AN: last chapter was a bit of a filler, so here's a set up for an adventure for you. Thanks for reviewing guys, y'all are the best!

BaconBabe: haha! I like long chapters too… of course, last chapter was very short, and this one isn't much longer. I've, weirdly enough, had a busy week, but I wanted to get something out so y'all didn't forget about me!

Cabin Fever

So, for whatever reason, Mando wanted me here, I was going to make the best of it, but dragging my feet to the bunk beds, I wished someone could carry me like I was carrying the sleepy baby in my arms. Before I left him in the kitchen, Mando informed me where the child slept, in a cubby in the wall that had a door, and I wasn't too fond of that. I brought the basket he was sitting in earlier, grabbed the blanket from where he normally slept, and took the bottom sheet off my mattress. He looked pretty comfy by the time I was done. I needed to make a list of things to pick up once we finally land. Baby blankets, baby toys, a mirror…

Our "bedroom" was the size of the two single beds cubbies with a drawer underneath. I put Baby closest to the back wall, so hopefully, I could hear him if he tried to get up. Once he was sleeping, I took in my bed.

It was small. Thankfully I wasn't very tall, but Mando was, and I didn't know how he fit. I didn't have my bottom sheet anymore, so it was just the tough plastic covering. It was old, there were cracks and they poked me, causing me to shift to find a spot that they weren't there. The blankets were also kind of musty like they've laid here unused for a long time. I tried shaking them out, but it didn't do much. I added new blankets for me to my mental shopping list. I wondered what state Mando's blankets were, but I was already settled in my bed, so I wasn't going to check.

My body was physically tired, but it turned out my brain wasn't. It played the last day over and over in my head. It thought about how Mom was eating dinner by herself and how she was cleaning up by herself and how she had no one to say goodnight to.

It was still going when Mando got into his bed. I rolled on my side towards the wall, so I didn't have the urge to look at him, but then the crack in the plastic stabbed my hip, so I turned back.

He was silent over on his side, but since he had just laid down, I was sure he was still awake, but nonetheless, I asked, "Hey, you up?"

I heard him sigh, before saying, "Wish I wasn't."

"Yeah, you probably should because I have some more questions for you," I informed him, as he didn't necessarily didn't sound tired. It was really hard to tell with the filter his voice went through.

"I can't wait," He replied, sarcastically, and I smiled.

"Sarcasm is the best way to get along with me," I replied, before feeling the need to explain, "I need a distraction." I pulled the blanket up to my chin, trying to get comfortable.

"So, I feel like we should just get the question out of the way. The helmet never comes off?" I began, my fingers playing with the tip of the blanket. It was scratchy and kind of itchy in my skin.

"The helmet never comes off," Mando answered, his tone turning airy like he might be slightly exasperated with this question, but I hadn't got my full answer yet.

"But what if you like a girl and that girl likes you-" I tried again, but his answer was ready.

"The helmet never comes off."

"But kissing is such a fundamental part-" I began, thinking back to Toro, to the guy before that, Billei or something like that. Tricks you could do with your mouth kinda helped the situation along.

"I have hands," Mando said, his voice turning light, like he may have been smiling… or probably more so, smirking. I flushed, suddenly so thankful the lights in the room were turned off.

I paused, with a slight intake of breath, suddenly feeling some sort of way. "Well, I hadn't wanted to sleep with you till you said that."

"Not in front of the child," Mando echoed my words from earlier and was definitely smirking now.

"Shut up, before I slap that look off your face," I muttered, but I was smiling too.

There was a pause and I wondered if our conversation was over. Then he cleared his voice, "You done now?" His tone had turned dry again and suddenly I felt uncomfortable. Talking about his sex life? Perfectly fine. Talking about wanting him to stop smiling? Not okay. Got it.

"I can be," I answered with a sigh, trying to act like I didn't feel the vibe shift in the room.

The room got quiet again and I laid there, wide awake.

A small squeal suddenly broke the silence and I was standing up before making the conscious decision to do so. I looked at the baby, sitting up in his makeshift bed, eyes wide with terror, and my heart exploded in my chest. I dashed over, squatting in front of him, Mando right behind me.

"Aw, Baby, did you have a bad dream?" I reached my hands out to pick him up and he opened his, with tiny little whimpers. I held him close and rubbed his back, till his stiff body relaxed in my arms.

"He's never done that before," Mando murmured as we went back to our beds. I sat on the edge with the child. I gently rocked him in my arms.

"Well, this life can be a lot for a child," I replied, softly.

"I know. I tried to leave him somewhere before I met you. On a farm with kids his own age," He said, his voice dropping low, and if I wasn't mistaken, a little sad. Then he added, his tone going up a few degrees, like he was hopeful, "But realized I could bring someone with us who could give him as much as a normal life as possible. And with you, I didn't have to explain everything all over again or lie."

So, I got some clarity there as to why I was here. Good to know.

"You're succeeding. I couldn't provide that for him," Mando nodded at me, rocking Baby in my arms. A motherly touch, I suppose.

"You would have figured it out," I responded, scooting back in the bed more, and throwing my legs back on. "Here, sweetheart, you can sleep with me." I tucked him next to me and the wall, hoping he wouldn't get caught on the cracks in the bed. "We need to go shopping soon," I added, settling in next to the child. He cuddled into my side.

"Okay," he agreed, relaxing back in his own bed.

The warmth of the baby next to me soothed my racing mind and tiredness started winning over.

Four days later, we haven't made port anywhere. I was getting really sick of looking at Mando's stupid face and the stupid cockpit and the stupid bedroom and the stupid kitchen where I've made a corner into a playroom. The only thing that wasn't stupid was the baby. I will support that child till he's dying day, man, he has 100% stolen my heart.

I'm honestly not sure how I've gotten through four days because when the day starts it feels like it's never going to stop. The morning has become a free play with Baby and me. I go through Mando's somewhat cluttered shelves and find things that slightly resemble a baby toy. So far, he has a spoon, a remote control with no batteries in it, and a small satchel to put his toys in. He plays with them just like a toddler would, hitting, babbling away, though on the second day I learned he was 50 years old. My mouth literally dropped open.

I'm trying to teach him words, but it's not going very well. One time, I thought he said "Esh" when I was trying to get him to say EJ, but no matter how much encouragement I give him, he hasn't said it again.

Then it's lunch. Lunch and dinner we get soup by boiling water and dumping a packet of dry ingredients in it. It's getting old real fast, but I'm not complaining. Nope. I'm here, that's all that matters. Though I look forward most to breakfast when we boil water and put oatmeal packets in it.

After lunch, Baby gets put in his crib for 'quiet time'. It doesn't matter if he sleeps, and sometimes he does, but he has to stay quiet and in bed for an hour. Mando thought it was silly, but a baby needs a schedule. Makes life so much easier… or so I'm told. I'm kinda winging this as I go along by conversations with neighbors or traveling families.

This is my favorite hour of the entire day. Don't get me wrong, I love time with Baby but this hour every afternoon is my time with Mando. He's been teaching me self-defense and basically all I've learned in these four days so far is to hit him high and kick him low and run. To trust my instincts and so far yes, all my instincts say to run when Mando is coming at me. He swears he's not going to actually hurt me, but I still flinch every time he comes running. So, that's how that's going… but I love it. Mando is a good teacher. He hasn't once been annoyed at my lack of progress. He's promised once I've mastered these two moves and decide I'm comfortable enough to throw a punch when he comes running at me, he'll show me more. Promised me like he was sure I would one day fight back. Like he believed in me. And I knew sometime soon I would because of that.

Then Baby wakes up and we play more and then we eat dinner and then the baby gets a bath and goes to bed soon after. Not quite the adventure I thought I was going on.

Falling asleep is easier. The baby is already sleeping when I get into bed, but Mando is eating/whatever he does by himself. Sometimes it's an hour and sometimes it's four hours before he comes to bed.

And then the day repeats.

On the sixth morning, I said, "So, I'm the nanny, Mando…"

We were sitting in the cockpit. I laid sideways over one of the passenger seats, my legs dangling over the arm. It was kind of cutting into the back of my knees, but there was no position at this point my body didn't like. Baby was sitting on the floor, playing with the ball-shaped tip of a control.

Mando didn't say anything, as he probably could tell I had more to add, "Then get out of this ship so I can do my job!"

"Need a job," He answered with a sigh, and I sighed right back because we didn't need a job. We had plenty of money but because that money was in an account under my name, Mando refused to use it for the ship or the baby.

"You know what? A couple years ago a traveler told me about a… competition. On Aério. There's a dragon to defeat and everything! Winner gets a cash prize and a medal," I suddenly remembered. The dude came into town five… six years ago? Pretty sure his name started with a P but he had a way about him where names weren't important. I'm not even sure he asked me for mine.

He looked back at me, and I just knew his eyebrow was raised, doubting my words. We have the same sort of sarcastic, dry humor, and it was like a game. "I'm serious. I'm not just saying it to get off this ship. I'm saying it because also the truth," I replied earnestly. "His name started with a P… or maybe a K. He had piercing blue eyes and dark hair and he always had this sultry smile- oooh, maybe you could do the challenge and I could go visit him and have a little fun-" but he cut off my daydreaming.

"Not in front of the child," Mando responded, his eye roll in the tone of his voice. Sometimes deciphering his tones gave me a headache, but his humor was pretty easy to recognize.

"I feel like I deserve a day off," I whined, only half-way joking.

"You haven't even done any nannying yet," Mando echoed my words from earlier, and I imagined a smirk on his stupid face. I stuck my tongue out at him, causing him to let out a grunted 'heh', as close to a laugh as I've gotten. "Fine, Aério," he added, typing in coordinates on a computer screen.

"Yes!" I pumped my fist in the air. I stood up, stretching my bones, before snatching Baby up. I bounced him around and swung him up and down in my excitement, and not only had I been rewarded by Mando with getting off this ship, but I also received a deep belly laugh from the child that caused my heart to swell in response.