"Can't you save her?! Don't you know Jedi healing, or something?" Rex shouted frantically at Kanan.
"I have no idea what that even is!" Kanan fought back.
"You don't even deserve to be called a Jedi!" Rex jabbed an accusing finger at Kanan's chest.
"At least I can still fight, instead of hobbling along like the old burden that you are!"
Hera pushed between the two of them, carrying a handful of medical supplies. "You two need to either help me or GET OUT. You're not helping Ahsoka's situation by screaming at each other."
Rex shot one last glare at Kanan before joining Hera at Ahsoka's side. She was laying on Kanan's bed, where Rex had put her in a panic, as it was the first bedroom he saw when he carried her unconscious body inside of the Ghost.
"Can you save her?" he asked.
"I don't know," Hera's expression was grim. She looked over Ahsoka's wounds. "It doesn't look good. Those puncture wounds on her shoulder go straight through, and I think the slash on her chest puncture a lung. I can't even count the numbers of stabs and cuts. Thank goodness lightsabers cauterize wounds on contact."
Rex flinched at Hera's comment. Twelve. Twelve Inquisitors ambushed them. Ahsoka was one of the greatest swordsman in the galaxy, but even she couldn't take on that many warriors trained in the dark side. And if it wasn't for the fact that all twelve of them were after her and only her, and she had used this to her advantage to lead them away from the Ghost crew, they would all be dead.
Rex and the others had found her, putting up a decent fight but barely holding on. The ship barraged the Inquisitors with blaster fire that allowed enough of an opening for Kanan and his padawan to leap down and rescue Ahsoka. Rex had stood teetering on the edge of the landing hatch as the Ghost hovered above the fray, cursing the fact that he was no longer agile enough to go down and help her himself. The Jedi returned in an instant, slumping Ahsoka onto Rex's shoulders, then turning with their lightsabers ignited as they anticipated the Inquisitors' attack, but none of them pursued.
Rex made eye contact with one as he had turned to bring Ahsoka inside. The female Inquisitor smiled at him, tapped the side of her head, the same spot were Rex's scar was, and mouthed "C-T-7-5-6-7." His eyes widened, realizing how the Inquisitors had tracked Ahsoka down.
"What can we do to help?" Kanan kneeled on the other side of Hera.
"Kanan, keep this bacta patch on her chest. Put pressure on it. Rex, lift her up slightly so I can get to the other side of these wounds. The two men obliged, and worked quietly following Hera's orders to save Ahsoka.
"She'll be okay for now. We'll need to get her to a medic as soon as we get back to base." Hera wiped a hand over her brow as she finished cleaning up the medical supplies. Ahsoka laid still, her breathing shallow but regular. "We should allow her to rest."
Kanan rose to join her, but Rex remaining kneeling on the floor in front of Ahsoka, his back aching from the position, but he didn't care.
"Rex, c'mon-" he heard Kanan begin, but Hera shushed him and pushed him out the door. Kanan mumble something under his breath about his bedroom, then followed Hera into the cockpit.
He turned his attention back to Ahsoka, putting a supportive hand on hers, as if expecting that to wake her up. To his surprise, her eyes fluttered, then blinked in recognition when they focused on him.
"Rex..." she smiled weakly. "Thank goodness you're all right. Is everyone else okay?"
Rex returned the smile. Close to death and still Ahsoka thought only of the safety of others. "They're fine. Everyone's fine. How are you feeling?" Rex helped to prop her up as she struggled to sit up right. "You were in pretty bad shape."
"Eh, I've felt worse." Ahsoka tried to laugh but it came out as a breathy rattle. "Hurts to breathe, though."
"Hera thinks one of your lungs was punctured," Rex eyed her with concern.
Ahsoka put a hand to her chest, as if to feel the injury herself. "Those blasted Inquisitors got the jump on me," she grumbled. "What happened? How did we escape? Did they follow us?"
"We distracted them long enough to get you out of there. Kanan and Ezra grabbed you. The Inquisitors just let us go."
"Of course they did," Ahsoka wheezed. "It's like a cat and mouse game to them. They're probably already planning their next ambush." She paused. "How did they even find us in the first place? How did they know I was on the Ghost?"
"They didn't." Rex's face was grim. "They knew I was on it."
Ahsoka frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"I think they're tracking me. One of the Inquisitors, she knew who I was. She knew my birth number."
"But you took your chip out, didn't you?" She motioned to the scar on his temple. "How can they still track you?"
"I don't know," he replied. "They implanted dozens of trackers inside clone troopers to scan vitals, monitor locations during battles, apprehend clones who deserted, all the sorts. It could be imbedded in my DNA for all I know."
"That still doesn't make sense. Why in the world would they track you?"
Rex locked eyes with Ahsoka, his heavy and sad. "To get to you," he said miserably.
Ahsoka's own eyes widened but she shook her head. "No, no. Rex, that's insane."
Rex's chest felt heavy with emotion. "It's true. They know I'm a clone. They know what clone I am. And they know who you are. Who you were. They must figure where ever you are, I'm not far behind."
Ahsoka was at a lost for words. "But... no, Rex, I-"
"Ahsoka, you nearly DIED because of me," Rex felt the emotion betraying his voice, his shoulders trembling. "They're going to use me to get you to. I'm putting you, this crew, hell, this entire rebel movement in jeopardy. I shouldn't even be on this ship right now, they're probably going to track us back to the base-"
"Rex, STOP," she reached a hand out to him. "Stop talking like this, it isn't true."
He pushed her away, his gut wrenching. Rex knew it was true. There was no other explanation for how the Inquisitors were able to find them. The way the female Inquisitor had looked at him, almost teasingly mouthing his birth number as if to say "go wherever you like, we'll find you, and you'll lead us right to her."
He cursed the fact that he had gotten so old. He cursed the fact that he could barely fight anymore and felt like a burden any time they went into battle. He cursed the fact that Ahsoka had asked him to come back in the first place. But mostly, he cursed the fact that he was a clone. That was the reason he had aged twice as faster as as a normal human. Why in his late twenties, he was achy and wheezy and running down a hallway felt like running up a mountain. Why in a heartbeat he had joined Ahsoka's side again, desperate to fight for something and for someone, because that's how he was engineered to be. And why he was being tracked by the Empire, because despite being out of the army for 15 years, he was not a free man. He had been government property from the moment he was created. Rex belonged to the Empire now.
With a heavy heart, Rex knew what he had to do. He couldn't stay with the rebellion. Every second he stayed was a second closer to the Empire tracking him back to their base, and more importantly, to Ahsoka. He needed to get as far away from them, and from her, as possible.
Rex ran a hand over his weary face. "I'm endangering everyone by being here. You especially." He looked away from Ahsoka. "I have to leave."
"What?! No!" Ahsoka pleaded. "Rex, I need you here, I need your help to lead this rebellion."
"You don't need my help," he said flatly. "You were fine without me before, you'll be fine now."
"That's not true and you know it," Ahsoka retorted. "We were desperately hanging on before you came. And now, because of you, we have ships, we have allies, we have a base, and we've got a legitimate operation going. We actually stand a chance now because of you." Her voice trailed off. "And you know that's not the only reason I wanted you to come back."
Rex couldn't look at her. "I know," he said quietly.
"Where would you even go?" she asked. "Back to Seelos? Back to living in an old army tank and fishing in the desert?"
"No," Rex said. "I wouldn't put Wolffe or Gregor at risk."
"Then where?"
"I don't know," he said firmly. "Far away from here. Somewhere when the Empire could never find me, let alone track me back to you."
"And then what?" The emotion was rising in Ahsoka's voice. "Waste away in some slum corner of the galaxy, like what the Empire had always intended for clones?"
Rex felt a familiar anger flare up at the thought. "Ahsoka, DON'T..."
"Then STAY, Rex." Ahsoka struggled to keep her voice calm as a few tears rolled down her cheek. "We'll figure something out. The medics will take a look at you. We'll take you to Senator Organa's doctors on Alderaan. There's got to be someone in the galaxy who can disable those trackers."
Rex didn't say anything, but brushed a thumb over her cheek to wipe away the tears. Ahsoka closed her eyes at his touch, them threw her hands over his shoulders, pulling him into a tight embrace.
"Rex, you're the only family I have left," she whispered to him. "Everyone I loved, everyone I cared about, they're all gone except for you."
He felt his eyes sting at her words. Family. It was such a strange concept to him. Some clones, including Rex, were taught about family by the Mandalorian bounty hunters that had overseen their training. To the Mandos, family is who you care about, who you love, who you would die to protect. It wasn't about whose blood you shared. Rex never understood that at first. At one point he had millions of brothers across the entire galaxy. They were his blood, and that was all the family he needed. Then he found a brother in Anakin Skywalker, his general and friend, who while reckless at times was genuine in his emotions and trusted Rex like no one else had. Soon after came Ahsoka, who from the moment Rex met her, became his family too.
Then the war ended and all of Rex's family was ripped away from him. He had lost so many brothers. Many he watched get killed. Others he watched turn to the Empire. Even Wolffe and Gregor were gone in a way, their minds still back in the Clone War. Anakin was gone too. Ahsoka was the only family he had, and the only family that came back for him, after so many years of being alone and lost himself.
"I searched for you for so many years," Ahsoka continued, resting her head in the crook of Rex's neck. "I didn't think I would ever find you. At times I didn't know if you were still alive. I can't lose you again."
Rex hugged her tighter, careful not to upset her injuries. "I can't let you get hurt again on my account, Ahsoka."
"We can figure something out, I know we can."
"Maybe we can..." Rex replied quietly.
They stayed like that for a while, locked in an embrace, no other words exchanged between them. Rex's mind was made up about what he had to do, but that didn't stop him from wishing this moment between the two of them - alone in the room, hugging Ahsoka close, feeling her chest rise and fall gently against his - would last forever.
Finally, Ahsoka pulled away from him. "If you knew it was safe," she began, her voice wavering but determined. "If we could disable the trackers, or we stopped the Inquisitors, or figured something else out, would you come back?" Her eyes were swelling with fresh tears.
"Of course I would," Rex's voice cracked.
"Would you check in? Let us know you're okay? Answer my messages for once?"
"Wolffe won't be around to hide them from me, so yes. Every day if you want."
"Rex, you promise?"
"I promise."
Ahsoka grabbed his face between her hands and kissed him. Startled for a moment, the feeling quickly passed over Rex as he relaxed into it, enjoying the feeling of Ahsoka's finger running over his cheeks and through his beard. Her lips tasted salty from her tears, with a tinge of something sweet that must had been purely Ahsoka.
Rex had never kissed Ahsoka before, but oddly it didn't feel like their first time. These feelings had danced around them during the Clone Wars, and had fully manifested themselves upon their reunion. Neither had spoken of it, either there wasn't time, or they felt it was too awkward, or one was waiting for the other to bring it up. It didn't matter now. This moment was all they needed to do the speaking for them.
He had to leave, for Ahsoka's safety. But he knew she would figure out a way to bring him back, and he would wait eagerly for it, for the chance to be back with the one person who saw him as more than just an old man, a clone, a soldier, or whatever other titles had been unwillingly put upon him. The chance to be back with his family.