Before It All Began

Chapter 3

Early in the morning, Kanan was awoken by his social com buzzing; he looked over at his alarm clock to see it was five in the morning. Mentally groaning, the man answered it as quietly as he could as there was a still sleeping boy lay next to him "hello??" Kanan answered with his groggy voice with a hint of  annoyance "hey Kanan, sorry to call you so early but I just wanted to thank you for running the pub on your own" it was his boss!! "I'm back home now and I'm ready to return to my baby so you've got the next week off, starting today so don't come in later" that was a nice surprise "thanks boss, and I'm glad you're better now" he smiled at the thought of having an entire week off; those types of things were rare "it's no problem Kanan, besides, you need to spend some time with that son of yours". The Jedi's eyes widened from the mans words; did he hear that right?? "Em...come again sir??" he was so confused; why did his boss think he had a son?? "Your son, the boy you took to work yesterday" he explained "some of the locals came to visit me and told me about him, they didn't give a name though" it then hit the man. He was talking about Ezra!! He thought Ezra was his son!! Everyone in the pub thought Ezra was his son!! "Em...Ezra....his names Ezra" he managed to say before the two said goodbye and hung up. Kanan returned the com-link to the bed side table before looking over at the sleeping boy; he gently pulled him into his arms with a smile before falling back to sleep.

A few hours later, Ezra woke up to find himself tangled in his guardians arms; he hadn't felt so safe since...he couldn't even remember!! He hugged back at the man who - due to the action - began to stir. Upon seeing the small boy in his arms, Kanan began to stroke his fingers through Ezra's hair "morning kid" he greeted; Ezra looked up, his bright and electric blue eyes staring back at the man "morning da - Kanan". Ezra hurried to correct himself before he could mess up; the man gave a gentle smile as he spoke "hey Ezra, guess what??". The child smiled at the changed subject "my boss called earlier and has given me the week off" Ezra's entire face lit up with excitement; he was soon bouncing up and own on the bed which made Kanan laugh. Eventually, the bounced onto his knees "so what are we going to do for a week??" the man took a moment to think "hmm...I guess we'll see where the force takes us". Kanan realized his mistake; he had said force instead of wind!! Ezra froze on the spot, staring at his guardian "you know what the force is??" he asked; the man's eyes widened in utter shock "Ezra...do you know what the force is??". 

Hesitantly, the boy nodded "it's a soft humming...it tells me where to go, when danger is near" he explained "that's what my dad told me it was when I was younger" the man listened to everything the child had to say as he also explained that the soft humming had led him to the pub two days ago, to Kanan. "It makes me feel...safe, mum and dad used to always tell me to trust and listen to the humming" the man was in complete and utter shock "Ezra...can you jump high and run faster then most??" he asked earning a nod "and...can you move objects...without touching them??" once again, he received another nod but the child seemed sad "I don't like doing that, it's scary...sometimes I push people without meaning to....and I don't like it". The kid stared down at his lap as Kanan's gaze softened; he picked the boy up and embraced him. "Ezra...you don't have to be scared, the force is good...I'm like you kid, I can use it too" he stated "but you see, I was trained to control it....if you really want, I'll help you do the same". Kanan doesn't like using the force and all the other things involved due to Order 66....but Ezra needed him. Kanan knew he needed to face his past for Ezra, his Ezra.

The two soon ate some breakfast and got ready; they decided to go and buy Ezra some new clothes - he really needed them. So now they were in the market which was completely packed full of civilians; they had been there for two hours now and nothing bad had happened...yet. So far, they had bought a few different items of clothing to the kid but coming away from a stall, Kanan realized something...where was Ezra?! As he began to panic, the man scanned the near by area; the street was full of people and Ezra was only six years old. He frantically searched everywhere. With the missing child, he was rather scared. One minute he's with Kanan and the next he's being pushed away by a group of people moving in the crowded area. Beginning to panic, the boy furiously looked around before accidentally bumping into someone, forcing him to the floor; he looked to see it was a pretty female Twi'lek. She smiled down at the child, although she was clearly surprised "hello there, I'm sorry" she spoke in a soft and gentle voice as she helped the kid up to his feet "sorry, that was my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going" Ezra insisted as he patted his clothes down of dust and sand "I em...I lost my...my dad". The woman sent him a look of sympathy but held her smile "would you like some help with finding your dad??" she asked earning an eager nod "yes please!! His name is Kanan". She crouched down to the kids level "okay, my name is Hera by the way, what about you??" she asked as she held out her hand; he shook it happily "I'm Ezra". And off they went searching the street and calling out the mans name.

Back with Kanan, he was in complete panicked mode now; he even attempted to find his kid using the force but Ezra somehow had his mental shield up sky high so he couldn't sense his presence. All of a sudden, the man heard his name being yelled 'what the?!' was all he thought as he stun around, looking in the direction before realizing they it was two voices and that one of them was Ezra!! He began to race through the crowd before seeing his kid holding a green female Twi'lek's hand, and a beautiful Twi'lek at that in his mind. Kanan bolted towards them before picking up the boy and hugging him tightly "Ezra!! I was so worried!! Never ever do that to me again!!" he exclaimed as he looked over the six year old for any injuries "I'm fine Kanan, Hera took care of me" he reassured. Kanan gazed up at the woman with a smile "thank you for looking after him" she returned the kind gesture with ease "that's quite alright, Ezra's a lovely boy...I'm Hera Syndulla by the way" they shook hands "Kanan Jarrus". The two seemed to become lost in the other's eyes, as if they were in a deep trance, only to be pulled out by a giggling Ezra; both adults cheeks turned a hint of pink. Kanan cleared his throat "anyway...thanks again" he stated "I think it's time for us to go get some lunch, what do you say kid??" Ezra nodded in agreement, rather hungry "can Hera come with us?? Please?!". Hera was taken back by the request and was sure the boys father would say something like "Hera's busy kid" but to her surprise, he didn't; the man turned to her with a smile "would you like to come with us for lunch?? We're just going to the Burger Bar down the street". The woman couldn't bring herself to decline the offer, so with a smile, she nodded "I'd love to" and off they went, Ezra walking in the middle of the two adults with a bright smile, holding Kanan's hands. To anyone around them, the three looked like a small yet loving family.

They enjoyed their meals and made their way to a near by park; Ezra played on the slide and swings which his guardian and Hera spoke at a park bench. They discussed Ezra, how he and Kanan met and about Hera. Suddenly, the kid ran up the the bench and tapped the man's arm "tag!! You're it!!" he exclaimed before racing off; the adults chuckled as Kanan stood up and began to chase the child. A few minutes later, Ezra was it again and did the same gesture as before to Hera before hurrying to his guardian and climbed up onto his back; the woman played along and ran around, trying to catch the two boys. They all laughed, especially when Hera managed to tag Kanan which accidentally made all three of them trip up and roll down a flowery hill. Once the rolling came to a stop, Kanan had Ezra wrapped up in one arm and Hera in the other, her head resting against his chest; he did it instinctively to protect the two from the fall. They were still laughing, especially when Ezra shot up and raced off so that he wouldn't be tagged. The two adults calmed their laughter before looking at one another, suddenly becoming lost once again before slowly, they began to lean in closer until their lips finally touched. Ezra wondered why he wasn't being chased and looked back, his eyes widened from the sight of Hera and Kanan kissing; he hurried to look away to let them have their little moment. He remembered seeing his parents having moments like this; an odd thought suddenly popped into the boys mind 'maybe Hera and Kanan can be my new parents'. That one thought put a large smile on his face.