Shopping and Doctors

I don't own Star Wars Rebels!

Hera guided the twins into the store and led them to the mens section first. They browsed the aisles, Hera grabbing clothes that she thought would fit Ezra. Ezra and Kyla looked around and Ezra's gaze landed on an orange hoodie. Hera noticed Ezra looking at it and smiled, she picked up the hoodie.

"Do you like it, Ezra?" Hera asked.

"It's okay." Ezra shrugged.

Hera put it in the cart.

"You don't have to get it for me." Ezra insisted "There's plenty of stuff in there already."

"Ezra, I want to get it for you. Besides it's on clearance, it's no problem, really." Hera insisted.

Ezra sighed and looked away. Kyla put her hand on his shoulder and gave him a look.

Hera led them over to the women's section and started browsing through the shirts, dresses, pants, and skirts. She held up one dress, a sleeveless white one with flowers on it. Kyla scrunched up her nose and Hera laughed.

"Not a dress girl?" She asked.

Kyla shook her head.

"That's okay, I don't much like dresses either." Hera led them over to a display of jeans.

She grabbed a few pairs and put them in the cart. After a lot more clothes were piled in the cart, Hera led them to the dressing rooms.

"You go try these on, I'll wait out here and you can get whichever fit best." Hera said kindly.

When the twins returned, they each carried a bundle of clothes, though admittedly smaller than the pile they'd started with. Hera nodded and put the clothes back in the cart.

"Do you want anything else?" She asked.

"You don't need to get us anything else." Ezra insisted "Really."

"Ezra, I want to."

"But-"

"No buts." Hera shook her head "Let's go look at the books."

Ezra sighed but couldn't hide the excitement in his eyes at the mention of books. He and Kyla followed Hera towards the aisle. Hera made suggestions and held up books she said were very good.

Kyla looked at the Harry Potter series and Hera, noticing this, placed all seven books in the cart. Ezra knew why Kyla liked that series so much, it was one their parents had read to them when they were children.

After finding Ezra and Kyla more books than they could read in a year, Hera seemed satisfied. She took them to the checkout and bought everything. When everything was in bags, the total was almost two hundred and fifty dollars.

"Hera-" Ezra tried to protest.

"Ezra, this is half of what I spent on Zeb and Sabine when they first came to us and there's two of you." Hera warned "I really should get more." She muttered.

"You don't need to spend so much on us." Ezra said quickly "It's not necessary."

"It absolutely is necessary." Hera insisted "Your old clothes don't fit and they're filthy, please, let us take care of you."

Ezra sighed and looked pleadingly at Kyla but she just shrugged helplessly.

"Fine." Ezra grumbled.

Kyla elbowed him and gave him a pointed look.

"I mean, thank you, Hera."

Kyla simply smiled in thanks. Hera payed and piled the bags into the cart to take them out to the car. The twins followed her, Ezra whispered something to Kyla and she nodded.

"What're you talking about back there?" Hera teased.

"Nothing important." Ezra muttered.

"Hmm."

They arrived back at the Ghost and Ezra and Kyla helped unload the bags. Hera helped them take the mountains of clothes up to their respective rooms. It wasn't long before Kanan came home. Hera, Kyla, and Ezra were eating lunch when he walked in.

"Hey, kids." He greeted.

"Hi, Kanan." Ezra nodded.

"We've got an appointment in half an hour for you two." Kanan told them "So as soon as you're done, we can get going."

"What kind of appointment?" Ezra asked suspiciously.

"It's not bad, don't worry." Hera tried to assure them.

"What kind of appointment?" Ezra repeated.

"It's just a quick checkup." Kanan said calmly "Nothing to worry about."

"You mean a doctors appointment?" Ezra gasped "No, no, no, no, no, no! Please, no!"

"Ezra, you and Kyla need a checkup." Kanan insisted "We'll be right there the whole time."

Kyla whimpered.

Hera got up and moved over to Kyla's chair "It'll be okay, I promise, nothing bad will happen. Come on, let's go get ready to go."

Ezra groaned but got up. Kyla followed him to the mud room to get their shoes on.

Ezra whispered to his sister "Are you okay with this?"

Kyla sighed but shrugged "Do we have a choice?" She whispered.

They pulled on the shoes Hera had gotten them and went outside where Hera and Kanan were waiting in front of the car.

"Ready to go?" Kanan held the car door open for them.

"We don't have much choice." Ezra frowned as he climbed in the car.

Kyla nodded in agreement and followed her brother. Kanan sighed worriedly and got in the passenger seat. Hera drove off towards the doctors office. They rode in silence and Kanan glanced back at the siblings who were having a quiet almost conversation, with Ezra whispering and Kyla gently nodding and adding in little breathy responses.

"You doing okay back there?"

"We're fine." Ezra growled.

"Good, because we're here." Hera said, parking the car and unbuckling her seatbelt.

They all climbed out and Hera led them inside "Appointment under Syndulla." She told the receptionist.

"Take a seat, the nurse will be with you in a moment."

Kanan noticed how tense Ezra and Kyla were, and gently, but firmly clasped their shoulders. He knew that when street kids were scared they tended to run.

They didn't have long to wait before the nurse came out and called for "Ezra Bridger?"

Ezra jumped.

Kanan guided Ezra up "I'll take Ezra, Hera will stick with you, okay, Kyla?"

Kyla looked at Ezra and he hugged her tightly "You'll be fine, I'll see you soon."

"Try not to do anything stupid." Kyla joked softly.

"Kyla Bridger?"

This time it was Kyla who jumped. Hera and Kanan guided the two kids to the nurses and went back to the separate exam rooms.

Hera and Kyla's exam room

Hera watched as Kyla sat on the exam table, fiddling with her fingers, and glancing around furtively.

"Are you okay, Kyla?" Hera asked softly.

Kyla nodded sharply, wrapping her arms around herself.

"It's okay to be nervous."

"'Mm not nervous." Kyla whispered.

"Hon, I'm not gonna judge you." Hera assured her charge.

The doctor came in "Hello, you must be Kyla Bridger, I'm Dr. Sumar. It's nice to meet you."

Kyla stayed silent.

"Kyla doesn't like to talk to strangers." Hera explained.

"And you must be her mother?" Dr. Sumar checked.

"Not quite, I'm her foster mother." Hera corrected "My husband and I just took in Kyla and her brother yesterday. They've been on the streets for a while."

"Well, then the first thing we'd better check is if her vaccinations are up to date." Dr. Sumar started typing on his computer "Well, here we are, Kyla Bridger, age fourteen. Is that correct?"

"Yes." Hera nodded.

"Hmm. Mrs. Syndulla, may I speak to you outside for a moment?"

"Certainly, I'll be right back, Kyla."

Dr. Sumar led Hera into the hall "I'm not sure how to tell you this, but it appears Miss Bridger has never had any vaccinations."

Hera sucked in a breath "Well, we'll have to get that done then. Will we have to make a separate appointment or can you do it now?"

"I can do it now, it'll cost extra though."

"Alright." Hera agreed.

They reentered the exam room but Kyla was gone. Hera and Dr. Sumar looked around wildly, there was a vent under the exam table and it was missing.

"Oh, no." Hera sighed "I'd better call Kanan."

As if Kanan had heard her, her phone rang "Hera? Ezra ran off, he heard the doctor saying he needed vaccinations and escaped through the vents. Are you still with Kyla?"

"No, the vent's cover is gone here too." Hera freaked.

"Don't worry, I'll find them." Kanan assured her.

Kanan hung up and ran down the hall, looking around. Where would they go? Street kids knew to avoid cameras, crowds, and front doors. They would head for the back door, so that's where Kanan went too.

He got there and stepped in front of the door just as the twins rounded the corner and stopped short at the sight of Kanan.

Their foster father crossed his arms "And where are you two going?"

Ezra tried to duck around him but Kanan grabbed his arm.

"Please," Kyla's soft voice seemed to echo "we're sorry, we're just, we just-"

"We didn't want the shots." Ezra sighed "Please, no needles."

Kanan realized that on the street, needles were often associated with drugs. He sighed and ran his hand over his face.

"It's to help you stay healthy." He tried to explain "Look, if you do this, we can...I don't know, go get ice cream or something."

Ezra scoffed and Kyla put a hand on his arm, giving him a look. She whispered something in his ear.

"Alright." Ezra smirked "We'll do it, on one condition. We get two hours after school to do whatever we want, no questions."

"An hour." Kanan bargained.

"Hour and a half or we leave." Ezra warned.

"Fine." Kanan sighed, he pulled out his phone and dialed Hera "Hey, Hera, I've found them. I'm bringing them back now."

"Thank goodness." Hera breathed a sigh of relief "I'll let Dr. Sumar know. Thanks, love."

Kanan guided the siblings back to their exam rooms, dropping Kyla off with Hera first then taking Ezra back to the other room. Ezra sat down nervously on the edge of the exam table.

"Ezra, please don't run away like that again." Kanan sighed "Just talk to us. We understand your fear."

"No, you don't." Ezra muttered.

The Doctor came in carrying a bunch of shots. Ezra froze in fear. Kanan noticed this and slowly moved closer to his foster son. He took the boy's hand and squeezed it tightly as the Doctor wiped Ezra's forearm and pressed the first needle into his skin.

Ezra winced and blinked hard, Kanan felt Ezra's nails dig into his hand but didn't pull away. He just held on tighter and let the boy clutch his hand. The Doctor finished the shots, put a bandaid on the site, and stepped back.

"It's over, Ezra. You did great." Kanan soothed "Are we done, Doctor?"

"We are, you can go." The Doctor nodded "Miss Bridger should be done in a moment. You're welcome to wait in the lobby."

"Thank you." Kanan put his arm around Ezra's shoulders and guided the shaky boy out of the room.

It wasn't long before Kyla and Hera came out. Hera had Kyla's hand held tightly and was gently leading her to her brother and Kanan.

"Ezra!" Kyla gasped in relief.

"Kyla!" The twins fell into each other's arms and Ezra gently pushed his sister's hair behind her ears.

"Why did you run?" Hera asked once they reached the car "We were worried."

"You were?" Kyla asked.

"Of course we were." Hera nodded "What happened?"

"I was in the room and Ezra came through the vent, he said we were going to get shots and, well, on the street, shots means..."

"Oh, you thought we meant drugs?" Hera asked.

The twins looked at each other and shrugged.

"When you say its like that, it doesn't seem very logical." Ezra sighed "We're sorry."

"Oh, hon, you don't need to apologize for being scared, just talk to us next time." Hera sighed.

"Okay." Ezra and Kyla muttered in unison "Sorry."

"Well, you both got your shots and came back, so I think we can get some ice cream on the way home." Kanan smiled.

The next day was the twin's first day at school in over seven years. And to say they were nervous was an understatement. They were terrified. Hera made breakfast that morning and they all sat in silence.

"So, are you ready for the first day?" Sabine asked.

"Not really." Ezra sighed "We haven't been to school in forever."

"Well, you'll do fine." Sabine tried to reassure them "I'll be there so you don't need to worry."

"And after school, we'll go do our thing." Ezra whispered to Kyla.

"What do you mean?" Hera asked.

"Kanan said yesterday, if we came back we could have an hour and a half to do anything we wanted after school." Ezra explained.

"Kanan said that?" Sabine asked, surprised "I'm older than you two and I have to come home after school, well, after art club."

"Kanan talked to me about it." Hera nodded "Just promise me you'll stay safe."

"We will. We know our way around town." Ezra nodded.

"We'd better get going." Sabine stood up "Zeb, can you give us a ride?"

"Sure." Zeb nodded "Hera, can we take the Phantom?"

"Go ahead, just bring it back in one piece, okay?" Hera joked.

"You got it, Hera. Let's get going."

The twins followed Sabine and Zeb out to the car and climbed in. Zeb drove them to the school and dropped them off.

"Hey, Sabine!" A voice called when they walked in "Who're the newbies?"

"These are my new foster siblings." Sabine introduced "Kyla, Ezra, this is Leon and Jai. Leon and Jai, meet Kyla and Ezra."

"Nice to meet you, new kids." Leon nodded "What grade are you in?"

"We're freshman." Ezra answered "You?"

"Sophomores. Same as Sabine." Jai laughed and elbowed the girl.

"Shut up, Jai." Sabine shoved his shoulder gently "Look, I'll see you in class, I'm gonna show Ezra and Kyla around."

"We can help with that." Leon offered.

"Are you guys okay with that?" Sabine asked.

Ezra looked to Kyla who shrugged "Sure." He said.

"Great, what's your schedule like?"

"Um, I've got English, art, ugh, math, and history." Ezra read from his schedule.

"What about you, Kyla?" Jai asked.

Kyla just held out her schedule.

"Hey, can you talk?" Jai asked.

Kyla nodded.

"Kyla doesn't like to talk much." Sabine jumped in "She's shy."

"Oh, that's okay." Leon nodded "Just stick with us. We'll make sure no one bugs you."

"Thanks." Ezra nodded "She's got the same classes as I do, just at different times."

"Well, then we can just show you the classrooms together." Jai suggested "Come on."

The twins followed him, Leon, and Sabine around the school and before they knew it, the bell rang. Kyla jumped at the loud noise and Ezra clasped her hand, not wanting to let go.

"Come on, Ezra, your first class is down this way." Leon said "See you later, Kyla."

Kyla bit her lip nervously but released Ezra's hand and waved as Jai and Leon led him away down the hall.

Sabine put her hand on Kyla's shoulder "You can do this. Come on, let's head to class, yours is three doors down on the right."

Kyla nodded and turned away. She went down the hall and entered the classroom.

"Ah, you must be the new student." The teacher nodded, he was a tall man "I'm Mr. Gerrera. And you are?"

Kyla took a deep breath, she had to speak now "I'm Kyla." She whispered "Kyla Bridger."

"What? Speak up!"

Kyla shivered and took another calming breath "Kyla. My name is Kyla." She said a little louder.

"Well, Kyla, take a seat. I hope you're a fast learner, 'cause you've missed half the year and I won't go over it again."

Kyla nodded and hurried to an empty seat in the back.

"Hey, don't worry about Mr. G. He seems tough but he's actually not too bad." A girl next to Kyla whispered "I'm Numa, by the way."

Kyla nodded nervously and pulled out a piece of paper to take notes. It was a math class, a subject she hated, but she wanted to do well. Mr. Gerrera spent most of class having them take notes off a slideshow and explaining the equations.

Ezra wasn't having a good time either, he was in English and the teacher Mrs. Tua was making them read a book called "The Feed".

(A/N I hated this book in high school. All we talked about in book club for a week was how much we all hated that book. Now, I don't hate a lot of books, but this one...anyway, back to the story. Sorry for the rant!)

Ezra was a quick reader and finished the chapter quickly. He pulled out one of the books Hera had gotten him and opened it.

"What do you think you're doing?" Mrs. Tua asked, coming up behind him "That isn't the assigned reading."

"I finished the chapter." Ezra tried to explain "I decided to read this now."

"Did you complete the worksheet?"

"What worksheet?" Ezra asked.

"This worksheet." Mrs. Tua held out a paper "Fill it out and when you're done then you can read your own book."

Ezra sighed but took the paper and started to write. He wasn't as good at writing as he was at reading, they hadn't had any pencils on the streets so he didn't have much practice. Ezra bit his lip hard as he wrote in an untidy chicken scratch. By the time he was done, there was only a minute left in class.

"Pass your worksheets to the front." Mrs. Tua ordered "When the bell rings you may leave."

Ezra glanced down at his paper, it was untidy but it was done and mostly legible. He passed the paper up and the bell rang. Ezra had to fight his way through the crowds of students to get to his next class, he was short and skinny, but not weak. After seven years on the streets, Ezra had gotten stronger and smarter.

After his next class it was time for lunch. Ezra quickly found his way to the cafeteria and spotted Sabine in the corner. He walked up to her and her friends.

"Hey, Sabine, have you seen Kyla yet?" He asked nervously, they hadn't been apart in a while.

"No, but I'm sure she'll be here soon." Sabine smiled "Look, there she is."

She pointed to the door and there was Kyla. A tall boy was standing next to her, pointing around the room. Ezra felt anger bubble in his chest at the boy who was talking to his sister.

"Kyla!" He said, getting up and walking over "Come sit with Sabine and I."

"Who are you?" The boy frowned "She's sitting with me."

"How do you know she wants to sit with you?" Ezra growled.

"She said so."

"No, she didn't. Kyla doesn't talk."

"Who are you?" The boy sneered.

"I'm her brother, now back off." Ezra snarled, drawing back his lips to show his teeth.

"Oh, sorry." The boy backed up immediately "I don't want any trouble."

Kyla put her hand on Ezra's shoulder and dragged him back to Sabine's table.

"Was that guy bothering you, Kyla?" Jai asked.

Kyla shook her head but Ezra said "Yes, he was."

Kyla smacked his shoulder gently. The table laughed and they chatted for the rest of lunch about the classes, the teachers, and the other kids. The rest of the day went by quickly for the twins and they raced out with Sabine following behind them.

"Sabine!" Kanan called "Ezra, Kyla!"

"What?" Ezra slowed down and walked up to Kanan who was sitting in the Phantom "You said we could do whatever we wanted for an hour and a half after school." He accused.

"I know, I'm just picking up Sabine. I just want you to stay on the light side of town and stay safe." Kanan said.

"We'll be fine, don't worry." Ezra nodded.

"Okay, see you soon." Kanan waved as he and Sabine drove off.

"Let's go, Kyla!" Ezra grinned "We've gotta do a check around town and then Ghoul wants to talk to us."

Word count: 3360 words
Please don't forget to comment, vote, and add to your reading lists!
Love,
The Author