(A/N)- I swear this chapter was much shorter when I did my first pass on it, lol. Leave it to me to just keep adding bits and dialogue exchanges and expanding scenes longer and longer. But I mean, that's basically been my approach to the whole AU so really we're par for the course here.

Anyway...

Disclaimer: One last time peeps, I don't own Star Wars, I just play with it in my spare time.

Mending

"Three, six, one, five!" Kanan called out, his lightsaber making contact with Ezra's with a tinny crackling burst.

Ezra moved through the forms seamlessly, blocking each of Kanan's strikes with a practiced ease.

"Good," Kanan said. "Faster! Three, six, one, five!"

Ezra's teeth clenched a bit and his eyes furrowed in concentration as he tried to keep up with the older Jedi.

"Good. Again!"

They repeated the set a couple more times at the same intense speed. Ezra matched Kanan a little better each round. When Kanan thought Ezra had the movements perfected, he changed the next set up a bit, adding three more attacks and three more defensive forms for Ezra to take to block him.

"Three, six, one, five, one, five, two!" he called out.

Ezra's eyes widened a fraction but he betrayed no surprise otherwise, immediately shifting into the new positions. He stumbled a bit on the last step, and quickly straightened up, hoping Kanan hadn't noticed.

But of course the awkward shuffle of his feet had already given him away.

"Almost. Watch your footing," Kanan said.

"Sorry," Ezra muttered, grimacing.

"Again!"

He deflected perfectly the next time.

Kanan paused a moment, stepping back, listening to the sound of Ezra's heavy panting. "We've been at this a while," he observed. He deactivated his saber. "Why don't we take a break?" he offered with a smile.

Ezra was too breathless to say anything more than a quick, grateful, "Yeah, okay." He powered down his saber, wiping his forehead with the back of one hand as he clipped it to his belt. He started moving towards the ladder that led up into the cockpit

He felt Kanan's arm land around his shoulders suddenly and glanced up to see his master looking warmly at him.

"What?" he asked.

"You've improved so much," Kanan told him, proudly. "I wonder how long I can keep up with you."

Ezra grinned at that. "Getting old, Master?" he quipped.

Kanan released him and reached for the rungs of the ladder. "Well, you know..." he bantered back. "War wounds acting up, joints getting creaky, eyes not working the way they used to."

Ezra flinched at the joke and muffled a groan. "Kanan, that's not funny," he whined.

Kanan paused on the ladder and pinched a bit of air between his fingers. "It's a little funny," he insisted.

"No it... it really isn't," Ezra argued, his face twisting as he followed the older Jedi up into the cockpit.

"Says the kid whose sense of humor is darker than the void of space."

This time Ezra did chuckle. Kanan had a point there.

The two of them stepped down the hallway and entered the common room, where Zeb, Hera, and Rex were gathered around the holotable. Sabine was spray-painting something on a wall in the corner. They all looked up as the two Jedi entered.

"Ezra!" Hera called, getting up and crossing to him with a smile. "I was just about to come looking for you."

"Phantom II need to be scrubbed again?" Ezra guessed.

"I just got the report from Dr. Leslynn," Hera said.

His heart stuttered a little bit. Nervous silt began to crawl at the bottom of his stomach. There was a breath of anticipation passing through him.

Hera was oblivious as she finished. "She's given you the go. She says you're all clear to return to active duty."

Ezra blinked in surprise at that. "She... did?"

The Twi'lek pilot nodded. "There's a mission ready for you if you want in on it," she told him.

"Gonna be a real popper!" Rex said, laughing a bit. "Kalani says he found some old CIS broadcasting equipment out near the Rishi Maze. Wants to bring it back to us, see if we can salvage any parts from it." The old clone shook his head. "Never thought I'd see the day when a clanker offered us his spare parts!"

Zeb grinned, ribbing Rex's shoulder good-naturedly before looking to Ezra. "What d'you say, kid?" he asked. "You wanna come?"

"I..." Ezra trailed off, hesitating.

Sabine's spray nozzle stopped a moment as she looked up in concern, and Ezra felt Kanan's gentle nudge on his mind through the Force. Hera's smile began to dim.

Ezra shook himself, swallowing the uncomfortable feelings in his throat, raising his head with a smile of his own.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm game."

-SWR-

"We were supposed to leave for the mission ten minutes ago, where is he?" Rex grumbled, some hours later when the strike team was gathering in the cargo hold. He walked across the hold and called up the ladder. "Hey Hera! Thought the kid said he wanted in on this one?"

Her voice came down the hole a bit muffled. It sounded like she was under the console working on something. "Not now, Rex!" she yelled. "I'm busy!"

Rex squinted, trying to discern the winching tool sounds from each other. "Are you taking the engine relay apart?" he wondered aloud, incredulous.

Zeb scratched behind one of his ears. "You think 'e ran off again?" he asked aside to Kanan.

"He didn't run off," Kanan said automatically, eyes closed and tuned in to the Force. "Feels like he's in the usual spot."

"Oh, his 'brooding corner', of course," Zeb grumbled with a tired eye-roll.

Kanan pushed off the crate he was leaning on, sliding his mask on over his face. "I'll go talk to him."

"No, let me," Sabine said, already moving past him to the ramp. "I think I know what's bothering him." A flush of wind lifted her hair briefly as she trotted out into the open air.

She hurried past the pilots and droids, weaving around other ships as she made her way.

-SWR-

She found him shortly, sitting with his arms wrapped around his knees and staring into the trees.

"Hey," she called.

He looked up, a bit startled, at the sound of her voice. "Oh! Sabine." Turning forward again he resumed his former slouch. "Hey," he mumbled.

Had not been expecting her, she figured. She crossed her arms as she walked up.

"Everyone else is ready to go and waiting for you," she told him. She stopped just shy of him, a little behind and to the left. "You getting cold feet?" she asked.

She didn't know if he was going to answer for a long moment, but then he gave a heavy sigh.

"Just... just go ahead and tell them I'm not coming," he said miserably.

"Now why would I do that?" she questioned, deliberately making a show of sitting down next to him.

"Sabine—" he started, frustrated.

"Three hours ago you were whining to me about how bored you were and now when you have a chance for a little excitement you're just going to pass it up?" she demanded. She tried to soften her words with a playful nudge against his arm.

He had no reaction to her gesture, except to pull away slightly. "They're better off without me along. If I go I'll just ruin the mission," he said, eyes downcast, muttering his words into his arms.

Sobering, Sabine's smile faded. "What makes you think that?" she asked softly.

"Uh, remember what happened the last time I was allowed on-mission?" he snapped, his eyes flashing hot at the memory. "I messed up everything. If I go back out there the same thing will happen and—"

He broke off, his voice beginning to strain. Sabine watched in alarm as he wiped harshly at his eyes.

"—and I'll just disappoint everyone again," Ezra finished. "It's... it's better that I just... stay here..." His voice was dropping lower, full of intense self-hatred. "...where I can't mess things up." He curled smaller into himself, his face tight.

Sabine felt a flash of hot fury course through her. Oh no you don't, Ezra Bridger, she thought furiously. Don't you dare think about yourself that way!

She wound up and punched him hard in the arm.

"Ow!" he protested, gaping at her with a scandalized expression and rubbing his shoulder fiercely. "What was that for?!"

"Are you gonna stop feeling sorry for yourself or am I gonna have to beat some self-worth back into you?" she sniped at him. He was still staring at her, bewildered, as she grabbed his elbow firmly. "You don't ever," she emphasized, "say those kinds of things about yourself again." She let go, so she could use her hands to gesture. "So you screwed up a mission. Wouldn't be the first time, won't be the last. You wanna know how many ops I busted up when I first started?"

"...Three?" Ezra guessed, still looking at her with confusion.

She smirked. "Try fifteen," she said. She jabbed a thumb at herself. "My issue was that I didn't trust anyone. I kept thinking any moment Kanan or Hera would turn around and make me..." She turned her face aside, flushing with some embarrassment at what she was about to confess she had once believed. "...blow up a civilian administrative building or... use my aerosol paint as some kind of airborne toxin or something."

He gawped at that, eyes widening with offended horror. "Why would you even think they'd do that?" he said.

Sabine nodded vigorously. "Exactly! You think your fears are any less irrational than mine were?" she asked.

He didn't look quite so certain of it now. "Well..." he stammered.

She put her hand on his shoulder—gently this time. "You might screw up, or you might not. Either way, we'll roll with the punches as they come, okay? Like we always do," she said, her voice gentle. "Honestly, what's the worst that could happen?"

His smile was grim, the look in his eyes deadened and numb. "Troopers could get me," he pointed out, quietly. "They could take me away again. Put me back on one of those tables. Make me tell them everything."

Sabine's heart twisted silently. Her hand moved up to the back of Ezra's neck, tightening on his collar. She shifted around to face him better, look him right in the eyes with all seriousness.

"Ezra... you know that none of us are letting the Imps get their hands on you ever again, right?" she asked him softly. "No matter what happens, if it looks like you might be in danger, we'd drop everything and screw the mission to make sure you're safe? That you're more important to us than anything we could do for the Rebellion?" she promised.

He dropped his eyes. "I know."

"Then what's the problem?"

"It's just..." He struggled with his words a moment, then gave an aggravated sigh. "I'm supposed to be the one protecting all of you."

Her lips twitched at that, smile pulling at the corners. Stubborn Jedi idiot.

"We'll protect each other. How about that?" she offered.

His face finally broke into a smile at that, weight seeming to lift off his shoulders.

"Sounds fair," he agreed.

Grinning, she pulled back and stood up, offering him her hand. "C'mon," she said. "Let's not keep everyone waiting."

He reached up, putting his palm in hers and letting her pull him to his feet.

-SWR-

The retrieval went off without a hitch. Kalani was delighted to see Ezra again and rattled off statistics and data points from old CIS battles against Jedi-led clone troops, Ezra listening with rapt attention and asking dozens of questions about the various Jedi Kalani had encountered. Not to be outdone, Rex told a few of his own stories as well.

Ezra's head was still buzzing with all the history he'd learned when they returned to Yavin IV, docking the Phantom II in its socket and hauling bundles of scrap metal and wires and bits of old transmitters down the ladder.

As they were moving it, Ezra tilted his head. Something felt... off. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

The ship seemed... quieter.

Rex brought the last bundle down from the shuttle, debating something heatedly with Kanan as he did so and Ezra wandered off, moving into the junction and then down the hallway towards the cockpit.

He still couldn't figure out what it was.

He stepped into the cockpit, his eyes scrunched pensively.

"Hera?"

She was still under the naviconsole, her legs sticking out and her head hidden from sight, though it sounded like she was finishing up, putting panels back together.

"Hmm?" she voiced from her position.

Ezra squinted around the room, trying to find something out of place. "Is there something... different? With the Ghost?"

There was a click as a final panel was fitted into place.

"What do you mean?" asked Hera.

"I'm not sure," Ezra answered honestly. "Something... something just feels different or sounds differe—"

He stopped talking, his eyes widening. He turned his head, his ears straining, searching for the familiar mechanical pitch that signified the Ghost's environmental systems were active.

The air was flowing, he could feel it on his face and through the Force, but the too-shrill edge that he hated, that called forth echoes from his memory...

It was gone.

Nowhere to be heard.

His mouth fell open slightly and he gaped at Hera, just now pulling herself out from under the console.

"Did... did you change the pitch of the air filtration system?" he asked.

Hera didn't look at him, wiping her hands off nonchalantly. "Don't know what you're talking about," she denied.

She was nearly bowled over as Ezra's arms flung around her, the boy burying his face against her shoulder.

"Thank you," he whispered tremulously.

Her hands came up, tucking him tighter into her embrace, and she pressed a kiss to his temple. "Shh, shh, you don't have to thank me," she whispered back. "I understand."

Ezra pulled back, giving a happy sob, smearing away the tears gathering in his eyes. "I can't believe... Hera, how do I repay you for something like this?" he said.

"You don't have to repay me, Ezra," she told him, hands on his shoulders and squeezing. "Just promise me you'll be here in the morning."

He nodded quickly. With the Ghost's ambient air at a quieter pitch, he felt like something had cleared. The buzzing in his mind was farther away than ever. "I promise," he told her.

She smiled warmly. "Are you hungry? I've made some tuberoot soup."

He laughed lightly, shaking his head, the sheer relief still pinging through him. "I think I'll take that offer," he said.

Hera squeezed his shoulders one last time and then let him go, and he almost stumbled as hurried back down the hall with a lightness that he couldn't believe.

-SWR-

He slept soundlessly, without nightmares, for the first time in ages.

(A/N)- As always, one last time for this fic, your ever-present chapter notes!

1. The scene of Kanan and Ezra lightsaber training together was one I added. I think originally I just had Hera dropping the news on Ezra. I like it better this way, gives us all another nice little bit of Kanan-Ezra interaction before we close out.

2. And besides, I had to have Kanan make at least one blind joke. I'm still kinda bummed we missed out on that when Season Three came around, the fandom was having a blast having Kanan be all self-deprecating and hilarious that way.

3. Yeah, the scene with Sabine and Ezra was originally a lot shorter too and just kinda snowballed. Cripes I love their interaction, someone help me.

4. Protective Sabine is best Sabine. :)

5. And Hera finally does something about that pesky air system! Probably won't stop the nightmares completely but at least it won't sound like the IT-O droid when he wakes up now.

And with that, we come to the conclusion! Thank you all for joining me on Ezra's road to recovery—he's not quite there fully yet, but he's making progress.

There is a third fic planned for this AU (and technically a fourth but one thing at a time) but I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to publish it. I'm hoping to have a good chunk of it pre-written before I start uploading, so I can keep to a consistent update schedule. Hopefully I'll have it started by summer.

Thank you again for reading! I'll see you next time.