Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or Star Wars Rebels.

Home Again

Hera found Kanan giving Chopper an oil bath. The droid chirped contentedly, in a friendly tone Hera often wondered if Chopper wasn't programmed to have. He rarely used it and in the ages that went on between usages it was easy to convince herself that she'd just been imagining it.

"You're right," Kanan agreed with Chopper. "We need to do this more often." Kanan picked up a rag and began to remove excess oil.

Chopper beeped, "Every day."

"Not every day, Chop," Kanan tossed the rag aside as he finished. Hera wondered if he used the Force to make sure it landed in the laundry chute. "We don't have the funds to make it every other day. We don't have the time either."

Chopper angrily reminded Kanan that the organics onboard would shower at least every other day.

"Well, yeah, but we recycle that water –"

Chopper rolled toward Hera and chirped, "Who saves your lives all the time? I do. Are you telling me I don't deserve an oil bath whenever I want for your lives?"

"Would you like a life debt?" Hera asked the droid teasingly. Kanan looked at Hera, unsurprised to see her there, a little smile on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"No, thanks," Chopper continued rolling and left the room, beeping quietly to himself.

"Why are you still up?" Hera asked Kanan.

"Why are you?" Kanan countered quietly.

"Got up to get some water," Hera crossed over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "You need to sleep, dear."

Kanan covered her hand with his and then took their hands off his shoulder. "I can think of a thousand better things to do than sleep." He cupped her face with his other hand and stared into her eyes, an unspoken question between them. Hera gave a subtle nod of her head and Kanan's lips touched hers.

She'd always known he was strong. When they'd met on Gorse, she'd seen the strength of his spirit when he'd stood up to Vidian and his physical strength when he'd helped her settle a payment dispute. But his strength now surprised her. She would have thought all the horrors he must have endured would have sapped the strength from him like Chopper sapped patience from Zeb. Or maybe it had just opened a hidden reserve.

He let go of her hand and removed his hand from her face. Instead he picked her up and Hera wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist.

"Is it safe?" she whispered.

"The kids are asleep," he whispered back and carried her out of the room. They weren't met or observed by anyone on the short trip to Hera's cabin. For that, Hera was glad. As much as she loved the rest of the crew, she just wanted this moment between Kanan and her.

Kanan took long strides to hasten the trip between the door and her bunk. He set her on the bed and pulled off his boots and she reached out to remove the armor from his shoulder but he stopped her. Hera didn't ask any questions, she just reached for her pajama top to remove it, but again, Kanan stopped her. Unsure of what he wanted, Hera waited as he undressed down to his underwear. Then he kissed her again and she felt his fingers hook under her shirt and tickle her stomach before they broke apart and he pulled her shirt off her.

He trailed kisses down her neck and she removed the elastic from his hair. As her hands finger-combed his hair, Kanan stroked one of her lekku.

Hera kissed him hard and pulled him closer to her.

His hands were all over her and hers were all over him. She felt the tenseness in his muscles and checked for cuts and other injuries. He finished undressing her and himself. He kissed his way down her body slowly.

Part of her missed when it was just the two of them on the Ghost, when they didn't have to keep quiet. She particularly missed that as he brought her to the edge and she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out.

He moved above her and Hera spoke up, "Kanan." Then she wondered how she should actually phrase this without being awkward.

He waited, "Yes?"

"Um…maybe….should I -?"

"Just say it, Hera," he encouraged. "What would you like?"

"Maybe I should be on top," she watched his expression, worried.

He kept his face completely blank. "Do you want to be on top?"

"It's just…well…love, you were hurt –"

Anger flashed so briefly in his eyes Hera wondered if maybe it was just the lighting. "I'm fine, Hera," he assured her. He didn't sound angry at all.

"I just don't want to put you in a position that'll make you uncomfortable."

He grinned at her and she playfully slapped him. "Quit making everything dirty."

"You can be on top next time," he offered.

"Next time," she agreed.

It was the worst sound Hera had ever woken up to, possibly that she'd ever heard. If the Empire ever caught her and looked for ways to torture her, well…if they had this noise recorded, they'd break her. "Kanan," she shook him. "Kanan!" He woke up and his whimpers stopped.

Kanan looked around, swallowed, and looked at Hera. "What's the matter?"

"Don't act stupid with me," Hera chastised him. "What were you dreaming about?"

Kanan rolled over. "Don't remember," he buried his head in his pillow. "Let me sleep, you said I needed it, remember?" His words were muffled and he obviously thought this would work, but Hera wasn't having any of it. She grabbed the pillow and pulled it out from under his head. With super fast reflexes, Kanan took hold of it before she could toss it aside. She hadn't even seen the movement. "Give it back." His tone held a warning that might have meant something if she didn't know him.

If she didn't trust him and didn't know that he trusted her.

"Kanan, tell me."

"Didn't you rescue me from interrogation?"

"Kanan, I heard you." I love you, she wanted to yell, I just want to help.

"Hera, I don't want to talk about it," he got out of bed and picked up some of his clothes. He couldn't possibly be getting dressed to leave, could he? Hera got out of bed too. If he thought leaving was going to end this conversation, he was incredibly mistaken.

Just who did he think she was, anyway?

Kanan pulled on his pants and hunted on the floor for his hair tie. Well, he wasn't moving very fast, so maybe he wasn't interested in leaving. Still searching, he handed her some of her own clothes. Hera put them on quickly, just in case he used her distracted, one-leg-in-her-pajama-pants-one-leg-out status to bolt. She finished dressing and he was still looking for his hair tie.

"Check the bed," she offered. He moved his search there, tossing aside pillows and lifting up blankets and sheets. What had she done with it, once she'd removed it? She couldn't recall, it hadn't been high on her list of concerns.

"My name was Caleb Dume," Kanan said and dropped a pillow back into place. Then he sat down and faced her. Hera moved over to him and sat down beside him. She took his hand in hers and he looked down at their laced fingers. "My master was Depa Billaba – a member of the Jedi Council." Of course she knew all of this. Kanan had told her these details before they'd met Zeb. Before they'd met Chopper, even. "She died when the clones turned on us." He took a deep breath. "She told me to run and I did."

"She saved your life."

"She died for me." Kanan said bitterly. "Because of me, she died. If not for me, she could have escaped. She could have lived."

"No, Kanan –"

"And like a coward, I ran. I ran because I was scared. I let her die. I let her down." A tear rolled down his face and he leaned forward, his hair making a curtain between them.

One heartbeat.

Two.

Hera reached over and gently tucked his hair behind his ear. In her many wonders about hair, she'd often wondered if he wished she had hair and ears shaped like his, so that he could tuck her hair behind her ears. She'd seen the gesture in holo dramas and it always indicated trust and friendship, if not romance.

"Kanan, listen to me," Hera said softly. She knew she couldn't dismiss his feelings, even though she knew that the truth was he had not been a coward. He had not let his master down. None of what he said was correct, save that this was how he felt. "You obeyed her, like she hoped you would. Your survival would make her happy, not angry or sad. You were her padawan, would you want Ezra to stick around after you told him to run for his life?"

Kanan flinched.

"Karabast," Hera muttered. "I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry."

"No," Kanan shook his head, a few tears dropped from his chin. "No, I wouldn't."

"So you didn't let her down?"

"I guess not," he sighed. "I wish she were here now."

"I don't," Hera tried to lighten the mood. He jumped and looked at her, horrified. "Well, can you imagine her here? Sorry, Kanan, but I don't think she would like sharing a room with Sabine or Sabine would like sharing a room. Plus…well…some of the stuff we do is a little illegal and I think she might disapprove."

"A little?" Kanan scoffed. The lightness in his tone delighted Hera. She hadn't failed to help him. "In case you missed it, there were four Star Destroyers taking me to Mustafar."

"Oh, I didn't miss that. I was there, you know."

Kanan unlaced their hands and instead put his arm around her shoulders. "I'm glad you came for me."

"You're family. I love you, Kanan Jarrus…and Caleb Dume too."

"I love you, Hera," Kanan rested his forehead against hers. "Now can we go back to sleep?"

Chopper sat in the corner of the dining room. Hera poured herself a cup of kaffe and Kanan walked in. "Morning, love," Hera got a second cup for him. "What would you like for breakfast? Fulcrum and Senator Organa gave us som-"

Chopper rolled out of the room at his top speed, a siren sounding from him. "Ow! Chopper!" Kanan yelled, "Turn it down!" He turned to Hera, quizzical, "What's his problem?"

Hera shrugged and finished explaining that Senator Organa and Fulcrum had given them some supplies and some presents that they thought Kanan would like. Or more pointedly, Kanan figured from Hera's smile, Hera had decided to put them aside for him so he could have them first if he wanted them. Otherwise Zeb and Ezra might eat all the good stuff and dentists were hard to come by when you were on the run. Kanan stepped up to Hera and placed his hand at the small of her back. "What are you having?" he asked.

Hera tried not to smile. "The best morning I've had that I can remember."

"That good of a breakfast?" Kanan said wryly.

"Nerf bacon is delicious," Hera replied with an equally wry tone.

"What is wrong with this rustbucket?!" Zeb asked angrily as he, Ezra, and Sabine followed Chopper back into the dining room. "Why is he rolling into my quarters with an alarm?!" Kanan quickly dropped his hand from Hera's body. They'd had a few moments of open displays of affection, stars knew all the crew had asked/commented, but Kanan and Hera had never labeled their relationship and tried to downplay it in front of others.

"Yeah, what's going on?" Ezra asked. "Do we have a new mission?"

Kanan looked at Ezra and then looked at his cup of kaffe to hide his wince. The scratches on his face were healing, but Kanan would never forget how they got there.

"No," Chopper beeped. He rolled over to the corner he'd occupied before Kanan had walked in. He pulled a cord and a banner unfurled.

WELCOME HOME, DAD!

Kanan stared at the banner, clearly the droid had painted it after Kanan and Hera had retired.

"Do you like it?" Chopper chirped.

"What is wrong with him?" Zeb repeated, this time with worry in his voice.

"Yeah, he called Kanan 'dad' –"

"Beyond that, he's being nice." Zeb shook his head at Ezra.

Sabine punched Zeb's shoulder. "I think it's nice, Chopper," she smiled at him and then went over to give Kanan a hug. "He's right, welcome back." Kanan hugged her back and inhaled the recent scent of paint. What art had she painted recently? He wanted to know, he wanted to see. They parted and she headed out of the dining area, probably to get dressed or shower.

"Right, welcome back," Zeb nodded. "I'm going back to bed. Don't wake me unless there's an emergency," he directed the last to Chopper who beeped what sounded like a raspberry.

Ezra grabbed a cup for his own kaffe, but Hera quickly moved the pot out of his reach. "How about some juice?" she offered innocently.

Chopper rolled over to Kanan. "Do you like it?" He asked again.

Kanan rested a hand on the little droid. "Yes, Chop, I do." He knelt down and whispered, "Son."

Chopper's retractable arms extended and flipped up, pushing Kanan away. He rolled off with a stream of indifferent sounding tones. If the droid had emotions, he probably would regret using the term 'dad' for Kanan in front of the whole crew. He'd never live it down.

"So, if Kanan's 'dad', does that make you 'mom', Hera?" Ezra asked.

"Hey, don't call your mother by her first name!" Kanan rebuked his padawan playfully. He smiled, it was good to be home again.