Spectres Reunited:

D31/0 ABY, Lothal

Sabine stopped her bike in front of the repainted Lothhawk with as much of a screech as she could pull off with an air bike. Practically vibrating with energy, she jumped off the bike and ran over to the Ghost and up the ramp. "Hera!" she called as she climbed the ladder. "Hera!" she called again when she got no answer. Sabine dashed through the bridge and into the hallway of cabins. She skidded to a stop when she saw Hera come out of Jacen's room with a frown on her face, which Sabine blithely ignored. "Hera! You would not believe what just happened!"

Hera glared at her and dragged her down the hallway away from Jacen's room and towards the centre of the ship. "Shhhh," she hissed. "I just got him to sleep. You know better than to yell in this ship now that Jacen's here."

Sabine winced, but couldn't stop the grin from coming back. "Sorry, Hera. But I saw..."

Hera interrupted her again. "And another thing. What in the galaxy did you do to poor Luke? He came running in here like the fyrnocks were after him, blood all over his face, and was mumbling something about scary Mandalorians."

Sabine winced again. That wasn't her finest moment. She definitely could have handled that better. "Ummm."

Hera crossed her arms over her chest and looked at her expectantly as they stood in the hallway outside the common room. "Well?"

Sabine sighed and blurted it out. "Luke tried to kiss me and I punched him and kind of threatened to kill him and unman him."

Hera's eyes widened and then she burst into laughter, relaxing her stiff stance and falling against the wall for support. When she got herself back together a little, she smiled at Sabine. "Now I wish I'd seen that. Maybe a little over the top, but I warned him you were committed to Ezra. He took his own life in his hands by making a move on you. The boy will just have to live with the consequences of his own actions."

"You don't think I should apologize then?" Sabine asked. "Because I was going to."

Hera shook her head, still smiling. "Nah. Let him learn his lesson the hard way." She looked at Sabine curiously. "What had you so excited when you came rushing in here, and WHAT did you do to your hair?" her eyes widening as she finally noticed the spiky new look.

Sabine's eyes rolled up, as if she could see the top of her head. She'd actually forgotten about that for a moment. She made a quick turn and dashed into the refresher, so she could see herself in a mirror, with Hera following on her heels. "Ugghhh," she groaned at her new appearance. "That is going to take some getting used to. And I need to fix it. And some colour would definitely help."

"Yes, to all of that," Hera agreed. "Now explain."

Sabine sighed and turned around, leaning against the sink, so she didn't have to see herself anymore, and told Hera everything. From her breakdown, to the second super romantic note, to thinking Ezra was dead and fainting at the thought, and finally the tingly feeling in her hand when he touched her long enough.

Hera listened without saying a word, eyes wide and barely blinking. When Sabine finally stopped speaking, Hera took a moment to process. "So Ezra is somewhere in the galaxy on a planet of amphibious sort of Jedi Force Users and they've taught him how to throw his image or spirit or whatever across space?"

Sabine laughed. "That about sums it up. Sounds insane, doesn't it?"

Hera snorted. "Just a little." She shook her head in disbelief at what their lives had come to. Sabine's man was alive, but she could only see him as a ghost, and her man was dead but came to see her all the time in either the form of a giant talking wolf or as a presence she could feel but not see or hear. The Force really did work in mysterious and sometimes very frustrating ways. "It could be worse, I suppose, but I'd still rather have our men in a normal fashion back where they belong. I miss having our Jedi underfoot all the time. It's just not the same without them here."

Sabine saw the wistful look on Hera's face and walked the step to give her a hug, resting her head on Hera's shoulder as Hera's arms wrapped around her in return. "I miss them too, Hera. So much. But at least we still have each other, and Zeb sometimes. And there's Jacen now too. He looks more like Kanan every day, despite the eyes and hair. We'll never be truly without them. We just have to keep telling ourselves that."

Hera sniffed and pulled back, eyes misting as she ran a fond hand through Sabine's short hair. "I know, Sabine. And we really are lucky to have what we do of them. It's just hard, you know?"

Sabine nodded sadly. "I know." She put on a brave smile. "Come on, Hera. Why don't we go have dinner with the guys and then you can help me fix my hair? What do you think of green to match Jacen's?" she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "It's about the same length and everything."

Hera laughed as they walked out of the refresher. "Don't you dare. I was thinking you'd look good in varying shades of dark red and burgundy. You haven't tried those colours yet."

Sabine's eyes lit up at the idea. "I like it. And you're right. I've never tried those colours before. Let's do it."

They walked through the common room and into the galley where Zeb and Luke were just finishing up making dinner of nerf stakes and vegetables. Hera smiled at the sight of the set table and the wonderful smell in the small room. "You guys are the best," she praised. "It's so nice to not be eating ration packs for weeks on end anymore."

Zeb grinned at her as he put the last plate down on the table. "I know, right? I missed real food. And you should see what it's like on Hoth. Even the ration packs are considered fine dining right now. You two don't know how good you have it here on nice warm Lothal. You can't step foot outside the temporary base without freezing your ears off in about ten seconds flat. Even Chewie near froze to death our first day there, before we got the heat working, and he has a much thicker fur coat than I..." his voice trailed off as he did a double take at Sabine's new look but wisely kept his mouth shut.

Sabine gave Zeb a big smile in appreciation then turned her eyes to Luke as she sat at the table. Luke was hovering on the edge of his seat in the opposite corner from her and staring at her wide eyed. Sabine pinned him to his chair with her glare and he settled back down, prepared for whatever further scolding she was going to dish out.

Luke gulped visibly and glanced at her hair quickly then focused on his plate of food. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "Did you really cut off all your hair just because I touched it?"

Sabine flushed red at her rash overreaction. "Unfortunately, yes," she admitted. "I was overdue for a new look anyway, so you're off the hook. I might even thank you later when I get used to it."

Luke relaxed a little and even tried a smile. "That's good, I guess. Are we okay then? You won't try to kill me in my sleep?" he asked only half joking.

Sabine snorted, Zeb snickered, and Hera rolled her eyes. "You can stop worrying, Luke," Sabine reassured him. "This scary Mandalorian is all out of revengeful thoughts. My husband, on the other hand, doesn't know what you did yet. If you're lucky, maybe I won't tell him," she teased.

"Thanks," Luke muttered into his dinner before his head whipped up and he stared in shock. "Your what?"

Zeb stopped with his fork halfway to his mouth. "You're finally gonna fess up to that, are ya?"

Sabine and Hera laughed at Luke's dumbfounded look for a minute before Sabine finally said, "Ezra's my husband, AWOL or not. I probably should have told you, but it's not common knowledge for reasons that I guess don't matter that much anymore. You'll finally get to meet him tomorrow." Sabine beamed at the residual joy of seeing him again for the first time in a year. "He's figured out how to do Force Projection, which I didn't even know was a thing."

Luke stared at her with his jaw dropped for another few seconds before he managed to snap it closed and wheeze out a, "Wow." He was essentially silent after that as he picked at his food while Zeb pounded Sabine on the back in congratulations at getting Ezra back, sort of.

Sabine was quite all right with that. And though she liked Luke, she wasn't going to miss him much, either, when he left tomorrow.

Twenty-four hours later, Sabine was finally released from her suspense as she waited to see if Ezra would come back or not. The day had dragged by. Work had never seemed so annoying, and Luke's final two hours of training were over and done with. Everyone was now back on the Ghost, anxiously waiting, picking at their supper, too revved up to eat.

A gasp from Hera was the first indication Sabine had that Ezra was behind her again. What was up with that? Couldn't he appear in front of her? She whirled around and tried not to squeal like a girl but failed miserably. "Ezra!" She jumped out of her chair and they closed the distance between them quickly, both desperately wishing they could hug the other. With a synchronized sigh, they contented themselves with the same imaginary twining of the fingers that he'd left her with twenty-four hours ago.

"I like your hair," Ezra said as he admired the new colour and how it accented her skin tone and eyes. He got lost in said eyes for an endless moment before a loudly cleared throat brought his attention to the other people in the common room. "Hera! Zeb!" He walked over to them as they met him halfway and waited patiently for them to examine his new appearance. "It's so good to see you!" he gushed. "I've missed you a lot."

Hera just cried and Ezra did his best to give her a ghostly hug without passing through her body, which just made her cry harder.

"It's good to see you, kid," Zeb said as he tried to clap him on the back like he used to and ended up almost smacking Hera as his hand passed right through. Zeb pulled up at the last moment and tucked his hand under his other arm. "Alright. That's freaky. Not doin' that again."

Ezra rolled his eyes at Zeb and indicated the lasat should take over the comforting of Hera, since his arms were solid. "Thanks, Zeb."

"Actually, Zeb, I've got this one," a familiar voice said.

The whole room gasped as one when a perfect, unscarred, and goateed version of Kanan appeared beside Ezra, pulling a shocked Hera into his more or less solid arms. Solid enough she could actually feel him.

"Kanan!" Hera cried before she sighed in contentment and rested her head on his shoulder. "I don't even care how you're here, love. I'm just happy you are."

Ezra gaped at Kanan and managed to stutter out a confused, "How?"

Kanan grinned at his family who crowded around him. "You're not the only one taking lessons, Ezra. I have dozens of passed on Masters who are all trying to teach me something or other. It's definitely been interesting. And then there's Master Yoda, who is still very much alive, but spends most of his time wandering through the Force out of sheer boredom. I hear his extra helpful voice at least once a day. With my family now in the same spot more often than not, I've learnt how to concentrate my form into only one thing and I chose this form over the lothwolf for obvious reasons. Oh, and Ezra, Master Yoda said that he's quite impressed with your new ability to project your image. He said it took him two hundred years to do the same thing and that to tell you that the more you work on it, the more solid your image will be."

Ezra and Sabine exchanged meaningful looks at that little piece of good news. "I'm just happy to see you again, Kanan," Ezra said. "Although hearing your voice in my head every once in awhile was great too. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we missed you something awful and it's good to have you back."

Kanan smiled contentedly as he looked down at the teary woman in his arms. "It's good to be back."

Luke sat in the corner of the room, forgotten by the others. He felt terribly left out, but he didn't begrudge them their reunion. He'd heard the whole story of the two missing Jedi and knew they deserved this moment. He just wished he had a family like that for himself. Luke sighed pathetically, then winced, hoping none of the others heard that.

"I did," a voice chuckled in his mind. "And you will have your own family like that, Luke. They wait for you on Hoth."

Luke smiled, comforted. "Thanks, Ben," he murmured under his breath. "And you're still the better teacher." A quick bark of laughter was the only response before he felt Obi-Wan's presence leave, but it was enough to make Luke grin, happy with his life now, and anxious to get back where he belonged.

Even if it was beyond freezing there.

As the shock of seeing Kanan wore off, Ezra finally noticed that there was an extra person in the common room. He glanced at Sabine with a raised brow in curiosity.

Sabine shrugged and smiled. "That's Luke. I told you about him yesterday."

Luke rose to his feet and walked up to the ghost image of Ezra somewhat reluctantly, but put on a smile of greeting regardless. The two young men looked each other over curiously. Luke saw a fit guy who looked about the same age as him and was almost the same height. Despite the similarity in ages, Ezra radiated an inner strength and calm that made him seem older. And he wasn't bad looking either. No wonder he'd won the heart of the fierce and beautiful Sabine. Luke thought Ezra was one lucky guy.

Ezra's electric blue eyes were steady and thoughtful as he looked back at Luke. This was the guy who'd saved the galaxy? He didn't look like the type, to be honest. The dark blond and light blue eyed man looked like your average boy next door. He wasn't even very tall. The holo images Ezra had seen of the infamous Anakin Skywalker had given the impression of height with a commanding presence. His son had none of that. But there was something. He seemed to embody hope. The Force swirled around Luke with a purpose, like it was particularly interested in the fate of the young Skywalker.

They nodded to each other in greeting.

"Luke."

"Ezra."

Luke went to hold out a hand to shake but then remembered Ezra was only an image. He winced a little and put his hands behind his back. "Yah, so it's nice to finally meet you. I've heard all about you and Kanan from your family. They sure like to talk about you guys and your adventures. My life has been downright boring in comparison."

Ezra scoffed a little. "Says the guy who blew up the biggest Imperial weapon ever made. I think your life will be more than exciting enough from now on. It's up to you to protect the Rebellion and fight off the Darksiders. You're the only Jedi left who can, as far as I know."

Luke tried not pale at the enormity of his situation that he'd never really thought of in those terms before. He breathed deep and steady, telling his legs to keep holding him up whether they liked it or not. He glanced over at the older Jedi ghost and saw Kanan watching him with knowing, supportive eyes, silently telling him he could do this. Luke nodded slightly in thanks, taking comfort from the encouragement.

Meanwhile, Chopper had rolled into the room, carrying a cooing Jacen. He'd watched the conversation and decided to put his two credits in, looking forward to the chaos that was about to erupt. "He's also the blurrg dropping that tried to make a move on Sabine."

Ezra's head swivelled from Chopper to Sabine to Luke, eyes widening as his jaw dropped.

Luke immediately flushed red and stared at the ground, embarrassed.

Sabine glared at the droid. "Chopper! I was going to tell him in my own time, you rusty piece of osik."

Zeb burst into laughter.

Hera glared at both Chopper and Sabine.

And Kanan chuckled quietly, not wanting to get on Hera's bad side, but enjoying the situation.

Ezra focused on Sabine again. "He did what? And what's osik? I don't remember you saying that one before."

Sabine rolled her eyes in Luke's direction. "We had a small misunderstanding. Luke got the wrong impression and tried to kiss me. But don't worry, I handled it. Made him bleed and everything. It was kind of my fautlt too, cause I didn't tell him I was married. And osik means 'poop' to put it as politely as possible. I'm using more Mando'a insults lately, since Hera pointed out that I almost always swore in Basic. And she's glaring at me because we're not supposed to swear in front of Jacen but I keep forgetting. And he's only a month old. How much can he really be learning anyway?"

"I don't care," muttered Hera, arms crossed over her chest. "My baby's smart and you're teaching him bad words. I've never mentioned this before, but if he's got the rare blue Syndulla eyes, he's probably also got the eidetic memory that comes with them. So if the first words out if his mouth are swears, you can bet your tushies..." she pinned Sabine and Zeb in her glare, "that I'll know who to blame."

Sabine and Zeb snorted but made an attempt at looking apologetic.

Ezra shook his head at his family but pinned Luke in a rather intense stare, making himself as big and tall as possible. "On my current home planet, I would be honour bound to challenge you to a duel for making moves on my wife. But since I can't, and I'd probably trounce your rear end..." Hera shot him a grateful smile for not saying 'ass' like he normally would have. "anyway, I'll leave you with a promise. The moment we meet again in real life, you can consider yourself challenged to a fight to the death."

Luke nodded stiltedly, wide eyed, not really sure how else to respond to that.

Sabine stared at Ezra, wondering where this new warrior type Ezra had come from. It made her want to throw herself at him and drag him to a cabin.

Ezra let his face relax into a grin. "Just kidding. Man, you should have seen your face. That was great. But seriously. Hands off Sabine. Not that she can't take care of herself, as I'm sure you know, but you've been warned."

Luke held his hands up, backing up a step. "No worries, man. I learned my lesson. Never make assumptions when it comes to girls."

Ezra, Kanan and Zeb all laughed at that.

Kanan winked at Ezra before glancing at Hera. "That is so true. No matter how long you know them."

Hera looked over her shoulder at Kanan and smirked as she was picking Jacen up from Chopper's manipulators. "You better believe it, love."

"Yep," Zeb said. "From what I've experienced, you female types tend to be moody, unpredictable, and very hard to understand sometimes."

"But worth it," Ezra said, longing in his eyes as he gazed at Sabine.

Sabine sighed quietly as she looked back at him. He was so good at this romance stuff now. She never would have guessed when they first met. And she liked it, which surprised her even more. (Don't tell the tough girl police.)

"Well, you males aren't exactly a treat either," Hera said as she snuggled close to Kanan again, Jacen held gently in her arms. "You're grumpy, smelly, messy, and a few brain cells short more often than not, I swear."

"Hey!" Zeb said in mock outrage.

Kanan shook his head at the lasat. "You started it." He looked down at Hera and his son, eyes going all soft and mushy. "Hera can think whatever she wants about us guys. She's probably right."

"Thank you, dear," Hera said with a loving smile at Kanan.

"Especially about you, fuzzy oversized purple meatbag," Chopper chirped at the same time.

Zeb gasped in real outrage and the chase was on.

Ezra laughed as Chopper and Zeb disappeared out the door. "I see nothing's changed."

Sabine laughed and shook her head. "No, nothing's changed. And yet, everything has."

Ezra nodded in understanding, happily taking in the sight of his wife with Kanan and Hera and Jacen all standing together looking like a perfect happy family. And then there was Luke off to the side, looking kind of left out. Ezra felt sorry for him, knowing what it feels like to not be a part of a family. His new friends on Cerulia were great but they would never be his family. He was so happy to be with them again, it was beyond his ability to express.

He tried anyway as he got as close to Sabine as he could manage without putting his image inside her and stared at them all with the dopiest joyful smile on his face.