(N/A: This is a bit of a shorter chapter, but the goodest news my lovely readers :P I am on a one week break before school starts, plus I always have a good writing schedule down when I'm at school. I'm excited to see where this story takes us! Until next chapter, my dears! Thank you, and enjoy!)

The market is completely empty when she walks through, no sound and no wind. She knows what happened here, so why is there so much panic? Why does she feel like this?

Something grabs her ankle and she looks down and gasps as she sees her mother, sitting against the wall, her chest shuddering with a last breath.

"Why didn't you avenge me?" She asks, but the eyes are not hers. They're flat and lifeless, the only emotion in them being betrayal.
"I'm so sorry Mom! I wanted to, but I—" the excuses die on her lips and suddenly she hears loud talking, where is that coming from?

Kai startled awake as she heard a squad pass by her door, and she brought her hand to her forehead, not surprised to feel sweat built up there. She swiped it off, and wiped it on her blanket as their footsteps faded.

"What the kriff." she muttered to herself, frustrated at having that dream be her wake up call this morning. "I thought I'd worked through all of that already. Why is it coming back now?" She shook her head. "You promised Rayfe you wouldn't go after her, and you're not going back on that promise. So let it go." She lectured herself as she slipped out of bed and quickly straightened her blankets, before peeling off her clothes and hopping in the shower for a quick wash.

She quickly washed her hair and rinsed, stepping out onto the small rug in front of her shower. She quickly dried off, knowing her day needed to start fairly soon, and brushed out her hair after getting most of the water out. She braided it down the back of her head and she threw on a soft pair of pants and some boots along with an extra black top she had snatched from the clone supplies.

Say what you will about military supplies and what they gave the clones, the blacks they were given were soft.

She hid the blush on her face when her mind betrayed her with the thought of being able to wear one of…Rex's.

What in galaxy's name was she thinking? Those were his clothes and he wasn't obligated to give her any of them, even if it did sound warm and comforting. Even if it did make her feel warm and fuzzy inside. And why was she thinking of his specifically?
She shook her head and rolled the sleeves up so the shirt was comfortable on her smaller frame.

She slid her comm device onto her wrist and grabbed her corresponding device and slipped it into her pants pocket before stepping outside and shutting the door behind her.

As much as she hated to admit it, that dream left her feeling unsettled as she walked into the mess hall, despite the comfort of her earlier thoughts about Rex and the clones.

Most of her battalion was gone which means they were training today; most likely some blaster training and she hadn't been told to come. She grabbed her caf and an extra cup, adding two sugars and started to head toward where she knew Rex would be.

As she walked she thought about something…about him.

She felt as if she was a young teenager again, wondering if the cute boy that worked in the store across from them liked her and she admit it made her feel embarrassed. She was an adult woman, for galaxy's sakes.
Of course, she knew Rex felt something for her. That much was obvious and she had loved the evening they had spent together. But surely, she didn't have to think about him, like…this.

But alas, think about she did, and she couldn't deny that being around him, made her happy. It made her feel safe.

Before she knew it, she was at her door and she knocked once before pressing the button for the door and it slid open, revealing him at his desk, the top part of his armor stacked by the desk.

He looked up and smiled at her as she walked in and the smile widened as she placed a cup of caf in front of him.

"Thank you." He said, his voice sincere as he looked at her. "I was needing a second cup but I'm right in the middle of something, and couldn't grab a cup."

She sat down on the desk to the side of him, making sure not to disturb anything around her. She sat facing him and she tilted her head. "Reports?" She asked, and he nodded and she hummed and took a drink of her caf, closing her eyes as she sat there.
With her eyes closed, she missed his curious look. As his eyes scanned down face, he noticed she looked very tired this morning. Obviously she was beautiful, that admission threatening to turn his face red, but her face seemed to droop a little and he stopped and tilted his head.

"Are you alright? You look…down." He asked, and her eyes blinked open, revealing that gorgeous blue that always drew him in.

She gave a halfhearted smile and shrugged. "Yeah, I'm alright. Didn't sleep too well." She responded and he picked up on the downward tilt of her voice. That's not normally what she sounded like, and he had heard her when she was just tired.

One thing he knew about her, even if he didn't know her backwards and forwards yet, was that sometimes she had a hard time talking and needed to be encouraged. He grabbed her hand and pulled her off the desk and into his lap and she fell sideways with a small yelp.

Kai's cheeks blushed a little bit and she caught the same color on his cheeks, as she sat down on his lap, her legs perpendicular to his.

He leaned back and shut down his tablet down, the screen turning black. "What is it? You're not telling me everything. You don't have to, but something's wrong, and if you feel comfortable sharing…"
She shook her head and tried to give the best smile she could. "No, no. You don't have time to hear everything that's going to come with this, trust me."
He put a firm but gentle hand around her wrist and raised a brow. "It's nice of you to be concerned of my time, but I have control over that, not you. Now, please, I want to know what's upsetting you, if you'll tell me."
Kai exchanged a long look with him, and he watched as her smile faded, and her entire face change. It became harder, more serious, her eyes losing that beautiful shine to it and she looked away, almost as if she didn't want to look him in the eye. Silence settled over the room for a few minutes, the only sound, their quiet breathing.

"I had a dream about my mom. I. haven't had this one in a really long time. She asked me why I didn't avenge her and take out the pirate leader that killed her and my entire village."
Rex tilted his head and he leaned back in his chair. "Why haven't you?" He seemed to be wanting her to talk, and she bit her lip for a while before answering him.

"Because I promised the man in my previous relationship that I wouldn't." She answered quietly and Rex noticed a distinctive sadness come through her voice. "He made me promise to him that I would stay alive, and I wouldn't go after her. Because he knew I wouldn't live. And he didn't want die." He didn't want her to do, like he did.

Rex's thumb rubbed a circle on the inside of her wrist. "I have to be inclined to agree with him. I want you to live as well."
Kai let out a long sigh. "I know that. I do, and I appreciate that. I just…that's why I didn't sleep well last night. That dream about my mom, he eyes were so…lifeless. I- "She lost her words and her shoulders curled in a little and Rex took that moment to wrap his arm around her and pull her close to his chest. It may not have been the most comfortable thing to lay against, but there's one thing he learned with his brothers and that was sometimes the contact was enough.

"Do you want to keep talking about it?" He said softly, his eyes gently reading over his tablet as he made a few adjustments and submitted the reports, his fingers tapping.

She shook her head and took a deep breath. "Not...not right now. Maybe later when I'm in a better headspace. I don't know if it'd do any good to keep talking. I think it'd just pull me down more."

Rex hummed as she said that and refused to press her any more, and that made her chest unwind a little bit.

A notification came through on her comm device and she pulled it up and it was from a friend. She supposed she could call her that.

She had met Taya at a bar once, both looking for work, when it was slow. They had ended up fighting for the job and when it ended in a draw, they had decided to share it and split the cost. They had parted ways after that, expecting never to see it again, but they had contacted each other two more times. The last had been…a long time. Since before Rayfe passed away.
Layla had approved of the sarcastic man, and she doubted it had anything to do with the fact they were both Twilek. She had simply approved of his nature, as straightforward and honest as it was.

-I need you for a job. —

Oh Taya, direct and to the point. She messaged back.
-Alright, I'm interested. For what? —

A few seconds passed and she made a thoughtful noise when she got it back.
-An elimination. It's just too hard for one person, and I know you've got my back. I need three. When can you and Rayfe meet me? —

She worried her lip again, and Rex's thumb gently pulled her lip away from her teeth and her eyes flicked up. He met her eyes with a bit of softness and she blinked and looked away.

"Someone wants a job for three people. She doesn't know Rayfe is dead." She stated simply and took a deep before responding.

-I can only bring myself. Is that alright? —

-What, did something happen to you and lover boy? —

Kai typed back, this time her face devoid of most emotion. The pain didn't make it impossible to breathe anymore, butit still hurt if someone brought it up.

-Yeah, something like that. So, does two work? I'll tell you when I see you.—

-That works fine. Meet me on level 3201 and we'll use my ship. Tomorrow morning, 0600. We need to leave and get a good start.—

With the conversation over, she sighed and sat back against his chest again and a small bit of pain lanced through her chest and Rex saw it on her face.

He gently grabbed her hand and rubbed a thumb over the top of it, his gloves soft and warm. He saw her mind flit through a thousand thoughts, and he wished he could understand her more.

He hardly knew her, but he wanted to know more. He decided to voice those thoughts.

"Kai, I don't know you very well. I know we've gotten to know each other a little bit, at 79ers and late nights as well but tell me how to help you. I don't know how to help you right now. What do I do?" His eyes almost begged her for help and she looked over to the side.

She took a deep breath before she spoke. "Sometimes I feel like I've gotten over his death, and then as soon as someone brings him up, it just kind of hurts right here." She tapped her chest, right by her heart. "And then I feel guilty because I feel like I shouldn't have moved on." She looked at him, and she felt her eyes burn as they welled with tears. "That I shouldn't have moved on with you. I like you, Rex. A lot. But sometimes it feels like betrayal."

He smiled at her when she said that and he leaned forward and gently guided her face to his where he placed perhaps one of the most gentle kisses he'd ever given her, on her lips. He then leaned back.
"I may not know a lot about relationships, or whatever we are, because I do not want to assume, but here is something I do believe. I don't think it says anything about you, or how much you loved others before me, but there's nothing wrong with finding happiness with someone else. We clones do it, we have to do it. If we lose a squad, or squads lose their captain, we forge on, and create new bonds with our brothers. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?" His voice was fervent and she stared at him.

"I- "She started and swallowed. "You really think that?"
He nodded at her and stroked her cheek gently. "I don't just think that. I know that. So, go on this mission that you've been requested on, tell her what happened, and do your best. And when you're done, come back to me and the boys. We'll be waiting for you."

Kai rubbed her eyes when he said that and she blinked and took a long, deep breath, dragging the much-needed oxygen in. "You really mean that?" She asked, and Rex raised a brow at her.
"Of course, I mean that. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it."
She was about to respond when the door opened and a fresh-faced trooper walked in and when he saw them in something neither of them would consider a compromising position, rather a simple close place for Kai to sit and she almost laughed out loud.

She'd never really seen someone's entire face turn completely red before, and that quickly, but today that was a new day she supposed.

He stumbled back and hit his back into the door frame before sliding out the door. "I am so sorry, Captain! Forgive me."

Rex rolled his eyes and pats her hand once before sliding her off his lap and she laughed and kissed his forehead. "Don't go, soldier. I will need your report. Come in."

Kai gently held his cheek. "I have to go prepare some of my weapons for the mission tomorrow. I'll see you later."

Rex let her hand slide down and just before it fell out of his reach, he grabbed it, even with the trooper standing right there. "You can be happy. Remember that today, all right?"
A flicker of intense sadness passed through her again. Would that always happen? He wondered, but she smiled at him, and at least there was genuine warmth in it. She would be alright then. "I will. I promise. Thank you."

Kai exited the room, and her thoughts seemed to echo in her head as loudly as her footsteps in the hall.

He wanted her to be happy. And looking at it from a completely unbiased standpoint, not as the man she was developing feeling for, not as the Captain she knew, just as the man Rex, he wanted her to be happy.
Thoughts came back into her mind, as her feet automatically walked up the ramp to her ship, her fingers knowing which buttons to press to expose her weapons, of their date on the town, just the two of them. It had been so wonderful, introducing him to some of the wonderful things about life on the surface, life not as a soldier or a bounty hunter, as neither a warrior or a soldier.

Suddenly Rayfe's face came to her mind, and it was so warm, so familiar it truly took her breathe away and she stumbled back a tiny step.

He said nothing to her, she just recounted the beautiful smiles he would give her and she knew Rex was right. Even as a soldier, he knew more about love than she did, and she wondered how he did it.
It still felt a bit like betrayal, a bit unfair to Rayfe, but with that beautiful smile as bright as some of the suns she'd toiled underneath, perhaps he was right. Perhaps she could move on.

She just had to allow herself that freedom.