A sense of foreboding hangs in the air, one that she's only felt right before someone dies. It's the same clawing sense of urgency, and all Ahsoka knows is that it terrifies her.
She hears a scream, and somehow, she knows who it is. An image swims in front of her eyes, a vague flash of Padme's face.
She wants to scream and reach for her – her mother – but the next thing she knows, her eyes are flying open, and she's in bed. A wave of desperate all-consuming fear crashes through her, her heart pounding. Dread coils in the pit of her stomach, and she abruptly feels like throwing up. This can't be happening. It can't be.
This... it's the same kind of vision that Anakin had. She knows it's a vision, because she can feel it. It can't be mistaken. The urgency and fear of it doesn't fade like it does for other dreams. Visions don't always mean what they seem to, but Anakin saw it, and now so did she.
This... yes, visions can be stopped – like the one she saw about how Padme was going to be killed by Aurra Sing – but in that vision, she didn't actually see Padme die. It was just an assassination attempt. This... she didn't see her die either, but she can't shake that sinking, horrifying feeling that that's what's going to happen.
Force, no. She won't let this happen, but she doesn't know what to do.
She can understand Anakin's panic last night so well now, but she doesn't know what to do about it. She doesn't want to tell him, almost. He has enough on his mind already. Both her parents do. She doesn't need to make it harder by telling them this. Maybe. She doesn't know what to say.
Ahsoka finally sits up, staring around the darkness of her bedroom. Everything was supposed to be fine. Anakin was probably going to leave the Order, and him, Ahsoka, Padme, and the child could all be a family together, and now it's as though everything is about to shatter into a million pieces.
She can't let this happen. She can't. But what can she do? She can trust in the Force, but at least with her nightmare about Aurra Sing, there was something she could actively do to stop it, and she has no doubt that if she hadn't, it would have happened. This is different, and she has absolutely no idea what to do.
***
Anakin notices immediately that something's very wrong with Ahsoka the next morning. She's trying to go for completely casual when she comes in to eat with him and Padme early that morning, but she's radiating an obvious fear that she didn't have the night before when he told her about his vision. And she's hardly eating.
Something happened, and Anakin can't shake the sinking feeling that – what if it has to do with his nightmares? No, no. "Ahsoka?" he asks, finally, "What's the matter?"
The question seems to catch Padme's attention instantly, and she frowns. Maybe she noticed something was wrong but hadn't been sure if she should bring it up.
"It's nothing," the Togruta mutters, very unconvincingly.
"We can both see that it's something," Padme counters.
Ahsoka sighs, reaching up, scrubbing a hand over her face before answering. "I... I had a vision."
Any remote attempt at trying to keep a calm façade promptly disappears. If Ahsoka saw it too, that means – "The same as...?" he dares to ask, knowing the answer even for as much he doesn't want to hear the confirmation.
She nods, looking away.
"Is this about me dying in childbirth again?" Padme asks.
"It wasn't clear, but... I think so," Ahsoka confirms.
Anakin closes his eyes, trying to breathe, struggling to find some semblance of calm. He doesn't want to accept this, that Padme could be about to die, and there'd be nothing he could do about it. Unless...
"The Dark Side is a path to abilities some consider to be... unnatural."
That... it's the only thing he can think of at this point, but it's not something he could learn on his own either.
"Look, I'll be fine," Padme promises.
"You don't know that," the Togruta bites out, voicing exactly Anakin's thoughts. Of course, Padme will say she's going to be fine. And how exactly would she know that?
"I can have a med-droid check me over, but people don't die from childbirth frequently anymore. It's nearly unheard of, especially in places as well-developed as Coruscant."
"It might not be natural. I don't know. I can't let you die," Anakin replies, shaking his head. He won't say anymore to her about it, though. Trying to convince her that there's a danger she might die would be the worst thing he could at this point.
He needs to figure this out on his own. And maybe talking to Ahsoka about it again wouldn't be a bad idea.
***
Anakin leaves for the Temple shortly after that, while Ahsoka paces the living room in a vain effort to get herself to calm down. Now that she's not alone in her room, the thought is the slightest bit more manageable, but also less believable. That doesn't make her any less scared, though.
She should be focusing on trying to help Padme prepare for the day at the Senate, but she can't even think about it right now.
And that's when someone knocks on the door. "Who is it?" Padme asks.
"I believe it is Master Kenobi," Threepio reports.
Obi-Wan? What's he doing here?
"Let him in," Padme replies.
Ahsoka draws in a deep breath, trying to get her emotions under control as Obi-Wan enters the apartment. He looks a bit stressed himself, she must admit. This is the first time, really, that she's seen him since she was thrown out of the Order. Yes, she's briefly seen him at the Senate a couple times afterwards, but she never talked to him. She hardly realized until now how much she misses him.
"Obi-Wan?" Ahsoka greets, uncertainly. Why is he here? This definitely isn't a 'to say hello' trip, she knows that much.
"Senator, Ahsoka," Obi-Wan nods in greeting, "Do you have a moment?"
"Of course," Padme replies. "How can I help you?"
"Has Anakin been to see you?" Obi-Wan asks, which Ahsoka is pretty sure is meant to be rhetorical. Why do adults have such terrible ice breakers?
"Several times," Padme says, "I was so happy to hear he was accepted to the Jedi Council."
"I know. He deserves it," Obi-Wan answers.
Ahsoka barely withholds the urge to snap at him. Then why aren't they treating him the way they do everyone else? It may not be Obi-Wan's fault though, even if she's had very little trust in him since Hardeen.
"But you're not just here to say hello. Something is wrong, isn't it?"
"It's... about Anakin," he admits, and Ahsoka does her best not to stiffen. It's no secret that he's been here a lot, but she can only hope it's he thinks it's because of her, not Padme.
"What about him?" Ahsoka asks.
"He's become moody and detached," Obi-Wan responds, "He's been put in a difficult position as the Chancellor's representative, but I think it's more than that. I was hoping he might have talked to you."
Ahsoka bites down on her lip. What is she supposed to say to that? It's not like she can tell him what's really wrong. "Did you try talking to him?" she deflects the question, finally.
"He hasn't said much to me since getting back," Obi-Wan replies, which doesn't exactly answer the question, though it implies the negative, "But he wasn't like this before."
Ahsoka exchanges a glance with Padme. She doesn't know what to say, and from the looks of it, Padme doesn't either. Although she's pretty sure they are making it pretty obvious to Obi-Wan that something is up, and they know about it.
"Whatever it is, I hope you can at least help him."
"I'll do my best," Ahsoka replies, "But you should ask him if he wants to talk to you."
"I will, but I'm leaving for Utapau to find General Grievous later today. I won't have time first." Obi-Wan stands. "I don't want to take any more of your time, Senator."
"It's not problem," Padme assures.
The Jedi Master looks as though he's considering something, and then stops. "Ahsoka, can I speak with you privately?"
"Sure," she shrugs, standing as well.
"I need to get to the Senate anyway," Padme declares, standing and excusing herself from the room to give them privacy.
"What?" Ahsoka demands, a little warily, crossing her arms.
"Anakin has been put on a special assignment from the Council. Did he mention it to you?"
Why is he asking? "He didn't say what it was, but he implied he has one," she answers, carefully. One that he clearly isn't happy about.
"The Council wants him to observe on the Chancellor's dealing and report his findings," Obi-Wan explains.
"Observe?!" she exclaims, "You mean spy! You want him to spy on the Chancellor?! That's treason!"
"This is war, Ahsoka, and something is out of place."
She shakes her head, turning away and crossing her arms. "The Chancellor has been a great friend mentor to him. No wonder he was so upset."
"Can you talk to him about it?" Obi-Wan requests.
"And say what?" she asks bitterly, "Defend the Council's actions? I hardly think I'm the right person for that."
"Ahsoka," he says, and he sounds tired now, "The Council isn't always right, and that's why I'm asking for your help."
"I'll talk to him about it," Ahsoka promises. For a moment she wonders if there'd be anything he could do if they mentioned the visions, but no. He probably would react much the way Yoda did – not to mention that he'd go straight to the Council about Anakin's marriage. Anakin can leave the Order on his own; there's no reason he needs to be thrown out like how she was. She wouldn't wish that – the enormity, the emotions, the disgrace of that on anyone.
"Thank you," Obi-Wan nods, "That would be much appreciated."
***
What Ahsoka really wants to do right now is talk to Anakin, but she doesn't think she'll even get the chance until much later. He's busy with Council work – namely their order for him to commit treason and spy on Palpatine. No wonder he's been shadowing the Chancellor so much. It's as disturbing as it is infuriating, though, that they would demand something like this from him. Before, she might have trusted the Council, but she can't anymore. Not after what they did to her, how they turned their backs on her without a second thought the moment it pleased the Senate.
They would do the same to Anakin in a heartbeat, probably even more eagerly, since they don't seem to consider him one of them in the first place. So no, she does not trust their reasoning behind why they had to pick him for this mission. (If something goes wrong, are they planning to just let him take the fall for it? Somehow, she can't shake the feeling that that's exactly what they have in mind, even if it's just... unconsciously. They would anyway, even if that isn't their plan right now.)
She would very much like to talk to Anakin and flatly inform him that there's no way he needs to put himself in so much danger for them, but.... That will have to wait until when he's not at the Senate building. She just needs to talk to someone though, so she finally gives in and heads for the office of the one person she's been... ignoring a little too much as of late. It wasn't intentional, but there was so much going on with both of them that she hasn't taken the time.
"Ahsoka?" Lux asks in surprise as she enters the room.
"Are you busy, or do you have time?" she queries.
"Yes, I do," he assures, rounding the table and pulling her into a hug, "It's been awhile since we talked." Only two days, but she agrees with him.
"There's been a lot going on," Ahsoka replies.
"You mean with your master getting back?" he asks, "Because you seem... less cheerful than I would've expected."
Again, she wishes that she could tell him about Padme and Anakin, but that will have to wait until... a few weeks from now, probably. Then she can explain everything. Another rush of fear crashes through her at the thought. They're running out of time to stop Padme's possible death.
"The Council is being..." She wants to say 'idiots', but the life-long respect she's always had for them, except for the past year or so, stops her. "...unreasonable and... frustrating."
"I haven't heard that in a while," Lux replies, frowning, "What happened?"
"They're just..." She sighs. "I can't really tell you everything."
"That's okay," he assures, "I don't suppose there's much I can do either way, but if you want to rant about it, I'll always be willing to listen."
"I know. Thanks," she replies, moving a little closer, kissing him.
They pull apart after a few moments, and Ahsoka finds herself feeling the tiniest bit better after talking to him, even if it still changes nothing. She wishes she could tell him what's bothering her the most – about Padme. "How are things with your work?" she asks, finally.
Lux's expression promptly grows grim. "There's... a lot going on, as I'm sure you know from Padme too. I don't like the way the Republic is going."
Ahsoka frowns. "What do you mean?" She doesn't know why she suddenly feels a prickle of... something. It feels like he's right, and it's not just a feeling, it's a fact she senses in the Force, and that leaves her feeling extremely uneasy.
"It's just... I know it's war time, but the Senate has too little power now. It's not the kind of democracy I expected to join, but we'll see how things are when the war ends. There's so much corruption to deal with."
Ahsoka doesn't know why she gets the feeling there's something he wants to tell her but won't, for some reason. "Yeah," she murmurs. She doesn't know why the words send a prickle of uneasiness through her; she doesn't know if the feeling has anything to do with what he said, either.
They run out of time after that, though, because Lux is called away to another meeting, and so Ahsoka goes in search of Anakin, to see if she'll be able to find a chance to talk to him.
***
This time, Lux finds himself in the living room of Padme's apartment as the Senators from yesterday meet again to discuss their next course of action. He can't get his mind off his conversation with Ahsoka, though. She seems very upset by something, and he wishes she would tell him what. But he knows she would if she felt she was able to, so he won't push it.
"We cannot tell this turn into another war," Padme declares, firmly.
"Absolutely, that is the last thing we want," Bail agrees.
"Of course not," Lux concurs, though there's a part of him that wonders at the likelihood of things getting out of hand. The galaxy is just finishing up the first war in so long, and he knows it will be decades before it recovers, so he can hope not, but... He also knows that if things come to it, Saw and Steela will be willing to keep fighting.
"We are hoping to form an alliance in the Senate to stop the Chancellor from further subverting the constitution, that's all," declares Mothma.
"I know a Jedi I feel it would be wise to consult," Padme comments. Who is she talking about, anyway? Anakin, perhaps? Because Lux knows she's obviously not talking about Ahsoka.
"That would be dangerous," someone else objects.
"We don't know where the Jedi stand in all this," Mothma reminds.
"They've always been loyal to the Republic, above all," Lux offers. Or at least, from what he's seen. Suddenly he remembers what Ahsoka was telling him before, and he doesn't know if it has anything remotely to do with this or not. It very well might not, and even if it did, that doesn't mean he needs to be concerned about the Jedi's loyalties. Probably.
"Still, these are uncertain times," she insists.
"I only wish to discuss this with one whom I trust," Padme states.
None of the others seem to like the idea much, though.
"Let us see what we can accomplish in the Senate, before we include the Jedi," Bail decides, so it's left at that.
***
The image swims in front of Anakin's eyes again, of Padme dying. It fills him with the same rush of fear that he's been feeling constantly since his first vision, only serving to intensify his fears. What he doesn't understand, though, is why for the briefest moment he sees Obi-Wan standing near her before the vision fades out again, and he finds himself back sitting on the couch at her apartment.
Or maybe the reason he saw that this time is because... for some reason he can sense his former master's presence here? "Obi-Wan's been here, hasn't he?" Anakin asks, looking up. Why would he? It's not like he would drop by for a casual visit; there's obviously a reason for it.
"He came by this morning," Padme informs him.
"What did he want?"
"He's worried about you," Padme replies, "He says you're under a lot of stress."
"He asked us if we knew what was wrong," Ahsoka says, looking away, "I didn't tell him anything, of course, but..."
Padme frowns, looking between them. "You both seem extra stressed recently," she observes.
"We haven't exactly forgotten those visions," Ahsoka reminds.
"That's what's bothering you?" she asks.
Anakin suppresses his rising frustration. Why isn't she taking this seriously? "Padme, you could –" He cuts off, unable to finish.
"I'll be fine," she repeats, "We talked about this."
Ahsoka lets out a frustrated breath. "You keep saying that, but how do you know that?"
To be fair, Anakin is pretty sure constantly repeating that to Padme won't help the situation either. He's found a way out, and... he doesn't know if he should talk to Ahsoka about it. He's not sure if she would approve, and if she did, it might be worse, because he doesn't want her to do the same. She shouldn't have to sell her soul for Padme. He is Padme's husband; he's the one who's supposed to do it. Not their child.
Padme sighs. "I know you're worried about this, but it's such a rare occurrence."
She leaves after a while, and Ahsoka moves closer to Anakin. "Obi-Wan mentioned something else too," she says quietly, throwing a brief glance around the room as though to make sure no one is close enough to hear.
Anakin frowns. "What?"
"The mission the Council put you up to."
Anakin freezes. What? Why did Obi-Wan tell her about that?! Anyone who knows about it could be accused of treason too! Isn't it bad enough that Anakin is putting himself in danger? Why does Ahsoka have to be dragged into it?!
"I suppose I can see why you didn't want to tell me about it," she continues.
"It is – anyone who knows about it could be accused of treason for not reporting it!" Anakin exclaims. As if Ahsoka hasn't already gone through more than enough in that regard. He never, ever wanted to get her dragged into this with him.
"Don't worry. No one needs to know that I know anything about it," Ahsoka assures. These things tend to come to light, especially when they're supposed to stay a secret, but Anakin can only hope that she's right about that. It's enough that he could get accused of treason if he makes a wrong move. Palpatine already knows what the Council told him – he figured it out on his own – and even if he didn't seem upset with Anakin for it, others could find out.
"I don't understand why the Council would want you to do something like this in the first place," Ahsoka goes on, "But whatever you do, just be careful. Don't do anything risky because of this."
"I – I won't," he reassures her. He's already Palpatine's personal representative, which means he has to spend a lot of time around him. He hates how it feels like he's betraying one of the only people who's always stood by him, no matter what. And betraying the Republic. But what else can he do?
"Obi-Wan didn't seem happy about the mission," she comments.
What? "He's the one gave it to me."
She scowls. "Well, he implied he didn't think the Council was right, but you know if the Council asks him to do something, he will."
Yes, of course, he knows that. He's always know it, really, but especially since Hardeen. From the dark look on Ahsoka's face, he can tell she's thinking about the same thing.
It hurts, because in the end, no matter what, Anakin knows Obi-Wan will always stand by the Council over him, no matter what. It's his job, of course; it's what he's supposed to do, and what Anakin ought to do too, but he can't. He's never been able to. "I know," he says quietly.
"Just be careful, Skyguy," Ahsoka murmurs, leaning over and wrapping her arms around him, "The war is almost over, and maybe then you could just... leave the Order. Then you wouldn't have to deal with the Council's mission or any of this anymore."
Maybe. It's what he wants to do. He has to, for his children. Another wave of nearly agonizing fear washes through him as he thinks about his child again. If something happens to the child or Padme – No, no. He won't let that happen. He won't. No matter what.
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