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Yara's breath caught in her throat as Mando went limp in her hands. The cauterizer clattered against the deck, deactivating now that no one was holding down the control. She let out a squeak, and flinched away from it before it could touch her skin. Mando's body slumped over, unconscious, and she grabbed for him. She managed to clumsily catch his torso before his helmet could strike the metal grating of the deck and cause even more damage. 

Yara grunted under his weight and lowered him to the floor more gently. She crawled over him so she could get a better look at the hole in his side. The cauterizer had stopped the bleeding, but the wound was ugly and the noxious scent of burnt flesh filled her nose. It would heal as it was, but Yara wasn't willing to take any chances. With shaking hands Yara popped the top off the Bacta spray. This single bottle of spray would have kept them in fuel and rations for two full rotations at least. Knowing Mando would be fine by the time he woke however, was worth it. She coated his side in the viscous spray, waited a few moments for it to dry and then added another layer just to be sure. Once his side was sealed she felt like she could breathe again. 

She capped the spray and turned back to Mando. There was blood everywhere. He had lost much more than she first realized. Fear clenched in her chest once more. He had clearly passed out from the pain of the cauterizer, but she was terrified he might not wake up again. She was no medic, but she had learned enough to know how dangerous this amount of blood loss could be. She stretched out her senses, feeling for him. He didn't feel exactly like he normally did, all the usual restless energy was nothing but a steady hum, but it was steady. 

She glanced towards his quarters. It was less than ten meters to his bunk but he weighed a ton. It was a miracle she had managed to pull him up the ramp in the first place. She couldn't leave him laying on the floor of the cargo hold however. Gritting her teeth she climbed to her feet and grabbed his armor and began dragging him slowly across the floor. The Beskar ground against the grating, filling the small space with horrible sound. Above she heard the kid let out a surprised squeak. She didn't think she could hurt the armor, but she couldn't say the same for his ship. 

She finally got him into his quarters and next to his bunk. Yara paused, half leaning over him, her muscles were shaking and she swiped at the tears on her cheeks with the back of her hand. Now that she had him wedged into the small space she didn't know how in the criff she was going to get him up on the bunk. She grabbed him beneath the armpits and heaved but it wasn't enough. Fresh frustration coursed through her as her legs shook and she pinched her eyes shut. Her muscles strained and pulled but she wasn't strong enough. She gritted her teeth as frustration and fear choked her and she pushed. 

Yara would never be able to explain what happened. She had been so sure she couldn't do it, she had felt it in her bones, but when she decided it was like there was a block in her mind that lifted and suddenly his body lifted. His body moved up and sideways and when she snapped open her eyes fearfully he was laying on the bunk. Yara gasped and looked down at her hands. Black spots danced in front of her eyes and her head swam. She was suddenly just so tired. She collapsed against the side of the bunk, her head fell against the soft blankets and she was unable to resist the pull of the darkness. 

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Mando woke up in his bed, completely disoriented. He frowned. He had no memory of how he had gotten there. The last thing he remembered was Yara's tear streaked face looking down at him as she tried to stop him from bleeding out all over the cargo hold. It took another second to remember pressing the cauterizer to his side before he blacked out. That still didn't explain how he had gotten into his bed. He didn't remember getting himself here and there was no way Yara could have done it alone. 

He blinked up and realized he was still wearing his helmet. He pushed himself up into a sitting position. Yara was on the floor beside his bed, half collapsed on his bunk with her head resting on her curled arms as she slept. There was blood still coating her clothes and skin and her face was ashen. He let himself reach out and gently touch her hair. She made a noise in the back of her throat but didn't wake up. 

Mando climbed to his feet, careful not to disturb Yara. He looked down at the wound and was pleased to see it was closed and well on it's way to healing. Yara had sealed it was Bacta spray and all he felt was a little residual soreness although he was still covered in blood. He needed to get cleaned up.  

Mando bent down and picked up Yara. The wound pulled, but there didn't seem to be greater damaged to the muscle surrounding it. He lifted her easily and gently laid her down on his bed. He told himself it was because of the wound and that his bunk was closer than hers, and that it had nothing to do with him wanting to keep her here in his space. He could almost believe that as he tucked his blanket around her. She made another contented noise in the back of her throat and cuddled deeper into his pillows. He closed his eyes against the image and turned away, closing the door to his quarters behind him so she could rest.  

He limped out into the cargo area and heard a small chirp. He looked down and the kid was waiting for him, blinking up at him with his wide black eyes. He looked past the kid to the space just inside the ramp. Med supplies were scattered around haphazardly and there was blood everywhere. No wonder he felt so lightheaded. He sighed and started cleaning up the mess. He brought the supplies back into the fresher and put them away and cleaned in there. He closed the door and stripped off his armor and took the opportunity to get himself cleaned up. He tossed his ruined shirt in the bin and pulled his spare off the shelf. It had been a lucky shot, just catching him between the layers of armor. It was a one in a million shot. He ground his teeth. If Yara hadn't been there he would have been in real trouble.

He climbed up to the cockpit. He frowned as he looked out the window. They were floating above a small, forest covered moon. He flipped a few switches, but there had been no attempted communication from the moon. He tapped into the charts to figure out where they were. It seemed Yara had brought them to a remote and uninhabited moon. He appreciated the choice. At least there were no enemies waiting for them here. A couple of their systems had been damaged at some point while he was unconscious. To pass the time he set about fixing them. 

"Hey green bean," Mando heard Yara's tired voice below. There was a beat and then he could hear her moving up the ladder. The door slid open and he turned to face her. 

She still looked exhausted, but the relieved smile that flashed across her face made her eyes light up. She crossed the small cock pit and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him against her. She felt so small and she trembled in his arms. He pulled back so he could look down at her. "Where you hurt?" he asked.

"Me?" she asked in disbelief and she shook her head. "No, I'm fine. But, you shouldn't be on your feet," she admonished.  

"I'm fine," he assured her. "You did a good job. Thank you," Mando said in a low tone. He wasn't used to having to admit weakness to anyone, and having been unconscious with her at completely at her mercy was the greatest weakness a Mandalorian could endure. 

It made him uncomfortable to think about what could have happened. He had always known he would die like that. The blaster strike that would end his life was out there somewhere. But now, he had so much more to live for. As he had been going in and out of consciousness all he could think about had been making sure Yara and the Child were safe.

Yara looked up at him with tired eyes. "You really scared me," she confessed in a low tone. "Don't do that again," she warned him severely. "You aren't invulnerable."

"Close," Mando said flippantly.

She swatted at him, the back of her hand catching the pauldron on his shoulder and bicep. She scowled and shook her hand. "Ow," she muttered.

"Be careful," he said gently. 

That was apparently the wrong thing to say because Yara's eyes flashed with anger. "Me?" she asked in outrage. Yara's exhaustion made her temper shorter than usual and she refused to let Mando talk to her like she was some delicate flower. She had gotten the two of them out of there when he was down. "I'm not the one who stepped in front of a blaster at almost point blank range."

"The beskar would have held up," he promised but he shrugged sheepishly. "I just missed..." he drew off and looked down at his hands. "I couldn't let it hit you."

Yara blinked up at Mando, unsure what to say to that. She had been ready to fight and his quiet confession was the last thing she had expected. There was nothing to say. He had risked his life to save her's. She just stared up into his helmet, unsure how to respond. His hand came up slowly and he cupped her cheek in his gloved hand. Yara turned her face into the touch and her hand came up, closing her fingers around his wrist so she could feel his warm skin beneath the tips of her fingers, reassuring her he was alive and whole. 

"I should check the injury," she said. "Make sure you aren't bleeding again," she added. Honestly after being convinced she would lose him that way, it was now one of her deepest fears. She kept glancing at his side, as though to convince herself he was truly fine. 

Mando could see the concern in her eyes and the shadow of fear. He wanted to eliminate that. "Trying to get me out of my armor?" he teased. 

Yara's eyes flashed up to his visor, her eyes wide in shock as his teasing words. "I-" she started to say a blush climbing it's way up her neck. 

"It's fine," Mando assured her quickly. "I checked it when I cleaned up. It's closed and healing. By tomorrow I won't even be sore," he promised. 

Yara nodded. Below them the child made a small gurgling noise. Yara turned around. "I'll get him," she said and she climbed down the ladder and out of sight. 

Mando breathed out a sign and dropped into the pilots seat. He needed to focus. It must be the blood loss making him so distracted. Yara reappeared with the kid cradled in her arms. She situated him in his seat before she turned back to face the window. 

"So where are we?" Mando asked, his voice once more businesslike as he looked over the scans of the moon they were orbiting. He turned off the autopilot that had kept them in orbit. 

Yara scrubbed a hand over her face, composing herself. She felt raw and exhausted. She hadn't slept long and whatever happened, whatever had made it so she could move Mando, it weighed on her, but now wasn't the time. She couldn't say for sure if there ever would be a good time. She glanced down at the child as she remembered Mando's story about the Mudhorn. The child had been able to lift the mudhorn with nothing but his gifts. She frowned, she had never been as powerful as the child. His gifts were different and so much more powerful than hers. The Imperials made that clear by how excited they were by his presence. The things that he could do were incredible. 

"Yara?" Mando prompted, pulling her from her thoughts. 

She jerked and looked back up at Mando. He was watching her with the incredible stillness of his. "It's no where really," she told him. "It was one of my families drop points," she said. "There should be some supplies and fuel we can use to keep us limping along," she told him. She leaned over him, resting a hand against the arm of his seat as she programed in the landing coordinates.

Mando nodded and swallowed as she straightened. He felt like he was so aware of every move she made to the point of distraction. Something was bothering her, but he couldn't tell if it was the fear and exhaustion from the last couple days or if it was something else. He didn't know how to ask. 

"Should we expect trouble?" he asked her instead as he descended into the atmosphere.

Yara pressed her lips together thoughtfully. "Normally I would say no," she told him honestly. "Most of our crew didn't even know about this place, it was just my immediate family and a couple others...but knowing our track record," she said with a shrug. "I would half expect us to get blasted out of the sky," she said.

Mando chuckled and flew down to land the ship on the moon's lush forested surface. She wasn't wrong. Their luck had been terrible lately. 

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Yara led the way down into the base. It was little more than a cave, but there were large containers of fuel and crates of supplies waiting. Mando moved towards the supplies but hesitated when Yara stopped, staring down at the top of the supply boxes. Yara frowned down at the crate. Mando stepped up next to her. There were three slashes in the top of the plastic container.

"What does that mean?" Mando asked.

"It means-" Yara started to say. 

But a blaster cocked behind them, cutting her off. "It means someone's here," a voice called.

Both Yara and Mando turned to face a good looking young man. Mando jerked his blaster up, almost too fast to track and leveled it on the man's chest. Instead of reacting however, the man's gaze was locked on Yara. 

Yara turned and her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "Cy?" she asked in a hush voice, looking like she had seen a ghost. "How are you here?" she asked in shock.

The blaster in his hand was pointed at Mando, but his eyes hadn't moved from Yara as though the armed Mandalorian was of no conequence. "Yara?" he asked in disbelief. "Yara, how the hell are you alive?" The man lowered his blaster and ran up and wrapped his arms around Yara, spinning her around as he crushed her to his chest.

Yara didn't resist, but Mando didn't lower his blaster, not yet. Beneath his helmet his jaw tightened as the strange man held Yara in his arms like it was his right. His hands moved over her back as he held her against his chest. 

Yara was stunned as she stared up at Cy. She was absolutely in shock, she didn't know what to do or say. She had been so sure he was dead. Cy set her down, still smiling at her. His green eyes twinkled happily as he flashed her that cocky grin of his she hadn't seen in what felt like years. 

"How did you get away from the Imperials?" he asked in disbelief.

"I..." Yara shook her head from her daze. She couldn't believe this was happening. She had thought every one of her parent's crew was dead. The Imperials had boarded them and captured everyone, there was no way anyone could have survived. "I escaped," she said in a low tone. 

"Obviously!" Cy said excitedly and he pulled her against his chest again and pressed a kiss to the top of her hair. 

Yara pulled back gently as her thoughts raced. This didn't make any sense. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to push, but no images flashed behind her eyes. Her gift was quiet. Her eyes flashed back to Mando who was standing eerily still. Every one of his muscles were locked down but she could feel him, could feel his dangerous tension. 

As usual Cy was unperturbed by Yara's strange behavior. He gave her space, but kept a hand resting on her low back. "Are you going to introduce me to your friend here?" Cy asked, shaking his hair out of his face. He didn't seem at all concerned that there was an armed Mandalorian standing behind them.

Mando cocked his head as he stared at the man who was touching Yara. 

Yara glanced back at Mando who was standing ramrod stiff, his blaster still in his hand as he watched their exchange. "Um...yeah, Cy this is Mando. He ah...he saved me from the Imps. I've been traveling with him."

"A bounty hunter?" Cy asked, his disgust clear in his tone. 

Yara shot Cy a withering look and turned back to Mando, her heart aching as she spoke the her next words. "Mando...this is Cy...my fiancee."

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Well...it's been an emotional couple of days for poor Mando and Yara! Sorry this chapter was a little shorter than I planned, but I felt like this was a good spot to leave you guys in anticipation for the next chapter...what do you think?