Ten

Rex awoke alone in the large bed.

He stretched out before looking around for his companion. He sat up and saw a pair of brown lightly woven pants and matching tunic lying at the foot of the bed and smiled. He had never felt anything so fine as he pulled them on, all the time thinking how strange it felt to be out of uniform.

'This is what normal people do,' he reminded himself.

She was standing at the window, again looking at the frenetic pace of life outside her apartment. He snuggled up behind and pulled her against him, nuzzling her neck softly.

"Hmmm, you OK?" he murmured lazily, "What time is it anyway?"

She folded her arms around his and rested back against him.

"Sixteen hundred. I have just ordered some food and -"

"Sixteen hundred!" Rex jumped back startled.

"What, you have somewhere else you need to be?" she turned and asked.

"It's just,well. I've, well-" he was all out of words.

"You're on furlough for another three days Captain. I'm sure the boys can do without their bedtime story for once!" Her words filled with laughter. "You look good," commenting on the relaxed clothing he wore.

"Your fathers?" Rex questioned and she nodded her response.

The apartment buzzer sounded. "You hungry?" she tilted her head.

He gave a broad smile and said. "You have no idea!"

###

A meal cart was wheeled in by a catering droid full of steaming, colourful food.

Rex's mouth watered as he looked at what was on offer.

Together they moved the dining table closer to the giant window and Gemma set out two plates and glasses for wine.

He ate feverishly. Gem realised that she required less food to feel full after her incarceration, but Rex left nothing behind as he cleared plate after plate. She laughed, watching him eat and he immediately felt self conscious.

"It's our metabolism Gem, we have to eat, lots," he responded apologetically.

After a while he began to slow and together they sat looking at the city skyline.

Rex decided it was time to talk.

But first, he needed to come clean about Reed.

"Gem," he motioned for her to come sit with him on the couch. She obliged, bringing the two glasses of wine with her.

He quietly took them from her and set them aside on the smaller table.

"Gemma, I need to tell you about Reed."

She immediately closed her eyes, the darkness returned but she didn't cry - there were simply no tears left to shed.

"He's doing well, the doctors think they'll soon get him walking. We had him moved to a private rehabilitation hospital on the other side of the city. He's with his girl, Cariss." He stopped talking, the silence between them palpable.

She just stared at him for a long time, saying nothing. Rex felt uncomfortable and broke her gaze by looking down at his hands. He waited for her to respond.

"And you didn't tell me this before because?" Her voice was disturbingly quiet.

"It was a favour from the General."

He didn't want to elaborate on the circumstances of his arrival back on the Resolute and the reception he received from Skywalker.

"It took some time, but we got him moved. It's a sensitive topic Gemma; I can't be seen to be playing favourites". He watched warily for her reply. She nodded and took a sip from her glass.

"What is reconditioning Rex?"

He shook his head. "I don't rightly know Gem. Soldiers are shipped back to Kamino and we never see or hear from them again. They say they are being reconditioned for other duties, but what, where?" He sounded frustrated, angry, she wasn't sure.

"Do the Jedi and the Senate know of this?"

"I can only assume they do."

"And they allow this to continue?"

"Allow what to continue exactly Gem. There is no evidence either way."

"But General Krell -"

"With all due respect, General Krell is a loud mouth Jedi who is known for his hatred of clones."

"I never want to hear you say that word again."

Confused, Rex had to ask, "what word?"

"Clones."

He noticed a single tear slowly begin to spill down her cheek. He sat, following its trajectory until it stopped at her chin, clinging for dear life until he leaned forward and wiped it away with his hand.

"How 'bout I take you to see Reed tomorrow, I know he's keen to - ," she lunged forward, encircling her arms around his neck.

"Ok, ok, I get the hint," laughing at her enthusiasm, as she kissed his face repeatedly saying 'thank you, thank you over and over again.

###

Fives had been sitting alone in the rec room. He could hear the mindless banter between brothers as they enjoyed their leave, laughing and talking bravado amongst themselves. Moreover, he missed Echo. His fellow ARC had been assigned to the outer rim planet Concord Dawn, working on decoding a captured Sep disc along with a civilian analyst.

He swilled down the remainder of his now cold caf, grabbed his bucket and headed down the familiar corridor.

"Anyone seen the Captain?" Fives asked as he sauntered into the barracks.

He had such a swagger and air about him. Many said it was due to the presence of the kama, but Rex never walked with such austerity.

No, it was unique to Fives, he knew it and he liked it that way.

Kix finally had the time to catch up on some reading and Jesse looked up from the holovid he was watching.

"Nup, not since we came back from the Bunker last night," he replied.

Fives just stood there, he missed the camaraderie of the barracks, being an ARC often meant tedious missions with small units or alone infiltrating some Separatists network.

"Either of you di'kuts heading to the Mess for dinner?"

He put it out there, feeling nervous.

"Well there's a first," laughed Kix, "an ARC asking us out on a date!"

"I'll just grab my purse and be right with you ner vod."

"Get your hand off it Jesse," was all Fives said with a smile on his face.

###

The promise of seeing Reed again had lead to a session of heavy petting on the couch. Rex had to pull Gem off for the fear of not getting to the bottom of the questions he wanted to ask for yet another evening. He moved away slightly, aware of the physical reaction she had initiated. A slight hint of colour flushed his cheeks as he cleared his throat and continued.

"OK, your turn. What's the deal with Kenobi?"

She smiled and settled herself back on the couch, satisfied with her effect on the Captain.

"Do you have all night?" she asked.

"Apparently, I have three days," he replied with a smirk.

"He is my mother's best friend's son. Simple."

"All that voosh voosh stuff with the pink candy cane? Uh uh, nope, you're not getting away with just that Gemma." He smiled at her.

Her heart skipped a beat. He looked relaxed, happy and well fed. The wine had achieved it's effect. They were both comfortable, sitting on the large couch together compared to where they both were one short week ago.

She would much rather continue the conversation in the bedroom, but she owed him an explanation at the very least.

"I don't know where to start Rex."

"I always find that the beginning is as good a place as any."

She wiggled back into a cushion, took a deep breath, and began.

"My mother was a Jedi."

She could see his head move back slightly in astonishment, but to his credit he didn't interrupt.

"Her name was Eremena Torr and she was a Padawan with Master Koon for a brief time under Master Tyvokka. She was beautiful, Rex, and quick," she smiled at the thought. "My father used to say that people would stop in the streets to look into her golden eyes."

"They met as students on Naboo. She was assigned to learn the affairs involving the Trade Federation, and he was studying physics at the University. The Chancellor was also studying there at the time and they soon became great friends. It became obvious that she was attracted to my father and they began an illicit affair. Unfortunately, in some peoples eyes, she became pregnant with me.

Gemma stopped and took another drink from her glass, emptying it. Rex leaned forward and refilled it for her, silently nodding for her to continue.

"She didn't tell anyone other than my father. I suspect Palpatine must have known. My father idolised her. She stayed on Naboo with him during the confinement and I was born there. But as we all know, things have a way of undoing. The Council found out, and my mother was brought forward by Tyvokka. He was furious of course. Plo Koon tried to make them understand and went into the proceedings as her champion, claiming that being a mother shouldn't impair her ability to perform as a Jedi. He said other Jedi Orders allowed marriage and children. He just wasted his time, they were inflexible and had already made their decision. She was expelled and we packed up and left for Stewjon to make a new life together as a family. Initially she was happy, throwing herself into contrived domestic bliss. But as time drew on she began to resent the little family that had cost her the destiny she thought so important. She increasingly spent less time with me, leaving my father to try and build his cybertech business and raise a small child. One day, she just left. No note, nothing. My father was devastated. Her light sabre gone, he knew she went back to the Council begging them to reconsider, to give her a second chance which they did, as long as she had no more to do with the family she left behind." Gemma sighed and looked up at him.

"So willing to be a part of the almighty Jedi Order she walked away from the two people that loved and needed her the most. Can you even fathom that?"

Rex let out a long breath. 'I understand more than you know' he thought to himself.

"My father spent more and more time in his laboratory, locked away from the real world of a single parent. My mother's childhood friend was Obi-Wan's mother and she helped my father raise me. Ben, sorry Obi-Wan and I were inseparable, like siblings really. We went everywhere and did everything together, until it became clear that he was as strong in the Force," she stopped and looking at Rex said slowly, "as I was."

'Fek,' Rex said to himself, trying hard not to show the reaction on his face. She briefly felt it, but continued anyway.

Qui-Gon came and took him from his parents, I was to go too, but my father refused. Ben's mother told me once that he faced off against Qui-Gon, being nearly as tall, threatening to kill anyone who took his daughter away from him. He did love me, even if he knew nothing on how to raise a child, and thankfully I stayed behind."

"I saw my mother only once after that. I remember softly spoken voices, hiding behind the kitchen door and seeing the intricate silver hilt of her light sabre. She didn't even ask to see me. My father soon left as well and opened up a larger facility back on his home planet of Oriis, and I stayed behind on Stewjon until Ben's mother passed away and I had no reason left to stay."

"I found out years later that she died, of her own volition, so conflicted with the teachings of the Order and her loss of being a mother."

"So you see Rex, The Jedi to me are not these God like beings wielding ancient swords and defending the defenseless The Order strips them of their ability to think rationally about the very essence of being a Jedi – peacekeepers yes, but at what cost? I think eventually, they will just die out like a flame, suffocating in their own self importance."

"Those are strong words Gem, especially around here," Rex looked at her warily.

She sat still, small and tired. The wine almost all gone, it was late and she was tired by another emotional day. He raised himself up from the couch and held out his hand to her.

"Come on, let's go to bed, I'm exhausted." He pulled her close to him as they headed back into the bedroom.

Silently they undressed and slipped between the bed linen naked.

It felt strange for Rex to just sleep with someone he was so attracted to. The time he spent with Ahsoka was brief but always physical. He had his brother's to sleep with platonically in the field.

He moved up behind her and was surprised at how perfectly they fit together. Listening to her breathing he knew she had fallen fast asleep. It felt right, her warmth, her smell. It also felt like the most nature thing in the world. He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep, the first real sleep he could remember in such a long time.

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