A/N: Happy season ending, everyone! That was something, huh?

This chapter is super short, and I probably should've just tacked it on the last one. I promise the next chapter is a long one.

Chapter 3 – The First Step

The next morning Din stood outside the ship, feeling around under one of the chrome panels that usually covered the landing gear. When they'd landed on the space station, he had noticed how the landing gear stuck and it had made for a rough landing, wearing down on the ship's dampers. Eventually, he found a small protrusion which used to be a bolt but had now been covered completely by rust and dirt; it was a wonder the landing gear even worked.

There was no time or money to fix it, though. He hadn't even wanted to dock at the station, but the kid was hungry and their food stores were running dangerously low.

The child still slept inside the ship. After Sinead had left, it had taken ages to get him to calm down enough to fall asleep, and since it had been a rough couple of days, he really needed it.

A small mouse droid skirted around the ship, racing from cover to cover. Scorch marks on the floor showed where Din had taken a potshot at it when they first landed, and it seemed like it'd gotten the message. Din's hand twitched towards the blaster strapped to his side.

It was almost the time when he told Sinead to meet them, and she hadn't shown yet. He had half a mind to just leave and find her husband by himself or just forget about her altogether. The last thing he needed was more heat, especially not when he had to think about the kid.

The only reason he'd said yes was the Nau'orar. He'd heard the stories of a powerful weapon made thousands of years ago by legendary warriors, but it had been a fairy tale, something he and the other foundlings told each other when they couldn't sleep. And somehow it had ended up in the hands of a runaway slave.

It was clear that she used to be a slave, even if she was reluctant to say so herself. He recognized the hunted look in her eyes, no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

With a hiss and a whirr, the ramp descended and Din was met by the sight of the kid looking forlornly at him from the top. He had managed to crawl down from the cot still wrapped in a blanket and drag it all the way across the floor.

"You should get some more sleep," Din said, scooping him up and placing him back in the cot. Din's voice still sounded stiff and unsure, but the kid seemed to like it when he spoke to him.

The kid babbled and yawned, showing a row of tiny teeth; one of his ears was creased like he'd slept on it. His dark eyes followed Din around as he made sure they had everything they needed for a couple of days in space.

When it became clear that the kid wasn't going back to sleep, Din mixed some dried bantha milk in a cup for him. He was coiling some spare wires in the cockpit when he spotted Sinead walking up to the ship, dressed for travel and carrying a duffel bag over her shoulder. She'd put her long dark hair in a tight braid.

The kid's big floppy ears lifted in curiosity when Din climbed down the ladder and opened the door

Sinead greeted him as she walked up the ramp, handing him a clinking pouch as she passed him."For fuel and rations," she said, and Din opened the pouch to find a small amount of credits. "I know it's not nearly enough but it's all I have."

Sinead inspected the ship, her dark eyes taking everything in.

"You take the bunk," Din said, nodding towards the lone bed in the corner.

Sinead fiddled with the strap on the bag. "And what about you, then?"

Din nodded towards a narrow door set into the side of the ship which lead to a small storage space he'd cleaned out to make room for a cot. If they were going to travel together, he needed some privacy.

When Sinead had thrown her duffle on the bunk, the kid toddled towards her while cooing gently, his small feet shuffling on the ground.

She smiled softly and crouched down to be more level with the kid, letting him grab her finger. "What's his name?"

Din followed her every move and took a deep breath, restraining himself from grabbing the kid. "I don't know," he said, tensing up in preparation for the inevitable questions.

He wasn't disappointed. Sinead looked up abruptly, shooting him an incredulous look. "What do you mean you don't know?" She looked back at the kid, who was trying to crawl onto her lap.

Din grunted as a way of answer, and Sinead pressed her lips together but she didn't press it further.

The kid made it up on Sinead's lap and was tugging on her hair with a stubby hand, laughing when he pulled a lock out of the braid. She stood up, holding the kid in her arms.

Din's arms jerked as he restrained himself from taking the kid or at least make sure she didn't drop him, and by her raised eyebrow it didn't go unnoticed.

"Whatever his name is," she said and gently pried her braid of out of the kid's hand, "he's sweet." The kid pouted when she flipped the braid over her shoulder.

Din watched them like a hawk as Sinead inspected the kid's hand. He cleared his throat. "We should go."

Sinead looked up at him, biting her lower lip. "Right."

Wordlessly, Din took the kid from her and turned towards the ladder to the cockpit, Sinead following behind. He placed the kid in his seat and strapped him in, hoping that it'd keep him from getting into trouble, although prior experience taught him that the kid could and would get into as much trouble as he could find.

Sinead strapped into the last unoccupied seat.

As the navicomputer made calculations for the fastest route to Siskeen, Din flicked a row of switches and the ship came alive under his hands. A low rumble grew into a roar as the turbines turned on, stuttering for a few seconds before catching on.

The ship lifted and there was a grating noise beneath the roar of the engine as the landing gear retracted into the bowls of the ship. Soon, the station was a small blip behind them as they turned towards Siskeen, the navicomputer beeping as it finished its calculations.

"It says it'll take 26 hours," Sinead said, leaning forward to get a better look at the screen. "If we go through Dalchon, we can shave 6 hours off."

Din switched on the stabilizer and readied the ship for the first jump, looking back over his shoulder to make sure the kid was still strapped in. "The Dalchon sector's crawling with pirates, it'll take longer to get through safely." He wondered where she learned how to navigate the galaxy as he doubted the Hutts were interested in teaching their slaves how to read star charts.

"26 hours it is then."

Sinead fell silent, and Din took a deep breath to concentrate on the task at hand. The route to Siskeen was far from straightforward and the added pirate presence in the nearby sector only complicated things.

The kid cooed and Din looked over to see Sinead rubbing his ear between her fingers, making faces at him while he watched in awe.

"I haven't seen anything like him before," she said as the kid tried getting out of his chair presumably to make another grab at her hair. "What- uh, what species is he?"

"Don't know." He watched the kid for any sign of discomfort, but he looked happy with the attention.

Sinead sent him a look before returning her attention to the kid, clearly not believing him. "Where'd you find him?"

Under his helmet, his eyes narrowed and he didn't answer.

Sinead huffed and her gaze flicked up. "Right. No questions about the kid."

They sat in tense silence, watching stars grow into streaks as the ship made the jump into hyperspace. Din's stomach flipped as the gravity generator struggled to keep up.

Eventually, Sinead left and as the door closed behind her, some of the tension in Din's shoulders ebbed out. He looked over his shoulder at the kid, who was watching the stars streak by in solemn silence.

"If we're lucky, she'll be gone soon enough."

The kid cooed happily in response.

If they were lucky. If. They'd known nothing but bad luck in the last couple of weeks, so he didn't know why he expected it to change now.

But one could hope.

… … … … …

As they left the space station behind, a tingling sensation started at the base of Sinead's spine, traveling up her body until it felt her entire self was fluttering, making her unable to sit still but incapable of concentrating on anything.

She'd left the Mandalorian in the cockpit as his surly silence made her eyes twitch. Nobody said they needed to be friends but outright refusing to answer even the simplest questions were a bit much, and Sinead had so many questions, swirling around her head, falling over each other in their haste to be spoken; the most pressing was why the hell a bounty hunter was traversing the galaxy with a little child?

The ship, while far from the worst one she'd ever found herself in, was old and clearly not made to be lived in; the refresher and the bunk looked hastily tacked on. Sinead trailed a hand over the wall, pulling out the occasional compartment to check the contents, keeping an eye on the ladder in case the Mandalorian was about to come looking for her. There were weapons, of course, blasters, rifles, what looked like an old-fashioned flail, holoprojectors, and tools. She didn't find a single personal item that might tell her anything about her quiet companion.

Pushing her bag out of the way, Sinead sat down on the bunk, the thin material only giving a fraction under her weight.

It felt like her ribs were tightening around her lungs. The near euphoric feeling of being out in space where she belonged was quickly replaced by doubt which knotted her stomach and made it hard to breathe. She forced herself to relax, thinking back on her first night in Slezza's palace.

Dry and warm hands took her own with a soft yet unyielding grip, the kind that old women seem to have down to an art. A calloused thumb brushed over her knuckles.

Just breathe.

As long as you keep breathing, they haven't won.

Sinead had been kicking and screaming, throwing herself at whoever came close with a strength that left her muscles aching for weeks after. She remembered the jeers from guards and other slaves, felt pain as an electro-whip descended on her back again and again. And then, suddenly, the crowd parted and Chavime hobbled through, her back bent with age already back then, and she took Sinead's hands in her own and told her to breathe.

There were very few things she missed about Slezza's palace and Chavime was one of them.

A noise made Sinead jump, and her hand went the blaster at her side.

The Mandalorian climbed down the ladder, holding the kid in the crook of his arm.

The child babbled when he saw her and reached towards her, his green ears lifting in excitement. The Mandalorian shifted the kid to rest on his shoulder as he rummaged around the makeshift galley attached to the ship.

"You know, I can fly the ship if you want," Sinead said to the Mandalorian's turned back. Her dad had taught her to fly practically before she could walk, although she had gotten a bit rusty in the last couple of years.

The Mandalorian didn't turn. "That won't be necessary."

Sinead rolled her eyes, safe in the knowledge that he couldn't see her. "It's your ship, just know the offer still stands."

While the Mandalorian prepared food, Sinead entertained herself by making faces to the kid, who watched her raptly over Mando's shoulder.

After the kid had been fed, the Mandalorian turned towards her.

"Where's the Nau'orar now?"

Sinead shrugged. "Somewhere safe."

"Safe?"

Sinead looked at him with narrowed eyes. "How long have you been traveling with the kid?"

He froze. "What?"

"An answer for an answer, doesn't that seem fair to you?" She gave him a sardonic smile.

The Mandalorian rolled his shoulders and looked away sharply and predictably he didn't answer.

The kid finished eating, and they returned to the cockpit. Sinead leaned back and rested her head on the wall, the vibrations making it feel like her head was filled with bees.

His question was fair, although it hadn't exactly inspired trust.

She really hoped the weapon was safe.

… … … … …

A/N: There you have it, folks.

I really struggled with Mando's POV, so I'm looking forward to hearing what you guys think.