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Present day...

Obi-Wan sat on the edge of the bed, holding a steady gaze, watching him breathe, almost as if he were to look away, Anakin would suddenly stop. He watched as the boy's chest rose and fell rhythmically in the depth of his sleep. So much color had returned to his face since late last night when Master Windu had brought him to the healers. Obi-Wan reached up from caressing his hand and touched his forehead. Anakin looked so peaceful, the only evidence of his injuries now showing being a gash near his hairline. At least, that is all Obi-Wan could see- something he was quite grateful for. It pained him to think of what injuries were hidden beneath the gown coving his former padawan's body. The healers had said most of the trauma had been to the head and chest; he had stepped out when they started giving Mace further details. Now, though, all he saw was Anakin, safe and sound, finally home, and recovering surprisingly well.

The healer that had been primarily taking care of Anakin since he was a child came back in and held out a cup towards him. "Thank-you."

She gave him a half smile. "You looked like you needed it."

He smirked and took a sip of the hot caff. "Was that a hint?"

"Well, you do need sleep, but your presence also seems to be helping him. I won't blame you either way."

"I can always make up for sleep." He watched her in fascination as she checked Anakin's condition through a talented combination of technology and the Force. "So what's the verdict?"

"He'll be back to arguing with you with a passion in no time." He laughed tiredly and reached up to rub his temples. "Surprisingly. He really should have died, you know." She smiled and shook her head in disbelief at Anakin.

"He does have a habit of cheating death, doesn't he?" Obi-Wan glanced down at the cup in his hand. "I don't suppose you could inject this directly?"

She gave him and amused look. "I don't think so."

Obi-Wan glanced over his shoulder as Master Windu came in. "How is he?"

"Well, his condition is improving rapidly." Mace nodded and came over to the bedside, placing a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. The Jedi looked up at him and raised one eyebrow.

"Did you get any sleep?"

"I got a few minutes."

"Obi-Wan."

"Don't start lecturing me, Mace. I'm not leaving." They stared at each other in a brief contest of wills, ending in Master Windu walking away with a sigh. "Master," he turned back towards ObI-Wan, "thank-you."

"Don't thank me, thank Nute Gunray." Obi-Wan smirked. "I'm not joking. Finding him was a phenomenal coincidence."

"Right place at the right time- I know. Thank-you anyway." Mace just turned away in typical Jedi modestly and started talking to Anakin's healer.

Obi-Wan finished off the contents of his cup and floated to over to a counter running along the wall. Fighting off sleep he stared at it mindlessly for what felt like a full minute. Eventually, he had to stop to rub his eyes. He was beginning to wander how much longer it would be before his body won out over his will. "Obi-wan?" his heart skipped a beat when Anakin's familiar voice fell sweetly on his ears. He only hesitated for a brief second before looking down to reassure himself that Anakin had indeed spoken. He had never been so glad to see those glowing blue eyes. "Anakin." He whispered and placed his hand on the side of Anakin's head as one would pet a bedridden child. "Hey."

He watched Anakin thoughtfully suck in on his lips a little. Slowly, the boy's flesh hand reached Obi-Wan's arm and slid up to his shoulder where he latched on weakly to the cloth draped around his body. His lips parted and quivered a little. "Am I dead?"

Obi-Wan moved his hand down and laid it partially over both the boy's chest and shoulder. "No." he solemnly realized how lucky he was to be able to give that answer. "No, you're not."

"Are you?" Anakin gave him a goofy grin.

"I certainly hope not." He smiled back as Anakin dropped his hand away from Obi-Wan's shoulder. "Master Windu, June, get over here." The two turned away from their conversation and stepped to Anakin's bedside. Upon seeing him fully awake, she immediately shooed Obi-Wan to the side.

"Anakin, how do you feel?"

"Tired." He tried to sit up but was stopped by Mace gently pushing him back down. "Where am I?"

"Home." Obi-Wan answered immediately.

June leaned over Anakin and started to check on his injuries.

"Is it all right if I ask him a few questions?" She sighed and met Master Windu's gaze.

"A few." He nodded and looked at Obi-Wan.

"Are you oaky with it?" Obi-Wan hesitated for a moment, surprised that Mace felt it important to ask his permission.

"Sure."

"Skywalker, what's the first thing you remember after the droid facility?"

"What droid facility?"

"The one on Geonosis." There was a long silence and Obi-Wan was certain that he could see hint of confusion in Anakin's face.

"What are you talking about? That was destroyed the first time we were there."

Obi-Wan and June exchanged glances. "Anakin," she looked him directly in the eye, "what's the last thing you remember?'

Anakin's brow became tense in thought. "Well, Obi-Wan and I were looking for something- on Geonosis, I believe- and then we split up. After that, it gets a little hazy."

Obi-Wan's jaw dropped a bit. "You do remember your name right?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "Anakin Skywalker."

Mace gave Obi-Wan a halfhearted glare. "Don't look at me like that. It's something."

"Could the fall have caused this?"

"Well, head injuries can cause amnesia, but his memory loss it very selective. More than likely his mind blocked out whatever happened in order to protect him."

"Wait," Anakin's eyes darted across the people standing over him, "what happened?"

Obi-Wan sighed and took hold of Anakin's hand again. "They found you on Tatooine at the bottom of a cliff. You're lucky to have lived."

"What?"

"The found Dooku's body at the top and we're pretty sure you killed him. We just haven't the faintest idea what you two were doing there."

"You should have seen where we found his head."

"Mace," Obi-Wan shot him a look, "You're not helping."

"'Found'? That means I was missing?"

"Four months, three days." Anakin remained silent. "You do understand?"

"Yeah," he pulled his hand away and ran his fingers through his hair, "but I don't feel any different."

"I could try to unblock the memories."

"No." the healer stepped over and pulled Mace to the side. "I mean no disrespect, Master Windu, but his mind blocked it for a reason. If and when the memories do return, it's better if it happens naturally."

"I could be important."

"It could be harmful."

"The fate of the galaxy is at stake and you-"

"The galaxy is not going to fall apart because one man had a little memory lapse!"

"Don't start trivializing the situation."

"I'm trivializing? He could lose his sanity for all you know!"

Obi-Wan and Anakin exchanged slightly amused looks as they argued. "I think they like each other." Anakin whispered to him as he slowly sat up.

He smiled. "Not everyone finds 'heated discussions' attractive in another person."

"I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about. And the technical term is 'passionate disagreement.'"

Obi-Wan grinned and gave him the best look of innocence that he could muster up. "Oh, I just seem to remember how you and a certain young senator used to behave." He took enormous pleasure in watching Anakin glance down nervously. "Of course, I can't be sure about you now. Marriage changes allot in people." Anakin's expression morphed from one of hidden guilt to one of surprise as he looked back up at Obi-Wan. "But then again, since when have you ever changed?"

"You know?" He nodded. "Master, I'm sorry."

Obi-Wan searched the boy's calm eyes for a moment. "No you're not." Anakin broke out into laughter and it nearly tore Obi-Wan's heart open. Every reason he had missed this boy came back to him in a moment , and it hurt., He wanted to bury Anakin in a hug and never let him go again. His heart throbbed unevenly with the surprising desire to cry until Anakin understood just how much worry he had caused.

"Master," Anakin's fingers lightly touched his arm, "are you all right?" Obi-wan looked straight into his eyes. They were filled with a genuine concern. How could Anakin be worrying over him when he had certainly been through so much himself? Of course, Anakin was unable to remember the past four months, and he knew that, but felt a rush of guilt anyway at the realization that Anakin had always been like this. Anakin seemed to worry about him all the time and it made Obi-Wan wonder if he had grown ungrateful and careless when it came to Anakin's wellbeing. Certainly he must have. Perhaps if he had more concern for Anakin, he would have never ignored Anakin's intuition and allowed them to split up. Maybe all this could have been avoided. "Master?"

"I. uh," he broke eye contact and stood up, "I'm going to go and find you some cloths." He had no desire to leave Anakin alone, but it hurt too much to be near him.

Padmé stood out on the veranda with her hands clasped together as her eyes impatiently searched for her husband. She had been looking ever since Obi-Wan hand contacted her in spite of the fact that she had no idea what they would be driving.

He was safe, that was all that mattered. In almost relieved her, in a way, to know that Anakin was unable to remember what happened. Personally, she wished that she too could forget. The suffering that she and undergone, knowing that Anakin's life was in imminent danger, that he was in pain, was more than she could bear. It was unimaginable to think of what he must have gone through.

The speeder slowly came into view and her heart danced in her chest. That was him; she didn't know how she knew, she just did. Padmé ran to the landing platform impressively fast for a pregnant woman as the speeder settled won. Anakin had barely gotten one foot on solid ground before she hand latched onto his neck.

Hormone-amplified emotions rushed through her, bringing tears to her eyes. She buried her face into his shoulder, inhaling his sent and her tears started to leave wet spots on his shirt as his arms wrapped protectively around her, his hands pressing into her back. Her fingers ran across the back of his collar and through the soft hair crowning his head as she squeezed her arms harder around his neck.

Padmé gasped in-between her sobs when their child kicked several times as Anakin's body was pressed up against the wall of her stomach. "Hey. "His warm, comforting voice filled her ears. It was the most beautiful sound in the world. "I'm okay." She pulled away just enough to look into his darling eyes.

"I love you." He responded by lowering his warm lips onto hers and smothering her in a deeply passionate kiss.

"Um, if you two don't mind, I'm just going to leave before this gest any more disgusting." They broke away in time to see Obi-Wan starting to climb back into the speeder.

"Thank-you!" He nodded to her sincere expression of gratitude before taking off back to the temple.

The gentle fondling of her cheek turned her attention back to Anakin. The thrill of having him back leapt through her all over again. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Ani, absolutely nothing."

He started to stroke her hair. "But you looked pained."

"Oh," Padmé laughed. "Your child won't stop kicking me." His mouth opened, but no sound came out as her words registered in his mind.

"Child?" She stepped away to display the large bump under her maternity dress.

"I'm due in two weeks. You didn't notice?"

"You didn't give me time to." A smile spread across his face and he took her back into his arms again. "But it's wonderful."

Padmé grinned and gave him a peck on the corner of his mouth. "I have dinner inside if you're hungry."

"I'm always in the mood for your cooking." She tucked her arm into his and they started across the terrace- hand in hand, husband and wife.

Anakin leaned back against the rocks and twirled his lightsaber carelessly in his hand. The dry Tatooine landscape went on endlessly before his eyes, and the ridge below was darkly shadowed from the suns and void of anything new to see. There was absolutely no desire to talk to Dooku, even if he hand known where he had gone, leaving him with absolutely nothing to do. Yet another reason to despise this place.

"Vader," he turned his head towards Dooku's approaching figure, "I need to leave."

"Do I look like I'm opposed?"

Dooku glared at him for interrupting. "You need to stay there though. Nute Gunray ran into some trouble-"

"Again?" Anakin watched in amusement as Dooku's irritation grew.

"Wait here, I'll consider coming back for you."

He laughed. "Where am I going to go?"

"Missing, hopefully."

"That would be very convenient for you, wouldn't it?" Dooku turned his back and started to walk down the side of the ridge. "Except for the part where Sidious would hold you responsible. "Anakin gave a hint of a smile when Dooku turned around and he saw the anger in the Sith's yellow eyes. Anakin straightened up onto his feet as Dooku approached him, coming with a few inches of his body.

"I don't babysit you, Vader, and though you may be Sidious's 'pet,' you still answer to me." He practically spat the words into Anakin's face.

"'Pet' usually refers to an animal, which, in some meanings of the word, I'll take that a compliment." He saw that Dooku had grown enraged and guarded himself closely.

The count took a few steps back and swiftly brought up his hand, letting sparks fly from his fingertips. Anakin held back he desire to laugh as he threw up his own hand and blocked it with ease. "You've taught me a little too much, I think." He ignited his lightsaber and swung the red blade a little in his hand and started to circle the count. "Come on, you know that eventually there can only be two." Dooku's hand twitched a little. Anakin could sense that he wanted to take him on. "You knew it would come eventually, didn't you? This is the moment you've been waiting for! Fight me!"

The count needed no more persuasion. He began to circle Anakin as well and whipped his own saber from his sleeve. He snapped the blade to life, the rhythmic hum falling in with Anakin's saber. "You haven't even come close to defeating me since this war began; you will fail this time as well."

"We'll see." He brandished his lightsaber in the air and swung it down onto Dooku's. They held each other in a lock for only a second and began to swing at on another with such speed and precision that it would have boggled the mind of the average person. Blow after blow, they demonstrated almost equal skill with the galaxy's most elegant weapon.

Anakin's heart beat faster in his chest with the physical exertion and excitement. The Dark Side power beat through him, naturally calling his next moves for him. Briefly, he gained the upper hand, and although he quickly lost it, he saw certain fear in Dooku's eyes It gave confidence and fuelled his arrogance.

Seeing the brief opening, he swung his leg up and dug his foot hard into Dooku's ribs. The old man stumbled back and although he caught himself from falling he was unable to stop Anakin from slashing his weapon in half.

For a moment they stood there- Anakin with his blade ready to take Dooku apart, and Dooku, short on breath, standing with his arms partially out stretched. "You were right about you being a slow learner, but you do learn." He remained silent. "Spare me."

Anakin raised one eyebrow, surprised that Dooku would plead for his life, and he hesitated. It was all that Dooku need through. The count leapt out and managed to shove Anakin into the ground, knocking the lightsaber out of his hand.

Anakin gasped when his back hit the hard, jagged rocks, knocking the breath out of him. Before he could shake it off, Dooku grabbed his collar and pulled him up, slamming his head back down with a Force-amplified strength.

Anakin's' head spun and he nearly lost consciousness, the Force being the only thing preventing him from losing his senses completely. The warmth of his own blood spread around the back of his head and down his neck. His vision blurred and his hearing started to fade. For a moment he was certain that he was about to die.

He felt Dooku lift him by the collar again and he had just enough sense to fear another blow- and it came.

His body started to go into shock and quivered with the need to slip away lest he die. To lose now was out of the question though and he did all he knew how to in order to keep himself awake.

His lightsaber rested less than five feet from him and he gathered enough power in the Force to call it to him. The moment it touched his hand, he ignited and swung it several times. His strikes where random and unsure , but effective.

Dooku's body fell against his. It was finally over.

Hi pushed the dead man off as best as he could and tried to stand to his feet. The best he could do was to crawl however, and he put as much distance between them as he could before his vision started to darken completely. He was finally starting to lose consciences, but just beforehand, he had the unusual sensation of falling...

Anakin shot up in bed. His chest heaved and his body was covered in a thin film of sweat. "Wha-" He lifted one hand to his face as his pregnant wife sat up and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Ani, what's wrong?'

"I don't know."