Chatper 7

A big hand grabbed Kallus by the shoulder, and he found himself hurled across the room where he landed on his cot with a grunt and a groan, doubling over, stunned. Sabine let out a shriek of terror and shouted "What the hell?! Zeb!"

Kallus blinked, gaining his bearings, and saw Sabine laying on the floor, scrambling to cover her nakedness with his coat as Zeb stood over her. He turned to face Kallus, ears folded back, and eyes narrowed. Kallus shot upright and held up his hands defensively. "I can explain!"

"You filth! I thought you were different! I trusted you! We all trusted you!"

"I swear that I was not doing what you think I was doing!"

"Zeb!" Sabine was on her feet and trying to intervene, but the big lasat seemed unaware.

"You were forcing yourself on her! She was screaming! You were hurting her! You can't deny it!"

"I wasn't!" Kallus protested. Zeb lunged forward, and his hands were around the former Imperial's throat in an instant, squeezing it with such strength that he feared that he would die from the force alone.

"He wasn't!" Sabine echoed him, but then she recanted. "Well he was, but it wasn't what it looked like!"

'You aren't helping,' Kallus wanted to say, but all he managed was to squeeze the last bit of air out of his lungs in a raspy wheeze as his vision began to fade. Sabine, overcoming the initial shock of the interruption, and finally realizing the very real danger that Kallus was in, grabbed his arm, and tried to pull him back.

"Zeb! No!" She began to panic realizing that Zeb was barely aware of her in his blind rage until she began to cry. She forced herself between them, "Please, Zeb! Let him go!"

Finally, Zeb loosened his grip, and Kallus flopped onto his side, gasping. Sabine turned, placing a hand on Kallus's cheek tenderly as she checked to see if he was alright. Groggily, he pushed himself back upright on the cot. Taking stock, he realized that Sabine was still half-naked, and grabbed the blanket that was folded at the end of the cot, draping it over her. Then he grabbed his pillow, and set it on his lap, straightening himself up, and coughing.

"Are you alright?" She asked him.

"It seems I'm not in immediate danger of dying anymore…" Kallus rubbed his neck.

"Well, if you want to keep things that way you better start talking," Zeb snorted.

"I think it's fairly obvious what I was doing to her, but I didn't force her to into anything. Did I?" They both looked at Sabine. There was a sudden shred of doubt in Kallus's consciousness, and he worried that maybe Zeb could see something the he did not.

"No!" Sabine protested without a moment's hesitation. Kallus felt relieved. She looked back and forth between them, and then, to Kallus's surprise, she reached down and took his hand. He looked down at his hand in hers, and he swallowed hard. Even though he was still aware of his surroundings the temple and Zeb seemed far away. There was only the warmth from her slender, soft hand, and her fingers that were now intertwined with his.

"You mean you actually were letting him…" Zeb was unable to finish the sentence. He looked between the two, aghast.

"Yes, but that's none of your business!" Sabine snapped. "What I do with my body is none of your concern! And you don't think I can't take care of myself?"

Zeb growled in frustration and turned his attention to Kallus who was still looking down. "And you! Everyone finally trusts you, and you go and do something like this? You're my friend, but you barely know her. We've barely been on Yavin, and you move in on her. We both know that you can't possibly want more than one thing out of her."

"And what if I only want one thing out of him, huh? Did you ever think of that? I'm not a child! I want to live my life!" Sabine shouted at him, and punctuated it with a growl of her own, gritting her teeth. Kallus squeezed her hand attempting to calm her, and finally looked up between the two. He was about to say something in his own defense, but honestly Zeb was, in all meaningful ways, correct. He could only think to say one thing.

"I would not hurt her."

"And what about the people you two hurt together? What do you think Kanan would think if he found out? What do you think Hera would do? And Ezra…" Zeb went quiet and turned his head away. Perhaps he knew that he had gone too far, yet still, everything Zeb said was right. Things had been good here. He had not been accepted as family the way the Ghost crew regarded one another. However, he was trusted, an ally, and was shown appreciation he rarely saw in The Empire. Every single one of them would probably be angry or disappointed in their own way. Zeb would forgive him, but the rest…

Kallus did not know what Zeb had seen that caused him until he heard Sabine sniffle. He looked over at her. Her shoulders were hunched and shaking. Tears were running down her cheeks. Her eyes were closed tightly to try to staunch the flow of tears. He lifted her chin gently and wiped her tears away with his thumb. "Zeb, if you want to talk about this later we can, but for now I think you should go."

Looking suitably chastened, Zeb hung his head and left. As soon as the door had closed behind him Sabine got to her feet. She began gathering her clothing quickly, tugging them on, and shaking her head. "This was all a mistake. I never should have come here… I never should have let you…"

She paused, running her hand through her hair, and closed her eyes tight taking deep breaths as she tried desperately to collect herself. Kallus felt a knot growing in his stomach as he watched her. He was unsure if he should go to her.

No, don't force her. Let her go. Let her deal with this how she wants. You started this. You are not going to be able to fix it.

There was only one thing that he could think to say to comfort her that was true above everything else. "Sabine, you didn't do anything wrong."

She looked up at him, and her face contorted. Fresh tears began to stream down her cheeks. He pushed up from where he was sitting, still in pain from the previous assault, and set about gathering up Sabine's clothes. He helped her out of his coat, and after she had replaced her pants and shirt he wiped her cheeks again. He smiled wanly at her, and she responded in kind.

"You know the worst thing of all is that if I was anyone else, or you were anyone else I don't think anyone would care." She sighed, running her fingers through her hair again. "Do you think that Zeb will tell them?"

Kallus shook his head. "I think he is wise enough to not make this situation any worse."

He sighed, and looked at the ceiling, swallowed hard, and then said, not looking at her, "You should probably not come back here."

She responded with a sigh, "I know."

And then she finished dressing and was gone.

To be continued…?

The story of Kallus and Sabine goes on, but for how long, and will it go on with them together? This was doomed to be little more than a tryst from the start, and The Siege of Lothal looms on the horizon. When the smoke clears who will remain?

(Fear not. There will be at least one more chapter, probably at least two. I know that you all prefer the steamy ones to the dramatic. I am sorry I could not offer you any more than this. For those of you looking for something spicier you hopefully will not be disappointed in what is to come. How long this story continues depends very much on the direction Rebels goes come February. That said, for the next couple of weeks I will be on hiatus while I work on another project that requires a good deal of my time.

I disappointed myself when I wrote a chapter that I was unable to use for this work without it diverging too far from the main Rebels story. It was lighthearted and funny, starting during the aftermath of Kallus and Sabine's first night together, and taking place during the Jalindi mission. It then turned dark, foreshadowing what I believe will happen during the later half of season 4. I may salvage that into a one shot to help tide you over until I decide where this one is going. If you are interested follow me, and it may appear in a week or so.

Thank you for reading, and as always, I appreciate your feedback.)