"I don't swim."

"Every Jedi knows how to swim, Master."

"I know how to swim, I would just prefer to avoid the activity."

"It's just some water!"

"It is water filled with sand and dirt and creatures. Unless I have a very specific reason, I plan not on wading through that…uncivilized mess."

Ahsoka turned pleadingly to Anakin. "You talk some sense into him."

Anakin, who had long given up on trying to coax Obi-Wan into the water, just shook his head. He couldn't understand Obi-Wan's fear of the water. Obi-Wan made a ton of excuses, none of them were really consistent. Maybe he was afraid of swimming, but it had nothing to do with sand, dirt, or creatures. Obi-Wan faced them on an everyday basis. Stranger still, Anakin could have sworn he had heard Bant mention several times about she and Obi-Wan swimming in the Room of One Thousand fountains as Padawans. Apparently Obi-Wan just got more boring and peculiar with age.

"Tried and failed, Snips."

"Anakin will buy you Dexters."

"Hey!"

"I can afford my own meal, thank you."

"Anakin will move out of your apartment?"

"Tempting, but no."

"It will save me the embarrassment of having a Master who splashes everyone and acts like a five year old."

"I've dealt with him for twenty years, now it's your turn. Maybe you can try and improve his behavior"

"Obi-Wan, please. All the Padawans are celebrating in the Room of One Thousand Fountains with their Masters."

"Then why aren't you going with your Padawan?"

"Because baldy is making me do all the paperwork I've been putting off," Anakin grumbled.

"Master Windu, please, Anakin. And how many missions of paperwork have you been putting off?"

Anakin shrugged. "Four or five."

"Anakin!"

"I know, I know, I'm a horrible person. But are you going to let Ahsoka be the only Padawan their without a Master?"

Obi-Wan sighed and Anakin knew he had won the argument. "Very well. I'll meet you there, Ahsoka."

Ahsoka squealed and gave Obi-Wan a quick hug. "Thank you!"

Anakin grinned as Ahsoka ran down the hallway. Obi-Wan just glared at him.

Anakin was vaguely on the verge of throwing his holopad across the room, and telling Master Windu several creative ideas of what he could do with the paperwork, when Ahsoka came running into the room. She was still dripping wet, clad in her bathing suit, clutching a towel to her. Anakin was on immediate alert. He hadn't sensed anything had happened and Ahsoka was giving off more confusion than true panic.

"Snips, what's wrong?"

"Master Kenobi."

"Is he still refusing to go in the water?"

"No, he's – you need to help him. He – he just froze because…"

Anakin got swiftly to his feet. "Explain on the way." He strode out of his quarters, Ahsoka right by his side.

"He was in the water and, well sort of enjoying himself I guess…but…Some of the Younglings were goofing off around the waterfall, you know, and one of them slipped on the rocks and...and one of the Padawans caught him before he hit the bottom. He's – he's got a few cuts but…"

"What does this have to do with Obi-Wan?" Anakin snapped.

"I don't know! He just went over to make sure the other Younglings were okay and then he just stopped. He's just standing on the rocks and…he won't move, he won't respond to anyone…"

Anakin took off running.

Obi-Wan was standing precariously on the rocks above the waterfall, one hand outstretched. He was just watching the Youngling tumbling over, again and again and again until he started to become Bruck Chun. Obi-Wan kept reaching out, trying to grab his hand, trying desperately not to let him fall to his death. Every time, every single time his mind played out the same events over and over nothing changed. He couldn't save him. He watched a young boy fall to his death over and over, listening to the crack of his neck and skull as it collided with the rocks below. He could have saved him. If he just reached out a little further, if he just grabbed his wrist he could have….

"Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan!"

"Skyguy…he hasn't been responding to any of us."

"Why hasn't someone brought him down?"

"Master, they don't want to startle him or he'll lose his balance."

"We don't really have another choice. Stay here, Snips. Help the Masters clear out the younger kids."

Anakin stealthily crawled up behind Obi-Wan, making sure he was at a far enough distance not to alarm him, but close enough to catch him if he fell.

"Master."

"I let him die."

"Who? That kid is fine, Obi-Wan, nothing – "

" – Bruck."

That was a name Anakin hadn't heard mentioned more than once. Obi-Wan rarely talked about his past. Only after a few drinks did Obi-Wan occasionally share bits and pieces from his past. Anakin only knew a few things about Bruck. He was responsible for Obi-Wan's nickname, "Oafy-Wan." He turned against the Jedi and was fighting Obi-Wan when he slipped and fell to his death in the Room of One Thousand Fountains.

"That was years ago."

"He died. Just like Qui-Gon. I could have saved them both."

So it was back to this. Anakin had suspected that despite what the Healer's had told him, Obi-Wan was starting to suffer from some sort of post-traumatic stress. His nightmares were starting to become more frequent and it seemed that more and more often he would fall silent. The smallest things started to remind him of those he had lost. Every person that a Jedi killed, every person that they felt die, the kept with them. Their dying screams still echoed in the Force. Anakin was able to ignore them. His mother's death he regretted. He should have saved her. But others? He was a solider. Was he supposed to mourn killing monsters like Ventress? He killed only those who deserved it. Morally questionable, he supposed. Obi-Wan did always worry about Anakin and his sense of morals. Obi-Wan was the most moral person Anakin knew, he mourned every person he killed, murders and innocents alike.

"He made his own choice."

"I made his choice for him."

"You always told me you can't save everyone."

"And you never listened."

Anakin put one hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. Obi-Wan did not turn around to look at him. "You saved everyone you could."

Obi-Wan spun around to face Anakin, who used his moment of distraction to pull him away from the edge. "What if I can't save you? Or Ahsoka? Will you forgive me so easily if I let you or Ahsoka die?"

"We aren't going to die. Someone needs to save you from doing stupid things like this."

Obi-Wan blinked and looked around. "You can still - Oh. What I am doing up here?"

"I really have no idea."

Obi-Wan sighed and allowed Anakin to help him out of the fountain. "Back to the Healers then? I should just take up residence there."

Ahsoka brought over a towel. She was still worried, but caught Obi-Wan's embarrassed look and Anakin's pensive look and decided to try and lighten the situation. "I can't take you two anywhere."

Anakin wrapped the towel around Obi-Wan and motioned for Ahsoka to follow them back to their quarters. There was no need to take Obi-Wan to the Healers just yet.

"I'm sorry to wreck your plans, Ahsoka," Obi-Wan told Ahsoka apologetically.

"Well, Skyguy would do anything to get out of doing paperwork."

Anakin gave a mock gasp. "You think I planned this? I'm hurt."

Obi-Wan headed into the refresher to change and Anakin and Ahsoka dropped their light conversations.

"Is he okay?"

Anakin frowned. "He'll be fine. Just the stress from the war."

"I'm stressed. You're stressed. Master Kenobi is a bit more than stressed."

"The Healers don't know what to do for him. I've already asked."

"They can't do anything?"

"Can't or won't, I don't know," Anakin muttered, "They offered just to give him pills. There is no real cure for it. The "cure" just stops him from thinking about anything, good or otherwise. He doesn't need to be sedated."

"So what do we do?"

"Nothing. We don't just dope him up on drugs, we don't think he's going to wake up and be magically changed. Maybe he won't ever get better. Maybe he will. I don't care. I'm not going to abandon him or just dump him off to the Healers. Obi-Wan Kenobi is my friend and my responsibility and I will stand by him."

Ahsoka held Anakin's hand. "Neither will I, Master."

A/N: For a suggested prompt from Fan who saved me from at least an hour of boredom. . "Anakin and Obi-Wan and Ahsoka go swimming." I decided to put a new spin on it because I have read tons of fanfictions with Anakin being afraid of the water and/or unable to swim. Thought it would be a nice change if it was Obi-Wan this time. And I swear it was going to be a light, non serious story but…..yeah it changed. And there was no real swimming involved. Really sorry. This might be continued.