The Mandalorian's Bounties | Din Djarin

Chapter 2 | The Child (Part 2)

Suddenly, something wraps around her, protecting her from the rain. She looks to her left and sees Mando finishing wrapping his cape around her. She smiles at him.

"Thanks, Mando." She says. He just nods in response, slightly shifting closer to block her as best he can from the rain. After another hour, Cordelia feels herself start to tire. She yawns, pulling the cape tighter around her body. She fights to stay awake, but eventually loses the battle.

***

Cordelia wakes to something cold against her cheek. She opens her eyes and sees Mando's beskar pauldron. She gasps and quickly sits up.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to fall asleep, especially not on you. I'm sorry, I totally made you uncomfortable and-" She quickly apologizes.

"Cordelia?" He interrupts.

"Yeah?" She replies.

"It's not a big deal." He says. She sighs.

"I'm still sorry." She mumbles. Mando chuckles quietly under the helmet, shaking his head. Up ahead, the Jawas exclaim when they see Kuiil. He waves and speaks to them as they get closer.

"They really don't like you for some reason." Kuiil says, glancing back at Mando.

"Well, I did disintegrate a few of them." He responds. The Jawas begin speaking again.

"You need to drop your rifle." The Ugnaught says.

"I'm a Mandalorian. Weapons are part of my religion." He says. Kuiil looks at him.

"Then you re not getting your parts back." He tells him. Mando sighs.

"Fine." He says, putting the rifle down. He climbs down and joins Kuiil on the ground. 

"And the blaster." Kuiil adds, pointing to it on his hip. He walks towards the Jawas, talking to them. Mando sets the blaster in the back and looks at Cordelia.

"I'll stay here with the Child." She says, moving to sit next to him. The Child coos and climbs into her lap. She laughs, running her finger over his head. 

She watches as Mando and Kuiil move and sit with the Jawas. They speak for a few moments before Mando raises his arm, shooting flames at the Jawas. Cordelia gasps and looks down at the Child.

"Someone has a temper." She says. She looks up and spots a pair of Jawas approaching the cart. She pulls the Child closer to her body and eyes the Jawas warily.

"Get away from them!" Mando yells when the Jawas start reaching for them. The Jawas run back towards the group. Cordelia watches as the Jawas group together before they start to chant something.

They join the Jawas in their sandcrawler as they drive towards wherever the egg they want so much is. When they stop, the group moves to the ramp as it lowers. Mando turns to Cordelia.

"Stay here." He says. She frowns.

"I can help." She says. He shakes his head.

"Stay." He says.

"I could use your help." Kuiil speaks up, looking at her. She looks between the two and sighs.

"Fine. I'll stay." She says.

"Come. Let me teach you." Kuiil says. He retrieves the cart from the sandcrawler and begins teaching her how to repair different types of things as Mando and the Child leave.

***

Cordelia stands outside with Kuiil, keeping an eye out for Mando as the Jawas prepare to leave. Kuiil speaks with them before waving his hand and sighing.

"Look! They're back!" Cordelia says. She runs to meet them and gasps when she spots Mando covered in mud, chestplate broken. "What happened?" She asks. He shakes his head.

"Doesn't matter. I have it. I've got the egg." He says. The Jawas cheer and lower the ramp again. They rush out towards Mando, who gives them the egg. They move away and pass around the egg after cutting the top off. Cordelia turns to Mando.

"Are you okay?" She asks, using her sleeve to wipe away the mud on his visor.

"I'm fine." He says. They join Kuiil. "I'm surprised you waited."

"I'm surprised you took so long." He responds. Cordelia laughs and Mando tilts his helmet at the Ugnaught. 

The three work together to load Mando's ship parts onto the cart. Kuiil mounts his Blurrg while Mando and Cordelia sit on the front of the cart.

"Is it still sleeping?" Kuiil asks after they've been traveling for a while. Cordelia runs her finger over the Child's head.

"Yes." Mando replies.

"Was it injured?" He asks. Cordelia's heart clenches at the thought of him or Mando being injured.

"I don't think so. Not physically." He says. Cordelia looks up at him.

"Can you tell us what happened again?" She asks. He nods.

"Yes. I still don't understand what happened." Kuiil adds.

"Neither do I." Mando says before explaining what happened again.

***

They arrive to the Razor Crest after nightfall.

"There's no way we're gonna get this to work without a full maintenance facility. This is gonna take days to fix." Mando says, looking at his ship. Kuiil turns on the light he set up while Cordelia gets out the tools.

"If you care to help, it might go faster. There is much work to do." Kuiil says. Cordelia passes out the tools and Mando eyes the ones she keeps for herself.

"Let's get to work, boys." She says. 

"Are you sure you should be working on the ship?" Mando asks her. She rolls her eyes.

"What do you think we did while waiting for you? Sit on our butts? Kuiil taught me. I know what I'm doing." She says, walking past him and into the ship. Mando watches her go, impressed.

The three get to work on repairing the ship. Cordelia takes breaks every few hours to check on the Child. The work is finished by the morning.

Cordelia spots Kuiil and Mando talking in the ship as she puts the tools back and grabs the Child. She passes Kuiil on the ramp and smiles at him.

"Thank you, Kuiil." She says. He nods and moves to mount his Blurrg. She moves to the cockpit and takes her seat, moving the Child's pram between her and Mando's seat. After a moment, he joins them and starts the ship.

After watching the stars for an hour, Cordelia yawns. She shakes her head to keep herself awake and takes a peek at the Child.

"Sleep. I'll watch over him." Mando says. She yawns again and nods, curling up in her chair.

"Okay." She says, quickly falling asleep.