And now for the prompt that inspired Falling: "You should do a chapter where Ezra thinks he's talking to Vader and is denying that he is his son and Vader is not his father in front of the crew:)" (EmpressRulerofallthatiswierd)

- 8 months after Never Alone

It started with a Mynock Fever vaccination.

Chopper whirled inside seconds too late, rattling on about expired medications and mislabeled products.

Thirty seconds later, Ezra began to spasm.

Kanan blamed the drugs.

Zeb figured the kid had been off his rocker since Mustafar.

Sabine just stared.

Hera had suspected all along.

"Get off!" Ezra grated, struggling frenziedly as Kanan held his wrists. Claw marks from the kid's own nails already stretched from Ezra's hairline to his chin. "Let go! You're not my father! I hate you! I just want Kanan back!"

"Ezra, calm down!" Kanan urged, grunting when a boot slammed his stomach. "Zeb, hold him!"

"I'm trying! Wriggling womp rat!" Zeb complained.

"You're not my father! Get out of my head!" Ezra spat in Kanan's face, twisting to bite his fingers.

"Karabast!" Kanan yelled, yanking one hand away. "Hera, what was in that serum?"

"Chopper is running diagnostics now," Hera said sharply. "I need a blood sample."

"Oh, sure!" Zeb grunted. "Use a blasted needle when the kid's panicking."

"You're not my father! Get away from me!" A sudden whump in the force and both Kanan and Zeb were staggering against opposite walls. Ezra rolled away, hands outstretched defensively.

"I'm not your pawn, Vader!"

"Karabast, he's lost his mind!" Zeb growled.

"Ezra! Stand down!" Hera shouted, raising her blaster to stun.

"Hera, stop!" Kanan shouted. He slid one foot closer to Ezra, hands raised harmlessly. "Listen to me, Ezra. This is another hallucination. You are not on Mustafar."

"Don't talk to me!" Ezra snarled, open palm curling towards his master. "I know this isn't real. You think you can sway me by mimicking Kanan? I've seen all your tricks. You're not him!"

"Sabine, get out of here!" Kanan ordered.

"She's not there! No one is there!" Desperately Ezra clapped his hands over his ears. "My mother was Mira Bridger! My mother was Mira Bridger! You are not my father!"

"Your father was Ephraim Bridger!" Kanan's voice took on a panicked note. "Your mother's name was Mira. You were born on Lothal. You were raised there for fourteen years. You are padawan to Jedi Kanan. Your name is Ezra Bridger!"

Ezra gaped, disconcerted, and fell against the wall. "Who – who are you?"

Kanan lashed out one hand as Zeb advanced. "Stand down."

Unnerved, the Lasat backed away. Ezra trembled.

"My name is Kanan Jarrus," Kanan said calmingly. "I command the Ghost. The Twi'lek you see is my pilot; Hera. My crewmates around you are Sabine and Zeb, and that annoying rustbucket over there is called Chopper."

Chopper blatted exasperatedly and flung a bolt at Kanan's face. The Jedi spluttered incomprehensibly and glowered.

"Helium particles," Hera determined, finally recognizing the symptoms. "They must have contaminated the vaccination. Helium is deadly to Mynocks; it could have dichotomized the antidote."

"Is there a remedy?" Kanan asked, keeping his eyes on Ezra.

"Give him time to calm down," Hera said reluctantly. "Once the vaccination and helium break each other apart, it should disperse without further reactions."

"I don't want you here!" Ezra moaned. "Get away from me. Get out of my head!"

"It's all right, Ezra," Kanan said, slowly easing to the floor. He waved for Zeb and Sabine to do the same. Hera settled cross-legged across from Ezra. "It'll pass."

"My name is Ezra Bridger. My name is Ezra Bridger." The kid thunked his head back with each declaration.

"Ezra, stop," Sabine pleaded. "You'll hurt yourself."

Ezra sucked in a breath and shifted closer to her, glancing furiously at Kanan. "Don't touch her."

Kanan cringed. "I'm staying right here."

"Eh, what's all this nonsense?" Zeb asked waveringly. "I mean, I know Vader messed up his head, but …."

"It's nothing," Kanan said quickly. "He's wasted on meds."

"Yeah, we already knew that." Zeb snorted.

Sabine was silent.

"Ezra Bridger. Ezra Bridger. Bridger. Bridger.…."

"Kanan, maybe we should give him some time alone," Hera said placidly. She glanced at Kanan and twitched one eyebrow in warning. Not in front of everyone. He's spooked enough.

"Zeb, Sabine, we'll tell you when this is over," Kanan said.

"Wait, now you're sending us away?" Sabine protested. "He's not afraid of me!"

Kanan swallowed. Immediately Hera stepped in. "Sabine, mind the helm. Chopper, Zeb, find something to repair on the lower decks. Kanan is right; there are too many people here."

"Not a Sith, not a Sith," Ezra chanted as he rocked. Sabine's expression twisted and fear lurked in her eyes. Following Zeb's guidance, she slunk from the room.

At last they were alone.

"Kanan, when is this going to stop?" Hera whispered. "What aren't you telling me?"

He looked at her with defeated blue-green eyes. "Whatever they ask, tell them it was the drugs. We can't pass this on, Hera."

"Pass on what?" Hera's eyes narrowed when Kanan looked away.

"So it's true," she guessed. "That's what's freaking him out. He's …." Hera glanced at the hall and dropped her voice to a whisper. "You never told me!"

"There was no proof!" Kanan grated. "Vader was looking for ways to manipulate the kid – and it looks like he succeeded."

"So you hide this from the rest of the crew – from me – and you think you made the right choice because –"

"Do you think Sabine and Zeb would treat him any differently if they knew he was heir to the Empire?"

Hera stuttered. She knew her crew. She knew how doubt overwhelmed the kindest hearts.

"We can't let them know," Kanan insisted. "Ezra is the son of Ephraim and Mira Bridger. His past remains the same."

"Just an ordinary Loth-kid." Hera nodded. Her heart lanced as she heard Ezra's muffled sobs. Born of the Sith. Kid, what has the galaxy done to you?

"As soon as this passes, I'll take him to my room; give him a chance to calm down." Kanan rubbed his old shoulder wound. "Can you invent a plausible cover?"

"Fresh out of ideas?" Hera asked with a morose smile.

"Tired of handling it alone," Kanan admitted.

Shaking her head, Hera slid forward and clasped his hand. "Hey. They're my kids, too."

"K-Kanan?" Ezra gave a broken hitch, looking up with inflamed eyes.

"Allergy time," Hera warned Kanan. She crawled to her feet and stretched. "I'll find the stim shots."

"You with us, Ezra?" Kanan asked, pressing his hand against the padawan's slick brow.

"Kanan, I don'feel so…."

Hera shut her eyes as retching sounded behind her. From Kanan's pent sigh, he hadn't quite moved in time.

"Sorry," Ezra mumbled.

"It's fine, kid. Come on; you can sleep in my room until you feel better."

"Head's fuzzy," Ezra groaned. "Think I said something…. Hurts…."

"Mynock and helium reaction. You're past the worst of it."

"What'd I say?" Ezra lisped.

"Nothing beyond the usual cantankerous gibberish. Just close your eyes, kid."

"Don't hate you…." Ezra murmured.

Shaking her head, Hera rifled through the med-kit. Chopper crept from the corner and bumped incessantly against her leg.

"Not a word," Hera warned. Sighing, she crouched beside the droid and stroked his head. "What am I going to do, Chop?"

Cover story. Hallucinations. She had spent her life acting; this should be simple.

"But what am I supposed to tell them?" Hera whispered.

Everything but the truth.

Ezra deserved a normal family.

It was the one thing the Ghost could never offer.

And that finishes this segment! Next arc is "Carbon", where Ezra stresses about these new developments and Darth Vader decides its time for another showdown. First chapter should be up soon. (If I can get away from prompts for other fics... I'm supposed to be working on the sixth arc, people!) XD

To Rebels-lover: Sure, I'll see what I can do. Do you have an actual fanfiction account, cause it'd be a lot easier to communicate via private message. ;)

Thank you to Midnight Luna, heartbreakerninja, Jessie K.I., Ichichi05, Valkyrie-Sythe, AzulaBlue92, Firehawk720, Rebels-lover, Angela, and Guest for leaving feedback on the last chapter, and thank you to those who reviewed previous chapters after the acknowledgements!