Ashara woke when she felt danger coming from outside of the barn. She instantly tensed when she heard the sound of footsteps coming towards their safe haven. She quickly stood, leaving Rex out in the open as she hid in a corner behind the door, one of her lightsaber being held in the hand that had the most mobility. She waited for him to enter the building, and noticed Rex reach over and grab his blaster. As soon as the man was close enough, he aimed his blaster at the person, but the person was quick to remove the blaster from Rex's grip.

"Who are you?" he asked. Ashara ignited her lightsaber and aimed it at the person.

"Better question is, who are you?" she said menacingly. The man turned and Ashara had to bite back a surprised reaction when she realized it was one of Rex's brothers. She didn't know which clone this was, but she knew it was a clone.

"You're a clone", Rex said as the man lowered his weapon. She relaxed and allowed her lightsaber to turn off, and she approached the bench while simultaneously attaching it to her belt.

"So... I see the war has finally made it's way out here", the clone said. "and I guess I can expect a visit from some droids soon."

"What's your number and rank?" Rex demanded. Ashara cut in front of him, and shot him a glare. 

"Ignore Rex. He's not used to seeing deserters."

"And I suppose you are?" the clone chuckled.

"Not really, but I at least know that you've probably got a name and not just a number and rank. Just like all the clones in the war do."

"The name's Lawquane, Cut Lawquane."

"I'm Ashara Ki, General in the Grand Army of the Republic, and leader of Valkyrie squad. This is Rex, Captain of the 501st battalion under Anakin Skywalker."

 "You swore an oath to republic", Rex sputtered out. "You have a duty."

"You're right, I do have a duty", Cut said as he turned on a light. "But it's to my family, not the republic. Does that count or do you still plan to turn me in?"

Ashara sighed and looked at Rex, who had a glare on his face. She was about to cut between the two, but was stopped by the sound of a young female voice.

"Daddy!" the young twi'lek girl shouted. "You're home!" She launched herself into his arms and he hugged her tight, while the younger twi'lek boy held up a paper with a poorly drawn twi'lek on it. She smiled softly as Suu came up to them as well. She wished that one day she could have a family like this, but she knew that it was unlikely to happen. She was a Jedi after all and she wasn't allowed to form attachments. However, as she thought about that, she glanced back at Rex, and met his eyes. He was watching her, and she quickly turned back around to face the small family.

"I see you two have met my husband", Suu said with a small laugh. Ashara rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, these two were about ready to bite each others heads off at first. Probably still are", she said snarkily.

"He looks just like you, Daddy!" the young girl said. "I told him!"

"Ah, you did, huh?" Cut asked as he glanced back at the clone captain. "What'd you tell the general here?" His gaze shifted to the yellow togruta.

"You're a general?" the young boy said. "Wait! Are you a Jedi?"

Ashara chuckled, and used her non-injured arm to grab one of her lightsabers, and hold it out to the small boy. "That I am, kid, that I am."

He gently took and and carefully held it. "How do you turn it on?"

Ashara gently took it back, and ignited it. She held it carefully. "There's a small button that you press that can be hard to find unless you're the person who built it. Each saber is unique to each Jedi. Thousands of different lightsabers have been created, one, or sometimes two for each Jedi."

"You have two lightsabers!" the young girl said, pointing at the other lightsaber hanging from Ashara's belt. The togruta laughed and nodded, turning off her lightsaber, and returning it to it's home on her belt.

"So how did you two get here anyway?" Cut asked as he stood.

"Their men brought them here. They were both injured, though the general less so. I told them they could stay for the night."

"Of course he can!" Cut exclaimed before looking down at his children. "We never turn away those in need, do we?" he asked the two young twi'leks. They both shook their head with the boy speaking.

"No. We always help anyone we can."

Ashara smiled softly. Cut made a good father. She wondered if Rex would make a good father, if he ever got the chance. She hoped he would, if he ever was able to settle down.

Cut turned to the two warriors. "You, um, look hungry, Rex, Ashara."

"No, I'm fine. I'll stay here", Rex said, uncomfortable with Cut's comment. 

"No, you have to eat with us!" the young girl said. The two kids grabbed onto Rex's knee and stared up at him with pleading eyes as they repeatedly said please.

Ashara chuckled softly, sending Rex a glance that told him not to refuse their welcome hospitality.

"Thank you, Cut", she said, a smile on her face. "You and your wife's hospitality has been amazing, even if we did start off on the wrong foot."

"Of course", the clone said as he walked away from the barn. "Come to the house when you're ready to join us."

Ashara nodded and looked to Rex, who appeared very uncomfortable. She gave him a soft smile, and he started pulling his blacks back over his chest with difficulty as his arm was in a sling. She instantly stepped into help, ignoring their proximity. When she stepped back, she saw Rex looking away from her, cheeks slightly pink. She instantly realized what she had done without thinking, and turned her head away, certain her cheeks were dusted with pink as well.

"Come on", she mumbled. "We should... we should go before they wonder what happened to us."

Rex didn't say anything, just moved out of the barn, and Ashara cursed herself. She needed to stop letting her feelings take control. It was obvious Rex wanted nothing to do with her, and that was why she needed to pull back. It was just hard to see him injured, and not try and do anything she could do to help.

As they entered the house, they were immediately swarmed by the two kids who were laughing joyfully at the fact that the two joined them. They sat at the table, and talked about the war, and the clones. Ashara ate quietly, listening in on the conversation for a bit. 

"I've seen how you look at my family, our home", Cut told Rex. "Come on, Rex, admit it. You've thought about what your life could look like if you were to also leave the army, choose the life you want, be with the one you love." Cut glanced over at Ashara, and she froze, unsure of what he meant by that. Rex completely ignored that part of the sentence.

"What if I am choosing the life I want?" Rex asked forcefully. "What if I'm staying in the army because it's meaningful to me?"

"And how is it meaningful?" Cut asked. "You can't have any attachments, just like the Jedi. No offense, Ashara." The Jedi just shook her head, silently telling him not to worry about it. He continued speaking. "You can't form a family, and love them because they want you to have your full focus on the war, and nothing else."

"I do have a family", Rex declared. "I have my brothers."

"But it's not the same as raising a child", Cut countered. Ashara hesitated, wondering if she should cut in, but decides not to. 

"Maybe not", Rex said. "But I'm fighting to protect our children, and their children from an evil I can't well imagine."

"But as I said previously, you're not allowed to have children. That would be against the rules."

Rex hesitated, and he sighed. "Maybe one day, when this war is over, I'll be able to settle down with someone, and be able to have children, but today is not that day. And who knows if when I find her, and that's if I find her, she'll want to stick around me."

Ashara bit her lip, the captain's sentence a confirmation of her earlier feeling of him wanting nothing to do with her. Tears filled her eyes, and she stood up.

"I'm going outside", she said sharply. "Thank you for the meal, Cut." She hurried toward the door, but paused once she got there and glanced back at Rex. He was watching her with pained eyes, and she squeezed her eyes shut, and hurried out into the field.

Tears fell from her eyes, and she bit her lip again, trying to keep from crying. "I should've known. I should've known that he didn't care for me like I care for him."

There was nothing but silence, and Ashara fell to the ground, hugging her arms to her chest. The tears fell freely from her eyes, and she shook her head, trying to hide the pain forming inside her chest. 

A gentle hand pressed down on her shoulder, and Ashara looked over to see Suu. The twi'lek gave her a comforting smile, and Ashara broke down. Suu pulled her into a hug, and rubbed her back. 

"Let it all out, Ashara", she whispered. "I know it's hard. You'll find someone who is perfect for you, and someone who truly loves you."

Ashara hiccupped and she spoke shakily. "That's the problem, Suu. I'm not even supposed to love anyone. I'm not supposed to have attachments, but I can't seem to stop forming them! I... I don't know what to do..."

Suu hugged Ashara tightly. "You'll figure it out. I know you will. You're strong, Ashara. You always will be, even when you don't feel like it."

After a while, Ashara's sobs quieted down, and Suu pulled away, wiping away the last few tears falling from the togruta's face. The young Jedi gave the twi'lek and grateful smile as she sniffed a few times.

"Let's go back inside", Ashara said when she finally stopped sniffing. They walked back to the house where they were greeted by two very excited twi'lek children. 

"We're going to play!" the older girl exclaimed. "Do you want to come with me and Jekk, General?!"

Ashara chuckled while Suu started to scold her. "Shaeeah! Don't disturb the nice general!"

"It's alright, Suu", Ashara said. "I would love to play with your children."

"Yay!" Jekk said. Shaeeah grabbed his hand and Ashara's hand and pulled them along. The togruta managed to sneak one last glance at Rex, and found him watching her with sad eyes. She turned away and fought back another set of tears, following the two twi'lek children as they ran out into the field. 

It wasn't long before they both disappeared and Ashara started to hunt for them. She was alerted to where they were when they started screaming. Without hesitation, she ran towards them, and found them running through the field. 

"What is it?" she asked them frantically. 

"Monsters! They hatched out of the giant egg in the field!" Shaeeah yelled fearfully. Ashara looked up and peered through the field, seeing familiar droid heads. She grimaced.

"Go find your dad and tell him that there are commando droids heading his way. I'll try to hold them off!" the Jedi said. 

"But-" Jekk started to say but Ashara cut him off. 

"Go!" she snapped. The two twi'lek kids started to run off and Ashara grabbed both of her lightsabers, wincing at the pain that shot up her arm from the movement. She waited until the droids were closer to her position before she ignited them. With a swift movement, she jumped right into the middle of them, and started cutting them down left and right.

It didn't take long for them to start overwhelming her, so she started to step back into the field. Before she could get far, a droid hit her on the back the head with a blaster, and she stumbled forward. She growled, and sliced it in half with her lightsaber before getting up and running into the field, turning off her lightsaber as she hid in the tall stalks. She saw the droids move past her, heading toward the house instead. She frowned and waited for them all to pass before she started creeping along behind them. She took down a few more before she was spotted and was forced to retreat again. As she hid in the field, she grimaced at the pain that was shooting up her arm from the last blaster shot, and from the headache that was forming at the back of her head. 

She heard blaster fire coming from the house, and shook her head. Now was not the time to be focusing on her pain. She instantly started running toward the house, and noticed the droids had surrounded the house. She used the force to send a few tumbling down to the ground, and then darted forward, cutting through them with a singular lightsaber. 

She noticed one break thorough a window and hold onto the something and she frowned, and used the force to crush it's metal chestplate. It released whatever it was holding and fell backward. Ashara saw Cut standing inside the window and he gave her a grateful nod. Ashara continue to take down the droids that were outside the house.

The droids seemed to be destroyed so the Jedi made her way into the house, holding her hands up when Cut aimed his blaster at her. He let out a relieved sigh, only to tense when he heard thumping from below the house. Ashara narrowed her eyes, and Cut made his way over to a small hatch in the ground. He pulled it open and was greeted by another wave of commando droids.

Ashara leapt forward, using one lightsaber to cut them down as they came out of the hole, but one managed to get a lucky shot, and shoot her prosthetic leg. Sparks flew out of the leg, and she crumpled to the ground, unable to balance with her prosthetic out for the count. She managed to sit up though, and block a few blaster bolts heading her way, deflecting them back onto the droids.

Unfortunately, a stray shot hit the ceiling above Cut and he became trapped. Ashara grimaced and tried to stand, but collapsed back down again. "Rex!" Cut called. "They're coming for you!"

Cut managed to escape from being trapped and took down two more commando droids before getting locked in combat with a third. Ashara spotted a blaster laying close to her, and though she had never fired one before, she picked it up, and aimed at the droid. With a quick pull of the trigger, the droid released its grip on Cut, and fell backward, its circuitry no longer connected.

Rex hurried downstairs, having taken care of the ones upstairs, and let's out a quiet breath of relief when he spotted Ashara. He moves over to her, and knelt beside her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, searching her over for any sign of damage

"I'm fine, Rex", she said. "My prosthetic leg is a bit damaged, and a droid hit the back of my head, but other than that, I'm fine."

Rex glanced down at her leg, before looking back up at her face. She watched him carefully but he doesn't say or do anything. After a minute of them staring at each other, he looked away, clearing his throat.

"I should be able to fix your leg", he muttered. "I'll just need some tools."

Cut stepped in. "We should have some tools out in the barn." Rex nodded, and stood, hurrying out of the house. Ashara watched him go, and sighed softly. 

~~~~~~

The next morning, Ashara followed Rex over to an animal that Suu and Cut had given them to help them on their way. It had a few satchels attached to help them on their way to find the place that they could hopefully meet with Obi-wan. Ashara climbed up behind Rex, before they both looked back at the clone and twi'lek. 

"Alright, that should do it", he said, gently patting the animal's neck.

"Captain Rex?" Suu asked. "Are you going to turn in my husband?"

Rex hesitated. "I'm sorry, Suu. It's my duty", Rex said. "But in my condition, I probably won't remember any of this."

Suu looked over at Ashara who held a gentle smile as she looked a the family. "I got hit pretty hard by one of those commando droids. Probably have a concussion that'll cause a few memory errors."

"Thank you!" Suu exclaimed.

"You're still a deserter, Cut", Rex said. "But you're certainly not a coward."

 Ashara's comm-link beeped, and she glanced down at it. She pressed a button and Obi-wan's voice came through.

"Ashara, are you and Rex still with us?" he asked. She smiled. 

"We certainly are, Obi-wan. Takes more than getting hit by a couple of droids to get us down", Ashara said with a smile aimed at Rex. 

"That's great news. Certainly missed you at the party", Obi-wan replied. Ashara snorted.

"We had one of our own", she said, rolling her eyes.

"I hope you'll tell me all about it later?" Obi-wan asked in amusement. 

"As much as I can remember", Ashara promised.

"I'm excited to hear about it. We're standing by."

The comm channel beeped, signaling the end of the conversation.

"You're welcome to stay, Rex, Ashara", Cut said, looking between the two. "Start a new life, maybe find the one you've been looking for, Rex."

Those words sent a pang of sadness through Ashara's heart, and she looked away, staring at the ground to the right of her, so she wouldn't have to see any of their faces.

"This is your home, Cut", Rex said. "My family... my home-", he looked over at Ashara, though she didn't see it. "-is elsewhere." 

Ashara frowned, before clearing her face of any emotion as she looked over the happy family as Shaeeah and Jekk came running out. 

"Bye!" the two kids called. "We'll miss you, General! Come back soon!"

Ashara sent them a small smile and gently wrapped her arms around Rex, wishing that there was a different way for her to hold on. She honestly didn't want to be anywhere near him at the moment, and just needed space to process everything that had happened.