It was about a month before shooting for the TV series started that Kanan met Ezra Bridger for the first time. Kanan still almost couldn't believe it-even with as many prestigious projects as he had under his belt, getting offered a role in a Star Wars project, let alone a main character role, was the chance of a lifetime. He'd loved Star Wars his whole life, but he never thought he'd actually get to be a part of that world! The fact that he would be doing this show with his wife, Hera, and best friend, Zeb, made it just that much sweeter.

Originally the showrunners had just approached him and Hera about playing the adopted parents role for the ragtag crew in the show-everyone knew that Kanan and Hera had great chemistry, both on screen and off, so there hadn't been any question about casting the two of them together. But when Kanan heard that the directors were still trying to cast the role of the large, feline-ish alien member of the crew he might have not-so-subtly encouraged them to cast Zeb. Not only was Zeb a renowned "creature" actor and puppeteer with some very impressive credits of his own to his name, he and Zeb had proven that they worked very well together ever since their first project together almost ten years ago on "The Space Cowboy Adventure Show". (Incidentally getting Zeb cast was partially Kanan's way of paying him back for being his wingman and helping him get his first date with Hera when she guest starred on the show.)

So yes, between the fact that he was going to officially become a part of the Star Wars universe and that he was going to be working with two of his favorite people in the whole world he knew this was going to be an unforgettable experience, and things were already well underway towards starting production. He and the others had been called to multiple costume fittings-Kanan's costume was of course not as impressive as Zeb's purple alien suit or even Hera's twi'lek pilot, but he still thought it looked pretty great (and of course his inner five-year-old was thrilled to have his own unique lightsaber.) And he liked what he'd read of the script for the pilot episode-of course he knew the script would change a hundred times between now and the finished product, but the general concept of a crew of outsiders fighting the Empire and forming a found family struck a chord with him.

It was actually the found family part which was why he and the others were heading to the studio today-the roles for the youngest members of the crew had just been soft-cast, meaning that the directors had found the two teens they wanted to fill the roles but before officially casting them they wanted to see how well they interacted with the older members of the cast who had already been promised roles. Kanan wasn't too worried about them: he had done several projects with younger cast members, and unless they turned out to be spoiled brats he always enjoyed it. He could still remember what it was like when he was first starting out as an actor and so he liked to pass on some of his own wisdom and experience, while at the same time knowing he could always learn a thing or two from them as well. Especially new actors and actresses had something very real and raw about them, not having been ground down and polished by Hollywood's perfectionism yet, and it helped remind him to stay in the moment and treat every scene he was playing as if it was his first, even if he'd already played a hundred scenes just like it.

Kanan hadn't realized just how lost in thought he'd become until he felt a warm hand on his arm and heard a soft voice saying, "What are you thinking, love? You're so quiet today."

"Oh, sorry, Hera." Kanan gives his wife, who was sitting in the passenger seat next to him, an apologetic smile. "Just thinking about today, wondering what the kids will be like."

"Me too," Hera admits. "It's hard to know what to expect-I haven't heard of them before so I think this is probably their first major project."

"I think you're right-I did a bit of research and it sounds like Sabine's been in a couple of commercials and Ezra's been in some local theater productions, but that's about all I could find."

"So we really don't know what they'll be like… Well, hopefully they'll be a good fit."

"I hope so too."

"Especially since they're so new to all of this, let's try to get them the benefit of the doubt and encourage them as much as possible-they might be nervous at first, but they've worked so hard to get here."

Kanan gives her a warm smile. "That's exactly what I was thinking."

A little while later they reach the studio and, after getting through security, they head to the sound stage where today's screen test would be taking place. Things were, as usual, bustling with activity. Hera and Kanan go to check in with the director, but he was so distracted that he just vaguely waves them towards some empty chairs before going back to having a very heated discussion with someone on his phone. Well, they weren't needed at the moment, so while Hera starts amiably chatting with one of her friends on crew Kanan goes to check out the craft services table. He was just trying to decide whether to be healthy and eat some fresh fruit or to give in to the temptation of a donut when he spots him for the first time.

The teenager was standing all alone in a corner, his slightly overgrown bangs covering most of his face, a blueberry muffin clutched in his hands that he'd either forgotten to or was too nervous to eat. He was easily the youngest person in the room, so even without his bit of online research Kanan would have been able to guess who he was: Ezra.

The poor kid looked so scared and overwhelmed that Kanan felt his heart going out to him. He decided that a friendly hello would hopefully help some, so he puts on his warmest smile and makes his way over to the teen, trying to appear casual so as not to scare him any more than he already was.

"Hey." Ezra didn't seem to notice when he stopped next to him, so he finally gives him a simple greeting to get his attention.

"O-Oh!" Ezra startles, looking around wide-eyed, his eyes only getting wider when they land on Kanan.

"Y-You're Kanan Jarrus!" Ezra stammers out.

"I am," Kanan chuckles. "And you're Ezra, right?"

"H-How do you know that?"

"The director told me about you. Also I did a little research on you-I like to know the people that I work with."

"Wow… You really looked up on me?"

"I did."

Kanna has to bite back a smile at how awe-struck this kid looked.

"It's such an honor to be working with you," Ezra says, finally seeming to recover from his shock and offering his hand for a shake. "Or, at least I hope that I'll be working with you!"

"I hope so too." Kanan shakes the offered hand. He couldn't help but notice how professional Ezra was-he had a firm handshake, he made sure to maintain eye contact with Kanan as they spoke, and even though he was clearly excited to meet him after the initial surprise passed he wasn't stumbling all over himself or gushing about being a huge fan like a lot of younger cast members Kanan had worked with in the past had. Someone had trained this kid well-maybe a little too well. While Kanan could appreciate the professionalism, he had to wonder if this kid could step beyond that to take on the role of a smart alek, streetwise orphan. Well, only time and getting to see the kid in action would tell.

Just as he was thinking this, the director suddenly calls for both him and Ezra to come to the soundstage floor for the first screen test.

"Ready for this?" Kanan asks with a smile.

"Yes sir!" Ezra answers, and, while he still appeared a bit nervous, there was a spark of confidence in his eyes that Kanan liked.

"All right, we're going to run through a few of your scenes, just to see how you two interact-since the rest of the cast is still arriving we'll use stand-ins for their roles," the director tells them as they step out onto the open floored stage area. Kanan had his script flipped open to their first scene just in case he needed it, but he noticed that Ezra didn't even bother to open his script-was it confidence, or cockiness?

"Kanan, you start with the line, 'How's it going?' and just keep going until the end of the scene," the director instructs.

"Right." Kanan takes a moment to mentally get into character-he was a smuggler with a secret jedi past, on the run from the Empire, and this was the kid who was trying to steal much needed supplies from his crew.

As they played the scene, Kanan was shocked to see the shy, polite boy he'd met only minutes earlier turn into a snarky, devil-may-care thief-it was almost hard for him to stay in character for a few moments he was so surprised by the sudden transformation. He wondered if this was just acting, or if this was what Ezra was really like. Still, once he'd gotten over his initial shock, Ezra being so in-character actually helped him to do the same, and he was almost surprised to find himself back on the sound stage once the run-through was over.

"That was good," the director calls. "Okay, let's take five while we wait for the rest of the cast to get here, and then we'll try another run through with all of you."

"Kid, that was really, really good," Kanan says, turning to Ezra as they walk off the stage together.

"Really?" Ezra asks hopefully-the snarkiness of just a few moments ago was gone, but he wasn't quite as reserved as earlier either.

"Absolutely-you did a great job getting into your character's head, you made me really believe it."

"W-Wow, thank you!" Ezra stammers, his cheeks turning pink. "You were really great too, I-"

Whatever he'd been about to say was interrupted as a door in the back of the room bangs open and a girl about Ezra's age with a short brown bob comes hurrying in. "Hey, sorry I'm late!" she gasps. "I got stuck in wardrobe doing fittings and it ran over! Did I miss anything?"

"No, it's fine, Sabine, we're actually still waiting for a couple more of the cast members-we were running a test with Ezra and Kanan since they were both here a bit early," the director reassures her.

"Okay, good," Sabine sighs before spotting Ezra. "Oh, hey Ez!"

"Hey Bean!" Ezra beams and waves to her.

Kanan at first was struck by the fact that Sabine and Ezra had something of a resemblance to each other-was it possible they were siblings? Upon closer inspection as Sabine joins them Kanan realizes that no, there wasn't as much of a resemblance as he'd initially thought, but all the same the two certainly acted like siblings.

"Bean, this is Mr. Jarrus-he's really cool, and his acting is awesome!" Ezra says eagerly.

"Hey." Sabine turns to Kanan with a friendly but curious smile. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Jarrus, I'm Sabine."

"Nice to meet you as well," Kanan answers with a smile. "But please, neither of you have to call me 'Mr. Jarrus'-just Kanan is fine."

"Cool." Sabine nods even as Ezra squeaks out,

"R-Really?"

"Yes, really," Kanan chuckles-so apparently Ezra really was a bit shy.

"Kanan!"

Kanan looks up when he hears someone calling his name and grins when he sees Hera, accompanied by Zeb, heading their way.

"Hey!" Kanan waves them over, and once they've joined the group he does a quick round of introductions. "Hera, Zeb, this is Ezra and Sabine, our newest cast members. Ezra, Sabine, this is my wife, Hera, and my best friend, Zeb."

"Hello, very nice to meet you both," Hera says warmly.

"Nice to meet yeh," Zeb adds.

"Wow. You're, like… Really, really tall," Sabine says in awe, looking up at Zeb.

"So I've been told," Zeb chuckles good naturedly.

"Just how tall are you?"

"6'4". And I'll be even taller with my digitigrade stilts."

"Cool," Ezra breathes.

"So how are you two doing so far?" Hera asks kindly. "Hopefully not getting too overwhelmed?"

"No, it's actually been pretty fun!" Sabine laughs. "They're even letting me help design my outfit!"

"Really? What sort of ideas did you have for it?"

Kanan smiles as he watches Hera with Sabine. She was a natural with making people in general feel welcome and included, but she was especially good with kids and teenagers. There was a reason they'd been privately trying for one of their own for the past couple of years, but at this point everything that they were hearing from the doctors was sounding pretty hopeless…

"Are you a fan of Star Wars too?"

"What?" Kanan hadn't expected Ezra to ask him a question, so he hadn't quite heard it.

"I-I was just asking if you like Star Wars too?" Ezra repeats, now sounding a bit nervous. "I know that this role would be a dream come true for me, getting to be a real Star Wars character…"

"Oh, believe me I know the feeling," Kanan reassures him. "I've been watching Star Wars my whole life, getting to be a jedi is a dream come true for me too!"
"Right? I can't believe we got to be actual Star Wars characters!" Ezra grins at him. "When I was a kid I'd always play pretend that I was Luke-"

It seemed that once Ezra started talking it was hard to get him to stop, but Kanan didn't mind, and didn't particularly want him to stop. It was nice seeing Ezra opening up and getting out of his shell, and especially since he was talking about something so dear to his own heart he didn't mind listening to the teenager telling him about all of his favorite parts of the Star Wars world. Still, as much as Kanan was enjoying this, he had to wonder what the delay on the screen test was. Finally, about ten minutes later, a man with golden hair, dressed sharply in mostly shades of grey, comes hurrying in.

"I am terribly, terribly sorry!" he apologizes, pushing a loose strand of hair back into place. "I somehow managed to oversleep my alarm, I know that it's no excuse but I'm still adjusting to the time change-"

"Well you're here now, that's what matters," the director tells him before clapping his hands together to draw everyone's attention. "All right, we're all here, let's get on with it-everyone involved in the read through please gather on the floor."

"Who's that?" Kanan hears Zeb whispering a bit hoarsely to him.

"I'm pretty sure that's Alexsandr Kallus-he was cast to play an Imperial agent, our crew's main antagonist," Kanan whispers back.

"Antagonist? Pity he's not a part of the crew…"

"Pity?" Kanan repeats curiously, looking over at his friend, only to feel a flash of understanding when he sees the way that Zeb's eyes were following the other man. "Oh, I see-does someone have a crush?"

"Shut up, I do not!" Zeb protests, and maybe to prove his point all of his character's interactions with Kallus' were even more brusque than necessary. But Kanan didn't miss the way that Zeb's eyes were constantly on Kallus, even when they weren't in a scene together.

As for the rest of the screen test, it went just as well if not better than any of them could have hoped. Hera, Kanan, and Zeb of course already had an easy rapport, but the kids quickly fit right in-it was clear that they'd put a lot of effort into thinking about how their characters would talk and act, and it made everything feel that much more natural.

By the end of the test, Kanan knew that there was no way they could find two better teens to fill the roles, and fortunately the director seemed to agree because, after a short meeting with the rest of the team, he announced that both Ezra and Sabine were officially cast. Ezra, ever the professional, stammered out some sort of thanks and how he meant to work very hard, while Sabine just started cheering and hugging Hera.

"I think this calls for a celebration," Kanan says, putting a hand on Ezra's shoulder. "Do you think your parents would mind it if Hera and I invited you back to our place for dinner? Your parents would of course be welcome to join us as well!" He and Hera had already discussed inviting the new crew members to dinner after the test, and he could see that Hera was asking Sabine the same thing.

"Oh, wow, really?" Ezra looks up at him, his eyes wide. "Y-You'd want me to come to your house for dinner?"

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't mean it!"

"Wow, I-I have to check with me and Bean's matron, but I think hopefully she'll say that we can go!"

Matron? Kanan wonders as he sees Ezra and Sabine hurrying over to a woman who'd been sitting quietly to the side of the room the whole time he'd been here. He'd seen Ezra go up to her once or twice and thought maybe she was his mother, despite the lack of physical resemblance. Now, though, he wasn't quite sure who she was, only that she was apparently in charge of both Ezra and Sabine?

After watching her talk with the kids for a minute, Kanan sees the woman standing up and heading in his direction, and something about the expression on her face made him stand up a little straighter and try to look as much like a responsible adult as possible.

"Hello," the woman greets him as she reaches him. "You're Kanan Jarrus?"

"Yes ma'am," Kanan answers politely. "And you're Sabine and Ezra's… Matron?"

The word felt odd in his mouth, but the woman just smiles and nods.

"Yes, I'm Mrs. Pelekai-Kawena, but you can call me Nani. I've been assigned to look after Ezra and Sabine whenever they're here filming."

"Assigned?" Kanan repeats, feeling more lost than ever.

"Sabine and Ezra come from a group home for kids and teenagers who are talented and want to pursue the performing arts," Nani explains. "We help the kids go to auditions and tryouts, and if one of them gets an engagement one of us at the group home goes with them during rehearsals and performances or recordings, unless the management provides a matron of their own."

"...Sabine and Ezra come from a group home?" Kanan asks softly. He'd had absolutely no idea.

"Yes," Nani answers, and based on the guarded expression on her face Kana could tell that asking questions was a very bad idea right now and, really, it wasn't any of his business in the first place unless Ezra or Sabine wanted to tell him about it.

"Well the kids may have told you, but my wife and I wanted to invite them to come with us to dinner-you would of course be more than welcome to join us!" he says, trying to get things back on track.

"I see." Nani's expression softens. "That's very generous, and I think we can arrange that-just let me make a quick call and I'll let you know."

"Please, take all the time you need!"

Fortune seemed to be smiling on them because Nani was able to get permission to take the kids to dinner. Zeb was of course automatically invited, and, after consulting with Hera and Kanan, he was bringing Kallus (who told them it was fine to call him Alex) as his guest. By the time that everyone arrived at the house they had the makings of a small party, but fortunately both Hera and Kanan loved having company and, having already planned on inviting the kids and their families, had plenty of food for everyone. Zeb took it upon himself to give a tour of the house to the newcomers while Hera and Kanan cooked (he visited and spent the night so often he practically lived there), and by the time he brought the kids and Nani back to the kitchen the kids were brimming with questions about Hera and Kanan's careers (most of the questions came from Sabine, but even Ezra was excited enough to throw in one or two of his own.) Alex, for his part, had turned out to be something of a chef himself, and, even through Hera and Kanan told him it wasn't necessary as he was a guest, he volunteered to help with the food and ended up whipping up a batch of Welsh cakes (a pastry Kanan had never heard of before, let alone tasted, but turned out to be absolutely delicious.)

After dinner, there was still time before the kids had to be back home and, noticing how both of the kids were longingly looking out at the pool all through dinner, Kanan invited them to take a swim. Of course they didn't have bathing suits with them, but Kanan and Hera both found old ones of their own that were a bit large but fit well enough that the kids could use them. Zeb seemed a bit disappointed by the fact that Alex declined to swim, but Kanan had a pretty good idea that he was purposefully showing off for him when he took his own shirt off to go swimming, and, while Alex's main attention was on chatting with Hera and Nani, Kanan was pretty sure that he caught Alex sneaking the occasional peek at Zeb.

The sun was going down by the time that everyone finally left, and Kanan was now very much looking forward to filming the show with this group. Still, was it strange that once the others left, he felt a bit… empty?

"It seems kind of quiet here with everyone gone, doesn't it?" Hera observes as she and Kanan clean up, almost as if reading his mind.

"It does," Kanan agress before hesitantly asking, "Would you mind if we invited everyone over again sometime soon?"
"I was actually about to ask you the same thing!" Hera laughs.

"Really?" Kanan asks hopefully.

"Really."

"Well-great! Let's do it, then!"

Kanan finds himself humming as he cleans. He wasn't sure why exactly he was so happy, but all he knew was that he couldn't wait to see the others-in particular Ezra, for some reason-again soon.