When he woke up, the first thing Ezra noticed was the warmth. Warm, comfortable warmth that held him in its soothing embrace.
He snuggled farther into its hold. The second thing he noticed was the surface he was on was soft, the softest thing he had slept on in years.
Where was he? His own bed wasn't this comfortable; Trevor had never bothered to spend much money on a good mattress and blankets.
He forced his sticky eyes open. Propping himself up, he studied his surroundings.
He was in a bedroom, the largest he had ever slept in. The walls were light blue in color, and the carpet was pastel in color. Morning sunlight streamed through the window, lighting up the lounge chair in front of it.
He blinked. The room remained the same.
Suddenly the night before came rushing back to him.
After the police had arrived, Sabine had recounted her side of the story, with the others chiming in about what happened afterward. She even had Ezra reveal his arms. It had felt strange, showing something he had been trying to hide for so long.
While the others spoke to the cop, Hera had went to speak to the social service worker that had come for Ezra. She had soon returned with a brilliant smile. She informed the others that for the meantime, Ezra would be staying with them.
They then headed to the local clinic, where the doctor checked Ezra's foot. He declared it officially sprained and had wrapped it, with strict orders to stay off it as much as possible. He had also checked Sabine's nose, but reported that it wasn't anything to be concerned about.
They had driven back to their house, where Hera had fixed them a light supper.
Ezra tried to recall what happened after that, but it was all a huge blank. He thought he could remember being carried by someone, but wasn't sure if it was just his imagination or not
A knock at the door startled him out of his thoughts. The door creaked open after a moment and Kanan pocked his head through the crack. He smiled when he saw Ezra.
"You're awake, good." He walked over and held out a hand.
"You hungry? Hera has breakfast on the stove." He eyed the boy's thin frame with a critical eye.
"You look like you could use it."
Ezra ignored the outstretched hand, throwing back the covers and jumping out of the bed. The carpet was soft and clean underneath his toes.
Kanan let his hand fall back to his side. He knew there was a chance that the boy wouldn't take it, but still….
He sighed internally and left the room. He paused at the door and motioned for the boy to follow him.
The others were already eating when Kanan walked in, Ezra padding along behind him. Hera looked up. She smiled at Ezra as she stood and went over.
"Hey there kid. How's your foot?"
Ezra simply shrugged. For some reason Hera looked slightly disheartened at that. Her face soon lit up again however, and pulled out a bowl.
"Alright then." She filled up the bowl with oatmeal while Kanan shooed the boy into a chair. She walked over and set the bowl in front of him. He took the spoon she offered him, staring down at the food. He made no move to eat.
"What wrong? Would you rather have something else?"
Ezra shook his head quickly at her question. He spooned a small amount into his mouth. Pure bliss filled his face, and he practically started to shovel the food in.
"Easy there, don't make yourself sick." Kanan said with a laugh as he filled his own bowl and sat down. Ezra glowered at him, but followed his advice and slowed down. He still managed to finish before everyone else.
Hera eyed his empty bowl. "Want more?"
Ezra looked surprised at the offer, but nodded eagerly. She filled up his bowl and he ate once again, though at a much slower pace than before.
Kanan finished his meal and rose to his feet.
"I have to go out. I'll be back in a while." He pecked Hera lightly on the lips. He patted Sabine's shoulder on the way out.
"Bye!" The girl called just before they heard the slam of the front door. Soon enough they heard the car start up.
Sabine turned to find Ezra staring at her face, a small frown on his lips. Though it hadn't been broken, her nose was badly bruised, and was slightly swollen. His face plainly stated his guilt at being the reason she was hurt.
"What is it, kid?" She pointed at her nose.
"This? Don't worry, I've had worse."
He shyly lowered his gaze as Hera took his empty bowl and put it in the sink with the other dishes. She opened the dish liquid and poured it underneath the running water.
She pulled a rag out of a drawer, only for Ezra to take it out of her hands.
Surprised, she stared for a moment as he stood at the sink. He started scrubbing at one of the bowls.
She shook her head, tinted hair swaying as she took the rag from him. He held his hand out with a frown, silently asking for its return.
She smiled down into his eyes.
"I can take care of this. You need to rest your ankle." She put a hand between his shoulder blades, pushing him toward the door.
"Play a game with Zeb and Sabine. Shoo, go have some fun."
Ezra looked like he wanted to protest. Sabine immediately latched onto his arm and dragged him away, toward the living room.
She made him sit down on the couch as Zeb disappeared. He soon returned, carrying several games. He held them out to them.
"What'll it be, kid? Come on, we haven't got all day."
Ezra cocked his head as he studied the options. He tugged on Sabine's sleeve, pointing out one in particular, then shrugged and twirled a finger around his head.
Zeb was confused at the gestures, but Sabine instantly grasped what he was trying to say.
"You mean you've never played Yahtzee before?"
Ezra shook his head, looking embarrassed at the confession
Zeb sat on the floor so the coffee table was between them. He opened the box and poured out its contents.
"Don't worry kid. We'll show you how. It's easy."
Ezra looked up at them. He attempted to keep his face neutral, but Zeb could've swore that he saw the teen's lips twitch upward in a faint smile.
...
When Kanan returned several hours later, the first thing that reached his ears when he opened the door was laughter, along with Zeb's growls
He followed the sound to the living room. He found both females doubled over in laughter. Ezra was pressed back against the couch .Zeb groaned, throwing the scorepad down in frustration and rising to his full height.
"For crying out loud kid! There is no way anyone is that lucky!"
Kanan leaned against the doorway.
"Did I miss something?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
Everyone turned to him. It was Sabine who answered him.
"Ezra just beat Zeb for the eleventh time in a row." She tried to hold back her laughter, but failed. She glanced over at the couch and saw Ezra's eyes were wide as he stared in Zeb's direction. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was wrong.
"Kid, its okay, he's not really mad. He's just playing." She shot a look at the man. The message was clear. 'Stop scaring him.'
Zeb glanced from her to Ezra. Realization dawned on his features and he sat back down on the ground, clearing his throat awkwardly.
"So umm… What to play another game?" Ezra stared at him for a moment before nodding, the fear slowly leeching from his expression. He nodded, hesitantly.
Kanan smiled at that. He then met Hera's eyes. She must have seen something in his expression, for she rose to her feet.
"I'll be back in a bit. You guys keep playing.
The three didn't even seem to hear her as they prepared for another round.
Hera followed her husband to their room. She closed the door behind them and turned to him, arms crossed.
"Alright Love, spill it. What's wrong?"
"I went to pick up Ezra's file." He handed her a stack of papers, face solemn.
She flipped open the file. Kanan didn't have to wait long before she gasped, clasping a hand over her mouth as she read. He didn't even bother to ask why; he already knew what it said.
She soon finished and handed the papers back to him. Her face was pale.
"Poor Ezra. I had no idea…"
"That's not all." Kanan said as he put the file into a drawer.
"They wouldn't let me have a copy, but they allowed me to look at his file by his psychiatrist. According to him, before their deaths, Ezra used to be able to speak, but the trauma he went through silenced him. He can speak, he just won't." He heaved a sigh.
"I don't know if we can help him Hera. He's been through so much.
"So have you." She took his hand, squeezing it lightly.
"We will find a way to help him, love. I know we will."
….
It wasn't until later that evening when Kanan finally told the other two he had found out.
They had pulled one of their old bed out of the attic for Ezra to use, putting it in Zeb's room. While Hera had dragged the boy off to put sheets on the bed, Kanan had sat Sabine and Zeb down in the living room. He remained standing, running a hand over his tied back hair.
"When I left this morning, I had gone to pick up Ezra's file."
Sabine propped her chin on her fists, staring up at Kanan with her brown eyes.
"And?"
Kanan breathed deeply as he took a seat. He spoke in a soft voice as he explained what he had found. He told them how at seven years old, Ezra's parents were brutally murdered in front of him and how he was never heard speaking a word from that moment on. How the boy was put in a foster home shortly afterward, only to disappear a few weeks later. How he had been found just a few months ago, living on the streets and stealing to survive. How social services had put him in a foster home, with a man by the name of Trevor Wilkes. Which brought them up to where they were today.
Sabine gasped, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. Even Zeb looked distraught at the tale. They knew they kid had had it rough, but this…this was far beyond what they had imagined.
"That's horrible." The girl breathed. Her eyes glistened with tears of sympathy.
"Poor Ezra." For once Zeb didn't say a word, lost in his thoughts.
"I know." Kanan nodded.
"It is. That's why we are going to be as patient with him as possible. Obviously he is not going to be ready to trust us immediately. So we need to prove to him that we aren't like others, like Trevor. That means no roughhousing, yelling, forcing him to anything he doesn't want to. Basically, be gentle until he feels more comfortable with us."
He addressed both of them, but stared firmly at Zeb as he spoke. Both of them nodded.
"You got it." Zeb said.