Backfired!, a day out with her friend did it's job of helping padawan Ahsoka Tano. But at the expense of Barriss Offee, the confused padawan now fights through a range of emotions on the way back to the Jedi Temple.

Chapter 3: A Special Connection

"You two took your sweet time" Anakin stood outside the Jedi temple as Barriss and Ahsoka came into view, the two padawans bowed before following their master back into the temple. As the group of three got closer to their quarters Anakin turned "Ahsoka go on ahead, I need to speak with Barriss for a moment"

"whatever you say Skyguy" Ahsoka continued down the near dark hallway and disappeared behind the next corner

once the girl was completely out of sight Anakin knelt down to eye level with Barriss "any luck?"

"I don't understand master, yesterday I could barely get through to her and today she couldn't of been more cheerful. She never even mentioned her experiences with the Trandoshans"

"I have a feeling this is more complicated than I once thought"

"master?"

Anakin waved a dismissive hand "probably nothing, so what's troubling you?"

The question caught Barriss off guard, being this close to such a powerful Jedi made it impossible to lie but she just wasn't ready to share her thoughts with anybody "...it's complicated master, I need time to think"

Anakin rose back to his feet "then I won't push, just know need be I'm here if you need advice"

"thank you master, that's good to know" as she followed her master down the hall she couldn't help but notice how unlike all the stories about him her new master was, through her travels with Luminara nearly every Jedi or clone had a story about the famous Jedi Knight Skywalker.

Every story described him as the perfect warrior, the only Jedi knight who fit perfectly into their new army commander role. But being alone with him was different, sure his power from this close up could be a bit overwhelming but something all the stories forgot to mention was just how caring he could be, especially towards his padawan.

Everything from how close he walked beside Ahsoka to the simple fact that he asked Luminara such a personal favor to help her deal with whatever feelings she had showed just how much he cared, most Jedi would say being that close was dangerous but personally Barriss found it comforting.

Just once she wished Luminara would of showed that losing her would of caused her at least some discomfort 'maybe some time with a new master wouldn't be so bad after all'.

"You sure you're alright?"

Anakin's voice snapped her back into the present "yes master, I'll be fine".

After her turn in the shower Barriss walked into the living room running a brush through her black hair, Anakin sat at the kitchen table typing away on a terminal. Once he noticed her enter the room Anakin nodded towards the hall "Ahsoka already went to bed"

"oh, did she say anything?"

"she thanked me for the day off, said she had fun"

Barriss couldn't hide the cheerfulness from her voice "really?"

"yeah" Anakin took a moment from typing to glance upwards "huh, has your hood been down all day?"

"yes master, why?"

"I didn't notice till now, you know I always assumed you were bald"

Barris simply nodded, this was something she was very used to by now "I get that all the time master, well if you don't require my assistance I think I'll follow Ahsoka's example"

"get some sleep pada...huh, gonna have to come up with a nickname for you. Calling you padawan Barriss Offee is going to bug me after a while"

Barriss let out a light chuckle as she started back the hall "I look forward to that master, goodnight"

"goodnight".

Barriss closed the door as quietly as she could and set her lightsaber beside Ahsoka's on the nightstand, moonlight shined through the small window and seemed to surround her friends sleeping form. Before she realized what was happening Barriss took a few steps towards Ahsoka's bed, thoughts going faster than her mind would allow did nothing to stop her hand as it gently rubbed her friends cheek.

A tear ran down her face as everything she learned told her to stop, after the reality of the situation finally hit her she pulled back and hit her cot as fast as she could 'this can't be happening!, what's wrong with me!' the thoughts screamed inside her head.

It took everything she had to force several deep breaths 'calm down!, if Anakin senses this that would be it for me!'. These feelings had to be wrong, or misplaced at least, maybe she was so caught up in helping Ahsoka she was misreading her own emotions 'yeah...yeah that has to be it' not to mention how much in her life has changed in the past few days.

'Maybe I'm clinging to Ahsoka because she reminds me of how things used to be before all this, back when things were simpler' convinced she got to the root of her problem Barriss closed her eyes and pulled the blanket up above her face.

By the time her eyes reopened Ahsoka's room was filled with sunlight from a new day, giving her eyes a few seconds to adjust before sitting up on the cot Barriss quickly realized she was alone. Determined to take advantage of the empty room she moved to the middle of the floor and sat down, after crossing her legs and clearing her mind she began to feel the force's presence emanate through her body and all around the room.

As she focused something seemed odd, it took less of her focus to feel than it had last time she meditated 'all the training must be paying off' the sound of the door opening behind her did nothing to her concentration but as easy as it had been to feel before the force now seeped into every inch of her body.

It took almost no concentration to feel who was in the room with her "sleep well Ahsoka?"

her friends voice seemed to float around the room as she talked "sorry Barriss I didn't want to disturb you, I'll go"

"no please stay, your presence is...soothing" the words came out before she could stop them but she could tell through the feel of the room that Ahsoka took it as a compliment. Barriss felt her friends presence inch closer as Ahsoka sat down beside her, through their combined concentration the force energy in the room spread to double it's power.

With a small amount of concentration Barriss could easily feel Anakin's presence in the living room and even Master Fisto's as he walked down the hall outside.

"Barris" once again Ahsoka's voice seemed to come from everywhere at once

"yes"

"why are you really here?"

Barriss felt a small amount of energy leave her body before she pulled herself together "what do you mean?, Anakin already told you my master is on a..."

"yeah I know what he said, but if you two really wanted to fool me you probably shouldn't have started calling Skyguy master. So what's really going on?"

Barriss could feel her friends presence very strongly now, no doubt any attempt to lie would be sensed before the words left her lips "alright Ahsoka you win, just promise you won't hate me after I tell you"

"I could never hate you Barriss"

even in her meditative state Barriss felt her cheeks turn red (dark green, whatever) "Anakin asked master Luminara if I could stay with you two for a while, he said ever since your experiences on Wasskah you've been acting different. He thought having me here might help you deal with your emotions" to her surprise their was no change in the room after she finished.

After a few moments of silence Ahsoka finally spoke "I suspected as much"

"you're not upset?"

"I was at first, that's why I was so distant the first night you stayed here. But the way I see it I'm actually lucky to have a master who would go to such a great length for me, and I'm lucky to have such a great friend also"

"thank you Ahsoka, I'm truly honored you feel that way. This may not be the right time but if you do want to talk about Wasskah, I'm here for you"

"I know Barriss, but I hope you'll understand that I'm just not ready to talk yet"

"I understand completely, take all the time you need".

After sitting in silence for what Barriss guessed was about half an hour she felt a strong presence enter the room, Anakin put a hand on the shoulders of both his padawans "the council wants to speak with us".

Barriss slowly sat up as a large amount of force presence left her body, out of the corner of her eye she saw Ahsoka do the same. Anakin waited patiently as both girls rose to their feet "I could feel your presence very strongly in here, something tells me you two are going to make a good team" Barriss and Ahsoka simply smiled as they were led out their quarters, both pulled their lightsabers to their side before going out the door.

Barriss had more than enough on her mind to keep her from talking as she walked through the halls of the Jedi temple. 'What if the masters in the council sense my feelings?', surely in her current condition it would be as easy as holding up a sign. Maybe Anakin's power over the force would be enough to block any attempts focused towards her 'hey that could work, I just have to stay close and not bring attention to myself'.

Now that she had a plan Barriss found it easier to focus on something beside herself, Ahsoka walked beside her master deep in conversation "it doesn't make any sense Skyguy, if that was the mission then why send us?, surely Cody and Rex could handle it themselves"

"that's not for us to question Snips, if the council wants us there then that's were we'll be"

Barriss took a few quick steps to join in the conversation "were exactly are we going master?"

Anakin led them around a corner and towards the giant doors that led into the council "from what I heard there's a disabled separatist star destroyer at the border of republic space, I'm guessing the council wants us to us to go in and finish it off"

"seems like a job for the clones"

"thank you" Ahsoka replied

Anakin raised a hand "relax you two, I'm sure the council has a good reason for sending us in" with a swift wave of his hand the door in front of them opened to reveal the Jedi council.

Light shined in from every angle of the large window domed room, masters Obi-Wan, Yoda, Windu,Kit Fisto and Plo Koon sat at their respective seats, each turned their attention to the three Jedi as they took their place in the middle of the room. Barris instantly felt the heat in her body rise, as slowly as she could she took a few steps closer to Anakin.

It was Master Windu who finally broke the silence "Skywalker, as you already know a disabled Separatists vessel is currently being investigated near the edge of republic space. Master Luminara was present when the ship was disabled but she's been out of contact for some time, we need you to find out what's going on".

"Of course master, we'll depart immediately" As they turned to leave Barriss let out a small sigh 'it worked, no way any of them...'.

"Hold on a second Anakin" Obi-Wan's voice sent a chill up her spine 'no, please no' all three turned back around as Anakin raised an eyebrow at his former master "something wrong?" Obi-Wan rose from his chair and walked to the middle of the room, his eyes closed as he walked in a circle around the three Jedi.

Barriss felt her heart beat increase ten times it's normal rate as she tried to keep her mind a blank, Yoda hopped down from his chair and slowly walked over "sense something you do Obi-Wan?".

Obi-Wan stopped and opened his eyes "I'm not sure master, something is there but...I can't place it"

"hmm" Yoda inched closer to Barriss, once there was just inches between them he stretched out his small arm "please young one, kneel" Barriss dropped to her knees a little faster than she would of liked, surely any more and her heart would simply explode.

Yoda put his hand at rest on her head, Barriss instantly felt the master's presence not only through the room but inside her as well. Her mind raced with thoughts despite her attempt to stop them 'master please' the two words were all she could muster inside her head.

Time stopped as Yoda removed his hand, no doubt someone as powerful as him now knew her feelings better than she did. A silent nod was all Yoda offered before turning to Ahsoka, without a word being shared her friend dropped to one knee. Barriss rose to her feet and tried to keep her face empty of any emotion 'he knows, he has to' .

Yoda kept his hand on Ahsoka's head for several minutes before letting go "seen this only once before I have".

Anakin let a small amount of annoyance in his voice "would somebody tell me what's going on?".

Yoda kept his eyes closed as he talked "a force meld these two padawans have" all heads in the room were now completely focused on Barriss and Ahsoka.

Ahsoka shot a confused look around the room "what's a force meld?"

Yoda inched back to his seat as Obi-Wan stepped in front of the two padawans "a force meld is something only very powerful Jedi can accomplish, when two or more Jedi have a force meld it means that there bodies are very closely connected through the force. In battle it can be used to great effect when the Jedi are close together" .

Anakin spoke up for his two speechless padawan "this sounds like it could really come in handy"

Master Plo rose from his seat "I don't think you understand how serious this is, a force meld is very difficult to keep under control".

"What happens if they lose control?"

Yoda spoke up from his seat "better not to know it is, for know a problem this is not".

Obviously seeing the look on her face Obi-Wan aimed his compassion filled works in Barriss' direction "if there's any sign of discomfort the meld can be broken with the help of a master Jedi, but for know master Yoda's right, it's not a problem".

Barriss knew now wasn't the time but she couldn't hold back the question any longer "does this mean me and Ahsoka can sense each-others feelings easier?".

"Yes that is one of the effects, now Anakin there's a few things you going to need to know"

Anakin bowed "of course master, Barriss, Ahsoka wait for me outside".

"That's about everything you should look out for. Honestly though this news is...troubling to saw the least" Obi-Wan thoughtfully rubbed his beard "how were two padawan able to do something that should of taken two or three Jedi Masters".

Anakin paced back and forth in the large room "something is going on we don't know about".

Master Fisto watched the scene unfold with a smile on his face "what makes you say that?".

"When Barriss came to stay with us it took Ahsoka almost no time at all to forget about her experiences on Wasskah, I figured having a friend nearby would help but she seemed to change overnight. Then last night I sensed something deep within Barriss, something is causing her great discomfort".

"perhaps being assigned to a new teacher is taking some getting used to" Master Windu stated

Yoda shook his head, causing everyone in the room to focus on him "sensed something in padawan Barriss I did, with a close eye these two padawan should be watched".

Anakin stopped pacing "what did you sense master?"

"time to think I need, indeed very troubling this all is".

Obi-Wan once again rose from his seat "give us some time with this information Anakin, just focus on your mission and your padawans will do the same".

"Alright Obi-Wan, but I don't want kept out of the loop on this, if you find out anything please tell me first"

"of course Anakin".

Barriss and Ahsoka sat down on a bench outside the Jedi temple's main entrance, thankfully a batch of clouds overhead had stopped the sunlight from roasting them in the heat. Barriss sat in silence, afraid to say anything or even think anything in case Ahsoka picked up on it, no doubt the masters where deciding on just how to tell her she was banned from her teachings 'as long as they only punish me, I can't let them ruin Ahsoka's life because of my feelings'.

"What was that?"

Barriss almost jumped straight in the air "what was what?"

Ahsoka stared at her friend for a minute before shrugging her thoughts away "I guess it was nothing".

Barriss felt her heart sink, she couldn't keep lying like this "Ahsoka"

piercing blue eyes turned and shot down what little confidence she had "you okay Barriss?".

"Ahsoka we need to talk"

Ahsoka inched forward to clear the space between them "I can sense it you know" a lump formed in Barriss' throat, all she do was shake her head. Ahsoka took both her friends hands "something is bothering you".

"What?"

"was it that guy from yesterday, cause if it was..."

despite herself Barriss let out a dry laugh, that was way too close "no, no Ahsoka you don't understand...just listen for a minute okay"

"okay"

"...Ahsoka I don't know how else to say this, lately I've been..." Anakin came around the corner and stopped in front of them, after a strange look Ahsoka quickly let go of her friends hands and stood up.

After Barriss reluctantly did the same Anakin spoke "alright you two, stay close to each other out there and you'll be fine. Other than that this is a simple rescue mission, we should be in and out without any problems".

Ahsoka rolled her eyes "yeah master cause that's how all our mission go"

"doesn't hurt to be optimistic Snips, now come on Rex is waiting for us at the docking bay".