Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/14094114.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Underage
  Category:
      F/M
  Fandom:
      Star_Wars:_The_Clone_Wars_(2008)_-_All_Media_Types
  Relationship:
      CT-7567_|_Rex/Ahsoka_Tano
  Character:
      CT-7567_|_Rex, Ahsoka_Tano, Anakin_Skywalker, Padmé_Amidala, Clone
      Troopers
  Additional Tags:
      Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional_Hurt/Comfort, Interspecies_Romance,
      Eventual_Romance, Friends_to_Lovers, mentions_of_rape/non-con, Healing,
      Work_In_Progress
  Series:
      Part 2 of Defiance's_Resurgence
  Stats:
      Published: 2018-03-25 Chapters: 6/? Words: 21399
****** Defiance’s Resurgence ******
by Jade_Max
Summary
     Set after “Defiance’s Price”; Ahsoka must learn to cope with what she
     suffered at Hondo and Atai’s hands as her world slowly crumbles about
     her while leaning on the man who rescued her - Captain Rex
Notes
     Disclaimer: Star Wars belongs to Disney and is the intellectual
     property of George Lucas; he created the sandbox. I’m making no money
     off of this and am simply destroying the sandcastles.
***** Chapter 1 *****
Rex was just about to touch up the jaig eyes on his helmet when his comm. went
off. Setting aside the brush, he clicked it on and Anakin’s miniature image
appeared, starting to speak immediately. His words were clipped, almost angry,
a determined jut to his jaw indicating something wasn’t right.

“Meet me in the hangar bay with two squads stat, Rex. I’ll be on the Twilight.”

“Copy that, General.” Reaching for his armor, he was on his feet, already
moving, as he replied. Anakin wasn’t one to issue that kind of order lightly
and there would be time to discover why once they were on their way to their
destination; he chose not to question the urgency and simply comply. “On our
way.”

The comm. shut off and Rex keyed in another frequency. “Squads five, and seven,
report to the hangar bay and General Skywalker on board the Twilight
immediately.”

Affirmative acknowledgements came back without delay and Rex had no trouble
picturing the scene in the barracks as the ten men collected their gear. He
wasn’t disappointed in their response. He finished clipping on his armor and
blasters and, exiting into the corridor with his helmet under one arm, found
the squads already on their way.

Falling into step with Coric, nodding to Jesse and Kix, Rex checked the charge
on his blasters.

“The Twilight , Rex?”

“General’s orders,” Rex came back with a shrug as they entered the turbolift
and headed for the hangar bay.

“I gather he didn’t say much, just got ‘that look’?”

“You’d be right.”

“Ah.”

That said it all as silence descended within the lift, the sound of plastoid
rubbing against itself the only marker for the passage of time. Rex pulled his
bucket from under his arm as the lift came to a halt and led his men out,
towards the awkward looking craft that was his General’s personal ship.

They marched orderly behind him, habit more than anything, as another trooper,
sans helmet, appeared on the ramp. Even from across the hangar it was easy to
identify the kama and pauldron of the ARC trooper, the distinctive patterns
belonging to only one brother.

“Fives.”

“Rex, double time it. We need to get moving.”

The remark was basically an order, though the ARC had no real authority over
the squads. Rex caught the stress in the words and motioned the men inside as
he stopped next to Fives. As the last of the boots left the ground, Fives was
lifting the ramp and speaking to the cockpit. “All aboard, General.”

“Copy that,” came back Skywalker’s disembodied voice. “Strap in; this is going
to be bumpy.”

The order went out on the main squad frequencies and Rex and Fives went to join
the others, strapping in side by side. They were practically thrown into their
seats as the Twilight rocketed out of the hangar bay and banked sharply enough
to completely override the inertial compensators.

There was a brief, sickening lurch as they hit hyperspace within moments of
take off, a sure sign that something was wrong, very wrong, but Rex hadn’t a
clue what. Maybe Senator Admidala was in danger again?

It wouldn’t surprise him.

Few things got Anakin’s back up like a threat to the Senator.

“Not that it isn’t great to see you, Fives, but what the hell’s going on?”

Fives shook his head. “An infiltration,” he returned, his words surprisingly
clipped. “The General will explain.”

Rex frowned; it wasn’t like Fives to be serious or evasive, though he’d
certainly lost an edge of his jovial personality when Echo had been killed. The
hum of the engines shifted, a sound Rex mentally noted as switching to auto
pilot, as he considered the ARC. If Fives was being taciturn, there was more to
this than anticipated.

Within moments the door leading to the cockpit opened and Fives was the first
out of his restraints, Rex on his heels, as the General walked into room where
the troopers.

“General.”

He and Fives spoke together as the two squads snapped to attention.

“At ease,” Anakin told them, looking around the room before his gaze fell on
Rex.

Rex noted the strain in his commanding officer with a glance. Whatever was
happening, it was taking a serious toll on the General. “What are we deploying
for, sir?”

Anakin’s expression was hard; his eyes glinting with emotion. “We’re going
after Ahsoka.”

“Ahsoka!”

“The Commander, sir?”

Anakin nodded, looking at the men one at a time before his gaze came back to
Rex’s. Alarm wasn’t his first reaction; Ahsoka could take care of herself, but
Rex had to voice the question. He knew where she was supposed to have been,
what she should have been doing, and something didn’t add up. Nothing in her
current assignment was technically dangerous.
“I thought she was pla- er” he barely stopped himself from saying ‘Playing
Master’, “acting as a chaperone to some Jedi Younglings for the next couple of
weeks.”

“She was,” Anakin agreed. “Until Hondo attacked their ship, crippled it and
took Ahsoka.”

A murmur spread through the room. Ahsoka was an honorary member of Torrent
Company, meaning as much to her men as any of their brothers - more probably,
Rex reflected - and threatening her was a good way to make some enemies.

Even Fives, long since having left Torrent Company behind, bristled. Apparently
he hadn’t known who they were going after either. Likely all he’d been told was
that they were a high profile individual.

“How do you know, sir?”

“The younglings jumped away in their broken ship and found Ahsoka to be
missing. The only logical assumption is that she’s Hondo’s prisoner.”

“She hasn’t communicated?”

“Not a word,” Anakin confirmed grimly. “And we’ve had no ransom message or
extortion demand from Hondo. We’re going in assuming the worst.”
Rex wasn't exactly sure what his General meant by the worst. Torture?

“Don’t worry sir,” was Coric's confident response, hefting his blaster. “We’ll
find the Commander.”

“She’s a tough lady, sir,” Jesse added, “she’ll be all right until we reach
her.”

“Just be ready to move. We’re on our own for this one.”

“The Resolute isn’t our backup, sir?”

“No, Appo, she’s needed elsewhere. I hope to be on board Hondo’s ship and on
our way off with Ahsoka by the time she reaches her destination. Any
questions?”

Rex looked at the men, noting how Kix and Coric exchanged a look he couldn’t
read. Kix, surprisingly, was the one to speak up. “How long has she been
Hondo’s prisoner, sir?”

“Too long.”

Kix nodded but forged ahead. “I’m not disagreeing sir, but knowing how long
she’s been his captive will help us know what to expect.”

The way he said it gave Rex chills despite being unable to follow the dark
thoughts of the medical officers. Whatever they feared, it was written in their
eyes, though they gave no voice to it.

“Four days, give or take.”

“Days?”

Rex glanced at Fives, the ARC’s outburst completely synced with his own,
frowning. Four days and they were only hearing about it now?

“Obi-Wan and Cody were dispatched to rescue her as soon as the younglings were
able to get in touch with him but were ambushed,” Anakin informed them shortly.
“The younglings are looking after the survivors of the Negotiator’s battle with
their crippled ship until the Resolute can reach them.”

“Why weren’t we told immediately, General?”

“Four days in a long time in a pirate’s clutches.”

Rex silently agreed with his men. Ahsoka was their Commander - Torrent Company
should have been dispatched immediately to free her. He and his men would go to
any lengths for her, die for her if need be, and Anakin was her Master.

Perhaps, he reflected, that is why we weren’t sent.

“This is an unofficial mission,” Anakin countered. “Master Luminara’s been
charged with the rescue operation and is supposed to rendezvous with Hondo’s
ship over Florrum next cycle.”

“Next cycle ?”

“We’re on an intercept course. Hondo’s ship was reported as stopped halfway to
Florrum taking on cargo from a Zygerrian transport. The plan is to land while
they’re occupied, find Ahsoka and get out of there.”

Rex heard him, but his mind had flashed back to Zygerria and the mission he’d
undertaken with the two Generals and Ahsoka a short time ago. There’d been a
Zygerrian who’d been intent on adding Ahsoka to his collection of slaves, or so
she’d told him after the fact, the satisfied sparkle in her eyes easy to
picture as she’d recounted pulling the alien off the building with the Force to
teach him a lesson.

Shaking away the thought, Rex couldn’t help but think it was too much of a
coincidence that Ahsoka had gone missing and a Zygerrian slaver ship was now
tied to Hondo, the man who had her. The first vestiges of unease gripped him.
 “What if he plans to sell her, sir?”

“Then we get to her before they can,” Anakin told him firmly. “This isn’t going
to be easy. Hondo’s ship is massive and we’ve no idea where they’re keeping
her.”

“She’s our Commander, sir,” Tup stated, the other troopers echoing his
declaration. “We’ll find her.”

“Glad to hear it. We should be there within the hour - prepare yourselves.”
Anakin looked his way. “Rex, Fives - a moment?”

They followed Anakin out of the room as Coric and Kix separated themselves away
from the rest of the group, talking in low tones, neither wearing a
particularly pleasant expression. Rex hoped that didn’t mean they expected to
find she’d been tortured. Surely Hondo, for all he’d heard of the pragmatic
pirate, wouldn’t risk the wrath of the Jedi and harm her.

The door closed behind them as Anakin led them into the cockpit and they both
stopped, jerking to attention as Anakin’s co-pilot turned and flashed them a
welcoming, if subdued, smile.

“Rex. Fives. It’s good to see you.”

“And you Senator,” Rex's response was automatic and ingrained as Senator Padmé
Amidala checked a reading on the nav computer before giving them her full
attention again. “I… wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“Master Skywalker was commissioning my transport back to Coruscant when we
received word about Ahsoka,” she told them, leaning back in her chair and
crossing her arms over her chest. “I offered to tag along.”

Which made complete sense; Ahsoka and the Senator were friends. What didn’t
make sense was why his General was allowing her to walk into a potentially
dangerous situation. As a rule, he liked to avoid putting her in danger.

As if reading his mind, Anakin smiled faintly. “Padmé’s going to stay with the
ship while we search since I need all boots on deck - just in case we need a
quick dust off.”

“Yes, sir.”

“If you’ll excuse me, I need to speak with your team medics,” Padmé told them,
gaining her feet and heading towards the door where they still stood. Fives and
Rex parted, allowing her through and she disappeared into the hall. The door
closed behind them as they stepped fully into the room.

“Was there a reason you asked to speak with us, General?”

Anakin’s countenance sobered. “We don’t know what kind of shape Ahsoka’s in, or
how they’ve been treating her, Rex.”

“I thought Jedi could sense one another,” Fives interjected, crossing his arms
over his chest. “Like you and General Kenobi.”

“I’ve tried,” there was a pained note in his General’s words. “I can’t reach
her through the Force.”

“We know the pirate has Force blocking prisons,” Rex reminded him, trying not
to read too much into that fact. “You and General Kenobi were held in such a
place.”

Anakin was already shaking his head. “This feels different. I can’t explain
it.”

Rex exchanged looks with Fives.

“We’re going in under the assumption that he’s keeping her in one of those
prisons,” Anakin continued them with a frown, “but having been Hondo’s… guest
myself, her treatment may not have been limited to restraint.”

“Sir?”

“Are you saying he might have tortured her?” Rex didn’t deliberately leave the
‘sir’ off his comment, but the thought was sickening enough to consider, really
 consider, that it didn’t even cross his mind.

“It’s a possibility we have to be prepared for.”

“I’ll have a word with Kix and Coric-.”

“Padmé’s already doing that; she has a good idea of what Ahsoka could be going
through.” Anakin inhaled deeply, looking away for a moment, visibly uneasy.
“Whatever the circumstance, we need to bring her home. Make sure the squads
know what to do and ensure each one has a medic.”

“Anything else - sir?” the title was an afterthought, but Rex remembered it
this time.

“We’re going to be severely outnumbered by the pirates. When we get close
enough, I’ll have to jack into their systems to try and locate her. Be ready
for anything, Rex. We haven’t a clue what we’re walking into.”

“Don’t worry sir,” he assured his General with a sense of determination. No
matter the situation, the resistance or the danger, he would bring Ahsoka home.
“We will be.”

“Good. Dismissed.”
***** Chapter 2 *****
Rex checked the layout Anakin had provided with a possible second location for
Ahsoka as Fives, Tup, Kix, Sureshot and Jesse took out the last of the
resistance in the hallway. His comm. channel crackled to life as he calculated
the door around the next corner as being their destination.

“How many pirates can this ship hold?”

“Not exactly taking a head count, Jess,” Fives came back immediately, his tone
dry. “Rex?”

He didn’t rise to the bait, completely focused on navigating the maze that was
Hondo’s ship. “Next left. Second door in.”

“Copy that. Tup, cover me.”

Rex flicked the map off his HUD with a blink of his eyes and joined Fives near
the corner. “Cover us.”

“Yes sir.”

They rounded the corner with a blur of blaster fire, Rex darting across the
hall to a protruding bulkhead and picking off the Zygerrian guard that had been
caught by surprise. Two others traded blaster fire with the clones for a full
thirty seconds, using their own partial cover, before Fives got one, Tup the
other and Kix downed the last.

As the body hit the floor, smoking blasters and white armor tinged with crimson
in the rotating wave of the red emergency lights, was all that remained.

“Think we’re in the right-”

A raw, agonized scream shattered the silence. It cut off whatever Kix had been
saying, the sound grating down Rex’s spine in a wave of dread and fear, a sense
of desperate urgency driving him forward. That sound… that awful noise seemed
to resonate with his name and Rex felt in every fiber of his being. She needed
him.

Now.

“Ahsoka!” Darting forward and over the dead bodies, straight to the door the
Zygerrian’s had been guarding, Rex hit the reinforced control panel and got
nothing. The door didn’t move, didn’t so much as quiver. The sound of a scuffle
was muffled behind it and he pounded on the portal. “Ahsoka! Ahsoka!”

Fives appeared beside him. “I’ve got this.” The words were slow to penetrate
and Fives put his shoulder to Rex’s, physically knocking him aside. “Move,
Captain!”

Slapping a shaped charge on the control panel, Fives and Rex turned away from
the blast as it ripped into the electronic controls and, after a moment, the
door lock released and cracked open.

The smoke hadn’t cleared as Rex put his shoulder to it, and pushed, inside and
scanning the room for Ahsoka within moments. What he saw wasn’t what he
expected.

A furry, naked Zygerrian had her pinned to a bed as she thrashed weakly,
kicking out at him in an attempt to push him away. Even as he took in the
situation, the creature slid between her sienna colored legs, as if having her
mount him, like a speeder bike, in reverse.

“Ahsoka!”

“Commander!”

Rex didn’t think as Fives’ call meshed with his own, both blasters coming up
with cool precision as his gaze narrowed to the back of the Zygerrian’s head.
His fingers squeezed off twin rounds in rapid fire succession just as Ahsoka’s
whole body bowed off the bed with a shriek unlike anything he’d ever heard.

It was agony and despair wrapped in denial, his blood icing in his veins and he
began to move without really being aware of it.

On the outside of his HUD, he caught Fives and Jesse entering the room behind
him, scanning the area, Kix, Tup and Sureshot trading blaster fire with more
guards beyond the door. His men called to each other, coordinating their
attacks, but his focus was on Ahsoka and the body that had slumped over hers,
smoking blaster holes in head and chest, its weight having seemed to pin her.

She was still; unimaginably so.

“Ahsoka! Ahsoka !”

Reaching her side, he grasped the Zygerrian by the furry nape of his neck and
tore him away, a sickening slurping, popping sound accompanying the action. The
sight that greeted him made him freeze.

Ahsoka was naked.

Mostly.

Her battle dress was destroyed, shredded; the top was missing and the bottom
barely covered her hips. The glimpse was brief. As he heaved the corpse away,
she curled in upon herself, quaking and shaking, a dark stain streaking her
legs and the covers as the body of the Zygerrian fell to the side. He fell to
his knees next to her, scanning her with desperate eyes, the almost vacant
expression on her face unnerving in ways he hadn’t known it could be.

Of their own accord, his gaze dropped to take in her injuries, cataloging them
and the scan of her body showed bruising and scratching, dark stains marring
the skin at her neck. A red splash on the side of her lekku was blatantly
obvious with more welling from several slashes across her upper arms and down,
over to where the limbs were crossed protectively over her chest. Slashes to
her abdomen and down, across the bare scrap of fabric across her hips, there
was even more on her thighs, on her knees, even spattering her feet.

It took a moment for him to identify the dark liquid as the state of her
injuries registered, the damage worse than any he’d ever before seen on her.

Blood.

Ahsoka was bleeding and he couldn’t tell how badly.

His heart seized. “Fives, get Kix - now!”

Something in his voice, possibly the sound of it, drew her head up, eyes that
were empty and devoid of emotion or response staring straight into his visor.
Five’s affirmative reply was lost somewhere in the back of his mind as he
stared back at her. It was like she wasn’t there or couldn’t see him.

Disturbed and alarmed, he ducked his head closer to hers. “Ahsoka?” There was
no response to his voice this time, her eyes glazed and unfocused. Didn’t she
recognize him?  “Ahsoka? Ahsoka, it’s me. It’s Rex.”

He reached for her, intending to touch her shoulder, to shake her, to do
something to gain a response. Anything to have her acknowledge him. Yet, as he
looked into her impassive gaze, he saw what she saw reflected in their shining
depths. A man in a helmet - a man without a face.

Guilt sliced into him like a vibroknife, stabbing into his gut with a wrenching
sensation and, without thinking, he tugged his bucket off, setting it down
beside him.

His gaze never left hers, colliding without the shield of his visor as his
helmet disappeared, and he saw a flare of recognition, belated, but there. Her
expression changed, taking on the slightest hint of animation and relief
slammed into him like the force of a combat take off.

“You’re safe now,” he told her in an undertone, and feeling the need to
reassure her, wanting to touch, to take her in his arms, but unwilling to risk
the chance he’d do her more harm. “We’ll get you out of here, Ahsoka. I
promise.”

Her body continuing to quake, chillbumps appearing on her skin despite the fact
she did little more than stare at him and continue to bleed. Setting his
blaster aside with a hand that wasn’t quite steady, he pulled one of the
twisted blankets from the pile around her. His heart squeezed painfully as he
carefully covered her, taking care not to touch any of her myriad of injuries.

While he had some battlefield experience when it came to triage, he knew her
wounds were beyond him; there were too many. Where was Kix, blast it? “Kix!”

She flinched, shivering in a single convulsion, seeming to cower from his call.
Alarmed, worried he’d somehow done something wrong or hurt her and Rex made to
withdraw.

Only to be caught in place as her fingers closed about his wrist like a vice.
Her nails dug into the gap between plastoid pieces and into his bodysuit, her
grip strong enough to flex the protective plating. Her eyes were wide, pained,
but her voice, when she spoke, despite it being raw and rasping, was the
sweetest thing he’d heard.

“Don’t. Rex-”

“I need to cover you, Ahsoka,” he admonished gruffly, easing back to her,
daring to reach out to tug one corner a little higher so as little of her
sienna flesh was as visible as possible. “The boys don’t need to see you like
this.”

“I-”

“Just rest; regain your strength,” he admonished, frowning as he turned his
head over his shoulder. “Kix - I need you here!”

“Here, sir.”

The medic’s appearance through the doorway to the room was a relief and Rex
caught sight of Tup and Sureshot taking up guard position as Fives and Jesses
came towards him, no doubt as concerned about Ahsoka as he was.

“How is she Rex?”

“Is she okay, sir?”

He shook his head in response to their questions; he wouldn’t know until Kix
could give him an assessment but, from the look of things, she was in rough
shape. Nodding to Ahsoka as Kix drew near, he gave Kix and unnecessary order;
she needed medical attention as swiftly as possible so they could get her out
of here. “She’s been injured; make it quick.”

A pinch of pain and the sensation of his hand and wrist being squeezed within
the shell of his armor drew his gaze back to her, concerned. “Ahsoka?”

She was gasping, her gaze darting from him to Kix, to Fives and Jesse and then
back to him, seeming to shrink back within the blanket, using his arm as
leverage, as if she was trying to curl about it when Kix knelt on the bed to
reach her.

And quickly rose.

“Sir,” Kix’s voice held a note of consternation and compassion as he moved away
immediately, stepping back several paces, his hands raised in a non threatening
move. “Sir, I can’t help you.”

“Blast it, Kix,” Rex snapped, flexing his fingers within her death grip and
glaring at the medic; Kix had never been squeamish before and Ahsoka needed
him. “She’s been injured, that’s your job!”

“Yes sir; but she won’t let me.”

Not let him? Kix was her friend; of course she would let him. “This is Ahsoka;
there’s no one she’d rather-”

“Not anymore, sir.”

Flabbergasted, Rex watched the medic turn to the rest of the men, ushering them
away with cool efficiency. “Back to your posts. Fives, take lead and punch us a
hole; the Captain isn’t going to be able to lead this one.”

“I’m on it.” As Fives walked towards the door with Jesse on his heels, he
lifted keyed his comm. “General?”

Rex didn’t hear the rest of the transmission. “Kix, get back here!”

“I’m sorry, sir, but you’re going to have to help her; she won’t let me get
close.”

“This is Ahsoka ,” Rex tried again, his gaze darting to Tup and Jesse as they
glanced his way, before looking back to Kix. “You don’t have to be a Jedi
healer to help her!”

“You saw her reaction, Rex,” Kix shook his head, regret in every line of his
posture and Rex wished he could see the medic’s face, to know what he was
really thinking. “I want to; more than anything. If she’d let me, I would. I’m
sorry; you’re on your own.”

“Then get Coric,” Rex ordered harshly. “He’ll do it.”

“No, sir,” Kix corrected grimly, taking up a position behind Tup and pulling
his blaster out once more. “He won’t.”

“You can’t-”

“Sir,” Kix stressed the title. “What she’s been through is traumatic enough;
she needs you. Not me. Trust me sir; I’d be doing more harm than good. Getting
her back to the Twilight is the best we can do for her right now!”

Blaster fire sounded from beyond the doorway and Rex knew time was running out.
They needed to get out of here as soon as possible. Rex frowned, but the medic
appeared to have made up his mind and moved to join the fire fight.

Kix’s words rang in his ears, cryptic and unhelpful. Ahsoka was going to need
him and not Kix? What had the medic meant? Her attacker was dead, naked and
bloodied, yes, but dead all the same and she was surrounded by the men she
considered family. She was safe now, wasn’t she?

He glanced back to Ahsoka, feeling the plastoid shift under her grip and idly
wondered if the gauntlet would ever be the same. She seemed distant,
distracted; still in the thrall of shock but somehow taking comfort from his
presence.

“Easy,” he admonished, covering the hand squeezing his with the other, going
for a touch of levity despite the fact his men had just re-engaged the enemy.
“I’m going to need that.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No harm done,” he assured her, searching her expression. Kix words lingered
and he offered her a nod, indicating the medic. “Kix seems to think you don’t
want him around.”

Her reaction was instantaneous. Her body tensed, shuddering and though her
words were barely audible, he caught them and they took him by surprise.

“I don’t.”

“You’ve been hurt, Ahsoka, he should-”

“No!”

The weight and pressure around his arm disappeared as she flung herself away,
scrambling backwards, and spattering droplets of blood on the surrounding
blankets. Nearing the wall at the back of the bed, one hand clutching the
blanket to her nudity, Rex’s stomach twisted in a way it never had from the
bloody trail she left behind. Smears and smudges, it was a testament to her
treatment at the Zygerrian’s hands.

Fives voice reached him at a sudden lull in blaster fire. “Rex, if we’re going,
we have to go - now.”

Which meant time was up.  “Ahsoka-”

“Don’t let them touch me!”

Her eyes were wild, her expression almost feral in its panic. Glancing back
over his shoulder, he watched Jesse get thrown back by a glancing shot, Tup
leaning forward to cover him as he rolled, managing to maintain his blaster and
Kix and Sureshot giving them both cover fire. Fives was somewhere beyond the
room within that hail of fire doing as Kix had instructed; punching a hole.

They needed to go.

Based on what he could see, Ahsoka couldn’t walk out of there under her own
power; if she’d been capable, she’d have already done so. Which left only one
option. Making a snap decision and, knowing she wouldn’t likely appreciate it
or cooperate based on her thus far irrational behavior, he grabbed his bucket,
clipped it to his belt and gave her a look of apology he wasn’t sure she’d
understand in her current state of mind. “Forgive me.”

In that same motion, he reached forward, sliding his arms about her, rolling
her, tying her up in the blanket and immediately struggled, her “No!”  tearing
into his chest like a cadre of vibroknives - but he couldn’t let her go. She
seemed unable to move under her own power and so that left only one option; he
had to carry her.

Despite her twisting and turning, he gained his feet, shifting his grip so she
was held securely, arms pinned to her body, her knees wrapped securely in his
other arm. Yet she still fought as he took his first steps.

“Ahsoka!” His voice was harder than he’d intended, unconsciously putting every
ounce of his authority into the tone as he moved towards the door; he needed
her cooperation or neither of them would make it out. “I am not going to hurt
you but you could get hurt if you don’t stop squirming.”

“Let me go,” she gasped, her body undulating, her movements as frantic as her
pleas. “I can’t-”

“Free her arms, sir.”

He glanced up as Kix left, taking a knee on the inside of the room and, not
having any better ideas, followed the medic’s advice. Settling Ahsoka onto his
thigh, he unwound the blanket, loosening its hold, careful not to let it drop.

She nearly smacked him in the face as her arms jerked free with a soft cry and
they immediately folded back around her waist, one hand splayed upwards across
her chest to hold the cloth in place.

Helpless to do anything but watch as she struggled with the reaction his
precipitated actions had caused, Rex felt useless. Ahsoka was on his leg,
huddled over with her feet flat on the floor, blood smearing her skin, and all
he could do was wait.

He didn’t like it one bit.

It made him feel… guilty. He’d caused this; by surprising her, by grabbing her
unexpectedly, he’d obviously done something to trigger a pani-

“Rex?”

Five’s tone was clipped. He knew that tone; ready or not, they needed to get
moving. “We have to go.”

She flinched, glancing his way and then looking away. She still shook, her body
seeming to be unable to stop. If he grabbed her again, would it be a repeat of
the same scenario? He wasn’t sure his heart could take it if she fought him
again.

Would… would it be different if she latched on to him? He ducked his head a
little, catching her, and eye to eye, offered her the order coached in a
suggestion. Either she grabbed him, or he’d have to grab her again - and he
wasn’t looking forward to her reaction. “Put your arms around me, Ahsoka.”

Blaster fire sounded outside and Fives voice came again. “Rex!”

She stared at him and Rex wondered what she saw in his gaze, for he saw much -
too much - in hers.

Instinct had asserted itself, her feral nature acting like a bulwark against
the realities of what had happened to her. Wounded and vulnerable, he realized
with a flash of insight that she was skirting the edges of true hysterical
breakdown.

As if watching her thought process, he caught sight was what he was hoping to
see. A spark of hope, blossoming deep within the depths of her eyes, as the
nature of her circumstances had finally begun to register. Determination buoyed
it; a glimpse of the resilient young woman who’d made it through every obstacle
thus far and emerged the stronger for it.

In a lightning move that nearly knocked him on his ass, her arms twined around
his shoulder, her body surging close, chest to chest, as she plastered herself
against him. The was a bit of a hesitation as she worked one arm around his
pauldron, but the feel of her against him, her lekku against his cheek as she
tucked her face to his neck, was the most wonderful thing he’d felt since
finding her.

His arms closed about her and he was careful to place them on neutral areas.
The back of one shoulder; the other under her knees; awkward, but she didn’t
protest though her body continued to tremble and shudder as her words feathered
across his skin.

“Get me out of here, Rex.”

Gladly.

“Hang on.”

He rose to his feet and began to move, ducking into the hallway where the
familiar smells of burn ozone and scorched durasteel permeated the air, the
bodies of pirates littering the hallway. Watching his step, he moved up the
corridor to join Jesse, Fives, Sureshot and Tup nowhere to be found.

“Around the corner, sir.” Kix fell in behind them, blaster held in a defensive
position. “How is she?”

Rex met the medic’s eyes behind his visor, knowing the question came from the
visible state of Ahsoka’s arms and back. Her tawny flesh was crisscrossed with
claw marks, as if mauled by an animal, her arms exhibiting the darkest of
bruises; a sickening, lasting imprint of too harsh a grip.

“The sooner we get her out of here the better.”

Around the corner the shrieking of a blaster was followed by an explosion and a
taunt from Fives before blaster fire resumed.

Jesse gave them the signal to stay and moved around the corner. Kix, second
later after another blast, gave him the all clear signal and Rex moved out.

Leapfrogging through the level, Rex kept his grip on Ahsoka, not once reaching
for his blasters, his mind entirely focused on his objective. Getting Ahsoka to
the Twilight. There was no chance in any of the Corellian hells he would leave
her now that he had her in his arms and on the way off this prison. His team
was capable and he was confident Fives would get them where they needed to go.

Backtracking, through the ship proved difficult as the pirates closed the
noose, catching them in blind corners and attempting to set up ambushes; Fives
leading the party, didn’t let them. From somewhere up ahead, blaster fire
echoed back to them along with a series of colorful insults and Rex
fractionally tightened his grip as he bolted across a service corridor link up.

As they traversed crossover corridors, passing through hatchways and taking
service corridors between levels, they left a trail of bodies in their wake
before emerging into the last of the corridors. It was larger, ending with the
hangar bay, and Ahsoka tensed further in his grasp, her muscles flexing and he
was reassured not all of her senses were dulled.

Turning his lips to the montral that was pressed against the side of his face,
he spoke softly, just for her, his voice nothing more than a murmur. “Almost
there, Ahsoka; we’re almost there.”

The battle suddenly intensified, red and blue bolts shrieking about them.

Ducking away as a bolt sliced far too close, Rex spun into a side junction,
shielding her with his body, hers close to the wall. Ducking his head and
suddenly wishing he’d kept his bucket on and not relishing going out from an
errant blast to the back of the head.

“Kix-”

“On it, Captain.”

His men read him too well and, in that moment, Rex had never been more
grateful.

Kix slid around the corner to help Sureshot, Tup, Jesse and Fives, drawing
fire. Bare seconds later, as there seemed to be no discernible sign of either
side winning, Rex caught the familiar hum of a lightsaber. It penetrated the
cacophony of battle and he turned his head in time to see the blur that was his
General pass through the hallway behind them.

Ahsoka’s arms tightened around his neck, pressing against his windpipe and
making it hard to breathe, but he made no move to stop her as the screams of
the pirates echoed through the corridors from the hangar bay, Skywalker
undoubtedly leaping full force into the center of the battle.

Rex didn’t need to see it to know it.

The brief skirmish was highlighted by several cries and the clashing-hum of a
lightsaber meeting its mark before a quiet, almost eerie after the fight,
descended.

Kix’s voice came from down the corridor. “All clear Captain.”

“For now.” Quipped Jesse.

“Let’s go Rex; there’s plenty more where those came from.”

At Anakin’s urgent words, Rex turned his attention fully to the young woman in
his arms, feeling the pressure of hers around his windpipe. As a result, her
name was slightly choked. “Ahsoka?”

She squeezed, not saying anything, before releasing the death grip on his neck
and let him breathe again. He ducked his head, re-offering his gruff
reassurance, not sure what else he could say to help; if there was anything
that could help. She was a trooper to hang in when he could feel the tension
screaming from every muscle in her body. “We’re almost there.”

Clutching her close, Rex went from a standstill, two steps into a walk and then
straight into a run as the sound of feet pounding on the deck reached him from
somewhere behind.

Passing Kix, Anakin and Tup, he went straight for the ramp where Jesses and
Fives were crouched defensively, slowing to maintain his balance as he stepped
up it, he hearing a shout and then blaster fire followed by the General
ordering the men to get on the ship.

Moving into the assembly area, Rex passed straight through it, down a short
corridor and into the infirmary. It was empty, as expected, the roar of the
engines already kicking into high gear as Rex tipped Ahsoka back to the bunk.

She clung to him as he tried to straighten, her face buried in the crook of his
neck, her breathing both fast and erratic. He could feel her heart racing
against his through the pulsing of her lekku against his neck.

“Ahsoka.” He pulled his hands away from her, remembering how she’d struggled
when he’d caught her up in his arms before leaving the Zygerrian’s room.
Reaching up, he curled his fingers around hers, wincing as he felt her nails
dig into the column of his throat. “Let me go.”

She shook her head, coming off the bunk some as he made to straighten.

Caught, Rex braced his forearms on either side of her, bending her back to the
bed, conscious of the reverberation of booted heels on the deck plates, certain
the ship was about to take off and either send them both sprawling across the
floor or lay him out on top of her.

He didn’t know which would have been worse.

The expected acceleration kicked in as he leaned back and attempted to pry her
fingers away again. He stumbled, the force and angle of the takeoff knocking
him, first into the bunk and then back, dropping him on his ass and sending him
skidding across the room.
 Ahsoka, unwilling or unable to release her hold, went with him.

Crashing into the wall, Rex somehow managed to roll so his armor took the brunt
of the blow, staying where he was, his arms encircling her protectively. And,
ironically, the action had the effect he’d been trying to achieve at the bunk.
 She let go.
===============================================================================

Ahsoka scrambled away, breaking Rex's hold with wide eyes. Rolling back and out
of his arms, the blanket falling away, she completed two rotations with her
heart in her throat before coming to a stop.

Her chest heaving, breath coming in gasps as her instincts screamed at her to
run, she found she was frozen staring at the man she’d been clinging to moments
before. The ship shook a little before the inertial compensators caught up and
she edged backwards as Rex pushed himself to his elbow.

His eyes lifted to meet hers, and they started at one another for a moment
before he slowly, deliberately, reached out and caught the edge of the blanket
near him. As she watched, her fingers curling in on themselves in an
instinctive bid to resist if he tried to-

The blanket came her way slowly as Rex wordlessly held it out to her.

There was nothing in his expression except the concern and compassion within
the depths of his gaze, his face otherwise impassive. Her hands moved
hesitantly, one coming off the deck plates as she mentally reminded herself
that this was Rex.

Rex who had just rescued her. Rex who had taken her away from Hondo and killed
Atai. Rex who had brought her beyond their grasp to where she was safe.

Just as slowly, Ahsoka reached out to take it, avoiding his fingers because she
couldn’t help herself, and drew it back, the fabric running through his fingers
like water before she clutched it to her chest. Her gaze never leaving his,
never-

“Ahsoka! Oh Force , what did they do to you?!”

She hadn’t heard the door open or the footsteps, but the words ripped through
her carefully controlled calm, dredging up unwanted, degrading images.

Of Hondo that first day and his brutally efficient and clinical assault; of
being in the shower afterwards and the following days that had blurred together
when she’d been left alone, and the details of each assault she’d survived like
a stain she couldn’t wash away. Written indelibly within her memories and on
the backs of her eyelids was every touch, every foul thing she’d endured.

Her shoulders hunched forward protectively as she curled away from that voice,
the looming shadow behind her barely registering as she struggled with the
memories, her fingers digging painfully into the flesh of her palms around the
edge of the blanket.

She jerked as a gauntleted hand reached over her shoulder and grasped the
fabric. Rex, she reminded herself, stifling the urge to curl away as he lifted
the blanket and, to her surprise, pulled it protectively about her, like a
shield. His voice rumbled behind her, words she didn’t catch as she was focused
inwardly, struggling to banish the images back into the benumbed part of her
brain they’d been hiding in before that voice had spoken.

The silence outside of her head went unnoticed as she struggled to control her
breathing, repeating her vow to herself. I won’t give up; Rex believes in me. I
won’t give up; Rex rescued me.

A shuddering breath escaped as Rex’s hand closed about the blanket before her,
his wrist not quite resting on her shoulder, but it caught her attention. Rex
is here; he won’t let anyone hurt me anymore. Her hand crept up under the
blanket, hesitating, gently feathering his fingers through the fabric of his
gauntlet. He didn’t react and she slid her fingers about his, using that touch
like an anchor as she squeezed gently and then tightly when he returned the
gesture.
 
“I’ll take it from here, Captain.”

Ahsoka jerked with those words, her knees coming up as she curled slightly
about Rex’s hand, still grasping it tightly. No, she wanted to scream. Don’t!
Don’t take... don’t...

“Respectfully, Senator Amidala, I think I should stay.”

Yes!

“No.”
No!
“Senator, if you-”

“Get out, Captain.”

Panic hit her with the order and Ahsoka's voice responded, choked and
desperate. “Rex-”

“Shh, it’s okay Ahsoka,” Padmé interrupted her. “I need to have the droid
perform a medical examination and I can’t do it with you here, Captain,” her
tone hardened. “I’d rather not make it an order for you to go.”

No! Her hands clutched at his with desperate strength, digging into the glove
of his gauntlets as she was unable to find a way to express her thoughts, her
tongue suddenly stuck to the roof of her mouth. Don’t go, Rex!

“Senator, I don’t think-”

“Out, Captain.”

No!

“Senator-”

“Now. Or I’ll have Anakin forcefully remove you.”

No!
 “Rex-” it was all she could manage as he began to loosen his grip. She didn’t
want to be alone with the Senator for all the thought of his leaving the room
presented her with conflicting emotions.

On one hand, he was male and the idea of having him gone was appealing on an
instinctual level that spoke of safety and security. On the other hand, this
was Rex, the man who’d always been there for her, who’d come to rescue her, and
the idea of him leaving her alone was terrifying.

Her gaze moved from the wall upwards as he shifted his position and crouched
before her to work on extracting his hand. Their eyes locked. Her desperation
must have shown in her eyes, because his tone was gentle, cajoling, but she
could see, if not understand, the conflict within the depths of his gaze.

“Ahsoka-”

“Don’t go,” she rasped, her voice carrying no further than between them.
“Don’t-”

“You need medical attention,” he murmured in reply, prying her fingers off his
gauntlet. “I can’t stay for that.”

“Rex-” her throat closed, begging him with her eyes, pleading with him to stay;
to not leave her with Padmé.

“I’ll be right outside if you need me,” he promised. “You’re safe now,
remember? We need to get you checked out.”

“Rex-”

“Captain.”

Padmé’s tone demanded compliance and Rex uncurled the last of Ahsoka’s fingers
from his gauntlet despite her grip. Wrapping them tightly about the fabric
holding the blanket together instead, his voice was rough when he spoke. “Let
her help you, Ahsoka. I’ll be right outside, okay?”

“No - please,” she reached for him, desperate to hold onto the one thing that
had made her feel safe for the first time in days but perversely relieved he
was going. “Rex-”

He stood, stepping out of her range, his jaw clenched as tightly as the fists
at his sides. With a harsh nod to the Senator and one last look her way, he was
gone. He’d left the room; left her with Padmé; left her alone.

He’s gone, she thought, trying to move, the feeling of being deserted crashing
into her and scattering her thoughts and panic gripped her lungs in a vice and
she began to hyperventilate. He’s left me. He’s left me! To this woman, this
fate. He doesn’t want me; he’s-

“Ahsoka.”

She flinched, her head snapping around to look at the woman crouched at her
side, gasping for breath as she looked into Padmé’s worried brown eyes. Ahsoka
stared at her, cringing as and jerking back as a hand reached for her face.

“Don’t touch me!”

“Ahsoka, it’s Padmé,” the other woman told her firmly, dropping her hand and
searching her expression; Ahsoka wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but the
urge to retreat was strong and she cowered, sliding backwards a little, putting
some distance between them.

“It’s okay, Ahsoka,” Padmé offered in a soothing tone that sounded almost
condescending to the young Togruta. “It’s all over now. You’re safe on board
the Twilight; no one will hurt you here. We just need to give you a medical
exam and everything will be back to normal in no time. You’ll see; everything
will be okay.”

Okay?

Okay?!

Ahsoka wanted to rail at her, scream and shout that things would never be okay
again!

She’d suffered unspeakable abuse at the hands of Hondo and Atai; she’d been
through her own personal hell, lived a nightmare that even now refused to die
and Padmé thought everything was going to be okay?!  Hysterical laughter
bubbled up in her throat; laughter that was choked and throttled from shocked
disbelief as Padmé reached for her again.

Her reactions were too slow this time as Padmé wrapped an arm about her
shoulders and lifted, urging her to her feet. Her legs protested as much as the
intimately abused flesh between them, but Padmé didn’t seem to notice her
falter, urging her forward and keeping up a litany of platitudes.

“That’s it, Ahsoka,” murmured the Senator, “Come on; I just need to get you to
the med bed so the droid can look you over. You’re safe now; Anakin’s at the
helm and there are two squads of troopers who won’t let anyone happen to you.
You’re very brave, very strong for surviving whatever the pirates put you
through; come on, just a step. That’s it; one more. There we go. Everything’s
all right now; I promise it’s over.”

Over.

The word echoed in Ahsoka’s head like a mantra, Padmé’s attempts to reach her
and reassure her falling on deaf ears even as her body responded to the
physical urging towards the medbay cot.

It would never be over.

Ahsoka could feel the imprint of Atai’s body throbbing within hers, the feel of
his cruel hands on the tender flesh of her breasts; the sharpness of his teeth
where he’d broken the skin of her neck. She could still feel the imprint of
Hondo’s fingers as they’d played with the tender, sensitive skin of her lek,
making her feel things she’d never before experienced and intensely shamed for
reacting well to even a part of it.

Acting on auto pilot, she didn’t really feel her body as Padmé urged her to the
bed, leaving the blanket where it was, and activated the medical droid. Staring
at the ceiling, her thoughts elsewhere, Ahsoka missed the sharply indrawn
breath of the Senator as the droid began to work, lifting the blanket away and
revealing the damage Atai and Hondo had wrought.

She didn’t hear the door open, nor the running of footsteps; she didn’t hear
anything as she withdrew into herself, silently wishing, as the droid cut away
what was left of her clothes, that Rex had stayed to hold her hand while,
contrarily, glad he hadn’t.
***** Chapter 3 *****
Leaving Ahsoka with Padmé had to have been one of the hardest things he’d ever
done, Rex reflected as he stepped into the hallway, the door closing behind
him. Ahsoka’s expression would haunt him for a long time but the conflict in
her gaze had been what had finally decided him to go; not the threat from the
Senator.

For all she’d clung to him, Ahsoka didn’t want to be around him in those
moments much more than she wanted to be around Padmé - and she was desperately
in need of medical attention. The tangy, sickly smell of her blood clung to his
nostrils like the spatters that marred his armor and gauntlets. Where the smell
had never really bothered him before, the fact it was hers made all the
difference.

With no one else around, Rex gave in to the rage that had threatened to consume
him with the sight of Ahsoka’s injuries, and been held in careful check, he
slammed his fist into the wall opposite the med bay doors with every ounce of
strength he could muster.

It stung; hurt, even through the gauntlet, but he didn’t really notice the
throbbing in his knuckles and fingers - it hadn’t helped. Exhaling on a long
breath, he tilted his forehead to the wall, resting it next to the fist that
was still firmly planted on the durasteel, his thoughts a jumble.

If the Zygerrian hadn’t been dead, if he hadn’t been attacking Ahsoka when he’d
come into the room, Rex would have made him suffer a little more. A headshot
had been too quick, too clean for what that monster had done to her. He didn’t
regret killing the Zygerrian; he simply regretted doing it too quickly.

Boxing up that murderous urge took far more restraint than he’d ever had to use
before, especially since the focus of his rage was already dead. I should have
been there sooner .

It was a useless thought for what was done, had been done, and they would now
have to deal with the consequences. Like Kix, for example, refusing to help
Ahsoka when they’d found her.

Rex frowned.
 Now that he didn’t have a frightened and abused Togruta clinging to him, the
circumstances of that situation came back, nagging at him. Kix hadn’t helped;
why? The medic had insisted Ahsoka wouldn’t accept it, Ahsoka had even
confirmed it, but should he have ordered Kix to help despite her affirmation?

Why hadn’t Kix, who was very close with Ahsoka, been able to help her?

Pushing away from the wall, he turned towards the rear bay where the troopers
would be waiting. Ahsoka’s medical exam would take some time; he’d seen the
damage with his own eyes and the droid would be hard pressed to complete its
job before they arrived back at the Resolute . Which left him time to get some
answers.

His hands dropped to his holsters and he gave a start, glancing down with a
frown as he realized with a bit of a shock he was short a blaster pistol. With
Ahsoka’s condition and in the rush to get her help, he’d never even noticed.
 Now where…

He cast his mind back, trying to remember what he’d done with it, and an image
of a broken and bloodied naked Ahsoka sprang back to mind. His fist clenched as
he could see himself setting his blaster aside to cover her - and not giving it
a second thought.

Considering Ahsoka’s condition, he found he couldn’t be surprised he’d left one
of his trusty, modified DC-17s behind. Despite the fact the blaster had seen
him through many a campaign, he couldn’t lament its loss; it was a trade he’d
make again in a heartbeat. That and more. A blaster, no matter how heavily
modified, was replaceable. Ahsoka was not.

Shaking his head to clear it, he palmed open the door to the bay to find his
troopers deep in discussion. Buckets were off and none of their expressions
were anything but grim. Kix and Coric were still in a hushed discussion just
outside the bay where the other troopers were seated, their voices low and
clipped, obviously arguing, speaking under the general level of the room’s
conversation so not to be overhead.

Rex’s entrance was noted immediately with Fives voicing the question that
seemed to hang in the air for a heartbeat, even the medics breaking off their
discussion to pay attention.

“How is she, Rex?”

“In rough shape,” Rex wasn’t going to sugar coat it for his men; they deserved
to know she’d been through hell and the truth would mitigate the gossip. “The
Senator is having the medical droid look her over.”

“A droid, sir?” Jesse’s confusion was obvious. “Kix or Coric could-”

“Senator’s orders, Jesse,” Rex was suddenly glad that Jesse had been distracted
by battle during the argument he and Kix’d had over the matter on the pirate’s
ship.

“Sir?”

“Yes Tup?”

“I… saw her back sir; it looked like she’d been clawed by a wild animal. Are
you sure the Commander will be okay?”

Rex wished he could say yes but Ahsoka’s reaction to his presence cautioned him
against it. Instead he tried to give them hope. “Until we know exactly what
she’s been through, there’s no way of knowing how long her recovery will take.
I expect each of you to show some discretion while she is. The Commander, as
all of you know, is a resilient young woman and I believe, I know she has the
strength to overcome whatever happened to her on that ship.”

There was a grumble and murmur of anger through the room; someone commented
that they should turn back and blow the ship out of the sky. Another dissenting
voice challenged it, saying they’d come out without casualties, their objective
obtained.

The room began to visibly divide, those who’d served with the Commander longest
arguing that an attack on her was an attack on Torrent Company; those who were
relatively new taking the other side. Mission accomplished; no need for further
contact.

Rex stepped in before it got out of hand. “Enough!”

His order cracked through the room, drawing immediate silence. “We have the
Commander. The Generals will make the decision on what restitution the pirates
will pay-”

“We should go back and wipe them out, sir!”

Rex leveled a hard look at the group in general. “If and when, knowing General
Skywalker as I do, the pirates are to be dealt with, I will request that
Torrent Company be given the honor of the assignment. Is that clear?”

“Yes sir!”

They spoke as one, all but Fives, snapping to attention with the finality in
Rex’s tone.

“Good; Kix, Coric, can I see you in the hall for a moment?”

Fives moved to join them, but Rex gave a minute shake of his head, stopping the
ARC with a glance at the room which clearly was an unspoken order to keep the
peace. Fives flashed him the faintest of smiles and a nod, moving to the door
but not following them through it.

The medics joined Rex in the corridor where he could keep an eye on the medbay
door; the moment they were done, he had every intention of being back at
Ahsoka’s side. If she wanted him there.

Moving towards it, he stopped just far enough away from the door with their
brothers on the other side to not be overheard. Turning to look at Coric and
Kix, he examined the older of the two for a moment before turning to the
younger. “What do you know?”

“Very little,” it was Coric who replied despite the question being addressed to
the other medic. “With Kix being unable to examine her, there’s no way of
knowing what she suffered through.”

“Don’t give me that osik,” Rex snapped. “You may not know, but you damn well
suspect something. What is it?”

The medics exchanged looks and this time it was Kix who spoke. “She… might have
been raped, sir.”

“Raped?”

Kix nodded, searching his expression, but Rex didn’t know what for. He knew the
term; it had been covered in basic as a part of their ‘inappropriate conduct
towards civilians’ training. The term, however, meant little without context
and, not having context, Rex honestly didn’t know why either medic was so
concerned.

“What is rape, Rex?”

“Forced or nonconsensual sexual contact,” Rex replied immediately, the
definition springing to mind as if in print before his eyes. Words. Nothing
more. “So?”

Kix’s gaze tracked back to the med bay door where Padmé and Ahsoka were
closeted. “You were in the room before any of us, what did you see?”

A sight that would probably haunt him for the rest of his life. “The Zygerrian
was attacking Ahsoka.”

“Attacking her how?”

“What does it matter? I killed him, pulled him away and covered her so the men
wouldn’t see. She’s safe now.” He didn’t want to do this. “Isn’t the fact he
attacked her enough?”

“Not in this case, Rex,” Coric assured him reluctantly. “Kix and I differ on
interpretation, but depending on what you saw this could be a lot worse than we
know and… we can’t help her, or help the men help her, until we know what kind
of trauma she’s been through.”

Rex looked from one medic to the other, his jaw tightening with anger. “You
want a description.”

“Yes, sir,” Kix’s tone was resigned. “From the point you entered the room to
when you covered her with the blanket, what did you see or hear?”

Apparently he was going to do this. His fists clenched and he turned, taking
two steps away to distance himself. He couldn’t recount this while looking at
them. “Fives blew the lock on the door and we pried it open. I went in first to
see... First thing I saw was the hairy back of that thing where it was pinning
her to the bed.” Rex closed his eyes, trying not to picture the scene but being
unable to help himself.

“She was fighting him,” his voice was rough, harsh, but he didn’t notice,
“kicking, clawing, but her knees were spread and he was between them, and she
couldn’t… I fired the first shot as he came down on her and she screamed.” He
flinched, the sound echoing in his ears even now. He’d never forget it. “I
pulled his dead body away but she was…” his fist lashed out, connecting with
the durasteel wall at his side, his jaw refusing to work, his lips refusing to
go further.

He’d failed Ahsoka, been too late to help her and the guilt was eating at him.

“Sir.”

His eyes opened to the blank hallway.

“Sir, was he naked?”

Rex nodded once, sharply. He’d only noted it only in passing, but that detail
was clear.

“Was there a sound at all, Rex, as you pulled him away?”

He rounded on the medics. “What kind of sick-”

“Easy, Captain,” Coric held his hands up in a placating gesture. “It’s a
clinical question. The very thought of what you’re describing makes me want to
be ill - or break something.” His gaze dropped pointedly to the fisted hand at
Rex’s side.

“What does sound have to do with it, Coric?”

“If he raped her, sir, if he was in the… act when you killed him, there could
have been a…” Kix trailed off, looking green under his tan.

Rex shook his head. “There was a wet slurping, popping sound,” he reluctantly
divulged. “I remember hearing it but I didn’t think anything of it at the
time.”

Coric and Kix shared another look.

“What is it?”

“It sounds like the Zygerrian was in the act of raping her when you stepped in,
sir,” Kix managed, wincing as he spoke. “He was naked and between her legs,
pinning her to the bed-”

“I don’t need you to paint me a picture,” Rex snapped, “I was there!”

“What Kix is trying to say, Rex, is that she’s been… violated,” Coric’s
expression and tone were grim, “penetrated by the Zygerrian - sexually.”

The image that blossomed in his head was ugly and brutal when painted with the
knowledge of what he’d seen and Rex thought he might be sick. That… thing had…
his hand hit the wall again, this time open palmed and his fingers curled
inwards, gripping the siding in a kind of death grip as Kix took a step back
and Coric held his ground. His words when he spoke were soft, lethally so,
daring the medic to confirm them.

“Are you telling me that rape... is violent intercourse?”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you, Rex.”

Both Coric and Kix went white and then red as he used language over the course
of the next thirty seconds that would have made Fives’ ears burn. Rex’s hand
curled and his fist pressed hard enough against the wall to make the plastoid
of his gauntlet creak. The release did nothing to expel the fury within him
with their revelation.

“Sir-”

Running both hands over his head and face, Rex found he was shaking. Nothing
had ever unnerved like the sight of Ahsoka’s predicament on board the pirate
ship but now knowing what he’d witnessed… knowing what he’d seen, what he’d
stopped-

“You stopped it, sir,” Kix’s voice was quiet as if reading his mind. “You’re
the one she turned to in there. That’s why I couldn’t help her. The Commander -
Ahsoka,” he shook his head. “Whatever else happened to her, I don’t think
having any of us around her for the moment is a good idea. She... panicked when
she saw me. When I got close.”

“There’s a little knowledge on the subject from our flash training but Kix and
I will do more research when we get back.”

“The more we know, the better we can help her,” agreed Kix.

“No.”

“Sir?”

Rex dropped his hands, unable to quell the trembling that had caught hold of
him. It was bad enough the men knew Ahsoka had been brutalized. If they knew
how… they’d see her differently, treat her differently. He knew it
instinctively. He wanted to treat her differently and knew he couldn’t. He knew
Ahsoka well enough to know that if he did, she’d never forgive him. “The men
can’t know. She wouldn’t want them to know.”
 "Sir-"
 "No, Kix," Rex shook his head. "They can't know. This goes no further than we
three."
 "What about the General, sir?"
"No one," Rex reiterated, "Is that understood?"
 Both medics nodded reluctantly.
 "Good." he looked away, back towards the med bay door, "Good."
***** Chapter 4 *****
Rex wasn’t allowed to see Ahsoka for the remainder of the flight back to the
Resolute.
 Once the medics had rejoined the troops, Fives approached him briefly, but Rex
couldn’t bring himself to give Fives more information that he already had.
 Fives respected Ahsoka for her skills and her treatment of them as individuals
and not copies, not because she was a woman or because she was a Jedi. Umbara
had given Fives cause to doubt the Jedi mandate and their own ingrained
training to trust them, and the ARC trooper now only respected those Jedi he
knew personally. Those he’d worked with before and had proven themselves.
 Rex couldn’t anticipate how Fives would react if he knew the extent that
Ahsoka had been assaulted and so instead chose not to enlighten him. The same
held true for the ARC as the other men. He would likely treat their young
commander differently if he knew just how badly she’d been hurt and Rex
couldn’t afford a single whisper of gossip. Not that Fives was a gossip but the
more men who knew, the better the chance of a slip up.
 When it became apparent that the Senator wasn’t about to let him back into the
room, Rex dipped into the cockpit where his General was seated at the controls,
double checking the ship’s systems and their coordinates.
 "How is she, Rex?"
 "The Senator kicked me out of the med bay so the droid could examine her,
sir," Rex then proceeded to lie through his teeth for Ahsoka's sake. Skywalker
knew him well enough to trust him and not pick his thoughts. "We won't know
anything certain until it's done."
 Anakin turned in the pilot's seat to look at him, frowning. "I thought Kix was
with you when you found her."
 "Yes sir. There wasn't time to examine her."
 "Did she look okay when you found her? Her arms seemed pretty sliced from what
I saw."
 Obviously the General hadn't seen the extent of the damage wrought to her
back. The blanket had done its job. Rex inwardly sighed, while he couldn't give
the General the whole truth, he couldn't lie about this. "I'm no medic but she
was... pretty cut up, sir."
 Anakin's concerned look darkened. "Torture?"
 Of a kind . Rex couldn't voice it. Anakin couldn't know of what he'd seen when
he'd found Ahsoka. "The Senator should be able to give you a full report when
the medical droid is done its examination."
 There was a moment's pause and then Anakin waved to the co-pilot's seat. "Care
you keep me company?"
 "Respectfully, sir, I told the Commander I'd be by the door in case she needed
anything."
 "Padme can-"
 "She was pretty distraught, sir," it was as far as Rex could bring himself to
go. Anything more and Anakin would start asking questions. "She didn't want me
to leave the room."
 "Then why did you?"
 "Senator Amidala made it an order." Rex knew, despite already having seen most
of Ahsoka's injuries, she wouldn't have wanted him to see them again, let alone
anything more. The droid would be doing a full body work up and he knew the
procedure could be... invasive. He could only imagine what it would be like for
Ahsoka, especially after what he knew she'd suffered. Still, his General knew
him well enough to cast him a questioning look and Rex had to expand his
reasoning. "I didn't feel it was appropriate I stay, sir."
 Anakin smiled faintly, the barest ghost of one, before his expression turned
grim again. "Somehow, I doubt even Padme could keep you out of the room if you
felt otherwise, Rex. We'll be coming out of hyperspace in ten."
 "I'll let the men know, sir."
 "Let Padme know too, will you?
 Rex nodded and turned to go, stopping just outside the cockpit door to see a
very ill looking Senator standing just outside the med bay doors. Expression
darkening, Rex strode straight up to her. "You left her alone?"
 "I couldn't... The droid's almost done." She visibly swallowed, looking as if
she were going to be sick, or rather, that she just had been. "Captain..."
 There was a crash from the room and a cry, just loud enough to reach through
the door but not down the corridor, and Rex acted without thinking. Pushing the
Senator aside, he hit the door controls and only just barely stopped himself
from rushing into the room.
 "Captain!"
 Ignoring the Senator's indignant shout, Rex scanned the room. Asoka was curled
in a corner by the door with her knees drawn to her chest, wide eyes staring at
the medical droid lying in a crumpled heap across the room. Rex stepped in and
hit the door switch. The sound drew Ahsoka's attention, fear visible in every
line of her posture.
 "It's Rex, Ahsoka," he assured her evenly, trying to reassure her. After what
he now knew had occurred between her and the Zygerrian, he couldn't really
blame her for not wanting the droid, or anyone, anywhere near her. Crossing the
room with slow strides, he picked the blanket off the bed and turned, waiting
as she watched him. "Can I bring this to you?"
 Her head straightened, as if surprised by his request and then, after a
moment's hesitation, jerked once. Using the same, even pace, Rex crossed the
room, crouching just an arm's length away, and offered her the blanket.
 Her fingers, normally the same color as the rest of her skin, were bloodless,
a sickly orange instead of their normal burnt sienna.
 His expression tightened, staying firmly neutral only by sheer force of will.
"You'll need to reach out and take it, Ahsoka." he repeated her name, hoping to
draw more than just a look. Perhaps draw some kind of-
 "Captain! What do you think you're doing?"
 He didn't so much as glance in the direction of the door. It was Ahsoka whose
head snapped around, her hands coming free and with an angry cry of "Get out!
Get out!" as she slammed the Senator back with the Force push.
 The door slid shut.
 Rex heard a gasp and then a body impacting a wall. The click of the lock on
the door engaging was loud in the silence. Ahsoka gasped, tears glittering in
her eyes and on her lashes but not falling.
 "Ahsoka."
 Her head whipped around his way, what he could only describe as terror lining
her features. He swallowed hard. It physically hurt to have her look at him
like that. "It's Rex, Ahsoka. I'm not going to hurt you."
 There was a moment where he wasn't certain if he would end up like the Senator
and the droid before her shoulders began to tremble and she wrapped her arms
around her knees again. "Rex."
 "That's right."
 "You... rescued me?"
 "We got you off Hondo's ship." Her whole body seemed to curl in on itself with
the mention of the Pirate. "You're on board the Twilight, Ahsoka. I'm not going
to let anything happen to you here."
 "Rex."
 "That's right." Easing forward, he kept his gaze on hers as he carefully,
slowly, shifted the blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders. Her hand shot
out as he pulled it around the front of her body, gripping his tightly.
 "Rex."
 "I'm here."
 There was a high pitched whine as the ship suddenly came out of hyperspace,
only Rex's planted position saving him from falling backwards. Ahsoka was
thrown forward, into his arms, clutching it with enough of a grip he could feel
it through his gauntlet. Unthinkingly, he tucked her close to his body, turning
as she off balanced him, his shoulder hitting the wall as the ship decelerated
too quickly for the inertial compensators to handle.
 Ahsoka, much to his surprise, stayed where she was despite the fact her body
was as rigid as armor in his grasp. Her face turned his way, as if she needed
to see him to assure herself she wasn't imagining things. "Rex?"
 "I'm not going anywhere, Ahsoka," he assured her gruffly. He could only
imagine what she'd done to survive the horrors of Hondo's ship. "We should be
on final approach to the Resolute . When we get there, can you walk out of
here?"
 She hesitated, seeming to take stock of her condition - her flinch and cringe
made him want to go back and kill the Zygerrian again and again - and then she
shook her head. Her words were soft, shamed, and she turned her face away. "I
can't walk, Rex, it... it hurts to... to..."
 "Not your fault," he assured her, not wanting to distress her further.
"Probably best you don't walk," he reflected. "You'd be giving the men an
eyeful." She flinched, cringing away again, and Rex tried another tactic. "I
could carry you out of here and to your room."
 "My room."
 "On the Resolute," he clarified, wondering if she'd made the connection.
"You're almost home, Ahsoka." On the heels of his words, Rex could feel the
vibration of the landing gear extending through the deck plates of the ship.
"Home," tears slid down her cheeks as she whispered the word and Rex would have
given a lot in that moment to know what she was thinking. Closing her eyes, her
head tilted forward and touched his breastplate, her shoulders shaking as a
soft, ragged sob escaped.
 Rex froze.
 It took him a moment to realize what was happening, to correlate her actions
with the sounds and when he did, the knowledge was astounding. Ahsoka's crying.
Was it a belated shock reaction? Was she supposed to cry? He didn't know.
Nothing in his training had prepared him for this.
 With one hand clutched within her grasp, the blanket still stuck within his
fingers, and now curled tightly under her chin and pressed against her
clavicle, Rex wasn't given a lot of options. His free hand touched her shoulder
hesitantly and, when she didn't pull away, he carefully ran his hand down her
arm, not daring to touch her further.
 There was a soft hiccupping gasp as she struggled to control her tears and
almost as quickly as it had come, the crying bout stopped. Ahsoka lifted her
head and Rex dropped his hand, unable to reclaim the one she still had trapped.
Looking into her eyes, protective instincts roared to the forefront upon seeing
her vulnerably shattered look. He'd have done anything to restore the confident
young woman he'd always known in those moments but was at a loss where to
start.
 "I can carry you out of here, Ahsoka, if you'll let me."
 "Take me home, Rex," she agreed, her voice husky, tears suddenly gone.
 "There should be another blanket in the cupboard by the bed," he told her,
nodding back towards where the bed, wishing it had occurred to someone to bring
her a change of clothes. "We should cover you as much as possible until we can
find you something to wear."
 Whatever he was saying seemed to have the right effect. Ahsoka nodded and
released his fingers, tenting the blanket, already around her shoulders, more
fully around her body. Rex tried not to notice the long lines of her legs or
the scratches and gouges that crisscrossed them as he rose to his feet and
crossed towards the bunk.
 He found the extra blankets where he expected them to be, pulling out a couple
and heading back towards Ahsoka. The door was surprisingly silent, the Senator
seeming to have given up, and Rex took a moment to cast a glance at the medical
droid. He frowned, seeing it had some kind of a long, smooth, phallic shaped
instrument in hand, and suddenly Ahsoka's reaction made sense.
 Stupid droid. I should have stayed in the room. If I had-
 If he had, Ahsoka would never have forgiven him no matter what tests the droid
had been trying to do. And he wouldn't have talked to Kix and Coric to know
what he'd stopped. Knowledge, he reflected grimly, isn't always an advantage.
 Turning away from the droid, he walked back towards his Commander, trying not
to notice how young and vulnerable and lost she looked draped in just the one
blanket. The medical blankets weren't much better than the one she had on, but
he suspected she'd be glad for its loss. Unfolding the squares, he felt a brief
bump as the landing skids touched the deck.
 The Twlight was home.
 "Ahsoka?"
 She looked up at him as he offered the square and nodded. Rex wrapped it
around her shoulders and tugged the other one away, discarding it somewhere
behind him. Without pausing, he unfurled the second sheet - and then stopped.
How was he going to get it around her?
 Ahsoka seemed to see his dilemma and one trembling hand reached his way.
Grasping it, he locked his arm as she began to pull herself upwards. Seeing her
intent, he helped, getting her to her feet as she swayed, and assisted her in
leaning against the wall. It was only for a moment as he wrapped the second
sheet around her waist, covering her from hip to toes.
 Rex gave her his back as she adjusted the temporary covers, turning only when
she finally spoke again.
 "Rex."
 She'd freed her arms and made herself a kind of sheet dress that practically
covered her from neck to foot. And she was swaying. Rex put his arms out as her
legs gave out, Ahsoka clutching him with a pained cry. He said nothing as he
offered her a silent carry.
 Ahsoka visibly swallowed and nodded, wrapping shaking arms around his
shoulders and back as he scooped her up. Rex moved towards the door and had her
unlock and open it, putting her in control of the situation momentarily. It
seemed to calm her, to help her, and Rex made note of it.
"Where to?"
 "My room," she told him in an undertone, tucking her face against his shoulder
and not looking around. "I can't-"
 "I know." Unthinkingly, he turned his head to press his lips against her
nearest montral. "I'll get you there. I've got you, okay?"
 Tense though she was, she nodded.
 "Rex!"
 He turned, spying Fives down the hall even as he picked up the sound of an
argument from the cockpit. The Senator and General, no doubt. Rex spared them
no additional thought as he strode down the hallway.
 Fives and the other men who'd been on the mission were waiting, lining the
ramp, and Rex was all business despite the Jedi in his arms. "Form up.
Dignitary parade formation alpha one through the deck." There was a murmur of
surprise that was quickly quelled with a look. "Commander's orders."
 "Fall in."
 Rex felt Ahsoka flinch at Fives' snapped order, wishing he could offer her
further reassurance but knowing he couldn't without the men asking even more
questions. As it was, having Ahsoka cling to him to get onto the ship during
the rescue was one thing. Having her unable to leave under her own power would
spark more gossip than he could quell. But he'd try - when she wasn't clutching
him in a death grip.
 The men moved, Rex going with them, forming a barricade against anyone who
would dare approach. He knew it was a risk, but Ahsoka's lack of proper attire,
her walking or not, would have caused speculation one way or another. This way,
at least, she wasn't about to be swarmed by men inquiring about her health or
general status.
 As they marched through the hangar deck, men from Torrent Company, who'd
obviously come to welcome their Commander home, gave way, silence spreading
across the area as they took in the scene. Murmurs started, making Rex's
expression darken, but he couldn't address the issue at that moment without
exposing Ahsoka to more. "Coric."
 "Sir?"
 "The men?"
 His second in command saluted and exited the formation, going to take control
of the Company. Rex gave them very little thought as they exited the bay and
turned towards the turbo lift. Fives keyed in the codes, glancing back his way,
the ARC's gaze dropping to Ahsoka with a question in their depths. Rex shook
his head fractionally; this was neither the time nor the place.
 The lift opened and Rex stepped past the men, turning to address Fives. "Take
care of the men, vod."
 Fives nodded as the doors closed and Rex inwardly braced himself for what he
knew would be coming. "Ahsoka?"
 "Are we there yet, Rex?"
 "Soon. You should see a medic."
 She recoiled so violently, he nearly dropped her. "No!"
 "Ahsoka, you can't even walk. You should be in the medbay where they can take
care of you."
 "No! No!" She struggled against his hold. "I can walk - I can walk! No med
bays, no medics, I swear I can walk!"
 "Ahsoka!" Rex snapped her name, tightening his grip so he didn't lose her. Her
panic hit him between the shoulder blades with the force of a sneak attack.
"Ahsoka, stop it. You're just going to hurt yourself more!"
 "Let me go! I'll prove it... I'll..."
 "No med bay," he relented. "No med bay, Ahsoka. No medics." She settled,
quaking, and Rex regretted saying anything, readjusting his grip on her. Blood
from reopened cuts as she'd struggled was seeping through the fabric across her
thighs and hips. "We still need to get you cleaned up and healed."
 "You do it."
 "You know I'm not a medic."
 "You've done it before."
 "Nothing like this."
 Rex wasn't sure he'd be able to contain himself if he intimately knew the
extent of the damage done to her. He might have seen her injuries at a glance
before he'd covered her on Hondo's ship, and in the interim whenever she'd lost
her blanket, but there was a difference between seeing something and fixing it.
If he had to examine and patch each of her wounds, he didn't know how he'd ever
sleep again. Of course, he wasn't sure he'd sleep for days knowing what he did
know, so what was a little more?
 "Please, Rex?"
 He sighed, giving in. "Okay, Ahsoka. We'll do it your way."
***** Chapter 5 *****
Rex left Ahsoka in her quarters to shower and change while he collected what
he'd need from the medical bay. Fortunately, Kix had already reported in and
was able to provide him with what he needed.
 Tending Ahsoka's wounds was everything he'd feared it would be. She didn't
want him to touch her, and yet she refused to let anyone else near her.
Suggesting the Senator, or another female, had gotten him nowhere but glared
at.
 That, more than anything, was the most disturbing. Ahsoka was showing flashes
of anger he'd never seen before. Flashes of a darker side of her nature she'd
always held in careful check. It was something he'd have to bring to the
General's attention if it didn't change, but for now he'd hold his peace. She’d
been through a traumatizing experience and she had every right to be upset.
 Ahsoka needed him to be there for her, to be her friend, and that was what Rex
intended to be.
 It took Rex almost two hours, upon their return to the Resolute, to tend and
patch Ahsoka's injuries. He left additional supplies for her to tend the ones
he refused to look at, notably the ones across and up her inner thighs and
breasts. When he was finished, he packed away the medical supplies and slipped
them under her bunk. Her dressings on a few of them would need to be changed in
the morning and he didn't want to have to explain a return trip to the medbay.
 Keeping the extent and severity of Ahsoka's injuries minimized to the rest of
the men was important.
 Leaving her with a brief good night and a promise to check in on her later,
Rex returned to the barracks, relieved to find it deserted as it was, he
realized, meal time. Not the least bit hungry, he stepped into his room.
 Tossing his bucket on the bunk, Rex undid his gauntlets, pausing as he noted
the russet stains on the white plastoid. Shucking his kit with almost indecent
haste, he examined it carefully, grinding his teeth together as he noted just
how much russet, how much of Ahsoka's blood, stained the armor.
 Images of her injuries, and which ones would have caused each series of
stains, flashed through his mind. Images he'd never get out of his head. With
the curse, he lashed out and sent the kit to the floor with a crash.
 If I ever get my hands on the pirate who gave her to that... thing ... he's
going to die a slow and painful death, screaming his guts out!
 Exhaling and inhaling deeply as he tried to calm his anger, Rex flexed his
hands one at a time, exerting his considerable force of will to bring himself
back in line. Anger and frustration against the man who'd captured her wouldn't
solve anything. Ahsoka was free of them, no longer their prisoner, and back on
the Resolute where she belonged.
 A knock sounded at his door as he was collecting the pieces of his kit and
tossing them back onto his bunk. "Come in."
 Kix, looking a little taken aback by the armor plates that were still
littering his room, stood in his doorway. "Is... this a bad time, sir?"
 "No." Rex scooped a thigh guard and his kama from the floor, tossing them back
to his bunk. "What can I do for you, Kix?"
 "It's about the Commander," Kix glanced apprehensively back towards the empty
barracks. "I can come back later if you'd rather, sir, but I thought now would
be the best time..."
 "Take a seat," waving him to the only chair in his room, Rex continued to
collect his armor, reaching under the bunk to collect one gauntlet. His lips
thinned as he couldn't avoid the dried crimson slash and it hit the covers with
a little more force than the rest. "What about the Commander?"
 "How is she, Rex?" Kix didn't sit, but he did step in far enough to let the
door close behind him, going so far as to collect the two pieces of armor
nearest him and add them to the pile. Rex saw the medic's eyes take in the
slashes of dark red across his kit with an impassive expression. "And not the
'rough shape' rhetoric you gave everyone else, okay?"
 "She's in a bad way, Kix," bile rose in the back of his throat just thinking
about it as Rex collected the last of his armor and settled next to it on the
bed. Leaning against the wall, he regarded the medic. "Sit. I don't want to
make it an order."
 Kix sat, but on the kit locker at the end of the bunk. They stared at one
another for several moments before the medic broke the silence. His voice was
soft and even. Professional. "If you can give me details, sir, I might be able
to help with her treatment."
 Rex exhaled, his fingers flexing against his thigh. "Bruises the size of a
man's hand from shoulder to knee and clawed gashes across her back, hips and
thighs. Eight on her back and thighs needed bandaging, as did where that
creature's claws pierced her on the hips."
 "She should be in a bacta tank!"
 "I know that, Kix!" Rex snapped back and then held up one hand in apology. "I
know, but she won't go and she still outranks me. Nothing I've said or done can
convince her otherwise."
 "I could-"
 "No."
 "But sir, if she doesn't-"
 "She won't see you, Kix," closing his eyes, Rex felt as if he could sleep for
a week. The rescue mission had taken hours, and felt instead like it had taken
weeks, months even. But even as he thought of sleep, the images of Ahsoka's
injuries, of how she'd gotten those injuries, had his eyes snapping open. "If
you try and order her into a bacta tank, she'll know you know about her
injuries and I won't be able to see her."
 "And if she goes to the bacta tank, the men in the medical bay will see," Kix
flinched. "Were there any signs of infection?"
 "Nothing yet, thankfully. I'll keep an eye on her and I'll have to change her
bandages tomorrow," Rex rubbed his face with both hands. "I didn't... in
addition to that, she's got minor scratches and a nasty bite mark on the neck.
One of her lekku is bruised and the montral on the same side is scraped and-
" cataloging her issues for the medic was suddenly too much. "Fek , Kix! How do
you and Coric do this?"
 "Because we have to, sir. Knowing the injuries of a patient and sharing them
with another medic not directly involved in the situation has been known to
save lives."
 "She couldn't die from this, could she?"
 "I honestly don't know, sir. For the moment though, it sounds as if
rudimentary medical care is all she will accept. You could always offer to have
her put in the bacta tank later to try and eliminate some of the scarring
that's bound to occur."
 Scarring. Ahsoka, Rex suspected, wouldn't want any physical reminders of her
ordeal. "I'll mention it to her. It might be the way to get her into a tank."
 "There's more."
 "Then spit it out, Kix. I need a shower and time to clean up this mess before
I return to check in on her."
 "I'll keep this quick."
 The revelations from the medic over the next few minutes made Rex glad he was
sitting down. Well beyond his experience and knowledge, Kix spoke of things Rex
had never before heard about let alone encountered and now, it would seem, had
no choice but to deal with.
 “I’ll keep digging, sir,” Kix finally offered, subdued, “but you’ve got your
work cut out for you if this follows anything like the documented cases Coric
and I have already found.”
 As the information swirled around in his head without making a lot of sense,
Rex was inclined to agree. “Whatever information you can find to help me with
her is appreciated, Kix,” Rex assured him, rubbing one hand on the back of his
neck. “We weren’t exactly trained for this.”
 “I don’t think anyone ever expected it could happen to a Jedi, sir.”
 The unvoiced thought, ‘especially a Jedi as skilled as Ahsoka’, hung between
them. Despite himself, Rex couldn’t help but wonder at the methods that had
been used to subdue her so effectively and put her at the mercy of her captors.
 Eventually, Rex hoped to be given some clue as to how she’d been overcome, not
the violence, but the method that had left her so vulnerable. The medical
droid’s records had been retrieved and patched through to him, courtesy of Kix,
showing trace amounts of a paralytic agent still in her system.
 Rex had let the medics slip that little detail to the men to explain why,
after being in hyperspace and away from the pirate’s ship for hours, she’d
still been unable to walk. He wasn’t about to let them make up their own story
when a grain of truth would placate most of them.
 Exhaling a long breath, Rex agreed. “I don’t think anyone did, Kix. I’d better
finish up and get back to her. She didn’t like me leaving.”
 Kix regarded him for a moment and the nodded, indicating the mess on the bed.
“I’ll take care of your armor while you hit the showers, Rex.”
 Much as he didn’t relish the idea of cleaning his kit, Rex shook his head.
“I’ll do it.”
 “Respectfully, sir, I know a trick or two that you don’t for getting blood off
without damaging your paint job.” Kix motioned for him to go, reaching for the
nearest piece. “I should be done by the time you’re out.”
 Grateful, Rex pushed to his feet. “I’ll be back in ten.”
===============================================================================
 
 That night, Ahsoka locked herself away. She refused to see Padme and denied
Anakin access to her quarters. Refusing to even answer the comm. when Fives and
Coric stopped by, she opened the door to Rex alone.
 She sat with the lights on; huddled in the largest clothing she owned and
covered from neck to ankle, with her back to the wall at the end of her bed.
Her gaze remained locked on the door, waiting, dreading Hondo's appearance even
as she consciously struggled to tell herself that these were her personal
quarters on board the Resolute and not the opulent, decadent space Hondo
preferred.
 I'm safe. Rex said so.
 Nothing can hurt me here. Rex said so.
 The litany was mostly borne of desperation, her senses attuned to the ship
around her and nearly deafening, confusing even, after almost a week without
them. With the Force once again at her call, the feeling of being dampened, of
being half a person and slow to thought and reaction, had faded. It was like
being able to see, to breathe, and to feel, after being denied them for an
eternity.
 The last thing, however, that she wanted was to feel.
 Feeling reminded her of what she hadn’t been feeling this last week. Of her
weaknesses and her inability to defend herself the way she should have been
able to. Feeling reminded her that she should have been able to prevent the
assaults and that, in any other forum, she would have.
 Part of her was numb, still reeling from the shift in her reality back to a
normal that would never feel normal again.
 The knock at her door made her jump, fear spiking through her before she could
control it. Not again! The reaction was just that and she was able to quell it
by one simple thought. Hondo had never knocked - except at the ‘fresher. She
shuddered. Her comlink went off at that moment and she keyed it on, recognizing
the frequency. Her voice was hoarse and slightly shaky saying his name. “Rex.”
 “It’s me, Ahsoka. May I come in?”
 He didn’t need to ask, but the fact that he did was reassuring. “Yes.”
 Not bothering to get up, she stayed where she was, huddled against the wall,
as Rex keyed in the code to unlock her door. A code he’d changed before leaving
earlier at her request. She didn’t know it anymore and, as a result, couldn’t
be coerced into giving it.
 No threat or tactic could make her surrender it and, because it still hurt to
walk, she couldn’t open the door manually either. Rex appeared in the doorway,
the smell of antiseptic following him in and wafting her way as he secured the
door. He carried a tray in one hand, dressed in his armor still, and Ahsoka
found her posture relaxing as she regarded him.
 He was reassuring in his armor. Unthreatening. Clone troopers, especially the
familiar 501 st distinctive blue pattern, meant safety. They’d been the ones to
rescue her, to pull her out of the nightmare, though it didn’t yet seem real,
and Ahsoka found she was afraid that she’d suddenly wake to find herself at the
mercy of Atai or Hondo.
 She tensed when he stopped near the bed, standing at the end of it, watching
her with the same stoic expression he’d been wearing since finding her, only
his eyes speaking his concern. Rex nodded to her side table, tilting the tray,
and a delicious aroma wafted her way as he spoke. “I brought you dinner. May
I?”
  Ahsoka stared at him almost blankly. When had she eaten last? She couldn’t
remember and her stomach growled as the smell of it reached her. Nodding, her
gaze remained on the try as Rex set it down beside her and then retreated to
the chair he’d left at the side of her bed. Looking from him to the tray and
back, Ahsoka swallowed before finding her voice.
 “Thank you, Rex.”
 He nodded, but said nothing, motioning for her to go ahead. A little self-
conscious, she pulled the cover off the food and set it aside, hesitating when
she saw what was there. Two plates of streaks. Nuna steaks, if she wasn’t
mistaken. She looked questioningly at Rex and he smiled faintly.
 “I know you don’t like to eat alone. I thought I’d join you.”
 “Steak?”
 “A little welcome home present from the boys in the mess.” His expression was
once again solemn.
 Ahsoka recoiled. “They don’t… they’re not… do they know-”
 “No.”
 She swallowed hard, waiting, pleading silently with him to expound on the
answer and Rex, to her relief, did.
 “They know you were captured, Ahsoka, not the circumstances behind it. This is
their way of saying they… missed you.”
 Her throat closed as her gaze went back to the steaks. Missed her; the young
woman they’d missed no longer existed. Ahsoka might have come home, but she
wasn’t the same as when she’d left, couldn’t even contemplate who she’d been.
 A thought rose unbidden.
 Would the men want something from her? Some kind of favor, as Hondo had always
demanded? Would she be required to show her appreciation in some fashion? She
shuddered, the very idea of having to thank the men for their thoughtfulness,
touching as it was, terrifying.
 “I can’t…” she slapped the cover back on the tray and scooted back and away,
trembling as she shook her head in denial. “Take it away, Rex.”
 “You need to eat something.”
 “I’m not hungry.”
 “When was the last time you ate?”
 “I don’t remember,” she shook her head. “I’m not hungry, Rex.”
 “Ahsoka-”
 “I said I’m not hungry!”
 Rex recoiled as she screamed at him. It wasn’t much more than a twitch that
put him back in his chair as if she’d struck him, but it was a recoil all the
same.
 Ahsoka cringed, hugging her knees to her chest again, anticipating a backlash
from him that was as irrational as it was real. Rex, she knew logically, would
never hurt her, but Hondo had managed to drive home the price of failure. Her
whole body clenched, unbidden, in anticipation for fighting back and holding
off the abuse it knew would follow.
 Amber eyes watched her for a moment and Rex’s jaw tightened, his voice earnest
and firm, but gentle. “I won’t hurt you, Ahsoka.”
 The conviction in his words humbled her. She turned her face away, drawing her
knees that much closer to her chest. He was far enough away not to crowd her
but not, perversely, close enough to reassure her. It was a conundrum. She
wanted him around but didn’t.
 Rex, in his masculinity, represented everything she’d come to fear this last
week. Contrarily, he also represented everything she found comforting, every
hope she’d clung to while waiting to get off Hondo’s ship. He was her best
friend and confidant - yet he hadn’t been there when she’d needed him most.
 Silence stretched between them and Ahsoka belatedly realized he was waiting
for an answer to his statement. One she couldn’t give. She knew Rex wouldn’t
hurt her, but she felt differently. Men, all men, were now a source of fear so
strong it bordered on terror. Ahsoka couldn’t honestly reassure him and so
remained silent.
 When it was obvious she wouldn’t answer, Rex took it upon himself to break the
silence. “You need to eat to regain your strength, Ahsoka. To heal.”
 Her heart jumped in her chest. “Why?”
 “What?”
 “Why, Rex? What do they get out of it? What do I…” her voice broke, “what do I
have to do?”
 “Do?” He blinked, taken aback. “This is a welcome home gesture, Ahsoka. A gift
from the men. You being here, being back, is enough.”
 “But I’m not back,” she tightened her grip, feeling the bandages and bacta
patches strain and pull against the pressure she was exerting on her body. “I
can’t…”
 “You will be,” Rex asserted, his conviction both buoying and crushing. “It
might not be the same and it might take you a long time to get there, but you
will be. You’ll get better. You’ll be better.”
 Tears flooded her eyes. “I don’t see how.”
 “The same way you’ve overcome every other obstacle that’s been in your path -
through sheer stubbornness and will.” He smiled faintly before it died,
suddenly solemn. “I’m glad you’re safe now.”
 “Safe.” She choked on the word. “I feel like I’m going to jump out of my skin!
I keep expecting to suddenly wake up and find this,” she waved at the room,
“and you are nothing but a dream. I keep expecting Ho… him to come through that
door and-”
 “He can’t hurt you anymore, Ahsoka. He’s dead.”
 A near hysterical laugh built inside the back of her throat but never found
voice. Dead. Hondo was dead? But Rex’s next words made her heart sink.
 “I shot him when I found you. Two bolts straight to the back of the head.”
 He thinks I’m talking about Atai .
 She shivered and readjusted her grip on herself, swallowing hard and unable to
help the chill that swept her. For all Atai had done to her, Hondo had been
worse. Far worse. As his prisoner for days and subjected to his methods of
‘breaking her in’ for Atai, Ahsoka had learned the hard way that sometimes,
even fighting as hard as you could, you failed.
 Lessons she’d learned in other forums, but never so personally or intimately
and never at such a personal cost.
 There was no way she was telling Rex about Hondo. Not after he’d failed to
save her from the Weequay. Rational or not, that anger remained with her,
resentment that now boiled over into an irrational explosion.
 “You were too late, Rex!” The words slipped her lips, higher pitched than
intended and accusatory. “Too late! What he did to me, what he made me do, what
he wanted me to do - you were too late!”
 “Ahsoka-”
 “Get out,” she lashed out, sending the tray crashing to the ground with a
sweep of one arm, ignoring the sting of bruised flesh hitting the hard object.
“Get out and leave me alone!”
 Rex didn’t move.
 Staring at him, her chest heaving, vision blurred by tears, Ahsoka pointed one
trembling hand at the door. “Go away.”
 “No.”
 He stared at her and Ahsoka stared right back at him, feeling the steadiness
of his gaze in a way that settled in her chest around her heart. His refusal
wasn’t malicious. She could see it in every line of his posture.
 “I don’t want you here, Rex. Go away!” her voice cracked this time, the anger
disappearing as quickly as it had come. “Please.”
The creak of his armor as he stood drew her chin up, feeling the moisture
stinging her eyes as she blinked, refusing to wipe her eyes and bring his
attention to it even as she struggled to keep the tears from falling.
 “I’m sorry this happened to you Ahsoka. I’m here if you need me.” He turned to
go and paused, looking back to her. “I’ll check on you in the morning.”
 “I don’t-”
 “Tough,” he headed for the door and then paused again, without looking back
this time. “And Ahsoka?”
 “What?”
 “It’s okay to cry.”
***** Chapter 6 *****
Day One - Resolute - Post Ahsoka’s Captivity
 Rex didn’t sleep that night.
 He would have preferred to be in the gym, working off his frustrations, but
his change of routine would have been noted. Not wanting to draw more attention
to Ahsoka’s situation than was necessary, which included being asked questions
he’d rather avoid, he refrained.
 Staying in his room, catching up on paperwork and schedules, his chrono said
almost oh three hundred before the burn behind his eyes had him lifting his
hand to rub them. As he closed his eyes to do just that, the images of Ahsoka’s
injuries blossomed immediately and he snapped them open again, reaching for the
next duty roster.
 Night dragged, his tasks for the next three months completed before the end of
the hour, leaving him with one more before he could hit the showers and then
look in on the Padawan. It was an hour that he spent trying to forget what he’d
seen and heard only to realize he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to.
 Needing something to do, Rex set himself to pushups, using his bunk as
leverage, doing a couple dozen regular ones before realizing he needed some
other kind of distraction. Regular pushups weren’t enough to engage the mind.
Changing his position, he put his feet on his bunk and did one handed pushups,
two dozen with the left and then two dozen with the right, before checking his
chrono again.
 Barely five minutes had passed.
 Setting his chrono timer for the hour, a signal he could leave his quarters
without raising suspicions, Rex switched to a series of abdominal curls. When
that proved to be less than absorbing, he began alternating between curls,
doing sets of fifty before switching back to left handed pushups for fifty,
curls for another fifty and then doing fifty right handed pushups. When that
didn’t prove to be enough, he added a series of abdominal twist curls for other
muscle groups.
 His body responded as it always had, but his mind refused to quiet. It
refused, now that it had nothing left to occupy it, to think of anything except
Ahsoka. How he’d found her, what she’d looked and sounded like. Carrying her
off the ship and the harrowing escape that had led to her medical exam and the
exam itself, her injuries ingrained behind his eyelids.
 If he lived to be one hundred, those images would likely never fade. Just as
the feel of her skin and blood as he’d tended her wounds still seemed to be
ingrained on his hands despite his earlier shower. Her refusal to seek
professional medical attention had landed him with the job, not that he’d
minded as he’d have preferred to spare her the necessity of having her injuries
on report, but she should really have been in a bacta tank.
 The how of her injuries, however, was what got him the most. Rape had been
downplayed in the Clone database, intentionally so if he knew the longnecks. So
much so that the word, until Coric and Kix had explained it to him, had simply
been another part of his training. If he’d known before... which, he reflected
as his hands clenched into fists as he did his next set of curls, was probably
why they weren’t trained further.
 What was he supposed to do with Ahsoka?
 The question haunted him now that he’d had time to reflect and step away from
everything. It was the question he’d been trying to avoid thinking too heavily
on and the one he couldn’t afford to. He needed a plan of attack and based on
everything that Kix and Coric had given him, which was precious little, it was
mostly a series of dos and don’ts along with a very fundamental caution that
Ahsoka might have something called triggers.
 He didn’t really understand any of this.
 All he knew was that his Commander, his best friend had been subjected to
something horrible she was unable to move past. Not unlike shinies who saw
brothers and squad mates disemboweled or severed in half and close enough to
see the insides of the armor. Some of them never recovered and were sent back
to Kamino.
 Rex paused in his curl, considering the angle and then dismissed it. While the
symptoms appeared to be the same, the traumas were very different. Or so he
believed. He struggled to understand the whys and, for all he wanted to support
her, that confusion wasn’t going to help him.
 Eventually, sweat beading his forehead, his muscles starting to feel a twinge
from the impromptu work out, his timer sounded. A quick look at the chrono and
he was on his feet, grabbing his towel and out of his room, heading for the
‘freshers.
 A quick shower and change and he’d hand the roster to Coric before going to
check on Ahsoka. Hopefully she’d be in better shape today and they could put
this whole episode behind them quickly. For all he hoped for it, Rex had a
sinking feeling what he wanted couldn’t be further from what he would get.
===============================================================================
 
Hunger got the better of Ahsoka around oh five thirty.
 Moving her protesting muscles, the aches and pains of her injuries a stark
reminder of just how badly she’d been hurt, Ahsoka sucked back a moan as she
separated her legs only to close them tightly. Her muscles protested the
movement after being inactive for the extended period of time and she bit her
lip as she struggled to shift with some semblance of normalcy.
 Giving up after several minutes, she looked at the food. Then, with her
stomach not willing to wait for Rex, she slid across her bed and slipped to the
floor before dragging herself over to where she’d sent the food containers Rex
had brought her the night before, flying.
 An inspection showed that the lid had saved the food for the most part.
Flipping the lid upside down, she examined the mess before her. Vegetables and
greens were wilted and smashed. One of the two tubers was as flat as a plate
and some of the food had hit the floor, rendering it spoiled after spending the
night there. The steaks and plates were practically one set of food.
 Cold though it was, she plucked the first steak from the nest of dented dishes
and put it in the lid. The intact tuber followed, carefully brushing it free of
the other vegetables before she collected the second steak.
 It was in her fingers and at her lips before she consciously remembered doing
so. The first piece, cold though it was, tasted like heaven. It wasn’t a normal
ration, saved mostly for Jedi special functions, and a part of her was suddenly
feeling guilty she’d cheated Rex of the-
 A knock sounded on her door and her head snapped up, her eyes widening as she
swallowed hard, the food turning to a ball of durasteel in her stomach. Hondo.
The lid slipped from her hands to the floor, forgotten as the door opened and
she scrambled backwards, unmindful of her injuries, hitting the bed and
cowering beside it, aware she was in no shape to fight whatever might be in
store for her. Hondo was back, he was here to-
 “Ahsoka?”
 She jumped at the deep voice, so different from the almost jovial tones the
pirate had always used. Shaking, her eyes lifted to the doorway, her heart
beating furiously in her chest as the man in the doorway stepped just over the
threshold and closed the door behind him, locking it.
 “Ahsoka, it’s Rex.”
 She gasped for breath, unable to quell her trembling, still not accepting of
the fact that she was home, still waiting for the trick, the illusion to end
and reveal Hondo in all his sadistic fervency. Another shudder ripped through
her frame and she clasped her arms around her knees, hugging them tightly to
her chest as she buried her face. Tears threatened to fall, burning at the
backs of her eyes, panic rendering her speechless.
 His booted feet, a tread she’d have known anywhere and about as far from
Hondo’s undisciplined walk as it could get, drew near.
 “Ahsoka.” Rex’s tone was firm but his voice was gentle. “Ahsoka, look at me.”
 Swallowing hard, she lifted her head, unaware that her eyes were as wide as
the steaks forgotten in the lid several feet away, and watering. “R-Rex?”
 “That’s right, little ‘un,” he told her softly, gently. “It’s me.”
 “It can’t be.”
 “It is,” he assured her. He was crouched just out of arm’s length and, even as
she watched, he extended his hand towards her, slowly, deliberately. “Take my
hand.”
 She didn’t want to. Every instinct was screaming at her to move away from him,
but Ahsoka found she’d been caught by the earnestness in his amber orbs. Rex’s
expression was neutral, but his eyes spoke volumes and everything in his
posture was concern, not aggressive. Under other circumstances, she’d probably
have marveled that he could look so… nonthreatening.
 Ahsoka shook her head. “You can’t-”
 “Take my hand Ahsoka,” he urged her again when she couldn’t finish the
sentence. “I won’t grab you. I promise.”
 Rex waiting, patiently, and when it seemed he wasn’t going to leave her be,
Ahsoka finally did as he asked, stretching out one trembling hand to his. If he
noticed, he made no move and didn’t say so, simply waited patiently, his gaze
never leaving hers. Her fingers touched his hand hesitantly, a tap before
pulling back swiftly. She frowned, having felt the plastoid of his gauntlet,
her hand moving back to his almost of its own accord. This time she touched his
fingers again and, sliding her hands against it, she wrapped her hand around
it, clinging to him.
 He was here. It wasn’t a dream. “Rex.”
 “I’m here,” he assured her again, his gaze still locked on hers as her hand
suddenly pulled away from his as if burned. He frowned. “Ahsoka?”
 She shuddered, her gaze dropping to what she’d been nibbling on, and Rex’s
gaze followed hers. He collected the food, placing it on her bed while giving
her lots of room. Too far a part of her screamed even as her body shook,
telling her he was too close. The conflict left her paralyzed as the yearning
to be held caught her completely off guard.
 “Ahsoka?”
 Her gaze shot back to his.
 Rex was silent for a moment before nodding to the food. “Hungry?”
 She said nothing, couldn’t even bring herself to nod and show that minor
weakness - and then her stomach growled.
 Rex said nothing, looking at her and then back to the food and the mess on the
floor. In silence, he knelt to the trays that were still where she’d left them,
cleaning up the mess and taking them to the disposal. He came back within
moments with the empty places and took the contents of the lid and placed them
on one plate. As she watched, he moved to her desk and, at a distance, pulled
his knife and began slicing up the steaks.
 Her throat went dry, the automatic response to his kindness echoing through
her mind as she wondered what he’d expect her to do for him in return. Just as
quickly as the thought crossed her mind, the part of herself that trusted Rex,
the part that had known he would come for her, demanded she retract it. This
was Rex. He never asked her for anything. Would never ask her for anything.
 She was still struggling with that response when he came back, weapons
sheathed, and set the plate with the carefully cut food on the bed next to her.
 Watching him, she waited until he retreated and, after a moment he spoke
unexpectedly. “The only thing I expect from you, Ahsoka, is that you eat.
Understood?” Her eyes widened impossibly further as she looked at him. Rex
retreated towards the door. “Are you okay by yourself for a little while?”
 “You’re leaving me?”
 He flinched, an echo of her own, at the waver in her voice. “I need to report
to the General.” Even to Ahsoka’s skewed hearing, he sounded reluctant to go.
“He’s concerned that you’re not letting him in to see you.”
 “I don’t want him here.” She didn’t notice the shrill tone in her voice. “I
don’t want anyone here. I just want to be left alone!”
 Rex was stoic in the face of her cry. “And yet, you don’t want me to leave.”
 Ahsoka choked on her breath, shrinking back against the bed, the will to
protest leaving her as swiftly as it had swept through her. “You promised you
wouldn’t.”
 “And I won’t.” he agreed, “but you know I can’t stay with you all the time,
Ahsoka. You need to rest. You need to heal. The sooner you’re back on your
feet, the sooner you can shadow me like normal.” He paused. “It might help you
feel better to do the routine you used to.”
 “Get out Rex,” the words were supposed to come out forcefully, but they
sounded weak, even to herself and inwardly she cringed. She hated being weak.
She hated looking weak, even though she had no fight left and she knew Rex
would never hurt her. Exhausted and, as Rex had said, badly hurt, Ahsoka knew
she needed to heal.
 “I’ll be back to check your wounds when I’m done with the General. Try to eat
something - please.”
 The door closed on him before she could respond, leaving her locked, once
again, in her room, safe from the men on the outside and left to her own
devices in a place where Rex, and only Rex, could see her.
 Reassured by the face subconsciously, even as it made her shiver to think it,
Ahsoka’s stomach growled again now that he was gone. Rex’s request rang in her
ears. I’m not eating for him , she told herself sternly, for it hadn’t been an
order like Hondo’s, it had been one friend asking another. I’m eating because
I’m hungry. I’m eating for me.
 With that thought, she reached for the plate.
===============================================================================
 
Rex headed for Anakin’s room as he finished locking Ahsoka’s. He exhaled,
taking a moment to orient himself and carefully lock away the unease he felt
seeing her look so broken.
 She still wasn’t on her feet yet and that she hadn’t run from him, even as
she’d tried to scramble away, was telling of the fact her injuries were worse
than he’d first imagined. If she still wasn’t able to walk tomorrow, he wasn’t
sure he could keep that to himself. As it was, he was going to have to speak
with Kix and Coric about treatments or some kind of alternative. The longer she
took to heal, the harder it would be to hide the extent of her injuries.
 Didn’t Jedi have some kind of healing abilities? He seemed to recall Ahsoka
telling him something about Commander Offee and healers. Whatever it was, it
couldn’t help him at that moment, and Rex turned his attention to the task at
hand.
 Stopping outside Anakin’s door, he knocked, waiting, and the door opened with
a hiss.
 “Rex.”
 “General.”
 “Come in.”
 Rex stepped into the room and stopped. Like most of Skywalker’s spaces, this
one was cluttered with electronics but, today, his droid was noticeably
missing. Anakin, for his part, was in the middle of a morning kata. It gave Rex
pause and acutely brought home the difference in Ahsoka since her return. Any
day before her capture, he’d have seen them doing their katas together. “You
asked to see me, sir?”
 “How’s Ahsoka, Rex?”
 “What did the Senator tell you, sir?”
 “Precious little.” Anakin frowned, coming out of his stance. “Padmé did
mention it looked like she’d been mauled by a wild animal.”
 “That’s accurate, sir,” Rex could agree with that. There was no sense in
hiding the things he didn’t need to. “The Commander’s refused to be treated in
the medbay for her injuries.”
 “So I heard. Do you know why?”
 He did but Rex wasn’t about to enlighten Anakin. “I’m sorry sir, she insists
that I be the one to treat her. She hasn’t said much.” Which was true. Most of
what he’d gleaned for information had been gained from Kix and Coric. Ahsoka
had yet to open up to him. “I was able to bring her some food this morning.”
 “Does she look any better?”
 “I haven’t had a chance to look at her injuries yet this morning, sir,” he was
as frank as he could be. “I’m no medic, but I suspect she’ll be some time in
healing all of the damage.”
“A wild animal, huh?”
 Rex nodded.
 “And she’s not said anything as to how she got her injuries?”
 “No, sir.” Part of Rex wondered if he should have been bothered by the fact he
was speaking the truth and not telling the whole truth at the same time.
“Nothing yet.”
 “And she still won’t see me?”
 “No, sir.”
 “Can you ask her why, Rex?”
 “She said she doesn’t want you to see her like that, sir. She doesn’t want
anyone to see her like that.”
 “Not even the medics.”
 Rex remained silent, knowing it wasn’t really a question and Anakin didn’t
disappoint him. His commanding officer turned, slapping his hand flat against
one of the walls. “She broke the medical droid and erased the readings.”
Anakin’s expression was neutral and his voice was soft. “I’m worried about her,
Rex.”
 “I’ll tell her, sir.”
 He exhaled. “Thanks Rex,” the hand on the wall slid down.
 “Sir?”
 “We’re alone Rex, you can call me Anakin.”
 “Anakin,” he tried again with a nod. “You’ve the skills, why haven’t you
simply opened her door?”
 “I’m under orders to let her come to me.”
 “Orders?” Rex’s brow furrowed. The Council hadn’t likely been told yet, then
who...?
 “The Senator,” Anakin clarified dryly. “She made it very clear and explicit
that under no circumstances was I to approach Ahsoka until she was ready to see
me.”
 Rex could just bet she had. The Senator had an unnaturally strong influence
over his General and always had. If he wasn’t mistaken, Anakin was in love in
the Senator, but as it didn’t generally affect the operation of their unit,
he’d long since decided that it was no business of his. If it helped Ahsoka
now, all the better. “I’ll advise her of that.”
 “Just let her know not to take too long, Rex. If she’s out of commission for
more than a few days, I’ll be expected to submit a medical report for why she’s
out of action.”
 “Understood, sir. Was there anything else?”
 “No, just keep me apprised of her progress. Dismissed.”
 Rex resisted the urge to salute, nodded crisply instead, and exited the room,
silently wondering just how much longer he could keep the extent of Ahsoka’s
injuries from her Master, especially if she took him into her confidence.
Exhaling, he headed back to her room. He’d deal with that when it happened.
===============================================================================
 
Examining Ahsoka wasn’t any easier the day after save for the fact that some of
her wounds had already begun to heal. As Rex was touching up the bandages on
one shoulder, Ahsoka stared straight ahead, her jaw clenched, her hands in
tight fists, and he tried not to notice. It wasn’t easy. Everything about her
posture screamed fear. While Rex knew she wasn’t afraid of him exactly, he also
knew that his presence was what was causing the reaction.
 How could he not when she flinched every time he moved too fast?
 The tense silence was almost hostile and finally, he broke the silence rather
than let the resentment he could feel building, fester. “Are you still
unwilling to take a turn in the bacta tank?”
 Ahsoka nodded, but didn’t say anything.
 Peeling back one of the piercing wounds on the back of her shoulder blade,
Rex’s jaw tightened but he flexed it, making it crack, and forced himself to
continue to speak. “Bacta patches aren’t enough to heal all of this, Ahsoka. If
you don’t get into a tank eventually, they’ll leave behind scars.”
 “Scars.”
 Rex kept his gaze focused firmly on the puncture wounds, applying the
disinfectant and wishing Kix hadn’t told him to avoid sealing the wounds for as
long as possible. They looked painful, even to him, and he’d endured some
interesting wounds. He didn’t reply, not certain what else he could say, and
Ahsoka surprised him.
 “How would you know that they’ll leave scars, Rex? You’re not a medic.”
 He flinched, glad she couldn’t see his face, but answered as honestly as he
could. “I’ve taken enough damage to know.” He didn’t want to lie to her, so he
continued. “I also asked Kix for- hold still!”
 “You told Kix?!” she struggled, tearing free of his grasp with more strength
than he believed her to have, and turned to face him as she jerked her top back
into place. “How could you, Rex?!”
 “How could I not?” Facing her, he let her see a touch of his own desperate
need to help her. “I’m not a medic, Ahsoka. I told you this is beyond my
training and experience.”
 “But he’ll know-” She cut herself off, biting her lip and looking away and
down, hunching forward as if to protect herself.
 “He already knows and not because I said anything.”
 “How could he possibly know if you didn’t tell him?” Her look was accusatory
but fearful. “He wouldn’t Rex, that’s how!”
 “Kix was there, Ahsoka.” He didn’t break eye contact with her, his voice even
and level and without inflection. “I asked him to treat you first.”
 “You let him-”
 “No.”
 “But…” she looked lost for a moment, smaller as she seemed to shrink within
herself in confusion. “You just said...”
 Rex exhaled softly. “You don’t remember.”
 “Remember what?”
 “You turned him down, Ahsoka.” As he said the words, Rex watched her
carefully. “Kix never touched you. You didn’t want him to and he respected your
wishes. I was going to insist he look you over but he refused once he saw your
reaction.”
 “Then why ask him now?”
 “I need his help.” He shook his head. “I can’t do this on my own, Ahsoka. I
don’t have the knowledge you need to help you.”
 “I didn’t want… I don’t…”
 Rex reacted without thinking as she turned her face away in confusion and she
cowered, flinching back as his hand reached for her. He slowly folded his
fingers into a fist and let it drop to the bed between them. “You’ve trusted me
to take care of you so far, Ahsoka. Don’t stop trusting me now.”
 Her words were a ragged whisper when she responded, giving him her back, her
shoulders hunched forward protectively. “Go away, Rex.”
 “I’m not finished with your-”
 “Go away,” her voice was louder, desperate, and almost hysterical. “Get out!”
 Staring at her, Rex rose to his feet and collected his gauntlets. Tucking them
into his belt, he watched as she shook, her legs drawn up to her front
protectively, her arms wrapped tightly about herself again. Taking the time to
reassemble the medkit, he didn’t leave it behind this time, knowing it needed
to be resupplied.
 He stood by her bed, part of him confused, another part simply frustrated. She
needed to snap out of this, to talk to him and tell him what happened. Once she
had, there was a chance they could deal with it as they always had and she’d go
back to normal. A small chance maybe, because looking at her Rex had two very
different images in his head.
 The smiling, cocky, adrenaline junky that was his best friend and the tiny
broken creature he’d found on Hondo’s ship. Extremes of who Ahsoka was, which
meant there had to be a happy medium somewhere between invincible warrior and
broken girl. Rex just wasn’t sure how to reach it, or if it was even possible.
 “Kix saw you, Ahsoka,” he told her softly as he turned to go, “and all it’s
done is make him want to help you.”
 Leaving her in the room, Rex strode over to the door and keyed in the code,
glancing back to look at her tiny form in time to see it fall over on her side,
her shoulders shaking. With a shake of his head, he exited the room and secured
the door behind him.
 He needed to see Kix or Coric or maybe both, and come up with some way of
helping put her back on her feet sooner rather than later. The empty medkit
gave him the excuse he needed, not that he needed one as their commanding
officer, and he headed for the medbay.
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