There's the charcoal.

"Oh he's behind the—" JJ barks out before wincing at the screen, likely indicating that he's dead.

"I got him, get off me boy!" Matt avenges JJ's death on Call of Duty before Sabine and Jaicey slip out here onto the porch.

I drop the bag of charcoal by the grill and rip the top off as the girls continue talking. "—some history class, I don't know."

"I had Walker, he's not too bad." Jaicey replies warmly. "By the book, so you'll want to do the reading. Where he goes off book is what'll be on the test."

So it'll be like my Chem class from last semester.

"What about you?" Jaicey turns around to me. "What are you taking this semester?"

I glance up from the charcoal to see both girls eying me. "Me?"

"No, your neighbor." Sabine monotones, causing Jaicey to do her best not to laugh.

I give them both an eye roll then turn back to my task at hand. "Sociology, Creative Writing for non-majors, an Intro to Programming course, a history class and a dance class."

Jaicey's face morphs from laughter to surprise. "Dance class? You're taking a dance class." She turns back to Sabine.

Yup.

I move to pour in the charcoal into the basin on my newly constructed grill, which obscures Sabine's response.

"—so you're taking this together? That's so cute."

Cute?

"We're just knocking out a pre-requisite together." Sabine says reasonably.

Jaicey sees right thru it while giving me another look. "Sure."

"Oh whatever." Sabine shakes her head then turns to me as I grab the charcoal and move it back towards the storage closet. "What's the history class Ezra?"

Uhh…

I changed it last minute. Had to get it approved before one of my duels.

"Oh no." Jaicey calls out.

"What?" Sabine turns to her, looking quite irritated.

"He's hesitating."

"Am not." I disagree while grabbing the lighter fluid.

"Am too." Jaicey pops my balloon.

Sabine crosses her arms. "How about we let him tell us what class?"

"Fine."

Both girls turn to me, and I turn to my grill and begin spraying the flammable liquid. "Ezra."

Sabine.

"I changed it. To History of Mandalore."

Instantly, the Force rings with Sabine's shock before Jaicey gives me a strange look. "Really? Why?"

"I just think it's an interesting culture. There's a lot going on there that interests me." I counter reasonably.

This'll need to sit for around five minutes.

When I turn back, Sabine's smiling widely behind Jaicey's back.

"Aren't Mandalorians the ones who have been picking fights with Jedi for like, ever? That's what genius has told me." Jaicey reveals.

"Picking fights isn't putting it right. From what I've read, they're more manipulated than anything. Which to them, is probably worse." I answer Jaicey before Sabine's expression tells me all I need to know.

She does not like that.

"Are they making you take the class?" Jaicey follows up.

I shake my head and move to lean against my balcony. "No, I just need to take a history course for the Core. I always hear the value of hearing 'different perspectives', why not get a little history of the Jedi thru an actual class."

Jaicey seems to mull this over before Sabine declares "I'm going to go get out the steaks and start prepping them."

Okay.

Sabine departs, leaving just Jaicey and I out here on the porch. "Nice place." She starts casually.

"Yeah, it's better than where I was at. More room."

I liked the other place, but near the end it felt a little cramped.

Jaicey lightly laughs before adding "Yeah, you guys need the room. Especially if she's not coming back to JJ's."

"She will at some point I'm sure."

"No she's not." She counters flippantly. "She's settled in again."

Which she's welcome to. I want her to be comfortable.

"When'd you guys start actually dating? I can't get a handle on you two."

I laugh and glance back inward towards the apartment. "We're not, no."

We're not dating.

"Oh yeah you are." Jaicey's tone turns to exasperation. "Get off it. I'm not judging, JJ and I started dating like a month before we told people."

"We're really not." I laugh.

Jaicey's head tilts before she says "So she's just been over here for what? Six, seven days now? Completely comfortable, stuff everywhere. Her art on your walls, walking around like it's her house? I bet she's got her own drawer for her clothes. And hangers."

"Nah." I shake my head.

Nobody likes living out of their suitcase. And I thought Sabine might want to hang some of her stuff up and not have to go back to her luggage multiple times a day.

"I saw your bathroom."

"I'm practical." I frown back to Jaicey.

I keep my shampoo, body wash, all that in its own little thing.

"You might be the only guy in America to have his own bathroom look more like a girls, while his stuff is in a caddy off to the side."

"She's got way more stuff than I do. And nobody likes living out of their suitcase." I try reasoning with Jaicey. "A little thing here and there to make her life easier isn't that big a deal."

Jaicey pauses, giving me another skeptical look. "I'm…I will break you. I will find out first. And if I don't, I am going to be the biggest pain in your ass you've ever had."

"That's a high bar to clear." I laugh.

"I'm serious!"

"You've got more than a few Jedi to beat. Fair warning."

"Oh I bet." Jaicey finally relaxes a bit more. "Bunch of mysterious, remote people that seem more like Sorcerers than normal people. But can get in and out of any situation and walk right by 99.9% of people with no problem?"

"Yup." I smile.

The sliding glass door opens, revealing Sabine. "Hey, can you come help me? I'm about to start."

"Sure!" Jaicey smiles before I lead the way back to the kitchen, JJ and Matt's commentary following us.

"—o get that RPG whose just fuckin' camped over there—" Matt growls.

"I'm trying!" JJ snaps right back as we pass behind them to the kitchen, where Sabine has an array of seasonings out, along with aluminum foil.

Sabine spins back to us. "I don't know what you guys like. So I figured you might want to prep it yourselves."

And timing.

I don't really want to use both gas and charcoal, because it'll be cooking unevenly on two sides.

Plus it's my first time really using this thing. I don't want it to explode.

"I know what Princess likes. And he's gotta be hungry." Jaicey takes initiative and grabs the container Sabine bought from the store yesterday labeled 'Montreal Steak Seasoning'."

"I thought he played well." Sabine smiles and turns to me.

"He played today right?" I ask.

Jaicey nods while turning over the container, only for nothing to come out and for her to make a face. "Oh, it's new."

"Yeah." Sabine helps me out. "Won by like eighteen, JJ dropped in a few threes."

"Finally played some defense for the first time in his life!" Jaicey needles her boyfriend.

I don't think she likes how he's acting right now.

We're working while they're playing.

"I always play defense!" JJ defends himself. "Defense is hard!"

"Defense is about timing and positioning…" Jaicey begins seasoning one of the steaks. "And knowing your opponent. It's a skill."

Jaicey's really good at defense.

"Positioning?" I play dumb.

"Yeah." Jaicey nods as Sabine's eye wavers. "You can be two or three inches shorter, or twenty pounds lighter. If we're playing soccer, and I beat you to the spot, forcing a pass, then I win. That's good defense."

Sabine suddenly turns towards the fridge before Jaicey adds "That wasn't a shot at you."

"I try. I always try my best to play good defense." Sabine says defensively.

"You're a winger. The best center forwards don't play lock down defense all the time. You'll get there."

"I'm missing something." I comment.

Jaicey turns back to me. "All Freshmen have a hard time playing team defense, or defense in general. Most of the time it doesn't matter because they can't get any PT."

But Sabine's good enough to force her way to play.

"PT?"

"Playing time." Sabine helps me out. "Everybody says experience is the best teacher."

"It is." Jaicey amends Sabine's statement. "I, like most everybody else, got to sit for a year and train. Our bodies, our minds, and just learn. You got thrown into the fire. You watch 'B, things will slow down as soon as you're back out there here in a few days."

"You're starting back up in a few days?" I parrot Jaicey.

Jaicey nods. "Technically they're 'voluntary' workouts, but anybody worth a damn knows they're mandatory. No coaches, just us practicing."

"How useful is it if there's no coaches?" I ask.

"Very." Jaicey sets the seasoning down and grabs the sea salt. "We all know the practice plans by heart by now anyway, we can run them ourselves. Practice makes perfect, and more practice means every inch and shows up when you're tied and pressing in the 90th minute." She finishes before turning back to me. "Aren't you…going to prep yours?"

"I was going to let Sabine do that." I say, then turn back and see that Sabine's washing the asparagus.

"Oh. Okay." She slowly smiles.

It still bugs her how last year ended.

"Relax. You're fine. I bet that you're going to have to do some running, start off on the bench. But we couldn't keep you down last year and you were her for six weeks. I hate to see what you're going to be able to do in six months." Jaicey reassures Sabine. "This new guy shouldn't be all bad. And if he is, I'll tell you how to play him."

"How would you know?" Sabine asks, diverting her attention from the sink.

"He emailed me around Christmas. Wants me, Sarah and Bri over to his house. Meet his family, get to know us, all that." Sabine's Force Signature rattles before she looks back to the asparagus.

"You'll be fine." I smile.

"Yeah. See?" I can feel Jaicey smile behind me. "You'll be fine. If anything, you'll be great because I've been running you to death."

"Running her to death?" I turn back to Jaicey.

Jaicey just happily smiles back at me. "Yeah. Can't have her looking like she's sat on her ass since October."

"I haven't sat on my ass since September!" Sabine protests. "I never stopped working out, even after they pulled my codes from the bubble!"

"The bubble?"

"Inflated practice facility where all sports minus football can go lift, work out, et cetera after hours." Jaicey doesn't look up during her explanation.

"So I ran circles around everybody at the Rec. getting hit on in the process." Sabine finishes her point.

Getting WHAT?!

"How'd that go?" Jaicey quips before shooting me a sly look.

Oh whatever.

Sabine breathes thru her nose and grabs the nozzle in the corner of my sink before I hear JJ approach. "Hey babe, how can I help?"

"We're good. For now. Until you tell Ezra how you want your steak."

"I can cook my own steak, no big deal." JJ smiles at Jaicey, then shoots a look our way.

I shake my head to dismiss the idea. "Nah, I need to get used to the grill, so I need to cook. Why, what's so special about how he likes it cooked?"

Jaicey smiles ever so slightly before JJ gives me an anxious look. "I…like my steaks cooked a little bit more than usual."

"You like ruining a perfectly good steak?!" Matt cries out from the other room. "What kind of a monster are you?"

"Well done?" Sabine appears at my shoulder, almost sounding horrified.

"And he likes ketchup with it." Jaicey adds.

"Oh my—"

Matt makes a horrified shrieking sound before I turn to JJ. "Yeah, okay. You can cook yours then. I'm not destroying your food."

Who the hell cooks a steak well done?!

"Get outta here." Jaicey shoves JJ out of the kitchen. "Go play your game."

Sabine grumbles beside me as JJ returns to the living room. "I wouldn't have spent so much at the butcher if I'd known that…"

"Butcher? You didn't just go to like Whole Foods or something?" Jaicey asks her.

"No. I went down to the Farmers Market in Santa Monica. Way better quality."

"Okay, but why?"

Because Sabine likes that sort of stuff.

I smile to myself, getting Sabine's attention and garnering a smile out of her as well.

Opening the door to the hallway, I step outside and instantly spot Ahsoka stand up from off the bench across from the doorway.

"Master." I nod respectfully.

"Come with me." She requests after me.

Sure.

I do as I'm told before following up "Is there something wrong?"

"Anakin just wants to run you thru a few tests on your knee before you go fight today."

"My knee's fine." I turn and smile at Master Tano. "Same as it's been the last few days."

"The HealerCorps stated otherwise when you get your MRI. Results were inconclusive, but the swelling should have gone down and the mobility should have returned if nothing is seriously damaged."

"We never know how exactly I will heal." I counter.

I'm the one with the modified genetics, remember.

"Under almost all other circumstances your recoveries have been accelerated. Anakin believes, and I agree with him, that the anomaly here is a sign of damage." Master Tano preaches.

"I'm fine." I try again as we board an elevator.

Master Tano smirks as the doors close, then turns to me. "We know why you're saying this. You want to fight."

"I want to advance to the knockout rounds." I correct her.

And put to rest any and all doubts about my abilities.

Since the only way I've convinced them that I belong here in the Order is thru martial skill, then that's what I'll do.

Demonstrate my martial skill.

Dad would be proud.

"You have nothing left to prove Ezra. You demonstrated your prodigious skills and abilities, pairing them with an aptitude for the Force. If you're injured…you should allow your body to heal."

"I would, if I was seriously hurt." I counter once again. "But I'm not, I'm fine."

I've been walking around, living my life with no real problems ever since my last fight. Took it easy like they asked me to.

I'll advance past this fight, then we can do another MRI and all the tests they want afterward.

The Force around Master Tano rings with her irritation before the lift doors open again, and she takes a left hand turn before leading me into an oft-used training room. As I walk in, I spot Kanan, Cayle, Masters Kenobi and Skywalker along with a man in a white coat making small talk to Master Kenobi.

Hmm.

I pivot slightly on my heel, to where my Force Probe told me there was another person here, only to be greeted by the sight of…

Who the hell is this supposed to be?

Master Dooku is sitting quietly in a chair, off to the side. Whereas there's…a curly headed man in dress clothes, lacking a tie and somehow managing to pull off the look sloppily.

And why are you here?

"Ezra." I hear Master Skywalker call out to me. Politely, I turn back and smile.

"Master."

"This is Dr. Glousman, from the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic here in Los Angeles. He's one of the best knee specialists in the country." Master Skywalker makes the introductions before Dr. Glousman extends his hand to me.

"Pleasure."

"Nice to meet you sir." I reply with a smile and a nod.

The Force alerts me to the man behind me as his anxiety level spikes suddenly.

He must know I'm here now. Not absorbed into his own little world over there.

"—appreciate you taking the time to come down and look at him, Doctor." Master Kenobi adds.

Dr. Glousman replies with a smile. "It's not often when you're asked to come assist with an injured Jedi. Can't pass an opportunity like that up."

"Very true." Master Skywalker smirks.

We usually keep everything in house. Which means they're more concerned then they're letting on.

"Before we begin." I raise my hand, garnering everyone's attention before I spin back. "Who is that?"

"That…" Master Kenobi says, weight disguised in his voice. "Is a member of President Palpatine's administration. He dispatched him here for today."

Palpatine's Administration?

I snap turn on my heels back to the man, only for him to already be advancing to greet me and hurriedly come to a screeching halt while his eyes widen in fear.

You're afraid of me.

I bet this dude's whole body would disintegrate with one solid punch.

Wimp.

"John…nice to meet you." The man says before moving to shake my hand. I return the gesture, then turn back to the others.

"Why's he here?"

Kenobi and Tano look to each other before Master Kenobi says "Can you explain to him why you're here?"

"Yeah, sure, yeah." The man squeaks out, having moved to retreat back to his peaceful little corner. "The, uhm, The President requested that I stop by today and observe today's proceedings."

Today's proceedings…he wants a gauge on how well I can fight.

"This part got left out last time." I remark to the Masters.

"Oh it wasn't." Master Tano reassures me. "President Palpatine just flexed after getting approval to run for his third term."

I smirk at the acidity in her voice before I turn back to the President's lapdog. "So you're here to report on me."

"Not report." He pipes up again. "Just observe."

"Right." I roll my eyes, then turn back to the others. "I will not agree to becoming a political pawn for Palpatine to wield to his benefit. I won't stand for it."

"We're not involved in his dealings." Master Skywalker glowers.

"He's not asking you to." The man behind me interjects.

I roll my eyes to the Jedi in front of me. "I just want to continue doing what I'm doing right now. That's all. I don't want any part of this."

"Pardon my intrusion Master Jedi, what is it that he's doing?" Dr. Glousman asks. "It could have exacerbated his injury."

"That's doubtful." Master Kenobi replies. "He's currently attending the University of Southern California and just wrapped a very successful fall semester."

Dr. Glousman, to my surprise smiles. "That's wonderful. I enjoyed my time there before moving onto medical school."

"Good school, I enjoy it too." I play nice.

The good doctor smiles before crossing his arms while Cayle bypasses all of us, walking towards Palpatine's lackey. "Two quick questions, before I begin: One, Your request mentioned a special individual with a unique circumstance. Am I correct in assuming that this…is Lord Vader?"

Easy…

I release a breath thru my nose as Master Kenobi nods. "You are."

"That certainly would explain the anomalous results on the MRI, if the file you've compiled is accurate here." Dr. Glousman muses. "The easiest ways to determine if there is an injury is to run you thru a few quick tests."

The doctor then turns to me. "Does that work for you?"

"Yes." I nod, then add. "Is patient confidentiality still in play here?"

Better be. Or I'm leaving since thy divulged who I am.

"Of course." He reassures me, before I confirm with the Force.

Alright.

"Let's start out by having you lie down over here on this table…can I call you Ezra?"

"Yeah?"

I prefer when I used to be just a guy.

"Okay Ezra. Just lie down, these tests aren't too constrictive." He assures me as I walk over to the table he's pointed out. "Now which knee is it?"

"Left knee."

"Please roll up the leg of those pants then." He requests. "This…is just a tibia test. Take a deep breath."

Doing as I'm told, the doctor puts his left hand under my thigh, and his right hand on my leg before— "Just relax…"

Dr. Glousman slightly pulls down on my leg, only for my stomach instantly to shrivel up and for me to feel miserable.

Oh jeez.

"There's a lot of excess fluid in his knee. And I'm getting increased forward translation as well." He states matter of factly. "You're uncomfortable, aren't you."

"I'm fine, do your job." I release some of the pain from the pit of my stomach out into the Force.

The doctor nods, then gently yet deliberately shifts his hands toward my calf and my ankle. "Now continue to breathe, I'm going to slowly flex your hip passively about thirty degrees. What I'm looking for is instability…"

He moves my leg where it needs to be, then gradually flexes—

Oh no.

My knee—

Dr. Glousman's face tenses slightly before moving to repeat the motion.

It moved. The inside of my damn knee moved. And if it's moving, that by definition is unstable. Which means—

As he rotates my hip and knee again, I turn to the side and grit my teeth slightly in discomfort while willing myself not to groan in pain.

This is not comfortable at all.

"I'm sorry this is causing you pain Ezra." He apologizes.

"Just doing your job…" I dismiss his concerns again before probing with the Force.

Dammit, they know.

Dooku, Skywalker, Tano, Kenobi. Even Cayle.

They know I'm actually hurt.

"One final test, if you'll stand up for me Ezra…" He requests me. I do as he asks, throwing some extra energy into my actions.

"Jog back and worth a few times for me Ezra."

Alright.

I pivot, then spot the furthest two points in the room and begin jogging up to the next wall before tagging it and making my way back to everyone.

One.

Starting off again, I force my mind away from my knee before I tag the wall again.

Easy.

This time as I make my way back to them, Dr. Glousman is holding his hands up, indicating that I should stop.

"Now I need you to move laterally for me in a shuffle."

Great.

I do as I'm told, deliberately starting off to my right. My first step is fine, my second one is as well before I land too heavily on my knee on the third, only for it to wobble.

Ignore it.

Now back.

I halt my momentum, then start back to my left and—

No—

NO!

Two shuffles in, I break it off and hobble on one leg for a step before gingerly putting my left leg back down.

I can't do it.

The pit in my stomach only widens to envelop me as I snatch my lightsaber up off my belt, then angrily Push it straight to the back wall.

I can't do it.

The normal clattering noise follows just before Cayle rushes over to me. "You good?"

"I…I can't do it." I hiss quietly, and Cayle puts his arm around my shoulder. "I still can't move laterally to my left."

At all.

DAMMIT!

With a snap of my wrist, I recall my lightsaber to my hand and clip it back to my belt with ease before Cayle guides me back to Dr. Glousman and the others. Averting everyone's eyes, I look to the doctor, who is sizing up my left leg again.

"You can't really flex it either." He states as a fact, instead of a question. "Your right knee flexes normally. But you're flat-footed with your left."

"I…guess." I shrug.

I'm just trying to walk over here.

"Respectfully Masters, you need to keep a closer eye on this one here." Dr. Glousman tells Masters Tano, Skywalker, Kenobi and Kanan. "I've never had a patient make it thru two full jogs, and a shuffle, then for the issue to arise. His tolerance for pain is extreme. I'd go as far to say excessive to the point of damaging."

"What do you think, Doctor?" Kanan asks simply.

"My initial diagnosis is a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the knee. He'll need another MRI to confirm, assuming that the fluid and swelling in his knee don't obscure the image too much this time."

"Can he damage it any further?" Master Skywalker asks.

"The ligament? No. I believe that it's pretty shot. It's a minor miracle he's getting around half as well as he is. There is a substantial risk to damage to the other ligaments in his knee, as well as the meniscus without repairing it with surgery."

Surgery…

My lightsaber vanishes from my belt, off to my right before Master Tano asks "How quickly should be do the operation if all this pans out to be true?"

"As soon as possible." He states. "I can fit him in tomorrow at the Clinic if you can get him there."

"Tomorrow?" I repeat, my voice suddenly coming out hoarse.

I have plans for tomorrow!

Sabine wants to go shopping on some Drive and drag me along. It'll be boring, but I'm sure that I'll find something to entertain me.

If nothing else I'll tease Sabine. And we'll get lunch or dinner there.

"Yes." Dr. Glousman turns to me somberly. "I'm afraid so."

Master Dooku appears by my side as Master Kenobi states "We have a MRI machine here in the Temple. Would you like to dictate the scans you'll need?"

"That would be ideal."

Master Skywalker waves before adding "Follow me."

The room begins to empty as Cayle pivots me to follow, leaving just us, Dooku and Palpatine's boy. "Come." Master Dooku dictates to me.

"Yes Master." I sigh, then start towards the door.