Rila: Words can not express the happiness. :)

Word Count: 2, 180

Disclaim: I will own you someday. *shakes fist*

Ahsoka's neck ached when she woke, but the kneading of her fingers against the skin underneath her back lekku quickly eased the tension. Rex, she noted with a faint note of amusement, was asleep. It surprised her that he would do so in her presence, though there was nothing to attack them and thus, less reason to be on guard. She stood with the slight creak of her bones, her muscles still sore but to a lesser degree than the day before.

She was uncertain of how long she had slept, though that was the least of her concerns as she strode past the sleeping Captain to the mound of stones that barred their way out of the cave, her fingers splaying against the cold, rough surface. I can clear away the smaller ones now, she thought, her eyes narrowing as one of her hands came to rest beneath her chin, other hand supporting her elbow. The bigger ones are the problem.

They could be taken care of using the Force, but she would have to be careful about the order in which she went about removing them. A slip up, and both she and Rex could be seriously injured - or worse, killed. And that was definitely something that she wanted to avoid. With a glance back at her companion, she began to pull the smaller stones away.

They fell to the ground with a clatter, bouncing and rolling this way and that as she dug, her movements deliberate and careful. She could see the faint outlines of the larger rocks, and she was careful in avoiding them as she continued her work. She fell silent, however, when there was the sound of shifting behind her, followed by a cautious call of, "Commander?"

"Over here, Rex." She abandoned her place at the wall and strode over, offering a hand to pull him up. "Did you sleep well?" she teased, and she could see him shake his head at her. Whether in exasperation or denial of comforting sleep, he didn't elaborate as he said,

"How long have you been awake?"

"Not long," she told him, and then gestured to the wall. "I've been making progress." Pausing for a moment, she withdrew her lightsabre from her hip and activated it, casting the cave once again in the eerie green glow before turning towards the wall. The small smile of self-confidence wilted at the edges and then faded all together. "Or not."

Her careful scraping had done little in the way of breaking through, and she exhaled before jerking her head in the direction of the wall, padawan braid swinging against her back lekku. "Care to join me, Rexter?"

She caught it, the faint edge of a smile on his mouth as he replied, "With pleasure, sir."

She didn't bother to correct him in using her given name, the need to return to the outer world more important than formality and informality as she strode back over, Rex close behind her. Eyes focused upon the wall, she extended the hand that held her lightsabre towards Rex, eyes following over as she inquired, "Mind holding this for me?" The look he gave her was the distinct expression of one who was uncomfortable, and she couldn't help the smile that curved her lips as she shook her head. "Just so I can use the Force to move these boulders."

When he made no move to take it from her, she took his hand into her free one and held it open with the palm up, placing the hilt into it and curling his fingers over it. Her own lingered for a moment, squeezing in a brief movement of assurance before she turned, extending her arms forward, fingers flat and palms up. It took a moment before there was the sound of rumbling, though it was to a lesser degree as the top boulder to the left began to move, lowered to the ground with a heavy thud.

Turning, Ahsoka smiled. "Look at that, Rexter!" Her finger pointed in the direction of the gaping hole that the rock had left, from which sunlight slid through, casting light upon a small portion of the otherwise dimly lit floor. It was not much, but it was progress. This continued for a good amount of time before Rex placed the hand that was not holding her sabre on her shoulder.

"Commander," he began, and there was an edge to his tone. Not unpleasant, but of concerned warning. "You should rest."

Though she had recovered most of her strength, the usage of the Force was quickly draining her energy and what little she had left, she used to offer up a smile. "I'm fine," she said, and in the silence that fell, there was the distinct rumbled growl of an empty stomach. Ahsoka turned aside, but there was enough light from outside to show the darkening of the chevrons on her montrals. Handing her back her lightsabre, Rex turned and began rummaging through the pack slung around his hips.

"Here," he said after a moment, offering her half of a ration bar. "It isn't much, but-"

"It's fine," she said, and took it from him with a dip of her head. "Thank-you."

Rex ate the other half quietly, and Ahsoka found that sharing rations with the Captain was not nearly the awkward experience that she might have thought it to be at one point in time. It was enough to quell the grumbling of her stomach and eased the headache that had begun to form, renewing her energy and thus her determination to clear enough space for them to get out.

"Get ready to leave, Rex," she told him before resuming her stance from before. Two more boulders, both roughly the same size, were dispatched before it made enough space where both of them could get out, the daylight making her blink owlishly after being exposed to the dark. Rex had put his bucket back on, perhaps to shield his eyes from the light that made her squint and bring a hand to her forehead.

There was no sign of the plant creature from before, but with its disappearance came the lack of vines on one side of the steep ravine. The other still had them, but she was wary as she strode forward, poking one experimentally. It did not twitch beneath her grasp, and a few tugs came up with the same result. Confidence bolstered by the response - or lackthereof -, she said cheerfully, "Up we go, Rexter."

"Ahsoka." It was the usage of her given name that made her turn, the white markings above her eyes knitting together when she found him staring at her - or at least she thought he was, it was neigh impossible to see beyond the bucket - and she frowned.

"What is it?" she asked, and when he did not respond, she pressed, "Rex?"

He strode forward, and for a moment, she thought that he had spotted something she hadn't. She turned, confused, and froze when fingers brushed over her back lekku. It was not an exploratory touch, but rather, centered over the patch of sensitive flesh that had been struck by the rock during their downward tumble into the ravine. "Rex-"

"You're injured." His tone was hard and firm, like the way her Master scolded her when she refused to go to the medbay. Like those times, she found no reason in fretting over a bruise. "Why didn't you say so?"

"Because it's nothing," she said, and shivered when his fingers grazed it again before she reached back, pulling his hand away from her lekku. "I'm fine, Rex." When he didn't reply, she exhaled and turned towards him. "If it will make you feel any better, I'll go to the medbay when we get back." It was a lie - a little one, not much at all - just to get him off her back about a bruise.

He seemed to sense it however, and concern mingled with amusement as he said, "Then I'll escort you there myself, Commander." There was an angry exhale and a mutter of what sounded suspiciously like "kriffing Captain" and "too much like Master" before Ahsoka returned her attention to the vine and gripped it tightly, her feet planted against stone in the manner that she'd done earlier.

The climb was not an easy one, and she turned several times to make sure that Rex was behind her before she ascended. Reaching the grass at the edge, she hauled herself over before turning and extending helping hands to the Captain. Once they were both on steady ground, they began approaching the area that they had been in the day before.

Engrossed in trekking through the tangle of low growing brush and eyes sliding around warily for any sort of predator, Ahsoka jolted when Rex's hand landed upon her shoulder, bringing her attention to the Captain. "We're within comlink range," he told her, and they both came to a stop as Rex keyed his outer comlink. "General Skywalker."

There was a moment before the square blinked, and her Master's voice answered, colored with relief. "Rex. Is Ahsoka with you?"

With a roll of her eyes, she leaned in and answered, "I'm here, Master."

"Where were you?" It was the unavoidable question, and though Rex's gaze was hidden by his helmet, they shared a look before Ahsoka shifted and answered with a sheepish tinge to her voice,

"We had a situation, Master."

There was a sigh before her Master said, "We're on our way, so stay put." The comlink went silent, and Ahsoka sighed.

"Great," she began, kicking at a rock and watching it tumble away from her, "he's going to ask a million questions and then after that, he'll want a report. I hate reports."

"They're neccessary."

"They're boring," she corrected, and there was the soft noise of laughter behind the helmet, drawing her gaze to him as her mouth curved. "Are you laughing at me?"

"No," he replied, tone amused. Shaking her head, she folded her arms across her chest.

"And now we wait."

"And now we wait," he repeated, mouth curving into the faint shadow of a smile that she could not see.

"Argh! I said I'm fine!" Hands extended, Ahsoka was struggling with the medical droid that was trying to see the extent of the bruise on her lekku. "Go away!"

From the doorway, Rex commented, "You offered to go to the medbay, Commander."

Ahsoka shot him a dark look and murmured something under her breath before renewing her struggling. "It's bad enough that Master won't let me go anywhere but my room. I don't need a bacta patch or anything!"

"Hey." Rex caught the attention of the medical droid and nodded towards the bacta patch in the droid's hand. "Let me handle this."

"But sir-" He gave the droid a look that prevented arguement, and the droid shook its head before handing over the bacta patch as Rex strode forward, ambling away afterward. "Are you going to fight me about this," he gestured to the bacta patch, "too?"

"I'll kick you in the shebs."

"You wouldn't."

"Try me," she threatened, but the glitter to her eyes erased any and all possible venom from her tone. It was obvious, however, that she was uncomfortable in the sterile-smelling medbay, and he moved to get a better look at the bruise. Dark veins were spread out like webbing within it, and she hissed when he drew his fingers over it.

"This could have been avoided," he told her, "if you had said something earlier."

"It's just a bruise," she said, but her tone was softer, gaze locked upon the ground. "This was my fault in the first place."

"Stop blaming yourself," he told her firmly as he pressed the bacta patch over the bruise. She flinched, though he was unsure if it was the pressure he had placed on the patch to make it stick or the words he had spoken. "We're alive, Ahsoka."

His words had merit, she realized. They could have both died, had they been too close to the explosion. Or been eaten by the plant creature, or crushed to death when the rocks had fallen in front of the cave. She blinked when a hand found hers, the weight comforting. "We're alive," she said, blue eyes lifting to connect with brown as her fingers closed over his. "We're alive."

Closing Quote: "This is our purpose: to make as meaningful as possible this life that has been bestowed upon us . . . to live in such a way that we may be proud of ourselves, to act in such a way that some part of us lives on." Oswald Spengler.