Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review! It means so much to me. All feedback is welcome, please let me know what you think! Happy almost Valentine's Day!


Part 3

And you light me up...

"Sith, Kenobi! What happened?"

"I – it's a long story..."

"Did you fall out of a moving speeder? Come here," Siri grabbed the small med-pac in the room they were sharing and pulled Obi-Wan over to sit down on the bed. He followed her wearily and sat where she directed.

As she pulled gauze and bacta out of the kit, he stripped off his filthy cloak and tossed it, uncaring, across the room. Siri glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, he was staring straight ahead, his forehead creased in worry. Resting his weight with one hand on his knee, he looked as upset as she felt.

Gathering what she needed in a small pile next to her on the bed, Siri bit her lip studying Obi-Wan's battered face. Where to start? There was a deep cut on his brow, and a scrape across his cheek; his nose was scratched up and looked a little swollen, and there was a bit of blood, well, everywhere.

"It's not as bad as it looks," he said, catching her eye. "I can hardly even feel it."

Siri rolled her eyes. Men. There was no way that gash above his right eye didn't sting terribly. She poured a generous amount of antiseptic on a patch of gauze and pressed it directly to that cut.

Obi-Wan gasped, sucking air in through clenched teeth.

"Don't be a crecheling," she scolded him.

"Don't be so antagonistic," he countered.

"Don't lie to me," she said, a bit softer. Her lips quirked in a half smile. "You're a terrible liar."

"Only when it's you," he admitted.

Siri relented, pulling the gauze back to dab carefully at his other injuries.

"It hurts a little," he said, "but it really does look worse than it is."

Siri sighed. This mission had not been going well at all. She hadn't expected it to be easy, but she hadn't expected this. The people here were desperate, beyond desperate, and no help was coming. The planet had been ravaged by violent storms more than a year ago. Storms that had destroyed their homes and communities, their crops and natural resources, and in turn, their trade, their economy, their livelihood. And now it seemed their hope was gone, too.

"What did the Prime Minister say?" she asked, now applying bacta to the worst of the cuts.

"He doesn't want us to get involved in the demonstrations. It would only incite the situation and the security forces will do their best to keep violence from breaking out."

"It's a little late for that," she muttered.

"He says it should calm down a bit tonight."

"Why?"

"Siri... " he gave her a look but she ignored it, closing the med-pack with a decisive snap. So she didn't study every detail of a planet's entire history. It was inefficient for them both to spend time on it.

"It's winter solstice, First Winter's Eve. And there's supposed to be a comet a little later. It's only visible every ten years."

They looked at each other and Siri knew they were having the same thought. It had been 10 years since... since Naboo.

"It's supposed to be a night of reflection, and introspection. A quiet time to spend with family. Did you speak with the Council?"

"Yes," she sighed, looking down at her hands. "They said we could have two more days to try to figure something out." Aid was sorely needed, and nearly non existent out here. The heavy taxes on the trade routes to these outlying systems made few willing to help and the requests for support from the Republic were neatly tied up with red tape in the Senate. "And if things get worse... they'll call us back."

"The people want the Prime Minister to step down."

"Then they'll have to start all over," Siri said.

"Maybe that's what they need." Obi-Wan ran his hand across his face, smoothing his fingers over his beard in contemplation.

"Obi-Wan," she shook her head sadly, "they're talking about seceding. About joining –"

"I know," he said quietly. "We'll figure something out."

She wasn't sure if she quite believed him, but she wanted to. He raised his hand to stroke her hair and she leaned into his touch. Smiling gently, she swiped her thumb across a smudge of dirt on his chin. "I'll get a cloth," she said.

"No, I'll just get in the shower." He stood up and started to undress as he headed to the 'fresher, leaving half of his clothes in a pile on the floor outside of the door. It wasn't like him to be this untidy, she thought to herself; this mission was taking as much of a toll on him as her.

Siri lay back on the bed as she heard the water turn on, her head pillowed on her arm. There had to be something, something they could do, but what... Despite Obi-Wan's hopeful words, she had no idea. The situation was far worse then she could have imagined. And the people – lost and helpless.

A flash of light at the small window caught her attention, and she stood up quickly worried at what it might be, but there were only a few people outside. Indeed, it had quieted since nightfall. Glancing up, she searched for the source of the disturbance. Looking to the north, she finally caught sight of the comet.

It was much bigger than she expected, emitting enough light to brighten the dark night sky. Streaks of brilliant white light trailed behind it creating a misty stream of atmosphere.

Deep in thought, she stood at the window until she heard the door to the 'fresher open and a moment later she sensed Obi-Wan coming to stand behind her. They stood together silently, watching the orb of ice and rock move steadily across the northern sky.

"Some say a comet is a bad omen," Obi-Wan said quietly, "but on the longest night of the year, a little extra light could only be a good thing, I think."

Siri smiled to herself. Her Obi-Wan, always positive, even in the face of certain failure. He brushed his hand across her shoulder, then let it slide down to squeeze her arm.

She flinched involuntarily, and Obi-Wan immediately moved to her side to look her in the face. "You're hurt," he accused, frowning at her.

"It's just a bruise," she mumbled not meeting his worried gaze.

"Now who's lying? Your entire upper arm is sore," he said, looking her over as if he could see right through her. "And your hip. Siri, what happened? I told – I asked you to stay here," he said giving her a stern look.

"I... some people started fighting outside, and it was starting to get out of control."

"Siri..."

She knew this was exactly the sort of thing they had been asked not to get involved with. "Obi-Wan, no one knew who I was. There were children, I don't know how they got there, but they were caught up in the mob and I had to help them. They would've been trampled. I was just pushed around a bit, trying to shield them."

"Were they all right?" His gaze softened.

"Yes."

"Come here," he said motioning toward the bed. "Take your suit off, and lie down."

"Shouldn't you buy me dinner first?" She asked dryly.

"I can't heal the tissue completely," he said, ignoring her comment, "but I can ease some of the pain without having to drop into meditation. You were doing quite a job of hiding it from me, before," he said disapprovingly.

Siri payed no attention to the reprimanding look he was giving her and started to undress. Laying down flat on her back, she gave him room on her right side so he could reach her injuries as he kneeled on the bed next to her. If she had to be honest, her entire right side ached horribly.

She had been slammed into a wall trying to get to the frightened little boy and little girl, and then, trying to get them back to safety, they had fallen at the edge of the dense crowd, Siri twisting so they would land on top of her and coming down hard on her right hip. Not to mention, she had been pushed and shoved the entire way in and out of the throng of protestors.

Siri tried to relax as she sensed Obi-Wan's hands settling just over the bruised skin of her arm. She opened herself completely to him and met his concerned gaze in the dim light.

She had been keeping her growing worry carefully tamped down, pushed to the back of her mind, but she couldn't do that now, not with Obi-Wan.

"Siri," he murmured, "try and relax. Release your negative feelings."

She knew he was right. If they were going to find a solution, she needed to have a clear mind. She couldn't let her fear of the direction the galaxy seemed to be headed in cloud her head.

Siri felt a tingly warmth start in her arm and spread outward, and she could feel the Force humming through her, lighting her up from the inside out. After a moment, the pain began to ease and she took a deep, cleansing breath. Time passed slowly, just the two of them in this tiny room, wrapped in the comfort of the Force.

After how long, she didn't know, he moved to the bruise on her hip and she relaxed even more under his tender ministrations, completely losing track of time.

When he had done all he could, he turned the little lamp off, allowing only the dim natural light from the window to wash across them, and lay down next to her pulling her to him in a warm embrace.

Siri appreciated the singular gesture deeply, simply enjoying the feeling of being held, but somewhere along the way it became something more.

Strong hands began to stroke and sooth each sore muscle, in turn. Warm and soft lips brushed across every scrape and scratch. They held onto each other and when it no longer felt like enough Siri tilted her face up towards his and he looked at her with such emotion and light in his eyes, she thought her heart might stop. And then his mouth closed over hers and she lost herself, only in this one moment, allowing him to help heal her mind and body in every way he knew how. Overcome, she knew she would never get tired of the way this man felt, the way he made her feel.

And she knew she would never say it, and she would never hear it, but she saw in his eyes, and felt it in the touch of his hands, that he loved her in every interpretation of the word and that was more than she had ever dared hope for.