Wounded Love

A/N: Not much to say, really, just another romantic Kit Fisto and Aayla Secura one shot about their love during the Star Wars time line. This one takes place right after the Battle of Hypori, where Aayla was seriously wounded by General Grievous along with Shaak Ti. Ki-Adi-Mundi returned unharmed and four other Jedi were killed. The events of Hypori can be properly seen in the Star Wars: Clone Wars cartoon series.

Special thanks to Kitanga for the encouragement, ideas, motivation and the beta job. Cheers, and thanks! ;)

Disclaimer: George Lucas owns everything, unfortunately… (sigh)

Master Kit Fisto, a respected Jedi of the order and revered member of the Jedi High Council, charged down the hall ways of the Temple like a madman, leaving various perplexed Masters, Knights and Padawans in his wake who were all wondering the same thing; what in the name of the Force could have caused Kit Fisto to tear around like he was possessed?

The Nautolan, however paid no heed to the many startled looks he received, he simply concentrated on getting to the medical facilities of the Temple as fast as possible.

His heart clenched and as his feet carried him along, Kit's thoughts turned swiftly to Aayla Secura, his fellow Jedi, best friend and… lover. Together they had broken the code… and it was the best thing Kit had ever done. He still marveled about the fact that the Council forbade something so wonderful. Their love was Kit's small gem he had tucked away in his heart to pull out when ever he needed a ray of sunshine during a particularly trying mission, and during these troubled times, the Clone Wars, he needed that more than ever.

The Clone Wars, Kit felt pin pricks of pain at their very mention: they had caused so much death and destruction, Geonosis was just the beginning. Kit had fought there and had felt the deaths of the Jedi all around him, as he himself had struggled to stay alive. They many battles that had followed were a cause for great alarm to all Jedi, however the Battle of Hypori was the only one that gave Kit cause for concern.

Aayla had left the Temple with a task force of elite Jedi to aid General and Jedi Master Daakman Barrek on the planet Hypori. No one could have guessed what would happen during that battle. Kit's jaw clenched and his hands curled into fists as he ran, recalling Ki-Adi-Mundi's report. On that Force forsaken planet the Jedi had meet a new threat: General Grievous, the cyborg Jedi killer.

The Nautolan felt fury bubble inside him: because of Grievous four Jedi were dead and two had received critical injuries, one being Aayla. Kit tried to push his dangerous emotions back down, fury led to the Dark Side. But how could he? The women he loved had almost been killed! Shaking his head, Kit took deep calming breaths and tried to filter out everything but his love for Aayla. It worked, and he continued on his way, turning a corner into the waiting room of the medical facilities that the Temple housed.

Kit's keen gaze scanned the room, searching for a healer and he was surprised to find instead the Cerean Jedi, Ki-Adi-Mundi himself. Ki-Adi acknowledged his fellow Council member with a nod, before taking a seat.

Kit hesitated for a moment before walking over to Ki-Adi and sitting down next to him. "I assume you are here to see Aayla, Kit?" The Cerean asked after a moment and Kit stared at him, panic beginning to rise inside the Master. Did Mundi know? But his fears were for nothing when a second later Ki-Adi continued: "You two are friends, are you not?"

Letting out a slight breath, Kit nodded. "Indeed. But may I ask why you are here, Ki-Adi? After what happened on Hypori, I would think you would be resting."

Ki-Adi sighed sadly and shook his head slowly. "I do not think I could 'rest' if my life depended on it. I believe Hypori has changed me, Kit…" Ki-Adi trailed off, obviously remembering the battle between Grievous and the Jedi. "Besides, what kind of a friend, or Jedi, would I be if I did not care enough to check upon Shaak or Aayla?" He continued after a moment.

Kit nodded sympathetically, his own thoughts turning towards Aayla. He prayed she would alright. The clone troopers on Hypori had reported that the Jedi would recover, but Kit found himself doubting this less and less as the seconds ticked by without any word from the Healers.

The Nautolan suddenly rose from his seat and begun pacing, no longer content to simply sit and count how many tiles made up the floor. Ignoring Ki-Adi's slightly odd look, Kit begun to wear a hole in the floor, agonising over why the healers were taking so much damn time. He had to know, was Aayla alright?

Ki-Adi gave an odd chuckle with absolutely no humour in it what so ever, and looked at the pacing Jedi Master. "The Healers always seem to take a ridiculously long time, don't they?" He asked Kit, who shot him a slightly curious look. Ki-Adi shook his head. "I've waited for a lot more people to come out of here over my life as a Jedi." He explained. The Nautolan looked curious but did not ask further and continued his pacing. Ki-Adi sighed. So much for trying distract his friend and colleague.

Although, now that he thought about it, why was Kit so anxious? True Aayla was his friend, but he seemed to be over-reacting to her injuries…maybe they had a deeper friendship than Ki-Adi suspected… a brother-sister type one, perhaps?

After a few more minutes of waiting that seemed to be hours to Kit, one of the Healers finally emerged from wherever they had been hiding. Looking slightly surprised at the presence of the two members of the Council, she walked towards them, noting the agitation both of them shared... her news would be most welcome then.

Kit looked up and when he took in the sight of the Jedi Healer it was all he could do to not run up and beg for news of Aayla. "Masters, I am pleased to say that both Master Ti and Knight Secura shall recover splendidly. Master Ti shall remain with us a little longer, due to the fact that she received a slash from a lightsabre, however, there shall be no lasting damage. They are both conscious, if you wish to see them." The Healer reported with a note of gladness.

Kit nodded his thanks and quickly headed into the healing ward which Aayla currently occupied. He hurriedly crossed over to her bed once he was inside her room and was quite amazed to see she looked more or less alright. There was one or two medical instruments hooked up beside her bed, however, her appearance was similar to her everyday one.

"Kit!" She murmured softly, smiling with delight when she saw him. Kit took her hand in his and gently caressed her face.

"Aayla, you're alright… I was so worried…" He said softly, relief breaking his usually moist voice.

Aayla smiled lightly and shook her head… "Kit, wait a minute. You were aware that Master Ti and I were treated on the way to the temple. We were in no danger of dying once we arrived." She choked on her giggles at the astounded look on his face. "Oh dear, you didn't know? So you were waiting outside, anxiously waiting for news of my recovery?"

"Yes." Kit replied, numbed. HE wasn't sure whether to be vaguely annoyed that he had been out of his mind with worry over almost nothing, or to be extremely relieved that Aayla was alright. After hearing what Aayla had to say next, he settled on the latter.

"Oh, my hero." Aayla sent a smile Kit's way that made him go weak in knees. After quickly checking that they were quite alone, he leaned down and deeply kissed the Twi'lek, his hands curling around her lekku and Aayla's winding around his waist. And as he deepened the kiss, Kit knew that even in the midst of a war, everything was going to turn out okay. Somehow…

Finis

A/N: Aaaagh! Ki-Adi, you almost stole the story! This was supposed to be a romantic, slightly angst-y Kit/Aayla one shot, not the ramblings of an old Cerean Jedi Master. Hmmph! On a completely different note, what did everyone think? I know it was a little sad at the end and a little rambley in the middle, but (shrugs). Now, can I tempt anyone to review? ;)

Gee, I'm such a sucker for Kit/Aayla, this is my sixth one-shot!