I do not own Star Wars: Rebels in any capacity.

I have so much trouble writing from Hera's POV. So of course, I wrote an entire chapter from her POV

Enjoy Chapter 26!

It didn't surprise Hera that Kanan was sick.

It began a couple days ago. Kanan was quieter than usual. His quips weren't as quippy, and his joking attempts at flirting had dropped off. While he seemed normal around Ezra, he visibly deflated whenever the boy went off to play with Chopper. Hera had asked him about it, but he brushed her off and said he was just tired. At the time, Hera had no reason to think he might be lying.

This morning, Kanan admitted he wasn't feeling very well. It was why he decided not to come with her to Capital City. Hera assumed he was going to try and sleep this bug off while she and Ezra were out.

That was just a few hours ago. How could he have gotten this bad?

Hera took a deep breath. The first thing she needed to do was assess the situation. Kanan hadn't just laid down; he had collapsed. That suggested that Kanan hadn't realized how sick he had gotten. Kneeling by his head, she placed a hand on his forehead with a small frown. He was hotter than usual, but she didn't know how aberrant this was for humans. Then she pressed a couple fingers to his throat to check his heart rate. It was elevated but strong.

Meanwhile, Ezra was clinging to Kanan's shirt, shaking him hard. "Kanan?! Kanan, g-get up…!" He was on the edge of full blown panic when Kanan finally let out a small moan. He cringed as his eyes fluttered open.

"Kanan," Hera said, unable to keep the edge of worry out of her voice. "What happened?"

Kanan frowned. "What…?" He put his arms under himself and slowly pushed up with a groan. "Is it just me…" he asked wearily, his words slurred, "... or is it really hot in here?"

For a brief moment, Hera wondered if he was drunk. But she couldn't smell any alcohol on him, and he really did look sick. "What do you remember?"

He was slouched over, but at least he was sitting up. His brow furrowed, like he was struggling to recall. "You and Ezra left… and I was hungry…"

That explained the shattered plate. "Why didn't you tell me you were feeling this bad?" She wouldn't have left him alone if she had known.

Wait. He hadn't been alone. Hera pulled out her comlink. "Chopper! Where are you!?"

As Chopper gave his indignant reply, Ezra scooted over and pressed his body to Kanan's side. Kanan instantly wrapped his arm around Ezra with a tired smile. "'M okay…" he murmured.

Hera sighed and put the comlink away. Chopper had been doing some maintenance in the engine room. As much as Hera wanted to be angry at him, she knew none of this was his fault. Kanan didn't need a babysitter. And she wasn't about to chastise Chopper for actually doing his chores for once. "Let's get you to your bunk…"

She stood and grabbed his arm, but he shrugged her off. "I can walk," he insisted. With a grunt of effort, Kanan used the wall to pull himself up. He took a step forward and swayed, but Hera grabbed him before he could nosedive.

"Stubborn moofhead…." she muttered as she helped him back to his cabin. It was a bad sign when Kanan didn't protest the assistance.

Once he was sitting on his bunk, Hera ran back out to grab the medkit from the common room. Hopefully this was just a bad bug. Nothing a bit of hydration and rest wouldn't fix.

When she returned, she found Kanan leaning heavily against the side of the bunk, holding Ezra's hand and muttering softly to him. Ezra had his eyes downward, his little body shaking as he tried blink his tears away. They both glanced in her direction as she stepped inside. "I need to take your temperature," Hera said. "Then I want you take some fever reducers and get some sleep."

"I'm fine," Kanan mumbled half-heartedly.

"Uh huh…" Hera knelt down in front of him, pulling a thermometer out of the kit and sticking it in his ear. Kanan grumbled in wordless protest. "Why didn't you tell me it was this bad?"

"It wasn't this morning…"

The thermometer beeped and Hera looked at it. "A hundred point three…" Hera frowned. "Is that high for a human?"

Kanan sighed. "A little bit, yeah…"

Hera put a hand on Ezra's shoulder. The boy had barely moved since she entered the room. "Ezra, would you go grab a glass of water for Kanan?"

Ezra looked back and forth between her and Kanan before nodding meekly. He jumped down and practically ran out of the room.

"I scared him," Kanan muttered.

"It wasn't your fault," Hera replied. "Unless you meant to collapse in the middle of the kitchen." She sighed. "Besides, Ezra was already a bit rattled from our shopping trip."

Kanan frowned. "Did something happen?"

"Ezra had a little panic attack… no biggie."

Kanan eyes widen and he tried to sit up. "Is he okay? What happened?" Then he groaned and swayed, falling back into the bed. "Kriff…"

"He's fine. He was just trying on some clothes. I don't know what triggered him, but I managed to get him calm enough to bring back to thePhantom." Hera placed a hand on his shoulder. "He did good."

Before Kanan could reply, Ezra was walking back in, carrying a full glass of water. Hera took it from him with a small 'Thank you' before thrusting both it and the fever reducers to Kanan. "I expect you to drink all of this."

Kanan rolled his eyes but did as she said. Handing the empty glass back, Kanan sunk into the bed with his eyes closed and a pained look on his face. "I hate being sick…"

Ezra started to climb up on the bunk next to him, but Kanan gently shoved him off with his arm. "No, kiddo. I don't want you catching this…"

Ezra gazed on him with wide eyes, looking hurt. "I-I don't mind…" he mumbled, his arms crossed across his chest.

"Well, I do." Kanan cracked his eyes open, placing a hand on Ezra's arm and giving it a small squeeze. "Seriously, this is no fun. You can still sleep in the top bunk, 'kay?"

Ezra's shoulders relaxed slightly and he nodded. "'Kay," he replied.

Hera closed up the medkit and set it aside before putting a hand on Ezra's back. "Let's give Kanan some space so he can rest, okay?"

Ezra nodded before turning and walking out the door. Hera stood and pointed at Kanan. "Sleep," she ordered.

"Aye aye, captain," Kanan replied tiredly as he turned on his side and pulled the blanket over himself.

Hera walked out to find Ezra sitting on the ground next to the door. He had his legs curled up to his chest as he stared intently at the floor. She sat down beside him, stretching her legs out in front of her. "Kanan is going to be fine," she said.

Ezra nodded without looking up from the ground.

Hera sighed, silently wondering what she should do now. For Kanan, there wasn't much to be done except making sure he stayed proper hydrated and rested. The question became how was Hera going to take care of Ezra's emotional needs. He was obviously distressed, but none of her attempts to verbally assure him seemed to be doing any good. This was uncharted territory for her. Kanan was Ezra's main pillar of emotional support. Sure, she took care of him from time to time, but that wasn't the same.

"Do you want to help me run a diagnostic on the Phantom?" she offered. She knew that there wouldn't be anything to find, but it would take time and hopefully get Ezra's mind off things.

Ezra glanced back to Kanan's cabin before looking up at Hera through his long bangs. "Sure," he muttered.

It was a long and quiet afternoon. Ezra followed Hera around the ship as she ran diagnostics, put away their supplies, and made some minor adjustments to a few subsystems. He didn't speak much, so Hera filled the air by explaining everything she was doing. She had Chopper swinging by Kanan's cabin regularly to make sure he was okay. As expected, he was sleeping the day away. With any luck, Kanan would be on the mend by tomorrow.

Dinner rolled around, and Hera heated up a meal pack for Ezra and an unlabeled package of soup for Kanan. "Stay here and finish eating, Ezra. I'll be back in a moment."

Ezra paused in his chewing as he watched Hera walk out. As she walked down the hall, she was not surprised to hear the sound of small feet padding after her. She turned around with a small sigh. "Really, Ezra. We don't want you getting sick, and there's nothing you can do right now."

Ezra looked pained at that, gazing down at the ground and hunching his shoulders up. Hera tried not to sigh in frustration. She hated this submissive posture of his. It was always a stark reminder of the abuse he had been forced to suffer. He had opened up in the recent weeks, but it seemed that the day's events had sent him back to old habits.

Frustration was the last thing Ezra needed right now, so Hera bit her lip and knelt down in front of him. She placed a hand on his shoulder, grateful when he didn't flinch away. Small miracles. "The best thing you can do for Kanan right now is take care of yourself. The less Kanan has to worry about you, the faster he'll get better. Understand?"

It took a moment, but Ezra gave a small nod.

"Alright." Hera looked over at Chopper, who was sitting uncharacteristically quiet nearby. "Chop, stay with Ezra, okay?" She turned back to Ezra. "Go back to the kitchen and make sure you eat everything off your plate. I'll be back in a few minutes."

With a barely discernible sigh, Ezra nodded before turning around and slowly walking back, Chopper rolling behind him. Hera stood and watched as Ezra disappeared into the kitchen. Satisfied that he wasn't going to follow her, she walked over and opened Kanan's cabin.

It looked as if Kanan hadn't moved. He was still curled up on his side under his blanket. Placing the soup to the side, she gently shook his shoulder. "Kanan?"

There was a low moan before Kanan turned onto his back, blinking up at Hera with unfocused eyes. He was coated in sweat, his face noticeably pale and splotchy. "... 'era…?"

"Hey… I brought you something to eat."

Kanan winced and let out another moan. He shook his head before rolling back onto his side.

"You need to eat something." She picked up the bowl. "It's just some ration soup. Nothing complicated." A small grunt was his only response. Hera rolled her eyes and sat on the bed next to him. "Kanan, if you don't eat this, I'm going to bring Ezra in here and tell him you're refusing to eat. Then you are going to have to explain to those big blue eyes why."

Kanan turned back just enough to level her with a weak glare. "I hate you…" he mumbled.

Hera just held up the bowl. "You don't need to eat the whole thing, but you need something."

With a bit of effort and a great deal of grumbling, Kanan pushed himself into a sitting position before taking the bowl from Hera. With a small look of disgust, he swallowed down a good half of the bowl before shoving it back to Hera. "How's Ezra?" he croaked.

"Ezra's fine. Don't worry about him. Just focus on getting better."

With another small grumble, Kanan slid down into his bunk and curled back up. By the time Hera was leaving, she could hear his soft snores.

On her way back, she could hear Chopper talking to Ezra. He was repeatedly reminding Ezra that Hera had told him to eat everything on his plate. When she entered the kitchen, she saw Ezra curled up in his seat, his head buried in his arms and his plate untouched.

Chopper turned to her and insisted he was trying to get the baby Jedi to eat. "I know Chop…" She rest a hand on his orange dome. "I've got this." Chopper rolled off, grumbling about stubborn Jedi.

Hera knelt down next to Ezra, placing a hand on his shoulder. He didn't react to her touch, but she could feel him trembling. "He's going to be fine," Hera insisted. "It's just a little bug."

Ezra peeked out from his arms, revealing red-rimmed eyes. "B-Bug?" he asks.

"A mild illness. I promise, this is nothing to worry about. As long as Kanan gets plenty of water and rest, he'll be as good as new in a few days." She nodded toward his plate. "I see you've barely touched your food."

Ezra gave the plate a small glare. "'M not hungry."

Hera chuckled. Ezra was starting to take after Kanan. "You need to eat. No one will be happy if you make yourself sick as well."

Ezra stiffened, and some expression flashed across his face that Hera couldn't quite decipher. But then it was a gone, and Ezra slowly unfolded himself and reached for his fork. Satisfied, Hera got up to make some food for herself.

The rest of the meal was quiet. It took Ezra nearly an hour to finish his dinner, but at least he finished it. Once Hera had taken care of the dishes, she could see Ezra starting to nod off. "Alright love, time for bed."

Ezra glanced tiredly toward the cabins. "C-Can I still s-sleep with Kanan?"

Hera shook her head. "No, you should sleep in your own cabin tonight." Ezra looked stricken, but she was going to remain firm on this point. "It's best if we leave Kanan alone for now. You need to sleep in your cabin tonight, alright?"

"K-Kanan said…"

"Ezra." Hera placed her hands on his shoulders. "Do you want to help Kanan get better?" Ezra gave a quick nod. "Then you need to listen to me, alright?"

Ezra nodded again, his lower lip trembling. "A-Alright."

Hera gave a small smile. She hated to upset Ezra, but this was an important step for him. She was starting to get concerned about how much time Ezra has been spending with Kanan. Hera had given Ezra the cabin next to Kanan's when he joined this little crew, but to her knowledge, he had never slept in it before. It was understandable at first. Ezra had just been through some horrible trauma and needed the comfort and safety that Kanan's presence offered. But that was months ago. Ezra was more than old enough to be sleeping on his own now. The occasional night with his guardian was one thing, but every single night? Hera didn't think that was healthy for either of them.

She meant to bring it up with Kanan before, but tonight was as good as any to start weaning Ezra off of Kanan. Particularly since it was coupled with the practical matter of keeping Ezra from falling ill.

Leading him back to his own cabin, Hera made sure Ezra changed into his nightclothes and climbed into his bunk. Sitting next to it, she helped tuck him in. "Come get me if you need anything, okay?"

"Okay," Ezra murmured, his eyes already slipping close.

Hera smoothed his hair back, smiling as Ezra's breathing evened out. Once she was sure he was asleep, she went to check in on Kanan again. Thankfully, he also seemed to be sleeping soundly. Pleased that both her boys were out, she took a moment to gather herself. Taking in a deep breath, she held it for several seconds before slowly exhaling. What an exhausting day.

Chopper rolled up to her and said she had an incoming transmission. She looked at the chronometer and sighed. "I suppose now is as good a time as any…"

Hera went to bed right after she gave her briefing. Quickly falling to sleep, her dreams were peaceful. They were of her younger days on Ryloth, before the war had reached them. There was the first time her father let her ride on a blerg with him. There was the warmth and comfort of eating her mothers stew. There was the exhilaration from the first time she got to ride in a shuttle…

Then the peace of her dreams was shattered by a loud banging on her cabin door, a high-pitched voice screaming her name. "Hera!? HERA!?"

Hera jumped out her bunk and stumbled to the controls. Her head was splitting from being ripped so violently out of sleep. She tried to blink through the pain as she stared down at the tiny human in front of her, her brain struggling to remember who the hell this was and why he would be on her ship.

He was sobbing, his body trembling as he stared at Hera pleadingly. "K-K-Kanan…!" he managed to squeak out.

Her brain barely processed the stuttered word and it's implication before her body propelled forward to the cabin across the hall. The door automatically opened and the horrid humid smell of sweat and vomit assaulted her. She reeled back and covered her nose as she fumbled for the lights.

Kanan was twisted in his blanket, thrashing against them as he moaned in distress. His unfocused eyes were twitching back and forth rapidly. Vomit coated his chin and soaked his shirt and blanket. His cheeks were an alarming shade of dark red, his long hair soaked with sweat and plastered to his face and neck.

Ezra, who had been undeterred by the smell, stood by the foot of the bunk. He was staring at Kanan with his hands partially outstretched, like he wanted to touch Kanan but was afraid to. He glanced back at Hera helplessly, silently begging her to help.

Hera went to kneel by Kanan's head, hovering a hand over his face and cringing at the heat she felt. He was much hotter than before. "Kanan?" She pressed her hand to his forehead. "Kanan, can you hear me?"

His eyes looked up vaguely in her direction with a small frown, his thrashing calming for a moment. "M… Master?" he mumbled.

He was delirious. And Hera didn't need a thermometer to know that his fever was dangerously high. She needed to get him out of these clothes, clean him off, and cool him down. She turned to Ezra who was still staring at Kanan, tears still running down his face. "Ezra." His head snapped towards her. "You need to go back to your room now."

Ezra immediately shook his head. "No! I-I wanna help!"

"You can help but letting me handle this." Hera started to untangle and peel the blanket covering Kanan. He wasn't helping, his legs occasionally kicking out as he moaned. "I don't want you getting hurt."

But Ezra was emphatically shaking his head. "I can help. I-I can…" He stared intently at Kanan before his eyes widened. He went over to the corner and knelt on the ground, closing his eyes.

Hera had no idea what Ezra was doing, but he was out of the way and no longer looking like a beaten tooka kit, so she would take what she could get. Once the blanket was removed, she worked on getting his shirt off. Kanan seemed to be calming down, so it was relatively easy for her to move his arms as she pulled the shirt over his head. The biggest challenge was manipulating Kanan's limp body. He was not a small man.

Once the shirt was off, she used it to wipe down his face and neck to get most of the vomit. Then she bundled it up with the blanket. "I'll be back in a moment," she said to Ezra.

"... 'kay…" Ezra mumbled, his eyes still closed.

Hera didn't give it much thought as she ran out and threw the spoiled laundry into the corner of the common room to be taken care of later (maybe she should ask Chopper to deal with them; he didn't have to smell it) before grabbing a bowl of cold water and a cloth.

By the time she got back, Kanan had calmed considerably. His body was more or less still, though his eyes were still scanning the bunk above him aimlessly. Ezra was sitting next him now, his fingers lightly tracing across Kanan's chest. "Ezra?"

Ezra jumped in surprise, glancing back at Hera. He was no longer crying and he didn't seem as upset. In fact, he just seemed confused. "S-Scars…" he muttered.

Hera knelt down next to him with a small frown. "What's that?"

Ezra looked back at Kanan. Hera followed his gaze and saw that Ezra was lightly touching an old blaster wound. It was one of many scars that littered Kanan's torso. "Kanan h-has scars…" the boy said, his voice filled with something akin to awe.

Hera's frown deepened. Of course to her, this was no revelation. Considering the lifestyle he had been living when they first met, it would be a miracle if he didn't have his share of scars. Her eyes scanning over Kanan's chest. Most of the scars were jagged, like they had been clumsily sewn together with little to no bacta. Only the blaster wounds looked to have been treated properly, if not fully. They were small and faint, but Hera could tell. She had seen similar scars on her father. They had been treated, but Cham hadn't allowed the treatment to complete before getting back into the fight.

She looked back at Ezra and wondered why he was so entranced by the fact that Kanan had scars. It wasn't as though Ezra was unfamiliar with scars. The ones she had seen earlier today painted a very loud picture of the torture his relatives had put him through. Did Ezra just think Kanan was invincible?

Hera soaked the cloth in the cold water before she started to wipe Kanan's face down, washing off what was left of his vomit. "Kanan has led an interesting life," she said softly.

Ezra watched as Hera worked the cold cloth across Kanan's flush body. "C-Can I help?"

She took a moment to consider the request. "Why don't you hold his hand?" Hera suggested. "I'm sure Kanan would appreciate it."

Scooting a little closer, Ezra placed his hand over Kanan's, curling his fingers around Kanan's palm. Then he closed his eyes, and started to breathe deeply.

Hera frowned slightly at Ezra's behavior but was pleased to see him less agitated. She continued to wipe the cold water over Kanan until he stopped squirming restlessly in the bed, his expression relaxing. Hera re-took his temperature, relieved when she saw that it had gone down.

At that point, Ezra had leaned over the side of the bed, his head cradled in his free arm. It seemed he had fallen asleep. Hera let out a small sigh. It probably wouldn't hurt for Ezra to stay here the one night. She gently grabbed Ezra by his armpits, pulling him up in her arms. Ezra mumbled a little in protest but didn't wake. With a little coordination, Hera climbed up a couple rungs of the ladder and laid Ezra down, pulling a blanket over him.

For a moment Hera just took in the sight. It once again hit her how much her life had changed in the last year. It was so different from what she had imagined. When she left Ryloth, her intention had been to build up a full crew as efforts against the Empire were slowly ramped up. It was what she had had in mind when she took Kanan in. Independent of his Force powers, Kanan had proved to be brilliant strategist and a capable fighter. And once she figured out his ne'er-do-well attitude was just a front, she saw the potential for an amazing ally in the fight that laid ahead of them.

Then it turned out there was more to Kanan than what met the eye. Way more than the fact that he could hold broken bridges in mid-air with his mind. In a huge tangle of post traumatic stress, survivor's guilt, and immaturity, it turned out that Kanan had a child. Not of his own blood, as it were, but a child that was his nonetheless.

Hera honestly had no idea what was going to happen as she flew Kanan to Ossus. She half-thought that Kanan would stay there with the Jedi Master, accept his life as a Jedi, and that would be that. They would go on their separate ways, maybe crossing paths again in the future.

But it seemed that fate had other ideas. Cruel and harsh ideas.

Now there was not only this mess of a man on her ship, but a child as well. A child that fit absolutely nowhere in Hera's grand plan of building a rebellion. A child that revealed an entirely different side to Kanan, a side that was both a nervous wreck and tender guardian. A child that needed some stability and security for once in his short and traumatic life.

So here they were, this man and this child fast asleep in one of Hera's spare cabins. She had no idea how all of this had happened. It just… did.

She let out a long sigh as she turned off the light and left, the door whooshing close behind her. One day at a time, she told herself. There wasn't much else she could do.

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