When Ahsoka woke up, there were white lights everywhere. She was in a hospital bed, covered up to her chin in a scratchy white blanket. She sat up slowly, rubbing her head.
"Easy, Ahsoka, you're safe," Anakin said, noticing that she was awake.
"Hey, Master," she said, laying back down. "What happened?"
His face hardened. "How much do you remember?"
In her mind, she pictured the dark room.
Just a little fun before we leave.
She remembered feeling helpless as Nyx did whatever he pleased to her. She couldn't move, speak, or defend herself. Images flashed through her mind, and she felt her stomach turn into a knot. "The general gist of it."
An awkward silence passed between them. They were both uncomfortable talking about what had happened.
"I swear, Ahsoka, if I had known it was going to end up like this, I never would've let you go in there alone. I could've been there to stop her, or I could've done something to help faster. She's lucky someone else got to you before I did because it wouldn't have ended well."
"Wait, what? 'Her' who?" Clearly, they were talking about two different things.
"Barriss, of course. She was found dead in the room with you. Poison dagger. From what I can tell, she took you back there to kill you but heard me coming and killed herself rather than answer for her crimes."
Barriss had been there? That explained the female in the room with them. Barriss hadn't lead her to that room, and Barris hadn't laid a finger on her while she was there. At least, not that Ahsoka could remember. She needed more details before she could piece together the story for herself.
"What happened to Nyx? He was back there, too."
"No, Ahsoka, he wasn't." Anakin sat down on the end of her bed, a concerned expression on his face. "Are you sure you're okay?"
She felt like she was going to vomit remembering what Nyx had done. No, she wasn't okay. "I'm fine now. I remember what happened very differently than you do, though."
"That's probably because of the drug in your system. It put you out for a while. I'd be surprised if you remembered much of anything that happened, really."
It couldn't have been as strong as he thought because she certainly remembered some things she really wanted to forget. "What about Nyx?" she asked.
"If it weren't for him, Barriss probably would've killed you. He came out and found me after you were supposedly in the 'fresher for a while. We think Barriss found you there and pulled you into a room. I don't want to think about what would've happened if Nyx didn't say anything."
Ahsoka's gaze fell, realization dawning on her. Nyx totally played them. He took her to the back room to took advantage of her then went and got Anakin so he wouldn't look guilty. It was sickening.
The only thing that didn't add up was Barriss. She had said something about a deal to Nyx. Had she paid off Nyx to incapacitate Ahsoka so it would be easier to kill her?
She took a deep breath. Anakin had been deceived, and no one else was going to be able to clear it up for him. As much as she didn't want to talk about the previous night, he had to know.
"Master," she started, "do you remember when you asked me if I'd tell you if Nyx ever hurt me?"
"Yeah, of course," he said. "I thought you two were getting along fine."
"He lied to you at the bar, Master. I'm pretty sure he was the one who drugged me. He took me back to that room, and then he put me on the bed and..." she didn't want to say the rest out loud.
The color drained from Anakin's face. "Holy kriff, Ahsoka. I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna kriffing murder that son of a–"
"Master!"
He shuddered. "Sorry, Snips." Though Anakin was overly protective at times, she was thankful for it now. "How long has this been going on?"
"This was the first time he did anything extreme."
Anakin pulled out his communicator. "Caption Rex, this is General Skywalker. I need some guys down here right now."
"Yes, General. We're on our way."
Ahsoka sat up and pulled her legs to her chest. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to cause a problem."
He sat down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Snips, you don't have to be sorry. It's not your fault."
She really wished she would've paid more attention. If she would've noticed some of the red flags earlier, maybe this whole thing could've been avoided. "Thanks for finding me," she said softly.
"I'll always be there to find you," he reassured. "As long as I live, no one is going to hurt you like that again."
As per Anakin's explicit instructions, the clones stationed outside her door were to make sure Ahsoka didn't leave her room until morning. The doctors were still running some tests to make sure that the toxin was out of her body, and she wasn't sure she was ready to go back to the Amidala-Skywalker apartment yet. Anakin had left a few hours ago to investigate the letter left behind with Barriss.
Ahsoka picked up the letter from her bedside table and read it again.
Ahsoka Zora Tano,
I have to say, you did a better job tracking me down than I thought you would. This is where I leave you for now. I know you want answers, and because I am reasonable, I arranged for an associate of mine to provide them. There is an abandoned warehouse in the industrial sector of Coruscant. Meet my associate there tonight. Come alone.
It was a pleasure working with you.
Sidious's Hand
She put the letter down and sighed heavily. Hopefully, Anakin would figure out the details needed to be able to close the case. Now that the threat had passed, Ahsoka felt an overwhelming sense of relief. She was still shaken from her encounter in the back room, but the stress of the investigation had passed.
The door to her room opened.
She groaned and laid back down, staring at the ceiling. "I'm fine, Rex. Seriously, I don't know why General Skywalker–"
"It's not Rex this time."
She whipped her head toward the door and saw Lux Bonteri standing by her bed.
Her face lit up. "Lux!"
He sat down beside her. "Hey, 'Soka. General Skywalker told me what happened, and I had to come make sure you were okay."
"Thanks," she said. She hadn't had a chance to speak to him since he got the call about Jaryn, so she should probably start there. "I'm so sorry about Jaryn, Lux. If there's anything you need, let me know how I can help."
He nodded. "I will."
"How are you holding up?"
"Honestly, I've been better. I don't remember the last time I ate anything, and I can't sleep. I'll work through it, though. Don't worry about me; I've faced worse. You should be worried about you right now. Are you doing okay?"
At least he wasn't mad at her for Jaryn's death or for running out at the funeral. "I'm better now that you're here."
He smiled. Their hands met, and he squeezed gently. "Can I do anything to help?"
She scooted over on the cot. "Will you stay with me tonight? I don't want to be alone right now."
"Of course." He laid down next to Ahsoka and wrapped his arm protectively around her. She pulled the blanket over them and rested her head on his chest.
They were silent for a while, enjoying each other's company. Lux's presence was soothing to her, and she felt safe in his arms. She had never felt like this when she was with Nyx. Why did she let it get to that point with him? Whenever she saw him next, assuming Anakin hadn't killed him for hurting her, she would end things. He had made her doubt her worth and had shattered her confidence, and she was done. She just hoped Lux would take her back.
As if he were reading her thoughts, Lux cleared his throat. "I love you, Ahsoka. I'm sure you don't even want to think about us right now, given everything that happened. There are so many other things to worry about, and I completely understand. Whatever you decide, just know that I'm here for you if you need anything—and I mean anything—at all."
She pulled him closer and looked up at him. Their eyes met, and Ahsoka knew exactly what she wanted so say. "I'm so sorry for everything that I've done to mess things up between us. I was angry, and I made the biggest mistake of my life when I ended things with you. We were so happy together, Lux. I just want to go back to that. I love you too, Lux, and I really want to give this another try."
He smiled. "You still love me?"
"'Course I do. It just took me a little while to find my way back to you."
He planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I'm glad you did."
And for the first time in a while, both Ahsoka and Lux slept well.