Note: This story is based off "Stick Together" by delightwrites on Ao3. If you haven't read it, I would recommend doing so before reading this story, as it will make more sense and be more enjoyable.

This story contains spoilers from Episode 9 of The Bad Batch

Hunter looked out the viewport of the Marauder, deep in thought. Everything Tech had told them about Omega had come a bit as a shock, and honestly, was hard for Hunter to hear. Omega being chased by bounty-hunters was bad enough, but when he had told her why, realization had dawned in her scared eyes, and soon, they were filled with terror. She had held back the tears, but she had shaken with fear, and Hunter mentally cursed the Kaminoans for the millionth time that night.

He sighed, putting his feet up on the control panel, trying to get the terrible thoughts out of his mind, and listened to the sounds on the ship- Tech's soft snoring, Wrecker turning in his bunk, and… Omega's soft footsteps. She walked over to the chair beside Hunter, her eyes downcast. He could tell she was tired, but clearly, something else was wrong; he turned on some quiet music, and faced Omega.

"Can't sleep?"

She pulled her knees against her chest, frowning. "I keep thinking about the Kaminoans… seeing that place… I don't want to end up an experiment in a tube."

Hunter scowled, cursing the long necks yet again. "That's not gonna happen!"

Omega shook her head slightly. "If I'm as valuable as you say, Lama Su will keep sending bounty hunters after me." She shrunk into herself, placing her head on her pulled up knees. Hunter leaned toward her, trying to reassure her, his voice strong but kind. "He can send everyone in the galaxy! You have us."

Omega looked up at him, clearly wanting to believe him, but she glanced away, her expression pained. "You can't fight them all…"

Hunter pulled his feet off control panel, rising from his seat, and he moved over to Omega, turning her chair so that she faced him.

"Omega, you don't have to worry. You are never going back to Kamino."

She looked at him, and Hunter could see the fear slowly fading from her eyes. "Promise?"

"I promise." Hunter wasn't going to let her down- this child who depended on him. This innocent girl, who was sought after like property by the cruel race that had tortured him and his brothers their entire lives! She smiled up at him, and her shoulders, which had been tense with fear and worry, slowly began to relax.

"Thank you," she whispered softly, and Hunter nodded, placing a hand on her head. Maybe it was that small motion, maybe it was everything he just said and the relief it had given her, or maybe it was the stressful and horrible situations she had been in over the past twelve hours, but for whatever reason, the tears Omega had been holding back, the ones she had struggled to contain when she had found herself back in the safe and caring hands of her team, fell. She let out a small sob, burying her face in her knees, and Hunter, who wasn't entirely sure what to do, hesitated, but only for a moment.

"Hey hey, it's alright. I'm right here." He wrapped his arms around her trembling form, rubbing her back gently, and she flung her own arms around him.

"I was *hic* so scared! I thought you were dead! I thought-"

"Sssshhhh… it's okay, Omega. I'm not going anywhere." He pulled her close, gently rocking her as the tears fell freely down her cheeks.

"I'm *hic* sorry… I just-"

"I know. It's okay… just let it out." And she did, her fingers clutching tightly around Hunter's shirt, her cries pained but soft. Hunter couldn't imagine how she was feeling right now, so he comforted her the only way he knew how, with kind words and a silent promise. A promise that no matter where they ended up in the universe, they would stay by her side, and no one would ever take her from them again. Not Bane, not Fennec, not the Kaminoans- no one.

He stroked her hair gently, the music he had put on playing quietly behind him, mingled with the sound of her sobs. Carefully, he lifted her up, sitting back down in his seat, her small arms still wrapped around him, face buried in his chest. And there she stayed, until finally, her tears subsided and she fell into a fitful sleep. Hunter wanted to move her somewhere where she'd be more comfortable, but when he made to do so, she whimpered, clutching at his shirt, and he made no further attempts.

There was a soft tap on his shoulder, and he turned to see Tech standing there, his eyes red from lack of sleep- clearly the small nap he had was not enough.

"How is she?"

"Tired… scared…"

"Understandably." They sat in companionable silence, and Echo joined them after a few minutes, Wrecker close behind.

Hunter made a face. "Why are you all up? You should really sleep."

To his surprise, Tech chuckled. "You never change, do you Hunter? Or at least, your protective nature hasn't. Even after all this, you're still the same as you were when we were kids."

Hunter gave him a puzzled look, and Echo shook his head. "You were shot and you care more about us getting sleep than you do yourself."

Wrecker, who was holding Lula, sat on the floor beside Hunter, leaning against the chair, a smile on his face.

"Hey… remember that time on Kamino, when we had just finished our training, and we all climbed into Hunter's bunk and fell asleep there?"

Echo looked confused, but Tech smiled, leaning back in his chair, arms folded. "Yes… I remember that. It was the last time we were able to do that before we could no longer fit."

Hunter chuckled softly, the memory playing through his head. Wrecker laughed along with him. "This kinda reminds me of that…"

He looked at Echo, who, though confused, was smiling contentedly at his brothers. "Sounds like a good memory," he said, and Wrecker nodded. "Yeah, it was great. Back when we had actual mattresses to lie on instead of slabs of metal."

He jabbed a finger at the cots built into the ship's wall, and Hunter smiled. "Yeah… I remember…"

Wrecker chuckled, pointing to Tech. "Remember how-" he paused, his face suddenly falling. His shoulders slumped and he looked sadly at the plush in his hands.

"What's wrong?" Echo questioned, nudging Wrecker in the shoulder. The burly clone sighed. "It just… I was remembering… When we all piled into the bunk, I was at the back, and I… I forgot Lula… and Cross… he got up just so he could go get her for me."

"He stepped on my glasses while doing it." Tech mused, a slight smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth at the thought.

"They were already broken." Wrecker reminded him, and Tech nodded. They were.

Echo looked over at Hunter, whose smile had vanished- he was staring into space, a pained expression on his face. "I broke it."

Wrecker turned, confused. "No, Crosshair did."

Tech stiffened, shaking his head. "No, Wrecker… he's not talking about the glasses."

"That promise… I broke it."

Echo gave Hunter a worried look. "What promise?"

A knot formed in the pit of Hunter's stomach. "I… I promised… we'd always stick together."

"We all did," Tech added, and Echo looked somberly around at them- the team he had so recently become a part of. The team that was… broken. Lost.

"I told her…" Hunter looked down at Omega, and Echo could see the sadness in his eyes. "I told her we would never leave her. I told all of you the same thing. Including Crosshair. What good are my promises- I couldn't even keep that one."

Tech rose from his seat, placing a hand on Hunter's shoulder. "We'll get him back. It might take us a while, but we'll do it."

Hunter looked at him. Tech was never the emotional type. He was serious, calculating, factual. He rarely showed any emotion, even to his brothers, but there was a time when he had… Hunter remembered, back when they were cadets, the times Crosshair would make some snarky remark (always at the worst possible moments) and Tech would struggle to hide his smile. On rare occasions, the sniper would even say something that would make the two of them laugh out loud- a sound Hunter hadn't heard in years.

Tech looked at him now, with a fire and emotion in his eyes that he had not seen since they were cadets, and for some reason, although the odds seemed to be stacked against them- though the facts, which Tech always relied upon, implied otherwise, Hunter wanted to believe that his brother was right.

He nodded, and Tech squeezed his shoulder. "Until then," he looked at Omega, who was still sound asleep in Hunter's arms. Her cheeks were still wet with tears, and Tech reached out, gently brushing them away with a finger. "Until then, we'll protect her. We'll keep her safe, and we'll work on getting Crosshair back. That is our mission."

Hunter smiled, a silent thank you, and he turned to look at Wrecker and Echo. Wrecker was holding Lula still, his burly arms wrapped protectively around her- he was trying to pass it off as him folding his arms with the plush in hand, but he wasn't tricking any of them.

"We should all get some rest. It'll be a long flight." He was about to get up and carry Omega to her room, but Tech stopped him.

"You're still wounded, and you shouldn't be lifting anyone or anything just yet. Sit still and let the bacta pad do its job- I'll put her to bed." Hunter gave in, letting Tech pick up the young girl, slowly, carefully. It probably wouldn't have mattered how he carried her- she was out like a light, and didn't so much as stir when Wrecker helped lift her into her bunk. Hunter watched as his taller brother took Lula and placed her beside Omega, gently lifting her arm so it wrapped around the Tooka doll. Echo lifted Omega's blanket over her carefully, tucking it around her with his good hand, and Hunter couldn't help but smile. He lay back in his chair, once more propping his feet up on the control panel, the music he had put on still playing softly in the background.

"Goodnight everyone. Sleep well."

Crosshair slumped back in his seat, staring out of the cockpit and into the darkness of space. They had escaped… again… Admiral Rampart would be angry, knowing Crosshair had let the targets slip out of his grasp once more. But for some reason, the sniper was… relieved. He couldn't explain it, but the instant the Marauder had jumped to hyperspace, a tension that had formed in the pit of his stomach suddenly vanished.

They were safe. That was the only thing he could think, but he cursed himself at the thought. Why did that make him glad? He needed to find them, to kill them! They were traitors, all of them!

But no matter what he did, that feeling of relief came back, and he dwelled upon it as he ordered the pilot to return to Kamino. Somewhere from the depths of his mind, a memory flashed before his eyes, and he shook himself. Why that thought? Why? That had happened years ago, it wasn't even remotely related to anything currently happening… and yet, there it was- in his head, playing on repeat. That one night after training…

He closed his eyes, exhaustion pressuring him to sleep, and after a while, he gave in.

"That's a promise."

Yes… a promise.

A promise.

An oath.

A rule.