Summary: Just before a mission with Rex and Livy, Echo finds Livy in a distressed mood. Like the good man that he is, he swoops in to comfort her.

WARNING: Graphic depictions of violence. Mentions of blood and graphic violence, but it's only one graphic line. The rest is hurt/comfort/angst. Note: It's also my first time writing in the past tense and in paragraph form because I'm a screenwriter and I like to write my fan fics in screenplay format! I hope I'm doing this right!

Livy set down the last crate and walked back down the ramp to grab her bag. It was dark out, and Echo was up in the cockpit preparing the ship for their next mission. Rescuing clones from the hands of the Empire was top priority right now, especially since the Empire had been becoming publicly worse and worse.

Livy looked around. It was almost time to go, but Rex wasn't there yet. She huffed in frustration, but not at Rex, as she climbed the ladder to the main part of the ship.

Livy set her bag down and proceeded into the cockpit. The lights were low, and Echo had his scomp plugged into the ship. Livy sighed, guessing the low lights were to avoid unwanted outside attention.

"Where's Rex?" Livy asked, a bit snippy.

"He'll be here." Echo replied looking up at her.

Livy crossed him and plopped down into the co-pilot seat. "Is the ship ready? Or do I need to do anything else?"

Echo turned his head to give Livy a sharp look. "You don't need to do anything. We're ready to leave." Echo pulled his arm out of the wall and stood up. "Something bothering you, Liv?" He sat down in the pilot seat.

Livy swiveled the chair around to face him, staring at him with a frown. "I'm fine. Let's just get this over with."

"Liv, I know something's wrong. You're never this irritated."

Livy stared into Echo's eyes, her frown deepening. "I'm not irritated."

Echo let out a laugh. "That's funny. Spill it."

Livy sighed and crossed her arms. She glanced down at the floor, then decided it seemed more interesting than Echo. Why did he have to pry? Typical.

Livy felt a hand under chin. She let out a small gasp and looked up, meeting Echo's eyes. He was blurry. Tears threatened to spill over that she hadn't even noticed. Echo shifted his hand to cup her face, wiping some of her tears with his thumb. She closed her eyes and hiccuped on the tears, more spilling out.

Livy felt a metal scomp wrap around her back. Echo pulled her to her feet. His other hand went immediately to the back of her neck as he surrounded her a tight hug. Livy melted into him, sobbing into his chest. Echo lowered his face to her ear, whispering, "Shhh. It's okay." He attempted to soothingly rub his metal arm up and down her back. Livy wrapped her arms around him and gripped him tight. "Liv, it'll be okay. Do you want to talk about it?" After a few sobs, Livy nodded her head against his chest plate. Echo put his hand on the back of her head as she stepped back to look him in the eyes. Echo gave her a small, reassuring smile.

After a big sniff, Livy spoke, "I've been so scared lately." When she didn't continue speaking, Echo replied, "About what?"

The second wave of tears started flowing before Livy could get out any more words. Echo stepped forward into her space and closed his eyes and he held her tight. "Let's go lie down, okay?"

"But the mission—"

"—Rex isn't here yet and he can pilot us out of here. I think you need me more than he needs us right now."

Livy nodded against his chest. Echo slipped his good hand behind her back and guided her out of the cockpit to the area with the bunk beds. He sat down with her on her bottom bunk, his hand not leaving her back.

Livy shifted closer to him and slowly leaned against his shoulder. Echo asked, "What's been scaring you? The mission?"

"No, not any mission." Echo looked down at Livy and sighed, gently leaning his head against hers. "Tell me. I want to help."

Livy answered in barely a whisper, "I can't sleep at night. Remember that one time I woke up in a puddle of blood with broken bones? I can't get it out of my head. That and all the other near death experiences I've had." Livy looked up at Echo. "It's not normal. I'm scared, Echo."

Echo was already wrapping his arms around her as she spoke. Livy buried her head into the crook of his neck, letting out all her tears. She gripped at his armor as she heaved and gasped for air. Echo moved his hand to her head and stroked her hair, desperately trying to calm her down, "I didn't know that was still bothering you." Echo tried his best to hold her tighter. "Can I take off my armor so I can hold you better, Liv?" Liv choked on a sob as she nodded her head, letting her arms drop to her sides.

Echo quickly and expertly unclipped and took off his amor. Livy stared in confusion as he started taking off all his armor, leaving him in his blacks. She had expected he meant just his chest plate. Echo finished up and then dived for Livy. He placed a hand on her back and his scomp under knees and shifted her farther onto the bed. He lied down next to her and pulled her to his side. Livy buried her head into his chest as the third wave of tears started flowing. Echo held her tight, running his hand through her hair. "It's okay, Livy. You're safe here. I'm here with you."

Livy sniffed into his shirt, her voice muffled, "But I won't always be safe."

Echo sighed. "I know you, Livy. You always persevere. Anything that happens, you will get through. And I'll always be here for you. I'm not leaving." Livy let out a shaky breath, tears of thankfulness spilling out onto Echo's blacks. "Everything we go though makes us stronger, Liv. It's all for a reason." Livy nodded her head against Echo's chest, whispering, "I know."

A small smile spread across Echo's face. He slipped his hand down her hair and onto her back, rubbing small circles to ease her crying. He tilted his head back to find her forehead, pressing a gentle kiss. Livy smiled. Echo lowered his forehead to hers. "Liv, everything's going to be alright." She whispered back, "I know."

"Good." Echo brought his lips to hers. She smiled at his soft touch. Echo wrapped his arms around her once again and pulled her close, nuzzling against her ear. Echo's legs bumped up against Livy's knees. She smiled and held him tight, allowing his metal legs to slightly slip between hers. Echo closed his eyes and whispered, "Get some sleep."

"But the mission—"

"—I'll wake you up before we land."

"…Thank you, Echo."

Echo smiled and squeezed his arms wrapped around her. He smiled down at her. "I love you."

Livy smiled into his chest, her eyes drooping shut. "I love you, too, Echo."

A heavy sleep overcame Livy as Echo held her close.

Notes: The Lord comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 2 Corinthians 1:4 I read a fic the other week by someone who wrote a similar comfort story, and she put a Bible verse at the end of the fic, so I thought I'd carry on the tradition! If you're going through a hard time, I encourage you to seek the Lord in prayer because it's amazing the things he can do! He loves you so much and deeply desires to help you. You can do all things through Him who gives you strength (Philippians 4:13).