A/N: Hey everyone! Decided to try my hand at a SWR fic! It will only be a couple chapters long, but I really love these characters, they have so much potential and I'd love to see them develop and become more well-rounded members of the SWEU. Anyhoo, just wanted to warn that there is mention of death in this fic. Not a major character and nothing extremely graphic, but if you're squeamish you probably wanna turn back now. Thanks for reading and don't forget to follow, favorite, and review!

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, story, etc, blah blah blah, if I did why would I be here?

Ezra Bridger was no stranger to death.

Growing up on the streets under the harsh rule of the Empire, one becomes quite hardened towards it. Starvation, exposure, even pure, senseless, and unprovoked brutality were just facts of life. Therefore, it wasn't uncommon to turn down the wrong alley and see the gruesome remains of a former friend or neighbor. It was the Universe they lived it. So naturally, one learns not to spend too much time worrying about the corpses on the street, lest you run the risk of becoming one yourself.

It was empathy or survival, and survival ultimately won.

Throughout the years, Ezra had seen a lot. The Ghost crew had been to some of the worst the war-torn corners of the Galaxy had to offer. Ezra had seen teammates, fellow rebels, falling out of the sky in hideous balls of embers. There wouldn't even be a body to bury. It was horrifying, but he felt confident that there was nothing else life could throw at him that he couldn't handle.

But for some reason, nothing could have prepared Ezra for the sight laid out before him.

The body of a Mirialan woman, beaten and battered beyond recognition sat on the side of the street, hastily pushed into a narrow alley and twisted into an unnatural position. If he had to guess, Ezra would say it was probably just a poor sap who got caught committing some petty crime by some imperial sleemo who just happened to be having a bad day. Nothing he hadn't seen before. But it wasn't the body that bothered him.

At least not her body.

Clinging to the young woman's chest in innocent slumber, was an infant. A baby boy, judging by the dirty blue blanket draped around him. He couldn't have been more than a few months old, but he was already sporting a shock of black hair that was sticking out from underneath his dressings.

The boy just lay there, seemingly unaware of the fact that the chest he clung to so dearly was no longer rising and falling; the breath of life having left it long ago.

Every sensible instinct Ezra had urged him to keep walking; to ignore the sight before him and keep moving. Let someone else deal with… this. Besides, his crew was expecting him to arrive back at the Ghost any minute now and he was told to avoid creating any problems while he was out on his own. They had just arrived in this town and wanted to avoid attention, negative or positive, for as long as possible. Not that Ezra would obey. When did he ever obey?

But this was different.

Ezra knew what it was like to be the little boy sleeping before him. He knew what it was like to be left alone, too young to fully understand why or how. And he knew how much it would hurt when people passed by him on the streets, knowing full well that he was suffering and not even sparing a sideways glance.

Ezra hesitantly approached the child, who just recently had begun to stir. His mind was full of doubt. It didn't make sense. Why would the empire spare this child, but not their mother? How could anyone leave a child alone to suffer like this? Hell, as much as he hated to think it, killing the kid would be more humane than this.

It took every ounce of focus he could muster just to control his anger and sorrow and make peace with what he saw before him.

With a sharp inhale, Ezra crouched down beside the dilapidated figure and carefully peeled back the blanket that had been shielding the small boy from the harsh reality around him. A pair of tired, brown eyes blinked open at the gesture, quickly overflowing with tears as the child began to wail from being awakened.

Ezra backed away in fear. He had very little experience with infants, and he had no idea how to react to this tiny body crying in front of him.

"H-Hey," he stuttered, slowly re-approaching the boy, "It's okay, it's gonna be okay." Checking over his shoulder, hoping ever so slightly that someone would object and take this burden away from him, Ezra finally reached down and gathered the child into his arms. The child continued to wail as the teenaged boy slowly brought the infant to his chest, rocking him gently.

At his side, Ezra heard his comlink start to go off. 'Crap,' he thought to himself. He had been due back at the Ghost awhile ago now, and he could practically sense the crew's collective irritation through the quiet static on his belt.

"Spector Six, you're late for rendezvous. Do you copy? What's your status?" Hera's voice sounded through the small device, a mixture of worry and sass backing her tone.

"Spector Six here, I've run into a slight…. Complication…." the teen replied, trying to think of how in the universe he'd explain this one.

"What do you mean 'complication'?" This time it was the voice of his master coming through, his exasperation clearly evident.

"Welllll….." he replied, still attempting to appease the crying child in his arms.

"Spector Six, an entire fleet of Stormtroopers are headed in your direction for their nightly patr- Is that a baby I hear?" Kanan cried. "Ezra, what's going on? Why do you have a baby with you?"

"Look, long story..." Ezra sighed. "Just meet me on the edge of town in five. I might be bringing a guest…" he said as he scrambled to his feet and began to move forwards, infant held tightly to his chest.

"'Guest'?! Ezra what are yo-" Ezra switched off the comlink before he could be questioned further. His number one priority now was getting back to the Ghost in one piece. He could already hear the clanking of armor, signalling the rapidly approaching Stormtroopers he was warned about.

"Great…" he mumbled to himself as he adjusted the child in his arms to a more secure position and took off running.

The extra weight wasn't the problem. Ezra was more than capable of running with an extra 10 pounds as if it were nothing, but the sheer vulnerability of one so small forced the young Jedi to slow his pace considerably. The continued protests of the child worried him as well. At this rate, bucketheads were bound to catch up with them eventually and he was as good as captured. So, Ezra did what he does best: he got crafty.

As the sounds of marching troops approached at an alarming rate, Ezra ducked down an alley, looking for a quick escape route. If he could just get up on that fence, he could make his way to the rooftops and hide behind the external ventilation system until the troops past. But the child in his arms would make it rather difficult to climb. Ezra weighed his options for a moment before eventually setting the child down for a moment while he attempted to form a makeshift sling from his overshirt. It wasn't perfect ny any means, and the total lack of security it provided worried the teen, but it was the best he could do in such a short time.

Ezra managed to scramble up to the roof just in time for the troops to make their rounds down the street. Thankfully, the soldiers only paused for a moment at the sound of the infant's wails; quickly giving up on investigating further after the source of the noise could not be easily found.

Ezra let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding as the troops finally passed and he was free to make his way back to the streets. Nightfall had just begun to approach and daylight was quickly fading. By the time he made it back to the Ghost, it was almost pitch black outside and the child secured hastily against his body had finally fallen asleep. Ezra was greeted by the soft, glowing light of the Ghost's port and the faded silhouettes of his crew standing nearby.

Hera was the first to approach. "Where have you been?!" she scolded with a mixture of anger and relief. "We were worried sick! We thought you had been captured! Or-" she was quickly cut off by the wailing of the now-awake child strapped to her youngest crew member's chest. Hera was stunned silent.

"Oi, please don't tell me that's what I think it is," Zeb growled, slowly making his way towards the three of them.

"Ezra…" Kanan approached, arms crossed and brows furrowed, "You've got some explaining to do…."

A/N: Thanks for reading and don't forget to follow/bookmark!