Taking In An Orphan

Chapter 6

“Hey, Sabine, do you have any smaller shirts and pants that Ezra could wear while his clothes are washing?” Kanan asked as Sabine followed him out of the common area. 

“Um, I might. I’ll go check.” Sabine hurried off to her room. 

“Okay, Ezra, we’re going to get you cleaned up.” As Kanan got soap and other supplies out, Ezra asked excitedly,

“Are we gonna see Uncle Tseebo?” 

“Ya, probably. If he still lives in the same spot, then we have a good chance of finding him.” Kanan hoped the empire hadn’t taken this man named Tseebo away. But another part of him hoped they couldn’t find Tseebo. Though this felt selfish, Kanan liked this poor, scarred, supposed-orphan boy he had saved. Kanan shook the thought out of his head. 

“Okay, take your clothes off, I’m going to have Sabine get them into the washer so they’ll be ready by the time we get to Tseebo’s.” Ezra hesitated, as Kanan thought he might. 

“Here, I’ll turn the other way while you change.” Kanan turned his back to Ezra. Ezra stared at Kanan’s head. He really wanted to get clean, but he was afraid that someone would hurt him when he was so exposed. But Ezra could tell that Kanan would never hurt him. Ezra slowly took off his ripped shirt and pants. 

“Okay, I’m ready,” Ezra said. Kanan turned back around and tried to mask the horror on his face. There were a few infected cuts that never healed and a load of old and new bruises on his stomach and arms. Ezra was so skinny that Kanan could easily see his ribs. There were scars littered all over his arms, legs, and stomach. On his back were two long gashes that had healed into scars. His face was a few shades darker than the rest of his body from all the dirt and dust on him. His dull blue hair hung limply over his head, looking like it had never been washed before. The poor child that Kanan had saved looked even smaller and more pitiful without his dirty clothes on. 

    Ezra crossed his arms over himself in a protective manner, used to getting beaten when exposed. Ezra looked expectantly at Kanan for his next instructions. When Kanan continued to stare at him, Ezra decided to move. 

He remembered when Uncle Tseebo used to give him baths, so he climbed into the tub and tried to turn on the water. Kanan seemed to come out of his stupor and he helped Ezra fill the tub with warm water. 

    There was a knock at the door and a voice called from the other side. 

    “I found a smaller shirt and some pants. I also found a rope to tie around the pants because they look way too big,” Sabine called from outside the door. Kanan went over and exchanged the dirty clothes for the clean ones. Then he went back to start to wash Ezra. 

    Kanan had never bathed a child before, so he didn’t really know what he was doing. Ezra was fascinated at how warm the water was. Uncle Tseebo only gave him cold baths because he couldn’t afford heated water. When all the dirt and grime was off his tan skin, Kanan started to shampoo Ezra’s blueish hair. He told Ezra to close his eyes so he could wash the soap out of his hair. As Kanan washed Ezra’s hair, the true dark blue color was revealed. Kanan knew that Sabine would love the natural color of Ezra’s hair. Kanan got out his little bottle of conditioner that he bought when they had enough credits and rubbed some into Ezra’s hair to make it smoother. Then, Ezra was all clean. 

    Ezra didn’t enjoy getting washed down, but Kanan’s hands were gentle and didn’t hurt him. He liked the feeling of the warm water and smell of the soap. It had been so long since his parents had bathed him that he forgot what it was like. Uncle Tseebo usually just made him stand in the tub and hosed him down every week or so. Ezra had hated that. 

    “Okay, it looks like we’re all done. Time to get out.” Ezra’s eyes saddened at the news that he would have to get out of the warm water, but he immediately obeyed and let Kanan wrap him up with a towel. 

    When Ezra was dried off, Kanan helped Ezra put on the new clothes. 

    Ezra had been wearing the same items of clothing for months, so it felt so strange to him to have new clothing on. And, even though they were way too big, Ezra marvelled at the kindness of the crew for lending him some clothes. Instead of the grimy and ripped empire’s clothes that he was used to wearing, Ezra got to wear a big orange shirt and blue pants. Kanan rolled up the sleeves and pant legs so Ezra could still move. A small piece of rope kept Ezra’s pants from falling down. Then, Kanan used his own hair brush to brush the kid’s blue hair so it wouldn’t get tangled.

    “Okay, I know that the clothes don't fit very well, but we will have your other clothes washed and dried soon and you can change back into them.” Kanan watched as Ezra shook his head. 

    “No, I like these clothes better.” Kanan chuckled and led the boy out of the refresher. 

    They met Hera in the cockpit. As she heard them come in, she turned around in the pilot’s seat. 

    “Hi Ezra, do you feel nice and clean?” Ezra nodded and went over to sit on her lap. Right when he made his way up, Chopper came buzzing over to meet their new ward. Ezra stiffened and started to shake as Chopper drew nearer. 

    “This is my droid, Chopper. Chopper, this is Ezra.” Ezra looked at the droid as it used its mechanical arm to wave. Ezra was still unsure. 

“Is he a good droid or bad droid?” Ezra asked. 

“Good droid.” Hera responded and she felt Ezra relax. The boy slowly reached out an arm and patted Chopper’s head. The droid spun around and warbled, making Ezra giggle. 

“We are going to land in just a few minutes, why don’t you go with Kanan and tell Zeb and Sabine that they need to get ready if they’re coming.” Ezra jumped up and took Kanan’s hand. Kanan led them through the common room and towards the hallway where the bedrooms were located.