Chapter 35

Anakin kept reliving every detail of that morning as they walked. He made sure to keep a tight hold on his mental shields as he did so. That was definitely not something he wanted other Jedi to notice. Ahsoka was already waiting for them in the training room. She grinned when she saw them.

"Morning, Master. Morning, Obi-Wan." She called.

"Hey, Snips."

"Good morning Ahsoka."

"Happy life day, Snips." Anakin said with a grin.

"Thanks." Ahsoka replied, looking almost shy. Jedi didn't really celebrate life days but Anakin believed that it wouldn't kill a Jedi to celebrate one day a year. Especially in war. Not everyone made it to their next life day. He eagerly handed her the bag in his hand. Ahsoka looked confused for a second before her eyes lit up and she grinned. She opened it and pulled out a brand new utility belt. Anakin had already coded himself and Obi-Wan into some of the compartments and left two that only Ahsoka could get into. He wanted her to be able to keep some privacy unless she chose otherwise.

"Thank you, Master!" She exclaimed in delight. "It's wonderful."

"You're welcome, Snips. How about we have some first aid lessons so you know how to use all these medicines I got for ya?" Anakin suggested, feeling quite pleased with himself. Ahsoka nodded eagerly.

"Will you be joining us, Mast...Obi-Wan?" She asked.

"Why not." Obi-Wan said with a smile. The three of them headed back to Anakin and Obi-Wan's apartment. Once inside, Anakin proceeded to give Ahsoka a three hour long lesson on basic first aid, including how to recognise various poisons. The medicine kit he had got Ahsoka was more basic than his own or Obi-Wan's but still far larger than the standard Jedi one. They had some fun practising bandaging and staunching various wounds.

By the time they had finished, Anakin was almost completely covered in bandages from head to foot. Obi-Wan had one wrapped around his head, covering his left eye and Ahsoka had somehow wrapped both legs in the same bandage without realising. When she tried to stand up, she immediately fell back over. Anakin burst out laughing and she glared at him before trying to untangle herself.

Once they had put everything away and Anakin had shown Ahsoka how to use her utility belt, it was almost lunchtime. Ahsoka had insisted on coding in Anakin and Obi-Wan to both the remaining compartments, saying adamantly that she had no need for secrets from either of them. Anakin decided to take Ahsoka down to Dex's for a lunch out before doing some sparring training.

Dex was quite happy to see them and even put their meals on the house when he found out about the occasion. Ahsoka and Dex hit it off almost immediately which didn't surprise Anakin. Dex was very easy to get along with. He would never forget how the Besalisk chef had taken him under his wing when Anakin had first arrived on the planet. In fact, Dex was probably his closest non Jedi friend other than Padme. He really wished he could tell Dex and him and Obi-Wan but unfortunately if Dex knew, it wouldn't be long before the whole of Coruscant knew. He may be lovely but he couldn't keep a secret to save his life.

They enjoyed a pleasant lunch, Anakin had nerfburgers and fries while Obi-Wan had waffles and Ahsoka had a bantha steak. Anakin raised an eyebrow at Obi-Wan's choice, given his general feelings on so-called 'breakfast food' at mealtimes other than breakfast. In fact he could probably give that lecture of proper diet off by heart.

"It's a special day." Obi-Wan shrugged before he could open his mouth to tease him. The diner was fairly quiet so Dex joined them while they ate, making the booth rather crowded. Given that Anakin had chosen to sit by Obi-Wan, that left Ahsoka to be slightly squished as Dex slid in next to her. She stuck her tongue out as she caught Anakin's smirk. He just liked the fact that the booths were small enough he could get away with sitting pressed up against Obi-Wan without being overly obvious.

"That was amazing food." Ahsoka groaned in delight as they left.

"Dex is the best." Anakin agreed fondly. "Now you see why we don't like canteen food." He added. Ahsoka nodded vigorously.

"You're not so bad yourself." Obi-Wan told him with a smile.

"Well, Dex taught me."

"Dex taught you to cook?" Ahsoka asked. Anakin nodded.

"Yeah, when I first came to Coruscant, Obi-Wan took me to Dex's. We got chatting and he offered to give me cooking lessons. I set more fires than I care to remember while I was learning but it came in useful." He admitted sheepishly. Ahsoka sniggered.

"It's a good job we get plenty of exercise or I'd be so fat." Obi-Wan chuckled slightly. "You're cooking is far too nice." Anakin grinned proudly. They arrived at the training area and prepared to spar. As they fought, he noted just how far Ahsoka had come from when they first sparred. It impressed him and saddened him because she had had to learn quicker than most in order to survive.

They fought for a while, neither truly trying to win just testing out moves and different fighting styles. After some time Obi-Wan stepped in and took over sparring Ahsoka. Anakin still could not spar with Obi-Wan himself. He might be making progress in dealing with the poodoo pile of a future but he was so not ready for that. In all likelihood he never would be. Still, that didn't make it any less hot to watch Obi-Wan in action. He wasn't quite as graceful as some other Jedi but all of his movements showed he was firmly in control and that was very hot in his opinion. Though he was probably a bit biased.

Once they finished for the day, Anakin told Ahsoka to take the rest of the afternoon off and do whatever she liked.

"Thank you for everything today." She said, beaming at him.

"You're welcome, little one." Anakin replied. She leapt forwards and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. He was momentarily taken aback by how tall she was getting. Though he quickly returned the hug with equal affection. She clung to him for a few moments before pulling back. Anakin was startled to see that she looked like she was about to cry. He raised an eyebrow but she shook her head and gave him a wobbly smile. "You ok, 'Soka?" He asked.

"Yeah. I just can't remember the last time anyone did anything like this for me." She replied quietly.

"Then I've clearly been a neglectful Master." Anakin told her. "Just wait until your next life day. Sixteen. You'll almost be grown up."

"You're twenty and you're not grown up." Ahsoka pointed out with a smirk. He heard Obi-Wan chuckle behind him.

"You're right. It's obvious neither of us are grown ups so I vote we cause havoc and let Obi-Wan clear up the mess after us." He said in a loud whisper. Ahsoka nodded.

"Why do I have to clean up?" Obi-Wan complained.

"You're the closest to a grown up that we have." Anakin told him.

"The closest to? Are you implying I am not grown up?" Obi-Wan arched an eyebrow at him. Anakin smirked.

"What are you going to do about it if I am?" He asked. Obi-Wan advanced, giving him an evil look that made Anakin shiver slightly though not out of fear. Ahsoka looked between them.

"Oookay. So, I'm gonna go now." She said loudly. The older Jedi looked away from each other sheepishly.

"Ok, Snips. We'll do another medicinal lesson tomorrow in the archives. Meet you there after breakfast." Anakin said. She nodded and then bounded off, even more spring in her step than usual. Anakin smiled fondly after her.

"You're good with her." Obi-Wan noted, pride in his voice.

"I learnt from the best." Anakin told him. He pulled Obi-Wan in for a kiss before telling him he needed to head down to the undercity to complete some jobs. It had been a while. Obi-Wan didn't look completely happy, probably mentally reviewing all the things that could go wrong, but he nodded and gave him another kiss before he left.

Some of his customers weren't happy with his delay in getting the job done but he managed to spend the first hour getting many smaller jobs done. The entire second hour was spent on one job, fixing a speeder that someone had crashed. Much of the body work had already been done, it just needed the wiring to be sorted. It shouldn't have taken as long as it did but the owner had seemingly tried to do it himself and made a right botch job of it. After two hours he really wanted to be getting back to Obi-Wan but someone came to him with a so-called emergency job. It would pay exceptionally well so Anakin decided it was worth it. The job took him another three hours and it was getting on for evening by the time he had finished.

He cleaned himself up as best he could before returning to the Temple. When he entered the apartment he saw Obi-Wan curled up, asleep on the couch. There was a documentary on and Anakin rolled his eyes in amusement. Instead of waking him, Anakin used the Force to help carry him through to their bedroom smoothly. It also aided him in stripping Obi-Wan down to his boxers and putting him in the bed. Anakin then got himself ready for bed before clambering in next to him. He pulled Obi-Wan's head to his chest and wrapped his arms around the older man. Soon he drifted off to sleep himself.

The next month or so was busy again. He and Obi-Wan were given separate missions that Anakin didn't appreciate. Thankfully he had Ahsoka to help keep him from pining too much. Although he did have to put up with her teasing in return. They did manage to remove all the chips from the 212th and 501st legions. Mace Windu reported that he had also begun working on his Clone troopers.

One day, Anakin was waiting for Obi-Wan and Mace Windu to rendezvous with him before attempting to break the renewed Separatist blockade around Felucia.. The problem was that Obi-Wan was late. It was making him anxious. Ahsoka and Rex had both given up trying to calm him down. Suddenly he felt a flare in the Force and he instantly knew Obi-Wan was in trouble.

"Try and get in contact with the Endurance." Anakin ordered Rex. Immediately the Captain was doing as ordered. A few more, long minutes later, Rex came back saying he had made contact with the fleet and they had lost contact with the Endurance. They had seen an explosion that caused significant damage to the ship and it had been heading down towards the planet Vanqor. A group had gone down to the planet surface to find them but had not returned yet. A super quick check of star charts, told Anakin Vanqor was not far from them. He ordered Rex to tell the remainder of Obi-Wan's fleet to wait for them to join them. Then he and Ahsoka would go down to Vanqor to look for Obi-Wan and Windu.

It didn't take long to meet up with the remainder of the fleet. Anakin was growing more and more anxious as he jumped into the pilot seat on a gunship. Artoos beeped comfortingly beside him as they set off. The starfighters were too small to carry back any survivors.

"Master, do you think Obi-Wan is..?" Ahsoka trailed off, unable to finish that thought out loud.

"No!" Anakin said firmly. "I would be able to feel it in the Force. He is alive but injured I think."

"More med bay trips. He'll love that." Ahsoka tried for a laugh and it did make Anakin snicker which was appreciated.

"I'm sure he will. Hopefully it won't be that bad." There was still no reply from the rescue crew which troubled Anakin further. As they descended they could see the wreckage of the Endurance.

"That looks pretty bad." Ahsoka muttered. Anakin had to agree. At least Obi-Wan couldn't blame this crash on his piloting skills. Although if Obi-Wan had anything to do with it he would laugh his ass off once the other man was safe. They picked their way through the wreckage. Suddenly Anakin felt a tingle down his spine. He had a bad feeling about this. A noise to his left had him whirling around, lightsaber ignited. Ahsoka followed suit. A Gundark was moving towards them, growling softly. Anakin winced as it knocked pieces of the ship over, praying Obi-Wan wasn't underneath one of them.

"What's that?" Ahsoka asked nervously.

"Gundark." Anakin told her.

"Isn't that the thing you rescued Master Kenobi from a nest of?" Anakin couldn't help a slight grin despite the current situation.

"Yep."

"Was it your fault he fell in?" She asked cheekily.

"Might have been." Anakin admitted with a smirk. It continued to advance but suddenly Anakin's mood dropped as he felt his connection to Obi-Wan fade. The older man was unconscious. His face grew grim as he leapt forwards, swiping at the Gundark's face. It reared back in time and made a swipe at him in retaliation. Anakin rolled to the side as Ahsoka jumped up onto the creature's head, distracting it. Taking advantage, he thrust his lightsaber into the Gundark's side. It let out a pained growl, whirling about and throwing Ahsoka off. Anakin rolled underneath it to avoid a bite attack and shoved his lightsaber upwards. It went straight through the creature's neck. Blood poured out of the wound, covering him. Thankfully he managed to close his eyes and mouth in time.

"Master!" Came Ahsoka's voice from nearby. Anakin was about to reply when the creature began to fall. He used the Force to roll out of the way before he was pinned beneath it. He stood up, looking down at his robes in disgust.

"I'm alright." He assured her.

"Are you sure?" Ahsoka came into view and looked at him, nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Yeah. It's all the Gundark's blood. Not a scratch on me." She nodded but still eyed him warily. "Come on. We need to find them." He said. They set off once more. Soon they found what remained of the rescue team. They had all been torn apart so it was supposed the Gundarks had gotten them. Not far away the dead bodies of two Gundark's proved that theory. Anakin followed the Force bond, weakened though it was. As they climbed up the elevator shaft, he could make out the sounds of a speeder. He frowned. He hadn't called for any reinforcements yet and none of them would have brought speeders. Moving quicker now, they finally emerged onto the bridge. Anakin desperately looked around for Obi-Wan.

"You look for Master Windu." He ordered Ahsoka. She nodded and they split up. It felt like forever they spent searching. Finally a quiet cough to his right made him spin around so quickly he felt dizzy for a second. He made his way over and soon spotted Obi-Wan lying underneath a large piece of ship.

"Obi-Wan!" He cried.

"I've found Master Windu." Came Ahsoka's call a few seconds later, as he knelt by Obi-Wan.

"Is he alright? Can you free him?" He called back as he examined the structure. It would take some delicate moving to make sure the place didn't fall down while he grabbed Obi-Wan. A few seconds later he started moving pieces of debris using the Force. He blocked out Ahsoka's reply so he could concentrate. It took several minutes but eventually Obi-Wan was free. A quick assessment showed he had some fractured ribs and had inhaled a fair amount of smoke. Nothing life threatening and nothing a few hours in a bacta tank wouldn't cure. Anakin let out a sigh of relief.

"Master!" Ahsoka's voice was more desperate now. Anakin scooped up Obi-Wan and sent a transmission to the Resolute asking that they send a medical frigate to pick them up. Then he moved over to Ahsoka who was crouching by an unconscious Mace Windu. "I can't get him free without destroying the whole bridge. I'm not strong enough." She confessed, shame colouring her tone.

"I'd rather you know your limits than try and end up killing Master Windu. I think Master Windu would appreciate that too." Anakin told her. "Come on, I'll help." Between the two of them they managed to eventually free the Jedi Master. By now both Master and Padawan were exhausted. When he recovered enough to think straight Anakin realised he could hear movement somewhere below them.

"More Gundarks?" Ahsoka asked in a whisper.

"Or whoever was on that speeder I heard earlier. I'll check it out. You stay here with these two." Anakin said. She nodded, looking unhappy. Anakin moved forwards, lightsaber out and ready. As he peered over the edge of the elevator shaft, through the dust, he could make out some movement at the bottom. Murmured voices reached him and he recognised one as the bounty hunter Aurra Sing. Anakin frowned. What were they doing here? Then he recalled Obi-Wan telling him about Boba Fett trying to murder Mace Windu for killing Jango. This attack must have been aimed at Obi-Wan. Anger flared in him at this revelation and he was about to jump down and attack the bounty hunters. Then he took a deep breath. He remembered the events on board the Coronet. He could not do this in anger. It was easier said than done but he managed to calm himself down. Then he leapt down the shaft, landing on top of someone. The force pushed them all to the floor. Anakin rolled out and bounced to his feet. On the floor nearby he spotted Aurra Sing, a young Clone he assumed was Boba Fett and someone else he didn't recognise.

Taking the initiative, Anakin jumped towards them and slashed his lightsaber through both of Boba's gun holsters, destroying the guns inside. As he did that, Aurra recovered and regained her feet.

"Well, well. Look what we found." She sneered.

"What are you doing here?" Anakin asked, pointing his lightsaber at her chest.

"Trying to dig out the body of Kenobi. It'll fetch quite a high price. And someone wants to make sure he's dead." She cast a sideways glance at Boba who had now also gotten back to his feet. It appeared their companion had been at the bottom and knocked unconscious by the fall and subsequent landing of people on top of him. Squashing the rage that threatened to rise again, Anakin gave Boba a mocking smile. He might be a child, but he had tried to murder Obi-Wan. That was not acceptable.

"It gives me great pleasure then to inform you that he is alive and well." He told them gleefully.

"No!" Boba cried out in fury.

"Oh yes. Now, I'll give you the same option Obi-Wan gave your father. Surrender or die. Which will it be?" Instead of replying, Boba charged at him. Anakin was taken aback by the stupidity of the move and didn't react in time. The kid ploughed into him, making him stumble. It wasn't enough to knock him off his feet but it gave Aurra enough time to pull her gun. Anakin used the Force to push Boba to the side, out of the way of the fight. Then he deflected a quick succession of shots from Aurra.

"It's not worth it. Boba, retreat." She called.

"No!" Boba retorted angrily, reappearing from where he had been pushed. "I'll go up and kill him myself." At those words, Anakin used the Force to leap over both opponents, landing neatly in front of the elevator.

"I'd love to see you try." He said coldly. Boba eyed him warily and he allowed some of his fury to show on his face. The young Clone took an involuntary step backwards. Aurra grabbed him by the shoulder and urged him further back. Boba struggled but took another look at Anakin before turning tail. He briefly considered going after them. Boba would continue to be a threat to Obi-Wan and that thought put him on edge but he was just a child. Could he really kill him? Maybe. If he was old enough to be plotting someone's death for revenge, he was old enough to die in the quest for it. Still, Anakin didn't like it. He let them go and returned to Ahsoka. Obi-Wan and Windu had both come round.

"You're ok." He sighed in relief, scanning Obi-Wan's face. He was pale underneath a layer of grime but ok. The sound of gunships came from overhead.

"What happened to you?" Obi-Wan asked anxiously, eyeing the blood that was still all over his robes.

"We'd best get them down." Ahsoka said. Anakin nodded. He gently picked up Obi-Wan and placed him over his shoulder. He used the Force to make sure that Obi-Wan wasn't pressed against him so he wouldn't jostle the already injured ribs. Then he jumped down the shaft. Ahsoka followed behind with Windu. They picked their way out. Sounds of blaster fire came from their left. Anakin had his lightsaber back out in an instant. Then the noise stopped.

"Got it!" Came Rex's voice. Anakin guessed another Gundark had been around. Finally some Clones appeared with stretchers for the injured Jedi to be placed on. He set Obi-Wan down as gently as possible and followed him onto the gunship. Ahsoka went with Windu. On the medical frigate both Jedi were put into bacta tanks. There was nothing to do but wait so Anakin contented himself standing on the bridge and going over plans for Felucia.

"I'm sure General Kenobi will be just fine." Rex told him softly. "Why don't you get some sleep while he's in the bacta?"

"I'm alright."

"With all due respect, General Kenobi would want you to take care of yourself. At least get changed out of those clothes." He gestured to the blood stains. Anakin had to admit his robes were more red than black at the moment. Finally he nodded.

Alright. I guess I could do with a shower." He admitted. Rex gave him a small smile and nodded firmly.

"Definitely, Sir." Rex smirked.

"Are you trying to imply I smell?" Anakin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"There's no implying it. We all know you smell awful." Ahsoka cut in, coming onto the bridge.

"Gee, thanks, Snips." Anakin grinned. "Come and get me if I'm not up when Obi-Wan gets out of the bacta?"

"Of course." She assured him and Rex nodded as well. He trusted them both, so he took himself off to his quarters. A shower felt good. It soothed his aching muscles and helped him to relax. When he was done, he got himself dressed once more. A nap was probably a good idea too. He wasn't going to admit that to Rex or Ahsoka. He lay down and was asleep in seconds.

When he woke, someone was shaking his shoulder. Anakin blinked and looked around. Rex was shaking his shoulder.

"Sorry, General. General Kenobi is awake. General Tano would have come to get you but she was summoned to a meeting."

"Thanks, Rex." Anakin said gratefully. Rex nodded and disappeared. Anakin got himself up and went straight to the med bay. Obi-Wan was sat on the bunk next to Windu's. He had to restrain a groan as that meant he had to be careful.

"Glad to see you both alive and well." He said, walking over to them.

"Yes, thank you for your timely arrival." Obi-Wan told him.

"Yes, your intervention was most welcome, Skywalker." Windu bowed his head.

"Was in my imagination or were you covered in blood?" Obi-Wan asked in concern.

"Encounter with a Gundark. Not a scratch on me." Anakin assured him.

"Nasty things." Obi-Wan commented with a shudder. Anakin smirked at him and he rolled his eyes.

"Are you both fit enough to move on to Felucia?"

"Yes."

"Indeed. We have been delayed enough." Windu told him. Anakin nodded.

"Very well. I shall tell the fleet to set off." He departed, unable to hug Obi-Wan with Windu nearby. He organised for both Jedi to be transported from the medical frigate to the Resolute. Then he made his own way back to the flagship with Ahsoka and Rex. Ahsoka told him that she had received a transmission from Master Yoda. He had instructed her to go to Mandalore to teach young kids at the Royal Academy of Government about corruption. Anakin scowled briefly at the mention of Mandalore. He caught Rex's eye and the Clone quickly covered a smirk. He narrowed his eyes and then turned back to his Padawan.

"Well then, lucky you." He said sarcastically.

"Don't you think I'm kinda overqualified for this?" Ahsoka complained.

"I suspect this has been requested by Duchess Satine. Which means she probably wants something else from your visit too. She's rather good at getting other people to do her dirty work. She didn't want Republic help, now she requests Jedi help."

"You're not biased at all." Ahsoka gave him a knowing smirk. He sniffed.

"Of course not." He said. "Still, I don't think this mission will be as simple as you expect, Snips. Be on your guard. I'm sure you'll do great." Ahsoka grinned at him.

"Thank you, Master. I'd best be on my way but tell Master Obi-Wan I'm glad he made a full recovery." Anakin nodded.

"I will. May the Force be with you." Ahsoka left. Anakin sighed. He hoped he was wrong about Satine's intentions for his Padawan. Regardless, he was sure Ahsoka would handle anything that came up.