Hope you all enjoy this chapter. It was a dog to write, but I think I finally got it right. Let me know what you all think!
Kanan drove on. The rain poured down the windshield, only to be pushed to the side by the wipers. It was getting dark and the rain was showing no sigh of letting up; in fact it seemed to come down harder than it down harder.
Where could Ezra have went? Kanan wracked his brain as he stared out the windows, hoping to catch sight of the dark haired youth.
He had already checked all places near home, thinking the kid couldn't have gone far. Turned out that even when sick, Ezra could still move fast on foot.
Kanan breathed deeply, trying to slow his racing heart. He couldn't panic, not now. That would be of no help to anyone, especially Ezra.
Think, think. Ezra had grown up on the streets, so most likely he had secret hideaways to stay in. But where...
A thought suddenly occurred to him. He slammed on his brakes, turning the vehicle around.
….
Ezra ran. His breath came in short, wheezy gasps; his legs felt like they would give out at any moment, and his chest felt like it was being stabbed with every intake of breath. Still he didn't stop. To stop would be to think, and to think would be to remember.
To remember would mean pain.
He couldn't handle that. Not now, not while the wound was still fresh and the pain at its strongest.
He splashed through a puddle as he continued on. He shivered and mentally cursed himself for not grabbing a jacket before leaving the house. He was completely soaked and he didn't have any spare clothes to change into.
Finally, after running for what felt like years, his energy ran out and he collapsed to the ground. He took deep gasping breaths, sweat mingling with the rain. He managed to lift his weary head to take in his surroundings.
He was in front of an alley, one he knew all too well. His mind flashed back to that day only a month before.
….
Ezra stumbled into the alley, away from prying eyes. He sat down heavily. He pulled up his pants leg, trying not to wince in pain at the movement.
His ankle was already swelled up almost double its size. He touched it gingerly, only to pull back with a whimper.
Stupid dog. The beast had to run in front of him and trip him. What was he going to do now? He hadn't eaten yet that day, and he certainly couldn't steal anything if he could barely move.
His head jerked up at the sound of footsteps.
A girl with short dyed hair stood at the entrance of the alley. She couldn't have been much older than him. For some reason she seemed vaguely familier, which confused him. He couldn't recall ever meeting her before.
"What are you doing? Why did..." A woman appeared, scolding the girl. Her eyes lightened on him. Her face was surprised.
He rose quickly and tried to run, but his ankle gave out and he once again collasped to the ground in a flurry of pain.
The woman ran foward, pausing when he tried to scramble backwards, away from her. Instead she knelt down.
"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to help."
"I'm Hera." She motioned to the girl behind her. "And that's Sabine."
"What's your name?"
…
Ezra pushed himself back onto wobbly legs, forcing the memory into the back of his mind. The mere thought of it made his chest ache.
The sound of a car motor caused him to whip his head around. Even through the rain and oncoming darkness, he could make out the yellow streaks of the approaching vehicle that make the Ghost unique from any other. His heart almost stopped.
What? How had they…he pushed his questions to the side. He turned around and forced himself to run.
He heard the car screech to a halt, soon followed by the sound of footsteps.
With terror flowing through him, Ezra pulled out the last dredges of energy he had left and put on one last burst of speed.
He still wasn't fast enough.
A pair of muscular arms wrapped around his waist. Ezra tried to fight him off, but it was no use. The grip was strong and he had used up what little energy he had left to run.
"Whoa kid, calm down!"
Ezra struggled a bit longer against the hold before he gave up. He went limp with a whimper, which the man didn't seem to hear.
Kanan half dragged, half carried the ill teen to the car, placing him in the passenger seat.
Ezra sat timidly in the seat after Kanan shut the door, walking to the back of the Ghosy, He knew there was no use trying to make another break for it. Kanan would just catch him again.
Ezra flinched as the door on the drivers' side opened and Kanan climbed in. He waited for the man to yell at him, hit him, anything. Instead Kanan simply handed him a couple of blankets.
"Get out of those wet clothes and get these around you. You're sick enough as it is." As that he turned around to give the youth some privacy.
Ezra undressed quickly, shivering as his wet and fevered skin was exposed to the air. Once he had wrapped the blankets around his small frame, he curled up in his seat and waited for the man to turn around.
When Kanan finally did, he took one look at Ezra's face and reached for him. The child jerked away and pressed himself against the door. Kanan paused.
"Easy kid. I just want to check your fever, alright?"
He reached again, this time pressing the back of his hand against the teen's forhead. Despite his fear, it was all Ezra could do to not lean into the warm touch.
Kanan frowned. The boy's skin was hot, much hotter than was most likely even safe. Add that the child was shivering, and the way he was rubbing his chest as if in pain. There was no doubt in his mind.
Ezra was developing pneumonia.
"Ezra, I'm taking you to the doctor." He turned back around. He looked outside and stopped his hand just before he turned the key.
In the course of just a few minutes, the storm had gathered strength. The rain was coming down so hard it was impossible to make out anything within a foot of the hood. There was no way Kanan was driving through that; they would defiantly crash before reaching their destination.
"You know what? How about we wait until the storm passes?" A wheezy cough was his answer. Kanan looked at Ezra with another frown.
Ezra had buried his face into the blanket so only the top of his head was visible. He was body was shaking and Kanan suspected that there was more to it than the fever.
He reached over once again to pull the blanket down from the youth's face. Ezra looked away, but Kanan simply gripped his chin, turning the small face back toward him.
"Ezra, look at me." The teen refused to meet his gaze.
"Ezra." Now the man steeled his tone." Look at me."
Finally the youth raised his eyes up to Kanan's face.
"Why did you run?"
Ezra let his gaze drop back down, shoulders rising and falling in a half hearted shrug. Kanan groaned.
"Come on kid, I know something's up." He gripped his shoulders, wincing at the heat he felt even through the blanket.
"Did we do something wrong? Are you upset, hurt about anything?"
Ezra simply pulled out of his grip, wrapping the blanket even tighter around him. Kanan sighed. He touched the back of the boy's head.
"Don't push me away kid, please." He knew he was begging, but at the moment he didn't care. For heaven's sake, this was his child.
"Let me help."
After a moment Ezra looked back up and Kanan was shocked to find the boy's eyes shining with unshed tears. His lower lip trembled.
Ezra backed away, gesturing wildly, small hands a blur. It was impossible to translate his movements.
"Whoa kid, slow down." Kanan did downward motions with his hands.
"Tell me again."
Clearly growing frustrated, Ezra first pointed at the man, than himself. He then made a shooing motion. Kanan stared, trying to figure out his meaning. After a few moments it finally clicked.
"Wait, when did I tell you to go away? Ezra, I would never want that. I want you to stay, we all do."
Kanan thought the boy would answer with his 'sigh language', make silent talk like he always did.
What he expect was to hear a small voice, raspy and weak from years without use.
"Yeah right." Ezra hid his face in the blankets again. His voice almost gave out, but he cleared his throat and continued.
"I heard...you talking to...Hera. 'Give it to someone else. Let it be their problem'" He let out a harsh laugh that just as suddenly turned into a sob.
"Well, guess what? You…won't have to…worry about me….anymore."
As Kanan stared in shock, Ezra started gathering his wet clothes off the floorboard. He was just about to wrap his fingers around the doorhandle when Kanan realized what he was doing.
He grabbed Ezra's arm, pulling him away from the door. Ezra struggled, but the man's grip on him was tight.
Kanan wrapped both arms around the youth, pulling him against his chest. Ezra's strength once again gave out and he went limp with fear.
Kanan's mind flashed back to his conversation with his wife earlier. He suddenly wanted to curse at himself. They had been standing just outside Ezra's door during that argument. Ezra must have overheard them and assumed that they were talking about him.
Kanan turned the boy's face back toward him. His heart melted when he waw the fear and hurt on Ezra's face. The poor thing had been through so much, when would he just accept that he had a home with them?
"Ezra." He kept his voice gentle. "We weren't talking about you."
Even through the tears, Ezra scoffed, trying to turn his face away. Kanan's grip prevented him from doing so.
"No, I'm serious. You know what we were talking about? A cat."
Ezra's eyes flicked up to his in surprise. Kanan noticed the doubt crossing his face.
"I'm serious. An old, hateful cat she had found and decided she wanted to keep it."
Ezra's face cleared. He ducked his head, his cheeks bright red and Kanan suspected that it was more than just the fever.
He then surprised Ezra by pulling him into his lap, bundling him even deeper into the cocoon of blankets. He pressed the boy's head into his shoulder.
"I'm not giving you up kid." Kanan's voice was soft.
"None of us will. You might as well stop trying to run. We love you too much to let you go."
After a tense moment Ezra snuggled closer, resting his forhead in the crook of Kanan's collar bone "Promise you won't leave?" His voice was still weak, but hope was still evident.
Kanan rested his chin on top of the damp hair.
"I promise."
….
Hera was in the kitchen when the phone rang. She hurried to the hall to answer it.
"Jarrus residence."
Sabine had followed the woman to the phone and was now leaning against the kitchen doorway, staring into her mug of tea as the cat wound itself around her feet.
"Kanan, where are you? Did you find Ezra?"
Sabine's head shot up at Hera's words. She watched as the women's face turned to relief, then was replaced by worry.
"What? Is he….which room….alright, we'll be right there." She hung up and looked at the teen next to her.
"He found Ezra, but he's really bad off. Kanan had to take him to the hospital."
Hera dialed Zeb's cell. The man answered on the first ring.
Quickly Hera explained the situation, and Zeb agreed to come pick them up before heading to the hospital.
Once again Hera hung up.
"Zeb's coming to pick us up. Go get ready to leave."
Sabine hesitated, then shook her head. Her face was pale, eyes wide and pleading.
"I can't go. After what I've did, how can I face him again? Please mom, don't make me go." She begged.
Hera studied her daughter sadly.
"I know its hard honey, but you need to." She touched the girls shoulder.
"We need to be there for him. Please, love."
After a tense moment, Sabine nodded.
Hera couldn't resist. She pulled the girl into a quick embrace. She felt the teen relax against her, burying her face into her shoulder with a sigh of relunctance.
"I'm proud of you, honey," She whispered into the teen's ear before pulling away.
"Come on, we have a kid to go see."
...
constructive criticism is always appreciated!