.

Hello. Just so you know, I respond to each and every review or PM I receive. So if you left a review and haven't heard from me, go check your Private Message box here on FanFiction. If you have your ability to receive PMs switched off, I do try and respond to you at the bottom as a guest reviewer...which is where I also respond to everyone who has not signed up for an account. I adore each and every review and believe they all deserve a response. Thanks!

.

Chapter 18

~X~

"Heroes get remembered. Legends never die."

~unknown~

It took Din over an hour to find his way back without his guide, but at last he approached the Razor Crest, opening the hatch and walking up the ramp cautiously. Not only was he concerned about the possibility of the place still smelling, but he wasn't quite sure what type of reception he might receive from his…wife.

His wife! The idea still left his head spinning. His life was a complicated thing, one devoted to the creed, and now to finding the kid's family. That didn't leave much time, or opportunity, to consider his emotional needs.

Still, Din knew he had them, same as anyone else, he'd just gotten very good at ignoring them. Or at least he had, until the kid came into his life, reminding him of all that he'd lost when those Separatist droids had invaded his home planet. The Mandalorians had saved him, yes, but had been too late to protect his parents or his former way of life. That day the normal boy he'd once been had perished, and in his place had risen the man he'd become…but at what cost?

"Mando?" Ravana's voice pulled him from his thoughts, her form coming into view as he made it to the top of the ramp. "Did you find him?"

"Yes, I found Koda," he nodded, hitting the button to shut the hatch. "He said he would come by later this evening…to see the kid."

"Will he help us find his home world?" was her next question.

"That remains to be seen," Din said with a shrug. "He's a cagy little thing, hard to tell what he's really thinking. Oh, and he talks funny too."

"Funny how?" she asked, cocking her head to one side. "In a strange voice?"

"No, he jumbles up his words," he explained. "Says the end of a sentence before the beginning. But he's agreed to meet with us here, so there's still hope this whole trip won't have been a complete waste of time."

He could tell that his words had triggered Ravana's sense of guilt, and he could see that a much-needed conversation would soon be coming.

"About today…" she began, reaching up and removing the mythasour pendant from around her neck, handing it back to him quite sheepishly. He stared at for a moment, feeling the weight of it in his hand, and on his heart, before slipped it into his pocket. "I'm so very sorry for the huge mess I made today."

"It was my understanding that it was Zax who made the mess," Din told her, hoping a bit of levity would ease the tension. Thankfully it worked.

"Well, technically my blunder outweighed his by quite a bit, at least in my opinion," Ravana said with a chuckle. "And though his has been cleaned up and taken care of, the situation I got us both into has yet to be resolved." Here she held out her arm, putting the silver bonding bracelet on display.

"They're just symbols…and without the commitment associated with them, they mean nothing," Din informed her, walking past her as he headed for his private chamber. "Don't let yourself worry about it too much. For now, they're a protection, let them do their job and we'll sort it out later."

"Oh…all right," Ravana nodded, though her tone told Din she was anything but satisfied with his explanation of the matter. "Should I prepare something to offer our guest when he arrives tonight? We do want to put our best foot forward, don't we? I've already given both the kid and Zax a bath just in case."

"Sure. Do whatever you think is best," he agreed, making his way up the ladder and out of her sight. He needed time alone, time to think and prepare for what was to come. But mostly, he needed to be away from Ravana. For suddenly, the idea that she was - for all intents and purposes - his wife, was doing things to him he didn't wish to entertain.

.

.

Ravana continued to keep herself busy, fixing a dinner that didn't involve ration packs, in anticipation of their special guest. No one else had been allowed aboard the Razor Crest since she'd began flying with them and this had her looking around, attempting to see the place through a stranger's eyes. It had never been very homey looking, but that had been by design she figured. A bounty hunter's ship was not supposed to feel welcoming, but she'd done her best to make it so for the kid's sake, placing most of the dangerous objects out of sight. Not that any of that would stop the String-bean from getting something if that be his wish, he had ways of obtaining things that was out of their control.

Night had just fallen when there came a tapping on the side of the ship, announcing they had a visitor. Din came down the ladder right then, probably having seen their guest approaching, and went to hit the button to allow him access. Ravana had been anxious to get her first look at the creature from the kid's species, and she wasn't the least disappointed when he finally came into view. There was no doubt the two shared a heritage, and the moment he stepped on board, the child in her arms began to squeal with excitement, recognizing this Koda as one of his own.

"Thanks for coming," Din greeted him once he'd made his way inside.

"Curious I was, but telling the truth I see you were," Koda replied, his ears raising a bit as his one good eye caught sight of the kid in Ravana's arms. "A child he is, around fifty cycles, I am thinking…yes?"

"That's what I was told," the Mandalorian nodded, gesturing to the area that Ravana had set up for them to sit and talk. "Can we offer you something to eat?"

"Yes! Hungry I am, and speech goes better with food, I say," Koda agreed, climbing up into one of the chairs with a wide smile.

Ravana eased herself down in the seat beside him, allowing the kid to be as close to their guest as possible without being obtrusive. She wasn't sure how this Koda would react to him, and while the child seemed eager to make his acquaintance, the adult version might have other ideas. Yet, it would appear that her worries had been for nothing, for the moment they sat down, Koda held out his arms and the String-bean eagerly went to him.

"Healthy he is, and strong," Koda complimented, holding the kid up as he balanced him on what little of a lap he possessed. "Though not long from the pouch, I would assume."

"Long from the pouch?" Ravana questioned, unfamiliar with that term. "I don't know what that means."

"The pouch," Koda repeated, pointing to her stomach. "Our females carry our younglings here until they are strong enough to walk on their own."

"Oh, you mean until they're born," she nodded, figuring he meant a normal pregnancy.

"No, already born they are, but remain in the pouch until they are in their thirtieth cycle…maybe more," he corrected. "Long a mother cares for her young in my species."

"You mean, your females have a pouch here," Ravana asked, pointing to her mid-section. "And they can take their child in and out of it for thirty years?"

"Indeed," Koda nodded. "Your kind does this not, I take it?"

"No…we don't," Ravana stammered.

"As you can see, we are not exactly knowledgeable about your kind or how to care for one," Din cut in. "Thus, we are hoping to reunite him with his parents, and any assistance you can offer would be of great help."

"For eons, roamed the galaxy, my kind have, though only one planet call home, we do," Koda informed them. "Find his family there you will, if there be any hope of doing so. Strange it be to find a youngling abandoned off world. Very strange."

"We believe he was kidnapped, not abandoned," Ravana explained.

"For what purpose, would this be so?" Koda demanded, in confusion.

Yet before either of them could answer, the kid began reaching his hands up to touch the eyepatch the older version of himself wore, finding the object fascinating.

"No, sweetie, don't touch," Ravana told him, thinking it was the height of rudeness, but Koda just laughed.

"Curious he is," he said with a smile. "Natural for younglings." He then reached up and flipped the leather patch over, showing the kid his damaged eye, a jagged scar framing the now milky white orb within the socket. "Mining accident it was, robbing me of my sight many years ago." But before he could cover it up again, the child's hand moved towards his face, placing his fingers over the useless eye, his own face taking on a look of concentration.

Both Din and Ravana held their breath, knowing what was about to happen, but not sure how this Koda would react. Pure shock came over the older alien's face and while he stiffened up, at least he didn't pull away or accidentally drop the kid. It didn't take long, though to all involved it felt like a lifetime. Yet, when the child pulled his hand back, looking quite exhausted after his efforts, all could see that the damaged eye had been healed.

"See now, I can!" Koda gasped, his own hand reaching up to wiggle in front of his now working orb. "How?"

"This is why we believe the kid was taken from his family and eventually came under our care," Din informed the stunned Koda. "He has strange powers, and not just the ability to heal, but to move objects with his mind as well."

"Ahhhh, Force sensitive he is," the adult alien nodded in understanding. "Time for another of our kind, it would seem."

"Force sensitive?" the Mandalorian questioned. "What is that?"

"Long have I lived," Koda said with a sigh. "For six hundred years I have been around, seeing much. And while this is not the first of my species to have abilities like this, the first one I have met, he is." Here he brought the child's forehead against his own in a sign of affection. "My thanks you have, youngling, for my sight you have returned. Do all I can to see you safe, I will." He then looked up at the two humans, a serious look on his wrinkled green face. "The Force, a living energy, it is, found within all sentient things. A power one may tap into, if born sensitive to its presence they are. Abilities it gives you, to move objects, to foresee the future, and apparently to heal. Long had the Jedi used the Force to keep peace in the galaxy, until upon them the Sith brought destruction. Many years now it has been since the Jedi were wiped out. But not gone the Force is. No, lives in this special child it does, and protected he must be."

"Then you will help us find where he belongs?" Din questioned, a mixture of hope and disappointment in his tone.

"Help you, yes," Koda said firmly. "Take you there I will, if you allow me to come too. Long it has been since seeing my home world I have." He then turned his attention back to the grinning kid in front of him. "Thanks to you, youngling, see it now with two good eyes I will."

Once more the child gurgled and cooed, seeming to understand the words Koda was saying, or at least the tone in which they were spoken.

"You are welcome to travel with us," Din agreed. "Though we don't have much in the way of comfort."

"For the hospitality of you and your wife, grateful I am," Koda told them with a nod, obviously having noticed her bonding bracelet.

"Actually, we're not…" Ravana began, but Din cut her off, gripping her hand under the table.

"We're not set up for passengers," he finished, giving Ravana's hand a reassuring squeeze. "But I believe we can find you a bunk."

"Luxury not accustom to, am I," Koda assured them. "Fine anything will be." He then looked at the dishes and bowls set on the table in front of him. "Now, food you mentioned. To eat, what is there?"

"Oh, forgive me," Ravana laughed. "I got so distracted by the conversation I forgot to offer you some." She quickly uncovered the dishes she'd made, nothing fancy, but it was tasty and filling. Yet, as soon as the alien saw what she'd fixed, he got a concerned look on his face.

"No live meat? No frogs?" he asked, appearing forlorn. "Know nothing of our species, you do. How the child survived this long on food such as this I do not know."

"Oh, he's eaten a frog or two," Din muttered, recalling with utter revoltion the few times he'd gotten his hands on one. "But he also seems to enjoy the food Ravana makes just fine."

"But I would very much appreciate it if you would teach me how to cook for him," she added. "I would hate to be depriving him of things he needs to grow strong."

"Stop cooking, first you must," Koda implored. "Raw…or live, be best for growing younglings."

"Live?" Ravana asked, swallowing hard at the idea and looking at Din for help. "Well, that might be a little harder to come by…but we'll do anything to help the kid."

"Go back to my site and pack my things, I will," Koda announced, ignoring the food and handing the kid over to Din. "Return in the morning. Then we go. Yes?"

"Yes. Thank you," the Mandalorian nodded, standing and hitting the button to allow their guest to exit. The small green creature headed off into the night, only sparing them a wave over his stooped shoulder before disappearing. Din then stared down at the child in his arms. "Looks like you're going home, little fellow. What do you think of that?" And while the kid seemed pleased by the idea, the Mandalorian felt rather torn.

.

.

That night, after Ravana had put the String-bean to bed, she climbed the ladder to where Din sat in the cockpit. At first she thought he might be asleep, for he was sitting very still, and she almost turned around and left, but his voice stopped her.

"I'm awake," he announced, apparently having read her mind, or at least her expression by means of the reflective windows. "I take it you wish to talk?"

"Only if you do," she answered, sensing the hesitation in his question.

"Sit," he commanded, gesturing to the empty seat as he swiveled around to face her. "It's best we clear the air."

Ravana did take a seat, though she felt unsure what to do with her hands, especially when no matter what she did, her bonding bracelet was on full display. At last, Din gave a heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry you had to marry me," he began. "It wasn't the plan."

"You're sorry?" she asked in a shocked voice. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. What do you have to be sorry about?"

"I agreed to go through with the marriage ceremony to keep you safe, but I didn't stop to think of the emotional issues it might cause for you," he explained. "Perhaps your people only bond for life, or maybe you don't, but whatever the case, I failed to take your thoughts under concideration before I acted."

"Mando…" here she stopped, looking down at her fidgeting hands. "Or…should I call you Din now?"

"Whichever you like," he told her. "I'll answer to either."

"But which would you prefer?" Ravana clarified.

For a moment he was silent, his expressionless helmet staring back at her. Then he gave one of his characteristic sighs.

"Din," he answered. "It was the name my parents gave me, and it's been a while since anyone has used it. Though, perhaps only when we are alone. Use Mando when we're in public."

"All right…Din," she smiled. Touched that he would trust her to use such a personal moniker. "And, to answer your question, no…on Pessue people do not marry for life. If a person's spouce passes on, they are free to seek another marriage. However, I had always assumed that once I found someone I wished to wed, I would remain married forever. But what took place today was not that kind of marriage. We are not in love, nor did we enter into this for any other reason but to fool a bunch of desperate miners with weapons. Hardly the fairytale wedding every young girl dreams about."

"Then you are not upset with me?" he questioned.

"Why in the world would I be upset?" she laughed. "Like you said, you only did it to protect me. I should be thanking you…which I would like to officially do." Here she sat forward and reached out, taking his hand in hers. She felt him stiffen, but he didn't pull away. "Thank you, Din Djarin, for once again coming to my rescue and saving me from my own stupidity. I honestly don't know what I would do without you."

"If it weren't for me, you would never have been put in this position in the first place," was his rather uncomfortable sounding answer. "You would still be living your carefree life back on Pessue…not being forced to roam the galaxy with me as a wanted fugitive looking for a planet of small green aliens."

"Ah, but look at it this way," she said with a smile. "If I hadn't met you, I would still be living back on Pessue, never having seen even a fraction of the galaxy or meeting so many new and interesting people, not to mention heading to some mysterious planet full of small green aliens."

"Wasn't that what I just said?" Din questioned with a tilt of his head.

"It's all in the way you say it though," Ravana laughed. "And I prefer to see the bright side in all this. It might not be the perfect situation, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Even the fact that for this moment in time, I'm officially Mrs. Din Djarin. Kind of boggles the mind, doesn't it?"

"Something like that," he agreed.

"But don't worry, I won't start nagging you to take out the trash or pick up your dirty socks," she assured him with a wink. "But come next year, no matter where you are in the galaxy, you better remember our anniversary and at least send me a holo-card or something."

"If it will make you happy, I will endeavor to do my best," he told her with a chuckle. "I'll put the Razor Crest on lock down and then we best get some rest. No telling how early Koda will arrive tomorrow and then who knows how far away this planet of his. We could be in for a long trip."

"All right," she agreed, stifling a yawn herself. "I'll check on the kid and Zax and then turn in. You have a good night."

"You too," was his reply as she made her way down the ladder. After looking in on the String-bean and Zax, Ravana stood in the hold of the ship, her eyes going from Din's chamber door and then to her own. She suddenly realized that this was her official wedding night. How strange to think that she would now be spending it alone.

Then, with a shrug and a shake of her head, she went into her room and shut the door.

Sooooo, what did you think of all the strange things I made up about Yoda's species? Like the pouch. There is nothing written down about them, that I could find, so I started making things up. More strange facts to come...I hope you enjoy them. They are NOT cannon...just my brain-child ideas.

Well, this is going to be one uneventful wedding night to be sure. Oh well, Din doesn't see this as a real wedding anyway...not by Mandalorian standards at least.

So, they'll be heading to the kid's home planet soon. Whatever will they discover there? Maybe we'll find out on Monday!

Guest Reviews:

OliviaAdel: From what you said, I get the feeling that you have not received any of my messages. I know I've sent you at least five...have you checked your PM box? And if you have and they are not there, please let me know. I loved all your ideas, and some of them might have already been written, or will be used before the story is over...it appears we think along the same wave-length. ha ha. Thanks for your continued reviews, and please let me know if you've been receiving my responses. T.O.W.G.

MrsSlayBoss: Hello! Welcome. I would have wrote to you personally, but your ability to receive PMs is currently switched off. Is that on purpose, or by accident? Anyway, your story sounds exactly like what happened to me. I watched the Mandalorian, loved it, needed more, and immediately went to Fan Fiction. Unfortunately when I first looked there were NO STORIES...yet! Thankfully, there started to trickle in and I was happy. Of course by then my mind had already dreamed up this story and very soon I began to write and post it just to satisfy my creative urge for more Din. I'm glad you like how I'm portraying Mando...yes, he's hard since he doesn't talk much and he never shows his face or expressions. Talk about a difficult subject. ha ha. I'm tickled you like my OC too, since she is the only main character I can call my own. No, we don't know much about Yoda's species...hence my need to make a few things up. I hope you like them. Having something to work on during this whole quarantine thing has been good for me as well. Although, lately I've been working outside in the yard so much that I don't have as much time to write as I would like. But I'm still plugging away! Thanks again for reading and sending in such a nice review. T.O.W.G.

Phantom Guest: Yep, they got married for real! It's legal, no matter what anyone might think. They are indeed conflicted, liking the idea, but thinking the other doesn't...what fools these mortals be. Yep, she knows her husband's name...ironic that it took a marriage for her to learn it. Now let's see how long it lasts...(fingers crosses!) Thanks!