Sorry for the delay. I was updating my fanfics. :)

*.*.*

Dusk was on the horizon, the last tendrils of sunset leaving this part of Lehon. Tobias eventually stopped the speeder in front of a thatched, two-story house, complete with its own flower boxes. He shut down the engine, before dismounting and helping Janet get off the bike.

Here and there, Janet saw the Rakata depart to their own houses, alongside the white sandy shore. Tobias' house stood a few feet away from the shoreline, nestled in the vibrant green grass.

"Home sweet home!" Tobias said, softly, heading towards the closed front door.

"This is where you live?" Janet asked, watching the door slid open, allowing the hobbit to enter the estate.

"Come on! We need to check that wound," Tobias said, coming out again and dragging her through the doorway.

"Aww!" Janet said in amusement and wonder.

The inside of this hobbit's home looked very close to the seabed. There was coral in filled fish bowls, starfish hanging on the walls, as well as a few cots sitting somewhere in the living room and in the upstairs loft. Scattered about the room, and on the cushioned blue and white furniture, were an assortment of scrolls and maps. Some scrolls had a language she didn't understand.

This language must belong to the Rakata.

"Here. Take a seat." Tobias said, moving her over to a flat cushioned bench. "Let's examine that wound." He set aside the first aid kit he found in the pantry, before pulling up her tunic a little. In his haste, he undid the bandage and cleansed the bruise using a substance Janet wasn't familiar with but smelled like decorated sea salt soap.

She sighed, loving the smell. "That smell's so good! What is it?"

"My own remedy," he chuckled. "I collected some sea salt and mixed it with a liquid substance, used for cleansing wounds. It seems to have worked."

"I'd love some," She said, kindly.

"I would tell you, but then word would spread quickly and I would be ruined," Tobias admitted, finishing his rumination, before bandaging the bruise again. "So, who were you with when you left the First World?"

"I was with this strange blue alien named Koala because he looks like a Koala," Janet said, explaining briefly.

"Ah! An alien that looks like a bear," Tobias nodded. "We have plenty of those in this universe. Some may look like bears."

"This is no joking matter! He's real and I can prove it—" She was grabbed by Tobias, who set her back down.

"Wait a second. I'm not finished yet!" He snapped. He told her, calmly, "This wound needs to heal, or else it'll get worse. You wouldn't want that, now would you?"

"No." She said, calmly. "I still don't understand what we're doing here. What is this all for?"

"Well, I'm sure Aslan will tell us more when he gets here," Tobias said, completing his task. "There. You're all done!" He moved his hands away, allowing her to pull down her tunic, as he set his utensils and supplies back in the first aid kit. "Consider yourself lucky. I don't know what I would do if my father dies here."

"Your father's dying? Halfbern can't die!" Janet said, alarmed.

Tobias looked at her in fury. He spoke again, softly, "I'm afraid he can. It's all Maximus' fault!" He paused. "Look, if that dog didn't betray us, we'd all have lives to live! The last thing I want is to see my father dying, in a place where the Rakata eat the dead!" He huffed, "That is not how I want to remember my father."

"Maybe we can talk with them, reason with them. Maybe your father will be okay," Janet said, doing her best to calm him.

"I've already tried! Janet, there's nothing I can do for him." Tobias cried, hysterical. He paused, looking away. "I want to take care of my father, ensure that my children have a grandfather. Someone who will love him! Now… now, I don't know what fate has in store for me—" He shook his head, enamored by his own thoughts, "—for us."

He gulped. "I do know one thing."

"What's that?" She asked, concerned.

"We go and see my father before he passes away." He faced her, determination in his eyes. "I won't lose you, too. I won't lose your mother and father, or other members of the Order of Seven!" He said, softer, "They need us. They need us badly." He asked her, curious, "Don't you want that? Don't you want us to have a happy family?"

"Yes, but we've never experienced death before."

"Yes, we have." He corrected her. "Our world died, so these worlds could be created." He looked up at the skylight, watching the stars zoom across the night sky. "Every single one of them is a piece of what we lost. This world reminds me too much of home." He looked down at his hands, shaken up. "The last thing I want to be is stuck here. It's hopeless, Janet. It is." He stood up, moving the first aid kit back into the pantry.

Janet fell silent. She wasn't sure what she could do for him. He didn't want to see another death? Was that bad? Should they not think like that? Maybe there was a way to help him see past his pain.

"Tobias," that got his attention. She looked at him in curiosity, "I know this is hard, but I want to see your father, let him know everything's going to be all right. Ease his suffering. I'm sure he'll want to see you before he leaves us."

Tobias gulped, a tear shedding down his cheek.

"Don't you think so?" Janet asked.

He nodded. "I couldn't agree more." He shook his head. "I don't want to talk about death. Do you?"

"No, we must go and see him out of respect." She said, encouraging him.

"You're right." He nodded again. "Let's go back." He sat down on the bench next to her, admitting afterwards, "Whenever you're ready to leave, we'll go. Sound good?"

"That sounds brilliant," she sighed. He looked so gorgeous when he cried. She understood his reasons. Nothing could be more heartbreaking than losing a father. She wondered then how she would react if she saw her mother dying right before her very eyes.

.

The pair returned to the med bay – or so Janet learned from Tobias – to check on the hobbit's father. Janet gasped the moment they entered Halfbern's room. He was spewing out blood from his mouth. There was also a gash on the side of his stomach, worse than Janet's bruise.

Did they all have bruises when they arrived?

She gulped, unsure how she could stay in this room. Thick blood streaming from Halfbern's wound, making it difficult for him to breathe. She looked away, only to hear her name muttered through Halfbern's lips.

"Janet!" Halfbern said, weakly.

Tobias looked at her, too. Oh, how she wanted to leave this room and never come back, but that was not meant to be, for Halfbern's son looked at her with longing eyes. It was enough for her to stay and brave it out!

"It's all right. He's not going to hurt you," Tobias said, extending a hand to her.

"I don't know if I should be in here," Janet said, concerned.

"I know." Tobias gulped, doing his best to keep it together. "It's all right—" He said, reaching out, "—I know how this feels. I hate seeing him like this, too."

Janet silently walked towards his father, keen on looking away. She couldn't do it, forcing herself to look at Halfbern again as he gulped, blood spewing out once more from his mouth. Janet looked up at the Rakata healers. They set to work, making things easier for the injured hobbit.

Janet turned her head to the door. Her mother and father walked in, staring at their fallen comrade. Janus looked away, resting her head on her Dalmatian husband Jock's shoulder. Janet sighed, wondering how badly this must be for them to see and witness their friend dying.

"Janet," Halfbern said, softly, "be good to Tobias. Take care of him—" He coughed again. There wasn't much time. "Promise me."

Janet looked at Tobias for comfort, but all she got was pity. There wasn't any say in the matter! This was it! She turned to Halfbern, telling him softly, "I will. I will look after your son."

Halfbern smiled, coughing weakly. His eyes rolled back, his last breath drawn. He was gone.

*.*.*

Thanks for reading. :)