Before I start off anything, I know I've scared a couple of you guys in the past, so I'll just say this now- THIS IS NOT THE END. Not yet. We've still got a little unfinished business to attend to- but this chapter right here is most definitely NOT the ending.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I WISH I owned Star Wars... then I wouldn't need to put up with semester exams at ALL... Well, I would, but at least I'd have money to go along with the worries. -m-

I need you.

Ezra blinked his eyes open, the frown apparent on his lips transferring to them. I didn't make that up... did I? Ezra growled at the bottom of his bunk- he was temporarily situated in Zeb's bunk, until Hera decided he was fit to move elsewhere. It was in no way entertaining, which was why he had attempted to occupy himself with meditation... but Sabine's words- or did I just think them up? -were distracting him, much like even earlier, when it had been all he'd been able to think about in the sewers, whether or not she had said-

That's twice in a row- am I just desperate or is something actually going on?

The thing was, if she had said what Ezra thought she said, she had said it very quietly. To the point where Ezra was only sure that her lips had moved, not the actual words she'd said.

Keep in mind, Ezra thought to himself, nodding slightly and wincing as he regretted doing so, she thought- they all thought I was... dying. Anyone would be scared and say things they don't actually mean.

...to a certain degree at least.

Ezra groaned, gingerly raising his hands to rub at his temple. This was driving him nuts- not surprising, this had been his topic of choice for the past... day. Or two... three.

All the mental discipline I can possibly get and I still can't stop thinking about her three days after the fact. Maybe he needed to ask Kanan to focus again on that certain aspect of his Jedi training; especially since this had been preventing most other forms of functional thought.

Restricted to bed-rest and an absolute bare-minimum of movement by the ever watchful Hera, pretty much the only chance Ezra was going to get of resolving his inner battle was by Sabine coming to him. Which was unlikely, considering Hera had her tethered down as well. Going off of what he was able to glean from Zeb, however, the reopening hadn't been as bad as he'd thought. Sabine just needed to rest, like him... and though he was pretty sure the both of them wanted nothing more than to get up on their feet and do stuff, they also both knew that it was best to follow Hera's instructions.

Frustrating or no.

I'm gonna go insane if I don't get some answers- or, explanations, or... just an understanding of what's going on. From what he could see, there were two possibilities- either some desperate part of his subconscious was fabricating different situations based on the realities he hadn't been able to observe clearly, or... or Sabine had some unmentioned feelings for him.

Or it could just be that she was overreacting in both situations because the both of us were in life-threatening situations and I'm still overreacting.

What was going on!? Usually Ezra was never so conflicted or hesitant, in any situation- but here, he couldn't seem to get his head wrapped around heads or tails of what was going on. It was getting rather frustrating- and he couldn't. Stop. Thinking about it.

Ezra sighed, trying to relax into the unfamiliar bunk and to set his head straight. I'm not going to think about this anymore- if Sabine has any... anything, she'll tell me. If she doesn't, it's not for me, and I shouldn't worry- I shouldn't even think about this, any of it. I'll just wait until I get new information, or a lack thereof, and that'll be that. Okay- that was a game-plan, at least. And honestly, it should be easy to stop thinking about the Mandalorian- there was nothing in the room to remind him of her, excepting the picture of him and Zeb on the wall, but that was behind him and out of sight, so by all rights, he should be able to follow that game-plan. Maybe even be able to actually meditate a bit.

"Ezra?"

This is gonna be harder than I thought...

Ezra turned his head slightly to be met with the sight of Sabine standing in the opened doorway, tilting her head slightly. "Would it be anyone else?"

"Nah- just checking if you were awake or not. Did I...?"

"Wake me up?" Well... indirectly, you kinda kept me from going to sleep in the first place, which can be considered even- "No; couldn't sleep in the furball's bunk anyways." Zeb was currently outside helping Hera with maintenance, and Ezra was relishing that fact.

"You- uh, you healing okay?" He inquired, slowly shimmying himself up onto elbows to get into a slightly more elevated position. He was glad for the gloomy lighting the room was currently situated in- even though Sabine probably knew he was wincing anyways, it never hurt to hide the event itself. Sabine shrugged, hand ghosting towards her abdomen at its mention.

"Well enough that Hera hasn't shooed me back to the bunk yet, I guess." Sabine hesitated, but then stepped fully into the room and leaned against the right wall- where Ezra wouldn't have to move much to keep her in his sights, of course.

Ezra swallowed before chuckling lightly. "Lucky." Sabine hummed in response, crossing her arms. Ezra could just make out that her eyes were on him- and suddenly his stomach was roiling.

Stop it stop it stop it-

"Morden's not dead." Sabine's blatant statement made Ezra blink, and luckily diverted his thoughts. Maybe not pleasantly, but it was still a diversion. "He survived the tower falling- he came on a broadcast to make a statement about- well. Us."

Ezra sighed, looking back up to the bottom of his bunk and trying to piece together the ramifications of what Sabine had just told him. "... He's going to keep looking for us," was the first to come to mind, immediately followed by a grimace. "And he'll probably call in the Inquisitor, as well. I guess we were just lucky he didn't, before." Alone, they had barely been able to get away in one piece just going up against Morden- with the Pau'an in play as well, there was no doubt in Ezra's mind that both he and Sabine would be either dead or captured.

"Yeah," Sabine eventually responded. "I walked in on Hera and the others briefing for the next op- something about taking out Morden's transport or something. Destabilizing his image so we don't look beaten." That made Ezra's lip twitch upwards- as long as they were together, they were never beaten. That much he had learned from the past week with Sabine at least- just as long as they had each other. Someone watching their backs.

"...We're not going, are we."

"So glad you caught on." Sabine huffed, and Ezra slowly lowered himself back down into his lying position. He wasn't going anywhere soon. "Hera's sticking to her resting plan; she, Zeb and Kanan are going out on the mission in two days. You and I are gonna stay here on our own- Chop'll be here, but that's more of a threat than a safety measure, honestly."

"You and I are gonna stay here on our own"

Stop freaking out!

"Uh- y-yeah, but he's not- he's not that bad, mostly," Ezra managed to force a few words out of his throat as, unbidden, all his distress and worries and just thoughts and speculations rose to the surface to start antagonizing him once more. It's not a big deal- it's not a big deal it's NOT A BIG DEAL. Sabine's not like that, she's not- she's not saying anything, that means I must've- must've imagined it, imagined her saying those things and then blowing those imaginations out of the water-

"-you okay? Ezra?"

"Yes- I'm fine, I'm- I'm perfectly fine. Um. Yeah." Ezra shut his eyes, squeezing them tight and berating himself for a., letting a whole chunk of the conversation blow past him, and b., for sounding like such an awkward dork trying to cover up for it. There really wasn't a faster way of telling Sabine something was up other than plain out yelling it- and from the few seconds of silence that had followed his excuse, she had most definitely noticed it and was most likely piecing together all the possible causes that would cause him to be so awkward.

"...I'm sorry, Sabine, I just-"

"You were preoccupied by something in the hospital," Sabine interrupted, speaking softly but firmly, "when we were planning. You were thinking about it again when we were leaving for Tama's, and just before we infiltrated the tower, and when I said I trusted you with my helmet." Her helmet!

"Your helmet-!"

"Shush about the helmet," Sabine waved him down, "don't change the subject. Something's been eating at you. What is it?" There was a beat of silence once more- Ezra chewed his lip, unsure of just... how... to proceed.

Ask her about it- ask her whether she said those things!

But if she didn't it'll make me look like a- like a desperate... person!

Since when have you cared about how people look at you? This is the perfect time to ask! SHE'S TELLING YOU TO ASK!

But if she did say those things but didn't mean them, that'd just be unfair to her.

"Sorry," Sabine whispered, and Ezra was startled to actually see regret on her face- she was turning away, heading to the door-

IDIOT! Not saying anything makes it looked like she crossed a boundary!

SAY SOMETHING!

"Don't go-" Sabine stopped, miraculously, and turned, face trying to be blank but still conveying worry- at least to Ezra. ...Who had nothing to say that could possibly stand in for the truth, except for... well. The truth.

No- not full-frontal. Just- just a small bit, and if she leads into another area- any other area -I'll follow, and that'll be that. I'm not risking what I have with her right now.

"...I..." Curses, how he just wished he could sit up and properly look her in the eyes instead of just... lying there, staring at her sideways. "It's just-" Just get it over with- like a bacta-patch. Just rip it off and get it over with. "You said... that you needed me. When- um. When... when that happened. I was just- you did say that right?" Momentary fear clouded his thoughts as Sabine pulled her eyebrows into a slight frown- she'd said that, right? He was sure- no he wasn't, he could have very well just made that up to try-

"I said that," Sabine nodded slowly, crossing her arms over her chest. She wasn't getting mad- that was a good thing, at least... and it let Ezra keep on going with just a moment of delay afterwards.

"Oh- oh, right, yeah, um. Well- I just... you..." Like a bacta-patch. "Was it just a heat of the moment thing?!" He finally blurted, biting his lip immediately afterwards, regretting letting the words slip but tensely watching for her reaction... and answer.

Both were slow in coming. She staid still, for a moment, and Ezra was pretty sure her breathing had stopped for a second as well. Then, she scratched the back of her neck, slowly, with one hand and then with the other. Anxiety and unease gripped Ezra's chest with cold hands, making him swallow and lick his lips nervously. Another second passed- Ezra backpedalled in his head, running through his other options as quickly as possible- he could laugh and say nevermind, forget about it; he could hope and pray another member of the crew came in and interrupted; he could actually broadcast his emotions and get Kanan to interrupt-

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about it-" or he could babble on and confess. "-it's pretty much the only thing I can think about, and I've been stuck here for three days now, trying to find an answer to whether or not you actually- actually meant it or I'd just dreamed it up or- and you said- you said the same thing in the factory, just before we took the sewers, and I've been trying to figure out whether or not to take it seriously or-"

"So I did say that," Sabine breathed, looking slightly surprised and a little satisfied. She nodded slightly, stopping Ezra straight in his tracks. Probably a good thing.

She took a deep breath, then scratched the top of her head for a single moment more. Then-

"...Yes." Ezra blinked. "Yes, it... it was just a heat of the moment thing." Ezra stopped, for a second. He stilled, and then blinked, before turning his head back around to stare at the bottom of his bunk, with a small nod. Well, it wasn't like he hadn't seen this coming- he'd just- maybe hoped that- that...

"...But that doesn't make it any less genuine."

Ezra shot up with speed that surprised her- and then fell back down when he hit the bottom of the bunk above him. Sabine moved forwards a bit, intending to try and somewhat ease his struggle, but was stopped in the middle of the room when he wheezed, "Huh? Hold- hold on- you- huh?"

This dork... Sabine nodded, smiling fondly as Ezra shook his head like he was trying to clear it- and sighing internally as she saw his wince. He wouldn't be paying any attention to his bodily reactions just this moment, though, so Sabine got straight to the point- she'd been wanting to for a while, now.

"I said those things in the heat of the moment- if we hadn't been about to die, I probably never would have said what I did. But that doesn't mean I didn't mean them. You..." Sabine stopped. She bit her lip... and then shrugged. It's time we come clean to one another. "You mean a lot to me. More so than... then anyone, really. I've never... had something like this before." And I really, really want to keep it.

It was interesting- and more than a little nerve-wracking -to see the amount of filtered and unfiltered reactions and emotions that flitted across Ezra's face as she spoke and afterwards. She could pick up relief, confusion, hesitation, a puzzled sort of acceptance... and things that just couldn't be put into words. She couldn't decide whether she herself was relieved or annoyed that, like she predicted, was wasn't paying any attention to his injuries or discomfort that she could plainly see as he shifted around in the bunk, trying to settle into a new position like he always did while thinking.

"I- I mean, just- how? Why? This- this is new, you didn't- beforehand you didn't-" Sabine cocked her head.

"Beforehand?"

"When- when I first came onboard... I mean, you didn't then and now you do-" She lifted an eyebrow as Ezra stammered on, before a sudden fear made her stomach clench painfully.

"You- this isn't, um, bad for you, or-

"What-" Ezra's eyes widened and he shook his head vigorously, assuaging the jitters that had suddenly crept up on her even before he started talking again. "No no no- no, this is- this is good, this is- amazing, I- you mean so, so much and I- I just... how? What- what changed- why...?"

Why indeed... "...Well, I don't know exactly... when I- but do you remember when we first got back from destroying the mine?"

Ezra blinked and frowned, looking away for a second before nodding. "Yeah- Kanan and Hera were trying to decode that chip I got out, and..."

Sabine nodded as Ezra stopped, filling in the blank. "And we were teasing the both of them with those signs you'd overheard from Tama and his father." Ezra look back at her eyes, slightly calmer and slightly more... amazed.

"I barely even remember those," he whispered, and Sabine smiled gently as she responded in kind-

"I do. I started noticing the parallels, how we fit, and then it took me a while, but I finally got myself to realize why I wanted to fit. Though it took me a few days... and a lot of thinking, like what you told me you were doing." When he'd started to gush earlier, Sabine could barely hold back a smile as she realized he'd been going through pretty much the exact same dilemma as she had been going through earlier on- trying to figure out whether or not she liked him.

Ezra closed his eyes; Sabine noticed he was breathing deeply, like in meditation. She had an urge to pinch him- tell him this wasn't a dream... and that he didn't have to be so bloody careful. Because she could see why he was trying to get all the facts- why he was restraining himself to making sure this was what he thought it was. Ezra didn't want to damage what they already had- and neither did Sabine... which was why she pressed on.

"The first one I noticed was that you always know how to make me laugh- the both of us do, really. Even right now shows the 'their boundaries are yours' part of the deal, but that was the second one- we know each other so well to the point where we shop with each other's lists, and after I'd realized that was when I really started getting distracted." Ezra was nodding, frowning just slightly, and Sabine could tell he was remembering how odd she must have been acting around that time period. "When we were both talking to one another up on top of the Ghost I figured that we- well, we tell each other about... us, and we both feel the other's pain... In the briefing we both acknowledged each others skills, and it'd be pretty hard to not say there's no one like us to each other... I don't really need to know about the others to know that you are important to me and I feel completely justified in freaking out when you- when you got shot."

Ezra nodded slowly, and Sabine let the silence stand as it was; she gave him time to pull together everything she'd said and put it into his own world- because Sabine wasn't letting this go. She had freaked out when she had thought Ezra was dying- because he was -to the point where she hadn't even noticed much anything else. She'd had a lot of time to think- like Ezra -over the past three days, and she was resolute- she cared deeply for him, and never wanted to let that feeling go. It was... unique, and special... she'd never had anything- any relationship -like this all her life, and Sabine wanted to experience all of it.

"...Huh," Ezra finally spoke, smiling softly, "I guess I have to take back all the jokes I made about Kanan and Hera..." Sabine grinned at the recollection of how Ezra had refused to leave the Jedi alone in those days after their mission.

"I honestly thought he'd crack before long," Sabine joked, wiping a strand of hair from her eyes. "Though I guess maybe it's a good thing that our fearless leader isn't cracked."

Ezra laughed- a sound Sabine hadn't heard since they started up against the tower, and a sound that she hoped she'd hear for a while longer. "You mean more cracked than he already is- though I think we're all a little cracked to be honest."

Sabine nodded, upper lip twitching, and added on: "We're a crew of six going up against the most powerful force this galaxy has ever witnessed. I think we're a little more than cracked."

An agreeing hum was her response- and as they faded into companionable silence, Ezra's smile faded somewhat into the corners of his mouth. "So... what happens now?" Sabine drew in a breath, her eyes softening as she smiled gently.

"We carry on- and we look out for one another."