Meet the family.

DISCLAIMER:I only own my OC's every other character is owned by Disney, Lucas and everyone else who has ever written anything for Star Wars. This is for entertainment only. My own and anyone who cares to read it.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

"I've explained to my Aunts that we're together."

Rex was still apprehensive.

New people, who he did not know; he was on alert.

"You still ok with this? You don't have to come."

He did. He wanted to please her.

The speeder behaved on the way into town; they had a full list of items to purchase and Ana looked different. They pulled into the side of the General Store run by her aunts. He looked at her again; she had makeup on, that enhanced her features. He already liked how she looked, large pale green eyes, generous mouth, strong nose; not beautiful like the holovids actresses, who looked like dolls but handsome, If you could use that word on a woman.

"You look different, in a good way" he complimented her, as they unloaded the speeder. "Thank you." She replied and blushed.

He smiled, it still amused him that she blushed, given how intimate they were; in fact he often tried to find something to make her blush. "Any reason?" He pressed her.

"Just felt I need to make an effort sometimes." She replied, evasively, as they reached the store door. He had noticed that since they had been sleeping together she took more time over her appearance, even in the house. Just for him.

She walked straight in, the bell tinkling off key as the door hit and released it; immediately a rather striking turquoise female Twi'lek rushed towards her. Rex followed inside, carrying the larger bags and took a deep inhale through his nose, which was met by a cacophony of smells that took even him by surprise.

"Ana," She said; she had that Rylothian sing song accent that immediately reminded him of General Secura. He still couldn't believe Bly had actually gone through with Order 66, given their closeness, depending on which rumour you believed. He shook his head he didn't want to go down those memories, they were too dark.

An older woman with short red hair, engulfed Ana in a hug; he could see the family resemblance immediately.

"Well, we thought you weren't coming." Another hug for Ana and then the older woman turned her attention to him. "Nik." She eyed him up very much like the Nexu, who had attacked him.

He turned on the charm. Smiling, he stepped forward, extending his hand, "Good Afternoon, Ma'am."

The woman looked at him, her eyes hardened, "No point in flashing your baby blues at me mate, I prefer, an entirely different kettle of fish."

He stopped dead, not quite sure how to continue, Ana hadn't explained. "The name's Essie; come on, you're a friend of my niece so you're welcome." She now pushed her hand forward towards him. He took it and was met with a bone crushing shake from the woman; he winced and looked at Ana, she was smiling. She knew how strong her aunts grip was. "This beautiful creature is my wife Tula."

Tula looked at him, then pulled Ana away, deep in conversation with her, touching her face, her hair. He was left with Essie; he was a soldier, best of the best, he could handle it. He straightened up and stood at parade rest, his face blank and waited.

"So what you got on your list, Ana always has one, as long as your arm. She should come to town more often." The hint made, Essie was already heading to the storeroom; Rex followed, proceeding to read it out but before he could finish, she interrupted. "Go on give it to me I'll see what we've got or if we need to order it from New Seelos." She read through the list he produced. She hummed and ahhed to herself, then tutted a few times and looked at him again, with her eyes narrowed. "So. How did you end up at my niece's place, she never fully explained that?"

He explained about the Nexu and Ana helping him but that he required the additional components so he could get in touch with his brothers. He helped out doing repairs for her.

Essie said nothing but stared at him for what felt like a long time. "My niece is a good person, too good sometimes and she's been through a lot over the last few years. She's been hurt." She paused here, choosing her words carefully. "If I find, that you, have taken advantage of her kindness, in any way, I will personally hunt you down and tear you apart, Wookiee style." She waited for it to sink in. "Do we have an understanding, mate?"

"Yes, Ma'am." He replied, almost saluting at the same time, he felt like a cadet, but he believed she could kriffing well do it.

.

Ana and the Twi'lek went through to the back, while Essie and Rex looked at what he needed.

"So what's the story, I can smell him on you." Tula launched into an interrogation; she was more like a friend than an aunt, as she was younger than Essie. "He's handsome and well preserved for an old fella." She continued whilst she found the comb and scissors. "Trim? Or does he like it longer?" She combed through Ana's hair. "Does he like it on top" she pulled a lock of hair up "or …..underneath." She combed the underside, there was a suggestiveness in her tone.

"Stop it," Ana giggled. "Sshh. He'll hear you."

"Just checking, oh by the way we've given you the room at the side with the big bed; we assumed you'd be sharing." She started trimming Ana's hair and smirked to herself. "You are staying, its Empire day tomorrow and Essie's got a surprise for you later."

She got a nod in reply.

.

Essie managed to find most of the parts Rex needed and packed them in a box for him; she handed them to him, "I'll have to order the others from New Seelos; I've got a contact there who'll give me a good price. They'll take a couple of days. They're quite specialist and the Empire keeps track of some but I have my sources." She winked.

Rex was beginning to appreciate this woman; she appeared quite resourceful and from snippets of what she said, had had a varied life before she settled down with Tula, and there was another story. He'd seen the scars.

Dinner was plain and simple but delicious for that; he was amazed how this family managed to make the most mundane of ingredients taste delicious. The three women had bustled around the kitchen, pushing him out of the way insisting he was impeding their progress on the food; he was almost irritated by it, the implication that he was helpless. Ana herself had said his eggs were delicious. He took the bags along the corridor to the room they had allocated to him and Ana; he assumed they had discussed it with Ana, as there was a very large bed in there. He tried it, very comfortable; if the women didn't want him in the kitchen then he would test the bed. He lay back, with his arms behind his head.

.

Ana normally enjoyed being with her Aunts, for short periods and they had asked her to move in with them when her Father died but she decided against it. Tula could smother her at times. The last thing she wanted to do was fall out with them and Essie could always manage to rub her up the wrong way. So as much as she loved them, short periods were better.

Tula had been scrutinising Rex closely, since they arrived, especially when she thought Ana wasn't looking and when she was sure he was out of the way, she pounced and pulled Ana to one side. Essie was surprised, she hadn't seen her wife agitated like this for a long time.

"You know he's a clone?" She spat the word out and held her hard by the shoulders.

"Yes, he told me, he explained." a confused Ana replied.

"Did he explain how Ryloth was ripped apart by the fighting during the Clone Wars? Did he explain how the Clones fought for the Republic, were heroes and just as quickly changed allegiances fighting for the Empire with the same hard line as the Empire? They obeyed orders without question, killed anybody without question and enslaved anyone without question." Tula barely stopped to take a breath, she was so upset.

Essie joined in, "Has he hurt you, Ana? You can tell us? We know you're sleeping with him but" and she hesitated here, "Has he forced you, Does he threaten you in any way. He is…..a little older."

Ana looked from one to the other amazed that they would even ask and then angry that they did. "No he hasn't, to any of it. He's helped me around the place because I helped him after his accident and things just happened from there."

"Just happened, hah. You should have left him." Tula retorted. "Some clones became Vader's Fist, they were the worst."

Ana's temper was getting the better of her and her voice was raised now, "if you must know," she announced, "I made the first move and….he's damn good in bed."

"Ana!" Rex's voice raised over hers and she spun around to see him at the door.

"How long have you been there?" Her voice wavered a little, as she came back down from her temper.

"Long enough.'" And he walked up to Ana putting his arm around her shoulder. "Thanks for the defence but I think I can answer for myself."

He faced Essie and Tula who had both straightened up to return the favour. "I deserted after the Empire emerged and never took part in any of the atrocities carried out by my… some of the other clones."

Essie jumped on this "So you're a deserter? That's easy to say now."

"I was bred to fight for the Republic, the Empire….is not..The Republic and never will be. I exercised my right to choose, who I fought for. My brothers remained enslaved, a slave army; they were as much a slave as you were Tula." He nodded to the small scars that wove a necklace pattern around her neck, the ones she normally tried to hide with a scarf.

"You were slaves?" She asked with a tinge of scepticism.

Rex pointed to the small scar on his head, "We were enslaved in a different way with microchips installed in our brains by the cloners, to ensure we were compliant and completed the action that we were purchased for." His eyes narrowed at this point, "because we were bought and paid for just like any other slave."

Tula's eyes had gone wide at the revelation but Essie still seemed sceptical, Rex continued "Two of my closest brothers died, one after the chip malfunctioned and another who found out about them and was killed; another who was investigating the chips for me disappeared, dead or worse." Rex stopped at that point and closed his eyes. "None of them deserved that."

"Go on." Urged Ana gently, she stood with her arm through his in support, he continued, "I and some of my brothers, made a choice and removed our chips surgically, so we couldn't be …..controlled…." he paused again, Ana could see how difficult this was for him and moved closer, "I served with the Jedi and counted some among my friends, I wasn't going to kill them." He closed his eyes as he remembered, when he had investigated Fives allegations and checked out Order 66.

The kitchen was quiet now, the silence speaking more than all the words said in the last few minutes; Ana put her other arm through Rex's and looked at her Aunts.

Essie was the first to speak, "Is Nik your real name?"

"No, it's...Rex." he replied, and waited for the backlash.

Tula and Essie moved away; he relaxed into a stance that would give him a chance without hurting any of them. He would normally fight but that wasn't an option here, their discussion was about him and Ana stood there with him, her arms still linked with his, her eyes boring into the figures of her aunts.

"Ana, I don't want to get between you and …."

"Shush." She interrupted him sharply but her eyes never left her aunts." You won't but the way they're talking about you. It's not fair ...not fair to judge you based on what other troopers did. They don't know you like I do." She leaned into him and looked up at his face after her Aunts had left. "If they can't accept you then we're going."

"Ana, I can't make you choose between me and your family.

"There is no choice."

.

The Aunts had moved into the other room hoping to discuss this quietly. "Tula, she obviously thinks a great deal of him. I don't want to push her away. She's like a daughter to me. I helped bring her up."

"To both of us, Essie. Both of us." Tula rubbed her forehead, just above her nose "but those clones, they were evil after the Republic left. They …..sent my family to Kessel and me into slavery with the Hutts and it was the Clone Commander in charge who made that decision."

"She is very taken with him; I've never seen her lose her temper like that in a long time." Essie paused here, "not since you know who." She pulled her wife's elbow around. "And I have never seen her so happy as when they first walked in. Should we let him have a chance?"

"I still can't believe she's fallen for him but she has, I can tell. And just look how old he looks."

"How old is he do you think?" Essie seemed more worried about that.

"I heard that they age twice as fast as birthed humans. So he could be his late twenties."

Essie gasped.

"Does she understand that?"

"I don't know."

They looked at the couple now, who still stood arms around each other.

He looks very protective, both of them do, thought Tula.

"Let's give him a chance, see how it goes before we kick him out. Ana seems to think he's worth it." They returned to the dining room, to the couple and it was Essie that spoke. "Ok, you're on probation, Rex. Anything we see as a problem you're out." She turned to Ana, " Even if you think it isn't. He's still out."

Rex nodded, "Thank you, although I'm not sure what for." Ana opened her mouth to say something but Rex turned to her and spoke low into her ear, "It's ok really, I don't blame them I've seen what some of my bro… the other clones did as Stormtroopers. I understand your Aunts worries." She looked as if she wasn't going to back down but then sighed and nodded.

.

The atmosphere was somewhat strained after the revelations earlier in the evening, with Ana barely saying a word to her Aunts during dinner; Rex and Ana retired to bed early. As they lay together in the large bed, he could see that something was still upsetting Ana, "Come on girl. Spit it out. What's wrong?"

"I still can't believe Tula said those things to you." She replied, the anger, an undercurrent in her voice. "She had no idea what you did during the war, to judge you the same as those others. It was totally unfair."

Rex sighed, this wasn't new to him, not only when the war started when the clones were thought of as organic droids but since, mainly just after the end of the war, when Vader was on the rampage after escaping Jedi. It hadn't been so bad recently, there were not a lot of the original Fett clones left now.

Ana realised that Rex was not fazed by this; "This has happened before, hasn't it?" She enquired.

"Quite a lot during the war but it didn't stop us from doing our duty." He went quiet and then continued. "You shouldn't blame Tula for how she feels. What happened to her family after the War, caused by the Clones who stayed, was…...appalling. I've seen how slavers operate; they find your weak points and use them, it's barbaric. Being a clone was nothing like that but even the best of us can be broken by slavery."

Ana had seen his scars and knew some had not been caused by blaster fire; Tula had similar long ones on her back. She had wanted to ask him about them but always held back, as he had only just started to open up to her, to trust her with his innermost thoughts and feelings but this gave her a reason.

"The scars on your back…the long ones...they're from some kind of whip?" she watched him closely, as she waited for his answer.

Rex closed his eyes to remember, "We were on a mission to Kadavo and I was captured by Zygerrian slavers, along with General Kenobi. We worked the mines and the overseers were fairly free with their use of the laser whips and they didn't supply medical treatment."

He closed up then, and changed the subject, that was as much as she got out of him. It was always the same he would not burden her with his nightmares.

"You shouldn't fall out with your Aunts." Rex advised; he had heard what they had been saying especially his age. His arm was rubbing her back and he could feel how tense she was. "You'll feel better if you talk to each other properly again."

Ana's mouth opened to say something and thought better of it, closing her mouth abruptly.

"Turn over and let me rub your back." She looked at him and snorted in disbelief.

"I can do this for you, I had a good teacher. Remember." She sniggered and turned over; Rex straddled her, rubbing his strong hands steadily along the muscles that ran each side of her backbone and up to her shoulders. She breathed out an involuntary hum.

"Kriff, girl, you're so tense." and with added pressure, repeated the rub. There was another hum, deeper this time and a murmur of "Don't stop." He continued rubbing until he realised the hums had turned into soft snores; leaning forward, he placed a kiss in the middle of her back, covered her and lay beside her, falling asleep easily.