Hello everyone. Thank you for you all continuing to read and follow all of my stories and thank you for the reviews of this one. Anyway, we have arrived at a pivotal chapter in this story. This chapter starts just before chapter 14 of the Order Redeems and it will also jump to just after chapter 17. This chapter will highlight how Ticarti's role and approach to Ahsoka's recovery has to change once Lux Bonteri comes into the picture. As usual in this story, this is Master Ticarti Mai's point of view.

A Counsellor's Story: Chapter 9 – A Startling Change

In the two and a half weeks since I had lost that duel with Ahsoka, I had grown increasingly delighted with Ahsoka's progress. Sure, I knew it was going to take much longer for her to fully recover, but through the sessions that I had with her, I could tell that she was coming back. Okay, technically, I didn't know her before and I didn't know exactly what her natural temperament was like, but I had had enough sessions with her to give a very good guess and there was no doubt in my mind that she was starting to return to that prior state, which was lovely to see.

As I sat eating breakfast, which had always been my favourite time to contemplate the state of my patients, I started to plan my intentions for the rest of Ahsoka's treatment. The first thing I had to go on was the fact that, almost a month after she was brought in by Anakin, Obi-Wan and Katooni, her physical condition was now perfect. Taking advantage of the fact that I was her assigned healer, I gave her a full physical check-up the day before and I was delighted that her physical recovery was complete.

I was still concerned, however, because deep down, I knew that she had reached an important part of her recovery. As her mental condition had improved, she had reached the point where I knew she needed to get out and start doing things. I shook my head with that thought. Deep down in my heart, I knew that it was the right step for her, mentally, but I also knew that she still wasn't completely well. There was no doubt that doing the odd mission would allow her to fit in fully again, but it would run the risk of hurting her. I sighed as there wasn't really a conclusive right answer here; especially since I had become close to her, I admit. In fact, I now considered the young Togruta to be one of my closest friends and I really didn't want her to suffer any more.

I thought about it for a while, before I made a decision. I knew that I had another session with her slightly later in the morning so I had just enough time. I took my plate back into the kitchen and left my quarters. As a walked to the council chambers, I went deep into thought again. It was time to tell the council of the decision I was considering and perhaps point them in the correct direction with respect of a first task for her. Even though peace talks had been going on for over three weeks at that point, I still didn't want them sending her into the war. I hoped that the council would respect my decision as Ahsoka's healer and counsellor and assign her something quite benign.

I knocked on the council chamber door and waited. For some reason, the council always have the idea that they can make people wait for them. I suppose they can, but it does annoy me at times as it does many people. Nevertheless, I had no choice but to wait and again, I went into thought. I had to decide exactly what to recommend for Ahsoka. As her counsellor and healer, I did have the final say on whether she was fit for a particular task, but I wanted to have some ideas. Master Yoda, for one, would take great amusement in putting me on the spot. Believe me; he had done it before with other patients of mine.

After a few more minutes, Master Yoda's voice rung out over the intercom, "Enter you may."

I opened the doors and walked to the centre of the room. I glanced around and I noticed that quite a few of the council members were absent. I figured that that was because of the peace talks. Many Jedi Masters had been assigned to the protection of talks. A week and a half before, I had overseen one round of those talks myself. Talk about pointless; the delegates just seemed to want to insult each other at that stage. I hoped things had improved. Anyway, that's another story. I gave a bow and after internally sighing due to the requirement to the formal, I stated, "Masters, I bring news about Ahsoka Tano's progress."

Master Yoda smiled. The little green imp gave every indication that he knew more or less what I was about to say before I had even said it. I know he is extremely strong and practiced in the Force, but for the life of me, I still have no idea how he does that. "Improving your patient is, yes?"

I nodded my head. "Yes master. In fact, I have come to a decision. I have another counselling session with her later this morning. If she continues to impress me and if she gives me no reason for concern, I have decided to clear her for some light duties."

Master Yoda, Obi-Wan and Anakin looked at each other and I could see a large smile beginning to appear on Anakin's face. I knew what it meant to him to hear me say that. It was actually Master Ki-Adi Mundi that answered me however, "Light duties?"

I nodded with a stern look on my face. I was determined to prove to the council that I wouldn't tolerate them doing something stupid and assigning Ahsoka some horrible emotional mission or battle; at least, not yet. "Yes light. I will clear her for easy missions like escort work or being a Jedi Ambassador for example, but I don't want her anywhere near the war and I don't want her near a mission where she could be put under any emotional stress. At the moment, she can't take that. Even now, I know that she may relapse slightly at some point. Many patients in her situation do. I ask you masters, to take that into account."

Master Yoda looked down and I noticed that his ears drooped slightly. "Hmmm, agree I do. We must not assume that she is recovered. Dangerous that would be."

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Anakin frowning. I could sense that there was something turning over in his mind. Knowing him and his reputation, that couldn't be good. His voice came across strong and, surprisingly, happy as he put his input in, "Er, actually, I do have a suggestion." After everyone in the room looked at him, including me, he continued, "Padmé told me this morning that the ship we are building for Ahsoka is almost complete. It will require a couple more days to calibrate the sensors and finish the hyperdrive, but after that, it will be ready for delivery. What about using a mission as a way to unveil the surprise to Ahsoka? Padmé has told me that that is how she wants to do it."

As I had nothing to input to that statement, I remained quiet. I turned my head back towards the other council members who were in. Even though the code had been altered for a month at that point, it still sounded odd to hear the council discuss things of that nature. I wondered what their response was going to be. As it happened, I didn't have long to wait. Obi-Wan stroked his beard and added, "Well Anakin, we could assign her a light task that would require a ship. Maybe your wife could meet Ahsoka in the docking bay for the hand over."

"Hmmm, perfect that would be. Look into it, you will Skywalker."

"Yes, Master," Anakin replied. "I will speak to her, but where can we send Ahsoka? I refuse to send her anywhere dangerous. We must keep her safe."

Yep, that was Anakin Skywalker all over; always determined to protect people he loves. There was no doubt in my mind that if anything ever did happen to Ahsoka, it would devastate him. After hearing that, I went into thought. I instantly remembered the counselling sessions I had had with her in a practice room. Ahsoka loved her lightsabers; that was obvious to me, but up until now, she had only had practice sabers. "Er Masters, what about Ilum?"

The four masters in attendance looked at each other and they all smiled. Anakin quickly added, "Yes, Master Mai has got something. Ahsoka was equally devastated by the loss of her sabers."

"Settled it is then," Master Yoda confirmed. "A lightsaber, the most prised possession of a Jedi it is. That was definitely true with young Tano. Rebuild hers, she will." To my surprise, a slightly evil smile appeared on Master Yoda's face. "Skywalker, talk to your wife you must. On her way back from Ilum, divert her ship to Onderon, we could. The second part of the plan, even more important it is."

"Actually," Anakin added. "I ask permission that Katooni and I are sent with her. Ahsoka will need some help to gain entry to the Crystal Temple and Cave. In addition, once she has her crystals, I could fly her ship to Onderon as she constructs her lightsabers." He gained a very evil smirk of his own on his face as he continued, "It would be an even bigger surprise and it may look a bit less obvious."

Obi-Wan smiled and said, "For once, I agree with you, Anakin."

Second part of the plan? I was actually still seriously confused by that; never mind what Anakin had just said. "Second part, Master Yoda?" I asked.

"In love, young Tano is; told you that before, I have," he replied with a smile. "Get her to act on it, the second part of our plan will."

I felt my eyes widen; Master Yoda was acting as a matchmaker? I never thought I would see the day when he would set someone up. Nevertheless, it was a good idea. In my opinion, love was exactly what Ahsoka needed. "Yes, I approve of that. It would help Ahsoka a great deal. If possible, that is something I like to use with civilian patients."

"Therefore, agree with our decision do you, young Ticarti?" Master Yoda asked in an amused voice.

That was the first time I'd heard him drop formality. I wished the council spoke like that all the time. "Yes I do. As I've said, I have another session with her later this morning. If everything goes well, I will officially clear her for light duties after that. I will contact Anakin with my final decision."

"Very good. Dismissed, you are."

I bowed, turned and exited the council chamber. I was delighted by the first task that the council had decided. It was excellent to see them listen to my input and make decent decision's based off that. If one good thing came from Ahsoka's terrible experience, it was that.

As I re-entered my quarters, I turned my attention to the counselling session that I had with Ahsoka. Looking at the chrono, I realised that I had about half an hour before I had to go to her quarters. Since I had just informed the council of my decision to clear Ahsoka for light duties, the main purpose of the coming session had to be confirmation. I had to make sure that she was well enough to cope with the odd mission and somehow, I had to make sure that she could cope with the odd emotional breakdown that she still had on occasions.

Like many people who suffer from a case of P.T.S.D, Ahsoka occasionally had events where her emotions and fear bubbled up which caused her to breakdown. Fortunately, I had noticed that those events were becoming rarer and that was one of the reasons I felt she was ready for light duties. However, I needed to make certain that she could recover from one if she experienced such an event outside the temple.

With the decision I had helped the council come to, there was one other thing that worried me; Ilum. Yes, the decision to send Ahsoka to rebuild her lightsabers was initially my idea, but the Crystal Cave could be brutal at times with its emotional torment and its tests. I believed Ahsoka was strong enough for that, but I decided that it wouldn't hurt to make sure. However, I also decided that I would only do that if she seemed okay in all other aspects. There was no need to worry her otherwise.

With a final glance at my chrono, I sighed and left my quarters. The moment of truth had arrived and I headed for Ahsoka's quarters. I continued to run through my basic plan as I walked towards Ahsoka's quarters. At this point in the recovery of one of my patients, I always get a little nervous and it was no different with Ahsoka. It went against what I was taught as I was studying to become a counsellor, but for some reason, I always did.

As I reached Ahsoka's quarters, I stretched out with the Force. I smiled as I could already sense that she was calm and apparently happy. It was clear that she had been taking notice of the Force as well as Ahsoka opened her door before I had even knocked. She must've sensed me. Ahsoka smiled at me, "Hi Ticarti."

"Hi Ahsoka," I replied as I returned her smile.

"Come in," she said as she gestured inside.

I followed her into her quarters and as usual, I sat beside her on the sofa. "How is it going?" I asked as I studied her.

"Great," she replied with a smile. I could tell from her Force signature that she was indeed good. However, there was still slight uncertainty. I wasn't worried about that in particular since that was fairly typical.

It was at that time that decided to bring up the possibility of her going out on missions. Of course, I couldn't tell her that yet so I had to ask a question that shouldn't cause her to suspect anything. "So, Ahsoka, have you been finding things to do since our last appointment?"

Ahsoka's face dropped a touch and I could sense a hint of boredom in her. "Yes," she replied. "I did a bit of training yesterday." She suddenly burst out laughing.

I couldn't help but laugh with her. "What's so funny?"

"I…..it's just….." She broke into giggles again. It was great to see Ahsoka laugh like that even though I had no idea why she was doing it. I could tell that she was almost breathless as she finally continued, "It's just that, whilst I was training yesterday, I was with Skyguy as he was training Katooni. He….he was demonstrating the Falling Avalanche move of Form V to her. When he landed, he…..he…..fell over backwards, landing smack on the floor. The best bit was that he caught a bottled drink that Katooni had in her hand with his left leg. The bottle flew up in the air, came down and emptied all over him." She burst out laughing again. "It's the funniest thing I've ever seen. Especially the string of Huttese curses that Anakin fired out after. I've been dying of laughter ever since."

I burst out laughing myself. "I wish I'd seen that."

"Ah Ticarti, it was hilarious," she added. She then grinned. "It was even funnier when I told Master Kenobi."

By now, I was almost crying. I couldn't help but laugh at Ahsoka's evil streak as well. It was just like her to rat Anakin out to his former master, Obi-Wan. This was just the response I wanted from her. It was a very good sign that she had turned a corner and that she was ready. "I bet," I replied. I took a minute to calm down, and then I brought the topic back to what I wanted. "Have you done anything else apart from that?"

The slight look of boredom again appeared on her face. "Sort of; I've been watching a few HoloNet programs, hung out with Katooni, Anakin and Master Kenobi, and suchlike. I've been enjoying the peace of the temple, but I have been slightly bored for the last couple of days."

I nodded by head in sympathy. The truth was that I wanted her to say something like that. When people who have had emotional trauma, like Ahsoka, reach the point where they are ready to face the galaxy, they often start to feel a little bored of their surroundings. There is definite truth to the fact that subconsciously, patients sometimes know what they need more than their doctors or counsellors do. It certainly seemed to me that Ahsoka did. That pointed to me that she was ready for light duties. I just needed to make sure that the slight breakdowns that she still had, and would for a while probably, weren't too much of a problem. "I'll look into other things for you to do. Tell me, have you had any flashbacks since our last talk or any events where your emotions got the best of you?"

I could feel a hint of sadness and slight fear in Ahsoka as she nodded slowly. "Yes," she uttered slowly. I gestured for her to continue and thankfully, she did, "I had a nightmare a couple of nights ago."

"What was it about?" I had a feeling what it was about, but I asked anyway.

"I…I was back in the cell," her eyes dropped to the floor and some pain flooded into her Force Signature. "I was facing execution again, when Admiral Tarkin came in."

I grew slightly concerned by that. "Did you re-live being raped again?"

She smiled slightly and answered, "Fortunately no; I woke up. I used to when I got flashbacks and nightmares, but not that time. I haven't for a while actually."

Although that sounds terrible I admit, for Ahsoka that was actually a really big step forward. I wanted her to forget about that, of course. I realised that I had an opportunity to ask the final question that I wanted to know. "When you woke from that, how were you?"

Ahsoka sighed and looked me in the eyes. "I admit I was terrified when I initially woke up, but after a couple of seconds, I realised that it was a nightmare and couldn't hurt me. I gave myself a few minutes to calm down and I went back to sleep; peacefully that time."

"That is good, Ahsoka," I replied. Yes, she was ready for light duties. I was certain of that now. She had reached the point where she knew that flashbacks and any occasional breakdown that she may still have won't immediately hurt her. That was what I was looking for. With final confirmation, I decided to inform her of my decision. "Well, you have come a very long way in the last three and a half weeks. I don't want you in the war, but if you feel you're up for it, I want to clear you for light duties."

Ahsoka's face lit up and she smiled from lekku to lekku. "Thank you. Yes, it'll be nice to start doing something again."

I smiled at her. "Okay Ahsoka, I'll inform the council. I'll make sure that they don't assign you anything too difficult or taxing straight away." I didn't need to tell her that I had already sorted it, of course. I gave a look at the chrono in her room and added, "Well, that's the end of the session. I don't know when our next one will be since it will have to fit in with any mission or task they send you on. I'll be in touch."

"I look forward to it. Thank you, Ticarti."

I stood up and walked towards the door. "See you next time."

"Goodbye," she stated as I left her quarters. I headed straight back to my quarters and I immediately contacted Anakin to confirm my decision. The council informed me that they would send Ahsoka to build her lightsabers in a couple of days and that I could have an appointment with her after that.

A couple of days after that appointment, I received a confirmation message from the council that told me that they had sent Ahsoka to rebuild her lightsabers. They also told me that Padmé had stunned Ahsoka with the gift of the ship. Apparently, Ahsoka was barely able to stand afterwards. I was so happy for her and I could only imagine what went through her mind. I was stunned with what else I heard from Obi-Wan though; Chancellor Padmé Skywalker was pregnant with twins. I wonder what Anakin's response was. I promised myself to ask Ahsoka.

After another two days, I heard the news everyone had been waiting for; the war was finally over. In addition, I had confirmation that Ahsoka was back and had reported to the council. Since she was free, even though I was busy, I immediately created another appointment with her for that afternoon. For that appointment, I deliberately decided not to do any planning. After facing the Crystal Cave, I determined that it was important that Ahsoka tell me what she needed, not what I asked her.

I admit I was also intrigued by the second part of the plan that Master Yoda had mentioned. I had no idea what that was, of course, but by now, I knew it would have happened so I wanted to know what it was and whether it had had any effect on Ahsoka.

Since I had just finished instructing a young Padawan who showed promise with healing, I knew I had to hurry. I had crammed Ahsoka's appointment into a spare hour that I had that afternoon, but it did leave me slightly short on time. I arrived at her quarters just in time (and I mean just). I gave a few deep breaths and knocked on her door.

I was stunned when Ahsoka opened the door. I couldn't believe the aura of peace, completeness, love and happiness I could sense around her. There was no doubt in my mind that something big had happened and I could sense that it was more than that ship which had been built for her. There was something almost naughty in her Force Signature. I had never sensed anything like it before; certainly not in a Jedi anyway. Whatever the second part of the plan was, I knew at that moment that it had worked; massively.

A huge but slightly sheepish smile spread across Ahsoka's face when she saw me. "Hey Ticarti. Come in."

"Hello Ahsoka," I greeted her. I followed her inside and as usual, we sat on the sofa next to each other. As I looked at her, I could see that she was almost radiant and her orange skin seemed to almost glow. Her skin wasn't glowing of course; it was just how bright she was. Her whole being was just radiating joy. "Something's made you happy, Ahsoka."

She gave a beaming smile and nodded. "Yes, the senate and the council built a ship for me. I can't believe anyone would do that for me. It's….It's….."

I could tell that she was having difficulty finding the words to say about that so I suggested, "Incredible?" she nodded in response. I could tell that there was something else. I looked down and I noticed that she had two lightsabers on her belt; so her time on Ilum was successful, then? That was on obvious place for me to start. "So, Ahsoka, I see you have your new lightsabers. How did it go on Ilum?"

To my surprise, she answered quite brightly, "Pretty good to be honest. I had to use the Force to find my crystals and the cave tested me on faith to reach them. I had to walk up an inclined ice bridge that didn't look like it would hold my weight. Once I overcame that slight scare though, it was pretty easy."

Hmmm, her explanation was certainly a bit rushed. I wondered if it was because she had something else to tell me. I didn't need the Force to tell me that she did; it was written on her face. I was nonetheless relieved that she hadn't had it too bad on Ilum. I decided to prod a little. "Are you happy with your lightsabers?"

"Yes," Ahsoka replied as she removed what I assumed was her main saber. She held it in her hand and added, "But they are a touch unusual." She pointed the saber away from us and activated the blade.

My eyes widened immediately. I have never seen a white lightsaber blade before. The nearest I'd seen was the sabercane that Master Tera Sinube uses, but his blade was a light blue that occasionally looked white. Ahsoka's blade, however, was completely white. It was stunning and, as much as was possible for a weapon, it was beautiful. "That's incredible. Is your shoto the same?"

"Yes, both blades are white," Ahsoka replied as she extinguished the blade. "The council are as puzzled as me about them."

"Well, it doesn't matter," I stated. "At least you have your lightsabers back."

She smirked at me and in a playful voice she said, "Yep and that means I can beat you even easier now."

I smirked back. "Well, we will see." Since I knew that something big had happened, I decided to ask her outright, "I can sense something about you, Ahsoka. Something has happened, hasn't it?"

Instantly, her lekku blushed and turned black. A sheepish look appeared on her face as she replied, "Yes, something happened." I could sense that she was deciding whether to tell me or not. As was usual, she didn't have to tell me, but I hoped she would, especially since it did her a great deal of good. Eventually, to my relief, she continued, "On the way back from Ilum, Skyguy told me that the council had contacted him and told him to divert my ship to Onderon to pick someone up for the peace talks."

This was getting interesting. I had an idea where this was going now. I hoped I was right. "Yes," I prodded.

Again, she gained a huge smile. "It turned out that Master Yoda, Anakin and Padmé had set me up. The person we picked up was Senator Lux Bonteri."

I smiled instantly. Finally, I knew who the man was that she loved. "You love him, don't you?"

I could sense love flow through her as she answered, "With all my heart, Ticarti. I suppose I have since I first met him on Raxus."

I decided to be a touch unprofessional in this situation. I was far more likely to gain more information. It was information that I needed as I knew that from that point on, her treatment would have to take this into account. In a teasing voice, I prodded, "Well?"

Ahsoka's lekku darkened again. "What?" she asked innocently.

"What happened?" I asked.

"As soon as Anakin brought Lux on to my ship…" she began. As she talked I could sense both love and embarrassment rise up in her. The love I understood, but I couldn't understand the embarrassment. I wondered about that as she continued, "…I couldn't stop myself and I ran into his arms. I could tell, Ticarti, I could sense that he loved me too."

"I'm happy for you, Ahsoka," I replied. So that was why she was so happy and peaceful. This confirmed what I knew all along; the old code forbidding relationships was wrong. I was really happy that Ahsoka was one of the first to benefit from the change of code. "So I take it you stayed and talked with him?"

Again her lekku flashed black. A very naughty expression appeared on her face. "Not quite."

I was very puzzled by that. I narrowed my eyes and asked, "Not quite? What do you mean?"

She smirked at me and I could suddenly sense a huge amount of naughtiness with her as well as love and lust. My eyes widened as she started talking, "Ticarti, I knew what I needed at that point. The only time I had experienced physical contact was rape. I couldn't let that situation continue. My heart screamed for Lux at that point and I knew if I didn't do something then, it would only get harder so I pulled him to my cabin on the ship and allowed Skyguy to fly."

I blinked rapidly for a few seconds as I processed what she had just said. As soon as it clicked, my mouth dropped and the sheer jolt that went through me shook me so much, I almost fell off the chair. "Ahsoka, you didn't?"

An evil grin appeared on her face that told me everything I needed to know. I was in a state of shock as she answered. "Yes I did. We spent the night together during which time, Lux and I made love."

Again, I slipped forward due to shock. Ahsoka burst out laughing as I steadied myself. Although I was shocked to the core, actually, although it obviously wasn't typical, that response was not unheard of in women who have experienced rape. Ahsoka obviously felt that she couldn't really love Senator Bonteri properly until she had banished the barrier within her mind that the rape had created. By making love with him, she had forced the emotional barrier within her to drop. Although I understood, it was still a shock and it wasn't an action I would have recommended myself. Nevertheless, I could sense that it had worked. "So how did you feel afterwards?"

"I felt incredible," she replied with a smile. "It felt totally different to when I was raped. This time I felt loved, I felt valued and I felt important. The following morning, I didn't want us to separate. I have never felt as complete as I did afterwards even though it was kind of embarrassing when Anakin and Katooni knocked Lux and me up."

Whether it was a conventional approach or not, I could tell that Ahsoka was clearly better after that. I decided, therefore, to support her decision. After all, it was her life and her relationship. I wasn't going to say anything that would set her back in her recovery and even though it would have been the professional thing to do, I decided not to talk to her about precautions and suchlike. There would be time for that and I decided to just let her benefit from the joy that physical love can bring. I had seen it enough in my civilian patients to know that. I could tell that Lux Bonteri had helped her recovery more in one night than even I had managed in a month. To show my support, I stated, "It is good that you have overcome the rape, Ahsoka. The way you did it was unconventional to say the least, but it is a lovely development. It is great to see you so happy, calm and peaceful. I support your relationship with him and I hope that I can meet Lux Bonteri at some point."

"Thank you," she said with a smile. "I'm sure you can meet him at some point." To my slight dismay, she then grimaced slightly. "To be honest Ticarti, you have surprised me."

"Oh," I replied as a raised an eyebrow. I like surprising people, but not my patients usually.

"It's just that, I expected you to tell me off or something."

"Why would I do that, Ahsoka?" I asked. "Yes, I'm surprised that you made love with Lux, but you are both of legal age, barely, but you are, and there's no rule against it now."

Ahsoka smiled at me. "Thank you," she said.

I nodded and added, "So, is there anything else?"

"Yes, actually," Ahsoka replied. "When Padmé stunned me by giving me the ship, she had another surprise for Skyguy."

I burst out laughing. "I know; Obi-Wan has told me. How did Anakin respond?"

Ahsoka started to laugh with me. I could sense her genuine amusement but also her genuine happiness for her former master. "He screamed 'yes' at an annoyingly loud volume and then he pulled Padmé into his arms and kissed her in front of everyone. It was beautiful and rather funny at the same time."

"Anakin is going to be fun to watch for a while then?" I replied.

Ahsoka grinned at me and again I could sense mischief within her. "Oh definitely. However, they stunned me again. Padmé and Anakin asked me to be the twin's godmother."

I put a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder and replied, "Oh Ahsoka, that's wonderful. How do you feel about it?"

"Honoured," she replied. "But I know I'll be running around after them for ever."

Judging by what Anakin turned out like, I had no doubt that Ahsoka was correct about that. I laughed at her and in a teasing voice I said, "They should keep you on your toes anyway."

Ahsoka glared at me for a second before she burst out laughing. "Probably," she uttered between her laughs.

I glanced at the chrono and sighed. Since I had squeezed an Ahsoka's appointment in that afternoon, I was very pushed for time. I was really sorry that the session had come to an end on that occasion, but nevertheless, it had. I stood up and stated, "Well, I'm afraid we've come to the end again. I'm very tight this afternoon, so I must go. I'll see you next time."

"Goodbye Ticarti," Ahsoka replied with a smile. As I left her quarters, I still couldn't get over the change that was in Ahsoka and I still couldn't get over the fact that Ahsoka was now in a relationship and a physical one at that. There was no doubt in my mind though, that it would help her and would aid her recovery. However, as pleased and stunned with her state of mind, as I was; I knew that Ahsoka was far from completely recovered. I knew that in future, I would have to watch for any continued problems and I also knew that I would have to guide her with respect to Senator Lux Bonteri. From that point, he was of vital importance to her. Since Master Yoda, Padmé and Anakin had set Lux and Ahsoka up, I hoped that they were aware of that. I made a point to myself to make sure that the council give Ahsoka enough time to see him from time to time. I decided to have a talk with Anakin about that. With that thought and realising that I was late, I ran to my next patient.

Well, that's chapter 9. I hope you all enjoyed that. There were definite streaks of comedy in this chapter and that was quite deliberate. I must say, the final talk between Ahsoka and Ticarti didn't come out quite as I envisioned, but that's okay. I actually prefer it to how I had it even though how I originally had it was perhaps funnier. I think it's got a better balance. I wanted to show here that Ticarti cleared Ahsoka for light duties to complete Ahsoka's recovery not because she believed Ahsoka was completely well. That was why Ticarti was so stern with the council in relation to what she'd allow Ahsoka to do.

There are two questions I want to answer though. 1: Why didn't Ticarti, as her healer, tell Ahsoka off or lecture her about responsibility and precautions after Ahsoka told her about Lux and what the two of them did? Basically, yes, Ticarti knew that such topics were important, but she realised that, at that moment, it was more important for Ahsoka to gain the happiness and joy from her new relationship. As she said, Ticarti didn't want to say something that would set Ahsoka back. Basically, she determined that the gains for Ahsoka were more important than the risks. 2: Why didn't I show Ticarti being told by Obi-Wan about the twins? Since Ticarti is telling this to older children, she's only telling the story that is relevant to the case so she mentioned what she had been told, but she had no reason to tell of the conversation.

Anyway, next chapter; Ticarti meets with Master Yoda again, since Anakin and Obi-Wan have gone to hunt down Nute Gunray. She discusses the council's approach to Ahsoka now she's with Lux. We also catch the next appointment after Ahsoka rescues Anakin, Obi-Wan, Katooni and Petro from Utapau and just after she's volunteered for the mission to Mustafar. Katooni's injuries that she sustained on that mission get their first mention in this story.