Chapter Text
The ride home was quiet in the way exhaustion makes things quiet.
Not peaceful.
Just... drained.
Grogu slept the entire way, curled tightly into Din’s chest like his body still didn’t fully trust the concept of “safe now.” Every so often his fingers would twitch against Din’s armor, like he was checking—mid-dream—that Din was still real.
And every time, Din adjusted his hold immediately.
No hesitation.
No distance.
Just presence.
Greef drove.
Cara sat in the passenger seat, glancing back more than she pretended not to.
Neither of them said much.
There wasn’t much to say that wouldn’t crack something open.
When they arrived, Greef helped carry supplies inside without asking.
Cara immediately started opening cupboards, reorganizing things that didn’t need reorganizing, because she needed her hands to do something that wasn’t thinking.
Din didn’t really notice either of them moving through his space.
He was already upstairs.
Already focused on one thing.
Grogu.
He carried him like he was made of glass.
One arm under his back, the other steadying his small, sleeping body against his chest. Grogu’s head rested under Din’s jaw, warm breath soft against his collar.
Still.
For now.
“Bedroom’s ready,” Cara called quietly from downstairs.
Din didn’t answer.
He just nodded once, even though she couldn’t see it.
He reached the top of the stairs carefully.
Step by step.
Like the world might tilt again if he moved wrong. Grogu shifted slightly in his sleep.
A soft sound.
A tiny whimper.
Din immediately tightened his hold.
“I’ve got you,” he murmured automatically. “I’ve got you.”
The bedroom was dim.
Soft light.
Safe space.
Or supposed to be.
Din lowered him gently onto the bed, adjusting the blanket with careful precision. Grogu stirred, but didn’t wake.
Not yet.
Din sat beside him for a moment.
Just watching.
Just checking.
Breathing in sync.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
The way he had been forcing himself to do since the hospital.
Then it happened.
Grogu’s sleep shifted.
At first, small.
A twitch.
Then a tighter grip on the blanket.
Then a sound.
A sharp inhale that didn’t belong to rest.
“No...” Grogu whispered.
Barely conscious.
But already slipping.
Din leaned in immediately.
“Hey,” he said softly. “Hey, I’m here.”
Grogu didn’t wake.
His face scrunched slightly.
Breathing quickened.
“No—no—”
Din’s stomach dropped.
Then—
Grogu flailed.
Tiny body twisting like he was falling.
Like water was everywhere again.
Like he couldn’t find the surface.
“Daddy—!”
The word tore out of him half-asleep, half-drowning in memory.
Din moved instantly.
“Hey—hey—Grogu—look at me—”
But he wasn’t looking.
He was trapped somewhere else.
Underwater again.
Small hands reaching.
No air.
No sound.
No—
Din pulled him up into his arms immediately.
“Hey,” he said again, firmer now, grounding himself as much as Grogu. “You’re okay. You’re okay. I’ve got you.”
Grogu gasped in his sleep.
Still half-dreaming.
Still panicking.
“Can’t breathe—can’t—”
Din felt it.
That old fear.
The one from the pool.
The hospital.
The moment of stillness.
It hit him like a wave all over again.
But this time—
he didn’t leave.
He stayed in it.
For Grogu.
“Grogu,” he said softly, voice shaking but steadying, “look at me.”
Grogu didn’t respond.
So Din held him closer.
Pressed his forehead lightly against his.
“I’ve got you,” he repeated. “You’re not in the water. You’re home.”
A pause.
Still shaking.
Still lost.
From the doorway, Cara appeared.
She didn’t interrupt.
Just stood there.
Watching.
Ready.
Din glanced up at her for half a second.
That was all.
A silent question.
Am I doing this right?
Cara gave a small, firm nod.
You are.
That was enough.
Din looked back down at Grogu.
“Hey,” he said again, softer now. “Listen to me.”
Grogu’s breathing stuttered.
Then slowed—just slightly.
Because he knew that voice.
Even through fear.
Even through sleep.
“Daddy’s here,” Din said gently.
A pause.
Then, more grounded:
“You’re safe. You’re home. I’ve got you.”
Grogu’s grip tightened on his shirt.
Still trembling.
But listening now.
Not gone.
Not slipping as far.
Just scared.
“I saved you,” Din whispered, and it wasn’t boastful. It was a fact they both needed right now. “I pulled you out. I didn’t let go.”
Grogu made a small broken sound.
“...Daddy?”
“I’m here.”
Another breath.
“I saved you,” Din repeated, more firmly now, anchoring both of them. “And I will always save you.”
Grogu’s shaking began to ease.
Slowly.
Like a tide going out.
Not gone.
But no longer drowning.
Din kept holding him.
One hand steady on his back.
The other cradling his head.
“I’ve got you,” he murmured again. “I’ve got you.”
Grogu finally blinked awake properly this time.
Confused.
Dazed.
Eyes wet again—but no longer lost.
“...Daddy?”
Din exhaled softly.
“Yeah.”
Grogu looked up at him.
Then melted forward into his chest.
“I don’t like water,” he mumbled weakly.
Din let out a shaky, relieved laugh.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “Me neither.”
From the doorway, Cara finally stepped in.
Quiet.
Careful.
“He okay?” she asked softly.
Din didn’t look away from Grogu.
“Yeah,” he said.
A pause.
“...He’s okay.”
Grogu’s voice came again, small but grounded this time. “...Daddy stay?”
Din tightened his arms around him immediately. “Always,” he said without hesitation.
Grogu nodded faintly against his chest.
“...Good.”
And finally—
he slept again.
This time not falling.
But held.
And safe.