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"Hey kid." Kanan stood in the doorway of the room.

Ezra was sitting up, the tray of food on his lap. He glanced up at Kanan, his large blue eyes sparking with hurt and then shuttering before he lowered them to stare at the almost untouched food before him. Kanan winced.

"How're you feeling?" Kanan tried again.

"Fine." Ezra stabbed a piece of fruit with his fork. He shoved it in his mouth and chewed.

"Yeah? That's good." Kanan waited awkwardly. What was it about this kid that left him off guard? He paused. "Have you been practicing the meditation exercises I gave you?"

Ezra shrugged, resting his fork down on the tray. "Haven't felt much like it."

Kanan stepped into the room, concern for the boy writ in his face. "Ezra, you might be wounded, but you can't forsake your training."

Ezra's eyes were ablaze with anger when he looked up. "I'm your Padawan. I thought you were supposed to be training me?"

Kanan folded his arms across his chest and stared down at the flooring. "Yeah. I am."

"Zeb told me that you came in to look in on me when I was asleep. But I could tell he was lying. He doesn't think I know, but I know." Ezra shoved the tray onto the footlocker. A knife tipped off and clattered to the ground with a resounding clang. "You never came."

"No. I didn't." Kanan met Ezra's gaze steadily. "And that was wrong."

Ezra's voice was choked as he demanded, "Why?"

Kanan took a slow, centring breath. "I was an idiot."

Ezra frowned. "What?"

"I was an idiot. Now for not looking in on you. And back two days ago when I rushed into that trap." Kanan lowered himself to sit on Zeb's bed. He leaned his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped in front of him. But he still looked steadily at his padawan.

"But we had to go in. Those refugees. Kallus had them."

"He didn't." Kanan shook his head wearily. "It was a trap. I didn't listen when Sabine said she couldn't pick up any extra heat signatures."

Ezra frowned in confusion. "But what happened? One second I was crawling through that vent shaft, the next I was yanked through the wall of it. It hurt. Zeb told me that's how I got hurt. The metal. When the Inquisitor ripped the panel off, I got scratched."

Kanan rose a dark brow. "Bit more than a scratch."

Ezra paused, a faint smile on his lips. "You think I will have a scar? That would be pretty cool."

"Yeah, kid." Kana gave him a small smile in return. "One that even Sabine might be impressed by."

A faint flush rose high on the teen's face. He cleared his throat. "Anyway. What happened?"

Kanan rubbed the back of his neck. "When you got yanked through the wall, your comms went down. I sent Sabine back to cover our exit. Zeb and I headed forward. Kallus sent bucket heads after us, but we took care of them. When we got to your location, the Inquisitor had you in a force choke, just waiting for me."

Ezra's mouth twisted. "Yeah. That bit was bad. Couldn't breathe. Stuff went pretty black."

Kanan squeezed his hands into fists. "We clashed. The Inquisitor and I. Enough for him to let you go. Zeb grabbed you and got you out."

"Zeb did?" Ezra sounded surprised at that.

"Yeah. He was damn worried. We all were."

Ezra scowled thoughtfully. "But I don't get why…" His voice trailed off.

"Why what?"

"Why you were all…moody…and stuff." Ezra gestured vaguely. "I heard Sabine talking with Hera. They figured I was asleep."

"It was my fault, kid." Kanan sighed. "I didn't listen to Hera or Sabine. I didn't even really care about the refugees. I wanted to confront the Inquisitor. I wanted to stop Kallus. My own ego. My own hubris nearly got you killed."

Ezra leaned back on his pillows, his hands linked in his lap. He stared at his interlocked fingers.

"That's why I was all moody…and stuff." Kanan rose to his feet.

"Huh." Ezra stared up at Kanan. "I thought you were disappointed that I got caught. That we couldn't get the refugees because you had to come save me."

"Didn't the others tell you that there were no refugees?"

"I guess they figured I already knew…" Ezra paused. Frowned. Glanced back up. "So you aren't disappointed in me?"

"What?" Kanan's eyes widened. "No. Of course not."

Ezra took a deep breath and blew it out. "That's a relief."

Kanan rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, Ezra. Really."

Ezra gave him a beaming smile. "No worries. I'm good." His nose wrinkled. "Do I have to practice meditation?"

Kanan released a breath he wasn't even aware he was holding. The kid left him completely off balance. "Yeah. You do."

Ezra gestured vaguely. "But I can't kneel."

"You don't need to kneel, Ezra." Kanan lowered himself to the ground though. He rested his hands on his thighs and closed his eyes. "Just close your eyes. Listen to my voice."

Ezra huffed an impatient sigh. Kanan opened an eye to check. The kid had his eyes squeezed shut.

Kanan smiled.

Kanan closed the door to Ezra's room behind him and jumped a little when he saw Hera standing just down the corridor a little, leaning against the wall, her arms crossed.

"Yeah, you were right." He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his trousers. "I should have talked to him ages ago."

Hera straightened and approached him, one eyebrow cocked in amusement.

Kanan hunched his shoulders. "I know. You just love being right. Chalk one up on your column this time."

Hera stopped in front of him, tiptoed and slanted her lips across his. His shoulders lowered, the tension in them seeping out. His hands slipped out of his pockets and hung uselessly for a moment, before reaching out. When she stepped back, his entire body hummed with awareness and heat. He stared at her, wordlessly.

She quirked a small smile at him and headed off down toward the bridge. She glanced back over her shoulder once before closing the door behind her.

He swiped a hand down his face. Carabas.