Ugh, this chapter took way longer than necessary. I'm still not 100% on it, but meh. I need to move on and finish this story because I'm antsy to get to the epilogue.

To say that Asajj was flabbergasted was like saying Darth Sidious had a slight anger management issue. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess. Every time she got close to putting them into some kind of order they would collapse and put her right back at square one.

Did Yoda really, truly think she would rejoin the Order? If so, what did he expect to get from her for it? What kind of agenda did he have to make such an offer? He had said that these were strange times, the same words she had said to Ahsoka Tano what seemed like a lifetime ago. Had they really gotten so bad that he would resort to trying to refill the Jedi's ranks with the likes of her? How did he know she wouldn't turn on them?

Because of Obi-Wan. True. He knew about their relationship, probably more than she was willing to contemplate. Perhaps he believed that their Force bond was enough to keep her in check should she return to her Darker inclinations. It was, along with the fierce love she felt for Obi-Wan, but how could Yoda be so certain? After all, it was the Jedi who firmly believed that once anyone fell to the Dark Side there was no going back. One of the many problems she had with the Order was its painfully simple view of the universe and its inhabitants. Just like the Force, people weren't divided into good and evil; there were those of all kinds in between. Good people sometimes did bad things, bad people did good things. All for different reasons. How could she be a part of an Order that refused to acknowledge such a basic truth?

Asajj sighed heavily, almost a growl, and dropped her head into her hands. She had been at this for hours now and was no closer to a solid decision than she'd been when she'd found her way back to her room. Obi-Wan had left her alone to give her some space to try to sort out her feelings on her own, but now she wished more than anything that he was there beside her. Being alone wasn't doing anything but making her second-guess herself and piss her off.

The knock on her door was the most welcome sound she'd heard all day. The moment he stepped inside she instantly felt better. When he took her hand and sat beside her she felt more calm. "How's it going?" he asked softly.

"It's not," she huffed.

"Perhaps it might be helpful to talk through it?"

Asajj sighed again and stretched out along the bed to lay her head in his lap. Obi-Wan smiled and didn't object. The touch of his fingers tracing the curve of her cheek and the tattoos on her skull was more soothing to her than a day at a luxury spa. "What's really frustrating is that I was so sure that I would hate the Jedi Order forever." She glanced up at his face and reached up to touch his chin. "Present company excluded."

Obi-Wan gently grasped her hand and leaned into her palm. "Well, there was a time when you thought the same about me, dearest."

"A lifetime ago, my love." She allowed herself a smile at the wave of love that washed over her then. "But it's one thing to have a change of heart about one person than about an entire group." She took her hand back and ran it over her face as her frustration returned.

"From you've told me," Obi-Wan ventured carefully, "Ky Narec had trained you well before his death."

"In combat, yes. Out of necessity. Rattatak wasn't an ideal environment for pursuing other studies. Every waking moment was spent fighting or running."

"And I know how you excel at both." He grinned down at her as he continued stroking her face.

"Funny."

Obi-Wan sobered quickly. "Would you like to continue your training, Asajj? You've had a long lull, true, but Master Yoda is offering you the chance to pick it back up again. Officially this time."

"Sounds like you're trying to sway me, Obi-Wan."

He offered an apologetic smile. "Not at all. I already told you I'll stand by you no matter what you decide. But I would be dishonest if I said I hope you don't take the chance to complete your training." In fact, he fervently hoped that she would accept it. But what he wanted was irrelevant. This was something she had to decide on her own.

Asajj knew that, too, all too well. Having a second opinion, or at least a sounding board for her thoughts, didn't hurt, though. They spent the next few hours going back and forth on every little thing she could think of. From the Order's views on the duality of the Force to its condemnation (in her words) of any emotion that inspired the least bit of passion, from the irony and difficulty of a former Dark-sider switching sides so drastically to the fact that not everyone would so readily believe anyone once in the thrall of the Dark Side could ever truly escape its pull, not a single topic was off-limits.

The faintest hint of light had just begun to color the sky when Asajj came to her final concern, one subconscious, last-ditch effort to convince Obi-Wan that she should walk away from Yoda's offer. She was exhausted, more mentally than physically, but she needed to cover every tiny detail before she would allow herself to sleep. "You know my age is going to come up," she whispered into her lover's neck from her new supine position beside him. "They'll try anything to keep me out if I accept."

Obi-Wan didn't hesitate. "The Council said the same thing about Anakin when Qui-Gon and I brought him here."

"Darling, I know you're trying to help," she groaned, "but stop comparing me to Skywalker. It's bad enough I already did that the other day. I don't need it now." Obi-Wan didn't reply, but he did tighten his arms around her and brush his lips across her forehead. "How many of your rules are they going to let Yoda break before they call him insane and put him in a cell of his own?"

Obi-Wan sighed. That was an issue he had been pondering himself. He'd always arrived at the same conclusion, however: "Master Yoda is too highly respected for that to happen. The Council may not always agree with him or even understand what goes on his head, but unless he does something drastic-"

"Like admit that he's known about us from the beginning and made no move to reprimand you or have me sent to the other side of the galaxy?"

He glanced down at her, a tiny self-deprecating grin on his lips. "Well, for example." He had tried not to think about that too much either. "What I mean is that once Yoda has his mind set on something, he'll allow others to have a dissenting opinion, but if he truly believes he's in the right nothing and no one will sway him. And he usually is right anyway."

Asajj shifted onto her elbow to look down at him. A frown of confusion turned the corners of her mouth down and formed a wrinkle on her brow. "So, if one day he declared the Jedi to be the real evil instead of the Sith, then everyone would eventually go along with it just because he said so?"

"Not at all. It's-" Obi-Wan struggled for the right words. It was difficult, to say the least, to try to explain Master Yoda to someone who had not spent a lifetime around him. "There's a certain...trust. Master Yoda does not always disclose his thoughts, or even his reasons for doing some things. But he never does anything without giving it ample thought. At least in my experience." He lifted a hand to her cheek and brushed the backs of his fingers over her skin. "For what it's worth, I think Master Yoda is right to offer you this opportunity."

A ghost of a smile softened her face as she turned her head into his now-upturned palm. "That still doesn't address the fact that I'm well past the indoctrination age."

"Believe me, beloved: your age will be the least of the Council's concerns should you accept." Asajj arched a single brow. "That...came out wrong."

"I know what you meant, my dear," she laughed. "I would think my body count is indeed more worrying than how many years I've got behind me." She sat up, crossing her legs, and leaned back against the wall. "I still don't know what to do, though."

Obi-Wan pushed himself up to kneel on the mattress in front of her. "You have time, Asajj. Sleep on it. There's no rush to make a decision." Although, he did wish more than anything that she would choose to accept. Ever since Yoda had extended the offer, he had imagined what it would be like to stand at her side in the field, to fight together in the open for peace and justice. He had to keep reminding himself that they were just daydreams. For now. "No matter what you decide to do, you will always have my support. And my love."

The smile she gave him at those words was both tired and thankful, drained and grateful. She would never admit it aloud, but that reassurance was something she hadn't known she'd needed but that she wouldn't trade for anything. She reached out and closed her slender fingers around his wrist, drawing his hand to her cheek. "When do you have to leave?" she asked quietly.

Obi-Wan was momentarily surprised by the change in subject. "In a few hours. Anakin and I are due in the Outer Rim. Again."

"Well, then..." A familiar spark lit in her pale eyes as she nuzzled his palm, just barely brushing her lips across the sensitive skin. She grinned at his sharp inhale; he knew what she was getting at. "I can think of a good way to kill a couple of hours, my dear."

Obi-Wan tried to think of anything but what that voice and those eyes promised. He really did. But Asajj had long ago found ways to slip under his guard and make him forget nearly every bit of his Jedi training. One was the way her hand drifted down his chest to his thigh, then upward. Another was how she gave the soft hollow behind his ear the barest suckle after pressing a kiss into the skin. One featherlight touch of her fingers to his jaw and he was done for.

Despite the relative urgency, they didn't rush except to divest themselves of the clothes that kept their skin from touching. Asajj directed his hands and his lips with deep sighs, gentle arches of her back, and the grip of her fingers. She tilted her head back when his mouth descended on her neck, letting out a throaty moan at the same time she lifted her knees to his hips. He paused for a beat as she caressed the lines she had carved into his back weeks ago. They were long healed, but the memory of the pain was still there. Not that he was complaining.

It seems we've left our marks on each other in more ways than one, he told her lightly across their bond.

Apparently so, my dear, she agreed with a chuckle and a gentle pass of her fingers through his hair. But mine seem to have taken a leave of absence. "Would you mind putting them back?" she finished aloud with a nip to his earlobe.

A shiver went down Obi-Wan's spine. Oh, she was good. "It would be my utmost pleasure, beloved," he managed to say.

True to his word, several dark spots dotted Asajj's skin when they were spent. They would become true bruises in the following hours after he'd gone. She looked forward to that. But right now she focused on simply enjoying the warmth of her lover half-lying on top of her. Her fingers traced the old scars she had put on his back, careful to avoid the new red streaks; those hadn't broken the skin, but they would be tender for a while. She smiled to herself at the thought.

"You should go," she whispered against his hair.

Obi-Wan didn't move. "Kicking me out already?"

"Don't want to give Skywalker a reason to come looking for you, my dear." He'd already seen them in a private moment once before; if he walked in on another one she was certain she'd kill him. And that wouldn't go over very well with her bondmate, nor with the Jedi she was now surrounded by.

"Mmm. Yes, I've no desire to give him another reason to hate me." Obi-Wan didn't rush in removing himself from her embrace. In fact, he drew it out as long as possible. Stars knew how long it would be before he had the chance to be enveloped in her arms again, to inhale her scent, to feel her heartbeat under his cheek. Another reason he was thankful for the strength of their bond; although they wouldn't be together physically, neither was ever truly without the other.

A few minutes later and Obi-Wan was dressed, much to Asajj's disappointment. She kept the feeling to herself, however. With a lingering kiss to her hand and forehead, her lover turned to the door. "Obi-Wan," she called softly. He looked back. "Thank you."

His brow furrowed. "For what?"

"Everything."

She didn't need to elaborate. Their bond rippled with every emotion she felt, including boundless gratitude and a calm contentment. Uncertainty was still there, but now greatly diminished. He sought to chase it away entirely when he went back for another kiss, this time to her lips. She was just as pliable and yielding as ever after their lovemaking, but no less passionate. Her teeth tugged at his lower lip when he pulled away. "I assure you," he whispered, "you don't need to thank me for anything, beloved."

Asajj traced a finger down the bridge of his nose. "Take it or leave it, it still needs saying, Kenobi." She gave him a smile borne of both physical and mental exhaustion. It was still a lovely sight. "Now get out there and send Dooku's droids back to him in pieces."

Obi-Wan left her with the promise that he intended to do just that and one last caress through their bond. As he walked through the halls, he wondered if she was truly any closer to making a choice about Yoda's offer. He didn't want to leave her to face such a difficult decision on her own, but he couldn't very well refuse a direct order from the Council or the Chancellor without raising a few suspicions. However it went, Asajj wasn't one to remain stuck in limbo for long. For better or worse, she would make up her mind soon enough. Of that he had no doubt.