Author's Note: All of this is new material.

Chapter 3

The Resolute Post Catalyst - Day One - Late Afternoon

Ahsoka was sitting on the floor as far away from the bed as she could get, staring out the viewport with her back to the wall and her arms wrapped around her knees when a knock sounded at her door. Her head snapped around as if on a string, her spirits lifting from the dredges they'd been in as hope surged through her breast.

Rex.

It had to be.

He had to be coming to explain. To apologize. To talk. To tell her that what she'd felt in the corridor was wrong.

The knock sounded again and this time prompted her to speak. Quickly wiping her cheeks free of her tears, she cleared her throat. "Come in."

The door opened to reveal a familiar face, the face she'd been expecting but the surge of hope she felt quickly dwindled. The man in her doorway was identical to the man she'd hoped to see in every way except one.

He wasn't Rex.

The medic's brows drew together as he started to step into the doorway of his Commander's quarters, surprised to find her sitting on the floor against a wall near her desk. Her expression seemed to fall as she realized who he was and Coric couldn't help but wonder who she'd expected him to be. The Captain, perhaps?

"Coric."

"Commander," he frowned. She hasn't so much as twitched the barest of smiles in greeting and, despite the low lighting in her quarters, he could see evidence of moisture trails on her cheeks. Had she been crying? "Is this a bad time, sir?"

"Yes - no, I-" she stopped herself, holding up one hand as if to forestall anything he might have said in response. Using that pause, she pushed up off the floor with a wince visibly favoring her injured arm - the reason for his visit. "Come in, Coric."

"Were you expecting someone else, sir?" It wasn't his place to ask and her injury needed tending, but it had waited this long and could wait longer if necessary. "I can come back later."

"No," she shook her head, dusting off her skirt and Coric's sharp eyes caught a faint bruise on her neck under one lekku as she tilted her head, "it's okay, Coric." He had the distinct impression it was anything but 'okay' even though she was saying otherwise. "What can I do for you?"

He held up the medkit in his hand. "I noticed you were injured last night when you got back to the ship, sir. I would have tended you then, but the Captain declined on your behalf."

"The…"

Her frown spoke volumes and confirmed his suspicions. Commander Tano didn't remember Rex giving that order. "I'm here now, Commander. If I may?"

Visibly giving herself a shake, she nodded and started to move towards the bed, where he indicated she should sit, only to turn abruptly on the ball of one foot and head straight back to the desk. Pulling out the chair, she sat in it, flicking the overhead light on and finally looked his way.

"The light's better over here... and there's a place for you to put the medkit."

Coric raised his eyebrows. She had a point, but her actions were both bemusing and concerning. It wasn't like her to explain herself, especially over the obvious. "Are you feeling like yourself, Commander?"

Ahsoka abruptly broke eye contact, looking towards the now closed door. "No, Coric," she admitted, surprising him. "The... the mission was... it..." she shook her head.

"It was rough?"

"Rough." Her lips twisted. "Rougher than an uncontrolled crash in a LAAT/i on a times four gravity planet."

Stopping next to her, Coric placed the medkit on the desk, examining her for a moment before his gaze was drawn to the open wound on her upper arm. He frowned. "Where's the bandage this was under, sir? It shouldn't be left open like this."

He gave her a moment to respond before realizing that no response was forthcoming. Her jaw had set, the hand of the arm he wasn't tending clenched into a fist, and he thought he saw a distinctive sheen to her eyes. Deciding that pressing the issue was probably not necessary in that moment, Coric set about his task.

Taking her arm in hand, he turned it this way and that. Examining the injury, he was gratified to see that initial healing had already begun. Whoever had treated the knife slash initially - the wound couldn't have come from anything else - had done it swiftly and with skill. "Did you do this yourself, Ahsoka?"

As expected, the use of her name drew her attention back his way.

"What?"

Gruffly, he repeated himself, hiding his concern. "Did you treat this yourself?"

She shook her head, looking away again. "I couldn't have."

"You're not a bad field medic. This is within your abilities."

"It wasn't me, Coric."

"Captain Rex tended you then?"

Her jaw worked and she nodded, her attention visibly not in the moment at hand. "Yeah. Rex-" His frown deepened. Had her voice just hitched on the Captain's name? "He did it. He…" her eyes closed and she stopped speaking, her head turned fully away from him now.

The turn of her head revealed what Coric's sharp-eyed gaze had caught a glimpse of upon entering the room; a circular abrasion on her neck, hidden under her lekku, about twice the size of a decee's barrel diameter. With his hands tending the wound on her arm almost automatically, Coric considered the imprint. It was redder and darker than her normal skin tone and slightly... indented?

He couldn't recall ever seeing any kind of injury like that before. He'd have to research it.

A quick look at her expression showed she wasn't paying him any attention and Coric's gaze slipped analytically down her body. Darker patches of skin marred her shoulder, five oval shaped marks, four on the back of her shoulder and one on the front. A ring of darker skin was around the wrist he could see and the same kind of marks on her shoulders, were echoed on one bare thigh, just visible beneath the edge of her skirt.

Hand prints. Restraint marks.

His gaze came back to the imprint on her neck; the - the shape of a... mouth? He had to be wrong but no other conclusion presented itself. What the hell happened on that mission and why wasn't Rex around to stop it?

He managed not to tighten his grip on her arm as he angled it a little for better access. Ahsoka assisted, letting him move it, but, as his gaze traveled over the bruise on her neck, he caught a wince from the corner of his eye. From the injury he was tending or worse… something he couldn't see?

"Sir?"

She didn't look at him but he could feel her tense.

"Commander."

"Yes?"

How did he phrase this diplomatically? If she'd been attacked during the mission, it would certainly have explained Rex's overprotective behavior when they'd arrived back at the ship. Especially if the Captain had nearly been too late. "You've other injuries, sir."

Her head snapped towards him, eyes wide. "What?"

"You've other injuries. Here." Coric reached down with one hand, not quite brushing the skin on her thigh, "and here," he traced the line around her wrist and finally, motioning to his own neck as he thought better of touching hers, he circled the outline, "and here. Is there something I need to know about this mission, sir? I can't offer the correct treatment if I don't have all the facts for a proper diagnosis."

Ahsoka stilled, watching him with wide eyes that suddenly seemed glassy and far too fragile for any mood or attitude he'd ever seen from her. "I've… oh no. No. I can't… He couldn't've-"

She was gone from under his hands before he could stop her, the door to the 'fresher sliding closed and leaving him alone with the trailing edge of the bandage he'd been about to wrap dangling from his fingers.

He? Coric stared at the door, frowning. What the fek just happened?

"Commander." Coric moved towards the closed door, pausing when he heard a catch of a breath and then running water. The distinctive sound of fabric abrading skin and Ahsoka mumbling to herself could be heard behind the door. He lifted one hand and knocked. "Commander. I need to finish tending your knife wound."

"It's fine, Coric. I'm fine. I can…" there was a pause and more scrubbing before she spoke again. "You've cleaned it, I can wrap it myself."

His frown deepened and Coric did something he never did with her. He pulled rank. "Negative, Commander. Medic's orders. That wound has gone untreated long enough. It needs to be wrapped properly if you wish to avoid infection."

Silence was his answer as the water shut off and, for a moment, he wondered if he could get away with it. He wasn't used to pulling rank on a Jedi. Honestly, there was never a need. For the most part, Jedi were tended by their own kind. Only the General and the Commander ever needed, or welcomed, his skills.

The door slid open revealing a very small, very composed, but quiet, Ahsoka. She swallowed visibly, the skin at her wrist sporting the noticeable evidence of her useless efforts. Barely meeting his gaze for a moment before it slid away, Ahsoka marched back to the seat where she'd been before and sat back down.

Not willing to press his luck, Coric returned to her side and resumed tending the knife slash. It wasn't until he was securing the bandage and had a physical reason for her not to move away, that he broached the topic of her other injuries again.

"Those bruises look seri- woah!" he admonished when she nearly jerked out of his grip. "Easy, Commander, it's just an observation. A part of my job, remember?" Her nod was curt. "I'd be one useless medic if I didn't notice when one of my charges was hurt."

"True."

"Do they hurt?"

She shook her head, once again unnaturally quiet like she had been the night before.

Deciding that the official track wasn't working, Coric switched gears. "Commander… Ahsoka." Using her name never failed to draw her gaze. A reason, he supposed, he didn't use it often with her. "I can't help you unless I know what happened."

"I…" her head shook again. "It's classified, Coric," she told him softly, looking away. "Republic Intelligence needs to grant you clearance."

"I see." Roadblock. Even he couldn't compel her to share the details when put like that, especially when the injuries weren't life threatening. He let it go, filing the details of her injuries away in the back of his brain for further investigation later. Switching gears he turned his attention back to her wounds. "I've a salve to help the bruises heal."

"You do?"

How hopeful she looked set off warning bells in the back of his brain, but he tucked that away with the details of her bruising for later. "I'll bring it by after evening meal." He finished smoothing down the bandage and dropped his hands. "The seals are waterproof. When it's ready to come off, it'll come off on its own. You should heal up nicely."

Ahsoka's gaze dropped to the newly doctored injury, faint surprise on her features. Coric wondered if she even remembered that as the reason for his presence in the first place. "Thanks."

Turning to the medkit, he turned his attention to packing up the supplies as he kept on eye on her. "Sir… Classified or not, if something happened on this mission, medics have been trained to assist in working through trauma. You might not be able to give specifics, but I'd be willing to listen if you need to talk."

"I…" she smiled faintly. "Thanks, Coric. I'll be okay." There was yet another pause that was so unlike her. "I think this mission just took a lot out of me."

"Get some sleep then, sir." Snapping the case closed he turned, his eye catching on a pile of shredded white and blue cloth tucked into the corner behind her before meeting her gaze. "Medic's orders. I'll tell the General you're not to be disturbed."

"You can do that?"

"When warranted. You look worn out, Commander. Sleep is sometimes the best medicine. Take advantage of being able to get it while you can." Was that apprehension in her gaze as it flicked to her bed before back to his?

"Sure thing. Anything else, Medic Coric?"

"If you can't talk about it with me, sir, might I suggest Captain Rex could-" there was no mistaking how her expression closed and shuttered at the mention of the Captain, "-sir?"

"Thanks Coric." Cutting him off, she didn't respond to his inquiry. "I think a nap would do me good."

Frowning, he considered her for a moment but didn't fight the dismissal. Rex was the only one who might be able to get to her. He'd have to talk to his Captain about lending his often overly eager shoulder and ear to their Commander. "Very good sir. Was there anything else?"

"No."

With a nod at her, he turned on his heel and went to exit the room, pausing just before touching the door controls. "Commander."

"What, Coric?"

He turned to look at her worn, weary expression. "If you need something to help you sleep, they'll be a dose ready with your name on it in the medbay." Without waiting for her answer, he nodded to her, keyed open the door and left her to her darkened quarters.

Ahsoka's composure lasted only as long as it took Coric to leave.

Stumbling to the door, she barely managed to key in the lock code as her tears returned and her expression crumpled. Sinking to the ground, she buried her face in her knees. Wrapping her arms about her legs, she shuddered, struggling against the torrent of emotion and pain that threatened to drown her.

And utterly failed.