Title: "Are we there yet?" – Chapter one— "Inconceivable!"
Author: Luna
Summary: Hard to do this without giving it all away.... part of the Daylon and Obi-Wan series, follows "Mad Season".
Rating: R (gets a little strong)
General Disclaimer: All belong to Georgie Boy, except Daylon. I'd be open to lending her for other stories, so if you ever want to use her, ask me first please.
Author's Note: I'm using a first person perspective on this one for obvious
reasons... It's a Daylon thing. So, if you love it, hate it, let me know. I'm always
here...
And about the body temperature thing... it is possible, I actually do run a constant 96.7 degrees.
Very little editing… bear with me here.
**
I raised my hand to my eyes, trying to cut the glare from the setting sun. The sky was magnificent, a swirl of pinks and oranges. It clashed completely with the scene before me. What was once, only a few days ago, really, a grand city, lay before me now in ruins. The war torn planet had been struggling for months before Republic intervention had finally been granted, but by then it was too late. Obi-Wan, Anakin, and I had arrived a few weeks ago, to try and negotiate a final, desperate treaty... but the Invaders would hear none of it. They wanted a conquest, pure and simple, and they would stop at nothing to get it. So they leveled the capital city. Most of the inhabitants had gotten off-planet on emergency evacuation shuttles, Obi-Wan and Anakin among them. There was nothing we could do, except try to help the wounded. I had convinced Obi-Wan to let me stay for that purpose, on the condition that I catch the next, and last, transport. I remember how he had grasped my hand and forced me to look at him.
"Please, be on that transport." he had whispered. His eyes were pleading, knowing that I might not make it. I wanted to tell him that he didn't need to worry, that I would see him back on Coruscant, but I couldn't. There were too many people who needed me here... I would try.
I did try. But I did miss the transport. It wasn't the last hope though... if I waited out the attack, maybe I could contact the council, have a ship sent... maybe. Right now, there was little I could do. I had tended to the sick and dying, until every last one had shut their eyes for the last time. At least I had given them comfort in their final hours. So there I was... alone now, in the middle of a bombed-out city. I was passing what used to be a hospital, when I felt a vergeance in the force. Small, but there. I followed it through the wreckage, to a jumble of hospital beds. Underneath, I found a woman. She was barely alive, but conscious.
"You must help..." she murmured.
"I will, I will," I reassured her., trying to make her more comfortable by placing a bundled-up blanket under her head, but she waved me away.
"Your hand," she said. I gave it to her. She began to trace the lines on my palm, saying something so low and soft that I couldn't tell what it was. She spoke faster and faster, drawing circles now. She stopped, and placed two fingers at the center of the circle.
"Live!" she shouted weakly. I was very confused by her actions, but it was almost like I was in a trance. There was a flash of light, and I was thrown onto my back. When I next awoke, the woman was dead. I covered her with a blanket, and left for the street. Something was wrong... I felt empty, but at the same time full, and satisfied. Empty, because somehow I knew that that woman had been the last in the city. Full, because I knew what to do. I walked to the hangar, one of the few buildings left intact, and went straight to bay Nine, There was a small ship there, with enough fuel to get to Coruscant. Thank you, Obi-Wan.
He had known that I would miss the flight, and had arranged this. Damn the man. He knew me better than I did.
I readied the ship for flight, and actually waited ten minutes for clearance, before remembering that they were all gone. I must have been more exhausted than I thought.
It took me five days to get home. Five days during which I slept, ate, and played Sabaac against the ship's computer. By the time I arrived, I was fully rested, but my knight in not quite shining brown robes had already arranged for a week's leave, to 'recuperate'. I found this out from my friend, Vanna, though, as Obi-Wan was not there when I docked. Vanna was the only person whom I had told about my relationship with him. Well, officially told. I was sure that at least the council knew, if not half the temple. But we tried to keep it discreet. So, when I finally saw Obi-Wan for the first time in over a week, I simply nodded my greeting. (He was sparring with Anakin, and quite sweaty, so I did this from across the mat.)
"Daylon!" Anakin shouted, running over and embracing my waist. "You're home!"
"Yes, I am, Ani! I missed you." I told him.
"I missed you too. Will you practice with us?" he asked.
"Su--"
"Anakin, Daylon has had a long journey, she is going to rest." Obi-Wan cut in. I glared at him, challenging his order, but decided that it wasn't worth fighting over... at least not right then. So I retired to our quarters and a hot shower. About an hour later, I could sense Obi-wan coming down the hall. Fresh from the training hall showers. And alone.
He slipped in the door, and locked it behind him before grabbing me and pulling me into a deep, rough kiss.
"Gods how I've missed you..." he muttered against my cheek.
"Where's Ani?" I asked.
"His friend's. Gone for the night."
"Oh... that's nice."
"Very nice indeed," he picked me up and positioned me so that my legs were both around his waist, and placed me on the high kitchen counter. I pushed his outer robe off, used the force to toss his belt aside, and started on his tunic. It had been a very long time since we had had any time alone, months. Ah, the life of a jedi. The only good thing about it was that when we were together, Obi-Wan liked to make up for lost time. Knowing him as a lover was quite a different thing from knowing him as a jedi, of even as a friend. He could be dead serious all day, almost cold even, but as soon as that door closed, he became fiercely passionate and absolutely radiated heat. He was a mass of taught muscle and hot skin, soft lips and callused hands, short puffs of breath and a beating heart. The light in his eyes changed them to blue, and he had that incredibly sexy grin plastered on his face. Even his voice was different... he relaxed, and his pitch dropped, allowing his words to rumble over the lower parts. I loved that Obi-Wan. The Obi-Wan that stood before me now, bare to the waist, his lips brushing my neck, his hands under my tunic sliding up my back. He pressed closer to me, pushing me against a wall.
"So..." I said.
"So..." he mirrored. His breathing was becoming quicker.
"We have all night... what do you want to do?"
He groaned softly. "I want to take you... and make love to you."
I laughed. "Really."
"Really." He looked up at me, and I saw a need in him that wasn't there before. It shocked me that this man before me could need me like that.
"Well, that's what I want too." I whispered. He grinned once more. "So what are you waiting for, Jedi?" I said, "Go on and take me."
**
The light woke me up. In a rare drop of luck, the quarters that we inhabited happened to be on a high level, and also happened to have many windows. Obi-Wan's room actually opened onto a small porch, which meant that the entire wall was a large window. Facing South... and on Coruscant, the sun rose in... you guessed it, the South.
"Window tint, up 100 percent." I called out. It immediately became dark. Behind me, Obi-Wan grunted and shifted slightly, pulling me a bit closer. Obi-Wan tended to be possessive, all the time. Since our bond had become intimate, it had become more and more a need for physical protectiveness and proximity... He usually tried to repress it, knowing how much I value my independence, but he can't help it. Even when asleep, he keeps me close to him.
"G'morning, luv..." he slurred into the back of my hair. I mumbled back to him.
"What time is it?" he asked.
I looked to the chron beside the bed.
"Eight twenty... something."
"Oh."
He started to pay attention to the back of my neck, but then sat up.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Anakin is supposed to return at nine..." he said, climbing out of bed and pulling on his pants. "We are supposed to meet with Master Windu today."
"When today?"
"Nine in the morning today."
I started to get up, but Obi-Wan was there, holding me down. He kissed me softly.
"You... don't have to go, remember?" he said. "You are supposed to rest. So I don't want you to move one inch."
"Not even one?"
"Not even. Stay in bed, sleep."
"I've got a better idea... I stay in bed, and you... stay in bed with me..." I brushed my fingers against his cheek. He needed a shave, I thought.
"I'm on it." He stood and ran to the fresher. I heard water running. "You know I would stay if I could, but I can't." he called over the sound of the faucet.
"I know... but you'll be back later?" I said. I really didn't want him to leave. Something felt a bit off...
"Yes, I will... but so will Ani." he replied. I didn't answer. Instead, I wrapped the sheet around me and closed my eyes. It did feel good to rest, but I really shouldn't have been that tired.
"Are you all right?" he asked. He was sitting beside me, brows furrowed in that classic Obi-Wan expression... I must have dozed off. "I want you to see a healer."
"No." I stated,
"Please, Daylon... just to be sure that there's no post-traumatic-stress, or exhaustion, or dehydration..."
"Okay, I'll see the healer. Just stop worrying, all right?"
"I will." he pulled on his robe, kissed my forehead, and left.
Ten seconds later, he was back. He picked me up and started to carry me.
"Can't have Ani finding you in my bed, can we?" he grinned as he placed me on my own bed. "I'll see you tonight."
"See you."
**
After showering and eating a nice breakfast, I carried through on my promise to Obi-Wan. I saw a healer. But instead of going to the temple healer, I opted for a private practice. Gossip amongst the jedi was rampant, believe it or not, and if there was some chance that my odd feeling was a sexual problem, I certainly did not want it broadcast. So I put on civvies, took a shuttle to the healers, and sat in a waiting room. A full hour after my original appointment, I was seen by a healer.
"Daylon Terra?" the woman asked. She was small, curt, and professional, with violet hair and large silver eyes.
"Yes." I answered.
"You say here that you have a slight... twinge, was it? In the abdomen?"
"Yes,"
"And... tiredness?"
"Mhmm."
"Trouble sleeping?"
"No,"
"Loss of appetite?"
"No,"
"Any specific areas of pain?"
"No.... not really. Aside from my stomach."
"Is that high on the abs, or low?"
"Low."
"Any sexual discomfort or dysfunction?"
I laughed. "No."
"Well... that leaves a lot of options... we'll do a blood test."
She pricked me, and swished off to the lab. Meanwhile, I sat on the examination table and swung my feet. The whole place smelled like bandages and disinfectant. I could hear children in the room next to me, a mother scolding them. Nurses calling to other nurses, asking about each other's plans for dinner, their families...
It seemed like hours before the healer came back. She swished through the door, a bright smile on her face.
"Well, I really fell silly." She said.
"Why?" I asked.
"I should have know sooner..."
"Known what?" I was anxious to know, and she just kept drawing it out. "What is it? What's wrong with me?"
"Wrong? Nothing is wrong. Your status is changing."
I raised my eyebrows, begging her to go on.
"You're pregnant."
My first reaction was disbelief. After Eros, I thought that I had become permanently sterile.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Oh yes, quite sure."
"But I... I'm..."
"I know, I checked twice because of that. But it's true... you're pregnant. About a week, I'd say."
I sat, speechless.
"You aren't married?"
I shook my head.
"Involved with someone, though?"
"Yes." I thought of Obi-Wan... we had created a child, whom I was carrying. It didn't seem right, though. Why hadn't I sensed it before? In all instances of force-sensitive pregnancy I had ever been close to, the partner carrying the life could feel it from the instant of conception on... so why hadn't I felt it?
And the healer said that I was a week pregnant. A week ago, I was on another planet. A long, long way away from Obi-Wan. Then I remembered the woman in the hospital.
"Can you run a check on the fetus itself?" I asked.
"What sort of check?"
"Just a blood test."
"Sure... any particular reason?" She looked askance at me.
"No... just to be safe."
"All right. I need you to lie back and pull your gown up."
I did as I was told. She brought a scanner over and punched some buttons, waving it over my tummy. She waved it again... and again...
"I'm sorry, it's not getting the fetus... this happens sometimes. We'll just have to do it manually. Do you want to continue?"
"Yes."
She brought over a tray with a long needle-like probe.
"This might hurt a bit..."
A bit? What an understatement. I could feel it traveling through my flesh, extending into my abdominal cavity. It left a small wound.
"Okay. I'll be right back."
Again with the waiting. More voices, more smells. More swinging my feet like a child. A pregnant child. I laughed out loud. It sounded so absurd! Me? Pregnant? A mother-to-be? And Obi-Wan a father-to-be? It was definitely laughable.
I was trying to picture what a child of ours might look like, when a nurse came in.
"Sorry, there was an emergency. The healer asked me to give these to you."
She handed me a set of genetic readouts. Luckily, I had learned to read them on a mission a few years back. I quickly saw something was amiss—the genes did not match mine. This was not my child.
I took the readouts, mine and the child's, paid the nurse, and left for the temple. How could this be possible? This couldn't be possible! Yet... it was the only possible explanation. That woman must have had the ability to transfer life. All I had to do was find the species with that attribute, and then my condition would be explained. So I hit the databases, searching almost desperately. Around eight o'clock, I was about half-way through, but I was starting to feel tired. I did one last quick search.
It turned out fatigue was normal for the first few weeks.
**
Tired and still slightly shocked, I sat on the couch in the living space, staring in the general direction of the kitchen. I was starving, but too tired to rummage around our consistently bare cabinets. And I was afraid of what I might find in the refrigerator. So I pulled a blanket over myself and took a nap.
I was dreaming. There was a little girl... she had Obi-Wan's red hair, and his goofy smile. But her eyes were green, like mine. She was laughing and giggling... but fading away. Then I saw the woman form the hospital... the real mother. She was saying something... something I needed to hear...
"Wake up."
No, that wasn't right.
"Come on, luv, wake up..."
"No...."
"Yes. You don't want me to get lonely now, do you?"
By now I was starting to wake up, but I didn't want to. So I grumbled at him. But then he said the three words that—at that moment-- would have made me do anything.
"I brought food."
That got me up.
"What kind?" I asked, groggily.
"Chinese. Sweet and sour pork, kung pao chicken, fried rice. And spring rolls," he said with a grin.
"Gods I love you." I sat up showed him my appreciation with a kiss.
"I swear Daylon, sometimes you're just too easy," he chuckled softly, rising and heading towards the kitchen.
"Are you saying that you'd rather have me difficult, obstinate, and totally dissatisfied with everything?"
"No." He said. "I'm just pointing out that your needs are very simple."
"Are you saying that I'm simple? That I'm plain?" I was doing this just to be annoying, and he knew it.
"I'm not saying anything anymore."
"So you don't want to talk to me?"
"You know, I'm starting to regret waking you up."
"Do I aggravate you, Obi?" I grinned.
He turned to look me in the eye, with that smirk of his illuminating his face. "I should take you over my knee," he threatened.
"You're right—you should." I threw back.
He laughed. "Let's just eat dinner."
Plates were produced, and paper take-out cartons set on the coffee table. We sat across from each other on the floor, eating Chinese and drinking tea.
"Obi-wan, where is our apprentice?" I asked.
"I was wondering when you'd notice his absence. He was invited to a sporting match by another one of his friends... along with four other boys. A 'boys night out' of sorts."
"Didn't he just sleep away last night?"
"Yes... but I don't think it will do him any harm. Besides..."
"... he needs the companionship. The support of other padawans."
"Right." He took a long sip of tea.
I ate my rice.
He was looking at me... staring really.
I ate some pork.
Obi-Wan kept staring.
I started to pick up a spring roll, but he stopped me with a chopstick.
"How did it go today? At the healers, I mean."
The healers. The pregnancy... I had let it slip my mind completely. Until now. I looked up at Obi-Wan, meeting his eyes. They fluctuated from grey to blue to green, as I watched. In them, I saw concern, love, and a little anxiety. I couldn't tell him. Not yet. Not until I had an explanation.
"It went fine. There's nothing wrong."
An almost imperceptible sigh of relief passed his lips. It felt terrible to lie to him. To shield myself from him. I would tell him... soon.
"Are you finished?"
"huh?" I asked.
"Are you done eating?" he repeated.
"Oh, yes."
Obi-Wan cleared the dishes quickly and returned with a bottle and two small glasses.
"What's this?" I asked as he set the glasses down and poured.
"Sh'tuli."
I looked at the glass. Sh'tuli was a potent liquor. Just one glass would give you quite a buzz. Two would make you considerably drunk. Three, and you'd be out cold.
Alcohol was somewhat of a luxury for a jedi... you could never drink on a mission, hardly ever if you had a padawan. So whenever we got the chance, it was nice.
But I was newly pregnant. Alcohol was now off-limits.
"Is something wrong?" Obi-Wan asked.
"No. I just... don't want any. You go ahead."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Drink!"
"Well, if you insist," he smiled and tipped the glass back.
"I insist."
He never slammed an empty glass down, as many men did. Qui-Gon had taught him to drink like a gentleman, and it had stuck. He placed the glass on the table.
There were a few moments of comfortable silence.
"Why are you still in your clothes?" he asked. I gave him a look, and he realized what that had sounded like. "No, I meant why are you still wearing your street clothes, if you were napping? Why didn't you change."
"I was too tired. I didn't get in till past eight."
"Why?"
"I was at the library... just hanging out."
"That is just like you. To have free time and spend it at the library, of all places." He said.
"So? What if I like the library?"
"There's nothing wrong with the library... but I think that there are better uses for your free time."
"Like what? Paper airplanes?"
"...I have some ideas," he leaned over the table and kissed me. "Maybe I could show you." He used the force to let my hair out of its loose knot, and tugged on a piece of it gently.
"What's the rush? With all of Ani's friends, it looks like we'll have the place to ourselves a lot. Can't we just... watch a vid or something?" I asked.
The crease in his forehead deepened, and his mouth hung slightly open.
"A vid or something?" he asked incredulously. "Are you sure you aren't sick?"
I laughed. "I'm sure. Obi-Wan calm down. I was joking."
"Jokes like that will get you in trouble."
He had me on the floor before I knew it. The man was quick when he wanted to be. I could taste the liquor on his lips, and I noticed that he was barefoot and beltless. His kisses were soft, tender.
"Obi-Wan...."
He didn't answer; instead, he started to unbutton my shirt.
"Obi."
He was trailing kisses down my front, when he stopped.
"What's this?" he asked.
"What's what?"
"This mark on your stomach. It wasn't there last night."
"Oh, I must have scratched myself. It's nothing."
"It looks like a puncture wound." He looked up at me, demanding an answer. I, of course, looked away.
"Tell me. Please."
"Obi-Wan..."
"Please."
I sighed. I had said that I would tell him soon. I just didn't think that it would be this soon.
"It's from a blood test."
"Why did they draw from your stomach?"
"Because they weren't drawing my blood." He looked at me. "They were drawing fetal blood."
"Fetal?" he repeated.
"Obi-Wan, I'm pregnant."
He blinked once, twice. Then he laughed. A loud, full laugh.
"Ha! Oh, Daylon, that's funny. You—pregnant!"
"I'm not kidding."
He kept laughing. "Come on. I know for a fact that it is impossible for you to be pregnant."
"So did I. But I was wrong."
His face fell as he realized that I was serious. I tried to explain my theory as well as I could: I told him about the woman, the flash of light, the results of the DNA test.
"So you're saying that the child is not yours... not mine?"
"Correct."
He paused to think.
"What are you going to do?" he asked.
"What do you mean 'what am I going to do'? I'm going to have a baby."
"And then?"
"...I don't know yet. But hey, I have nine months to think about it..."
"Daylon.... I... I don't know what to say...." he looked at my bare stomach. Slowly, he pulled himself into a standing position. "I have to go... I need to think."
That was the way Obi-Wan dealt with hard news. He withdrew, shut himself away for a while, and thought. It had happened before, and I knew to just wait it out. Of course, there was that one time he disappeared for a month, and I had to go find him... but that had been his reaction to Qui-Gon's death. This was nowhere near as traumatic. I hoped.
The door shut softly behind him.
A small wave of terror washed over me. What if he went away again...or worse, what if he came back, and pushed me away?
The thought crossed my mind to track him through the force.
But the feeling passed. I had to let him have his space. He would return...
I changed into my sleep tunic and brushed my teeth. Standing in front of the mirror, my hand went to my abdomen. What would I look like pregnant? I pulled the loose tunic outwards, and stared at my profile. I would look... pregnant.
I flipped the lights off and slipped into bed.
Three minutes later, I realized that I had gotten into Obi-Wan's bed. But by then I was too far gone to care.
**
The next morning he still wasn't back. Ani was though.
"Daylon, why aren't you in your bed? And where's Obi-Wan?" he asked, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as usual. I delayed as long as I could, standing and stretching, and heading to the kitchen..
"How was your party, Anakin?" I asked. He shrugged.
"Fine." Ten seconds passed before he tried again. "Where's Obi-Wan?"
I sighed. There was no lying to this kid.
"He's out... contemplating."
"Contemplating what?"
"Ani... sit down."
"Why?"
"Because. I have something to tell you."
His eyes widened.
"Did someone die?" he asked, his voice betraying his fear.
"No. The opposite, actually. I'm going to have a baby."
His jaw dropped. Comprehension dawned on him.
"Obi-Wan? Is that why you were in his bed?" he asked. I had to hand it to him. He was bright, understanding, and he had the ability to point fingers without sounding accusatory. It was like hearing a Master speak from a child's body.
"Are you two gonna get married now?"
I laughed.
"No, no. I was in Obi-Wan's bed because I was too tired to care where I slept last night, and he was already gone anyway. The baby is not his... it's not even mine. There was this woman on our last mission. She was dying, and in her final moments, she gave me her baby to take care of."
"Woah."
"Woah is right."
"So... Obi-Wan's mad at you?" he raised his eyebrows and inclined his head, in an almost comical impersonation of his Master.
"Not mad... not in an anger sense. I always thought he was crazy mad though..."
Anakin laughed. He was taking all of this so well. We ate our breakfast as we made fun of Obi. It wasn't exactly fair, or nice, but it provided sufficient distraction for the morning.
"Since Obi-Wan isn't here, am I excused from training?" he asked.
"Why would you think that? I'm here, aren't I?"
"Yeah, but you're... you're..."
"Only a week pregnant. Not an invalid."
He groaned. "You're not gonna get all, you know, hormonal on me, are you?"
"Not anytime soon. Now get ready to go."
He slouched off. His classes were all in the afternoon this quarter, which left only the morning to train. The morning which was half gone.
We found an open mat in the training hall and warmed up. Anakin was definitely holding back, focusing his attacks above or below stomach level. I tried to get him to stop being such a little gentleman, but he wouldn't. One morning of training: wasted.
Anakin went off to class a few hours later. Ah, to be young again. To only worry about class and Masters, and when your next meal will be... that seemed so long ago as to be almost unreal.
I stood on the balcony and watched Coruscant bustle around me, thinking about what Anakin had asked that morning. "Are you two gonna get married now?"
I loved Obi-Wan, in every aspect of the word. I had ever since we were eighteen. And if he ever asked me to marry him, I would say yes. But would he ever ask me? The republic was changing... there was talk around the Temple about Sith rising up against the Jedi... there were rumors floating around the Senate about a war... and with Obi-Wan being the last Jedi to encounter a Sith, he was a part of all of the chatter. Mace Windu told me that if there was a Republic-wide war, Obi-Wan would be at the top of the list of Jedi recruits. But we'd never talked about it directly. Maybe we should. I desperately wanted to know if there would be room in our lives for each other five years from now. Ten.
I didn't want to be left behind or forgotten. I wanted to have things stay the way they were now. Of course, even now, that very second, things were changing. I was going to have a baby. What in the hells was I going to do? Put the child up for adoption? Adopt it myself? If I did, would Obi-Wan support my decision?
And why did his opinion have to matter so much?
It was too much for me right then. I had to do something. I picked up a data pad and started learning everything I could about being pregnant. The joys, the pains, the cravings. So that explains my ravenous appetite...
Speaking of which, it was getting late and my stomach knew it.
There was nothing in the kitchen. Not even leftovers from last night.
So it was to the streets of Coruscant, in search of a suitable restaurant. I settled on a turkey sandwich and a glass of orange juice at a small diner. And then it was back home, back to my sleep tunic, back to Obi-Wan's bed.
He still wasn't there. I buried my face in a pillow and breathed in his scent, willing him to walk through the door and flop down on the bed next to me. He didn't.
Time to stare at the ceiling... but not for long, because the early-pregnancy-fatigue returned full force.
**
I groaned and turned over, trying desperately to hold on to sleep. I rolled straight into a warm wall of bare flesh. I tried to roll back in my nearly-unconscious state, but arms held me still.
"Shhh... sleep." Obi-Wan's low, soft words were like breathing again for the first time.
//you're back...//
//yes//
//I missed you//
//you don't have to anymore. Sleep, luv//
**
"Obi-Wan!" I shouted, sitting straight up. He wasn't next to me anymore.
"What is it? What's wrong?" He was by my side in an instant. I worked on regaining my breath, while clutching his forearm.
"You scared me for a minute, Obi."
He smirked. "Did I, now?"
"Yes. You did."
He sat down next to me and took my hand in his larger one. The grin disappeared.
"Daylon, I've been thinking... a lot." He started. I considered breaking in with a smart-ass comment, but he was serious.
"I love you. And I will support you through this."
Tears came to my eyes. He placed a chaste kiss on my lips. "I will."
I looked straight into his eyes for a long time. I didn't want to move, didn't want to blink even. I had known that he would come back, and be there for me. But to actually see him, to have it become real was absolutely earth-shattering. In an unbelievably good way.
"It's not going to be easy." I sniffed.
"I know. Come on, let's go get some breakfast."
"You read my mind."
Breakfast was a bit off though, considering it was two in the afternoon. We shared a shower and dressed in non-jedi clothes. Obi-Wan stated matter-of-factly that it was time we stocked our kitchen with something other than tea. So we went grocery shopping.
"What's this?" he asked, holding up a thick yellow cylinder.
I gasped. "Cookie dough."
"In a tube?" he lifted one eyebrow.
"That's the best way!"
The eyebrow stayed high.
"Toss it in the cart."
"This is going to lead to malnutrition, you know." He grumbled.
"Hey—who's pregnant here?"
I did try to add healthy items—fruit, vegetables, pretzels... And I had the not so healthy items... cookies (cookie dough), ice cream complete with whipped cream, all sorts of baking mixes...
"Baking? You?" he asked.
"Yes. And if you question any more of my food choices, you won't be eating any of them." I teased. It really was horrid though, on a whole. I had picked up whatever looked good...
"Obi-Wan, will you still love me if I get fat?"
"You're just being silly now." He shot me a look that said 'don't make me reprimand you' and 'please make me reprimand you' at the same time. So naturally, I pushed further.
"Will you?"
"Of course. Would you still love me if I grew a beard?"
That was one of my pet peeves. I hated beards.
"Yes," I replied, "But I'd have to shave it off while you slept."
He chuckled and took hold of my hand, leading me down an isle of desserts.
**
Three weeks later, I stood before the mirror again, looking at my naked body. I thought that I saw a slight hint of a bulge... I turned from side to side, trying to see it again. I don't know whether I looked forward to the physical signs of pregnancy, or dreaded them.
"Don't worry, you don't show yet." Obi-wan said, wrapping his arms around me from behind and kissing my neck.
"It should be soon..."
"Not any sooner than our council meeting. You need to get dressed."
"I know."
I didn't move though. I wasn't feeling too confident... my head had been hurting for the past week, and I was still mildly tired. Obi-Wan had been very supportive and absolutely perfect, seeing to my every need and want... except one. I think he was afraid to hurt me...
I dressed in a hurry and grabbed a piece of fruit. Obi-Wan guided me out of the door and down the hall to the lift.
"I'm not helpless, Obi-Wan. I can walk on my own." I said, once the lift doors had closed.
"I know that. I'm just trying to help." He said. His hand left its former protective position on my back. "About the council meeting... they're going to assign us a mission. You have to tell them. There is no way I'm going to allow you to—"
I knew where this was going... back to square one. And that would not happen. Not today.
"You will allow me? It's only been five weeks—not even! Four and a half! I can still function normally. Which includes missions."
"I'm just trying to—" he closed his eyes in frustration.
"Help? Protect me? I thought we were past that. I'm not a little girl..."
"No. You're not."
"So let me make my own decisions, please."
"Daylon! Why do you have to be so difficult? Just take the time off!"
"It's nine months!"
"That's right. Nine months. Nine fucking months that could kill you if you're not careful."
He glared at me as we walked out of the lift onto the council floor.
"Welcome back, Daylon. I trust you have fully recovered from your injuries?" Mace Windu asked, his deep voice resonating off the walls.
"Yes, Master. I have, thank you." I replied.
"Good, good," Yoda crowed. "Need you, we do."
Obi-wan moved to speak, to tell all to the Masters, but I spoke first.
"A mission?"
"Yes, yes." Yoda said. Master Gallia took over for him.
"It is not as exciting as your last one, I'm afraid. A simple diplomatic matter."
Diplomatic missions were never simple. Never. Adi continued.
"It is a mission to Naboo. They are conducting parliamentary elections; they asked for a watchful Republic eye. You shall be that eye."
"We are being sent to supervise?" I asked.
"Yes, basically. If any trouble arises, you two will be more than enough to deal with it."
I didn't know what to say... why was this mission so simple?
"Masters, if I may?" I asked for permission to speak freely. They nodded their ascent. "Does the... docility of this mission have anything to do with my health?"
Master Windu looked askance at me before speaking.
"No. We are all under the impression that you are ready to return to duty. Are you?"
"She is not." Obi-wan interjected.
Twelve pairs of eyebrows raised in question.
"I am—" I protested.
"Let Obi-wan speak," Windu ordered, "I think that your emotions are clouding your judgment, Daylon."
And they aren't clouding his?
"Master Windu, there has been a... change in Daylon's situation..." he ran a hand through his hair.
Twelve pairs of eyes shifted to stare at me.
"What sort of change?" Adi Gallia asked.
//Tell them,// Obi-wan pushed.
//I will get you for this...//
"I am with child." I looked at the faces of the masters before me, waiting for a reaction. The reaction came, but it was not directed at me. The eyes went to Obi-wan.
"I believe that while on our last mission, a life was transferred to me through the force." I rushed.
Eyes back to me.
"Transferred?" Mace questioned.
"I don't know how to explain it... but I know that it is true."
"Know of instances like this, I do." Yoda said. "A true miracle of the Force, it is."
"What do you plan to do?" a master asked.
"I will have the child."
"How far along are you?"
"Just over four weeks."
"She shouldn't take any risks..." Obi-Wan said.
There was a long pause.
"I don't think that there is any reason why you cannot continue on this mission." Mace said. Obi-Wan was ready to argue, but he caught Windu's glare.
"You are dismissed. May the Force be with you."
We bowed and made an exit.
When we returned to our quarters, there was a message for Obi-Wan, from Mace Windu. He left immediately and didn't return for hours. When he did, I couldn't really tell whether his mood had improved or not.
I slept alone that night.
"Daylon... Daylon wake up, we have to go!" Anakin shook my shoulders. "C'mon, we're going to Naboo!"
"All right, Ani, I'm going..."
I stood and stretched, forcing myself to wake completely.
"Where's Obi-Wan?" I asked. Anakin was shoving my clothes into a bag.
"He's on the ship. Hurry!"
Funny that Obi-wan didn't tell me about our early departure...
With Ani's help I made it to the ship in under ten minutes. Obi-Wan glared at me as though it was my fault for being late.
//oh, get over it, Obi-Wan//
He didn't respond, just furrowed his brows and headed for the cockpit. He didn't even help me with my bag, which was a true sign of his anger. Chivalry and manners went out the door when he was pissed. So he was going to be a jerk... fine. But for how long? How long could I ignore him?
It was a twenty hour trip to Naboo...
**
Twenty hours later, Obi-Wan's mood had spoiled every one else's. You know, he never used to be this abrasive before Qui-Gon died. But when I say abrasive, I mean "Obi-Wan" abrasive... which is not that bad, if you aren't a jedi. If you are a jedi, and unfortunate enough to be near Obi when he's miffed, you can expect 'the look'-- his nearly patented knitted brows and a scowl—accompanied by a nasty backlash of Force.
It is the closest thing to evil I have ever seen from a Jedi.
But it's just his thundercloud... and it usually passes. Usually.
We arrived on Naboo just after sunset. The Queen and about twelve handmaidens were there to greet us. Anakin went just about out of his head when he saw the queen.
"Padme!" he called. When she turned to look at him, his smile went from ear to ear.
"It is so nice to see you, Anakin." She smiled warmly at him. I was surprised to see that she was so young. She couldn't have been more than eighteen. She stepped forward to greet us.
"Hello, Knight Kenobi, I am very glad that you are here." She shook his hand.
"Thank you, your highness."
"And your companion...?" she gestured to me. Obi-Wan seemed to remember himself.
"This is Daylon Terra."
We exchanged the perfunctory greetings before the queen was whisked away for some important duty that could not be delayed... I could see how difficult it was for her, to be a young girl in charge of an entire planet. All she wanted to do was to see her friend... Ani was disappointed too. He looked to Obi-wan and me for what to do next. Obi-Wan turned away.
"Come on, Anakin. Let's follow these handmaidens to the palace." I ruffed his hair as we walked.
They took our bags and showed us to the main throne room, where we met each of the officials running in the election. They seemed honest, but politicians rarely are.
"Daylon, what exactly are we doing here?" Anakin whispered.
"Refereeing."
He suppressed a giggle.
"Better not let Obi-Wan see you laughing... he might explode."
Anakin laughed out loud this time, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Including Obi-Wan.
//Daylon! For Force sake!//
// oh, kiss off.//
The look on his face was worth it. It was like a bomb going off under water. It was there, and then it folded in on itself and was gone.
The rest of the evening went pretty much like that. Anakin and the queen chatted and whispered, while Obi-Wan glared at me. I almost stuck my tongue out at him, just to show him how ridiculous he was being.
Finally, around eleven o'clock, we were shown to our rooms. Rooms, as in two. Rooms, as in one for Anakin, one for Obi-Wan and myself. I tried to get Ani to switch with me, but, as he said, he 'didn't have a death wish'.
So I did what I could to avoid Obi-Wan.
The next day was spent studying the campaigns of the officials in the election. We checked for any errors or oversights in the scheduled process, and visited each one of the voting locations around Theed. The Queen was not with us, she had 'business' to attend to. But Padme was, and Anakin stayed absolutely glued to her the entire time. I tried to break Obi-Wan's mood in every way I could. I was polite to him, which only drew coldness. I matched his malice with my own, and battled him verbally, but he would never back down. I tried to penetrate his hostility with humor, but he ignored me. He was being completely irascible and captious.
That night, when I climbed into bed, I took extra care to keep away from him, for fear of being bitten by his foul temper.
But a grand idea rose with the sun the next morning.
I would use the only weapon I had left against him, which also happened to be the most powerful one—sex.
No matter how angry he got with me, all would be forgotten if I could just distract him enough...
And it was so fun to distract him.
I waited for him to leave, and then I used the luxury of the queen's hospitality to my advantage. I shaved my legs and washed my hair, rounded my nails and moisturized. When I stepped out of the bathroom, I emerged clean, soft, and utterly feminine.
I opened the large dresser in the room, and found that I was in luck.
Like most queens trying to be accommodating to their guests, Amidala had stocked the chest with spare clothes... some of which were my size.
It was a jumble of odds and ends, though. Fortunately, I knew just what I wanted... thong underwear. Even though I would not say or broadcast a word to Obi-Wan, and even though I would be wearing the same anything-but-revealing jedi robes, he would know. He just would. Just like he would know without touching me that my skin was especially soft today.
I put on the rest of my clothing and gathered my hair up into a loose bun, allowing thin wisps to slip free. I would probably let it down later though, because I knew for a fact that he liked to play with my hair.
There was one thing missing though... it took me a moment before I figured it out. I changed my usual loose trousers for a pair of identical ones I had found in the chest-- only a few sizes smaller. Now the pants hugged my legs like a second skin. Perfect.
I walked to the throne room with a small sway to my step, completely ignoring Obi-Wan. And irritating him, from the sense of it. I had changed my appearance in slight ways, ways that no one but Obi-wan would notice. And he should be noticing any minute now...
He noticed, and he saw right through what I was doing.
//you will not play your way out of this mess, Daylon.// he looked away as he spoke to me.
//can't blame a girl for trying//
//I will blame you for wasting my time.//
Ouch. So he wasn't in the mood for my subtly-blatant signals...it must have been the pants.
Obi-Wan was the kind of man who liked to be teased. He was always more intrigued by the things he couldn't see, tempted by the things he was not supposed to have... and always, he was discreet. Especially when on a mission. So I would have to be completely indirect in my seduction, which would make it all the more enticing to him.
//you're right. It was stupid of me, especially on a mission.// I conceded. I could hear the satisfaction in his voice.
//just... focus from now on, all right?//
//Yes, master.// I said it in just the right way, not mocking or sarcastic... it sounded like I had just let the word slip from habit. He said nothing.
Two hours later, I was starting to get to him. I had gently brushed against him in a completely non-sexual way, and I felt his response in the force. Maybe the pants had worked after all. It was all down hill from there.
And I played so innocent, he couldn't accuse me of trying anything. I could almost hear him chastising himself for 'not focusing'.
"Obi-Wan, are you hungry?" I asked. It was past noon.
He looked up at me with cloudy blue eyes.
"For lunch?" he asked.
Innocent...
"Yes, for lunch! What else?" I laughed at him. It felt odd to manipulate him in this way... making him think that it was his fault, when I was really leading him on... but it was for his own good. He needed to loosen up a bit, and I could help him do just that.
"What do you want to eat?" he asked.
"I don't know. What do you want?"
"Oh, anything's fine."
He hadn't looked away the entire time.
"Shall we dine in our quarters...." he asked under his breath.
"I would love to."
We returned all the documents we had been sifting through and walked toward the guest room.
"...Anakin?" Obi-wan asked.
"With Padme. They went out to see Theed, they'll be back before dark."
He opened the door and ushered me in.
The door was barely shut before his lips were on mine. Like I said before, the man is quick when it suits him.
"Damn bloody woman..." he muttered. "Why do you do this to me..."
"I did nothing..."
"The hell you did."
He ran his hands through my hair and then down my back, coming to rest on my backside.
"And those pants... I love those pants on you. Better yet, I love them off of you."
I knew it, I knew the pants would do it. He proceeded to remove my boots, followed by the infamous trousers. Even though the whole thing had been a set-up, I had missed this side of him, and it felt so good to have it back.
"Maybe I should try leather next time?" I asked slyly. He stood and grabbed me around the waist.
"Don't threaten if you don't intend to follow up." His grip tightened slightly.
"Obi-wan, careful." I warned. He looked down at his hands and their position around my abdomen.
"Oh, gods..."
Whatever strife I had managed to erase now came back tenfold.
"You see what I mean, Daylon? Even I could hurt you..." He backed away from me.
"You couldn't..."
"Yes, I could, and so could anybody else." I could hear the words in the air between us. "You should have stayed on Coruscant."
I put on my trousers, picked up my boots, and left.
I was so angry and frustrated... and it was all because of him.
I stalked down the hall, thinking of what I was going to do next, when fortune smiled upon me. A handmaiden stepped out of the queen's rooms.
"Knight Terra, how are you today?" she asked genuinely. I had no reason to be cross with her.
"I'm fine, thank you."
"Is there anything I can do for you?"
I shook my head. "I was about to ask the same of you."
She lowered her eyes and blushed.
"You are a guest..."
"So I am. So what," I said, "What is it that you need?" I warmed the question with a smile. It would feel good to do something, and this was the perfect opportunity.
"Well, if you aren't busy... some of the other 'maidens and I have been wanting to talk to you... you know, chat." She grinned.
"Talk?" It was such a simple request, how could I refuse? "Certainly. It would be my pleasure."
She smiled brightly now.
"That is wonderful. When would you like to do it?"
"I have nothing to do at the moment..."
She turned and re-opened the door.
"Please, come."
I walked into a small room decorated in green and gold. Sofas and chairs lined the walls.
"This is the sitting room, but we never use it. By the way, my name's Rabe. All the other girls are in here, follow me..."
The once-shy girl had quickly turned ebullient as soon as we entered. She led me through arched double doors into a domed room with scarlet walls. Cushions of a deeper shade of scarlet formed a semi-circle in a sunken area of the floor. There were orange and gold blankets and throws everywhere, and curtains of the same colors hanging from the ceiling. Nearly a dozen girls lounged around the room, talking and laughing. All that stopped when I came in.
"Daylon Terra is here to talk with us," Rabe explained. Many smiles turned my direction.
"I am honored, ladies. What would you like to discuss?"
I was whirled to a seat and rapidly surrounded.
"What is it like to be a Jedi?"
"Is it exciting?"
"Have you ever seen a Sith?"
"Do they make you wear your hair long, or do you have a choice?"
"How does the Force work?"
Questions came in quick succession.
"Slow down, one at a time," I laughed. My, they were curious. "Being a Jedi is like being an officer of the law, or a healer. It is difficult, but rewarding."
"How difficult?"
"Well, it takes a lot of training and discipline... long hours, travel, many rules to follow..." I told them all about it, and answered as many questions as I could. Someone ordered food and drinks, which turned out to be snacks and margaritas. Oh, who cares. I'll just have one drink... and I did have only one. But one was enough. Pretty soon, every girl in the room was giggling. Yoda became one big joke, and we laughed for at least ten minutes about the shine off of Master Windu's head. As the laughter died down, more questions were asked.
"Hey, are you allowed to date?" One girl asked.
"Yes, we are. As long as it doesn't interfere—"
"Do you have a boyfriend?"
"Well, I... I... yes, I suppose that I am in a relationship..."
The next question was asked tentatively.
"Does Knight Kenobi?"
"Oh, you can call him Obi-Wan. And call me Daylon, please." I said.
Everyone was looking at me.
"What?" I asked.
"Does he?"
"Eh... yes."
The silence was palpable. It was then that I realized what the 'chat' was all about. Every single one of these girls was absolutely smitten with Obi-Wan.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"
"It is all right," Rabe giggled. "It is not he end of the world."
"And it doesn't diminish the fact that he has a nice ass." A girl stated. Everyone was launched into a fit of laughter.
Oh, this was good. This was really good. I could use this.
"So who is it? Who's he seeing?"
"Me." I expected stares and silence, instead their eyes lit up and they literally bounced up and down.
"Oh, this is so perfect! You can tell us everything!"
This was perfect. Absolutely perfect...
"He's not all business-like all the time, is he?" one girl winced. "That would suck."
"No, he's a real person under that facade. Quite warm."
A girl draped herself across the laps of a few others and sighed.
"What color are his eyes? I can never tell..."
"They change. Light grey-green normally, but darker when he's mad, more green when he's happy, and a darker blue when he's romantic..."
A dozen sighs.
"Is he romantic?"
"Oh, he can be."
"What's the most romantic thing he's ever done?"
I thought for a moment.
"Hmmm... it's not just one thing... but I think the first time he told me he loved me... that was special. I knew he meant it."
"How long have you been together?"
"... four months, I think."
"So... you've had sex?"
I giggled. "Yes."
"And..."
"And what?"
"How is he?"
Usually I don't like to kiss and tell, but let's face it. Obi-Wan deserved this. Didn't he? At least I wouldn't lie... and the handmaidens were getting a kick out of it.
"Good."
More giggles, and leaning closer.
"How good?"
"Good-good..."
"Best you've ever had?"
"...hmm... I think... yes. And I've had my share."
There was a chorus of 'you are so lucky', 'go girl!', and 'I knew he was good'. I was laughing along with them. It felt good to just gossip and talk amongst other women.
"Okay, here's the question:" Rabe began, "Is he kinky? Does he have a fetish or something?"
I had to laugh at that... it was all so perfect. There were going to be twelve handmaidens who knew everything about Obi-Wan, pining away at his back, and it would annoy the hell out of him.
"Not so kinky really..."
Money changed hands quickly. So they had bet on this...
"Details, details..." they laughed.
"I've tied him up, and it drives him wild."
"I knew it, a restraint man!" "What else?"
"Oh... water..."
"Water?"
"Yeah, you know, the shower, bath, ocean, even the Temple pools..."
"I wouldn't have guessed that." "Top or bottom?"
"Top. He's very dominating... it's a control thing... but he does like to be roughed up every once in a while..." I grinned. "And teased."
More and more giggles. I was on a roll...
"Get this—he growls." Laughter now. "Whenever he's... enjoying himself... he growls really low. It's almost a purr."
"So I take it he's a groaner, and not a whimperer." One girl laughed.
"Oh, definitely."
"So what's bad about him?"
"hmm... he likes green tea, and it gives him bad breath. Ugh. He talks in his sleep sometimes... really loudly too. He wants to grow a beard... I don't."
"Why? I think it'd be sexy."
"Too scratchy. And it hides his chin!"
"Oh, yeah. He does have a great chin."
"Tell me about it. But back to the bad things... he's so impatient sometimes. He has a lot of energy... no, that's a good thing. And he likes the thermostat cool... I like it warm."
"That's not so bad though..."
"Well, his average body temp is high—99.2, and mine is low—96.7. So it is kind of inconvenient. And to me it always feels like his skin is on fire, while he says that I feel cool."
"That is a little odd."
"Yeah. But it's all irrelevant when you look at the entire package. He's a good man, and I'm very lucky." I said. Part of me felt horrible all of a sudden. I shouldn't have talked about him like that. But what's done is done...
"Ladies, I'd appreciate it if what was said here stayed here, if you know what I mean."
"Of course Daylon. Thanks for taking the time to indulge us." Rabe said. All the other girls nodded. "It was fun."
"It was. But I should probably be getting back now." I looked at the chron. Seven o'clock and already dark. I said goodbye and strolled back to our room.
Back to Obi-Wan.
I considered staying mad at him for at least another day,
But when I saw him pouring over a data pad, glasses perched at the end of his nose, I couldn't help myself. I jumped onto the bed right next to him, making him drop the pad.
"Daylon! What did you do that for?"
"Oh, just to annoy you."
He glowered.
"Obi-Wan, did you really expect me to sit on my laurels at the temple for nine months?"
"Yes."
He was so serious, it was cute.
"Angry, not cute." He growled.
"Of course you're angry. Why shouldn't you be?" He shot me a sideways glance. " I mean, you're just doing your duty as a Jedi and a man. Trying to protect me. Poor little pregnant and defenseless me..."
"You aren't defenseless, Daylon."
"Really? I wouldn't know, the way you're always doing it for me."
"I do not."
"Do to."
"Do—Daylon, stop this."
"Stop what?"
"Acting like a child!"
"You mean acting like an adult trying to convince you that she can protect herself; make her own decisions."
He looked at me over the rim of his glasses. I don't know why he wore them... he could have easily had his vision corrected years ago, but he never did.
"Daylon...I know that you can protect yourself, and I have no objection to you making your own decisions. I just... would like to be a part of that decision-making process." His tone softened, "And I would like to help take care of you, luv. Especially now." He put a hand on my stomach.
"I know you mean well. But...Obi-Wan...Obi-Wan, stop." He had begun to kiss my shoulder, moving slowly up.
"why stop?"
"Because."
Of course, leave it to Obi-Wan to expect others to follow orders, but not follow them himself. He never listened...
As much as I wanted to go along, to feel his lips tease my skin, his warm hands inch up my body, and as much as I wanted to respond in kind, we really could not do this. Not on a mission...
//why would they give us one bed then?//
"No, they gave us two rooms... one for the boys, one for the girl."
"One for the boy, one for us..."
"No, Obi-Wan."
He murmured something unintelligible on my skin.
"A few hours ago, you wouldn't touch me."
"A few hours ago I was protecting you and making decisions for you. Now I'm not. Besides... do you know what you did to me at lunch?"
He looked up at me with shining dark eyes and slid his hands around my waist. With one hand he removed his glasses and placed them in a safe spot. I almost stopped him... it might have been interesting to watch him with glasses.
I kissed his forehead and then the spot between his eyebrows at the crux of his nose. I love his nose... straight and strong. I followed it down the line to his lips, and then the cleft in his chin. An artist would have a good time with his face. It has lines, angles... character. Taken individually, his features would still be strong, but all together he really was striking. No wonder the handmaidens were head-over-heels for him.
"You are the most beautiful man I have ever seen, Obi." I whispered. He chuckled.
"I'm not sure whether to be touched or revolted. Beautiful?"
"Beautiful man. Fucking gorgeous."
"Thank you." He murmured before pulling my shirt over my head. "You're not so bad yourself, luv."
He made slow, gentle love to me that night. It stands out in my
memory... not because it was any better, but because it was one of those rare times when everything was forgotten. When I looked into his eyes, I didn't see the worry, the exhaustion, the frustration. He
was completely open to me, and he proved it when he relinquished all control, and gave himself over to the feeling. He let go. And because of that, I did too.
For a minute or so afterward we just breathed in the dark.
He rested his head on my stomach and slipped an arm around me.
I ran my hands through his coppery hair. For the past year he had been letting it grow, and now it was just below chin length, all choppy and a bit wavy. At first, I had hated it, but now I found it incredibly sexy.
"Sleep luv." he said.
"Yes. Sleep..."
"Obi-Wan?"
He grunted.
"Obi-Wan, let me up..."
No response.
//roll over...//
He started to move... onto me.
//the other way... that's it//
I slipped out from under the covers and tiptoed to the bathroom. I had woken up when my stomach started to do flip-flops, but now it was somersaulting. A powerful wave of nausea made me fall to my knees, bent double. Good thing I had fallen in front of the toilet...
Minutes later, my stomach contents emptied and the nausea gone, I cleaned myself up, brushed my teeth, and went back to bed. It was my first encounter with morning sickness. Four-in-the-morning sickness, to be exact.
As I pulled the covers up to my chin, Obi-Wan tugged me closer, and held me against his chest.
"Where were you off to in such a hurry?" he murmured quietly.
"Nowhere."
"Why didn't you take me with you? I've always wanted to visit nowhere..."
"Not this nowhere."
He sat up halfway. "Is something the matter?"
"No. I just had morning sickness. Nothing to worry about."
"Oh," he paused. "What's morning sickness?"
"It's a pregnancy side-effect. Makes you nauseous."
"Are you better now?"
"Yes."
"Good." He kissed my ear. "If it were up to me, you would never feel anything but pleasure, luv..."
"If it were up to me, I'd leave it up to you." I said softly. I felt drained, but not tired.
"do you want to go back to sleep?"
"We could sleep... or we could talk." My, I was in a talkative mood.
"Talking... that ends up in an argument fifty percent of the time with us."
"What fun is it without the risk?"
He chuckled. "Okay. What do you want to talk about?"
"Anakin."
"what about him?"
"He's head over heels in love with the queen." I stated. "It's quite obvious."
"Yes, I know."
"He's going to spend every minute he can with her."
"Yes, so?"
"Do you think that it's wise to allow that?" I asked cautiously.
"I don't think it will do him any harm... as long as it does not distract from his training."
"The thing is... I don't think that Amidala is as in love as Ani."
Obi-wan paused.
"So... you're afraid that he's going to get his heart broken."
"Not afraid... wary."
"He's going to have to deal with that sort of thing someday."
"Someday, yes, but does it have to be now? He's so young."
"He's nearly thirteen. Daylon, when I was thirteen... I would say that I had a heart thrice broken."
"Oh, poor baby..." I brushed the side of his face with my hand. "I'll never break you're heart..."
"You'd better not." He grinned. "Or I'll break yours."
"I'd like to see you try," I said. "Or no, I wouldn't like to see you try to break my heart. It would be cruel."
"Heaven forbid."
He brushed my hair back away from my face in soft, slow movements.
"Obi-Wan?"
"Yes?"
"What am I going to do?"
tbc...
And so ends part one of "Nine Months". More to come... please, tell me what you think.
-Luna