Chapter Three- Tend and Befriend
"I am nothing special. Paul was a hotel manager. He will remain a hotel manager to the end."
-Paul Rusesabagina
AHSOKA
"No, you are not allowed to walk." Mina says, crossing her arms.
"But I've walked before." I protest.
"Ahsoka, take five seconds, think, and remember how well that ended for you." She instructs. I do. I "conveniently forget" the part where I had a fit. "You are not walking." She repeats, scoops me up and carries me into the living room, where she plunks me down on the couch.
"John, she is not to be walking. Don't let her fool you." She says and picks up her datapad on the other end of the room.
John turns off the news. "Okay. I have dinner in the oven."
"And I get to eat it, right?" I say hopefully. I haven't had any solid food since I woke up.
"If everything goes well, yes." John replies. I wrap an afghan around my shoulders. "Cold?"
"Yes, but it's not as bad." I lie. Really, I feel worse than when I woke up.
"Oh, hush." Mina chides. "You make the big innocent eyes when you lie. You always do."
I stop making the big innocent eyes. John seats himself next to me and feels my forehead. His face changes. "Hang on a second." He runs off to my room and returns with the thermometer. He sticks it in my mouth and looks at the display.
"Mina, she's freezing." He replies.
Mina looks up from her work. "What is it?"
"It just says 'low.' Why is it going down? It's not supposed to go down." John replies and walks back to his chair. "Drink some warm water and then go back to sleep."
"Mm Hm." I mumble and lie curled on the couch. Mina takes a seat where John was so she can monitor me as closely as possible. John flips on the HoloNet.
"Breaking News" a female anchor with an obnoxious voice announces. "The fugitive Jedi is still at large. Jedi padawan Ahsoka Tano has escaped from a nearby base, and police believe she is on the loose. If she is sighted, call the number on your screen-."
"I hate this anchor," John grumbles.
"Meanwhile, a search of the area is currently underway."
Mina jumps a good two inches in the air. "Search?"
John raises his hands. "I think I can get out of it, but if we can't, we'll hide her in the attic, by the Life Day decorations."
"That's it?"
"Do you have a better idea?"
Suddenly, the doorbell rings. John and Mina share a panicked look before he bolts across the room and picks me up.
"John, remember you're supposed to have the flu!" Mina hisses before walking to the front of the house as slowly as possible.
When we reach the attic, John looks out the window. "Oh Force. It's Tor."
"Who's Tor?"
He sighs. "The one who captured you."
JOHN
A few days ago, Tor entered the guard station, barking orders.
"Cooper, get me a cell assignment for this one. Bonteri, my coffee!"
Dangling from his shoulder was Ahsoka, completely unconscious. Tor slung her down from his shoulder, took a seat in one of the chairs, and set her on the floor, leaned up against his legs. I quickly poured the coffee
"Who's this, sir?" I handed him the cup and gestured to Ahsoka.
"Morning, John. This is our young Jedi friend." He said, taking a sip of coffee and patting the top of Ahsoka's head.
Without warning, Ahsoka startled awake. Blinking groggily with half-open eyes she pulled away, so confused and scared.
Tor smiled. "Oh, someone's not feeling too well." He pinched one of her cheeks, not terribly hard and more taunting than malevolent, but it was plain she didn't like it. I opened my mouth to say something about taking her to sickbay when Ahsoka shuddered and turned away from Tor.
"What's the matter, Jedi? Don't you like me?"
And then he bent down and planted a firm kiss on her cheek. Ahsoka shrieked and he just laughed, turned her head, and kissed the other cheek, laughing at her squeal like it was funny.
I'll be honest here. I didn't expect that, even from him. The private who helped me rescue Ahsoka stiffened, someone else made a quick exit, my jaw was on the floor, and Cooper opened his mouth.
"I think that's a little too far." Cooper said, growing a spine for once in his life.
"Oh come on Cooper. Like you wouldn't do the same if you had a pretty young thing like this." Tor replied. Cooper's spine retreated and I was still in too much shock to do anything when Tor lifted Ahsoka to his level, pulled her close, and grabbed her face.
"Look at me. Do you know where you are?"
Desperate, Ahsoka shrieked and pressed her palms against his chest. She may not have had words right then, but her message was clear: get your hands off me!
Tor shook her hard. "I don't think you heard me, Jedi. Do you know where you are?"
"Sir, I don't think she can speak in her condition." I piped up.
The wheels in his brain clicked, and he stopped demanding an answer. "You're in the Separatist base, girl. And you're my capture. When we're all done with you, you're mine.
"Pity you're so sick. I'll have to wait for you to get better before I sell you. Otherwise, they'll reduce the price." He sat there for a while and for a second I thought he was going to kiss her again.
If you try that, I hope you know a good dentist, Tor.
Tor grunted, and threw Ahsoka toward Cooper and me. I ran as fast as I did when I saw Lux try to stick a fork in an electrical socket, and caught her before her head hit the ground.
"I'll take her to sickbay." I announced.
"No, Bonteri. Cell block. Now."
"But the heat's broken…"
"I said cell block. If the brat's well enough to cry, she can handle a little chill. Oh, and you have guard duty." He scoffed.
Wordlessly, I gathered Ahsoka into my arms and motioned for Cooper to follow me to the cell block. On the way, I bounced her like a small child and said sweet nothings so she would realize she was away from Tor's vile grip when I noticed something.
"Cooper, you were with him when they found her, right?" I asked. He nodded, and I motioned with my chin to Ahsoka's forehead. "That's a pretty bad goose egg."
Cooper looks over my shoulder to get a better view of the swelling on Ahsoka's forehead, and his face falls. "I'm sorry, John. That's my fault. Before we got to base, Tor made me take her. I didn't have a very good grip, and I dropped her by accident. Key words: by accident!"
"That's all right. You didn't mean to." When we opened the cell door, the cold air smacked us in the face. "He is not serious." I muttered. "Look at her. She's already sick, and it's like a fridge in here!"
"Maybe it just has to warm up," Cooper said unhelpfully.
"Maybe," I sat down, still cradling Ahsoka. "Hello," I crooned. "My name is John, and this is my friend Cooper. We're going to be taking care of you today."
Ahsoka tried to push out of my arms. I couldn't blame her, I wouldn't want to be cuddled up with a soldier from the opposite side either. But it was just too cold for her to be without some heat source.
"I'm sorry. But it's too cold in here, and you're not in the greatest of shape right now. So you're staying with me." She thrashed, but I held her tight. "This is about as enjoyable for me as it is for you."
That's when the vents turned on full blast, blowing artic air into the room. I'm not sure if it was the cold finally getting to her, the realization I wasn't letting her go, or just pure instinct that caused Ahsoka to stop struggling. She went limp like a child's doll, snuggled against me, and nothing could have terrified me more. People don't give in like that unless something is radically wrong with them.
"Hush, child. Cooper, can you watch her? I'm going to fix this darn heater." I said, placing Ahsoka on her bed and trying to ignore her feeble whines at being removed from my warmth. Cooper took off his jacket and zipped her into it. I guess he felt bad about dropping her onto her head.
Of course, the heater wouldn't work for me, or Cooper, or the customer service person from the heater company. And when Cooper had to go on break because of labor laws and left Ahsoka alone for literally ten minutes, he found her bruised and extremely upset. His jacket was hanging up in the locker room with a citation from Tor about not storing it properly.
That memory only fuels my hate-fire.
"John," Tor smiles. "Mrs. Bonteri. I hope you don't mind the intrusion. We just have to search the house and we'll be on our way. You've heard the news about the fugitive Jedi, I assume."
"Oh yes, she was your capture, wasn't she?" Mina asks.
"Yes, she is." Tor replies. "Would have fetched a hefty price, too. Very few people can say they've taken the apprentice of Anakin Skywalker. It would look good on a résumé, at the very least. And she is a very pretty one."
I give Mina a look like he is a waste of oxygen.
"Anyway, it'll just be a few minutes," he waves two droids into the house, and they begin a cursory search of the rooms.
Tor walks around the foyer, dawdling in front of a framed photograph of my family, back when we were all together.
"Are those your kids?" he asks.
"Yes. The boy is Lux and the girl is Sierra." Mina replies.
"Cute kids. It's really a tragedy, what the Jedi did to them. I'm sorry."
"No, it's okay," Mina turns some tears of rage into tears of sorrow, and shoots me a look like you're right. He really is a waste of oxygen.
The droids return. "Clear, sir."
"Excellent. I'll see you tomorrow at work, Bonteri." Tor replies, turns on his heels, and shows himself the door.
When he and his flunkies have gone on to the next house, Mina grabs a pillow, holds it to her mouth, and screams into it. Then she tosses it up in the air and punches it on the way down. Twice. "He had her?" she demands. "The one sick enough to use our children to try and make us turn her in? He was the one who terrorized Ahsoka?"
"Yes," I admit glumly. "He brought her into the break room and scared her senseless." I don't go into any details for fear Mina will run down to the next house and knock Tor silly.
"I remember it,"
My head snaps a hundred and eighty degrees to behold Ahsoka standing at the bottom of the stairs.
"What are you doing, Ahsoka? You're not supposed to be walking around." Mina admonishes.
"I'm okay. Just a little stiff," Ahsoka replies. "But I remember him. He…scared me very badly." Apparently she picks up on Mina's potential fury. "Told me that I was his, and threw me. Somebody caught me, I think it was you."
"Yes. Me and my friend Cooper."
"I fell asleep when you took me to my cell. I knew that you were going to protect me." She smiles sadly. "Thank you."
"My honor." I reply, offering my arm for support. In the hallway, I lean down and whisper in her ear. "I take it you left out the…other thing…on purpose?"
"The kisses? Yes. She'd go kill him, and that wouldn't do us any good."
"Yes, she would…wait, did you say kisses? Kisses plural?"
…..
Ahsoka remembers, all right.
While Cooper was watching her, Tor relieved him so he could take a quick break. The second he was gone, Tor knelt beside Ahsoka and took her hands in his.
"These are ice cold! How about I hold onto them, to warm them up?"
Ahsoka says she tried to yank her hands away, but Tor had a good grip on them.
"Soon you'll be out of here. Those lips of yours should open soon. And when that happens, your room will be much warmer. After all, we have to keep the electro-table working."
Ahsoka jerked back at the words "electro-table."
"So the table's not for you, eh? Well, good old-fashioned knives work. And we do have enough drugs of that sort. I'll just tell you one thing, Jedi: you'd better be good when it happens, and tell me what I want to know. Otherwise, you will wish I'd left you to die on that battlefield."
…
"He stopped when Cooper got back to the cell and told him he'd take over. He left, but not before he kissed me again. When he finally let go of my hands I tried to hit him, but I don't think it did much."
"You almost did a number on me. And by the way, Anakin's coming," I say. "He's on his way, and you'll be with him soon."
And together, Anakin Skywalker and I can go kill Tor…
ANAKIN
I hate this planet.
I just hate it, in the most Jedi Code-abiding way possible. Why? The speed limit is 25 clicks an hour. I nose it up to 30, keeping my eyes peeled for police.
When I finally reach the subdivision where John and Mina claim to live, I pull out my comlink and call.
"Ahsoka is asleep, Anakin." John says in a very hyperactive, probably-caf-induced voice.
"Hello, John. I need directions." I say.
"Oh my gosh. Our subdivision is like a maze. Where are you?"
"I am turning right on Mustafar Street." I say.
"When you get to King Rash Court, turn left, and we're the blue house with red shutters. There's a rosebush in front, and…hey Mina, can you go hang out and wait outside for Anakin? I'll take care of Ahsoka. Thank you, you're the best…all right Anakin, you're good?"
"Thank you. I'll be there soon." I say and hang up. Ten absolutely agonizing minutes of driving 25 clicks an hour and taking King Rash Street, not King Rash Court, until I finally find a blue house with red shutters and a woman sitting on the front porch.
I pull up across the street and walk over. The woman gets up and walks over to me. Her eyes have the zombie-like gaze of sleep deprivation, and she clutches a caf mug like it's the water of life.
"Hello" She says. "Do you like the roses?" She points to a half-dead rosebush in the flower garden.
"Yes." I lie. "But actually I'm here to-."
"Oh," she interrupts. "You want to see the other rose! She's inside." She says, linking her elbow with mine and half-dragging me into the house. As soon as she closes the door, she lets me go. "I'm Mina Bonteri. You must be Anakin Skywalker."
"Why did you let me in the house without knowing who I was?" I ask. "For Ahsoka's sake, not to mention the bounty on your head for harboring her."
Mina huffs, picks up her TV remote, and turns on the HoloNet. The channel is set to a news station, and my face is all over it, captioned Hero With No Fear Conquers Separatist Planet!
The she pulls out a holo projection of me, the one Ahsoka carries.
"I recognized you."
I immediately resolve never to cross Mina Bonteri.
As we walk down the hallway, she briefs me. "She's very fragile. No loud noises, no bright lights, don't do anything that'll make her laugh or cry. If you do, she'll have a fit."
And I will punch your lights out, her force presence proclaims.
Mina pushes the door open.
And there she is.
My little angel sleeps blissfully on the bed.
"This is the best she's slept for a long time," Mina whispers. "She can feel your presence."
Not thinking, I hug her. "Thank you!" I whisper. "Thank you for taking care of her."
Mina awkwardly disengages. "It's just what parents do, Anakin. Now go get her."
I sit down on the edge of Ahsoka's bed and stroke her cheek.
"Hi, Ahsoka. I'm here."
Ahsoka stirs in her sleep and mutters something along the lines of "I'm tired."
"Sorry to disappoint you, Snips, but it's time to wake up." I say, cradling her face in my hand. "Padme wished she could come, but she was busy."
Ahsoka opens her eyes wide, and the second they see me they dance. "Master!" she shrieks, and wraps her thin arms around me. I clutch her tight to my chest, swaying back and forth, blinking back tears of absolute joy.
In the force, I feel Mina's blood pressure skyrocket. "Ahsoka, be careful." She orders.
"I am," Ahsoka says blissfully.
"Thank Force you're okay." I whisper to Ahsoka, then look over my shoulder at Mina, and follow it up with "And that she was with you."
A man who I can safely assume is John walks into the room. "Anakin, I assume?"
"Yes," I say, disengaging from Ahsoka and shaking his already-twitching hand. "You're John?"
John nods and looks to Ahsoka. "Your daddy's here." He smiles a caf-induced grin. "However, if you lie back down, we won't have a situation where Daddy is called upon."
Ahsoka winces and lies back down. I adjust the covers over her. "I can take care of her. You both look exhausted."
Mina nods. "I have bags under my eyes, don't I?"
John makes a "dead" gesture, so I shake my head. "I can't sleep." he says. "I've drank so much caf that I can no longer feel my pulse."
Mina chuckles halfheartedly and walks out of the room. John sighs and plops himself down in one of the chairs. Ahsoka yawns. "So, how are the boys taking my absence?"
I think for a second. "They cry every time we watch a sitcom, they've plastered Missing posters of you in every corner of the universe, and when they heard you were okay, they had cake."
"A cake? You saved me a piece?"
"I tried, but I ate it." I joke. "It was delicious!"
Ahsoka giggles and suddenly takes in a long, sharp breath.
"What is it? What's wrong?" I ask.
John's head snaps up. "Sweetling, is it happening again?"
Ahsoka nods, yelps, and rolls over on her side. John gets up from his chair and I bend over to grab her, to help her with whatever's wrong… and a pair of arms with pink stencils wrap around her prone body and pull her close.
It's Mina. She has a bunch of gunk on her face which makes her look incredibly scary, but Ahsoka snuggles up to her while I stare in shock.
"I thought I told you not to wind her up!" Mina whisper-hisses. "John, you know better."
My mouth is open. "But…you were in the other room…"
Mina rolls her eyes. "When you leave a sick child with a man who has no idea what he's doing and another guy who's so hopped up on caffeine he can't sit still; if you hear the kid cry, you develop the ability to teleport. Simple as that. Now, I'm going to teach you how to handle this once. So listen up, Skywalker!"
PADME
"So, this is where you all live?" Mina asks.
"When we have time," I reply, tucking the blankets further over a sleeping Ahsoka. "We're a family, Mina. Even if not by blood."
"Nothing can say you aren't, after she cried for you like she did." My old mentor comments.
"Thank you, I can't thank you enough for saving her." I reply, not taking my eyes off Ahsoka. There is not a sight in the world more precious than your child after you've been separated.
"John and I didn't know she was yours. I'm so glad somebody didn't lose their child to the war." Mina says, wiping her eyes.
At this moment, I realize the pajamas Ahsoka's been wearing don't fit her well. They're clearly meant for a boy. Lux fits that bill.
I grab Mina in a hug. "We can find them. They're together, waiting for you."
"They think we're dead," Mina sobs.
"I thought Ahsoka was dead. She is most certainly not, because a complete stranger saw her in danger, broke the law, rescued her, and took care of her. Lux and Sierra's odds are much better than that."
Mina chokes on a sob.
"Mina Bonteri, you look at me." I order. She does. "We are going to find your children. Do you hear me?"
Mina nods. Slowly, but she nods.
"Good. We start when Ahsoka feels better."
I would like to thank Laugh Until You Obitine and starwarshobbitfics for your reviews!
Thank you all for reading,
Lux's Sister