Title: Ahsoka Goes Home
Author: snootiegirl (snootiegirl99 on FFN)
Publish Date: Jan 18, 2013
Disclaimer: All Star Wars characters are owned by Disney. I make no money from the writing or posting of this story. No copyright infringement is intended.
Warnings: Rated M for Mature Audiences
Summary: Rex and Ahsoka find out that serving together in the Clone Wars builds all sorts of relationships. Rated for sexual content.
Chapter 1
"Rex!" General Skywalker called out across the battlefield. "What's the status of our air support?"
"Cody says they're on their way, General," Rex shouted back. "Commander!"
Rex's last shout had been to warn Ahsoka about the droid sneaking up over the bunker where she was crouched. She stood up and flawlessly sabered him in half. "Thanks, Rex," she replied as she took off deeper into the fray.
Rex watched her run. She had certainly learned a lot in the past two years. He often wondered how much her Jedi training had prepared her for the field and how much was just her. She seemed to have melted into the company without any trouble. All the troopers liked her, especially the command troopers who got to 'socialize' with her a little more than the regulars. But more importantly, they all trusted her. She had proven herself to them all.
Ahsoka could bark out orders as fast as Skywalker. . . . .
When Ahsoka caught up to Anakin, she couldn't help baiting him, "Well, if this how all of your plans are always going to go, I think I should start doing the planning from here on." She risked a glance sideways to see if the remark had landed.
"Hey, you're the one who wanted to be a Padawan. You could be going to classes, meditating in the Gardens, and reading in the library at the Temple still. In fact, I could probably speak to Master Obi-Wan for you . . . ." he teased back.
"Whatever," Ahsoka rolled her eyes and deflected another blaster bolt away from her slim body. Flipping into the air and executing a twist mid-way, she landed on top of a droideka that had been flanking Anakin to the left. Driving her lightsaber down into the carapace of the droid, she leapt back off of it before it even hit the ground. "You wouldn't last out here without me anymore, Master."
Anakin snorted. "Ok, Snips. Why don't you circle around with Rex and the boys and meet me on the other side of this hill?"
"Race you to the other side," Ahsoka called as she ran in the direction he had indicated. Anakin sighed. Obi-Wan was right. She was picking up some of his personality traits. But she had to be more annoying that he was, wasn't she? He had to admit though that she wasn't the same little girl he had met on Christophsis.
Ahsoka caught up with Rex and his unit, and dove right in to deflecting more blaster fire. "Skyguy is going to meet us on the other side of the hill," she reported. "Rex, what did recon say was on the other side anyway?"
"Nothing but more droids, Commander," Rex answered.
But recon was wrong, very wrong.
Determined to beat Anakin to the rendezvous point, Ahsoka began bounding in Force leaps over the heads of battle droids, leaving her troops behind to mop them up. Rex observed her getting farther ahead with dismay. He wished she'd at least wear some armor if she was going to do things like that.
Anakin only got the slightest hint of danger from the Force before the concussion blew him and his troops back from the hill itself. It seemed the Seppies had a new toy. Anakin shook his head to clear it, and checked himself over for damage. Then he surveyed his men. They mostly seemed dazed like he had been.
"Well," he said to the nearest trooper, "That could have been a lot worse."
The comm blinked on, "General! She's down. The Commander is down!" And then all hell seemed to break loose. Or maybe that was all in his head. Anakin could only see red as he ran toward the blast point. He stood in the center and looked around for her.
Ahsoka had been nearly on top of the thing when it had blown. She had sensed it a second before the blast, so she tried a Force leap to clear herself. The power of the bomb and the power of her leap combined to propel her at a velocity she was unable to control. Her small body collided with several rocks before coming to rest awkwardly against the trunk of a tree. The tree itself had been skewed by her impact. Anakin was desperate to get to her.
Rex was right behind him.
"Ahsoka! Answer me!" Anakin called as he ran.
"Hey, kid! You all right?" Rex added.
Ahsoka cracked open an eyelid and groaned. Then she was unconscious.
Rex sucked in his breath. She looked so small and vulnerable even though she had seen as much action as any of them. He kneeled down next to her to feel for a pulse. Relieved, he finally let the breath out. It was steady if faint. He looked her over for blood and saw very little. A few scrapes here and there from hitting the rocks and tree. Hopefully it's not too bad, he thought. He reached out to lightly stroke her cheek.
"Evac her to the Resolute, Rex. Now!" Anakin ordered. "You go with her and oversee it personally. I'll handle the rest of these droids myself." Unable to look at Ahsoka's bent and obviously broken body, he retreated away from something he couldn't control to something he could. Anakin motioned the other troopers who weren't tasked with helping Ahsoka off the field to follow him into the firefight again. His anger fueled him for the next few hours.
Ahsoka was lifted gently onto a hover gurney. Rex kept a hand on the gurney even though the medics officially had custody of her now. She was transported back to the command center and from there to the Jedi Cruiser in orbit. Once safely onto the cruiser, Rex took a moment to comm the General.
"We've got the Commander secured onboard, Sir. Should I return to the surface?" Rex asked without hoping one way or the other. He would go where duty dictated.
"No, stay with her and give me regular updates, Captain," Anakin responded. Anakin wasn't going to trust just anyone to keep him updated on Ahsoka. He needed his best man on it. Even more than he needed him in the battle. To Anakin, Ahsoka's battle was more important. He would not lose his Padawan.
Rex observed as the droids began scanning and assessing Ahsoka's condition. They hooked her up to IVs and started a respirator. She looked too pale on the med table-internal bleeding, he wondered. She looked out-of-place in a room that was so bright white. She was the most colorful thing there. Rex leaned up against the glass, his helmet still on, and rested his forehead on his arm. "You're going to be fine, little one. You're going to be fine," he muttered to himself.
