BraveSeeker3: Actually, now that I think about it... when do we see Echo actually 'echoing' other than when he is running around with Domino on Kamino. *scratches head* Now I just want to write out a bunch of situations with him repeating sentences, sometimes for a good reason and sometimes for no reason at all. (I did not need another fic idea in my head... oh well.)

White Ithiliel: Is that good... or bad?

AbuvTheClouds: Yay! Fluffy!

Sparks67: We're on it. (;

Lady-Stesonora: Cody likes being a pillow for his brothers and sisters. But yeah, he kinda roles with it sometimes because people have gotten so used to it, they forget to ask.

Guest: Actually, that isn't a story we thought of... it was just a random side comment. But glad you like it! Maybe you could write it. *checks clone armor* Yeah, how is that comfortable?

ATTENTION:

Okay so a few notes before this chapter. One: this chapter was inspired by a random headcannon that my Padawan came across. Obi-Wan Kenobi is touch starved. So we threw around a few ideas on what to do with it and... well, this happened. You're welcome!

Second: did you guys know there is no cannon medic of the 212th? Like, seriously, I can't find one. I looked everywhere on Wookiepedia and Google and found NOTHING. ZILCH. NADA. I mean, we had Kix. But Kix is 501st so we could really drag him into this. So my Padawan and I had to think about what kind of clone would be the Head Medic of the 212th- where General "I-hate-the-med-bay Kenobi" is stationed. This is what we came up with. Tell us what you think.

So without further ado, let's get reading!

It was a normal day on The Negotiator.

Meaning Waxer was up to something. Again.

For the entire morning, the clone had been cackling to himself and running around the ship finding every spare pillow he could get his hands on. When Wooley found out, he immediately informed Cody who proceeded to run to his quarters and stand guard for the next two hours.

'If Waxer tries to fill my room with pillows again, I swear…' So he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

The commander started getting even more worried when Waxer didn't show up at his quarters. Seriously, what was that man up to?

After another hour, Cody finally left an R2 unit to guard his room and began to search for Waxer. Or any clone for that matter. The commander couldn't remember the last brother he'd had seen. He literally could find no one… well almost no one.

Apparently Bacta was still working in the medical bay. And he was in one of his moods. "Cody! Get over here!"

The commander sighed under his breath. Any other clone who spoke to him like that would have been put on clean-up for a week. Cody had tried once, and found it made it worse for everyone, including the general. "What is it this time, Bacta?"

"Are you looking for Waxer? Because if you see him, let me know!" Bacta threw a blanket on one of his tables in frustration before picking up a sedative. "I swear, when I get my hands on him…"

Cody almost felt bad for Waxer. Almost. "What did he do this time?"

"He just ran in and grabbed all of my pillows and then ran out without a word!" The medic rung his hands together. "Is he going to prank you, again?"

"I already have a guard on my room."

"Good. Have you seen Obi-Wan? I need to see him."

Cody was a little surprised by the sudden subject change. "I think the general may be in the command center. Why do you ask?"

"Well…" he pulled out a few files, "I just finished my analysis on his psychology report-"

"Kriff. Are you doing those now?"

The medic grinned. "Yep! And that reminds me, yours is scheduled for next week."

Cody groaned and Bacta grinned. "It is 'protocol', brother dear."

"I personally think you use that excuse to drive us slowly insane," Cody sighed. "How in the galaxy did you do one on the general? Didn't he threaten to throw you out of an airlock if you tried to do one on him again?" Cody pinched the bridge of his nose, afraid to find out.

"It was actually quite easy. I just did it very slowly over the past three months."

"What?"

"One question here, another question there. Often it slipped into a casual conversation or one of the many times he has visited my bay after a battle." He glared pointedly at Cody who just mumbled something about stubborn Jedi under his breath. Bacta rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I want to try something and see if my suspicions are correct."

"What kind of suspicions?" Cody asked, again afraid to find out.

Bacta thought for a moment, before answering, "It's just a speculation, but I think Obi-Wan is touch-starved."

Cody blinked. "Touch-starved?"

The medic nodded again. "Yeah. It's a lack of positive and affectionate touch. It can lead to emotional and mental instability, as well as lower self-esteem, anxiety, stress, and depression. Those who are touch-starved often accidentally, or purposefully, neglect themselves, not eating or sleeping enough."

Cody took a breath. "You think he's...neglecting himself?"

Bacta shrugged. "It's just a speculation. From what I can remember, Jedi are taught to avoid physical touch as much as possible, but they still get enough to survive properly, I think. Obi-Wan is an extreme example. He might still be affected by the events on Kavado."

The commander winced slightly at the thought that of encounter, still not quite over how far down in the dumps his general had gotten.

Bata shrugged. "But I'm fairly sure this is something a little deeper. Have you ever seen the general initiate physical touch with anyone?"

Cody thought back to all the instances when a clone would pat the general on the back or touch his shoulder. Each and every time the Jedi looked startled, like he wasn't used to the touch and feel of a hand. But he never complained. In fact, the Jedi seemed to like these small fleeting touches. And around his former padawan and grand padawan, it was even more obvious.

The clone swallowed heavily. "No. He hasn't unless someone did so first."

Bacta nodded and shrugged slightly. "I could be wrong, but it sure looks like Obi-Wan is touch-starved. If my speculation is correct, this has been going on way before the war."

Cody shook head, still trying to wrap his mind around the idea. "What can we do to help this go...away?"

Bacta pursed his lips. "Offer as much physical touch whenever you can. Don't overwhelm him, just...be gentle. But once again, I need to test my theory."

"What are you going to do?"

"Hug him."

"Bacta!"

"What?"

"You just said be gentle!"

Cody's comm suddenly beeped and the clone glared at Bacta. "We'll talk about this later." He then answered his comm. "Commander Cody."

"...Wooley here...Uh...you better come see this, sir…"

The older clone frowned heavily, narrowing his eyes. He practically hissed, "What did he do?"

There was a pause of silence from the other clone. "Um...you should just...see this for yourself, Commander…"

Cody sighed slightly. "Ok. Where are you? And I swear, if Waxer put you up to this 'cause he's threatening you or giving you his sweets stash…" He didn't have to finish his sentence; his brother's imagination was good enough when it came to him.

"Training room #13, sir." Wooley obediently, if a bit hesitant, replied.

Cody shortly nodded. "Alright. I'm on my way." He clipped his comm back onto his belt and bolted for the training room hallway, without even a farewell to the annoyed medic, who called after him.

"Let me know what you find! I'll personally make his life miserable…"

Cody ignored Bacta. Hopefully whatever his mischievous brother was up to, it wouldn't land him in any trouble with the general.

Cody smiled slightly. Ha, that would be the day; who was he kidding? If anything, General Kenobi would probably be delighted if Waxer pulled off another prank. It was rumored that the Jedi liked to play tricks on his former apprentice, and seeing the two generals interact, Cody didn't doubt that. His general was known to have an...interesting sense of humor.

Cody ran into the training room, ready to yell at Waxer… which desire promptly turned into shock.

In the middle of the room, literally every pillow on the Negotiator was thrown onto the pile and in that pile was almost every available clone. Waxer was asleep on top of the pile, with Boil leaning against him, snoring.

Wooley stood at the door, hands on hips, staring at the pile. Cody joined him, and blinked several times, trying to see if he was dreaming. "Wooley… What happened?"

"Do you remember the times when we were cadets and everyone formed a giant pile of pillows and fell asleep together?"

"...Yes….?"

"Well, Waxer wanted to replicate it."

Cody stared at the pile of clones. "...By getting every brother and available pillow on The Negotiator?" Wooley nodded slowly, watching his commander warily for any sign of anger. Cody's face was strangely blank, until he turned towards the other clone with a frustrated frown.

"Why wasn't I invited?"

The younger clone made a strangled choking sound. "...Sir...we...we, um...were honestly expecting a different reaction…"

The commander's frown deepened. "Well, you expected wrong." Cody then turned back to the pile and proceeded to walk over to it, laying down next to a shiny.

Wooley stared for a moment before shrugging and following the commander. He sat down next to Cody before asking, "Mind if I use you as a pillow?"

"If you must. Just don't wake me. And call Bacta and tell him what's going on." Cody fell back and closed his eyes, almost immediately falling into a peaceful sleep.

General Obi-Wan Kenobi was wondering where his men had went. It wasn't like they could just leave the ship without opening the airlock or taking a shuttle away. Yet here he was, wandering the empty halls trying to find one clone, at least one clone.

Even Cody, the reliable and standard commander, seemed to have vanished. But the Jedi could still sense everyone on the ship, and none were alarmed. If anything, they seemed quite relaxed and peaceful.

No one was in the mess hall. No one was in the command center. No one was in the hanger. No one was in the barracks. If the 212th hadn't been in empty space, literally in the middle of nowhere, Obi-Wan would be a little annoyed that no stations were being attended. But the idea of all of the troops leaving their posts was boggling.

He wandered aimlessly about, just calling out, "Hello? Is anyone there?" feeling a bit foolish when no one answered.

After almost an hour, he finally found a clone. Unfortunately it wasn't the clone that he wanted to find.

"Kenobi! There you are! Get over here!" Bacta folded up a medical blanket and put it away with a dozen others exactly like it.

Obi-Wan mentally sighed. When he asked the men to call him by his name, this was not what he meant…. "What is it Bacta?"

"I want to test something. Sit down on that bed." Bacta motioned towards one of the many empty medical tables.

"Bacta, now is not the time. Have you seen my men?"

"Which one?" Bacta pulled out a file and began to flip through it.

"Any of them!" Obi-Wan replied, exasperated.

"They're in Training Room #13, Kenobi. You can check on them in a moment, now sit down!" Bacta had that dangerous glint in his eye again and the Jedi thought it would be good to humor the medic… for now.

"Why are they in there?"

Bacta shut the folder and put it away, "Waxer thought it would be a good idea to start up an old- no need to look so nervous, Obi-Wan. I'm not doing a check-up- clone tradition from all clone's cadet days."

Obi-Wan relaxed slightly at the words, 'not' and 'check-up'. But he still was a little confused at Bacta's reply. "What is it? And why was I not informed?"

"It's not really your style, Obi-Wan. Not breaking the rules or anything but-" Bacta suddenly stopped talking and paused with his fiddling around. He slowly turned towards the Jedi and tilted his head slightly. "Perhaps…" he paused, "No, that may not be a good- But then again… It would be a nice way to test it. Mmmm…." He tapped his chin thoughtfully.

Obi-Wan's nerves started up again. Every time his medic looked at him like that, it was never good- in his opinion. "Bacta?"

The medic seemed to come to a decision because he nodded slowly. "Yes, I think I will. Obi-Wan, head to Training Room #13. Doctor's orders."

"...Why?"

"Because I said so. Now get out, Kenobi!" Bacta grabbed the man by the arm and shoved him towards the door.

Obi-Wan was very confused. "But, aren't you coming?"

"No! I could never stand those things. Too many germs. Besides, someone has to hold the fort if someone calls us." He made a shooing gesture to Obi-Wan. "I'll be down there in 10 minutes. If you're not there…" Bacta left the threat hanging in the air before shutting the bay doors.

Very confused and a little miffed, Obi-Wan headed down the hall to Training Room #13.

To be completely honest, Obi-Wan had been expecting a complete and total free-for-all game of capture the flag or king-of-the-hill. Not a giant pile of sleeping clones.

So he just stood there for several minutes, trying to understand, and miserably failing. When Bacta showed up, he was still standing there, very confused.

Bacta rolled his eyes and explained. "Some nights, every clone grabbed a pillow and joined in a giant pillow pile with their fellow brothers in their barracks. It was...comforting to them to know their brothers were beside them. Though I've never understood it.." He muttered at the end.

Obi-Wan nodded slowly. "And you wanted me to see this because?..."

Bacta scowled and narrowed his eyes. "Because you, Kenobi, are going to join them."

The Jedi stiffened immediately, eyes growing slightly wide. "What?" He managed to ask, after several beats of silence.

The medic internally grinned. Outwardly he glared threateningly. "You. In pile. Now." And if the tone wasn't enough, the medic shoved the Jedi in the direction of the sleeping clones.

The Jedi seemed to turn three shades paler and immediately fought against Bacta. "No. Not happening. Not doing it."

Bacta grabbed his arm and physically dragged the man over to the pile. "Sit. Down."

"No."

"Obi-Wan."

"No."

"Kenobi."

"No."

"Sit."

"No."

"Down."

"No."

"Right."

"No."

"NOW!"

Bacta shoved the Jedi onto the pile, directly next to a sleeping Cody. Obi-Wan awkwardly sat and looked around a little freaked out by the situation that he'd been quite literally pushed into. Cody turned over and slowly opened his blurry eyes. First, he saw Bacta.

"Bacta… what are you doing here? You hate these."

"I brought Kenobi who is being a stubborn nerf-herder."

Cody almost fell off the pile at the comment and actually did fall off the pile when he saw a very uncomfortable Jedi sitting on a pillow. He sprung up and whirled around, giving Bacta his 'glare-of-doom'. The medic simply shrugged and left the room.

Cody pinched his nose again and turned to his general. "Sir, are you alright?"

Obi-Wan managed to nod, very stiff and a little embarrassed. "Yes, Cody. Bacta can be… an interesting fellow."

"You may call him interesting. I'll call him something much less polite." Cody sat down next to the Jedi, who stiffened up even more. The clone frowned. "Um… sir?" Very slowly, and very hesitantly, he reached out a hand and placed it on the man's shoulder.

The Jedi stiffened even more (if that was even possible) and looked very, very, uncomfortable.

"Are you alright, sir?"

Obi-Wan managed to nod and make a noise with his throat that sounded like a confirmation… at least that's what the clone hoped it was.

After a few seconds, the man relaxed slightly and he managed to speak again. "I'm fine, Cody. Just a little confused… and tired of Bacta's plots."

Cody chuckled softly. "I think everyone is tired of those. But I wouldn't trust your care with anyone else."

"And why is that, Commander?" Obi-Wan sounded much more comfortable and even smiled, his eyes twinkling slightly.

"Because you're too stubborn for any other clone to deal with."

The two laughed softly, careful not to wake any more of the men. After a moment, the Jedi motioned at the pile, saying, "Who thought of this?"

"I think it was 99, sir. He noticed that many of the younger cadets were really stressed out and suggested a large 'hug', as he called it, would help." Cody grinned. "I have some fond memories of these piles. We'd have one every time a really bad storm hit." His smile grew bigger. "Which was pretty much every week."

Obi-Wan was quiet for a moment before softly saying, "We used to do something similar as initiates."

"Really, sir?"

"Yes." Obi-Wan motioned with his hands, back to the pile. "But instead of a pile, we built a fort of pillows and blankets with the Force. The Creche Masters would see how much control we had over our abilities."

Cody nodded, before suddenly realizing something. Kriff. The general hasn't had an experience like this since...being an initiate. No wonder he was so…

The clone took a calming breath and softly asked, "Sir, will you be fine?"

"Yes. Thank you for your concern, Cody." Obi-Wan smiled at the commander.

Pause. "Well, sir. I'm going back to sleep. You're welcome to stay- and I would highly recommend it as I think Bacta may be outside with a sedative at the ready." Cody laid down on the pile and closed his eyes. Then he waited.

It probably took about five minutes for Obi-Wan to actually lay down, and the clone could tell he was a little uncomfortable. But after a few minutes, the Jedi fell into a rhythm of steady breathing.

Cody smiled and rolled on to his side and began to drift off- when he suddenly had an idea. Mentally, he scolded himself, 'I'm as bad as Bacta! No tricking the General!' But still…

'Ugh, I hate myself right now.' The commander popped up and looked around at his sleeping brothers. He selected five and quietly woke them. Wooley and Trapper looked a little confused. Waxer was annoyed, and Boil was too tired to care. Tile was just as chipper and excited as usual.

But when he started to explain his idea, softly, everyone perked up. Especially Waxer. Cody wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Ten minutes later, Bacta came in to 'check' on Obi-Wan. When he found him, he just stared for a second before leaving to find a holocamera. When he came back, no one had moved, and he very cheekily snapped a photo of the impromptu snuggle pile of six clones and in the very center, a smiling Jedi.

'Well, that confirmed my theory."

So when my Padawan and I started designing Bacta he started as a clone who was obsessed with carrying little packs of bacta around the battlefield. Then we decided to give him a little bit of a snarky attitude towards his patients. And then we took the whole 'respect authority' aspect that most clones have and threw it out the window. Bacta flat out refuses to call anyone by their title, using their names instead. At first Obi-Wan was delighted- until he figured out that when Bacta calls him 'Kenobi', he is in an okay mood, when he calls him 'Obi-Wan' he is in a bad mood, and when he calls him by his full name, he did something very, very, very bad. So basically, Bacta is the only clone in the world who would march straight up to a Jedi and call them by their name and get away with it. The 212th is terrified of their head medic.

We also mentioned another original clone, but more on him at a later date.

Tell us what you thought of Bacta (and if there is actually a cannon medic in the 212th- because I could NOT find one and am really curious if there is one.)