"She can't be dead," Carth said, pulling off the helmet of his envirosuit. "Jolee, tell me she's not dead!"

"Would you want me to lie to you?" Jolee replied, lying Elizabeth gently down on one of the beds in the med bay.

"Damnit!" Carth quickly shed the rest of the suit and knelt by Elizabeth's head. I did not go out there with 1/8 of my air to bring her back dead! he thought. I almost ran out of air myself. Like this woman wasn't going to get me killed one day, anyway.

"Her presence isn't only necessary, eh?" It wasn't a question. "Least of all to you."

"Would you just – ugh! You are so frustrating!" So I forgave her. Calling her beautiful doesn't mean I'm in love with her. Either way. I'm not ready for her to die yet. "…How long did she go without air?"

"11 minutes. You'd best start CPR."

Carth quickly searched his medical knowledge and came up with nothing. "Is there… is there any chance?"

Jolee turned to Carth , his eye twinkling in that creepy way old men's eyes do. "What do you think?"

"I think I'd sure be dead after 11 minutes without air."

"Is that so?"

"This isn't a joke old man!" Carth would have bared his teeth and growled had he been a kath hound or something of the like.

Jolee hit Carth over the head with his 'saber. "Then start CPR!"

,.-::-.,.-::-.,.-::-.,.-::-.,.-::-.,

This time it was Carth leaning over Elizabeth in the med bay of the Ebon Hawk. It was he whose brow was creased with worry. It was a full day after he'd dragged her envirosuit across the floor of Manaan's ocean. She still hadn't woken up, and Jolee refused to say a word. Still, they wouldn't put her in the med bay if she weren't going to live, right?

Carth watched the steady rise and fall of her chest and sighed. Worrying about her wouldn't do a thing except make it worse if something bad did happen. But it wasn't as if he could help it. He picked up her hand and felt her wrist for a pulse, eventually finding himself stroking the palm of her hand, gently.

Elizabeth's eyes fluttered open and closed. All she felt at first was her hand, warm, that someone was holding it, then she opened her eyes fully and glanced to the side. "Carth?" she mouthed.

Carth nearly jumped out of his skin. "Damnit, woman, don't scare me like that!" he shouted, then laughed nervously, straightening. "You're okay. You're alive. You Jedi are pretty damn tough."

"How did I…?"

"Uh, well…"

As if she was waiting for her cue, Mission barged in and gently nudged Carth to the side. She bent over Elizabeth and winked at her. "Carth here went out in the other envirosuit on 1/8 air. Risked his life to save yours." She grinned and nudged Elizabeth's arm. "You're pretty lucky!"

Elizabeth smiled up at Carth, who was rubbing his neck and looking to the side. "Thanks," she said. "Second time you've saved me. You planning on making a habit of it?"

Carth dropped his hand and smiled back at her. "If you plan on making a habit of getting yourself into dangerous situations? Sure."

"Well, that's real sweet!" Mission cooed, then stepped back. "I'll just leave you two alone, then."

"Mission!" Carth glared at her, then sighed. "Almost as annoying as Jolee, sometimes, I swear. And she's not even a Jedi."

"Hey!"

"Eh – whoops." Carth grinned sheepishly.

"So why'd you do it, this time?" Elizabeth asked him, propping herself up on her elbows.

"I told you I wanted my jacket back."

It then occurred to Elizabeth that she was still, in fact, wearing his jacket. She blushed and sat up, removed it hastily, and held it out without looking at him. He took it, a puzzled expression on his face.

From her post in the engine room, Mission snorted. "Crazy adults." Zaalbar, as he passed by, paused to stare incredulously at his young twi'lek companion. "Hey, I can't see!" she whined.

/Mission, what are you doing?/

"Spying, isn't it obvious?"

Zaalbar shook his head. /You're crazy./ and he walked off.

Elizabeth perked up. "What about Sami and Kono?" she asked. "Are they ok?"

"A sub's going down for them right now." Carth replied, thankful for the break in the tense atmosphere. "You know what you did, destroying that harvester, right?"

Elizabeth sighed, preparing herself for a long speech about irreparably damaging the war efforts of the Republic.

"You saved us another trip to the Selkath court."

"What?!" That was a bit unexpected. Since when did blowing things up work out with the Selkath peace laws?

"The giant firaxan you saved, the Selkath have some great myths about it, relating to the Kolto. It's called the Progenitor, but beyond that they wouldn't talk much. If you'd poisoned it we would have been banished from Manaan. As it is they've hiked up our landing fee for being 'troublemakers'."

"Stupid, cheap fish-heads…"

"You shake things up everywhere you go, don't you, beautiful."

"Not intentionally, Flyboy."

"Oh, I doubt that." Carth grinned and shook his head at her. "So how're you feeling?"

"Good enough. A little numb, but I'm pretty sure at this point that I'm not dead."

"Heh, I should hope not. You should probably get some more rest. We're leaving the day after tomorrow, early morning."

"Yes, sir." She mock-saluted him as he left, then she laid back and tried to fall asleep.

She did sleep, for quite a while, but it was uneasy, and she eventually got up and wandered into the cockpit. It was empty, surprisingly, but Elizabeth was glad. She wanted to be alone.

How, exactly, does one prepare to take on a Sith Lord? she thought as she gazed out the window to Manaan's ocean. We're just going to casually fly out to greet a dark tool of destruction. You can't just waltz up and say, hey, we're just gonna blow you up no-

"Something bothering you, beautiful?" Carth said, walking up behind her, jolting her out of her thoughts. "I was going to check out the coordinates you got," he held up a datapad, "but it can wait."

"Not bothered, really. It just feels a little weird. A bit too normal."

"Well, what were you expecting?"

"I dunno, something other than the tiny troupes of Sith fighters that plague us each time we leave a port."

"They are pretty annoying, eh."

"That's an understatement." Elizabeth sighed and looked at him, then back out the window. "So, what made you change your mind?"

"Huh?"

"To forgive me," she said, looking him straight in the eyes. His warm, inviting, beautiful chestnut- colored eyes… She shook herself when she realized what she was doing.

"Oh, well… I just, you know, thought about it. For a while. And I… I guess I just can't hate you. I tried, but I couldn't blame you for what's happened. For Telos, for… For my wife, and Dustil, and all the things you've done." He paused and sighed, his expression distant.

Elizabeth picked up his hand and held it up in front of her, but after a moment he pulled away. "I got the revenge I always wanted when Saul died," Carth said, more quietly this time. "But it hasn't brought me the peace I thought it would."

"Should I leave you alone, Carth?"

"…yeah. Thanks, Elizabeth."

She smiled as she left. He called me Elizabeth. I'm not Revan to him anymore.

Later that night, Elizabeth was just getting into bed – she'd moved from the med bay to her original bunks for Jolee. She heard a thump from the swoop bay, and got up to check it out. Apparently, HK had knocked Carth over during a sparring match. Carth scrambled to stand up, his face turning red.

"I, ah, I guess it's been a little too long since I've practiced with a vibroblade," he said.

"Statement: Perhaps you are merely incompetent, meatbag."

"Quiet, droid."

Elizabeth smiled, then glanced at Carth. Something in his expression tugged at her heartstrings. "You look like you've got something to say."

Carth looked startled, but only for a moment. Jedi intuition had almost ceased to surprised him. Almost. "Yeah. Can we… Can we go somewhere else?" He cast a sideways glance at HK.

"Sure," she replied. Carth nodded solemnly and led her to the Communications Bay. He looked a little upset, which was an improvement from cold and angry. It was like old times, when he'd bring her in here to talk, just talk. About his homeworld, childhood, what he thought of the things that they'd experienced. She'd gotten the feeling a lot of repressed emotions of his had been released, to her, here. It made her feel special, that he was willing to open up to her about everything.

"Elizabeth," he said, and she looked up at him. "I'm… Uh… I'm concerned. About you. I've been keeping these thoughts to myself, even since we left Dantooine, but I think it's time I say something."

"What is it?"

"I'm worried about you. You have a lot of courage, sometimes to the point of recklessness, and you've remained strong this whole time, but… I'm afraid there's some greater danger ahead."

"What are you talking about?" Thus far, he'd succeeded in flattering, then confusing her. She wondered what he'd do next.

"I think you might be setting yourself up for a fall. Maybe at the urging of the Jedi, I don't know… But you're definitely going to become a target. If, uh… If I'm going to find some purpose now, beyond this mission, then it's going to have to be in protecting you."

"You've thought a lot about this, haven't you?" Flattering, confusing, surprising, then flattering again.

"Yeah…" Carth sighed. "I don't know why, but I think some terrible fate is waiting for you. I think the Jedi council knows it, too. And I don't want that to come to pass. If I'm going to live past all this, I need you to, as well. Let me… Let me protect you. From yourself, from the Sith… You have to let me try."

"H-how could you protect me?"

"I… I don't know. I'm not the best of men, and I'm not the strongest fighter there is. But I'll find a way."

"Why are you doing this, Carth?"

Whereas before, he had been borderline whispering, he was now only barely audible. "Because… Because I didn't get a chance to save my wife or my son. Because I finally have the chance to do things right for a change, to do something right."

"Carth, you're a war hero and a highly respected pilot – you've done plenty of things right."

"Somehow it never feels that way." His face darkened, and he looked to the floor. Things were quiet for a moment, and she listened to the hums and beeps of the computers while searching her mind for something to say, something to comfort him.

"Carth? …You've done a lot right by me… So you know…" She put a hand over his, and this time he didn't pull away.

After telling himself over and over that she was his friend, he wondered at the rate his heart was beating. Finally, he let go of his pride and pulled her into an embrace.

She steeled herself for just a moment, startled, then she relaxed, slipping her arms around his waist. He knew she would fit well with him. So… fragile, yet resilient, she felt warm, making his skin tingle everywhere she touched it.

Maybe, Elizabeth thought, this is what he needs for comfort. She pressed her forehead to his chest to hide her red face.

They simply stood there for a while, him holding her, until Elizabeth reluctantly backed away. She really, really hadn't wanted to, but did anyway, without knowing exactly why. "We should… We should go to sleep," she mumbled, head down, then she ran off to the starboard dormitory, her bare feet padding surprisingly quietly on the metal floors.

"Wait, Elizabeth-" Carth began, then sighed, watching her go with a dejected expression. He could feel the lack of her presence as much as he'd felt her in his arms. He walked ever-so-slowly back to his own bunk, confused and disappointed, and sat on it, leaning over his knees, wondering if he shouldn't have tried. Wondering why his face felt so hot.

I don't love her. I don't love her. I don't love her.

The next morning, the crew of the Hawk was standing in the hanger. Roland was there, and a few Republic soldiers, along with Sami, Kono, and Shaelas, the Selkath whose daughter had turned to the Sith. Elizabeth shook hands with Roland, and was startled to receive a bear hug from Sami. All she got from Kono was a begrudged nod of acknowledgment.

"You did good out there," Roland said.

"I wouldn't be here to have done so if it weren't for these fine ladies and gentleman," Elizabeth replied, gesturing to the motley crew behind her. After a protestant beep from T3, she quickly added, "and droids, too."

"You've done great things for the Republic here. The Sith aren't going to be quite as welcome, from now on…" Roland continued, "and your actions here may well tip the scale in the war."

"It was an honor, sir."

Shaelas walked up to her and inclined his head. "I cannot thank you enough for returning my daughter to me. When nowhere else, you will find welcome in my home."

"We should get going," Jolee said. "Enough of the goodbye party."

"Duty calls," Elizabeth said to those who'd gathered to see them off. She bowed to them, and she and her crew retreated onto their ship. The Hawk primed, took off from Manaan, and headed straight for the Star Forge.


Author Comments: Ohnoes! Resolved cliffhanger! And... Uh... she said duty! What shall happen between them now?

Do please tell me if you find any mistakes. That includes Ebon Hawk not being italicized, Sith, Sith Lord, Mandalorian, Republic, Force not capitalized, and spelling/spacing errors (especially with those stupid Wookie names. That means you, Kashyyyk ... Rwookrrorro & Jaarak & Woorwill & Freyrr & Chorrawl & Worrroznor!!)