Please enjoy the chapter. 

"Miss Ashoka," Ezra started staring at the young woman. "Is it exciting to be riding the trails all the time." 

The young woman grinned slightly thinking on how to answer the question. 

"Not always," she said as Zeb brought their drinks over. "You have to be alert even when you're asleep and then when there's bad weather sometimes there isn't any shelter..." 

"So, it's not always great huh?" He answered slightly bummed. 

"No, but there are good things about it," Ashoka quickly reassured the boy. 

"Easy on what you tell him," Zeb chuckled sitting the drink down in front of the two. "His mother has a hard enough time keeping Kanan out of the saddle. When you add Ezra to the mix, it's impossible." 

"Is not!" Ezra defended his father but an amused glare from Zeb had him sipping his drink. 

Ashoka chuckled taking a sip of her own drink. 

"I have to ask, you do have a slight resemblance to Kanan but he's not your birth father, is he?"

Ezra shook his head swallowing. 

"No, Papa says my first family died. He says that even though we aren't related by blood, he still loves me all the same." 

Ashoka smiled, she really was starting to like her nephew. 

"Who else is in your family?" 

"Well Zeb is a part of it," Ezra started glancing at the marshal. "But so is Rex and Chopper. There's also my Mama and sister Sabine. Mama and Papa got married about five years ago after her and Sabine came into town and life has been crazy since then." 

"Life is no fun if there isn't a little bit of crazy," Ashoka said smiling. 

Ezra snorted softly taking another drink. 

"That's what my Papa says." 

Back in the marshal's office Kanan sighed going to sit in Zeb's desk chair. 

"I remember the shoot out. The funny thing is, I didn't even start it." 

"Then what happened?" Stephen asked leaning forward. 

"Janus and I had rode in a few days prior and he was talking about Mesa, a permeant residence. Said that he wanted to give cattle raising a try." 

"Wait," Stephen stopped him. "Janus? You don't mean The Janus Kasmir, do you?" 

"The one in the same," Kanan replied smiling at the thought of the man. 

Stephen sat back in shock. Everything he had ever heard about the gunslinger, said that he was ruthless and only cared about the money. 

"I am confused." The older man stuttered. 

"It does seem confusing but the first time I met him, he  saved me from getting bit by a rattler. Mother said that he was welcomed any time after that. When the raid happened, he was in the area and caught up to me. Took me in and said that we could ride together for as long as I wanted," Kanan explained. 

"So, you became a gunslinger too?" Stephen asked cautiously. 

"No, Janus said that he gave up being a 'ruffian' as he called it and we became drifters. We did odd and end jobs and after a couple of years we finally had enough money to settle down. That's how we wound up in Mesa. Janus  said that there was some land he wanted to check out and that's where we were heading that morning." 

"But how did the shoot out occur?" 

"Mesa, as you may well know, is known for it's great variety of people. People seeking refuge to people looking to get drunk and do well...a lot things.  Our hotel was right next to the saloon and that morning, sigh..." 

Flashback Ten Years Ago 

Mesa, TX 

Fifteen year-old Kanan Jarrus walked outside of the hotel cafe and leaned against the railing. Taking a moment, he let himself be carried away by the hustle and bustle. It was a lot louder than his village and even now, the thought of his mother made him tear up. Her scream filled his dreams and nothing seemed to silence it. He often wonders if she would be proud of how he has been living his life the last few years. 

"Mother, please forgive me," the teen sighed opening his eyes. 

"Hey Kid!" 

Kanan jerked around and glared as Janus started to laugh at him. 

"Boy, how many times do I have to tell you to always keep aware of your surroundings?" 

Kanan rolled his eyes, stepping toward the man, when it happened. 

Two cowboys spilled out of the saloon doors, throwing punches at each other. Kanan was slightly fascinated and leaned against the railing trying to see how it would turn out. That is until the shooting started. Janus grabbed Kanan's arm and pushed him toward the hotel opening, only to be stopped by the hotel manager slamming the door and locking it.  

"Kanan get down and don't move unless I tell you," Janus ordered shoving the teen behind several barrels on the porch. 

A few seconds later, bullets started coming from all directions. The older man covered the younger, trying to protect him. Janus peeked over the top to see if there was a chance they could move. Seeing his opportunity, he leaned down an whispered in the kid's ear. 

"Keep your head down and move when I do, alright?" 

Kanan nodded placing his hand on his pistol's handle. 

"Don't worry about that," Janus whispered seeing his action. "Just stay close and get to the stable." 

Kanan didn't move his hand but got ready to run. A few minutes later, Janus gripped his arm and together they made a run for it. A shot rung out and  Kanan fell, feeling a searing pain ripple through his arm. 

"Kanan!" Janus yelped moving to help him up. 

The teen groaned and got to his knees clutching his arm. 

"I'm okay, I think it's just a graze but it sure does hurt." 

Janus grimaced and quickly helped him to his feet. 

"We need to hurry."

Kanan turned his head and saw someone take aim at Janus and went into auto. He drew with his injured arm, took aim and fired. The teen wouldn't know it for a  few days, but he had hit his mark and the man's gun fell and discharged, killing a ten year old boy. 

Present 

"So Janus never fired a shot?" Stephen asked. 

"Nope," Kanan answered looking up. "I only fired at the man with the intention of disarming him. I didn't know that his gun would discharge and kill that little boy. Every time I think about that day, I don't think about that morning, I think about what happened that afternoon." 

"What happened?" Stephen asked leaning forward. 

"That afternoon is when I found Ezra." 

I do hope you enjoyed the chapter and please let me know what you thought! 

Have a wonderful day!