A/N: Wow, I didn't expect to get so many reviews so quickly. Thanks to everyone who reviewed (even that person who flamed, because flames fuel the fire, as they say) and I hope that everyone is as happy with this chapter as they were with the first.
For the Sake of Being with You
::Demon Eyes::
~Chapter Two~
The young maid smiled at the padawan's excitement and started leading the two jedi's down the hall. Anakin followed her and Obi-Wan had to catch up to the pair. "Anakin," he said once matching the boy's stride, "you have to be mindful of your emotions."
Obi-Wan was hit by a sort of nostalgia at this, his memory fading back to a similar conversation he had with Qui-Gon years before. In his heart, he still mourned his fallen master, but as everyone eventually did, he had moved on.
"But, Master-"
"I know, Anakin," the Jedi said with a nod, "I do know. But, please, try to keep your emotions harbored just a little. Emotions get in the way of the Force."
Anakin looked at his hands and mumbled, "Yes, Master."
"And be mindful of your future."
The padawan looked up from his hands to glare at his master, "What do you mean by--" His words were cut off as he walked head first into a column that he hadn't noticed due to his "emotions" and especially his brooding.
Obi-Wan smiled brightly as the maid walked on, unaware that anything had happened. "See what emotions do? If you had been calmer you would have seen that column."
Anakin just shook his head at his own ignorance. "You're right, Master."
"Of course I am," Obi-Wan replied, pretending to be surprised that the padawan would think otherwise.
The pair continued on to the dining hall in silence, Anakin rubbing his nose. They arrived before the Senator to the dining hall, a long room with a dark marble floor and gray walls. The table and chairs were all a silver metal and two chandeliers hung over the table, which easily sat 20 people. The walls were mainly bare.
Obi-Wan and Anakin were led over to the table, near the head. The Jedi master was seated to the right of the head seat, while his padawan sat across from him. Obi-Wan took off his bulky robe, draping it over the back of the chair. His cream robes were a definite contrast to the dark robes of his padawan.
They only waited a few moments before Dorme walked in, and stopped by the door. It wasn't Padme that walked in next, but an angel. The dress she wore was an incredibly light blue that was almost white. The top of the dress was a halter and was lined by gold that formed a diamond before continuing behind her neck. A navy blue sash was tied around her hips, a piece of the material trailing behind her. An armband of gold was on either arm and attached were the "sleeves" of the dress which were long and flowing. Her hair remained untied, exactly like Obi-Wan had seen on the balcony.
As she entered the dining hall, Obi-Wan got to his feet, transfixed, and Anakin clumsily followed. The Senator greeted Anakin with a nod, "Good evening, Anakin."
The Padawan was grinning uncontrollably and bowed slightly, "You look beautiful tonight, Padme."
She just smiled at his words and then looked to Obi-Wan. A flash of emotion went through her eyes as she looked to him, and her smile widened. He then realized that he was grinning almost as much as Anakin was, and quickly fixed his face, bowing. "Good evening, Senator Amidala."
Padme nodded to Obi-Wan too, but she blushed as she looked away from the Jedi, and took her seat. Obi-Wan and Anakin sat back down after her.
"I'm glad you decided to join me," Padme said, picking up a crystal glass filled with water and sipping it.
Obi-Wan smiled, "Actually, you decided for us." Padme returned a guilty smile.
"But we're happy to be here," Anakin added. "It's been so long since we've seen you."
"You're right, it has," Padme responded as the first course of the meal arrived, "I really would like to hear everything that's been going on in your lives."
The dinner continued on as Anakin explained to Padme about his training. Obi-Wan remained mostly silent, offering a detail or two, but he mainly kept his eyes on his food or a drink or Anakin. A childish thing to do, yes, but if he even glanced at Padme again he was afraid he'd loose control.
He also watched as Anakin nearly drank an entire bottle of wine himself. The boy had always been fond of drinking liquor whenever he could and his nervousness probably added to his need to drink more and more. Obi-Wan was afraid he'd do something irrational but didn't want to embarrass the boy by telling him to stop.
By the end of the night, Padme knew everything about Anakin's life from the time they had separated on Naboo to the day before. And she seemed to be content with hearing every detail. As she swallowed the last piece of desert, a delicious sherbet, she turned to Obi-Wan, who was finally able to look at her. "You've been so quiet all night."
"Yes, well, Anakin loves to hear himself talk," he smiled.
"Hey!" the padawan replied, somewhat slurred, "I resent that."
Padme noticed the youth's somewhat drunken state and decided it was time to end the evening, before he drank anymore. She opened her mouth to say something but instead let out an incredibly long yawn.
"I'm sorry," Obi-Wan said, after she had finished yawning, "We shouldn't be keeping you up when you're so tired."
"No, it's fine. I don't know why I'm so tired. But I should retire now, big day tomorrow," Padme stood up, and Obi-Wan followed. Anakin remained seated, smiling oddly at Padme.
"I think Anakin should be put to bed as well." Padme and Obi-Wan shared a look over the drunken boy.
Dorme walked over then, and spoke to Obi-Wan, "I'll escort the Senator back to her rooms, if that's fine with you."
Obi-Wan wanted to protest, saying it was part of his duty, but Anakin needed to be guided safely back to his room. So he nodded in submission, "Alright, but I think I'd feel more comfortable spending the night outside the Senator's rooms, just in case."
Padme smiled warmly at the Jedi, and Obi-Wan's limbs froze. "Thank you, Master Kenobi." She then turned to Anakin and said her goodnights before walking out of the dining hall with Dorme.
Obi-Wan stared wistfully after her for a moment and then remembering Anakin, hoisted the younger Jedi to his feet. "Come on, young padawan, to bed with you."
Anakin smiled crookedly at Obi-Wan, his eyes glossed over, "She so pretty, huh?"
Obi-Wan shook his head, leaving Anakin's side for a moment to retrieve his cloak from the chair. He threw it over his shoulders, not having time to put his arms through the sleeves, since the padawan seemed to be on the verge of falling over.
The Jedi quickly caught his student and started leading the boy out, "Anakin, we're gonna have a talk about your drinking habits."
"I do not haf drink prob...probl...," he didn't finish his sentence because he started laughing hysterically.
The older Jedi groaned as Anakin collapsed on his shoulder. "You are never having another drink, Anakin."
He had made it only a few feet down the hall when Typho came running up to him, looking distressed. "Master Jedi!" he yelled, stopping next to pair. "Master Jedi, the Senator's disappeared!"
Obi-Wan blinked, furious with himself for letting her go alone. "What happened, Captain?"
Typho shook his head. "I don't know, Master Kenobi. I came down the hall and saw Dorme passed out on the floor. I woke her and she started sobbing that the Senator was gone."
"Blast," Obi-Wan muttered under his breath, staring at the padawan drooling on his shoulder. "Captain, do you have any idea what might have happened, where she could have gone?"
He shook his head. "I can't believe this happened."
"It's not your fault, it's mine," Obi-Wan said sadly. "Alright, send out all your men, check the air, the ground, everywhere. As soon as I can get Anakin to function properly, we'll go out on our own search."
Typho nodded, and wished his luck before running off to do as the Jedi had ordered.
The guilt he felt was pushed aside and he put his attention to waking Anakin. "Anakin, Anakin!" he yelled, followed by a slap to the boy's cheek. His eyes slid open slowly.
"Wha?"
"Padme's missing."
Anakin was suddenly up and awake at those two words (with a little help from the Force). He wasn't fully un-drunk, though, and as he raced down the hall, he stumbled a bit. "What happened?" he called back to Obi-Wan who was following.
"Not sure. It wasn't that long ago, they may still be in the building."
Anakin nodded, immediately altering his course to the elevator. "Anakin," Obi-Wan said, catching up to his padawan, "I want you to go down, check the lower levels and the streets. I'll go up to the roof to look for speeders and check the floors up there. Captain Typho has his men searching the city."
"Master, we should have a more effective search. What can two Jedi and a few security guards do? We need all the Jedi--"
"Anakin," Obi-Wan said in warning, "I know you want her back safely, so do I. But this is not a matter to concern the Council. We can find her our selves. Now go."
The padawan didn't respond just got in the elevator. Obi-Wan sighed, worried about what trouble his student would cause in this state and how long he would be able to function before the alcohol affected his system again. Quickly, his thoughts turned back to the current crisis and Obi-Wan ran towards the other elevator. He grabbed the lightsaber from his belt, not igniting it but keeping it at the ready. The elevator was there already and it was a quick ride up to the roof.
Slight relief washed over him as he saw the tip of a speeder half hidden by the building's generator. He only hopped it was who he wanted. The saber ignited and he was draped in a blue glow in the night. The hum rang out announcing he was there and moments later a blaster shot rang past his ear. He had the right place.
Obi-Wan jumped to the top of the generator, jumping down the other side and landing behind a smaller figure. "Where's the Senator?!" he yelled, telling even in the dim light that this was a bounty hunter and most likely the one responsible for the Senator's abduction.
The only response he got was a few blaster shots which were easily deflected by his lightsaber. Discarding the poorly held on cloak and throwing it to the side, he jumped forward swinging his lightsaber, but the bounty hunter ducked, coming up behind Obi-Wan. The hunter shot again and this time the bolt imbedded itself in his upper arm.
The Jedi winced in pain, unable to put pressure on it without dropping his lightsaber. Any other time he would have fought fair, but Obi-Wan was now annoyed that he had a wound and that he didn't have the time to do this. He held out his hurt arm and the gun flew from the bounty hunter's hand. While he looked confusedly at the blaster, Obi-Wan had enough time to close the distance and hold the lightsaber to his throat.
"Tell me what you did with the Senator," he asked, using the Force to persuade the bounty hunter to tell him all he knew.
"I was hired by another bounty hunter," a woman said, and the Jedi was surprised to find a female bounty hunter, "The Senator lived through several attacks so this time I was told to poison her and kidnap her so she couldn't be saved. She's unconscious in my speeder."
His anger grew but he was able to suppress it... barely. "What did you poison her with."
"I'm not telling you," she laughed, Obi-Wan's influence with the Force obviously having no effect.
"Even if it saved your life?" he asked, rather confused.
"I'm dead now for telling you that anyway. Good luck with curing your precious senator." Her body fell limp under his grasp and she fell to the ground.
Obi-Wan knelt beside her, realizing that a needle on her collar was now stuck in the skin on her neck, no doubt tipped with poison; she had taken her own life rather then answer to whoever had hired her.
The Jedi turned the lightsaber off, clipping it back to his belt. He put a hand to his wound and when it came back it was covered in blood. "Great," he muttered, looking to the sky to make sure that there were no other surprises for him.
Padme. The thought flashed through his mind and he immediately ran to the speeder, which had stupidly been unlocked. He opened the door to find Padme unconscious in the passenger seat. Her hands and feet had been tied together and her dress torn. Carefully, Obi-Wan lifted the senator out of the speeder, and sat on the ground, cradling her body and ripping the restraints from her limbs.
"Padme," he said softly and when she didn't stir, his voice became louder. "Padme! Wake up, please... wake up."
Horrified that she had already passed on, he put his ear to her chest, listening for a heartbeat. It was there but so faint she probably wouldn't live for very long. He would have to hurry back to her rooms and find someone who knew about poisons. But, it would be so much easier if he could get her to wake up.
A thought crossed his mind... he could always kiss her and see if she woke up. It was a stretched attempt and probably fueled by the feelings for the Senator that he somewhat hid. How would he ever explain it, though? It didn't matter; Obi-Wan needed her awake and if it didn't work, he'd try something else.
Slowly, the Jedi leaned down, lingering just a few centimeters from her lips. Before he could back out, he leaned in even more, brushing his lips over hers. Padme's lips were incredibly soft and yet, he could feel them growing colder. Obi-Wan's eyes slid closed as he tried to make the moment last longer.
Even though she was unconscious, the simple kiss sent shivers down his spine as he finally got to do what he had wanted to for such a long time. Despite the fact that she would probably have no knowledge of this moment, it was the single greatest thing he'd felt in a while.
Emotion flooded through him. Longing. Passion. Worry. A simple act that ignited so many unknown feelings and awakened what had lain dormant in the Jedi's mind. Long ago, he had locked out that ability to love.. not for another person, but for someone... someone... someone like her. A new part of Obi-Wan was reborn and no skill with the Force or training from the Jedi would allow him to suppress it again.
As he pulled away, Obi-Wan was relieved to see her eyes flutter open. He could tell immediately that she wasn't right, that she was in pain. It broke his heart to see her this way.
"Obi-Wan?" she asked in a voice barely above a whisper. "What.."
"Shh, it's okay. I'm going to help you," he said with a pained smile, and the relief that she seemed to not have noticed the kiss gave him some hope.
"Thank you, Obi-Wan," Padme could barely bring herself to smile, and then her eyes began to close again.
"No, Padme!" he yelled. "Don't... don't close your eyes, okay? We have to get you up and moving, so we can get help."
Padme opened one eye, her face paleing as she did so. "No need to yell."
Worry was all he felt as she spoke. "Come on, we've got to go." Obi-Wan helped Padme into a half standing position, before he got to his own feet. "Can you walk on your own?"
"Of... of course I can." Padme took a step and nearly collapsed as she cried out in pain. "Or maybe I can't."
"I thought so," he said, searching the ground aimlessly until he found the discarded cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders. He then lifted Padme into his arms, as gently as he could, but she moaned as her body was shifted so drastically. She immediately put her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. "This will be faster, and we need you to have all your strength."
He got no reply.
"Padme?" Obi-Wan asked, panicking. Her eyes had closed again and he barely feel the little breaths she labored to take. "I'm not going to let you go, Padme."
With that, Obi-Wan took off at a run for the elevator. "I promise I won't let you go."