A.N: I honestly love love love Carter/Ahsoka interaction in this chapter... :)

Chapter 3

The Beginning of the End

Kento Marek jerked the steering yoke roughly to the right, sending his Delta-7 fighter into a sharp roll to evade enemy fire. He glanced at his scanners, following the small yellow blip on the screen that represented his Padawan.

"Carter, stay in formation," he ordered over the comm.

"But that frigate looks weak," Carter's voice replied, defiance surfacing in the tones.

"Our mission is not to destroy the frigate, keep that in mind. We just need to provide backup for Kenobi and Skywalker to get the Chancellor."

"Master Skywalker's on that dreadnought?"

Kento ran a hand through his hair annoyedly. "Were you not listening during the debrief?"

"Well... I..." Carter's tone was defensive as he obviously searched for an appropriate excuse, before it became defeated. "No," he admitted.

"He's going to be on the ship. I don't think he's quite made it there yet, last time I checked with his clone escort, he and Kenobi were having some trouble with buzz droids. Listen next time, please!"

"I will, Master. Is Ahsoka with them?"

"No, I don't think the Council felt it was the best idea for a Padawan to join in on such a critical mission. You're here because you're just part of the backup team."

"Oh, good."

"Good?" the Master thought to himself. "Doesn't Ahsoka prefer not to be judged by her rank?" Kento asked confusedly.

"That's right," Carter replied. "Why?"

"I was just wondering-" Kento paused to send a missile at a passing vulture droid, smirking to himself at the resulting explosion, "-why you'd think it's a good thing for her to be judged yet again like that."

"No, it's not that. It's just that she's safer planetside, you know?" Kento glanced out the transparisteel of his cockpit to watch Carter go into a spinning nosedive to avoid two missiles trailing after him, strategically causing them to crash into a nearby bomber.

"Don't let your feelings get in the way of duty, Carter. Mallie and I both understand that the Jedi come before personal interests."

"I'm not, Master, don't worry. But it's alright to worry about her safety, isn't it?"

"It's okay to care. Not to worry," Kento corrected sternly.

"But I-" Carter sighed. "Yes, Master."

The sound of static cut the conversation short. "General!" the voice belonging to all clones reached Kento's ears, and he had to look down at the projected image to realize which of his men it was. He should have guessed it would be Greer, for he was the one left in charge of the Master's flagship while he was gone.

"What is it, Greer?"

"Premium's been hit, Sir. Any more fire and we're as good as dead. Orders?"

Kento's decision was fast, precise, and strategic. Exactly what made him a good General. "Send the rest of the pilots to their ships, then pull back. The Premium can't help much in its current state other than take up space, and we can't afford to lose a ship that big."

"Sir? Where will the pilots go if the Premium's hangar isn't available?"

"We're right above Coruscant, Greer. We'll just find a place to land planetside."

Greer saluted smartly. "Yes, Sir!"

The communication faded away. Kento spun around and fired at a Separatist fighter that had been on his tail, smiling triumphantly as his shots hit home. Carter's voice brought his attention back to Grievous' frigate.

"Master, is that supposed to be happening?" He asked, slightly worried.

The ship was falling toward Coruscant. Fast. Kento frowned as the second half of the ship disconnected from the first, drifting off into space. "No," he aswered tersely. "So we'd better hope Anakin's at the helm of that thing."

Anakin smiled down at his Padawan. "So, which part do you think was the coolest? Me defeating Dooku or landing that hunk of junk at a moment's notice?"

Ahsoka rolled her eyes at her Master's gloating. "I like how you let Grievous get away," she teased back.

Anakin frowned. "Hey, I can't do everything perfectly. I blame Obi-Wan for that one."

"Of course you do," she laughed.

"Speaking of perfection, I need to see you in training room C this afternoon. Your blaster bolt deflection needs some work." He smiled and nodded toward her leg. She glanced down at the poorly bandaged injury and scoffed.

"I figured Rex had killed that guy."

"Yeah, you need to work on making sure of your surroundings instead of guessing at them as well. I'm afraid only experience like this can teach you that, though." Ahsoka rolled her eyes again, without amusement this time. "And don't give me that attitude." He began to walk away.

"Where are you going?"

"Council Chambers. They wanna speak to me about something. No idea what, though,"

As soon as he was out of earshot, Ahsoka keyed her comlink. "Okay, Flyboy. I'm clear."

"Turn around, then," he said.

She followed his orders, and there he was, bright green eyes smiling. They walked together for a while, making sure to hold back their desires and keep about two feet apart to lose suspicion, before Carter tugged her into a supply closet and closed the door behind them. Ahsoka closed her eyes as their lips met, remembering a time when such close quarters with Carter both unnerved and scared her.

"I heard you were in quite the battle," she said, referring to the battle over Coruscant.

Carter nodded. "Yeah. Didn't do too much, though."

"Doing something is still doing something, you know?" she said positively, attempting to reassure him.

"Yeah, I guess," he mumbled, eyes refusing to meet hers. Instead, they locked on the bandage on her thigh. "You're hurt."

"Don't worry about it. 'S not bad."

"Why didn't you tell me you got shot?" he said, calloused fingertips carefully brushing against the injury.

"It's not that big of a deal," she said with a shrug. "I'm not a baby, Carter. I can handle it."

"Well, you sure haven't taken very good care of it," he said disapprovingly. His gentle fingers began undoing her crude bandaging.

"Carter, it's fine. I don't need-" she began to object, but was cut off by a simple shhh.

He glanced up at her, green eyes compassionate. "Do you trust me?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Let me do this. At least so I can stop worrying about it."

She sighed and turned her leg to allow him better access. "Fine. But I don't see why you're working yourself into a fuss over it." Her flesh tingled as he carefully placed his hand on the inside of her thigh, using the Force to heal the wound as best as he could.

"I'm not 'working myself into a fuss,'" he argued as he worked, gently and neatly re-bandaging the wound. "I just love you too much to see you damaged in any way."

"Damaged? Like I'm a thing?"

"No, damaged as in hurt. I'd do anything to keep you from that."

"Carter, we've already decided that duty comes first."

"I know, I know. But I can't stand the thought of living without you. It was bad enough when we were just friends, now it's ten times worse."

Ahsoka closed her eyes in frustration, resting her cheek on his chest as he wrapped his strong arms around her. "I know what you mean, Carter. I love you, but I understand that if I'm called to leave you in a dangerous area, I do it. I just gotta trust that the Force will bring us together again."

Carter tilted her chin towards his. "I'd rather die first. I'll work on it, Ahsoka. But right now, I'd defy orders for you."

"That's not okay, Carter. That's why Jedi aren't allowed to love in the first place. We decided we'd prove them wrong."

"Easier said than done."

"I'd be mad at you," she mumbled.

"Huh?" he asked, confused.

"If I wasn't so crazily in love with you, I'd be mad." A silent tear slipped down her cheek. "I just hope you'll get this sorted before you do something you'll regret." She reached a hand behind his head, tangled it in his pitch black hair, and pulled him into a gentle kiss.

"I love you," he breathed as they pulled apart.

She closed her eyes again. "I know."

Her comlink buzzed, and she pulled it out, realizing it was Anakin. "Don't say a word," she warned Carter, before answering the call. "Hey, Master."

"Ahsoka, you're needed in the Council Chambers right now."

"For what?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

"They wanna knight you."

She didn't speak after those four words. She couldn't find words at all. Finally, she forced out an "Okay" and closed the link.

Carter instantly enveloped her in a crushing hug, raining kisses on her forehead. "I am so proud of you." He said with a grin.

She smiled. "They'd been telling me I needed more drive, but I guess I got it. I think it's because I've been fighting for you."

Three weeks later, Ahsoka stood proudly on the Resolute's bridge as it hurtled through Hyperspace toward Kashyyyk. "Ma'am?" a clone called softly from behind her. She turned, the smile on her face fading somewhat when she realized it wasn't Rex. The Captain was still on Coruscant with Anakin, and her requests to have him moved to her unit were denied by Republic command.

"What is it, Swift?" she asked her XO. He ran a hand through short buzzed hair and nodded back towards the communications room. "General Skywalker wishes to speak with you."

Ahsoka nodded her understanding. "Thank you. I'll go talk to him immediately." She began the long walk to the communications room, closing the door behind her once she reached her destination before looking up at the blue hologram form of Anakin Skywalker. He smiled at her, and she couldn't stop the burst of pride she felt at the fact that she was no longer his underling, but his equal.

"Hey, Snips," he said cheerily, his voice slightly distorted as his signal struggled to keep up with the Resolute's faster-than-light speed.

"Hi, Master. How are you?"

"I'm fine. Could be better, I guess, but we're at war. What do you expect? And you don't have to call me that anymore."

"Old habits die hard," she said with a grin. "So what's up? I'm pretty sure you didn't call me up just to chat."

"Well, the Chancellor has been putting a lot of trust in me, and he needs me here on Coruscant, so I won't be with the ground forces on Kashyyyk like command planned."

Ahsoka arched an eyebrow in a disbelieving look. "You have to be kidding me. The entire battle plan depended on your men taking that refinery!" She threw her hands in the air with exasperation. "What do you expect us to do now, Skyguy? Tell the wookiees, 'Sorry, the Chancellor had better things to do!'?"

Anakin folded his arms and gave her a stern look. "And that's why I call you Snips. Let me explain before you go off on a rant."

"Fine, I'm listening."

"Now, I'm not going to be able to be there with my men, but I told Republic Command that you had experience working with Kento and his men. They've reassigned the Premium and her troops to take the place of Torrent Company. Better?"

"Is Carter with him?" Ahsoka couldn't stop the question before it was too late.

Anakin rolled his eyes. "And how did I know that was going to be the first thing you said?"

She smiled embarrassedly. "Force intuition?"

"Oh, I figured it was young love I was sensing," he replied casually, giving her an amused look.

She'd always had the sneaking suspicion that he knew. But the fact that he'd just acknowledged it so openly both astonished and scared her. "Please don't tell anyone!" she pleaded, sapphire eyes gleaming with intensity.

"Ahsoka, relax," he chuckled, holding his hands up defensively. "My lips are sealed. You're like my little sister, I wouldn't rat you out."

Ahsoka smiled. "Thanks, Master."

"But that doesn't mean that this war isn't real. You and Carter both face very real threats every day. That being said, you might want to talk to him before the Premium ships out."

"Why then?" Ahsoka asked. "I mean, I probably would have done that anyways. But why rush me when I could talk to him after the operation is over? It won't take that long; we're just paving the way for Master Yoda's men to take over, aren't we?"

"That refinery is incredibly well-guarded, Snips. There's a pretty good chance that Carter might not be around to talk with after."