Good morning dearies! I hope life has been treating you well :) Thank you so much for all the support! Your reviews are the best sugar rush :D Without further ado...A new chapter!

Hours later, Mando finally called an end to their forced march just as the sun dropped to kiss the far horizon. The moment they stopped moving, she sank to her knees gratefully. Wrapping her cloak more fully around her she laid down on the red rock, careful to avoid laying on her sore side, and within seconds had fallen into exhausted sleep.

When she woke up much later it was to the friendly glow of a small lantern and the sharp, intermittent crackle of an electric, handheld welder. Wincing, she slowly sat up, surprised to find Mando's cloak had been rolled up and placed under her head while she slept. Glancing over to the man himself, she found him pressing the welder against his arm. He grunted as he used it to cauterize a gash she hadn't realized he'd received. She'd never seen a welder utilized in such a way but she supposed it would get the job done.

Slowly, due to her own injuries, she stood, collected his cloak and made her way over to him. When he paused in his self-care, she held the cloak out to him. He looked up, then shook his head in the negative.

"Keep it."

Instead of doing so or attempting to fight him on it, she set it on the ground next to him. She was just in time to intercept the child, who had used their interaction as a chance to clamber out of the pod and make his way over to them. She gently scooped him up, marveling at how small he really was. The child cooed up at her and she couldn't help but smile back at him.

Then gloved hands wrapped around him and pulled him out of her arms. Without a word, the Mandalorian plopped the child back into the pod before returning to his spot on the rocks. Picking up the welder once more, he turned his attention to the damaged interior of his chest plate, which he had removed at some point. She stood there staring for a moment. His message was clear, despite him using no words. Don't get attached.

Biting her lip she met the child's gaze, every instinct calling for her to ignore the Mandalorian's unspoken order and go and comfort him anyway. She really wanted to but…

Instead she carefully knelt down next to Mando. Not only had he promised her freedom, he'd saved her life. She felt indebted to him and so, for now, her choice was clear.

Reaching out, she rested her hand on his shoulder causing him to pause in his work and look over at her. Keeping her eyes on his visor, she gently wrestled the welder out of his grip before turning her attention to the gash on his arm. She shifted so she was kneeling directly in front of the man, between his spread legs, so she could see the wound better.

It was deep and still bleeding, though not as heavily as it had been before, judging by the fabric around it. She pulled the lamp around so she could see better and experimentally pressed the button on the welder to get a feel for its energy level, before getting to work.

He'd done an okay job considering he hadn't been able to see it that well, but he'd missed quite a few spots as well. She carefully but quickly zapped those spots, working from one side to the other to be thorough. He grunted softly under the onslaught but remained relatively still. That is, until she hit a spot where the gash was deepest.

With a suddenness that startled her, his free hand came up and gripped her hip firmly, the physical contact sending a jolt through her. She quickly pulled away from the wound and remained frozen in place as he gasped through the sudden flare of intense pain.

Once his breathing had returned to normal he seemed to realize what he'd done and released his hold on her.

"Sorry." He muttered. She nodded stoically and waited another moment to ensure he was prepared before proceeding. Within a minute or two she had the rest of the wound properly sealed, although it would leave a nasty scar once it healed fully.

She handed the welder back to Mando, then she extracted her jar of bacta cream which had somehow, miraculously, not been broken or lost to her. Thinking to help move the healing process along, she began to dab small amounts of the cream into the gash. Taking her time and being gentle about it.

When she was done she went to stand, only to have Mando catch her wrist and hold her in place before him.

"Thank you." He murmured.

She nodded in response and he let go, only to remove his gloves and reach for the bacta cream himself. She let him take it, wondering if he had another wound she didn't know about.

He dipped a couple fingers into the cream and then, to her utter surprise, reached for her face. Instinct had her flinching and ducking away from his touch before she could stop herself.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Mando stated quietly but firmly. She stayed frozen where she was, not sure how to respond. She had known very little kindness in her life and so it was no longer in her nature to expect it from anyone. However, when Mando reached for her again, she fought against her instincts and forced herself to remain still.

Gentle fingers tipped her chin up and then slightly to the side until she was looking past his armored shoulder. The first dab of cool cream under her eye caused her to flinch again but his hands held her in place as he continued to treat the enormous bruise that completely engulfed one eye and was making its color known on her cheekbone and across the bridge of her nose.

She remained tense through the whole treatment, barely drawing breath as Mando leaned in. He was completely immersed in his task and wasn't even aware of how close he'd drawn to her. He was close enough for her to smell the blaster smoke on him. Smoke, sweat and, underneath that, a scent that was uniquely him.

"Done." He murmured, pulling away and startling her from her train of thought, "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

She stared into his stoic t-visor as she weighed her options. Eventually she nodded minutely and rose to her knees in front of him. Carefully she raised the hem of her tunic. She was close enough to hear Mando's sharp inhale as she revealed her battered and bruised ribs. Even the child let out a concerned sounding coo from his seat in his pod. Apparently it looked worse than she thought.

She forced herself to hold still under the gentle onslaught of Mando's hands as he began to apply the cream in large quantities. He was being more gentle than she'd thought him capable of being but, despite his care, he'd occasionally hit a spot that caused her to see stars. At every sharp gasp Mando would pause and wait for her to recover from the stabbing spike in pain. Once she'd nodded to him, he'd continue.

Finally he sat back and replaced the lid on the jar. She sighed in relief. Already she could feel the cream taking effect. Now all she wanted to do was go back to sleep.

"There's not a whole lot of this left now." Mando stated as she carefully tugged her tunic back down into place, "Guess that means you'll have to stop getting hurt. At least until we get back to Coruscant."

She froze and stared at him incredulously, not sure if she was shocked or angry at his words. It's not like she was doing it on purpose!

And then she heard something completely unexpected.

On seeing her expression, Mando exhaled a laugh. It was more like a small huff of sound but anyone in the known galaxy would recognize it as a laugh. Had he just made a joke? And laughed at it?!

She hadn't meant to stare but knew she was when he suddenly turned away and started busying himself with cleaning up the few tools he had with him.

She took the opportunity to move away from him and lay down under her cloak once more. Her ribs protested the movements and she sincerely hoped that bacta cream went bone deep with its healing properties. Otherwise she wasn't sure how she was going to get through tomorrow.

Despite everything, as she fell asleep, the memory of his laugh replayed in her mind and brought a small smile to her lips.

Whatdya think? Cute enough for your sweet teeth? let me know!