Set between the liberation of Lothal and the series epilogue (obviously).

She loved him.

Of course she did, he was her best friend, right?

No... it was different.

Two months since his disappearance, and every time Sabine thought about Ezra, she had edged closer and closer to this realization. The last time had tipped the scale.

She had been in the process of sweeping up piles of cat hair after a pride of Loth-Cats managed to get inside the tower somehow. After shooing them back down the lift, Sabine grabbed a broom and got to work. When she was done, she looked at the bag full of hair and saw a rather large clump that was a rather distinctive dark blue color, very unusual for a Loth-Cat.

"Huh... looks like..."

Ezra... , she finished in her head.

The Mandalorian sighed and went to the conservator, grabbing a bottle of water before moving on to her next chore, washing dishes. While she was a great cook, Sabine was never one for cleaning up afterwards. She had grown up in a noble household where such menial tasks were performed by servants or lesser members of the family, and when she joined the Ghost crew, it was usually Hera or Chopper who took care of the post-meal cleanup. Living on her own in the tower had given Sabine time to learn how to do it herself, and it was often a form of escapism as well. Usually, she would turn on the Holonet to catch a vid or some music, and it would instantly ease her worries.

Worries about Ezra.

Kark... it always came back to Ezra, didn't it?

That boy was sneaking his way into Sabine's every waking thought. Every little thing she saw reminded her of him.

It's because I'm living on Lothal, she had reasoned one day, Maybe I need to get away from here for a while.

That idea was quickly shot down by the reasonable part of her brain when she remembered Ezra was trusting and counting on her to protect Lothal... at least that's what she thought he meant.

Anyway, this time doing dishes was different. There were no holovids, no music, just Sabine with a sponge in her hand and a head full of confused thoughts.

Sabine had considered Ezra her best friend for a while, at least since right before the Dathomir debacle, but since he left, it was never easy for her to simply think of him as a best friend. Every time her brain started leaning towards the worst-case scenario, the young woman was scared beyond the level one would be hearing that merely their best friend had... you know.

No, Sabine's level of worry for Ezra was at a different level, one that couldn't merely be brushed off by comming said friend to check in on them.

"Why are you like this?", the Mando asked herself as she scrubbed a plate, "You've been separated from people you care about countless times."

It's because it's Ezra, for kark's sake. Force forbid if something... happened...

A single tear dropped from Sabine's eye as her worst fears once again crept their way in. She angrily threw the plate at the wall, shattering it into countless pieces before sitting down against the wall and burying her face in her hands, her muffled sobs echoing throughout the empty room.

"Ezra", she wept, "Please... please be okay..."

That night, after sweeping up broken ceramic, Sabine crawled into the large empty bed and curled up into the fetal position, a cylindrical metallic object clutched tightly in her hands.

Ezra's lightsaber.

Every so often, she would hold the weapon just for self-reassurance. She would convince herself that Ezra was okay and that wherever he was, he was doing good things for people and would be home eventually.

This time, it was different. Sabine remembered something that Kanan had told her a long time ago, about how a Jedi connected with their lightsaber crystal through the Force... how the Kyber spoke to them, in a sense. She decided to put this theory to the test.

"Hey, Ezra... I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm laying in bed talking to you through your lightsaber. Crazy, huh? I probably look ridiculous.

So... how've you been? Fought any bad guys? Run into anymore crazy creatures? I'm sure you have, you and that mysterious charm of yours.

I'm okay, by the way, in case you were curious. Been living in your tower for two months... Ryder paid for the renovation to make it livable. I'm sure you'll love it when you get home... which I hope is soon."

Sabine sighed as she realized it was time to get to the point.

"Listen, Ezra...

You've got me all messed up. I used to be okay being by myself for long periods of time... but I'm not okay anymore... every day I wake up hoping to see you in the doorway... and every night I go to sleep hoping to feel your arms around me... I don't know when or how this started but I'm just not me anymore... that hardass who would shut people out and avoid attachment just to keep herself from getting hurt like what happened with her family and with Ketsu... that's not me anymore...

I need you... I need that dorky little Jedi who flirted with me... who made me breakfast... who taught me how to use a lightsaber...

You, Ezra... I need you...

Please... please come home... come back to me..."

She started crying again as she held the lightsaber against her stomach, hoping to get some semblance of comfort from this last piece of Ezra.

The boy... no, the man... she loved.