Star Wars does not belong to me. Just Skylar & Co.

So, I may have gotten a little carried away, this is definitely longer than most of my chapters.

Kot couldn't think.

The rest of his squad was looking at him with concern, sadness in their eyes.

"Kot?" Top was the first to speak after Hew broke the news.

Kot didn't answer, he couldn't answer. He stepped back until he felt his shoulders hit a wall. Then he slid down said wall until he sat, legs spread out in front of him. He sat there, wishing to haran that there was something he could throw, something he could punch. He wanted to ask if she was okay, but when he opened his mouth, no words came out. His mouth felt dry, his throat felt tight.

Doz sat down at his left side as Top settled on his right, their shoulders touching his. Kot was vaguely aware that he was grateful for the support as Hew slid down to sit cross-legged against the other wall of the second-floor hallway. Hew reached out a hand as if he were about to pat Kot's shin reassuringly, then seemed to think better of it and rested both hands on his own knees. He still clasped the commlink in his right hand.

"Udesii, ner vod'ika," Hew murmured as Kot took a shaky breath.

Kot met Hew's eyes and took another shaky breath, tears pricking at the back of his own eyes.

Top clasped his right forearm in a firm grip that was meant to be reassuring. It didn't work, but it gave Kot something to focus on as he tried to compose himself.

Doz nudged his left shoulder, making Kot look at him, "Udesii, Kot'ika." Doz turned to Hew, "You said Gabe told you and Top that she'll be okay, right?" Kot only remembered bits of what Hew had said, but then the sound of his own heart racing was still trying to drown out the words of his brothers. He turned his eyes back to Hew, trying again to take a steadying breath but only succeeding in taking yet another shaky one.

Hew nodded, "She'll have to stay at the medcenter so the medics can monitor her, but they seem to think she'll be okay to come home in a day or two." This time, Beta's sergeant did pat Kot's shin. "Everyone just had to leave quickly to get Zephyr to the medcenter, they're all okay."

Kot lowered his eyes and finally found his voice, "That's not true." Inwardly, he cringed. The words had come out as barely a whisper and he hated how weak he sounded. I'm stronger than this. I need to be stronger than this. I can't break down, she needs me. I can't regress back to being Thirteen. She needs me.

As the words she needs me played over and over in his head, Kot looked back into three pairs of identical eyes that mirrored his own sorrow. "The baby's not… Hew, are you sure they did everything they could for the baby?"

Hew looked down at the commlink in his hand, "From what Gabe said, there wasn't much that they could do." Hew sighed sadly, "But the medics seemed to think the miscarry was quick." He lifted his eyes back up to meet Kot's again, "They said that they don't think he suffered."

Kot's voice finally broke, "He?" Just when life finally seems to go right for once…

Hew nodded slowly, his eyes sympathetic and he answered softly, "It was a boy."

Doz cleared his throat to get Hew's attention, "What do the medics think caused it?"

"I did," Kot answered miserably. "I left her." In response, Doz wrapped his arm around Kot's shoulders and Top's grip tightened on his forearm.

Hew looked angry as he growled, "Don't ever say that again, Kot Cordav."

Kot jerked in surprise at the fierceness in his brother's expression and voice. Hew had leaned forward until he was almost in Kot's face.

"Not your fault, ner vod'ika," Hew stated roughly, before leaning back again.

Top took over, "The medics think Zephyr was under too much stress from the start. Also, the baby was a hybrid. Sometimes hybrids don't… From how Gabe was talking, it seemed like the little guy's heart just stopped."

"Briika's a hybrid," Kot protested weakly.

Doz answered, "She's only a quarter Firrerreo, Kot. Deena's the hybrid. Briika's chances were higher than…"

"Why is everything always chance? Why can't I do anything? Why can't I fix an osik'la thing!?" Kot was well aware he was shouting. He just didn't care.

No one said anything for several moments. As the minutes passed and the quiet persisted, Kot felt himself get angrier. This is right, this isn't fair!

It was Hew who broke the silence, "Life… Life is not something anyone can control, Kot. If it was, our Buir and the vode we lost would still be here."

Kot laughed humorlessly, "So, the only di'kutla thing you can tell me is that 'Life's not fair', huh?"

Hew ran a hand through his hair, something he did when he started to stress, "Kot, the only thing I'll ever tell you is the truth. It might not comfort you, but I'd rather you know that you can trust me to be there for you. That you can trust us to be there for you."

Doz nodded, "And please try to remember that this didn't happen to just you and Zephyr. We may have teased you about your feelings for her, but we did think of her as one of our vod'ika. We care about her, just like we care about you."

Top pulled himself up and offered Kot a hand.

Kot just stared at his bald brother.

Top rolled his eyes, putting his hands on his hips in a posture that mimicked Skylar perfectly, "Look, sitting here wallowing isn't going to help. There may be nothing we can do for Zephyr's ad'ika, however we can go see her. Gabe didn't say this, but, given how close you and Zeph are, I know she's been asking for you."

Doz nodded in agreement, "And I believe we still have a few more visitor hours left at the medcenter, if I'm not mistaken. Maybe we can have Deena speak with her supervisor and get it to where you can stay with Zeph, like Fives was able to do for Sky." Doz extended his hand down to Kot.

They're right. I can't fix this. Wallowing can't fix this. The only way is through it. Tome. Together. Together we'll get through this. He grabbed Doz's hand, then Top's as his brother reached back down to him. He allowed his brothers to pull him up.

"Wait a minute, Gabe didn't say anything about Sky. Our ori'vod usually takes charge in these things. Where is she?"

Rex was very grateful that he'd been allowed to keep his helmet on during this latest battle debrief. Every single time General Skywalker's head was turned away from Ahsoka, she would look directly at Rex with some version of a playful smirk. Ever since they'd admitted how they felt about each other, she'd started doing little things like this that drove him crazy. He was extremely grateful that Ahsoka and General Skywalker were the only ones in the strategy room of the Resolute. If any of his vode saw this, he'd never hear the end of it.

If General Skywalker caught on… Well, Rex knew that the Jedi still harbored a lot of very bad feelings toward Senator Bonteri. Those particular feelings were why that, as soon as he was able, he would speak to Ahsoka about why she couldn't look at him like that around her Master. That's going to be a fun talk, she's not going to back down easy. Too stubborn. I do love that about her, but… I've got to stop this line of thought before the General picks up on it.

"Rex, are you sure that you're okay?" Skywalker asked, concern on his face. "You did get pretty banged up. If I remember correctly Kix had wanted you to go to the medbay before this debrief."

Rex shook himself and sent a glare in Ahsoka's direction even though he knew she couldn't see it, but he knew she could sense the emotion behind it as she was much more attuned to him than the General was. The Togruta Padawan hid a chuckle behind her hand. I'm really going to need to have that talk with her. And soon.

He sighed, "Yes sir, I'm fine." He winced when he heard the exhaustion in his voice.

Anakin sighed too, shaking his head. "This debrief is over Rex. You may think that you're okay, but I still think you should go see Kix. At least for his peace of mind." The General put a hand on Rex's shoulder pauldron in a brotherly gesture, "And for mine as well. Please?"

Rex nodded, "Yes sir."

Skywalker turned toward his Padawan, "Snips, go with Rex." The Jedi turned back to the captain just quick enough to fix the captain with a stern look before turning back to his Padawan, "Keep an eye on him and make sure he goes directly to the medbay. Make sure too that he doesn't give Kix or the rest of the medics any trouble."

"Absolutely Master," Ahsoka answered with a conspiratorial smirk and wink directed towards Skywalker. Her Master smirked back at her.

Rex shook his head, "Since when am I the troublemaker, sir?"

Skywalker turned back to him and rolled his eyes, "You always try to avoid the medbay after a battle, Rex. I know you want your brothers to be taken care of first, but I don't like how you somehow always manage to forget to take care of yourself."

"I agree with my Master," Ahsoka piped up as she moved to stand in front of Rex, her back to said Master. "You've made it into quite the bad habit, Rexter. We do prefer to keep our Captain alive," Ahsoka finished with a worried look so full of adoration for him that Rex felt himself go weak at the knees.

He stumbled slightly, out of exhaustion he told himself, which was at least mostly true, and Ahsoka moved quickly to support him on his left side. Her right arm snaked around his waist, and he was forced to wrap his left arm around her shoulders to steady himself. He felt her mind touch his, checking to make sure that he was okay, that nothing was wrong.

The General's hand on his pauldron moved to grasp Rex's elbow to steady him, the man's face flooding with concern again as his mind also reached out to captain's. His touch was briefer, but still just as worried. "On second thought, maybe I should go with you two."

Ahsoka shook her head, "I've got him, Master. Besides, you still have to address the men and give out the Valor Awards and such. Not good for morale to miss that. Plus, if we both go with Rex to the medbay, the men might think their captain is worse off than he actually is and they'll start to worry. Seeing that their General's sure that their captain will recover will definitely calm their nerves. Don't you think?"

Rex mentally called bantha poodoo on that one. He knew she was trying to get rid of her Master, he was just too tired to care at this point. The adrenaline from the battle and the multiple stims he'd taken to keep going must have finally worn off at that exact moment as he was now feeling every bit of the several nights of sleep he'd missed and all the bumps and scrapes he'd acquired during the battle. He hadn't felt this bad, this exhausted, when the debrief had started. He leaned more into Ahsoka's hold, his thoughts now on getting sleep and not about the talk he still needed to have with her.

At least his voice, though filled with exhaustion, still sounded somewhat strong, "I'm fine, General. Nothing a few solid hours of sleep won't fix."

Skywalker nodded, somewhat appeased, "I suppose you're both right. Rex, so long as another mission doesn't come up, the 501st is considered on break until we reach Coruscant. I'll finish up your battle reports and the duty schedules for the Resolute's bridge and ship maintenance crews."

Rex was astounded, "Sir, you shouldn't have to-"

Skywalker held up his other hand to silence him, "No, but I want to, Rex. The men deserve a break. I'll let them know that the only duty they have after they clean their kit is to rest." The General fixed him with another stern look, "That means you too, Rex."

"Yes sir."

"And Ahsoka will make sure of it. You're both dismissed. Go see Kix before you do anything else. That's an order."

"Sir, yes sir."

As soon as they were out of the hallway and the door closed behind them, Ahsoka chuckled.

"What?" he asked, too tired to try to figure out what had amused her. He forced himself to put one foot in front of another as he continued to allow her to support him. She turned them toward a maintenance hallway, one rarely used by clones, but one he knew to be a straight shot to the medbay.

She chuckled again, and he thought about how much he loved that sound when she answered, "He still has no clue about you and me."

He pulled his helmet off with his right hand and hooked it to his belt. You and me. He felt his face flush as he looked at her, his brown eyes meeting her bright blue ones. He felt like he could melt in those eyes. Definitely tired. Side effect from too many stims too. In his heart, he knew that wasn't why he was thinking like this. His exhaustion was just making it harder for him to hold back what he really felt, for him to keep a damper on his emotions. Their relationship was still so new, he hadn't wanted to overwhelm her.

She must have felt his feelings then, as the stripes of her montrals darkened to near black. That's new… I kinda like it. He had to plant his feet, forcing them to stop when he felt her reach out to him with emotions that were just as strong as his. The force, no pun intended, of her feelings astounded him.

She seemed a little unsteady herself now, and somewhat uncertain, but she still held his gaze as she answered his unspoken question, "It's funny because Anakin just gave us permission to be alone together. For several days. If he knew what was going on between us, he never would have done that." She looked away, that flash of uncertainty showing again briefly on her face. "He'd be having a fit right now," she finished quietly.

Rex, even though he'd registered what she'd said and had understood it, barely gave her words much thought. Something else was bothering her. "Ahsoka," he said roughly, his voice catching. I hadn't realized she feels this strongly about me. She senses how strongly I feel about her, so why is she going shy all of a sudden?

She looked up at him from under her lashes, biting her lip. He steadied himself as best he could and pulled her from his side to hold her against his armored chest.

He'd meant to tell her that she needn't feel ashamed of how she felt. He'd meant to tell her that what she sensed from him was correct, that he did feel the same about her.

Once again, his mouth didn't do what his brain told it to.

Ahsoka looped her arms around his neck, pulling his head down a little more so that she could deepen the kiss he'd started.

So this is what kissing her feels like. Why the kriff did I wait so long to do this?

Ahsoka pressed herself against him further but overdid it and knocked him off balance. Rex broke the kiss as he felt his legs go out from under him. He tucked her against his chest, his chin between her montrals as he tried to turn so that he would fall in way that wouldn't hurt her and wouldn't smack his head on the floor.

He managed to land on the side of his left arm, the impact jarring his shoulder but thankfully his armor took the brunt of the fall. He rolled to his back, Ahsoka still tucked to his chest.

For a moment, they both stared at each other with wide eyes.

"I am so sorry, Rexter!" Ahsoka exclaimed, fear for him in her wide eyes as she propped herself up on his chest. "Are you okay, are you hurt?"

He breathed a sigh of relief that she seemed to be alright, "I'm fine ki-" he cleared his throat. Calling her 'kid' didn't feel right anymore. "I'm fine sweetheart. You?"

Her montral stripes did turn completely black then and she buried her face against his armored chest. He rubbed his hands comfortingly up and down her back.

He didn't know why, but the embarrassed tone of her muffled voice when she said, "Fine, I'm fine," against his chest plate sent him into a fit of laughter.

She pulled her head up to mock glare at him, "You are so lucky that I love you."

That shut him up. They both stared at each other as Ahsoka seemed to realize exactly what she had just said.

She loves me?

Ahsoka's expression turned thoughtful, and Rex knew she was sensing his… confusion, for lack of a better word. She pulled herself up, then helped him to stand. It was quiet, awkward even, as she started helping him towards the medbay again.

Just as Rex was beginning to feel a little dejected and was beginning to think that she hadn't fully understood what she'd said, Ahsoka stopped them and turned her head to meet his eyes, her gaze stubborn, "I do know what I said, Rexter. And I meant it."

He nodded, relief flooding him. Then he smiled softly, a cocky half smile that always seemed to make her grin back at him. "Good. I'm pretty sure I love you too."

"What do you mean, pretty sure?"

He chuckled softly and she huffed, "If that's how you're gonna act, Rexter, maybe I should have left you on the floor."

That did it. Rex found he almost couldn't breathe; he was laughing too hard.

"And that's the last time I let you take that many stims," Ahsoka grumbled as she started them forward again. But she was smiling too.

And I'll do anything to keep her smiling, Rex thought as they finally reached the medbay doors and he made himself calm down.

No matter how happy she makes me, it won't do for my brothers to see me laughing like this. They'll think I've gone crazy.

Maybe you've already gone crazy, came a thought that definitely wasn't his. He looked at Ahsoka questioningly. She had a devious little smirk on her beautiful face.

Haran = hell

Udesii = calm, be calm

Ner = my

Vod'ika = younger sibling (in this case, little brother)

Kot'ika = nickname, little Kot

Osik'la = crappy

Buir = parent (in this case, Father)

Vode = siblings (in this case, brothers)

Di'kutla = idiotic, stupid

Ad'ika = child, little one

Tome = together

Ori'vod = older sibling (in this case, big sister)