The Undeserving
by LessAttitudeMoreAltitude is a Star Wars Rebels fanfic.
Kanan finds Ezra seven years earlier than in canon. As a result, he hasn't had the time or the emotional support Hera gave him to begin healing from the trauma of Order 66. So he's a hot mess trying to protect an abused child from the Empire. It goes...predictably.
Provides Examples of:
- Adoptive Peer Parent: Kanan is only fourteen years older than Ezra, and his claims of being Ezra's father are sometimes doubted based on how young he looks.
- The Alcoholic: Kanan definitely has a drinking problem and leaves a seven-year-old Ezra alone several times to go drinking.
- Kanan later gets invited to Lothal's answer to Alcoholics Anonymous after Ezra admits to a merchant he's looking to cheer his father up so he doesn't start drinking again.
- The Call Knows Where You Live: Downplayed. Kanan was already on his way back for Ezra when the Inquisitors showed up, but there was definitely no backing out afterward.
- Calling Parents by Their Name: Even after they agreed that Kanan and Ezra are father and son, Ezra continues to use Kanan's first name.
- Covered in Scars: Ezra, as a result of his aunt and uncle's abuse.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Kanan's way of coping with Order 66, as in canon. He had been getting better after joining up with Hera but went back hard after the one-year anniversary of leaving Ezra behind.
- Entertainingly Wrong: Zeb initially thinks that the crew doesn't know about Ezra's force powers based on Ezra's reaction to using them.
- Sabine assumes that Ezra is a spoiled brat based on his immaturity and how the crew dotes on him. She doesn't know that Ezra is an abuse victim who Kanan rescued rather than his biological son.
- For Want Of A Nail: Ezra's parents get caught by the Empire when he is a baby rather than when he was seven, so he is taken off Lothal by relatives. This allows Kanan to meet him before Hera and the character development that came with.
- Since Ezra joined the crew earlier, he's Spectre 5 rather than Spectre 6.
- Foreshadowing: While infiltrating the imperial training corps on Lothal, Sabine meets a rich girl from Coruscant who does unusually well in training and claims to technically be a Lothali native. A few chapters later, Ezra hears her name and recognizes her as his cousin.
- Innocently Insensitive: Having been raised by his bigoted aunt and uncle, eight-year-old Ezra has to unlearn some of their opinions about non-humans after joining up with Hera. Hera is understanding because of his background but explains that some words aren't okay.
- In Spite of a Nail: Zeb is still Spectre 4 despite joining the crew after Ezra. Somewhat justified as Ezra didn't start running missions with the crew until after Zeb joined, meaning he didn't really need a codename before then.
- In Vino Veritas: Kanan slips and mentions Ezra to Hera while drunk.
- Mistaken for Gay: Hera briefly assumes Ezra was Kanan's ex going by how Kanan keeps drunkenly insisting that his leaving was for the best. Then she finds out Ezra is a child and assumes he's Kanan's son.
- The Nicknamer: Chopper doesn't call any of the crew by their names. It runs from heartwarming, like calling Hera "Mom", to insulting, like calling Kanan and Zeb "Stupid Jedi" and "Grumpy Oaf" respectively.
- Papa Wolf: Kanan to Ezra. Even when he left Ezra with Master Nu it was with belief that Ezra would be better off with her.
- Kanan covers a distance that should have taken thirty minutes a fraction of the time when Ezra stops broadcasting through their bond.
- Parental Abandonment: The Bridgers were executed when Ezra was a baby. Kanan then leaves Ezra with Master Nu before taking off.
- Poor Communication Kills: Kanan's understanding of force-bonds is somewhat skewed since his bond with his master formed instantaneously. So he doesn't realize that his and Ezra's instantaneous bond is anything unusual and doesn't mention it to Master Nu, who would have never let Kanan leave if she knew he already had a bond with Ezra.
- Refusal of the Call: Kanan initially tries to ignore it when he senses Ezra's pain. Then he leaves Ezra with the first Jedi he finds.
- The Stations of the Canon: While the trap involving Luminara is sprung when Ezra is ten, it still acts as the push Kanan needs to start training Ezra for real.
- Superhuman Trafficking: A Flash Back indicates that Ezra's aunt and uncle were planning to sell him to people interested in his force abilities.
- Taking the Kids: Hera threatens to take Ezra and leave if Kanan doesn't stop drinking.
- Tropaholics Anonymous: Kanan attends a support group to help with his drinking problem.
- We Named the Monkey "Jack": Ezra names his toy loth wolf "Caleb". He's unaware that Caleb is actually Kanan, he thinks Caleb was a friend of Kanan's from the Jedi Temple because that's what Kanan told him.
- Would Hurt a Child: Ezra's aunt and uncle were abusing him. Kanan suspects that this is likely a common response to force-sensitive children after the Empire's anti-Jedi propaganda campaign.
- When on the run after being outed as force users, Kanan and Ezra have to stay an extra day in a shadow port because the captain of the ship leaving that day has a reputation.
- You Can Keep Her!: Kanan assumes this is what happened when Ezra's aunt and uncle don't seem to be looking for him.
