The Mandalorian's Bounties | Din Djarin

Chapter 10 | The Passenger (Part 3)

Din wakes and separates his armor from where it had frozen to the controls of the ship. He tries to get the ship running but stops when the Frog Lady begins groaning. He turns and spots her on the floor with her eyes closed. He helps her up and into her seat as she tries telling him something.

"I'll find your eggs, don't worry." He tells her. "Gotta get you some blankets, keep you warm."

Din heads down the ladder and spots a hole in the side of the ship, snow drifting inside. 

"Damn it." He says softly. He turns and opens the door to the bedroom, expecting Cordelia and the Child to be inside. He begins to panic when he spots neither inside. "Cordelia!" He calls, moving around the ship and looking for her. 

He continues moving around the ship and finds the Child slurping on the Frog Lady's eggs.

"No! I told you not to do that." Din says, closing the lid and lifting the eggs. He sets them aside and grabs the Child. "Where's Delia?" He asks. The Child coos, turning to look near the corner of the ship. Din rushes over, setting the Child down when he spots Cordelia on the floor.

"Riduur?" He says, gently pulling her onto his lap. He gently cups her face and turns her towards him, spotting a gash on her forehead. Her skin is very pale and her hair sticks to her wound. He calls her name as he strokes her cheek.

"Din?" She mumbles, her eyes fluttering open. He holds her tighter, leaning his helmet on the top of her head. He can feel her shivering and wraps his cape around her. The Frog Lady calls down to him from the cockpit.

"I found your eggs!" He tells her before turning his attention back to Cordelia. The Child now sits in her lap, his little hands clutching onto her shirt. Din scoops her into his arms and moves her away from the hole in the ship. He sets her down and grabs the blanket from their bed, wrapping her and the Child with it. He carefully tends to the wound on her forehead.

"How do you feel, Riduur?" He asks her, smoothing her hair down.

"I-I'm okay. Just c-c-cold." She says. He wraps the blanket tighter around her and tries to warm her up. 

Once she stops shivering as hard, Din gets to work on covering the hole and warming the ship, keeping an eye on Cordelia and the Child as he does. The Frog Lady wanders down and joins them, getting a blanket of her own and a handing out food to everyone but the Mandalorian, as he can't eat without removing his helmet.

"If you hadn't guessed, we're in a tight spot. The main power drive is not responding, and the hull has lost its integrity. I suspect the temperature will drop significantly when night falls. I'll have a better idea of our prospects at that time." He explains and sits next to Cordelia. He moves his cape to cover his armor before pulling her into his lap. 

The Frog Lady tries talking to him, looking at her eggs before continuing.

"Sorry, lady. I don't understand Frog. Whatever it is, it can wait until morning. I recommend you get some sleep." He tells her. He wraps his arms around Cordelia, and she rests her head on his chest after wrapping her own arms around him. The Child climbs into her lap and nestles between them.

Cordelia makes sure that the blanket covers her family before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

***

"Wake up, Mandalorian." The Frog Lady says through the body of Zero. Din and Cordelia jolt awake, Din pointing his blaster at the droid. "This cannot wait until morning. Do not be alarmed. I bypassed the droid's security protocols and accessed its vocabulator." Din finally spots the Frog Lady.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asks, putting his blaster away. "That droid is a killer." He says, holding Cordelia and the Child closer.

"These eggs are the last brood of my life cycle. My husband has risked his life to carve out an existence for us on the only planet that is hospitable to our species. We fought too hard and suffered too much to resign ourselves to the extinction of our family line. I must demand that you hold true to the deal that you agreed to." She says. Din looks at Cordelia, whose color has finally started to return.

"Look, lady, the deal is off. We're lucky if we get off this frozen tomb with our lives." He says. Cordelia cups the side of his helmet and tilts it until he looks at her.

"Mando, we have to help her. What if it was us? If you had found us a home on a planet where we could live peacefully, and I was trying to get to you. If it was our last chance to grow our family?" She says. He sighs, closing his eyes and leaning into her hand. 

Din carefully moves his wife and Child off his lap, making sure the blanket is still around them. He gives Cordelia a Keldabe Kiss before getting to his feet and grabbing his toolbox. 

"This was not part of the deal." He mutters as he exits the ship into the freezing cold. 

Cordelia watches him go, then sits with the Child for a few more minutes, savoring the warmth. She stands, grabbing Din's spare cape and gloves and putting them on. Once she's sure she'll stay warm she follows Din outside. When he spots her approaching, he immediately stops and rushes to her.

"Get back inside. It's too cold." He tells her. She shakes her head and grabs the tool from his hand.

"The quicker we fix the ship, the quicker we can get out of here." She says, moving past him towards the damage. 

Din sighs, knowing his wife right but not liking her being in the cold. He follows her, taking his cape off. Before she can start working, he slips his cape on her. She laughs, grabbing his hand before he can move to another part of the ship.

"Thank you." She says. He squeezes her hand, shaking his head.

"I'll always take care of you, Riduur." He says. She smiles at him before he moves to repair another part of the ship.

The two work together to fix what they can, hoping to escape the planet before anything else can go wrong.