Nightmare

A.N: Timeline setting: Some time after 'To Take Down an Emperor
This one shot is a response to a prompt request I received over on Tumblr. The request was:

Anonymous said:

Since we know exactly what Ahsoka went through during Order 66, maybe you could do a prompt of her having a nightmare of it? I'm sure Dr. Larte knows how to deal with panic attacks!

AUTHOR'S WARNING: Minor spoilers for Clone Wars Season 7 Episode 12... but only minor ones.

An endless swarm of blaster fire erupted in her direction, each shot either missing her by inches, or being precisely deflected away by her sabers. Usually she would reflect them back at those that had dared to attack her, but this time…. This time was different.

She didn't want to hurt them…. Not if she couldn't help it.

Pivoting on her heel, she brought her shoto up again, defecting a trio of blue bolts away from her, before pooling what energy she had left in her to unleash the Force forward, knocking her would be assassins off their feet.

Pivoting again, she brought her blade up to reflect another series of bolts from a group that had flanked her, clearly trying to strike her back when it was turned.

Once again, she deflected the bolts, before trusting in the Force to push her foes away.

"Get me to the ship!" A cry from beside her caught her attention, stun blasts erupting from his own blasters as he too fought off those that would see them both dead.

Nodding her head once, she moved into position, continuing to deflect the bolts, protecting both herself and her companion.

Once ready, she nodded at her companion, who turned his attention away from the horde of their former friends that were surrounding them and made towards the Y-wing.

More bolts came their way, and more and more, and she began to tire. This was a do or die moment, and she had no intention of dying today…. Not like this…. Not to her own men!

Her companion reached the ledge, and she turned, pushing out with the Force to send her companion careening through the air, before landing on the front of the fighter that was their only salvation.

A small sigh of relief left her body before something hit her back, resulting in pain and agony flooding through her. It wasn't the first shot she had taken so far. Her arms were burnt from various shots that had glanced her skin thus far, and her hips were aching from a direct blast she had taken to it courtesy of someone she one trusted. For not the first time she thanked her Mandalorian friends for the outfit they had gifted her for the campaign. What areas it did protect of her body had likely saved her life.

Spinning around again, she unleashed the Force once more, knocking three more assailants off their feet.

Moving her arms, something that was becoming increasingly more difficult, she altered her blades to continue to deflect more incoming fire whilst her companion got to safety.

Blast after blast came her way, and she tried as she could to deflect as many as she could, ensuring that she didn't harm anyone else in the process.

The burn on her back pulsated in agony, but she couldn't pay it any mind, not right now.

Another shot grazed her arm, causing her to flinch in pain, but again, she could pay it no mind. She had to fight! She had to survive! She had to…

Another shot broke through her defenses, grazing her knee and forcing her to collapse briefly, narrowly avoiding a shot that was aimed for her head in the process.

Hissing through her teeth, she pushed herself up, ignoring the agonizing pain that echoed around her body as she continued her collapsing defense. She couldn't afford to take another hit. Any more and…

A loud explosion echoed throughout the hanger, her montrals ringing in response to the sudden sound before the entire ship began to list to one side, causing all of her former friends to lose their balance and…

"NO!"

The scream of terror, followed by the way her companion shot up in bed was more than enough to instantly wake up Kaeden Larte. Usually she was slow to wake up, preferring to let her body and mind prepare itself for the day ahead at it's own pace.

But this…this was something different, Kaeden could tell.

Pushing herself up, Kaeden instantly turned her attention to Ahsoka, who was now sat up in bed, eyes wide and haunted, entire frame shivering with terror.

"Ahsoka?" Kaeden asked quietly, reaching a hand over to place on her back, hoping to comfort her.

The Togruta flinched in response, her panicked eyes darting around the room, before her hands reached out and summoned something to her.

The next thing Kaeden knew Ahsoka was up out of their bed, her body dropping into a combat stance as her lightsabers flew into her waiting hands, white blades ignited and waiting for something. Kaeden watched as the Togruta pivoted her blades in various arcs, as if deflecting blaster fire away from her.

Except, there was no blaster fire… and there was no one trying to harm Ahsoka in the way she clearly thought there was. Whatever Ahsoka had been dreaming off was obviously bad if this was how she was reacting.

"Ahsoka? Ahsoka, it's me, Kaeden. Are you alright?" Kaeden spoke softly, trying to get through to her partner.

The Togruta's eyes continued to dart around, her blades moving around her in defensive arcs, still blocking the imaginary blaster fire away from her.

"Ahsoka?" Kaeden tried again, slowly reaching down to her side of the bed, picking up her dressing gown to drape over her own body in the process.

"Kae… Kaeden?" Ahsoka spoke this time, the alert in her eyes and body stance fading, her lightsabers extinguishing in an instant, dropping out of her hands and landing at her feet in the process as the Togruta began to shiver again.

"Hey, hey Ahsoka… it's alright. Come, sit down with me." Kaeden spoke, slowly reaching a hand forward to grasp Ahsoka's pulling her to a sitting position on the side of the bed before joining her, wrapping one arm around Ahsoka's body to comfort her.

Kaeden knew that Ahsoka had nightmares from time to time. Kriff, she had seen a few of them herself. Ahsoka would wake up in the middle of the night with a haunted look on her face, perhaps a few breathless gasps, before she would lay back down and cuddle into Kaeden's body, seeking comfort.

But never before had she shot up out of bed like that. Never before had she tried to defend herself from an imaginary threat!

Clearly, whatever the nightmare had been about was bad. Very very bad.

Ahsoka would not stop shivering, her body becoming slick with sweat, even as Kaeden tried to comfort her, whispering soothing words into her lekku.

"Talk to me Ahsoka. Tell me." Kaeden spoke, hoping that maybe if she talked about it, it would help. It usually did.

"I… I…"

"Yes?"

Ahsoka froze suddenly, gasping out in what appeared to be sudden pain from something, but what Kaeden did not know.

"Kaeden! Get me the bacta patches quick! I've been shot! I'm trying not to hurt them, but they shot me!"

Alarm flooded Kaeden once more. Ahsoka had been shot! How? When? By whom?

"Hurry Kaeden! It hurts!"

Kaeden vaulted to her feet, taking care not to hurt Ahsoka any more as she rushed over to the make-up table she had brought, opening a draw on it and removing a container of emergency bacta patches.

Spinning back around, she moved towards Ahsoka and spoke, her mind in 'Doctor Larte' mode.

"Where are you hit Ahsoka?" Kaeden asked, removing one of the bacta patches from the container, preparing to lay it across the wounds when Ahsoka revealed where it was. It would only be a temporary fix, but for now it would do.

"Everywhere! They got me on the knee, and the back. The waist too! And my arms! Look!"

The sheer panic in Ahsoka's voice was beginning to scare Kaeden. She was never ever like this, even when actually being shot at. Her dream must have been beyond bad!

"Show me Ahsoka." Kaeden spoke, controlling her worry the only way she knew how, by being a Doctor. She had treated blaster wounds before. She just had to get her patient to calm down.

"Here!" Ahsoka's cry in response as she removed one hand from where she had been covering part of her arm, likely the spot where she had been shot.

However, when Kaeden glanced at the wound, Kaeden saw nothing. There was no damage to the skin, not that Kaeden could see. There was a small mark however, one that looked like a faded scar from a time when she had been shot. The wound had clearly healed over time, so why was Ahsoka….

"And here too!" Ahsoka cried out again, gesturing to another part on the other arm, where again, there was no blaster mark except for a faded scar of the past.

"Ahsoka…. There's nothing there, love." Kaeden spoke softly, confusion flooding her mind. Ahsoka seemed so sure that she had been shot, but there was nothing she could see on her body to say so, nor was there the stench of burnt flesh that Kaeden associated with a blaster wound.

"There is Kaeden! There is! They got me on my back too! And my waist! Look!"

Despite knowing she wouldn't find anything, Kaeden did look. Ahsoka's back was already a mess of scars thanks to Palpatine's Force lightning assault, but still, Kaeden could find no fresh blaster wound to treat, nor could she find any on the Togruta's waist.

"THEY ARE THERE KAEDEN! I SWEAR TO YOU! THEY ARE!"

Ahsoka's screams of self belief were accompanied by tears pouring from her eyes, sobs wracking her body in the process as the Togruta began to curl up in herself, shivering at a much more violent rate.

Kaeden honestly didn't know what to do. She'd never dealt with something in this condition before. She was a physical healer, not a mental one, and without the proper context as to what her dream had been about, Kaeden was utterly lost of what to do next.

Luckily for her, help came right away.

The bedroom door burst open, and the figure of Ahsoka's closest and oldest friend came darting into the room, a look of deep panic on his face.

"What's wrong!? I heard shouting!" Captain Rex asked, his own hazel eyes widening at the state of Ahsoka shivering on the bed. The old Clone had come round for a barbecue, and had chosen to sleep the night in the spare room. Clearly he had been awoken by the noise in the adjacent room, despite the soundproofing. How, Kaeden didn't know, and right now she wasn't even thinking about it. She had more pressing concerns.

"I don't know! She had a nightmare I think. She woke up, and grabbed her sabers, like she was deflecting blaster fire. She said she'd been shot and she tried to show me wounds on her arms and back, and her waist, but I can't find anything Rex!" Kaeden explained, trying in vain to keep the panic out of her voice. Ahsoka was hurting, and there seemed to be nothing Kaeden could do.

"Do you know what she was dreaming about Kaeden?" Rex asked, panic in his own voice as he approached the curled up Togruta, hesitating to reach out and touch her, to try and bring her back to them.

"No I… she didn't say anything Rex. She just suddenly started shaking violently and said something about trying not to hurt the people who were shooting her! I don't know what to do Rex!"

"It's ok Kaeden, it's ok. We'll figure it out. Where on the arm did she say she was shot?" Rex spoke, calming himself down despite the situation they were in. The constant sobs of the Togruta on the bed began to subside, however the shaking and what sounded like groans of pain did not.

"There." Kaeden replied, pointing towards where Ahsoka had gestured earlier, towards the small scar from the past. "But there is nothing there anymore. Any injury she did have has healed. I don't understand Rex!"

Rex didn't reply at first, not as he surveyed the small exposed mark on Ahsoka's arm. Something was going through the old Clone's mind, that much was clear, but whatever it was Kaeden did not know.

"I do. I understand perfectly." Rex finally replied, before gesturing to the container in Kaeden's hand, requesting a bacta patch.

Choosing to trust Ahsoka's oldest friend, Kaeden extracted the patch and gave it to Rex, who nodded in appreciation and moved towards Ahsoka.

"Ahsoka? Ahsoka can you hear me? It's Rex."

Ahsoka's shivering seemed to slow for a moment, as if she was recognizing the voice and it's owner.

"Re…. Rex?"

"Yeah, it's me Ahsoka. Are you ok?"

The Togruta moved in an instant, pushing her body up and throwing herself at the Clone, head buried in his neck like a lost child to a parent. From the way Rex reacted, he didn't mind. The Clone wrapped his arms around the Togruta, holding her tight as she began to sob again.

"Ssshh…, it's ok Ahsoka. You're safe. You're not hurt."

"I am Rex…. I am. They shot at me! My own men. Your brothers."

"Ahsoka, that was over twenty years ago. They can't hurt you anymore. You're safe, remember?"

"I… I'm safe?"

"Always Ahsoka. Always. Now, let me look at your wounds please"

"Ok."

The timid response from Ahsoka was surprising to Kaeden, but right now she was more glad that the Togruta had stopped shaking and sobbing and was holding a conversation with someone, no matter how small.

Kaeden watched as Ahsoka pulled back from Rex slightly, allowing the Clone to begin to inspect her arms for the wounds Ahsoka was convinced existed.

"Ahsoka, your wounds have healed nicely. They have left scars however. Is that ok?"

At Rex's words, the Togruta nodded, allowing Rex to continue.

"The wound on your back has also faded, though you have other scars there too. Again though, no major damage. Purely cosmetic."

"Ok."

"As for your waist, well the Beskar plating you were wearing took the brunt of the blaster impact. The only lasting damage was a bruise, which has faded."

"It has?"

"It has. You're going to be ok kid, you hear me?"

"Yeah… yeah I hear you. Thanks Captain. Sorry."

"Don't ever worry about it."

The Togruta's entire body language changed instantly, the terror that had been permeating from her fading away and instead being replaced with the calm serenity that Ahsoka was known for.

Kaeden watched as Rex stood from the bed, pulling back the covers enough for Ahsoka to climb back under, before tucking the Togruta into bed as she dozed off to sleep.

Content that his job was done, Rex passed the unused bacta patch back to Kaeden, before gesturing for her to follow him out the door.

Several minutes later, and with a cup of hot blue milk in each of their hands as they sat in the lounge, Rex began to explain.

"Ahsoka was dreaming about the day Order 66 was issued. The Clones, including me, turned on her and tried to kill her. She got my chip out of my head and we had to fight our way off the ship together. Ahsoka was adamant that we not harm anyone, but that didn't stop my brothers from using lethal Force."

Kaeden sat and listened, feeling sick to her stomach. She knew all about Rex's story involving Order 66. Part of her had been mad at him until Ahsoka had explained the chips and their function. Now, Kaeden felt nothing but pity for the Clones. They had been used as a weapon against those who trusted them most.

"We made it to the hanger, and whilst we were there Ahsoka got hit, a lot. She took several grazes to her arms, as well as one to her knee, but she also got him in the back and the waist. I think she was having a nightmare about that." Rex continued, a haunted look in his eyes as he recalled the events.

"What about you?" Kaeden asked, wondering just how well Rex had fared. It couldn't have been easy, going against his own brothers in a life or death situation.

"I took a shot to my shoulder, as well as a few close calls, but aside from that I was fine. Ahsoka was in a much worse state than me. I treated those wounds of hers years ago after it was all said and done, and she treated mine. It's not a day I'll ever forget, that's for sure."

"Do you think Ahsoka has PTSD over it?" Kaeden asked, already knowing the answer, but needing to hear it from Rex to confirm it.

"I know I do Kaeden. We both very nearly died that day. It was us against an entire ship of Clones, and Maul certainly didn't help matters when he left us behind to die!"

A rise of anger built up inside Kaeden at the mention of Maul leaving them to die. Clearly that had now changed, but even still, she'd make sure Maul suffered for that one, even if it did happen years ago.

"I think I understand. I guess she responded to you better than me because you were actually there with her Rex." Kaeden said, coming to the realization of why she couldn't reach the panicked Ahsoka. Rex was the only one who truly knew what Ahsoka had been through that day, and the two of them had an unbreakable bond thanks to it. Kaeden wasn't jealous, not by a long mile, but she did understand, and frankly she was glad that Ahsoka had someone like Rex around to help her in times like these.

Both Kaeden and Rex finished their drinks in silence, each contemplating the situation they had found themselves in, and each thanking the Force for the peaceful resolution.

Glancing over at the chronometer on the wall, Kaeden noted the time as shortly after midnight. Kaeden didn't know how long they had both been up, or when Ahsoka's nightmare had begun, but right now she knew she needed to get back to bed, a feeling that was shared by Rex.

Placing their mugs in the sink, they retired upstairs, with Rex returning to the spare room and Kaeden moving to join Ahsoka in their bed.

Opening the door to their bedroom, Kaeden slowly crept into the room, gently closing the door in the process and approaching her side of the bed.

Pulling back the covers enough to expose her side of the bed, Kaeden dropped her dressing gown on the floor before sliding under the covers next to Ahsoka.

As quiet as she tried to be however, Kaeden's movement was enough to disturb Ahsoka, whose eyes opened slightly, a sleepy smile coming to her face as she recognized Kaeden.

"Hey."

"Hey back." Kaeden replied, leaning forward to rest her forehead against Ahsoka's, pulling her into an embrace in the process.

The terror and fear that had been in Ahsoka's eyes earlier had faded, instead being replaced by the happiness that the Togruta always seemed to reveal when around Kaeden.

"Missed you." Ahsoka whispered, one of her hands coming up to Kaeden's cheek to gently caress it.

"I wasn't gone that long Ahsoka." Kaeden replied, leaning her face into Ahsoka's palm and pressing a gentle kiss to it, relishing the contact.

"I know. Still missed you. Love you." Ahsoka spoke, before she again closed her eyes, dozing off once more, content and peaceful in Kaeden's arms.

Smiling to herself, Kaeden too closed her eyes, allowing sleep to claim her alongside the woman she adored the most, and the one she would protect from anything, even nightmares.

"Love you too Ahsoka."

Author's thoughts

Well... that was rather dark and depressing to write, especially the nightmare flashback bit. Still, a good idea is a good idea, and from the sheer chaos that Ahsoka and Rex experienced that day, I'd be surprised if they didn't have PTSD from that day alone!

The original ask for this prompt also wanted Kaeden to be the one to resolve the issue, however I decided to change it to Rex as he was the only one there the day it happened, and thus knows personally what Ahsoka went through. That's not the undermine Kaeden's importance though. Rex is the one that resolves this problem, but Kaeden is the one that keeps the other nightmares away.

Anyways, not much else to say really. Prompt done, and one more one shot added to the series. I hope you all enjoyed it.

As usual, comment and speculate at will. Speaking of which:

Mysterious Guest One: Honestly, I don't deserve your forgiveness in my mind, but thank you anyways. I appreciate it, even if I don't believe I'm deserving of it.
And double thank you for considering my idea as a head canon. I enjoyed writing them parting ways, no matter how sad it was to do. :)

the Mandalorian terminator: Heartbreaking was the goal, but at least they see each other again.
I know Rex was doing all he could, and I'm happy he resisted, if only for a short while. My anger at him as wrong and it should be have been aimed at the writers really. It just rubbed me the wrong way. However, water over the bridge now. No point in being angry.
The finale was haunting indeed, but a good and fitting sendoff to one of my favorite shows of all time. I don't think we could have asked for anything better. :)