Din was flooded with a mixture of emotions as he watched Cara walk towards him with the baby in her arms. The child chirped happily at seeing him awake, its arms stretching out as it tried to reach him. Cara placed him on the bed beside Din, not saying a word as she sat down on the floor beside his cot and watched as he picked it up and placed it on his chest.

'Why did you do it?' he asked, knowing the child couldn't reply 'You could have died.'

'But he didn't' interjected Cara 'and he brought you back to us.'

'Thats, not the point Cara!' he spat, his tone venomous 'you should have stopped him.'

'I did!' she growled 'As soon as I saw what he was doing I ripped him away from you.'

Din didn't answer, just looked at her as she fought to keep her temper at bay.

'The words you said to me when I held you dying in the Cantina, they echoed in my head and I couldn't let you down.'

'You didn't' said Din, his voice cracking as his guilt began to build.

'Well according to you I did!' she spat 'I carried you here, I tended to your collapsed lung. I saved your damn life and all I get it grief from you.'

Din looked quickly at the child and them back at Cara again. The child really was fine. Violent coughs racked his body and he placed the child down on the floor before wrapping his arms around his bruised body. Cara jumped to his side and place a hand on his shoulder as she tried to help him through the fit. When they subsided Din was left gasping for breath, his lungs winded by the ordeal.

'Just take a deep breath in and out Mando.' Said Cara as she showed him 'just calm your breathing.'

The Mandalorian mirrored her movements and found himself finally catching his breath again. He looked down at his bandaged chest and saw that his front was a patchwork of bruises. No wonder he hurt so much.

'You need to rest now.' she said as she picked up the child 'you're not going to get better if you move.'

Din nodded at her and watched as she carried the baby out of the room. When she left she shut the door behind her, meaning he was able to take off his helmet. With a hand either side, he lifted it off of his head, wincing as its interior passing brushed against the many cuts that covered his face. Reaching beneath the bed he pulled a small box out. Opening it he pulled out a small mirror and lifted it so that he could see the damage. His face was a mess but the thing that struck him the most was the dried blood that spread from his mouth, down this chin and parts of his neck. He would need to clean that up at some point. He let his head fall back onto the pillow beneath it. He welcomed the feeling of soft fabric against his head and neck, made a difference from the padding of his helmet. He scrunched his eyes shut as another wave of pain washed over him. As it passed he thought about what Cara had told him. He tried to remember what happened, staring up at the ceiling as an image of Gideon pointing his blaster at him appeared before his eyes. He remembered the man switching his aim at the last minute. The heat from the blast as it sent him hurtling backwards and then there was darkness. The next thing he remembered was being dragged by Cara into the cantina. The pain had been unbearable and breathing had been so hard. He remembered how scared he had been. Not because he was going to die but because he was going to leave the child. He hadn't realised until he lay there bleeding to the death against a collapsed stone table that he had come to love the child like a son and now he was. His memories after that were muddled but he next clearest one was of him falling, his arms grasping at the air as his jet pack fired up a few times and slowed his descent but despite that he hit the ground with a thud. He could then remember tasting blood, breathing becoming harder and harder but at that moment he had made his peace with death. He was happy to die knowing that Gideon was death and the child was safe. The images flashed to Cara holding him in her arms. She'd been crying.

Did I really die? he thought to himself as breathed himself through another wave of pain.

After it passed he could feel himself growing tired, his eyes growing tired and he let his exhaustion take him. Closing his eyes he allowed himself to slip into oblivion, welcoming the numbness that it brought.

§

Greef looked at Cara who was slouched in one of the Co-pilots' chairs, playing with the Child that was perched on the other. They had barely spoken two words to each other since getting the Mandalorian back here.

'How's the patient?' he said, breaking their silence.

'Resting.' she replied as she looked up at the man 'As long as he doesn't go flying around take any more ships down and rests. I think he'll be fine.'

'Good I'm glad to hear it,' he replied as he stood from his seat 'I think I will return to the town. I still have a guild to run.'

Cara just nodded in response and Greef took that as his cue to leave. Climbing down the ladder he landed on the loading bay floor with a bang. Walking to the bay door he pressed the button to lower it but his attention was drawn the door that he knew Din dwelled behind. He hoped that Cara was right and that the Mandalorian would recover. When asked he would say that he wanted his best hunter back but in truth, he had come to care for him. Taking one last glance and the door he descended the ramp and headed back to town. Cara watched him disappear into the distance
from the window of the cockpit. The child giggled and squeaked behind her from his perch, sucking on a metal ball that she had gathered Din had given him. She could see his big eyes growing heavy before he sat down and leaned back against the soft blankets in the hit makeshift cot. Cara smiled as the little thing fells into a deep sleep, its ears twitching as it dreamed. The shock trooper slipped through the door and as silently as she climbed down the ladder to the lower deck. She laid herself down on a bench that lined one of the bay walls. She shut her eyes for a moment, her ears tuning in to the silence on the ship. Every now and then there would be a creak or a beep.

'Cara.'

Cara got up with a start, unsure initially where the voice had come from. Getting up onto her feet she walked towards Din's quarters and opened the door. He was laying there, helmet in place and breathing quickly.

'Whats wrong?' she asked as she dropped to his side.

'I don't feel right.' he replied.

She was shocked with his honesty she placed her hand on his arm and was alarmed by how warm he was. She checked over his wounds that were visible and were happy they were healing, so what was wrong with him?

'Have you got any medicine on this ship?' She asked 'Bacta? Antibiotics?' she asked.

'No.' was his reply.

'How have you lived this long without medicine on your ship?'

'I have had it!' he growled in response 'I just haven't had a chance to restock it since picking up the kid.'

Cara did not push him for answers. She knew that bounty hunting was a dangerous profession and undoubtedly he sustained several injuries in his time as one. Now she was unsure what to do. She couldn't leave him and the child here alone. She wondered if Greef would answer is she called him.

'Well you're developing a fever so we need to get you something.' she said as she pulled her hair back from her face.

'I'll be fine.' he said as he placed one arm around his broken ribs.

'No you won't' she replied, her tone louder as her frustration grew 'You are developing a fever Mando. If I don't get you some medicine it's going to be the next thing that kills you.'

Din didn't answer, just stared at her through his visor. He could tell she was angry but he wasn't aware of just how much. She had been left to tend a half-dead Mandalorian and a child with magic powers. She could scream but relaxing her posture slightly she knelt beside her friend again.

'Din you need to take this seriously' she said as she changed her tone to one much softer 'You literally died… If it wasn't for your kid I'd be burying you right now.'

Din flinched at her remark but still didn't say anything.

'He brought you back but he couldn't heal your wounds too.' she continued 'You need proper care and medicine. You will die if we don't get you some medicine and quickly.'

'Okay.' was his reply, unsure of how to respond to her.

'Just let me help you,' she paused, looking at Din with pleading eyes 'please.'