Forever In My Heart

By RocketFAN

Chapter 4: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Nearly a month had passed since the Council confronted Ahsoka and she had been on her best behavior since her Master convinced them not to send her to the AgriCorps. She had caught herself several times on the verge of speaking out, but held her tongue before anything slipped out that would get her in trouble with the Council again. During her time at the Temple, she had purposely kept her distance from Pax, despite his many attempts to talk to her. Fortunately, Pax's Master kept a very close eye on him since he found out about the incident between him and Ahsoka, and she was relieved when she heard that they had been dispatched to an outer rim planet to settle a border dispute and would be there for several months.

She and Anakin had just returned from a mission to assist overwhelmed Clone Troopers on Ryloth, and she was looking forward to relaxing at the Temple for a few days. However, things were about to get much more complicated.

"Good job today, Snips," Anakin commended his Padawan on her stellar job commanding her Clone Squadron on Ryloth.

"Thank you, Master," Ahsoka replied humbly, yet inside, she was beaming with pride from her Master's praise.

"Why don't you get some rest," Anakin said with a small smile.

"Sounds good," Ahsoka smiled back and sighed wearily. She had not said anything to Anakin, but she had not been feeling well lately. For the two weeks or so, she had been experiencing a variety of unpleasant symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, and random bouts of nausea. However, she just associated them with the stress of being watched carefully by the Council.

"Oh, am I glad to see you," Ahsoka said to her bed as she laid down on it and wrapped herself up in her blankets. She let out a contented sigh into her pillow as she was consumed by her fatigue and almost instantly fell asleep. About an hour later, she was rudely awakened by a sudden onset of intense nausea.

"Ugh!" Ahsoka gagged as she sat up in bed and fought off the urge to vomit. Unable to keep it down any longer, she jumped out of bed and ran into her bathroom.

"Oh…," she whimpered softly as fell back against the bathroom wall after vomiting twice. She sat panting on the floor and leaned against the wall, wiping the sweat that had formed on her brow with the damp cloth she had used to wipe her mouth.

A few days past and Ahsoka was still dealing with the nausea, but it had lessened quite a bit. She figured she had simply eaten something that did not agree with her and gave it little more thought. It was not until a more alarming symptom arose that she decided to see the doctor. She had become concerned when she started to notice blood in her panties on a daily basis. This was very unusual for Togruta's, as they do not have monthly menstrual cycles like human's do. For blood to come from down there was definitely not a normal occurrence for a Togruta like Ahsoka.

"Hello?" Ahsoka said as she walked into the infirmary that was stationed in the Jedi Temple's Halls of Healing.

"Come on in, Ahsoka," Vokara Che, a female Twi'lek and highly accomplished Jedi healer, greeted her.

"Hi, Master Che," Ahsoka said softly.

"Calm down, young one! I can feel your tension from across the room!" Vokara said as she approached Ahsoka and placed her hands on her trembling shoulders.

"Sorry," Ahsoka said with a small smile as Vokara's calming touch soothed her nerves.

Ahsoka followed Vokara into a private room and told her what has been going on as Vokara gently examined her. When the Twi'lek Healer examined Ahsoka's abdomen, she made a face that could only be described as: "shocked".

"What is it?" Ahsoka asked concernedly.

"Ahsoka… it appears that you are pregnant," Vokara said softly as she placed both her hands on Ahsoka's stomach.

"Pregnant? Are you sure?" Ahsoka went ash white and her eyes welled up with tears.

"I'm afraid so, Ahsoka. About 2 months along if I'm not mistaking," Vokara confirmed gently as she removed her hands and backed away from the stunned Togruta.

"I-I don't be- I mean…I just-," Ahsoka stammered and began to hyperventilate.

"Just calm down," Vokara said calmly and pulled Ahsoka into a comforting hug.

"What am I going to do?" Ahsoka sobbed into the soft tunic of Vokara's medical robe.

"That's going to be up to you, Ahsoka," Vokara replied while rubbing her back soothingly.

"I'm going to be expelled from the Jedi Order!" Ahsoka sobbed hopelessly and fell to her knees in utter despair.

"Ahsoka…," Vokara said as she kneeled beside the distraught teenager and tried to calm her down.

"Promise me you won't tell anyone," Ahsoka pleaded desperately.

"I promise," Vokara assured her while helping her to her feet.

A week later, Anakin and Ahsoka were on their way to meet up with a newly established Clone Army base stationed aboard a Republic war ship orbiting the Outer Rim.

Anakin was beginning to suspect that Ahsoka was keeping something from him. She had been very quiet lately and he could sense that something was deeply troubling her. He did not know exactly what she was hiding from him, but he never could have prepared for what she was about to tell him!

"Master?" Ahsoka said softly. She had been waiting for the right time to tell her Master that she was pregnant. Preferably, it would be when he was the only person around to prevent the truth from becoming a rumor, or worse… the Council found out.

"Yeah?" Anakin asked casually yet cautiously, as he could tell that Ahsoka was very nervous about the coming conversation. Ahsoka took a deep breath and forced the words out to get it over with.

"I'm pregnant!" She blurted out with her eyes closed, not wanting to see the look on her Master's face at the shocking and devastating news.

A/N: OOOOoooo…. Cliffhanger! How will Anakin take the news that his 16-year-old Padawan is pregnant?! Find out in the next chapter!