Anakin's pushing twenty-six hours without sleep when Ahsoka is moved into a recovery room. He doesn't rest even after she's finally knocked out with sedatives. He can't bear leaving her side.
What if the bounty hunter comes back to finish the job? Or another criminal gets word that Ahsoka's injured and tries to sneak an attack? He can't afford the risk. Besides, he needs to be with her when she wakes up.
He must be the one who tells her the operation to save her leg wasn't successful.
He knew the look on Master Che's face when it dawned that Ahsoka's leg was unsalvageable. Ultimately, as her legal guardian, Anakin had to give permission for Ahsoka's left knee and everything below it to be amputated, and he made that decision with her best interests in mind.
That doesn't mean he can't be upset about it. Kriffing bounty hunter.
The Council may claim it's an obvious sign of attachment, but Ahsoka will need his support when he tells her the bad news. He couldn't care less what they think though. Ahsoka wouldn't even be in this position if they hadn't called an emergency meeting.
Kriffing Council.
"Ani..." He turns towards the door at his wife's call. He didn't sense her enter, but he's been blocking himself from the Force since Ahsoka's pain eventually became too much for him to handle.
"Padmé." Anakin stands from the plastic chair, embracing her beside Ahsoka's sleeping form. He burrows his face into her neck, inhaling the scent of home.
"Thank you for coming." He whispers as they pull back to press their lips together in a short and bittersweet kiss.
"How is she? I came as soon as..." Padmé turns to look at Ahsoka, her breath hitching in her throat, "Oh, poor sweetheart..."
Ahsoka's flat on the bed, still strapped down to ensure her spine heals properly. His Padawan will be none too pleased about having to wear a brace for the next few months, but it's better than being paralysed.
There're bandages around her forehead, using bacta to heal the cut on the back of her head. She narrowly missed getting concussed, but it's still a concerning injury. All head injuries are bad- especially considering she's a Togruta.
The bandages wrapped around her shoulder are just visible under her gown. There's nerve damage there as well- of course, there kriffing is- so her arm is in a sling across her chest.
Her leg- what's left of it- is the part he hates to see the most.
Padmé puts a hand over her mouth when she sees Ahsoka's thigh ending in a stump against the white sheets. The bottom- where her knee used to be- is nothing more than a twisted knot of skin underneath thick bandages.
"Oh, Force, Ani..." He looks at his wife, sees tears brim in her eyes.
"All from a blaster bolt to the shoulder." Anakin says, his eyes turning to Ahsoka's somewhat peaceful expression beneath the bandages and a tube feeding oxygen into her nostrils. "I am going to kill the bounty hunter for doing this to her."
For doing this to his Snips.
Padmé's hand intertwines with his as they look down at the girl who's practically a daughter to them.
"I brought flowers." Padmé raises the bouquet of colourful flora, and Anakin feels himself smile for the first time since the wretched bounty hunter showed up, "Ahsoka's favourites, from Shilli."
"She'll love them." Anakin says as Padmé places the bouquet on the small bedside table.
"I can watch over her for an hour." She smiles gently, "No offense, Ani, but you stink."
After the operation, he didn't want to leave Ahsoka to make a trip to his quarters, so he changed right back into his blood-stained and dirt-ridden tunic. It's a stark contrast to Ahsoka's crisp, clean hospital gown which is far too big and looks like it's about to swallow her whole.
He grips the edge of his tunic and sniffs, nearly gagging at how awful he smells. Ahsoka will not like that smell when she wakes up. His fears about someone attacking her return to the front of his mind...
Trust your wife to watch over your student, Chosen One.
"I won't be long." He promises, kissing Padmé's hand and then releasing her. "Call me if-"
"I will." Padmé cuts him off before he leaves the room.
After showering, Anakin feels a million times better.
Ahsoka's alive.
Amputated leg or not, she's still here, and that's what matters most, even if he still wants to tear the bounty hunter's throat out.
Rako Hardeen; Anakin found out his name. Master Yoda gave him a direct order to arrest this notorious criminal within the next twelve hours, and Anakin will happily comply.
He's heading back to Ahsoka's recovery room- the sun just setting on Coruscant- with newfound optimism when something stops him.
During his time in the fresher, Anakin opened himself back up to the Force. With Ahsoka being on the heavy-duty painkillers, she isn't projecting pain through their Force bond anymore.
Upon opening the Force, Anakin has a very sudden realisation.
He hasn't seen Obi-Wan since they arrived at the Temple the night before. He had a duty to report the incident to the Council, but the report surely didn't take all night. Usually, if he or Ahsoka are hurt, Obi-Wan will stay nearby- if only to comfort the one who isn't on the hospital bed.
Now, with the Force, Anakin senses his Master's presence in the recovery room beside Ahsoka's.
He doesn't hesitate from opening the door, about to demand a reason why Obi-Wan is hiding away whilst Ahsoka is about to wake up to the news that she's lost her leg, when he sees his former Master laying on the hospital bed in a gown similar to Ahsoka's.
Dread settles in his gut, the same feeling he got when Ahsoka fell off the roof.
Obi-Wan is still, curled in the foetal position and seemingly asleep except Anakin hears the heart monitor pick up slightly and his Master's eyelids twitch.
Reassured Obi-Wan isn't on life-support or in a coma, Anakin takes a few steps forwards. It isn't the first time he's found the elder Jedi in the Halls of Healing without knowing any context, and he often does the same himself, so he isn't particularly offended, only confused.
"I know you're awake, old man." Anakin says once he reaches the side of Obi-Wan's gurney, "Want to tell me how you ended up in here?"
No reaction. Obi-Wan's Force-signature is swirling with apprehension and nervousness. What's he so worried about?
Anakin sighs and picks up the datapad clipped to the bed, hears his Master say, "That's patient confidentiality."
He scoffs in response, "Patient confidentiality, my shebs. I'm practically your next of kin." In his peripheral, he sees Obi-Wan peek his eyes open at him. "What is it? Stray blaster bolt wound? Busted ankle?"
Obi-Wan remains silent as Anakin locates the information he's looking for on the screen. It seems he was admitted to the Halls of Healing the night before, but why?
Anakin pauses, "What the kriff is an acute stress-induced cardiomyopathy?"
///
Obi-Wan wishes the Healers discharged Obi-Wan in the morning so he could recover alone in his quarters and not have to tell Anakin about how he ended up in the Halls of Healing.
He can't get out of the truth now.
Best not to prolong it, wise one.
"My heart wasn't very well, Anakin." He says slowly, as if he's speaking to a child, "It's nothing to worry about."
"This thing says the Healer was called to you thirty minutes after we got here with Ahsoka," Anakin looks up to him, a blank expression on his face. "Obi-Wan, did you have a heart attack?"
"No." Obi-Wan shakes his head frantically, "Not that, Anakin, not-"
"Really?" Anakin cuts him off, frustration seeping into his tone. "Because from what I'm reading here, it sounds like you did."
"The symptoms are similar to that of a heart attack." Obi-Wan tries to explain, but Anakin is in no mood to be challenged.
The datapad shatters as it hits the wall.
Obi-Wan winces, looking at the glass scattered across the floor and back at his brother, "Anakin, it wasn't a heart attack. I promise, I'm fine."
"No!" Anakin snaps. "I nearly lost Ahsoka last night, Master! What if I lost you too?!"
He is scared of losing you, wise one; why can you not see that?
Obi-Wan's expression softens. Anakin has always struggled with losing people close to him. Master Qui-Gon, his mother...
He lives in constant fear of his loved ones dying. "I'm alive, Anakin."
Anakin turns his head away, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Hearing the pain in Anakin's voice is painful, "I didn't want you to worry about Ahsoka and myself, Anakin."
Anakin drags both hands down his face, "We wouldn't be in this mess if the kriffing Council didn't call an emergency meeting."
"How's Ahsoka?" It's the only thing Obi-Wan can say to break the silence.
When he'd asked Master Che about his Grandpadawan, she told him to worry about himself, which didn't reassure him at all.
"She lost her leg, everything from the knee down." Anakin starts before their mutual Padawan's panic floods the Force. Anakin is out of the room before Obi-Wan can let the guilt sink in.
Ahsoka has been made an amputee, and it's entirely Obi-Wan's fault.
He should've never agreed to the Rako Hardeen mission.
"I'm so sorry, Ahsoka." He whispers to nobody.
///
She's falling. Free-falling.
This time, there's no Anakin or Obi-Wan and the distance to the ground seems infinite. Ahsoka tries to scream and curl into a ball, sending waves of pain through her aching body.
She's going to die.
"It's alright, Ahsoka, you're alright!" A soft, angelic voice reaches her. It sounds like... her mother? Maybe it's the Daughter who saved her on Mortis is welcoming her back into the everlasting Force.
This is not the end, young one.
"Snips, open your eyes." That isn't her mother.
Something soft and warm wraps around her mind, lulling her into calm. She relaxes into the familiar presence she can't quite put a name or a face to. All she knows is it's someone safe, someone she trusts and loves.
Ahsoka stills and opens her eyes cautiously. There's a face not far in front of her. Shaggy brown hair, deep blue eyes- swimming with concern- and a pinkish scar.
"Master..." She says, not expecting her voice to come out so weak.
"It's me, Snips." The man takes her right hand between his. Flesh and metal. Why can't she feel much in her left arm? Why does her head pound? Where is she?
"Anakin." His name slips past her lips naturally.
She tries to lift her head to get a better look at her surroundings. She needs to know what happened. Why does she feel like she's falling? Why does her body ache so much?
Two firm yet gentle hands press the sides of her face, stopping her from sitting up. Another face comes into view- a female, this time- and she speaks like the motherly angel from her dream. "You should stay still for a while, Ahsoka."
She squints at the lady's face, eyes narrowing on any distinguishable features. Brown hair pulled into a bun, dark brown eyes, and the gentlest smile Ahsoka has ever seen.
"Senator Amidala?" Ahsoka tries to think clearly, but all her thoughts are jumbled, "What... What happened?" Padmé usually isn't there when she wakes up.
"You were shot by a bounty hunter last night." Anakin says, appearing above her when Padmé moves back, "Do you remember?"
"I..." Ahsoka furrows her brow. "I remember falling." She looks up at Anakin, "Did I fall?"
He nods, "You fell off a rooftop."
The sensation of free-falling washes over her again and Ahsoka shudders. "But you're safe now," Anakin assures her. "You're in the Halls of Healing. They brought you out of theatre about eight hours ago."
Theatre?
Anakin notices her worried look and starts to explain, "You landed on your leg badly, and there was a problem with your back as well."
Ahsoka closes her eyes, trying to scan her body for injuries like the clone medics taught her to do after an explosion. Try to move all your fingers and toes, Coric ingrained into their heads.
She starts with her fingers, curling each one in turn. The more time goes on, the less her head pounds, which is a small victory. It's still a fierce pain- most likely a head injury. Kriffing montrals.
"My arm..." She exclaims when she can't move her the fingers on her left hand so well.
"It's temporary nerve damage, Ahsoka." Padmé explains, resting a hand on Ahsoka's forearm that's in a sling across her chest. "That's where the sniper hit you, in the shoulder."
Nodding- which is more like the barest tilt of her head- Ahsoka carries on her self-inspection. Her lower back feels... strange- like there's something foreign there. She touches her side with her right hand, feeling plastic.
"Master Che was worried about your spine healing properly." Anakin begins to explain before she can even ask. "You'll have to wear a brace for a while, until your vertebrae heal."
She's annoyed at the new restriction from her hips to her breastbone, but it's probably better than being paralysed.
She flexes every toe on her right foot and moves onto her other one, only to come to a complete halt.
///
Anakin exchanges a worried look with Padmé as Ahsoka's brow furrows ever so slightly. She's been trained to check herself for injuries, and now is no different, even if everything is being processed in her mind like sludge.
She knows, Chosen One.
"Master." Ahsoka opens her eyes and he leans over her, narrowing his gaze at the tears brimming in her eyes. "Tell me, please."
He doesn't want to tell her the truth. An amputee himself, Anakin knows how Ahsoka feels right now. He doesn't want to cause her any emotional pain on top of the physical stuff, but he has to tell her.
He can't keep her in the dark like Obi-Wan did to him.
Padmé rests her hand on his elbow, giving it a gentle squeeze in encouragement.
"Master Che tried her hardest, young one, but she wasn't able to save your leg." He keeps his voice low, mindful of her sensitive hearing from the head injury.
Silence.
He was prepared for sobbing, screaming, or even a laugh of denial, but he wasn't prepared for nothing. Ahsoka only reacts by moving her gaze to the window on her left. After several seconds, tears begin to fall down her cheeks, some wetting his glove.
She's weeping.
"Oh, Ahsoka..." Padmé leans forwards, encompassing the girl in an awkward yet compassionate hug. Ahsoka doesn't budge an inch, "I'm so sorry."
Not a word.
Anakin swallows hard. Ahsoka has only acted like this once in her entire Apprenticeship, and that was when he told her about her death on Mortis.
It's the same reaction he gets from civilians when the clones find the bodies of loved ones.
"Snips." He says when Padmé pulls away, using a stern yet gentle tone because he knows how well it works on Ahsoka when she spirals.
"They're going to kick me out." Ahsoka says, her eyes closing as more tears slip between her lashes.
'They' being the Council.
Sighing, Anakin removes his glove and touches her cheek with his metal fingers. "They didn't kick me out, Snips."
She scoffs, "You're the Chosen One, not some mediocre Padawan."
///
Ahsoka tries to not let her emotions control her, but how else is she supposed to respond to being told that she's lost a limb?
She keeps her eyes closed when Anakin goes quiet, although she hears him murmur to the Senator, "Let me handle this."
The scent of perfume fills her nose as Padmé leans down to kiss her forehead, "I'll visit you soon, Ahsoka."
She doesn't reply, daring Anakin to scold her for being rude, but he doesn't.
He understands what you are going through, young one.
The door closes, leaving her and her Master, although right now, she just wants to be left alone.
She doesn't have a leg. How is she supposed to fight a war without the ability to walk, let alone run? No clones ever return to the front lines after their legs get blown off. There's a reason why they're deemed unfit for duty.
"You're not some mediocre Padawan, Ahsoka." Anakin says from beside her- he must have sat down. "Not to me, and not to the Council. You're the most dedicated Padawan in the Order."
He prods at her shields, but she keeps him blocked out. He's only trying to help, but no matter how many times he opens his mouth, her leg won't just grow back.
"You think I would let them kick you out?" Anakin carries on, "You saved Obi-Wan's life-"
Ahsoka's eyes snap open and she lifts herself upright despite the pain, "Obi-Wan!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Anakin's hands are immediately on her shoulders as he tries to push her back down.
"Where's Obi-Wan?!" She demands, grabbing Anakin's wrists and staring into his eyes, "Is he alright?"
"He's fine, he's fine." He presses his metal forearm against her chest, "Stay down, Ahsoka, that's an order. Your vertebrae need to heal."
She lets him push her back down, the pain in her back easing as she lays flat again. "If he's fine, then why isn't he here?"
He sighs tiredly, pulling his fingers through is hair, "Just leave it, Snips, you've got enough on your plate without having to worry about what Obi-Wan's doing."
Before she can call him out for such a crappy excuse, Anakin's commlink beeps and he sighs, "It's Rex. Get some rest. I'll be back tomorrow morning, but I'll get Master Che to come and check on you now you're awake."
Great. Brilliant. Fabulous.
"Ahsoka," she looks up at Anakin as he's about to leave her room, "I know you're upset and in a lot of pain, but I can't even describe how relieved I am that you're alive."
Anakin's never been a man of many words, so the final sentiment makes her heart flutter. Ahsoka presses her lips together, "Thanks, Master."
Once the door closes, she slowly turns her head and sees the colourful flora on her bedside table. Padmé knows those are her favourites from her homeworld, and she smiles faintly before her eyes close again.
She can figure everything else out when she isn't in so much pain.
///
"I'll let the boys know Commander Tano is stable, General." Rex says, "They've been really worried since the HoloNet showed a clip of her being loaded onto the Corrie Guard transport."
"I'm sure she'll appreciate you and the guys giving her some company." Anakin replies, only half-focusing on the conversation as he flies his speeder. "She was pretty bummed about her leg, and I can't stay with her every second of the day." As much as he wants to.
"Leave it to us, sir." There's a hint of amusement in Rex's tone. "Medbay entertainment is Torrent's speciality."
Anakin can't help but laugh. Ahsoka won't be bored or depressed with their men spending some time with her. Knowing Rex, he'll send her closest friends and maybe even sneak in a pack of Sabaac cards- she's getting good at that game.
"If you don't mind me asking, sir, did the Council say how they found the sniper?"
Anakin frowns, "Who cares? All that matters is they did."
"Of course, sir." Rex obviously notices the aggression in his tone, even over the comm. "If you need any backup, you know who to call." Anakin should've known the 501st men will want justice for Ahsoka just as much as he does. "Rex out."
Anakin enters the bar Master Yoda tipped him to. His presence is intimidating enough to draw some attention, but he still ignites his lightsaber and uses a low voice, "Where is Rako Hardeen?"
The bar tender snorts, "Back room."
Putting his lightsaber back on his belt, Anakin walks towards the door at the back of the bar, being cautious of a sneak attack at any second. With a wave of his hand, the door opens, revealing Hardeen laying on a bed, his back to Anakin.
Is he dead?
No, Anakin can feel his life through the Force.
He sniffs the air; Hardeen's drunk.
Despicable.
Grabbing the man's jacket, Anakin turns him over to confirm his suspicion. Hardeen blinks wearily at him, "A Jedi? ...I already shot a Jedi today, let me sleep."
Angrily, Anakin drags him upright, "Get up, you filth!"
He throws Hardeen against the wall, pinning his chest with his metal hand, "If it was up to me, I would kill you right here!" He really would. "Lucky for you, the girl you shot would rather see you rot in jail."
Hardeen tries to throw a lazy punch, but Anakin easily catches his fist, squeezing hard until he hears a pop and the scumbag squirms in his hold. It's the least he deserves after the pain he put Ahsoka through.
You are falling too far, Chosen One.
He leans close to the bounty hunter, "Try using your sniper now, hotshot."
"Thought Jedi were supposed to be peaceful." Hardeen murmurs, too drunk to crumble from the pain of his fingers being dislocated.
Anakin twists harder, hearing Hardeen's wrist groan and the bounty hunter gasp. He wishes he could choke him, but he knows he wouldn't be able to stop himself.
"I suggest you don't push my buttons, or else you may not make it to prison."
It's times like this when he needs Ahsoka by his side to stop him from doing something he'll regret later.
"Now, let's go, you coward." Anakin pulls Hardeen away from the wall, not giving him time to cough as he tightly restrains his arms behind his back to cause pain and to keep a secure grip on the bastard. "Before I deal with you myself."