Hello again!

I apologise for the long wait-had difficulty writing this next part.

Also, this may be a boring chapter because it sets the stage for the next part. Yes, there's going to another chapter after all. Turns out that part four ended up being really long...

I hope you enjoy!

~IV~

"Will you please sit down?" Darek's exasperated voice broke the tense silence. "Wearing a hole in the floor won't speed up the time."

The Mandalorian paused in front of him.

"It's been three hours! How long does it take to diagnose someone?" he asked, his anxiety causing him to snap. He let out a frustrated sigh and continued to pace in front of the young warrior.

"Your Foundling didn't look good," Darek reminded him. "There could have beeen otherproblems wrong with him, and perhaps the Healer is just finding out."

"That's comforting to know," Pierce muttered dryly. "But I wish that she would let me know sooner."

"Pierce," began Darek, "the Foundling is being treated by the most capable and experienced Healer around. Don't worry, he is in good hands."

"I guess you're right," Pierce said gravely. "But still..."

He watched the clock hand slowly make its way around, his thoughts drifting back to the first time he had met Din. The boy had looked scared and relieved at the same time, and he couldn't blame him; after all, Din had barely escaped the droid. When he had taken the boy back to the Mandalorian cohort, he knew that it would be a difficult transition for the Foundling, but he had never realised that adjusting to the new life impacted the boy so much, causing him to do so poorly at the cohort. Most Foundlings started off rough the first few months as they adjusted, but, with love and bonding with their mentors, they would start to improve slowly. Yet with Din, nine months had passed and no improvement or bonding had occurred. What was it that held Din back?

Just then, the door to the waiting room swung open, and the young healer in training stepped inside the room.

Instantly, Darek and Pierce leapt up from their chair, both eager to know what was wrong with Din.

"My Foundling? Is he alright?" demanded the older Mandalorian.

Bo nodded slowly though she seemed a little apprehensive of the older Mandalorian's reactions; however, sensing that he was deeply concerned for his apprentice, she said quickly,

"Your Foundling is doing well from his operation-"

"Operation?" Pierce interrupted, fear rising in him. Was his apprentice that bad off?

She nodded, "he is waking up and will be ready to see you. But before you do, Healer Kalin would like to talk to you first before you see Din-Apprentice Djarin," she added quickly when she saw Pierce move towards the door intent on seeing his Foundling. "I can take you to her office."

The older Mandalorian reluctantly agreed and followed theapprentice down the hall, his mind busy with trying to figure out the reason for the noperation based on the symptoms that he had seen.

"Hello, Pierce," greeted Kalin when the Mandalorian stepped into her office a few minutes later. "How are you?" she asked, gesturing to a chair that stood in front of her desk.

"What's wrong with my Foundling?" Pierce asked immediately after settling into the chair, his voice business like.

The Healer sighed and leaned back in her chair, "always down to business," Kalin said lightly before she too turned serious. She retrieved a data pad from a drawer in her desk and handed it to him. "Read this."

He took it and began to read when he looked up sharply. "Pneumonia?'

"Thankfully we caught it in the early stages," nodded Kalin. "Your Foundling will recover from it easily enough. He'll just need to stay here for a few days so that I can monitor him. I am puzzled however, to how he managed to come down with pneumonia. At the moment, with your Foundling's conditions and performances, not meaning any disrespect to him, but I can't imagine him breaking into so much sweat that he would get pneumonia. If I didn't know better, I'd say that he's been out in the rain a lot. It has been rainy on Mandalore lately. What do you think, Pierce?"

"I don't know," he shook his head and sighed heavily, then glanced down at the pad and then up again. "Appendicitis?" he exclaimed.

Kalin nodded gravely, "Thankfully we removed the appendix just before it ruptured. But he's doing better," she added quickly sensing her friend's tone of worry.

He had seen enough, and setting aside the data pad, he asked, "may I see my apprentice, now?" Pierce was eager to make sure that his Foundling comfortable and felt safe, and also to start making things right between them.

Kalin nodded and led him to a small room down the hall of the infirmary, then left knowing that master and apprentice needed time together.

Thanks for reading! Chapter five coming out later this week!

Questions, comments, or suggestions?

Let me know!

~MJ

(Sorry for the new chapter updates: I'm still figuring out how the editing and posting system works.)