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“That might be the Mandalorian way, but it isn’t my way, not anymore,” Sabine said. Kanan had taught her there were other ways. Beyond that, she didn’t believe Saxon deserved a warrior's death. He was a traitor to Mandalore and didn’t deserve to die with honor.
She walked away from him, expecting the Clan to take Saxon into custody. What she didn’t expect was for Saxon to pull a blaster out and aim it at her. It was a cowardly act on his part, and later she would convince herself she shouldn’t have underestimated him. Later, Kanan would tell her it wasn’t her fault.
She heard the shot before she felt it. Her body jolted before she fell to her knees. Pain erupted on her right side. She struggled to breathe as everything blurred together. Another shot rang out, but more pain didn’t come. She felt hands on her, and she tried to fight them off until she saw the faces of Kanan and Ezra. Kanan pulled her into his lap. Her head was resting against his chest as he tried to slow the bleeding.
Kanan hadn’t seen Saxon pull the blaster out, but the force had warned him of danger, and the others around him were aware of that. He could hear Ezra shift next to him, accompanied by Ursa’s fear and anger. Then came the shot, followed by another. He could sense the pain coming from Sabine and the sudden end of Saxons' signature in the force. Kanan moved using the Force to guide him to her side. He pulled her into his lap. She fought him at first.
“Kanan,” she managed to get out between short breaths.
“I’m here. You’re going to be ok,” Kanan said. He placed his hands over the wound and called on the Force. He could feel her blood beneath his hands and used the Force to slow the bleeding and keep her lung from collapsing. He wasn’t any good at Force healing, but he could use the Force to keep Sabine alive until she was no longer in danger or dying.
He was aware of Ezra next to him, holding her hand, and whispering to Sabine to keep her from fighting him. He knew it hurt and knew that he was causing her more pain, but if it kept her alive then it was what he would do. He was also aware of Ursa kneeling on the other side of Sabine. Ursa yelled for someone to bring a med pack and a stretcher.
“What is he doing?” Ursa asked Ezra. The fear in her voice was evident.
“He’s keeping her alive. If he stops her lung will collapse and she’ll bleed out before you can help her,” Ezra replied.
Ursa nodded and took one of her daughter's hands. She whispered in Mando’a, gaining Sabine’s attention. Sabine seemed to relax slightly at whatever was being said, but not entirely.
All Sabine felt was pain. Whatever Kanan was doing made it hurt worse. There was pressure in her chest that she didn’t understand. It hurt to breathe, and she didn’t know why she wasn't choking on her own blood. Saxon shot her in the chest. She knew that. She should be choking on her blood. She should be dying, so why did it seem like she wasn’t?
She heard her mother's voice and turned towards it. Everything was a blur of color and light, but she could hear her mother speaking to her in Mando’a. It was comforting to know her mother was there. Her mother hadn’t left her for dead. Her mother had stayed this time.
There was movement around her, and more hands on her. The pain got worse as she was moved and lifted. Then there was something on her chest that hurt. She screamed. Something pierced her arm, and a stinging sensation moved up her arm. Then everything started to go dark. Very soon, she lost all sense of reality as she fell into a restless sleep.
The other clan members prevented Ezra from entering the medical wing of the compound, where they were operating on Sabine. Kanan had been allowed as he was currently keeping Sabine alive, and so was Ursa since she was Sabine’s mother. No one was going to tell the leader of Clan Wren she could not be in the operating room with Sabine. Ezra figured no one was going to stop the leader of Clan Wren from being in the room while the doctors operated on her daughter. He hadn’t protested as he was held back by Trisitan, knowing it would waste precious time Sabine didn’t have.
“Why did he shoot her?” Trisitna asked.
Ezra watched as the boy paced. He was surprised to learn that Trisitan was younger than him. “What do you mean? Just before that, he was willing to kill your entire family.”
“I know, but to act so cowardly. He shot Sabine in the back. She had turned her back on him, and he shot her. It was dishonorable,” Trisitan replied.
“I don’t know much about Mandalorian culture or traditions, but I do know what Sabine sparing his life meant. It was an insult to him when she didn’t kill him. He chose the coward's way out of being bested by someone he saw as less than him. In doing so, he proved Sabine is better than him, not just as a warrior, but as a Mandalorian,” Ezra replied.
Tristan didn’t respond. Instead, he sank into a chair and watched the door for any sign of movement.
In the operating room, a doctor worked to repair the damage done by the blaster. It was a difficult task, but the doctor was just thankful it wasn’t worse. After a few hours of work, Sabine was stable, and Kanan stepped back, no longer using the Force to keep her from bleeding out. The doctor watched as Kanan slumped against the wall. He was exhausted.
“Someone get him a chair,” Ursa ordered from her place by Sabine’s side. Another member of the clan came over with a fold-up chair for Kanan. Once seated, Ursa looked up at him. “Thank you.”
His sightless eyes looked towards her, and he nodded. He didn’t know what to say. Instead, he tried to regain his strength.
“It must have taken a lot out of you to maintain the connection for that long,” Ursa stated. Her eyes went back to Sabine.
“It did. Establishing and maintaining a connection like that isn’t easy. It requires a lot of focus, and it’s draining. It isn’t anything I wouldn’t do again if she were injured so severely,” he replied.
People were moving around the room, and they were transferring Sabine to a hospital bed and wheeling her out of another door.
Ursa stood in front of him. “Come with me. I figured you would want to stay by her side.”
Kanan nodded and followed her from the room and down a long hall until Ursa brought him to a hospital room. Sabine was lying in the center of the room, hooked up to different machines and still unconscious.
“Was she injured often?” Ursa asked, sitting on one side of the bed while Kanan sat on the other.
“Not as badly as she was today. Nothing like this. In all the years I have known her, I’ve never seen her this badly injured,” Kanan replied.
“That doesn’t answer my question. Was she injured often?” Ursa asked again. She was relieved that, while in the care of this Jedi, her daughter hadn’t sustained severe injuries, but he didn’t answer her question, which worried her.
“No. The worst injury she sustained before this was when a Stormtrooper had cut her leg,” Kanan answered.
“You must think I am a terrible mother to have chosen the Empire over Sabine.”
Kanan noticed it wasn’t a question, but a statement. It was an observation on Ursa’s part. “I’ll admit I questioned many times what had happened between Sabine and her family. She never told us. She always said she didn’t want to talk about it, and we never pushed the issue. Then she found the Darksaber, and we asked her to come here. That’s when she finally told us. I wasn’t expecting what she said. I won’t pretend to be okay with what you did. She was a child, and you left her. If Hera and I hadn’t found her when we did, she would have wound up dead.”
“Go on,” Ursa urged when Kanan fell silent. She knew the Jedi deeply cared for her daughter, and didn’t seem to like her. She couldn’t blame him. She had abandoned her daughter after all. She decided to let him speak freely without consequence. It was the least she owed him. He not only took her daughter in and gave Sabine a home, but he also saved her daughter's life just now.
“But I also know if you had stood by her, the Empire would have killed you all. I understand you had more to protect than just Sabine, but your actions deeply hurt her. So many nights, Hera or I had to calm her down from the nightmares. She never told us what her nightmares were about, but we knew it was about her family. I think it was because she feared that if we knew, then we would abandon her, too. I know you had an entire clan to think about, but I need to know something. Why didn’t you contact the rebellion or someone else to take Sabine in?”
“It wasn’t that easy. I wish I had done more. Because of what happened that day, and my choosing to side with the Empire, I doubt Sabine will ever fully trust me. When she ran away, it saved her. I knew she was with the rebellion and had found people there to care for her. I’d hoped she’d never come back. Not because I didn’t want her back, but because of the danger it would put her in,” Ursa said.
There was movement at the door. Ursa looked up to see Ezra and Tirstian at the door. She glanced at Kanan and saw he was aware of their presence.
“How is she?” Tirstian asked. He hesitated in the doorway and stared at his sister. He looked to his mother for answers.
“Stable. She’s sedated,” Ursa replied. She motioned for Tristian to join her, and he walked across the room and sat next to her.
Ezra sat next to Kanan. “So, she’ll be ok?”
“She’ll be ok,” Kanan replied.
“You should contact Hera. She’ll want to know,” Ezra said.
Kanan nodded. He got up and left the room. About twenty minutes later, he came back in and retook his seat. “Hera wants to be updated as her condition improves or declines.”
Ursa nodded. “You know she won’t be able to leave in her condition. It’ll be at least a week before she’ll be well enough to travel.”
“I know, but something tells me Sabine will want to stay here for a while. She’ll want to help her people, her family,’ Kanan replied.
“When will she wake up?” Ezra asked. He’d taken one ofSabine’s hands in his. Ursa wondered if her daughter and this boy were more than just friends.
“Tomorrow,” Ursa answered.
They eventually fell into silence. No one was willing to leave Sabine, and the four of them slept in the chairs by the bed. In the morning, Ursa was the first to wake, and as she looked to her daughter, she saw Sabine blinking her eyes open. She was on her feet and hovering over her.
“Sabine,” Ursa said softly, trying to wake the others, but she was unsuccessful. They were all either Jedi or Mandalorian and, therefore, light sleepers.
“‘Bine,” Ezra said. He squeezed his hand, gaining her attention.
“Ez? Is that you?” Sabine asked
“Yeah, it’s me,” Ezra replied, coming more into her line of sight.
“What happened?” she asked.
“You were shot,” Ursa answered. Her voice was soft. It was unlike her to speak in such a soft tone, but her daughter almost died. If the clan needed her, then they would come for her. Right now, she was a mother and nothing else. Her daughter needed her right now, and while in the past she hadn’t been there, she would be there now.
Sabine was silent for a moment as it came back to her. “By Saxon. He’s dead now, isn’t he?” The memories and pain came back to her.
“Yes,” Ursa said.
Sabine’s eyes traveled around the room. When they landed on Tristian, she smiled. “Vod’ika?”
“Hey, Sabine,” he replied. He was happy to see his sister awake. While Sabine hadn’t been home for years, he always knew she was alive. Witnessing her almost die was terrifying.
Sabine’s eyes moved on to Kanan. “Thank you.”
“You're Welcome, Bean,” Kanan said.
Ursa raised an eyebrow at the nickname and looked at the two questioningly. She was surprised Sabine let Kanan use it. Only Sabine’s Father called her Bean. Sabine smiled at the nickname, which told Ursa Sabine was happy Kanan used it. She’d ask her daughter about it later.
The four people crowded around the bed spent the next few hours talking with Sabine. Finally, the inevitable came up. Sabine fell silent for a few moments before she spoke.
“I’m staying on Krownest, even after I heal. We’ll free my Father and Mandalore, and then I’ll come back,” she said.
“I’m…”
“Do not say you’re proud of me,” Sabine said, cutting Kanan off.
“Me no, but I am going to miss you,” he replied. Sabine leaned forward and hugged him. She would miss him, too. She reached for Ezra next and hugged him.
The next day, they all said their goodbyes, and Kanan and Ezra left, promising to stay in touch with each other.