Hello! Specter7 here. And, just as you people requested, I've got another chapter. And we even have a surprise character showing up! So read to find out who it is and...

May the Force be with you.

Hera Syndulla Jarrus was lost.

...Maybe lost was too strong a word. More like...being spontaneous. Impulsive. Reckless.

And all on her husband's insistence.

"I told you, Hera," Kanan said as he drove. "We're not lost. We're just exploring Lothal county."

Hera arched an eyebrow at him and sighed. "Just admit you have no idea where you're going," she demanded.

"I know exactly where we're going," Kanan defended.

"Alright," Hera said, playing along. "Where are we going?"

Kanan was silent for a moment before replying, "Anywhere we want to."

Hera put her hand to her forehead. "Why was I expecting that answer?" she muttered to herself.

"Look, Hera," Kanan said, his eyes on the road. "You said you wanted to see Lothal County. So, we're seeing it. And even though we don't know exactly where we're going, we're having fun. Together. Right?"

Hera pushed away her worries. "Right." Besides, it was a small county. Hera couldn't possibly be lost in such tiny area.

The two rode in the car for awhile, talking, passing landmarks, and seeing the sights. Even though Lothal County was rural, hot, and run down... Hera realized she slowly began to love it. She found beauty in it's tall grasses and patches of woodland. She had grown to like the gorgeous sunsets that took place every evening. She was fascinated at the family-oriented schools and playgrounds. Even though it didn't look like much on the outside, Hera realized Lothal County was a jewel in itself.

Hera looked outside the window as something caught her eye. "Hey, Kanan," Hera said quietly. "Pull over, will you?"

The car crawled to a stop on the side of the road and both adults got out. Hera walked up to a big, brown-bricked building. Huge, tattered letters hung above the door reading, 'LOTHAL CHILDREN'S INSTITUTION.'

"It's an orphanage," Hera breathed.

She saw her husband cock his head. "I didn't know Lothal County had an orphanage," Kanan said quietly.

They both looked at each other and then in unison, walked up to the door. Hera rung the doorbell and after several long moments, someone opened it up.

It was an older lady with graying hair. Clear-cut wrinkles surrounded her eyes showing a lifetime of hearty laughter. "Hello, there!" the lady said with a warm smile. "Welcome to Lothal Children's Institution. How may I help you?"

Hera glanced at Kanan. "We're new here," Hera explained, "and we were driving around town when I saw this orphanage. I... We didn't know Lothal even had an orphanage."

The old lady took Hera's hand and patted it gently. "It's a Children's Institution, dear," she corrected. "Children's Institution. Now, please, come in! I'll show ya'll around."

Hera saw Kanan smirk at the word 'ya'll' and she bumped him gently. "Manners," she murmured to him.

"Hey," he whispered back with his troublemaker smile plastered on his face. "I'm always on my best behavior."

Hera started forward, following the lady. "Your best needs some work then, love."

Even without looking back at her husband, she knew Kanan's jaw had dropped. She smiled to herself and then glanced up at the old lady. She had gone through a door and was calling to them.

"This way, dears!" she said.

As Hera walked through the door frame, she stopped. They were in a small playground that was apparently behind the orphanage-sorry, Children's Institution-and Hera was shocked. There were probably fifty kids in all, with the younger kids running around and the older ones hanging in the back of the playground where the benches were.

There's so many, Hera thought.

"H-How come there's so many children here?" Hera asked shakily. "None of them have parents?"

The old lady sighed. "As of right now, there are forty-eight kids housed here," she said. "Their parents have either abandoned them or died." Hera watched the old lady look at the children with sad eyes. "Most of the foster kids go from institution to institution. We just happen to have a large group right now."

Hera watched the preschool aged kids run around, screaming happily. She watched as the elementary aged kids climbed trees and saw every piece of playground equipment as an obstacle they had to cross. She watched as the middle and high school aged kids hung back in the shade, sitting on benches. They didn't talk much to each other and Hera knew why.

They had already lost hope.

She opened her mouth to speak but Kanan had seemingly read her mind and beat her to it. "What happens to the older kids?" he asked.

The old lady sighed. "As years pass and the older a child gets, the less likely it is for he or she to get adopted. And when they get to be a teenager, their chances of finding a family..." the old lady trailed off and shook her head. "They're not good."

"And when they reach eighteen?" Kanan asked quietly.

The old lady shrugged helplessly. "They're thrown out of the system. Officially an adult, they're left to survive on their own."

Hera stared at the older kids, her heart aching. What would it be like to live your entire life... without those you love around you? A vital part was missing from these orphan's lives; their families. How could they be grown up and all adult-like when they had never had a family to support them?

"Kanan-" Hera breathed.

"I know," he interrupted. "...I know."

There was a long pause before Hera finally said to the old lady, "Well, thank you for opening your orpha- ahem. Children's Institution, up to us. We really appreciate all you do for these young ones."

The old lady smiled sweetly. "Of course, dearie. Of course. I'll walk ya'll back to the front."

It was silent in the car for awhile as Hera and Kanan drove down a one-way road. Old, abandoned buildings lined both sides.

"I know you're thinking what I'm thinking," Hera said quietly.

"I am," Kanan admitted.

She paused. "Then why not?"

He shook his head. "I can think of reasons," Kanan said. "Reasons I don't even want to admit to myself."

"But you do want to do it."

"Hera," Kanan said with a sigh, "we can't adopt a teenager right now. We're renting an apartment with one bedroom. Where would the kid sleep?"

"So?" Hera said, refusing to give up. "We'll find a bigger house."

"With what money?"

"We can make it work!"

"It's not that," Kanan said quietly, gripping the steering wheel. "We just can't. Not yet."

"Can't?" Hera breathed, a silent challenge. "Or won't?"

Kanan stepped on the brakes and Hera's body pressed uncomfortably against her seatbelt. He turned and looked at her with those piercing aquamarine eyes.

"Do you trust me?" he demanded.

"Arggh, Kanan-"

"Do you trust me?"

Hera looked at him. She said nothing for a moment.

"Of course."

Their conversation was cut short by the sound of squealing brakes. Hera jumped in her seat, just in time to see a huge van barreling towards them.

Only her husband's quick thinking and razor-sharp reflexes saved them. Kanan slammed on the gas pedal, whipping the wheel to the left just as the van slammed into the tail end of their car. Hera was spun around and she gripped her door handle. Her eyes were closed as tight as possible as the car did doughnuts on the little road. Once the car finally spun to a stop, Hera and Kanan glanced at each other with wide eyes before springing out of the car.

The huge van had careened off the one-way road and into an old abandoned building. Fire burnt underneath the van as black smoke rose to the heavens.

"Oh, no," Hera breathed, and clamped a hand over her mouth in horrific fascination.

Kanan ran past her, yelling, "Stay back, Hera! Call 911 while I get the people out!"

Hera did. Once she had made the call, Kanan had two people on each shoulder as he ran away from the van that slowly began to catch fire.

Hera went to help her husband when she noticed something. The side of the van crawled with flames but she could just make out the logo and words...

'CAPITAL CITY DOG POUND'

If the van was a dog pound van, then that must have meant...

A bark.

Hera froze as another mournful bark echoed from the van. Then another and another. Hera could hear the dog's panic as it whined fearfully.

She started forward, an arm covering half her face from the awful heat of the fire.

"Hera!" Kanan called. "No! You never go back for the dog!"

She turned to see her husband kneeling on the concrete, giving CPR to one of the people he'd pulled out. His face was pointed towards her. His panicked aquamarine eyes were wide.

"Do you trust me?" Hera asked quietly, her voice almost inaudible over the roaring fire. She turned, not giving her open-mouthed husband time to respond, and ran for the dog pound van.

Something indescribable was pulling her towards the automobile. Towards the frantic animal that was caged inside it. Hera sprinted to the back of the van and ripped the door open. Fire raced across the door frame and Hera looked inside. There was a rusty-colored, dark orangish dog hunkered in the very front of the van. It whined, scratching at his open-doored cage

Hera glanced at the fire. It had almost overtaken the back of the van!

"Hey!" Hera called to the dog. "Hey, come on! Here boy!"

The crazed animal looked at Hera but made no move to her. And she saw why. Or rather, felt why.

The metal floor was hot as the fire burned underneath the van. Hera gently touched the floor with the back of her hand and yelped. It was hot. Blazing hot.

Hera looked at the floor then back at the dog. She was still outside, looking in. It wasn't too late to run away... The fire was getting hotter...

But then she looked at the animal, and the animal at her. Hera knew she had to save it. It wasn't just a dog... She felt a strange connection to the beast. Something that couldn't be severed... even by death.

Hera leaped inside the van, the scorching metal burning through the soles of her shoes. She hurried over to the dog, ripping open his cage door, and grabbed the good sized animal. He was about the size of a Labrador with rusty colored fur and floppy ears. As Hera lifted the dog up, she could feel his rapid heartbeats as he franticly moved around in her arms.

"I got you," she whispered to the dog.

He relaxed and Hera gripped him tight as she bounded through the van. The flames of fire almost covered the entire opening of the back of the van.

Not stopping, Hera yelled, "Hang on!" and plunged through the fiery wall. The searing pain that touched her face and any open skin was immense, but they made it.

Hera's boots hit solid ground and she rolled. Kanan ran over, helped her up and grabbed the dog by his neck fur. Hera was dazed. Her face felt feverish, still hot from the sizzling flames.

"You okay?" Kanan asked breathlessly.

Hera opened her sea green eyes to see her husband with a worried expression on his face. "Yeah," she mumbled. "Yeah, I'm fine."

An ambulance and fire fighters came to the scene. They checked her and the other two people Kanan had pulled out over. Everything was a blur to Hera. Yet all the while, the dog stayed at her side, his tail whipping back and forth like a helicopter blade.

"That's it," Hera whispered as she petted the dog. "That's your name.

"Chopper."

Kanan watched as his wife named the dog. He sighed. Guess we're keeping it then, he thought. Kanan suddenly paused. He narrowed his eyes and then looked over his shoulder. He was getting a weird feeling... Like... Like someone was following them. Or trying to, anyway.

Someone's coming, Kanan thought suddenly. They're looking for us.

He turned all the way around but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. No, he thought. They're not here yet.

But they will be.

Oh, no! What is Kanan feeling with his mystic almost Force-like senses? You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out! And... yay! The mystery character was Chopper! So, Follow/Fav, review and all that jazz:) Happy New Year!

Specter7 out