Hi everyone sorry for the late update. There is some more mother Hera moments as requested. Yes we do take requests, if they fit into the story. Enjoy all our wonderful readers both new and old. Also we have reupdated and added a little more to the old chapters to make it fit with the imprisonment of Kanan.

Hera walked into the common room and was just exhausted; especially after the night watch with Ezra. Though in spite of being so tired, Hera had to admit, Ezra was the sweetest kid she had ever met. Hera just wished he was more open with them, but did not hold this against the kid. The poor thing had been through such horrid torment at such a young age, so of course he is a little cautious with them, he was scared they crew would hurt him too. It made the pilots stomach turn at the thought of the Empire being so cruel to him.

Hera knew she and the crew would face worse if they were captured, but they were grown adults (well mostly if one didn't count Sabine). Ezra on the other hand was a mere child, and never did anything to warrant him being hunted down like an animal. Everyone on the crew had at least accepted both the decision and risk of the rebellion, while Ezra had just been forced into it. The thought made her blood boil in anger at how the Empire would do that to a child. Hera though took a moment to calm herself, because what was important was that Ezra was with them and they were going to help him.

Over the past weeks, Hera was able to slowly piece together what Ezra had to experience, and it was not a pretty picture. Hera had asked Zeb, Ahsoka and Sabine to meet her in the Common room of the Ghost. Hera wanted to tell what Ezra had offered to her last night, and wanted to see if any other information they had collected could give them a better idea of who Ezra was. Hera sat down, leaning back as she closed her eyes while waiting on the others, she just wanted to rest...

"Hera... Hera wake up" called a female from besides her.

Hera groggily opened her eyes and found Ashoka right next to her along with Zeb and Sabine.

"Hera are you okay?" Ahsoka asked worried.

Knowing that she could not lie to Ashoke she nodded.

"I am, but it was a long night. Ezra had another nightmare and it took a while to help him get to sleep again," Hera let out a tired yawn before he pointed out, "So I'm just a little tired," Hera answered as she rubbed the tiredness from her eyes.

There was a collective sigh from the others when she finished, they hated that Ezra was having such a hard time. All three of them has had long sleepless nights when the nightmares plagued the poor boy. They wanted him to be a happy child, not one plagued with nightmares.

"Hera you called us here?" Ahsoka asked gently, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Yes, I think we should try to find out what really happened with Ezra and Kanan. Ezra told me something that is rather... unsettling," Hera summed up.

All three of them looked worried at her and Hera sighted.

"Ezra told me his parents were gone," Hara hesitantly revealed to them.

Ahsoka and Sabine had a sad expression on her face,

"How?" Sabine asked.

"Ezra said that Kallus and other imperials took them." Hera told them.

Zeb then looked furious and smashed his hand in the wall, "When I get my hands on that man" Zeb snapped.

None of them could find the heart to argue against that. They were all angry that Kallus would take a child's parents.

"Wait, does that mean they are gone, or imprisoned?" asked Sabine.

"I don't know. Ezra was so upset that I did not have the heart push him for anything further. It is obviously a painful subject" Hera answered.

Sabine took the datapad she had used earlier and typed in 'parents gone or imprisoned by Kallus'.

"I am starting to piece together that it's possible that he was being trained" Sabine said.

"What makes you think that Sabine?" Ahsoka asked.

"When I found Ezra having a nightmare, he kept asking for forgiveness, saying he did not mean to and it was not him that did it. After he woke up, he would not say a word until I convinced him that he was allowed to speak.

"Ezra was completely surprised I wanted him to talk and said that 'they had taught him he was only to speak if spoken to.' That is very standard imperial protocol you speak only when spoken to. Small talk does not exist and conversations is for purpose only unless you are high ranking enough. I hate to say it but he fits the match of someone being trained by the empire" Sabine said in a low voice.

"I heard worse from him, he told me he was not allowed to eat without having earned it, that's probably why he is so thin. Ezra thought I would order him to train before he could have any food, he even tried to crawl out of the bed when I gave it to him. The kid looked at the food with sad eyes like it was not really meant for him. When I convinced him he could just have it he ate like he had been starved for ages" Zeb mentioned

There was silence for some time while they all reflected on this. The thought of Ezra starving, imprisoned and forced to train was awful but not one that could be overlooked. It was Ahsoka that formed the question none of them wanted to ask and even less wanted to answer.

"So if he was trained, what was he trained for and by whom?"

All three of them were quiet until Sabine said what no one wanted to hear.

"If he was trained by the Inquisitors, and he is force sensitive, I think that solves what he was being trained for."

All four of them winced by the thought of Ezra being trained by Inquisitors, to be one. It opened a whole new level of problems. Like what it meant for Kanan, Ezra and the crew. What had the kid been forced to while imprisoned.

"I don't think he was on the base for too long," Zeb said.

"Why would you say that Zeb?" asked Hera.

"The kid told me he had not had a good meal since living on the streets, that he had to steal whatever he could just to survive. The kid must of been on the streets for 2 years" Zeb said.

How much worse could this be? First his parents are taken, then he ends up on the streets, only to be imprisoned at the hands of the Inquisitor's".

"So if we put all this together the most likely story would be that Ezra's parents were arrested. This is how Ezra ended up on the streets. That is where he is until he is captured by Kallus, imprisoned and trained by the Inquisitors" Zeb summed up.

All four of them reflected on it. None of them liked it but it was the most logical guess and without further information they did not really have anything else to go by. Suddenly Ahsoka shuttered and straighten up like something was hitting her, a moment later she relaxed but they all saw it.

"Perhaps," Ahsoka admitted before she turned to Hera, "Would you mind coming with me to see Ezra?"

Hera smiled, "Of course Ahsoka."

Soon the two women headed to the medbay to see their little patient, leaving Zeb and Sabine to think over what they pieced together about Ezra.

SWR

Once again, Ezra's nightmare's woke him from slumber. Ezra was panting as he sat in his warm bed, though shaking from the nightmare he had experienced. Like every time he fell asleep, he would wake up from that awful nightmare where he did it...it was to horrible to think of. Especially with how Kanan was still not out of the wood's quite yet.

As Kanan thought of the man, Ezra glanced over and saw the unconscious Kanan. It made Ezra feel better seeing him there. When Ezra saw Kanan alive, it made him feel at ease knowing Kanan was still there, and that he hadn't done the horrendous deed. Ezra hoped Kanan would be okay soon, it would make him feel a little better about being on the ship. Though Ezra was slowly starting to like being on the ship with the crew.

Ezra's thoughts went to the crew. The crew were the only good thing about being stuck on the ship. First he thought of Sabine and how she gently woke him from that awful nightmare. Sabine hadn't mind him asking questions and even showed him where to take a shower, and even helped him out when he was done. Ezra could not remember the last time someone had wanted to help him or strike up a conversation with him. With the Empire, it was alway 'do this, do that, don't talk unless spoken to', or people just ignored the street rat ezra was all together. The bath had been wonderful and for the first time in forever he felt clean. It wasn't that they even let him get clean, they fed him too.

Zeb had come with food and didn't even ask for anything in return, the Lasat had actually protested when he had tried to leave bed. It was wonderful to be allowed to rest and not using his legs despite them being sprained. It had been painful to be forced to walk despite the sprain, it had sometimes been used as a mean to punish him and Kallus had liked to drag him around despite the status of the kid's legs. Zeb on the other hand actually was concerned for Ezra. Heck Zeb had even warned him he would end up sick if he ate to fast. That had been rather difficult to do as most shop owners would run after him when he stole from them and Kallus would snatch his plate from him if he wasn't fast enough when he finally was feed. To his big surprise Zeb had also wanted to talk with him. Like he was actually a person. However; As nice as Zeb and Sabine was the one he liked the most was Hera, she almost felt like a second mother.

Hera's kind words and gentle strokes and she always seem like she wanted to be there for him. Hera had been sitting with him through the nights and had some days brought him food and talked to him. Never once had he felt any anger or negativity from her. Hera was a person who carried a lot of love and she had been kind enough to share it with him. The crew had even forgiven him when he had been causing problems when he tried to ran away.

Yet how long would it last when they found out what he had done. As much as he wanted Kanan to wake up, he knew that Kanan would tell, and when he did, it would mean his doom. Panic seemed to cripple him at the thought of them knowing. Would they look him up and beat him like the Grand Inquisitor? Or would they kick him out and refuse to have anything to do with him? Send him back to the street or worse back to the Inquisitor? Yet did he deserve anything else? After all he nearly had killed Kanan. His finger had been on the trigger, he had been tempted to shoot, he had wanted to shoot him to save himself, how could he be so selfish?

Kanan had brought him to safety, his friends were nice to him and they still had no idea they harbored what had almost been Kanan's murderer. How could Ezra ever expect them to forgive that? Ezra was no better than the Inquisitor, he did not deserve these kind people's help. After all, what was he besides an almost executioner?

Tears filled his eyes of the thought of how much they would hate him if they knew his real purpose. Ezra looked at Kanan and saw his whipping marks almost had disappeared. Those mark Kanan had received because of him. It was because of him that Kanan had them he nearly had been killed by the whipping. The Inquisitor had certainly done what he could to make him pay.

Maybe if he begged Kanan, he wouldn't tell them. After all he had refused to kill him. Kanan owes him. But No matter how many times he tried to convince himself that he was good by not killing Kanan, he knew that their was still some bad in him from trying to kill the Inquisitor on the ship. Perhaps he deserved what ever punishment the crew would eventually give him. It made his heart drop at the thought of not only losing this crew of nice people, but the gain of Ezra's permanent resentment as well.

Ezra laid down as he looked upon Kana. Ezra thought of how he could convince Kanan to let their secret remain as such, but Ezra couldn't focus. Maybe it was the exhaustion from the many sleepless nights, but his eyes became heavier. Despite his worry, soon slumber took over the boy once more.

SWR

As Hera and Ahsoka boarded the Phoenix Squadron's ship, Hera stroked up the conversation.

"You haven't seen Ezra since finding him, huh?" Hera assumed, knowing Ahsoka was bringing her for support not only for her, but for Ezra as well.

Ahsoka chuckled before admitting, "Figured after our last meeting, I might not be his favorite person. Thought I would bring you for backup, since he seems fond of you."

Hera though knew there was more, "So, what's the other reason?"

Ahsoka sighed, knowing she couldn't hide the truth from Hera.

"You know a little about what these nightmares. I hope I can use what you know to help them. Plus Ezra needs help; I can sense him constantly radiating with guilt, I never sensed one with such grieving emotions before.

Hera was puzzled, "Them...guilt?"

Ahsoka nodded as she continued, "Kanan might be in a coma, but even unconscious force people can sense others. Over the past few weeks, I have been able to sense them; both their dreams and emotions are intertwined, connected. Right now Ezra is feeling immensely guilty over something but I can't tell what"

Hera eyes widened in shock.

"Did that time in the prison really make Kanan so close to the kid; and how can we help with Ezra feeling guilty" Hera pondered.

"Rather it been since Kanan was imprisoned, or even if it was just a day, the to have clearly bonded. The two escaped together, stress and common goals tend to create the strongest of friends. Kanan and Ezra though are closer than they realize. Ezra without knowing it, is experience the same night terror's as Kanan is. Possibly of their escape or what they experienced while imprisoned."

Ahsoka let Hera sink it in, she knew Hera was concerned for the two, and had to absorb it so she could help the two human's.

Ahsoka continued, "The two are suffering from severe anxiety because of these nightmares. It is eating at them. I believe once we know what the nightmare is, it can help them heal."

Hera nodded her head in agreement, she knew Ahsoka knew more about this force stuff than she did. Hera just hoped they could figure it out soon, and help the poor child surely it was not his fault whatever he was upset about.

Soon the two ladies got to the medbay.

To their surprise they found Ezra asleep curled up in the bed. Hera could only glance at the peaceful child for a moment before she caught a horrible sight; in the tank she noticed Kanan twitching, having a spasm.

"Kanan" she cried out in horror and rushed over to the tank.

Hera began to panic for the man when a gentle hand rested on her shoulder.

"It is okay Hera, it is a spasm. In the coma, Kanan cannot fully register the pain, at least not while he is in the bacta tank," Ahsoka rationalized.

Hera took a deep breath to calm her nerves"I know, but it is so hard to see it"

Hera then noticed Ahsoka looking back over to Ezra, the Torguta's eyes widened.

"Ahsoka?" Hera asked with worry.

"Hera look," Ahsoka spoke up with some puzzling concern .

Hera followed her line of sight and saw that Ezra was tossing around on the bed, and crying.

"Not him too" Hera pleaded tiredly as the two made their way to the boy.

"Hera, it is their bond; it's so strong that when one of them is in pain the other responds to it" Ahsoka explained in amazement at what she was witnessing. It had been a long time since the former padawan saw such a strong connection through the force.

Hera though, seeing the boy face scrunched in terror and sweating as he tossed in his slumber, had to gently wake the child.

"Ezra wake up," Hera gently ordered as she shook the boy's shoulder, "Come on Ezra, please wake up for me."

It took a few moments, but eventually, Ezra stopped tossing and his face calmed down. As Ezra's breathing mellowed, the boy's eyes slowly opened; showing Hera and Ahsoka that the boy was awake and calm.

Ezra began to rub his eyes from sleep as he smiled to Hera, "Hera? What's going on?"

Ezra then saw Ahsoka and his smile fell. Ezra clung to Hera's overalls as he gave Ahsoka the death glare.

"What is she doing here?" Ezra firmly questioned.

Hera spoke up, "Ahsoka is just here to check in on you. I promise she won't do anything to you, okay?"

Ezra looked up and saw Hera's honest look before he smiled weakly and replied, "You'll be here while she's here right?"

Hera smiled at the boy, "Right."

Despite the boy's smile, Ahsoka was not fooled, she knew he was hiding his guilt from the two in the moment. Ahsoka suddenly felt Ezra being much more difficult to sense. Like he was hiding behind shields but that was impossible; only years of training could help a force sensitive build up a mental shield from other force user's. This made Ahsoka question the boy's raw power, and if he did have some other form of training,

As Hera sat next to Ezra, the boy decided to use the twi'lek as a barrier between him and the Torguta.

Ahsoka spoke up, "I just wanted to tell you Ezra, that I am truley sorry I was resorted to knocking you out like that when we first met.

"That was a mean trick," Ezra pouted

Ahsoka chuckled at that point, "Yes, it was, but to be fair kid, if I didn't ease your mind, you'd of passed out a few seconds anyways. I know you are smart enough to realize you were so exhausted from your's and Kanan's escape that you were using what energy you had left to fight. I only did so to help you both; which even you realize did in fact assist both Kanan healing and yourself with getting better.

Ashoka saw the boy's scowl leave his face as he thought over Ahsoka's words.

Ahsoka sighed for a bit to ease her mind, "I know I put you in a weakened state, but maybe I can make up for it by helping you overcome what troubling you."

Ezra seemed a little taken back by what she meant.

"What do you mean?" Ezra asked nervously.

Hera decided to explain, "Well, Ahsoka and us are worried about some of the nightmare's you've been having."

Ezra didn't face them as he responded, and tensed as he replied, "There just stupid dreams."

Ahsoka stepped in, "They may be stupid, but these dreams are stressful for you and Kanan is responding to it."

Ezra looked up at the women in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Ahsoka explained gently, "Well it seems like when you have fit's of these nightmare's, Kanan can sense them. That is what we believe is causing Kanan all these spasam's."

Ezra, shocked, looked up at the unconscious man in the tank before he responded.

"Kanan can sense the nightmares I have? How?" the kid asked nervously.

Ahsoka nodded her head, "We believe so. When you have these nightmares, he seems to suffer spasms at the same time; so I …" Ahsoka said.

Before Ahsoka could finish her explanation, Ezra began shaking like a leaf, sobbing at the idea.

Hera rubbed Ezra's back for reassurance.

"It's okay Ezra, breath. Take some deep breaths" Hera waited for Ezra to calm his breathing before she continued, "That's why we're here. Ahsoka wants to help figure out how to get these nightmare's to go away."

"But they won't go away!" Ezra cried out as his anxiety increased, "They won't cause if Kanan is sensing them too... then it means I scared… him... that he hates me!" Ezra was almost hyperventilating between his words.

Ahsoka though sense it, the fear that was radiating from the child, it sent chills through her bones.

Ahsoka tried to calm him down, "Ezra we know that Kanan doesn't hate you, I sense it in him, he is just scared for you."

Ezra eyes began to water up. "No, he hate me" Ezra cried louder at the thought.

"Easy Ezra try to relax it is not good for you to be so upset" Hera tried to sooth him.

Yet when Hera tried to sooth him, his distress only seemed to grow. Ezra shook his head and started to completely break down. Among the sobs there were words like 'hates me', 'don't deserve it', 'I deserve to be punished, 'I am sorry' and 'I almost did it'.

Hera and Ahsoka looked distraught at each other. Hera hugged Ezra, stroking him and trying to sooth his nerves to no avail. Ezra continued to cry harder and his sobbing and mumbling became even worse.

Ahsoka was unsure of what she could do so she tried to send comfort through the force. However, As Ahsoka tried to connect to the force, she sensed a signature that wasn't Ezra's. Ezra gasped and looked up. Ahsoka and Hera looked to what Ezra was looking at. Kanan's eyes were opened; the man was awake, and seemed to be having a panic attack by how he was thrashing.

Ahsoka grabbed the comlink, "WE NEED MEDICS IN THE MED ROOM STAT!"

Just like lightning medics both human and droid came in to get Kanan out of the tank and stabilized onto a gurney. Hera was by his side as he was being assisted, assuring him everything was okay. But, in the commotion to tend to the Jedi, no one saw the freaked out child. They did not see how Ezra crept out of the room, leaving with tears streaming down his face, knowing now that the truth was going to come out, and the crew would be out for vengeance against him.

A/N We are sorry for the cliff hanger there will be more tension in the next chapter which we will try to get out a little faster than this.