They were alive, thanks to Zeb, but the big-hearted Lasat never took credit for saving Sabine and him single-handedly. He was noble like that, brave too, extremely likeable once a person got to know him well. Wisdom and courage had their places in this path they had chosen. Had it been unwise to reconnaissance that abandoned medical installation without Kanan? How could his master be in two places at the same time? That was impossible. Looking back, none of them knew what lay ahead, so questions like that didn't help. But, his questions were many. One thing was clear: This crew, more family than crew, was against the Empire. By helping each other, and those fighting against this evil too, they'd come out on top. That's the mantra keeping them going.

But, the boy training to become like his mentor knew he had to get better. Take his training a lot more seriously if he hoped to win against the likes of the Inquisitors. He must improve, at all costs. The thing was, training was tedious and more often than not it wound up being...well just a bit boring, sometimes. It wasn't Kanan's fault. Was it his own? Maybe the fault lay in them both. Kanan was all about Ezra's advancement, honing everything that would make him succeed in becoming like him. The teen longed for that too, but at the same time, Ezra wanted a little fun, sometimes. Was that too much to ask? Why couldn't more excitement and enjoyment be combined? He couldn't see why that was so hard.

Ezra had finished checking Chopper, going over circuitry and subroutines to make sure he was really okay. The feisty droid had taken a beating this time at the hands of those latest threats. All four of them had, actually. Zeb, Chopper, Sabine and he might have never made it back this time. Ezra paused in the passageway of the Ghost, listening to the engines hum. The humming tranquilized him, helped him to sort through thoughts and feelings. Would he ever master what Kanan was trying so diligently to impart to him? What was the Force, really? Confusion so often engulfed Ezra's young mind.

The female Inquisitor had done her job all too well. Psyching him out was troubling him now. Ezra shut his eyes, trying so hard to concentrate, but finding it next to impossible. He wasn't all that sure he was going to be the same again. Even Kanan seemed different, changed somehow since Ezra's description of what had happened in the musty gloom of that old facility. When Ezra stumbled into Sabine, who was also in the same passageway, she told him to look where he was going.

Not going anywhere, he just looked at her, appearing lost. What was it about her eyes that rendered him speechless when he needed to be vocal? He had an idea about making his Jedi training more entertaining, but would she go for it? He didn't know where to begin to ask. She'd probably shut his idea down anyway. She usually liked doing that much too often and much too quickly.

"What's with you?" she asked with her slender arms wrapped around her lean body. She watched him closely, wondering if he might like to help her spray paint some of the crates they picked up from Bothan. Specific instructions applied covering the delivery of this shipment. What they were transporting was a secret, but payment was a sure thing. These days, there wasn't much that was certain unless counting the malignancy the Empire wished to spread as uncertain. The Dark Side of the Force empowered the Empire, poisoning all it touched. It was mandatory that the Rebels be inventive, resourceful, enlightened by the Light Side of the Force. Using her artistic flair, Sabine was told that if the crates were made to appear even drabber than they already were, suspicions about their contents would be cast aside even by curious onlookers.

"Uh...hi, Sab."

Lately, Ezra had taken to shortening her name to that, as though the second syllable was too much for him to say. She let it go, seeing that something was weighing upon him. "Are you okay?" She leaned into her pose, shifting her weight to her left and cocking an eyebrow at him. He hadn't even asked her what he wanted to ask and already she looked as though what was on his mind was out of the question.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine," he hedged. How to put it?

"Well, if you say so. Personally, you look like you could use a clue." She sniffed, looking him over. Since she knew him better now than when he'd joined them, she thought reading him was just a matter of seeing how long it took him to look her in the eye. "Just forget what happened with the Inquisitors. Considering there were two of them, you did great, holding them off as best you could."

Ezra's face turned bright red. He should have done much better than his weak attempt. Putting into practice what he thought he'd learned wasn't easy. Arching his tone, he replied, "What's that supposed to mean?" Easy, easy, he told himself; tick her off and she won't think twice. She'll just say no and that'll be that.

"It means...you look like you have something on your mind."

"As a matter of fact, I do."

Sabine nodded, giving him a wiseacre grin. "Like what?"

Now, to put it just right would take some finesse, like the kind Calrissian had. Smooth-talking was so easy for Lando. Where had he learned to be the way he was? If it just came naturally, Ezra was in trouble. He was having a hard enough time learning the ways of the Force. Learning the ways of convincing this willful Mandalorian woman to do what he wanted her to do was a whole nother arena. Sabine would always have a mind of her own. By the time he came up with something glib, another voice in his head advised against his going that route.

"I need your help." The direct approach was his forte. His juggling nuances with implications was shaky at best. Forget Calrissian and his fake charm. Smiling, linked with sincerity never hurt, though. Sabine liked it when he showed her what was in his heart.

Angling herself to sidestep him, Sabine began moving off, then stopped herself. Aside form almost forgetting what she had wanted to ask him, he sounded driven, bordering on desperate. She knew Kanan was having his doubts about his own abilities too. Was his having second thoughts about rebelling against the Empire eating away at Ezra's confidence? "What do you need?" she asked with conviction. Ezra had indeed grown on her, and despite his boyishness, which was often endearing, he had become important to her.

"Would you mind participating in a training exercise?" Now how clumsy had that sounded? Ezra shrugged, hoping he hadn't come off sounding that bad. It had sounded somewhat vague. Sabine liked specifics, so he wasted no time adding, "You hide someplace, any place you like, and I try to find you."

"You want to play hide-and-seek?" she exclaimed. Okay, they were teenagers, but not little kids, and she was older than he. Surely she wasn't the type for playing childish games. How could he not know that?

"Not exactly," Ezra fed back, surprised by her irritated tone. "Yes, I want you to hide, but I need to find you by using the Force. Reaching out with it to locate you." Feeling defeated, but still pleading his case so she'd accept, he posed, "Doing this will help us. Next time when we're in a place that seems deserted we won't be taken by surprise 'cause I'll have sensed them. Does that make sense?" He grimaced at her with tender eyes, eyes which begged she concede and thereby make it more fun to go looking for her. He wondered if he should add that if he found her right away, maybe, just maybe, she'd throw in a kiss, just to make it even more interesting. Even though he hesitated, suddenly he blurted, "If I find you fast, I get to kiss you." Realizing how that sounded he shut his mouth and looked away. She'd fine a loophole and change what he'd suggested. Courageously, he looked her in her dreamy eyes and rescinded, "Only if you want to kiss me, that is."

"Bridger..." She called him Bridger when it suited her. It completely suited her now. He could be so charming, at times, and didn't even know it. Her eyes gleamed. "You're on."

"Huh?" He had heard right, hadn't he? She'd be a willing participant?

"On one condition," Sabine imposed, watching surprise cast a shadow over his face.

Peeved, he spilled, "No kiss."

She laughed to herself and told him simply, "No, the kiss can stay. If you take forever to find me, you have to help me spray paint all those crates."

His eyebrows flew up as the sum total of all those bulky containers came to mind. Then he thought it was a small price to pay for Sabine's avid assistance. Fun and a challenge, not bad. "Okay, deal."

"No peeking, now. Count to oh, let's say to thirty." She began backing off as Ezra closed his eyes, turned to the ship's reinforced plating, and covered his ears with his hands. She tiptoed away, her eyes never leaving his form as he counted out loud.

Off she went down a multi-access corridor, sprinting through a short passageway and down a narrow chute that led to the lower decks where she chose to hide herself in a battery well. Excitement rippled through her. The Ghost was a trove of great places for dropping out of sight. She wasn't going to make this easy even though kissing Ezra wasn't punishment by any stretch of the imagination. As young and as naïve as he could be in certain areas, he was no stranger to what a girl liked during an embrace. He concentrated, allowing the Force to shape as well as direct his emotions, desires, hopes, intentions bound up in the girl of his dreams. The youthful teaser, who could take him seriously one moment, and taunt him the next. Where was his temptress...all at once, he felt her, breathed the same air as she, as she barely breathed. Ezra chuckled, tickled. He heard her heart beating not very far off as he followed the same path she'd taken. An image of Kanan popped into his mind, his mentor encouraging further to follow his instincts, as the Force guided him to his goal.

When Ezra opened his eyes, he stood no more than a meter away from where Sabine had herself stashed. Reveling in the strength of the Force, Ezra crept closer to her hiding place. Standing over her hideaway, Ezra quietly said as he knocked on the sturdy housing, "Was that fast enough?"

Emerging from her convoluted place of concealment, Sabine nodded and knew where he was going with this. She had no objections; kissing Ezra was never punishment. She wound her arms about his neck and grinned. "Tag...I'm it!" Their kiss was soft, slow and sweet, as usual. Used to kissing each other this way, their need to breathe wasn't as urgent as it had been once. Ezra had Kanan to teach him the ways of the Force; he had Sabine to teach him the ways of pleasurable necking. Somewhat breathily, she exhaled, "Nice."

"Hmm," Ezra agreed, then happily told her, "I'm ready when you are."

Arching an eyebrow, Sabine warily asked, "For what?"

"To spray paint those crates."

"But you found me fast. You don't have to."

Ezra wound his arms around her and obliged, "Yes I do. I do because you make me want to do...whatever you want me to."

Burrowing her nose comfortably into his neck, after Ezra had levitated her back in his arms again, Sabine said, "I'll make you an artist yet."

Tilting his head so hers fit just right with his, Ezra sighed in contentment. "Tag, I'll be it, if that's what you want."

Her lips brushed across his neck and he shivered.