It had been exactly 48 hours since we had arrived back on Lothal, and Ezra was already in a hospital bed.

The drastic changes to the desolate planet had obviously gotten to Ezra.

And as of recently, his emotional state wasn't exactly ideal either.

Between the capture, his sudden disappearance, and our explicative relationship, it was safe to say that everyone was treading on thin ice around him.

Shab this is depressing.

The regional medical institution situated in the outskirts of Capital City was bustling. People wandering mindlessly about, some coughing, others blowing their noses.

Was it flu season?

Room 76. Right.

Ezra was in bad shape. A nurse was hovering over him, clipboard in hand, checking his vitals.

Why do I feel like I've been here before? Ezra hurt, tubes sticking out of him every which way.

Sighing quietly, I slip into the room and position myself near the wall opposite of Ezra's bed.

"Oh." the nurse turns to me "I wasn't aware we had a visitor!" tone chipper.

We?

I'd always hated hospitals. The looks, the smells, and especially the staff. They always seemed so carefree, while people were actually dying in here.

I give her a grim smile and avert my eyes from her full and smiling face.

"Well, I'll give you two a moment." She gathered her clipboard and pen and turned to the door only to turn back. "Mrs. Bridger right?"

I flinch at the naming convention. Eyes wide, I nod with a tight lipped smile.

In return the Nurse smiles widely and walks through the door, closing it behind her.

"Mrs. Bridger?"

I shoot my eyes in Ezra's direction, eyes barely cracked open and a coy smile playing at his lips.

"Uh, yea." I sigh audibly. "Impromptu last minute decision. I was put on the spot, and I didnt know the visiting policy so . . ." I meet Ezra's eyes twinkling subtly.

"I don't mind."

Of course you don't.

Avoiding his gaze, I eye the large machine Ezra is currently hooked up to. "How you holding up? What did the doctor say?"

Ezra had said he was going for a ride on the spare speeder bike. Apparently that involved getting shot at by a tie fighter in a high speed chase across the Lothalian planes. Ezra had hid, too badly hurt to do anything else. He said he was going to check into the nearest medical treatment facility once he was clear to do so.

He never did describe the extent of his injuries over the comm though.

"Shattered my leg." he sighed, raising a hand slowly and pointing to his left. "Everything is fucked. I don't even know how I managed to will myself to get here."

"You walked here?" I winced imagining the pain he must have been in.

"More like hobbled." he shrugged, laying his head back against the pillow and closing his eyes.

"Are the others planetside yet?"

Hera and Kanan had gone to receive valuable resources from some known allies. Zeb had decided to go with them last second. They took the Phantom, so Ezra and I had the Ghost for ourselves for the time being.

"No. But they should be back in the next couple of rotations." Trying to look at the upside of our predicament. Manda knows we could use Hera's guidance and Kanan's wisdom in situations like these.

"Should we comm them? Give them a heads up?" Ezra's eyes were questioning but his brow was furrowed.

You and I both know that wouldn't go down well.

"Um, yea, no. Hera would lose her mind." I giggled at the thought of a hysterical Hera bursting through the med-bay doors. Ezra seemed to lighten up some too. "We can handle it. Don't stress. Did the doctor mention when you would be able to be released?"

Ezra's subtle smirk dropped as he turned his steady gaze to the window. "I imagine he would expect to be bedside for a week." He let out a sigh. "Rehab is definitely in the future." He turned his head back to me.

Damn. That was not ideal.

"I'm giving you a day and a half, Ezra." His eyes widened as if I was speaking some foreign unknown language. "Just get back up on your feet, and we'll deal with the medication and the rehab back on the Ghost. I really do not want to deal with the others when they find out you've been hospitalized without their knowing. Especially because the Empire logs all of the records in this place." I gesture around me.

"I can't promise you I'll be walking in a day and a half, but you could always wheel my ass out of here." He smirks with playful eyes. "And you're right. It was a risky move checking in here, but I didn't really have a choice." he finishes with a frown.

"I know, I know." I smile at him.

Am I being harsh? Nah. He's a fucking Jedi, he can handle this.

"Get some rest Ezra, I'm going down to see about some food." I nod towards the door.

"Ok." He nods, closing his eyes and leaning back once again. "And thanks. Thanks for being here." he says quietly.

"Of course." I give Ezra one more look over then head towards the door, closing it behind me without a sound.

Kriff I'm starving.

. . .

"Is this it?"

"Yep. This is it." I nod, more so to myself than the nurse driving next to me.

Getting Ezra up that kriffing ladder is going to be hell.

I glance back over my shoulder to see that Ezra is still sleeping, head lolled back against the back of the wheelchair he had been assigned to.

"Ya'll dont live planetside?" the nurse asked, parking the speeder near the ramp of the Ghost.

Glancing through the open cargo bay door, I glare at the menacing ladder.

How the kriff are we going to get him up there.

"Not at the moment, no." Opening the door I step out and my feet squish.

You have got to be shitting me.

Boots squishing in the soggy grass, I make my way to the sliding door at the rear of the speeder. Sliding open the doors, Ezra peers up with sleepy eyes. "Hey, let's get you settled."

The nurse comes around and activates the platform, lowering Ezra to the ground.

"Any plans on how you're going to get him in there?" he asks with a raised eyebrow. "Much less up that ladder there?" He leans over and points in the direction of the Ghost.

Pursing my lips I grab the handles of Ezra's wheelchair.

Do they not have, like, hovering chairs for this type of thing.

Fuck it.

Rocking back to get a little momentum, I begin trudging through the muddy plains, inching the chair towards the Ghost. "Little help?" I glare at the nurse sitting uselessly beside the speeder.

"Sure." he smiles plainly Lothalian accent and all.

It took us an entire 15 minutes to get Ezra and his chair inside the Ghost. Getting him up and into the living quarters took the upside of an hour, with the nurse pushing him from the bottom as I was pulling on his arms from the top.

Ezra attempted to help, using his good leg as he clung to the rungs, but whatever prescription the Medical center gave him made him insanely sluggish. His attempts were in vain.

But now, Ezra was passed out in the common room, and I was slouched in the co-pilot's chair rubbing my sore arms.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Shit. That Hera.

I press the accept button on the comm. "Hello? Hera?"

"Sabine! Look I'm sorry you're receiving this on short notice, but we won't be making it back tomorrow."

Fuck.

"What? Why? Is everything alright?"

Heras side was quiet for a beat until she sighed. "Well the supply pick up was a dud. But we were recruited to help some innocent civilians on Jedha. They sent out a distress beacon. Kanan says the Empire took an interest in the planet months ago. Something about Jedi artifacts?"

There was someone talking behind her drawing her attention. "Ok, look, we are about to leave hyperspace. I'll contact you when we get planetside. Stay safe Sabine. You and Ezra both."

"Great." The call clicked off as I cover my face in disbelief. Fuck. What did Ezra get us into?

. . .

Thump thump thump.

Running. I'm running. The ground is solid, some kind of stone-brick as I continue to drive my legs in a dead sprint.

Sabine. Sabine, where are you?

Thump thump thump.

There. There she is.

Sabine was standing alone atop a small hill, long grass waving in the afternoon breeze. She waved. It seemed casual at first, but as I grew nearer it seemed like more like she was frantically beckoning.

Thump thump thump.

Tie fighters screeched overhead as I got closer and closer to reaching Sabine.

Just a few more steps. A few more steps and she'll be safe. Safe with me.

Thump thump thump.

In the distance a tie was closing in. Sabine wouldn't see it, it was behind her, and she was too busy waving for me to come closer.

I'm coming Sabine!

Thump thump thump.

Just a few more steps.

The tie was getting closer and closer, zeroing in.

Thump thump thu- BOOM!

"Sabine!"

. . .