Disclaimer 1: I do not own Star Wars.

Disclaimer 2: I have never suffered from Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder and I'm not a licensed professional. All my information comes from sources on the internet.

Disclaimer 3: This fanfic is heavily focused on Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder and mental health following a traumatic event. Please take care of yourself when reading.

Anakin had a spring in his step as he walked through the Temple with Obi-Wan. The setting sun perfectly reflected his calmed mindset. After a long week of torturous waiting and endless worrying, Ahsoka's safe return had rejuvenated him with life.

He couldn't explain how happy he was to see his not-so-young Padawan smiling on the landing platform. From the report she gave to the Council, her experience on Wasskah sounded nightmarish, but it hadn't stopped her from helping others and bringing the other younglings back to the Temple, where they belonged. He couldn't be any prouder of his Snips.

"I wish we could afford to give Ahsoka a rest after her ordeal, but your forces are needed on Scarif." Obi-Wan said, his expression serious although his eyes were sparkling. He wasn't a man of much emotion, but Anakin could tell he was relieved that Ahsoka had found her way home.

"I understand. Everyone wants us to rush to their aid." Anakin exaggerated, causing his former Master to roll his eyes.

"Do you think she'll be up to it?" Obi-Wan glanced at him, and the younger Jedi frowned. Sure, Ahsoka was a bit scraped up and bruised, but she was fine. "Maybe she should stay here and pay a visit to a Mind Healer."

"A Mind Healer?" Anakin laughed at how ridiculous Obi-Wan sounded, "Maybe I should see one. This past week has made me go grey." Obi-Wan just raised an eyebrow at him, not accepting his answer.

It was rich for a Council member to worry if a Padawan was traumatised by one, short ordeal considering they threw children into battle as soon as they could hold a lightsaber properly. Besides, Ahsoka hadn't seemed any different from her usual chirpy self since she got back.

"I think Snips will be glad to be back on the field." Anakin said, a little more bluntly. "You know she doesn't like it when people fuss over her like a youngling." On the landing platform, she had forced tight smiles for the Council members who met her, occasionally shooting Anakin discreet glares to hurry the reunion along.

They stopped outside the apartment that he shared with Ahsoka. "If you're sure then." Obi-Wan crossed his arms over his chest, "You're her Master, after all, so you'll know what's best for her." His expression softened, "You must leave early tomorrow, and I may not see you. May the Force be with you and your Padawan."

"And with you, Master." Anakin bowed to his teacher, and then opened the door to his apartment. Usually, he would spend the night at Padmé's, but it was Ahsoka's first night back and he wanted to spend some time with her.

The sight of a freshly scrubbed Togruta sat on the couch brought a grin to his face, "You smell better than you did on that platform, Snips."

She jumped, not noticing his presence before looking up at him, "Those Trandoshans reeked, Master. They smelt even worse that you do after sparring." She teased, showing off her teeth as she smiled.

As Anakin approached, he noticed that all her clothes and gear were clean as well, including her lightsabers that sat on the table in front of her. On her lap was her small medkit, and she was currently applying bacta paste to the cuts across her knuckles.

He took a knee beside her, reaching for the bacta, "May I?"

"I can sort out a few cuts, Master." Despite her protest, she passed him the tube, "I'm not a youngling anymore."

"I know." He did; she had certainly proved it. "Let me do it, Snips, just this once."

Ahsoka had been doing this routine since their crash on Maridun when Anakin was unable to patch her up due to his own injuries. As long as she wasn't in the medbay, he could leave her to it. This time though, he felt like he owed it to her.

They sat in comfortable silence as Anakin applied sutures to the few deeper cuts on her forearms. Ahsoka didn't make a sound as an antiseptic wipe made contract with various grazes, and when Anakin looked up, she was gazing out the window with a distant look in her eyes, "Did you hit your head?"

"What?" She asked, not looking back at him until a few seconds passed. The light in her eyes returned instantly, "Oh, no, I'm fine."

"Good." She wasn't displaying any symptoms of head trauma, so he trusted her judgement. He was getting better at trusting her these days. As he stood, Anakin placed a hand on her shoulder, "You should get some shut eye. We have to leave early tomorrow."

"Another mission?" She asked hopefully, standing as well.

"You bet!" He brushed the Padawan braid that swung between her lekku, "It's good to see you, Snips, I'm glad you're back."

He wasn't expecting her to lunge forwards, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and burrowing her face into his robes, "I'm glad to be back, Master." Her voice was muffled against the fabric.

"Safe and sound." He squeezed her reassuringly. He had wanted to hug her on the landing platform, but the Council were there, and so were the younglings who Ahsoka had brought back, the ones who didn't have Masters to greet them.

"I missed you out there." She lifted her head, "I've also really missed the pastries from the dining hall."

He should have seen that coming; Anakin used to pull that trick on Obi-Wan all the time. "Well, maybe if you go to bed right now, there will be one waiting for you in the morning." He promised, rubbing her montrals the way Obi-Wan would have ruffled his hair.

"Deal!" She released him and skipped to her room, "Joganberry is my favourite flavour, Master!" She called as the door closed behind her.

Anakin chuckled to himself, zipping her medkit closed and putting it beside her lightsabers. His datapad and water canteen were also put on the table before he decided to turn in. In the morning, he would wake up extra early to get a joganberry pastry from the mess. After everything Ahsoka had gone through in the last week, she deserved her favourite sweet treat. Even if it meant he would only get a few hours of sleep.

Ahsoka slept terribly. The combination of the adrenaline wearing off from her last adventure and the anticipation of the next one was sending her mind into overdrive. Every time she closed her eyes, she either heard Trandoshans hissing or Kalifa's final dying breaths. Both were equally distressing.

She tried every trick she knew; counting nerf, thinking happy thoughts and even meditation- which was very unlike the her- but nothing worked. Anakin had retired hours ago, and the sun had long since set, allowing the moon to cast an eerie glow across her room. The shadows disfigured her walls, making them look as if they were covered in trophies, just like the Trandoshan lair. Where her akul teeth head dress hung above her desk, it looked like a silhouette of a Togruta's montrals.

She didn't realise she was gripping her bed sheet to her face until she started suffocating. This was stupid- only younglings were afraid of the dark. Realising how irrational her fears were, Ahsoka collapsed against her pillow and let out a long sigh. Her mind was just playing tricks on her, and the hissing sound was only the ventilation ducts, but what if something- or someone- was in the ventilation shaft?

Ahsoka extended a hand, switching on her light with the Force. Much better. Everything looked exactly the way it should, and there were no intruders, which was an added bonus. Reaching under her pillow to completely reassure herself, Ahsoka gasped when she couldn't feel the cool hilts of her lightsabers.

Had she lost them? Maybe the Trandoshans had made replicas and kept her original ones? Or they may have tracked her back to the Temple and stolen them? Or another criminal had sneaked in and-

A knock on her door caused her to scream and jump a foot in the air. Her surge of panic caused Anakin to barge in, lightsaber ignited and poised, "What's happened, Ahsoka?!"

"N-Nothing."

Had nothing happened? Maybe he had come in because he sensed something that she had not? She thought she had sensed something on Felucia, but she ignored her instincts and ended up getting captured, so maybe she wasn't as good as she used to be.

"Ahsoka!" She jumped again at Anakin's stern tone. He stood at the end of her bed, lightsaber back on his belt but he was still on high alert. "I asked what's wrong?"

She realised how stupid she must have looked and played it cool, "Do you know where my lightsabers are?"

"You left them on the table." He said with a yawn, rubbing his eyes, "Is that the reason why your Force-signature was going crazy? Because you forgot where you left the weapons that are supposed to be your life?"

He was teasing her, and Ahsoka couldn't help but feel offended. "I haven't had my lightsabers on hand since last week, Anakin. You can't blame me for being paranoid."

Whether or not he noticed the edge in her tone, Anakin just waved a hand, "Whatever, Snips. We have to wake up in two hours, so at least try to sleep."

"There is no try, remember?" She added cheekily, knowing he would expect that type of remark from her.

"Night…" Anakin stumbled out of her room, not bothering to switch off her light.

Ahsoka laid back on her bed, rubbed both hands down her face and willed her mind to quieten.

Before she knew she had fallen asleep, Ahsoka felt herself being shook awake. She sprung up at Kalifa's call, the youngling sounded panicked and Ahsoka pushed her away, trying to jump up but something was holding her down. In that moment, she realised their treehouse was in flames and it was so hard to breathe through the smoke and- "Snips, wake up!"

Anakin!

Ahsoka threw herself into his arms, her legs getting even more tangled in the sheets as she told herself over and over that it was just a dream. She wasn't being hunted by the Trandoshans anymore, she was in the Temple. Then why did she feel like she needed to watch her back and not be too loud?

"Easy, Snips." Anakin hushed, rubbing her back. She shuddered into his chest and risked opening her eyes. The light that she thought was a fire was just the vibrant tones of sunrise coming through her window.

"There, there, you're safe." He murmured against the montrals. She tried to focus on the vibrations of his voice, "It's alright, Ahsoka, it was just a bad dream."

"Just a bad dream." She said to herself, trying to slow her racing heart. Anakin acted as a safety blanket, keeping her grounded from the horrific memories that kept replaying in her head.

"You scared me half to death, Snips." Anakin laughed nervously before hissing, "And you killed my son, so you will pay!"

"What?" Ahsoka recoiled, fear coursing through her as she studied Anakin's face- it was Anakin's face- from afar.

"I said I knew something wasn't right last night. I didn't even think that you might have a nightmare." She frowned at him, "Something wrong, Ahsoka?"

"No, I just…" Just being stupid, that's what was wrong. She rubbed her temples, "I think I'm just tired."

"Well, you can sleep on the Resolute." Anakin said, standing up but keeping a hand on her shoulder, "It's a long hyperspace journey to Scarif."

"Scarif?" She scoured her memory, "Jungle, tropical planet with beaches?" She inwardly groaned when Anakin nodded, "As if I haven't spent enough time running around jungles already."

"It's a routine mission, we're only taking two platoons planet-side." At least that meant there were less men to protect and lead. Though, when she arrived on Wasskah, there were only three younglings to take care of, and one- Kalifa- had died. "Get ready to go; there's a sweet treat waiting for you on the counter."

"Thanks." Ahsoka had nearly forgotten about the joganberry pastry she'd asked for the night before. It felt like it had been years since she escaped Wasskah, but it was only the day before.

She waited until Anakin closed the door behind him before getting up. Putting on a clean uniform felt good and clipping her lightsabers to her belt was a huge relief. When she looked in her fresher mirror and saw the bags under her eyes, made more visible in the bright lighting, she sighed. Maybe she would take up Anakin's offer of getting some sleep on the cruiser.

Anakin looked up from a datapad when she walked into the common room. He smirked at her, "You're looking better, Snips."

"I feel better." She told him, and she did. Her sharp eyes were drawn to the pastry on the counter and she smiled, "Thanks for getting this for me." She lifted the tart to her mouth and took a bite, savouring how sweet and crispy it was.

"You're welcome." Anakin stood up and leaned backwards, popping the vertebrae in his back. Ahsoka froze from the sound, the food in her mouth suddenly having the texture of sand and paper. "Ready to go?"

Shaking her head, Ahsoka nodded, "Yeah, let's go." He turned to the door and she glanced at the pastry in her hands. Her appetite took a sharp nose-dive towards non-existent and the thought of having another bite made her feel nauseous.

With a quick wave of her hand, the pastry flew to the rubbish bin and she followed Anakin out of their apartment, "Right behind you, Master."

Hopefully, the mission to Scarif would take her mind off the Trandoshan hunters and she could leave that ordeal in the past, forgotten about.