On a normal day, Anakin would have been asleep by midnight.
But that night was not normal.
He remembered it, almost too clearly. He had just woken up from a terrible dreram- a dream in which he killed all of the Jedi, even the children. He had fought Obi-Wan, the closest thing he had to a father, and his old Master had cut off his one remaining arm, and his two legs. And left him there, the tears streaming down his cheeks. The only time Anakin ever saw Obi-Wan Kenobi cry.
And then there was pain. Terrible, terrible blinding pain. Like fire, burning at his skin, his bones.
Then, the suit. Listening to the sound of raspy breathing- then realizing, horrified, that it was him making that terrible noise. That now, he was no longer The Hero With No Fear, he was a Sith Lord who was more machine than man.
It was all worsened by the news that he had killed Padme.
He vaguely remembered having this dream before, but as as very young child, maybe three. Anakin remembered running into his mother's arms, terrified by the whole thing.
Of what he might become.
Anakin felt the same way now, but this time, there was no one for him to run to, and he knew he couldn't fall back asleep. So he just sat there.
Ahsoka found him there after the dream, sitting in his bed, the lights on, and with the covers pulled up to his chin like a small child.
"Master?" she asked, looking worried. "What happened? Are you okay?"
"I...had a nightmare," came the wide-eyed reply.
"Here," Ahsoka said, stepping out of the room and into the tiny kitchen. "I'm going to make you some caf, with lots of blue milk and sugar, and then you can tell me about it, okay?"
Anakin decided that now was not the time to tell his caring padawan that he hated blue milk. So he followed her into the kitchen and sat down.
"What was your dream about?" Ahsoka asked, sitting down next to her master, and handing him a steaming mug.
Anakin looked down. "I don't want to talk about it," he said. It was true, he didn't. That dream felt so... real, not hazy like any of his others.
"C'mon," Ahsoka insisted. "It'll make you feel better to talk about it. And," sher added, noticing Anakin's still full mug. "Drink some caf! It doesn't taste as good cold!"
Anakin eyed the mug suspiciously, but he told Ahsoka of his nightmare. "It just felt so, real, Snips," he finished. "As if I was actually there, doing those things,"
"It's okay, Master," Ahsoka said. "It was just a dream," But her voice held an edge, and Anakin was worried that his padawan also thought it was more than just a nightmare. She sounded...nervous, somehow.
Anakin sighed.
"Don't you like the caf?" Ahsoka asked.
"Ummm..." Anakin said, attempting to drink the glass in one gulp, so that he wouldn't have to taste it. "Do I have to answer that?"
Ahsoka rolled her eyes, and Anakin got the feeling she was right, that maybe it was just a nightmare.
A/N: Please review!