Whew, it's been past time for an update on this story. For me, the ideas ran kind of slow on this one for a while and so I wanted to figure out the perfect way to proceed. I hope this works for you, as well as it does for me. I'd love to know what you think about it!

7.

"Fried Mynock…and Rycrit stew?" Hera sighed happily as the scent of the food wafted over her upon entering the galley.

"Yeah. We picked up lunch on the way home," Ezra said. "Sabine? Phae? Think you might like Red Gourd Soup and Roba Pie? We found this little Mandalorian place on the way back to the ship."

"Mmm, Ezra. Marry me." Sabine purred as she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'll think about it." He replied with a grin. Then he glanced to Phae. "Caleb and Zeb got Melahnese food, if that's more to your liking."

"I think it all smells wonderful." Phae murmured, as she watched them move around the kitchen, bringing the food to the table. She could hear the love in their voices as Ezra teased Sabine and Hera questioned Caleb about what they had found.

They were all so close…and even though she knew that they didn't mean for her to feel this way, it made her feel unbearably alone to watch them getting dinner ready. They were a family, and she had no one. It made her heart ache—she hadn't known what she was missing until now.

She was still standing and staring when Hera gave her utensils and asked her if she would set the table. She took them and nodded. "Of…of course."

Trying not to draw attention, Phaedra made her way over and looked around, trying to figure out what to do. She'd never set a table in her life; nor had she really eaten at one, much. Memories of food on the run filled her mind. Protein bars, take-out, the occasional ration pack; there hadn't been much variety, but she'd never gone hungry when her mother was alive. Things were different out on her own on the streets.

Finally, she decided to set the utensils out in a pile. Spoons all together, forks all together, and knives. She laid the napkins on the table when she realized that her eyes were full of tears.

Blinking furiously, she looked around the room to see if any of them had noticed, but they were all busy in the galley. She turned away, wiping at her eyes when she felt a hand on her arm.

"Phaedra?"

It was Caleb. "Um…Y-yeah?" she asked in a trembling voice, not looking at him. She rearranged a spoon that had somehow gotten in with the forks and saw her hand was trembling.

"Are you…okay?"

"I'm…I'm fine. I just need a minute-" Phaedra turned away and fled toward the room she was staying in, unwilling to have him see her cry.

Ezra looked up when Phae ran from the room. Caleb was simply standing there, looking after her with a confused expression. The teenager brought a hand up and ran it through his thick brown hair, and Ezra was suddenly reminded of Kanan's nervous habit. It had been an unconscious gesture his Master had only engaged in if his hair wasn't in its nerf tail.

"Caleb? What happened?"

"I felt…that she…she was sad. I came to ask her if she was okay and she…" he gestured, "ran away. Did I say something wrong?"

Ezra shook his head as he carried over several food containers. "I doubt it. Give her a minute and then go and try to talk to her."

Caleb nodded.

"We'll wait on dinner until you get back." Hera said softly as she and Sabine placed the thermal covers back over the containers to keep the food warm. "In the meantime, we can share what we found." Hera said, motioning to Zeb, Sabine and Ezra.

"We hit one of the high-end weaponers on the East Side. I posed as a customer looking to buy a lightsaber…" Sabine began.

After a little while, Caleb made his way to his room, reaching out to sense the girl on the other side. He brushed his fingertips against the door and could feel her loneliness and sorrow like a curtain, blocking her off from the rest of them.

He knocked lightly.

There was a rustling and sense of movement on the other side. Then Caleb felt stillness. "Come in," she answered softly.

Caleb palmed the door and found Phae sitting on the bed, her legs hanging over the side. Her eyes were red, but she seemed less emotional than before.

"Hey," he said, not knowing what to say. He came over and sat on the other end of the bed, giving her some space.

They both began at the same time. "—Sorry!"

Phaedra laughed—a sad, soft little sound. "Go ahead."

"Can I help in some way, Phae?" He reached over and his hand came to rest gently on hers, like a bird lighting on a branch.

She kept her hand completely still. After a moment, she realized she was holding her breath. "No," she let it out in a sigh, daring to look down at her hand. "It's…stupid."

"Nothing you could say would be stupid," he assured her. She started to make a sarcastic comment, then glanced up at him and saw he was serious.

"Ok, try this. I feel like I don't belong here."

He nodded once, his whole attention focused on her. "Okay…Keep going…"

"You and your family…you're so close. I wish…" she trailed off, her voice shaking a little.

He looked across the room instead of right at her, giving her some space and she continued. "I wish I had a family like yours." She blurted, feeling helpless, frustrated and vulnerable. Admitting it seemed like it rubbed her the wrong way, like gritpaper used to smooth out a harsh edge.

Caleb nodded slowly. "I guess my family's hard to get to know because we are so close. The adults…they went through a lot during the war. So many people my mom knew…and flew with…died. Pilots she taught…killed by the Empire. My dad…he died saving Lothal. Ezra was my father's Padawan and when my dad died…it did something to him. He was really sad. For a long time." He stared down at their hands, which were now intertwined and he could not remember when or how her fingers had closed into his own, but he squeezed her hand back tightly. He had never been able to talk about this with anyone before.

"I can sense his sadness," Phae said. "The other morning…he was meditating. When he showed me how, I could feel the sadness...like clouds around him. Coming and going."

Caleb nodded. "You know, Ezra saved me when I was eight. He fought one of those Inquisitors and lost the sight in his eye to get me back and keep me safe. Sabine got taken too, and Ezra came after us."

"What happened?"

"We were kidnapped. The Inquisitor wanted to make me into…a darksider." He shuddered.

She shook her head, biting her bottom lip. "Did…did they hurt you?"

He shook his head. "Not me. Not really. I had a lot of bad dreams for a while. Sabine…the Inquisitor hurt her, but she was okay in the end. Ezra saved us." He remembered the bad dreams that Sabine had had for a while afterwards. One time after hearing a cry in the hallway, he'd opened his door to see Sabine crouched in the hallway with Ezra's arms around her. "It's okay, Caleb. Go back to bed." He had whispered, holding his wife close to soothe her terror. It was a long time before those dreams subsided, and Caleb had never forgotten seeing Sabine look so lost and vulnerable.

"Wow." She shook her head.

"You know, he's a Jedi, but I'm supposed to say that he's just a man like everyone else…that the Force doesn't make anyone special…but I think he's pretty special." Caleb blushed, scuffing a foot on the floor. "I can't help it."

"Me...either," she whispered, scanning the face of the young man. She could see the light green freckles sprinkled over his nose and cheeks, and his smile sent a shiver through her that was pleasantly warm. "He seems like he would be a good Jedi Master. I—uh mean…not that I would know…" she faltered. "I just um…he seems so nice."

"You know I never told anyone about all of that."

"Not even your friends?" Phae asked.

"Nah. They wouldn't understand…they weren't…Force sensitive like you."

She blushed. "I'm glad you shared it with me." She thought about how she'd never told any of her street friends about her mother, and she realized she understood his reason why. "What about…about your father?"

Caleb stilled and took a breath as if trying to figure out what to say.

"Oh my god. I'm sorry. I forgot he had passed," she shook her head, looking down. "It was stupid of me to ask."

"No." He squeezed her hand. "It's okay. He died before I was born."

Her eyes darted to him. "He was a Jedi?"

"Yeah. This was his lightsaber." Caleb pulled his father's saber from his belt and looked at the simple hilt. It was then Phae realized that Caleb had allowed her to use his father's saber when they had practiced the moves that he'd called "forms."

"Wow. You let me use your father's lightsaber? Kriff, Caleb."

He shrugged. "You might decide to be a Jedi someday."

She blushed again, "I…I'm sorry you didn't get to meet him."

"But I did meet him. One time on Lothal." He glanced at her, one of his arched eyebrows raised. He had a half-smile on his features, as if he'd just shared a secret with her.

"How?" She squeezed his hand and leaned in.

"You probably won't believe it."

"Come on, Caleb! Try me."

"Okay. When you're a Jedi Padawan, you get tested by the Force before you get your lightsaber crystal and build your own weapon. It happened in one of the caves near the vergence on Lothal when I was just a kid. My dad…he was there when it was over. We spoke for a few minutes, and then…he was gone."

Her eyes were wide. "How?"

He shook his head. "The will of the Force, I guess. I don't think it's something that was easy. The vergences on Lothal are strange that way."

"What's a vergence?"

"Oh, right. It's where the Force concentrates. There are some places that are strong with the light side of the Force, and some places that are full of the dark side. Things…happen differently in places like that. I think my father was able to…to come back because of the vergence. He had some sort of deep connection with Lothal, like Ezra."

"I believe you." She thought for a long moment, then asked tentatively. "Caleb…could…I mean do you think I could talk to my mother there?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure. We'd have to ask Ezra. He's studied the vergences on Lothal and he might know." Caleb said, glancing toward the door, feeling a brush along his bond with Ezra. Everything ok? It seemed to say. He sent back reassurance and stood up, still holding Phae's hand. "Look. If you're feeling better, let's go back out. They're waiting on us for dinner."

She nodded, letting him lead her back out to the common area and the family waiting for them.

"So. We hit the Langen's auction in two days?" Ezra nodded slowly at Zeb's question.

They were finishing up dinner and finalizing their plans. Phae and Caleb had entered the common area, hand in hand until both Ezra and Zeb had noticed. The Lasat had smacked Ezra on the shoulder and nodded in their direction. When Caleb and Phae had realized they were still holding hands, they'd dropped them immediately, but with an apologetic glance to each other.

"I want a look inside this place before we go," Sabine said. "I may go scout the place tomorrow before the auction."

"I'd like to see this Sekkak." Ezra said thoughtfully. "He could be…like our old friend Tarek." He cast his glance around meaningfully. "I should check with Alexsandr and see what he knows."

"I think we should take down this Sekkak, whether he's a Force user or not." Hera said. "I'll go see what I can find out from the local authorities tomorrow."

"Be careful." Ezra murmured. "Sekkak might have them on the payroll…"

"Don't worry." Hera replied, taking a sip of caf.

"Mom. Phae and I can go with you. Just in case I can help talk them into it." Caleb grinned.

Ezra raised an eyebrow. "He's been a bit over-eager to use the mind trick."

"So were you, once upon a time." Hera said with a grin. "Good idea, Caleb."

"I'll go with Sabine." Zeb said after a moment's thought. "It's probably a good idea to have a backup, just in case the Langen's have connections with the crime boss too."

"Alright. Sounds like a plan." Ezra said. "It's Zeb and Hera's turn to clean up the dishes, right?"

"Yeah." Zeb got up with Hera.

"So, Caleb…that means…"

"I know. Meditation practice?" Caleb stood up.

"Yeah. I'll be there in a minute. Let's try the cargo bay this time. Try levitating some things. Maybe some saber practice, so get the bay ready." Ezra said.

"Can Phae come?" Caleb asked.

"As long as you don't try and show off like the other day." Ezra gently jibed at him. "A Jedi…"

"Is not concerned with public opinion OR attention." Caleb finished with a cocky grin.

"Nice, hotshot." Ezra got to his feet. "Get ready to go to school, kid."

"Just remember…" Caleb said, walking backwards toward the cargo bay. "One day, the student will become the master."

"You've got a way to go still, Padawan." Ezra teased.

Caleb grinned and was gone, but Phaedra lingered behind. "I'll be along in a minute," she called. Following Ezra to the door of his quarters, she struggled to find the right way to phrase her question. The Jedi was grabbing his saber when he spoke to the girl behind him. "What is it, Phae?" He turned to face her.

"I…uh…have a question." She caught his bicolored gaze again and thought about what Caleb had said. The Jedi standing in front of her was a hero. He'd fought in the Rebellion and lost his sight to save Caleb from some Force wielding monster like the one that had killed her mother. She wasn't worthy to ask him anything, she thought as she bit her lip.

"Sure." He stepped toward her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Go ahead."

"I…this is not so easy." She took a steadying breath. "Ok, Caleb told me about his father. About being able to communicate with him at the ver…verge…."

"Vergence?" Ezra nodded.

"Yeah. On Lothal. Is there any way I could…go there? Do…do you think my mother might…um…be able to talk to me there?"

Ezra could feel her gossamer hope, and didn't want to be so quick to dash it. "I don't know, Phaedra. To be completely honest, I didn't know that my Master could do what he did, and it's not something that you can control. As far as I know, his Master never communicated with him after she died." He thought about stories he'd heard from Skywalker. "I think some Jedi seem to be able to manifest themselves after death, but others maybe just don't."

Her brow crinkled. "Oh."

"It could be that they're not strong enough with the Force or they don't know how to do it. I'm not sure." He laid a hand on her shoulder and went on. "But that doesn't mean we can't try. Just don't get your hopes up. The Force moves in its own way and time. We'll get this job done first. Then you can come with us to Lothal."

She nodded, trying not to look too excited. "Thank you…so much."

"Yeah. No problem. Come on and let's go give Caleb a hard time," Ezra said with a conspirator's grin.