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webslinger-holland · 2 days

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The Sergeant's Senator | Chapter 8

Summary: As the senator is admitted to a medical facility, the rest of the crew get their new assignment and are informed that the new guards will be arriving soon. With the possibility that the senator won't be awake by the time they leave, Hunter says his last goodbye.

Warning: blood lose and major bodily injuries (wounds, traumatic brain injury, and spinal injury), mentions of surgery and stitches, unconscious patient in medical facility

Pairing: Hunter x Fem!Reader Senator

Type: Short Series

Word Count: 4.2k words

Series Masterlist

The Bad Batch had finally arrived at the nearest medical facility in the city. They were able to make contact with the facility in order to prepare for their arrival, requesting for assistance as soon as they landed. The Marauder came to a slow landing on the platform, lowering the landing gear in the process.

As the ramp lowered, the squad members were extra careful when maneuvering the floating stretcher down to the platform. There were a few medical droids on standby. They directed the crew exactly where they needed to go, leading them through the facility.

Making their way through the hallways and towards the nearest medic, Tech was able to transfer his scans to one of the medical droids which helped them assess her injuries more rapidly. They brought the stretcher into one of the spare rooms, but one of the droids stopped the rest of the crew from entering.

"I apologize," the medical droid beeped. The droid held up a single metal hand. "No visitors will be allowed at this time."

"We aren't visitors; we are the escort. We have been assigned to protect her," Hunter explained to the droid standing in front of him.

"I can assure you: no further harm will come to her," the droid replied. They weren't going to be able to argue with that. So they gave in. The droid was able to step back and close the door in front of them, essentially locking the small squad out.

It felt like hours had passed since they had arrived at the medical facility. They were stationed in the waiting room with a million other civilians. Some sick patients sat in empty seats, voices were heard calling names over the comm, and medical droids helped in assisting people at the front desk.

People kept coming in and out of the doors to the rooms in the back. It varied between doctors, droids, visitors, or patients. Each time, nobody came to call on the small group of clones to give them an update. At least once every hour, Hunter made his way to the front desk to ask the droid if there was any update from the doctors with her. This was now his fifth time coming up.

"I am sorry, clone. I haven't received any message from the doctors about an update," the assistance beeped. The sergeant leaned his arms against the counter, hanging his head low in defeat.

"I understand," Hunter nodded.

"She went into surgery two hours ago and has yet to come out," the droid read from the hologram right in front of them.

"Will...will you just let us know when she comes out of surgery?" Hunter wondered with a glint of hope in his eyes.

"I will notify you," the droid gave a curt nod of agreement.

Making his way back to the row of seats, Hunter planted himself down in slight defeat. He leaned forward to rest his forearms against the tops of his legs, bringing his hands up to clasp together in front of his mouth. He felt lost in his thoughts.

Meanwhile, Wrecker was seated next to him and was snacking on some things that he grabbed from one of the machines in the hallway. He threw a glance towards the weary sergeant sitting beside him. He gave him a rough nudge in his good shoulder.

"Cheer up, sarge." Wrecker encouraged, wearing a broad smile on his face. "The senator will pull through. She's tougher than you think."

"I sure hope you're right, Wrecker."

"The senate should be getting out at this point," Tech recalled almost sorrowfully, having memorized the time stamps of the senator's schedule. The rest of them remained silent.

"Wonder how the vote went," Echo added after the pause.

"Let's hope it was in the senator's favor," Hunter told them. They all seemed to agree with him, nodding their heads in synchronized agreement. All except Crosshair who still didn't care at all for the senator or her precious senate vote.

Another three hours had passed staying in the medical facility. The sound of people talking quiet or walking around the waiting room had turned into a mundane sound that could easily be drowned out. The bright florescent light was straining on the eyes, making everything in the room look bland and drained of color. A strong headache settled in around hour three.

Surprisingly, a medical droid had approached the small squad sitting in a row. The four of them quickly rose to their feet, stepping forward to hear a report from the front desk droid. The droid shuffled back slightly, raising its hands in slight defense.

"The patient is out of surgery," the droid beeped factually. "She is under heavy anesthetics, but you are permitted to go back there now."

"Thank you," Hunter expressed his gratitude. The droid made sure to point the clones in the right direction, giving them the room number just as they began to walk away in the direction.

Navigating the hallways, it didn't take them long before they were able to come across the room. However, upon entering the room, the Bad Batch were met with a distressing sight of a heavily wounded senator laying in bed. Her once neat white dress had been cut for the surgery and was sitting on a nearby chair, still soaked in her blood.

The senator was laying motionless on the bed, hooked up to various monitors to watch her vitals. The color had drained from her face so much that she almost resembled a ghostlike figure. A few stitches had been sown around various injuries including places like her arms, head, and hands.

Unbeknownst to them, underneath her gown, the medical professionals were able to patch the gaping wound in her side. Though what remained was sixteen stitches and major bruises, they were able to save her before she died from blood loss alone. Her internal bleeding injuries required immediate medical surgery in order to fix. According to the doctors, Senator Rayna should be able to make a full recovery as long as she took things easy. They breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

"Besides the internal bleeding, Senator Rayna sustained a traumatic brain injury which resulted in severe nerve damage to her spine in particular," the medical droid explained while reading off the data pad.

Glancing down at her form, Hunter saw the line of stitches drawing from the side of her head and running deep into her hairline. He lowered his hand to stroke some hair out of her face, being mindful of her stitches.

"She may experience changes in her strength, feeling, and mobility." The medical droid had pointed out to them, but none of them really knew what to do with this information. Besides Tech who proceeded to type that information into his data pad.

"It doesn't matter," Hunter reassured the droid standing beside him. He felt a small wave of optimism and his lips tugged into a gentle smile. "What matters is that she's alive and she's going to be okay."

Over the course of the next couple days, Senator Rayna had been admitted into the medical facility and was ordered to remain there until clearance. The Bad Batch chose to stay with the senator the entire time, often resulting in one or two of them falling asleep on the couch in the corner or in the chair beside her bed. They could have gone back to the barracks to rest, but the only one who did that each night was Crosshair.

On the day of the attack, Hunter ended up sending a message over the comm channel to Commander Cody about the incident that occurred. He received the message a few hours later, promising that he'd be there as soon as he could. He also mentioned that he'd be coming with their new transfer order.

Upon hearing about the transfer, Hunter felt his heart once again give way in the depths of his chest. Especially at the prospect of not being able to say goodbye to the senator if she didn't wake up within the next couple days. He desperately hoped that she'd come to sooner rather than later so that he'd at least be able to have that before leaving her indefinitely.

At the given moment, Hunter was the only one in the room because the rest of them decided to grab some lunch in the cafeteria downstairs. He silently sat in the chair right beside her bed, holding her hand gently and stroking the back of it with his thumb. During their rare moments alone, Hunter rarely talked to her and chose to just listen to the sound of her heart monitor beeping steadily. It somehow brought him comfort.

Suddenly, the door to the room had opened unexpectedly. The sergeant quickly pulled his hand out of her grasp, directing his attention towards the door. But Hunter ended up scrambling to stand to his feet upon seeing who walked through the door.

Alongside Commander Cody, Senator Bail Organa and Senator Padme Amidala had joined him in their visit. The door was quietly closed behind them as the three proceed to enter a little further. The sergeant quickly stood at attention, falling right back into protocol.

"Thought it was about time that we paid her a visit," Senator Organa said with a small smile on his face. His eyes fell on the familiar sleeping figure, feeling a slight twinge of pain in his heart at the mere sight.

Slowly, Padme made her way around the other side of the bed so that she stood beside her dearest friend. She pulled her hand out of her shawl, bringing it up to brush her hair back. She smiled down at her softly.

"How is she doing?" Padme inquired, looking up at Hunter for an answer.

"She's...certainly a fighter," Hunter replied rather slowly. He was slightly taken back by her upfront question, but she knew that he had been beside her during her whole recovery.

"Always has been," Padme chuckled softly. "She's the most stubborn person I know."

"You've got that right," Hunter let out a small scoff. He opted to change the conversation. He looked up at the two senators. "How did the vote go? We didn't get to hear the results."

Instead of providing a verbal answer, Bail and Padme had exchanged a brief glance towards each other. She shook her head in denial, silently indicating that they hadn't gotten enough votes to pass her treaty which they counted as a severe loss to the war campaign.

"Ah, I'm sorry to hear about that. I know how hard she worked on that speech and how badly she wanted to be there for the vote," Hunter replied sorrowfully. "I--I just wish I had been able to get her there for it," Hunter added.

"Don't blame yourself," Padme encouraged him. She made sure to catch his gaze so she could get her point across to him. "Nobody could have done a better job at protecting her than your squad. And for that, we are eternally grateful."

"Speaking of your job," Commander Cody interrupted them with a brief clear of the throat. He held up a piece of paper. "Your new transfer orders for you and your squad."

Hesitantly, Hunter took the piece of paper from the commander. He opened it up, reading the exact location where they'd be heading. His mind fell blank as the reality of the situation began to settle in. His gaze grew hazy.

"You'll be heading to the frontlines on Kashyyk. It's getting pretty messy over there. Nothing your squad can't handle though, right?" Commander Cody tried to make the situation lighthearted.

The commander's words only fell on deaf ears. The dull aching feeling in his chest was growing more unbearable with each passing second. He found himself staring directly at the sleeping senator laying on the bed, thinking about the thought of finally departing from her service. The only issue being that he didn't want to depart from her.

"She'll be just fine," Commander Cody reassured him. He took notice of the way the sergeant didn't tear his gaze away from the senator, thinking it was a little out of character for a clone soldier. "Her new guards will relieve you of your duty as early as tomorrow," Commander Cody added.

"Tomorrow?" Hunter was pulled out of his train of thought. He turned his head to look directly at the commander now.

"Yes. Tomorrow," Cody said slowly, studying his surprised reaction cautiously. "Your squad can leave as soon as they come."

The sergeant lowered his gaze to stare down at the floor; his eyes flickering back and forth in conflict. His hands subconsciously flexed at his sides a few times. He wouldn't be able to go against his new orders; he was a soldier and soldiers follow order through.

"I...I...copy that," Hunter scrambled for words. He had never sounded more unsure of himself, which made the commander even more confused.

"Is something wrong?" Cody inquired. He took a single step forward, but the sergeant was quick to move away from him.

"No sir," Hunter replied cooly. He straightened his back in posture, standing at attention like soldiers do. "I'll be sure to report to the rest of the squad about our new orders."

With a quick salute, Hunter made his exit from the room and left the others behind to stay. He wandered through the long hallways of the facility, thoughts overrun in the midst of his head. He didn't know what to think, but he certainly didn't want to leave without saying goodbye. He just needed to opportunity to do it.

The dark blue night sky was almost never covered with the sparkled specks of white starlight given the amount of lights radiating from the city below. The water in the portholes shimmered by the glow of the bright colored lights coming from neon signs along the street. The soft sound of pattering rain fell over the entire stretch of the city, landing on closed windows and drenching everything in sight.

Besides the sergeant and the senator, the recovery room was empty once again. The soft beeping from the heart monitor became the only sound in the room with the occasional rumble of thunder coming from outside. A lamp beside the bed was flicked on and was the only source of light in the room.

At the given moment, Hunter was sitting in that same chair from earlier. His hand was clasped in her own in hopes of providing her some comfort that he was still beside her. His eyes scanned her face carefully, searching for the slightest sign of movement. But nothing happened.

An overwhelming surge of emotions began to swell in his chest, which had been threatening to burst over the past couple days. Hanging his head low, he couldn't hold it back any longer. The tears swelled in the corners of his eyes. He cried quietly to himself.

"I--I'm sorry," Hunter choked over his words. He held her hand so gently in fear of causing her any pain or discomfort. "I'm sorry...I wasn't there to protect you. I should have d--done more for you."

Lifting his head, Hunter's face had grown red from his own tears. They dripped down the length of his nose, falling into his lap. He had never felt this overcome with emotions before; he couldn't even remember the last time he cried.

"Y--You trusted me," Hunter continued. He spoke to her with an open heart. "And I let you down. For that, I am so sorry."

Slowly, Hunter took his hand out of her grasp. He rose to his own feet, towering over the side of the bed. He wiped his tears away with the back of his hand, sniffling up the rest of them to the best of his ability.

"W-We ship out tomorrow. Your new escort will be here when you wake up," Hunter nodded. He fiddled with the gloves covering his hands. "So this will have to do for our goodbye."

With some hesitation, Hunter ended up leaning down over her. He pressed his lips against the crown of her head, still being mindful of those stitches that were still healing. He kissed her head sweetly, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to find this unsatisfying closure for himself. Drawing away from her, Hunter took one last glance over her features. He pulled away for final time and began walking away.

That was when it happened.

The sergeant froze in his place upon hearing the sound of the heart monitor spiking unexpectedly. He quickly spun around on his feet to face her again. His eyes watched the heart monitor resume beeping at the normal pace, but when his eyes fell on her figure, he saw her finger twitching at her side. He took a hesitant step towards her.

For a moment, the muscles in her face had contorted slightly. He wasn't sure if this meant she was in pain, if she was fighting, or if it was just uncontrollable reflexes. It didn't really matter though because he was by her side within a split second. He called her name softly in hopes of coaxing her back into a conscious state.

Finally, Y/n's eyes had fluttered open ever so slightly. The confusion was already starting to take over her mind because she didn't know where she was or who she was with. She tried sitting up in her place, but found very little strength to even lift herself up further on the pillows.

"Just relax. Don't strain yourself," Hunter's voice spoke from right beside her. He placed his hand on her shoulder, keeping her body back against the pillows.

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Y/n was able to turn her head to look directly at him. Though her eyes were heavily hooded, Y/n could make out his distinctive figure in the form of his tattoo and his red bandana. She lifted her hand to cup the side of his scruffy cheek and he closed his eyes to relish the feeling. Her lips tugged into a warm smile.

"Hunter," Y/n breathed softly.

"I'm right here," Hunter comforted her.

"I knew you'd save me."

During the early hours of the morning, the Bad Batch were working tirelessly to make final preparations before their departure in less than an hour. They packed all of their equipment away in the barracks, carrying it back to their ship and loading it all up.

Around that same time, the Coruscant Guard had arrived at the medical facility to relieve the sergeant of his nightly obligation of staying with the senator. He was quiet when dismissing himself from her company, leaving the room to rejoin his brothers at the ship.

The landing platform was rather chaotic and unorganized. While Tech was undergoing some last minute checks on the ship's log, Wrecker and Crosshair were tasked with loading the crates into the ship. Meanwhile, Hunter and Echo brought more things from the barracks and left them right outside the ship to be brought inside. And they had just got the last of their things together.

"Look who showed up," Echo let out a small huff of disbelief. His eyes looking off into the short distance of the platform.

When Hunter turned around in his place, he was a little more than surprised to see the senator herself being escorted by her new guards. Given the extent of her injuries, Y/n was confined to a wheelchair temporarily until her injuries were fully healed or until her strength returned. One of her guards was pushing her towards the ship, stopping only a short ways away.

"What are you doing here?" Hunter wondered with a curious smirk on his lips. He crossed his arms across the stretch of his chest.

"You didn't think I'd let you all leave without saying goodbye?" Y/n asked playfully. She smiled up at him just as the other members began to join beside him. "And...I just wanted to say thank you...to all of you," Y/n said while looking over each of them.

The Bad Batch had completed their mission objection of keeping the senator safe at all costs. They would continue to have a 100% success rate if that even mattered to them now. It was a different mission from all the others that they were used to, but sometimes, change can be a good thing.

One at a time, Y/n said her goodbyes to each respective clone in a memorable way. For Wrecker, he had knelt down beside her and gave her a gentle hug. He was still worried for her injuries, but the gesture still brought a smile to her face. With Tech, he only provided a firm handshake which was fitting for his non-emotional personality. For Echo, he saluted the senator in the same respective way he did when they first met each other.

For Crosshair, there was no difference between their first meeting and their final departure. His feelings of hatred towards her hadn't changed at all. He looked down at her with a blank face. But the senator ended up surprising him when she said:

"Thank you, Crosshair."

The word must have gotten out that he was the one who took out the assassin in the end. So, for their goodbye, the senator simply thanked him for his services despite knowing how much he hated her. She sent him a weak smile.

Finally, the only one left was the sergeant. He took his place right in front of her, dropping down onto a single knee. There was a brief moment of silence surrounding them. The two of them felt so overwhelmed with emotion that it was hard to find words to express themselves. And tears gathered in the corner of both of their eyes.

"So this is goodbye? I'll never see you again?" Y/n asked him. He saw how the tears began to stream down her face so he reached up to brush a few away with his thumb.

"No," Hunter shook his head gently. "If I remember correctly, I still have to take you to the beach."

Upon hearing this, Y/n breathed a small laugh which he ended up mirroring. She gazed at him with the brightest smile and with eyes that sparkled with love. Unbeknownst to the guards behind her, Y/n was able to take his hand in her own for a brief moment. She slipped him a small device, hoping that it went unnoticed by her guards.

"You've got a deal," Y/n smiled. He wrapped his fingers around the small circular device. He rose to his feet slowly and made sure to keep the device out of sight. He pocketed it swiftly. "Until next time, sarge."

Moving to the side, Hunter took a brief second to stand directly in front of one of her new guards. He stared at the clone trooper with a stern look in his eyes. He watched the guard straighten his back in posture slightly as if he was feeling the weight of his gaze and had grown nervous under it.

"Keep her safe," Hunter ordered. "At all costs."

"Y-Yes sir."

Satisfied by that answer, Hunter issued his departure from the platform. He began walking back towards the ship with his brothers beside him. They climbed the ramp slowly before closing the latch behind them.

Only a minute later, the engines of the ship activated with a swell of energy and power. The wings of the ship lowered to the side and the heavy vessel lifted off the surface of the platform. The landing gear headed back into their ports and the nose of the ship turned in the direction of the skyline.

The Marauder had just begun it's next journey, traveling to the next planet for a brand new mission. The Bad Batch ended up spending over three months on Coruscant, which is the longest they ever stayed in one place at a time.

With their leave, Y/n had handed the sergeant a hologram device as something to remember her by. It was just a simple hologram of herself, but it was something that he cherished deeply from that day forward. On the bottom of the device, Y/n also left her comm channel in case he ever wanted to reach out to her.

Over the course of the next two years, Hunter and Y/n called each other on numerous occasions when neither of them were busy with senate business or faraway missions. Those rare moments alone together reminded them of their time spent together, becoming one of the best pastimes during solitude.

As the war continued to wage across the galaxy, the demands for a sergeant and a senator were becoming more prominent. Their once regular calls suddenly dwindled into months of silence at a time. Despite this, their feelings towards one another never changed. Both of them secretly dreamed of what life would look like after the war, picturing the dream of a much-awaited reunion with one another. And something told them that it was good to have dreams.

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