Here is Chapter Two! Before we start, there is a poll on my profile asking who your favorite OC is from my fanfics. I put that up because I really want feedback and see which character is the favorite so I can double check what I did with him or her and apply them to future characters, so please vote in my poll. It would really help me. If you can't, tell me in the reviews. Thank you so much for the support so far and thank you for helping me improve.
The first thing Ezra registered when he regained consciousness was the fact that he was covered in bandages. There was a sickly-sweet scent stuck in his nose and an equally sweet taste in his mouth. He was lying on something soft and he could hear nothing but the steady rhythm of a heart monitor and the ambience of a ship. He opened his eyes and found he couldn't see out of one of them. Not that it mattered. It was dark in the room anyway. Something was plugged into his arm and there were straps holding him down.
Frantic, Ezra struggled to free himself, whimpering in pain as his still healing burns protested against the movement. The heart monitor progressively began to beep faster. He heard a hissing sound, followed by something cold flowing into his veins. Ezra suddenly felt dizzy. His eyelids grew heavy and he was once again under the warm waters of sleep.
The next time Ezra came around, the straps were still there and the room was still dark. Where the kriff was he? Ezra weakly tried to move once again. Moving didn't hurt as much as it did last time, but it still stung quite a bit.
However, just like last time, the tube in his arm hissed, the blasted liquid flowed into Ezra's veins, and once again, he knew no more.
Oh, well. At least the sickly-sweet scent was gone.
When Ezra came around again, his eyelids were extremely heavy. He didn't even try to open them. The bandages were still there and Ezra could sense someone nearby.
The straps, much to Ezra's dismay were still there. He wanted to try to get free again, but he hesitated upon remembering what happened the past few times. His muddled mind tried to decide what to do, but he honestly couldn't think straight enough.
"Third…time's…the charm…I…guess…"
Ezra tried shifting, grunting as he did so, but the person who was nearby laid a hand on Ezra's forehead.
"Don't move. Go back to sleep. You're safe."
Ezra decided not to tempt the blasted tube and let Kanan's calming presence lure him back to sleep once more.
Hera stood in the light cruiser's medcenter, staring at the scene in front of her. Ezra was still strapped down as a precaution. The teenager's body was badly burned in the explosion and it was a small miracle he survived both the burns and the fact that he was tossed into the never-ending, icy-cold, soul-sucking darkness of space. After they pulled him out of the bacta tank, they strapped him down to keep him from moving and aggravating his injuries. They even put a tube into his arm that would release medicine to knock him back out if he woke up. Kanan thought it was a bit much, but eventually shut up about it after Ezra managed to activate the tube twice within the past couple of weeks after trying to get up.
"This is all my fault."
The words came out of Hera's mouth before she could stop it. Kanan turned in her general direction. "Hera," Kanan replied. "This isn't your fault." Hera wanted to laugh. What did she expect? Before Hera could open her mouth, Kanan continued. "You weren't the one who shot him down. And before you say you're the one who let Ezra come with you, keep in mind that he volunteered. This was his choice."
Hera nodded, tears springing to her eyes. She found herself moving towards the bed, sitting next to Kanan and smoothing Ezra's hair, noting how soft and messy it was without all the gel Ezra insisted in putting in it. Hera forced herself back into reality, as she had other news. "The doctors are taking the straps off tomorrow but they're going to keep him out for a few more days."
"That's good news," Kanan replied.
Hera nodded. "He's going to be okay. Come back to the Ghost. You need sleep."
Kanan shook his head. "I'm not leaving."
"Kanan, if you don't come back, I will stun you and personally drag you back myself."
Kanan sighed. "Okay. But only for a few hours." He stood up and waited for Hera to join him. Hera's eyes fell on a blanket folded up on a counter. She then turned to Ezra, who wore only medical issue pants. His entire torso was exposed and covered in bandages and the medbay was cold. She quietly picked up the blanket and tucked Ezra in like a mother would do to a child.
The two Spectres left without another word.
Zeb and Chopper found themselves in the same room together. They weren't alone, but they might as well have been, with Ezra passed out on the bed and Kanan passed out in his chair.
"Hera's going to throw a hissy fit when he sees Kanan here and not in his cabin sleeping," Zeb whispered off-handedly to no one in particular.
Chopper warbled something in reply and Zeb rolled his eyes. "I'm going to take that as an agreement. I'm not in the mood to argue right now."
Zeb turned to Chopper and noticed that he hadn't turned away from Ezra yet.
"Staring at him like that isn't going to heal those burns any faster."
Chopper warbled once more, probably telling Zeb to shut up. However, it wasn't in that snarky tone Zeb had come to recognize. It was something sedated, sad almost.
Zeb sighed and patted Chopper's dome. "I don't like seeing him like this either. I always figured he'd want to go out with a bang but I don't think he meant this. I can't imagine what he went thorough and…" Zeb's voice trailed off. Karabast! Was he getting soft? So soft that he was confiding in the resident rustbucket?
Chopper warbled something, something that Zeb, much to his shock, understood. "Do my audio receptors deceive me? Is the mighty Garazeb Orellious getting soft?"
"Be quiet."
"You're only saying that because you know I'm right."
"Fine. You're right. Don't get used to it."
Suddenly the door opened, revealing Hera. She walked towards the chair where Kanan was asleep and shook his shoulder.
Kanan woke with a start but relaxed once he sensed who was there. "Kanan," Hera whispered. "I thought I told you to go to bed!"
"I said only for a few hours."
"It's only been one hour!"
"I guess I miscalculated. Whoops." Kanan's tone made it very clear to Zeb that he was had not miscalculated and was flat out smart mouthing Hera at this point. Zeb shook his head. Kanan just couldn't leave Ezra like this, could he?
"Back to bed. And no leaving until 1000 hours, clear?"
"Clear…" Kanan mumbled as he left the room.
Hera turned to Zeb and Chopper. "You two better rest too. Sabine's on her way."
Zeb nodded. He turned to follow Kanan out but paused when he saw Chopper unmoving. Zeb rolled his eyes with a smile and walked towards Chopper. He picked him up and carried him out of the room. Chopper began protesting angrily. "You need to charge," Zeb snapped.
"Definitely a softie."
"Oh be quiet."
Sabine had only been in the room a few times. She couldn't stand the sight of her surrogate little brother covered in bandages. She was so scared when she saw Ezra's ship blow up. She didn't see what happened next, as she was running to the hangar. All she saw was the medics hovering over Ezra, his eyes shut and his body limp and covered in frost. What scarred her mind more than anything was the burns that littered his body. His clothes were ripped and charred and his gloves were completely burned off. There were blistered covering some and charring covering others. The more open ones were an angry red and blood was seeping out of some of them. They covered his arms, his legs, heck, his chest looked like the flames literally licked it. His hands were the worst though. The medics said he would still be able to use them, but that in itself was a miracle. Sabine wanted to laugh at that. The fact that Ezra was even alive was a miracle. Most pilots, when their ship exploded, were incinerated in the blast. She may not have understood the Force, but she knew it had something to do with Ezra's survival. Kanan agreed with her.
Now, Ezra looked strangely peaceful. The bandages were still wrapped around him, making him look slightly mummified and the straps and tube on his arm distorted the illusion, but Sabine could see right through the medical equipment and see that peaceful, sleeping face. Ezra looked way too peaceful for someone who almost died the way he did.
Without thinking, Sabine pressed her lips against Ezra's forehead and sighed, tensing slightly when Ezra's eyes fluttered open.
"Sabine?" he whimpered. It was obvious he wasn't going to stay awake for very long until the tube knocked him out again, not long enough to tell anyone. Sabine cringed lightly at Ezra's tone. He sounded so vulnerable and weak.
"Shh. Go back to sleep," Sabine whispered.
Ezra's eyes fluttered shut as the tube hissed and pumped more of the medicine into his veins.
"Sabine."
Sabine woke with a slight start and groaned softly. Her back ached from having her head resting on the edge of the bed but she was still very tired. She closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep when felt someone rub her back. "Sabine."
Sabine sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes. She looked down and realized she was still in the medbay. Ezra was still asleep next to her. She looked up to see who woke her. Kanan stood next to her. "We just landed. It's nearly 1200 hours, but you should probably get some sleep. I'll look after him."
Sabine nodded and drowsily left the room.
Kanan sat down where Sabine was and sighed. "You sure know how to scare people, don't you…" he said softly. He knew what it was like to be in space with no protective gear. Cold, no air, unable to do anything except scramble for your life. He could only hope Ezra was unconscious for that part, even though it was highly unlikely and probably even more traumatic. When Maul tried to kill Kanan by tossing him out of the airlock, he was only in space for about fifteen seconds. Ezra was in there for a whole minute, which is about as long anyone can survive. It was truly a miracle Kanan didn't have to bury his padawan.
"You've slept for so long," Kanan continued, even though he knew he wouldn't get a reply. "You've been in and out for almost three weeks now. I don't know what the medics are thinking, but they saved Hera's life before. That's reason enough to know that they know what they're doing. They say it won't be much longer now."
Another few minutes of silence. If someone saw Kanan now, they'd think he was either crazy or liked hearing the sound of his voice. Kanan just wanted a conversation with his kid, even if it was one sided. Kanan grabbed Ezra's hand and sighed again. "You've gotten yourself a couple of scars, couple of blaster burns, and too many concussions for my liking. Guess you really are hard headed, but you really did it this time. I don't think Hera will ever let you out of her sight again and I can't say I blame her. I wish I could have told you this before the accident, but while Hera pulled me out of the mess that was my life after Order 66, you made me myself again. I'm proud to call you my padawan and friend. I know you probably can't hear me, but I'll just have to say it again when you wake up."
Kanan chuckled sadly and leaned back in his chair, never letting go of Ezra's hand.
"I've really become soft, huh?"
I wrote Sabine's interaction with Ezra as sisterly, but at the same time, I included it for the Sabezra fans. Next chapter will be the last as this is sadly only a threeshot. Did I get you all in the feels? Because I have no regrets. I find it funny how I started with humor fics and next thing I know, I'm cranking out stuff like this. So the question is, would you like another humor fic? I'm not making promises at this point, but if you guys want it, I'll see what I can do.