I'm posting this from the afterlife. That episode killed me with happiness and feels. Enjoy this little fluffy oneshot I wrote! Just so you know, the only tie this has to Nightfall is the stuffed Lothcat. Other than that, this has nothing to do with Nightfall.

The heating system on the Ghost was busted. Thankfully, the crew was on base so there would be no freezing to death, but the ship was cold that night. Hera had handed out blankets, which helped a great deal. Except it couldn't help Ezra.

Ezra couldn't sleep. He felt cold, as if there was a dark sider like Maul nearby. The thought of Maul having nearly killed his family terrified him, and Ezra felt his chest start to tighten. He was shivering. His eyes were burning. Ezra curled up into a tiny ball and burrowed himself under the blanket as much as he could. Soon, he found himself sucking in breaths between his teeth as he desperately tried to avoid having a full blown panic attack. He had the stuffed cat that Hera gave him as a late birthday present, but even that wasn't helping.

Sleep was obviously out of the question. He wanted to go to someone, but it would be stupid. He was seventeen. This shouldn't have bothered him. With a soft sigh, Ezra sat up and quietly climbed out of bed. He headed to the common room, blanket wrapped tightly around him and cat in his arms.

Kanan woke up to a disturbance in the Force. He sat up and shuddered. The fear was rolling off of Ezra in waves. Was he having a nightmare? Why wasn't Zeb rushing into the room, telling Kanan to get his padawan under control? Kanan tapped into the Force, trying to check on his padawan before taking action.

As Ezra sat in the common room, curled up in a ball, he felt Kanan probe him through the Force.

"Karabast..."

Ezra immediately raised his mental shields.

"I'm fine."

Karabast. Now Kanan thought something was wrong and he would have to explain this weird fear of the cold. It was fine on the moon where Zeb was stranded. It was fine on Lothal during the cold winters. Why wasn't it fine now? Ezra buried his face and began rocking himself back and forth to calm himself down. He clamped his hands over his ears, trying desperately to conceal his fear.

"I'm fine."

Kanan sighed. Ezra wasn't fine. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and sensed his way to the door. He made his way to the common room and the waves of fear became so intense that Kanan nearly blacked out.

"Ezra?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine," Ezra mumbled. Kanan sighed sadly and sat down next to Ezra. He could feel the fabric of the seat move, as if Ezra was rocking himself back and forth.

"What is it?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine."

Kanan draped one arm around Ezra and used the other to gently ease his hands off of his ears. "What it is Ezra? I know you're not fine."

Ezra shook his head. "It's stupid..." he mumbled.

"Ezra, if whatever is bugging you is causing a disturbance that bad, it's not stupid."

"It's..." Ezra's voice trailed off as the shivering renewed with full force. Kanan could feel him tense and unconsciously shift towards Kanan's body heat.

"The cold is scaring you..." Kanan breathed as the truth hit him.

Ezra flinched. "I told you it was stupid..." he mumbled. "I mean, I was fine before in the cold. I-I don't know why it's a problem now."

Kanan vaguely wondered where this fear of the cold came from. Did it come from Malachor? Did it come from Maul? Lothal is cold at night and even colder during the winter. Kanan remembered the night Ezra found out his parents had been killed. After crying himself out, he went to be alone. Kanan went over to speak to him a few minutes later. After their talk. Ezra fell asleep on the rock. Kanan remembered carrying him to the Phantom to get some rest. It was ice cold that night, not to mention Ezra was out in the freezing cold when they found Zeb on Geonosis's moon. The fear had to have developed just recently. It had to have been either Malachor or Maul recently reappearing. There was no other explanation. Either way, Kanan wasn't judging his padawan.

"When you used the holocron," Kanan asked, "did you feel cold then?"

"Only when I opened it for the first time. After that, I didn't feel anything," Ezra replied. "I think that was when it started. Malachor was so cold from the dark side that every time I felt cold..." Ezra's voice trailed off, but Kanan understood.

"I don't know how we can get you over that fear, or if we even can, but talking is always the first step."

"What's the second?" Ezra mumbled.

Kanan stood up. "Getting you warmed up. You need sleep and you're so freaked out that you can't."

"Kanan, I don't think sleep's going to be an option for me."

"Ezra, you're exhausted. I can sense it. Now make sure I find the closet."

They made their way to the closet and Kanan, after feeling for it, pulled down a blanket that had a small control panel on it.

"Hera didn't give this out because it's for emergencies only," Kanan explained. "It's the only one we have but I'm sure Hera will understand."

They returned to the common room and Ezra sat on the couch and picked up his cat where he had left him. He wrapped himself in the heating blanket and . "Just calm down," Kanan said softly. Ezra nodded and using his stuffed cat as a pillow, he laid his head on the table and closed his eyes. Kanan started rubbing Ezra's back soothingly. That did the trick. The blanket was so warm and he felt his fear evaporate. Soon, he was out like a light.

Kanan sighed in relief once he heard Ezra's breathing even out. Just as he was considering carrying Ezra back to his cabin, he heard the door open and sensed Hera entering. "Everything alright? Why is the heating blanket out?"

Kanan sighed. "Ezra was having trouble sleeping."

"Why? Did he tell you?"

"Hera," Kanan muttered, obviously troubled, "we need to fix the heating system and soon. I think Ezra may be frigophobic."

Hera raised an eyebrow. "He's afraid of the cold? We've done cold weather missions before and he was fine."

"Yeah," Kanan replied, "but we haven't done a cold weather mission since Malachor."

"Oh..." Hera seemed to understand instantly. "What are we going to do?"

Kanan sighed. "I don't know. I don't know how to fix a fear. We're hardwired to remember fear best so it's not like he's going to just get over it. Hera, I didn't need to see to know how terrified he was. It was like a tidal wave in the Force."

Hera nodded. "I'll see what I can do to avoid cold weather missions. I'll also invest in more advanced cold weather gear for him in case it becomes unavoidable. We can help him Kanan. It's just going to take some time." Kanan nodded, resting his hand on Ezra's back. "Thank you Hera. What time is it?"

"About 0545 hours," Hera replied. "There's no mission tomorrow so we're sleeping in."

"I should probably get him somewhere more comfortable," Kanan said softly. "Otherwise his back's going to hurt. Keeping the blanket wrapped around his padawan, Kanan lifted him up and put him over his shoulder. Ezra stirred slightly, causing both the adults to freeze. Kanan sensed Ezra unconsciously probe for any danger. Upon realizing he was safe, Ezra went right back to sleep.

"Where are you going to take him?" Hera asked.

"My room," Kanan replied. "It's cold, but not as cold as Zeb's room because of the engine."

"Do you need some help?" Hera asked.

"Could you take his cat?" Kanan replied.

"Sure," Hera agreed. She picked up Ezra's stuffed cat and followed Kanan to his cabin. When she saw Kanan put Ezra down on his bunk, she immediately pulled down the bedroll from the top bunk.

"Night, love," Hera said softly. Kanan turned to her and the two shared a kiss before Hera left the room. Kanan then turned to the sleeping teenager sprawled out on the bed. He felt around for the edge of the blanket before adjusting it, making sure it was nice and warm so Ezra wouldn't have another panic attack. "Sleep well, Ezra," Kanan whispered before laying down himself.

It took him a while to fall back asleep. All Kanan could think of was how scared Ezra was. Fear of the cold. It was another scar left by Malachor, and the mess with Maul the other day wasn't helping things.

Kanan let out a sigh. He would help his padawan. Until he could help Ezra get over his fear, he would do whatever it took to keep Ezra from being that frightened ever again. Kanan wasn't there for Ezra when he needed to be. He was never going to leave Ezra alone again.

Did I do good?