(Before you read, I just wanted to thank you all for being so patient with this story. I've been just going through some things, so my writing has unfortunately taken a back seat. But I'm really going to try to be better. Thank you for being so kind and supportive. I'll try to write as much as I can!)
Contrary to what Kai thought would happen, they didn't talk about the kiss for a long time afterwards. A couple weeks went by, and Kai was starting to be a bit confused. She was very clearly aware, that they both had jobs to do and other things to focus on, but it seemed odd that he never brought it up. She knew for a fact the way he felt about her. He had been very honest on their last date and she had been honest around him.
Sure, Rex would blush nearly every time he looked at her, but it seemed like when she walked in the room, he found an excuse to leave.
She left it alone for a while, ignoring Five's jabs and Echo's questions, and she focused on her job of training the clones. That was after all, why she was here, and what she had been paid to do. The more time that went by, the lingering fear that they would throw her in prison lessened. She worked most of the days with the soldiers and occasionally other groups, teaching and learning as much as she could. She heard mutters of the next mission being located on Saleucami, somewhere she'd actually been quite frequently. It was a semi forested place, with large areas of open planes, covered in vibrant grass. Not at all a bad place to be sent, according to the rest of the men.
A bounty job took her away for another week, which only gave her a couple days back at base before they would have to take off again. Thankfully it was a simple track down and neutralize mission, an easy in and out. The target was in carbonite as soon as he woke up at the client's building, and she had collected her pay and come back.
Now she was prepped to leave, and the gunships engines whined in the large hanger bay. She shifted the gun so it laid more comfortably against her shoulders, and she walked into the gunship that housed both Anakin and General Kenobi, as well as Rex and Cody.
She stood near Rex, and looked up at him, his visor glinting back at her. He must already be sharing information with the men. He told her near the end of the date, that was usually the reason he had it on even if they weren't in combat.
She tilted her head. "Hey." She offered him a small smile, ignoring the anxiety and the chattering in the back of her mind. What was important was that she focused on the here and now, and talked to him. That was all. "I wanted to talk to you for a moment."
He tilted his head down to look at her, and seemed to pause for a moment. He then slid his helmet off and his eyes, honest as they were, held an unusual look for him. Hesitation.
"I don't think that we should discuss that here. Perhaps if we get a moment when we are planet side. I need to stay in contact with my men. Don't misunderstand me, Kai. I just don't want to be distracted." He explained, and his brutal honesty still took her by surprise, even if she was expecting that from him.
She swallowed and nodded, the noise only growing louder and her throat tightened. "You're right. Probably here isn't the right place. But we do need to talk soon." She told him and when he nodded in complete agreement, and slid his helmet back on, it only decreased her anxiety minutely. At least he hadn't told her no, and she supposed that's all that mattered.
She turned so she was facing away from him slightly and she chewed her lip in worry. Why did she care so much about this? It had only been one kiss. She felt like a teenager all over again, insecure and worried. Perhaps it was because Rayfe had been so easy to read, all the time. It had taken almost no effort, and they understood each other so well. She berated herself for expecting Rex to be just like him. Of course, they were going to be nothing alike, they were two different men.
When the gunship slowed and stopped on the planet's surface, she stepped out, and looked around at her surroundings. The troopers around her were told to scout the area, for anywhere that General Grievous could be and she applied one of Ozan's lessons.
She stopped, and listened to all the conversations around her. There were troopers coordinating where to search and she could pick out the distinct voices, somehow, of Commander Cody and Rex as they instructed their men. She could hear the Jedi off on another side, working out what needed to happen next. She stood still for a moment and let the energy and conversation of the mission roll over her.
Along their route of discovery, they located and hacked into a droid that had crashed in an escape pod and this small bit of intel was able to guide them to a few of Grevious's possible positions, and the Jedi believed they had found the way.
But she just felt something was going to change when Jesse approached her. He wasn't supposed to be back. Him, Kix, Hardcase and Jesse had gone on a recon mission and had taken separate speeders. She had gotten a message from Rex, unfortunately, because they had been doing separate tasks away from each other. So why in galaxy's name was he back already?
She sat down heavily as Jesse gave her the news, and she gripped the edge of her seat. "What?"
"Don't worry Kai. He's alright. He just got shot in the chest, but it missed anything vital. We put a bacta patch on him, and he'll be good by the time we get him back." He reassured her.
She was torn in that moment. She so desperately wanted to go to him, but she didn't know if that was the right thing to do, or even if the Jedi would let her go.
"But he's okay?" She asked again, needing to know. "He's conscious, he's alright?"
He gave her a warm chuckle and patted her hand. "I promise he's alright. You two will be able to go on a date when you get back planetside, no worries."
She blushed as he said that and she shook her head. "Well I'm going to leave now, since you're just going to sit there and make fun of me." She teased. "I'll see you in just a while."
She stood up and began to walk, her mind racing.
She thought the news of him being enough would soothe her worries completely, but it didn't. He'd been shot in the chest. There was no way that hadn't been a close call. She wanted to go and see him, make sure he was alright.
"You know, I don't need the Force to feel the worry coming from you, Kai." Obi Wan said quietly as he came up beside her, his eyes twinkling a little.
She ran a hand through her hair before tying it back up. "I'm sorry General. I just… I heard from Jesse about Rex. And I am just worried." She looked up at him, pleadingly. "Please don't tell anyone. I don't want to cause him any trouble."
He raised a hand soothingly and placed it on her own, the warmth seeping through and calming her. He had that way about him, and she could understand why his men felt so safe with him.
"There will be no trouble, Kai. It's quite all right." He then tilted his head. "You want to go to him, don't you? The farmhouse where he is?" He asked, and she blushed hard.
"Yes, General. I do. I just want to make sure he's alright, with my own eyes, not just based on what Jesse says. I trust him, it's not about that, I just need to see him." She admitted, figuring honestly was the best idea with a man like him.
He nodded, thought overcoming his expression. "Then go. We will be fine, until we meet back up with you. Go, make sure he's alright and that he gets back in one piece. This planet could still hold some surprises for us."
Kai straightened back up and fixed him in her gaze. "You're sure?" She asked and he smiled at her and nodded.
"Yes, go. Be careful." He pressed a button on his comm device and a location pinged on hers. "There you go."
She stood up and smiled at him for a moment and when he stood, she made a split-second decision and hugged him tightly before letting go. "Thank you, General."
He smiled widely at her. "Just Obi Wan, Kai. Just call me Obi Wan."
She smirked at him as she hopped on a speeder. "Whatever you say, General."
She laughed as she heard his exasperation and she sped off towards his location, her heart in her throat.
She just had to know.
She had to know that he was alright.
She came to the location of his comm and it took her in front of a small house, along with a barn to the side. It looked like the home of a farmer. She had been told that the others had left him here, and she knew they wouldn't have left him in a dangerous place. So, this must be safe for him.
The door swung open and a pink twilek woman stared down at her, as she held a blaster. "Who are you? What do you want?" She asked, her accent thick but her voice hard.
Kai raised one hand. "Is Captain Rex here?" She asked, and the woman raised an eye ridge. She heard a man speak and it sounded a lot like Rex, but something was wrong about it. But her eyebrows shot up when a man did come to the door.
It was a clone. There was no doubt about it. He had amber eyes that were identical to Rex's and the planes of his face were extremely familiar. His hair was pulled in a small ponytail and when he smiled, it looked like so many of the boys back home.
"You're looking for the captain? He's right inside. My name's Cut, and this is my wife Suu."
She heard the laughter of children inside and it made the corner of her mouth lift and she lowered her hand. "The name's Kai. I'm a bounty hunter," She explained and she saw Suu stiffen and she bowed her head a little. "That works with the 501st. You're not in any danger. I promise."
"Well, why don't you come in? I'm sure Rex would be glad to see someone from the Republic." Cut offered and she hopped off her speeder, after shutting it down.
She walked through the door. "Thank you." She was about to say more when she saw Rex, sitting at the table, his arm in a sling.
He was stripped down to his blacks, but other than that, he looked unharmed. She felt her body move before she could really think and she wrapped her arms around his waist, being careful of the arm in a sling and his chest.
"You're okay. You're actually okay." She whispered into his neck and he paused for a moment before wrapping is good arm around her.
"Of course, I am. It's going to take a lot more than a commando droid to take me down. I'm surprised you didn't know that." He teased her and she let out a long sigh, not wanting to let go.
It seemed that Suu and Cut gave them some privacy, because when she finally loosened her grip and leaned back, they were alone. There were sounds of other people in the next room over, but it was mostly quiet where they were.
"I was really worried. When I heard you'd gotten shot…" Her heart clenched and it made her think of all the losses they'd seen so far.
He lifted a hand and with a gentle smile he cupped her cheek. He then widened his grin. "And the generals were okay to let you go?" He asked and she snorted and leaned her head into his touch and closed her eyes for a moment.
"As if they could have stopped me from leaving. I can't believe you think they could stop me." She pretended to be offended, as she felt the knot of worry in her chest loosen. He was on his feet and talking. He looked a bit pale, but that was to be expected.
"They're Jedi, Kai." He raised a brow and she rolled her eyes and gently smacked his good shoulder.
"You have such little faith in me. I'm so hurt. So.." She looked around. "How did you end up here?"
He shrugged. "Eh, the boys brought me here. I was unconscious until just a while ago. Cut came into the barn and found me, and the children insisted I come inside for dinner."
Speaking of children, she could hear them in the other room. "Cut is..." She paused, unsure how to phrase things. "He's a clone. How is he out here, with a family?"
He hardened his gaze and looked down at the floor. "You know the answer to that."
"He deserted." She said quietly, her voice soft. "Didn't he?"
Rex frowned as he nodded. "I don't want to know why, or how. All I know is that he promised the Republic. It's our duty to fight."
She placed a hand on his arm and made him look at her and he did after a moment.
"Listen, Rex. I know you maybe don't want to hear this, but you need to know his story. You can't make a judgement about someone without knowing anything about them. All you know right now, is that these two people let you into their house, and that one of them does happen to be a clone. I know there's an explanation for it. We just need to let him have that chance. Alright?"
She heard children screeching again and a smell began to slip into the room. It smelled like roasted meat and she could feel her mouthwatering already.
He sighed. "I suppose you're alright. But I don't approve of deserters." He said fervently and she nodded.
"I know. Just give him a chance. Please." Why she was defending a man she didn't even know, she wasn't quite sure. Perhaps it was the years of judgment that had been thrown on her, just because of what she was. A bounty hunter. People made judgements of her all the time and it was hard to handle sometimes. Maybe she was just trying to spare Cut some of the same treatment.
Dinner was in fact ready when she and Rex came out of the room, and she caught sight of a curious sparkle in Cut's eyes. He was wondering why she was with Rex, a soldier in the GAR. That was a fair question. There were really no romantic connections in the military. They were far and few in between, and Rex and Kai tried to keep anything they had secret.
Their children kept looking at her and it made her laugh. The daughter's eyes sparkled up at her.
"Are you a soldier too?" She asked, and Suu hushed her.
"That is not nice, prying into other people's business like that." Her mother gave her a stern look, and Kai waved the comment away and prepared to answer it. Anything to take away from the tension in the gaze of Cut and Rex. She could have cut it with the knife she kept strapped to her leg.
"It's alright. I'm actually a bounty hunter." She explained, and Cut's eyebrow raised.
"Aren't those people that kidnap other people for money?" The little boy asked and she laughed and took a bit of food.
"Yeah, some people do that job purely for the money. And I won't lie, sometimes I do choose the more lucrative jobs but I really try to hunt bad guys down. I try to take people that are hurting others away, so others can be safe and happy." She explained. "Does that make sense?"
The little girl nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. Is it scary? Do your mom and dad like that you do this job? How many people have you caught?"
The parents looked mortified at the amount and type of questions, but Kai couldn't help the genuine laughter that came out of her. It made her chest light and filled her with some warmth.
"You're curious little one aren't you…" She teased and she winked at both the children.
"It sometimes is scary, but just because something is scary, doesn't mean it's not worth doing. My mom died when I was young, and my father is a bounty hunter like me. He taught me everything I know. And honestly, if I had to think, I've probably have caught about seventy-five people."
The boy's eyes sparkled. "Seventy-five? That's so many."
She winked at him again. "Well, I've been doing this since I was 12."
Suu raised her brow at Kai when she heard that. "That's an awfully long time to be doing such a career. I thought most started in their later years."
How much could she tell them without giving away the hard details? She definitely didn't trust them enough to tell them everything and that was not their fault. Even Rex didn't know everything.
Rex spoke up a little. "I guess we all just have different paths in this galaxy. Some start before we think they will." He was protecting her, not from the nonexistent physical threat, but simply from their questions. He put himself out there in front of her verbally, ad let the focus shift to him.
That answer seemed to satisfy everyone at the table and soon the conversation moved onto Cut. The children left the table to go play out in the fields and the atmosphere grew serious.
Regardless of Cut's story, Rex as an officer of the military was duty bound to report his desertion and she knew it weighed heavily on him. That and the fact that he had no idea what cut had gone through.
She sipped a glass of something Suu had given her and she appreciated the bite it had to it. It was an older, aged drink and enjoyable. She sipped as she listened.
Cut's face grew serious as he spoke of a battle of hopeless odds, and the reality of staring death in the face. She understood as he spoke about giving more.
Rex countered that story, respectfully by saying that there was a full galaxy that required protection. She felt her heart thud differently when Rex mentioned that it didn't have to be his children he protected, or someone else's.
Kai couldn't help but wonder if his children would look anything like Cut's. Obviously, the eyes would be the same.
She had to snap herself out of her thoughts thought at any parent's worst nightmare and a sound that made Kai's own blood freeze.
Two children's screams. Something was wrong.
