Kanan stared at the shelf covered in various medications that all claimed to be better at easing a sore throat than the one next to it, feeling a little lost. He picked up one, reading over the back and skimming to at least see if it said what species it was for or if it made a difference when he heard the store owner politely clearing his throat behind him. The older human male was the only other person in the store at this time of night.
"You're not about to close are you?" Kanan knew it was fairly late, but when Ezra had been trying and failing to get any sleep, even as exhausted as he obviously was, he volunteered to run out and see if there was anything that would work more effectively than the low grade general painkillers they had. He was reluctant to jump right to the stronger ones since they carried more risks and the potential for side effects.
"Just seeing if you needed any help. Got a kid with the pyrthroat?"
"Pyrthroat?"
"New here? " The shopkeeper waited until the cautious nod before continuing "Fever and sore throat without a cough or the sniffles? And they go from perfectly fine to sick as a swamprat before you can turn around?"
"That sounds about right. There something here for it?" Kanan gestured at the wall of medicine.
"My kid had it last month. These work the best." The shopkeeper grabbed two bottles, holding them up for Kanan to see.
Kanan tried not to make a face at the price. Oral bacta was expensive. "You sure those are the best?"
"Yeah, it's a fungal infection, s'why it pops up a lot more this time of year when it starts getting hot. Means it's not contagious from person to person, but without treatment it can last weeks. The other stuff's to deal with the symptoms."
"What about pills? They're a little cheaper." Kanan took the bacta, eyeing the other bottle.
The shopkeeper chuckled "Good luck getting 'em to swallow pills. Plus the liquid numbs up the throat for a bit so the bacta doesn't sting so bad when you spray it."
"Good point. Guess I'll be taking them both." Kanan paid, trying not to think too hard about the cost. They had the funds, even if the shipyard job wasn't paying as much as most, their expenses were next to nothing with the Ghost parked. Old habits still died hard.
"Here, hold on a sec." The shopkeeper stepped to the back, coming back with a couple packages and adding them to the bag. "I know it's rough when you've got a kid sick."
"He is more of a teenager, and it's really not… I mean you don't have to."
"Teens are even worse. Don't worry about it."
"Thanks"
Kanan wasn't too surprised to run into Zeb in the galley. Both the boxes the shopkeeper had tossed in were food, tea that was supposed to be soothing for a sore throat and a package of popsicles. If he hadn't been so focused on the medicine he probably would have grabbed something like that anyway.
"How's he doing?" Kanan put the popsicles away to stay frozen, starting to fix the tea. He wasn't sure how bad the medicine was going to taste, but having something better to drink after seemed like a safe bet.
"Kid was still awake last I checked. Any luck?" Zeb didn't look up from his datapad, but Kanan wasn't about to make the mistake of thinking he didn't care. He wouldn't even have asked otherwise.
"Yeah, the guy at the store recognized the symptoms. Said this should help."
"Good, sooner he's back to normal sooner I don't have to worry about being kept up all night, eh?"
"You got it." Kanan debated on sweetener or not, finally adding it and carrying the cup with him as he headed down the hall, letting himself into the room. He froze silently as soon as the door closed behind him, not wanting to interrupt.
"I didn't have the Ghost for that one. Tub that always had a sluggish right turn no matter how many times I went over the steering or tweaked the power feeds to the engine, and bad habit of engine hiccups if I decelerated too fast. Could jump like a scared Tooka though, especially if I rerouted power from some of the more useless systems before a race." Hera was speaking quietly, sitting on the top bunk with her legs hanging over the edge and turned away from the door. It took Kanan a moment to realize she was leaning over Ezra where he was hunkered down on the top bunk. She glanced over, meeting his eyes and keeping her voice the same soft tone as before.
"He woke up badly before, between the fever and being in pain. Being able to hear a friendly voice seems to help."
"Smart idea. Has he taken anything else for it?" Kanan kept his voice just as quiet as he moved over to the bunks. After the fight on the Star Destroyer and resulting concussion Ezra had woken up more than once confused and thinking he was still back there and needing to get to Kanan to free him. They'd taken to making sure someone was on hand to talk him down until the concussion symptoms finally faded. He should have anticipated that a fever might cause the same sort of reaction.
"No, I thought it would be best to wait and see if you could find something better." Hera said.
"I did. Hopefully. Apparently it's not that uncommon on planet and it's not contagious. I'll look up more information on it later, but the shopkeeper recognized the symptoms right away." He could see Ezra starting to stir, even if he was keeping his voice low. The kid had his hand tucked up to rest curled against his neck probably unconsciously and he scrunched his eyes closed a little tighter, making a small sound and then tensing, eyes starting to open.
"We're right here, Ezra." Hera spoke, and Ezra sat up a little at that, looking at her in wide eyed confusion before he recognized her, settling back onto the bed.
"And hopefully this should work better than what you had before, but I can't promise about the taste." Kanan measured out a dose of the first liquid, holding it out for him to take. He was relieved to see Ezra make a face at that, hesitating before he swallowed it down. Ezra following orders without any sort of backtalk wasn't right. As much as he joked about wishing he was a little more obedient as a padawan he liked the attitude, most of the time at least.
Ezra swallowed painfully and then after a moment he touched the front of his throat, surprised. "It's numb. Feels weird." He spoke at a whisper, but it still sounded less forced than before.
"Is that a good weird?" Hera took the bottle from Kanan to close it up. Ezra nodded emphatically.
"Hopefully it's numb enough you won't feel this. It's for the infection itself, but I was warned it might sting." Kanan unwrapped the spray bottle and checked over it.
"I can do it." Ezra held out his hand for it.
"You sure?" Kanan handed it over reluctantly at Ezra's nod. He didn't hesitate, making sure it was angled right to the back of his throat before spraying, and then gasping, tears springing to his eyes.
"Ezra?" Hera put a hand to his back.
"I'm ok, just, by might sting you mean will sting. A lot." Ezra made a face, reaching up to scrub over his eyes. "Not for long though."
"The alternative is weeks of this, it's apparently hard to clear up without treatment." Kanan took the medicine back so he could set it aside, for when it was time for the next dose.
"I'll take the stinging." Ezra smiled a little, eyeing the mug Kanan was still holding.
"Tea to wash the taste out." Kanan handed it over as Hera glanced at the chronometer.
"I should check in with Sabine and update her before she goes to sleep." Hera reached to take Kanan's hand for support as she slid off the top bunk.
"I'll stay to make sure the medication's working like it should." Kanan waited until she was down and then pulled himself up to sit on the top bunk. He had to slump a little to avoid touching the ceiling, but it was better than standing and leaning in.
"You don't have to." Ezra whispered between sips of the tea.
"I know, but I want to make sure you're not going to have a bad reaction to it or something." It was a perfectly good reason too, even if Kanan mostly just wanted to stay with him to make up for dismissing his symptoms earlier. He should have known Ezra wasn't the kind to complain about something if he could help it.
Ezra nodded, finishing off the tea and starting to settle back down on the bed. Kanan reached to get the blanket where it had scrunched up, spreading it out over him. Ezra hunkered down under it, hand going back to his throat absentmindedly.
"Is it starting to hurt again?"
"Not numb anymore, but it's not as bad." Ezra whispered, closing his eyes. Kanan watched for a moment, feeling awkward. Hera had obviously been keeping him company talking to him, but he felt strange just starting to talk without expecting Ezra to keep replying.
After a minute he reached out, settling his hand on Ezra's head and starting to pet through his hair, stroking in a way he hoped was soothing. It seemed to help, Ezra opened his eyes at the first touch, but then closed them again, relaxing with a soft sigh. Kanan stayed that way long after Ezra's breathing evened out and he finally slipped off to sleep.