Episode 5

Title: "A Little Help"

Chapter 5

Genre: BoDin, CaraMed, slow burn romance, humor, angst, fluff, father/son, family vibes

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A couple weeks after Med helped Cara repair her ship, the soldier had just finished another mission and was restless, unable to sleep following the excitement. Cara thought about calling Din but knowing the time on Nevarro, she didn't want to disturb him. Not only was he a dad with a young child, but he'd always been an early riser.

Cara sighed, watching the stars streak by in their usual hyperspace pattern. There was no denying the view was beautiful, but at that moment it was practically boring her to tears. She was flying back to the barracks she called home these days and still had many hours of travel ahead of her.

Whenever possible, Cara joined her fellow soldiers in a large troop transport ship and slept in a bunkroom full of other people. The former dropper was so used to the lifestyle that sometimes the complete absence of sound and activity agitated her. As she'd been called in as a specialist on the latest mission, she arrived after the others had already deployed to the location. Which meant once the battle was over, she'd had to fly back alone. Not that she minded, Cara liked having her own ship.

Well, except now, when there wasn't a soul to talk to because it was the middle of the night for most of the people she knew, including her best friend. Even if Din had been on Mandalore, he'd still be asleep. The two planets were in different systems but as luck would have it, were on very similar lunar and solar schedules. So, while Nevarro was just passing zero-hundred hours, the Mandalorian city where Bo had started rebuilding was nearing oh-three-hundred hours. Which was still much too late (or early, depending on how you looked at it) for a call.

Cara tapped her fingers on the cockpit console, her chin resting in her other hand, wondering what she could do to while away the time before she'd be tired enough to sleep. After a few minutes, she slowly sat up, suddenly remembering that there was someone else on Mandalore she might be able to talk to, someone who often had odd hours and just might possibly be up at this time. Someone she also wanted to ask a really important question.

Pulling up the code Din had given her, Cara took a chance and put in a call to Med. The line beeped a few times and just when she began to worry she might have woken up the medic, it was answered. Though the holovideo wasn't activated and only audio came through the line.

"Hello?" Cara smiled at the recognizable sound of Med's unmodulated voice. The lack of holofeed now made sense.

"Hey Med, it's me, Cara. Sorry if I woke you."

"Oh, hey Cara." Med didn't bother to stop the grin that came at the sound of Cara's voice. He was pleasantly surprised to hear from the shock trooper. "You didn't wake me. I just got home from a shift not that long ago. I usually have a hard time falling asleep right away, no matter how many hours I worked, so I was trying to figure out if I should eat something. The kitchens weren't open when I came home, and I really don't feel like cooking anything."

Cara chuckled. "I'm the same way after a job. I'm usually too wired to sleep, even if I'm exhausted. And I never have the energy to try and make anything to eat after a long mission. I mostly just grab a ration pack and leave it at that."

Med barked a short laugh. "That's exactly what I was going to do when you called. Great minds, as they say."

"Well, don't let me stop you. Get your food. I just wanted to ask a question."

"Oh, okay. Sure. Give me a second."

She heard rustling, then the unmistakable sound of a ration pack being opened. Med's voice was slightly muffled as he swallowed a bite of a protein bar or whatever else he'd decided to eat. Then there was some more rustling until she heard him sigh with what sounded like relief, as if he'd just sat down after a very long day on his feet.

"All right, I'm on my couch and eating my ration bar. You can ask me whatever your question was… wait, I have one first."

"Okay, shoot."

"How did you get my call code?"

"Your brother, how else? Din gave it to me after that rescue mission, just in case of an emergency."

"Always thinking ahead, that's Djar."

"Yep. Okay, my turn now."

"All right. As you said, shoot."

"How did the test go? Did you pass? Should I call you Dr. Rosca now?"

Med paused and Cara momentarily feared that her friend hadn't passed his exam. It seemed impossible, but she couldn't think of another reason for the medic's sudden silence.

"Uh.. yeah, I did. But no, please don't call me that. Med is fine."

"That's great… Med. I knew you would, but it's nice to hear it confirmed."

"Thanks."

"So, what's next? Are you the lead doctor of Mandalore now?"

He cleared his throat nervously and Cara shook her head at the modest reaction.

"Basically… but I still have some additional training to do. I'll be heading to Plazir-15 soon to start an internship at their medical center."

"Training? You've been a medic for years, right? What training do you need?"

"Plenty. I've been a medic but there's still a lot I haven't done, cases I haven't treated yet. Ones that I need to know now that I'll be running an entire medical center."

"Such as?" Cara was curious.

"Additional surgery, plus pediatrics and obstetrics, just to name a few."

"The surgery I get, even the kids but… delivering babies?"

"Of course. We're no longer simply a race of warriors scattered across the galaxy. Our people are returning home in droves and many of them are arriving as families."

"I guess I never thought of that. Din said marriage wasn't common among your clan."

"You asked Din about… marriage?" Med didn't understand why his heart suddenly skittered at that idea.

Unaware of her friend's consternation, Cara went on cheerfully. "Oh, I bugged him about everything when we first met. Well, maybe not when we first met. But once we'd handled that nasty Klatooinian tribe on Sorgan and saved the village, we were both able to let our guard down a bit. So, we talked. A lot. I was curious about the helmet and how all that worked, you know?"

"Right, of course," Med felt some of the unexpected tension dissipate when he realized her query was just the typical curiosity he and his people often faced. "True, it's not as common for our tribe to marry."

"But it's not forbidden or anything, right?"

"No, not forbidden. But I guess you could say that many of us chose to concentrate on other things. Don't forget, back then we were in hiding, persecuted. For years, my clan only allowed one or two to leave the covert at a time. We just trained, took care of the foundlings…"

"How did you get them, by the way?"

"Get what?"

"Foundlings. If your clan stayed hidden and only went out a few at a time, then how did that happen?"

"Sometimes we would get word from another covert that they had found a youngling in need of a home but didn't have room, so we'd take in the child. Also, those who were allowed to travel would occasionally find children without families, victims of war or other tragedies. Even Din brought home one or two over the years, when he discovered an orphaned child on his journeys."

"He did? Huh, he never told me that. I always thought Grogu was his first."

"Technically he was, as soon as Din took him back from the Imperials. Din never kept the others, he just transported them to us, so he wouldn't have thought of them as his foundlings. Grogu was definitely the first."

Cara nodded in thought to herself, taking in the new information.

"So, marriage isn't forbidden but also not done that often." Cara was confirming something she sort of already knew, based on a previous conversation with Din. The bounty hunter hadn't offered many details, but she had guessed that even married Children of the Watch didn't show their faces to each other. It was interesting, but it didn't change her opinion of anyone she knew in the tribe. The Alderaanian held no judgement against people for their beliefs. She'd lived all over the galaxy, fought all kinds of enemies, broken bread with many kinds of species in countless cultures. Cara believed that every being had the right to their own faith and how they chose to practice it.

"I guess you could say that some of my people were choosing a life that was more… devout than others," Med continued.

"Devout?"

"We can't show our faces to another person, but as I'm sure you've already surmised, the rest of our bodies aren't off limits to anyone we wish to show them to. For medical treatments or… other reasons." Med cleared his throat.

"Right, I guessed as much," Cara couldn't help but to smile at Med's hesitance, finding it amusing that a doctor might be shy discussing sex even in the most general sense.

Med himself wasn't sure why broaching that subject was suddenly difficult for him, when typically, he had no issue with it. He was a medic after all. Shaking his head at the odd bout of shyness, Med pushed on.

"But many Children of the Watch decided to take the helmet designation a step further and chose to also hide their bodies as much as possible. Along with that decision, many opted for a life of solitude rather than pairing up with a mate."

"I wondered about that… the not showing skin thing. When I first met him, Din wouldn't even take off a glove near me. It wasn't until after we'd done a few jobs together that he finally let me help him with an injury. I think it was because he couldn't reach it himself that he gave in. At the time, I didn't know what was worse for him, the pain or baring some of his skin."

"That discomfort is common among our people. My guess would be that showing his skin was the tougher part for him. Din is sadly quite used to pain."

Cara's lips pursed at Med's quiet declaration about his brother, knowing herself how true it was. Suddenly she wanted to ask Med if he felt the same way about showing his skin, but it didn't feel right to her. She and Din had known each other longer before she'd been okay with asking such things. Not that Cara was necessarily shy by nature, but she was respectful. Though she still wondered if being in the medical field and exposed to people's bodies all the time might mean that Med didn't have the same reservations Din did.

"But is it becoming less common to keep to those strict, self-imposed rules?" Cara asked, keeping to the safer side of the discussion.

"I don't know that I'd say that, not yet anyway. But I think it will be, if I were to speculate. The Nite Owls have shown us that there is another way to follow the Creed of Mandalore. They may not abide by it the same way we do, but they are still Mandalorians."

"Makes sense," Cara agreed.

"Actually, it's the Nite Owls who are creating the need for my additional studies right away. Marriage is very common among them, as are pregnancies and births. It's not that I hadn't treated children before, we had the foundlings in our covert. And when I lived… off-world, I took care of a small village of people of all ages. Even delivered a few babies. Though I was scared witless each time."

"I can imagine." Cara chuckled a little at his admission, but she also hadn't missed the way Med paused when talking about the time away from his clan. While Cara hadn't known this particular Mandalorian long, already she could see the ways he was similar to, yet also different from Din. The bounty hunter may have spent years on his own without too much issue, but Cara could feel that being away from his clan had been much tougher on the medic.

If anyone understood being cruelly separated from the people you loved, it was Cara. Sometimes she wondered if there would always be a permanent hole in her heart from the day Alderaan was destroyed. When her parents and brothers were torn from her without warning. She understood how Med must have felt during those years, questioning the Maker why he'd been spared when others he loved were dead.

"I was with Din when he found out, you know," Cara revealed softly, somehow sensing Med needed to know Din hadn't been alone when he'd learned about the loss of his clan. About the seeming loss of his brother.

"You were?" Med's reply was a sharp, surprised rasp. She pictured him sitting up from the slouch he'd undoubtedly been relaxed into before.

"We'd just barely made it away from a pack of Imps and Din was hurt pretty badly. But we still had another group to handle though."

"What happened? The Armorer gave me a brief synopsis but no particulars."

"Din didn't tell you?"

"Not in details."

Cara was puzzled. "But he's usually good about giving specifics to help with injury assessments. I mean, not at first. He did try to hide things from me in the beginning. Mandalorian pride and all that. But he stopped eventually. I would've thought he'd share everything with you, as his doctor… his brother."

"No, you're right. Djar is good about that when it's a current and active injury I need to treat. But if it's something already healed, he won't always divulge all the details. Probably to keep me from worrying."

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

"So… what happened?"

"Well, it was right after the first time Din almost died on me. When I met him, I thought maybe all that Mando armor made him indestructible. But after fighting him I learned I could knock him down… even if I do have to admit it hurt like hell when I punched him. So, I knew he was more vulnerable than he looked from the outside. Not much more, but…"

She paused and Med heard her swallow hard. Recognizing this must be a difficult story to tell, he waited patiently for her to continue.

"It turns out when you anger a Moff enough, he'll shoot an entire box of ammunition next to you at point-blank range. And even the beskar didn't keep Din from getting his bell rung. Hard."

Med heard the gruffness in Cara's voice.

"How did he survive that?" the medic asked in a shocked whisper. He knew his brother was tough but that sounded like a fatal blast, even with a beskar helmet.

Cara's deep breath came through the audio. "We got lucky. Din somehow survived long enough for me to drag him to safety, for the kid to hold back a wall of flames from an incinerator trooper, and for a reprogrammed IG-11 droid to get your brother alone and convince him to remove the helmet so he could get a bacta infusion."

Med didn't say anything for several seconds and Cara would've bet everything she owned that the man's jaw had dropped.

"And like I said, that was just the first time he nearly died on me," she added with a rueful sigh.

"Well, I have always said that Din is an expert at nearly getting himself killed," Med almost chuckled, then remembered their original topic. He was afraid to ask the next question, but he wanted to know the story, no matter how much it hurt.

"And that was when he found out… about me?" he asked quietly.

"About all of you," she replied, her voice equally soft. "We escaped through the sewers, Din was starting to recover – barely – thanks to the bacta, when he literally stumbled across a stack of armor in the tunnels."

"Our covert. The ones we lost," Med guessed.

"Yeah. Mando… uh Din… that's actually the same day I found out his name, by the way… he lost it. Well, as much as Din ever loses it. But he did go after our friend Greef Karga, thinking the bounty hunters had done it."

Med huffed. "We defeated the bounty hunters easily. What we didn't expect was multiple platoons of stormtroopers to descend on us."

"And everyone…?" Cara couldn't finish, suddenly finding it impossible to ask someone if their entire clan had died in a brutal battle.

"I didn't know for sure, but that's what I had to assume. I was injured and taken away, and when I woke up, I was on another planet without my clan and with no way to find out if any had survived. I knew Din must have since I watched him get away, but as far as I knew, everyone else was… gone."

By the time he got to the last word, Med's voice was so quiet she almost didn't hear him.

"Med, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. I survived. I just hate that Din had to go through that, thinking I was dead. One of the reasons I was unhappy on that planet was because I couldn't tell him I was alive. Don't get me wrong, the people were very kind to me, and I managed to make a life there for several years."

"But you wanted to go home." Cara didn't ask. It wasn't a question. She knew because she had always felt the same way. No matter how many planets she visited, jobs she took, friends she made. She always wanted to go home.

"I did."

Med perceived a certain energy radiating from Cara, even over an audio line bouncing through hyperspace, and without being able to see her face. There was something she wasn't saying, yet somehow, he knew she understood the pain of being without his clan for so long. It comforted him to know he wasn't alone, but also saddened him to realize that she must have suffered as well.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, one that should have been awkward given that they couldn't see each other, but somehow wasn't.

When Cara heard Med trying to choke back a yawn, she frowned slightly. "Have you eaten any actual food today, Rosca? Something other than ration bars?"

Cara was suspicious, having already seen how the Mandalorian would overlook his own needs for his patients. Just as Din overlooked his own needs for his son or anyone else he cared about. It was another way the brothers were alike.

"Uh…" Med's eyebrows went up at her question. He didn't know how it was possible, but she already seemed to know him very well.

Cara sighed. "Med, don't wait on my account. If you're still hungry, just eat. We're on audio, remember?"

"Right, I almost… forgot. Is it strange to say that I feel like I've been looking at you this whole time, and that you've been looking at me, too? Never mind, don't answer that. Definitely strange. I must be tired," he shook his head to himself, scrubbing a hand over his face.

"Not too strange, I can understand that." Cara's reply was thoughtful. The truth was she'd been feeling the same way, picturing the medic's body motions and facial expressions – despite not being in the same room with him and never having laid eyes on his face.

"Let me just grab something from my kitchen," Med said, lifting his tired body off the couch.

A minute or so later, Cara heard Med groan softly and she imagined him taking a bite of much-needed food. The mood had lightened from their earlier conversation, and both were relieved to feel it.

"Better?" she chuckled.

"Yes. You have no idea. I snagged something from the kitchens yesterday and even cold it's still good."

"Long day?"

"Very."

"How long were you in the medbay?"

"Clinic."

"Right. So, it's officially a clinic?"

"Pretty much, now that we've gotten in some essential supplies. In addition to offering me an internship, the Duchess of Plazir also gifted us with vital medical equipment as congratulations for having an official doctor."

Once again, Med's tone was almost shy, and Cara grinned to hear it. While Med and Din were different in many ways, when it came to humility they were nearly like twins. At least with something important like this. Med may tease, but he was overall a humble person, which Cara appreciated much more than any of the egotistical flyboys she'd been exposed to during her years in the military.

"That's great. Congratulations on that as well. So how many hours were you at the clinic?"

"A lot. Over a full day."

"And you didn't sleep?"

"I had a nap at some point, though I'm still not certain if it was during daylight or night hours. After a while it all jumbled together."

They talked for a bit more and Cara started to feel guilty for keeping the medic awake after his exhausting day.

"Listen Rosca, I think I should let you go so you can get some sleep."

"Oh… okay."

Cara heard the disappointment, and it made her frown.

"But if you want to keep talking, that's okay too."

"I'd… uh… like that."

"Only…."

"What?"

"I really need to hit the fresher."

Med laughed. "Actually, I could do the same. Audio off for five minutes?"

"Perfect. I'll meet you back in five."

It never occurred to either of them to simply call back. Leaving the line open, even with the video and audio feeds off, made them both feel like they were somehow in the same room together.

Five minutes later, both had finished their necessary trips to the fresher and went back to chatting. The subjects varied wildly, but they instinctively stayed away from anything too personal, sticking to things such as favorite foods, fighting tips and even stories about Din and Grogu.

"Where are you heading now that this mission is over?" Med asked at one point.

"Straight into another one. Once I arrive on the troop transport, we'll be flying to the next location."

"Sounds like you're as busy as I am."

"Always. But I think after that next one is over, I might take a break. I could use some time at one of my favorite vacation spots."

"Wait. Did you say vacation?"

"Don't sound so surprised. Yes, I like to go on vacation sometimes."

"I uh… guess I never figured you were one to take vacations."

"Well then, you'd guess wrong. Unlike certain Mandalorians I know, and I'm using the plural because I'm also assuming that you're just as bad at vacations as your brother is."

Med barked a laugh. "Din on vacation. That I'd pay to see."

Cara smiled. "Me too, actually."

"That's good though, really," Med said in sincerity. "I'm glad you take time for yourself. I'm sure a soldier needs that."

I'm sure a medic does, too, Cara thought.

Finally, after a long while and a lot more talking, Med heard Cara trying to suppress a yawn.

"Are you tired? Maybe you should sleep, Cara."

"No, I'm…" she yawned again. "Fine."

He chuckled. "Yeah, you sound bright-eyed, and bushy-tailed over there."

"It's okay, really."

"If you're tired, you should sleep."

"I am, but I'd rather keep talking."

This time Cara heard Med yawn and she chuckled.

"Besides, you're one to talk."

"Okay, you got me. But I don't want to end the call, either. I'm tired but I feel like if I tried to sleep now, I'd just lay awake for a while."

"Same. But maybe if we chat longer, we'll both drift off easier."

"Meaning we'll bore each other to sleep?"

Cara gave a short laugh. "Something like that."

"It's a good idea, only…"

"What?"

"If I nodded off now, I'd have to get up again to take off my armor. I never got used to sleeping in mine the way Din had to when he was hunting."

Cara looked down at her own outfit, realizing she was still in almost full battle gear herself.

"Good point. Another five-minute audio-off break to change into night clothes so if we do start falling asleep, we don't have to get up?"

"You're brilliant, Dune."

"And don't you forget it, Rosca. See you… uh, I mean hear you back in five."

Med was chuckling at her joke when they both flipped off their audio.

Cara smiled to herself as she changed and brushed her teeth, then quickly unbraided her hair. She enjoyed Din's humor, and he often made her chuckle, but the bounty hunter was more droll than his brother. Med's humor was direct, as if he enjoyed making people laugh. She wondered if perhaps he'd learned to do so as a medic, needing to put people at ease when they were injured.

They got back on the line again a few minutes later.

"Okay," Med said with a sigh. "Now we can talk until we pass out."

"Works for me," Cara replied before she heard a whole lot of movement on his end.

"What are you doing over there?"

"Oh… um….I brought the comm link into my room and got into bed. I hope that's not weird. I just know that if I start to doze off, but then have to get up again, I'll be wide awake so…"

"No, not weird at all. I did the same thing." Cara leaned back into her pillow, pulling the covers up against the chill that always seemed to invade ships traveling in space. Something about all the metal with the frigid temperatures only a few feet away on the other side the hull.

Med had also tucked his own blankets around himself. The underground quarters on Mandalore were comfortable and convenient, but they too always felt cold.

Once they both settled, Cara heard nothing but silence for so long she wondered if their connection was lost.

"Med? Everything all right?"

"Yeah…"

Cara took a chance, following her gut, suddenly realizing there had to be more to why Med hadn't wanted to end their call. Why he hadn't wanted to be alone, in the quiet of his quarters.

"Did something happen at the clinic today?"

Alone in his room, Med's eyebrows went up in surprise. Once again, Cara had read him like a book – without even being able to see him.

How did she know?

"Yeah. We… lost someone," he admitted, deciding there was no need to hold back from her. Perhaps having this conversation without being able to see each other was a good thing, allowing him to open up more than he might typically. Though he had a suspicion he'd tell Cara regardless. For whatever reason, Med felt like he would tell the shock trooper anything, answer any question she asked of him.

"I'm sorry," Cara said, not knowing what else to say but also sensing that might be enough. Maybe he just needed permission to drop whatever walls he'd put up, to stay strong for those he took care of every day.

Cara had always assumed medics had it easier than soldiers and other warriors. After all, they just had to fix people up and send them back out onto the front lines. But they were also the ones who dealt with the losses. Who had to look family and friends in the eyes and tell them a loved one did not survive the battle. They had to be strong so that others could break down and let anger and grief take over, to be able to move past it.

Becoming friends with someone who was a doctor, it made Cara see that Med's job was a hell of a lot harder than she'd realized. His affable, joking manner made it easy to forget that, undoubtedly on purpose.

"It's all right," he assured her. "I'm used to it… sort of. Not that you ever really get used to it."

They talked a bit more, the subjects getting lighter again. As tired as he'd been, Med hadn't detected the underlying tension in his body until he felt it slowly fade away as their conversation continued. Talking to Cara had eased his sorrow and the internal battle he'd been fighting, blaming himself for not being able to save someone who'd been rescued by a team of Nite Owls. The person had arrived at the clinic fatally wounded, but Med still beat himself up for the loss. Yet speaking to Cara had taken away those sad thoughts.

As for Cara, helping Med had calmed her own restless spirit. The one that often showed up after all the excitement of a battle was over, when she was alone, and it was quiet. When she couldn't help but remember that, unlike most of her fellow soldiers, she had no family to return to, no planet to call home.

Slowly their conversation began to lag, with longer moments of silence between talking. Their voices got lower as each of them settled further into their beds, their eyes beginning to droop.

"You know what, Rosca?" Cara's voice was a light whisper in the near-darkness of Med's room. He'd turned out the overhead lamp a while before, leaving only a bit of light coming in from the hallway that led to the fresher.

"Hmm?" Med had almost drifted off and struggled to open his eyes wider at her query.

"This actually…" she paused to yawn, "worked. I think I can really sleep now."

"You're right," he agreed, before pausing to yawn himself. "I think I can, too."

"We… did it," Cara was mumbling, her body, her very spirit more relaxed than she'd felt in far too long.

"Did… what?" Med was feeling the same, his eyes closing again of their own accord.

"We… bored each other… to sleep."

Med managed a light huff of amusement.

"Good night, Cara."

"Good night, Med."

With that, the soldier and the medic ended their call, and each fell into a deep sleep, the likes of which neither had experienced in more time than they could name.

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Hours later, Med woke up with a smile on his face. The medic wasn't even sure why was smiling, he just felt rested and energized despite being awake most of the night and sleeping away part of the day. While he was more used to an odd schedule than many, he still often felt lagging the first day after a double shift.

But this time, being up nearly all night hadn't affected him at all. He wondered why for a minute, still getting his bearings as he continued to wake up. Then he remembered.

Cara.

He'd spoken to her most of the night and it had been fun, intriguing, even emotional at times. Med couldn't remember the last time he'd had a conversation like that, not even with Din. Feeling much too cheerful to try and make sense of why a simple chat with a friend had brought out such a reaction, he got on with his day.

Med showered quickly, then dressed and went to the public kitchen for something to eat. Rather than go to the partitions, he decided to bring his meal, as well as some extra food back to his quarters so he could relax. As soon as he walked in the door, he immediately got out of his armor, leaving on just a light long-sleeved shirt and the pants he wore under his beskar.

After he finished eating, the medic wondered what to do with himself. He didn't want to waste the extra energy he had by sitting around all day, but found there was nothing to do. His armor didn't need any work and he was done with all of his studies until he left for Plazir. He almost got desperate enough to contemplate getting dressed again to check on patients when something caught his eye.

His guitar.

Med had played the instrument a few times since Din gave it to him. But it had been a couple of weeks since he picked it up. He still found it difficult to get back to the old routine he'd had before being rescued and taken off of Nevarro. Back then, Med often spent any spare moments he could grab singing old songs or writing new ones when inspiration struck.

As he put the guitar across his knee, Med soon found a new tune strumming lightly from his fingers. He didn't know if it would ever become a full song, but he didn't care. It was just nice to feel a melody coming to life in his hands. To Med, music was like practicing medicine in a way. It was healing, often taking away the heavy thoughts and images that sometimes visited after a particularly hard day.

Alone with his guitar, Med wasn't thinking of the patient he'd lost or the upcoming training he knew would be grueling, or of the trepidation he had about running an entire medical center. He just let the music overtake him, smiling as he hummed the new tune.

He also wasn't thinking of a certain ex-shock trooper with dark hair and eyes.

Nope, definitely wasn't thinking of that at all.

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Around the time Med roused from his bed, Cara opened sleepy yet bright eyes in her bunk. She gave a languid stretch, groaning happily as her muscles loosened. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she'd had such a great night's sleep.

Then she remembered that technically she had slept during the "day" of the day/night cycle programmed into the troop transport ship. One that she also kept on her own ship to stay in sync with her people.

Cara was used to being up all night and sleeping during the day – or even sometimes not sleeping at all for days at a time – during missions. But she always needed a day or two to recover. It was one of the reasons she liked to take vacations whenever she could. Having time to rest and sleep on a normal schedule for a few days helped reset her body, allowing her to go back to doing her job.

She should have felt like bantha crap, based on having just ended a job and being up all "night", then sleeping during most of the "day", but somehow, she wasn't. Cara sat up, kicking off the blankets and shoving her feet into the soft shoes she wore when in her nightclothes. The metal deck of the ship was much too cold to walk on with bare feet.

Cara realized she was smiling as she headed to her fresher, though she didn't initially understand why. Just as she couldn't explain why she wasn't feeling tired or out of sorts. Then she remembered.

Med.

Talking with the medic had made her body, mind, even her very soul relax in a way she'd forgotten was possible. Cara imagined he must do the same for his patients, which had to explain why she felt the way she did. The man was trained to help people stay calm in stressful situations. He'd obviously used those skills on her during their chat. That had to be it, she reasoned. There was no other explanation for how a simple conversation would make her feel this great.

With a light heart, Cara got dressed and went to the cockpit to check on her ship and see how much longer she had to travel. Between chatting with Med and getting some much-needed sleep, she'd cut a big chunk out of her trip and only had a couple of hours left before she'd be back on the troop transport.

Cara decided to use the time to pull up some star maps, looking through the various locations where she liked to vacation. All the while, a slight grin played on her lips as she went about choosing the next place to enjoy some rest and relaxation. Which of course had to be the cause of the grin.

She certainly wasn't thinking of a certain medic with a kind voice who could make her laugh.

Nope, definitely wasn't thinking of that at all.

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Hi folks! As always, thanks so much for reading, following, reviewing, commenting, etc.

Another long A/N ahead. Buckle up… ;o)

Song inspiration for this last chapter: I listened to Oscar Isaac's version of "Hang Me, Oh Hang Me" when writing the final scene. I pictured Med strumming something soft and maybe a touch melancholy, but not too much. Once again, the lyrics don't necessarily match the scene, but the melody and Oscar's voice are exactly how I see Med in that moment.

For anyone who might be starting to wonder, yes, the helmets WILL be coming off before things get intimate between the couples. But I wanted to start the story with the helmet rule as it is currently depicted on the show, to play with that extra barrier between them. Now, as to when they will come off, and why, and for whom… well, you'll just have to wait and see.

Also, I felt like this was a good time to say that I will be borrowing Cara's backstory from the amazing She-Elf23. Hence the mention in this chapter of Cara having two brothers. When I started fleshing out this series and decided I was going to put Cara and Med together, I knew they would need to open up to each other about their histories at some point. I worked on Med's backstory, but when it came to Cara, I couldn't help but to think of the beautiful history given to her by She-Elf23 in a few of her stories. I realized I'd begun to think of those details as canon in my mind. I honestly didn't know how I could create anything that would be better than that. So, I asked and was graciously given permission to use that backstory for my version of Cara as well. You won't need to have read any of her stories (though I highly recommend that you do!) to know what's happening, but I just wanted to be upfront about where a lot of Cara's backstory is coming from.

The final chapter will be up soon! The next installment will follow Bo and Din through pretty much the same timeframe we just went through with Cara and Med.