Shared Nightmares

He was on Miraj's bed, and she was touching him, touching him in ways that only Padme had touched him before. He didn't like it. His blood ran cold, and the shiver that ran up his spine when she caressed his chest was not a pleasant one. He wanted so desperately to run away, to kill her, to do anything to avoid this. He needed to keep his friends safe though He had to be complacent. Her hands crept downward, and it took every ounce of his will to not resist, to be touched.

Anakin woke up, covered in a cold sweat, and shaking uncontrollably. Having to live this incident out twice in the real world was terrible enough, but for the assaults to be constantly replayed to him through these dreams tortured him. It had been a week, and these nightmares had been far worse than the others that afflicted him from time to time He needed to talk to Obi-Wan; he could sort this out. Anakin walked down the hall to Obi-Wan's room, only to find it empty. He wandered aimlessly, but he couldn't find his former mentor. Anakin had been roaming the halls for about half an hour when, he heard whimpering coming from Ahsoka's room. After what had happened on Zygeria, he'd asked her if she was okay after her stint with Atai, but he didn't know whether or not she'd gone through the same thing he did by her response. He didn't want that to be the case; she was too young, she didn't deserve it, and it would cause both of them more sleepless nights.

Anakin gingerly opened the door to Ahsoka's room, where he found her crying in her sleep. He sat on her bed, hoping that he was being quiet enough to not startle her.

"Ahsoka." He stroked her lekku gently, "It's okay. I'm here. You're safe with me, Snips."

She buried her face into his chest and cried more.

"I'm sorry, Anakin. I didn't mean to wake you up. I was having some bad dreams. They're nothing though. Master Yoda says to pay attention to bad things, but let them go." Ahsoka hiccupped.

Anakin hugged Ahsoka. "You can tell me. It's okay. I was actually having some nightmares myself."

"Thank you, Anakin." Ahsoka took a while to compose herself slightly. "When I was in that horrible cage, Atai kept telling me what he wanted to do with me. He didn't actually do those terrible things, Anakin; I wouldn't have let him, but what he told me gave my overactive imagination something to do while I was imprisoned, and now I have nightmare fuel to last me a lifetime." Ahsoka's voice was quieter than usual, meek and diminished. It made Anakin's rage flare up inside him. No one should do that to his spunky, bright Padawan.

"I'm sorry Snips, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have made you a slave in this operation. I should have guessed that you may fall into male hands. I should have thought of what men like him do to their female slaves."

Ahsoka nodded her head in acknowledgement, but said nothing beyond that.

"I've got something to tell you, Ahsoka. I was in a similar situation to you. Miraj, the queen, she got attracted to me. She," Anakin took a shuddering breath "She wanted me to profess my loyalty to her in exchange for your safety. I know better than to trust Separatist scum on counts like that. However, she did promise that you'd stay alive if I complied with every order that she gave me. She wanted me to...to please her. So I did, but I hated it. I've been having nightmares ever since we escaped from Kadavo."

Ahsoka reached up and hugged Anakin. "I'm sorry, Master. I guess we both had it rough on this mission."

"Yeah, I guess we did." The pair stayed there for a while, feeling safe in each other's embrace.

"Anakin?" Ahsoka asked.

"Yeah, Ahsoka?"

"Can you stay here? Maybe you'll sleep better too." Ahsoka scooted over. "I know it's awkward, Skyguy, but I want someone here with me."

Anakin lay down next to her. "I understand. Hopefully we'll rest easy for the rest of the night."

Ahsoka's breathing slowed to normal as she curled on her side. Anakin put a protective arm over her, hoping that it could keep the rest of the nightmares away. Anakin started to drift off to sleep as well, feeling warm and safe next to his Padawan.

Eventually, they both fell into a dreamless sleep that night. Ahsoka's nightmares went away relatively quickly. Anakin's took longer, but eventually, with help from other Jedi, they faded, only rearing their ugly heads once every blue moon. The short recovery time was one of the few things Anakin and Ahsoka could thank about the Clone Wars; there was always something new to occupy their minds.