A/N: Final installment, yay! Again I must warn you: FLUFF. This story was written in like a happiness AU where everything is great and nobody dies in Rebels Season 4 or ever. Also, this chapter got a little crowded with characters because I have no self-control. Let me know what you think!

The Incident

Part Three

Later That Evening

The Phantom II shuddered as it docked with its parent vessel and Kanan breathed a sigh of relief, unbuckling his restraints.

Ezra rolled his eyes. "I'm a little insulted that you still get so nervous when I'm the one at the helm."

"It's not that," Kanan said dryly, "although hearing you say 'oops' right after you've made the jump to hyperspace doesn't exactly fill me with joy." He stood and stretched his legs. "I just always feel more at ease when we're home, that's all."

Ezra glanced out the viewscreen, deep space to one side and the giant Mon Calamari cruiser to the other. "Home," he echoed, shaking his head. He felt selfishly glad that they were able to call the Ghost home, whereas so many beings were just drifting from base to base, spacecraft to spacecraft, as the Alliance tried to gain some traction after Yavin.

Kanan reached out and squeezed his shoulder. "Come on," he said.

When they stepped onto the Ghost, unholy, raucous shrieks of feminine laughter hit them like a shockwave.

Ezra jumped, startled. "Kriffing-"

"Language," Kanan reprimanded, sounding no less bewildered than his apprentice.

"What—who is that?" The twenty-year-old's eyes were wide. He and Kanan advanced slowly toward the cockpit. "Sabine for sure, Hera, and...Princess Leia? But I have never heard any of them carry on like that, ever."

"Don't underestimate the strange things that happen when tightly-wound women and alcohol are in the same room," Kanan said solemnly.

"Alcohol?"

"Can't you smell it?" Kanan sniffed as they stopped outside the cockpit door. "Red wine, Alderaanian. Five creds."

"Deal."

The girls' laughing died down to murmurs and intermittent giggles until Ezra opened the cockpit door. Upon seeing the two men, the women froze and then threw back their heads, virtually howling with laughter. Ezra rolled his eyes and frowned, pulling out a five-cred chip to hand to Kanan; Sabine and Leia both held glasses of red wine.

"Nice to see you all, too," Kanan said sourly. He could feel them watching him and his cheeks tinged pink. "Do I even want to know?"

"It's nothing, love," Hera said between laughs, gasping for breath. "You remember I told you Han Solo was the one who clipped the Ghost that time?"

Kanan's eyebrows flew up. "Are you still mad about that?"

"If she's not, I am," Sabine interjected, her smile fading. She touched a pronounced scar high on her forehead. "Do you know how hard it is to cover this thing?"

"I think it makes you look intriguing," Ezra said earnestly.

Sabine snorted. "Wonderful."

"Anyway," Leia prompted, sipping her wine.

"Anyway, the princess heard the story from Chewbacca and asked me about it. Then she saw me in the hangar bay this afternoon and decided to play an impromptu prank on Captain Solo, that's all." Sabine and Leia giggled all over again.

"Which was?"

Hera hesitated, face coloring. "Never you mind, love."

"I see how it is," Kanan said in an exaggerated tone. His mouth turned in a smirk.

"Do you?" Sabine asked, her glass at her mouth.

"If you don't mind," he continued archly, "I'll just get what I came for and be on my way."

"Sounds good," Hera said, smiling. Kanan stepped forward and leaned over, kissing her temple. Then he scooped up the wriggling baby in her lap, who babbled excitedly as Kanan settled her on his hip. She squealed in delight when he tickled her cheeks with his beard.

"Daddy missed you," he cooed unashamedly. "Very, very much."

The younger three humans looked at each other, biting their tongues against any teasing remarks.

"She's got the sweetest smile, Kanan," Leia said.

"I have no idea why," Hera groaned with a sigh. "She didn't sleep well at all while you were gone. I'm exhausted. It's a miracle she isn't cranky."

"Poor mommy," Kanan murmured, stroking the baby's cheeks with his thumb. "I'll take Depa duty tonight."

"In the meantime," Leia began, throwing a wicked grin to Hera and Sabine, "would you mind walking a message down to Captain Solo? He should be in the mess hall with Commander Skywalker. My com is out and he won't be particularly happy to see me if I turn up."

Kanan was suspicious, but he didn't dare ask what she was up to. "What's the message?"

"That his report still doesn't meet my standards. And if he doesn't fix it this time, there'll be hell to pay." She smiled primly. "Or something to that effect."

"Sure thing," Kanan said flatly.

"Don't ask," Sabine advised, taking another sip of wine. "Just rest assured that the joke is not on you."

"Well let's go, Depa." He bounced the baby on his hip and she giggled. "Let's go see what kind of trouble mommy got us into."

Depa burbled and cooed happily at the word "go," and Kanan turned for the door. The baby lunged and grabbed a fistful of Ezra's shirt as she passed him. "Guess I'm going, too," he said. He winked and grinned at Sabine and Leia. "See ya, ladies."

The young girls both groaned and rolled their eyes. Hera smiled and got to her feet. "I'll leave you to it," she said.

"Are you going to follow them down there to see Solo's face?" Sabine asked eagerly.

Hera's eyes widened. "Are you kidding? I'm going to bed."

The girls protested, begging her to stay, but Hera just shook her head, exiting the cockpit. She could hear the rise and fall of their voices and laughter as she went to her cabin, and she felt grateful that they all were, for the moment, safe and sound. Laying her head on her pillow, she almost laughed. She and Leia had done a fairly tasteless thing misleading Han Solo like they had, but his reaction was sure to be priceless when he realized he'd been duped. It would almost make up for the damage to the Ghost. Almost.

"Hey, was that Bridger?" Luke sat down at the mess table across from Han and Chewie, a cup of caf in his hand.

Han frowned deeply and tapped his fingers on the tabletop, clearly agitated, as he watched Ezra Bridger and Kanan Jarrus walk out of the mess hall. They'd just stopped by to relay a message from Leia. And on top of Kanan Jarrus not being dead, there was a baby in his arms, adorable, amiable, and distinctly half-Twi'lek. "Yes," Han growled. "It was. Jarrus, too."

"Oh, cool. Didn't know they were back already." Luke, oblivious to everything, sipped his caf. "Ezra and I have plans to—what? What's the matter?"

Han's face was turning redder by the second and he let loose a string of absolutely blistering Huttese curses. "I'm gonna strangle that woman with my bare hands," he finally managed, furious. "My bare hands.'

"What? Who?"

"Leia."

Luke pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily. "Here we go."

Han pushed back from the table, glancing around the room with a crazed look in his eyes. "Leia!" He bellowed, turning every head in the mess hall. "Leia!"

Chewbacca warbled a few words, shaking his head as Han stalked off, still shouting for the princess.

"If you're saying you think this is gonna be a reeeeal long rebellion," Luke said with a grimace, "I agree." Chewie opened his mouth for further comment, but the beeping of Luke's com cut him off. "Skywalker," the human answered.

"Is Han mad?" Leia asked without preamble.

"I wouldn't say 'mad,' exactly; 'murderous rage' might be a better way of putting it. What'd you do?"

Leia burst out laughing, as did the other woman with her. "Grab Ezra and come back to the Ghost," Sabine Wren said between laughs.

Leia lowered her voice, trying to compose herself and failing miserably. "We'll explain everything. Hurry up before Han catches you. Organa out."

Luke sat still for just a moment, processing the odd exchange. What Leia was up to, he could only guess. But he wasn't about to pass up the chance to hang out with two fascinating women and a fellow Jedi. He grinned at Chewbacca. "I take it back," he said, getting up from the table. "The Rebellion's terrific!"

The Wookiee just shook his head in mild amusement as he watched Luke run of in pursuit of Ezra. Chewbacca knew what the younger humans did not: these small moments of fleeting happiness and camaraderie would be the things they reflected on in the middle of the night in decades to come. He hoped, with all his heart, that this small respite from the war would give them the strength to face the next great challenge, whatever that may be, and that they would be able to lean on each other. Heart, Chewie believed, would win the war rather than weapons and armories.

That and alcohol, which he was going to need a lot of if he wanted to talk Han down from his fury with Princess Leia. He made a mental note to subtly ask General Syndulla whether she and her mate had this much trouble getting along when they first met. He also intended to ask the other shipmates how they dealt with the lovers' spats, because Luke was right; this was shaping up to be a very long rebellion.