Five time Ezra helped the crew and one time they helped him.

Hera

Signal online- check.

Com open- check.

Engine on- check.

Hera ran through her checklist for the fifth time that evening, hoping it would do something to keep her awake. She was annoyed, then, when she felt the need to yawn again. It was getting late into the evening now, and she reminded herself why she was still up.

Earlier, Ashoka had contacted Hera with a plea for a favour. Technically, this wasn't a mission; it was more like a safety plan. This time the Ghost crew were playing back-up. A rebel fleet was currently trying to infiltrate a low-key imperial base; nothing on a major scale- the work was below the usual standards of the rebels. However, Ashoka went on to explain that there was a chance that a get-away could become tricky. Therefore, the Ghost crew were required to wait nearby, ready to swoop in if necessary. All in all, it should've been good; if nothing else then because they weren't actually having to put their necks on the line for once. The only downside was that, in order to be ready, Hera was having to wait for the whole night. Ashoka hadn't been sure how the mission would take, and they were planning to use the cover of darkness to help them in and out, so she'd had to sheepishly ask Hera if she could wait out the night- just to be sure.

Signal online- Check.

Com-

Oh this was tedious. The pilot groaned in irritation, once more pulling herself from her chair to pace the room. Making sure her body felt awake was a good way of keeping her mind awake as well.

She was sure that, had Kanan had the strength, he would've whiled the night away with her, but seeing how he was still recovering from his time with the Inquisitor, she'd neglected to tell him the full extent of tonight's plan, pretending that she would only be up a couple hours more. Sabine and Zeb had also bought it. They were a little distracted anyway- they had been playing with the hologram at the time. That just left Ezra, who she supposed would be fast asleep by now-

"Hey Hera."

"Oh hey Ezra"

Her pacing never faltering, she took a couple more steps, stopped suddenly, and then spun round in a double take.

"Ezra?!" Hera stared at him blankly.

Not asleep then.

"What are you doing up?" She asked immediately. The boy in question currently stood there in his nightwear. He had on an oversized shirt which made him look smaller and younger then Hera had ever seen him.

"I could ask you the same question. According to you, this stakeout should've ended hours ago." It seemed Ezra had figured her out. Hera couldn't help but smile.

"Alright, you got me… It seems this was actually an all-night back up, even though the chances are that we won't even be needed!" Hera's voice rose slightly in frustration. She was still a little annoyed, even if she could understand why Ashoka felt it necessary.

Ezra nodded, apparently satisfied with the answer. A second later, he was sitting in the co-pilot seat, carefully placing a steaming cup on a space in front of her chair, before relaxing and sipping one of his own. Hera raised an eyebrow, but made no comment. Instead she slipped back into her chair and took the warm mug in hands.

"Thanks," She murmured. The drink made her feel better. "But what are you doing up?"

Ezra continued to look out into the stars. "Figured something was up- you didn't seem to be telling the whole truth earlier and I was- well, worried." He shrugged.

"Well, now you know… I appreciate the drink, but you don't need to stay up. Get some sleep" Hera advised, maternal instincts nagging at her to make sure that the child got enough sleep.

"What does that button do?" Ezra's random question threw her for a second.

She was instantly suspicious of the topic change, but allowed the question, and shortly explained that it controlled the stabilisers. Another question came, and then another after that. Ezra was pointing at all different parts of the ship, voicing everything he was ever curious about. Hera answered him as best as she could. The little questionnaire worked wonders at keeping her awake; not to mention got her to thinking about elements of her ship she'd forgotten from her own learning. Soon enough Ezra's questions prompted memories, stories of why that had to be replaced and how she'd flown to avoid this. He was enthralled by her storytelling- and boy, did she have a lot of stories. She'd seen so much of the galaxy. In return, Ezra even let go of small snippets of his own experiences; not much, but enough to see a noticeable difference from the kid he was when he first arrived to the one he was now. Hera was happy to have earnt such trust. Their conversation never died down. Sure, it became a little sad when Hera remembered a particular close call they'd had, or a certain unavoidable injury, but they still managed to find something to smile over soon after. Hera marvelled at Ezra's youthful curiosity, happy to continue with her stories. Her evening had suddenly become much more enjoyable- she barely felt time passing.

She was very surprised when her eyes were suddenly blinking open. When had they closed? Night no longer blanketed the window- instead, the morning suns shined through. A blanket fell out of place from around her shoulders as she moved to sit up in the seat. Had she fallen asleep? …But she and Ezra were just talking…

The mission! Ashoka!

"Calm down, Hera." Kanan's voice soothed, sensing her panic as he entered the cockpit. "You didn't miss anything."

Hera sighed in relief, before realising what Kanan knew- she'd not been entirely truthful about the plans for last night. She grinned sheepishly.

"You know…?"

"Mm-hm… Ezra mumbled something to me about it. I managed to piece it together from there…"

"Ezra! Where's Ezra?" Hera jumped up. Kanan rested hands on her shoulder, lightly pushing her to sit again as he came beside her.

"Fast asleep… I came down here to find you asleep and him awake staring out at the sky. He was explaining to me why you both looked half dead whilst trying not to fall asleep himself; seems he was adamant to stay awake in case Ashoka did call-

"He should've woken me- I didn't mean to fall asleep like that…" Hera interrupted.

"He seemed happy to see you resting. Said something about how he could handle it, that you'd done so much already… Kid kept resisting my advice to sleep, so I ended up using the force to add to my, uh- persuasion." Kanan grinned cheekily- really, it had been for Ezra's own benefit.

He didn't mention how he still carried the warmth in his chest from when he'd cradled Ezra to his bunk, surprising himself at how comfortable he'd felt.

Hera seemed to eventually acknowledge that everything was okay, and relaxed back into the chair. That kid sure was something. She reflected on their night before and thought about how unexpectedly enjoyable her night had become. Automatically her hands started flying over the controls as she took the Ghost off auto pilot. They would dock for today; Hera knew that she would appreciate the rest, as, hopefully, Ezra would too.