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

Enjoy Chapter 36!

Ezra had his hands pressed tightly against his mouth, but even that wasn't enough to stop the low whimpers of pain and fear from leaking through. He tried to get them to go away, knowing that if his aunt or uncle heard, they would give him another beating. But just like the trembling in his bones, he couldn't seem to get himself to stop.

His left side ached with every breath, the cuffs digging into his wrists. The bruises on his face were pounding incessantly, and his muscles were cramping from being forced into this tiny locker for so long. He tried to move, to find a different position to sit in, but it was too small. He couldn't see anything but his nightmares playing out in front of him over and over again. His head felt like it was swelling with pain, like his brain might explode out of his ears.

That was when he felt it: a warm sensation filling his awareness. It was similar to what he felt from other people, but it was so much louder. Not only that, it felt familiar and safe.

As distant part of Ezra told him he knew what this was. He was about to be saved. He was about to feel loved for the first time in his entire life. The locker would open, and he would meet the paradoxically familiar stranger who would change his life forever.

There was the scrapping of durasteel, and a blinding light pierced Ezra's eyes. He automatically squeezed his eyes shut, raising his hands to block the light. He blinked through the tears and the bright light, eagerly looking up to see…

White plasteel and a black blaster pointed straight at him. Ezra's stomach dropped, all hope and warmth draining out of him. "N-No…" he murmured in denial.

There was a bright blue circle of energy and Ezra screamed, jerking against his restraints. "NO!"

"It's okay, it's okay! It's just a dream… you're safe now..."

Tears ran down Ezra's face as he panted. He was pressed up against something warm with the familiar scent of earth and sweat. A warm presence broke through the fog of his nightmare, bringing him back to the present. It wasn't durasteel cuffs he was struggling against; it was a pair of strong arms wrapped around him.

"That's it…" One of the arms loosened, and a hand was on the back of his head, stroking his hair soothingly.

"K-Kanan…"

"Shh, it's okay now," Kanan murmured.

Ezra pressed his face to Kanan's shoulder, letting the shirt soak up his tears. He buried himself in this safe and warm cocoon of Kanan's arms, echoes from the past still bouncing around his head. But Kanan was right there, slowly working to pull the cold threads of his nightmare away. Eventually, his trembling ceased to barely noticeable tremor, his breathing shaky but even.

Kanan sighed, rubbing Ezra's back. "Go back to sleep," he whispered.

Ezra was already doing so. His body and mind were still exhausted from everything that had happened.

The trooper cried out as he was sent flying backward, losing grip of his blaster before he hit the far wall and fell into an unconscious heap on the ground.

Ezra's eyes snapping open as his body stiffened in terror.

"Ezra?" Kanan's arms tightened around him. "What's wrong?"

Ezra opened and closed his mouth wordlessly. He knew he had to tell Kanan, but the prospect terrified him. Kanan was already angry at him for sneaking onto theGhost. When he found out that Ezra had used the Force so brazenly against an Imperial? He didn't think Kanan would hurt him, but Kanan would definitely befurious. Ezra should have known better. Kanan and Master Nu had pounded this into his head over and over again: under no circumstances was he ever to use the Force in public. And he failed.

He was hiccuping with sobs as his father tried to calm him down. Kanan was focusing on their bond, but the warm waves of assurance were only doing so much against the panic, the knowledge that Ezra has endangered all of them.

"Ezra, please…" Kanan begged, holding him impossibly tight and rocking him frantically.

He didn't know how much time passed, but eventually, the panic faded naturally. The terror still gripped him tightly, but he had his wits back as he sniffled in Kanan's arms. "I-I screwed up…" he breathed.

"Shh… Don't worry about it now…"

Ezra shook his head. Kanan thought he was talking about stowing away on the Ghost. "I used the Force…!" he blurted.

A moment of silence passed. "... What do you mean?" He didn't sound angry or upset, just carefully curious.

This calmed Ezra down a little more. He took and deep breath and swallowed down his fear. "The Imperial… H-He was gonna kill Zeb…" His breathing shuddered at the memory. Not only of the trooper pointing his blaster at Zeb, but the feeling of those two other prisoners being shot dead, their life Force draining away. It made Ezra want to throw up.

Kanan was still holding Ezra tightly, minutely rocking him. "It's okay."

No, nothing about this was okay! Ezra tried to pull back. Did Kanan not understand? He used the Force! It was the one rule Master Nu gave him whenever they left Ossus. How many times had Kanan told him how important it was for him to never use the Force in public?

"What's done is done," Kanan said firmly, cutting through his panic. "You're safe, Zeb is okay, the other prisoners are okay… That's all I care about right now."

Ezra sniffled, but let himself relax against Kanan's chest. He didn't understand how Kanan could be so calm about this, but Ezra was so tired, he could accept it for now.

"Speaking of Zeb, there's something I want to talk to you about…"

Ezra looked up at Kanan expectantly.

"How do you feel about Zeb? As a person," Kanan asked.

"I like him," Ezra murmured. He might be scary looking and a bit grumpy, but he was nice to Ezra.

"I hear he helped everyone escape," Kanan added quietly.

Ezra nodded. That was true. Zeb led them all to get weapons, then he fought off the Imperials as they escaped. "He protected us."

Kanan was quiet for a moment. "He protected you," he inferred.

Ezra nodded again. Zeb reminded Ezra of Kanan except that he was quieter in the Force.

"Alright…" Kanan said with a sigh. "And how would feel if Zeb came to live with us on the ship?"

That caught Ezra by surprise. He leaned back, looking up at Kanan in disbelief. "Zeb's… gonna live with us on the ship?"

"Probably not," Kanan said quickly. "Hera wants me to ask if he'll help us out on a mission. He'll probably say no."

"Why?"

"Hera seems to think we need the extra help…"

"No, I mean, why do you think Zeb will say no?" Zeb seemed to like fighting, and he seemed to hate the Empire. To Ezra, it seems like he'd be a perfect fit.

"Well, we're strangers, Ezra. There's a possibility for us to all benefit from a partnership, but frankly, we don't have any reason to trust each other."

"I…" Ezra bit his lip. "I-I trust him…" he said quietly.

Kanan raised a surprised eyebrow. "Really?" It sounded like a statement rather than a question. "You trust Zeb."

Ezra nodded, a little confused why Kanan seemed so shocked. "He's like you. He protects people."

"... Oh." Kanan was rubbing Ezra's arms, looking a little lost.

"You okay?" Ezra asked. The last time Ezra sensed Kanan this conflicted, it had been after he had saved Ezra from Ossus.

"Yeah, Ezra. I'm fine." Kanan sighed. "We should get some more sleep…"

"'M not tired," Ezra said. That wasn't true, but he really didn't want to go back to sleep right now.

"Right," Kanan said disbelievingly. He picked Caleb off the floor and handed him to Ezra. Then he wrapped an arm around Ezra's shoulders and pulled him up to his side, leaning back into his bunk. "Why don't you just rest your eyes then?"

Ezra sighed, holding Caleb tightly. "I don' wanna have another nightmare…" he murmured.

Kanan rubbed his back. "Why don't I read you a story? Get your mind off things."

"... Can you tell me another story about Caleb?" he asked. He liked hearing Kanan talking about the Jedi Temple.

"Alright… Have I ever told you about Caleb's little crush?"

"I don't think so…"

Kanan chuckled. "Caleb was kind of an idiot. So was Sammo."

"Caleb had a crush on Sammo?!"

"Yuuup. He thought Sammo was soooo cute. He loved his blue markings, his headcap… When Caleb realized he had a crush, he constantly made of fool of himself. And his master did not help matters…"

They were scheduled to arrive at Toola in an hour, and Hera needed to to talk to Zeb before they got there. However, first she needed to know if Ezra was comfortable with the idea. Hera had little doubt that he would be. Ezra had been so concerned about Zeb, and he even kept conversing with him while she and Kanan helped the others. It was frankly remarkable, considering how nervous he usually was around strangers.

Hera sighed, standing in front of the door to Kanan's cabin. Ezra was probably in there with him. Ezra has been sleeping on his own for a few months now, but she doubted Ezra would be able to sleep peacefully on his own tonight. He was going to need every semblance of safety both she and Kanan could give him right now.

She leaned her forehead against the cold durasteel. They kriffed up today. Hera couldn't even really pinpoint how they kriffed up, but the fact that Ezra got hurt - hurt by the Empire - was enough of an affirmation.

She should have scrapped the mission like Kanan had said. But if they had done that, these people would have been lost in the Empire's prison system. Probably for good. It wasn't right to condemn them to a short life as Imperial prisoners.

They should have done more reconnaissance. Made sure the Ghost was nowhere near the Imperial patrols. Normally they would have, but they had been cutting it short as it was. If the Prison Transport got there before they managed to free everyone, the whole mission could have been a bust. And worse: they might have been captured themselves.

No matter how she looked at it, it all boiled down to one fact: everything would have been fine had Ezra not snuck on board.

She was still angry at Ezra and Chopper. Ezra knew how dangerous these missions were, he knew he wasn't allowed anywhere near them. And Chopper? Oh, she was going to tear him a new exhaust port. Even if he couldn't stop Ezra, he should have at least commed Hera to tell her what Ezra was doing! They could have stopped this before they had gotten to the point of no return.

Of course, it was hard to stay angry at Ezra for too long. She understood that being left behind was frustrating and scary. She remembered vividly how she felt every time her parents left to liberate another region or aid the Republic Forces. But if her parents had ever caught her trying to come with them, they would have tanned her like a piece of rycrit leather and locked her up in their home permanently.

That might have been a suitable response for a child like her, but not for a child like Ezra. The mere thought of disciplining Ezra like that made her sick to her stomach.

There was the sound of movement on the other side of the door. Hera stood straight and stepped back just in time for the door to open and reveal a tired looking Kanan. He didn't seem surprised to see her there. "Hey," he mumbled.

"Hey," she replied as he stepped out and let the door close behind him. "How's Ezra?" she asked quietly.

"He's… okay," Kanan said carefully. "Not great, but honestly, he's doing better than I had expected."

"Well, that's something."

Kanan hummed. "I just came out to say… Go ahead and talk to Zeb."

A small coil of tension in her chest unfurled. "So Ezra's on board."

"Yeah…" Kanan said, sounding surprised. He pushed the long strands of hair out of his face. "In fact, he seems more comfortable with the idea than I am."

Hera placed a hand on his arm. "Kanan, if it really makes you that uncomfortable…"

"No, I'll be fine," Kanan said, although he was frowning and seemed distracted.

She gave his arm a slight squeeze. "Talk to me."

Kanan closed his eyes with a sigh. "Talk to Zeb first. If he takes you up on his offer… we'll see how the job with Vizago goes."

Hera nodded. "Alright." She glanced in the direction of the loading dock. "Do you want to be there for the transfer?"

Kanan shook his head. "No, you can deal with the contact on your own. I'm going to stay here with Ezra."

"Okay. I'll let you know when we're headed back to Lothal. And whether or not we have a new crewmember."

"Temporary crewmember," Kanan stressed as he turned back to his room. "And don't be shy about waking us up at that point. Ezra will need to eat a proper meal."

Hera watched as Kanan disappeared into his cabin, the door closing behind him. She understood Kanan's reservations, but she had a good feeling about this. Zeb was a capable fighter and leader, hated the Empire, and protected those who needed it most. Now all that was left was to see if he fit in on the ship.

She quietly made her way down to the loading bay. Most everyone was sleeping... except for Zeb. The Lasat was sitting up on a crate, his hand firmly on his weapon as he kept watch over the others. His ears twitched as she climbed down the ladder, and he turned to look up at her. Once she got down, she gave a small smile as she walked over. "Couldn't sleep?" she whispered.

"I'll sleep when I'm dead," he murmured, the growl in his voice seemingly more pronounced as he tried to keep his voice low.

Hera couldn't help but roll her eyes. She had certainly heard that one before. "I wanted to ask you something," she whispered back, sitting on a nearby crate. Zeb frowned as he gazed at her with his almost glowing yellow-green eyes. It probably would have unnerved most people, but not her. "I overheard you talking to Ezra earlier." She waited to see if Zeb reacted. He didn't, so she went on. "I know what you did back in the prison."

"I didn't do anything," he replied flatly.

"You helped everyone escape. From what the others have said, you saved their lives. And…" She paused, her chest clenching. "... You protected Ezra."

Zeb pursed his lips together, looking away. "I did what any warrior would do."

"And that's why I wanted to speak with you. The others…" Hera glance over at them. "They're obviously not fighters. And even if they were, I heard them: they have family either here or elsewhere that they need to find." Zeb stiffened. "I don't mean to be callous," Hera added quickly. "But… Well, we could use another partner."

The Lasat narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you offering me a position?"

"Yes. A provisional one. We have a job lined up, and we could use the extra muscle. If all goes well… We'd like to offer you a permanent place here on the Ghost."

Zeb let out a humorless chuckle. "Trust me, there's no place for me here."

"I think you might be surprised. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Look, I don't know you, but I know your type. You don't need help finding someplace safe to settle down. You don't want to settle down. I bet you were happier stuck in that cell than you were sitting around a refugee camp."

"Who says I was in a refugee camp?" he growled.

"All the prisoners held in that center were from refugee camps." She paused, wondering how far to push her luck. "It wouldn't be surprising… I know what happened on Lasan."

Zeb's weapon creaked as his grip on it tightened. "You don't know anything."

The vehemence in his voice had her leaning back, and she knew she went too far. "I'm sorry…" she said.

Then all at once, Zeb seemed to deflate. The anger and pain seemed to dissipate, leaving behind a hollow sadness in his eyes. "You don't want me on your ship."

Hera sighed. "Do this one job with us," she said. "If at the end of it, we decide we're not a good fit for each other, then you can leave. Worse case scenario: you have a few more credits in your pocket, and we can drop you off wherever you like."

Zeb was staring down at his weapon, his eyes moving back and forth along its length as he considered the offer. Then he closed his eyes and sighed. "Alright…one job."

Hera smiled, placing a hand on his enormous arm. He looked up at her and blinked in response. He seemed mildly surprised by the physical contact. Hera just smiled in return before standing up and heading back to the cockpit to prepare for their arrival at the rendezvous.

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