A/N: -slams chapter onto table- So sorry for the delay! I realized I'd have to cut one of the conversations that had prompted me to continue Rainy Day, and I was sulking. -whistling- (I still have the cut scene if anyone wants it PM'd.)
Throwing out the final chapter before going mostly AWOL for about a week; I probably won't get to any reviews for a bit longer than normal.
Much to Echo's relief, Wrecker was able to convince Omega to get into bed. Less relieving, though, was the fact that Omega couldn't sleep.
Her fever and cough had only gotten worse, so she was restless. Wrecker sat with her, keeping her company and reading stories from Omega's data-pad.
Echo listened to Wrecker while he scraped dried mud off his armor. He smiled at Wrecker's enthusiastic narrative of a sword-fighting knight on a far-away world.
"You were right," Hunter murmured, sitting beside Echo.
"About what?" Echo murmured back.
"Wrecker actually convinced Omega to lay down." Hunter frowned at a cough. "She can't sleep, though."
"It's better than running around in the mud." Echo rubbed one of his greaves with a cloth. "She'll stop coughing soon, I'm sure."
Hunter didn't respond. After a moment, he stood and went to where the squad stored their medical supplies. Echo didn't comment as Hunter dug around for a minute before returning empty handed. It was the third time Hunter had searched for cough medicine.
The rest of the morning went slowly. Tech was busy charting their course and doing whatever it was that had him so distracted on his data-pad. Echo decided to clean all his armor, but was eventually distracted by Hunter.
"Stop pacing," Echo told him.
Hunter paused. "I'm not pacing."
"That's the hundredth time you've gone from the nav room to here in the hold," Echo said without looking up.
"I haven't done it a hundred times," Hunter said, amusingly offended.
"Uh-huh." Echo set aside a pauldron, deciding it wasn't getting any cleaner. He looked up. "So, what are you doing?"
Hunter had his blaster in one hand and a battery pack in the other, but his explanation was, "Restocking mission rations in my pack."
Echo shook his head. "Sure."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing," Echo said in exasperation.
"Wrecker."
Omega's soft voice startled Echo. He hadn't heard her coughing for a bit, and assumed she'd finally fallen asleep.
"Yeah?" Wrecker half-whispered back.
"Where is everyone?"
Echo got up and left the hold. "We're right here, Omega."
Omega, bundled in blankets and leaning against Wrecker, blinked owlishly at Echo. "Where's Tech?"
Stars, she sounded awful. "He's in the cockpit."
"I am here," Tech said, suddenly at Echo's side. "You should be sleeping, Omega."
Echo rolled his eyes. When was the squad going to figure out that they couldn't order Omega to sleep?
"I'm not tired," Omega mumbled. "I'm hungry."
Wrecker perked up. "That we can fix. Come on, Omega."
Echo opened his mouth to protest, then closed it when Wrecker picked up Omega and one of the blankets. Holding the girl against his side, Wrecker effortlessly climbed down the ladder and went to the galley. There, he set Omega on the bench near the wall so she had something to lean against.
"Stay here, and I'll find you something soft to eat," Wrecker said.
Omega nodded slowly. Despite her protests otherwise, her eyes were drooping.
Wrecker vanished to the hold where they had put their newest rations. Hunter trailed Wrecker and Tech had vanished, so Echo sat across from Omega. Impulsively, Echo reached out and felt Omega's forehead.
"You're burning up, kid," Echo said with a frown.
Omega, shivering despite this, pulled away and put her head on the table.
Echo sat back with a frown. They had given Omega medicine for her fever, but they couldn't give her much. All the squad's medicine had a high potency, thanks to Wrecker's sheer size, how strongly certain injuries affected Hunter, and Tech's high pain tolerance.
Echo tapped his fingers against the table, then got up and retrieved the med kit from the rack. He double-checked the medicine dosages, mentally calculating how long they would have to wait before giving Omega more medicine.
"Two more hours," Tech said, reentering the galley without looking up from his data-pad.
"If her fever doesn't break soon, we're going to have to find better medicine," Echo said.
"We should, anyway." Tech tilted his head. "I've been running tests, and Omega doesn't have the immune system all clones have."
Echo frowned, but shuffling from Omega distracted him from responding. He turned, and was confused to find Omega sitting ramrod straight. Her glassy eyes were focused mostly on Tech.
"Can we not do any tests today?" Omega requested clearly, despite her rasp.
Echo blinked, but Tech nodded and went to Omega's side.
"Alright, Omega, no tests today."
"Thank you," Omega said, then put her head back on the table.
"What was that?" Echo asked.
"What was what?" Hunter asked as he and Wrecker joined them.
"Omega is just a bit confused," Tech explained simply.
"Aw, I get confused when I have a fever, too," Wrecker said, patting Omega's head.
Omega made a slight humming noise of acknowledgement, but otherwise ignored them.
"You all do," Tech said.
"Don't act like you aren't the worst of us all," Hunter informed him, reaching over to turn off Tech's data-pad. He cut off Tech's annoyed protest with, "Sit down and eat lunch."
Luckily -or unluckily, depending on who you asked- the squad had picked up what was commonly called sludge on their supply run. While goopy and tasteless, heated sludge was warming after cold missions and soothing for sore throats.
Echo tried very hard to keep a stern expression on his face, but it was kind of hard when he was staring down at the blanket-wrapped head of Omega. She was very determinedly attempting to remain alert, but her eyelids kept drooping between blinks.
"Omega," Echo said, smothering a chuckle threatening to escape, "I thought you were asleep."
"I'm awake now," Omega said.
"Sure you are." Echo looked at Wrecker standing helplessly in the hold entrance. "Did she sleep at all?"
"No," Wrecker said.
Echo sighed. It had been two hours since lunch. Wrecker and Omega had returned to her room, and Echo thought she'd finally fallen asleep. But for whatever reason, Omega had decided she didn't need to sleep.
Hunter appeared beside Wrecker. He shook his head when he saw Omega, but moved away without a word.
Omega abruptly left Echo's side and left the hold. Echo tilted his head to watch her go to Hunter, who paused, then shook his head. Omega crossed her arms.
"Who do you think will win?" Wrecker asked.
"Hunter," Echo said. "But only because Omega's too tired to argue long."
Sure enough, it wasn't long before Omega hunched her shoulders and returned to the hold. Without a word, she climbed up on the crate beside Echo and crossed her arms.
Echo again had to fight a laugh. He was reminded of Ahsoka whenever Anakin tried to get her to rest after a tough mission. Most of the time, she was too wound up, though. What was it Rex had always done to get her to relax…
Echo looked at the greave in his hand. Since Wrecker was attempting to take care of Omega, Echo was cleaning his armor for his brother. It was a calming pastime for Echo, one he'd developed years ago.
Back during the war, everyone meticulously cleaned their armor after a battle, letting the repetitive motions calm their adrenaline highs and jangled nerves. Rex often had shinies go over their armor twice, whether or not it was perfectly clean. Echo remembered sitting in a circle with Fives, Rex, and Ahsoka, the clones alternating handing pieces of armor to their young commander.
"Echo?" Omega rasped.
Echo blinked back to the present. Omega and Wrecker were watching him curiously, making Echo wonder how long he'd zoned out. Either way, he had a solution.
"Okay, Omega," Echo said, pointing to Wrecker's armor spread on the crates behind them, "If you won't sleep, then you can help me spot check our armor."
Omega beamed, happy to finally be helping. Echo handed her a gauntlet while Wrecker sat down with his chest plate, hoping that cleaning the armor might finally get Omega to relax.
It was early evening when Echo dropped into the copilot's chair with a huff. He rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes, listening to Omega's smaller footsteps tapping after Wrecker's.
Omega still refused to sleep. Even after spending a ridiculously long time spot checking everyone's armor, she was still alert enough to protest going to sleep in the afternoon. Echo had tried waiting her out by not doing anything, but Omega had just gone to bug Hunter for something to do. Hunter had ordered her to her room, which had just resulted in Omega cleaning and reorganizing her room. Wrecker had given up trying, and just followed Omega and helped her move stuff around.
"Is something wrong?" Tech asked.
Echo squinted his eyes open. Tech had remained in the cockpit all day, as Omega hadn't seemed too interested in going to him for a job. Echo suspected it was because she was too tired to properly follow along with Tech's monologues.
"Omega," Echo said.
Tech frowned. "Is she worse?"
"I don't think she's gotten any worse, but she will if she doesn't get some sleep soon. And she's losing her voice."
"Wait." Tech tilted his head. "She hasn't been sleeping?"
"Yeah, where have you been all day?" Echo asked sarcastically.
Tech rolled his eyes. "I have been making sure the Empire isn't tracking us."
Oh… well, that explained why Tech had been so distracted.
"Take the controls," Tech said, standing. "I'll take care of Omega."
There wasn't much need for a driver, so Echo just kept one hand on the steering yoke and turned the chair to watch Tech.
Tech went to Hunter, who was sitting in the nav room. Tech handed Hunter a spare data-pad.
"We need a destination," Tech said. "Someplace we can lay low with no pirates, bounty hunters, or Imperial outposts. Preferably uninhabited, but close to someplace we can gather supplies. I've compiled a list of planets that should suit our purpose."
Hunter took the data-pad and scrolled briefly through it. "That's… a lot."
"Yes, all have their pros and cons, which I have listed," Tech stated. "Find one you like, and I can set our course."
"Alright…" Hunter said with a fair amount of suspicion in his voice.
Tech started to turn away, then stopped to add. "Oh, and Omega should help you."
Echo snorted, earning a short glare from Hunter.
"Omega should be sleeping," Hunter said to Tech.
"Obviously, but she is refusing to do so," Tech said. "But if she is assisting you, she will at least be sitting still instead of…" Tech leaned to the side, "Reorganizing rations in the galley."
Hunter shook his head and looked at the data-pad. "Wrecker's got it under control."
Tech walked away. Echo doubted he had dropped it, and he saw Hunter's eyes narrow at Tech's apparent surrender. Seconds later, Tech's voice came from the galley.
"Yes, you two, that is sufficient. Wrecker, I need your help in the hold. The rear deflectors need to be repaired, and supply crates are blocking the panel. Omega, you can help Hunter."
"Tech-" Hunter started, turning.
Tech returned to view, Omega in tow and an amused Wrecker behind them. Before Hunter could react, Tech had scooped up Omega and plopped her on Hunter's lap.
Hunter pinched the bridge of his nose. "Tech…"
"I can help you," Omega told Tech with a pout.
Tech pushed Omega back onto Hunter's lap when she tried to leave. "No, you cannot. Wrecker will be moving crates, and they may shift and fall while unsecured. In your current state, your reflexes won't be fast enough to avoid any falling crates."
Echo smirked. He knew for a fact that Wrecker always stacked crates so they wouldn't fall unless the Marauder was suddenly jolted. And even then, the crates usually wouldn't budge.
"Hunter is looking for a hideout for us," Tech said over Hunter and Omega's protests. "The list is very long, and it is always good to have two opinions. Come on, Wrecker."
Tech turned on his heel and left with Wrecker, leaving a very uncomfortable looking Hunter and Omega.
After a moment, Omega gave a tired sigh and leaned against Hunter's chest. "What's the first place?"
Hunter twitched when Omega laid against him, then a surrendering smile appeared on his lips. He leaned back and shifted one arm so that he had an arm on either side of Omega. Together, the two of them checked Tech's first suggestion.
Echo smiled and faced forward, listening.
"Abuk," Hunter started. "Uninhabited, plenty of wildlife and caves, and there's a trade planet nearby. Not too bad."
"Hunter." Omega's giggle broke off with a cough. "It rains acid."
"If the wildlife's survived, there must be places to hide from the rain."
"What if we had to leave in a rainstorm?"
"Ah, good point. Let's try the next one."
Echo muffled a chuckle with his hand. Hunter knew Abuk wouldn't be a good place to lay low. He listened to the pair go through a few more planets, rejecting them for one reason or another.
Gradually, Omega answered less and less, until she went silent. Hunter talked his way through rejecting another planet, then went quiet as well.
"Omega?" Hunter said after a moment.
Echo turned.
Hunter was staring bemusedly down at Omega, who'd turned at some point to curl her legs on Hunter's lap. The girl was sound asleep, one hand holding the blanket under her chin and the other holding the front of Hunter's shirt.
Hunter looked up and saw Echo watching. "She's finally asleep," he whispered. "I'll put her to bed."
"You'll wake her up," Echo warned.
"She'll be fine," Hunter whispered back.
"Better not," Echo said casually. "Don't you know moving a sleeping child off your lap is a crime?"
Hunter actually paused for several seconds before he processed the absurd statement. He rolled his eyes, but settled back and tucked Omega more securely against his shoulder. He went back to scrolling through the data-pad, ignoring Echo's grin.
Echo watched the frankly adorable scene for a moment before turning back to space. He checked the scanners, finding the same nothing as all day. He ran a few long-range scans, detecting a cluster of freighters. He adjusted their course to avoid them, then sat back.
After a few minutes of silence, Echo asked, "So, know where we're headed yet?"
Hunter didn't respond. Echo could barely hear Wrecker and Tech talking in the hold. It sounded like Tech was nearly done working.
Echo turned, saying, "Hey, Hun-"
Echo broke off and lunged out of his seat, reacting just in time to catch Hunter's data-pad before it hit the floor. He quickly backed off, clenching his jaw against laughter threatening to escape.
Hunter's eyes were shut and his head lolled sideways to rest on Omega's, his breathing deep and even. He still had one arm around Omega, and the other was hanging over the edge of the chair. He was unresponsive to Echo grabbing the data-pad, though Echo knew he'd have woken up if it had hit the floor.
Echo wasn't sure how long he watched the peaceful pair before Wrecker's approaching footsteps snapped him back to the present. He frantically made a shushing gesture as Wrecker appeared, afraid Wrecker would say something and wake Hunter.
Wrecker took one look at Hunter, then ran out of the room. Echo could hear his barely stifled laughter. Tech entered the nav room, his confused expression clearing once he saw Hunter and Omega.
"Your plan worked a little too well," Echo snickered.
"No, it worked exactly as planned," Tech said, brushing quietly past Echo.
Echo blinked, then turned. "You knew Hunter would fall asleep?"
Tech raised an eyebrow over his data-pad. "Hunter has slept very little the last few nights, and has been struggling to stay awake just as much as Omega. It's about time the two of them got some rest."
Echo sat in the copilot's seat, still turned toward the nav room. Hunter had never come across as someone who liked to wolfpile in his sleep, but he seemed quite content to hold Omega even while asleep. And Omega had only shifted in sleep to cuddle closer to Hunter. It was the most relaxed Echo had seen either of them since fleeing Kamino.
"Maybe we should use your little trick to get Hunter to sleep more often," Echo said.
"Obviously," Tech said.
A/N: Surprise! This was all a ploy to get Hunter to sleep. :D I like to think that the squad uses Omega to get Hunter to sleep sometimes. If Omega's properly tired, Hunter's not going to protest her relaxing on his lap. And once she's out, he's out within ten minutes.
Btw, Echo mentions a wolfpile because of that one chapter of Plo Koon's Feral Boys. ;D