The report from enemy guns and the screams of the dying echoed in Cassandra's head long after night fell and the battle concluded. The Geonosian desert's natural haze blurred the stars and dark firmament, casting the sand and rock formations in dusky shadow.

She stood alone on a rise, staying within view of the Republic campfires. The tents were arranged in a protective circle around the army's ships and tanks. Anakin was somewhere close by, absorbed in his own contemplation.

The fires illuminated the debris behind the camp two clicks away, the wreckage and ruin of a rough battle. Fatigue pulled at her edges. Cassandra knew she should turn in and sleep for the campaign began anew at dawn.

Tired as her body was, her mind raced with every filament of the invasion. Exploding ships, blaster fire, the flare of Jedi deflecting shots with their lightsabers. The smell of death especially. Both human and giant locust. The stench of the bugs was the worst, like smashed box elder bugs on steroids. Their crunchy gooey corpses strewn across the sand.

All of this coalesced into a screaming tornado of ghosts, crying out in pain and suffering. Cassandra wrapped her arms around herself. Logically, she knew this wasn't her fault. The war began long before she arrived in the galaxy. Survivor's guilt pricked her conscience, convincing her she could have done more. Cast her spells faster. Rescued more injured soldiers.

The reality is, the army was outnumbered by machines. She was human and did the best she could.

In her heart, Cassandra knew protecting the Jedi and clones was the right thing to do. What was that saying? 'All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing.'

During the invasion, Cassandra hadn't killed any living creature. She wiped out the droids, but they were machines.

A breeze swept across the desert, stirring her hair. Behind her, footsteps sounded.

Without turning around, she knew Anakin had come to fetch her. Sucking in a breath, she turned to face her boyfriend. "I know. I strayed too far from camp."

Like her, red dust covered him head to toe. Firelight cast shadows on the stern handsome features of his face. "You did well today."

Praise from Anakin was rare. Cassandra summoned a vague smile crossing the distance between them. "I wish I could have done more."

"We've a long way to go before recapturing Geonosis." He said grimly, falling into step beside her. "Destroying the droid factory won't be easy with Obi-Wan and Master Mundi injured."

"It's not like they crashed their ships on purpose." Cassandra said as they entered camp. "Besides, Master Unduli seems competent."

Even if the Jedi wore a nun's habit that invoked the terror of hellfire and rosary beads and made Cassandra suddenly want to go to confession. She wasn't even Catholic.

The impulse to touch Cassandra overwhelmed everything. Anakin gazed around. They were in view of the clones and Ahsoka. No one paid them any attention. He brushed his finger subtly across her knuckles before coiling his hand into a fist. "Follow me, I'll brief you on tomorrow."

Holding the tent flap aside, Cassandra ducked inside. The tent was larger than the others surrounding it. A mark of being a general.

Out of view of prying eyes, Anakin allowed himself to relax. He stripped off his boots and armor, ruffling the dust out of his hair. Sand was sand no matter what desert planet he stood on. The tiny grains had chapped his skin in places. Wincing, he stripped off his tabard and tunic leaving his torso bare.

Cassandra arched a brow. "Now, I appreciate the view, but is this the way a General usually brief's a subordinate? Shirtless?"

Anakin collapsed on his cot with a groan, resting his forearms on his knees. "In my first aid kit is a jar of skin cream. Can you fetch it?"

Her amusement fled. "Sure. Are you hurt?"

"Chafed."

Her eyes darkened with sympathy as she noticed the red streaks on his torso and back where the armor had pressed into his skin. Cassandra uncapped the cream and gently dabbed the tender flesh. Her soft touch soothed him, chasing away the last of his tension.

Anakin closed his eyes and enjoyed her caresses. "I hate sand. It's coarse and gets everywhere."

"Can't say I'm a fan myself." She swiped the ointment over raw skin below his left pectoral. "Pretty sure I got sand in my bra and... other places." Cassandra lifted his arm, smearing ointment where the armor had dug along his ribs. "Honestly, the armor doesn't seem to offer much protection. Why do you wear it?"

"To humor the Council. We're all required to wear armor and gauntlets." Anakin replied lifting his eyelids to watch her.

Cassandra crouched in front of him, slender brows wrinkled in concentration. A faint sunburn had sprouted on the tip of her nose from being under the Geonosian sun. She crinkled her nose when she noticed him staring. "What?"

"You are so amazing, Angel." He said tenderly.

"I aim to do my best." Cassandra rose and moved behind him, smearing the ointment on his back.

Almost every compliment seemed to bounce off her protective armor. Being praised made her uncomfortable. Anakin suspected this had a lot to do with the pain of her past. She'd let him in but still struggled with her feelings.

She massaged the cream over his shoulder and down his bicep, stopping at the edge where the prothesis was welded to his flesh. "Does it hurt?"

"Mmm. It hurts all the time. Especially after a day of battle." Anakin had gotten good at ignoring the constant twinge and pull of flesh since he lost the majority of his arm.

Cassandra's fingertips glowed gold. "I'm not a trained healer but I can numb it." The magic sank into his flesh, a wash of cool spreading through his joint.

Anakin released a relieved sigh. "Thank you."

"You're always taking care of me." She replied softly in his ear and nuzzled his hair. "See? I can take care of you too."

Capping the jar, she placed it in his lap. Anakin twined his fingers with hers, still greasy from the cream. "Allow me to return the favor."

"I... guess so. You've already seen me naked."

Anakin turned red. "I... Cass you were sick! I-I wasn't focused on that!"

Cassandra burst into giggles at his aghast expression. "The look on your face!" She crowed. "I wish I had a camera!"

Flustered, Anakin fumbled the jar. Shaking slightly, he set it aside and motioned for her to hold still. "Don't tease me." He mumbled, unbuckling the straps on her armor.

She heaved a sigh and removed her gauntlets. "I'm not being mean. It's natural to tease the ones you love."

Sweat had glued her tunic to her body. Anakin peeled it off slowly, afraid of hurting her. He tossed the tunic aside and reached for the ointment. Her undergarment pushed her breasts into soft mounds. The pale flesh rose and fell with her breaths and Anakin's blood rushed south to his groin.

He cursed mentally, shifting to hide his visible reaction to her body. 'Now, isn't the time for such things. After we retake Geonosis.'

"Is there a problem?" Cassandra asked when he continued to fidget like his ass was on fire.

"Uh, no. I'm just tired." Anakin applied cream to the chapped skin under the wide bra band. He accidentally brushed the underside of her right breast, marveling how soft her skin was.

He swallowed hard and focused on something else. "I'm sorry."

Cassandra was baffled. "For what?"

"For getting so upset when you arrived." He caressed the large, jagged scar on her stomach, and she shivered reflexively. "When you almost died it gave me nightmares. The most important thing to me is our love. I can't bear thinking about something happening to you, Cass."

She shook her head, smiling faintly. "I wasn't really mad. It's not like either of us were given a choice to be here. We'll do the best we can. That's all anyone can expect."

Anakin found a clean tunic in his stash for Cassandra to borrow until she shook out the sand from her own. They broke open his ration box and shared a humble meal of ration bars and canteens of water.

"Your role remains the same tomorrow. Provide support from the Mirror Dimension and follow Tip's orders."

Cassandra nibbled on her bar. "I like the clones." She said thoughtfully. "I wasn't sure what to think of them at first, but they're so optimistic you can't help but like them. The culture they've formed reminds me strongly of Vietnam era soldiers. The clones have a lot of grit."

"Not everyone respects their sacrifice." Anakin sipped from his canteen, continuing. "Some Jedi view them as cannon fodder. They're human beings. Not pawns."

The clones reminded him of his own painful past as a slave. Anakin would like nothing more than to barrel into the Senate and demand civil rights for his men but the corruption in Coruscant had festered and poisoned the government.

Cassandra's eyes dimmed with understanding. "No life should be thrown away."

The mood in the tent was heavy. Anakin shrugged off his melancholy and brightened. "The galaxy wasn't built in a day. We have to hope things can change for the better."

She clinked her ration bar against his. "To a better future."

"For everyone." Anakin added.

*************************************************************************************

Turning off the lantern, Cassandra curled up on the pallet beside Anakin, draping an arm over his chest. "How did you get your scar?"

"Can you be more specific?" Amusement laced his voice. "I have a lot of scars."

She traced the thin line skimming alongside his eyebrow and eye. "This one."

"In a lightsaber duel with Ventress. You met her on Ansion."

Her mind dredged up the image of the bald, voluptuous female alien flirting with Obi-Wan. A perfect match made in hell in her opinion. Cassandra suspected Ventress was the one to kill her friend Dr. Khal and her archaeological team. A knot of anger formed in her belly to think the bitch hurt Anakin too. "I remember her. When did it happen?"

"About three weeks before you and I met." Anakin threaded his fingers through Cassandra's hair, playing with the strands.

"I noticed." Cassandra blurted, turning her head to look at him. "When you were waiting for me in the vestibule at Kamar Taj. I didn't feel like it was my place to be nosy."

"Be honest, you were checking me out." Anakin sounded smug, sliding his finger lazily through her waves.

Cassandra rolled her eyes. It was dark so he couldn't see her. "Need I remind you, of how bumbling you were when we first met?"

"I was enchanted by your beauty, my love." Anakin turned his head slightly and kissed her forehead. "Let's get some sleep. Its going to be a long day tomorrow."

It was the little things, Cassandra concluded as she drifted off, that made life worth living. 

A/N: Just a sweet little interlude. Hope you enjoyed it!