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

Okay, after x rounds of editing this chapter, I'm throwing in the towel. It's as good as I can get it.

Enjoy Chapter 35!

The Ghost jumped into hyperspace, and Hera sagged back into her seat with an explosive sigh. They did it. They rescued Ezra and Chopper. Freed the prisoners. Now they were on their way to the rendezvous with Fulcrum's contact who would take these people somewhere safe.

Chopper rolled into the cockpit, loudly declaring his presence. Hera smiled in relief, getting up from her seat. "Chopper!" She knelt down in front of him, a hand on his dome as she looked him over. She let out a sigh when she saw that he was fine. Not even a scratch. At least, none that hadn't already been there. "It's good to see you're okay."

He let out a sad groan, stating that Ezra was injured.

"Injured…?!"

Not badly! Chopper assured. Kanan was taking care of him. Chopper sighed, saying he tried to protect the Baby Jedi, to keep him hidden...

"I know, Chop," Hera said softly. She leaned her forehead against him. "I know…"

She took a moment to compose herself. Then she pursed her lips and stood up. "Stay here and man the cockpit. I'm going to help get our guests get settled."

Chopper groaned in acknowledgement.

She went to the common room to find Kanan already pulling out blankets and medical supplies. Ezra was standing right behind him, holding onto his shirt tightly. He turned to Hera when she stepped in, and her stomach clenched at the state of his face. But before she could say anything, Ezra ran and practically tackled her. "Hera...!"

"Ezra…" She hugged him back tightly. "Thank goodness you're alright."

Ezra was trembling against her, his breathing shuddered. "I-I'm sorry..."

"Shh..." She rubbed his back comfortingly, kneeling down in front of him. She gently pushed his bangs back, her chest aching as she got a closer look at the bruises and dried blood on his face. "You're here now. That's all that matters."

Kanan glanced down at Ezra before he piled the blankets on top of a box of rations. "Would you mind taking care of him?"

Hera raised an eyebrow in surprise. Kanan wasn't going to treat Ezra himself? Before she could question it, Ezra immediately shook his head and pulled away from her. "I-I'm okay."

"Let Hera look you over," he said sternly. He walked over and put a hand on Ezra's shoulder. "I'm going down to help the others with their injuries. I want you stay up here until you settle down. Okay?"

"I am settled!" Ezra said, his body visibly shaking harder. "I'm okay! I-I promise, I'm okay…!"

"Ezra, love…" Hera gently but firmly put her hands on his shoulders. "Let's just take a moment to look at your injuries. Once you're all patched up, then we can go down to help Kanan out. Sound good?"

Ezra took a deep breath, his body still shaking as he gave a small nod. "O-Okay."

Kanan smiled, placing a quick kiss on the top of Ezra's head before carrying down all of the supplies. Hera frowned as she watched him go. She would have to talk to Kanan about this later. She led Ezra over to the bench, noticing that Kanan had left some bacta and bandages on the table.

Ezra's leg was jigging up and down as Hera got a wet cloth. He avoided her gaze as she knelt back down in front of him. Hera made sure to move slowly as she placed one hand on the back of his head, gently wiping the dried blood off his face. His left cheek was badly swollen with the deep purple bruise. Thankfully, the cut wasn't bad. It would probably heal within a week. This wasn't nearly as bad as when they saved Ezra from the natives on Ossus. Her chest clenched painfully, thinking about how much worse things could have gone.

"I-I'm sorry…" Ezra mumbled again.

"Shh," Hera whispered, settling the cloth aside and running her fingers through Ezra's hair.

He was fidgeting, repeatedly wiping his hands against his pants. "I-If I hadn't snuck on…"

"Ezra, all I care about right now is that you're safe." She put some bacta on a bandage before pressing it in place and taping it down. "We can deal with everything else later."

With a shaky nod, Ezra leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her neck. "I'm sorry," he repeated, his voice straining.

Hera held him tightly, mildly surprised by Ezra's blatant show of affection. While Ezra was comfortable around Hera, he was always shy with physical contact. The only times they had hugged before was the few of times Ezra had a panic attack and Kanan hadn't been around. Kanan was Ezra's main form of physical comfort, and Hera didn't take it personally. She bonded with Ezra in other ways.

She felt warm wetness against her neck, and she tightened her arms around Ezra. Of course, today was a little different from just a bad nightmare or a panic attack. While this mission was relatively standard for her and Kanan - they've even been captured before - Ezra was just a kid. There was a reason Kanan had been so angry when Ezra stowed away on the Ghost: it had been fear.

Hera pressed her cheek to the top of Ezra's head, taking a deep breath as she rocked him slightly. Ezra was okay. A little bruised, a little traumatized… but he would be okay. She and Kanan would make sure of it.

Eventually, Ezra pulled from the hug, wiping his face off. "I wanna go help."

She looked him over with a critical eye. He did seem calmer now. He wasn't as tense and his shaking had decreased significantly. But after the day they've had, she didn't exactly want to throw him into a room full of strangers. "Are you sure?" she said. "You can go lay down, cuddle with Caleb..."

Ezra insistently shook his head. "I wanna make sure Zeb's okay."

Hera raised an eyebrow at that. "Zeb?"

Ezra just nodded, looking earnest but offering no further explanation. Zeb must have been one of the prisoners. "Alright," Hera said with a sigh, standing up. "Let's go."

As they walked down into the loading dock, Hera took a moment to take everything in. There were only six prisoners: three humans, two Mon Calamari, and a Lasat. Most of them were eating ration bars, huddled together and talking quietly. Kanan was treating a blaster wound on a woman's arm.

When Ezra got down to the loading dock, he ran over to the Lasat, who was sitting to the side on a crate and holding his leg. "Are you okay?!"

The Lasat - Zeb, Hera assumed - gave a strained smile. "I'm alright, kid." Hera saw the blaster wound on his thigh, just below where he was grasping.

"He wouldn't let me look at it until I treated the others," Kanan said, focused on the woman's arm.

Hera nodded, grabbing some of the supplies and bringing them over to Zeb.

"Trust me," Zeb was saying to Ezra, a bit of bravado in his voice. "I've had much worse than this."

Rather than be impressed, Ezra's frown deepened. "I don't think that's a good thing."

"No, it is not," Hera said, settling the supplies down. "Here, let me look at it."

"I said I'm fine until - "

"Kanan is taking care of the others," Hera said firmly, pulling out a pair of scissors and starting to cut the fabric of the prison uniform away.

Zeb humphed. "Fine…" he growled.

Ezra hovered over Hera's shoulder, watching as she started to clean the wound. "C-Can I help…?" he asked quietly.

Hera was about to say that there wasn't much Ezra could do, but then she had another thought. "No, but you can watch." First aid was an important skill, and Ezra was old enough to start learning. If he can adjust the Phantom's steering, he could certainly learn to treat a blaster graze.

Just like when they were doing maintenance, Ezra watched intently as Hera quietly explained everything she was doing. She wasn't as knowledgeable about first aid as Kanan was, but she was more than capable of dealing with a wound this minor.

And Zeb didn't seem bothered by it at all. He just quietly sat there, his gaze shifting between the two of them as Hera used him as a teaching tool.

Once Hera finished wrapping up his leg, Zeb gave her a small nod. "Thanks," he murmured.

"Of course." Hera stood, seeing Kanan had finished as well. "We're on our way to meet with some friends of ours," she announced to all of them, drawing their attention. "They'll be able to take you someplace safe."

"What about my family?" one of the humans said. "My husband and our son…"

"These people can help you find them," Kanan said.

"Who are you guys?" one of the Mon Calamari asked.

"People who want to help," Hera said. "Who see the injustices of the Empire and are willing to stand up against them."

"So you just… decided to help out a bunch of strangers?" Zeb growled in disbelief. "Out of the goodness of your hearts?"

Hera glanced over at the Lasat. Despite his tone, he didn't seem angry. Just genuinely confused. "If we don't stand up to the Empire… who will?"

Zeb's brow furrowed, but he didn't reply.

Hera and Kanan distributed the blankets and helped everyone get settled with food and water. While Hera was talking softly with the human couple, she overheard a small exchange between Zeb and Ezra.

"D-Do you have any family?" Ezra asked, chewing on a ration bar.

"No, kid. It's just me."

There was a short bout of silence. "Then… W-What're you gonna do now?"

Zeb sighed. "Honestly, kid? I'm going to find myself a bottle of strong grog before bashing in some buckets."

That effectively silenced Ezra. He went to hover near Kanan, grabbing the bottom of his father's shirt for comfort.

Hera found her mind lingering on Zeb. She knew what had happened to Lasan. Not many did due to efforts by the Empire to cover it up. However, everyone in Fulcrum's network had been informed of massacre, the carnage that had happened there. From all accounts, there were virtually no survivors. The senators who knew the truth managed to ban the use of T-7 Ion Disruptors, but only by agreeing to mask the reasons for the ban.

Hera looked around the loading dock. There was the human couple, the human man who was going to search for his husband and son, and the Mon Calamari were sisters. None of them could go back to their homes, but at least they weren't alone. Or at least, they had hope they would be able to find their families.

Zeb had no one. If there were any other survivors, Zeb obviously didn't know about them. For Hera's part, the only other Lasat she knew of was with Saw Gerrera's group. That is, if the rumors could be trusted.

They finished distributing all of the supplies. "We'll be arriving at Toola in six hours," Hera said. "We'll leave you alone now to get some rest. Comm us if you need anything."

The three of them left, but not before Ezra gave Zeb one last sad glance.

When they returned to the relative privacy of the common room, Kanan sat on the bench with Ezra tucked up tightly against his side. "I take it you and Zeb got to know each other in the facility?" Hera asked softly, sitting across from them.

Ezra nodded. "He was… in the same cell."

"Zeb?" Kanan asked.

"The Lasat," Hera clarified.

"He was nice…" Ezra said quietly, fiddling with the bandage on his face. "He helped us escape."

"Don't pick at that," Kanan said, gently pulling Ezra's hand from his face.

Ezra gazed up at Kanan, his eyes glistening with tears. "H-He protected me… All of us. B-But…"

"We don't need to talk about this right now," Kanan said, rubbing his back.

"But I screwed up!" he squeaked, a tear spilling over. He visibly swallowed and wiped it away. "I… I…"

"Ezra, stop," Kanan said, grabbing his arms. "This doesn't matter right now."

"B-But… but…" Ezra was struggling to draw in a proper breath.

"No buts. No nothing." Kanan sighed, wrapping his arms around Ezra. "You should get some sleep."

Ezra looked like he wanted to argue, but he was slumping against Kanan, his shoulders trembling. "K-Kanan…"

"Later," Kanan said, gently but firmly. "Right now, you're going to bed."

Hera watched as Kanan coaxed Ezra to his room. It's been a long day for all of them, but she didn't want to go to sleep yet. Honestly, she didn't think she'd be able to with so many strangers on her ship. So with a soft sigh, she went to make herself some caf.

When she came back with her steaming mug and a datapad, she found Kanan sitting at the table, his hands buried in his hands. "Ezra's asleep?" she asked.

Kanan nodded, lowering his hands. He looked as exhausted as she felt. "Yeah… he was out the second his head hit the bunk."

Hera sat down. "There's caf in the galley if you want it."

"I'm fine," he mumbled. "I should probably try to sleep anyway. It's just…" He paused, looking pensive. "I just keep seeing Ezra in that Imperial prison…"

Hera reached over and grabbed his hand. "It's over now. He's back on the Ghost, safe and sound."

Kanan shook his head. "I failed," he said with certainty. "As a guardian, as a father..."

"You didn't fail, Kanan…"

"I'm supposed to protect him! To make sure he stayed out of harm's way! I couldn't do anything about his relatives, and I know what happened on Ossus wasn't my fault… but this? I should have been able to prevent this!"

"Kanan, this is on both of us," Hera said quietly but sternly. "He's my responsibility too, you know."

Kanan's shoulders slumped. "I know," he said softly.

Hera let out a small huff. "I guess we both underestimated how much Ezra hated being left behind. And how little Chopper would be able to do to stop Ezra once he set his mind to it. It seems he was determined to come with us."

"That doesn't make it his fault…!"

"I'm not saying it does, Kanan. Frankly, it wasn't anyone's fault. Just a series of unfortunate circumstances that wouldn't have had any consequences if it weren't for the Empire."

That didn't seem to make Kanan feel any better. "Ezra shouldn't be any part of this!"

"Kanan… We might not have a choice…"

He gaped at her. "You're not seriously suggesting we start bringing Ezra on missions...!"

"No. Not yet. But if today has told us anything, it's that Ezra's not going to sit by and do nothing." She let out a tired sigh. "You promised you'd help him learn to shoot a blaster… That's a good start."

"He's kriffing eleven," Kanan choked.

"And the Empire is not going to care."

Kanan looked pained, and Hera didn't blame him. Neither of them wanted this for Ezra. But she wasn't about to stop fighting. And despite his feelings early on, she knew Kanan wasn't going to stop either. Not anymore. If they stood by and let the Empire's power grow without resistance, they would all end up living in fear. And Ezra deserved to live in a better galaxy than that.

Hera took a large gulp of her lukewarm caf. They could talk about this more later. There were other things she wanted to address before either of them crashed for the night. "Why didn't you treat Ezra earlier?"

Kanan frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean… you kind of shoved Ezra off onto me. Usually you won't let him out of your sight when he's upset."

Kanan sighed, sitting back in his seat. "Sorry about that…"

"It's fine," Hera assured. "And Ezra seemed fine with it as well. He didn't even seem to notice when you left. I'm just curious."

"I knew Ezra was okay," he said quietly. "And Ezra knew that he was safe. But we were both wound up, and…" Kanan scowled, his eyes scanning the ceiling as he tried to find the right words. "I think a feedback loop of some sort was happening. We were just making each other feel even worse. Ezra needed some time away from everyone else to calm down, and I needed to do something useful to get my head back on straight."

Hera slowly nodded. She supposed that made sense. Especially with the bond that they shared.

"I just don't know what to do," Kanan went on. "I feel like I should still… discipline him... or something for sneaking on, but the last thing I want to do right now is make him feel even worse than he already does!"

"Let's not worry about it now," Hera said. "Let's focus on getting these people to the rendezvous. Once we get back to Lothal… then we'll figure everything else out."

Kanan ran his fingers through his hair with a sigh. "Alright."

"In the meantime… There's something else I want to talk to you about." He raised an eyebrow at her, indicating that she should elaborate. "It's the Lasat… Zeb."

"What about him?"

"I asked the others about him. They all said the same thing as Ezra: he helped them all escape. He rallied them together, took on the other Imperials, and made sure most of them made it out alive."

Kanan's gaze didn't waver. "What's your point?"

"He's not just another civilian refugee. He obviously knows how to use that weapon of his. He was probably a soldier back on Lasan."

"... I'm still waiting for your point."

"We've been shorthanded for a while now…"

Kanan blinked. Once. Twice. "You want him to join us?!"

"Why not? He's obviously a capable warrior. From what I overheard, he's just spending his time getting into futile fights with stormtroopers. It's probably why he got arrested in the first place."

"Hera, we hardly know him."

"I hardly knew you."

Kanan shook his head in disbelief. "I don't want to bring a complete stranger on here with Ezra…"

"Ezra likes him," Hera said. "Zeb protected him while they were escaping, and Ezra helped me patch him up."

"That still doesn't mean… I mean, how do you even…? Why would…?"

Hera got up to sit next to Kanan on the bench, placing a hand on his leg. "You know what happened to the Lasat people. He has no family. No one to go back to.We need all the help we can get. The missions are getting bigger and more dangerous. You know how terrified Ezra is of strangers, and even he seems to like Zeb. At the very least, Zeb would do a better job of keeping Ezra from sneaking into our missions."

"I am not about to leave Ezra alone with him…!"

"Kanan." She squeezed his thigh. "I'm not saying we just let him have free reign at first. But we could at least offer a place on the Ghost."

"Hera, we don't even know him."

"You're not listening to me: We know he protected Ezra. We know he helped all those people escape. And I know we need the extra help."

Kanan pursed his lips together, still frowning. "Where is this coming from?" he asked. "You didn't seem concerned about recruiting more help before."

It had always been Hera's attention to expand her crew. Kanan was just supposed to be a first step. It was only the inclusion of Ezra, a child who needed a safe space, that put a wrench in those plans. But now… "Maybe it's because of Ezra. We - " She choked on her words. "We almost lost him today," she whispered.

Kanan stiffened, and she could feel a fine tremor run through his body. "I know," he whispered back.

Hera moved closer to Kanan, and he lifted his arm to let her lean against his side. She let out a shaky sigh as Kanan wrapped his arms around her. "The others said they wouldn't have made it out if not for Zeb. If Zeb hadn't been there…"

Kanan's arms tightened at the implication. "Y-You don't know that…"

"I don't," Hera admitted. "But from the way Ezra was acting around Zeb, I do know that Ezra trusts him. And that tells me a lot."

They fell quiet as they both contemplated the Lasat. Only the hum of the hyperdrive filled the silence. Hera had said her piece. She only hoped Kanan would see things from her perspective.

"He might not want to join," Kanan finally said.

"Neither did you. At least, not for those reasons."

"He'll probably say no."

"It doesn't hurt to ask. Besides, it's not like we have to offer up the whole package. We can ask if he'll just do one job with us. We turned down that job with Vizago because we were undermanned. It'll give him an opportunity for some credits, and we can get to know him."

Kanan sighed, running a hand down Hera's lek. "Let me talk to Ezra," he said. "If Ezra's as comfortable with the idea as you're implying… then you can ask."

Hera smiled, leaning up and kissing Kanan's cheek. "Thank you."

He raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"For listening to me."

He gave a small smile. "I always listen."

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