Chapter Text
“Kix,” there’s a hand on his shoulder. “Kix.” The medic slowly opens his eyes. A blurry figure of Coric is in front of him, a slightly concerned look on his face. “You look like you’ve been dragged through the swamp of Saleucami again. Have you slept at all?” The other medic is back to his blunt sense of humor, it seems. Kix sits up and stretches, realizing he fell asleep at Rex’s bedside again.
“Coric! How are your hands? Are they feeling better? Do they hurt at all? Do you need me to change the bandages?” He starts to stand up, but the older medic pushes him back down.
“My hands are fine, just a little stiff still,” Coric holds up his bandaged hands, wriggling the fingers with a grin. “Give ‘em a few more days and they’ll be just fine. I came here to worry about you, so don’t try to turn it around on me, got it?” Kix nodded. “Good. Now, when was the last time you got proper sleep?” Kix reaches for Rex’s wrist, only to have Coric smack his hands away. “Nope, he’s fine. I’m asking about you.”
Kix scrubs his hands over his face. “Three days ago, I think? It was before Valtameri. I have slept, just not long or deeply.” Coric rolls his eyes.
“You’re just as bad as the patients you lecture. Go lay down in the back room for a few hours, and I’ll let you know if the Captain’s condition changes.” Wearily, Kix drags himself to the cot they keep in the back room, feeling how heavy he is. But despite his exhaustion, Kix can’t sleep. Instead, he’s laying there with his eyes closed. It’s because of this that he hears the Med Bay doors slide open with a hiss, the sound of lightly scuffing footsteps making their way across the room.
“How is he Coric?” The Commander’s voice is just above a whisper. Kix frowns to himself. Ashoka had returned late yesterday evening after the space battle above Valtameri finally ended with a Republic victory. The second she heard about the Captain, she rooted herself in the Med Bay until Kix managed to chase her out an hour ago. The fact that she’s already back is almost enough to make Kix get up. Almost.
“Are you talking about the Captain or Kix?”
“What’s wrong with Kix!?”
“Whoa whoa whoa Commander, calm down. I just sent him off to rest in the backroom because the di’kut took a triple shift watching our Captain here, and he hasn’t really slept the last few days.”
“Oh.” Kix can almost hear the way the Togruta is uncomfortably fidgeting with guilt. “He could have told me. I would have watched the Captain while he slept.”
“I believe that would have gone against his goal to get you to sleep, Commander,” Coric said wryly.
Before the Commander can reply, the doors slide open again, and two sets of footsteps rush in. “How is he Coric?” Kix can hear the other medic sigh from here.
“Fives. Echo. What are you both doing?” The tone in Coric’s voice is enough to make Kix roll reluctantly to his feet. Wherever the Domino twins are, trouble usually follows.
“We’re here to check up on Captain Rex, sir!” Fives chirps.
“With all those blankets?” Coric asks suspiciously. That’s all Kix needs to make his appearance. Sure enough, The twins are standing in the middle of the Med Bay with a horde of blankets and pillows. Commander Tano is sitting on the edge of the Captain’s bed, running her hands gently through his buzzed hair—something she took upon herself to do when she learned the vode calmed each other down through a series of trained touches. The Captain and Commander both tended to take shifts in the Med Bay post battle when they could, making rounds to cheer the injured men up and offer the medics an extra set of hands. Kix now wonders if Ashoka got this idea from Rex himself.
“Oh no, go back to bed Kix, I’ll handle this.” Everyone looks up at him with slight looks of guilt, a pretty good hint that Kix looks like absolute shit.
“I’m fine Coric, I couldn’t fall asleep anyway.” Coric looks like he wants to protest, but instead his shoulders droop and he gives up.
“Now, what are you two doing with all those blankets?” The Domino twins shuffle their feet.
“We were going to make a nest, sir. To keep the Captain company.”
“And why would you do that?” Kix pinched the bridge of his nose, already sensing a headache.
“Lieutenant Jesse suggested it sir—he said the Captain always makes sure vode aren’t alone in here, and he thinks it’s because the Captain doesn’t want them to think they’ve woken up on Kamino. This way, when he wakes up, there’s a lot of friendly faces.” Oh.
“More like a lot of identical faces,” Coric mutters, but the joke is half-hearted at best.
“Aren’t you all from Kamino? Why wouldn’t you—“ Commander Tano stops the moment she sees the darkening in everyone’s face. Confusion bubbles over her features, but thankfully she drops the question entirely. This isn’t a conversation the vode want to have with her yet. At least, not here, where there’s a lot of delicate equipment that has already been thrown around in the last few days.
“Go ahead and make it,” Kix allows. “But keep it off the floor and make sure the area around the Captain is easily accessible.” The twins brighten considerably, already planning to push three cots together. Ashoka offers suggestions from where she’s keeping vigil at the Captain’s side. While the medics are distracted, Jesse slips through the doors with even more blankets. Kix only notices the Lieutenant’s arrival when the twins are calling for more blankets. Kix and Coric share a look with each other.
‘You’re the one who allowed this’ Coric’s look accuses.
‘And I’m already regretting it,’ Kix returns with his own guilty shrug.
“Uh, Kix, is Rex’s breathing supposed to sound like this?” Ashoka’s concerned voice cuts through all the merriment of blanket fort making. Kix is immediately by the Captain’s side. After three days of relative stillness, Rex is now visibly agitated, his breathing rough and strained. Coric grabs a med scanner, frowning at the results.
“His ribs are still set, and there’s nothing in his airway, so he should be breathing just fine,” the medic informs them. That’s the moment Rex stops breathing entirely. Ashoka is moved out of the way as both medic’s get to work, trying to figure out what’s wrong. Kix starts chest compressions, despite knowing what it will do to the Captain’s ribs. Setting back healing is better than dead.
Coric goes to grab a ventilator but stops when Rex starts gasping and choking and breathing. Instead, he grabs a regular oxygen mask, slipping it over the Captain’s mouth. Rex starts flailing, and both the medics trap down his arms as quickly as possible.
Then the Captain starts screaming. The oxygen mask muffles exactly what Rex is saying, but Kix is certain it’s a name. Out of respect for his vod, Kix doesn’t try to figure out more. Ashoka leaps over both the medics, placing her hands in the same hold Skywalker used before. “Don’t!” Kix tries to warn, but instead the Captain grows still again, calming down and sinking into deep unconsciousness. For the Captain’s sake, the oxygen mask stays on as they reset his ribs again. For good measure, Kix also gives him a dose of painkillers and a sedative.
From their place near the nest, Echo, Fives, and Jesse look horrified. Kix just feels tired. “Coric, I’m trusting you with the Captain. Wake me up if something happens.” With that thought, Kix turns on his heel and lays down on the cot in the back, finally falling asleep.
When Kix wakes up again, Hardcase is now in the nest, along with the Domino twins and Jesse. Coric is asleep in the center of the nest, hands protectively cradled by his chest. Everyone awake is invested in a game of sabacc, playing around the sleeping medic. Everyone looks up as he enters, and Jesse shifts to the side as a clear invitation to join in. Kix glances at the Captain, and decides one game won’t hurt.
Two games of sabacc later, Kix hears a thumping sound, and turns around to see the Captain face first on the floor of the Med Bay. Letting out a steady stream of curses, Kix approaches Rex, the beginning of his fifteen page lecture already started. The Captain is still perfectly unconscious, with only a slight grimace on his face. Kix and Jesse return him to the cot with minimal effort, and then to the sabacc game with one eye on the Captain. Predictably, Kix loses the next round.
Not even a minute later, Rex manages to find his way to the floor again. Kix pulls out some straps and secures them over the Captain’s chest.
“The Captain’s not even awake and he’s trying to leave the Med Bay,” Jesse cracks.
“My hero,” Hardcase dramatically poses with one hand over his heart and the other draped over his forehead. The twins start snickering.
“No! Do not take any inspiration from that di’kut,” Kix warns.
“What are we being inspired by?” Commander Tano makes a beeline for the Captain the moment she enters, taking up her normal spot by his head.
“The Captain’s unconscious attempts to escape the Med Bay” Fives answers easily.
“My hero!” Ashoka exclaims.
“No! Commander, I had faith in you! I’m trying to discourage this kind of behavior!”
“You thought Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan would learn to be sensible when it comes to her own health and safety? Her three role models are Skywalker, Kenobi, and the Captain, what did you think would happen?” Coric rejoins the conversation with a stretch, flexing his hands experimentally and wincing. They probably need another soak in bacta.
“He’s got a point Kix,” Ahsoka agrees. She’s pulling something out of a pouch from her waist. Kix squints and sees its a little bottle of blue…something. When she unscrews the lid, a strong chemical scent fills the room.
“Respectfully, what is that Commander?” Kix rushes over to inspect it. The Padawan seems to be… turning her nails blue?.
“Nail polish? It’s like paint, but for your nails. I finally found the perfect shade of blue the last time I was in Coruscant.” After a minute, Ahsoka holds up the first hand, her nails 501st blue. Behind him, there is excited whispering coming from the nest.
“Is it toxic? or flammable?” Kix still eyes the little blue bottle with distrust. He doesn’t like having unknown substances in his Med Bay.
The Commander laughs at him. “It’s perfectly harmless, Kix. Here,” she gestures for him to hold out a hand. Hesitantly, Kix holds out his left, watching as she paints an even stripe of color over his middle finger. “Now, give it a few moments to dry,” she lets her sentence trail off. A minute later, she rubs the pad of her thumb over the paint, and Kix watches in fascination as it stays on his nail.
"Can you do the other one?" Kix holds out his middle finger on his other hand, watching the Commander paint it in two smooth strokes.
“Ohh! Do mine next!” Hardcase exclaims. Next to him, Fives is excitedly nodding his head, stars in his eyes.
“Only if you do it over there,” Kix gestures towards the nest. Ahsoka pouts at him, but the medic is firm, not wanting Rex’s bedside getting too crowded. With a huff, the Commander finally moves to the nest, assigning Fives the prestigious job of “nail polish bottle holder” with the warning “if you drop this I will kick your shebs in morning training.” Hardcase can barely contain his glee as all ten nails are painted blue. Once his nails are dry, Ahsoka moves onto Fives.
“So, Ahsoka begins conversationally, “what do you think Rex’s first excuse to leave the Med Bay is going to be this time?”
“Is this a bet?” Hardcase is carefully holding the polish bottle in the Commander’s reach.
“It is now!" Fives cackles gleefully. No one likes making bets like Fives. The Commander smacks him when his cackling messes up her brush stroke.
“Why is this something you are even betting on?” Kix asks, even though he’s afraid of the answer. Most of him is already resigned to watching this play out.
“I bet he’s going to deny being in pain and insist he’s perfectly fine,” Coric chimes in. Kix gives his fellow medic a betrayed look.
“Darn, I was going to bet that,” Echo whines.
“Too late, gotta come up with something else, Echo old boy!” Coric says sweetly while wearing an osik-eating grin.
“Fine then! I uh… I bet he’s going to use work as an excuse.” Echo bets.
“Oh yeah? I think he’s going to use us as an excuse. He’s going to be like ‘It’s for morale Kix! I just want to let the boys know I’m okay Kix!’’’ Everyone bursts out laughing at Hardcase's attempt at mimicking the Captain.
“Why did you try to make your voice lower? We all have the same voice you di’kut!” Jesse laughs as he shove’s Hardcase’s shoulder.
“Hardcase, I’m calling bantha’s piss on that one,” Kix tells him flatly. “I’ve heard lots of his excuses, and he only uses the morale one before he gets dragged to the Med Bay.”
“Oh yeah? I bet you a month’s dessert rations that I’m right, on top of whatever the pot is,” Hardcase taunts.
“Fine. But don’t come whining to me when you don’t get dessert for a month,” In the back of his head, Kix can’t believe he let himself get dragged into this.
“That’s big talk coming from someone who hasn’t made an official bet yet,” Jesse warns him.
“You haven’t bet yet either Jess,” Ahsoka reminds him.
“I’m betting that he doesn’t even make an excuse. He’ll probably try to demonstrate that he doesn’t need to be in the Med Bay by attempting to walk out under his own power.” Jesse’s grin couldn’t eat more osik if it tried.
“He better karking not!” Kix honestly wouldn’t put it past his Captain to pull that kind of osik. It was a pretty good bet on Jesse’s part.
“Got a better idea, Kix?” Jesse looked very high and mighty with his smirk. Unfortunately for the Lieutenant, Kix knows all the excuses the Captain comes up with, because he is always on the receiving end of them.
“Plenty. Since he’ll be on bedrest when he wakes up, he’s going to claim that he can sleep in his quarters.” The Captain’s only made that excuse fifty times before, Kix thinks to himself.
“Alright Fives, your nails are done,” the Commander shoos him away and grabs Echo’s reluctant hands. The young trooper almost immediately relaxes as he watches the Togruta work her magic.
“What are you betting, Commander, seeing as you posed the question?” Echo asks. Ahsoka actually pauses her work to think.
“Hmmm, I think he’ll agree to play nice later if Kix lets him get some ‘fresh air’ when he first wakes up. Or any sort of bargaining for good behavior, I guess,” the Commander sticks her tongue out in concentration as she carefully scrapes at the side of Echo’s nail.
“Ah, the sacrifice-reward gambit. The Captain is pretty fond of that for training,” Jesse admits.
“Alright Fives, you’re the only one who has yet to bet anything.” Hardcase points a finger at the trooper. “Fess up: what excuse is the Captain going to make when he wakes up?”
The second Domino twin scrubs his hands over his face. “You guys took all the good ones,” he sulks.
“Betting was your idea!” Jesse reminds him indignantly.
“Yeah, well,” the younger trooper fumbles for a comeback. “We still haven’t decided what we’re even betting!”
“Oh, don’t try to change the subject shiny, you still have to make a bet,” Hardcase lovingly slaps Fives upside the head.
“Fine! Fine! I bet he’ll try to get the General to make an excuse for him.”
“For someone who likes to make bets, you sure are bad at them,” Coric observes. Fives pouts at him.
“Now,” Hardcase claps his hands together, “what are we betting?”
“Losers have to dye their hair 501st blue?” Ahsoka suggests.
“That would work if all of us had hair, Commander,” Coric looks at her pointedly while also running a hand over his bald head.
“We could run laps then?” Everyone groans at the thought.
“I promise there will be no shortage of laps to run once the Captain wakes up and feels fit to assign them,” Kix says.
“Losers have to dye the Captain’s hair blue?” Fives suggests.
“No.” Kix, Coric, Jesse, and Hardcase shoot down at the same time. Rex has always been touchy about his hair—Kix has no idea how the Captain would react if someone dyed it.
“How about losers have to help me keep Rex in the Med Bay,” Kix suggests.
“Why would we help you with that?” Jesse looks genuinely confused. Kix wants to strangle him.
“Winner gets out of ‘fresher duty for the next three months?” Echo suggests.
“Even Captain-assigned ‘fresher duty?” Fives asks hopefully, out of experience with Captain-assigned ‘fresher duty.
“No, because that’s a separate punishment from regular duty. Also, the Captain would make all of us run laps in full kit if we bypassed his punishment like that,” Jesse tells him. The young trooper’s shoulders droop.
“So, ‘fresher duty for three months for the losers? That sounds pretty suitable,” the Padawan, who has never had ‘fresher duty in her life, says. The rest of the vode grin at her naivety, and agree on it.
“Your turn Echo!” Fives pushes his twin the Commander’s way to get his nails painted. Kix watches the antics for a few minutes before Coric convinces him to get a meal from the mess. Kix agrees, if only because the walk will do him good. The Med Bay gets a little stifling sometimes.
The mess is quiet, letting Kix know that its late night, and the vode who have invaded his Med Bay were apparently planning a sleepover. He wonders whether they realize that the lights never fully turn off in the Med Bay, which is why they have a cot in the back (darkened) room.
Halfway through his meal, Kix gets a page from the Med Bay. Food forgotten, Kix is once again running through the halls. He can hear shouting from the other side of the door. When he bursts in, Rex has his hands scrabbling at his throat, making these awful choking noises. Hardcase and Jesse are trying to peel the Captain’s hands away, but that only makes Rex panic more. Ahsoka is at his head again, but her attempts to calm him with the Force are not working. Coric has his hands full trying to keep the Captain from moving his chest, while the twins have his legs. The straps Kix put in place earlier are all dangling broken off the side of the cot.
“Kix!” Coric gestures to the counter where they keep the hypos. Kix finds one and prepares to jam it into Rex’s neck.
“I…don’t talk…to Separatist scum,” Rex wheezes. Then the Captain screams. Coric goes white.
“Wait,” Coric breathes. “Commander, can you, can you tell him that we are not on Teth anymore?”
Now its Ahsoka’s turn to turn pale. “Captain Rex,” she murmurs, concentrating as she pushes her words into the Force, “You are safe with us, you are not—“ her voice breaks. “You are not on Teth anymore.” Tears are building in her eyes. “You are not on Teth anymore. You are safe. You are with us. Rex,” her voice wobbles, her face crumpling with despair. “I can’t,” she cries. “I can’t reach him.”
With that admission, Kix finally inserts the needle. The Captain gradually sinks deeper into unconsciousness.
“What…what was that?” Echo whispers, looking horrified. This is probably the first time he’s truly seen Rex not be in control of himself. Kix feels sorry for him, though it was only a matter of time before the Domino twins saw something like this. Rex’s heart is too big, and it’s always bleeding. He had gone soft with them the moment he got to drag them into Torrent company. The twins are part of the inner circle now: the people who know how many ghosts Rex is carrying with him.
“Teth,” is all Coric can manage. Kix joined the 501st a few months before the battle of Saleucami, but he knows the battle of Teth wiped out most of the original Torrent company. As far as he knows, Rex and Coric are the only two left now. Losing a squad is hard, but Kix can’t imagine the kind of devastation that comes with losing a company.
“I never realized,” the Commander begins. “He contacted us while we were in the temple. The way he did it tipped us off to the fact that Ventress was coming. But I—“ The Commander lets out a sob. “I didn’t know he was tortured!”
“The witch held him up by the neck with the Force,” Coric whispered. Kix knew that Rex’s medical file had damaged vocal cords on the archived list of injuries. Now he knows why.
“There were only six of us left, by the end of it. I don’t know why she didn’t just kill all of us.” The medic looked at his shaking hands. “I hope that witch dies a horrible death for what she did to Torrent.” By the darkened faces of everyone in the Med Bay, Coric isn’t the only one.
“Oh Force. I left you guys on Teth,” Ahsoka admits through her tears. “You guys needed us, and Anakin wanted to go back, and I convinced him to leave.” The admission sits heavy in the air. Kix doesn’t feel anything but sorrow. From the way Coric talks about Teth—which is rarely, and completely devoid of humor—there was very little anyone could have done different. As it was, the General and the Commander almost hadn’t returned Rotta on time. If they had stopped to help—
“The mission came first sir, Rex would tell you that if he were awake,” Coric comforts her. Ahsoka just sobs harder.
“He did tell us that, as we were leaving,” the Padawan sniffs. Kix wonders just how close Rex was to dying on Teth with the rest of Torrent. The group of vode new to Torrent all look at each other. It feels like they are intruding on something private—something before and bigger than them. The Commander is young, not even an adult by her species’ standards, and already there is so much regret and grief on her child shoulders. Eventually, the Commander’s cries die out, and she dozes off with tear stains drying on her cheeks.
“Sir, can we…?” Echo gestures towards the nest and then back towards the Captain. Kix nods. He has a feeling they all need the comfort. Together, the vode build a newer, larger nest on the floor, before gently carrying the Captain and the Commander into the center of it. After Coric winces a few times, Kix glares at him until he goes to soak his hands in bacta. Kix moves all the monitors and the IV over to the floor, keeping them by the Captain’s head. Slowly, the rest of the group curls around their alors. Kix notices that only one of the Commander’s hands are painted blue. After a few minutes of looking around, Kix finds the bottle of blue nail polish sitting on the table beside Rex’s cot. Gently, he pulls the unpainted hand into his lap and begins his work.
Even with his famously steady hands, getting an even coat of polish is harder than the Commander made it look. Kix hums as he uses his fingernail to scrape away the excess at the side the same way he saw her do to Echo’s nails. By the time he’s done, his hands are covered in little smears of polish, and his work isn’t quite as neat as the Commander’s, but he’s proud of it all the same. Job done, Kix finds a chair and keeps watch while his brothers sleep.
When Coric returns, Kix takes some bandages and tapes them over the worst of the cuts. Once he’s done, the older medic finds a place at the edge of the nest, settling into an uneasy sleep.
Kix is not sure when he fell asleep, but he wakes to the General’s hand on his shoulder. His back and neck are stiff from dozing in such an uncomfortable position. As he wakes up fully, panic floods his stomach. Any number of things could have happened while Kix was sleeping like an absolute di’kut.
As if sensing his fear, Anakin whispers, “at ease Kix.” The General’s attention is mostly on the nest. Rex and Ahsoka are still in the center facing each other, with Jesse and Fives at their backs respectively. Hardcase is sleeping on his back, one arm strung over Jesse and the other over Coric, and Echo is tucked up against Fives’ chest. Skywalker has a look on his face that is full of fondness and longing. It is easy to see the love the General has for all of them when he’s nostalgic like this.
“How are they doing?” The General whispers.
“The Captain seemed to be having dreams about Teth sir, which made the Commander, and the rest of us, learn some upsetting things.” The General’s face darkens considerably at the mention of Teth. “They have both calmed down since then, sir.”
“You don’t have to call me ‘Sir,’ when we’re off duty, Kix. Anakin is just fine, or even Skywalker, if that is easier for you.”
“O-oh, okay…Anakin,” Nope. That felt wrong. But the General seemed to relax considerably, so maybe Kix could keep trying.
“Any more developments with the…Thing?” It takes a moment for Kix to understand what he means.
“The Commander couldn’t reach him earlier when she tried to calm him down, but otherwise nothing, as far as I can tell.” The General frowns at that. In the center of the nest, Rex’s face twists into a grimace before straightening out.
“That was strange.” Kix murmurs.
“What?”
“The Captain grimaced. He should be too unconscious to feel pain,” Kix explains. He walks around the nest to get better access to the Captain. A light flush of fever is dusting Rex’s cheeks. Kix taps the Captain’s forehead three times, but Rex doesn’t even twitch at the contact. “Maybe you can help?”
Skywalker presses his fingers to Rex’s head, eyes closed in concentration. With a frustrated groan, he opens his eyes.
“The Force says no.”
“With all due respect, sir, what do you mean ‘the Force says no?’”
“It doesn’t want us to interfere.”
“B-but, is he in pain? Is he distressed?”
“He is with the Force at the moment,” Skywalker shrugs. Below them, Rex murmurs something unintelligible. Kix decides that if the Force is with his Captain, all Kix can do is what he’s been trained to do, and then sit back and watch for the rest. Kix misses when only Jetti had to deal with Jetti osik. He stands up to get a handful of supplies, returning with a small first aid kit. From his perch at Rex’s head, Kix begins to change out the myriad bandages and bacta patches covering the Captain’s upper body and arms. By the time he’s done, the fevered flush has grown much more distinct on Rex’s cheeks. Well, kriff.
“I need to check the blaster wound on his ilium,” Kix whispers. Skywalker nods and raises his arms. Before Kix can question it, he’s hovering in the air. He has just enough presence of mind not to shriek. It feels like thousands of tiny threads are holding him up—like he’s a giant puppet. It’s a precarious, and all around not pleasant feeling, and Kix now understands why the Captain always complains about being thrown around by the Jetti. Kix grabs his med kit and signals Skywalker that he’s ready. Slowly, he is moved directly above Rex.
Gingerly, he peels away the old bacta patch to find a mass of inflamed skin. The surgical sutures have all been torn open. Kix takes out the sutures and cleans the wound out best he can before placing a new bacta patch. Gently, he is brought back and set on the floor.
“Infection was starting to set in again, but I cleaned out the wound and I can check it again in a few hours.” Kix places a cool towel on the Captain’s forehead before putting away his pack.
“Get some sleep Kix—I can take watch for a little.” Kix’s head whips up to look at his General’s face. Skywalker is gesturing to the open spot on Echo’s other side. Now that the offer of sleep has been made, Kix can feel his exhaustion rearing up. Taking care of his brothers is exhausting.
“Wake me if anything changes?” The General nods, so Kix deems it safe to take a short nap. He finds his place curled up at Echo’s back, almost immediately dozing off. Right before he falls asleep, he hears a soft click. “My Master is going to love this,” the General whispers to himself.
Kix wakes to the quiet murmuring of his brothers.
“Got any threes?” The General whispers.
“S-sir, we’re playing sabacc. There are no threes? What game are you playing?” Echo sounds incredibly lost.
“Sir, what cards are you even playing with?” Hardcase asks.
“Were you trying to cheat sir?” Fives sounds scandalized.
Kix rolls over and goes back to sleep.
“Haha, you’ve fallen for my trap card!”
“Sir, can you stop saying that every time the cards shift in your favor?”
“Also, sir, you’re still losing.”
“Should we wake Kix or Coric?”
“Kix said he wanted to be woken up, but he looks relaxed for the first time in awhile.”
“Coric’s hands are bandaged though, and he seemed to be in pain when he used them too much.”
Kix takes the choice out of their hands by opening his eyes and sitting up. Jesse, Skywalker, and Tano are all awake, and looking at Rex with concern. Kix makes his way over, and the others part for him to get a better look. Rex is fevered, his whole face red and sweaty. Soft groans of distress are escaping through his lips. The cloth on his head is still cool and damp, which tells him the General was keeping his promise of taking care of Rex.
“We’re going to have to move him to a cot so I can examine him,” Kix decides. The General and Commander nod in agreement, gently lifting Rex up with the Force. The Captain flails a little, but it’s hard to tell if it is because of being lifted or his own dreams. Kix grabs a med scanner, frowning at the screen as it doesn’t show anything new.
Starting with the head again, Kix works his way down, checking the blaster wound on his back and making sure the broken ribs are still set in place. The wound on the Captain’s ilium is still red, but the inflammation has gone down. The shrapnel wounds and burns are all a stage better than they were before. Physically, the Captain is healing, if rather slowly. Kix still wishes he could submerge Rex in bacta, but he doesn’t want another tank to shatter.
“As far as I can tell, it’s just stress, and his body’s natural reaction to healing,” Kix tells them. “Best we can do is apply more cool towels to help keep his temperature down. If it gets much higher, we might have to dunk him in a bath, but I’d rather avoid that after the bacta tank incident.” Ahsoka doesn’t question that comment, so Kix assumes the General filled her in.
Kix removes the oxygen mask to gauge Rex’s breathing. The first few breaths are raspy, but after a few moments they even out to something on the shallow side. Kix has the General hold Rex upright as he wraps up the Captain’s ribs. “I’m going to leave the oxygen mask off for now, but if his breathing gets harsh or strained, we can put it back on.” Kix begins stealing pillows to keep the Captain wedged upright, which should help him breathe a little easier. All the monitors are brought back to cot-side and reattached. Jesse comes over, fidgeting with his hands.
“Is he really going to be okay Kix?” The Lieutenant’s voice is fragile. The last few days have been hard on everyone, but Jesse saw the explosion. Saw the way their Captain got catapulted through the air and into the ocean. He wonders what would have happened if the Force didn’t tell Skywalker that Rex was still alive. If Rex didn’t somehow have the Force with him. He shudders to think about it.
“He will be,” Kix assures him. “If worse comes to worse, we’ll risk using a bacta tank again, but for now, bacta patches and IV seem to be doing the job well enough.” He senses that what Jesse really wants, however, is more than simple reassurances. “Want to help me cool him down?” The Lieutenant nods, and together they get some cool rags, placing them across his forehead, armpits, and groin. Once the job is done, Jesse takes vigil at the Captain’s head.
Kix smiles, and takes up guard on the other side. He meant what he said. Against all hope and better judgement, the Captain is going to be okay.
“Coric, is the tub ready?” Kix grunts as the Captain almost writhes out of his grasp. Over the last three days, Rex’s fever has steadily grown worse, until the medics had no other option but a bath. Jesse curses as the Captain kicks him in the ribs.
“We can still,” the Captain coughs. “We can still keep the droids from escaping. We’ll fight…to the final…man.” Kix curses. This is not the time for another of the Captain’s dreams. Lost in fever and thought, Rex is going to be a pain in the shebs to calm down. Kix can’t safely sedate him either, which makes things worse.
“Tub is ready sir!” Coric affirms. Between the three of them, they struggle to carefully lower Rex into the cool water. Immediately, Rex screams and thrashes, the lights flickering on and off. Kix is on his back before he can even register falling. With a grunt and a curse, the medic gets back to his feet. The Captain is writhing and screaming still, his head dangerously close to the water line. Without hesitation, Kix climbs in with him, sliding under the Captain and cradling him to his chest. After a minute, the screams die off to wheezed pants, the writhing to aborted twitches.
Kix is shivering by the time Rex’s temperature goes down to a manageable level. Jesse and Coric haul the Captain out of the tub, and a minute later Coric returns with a towel.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I wish the Captain would wake up already. He’s an even worse patient than usual when he’s unconscious.” Coric complained. Kix nodded in agreement, trying to mentally strengthen himself for the last three hours of his shift.
At least once a day, Skywalker stops by to check on the Force. And everyday, the Force has the same answer: “MINE.”
As long as the Force has its hold on the Captain, there is no reaching Rex. Using drugs or Suggestions to calm him is becoming less and less effective.
“Could you at least tell the Force to keep Rex still?” Kix asks. “Or ask when Rex can come out of his coma?”
Skywalker grunts with frustration. “It says Rex isn’t listening.”
“Sounds like our Captain. Sometimes, I think he only ever listens to you.” The General gets a weird look on his face, one that’s gone before the medic can identify it.
Skywalker’s comm beeps, and the General pushes his way to his feet. “I promised to teach Ahsoka how to make stronger Suggestions, and maybe a little Force Healing, though that isn’t my own specialty. My comm is open if you need me, or if Rex finally starts listening.” With that, the General leaves.
Kix sits at the chair placed by the Captain’s bedside. The fever is still there, though thankfully within acceptable levels, and the oxygen mask has returned. Gently, Kix takes the Captain’s arm, moving and massaging the muscles to keep them in shape. The Captain is going to be insufferable when he has PT and lightened training. Kix can’t wait.
At least then, the Captain will be awake. Kix will hear from Rex’s own mouth that he’s fine (which will be a lie at first) or that he will be fine (which he will be if he listens to the medics).
As he works through the rest of Rex’s muscle groups, Kix starts murmuring gently, keeping up a one-sided conversation.
“The lecture I’ve been planning for you is up to 21 pages, sir, so you better wake up before I reach 30 if you want to leave with your ears intact.
“Hardcase and the Commander tried to bake something in the kitchen yesterday. I don’t know what it was supposed to be, but they set the kitchen on fire and Hardcase burned his hand when he lashed out at open flames like the di’kut he is.
“Jesse has been leading morning training in your absence. He has also been complaining about doing all your paperwork, like we don’t all know he’s been shoving it at Echo for him to do.
“You picked up some good shinies from Rishi. Fives is horrible at making bets, but hey, his tale of Rishi station made you and Commander Cody sound like heroes out of those Jetti tales we all heard on Kamino. Echo is still a little stiff around the edges, but he’s getting to be quite the free thinker. He helped Jesse come up with a training exercise that involved modified blasters and used the whole of the Resolute as a training ground. We split Torrent into two teams and pitted them against each other, and the final team standing won. Fives got the most confirmed kills overall, but Hardcase and Jesse were close seconds. When you get better, you’ll have to try it sir. I have no doubt you would win.”
Kix sighed, running his fingers through Rex’s close shaven hair. “You better wake soon sir. We’re holding together for now, but it’s getting harder. The General especially is becoming more distant. I think he blames himself, somehow. The whole ship is holding its breath. And I—
“It’s been over a week, sir. I don’t know what else I can do. This Jetti osik you’ve found yourself in is more than I know how to deal with. I keep telling the boys you’ll be okay, but it’s starting to get harder to tell them that when they don’t know why you haven’t woken up yet.”
Kix buries his head in his hands. The worst part of being a medic, he decides, is when there is nothing else he can do but sit and watch.
————
This is the worst dream. It starts right as Kix is redoing the bandages and tape around the Captain’s ribs. Coric got off duty an hour ago, and is most definitely asleep, and all the usual suspects of the nest are completing morning training. Kix is alone, and Rex is screaming his head off and thrashing, hands trying to claw at his chest. His fingers scrabble at the bandages being used to cover the blaster wound at his back, a distressed whine escaping the Captain’s lips. Kix feels his stomach twist, and moves to grab a hypo.
But then the Captain’s eyes open, vibrantly blue and open, and Kix would be more pleased if Rex wasn’t in the middle of panicking. The oddest thing is that he seems to be panicking over the old blaster wound he received on Saleucami. Kix grabs at Rex’s wrists, trying to hold him back before he hurts himself. ‘Captain!”
The Captain continues to fight him, unaware of his surroundings and the fact that the wound he’s looking for is already healed. “Vod!” The monitors are beeping shrilly, warning Kix that Rex’s heart rate is dangerously high.
“Rex!” The use of the Captain’s name finally gets Rex to make eye contact with him, face full of panic. “Rex, I need you to calm down, or I will be forced to sedate you. Now, match my breathing. In for three, hold for three, out for three. Can you do that?” Kix demonstrates, watching carefully as Rex starts to calm down. “That’s right, just match my breathing. In… Hold… Out.” Kix lets Rex focus on just breathing for a few minutes, glad the Captain is a bit more collected now. Kix subtly tries to turn on his comm, leaving it open so Skywalker will know his Captain is awake.
“Captain, are you with me?” Kix is still worried that any second, the Captain will close his eyes and return to his Force-induced coma. But thankfully, Rex seems to be growing more awake—and more aware, by the second.
“Kix,” Rex breathes, which is a good sign. “My eyes, are they?” Kix’s stomach sinks.
“They are still blue, sir.” Rex’s shoulders sink slightly, but he does a good job hiding any other sign of disappointment.
“Alright then. Sit Rep?” Kix wants to slap him. The man has been in a coma for ten rotations, and already his mind is back to work. Unfortunately for the Captain, Kix has already made the executive decision that Rex is on bedrest and medical leave for as long as Kix can stand it.
The Captain has the audacity to roll his eyes at the news that he’s on medical leave. Kix almost slaps him for that too. But Rex is stubborn, and reluctantly, Kix tells him that they are heading to Coruscant and have tentative plans to get new shinies. For the Captain’s sake, he slips in the fact that Rex has been unconscious for ten rotations, but he’s not sure the Captain was paying attention to that part. Now, the fun part of Sit Rep: telling the Captain what was happening to him while he was unconscious.
Rex frowns when Kix bails out of mentioning the shattered bacta tank, but thankfully doesn’t press when Kix doesn’t clarify. Kix decides to try to make it abundantly clear to the Captain that if Rex doesn’t use the downtime they have to properly heal, he will be readmitted to the Med Bay, and Kix will make both of them miserable for it.
Instead, Rex seems to fixate on the part where his ribs were broken, and decides to test them by breathing deeply. Almost immediately, that plan backfires, and Kix doses him with a painkiller while the Captain flails and wheezes. “Try not to do that again sir,” Kix advises while trying not to strangle their newly resuscitated Captain. Instead, he satisfies himself by wrapping up Rex’s ribs tightly. His pager buzzes three times at his hip, letting Kix know that Skywalker is on his way. Before the General gets here, Kix wants to lay down some ground rules, even though he’s fairly certain the Captain will ignore them.
If the Captain endangers his health after pulling the stunts he just did, Kix will sit on him.
“This should last six to eight hours. Let me know when the painkiller wears off, so I can get you another dose. If you get hot, cold, itchy, or dizzy, let me know, because that means you are having a bad reaction to this stuff. It should be safe, but every now and then some vod seems to develop and allergic reaction to it. I’m also putting you on a soft diet for now because you’ve only received nutrients via IV for the last week or so, and your stomach needs to reacclimatize to solid food. I’ll give you a list of approved foods when you leave, and I recommend that you follow it closely for both our sakes.
“You somehow don’t have a concussion, but you might have whiplash, so try to keep your back and neck straight and relaxed. Also, if you mess up your ribs again, I’m going to tell Commander Cody that you are being a di’kut, so he can find his way here to sit on you and give his own lecture. And if you feel any shifting or grinding in your chest, call me or Coric to you, that means your ribs will need to be reset or you will risk puncturing your lungs. If you feel any pain, anywhere, let me or another medic know. This isn’t Saleucami, we have plenty of supplies and there’s no need to push yourself. And for your blaster wounds, they still have stitches, and I swear to the Force itself, if you tear those stitches one more time, I will find the General and tell him that you were the one who leaked the hangar bay footage of him accidentally magnetizing his cybernetic hand to the Twilight. Even though it was Rook, I’m telling him it was you.”
“Kix.” The medic stops, waiting for his Captain to continue. He’s waiting for Rex to say that the medic doesn’t need to worry so much, that he’s awake, and therefore he’s okay now. Rex will be a lying di’kut for saying it, and Kix worries even when the Captain is in full health, but—
“Am I allowed to walk?” Is the Captain karking dense? Is he stupid? Did he actually suffer head trauma? What part of ‘you were basically in a coma for ten days’ did Rex not understand?
“Sir, you are on bedrest for the next three to five days.” Hopefully five, but Kix doesn’t think he’ll be that lucky. “Respectfully, I will use Jetti-grade handcuffs if it will keep you here,” also, because the Captain at some point developed osik Jetti osik powers. “No, you are not allowed to walk.”
“Not even to let the boys and the Commander know that I’m going to be okay?” Rex keeps glancing at the Med Bay doors. Kix can’t believe that out of all the bets made, Hardcase ended up being right. Quietly, he prepares to face Hardcase’s smug bragging and a healthy but insufferable amount of teasing from the rest of the vode.
“You just had to say it like that sir. Now I owe Hardcase a month’s worth of dessert rations.”
“He can have mine,” Rex pauses as he considers what Kix said. “Wait, you two were betting on me?” The Captain is pouting, and it takes all of Kix’s willpower not to laugh. So instead, he details some of the bets that were made, carefully gauging Rex’s reaction to Jesse’s bet. Unfortunately, he sees the mischievous gleam in the Captain’s eyes that he always has when he’s strategizing. If Rex ever pulls that kind of osik, Kix is going to switch the Captain’s caf to decaf.
“Unbelievable!” In a rare flair for the dramatic, the Captain places a hand over his face, peeking at Kix through his fingers. “Am I really that predictable?”
“Unfortunately sir.” Unfortunate for Rex, that is. “You lost your touch for patience and subtlety after Naboo.” Kix was new to Torrent then, which meant he hadn’t quite learned to see past their legendary reputation as the most capable company in the GAR. After having the “Republic’s finest” end up in the Med Bay for the stupidest reasons, the hero-worship wore off quickly. The Captain was personally instrumental in helping Kix see Torrent Company as the human disasters they all were.
“Well that’s because you kept me on bedrest and under observation for a month Kix. A month!” Kix remembers that month, and he does not remember it fondly.
“Respectfully sir, that was because you survived contact with a known super-virus engineered to be incredibly deadly, and because you wouldn’t stay still and recover you collapsed. Twice.” How Rex managed to survive before Kix became his medic and actually enforced bedrest and recovery periods, Kix will never know.
“Well, I really could have recovered in my quarters that time.”
“Sir, you had trouble breathing every few hours and needed to get your lungs flushed out more than once. There was scarring on your lungs that had to be constantly monitored in order to ensure they healed correctly.” Kix had already been dreading the recovery period before Rex was awake. This discussion on how the Captain handled his health after Naboo is not abating any of his concerns, but rather increasing his worry threefold. Kix really, really hopes there are actually Jetti-grade handcuffs somewhere on The Resolute.
“I still stand by my previous comment.” The pager at Kix’s hip starts buzzing insistently, chiming in code. Bring cap out. Bring cap out. Apparently, the Captain is going to get his wish. Kix hates everyone.
“That’s fine sir. Just know, I still technically outrank you when you are stupid about your health. And if you don’t listen to me this time, I’m sure I can find a nice pair of Jetti-grade handcuffs like I promised earlier.” Kix is not religious, but he prays that Rex will let himself heal properly this time. And that he doesn’t see this one-time exception as a precedent for leaving the Med Bay even earlier than he already does. “Now, let’s show the boys you’re going to be okay, shall we?” Knowing Rex prefers his dignity, Kix holds out a cane, as his ribs are too sore for crutches, but his left side needs the support. Rex looks at him with a smile so bright it’s almost painful. Kix can already tell that he is going to regret making this exception.
The Captain’s first few steps are unsteady, and Kix is ready to call it off and get a wheelchair, but Rex manages to figure out how to walk almost steadily by the time they reach the doors. When the doors open, the corridor is packed with brothers in full kit, standing at military attention. The General and the Commander are off to the side, Ahsoka radiating excitement, but managing to stay in place.
“At ease!” Rex barks. Immediately, Torrent company floods forward, cheers and excited shouts rising through the ranks. Kix keeps a close eye on his Captain as congratulations and exclamations of relief are made. Before he can stop them, the Commander takes Rex’s left side and begins leading him towards the mess for celebration. Apparently, Skywalker figured out how to make a cake. Kix doesn’t trust it to be anything close to edible—No one in Torrent can safely bake or cook.
As Kix hovers directly behind the Commander, the Captain calls over his shoulder for Fives.
“63.” Kix has absolutely no idea what that is supposed to mean, but watching the younger trooper’s face go through multiple expressions in a few seconds is very amusing.
“63? Are you kidding me? How is that fair?” As the trooper continues his rant, Rex lets a fond smile grace his face. Surrounded by his brothers, the Captain looks completely at ease. And just this once, Kix pretends not to notice the way more of the Captain’s weight is being held by the Commander the closer they get to the mess. Kix can be a medic later. Right now, he’s a brother, and all he can feel is relief.
The Captain made it home. He can worry about everything else later.