"Now, if my crew is willing, I would be fine with taking in Ezra, if that is fine with you. We could take care of him until we find a safe place for him to live," Hera told Tseebo, hoping that he would agree. It was obvious that this man had not been the best guardian to Ezra. Though she didn't know much about parenting, she knew the crew could do a better job at raising the boy than he could.
"That is fine." Tseebo seemed unconcerned with the thought of handing the boy over to strangers.
"Alright, before I check with the others, I want a little bit of information about Ezra first."
"Of course. I know the basics about him."
"What were his parents' names?"
"Ephraim and Mira Bridger."
"When is Ezra's birthday?"
"He was born on Empire Day."
"Are there any items we can bring with us that belong to Ezra?"
"Yes, I can ask the boy to gather up the things he wants to keep."
"What is a good communication code that we can contact you with if we have any further questions about Ezra?"
"I will write down my code for you." Tseebo leapt up to grab something to write on.
"Did you save the videos of Ezra's torture?" Hera asked. Kanan glanced at her, unsure of why she would want to know.
"They are saved automatically on my system," Tseebo told her.
"Can you collect them and send them to me? I would like to make sure that we can help Ezra through his time with the empire. We may not be able to do that if we don't know anything about what he has gone through."
"Yes, that will take me a few weeks, but I will get them to you."
"Much appreciated," Kanan said, understanding why Hera wanted those videos. They would be very painful to watch, but should Ezra need their help through his time with the empire, the crew needed to be equipped to help.
"You are doing a very kind thing for me. I could never give Ezra the life he deserved, and I believe with you two, the boy could be really happy. Thank you."
Kanan and Hera didn't expect this from the Rodian, but they appreciated it.
"I will send Ezra back in for his things and to say goodbye," Hera said, following Kanan out the door.
When Ezra was back in the house, Hera filled Zeb and Sabine in on what was going on.
"If we all agree, we are going to take in Ezra. Tseebo is not the best guardian for him to have, and I believe we can protect and help him."
"I'm for it," Kanan said. He was a bit nervous about taking in the child, but he knew this was Ezra's best chance for now. Though he had reservations about Ezra's force training, he knew Ezra had only been trained for three months. This training could be easily reversed and used for good if both Ezra and Kanan were willing and trusted each other. Kanan knew he would have to figure all of that out in time, but right now he was ready to take in the orphan boy who needed a family.
"I heard what that man was saying and I think we can treat Ezra better than that. I'm for it, as well," Sabine said.
"Zeb?" Hera asked. The Lasat looked a little weary before answering.
"We're rebels. We can't just take in a kid," he started.
"It may be temporary. I will contact Fulcrum about finding a safe place for Ezra to stay," Hera tried to explain.
"Okay, I'm for it, as long as the kid doesn't run away from me everywhere I go. Also, no guarantee that I won't accidentally step on 'im. He's really short, about the size of a kit." Zeb finally agreed.
"Well, if you haven't stepped on a kit, then you should have no problem with Ezra." Sabine reasoned.
"Who ever said I've never stepped on a kit?"
Sabine was about to answer when Hera told them, "Enough you two. Kanan, do you want to tell Ezra?"
"Sure," He said, walking back into the house.
All Hera had told Ezra was that he should pack up the things he wanted to keep. Ezra was both nervous and excited about where he was going to live. He hoped he got to live with the rebels. They were very nice, even though they had scary Zeb and a Hera-said-was-good-but-still-might-be-bad droid. Ezra loved Uncle Tseebo, but he didn't want to put him in danger. And the rebels seemed much more...enthusiastic to take care of him than Tseebo ever did. Ezra just wondered how long the enthusiasm would last. He would try to be on his best behavior, but trouble seemed to follow him wherever he went.
Ezra picked up his stuffed loth cat his mother made him and energy slingshot that his father gave him on his third birthday. Tseebo had given him a small bag to gather everything up in, but that was about all he had.
"Do not forget your clothes, Ezra." Tseebo brought out a box of Ezra's belongings that he had kept, just in case Ezra ever returned. Much of the clothing was too small for Ezra, but he grabbed his hoodie that had been a bit too big when his parents had bought it for him - that would still fit for a while. He searched through the remaining clothes, seeing if anything else fit. There were three shirts, two pairs of pants, and a handful of socks and underwear. Ezra decided to pack the clothing, even if they wouldn't fit - they were all he had.
At the bottom of the box was a quilt that his mother had made him. It was blue and had stars stitched into it to look like space. There was a big circle rebel's crest in the middle. Ezra remembered the quilt and hugged it close to him.
"I believe that is all you had, Ezra," Tseebo told him.
By the time Ezra had stuffed everything besides the quilt into his bag, Kanan had made his way back into the room. He came up to Ezra and knelt down to look him in the eye.
"Ezra, you are going to come live with us on the Ghost for a while, how does that sound?" Ezra gave Kanan a huge, excited smile and nod in response. "Now, say goodbye to Tseebo, it may be a while before you see him again."
Ezra slowly approached the Rodian and gave him a tentative hug on the legs. The Rodian patted the boy's hair and then said, "Good luck, Ezra. I hope the best is ahead of you."
"Bye, Uncle Tseebo." The kid let go and walked over to Kanan, taking his hand. Together, the rebels left with their new orphan boy among them.
