A/N: In this chapter, Zeb will go through a bad time of readjusting to life on Yavin IV as part of the GHOST crew. His relationship with Ayessa will get stronger as she will take over caring for the troubled Lasat. On a side note, I might not be able to update as much due to a possible breast cancer diagnosis. Having a biopsy done October 2 and feeling a bit nervous. I still have a couple of chapters left and will update when I can. Warning for mature content; a scene with Zeb and Ayessa.

Chapter 14 A Lasat's Healing

He ran through the jungle knowing that the hunters were close behind him. He was bleeding from new wounds he had just received in his latest encounter with the alien hunters. Zeb felt the muscles in his legs protest against the excessive punishment he was putting them through. Sitting by the river, he was washing off the newest wounds to his side and leg. His left ear was a ragged mess and half gone. He splashed water on his ear, sighing as the wet coolness was soothing to the ragged fur and flesh.

Zeb kept running and saw his furry companion, Ashla, get shot right in front of him. He proceeded to kill one of the hunters with his bare hands and legs. The scene changed to Zeb's battle with the hunter leader and it giving Zeb it's clan mark on the forehead.

"Karabast!" he hissed against the pain. His eyes squeezed shut and tears streamed down his furry cheeks, "No!"

Zeb opened his eyes to see he wasn't with the wounded hunter, but in a strange place. He tried to sit up but couldn't.

"Easy, Zeb," came a soothing voice and a touch on his furry head.

The Lasat opened his eyes more and as his vision cleared, he saw the smiling face of Hera.

"Hera?" he asked his voice hoarse from nonuse.

"Yes, Zeb, it's me, and Kanan is here too."

"Hey, big guy," Kanan said coming into the Lasat's view.

Zeb tried to sit up and was met by a wave of dizziness and he looked down to see he was on a bed in a medbay, but where? He discovered that his right arm was in a cast/brace from his fingers to nearly his shoulder, also his right thigh was in a thick bacta bandage and elevated on several pillows. His prehensile feet had bacta bandages on them as did his left hand. He reached up to feel a bandage over his left eye.

"Where am I?" he asked feeling Hera position the pillow behind his head better.

"You're home on Yavin IV in the medbay," Hera answered.

"Zeb, you spent a week in a bacta tank and had surgery on your right arm and leg," Kanan added, "You've been asleep the last five days. Hera, go get the others."

"Not too many visitors at once," came a feminine voice from the doorway. She was a human nurse named Sarah who was around sixty years of age but youthful looking, "Garazeb just got out of the bacta tank and went through major surgery."

"Okay, Sarah," Kanan said and saw Ezra and Sabine come in behind Sarah. Sabine was holding the Tarkaalian strill that had bonded to Zeb. The little animal 's nose twitched, catching the musky scent of her friend. She let out a whine and leaped out of Sabine's arms to run over and leap up onto the bed. She began to lick Zeb's face. Hondo and Melch who were still at the rebel base, stood by the doorway so the Lasat's family could spend time with him.

"A family reunion," the old pirate said softy to Melch, "It melts this old pirate's heart."

"Hey, Ne'Roos!" Zeb said reaching over with his good hand to pet her. That got the strill wriggling all over and her fluffy tail wagging with joy. Zeb began to laugh, the sound music to everyone's ears. It had been a long time since they heard the Lasat's booming laugh.

"Zeb!" both Ezra and Sabine cried out and ran over to give the Lasat gentle hugs, Sabine giving him a kiss on his now wet cheek from Ne'Roos' licking.

Zeb was soon visited by Rex, Kallus, Ele and Leka. The old trooper and former agent hoped that Zeb would soon feel well enough to play a round of Sabacc. Leka and Ele chose to give him hugs with Ele planting a kiss on his forehead near the hunter mark scar.

A sound like a sigh came from the doorway and everyone turned to see Ayessa standing there her face in a smile of love, her big golden eyes shiny with tears.

"C'mon, guys," Rex said gesturing to them to leave, "Let's let Ayessa have some private time with Zeb."

Hera and Kanan agreed and took Ezra and Sabine in tow, followed by Ele and Leka. Ne'Roos curled up on Zeb's chest, purring in a tone of contentment. Zeb watched them leave and he saw Ayessa in the doorway, her tall lithe body in a gown of blue like the sky. The front had a plunging neckline that showed the sides of her full breasts. Around her neck she wore the Barrelian necklace and on her head she wore a band of flowers, her long black hair loose and flowing over her shoulders.

"Hi...Ayessa," Zeb said his voice not carrying very far, but Ayessa heard it.

"Hello, Garazeb," she said and began to walk into the room. Zeb watched and a smile started to form on his face at the sight of the beautiful Barrelian female. Soon she was standing beside the bed.

Ayessa reached a hand down to caress his face and he closed his eyes at her gentle touch. He breathed deep taking in her honey scent, thinking it was the sweetest thing he had ever experienced.

"My, sycha," she whispered and bent down to kiss him tenderly on the lips. Zeb reached up with his good hand to run his fingers through her hair, the kiss deepening.

She pulled away and sat down on the side of the bed. Zeb looked into her golden eyes feeling himself get lost in their luminous hue. Ayessa kissed him again and put her hands on his shoulders pulling him up to a sitting position. She embraced him in a gesture of the purest love and Zeb layed his head on her shoulder relishing in the honey scent of her dark skin.

"Ayessa," he whispered as tears sprang to his eyes and threatened to fall.

"Yes, sycha?" she asked running a hand down his furry back. (All Zeb had on was a pair of shorts.)

"Ayessa...I love you."

The Barrelian female felt her heartbeat quicken at those words she had hoped he would speak to her.

"I...love you too, Garazeb. I've loved you since the first time I looked into your green eyes and saw that noble soul of yours looking back at me."

"You did?"

"Yes, sycha. When you are well, I want to join minds with you so we can be bondmates. I love you very much."

"I want us to be together, Ayessa," he said his eyes still teary, "I love you."

"Now rest," she said as she lowered him back down onto the bed, "I'll be here to take care of you. Ne'Roos is happy to see you too. She was very sad when you were in the bacta tank."

"I...knew you were there...with me," Zeb said lifting a hand up to grasp hers.

"You felt my presense in your mind?" she asked caressing his cheek. Ne'Roos chose to put herself between them for a pat on her furry head. That made them both chuckle.

"Yes," Zeb answered, "You...uh...were wearing a gown of gold...the top open."

Ayessa blushed remembering how she had unfastened the gown and it had slipped exposing her breasts.

"You saw that?"

"Yeah...it was a pretty sight."

"When we are joined," Ayessa said as she bent down to brush her lips against his furry cheek, "I will show you more."

Zeb's eyes widened, looking forward to seeing Ayessa's brown skin with golden hue in all it's naked glory. He would in turn show her all of his lavender fur with it's purple striping from his head to the toes of his big feet.

"Ayessa," he said brushing his lips against her cheek feeling the warm skin, "Stay with me?"

"Yes, my sycha," she answered and their lips met in a very passionate kiss, Zeb feeling the arousal start, but he held back until they were properly joined. He knew Ayessa's people followed strict rules for adult females to follow. He remembered the same thing for adult Lasat males. After they parted, Ayessa fluffed the pillows for him and made sure his right leg was in a comfortable position. Zeb smiled as he saw Ayessa lay next to him, pressing herself close and put an arm around his shoulders. The feeling wasn't sensual, but comforting and he closed his eyes soon falling asleep. Ayessa kissed him on the lips and leaned her head against his to also fall asleep.

The next several days, Ayessa hardly left his side and much to Sarah's surprise, insisted on caring for the Lasat as if she were a nurse. Sarah noticed that Zeb was more relaxed with Ayessa's tender ministrations and only stepped in when the Lasat needed medications or his bandages changed. The Barrelian female took over feeding Zeb, giving him sponge baths and changing the bedding when needed due to his musky scented fur. At first, Zeb was uncomfortable at Ayessa seeing his nearly naked body, but he soon got used to it. It made him more anxious to see Ayessa's naked body after they would be joined. Sarah had the orderlies put in a cot for Ayessa to sleep on, but most of the time, the Barrelian female would lay next to Zeb on the large hospital bed. Ayessa also noticed that alot of times, Zeb would suffer from bad dreams and would wake up shaking and nearly in tears.

"What is wrong with him?" she asked of Dr. D'Negel and Sarah when she was outside in the waiting area as Zeb was down in radiology getting x-rays of his broken arm to see how it was healing. Hera, Kanan and Rex were sitting with her seeing how tired she was getting. The others were off on a supply run.

"Garazeb is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, or as it is commonly called PTSD," the doctor said seeing the worried look on the Barrelian's face.

"I saw that alot with the clone troopers...during the Clone Wars," Rex said, "They would have bad dreams all the times...and some of them...were removed from service."

"You mean..." Hera said her face in a look of horror. She knew what he meant.

"Yes, Hera," Rex said his face in a frown, "The soldiers were deemed unstable and were terminated."

Kanan felt his stomach knot up at the thought of innocent men being killed because they were...damaged. He knew that Zeb would never have that happen to him as long as he was alive.

"What do we do?" Ayessa asked and saw Hera's eyes welling with tears.

"Just be there for him when he needs someone to comfort him," Dr. D'Negel said, "Garazeb has a hard battle ahead of him and the best thing for him is the love and support of his family. The physical wounds will heal, but the emotional ones will take longer. He endured a traumatic experience that could scar him for a long time. Sometimes, these emotional wounds never heal."

Hera and Kanan looked over at each other and with that gaze, they resigned themselves to becoming surrogate "parents" to the older Lasat if need be. They knew that Ezra and Sabine would be a big help in his recovery, but Ayessa would be the greatest help of all. She loved Zeb and that love would aid in his recovery more than any medications.

"I will take care of him, when he gets out of the medical facility," Ayessa said as she stood up, her tall frame making the others feel short, "We are to be joined as bondmates and since he is my sycha, I will take care of him."

"It could get ugly, Ayessa," Rex said hoping not to anger her, "I've seen first hand how bad an emotional breakdown can get. Are you ready for a Lasat to become hysterical and perhaps violent?"

"Yes," she answered looking back into the room where the Lasat would be brought back to, "I am Barrelian and can take anything. Garazeb needs me...needs my love and that's what he needs right now, nothing else!"

"Okay," Kanan added seeing how stubborn the tall beauty was. She was the perfect mate for a Lasat, "Know this, Ayessa, we are all here to help you. Just ask and we'll take over caring for Zeb if you need a break. It will be a long recovery for him."

Ayessa was satisfied with that...

A week later, Zeb was released from the medical facility and the GHOST crew hoped he'd return to the ship, but he wanted to stay with Ayessa. They didn't pressure him in any way seeing how fragile his emotional state was. Since his return, Zeb was quieter, hardly smiled and showed no interest in playing Sabacc with Rex and Kallus. Sabine and Ezra tried to get him involved in some sparring practice that he was able to do with one arm, but all he did was decline and sit watching them. Ayessa became his constant companion and even had the rebels move in an extra bed in her quarters so Zeb could stay with her. She gave the Lasat her spacious bed even though he insisted on her laying next to him. Nothing sexual happened between them, and Ayessa felt like she were caring for someone alot younger than her even though she and Zeb were close in age. The Lasat hated to be alone and would have panic attacks if Ayessa even left his sight. Dr. D'Negel had Ayessa give him sedatives to ease his fears and the Lasat was easier to take care of. No matter how much trouble Zeb gave her, Ayessa never complained and put up with his mood swings and constant nightmares. She tried to get him to tell her about what he had experienced during his two years away from her. Try as she might, he would never open up to her, and just changed the subject when she tried to ask him about it. One day he would have an emotional breakdown that would scare her.

On a warm day, she decided to take Zeb for a walk to the waterfall, knowing how much the Lasat loved the place and how he liked to hold her hand. Making sure he had on a warm coat with the rainy season coming on, they walked to the waterfall. Zeb didn't say a word and held on to her hand not unlike a child. He kept his head down and just watched the ground as they walked.

"Even cold, it's still pretty here, don't you think?" she asked seeing that he was getting a little tired, "Let's rest for a bit before we go back."

"Okay," was all he said and sat down on the grass that was surprisingly warm in the changing season.

She sat down and had him sit next to her so he could lay his head on her shoulder. Zeb lifted his head up to gaze out at the waterfall that was covered in a mist from the flowing water. A small smile crossed the Lasat features and for a moment he looked like the Garazeb she fell in love with. He leaned against her more and closed his eyes.

"Garazeb," she said as she put her arm around his shoulders bringing him closer to her coat-covered body, "You know you can talk to me about anything. If we are to be joined, we have to be honest with each other. Please tell me what you are feeling. I can't sense you anymore. You have closed yourself off to me, sycha, and that makes me sad."

"I don't want to talk about it," he muttered.

"Garazeb," she said putting a hand under his bearded chin to lift his face up so he had to look at her, "You need to talk about it. Keeping all this anger, fear and sadness inside is eating you up! I love you, and want to help you! Please, sycha, talk to me!"

Zeb swallowed hard seeing the hurt in her golden eyes and he felt awful for making her suffer. Taking a deep breath, he began to tell his lover about what happened to him on the jungle planet. Ayessa listened, feeling her heart break at his words and seeing the anger and sadness in his eyes. Zeb continued to tell her about being hunted like a wild animal and how he kept two steps ahead of the alien hunters even while injured. She couldn't imagine what he went through and listened as he told her about killing two of the younger hunters and how he tore the head off one of them. Hearing that made her almost sick to her stomach, but she realized he didn't have a choice in order to stay alive. As he continued to talk, she noticed that his stress level was elevating signaling he was close to a breakdown.

"The worst was when they killed...Ashla," he said his voice shaky and tears in his eyes, "I lost the only friend I had on that planet! They killed her! They...killed her!"

Zeb leaned against Ayessa more and she saw that a deep frown had formed on his face and his Lasat fangs were in a sneer showing that he was getting angry. Suddenly, he pulled away from her and began to beat on any rocks that were within reach of his left hand. Growling, he kept up until he ran out of breath and sat panting. Ayessa watched him never seeing that side of him before and it frightened her.

"Garazeb," she said as she reached over to place a hand on his shoulder. He growled, baring his teeth and curled up next to a big rock, "Garazeb, please...let me help you."

His anger left and he lifted up his head to see her staring at him with those golden eyes so full of love and kindness. Something broke inside the Lasat. He put his hands over his face and began to cry in gulping sobs, his thin body shaking. Ayessa put her arms around him pulling him closer as his crying intensified. She murmured comforting words knowing she could be in for hours of crying but didn't care; she loved him too much and would take care of him.

"Sycha," she whispered, "Listen to my voice. Listen to it's calming tone. That's it, keep listening."

She caressed his furry head and kissed him on his forehead hoping to calm the intense weeping. He sounded like a small child instead of an adult Lasat. She just rocked him in her arms continuing to utter words of comfort in her native tongue. He began to get the hiccups from the sobbing and Ayessa ran her hands down his back in circles of comfort hoping to ease the discomfort. She closed her eyes and reached out telepathically to the Lasat. Suddenly a golden light appeared around Ayessa and enveloped the weeping Lasat in it's soothing hues. Ayessa kept on with the murmurs of comfort and felt his crying begin to ease off. She caressed his head and then gave him a kiss on the forehead. That act made his tears slow up more. Ayessa held him closer feeling the shaking begin to ease off and she knew that her telepathic touch was soothing to him. After nearly a half hour, Zeb had calmed enough that he lay snuggled up to her and she could feel his breathing had slowed. She gave him another kiss on the forehead near the strange scar.

"You...you missed," he said his voice catching in a leftover sob.

"What was that?" she asked looking down at his tear-stained face.

"You missed."

"What do you mean, Garazeb?"

She realized what he meant when he reached up to give her a tender kiss on the lips. A smile appeared through his tears as he felt her give into the kiss.

"Garazeb," she whispered as she caressed his wet cheeks, "Kiss me again."

Zeb put his good arm around her pulling her closer and gave her a very passionate kiss feeling her relax in his embrace. Feeling her so close, brought on a state of arousal that he was finding hard to surpress. Ayessa was equally aroused and was pressing her body closer as she kissed him again...harder. The Barrelian female leaned over to position herself on his lap and looked down at his green eyes seeing the love in them. She embraced him tighter and felt his arousal growing in the lower region, but she didn't care. She loved him so much that she would forgo a mind joining to just be close to him. He began to kiss her neck making her moan softly and felt his good hand caressing her shoulders and down her back to her buttocks. Ayessa pulled away for a moment and then reached up to unfasten her coat and the tunic underneath to expose her full breasts that brought a smile to his face. He put his hand inside her coat and caressed the soft skin making her shiver and a little moan escaped her.

"Mate with me," he whispered in her ear as he kept caressing the breast feeling her shiver with desire.

"Garazeb," she whispered, her breath quickening, "We...shouldn't do this. We are not joined yet."

Even though her mind said to wait for an intimate encounter, her body was telling her yes and go for it.

"I don't care," he said and loosened his coat so she could touch his bare fur. He also loosened his pants to free the male part of him that was showing a high state of arousal and was ready for mating. Ayessa stared at that part of him and a smile crossed her face.

Ayessa pressed her body close and felt her brood pouch begin to pulsate with desire and loosened her pants to allow him a better entry of her brood pouch. Zeb pulled her closer and was about to enter her, when a stab of pain went through his broken arm and he groaned the arousal quickly leaving. Ayessa saw the color go out of his face and tears of pain appear. She did up her pants and coat and turned to help him do up his clothing. His eyes grew teary and he gritted his teeth showing how bad the pain was .

"Garazeb, we need to get you back to the medcenter. You are still in a great amount of pain."

"I'm sorry, Ayessa," he said his ears drooping, "I spoiled the romantic mood."

"Don't worry, my sycha," she answered helping him up and putting his arm back in the sling, "We'll have plenty of time for intimacy when we are joined. It is too soon for you anyway. Let's go home."

"Home," he said leaning his head over on her shoulder, "I like the sound of that."

With her arm around his waist, Ayessa helped Zeb back to the rebel base, her love for him growing even stronger...and her desire for him as well...