Privies it was in a way so we changed it from one week to a month of captivity for Kanan. We have now edited so it match up all the way. Please leave us a review.
Hera was sitting with Zeb, Ashoka and Sabine waiting for the doctor and med droids to come out of the medbay with news on Kanan. They had been sitting there for hours, but It felt like ages. On the Ghost, the crew was able to asses that both Kanan and the child were in critical condition. All they really could do was stop any access bleeding and give them painkillers intravenously. Once they got back to The Phoenix Squadron, they had rush the two human male's to the medical bay. As Ahsoka seemed to mediating in her seat, Sabine was pacing the medbay in anticipation for any news. Zeb and Hera sat in worry, with Zeb thumbing his leg with impatience while Hera would pray to whoever would hear here out there for a miracle. None of them spoke, all afraid to ask the question they all wanted to ask but were hesitant to hear the answer. Finally, the med droid and head rebel medical advisor came out of the med bay.
The Crew and Ahsoka stood there, anxious for the update that could make or break their day. Even if one wasn't a force sensitive, they would be able to feel the fear, worries but also hope that filled the room.
"Kanan Jarrus is in very poor shape, I won't lie," The elderly male doctor admitted before he continued.
"Kanan has suffered malnutrition, dehydration, hypothermia, severe blood loss and is sleep deprived. We had to operate to prevent his lungs from collapsing, relieve the pressure and administer blood transfusion. We have found traces of cuts, slashes from a lightsaber, wounds, burn marks, bruises, and some form of restraints have resulted in a multitude of cuts into his wrists and ankles, a huge whip mark traced over his abdomen and several more on his back. We suspect he has been electrocuted since he sometimes gets spasms which has made the work more difficult. The whip slashes are especially deep. Kanan's wrists and ankles has likewise deep cutting, possibly some nerve damage as well in those area's. There is nerve damage in his arms like if he has carried something heavy for to many hours. Some part of his wrist and ankles have barely any skin left because of something we can't determine but most likely restrains. Three of his ribs are broken, so it will be painful for him to breath for a short while. His weight is too low also he had lost a considerable amount of weight so he has to be put on a diet to get him healthy. We also ran a few blood test and found high amounts of drugs in his system. They are clearly administered by people who don't know where the veins are. There was traces of needles all over his neck. We found traces of drugs that results in nightmares, hallucinations, having anxiety attacks and makes you feel the pain twice as-,"
"IS HE GOING TO MAKE IT!?" shouted Hera, not wanting to listen to how bad Kanan was, just wanting to know if he would be okay.
The doctors sighed before telling them, "Despite his array of injuries, he should make it. Provided there won't be further complications."
The crew sighed in relief. Zeb laughed now that he knew while Sabine and Hera wiped some tears before they formed into a huge puddle of relief
"It will take him some time to heal however. We have to put him in a bacta tank, but you can go in and see him if you want to before we do that. Kanan has been administered pain killers but even with them he will still be in some pain, but because painkillers aren't to be mixed with some other chemical components, we have to limit the dosage. Once the other drugs have been flushed out of his system, we can up the pain meds until he is fully recovered. The med droids have also given him something to help heal his throat, so don't let him speak to much. Jarrus is sleeping and should continue to do so when we take him out of the bacta tank, which is for the best. The man will have a long recovery ahead of him after some rehab and therapy, Kanan should be okay.
Hera felt like her heart was breaking in pieces as the droid kept reporting, what horrors Kanan must have endured for a full week. But she was happy that now Kanan was safe and in their hands, they would help him get better
Ahsoka smiled, "I'll let Sato know of the situation. Why don't you guy's see Kanan." Ahsoka offered.
As Zeb and Sabine went into the room, Hera nodded her head and smiled as Ahsoka left. Once the crew entered the med bay room Kanan was in, the crew had to maintain their composure by what they saw.
Kanan laid there, so still that if it wasn't for his moving chest, they would think he was dead. The unconscious man was hooked up to a multitude of machines, from EKG, O2 reader, Iv pumps with saline, blood transfusion bags, and an oxygen mask was placed over the man's nose and mouth to help aid in breathing. Kanan had dark bags under his eyes, highlighting what the doctors had said of being sleep deprived. Bandages covered his chest, his arm and legs as well that he looked like a mummy from ancient alderon stories. Those places which were not covered by bandages there were bruises in all types of forms and colors. What could be seen of the face, arms and legs showed the skin stretched out to thin painfully showing how thin he had become. Suddenly Kanan twitched and his legs started spasm a few seconds, his face cringed in pain before he laid completely still again.
As Hera sat next to him and held his bandaged hand, Sabine stood there in shock. As Zeb stood by her in case she needed a hand to hold. They looked upon their leader with conflict; relief that they had him back, but despair at the struggle Kanan faced. Zeb was the voice of reason as he offered, "Kanan is tough, guy will be walking around and kicking imperial but in no time." Sabine and Hera chuckled at Zeb's words.
That was when they saw him open his eyes, as he looked at them in a daze.
SWR
Kanan felt a dull pain course through his veins. Kanan could tell that some of the pain from before was gone. As he recalled how, he then remembered the escape, and the kid. After he had woken up he had discovered that the child had forced healed him. Kanan remembered how he had helped Ezra to get out of the restrains before Ezra collapsed on him and how he felt Hera's presence before he blacked out as well.
The next thing he registered was warmth, and it was blissful after a week of constant coldness. It was also easier to breath than previous. Kanan slowly opened his eyes and tried to focus on where he could be now, but everything was blurry, all he could see were shapes. Kanan was too weak to sense a presence with the force. After some blinking, he became aware that someone was holding his hand. The real question though was who and what they would do with it? The last thing he needed was for it to be pulled to the point where it would almost break again.
"Kanan" came a relieved, beautiful and lovely voice.
He blinked a few times enough to see Hera, Sabine and Zeb before everything became blurred again. Suddenly a wave of dizziness hit him and he felt like everything started swimming which made him gasp and he felt a stinging pain in his side.
"Easy Kanan, you're not out of the woods yet. You're going to be placed in a bacta tank soon, it should help you heal faster." Hera explained to him
Kanan though became panicked, if he was going in there, how was Ezra going to heal?
"Ki…" Kanan began to say, his throat's dry pain though limited his vocal ability.
Hera hushed him, "Try not to speak. Save your strength for healing.
Kanan shook his head, he had to know where the kid was
"Ez...ra." he mumbled in a barely coherent tone.
Hera was able to realize who he was talking about.
"The kid is fine. The med droids are taking care of him now. Both of you will be okay once you both get some rest." Hera in all honesty did not know the kid's condition, but she didn't want Kanan to worry.
"Good" Kanan managed to get out though his teeth.
"Who is he anyways?" Sabine pondered, not to Kanan but in general to the room.
That was when a memory came to him. Ezra pointing the pistol at him with tear filled eyes, his supposed executioner, and the gun being tossed away.
"Ezra, executioner, saved-..." he managed to rasp before the darkness consumed him again.
SWR
Once Kanan was asleep again, the med droids wheeled him to the bacta tank area for further treatment. They doctors estimated that it would take a few days for Kanan to experience the full effects of the tank. The Doctor even made the point that the freshly inflicted whip marks would take especially long to heal.
"Whip marks... What a barbaric form of torture, it is not normal torture method for the Empire to use. What did Kanan do to get that sort of torture?" Zeb questioned.
Sabine knew why a whip was used and spoke up.
"It isn't used as a form of torture; but it has been used as to set examples. If a riot in a prison happens, one prisoner is whipped in front of the other prisoners, as a warning.
"You think he was used as an example for the kid? That he was a fellow prisoner like Kanan?" Hera asked even more worried.
"Why else would anyone be there?" Sabine pointed out, "If the was an imperial, he would have tried to kill Kanan, not protect him when he saw us as a threat."
"Why would they hold a kid as a prisoner?" Hera pondered, though not surprised the Empire would sink so low.
Sabine offered her two cents to the matter, "The Empire has been known to take in orphaned children to train them to be imperials. Maybe that's what he is? But..."
"But what?" Zeb questioned.
"You guy's saw the bruises and cuts, Imperials put them through training, not torture. Plus he'd be in a academy, not an imperial prison alongside a rebel jedi."
"But to keep a kid prisoner is just awful." Hera protested.
"Let's be honest, the Empire has done worse things." Sabine admitted, "Also remember what Ahsoka said, the kid was the presence she felt, he's force sensitive just like Kanan. Maybe he was held there for being force sensitive?"
"Do you think the boy was set for execution and Kanan saved him?" Zeb suggested the idea quietly.
Both Hera and Sabine froze at that.
"Why would you say that Zeb" Hera asked with her heart sinking to the bottom of the floor or so it felt like.
"Because of what Kanan said" Zeb said very low and flatly.
"No, that must just have been a wrong wording, I mean Kanan wasn't exactly 'all there' when he was awake" Hera pointed out.
"Yeah, but why else would he say 'execution'?" Zeb wondered.
"Maybe they were both going to be executed?" Sabine offered the idea, "Like the Empire wanted to kill them both and Kanan got them both out."
"Look," Hera interrupted the theory session and brought up another matter, "Right now it does no use to figure out what happened. What matters is making sure that Kanan and this child are taken care of.
"Where is the kid at anyways?" Zeb asked.
Hera and Sabine also looked puzzled, as the doctors had not even mentioned the child to them. Just then the Doctor came out of the bata tank room.
"Kanna is stable in the tank." the doctor told them.
"Excuse us, but do you happen to know what happened to the child we found?" Hera asked calmly.
The Doctor looked unsettled by the question. "I'm not sure you want to know."
"Yes, we do," Zeb told the doctor with his aggressive voice.
"Zeb behave" Hera ordered firmly.
The Doctor sighed as he explained. "The boy's condition, while stable, might have sustained more damage than Kanan."
"How is that possible?" Sabine asked
"Well from the med droids analysis, the boy had to of been held within the prison for almost a few years?"
The crew was flabbergasted, "Years?" the all spoke in unison in horrified shock.
"I'm afraid so. The child is estimated to be around 12 years old, yet is the weight of one who would be 8. The boy's body shows signs of multiple beatings as well as many other forms of torture. Some scars and cuts though show to have healed poorly over time and a high amount of them has been or is infected.
"The boy will need to be put on a special form of treatment, as well as a certain diet to get him to a healthy weight. For him however, recovery could be as long as a few months to almost a year."
The rest of the crew was shocked. That poor child had been through so much. It was no wonder the kid was protective of Kanan, he was probably the first person to show the kid any form of kindness.
"Is there any chance we could check up on him?" Hera asked the doctor.
"I suppose," The doctor agreed, "But I must warn you that the child is in pretty bad shape. If is wasn't for the fact he need's to be at a healthy weight to go into the tanks, I'd of put him in one next to Kanan."
The rest of crew nodded that they understood. Once the doctor told them where they should go they headed there. Now speculating on who this poor child was.
"Years," Hera voiced her disgust at it, "that poor child, he'll probably freak out when he wakes up"
"Maybe he'll be grateful?" Zeb wondered, "Cause Kanan saved him and he's with us. The kid will probably think we're hero's."
"Or he'll think we kidnapped him and Kanan and he'll try to kill us again." Sabine replied rather darkly.
"Sabine?" Hera questioned the harshness of the her mandalorian's thoughts.
"Well think about it. If the kid has been a prisoner for a couple years then it's probably all he really knows. Kid might not even know what freedom is. Plus he's been in imperial custody; I don't even want to think about his psychological state. Not to mention that we did not part ways on the friendliest terms"
This point made the crew member's uncomfortable. But they knew from their own experiences that torture, prisons, and battle all had a way of messing with people. Added to the fact the victim of the trauma was a child...it could lead to other problems.
Once they got to the kid's med room, they braced themselves for how fragile and sad the child may look, only to find the room empty, the child gone. A med droid in the room was on the floor attempting to get up. They helped the med droid up that then wheeled out of the room in annoyance at being knocked down. When the shocked crew checked the room for the kid, the happened upon a open vent on the lower wall.
"Now he's out of prison, he's an escape artist." Zeb chuckled at the kid's gutsiness
Hera smiled in cunningness, "I think I know where to find him."
SWR
As Ezra reentered the conscious world, he felt warmth all around him.
"What?" the kid thought to himself in confusion
Ezra could not remember the last time he felt such comforting warmth; that was when Ezra registered that he was laying down on something soft. If he did not know any better, he would say it was a bed.
Ezra then came to the conclusion he had to be dreaming. The empire did not waste beds on prisoners, least of all prisoners that refused to do as they were told. Ezra recalled being sentenced to go to Mustafar for execution. But was that part of the dream? Had it all been a crazy dream where there had been a man named Kanan and they had broken out and managed to get away from the Inquisitor.
"Kanan?!" Ezra thought to himself. The connection he felt between himself and that man, it couldn't of been a dream. That was when Ezra remembered other people came onto their ship and took Kanan away; they had made Kanan cry out, they had hurt Kanan but tried to reassure him that they cared and then … . Ezra was a fool to let some force person who can knock out people get so close to him and Kanan. Ezra had to find Kanan, and fast
Ezra woke up and saw he was in fact laying on a bed to his big surprised. Ezra looked around in the small room and saw a closed and (he assumed) locked door. As he rose to a sitting position, he noticed a large part of him was wrapped up in bandages. Ezra saw clean bandages wrapped around his wrist, torso and wraps over his legs. The old dried up blood had also been removed, so he was … clean, how? The other thing he noticed was the lack of binders, why had they not restrained him? Was this all part of some trap or were they putting him in a false sense of security? If so, Ezra had to remain vigilant of these twisted people.
Perhaps he had not been dreaming for this was indeed not the cell he usually was in; could it really be true? Ezra once more looked at the closed door and wondered where Kanan was if this indeed was real. What if it was a trap?! Perhaps the twilek, mandalorian, torguta that had asked to trust him only to knock him out so the big purple scary guy could take both Kanan and him and put them in different cells. They had made Kanan cry out in pain, that was proof they were awful people like the Inquisitor.
Ezra looked to the ceiling for any way out and while doing so he found to his amazement that a vent on the opposite wall. Seriously these people was just as stupid as the troopers, doesn't even look like they tried to lock it. The vent would be easy to get out then he could check on Kanan, find some food and water and then … well he would work it out after that. Even so a part of him so much wanted to stay here and just enjoy the bed and go back the warmth and sleep, his body felt so heavy, he felt so tired. But he needed to find Kanan before those awful people hurt Kanan further, Ezra did not want to hear Kanan cry like that again.
That was when the door opened and in came … a droid. Ezra screamed in panic and used the force to push it against the wall before he rushed over to the went and crawled in. Ezra wasn't going to wait around for the droid to start torturing him. The droid was probably sent by these people, perhaps they had found out that he had been close to becoming Kanan's executioner and now they wanted to punish him for it, that was if they even cared about Kanan. Well Ezra wasn't going to stay around for that.
Ezra crawled through the vents all though his body was protesting all movements, his body really wanted to return to the bed and blanket. Ezra felt like his body was heavy and difficult to move around and he was not sure for how long he could keep going, had they drugged him? Ezra reminded himself that he had no choice, there was a torture droid in there, so even if he went back he would not be able to sleep, so he had to get going. Ezra had to find Kanan and fast; hopefully Kanan would be in a good enough state so they could get out of here. Ezra thought about trying to locate Kanan with the force, but that would also draw the attention of the torguta woman; which he rather wanted to avoid after his last encounter with her. Whoever she was, she was powerful. Plus she was a force user, had lightsabers, and knocked him down. Ezra also recalled the other three had their own blasters.
The big problem was that even if he found Kanan, he had no idea how big this place was or just where they were. Ezra was scared, but since it would not help him to be scared he pressed it aside, closed his eyes and tried to reach out for Kanan, he just hoped he would be quick enough so that the torguta woman would not notice. It wasn't easy but he finally managed to find the signature he knew was Kanan's and started to move towards it.
Ezra began to worry when he sensed the older man's signature as being so dim and filled with pain. Ezra carefully maneuvered towards Kanan hoping not to be discovered. It took some time but he finally managed to find the vent into the room where Kanan was. What Ezra saw sent his fear for Kanan into panic. Kanan was floating in a tank filled with liquid that he could not recognize. Suspended in the liquid, Ezra saw multiple wire's and tubes attached to Kanan. What were they doing to him? What type of torture was that? Ezra could not recall that they had done anything like that to him at the base, so how could he help Kanan? A droid came into the room and checked the tank before leaving, how many torture droids did these people have? After the droid had left the room, Ezra crawled out of the vent and went over to Kanan and took a closer look. The poor kid's legs could barely keep him standing, but he made it to the tank. With Kanan stripped down to a pair of shorts, Ezra saw all the wounds and beatings Kanan had received. The Grand Inquisitor must really have wanted Kanan to suffer to put him in such a state.
Ezra was not sure how he would get Kanan out of the tank; perhaps he should break the glass and get Kanan out that way. The only problem with that was that the sound most likely would attract people and he would prefer not be be discovered. Even so he could not see how else he could get Kanan out so he started to look for something that could break the glass. A stick or something else that could break the glass. In the corner of the room, Ezra found a iv pole and even though it was not optimal, it would have to do. Ezra decided a running start would be the best way to get enough force to break the tank. Ezra took a few steps back and began running at the tank with the pole raised over his head. However, he only managed to take a few steps when his hands and arms became too heavy and the iv pole fell to the ground along with him. Ezra gasped to get some air while darkness was so close to swallow him that stars began to impair his vision, but he forced himself to remain conscious, Kanan needed him. Ezra had to save Kanan.
"See what did I tell you?" came a female voice.
Ezra was able to turn around and to his horror he saw the three people from earlier, they had found him and now he would have to suffer for his involvement in Kanan's almost execution. Or worse, they were going to kill Kanan and him. Ezra was frozen in fear.
SWR
"Hera, how can you possibly know where the kid has gone to. Sato's ship is rather big and ours is attached to it. He could be anywhere" did Sabine protest.
Hera smiled kindly to the young woman.
"Sabine, if you were a small, scared child, who did not know where they were and only knew one other person on the ship, where would you go?" Hera asked Sabine.
"You would try to find the one person you knew" answered Zeb when Sabine paused.
"Bingo" Hera answered Zeb.
"If we go back to Kanan we will most likely find him there" Hera theorized
"Wait Hera, if we go straight back there we will most likely arrive before the kid, making him continue to hide. Why don't we wait until he comes into the room or he'll keep hiding," Zeb pointed out.
"Agreed so we will have to wait 5 or 10 minutes?" Hera asked.
"Probably 5; it isn't a long trip from here to Kanan" Sabine argued.
"No 10 is better because he don't knows the ways around here" Zeb argued.
"7 minutes" decreed Hera before the two of them could get into an argument.
Hera went over to the bed to sit on it and was soon followed by Zeb and Sabine. They sat there in silence waiting what felt like forever before they rose and walked back to the room. On the way they could hear something heavy fall to the ground. They walked in and found the small child lying on the ground breathing heavily as he used an iv pole to support himself, which worried her greatly. Even so she could not help but mock a little to Zeb and Sabine.
"See what did I tell you?" Hera asked.
Hearing Hera's voice made the child turn around, his eyes filled with fear as he tried to crawl away from them as he kept one hand on, making the child's breathing even more sporadic. The child started to cry hysterically as he eyed the crew.
"I am sorry" the child cried. "I am sorry, please don't... I didn't mean to... he... I," the child sobbed uncontrollably.
Hera looked at the sobbing child holding the iv pole. The child must have wanted to break the glass and now he cried because he thought they were angry at him.
"Easy little one, you don't have to be scared. We won't hurt you" Hera tried to smooth the scared child.
"Yeah, but you said that about Kanan too. Before, you made Kanan cry out in pain" the child accused in a mix between anger and sobbing.
The child continued to back away; clearly not willing to trust anything Hera said.
"Please could you at least stop trying to back away and hide. It is not healthy for you, we need to have the doctors take at look at you" Hera pleaded with the scared child.
The child did not say anything but he stopped crawling backward; but that probably only because he was at the wall and could not move any more back, but his sobbing lessened into sniffling.
"Look! I don't know what Kanan did to you guy's; but please don't kill him. Kanan is a good man; he saved me!" the child begged.
Hera's heart was filled with anger and hurt that the child though they had hurt Kanan on purpose, but it was not time to show it.
"I promise we aren't hurting Kanan. All we are doing is helping him, like we're trying to help you. Maybe we can help you more if you could tell us your name?" Hera asked the small child hoping he would at least give her that.
The child just kept staring at her in fear, ready to use the pole as a weapon. The mistrust in his eyes was there, but Hera could tell he was opening up to possibility; even if it was just a smidge.
"Perhaps we should start off," Sabine offered. "I'm Sabine, mandalorian. The Lasat is Zeb and the Twilek is Hera." Sabine introduced themselves as she pointed to them.
The boy though didn't seem eased by knowing their names.
Hera decided to maybe switch the roles here. "What do you want to know kid? You can ask us anything."
The child seemed surprised by this idea, his sniffing became less and less. The kid looked over at the tank, at Kanan, with concern.
Still gripping the iv pole, the kid asked in a shaky voice, "Is Kanan... okay?" Once the kid finished he hid as much as he could behind the pole.
Hera couldn't help but to smile at the boy's concern for Kanan.
Hera had an idea; she had Zeb and Sabine follow her to the tank. As they stood by it, Hera waved her hand for the boy to follow her the child removed the tears from his face with his right hand.
Slowly with the iv pole as a support, the kid made it to the tank, resting a hand on the tank.
Hera knelt down next to him at a certain distance to give him some space.
"This here is a bacta tank. People who are in critical condition are put in here so they can heal faster." Hera explained to the child as she pointed to his scars. "When we found him, that was an open wound on his torso. Now it's fading into a scar."
The child still look worried as he gazed up at the man, he also looked at them like he is trying to find out if he can trust them.
"So it will help Kanan?" the child asked worried.
"Please understand Ezra, we care deeply care about Kanan and it hurts that you won't believe us" Hera tried to explain.
It took only a few seconds before Ezra realize what she had said and for her to realise her mistake. Hera knew she should not have said that but how much it hurt that the child thought she would ever hurt Kanan, that had been a mistake.
"How do you know my name?" Ezra growled and started to back away again.
"Ezra please you don't need to be scared, trust me I can explain" Hera tried.
"Liar! I am not falling for that again. You know my name because the Empire sent you! That's why you hurt Kanan, you are mean people" Ezra sobbed.
"No you got it all wrong kid. we want to help both Kanan and you" Zeb tried to reason calmly.
"You are all liars" Ezra snapped back.
Ezra started crying again.
"No we are not" Sabine said with a hint of frustration and tiredness.
"Yes you are! You are all mean! You cursed Kanan to be in even worse pain and you put him in there, locked me up and you send a torture droid after both me and Kanan. The torguta woman knocked me out too, why are you so mean?" Ezra sobbed.
"How dare you say we would hurt Kanan" Zeb growled angrily at the accusation.
Ezra saw the anger and screamed out and tried to curl into a corner. Suddenly Kanan's body started to twist and shake.
"Kanan no please be okay, it will pass" Ezra cried.
"Zeb stop being harsh on Ezra you are scaring him" Hera said sharply.
Hera looked at Ezra that had clearly been pushed longer than he could handle. Kanan's shaking was becoming worse.
Sabine then got an idea. Sabine unclipped her holoprojector and showed it to Ezra.
"Look here," Sabine requested. Despite hesitation, the kid did.
Sabine turned it on and revealed the wanted image of the crew fighting imperials. Ezra saw it, the crew and Kanan with them.
"Kanan is our friend, our teammate." Sabine revealed before she continued, "The Empire are after us too. We have been looking for Kanan for a long time. Now that we have him back, we are going to make sure he get's better."
Ezra grabbed the projector from Sabine. Ezra looked at the holo-image with shock. They all stood there like they really were a team. Ezra pondered if the crew truly were good, like Kanan. Ezra wanted it to be true, it would mean that he did not have to run or save Kanan and that maybe, just maybe, he would be safe.
Hera saw the child becoming more relaxed, more opened, and took the chance to ask "Ezra may I sit next to you if I promise not to do anything?"
Ezra was sitting crying and looked at her with mistrust.
"Please can I just sit with you?" Hera tried again.
Ezra looked at her with fear but did not protest.
Slowly she moved over sitting down on Ezra's right side.
"Please, try to take deep breath. One at the time follow my breathing. Can you do that?" Hera asked.
Ezra looked at Hera and slowly followed Hera's breathing. Kanan's spasm slowly lessened as well.
I know it must be scary and confusing but I assure you we mean you and Kanan no harm. We care deeply for Kanan, I care deeply for Kanan. That's why we are helping him right now. Please give us a chance to show you that Ezra" Hera pleaded.
Ezra looked uneasy at her so Hera continued.
"It was Kanan that told me your name youngling, he asked for you." Hera admitted to the child.
"Kanan ... told you my name?" Ezra asked unsure.
Hera suddenly found her eyes meeting Ezra's and she shivered. His eyes were demanding the truth and anything else would not cut it. For a short second it felt like every fiber of her being was being measured. Hera was unsure of what would come next as those eyes that seemed much older than they should analyzed her. Hera though put up a confident front for Kanan and Ezra's sake.
"Yes he asked for you, although he could only get a few words out" Hera assured Ezra as she kept eye contact with the kid.
Hera then saw the boy's eyes that seemed so serious, now belonged to a child again. Ezra sighed in relief and slowly crawled towards them.
"Will he … you know …?" Ezra did not seem to be able to ask the question.
"The doctors say he will be fine with time" Hera quickly reassured Ezra, pleased that the kid was warming up to them being allies, "Just like you will be."
The boy seemed shocked before he asked, "Why?"
Hera was surprised by the question.
"Why what?" Hera asked Ezra.
"Why do you care about me being fine?" Ezra asked confused.
Hera smiled as she replied, "Because you must be someone pretty special if it made Kanan worry. Kanan would not rest before we assured him you were fine."
Ezra smiled, but it faded when another question popped into his head, "did he mention anything else ... about me?" the kid wondered
Hera was not sure if it was the right time to discuss such things. Ezra needed rest and was in distress after having been through so much. It might be better to wait but something was clearly nagging the child. Hera looked at the child and saw he was close to collapse, no this was definitely not the time to ask him what had happened.
"No, he was very exhausted so he only had time to ask if you were okay." Hera replied.
"You'll probably be more okay once we get you back to your med room." Sabine offered.
Ezra though shook his head in protest.
Hera knew what was going on, "You don't want to leave Kanan, do you?"
Ezra nodded his head that Hera was correct.
Hera then got an idea, "Zeb, why don't you bring the bed in the med room here. That way Ezra can keep an eye on Kanan."
Zeb sighed, "alright, just hope the doctors will be okay with it." With that Zeb left to get the bed.
"It's really okay that I stay in here?" Ezra asked with some skepticism.
"Of course," Sabine replied, "We want both you and Kanan to get better, and since you won't rest away from Kanan, this makes the most sense."
Ezra smiled a bit over this but there was something Hera came to think about.
"Kid we don't mind you sleeping here at all, but please don't push the droids away they are here to help and I want a doctor to look you over before you goes to sleep okay" Hera said to Ezra.
The child looked at her with worries, especially when she mentioned the droids.
"Torture droids?! No they hurt; please don't send them after me, I'll be good, honest!" Ezra begged.
Both Sabine and Hera froze at the child's word, the droid which had been pushed to the floor made sense now. In horribly realization it hit Hera that Ezra had believed it was a torture droid send by them that was why, at least partly why he had run. It also explained the med droid that had been pushed to the ground. Hera closed her eyes trying to keep her temper under control, was there no limit to the Empire's evil? No wonder Ezra had not believed them on their words about caring for Kanan, he himself had been exposed to torture and then Kanan had cried out because of a mistake on their part. Added with the fact that the kid was knocked out and Kanan having that spasm, it was not hard to understand why he viewed them as bad people.
"They are med droids, they help people not hurt them," Hera though could tell that Ezra seemed nervous about them coming near him, sho she came up with an idea, "How about this Ezra, if Sabine and I stay here with you while the droid checks you out, will that be okay?"
Ezra thought about it for a moment before he nodded his head in agreement.
"Alright, I'll contact the droid so they can come in to check out the kid." Sabine offered. Ezra smiled at them and let out a small, "thank you".
SWR
It took a few minutes, but Zeb was able to hover the med bay bed into the bacta tank room. As the bed was placed near the tank Ezra tried to raise up only to fall to the ground.
"Easy kid let me help you" Zeb said and carefully moved over to the child.
Zeb grabbed Ezra only for him to yelp in surprise and shiver over the physical contact.
"Easy Ezra, Zeb just want to help you" Sabine smoothed.
Ezra nodded but stayed very still as he was lifted. As Zeb lifted him up into the bed, Ezra's small frame was shown fully to the crew and they felt sad and angered over this. Ezra's rib was far to evident along with all the other bone's, his skin looked like it was stretched out. As Zeb put Ezra down their heart ached seeing that he only filled out half the bed.
All three of them noticed that Ezra almost hugged the pillow and blanket and seemed to enjoy the soft mattress. It would be heartwarming if the reason behind it wasn't so heartbreaking.
"Thank you for a real bed" Ezra expressed as he smiled at the comfort, "a soft mattress, pillow and blanket. I can't remember the last I had something so soft to lay on, and something to keep me warm" the boy said before he mumbled "I hate to freeze" his face became pained for a short moment.
"Are you sure it's okay that I get all of this? I can just sleep on the floor like I use to" the small child asked looking worried at them.
Their heart fell to the ground not just at the question but at the admission as well. How could a child believe that a single blanket, bed and pillow was too much to spare on him? All of them also speculated in silence if there was something behind the freezing part.
"We are sure, so just enjoy it" Hera managed to say.
Ezra looked suspicious at them.
"So what do I have to do in return for it?" Ezra asked.
"Nothing" all three of them replied.
Ezra did not seem convinced but said nothing more.
Soon though the boy was cocooned within the blankets in peaceful content, though it was only for a moment.
The med droid came in, sending Ezra straight up in a panic. So much that he almost fell out of the bed; fortunately Zeb caught him
"Woah, easy there," Zeb said as he helped the boy back into the bed.
The boy sniffed and looked like he was about to start crying again so Hera grabbed his hand.
"It won't hurt you I promise" Hera smoothed the scared child.
Ezra looked at the hand that the woman named Hera gave him now within his own hand, and the force almost urged him to lean into her. Yet he was scared and unwilling, the only other persons to hold his hands like this was his parents. It felt smoothing but he was not sure he could trust her normally people smacked him with their hands if they were anywhere near him.
But once Ezra saw the twilek smiling, he couldn't help but to smile back.
The med droid approached , "alright young one, we will be taking some vitals to asses your current state.
Ezra was beyond confused, luckily Sabine was there, "the droid is going to check your pulse, oxygen levels, blood pressure, and temperature, to see how you're doing."
"Oh," Ezra understood, though he could not prevent giving the droid a skeptical look.
"No needles?" Ezra questioned,
"No blood draws or injections at this time." The droid confirmed.
Ezra let out a sigh of relief when he heard that and tried not to flinch or move as the droid reached him. All the memories of the torture droids cutting, poking, administer drugs and electrifying him overwhelmed him and made it hard to breath.
"Easy slow breath, you are hyperventilating I promise you it won't hurt" did he hear Hera's voice tell him.
Should he trust the women? Ezra suddenly wanted to, but it was a droid, and it scared him.
"I can't really exam you when you are so stressed young one" the droid pointed out.
"Please kid try to relax a bit, the more you relax the faster it will go. I promise you that nothing bad will happen and we will be there all the way through. As soon as you are done you can sleep here right next to Kanan" Hera tried once more.
Ezra closed his eyes and took in long deep breath hoping desperately that Hera would not break her word. Ezra reminded himself that Kanan most likely trusted her if he contacted them, and that the force had urged him to do so.
The droid placed a small device over his forehead, Ezra winched at the contact but there came no pain even though he expected it. After a short while the droid removed it before checking it, Ezra could not stop flinching again which made Hera gently stroke him over the hair, just like Kanan.
"The boy has a small fever but nothing to worry about. Once he has had plenty of fluids, the temperature should drop." the droid said.
As the rest of the crew looked at him with concern, Ezra couldn't help but to blush at the attention.
"Now for oxygen and pulse, I'll place this on your finger." The droid then place a gentle clamp on Ezra's index finger. It didn't hurt but it was so bulgy and square, it looked like it may fall off. Soon it beeped, and while it made Ezra jump a bit, he was calmed when the droid took it off his finger.
"Oxygen levels are at 98%, normal for a child. Pulse is slightly elevated at 125, expected in the situation. Hopefully we can have it decrease during his time here." the droid said.
"How long am I going to stay here?" Ezra questioned, hoping it would be as long as Kanan was here.
Hera looked a little perplexed before she replied, "As long as it take for you and Kanan to get healthy."
Ezra smiled at the twilek, though his smile dropped when he felt something go around his arm.
"This will measure your blood pressure, and we should be done after that." the droid explained.
As the droid got out a stethoscope and place it under the cuff, the kid became very uncomfortable at the pressure squeezing around his arm.
"Guys?!" Ezra began to freak a little, but felt Sabine giving him some support on his back.
"Easy kid," Sabine assured him, "it will be done very shortly and we need to check your blood pressure, it will be tight for a short while and then it will stop." Sabine tried to reassure him.
That was when zeb got an idea,
"Here kid," he said as he held out his hand, "Squeeze my hand and it will make this go by quicker."
Ezra, a little shocked at the gesture, figured he might as well, so as the cuff squeezed around his arm, he squeezed the Lasat's hand.
After a few seconds, the cuff became loose. Ezra then noticed the he was squeezing the lasat's hand to the point it was turning more purple than it already was.
"Sorry," the kid apologized.
The Lasat chuckled a bit as he shook his hand in relief, "Don't worry about it. I gotta admit, you're strong for someone your size."
Ezra smiled at the comment.
The droid got its analysis. "Blood pressure is a little elevated. Should go down as he begins to relax."
"That really wasn't so bad." Ezra chirped up, happy that the crew had told him the truth about the dorid and that it didn't hurt him at all.
"Told you," Hera assured him.
As the droid left the room, Ezra began to yawn.
Hera chucked a bit, "Tired?"
Ezra shook his head no, he wanted to stay awake for Kanan's sake, but his eyes were becoming so heavy. That was when he felt gentle hands lay him down onto the soft bed.
"Get some sleep, and when you wake up, you'll be here and safe, okay kid?" Hera assured the youngling.
"Thank you for helping me" Ezra said as he peacefully fell asleep
Ezra saw the other's smiling as he fell asleep. When they did it helped to warm his heart, helping enter a restful slumber.
A/N It's concerned family time.