HEY! Told y'all I was moving faster. lol, Aren't ya proud of me? lol that's ok, I'm fairly proud of myself for moving this fast so you don't have to be. :-D
Oh yeah, haven't done this in a while so... disclaimer: Don't own star wars...no one would believe me even if I claimed to anyway...but I don't claim to so it's a moot point. lol anyway. Enjoy!
Oh wait, one more thing, I'm assuming y'all are smart enough to figure this out, but the first part is from Padme's Pov. I've never tried her before. Or Plo Koon's ;-) lol so let me know what y'all think.
Padme' awoke later that night when she felt the bed bouncing and heard someone talking aloud.
"No. Watch out." More indistinct mumblings. "Don't."
Padme' opened her eyes to see Anakin breathing heavily and rolling around, mumbling in his sleep. "No!" he said again, his voice rising. "It can't…"
"Anakin," she whispered. She didn't really want to wake him up. She knew he often went a long time without sleeping and she didn't want to deprive him of this. She knew that would only cause him nearly kill himself trying to keep going, but she was a little worried.
She was even more worried when he abruptly starting yelling, caught up in whatever nightmare was troubling him. She couldn't understand what he was saying, but it was obvious he was upset.
"Anakin!" she said, louder this time. "Wake up!" She touched and shook his arm, trying to calm and wake him at the same time.
At first, he wouldn't wake up. "Anakin!" she yelled. "It's just a dream! Wake up!
Finally, he jerked awake, gasping loudly. He turned his eyes and stared at Padme', who was now sitting up and leaning over him. He blinked, and after a moment, comprehension started coming over his face and his panicked expression gradually faded. Slowly, he sat up, bringing up one of his knees and rested his elbow on it, running his head through his wavy brown hair. He drew in deep breaths.
When she thought he'd calmed down some, Padme' spoke. "Are you okay?" she asked softly.
He nodded, but refused to meet her gaze. He had his head resting against his arm, his hand at the base of his head where it had stopped. He closed his unfocused eyes.
Padme' gently place a soothing hand on his shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Anakin opened his eyes and glanced in her direction, but still didn't meet her eyes. She knew he'd had another nightmare. The last time he'd acted like this was before they had married, when he'd dreamed about his mother. He'd insisted on going to find her. That hadn't ended well.
She paused for a moment before asking gently, "what was it about?"
Now he looked at her. He didn't answer for moment. Then he said, "Ahsoka."
She turned her body towards him, showing him he had her full attention. "Tell me."
Anakin told her everything that was going on, starting with his first dream and leading up to the current point.
Padme' paused, thinking for a moment before responding. "And your dream just now was like the one you had a couple days ago?"
"Sort of," Anakin told her. Then he seemed to ponder that. "The actual dream was pretty much the same, but the feeling was different. It seems more urgent now. In fact, I still have the feeling that something is wrong."
"Why haven't you told Ahsoka about this?" Padme' asked, trying not to sound accusatory.
"I just...didn't want her to worry, I guess." He sat still for a minute. Then he pulled off the covers and slid out of bed.
"Where are you going?" Padme' asked as picked up his pants off the floor and began to slide them on.
"To the Temple. Ahsoka's supposed to be there. I want to be sure she'd ok." He looked around for his robes and boots.
Padme' leaned over the side of the bed and picked up the rest of his clothes. She turned and tossed them to him.
As he caught them, he looked apologetically at her. "I'm sorry, Padme'. I just-"
She waved her hand at him. "It's ok, Ani. I want to know she's ok too. I understand." She glanced out the window. "It'll be sunrise in a few hours anyway. You should get going."
He smiled softly and started to pull on the rest of his clothes. When he was completely dressed, Anakin walked around to Padme's side on the bed and got on his knees beside it. "I love you," he said tenderly. Then he leaned in and kissed her.
Padme' pulled back after a few moments and Anakin put his forehead against hers. "I love you too," she replied. "Be careful."
He smiled and kissed her forehead. "I will." Then he jumped up and ran swiftly out of the room, in a hurry to get back to the temple.
Plo Koon's Pov
Plo Koon walked down the hallway of the temple, his mind dwelling on the conversation he'd had with Ahsoka earlier that day. He played it over again in his mind…
…He was walking down the hall when he saw Ahsoka coming down the hall towards him. She was looking at the ground and didn't seem to notice him. "Hello Ahsoka," he greeted in his deep voice.
Ahsoka's head came up and her face broke into a tired, but genuinely pleased smile. "Master Plo!" she cried out, excited. She came up to him and gave him a hug.
He returned it, wholeheartedly.
When they pulled apart, he really got a look at her. And what he saw startled him somewhat.
Ahsoka looked totally and completely wiped out. Her eyes were bleary and glazed. Her face looked worn, despite the smile on her face. He'd never seen her so tired.
"Are you alright?" he asked, concerned. "You look tired."
She smiled again and answered him. "I am a little tired. But I'm ok."
The Kel Dorian raised an eyebrow. "Hmmm."
Ahsoka's white eyemarks raised in expectation.
Though his mask prevented her from seeing it, he knew she'd be able to sense it, so Plo smiled at Ahsoka. "So what's got you so tired, Little 'Soka?"
"You haven't heard?" she said, surprised.
"If you are referring to the Separatist's plan, yes I have. I just wasn't filled in on your part in it."
Ahsoka told him what had happened. However, she paused in a few places, causing him to suspect that she may have been leaving something out.
She ended by saying how they were staying here for the night and leaving in the morning. "Master Yoda thought that the troops could use a rest before heading out again."
"Wise of him," Master Plo commented. "I don't believe it's only the troops that could use the break," he said, laying a hand on the young teenager's shoulder.
"Well, I'll be fine after tonight," she told him. Then she mumbled something that sounded like, "If I'm lucky."
He was about to address the statement when she abruptly turned to continue down the hall. "I'd better get going, Master Plo. It was wonderful seeing you again, and I'll see you when this crisis is over."
He nodded to her as she started backing away down the hall. But right after she turned around and started walking forward, she stumbled over her own two feet. She righted herself, though not very quickly and most certainly not very smoothly, and disappeared around the corner.
It didn't take a genius to figure out something was up. Only someone that knew Ahsoka...
...Master Plo drew his mind back to the present where he heard footsteps approaching.
Anakin came walking determinedly down the hall. Just the person I wanted to see.
"Skywalker," Plo called out.
The young Jedi Knight looked up at him.
"May I have a word with you?"
Anakin's eye glanced to look away down the hall for a moment, but nodded. "Of course, Master Plo," he said, walking up to the Kel Dorian.
"I spoke with Ahsoka earlier today and something bothered me. She looked so exhausted and was stumbling over herself. I was wondering if there was anything wrong."
Anakin sighed. "I am too, Master Plo. She's been acting very strangely lately. She said she hadn't slept well the other night. I assumed that it was just because of the stress we've all been under."
Plo nodded thoughtfully, then cocked his head to the side in a skeptical motion. "I wouldn't be too sure of that, Skywalker. Ahsoka's never been one to allow stress to affect her so drastically."
Now it was Anakin's turn to nod.
Plo continued. "I just wanted to suggest that you keep an eye on her."
"Believe me, I am," Anakin said firmly. "I am."
Anakin's Pov
A few minutes after his conversation with Plo Koon, Anakin was stepping through the doorway of his and Ahsoka's shared space. He could sense her presence in the room and walked into the back room.
The curtain was completely drawn on her bed, but that wasn't unusual. She always slept with it that way. Anakin quietly stepped over to her cot and pulled back the curtain a bit to peek behind it.
Ahsoka was lying on her side, facing him. Even though she was sleeping, her face didn't look relaxed. Deep wrinkles lined her forehead and her white eyemarks were furrowed.
"Ahsoka?" he said questioningly. Was something wrong?
She didn't respond. She did, however, roll over so she was no longer facing him.
He silently closed the curtain. He still felt the slight disturbance around Ahsoka through the force. Something just felt off.
Anakin quickly changed out of his Jedi clothes and into a loose fitting tunic and pants. Glancing once more towards Ahsoka's bed, he pulled back the half-open curtain of his own cot and climb in.
Ahsoka's Pov
Ahsoka opened her eyes, awaking from the single worst night of her life. Yesterday, before she went to bed, she had taken something to help her sleep. By the time she'd changed and brushed her teeth, she had already been able to feel it working. She had laid down in bed and closed her eyes, quickly dropping off to sleep. However, a few minutes later, she woke up again, with a headache. But the sleep aid kept her enough asleep that she couldn't get up to get relief. Occasionally, she could make herself turn or roll, but it wasn't enough to help very much. And so she'd spent the whole night drifting in and out of consciousness, all the while aware of her head throbbing so badly, she'd wondered if it might feel better if it exploded.
Ahsoka pulled herself up and rubbed her temples. Then she pulled the curtain back and swung her legs to the ground.
She looked across the room and saw her master pulling his boots on. His hair was wet, so he'd obviously showered already. How long had he been up? How had she not heard him?
Anakin looked up at her in that moment. "Morning Snips. Sleep well?"
Ahsoka thought she heard an undercurrent to his tone, but couldn't begin to imagine what it meant. She recalled her conversation with Master Plo last night. Had he suspected something and spoken to Anakin? She heard herself respond to her master's question. "Uh, yeah. Fine." Even to her own ears, she sounded stupid. She looked over at the window. It was just after , Ahsoka loved mornings. They always felt fresh to her. The start of a new day. But right now, the sun hurt her eyes and her head felt like a rock.
Anakin was talking again. "Really," he stated in a disbelieving tone. "Because when I came in last night, you didn't look like you were very comfortable."
Ahsoka shrugged and glanced around the room. "What time is it?" she asked, anxious to change the subject.
"You need to get dressed," he told her, putting his foot back on the ground, now with both boots on. "We have to leave in a few minutes."
Since they didn't have to be ready for anything at the temple, Ahsoka didn't sleep in her day clothes. She was wearing a comfortable V-neck gym top and a pair of loose fitting shorts. "Why didn't you wake me up sooner?"
"You seemed tired yesterday. I figured you could use all the sleep could get." He looked closely at her. "In fact, you still look tired. Are you sure you're ok, Ahsoka?"
Anakin looked and sounded seriously concerned. Ahsoka knew she needed to really convince him that she was ok. "Master," she said this with a slight smile on her face, as if she found it funny that he was so concerned. "I'm fine. Really. There's just been so much going on, I wake up sometimes during the night."
Anakin stared at her. "Ok," he said slowly. "I believe you."
Ahsoka broke a smile. "Good."
Anakin gave a small smile. Then he leaned towards her and said, "Dress. We gotta move."
"I'm going, I'm going," she said as went across the room and pulled fresh clothes out of a dresser. Then she went to the bathroom to change.
As she was changing, however, she got dizzy again. But this time, spasms of pain rocketed through her abdomen. It felt like someone was grabbing it from the inside and twisting. She doubled over and bit her lip to keep from crying out. Luckily, it only lasted a minute or two. She gasped quietly, trying to get her breath back and slowly stood up straight again. That was new.
There was a knock on the door. "Ahsoka!" Anakin's voice sounded. "We have to go!"
"I'm coming!" she called back, hoping she didn't sound breathless. She hurried to finish changing, then rushed out of the bathroom towards the door, flinging her night clothes across the room towards the dresser.
As she stood in the doorway, she turned around and pulled her lightsaber into her hand with the force. "Waiting on you now, Master," she said as she hooked it to her belt.
Anakin rolled his eyes and dashed after her to their waiting ship.
Lol, yeah. So I know this chapter kind skipped around point of views' a lot so sorry about that. Anyway, Review! for the same reasons as I said in the previous chapter. And if you haven't read the previous chapter...well this chapter made no sense to you so sorry bout your luck. lol :-)