Chapter 11

"No! Austin!" James sits upright in bed, panting. He can still hear his scream, echoing. He closes his eyes, the scream returning. He puts his face in his hands, silently crying.

Ahsoka's eyes snap open, hearing James's scream. She swings her legs over the side of the bed, reaching for her wheelchair, only to find nothing there. She groans as she remembers. James, quite the romantic. Just had to carry me to bed. Not that she didn't enjoy the attention, but it apparently had its downfalls.

Through her montrals she hears quiet sobbing. James needs me. Ahsoka gets an idea that might just work.

She inverts her position on the bed, her hands touching the floor. She closes her eyes, focusing herself in the Force. She makes a careful step, then falls to the floor with a loud thump as her legs fold in.

A few moments later James is standing at her door, arms crossed.

"Ahsoka?" He inquires quizzically.

"Just help me up." Comes her defeated reply.

After setting her up on her bed, James asks, "So, how was your tea party with the dust bunnies?"

Ignoring his question, Ahsoka replies, "I was trying to get to you, idiot."

"Why is that?" James questions.

"I heard you crying. I wanted- I wanted to comfort you as you comforted me." Ahsoka whispers, not meeting his eyes.

James lifts her chin with his finger, "Hey, it's okay. I'm fine. You don't need to be potentially injuring yourself for me."

The lie stings, the hurt showing behind Ahsoka's crystal eyes, tears welling up.

Ahsoka's lower lip quivering, "Why would you lie to me? After all I've shared with you, why would you lie?"

James's eyes widen, "What? No, I would never-"

"No. You are not fine; I can feel your pain. Your sorrow, your guilt, your suffering. It oozes from you like venom. Do you not trust me? Is it because of what I am?" Ahsoka asks, her heart wrenching more every moment.

James says nothing, trying to process everything. "Ahsoka I-"

"I have told you my deepest, darkest secrets, yet you won't even admit to me that you're hurting?" She questions, her tone becoming softer.

"I- I don't even know where to start explaining." He responds.

"Try the beginning. I came to a world that had never seen anything but humans, it can't be harder to explain than that."

"My brother and I were on a joint mission, much like the ones the three of us did, simple assassination. There were five of us total. We had made the kill; we were on our way to extract. When the chopper came to take us out it was shot down, we were ambushed. One of us four was shot in the head right there. The three of us just ran, we eventually came to a waterfall. We were cornered, there was nowhere for us to go. It was easily an eighty-foot drop. At least 200 insurgents coming up fast. Pretty quickly it was just me and Austin, both of us had taken hits. We decided to make the jump, having no other choice. Austin was closest to the edge, as we both turned, I watched his skull split open." James pauses, his voice shaky,

"His scream… Ahsoka, I can still hear his scream. Every time I close my eyes, it's there, haunting me…"

Clearing his throat, he continues, "I took a bullet to the leg just before I jumped, ended up falling off the cliff instead of jumping. Broke my back when I landed, luckily none of the bastards were crazy enough to follow me. Eventually I was able to make a call and get airlifted out."

Ahsoka says nothing, simply pulling James into a hug, holding him tight.

"So, what do you have for the day, Rex?" James asks, taking a sip of his coffee.

Rex grunts, "Well, somebody decided to eat all of our food, so now I have to get groceries again."

Ahsoka pauses in her eating, eyes wide.

"Before that, I'm going to hit the gym, and then Parker wants to me have a look at some stuff. What about you two?" Rex finishes, not directly accusing Ahsoka.

"Well, Miss Flippy here has physical therapy at ten, then we'll probably grab lunch, but after that I don't know." James replies.

Rex raises an eyebrow, "Flippy?"

Ahsoka rapidly shakes her head, hoping James will shut up.

"Ahsoka decided she'd get out of her room on her own last night, I found her collapsed on the floor." James stated.

Rex turns his head and looks at Ahsoka in disapproval, knowing that his expression will say more than words ever could.

"Hey Rex, you ever going to ask out that physical therapist?" James asks, changing the subject.

Rex's face flushes red, at a loss for words. Ahsoka looks between them, confused.

"You like Darla?" Ahsoka asks, a smile tugging at her lips.

Rex scratches the back of his neck, "I… Uh…"

Ahsoka is smiling ear to ear now, "Oh my God, you do! Rex, you have to ask her out!" Ahsoka squeals.

Finally finding some words, Rex asks, "What ever happened to my battle-hardened, ruthless, fearless commander?"

"She got left behind a long time ago. Rex, when are you going to ask her out?" Ahsoka asks giddily, bouncing in her seat, her fingers curling.

Rex groans, glaring at James sporting an amused smile.

"Oh, you're not getting away from this that easily." Rex says, grinning maniacally.

James drops his smile.

"They're showing old movies during the afternoons this week, there's a showing for You've Got Mail today." Rex finishes, Ahsoka gasping.

She turns to James, grabbing his shirt, "James, we have to go. Can we go, please? Please?"

James groans, "Fine."

"Oh, thank you. This is going to be so much fun!" Ahsoka squeals, hugging James.

Behind the hug, James flips off Rex with both hands, mouthing some choice words, Rex just chuckling.

Author's Note 6-30-2021:

Ahsoka is adjusting to earth life. Even Rex has found an interest. Ahsoka may be a ruthless warrior, but she is still a girl, and she can be prone to some girly things every now and then.

Q&A:

Q: What are the roots of the equation x^2-489x+28980?

A: x=420, x=69

Nice.

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