Hello! I am sad to report that this is the last chapter of my story, Not the Only One. I hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 21 – Heartbeat

Kanan could feel the stifle in the force. It was like a wave that hit him with full impact, making his body shiver as the feeling washed over him. He felt his padawan's pain. And he knew. He knew exactly what Ezra was doing; exactly what Kanan had told him not to.

He shot out from his seat and ran to Zeb's room, hoping to stop his padawan from hurting himself even more than he already had. Kanan knew that Ezra's mind was cracking, and it needed to heal, or else it might break permanently. And Kanan knew that he should have told Ezra about this before, but he did not want to. He did not want to see his padawan's fear. But now, Kanan regretted that choice.

With a flick of his hand, the door slid open.

He was shocked at what he saw.

Zeb sat up in his bed, looking down on the floor. His face displayed a mixture of confusion and shock.

Following his gaze, Kanan knew why.

There, Ezra lay with his hands clawing his neck, gasping and trying to breathe. Pausing only for a brief moment, Kanan shot over to his padawan. He kneeled down next to him, but Ezra was struggling too much to open his eyes.

"Ezra!" Kanan shouted, knowing that he could not hear him. Hera joined him trying to comfort his padawan, but the more they tried, the more Ezra began lashing out. His body was trying to fight whatever was causing this. Ezra's legs scraped against the metal floor, his gasps and grunts becoming louder and louder.

Kanan took his hands off of Ezra's shoulders, not knowing what else to do. Ezra was dying right in front of him, and he did not know how to help. He had to think of something.

Kanan kneeled down next to his struggling padawan, and cleared the distractions from his mind. He focused on Ezra, letting everything else drift from his mind. Opening his eyes, he was able to see what the rest of the crew could not.

A blue line wrapped around Ezra's neck, tightening with every kick. Kanan remembered what Ezra had said earlier, and he knew. Somehow the bond between them had lashed out against Ezra, and it was going to kill him.

Kanan held out his hand, but he struggled to remain calm. Ezra was now arching his back in pain, his grunts becoming louder. Kanan knew he had only seconds.

Concentrating once more, he focused on his padawan, letting all other distractions blur away. His arm outstretched, and used the force. He pushed the line apart, and it slowly unwound itself from around Ezra's neck. The line unraveled, and floated in a moving spiral in front of Kanan. The line began breaking into pieces, which just vanished once it did so.

Once the line was completely gone, Kanan breathed out, relief flooding out of him. But when he looked at his padawan, the fear rose again. Hera kneeled next to him, her fingers touching his neck. And Kanan knew that she was checking for a pulse.

Kanan's hopes dropped seeing the expression on her face.

No. His padawan could not be…dead. No, he could still sense him. He was still alive.

Kanan kneeled next to Ezra, and pressed his hand gently on his throat. He closed his eyes, hoping that he would feel a heartbeat. Hoping that he could feel something that proved his padawan was alive. And he did. It was uneven and weak, but it was there.

A heartbeat.

"Hera, we need to get him to the med bay!" Kanan shouted, picking up Ezra in his arms. He started running after Hera towards the med bay, hoping that they could save him in time. He looked down at Ezra, who had gone pale, but he could see the blue in his eyes.

"Ezra, it's going to be okay. You're going to be fine." Kanan pulled Ezra tighter into his embrace, before lying him down on a bed. Hera immediately got to work, and with Kanan helping out, they were able to go faster. They knew that time was not on their side.

Kanan began sticking needles into Ezra's arm, trying to ignore his padawan's moans. Hera connected a band around his wrist and hooked it up to a monitor. It began to beep unevenly, and Kanan knew that it was not a good sign. Without knowing it, Kanan and Hera began to move faster. It was only after they finished patching Ezra up to the best of their ability did they realize how quickly they had gone. It had been only a few minutes, but to the people on the Ghost, it had felt like hours.

They looked down at Ezra, whose breath and heartbeat had evened out. The beep coming from the device was steady now, and they let out a breath they had not realized they were holding.

"Kanan…," Hera said, but she did not have to say anymore. Kanan knew what she was going to ask.

"He might not." Kanan looked at his padawan lying on his back, his chest rising up and down. It was his job to protect his padawan. It was his job to look after him, after so many people had not. Kanan felt the guilt, and he wondered if Ezra had felt the same when Kanan explained what he had done to the crew. He understood why Ezra had done what he had; but Kanan wished with all his might that Ezra, for once, would have listened to him. "He might not," he repeated.

Kanan looked over at Hera, who looked down at the floor, deep in thought.

Ezra had lived for so long, surviving on his own. All that pain he went through, just to die here as a result of Kanan's lack of explanation? No, he would not allow it.

He would not know how to live if Ezra died.

He had lost so many in his past, feeling their force signature snap, and being able to do nothing. He did not want to feel that again for as long as he lived.

A small shake on the ship told Hera and Kanan that they had made it out of hyperspace. Hera, taking one last look at Kanan, and then Ezra, walked out of the med bay. Kanan knew that the tears that ran down her face were running down his as well.

Ezra could not breathe.

The world blurred around him, the shouts of his name went unheard, and the hands on him went unfelt.

It was a strange feeling, to feel nothing.

He could see his body, struggling against some force. He saw his eyes roll back, his body arching.

Yet there was no pain.

He watched as Kanan meditated, trying to help him. He watched as his crew stared at his body, unable to do anything to help. He watched as their eyes watered.

Yet there were no emotions.

But then Kanan had saved him. He had stopped struggling. He had fallen onto the ground, and all the pain came rushing back at once.

His back was on fire, his lungs even more so. His throat felt as if it was still being choked. His mind was unable to comprehend his surroundings. With every breath came excruciating pain. The only thing that did not hurt was listening. Ezra wanted to listen, to know what was happening. He heard bits and pieces of words being spoken to him.

"Ezra, okay, going to be fine."

He heard them, but they made no sense. His mind was still in shambles, unable to comprehend the simplest of words.

He closed his eyes, letting the warmth from someone soothe his aching body.

Hera was crying.

She sat in the cockpit, her trembling hands gripping the steering. The Ghost was still on auto pilot, for she did not trust herself to take control.

She had no control over anything these days.

She did not stop Ezra from running off. She did not piece together the clues that Ezra was trapped in the crate. She did stop Ezra from running off again. She did not save him in time.

Hera sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves.

She needed to remind herself that it was not always her fault. She had always felt guilty for not stopping something beforehand, but sometimes she needed to know that it was out of her control.

But she was in control of her ship. And she was in control of this crew, more or less. Her crew had the tendency to go against her when they felt something was not right, but what they did not know was that Hera was supporting them. She did not always like Fulcrum's orders, and when the crew rebelled, she had an excuse for joining them.

Deep breath.

She felt responsible for Ezra, as if he was her own blood. And after what he had went through, it was what he needed, even if he said otherwise. She knew a lie when she heard one.

But when Ezra had sacrificed his well-being, she was upset with him, despite what she had always told him. Hera smiled a bit. Just knowing that their actions were rubbing off on their newest member warmed her heart. But she was still upset at him. Ezra had given Hera a heart attack, and she would get him back for it when he woke up.

If he woke up.

Zeb was completely out of it.

He had awakened to a struggling Ezra, gasping for air, battling some unknown force. Kanan had come in and done something, and saved him. But the way Kanan ran out of the room, carrying Ezra in his arms and the look on Hera's face as she followed did not give Zeb hope.

Sabine had followed, and Zeb would have too, if his energy was not so drained. When he tried to get up, tried to follow and somehow help their struggling friend, he had fallen back down onto the bed. He closed his eyes, trying to gather energy, but it was no use.

The images kept flashing by every time he blinked.

The screaming rang through his ears.

The pain shot through him with every breath. The pain of regret, the fear, and the hate.

Zeb knew that it was not his fault, but he had kept reliving it, over, and over, and over.

Zeb slouched back, trying to relax. He dared not to close his eyes in fear that the dream would return. At first, the dream had been the same as always. The pain, the chaos, the Empire. It had all been there. But this time he could not wake up. There was no escape; he was stuck in the same actions, repeating the same day that had changed everything for the worse. But then, Ezra had appeared. He had stood in front of Zeb, his electric blue eyes looking up at his.

Then he was in his bunk, and Ezra was dying.

Zeb shook off the memory, trying to rid his mind of it. He did not like to dwell on the past, especially his own.

But neither did Ezra.

And yet after being captured by a past gang, almost getting killed by the Inquisitor, going back and trying to get his slingshot, and almost dying along the way, he had done it.

He had faced his past.

Zeb did not remember anything after fighting some bucket heads, but he remembered the fire. Some members of the gang had probably made it out, despite the extensive fire. But Zeb did not think that they were going to be a problem for Ezra anymore. He had proven that he was a force not to mess with. Despite having a troubled past, Ezra had faced it. And if Ezra could face his past, Zeb could as well.

His door slid open, the noise startling the Lasat. He looked up, and seeing who it was, Zeb stood abruptly. Ezra stood in the doorway, his blue eyes slightly dimmed, but still sparked with energy. Kanan stood behind him, staying close by his side, and Zeb was not sure who needed the support; Ezra, or Kanan.

"Hi," Ezra said, showing a slight grin on his face.

Ezra was alright.

Zeb knew that the events that had occurred would leave new scars. Zeb knew that the events could lead to complications in the future. But to see the youngest member of the crew, the one who had risked his life to save them, standing before him filled him with relief and hope. Zeb decided not to think about his past.

For the time being, everything would be alright.

They had all faced trouble in the past, but it was called the past for a reason. It could come back to haunt you, but by then you would be stronger. You would be ready for it. You could face it and move on, looking towards the future.

Ezra was not by himself anymore. He did not have to face everything by himself. Now, he had friends. Friends who had saved him, and he had saved them in return.

He was not the only one anymore.

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Fin

Hello! I am so sad that this is finally over, but I am so happy that I was able to share it with all of you. I really loved the way it turned out. Fun fact; this story started off as Zeb-accidentally-breaks-Ezra's-rib-cage and it turned into this. I have not idea how that even happened. I will have more stories coming out probably after the season finale. Speaking of which, is anyone else freaking out? Cause I am!

Anyway, thank you all for reading.

~ Kavella ~