We'll Get Though This Together (A Rexsoka Fanfic)

Taking a Plunge

Ahsoka and Rex had been walking through a sparkling white forest for what felt like forever. As gorgeous as it was, they were lost and it was snowing, so there was no way to retrace their steps. They hoped they wouldn't have to turn back.

Ahsoka stopped walking, "I'm gonna climb a tree and see how much more are ahead,"

"Okay,"

She walked over to a large tree and Force jumped to each branch. The snow on the branches fell and dusted the ground beneath her. She made it as high as she could go and smiled, there was a flat plain about half a klick away. She jumped down and used the Force to slow her fall. She landed and the powdered snow washed over Rex. "Gee, thanks," he brushed off his armor and cloak.

"There's a flat area about half a klick thata way," she pointed the direction they had been going.

He let out a breath of relief, "Finally,"

They kept on trudging through the snow, Rex would occasionally trip over his own feet and nearly fall. He clearly wasn't accustomed to snow up passed his shins. He was also clumsy in general. Ahsoka would snicker every time it happened and he would glare at her through his helmet.

The trees got more sparse the further they walked, and soon, the open area was in sight. Ahsoka felt a bit of hope wash over her, they could make a sign, start a fire, get a signal somehow, maybe find a way to set up camp and get out of the wind. She took off her pack, setting it on the ground, and took out a ration bar. She broke it in half and held out one piece to Rex. He took off his helmet and set it on the ground, then took it from her. He nibbled on it and thought about how they would get off the planet.

Rex finished the bar, "I'm gonna go take a look around," He said.

Ahsoka swallowed the last bits, "Can I come? I just— you might need help with something,"

He smiled, "Sure," he put his arm around her and they started to walked around the area, trying to get a feel for it.

They started walking ahead, discussing what to do. Should they make a pattern in the snow? Set of a fire and let the smoke signal someone? The comms weren't working, and as far as Ahsoka knew, they were far away from people.

She looked up at the sky and had a thought, "Do we have anything to mark the snow with? Like something to tell if we walked in a circle, and something that would alert people we've been here?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure. Lemme check," Rex took off his backpack.

He set it on the ground and crouched down, starting to rummage through it when he heard something creak like glass. Just the trees, he told himself. But then he realized the trees were too far away for him to hear it. In the corner of his eyes he saw Ahsoka shift her weight and the creak happened again. His gut did a flip as he realized what they could be standing on. He dug through the snow and came into contact with ice. He slowly stood up. His voice was just above a whisper, "'S-Soka,"

"What? What's wrong?"

"....we're on ice,"

"What?"

"We need to turn back. Slowly,"

Ahsoka nodded, "Okay,"

Rex knew once wrong step and the ice could crack. The thickness of it varied, and who knew how deep the water was. He bent down to pick up the pack when the ground sunk and the creaking got louder. Just leave it. He stood back up and took a step. He clenched his jaw and the ice creaked again. Then it gave out.

Rex plunged into the icy waters. It was so cold it sucked the air out of his lungs and he couldn't regain his breath. He splashed around in blind panic, he felt like he was drowning. His chest finally lost that tightness and he was able to stay mostly afloat, above water, and he sucked in a large, gulping breath. Ahsoka was beside him in the water flailing too, so he grabbed her by the back of her coat and pushed her up, trying to get her on the surface, but the ice kept breaking around her.

Nothing was working.

The water current was pulling him sideways, so he frantically tried to grab the edges of the hole that was made, but the ice was crumbling in his fingers. It felt as if ice daggers were slicing into his hands and feet. Ahsoka had managed to find a thicker patch of ice and she climbed out of the water with a loud gasp. Her autopilot kicked in and she held out her hand, "Come on!" She grabbed his arm and pulled.

Rex tried to help her by clawing his way out, but his hands stopped working. It felt like a million little boiling hot knives were jabbing into his fingers, "Ahs—," his mouth filled with water and he gagged. Everything below his waist was numb. Ahsoka yanked on his arm again, pulling him farther out of the icy water. He started to cough as he finally made to the surface of the ice. He laid on his stomach on the ice, coughing.

"Come on!" Ahsoka hauled him to his feet, "Get moving, Trooper," she commanded.

Rex hadn't heard her commander voice in a while. It sure got him moving. He staggered to his feet, but he couldn't feel his legs, causing him to collapse again. The ice creaked and cracked once more and Ahsoka knew they had to get back to the shore. The tree line. She grabbed his arms and practically dragged him. He tried standing but he had no feeling in the bottom half of his body, so he gave up and let her drag him to safety.

They made it to the tree line, knowing for a fact they were no longer on ice. Rex was sitting with his knees to his chest, shivering and teeth chattering, "I-I-,"

"Shhh, we need to get warm,"

Ahsoka kept herself moving and gathered as many branches as she could carry. She came back to him and stacked up the branches. After making a suitable fire pit, she fumbled around the back pack she left on the ground earlier and managed to get a fire starter. She got a small fire going and Rex scooted over to it. She got a sleeping bag from out of the pack and laid it on the ground. It was getting darker and darker, colder and colder. Night was approaching.

They were between two trees with overlapping branches above the fire, so she took off the sopping coat and hung it on the lowest set of branches. She motioned for Rex to strip, that way in the sleeping bag they could share body heat. He nodded and he shakily fumbled with his armor and set it on the ground.

Ahsoka had to help with with everything else, and they were soon, after multiple attempts, inside the sleeping bag in their undergarments with their clothes above the fire, hoping they'd dry.

"Ow, Rex, your elbow,"

"M-my elbow? Your elbow,"

"S-stop—,"

"I'm tyin' to get situated, gimme a sec,"

They finally got into a semi-comfortable position with Rex spooning Ahsoka. She made sure the bag was shut so no heat would escape. She felt safe with the warmth of him next to her, and she hoped he would warm up too. Frostbite and hypothermia were some things that could not happen. She wasn't sure if her Force healing could heal frostbite, but if the time came, she would most definitely give it a try. For now, she focused on the warmth of her husband and how he finally stopped shivering. It gave her ease knowing he was warming up, but for now, she focused on sleeping, not what to do when morning came or that they lost an entire back pack. She'd save those thoughts for later.