Home

The corridor was brightly lit, even in the dead of the night. The deck felt cold under her barefeet, even though she knew it was temperature controlled. Ahsoka padded quietly along the black decking, moving quietly through the deserted corridor, trying not to be seen.

It's not that she couldn't be out of her quarters of her own free will. She was not a prisoner by any means, but her heading would be questionable should her master find her out of her quarters, in the middle of the night.

Ahsoka ducked around a corner and looked both ways. Most were sleeping soundly after a hard day of service to the Republic. The ship kept to Coruscanti time and that helped to regulate the day, even when away. From what Ahsoka understood, the clones had even been trained on Coruscanti time, even though they were on Kamino. It kept order.

She moved quickly down the corridor. The way was familiar to her, even with her eyes closed. She could feel where she was going, using the force as a guide. The presence she searched for was so strong.

Padding more quickly, she came to the door she had been seeking. Ahsoka hesitated, her large eyes gazing at the keypad which kept the door locked tight. Jedi needed no permission to enter places on the ship. They were in charge, after all. This was different though. More an invasion into the privacy of someone who deserved privacy. She didn't feel right about doing it.

Her fingers reached out and tapped lightly on the snow white door. She waited quietly and felt the gentle stirring in the force just on the other side of the door. Ahsoka had known that a quiet tap would wake him. They were trained that way, to be ready at a moment's notice.

The door swished aside and a bleary eyed copy of Jango Fett stood there, his head tilted down to look at the small jedi. She smiled up at him.

"Ahsoka," Rex said, his voice cracking as he struggled to clear the sleep from it.

"Rex," she whispered, embarrassed. Why had she come here in the first place? She should just turn and leave, but she couldn't. He knew what to say and how to make her feel better.

"Can't sleep again?" he asked rubbing his eyes.

"No," she said twisting her fingers nervously in front of her, "bad dreams."

Rex nodded and stepped aside letting her enter his small quarters which were barely big enough for his bunk. She moved quickly as she squeezed past his towering frame and into the room.

The room was dark and quiet. The hum of the engines played a constant background track for life on the ship. Ahsoka wondered if it was the reason she had such difficulty sleeping.

"Get in," Rex said motioning to his tussled bunk. He had been sleeping very soundly before the knock on his door. In fact, he mused, he had been dreaming of home and the sound of rain. A strange, but soothing dream. Rex wondered if the other clones dreamt the same type of things.

Ahsoka crawled into the bed. It was still warm from where Rex had been sleeping. She pulled the blanket up under her chin and nuzzled her head into the pillow. The bed smelled like Rex.

Rex climbed in next to her, making sure to stay on top of the covers. He didn't want to give the wrong impression to her or anyone else for that matter. After all, she was a child and a superior officer. It would not look good to anyone who might discover the Togruta in his quarters.

"Comfortable?" he asked yawning and stretching.

"Uh huh," she replied wondering how he was fitting on the cot with her in it. It looked as though it barely fit him by himself.

Rex had become her surrogate parent during long hauls through space. He had always thought that it should be Anakin, but the general always seemed so preoccupied. She, like Rex, had never had a mother. No one to wipe away the nightmares and the tears that came with them at night. They had found each other out of necessity. They were each other's comfort. Such kindred spirits from such different places.

Ahsoka needed him to calm her fears. It was easy for him. He was a soldier and he knew how to drive the demons away, even if he had to pull a blaster on them and demand that they leave the room.

Ahsoka curled into a ball and began to nod off. She felt safe where Rex was. In the dead of the night, he protected her, just as he had always done on the battlefield from the moment she had arrived.

"You can't do this every night, you know," he said into the dark room, disturbing the sounds of her breathing.

"I promise to stop," she said, not really meaning it. This would always be where she went when she was afraid. It would be her home.

Rex's breathing became slow and steady as he drifted back to Kamino and the rain pelting the transpirsteel windows. He was home.