Mistaken

Quinlan Vos strode down the corridors of the Jedi Temple, occasionally pausing to ask one of the knights or padawans he knew if they'd seen Buffy. Finally, someone told him they'd seen Andrew in the cafeteria and Quin made his way eagerly to the next level where the dining hall was located.

Sure enough, as soon as he entered, he spotted the blonde Watcher sat in the midst of fellow diners, an unfinished dish of food in front of him.

"Andrew!" Quinlan Vos called to get his attention.

With a bright beam of happiness on his face, he pushed past a group of loitering padawans, and on to Andrew's table. It was then he spotted something that made his good mood evaporate and his expression turn stern. Jango Fett sat at Andrew's table casually cleaning his blaster pistols with a young Jedi boy on either side of him.

Quin recognised the boys from the group that had rescued from the vampire's mountain lair on Naboo. They were Bruck and Borondi, the younger of the two tagged along behind the bounty hunter wherever he went, almost as if he was his padawan. Quin scowled. Jango was neither a Jedi nor a good example to follow.

"Hello, Jango," said Quin, striving hard to sound friendly and failing.

Jango continued polishing the handle of a blaster, not bothering to look up. "Quinlan Vos." There was a mocking note in his voice. "Kiffar and Jedi knight. What can I do for you today?"

For a while now, Quinlan had believed Jango was creating a dossier on him. It no doubt listed all his likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, ready for the day when someone wanted him dead and Jango took the contract. The Kiffar scowled some more. The bounty hunter took no notice of anyone except Buffy and Count Dooku and neither of them were around to keep him in check.

Across from the bounty hunter, Andrew scraped a spoonful of creamed ice up from the side of his dish, his eyes darting from Quin and Jango as he ate.

Quin nodded to the blaster in Jango's hand. "You know this isn't the place to clean weapons, Jango."

Jango raised the blaster, pointed it at Quin's face, and pretending to check the sights. Next to him, the two youngsters exchanged nervous looks whilst Andrew continued eating and watching them as if it was a scene from a holo-movie.

"If you don't want me here, you only have to say," drawled Jango. He put the blaster away and rose from the table. "Follow me, kids. I'll show you a trick or two the Jedi Order will never teach you." He strode off, with Borondi and Bruck following in his wake.

"The Jedi Council will throw him out," said Quin. There was more than one master in the vicinity and they'd been watching Jango covertly.

"I think he's getting ready to leave." Andrew spooned more creamed ice into his mouth as Quin slid into Jango's empty seat. "He says he can't cope with all the Temple rules, Buffy is no fun any more, and says Dooku is cramping his style."

"Does Buffy know this?" Quin asked. Despite Jango's previous attempts at kidnapping and killing her Buffy was keen to keep him around. She said that if he wandered off he might succumb to temptation and sell his body to science.

Andrew shrugged.

"Where is she?" Quin hadn't come here to discuss the bounty hunter. He'd a far more important piece of good news to relay. "I have news for her that I know she'll want to hear and thought she'd be eating lunch with you."

Andrew shook his head, a pout on his lips. "Buffy doesn't eat lunch any more." He pushed the remains of his dessert into the center of the dish so that it formed a mound. "She doesn't leave the apartment much either. When she does she's either making enquiries with Jango, visiting Obi-Wan's bacta-tank, or with Dooku."

"Is she with Dooku now?" Quin asked, "I really need to speak to her."

"Yeah, she must be. Dooku turned up early this morning and they went off in her speeder together. They came back to the apartment and sat whispering together. They shut up as soon as they saw me and left." Andrew's mouth turned downwards. "I think she prefers him than me," he said, stabbing the mound in the bowl with his spoon. "It's as if she's avoiding me. I don't think she wants me as a friends any more?"

After spending several minutes soothing Andrew's ego, Quin left him alone with a second helping of dessert and headed for the training rooms. Since Dooku was unable to spar due to his hip operation, Buffy was no doubt destroying droids whilst Dooku manned the controls.

His guess proved correct when he found a training room with Buffy and Dooku's initials displayed outside the door to indicate that the room was in use. Yet instead of entering and delivering the message, Quin found himself walking to the next doorway. The door was locked, but a lock was no impediment to a Jedi knight. With a flick of his wrist, the door lock sprang open, and he sprinted up the stairway that lay behind the door.

At the top of the stairs ran a narrow, enclosed walkway with a long window overlooking the training room. Quin cautiously approached it, not wanting to be seen by those in the room below. He'd done well to be cautious, Buffy and the Count were stood almost directly below him. The Count had discarded his cloak and leaned against one of the pillars. In front of him, Buffy stood dressed in a light-coloured Jedi training outfit. Quin was shocked at how frail she looked. The bones in her shoulders stood out, her hips looked more angular, and her face appeared gaunt in the harsh overhead lighting.

No broken target droids littered the area, so they'd either not started the session or they'd given up on the idea. Buffy looked dazed and the Count seemed angry and exasperated. Buffy swayed and Quin leaned closer to the window, peering down at her. Was she about to faint?

It seemed the same thought had occurred to the Count as he took her by the arms and pulled her against his chest. A shocked Quin watched as the Count stroked Buffy's back as she leaned on him.

What was going on down there? On one side of the window lay a series of audio controls to enable masters to communicate with padawans in the training room. Quin pressed a button to mute all sound from the gallery and opened another to allow him to hear what was being said in the room below.

After a while, Buffy spoke. "If he wakes, how am I going to tell him, Yan?"

Yan? Dooku's first name is Yan? What was going on? Were they discussing Obi-Wan? Quin felt torn, embarrassed to be eavesdropping on his friends' private conversation and also too curious to leave.

"...as soon as he wakes..." he heard the Count reply. Dooku looked annoyed, whether at Buffy or whatever it was they were discussing.

Buffy shook her head and mumbled something too low to hear. The Count gave her another pat on the back.

"After what I did to him..." Buffy sniffed, her voice thick with emotion she added, "Now this."

The Count snorted. "He's only alive now because of you intervened. Qui-Gon was too quick to condemn, just because you used an energy that wasn't from the Light Side of the Force."

He raised a hand, pushing away a lock of Buffy's hair that had dropped into her eyes. As if ashamed, Buffy ducked her head self-consciously.

"You must take my advice," continued Dooku. "If I was in his position I'd rather know sooner than later. The longer you leave it the worse it will get."

"I can't," Buffy mumbled.

"Imagine if he discovers this on his own. Remember his reaction when you told us that Palpatine was a Sith Lord? Obi-Wan doesn't like it when you keep secrets from him."

Buffy mumbled again, her words too low for the audio to catch.

"That die was cast long ago, m'dear," Dooku said. "Most likely if he lives he will regard it as the will of the Force and carry on as he always has."

Buffy snorted as if she doubted it.

Dooku took a step back, although Quin noticed that he kept hold of her hands. "Buffy, I've told you how I feel. As the Count of Serenno you'll always have my help and protection. And if you become my Countess..."

Quin almost choked.

"... you'll have money, wealth, and power at your disposal. There will be no need to live in fear of poverty or..."

Quin turned away, having heard enough. He descended the steps feeling sickened at what he'd heard. How could Buffy think Dooku was a better man than Obi-Wan? Obi-Wan might not be rich, but he was kind, genuine, and deeply in love with her. As for Count Dooku... He should know better! He was as bad as Palpatine... no worse! Palpatine hadn't known Buffy and Obi-Wan were a couple when he'd made a move on her, Dooku did. It was no wonder that Obi-Wan had never trusted him.

His face sour, Quin entered the training room and watched the pair jump, guiltily, away from each other. Dooku eyed him warily. No doubt the old Jedi master sensed Quin's emotional turmoil if not the reason for it. Buffy kept her back to him, brushing away tears before turning to face him.

"I've brought you a message, Buffy," said Quin, his voice harsh and joyless, "Obi-Wan has regained consciousness. I was there when the Healers helped him from the tank."

The huge smile that broke on Buffy's face faltered when she misread Quin's grim expression. "Is he... alright?"

Quin shrugged, non-committally. "He seemed it." Then added bitterly, "Obi-Wan was more concerned for your health than his own. He wants to see you."

"He doesn't hate me!" Buffy smile lit up the room, relief evident in her voice.

"No, he doesn't." Quin folded his arms across his chest and glowered at her. "Don't give him anything to hate you for."

She shot him a confused look and darted past him for the door.

Dooku's commanding voice brought her to a halt as she hit the door control. "Buffy! Where are you going?"

"To see Obi-Wan, of course."

Dooku shook his head. "They won't let you in yet. There'll be several hours worth of tests to perform and-."

"I don't care!" Buffy retorted.

"Then let me come with you," Dooku said, picking up his stick and cape. "Just don't rush, my poor hip can't take it the stress..."

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

In the Halls of Healing, they were intercepted by medical droids who told them Obi-Wan was in the middle of tests and unable to see visitors. When Buffy refused to leave, they showed them to a waiting room with a hard bench running along one wall and left them alone. Time passed. Buffy paced up and down whilst Dooku took out his datapad and resignedly browsed the CNN channel.

Buffy glanced over at him several times but didn't speak. Her thoughts on Obi-Wan and wishing she'd been there instead of Quin when he'd woken. Their mind-bond was quiet and the silence worried her. It either meantt Obi-Wan was asleep, ill, had a headache, or he didn't want to speak to her. What if it was silent because he hated her? It was all very well him asking Quin if she'd survived. It didn't mean that he'd forgiven her for trying to ram the Slayer energy into him and torturing him. What if he'd asked to see her so that he could break up with her?

"Will you accept my proposal?" Dooku asked out the blue.

"What? Oh, I..." Buffy faltered. She knew it wasn't fair to keep him waiting for an answer. It was an honour to be asked and she should jump at the chance to become the Countess of Serenno, but... right now, it felt like just another problem she needed to deal with. What did he expect from her? Did he expect her to study politics, learn Serenno etiquette, stop slaying, and behave decorously? She knew that being a Count on Serenno was almost like being royalty and, apart from on Naboo, she'd had no close contact with royals. He might want her to start wearing odd make-up and weird headgear.

Seeing hurt and disappointment on Dooku's face, Buffy crossed the room and took a seat next to him. She reached over and took his hand in hers.

"You really want to adopt me? Do you think I'd be a good daughter and make a decent Countess?"

Dooku gave a little embarrassed cough and squeezed her hand. "I couldn't think of a better one," he answered, his voice gruff with emotion. "I've no intention of marrying and producing children at my age so you'll be doing me a great favour. It will also be mutually beneficial as it will provide you with many powerful allies and a great deal of protection from the other ruling families. Palpatine or even the Jedi Order are less able to intervene in your life. Why you can even have your own army, quite separate from anyone else's, to command the way you wish."

"What about politics?" Just the thought of giving a speech to the Senate made her shudder. She'd always been more about action than speech giving.

"I shall deal with all that," Dooku reassured her. "You will simply be my daughter and as so, have my protection."

Buffy nodded. "Can we keep this between ourselves for now? I need to think and discuss it more with you. Today... there's been a lot to take in." She let go of his hand and waved it in the direction she thought Obi-Wan might be in. "My Buffy-brain can only deal with one thing at a time and Obi-Wan is taking up a lot of room in there."

"Very well, we can-."

"You wish to see Obi-Wan Kenobi, Master Dooku?" asked a very tall, female Togruta wearing the robes of a healer. She stood in the doorway, her eyes on the ex-Jedi Master rather than Buffy, who being a non-Jedi didn't rank above a service droid in her eyes.

"I do," the Count replied, "Is he well?"

"Satisfactory," she answered, with the evasiveness of doctors everywhere when asked how patients were doing. "We're still doing tests and awaiting results. However, Obi-Wan asked me to allow a short visit between tests." She glared at them as if all visitors were a nuisance and she had far more important things to see to. "Please, come with me."

They followed her down the maze of corridors. Passing rooms containing bacta-tanks, past operating theatres, and more rooms containing injured or sick Jedi until she stopped outside a screened cubicle.

"Please keep the visit brief and say nothing to agitate him," she said, before striding off to her next patient.

When Dooku went to open the sliding screen, Buffy hung back.

"What's wrong?" After all that pacing in the waiting room, he thought she'd have been desperate to see Obi-Wan. "I'll stay outside so that you two have your privacy."

"I'm not telling him now," Buffy whispered.

"Oh, I agree. This is definitely not the right time," he soothed.

Buffy gave him a little nod, took a deep breath, and walked into the cubicle.

Obi-Wan lay on a narrow medical examination trolley in the center of the small space. He looked pale and drawn and his eyes were closed. Buffy froze, watching his chest rise and fall under the thin heated-blanket they'd wrapped him in. Had he fallen asleep? Should she wake him? Was he going to be angry with her?

And then Obi-Wan's eyes opened and seeing Buffy standing by his bed he smiled. It wasn't the usual cool, polite smile of a Jedi Knight. It was the special smile that he used only with her when they were alone. A soft, warm smile, full of love, and, more importantly, it lacked any sign of accusation. A moment later, she was in his arms and she was shedding tears again. This time not from fear or panic, but happiness. Obi-Wan still loved her and all the pain she'd caused him had been forgiven and forgotten.

…...

A/N;

thanks to all who have left feedback. Only a couple of chapters left. My birthday tomorrow. I get cake and you get a new chapter!