A/N: Just another little reminder that this story has the same tree trunk as 'Old Friends, Reunited and Lost Again' but has Y'd off into a fix-it A.U. instead of following canon events like the other story. If it wasn't clear, Anakin had the hot dream about Ahsoka instead of the depressing vision of Padmè dying, which is where the two stories diverge.

Changing the Fate:

Anakin and Padmè were nearly finished the large bowl of meiloorun and yogan pieces that was the last item on their breakfast tray (which Anakin had only just barely saved from being upended when Padmè attacked him for his yogurt – which he ended up sharing with her) when his comm link started chiming insistently.

He glared down at the pile of dark tunics and other things lying beside the bed that had been shucked from his person with all possible haste yesterday evening. "Sometimes, I hate that thing," he muttered.

Padmè, who was now sitting in his lap sideways, made a sound in agreement. "It does seem to be made with the sole purpose of calling you away from me."

"Exactly," Anakin grumbled.

He thought about ignoring it, but a niggle from the Force and a faint echo from Obi-Wan's mental voice of, "It would be nice if Anakin would pick up the comm on the first try for once," told him that he should answer it this time. So he reluctantly let go of Padmè's waist with his left hand and summoned the small cylindrical device from his belt. It popped out from under his tabard a second later and flew into his waiting hand.

He thumbed the button to answer and said dryly, "Wishes do come true sometimes, Master."

Padmè raised an eyebrow at this, not having been privy to Obi-Wan's thought in his head.

Through their bond, Anakin heard Obi-Wan think, "Oh," half a second before he said it on the comm as well. "You weren't supposed to hear that. Or maybe you were. I don't know. Either my shields are slipping or you're getting stronger on me again,"

"Probably the first," Anakin teased, "You are getting old now, Master, what with all those grey hairs trying to take over."

"And whose fault is that?" Obi-Wan's voice teased back.

"Mine, I know," Anakin admitted. They'd had various versions of this conversation at least a dozen times before and it was still not old. It probably never would be.

"Precisely. I'm sure I'm sprouting another one right now while I studiously pretend that I don't sense you anywhere near your room in the Temple where you're supposed to be."

Both of Padmè's eyebrows rose and she leveled him with a look that said she was going to ask him about Obi-Wan's perceptiveness later.

Wincing slightly, he said, "Sorry, Master."

"No need to apologize, my dear one – I resigned myself long ago to the fact that you were going to make me old before my time. But at least you didn't make me comm you half a dozen times for once before you answered."

Anakin winced again at the gentle chastisement. "Sorry, Master."

"Hmmmm. I do believe you actually are this time. Thank you. But I didn't comm you to talk about my fading hair. We have a briefing on the Outer Rim sieges at 9am. And we have word from Mandalore."

Anakin's previously relaxed posture straightened abruptly, much to Padmè's dismay, since she'd been leaning on his chest. He shot her an apologetic look as he supported her again with his left arm. "Ahsoka?! Is she all right?!"

"She's fine," Obi-Wan reassured. "Already had a brief scuffle with Maul, according to Jessie's report, but came out of that with nothing more than a bruise or two from having Rex literally thrown at her."

Anakin winced again for an entirely different reason. Padmè joined him this time too. That had to hurt. "That's good, I suppose. But why is Jesse reporting in and not Rex or Ahsoka?"

"Ah, well, according to Jesse, his commanders have been inseparable except for during the initial siege when the battle forced them apart and that they are currently holed up in a room together again, 'strategizing'."

Despite knowing somewhere in the back of his mind that this was a possibility, what with knowing exactly how much Rex adored Ahsoka, what she'd said in his dream, and having seen their intimate embrace just before they went their separate ways (he to Coruscant and they to Mandalore), Anakin still stared at his commlink in shock. Padmè petted his arm in sympathy. "They're what?" he managed to force out through the sudden lump in his throat.

"Engaging in close-quarters negotiations," Obi-Wan said dryly. "Surely I don't have to spell it out any further than that for you, being familiar with the tactic yourself?"

Anakin flushed under the amused gaze of his wife. "Ummm, no. I think I got it, thank you." He cleared his throat in discomfort, and then asked, "So, what else did Jesse say that hopefully has nothing to do with Snips getting frisky?"

Obi-Wan chuckled but thankfully let the matter drop. "He said that Maul's Mandos put up a hell of a fight, but our superior numbers made the difference, so they took control of the capital. They lost a third of their gunships and the men in them before they could even get to the city, but once landed, the men fought with a vengeance and won in the end. He said Ahsoka disabled and knocked out at least a quarter of the enemy all on her own and that all of the captured footage of her on the boys' helmet cams is now being played over and over again on a big screen in the mess hall they were given. Calls it one hell of a morale booster."

"I bet," Anakin could picture her - in her new (hot) Mandalorian inspired battle outfit - absolutely owning the enemy. She'd always been an amazing warrior despite her small size, but another year of growing up had crafted her into something only an idiot would underestimate. She was still all lean muscle under her curves and a deadly animal grace that had only improved with her increased confidence in herself. "I wouldn't mind seeing that myself."

"Same." He heard Obi-Wan sigh a little. "Our Padawan went and turned into a woman on us while she was gone, didn't she?"

"Yeah." Anakin sighed a little too, realizing that his subconscious had definitely noticed and had given him the dream to kick him in the gut with the knowledge. "What about the Maul encounter? Did Jesse say anything else about that?"

"Yes. Said he wasn't there, but that Ahsoka, Vaughn, and half a dozen others had followed some of Maul's Mandalorian Minions – his words, not mine – into the sewer system. It was trap, of course, and only Ahsoka came back alive from the initial search group. She managed to signal Rex and he arrived with help. Maul was down in the sewers too and they engaged for a hot minute until Maul said, 'Not yet,' and then threw Rex at Ahsoka to distract her while he ran."

"He's turned into a coward?"

"I don't think so. Maul has always been more of a strategist then we give him credit for. He's waiting for something before he fights her again."

"I don't like it."

"Neither do I. Especially since Ahsoka said that Maul was expecting me to show up on Mandalore. Possibly with you in tow."

"Then we should go! I don't like the idea of Ahsoka taking on a Sith all on her own anyway."

"She's not alone, Anakin," Obi-Wan said gently. "She has Rex and Lady Kryze and literally thousands of soldiers backing her up. Besides, the Council has already decided that we cannot spare any more troops for the Mandalorian effort. We need to find Grievous and deal with all the new battles that have popped up since his forces left Coruscanti space yesterday. Which we'll be talking about during that briefing in an hour, by the way."

If he didn't have his pregnant wife in his lap, Anakin would probably be pacing right now. "When did you become so complacent to the Council's wishes?" he said bitterly. "Especially when it's Snips and Maul we're talking about?

"Anakin…"

"I thought you had made it your personal mission to see Maul brought to justice!"

"Yes, but… That didn't turn out so well the last time I went against the Council to do so."

Anakin felt a pang of remorse and sympathy at the reminder of Obi-Wan's loss of his beloved Duchess Satine. "Which should only give you more incentive to catch him and make him pay!"

"Anakin… I can't!"

"That's banthashit and you know it!" His fist clenched around the commlink as anger coursed through him.

"Anakin!"

Padmè glared at him, her eyes saying that he better apologize to Obi-Wan or else.

Anakin decided that having his wife angry at him was not a desirable thing right now; not with him just confessing to be in love with another woman as well.

"I'm sorry, Obi-Wan. You're right; you can't leave without the Council's permission right now. And you should be available to go take out Grievous when he's found. You know him much better than I do. I'll go help Ahsoka."

Padmè gave him a little smile of approval, so he kissed her forehead in thanks as he exhaled in relief at having said the right thing for once.

"Anakin…" Obi-Wan sighed again. "You know that's going to put you in hot water with the Council."

"I know, and I don't care anymore. They already distrust me and wish I didn't exist, what's one more mark against me on my record?"

Padmè touched his cheek, her eyes saying that she loved him no matter what, soothing the bitterness creeping into his soul.

"They don't wish you didn't exist," Obi-Wan protested. "They just… wish you were a little more controllable, I guess."

"You mean more like you." Okay, there was still some residual bitterness clinging on for dear life.

"Anakin… Fine. I'm not fighting with you over this anymore. Go help your Padawan. I'll tell them you had a vision or something and that you felt compelled by the Force to disobey orders."

That's actually not that far off from the truth. I do feel a driving need to see her thanks to my dream. But Obi-Wan doesn't need to know about that just yet. Maybe never. "Thank you, Master. I'll do my best to bring Maul, Ahsoka, and the rest of the 501st back to Coruscant in the timeliest possible manner."

"I suppose that's the best I can hope for. Just one more thing before you go, Palpatine requested your presence at your earliest convenience."

"Did he say what for?"

"No, which is unusual. I don't trust him anymore and the Force is growing ever darker on Coruscant. The Senate is voting to give him even more executive powers today and I don't like it. The entire Council doesn't like it, and you know how rarely we all manage to agree on things."

Anakin raised a brow at Padmè and she nodded to confirm the vote was real, but her grimace said she wasn't happy about it either.

As much as he trusted the opinions of his wife and best friend, he couldn't help but voice his own. "But wouldn't that mean less deliberating and more action being taken? Wouldn't that make it easier for us to end this war faster?"

"Possibly. But he has too much power now. What if he's not willing to give it all up after the war is over?"

The feelings Padmè was radiating said that she was worried about the same thing.

"The Chancellor isn't like that," Anakin protested. "He's a good man."

"I hope you're right. Are you going to see him before you leave, then?"

"He didn't mention anything about it being urgent, did he?"

"No."

"Then whatever it is can wait until I get back with Ahsoka and Maul. He probably just wants to thank me again for yesterday."

"You're probably right. He does like to heap praise upon you," Obi-Wan's teasing tone was back, making Anakin smile.

"I wouldn't mind if he spread it around a little more. Why I have to be the poster boy for the Jedi is beyond me. I'm not even that good of one."

Obi-Wan laughed. "Too true. But then again, neither am I if I'm being one-hundred percent honest."

"How's Master Ti?" Anakin teased leadingly, thinking about how the sparks had flown between the two Masters when they'd rescued her from Grievous yesterday. If the injured Togrutan hadn't spent the night in Obi-Wan's quarters getting some T.L.C., then he'd eat his boot.

Padmè's eyebrows shot up again. (Watching her expressive face as she barely held herself back from commenting was certainly making this more entertaining.)

"I believe she's recovering nicely," Obi-Wan answered primly.

Padmè looked intrigued, and he knew he was going to have to explain. Not that he minded blabbing on Obi-Wan.

Anakin chuckled. "It's a good thing you're such a good liar, Master, or Windu would be having fits about both of us right now."

Anakin could feel Obi-Wan's amused affection down their bond. "Also true." He made a soft huffing sound. "Anyway, ignoring the things we shouldn't be doing and back to other things you shouldn't be doing, I recommend you make haste in your departure for Mandalore. I can only delay telling them about where you've gone until the war briefing, which is now only forty-five minutes from now."

"Right. Thank you, Obi-Wan. I'll try and keep you informed as to what's happening."

"Please do." Obi-Wan sent a wave of warmth and love and then said, "May the Force be with you, my former Padawan."

Anakin sent the same back. "And you, Master."