The next months of filming were incredibly hectic, but also a lot of fun. With so much going on, a few moments stuck out from the rest: the day Sabine and Ezra both got their hair dyed for their parts and the two of them laughing over it (although Sabine declared that she loved her new multi-colored look and was going back to regular brown); "jedi" training with Ezra where they both learned proper lightsaber fighting techniques (it turned out there was a lot more to it than just swinging the lightsaber around and trying to look cool); the first time seeing each other in costume: Zeb in his alien Lasat costume which was actually fairly intimidating, Hera looking as gorgeous as ever as her twi'lek pilot (Kanan may or may not have had a little nerd moment over seeing her with leku), and his own finished costume which he felt was very fitting to his role. As the ending of filming of the first season came into sight, things didn't slow down, they actually sped up-now the promotional material was being made, so they were all being sent to various photo shoots and interviews with the press.

One of Kanan's favorite parts of this was the toys. He'd been in productions where toys of his characters had been made before, but there was just something incredibly special about having his own action figure that looked just like the ones that he had growing up. The others got a kick out of it too, but Ezra especially seemed to be extremely excited about having his own toys. Kanan, almost as a joke at first, would always buy any action figures or other toys that he found of the crew and present them to Ezra the next time that he saw him. Ezra acted like it was super corny and would just roll his eyes at him, but Kanan couldn't help but notice how carefully he set up and displayed each toy in his room at Hera and Kanan's house.

Yes, Ezra had a room at their house, as did Sabine. The kids were rarely allowed to spend the night, but Hera and Kanan had gone through special training to be allowed to be the ones to look after the kids on set and often take them back to their house afterwards until they had to go home. Partially the kids went to enjoy the amenities like the pool and home theater, but a lot of times they just needed some peace and quiet after a long day of filming which they weren't going to get at their caring but still admittedly massively overcrowded group home. Also, although the kids never said anything, from reports he got from Nani Kanan had a suspicion that the kids were getting bullied because the others in their home were jealous of their high profile roles. And so if he could offer the kids some sort of respite from that he was happy to do so. Kanan personally loved having the kids around as much as possible, as did Hera, but he couldn't figure out exactly why until right before the shooting for season two began.

Ezra and Sabine had come over to swim-they both loved it, but Ezra in particular couldn't seem to get enough of it to the point that Kanan was convinced that the teen had been a dolphin in a past life. Around noon Hera had lunch prepared for them all, but when Kanan went out to get the kids Sabine informed him that Ezra had said he was going to his room but never come back. Kanan, hoping that nothing was wrong, went to go check the guest bedroom which had unofficially become Ezra's to the point where it almost felt like he had a second home here. Everything was quiet when Kanan carefully pushes the door open, and he smiles softly when he sees Ezra sprawled across the bed fast asleep-he must have been tired considering he hadn't pulled back the covers or even changed out of his now dry swim trunks. He'd probably just sat down for a moment and then passed out without meaning to-it happened sometimes, and Kanan couldn't blame him considering how hard he'd been working. Not wanting to disturb Ezra but also not wanting him to catch a cold, Kanan goes to fetch a spare blanket from the linen closet and then returns to carefully spread it over Ezra. Ezra was so deep asleep that he didn't even seem to notice, just gratefully snuggling into the blanket's warmth.

Kanan was getting ready to go and leave Ezra in peace when he hears a half-awake voice mumbling, "Thanks, Dad…."

Kanan felt a flash of heat wash over him. Wait, had Ezra just called him Dad? No, Ezra must have been dreaming about his own dad. Ezra had once told him that swimming helped him feel close to his parents since they'd both been marine biologists-even though they'd died in a boating accident, he refused to let that make him afraid of the water or hate the ocean that they'd been working so hard to protect. That's probably all that it was. So why did Kanan feel so keyed up over the idea of Ezra calling him Dad? It wasn't like he had liked it or anything-right?

As much as Kanan tried to deny it, over the next few months he found himself thinking about it on and off. Was it possible that he thought of Ezra and maybe even Sabine as his own kids? And was it possible that they might think of him as a father figure? Might that explain why he got so ruffled whenever Nani told him about yet another prospective parent that had asked about having an adoption interview with Ezra or Sabine but had been turned away when it became clear that they only wanted the kids because they wanted to adopt a celebrity? Kanan wasn't really sure how to express what he was feeling until halfway through the filming of season 2, an episode called "Legacies".

Kanan was a bit worried about how Ezra would handle the episode as it involved Ezra's character finally finding out what had happened to his parents. The director had decided that, in order to get a more "realistic" reaction, neither Kanan nor Ezra would get the latter half of the script for the final scene of the episode so that Ezra would find out the truth about the fate of his character's parents on camera. Kanan wasn't sure he agreed with the plan, but Ezra had reassured him that he was fine with it so he'd begrudgingly allowed it. That didn't mean he wasn't fighting the urge to punch the director when the scene played out and Ezra finally came to the realization of what had happened to his character's parents and asked in a broken voice, "They're dead, aren't they?"

Kana was too frozen with horror that the director was really putting Ezra, who'd already lost his real parents, through this to really be able to process what the character who was explaining what had happened to Ezra's parents was saying. All that he knew was that, when the other man was finished speaking, Ezra turned to him and hugged him, tightly. At first Kanan hoped that the hug and the tears he could feel soaking into his shirt were just Ezra acting. But no-the tears didn't stop, even when the director yelled, "Cut!" and declared the scene a wrap. If anything, they only seemed to be falling more heavily, and Ezra was physically shaking, holding onto Kanan as if he were a lifeline.

"Hey," Kanan says softly, pulling Ezra to him, wrapping his arms around him, trying to provide even some small comfort. "It's okay. I've got you."

Ezra nods, but his grip on Kanan doesn't loosen, and Kanan finds himself running his fingers through Ezra's hair like his mom had always done for him when he was upset, trying to think of anything that he could do to help.

"Is he okay?" Ryder, the man playing the part of the man who told Ezra's character his parents' fate, looked genuinely worried.

"I don't know," Kanan admits, hating feeling so helpless, and even more hating the director doing this to his son.

Wait…. Son? Had he just called Ezra his son?

He didn't have much time to think about it as just then Hera arrived on the scene with a glass of milk in hand, gently laying a hand on Ezra's shoulder and telling him, "Here, drink this."

Ezra finally pulled away from Kanan, accepting the glass and obediently starting to drink the contents in slow, shaking sips.

"Hey, you okay, Ez?" Sabine asks, taking a seat on the other side of Ezra, and Kanan could see Zeb and Alex hovering nearby, looking like they wanted to help but didn't know how.

"I-I think I'd like to go home," Ezra finally says in a small voice.

"I think that would be a good idea," Kanan agrees, looking over at the director with narrowed eyes, daring him to try to make Ezra stay after what he'd just put him through.

"Yes, we've got what we need, let's call it for the day," the director says, and to his credit he did have the grace to at least look a little guilty.

"Would you like me to call Nani to come pick you and Sabine up, or would you like us to drive you back?" Hera offers.

"What?" Ezra looks confused for a moment before blushing and stammering, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean… I was actually hoping I could go to your house? If that's okay?"

Kanan didn't even need to look at Hera to know what her answer would be. "Of course it's okay-you're welcome at our house. You too, Bean, if you'd like to come."

"I'd like to stay with Ezra right now," Sabine agrees.

"I'll call Nani to let her know that we're taking the kids with us," Hera says.

"Sounds like a plan." Kanan gently squeezes Ezra's shoulder. "C'mon, kiddo-let's get you home, you can take it nice and easy this afternoon."

It takes Kanan a moment to realize that he'd done the same thing as Ezra-referred to his and Hera's house as Ezra and, by extension, Sabine's home. To tell the truth, the house was starting to feel too big and too empty when the kids weren't there. Kanan had been thinking about this on and off for a while, but today somehow sealed it-he wanted to take Ezra and Sabine home with him, and not just for a visit. He wanted his and Hera's house to be their full time home and for the kids to officially be a part of their family. He wanted Ezra to be his son, and Sabine to be his daughter. He wanted to adopt them.

Of course he had to talk to Hera about it first to make sure that she was okay with this, even though he could almost guarantee that she'd agree. And he'd want to talk to Nani too, to see if this was even a real possibility before bringing the kids into it and getting their hopes up unnecessarily. But if it was something that everyone wanted and it was at all possible, he was determined to make it a reality.

Kanan had to wait until that night to broach the idea with Hera. Ezra needed a lot of care and attention after what he'd been through-he was so unsteady on his feet that Zeb had even elected to carry him out to the car. As much as Kanan wanted to discuss the idea with Hera, he didn't mind the delay. Taking care of Ezra, making sure that he was okay, was Kanan's first priority, especially now that he'd finally admitted to himself that he saw Ezra as his son. Hera drove them back to the house so that he could sit in the back with Ezra, who didn't seem to want to be separated from him at the moment-even when Zeb had been carrying him he'd kept an almost desperate grip on Kanan's hand. The teen seemed slightly embarrassed by his own behavior, but if anything Kanan was proud to be the one that Ezra wanted for comfort right now.

Once back at the house, Kanan found himself alone in the living room with Ezra, Hera having busied herself with making her famous spicy cinnamon hot cocoa for Ezra with Sabine as her assistant-Kanan guessed she could tell Ezra needed some space to breathe so she was trying to keep both of them occupied. That left Kanan and Ezra on their own, and somehow Kanan ended up on the couch with Ezra curled up against him.

"I'm sorry," Ezra finally mumbles, breaking the silence that he'd held since getting in the car.

"Sorry?" Kanan repeats. "Sorry about what?"

"For not being stronger… I should have been okay doing the scene…"

"No, no you shouldn't have," Kanan tells him. "You did amazingly well considering everything you've been through-I'm just sorry you had to go through that."

"I bet someone as experienced as you doesn't get upset over playing a scene…"

"That's not true! Actually… Actually, when I was about your age I had to do a scene that shook me pretty badly."

"Really?"

"Really. Do you remember the movie Treasure Planet?"

"Yeah, of course!"

"Well do you remember the scene where Jim is having flashbacks to his childhood and how his dad left?"

"Yes? Wait. Wait, were you-?"

"I played the younger version of Jim who was trying to chase down his dad when his dad decided to leave."

"Wow. T-That does seem like a really hard scene to play…"

"It was. Especially since my own dad walked out on me and my mom when I was seven."

"He did?"

"Yes, he did."

"I'm sorry, Kanan, I had no idea…"

"It's okay-my mom and I got along on our own, and we're probably better off without him. But even watching that scene can still bring up a lot of complicated feelings for me. I guess I'm just trying to say that, even though it's not exactly the same, I think I understand what you're going through, at least to an extent."

"Thanks, Kanan." Ezra gives him a grateful smile before asking, "What do you do when you, you know… Have those feelings?"

"Well, when I was living at home my mom would help me-especially right after filming that scene, she took me home and let me cry as long as I needed to. Then she made me some tea and we watched funny old fashioned movies until I felt better."

"That sounds nice…"

"It was. She's a great mom. ...I know that she really wants to meet you and Bean."

"She wants to meet us? Why?"

"Probably because I've told her about how amazing you two are."

"You have?"

"Yep."

"W-Why were you telling her about us?"

"Because you're a part of this family and I thought she should know about her newest family members."

"You think of me… As a member of your family?"

Kanan didn't realize what he'd said until Ezra repeated it, but he found he didn't want to take it back.

"Of course I do, and Hera does too-we love both of you very much," he says gently.

"Thank you." Ezra smiles at him, eyes shining. "I-It's been a long time since I've been part of a family."

It was those words that spurred Kanan to finally talk to Hera about his idea that night once the kids had gone back to the group home.

"Hera?"

"Yes, love?"

Hera looks up from the book she was reading as Kanan walks into the bedroom from his nightly shower.

"There's something I need to talk to you about," he says, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to her.

"Alright." Hera puts her book down, giving him her full attention.

"Hera… You like Sabine and Ezra, right?"

"Of course! They're wonderful kids, and I love them both dearly."

"You do?"

"I do. Don't you?"

"Oh, yes, absolutely!" Kanan realizes that he was doing this very badly, but he keeps forging ahead anyhow, hoping to get his point across somehow. "I care a lot about them, actually-they feel less like coworkers or friends and more like, well… Family."

"Yes, I think we've both said that they feel like family before."

"Right, yes, we have!"

"...Kanan, is everything alright? You're acting very strangely."

"Sorry! I just… I'm trying to figure out the best way to ask you this…"

"Ask me what?"

"Hera, how would you feel if I told you… Told you that I wanted to officially make them a part of our family?"

"I'm not sure I quite understand…"

"I-I want to adopt them. I want them to be ours, and have them live here and we can have dinner together every night, and celebrate the holidays together, and never have to worry if they're really okay when they go home after shooting ends for the day because this will be their home. I… I didn't realize how much I wanted it until today. So I understand if you need some time to think about it-"

"Kanan, I don't need time to think about it."

"You don't?" Kanan feels his heart sinking.

"No. Because I want to adopt them too."

"You do?" Kanan's hopes soar right back up.

"Of course! We both love them so much, and sometimes it feels like they already live here-if anything it doesn't feel right when they're not here. And really, who could be better parents for them than us?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking!"

"Well good! So, it's agreed? We'll talk to Nani tomorrow to see how to get the process started?"

"That sounds perfect. What about the kids? Should we tell them?"

"...Maybe we should wait. Just until we know for sure if this is something that is a real possibility-I'd hate to get their hopes up if this is something that they want only to find out that it's not possible…"

"That makes sense. Alright, we'll wait, then. But hopefully we'll have good news for them soon."

"I hope so too."

The very next day, Kanan and Hera went to Nani about the possibility of adopting Sabine and Ezra. Nani was absolutely thrilled to hear that they wanted the kids to join their family, and while they had a bit of a long road ahead of them she promised to make the process as quick and easy as possible because she wanted them to be able to bring the kids home as much as they did.

Right in the midst of Hera and Kanan secretly trying to make their family grow, Zeb was about to be expanding their ranks as well.

Ever since that first rehearsal Zeb and Alex had hit it off well-exceptionally well, even. And even though he played the antagonist, outside of acting the rest of the crew loved Alex too and considered him a great friend. It was because of this that the writers had decided, starting in season two, Alex's character would start questioning his ties to the Empire with the eventual plan for him to desert and join the main crew as a good guy. And who better to sway Alex's character than Zeb's?

As it turned out, the last day of the filming of the episode where Alex's character first started questioning the Empire would be a day none of them would ever forget.

The set for the episode was quite impressive-it involved an underground cavern on an ice planet, as well as giant alien monsters which Zeb, of course, loved, even though they were mostly going to be computer special effects. Zeb and Alex's characters had to work together to escape the monsters while dealing with Alex's character having a broken leg and also both of them trying not to freeze to death. Kanan had come to watch the shooting even though he wasn't in much of the episode, and he had to admit that Zeb and Alex, as good of friends as they were, played the tension between their characters remarkably well. Maybe it was because of a very real, unspoken tension in their actual relationship.

Kanan could clearly see that Zeb liked Alex as something a bit more than a friend-of course he valued Alex's friendship, but Kanan had seen more than a few longing looks when Zeb had thought no one was watching, and there was the way he always seemed to light up and soften whenever Alex entered a room-the almost tender way he spoke with Alex sometimes-that made it clear to Kanan what his feeling for the other man were. Hera saw it too, and the two of them had not-so-subtly tried to encourage Zeb to act on those feelings, but Zeb was too stubborn-or maybe too afraid-to do so. And Alex, while an incredibly patient man, seemed to be losing heart as time kept passing and Zeb failed to say anything.

Kanan was about at the point of going the somewhat childish but hopefully effective route of locking the two of them in a supply closet until they made out. But Alex's patience finally wore thin before things reached that point, and he took matters into his own hands.

Alex timed his move pretty perfectly-he waited until the very end of the filming, when their characters had escaped the cavern and were sharing a rather soft and personal moment in which Alex's character tells Zeb that the massacre of his people had never meant to have happened, almost apologizing for it, and Zeb tells him that he's moved on from the past, as if forgiving Alex for his involvement in it. And then Zeb tells Alex his name, at which point Alex admits to having known his name all along.

Nothing else was supposed to be said in the scene after that point except them huddling together for warmth against the raging blizzard around them, but suddenly Alex continues, "Since we might die before anyone comes to rescue us… You might as well know. My name is Alexsandr."

Zeb looked a bit caught off guard that Alex was going off script but, clearly trying to stay in character, he answers, "Well… Good to know. Anything else you want to get off your chest while we're confessing things?"

Alex stares at him for a moment, as if trying to make his mind up about something, before finally answering, "Actually, I do." And then, to everyone's great surprise, he reaches over to pull Zeb into a soft but passionate kiss.

"Cut!" the director calls once everyone in the room had had a chance to get over their initial shock. "Alex, I appreciate your interpretation of how your character would react to this situation, but I don't think we can let something like this happen yet. Let's try it again, but stick with the script this time."

"Right, sorry, just got a bit carried away," Alex apologizes, not sounding as bit sorry, and was Kanan imagining it or did that smarmy bastard lick his lips as he pulled away from Zeb?

Zeb, for his part, seemed slightly dazed, but somehow managed to make it through the rest of filming. However, he and Alex rather noticeably disappeared for the next few hours, and when they finally reappeared in the canteen the fact that they had both recently showered and that Alex appeared to be wearing one of Zeb's shirts did not go unnoticed. Rumors were flying around the studio (and a few illicit copies of the recording of the infamous kiss scene had made it into various hands.) By the end of the next day Zeb and Alex were a confirmed couple, and Hera and Kanan were happy to officially welcome Alex into the family with open arms.

The filming of the season continued, as did Hera and Kanan's efforts to adopt Ezra and Sabine. They were making good headway, but were still waiting to tell the kids until they could confirm that they had good news for them. It was actually the last day of shooting, right before Kanan went on for his last scene of the season, that he and Hera got the call-it was official. They still had to appear in court with the kids, but if the kids said yes the adoption was all but confirmed.

It was a bit hard to play a sober scene after that, but maybe the fact that they were both so emotional added something to the scene because, by some miracle, they made it in one take.

"That was… A pretty dark ending," Ezra admits once they're off stage and back in their street clothes. "Kind of makes me worried about what they have planned for next season…"

"Well this is Star Wars-it is all about hope so I can't imagine anything too terrible happening to our family," Kanan says before sharing a look with Hera. "Actually, speaking about family….. We have an important question to ask you two."

"Really?" Ezra asks curiously.

"Yes," Hera agrees. "We've actually been thinking about… Expanding our family."

"Wait!" Sabine cries, her eyes going wide. "Hera, are you pregnant?"
"Holy shit, is there going to be a baby?" Ezra looked just as wide eyed as Sabine.

"Oh, kids, no-sadly that probably isn't a possibility for us, barring a miracle," Kanan says gently.

"We're actually thinking about adoption," Hera adds. "We've been pursuing it for a little while now and, well, the good news is that we're almost at the point where we can take two amazing kids home for good."

"Really?" Ezra's smile visibly fades. "That's… That's great."

"Yeah, they'll be lucky to have you guys as parents," Sabine mumbles, not meeting their eyes.

"So you think Hera and I would make good parents?" Kanan asks, fighting a smile.

"Um, yeah, duh!" Ezra cries.

"Anyone would be super lucky to be a family with you guys," Sabine agrees.

"Well, I'm glad you think so," Kanan says with a warm smile. "Because the kids-well, teenagers, actually-we want to take home are you and Ezra, if you'll have us.'

"You…. What?" Ezra breathes, both he and Sabine looking like they were in shock.

"We love you both so much, and we already consider you a part of our family-the house doesn't feel right without you there, so we thought why not make things official and ask you to come live with us?" Hera answers.

"It's totally okay if you say no!" Kanan adds when Ezra and Sabine fail to answer. "But if it's something you might want to consider-"

"Consider?" Ezra finally seems to snap out of his daze. "Are you kidding me? I'd love to live with you!"

"Really?"

"Duh!"

"So, like, we'd get to live with you full time?" Sabine asks, seeming to still be trying to absorb things. "And you'd be our mom and dad?"

"If you'd like us to be!" Hera answers, beaming.

"Of course if you both want this we still have to appear in court-" Kanan starts to say, but he doesn't get to finish what he was saying as Ezra wraps him in a hug so tight it knocks the breath out of him.

"I really, really want you to be my dad," Ezra whispers, pressing his face into Kanan's chest.

"Well I really want you to be my son," Kanan answers softly, wrapping his arms around Ezra. "Hera and I want you and Sabine to be a part of our family, however you'd be comfortable doing that."

"I'd like you guys as my parents," Ezra says firmly.

"Hell yeah, I totally want to be a part of your family!" Sabine agrees, throwing her arms around both of them.

"I think that in that case we can plan on appearing in court on Friday and then hopefully we can bring both of you home!" Hera laughs, joining the hug.

"Home… That sounds amazing," Ezra admits.

"Yeah, Kanan agrees, pulling him close. "It really does."