Cardek's POV
I slowly woke up, and then looked to see Ahsoka still sleeping on my chest. So calm...so serene. I stroked her face gently. She didn't deserve what happened to her. I'll get you Bane. Mark my words. She sighed softly and nuzzled her head in my neck. I smiled softly and put my hand on the back of her head carefully. Her breathing increased.
"No. Stop! You're hurting me!" I pulled back, shocked by her reaction. "Stop! Let go of me!"
I started shaking her. "Ahsoka! Ahsoka, wake up!"
"Bane! Get off me!" My eyes lit up in shock, then narrowed. I whispered to her.
"Ahsoka, it's me, Cardek. Don't worry about Bane anymore. I'll take care of him." Her breathing slowed and she slowly opened her eyes.
"Cardek?"
"I'm here, Ahsoka. No need to be scared anymore."
"I just had... the worst dream."
"It's over now." I held her in my arms and rocked her gently. "It's over."
"Hopefully after today, I'll never have to see Bane again."
"And I hope I'm the one who makes sure that is reality."
"Cardek, could you at least try not to kill him? I don't want you getting in trouble with the Council or my master."
"I'll try. I hate him...but I don't want to kill in hatred. Hopefully, if I go, the other Jedi will stop me before I do anything I'll regret."
"I just want you to keep your mind on something that will relax you. Something that'll keep you calm."
"That's easy...the sight of you." She blushed.
"If it keeps you calm."
"Of course. Thinking of you always brings a smile to my face." I kissed her on the lips.
"Also, if I recall..." She ran a hand up and down my chest. "...I also made you excited." I smirked.
"Why yes, you definitely made me excited."
"I find it interesting how quickly I can turn you on. I barely have to try." She kissed my neck. I moaned.
"How can I not be? You're just so damn sexy." She slipped her hand up my shirt and felt my chest as she nibbled on my ear. I smiled as my hand roamed her back eagerly. "I thought you said we weren't going to do anything of this sorts until after the pregnancy."
"I know." I smirked and kissed her full on the lips. She lifted the hem of my shirt. I pulled away so he can take off the shirt.
"You can't keep yourself off of me, can you?"
"Shut up and take your shirt off." I took off my shirt fully with a smirk and threw it aside. She ran her hand up and down my chest, smirking. "I love how buff you are, yet not rock solid."
"Heh, I thought you might like it. I never did like the sight of rock solid muscles. Seems too fake to me, that's why I went for what you're seeing now."
"You look like this... all because of me?" I smiled.
"Sure did. I always thought before that I wouldn't have you, but I always had a small hope that it might happen, so I worked for this you know, so that you might like it."
"So, out of curiosity, if I wasn't around, if I was never born, how would you look?" I went into thought.
"Well, I probably wouldn't be skinny, seeing as how I'm a Jedi, and I would still be a bit strong in muscle, but I still think I would be an average Jedi look because no one would care how I look."
"Well, not necessarily. A lot of girls would enjoy looking at you. You're saying that if I was never born, you wouldn't have your eye on another girl?" I thought for a bit, then answered.
"Honestly, no. I've met a lot of girls over my time as a Padawan and during the war, and a lot of them were really interested in me, flirting with me and stuff like that. But you see...I never felt anything for them. Before we came together, I tried to move on from my feelings for you, and give a chance to another girl or just go the Jedi way of no love. But the thing is...I couldn't. No other girl really sparked my interest like you, and I loved you too much to move on. No other girl was right for me..." I entwined our hands. "..only you are." She blushed and looked away from me, smiling. I kissed her cheek, and stared at her lovingly. "I love you, Ahsoka, and no one else will possess my heart like you do."
She looked back at me. "I love you too, Cardek." She kissed me on the lips. I kissed her back deeply as his tongue begged for entrance. She opened her lips and allowed me entrance. I explored her mouth eagerly, sucking on her lips. She ran her fingers through my hair. I wrapped my arms around her waists and pulled her closer. She slowly slid her hand down my chest. There was a knock on the door. She broke away from the kiss. "Who is that?"
"Damn it. And just when things were getting good." I reluctantly got up off of bed and put my shirt back on quickly. I went over to the door. "Who is it?"
"It's Anakin. Open up." I grumbled to myself.
"Of course." I opened door. "What is it, Master Anakin?"
"I spoke with the Council last night. They're allowing you to assist with catching Bane." My eyes lit up.
"Really? Wow. A part of me thought they wouldn't."
"Well, they weren't going to let you go, so I told them you'll be there for Ahsoka."
"Well, I thank you, Master Anakin. This really means a lot to me."
"You're welcome. So, how's Ahsoka?"
"Well...she's doing fine..."
"Did she sleep okay?"
"Mostly. She began to have a nightmare after I woke up, but I managed to comfort her."
"Nightmare? About what?"
"I don't know if I should talk about that..."
"It was about Bane, wasn't it?"
"...Yeah."
"Understandable. Is she awake?"
"Yeah."
"Where is sh..." We heard her throwing up in the refresher. "That answers that."
"Woah! Didn't see that coming. Then again she is pregnant..."
"Yeah. We should probably check on her."
"Let me do that, okay. I'll let you know if she's okay." I walked over to the refresher. "Are you okay, Ahsoka?"
"I feel like crap."
"That's what pregnancy does to you, unfortunately. It'll pass eventually." I noticed her black eye. "Also, unless you want Anakin to know what happened last night, I suggest you do something about your black eye before he sees it."
"Like what? I don't exactly wear makeup."
"Either that, or come up with a convincing lie. Otherwise, he's going to press the matter and freak out."
"When doesn't he do that?" She sighed and sat against the wall. "This isn't working out for me."
"Hey, I'll just tell him that you're okay, and that you aren't able to see him right now."
"I meant this pregnancy. I can't be a mother." I frowned and sat next to her.
"Look, I know this is pretty difficult for you right now..."
"Now? Cardek, this is just the beginning. Eventually, I'm going to get bigger, have mood swings, craving and a child of a bounty hunter who doesn't even want it! This hasn't gotten difficult yet."
"That's true, and there's nothing I can do to change it. But what I can do it help you through it, and that's what I intend do."
"Cardek, I know you mean well, but you have to understand. This isn't going to be easy for either of us."
"Never thought it was going to be. But it will be a bit easier if we work together. And when that baby is born...I have a feeling you'll think it'll all be worth it."
"Yeah, because every girl wants the child of a cold hearted monster."
"Ahsoka...Bane may be the father, but that doesn't mean the child will be like him. You can teach him between what's right and wrong, show him to do the right thing, and always help those in need. You can raise him to be completely different from his father."
"What if it is? What if I can't change it?"
"Then I will make sure that doesn't happen. I will be it's father if I have to. I won't let him become what Bane is. That's too cruel of a fate for a child."
"Cardek, you would really be the it's father?"
"It won't be easy, I know that...But no kid should ever grow up without a father to look up to, play with, or learn from. That's just cruel. And seeing as how Bane doesn't care for it...I'm willing to do so to give it a good life." She smiled weakly and hugged me.
"Thank you, Cardek. You have no idea how much this means to me." I hugged her back.
"Hey, I'd do anything for you. Who knows, maybe the kid will take after his mother?" I chuckled. "Now that would be a ride for sure."
She scoffed. "If this baby is anything like me, you'll definitely have a run for your money."
"Oh, I bet. You're a handful yourself as it is. Imagine what the baby will be." She pulled back.
"And if you're going to help me raise it, imagine that disaster."
"The kid will probably be the most reckless person in the galaxy."
"Hey. That's my kid you're talking about."
"I meant it as a compliment. After all, your recklessness is one of the main reasons why I love you so much."
"Nice save." She stood up. "I gotta get ready. You should go too."
"Yeah, I gotta go kick Bane's ass. Anakin is probably wondering what's taking me so long as well." I stood up and kissed her. "See ya later, Ahsoka."
"Alright. And remember what I said about staying calm."
"I'll do my best." I walked out of refresher and back to Anakin.
"Cardek, how's Ahsoka?"
"She's fine. The pregnancy and being a mother is kind of weighing on her, but I'm sure that if we help her through it, it'll be alright."
"I never expected this to be easy for her. I'm surprised the Council's letting her keep the baby."
"It's because it's life. It may not be born, but getting an abortion is something I don't approve of. It's taking the life of someone before they can experience it. It's no better than killing someone. My opinion anyway."
"I meant they're letting her raise it instead of sending it to her family on Shili. I just hope she can handle this."
"She will. She's strong, we know that for sure. Plus, she's got me and you to help her through it."
"I know. Thanks, Cardek. Ahsoka's lucky to have a friend that cares about her as much as you do."
"What can I say? She and I are very close."
"Yeah. She talks about you a lot." I looked up surprised.
"She talks about me?"
"Does she? When she's not complaining about me, she talks about you."
"Wow, never knew she did. What does she say about me?"
"All kinds of things. She always talks about how nice, trustworthy, brave and strong you are. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she has a crush on you." I lightly blushed and looked down, not enough for him to notice.
"Wow, never expected that..."
"Seriously? As close as you are to her, you don't feel that she has feelings for you? I know because of how close I've gotten to her." I chuckled nervously.
"Never thought she could really have feelings for me. Kinda had the thought that I was never more than a friend to her."
"No, she definately has feelings for you. I know what it feels like to have strong feelings for someone and she has strong feelings for you." I raised an eyebrow.
"How would YOU know to have strong feelings for someone?"
"Look, don't tell anyone, but when I was younger, I had strong feelings for someone."
"Really? And who would this someone be?"
"Senator Amidala." My eyes widened in shock.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. Why? What's wrong with her?"
"No! It's just...I'm surprised you would feel for a Senator of all people...and she seems like a polar opposite to you."
"I didn't think so at the time. I was a kid and I saw a pretty girl. Those are hard to come by when you grow up on a desert planet." I rubbed the back of my head.
"So...how did it all happen?"
"She, Master Qui-Gon and Jar Jar Binks came to the shop where I 'worked' needing parts for a ship. They were escorting the queen to Coruscaunt."
"I heard about Qui-Gon Jinn. He was Obi-Wan's master before he died. Was he the reason you joined the Order?"
"Yeah. He knew I was the Chosen One. Anyway, he and R2 went in the back with Watto, the owner of the shop. Jar Jar and Padme stayed in the front with me. Jar Jar was busy looking and destroying things, so I talked to Padme."
"Let me guess: You were entranced at first sight."
"Something like that. I asked her if she was an angel." I chuckled.
"You're kidding? You actually asked her that?"
"Hey, I was ten. I was still a little immature."
"Sorry. That's just too funny though."
"Keep laughing and you'll be an angel." I calmed myself.
"Alright. Now you were saying?"
"Well, we talked and found that we had a lot in common. Qui-Gon came back and they left. I've had feelings for her ever since."
"I see...So how did you two get together?"
"Ten years later, we were sent Naboo. I had to protect her. The time we spent together was amazing. We grew closer and we fell in love." I smiled softly.
"It's amazing what can happen when you spend time with one you care about."
"Yeah. I thought we would be together forever. That thought was crushed." I frowned.
"What happened?"
"I asked her marry me."
"And how does that crush your love?"
"She said no. She told me she wasn't ready for that kind of commitment. I found out a week later that she was with someone else."
"Damn..." I rubbed the back of my head. "I'm sorry. I don't know what to say."
"That's why I'm careful with Ahsoka. I don't want her to get her heart broken the way I did."
"And...what would happen if...say, someone did break her heart?"
"If someone broke her heart, I would break them!" Crap! This guy is dead serious! And seeing him in action, I definitely do not want to piss him off. I just got to be very careful in my relationship with Ahsoka, and not hurt her...or I'll meet a slow, painful, and torturous death! "Cardek, I know Ahsoka has feelings for you and I know you have feelings for her and don't deny it. If you two do get together, make sure you treat her well because one little slip up and you'll never see the light of day ever again."
I looked up at him wide-eyed. "H-How did you know...?"
"It's obvious. How much you care about her and how close you are. It's only makes sense. Besides, who wouldn't have feelings for her? Ahsoka's an amazing girl. Any guy would be lucky to have her. Even I had feelings for her at one time, but she's too young for me and it wouldn't seem right."
"That's...creepy. No offense. But...yeah, I have feelings for her."
"Like I said, I know. You and Ahsoka would be great together." I chuckled nervously.
"Yeah, I guess we would."
"Then you two should be together. I'm sure she'll say yes."
"I'll be sure to give it a shot."
"Remember, if you have one little slip up, one little mistake, make her the least bit upset, I will kill you." I nodded.
"Understood. I know better than to get on your bad side."
"Good. Keep her happy and you'll live."
"I got the message. Trust me."
"Good. Here she comes now." She walked up to us.
"Hi, Master. Cardek."
"Hey, Ahsoka. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine for now. I finally stopped throwing up. I hate morning sickness. I'm not looking forward to the mood swings."
"That's going to be a nightmare for sure."
"What's that suppose to mean?" Anakin mumbled under his breath.
"And there they are."
"Uh...I didn't mean anything by it, I...I think we better get going, Anakin."
"Actually, Ahsoka, Cardek has something he wants to ask you." She perked up.
"Really? What is it?" Are you kidding me? I thought he would let me do it on my own time! Damn it! This is is going to end badly, I know it!' *
"Anakin, I would very much like to discuss with her some other time, you know."
"No, I think now would be a good time. Go on and ask her." Damn it!
"Cardek? What is it you want to ask me?" I whispered to her.
"Listen...Anakin wants me to confess to you, and doesn't know we're already together. So just play along okay?" She nodded her head. I cleared my throat, and put on a facade for Anakin. "Ahsoka...I need to tell you something."
"What is it?"
"I love you, Ahsoka." She smiled.
"Aww, Cardek. I love you too." I smiled and hugged her. "You don't know how long I've waited for you to say that."
"Me neither. I love you." Anakin chimed in.
"See? You two are perfect for each other."
"Yeah, I guess so." I pulled away. "I guess we better get going."
"Yeah, we leave in half an hour. Ahsoka, are you ready for this?"
"I'm sure she is."
"Yeah, I'm ready."
"Alright. I'll meet you two in the front in half an hour."
"See ya." I waited until he left and out of earshot before I sighed. "Now that was awkward as hell."
"I know. Why were you guys talking about me?"
" I just told him about how you were and it just went from there. Suprised even me. Anakin already knew about our feelings for each other before we even got together."
"He did? How?"
"He could tell just by how close we were and how we interacted. He could also tell your feelings because he said you talked about me nonstop." She blushed lightly.
"He over exaggerated about that."
"Oh really? He said you talked about how nice, brave, trustworthy, and strong I was. And I was also very cute." She blushed deeper.
"I never said that." I smirked.
"Oh yes you did."
"No, I didn't." She smiled and backed away from me. "I never said that." I suddenly grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close to me and whispered into her ear.
"Don't deny it. You make it so obvious."
"And how do I make it obvious, Onasi?"
"You blushed, you backed away, and your movements with the other parts of your body make it obvious."
"And how did I move the other parts of my body?"
"The fiddling of your finger, the slight shaking of your arm...I notice more than you think."
"Really? There's one thing you didn't notice."
"And what's that?" She smiled deviously, took my lightsaber and ran away, giggling. I stood there, stunned momentarily, before realizing what happened. "Why that little..." I ran after her. "Get back here, Ahsoka!"
"You gotta catch me, Cardek?" I ran faster, slowly catching up to her.
"Give me back, my lightsaber! I need it to kick Bane's ass!"
"You can't even catch a pregnant girl! How you gonna catch Bane?" I followed her in.
"I'm going to catch you! You can bet on that!"
"You gotta find me first." Her voice echoed through the empty room.
"Damn it..." I closed my eyes as I began to sense her presence. I began to walk around the room, calm in my trek. I suddenly stopped at a bush, and suddenly reached through it, grabbing Ahsoka and smirked. "Got ya."
She squealed in surprise, then giggled and stood up. "Fine, you found me, but you still have to find your lightsaber." I narrowed my eyes.
"Where did you hide it?"
"If I told you, I wouldn't be telling you to find it." I sighed.
"Fine. Can you at least give me hints? I can't sense a lightsaber, you know." She thought for a minute.
"Okay. Your lightsaber is hidden, yet it is in plain sight." I thought on the hint, and began to walk around the garden. "Figured it out yet?"
I shook my head. "No."
"Okay, here's another hint. It's on something beautiful that can cause death."
"...Is it a fountain?"
"Which fountain?"
"That's...going to be a problem."
"Is it? Think about it, Cardek. You know what fountain it's on."
"I do?" I looked up in thought, and closed my eyes. She whispered in my ear.
"Think about it, Cardek. Think back. Back to our first days at the temple. Back when we were kids. What happened when we decided to come here?"
"We..." I looked through my memory. "We...went to a fountain...a certain fountain..."
"Why did we go to that fountain?"
"Because...it stood out to us...it amazed us...drew us in."
"What was it that caught... MY attention?" I tried to dig through my memory more, hoping to find what I was looking for. "What did I say I loved about it?"
"You loved...it's design...the way it spewed out water, the rainbow effect it gave in the sunlight."
"It's my favorite color. What is it? And don't say red." I smiled.
"...Orange?"
"You've answered my questions correctly, but can you find the fountain?"
"Unless it somehow moved, which I doubt, I know where it is." I walked around the garden, maneuvering around the bushes, trees, and multiple fountains, before stopping at an orange fountain. "Got ya." She giggled.
"Great job, Cardek. You found the fountain, but your lightsaber's not on it." I stared at her.
"Say what?" She giggled again.
"It's not there. I was testing you, seeing if you remember something from years ago. You really do know me as much as I think you do."
"Ah, that's just like you." I looked at fountain. "I now remember clearly. We snuck out of class and came down here because we wanted to see what the Room looked like."
"I sae it and liked it. It was colorful, special and made something beautiful."
"I know. Orange became my favorite color because of this fountain. I even had my Jedi robe's color orange because of it." I sat down on the fountain. "It's like it was made just for us." She sat next to me.
"I still come here sometimes. When my master and I had an argument or I wanted to be alone, I would come here. It relaxes me."
"It really seems to have that effect on you. I can't believe I actually forgot about this place. I should be ashamed of myself."
"Hey, don't beat yourself up about it. At least you were able to recall it."
"Yeah, I guess so. It's certainly feels very romantic."
"Yeah, well..." She looked down and sighed. She mumbled to herself.
"I can't do it." I heard her.
"Huh? What did you say?"
"I can't do this anymore." I frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"I can't lie to you anymore."
"Lie to me? About what?"
"About the baby and Bane."
"What's there to lie about? Bane raped you..."
"He didn't rape me."
"Huh?" I was confused. "He had to have raped you. How else..." She looked at me with tears in her eyes. "Ahsoka..." A dread suddenly filled me. "What are you trying to tell me?"
"Bane and I... were together." My eyes widened to fullest, completely and utterly shocked as I was left speechless, unable to comprehend this. "W-What..."
"Cardek, I'm sorry. I should've told you." I stood up and stared at her in disbelief.
"You can't be serious..."
"I am." She put her face in her hands. "I don't know what I was thinking." My head fell down, realizing this was the truth.
"How...How did this happen? How long?"
"A few months."
"How could you..." I clenched my fists. "How could you even be with that...that monster!"
"I saw a side of him that... that I actually thought would last." I walked away and leaned against a tree, my back to her.
"I can't believe this...you actually gave yourself to him..." She walked over to me.
"I didn't think this was going to happen."
"You went behind our backs...to sleep with the enemy..."
"Cardek, it wasn't just about the sex for me. I wasn't with him just because I wanted to have sex." I fell to my knees, my sobs starting to become audible.
"How could you do this...to me?" She kneeled next to me.
"Cardek, I'm sorry." She put her arm around me. "I never wanted to hurt you." Tears spilled from me.
"Why did you lie to me? Keeping it secret, then telling me he raped you?"
"I didn't want you to know. I didn't know how you were going to react if I told you we were together and he didn't want the baby."
"He really didn't want it?"
"No. He said he didn't want anything to do with it, so I left. Yesterday, he came and tried to get rid of it himself."
"...When did it fall apart with you two?"
"We've been falling apart for a while. I guess it took an unwanted child to make me see that and leave."
":...And me? Did I have anything to do with this whole ordeal?" She put her hands in her lap and looked down at them.
"I thought about what you said, about the father not going to want the father. You were right. Your words made me see what Bane is and will always be: a cold-hearted, careless, monster. In a way, you saved me from making the worst decision of my life."
"Am I...Am I just a rebound for you, Ahsoka?" She looked at me.
"What?"
"Am I just someone you're with because I was around when you were hurt and not because you love me? I just...I just don't know anymore."
"Cardek, I do love you. I wouldn't lie about that. The night we made love, I told you I've always had feelings for you. I don't tell just anyone I love them."
"Did you ever tell Bane you loved him?"
"Y..." She stopped and thought for a minute. "No. Now that I think about it, I never did." I was silent for a few moments.
I just don't know what to think anymore." I turned my head towards her, my eyes red from crying. "Please, I need you to help me, Ahsoka. I need you to say something, anything to help me."
"I'll do anything for you, Cardek." I buried my head in her shoulder.
"I don't know what to do...I'm just so confused on what to do now." She stroked my hair.
"Cardek, I know this is hard for you. It pains me to know I hurt you this much. I'll do anything to take this pain from you."
"Why did you tell me all of this?"
"Because I didn't want our relationship to start with a lie. I promise that I'll tell you everything. I don't want something like this to happen again."
" I don't know what I should do anymore...but I have all this anger, resentment, and hate...and I can only release it on one person."
"If anything, you should release it on me." I looked up at her in shock.
"Why would I release it on you? That's not right at all! Bane should suffer such a release of hate from me!"
"Cardek, I'm the one that lied to you about this."
"I could never hurt you, Ahsoka...And how I would even release it on you in the first place?"
"Like I said, I lied to you." I sighed angrily.
"Even if I wanted to, how do I even release my anger on you? I could never lift a finger to strike you, no matter how angry I am." She sighed shakily.
"I don't know. I just..."
"Like I said, Ahsoka, Bane will feel my anger and hate. It may not be the Jedi way, but after what I've heard, I just don't give a damn anymore. He's must feel my pain, and I will not stop until he does so."
"Cardek, I love you and that's why I don't want you to do this. I don't want to risk losing you."
"You won't lose me, Ahsoka. I'll come back. I need to get these emotions out of me, I can't think straight because of them, and Bane is the only outlet I can think of." She sighed and looked in my eyes. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me. My eyes widened as I was not expecting. Suddenly, my emotions easily overpower me and I started to kiss back very hard and began to suck on her lips. She rubbed her tongue against my lips, begging for permission to enter. I parted my mouth, and allowed her tongue to enter while mine explored her mouth. Her tongue explored my mouth while her fingers ran through my hair. I began to suck on her tongue and my hands explore her body eagerly. She pulled me down so that I was laying on top of her. I pulled away. "There may be another way to release all my emotions...but I warn you...I won't be able to be gentle like last time..."
"I know. It's okay."
"I'll be rough, uncaring, and maybe even hurt you a bit...I don't want to do that, but if you're willing to go through with it for me, then I'll do it."
"I've been through worse."
"Are you really sure?"
"Yes, Cardek."
"Very well." I slammed my lips hard down onto hers.