A/N: This one is a tad self-indulgent since I've been kinda down recently but I figured we could all use a bit of Hunter comfort in our lives. There's some angst in this one and some graphic depictions of battle, but it has a fluffy ending. 

You watched as light streaked by from where you sat in the cockpit. It had been a couple days since the battle. The mission on Krownest had to be put on hold as Clan Wren finished repairs and confronted Pre Vizsla about Saxon's assault on their headquarters. At least Clan Wren and the clone troopers seemed less hostile toward each other, leaving with respectful nods. A few mandalorians even thanked you for your help in the medbay. When you had stepped on the Marauder again, a weight was lifted off your shoulders. You wanted to get the images of the battle out of your head. But, as a yawn from you proved, you weren't having the best luck with that.

"You should rest." Tech said from the seat in front of you as he tinkered with his communicator. You kept your gaze on the floor.

"I'm fine, really." You replied. Wrecker cocked his brow at you.

"You look worn out." He stated. Hunter examined you from the pilot's seat.

"It's going to be pretty hectic when we reach Coruscant." He said. "We've got a lot of supplies to load up and I have to hand over my report to Commander Cody. Since we're going on leave for a while, they probably want to check over our armor and ship too. If you want to sleep, now's the best time."

"As far as the ship goes, it's in running order." Tech pointed out as he messed with some wires. "Though, the shield batteries might need to be changed out."

"I hate getting equipment inspections." Wrecker grumbled, crossing his arms. "They always find problems with our stuff."

"They always find problems with YOUR stuff." Tech corrected without looking away from his device.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Wrecker began.

"It means that you need to treat your equipment better." Tech said. Wrecker let out a grunt.

"Oh yeah?" Their voices faded into white noise as they argued. You leaned your head against the wall, eyes fluttering closed, as you began to drift off. A light shake on your shoulder made you jump and you glanced over to see Hunter standing in front of you, his eyes glinting with worry.

"You should really get some sleep." He told you. You opened your mouth to say that you were okay when he cut you off. "Rest up. That's an order." He said sternly.

You let out a sigh but got to your feet, your knees wobbling for a moment, and made your way to the door. Before you could open it, it slid open to reveal Crosshair. He paused and glared at you, though his eyes lacked their usual intensity. You frowned and averted your gaze, stepping around him. He cast a glance over his shoulder but said nothing as he joined his brothers.

You rubbed the bridge of your nose as you walked to your room. As frustrated as you were, the idea of sleep sounded appealing. But you knew what awaited you when you closed your eyes. The door to your room opened in front of you. When you stepped in, it slid shut and left the room in darkness. You tensed at this. Swallowing nervously, you walked toward your bed and slipped under the blankets. When you laid your head on your pillow, exhaustion immediately tugged at you and you closed your eyes. Within moments, your thoughts drifted away into sleep.

***

When you opened your eyes again, you were back in your room in Clan Wren's headquarters. The room was empty as you sat up and glanced around. Every sound seemed so loud in the silence as you drew your legs out of bed and stood up. The door slid open and when you walked into the hall, there was no one there. Not a soul. Maybe they were getting something to eat. You figured you'd meet your squad there. A meal didn't sound half bad. But as you wound down the seemingly endless halls, you found yourself lost. Was there always this many halls? Everytime you rounded a corner, you were met with another stretch of walls. The building was creaking against the howling wind outside as you tried to find the dining room. There was another sound, so quiet you barely noticed it.

It sounded like a deep growl somewhere behind you. It made you shiver as you picked up the pace and rounded another corner. You were met with more corridors. The growl sounded again, louder this time. Something about it was familiar. You walked faster. There was this feeling, like you were being followed. You found yourself breaking into a full sprint, your heavy breathing and footsteps echoing above the moaning winds outside. But the hall was seemingly endless and your feet felt like they were made of steel. Finally you stopped, leaning on your knees to catch your breath.

The lights began to flicker around you. When you straightened up, you looked ahead before tossing your eyes behind you. The corner you'd turned was gone. Instead, it was a long hall, no different than the one in front of you. The lights flickered a bit longer before stabilizing and when they did, your blood iced over. Where there was nothing, there stood a massive creature. You recognized it as that animal from Raxus. What was it Tech had called it? A raxus deerhound. It was hunched over, black liquid oozing from its mouth as it looked at you. Its eyes were empty pits, one bloody and the other smoldering. It let out a growl again and it reverberated off the walls and filled your ears. It shook its massive head, flinging the black liquid everywhere, before charging you. Your eyes widened as its footsteps drummed in your head. Finding your senses, you took off. Fear pounded in your chest and your lungs burned as you ran.

"Help! Please, somebody!" You called into the empty halls. The creature was gaining on you. You could hear it's heavy panting drawing closer. Tears began to cloud your vision when the end of the hall came into view. Hope sparked inside of you when you saw a familiar tall form at the end of it, facing the door.

"Crosshair!" You called to the sniper. He didn't so much as look at you. "Crosshair, please! I need... your...help." Your voice was growing weaker as you fought for breath. The door slid open in front of him as he turned his head slightly. He scoffed.

"That doesn't matter." He said coldly before walking through the door.

"Crosshair, wait!" You begged. You could feel the creature's hot breath on your back as you ran for the door, praying that you would make it. It blinded you with bright light as you bolted toward it. Just as it began to close, you leaped through it, the deerhound's teeth snapping shut behind you. You collided with the cold tiled floor of the throne room, the sound of blasters, shouting, and the roar of jetpacks deafening you. You looked up to see mandalorians and Republic troops battling. Blood splattered the floor and walls and bodies were strewn about. Eyes wide, you tried to gather your bearings when a familiar sight caught your eye. Across the room, you saw that mandalorian woman kneeled over Tech. She drew her blade and drove it into his stomach, drawing that all-too-familiar cry from him.

"Tech!" You shouted and tried to run but you were too far away. You could only watch as she plunged her knife into Tech's throat. You called to him as you shot to his side. You placed your hands on his wounds to stem the bleeding, the woman only watching you with her head tilted in amusement. It was no use. You could see the life fade from Tech's eyes as tears flooded from your own.

The woman laughed and snagged you by the neck, raising the knife once again. You struggled helplessly as your desperate gaze met her visor. She reeled her arm back and you closed your eyes as you waited for the cold metal to slice your throat.

***

You shot forward with a shaky cry, your blankets slipping off of you as you heaved for breath. You felt cold air chill the sweat on your forehead. It was dark as you looked around your room. Blood drummed in your ears while the fear seeped away. There was no creature, the battle was over, Tech was okay. You were all safe on the Marauder. The tears were real, however, as they ran down your cheeks. Swiftly, you brushed them away as well as the sweat on your face. You shook like a leaf and hugged yourself while trying to block the images from your mind. But no matter how hard you tried, they played over and over. A knock on your door made you jump.

"Hey, are you alright? I heard you shout." Hunter's voice sounded from the other side.

"I-I'm fine." You answered.

"You don't sound fine." He responded. "I'm coming in." Before you could protest, the door opened, filling the room with weak light, and Hunter stepped inside. He flicked on the lamp on your nightstand as the door shut. You avoided his gaze when he examined you. It must've been late since he was wearing just his blacks. He was quiet for a moment.

"Your heart is racing." He said. You didn't look at him.

"It was just a bad dream." You replied. He furrowed his brow before sitting on your bedside.

"I don't think so. Not with the way you're shaking." He said. "This has been happening for a while, hasn't it?" You looked up at him and opened your mouth to say something, only to stop and toss your eyes away.

"Yeah, ever since we left Krownest." You told him. He nodded.

"I thought as much. I noticed that you seemed off. You've been more jumpy, more lost in thought. And you've been losing sleep." He added. "Why didn't you say anything?" You shrugged.

"I... didn't want to bother you guys. The fight took such a toll on you and I didn't want to make things worse." You answered. He rested a hand on your shoulder. Immediately, you felt a sense of comfort at his warm touch.

"It took its toll on ALL of us." He said gently. "Bottling up your emotions like this won't do you any good." You let out a weary sigh.

"I'm sorry." You murmured.

"Don't apologize. You're never a bother for coming to us, alright?" He stated.

"I know it's just... you guys are so busy. It wouldn't be fair for me to shove my problems onto you when I can handle it myself." You said. Hunter gave your shoulder a light squeeze.

"We're a team. We work together. If there's a problem for one of us, it's a problem for all of us." He shifted a bit closer. "Now what can I do to help?" You thought for a moment.

"You just being here helps." You said. He gave you a soft smile.

"Then I'll stay until you feel better." He replied. You felt a sense of warmth at his words and, almost unconsciously, you leaned forward and hugged him. You both paused at the sudden embrace. Immediately, you thought you overstepped your boundaries.

"Oh, s-sorry. I don't know what came over me." You were about to pull away when you felt his arms wrap around your back and pull you close.

"It's okay. You just surprised me a bit." He said and your cheeks warmed. Nonetheless, you felt a sense of safety in his arms and leaned into his touch. You rested your head on the crook of his neck as he drew a comforting hand over your shoulder. Before long, you both pulled away.

"Did you want to talk about the dream?" He asked. "Maybe it'll help." You shifted back and leaned against the backboard, Hunter doing the same. You took a deep breath and began recounting what had happened in your dream. As you did so, exhaustion began to pull at you again. By the time you finished talking, you could barely keep your eyes open. Your head ended up on the Sergeant's shoulder as you drifted off. Hunter gazed at you sympathetically. He was no stranger to nightmares and neither were the others. Sometimes it felt like there was no escape from the war around them.

Carefully, he shifted you so that you were laying down and slowly pulled away. As he did so, you reached over, as if you were looking for him, and he paused. He didn't want to leave you alone after a nightmare like that. Especially since you've been having so many of them. Careful to give you some space, he laid down next to you and closed his eyes. Unconsciously, you sought his touch and nestled against him, resting a hand on his chest. His heart raced and his face flushed as he opened his eyes to gaze at you.

You seemed to be in a far more peaceful sleep. He watched you for a moment as he reached over and tucked some of your hair behind your ear. Resting his chin on top of your head, he closed his eyes once again and slowly fell asleep.

A/N 2, Electric Boogaloo: Just on the topic of this chapter, I want to remind everyone to reach out to others if you need to. You're never a bother for seeking help. Take care <3