Chapter 5

I'm really sorry that I didn't update sooner, but I really needed vacations. I'm writing the chapters as I go, but I had the idea for this chapter since the very beginning.

I probably should've thanked you sooner but thank you Sparklepool101 for reviewing the story. This chapter is for you.

Ezra had suggested that they leave Chopper locked on the house, but Zeb said that mom would kill them. Chopper hissed and scratched at Zeb's ankles.

"You stupid hairball!" he growled back at Chopper, who jumped at Ezra and nearly knocked him off his feet.

"I'm getting you this time, Chopper," he complained and started chasing Chopper around.

"Let me get some of him!" Zeb raced after him. Kanan laughed lightly as Zeb fell over Ezra, but Chopper escaped out the window.

"Thank god mom can't see you now," Sabine commented. After they got Chopper to calm down, Kanan led them outside to his pickup.

"That's your car?" Ezra asked, amazed. Kanan nodded.

"My pride and joy," he said. Sabine looked at the pickup, amazed, and Zeb whistled.

"This is great," he said. Ezra and Sabine climbed into the back seats, while Zeb sat on the co-pilot spot. Kanan got in and drove to his garage with the three Syndulla children, confident he'd made the right decision.

It turned out way better than he thought. Some customers complained when he got there, saying that they had been waiting for hours, but they stopped when they saw the kids. It probably helped too that Sabine gave them a death glare. Kanan went to work at once, handing the Pilot to its owner and receiving an old Vitara car.

"It looks like you need help, Mr. Kanan," Ezra commented. I do, Kanan thought.

"I could never ask you to help, kid," he said, thinking about what Hera would think if he put the kids to work.

"He wasn't asking," Zeb said from behind, "How can we help?" Kanan smiled the biggest smile he had smiled in a long time.

Kanan was astonished to find that the kids were really useful around the garage. Zeb and Sabine both seemed to know their way, and although Ezra couldn't fix a car, he was perfect for talking with the customers and passing around tools. Kanan soon discovered that Zeb was an expert on any kind of physical damage, and asked him to fix a Toyota with a broken rearview. Sabine, on the other hand, was great on doing the delicate stuff, and she started working on a Corellian car in which the buttons didn't work. After making sure the kids weren't doing something for which Hera would kill him, Kanan got to work on that old Peugeot again.

"Hey Sabine, do you know what this is?" he heard Ezra's voice coming from nearby, and Kanan accommodated himself better under the car to see what Ezra was holding. A long wooden stick with a detachable handle and a button for turning on the light. Kanan jumped so hard he hit himself on the car. That was his lightsaber!

"A stick," Sabine said and touched the handle of the lightsaber.

"Yeah, I know, but what kind of stick?" Ezra asked.

"The kind that's a stick," Sabine said smiling mischievously. Ezra sighed and left. Kanan finally decided to crawl out of the car and found Sabine holding the lightsaber like it was supposed to be held.

"Do you know what it is?" Kanan asked once he was close. Sabine nodded and looked at the floor.

"Go ahead, turn it on," Kanan encouraged her. Sabine placed both hands on the stick and pressed the button, making the blue lights on the wood turn on. She moved it around, then deactivated it.

"You shouldn't leave it just lying around, or someone might suspect," she said. Kanan shrugged.

"It's the only reminder I have of my old life," he said.

"I know," Sabine said, "it reminds you of the times that already passed, and even though you're trying to forget it, you really can't." Kanan nodded, then returned to the Peugeot thinking about what she'd just said.

With the kids' help, Kanan finished early. Some of the people waiting actually talked to him.

"Your kids are wonderful," one of them said to him as he gave him the keys. My kids? Kanan wondered, puzzled.

"You're doing a great job helping your father, kid," one of them said to Ezra, who smiled and nodded.

"If only my kids helped me like that," another said looking at how Zeb lifted car tires to take them elsewhere. Kanan was going to say that they weren't really his kids, but stopped himself. I love them like they're mine, he thought, but what would Hera think? So he simply nodded and smiled at the customers. At the end, when everything was empty of both cars and people, Kanan got the kids back in the pickup.

"So… where do you wanna go?" he asked them.

"To Jho's restaurant!" Ezra and Sabine said at once.

"To Jho's restaurant!" Zeb said one second late, and Sabine and Ezra laughed at him. Kanan smiled and drove the car towards Jho's restaurant, which also happened to be his favorite too. Old Jho greeted them at the entrance with a surprised look on his face.

" Hey kids! Long time no see!" the Ithorian said, "Is that really little Ezra and little Sabine Syndulla?"

"Yes!" Ezra said, "We're big now!"

"I hope you're not too big for the fish tenders you used to love!"

"Never!" Zeb joined in, and Jho laughed. Then he gestured to Kanan.

"Kanan Jarrus! What brings you here, old buddy?" he asked.

"I'm looking after the kids today," Kanan said.

"Hera must trust you a lot to leave the kids with you. She's super protective of them," Jho said, showing them a table for four.

"I know, Jho, I know," Kanan said quietly.

They ended up returning to the ghost at around 5pm. Hera was already waiting for them when they got there.

"Hey kids, how did it go? Did you have fun with Mr. Kanan?"

"It was awesome, mom! You should've seen Mr. Kanan's garage, it was enormous!" Ezra said, hugging Hera.

"He had a million tools to work with, and he later took us to Jho's!" Sabine chimed in. Hera looked a little surprised to see her so happy.

"He even let us order dessert!" Zeb commented.

"I'm glad you had a great time," Hera said, "Why don't you go upstairs to finish your homework?"

"But-" Ezra started complaining, before Hera threw him a look and he stopped. Sabine and Zeb both took one last look at him before disappearing into the house. Ezra looked from Kanan to Hera and then left after the others.

"Umm… you left the lights on in your room and the lightbulb died," Hera said.

"Am I in trouble?" Kanan asked.

"Depends on what your next statement will be."

"I am really sorry for killing Mr. Lightbulb. Please send my condolences to Mrs. Lightbulb," Kanan said, and then smiled fully. Hera laughed.

"Thank you," she said.

"For what?"

"For caring for them," Hera gestured towards the house, "With my job, I don't have the time to do things like that."

"It was an honor," Kanan bowed formally, and Hera chuckled. Kanan would've wanted this moment to last forever, but his curiosity took over.

"You're a Twi'lek, right?"

"Yes," Hera looked rather uncomfortable.

"So… how did you adopt them? Where do they come from?"

"I… I don't want to talk about it," said Hera, "I'm sorry, it's just… I don't feel comfortable telling the story to strangers."

"Am I a stranger?" Kanan wondered.

"No," Hera murmured. Kanan thought about it.

"Look, If you don't feel comfortable telling me, then don't. I understand," he said. Hera raised her eyes to look at him.

"You're a good guy, Kanan, and I couldn't have asked for a better tenant," she said kindly.

"Just a tenant?"

"For now," Hera said and walked into the house.

"For now," Kanan said to himself.

Later that day, at dinner, Kanan sat with them again. Ezra and Sabine were talking about playing a prank on Zeb, who was busy helping Hera with the food. When Zeb sat down on his chair, he discovered that they had put a fart bag on it.

"You won't escape this time," he told them and lifted them both off the ground.

"Hey!" Sabine said, laughing, as Zeb rubbed his hand against her hair.

"More up, more up!" Ezra shouted.

"Zeb, put them down, it's dinner time," Hera commanded.

"Aw, moooom!" Both Ezra and Sabine shouted, but Zeb put them down and they sat around the table. Ezra smiled at Kanan.

"Mr. Kanan, I have a soccer game tomorrow… and I was wondering if… if you could go too," he said shyly.

"I'd love to go, kid," Kanan said, "If your mom approves." Ezra looked at Hera pleadingly, and she sighed.

"Of course Mr. Kanan can come too," she said, "He's a friend now." Kanan felt his heart grow warm as all of the Syndullas smiled.