Summary:

Ventress takes a test.

Jinn has a breakdown.

Obi-Wan and Ahsoka pick up the pieces.

Jinn and Bridger strike out on their own.

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"What are you talking about?"

Ventress pulled her hands away from Jinn and stood up. He got up as well and nervously grabbed the hilt of his sword.

"I sensed it, Asajj while I was creating a training bond with Ezra."

She turned away from him and said, "No, I don't believe you."

Jinn said, "Then, humor me. Come with me to the infirmary and get tested."

She glared at him and said, "No. I can't be pregnant. You've made a mistake. I don't want a child."

Jinn tried not to let her words hurt him. Jinn wanted a child. He grew up in a loving family. He wanted a family of his own. He had been apart from his own family for so long that the thought of building a family of his own was very appealing. He wanted to belong to a clan again. However, he knew the choice wasn't his alone.

"Please, Asajj. It would put my mind at ease. I'll come with you."

She crossed her arms over her chest and said, "What about your apprentice?"

"Bridger can wait."

Ventress didn't like it, but she relented with a sigh. "Alright. I'll go get tested."

Jinn smiled and kissed her cheek and said, "Give me a moment to dismiss, Bridger. Then, we can go together, darling."

Jinn found Ezra waiting for him out in the hall. He looked worried and confused. Ezra approached the amber Jedi and said, "What was that all about? What's going on?"

Jinn said, "I'm afraid I won't be able to start our morning routine today. I need to go to the infirmary. I suggest you work on your forms and spar with the troops. You need to work on your hand-to-hand combat skills."

Ezra was shocked and said, "Wait. Infirmary? Are you alright? Just tell me what you saw."

The amber Jedi nervously rubbed his face and said, "I don't want to say just now. Not until I can confirm. I'll explain to you more of what's happened after I've learned more."

"Hold on-"

"Not now, Ezra."

The teen was taken back by Jinn's sharp reply. He watched as he and Ventress left his quarters and entered the hall. Together they walked towards the infirmary. Ezra sensed through their bond that Jinn was nervous and excited. He wondered what that small Force-presence was next to the larger darker one. He was curious to know if Jinn had another apprentice and why it upset him.

Ezra decided to go talk to Ahsoka. She was Jinn's friend. She probably knew more about what was going on.

XXX

In the infirmary, Jinn and Ventress approached Kix. The medic stared at the two Force-users and said, "So, who's hurt?"

Jinn said, "No one is injured, Kix. I need you to run a pregnancy test."

The clone raised his brow. He'd done plenty of medical procedures in the past, but he had never been asked to run a pregnancy test before. "Sorry, sir. Can you say that again?"

"I said I need you to run a pregnancy test. Can you do it or not?"

"Uh, yes. Where's the patient?"

Ventress stepped forward and said, "I am."

"Oh. Sure, right this way."

Kix was stunned. He knew how to run a pregnancy test. It was part of his training, but with an army full of clone men, he figured he'd never have to run one. Though, it was clear to him who the suspected father was. It wasn't a secret that Master Jinn and Ventress were partners. Anyone who saw the two training together knew they were close. He just didn't think they were that close.

"Please lay down on the table. I'm going to run a scan."

Ventress hopped onto the table and did as he instructed. Meanwhile, Jinn started to pace inside the room.

Annoyed, Ventress said, "Stop pacing and stand still."

"I'm sorry, darling. I can't help it."

Kix tried not to react. He had never heard Master Jinn call the ex-assassin anything other than Miss Ventress before. Though, it didn't take long for the blue light of the scanner to pass over her body. Kix paused the scanner over her stomach and tried to see if he could pick up any readings. If the pregnancy was early, it might not pick up anything if she were expecting. However, that wasn't the case. To his surprise the scanner picked up a tiny life form inside her body.

Kix looked up at Ventress and said, "Well, it looks like you're pregnant. Congratulations."

"No, there must be some mistake. Let me see that."

Ventress got up from the table and walked over to the scanner. She was shocked to see the image of the fetus on the screen. Jinn joined her and read the different readings. He then took her hand and turned her around to face him.

"Asajj, talk to me. Tell me what you're thinking."

"I don't know. What are you thinking?"

"I don't know. I'm happy. I'm afraid. I feel a little ashamed that I didn't ask you to marry me before all this happened."

"Marry?"

"I've always wanted a family of my own. A place where I belonged. I thought we'd have more time together as a couple, but if you want this child then I can't imagine building a life with anyone else other than you."

Ventress looked away from him. Jinn was a wonderful man. She knew he meant every word. He was gallant and dashing. He was everything a Jedi should be, but just dark enough for her to love. However, she wasn't sure she wanted to be a mother. She wasn't sure she wanted to be a wife. She didn't want to become something she wasn't. She never dreamed of being any of those things. It just wasn't who she was.

"I can't."

She then ran out of the infirmary.

"Asajj, wait!"

She didn't look back. She ran to the hanger bay and took her ship. Jinn tried to stop her, but it was too late. She powered up the engines and left the main ship. In a flash, she disappeared into hyper-space.

XXX

Jinn was dismayed. For a moment, he could neither think nor move from the hanger bay. He stood rooted in place with disbelief. His hands were trembling. He felt disconnected from his body. He stumbled a few steps back and then it happened. He lost control.

All at once, his control over his Force-powers evaporated. He breathed in a shuddering breath. He balled his shaking hands into fists. All the energy inside him began to swell. All the power inside the ship began to flicker and in an instant suddenly disappeared.

He shouted out a roar that was amplified by the Force.

The ships in the hanger and the walls were then thrashed with a powerful blast of energy. The air crackled with electricity. Jinn's eyes glowed an eerie red.

It wasn't long before Obi-Wan, Anakin, Ahsoka and Ezra appeared at the door of the hanger bay. They felt the raw power of the Force behind Jinn's blast. They saw that the hanger was dark and devoid of energy. The only light that came through was from the outside the force-shields. It was the light in the hanger bounced off a distant world they had stopped off at to rest before returning to hyper-space.

Anakin saw Jinn standing in the middle of the hanger and said, "Jinn, what the hell happened?"

The amber Jedi turned around. Ahsoka gasped when she saw his glowing red eyes. She sensed Darkness emanated from him. His Light was gone. He felt like a Sith. Yet, she saw tears spilling from his eyes. He was crying.

"Jinn? Are you alright?"

Ezra softly said, "Ahsoka, he's clearly not alright."

She hissed, "Don't make it worse."

Obi-Wan decided he should try talking to Jinn and approached him. "Jinn, what's wrong?"

"She's gone."

"Who's gone?"

"My Asajj."

Anakin interrupted and said, "You mean Ventress? You mean you did all this because of her? Because of a lover's quarrel?"

Jinn drew his sword and plunged it into Anakin's chest. In a sinister voice, Jinn whispered into Anakin's ear, "I've seen you burn worlds for your angel, Sithling. Don't you dare mock me."

The dark Jedi then pulled his sword out from Anakin's body and let him drop to the floor. Ahsoka was stunned. She had no idea that Jinn knew of Anakin's fall into Darkness or expect Jinn's betrayal. She barely heard Obi-Wan cry out Anakin's name and rushed to help him. Anakin spat blood as Obi-Wan applied pressure over the wound.

Meanwhile, Ezra rushed to Jinn and grabbed him by his robes. "No! Why did you do that? I thought Anakin was your friend."

Jinn coldly replied, "Don't waste your sympathy on him. That man is Darth Vader. He already has the blood of innocent women and children on his hands. I won't tolerate his hypocrisy any longer."

Ezra let go of Jinn's robes and turned to look at Anakin and said, "He's Vader?"

"Come, Bridger. I'm done playing war."

Jinn then raised his hand and used the Force to clear the debris to gain access to a ship. He used his powers to lower the ramp and start the ship. He turned and waited for his apprentice to join him.

Ezra hesitated. He looked at Anakin bleeding in Obi-Wan's arms and Ahsoka standing in shock beside them. He didn't like it, but he followed Jinn into the ship.

XXX

Anakin was critically injured, but he would survive. He was placed in a bacta-tank. Obi-Wan watched his former-apprentice float unconscious within the green fluid with concern. His hands were still covered in blood.

Ahsoka joined him in his vigil. She kept her gaze on Anakin when she spoke. "I'm sorry, Master."

He turned to her and said, "What Jinn said, is it true? Did Anakin really kill innocent women and children?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"When his mother died."

Obi-Wan closed his eyes. He should have known something was wrong with his former apprentice. Anakin was troubled with dreams about his mother when he was a Padawan. He told him that his feelings would pass in time, but Obi-Wan didn't know that his mother had died. He wondered why Anakin had never spoke to him about it.

"What happened to her?"

"I don't know the details, but I do know that he killed the people who took her."

Obi-Wan couldn't believe what he was hearing. He didn't think Anakin was capable of murder. He knew balance eluded him, but not to such a degree. Obi-Wan began to wonder how blind he had been. He never noticed Anakin's pain. He never noticed that the Sith Lord was counseling him.

Ahsoka interrupted his thoughts when she asked, "Did Kix tell you what happened?"

"No, what happened?"

Ahsoka lowered her gaze and said, "This morning, Kix ran a pregnancy test on Ventress. She's pregnant with Jinn's child. He proposed to her. She said she couldn't. She ran away. I imagine her reaction broke his heart."

Obi-Wan said, "Well, that explains his outburst, but why did he hurt Anakin?"

Ahsoka said, "I told you that the Sidious wants to make Anakin his apprentice. However, what I didn't tell you was that Anakin did become his apprentice. He became obsessed with preventing Padme's death that when she did pass away, he became a Sith. He called himself Darth Vader. He did terrible things. I had no idea that Jinn knew who Vader was. It's true what he said. Vader destroyed countless worlds in the hopes of restoring Padme. Hearing Anakin belittle his pain-I'd be angry too if he said something like that about Rex."

The Jedi Master covered his face with his hand. He had failed Anakin. The Sith had been manipulating Anakin and he had done nothing to protect him. Under the light of Ahsoka's explanation, Jinn's actions made sense. He wondered what had happened to Anakin's empathy. He wondered if he could prevent Anakin's fall.

He decided to change the subject and asked, "Why did Ezra go with him?"

She said, "I told Ezra that Jinn may know a way to get him back to his own timeline. He may have gone with him in hopes of finding a way home. I wish I knew what Jinn was thinking. Where do you think he went?"

"I don't know."

XXX

"Where are we going?" asked Ezra.

The amber Jedi entered coordinates into the ship's navigation system and set the system on autopilot. Once it was done, he turned away from the controls and got up from his seat. They instantly jumped back into hyper-space.

"Hey! Jinn, what happened?"

The amber Jedi paused at the door of the cockpit. His back was still turned to Ezra. The teen couldn't see his face. Jinn placed his hand on the door frame and bowed his head. In a shuddered breath, he said, "She left me."

Ezra got up and approached him and softly said, "Why would she do that?"

"Because she's scared."

Ezra raised his brow and asked, "Why is she scared?"

Jinn kept his back turned and said, "Because she-she scared of having our child."

Ezra was shocked and exclaimed, "Ventress is having a baby! Oh, my gods, it all makes sense. That was what the tiny Force-presence was in that weird Force place. That means the other Force-presence belongs to Ventress. That means you have a Force-bond with your girlfriend. I had no idea you could even do that. So, that was the reason why you went to go see her. You had to tell her."

"Yes."

Suddenly, Ezra's excitement deflated. He reached out and placed his hand on Jinn's shoulder and said, "I'm sorry, Jinn. I know how much you love her."

Without warning, Jinn turned around and hugged Ezra tight. The teen was startled by his reaction. His face was pressed against Jinn's chest. He then felt something wet on his head. He looked up and saw that Jinn was silently crying.

Ezra pulled back and put his hand on his shoulder and said, "Hey, it's going to be okay. I'm sure when she's not scared any more than the two of you can talk and work it out."

Jinn let Ezra go. He sank down to the floor and covered his face with his hand. Between his fingers, he quietly said, "I'm afraid. What if she doesn't want our child? What if she doesn't want me anymore?"

Ezra sat down beside him and said, "Well, what if she does? Did you tell her how you feel?"

Jinn removed his hand from his face and with a sigh said, "I proposed to her."

The teen was stunned and said, "Oh, wow. And what did she say?"

"I can't."

Jinn then lowered his gaze and said, "I told her that I wanted a family. I want to belong. I told her if she wanted the child then I could think of no one else I wanted to build a life with."

Ezra looked away and flushed with embarrassment. He thought for a second that Jinn just blurted out his proposal to Ventress and scared her off. Yet, hearing how he proposed was surprisingly sweet and romantic. In truth, he didn't really know Jinn. It was strange hearing him be so open to someone he didn't really know. Ezra tried his best to be open and honest back.

"It's like you said, she's scared. I think you should go after her."

"No, she doesn't want to see me. I want to give her time. My guess is she probably went to Dathomir."

"Okay, so where are we going?"

"Mandalore."

"What's on Mandalore?"

"Allies. I need to build back my strength and you need training. After we're in better shape, we can go Sith hunting."

Ezra narrowed his brow and said, "What about Ventress?"

"I don't know. Though, if we go Sith hunting, I want her to have no part in it. A battlefield is no place for an expecting mother."

Ezra was relieved that Jinn had a plan. After he felt his Darkness on board the main ship, he was afraid that Jinn had turned into a Sith. He was glad he seemed like himself again.

"Thank you for listening, Ezra. You're a good man."

The teen awkwardly lowered his gaze. He wasn't used to compliments. He also appreciated the fact that Jinn treated him more like an adult than a kid. He was surprised that Jinn accepted him as his apprentice so easily. He thought he would have to try and convince him. Jinn was one of the few fully trained Force-users he had ever met. He seemed to know what he was doing, but there was something he couldn't ignore.

"No problem. Though, did you really have to stab Anakin?"

Jinn scuffed and said, "Skywalker will live. It wasn't a fatal wound."

Ezra raised his brow and said, "Has anyone ever told you that you're kinda scary?"

Jinn met his gaze and asked, "Am I too scary for you, Bridger?"

"I don't know. I know that going after the Sith is better than waiting around for them to attack us first, but I don't know if I can kill anyone. I'm not sure I could do it even if I knew they were a bad person."

"I understand. I won't ask you to. You're my Padawan, Ezra and that means I'm your guardian. It's my responsibility to protect you and guide you. It's not my intention to turn you into a cold-hearted killer."

XXX

TBC

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