Title: Dreams Pass in Time
Author: MysteriousRaven13
Summary: What if what we sought to prevent from happening, actually came to pass? Who is to blame? Yourself… or a much higher power? Could… would it cause you to forsake all that you know and believe as well as succumb to the temptation of the dark side?
Timeframe: ROTS
Characters: Anakin, Obi-Wan, Siri, Padme, and brief appearances by others
Genre: Drama, Angst
Note: This story came from a plot bunny that I adopted from Hananiah on the Jedi Council Forum. The plot bunny is where instead of Anakin having visions of Padmé dying they were of his former master. You can read that particular plot bunny here: http://boards.
Sentences that are in bold means that it is directly from the book, Revenge of the Sith.
And yet the great prophets of the Jedi had always taught that the gravest danger in trying to prevent a vision of the future from coming to pass is that in doing so, a Jedi can actually bring it to pass…
Revenge of the Sith
Chapter One: The Dream
I'm sorry, Anakin. Forgive me… my padawan.
Anakin lurched upright in bed, gasping for breath. He looked down at his wife to see if he had woken her up from her much needed sleep. Thankfully, he had not disrupted her when he quickly sat up in the bed.
Anakin slid slowly out of bed, not wanting to take the chance of waking his pregnant wife. In desperate need of fresh air, he crept quietly down the long, curving staircase that led to the veranda that overlooked Padmé Amidala-Skywalker's private landing deck of her senatorial apartments.
The chilled air of the Coruscant environment did not bother the warm-blooded, Tatooine borne Jedi for once. Too much was on his mind that the cold breeze that ripple through did not bother him in his semi-naked state. He hoped that the fresh – albeit recycled – air would help to clear his over-active mind as he tried to recall what had woken him up.
For a brief moment, it appeared that the dream – or was it a vision? – seemed to elude the young, handsome Jedi Knight, teasing him like a seductive lover as it stayed just beyond his reach. Even as it continued to elude him, Anakin still felt a sense of dread and profound sorrow. Suddenly, as if a lightsaber had been ignited, the tears that he had been unknowingly keeping at bay, spilled forth, leaving tracks down his cheeks as he remembered.
I'm sorry, Anakin. Forgive me… my padawan.
Obi-Wan Kenobi, his former master. His father, brother, and best friend… had been in immense pain. It felt as if he was dying, yet the details were hazy. As if he were trying to look out of goggles that were coated in dirt and grime. He debated calling the temple to see if his old master was in residence. He didn't dare try to access the now dormant master-padawan bond, lest questions arise that he wasn't ready to answer. Part of him, the brash and reckless Knight, was tempted to take his personal speeder and go to Obi-Wan's councilor quarters; but the other part of him, the scared and still seeking praise little boy, was afraid of what he might find. What if something had actually happened to his best friend and mentor while he had laid in the comfort of his loving wife's arms? What if it had been something that he hadn't been able to sense? Which was impossible, he was the Chosen One. But still, that particular thought was not really helping him at the moment. What if-
She moved more quietly than the smoky breeze, but he felt her approach. Even at this late and awkward stage of her pregnancy, Padmé still moved with a gracefulness that still managed to capture her young husband's attention every time.
She took a place beside him at the railing and laid her soft human hand along the back of his hard mechanical one. And she simply stood with him, staring silently out across the city that had become her second home. Waiting patiently for him to tell her what was wrong. Trusting that he would.
He could feel her patience, and her trust, and he was so grateful for both that tears welled once more. He had to blink out at the burning night, and blink again, to keep those fresh tears from spilling over onto his cheeks. He put his flesh hand on top of hers and held it gently until he could let himself speak.
"Did I wake you, angel?" He asked quietly, still staring out into the blazing night. He wasn't quite ready to talk about what was bothering him.
"In a way."
Confused, he turned to look down at his petite and pregnant wife, "In a way?"
Trying to lighten her husband's gloomy disposition, she joked, "Well, you did get me in this condition. So from a certain point of view, you did wake me." Padmé frowned at him as her response didn't even warrant a response from her husband. "No, it appears that your overly active son enjoys making me use the refresher at every chime of the hour."
This time, Anakin smiled sadly at his wife, "Daughter."
Padmé glared mockingly at him, "Son." She wrapped her arms around Anakin as she pressed the side of her face against his bareback. "I guess it could be worse. We could be having twins."
Anakin chuckled softly, "That wouldn't be too bad, angel." He grasped her hand, pulling her tighter around him, as if it would help to keep the demons at bay. "It was a dream."
"From your reaction, I take it was a bad one?"
"Yes. The dream was like the ones I use to have about my mother, before-" Unable to continue, he just turned around so that they were facing each other.
"I see." For a moment she thought he might have dreamed of her and their unborn child. But that couldn't be it, because he was looking down at her. In the past, when he would of her, especially if it was something bad, he would avoid eye contact. As if he was afraid for her to see his gut-wrenching grief. But if it was her, then who? "And?"
Anakin turned to stare back out at the night. He could make out the towers of the Jedi Temple in the distance. "It… it was about… Obi-Wan."
Somehow that did not surprise her. For as much as Anakin complained about his strict and sometimes unrelenting mentor, he still looked to Obi-Wan for guidance. "Obi-Wan?" she asked quietly, patiently waiting for him to continue.
Minutes went by when Anakin could finally make himself tell her, his voice raw and hoarse as though he'd been shouting all day. "It was about Obi-Wan dying, I think. He… he was in so much pain. I could see it in his eyes."
Pulling Padmé to him in a desperate hug, he added, "I could not bear it if he died, Padmé. He is the only parent I have left."
"How?" was all she asked.
"I don't know. It's still hazy, elusive. I just know that it's not here. I think he was on a mission. He was apologizing for something. I… I don't… know what it was about. The more I think about it, I believe it is a vision." He ran his flesh hand through this long, blond hair, as he sighed in frustration.
Forgive me… my padawan. That particular phrase kept running through his mind. Why was Obi-Wan asking him to forgive him? Why?
"Then we have nothing to worry about, my love."
Startled from his thoughts, he asked, "What was that?"
Smiling gently at her husband, she replied, "I said that we have nothing to worry about. Both you and Obi-Wan earned a month's leave after rescuing the chancellor. Plus, this morning you mentioned that the next mission for you and Obi-Wan was two months away and you would be doing that together. So you see, my love, you are worrying yourself for nothing. You will not allow anything to happen to Obi-Wan, and I know Obi-Wan will not allow anything to happen to you."
He stared at the temple in the distance once more, "I wish it was that simple, Padmé."
Deciding it was time to change the subject, Padmé turned towards her husband, "Speaking of Obi-Wan, there is something that we must talk about. Now is just as good of a time as ever. It is something that I have been thinking about for the past couple of months."
"I think we should tell Obi-Wan."
Husband and wife looked at one another as they both stated the same comment. Both realizing how tired they were of hiding and lying to their friend.
"Are you… are we… ready for what might arise once we tell him?"
"He's your best friend, Annie. He must suspect already."
"It's one thing to have him suspect. It's something else to shove it in his face. He's still on the Council. He'd have to report me. And…"
"What, Annie? He is your best friend. He is the only one that I am willing to trust our secret, both of them, too. I don't think he would betray us like that. No matter how much this will hurt him, he won't betray us."
"Is this what we want, Padmé? Because we won't be able to leave this path once we start on it." Anakin asked, as he pulled Padmé to him, hugging her as he rest his chin on top of her head.
"It's the right thing to do, Anakin. The only thing to do."
He closed his eyes.
She said, "Come upstairs, Anakin. The night's getting cold. Come up to our bed."
"All right. All right." He found that he could breathe again, and his shaking had stilled. "Don't say anything to Obi-Wan. Let me tell him. And you're right. It is the right thing to do. I will talk to him tomorrow." Anakin pretended to feel relieved for Padmé's sake as he followed her up the stairs and back to their bedroom. Morning would come soon enough and hopefully his courage would not leave him when he faced his old master.