Fic: In Time It Always Mends chapter 3 (Star Wars, Kallus/Zeb)

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Title: In Time It Always Mends Chapter 3
Fandom: Star Wars
Characters/Pairings: Kallus/Zeb, Rex/Rau
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Star Wars. It's not my toy box and I'm merely playing.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Alex manages to get aboard the Ghost before Jacen takes off. They go to Scarif where a ten year old Chirrut is calling for help. The planet is whole and everyone who died there is suddenly alive, but they're also children. The Rebellion's just won at Endor, how will they handle this new crisis? Kid Fic.
A/N: Written for the Kalluzeb Mini Bang. Thank you to MapleOwl18 for the beta and for coming up with Zeb's pet name for Alex. Thank you to mistr3ssquickly, it's been great working with you!
Warning: Crosshair is written as having some disordered eating habits. This is quickly recognized and watched out for by the adults in the group.


Chapter 3:

When they get into the cockpit Luke is reclining in one of the chairs tilted back as far as it will go with Crosshair sprawled out sleeping on top of him. They all pause in the doorway. Rex rubs the back of his head. Luke shrugs. Crosshair doesn’t even stir.

“Do you know who Banks is?” Luke asks.

“No,” Rex sighs, moving in to take a seat near Luke. He pauses at a small pile of knives on the floor near the doorway.

“I made him remove his weapons before he came in,” Luke explains.

“He’s still dangerous,” Alex points out gently.

“So am I,” Luke reminds as he absently rubs Crosshair’s back. He looks at Rex again, grimacing in apology, and then continues, “He used CT numbers before he said his name.”

“What were the numbers?” Rex asks.

“Seven seven one nine,” Luke answers.

Rex shakes his head. “Doesn’t sound familiar, but I can ask around.”

Luke nods. “He said I reminded him of Banks, but I think he meant I feel similar to him. I think he might be Force sensitive.”

“He’s part of a team that was made with special skills,” Rex reminds.

Luke raises his eyebrows.

Rex sighs. "Something you want to tell me that I don't know?"

"We've both met Glitch," Luke points out gently.

"And?" Rex prods.

Luke sighs. Crosshair shifts, snuggling closer. Luke wraps careful arms around him, then looks at Rex. "I've found descriptions of what Hunter can do as a way of seeing with the Force. Jedi used to go on camping trips to hone this ability. Hunter isn't interested in learning anything else about the Force, but he's agreed to teach what he can do, if I get a school up and running."

"Hunter and his team may want Crosshair back," Rex points out. Then he scrubs a hand over his face. "We don't know if Crosshair will even want to go with them. We don't know how much of the archive here he's dug into, but I do know that right now we need to be careful with him. He’s said he's only supposed to shoot things and follow orders and he seems to be following Cody’s lead."

"We need to get his chip out and have Glitch look him over," Zeb puts in referring to the Force sensitive clone turned Jedi healer.

"Why does Glitch need to look him over?" Luke asks, frowning in confusion.

"He got the same extra brainwashing that Wolffe got," Rex explains. "We don't know if we need to worry about it now that he's a kid, but better to have Glitch check."

Luke nods. "I know it's not a scenario we expect to run into often, but maybe Glitch would be willing to show me what he does."

"He might," Rex agrees. "Doesn't hurt to ask."

Rex’s comm lights up and he patches it though the Millennium Falcon's comm. Hunter's image shifts to life in front of them. He glances at all of them, eyes softening when he sees a sleeping Crosshair cuddling Luke. "Omega gave us coordinates. We have to stop and pick up Tech, but then we're on our way."

“Who’s we?” Alex asks.

“Wrecker, Rafa, their kids, and me,” Hunter tells them.

“You’re not in the Marauder are you?” Rex asks.

“No, it’s Trace’s ship,” Hunter says. "How is he?"

Rex grimaces.

"That bad?"

Alex misses Rex’s answer when Zeb prods him and whispers, “Who’s Trace?”

Alex shrugs.

"Do you know who Banks is? CT seven seven one nine?" Rex asks.

Hunter stills, then answers, "The shot he does where it banks off several angles then takes out who he wants; only two clones could do that, and Banks taught Crosshair."

"Any idea what happened to Banks?" Rex asks.

"He served with Master Swan. There was a rumor she survived the purge, but not much to substantiate it." Hunter shakes his head. “I don’t know about Banks.”

Rex glances at Crosshair, who’s still sleeping. “We haven’t done a more indepth scan, but it looks like his metabolism might be higher than normal for a clone.”

Hunter frowns as he considers this. “That would explain a few things. It took awhile for us to establish baseline scans of ourselves. We already knew Wrecker’s was higher, but the Kamanioans never told us Tech was too. They've both developed some strategies for sneaking in extra calories that might help.”

“We’ve already figured out he likes chocolate,” Zeb puts in. “We got him to eat a few extra ration bars.”

“Crosshair hates chocolate,” Wrecker protests as he comes into view. He waves at them. “If we got any he’d make me eat it!”

Hunter groans and scrubs his face with his hands.

“Was he lying?” Wrecker asks.

“Probably,” Hunter answers.

Wrecker swears.

“He tried to give me his food when he thought I was upset,” Alex points out.

“And he told Han he thinks it’s normal for him to alway feel hungry,” Zeb adds.

Hunter looks away, closing his eyes and sighing through his nose. He looks back at them. "Is there a nutritionist on the med frigate?"

"Should be," Rex reassures. "There's more, but it can wait until you're here. Call from orbit, we might need to ease him into meeting all of you again."

Hunter nods, then informs them. "I commed Echo, but advised him not to cut his honeymoon short."

"Echo deserves the time off, but knowing him he might show up anyway," Rex acknowledges. It makes Alex want to point out to Rex that he deserves time off as well. They all do really, but it's not practical with the Empire in a state of flux.

“Kids finally picked out rooms, they’re heading to bed,” Rafa announces as she comes into view, then leans in to look at them. “I can only see the back of his head, but kid Crosshair is cute. Did you find my sister?”

“Trace was on Scarif?” Rex asks, voice going flat. “I knew you had a memorial service for her, but I didn’t…”

“It was a chaotic time for everyone,” Rafa reminds. “I know it might be false hope, but if she’s there: Wrecker and I already talked about it. We’ve got two kids, third on the way, what’s adding two more?”

“You’re pregnant?” Rex asks. “Congratulations!”

Alex moves to the nearest chair, pulling up the list of scans that Han put together. He doesn’t know Rafa, but he does know Wrecker's last name became Martez when he got married. It’s easy to find Trace and someone else has linked the kids’ scans with their Rebellion files, if they had one.

"Trace Martez?" Alex asks, then further clarifies. “She helped fly ground troops in once the shield gate was down?”

“Yeah,” Rafa agrees. “Didn’t make it back out. Kinda figured she got shot down so I…”

Rafa breaks off with a shrug.

“She’s here,” Alex reassures. "She's alive and healthy, just thinks she's ten years old."

Rafa closes her eyes and leans into Wrecker who wraps an arm around her. She buries her face into his shoulder.

“We’ll be there as soon as we can,” Hunter reassures them, before he asks Rafa a question. She shakes her head. Hunter turns back to them and signs off.

Zeb gives his shoulder a squeeze and Alex leans back, tilting his head so he can smile up at his husband. Zeb smiles back. For a moment he looks like he wants to say something, but then they get an alert that the med frigate is finally in orbit.

Rex looks at his comm. "Wolffe just got here too. He'll meet us on the med frigate."

“Which ship are we taking?” Luke asks as he gets to his feet carefully, still holding onto Crosshair. Crosshair’s head shifts and he mutters a protest. Luke rubs his back. “I just need to move. It’s alright. I have you. You can go back to sleep if you want.”

Crosshair sighs, wraps his legs around Luke’s waist, arms around his neck, and rests his head against Luke’s shoulder as he closes his eyes again.

“He heavy?” Zeb asks.

“I’ve got him,” Luke reassures. “I can use the Force if I need help.”

It takes them a moment to get all of the kids together and start heading towards the transport ship. Sinker isn't happy about him and Bodhi getting woken up again. Zeb offers to carry Bodhi, but he insists on holding hands with Sinker. The two walk side by side, fingers intertwined. Bodhi isn't trying to hide behind Sinker this time so Alex figures that's progress. Baze and Chirrut decide to bracket them. Jyn walks in front of the four of them. Ahsoka shows up carrying a sleeping Cassian.

Rex sighs, wearily, “The entire point of keeping you and Luke on board your ships was for safety.”

“You took all their blasters,” Ahsoka points out.

Stone’s steps pause, but only momentarily. Alex stops to consider him.

“You should’ve seen the pile of knives Crosshair had on him,” Rex counters.

“He’s still got one in his boot,” Luke adds conversationally. “He felt safer with it so I didn’t call him on the lie that he’d gotten rid of all of them.”

Both Rex and Ahsoka turn to stare at Luke. Alex leaves them to figure out how to get Crosshair’s last knife as he squats down to ask Stone, “So where’s the blaster?”

Rex cusses.

“Rex,” Cody gasps. The gasp is only slightly mocking. “You said a bad word. We could get in trouble for that!”

Rex snorts, gives Cody’s shoulder a squeeze, then steps close to Alex and Stone. “You got a blaster?”

“No,” Stone tells him, then he glances at Cody. He is clearly trying very hard not to squirm under their scrutiny.

“Do you have a weapon similar to a blaster?” Alex presses.

Stone glances at Rex, then Cody, before admitting, “I’ve got a slug thrower…and several knives.”

“I asked for weapons,” Rex points out.

“You only asked for blasters,” Sinker counters.

Rex closes his eyes briefly, then sighs again, “That’s a fair point, but I’m going to need all weapons now.”

“What are you going to do with them?” Cody challenges.

“Han is supposed to be bringing Bly, so we’ll find something to put all the weapons in and have Han…” Rex starts to explain.

“You’ll have Han do what?” Han asks as he joins them, carrying a sleeping Bly. “These kids are heavy.”

“Why is Bly with you?” Cody challenges.

“I’m just that awesome, kid,” Han tells him.

Cody glares.

“Alright, geez,” Han laughs. “He might have noticed that Leia is amazing and he might have also noticed that I happen to agree, so we’re bonding over how both of us are in awe of my fiance.”

“Bly has a type,” Ahsoka grins.

Rex shares a smile with her before shaking his head. “We’re still going to have to wake him up and ask about weapons. I can’t have them going into surgery with weapons.”

“Surgery?” Bodhi asks.

“Just to get the chip out,” Sinker reassures.

“Where’s it at?” Bodhi whispers back.

Sinker shrugs. “Rex has a scar from his being removed.”

Rex moves over and show’s Bodhi where his scar is.

“Brain surgery?” Bodhi asks, eyes widening.

“It’ll be safe,” Rex tries to reassure as Bodhi wraps his arms tightly around Sinker. “There will be plenty of medical personnel to monitor everyone after.”

“Rex will make sure we’re looked after,” Sinker reassures as he hugs Bodhi back. He sounds like he’s trying to convince himself as much as Bodhi.

“Weapons first though,” Rex insists.

“We’re going to need to get something to put them in,” Ahsoka reminds. “And we should probably check Cassian too. One of the first things I taught him was how to hide weapons.”

“What weapons?” Han asks.

Alex scrubs a hand over his face. Luke shifts uncomfortably and looks away. Rex kneels down, muttering about his knees to talk to Stone. Ahsoka shrugs, then explains, “Some of the kids still have weapons.”

Han frowns at Luke. “What kind of weapons?”

“It’s just a knife and he felt safer with it,” Luke admits.

Han’s frown turns to a scowl as he considers Luke. He opens his mouth, then closes it. He shakes his head. "Ya know, I don't have to say anything. Your sister is going to find out and then…"

"Han," Luke chides.

"Sister?" Rex asks. He turns to give Ahsoka an inquiring look.

"He didn't tell me," Ahsoka informs Rex, before she turns back to Luke.

"We just found out. We haven’t really had a chance to talk to either of you about it," Luke explains.

"Ah, I’m sorry. I thought you were telling people or had told people," Han admits looking chagrin.

"We wanted to take them aside and explain," Luke sighs. "Leia and I have questions and we haven't decided yet who we want to inform."

"Leia," Ahsoka repeats.

"She looks like Padmé," Rex sighs.

"Padmé was always good about surrounding herself with women who looked like her," Ahsoka says. "I think I assumed she was a handmaiden's child, even if that explanation didn't sit right."

"You did know our mother? Leia doesn't remember much and I don't remember anything," Luke says, voice full of hope.

Rex and Ahsoka exchange another look. Alex frowns. He’s not sure he and the kids should be overhearing this conversation.

“She died as Palpatine was taking over as Emperor,” Rex says carefully.

Luke shakes his head slowly. “But Leia remembers her.”

Ahsoka steps forwards and squeezes Luke’s arm. “She probably remembers Sabé. She was your mother’s main decoy.”

“Decoy,” Luke repeats. “Like Winter is for Leia?”

“Yes,” Ahsoka agrees. “Sabé helped to protect and train them when they were young.”

Luke nods. Crosshair snuggles closer to him with a worried noise. Luke makes a soothing noise and rubs his back. “I’ve got you.”

“We should talk,” Ahsoka encourages.

"Maybe they'll forget about the weapons," Baze whispers encouragingly to Stone.

Stone frowns at Alex, then sighs as he carefully hands over the slug thrower. Alex is concentrating on checking the weapon so he misses what Han says. He does catch that Luke, Rex, and Ahsoka are agreeing to find a time, that also works for Leia, to talk.

“Someone take Bly and I’ll get a storage container,” Han offers.

Zeb starts to take Bly, who wakes up. Zeb reassures him he can go back to sleep.

“I can walk,” Bly insists as he yawns.

“Rex wants all our weapons,” Cody complains to Bly.

“What? Why?” Bly frowns.

“I can’t lie,” Stone mutters as he starts handing his knives over.

"Are you going to take my staff?" Chirrut asks.

"What?" Zeb asks, then rushes to reassure. "We won't."

"I've been taught how to use it as a weapon," Chirrut points out cheekily.

Baze groans. "Why are you calling attention to us?"

"I'm not calling attention to us," Chirrut protests. "I'm calling attention to myself."

"You have weapons too, don't you?" Alex sighs as he looks at Baze.

"Me?" Chirrut asks loudly, waving his arms.

Baze leans into Chirrut and hugs him. Chirrut wraps himself around Baze.

"They think I have weapons!" Chirrut complains loudly.

"You're going to be a Guardian of the Whills, you are a weapon," Baze says calmly.

Before Chirrut can respond Zeb points out, "The med frigate will have a scanner that can detect your weapons. They won't let you keep them on you for surgery. Do you want to give your weapons to people you haven't met yet or Rex?"

As the weapons start getting handed over to Rex, Han smirks, "Guess I'll go get you that storage container handsome."

Cody puts himself between Rex and Han. "No! Stop flirting with him! He's got a boyfriend and you just said you have a fiance!"

Rex groans. "Cody, he's not flirting with me."

Cody glares at Han. Han sighs and holds his hands up. "Not flirting kid, just got to remind my friend that we're the same age now and then, which means both of us are handsome."

Rex turns and glares. Cody is still glaring. Han takes a step back. Alex glances at Zeb, who looks like he's a moment away from laughing. Alex presses his lips together and tries not to laugh as he concentrates on gathering a surprisingly large collection of knives, two slug throwers, and fourteen thermal detonators. How were the kids hiding that much?

"Solo, would you just get a storage container already?" Rex grumbles.

"I'm going to start calling you 'old man' instead," Han mutters.

"You wouldn't do anything to admit you might be old," Rex counters.

Han puts his hands on his hips with a defiant look. "Watch me."

Bodhi giggles, pressing close to Sinker who also starts laughing. The rest of the kids start laughing too as Rex rolls his eyes and Han jogs off. Cassian wakes up at the sound, then agrees to let Ahsoka put him down. He only agrees to divest himself of weapons if Ahsoka agrees to take them. Luke gets them to agree to let Crosshair keep his knife until they need to wake him up.

"The surgery might remind him of the holos he watched of being brainwashed," Luke explains his reasoning. "He'll be less stressed if we allow him to get some sleep beforehand."

Thankfully it doesn’t take Han long to return with several storage containers. He even brings one designed to carry multiple thermal detonators safely. Rex frowns as he carefully fills the box. Once he’s got the lid closed he shakes his head and mutters to himself.

“What?” Ahsoka pushes.

“I’m just trying not to imagine how many more explosives a young Hardcase would’ve had on him,” Rex jokes.

Ahsoka shakes her head, lips quirking, as they start to get the kids onto the transport.

The ride up to the med frigate is brief, but also long enough that Cassian falls asleep against Ahsoka’s side. Alex sits next to Bodhi in case he and Sinker need support. Rex sits near Sinker after he lets everyone know Wolffe is going to meet them on the med frigate. Cody and Bly start to whisper excitedly. Rex smiles kindly at Sinker before explaining that he and Wolffe had lived through a lot together and even though Sinker might not remember him, Wolffe is going to want to see that Sinker is healthy. Sinker nods, before reaching out and squeezing Rex’s hand.

Wolffe greets them once they get off their transport. Cody flings himself at Wolffe complaining, “Everyone keeps trying to flirt with Rex! Make them stop!”

Wolffe manages to catch Cody as he gives Rex a confused look. Rex shrugs, “He met Rau and Han was being Han?”

“He’s awful!” Cody informs Wolffe.

Wolffe nods his understanding as he lets Bly hug him before he gives Rex a stern face. Rex sighs and rolls his eyes. Wolffe smirks before he offers Stone a hug. Stone crowds in with both Cody and Bly who are still clinging to Wolffe. Sinker and Bodhi stand nearby holding hands until Bly, Cody and Stone disengage. The Sinker leans in for a hug, but doesn’t let go of Bodhi. Wolffe kneels down to talk quietly with Sinker for a moment, but Alex can’t make out what they’re saying with Bly, Cody and Stone crowding in. When he stands back up Wolffe squeezes Sinker’s shoulder and then glances at Crosshair.

“It’s a shame Banks isn’t here,” Wolffe comments. Stone presses close.

“You know who he is?” Rex asks. “Hunter and I didn’t know.”

“I knew Banks,” Stone says. “We were batchmates, but I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with him because they made him and Cross spend their blocked out free time at the shooting range.”

“Thanks Stone,” Luke smiles at him. “Crosshair was asking about Banks earlier, so that helps.”

Stone grins. Rex pokes Wolffe. “You knew him too?”

“He was Master Swan’s commander,” Wolffe explains. “There was, that’s not important. He and Crosshair were close until they got asked about that speciality shot they could both do. Banks started loudly insisting it was all math. Crosshair said he could just see where he needed to shoot. Banks got tossed back in with the rest of us. Crosshair got additional tests and only scheduled with the rest of Clone Force Ninety-Nine. He lost weight after that.”

“Rex said his metabolism might be higher than ours,” Cody offers.

“Han figured that out,” Rex reminds gently.

Cody wrinkles his nose. Rex shakes head, hiding a smile behind his hand. Cody wraps himself against Rex’s side.

“That’s actually how Cody got to know Hunter,” Wolffe says. “Banks was upset Crosshair didn’t listen to him about saying the shot was all math and I got the impression he didn’t think he was allowed to talk to Crosshair without getting in trouble, so he asked Cody to check on him.”

“I did?” Cody asks. “Is that why Crosshair keeps thinking I’m in charge?”

“I’m not sure,” Rex admits.

“We’ll try to figure it out,” Ahsoka reassures.

Rex agrees before suggesting, “We do need to get your chips out, so why don’t we head to the med deck we’ve been assigned to and I’ll explain why it’s important.”

It takes a moment to organize their group, but then Wolffe guides them to the med deck, where the surgeries will take place. Rex takes Cody, Bly, Stone, and Sinker aside. Sinker insists Bodhi goes with them. After finding out why their chips need to be removed Cody and Sinker volunteer to go first.

Sinker hugs Bodhi. “This way it’ll be over and we both don’t have to worry.”

Bodhi nods, lower lip wavering, but attempting to look brave. Sinker grips his hands tightly.

“You’ll be safe,” Bodhi whispers. “They’re going to take good care of you.”

Sinker nods. He glances at Alex, then back at Bodhi. Bodhi tries to smile at him, but his face is full of worry. Sinker leans in and presses their foreheads together while cupping Bodhi’s cheeks. Bodhi’s hands grip Sinker’s wrist tightly as Sinker reassures, “Sasha will keep you safe. It’ll be over soon.”

“Rex will make sure you’re safe,” Bodhi insists. “I-I’ll be fine and so will you.”

Sinker hugs Bodhi tightly once more, then takes Rex’s hand as he goes through a door with Rex and Cody. Bodhi stands utterly still until the door slides shut. Bodhi’s shoulders shake. He hugs himself tightly. He turns. Alex starts to kneel down, so he can be at eye level while offering reassurances. Bodhi’s crying silently, tears just starting to make paths down his cheeks. Alex wraps him in a hug and rubs his back.

“I’ve got you,” Alex promises. Bodhi’s hands fist into the sleeves of his jacket and Alex braces himself then stands, picking Bodhi up and moving them to the nearby waiting area. Chirrut crowds in on one side, taking one of Bodhi’s hands, as Jyn presses close on the other side. Cassian steps close to rub Bodhi’s back. Baze drops down into the seat next to Chirrut. Zeb steps out to find them tissues.

"Should we be worried?" Bly asks as he leans into Wolffe.

"We're going to be fine," Stone says, eyes wide as he leans into Wolffe's other side.

Crosshair wakes up, turning and standing in one swift movement as he faces the group. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"I'm just scared," Bodhi sniffles. "I'm always scared."

Crosshair frowns and tips his head. Cassian presses in close to hug Bodhi.

"It's a scary situation and you're worried for Sinker," Jyn says.

"And Cody," Bodhi adds, scrubbing at the tears on his face.

"Jyn's right," Alex reassures. "This is a stressful situation and sometimes our body needs to process that stress by crying."

"Oh," Bodhi frowns. "So I'm not overreacting? Even though I know we should be adults?"

“Even adults cry,” Alex offers.

“They do?” Stone asks.

“We do,” Luke confirms.

“Well Humans,” Ahsoka jokes. “Togrutas not so much.”

Zeb comes back into the room with a towel and a warm washcloth, which Bodhi takes to wipe his face. After he’s cleaned up he sighs and rests his head against Alex’s shoulder while still letting Jyn and Chirrut hang onto him. Cassian eventually goes back to sitting with Ahsoka. Crosshair sits next to Luke and yawns.

“You can go back to sleep if you like,” Luke offers. Crosshair shakes his head.

A nurse comes in and wants Stone and Bly to leave with her. Wolffe looks conflicted.

“I’ve got Luke,” Crosshair reassures. “I can wait my turn if you want to go with them.”

“Thank you,” Wolffe nods before he leaves with both Bly and Stone.

Shortly after that it’s Crosshair’s turn and Luke leaves with him. The rest of them are led to an exam area where the medical crew can get scans on them. There are plenty of reassurances that their friends are recovering as expected. After the scans their group is taken to the recovery area. Sinker and Cody have recently woken up. Alex stays with Bodhi as he sits with Sinker holding his hand. Eventually Stone, Bly, and Crosshair also wake up from their surgeries. Crosshair is the only one that insists on viewing his scan to see that the chip is actually removed. His shoulders shake as he clings to Luke and cries.

Omega and Glitch arrive as Crosshair is calming down. There’s a brief round of introductions and both Omega and Glitch get a lot of hugs. They’re staying on the med frigate for overnight monitoring of everyone that just had surgery, so they start to get the group settled in for the night as Glitch looks first at Bly and then at Crosshair.

Zeb asks him into an office and Alex follows. Zeb sighs as the door closes. Then he rubs the back of his head. His ears are starting to flatten.

“What’s wrong?” Alex asks.

“I ah,” Zeb sighs, then bristles. “I talked to Rex briefly. He and Rau are planning to take the clones. Crosshair may decide to go with Hunter or Wrecker and Rafa, but they’re going to take the rest of them. Would you mind if they came with us?”

“You really know a place that’s hidden?”

Zeb nods. “I’m thinking that I can borrow a ship from here and check in with Leia and Hera. I think they’ll agree that we’ll need to keep Rogue One hidden, at least until the Empire is defeated. Then I can go where I want to take them and check in there, make sure I get permission to bring them, and make sure we have a place to stay.”

“You need to leave,” Alex surmises.

“I don’t want to, but I need to.”

Alex gives him a reassuring kiss, then says, “I understand.”

It doesn’t take long for Zeb to get assigned a ship. Alex walks him down to the flight deck and gives him a kiss goodbye, while also letting Zeb know he understands why Zeb needs to leave and that he looks forward to seeing him again.

Alex is tired as he makes his way back to the med deck. Nearly all of the kids are settling in for the night. Cassian is asleep on a bed near where Ahsoka is pursuing through a tablet. Jyn is on the bed next to him. Baze and Chirrut are sharing a bed, so are Sinker and Bodhi. Wolffe is sitting between the beds that Bly and Cody are sleeping on, while Rex is next to the bed Cody is one with Stone on his other side. Omega and Luke are talking quietly with Crosshair. Glitch is sleeping in a bed nearby. Alex takes the free chair near Sinker and Bodhi, tilts his head back and closes his eyes. It won’t be the best sleep and the next few days will be busy, but he’s nearby if either Sinker or Bodhi need him.

Bodhi wakes up from a nightmare about being told he’s lying and a monster with tentacles coming out of the dark.

“I’m tied up so I can’t get away,” Bodhi sobs as he explains his nightmare to Alex.

Sinker hugs Bodhi close. Alex brushes the loose strands of hair off Bodhi’s face and asks a few more questions. Bodhi seems to calm the more he talks, words almost tripping over each other as he answers Alex.

“Sounds like a Bor,” Alex offers. “Your adult self was captured and held for a few days and there were reports that the man who held you, who was known to be paranoid, had one. It might be a memory.”

“Maybe that’s why you keep having the same dream?” Sinker puts in.

“Oh,” Bodhi sighs as he wipes at his face and settles back down on the bed. “If I’m going to remember something about being an adult I’d rather have a happy memory.”

Sinker settles down next to Bodhi. “We’ve got time to make new memories.”

Then they’re both sleeping again and Alex is wondering how much of their lives before they’ll remember. Do any of the rest of them have nightmares about the things they lived through before?

“Better?” Ahsoka asks.

Alex glances at the sleeping children next to him. “I think so.”

“We could get them to do a brain scan on Bodhi,” Ahsoka suggests. “Glitch can look him over too.”

“That might be a good idea,” Alex agrees. “We can ask in the morning. Are they going to stop the advanced aging for the clones?”

“We’re waiting till morning. Getting the chips out was more important, we’ll concentrate on asking their permission to let them age normally for a human tomorrow,” Ahsoka explains. “Rex thinks they’ll all agree. Apparently puberty and growth spurts at twice the normal rate for a human is miserable.”

Alex thinks about the way his legs ached during his growth spurts and grimaces. “Yeah. I don’t see why they wouldn’t.”

After breakfast all the clones agree to undergo the procedure that’ll stop their rapid aging. Cody asks Rex several pointed questions about why he and Wolffe look so much older than Glitch. Glitch just laughs and says something about the Force keeping him young before the procedure to stop the rapid aging was put together.

“It’s a recently developed procedure,” Rex says. “It’s helped a lot.”

Cody’s eyes narrow. “How much older is Rau?”

Alex tries to hide his smile. The shock on Rex’s face is almost enough to laugh about. Rex sighs and scrubs a hand down his face as he explains, “Rau was never my flight instructor. He was young when he was hired to train us. We didn’t meet until after he joined the Rebellion.”

“When you both looked the same age,” Cody counters. “You’re actually younger. Han said you two are the same age!”

“Han and I are the same age,” Rex agrees, before he questions, “You actually liked Rau yesterday, so where is this coming from?”

“I still have to look out for you,” Cody protests. “You’re still my little brother!”

“I know we agreed that you’d be my older brother when we were both very young,” Rex says. “On some level I’ll always be your little brother, but that doesn’t mean I need you to protect me from my boyfriend and I believe our dynamic is going to shift because at this point I’m older and I can help look out for you now. Cody, you get to be a kid this time around, let yourself be a kid. Rau and I will keep you safe.”

Cody frowns, considering this for a moment, before asking, “Do you think I deserve to be a kid?”

“Yes, everyone deserves to have a good childhood, even you,” Rex reassures.

Bly, Stone, and Sinker also ask for reassurances that they get to be kids as they finish up their breakfast. Crosshair doesn’t ask, just watches them all quietly as he eats. He’s meeting with the nutritionist after their morning procedure.

After breakfast Alex helps Ahsoka and Omega organize Rogue One to get them back down to Scarif. Bodhi is staying with Sinker, but everyone else is heading back. They meet Rau in the hanger as he’s just brought up the next group of kids.

The surface is the organized chaos that Alex is used to now that he’s been with the Rebellion for years. He’s assigned to research if the kids have any existing family that can be contacted, but he also gets time blocked out to help with the kids and free time.

By the afternoon the clone group is back on the surface. Bodhi finds him with Sinker trailing behind to give Alex a hug, then Sinker and Bodhi set out to find where they can help out. Alex directs them to where a holo watch party is taking place, letting both of them know there are plenty of snacks.


Chapters: [1] [2] [3] [4]