Anakin hurried toward the quarters he shared with Ahsoka. He wanted to send a message to Padmé, let her know he was on planet, but that it might be a few days before he could see her.

Unfortunately, he entered his quarters to see Ahsoka, Rex, and Cody waiting for him. He blinked. "Oh… uh…"

"Sit, Skyguy," Ahsoka pointed at the chair they'd left available to him.

"Uh…"

Rex glared at him. "Sir, we're worried. About you and General Kenobi."

Anakin sighed. "It's not something I can tell you just yet," he said. "Not everything."

"Master!" Ahsoka exclaimed.

"No, Snips," Anakin said. "I really can't. Some of it we're not even telling the council yet. They know we're keeping something back, and they're willing to wait."

Cody jolted. "They're just…"

"It's too important to be said out loud," Anakin said. "Obi-Wan and I are dealing with the aftereffects of our last mission, I promise." He smiled slightly. "Thank you, though, for your concern. It does mean a lot."

Rex sighed. "What can you tell us, sir?" he asked.

Anakin frowned. "Well… apparently, if a Jedi kills a Sith Lord, there's some changes to their Force sense," he said.

Ahsoka scowled. "I didn't notice anything different about you, master," she said.

Anakin sighed. "You wouldn't," he said. "It's some ancient Sith rite of passage. Only others who have killed a Sith Lord can sense it." That was vastly oversimplifying matters, but Anakin didn't particularly care.

"Meaning, sir?" Cody asked. He looked stunned, and… Anakin wasn't sure what else.

Anakin grinned tightly. "The Sith Guardian thought Obi-Wan and I were Sith Lords." He shook his head.

"So, Master when that guardian…"

Anakin nodded. "The guardian wanted me to take you as an Apprentice, not just a Padawan." He turned and looked into her eyes. "It won't happen, Snips," he said. "I'm not going to turn to the Dark Side, and neither is Obi-Wan. We might use this to our advantage. If a Sith Guardian was fooled, then other Sith objects might be." He took a deep breath. "But I am keeping you out of this, Padawan," he said. "I will not allow you to be exposed to the Dark Side like that. I promise."

Ahsoka took a deep breath. "Master I can handle it," she said.

"Probably," Anakin agreed. "But you shouldn't have to handle it. You're young, Padawan mine," he said. "And I don't want to expose you to more Darkness than you see when we're at war."

"Sir, can we help?" Cody interjected.

Anakin frowned. "Not now," he said. The Force was whispering at him. "But you might be able to help later."

"Now, go on, get out of here. I know Rex and Cody have things that they need to take care of, and Snips, I need to do a few things before I can come meet you in the training room for a spar. And if things keep going the way they've been going, we'll need to work on your shields."

Ahsoka groaned but she and the clones left.

Anakin smiled slightly. He hadn't told them nearly everything, just as he and Obi-Wan hadn't told the council everything. But he'd told them enough. Now he just had to hope Ahsoka didn't try anything foolish.

Anakin sighed. She probably would. She was entirely too much like her master for her to leave it at that.

Anakin would just have to keep an eye on her to make sure whatever she did didn't harm her.

He sighed and went into his room, heading for his comm station. He put in a call to Padmé's apartment. He expected to have to leave a message, but Padmé answered almost immediately.

"Anakin!" she said.

He smiled without thinking about it. "Padmé," he said. "I didn't expect you to be in."

"I'm working from home today," she said. "Are you at the Jedi Temple?"

Anakin nodded. "I am. I wanted to leave a message, I'm going to be on planet for at least a few days. The Senate will probably want to question me and Obi-Wan, and there are a few Jedi issues I have to deal with. I don't know when I'll be able to get away to see you."

"What happened, Ani?"

Anakin took a deep breath. "I killed Dooku."

Padmé gasped. "Oh, Ani," she breathed.

He smiled. "There are some repercussions from that, so… Padmé, be careful. Trust no one. We have some intelligence that suggests the possibility that even the highest levels of the government are infiltrated."

"I'll be careful. There are some allies I might be able to contact."

"Don't tell me who," Anakin said. "Just to be on the safe side. And don't tell them anything about Dooku. I probably shouldn't have told you.""

"I know," she said. She looked to the side. "Is it really that bad?"

Anakin nodded. "I'll tell you everything I can next time we meet in person," he promised.

She smiled at him. "Soon," she said.

"Yes, as soon as possible," Anakin agreed. "Hopefully this week."

Padmé looked to the side and sighed. "I need to go…"

"I love you, Angel," he said. "I'll visit when I can. Are any days bad for you?"

"Only the usual," Padmé replied. "I love you, Ani."

He shut down the call and smiled. Somehow, just talking to Padmé had put him in a better mood. She and Obi-Wan were his anchors. With them, he could withstand anything, even the new suspicion that the Council was sure to have about him. And perhaps this time, Obi-Wan would notice how they were treated differently.

Anakin sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. He found Ahsoka, already at their preferred training room, and tapped her shields. It was their signal that he was on his way.

He needed to work with her. Her shields were good, but they could be better, and he needed to make sure she could sense Darkness when it was hiding.

Of course, if Obi-Wan was right, all the Jedi needed to work on that.

Anakin didn't want Obi-Wan to be right. He knew what it meant if Obi-Wan was.

Forcibly, Anakin banished that thought. He'd find out, and soon.

Right now, he had to pay attention to his Padawan.

This is completely irrelevant to anything else, but I keep finding myself typing "Dooky" when I try to type "Dooku"