After Master Windu had said what was to be said he kept sending calm, warm waves over to the young padawan. With his pure, solid presence the older Jedi gave her comfort until during the long hours of the night when darkness pressed down.

There was no sound in the large room except for the gentle waves of the fountains.

After a long while Ahoska raised her head.

This behaviour was uncharacteristical for the older Jedi. Because of this she was usually quite intimidated by him and now she searched for the right words.

"Thank you Master Windu for your help. I should head back now."

He gave her a court nod.

"The night is a good time to think, far away from the commotion of the day. Have a good sleep. Keep strong."

There were no further words needed as Ahsoka stood up and gave a bow before she directed her stepps towards her and her master's quarters through the long and silent corridors of the sleeping temple.

The air was cool and fresh as she entered first the appartment and then her room. The covers were thrown back as she had left them in earlier this night. It was strange, how different she felt.

She would fight.


The next morning Anakin gave no sign if he knew about her nightly wandering. A gentle hand on her shoulder and a soft voice woke her, called her back into awareness. A shourt murmur of "just a moment, please," caused her master to smile and head over to the window next to her bed.

With a small creak he pulled it open and headed towards the kitchen, leaving the door open so the morning breeze could drift through the appartment.

She stretched under the warm covers and revelled in the contrast of her cozy, nearly too warm covers and the cool morning air. Her stomach told her, different to the last day, that it was time to get up. She was hungry.

Soon the sound of dishes and the smell of fresh baked goods caused Ahsoka to followed Anakin into the kitchen. It was a sunny day and brigh rays danced on the kitchen table. Her resolve to be strong nearly fled by the sight of several bottles and a flimsi sheet next to her plate.

"So, it is time." She murmured, her head full of guilt snapping towards he master, but he hadn't heard, busy with the frying pan and busy ignoring the medication he had set on the table.

Ahsoka perched on her chair, back to the living room and read through the information. She groaned quietly. How was she supposed to remember all of this?

Anakin sat a plate before her. Large, golden brown circles were swimming in sweet syrup.

Anakin took his place opposite of her and started eating his own portion, making a effort to appear normal. The long night and the sparring with Obi Wan had done him good. He was calmer, no longer quiet so tightly wound as he was the evening before.

Looking at her list Ahsoka's hunger turned tail.

Remembereing her healer's instructions she still picked up a fork and dug into the healthy portion of calorien high breakfast.

She forced down several bites before her stomach disagreed. With a deep breath she put down the fork and took a mouthfull of cold blue milk to convince the food to stay down.

"Ahsoka," her master started. He tried to look at her but ended up fixating a point on her shoulder instead.

"I have, I need." He stopped, mirrored her deep breath and started again, forcing himself to meet her blue eyes. He was her master. He had to be calm.

"There is somethign I need to talk about. Yesterday the council found out that the reason for your ilness is the stolen cure."

For a single moment he reached for the force, trying to push his emotions out, but once again the gate refused to work for him. The possibility was there, he just couldn't reach it.

A small hand covered his. A gentle nudge forced him to take a step back in his mind.

"Don't press like that, let it go." It was wrong to let his padawan help him, wrong to need any help. He was a master and, "I am supposed to be the teacher, the strong one here." Anakin smiled, hoping to disguise his failure as a light joke and raised his shields, hoping not to cut her off, but feeling a bit lighter after he followed her advice. THe tight coil of emotions ion his chest wasn#T gone, but he felt like he could handle it now. At least for a little while.

Ahsoka smiled, an honest, real smile that reached her eyes.

"It's alright master. We never stopp learning. And for the cure, Master Windu explained last night. I couldn't sleep and we met in the room of the thousand fountains."

Anakin pasued. His padawan was surprising him, had kept duing so since their first batlle on Christophsis, but this; He reached out through the force, expecting to meet dark, thick impentetrable shields guarding her mind, but touched just her usual barriers.

She was tense, worried about his reaction, and sick to her stomach with fright, but there was an inner strength, a resolution to keep going that made him touch her physically and mentally.

Ahsoka's hands trembled as she unscrewed the bottles and laid out the pills for this morning. Anakin put a hand on hers, his warm calloused fingers tightening around hers. Giving it a gentle squeeze. Physical affection wasn't frowned upon in the Jedi temple. It simply was rare when every being in your surroundings could convey their emotions so much more clearly with a just one thought.

Anakin suprpressed a sigh. Even if the codey said There is no emotion, there is peace. We are just mortal. We need comfort every now and then.

It was just one small action, but it meant so much. He thought of his mother and pushed the thought far away. Now was not the time to deal with it. His padawan needed him now.

"I am sorry I wasn't the one to talk to you, but I am glad you did talk about it with someone. Don't feel bad about it. If there is something you need to talk about, talk about it. If you feel like you can not do so with me, know that there will never be a reason to worry about my reaction. I am your master Ahsoka. I should be there to guide you, to teach and support you. And I will do my best to fullfill my role."

Ahsoka swallowed. First master Windu and now her master. What was going on there? You a little voice whispered.

She felt crowded.

"I understand master. But you are fullfilling your role. I am learning and I have already learned so much through you. No one was prepared for this, but together we will find a way and we must, we can only go forward."

Ahoska pulled her hand away from his, handing over the flimsi.

She stared at the pills, going through them in her head, evading his gaze. Somehow the appartment seemed stiffling again. Perhaps she

would feel less restrained after moving.

"Could you go through these? Master Unduli said something about a pill hoc, so I don't have to carry the bottles with me. Is our training for this

afternoon still planned?"

Anakin nodded absently, cross checking his padawan's work.

"It is Ahsoka. Perhaps we could start planning something different the next weeks. Just as a change. We usually see different places every few

weeks and this must get pretty dull."

His tone was light, trying to find a way to say that if surgery became neccessary her physical activities would be cut down.

Ahsoka nodded, trying to think of something that did not involve her jumping around.

She continued to bounce ideas off of her master for the rest of the day and even got him to promise to take him to the droid shops in the lower levels for replacement parts.

The real idea came by a call of Senator Amidala though.

A small dinner party was planned at her rooms by the end of the next week. Her call reached themwhile both padawan and master stretched to cool

down in the afternoon after their training.

"I had just planned for you to come Anakin, but under the circumstances I understand. Some of the Senators will bring their families. It might be a good idea for Ahsoka to come with you. It is just an informal gathering. You two could relax for a bit, see some different people."

Her hologram smiled at the pair.

"But I fear that Jedi robes will not quiet fit into the setting. I hope you allow me to accompany you to look for a dress or two."

Ahsoka beamed. She loved droid parts and lightsaber training, but she had seen the holo vids and had admired the many different dresses in the shops and had wanted to try how they would look on her.

Anakin wanted to protest, to say a Jedi's robes were completely fine for any occasion, but One look in his lovers eyes and one look in his padawan's face and Anakin caved.

"We were planning something to get us out of the daily routine anyway. When do you have time?"


A.N.:

So, the heated phase of exams has passed, I hope i didn't loose you guys, anybody still there? I appologize again and again for the long delay, (and many mistakes I don't have access to my usual computer, so I fear this chapter will have many mistakes despite proofreading. Point them out and I will fix them. Free internet cookie for anyone who finds one(or several.))

But I hope to be back to updating once a week or every two weeks.

This is just for me to get back into shape, so sorry for the lack of drama and tear jerkers here. I fear the next chapter will be a bit out of character and a bit fluffy as well.

Except for one part in which I hope to get the Wolf pack to cooperate. Is it just me or does Wolf not like fangirls in general?