Cejanr (A Rexsoka SWTCW Fanfic)

4

Rex wasn't even fully kitted up before the door burst open and Fives and Commander Cody appeared. He straightened up and saluted them, as they were his superiors.

Cody was studying him hard, while Fives looked back and forth between them. Di'atiryi was standing back, white faced and blinking. He hadn't even expected the ARC to react that much. Let alone sprint to interrupt Commander Kriffing Cody himself and drag him back. Cody sighed.

"Ok. This is the third shiny in three weeks that you've brought to me, insisting that it's him. What have to to back it up this time." Cody sighed. Rex smiled thinly, remembering the nickname He had called his squad mate.

"What? You don't think it's me, Codes?" He asked. Cody's stance shifted slightly, his eyes widening just a sliver.

"Not really." He sighed and turned to glance at the confused medic. "Thank you, trooper. Dismissed." Cody said coldly. Di'atiryi scurried off. Cody turned back to Rex. His expression was cautious, and Rex could almost feel his hidden anxiety in the air.

"If you're really Rex, tell me something only he would know. What was one of the secrets that could've gotten him reconditioned if anyone told?" Cody asked, leaning forward to frown at Rex's face, studying him carefully. Rex didn't even flinch.

"That I was married to Ahsoka Tano? Or-" He cut himself off. He wasn't even sure of the second one yet. Just fleeting glimpses of a yellow lightsaber and a brand on his palm. Cody scrutinized him even more.

"Or what? What's your number, trooper." Cody asked. Rex looked him in the eye.

"My number is 7567, it's on my bedroll and kit as well as on the bottom of my datapad. My memory is still full of holes, and I'm not sure about the second secret entirely."He cut off with a laugh. Fives picked up the datapad from the bed as the familiar headache spiked behind Rex's eyes.

"See! See!" He exclaimed, flipping the datapad around to show Cody the numbers engraved on the bottom. Cody still wasn't convinced, though the uncertainty around him was flickering. He leaned forward, still focused intently on Rex's face.

"You could be trying rumors to see if its true. You can fake an engraving easily enough. Why should I believe that you are Captain Rex?" He growled in his throat. Rex met the intense gaze. Time for the last card up his sleeve. If this doesn't work, then he could kiss any hope of rejoining the 501st goodbye. Rex lowered his voice too a whisper that only Cody would here.

"I can count on one hand the number of times I've lied to you... Kote." He murmured. Cody jerked like he had been stung, staring hard at him. His eyes flickered and misted over slightly as a hundred emotions crossed his face at once.

He was nearly thrown off the narrow hospital bed as he was tackled by a commander and an ARC trooper. Cody was in tears, an Fives was just laughing and repeating 'I told you! I told you so!'

Finally, after the tears subsided and they released their friend, Rex pressed his lips together a his headache spiked painfully, his vision blurring. Cody seemed to notice his sudden change and looked at him. The voices and flickers started up again, but Rex fought them back down. Not now. He gripped at the side rail as he swayed slightly.

"Rex?" He heard Cody's voice cut through the fog of pain. He mumbled something along the lines of 'M'head hurts.' The blackness washed over him, and he crumbled.

~

"Rex?" Cody asked when his little brother slumped suddenly. He was shaking, swaying in place and griping one of the shallow side rails on the bed.

"M'head..." He slurred. Cody took a step closer, just in time to catch Rex as he pitched forward and began seizing. Fives was out the door, yelling for the medic in an instant. Cody held his little brother down, keeping him from hurting himself as he jerked and struggled. His eyelids fluttered open and shut, revealing eyes narrowed and rolling. The medic, who had introduced himself as Di'atiryi, burst through the door. He was pulling out a vitals monitor and slapping it around Rex's wrist.

"Heart rate, one ten and rising. Blood oxygen at ninety-eight percent and dropping." Di'atiryi rambled off to himself as he rushed around the room. Rex jerked again, nearly breaking Cody's grip on his shoulders as he thrashed. He mumbled some nonsense under his breath.

Cody looked at Di'atiryi, who was racing around. "Has he been doing this the whole time since he was sick?" He asked, raising his voice over Rex's muttering.

Di'atiryi shook his head. "He's been delirious, but the seizures are new." He half shouted back as he filled a syringe with something and jabbed it into Rex's upper thigh. Rex relaxed a few seconds later. Asleep, by the looks of it. Di'atiryi let out a soft sigh and sat back.

"Well that was... eventful." He said. He straightened up. "How'd you meet 67? Is he your friend? Is he really just a shiny? I've never seen a shiny with so many scars." He said in a rush. It took Cody a second to actually process the questions because he was still concerned about his brother.

"Er... 67 was in advanced command training. I've talked with his supervisors, want him as a captain under me for a while." He fumbled. Di'atiryi shrugged.

"Ok. A lot of his file was redacted, so anything goes I guess. Still curious about the scars, since he'a never been off Kamino. Bad instructor or something? I don't think they're allowed to whip us though."

Rex twitched in his sleep at the mention of a whip. Cody gripped his shoulders a little tighter, and his brother relaxed under him. "Yeah, bad instructor and some even worse squad mates. It's the mutation." Cody explained. Di'atiryi nodded.

"I thought so. I like his hair, it's cool. Part of the reason I asked to take him. I was a mutie, had six toes before they removed it when I was four." He chattered away, cleaning up around the room.

Fives was looking at his Ori'vod anxiously, chewing his lip. Cody smiled. "If you don't mind a patient transfer, we have a medic with us who's had experience with viruses. We could take him to the Resolute and treat him there." He suggested. Di'atiryi slumped slightly.

"I can clear it with my superiors, since it's be better for the patient. I'm gonna miss him though." He sighed, then bounced to his feet with another smile. "I might as well go now. Hit that button on the wall if he wakes up."

Fives let out a sigh of relief.

"I thought he'd never leave." He said quietly. "Do you think...?" He trailed off. Cody took a breath.

"He said his memory was spotty. This could just be him remembering, rejecting the reconditioning." He muttered back. "But it also could be him getting worse." He gritted his teeth against sudden tears. Fives's jaw also clenched.

"He's getting better. He had to be. Kix will know what to do. He always does." He sighed and leaned back. Cody looked down at his brother as he tossed his head around, muttering incoherently before settling back down.

"I hope for the General's sake you're right."