A/N - Okay, so it's been entirely too long, season two has now concluded in all its horrific and angsty glory, and I've worked on this piece for almost a year and a half. It seems really hard to believe how quickly real life can sweep by and how much time can pass, but here we are. Wow. If you've hung on, or come back, after all this - my humblest gratitude. I never, ever intended for this piece to grow like it has, be this long - and honestly, at first was not even planning to share it. Reading its first installment to its last, there have been a lot of pace changes and one can see how the voice and flow also changed as the "snippets" became a "story" and it took on a life of its own. Here you go; I hope it provides both fulfillment and conclusion.

The lighting in the corridor had changed to "daytime running" hours when Hera slipped back into Kanan's quarters, cringing at the loud pneumatic hiss of the door opening and closing again. Blessedly, Kanan was still sound asleep, his breathing deep and even. Hera silently set the container of fruit she'd found in their restocked galley on the sill behind the bed, with its assortments of cups, and after a moment of consideration, began to strip off her sleep layers, studying him. She could not tell for certain in the dim light of the cabin, but his color seemed better. The lines of tension at his brow, the corners of his eyes and his mouth, had smoothed out. Sliding off her headdress and letting it land atop her clothes, she took a breath, smiling, even as her eyes pricked with grateful tears.

Hera wasn't naive enough to believe there wouldn't be lasting effects of this whole ordeal - there would be new nightmares and flashbacks, hesitancy, overprotectiveness. Kanan would be monitored for long-term physical complications and stress: headaches, muscle cramps, arrhythmias...

But, he was recovering.

He really was going to be okay, with time.

Hera hoped that years of recon and stealth work (and Kanan's exhaustion), would allow her to climb around him and wriggle her way back under the blankets without waking him. But as she eased herself into the small space and had no choice but to press against him, Kanan stirred. For a moment, he seemed to wake gently, drawing a deep breath and beginning to stretch, but then his eyes snapped open and with a gasp, he went still.

"Kanan," she murmured softly, laying her palm across his chest, where she could feel his heart hammering in alarm.

He blinked, his breath stalled for just a moment and his eyes wild.

"Love?" she ventured quietly, prepared to offer greater reassurance, when he suddenly released the air in his lungs and relaxed beside her.

Kanan closed his eyes and inhaled. His heart rate slowed. "Sorry," he finally replied, voice thick. "That's going to take some getting used to."

"Of course." She waited a moment before reaching over, testing each mug on the shelf for one that still held fluids, and resting it lightly on his chest with, "Take a drink."

He twitched as the cool metal contacted his skin, opening his eyes and holding her gaze, then nodded and shifted to fold his elbows beneath him. He dutifully drained the cup and she took it, moving on to the fruit she'd discovered. "Eat something."

There was a long pause in which Kanan arched an eyebrow at her and she couldn't resist. She fished out a pear piece and fed it to him, stifling the shiver that threatened her as his mouth closed on her fingers. She smiled and watched with approval as, realizing he was hungry, Kanan reached for more.

Hera settled into the space beside him, studying him for any signs of pain or discomfort. "You missed your appointment with medical earlier, but I scared them away when they came looking for you."

"Mmm," Kanan hummed, swallowing his food and pausing to give her a squeeze and nuzzle her ear cone. "My hero."

"Seemed there was an alarming spike in your vitals last cycle, according to the monitor…"

Kanan's eyes bulged momentarily, and he may have turned a bit pink before chuckling. Goddess, that sound; it was low and easy, and it made Hera smile once more. It was also incredibly appealing: the way it lifted the often-downturned corners of his mouth, the way the sound reverberated in his chest, made his graciously still-bare abs contract.

"I assured them you were fine and resting quite comfortably, and promised that you'd make an appearance later. But first, you're going to rest, drink, and take your vitamins," she murmured, pushing a piece of sliced starblossom past his lips.

"Is that right, Healer Syndulla?"

"Mm, but not necessarily in that order…" Hera added softly, chasing it with a kiss.

It was sweet and tender, much like the fruit he was working on. She could taste the juice on his tongue as it swept against hers, briefly, before he pulled away. His hands skimmed over her shoulders, and he dipped his chin so that their foreheads rested together.

His fingers traced her jawline with a soft sigh. "Thank you, for last night." His eyes found hers and he smiled faintly. "I don't expect you to - "

Hera abruptly cut him off with a finger to his lips. "Hush, Kanan. Stop. That wasn't pity, last night, or a recovery offering. That was me. Loving you," she added, leaning in to brush her lips against his, lingering. "And very much wanting to love you some more."

His eyebrow quirked slightly, and Kanan allowed her to feed him a plump purple berry before she placed the container back on the shelf. He chewed it slowly, and swallowed, "That could be arranged…"

"Oh?" Her fingers danced lightly over his chest.

"Seems I'm free for the indeterminable moment…"

His grin was devilish.

Hera felt her stomach flutter, her grin matching his as her fingers continued their path across his skin. His breath left him in a gasp when she drew a leg between his and settled her weight on him. "Then we'd best make good use of the time," she murmured against his mouth.

Kanan ground out something that sounded like an affirmative and rolled her onto her back, into the pillows. His mouth was hot against hers - and though she'd been the one to suggest and entice, the heat of his touch was delicious; she let him take over. Hera's fingers wound into Kanan's hair - she loved the feel of the soft strands, he seemed to like it - and she couldn't help the wanton sound that escaped her throat as his insistent tongue managed to find the sensitive pulse-point in her neck, his hands gently cupping and teasing her breasts. Hera whimpered at the deliberately languid pace he set, shamelessly raising her hips to grind against his growing hardness. Kanan groaned and bucked against the sensation, rewarding her momentarily - then she felt him grin against her skin.

"Patience, love." At least he had the grace to sound breathless as he used Hera's own endearment on her, licking, suckling a maddening path down her torso. "I'm still re-adjusting to physical activity."

He paused in one fleeting second to gaze up through his eyelashes and honest to goddess winked at her. His fingers circled a taught nipple one last time, then found the tip of tchun trailing across her shoulder. The sound she made could only be described as obscene, her hands tightening briefly in his hair. He hummed appreciatively and kept going, one arm supporting himself as he worked his way down, the other stretched to fondle what he could reach of her lek. She was panting and struggling to keep from shouting at the sensations, pleasure coiling tightly in her belly and wanting more and more. She freed one hand to grasp for her other lek, adding to the intensity she craved. Then his mouth suddenly found the core between her legs, and she did cry out.

Kanan moaned against her, clearly enjoying her responses. The things he was doing with his tongue should be banned for their sheer power, but the feeling (and the notion of soon having him in a similar state) was intoxicating. She writhed and whimpered his name, he doubled his efforts, and when he flicked his thumb over her lek just so, his tongue stroking and working her mercilessly, she exploded. Hera choked on her cry, releasing the hold she on his hair to press her fist against her mouth, tensing and shuddering as wave after wave of pleasure crested over her.

Hera struggled to breathe, her head spinning, body on fire and still wired for more. Kanan drew his hand from thcun across her belly, slipping between her legs. She groaned and ground against him. She needed to feel him again, inside her, right now . Hera opened her eyes and lifted her head to tell him as much, when the expression on his face nearly broke her heart in its wonder.

He continued to stroke her, gently, but he was staring at her, his muscles taut and straining. He swallowed hard. His voice was hoarse. "I love you. And I want you so badly right now."

Hera allowed her eyes to roll closed at his admission, groaning with need as his fingers prepared her. She reached down to still his hand, aching as she pulled away, but intent on sharing some of the same pleasure he'd bestowed upon her. And, admittedly, wanting to hear him in the same incoherent mess, even for a brief moment.

She sat up. "I told you last night, love, you have me. And if I'm not mistaken, you just had me," she purred, and his pupils blew even wider with want. "But first, I want a little bit of you, too…"

There were worse things than spending the time hurtling through hyperspace in his cabin, stuck in a secluded cycle of love-making and sleep.

Nonethless, needing to stretch and ingest something a little more substantial than fruit and water, Kanan had extricated himself from Hera's limbs to pull on his sleep clothes and venture to the galley. There, the rest of his crew - his family, he'd long since decided - had greeted him with much enthusiasm, obviously pleased to see him up and around, and had practically fallen all over themselves to get him whatever he wanted to eat before shooing him back to rest with knowing grins.

He certainly felt much better, but fatigue lingered. Slipping back beneath the covers, Hera once again curling up against him, he'd dozed on and off while relishing in his rather unusual feeling of contentment, rested and satiated.

Worse things, indeed.

Kanan yawned, exhaling slowly and opening his eyes to the low running lights of his cabin. Really, it should be absurd how remarkably just a few blankets and pillows, the right warm body next to his (oh, and absolutely why that warm body was next to his), could shift the ambience of the otherwise nondescript and empty space. He was keenly aware that this peace would not linger, but he was determined to savor it. And he was just so immensely grateful that even his darker thoughts were struggling to quash the pleasure.

"What are you thinking about so intently?"

"I'm not."

"You are. I can smell the smoke."

Kanan chuckled, in spite of himself. "All right." He was silent for a few more beats, and Hera shifted, resting her chin lightly on his chest so that she could look at him. He swept his hand lightly over thcun, cognizant of the shiver it caused, then resumed his gentle trail up and down her back. She was patient with her silence, her eyes encouraging. "Just considering the more realistic outcomes of the past few weeks and feeling decidedly - supremely - thankful. Logically, there's no sense in rehashing it, but there's also no denying how those situations generally play out in terms of both the information and the hostage, and - "

He paused. Damn the darkness.

"They didn't break you, Kanan."

They would have -

He sighed. He looked at her, her vibrant green eyes, feeling the warmth of her skin and the softness of her touch. Her words, ever-melodious to his ears, seemed to stir the Force and peace settled over him.

She was right.

Kanan shook his head. His arm tightened around her and he drew a deep, clarifying breath, his eyes closing in earnest relief. "They didn't. Thank you."

Bent, but not broken.