A/N: Hi everyone! Just another little chapter of this brief story. You guys seemed to want more, so I've been working on this when the going gets tough on "Not to Yield." Lots of Hera/Ezra bonding and a little mini-cliffhanger. :) As always, I'd love to hear what you think. Again, this goes with my story "Convergence" so if you're looking for a big involved plot, you'll find it in "Convergence," probably not here...This is more of a short little prequel to delineate what Hera and Zeb went through as they try to bring a very hurt Ezra back from a very dark place.

As before, this story deals with child abuse that Ezra suffered at the hands of the Inquisitor. Nothing is described in DETAIL here, but Ezra is pretty broken by what he went through, so hopefully that's a pretty good warning of what you're gonna see. If the first two chapters didn't cause you problems, you'll be fine here.

3.

Hera woke up at Chopper's low insistent beep and a poke from one of his manipulators. As far as she could tell, this wasn't Chop's "we are being attacked" or "there is a malfunction in the hyperdrive" alarms. This was something altogether different, so she sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes.

"What is it, Chop?" she asked tiredly. They'd stayed up late with Ezra, teaching him how to play Sabacc, as a sort of reward for working hard on his reading skills. He was up to the reading level of a nine-year old in a very short amount of time. Almost too short a time. She worried that he was working too hard, and basically had to order him off the holonet after a prescribed amount of time each day, or he'd work straight through lunch, dinner and to bedtime. It was hard to find other things to keep him busy because he was so single-minded that he would become focused on something and complete it in half the time it would take other people.

She'd just about decided that he didn't know how to be a kid, or goof off or waste time, but then he would talk about how he used to swipe Stormtrooper helmets or loosen the bolts on Imperial speeder bikes so that they would fall apart as the trooper rode away. It was as if his old prankish nature had been stripped away by whatever it was that had happened to him; however, the very fact he would talk about those experiences gave Hera hope that that part of him was still there. It was just going to take time to bring it back out.

Chopper chirped that the small carbon-based lifeform was awake and hiding in a closet in the common area. He said he wouldn't have woken Hera, except that the human child appeared disoriented and distressed; the detected elevated heart rate and blood pressure were far above the norms for a human of his age and size.

"Thank you, Chopper." Hera said softly, throwing off her blanket and getting out of bed.

Chop asked Hera if the human boy had malfunctioning parts because he could donate a few circuits, or even a manipulator if that was the problem. Hera smiled sadly and placed a hand on his dome. "Something like that, Chopper, but we can't fix him the same way we can fix you. It'll just take time."

There was a plaintive low note from the droid, who led Hera from the room.

The common area was dark, and Hera brought up the lights just a little. Then she made her way over to the closet, listening intently.

There was no sound. None at all.

She spoke gently. "Ezra, love."

Still silence. Chop whistled low and soft.

She waited, trying to be patient. Finally, she had to take action. "Sweetheart. I'm going to open the door, okay? Chopper said you seemed upset, and I'm here to help, okay?"

Nothing.

She bit her bottom lip and typed in the master code that would open everything on the ship.

Ezra was curled into the corner as small as he could make himself, with his arms wrapped around his knees. He stared up at her with eyes that looked black in the darkness. His face was wet with tears and he continually shivered, either with fear or cold.

"Ezra? Do you know who I am?" she asked.

He shook his head, averting his eyes.

"Do…do you know where you are?" she asked slowly.

Her heart dropped when he just barely shook his head no. "I…I'm s-s-sorry," his voice was barely audible as he tucked his chin into his chest and cringed, as if he was expecting a blow. He covered his head with his arms.

"Sweetheart, you're on my ship, the Ghost. And you're safe. As safe as you can be."

One terror-filled blue eye dared look at her before his face was buried in his arms again.

She sat on the floor beside the closet. "Okay. We'll just stay right here until you feel better. When you do, I'll make some tea for us."

Ezra sat in the same position, for a long time, his breathing rapid in the quietness of the night. Finally, when no danger manifested, she saw him lift his head and watch her from his peripheral vision. Then, she saw the tension drop from his shoulders as he began to come back from whatever waking nightmare he'd been trapped in. She remained where she was, staring at her own feet which were stretched out in front of her. Afraid to rush him, she stayed completely still and watched him out of the corner of her eye.

"I…d-dre…dreamedabouthim," Ezra's voice was barely discernable; he stayed completely still as he shared the secret. It was as if the dark, writhing monsters of his mind would find him if he dared breathe or speak too loudly. He was running his words together again too, which was a warning sign to Hera.

Hera's eyes moved to rest on his, but other than that, she stayed still too. He reminded her of a frightened baby nerf, and she didn't want to startle him. "Who, love?"

"T-theImperial." He was trembling, then furtively wiped away the tears on his face.

"He…he was the one who hurt you?" she asked, her heart aching once more as she saw him nod.

He began to edge toward her and she opened her arms. He threw himself in, as the storm of emotion burst. "Oh, sweetheart." She ran a hand over his thick dark hair, then just held him.

He cried completely silently, as if too afraid he might be heard. The only way she knew when he had exhausted himself was by the way his trembling slowed. "Want to talk about it?" she asked finally, still smoothing his hair.

He shook his head, burying his face against her shoulder again. "N-no…I…c-can't."

"Okay." She whispered into his hair. "It's okay." She held him a long time, until his trembling settled again. "Come with me, love." She stood up, pulling him up with her, her arm around his shoulder.

Together they made their way into the kitchen area, and Hera heated up water for tea. He was a shadow beside her the whole time, pressing against her side like a baby Loth-kitten seeking warmth. She took the two mugs of tea to the table, then slid into the booth. She made a space for him by sliding over. "C'mon." she urged.

He snuggled up to her again and held his tea in both hands, just looking down at it.

Ezra was completely still for a long time, then Hera took a deep breath and spoke gently. "Ezra, try the tea, love. It's a Twi'lek tea, for relaxation and sleep. It should help you rest."

Ezra took an experimental sip and nodded. "It's…it's good."

Hera nodded in contemplation. The night passed around them quietly for a long time. She thought about all he must have gone through in his young life, and she wanted to help him desperately. "Promise me something, Ezra…" she finally began.

Ezra nodded instantly.

"If this happens again…if you have a bad dream…you come get me. Don't go through this alone, Ezra."

His eyes shone in the semi-darkness as he nodded.

"Think you can go back to sleep?"

He bit his bottom lip and then nodded. "I c-can t-try." They both slid out of the booth.

"She wrapped her arm around him and led him back to his quarters.

"Can…you st-stay a m-minute? 'Till I fall as-sleep a-again?"

"Of course, Ezra." She turned on the lights, but dimmed them over half-way, so they cast a soft, warm glow, then she came over and sat at the foot of the bed.

Ezra pulled the blanket over him and laid down. His eyes were already heavy, probably due to a lack of sleep.

"Have you been having trouble sleeping for a while?" She reached out and gently rubbed his arm.

He nodded.

"I'm sorry." Hera said genuinely. "You need to let us know when you're having trouble going to sleep, too. One of us can stay with you."

"I don't want to be t-trouble." Hera noticed his stuttering was starting to ease—a good sign that he was calming down to sleep.

"Ezra. You'll never be trouble to me or Zeb." She reached up to smooth back his longish dark hair. "And we'll tell you that as many times as you need to hear it. Close your eyes and rest, sweetheart."

She watched over him for a long time, feeling that perhaps he was starting to turn a corner. He hadn't been able to unlock the horrible things the Imperial had done to him…but he was talking to her. Responding to her. Not pulling away. She wasn't a psychologist, but it seemed a step in the right direction.

Hera didn't get a chance to talk to Zeb about Ezra's sleep problems until the next evening. Ezra had stayed extra close to her all day, and she didn't have the heart to ask him to let her have a private conversation with Zeb. She knew doing something like that would send him into a spiral of worry, so she held her concerns until Ezra had gone to bed.

They were sitting in the cockpit; Hera going over their next contract on a datapad and Zeb starting a diagnostic on the hyperdrive.

"I'm glad we have a minute. I've been waiting to talk to you about Ezra."

Zeb set aside the datapad. They'd had several conversations about Ezra after the kid had gone to sleep; they strategized how to help him best during their evenings after he'd fallen asleep. "Is he okay?"

"He's having sleeping issues." Hera said, setting her own datapad to the side.

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Nightmares. Like…the type a soldier would have after battle. Chopper woke me up and I found him hiding in the closet in the common room. Zeb…he didn't know who I was or where he was." Her eyes were worried. "He was so afraid."

Zeb's ears twitched. "What is he dreaming about that's scaring him so bad?"

"An Imperial." She looked up with anger in her eyes. "The one that hurt him; that was all he could manage to say. He couldn't talk about it, Zeb." She swallowed hard, then continued. "I felt so sure we were doing the right thing before, but now…I don't know. Do…do you worry that maybe we can't help him with this? That maybe…maybe we're doing the wrong thing by keeping him with us?"

He could see why she would worry, but there was no need. Zeb shook his head. "No. Don't second guess yourself like this. We're all this kid's got. It's not like we can drop him at an Imperial Medcenter for treatment."

"I know." Hera said, crossing her arms over her chest, her lekku showing her worry.

"You're doing great with him," Zeb added.

"You too." It had taken a while, but when Ezra had begun to trust Zeb, he had thrown himself into it fully. He hung on the Lasat's every word, listening to his stories of Zeb's time in the Lasan Honor Guard, and learning all the different jobs around the Ghost. They both liked repairing things and they were working on rebuilding Chopper's booster rocket. It had been damaged by a blaster bolt and a hard landing during an op right before Ezra had joined them. Building something together had allowed them to bond.

"Well, I think he feels he can trust me now." Zeb sighed, still seeing the worried expression on her features. He leaned forward. "Look, caring for that kid in there can't do anything but help him. You can't second guess yourself."

"You're right, of course. I just wanted to be sure. I mean I think we ARE having a good effect on him. He knows we care." He was still bewildered by their patience and kindness, but he was starting to trust them when they said they cared, and that was something. The problem was he still saw their love and acceptance of him as something with conditions, a viewpoint they were trying to change.

"Yeah. The kid's gained weight. He smiles now. He can read…Hera, we just have to focus on the positives and support him. One day…one day he'll realize that we aren't going to just leave him on some rock in the Outer Rim. Until then, it's gonna be like it was with me; two steps forward, one step back."

"Oh, Zeb..." Hera remembered the Lasat when he'd first come to her. His spirit had been broken. She remembered the drinking, the nightmares, the regrets. She remembered how she'd seen Zeb's true self inside, past all of the pain. She'd seen what he could be…the strength he had. She saw that same strength in Ezra.

"Hera. Don't forget how you rescued me from myself…and together we're gonna save this kid." Zeb pulled her into a one-armed hug. "You're good at saving people. It's what you do."

She actually was struggling to fight off tears. "Thanks, Zeb."

"Anytime." Zeb let her go and turned to find the data pad he'd laid down earlier. "Now, I better get to work. I have a diagnostic to run and I don't know if you know, but the Captain around here runs a tight ship."

"Does she?" Hera asked, a smile twisting her features. She blotted at her eyes with her fingertips and turned to find her own datapad.

"Yeah, and I don't mean to disappoint her. Ever." Zeb grinned as he got back to work.

A few days later, Ezra and Zeb were walking through the marketplace near the spaceport on a planet named Yahlena. Ezra seemed to be having a good time, but he stuck near Zeb at first, practically becoming his shadow as they shopped, gathering the items on a list Hera had presented them with. As the day went on, Ezra became more and more relaxed and began having fun. Yahlena City was a lot like Capital City on Market Day. There was so much to look at.

"What is that Zeb?" Zeb looked over as Ezra stared at some strange blue fruit. "Do you think it's good?"

"It could be a shakei. Think of it as a cross between a jogan and a meiloorun. Why don't you get a few?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Hera will love them. Here." He handed Ezra some credits.

"Y-you sure?"

"Yeah. Go on."

Ezra gathered three of the round fruit in his hands and went to the stall owner while Zeb stood to the side, watching. Hera had said Ezra needed to do some of these everyday things like making purchases and making decisions; this would give Ezra back some of the confidence that he had lost. It sounded reasonable to Zeb, and because the child had seemed so dependent on Hera, she'd sent the two of them shopping instead.

After purchasing the items, Ezra returned and set the fruit in the suspensor crate they were pushing. He went to give Zeb back the left-over creds, but the Lasat shook his head. "Keep 'em."

They continued making their way across the town square. There was a spacer's shop, and Ezra and Zeb entered. While Ezra looked around, Zeb walked up to the being running the shop. An old, wrinkled, gray Pau'an nodded to him. "Good day, gentlebeing."

"Good day to you. We're looking for some spacer's rations…we need a variety…"

"We?"

Zeb looked around him and didn't see Ezra. "Hey, kit?" he called out. "Where did you go?" He made his way to one of the aisles and looked down it, but didn't see the child.

Ezra came from around a display across the shop and froze. His eyes went wide with terror and he began to tremble as he stared at the shopkeeper.

"Boy…" the old Pau'an said, reaching out.

Ezra backpedaled to the door, his mouth working soundlessly. He then turned and ran for his life.

"I think your boy just ran away," the shopkeeper said.

Zeb sighed. "Kit?" He figured Ezra must just be standing outside. Maybe he'd gotten stressed and needed a minute. The same thing had happened when they'd been docked on Ylix and there had been some sort of confusion on whether they'd paid their port fees or not. The port authority (dressed in Imperial black and grey) had dropped by to talk to Hera. Ezra had been so startled he'd left the cargo bay where they'd been working and they'd found him hiding in his room pressed back under the shadow of the top bunk in the dark, lost in fear. He'd thought the Imperials were there to take him back, poor kit. What in Ashla's name had set him off this time?

Zeb stepped outside, but Ezra was gone.

Zeb lifted his comm. "Hera. We have a problem. Ezra saw something and got spooked. He ran."