Larena groaned and opened her eyes, blinking in the black darkness of the cot she'd come to know in the past few weeks. Her leg throbbed and she felt the very air spinning around her as she began to rouse from her dreamless sleep. Sweat stuck her hair to her forehead and neck and her lungs felt too big in her chest.

Her attempt to sit up caused her stomach to lurch painfully and with a speed she didn't know she possessed she raised her hand and, without thinking about it at all, the bin that sat near the edge of the bed flew to her outstretched arm. She emptied her stomach into it, every heave more painful than the last, and tears leaked from her eyes at the force of her body's rejection of the bacta patch on her leg.

With shaky fingers she reach down and peeled it away, tensing at the stickiness of the dried blood that crusted around it.

Swallowing down another round of sickness she placed her hand over the wound and concentrated in silence as she focused on weaving her blistered skin back together. It didn't take long and when she was finished she looked up to the rustling she heard in the doorway.

"You're getting better at controlling it," Mando's commented quietly. He flipped the light on and Larena flinched at the brightness of it.

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and nearly gagged at the taste left in her mouth. "Do we have anything to drink?"

Mando nodded and stepped and out and returned just as quickly with a cup of water.

Larena accepted silently, desperate to rid herself of the bitterness that was consuming her every sense. She sipped the water carefully, knowing all too well what would happen if she downed the entire cup too quickly. After a few minutes of silence Larena raised her head to see the Mandalorian as still as a statue in the same spot, his visor still angled straight at her.

"I tried, Mando," she mumbled, ducking her head as the gravity of what had happened fully hit her. She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head lightly as she continued, "I just - I couldn't bring him home."

Mando stayed silent for a beat before he responded. "You can't blame yourself for your brother's choices, Larena. He's going to do what suits him."

"That's just it though, Mando, this doesn't suit him. There's something's wrong," Larena said quietly. "That man on those steps - that's not the Kaisen I knew. The Kaisen I knew was gentle and kind and funny. He was helpful and would never do anything to harm anyone! That man back at that cabin - he was angry and bitter and... wrong."

"Larena," Mando said, gentling his voice for her comfort. "The promise of power changes people."

Shaking her head Larena looked up at him, her eyes glistening with tears. "Not Kaisen."

"I wish that were true," Mando said sadly. "But sometimes, as hard as we might try, we aren't able to save those that mean the most to us."

Larena looked down at her leg. The fabric of her pants was ripped apart, the fibers fraying like the binding of a well-loved book. Her skin was healed, but what was left behind was puckered and red. Angry. She ran her finger lightly over the scar and said, "I'm sorry I cost you the bounty."

Mando growled, the sound even lower when filtered through the modulator. "I'm not worried about the damned bounty," he said, moving closer to her. He knelt down by her side and reach out, his hand hovering over her own. When she didn't recoil from his advance he let it fall softly, resting by her own on her leg, careful of her injury. "When you got shot the only thing I was worried about was getting you the hell out of there."

"But-"

Mando cut her off with a shake of his head. "There isn't enough currency in the galaxy that's worth your life."

Larena nodded as her chest started to tighten. Her lip wobbled, barely even enough to notice, and she pulled it between her teeth, biting down so hard that Mando feared she'd break the skin. He brought his hand up slowly and traced the contour of her bottom lip as gently as he could, urging her to let it go. She obliged and it was then, with the release of her lip, that the dam she'd built finally shattered.

Her mind replayed his words over and over - the honesty and gentleness of it overwhelming her. She hadn't felt such sincerity from someone besides Kaisen in so long she didn't think it was possible. Tears prickled the backs of her eyes and a sob fell from her lips. She covered her face with shaky hands and leaned her elbows onto her knees. "I-I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm sorry, Mando. I'm sorry."

"Shh," Mando comforted, moving to sit on the cot beside her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, well aware of how his armor must have been biting into her skin, but she didn't move away. Instead she leaned her head on his shoulder and reach up to hold the hand that held her to him. Mando opened and closed his mouth under the helmet, struggling to find the words that he was so desperately searching for. "I-I don't really know what to do in situations like this," Mando admitted quietly. "How can I help?"

Larena sniffed and a shaky breath left her lips. "Stay-" she hiccuped, "stay with me. J-Just for a little while. Please?"

Mando nodded, finally understanding exactly what it was she craved.

It was touch.

His touch.

"Okay," he said quietly. He moved so that he could cradle her against his chest and she fell boneless against him, her head in the crook of his neck.

His breathing seized in his chest when he felt the heat of her skin through the fabric that covered his neck. Goosebumps trailed from his head to his toes and he fought the urge to shiver at the closeness of her to him. How long had it been since someone had been so close to him without ill intent?

Larena had nestled herself against him with such ease that he felt his heart clench.

He rested the side of his helmet against the crown of her own, careful of the blunt edges, and rocked them gently. His hand rubbed circles on her back in a way that he hoped was as soothing for her as it was for him. He closed his eyes beneath the helm and before he knew what he was doing a familiar song started pouring out of his mouth.

His voice was soft, almost a whisper, in her ear, and Larena stiffened in his arms when she realized what he was doing.

What he was singing.

Tears filled her eyes again and she wondered how many stars had aligned in the sky for her to have even met the gentle Mandalorian that held her so sweetly in his arms. She sniffed and joined him, her voice quivering and horribly off-pitch.

Together they sang until her pain and sorrow waned.

Mando opened his eyes, the lull of the song wearing off, and pulled back slightly, just enough to peer down onto her face. Her eyes were swollen and puffy, and her nose was redder than any burn from all the suns in the galaxy, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from her. She was breathtaking. "Did I help?"

One corner of Larena's lip twitched just so and then she dove back into his arms, pressing her nose against the fabric across his neck. Mando tightened his grip on her, mindful of his armor once more.

Larena's breath permeated the cloth on his neck, the warmth of it sending tingles down his spine. "Thank you, Mando."

"Of course," responded gently. Anything for you.

Later that evening Mando had set off to find another bounty in the area.

"It isn't a tough job," he'd assured Larena when she panicked at the idea of him leaving so soon. "It's a simple in and out mission. I'll be gone an hour, two tops, and then we'll have enough to fill up on fuel."

Larena relented when he promised to keep the comm on him - that way if anything happened she could radio it in and he'd know immediately.

A little while after Mando had gone and Larena was sure they were secure, she and the baby had gotten settled at the small makeshift table. She fed him a little of a fruit they'd found a few days back, wiping the bits that were left on his face away with a spare rag. The little green thing cooed up at Larena from his spot on the chair beside her, holding his arms out to her. She took the hint and lifted him from his seat.

He settled happily on her lap, his big eyes scanning over her. When he found the blaster hit on her leg his hand reach out to touch it, his ears lowering in what she thought was his way of expressing his negative emotions - sadness, worry, fear.

"Hey," she said softly. "I'm okay, little guy."

His lips twitched and he blinked sadly down at it, his fingers patting it softly. She hoisted him up, cuddling him close to her chest, smiling when he lay his hand on her cheek.

"You know, when I was a little girl I had a strange power," she started, bringing her finger under his little chin and scratching softly. "Just like you."

His ears raised a fraction, indicating a shift in his mood, so she continued. "My father was furious - he didn't approve of such tricks. He thought that fighters - warriors - their trade was to be passed down, parent to child. My brother inherited his talent for fighting. He was very skilled, even from an early age, so my father taught him."

"Every evening as the sun went down my father and brother sparred and trained while I was left in my room, reading my books and hoping for the day that I was able to get away. Explore the world. I dreamed of a handsome prince sweeping me from my home and whisking me away to faraway lands."

The baby pulled at a lock of her hair and she winced, untangling it from his hand.

"I got my mother's talent," she told him, as if she were letting him in on a secret. Glancing around she found the ball from the lever Mando allowed the baby to play with. She focused on it and it came sailing toward them, cutting through the air with a whistle. The baby cooed happily, bouncing on her lap when he relinquished the ball to him. "She could do the same things as you and me."

The baby cackled, bouncing the ball up and down with his use of their shared gift.

"Yeah," Larena agreed with a small smile. "I think we would've liked her."

The smile slowly melted from her lips. "You would've liked Kaisen, too. The real Kaisen, not whoever he's pretending to be."

The baby made a noise, almost as if he were as confused as she was.

"Something isn't right, kid," she said softly. "I can feel it."

Just then a series of knocks sounded on the door of the ship. Larena jumped up, deposited the baby on the floor behind her, and grabbed the blaster that she had by her side. She walked slowly, her bare feet thudding against the floor of the ship, and when she got to the controls she heard a voice.

"Larena," it called. "It's okay. You can open up, it's just me."

Her shoulders sank and she let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She pressed the button that lowered the ramp, watching as Mando appeared slowly. He hauled the bounty into the ship making sure he didn't get too close to Larena and the kid. The man uttered a few pleading words before Mando shoved him into the carbonite.

Larena flinched, still unused to seeing the frozen fear on the bounties faces when they realized what was happening. She glanced away from it and back to Mando who uncharacteristically shifted from one foot to the other before he turned back toward the door, his hand on his blaster. He cocked his head at her and then said, "Come on."

Larena was planted firmly in place, her mouth dry and her heart pounding. A familiar figure slunk into the ship, his head bowed and his hands cuffed in front of him. He raised his head, looking up at her through a curtain of hair that had fallen out of place, green meeting green. He scanned her, his eyes stopping on the healed injury, and then he raised his head back up, staring at her in silence.

Swallowing the thick emotion in her throat Larena muttered one word.

"Kaisen?"