It's not the tree that forsakes the flower
But the flower that forsakes the tree

Ventress waited for someone to start asking questions, trying to keep herself calm. She couldn't help but feel nervous, what with all these influential people around her. One word could end her life; another could spare it. Ventress hung the oxygen mask over the side of the tank and switched it off, gently pushing herself over to the platform that encircled half of the tank. She took hold of the edge of the platform and used the Force to push herself up, out of the bacta, and onto the platform. She was disappointed in herself; she had reached for the dark side. Well, that was one strike against her. Ventress sat on the edge of the low platform, letting her lower legs hang in the bacta still. She had only been in for thirty minutes; she knew she would need to be in for at least another couple of days before she could even think about walking again. But, for now, she was okay.

"Master Kenobi tells us you were able to contact him through a bond you established with him," Mace started, dark-complected face not betraying anything. "Can you tell us more about this?"

"Well..." Ventress started slowly. "I know this sounds bad, but that's the truth. When you were holding me at the Temple...he was really the only one who communicated with me. He was making the extra effort to try to make me comfortable, and I didn't take that for granted. We got to be friends." Ventress smiled softly, looking down at the bruises speckling her legs, still half-immersed in bacta. "At first, I thought I wanted nothing more than to go back to the Sith. Because I thought they accepted me for who I was." Ventress looked up again, shaking some droplets of bacta out of her face. "But then I realized...I was changing myself to fit their whims. They did nothing but use me, step on me, and in general just treat me like dirt. And I let them do it because I thought, 'well, at least they aren't trying to change me.' But then Dooku implanted those chips on Boz Pity...and that was it. I started seeing the Sith, hell, the entire dark side, in a new light: no pun intended. And I have Obi-Wan to thank for that. He never gave up on me, no matter what I threw at him. It just took me some time to realize it was because he genuinely cared. I just couldn't see it until I got shot." Ventress offered the Jedi a small smile, hoping that her slightly overdramatic, sappy tale might be enough to distract them from her bond.

"But answer our question, you did not," Yoda said, bug-eyes widening at Ventress as his ears pricked. "Betray you, your thoughts do, Asajj. Be careful where they wander."

"So, how about it, Ventress?" Mace asked. "How did this bond form that you were able to call Obi-Wan at will?"

"It wasn't quite at will," Ventress said, starting to get defensive. Obi-Wan reached out to her through their bond, and he felt her recoil at his gentle touch. Her shields slammed up; then, she realized it was him, and let him into her consciousness. His mere presence calmed her significantly, and Ventress took a deep breath. She let Obi-Wan's essence quiet her raging emotions, and then started again. "I was under the impression that I was nearing the end of my life, and, in desperation, reached out to the only person I thought would come for me. It was just luck that it got to him."

"From what you've told us, your bond is very strong," Mace said vaguely. He turned to Obi-Wan. "Were you aware of the strength of this bond?"

"I'm in the same situation as Ventress," Obi-Wan replied, not missing a beat. "I knew it was there, but I didn't know it was so strong. It's almost like having another Padawan."

"Except much older, Asajj is, and dangerous as well," Yoda said, shaking his head. "Sever this bond, you must, Obi-Wan."

"Don't!" Ventress immediately regretted speaking, but she knew she couldn't take it back. She had to explain herself now. "I-he's what's holding me to the light side," she said. "If you take that away, I don't know what will happen. He's been keeping me calm this entire time, helping me through this-if you have to cut us apart, at least wait until I'm back on my feet, able to pursue the light side of my own free will, and easily. I need help to access it."

"Have you ever even accessed it once since Narec was your instructor?" Mace asked.

"She has," Obi-Wan said, surprised at himself now. He and Ventress shared a glance; now they were sharing thoughts! "We were meditating together, and she got it," Obi-Wan said quickly. He felt Ventress relax, and heard, Nice save.

Thanks, he replied. Now be careful-they're on their guard, and looking for the slightest bit of activity between us. Keep it business.

Ventress gave no response, and Obi-Wan felt a smile twitch at the corners of his lips. Still, he shoved it down, resolving firmly to take his own advice.

Mace and Yoda shared a glance, and then looked back to Ventress. "What exactly transpired between you and the Sith?" Mace asked. He knew it was a touchy question, but he had to know. If memories had been altered, or if Ventress's mind was damaged, they might have to take action before they even got her to the Temple.

"Obi-Wan cleansed my mind," Ventress said quickly. "He did when he first found me. Dooku and Sidious had screwed with my memories of him and the rest of the Jedi, and so, Obi-Wan corrected everything to make sure I wouldn't be afraid of him."

Mace glanced at Obi-Wan, who nodded slowly. "I might need to go through again," he said. "I just cleansed what was near the surface."

"That was it," Ventress said. "I remember what he changed, and you fixed it."

"Still, we'd like to make sure," Mace said firmly, indicating to Ventress that she didn't have much of an option. Ventress slowly lowered her gaze, biting her lower lip between her teeth.

"Only if it's Obi-Wan."

Mace turned to Obi-Wan. "Well, Master Kenobi?" he asked. "Will you?"

Obi-Wan took a swift, fleeting look at Ventress, and then returned his eyes to Mace. "Sure," he said softly, and then approached Ventress. The Rattataki seemed perfectly at ease with him; she sat quietly on the edge of the platform while Obi-Wan climbed up the stairs on the side. He sat down next to her so he was facing her; Ventress turned slightly to face him in return. He extended both of his hands to her; she rested her hands in his, palms down. Ventress immediately felt Obi-Wan push calming energies into her body, and welcomed the soothing pulses sent throughout her entire body. She felt Obi-Wan gently probe the borders of her mental shields, and did her best to slowly lower them. One by one, powerful walls fell, until Ventress's mind was completely open. Obi-Wan slipped in as unobtrusively as he could, very carefully shuffling through Ventress's memories. He tried not to disturb anything too badly; Ventress didn't need any new phobias or fears. He gently picked up a memory, briefly scanned it for darkness, and then set it down again, doing so as quickly as possible. Ventress willingly offered him any memory she could dredge up, helping him sort through her mind herself. Obi-Wan was shocked at the level of trust she displayed in him: she had yet to even flinch, or feel uncomfortable at the feel of another in her mind. Obi-Wan could appreciate her efforts. He tried not to make the experience worse and take too long, so he quickly scanned through each memory for darkness or alteration and then handed it back to her. Ventress replaced the memory where it had been before while he looked at the one she had just handed him, and so the process went. Obi-Wan lost all contact with the outside world; he couldn't have heard it someone was playing the symphony orchestra in the very same room.

Ventress gently pushed him back a bit, telling him that she was done. They had gone through every thought in her mind in under two minutes, and there was not a shred of darkness to be found. Obi-Wan slowly withdrew, trying not to jar her too much as he did so. Sometimes, when a person withdrew from another too fast, the backlash from the sudden repeal would leave the person reeling. Obi-Wan slid back into his own body, a sharp inhale marking his return.

"Well?"

The Jedi Master opened his eyes, and delivered his report. "No darkness, anywhere," he said. "And we went through every memory, every thought, we could possibly find."

"We?" Yoda said incredulously. "Helped you, she did?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan said, releasing Ventress's hands. She slowly built up the walls around her mind again, fearing an attack from the Sith. Obi-Wan could understand her concern, and said nothing in regards to the action. "She showed me what she had found next, and replaced what I had already looked through. It went very quickly."

"Are you sure you were thorough enough?" Mace asked. "You never know what else might be hiding deep in her mind."

"Her mind was completely pure," Obi-Wan said, pushing himself to his feet. Ventress pushed herself back into the bacta, sighing with relief as she did so. She swam back to the other side of the tank, and then resurfaced on the other side. She hooked her arms over the exposed top lip of the container, and then simply hung there, waiting for further direction from the Jedi. Obi-Wan stepped down the stairs at the back of the platform, and rejoined the other Jedi Masters at the front of the tank. "She's fine, mentally. Not even trauma!"

Yoda and Mace exchanged glances again.

"Truly amazing, this is," Yoda said slowly. "Well, leave you to heal, we will." He turned, then, and exited the room, silently allowing the other Jedi to feel free to do whatever they felt was necessary. Mace turned and followed Yoda out; Obi-Wan decided to stay.

Not now-they've got surveillance in here.

I know. I'm sorry.

Don't be. It's not your fault.

Ventress smiled slightly at Obi-Wan, still hanging over the side of the bacta tank. "Stay for a minute," she whispered. "I've missed you. Haven't gotten a chance to talk to you..."

"I know," Obi-Wan said, grabbing one of the chairs in the corner and dragging it over. "But, I think I'm already up to date on everything that's happened...so, how are you feeling?"

"I feel like a shaak sat on me," Ventress mumbled. "Huge butts that they have. Anyway, I'm doin' pretty good, otherwise. And yourself?"

"Watch the animals you choose," Obi-Wan said, smiling slightly. He folded his arms across his chest, leaned back in the chair, and crossed his right leg over his left, letting his ankle rest on his thigh. "Master Shaak Ti might only hear part of what you said, and I don't think she would be happy with it. Don't get me wrong, she's fun, she understanding, and she's great, but she's a bit grumpy already. No, I'm doing okay. I just defeated a Sith lord in battle, arrested him, helped drive off another Sith lord, and turned the love of my life to the light side, from the dark side, and rescued her from certain death." Obi-Wan nodded once. "Yeah, I'd say it was a good day."

Ventress laughed slightly, trying to keep her ribs within the bacta. "Sounds like a good day for anybody," she said, "Especially a Jedi."

Obi-Wan smiled at her, and Ventress swore the storm clouds in those eyes parted to reveal a soft blue sky behind them. It was truly beautiful, she decided, when he smiled from his heart. "I'm happy," he said, shrugging slightly. "But Master Yoda might want a kill in there, in addition to the turning and the arrest and all that..."

Ventress laughed again, and, surprisingly, felt no pain. She blamed the bacta, although she did feel like she was floating on a cloud. Drugs, she decided. What did they hit her with when she wasn't looking?

"Ah, who am I kidding," she muttered. "It's love."

Obi-Wan's eyebrows rose. "Pardon?"

Ventress smiled coyly. "Hey...when I get out of here...wanna go for lunch?"

Obi-Wan's smile returned hers equally. "I'd like that," he said softly. "Haven't been to Dex's in forever..."

"Never been there..."

"Old friends owns it. Dexter Jettster."

Ventress nodded. "Well, I'll trust your choice."

"It's a date then."

"...it's a date."

A/N: Yay, the fluff you've all been dying for. :D Review please.