I have a new poll up! It's about what fan fictions you want to be released next. I'll probably have it up til the end of this month. P.S.- I'm afraid Rex may/may not have gone a little crazy in this chapter…Onward!

The trees looked grey, the leaves on the ground looked grey—heck, even the sky was overcast and colored shades of grey.

It wasn't a very happy planet.

Rex blasted at droids, happily whistling a little tune in his head. This little skirmish they had gotten themselves into wasn't much; no men had died, either. There were only a few droids left, and then they would be able to move on with the mission.

The next thing Rex knew, grenades were flying off around his head. He ducked and rolled like the expert he was.

"Gotta keep moving Rex!" Anakin yelled, slashing away at droids as he went. He flicked his eyes over to Ahsoka, making sure she wasn't about to runoff with the ruffian "Nook"—as she so called him. He was trying so hard to keep his eye on Ahsoka, Rex was starting to fire at the droids that were right in front of Anakin.

"General Skywalker!" Rex yelled above the ringing in his ears. "We need to move forward. I'm sure Ahsoka is fine!"

Ahsoka shot them both a venomous look.

"Commander watch out!" Nook yelled, lunging for Ahsoka.

Rex did not like what he was seeing.

Yes, Nook had just saved Ahsoka's life from canon fire, but he was on top of her, and Rex got the feeling he didn't want to move from where he was.

What Nook Saw

Ahsoka's eyes were the most brilliant shade of blue he had ever seen (and he should know blue, he's part of the 501st!). Nook's heartbeat was beginning to accelerate to heart attack speeds.

"Are you okay, Commander?" he asked, wiping a smudge of dirt from her cheek,

"Yeah. Thanks Nook," she said, smiling brightly.

Nook's face started heating up again at her kind smile. (Remember: he still hasn't moved from on top of Ahsoka, and Rex is watching.)

What Rex Saw

The ruffian was currently on top of his commanding officer, and it didn't look like he was about to move any time soon. Rex took the liberty of invading Nook's personal information on his helmet and reading his heart beat rate.

Too high to be safe.

To say that Rex's over-protective big brother senses were kicking in would have been the understatement of understatements. The thought that this scoundrel was on top of the Commander and was probably going to make a move on her was absolutely revolting.

Horrifying and disturbing images (in Rex's head, anyway) started playing out at what this could lead to.

Be warned: Rex has not had his breakfast yet.

If she finds out that she's in love with him, how is she going to make it in the real world? Rex thought with despair. He could see it play out in his head:

"Commander Ahsoka! I'm in love with you! Come, let us run away together! Away from this cruel, cruel world!" Nook would say.

"No, I…I mustn't! I'm a Jedi. I have a duty to my—" Ahsoka would be caught between desires and duty.

"But what about me, Ahsoka? What about us?" Nook would say, jumping to first name basis with her.

In between it all would be excessive and exaggerated hand movements, and a lot of turning and sighing.

"I'm…I'm so confused. If I form attachments, I'll go to the dark side and—" Ahsoka would be so, so confused…

"Shhh…" Nook puts his finger on Ahsoka's lips. "I won't let that happen to you, my love."

Ahsoka would gasp.

"Nook…"

"Ahsoka…"

They would lean in towards each other…

Rex's mind screeched to a halt. No! I can't let that happen! he thought angrily. The last thing he wanted was for Ahsoka's life to play out like a cheap medical drama on a late-night holo-channel.

Rex's right hand seemed to acquire a mind of its own at that moment. While his left continued to fire at the droids in front of him, his right strayed off to the right, farther and farther away from the battle in front of him.

In a moment Rex was glaring down the barrel of his DC-17, aiming directly for Nook's left eye visor.

Ahsoka looked up at that moment, as did Nook. Her eyes widened in horror at what Rex was about to do. Nook stiffened, and Rex could see that his heart rate was accelerating again.

Good, Rex thought happily. Now he'll know what it's like to incur the wrath of Captain Rex!

Rex's finger closed around the trigger.

"Rex don't—!" Ahsoka said, shifting away from Nook.

Rex fired.

Thankfully at the last moment he shifted his blaster upwards and fired at the battle droid that had snuck up behind the pair.

Ahsoka jumped up when another grenade blew up by their heads. She ignited her lightsabers, immediately jumping back into the battle. The completely cold I'm-going-to-kill-you look she sent Rex did nothing to quell his unsettledness.

And I almost had him! Rex thought. He continued to fire away at the droids, taking out his frustrations on the walking tin heaps until they were no more.

"Nook, are you okay?!" Ahsoka cried, rushing to his side hurriedly. Nook was bent over, clutching his arm tightly, but gingerly.

He was hurt.

And Rex didn't know why he felt so happy about that.

"I'm fine, Commander. Just a scratch," Nook said holding his arm.

"No, you're not okay, Nook!" Ahsoka said, grabbing his arm a little roughly.

Nook hissed loudly. "Eeh! Careful!"

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, Nook! Here, let me just—" More gently this time, Ahsoka took Nook's large bicep in her warm hands.

"C-Commander, I don't think this is—" Nook tried to protest, but Ahsoka silenced him.

"I think we have some medical stuff over here, Nook," Ahsoka said pulling him behind her.

Rex watched as Ahsoka pulled Nook away. A growl started to form from within him, although whether it was from hunger or his anger he wouldn't know. Rex munched angrily on a ration bar, stopping the feral growling for a moment.

"Commander, what about the battle?" Nook asked, trying to ignore the sudden fluttery feeling inside him.

"The battle ended almost twenty minutes ago, Nook," she said, chuckling lightly.

Nook's face flamed under his bucket. There he went again, acting like an idiot around the Commander. Why can't I ever say anything intelligent around her?! Nook thought in despair.

Despondently, he followed Ahsoka to a partly secluded tree. He noticed her slight limp.

"Commander, are you alright?" Nook asked, alarm loud and clear in his voice.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine. I think I twisted it earlier," Ahsoka said stopping for a moment.

"We should probably…check it out, Ahso—Commander," Nook said, almost jumping to first name basis with her.

Rex's head snapped up. If he had a radar sticking out of the top of his head—meaning a small metal rod thing with a big ball on the end— it would be flashing red and pinging loudly.

"No, no. I'm fine. It's your arm we need to fix. That's more important," Ahsoka said, waving him off.

"What about you?" Nook asked.

"Well…" Ahsoka started, then paused. "I mean…it's not really important…"

Rex sat straight up on the dirt. This was all playing out close to exactly what had happened in his head. Right now, Ahsoka was "confused".

"Commander, don't worry about me, I'll be fine," Nook said, taking the med-pack out of her hand.

Rex was about to chase and tackle Nook when he was called off to the side by Anakin. "Rex, I need you to come take a look at this!" he yelled.

Rex grumbled under his breath and made his way over. "Yes, sir?" he said, snapping to attention.

"I need your help with coordinating this next attack with Obi-wan. He doesn't seem to think my plan is a good idea," Anakin said, motioning to the small hologram of their area of the planet.

"That's because it isn't, Anakin," Obi-wan's hologram dead-panned.

Rex already knew the plan, and he had a few choice words he would have liked to say about it himself.

Anakin gave Rex a look that said I'm worried about her too, but if anything happens, she'll kill him if she has to.

Rex would've responded if his helmet didn't block his face.

Elsewhere, away from the ornery Rex and oblivious Anakin, Ahsoka tried very hard not to mess up bandaging Nook's arm. When he had peeled back the black under suit to reveal the angry red burn mark in the center of his muscular bicep, Ahsoka's fears had been confirmed. His wound was worse than she thought, and they didn't have adequate medical supplies. The laser could have gone straight through the bone, as far as she knew.

Nook suppressed a hiss as he tried to keep his arm still while Ahsoka cleaned the burn. He was trying his best to appear strong in front of Ahsoka. He'd read somewhere on the HoloNet that women didn't like weak men.

Ahsoka couldn't help but smile on the inside at Nook's attempts at macho-manliness—it was adorable (in her eyes, anyway). She re-focused on his arm. Other than the possible hole in Nook's arm, he was in pretty good shape. For some reason, Ahsoka had imagined Nook being slightly skinnier and smaller than the rest of her men—just because of how quiet he was.

And, despite the red mark marring his once prefect golden-brown skin, she could see that he was actually quite muscular. It was firm and hard under her fingers.

Of course you knew that! Ahsoka thought, giving herself a mental slap. The clone's armor only made them look skinny—especially their arms.

Why was she suddenly noticing all of this?

"Commander, are you okay?" Nook asked, giving her a concerned look. His voice sounded strained, and his face was slightly pinched. She could imagine he was in a lot of pain.

Ahsoka moved quickly to bandage his arm. Carefully pulling the sleeve over the wound, she sat back and admired her work.

"Good," Nook said, smiling shyly at her. "I think you did it correctly." He wouldn't know, he was too busy staring at her.

"You won't be able to wear that arm piece now, will you?" Ahsoka asked, just out of her own curiosity.

"Uh…n-no sir," Nook said. His mouth was drier than sand paper, and he couldn't think of anything coherent—let alone intelligent—to say. "Oh, um…Commander?" Nook looked away, biting his lip nervously.

"Yeah? What's up?" Ahsoka asked, looking up from the odd little leaf she was studying.

"Well, you know your ankle is still, hurt…and it'll only get worse if try and walk on it…" Nook didn't know how to continue his sentence. What exactly was he asking for?

"You won't leave this alone, will you?" Ahsoka asked, partially cutting him off.

"Oh n-no Commander! I-I didn't mean that! I was just…"

"It's okay." Ahsoka was smiling broadly. Nook's face had caught fire again, and he was positive it would remain a mottled, strangled shade of dark red and hot pink. "I see where you're coming from with that argument."

Nook's heart swelled considerably at the thought that Ahsoka understood him. He was feeling completely elated until a horrifying fact made itself very present in his head. Yes, he was going to look at her ankle…

But that would require her to remove a part of her clothing.

Nook was sure his heart was going to leap into his throat and give him death by massive asphyxiation and lack of the heart in the correct area. If there was one thing Nook was not, it was a perv, and right then he sure felt like one.

Ahsoka took off her boot with a little difficulty, being careful to pull it over her ankle. She noted how Nook suddenly decided that his boots were the Eighth Wonder of the Galaxy and studied them with keen interest.

She also noticed the mottled, strangled shades of dark red and hot pink spreading over his face and ears.

Wait, Nook thought with sudden mortification. If she's wearing tights, then that means-

He looked over to her just in time to watch her deftly pull the legging off of her right leg.

Nook choked down the gasp that threatened to make its way out of his throat. His face—along with another part of his body—began to burn.

Other than the small, pale scar Ahsoka had on the side of her knee—it was barely even noticeable—her skin was perfect and smooth.

Nook almost slapped himself—he was so close to staring too long.

Somewhere off-stage, Rex's head-radar began pinging even louder, setting off a slight vibration in his teeth.

Nook focused his gaze on the problem at hand—said problem being Ahsoka purple and swollen ankle.

"It's worse than I thought," Ahsoka said, eyes widening at the sight.

Nook remained silent (he couldn't trust his voice not to squeak at the moment) and turned to the small med-pack lying on the ground by his foot. "I think the best we could do right now is bandage it up," Nook said after a moment. He tried to keep his eyes from straying too far away from the problem area. He swallowed. "Are you okay with that?" a little voice in his head reminded him none too softly that it was rude to not maintain eye contact with pretty women.

"Yeah, it's fine," Ahsoka said, placing her hands behind her on the dirt, leaning back just a little too far for Nook's comfort.

He was about to start when he realized that her lump-of-an-ankle had tiny scratches. "Hold on for a second, Ahsoka," Nook said without thinking. He reached over to her boot and turned it over in his hand, dropping a few small pebbles in his palm. "Well that explains it," he muttered under his breath.

"Those stupid pebbles have been bothering me all day," Ahsoka said in response to his comment. "I thought I felt something cutting me during the battle."

"Then I probably shouldn't use these," Nook replied, pulling off his muddy gloves. "We don't want you getting infected or anything." He didn't know where this sudden burst of confidence had come from, but he hoped it would last a little longer. "Tell me if it hurts too much."

Carefully, he pulled Ahsoka's ankle into his lap, reminding his curious side to keep his eyes on the injury. Despite the chilly air, Ahsoka's leg was surprisingly warm. He turned her shapely calf over, admiring the length while still staying focused on the huge bruise. He pulled out a small adhesive bacta patch and wrapped it around her ankle, hoping it would reduce the swelling. Next, he began wrapping a bandage around her ankle.

"This isn't too tight, Ahsoka?" Nook asked her, looking up to see her reaction.

"Nope. It might be a little loose," she replied giving him a small smile.

Nook returned her smile with his own small bashful one. Nook's face began heating again, flushing a light pink under his tan. Before he could even respond, or continue to fix up Ahsoka's leg, Nook felt a cold presence from behind him, like a demon waiting to steal and innocent person's soul.

Nook slowly turned to see Captain Rex standing directly behind him, a cold, stern look on his hard features.

He did not approve of what he was seeing.

"May I ask what's going on here, Commander?" Rex asked, his voice completely void of emotion except for the slightest hint of anger.

"I-I was just—" Nook tried to explain, but Rex sent him a withering look.

"Rex," Ahsoka said, speaking for both herself and Nook. "He just offered to fix my ankle. I hurt it during the battle." Ahsoka gave him a less lethal variant of the look.

Rex ignored the look and watched Nook's hand on Ahsoka's leg.

Ahsoka glared into his golden-brown eyes. Not noticing where Nook's hand was.

Nook knew that his right hand was on the back of her knee, bordering her thigh, and his left was on her calf.

"And can I ask what you're doing, soldier?" Rex asked of Nook, giving him a scrutinizing look.

"S-sir I can assure t-that I-I wasn't trying to—" Nook was stammering so badly that it was becoming hard to understand him.

"I need you to come with me," Rex cut him off, turning to go back to their camp.

"Hey! Rex!" Ahsoka called after him. What is wrong with him?! Why is he acting like this?! Ahsoka huffed and remained on the gray dirt.

"Oh, Commander! I forgot about your leg!" Nook quickly rushed over to help Ahsoka up. "Can you walk?"

"I think I might be able to," Ahsoka said, shooting Nook a look that said ignore the demon known as Captain Rex. "But I might have trouble standing—woah!"

Instead of bending to help Ahsoka up off the ground, Nook had picked her up—she was surprisingly light—and held her bridal-style. Gently, he set her on her feet again.

"Is that better, Ahsoka?" Nook asked, liking his new confidence.

"Thanks Nook!" Ahsoka said cheerily, not liking the bloody death glare Rex was giving to Nook's back.

"Nook, I need to speak with you—in private," Rex said, shooting Ahsoka a warning glance.

Ahsoka gave the look back and sent Nook a reassuring smile. She touched his arm lightly, making him flinch. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to—"

"It's okay Ahso—Commander. I'll live," he said reassuringly. Nook obediently followed Rex to his possible death sentence.

Ahsoka watched on, her lip twisted in contemplation. Nook had given her a certain look, like he wanted to tell her something, but she couldn't figure out what it meant. Ahsoka could already hear Rex berating Nook.

"Speaking to the Commander by name is enough to keep you from getting promoted!" Rex was saying to him.

In the few moments before Rex had started his verbal tirade, Nook could feel all of his self-confidence die inside him. It was a slow, agonizing inner-self death. He wasn't sure if he would be able to make it out of this one.

"Captain I—" Nook tried, but he was interrupted.

"Why didn't you call a medic? You should have had a trained soldier tend to the Commander; we still have a mission to complete. How do you know you bandaged it properly?"

In clone standards, that was the dumbest question you could ever ask.

On Kamino, even the troopers who didn't eventually move onto the medical field had received basic training in first-aid care and wound treatment. The Kaminoans trusted them to learn this information and use it wisely.

But, as it seemed, Rex didn't trust Nook to not accidentally kill Ahsoka when bandaging a twisted ankle.

Nook couldn't help but feel a little hurt by that notion. Did that captain really distrust him that much? What if that made him a bad soldier? Would he end up getting kicked off of the ship for this?

No! A sharp voice in his head said. You can't just give up on Ahsoka like that!

"Are you even listening to me?" Rex snapped. "I have enough evidence against you to hold you in the brig for this."

"Sir, I was only trying to help the Commander by setting her ankle—" Nook only hoped that Rex wouldn't take it the wrong way.

"I swear if you touched her in any way…"

He took it the wrong way.

"N-no sir, I didn't touch her at all!"

They both new that was a lie, although their current definitions of "touch" were farther apart than Nook's chances with Ahsoka.

Nook mentally tallied up all the contact he'd had with Ahsoka.

He was pretty sure he'd touched Ahsoka's arm when he trying to convince her to treat her wound.

He'd wiped the dirt off of her face when he prevented her from getting shot in the head.

They touched when Ahsoka bandaged his blaster burn.

He touched her when he held her leg in his hands—although it was totally professional!

And, when he carried her to set Ahsoka on her feet, his hand had briefly been on her thigh.

Nook inwardly cringed at all of the evidence against him.

"I want a good reason as to why you—" Rex started again, but was cut off.

"Rex, let's get a move on! Gather the men and start heading out! We have to be there in less than two hours!" Anakin yelled from across the tree-riddled field.

"We'll finish this talk on the ship," Rex said, his tone reaching a new level of evil I'll-kill-you-when-I-get-the-chance look.

Nook felt a chill zap his spine, in turn freezing the rest of his muscles.

Ahsoka looked worriedly at Nook, wondering if she should hobble in to save him. No, she thought. He probably wouldn't like that. She watched as Nook slowly unfroze himself from his spot and equally as slowly turned to walk back to her.

Ahsoka remembered hearing that they would finish their conversation on the ship. She only hoped that Nook would survive Rex's unadulterated fury…

I love Rex, but I have ultimately made him lose it in this chapter. (hehehe…)Even though this chapter is my longest, I would say it's not my best. Sorry it took so long, but at first I had writer's block, but it's obvious that's not the case now. As I have said before, I have a poll that needs voting, so be sure to make your choices soon! If there are any N's missing, the button came off, so I'm pressing a flat piece of metal right now. Please tell me if there are odd spelling mistakes. The next chapters won't be about protecting Ahsoka so much, but another woman. Whoever guesses correctly will have the next chapter dedicated to them! Ciao!

~AAx