Din spent the rest of the time before evening gathering checking out his quarters and gathering some food stores for himself, Cara, and the kid. The clan had built him a small house around the outer edge of the settlement, near his family's houses. He felt a little ashamed he hadn't been there to do it himself.
It had two rooms, one large and one small. There was also a tiny refresher. The kitchen was workable, and the house had been outfitted with two cots and a small crib. He smiled to himself, suspecting his mother had been to blame for that.
He moved some stuff over from his ship, and briefly wondered if Cara might be more comfortable staying in his ship. After all, he was the one who had thrust this level of intimacy on her. It's not like they'd had a chance to talk about it before he'd made the decision to go to the covert. But if she was to stay, he knew she was expected to stay in his house as well.
He sighed. It would complicate things.
Trying not to think of the people he'd lost, he kept busy, moving stuff around, making a simple meal so they had food to eat later, thinking of what the kid would want when he returned from his class.
Some hours later, he went to retrieve the child. Corvin greeted him again.
"Din!" he called to him while he was still across the road. Din raised his hand in greeting and trekked over to the school. They clasped arms again and this time Corvin pulled him into a tight hug. After a moment, he released him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Tonight, we'll remember them with stores," he said.
Din nodded but didn't say anything. It felt too soon to remember them in that way. Their deaths felt so fresh.
"Come," Corvin continued. "Your foundling did well today. I think he enjoys the company of other children, especially my youngest. They were making mischief all day."
Din rolled his eyes under his visor. "Oh great," he commented. "The kid doesn't need more encouragement to make mischief."
Corvin laughed, pulling Din towards his class. "He is gifted, your foundling. And my youngest has had a lot of trouble adjusting. It's been good to see them together."
They paused in the open door. The single room had mostly young foundlings, all playing together. None of them wore helmets yet, as their age precluded them from the need.
"That's mine there," Corvin pointed to a young Sullustan child.
Din looked at him curiously. "A Sullustan. Where did he come from?"
Corvin sighed. "It's a long story, and a hard one. One for another time."
Nodding, Din saw the green child suddenly look up and squeal in delight, running over to him. He grasped him around the leg and looked up.
"Hey kid," Din smiled under his helmet and picked him up. "Did you have fun today?"
"Grmawr," he responded.
"I'll agree that he's a handful though," Corvin said. "And I've had my fair share of handfuls."
Din laughed lightly as Corvin went to gather up the Sullustan child.
"How many are you up to now?"
"This one," he bounced the child in his arms, "gets us up to seven."
"How is Maytra'k?" he asked as they made their way out of the school.
"Oh she's good. She's actually here right now. She comes and goes so often you know."
Din nodded in understanding. "Still a hired gun?"
"Yes, well, she's good at it, it pays well, and not all of us have your tracking skills." He glanced sideways at his brother. "She'll be at evening gathering."
"I'll look forward to seeing her. I should get this one some food before then."
"Will the outsider be joining us?" Corvin asked, following him out the door. "What did Tra'ka say her name was… Cara?"
Din nodded. "She will."
"It was a bold move bringing her here," Corvin commented as they walked out into the fading light. "I think we're all curious to know more about her."
He looked pointedly at his brother, but Din ignored him.
"I'll see you tonight," was his only response. Corvin always talked too much.
oOoOoOoOo
About an hour later, Din entered the infirmary with the kid tucked in his arm. Sighing through his respirator, he stifled a yawn. It had been a long, hard day and he was tired. Not that he would admit that to anyone.
Seeing Cara sitting up in her bed, Din smiled slightly and walked over to her.
"Hey Dropper, you feeling any better?"
The kid reached out for her and gurgled. Cara smiled at them both.
"Yeah, better than the last time I woke up," she reached out for the kid and he tucked into her body right away. "At least, I don't think they had to pump me full of pain meds this time."
"At least they have good pain meds," Din commented.
Cara smiled and gave him a look. "Yeah, you should get some to stock your ship."
"Right," he agreed. "So, you ready to get going?"
The doctor walked up pushing a hover chair. "You may go," she said, looking at the two of them. "But you must use this."
Cara eyed the chair. "I think I could try walking. Besides, your people are a warrior culture, won't they see me as weak if I show up in a hover chair?"
"My people value caring for clan members above all else," Din responded. "I won't let you go without it. And neither will she."
Sighing, Cara gave in, grumbling all the way. The kid got to sit with her in the chair, which he was tickled about. Once she was settled, they made their way outside, the kid playing with the chair controls. He almost banged them both into the wall, making him squeal with laughter.
Din yanked the controls away from him.
"Hey," he said sternly. "Cara is sick. You need to be careful."
The kid's ears drooped and he wined.
"No," Din insisted. "This is not a toy."
He felt Cara looking at him and he raised his helmet to return the look.
"Maybe you should control this from now on," he handed her the control.
"Sure," she said. "I'm all right you know. The doctor said my lungs are almost completely healed and my heart is close behind. They should be fine by tomorrow. Legs too."
He felt like her dark eyes could see through his helmet as he let out a shaky breath. He was really glad she was going to be all right.
"Good," he nodded. "That's good."
oOoOoOoO
As they exited the medical building, Cara sighed at the warm air, a light breeze, and a light blue sky just darkening as the sun set behind the horizon. The air seemed to envelop her like a hug, not too hot, not too cold. Scents surrounded her too, carried by the breeze. There were scents of wildflowers, dirt, plants… All the things she often missed in space. All the things Nevarro lacked. Then she noticed the mountains in the distance. They brought Alderaan rushing back.
"Wow, this place…" she couldn't continue and Din glanced at her as they walked down the dirt road, her chair humming along.
"It reminds you of Alderaan." He stated.
She nodded, just taking everything in.
"Yeah, me too," he agreed.
Her head whipped around. "You went to Alderaan?" she asked in surprise.
"Yeah. Once. I don't venture towards the core very often. But I spent a few weeks there, working a job, when the empire was in power." He paused. "It was beautiful."
She nodded. Another Mandalorian was approaching them, waving his hand in greeting. Din rose his hand as well. He and Din grasped arms, pulling into a brief hug.
"Cara," Din said as he pulled away, "This is my brother Corvin."
She nodded to him, taking in his height, trying to remember the markings on his armor.
"You know, name tags on your armor wouldn't be the worst idea," she commented.
To her surprise, Corvin laughed loudly. Apparently, not all Mandalorian's were as reserved as Din.
"She may be on to something brother," he agreed. "Tra'ka and I are looking forward to hearing your stories, Cara Dune."
She smiled wide and they continued making their way towards the gathering area. "I'd like to hear some from you too. Maybe about Din growing up."
Corvin slapped a heavy hand on Din's shoulder. "What do you think, regale her with tales of our youth? Traipsing through the forests? Playing practical jokes on our instructors?"
"Having to run so many miles as payment, we couldn't even walk upright the next day?" Din added.
Corvin sighed nostalgically. "Yes, those were good times."
Cara laughed. "It sounds like you guys grew up in a military training camp."
"We did," Din commented.
Dropping his hand from Din's shoulder, they left the area surrounded by buildings and made their way towards the gathering place on the edge of the settlement. Cara could see a large fire already burning and more Mandalorian's gathered than she ever imagined existed. Not only were there many adults present, talking in small groups and lounging next to the fire, but there were so many children. Cara gawked at them all. It seemed like the children outnumbered the adults at least two to one.
Many of the children were not human, but many were. It seemed like all children above the age of ten wore true beskar helmets. Some of the younger ones had training helmets, but some wore nothing over their faces.
"Children take the oath when they turn eleven," Din said, anticipating her question. "That's the age after which you wear a helmet at all times."
"Unless, of course, you come to the covert at an older age. Then you take the oath when your instructor deems you ready," Corvin added. "Like Din here."
Cara glanced at him. "How old were you?"
He sighed. "I came to them when I was nine. I took the oath three years later."
Taking in this information, Cara looked around at all the children. "And these children? Where did they come from?"
"Some are born in the clan," Corvin responded. "Some are found. Some are orphans of war or violence. But they're all Mandalorian."
She wondered where Corvin or Tra'ka came from, but didn't know how to ask.
"I was born in the clan," Corvin told her, "Tra'ka joined us when he was five. And the others…" He paused and took a deep breath. The kid made a gurgling noise and held out his hands to Corvin. He reached down quickly and picked up the kid, who immediately put a three-fingered-hand on his helmet faceplate.
"He seems to be sensitive to feelings," Din commented.
Corvin nodded; clearing is throat heavily. "Yes, shi'buir told me. He belongs with the Jedi?"
"I am supposed to try to find them," he responded.
"Shi'buir?" Cara asked.
"Mother," Din said simply.
Before Cara could ask more, they made their way forward into the group of Mandalorians around the bonfire. Cara suddenly felt that all eyes were on her. Here she was, no armor, no helmet, sitting in a hover chair, so obviously an outsider it was painful. Sitting up straighter, she tried to look more confident than she felt.
She suddenly wished she had a helmet. Din and Corvin seemed to be nodding to many people as they passed through, looking for a place to sit. Din clasped arms with a few people, and exchanged some words in Mando'a. She spotted Tra'ka sitting on the far side of the fire with another Mandalorian. He stood when he spotted them.
"Din, Corvin," he called, "join us!"
They walked over and Cara saw the other Mandalorian, a woman, get up as well. Din clasped arms with her and they clasped each other in a tight hug.
"Maytra'k, this is my friend Cara," Din said motioning to Cara. The woman nodded and reached out a hand to her. Cara took it tightly in her own, releasing it a moment later.
"It is good to see you up and about Cara," she commented. "We heard your situation was very grave."
"Well, I've been through worse, believe it or not," Cara responded.
"Yes, I do believe it." She turned to the kid, who was still in Corvin's arms. "And who is this? Not another to add to our brood?"
Corvin laughed loudly. "No love, this is Din's child."
"And an interesting child indeed," she commented, reaching out a hand to him. He gurgled at her. "I've never seen any like it."
"Neither have I," Din agreed.
A child who must have been at least twelve, ran up to Corvin and asked something in very quick Mando'a. Corvin responded and looked at Din questioningly.
"Sure," was his short answer.
Corvin handed the child to the boy, who ran off a moment later. Smiling, Cara shook her head. Some things were easily understood even without the benefit of language.
They sat down a moment later and Cara lowered the hoverchair so it was more level with everyone else.
It felt odd to her, sitting there with Din's family. Even though she and Din had been working together for a standard year, there was still so much she didn't know about him. Bringing her here to the covert had been a huge leap of faith on his part. So much of his past and his identity were laid open for her to see. She wondered if he regretted sharing it with her.
"Cara," Corvin interrupted Cara's thoughts. "Tell us, does Din still keep himself from talking at all costs?"
She could hear the smile in his voice. Shrugging slightly, she smiled. "He talks when he needs to. And sometimes more than that. But he still keeps his thoughts to himself most of the time."
Tra'ka turned to Din. "You sometimes talk more than you need to huh? That's quite a step." He punched him lightly in the arm.
"I may not talk much," Din responded, "But I can still beat you in hand to hand."
"Well, we might have to test that theory," he shot back. "Unless you're too sore from your recent job?"
She could almost see Din roll his eyes in the flickering fire light.
"Din was always one of the smallest," Corvin said for Cara's benefit, the two brother's banter fading into the background. "That, and his age when he came to the tribe put him at a disadvantage. He was constantly fighting to be better. Being the age we were, we always gave him a hard time, always beat up on him."
She looked over at Din, who was now trading friendly blows with his brother, and tried to imagine him as a lost, unsure child fighting to keep up.
"Mal, another brother who was… who was lost at Nevarro, was quite close to Din in age. They were always at each other's throats, fighting, even hurting each other. And then one day years later Mal was severely injured on a hunting expedition. Din offered to stay with him while our sister Yaval and I ran for help. After that, they seemed to understand each other and were always very close."
Swallowing hard, Cara thought of her own family and brother who had all been lost on Alderaan. It was an incomprehensible thing, to lose so many of your family at one time. She knew Din must be reeling from the shock of it.
"Din keeps things in," Corvin continued. "He always has. I know Mal's death will be the hardest for him to accept."
Cara turned to look at Corvin. "I'm from Alderaan," she stated.
"Ah," Corvin's tone was one of realization. "Your relationship makes more sense to me now. You must understand each other."
"Well, he's never talked about his past before, or you or his family, but I knew he'd lost his planet and his home as a child. I also knew he had a family among the Mandalorians." She paused. "I had something like it with the rebels. But it's not the same. This is better."
"I wish that all who have lost family could have a family among our people," Corvin said. "There are more in need than anyone knows."
They were silent then, and Cara watched Din kick Tra'ka's butt in hand to hand. When they were done, he came over and sat heavily next to Cara on the ground, slightly winded. She looked sideways at him.
"You good?" She asked.
He grunted in response.
"He's good," she nodded. Corvin laughed.
"Once Din finally figured out how to fight, none of us brothers were a good match for him except Mal. He always kept you guessing."
She could see Din's body grow stock still as Corvin mentioned him. She waited for a long moment and then sighed.
"You know, I had a brother." She didn't look at him, afraid her voice would waver, but could feel him turn towards her. "Dren. He was two years younger than me. He always liked to try to beat me at hand to hand. It was a thing we grew up doing. But he was never big enough, and never fast enough. When I left home, we were just starting to get close in ability." She stopped there, unable to continue. Tears were shimmering in her eyes and she wished again that she had a helmet.
Din cleared his throat next to her. After a moment, he said a phrase in Mando'a, after which Corvin muttered something in response. Din looked at her.
"The one's we have lost, we remember."
"We speak our memories of them," Corvin said.
"The Basic isn't quite right, but it's close enough," Din said. "My brother he… we were always fighting. He pushed me to… defend myself, learn how to fight." His voice wavered at the end and he stopped short.
After a moment, Cara reached over to squeeze his arm just below the pauldron. She waited for him to continue, watching him. But it was obvious he couldn't. So she just sat with him, one hand reassuringly on his arm.
Several minutes later he cleared his throat. "Mal," he began, "Yaval, Hauti, and Li are my brothers and sisters who were lost on Nevarro."
"Do you remember the time Li found those fermented fruits and made us all try them?" Tra'ka said. Chuckling emanated from everyone in the circle and Cara removed her hand from Din's arm. To her surprise, Din quickly grasped her hand, squeezed it, and then released it, nodding slightly to her.
"We were so drunk the doctor had to take drastic measures and we were all sick for a week," Maytra'k laughed.
"Then yu'buir made us all do extra training as penance," Corvin added.
"Father," Din translated for Cara.
"Are your parents…" she trailed off, not sure how to ask the question.
"Our father is dead," Din responded. "He was killed by a rival gang while he was working for the Hutts."
"He was kind," Corvin said. "And patient, when he wasn't yelling at us for fighting or punishing us for getting drunk on fermented fruit."
Din laughed and Tra'ka joined him.
"Our mother…" Din trailed off as another Mandalorian joined the circle. Cara looked up and realized it was the armorer.
"Are you speaking of me, Din?" she asked, placing a light hand on his shoulder in greeting.
"We are remembering those who have gone before us," Tra'ka said.
"A good thing to be doing at such a time. I'm sure the story of the fermented fruit has been shared?" She looked at Cara for confirmation, and Cara nodded. "It is a favorite." Her tone clearly revealed her pleasure in knowing her sons so well.
"Now, who wants to take on their old mother in hand to hand?" she asked the circle.
Din sat back, shaking his head.
Corvin sighed mightily and said, "Not when you beat me the last time we spared."
"No, I think not," the armorer agreed. "You must save your strength for your foundlings."
"All right," Tra'ka said, "Let's see if you can beat me this time."
Cara shook her head, admiring their different way of doing things.
They sat in companionable silence, watching the two fight, the firelight making Cara drowsy. When they finished, Tra'ka having been beaten soundly, they sat down in the circle.
"I don't think we have been properly introduced," the armorer said to Cara, looking pointedly at Din. He sat up.
"Shi'buir, this is Cara. Cara, my mother."
The armorer inclined her head to Cara. "I know we have met unofficially before, but we were distracted by other important things at the time."
Cara raised her eyebrows. "True enough. Like half the Imperial remnant coming down on us."
"Indeed," she agreed. "I'm glad to see Din has found a worthy companion."
Not being quite sure how to respond, Cara looked at Din for help.
"She is," was his only response.
"High praise coming from Din," the armorer said. "But you Cara, what's your story? How did you come to be with Din?"
"Shi'buir Cara is a worthy companion," Din said. "You don't need to interrogate-
"On the contrary Din, you misunderstand my intentions," the armorer responded. "I merely wish to understand her better."
Cara glanced at Din sidelong and then, wearing a wiry grin, said, "well, when we first met I kicked his ass."
There was general amusement around the circle.
"Hey, that's not quite true," Din protested. "As I recall it was more of a draw."
"Mmhm," she said, "you keep telling yourself that. If the kid hadn't been standing there looking cute with his soup, I would have shot you."
"Right, and you think your blaster would have penetrated my beskar armor?" He shook his head. "You're dreaming Dune."
"I had you right where I wanted you," she teased.
"Well, suffice it to say Cara tried to kick me off her planet and naturally we ended up taking out an imperial walker and freeing a village from raiders." Din shrugged.
His family nodded and made noises of approval.
"Before that, I was a dropper for the rebellion, among other things," Cara added.
"A very interesting chance meeting," the armorer commented. "And now? How did you two end up coming to the covert?"
Cara looked over at Din but could read nothing from his body language. They were both silent for a long moment.
"That bad huh?" Maytra'k said.
"It's just… a job that went to hell," Cara said. "I have some history that Din didn't know about and it… it almost got us both killed."
"That's not quite true," Din pushed back. "I took you on this mission. It was doomed to fail from the start."
"That's right," Cara shot back, "Meaning it wasn't your fault. I should have told you about… everything."
"You didn't have any reason to," he replied. "I should have known something was up the moment they offered me the job."
"How could you?" Cara asked, turning the hover chair so she was facing him. "There was no way you could have known."
"It almost got you killed. All because I had to chase a kriffing high bounty. All because I decided we could shoot our way out instead of negotiating."
"Hey," Cara protested quickly, "I didn't want to be their prisoner any more than you. I would have chosen to shoot my way out any day."
Din stared at her for a long moment and then abruptly stood, walking out of the firelight to the edge of the gathering. Cara watched him, frowning. She knew he was upset about everything that happened. So was she. And she knew he was mourning the loss of his family. But she had no idea he'd been that worried about her.
She was vaguely aware that his family was watching the interaction with interest, quietly taking it all in.
Suddenly, she stood from her hover chair, walking slowly over to him. Placing a hand on his arm, he turned slightly to look at her.
"I don't blame you for what happened," she said quietly, aware their conversation was anything but private.
"I blame myself," he said sharply. "I should have known better. Just like I should have stayed to fight on Nevarro."
"You couldn't have," Cara protested. "they never would have stopped and the kid would have been dead or in an imperial experimentation facility."
He stood still for a long moment, just breathing. Cara had learned to recognize that posture as one of deep anger, or focus just before he attacked an enemy. She let her hand drop to her side, but found she actually needed the support. The world started spinning around her. A moment later, Din grabbed her elbow to keep her from falling.
"Thanks," she managed. "I think those pain meds are taking a toll."
"I think your injuries are taking a toll," Din shot back. "You shouldn't be standing up."
They walked back to her chair carefully, Cara finding herself more winded than she liked. The armorer gazed at Din as he helped Cara sit.
"You two are forged from the same block of beskar," the armorer said lightly.
Din looked at her quickly.
"She tells you things you need to hear, my son." Cara could almost hear the armorer smirk.
Giving an annoyed sigh, Din looked around, settling his gaze on Corvin. "Where is my foundling? I think it's almost time to get to bed."
Corvin stood and came around to grab Din roughly around the shoulders. He was a good head taller than Din.
"Why don't you let your child stay with us for the night?" Corvin said. "It would be good for him to be around other children. And my brood always likes having guests."
Din hesitated for a long moment. "I'm not sure that-
"He'll be fine," Corvin encouraged. "He's perfectly safe here."
"He's not always easy-
"Din, I've never seen you be so worried about something before! If he's not safe with me in the covert, where is he safe?"
Cara heard Din give another loud sigh. "Fine."
His brother slapped his back and then went to sit down again.
Din sat down between Cara and Corvin.
oOoOoOoO
A little while later, the fire was starting to die and at least three of Corvin's children had been sent to bed. A fourth was sleeping in his arms. Din thought the boy looked surprisingly comfortable curled up against his armor.
"So I figure you've been up for about what, at least 24 standard hours?" Cara asked Din, interrupting his thoughts. "You've got to be wiped out."
Din gave a small shrug in response.
"Please, there will be more time to reconnect," his mother said. "Go, rest."
He nodded. "How long are you here Maytra'k? Tra'ka?"
"I will stay for at least another week," Maytra'k responded. "The food stores need to be replenished before winter and this planet is so far from other systems, it doesn't make sense to come and go so often anymore."
"And I will do the same," Tra'ka said. "Especially with our youngest brother here, who we never get to see. And a companion who's willing to tell us interesting stories about his mysterious travels."
Cara could hear him smiling. Din just rolled his eyes and stood, putting a hand on Corvin's shoulder.
"I assume you're staying indefinitely?"
Corvin laughed. "Someone has to watch over our brood. It's a task that usually falls to me. But I do not dislike it."
Nodding, Din touched Corvin's child's head briefly and then he turned to Cara. "And you? Going to stay and interrogate my family without me?"
She laughed. "As much as that sounds entertaining, I think I should go with you."
Din looked around at his family suddenly.
"We're not… together… in that way," he said, switching to Mando'a.
"We said nothing brother," Corvin protested.
"There is no judgement from us, whatever your relationship is," Maytra'k replied.
"You do not have to explain yourself to us," his mother intoned, "but others will not be so accepting. There is already talk about Din and the outsider woman. You know it is forbidden."
Din sighed angrily. "That's an old law. And it's not part of the code."
He could feel Cara looking at him curiously, wondering what had suddenly gotten him to riled up.
"So there is something between you then?" his mother asked.
"No, why would you-
"Because brother," Tra'ka interrupted, "If there was nothing between you, why would you get so upset about it?"
Sighing noisily, he felt Cara looking at him.
"We'll see you in the morning," he said. "I'll be by to collect my foundling tomorrow."
Corvin nodded and then Din left quickly. He could hear Cara's chair hovering beside him.
After they left the gathering, and were alone on the dark path, Cara said,
"Are you all right? What was that about?"
Shaking his head, Din sighed. "Nothing. Just… family stuff."
There wasn't anything between them. They had never been physically intimate, or had sex, or any of the things couples normally did…
But they had grown close. Their relationship had become more than he expected. She understood him in a way that other people didn't. They enjoyed each other's company, and he trusted her as much as anyone in his family.
Family… He felt that sharp knife of grief in his chest. If he had lost Cara too, after so many of his family had died…
Din felt tears gather in his eyes again and he tried to breathe deeply.
"I like your family," Cara commented, interrupting his thoughts. "It's the first time I've been around a family since… well since Alderaan."
Glancing at her in the dark, he could barely make out her features but saw that she looked sad.
"I'm glad they give you enjoyment," he responded.
"You know, after Alderaan I was pretty much filled with rage. That's the reason I joined the rebellion in the first place. So I could kill as many imps as possible." She sighed deeply. "Let's be honest, I'm still filled with rage about what happened. But it's not always right at the front."
She paused and Din could feel her looking over at him in the dark.
"I know you're filled with it too," she said. "I can see it in the way you walk, in the way you respond."
She let the words hang in the air and Din fought back angry tears. He did feel rage. In fact, his whole body was filled with it. Rage about his lost family when he was a child, rage about all the things the empire had stolen, rage about the slaughter of the Mandalorian people, rage about the most recent loss of so many members of his family and tribe. How was he supposed to live with that after so much loss? How could he take so much more?
Realizing his hands were clenched tightly, he consciously relaxed them.
"I guess all I'm saying is… I get it. I understand how all-consuming that rage can be and… I'm here if you want to talk, or spar, once I'm healed enough."
At that moment, the tears fell like a cascade from his eyes and down his face. Belatedly realizing they were going to drip, he brushed under his chin quickly but Cara noticed. She stopped her hoverchair and carefully stood, turning to face him. His beskar armor seemed somehow more protective than usual, keeping her from seeing his true emotions.
Reaching out, she put her hands on his arms, looking into his face plate questioningly. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was wise to engage in touch like this in public, but suddenly he didn't care. Wrapping his arms around her body, he pulled her close. His arms grew tight around her and she rested her head against the side of his helmet.
Tears flowed down his cheeks as he held her, tight against his beskar. In the back of his mind, he wished he didn't have his armor on. He wished they were inside his home, so he didn't have to worry about prying eyes.
He took shaky breaths, felt his body shaking, as he continued to cry despite his best efforts, feeling like a foundling. He hadn't cried like this in so long, he couldn't remember the last time.
Cara seemed to relax into him, holding him tight around the torso. He could feel her even breathing against his chest, between his arms. It helped ground him, helped him realize she was okay, she was alive.
Realizing it had been long enough, Din released her and felt her pull away, looking up into his visor again. He looked at her eyes, dark and shimmering with her own tears.
"Thank you," he said simply.
She nodded. "Of course."
Turning she carefully sat down again and sighed deeply.
"You're tired. We should get back to the medical house," Din said.
"I am tried," she agreed. "How long will I have to stay there?"
Din shrugged as they started walking again. "You can likely leave tomorrow, depending on what the doctor says."
Cara nodded. "And then? Where will I stay?"
Looking over at her, Din paused a moment. "Well, you can stay with me and the kid if you want… Or the ship is available too."
Cara smiled slightly. "Of course I'll stay with you, if you'll have me."
"You're always welcome," he responded.
Notes:
Thank you for reading. Reviews are very welcome. I love reading them.
I am planning to post probably 2 more weeks before my family and I leave on a camping trip to the smoky mountains for a few weeks. Hopefully I'll get back to writing soon after we get back from that.
I love thinking about the Mandalorian culture, and how they adopt and care for kids who don't have families. It's especially interesting to me because my husband and I are foster parents.
I hope everyone is enjoying the story as much as I'm enjoying writing it!