Kix yawned hugely, his eyes blurring as he tried to focus on his datapad. He re-read the sentence he'd rewritten a third time, trying to ensure his notes made sense. If he wasn't clear in his notations, the day shift could misread something and such mistakes could cost a critically ill clone his life.

A soft beeping immediately caught his attention. In seconds, he was up out of his chair, across the room, and standing in front of Echo's bacta tank.

"Echo, why is your temperature rising?" Kix muttered to himself, staring at the readout on the display screen. The tank was supposed to auto-compensate for any anomalies.

Maybe it's a difference in the design between Kaz'harian tanks and our own.

Kix double-checked the translations of everything he did, ensuring he was correctly operating the Kaz'harian-made equipment, before he made a manual adjustment. He tried to appear patient, calm and relaxed while the tank adjusted. Even if Echo was unconscious and the medbay half-empty, the patients were always aware of the energy coming from the medic. If he was stressed, his patients were stressed.

He yawned again, his foot tapping.

At this rate, all of my patients should be sound asleep for the next week.

He fidgeted and tapped his fingers restlessly against his thigh plate as he studied the controls, wishing he was back in his own medbay.

What if I make a mistake because I'm not trained properly on this equipment? I'm just guessing half the time. What if I guess wrong? I don't get a do-over with brothers who are critically ill.

Like Echo.

He waited for a sign Echo's body temperature was coming down.

Come on, Echo.

We can't lose you. Not you.

He stared at the controls, as if by force of will, he could make the fekkin' thing do what he wanted. Slowly, much too slowly, Echo's body temperature started to creep down.

Kix's relief was so complete he wanted to sag down and fall asleep at the base of the tank, (like he'd lectured Fives for doing a few hours earlier.) He shook off the weariness and headed back to his desk to finish his reports.

# # #

Cody and Rex worked non-stop through the day in the briefing room and then retreated to a table in the mess. They continued their discussions over cups of caf, and plates of fruit, with the comforting hum of conversation in the background.

They worked several more hours until the mess hall cleared out around them. It was well past midnight and the only clones stopping in and out were troopers on the night shift grabbing a caf.

There was still so much to do before Coruscant and they could both feel the minutes ticking down before they dropped out of hyperspace. They had to have their cover stories perfect and plan for every contingency.

Tired of sitting in both the conference room and the mess hall, Rex offered up the use of his quarters. There was no place to sit in the oversized Kazzie room, other than the bed, so Rex and Cody sat side-by-side with their backs up against the wall. A plate of fruit sat between them, with flimsis and datapads stacked up neatly in front of them.

Cody looked up from the document he was working on and grabbed another piece of Kazzie fruit. He took a large bite, needing the rush of glucose to keep his brain fueled. He couldn't take any more Kazzie caf at the moment, but the fruit seemed to be a sustainable source of energy.

Cody polished off the fruit and then gestured around Rex's quarters. "Heard you're not sleeping here."

Rex looked up from where he was studying a datapad, his face lit up by the blue screen. "You heard right." Nothing traveled faster than clone gossip.

Cody went back to chewing thoughtfully. "Couldn't sleep?"

Rex snorted. "Haven't slept since I was made Captain."

Cody 'hhmmped' sympathetically. Although, as Marshall Commander, Rex knew his brother got less sleep than he did. A lot less. All the marshall commanders were horribly overworked. Bacara. Bly. Cody. Neyo. Fox. The whole lot of them seemed to survive on caf and adrenaline. (Bacara was more adrenaline and Fox was more caf.) But, this was something different. He studied his brother critically. Cody looked more exhausted than usual. "You slept at all?"

"Not really. No."

Rex frowned and set his datapad down. "Yeah, you look like something the tooka dragged in. You want to talk-"

"No."

"Cody-"

"Rex."

His brother's tone made it clear the matter was not up for debate. (Rex made a mental note to bring it up later again anyway.)

He and Cody regarded each other steadily before they picked up their datapads again.

"We're going to need someone to contact Coruscant the moment when we drop out of hyperspace." Rex thumbed at a smudge on his datapad. He frowned, fished a cleaning wipe out of his pocket and scrubbed the screen clean before absent-mindedly handing the wipe over to Cody.

His brother accepted the wipe and cleaned his own screen- the two so used to sharing every resource it was done almost without thinking. "Agreed. This ship will scare the shab out of them. Probably shouldn't be one of us. I'm AWOL and you're dead."

"Technically dead." Rex pretended to take mock-offense

Cody shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Not sure shoving you on screen will go over well. We need someone the GAR and Council will immediately recognize. General Kenobi would have been perfect."

"If he wasn't unconscious, like the rest of the Jedi," Rex looked thoughtful, "except... for the padawans."

"Barriss isn't a-"

"She wasn't my first my choice." Rex drew no attention to the fact Cody had referred to Commander Offee by her first name. It was obvious Cody's relationship with the Jedi healer was complex. But, unless Cody wanted to talk about it, which he obviously didn't, it was his own business. "Commander Tano is a known favorite of the Council, and she's widely known within the GAR as the chosen one's padawan. She'd get everyone's attention- at least long enough they'd hold their fire and let us speak our piece."

"Alright. Agreed. Can you talk to her about it?"

Now that he suggested the idea, Rex wished he hadn't. "I... eh... maybe you-"

Cody scowled. "You suggested it and now you don't want to talk to her? What happened?"

Rex blew out a long breath. "It's... complicated."

"So you said before and didn't actually explain anything."

Rex shook his head. "Codes, you know I'll tell you anything, but this-"

Cody leaned all of his weight on Rex's shoulder in a comforting show of support. "This is something we'll figure out together. If you're troubled, let me help."

Rex snorted. "If I start talking 'bout this, we'll be up all night."

Cody set his datapad down, and settled in comfortably, leaning his head up against Rex's pauldron. "I can't sleep anyway. You might as well entertain me. Now talk."

Rex sighed deeply, leaning his head in on top of Cody's. "I'm not sure where to begin," he muttered softly.

"Doesn't matter. As Alpha would say, just rip out the shrapnel and be done with it."

Rex snorted. "You know from a medical point-of-view that's a terrible idea."

"It's just a metaphor. Now, go on. I'm not getting any younger. This accelerated aging thing and all..."

Rex huffed lightly and nuzzled his face against Cody's thick black hair, taking comfort in the closeness of his brother.

"Ever since I was injured, maybe it was before then, things have been different between Ahsoka and I."

"Different, how?" There was no censure in Cody's voice, only curiosity.

"After I was injured, we were alone for several days," Rex stopped, unsure how to put into words everything that had occurred during that time.

"I'm aware," Cody grumbled, "I was worried as fek about you. We couldn't get an evac in."

Rex nodded. The memories were painful to relive and jumbled. "I was in a bad way- out of it, most of the time. I wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for Ahsoka. She wouldn't give up on me."

"You feel you owe her a debt."

Rex stared at the ceiling, still trying to sort through the emotions. "Yes... but... it's..." he sighed, "it's more than that, though. It feels like something changed between us during that time." He met Cody's eyes and found no censure, only understanding. He continued on. "Maybe something was already changing before that mission. I don't know. But, the dynamic between us is different now and I'm finding it difficult to make sense of it all. It's... confusing. It's like..." his voice dropped and he stared at his hands before he whispered, "sometimes I want things I know we can't have as clones."

Cody pushed out a long sigh. He was silent for so long Rex was worried he'd said something very wrong. "I... understand. We have our duty as clones." The way he said it sounded more like a question than an a positive belief.

"Right," Rex sounded less than convincing himself, "our duty to the Republic."

Cody snorted lightly. "The same Republic that didn't rescue our vode."

"Cody," Rex warned, knowing this conversation was treading on dangerous territory, "the Republic is flawed in many ways, but what is the alternative?"

Cody tilted his head to the side, seriously considering the question. "The alternative to a flawed Republic? That I don't know." He scowled fiercely. "Does that mean all of us are doomed to keep fighting for something that is flawed? We fight and die for something that doesn't necessarily make sense? That we don't actually believe in?"

"Cody," Rex warned again, wondering when his brother had changed from a strict rule follower to someone who questioned the shab... er... beliefs that had been instilled in them at Kamino. He needed to get this conversation back on track. "We're clones." He stated this with finality, hoping it settled the matter.

"Clones. But, is that all we are?" Cody murmured softly, he stared toward the viewport as if the stars somehow held the answers. He returned his gaze to Rex. "You ever wonder if that's all there is? If we couldn't have... more?" His voice was very soft in the stillness of the room.

Images of the Andoan swam in front of his vision. Vode laughing as they walked down the street toward their jobs. Heading out on the fishing boats. Travis gazing at Karyn as if she were the only woman in the universe. Hok shyly presenting Xyra with a spindly bouquet of wildflowers he'd scrounged up on a scouting mission. Catcher leading the men in morning drills- making inspirational speeches to a free Legion of clones. He forced the images to the back of his mind. That life was not for him. "What do you mean?" Rex asked, his voice not sounding entirely convincing, even to his own ears.

Cody shook his head, as if coming out of a trance. "Nothing. Forget I said anything. I'm sleep-deprived and babbling." His tone changed back to the more impersonal voice he used as a commander signaling the previous conversation was over. "It's late. We will reconvene here at 0900. Join me for caf at 0600?"

Rex nodded. "We can do some of our morning rounds together, as well." He grinned. "Between you and me, maybe we won't get lost trying to find our way around the ship. It's a bit unseemly to have to keep asking for directions."

"Your ARC's drawings aren't helping much," Cody quirked with a twist of his lips. With a dip of his chin, and unsuccessfully attempting to stifle a yawn, he departed the room with Rex.

# # #

After Cody returned to his quarters, he took a long shower, scrubbing himself more vigorously than necessary. He couldn't get the conversation with Rex out of his head. He idly noted the Kazzie soap had a pungent earthy smell. It wasn't entirely unpleasant and the muted green lights of the refresher were almost enough to put him asleep. Almost.

He stumbled to his bunk and collapsed into it without bothering to dry off. He buried his face in the too large pillow and willed sleep to come, ignoring the faint lingering smell of Barriss. He'd already tossed the bedding into the wash recycler, but her scent still seemed... everywhere. There was some comfort in knowing he wasn't the only clone struggling with... Jedi problems. His mind drifted back to the conversation with Rex. His brother had all but outright revealed he was struggling with the same issues as Cody. He didn't know if that thought was comforting or terrifying. Rex was right, of course. They were clones. Only clones. They didn't have the rights of other sentients. So, the simple things other sentients of the galaxy took for granted would never be in reach of the vode.

It didn't matter, right?

He was a clone. He had his brothers, his orders and his duty to the Republic.

He'd been raised to believe that was all he needed.

It was more than enough.

But, as he fidgeted and shifted trying to capture sleep which would not come, his traitorous mind kept asking him... Is there something more?

As much as he tried to push these thoughts away, the tantalizing thoughts of a better future for him and his brothers would not leave him alone.

# # #

Ahsoka missed her Master's steady presence. When he was around, there was always something to do. Too much to do. But, without him now, she was lost.

Could she have gone to him now to speak to him about what was most on her mind? Would he understand?

Master, I have feelings for someone. What should I do? When is attachment wrong? Are my feelings wrong?

Ahsoka sighed deeply. Anakin was probably the wrong person to ask.

Anakin's Force presence changed the moment Padme was around. Or, even when she came up in conversation. Or a holo call. It was obvious her Master's "friendship" with the Senator was very complicated.

And, Anakin had never spoken to her about it, or used it as an opportunity to talk about attachment.

Complicated. That exactly described her feelings for Rex. She had no one she could talk to about this and sort through it all. Everyone she knew was either a Jedi, a clone, or, well, Senator Amidala.

Her Jedi teachings (or what she could remember of them) implied Jedi could form attachments but not let them get in the way. She didn't understand that part of it. Get in the way of what? Being a Jedi? It didn't make sense. Maybe it was because she hadn't finished her studies before she'd gone off to become a commander and hadn't been very consistent in keeping up with her lessons since the war started. The Temple occassionally sent her readings and such, but no one seemed to reinforce if she actually did them. Or, understood them. Or, had questions about them.

And, she did have questions. But, mainly about this attachment stuff.

Maybe she could ask Master Kenobi. Except... he was unconscious, too. She made a mental note to ask him to explain attachment to her when he was conscious and they weren't in the middle of a campaign.

That made be a while.

For now, she had downtime- too much of it- and no one to ask her questions. The only other conscious Jedi around was Barriss, but she turned down Ahsoka's offer to have tea together. She hung up very quickly on a brief holocall saying she "had to stay with her Master." Based on her hurried response and the way her eyes did not meet Ahsoka's, there was probably more going on. But, Ahsoka let it go. If Barriss wanted to hide in her quarters until they returned to Coruscant, (and she could hide away at the Temple, as she preferred to do), so be it. Ahsoka didn't get it. Barriss was a talented healer. Why wouldn't she want to be out in the field with the clones all the time?

Ahsoka was not used to having free time.

She'd already meditated today, although she'd done a poor job of it. Her mind was not settled. She'd been to the gym, although she couldn't begin to reach any of the equipment. A number of clones had offered to help her up onto the oversized equipment, but the last thing she needed was clone hands touching her when she was so unsettled. She politely turned down all of the offers for help and found a quiet corner where she could do katas. She had no idea what the space had originally been intended for as it was filled with thick mats and some sort of odd climbing equipment built into the wall. But, it was a good space for her to be alone and run through her forms. Repeatedly.

Now, with still way too many hours left in the day, and nothing else to do, she headed down to medbay to check on her Master.

She was relieved to see both Kix and Coric were listed as being off-duty. She was immediately greeted by Digger and Glitch, the cheerful junior medics from the 212th. After a bit of small talk with the medics, she worked her way around the medbay, visiting with all of the clones injured during the battle.

She was surprised to see one of the more severely injured clones sitting awake and propped up on pillows. He smiled as she approached, although his face was still mottled with yellowish bruises in various stages of healing.

"Appo! You're out of bacta!"

"Yes, commander. The medics pulled me out at 0700 this morning." He studied her for a moment. "It is good to see you. You look... well."

She laughed. "Thank you. But, I cannot say the same for you." She studied him critically. His face still showed signs of pain and fatigue from his captivity, and his shoulder was tightly bound. However, his pleasure at seeing her again was unmistakable. It shone through in his force signature. She looked around for a chair so she could stay for a longer visit with him. But, there was nothing. She wasn't sure what else to say to him. Beyond their shared experience in the cell, they had not much in common. But, he looked at her so earnestly, she thought she should stay longer. "Um... how is-"

Before she could ask about his injuries, the door of the medbay swished open behind them. "Commander Tano, may I have a word?"

"Rex," Ahsoka said, turning to greet the new arrival. Her eyes widened slightly as she detected Appo's reaction to the newcomer. Envy, resentment, guilt, gratitude, and a grudging respect all warred together in a very confused jumble of emotions. She glanced back at him and he looked at her with wide eyes as if trapped within a body and mind he wasn't sure how to handle. Appo quickly turned his face away. They'd spent two months together in a cell. He knew she could read some of his emotions. And, now she was reading shame and embarassment coming off of him. Where was all of this coming from and why did seeing Rex drudge up so many emotions for Appo?

Rex came over to stand beside them, his back ramrod straight. "Commander Appo, good to see you on the mend, sir."

Appo grunted out an unintelligible reply

Digger looked up from where he was changing the bandage on a blaster wound. Both he and his patient visibly brightened as they spotted Rex.

"Hello Captain!" Glitch called cheerfully, as he passed by with an armful of freshly washed lab supplies.

Several other patients around the room perked up and reacted to Rex's presence. "Captain!" A few sat up straighter and saluted the best they could in their injured states.

Rex waved them off with a warm genuine smile. "At ease, men. Good to see you all." He greeted each of the clones in the room by name before thanking the medics for the work.

Appo watched all of this with a growing scowl. He hissed in annoyance.

Ahsoka cast him a look of concern as his force signature continued to radiate turmoil and confusion.

Rex cast him a curious look, folding his arms across his chest, making him look even taller and more imposing above the bedbound Appo.

"Captain? I was not aware you had been recommissioned." Appo stared Rex down, all of them knowing full well there had been no contact with GAR Command.

Annoyance flashed across Rex's face before he quickly suppressed it. "I'm acting as Cody's second, as I did during the rescue mission." He leveled a look at Appo. "The mission that rescued you."

Appo looked away and the guilt and resentment flared again full force.

Ahsoka had no idea what was going on between Rex and Appo, but whatever it was, this was not good.

Rex continued on, his voice cool. The medbay had gone silent as every clone within listened to the tense exchange. "I recognize you as commander of the 501st, Appo, however you are on medical leave and not capable of commanding anything at the moment. My official status with the GAR will be determined upon my return." He turned his back on Appo and focused his full attention on Ahsoka. Around the room, she could feel a ripple of emotion from the rest of the clones. Curiousity. Excitement. Pride. It was all focused toward Rex. The men were inordinately proud of him, even the ones from the 212th, and pleased to have him back. One did not need to be force-sensitive to pick up on it. "Commander Tano," Rex said her voice firmly, ensuring her full attention was on him. How was it he could always tell when her attention was drifting? "We require your assistance in the briefing room."

I'm needed in the briefing room?

Ahsoka could not help breaking out into a broad smile. Finally! Something to do. And, Rex came to ask her in person. Everything had been so confusing since her rescue from the jungle planet, but this all seemed familiar. "Absolutely, Rex, lead the way." She belatedly realized she hadn't said good bye to Appo, but then again, she'd barely said anything to him, so surely it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

She fell into step beside Rex, so excited about being needed again, she was almost bouncing on her toes with excitement.

As they crossed the medbay to leave, the injured men waved and greeted both of them, their elation at seeing their Captain and Commander together again pouring out into the force.

A spike of red hot irritation floated beneath the warm blues and greens of happiness from the men. She put a hand on Rex's arm to stop him momentarily at the medbay door and turned. Appo was watching them, eyes narrowed. Catching her gaze, Appo once again look away.

"Everything alright?" Rex turned to her, concern clear in his voice. He followed her gaze across the room to Appo.

"Yes, just trying to figure out a puzzle, I suppose." She started walking again, and they fell into step together. She hadn't removed her arm from Rex's bicep and he hadn't objected. Or, maybe he hadn't noticed. There was something about it that felt right and natural. They were alone in the corridor, walking toward the lift that would take them to the bridge. She hated to spoil the moment, but she supposed she owed Rex an explanation. "I'm just a little worried about Appo."

They headed into the next corridor. Rex cocked his head to the side. "Appo? What's wrong with him?" He shook his head, bemused. "Other than the obvious, of course."

Ahsoka smiled politely, but knew it was a strained smile. It wasn't right to laugh at Appo's expense but grateful the awkwardness between them was gone for the moment. But, Rex was good at blocking his emotions, so she had no way of knowing for sure. She looked over at Rex again, and noticed the amusement had died on his face. He studied her, frowning and stopped mid-step. He tugged her into a side corridor and waited for her explanation. He also seemed to suddenly noticed her hand on his bicep and pulled back so her arm naturally slid off. "Did something happen with Appo?"

"No, Rex. Nothing like that." She waved her hands restlessly, at a loss with what to do with them now, and ended up dropping them to her sides with a side. "I mean...yes... a lot happened in the dungeons. He seems mentally off-set from the experience."

Her explanation did nothing to appease Rex who's brow creased even more fiercely. "Define... a lot. And, mentally off-set? That's not good. He's in charge of the 501st now." Rex's last sentence came out as more of a growl, than a statement.

"I probably could have worded that better. Appo went through a lot of trauma at Darkknell. Traumatic experiences can leave us… vulnerable. Even hardened soldiers, such as yourselves, can't be expected to come out of experiences like this without mental scars."

"Is this about him being locked in a closet and Commander Cody having to rescue him?"

Ahsoka's eyes widened. "I did not know about that incident."

"To hear Cody tell the story, it was a hell of a fekkin' incident." Rex still looked genuinely confused. "So, what are you talking about then, and what does Appo's time at Darkknell have to do with you?" There was no mistaking the defensiveness and displeasure in Rex's voice. He fairly bristled when it came to the topic of Appo.

"The commander and I shared the same prison cell for two months on Darkknell."

Rex was shocked into silence. He closed himself off so completely emotionally Ahsoka could not get any kind of reading on him. She looked at him, trying to get some kind of reaction.

"Rex?" she prompted, "say something."

"Two months," he muttered, as if still trying to comprehend that she and Appo had been locked up in a small space for that amount of time together. He took off his helmet, and shook his head. "The only significant stretch of time I have ever spent alone with you was in a cave on TriLuna. That was days. 28 hours according to the official report. Most of which I don't remember. You and Appo were together for..." His mouth opened and then closed again, while his fists did the same, as he tried to digest the information. "You didn't think to mention..." He looked at her with eyes full of confusion, and then she saw it, the raw emotion. The feelings he normally kept so tightly bottled up. He leaned his head back against the wall of the lift and stared at the ceiling as if looking for guidance, before looking back at her again. "Day and night with Appo for two months?" he whispered again.

Ahsoka didn't understand his reaction. It was not like she had a choice of her cellmate?!

"Would it have mattered who it was?" Ahsoka challenged. "What if it was Coric?"

Rex rounded on her. "Yes, it would have been much better if it was Coric. Anyone but Appo!"

"What do you have against Appo?" Ahsoka shouted back at him.

"He stole the Legion from me!" As soon as the words left his mouth, Rex's eyes widened and he looked like he wanted to take the words back. It was as if he'd spoken words he hadn't meant to say aloud.

"Oh, Rex," she said softly, placing a hand on his arm again. He didn't object and allowed the simple gesture of affection, she leaned in and rested her head for the briefest moment against his chest. He tucked his chin down onto his montrals and she could feel his heart beating too fast and his breathing more ragged than usual. "No one could ever take the 501st from you." She could feel his breathing begin to slow as he relaxed. She sent him a wave of calming energy and he relaxed further. "Rex, you are the 501st."

"He's Skywalker's second now," Rex said quietly into her montrals. She became acutely aware he was confessing his innermost insecurities. "What happens when we get back?"

"We'll figure that part out together." As reluctant as she was to end the moment, as she wanted it to go on forever, she could feel duty was calling. Rex knew it, too, because a moment later he pulled back and composed himself. She cocked her head to the side and smiled. "Somehow things always seem to work out."

Rex nodded and led the way back toward the lift. "That's the hope."

# # #

Author notes:

Changed the Rex/Ahsoka scene from the original "Appo is coming between us" argument to a more meaningful scene between the two of them. They may not be in an intimate relationship, but Rex and Ahsoka do have a relationship. A very deep one. This bond between them is undeniable even as Ahsoka struggles with attachment and Rex questions the almost non-existent rights of clones.

About datapads in this story... In my mind, they look like an iPad mini and not like the clunky thing Tech carries around like an iPhone. A flat screen makes more sense in my mind and would fit better in the clone belt pouches.

Appo is a commander because this story was started in 2010 before Appo was given the rank of "Sergeant" in Darkness on Umbara. Somehow, though, he manages to rise from Sergeant to Commander in a short amount of time. Logic states clones are quickly promoted due to necessity in times of war.