she'd dreamed of him before Corulag. That she'd dreamed of him all along. Rather than admit that she said, "I honestly never thought I'd see you again."

He came back to her and gazed into her eyes, momentarily serious, "And are you glad that you did?"

She gave him a wicked smile and wrapped her thighs around his naked hips, pulling him close. "What do you think?"

His lips were on hers and his hands were under her thighs as he carried her into the refresher. If she had to die in the morning she couldn't have imagined a better way to spend her final night. She wasn't sure if the base had rations on water supply but she was sure that they had used them up by the time they emerged and tumbled into his bed.

Cassian poured his soul into his lovemaking. She knew that she could spend a lifetime like this with him and she would never learn all there was to know. She wished they had a lifetime.

How ironic that her refrain the night they'd met had been: One Night. Only One.

Tonight's was the same: One night. Only One. But it meant something entirely different now. They clutched at each second trying to stretch it into eternity and, for a while, it worked.

Then, they were both sweaty, and the blankets and sheets were a rumpled pile on the floor, and their limbs were entwined so that no one could say where on began and the other ended.

She toyed with the hair at the base of his neck as they lie together, trying to catch their breath. "I'm not used to people sticking around when things get tough."

He tightened his hold on her, "Welcome home." He said quietly, his voice barely breaking the silence of the room.

And she knew that she was.

"Be careful Cassian Andor, a girl is liable to fall in love with you." She said for the second time that day, though she hadn't used the word love before. She wondered if he'd noticed.

He had.

"Well, she would find that she's not alone in it."