His thoughts were cloudy and Rex could feel himself drifting in and out of sleep for a long time. He had no idea exactly how long he was out for, but he could tell it was either late at night or early in the morning.
His head pounded but things were starting to make more sense. He filed his thoughts based on what he knew. He had gotten injured on Ryloth, then he was in the medbay. If he were to guess by the sharp smell of bacta in the air, he would say that he was still in the medbay. He remembered trying to escape and remembered Kix telling him where he was.
Rex couldn't tell if he had been imagining Dagger. It would make sense that he was in the medbay, but had he actually touched Rex. His mind ached as he tried to sort what was reality and what was a dream.
He remembered his tongue moving of its own accord. Mando'a spilling from his lips without his mind's permission. He hoped that he had been imagining all of the sappy things he had said, or at least that Dagger hadn't heard him.
If the man had heard he would probably think Rex was crazy. He remembered confessing his feelings into the warm hand of the one he cared about. Really, he couldn't be held accountable for his actions when injured and drugged. Could he?
Voices tugged on his consciousness along with a steady pressure in his hand. There was a conversation going on right in front of him. He focused, trying to hear the hushed voices.
"I'm going to tell him. It's his job to know."
"No," was the quiet response, "He doesn't need to know. He has more important things to worry about right now, Kix."
Who was talking to Kix? That had to be the person who held his hand. Who was that?
"That's not how any of this works and you know it Dagger," the medic responded.
Ah, Dagger. Rex smiled at the thought of himself holding hands with the man. But what were they talking about? What did he need to know?
"You can't tell him, please."
Rex forced his eyes open, he squinted against the bright light. He saw Dagger sitting next to his bedside looking up at Kix who was hovering above him. From the side angle he could see the winged design on the back of the helmet. He was wearing it.
Rex slowly pushed himself up with one arm. The blond groaned in pain, his head was pounding, this caught the attention of the pair. The motion dislodged his hand from Dagger's and he tried to not mourn the loss of the feeling.
The white sheet that had been covering him pooled around his waist. He could tell he was out of his armor, but he still wore his blacks. He rubbed his eyes, "Tell me what?"
"Rex! You're awake," Dagger exclaimed, standing quickly. She crowded onto the cot and sat next to him.
Rex was surprised to find the man's arms wrap around his neck in a hug. He smiled and buried his face in the crook of his neck. He slung his free arm around Dagger's waist and gave him a slight squeeze.
He felt the man's breath hitch and he quickly released him, "I'm sorry."
Dagger released him and rubbed the back of his neck, "No, no it's ok, I just forget that I have a hole in my stomach that I need to be careful about."
"And that's why you need to be sitting down, not jumping all over the Captain," Kix said, gently nudging Dagger back into her chair.
Rex looked up at the medic, "What did you need to tell me?"
Kix's mouth opened, but Dagger's head snapped to him, "Don't!"
"Dagger," Kix's voice was pleading and Rex's brow furrowed in confusion. What did the trooper not want Rex to know.
Dagger cleared his throat, "Kix was just going to update you on everyone's condition."
Said medic sighed, that was definitely not what he was going to tell Rex, "Yeah, and ask why the hell you let a tank blow up in your face?"
"Tripped," was Rex's reply as he sat up fully, legs swinging over the side of the cot. His hand came up to hold his pounding head and he let out a groan, "Did we lose anyone?"
"Happy to report that you are the only dumbass to get hurt in this one, sir."
"I don't think the sir counts for anything if you insult me before that," he grumbled.
Rex went to stand up but Kix got in his way, "Whoa whoa, where do you think you are going?"
"Paperwork," he grumbled.
"Not with that head injury you aren't. You are staying here," he pushed Rex back down into the cot. He had to admit that the bed was a lot more comfortable that he had been expecting, "Don't worry Captain, Dagger here already volunteered to keep you company since both of you have to stay here for observation for the next 24 hours."
Dagger groaned at that, which made Rex laugh a little. He let out a sigh and laid down fully. He felt tired still, but knew that he wouldn't be able to go to sleep just yet. Dagger watched him as Kix walked away.
Rex tilted his head in question, "What was it you and Kix were talking about?"
She turned away from him, refusing to make eye contact even through the helmet, "It's nothing sir, just something that happened earlier."
Rex frowned, "You don't trust me?"
Dagger looked back at him quickly, "Of course I do! It's not that Captain."
He frowned at the title but Dagger continued, "I just don't think it is something you should have to worry about."
"Did something happen?"
She nodded, but didn't respond. He could tell he was struggling with something under his helmet, he didn't want to push too hard, "It's ok, I understand. Just know if you ever want to talk I will be here."
"Thank you."
"I seem to recall you said you had something to show me when you got back," Rex blurted out. It had been on his mind for a while now, he was curious about what it was Dagger wanted to show him.
He heard a short laugh come from the helmeted man, "And I seem to recall asking you to stay safe. I don't think that went very well now did it?"
He let out a huff and Dagger continued, "I'll show you Rex, but I want to make sure you are fully yourself for it. So we're going to have to wait."
"Dagger, you don't have to show me your scars," he said, it was the only reasonable thing he could come up with that he was going to be shown, "I don't want you to feel like you owe me anything."
He could have sworn he saw the helmet twitch, "That's not it Rex, although I do appreciate you saying that. Honestly? I'm really scared to show you, but I need to do it. For myself, I can't keep living like this."
He looked up at Dagger, tension was visible in his small stature. He wanted to get up and hug the man, but he was unwilling to hurt him again. Rex's voice came out in a whisper, "Your face?"
Dagger nodded, "I don't want to hide anymore. At least not from you. I- I can't keep hiding from you. I need to know if you will kick me out or not. I don't want you to hate me for what I am, but I can't know if I don't show you."
At that Rex did sit up again, he stretched out a hand for Dagger to grasp if he wanted. Dagger took his hand and Rex gave it a reassuring squeeze, "Dagger, I told before. I don't care what you look like. I care about who you are on the inside, the outside doesn't matter to me. Nothing you look like could ever change the way I feel about you."
"The way you feel about me?" she asked, latching onto his words.
Rex's cheeks flared with heat and he swallowed quickly. His heart hammered in his chest. He could tell Dagger right now, he could tell him everything.
"Yes, I, well," he cleared his throat, "uhh."
Perfectly eloquent. Damn his brain for failing him when he needed it most. He tried to scramble for words, something to say. The right thing to say.
He didn't get the chance as Dagger laughed, "You must have really gotten your brains scrambled to be talking like that. You need to go to sleep Rex."
Rex frowned, eyes looking down. He couldn't get the words out of his mouth. Dagger didn't believe him, he thought it was just his head injury talking. His words were slurred and he could feel his consciousness fading as he spoke, "I wouldn't lie to you. Just not good with words, don't worry I'll show you. I promise."
Dagger just laughed as his head started to droop, "Ok Rex, you do that."
~B~
A grand total of three hours is how long it took for Dagger to get bored of being in the med bay. There was no one to talk to, Rex was passed out until further notice and Kix was busy.
Three hours into the twenty four hour timeline Kix had assigned and she was already looking for ways to escape mentally or physically it didn't matter. Her finger's tapped impatiently on her vambrace. Her mind trying to figure out what to do.
Dagger moved away from where Rex was sleeping. She didn't want to disturb him. She stood, or rather slowly paced, along the far wall of the medbay.
She smiled to herself, earlier in the week she had been on Coruscant wishing to leave. Now, she kinda wished she could go back. She realized she could do one thing, she scrolled through the programmed numbers in her communicator and tapped the familiar name. A number she had not yet used.
"Hello?"
"Hey Astra, it's Dagger."
"Dagger! How are you? I heard on the news that your unit left Coruscant. Are you staying out of trouble?"
She laughed, "I'm doing my best. We actually just got done with a mission. I was hoping I could talk to you for a minute. Are you busy?"
"Never too busy to answer a call from a friend," was the determined response.
"So you know how I hide my identity from my unit?"
"I do recall."
"I want to tell my Captain, but I don't really know how to do that."
Astra let out a little breath, "First of all, I am so proud of you for being brave enough to tell him. But as for how to tell that cutie, I would be at just as much of a loss as you are."
Dagger's shoulders sank slightly, it had been worth a shot, "Thank you Astra."
"Hey, no matter how you tell him I'm sure everything will be ok. Just tell him the truth, he can't get mad at you for being honest. I'm sure that he will understand."
"You are the best."
They talked for a few more minutes until Astra was called away by a customer. The girls said their goodbyes quickly and the conversation left Dagger with a smile on her face.
She made her way back over to where Rex was sleeping. He looked calm like this and she couldn't help the way her heart sang when looking at him. Dagger sighed, "Why can't you just wake up?"
Dagger glanced over her shoulder and saw that neither Kix nor any of the other medics were in sight. An idea blossoming in her head she slowly backed away. Taking one last look at Rex and with a sly grin on her lips she slipped right out of the medbay doors.
She walked down the familiar halls with a little jump in her step. She had outsmarted Kix. Dagger made her way back to the barracks, hopeful at the idea that she would be able to see her brothers.
Echo hadn't come back to the medbay since apologizing and Dagger hadn't seen Fives since before her injury. She wanted to see how everyone was doing.
The doors to the barracks slid open and all heads turned to look at her. She opened her arms and said, "Guess who's back?"
Fives was the first to react, "Dagger!"
He ran towards her and swept her up in a spinning hug. She laughed at his excitement even if it caused her pain, her arms went around his neck to ground herself. Jesse ran up next and pulled Fives to a stop.
He hugged her from the side, chin tilted up to rest on her helmet, "I'm glad you are safe, Dagger."
"Me too Jesse."
"I thought Echo told you not to die before we left on the mission," Fives said, giving her a stern look.
"Hey I didn't die, I'm standing right here," she said as he put her back on the floor and she was able to cross her arms low over her stomach. She wasn't quite willing to tell Fives how much it had hurt when he picked her up.
Hardcase, who had just woken up judging by the pillow lines on his face, rushed her next. She got a wide smile and a slap on the back, "You're back!"
"Yeah, I finally got out of medbay," she explained, neglecting to mention that she had snuck out.
"How is the Captain doin'?"
"Asleep, but he is doing ok. Just got knocked in the head I guess. He was talking some kind of nonsense realier," she paused, "Where is Echo?"
Fives turned and looked towards Echo's bunk. There was a mass of blankets curled on top. Dagger nodded in appreciation and broke away from the small group that had formed.
She climbed up the ladder to his bunk and gently settled at the foot of it. Echo was curled up tightly facing the wall. He was cocooned in a blanket. Dagger could see him breathing and could tell that he wasn't asleep, just being quiet.
She placed a hand on his ankle through the blanket and felt his muscles tense. His head rose to look at her and her eyes went wide. His face was covered in bruises, more than she had seen earlier. A particularly dark one blossomed across his jaw.
She quickly crawled up the bed and over Echo. He tensed at that but didn't resist her as she sat at the top of the bed and pulled his head into her lap.
The change in position caused him to turn onto his back and he looked up at Dagger with sad eyes, "I'm sorry Dagger."
She shook her head, hands petting his hair gently, "What happened Echo?"
He looked away, "Nothing."
She tugged gently, "Please look at me."
He obeyed, he didn't think that he would ever be able to deny her anything. He really was helpless, "Don't worry Dagger, I've had worse."
She gave him a sad smile even though he couldn't see it, warm hands holding his face where he wasn't bruised, "Is this because of what happened in the hallway?"
He nodded, "I'm ok, I promise. I deserved it."
"You know you are my best friend right?" she asked, changing the subject.
Another nod.
She squished his face and laughed at the offended look it earned her, "Then why didn't you come give me a hug when I came in?"
"I didn't think you would want to see me."
"You were wrong," she said with a teasing tone, "Can I have one now?"
He sat up quickly and turned to pull her in for a hug. She responded happily and they just held each other for a while. It was good for the soul to be able to feel a vod, undeniable proof that they were alive and they were safe.
Echo let out a sigh as if the weight of the world had just been lifted from his shoulders. Which it almost had been. Echo had been worried that he had ruined their friendship entirely. He knew that he would never be in a relationship with Dagger, but that was ok if they could still be friends. It would be ok.
Dagger was alive, she was healing and now he knew more about her than he ever had. He was happy that she still called him her best friend. He held her just a little tighter.
The doors to the barracks slammed open, which was impressive given that they were automatic. They heard a yell from said door, "Where is he?!"
Dagger's eyes went wide and she looked at Echo in panic. Kix was going to find her. Echo shared her panic as if he were harboring a spy.
He scooped her up and laid her flat on the bed closest to the wall. He laid on his side next to her and quickly through the blanket over them both. This was never going to work.
Echo looked at Dagger just as she turned her helmet towards him. He had to stifle a laugh at their situation and she shushed him. He went stiff as he heard Kix stomp over.
"Echo!" the medic almost shouted.
Echo jerked up and pretended like he had just been woken up, "What's up Kix?"
"Where is Dagger?"
"How should I know? I thought you were supposed to be watching him in the medbay," he knew he shouldn't be making fun of the medic but the opportunity was just too tempting to pass up.
"So that lump on your bed isn't Dagger?"
"No sir, that's Fives. He's sleeping, best to not wake him," Echo lied, not very convincing.
Kix's eyes flicked down to the bottom bunk, right at Fives who was sitting on his bunk. The man quickly covered his temple with his hand, a mischievous grin on his face, "I'm not Fives, I'm Cricket."
Cricket, who had been passing by behind Kix did a quick 180 and failed to contain his snicker. Kix let out an annoyed sound.
"Echo, you get Dagger back to the medbay right now or I will come up there and get him myself," he growled.
"I think that waking him would be unwise. He just fell asleep, come on Kix you know how sad it is to be in the medbay all alone," Echo pleaded.
Kix let out a sigh, "Fine, but if he gets into any trouble or opens his stitches I will cuff him to the cot in medbay."
Dagger couldn't help the snicker that forced its way out of her throat. She quickly quieted herself, but Kix rolled his eyes. He let out one more huff before heading back for the door and out of the barracks, he didn't have time for this osik.
Echo turned back to look at Dagger, he saw her shoulders shaking in amusement. He wished he could see her expression right now.
Once the doors slid closed again she threw the blanket off of her and Echo propped himself up on his elbow, "You didn't mention that Kix would be hunting you down, what happened?"
She giggled, "I may or may not have snuck out of the medbay when he wasn't paying attention."
He laughed, "You're impossible."
Her helmet tilted and Echo could guess that she was smiling under there. He wanted to pull her in for a hug but couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead he asked, "Why don't you hate me? You have every right in the universe to do so."
"I could ask you the same question. I have lied to you for so long and hid what I truly am from you. You were just trying to help. I understand that now, so I'm not going to hold that against you," her voice was quiet but strong.
Echo stayed quiet for a moment, debating how to continue. He didn't want to lie to Dagger, he never did. He needed to tell her, "Dagger, I-"
He halted his words but she tilted her head encouragingly. He took a breath and continued, "I kissed you to try and protect your secret, but that's not the only reason. I was selfish to force that on you and probably selfish to tell you this. But I need you to know that I-"
"Echo," she cut him off, "You don't have to say it."
He looked into her visor with desperate eyes, "Please Dagger, I need to tell you."
She nodded.
"Dagger I love you. It started as a stupid crush that just kept getting bigger and bigger. I just want to protect you and keep you happy. I have loved you for a while and I know that you don't love me. There is nothing wrong with that but I felt like it would be lying to you if I didn't tell you."
Dagger put her hand over Echo's on the bed between them, "I'm sorry Echo, I-"
"No," he said sternly, "Don't you dare apologize for something I did. It doesn't matter what my feelings are, I still should have never kissed you without permission. I won't try anything ever again I promise. I just wanted to ask if we could still be friends after all of this."
Her grip tightened slightly, "Of course, I don't think I could ever not be your friend, but I don't think I could ever feel the same way you do and I'm sorry for that. It's not that you did anything wrong, it's just that there is someone else."
"That's all I could ask Dagger, more than I could ask for really."
~B~
Rex woke up on his back this time. His eyes opened before he even realized that he was awake. He stared at the ceiling and contemplated his own body.
There was no aching in his head, nothing was hurting. Upon that realization, he sat up and looked around. The medbay looked pretty empty, aside from one of the medics sitting at a desk in the corner.
Cobalt heard Rex sit up and came over to the cot, "Captain, how are you feeling?"
"I feel fine, nothing hurts anymore. How long was I out for?"
"You were asleep for almost 18 hours. It seemed like your body really needed to rest. Have you been sleeping properly?"
Rex just looked at Cobalt like he had a second head, "I'm the Captain of Torrent company, does it look like I get enough sleep?"
Cobalt let out a chuckle, "I guess that answers my question then. As much as I know it is pointless to say this, you really should be getting six to eight hours of sleep every night."
"Noted," Rex moved his legs so they hung off the side of the bed, "So what did I miss?"
"Not much. Hardcase got released after we fixed his leg injury. Everyone who received injuries was cleared for duty again. Surprisingly even Dagger has recovered enough to be cleared. Nasty scar, but he'll be fine. So fine in fact that he snuck out of the medbay and Kix let him get away with it. Last one here is you Captain."
"Kix let Dagger get away with leaving medbay early? Has he gone soft?" Rex asked with a small smile.
"I heard that," came a call from the other side of the room.
Cobalt just laughed, "I think all the medics have a soft spot for Dagger after what happened."
Rex raised an eyebrow, "Even you?"
The medic rolled his eyes, "The little shit is a pain, but yes even me."
"Little brothers am I right?" Rex asked with a smile. At Cobalt's huff he changed the subject, "So when will I be cleared?"
"If you are up for a bio scan right now I could tell you," he responded and Rex nodded his consent immediately.
The scan only took a minute or two. Cobalt checked his blood pressure, pulse, and various other things that Rex barely paid attention to. He did not zone out because it was boring, not at all.
Cobalt snapped his fingers to get his attention back, "Alright Captain, I can't find any reason to keep you here any longer. My recommendation is to take it easy for the next 24 hours. I know we are good at dealing with concussions, but that doesn't mean you won't feel any side effects."
"Thank you Cobalt," he said, sliding off the bed and standing up, "And thank you for helping the rest of the men too. I'm glad you got assigned to the 501st, we could always use medics like you."
Cobalt preened at the praise and he straightened up a little bit, "Always a pleasure Captain, I'm glad I can help watch over you boys."
With that Rex grabbed his pile of armor that had been sitting on the table next to the cot. He made his way back to the barracks. He was content in that moment that Torrent was all aboard the Resolute, everyone was healed and cleared. He hadn't heard of anything worse happening since he woke up. Maybe he would actually be able to get some paperwork done before they got reassigned.
He walked into the barracks and was happy to find that everyone was behaving for the most part. There was a small gaggle of people towards the back of the room, but they weren't being obnoxious.
It was a lazy afternoon aboard the Resolute. He put away all his armor in the trunks not bothering to clean it. He rarely did so anyway, a little dirt gave the armor character anyway.
He made his way to the showers and rinsed off before putting on some off duty fatigues. Rex was still toweling off his hair when he saw something that stopped him in his tracks.
Fives and Echo were sitting on Fives' bunk, he caught a glimpse of Echo's face and was shocked to see him covered in bruises. Injuries that he did not remember being reported or even mentioned.
"Echo," he called the Arc trooper, beckoning him over to his bunk. The man immediately stood and went over to meet him.
"Yes sir?"
"Did you get mauled by a Gundark? What happened to your face?"
Echo looked down and scuffed the toe of his boot along the ground, "Just got caught up in the action of the fight I guess."
Rex crossed his arms over his chest, "Echo, you are the worst liar in the unit. Why do you even try at this point?"
"Because I'm hoping that one day it will actually work," he mumbled.
Rex scoffed, "Who did this to you Echo? Do I need to go have a talk with someone?"
Echo shook his head quickly, a bit too quickly, "No sir, the situation has already been handled. I actually-"
He cut himself off and rocked on his feet trying to appear that he had said all that he needed to say. Rex didn't believe it for a second, his eyes softened, "Echo you know that infighting is against the regs. I really wish you would tell me who did this to you so I could help fix the problem. I will not allow anyone in my unit to get beaten for no reason, especially not you."
Echo looked exceedingly guilty now. If he hadn't promised Dagger that he wouldn't tell Rex he surely would have by now. But a promise was a promise, "It wasn't for no reason sir, but I already promised to not talk about it. Please sir? Can we just let this one go?"
Rex sighed, damn Echo and those pleading puppy eyes, "Fine, but if this keeps happening I will be stepping in."
"Yes sir, I understand."
Rex just sighed and went to sit on his bunk. His ass had even touched the mattress when his comm chirped. He immediately bounced back up to standing and answered the call, "This is Rex."
"Captain Rex, I just got word from Kix that you are up and cleared for active duty again."
"Yes General Skywalker," Oh this was going to be good.
"Awesome, meet me and Ahsoka in the briefing room."
The call disconnected and Rex let out a sigh as he started to put his armor back on. It was to be expected that they wouldn't get much of a break. He really should have expected this.
(A/N: Next chapter we are heading into the next story arc. This chapter tied up a lot of loose ends, but there are still a few things that need to be cleared up. Please comment to let me know what you though of this chapter or what you think will happen next time.)