14.

"What's wrong youngling?" Zo gently rocked the fussy baby across the hold of the ship. He kicked his feet and grabbed at her hair as he wailed inconsolably. She pried his claws away from her scalp and tried bouncing him on her hip. "Go back to sleep, little one…you're so tired, you want to sleep." She kept her voice calm and soothing trying to persuade him into slumber. He paused his crying, took in a long, hitching breath, and burped. Zo wondered if a fifty-year-old baby got colic."There, little one, there that's better…" she murmured, brushing tears off his face and wisps of white hair out of his eyes.

A loud, hollow bang echoed down from the cockpit followed by the Mandalorian's angry curse.

She felt the baby's whole body tense against her as he shut his eyes and continued his tantrum. "It's alright youngling," she sighed, kissing the top of his wrinkled head as they continued their swaying, bouncing walk. "Mando and I are still friends. He's just not accustomed to having people care for him. We'll have to keep working on that with him-"

She wasn't sure how far they were from their destination but knew none of them had got enough rest. Zo kept up the pacing and rocking but after an hour of his relentless crying, she eventually broke down and started singing to him. The language was unfamiliar on her tongue; the meaning of the words was lost to her from years of neglect. The song itself was a barely-there memory; sung by a woman whose face she couldn't even remember. But she remembered how the song made her feel: warm, safe, loved.

Cricket quieted after a few moments, sniffling back tears, his angry fists turning into soft caresses on her cheeks as she sang with her eyes closed trying to recall her mother's face. He finally calmed down and yawned in her arms. "There youngling…" She yawned in return as his big brown eyes slowly drifted closed. He let out a low, irritable warning cry when she tried to place him back in his hammock.

She didn't have the energy to keep fighting the baby so she surrendered and crawled into the Mandalorian's bunk. She tucked him close to her chest and pulled Mando's blanket up around the both of them on the flat but comfortable bed. The small area smelled like the infuriating beskar clad asshole; a mix of his leather gloves, Alderanian spiced rum, a warm campfire, and that scent she couldn't identify as anything other than him. The scent that radiated strength and safety. Like the small area of his neck, not covered by armor or his helmet, that she hid her face in during their flights. She closed her eyes and breathed in, feeling the warm tingle through her and wondered what he tasted like. "Fuck." She groaned, pulling the blanket over her head as the baby next to her snored.

The scent of coffee and the sound of Cricket's high pitched laughter woke her. Zo patted the blankets and found the warm bundle of snoring robes gone. She pushed herself to her elbows rubbing her sleep-blurred eyes clear with the heels of her hands.

Mando sat at the edge of the bunk looking out. Beyond his broad frame, the hold was flooded with sunlight. The air smelled fresh and crisp, full of pine and damp earth. He lifted his helmet just enough to take a sip of hot caf. Zo caught a brief glimpse of dark scruff along his jaw and full lips as she drew her legs up, pushing herself to a sitting position. She wondered how long he had been sitting there enjoying his caf and watching her drool onto his pillow.

Mando took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before letting his helmet slip back over his chin. He reached beside him and she tensed, readying herself for another brawl. Instead, he silently held out another mug of steaming coffee. Her eyebrows knitted together as she hesitated for the briefest moment. He might try to grab her again, break her wrists this time, dump her on whatever planet he decided to land them on...he took another breath. In and out. Slow and calm. Still and silent.

"Thank you, " Zo murmured, crawling across the small space and taking the mug out of his hand. He nodded once, lifting his helmet for another drink. She leaned back supposing this sufficed as a Mandalorian truce and looked out over his shoulder down into the sunlight where the baby played. Cricket waddled as fast as his stubby little legs could carry him after a grasshopper. "You know he's going to try and eat that poor thing."

"He's already eaten three." Came his quiet, growly reply as he took another long sip of coffee before slipping his helmet into place.

Zo shook her head. "And you didn't try to stop him?" Even though he wasn't looking at her he could hear the smile in her voice.

He shrugged one broad shoulder still not taking his eyes off the child they both cared so deeply for. "I needed my caf."

She laughed, "You should've woken me. It's my job to watch him." She shook her head again as she sipped her much-needed caffeine.

"You needed to sleep." He answered. The modulator making his voice hollow and robotic. The silence between them stretched on as they watched the child scamper around the clearing outside the ship. Mando finally stood and set aside his empty mug.

Zo reached for his hand before he could walk away. His leather glove didn't feel as rough against her fingers as it did pressed against her lips. "Mando-" She wanted to apologize again. Every time they took one step towards trusting each other she felt like she did something to make him take two steps back.

Din stood still, his fingers twitched reflexively wanting to curl around hers. He couldn't remember the last time someone had touched him as often as she did. Someone besides the kid, who pulled on his cape or wrapped his little hands around one of Din's large fingers, or occasionally ran his clawed fingers along the Mandalorian helmet when Din held him close to his chest. Zo was in the habit of brushing his shoulder or forearm as they moved past each other in the cockpit or the hold...It must be a Jedi thing, he thought. Touching, feeling. Living through connection to others. She pulled emotions out of him he tried so hard to bury under his training and armor. Anger mostly. And exasperation. And other emotions he didn't know how to name. Like last night when she tried to wake him, called him by his name- and maybe if he hadn't lost his temper again he would have realized she wasn't trying to hurt him or take something from him. He let his fingers relax and wrap around hers. "I'm sorry, " He said quietly, still not looking at her. "I don't know how to do this…"

"Do what?"

He felt the smooth pad of her thumb ghost over the exposed skin of his wrist and closed his eyes, savoring the innocent touch. He felt pathetic. "Connect...with someone."

"It's ok. It takes time, we have time-" Zo pulled gently on his hand, "I've lost people. You can talk to me…" Din let out a long breath, a slow hiss of air from under his helmet, and relaxed his shoulders. "Sit, please." She sat up placing her other hand on his shoulder, brushing her fingers along the thin line of skin at his neck. He tilted his helmet, giving her fingers another inch of bare skin to touch. "Stay. Talk to me," She whispered, "I need someone too."

There it was. Another piece of common ground besides their attachment to the child and the need to keep him safe. Something Din could hold onto when it felt like he was carrying the weight of the entire galaxy on his back. "I need -"

Outside there was a plunk of splashing water and Cricket's excited screech. His head snapped back to attention, the tension back in his shoulders and he dropped her hand. "I need to get the kid." His heavy footsteps echoed hollowly down the ramp as he marched away to gather up his ward. When he came trudging back into the ship a few moments later with a slightly muddy little green monster in tow Zo had already retreated to her alcove. "Great timing as always, buddy." He muttered, touching the kid gently on his nose.

"Where I go, you go. You said that. Those words came out of your kriffing vocoder." She wasn't yelling. Not exactly. But her tone was laced with irritation. The kid waddled between them chasing after a blinking lit-up ball that floated and darted away from him.

Mando crossed his arms and stared down at her. "And I meant them. "

Zo wrapped her fingers around her hips inches above the blasters she had slung low on each side. "What if you get yourself killed?"

Mando noticed the pilfered items immediately but said nothing. He had plenty to spare and honestly he liked seeing her carry something other than her laser sword. "I'm not going to get killed-"

Her lightsaber clinked against her thigh as she ran her hands through her hair and paced. "But if you do? At least on Nevarro, we had Greef and Kara. Here we have nothing but the garu-bears."

Under his helmet, he bit his lip trying to hide the amusement in his voice. "There are no garu-bears in this part of the forest."

She scoffed, "You know what I mean. I can help you. We, " she pointed her index finger between them, "can catch this guy before the sun goes down."

"You and the kid are not leaving this clearing." He replied firmly.

Zo rounded on the Mandalorian. "Why the hell not?"

"Because I fucking said so."

"I've been stuck on that desert rock for an entire lunar cycle...I'm not a babysitter."

"That's exactly what you are." He shot back having had enough of her bratty outburst. He marched across the hold towards her. Her eyes widened a bit with each step but she didn't retreat. "What do you know about the Falleen?" He demanded.

"Not much. They're big into syndicate crime. Gor wouldn't do business with them, told me to stay away." Zo hated when he loomed over her, using his height and bulk to bully her into place. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked defiantly up at him.

"Because they are dangerous. Jox more so than most, you have no idea what he's done, what he's capable of doing."

"I could make you take us." The thinly veiled threat betrayed the soft curves of her smile.

He took another step towards her and she refused to back up. All he had to do was take a deep breath and his cuirass would bump into her. "Try it, jetti'ika." His voice smokey and dangerously low through the vocoder.

Cricket waddled up to them sensing the brewing tension between his guardians. He raised his arms in the universal sign of a baby wanting to be held and waited patiently for one of them to break the stalemate. He slowly blinked his big, expressive brown eyes at them and Zo let out a defeated breath. The Mandalorian already knew she couldn't force him to do anything, his will was too strong. "What the hell does that word mean? Jetti'ika." She asked, picking the baby up and resting him on her hip above the blaster.

"Maybe I'll tell you when I get back if you're good." He responded walking away from her.

Zo stared after him too flustered to speak for a moment. "Come on, you need to learn how to set up the security perimeter." He called over his shoulder.

Mando spent the next couple of hours walking her through the Razor Crest's security features. Cricket chased lightning bugs as the sun set and his guardians set up the motion detector units around the perimeter. "Keep the lasers on during the night. I can control them from my vambrace if I get back after dark." He said showing her the panel inside the ship that controlled the motion-activated laser sentries.

"You know one good R2 unit could replace all this junk." Zo sighed leaning against the wall next to him.

Mando tilted his helmet at an angle she was quickly learning was indicative of his annoyance. "No droids on my ship."

She rolled her eyes as the corners of her lips curved into an amused smile. "Roger, Roger." She said perfectly mimicking a B1 battle droid.

He dropped his helmet with a sigh. "Last thing I need to show you is the autopilot." She dutifully followed him pausing for just a moment to tuck the baby's blanket around him before climbing the ladder into the cockpit.

"The Crest's engines won't start if the main computer doesn't link with my helm-com, " Mando explained. Zo leaned against the control panel he had slammed her into less than a day before. "Do you understand?" He asked patiently.

She nodded, "Ship won't start if you're not on it."

"If I don't come back or something happens to me out there, I'm not going to leave you two stranded here." He nodded his chin towards the captain's chair indicating he wanted her to sit. She sat in front of the control helm, covered in dozens of brightly lit buttons and switches and levers. She didn't know what any of them did and didn't think the Bounty Hunter had enough time or patience to teach her.

Many Jedi had also been amazing pilots, their gift of the Force giving them the ability to foresee and maneuver their ships in ways that even droids couldn't accomplish. But not Zo, she had never quite got the hang of piloting. She owed her escape from Cresta to the battle-ravaged R2 unit melted into the canopy of Master Vatari's Delta-7 and ever since had a soft spot for the plucky little droids.

Mando leaned over the seat, armor-covered body pressing into her. "The engines have a trip override, " he murmured. Zo shifted, goosebumps prickling over her skin as his warm breath escaped the bottom of his helmet and tickled her ear. He moved through the override sequence, flipping levers in their particular order before pressing the ignition switch. The engines roared to life. "She'll do all the preflight checks. You just have to pick the destination." He murmured again. Zo smiled at his affectionate tone for the old ship. It really was his home, a sacred, safe place he shared with her and the child. She had the urge to run her fingers along his forearm, to trace the hard lines and ridges of the armor. Instead, she wiped her hands on her thighs and watched as he brought up the navigation computer. "Just select Navarro and the Crest'll take you. You'll remember the ignition sequence?"

Zo nodded, reading the seemingly endless list of destinations the ship had traveled to during Mando's employment as a bounty hunter. She and the child could go anywhere...if Mando didn't return. Or they could just wait for him to get far enough away and leave. A part of her hated thinking like that, especially in moments like this when he was agreeable and if she squinted could pretend they actually were friends. Another part knew it might be for the best, she and Cricket did not need to become anymore attached to his presence than they already were.

"Your hair smells nice," Mando murmured. She watched out of her periphery as he ran his leather-covered fingers through her wavy strands. "Soft. I can see why the kid likes it so much…"

She dug her fingernails into the top of her thighs, the biting pain barely keeping her heart tethered in her chest. She dared not move in case he startled like a frightened animal and this quiet spell was broken. "Thank- thank you." She croaked, her mouth suddenly as dry and cracked as the Nevarro salt flats.

He let out one last deep breath, the warm air fluttering the strands of hair out of his fingers before he stepped away from her. "I shouldn't be too long; a day or two at most."

Zo stood a moment later, brushing the half-moon marks out of her denim, and turned to face him. "You sure you don't want company?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Keep your weapons close and the perimeter up as much as possible." He once again ignored her offer of partnering up.

"You said there weren't any garu-bears here." She said tossing her hair over one shoulder. The baby's fussy muffled cries echoed out of his pram down below and Zo automatically moved towards the ladder. Mando grabbed for her arm as she stepped past him. She stilled, back going rigid as she wondered what line she had crossed this time.

"I'm trusting you not to maroon me here, " He said quietly. She looked up into the dark reflective glass of his visor. Her face remained impassive but her pupils expanded under his stare, the deep black wells all but covering her ocean blue irises. "There would be nowhere in the galaxy you could run that I wouldn't find you."

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. He didn't need to read minds to know she had thought about leaving him as soon as possible. He had learned from his years, decades more accurately, of hunting people. You learned to read them, learn what marks were planned before they did. Din knew she considered abandoning him in the tiny inquisitive tilt of her head towards the nav computer and the way his helmet noted the change in her heart rate and breathing once she realized she didn't need him to get off the planet. The same subtle changes he saw when he touched her. Excitement.

"I'm not going to run, bounty hunter." She replied, pulling her arm out of his grasp.

One step forward, two steps back.

Mando disappeared into the forest before the moons fully rose with the promise of bringing back something fresh and warm for dinner. Cricket was thrilled to discover the tiny minnows in the shallow, babbling creek glowed in the dark. The blue-green luminescent fish darted through the cool, clear water. Most were quick enough to dart through his greedy little claws. Some were not so lucky and disappeared down his gullet. The Crest's cold, silver frame reflected the bright full moon overhead and along with the soft glow from the interior of the ship, there was more than enough light for Zo to gather wood for a campfire.

"You know he'll never trust you. Not completely." The voice whispered in her ear. Zo refused to acknowledge it, instead, she dumped her armload of kindling into the stone circle she had prepared. "Fallen Jedi. Murderer. Friendless, hopeless, alone-"

"Shut up!" She spun on her feet and yelled into the darkness. The voice retreated but the words seared themselves into her heart. Mando trudged out of the dark trees with a half dozen purple furred vrill-rabbits tossed over his back. "Fuck." She muttered under her breath. She didn't need to see his eyes to know they were on her, questioning her in the silent tilt of his helmet as he sat their dinner down outside the still unlit fire pit. He pointed his wrist at the pile of kindling and a bright, hot flame spurt out. Zo skipped back remembering the burning heat of that hidden weapon during their first ill-fated fight.

Mando silently sat cross-legged in front of the fire and began skinning the first rabbit. She sat next to him a moment later, both keeping an eye on the ever-busy baby in their care. "Do you have a spare knife?" She asked, holding out her hand. "What am I saying? You're Mandalorian, weapons are a part of your religion of course you have a spare knife…" He sighed, ripping the split fur pelt of a rabbit but didn't offer up the requested item. "Come on, Mando. I know how to dress animals. I'm hungry. The kids always hungry. We can get dinner done twice as fast."

He sighed again but set down the limp animal he was preparing and pulled a knife out of his boot. "Who were you yelling at?" He asked holding the blade out to her.

Zo stabbed the knife into her chosen animal with a grimace. "The karking moon-hens." She replied as one of the giant nocturnal birds let out a shrill cry. A chorus of the birds responded, the piercing melody loud enough to frighten the child. Cricket ran towards them, big brown eyes wide, little arms outstretched as he buried his face in the folds of Zo's shirt. She glanced at the Mandalorian hoping he bought her reply.

"Hmmm…must be their mating season," Mando muttered.

They lapsed back into silence, preparing the rabbits Mando had caught for their supper. The baby stayed closer to the warm light of the fire afraid of the sounds coming out of the dark forest. "Did you know there was a Mandalorian Jedi?" Zo asked tiring of the empty awkward space between them. Mando didn't reply as he slowly rotated the spit, the fat dripping from the cooking rabbits made the fire hiss and spit. "Tarre, Vizsla was his name. He also tried to unite our people. He was a great warrior, a great Jedi-"

"I know a Vizsla. Paz. He's a cocky asshole." He looked at her through the flames, the orange fire reflected off her shining hair.

"Master Tarre developed most of the tech your people still use. Your Beskar, all the gadgets you use to kick my ass- it was all created to counter Jedi abilities."

"Six months ago I didn't even know what a Jedi was." He finally replied.

Zo smiled at him as he handed her a perfectly roasted rabbit to share with the child. "You grow up under a rock, Mando?" She tore a bit of the greasy meat off and blew on it to cool it before handing it to the waiting baby on her lap.

"No. I grew up in lava tunnels. Basically the same thing I guess."

She tossed her head back and laughed. Mando stood, taking his rabbit with him, and stepped towards the darkness so he could eat. She took his hand again before he could retreat. He tilted his helmet down to meet her eyes, the crackling fire made his armor shine like the rising sun. "I did think about leaving you. Only for a second," she added, squeezing his fingers, "and I'm sorry I did. I've spent so long thinking only about myself and my survival…I won't run from you."

"Why not?"

"Because you're my friend Mando. You're the only kriffing friend I've got in the entire kriffing galaxy."

He shifted on his feet and she dropped his hand. "Don't let him have all of that, you need to eat too."

Zo and the baby stayed by the fire until it was nothing but glowing embers. Cricket fell asleep in her lap, his tummy full and face greasy from the meal but Zo let him sleep. No doubt he would want to jump back into the creek at daybreak tomorrow. Mando retreated to his ship, his silver form moved between boxes and lockers as he prepared for his hunt. He finally waved for her to return to the ship.

"I'm leaving before dawn. Take my bunk." Mando told her as she placed the sleeping baby in his sling.

She turned towards him with a worried expression. Her lips, usually so keen to smirk at him, were drawn thin. "I have a bad feeling about this Mando. You shouldn't go alone."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not taking you two anywhere near Jox. When I get him back here he's going straight into the freezer." He said, jutting his jaw towards the carbonite chamber.

Zo sighed and tucked strands of hair behind her ear. She wasn't able to put into words the gnawing pain at the base of her neck. The phantom injury that worried her something bad was going to happen to him. "Please be careful, Mando."

"I always am." He responded. "Get some sleep.