Sigh... I know I'm taking forever and I'm certain you're sick of my excuses but... 6th form, A-levels, study, coursework, essays, homework, independent study and now UCAS and university options, statements and application processes are taking over! Its as infectious as Skynet! Anyway, I hope I haven't brutaly murdered your desire to read this with boredom and long waits, so here it is, finally!

Chapter 36: Peace.

His body felt tense, arms stiff from all of its recent movements. He felt as if he were an old rusted machine in need of oiling, yet his mind and emotions felt at peace. Exhilarated.

Slowly, he turned his head to stop dead at a mess of gold which he spied under hooded lids. For a moment his heart stopped, and his eyes snapped open, alarm swimming in the blue-grey depths. He even went as far as to question whose head it was, but upon stretching out with his senses he was immediately met with the serenity of her.

Gingerly turning on his side, so as not to wake her, he cushioned his head on the plush pillow and stared at her intently. Not a single frown line crossed his forehead.

Storm eyes sparkled with adoration and the one feeling he'd always tried to hide around her. The one that made breathing become a much more difficult task, as if gravity was pressing down upon his lungs with all of its phenomenal force. The one emotion that made his heart skip a beat and butterflies flap their wings in his stomach.

Serenity, unconditional serenity swept through him and he smiled when she opened her eyes slowly. A blissful expression danced across her sleep-dazed eyes, a lazy smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she took in his appearance.

"Hello there."

"Well, Master Kenobi," she greeted regally, yet the smile on her round face did not dissipate in the slightest as she teased him. "How unexpected it is to find you here."

A deep, low chuckle rumbled from inside of his chest, eyes sparkling merrily as she made to move towards the side of the bed, the silk turquoise blanket slipping down to reveal more of her cream-skinned back.

Memories flashed through his mind. The feeling of her warm pools of flesh beneath his hands, finger tips trailing down her spine, making her shiver from his touches. A shiver nearly ran down his spine as the memories of her touches and reactions elicited such similar reactions to her own.

"How do you feel?" Satine asked tiredly, her eyes still half-lidded as she lifted her head off of her pillow, a few thin golden strands clinging to the pillow like cobwebs.

"I feel brilliant," he exclaimed, rolling onto his back and folding one arm behind his head, palm resting flat across the crown as she gazed cheerily at the purple shadowed ceiling. "I've never felt more…carefree before."

Fingers danced with a feather touch over his chest and he grabbed them tenderly with his free hand, seizing the chills that ran up his spine and remembering that she had made that sensation a constant to him last night.

But then came his teachings, something he dreaded returning to haunt him. The Code. He lived his life by it, abided by it and sought to do nothing else… until now. Fear, an emotion he rarely ever felt, spiked through him for one split second placing seeds of doubt within him. A Jedi shall not know love…

But he did know it; all too well. He'd experienced it many times. And it had never ended pleasantly. Death or the Jedi had intervened. His first had died in his arms at thirteen, another was an ultimatum – her or the Jedi, and then, years later, she had joined the Force, her life slipping away in his arms again less than a day after rekindling their long broken friendship.

But this was different. He had now had the chance to experience love in all of the different ways. He had been able to express it to her without the lies and secrets. They had expressed it freely and in the ultimate way.

But if there was any downside to it, it was that only they could know. No one, not even his former padawan and current best friend could know. It wasn't that he didn't trust Anakin, for on the contrary he did. It was that he was a hypocrite. All of Anakin's training he had instructed him not to let his emotions rule him and to allow him to form attachments, but here he was lying next to the very woman he had formed an attachment to despite it all.

He had hoped that Anakin had followed those teachings better than his own former master, despite his obvious attraction to senator Amidala, and not been a fool like him.

A pitiful fool in love. A Jedi who, no matter what, felt emotions and was undoubtedly human.

And would Anakin truly understand? He was sure he'd understand love, but there had been many things Anakin had said to him in the past that suggested he believed that his former master had no emotions. No, this was something Anakin could never know, no matter how much he loved and trusted the boy.

But the knight would be back soon, along with his padawan, and they would resume as normal, forever unaware of how he truly achieved recovery. Anakin may have teased and understood that he had feelings for the duchess but if he ever told him of anything that had transpired between them last night he would surely rebuke against him. He would have to let that matter go and allow life to go on as usual between them, even if the thought stabbed him through the heart.

Breathing in deeply he knew that his next task would be something he now found himself to be struggling with.

Letting go.

It was highly possible that their paths would never cross again once he departed for Coruscant in the next few days. And it was likely due to the war that he'd never even see the simple sand-coloured surface of Mandalore from the deep vacuum of space ever again.

Casting those negative thoughts aside, he sighed and turned his head to smile brightly at the woman beside him, knowing that he should cherish these final moments together before the inevitable struck and life returned to normal.

He could feel his balance shifting in the Force, gradually pulling him away from the chalk grey to the brilliant white light that always pulsated from his presence. He was the lone candle against the crushing darkness. His burning flame flickered during his turmoil throughout the past few months, but now it stood strong and steady once again, its bright orange glow unyielding against the cold dark.

We only have about two chapters left, one the concluding part to this story and the second the epilogue. Its drawing to a close. Its gone on long enough and I have too much interference so its time that I began wrapping this up. I hope you're still with me to see it. :)