Exhaustion had surprisingly swept her into a deeper slumber than she had anticipated. When Ahsoka opened her eyes, the sun was already making its way through the rather dirty windows of the apartment. For a moment she remained still under the warm blanket, not yet ready to face the day yet. But then the worries of the previous days returned and she did not have it in her to remain inactive any longer. Reluctantly, she sat up and rubbed her eyes, even if that did little to shake off the still lingering weariness. Her gaze swept across the table in front of her, where it briefly locked onto the commlink Dex had given her yesterday.

Still nothing. No message left. No missed call. Ahsoka pursed her lips and slumped her shoulders in defeat. An uneasy feeling returned to her, and once again she wished that none of this had ever happened.

There was also a small note on the table; written in a rather illegible handwriting.

I've left you some food in the kitchen, in case you want breakfast. I'm downstairs in the diner. - Dex

Indeed, at that moment her stomach announced itself with an undignified growl. A little sluggishly, Ahsoka flipped the blanket back from her lap and stood up. As she now had to realize, she hadn't even noticed how Dex obviously must have walked past her several times and even prepared breakfast.

"Force, I must have been really exhausted," she muttered to herself as she shuffled toward the kitchen. On the counter was a plate of pancakes. As the smell of the sweet pastry hit her nose, she almost felt like she was back home in the temple.

You could almost call it a tradition. Whenever they had successfully completed a joint mission and actually spent the next few days in the temple, they had fresh pancakes on one of the mornings. Mostly this task fell to Master Kenobi. He was a decent cook, even if he did not have much fun with it. But the times had been all the nicer, where he had done it nevertheless for them. Anakin had also tried it several times, but had already failed at the task not to set the food on fire. And she herself? She somehow managed it, but her pancakes were just not as good as Master Kenobi's, even if neither man had openly admitted it.

But like everything nice, this memory faded, leaving a bitter aftertaste. In the time after the Hardeen mission, there had been hardly any words between them.

She and Anakin had been shipped out again shortly after, and it had been an easy excuse for not talking about the elephant in the room. After their return, a few weeks later, it had been no better. In the meantime, Master Kenobi had also been pulled back to the front, and when they returned to their apartment, they were greeted by an almost oppressive silence.

"Looks like we have the apartment to ourselves," her master said with satisfaction as he strode confidently into the living room and dropped his bag next to the couch.

Ahsoka stopped in the doorway, her fingers tightening around her own backpack and her eyes fixed on her Grandmaster's closed room door. "Don't you wonder where they sent him?" she asked quietly.

Anakin followed her gaze briefly, screwed up his face, then shrugged. "I don't see why we should care," he murmured, visibly irritated, before disappearing toward the kitchen. Ahsoka heard him opening the fridge and obviously picking out a few things. "Hey, Snips," he called after a moment, "How about we make some pancakes?"

It didn't feel right. "No, I'm not hungry," she pressed out, wanting to disappear into her own room, but Anakin stopped her, now apparently a little worried. "Are you okay?" he asked, one arm on her shoulder," … I know our last campaign wasn't easy…"

Ahsoka huffed and brushed his hand away, then took a step back. "Really? How can you be so ignorant?" she bit out before she could think about it further.

Her master's expression darkened. "Ahsoka, don't start that again..." he growled.

She ignored his passive threat. "Don't you see?" she breathed as tears gathered in her eyes, "This," she pointed around her with her arm, "This isn't going to work unless you two get along. I don't want to have to choose between the two of you."

Everything seemed to bounce off her master's stoic facade. "Then you should reconsider your priorities, my Padawan," he merely sneered before turning and disappearing into his own room.

Ahsoka gazed after him for a moment before retreating to her room, locking the door and dropping onto the bed. When the tears fell, she could no longer hold them back.

For the next two days she hardly left her room, avoided her master. She just wanted to be alone. It was late in the evening of the second day when she heard the door to the apartment open and then quietly close again. Master Obi-Wan was back.

Ahsoka sat up on her bed, but didn't dare leave her room. Somehow, she knew what was coming. A few moments later, she heard her master enter the living room as well. She sensed that he was angry.

"Hello, Anakin," his former master greeted him. He sounded exhausted.

Without responding, Anakin cut to the chase. "We need to talk," he stated coolly.

A sigh was heard. "Very well. Can we at least sit down for this? I'm not feeling very..."

"Don't worry, it won't take long," Anakin interrupted him harshly.

She heard Obi-Wan put his bag down somewhere on the floor. "What do you want to tell me?" he asked wearily, as if he had already given up fighting Anakin.

"It can't go on like this," her master said, and a cold shiver ran down Ahsoka's spine.

"Anakin, I don't know how many times I have to say I'm sorry..."

"I don't want your apology," a moment of silence followed, "...I want you to leave."

"...What?" The question came so quietly that Ahsoka barely heard it. Her heart began to race and she didn't know how to calm down. This couldn't be happening. She knew she should get in there, try to mediate. But she felt trapped. She put her hands over her mouth and stifled a whimper that crept up her throat.

"Anakin, you can't be serious..." her grandmaster tried.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" bit back Anakin, "It's obvious you and I aren't going to work as a team anymore, and I'm not going to let Ahsoka's training suffer any further. So either you go... or we are."

No, she didn't want it to end that way. Holding her breath, she hoped that Master Kenobi would talk back, any way he could. Instead, there was the shift in the Force, as his presence suddenly all but disappeared behind impermeable shields, taking the warmth away.

"If that is your wish, I will make arrangements," Obi-Wan replied resignedly, "I... I do not want to stand in your way."

Then she heard the heavy footsteps as Anakin, still seething, left the apartment, wherever, and silence returned. For a moment Obi-Wan seemed to remain rooted to the spot in the living room, until he too disappeared into his room with dragging steps and let the door fall into the lock.

She didn't know what to do and stared ahead, still unbelieving about what she had just witnessed. Part of her wanted to rush out and reconcile her two masters, whatever it took, but the larger part, and especially the stronger one, made her want to just curl up on her bed and forget everything.

That's exactly how she found herself a few hours later, on a damp pillow as time had not yet managed to dry her tears. Sniffling, she sat up and stretched her senses. Her master had not yet returned and she doubted he would be back before morning. But Master Kenobi seemed to be still there, even if his presence was very dim.

Uncertainly Ahsoka went to the door and stepped into the living area, which still looked the same as when she had returned. Only that it somehow no longer felt so lively.

She had a lump in her throat as she moved over to her grandmaster's room. Just as she was about to knock, she heard a feminine voice. Ahsoka paused.

"You don't look good," spoke the voice softly, which Ahsoka now recognized as Duchess Satine, "What happened?"

A broken laugh escaped the Jedi Master's throat. "Where do you want me to start?"

"Did something happen between you and Anakin again?"

A beat of silence. "He wants me to leave."

"What?" hissed the duchess, "He can't just kick you out. He doesn't have the right."

"I know," Obi-Wan countered, "But maybe... maybe he's right, and it would be better if I moved out... I'm just so tired of having to fight at home as well... I can't do it anymore." His voice broke a little at his last words.

"Oh, Obi."

Ahsoka could listen no further and stepped back from the door. She knew what it would come down to. Obi-Wan would leave. Yet, at this moment she didn't really want to believe it yet.

But all that had changed when a few days later she found the papers from the quartermaster confirming that the request for a new apartment had been approved.

With her hands a little shaky, Ashoka took the plate of pancakes as the memory passed over her and sat down at the kitchen table. The whole thing had not been long ago. Master Kenobi had actually packed up some of his meager possessions already when he had a little time to spare on Coruscant. Ahsoka's heart ached as she had watched him do it now and then, but hadn't brought herself to say anything.

And then everything had happened so quickly. Master Kenobi had received a private message after which he had called an emergency council meeting. Now she knew that it must have been the call for help of the Duchess of Mandalore. And since the council evidently did not want to provide official help, Obi-Wan had begged Anakin for the Twilight and had managed for at least a few seconds to break through her master's torrent of anger.

Absently, Ahsoka took the first bite. The pancakes were fantastic, just like she remembered. Even though she lost a bit of hunger, she ate the pancakes completely. Dex's effort should not have been in vain. Afterwards, she put the now empty plate into the sink. A glance at the chrono told her that it was noon in about an hour. For a brief moment, she considered going down to Dex's diner, but probably that was too dangerous. She was still a wanted woman.

Instead, she decided to check the HoloNews. Ahsoka turned on the device and the familiar voice of the reporter came through to her.

"...there appears to be new evidence in the case of the Jedi Temple bombing. We don't have much information yet, but it appears that Ahsoka Tano, who has been on the run ever since, may not be the perpetrator. Such a miscarriage of justice would be a scandal if confirmed. We will keep you posted on any developments."

Ahsoka stared at the screen without blinking. They had reopened her case after all. Whoever was responsible for this decision, she couldn't be more grateful to that person. If she was proven innocent, did that mean she could return to the temple? ...but did she want to?

Thousands of questions circled in her head and she was only pulled out of her thoughts when the reporter brought up another topic that made her sit up and take notice.

"...and there is more news from the Jedi Temple. After the confrontation between Generals Kenobi and Skywalker, Skywalker has apparently turned himself in and been taken to the Temple. A public trial is scheduled for the day after tomorrow with both generals, as well as the Chancellor himself, in attendance."

The brief joy she had felt that she might be declared innocent after all instantly gave way to an uneasy feeling. Not that she was worried about Anakin. No, no one could doubt that he was guilty. Ahsoka worried for her grandmaster. The Chancellor's presence at such a trial never boded well, especially when Anakin was involved, who was known to have a good relationship with the man.

With a wave of her hand, she turned off the device and hastily grabbed the commlink from the table. "I need to talk to Dex," she said to herself and left the apartment to climb down the stairs to the diner.

She found him, fortunately, right in the kitchen, by the stove.

"Dex," she addressed him when he didn't notice her at first because of the noise.

The Besalisk jerked his head around before quickly turning back to the stove to prevent the food from burning. "I see you found some sleep?"

Ahsoka smiled shallowly. "Yes, thank you. Also for the pancakes."

Dex glanced out through a small hatch in the wall into the main room. It was well filled, as usual. "No need to thank me, kid. But you should be careful, I've seen patrols on the street."

Ahsoka sat down on the stool she had been sitting on yesterday and fidgeted with her fingers. "Have you seen the news?"

Dex took a piece of meat from the grill to assemble into a burger, which he then slid through the hatch forward to Hermoine. Then he looked at her. "Yeah... And I'm worried, too."

"I have to get to the temple," the words literally fell out of her mouth, "I have to see Master Obi-Wan."

Surprised, Dex dropped the barbecue tongs in his hand onto the counter before quickly picking them back up. "Excuse me?" he asked in irritation, as if he hadn't heard her correctly.

"You heard me right," Ahsoka confirmed again, a little nervously, "I have a really bad feeling about this upcoming trial, Dex."

Dex continued working, but glanced at her intently. "I don't know how you imagine that, Ahsoka. It's not like you can just walk in through the front door."

Ahsoka bit her lips. "I was hoping maybe you could help me with that."

The Besalisk stopped what he was doing and looked at her in disbelief before something shifted on his face. "Why do I keep getting involved in such madness..." he muttered to himself, rubbing a hand over his face. Then he focused his eyes back on her. "Okay, kid. Let's say I'm going to help you. What's your plan?"

The padawan grinned broadly. "You got a speeder?"

A few hours later

"I'm still not sure I like this plan," Dex growled tensely, two hands clutching the steering wheel as he flew them toward the Jedi Temple under cover of darkness. Ahsoka gave him a quick glance before tacking him back to the path ahead. They had almost reached the temple.

"I can't let this sit on me," she muttered, "I have to see him, no matter what it takes. There's something dark lurking here."

The Besalisk huffed a laugh. "Do you Jedi always speak in riddles, or is that a peculiarity of your lineage?"

Ahsoka snorted and shrugged. "I think you'll have to answer that question for yourself."

Slowly they approached the temple and Dex turned off the speeder lights. Next to him, Ahsoka sat up, watching her surroundings closely.

"We need to get to the other side of the temple, I'll let you know when I see our apartment."

Dex grumbled quietly in confirmation and set the vehicle in motion. "So did I get that right? You're going to jump on the balcony and then break in?"

Ahsoka nodded in concentration. "In theory, yes. In practice... Let's see...There!"

She pointed to a balcony on the upper floors. The apartment beyond was dark.

"Are you sure he's there?" asked Dex as he flew closer, "You said yourself that he was about to move out... maybe... you know."

Of course, she couldn't be sure. But still, she had to try. "If he's not here, I'll just go look for him."

When they were finally in position, Ahsoka climbed out onto the hood of the speeder and set to jump, but Dex stopped her once more.

"Ahsoka," he called over the wind, and Ahsoka looked at him through the windshield, "Watch your back."

A shallow smile came across her face. "I will," she replied gratefully, "Thanks for everything, Dex."

Without looking back again, she jumped. Gracefully, she landed on the balcony and could now peer into the apartment. Everything looked the same as before. At least almost. A few datapads had been put aside on a table and a wrecked droid part lay on the floor. Someone had been here.

She stepped in front of the glass door and turned around once more. Dex had already disappeared. There was no turning back. Taking a deep breath, Ahsoka used the Force to manipulate the door lock and was satisfied when the door finally popped open. On quiet soles she crept into the apartment.

Before she could take a good look around, the door next to her suddenly opened. The apartment was still dark, only the light of passing speeder lit the room again and again for a few seconds. But it was enough to make her breath catch in her throat. Leaning in the doorway was Obi-Wan, though it took her a moment to process that it was really him. The flashing light from outside made his face light up briefly, or more precisely the blistering wound that stretched across his eyes.

Bloodshot, milky, but still blue, eyes were desperately searching for her, even though Ahsoka could already see that they would never be able to catch even the slightest glimpse of light again.

"Ahsoka, is that you?"


I know it's mean to end the chapter right here... but somehow I couldn't help it :D as always kudos and comments are very welcome, otherwise have fun with this chapter!