Not How Your Stories End

Chapter 20 - FINALE

"Oh. Uh, yeah, pretty sure he wanted to do some meditation exercises before lunch and some PT stuff after." Ezra stood up, rolling his wrist a few times before grabbing his crutch. "Don't worry, he said we'd be done before the lovebirds get here tonight." Ezra rolled his eyes, but there was no real heat behind it. They both knew that he was happy for Zeb and Kallus, even if their PDA could be a bit... gratuitous... at times.

Hera chuckled, sitting Jacen back down in his high seat with a toy he was guaranteed to drop onto the floor in the next 5 minutes. She began to tidy up around the living space as Ezra started making his way back towards the sleeping quarters.

"I'm gonna go wake up Kanan," Ezra threw back towards Hera, who gave him a little nod in return.

"Tell him the next diaper is his responsibility!" She quipped back towards him as Jacen, as predicted, threw his toy down on the floor, grunting and grabbing at it like it had been entirely unintentional.

Ezra's laughter faded down the hallway.

Dinner with Kallus and Zeb had been running too smoothly.

Everything, really, had been running too smoothly as of late. It had only been a matter of time before something came along to shatter the fragile life the crew had built for themselves on Saleucami.

And shatter it did. Just, perhaps, not in the way any of them had been expecting.

"So, whad'ya think?"

Zeb's question hung in the air between them, the only sound breaking it up being Jacen's happy babbling as he clumsily fiddled with the toy that Kallus had brought for him.

"We could go back to Lothal...?" Sabine breached it first.

Ezra was still holding his breath. It all sounded too good to be true. Sure, he could survive just about anywhere, but his heart had never really left Lothal. Never left his people. And now there could be an opportunity to go back and make a real difference.

All it required was uprooting his family and jumping back into the fray, this time with an infant to consider.

They would be taking on more administrative roles, to be fair, now that they would be working for the government instead of against it. But none of them were naive enough to think that they would no longer be attracting enemies. The New Republic was doing their best to fill the power vacuum left by the fall of the Empire, but that didn't mean that opportunistic individuals with less-than-pleasant intentions weren't going to attempt to take advantage of the awkward transition.

"How long do we have to decide?" Hera muttered, looking strangely helpless. Her hands twitched in her lap like they were trying to escape the conversation.

"The New Republic wants to get people out there as soon as possible, but they'd probably be willing to wait a week or so for your response." Kallus folded his arms against the table, leaning his weight into them with a sigh. "I know it's not ideal, but the New Republic is trying to establish a strong relationship with the outer rim planets. And yours are all faces that the people of Lothal trust. You've proven your good will towards them. It would be better to install you guys as representatives for the area over some stuffy inner-rim type."

Hera just nodded, refusing to meet anyone's gaze. She just needed to think for herself, for a moment.

"It all makes sense," she eventually settled on, "I just... wish the timing were better..."

"The timing will never be better," Kanan interjected, reaching a hand out to cover her own. "Good timing has never been in the cards for us, Hera. And this is a great opportunity. Steady work in a place we're all familiar with. Work that we're passionate about. Work that is going to help the people we spent so many years trying to protect."

"I think we should take it," Sabine chimed in. "Or at the very least consider it."

Kanan and Sabine were right. She knew they were right. But the prospect of it all was so big, it was hard to get a handle on. For the first time maybe ever, she had carved out some sense of normalcy for her and her family, and having to start that entire process over again was daunting to say the least.

"Hera," Ezra interrupted her thoughts with eyes pleading enough to rival a tooka. "I'm with Kanan and 'Bine on this one. I know it's a lot, but a really wise lady once told me that if all you do is fight for your own life, then your life is worth nothing. And this seems like a pretty great chance to fight for some people who could really use someone in their corner."

Hera smiled, suddenly struck by how much Ezra had grown right in front of her eyes. She was proud of the young man he had become and beyond honored that she got to be a part of his journey.

"Alright," Hera sighed, a smile betraying her exasperated act. "I think my mind has been made up for me. Jacen?" The infant cocked his head towards her like he was listening, his new toy now crammed halfway in his mouth and covered in slobber. "It looks like we're moving to Lothal."

A few cheers were shared around the table before logistics started getting passed back and forth. If she closed her eyes, Hera could almost pretend it was a different time. A time when things were even less certain, but they had each other, and that was enough. But when she opened her eyes, she could admire how her family had grown. The future was constantly changing, and the truth was that in a lot of ways, she was scared. Scared of the uncertainty of life. But as she watched Chopper whiz around the table in circles, Zeb batting at him after every pass, and Ezra cracking jokes with Sabine, and felt Kanan's slip his hand into hers, warm and steady and real, she realized that some things would never change. No matter how it may shift, Hera would always have this family. And as long as that was the case, she could handle whatever the future sent their way.  

AN: Well, this is officially it folks. The very end. Ngl, it's going to feel SO cathartic to close this google doc and move it to the "finished" folder haha. Thanks again for going on this insane ride with me. I started writing this when I was 17 and I am going to be 24 in less than a month. Life is crazy. I love you all.