A/N: This story loosely connects to one of my others, Broken by Deception, but it's not necessary to read that to understand this! (Though I would still suggest reading it

"General, there's an unidentifiable ship coming out of hyperspace."

Anakin looked up from the holotable, towards the clone officer speaking to him. "Unidentifiable?" he asked. "That's odd." It was extremely unlikely for random ships to accidentally stumble across the Resolute, but it certainly was possible.

A battered ship immediately appeared in the viewport.

"Huh," Anakin commented, staring at the ship intently. "That is unidentifiable."

"They're hailing us, General," Rex said. Anakin nodded, and Rex pressed a button. A voice immediately filtered into the speakers.

"This is General Kenobi requesting…to board."

Anakin's frown grew deeper. "Obi-Wan?" Anakin asked. Last he heard, Obi-Wan was on Coruscant, still on leave after his stint as Rako Hardeen, and caught between endless Council meetings and other duties. Anakin did not really speak to him since Naboo. The sting of betrayal over Obi-Wan's "death" still felt so fresh and painful.

"Oh, Anakin," Obi-Wan said. His voice sounded strange for some reason, and his presence in the Force was more guarded than usual.

"You can land in Hangar Besh, Obi-Wan," Anakin replied. He looked again at the ship, now that it was limping its way closer to the Resolute. "Looks like that ship needs some repairs, too. I can have the technicians look at it." Or I can do it myself, he thought.

"Oh, I'm afraid that…just being dropped off," Obi-Wan said. There was a sort of rasp or something that Anakin couldn't quite place to his voice. Most likely it was that stupid experimental emulator Obi-Wan used as Rako Hardeen. He remembered hearing that it did some damage to Obi-Wan's throat, though Anakin thought that by now it would have been fixed.

"Okay, I'll meet you there," Anakin said, turning around to leave the bridge.

Anakin saw the ship in the distance as he entered the hangar. He could easily sense Obi-Wan in the Force now, along with someone else. Whoever the other person was, their presence was…cold. Not quite like a Sith, but…

Anakin's eyes immediately widened in recognition and he broke into a sprint, racing across the hangar to the ship. He began to run up the hangar and almost crashed into Obi-Wan, who was beginning to walk down the ramp.

Ventress' Force presence was muffled, but present. Anakin reached for his saber, ready to rush into the cockpit.

"Anakin, wait."

Anakin blinked and finally looked at Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan's face was covered with bruises and lacerations, and there were tears in his clothing revealing cuts and burns, some of them still weeping blood. Obi-Wan held himself stiffly, with one arm wrapped around his middle.

Anakin cursed. "What happened?" he asked. "Did Ventress—"

"No," Obi-Wan cut him off. "Let her go."

"What?" Anakin asked, confused. "After everything she did, you're just going to let her leave?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan said. "She's changed, Anakin."

Right. Anakin knew for a fact that people don't just…change. But the look that Obi-Wan was giving him silenced his misgivings. Anakin nodded and began to walk down the ramp.

"So, what happened?" Anakin asked, once he and Obi-Wan were both standing in the hangar. He looked up at the ship Obi-Wan arrived in as it flew away, out of the hangar. "I thought you were on Coruscant."

"I was," Obi-Wan replied, then he closed his eyes as pain suddenly flared from his Force presence. "I need to contact the Council."

"That can wait," Anakin said. "You should get to the medbay first and get yourself fixed up."

Obi-Wan sighed and opened his eyes. His eyes were grey, dulled even more by the black eye that was forming around his left eye. But there was something…else, and Anakin couldn't quite place his finger on it.

"I need to speak to the Council," Obi-Wan repeated. "It's important."

Anakin shrugged. "Fine," he said shortly. He walked away, leaving Obi-Wan alone in the hangar.

Breathing hurt.

Moving hurt.

Force, even existing hurt.

Obi-Wan watched as Anakin walked away, out of the hangar. He knew that Anakin didn't take his deception well, but to see him this upset weeks after he returned to Coruscant made his heart ache.

Add that to the fact that Maul survived.

For months and even years after Qui-Gon's death, Obi-Wan had nightmares of the red-and-black creature, promising revenge. If only he knew that those dreams had an element of truth to them.

He needed to tell the Council what happened. They deserved to know that his Knighthood was a farce, that he didn't belong in their ranks. That he failed Qui-Gon and he failed Anakin, just like he failed the Order.

Obi-Wan took a few stumbling steps forward, gritting his teeth as his muscles protested the movement. He was sure that he broke a few bones in his right leg and foot, and his shortness of breath told him that he had at least a few broken ribs.

Adrenaline was quickly fading away. Obi-Wan tried to take a deep breath, gasping at the pain that shot through his torso at the movement. The Force was slipping from his grasp, but he managed to hold on to it to numb the pain, albeit temporarily.

He just needed to get to a communications hub and speak to the Council. There was a hub not too far from the hangar, if he remembered correctly. He couldn't quite think clearly, but he was pretty sure he knew where it was. It was just a matter of getting there.

"General?"

There were two clones standing in front of him, both with identical expressions. Obi-Wan frowned. No, it was one clone. He saw two, and using the Force was a bit difficult, but since he heard one voice, his vision was probably off right now.

"Yes?" he asked. Talking hurt, too. Breathing was quickly becoming more and more difficult. Force, he wasn't going to make it to the hub. He wasn't…

The next thing he knew, he was collapsed onto the floor, struggling for air. He could hear someone shouting in the distance. He couldn't breathe. Trying to breathe resulted in agony shooting into his chest. He shivered and gasped for air, but nothing came.

There was someone kneeling next to him, talking to him. Through blurred vision, he could see a medic's pack and supplies strewn out next to him, but he couldn't figure out why.

He heard someone apologize, then the next thing he knew, something was being stabbed into his chest. Obi-Wan jerked and cried out, but there were arms holding him down. He took a shuddering breath, realizing that he was able to breathe a bit more easily now, before he felt a small pinch at his wrist.

"What?" he mumbled, finally looking down at the empty hypospray next to his wrist. His vision blurred again before turning black.

"Did he say what happened?" Ahsoka asked.

They were sitting outside of the medbay, waiting for Obi-Wan to come out of surgery. After hearing what happened in the hangar, Anakin immediately ran to the medbay, shocked to see Obi-Wan so still and pale.

Anakin shrugged. "He wanted to talk to the Council. I…I told him to come to the medbay, but he insisted. So I left him there. I didn't realize that—"

"You didn't realize?" Ahsoka snapped. "You've been so caught up in this whole Rako Hardeen thing that you didn't realize what happened?" She sighed. "I was upset, too, Master! I felt Master Kenobi die in my arms. He's been there for us this whole time. And what he did was wrong. But don't you think that this has gone on long enough? I forgave him; why can't you?"

"I…I can't, Ahsoka," Anakin said. "The Council lied, and he just…supported that, without question, without consideration for us."

"Whatever his reasonings, Master, you can't hold this against him forever," Ahsoka said.

Before Anakin say anything else, the door swung open to reveal Kix.

"Sir," Kix greeted with a short nod.

"How is he?" Ahsoka asked.

"We just put him in the bacta tank. He should be out tomorrow. There was…a lot of damage," Kix admitted. "He had six broken ribs and a collapsed lung. He also had a nasty concussion and he cracked his skull in multiple places. His right foot was almost completely shattered. I had to put in some prosthetics to allow the breaks to heal."

Anakin cursed. "Do you have any idea what happened?" he asked.

Kix blinked. "Sir, I was going to ask you the same thing."

Anakin shrugged. "All I know is that he arrived here with Ventress, of all people, and that he really wanted to speak to the Council. He didn't say why."

"I guess we should go tell the Council what happened," Ahsoka said. "They might be waiting for Master Kenobi to contact them."

Anakin nodded and stood. Ahsoka followed. "Thank you, Kix," he said. "Keep me updated, please. I'd like to be there when he wakes up."

"Of course, General."

"Revenge, Kenobi…I will make you suffer as I have suffered."

Obi-Wan opened his eyes.

"Master?"

Anakin. Obi-Wan exhaled, realizing that he was breathing a lot more easily than before, before turning his head to see Anakin sitting at his bedside, eyes wide and concerned.

"You were really agitated just a few moments ago," Anakin said. "Were you dreaming?"

His nightmares became reality. Maul was alive.

"No," Obi-Wan rasped. "I…What happened?" He looked around the room, realizing he was in the Resolute's medbay.

"Your lung collapsed while you were walking to the communications hub," Anakin explained. "Luckily, Kix was close by. He had to put in a chest tube and then take you to surgery. You were then put in bacta for about two days."

Obi-Wan nodded muzzily.

"I spoke to the Council," Anakin continued. "They told me what happened. About Maul."

Obi-Wan closed his eyes. It wasn't a dream. It was real. Maul was alive.

"I'm sorry, Master."

Obi-Wan laughed lightly. "I should be apologizing to you, Anakin," he replied. "I couldn't—I thought I did enough, but it wasn't."

"Obi-Wan, I…" Anakin paused. "I'm still sorry that all of this happened. It's not fair to you."

"The Force isn't fair, Anakin," Obi-Wan replied. "It just does whatever is necessary. And it seems that in this case, it was necessary for Maul to survive all these years."

"I'm still sorry," Anakin repeated.

Obi-Wan didn't reply.

"I should have been there, Master," Anakin said.

Obi-Wan looked up at him and shook his head. "It's best if you don't get involved with this, Anakin," he replied. "It's my fault for all of this, after all."

"Master, you—"

"I'd like to be alone, Anakin," Obi-Wan said.

"But—"

"Anakin."

Anakin sighed and turned around, leaving the room.

"Master Kenobi?"

Ahsoka walked into the medbay to see her grandmaster sitting in a chair next to one of the beds, eyes focused on a datapad. He looked up at her, revealing the fading bruises on his face and dull grey eyes. There were bandages peeking out of his tunic's collar, and his right foot was wrapped in a bacta bandage.

"How are you?" she asked, pulling a chair over and sitting down.

"Fine," he answered, glancing up at her before looking down at the datapad.

"Anakin told me that…" Ahsoka trailed off, unsure of what to say. "About what happened."

"Don't apologize," he said suddenly. "That's all that everyone has been doing, and honestly, it won't change anything."

Ahsoka's mouth snapped shut.

Obi-Wan shook his head. "I'm sorry; I'm not quite myself. That was rude," he murmured.

"It's fine. I think I would have said a lot worse in your position," Ahsoka admitted.

Obi-Wan smiled one of his half-hearted smiles before he looked at the datapad again, frowning and typing away. Ahsoka watched for a few moments before she stood and walked over to him. Without warning, she knelt down to the height he was sitting and flung her arms around his shoulders.

He seemed frozen to the spot, but Ahsoka didn't mind. When she pulled away, she saw that his eyes were brimming with tears, though not a single one fell.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said finally. "Anakin won't say it, so I will. I don't care about whether Maul survived or not. I care that I have two masters helping me get through training to become a Jedi and this war."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow.

"I don't think any less of you because Maul survived. No one does. I can't imagine how terrible this must have been, but Anakin and I are here," she continued. "If you…if you need to talk about it."

Obi-Wan stared at her for a long moment. "It's…always a great moment when the Padawan teaches the Master," he said finally.

"Honestly, those are my favorite moments," she said.

Obi-Wan laughed, probably for the first time since all of this happened. "I appreciate your concern, Ahsoka," he said finally. "Thank you."

Ahsoka smiled brightly. Her commlink beeped, and she looked down at it. "Duty calls, Master," she said. Obi-Wan nodded in understanding, and she walked away with a spring in her step, feeling much better than before.

Sure, things were now even more complicated with Maul's return and the war and everything else that's going on; however, Ahsoka had her family, and that was all that matters.

A/N: Thank you for reading, and please leave a review! :)