It's been a kriffing sucky week, so I decided to post one of my completed chapters and look forward to any comments as a pick me up 3

Trigger Warning, but not really, it shouldn't be a trigger warning... actually this is more like a squeamish warning ig but it shouldn't be either: We're gonna be discussing periods in this chapter, ya'll. If you are squeamish about periods, or anything beyond the usual cramps, comical mood swings and weird chocolate cravings media often only portrays, then you don't have to read :) I don't get 'graphic' tho, I promise

So here it is: Part 1 of the most requested one-shot/chapter I've had since I started this story a year ago

I hope I do you all proud :3

Chapter 26: First Period Around the Boys - Part 1

(Day 64 w/ the Bad Batch - Coruscant)

There was one thing that continued to nag at Hunter for weeks and weeks until he finally found the bravery to say something, and he carefully selected the words which would set the record straight once and for all.

Tonight, he was given the perfect opportunity to do so in private, seeing Talla plod into the kitchen around midnight when everyone else was asleep except for him and her, apparently.

Wiping his sweaty palms on his pants, there was a mini pep talk as he rose from the couch. I can have a serious conversation with Talla about how I feel and not chicken out.

With pushed-back shoulders and head held high Hunter marched into the kitchen several seconds after her, the woman no doubt getting a midnight snack. I can say something the right way instead of the wrong way that destroys her self-confidence and probably will to live somehow.

In hindsight, he should have found it strange Talla went to bed so early in the first place, instead of offering to be his motivational cheerleader when he started and ended up finishing this last mission's Mission Report all on his own, the very reason he was up so late. It had become one of their things to do together.

Hunter sensed she was feeling down when bidding a quiet goodnight to them all except Wrecker (out with Skylar), and while he knew her tendency to not say anything that would inconvenience someone, there were times she preferred to be alone like they all did. It was correctly assumed this was one of those times based on the fact that she liked being out here, with people, during the day. She hated being shut up by herself her room.

'I do like the quiet, I just don't like being alone,' Talla mentioned once when questioned on it.

So, it was a rare occurrence indeed that the most social butterfly of the group holed herself up in her lonely room before 7 pm, when the sun was still dimly lighting up the planet of Coruscant. But Hunter didn't think anything of the strange situation at the time, incorrectly assuming she'd open up about it in her own time like usual.

When entering the kitchen, however, Hunter saw the hunched and miserable Agent snapping the cap off a beer bottle before guzzling a third of it down in one go, whilst snatching a package of blue macarons and the remaining sixpack off the counter with her free hand.

His own features morphed from determination to concern when Hunter saw misery Talla clearly exhibited when she faced him on her way back out the door. "What's wrong?"

Facing him and trying not to cough after stopping her guzzling, Talla's face puckered in discomfort as she swallowed the burning mouthful of alcohol, voice hoarse from it too while she simply answered, "Can't sleep."

He firstly assumed as she cleared her tingling throat, "Nightmares?"

And she had to clear it again. Son of a bantha, this is definitely not a Coruscant Cooler. And yet, she was planning on finishing this blasted six pack. "No." Was her clipped deny.

"... then -?"

"I just don't feel good, okay?" Talla snapped, and he raised a brow.

There was something different about her.

Not just with the unusual snippish tone she usually saved just for Crosshair. And not just with her dull, sunken, marginally squinted eyes as opposed to them lit up with a curious, lively twinkle. Or the unusual frown as opposed to the bright smile/taunting smirk. Or the slumped posture as opposed to her practically skipping about, or the general untidiness of her appearance, or the extremely out of character late-night, lonesome drinking.

Besides that last one, Talla was this way, of course, when injured and recovering but overwhelmed. To his knowledge she hadn't been injured and, you know, something was 'off' in her 'chemistry' is the only way Hunter could describe it to himself. What perplexed him was that he couldn't recall ever sensing this specific weird type of 'off' before.

So like she did to him once, Hunter blocked her from exiting the kitchen door with an arm, earning a warning glare as he bravely held Talla hostage to press for details and prayed that he wouldn't lose the arm. "What doesn't feel good?"

Surprisingly, with the unusually high levels of her unexplained moodiness, Hunter didn't receive a painful shove out of her way. But Talla answers were still clipped and vague as she desperately tried to keep the reigns on her temper. "I dunno, everything?" She grumbled.

"Specifics?" He frustratingly requested.

Talla would have ducked under his arm, but feared a move like that would only worsen her awful stomach cramps that had temporarily dulled to an ache. "Maybe the take-out I ate was spoiled or something." She offered, hoping it would grant her exit.

Hunter stubbornly remained in her way. "Me, Cross and Tech are fine, and we all shared that bucket of fried nuna legs we got from the market."

Even though he was completely right, she rolled her eyes while letting out a sharp huff of annoyance anyways.

Then to his horror he saw her face and entire frame twitch, tense and tremble, and turning her face away she furiously tried to stop from doubling over, the aches spiking up to the sensation that had to be the equivalent of being gutted alive. "Can you just let me go? I'm fine."

The strangled tone she used said otherwise but it was followed by another swig of beer, and while he wasn't as medicinally informed as Tech or Crosshair or her, "That isn't going to make you feel any better, you know," Hunter had to point out while glancing at the three beers in the rest of the partial pack she held.

The wave of agony dulled back to a nagging ache that still hurt like a bitch, so she faced him with an air of stubbornness and the beer was waved in front of his face. "Might numb things though."

"So would painkillers?" He didn't know though, because he didn't know what was causing this.

Dull eyes sharpened, annoyance hitting its peak, "Well, I don't think it would so -!"

Having to make a split-second decision between getting jabbed to the side with an elbow or just jumping out of the way, he jumped and chose not getting bruised ribs.

Okay, that was weird. Hunter thought, skeptically watching Talla trudge back into her dark room.

This was going to end one of two ways:

1) A severely drunk Talla dancing out of her room a short while later, possibly after two beers at least considering this was only her third official time drinking and she had a comically low alcohol tolerance.

2) Or, he'd find her blackout drunk when checking up on her later, planning to stay up just in case she needed him.

But something told Hunter this time around, he couldn't have stopped her bad coping mechanism if he tried.

(Day 65 w/ the Bad Batch - Coruscant)

Hunter was right in staying up to keep watch, for Talla's hypothesis was proven wrong when it was discovered that yes, even drinking just a beer and a half made her cramps worse, same with the nausea, the headache, the dizziness...

And to everyone's dismay, the weird mood swings.

Due to still being in the beginning stages of 'trauma recovery,' the Special Agent Clone still had a bit of a temper, that much was already known. But these mood swings were something else because it wasn't just her raging forest fire of a temper blazing through their little corner of the universe.

After puking out her guts so to speak, Hunter helped a shaking, aching, suffering Talla up from her knelt position by her toilet and leaned her up against the sink, and he just offered to get her some water while she cleaned up a bit.

That's all he said.

To his major concern, the response he got was not a 'Yes please - thank you.'

No, Talla went on a long, tearful rant about how she knew how stupid drinking all that was, how stupid she was, how stupid she knew he thought she was.

Hunter could count on the fingers of one hand of how many times he'd seen Talla almost or sort of cry, and it was never to this severity nor about something so trivial as him offering to get her a cup of water.

Then, like a switch flipped and she was fine. Well, not 'fine,' but she stopped crying at least.

Talla cowering a little while profusely apologizing was not much better though.

She was really sorry for him having to take care of her yet again, how it was beneath him to take care of his drunken subordinate, etc, etc.

The only way he was able to stop this bout of anxiety was cutting her off with a firm 'Stop!' and clutch of her shoulders. That made her jump in fright, so he lowered his tone, eased his grip and gave her some softer reassurances that denied these claims to the best of his ability as he was totally, utterly, completely weirded out by this whole episode of crazy-town.

Briefly, Hunter wondered after her eyes watered again, she thumped her head against his chest and began blubbering like a baby: Should I take her in for a brain scan or something? While patting the back of her head awkwardly, unable to do anything else, quite frankly too afraid to do anything else - what if she tore his arm off if he tried holding her?

The rest of the day was uneventful at least, only because Talla stayed in her room. For hours, she didn't move from her position curled up on her bed, Hunter assumed alternating between just sleeping for a concerning and unusual amount of time, and then just lying there, still not moving, basically a lump on a log. She lashed out at anyone who dared check up on her with a feral 'Leave me alone!' which may or may not have been followed by a thrown pillow, having a shocking accuracy considering the room was pitch black and she didn't even bother to face her attempted caregivers. Not even her twinkle lights were lit, yet another shocking occurrence.

It wasn't healthy to stay in her dark room all day, but that is what transpired for several days after the incidents started. Hunter was only thankful their mission inbox was empty right now because he didn't know why this was happening and wasn't sure he could snap her out of it if they did get a mission.

Tech could only label this as a depression episode of some sorts, perhaps due to her CPTSD, considering the only time she ventured outside her dark cave was to retrieve little bits of food or soda here and there, water intake almost nothing, which was not nutritious and would definitely not help alleviate her symptoms.

Talla herself didn't know how to alleviate her symptoms, and didn't feel the motivation to research some remedies if there was any at all. Nala Se never mentioned any, so Talla assumed there was none, so why bother giving herself more of a headache? At least the caffeine in the soda she drank took the edge off the raging headache, one of the only pangs she could take away. She was tired and nauseous and dizzy and sad and angry and there was nothing she could ever do to make it better.

She could only ride the miserable week out, and pray she didn't end up in prison for murdering her fretting friends.
This may come as a shock to most, but it wasn't Hunter, or Tech, or Crosshair who figured out what was going on with her, that this wasn't a depressive episode due to her complex trauma.
It was Wrecker.

And he knew what this was because he had been dating Skylar for over two months now, and had seen glimpses of an 'episode' like this twice before already.

(Day 66 w/ the Bad Batch - Coruscant)

When it became the normal 9-5 work week for Skylar again, their amazing weekend together over, Wrecker was home one morning when Talla ventured out of her cave for the first time that day.

First red flag: He received a grunt in annoyance to his chipper 'Morning!'

He got a glimpse of her sunken features underneath her mop of unruly and unwashed hair before disappearing into the kitchen, and Wrecker wondered if maybe Talla needed a hug or something, which they eagerly provided each other when feeling off.

Second red flag: Upon entering the kitchen, ready to give cuddles if it was needed, Wrecker witnessed Talla snatching Crosshair's wrist with viper-like reflexes, the last blue macaron from the package he swiped well on its way to his mouth.
"Those are my cookies, Crosshair." Was Talla's growled reminder.

By habit, Wrecker sidestepped out of the kitchenette a little, wondering if he should get the squad's designated mediator and scorekeeper. There was usually a playful lilt to her tone and a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.
None of those were present now, and she just looked downright scary.

Never missing an opportunity to tease, Crosshair smoothly countered, "I didn't see your name written on them." Lacking people skills in general, it didn't click that this was one of those times he should just shut his trap and flee while he had the chance.

"Everyone knows those are my favorite, and I'm okay with you eating one or two, but you ate the entire package." Talla also reminded him, giving him one last chance to reconsider his downright stupid actions. "The least you can do is let me have the last one."

Crosshair's face was impassive, but his actions weren't. Instead of trying to wrench his arm out of her unshakeable grasp, he lowered his head, snatched the cookie from his hand into his mouth, and happily chewed it with an unapologetic smirk growing on his face.

Talla's hand seized.

Pain exploding in his wrist, he mentally went 'Oh shit.'

Wrecker called out for Hunter.

But... she did not snap Crosshair's wrist as expected.

There was a flash of rage, then it morphed into a sad pout, and by the time Tech and Hunter simultaneously found their way into the kitchen Talla was crumpled onto the floor, hugging her legs, pitifully weeping into her knees.

"... What did we miss?" Tech wondered with a tilt of his head, and also wondered why Wrecker was just staring down at her with a slack jaw and raised brows instead of interfering before they'd arrived. It was obvious Crosshair had been an ass again, when Talla was apparently in a delicate frame of mind right now, and she was clearly in distress. It was odd Wrecker had not scooped her into his arms and carrying her to the couch where he'd distract her with holovids.

Then again, it was odd Crosshair was not parading around from his victory at getting into her head.

Well, that was because this wasn't his intended result.

The Sniper was just as weirded out as Wrecker, and was the one to offer an explanation that wasn't really informative. "I just ate the last macaron and she flipped out," Her crying volume level dramatically raised after this comment, and he conceded to going too far this time, not knowing how he went too far but started to backpedal anyways. "Force, Tal, I'll go buy some more, geez -"

And two and two were put together in Wrecker's mind.

Tech brought him up to speed on Talla's condition when he got home last night - severe mood swings, severe stomach cramps, severe lethargy - and remembering that and how he did something similar to Crosshair by stealing a chip from Skylar's bag one day, and nearly got his hand bitten off.

Talla had her period.

"Ooooohhhhhhh!" Then while his brothers looked questionably at him, Wrecker adopted a look of sympathy while going over to crouch by the wailing women. "Awwww, it's okay Tal!" An experimental hand was placed on her shoulder, and she sniffled before peeking her red and watery eyes up at him through her unruly bangs. "Like Cross said - he'll go buy more! So it's all gonna be okay!"

There was another sniffle, but Wrecker's sweet temperament was a welcomed change from everyone's fretting, so she whimpered to her sweet friend who offered her sympathy instead of odd looks, "Why's he gotta be so mean?"

Crosshair groaned dramatically, "Oh my Force, I just ate the last cookie -"

"Crosshair, jus' go buy more cookies." Wrecker interrupted with a curt order.

He scoffed, "No."

A rare stern look from Wrecker startled him, but didn't sway him.

The Sniper's arms folded as he scowled down at them both. "She's completely overreacting, I simply ate the last cookie - it's not like killed her tooka kitten."

To everyone's bafflement but Wrecker's, another unnatural mood swing occurred. "Aw, tooka kittens are adorable!" Talla squealed.

"I know, right!" Wrecker gushed in agreement with as much unnatural enthusiasm considering Talla had done lost her damn mind.

"With their cute wittle noses!" Talla said while Hunter began considering to get a hold of the local mental hospital.

"And chubby wittle faces!" Wrecker added, Tech sharing a wide-eyed look with Hunter and silently told him to book a family suite.

"What the kriff is wrong with you?" Crosshair openly hissed at Talla, then to Wrecker, "And you!"

Seriousness overtook Wrecker's features once more, "Stow it, Cross!" And he did scoop Talla into his arms this time when the wounded puppy look came back on her part. Stepping around his gaping brothers, he said over his shoulder as he carried Talla to her room at her muttered request. "Look, I'm no good at all this health stuff, so I'm gonna call in some reinforcements!"

By reinforcements, he meant his girlfriend, who was wicked smart and an experienced woman - obviously way more qualified to explain such things than little ol' clueless him.

He was still learning about it all, but knew what was going to, if not already was currently happening, just didn't know how to explain all the science-y stuff behind the reasons for it.

One thing he was sure of, this was supposed to happen once a month, right? He remembered that right? So why was Talla just getting hers now?

Wrecker figured something might be wrong with her, thus another reason to call Skylar.

Crosshair didn't feel bothered to go buy more cookies, but that was okay because Talla ended up getting much more support than that. Definitely more than she could ever hope for, and hadn't decided yet if it was a good thing it happened the way it played out or not.

When Skylar got the distress signal from Wrecker about Talla getting her period, how miserable she was, how she didn't seem to be dealing with it the good way like she did-

"Mesh'la, it just looks like it's really, really hurting her and stuff, and everyone's freakin' out so she's freakin' out to -"

- it was enough for the tattoo artist to rally her best friend and boyfriend, close up the shop for the day, and make a personal house call.

Maybe Talla had never had hers before? She did wonder among other things while on the way to the clone base several miles away.

If need be, Blair went along to help Skylar support and also explain things to Talla.

And Nik went along because like Wrecker he'd been in the same position as the boys but was better at vocalizing sympathies and explaining things then Wrecker. Plus, he figured the boys might be more comfortable hearing about these certain things from a fellow guy.

The original plan was Skylar and Blair talking with Talla in her bedroom while Nik bestowed his extensive knowledge upon the other clones in the living room. But when the ailing Agent shuffled out of her room upon the Glam Squad's arrival, Hunter was made aware of the scent of blood coming off of, and chaos ensued.

The trio of artists would have found this overprotectiveness kinda adorable as it was complete, undeniable proof Hunter had a thing for Talla, and he of course desperately needed a little chat about how this badass boss lady could handle herself just fine, but the latter's need for everyone to stop shouting caused the trio loudly telling everyone to park their anxious asses down on the couch 'cause it was high time for a little health lesson.

Skylar was sitting with Talla sandwiched between her and Wrecker on one couch, Blair at her left, while Nik joined the rest of the Batch on the other couch, keeping a firm hand on the back of Hunter's shirt as lover boy was tense and ready to either A) shove Wrecker away so HE could be the one to comfort Talla, or B) go hunt down the sleemo who hurt his 'friend.'

"Okay, NO, Talla is not dying, and this is all completely normal -" Skylar began to calm the crazy.

"There's no such thing as 'normal' bleeding." Hunter contradicted while Talla hid her red face behind her hands.

She was eternally grateful about not having to tell the boys herself where this 'not normal bleeding' was coming from, but it seemed she'd have to sit in on the mini health lesson too, and was fully expecting varying degrees of horror, disgust, and standoffishness because holovids always depicted the men being so squeamish about these things.

Already feeling disgusting as it was, Talla didn't know if she could handle with this type of aloof behavior for a whole week.

Ever the helpful friend, Crosshair stuck his two cruel credits in. "And she's been crazier than normal, which is saying something."

The lid flipped, her hands fell and turned into fists ready to beat him to a pulp, "I'll show you crazy -"

Wrecker caught Talla before she could sink her claws into the Sniper's stupid face, and much like when she tried fleeing the Parlor all that time ago he forcibly held her back while petting her hair to cool down the seething cauldron of rage down.

"Yes, there is such a thing as normal bleeding, guys." Skylar tried again as Talla's violent outburst eventually died back down to a seething glower that wasn't really threatening because her eye focus cut in and out from the raging headache abusing her swaying head, the intensified pangs causing her to collapse against Wrecker's side in anguish and exhaustion, to which he was happy to provide a warm, welcoming hug when she wrapped her weak arms around his middle, silently asking for one.

Tech was way too curious for his own good, everyone knew that, so Nik turned his attention to the brainiac at his right, making sure he had an unbreakable hold on the back of Hunter's shirt. "I'm surprised you didn't explain this all to them - don't you know what a period is?"

"Yes."

"You knew about this?" Hunter asked incredulously.

"I did!" Tech chirped proudly.

Nik had to push Hunter backwards by the chest in addition to holding him back by the scruff of his shirt, saying soothing words too like: "Hey - Hey!" And: "There's no holovids in prison, Sarge!"

Tech certainly seemed unaffected on Hunter's biased observations, though did subtlety scoot away a few inches.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Hunter AND Crosshair did ask through clenched teeth, and since Crosshair wasn't restricted Tech did recieve a light cuff to the back of the head from him, causing the usual wounded puppy pout while rubbing away the sting irritating the back of his head suffered now.

Influenced by his retaliation, Nik had to hold Hunter back from trying to attack again, "Woah, EASY Sarge!" When the defiance didn't let up, Nik smirked and merely had to raise his other hand, just indicating he'd stroke the Sergeant's Luscious Locks to calm him down much like Wrecker did to Talla not thirty seconds ago, which made Hunter immediately simmer down and shove him off because he was not an immature child.

"I did not think she got them," Tech calmly explained while readjusting his askew goggles from the smack he got, "Considering the fact it had been more than a month since she joined the squadron and I had not seen a single indication she was menstruating, and factoring in her enhanced senses, I correctly predicted she would have severe symptoms, and truthfully," He grimaced and touched his own aching tummy, "That fried nuna we shared at the market did not sit well with me either." The pointer finger was raised, and his seething brothers had to each fight the urge to snap it, "But obviously, I would have explained things to my brothers if I had been made aware of her present bleeding."

"Why is she bleeding at all?" Hunter implored, "What the kriff is this, if she's not injured?"

Anticipating the impending mortification, Talla buried her reddening face into Wrecker's side to hide from their reactions, and to her relief he didn't push her away in disgust as she thought he would, his sympathy moved him lightly pat her back instead.

(A/N: I don't get 'graphic', guys, they aren't even going to get into anatomy here because the tone of conversation shifts onto the Kaminoans because... well, you'll see)

"Alright, look, we're all adults here, right?" Blair spoke up this time, "We can have an adult discussion about this."

Nik gave a nervous 'heh,' raising his pointer finger knowingly, "Just use diplomatic words, my love - we don't need to scar them." Nik implored her from across the way.

She'd never rolled her eyes so hard. "Ugh, fine," Blair retorted moodily then, got real riled up real quick, "Though I don't know why they'd get squeamish over this when they don't bat an eye after someone gets half their face blown off out there on the battlefield, or see the same thing happen in horror flicks -"

"Babe."

"- so if you think about it they have no excuse getting all squeamish over a normal bodily function -"

"Ma sareen." Nik tried.

"And we shouldn't have to euphemize our words at all while lots of guys can freely brag about the size of their -!"

"This is all true, m'dear!" Nik loudly interrupted this time for the guys' sake, and placed sympathetic hands on the shoulders of innocent, red-faced Hunter and Tech sitting next to him. "But I'm certain these poor sheltered souls didn't just bat an eye the first time they saw a horror flick or seeing a person having half their face blown off."

"We - we certainly did not." Tech managed to sputter in their defense, referring to a dark time that was Wrecker's accident on one of their first campaigns.

Nik made a noise that insinuated the phrase 'You see?' then finished by saying perhaps not so diplomatically and for sure caused some horrification, "They were raised on Kamino, and it's my observation that talking about anything is not exactly a skill their taught in that flash-learning program, let alone delicate topics like this," He huffed in mild amusement, "In fact I'm pretty sure the only sex talk they got was of the 'Wrap it Before You Tap it' variety."

They weren't exactly far off, sadly, about the Kaminoans did not wanting a bunch of filthy clone spawn littering the galaxy... and about the clear-cut threat they received before being deployed that was not to be repeated - oh, kriff, there was a sea of red faces and embarrassed fidgeting now, especially by Talla.

Even Crosshair, who stared down regs without mercy, coughed awkwardly and found the loose thread on the edge of the cushion he was occupying very captivating now, and tugged at it while wishing really hard for this convo to be over.

Even Tech, who could talk about any topic known in existence, was tinted red and his frame sagged in abashment. "That is... not the words they used exactly." He murmured to himself mostly, shifting uncomfortably and unable to meet anyone's gaze.

"And I'm out." Talla shoved away from Wrecker and tried to dip from the mortifying conversation, the one the Glam Squad seemed to think she was okay having in front of her teammates.

Persistent Skylar jumped up to chase after her, "Wait, come back!"

Apologetic Blair went: "We'll be more diplomatic, I promise!"

"See?" Nik sighed towards his regretfully sighing girlfriend while Skylar convinced Talla to return to the group with a gentle tug by the arm, "Bottom line, I guess they're all inexperienced with life, the boys not ignorant out of choice like lots of other guys," He made a steeple with his hands, "So, my theory is: if you explain this to them in a diplomatic way, maybe they'll be compelled to handle this in a diplomatic manner, and Talla will have no need to feel so embarrassed."

"You know we're sitting right here, yeah?" Talla reminded him, now hunched over with elbows jabbed against her knees while she massaged her throbbing temples, Wrecker doing something similar on her back which admittedly felt soothing but uncomfortable because she really felt too disgusting to be touched, at least if she didn't initiate it. But a moment of clarity made her not shove the poor guy away again.

Nik grinned and gave a half-way regretful half-shrug, "Sorry 'bout that, but it's the truth."

"Menstruation is a normal part of life," Tech had to agree though, "So I also do not understand the social norm to skirt around the topic."

"Ha!" Blair laughed triumphantly to her boyfriend, who childishly stuck his tongue at her in teasing response.

Skylar did not back her up, instead a concerning thought just occurring to her. "Huh." She regarded the female clone next to her with a hand on the shoulder, "... You had accelerated aging like them, right?" Talla awkwardly shook her head yes, still trying to massage away the pain in her head. "You aged twice the age of regular humans, correct?"

"Five times the rate of regular humans, actually, just like us." Tech supplied.

There was some quick mental math. "So, by sometime in year three, you must have gotten your first period, since you'd be experiencing the ages of... ten to fifteen?"

Shifting her head slightly towards the twi'lek, there was another nod on Talla's part while Tech commented, 'Ideally, yes.'

Blair caught on, and joined in on the info retrieval. "So how many periods have you had in your entire life, exactly?"

Talla sat up as much she could, her breath hitching as another wave of wretched, enhanced cramps made her entire body quiver from the agony and arms wrap around her middle that did absolutely nothing to soothe them but she couldn't stop the involuntary movement this time.

Nik had to snatch the back of Hunter's shirt again, but he wore a sympathy grimace.

Blair did too and asked, "Because you've been with these guys for a while now and we haven't gotten an earlier call, which is weird since you obviously suffer more with periods than every other being in the galaxy."

"Um..." Talla involuntarily winced, "How many periods, counting this one?" The concern grew exponentially when Talla let out another sharp breath, then slowly peeled her arms away from her stomach so she could count on her fingers while probing her jumbled mind through the stabbing pains, a line appearing on her forehead from intense concentration over the simple question.

The breathless answer solidified their jaw-dropping concern, "Three."

"Three?!" They shrieked in utter disbelief.

Talla's forehead puckered again as she strained her mind and eyes shut and took another few seconds to recap the last few months specifically while feeling like she was being gutted from the inside outwards, "Well, there's occasional, erm, 'spotting' I guess is the proper term, but other than that I don't get them." There was a feeble attempt at a humorous smile, Talla just really wanting to go lie down right about now. "As you can see why, Nala Se didn't really complain about it."

Blair and Skylar shared a pensive look, silently agreeing they might have to take her to a hospital just to see an actual doctor, "Talla, when was the last time you had your period?" The latter queried.

Sighing and sluggishly rubbing a hand over her aching, damp forehead Talla probed her mind again. "Not in a long time."

She mumbled eventually, unhelpfully.

"How long is a 'long time?'" Skylar pushed.

"Yeah - a couple of months?" Blair backed her up hopefully.

Another sigh. "... erm -" She counted off on her fingers again, squinting so hard as it was so hard to think and it did nothing for her headache, neither did all the questions or all the bright lights or all the aches and pains.
The teachers were going to ease up on the interrogation, instruct her to go lie down instead when she doubled over in a fetal position again, bangs hiding her clenched, watering eyes from the world thankfully, "... I dunno, a few months before I joined the Bad Batch?"

"... Why's that a bad thing?" Hunter whispered to Nik, wondering why everyone was so dumb struck after this reveal - if she didn't have to suffer like this all the time, that was ideally a good thing, right?

Apparently not.

Skylar was quick to pull her into a side hug herself this time while lamenting, "That's not normal, hun."

Talla welcomed this unexpected touch too, "Well, I'm not a normal individual -" She breathed a thankful sigh when soothing circles were massaged near her lower back and gave some sweet relief. "Please keep doing that." Whatever this witchcraft was, it relieved a lot of the pressure built up there and did alleviate some of the Force-awful aches.

Sky obliged and with this permission started kneading specifically onto her lower back now, the best she could anyways in this awkward position, and Blair had to ask, "Did that doctor even ever explain periods to you at all?"

The edge taken off, hunched Talla could recite some of the knowledge stored away in the depths of her mind. "It's something as a human female I should be getting once a month, but due to my enhancements there's no real data to compare how those affect that side of things, if it even does." She mumbled a request that Skylar to move over to the left a little, "And, I vaguely remember Nala Se discussing with another doctor about the possibility that the stress of," She paused, almost going into specifics that were to never be told to another living soul, "Erm, everything they put me through and what I'm currently going through and the intense training regiments I'm still maintaining also effect my periods by this condition I can't remember the name of," She chuckled nervously, "But hey, these missed periods also means the chances of conceiving are low if I choose to... well... you know." She couldn't actually say the word.

But this was enough for the girls to start plotting revenge.

Talla wasn't finished though.

"But since they don't want to chance, um, you know, what comes from the other, as an added precaution they give me this injection every few months that also helps to prevent that, and she should ideally be able to predict when I'll have my period because they should be regulated by the shots." She shuddered despite the comfort of the light massage, not looking forward to the next scheduled shot coming up in a few short weeks if she remembered correctly.

Eh, maybe I can skip it?

Throughout this part of the intervention, Hunter had become silent. The bleeding he could sense Talla experiencing made him think she had been injured. Then they said it was normal, and he couldn't fathom why or how a bleeding wound was normal? Then they insinuated it wasn't a wound, then started using words like sex, and protection, and now pregnancy - yes, he knew exactly what she was insinuating - and he had been rendered completely lost and had no idea what the hell was even being discussed anymore.

The only thing he was sure of was that he did not want to discuss those types of things in front of her 'cause...

... yeah, no.

It was traumatic enough coming from Nala Se, and he was not going through that again but this time coming with a way deeper level of mortification than the last 'health lesson.'

"We got a comm from the longneck saying we have week off." His own hunched self gruffly informed everyone, wanting to steer the conversation away from that.

Then it clicked in his mind. A week off... so wait... she bleeds for a whole week?!

Nah, that's impossible! If I bled for a week I'd die, well, way sooner than that, right?

When she raised her head in surprise, the relief softening Talla's grim features a bit was undeniable and his did too. "Oh really?" There was another happy sigh to back up that sentiment, "That's probably why they track my periods now - the one and only time I failed a training session was on my period, when they tested to see how far I could go with the enhanced symptoms and all -"

"They tested you?!" Blair repeated.

Talla was getting tired of looking dumb with all the blank looks, nods, and blinks when she found out something normal to her wasn't normal in the real galaxy. "Um... Yeah." She quietly confirmed.

Talla whimpered in protest at the loss of Skylar's soothing touch when she also LOUDLY asked, "When you were in this much pain?!"

Talla's whirling, jumbled brain was on a complete overload now, making her dizzy and nauseous and confused and Talla desperately wanted to lay down now, her head starting to bob and eyes squinting again. "... Yeah. They needed to see if I'd become a liability out there on the battlefield when I'm on my period, and whether it not it's worth it for me to just have the week off during that time."

This answer did not bring back the desired comfort. "And?" Skylar demanded with a piercing look.

Talla shrugged sheepishly, grimacing from the movement, "And, well, I ended up passing out but -"

Thirst for spilled blood darkened both women and even Nik's eyes plus the eyes of a certain Sergeant but that is so clearly now a given, isn't it?

"But that's fine, okay!" Talla quickly diffused upon realizing this, downplaying her symptoms so as not to be an inconvenience taking precedence over her pain, "Because we get the week off, so... Hurray?"

Blair slowly shook her head, making Talla groan and thump her head back against Wrecker's side, who held her again but with unnecessary protectiveness instead of sympathy, as if expecting the long-necks to walk in at any moment and hurt his newly favorite family member.

"That is - oh my kriff -" Nik breathed. Was there no end to these monster's evil deeds?

"I'm gonna kill her." And oh, Skylar already had a few creative ideas on how to do it as slowly and painfully as possible.

"They most likely wanted to make sure Talla wouldn't die just from not being unable to maintain control over herself and her symptoms." Tech decided to input, seeing as Talla didn't look like she was going to show her face anytime soon... or ever again, maybe.

"Did they even let you take medication for the pain?" Nik asked directly to the suffering woman, knowing how his sister had to live on that stuff while on hers.

Talla didn't move away from Wrecker, but a few moments of tense silence later they heard a muffled, "You can take medication for the pain?"

Talla was jostled a bit when Skylar snapped up from her couch seat. "I'm going to blast her head off!"

"You don't own a blaster." Nik literally 'shot' her down.

"Then I'll buy a blaster!" She furiously declared.

"Don't know how to use one either, Sky." Her bestie also pointed out, though truthfully she was having rather violent fantasies herself.

This obstacle was also speedily overcome. "Wrecker, I want you to teach me how to use a blaster - I'm gonna wreak havoc on every single one of these damn kriffers!"

And the ever-helpful brainiac piped up, "Technically, you don't actually have to know how to aim a blaster to 'wreak havoc.'"

Bloodthirsty grins creeped up on all three of the Glam Squad's faces, "... you've opened my eyes, Techie." The female twi'lek of the bunch chuckled darkly.

After a few beats of more awkward silence, Blair snapped out of the revenge plotting first, "Okay for real though - boys and Talla sit down and shut up cause you're going to get a health lesson before we set course to Hell."

Dazed Hunter finally processed some of what had happened and was going to whisper 'Wait, is she actually serious?' to Nik when the snarky Sniper never failed to disappoint everyone.

"But why?" Everyone slowly looked at Crosshair, who had taken home the medal for being the most silent of the bunch since the health lesson had, in his eyes, already been thoroughly given. "She gets a little stomachache, a headache, becomes an overly sensitive crybaby, and her bleeding isn't deadly - so what's the big deal? She just stays in her room so we don't have to deal with her, she takes some painkillers for her own troubles and we'll all be happy."

In the back of their minds, everyone just knew Crosshair would be the one to downplay period symptoms, and it was just a matter of time before the degrading speech would begin.

For this, Talla did show her face once more, just in time to see Skylar take a threatening step towards the Sniper, raise a threatening fist in his direction, but threatened with a different limb, "How about I kick you somewhere special, and you'll get an inkling of what these 'little stomachaches' feel like?"

Standing up, Nik beat her to the punch though. Well, not literally but he did have something just as painful planned for the guy. "Crosshair!" The tattoo artist sing-songed, purposely yanking the clone up from his seat and clasped his shoulder with too much force, "Buddy!" This obviously fake enthusiasm put 'Buddy' on high alert, "How 'bout a little 'field trip, huh? 'Cause there's someone I'm dying to introduce you to."

Crosshair scoffed, "I think your headpiece is on too tight."

Nik placed a hand over his supposed wounded heart, "There's no need for rude comments, Cross - if you're too afraid to go anywhere with me, just say so."

Crosshairs jaw set, Nik smirked, and they were out the door without another question on Crosshair's fragile integrity.

Everyone else thought the degrading speeches were over, no one expecting Talla to start downplaying her symptoms herself. They thought this sort of thing Talla would allow herself to admit to her miserable existence for the next week, thus giving her the opportunity to receive the support and rest she deserved, but they grossly underestimated the depths of her conditioning from the Kaminoan Doctor.

"Look - oh -" She groaned when abruptly standing up, Wrecker having to catch her when it felt like her insides had just dropped and it was not a pleasant sensation at all. "I think I'll be fine if I just go hang out in my room, maybe?" She nodded in reaffirmance but regretted it, the dizziness incomparable and making her clutch his large and supportive hand while her other one pressed against her forehead that gave sickening throbs of stabbing pains, "Yeah," She only said, obviously doing everything in her power to mask the discomfort with a tight smile as she toiled in the direction back to her room, "Watch some holovids on my datapad -"

"You should go lie down." Skylar advised with deep empathy.

"I'll be fine." Talla slurred, tripping over nothing.

Sky forgot her plans for vengeance and blatantly told the retreating woman, "Talla, we're not the Kaminoans, so why don't you just give it to us straight?"

Talla paused, everyone held their breath, and the Clone Agents slumped frame whipped around to the best of her ability and she wailed, "I feel like someone is slowly gutting me with a blunt knife from the inside out, every time I laugh or sneeze or even just stand up I feel like I wet myself, everything aches and by everything I mean everything, and I can't get comfortable no matter what I do, Crosshair ate all the sweets and I JUST WANT A HUG!"

Sniveling for the twentieth time in less than three days, she ended up back into Wrecker's big arms for big, comforting hugs while he went, "Awwwww," And held her trembling frame close.

Then came the downplaying again. "But hey, least I'm not pregnant." She kinda laughed against Wrecker's chest.

Hunter wondered if the onslaught of symptoms that felt concernedly similar to going into cardiac arrest were anything compared to her period pains.

"Are - are you in a position you could be?" Skylar had the bravery to stutter.

"... no."

"Oh thank the Force." Several of them breathed, no need for names you just know by now, and know the reasons why.

"Studies show that the level of pain experienced with period cramps rivals that of when giving birth." Tech stated to break the tension in his own, TECH-TALKY way.

"... And now, I definitely never will."

Blair decided enough was enough and it was time for the real adult discussion they had intended to have before it was realized that the chaos has never truly been stopped, "Alright, everybody sit down, shut up, and listen up - time for that health lesson."

Hunter jumped when the twi'lek twin who stayed behind suddenly manifested in front of him with her hands on her hips and an eager smile. "Except for you!" She grabbed the collar of his tunic and yanked him away from the classroom.

"YOU, Sergeant, get a field trip too!"

In this instance, Hunter correctly assumed he couldn't have broken free from her iron grip even if he so tried.

idk when Part 2 will be posted as it's not completely finished yet, but I hope it won't be long before I finish it and the rest of my remaining chapters and bring this book to a close

Life's gonna be pretty crazy for a while, and I think my writing time is gonna be cut short dramatically

I hope you all will understand if my updates become a bit more sporadic than I promised

thx for all your support

- Ella