A secret in jeopardy!, with his last meeting with the two padawans, Jedi master Yoda senses something that may be enough to bring Barriss Offee and Ahsoka Tano's new found relationship to an abrupt end.

Chapter 8: Young Love

Anakin's voice snapped Barriss out of a sound sleep "Snips, Raven you two decent?"

Barriss fought the heaviness in her eyes "uh...just a second master" as quietly as she could Barriss whispered to the form beside her "Ahsoka, time to get up" a snort was the reply she received. Realizing her own arms were wrapped under Ahsoka's waist she struggled to hold back an awkward laugh as she slowly pulled herself free.

Once in control of all her limbs a quick force pull brought the black Jedi robe to her hand, slipping the robe on in a matter of seconds she took one last look at her friends sleeping form before turning to the door "come in master".

Anakin stepped through the door with his usual confident stride, after seeing Ahsoka in her bed he leaned in close to talk "better wake her up, the council has another mission for us"

"of course master, just give us a minute" her master offered a slight nod before exiting the room, once the door swished shut Barriss walked to Ahsoka's bedside "hey uh...sweetie, time to wake up".

Ahsoka rolled onto her back with a grin already wide on her face "I don't think cute nicknames are gonna be our thing sweetie"

"it was worth a try, come on Anakin's waiting, we have another mission"

"about time".

The Jedi councils dome roofed room never faltered in it's ability to bring Barriss' heart to her throat but standing between her master and her best friend gave her the confidence to at least meet the eyes of whoever was talking. After master Yoda did his usual 'check up' on their force meld master Obi-Wan started the mission debrief "Anakin as you know the planet Felucia has been a major battleground since this war started"

Anakin looked at his former master with a hint of sarcasm "no kidding".

"well recent intelligence revealed the plans for a separatists base that, once completed, would give them more than enough fire power to claim the planet for themselves" master Windu continued the brief "the shields that cover the bases construction make a air strike or direct assault impossible but we believe a small group might be able to slip past their defenses and destroy the base from the inside"

Anakin bowed slightly "it will be done masters".

After a short silence a slight nod from Yoda to Obi-Wan forced the latter to his feet "Ahsoka, Barriss, you two are dismissed" with a look of confusion each padawan bowed before leaving the room.

Anakin waited for the doors to close behind him "is there something else you needed masters?"

Obi-Wan sat back down in his seat "Anakin how are your two padawans getting along?"

"what Ahsoka and Barriss?, far as I can tell their close friends. Why?" a cringed look was Obi-Wan's only response.

Anakin let a decent amount of annoyance into his voice "the council promised me I wouldn't be let out of the loop, is there something I should know?"

master Yoda nodded slowly "sensed something unusual in one of your padawans I did, an attachment it was".

Anakin looked at each master for a confirmation of what he just heard "what?" seeing the distress on his face Obi-Wan rose from his chair and walked over to his former apprentice "Anakin either Ahsoka or Barriss has formed a rather strong attachment, you know we'd only bring something like this to your attention if we were certain"

Anakin met his gaze of his former master but it was clear from his expression that he didn't fully believe the words he had just heard "okay fine, lets say you're right and one of them has formed an attachment. Where do we go from here?"

"well there's still a lot we don't know, until we know which girl has the attachment and to whom we can't do anything"

Anakin raised an eyebrow "I'm not gonna spy on my padawans if that's what you're getting at"

"no of course not, for now just try and keep a close eye on them" Obi-Wan paused long enough to lean closer to Anakin "Anakin we both now how serious this could become, if this attachment is as serious as Yoda thinks it is one of your padawans could be stripped from the Jedi order". Anakin's face steeled at the last few words, he knew full well the punishment for breaking the Jedi code but to think someone under his teachings could be stripped of their right to be a Jedi was just...unbearable.

Moving Obi-Wan aside with a light push Anakin once again bowed to the council "masters if I can get to the bottom of this attachment and stop my padawan from acting on it can you promise me she'll be allowed to continue her teachings".

All heads in the room turned to master Yoda, as the senior member of the council whatever his decision was all other masters would agree wholeheartedly. Anakin felt his impatience rise as the small Jedi looked at him with unreadable eyes, just before he felt the urge to open his own mouth Yoda finally answered "a thin line this padawan walks, but to form an attachment, against the Jedi code it is not. A natural feeling attachment is, the duty of all Jedi is to have the power to push feelings aside for the good of the galaxy. Overcome these feelings your padawan must, or...stripped from the order she must be".

Barriss paced the hallway outside the council chamber "think about it Ahsoka, why else would they only want to talk to Anakin?"

Ahsoka sat on a small bench watching her friend with compassionate eyes "you need to relax, just because the council dismissed us before Anakin it doesn't mean they know about us"

"but what else could it mean?, I mean if..." Barriss felt a hand grab her own and pull her onto the bench, Ahsoka ran a soft finger over Barriss' gloved arm "Barriss if this relationship is gonna work you have to start trusting me, I won't let anyone find out about us, I promise".

Barriss looked into her friends eyes as she talked, her mind instantly remembering the look of Corusant's moon cascading down the deep blue inside them. If anything she'd ever been promise sounded more absolute she couldn't remember it "I trust you...sweetie" it still felt stupid to say but the smile that spread across Ahsoka's face instantly made it feel right "that's so cliché'"

"then wipe the smile off your face"

"the smile is for the person, not the words" Ahsoka leaned in but immediately pulled back as Anakin walked out the big doors behind her.

Barriss felt her heart sink but pushed the feeling away "what was that about master?"

Anakin's tone was distant, obviously his mind was somewhere else "nothing Raven, when we board the Resolute I'd like to speak with each of you individually understood"

"of course master, but why?"

"all in good time my young padawan, for now lets just get moving".

'Thank the force...well the force for the force meld, what do you think master wants to talk to us about?' Barriss sat across from her friend in the small shuttle taking them to Anakin's flagship, Ahsoka fought the temptation to shrug during the silent conversation 'I'm not sure, but what's more troubling to me is that he wants to talk to us one by one. It's not like Skyguy to be so discrete'.

'you think he has any idea about us?'

'no way, if Skyguy ever found out he'd definitely be more direct in his confrontation. He never was one to hold in his emotions'

'well at least we don't have to worry about that for a while, whatever he wants can't be as important as our feelings' the last thought came out with more compassion than Barriss had intended but the boot covered foot that spread across the metal floor to rub against her own must have enjoyed the comment 'can't argue with that'.

Anakin glanced over at the movement from the pilots seat but quickly looked back, Barriss looked at her master with a light smile 'always focused on the mission'. With his usual expert piloting skills Anakin flew the T-6 shuttle into the Jedi cruisers docking bay, as a sudden lurch told Barriss they had landed she stood and began to follow her master out of the shuttle and into the docking bay. The docking bay was filled with activity, groups of clone soldiers stood all through the large area, some working on ships while others simply talked or used the free time to clean their weapons. All the while dozens of astromechs clambered around helping anyone they could, as Barriss' eyes settled on a familiar blue and white astromech approaching them a clone ran to catch up with him "get back here you pile of scrap!".

R2 didn't stop till it was Anakin's side, the clone Barriss now recognized as captain Rex straightened upon seeing the droids destination. Approaching Anakin with a salute Rex waved a hand in the droids direction "damn astromech won't listen to anyone but you sir, we were in the middle of repairs on a Y-wing fighter when he saw you and took off"

Anakin grinned as he patted the astromechs round dome "R2 go help the clones" the droid beeped relentlessly "I know I know just do it" R2 beeped a few more times before taking off down the docking bay.

Rex watched the droid disappear behind a group of clones before turning back to Anakin "just got our orders a few hours ago sir, got a plan for taking out that base?"

"I'm working on it, just make sure your men are ready if whatever plan I make goes south"

Ahsoka raised a hand into the conversation "you mean when your plan goes south master"

"watch it Snips"

Rex smiled down at the young Togruta before looking back to Anakin "my men are always ready sir, we'll be there to get you out if need be"

"glad to here it Rex" as Anakin turned to leave Rex put a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder.

Ahsoka jumped slightly from the contact but turned to the clone none the less "need something Rex?"

Rex quickly shook his head "don't wanna overstep my boundaries

here sir but I know last time we were on mission to Felucia it didn't go so well, you okay?". Barriss watched the scene unfold with more than a little curiosity, for a clone to go well out of his way for something as personal as what happened to Ahsoka was definitely not something that happened all the time and went a long way in showing just how human the clones truly were.

Ahsoka tried her best attempt at a reassuring smile but the distress under it could easily be seen "I'll be fine Rex, but thank you". Barriss could tell the clone wasn't convinced but Rex offered a slight nod before walking back towards the Y-wing he was working on, before Barriss could offer any comfort of her own for her friend a low beep brought her arm to her mouth on instinct "master".

"Raven I'd like a word with you on the bridge, tell Snips to wait in her quarters"

"I'll be there in a second master" shutting off her com-link Barriss looked at her friend "guess I'm first, lucky me"

Ahsoka stepped forward and took her hand before leading them both down the docking bay towards the elevator "you'll be fine, besides if he's mad about something he'll vent it all out on you"

"yeah that helped, sure you don't wanna bite me again that seems to your solution to everything" a nearby clone looked over at the last few words but shook his head and returned to cleaning his rifle. Barriss couldn't stop herself from a small laugh as they entered the elevator and the doors closed in front of them, as both Jedi were cloaked in darkness Barriss instantly felt the warm press of lips against her cheek "they have cameras in here ya know?".

"yeah something pointed them at the wall, can't imagine what caused that"

"no idea" Barriss felt a familiar chill snake its way through her body as Ahsoka brought a hand to her face, even in the dim light she could see her friends lekku begin to brighten. With a smile she was unable to hold back Barriss lightly rubbed the bright lekku "someone's excited" as her eyes met that of her friends both leaned in instinctively. Barriss could feel Ahsoka's breath hit her face and immediately lost track of anything else but just that, pushing their foreheads against one another both Jedi stared deep into the others eyes as the elevator continued its ascend.

Her heart sank as the doors began to open, it took all the self control the two Jedi had to pull apart before anyone saw them. Stepping out towards the bridge Barriss watched as Ahsoka pushed another button on the elevator and offered a warm smile as the doors closed 'continue this later?'

'try and stop me'.

Anakin stood at the bridges large window starring out into space as Barriss walked up beside him "you wanted to speak with me master" her master kept his gaze aimed out the window "Barriss what do think of that James Clever kid?". The question took her off guard "I'm sorry master but I don't follow"

"it's a simple question my young padawan"

"well...I'll admit we didn't meet under the best circumstances but he seems to be a nice guy" Anakin's eyes remained unreadable but Barriss could tell his mind was racing with questions "master what is this about?".

"how did you meet him?"

"master I..."

"Barriss please just answer the questions"

The change in her masters tone changed the feel of the entire bridge, despite herself Barriss wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead "that day you sent me and Ahsoka to deliver a data pad to the senate he...well he tried to hit on us".

Anakin clenched his fist forcing Barriss to take a few steps back, finally turning to meet her eyes the Jedi knight was unable to hide the anger in his voice "did it work?"

"what?, no of course not master"

"you helped him just a few nights later so something had to of changed"

"he apologized, as Jedi me and Ahsoka had to accept the apology"

"so you're friends now?"

"I guess, he seemed genuinely sorry for his actions and has been nothing but kind ever since"

"so you like him"

"I guess"

"how much?" with each question the fear in Anakin's eyes grew, Barriss felt her heart rate increase to what had to be double its normal pace "I already said he's nice, master I'm afraid I don't know what you want from me"

"I want to know if you feel anything for this boy"

"of course I do master, I feel pity, grief, and even a little pride that he had the will to apologize"

"that's not what I mean!" as Barriss was sure her heart would explode Anakin turned back to the window with a heavy sigh "what about Ahsoka, what does she think of him?"

"I don't think she cares for him, even after he apologized she seemed to just blow him off"

Anakin rubbed his eyelids for a few moments before speaking again "alright, that's all I needed Raven"

"master are you afraid me or Ahsoka might have a crush on this boy?" now it was her turn to catch Anakin off guard "you really are too smart for your age"

"I can assure you master you have nothing to worry about"

Anakin's stance relaxed a bit "I can take your word for yourself, but how can you be so sure of Ahsoka?"

"master I can say with absolute certainty that Ahsoka feels nothing for James" Barriss swallowed a lump forming in her throat, making sure to chose her next words very carefully "we're Jedi master, such things are forbidden" the slight change on her masters face told her the words hit home.

Anakin immediately turned away and headed back across the bridge "thank you Barriss, you can go now".

Anakin walked through the halls of the Jedi cruiser doing his best to keep his thoughts inside 'it has to be Ahsoka, how the hell could I let this happen?. I should of known that she would eventually become too much like me, I should of let her go when I had the chance'.

All the thoughts went faster than he could shake them away but after turning into the war room and pressing a few buttons on the large round holopad he finally managed to snap himself back into reality. Obi-Wan's figure stood at attention in front of him "Anakin this is unexpected, is there a problem with the mission?"

"no master the Resolute is on route to Felucia as scheduled"

Obi-Wan's compassion filled voice did little to put Anakin's mind at ease "what's troubling you?"

"it's Ahsoka, I believe she is the one with the attachment" a look of shock was quickly wiped away from Obi-Wan's hologrammed face "what did you find out?"

"I spoke with Rav...uh Barriss about the boy I believed might have been the source of the problem only to find out neither of them really think much of him, but it was the way Barriss talked that convinced me she can't be the one with the attachment"

"so that leaves only Ahsoka, Anakin I know this must be difficult for you but we can still help her. Do you have any idea who she might have feelings for?"

Anakin cringed at the question but forced himself to seriously think about it "well she does spend a lot time with captain Rex, but I think Rex would inform me if he noticed anything strange about her behavior"

"good point, anyone else"

"god I hate this...uh, she has always looked up to master Plo Koon. But I've sensed their connection before, she thinks of Plo like a father not a...well you know"

"indeed I do, and no doubt master Plo would of sensed anything had it happened" a short moment of silence was ended as Obi-Wan spoke up once again "and we can't rule out you Anakin, padawans developing relationships with their masters has happened before".

Anakin felt the hair on the back of neck stand up, just the thought of himself literally being the problem for all of this "I think the age difference is all you need to rule me out master, Ahsoka would probably go for someone closer to her own age"

"yes you're probably right, what about padawan Tyzen Xebec?. They seemed to get along well during their short time together"

"now that one I could believe, but Ahsoka hasn't even mentioned mentioned Tyzen since that mission with him and master Reus. And I don't think they keep in touch outside the temple"

"well can you think of anyone else her age she spends time with?"

"she did mention how much she liked that senator Chuchi, I believe they're not to far off age wise. But you don't think Ahsoka's..."

Obi-Wan raised a hand to stop his former apprentice "we can't rule anything out here Anakin, but I think our best bet is padawan Tyzen. I'll contact master Reus and see what I can find out, in the mean time just keep a close eye on her and try to be a little more comforting than usual. If she's confused she may come to you for support or even ask for help, despite this problem you did train her well Anakin"

"thank you master, I'll do my best".

After making sure her master was out of sight Barriss took off down the hall as fast as her legs would carry her, in a matter of seconds she opened the door leading to the three Jedi's sleeping quarters. Ahsoka sat on the same bed where they had almost kissed just days ago, as she stepped inside Barriss made no attempt to hide the fear in her voice "we have a problem!".

Ahsoka waved her friend over "just relax Barriss, deep breaths" fighting her feelings was usually difficult but something in Ahsoka's voice made taking a few deep breaths and joining her on the bed the easiest thing in the universe. After sitting and making sure her friend was listening Barriss started again "we have a problem Ahsoka, I think Anakin knows about us".

To her surprise Ahsoka's reaction was little more than a slight look of astonishment "really?, why do you think that?"

"when we started talking on the bridge he asked all these questions about James and what both of us thought of him" Ahsoka took a moment to take in her words before speaking "okay...then he doesn't know about us, he just knows one of us has formed an attachment. He must of assumed it was with James because he's close to our age, but you're right we do have

a problem. If Skyguy knows about the attachment then we'll just have to be really careful around him"

"okay so...I guess I kinda freaked there huh"

"that's alright, it was cute. Not often I see you lose your cool like that" before Barriss had the chance to respond Anakin walked through the door, his always determined eyes looked directly at her "Barriss could you give me and Ahsoka a few minutes?"

"of course master" 'don't worry Ahsoka, it'll be fine' with a compassion filled nod in her friends direction Barriss stood up from the bed and slowly exited the room.

Anakin looked down at the confused face of his padawan 'Ahsoka I'm sorry, I passed on everything I know to you, my skills, my power, but one thing I didn't see coming is you also sharing my weaknesses. But I won't let my feelings for Padme' stop your chances at becoming the Jedi master you're destined to be, as much as it pains me to think it I can't let you fall in love' the words he wanted to say formed perfectly in his head but he knew he couldn't say them.

Above all else he couldn't let anyone learn of his secret love, but he wouldn't let them strip Ahsoka of her right either. "We need to talk" taking a quiet seat on the bed beside the still confused girl Anakin kept his voice as low as possible "Ahsoka...how are you doing?"

"uh...I'm fine master. Why?"

"can't I check on my padawan every once in a while?"

Ahsoka immediately stood off the bed and backed a few steps away from her master "what's going on?, this isn't like you"

"Snips relax, I just want to talk. What's on your mind?"

"alright Skyguy out with it, what do you really want?"

Anakin let out a small sigh "I'm really that easy to read huh"

"most of the time your an open book, other times I don't know what the hell goes on in your mind"

"watch the language Ahsoka"

Ahsoka put up both hands in mock surrender and took a few steps closer to the bed "what do want master?"

Anakin struggled to keep eye contact with his padawan as he spoke "Ahsoka I'm well aware that at your age sometimes your feelings can betray you"

"oh force master this isn't some coming of age speech is it?"

"well if someone keeps interrupting we'll never know now will we"

"point taken master"

"okay then, as I was saying at your age feelings you would normally be able to push aside may pose more of a threat"

"how can a feeling be a threat?" the question took him by surprise "I'm sorry Snips"

"feelings are what make us human, so to speak. By rejecting our feelings, our humanity, what do we hope to gain?" for one of the first times in his life Anakin was speechless, Ahsoka was so much like him it was like trying to win an argument over himself "Ahsoka it's a Jedi's duty to put their feelings aside for the good of the galaxy, there is no emotion, only peace".

"yeah I know the Jedi code, but some emotions, hope, caring, love, can you honestly tell me that those can't bring peace?"

"I'm not saying they can't bring peace, but the can be used against us. If the Jedi want to be the galaxy's peacekeepers then we can't afford those feelings"

"master listen to yourself!, your asking me not to be human!"

Anakin rose to feet "no Ahsoka I'm asking you to be a Jedi!" both Jedi turned from each other, Ahsoka went back to her bed while Anakin quickly walked to the window. Sensing his padawan had laid down Anakin let a few minutes of silence go undisturbed, once his heart rate returned to normal he decided to go with a more direct approach "who is it?"

"what?"

"master Yoda sensed an attachment in you Ahsoka, who is it?"

"is that what all this has been about?, master is I don't have an attachment to anything but the force"

Anakin kept his gaze away from his padawan "Ahsoka I want to help you, we can still stop this from interfering with your training" a small hand grabbed his own before he had time to react.

Ahsoka turned her master around and looked him straight in the eyes "master...just this once...please...trust me, I can take care of myself".

Anakin wanted desperately to break eye contact but something on his padawans face told them that would be a very bad idea "Snips I trust you completely, but what I want you to understand is I'm always here if you need to talk. I know sometimes I come off as a bit inconsiderate but I do care about you Ahsoka".

"I know you do master, thank you" Ahsoka rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Anakin's waist, Anakin cringed a bit at the sudden contact but pulled himself together long enough to put one arm around the small of the girls back.

Barriss walked out the door before she could hear any of her masters conversation with Ahsoka, not knowing what to do with herself she started wandering the many halls of the Resolute 'not often I have time by myself, master Skywalker didn't give me any orders so I guess I'm supposed to just preoccupy myself till...' her thoughts were cut short as she rounded a corner and ran directly into a familiar clone.

She hit the ground butt first as captain Rex immediately knelt down to help her to her feet "sorry about that sir, you okay?"

Barriss tried to ignore the embarrassment of being caught by surprise so easily "I'm fine captain Rex".

"commander Offee do you happen to know where Skywalker is?"

"he's having a talk with his padawan"

"I see"

Barriss could plainly see the look of urgency on the clones face "is there a problem captain Rex?, maybe I can help"

"no problem sir, its just if we want to reach Felucia at the designated time we need to make the jump to hyperspace now and there's no one on the bridge to authorize it"

Barriss started towards the bridge waving for Rex to follow "I can do that captain Rex".

Rex easily kept stride beside the small padawan "you can just call me Rex sir"

"very well Rex" Barriss smiled lightly before looking away from the clone beside her, ever since her fist mission she had found it difficult to communicate with the clone soldiers 'I don't know how Ahsoka finds this so easy, how do I connect with someone who only knows killing?'. Rex answered as though he had heard her thoughts "don't spend much time around clones do you sir?"

"I'm sorry Rex, I don't mean to be so cold"

"that's not what I meant sir, but in my experience almost all Jedi are wary of me and my brothers at first. I think some of them start off thinking we're heartless killers"

"I would never think that Rex"

"I'm not saying I blame them sir, killing is what we were made for after all. But we also have a reason to fight, every clone that comes out of Kamino is my brother. I have a family, and I'm willing to fight and die to protect them"

"that's very noble, but if you don't mind there was always one question I wanted to ask a clone"

"of course not sir"

"if serving was a choice, if the senate did not make it treason for a clone not to fight in the war, would you still be here?" the answer came sooner than Barriss thought it would, Rex obviously needed no time to think "I've seen hundreds of my brothers die in the field, even some Jedi. Each mission I've ever been on is drilled into my head like an endless dream, war is hell sir, but sitting in some bar on Corusant while my brothers fight and die honorably, nothing would destroy me more" the last few words came out of the clones mouth with a sense of sheer will behind them. There was no question in Barriss' mind that Rex would do anything to protect his brothers.

"truer words were never spoken Rex" taking one last turn onto the bridge Barriss rose her voice enough that every clone working at their respected terminals could hear her "prepare to jump to hyperspace on my mark".

The clones working in the lower parts of the bridge immediately began typing commands and flipping switches, after a short silence Rex spoke up behind her "all systems are ready commander".

Barriss pulled the purple hood down off her head letting her short black hair flow in front of her face, the weight of her lightsaber on her hip became increasingly apparent as she let a sly grin cross her face "hit it boys!".