A/N: I apologize for my lack of updates lately. I've been super busy! I have been writing new chapters in my notebook though. They'll need some cleaning up and modifying, but I should have some more posted soon!

Meddlesome, thank you for spotting my error! That's the issue with taking forever to finish a chapter, haha. It's fixed now!

•◊•

POV: Obi-Wan Kenobi

Around six thirty, Anakin woke me up. I don't think he meant to, but he did. He'd screamed and I sat up quickly, grabbing for his shoulder. He was hunched over, holding his face in his hands and knees bent. I heard him sniffling. "Anakin?" He shook his head and I leaned closer, kissing his shoulder this time. "Ani, what is it?"

He lifted his face from his hands and I could see tears streaking down his cheeks in the dim light. He looked so distraught and it broke my heart. "I had a nightmare." I reached over and grabbed his hand, entwining our fingers. He would talk to me about it because he trusted me. I could see that much. He was afraid, but he trusted me. "Obi-Wan, I-I saw you. You were hurt." I raised an eyebrow at him. I wouldn't undermine his nightmare, but I didn't understand. "It was my fault. I did it."

"Did what?" He shook his head again and started sobbing. I gaped at him for a moment, not knowing what to do or say to help him. The only thing I could do was encourage him to open up, but it was difficult at times when he was like this. "My love," I whispered, "talk to me. Everything's okay. It was just a nightmare."

I used my free hand to pull his chin up and tilt his face towards mine so he could look into my eyes. "I called you because there was a gun pointed to my head," he whispered, sounding haunted just thinking about it. "You came and you got shot."

I watched his lips tremble and he shifted his eyes away from mine. "Anakin, you didn't hurt me. Someone else did. It wasn't your fault." I stared at him sadly. "It was just a nightmare. That won't happen, Ani."

He leaned against my chest and I stroked his hair, holding his head right above my heart. "I-I...I need..." He closed his eyes, but I knew right away what he wanted. I kissed his hair and sighed. "Obi, please."

"Do you want to get better?" I asked firmly. He nodded and I nuzzled his hair with the side of my face. "You can't take any more drugs if you want to get better, Ani. I'll help you detoxify yourself. You need to give me some effort though."

He was rubbing his abdomen and that worried me. Was he in pain? I nudged him, silently requesting that he sit up again. I grabbed the hem of his shirt and stared at his face, waiting for some sign from him before continuing. He knew what was wrong with himself. He also knew that I cared so much about him that I wanted to see for myself what was being done to him. I'd only seen a few new scars and wounds last night. I can't imagine what I'd missed while he slept against me.

He gave me a small nod and I lifted his shirt up, pulling it up over his head and setting it down beside us. I gaped at him. He was beyond hurt. This was fucking torture. His eyes widened and he grabbed my hands. "I can ex–"

"No," I interrupted. I was angry. How could this bastard take something so good and torment it? Drugs and beatings? Was that what their entire relationship was? "Do not make excuses for what he's done to you. I don't care if you think you deserve this, Anakin. I know you don't." He remained silent, staring down at our hands. I fractionally tightened my grip on his hands and sighed quietly. "Anakin, you're strong. You would never let this happen if I tried to abuse you." That seemed to strike something within him and he flinched. "Why are you letting this...this son of a bitch beat you?"

"I need pain." He'd been addicted to pain with one boyfriend because that asshole hurt him so often and he'd just gotten accustomed to it, but I would not allow him to lower himself to that again. He's such a smart, strong, loving man. He shouldn't think he's nothing and that he deserves to be beaten. "Fuck me," he whispered suddenly, lifting his eyes to meet mine.

I stared at him as if he'd gone mad. "No." That seemed to hurt him. He flinched again. I was going to grab the glass on the nightstand that I'd filled up before going to sleep and hand it to him, but he threw me onto my back and hovered over me, looking at me with lust in his eyes. I'd seen him look like this before. It was usually when he was stressed, and I could only imagine the stress he felt right now. I wanted to push him off of me before this got out of hand, but I couldn't.

"Let me do you." He was breathing heavily and I couldn't respond at first. His deep, husky voice turned me on. I shouldn't let him do anything with me because he isn't mine to take, but I love him. Regardless of how wrong this seemed in our current situations, I nodded and gave him permission. He leaned closer and kissed me gently, lovingly. His hand slid up and down my chest and he rubbed his rock hard cock against my thigh. "I love you."

I'd managed to gasp those words back to him as he stripped us both down with enthusiasm. He let me suck his fingers before he gently slipped them into me and prepared me for him. He was licking my thigh as his hand moved back and forth slowly. In a matter of minutes, I knew I was ready and he knew it, too. He spat in his hand and slicked himself for a moment before I felt his gentle pressure. I closed my eyes and swallowed. The moan he elicited from me when he pushed into me should've been illegal.

A bright, white light flashed behind my eyes when his tip brushed my prostate. He'd fucked a lot of men before me, but he only made love to me. He was far gentler with me than he'd ever been with anyone else, even Tru from what he's told me before. He was much gentler than I'd been with him in the final moments of our relationship–his birthday. "Ani," I said quietly when he thrust deeper. He sucked at and kissed my neck, then pulled back to respond with a light kiss to my forehead. "I'm so sorry for hurting you," I gasped. Tears were freely forming in my eyes and falling down the sides of my face to meet the mattress.

He stroked my cheek and wiped my tears away, leaning closer to kiss my nose. He'd acted like an animal before this started, but now he seemed so much more like himself. "I can't stop loving you." He kissed my lips, continuing with his movements. "You are everything."

We made love for almost an hour before he made me come at the same time he did. He'd been extremely gentle and affectionate. There was no rough housing, no remorse, no pain, and no sadness. He knew what he was doing to his relationship and to our relationship. He slid out of me, panting, and rolled over to lie on his back. I turned onto my side to stare at his gorgeous face. "You're so beautiful," I said impulsively. It was true. Perhaps beautiful wasn't the best way to describe him, but it was the best I could think of other than telling him he looked like a god in human form.

"Obi," he whispered, "I..."

He sounded pained again and I didn't like it. I slid closer and kissed his Adam's apple. He closed his eyes and sighed. "We need to be careful," I said, warning him. I briefly heard the psychotic bastard's voice in my head, threatening me with Anakin's life. It wasn't fair. Yes, I was on this case and driving to find this killer, but why did he need to throw Anakin into the equation? Anakin is innocent. He doesn't deserve any of this. I didn't realize that I'd taken a sharp breath until he was solely focusing on me, concern in his bright, blue eyes. He knew something was bothering me and I was debating on whether or not I should elaborate on my warning. Well, there was no time like the present, I suppose. "The killer," I said. "The one who has eluded me for so long... He threatened me, Anakin. He threatened me with your life." He stared at me incredulously and I was now second guessing myself. Perhaps the truth shouldn't have been put out in the open. "He was going to kill you," I said, pleading with him when I saw anger flash in his eyes. "He demanded that I leave you."

He pushed himself up quickly and I watched him, gaping at him. "I'm going home," he said angrily. He started dressing himself and I sprang from the bed, taking his hands in mine. His pants were halfway up when he looked at me. A deranged look was suddenly in his eyes and he thrashed around violently. "Let go of me!" He screamed like he was being pummeled, but I was only holding his hands in reality. Tears began to form in his eyes and I wondered if this is what Granta did to him. If he brought Anakin to fear him this much, the man didn't deserve Anakin. Wait. If he's acting like this…

I immediately released him, but flung my arms around his midsection. I soothingly stroked his hair and back, worried that he'd leave me. Perhaps he believed I was Granta for a moment. I needed to calm him down and bring him back to where we are now. Together. How did I fall so hard for him? I'd lived without love like this for almost twenty years and now I couldn't dream of a life where Anakin never existed. "Ani, I've got you." I breathed against his neck, tangling my fingers in his hair. "You're okay." I kissed his neck when it stopped pulsating so quickly and he lifted one hand to rest on my back. "Anakin..."

"I'm fine." He wasn't and we both knew that. He was upset, very upset.

"Ani, I thought you'd be happier with–"

He pulled away violently and screamed, "You honestly thought I'd be happier without you?" I flinched at how much anger welled up inside of him. Of course I'd seen him when he was upset, but it hadn't been this bad. Well, it hadn't been this bad and directed at me. "Don't you fucking tell me that's what you honestly thought." I lifted my hand to tangle my fingers in his hair and rub his scalp gently, but he smacked my hand away. "You never knew me at all if you thought that, Obi-Wan."

I shook my head. I knew so much about him. I was pretty sure I knew everything about him. "I know a lot about you," I whispered. He turned away from me and I rested my hand between his shoulder blades. "I know your favorite color is blue, your favorite bands are Breaking Benjamin, Skillet, and Linkin Park. I know you're afraid of water because you almost drowned when you were eight." His back tensed a little and I knew I was getting through to him. "You hate your smile, you hate your scars. You're allergic to fish and hate green foods. Anakin, you love the rain. You love dancing in the rain with your tongue sticking out." I laughed a little. Watching him do that had been the most wonderful thing I'd ever witnessed. "You have nightmares about burning to death. Your heart stopped beating when you were thirteen. You're Canadian, British, French, and German. Your motto is do or die tonight. Your favorite movie is Lethal Weapon. You want to visit Italy someday, go on a date with someone you truly love in Rome and–"

Anakin spun to face me and smothered me with his lips. I moaned into his mouth as the kiss became slightly open mouthed. His tongue slid past my lips and slipped into my mouth for a few moments before we separated. "You do know me," he whispered. I stared into his eyes and smiled.

"Of course I do. I love you." I took his hand in mine and squeezed it gently. "I love every detail about you, even the little ones that you think aren't important." I couldn't help the fact that I was crying now. This man just didn't comprehend how much I love him. I love him despite his past, our past. There's no one I'd rather be with than him. "I love you," I said, my voice tainted by my crying.

"I love you." He took his hand from mine and lifted both of his to stroke the sides of my face. He was being just as honest as I was and I think he realized I wasn't trying to lie my way into bedding with him.

I saw the depth of his love in his eyes and I decided to take the initiative because he liked when I was sweet to him. I bent down a bit and pulled at his knees, lifting him just as he wrapped his arms around my neck. He knew I wasn't trying to do anything right now. I just wanted to spend time with him and I assumed that's what he wanted, too. The only thing that somewhat ruined the moment was that he was much lighter than I remember him being.

I carried him into my bedroom and laid him on his back, then I crawled across it to lay beside him. He stared at me happily, a wide smile spread across his beautiful face. I loved seeing him this happy. It had been a while since I'd seen him like this. Genuinely happy. He took my hand and held it between us beside our shoulders. "Should we talk about this?" I whispered. I love him and he loves me. The only issue is Granta. I didn't want Anakin with him and I had a valid reason to want him with me. Anakin wasn't being taken care of. He'd strayed too far from where he was stable and I intended on bringing him back to where he was before.

He rubbed my hand slowly, looking thoughtful. "I'm already cheating," he said, sounding like it didn't really affect him at all, "and he's been making me unhappy." He closed his eyes for a moment and his grip on my hand tightened. I could see that he was struggling to push away the anger threatening to burst out of him again. When his eyes opened, he'd calmed as much as he could given the circumstances. "I keep seeing Granta when people grab me, Obi-Wan. I don't feel safe with him. I want to be with you again." He stared into my eyes lovingly and I already knew what he was going to say next. "You make me feel safe," he whispered. "I want you and me to become an us."

"And we will," I promised. "Once I ensure your safety and get rid of this psychotic bastard for good, we will be." I leaned closer and kissed his jaw and then kissed his knuckles. "We will."

•◊•

"I hope you have a good day," he whispered as he straightened my badge and smiled at me. I kissed his chin and chuckled a little.

I rubbed his bare chest and kissed his bicep. "I will if you do, lover." It was a little after eight in the morning and he had off. I planned on taking him back home before he was missed, before he could be hurt again. He promised me that Granta wouldn't be awake when he got home and I worried, but listened to him. "Grab your shirt and we'll head out."

He quickly dressed himself and we headed out to my car. I started up the car and he took my hand, smiling at me. I returned the smile before pulling out of the driveway. The drive back to his place was peacefully silent. Words weren't necessary between us once again. The love we felt for one another was practically tangible. We were both happy.

He sighed when we pulled up about a block away from the house and I glanced at him. "I want to stay with you so badly."

"We'll make plans." He nodded and I could see the longing frustration and pain in his eyes. We unbuckled simultaneously and I leaned over to pull him into a hug. He breathed a sigh of relief against my neck.

"I'll miss you," he whispered sadly.

I kissed his hair and gave him a small smile when I pulled back. "I'll miss you, too." I lifted my hand to stroke his cheek. "I'm so sorry that things aren't different."

He took my hands in his and kissed my knuckles. "We'll be together the moment you declare it safe for us to be together." I nodded at him. As soon as this monster and Granta were cut out of the picture, we would be lovers again. "I love you, Obi-Wan."

I caressed the side of his face softly. "I love you, Anakin." He smiled because he knew I meant it. He leaned closer and gave me one last, passionate kiss and said he'd see me soon.

I watched him get out of the car and head up to the house. Something just didn't feel right and it worried me. I wondered if I should've brought him home at all. I would call him when I got to work and check up on him. Sure, it might make me a little desperate for him, but I just wanted to be sure that he was all right.

•◊•

Fortunately, Anakin was fine–or at least that's what he told me. It was via text message because we were both a bit too busy to be on the phone. He was tending to his father and I was at work. When he took more than ten minutes to respond, I worried, but then his gorgeous picture showed up and he replied. "I swear I'm fine. I have a headache, but I took something for it a few minutes ago."

I sighed. Something in me didn't want to believe that. What if Granta hurt him again? I could easily go in there and arrest the man for harming my innocent Anakin, but I couldn't burst in without consent unless I had a warrant and I didn't really have legitimate reasons to get a warrant. Well, if Anakin was willing to document and show his injuries to Judge Yularen, we could easily get a warrant and I could drag that bastard away for good.

Perhaps that was selfish of me. He's old enough to make his own mistakes and decisions. What I didn't understand was why would Anakin allow himself to suffer this long and not report the domestic issues? He had me and Quinlan he could come to. If no one else, he should be able to come to one of us. Especially now that things are getting back on track between the two of us, he should be able to confide in me. All I wanted was to keep him happy and protect him. "Obi, we got another report."

I looked up to see my partner, distraught. He came closer and set the report down on my desk and I opened it up, wincing almost immediately. A fifteen year old male had been attacked and beaten brutally to death. "This is insane," I said quietly. I held my head in my hand and stared at the picture of the boy. He'd been walking home from basketball practice and hadn't arrived home that night or the next morning. I remember receiving the call, but I hadn't been put on the case to find him or his body.

"It was our psycho." I looked up at him and he pointed to certain things on the image that resembled pretty much every case we've had that was relevant to the bastard running around. "There's something else though, Obi-Wan." Again, I looked up at him. He seemed nervous.

"What is it?"

He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a small picture. He handed it to me and I looked at it, not recognizing the child, but definitely recognizing the older male. I gaped at it. "Turn it over."

I did slowly and my heart nearly stopped. My little Anakin–three years old. "He is Anakin's real father?" I exclaimed. Quinlan frowned down at me and I felt my face get hot.

"I pulled up Anakin's records before giving this to you. It took a bit of digging, but yes. He is the biological father. Shmi went out of her way to get him taken off of the birth certificate when Anakin was still very young." I felt sick to my stomach. How could I not have known? Now that I looked at it from this perspective, I could see the resemblances. Anakin's eyes and lips were the same, but Anakin was softer and the light touched his eyes far more often. In all honesty, Anakin looks like his father did at this age.

Anakin's jaw was set the same way and he had a crescent birthmark on his right hip. They definitely had their differences in appearance, but Anakin is definitely his son. "How did I not see this before?"

"Love makes you blind," he said quietly.

I looked up from the picture, not having realized I was rubbing my thumb over Anakin's small hand in the picture. He looked absolutely adorable as a child. "How do you tell the man you love that he's your ex's son?"

Quin seemed uncomfortable now. It didn't take a special sense to know that much. "Obi, this picture was found on the crime scene." I stared at him, immediately knowing what he was getting at. "I think Qui-Gon is alive."