SET IN SEASON 2

Zeb's point of view

It was strange. Don't get me wrong, words can't describe how happy I am for the kid. Though after the way Ezra had always talked about his parents, like they were just some memory, it felt weird to see him standing there, hugging them.

They had been doing it for a while to. Again, not complaining. I had to force my self not to just, stare at them. After about five minutes, they all let out a sigh and separated, smiling. They all had tears in their eyes. Even Ezra.

He looked over at me and wiped his eyes, still smiling.

"Zeb, come over here," he gestured with his hand. Ephraim and Mira turned to me. I froze. Then I saw the expressions on their faces. I had never seen anyone look so happy, so at piece. I returned the smile and walked over to them.

Kanan's point of view

I hadn't officially introduced myself yet. This wasn't because I was too nervous, I wanted to make sure the kid had enough time alone with his family before I barged in and questioned them about all the embarrassing things he had done as a child.

Sato had given us the day off so we could introduce the Bridgers to how the fleet has been operating. They did, of course, plan on getting involved officially. Me and Hera had been sitting in the dinning room for the past thirty minutes trying to focus on where Ezra's parents would sleep until we found a safe place for them to stay, neither of us daring to acknowledge the elephant in the room. How were we going to explain to them that their kid is training to become a jedi?

After a wile, we gave up and Hera told me to go first. I slowly walked to the door, opened it, took one last look at Hera (who was staring back at me with curiosity), then walked out into the hallway.

They were all laughing at something, then they all spun to face me when they heard the sound of the door closing. Ezra, Sabine, Zeb, Ephraim, Mirah, everyone.

"Ephraim Bridger, I assume that you're Kanan?" his voice was slightly accented, soft, and welcoming. Pretty much the opposite of his son's. He held his hand out for me, I took it. He had a gentle but strong grip.

"Yes, Kanan Jarris. I'm actually Ezra's master so, that's funny," I responded, but Ezra was the one to face-palm.

"Is that so?" replied a puzzled Ephraim, still smiling. Blazes, this is awkward. I needed to change the subject fast.

"How about a tour?" Blurted Sabine, out of nowhere.

"That sounds like a great idea," stated Mira, equally desperate to change the subject. Her voice, on the other hand, was strong, active, but still kind. A lot like Hera's, but still not quite like Ezra's.

***

"And this one's me and Zeb's cabin," said Ezra as we walked into the last room on the ship. The first thing that Mrs. Bridger noticed was the painting on the wall, the one of her son and Zeb "having trouble" with their bunks.

"What's the story behind this one?" she laughed. Mr. Bridger joined in as soon as he saw it for himself. Pretty soon everyone was laughing, remembering the dumb fight that the boys got into so long ago.

"Its a really funny story," started Sabine, "Chopper removed all of the hardware from Ezra's bunk, so when he sat down it fell right on top of Zeb while he was asleep!", that caused for another round of laughter.

"And Chopper is?" asked Mirah.

"The droid",

"Ah," she traced her finger along the painting.

"It looks just like them Sabine, you have a real talent," Sabine thanked her.

"I mean it, with your room and everything else," continued Mrs. Bridger.

"I like to think of myself as the artist of the group," she responded.

"That seams to be the case," they both giggled.

"Oh! You guys haven't met Hera yet!" exclaimed Ezra. He was right, it was her turn.

"She's in the dinning room making coffee. This way," I led them all back the way we came.

She had her back to the door, so she didn't know who all was there.

"How did it go?" she sounded exhausted. I made a sound with the back of my throat to get her attention. She turned, confused. Then her expression immediately turned to a mixture of surprise and embarrassment when she saw us all standing at the door. She tried to cover it up with an over-done smile. Mrs. Bridger waved.

"Oh, hey guys! Didn't see ya' there!" Then turning to Ezra's Parents, "Mister and Misses Bridger! It's nice to finally meet you!" She held her hand out to both of them, and they took it because they're Mister and Misses Bridger.

"You can call us by our first names if you'd like, Hera," started Mira, "Is Hera what you would like to be called by us?" she asked. Captain Syndulla beamed.

"Hera is just fine."

***

We sat, drinking our cheap, deluded coffee for 4 hours. I'm not going to lie, it was the most fun I had had in a long time. We told the Bridger's all about the fleet's recent successes and swapped what we all had in mind for the future of the rebellion, then the conversation somehow migrated to fun stuff.

After all the stories about the fun times we had back when our operations were confined to Lothal, much to Ezra's dismay, the Bridger's told us all about how Ezra would always bring stray lothcats and birds into the house claiming they had no families and that he was their family now. He would brush them and give them ridiculous names like "Mr. Cat" or "Happy Bird".

"Okay, okay", Ephraim tried to stop chuckling, "now lets get back to business," He was right, they really needed to make a plan for sleeping arrangements.

"Oh, no." Sabine sighed, "Not boring talk again."

"I think that's a good idea, you and Ezra can go play chess or something," offered Hera. They started to protest, but Ephraim stood up and walked over his son. Then he rested his hands on his shoulders. And get this, Ezra barely flinched. I feel guilty just thinking about it, I really do. But when I saw this, for a split second, I felt an arrow of jealousy fly through my chest.

I am not Ezra's father, I never claimed to be. But I had spent the past year of my life nudging him with my shoulder, ruffling his hair, giving him the occasional hug, trying desperately to formalize him with the idea of touch, with little success. And after all this time, that little progress meant a lot to me.

And now that I think of it, it's only natural that he reacted this way. After all, he was Ezra's father. And I was his teacher.

I never expected to feel this way, and I don't know how I didn't see this coming, but as soon as I acknowledged the feeling, I disposed of it. A jedi's actions should not be effected, in any way, by emotion.

"Ezra, I think you should do what your captain says," said Ephraim. And just like that, the kid got up, gestured to Sabine, and they left to go play chess.

"If you don't mind, it's been a long day," said Zeb, who had remained relatively silent, "I'm going to get some shut eye". Then it was just me, Hera, and the Voices of Freedom.

"Okay, I'll admit. We really just wanted to hear more about our son," confessed Mirah.

"Maybe the more important stuff. You know, like how he's doing," Ephraim added. Me and Hera shared a glance.

"I'll start," he said, "Does he like this? The rebellion life, I mean," This I could answer.

"He's a natural, wait until you get a chance to see him out there. On a bike, in a fighter, he's a real pain to the Empire," I chuckled, but this wasn't the answer they were looking for.

"But does he really like it?" asked Mirah. I paused, I hadn't ever thought about that, but Hera stepped in.

"I guess we'll have to ask him tomorrow," that was good enough, they both smiled.

"How old was he when he joined your crew? Nine? Ten?" asked Mirah. This is when it started going downhill.

"Um," I swallowed, "fourteen," they looked surprised for a moment, then their faces both seemed a mixture of confusion and appreciation. I took a swig from my mug to avoid the awkwardness of it all.

"Oh?" started Mira, "When we asked Tseebo to watch over him before we got captured, we meant until he was old enough to start an apprenticeship or a job. We thought it would only be a few years. Thanks anyway Tseebo!" I nodded, then my brain processed what she said. I practically spat my coffee all over them. Thankfully, I caught myself. I did, however, start coughing rapidity. Ephraim Immediately stood to assist me.

"Kanan, are you choking?" I shook my head no, "Alright. Went down the wrong pipe, didn't it? I absolutely hate it when that happens. Just keep coughing, get it all out,"

Of course they don't know. They still think Ezra had a parent, someone to raise him. They don't know.

I finished coughing and looked at Hera for back up, but she was staring straight down at her coffee, pale as Hoth.

Some how, I was going to have to tell the two most caring people of Lothal that their only child had grown up unguided, unsafe, and alone. 

TO BE CONTINUED                                                                                                                                                             I have always wondered what it would be like if Legacy had ended with Ezra rescuing his parents in time, I think we all were, and I was a bit surprised to see no fanfictions mentioning the fact that THE LAST THEY KNEW, EZRA WAS BEING WATCHED OVER BY THEIR TRUSTED FRIEND, AND THEY PROBABLY DIED NOT KNOWING THAT THIS NEVER HAPPENED. So I asked myself the questions; what if they didn't die? How would the ghost crew break it to them? 

I would greatly appreciate a nice comment from you, but I want you to know just how much the fact that you read until the end means to me. Thank you so much, and I really hope you enjoyed.

Aleah