Chapter 22

A/N: I apologize for no activity for a couple weeks. I was sick one week, had friends at my house over the weekend right after I got better, and I lost my writing spark. Since the new recent SWR episodes finally aired, I regained my spark, but due to school everything will be slower than it used to be. Also after Unknown is finished I will begin planning a new story that it completely void of the primary Injured storyline (Unknown Love, Injured, and Love in the Rebellion are all stories of the Injured storyline if you haven't figured it already.)

...

Ezra just woke up after an entire day, plus two whole nights, of sleeping and he is still tired. Even Zeb never saw the kid sleep so much in his time with the Ghost crew. Sabine figured it was just an effect that stupid mask they found gave him, since it did amplify his abilities and all to rival even Vader's abilities. She asked him about it after he finally woke up, but he said he didn't remember much about the whole thing.

"Oh really?" she said sarcastically, hinting that his forgetfulness was nothing new to her.

"I suppose it did increase my abilities..." Ezra concluded.

"Then it's no wonder why you're so tired, love," Sabine said as she pecked the dual scars on his cheek. They were faded quite a bit, but it was obvious they would never go away. She didn't think Ezra even wanted them to fade, either.

Ezra shrugged as he rubbed his eyes again for the 5th time that morning. Then he suddenly stopped walking and stared right at Sabine, his eyes wide. Sabine looked back at him with confusion.

"What is it?" she asked.

Ezra blinked a couple times, then rubbed his eyes again.

"Did you... change your hair?"

"Hm?" Sabine looked up and glanced at the part of her bangs Her hair was back to the blue with orange ends, (Season 1 hair). "Oh, yeah... I-I did," she said, blushing. "It's not permanent... I just..."

"Sabine...?"

"It's been a few years since you joined out crew, Ezra," Sabine said, glancing up nervously at him. She didn't understand why she felt nervous with him right now.

'I'm kriffing married to the guy for crying out loud, so why am I so nervous?' Sabine thought to herself.

"It's back to what it was when I joined... yeah," Ezra said, his voice cutting into Sabine's thoughts.

"I've been keeping track... sort of... and I, uh..." Sabine shrugged and her blush deepened. "I forget how long it's been, but I know it was today about 5 or 6 years ago since you first joined our crew."

"Is this why you changed your hair?" Ezra asked.

"I thought it would have been nice to have this color back to... celebrate that day, maybe... I'm confused by it myself," she smiled.

"Sabine," Ezra began with a smile, "You didn't have to do that."

"I know, but I felt like doing it," Sabine answered, giving him a smug look.

Ezra chuckled and held Sabine in a hug when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, boss. You're finally awake!" Coren said as Ezra turned around.

"Coren! It's good to see you. Is everybody else here?" Ezra asked.

"Always, boss," Coren said and laughed when Ezra rolled his eyes.

Sabine spoke up, "My mother arranged your squad operate under your full command. The only time they would return home is if you either send them home for something like supplies or if we return ourselves."

"I always thought you Mandalorians would have been harder on me for not only being an offworlder but also a Jedi," Ezra admitted.

"We gave you and Jarrus a chance and you certainly proved yourselves enough," Coren said. "Glad we did, too. Jedi aren't so bad after all."

That last part was just a joke, and Ezra knew it. His time with Sabine helped with that for the most part, but he's also done his own private studies on Mandalorian culture in his spare time.

"Hey, where's the new guy?" Sabine asked Coren then.

"Last I saw him he was with Max and Jill. They're helping him get used to being here for a while now, but he shouldn't be in any frontline situations just yet. He's fresh from the Trials," he replied.

"I should probably explain..." Coren began to add but Ezra raised his hand.

"No need. I've done my research long ago. Not something I would necessarily agree with, but it's not my place to judge," he said. "On the other hand it seems to work with your warriors."

"That's what makes us Mandalorians, dear," Sabine said.

"I know."

"I suppose you would like to check up with the rest of the squad?" Coren suggested.

"Of course," Ezra said.

"I'll be helping Kanan and Hera with Dawn, alright?" Sabine said.

Ezra gave her a quick kiss, "See you later, Sabs."

Sabine smiled and returned the kiss for a brief moment before walking off towards the living quarters. Ezra turned around and found Coren just staring at him.

"What?"

"I still can't seem to believe all this," Coren laughed.

"You're not alone. Come on, let's find our people," Ezra said and the two walked off towards the hangars.

...

Knock Knock

"Oh, that must be Sabine!" Hera said, but before she could get to the door, it flew open by itself.

Sabine just stood there, confused for a moment. "I didn't open it."

She and Hera both turned towards Kanan, who only smiled.

"Wasn't me. Had to have been Dawn," he said pointing to the young one lying in his arm.

"Sure it was, love," Hera teased as she slapped his other arm. Dawn squealed and held out her arms when she saw Sabine.

"Hey, ad'ika," Sabine murmured to the young Twi'lek/Human hybrid.

Dawn grabbed Sabine's index finger and played with it for a while, causing Sabine to laugh.

"She's very energetic, as always," she pointed out.

"Believe me she's a handful," Hera said, but Kanan elbowed her.

"You have me do everything," he said with a fake whine.

"Oh you love playing with your daughter anyway. Most times I don't even have to say anything and he gets up to do something," Hera countered.

Kanan opened his mouth to say something, but after a moment, he shut his mouth and nodded, "Can't argue against that, I suppose."

"So... Sabine Wren-Bridger at last?" Hera asked, though she already knew everything. She was at their wedding after all.

Sabine blushed, "Yeah yeah, I know. You told me so."

"Wait what?" Kanan asked.

"I kept telling Sabine long ago that she had something for Ezra. She never really believed me until that night," Hera explained.

"Oh, right."

The night they were referring to was the mission on Abansaz turned disaster.

"Anyway, Sabine and I are going into the other room," Hera said as she walked into the next room with Sabine right behind her.

Kanan nodded and continued to play with his daughter.

Hera closed the door and looked back to Sabine, "So what is it you wanted to ask me?"

"I was wondering if you could teach me to be a good mother once my child is here," Sabine asked, gently rubbing the still-growing baby bump.

"What are you talking about? You already have the works of one!" Hera said.

"Not as good as you," Sabine stated.

"Well you don't have to be exactly like me. Just teach your child everything your parents taught you. Ezra should do the same from his parents."

"Is it hard to keep up with Dawn?"

"It can be, but being a mother will be difficult. You need a lot of patience and you and Ezra being part of the crew really helped me with that part," Hera joked.

Sabine laughed with her, "So improvise?"

"Not necessarily," Hera said. "You can always come to me for parenting advice whenever you want."

"Thanks Hera. And I'm sorry if this was a bit awkward," Sabine said, blushing lightly.

"Don't worry about it," Hera said, then decided to change the subject. "So I hear Ezra's finally awake."

"He's catching up with his unit. The new guy still seems a bit uneasy around him so everybody's going to be working with them," Sabine explained.

"That's good to hear."

"And what happened at Scarif?" Sabine asked. Hera immediately tensed. "I haven't seen Rogue One since they left and nobody's telling me anything."

"This subject came up a bit fast," Hera murmured.

"I'm... sorry," Sabine apologized.

"Don't apologize. You and Ezra are important to this Rebellion and you both deserve to know," Hera said.

There was silence before Hera continued to speak, the tension in the room growing and all the lights seemed to get darker.

"Rogue One never made it out. Much of the fleet deployed also shared the same fate. We got what we needed, but the casualties were catastrophic. The Empire have a new weapon. It... They destroyed their own base to kill us. The thing is huge!"

There was silence...

"I heard Vader was there at the last moments of the battle. The Tantive IV managed to escape but we seemed to have lost contact with them yesterday," Hera said.

"That's Leia's ship isn't it?" Sabine asked. She was never fond of the Alderaanian princess, but nevertheless she was an important figure to the Rebellion.

"It is," Hera said. "Tantive IV is also carrying the plans of this superweapon."

"Are we searching for it?"

"No... We can't risk being caught right now. We barely have a fleet anymore," Hera said.

"What about our MC80s?" Sabine asked.

"We still have those, but just a couple MC80 Liberty-class star cruisers and Home One. Those ships we can't afford to lose right now."

"Things are more serious than I thought..." Sabine said.

"And I'm afraid that's just the beginning," Hera said.

"What do you mean?" Sabine asked.

"The media got a hold of the battle at Scarif. They're calling it the first official battle of a war," Hera said.

"First official? What do they think we were doing for the past two years?!"

"We've never openly fought the Empire at this scale before. Usually we used X-wings and Y-wings to break a blockade but not this time," Hera explained.

"I need to tell Ezra," Sabine said, sounding breathless.

"You don't have to do anything for the war effort. You have other matters. I just thought you should know what's been going on," Hera said. "It was only a matter of time before you asked me anyway."

"I suppose that's true," Sabine said.

...

"Keith, you've got it all wrong," Max said, correcting the new Mando with his deployable support turrets and shields.

"You're just a medic!" Keith shot back. "How would you know about this?"

"Because, as you should actually know, Mandalorians train for everything," Ezra said.

"Being told by an offworlder!" Keith said, but he snapped to attention.

"Technically, we're the offworlders," Coren said with a shrug.

"Sorry, sir," Keith said. "I'm just not used to all of this."

"I understand. No worries," Ezra said. "Me being a Jedi and all, it's easy to understand."

"Ezra," Max said. "You're finally awake!"

"I've been hearing a lot of that lately," he replied.

"It's good to see you, sir," Jill said, smiling.

"It's good to see all of you again," Ezra said.

"How's your head?" Max asked.

"Still hurts a little but it's not bad."

"That's good to hear," she said.

Keith just looked at the two of them. "Is there something going on between you two?"

Max blushed, "N-no. There isn't."

Coren whispered in Keith's ear and he paled slightly, "I-I'm so sorry, sir. I didn't know."

"It's alright," Ezra said.

"But you should get your facts straight!" Max exclaimed, her face still pretty red.

"What's going on over here?" A familiar voice called out from behind them.

"Oh nothing," Ezra said.

"Keith thought Ezra and Max were a thing," Coren blabbed.

Katherine chuckled, "Really? Another Mandalorian has fallen for a Jedi?"

Max looked away, "It's really nothing. Can you all just shut up about it? We've talked about this!"

"Alright fine. Such a buzzkill," Coren muttered making Katherine laugh again.

"Attention all high ranked officers: Report to the Command Center immediately!" a voice boomed through the base's intercoms.

"Well that should include you, boss," Coren said.

"I'll catch up with you guys later," Ezra said as he ran to catch up with the rest of the officers.

...

10 Minutes later

"Alright, now that everyone's here," Hera began, "You may already have heard rumors that we have lost contact with the Tantive IV."

The high-ranked officers all looked to one another, some of them murmuring among themselves, but Ezra stood silent, Sabine sitting next to him. He could sense she knew something, but didn't dare probe further out of personal respect. Besides, he is already going to know what's going on within these next few minutes.

"I'm afraid we must assume the worst has happened," General Dodonna said.

A/N: I'm pretty sure Dodonna is still with the Rebels at this time. If not, please do tell me.

"We shouldn't assume they're just gone!" Ezra said.

"Ezra, I can explain all this to you later," Sabine whispered, pulling him back down into his seat.

*Moments Later*

"What happened out there?" Ezra asked Sabine as they stared up at the big red planet above them.

The sky turned into a beautiful shade of red and orange, as it gets when the sun is setting, but it's only midday on Yavin 4. It was cool outside, just the perfect temperature between hot and cold. The breeze felt as if a blanket was being draped over them; a nice and soft, comfortable blanket.

Sabine was cuddling close to him, her head resting on his shoulder as they stared at the sky. She bit her lip as he asked that question, knowing full well what he was asking about.

"The entire ground force didn't make it. Granted none of the Imperials down there survived either," she began. "The Empire has a new superweapon. That's why Hera went to Scarif."

Ezra tensed, "That has to explain why I felt a disturbance in the Force the other day and just before that."

Sabine buried her face in his neck, "It's too much to take in..."

"When did we lose contact with the Tantive IV again?"

"Almost a week," Sabine said.

"Hm..."

Sabine lifted her head off Ezra's shoulder and looked up at him.

He's thinking...

"Ezra?"

Something was about to happen. What it was he didn't know.

"It's nothing. We shouldn't worry about these things right now," he finally said.

Sabine sighed, "I'm sorry, I ruined our day didn't I?"

"Of course you didn't," Ezra said. "There's been a lot of tension lately, that's all. It's nothing you've done."

Sabine smiled softly, "Yeah, there has been too much tension nowadays."

"We could visit your parents for a bit," Ezra suggested. "Get away from all this."

"Ezra you forget they have their own war to fight, too," Sabine pointed out.

"What about Alderaan?"

"No, not Alderaan. I don't think the people would take too kindly to a Mandalorian."

"Maybe not. But I'm sure Senator Organa would allow it," Ezra said.

"I'm not going to Alderaan," Sabine said firmly, giving her husband an unwavering glare.

"Ok, fine. Check that off our list," Ezra said, mentally crossing out Alderaan.

Atollon's a big no since there's giant spiders. That and the Bendu tried to kill them in their last day on that planet.

"So where should we go?" Ezra asked.

"I don't know... I haven't heard of any resort planets anywhere," Sabine replied.

Somebody walked up from behind them and startled them.

"What are you two planning now?" Katherine asked, Wedge not too far behind.

"Oh uh... just thinking of going on leave... for Sabine," Ezra said, blushing.

"Ooh you two!" Katherine squealed. "You two are just too cute!"

"Seriously Katherine?" Sabine whined.

"It's true and you know it!" she shot back.

"Where do you want to go?" Wedge asked, hearing everything.

"We... don't know exactly," Ezra said. "Somewhere quiet."

"How about the other side of Yavin 4?" Katherine teased.

"Right now that sounds like our only option," Sabine said, pondering the suggestion.

Sabine explained a plan and Ezra raised his hand to his chin in thought.

"So... little to no contact with the Rebellion?" Ezra asked.

"Maybe a visit from a checkup team every other week, just to be safe," Katherine added.

"Not a bad idea, Kath," Sabine said.

"Of course it isn't," she joked, "I never have bad ideas."

"Eh that's debatable," Wedge said just to get an elbow to the ribs.

As Katherine and Wedge argued like children, Sabine and Ezra just laughed.

Soon, Sabine looked at the time and cursed. "We missed lunch!"

"I've never heard you complain about missing Yavin's lunches before," Ezra chuckled.

"Well being 5 months pregnant with a Jedi baby can do that," Sabine said, giving Ezra one of her looks that makes him go speechless.

His mouth was agape, but there were no words or sounds leaving. Just the mere sight of it made Sabine laugh, drawing the attention of Katherine and Wedge, who finally put an end to their bickering.

"We should go ask command for a long leave," Sabine said.

"If we go on leave my unit could, too," Ezra said.

"Actually they could be the checkup team for you!" Katherine said smiling.

"That's a great idea!" Wedge said. "If we could also be part of that team it would be better, though."

"Permission denied, Antilles," Hera said, seemingly appearing from thin air.

"Kriff Hera you scared us!" Katherine exclaimed, but Sabine and Ezra just broke out laughing at Katherine's reaction, which puzzled her.

"Why are you two laughing?"

"It's something Hera does all the time. We're used to it. What we aren't used to is seeing the reactions of an unsuspecting victim from our own point of view," Ezra explained breathlessly as he struggled to contain his last remains of laughter.

"Oh..."

"And as for your requests for going on leave," Hera continued, pointing to Ezra and Sabine. "I understand the reason and I grant it."

Sabine's eyes widened, "Really?"

"Of course! I would have had to be on leave if I ever found out I was pregnant with Dawn, but since there were no symptoms or signs of it, I never got it."

"Ezra, too?"

"Ezra, too," Hera confirmed. "These are dark times for the Rebellion and we need all the hands we can get, but you need him to care for you while to finish this part of your life."

"That makes no sense," Wedge said.

"Course it doesn't!" Sabine joked. "It's Hera we're talking to."

Everybody shared a laugh as all their worries seemed to fade for a pleasing moment.

...

Two weeks later (Sabine's 6th month)

"And now we will test the full power off this battle station!" Tarkin said to the young Alderaanian princess, who watched in horror as a massive green beam was fired from the station, instantly destroying her planet.

This rebellion shall end at the sight of this superweapon. Tarkin thought to himself as the smoldering remains of the planet flew in all directions, some even colliding with the battle station's shields.

"Take her away!" Tarkin said as security guards took an emotionally broken Leia back to her cell.