Summary:

Jinn tells Ventress his plans.

Ezra and morning sickness.

A Sith appears and a deal is struck while tea is served.

Ahsoka makes an important decision.

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30.

"Asajj, wait."

Jinn caught up to Ventress as she marched down the hall. She stopped with her back still turned towards him. She wrapped her arms around her chest and bowed her head. She heard his footsteps as he approached her. She turned around to face him, but once their eyes met, she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her face into his shoulder.

"I hate her."

Jinn wrapped his arms around her and gently rocked her back and forth and said, "Don't waste your time hating her, darling. Satine is in love with Obi-Wan. We look the same. She was just feeling lonely."

"I still don't like her."

"Well, you don't have to like her. I couldn't careless either way. Though, she has been letting Ezra and I stay in her home as her guests. It would be rude to be impolite."

"She can't have you."

Jinn smiled and pulled back from the hug. He gently brushed the back of his hand against her cheek and said, "She can't anyway. I already belong to you."

Ventress lowered her gaze with embarrassment. She liked the sound of that. Though, she wondered if Jinn might be better off with a woman like the Duchess. They were both formal and enjoyed high society. They seemed to have a lot in common. She began to wonder why Jinn decided to stay with the Duchess in the first place.

"Jinn, why did you come here?"

He looked comfortable and glanced around the hall to see if anyone was listening. He took her hand and led her to his room. He closed the door behind him and paused for a moment before stepping all the way in.

"What are you doing?"

"I don't want to be overheard. My reasons aren't exactly up to Jedi standards."

Ventress raised her brow and said, "Since when do you care about Jedi standards?"

"Point taken, darling. To be honest, I came here because I was hoping that Satine would take us in as her guests. I need time to recover and she seems wealthy enough to accommodate us. I know she has feelings for Obi-Wan and she'd probably agree."

"So, you were playing on her sympathy?"

"Somewhat, I also want to get in touch with Death Watch. I'm done being at the mercy of the Sith. I want to hunt them down and eliminate them. Sidious is playing the long game. I can no longer afford to wait, not if I want to build a future with you."

Ventress was intrigued. She had no idea that expecting a child would motivation her Jedi so much. She said, "Is that why you left Obi-Wan? You don't think he'd be on board with your plan?"

"It's a dark plan, darling. It's not the Jedi way. And I also happen to stab Anakin in the chest before I left. He'll live of course, but I'm sure Obi-Wan won't be too happy."

She raised her brow and said, "Not that I care about Skywalker, but why did you stab him?"

Jinn frowned and said, "I lost control when you left. When he found out you were the reason, he implied you weren't worth it. I lost my temper."

"Hmmm, I would have liked to have seen that."

"I don't like losing control, darling."

Ventress smiled mischievously and said, "That's not always the case."

Jinn blushed and said, "Perhaps. Anyway, I'm not going back to the Jedi. I'd like to hear your thoughts to my plan."

"It's fine by me. I only stuck with the Jedi because you wanted to work with them."

"Yes, but a little one on the way changes things. I plan to focus on regaining my strength and training Ezra. I don't want to take any unnecessary risk until our child is born."

"Fair enough, but what do you expect me to do in the meantime? Sit on my hands?"

Jinn smiled. He moved to sit down on the sofa and offered Ventress his hand to join him. She took it and sat down beside him. She liked that he was sharing his plans with her. If nothing changed between them then she saw no problem becoming his wife. She liked being his partner.

"Don't be ridiculous. That would be an argument waiting to happen. All I ask is that you don't jeopardize your health."

Ventress narrowed her brow and said, "Tell me, how did you get so smart when it comes to women?"

"I'm not a ladies' man, if that's what you think. It just so happens that all the women in my family are warriors. It's the reason why I like strong women. There's nothing more alluring then a woman with a lightsaber."

She shook her head and said, "Only you would think fighting is flirting."

Jinn smiled and said, "Funny, it worked on you."

Ventress shoved Jinn back on the sofa in retaliation. He grabbed her and pulled her down on top of him. She huffed and tried to get away, but Jinn held her in place.

"Admit it, you find me charming."

"Never."

"Oh? Is that a challenge?"

"No, it's not."

"Challenge accepted."

Jinn wrapped his arms around her and flip over so she was beneath him. He then proceeded to plant kissing along her face and neck.

"Stop! Your beard."

"Do you surrender?"

"No!"

He nipped her ear and softly said, "Then, I'll have to convince you, my darling."

"Oh, my gods!" shouted Ezra from the adjoining room next door. The teen covered his eyes in horror with his hands at the sight of Jinn and Ventress on the sofa. "Can't you lock the door or something?"

Jinn got up and said, "Sorry about that, Ezra."

Ezra kept his eyes covered and asked, "Yeah, are you decent?"

Ventress said, "We were never indecent to begin with."

Ezra slowly opened one eye. He looked at the two carefully before opening the other eye with a sigh. He placed his hand over his chest with relief and said, "Oh, good. I'm glad you two made up. Jinn really missed you."

Jinn scolded, "Ezra."

"What? It's true. He was a mess. You shou-"

Jinn walked over to Ezra and wrapped his arm around his head and pulled him towards his chest. Ezra tried to shove Jinn back and break free from the headlock, but Jinn wouldn't budge.

"Hey! Let go."

"That's quite enough, Bridger."

Finally, the teen broke free and glared at his mentor. He crossed his arms over his chest and said, "So, when's the wedding?"

Ventress turned to Jinn and said, "You told the brat?"

Jinn said, "I don't keep secrets from my apprentice. It's important that we trust each other if I'm going to train him. Besides, Ezra might babysit for us one day."

Ezra's eyes widened in shock. "No! No way. I can't babysit. I don't know a thing about babies."

Jinn said, "Bridger, if you can use the Force, fight against an evil empire and travel through space and time, I think you can handle babysitting."

Just then Ventress doubled over with her hand over her mouth and ran to the refresher. The two heard her make several unpleasant sounds. Jinn quickly ran to check on her. He found her hunched over and throwing up. He gently rubbed her back and sent soothing waves through her body with the Force.

She turned to him and said, "Thanks, that helps." She then narrowed her brow and said, "I thought you said you couldn't get me pregnant."

Jinn sighed and said, "That's what I thought. My guess is I ate something with a trace amount of strawberries in it or I'm more human than I thought."

Jinn grabbed a towel and run it under some water and helped clean her up. Ventress let him take care of her. When he was done, he took her hand and led her back to the siting room. He sat her down and placed his hand over her stomach to send more soothing waves to relax her.

Ezra nervously asked, "Is she okay? Is she sick?"

Jinn said, "She'll be alright. Being pregnant can make women feel sick. Bridger, can you tell the service droid to fetch some herbal tea and bread for Miss Ventress?"

"Oh, sure! I can do that."

While, Ezra was gone, Ventress shyly looked away from Jinn. She didn't like being weak, but a part of her liked Jinn's attention. It was nice after being apart. She missed him. She liked how he made her feel. His Force-presence always felt so bright and warm.

"Do you want to lie down?"

"No, I'll be fine."

"How touching," said a voice from the balcony.

The two Force-users sprang to their feet and drew their weapons. They saw Darth Maul standing at the doorway of the balcony. However, once he got a good look at Jinn, his brow narrowed into a glare.

"And disappointing. I hoped you were Master Obi-Wan. Not his unnecessary double."

Jinn didn't like their odds. He hadn't fully recovered yet, and he wasn't sure if Asajj was feeling up to a fight. He knew Darth Maul mostly from his father's stories and from Ahsoka's report. He was Sidious' former apprentice. He had killed Master Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had sliced him in half. By all account, the Sith should be dead. Though, he wondered if he could avoid a confrontation. He deactivated his blue lightsaber and clipped it back onto his belt and sheath his sword.

"I don't believe we've been formally introduced. I'm Master Jinn Kenobi. I'm Obi-Wan's cousin. This is Miss Asajj Ventress, my partner."

Maul was shocked by Master Jinn's strange politeness. However, he saw that at least Ventress took him as a serious threat. She kept her lightsabers draw. He also noticed they were Sith red. It was odd seeing a Sith so close to a Jedi.

"I am Darth Maul. Tell me, how did you get a Sith to be your partner?"

Jinn said, "Simple, I asked. She accepted."

Maul raised his brow and said, "You are a very strange Jedi."

"I never said I was a Jedi. Please, won't you have a seat?"

Maul was startled by the offer but sat down in a chair beside a table. Jinn moved to pull out a chair for Ventress to sit down opposite Maul. She gave her Jedi a suspicious look but deactivated her lightsabers and clipped them onto her belt before she sat down. Jinn gently pushed her sit in.

She whispered, "I hope you know what you're doing."

He whispered back, "Don't I always?"

She gave him a stern look which he answered with a mischievous smile. He sat down next her with his leg casually crossed. He noticed Maul was reading his every move with his yellow eyes. Maul sat tense and rigid in his seat. Jinn noticed Ventress was no better.

Maul impatiently said, "Master Jinn, I doubt you invite Sith over to talk often. Well, maybe not all Sith, so, is there a point to this or are you just stalling?"

Jinn said, "I have a proposition for you. I propose a truce. I want your help slaying Darth Sidious and his pawns, Count Dooku and General Grievous."

Darth Maul laughed.

"This is ridiculous! Do you really expect me to believe you?"

Jinn said, "I don't see what's so hard to believe? We both know that Darth Sidious is too powerful to take on alone. Who better to slay him then his own former apprentice? Don't you want to see the look in his eyes as you slay him with one of his enemies beside you?"

Maul frowned and said, "You almost sound like a Sith."

Then, unexpectedly Ezra appeared with a tray with herbal tea, bread, butter and fruit. He closed the door behind him with his foot as he brought the tray into the room. He wobbled a bit as he balanced the cups and plates over towards the table.

"Okay, I got the tea and the bread. I even got some fruit too."

Ezra froze when he saw Darth Maul. For a moment, he thought he was the Maul he knew. The one he knew on Malachor. The one who tried to get him to join him. He wanted to reach for his lightsaber, but his hands were full of the tray. He was about to drop it, but Ventress raised her hand and used to Force to lift it and guide it down onto the table.

She turned to Ezra and said, "Clumsy, brat. Leave us."

Ezra kept his gaze locked on Maul until he felt Jinn's presence in the back of his mind. He sent him calming waves through their Force-bond. He saw Jinn silent met his gaze before nodding his head and turning to Ventress.

Ezra bowed his head and said, "Yes, ma'am" before turning around and leaving the room.

Maul asked, "Who was that?"

Ventress sneered and said, "A stray. Now, what's your answer, Sith?"

Maul said, "You make an intriguing offer, but what about Obi-Wan? I doubt you'll stand by and let me kill your cousin."

Jinn said, "I have a warrior's mentality. If it's a fair fight, then I won't interfere. However, your vendetta with Obi-Wan will have to wait until after Sidious is slain. Do we have an agreement?"

He then extended his hand to Maul to take. In response, Maul stared at Jinn's hand suspiciously. He couldn't read his Force-presence. In fact, he couldn't read either of them. They had impressive Force-shields. Yet, Maul saw sincerity in Jinn's amber eyes. Perhaps, working with Jinn would offer more opportunities in the future.

Maul then reached out and grasped Jinn's arm in agreement and said, "I will agree to your proposition, Master Jinn."

Jinn smiled and said, "Excellent. Now, can I offer you some herbal tea?"

Maul released Jinn's arm in confusion. He shared a look with Ventress. She sighed and shook her head at Jinn's formal behavior and politely accepted the cup of tea her Jedi handed her. He then poured a cup for both himself and Maul. Maul stared perplexed at the steaming cup of herbal tea laid out in front of him.

He watched as Jinn proceeded to grab a roll of bread and started to butter it with a knife before handing it to Ventress on a plate. He saw Ventress silently accept what he offered her like it was normal. She picked up the buttered roll and took a bit before sipping her tea. Maul placed his hand on the teacup. It was warm and fragrant. Maul couldn't remember the last time someone treated him so cordially.

However, before he could taste the tea, the door was thrown open and the young man from earlier returned with friends. He recognized the white armor man as one of the Jedi's clone troopers. The Togruta girl was clearly a Padawan judging by her dual lightsabers.

Ahsoka said, "Stop right there, Maul. You're under arrest."

Rex was puzzled by the scene in front of him. When Ezra came running and looking for help, he thought the worse. He said Maul was with Master Jinn and Ventress. Ahsoka had sent the Duchess to contact General Kenobi for backup. Rex assumed they were fighting, not sitting around and drinking tea.

Maul got up and activated his one side of his red double-bladed lightsaber. However, Jinn stood in front of him and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"No. Don't. Miss Tano, please lower your weapons."

Ahsoka said, "Are you crazy? That's Darth Maul. He's probably here for the Duchess."

Jinn said, "Master Maul and I have an agreement. He'll do no good behind bars."

Rex spoke under his helmet and said, "Are you sure? At least behind bars, he won't be able to do any bad."

Jinn said, "Then, Miss Ventress, Bridger and I will take our leave."

Ezra stepped forward and said, "You can't be serious. Are we working with Maul now?"

Jinn replied, "Yes, I'm a man of my word, Bridger. Now, let's go."

Maul narrowed his brow and said, "The boy is of no use to me."

Jinn met his gaze and said, "Bridger is my apprentice. He may be of no consequence to you, but he is to me."

Ahsoka was startled to hear Jinn claim Ezra as his apprentice. Though, it explained why Ezra went with Jinn after he lost control. Ezra smiled at Jinn's confident words. Jinn placed his hand on Ezra's shoulder in acknowledgment. He then moved to offer Ventress his hand in order to help her out of her seat. She gave him a stern look and got up herself. Together, the four headed towards the balcony. Ahsoka covered her eyes for a moment when the wind picked up as Maul's ship appeared.

Ahsoka said, "Wait, Jinn. What are you doing?"

However, instead of Jinn, it was Ventress who answered her and said, "We're going after Sidious. Want to tag along, kid?"

Ahsoka was shocked. Her sight turned inward as she thought about what Ventress said. There wasn't anything she wanted more than to stop Sidious and end the war. She and Rex had been trying to stop him since they arrived in the past timeline. She knew that it wouldn't solve everything but at least Sidious would no longer be pulling the strings. She knew that if she went with them that there would be no turning back.

It reminded her of the time she left the Order. Back then she felt abandoned by the Jedi. They were her family. They were all she knew. It was scary and she was alone. Yet, being with the Order didn't feel right. She couldn't ignore their betrayal. She couldn't pretend that they hadn't tried to hunt her down and kill her.

Yet, this time she wasn't alone. She wasn't a teenager. She knew how to survive. She lowered her lightsabers and clipped them back onto her belt.

Rex followed her lead and holstered his blasters and said, "It's your call, Ashoka. You lead. I follow."

She gave Rex a smile in appreciation and said, "Okay, for now on there's no going back."

XXX

TBC

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