Not How Your Stories End

Chapter 1

"You're sick, aren't you?" She asked in a manner closer to a statement than anything else.

Ezra returned her question with a sheepish expression. He wrenched his head from her grasp in an attempt to hid his gradually flushing face.

"What? No. I just... didn't sleep well. I'm fine, though, really," he insisted, pushing himself off the couch as if to escape.

"Oh no," Hera interrupted, quickly making pace to cut off the teen before he reached the door. "You're not getting away that easily. I know my crew, Ezra, and there is something wrong here. So spill. Or do I need to wake up Kanan and get him to make you talk?" Of course, she herself didn't want to go that far. This was her ship, after all, and she liked to maintain control over as many situations as she could, but nonetheless the threat incurred the desired effect.

Ezra groaned in response, muttering curses that she likely would have commented on if he had not then suddenly and harshly begun to stumble, nearly falling backwards onto the couch until eventually steadying himself after what seemed to be a violent dizzy spell.

Hera's frustration quickly morphed into panic. "Ezra?" She questioned him cautiously this time, striding forward with worry etched across her typically stern features. Although the teen still refused to meet her gaze, this time it seemed to be out of an inability to do so rather than out of purposeful evasion. Without further hesitation, Hera tore off one of her smooth pilot's gloves and gently pressed her hand against her charge's cheek. The heat she detected was disconcerting.

"You feel feverish. You're going back to bed." Her voice was empathetic, but still carried that authority that threatened the consequences of further argument as she grabbed his shoulder and tried to guide him back towards his room.

Ezra just groaned again. "I feel fine, really. I just run hot. It's nothing to worry about," he gave a weak smile, attempting to ward off the attention, but to no avail.

"Well, you're persistent. I'll give you that," Hera smirked, removing her hand from his shoulder as she pulled her glove back on, remaining silently grateful that the boy was at least well enough to put up a fight, "But you can't charm your way out of this one, Ezra Bridger. Besides, if it's nothing to worry about, then humoring me and letting me take your temperature anyways will do no harm, right?" she shifted, leaning back and basking in her imminent victory.

The teen grumbled, biting back the complaints forming and begrudgingly accepting his failure. "Fine, just do it," he snapped back.

Hera ignored the sass and retrieved the thermometer from the med kit, moving to stand in front of the boy. Ezra let out a small grunt of displeasure as the sensor was almost mercilessly pressed against his ear. It was always such a strange sensation. Even after three years with the Ghost crew, it was sometimes easy to forget what it was like to be taken care of, even in the smallest of ways.

The two specters waited in tense silence until the instrument finally beeped. Retrieving it much gentler than she had distributed it, the Twi'lek woman looked at the small screen and frowned at it's readings.

"101.8. You're definitely running a fever." She spoke matter-of-factly, but took little joy in her victory.

Ezra sighed. There was no hiding from this now. The only thing he could do was accept his fate and hope his crew let him be to recover.

Hera turned, moving to put the instrument away. "Any other symptoms I should know about? For instance, something that could wake up a heavy sleeper before 0430 hours?" she asked, leafing through the items in front of her until she finally settled upon a small cold pack.

"Not really," Ezra explained, hoping to escape the situation as soon as possible, "I'm just tired and a little achy".

Hera shot him a questioning glare.

"Okay, a lot achy. My head is killing me..."

The pilot's gaze shifted to sympathetic. "You probably picked up a bug at one of our last stops. You should go back to bed, try to sleep it off. Do you need anything?" she questioned, idly tidying up the area around her.

Ezra shrugged. "Not unless you can magically ward off all nightmares," he quietly quipped back.

Hera grimaced. "So that's what woke you up?" she questioned softly. Mindful of the boy's aching head. Ezra nodded feebly as she walked back to the table and pushed the cold pack towards him. "Hopefully that should help with you with the fever and the pain. I know it probably doesn't seem like the most effective option, but I'm afraid that and rest are all we can do for you here. Our med kit's pretty barren. I'll be sure to pick up some fever reducers once we find a safe place to dock. In the meantime, I'll tell Zeb and Chop to leave you alone for awhile. Now try to go back to sleep if you can," she suggested, giving him a small, but genuine smile for the first time that morning.

Ezra sighed dejectedly, muttered a quiet thanks, and then rose to exit the common room, all the while doing his best to avoid the worried gazes he was getting from the woman standing behind him.

Despite the situation, Ezra did feel quite relieved at the prospect of returning to bed. His restless night had started to take its toll on his already ailing body, and after spending years upon years on the streets without access to proper medical care, he held the firm belief that sleep was the best cure for pretty much everything.

Or least it did until he woke up hours later feeling worse than he did that morning.

Upon regaining consciousness, his body ached to the point where it felt as though he had been hit by a speeder, and barely a minute later, he was hit with a merciless wave of nausea that left him shaking on the fresher floor, dry heaving on an empty stomach; so deeply stiff and pained that he was unable to fully curl up on himself. It was absolute misery.

This time it was Kanan who had come to his aid, reaching his Padawan remarkably fast for a man without sight. Sitting cross-legged on the floor next to the ill boy, Kanan began to speak to him softly.

"Geez, Hera told me you were sick, but I didn't realize it was this bad". He joked softly, hoping to loosen up the atmosphere a bit. Kanan didn't need the Force to know that his Padawan was at least somewhat embarrassed at the situation. Despite his growing maturity, Ezra never liked to appear weak, and now that Kanan had barged in on him while he was at his most vulnerable... he figured that downplaying the situation would be better than doting over him with worry.

His short attempt of humor went unheeded though, as Ezra responded to him seriously. "Yeah, well... that​ makes two of us..." he managed between gasps.

Kanan grimaced and began to rub gentle circles on the small of his Padawan's back. He was never very good at offering physical reassurance in these kinds of situations, but it was the only thing he could think to do in the moment. However, his discomfort quickly morphed into worry at the continued contact. The heat radiating from Ezra could be felt even through his several layers of clothing. Kanan may not have been a medical expert, but he was pretty sure that wasn't a good sign.

"Hey kid, when was the last time Hera checked your temperature?" he asked, attempting to get the ill youth to drink some water.

"Not since this morning, why?" he panted.

"I'd like to check it again," he answered thoughtfully, "just to see where we're at. Think you can make it to the common room?" Kanan stood, offering a hand to his Padawan.

Ezra gave a weak grunt of affirmation and let his Master help him to his feet. As he was hauled upwards, Ezra grit his teeth and teetered slightly upon the shift of weight, but ultimately was able to stumble forwards down the halls of the Ghost with the support of the older Jedi.

A/N :  My least favorite chapter out of what I have written so far.  Don't worry, it will pick up soon.  Just in case, I don't own Star Wars Rebels or any related media.  All rights and characters belong to Lucasfilm ent. and Disney Inc.    The cover art is mine.  You can check out more of my artwork at mrntanksart on tumblr or mrntanks on Instagram.  Thank you all for reading!