"...Thrawn's face was priceless! I just hopped into the nearest escape pod, and the Purrgil just dropped him off in the space between this galaxy and the next."
The smell of caf and mattered soup fills the dining hall along with the sounds of laughter and joy. Night should have settled on the strange planet below many hours ago, but sleep seems far beyond the Ghost crew.
"I would have paid to see that," Zeb snickers.
I hear the clank of bowls against the tabletop as Hera refills Ezra's soup for the third time. I can feel a steady flow of relief from her direction, but there's also an underlying motherly worry that will always be present. Making sure her son is properly fed is just part of the deal.
"Me too," I joke over the rim of my hot caf.
The boys seem to enjoy my humor, but the jab from Hera tells me her thoughts.
"So you still don't know how you survived the explosion?" Ezra asks.
I slowly shake my head as I lower my cup. "The way Jho describes it, 'I just kept breathing,' and every doctor in the compound says I should have vaporized on contact with that kind of heat or died on impact from the fall afterward."
Zeb continues his deep laughter as he speaks, "Kanan survived Order 66 and an explosion. I think it's safe to say he's indestructible."
"I think we've all come through some pretty tight scrapes," Hera muses, "like Ezra surviving the Purrgil at warp speed."
"It's just good to have you back," Ahsoka speaks up for the first time in a while.
Now that I think about it, I haven't heard from Sabine in a while either, and I would have thought she'd be so excited to see spend time with Ezra...
Zeb snorts, "Yeah, but now I have to share my bunk again, and I had just gotten used to the peace and quiet."
"Hey! At least I don't sound like an engine failure in my sleep!"
"But your taste in music does!"
Now, Chopper joins in with his own input.
Hera clears her throat. "M'kay, I'm so glad to see everything back to normal, but maybe it's time to call it a night. Ezra, you get extra long shower privileges, and please, use them all. You stink."
After some short snickers, the echoes of feet and scrubbing chair legs fill the room as everyone takes Hera's advice and heads for their quarters. I take this as my cue to begin picking up the leftover dishes and utensils from dinner.
"Oh wait, both of you!"
"Me?" I ask just as I hear Ezra question the same thing.
"Yes, Kanan and I have some news."
The face I make of complete ignorance is probably one of the prime examples women use in their argument for superior gender.
"We do?"
"About Seven..." Hera fills me in.
I want to smack myself, but my arms are still loaded with empty cups and gross plates. "Right!" I nearly shout as I dash to hazardously toss the dishes into the sink. "I knew that."
"Seven?" I can hear the confusion in Ezra's voice.
"Well," Hera starts as I wrap an arm around her torso, "Spectre Seven to be precise."
There's a brief pause. A current of short wave and rapidly moving force energy moves across Ezra.
"You got a new crew member while I was gone?" the hurt in Ezra's voice is well concealed, but it matches the energy I feel surrounding him.
We could never replace you, Ezra.
"I think 'made' would be a better word for it," I try to ease his mind with a laugh. "And the baby won't be able to pull their weight around here for a while, so you're still on repairs."
There's a shift in the force around Ezra. "Kerabast, you mean Hera's... you guys are, uh, having a baby?"
"Do you like the name Somina?" Hera answers the question with a question.
"If it's a girl," I interject.
The teen laughs. "I love it," something shakes in his voice as I feel arms wrap around our already huddled mass, "and I'm so happy for you guys. This is one lucky kid."
"Sometimes, I feel like the lucky one because I have all of you," Hera's voice matches the broken pitch of Ezra's.
The moment feels right. Like all the puzzle pieces of my life finally fit. Every member of the Ghost crew is all together again, in the same place. Everyone is safe, and I get a second chance.
I get to be Ezra's father.
I feel Hera lean back from what's probably the fifth group hug of the day. "Okay, okay, but I was really serious about that shower, young man. Love you bunches, dear." I can hear the thick grin in her words.
"Yes, ma'am," Ezra laughs.
*
Hera places a stack of fresh laundry in my hands with the cloth still warm from the drying cycle.
"Will you make sure Ezra gets these?" she asks with a yawn.
I bend down to kiss her forehead, "I got this. Now, get some sleep."
The Twi'lek mumbles something incoherent, but I hear her light footsteps slowly fade away towards the cabin. Not long after that, the sound of running water stops, and the heavier gate of my padawan draws closer.
"I'm going to hope these are your clothes for tomorrow, and you're not just standing naked in front of me."
"If I have on a towel, does that help?"
I hold out the warm clothes with a sigh. "Yeah, kinda."
"Have you seen Sabine?" Ezra asks, suddenly and slightly nervous.
I ignore the urge to tease him, and reply, "She's probably in her room. Hera says she started a new masterpiece."
There's a long pause of awkward silence. I'm tempted to take it as my cue to head back to the cabin, but the strange energy moving across Ezra's form makes me stay where I am.
"Hey, is everything okay?"
There's a beat of hesitation in Ezra's response, "Yeah, I just... I wanted to ask what it was like for you... Why did you walk away from the force?" Then, as an afterthought, he adds, "Before you met me."
I frown. Where is this going?
"It was safer that way, in case you don't remember the Inquisitors, but," I pause for a deep breath, "I was also scared and a little angry."
"Oh, yeah. That makes sense," is all he says.
"What's this about?"
"It's nothing. I've just had a lot to think about too much time to kill."
Ezra says a quick goodnight and dashed towards Sabine's quarters before I have a chance to ask him anything further.
Happy Monday! I've had a lot of feedback from new readers, and my heart is so happy :)
Because of new friends, I thought I would remind you guys that this fic updates every Friday and every Monday. The story is completed in full, so all I have to do it hit publish!
Because we're getting to the end, I might be inclined to publish two chapters at a time (when it fits the story). BUT I will only do this if you guys keep up the votes and comments ;)
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Not Even Death
FanfictionNothing can keep the Spectors apart. Not even death. Hera gets dragged back to the rebel base one last time to help a friend, a friend who should be dead that is, and finds Kanan is alive and well as well, but Ezra is still missing. Follow the Ghost...