A/N: at end.

4.

When Ezra ran, he did it without thought; his logic was the logic of panic. He didn't pay attention to which way he ran—he just focused on making his legs pump and his arms move. He darted in and out of the crowd, and by the time he was exhausted and forced to stop running, he found himself in the industrial area in town. There were abandoned factories with large yawning black windows eyeing him. High metallic walls loomed over him, making him feel small and insignificant.

The shadows of afternoon stretched out across the street, making things look strange and unreal. He found an alley and after listening and hearing no one in it, he slipped into the dim area, hiding himself behind some old broken-down suspensor crates.

His mouth hung open as he gasped for air. Despite his having stopped running minutes ago, he was still struggling to breathe…there was a hot rusty pain in his chest, which felt encircled with iron bands.

The Pau'an. He'd seen the grey skin, red markings, and sharp teeth and his fear had taken over. He'd run, leaving Zeb behind.

Zeb! He began to silently sob. He'd left Zeb to fend for himself. The Pau'an would kill Zeb because he'd run. Or the Pau'an would kill Zeb because Ezra loved him. "No…" Ezra cried in a hoarse whisper, sagging against the bricks and sinking to his knees.

There was a sudden burst of static on his comm. "Ezra, come in please." It was Hera. Ezra moaned, pressing a fist against his mouth to muffle it. How would he explain leaving Zeb? What would he say when she asked where Zeb was? He shook his head and squeezed his eyes closed.

"Ezra. I know you're scared. Everything's okay. Please come in. Tell us where you are, and we'll come get you."

He shook his head again, tears spilling down his cheeks.

"Sweetheart. It's okay. Zeb told me you got scared…we're not mad." Her voice was so gentle; it eased his terror. "Please talk to me."

It was then he realized she'd said she talked to Zeb. He touched the comm with his eyes squeezed closed. "Ze-Zeb's o-ok?"

"Yes, love. He's fine." Ezra could hear the relief in his voice.

Ezra squeezed his eyes closed as Zeb spoke. "I'm a-okay, kit. Do you know where you are? Are you in danger?"

Ezra shook his head, then remembered they couldn't hear a head shake. "I'm o-okay. I don't k-know w-where I a-am. I just…r-r-ran."

"Okay. We're tracking you with your comm. Stay where you are for me, okay?" Hera was back.

"I wi-will."

"We're coming for you, love."

When Zeb and Hera pinpointed the area of the city where Ezra's comm signal was coming from, they parked the Ghost on a landing pad near an old abandoned factory and set out on foot.

Hera felt her stomach roll uneasily and worried about what state Ezra would be in when they found him. This seemed like a bad setback. What would she do if Ezra was…more unstable than he'd been when they'd first found him? Like Zeb had pointed out, it wasn't like they could just take him to a psychiatrist.

"Which way?" Hera was just about running in her haste. The kid just brought out every motherly instinct she had, which was funny because she'd never thought she had a motherly bone in her body.

"Turn left here." Zeb pointed.

The sun was still up, but the tall buildings swathed the streets in shadow. "Two down then right." Zeb said.

When they finally reached the alleyway, they didn't see anyone at first. But then, behind a trashcan, Zeb caught sight of the orange shirt and brown jacket Hera had bought the kit.

"Ezra?"

Ezra was slumped forward, his head buried in his arms. He didn't answer, but when Zeb reached him, and placed a purple paw on his shoulder, Ezra seemed to come back.

He looked up at Zeb with watery eyes. "I…I…" His voice hitched as tears streamed down his face.

"Don't try to explain right now. It's okay." Zeb said. He reached out for Ezra and the boy fell into his arms, sobbing.

Hera let Zeb comfort him. It was important that Ezra know that he could depend on both of them. When his tears slowed, he sat more upright and began to wipe his face, only crying in hitching gasps now.

"I'msorrypleasedon't…bemadatme." Ezra said between breaths. His head and eyes were downcast and he plucked at the hem of his jacket miserably. Hera had seen him do this every time he had a setback, and realized the familiar habit must be some sort of repetitive self-soothing movement.

"Oh no, sweetheart. We aren't." Hera said as softly as she could. She'd come around and knelt on his other side to place a hand on his shoulder. "We love you, Ezra. We came to take you back home."

His shadowed eyes grew large. "H…home?" It was clear from his expression that he hadn't thought of the ship as his OWN home yet. Hera couldn't help feeling a little disappointed; she'd hoped that the kid had begun to accept them and their ship as his home, but she supposed it was jumping the gun. It was clear they were going to have to do this at Ezra's pace.

"The ship, kid. Your home." Zeb said.

Ezra nodded slowly, still looking like a nerf in the headlights of a speeder.

"The ship's not far. Can you walk back with us?" Hera asked.

He nodded.

They got him to his feet and walked to the ship, Hera on the right and Zeb on the left. The whole time, Ezra was twisting his shirttail in his fingers, his stress palpable.

Hera chose not to discuss the reasons he'd fled into the city. The most important thing was to reassure him that they weren't angry with him. She led him up the ramp and they climbed to the upper deck.

"Are you hungry?" Hera asked. She'd sat him in the Dejarik booth and Zeb had gone to fly them back to the spaceport.

He shrugged, twisting the hem of his jacket in each hand, as he kept his eyes averted.

She brought over a sandwich and a cup of jogan juice, setting it down in front of him. She felt better when she saw how he pulled the sandwich into tiny bites which he began to eat. Zeb came back in once the Ghost had set back down. "We're back." He slid into the opposite side of the booth.

"Zeb. Want some caf?" She asked.

"Sure," he nodded. As she busied herself making the caf, Zeb was able to focus on the kid in front of him. The boy's hair was dusty, and there were tear tracks in the dust on his face. "I wish you would have called us on the comm." Zeb gestured to his wrist. Then he spoke more softly, expressing his hurt, "Don't you know by now that we care about you, kit?"

Ezra's eyes darted up, terrified. The bite of sandwich in his mouth suddenly tasted like sand. He swallowed hard. "Yes," he whispered, suddenly afraid.

"Then why do you keep shuttin' us out? Kit, I'd fight everyone in the whole Empire to keep you with us, don't you know that?" Zeb breathed, not daring to reach out. The kid had that skittish look in his eyes, and he didn't want to cause Ezra to run.

Hera came up with two cups of caf and handed Zeb one. Then she slid into the booth beside Ezra. "I think what Zeb is trying to say, Ezra, is that we want to help you, but you have to help us help you. Can you explain why you ran away?"

Ezra's voice was a whisper. "I thought…I th-thought I s-saw him."

"Who?"

"Th-the…Imperial." His voice trembled. "I couldn't th-think, I was…was so scared. I ran a-away." His voice was fading out again. "Th…then I remembered Z…Zeb but it was t-too late…" Hera had already wrapped her arms around him by the time his voice failed.

She rubbed his back with small circles as her eyes met Zeb's. The Lasat was clearly distressed at the child's tears, and he reached across the small table to lay a hand on Ezra's head, smoothing his hair. "It's okay kit. Whatever you saw wasn't the Imperial. I'm fine."

Hera began to feel the shaking kid's tension release. "That's right," she whispered. "It's okay. We're all safe."

It took a while, but Ezra finally let go of Hera and spoke through lingering sniffles. "I ran so far away, I didn't know where I was, or I would have come back. I…I trust you guys." He met Zeb's eyes and the Lasat nodded.

"Ezra, you probably had a panic attack. It happens to people when panic overwhelms their system. It's not your fault." Hera thought a moment. She couldn't help but remember her conversation with Zeb. They WERE taking one step forward and two steps back. "We're here for you, whatever you need."

Ezra nodded, and stared at the sandwich, feeling suddenly nauseous. The terror he felt, now paired with the utter relief at realizing they weren't angry with him made him feel washed out and exhausted. "I'm sorry…I'm not very hungry." He murmured, pushing the plate back. He felt completely undeserving of the kind look in Hera's eyes.

Hera realized that the adrenaline must be wearing off and Ezra was heading for the inevitable crash. "Why don't you lay down a while, Ezra? I know you're tired."

He nodded, and she stood up to allow him to slide out of the booth. "Don't worry about your plate. I'll clean up. Just go rest."

"Okay," he agreed.

"Zeb, what do we do?" Hera murmured, feeling her heart fall.

"He talked to us. He shared some of what he was going through. Hera…for a kit who wouldn't talk when we first got him, he's doing well."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." she said, her gaze still on the way that he had gone. This kid had her heart, that was for sure.

Ezra awoke too terrified to scream. He was curled into the back of his bed, in a crouch when the evil dream had finally faded away. As always, he had no idea where he was at first. He hadn't felt the comfort of waking up to familiar surroundings since his parents were still alive. Slowly, though, the contours of his room came into focus, outlined in the silvery non-light that signified the Ghost's night cycle.

He felt his face with a shaking hand and wiped away the tears that were there. No one had come into the room, so he supposed he hadn't awoken them by screaming like before. That was good.

Hera had said to come to her if he was having trouble sleeping, but he felt paralyzed with a sense of unreality. The dream of the Pau'an had been so real. He'd been in the shop with Zeb when the Inquisitor had stalked out from nowhere. Zeb had tried to stop the evil thing, but he'd been speared with the Inquisitor's red lightsaber, and had fallen to the ground, dead.

Then the dream had shifted and Ezra was in the interrogation room where the Pau'an had tried to kill him. He didn't even know what he'd done wrong; he'd just been thrown to the floor and the pain had begun. Ezra remembered losing the strength in his body as the whip bit into his back over and over…and he watched the red of his blood begin running into the grating in the floor. In shock, he slowly realized the grating had made for such a purpose.

He struggled valiantly to shake the dream fragments from his mind, looking around in desperation. All he could think of was Hera. He craved her comforting presence, just like the last time he had a nightmare. And she'd told him to wake her if he had a nightmare again.

Before he realized it, he was on his feet, heading toward her quarters. His heart pounded as he raised his hand up to knock at her door and he pulled it back. No. She might be angry. She might hate him for being such a bother. He'd already put her through so much earlier. It could make her decide that she didn't want him around.

He let out a shuddering breath. He could sense her warm presence within and he marveled at it. He didn't know much about the Force, but he'd determined enough to know that it was some sort of power. The same power that had allowed him to survive on the street, jump higher or move faster when he needed it, and know when someone wasn't watching so he could swipe enough food to stay alive.

At first, he'd thought that he had been lucky to be able to use the Force in those ways, but the Pau'an had been quick to instruct him that those things were nothing. With the Force, the creature had instructed him, he could have taken everything he needed on the street from those that were weaker. The Pau'an had then demonstrated by making one of the troopers shoot the other one. The soldier had turned and fired on his fellow man with no hesitation, then turned calmly back to the Pau'an as if waiting for further directions. What had made it truly gruesome had been that a few minutes before the Pau'an had shown up, the two soldiers had been talking and joking together.

Ezra swore he would never use the Force. He wanted to be nothing like the Pau'an, he thought as more tears slipped down his face. He just wanted to be as good of a person as Hera seemed to believe him to be, mostly because he didn't want to disappoint her.

She'd told him to let her know when he was struggling to sleep. Holding his breath, he tapped the door gently. If she didn't answer, he would just go. He rubbed his sweaty palms on his shirttail and began picking at it. The repetitive gesture soothed his anxiety.

And just as he was about to leave, the door opened. Hera was there, the warmth of her making him feel that he was safe and everything would be okay, despite the fact that he was wrapped in a blanket, looking up at her and shivering. "A…b…bad dream," he managed.

She nodded, wrapping her arm around him, pulling him close. She realized how hard it must have been for him to overcome his fear and reach out for help…and she couldn't help the love she felt for this kid. He'd totally stolen her heart.

He leaned into her, feeling her warmth as he burrowed into her side. "Come with me to the kitchen, love, and I'll make some tea for us."

He nodded, thankful that she didn't ask any questions. He couldn't talk about the Pau'an or his parents or any of it, so he just stood with her, watching the water in the plexisteel teapot begin to boil. She got them cups of tea; hers plain and his with plenty of sugar and blue cream. They made their way to the booth where they sat, Ezra snuggled into her side like he had with his own mom when he was a child.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"For what?" She looked around as if she'd done something and forgotten.

"For everything." Ezra said, dipping his head so she couldn't see his eyes. "I know what I have here with…with you and Zeb. And I promise I'll try to be worthy."

With the arm around his shoulder, she came up and smoothed through his unruly hair. "You are worthy of it. That's the thing with love, Ezra. It's unconditional. We love you. I want you to consider this ship your home if you want." When she paused, he looked up at her. "Zeb was right…we want you here with us, and we won't let anyone take you away."

Ezra felt the realization bloom in his mind like a flower. "I…I love you guys too," he said softly. "I'd like to stay here, Hera."

"Good." She hugged him tightly, feeling the blur of tears in her own eyes. "Then that's settled. You're officially part of the family. And that's the one thing about my family, Ezra…"

"What?"

"Once you're in, you stay in," she said, reaching out to smooth down his unruly hair. "Nothing you can do…no mistake you can make will ever take away that you're with us now. Okay?"

He nodded. For a moment, the Inquisitor's words came back to haunt him. People will hate you for your power. They will be afraid of you, boy; they will despise you unless you become strong with the dark side. But no, Hera and Zeb loved him. The Pau'an had to have been lying. "Okay," he replied, but a nagging voice in the back of his head whispered doubts. They only love you because they don't know.

Then they'll never find out, he thought. I'll never use the Force again.

Author's NOTE: Well, this is the end of Ezra's story…for now. If you want to find out what happens next to Ezra, Zeb, and Hera (and later Kanan and Sabine), you'll have to read my AU story "Convergence." I really hope you enjoyed this…I was blown away by the support this little thing got. I originally wrote it for a reader who suggested it as a prequel, but I haven't heard back from that person. Anyway, I'm glad that YOU read it, and if you liked it, let me know! Bye for now!