Echo's eyes widened as Dagger slipped from the high bars. He watched as his partner called out his name and plummeted from the highest point on the bars. All he could do was watch, stunned. He snapped out of it as fast as he could and rushed forward. Not fast enough, nothing could beat the speed of gravity. No matter how artificial it was. Dagger fell and hit the ground with a thud, lying still.

The gym was so silent that all of Torrent Company could hear Dagger's ragged breathing as she gasped for the breath that was desperately escaping her. Everyone was stunned. No one had ever fallen from the high bars before, quite frankly they never expected that anyone would.

Echo threw down his pack and skidded to his knees next to Dagger's side. He has never been more grateful for padded matts than in this moment. He scooped his partner into his arms so that way he was supported by Echo's legs instead of laying flat of the ground.

"Dagger, Dagger? Are you ok?" he asked desperately, voice betraying what he was feeling.

Dagger coughed but nodded her head quickly. A thumbs up was the response that he got. Echo ripped off his own helmet, tossing it nearby. He let out a nervous laugh at the immediate response from his brother.

He had quickly regained control of his emotions. Echo was not one to panic easily, he had better control than that. And yet he had never seen a brother fall like that before. Dagger was just so new, his battle buddy. It was his direct responsibility to make sure he stayed safe and learned their way.

Everyone was so busy watching the scene that they didn't notice Commander Cody leading Captain Rex aside to talk to him. Worry and distrust fueling his words. How could they trust an incompetent clone in the field. If nothing else this brother could very well get himself killed the moment he stepped into the field.

Rex assured him harshly that everything would be ok and that he had it handled. The conversation ended as quietly as it began, but the Commander still had his doubts of this newest addition to the unit that would not show his face.

Dagger choked as she tried to breath. All of the wind had been knocked out of her. She looked up at the ceiling trying to get her bearings. Fuck that had been a long drop.

Slowly her lungs began to fill with air again and all she wanted to do was tear the helmet off of her head. Echo's face came into her field of vision and she knew that it wasn't a possibility. She could see the worry in his eyes and tried to get out words to reassure him that she was ok, it only came out as a cough.

"It's ok, take your time Dagger. That was a rough tumble you took there," Echo said.

A grinning face came up, "ain't anyone ever tell you not to fall from high places?"

"I thought it was implied, Fives," she finally croaked back, "get off of me both of you."

She pushed them off and made to stand on her own. As she bore her full weight pain in her back flared up. The intensity of it made her knees buckle and she almost fell to the floor again if someone had not caught her.

She turned her head and saw Hardcase behind her, "I got ya kid. C'mon lets get you back to the barracks."

Nodding her appreciation, she let Echo take the pack from her back. The trio led her out of the hangar back to the barracks. She was grateful for their help, but embarrassed that she even needed it. How could she have been so stupid to fall like that? She should have been stronger.

Dagger stayed quiet the whole way back to the barracks, her back ached from where she had landed on her pack. She was lucky that nothing was broken, just bruised. Everyone they had left at the hangar was still training, they had things to do. This meant that the barracks were empty except for the four of them.

Hardcase pulled her along towards the back of the barracks. He grabbed something from the bottom of one of his drawers, she couldn't quite make out what it was. Then with a gruff grunt he shoved the mystery item and a canteen into her hands. Then he practically dragged her to the bathroom and shut the door behind her and latched the door.

Startled and confused, she looked around the bathroom. She was the only one in the large room. After a few seconds the door opened a crack and a pile of her clothes were set on the ground with a towel. Then the door closed again and she heard a thump, almost as if someone was sitting with their back to the door.

Which is exactly what was happening. Hardcase was being uncharacteristically quiet. Echo approached and asked, "Hardcase what are you doing?"

"Dagger had a rough fall, I figure it's only fair he gets to shower first," he responded as if it was obvious.

"So why are you sitting against the door?"

Hardcase nodded, as if it were obvious, "no one gets in until he is done."

From inside the bathroom Dagger listened to the whole conversation. She looked down to see that the object in her hand was a bottle of pain meds. Her lip wobbled slightly at the unexpected kindness from her brother. She had barely spoken to him and he was going above and beyond to help her.

Downing some of the meds she quickly stripped out of her armor, she trusted him to keep the other's out of the bathroom. She would be as quick as she could. As she bent over to undo the shin guards her back protested.

After straightening up she turned to look in the mirror. Earlier that day she had a few patchy bruises around her shoulders and a split lip from her sparr with Captain Rex. Now almost her entire back was blooming with red and purple bruises. No wonder it hurt so much to move. Dagger was glad to note that nothing felt sharp or out of place, just in pain from the impact.

Stepping into the warm spray of the shower she washed herself quickly. She even gave herself an extra minute to savor the warm water as it eased her aching muscles. Then she stepped out and dried off quickly.

Dagger couldn't hear much of the outside of the barracks, but she didn't want to keep anyone waiting if they wanted to shower after training and before dinner. As soon as she was dry she put on her clothing.

Securing her helmet on her head she knocked softly on the door. She heard shuffling and tested the nob, the door swung open easily and she saw Hardcase standing close by. Echo was sitting on Fives' bed, head down rubbing the back of his neck. Fives was nowhere to be seen. At the sound of Dagger reentering the barracks Echo looked up.

His eyes held a guilt that did not belong. She gave the meds back to Hardcase and thanked him quietly. He grunted in acknowledgement and retreated back to his bunk as she approached Echo. She sat next to him on the bed, close but not touching.

"What's wrong, Echo?" she asked.

He looked at her, "I let you fall. You are my partner and I couldn't help you today. Hell I was even laughing at you for being short!"

She rolled her eyes, "so what? You know how indestructible us clones are. I'm fine."

He let out a short laugh, and gave Dagger a soft push, "a safety hazard is what you are. Go get some sleep Dag, I'll wake you for dinner."

Echo watched as Dagger walked away and crawled into his bunk. He knew all too well that clones were not indestructible. He remembered every time he closed his eyes. Echo remembered every brother he had ever lost. Heavy, 99, all of them. If only he couldn have done more to save them.

He swore to himself then and there that he wouldn't make the same mistakes that he had in the past. He would protect his brothers, he would protect Dagger no matter the cost.

He stayed trapped in thought for a long while. Slowly the rest of the 501st started to trickle in after they had completed the training course. Usually, after a good day of training, everyone would come back sore but rowdy. They would be hollering and throwing things just for fun.

Today had not been a good training day, the barracks remained quiet. The sparse conversations were whispered. It was truly unnerving to see a brother fall, even if it was on the training course. They all trusted their bodies to do the job and to help their brothers.

Today no one had been able to help, they were just there to watch as their newest brother plummeted to the ground. They all knew it wasn't serious, they certainly didn't blame Dagger or think he was incompetent.

All of the unit had seen battle, most of them had lost a brother. It was all too easy to imagine losing Dagger too. Too easy to see him falling into a canyon, or some other unsurvivable abyss. Falling onto something much more sinister than a training mat in the hangar of the Resolute.

Everyone festered, moods grim and dark. Brothers would steal glances at the sleeping form on the top bunk near the door. Sleeping on his stomach, laid Dagger. They knew his back would be covered in bruises.

Rex swept through the door as the durasteel slid open. To say that he was seething was an understatement. The culmination of the day's events had really gotten to him. He roughly grabbed his things and headed to the shower hoping the cold water would calm his temper.

He didn't notice as troopers scampered out of his way as he stomped to the back of the barracks. Once inside he shucked off his armor in the locker room, he unceremoniously dumped it all on the floor.

Where had the day gone wrong? Oh, right about in the middle when General Skywalker told him that they were going planetside in a few short days rather than a week or two like he had been told. His mind had gone into overdrive about what training they still needed to complete.

Water ran down his back as he bowed his head into the stream. He had called Commander Cody immediately and they began to set up the course, one last practice to be sure everyone was ready.

He had even wondered as they set it up if the pyramid bars were necessary. A tactical situation similar to that was far and few between. If they had to get across places they would usually just use their grappling hook. Yet he kept it in the course.

He had gotten Dagger hurt, yet again. The thought grated through his mind. He sure hoped the trooper was as tough as he seemed. As tough as the exterior he portrayed. Kriff, he had been here for just days and got hurt twice.

Like it was nothing, Dagger had bounced back. Rex had seen how just seconds after the fall he was already giving Echo a thumbs up. Reassuring that he was ok. He could hear his breath hitch even from across the room, a sound that meant he was anything but ok.

He wanted to go and check for himself, but with the others who were surrounding him and Cody subtly pulling him away from the troops he did not.

Rex turned off the cool water, skin scalding with anger. Then there was what the commander had said. He didn't trust Dagger in the field, all because of one mistake. He knew just as well as Rex that missing a rung on the bars did not mean that Dagger was unfit for field missions.

He had more than proved himself in blaster training that morning and had performed well in the training course up until that point. And before during sparring training Dagger outperformed the standard for the newest troopers. Cody was being unfair and Rex knew it.

Dagger was a part of the 501st. His, not Cody's unit. With a growl he shook his head. He didn't need to be fighting his brother over this, it wasn't worth it.

He was putting on his clothes when he decided what he needed to do. He was going to check on Dagger, the epicenter of the worry in his gut.

Kriff, this was just as bad as when Cricket almost got a blaster shot to the head in the middle of training. Rex had been sick from the event for a week. If he had been a second slower shoving the tip of Kano's blaster to the ceiling he would never have forgiven himself. There was enough pain in the war, it didn't need to happen under his command.

Why did his unit have to be so problematic and get hurt so much? This thought drifted through his mind as he started to settle. Back at his bunk he looked up at Dagger's sleeping body. There is no way he could have been comfortable with his neck turned to the side like that, laying on his stomach.

He needed to go to the medbay. Coric or Kix would need to look at his back to make sure nothing was severely damaged or broken. He was so still that Rex almost worried that he wasn't breathing. His back rose and fell slightly as it filled with air.

Rex went to touch his shoulder to wake him. A throat was cleared to his right, hand hovering in the air, he stopped.

"Captain, if I may. I think it would be best if Dagger got some rest."

"Echo. He needs to go to the medbay," Rex said as he turned to his brother. He was surprised at the protective look in his eyes. Behind that wall, the need to protect his brother, there was an emotion.

Rex couldn't name what he saw, but he felt it too. Echo was shaken, trying to do what he could to help Dagger. He appreciated the sentiment but he didn't think it was right in this case.

Echo seemed to sense Rex's incoming argument when he responded, "Dagger is going to be ok. Already has some meds in him. Dagger should sleep, you can talk to him later. I promised to wake him for dinner."

The captain's brow furrowed together, "he already went to medbay?"

Echo blinked at him, his face an unreadable stone. He neglected to respond and Rex wanted to ground his eyes out in frustration.

"If he didn't go to see Coric where did he get the meds?" keeping drugs, even pain killers in the barracks was against the rules.

"Emergency stash sir," Echo said, he wouldn't throw Hardcase's name into this. The trigger happy trooper was good at looking after everyone including having a stash of medical supplies if someone was unwilling to go to the medbay and really needed something.

"Echo I swear if I find drugs during the next inspection it is going to be your hide," Rex growled, he could not deal with this today.

Echo was unaffected by the Captain's bad mood, or maybe it wasn't projecting as much as it felt like it was, "understood sir, I'll take full responsibility."

Always a protector of his brothers, shield when someone did something stupid. More times than not, when someone was going to get chewed out Echo would step in and take the brunt of it. Even when he had nothing to do with it. He was a good kid. Rex shook his head and left the barracks grabbing his data pad on his way out.

Echo deflated slightly, he realized that he had been puffing his chest. He was trying to get his Captain to listen to him and it actually had gone pretty well. He took one last look at Dagger's sleeping body before returning to what he was doing earlier. A single thought running through his head, clear as if he spoke it to Dagger himself. I will protect you.

Just to clarify I know sometimes Dagger is referred to as a 'he' even when not in dialogue, that is because it is one of the other's thoughts. I hope it isn't too confusing for anyone. I would love to know what you thought after this chapter. Any comments or questions are appreciated! See you soon for the next chapter!