Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Chapter 8
The flight back to the Jedi Temple was tense and uncomfortable for both the Jedi on board. In addition to the weight of Ahsoka's little incident hanging over them, Anakin was concerned for his former Master. Obi-Wan was alone on Ryloth and the Separatists may well arrive with reinforcements before the Republic did. Of course, he was also concerned about Obi-Wan for a completely different reason; the Jedi Master knew that something wasn't right about Anakin's padawan.
Said padawan cleared her throat and turned to her Master once they had made the jump to lightspeed. The paleness of her face had faded back into her natural colour but she still seemed ever so slightly shaken by what had happened.
"Master, I ... I'm sorry. I know I lost control."
"Yes, you did." Anakin made sure not to look at her, struggling internally over what he should do with her now. "Ahsoka, you almost got yourself killed. If Obi-Wan and I hadn't received your message, those droids would have knocked you right off that cliff."
"I know." Well, there was no point in denying what had occurred, Ahsoka reasoned with herself. "And I'm sorry. I've never got sick like that on a mission before. What did Master Obi-Wan say?"
"He thinks you're ill. I told him I'd have a med-droid check you out at the Temple. We'll have to forge a record of an examination or he'll get suspicious; we can't let a real droid look at you. Obi-Wan knows something's up."
Ahsoka nodded and pressed her lips together; she was determined not to let any of the Jedi Masters - particularly those who regularly sat on the Jedi Council - become any more suspicious about her than they already were. By now, she was certain that the best among them had probably sensed the changes within her even if they had yet to realise what the cause for those changes was.
"I have no idea what we're going to do about this, Snips" Anakin continued. "Soon it won't be possible to hide the ... physical signs. You're going to have to change into something more practical."
"I've already looked into some robes, Master." Ahsoka had, in fact, been considering some of the flowing robes worn by Master Shaak Ti. They were the same species and now that Ahsoka was getting older, she was hoping that most Jedi would just think she was adapting to an elder's style choices. "They'll be able to hide her until I'm into the seventh or eighth month."
"You sure you'll be able to go on that far into this?" Anakin sounded stressed; his padawan couldn't blame him. "You'll be restricted and your style will have to keep changing."
"I've already made adjustments..."
"I know, but you'll have to make a lot more. And I don't want what happened back on Ryloth to happen again, Ahsoka. It nearly got you killed. Next time I might not be able to get there in time."
"I know, Master, and I'm sorry. I won't let it won't happen again."
Anakin nodded and the two accepted the empty words as being a substitute for the plan that they did not have yet, for the plan which they were running out of time to come up with.
/
Reporting back at the Jedi Temple was a familiar uncomfortable process for Anakin and Ahsoka now, and following their Ryloth mission their report was a short one. The Jedi masters asked for none of the finer details of the mission – mercifully this meant that Ahsoka's little vomiting episode wasn't brought up – and expressed their beliefs that Obi-Wan would be able to hold the planet until Master Windu arrived. Windu was absent from their meeting, which instantly made Anakin more at ease and his report was delivered without the tension that had accompanied some of his more recent reports.
Master Yoda did give them one piece of interesting information, however. "In pursuit of General Grevioius, Master Luminara is" he informed them. "Only a small droid army, he has; unusual for him. Expect a victory, we do."
"Does Master Luminara need assistance?" Anakin asked.
"Handle this, Master Luminara can."
Recognising the dismissal, Anakin and his padawan bowed to the senior Jedi and left the room, Ahsoka focusing on keeping his posture and movements relaxed so as to keep any suspicion minimal.
Their walk away from the Temple was a slightly tense one, the weight of the incident on the mission weighing on their shoulders still, but both were pleased with how easily the report to the Council had flown. Ahsoka had been relaxed and Anakin had managed to keep the delivery of the report short and focused, with no reference to her slip-up at all. She had been a little worried that this was unavoidable information since it had caused several Clones' deaths (she was still feeling guilty about that) but evidently her Master hadn't thought so. They were also pleased by the information that General Grevious could soon be in their clutches.
"Do you think Master Luminara will capture him?"
"She's not one to give up easily" Anakin shrugged. "If he doesn't have reinforcements, it should be alright. Luminara had a lot of Clones with her to occupy whatever droids Grevious tries to throw at her."
"If we capture Grevious, we'll have a big advantage over the Separatists."
"Not a big enough advantage. There's only so much they'll trade for him. Capturing Dooku would give us more leverage."
Ahsoka nodded, knowing that Dooku was practically top of Anakin's list for capturing; she knew that he had a personal grudge against that particular Sith. "Nobody's heard anything about Dooku for months. Even Master Yoda said he can't sense him."
"I know." Anakin stopped walking, causing Ahsoka to wind up a couple of steps ahead of him and turning back to look at him when he continued in an icy voice, "You know why that is, don't you?"
Ahsoka frowned and shook her head.
"It's because Dooku knows that the Jedi will send everything they'll got after him" Anakin told her. "Before he disappeared he had a whole lot of Jedi killed, including one or two that were on the Council. And..."
"And what, Master?"
"Nothing." He walked ahead.
Ahsoka had to run for a moment to keep up with him, wondering what was going on in his head. She knew that the slaughter of several Jedi knights and six Jedi masters had hit all of them hard and that Dooku was far from Anakin's favourite person, but he didn't usually have the power to make Anakin close up like that.
"Master, what is it?" she persisted.
"Dooku disappeared about four months ago" he said, looking at her with a hard expression. "What else happened four months ago?"
She froze, thankfully when he stopped beside her. "You don't think that has anything to do with it?"
"I don't know, but it's too perfect to be a coincidence." Anakin looked troubled. "If Dooku wanted to get to me without physically showing up for a fight, that's one way to do it. That Sith that ... got to you, he wasn't fully trained. He had to have learned from someone, and Dooku's last apprentice isn't talking to him right now."
Ahsoka nodded at that; Ventress had been an individual Sith agent for a while now, separate from her former teacher. Dooku could have taken a new apprentice but Ahsoka was unconvinced that he would ever send a Sith pupil to rape a Jedi knight's padawan learner. Then again, perhaps he had not been sent to do so but had rather seized a rare opportunity. She had no way of knowing; some of the finer details of the incident were lost in a blur of pain, disgust and shame.
"I'm not saying he had anything to do with it, Ahsoka" Anakin clarified, seeing the look on her face. "I'm just saying that he might have sent that Sith to attack us. If he did, then he would've noticed when his apprentice didn't come back."
"Maybe he's just underground" Ahsoka said quietly. "The Jedi have been winning a lot of battles lately, more than we were earlier in the war. Maybe Dooku's hiding out until there's a fight worth fighting."
"Every fight is a fight worth fighting." Anakin sighed; there was too much on his mind right now. "But the fighting's done for now. Go back to your chambers and get some rest. Meet me at my quarters tomorrow for training at the usual time."
Ahsoka looked like she might argue the point but she nodded nonetheless. The two bid one another goodnight and retired to their quarters. Well, Ahsoka did. Anakin did not return to his private Jedi quarters; instead he had somebody he wanted to see.
/
"Ani!" the pleased cry came, seconds before the warm body of Padme Amidala was thrown into his arms. "I wasn't expecting you back for a week or two."
"Plans got changed. I got sent to Ryloth with Obi-Wan, it was a short mission." He squeezed his wife in a firm hug before letting her go and making himself at home. "You're not at some Senate meeting tonight are you?"
"No, I have the night to myself. Or, I did" Padme teased, settling down close beside him on their sofa and curling up with only an odd cushion between them. "You should drop by unexpectedly more often."
"Careful what you wish for" Anakin said, managing a half-smile. He had come to see her tonight not just because he generally enjoyed her company but because every time he was left alone with his thoughts they turned to Ahsoka, the medical check-up he had to forge and his worries about his former Master.
Padme, attentive to the man she had fallen for, noticed that his heart wasn't in it. "What's wrong?"
Anakin considered lying but knew she'd not fall for it. "Bad day. Ahsoka made a few ... mistakes, during the mission. I had to bail her out."
"She's reckless. I wonder where she gets that from." It was a light tease, not malicious.
"Don't you start, I get this already from Obi-Wan" Anakin laughed, a real smile taking over his features for a brief moment before he frowned again. "She's going through a lot. She hasn't gotten over what happened to her."
"I don't blame the poor girl." Padme knew what had happened to Ahsoka, had spent a whole night soon after the incident consoling her husband who was guilt-ridden and blaming himself. She had been to see the padawan herself, not to discuss what had happened but just to check on her; the two had a relatively close friendship. "What happened to her was horrible Anakin, and with this war going on the scale of what can count as horrible has shifted. You can't expect her to just get over it. It was only a couple of months ago."
"Four" Anakin muttered.
"Hmm?"
"It was four months ago."
"Don't tell me you're counting the days, Anakin. He's gone, it's all in the past."
"I'm not, I just ... I can't forget what happened" Anakin said quietly, wishing that Padme knew the full truth so she understood what he was saying, he knew he wasn't really making sense. "It doesn't matter."
"It's bothering you. It matters." Padme shifted so that she had a slender arm around his shoulders. "Is Ahsoka alright?"
Anakin wanted to laugh; no, Ahsoka was not alright. She was so incredibly far from alright. He knew that, even around him, his padawan wore a brave face and acted like she was in control of things but he could see through her facade. She was scared, she felt sick, she had no idea what she was going to do when she could no longer hide her pregnancy. Nobody should have to experience rape and nobody who did should have to deal with what his padawan was now dealing with. Her commitment to the Jedi code, in her decision not to end her innocent baby's forming life, made him immensely proud of her. Even after that incident, she was a pure-hearted little thing.
He turned to his wife. "No. She's not."
Padme nodded and embraced him, offering the only comfort she could give. Anakin accepted it; what else could he do?
/
Meanwhile, Ahsoka was alone in her own quarters. She was flicking through a holographic catalogue, browsing through long Jedi robes similar to the ones worn by Master Shaak Ti. She had already selected a few and planned to purchase them the next time she had a free day. Her stomach appeared to be as flat as it had ever been but she knew her own body; she could tell that it was slowly starting to grow.
Today she had noticed, for the first time, that her stomach seemed to stick out the slightest bit. It was right down at her hips, a minimal growth that would go unnoticed by everyone but her, but she had stared at herself for long enough that it was undeniable. She was going to start visibly showing very soon. This was the the beginning of the inevitable.
Closing down the holographic catalogue, Ahsoka decided to lie down on her bed and attempt to sleep. Her hands roamed her abdomen and her hips, feeling the tiny changes there. It was an essentially invisible change – nobody would be looking close enough at her body to tell, even she hadn't noticed until she had fully disrobed to bathe – but she could feel the way the slight distended flesh would not be pressed back. It was not the soft squishy fat that she had initially believed it to be but rather a firm, small expansion that signalled much greater growth to come in the next five months.
Her fatigue from the mission and her emotional turmoil that tired her easily eventually gripped the young padawan, pulling her into slumber. It would go entirely unknown to her that Ahsoka slept the entire night with one hand over her stomach, directly over the growing child.
Please R&R
