Chapter 7. A Refreshing Dawn

Rex was no longer in the armor he had gone to bed in, mostly because he had woken up in a sweat. He had had the same dream as before. It was always the same, but the only person with whom he had ever shared them with was Cody. He was the only one who would understand. It was for this reason that he was surprised to see the Senator approaching him outside at such a late hour. He was sure he had been stealthy enough not to have woken anyone up.

"Senator Amidalla, is everything alright," he boded as he stood up. She stopped next to him and noted the tiredness in his face, and the weariness in usually commanding eyes.

"Oh, yes, everything is fine," she replied.

"I didn't wake you, did I ma'am?"

"No, no. I couldn't sleep. I woke up and noticed you were gone, so I came looking for you. I was going to ask if you were alright." She laughed sleepily and waved for him to sit next to her by the fire. He did so. Noticing her shiver, he offered the blanket he had brought out with him.

"Thank you, Captain," she said as she took the offering. Rex did not mind the Senator sitting with him, but he would have preferred to have been left alone. He hated people seeing him weak and vulnerable, and though he was in his black undersuit, being out of uniform didn't help him much.

"So, are you alright, Captain Rex," Padme inquired. Rex hesitated at the question, knowing that he was not, in fact, alright.

"I'm fine, Senator," Rex concluded. "I just… couldn't sleep."

"Bad dreams," she asked. Rex didn't answer, but he didn't have to. Padme had become accustomed to Anakin not talking, so she could easily spot the look in Rex's face. They sat in silence for a few seconds before Padme continued, "It's alright, Rex. We've all been there."

He looked up at the casual use of his name by such a high ranking senator. Maybe he wouldn't mind the woman's company after all.

"I actually want to ask you some questions, Rex," Padme started.

"I hope I can answer them," Rex replied.

"Do you know Anakin's mother's name?"

"Well, Senator, he—"

"Please, call me Padme right now," she interrupted. Rex was shocked but continued, struggling to remember to call Padme by her name.

"As you wish, Sen… Padme. He doesn't talk about his past very often," Rex paused as he watched her shoulders slump. "But I do know that his mother's name was Schmi."

"That's odd," Padme said to herself, "I could have sworn I heard the name…" Padme paused again, "But that wouldn't make any sense." Sensing Padme's distress, Rex interjected, "Sorry, my lady— I mean Padme— I don't quite understand." Padme looked up from her interrupted reverie.

"Oh, sorry Rex," she said with a slight laugh, "It was the dream I just had. I… I'm not quite sure what to make of it."

"Well… Padme… us Clones aren't programmed for things like this," Rex paused as he noticed that Padme was quickly preparing her speech about how Clones were so much more than fleshy droids, but Rex decided to push on. "But we're definitely programmed for listening." With his reassurance, Padme let roll all of her thoughts from her recent sleep, including all of the details of her dream. As she retold her story, she noticed the fire light readily dancing off of Rex's tanned face, adding an extra heir of sincerity to his character. The furrowed lines on his brow and the light scar across his chin relayed to Padme more information than that of a ship's transmission. She had always thought herself closer to the Clones than most senators, but now she felt she had known Rex all of her life and finally was able to relax since they had been attacked at the ball. After finishing her story, she noticed the tiredness in his eyes and volunteered herself to leave. "Well, I'll be going back in now," she said as she handed back the blanket he had offered her. "The sun is almost up and I would hate for Ana—General Skywalker to worry."

Rex set the blanket down beside him, taking extra care not to notice her slip of tongue. He also noted the considerable rise in temperature since the Senator had first joined him. "Of course, Padme." With that, she was back inside the barn and Rex slowly slid himself back down into his sitting position, one leg straight and the other cocked at the knee with one hand planted across, and laid his head against the side of the barn, perhaps slightly harder than was necessary. As he rubbed the back of his now tender head, he looked out across Cut's vast farm as the first hints of daylight began to highlight the taller trees. It was then that he remembered the reason he had been out there in the first place. It was, in fact, Ahsoka whom he had wished would come out to accompany him. Though Cody was his best friend, sometimes he enjoyed the presence of someone who didn't look and act exactly like him. Plus, she was always so easy to talk to, even if about random things to take their minds off of the ensuing battle. She was, he thought, in a word, "Refreshing," he uttered with the smallest smile. Rex sat in silence for several more moments until he was stirred by a familiar voice.

"Hey you, you wanna eat or what?" It was Cody. "He is way too happy in the mornings," Rex thought, "At least we're different in one aspect." Rex put out the last of his fire and made his way into the barn.