A solitary Jedi Knight was standing in the center of a dark room. The shades had all been drawn. Coruscant was nothing like it used to be. The pollution was unbearable, and the traffic outside the windows was horrendous. Most of the Council were away on quests, as the self-professed Galactic Empire grew, gaining more and more power in the outer reaches of the Republic, but Master Yoda remained. He approached the Jedi standing in the center of the room.

"Thinking, I see," he said, swinging onto a stool nearby. The Jedi stirred.

"I have been thinking often," they said. Yoda rested his chin on his fingertips.

"You have many thoughts worth thinking of, I believe. You dwell on them."

"Not entirely."

"Lying, you are. You dwell on the thoughts that invade your mind. You blame yourself for Master Obi-Wan's injury, I think."

The Jedi turned, revealing long black hair that swung over one shoulder. Bright blue eyes flashed in a pale, freckled face. It was a Jedi of the New Order - a woman. She had soft, sculpted features, with a firm jaw set below a pretty face. She was clearly not older than twenty, quite young for an experienced Jedi. Her eyes were flaming with passion as she faced Master Yoda.

"You need not be angry, young Jedi," chuckled Yoda.

"This is no laughing matter," said the Jedi, taking a step toward her master.

"Indeed," said Yoda simply. He smiled slightly. "I can see why Master Ophedias was so eager to have you pass the tests. You are strong, but you are also strong-willed. Much like Master Obi-Wan, I see. Very much alike, you two are." He sat and watched the young master as she turned back to the window.

"I enjoy his company," said the Jedi, "I am not ashamed of that." Yoda closed his eyes.

"I see things that should not be seen," he said, "You are very close to Master Obi-Wan. You must be careful. Do not let your feelings -"

"Betray me," finished the Jedi, "You have nothing to fear from me. I have no desire to love. I am not Anakin, remember?"

Yoda sighed. So many young ones, so many tempers, prides, egos, and passions. They were so different from the Knights of the Old Order. He sat quietly for a moment, then said, "Why did you not go with him to Moniron? Had leave, you did. Take it, you did not."

"I know, Master Yoda, but I felt . . . I felt as though my place was here. Did you not sense it also?"

"I did not sense any danger here." It was as if he were prompting her to tell more.

"It wasn't . . . danger . . ." she began, "It was . . . an imbalance. I feel . . . unsettled."

"Go to Moniron," said Yoda. "It is your guilt that makes you feel so unsettled. And miss Master Obi-Wan, you do. Go with him until he has recovered. Give you leave, I do."

"Master Yoda, I -"

"Go, or revoke your title of Jedi Knight the council does. Your assignment, Master Obi-Wan is." With that, he went to leave the room. He turned back, however, and said, "Take care, young Eleila. Danger, I sense, hangs near." He left Eleila with her thoughts.



~*~*~



Eleila hid her extra lightsaber in her bag. She had made a habit of losing them: one of the many things that Master Ophedias had resented her for. He had been glad when she was of age to test. She had yet to take a Padowan. She didn't want the responsibility. She had seen what Anakin was doing to Master Obi-Wan, and she had no desire to take on something like that. She would much rather just take care of herself. And now, by order of the Council, take care of Obi-Wan, too.

No matter what she told Master Yoda, she still had some form of feelings for Obi-Wan. He was nearly twenty years her senior, so they weren't exactly romantic, but there was something she felt for him that was unfamiliar to her. She had, after all, been raised as a Jedi, trained to not know fear, love, or hate.

Then there was Yoda himself. She smiled as she thought of the old Master as she got onto the ship. It was a refugee ship, but she managed to find an out-of-the-way place to sit. Yoda was her favorite being in the Universe. He was nearly like a father to her. If she was emotionally attached to anyone, it was him. Having not realized how tired she was, she leaned against the window and fell asleep.



~*~*~



Eleila awoke just as the ship was docking on Moniron. She gathered her bags and began to walk to get a taxi to Obi-Wan's home. Despite his place as a Jedi, Obi-Wan had kept his residence on Moniron, his home planet, as a place of solitude and, well, refuge. He retreated to it often, but was never very far out of reach from the Council. Eleila found a taxi quickly, told the Garmon taxi man where she wanted to go, and climbed inside. The cabby was a very reckless driver, as most Garmons were, but she arrived at Obi-Wan's country home fairly quickly. She paid him (a ridiculous fare, but she didn't argue), and carried her bags up to the door. She raised her hand and knocked.

A blonde-haired woman came to the door. She was dressed in the typical Moniron nurse's uniform, and looked like the typical Moniron humanoid, with blonde hair, sharp, chiseled features, and dark, heavy, piercing eyes. She looked Eleila over once, then asked sharply, "Who are you?"

"I am Eleila. I believe I'm expected," she answered. She knew better than to attempt a mind trick on a Moniron, especially a nurse. They were known for their sharp minds. This one gave her another piercing look.

"Just a moment," she said after a pause. Eleila waited out in the bright sunlight that came rarely on this planet, until the blonde nurse returned.

"You aren't expected," she said briskly, "But you are wanted. Come in." She stepped back so Eleila, her bags, and her flowing beige robes could fit through the door. Once inside, the nurse took her bags from her and carried them up the metal spiral staircase near the door. Eleila glanced around, taking in all of the sights.

A spacious sitting room was located to her right, and a little way in front of her to the left was a brightly lit living area, with the shades on the large windows open, letting the light stream in. The entire house was a typical Moniron country house, but to Eleila it was an escape from the smog and crowds of her own home planet of Coruscant. A foreign bird flew past the window, across the stream, and into the field that was all visible from where she stood. As she stood taking in the scene in front of her, the nurse called from upstairs.

"Master Obi-Wan will see you now," she said. She sounded thoroughly annoyed, like she didn't really want to play butler. Eleila could understand. She climbed the stairs quickly and quietly, with grace and swiftness borne of her Jedi training. The nurse led her down a long, narrow hallway to a large, nearly bare, well-lit room. The nurse simply pointed and Eleila smiled at her.

"Thank you," she said politely, giving her the warmest look she could manage, while she knew her eyes flashed malice. She did not like this woman, although she did not understand the feeling that she had toward her.

A single, low bed was near the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked onto a sparkling blue lake. The curtains were thrown back, and the bed, covered with white linen, held the one person she didn't even know she had been longing to see since he left Coruscant three weeks ago.

His eyes were closed, and his breathing was soft and even. She was a bit confused as the nurse had said he would see her now. An empty cartridge of sleeping meds next to the bed explained it. She pulled a chair sitting near his bed closer, and sat. She wasn't used to sitting near a Jedi master, but now . . . He looked so vulnerable. She wanted to sit and watch him sleep. He was one of her best friends, but she didn't know it. To have a friend meant to love, and love was forbidden for a Jedi. All she knew was that there was something about him that made her want to be near him. For some reason, unknown to her, she gently took his hand in hers, and held it for a very long time, simply sitting and watching him sleep.

After a while, he began to stir. The medication was wearing off. She let go of his hand, but continued to sit and watch him sleep. Ever so slowly, his steely blue eyes opened, blinking in the bright sunlight. He slowly rolled over and saw her sitting there. His eyes smiled before the rest of his face. He had a little more world experience than Eleila to know what he felt for this young Jedi was affection, but he didn't know how to handle it. Friendship was not something that was taught among the Jedi. They did not like or dislike, they were to be accepting of everyone. His face broke out in a big grin. He never did hold to the Jedi code of emotional attachment. He made friends, and even loved some of them.

"Hello," he said, "I thought you were staying in Coruscant."

"The Council gave me an assignment."

"Why are you here, then?"

"My assignment is you. I am to help you recover, and to assure that you are ready to resume your duty as quickly as possible."

Obi-Wan nearly laughed. "Master Yoda gave you this assignment, didn't he?"

Eleila did laugh. "That he did."

"That is like him."

They sat quietly for a moment. He sat himself up on the many pillows stacked behind him. Eleila glanced a bloodstained bandage on his lower left arm and winced. The arm he had used to block a laser blast for her. Even Master Yoda's reassurances that this wasn't her fault didn't seem to shake the feeling that he wouldn't be lying there under the care of a Moniron nurse if not for her. He must have seen her flinch, because he withdrew his arm from the blankets.

"It isn't that bad," he said, unwrapping the gauze to show her the burn was healing and there was very little blood left. Eleila wasn't squeamish, so when she asked to see the worst part, his right leg, he obliged. His hip was healing under a mechanical cast, but his lower leg was mangled still. The nurse came in at that moment and announced she had to change the dressing, and Eleila had to leave.

"I'm not going anywhere," she said with Jedi determination (Obi-Wan called it civil stubbornness). The nurse agreed reluctantly, saying that if she needed to vomit she had to leave, because the room needed to remain germ-free.

His leg looked terrible and painful. Pieces of flesh had been torn off by his own lightsaber when it fell from his hand, it had been blasted by several lasers, and even, as the attackers became more desperate, sliced a number of times by a simple knife. Now, it was nearly healed. A few scars would remain, but the wounds were nearly all closed.

Obi-Wan watched his young friend with great attentiveness. Her sweet little face was set hard as it usually was when she was determined. He smiled slightly. She was still, in many ways, just a little girl, but also, in many more, a very brave woman. No matter whether she was girl or woman, however, she was always very much a Jedi. He had thought on many occasions why she could not have been born earlier and become his Padowan, but he had no regrets on taking on Anakin. Well, unless you counted the incident in which his leg and arm were mangled. But then again, Anakin lost his own right arm up past the elbow in another battle, so he was thankful for having all of his limbs. He stopped thinking about Anakin and went back to watching Eleila, his Pretty One. He would never call her that to her face. Then he would definitely loose a limb. She was biting her lip now, trying harder than ever to not look at his face.

Finally, the nurse finished. Eleila returned to her seat by his bedside.

"There now," he said, throwing the blanket back over his leg, "That wasn't so bad."

He sounded like he was speaking to a child that had just returned from getting a vaccination.

"Please, Master," she said, still feeling a little contrary, "I am seventeen, you know."

He smiled. Still a girl. The nurse returned with two metal trays of food. Some sort of pastry and a watery soup that she assumed was to help him heal. They ate together, discussing what their fellow Jedi were doing, and whether or not Anakin was getting into trouble.

"I have not heard much," she said, "But anything of significance would have been reported."

"He cannot go a day without some sort of trouble," said Obi-Wan.

"That is true." Eleila got a far off look in her eyes. Why should Anakin get special treatment? Why could he do anything he wanted? The Council surely knew of his secret marriage, and yet they did nothing. Obi- Wan noticed her face and called her on it.

"What are you thinking of, Little One?" he asked, using the translation of her Du'rixteu name, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Nothing, Master. Only that I . . . I am a bit homesick." It was partly true. And she knew better than to think he would search her thoughts.

He then did something that neither of them could really believe. He reached up and placed his hand on her cheek, brushing it gently with his thumb. They remained like that for a while, touching for only the third time. The sun began to set behind the Moniron forest and the nurse came in to draw the curtains, and they stirred for the first time. The nurse gave Obi-Wan another dose of sleeping pills, then led Eleila to her room. It wasn't nearly as large as Obi-Wan's, and not nearly as bare. There were pieces of wicker furniture everywhere, and the bed was covered with lilac sheets and a floral blanket. It was clearly a girl's room, but had Obi-Wan ever had any sisters? She changed into her nightgown - a long, cotton nightdress, made simply and worn simply - and let her hair fall down out of its knot on the top of her head. She ran a brush through it and braided it. She then lay down on her bed and tried to fall asleep.

That night she dreamt of the meadows across the stream from Obi-Wan's house. She was running across it in a ridiculous dress of white satin - a wedding dress. It flowed out behind her in the breeze as she ran. She felt, for the first time in her life, beautiful, with her hair curled and piled on top of her head. She laughed, and someone behind her caught her hand. "I love you," they whispered. She turned slowly as they pulled her into a kiss. When she pulled back, she saw the face of the person who kissed her. It was Obi-Wan.



A/N: A nice, kind reviewer pointed out a small error on my part. I hope I have all references to it fixed (in case you didn't notice, it was the age difference. I was off by about ten years. Hehehe). I'm sure if anyone notices anything else they'll let me know. Thanks to Rhea for that correction!