Hope In The Face Of Fear!

Chapter 7: Kanan, Put The Gun Down

Kanan's POV:
I paced the kitchen with my hands on my hips. "Gah! What's taking him so long?!" I shouted, worried for my kid.

"Love, relax. The best thing you can do right now is give Ezra some space. He's been through a lot, and he can survive on his own" Hera soothed, standing up from the place she was sitting with her cup of late night coffee.

I sighed. "I know Hera. And I know he can defend himself, but he seems to find trouble much more quickly than others".

Suddenly the door burst open and Ezra appeared with a wild look in his eyes, alert and on guard.

"Ezra?" I question as he locks the door before moving to peek out of the window.

He was breathing heavily and his blue locks of hair where obscuring his eyes.

He turns to look at me. "Oh. Hey Kanan" he smiled sheepishly.

I cross my arms as a frown grows on my face. "Are you okay?" I hesitantly ask.

"Uh... yeah. Everything's fine" he then proceeded to head up the stairs.

"Ezra. If you've got a problem then you know you can tell me. Girls, homework, school, anything. Just talk to me" I pleaded.

He sighed. "Okay" he took a deep breath. "some crazy lady and her psycho brother are trying to kill me! Then they chased me all the way here" he freaked out, finally loosing his cool.

I stare blankly at him, my eyes widening.

"Okay" I breathed. "Not exactly the problem I was expecting" I replied, already running to the cupboard to retrieve my gun.

Ezra's POV:
Once Kanan came back he grabbed my by my shoulders. "Did they follow you all the way back?!"

"No? I don't think so. I mean they were originally but I think I lost them" I reply, but a rapid knocking on the door told me otherwise.

Chopper growled and Sabine and Zeb came running into the room before Kanan pushed all three of us kids closer to Hera.

Slowly... he opened the door.

"Ezra, my boy! you survived! Excellent!" Hondo cheered, looking right passed the officer with the gun and directly at me, with Mulch still at his side. He then looked confusingly at Kanan who still had a gun pointed right at Hondos chest. "Do you mind?" He asked confused.

"Kanan! It's okay. He's a friend, you can put the gun down" I jumped in, recovering from the shock.

"Wait" Sabine interrupted. "Isn't that the guy that works for that ridiculously suspicious shop?"

"That's him" I reply helpfully and Hondo looks hurt.

"Everything I do is perfectly legal!" He lied with his hand on his heart, offended.

I roll my eyes fondly.

"Ezra, we must go if you want to survive the night" Hondo says before grabbing me by the wrist but Kanan stepped between us.

"Woah woah woah. Ezra's not going anywhere with you. He's staying with us"

"Oh right right right. You are all welcome to come" Hondo smiled.

"That's not what I meant" Kanan frowned.

"He's a friend Kanan" I interrupt.

"Ezra, you shouldn't befriend dodgy men that turn up on your doorstep at night" Kanan tells me.

Hondo does a dramatic gasp. "Dodgy?! I am offended!"

Whilst Kanan and Hondo were squabbling I quickly made my way up to my room and grabbed my backpack and slipped my orange hoodie on before sitting on my bed.

I opened my backpack to find a picture of me Jai, Zare, Moreena and Oleg after the Jarrus' adopted me. I smiled fondly at the memory. That was the last time I had seen them.

I took a deep breath, before going back down the stairs towards the others.

"You show up at my house uninvited, wanting to take my son on some fool-hearty mission because you think the Imperials are still after him?!!" Kanan yells

"Yes, that is correct" he confirms as Chopper trots up to him and sits on Hondo's feet. "See?! Your dog trusts me!" He said whilst scratching Chopper behind the ears.

"Yeah, that's not a good thing" Sabine adds helpfully.

"Look guys. I have to do this. I NEED to do it. This is for more then just friends, it's about family" I say.

Kanan sighs. "Ezra. I'm not going to let you go galavanting off at night to force knows where. Let's just wait till the morning to figure out a plan.

I nod my head sadly as Kanan's voice left no room for argument. Hondo sighed. "If you change your mind you know where to find me" and with that he left with Mulch.

Everyone started heading to their rooms, but before I could, a warm and comforting hand found it's way to my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks.

"Ezra, I know you want to save your friends, but you need to remember that we're a family. We're there for one another. We love you. I love you. You're my son, and I want you to be safe. You understand?" Kanan spoke softly i a comforting and caring tone that warmed my core and tears welled in my eyes, and I knew I would regret what I had to do later"

"I know" I choked, and hugged him tightly and his arms blanketed around me. I felt safe. I felt wanted. I felt loved. But that is exactly the reason why I have to do this.

I returned to my room and collected a piece of paper and a pen.

If you're reading this then I owe you an explanation......

Once I finished the letter I carefully placed it on my bed, before taking another deep breathe, swinging my old backpack over my shoulder once again. "I'm sorry Kanan" I mumble quietly and begin climbing out the window and sliding down the drain pipe and running into the darkness to the night.