Hello there! Here's the third installment! I hope y'all enjoy!
Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing this fanfic! It's been encouraging me to keep going with this.
~III~
"Pierce!" Cried Din in surprise as he scrambled onto his feet, his eyes wide with fright as they flicked from the Mandalorian in front of him to the abandoned helmet a few feet away from him. "I—I," he stammered as he backed away his cheeks flushing furiously.
It pained the Mandalorian to see his young Foundling so afraid of him. Why did having a Foundling seem so hard now? It was easier with his previous Foundling; they had developed a strong relationship from the start. But with Din? No bond had been started yet, and it looked like it would be a slow process.
Pierce looked down at the boy who stood in front of him and noticed a quiver in the lip, and he knew what Din was thinking. "I'm not angry with you Din," he knelt down to the Din's level, started to reach out with his hand to rest it on the boy's shoulder, then stopped himself. Would it make it worse? Deciding to risk it, he gently laid a hand on the small shoulders and felt the boy shiver under his touch. He frowned; the boy seemed to be burning up. "Din, are you feeling alright?" He asked suddenly.
The boy's head jerked up, and Pierce saw something in the brown eyes, pain. The boy was in pain. His hand moved to Din's forehead, feeling for a temperature. The boy's forehead seemed to be on fire, and instantly Pierce sensed that he was sick, very sick. "I'm going to take you to the Healers," he said quickly, making a move to pick the boy up. Din's eyes widened as he backed away from his mentor, shaking his head the whole time.
"I'm fine," tried Din, "I don't need to—" Suddenly Din gasped sharply. He clutched at his stomach, his face paled and a flash of pain crossed his face as his legs buckled underneath him.
"Din!" Pierce was at the boy's side instantly, catching him before Din hit the ground. Fear gripping him. What was wrong with his Foundling? The small body shivered uncontrollably, and yet the boy was so hot. Swiftly and easily, Pierce scooped the boy into his strong arms and hurried out of their apartment.
"Stay with me kid," Pierce crooned gently into the boy's ear, hugging the precious bundle closely to his body. He wished that the halls were large enough to simply fly to the infirmary; it would be faster.
He turned a corner and nearly ran a young Mandalorian over in his haste. The Mandalorian leapt aside surprised, "Pierce!"
Pierce recognised the voice to belong to Darek's. "Not now!" He called over his shoulder.
A second later, Darek was running alongside the Mandalorian, " What's wrong with him?" He asked looking over at the limp form of Din.
"I don't know," The Mandalorian replied shortly, his mind intent on getting his Foundling to the infirmary as quickly as he can.
A couple of minutes later, they arrived, and Pierce glanced around the waiting room, looking for the healers. Where were they? Just then a young healer-in-training Mandalorian stepped into the room. The Mandalorian went up to her, "Foundling Bo, where is Healer Kalin?"
"She just finished performing surgery," Bo informed him, and then looked down at Din, "I will fetch her right away."
The Mandalorian thanked her and she disappeared behind the door. Pierce glanced down at the boy, and gently brushed aside the curly untidy hair from the small pale face. How could he have let this happen? Why hadn't he spent more time with Din? He knew that if he had spent more time with the boy, he would have noticed the issues sooner. He berated himself for his blindness towards the boy's issues.
"Pierce."
The Mandalorian looked up to see Healer Kalin standing in front of the door. He strolled over her, struggling to keep his anxiety hidden. "I don't know what his wrong with him," he began.
"I will check him out," she said, then turning to Bo, she spoke quickly to her, who nodded and immediately went to do her mentor's bidding. A few minutes later, Bo returned with a stretcher, and Pierce carefully laid the Din on the bed. Kalin turned to him, "I'll let you know the results, but for now you must wait here."
Pierce nodded reluctantly knowing that it would be a waste of effort to argue, and he soberly watched his Foundling being rolled away down the hall.
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~ M.J.
