ɪᴛ's ᴏᴋᴀʏ... [ᴇɴɢʟɪsʜ ✓]

11. "Borrowed"

The strong hand on her shoulder was suddenly changed.

Well, it had been changed indeed, as Ahsoka now realised with her eyes open again.

So Rex had finished talking to her Master and now pressed his other hand lightly on her wound.

It felt like a thousand needles had been stuck into her skin, but she tried not to let it show.

Luckily for her, her friend couldn't sense what someone was feeling like a Jedi. Windu excluded.

Still, the clone was of course aware that he was hurting the girl, but he had to stop the bleeding, at least a little.

The bandage was already too soaked to be of any use, which was why they had taken it off so that at least a weak crust could form.

Only something must have been in the bullet of the tank that prevented the crust from forming, because the dried layer of blood kept bursting open.

This time the cut area over her belly was torn. Hastily, he took the first thing he could get his hands on.

Or at least he wanted to. There was nothing like a bandage in the immediate vicinity.

Seeking help, he looked at Fives, whose gaze wandered through the cave and finally fell on something light brown to beige that lay just in sight at the entrance to the cave.

"Rex, Soka, we'll be" - he gave his brothers a meaningful look - "right back," he announced with a sly smile and disappeared outside with Echo and Jesse.

Ahsoka looked after them, puzzled. What were the three of them up to now? But she was too tired to think about it.

Rex, on the other hand, knew exactly what had crossed his brothers' minds. And even if it was rather 'uncivilised', as General Kenobi would say now, he had admittedly already given it a thought.

But as long as Windu didn't find out about it, it was all right with him. His gaze wandered from the clones that had just disappeared back to the girl whose shoulder he still clasped and his hand rested on the cut on her stomach.

She had closed her eyes again and was breathing calmly, which forced Rex to smile despite her condition.

Fives waved his brothers behind him and all three crept along the edge of the path they had taken to the cave the previous day.

Then he stopped, two heads peering over his shoulder. The three clones eyed the Jedi, who was sitting on one of the last crates of rations, reading something on a datapad.

Beside him, his cloak.

Fives grinned, Jesse with him, and Echo also liked the plan that must have been whizzing through his brothers' minds.

He himself was assigned as a diversion. Wonderful.

"Sir!" he saluted behind the still unsuspecting general, who turned away slightly annoyed at his plans and rose.

"What is it, clone?"

Echo gulped at the Jedi's brash tone. Still, he coaxed himself to keep talking, for Soka's sake.

"I... Had another question about the plan, General, Sir."

The man's icy gaze literally pierced him.

"Which was?"

Echo scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and caught a glimpse of his brothers flailing wildly, signalling him to distract the General further.

"It's because of Commander Tano"

Windu sighed.

"She has already spoken to me about it and will back off. Now would that be settled?"

At that moment Jesse and Fives grabbed the cloak lying on a crate and scurried back into cover behind some rocks.

Echo breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes, General, that will be all. Sorry to disturb you, Sir."

Saluting once more, he turned to go, but was stopped short by the deep voice behind him.

"Echo, I don't like to sacrifice my time for something like this, so next time think carefully if it is really important."

With that, the clone disappeared as quickly as he could, glad to have caught Windu in a friendly mood by his standards, into the cave entrance to join his brothers.

***

Ahsoka heard hurried footsteps and panting. Her eyes fell past Rex to three clones, out of breath, running back to them with something dark beige.

It looked like a huge piece of cloth.

"Perfect!" whispered Rex as his brothers came closer and sat down beside them.

It wasn't until he was already tearing off a wide piece that Ahsoka recognised the garment.

"Windu's cloak?" she exclaimed with a broad grin and a hint of pride and excitement.

"How did you steal it from him?" Was her first question as Rex pushed her forward a little away from the wall to guide the bandage over her back.

She just let him do it to her, she didn't have the strength to argue. Nevertheless, curiosity sparkled in her eyes.

"Borrowed", Jesse corrected the Togruta. "He can have it back later." The four clones started laughing.

Ahsoka giggled only slightly after another wave of pain flooded her. But at that moment she didn't heed her body's warning, it was clear to her anyway that if Kix didn't show up within the next hour she was unlikely to make it.

At least this way she could still spend the time with her brothers in a better mood.

That way she could slowly say goodbye to them.

At least this way she could prepare herself for her death.