Oct 2002
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this, all the characters (Except for Tasha) are property of Lucasfilm etc etc.
Hide Your Love Away
Chapter 18
Jade green eyes opened slowly, the hazy ceiling of the Medical Lab coming quickly into focus. She sat up in surprise, looking around frantically.
"I see you're finally awake."
She froze. Looking to her left. Sure enough, Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi stood idly in the shadows. She couldn't help but notice new strain lines around his mouth. "Where am I?"
"You're in the medical lab of the Jedi Temple."
She made to get off the bed and he was at her side instantly, blocking her path. "Whoa, easy, you're still under observation. You took quite a blow to the head."
Her hand went to the back of her head. "I don't feel anything but I taste bacta." She grimaced. "You put me in a bacta tank."
"I thought it was wise with the state you were in."
"I suppose you expect me to thank you for that?"
"I expect nothing from you, Pearl."
She watched as he stepped away, still debating getting out of the bed. Smoothing the blanket over her legs as she thought, her hands froze. Peeking under the blanket she found nothing. Not a single stitch of clothing. Obi-Wan met her gaze as she looked at him. He raised a single eyebrow in challenge, daring her to comment.
She didn't disappoint. "I take it you insisted I wear nothing beneath this blanket?"
"I think even you have some modesty, Pearl. You're a fine looking woman, but I think even you won't dare to walk around naked in the Jedi temple. Especially when doing so would get you thrown out on the street."
She hated him. Flopping back on the bed she glared daggers at him. "I want my clothing. Now."
"Your flight suit was destroyed. I'm having another brought for you, but it won't be here for an hour or so."
"How long was I in the bacta tank?" She fairly snapped the question.
"Tsk tsk, Pearl. Watch your tone."
"I feel peevish, I'll snap if I like you insufferable Jedi and you, being so contrary, will stand there and take it!"
He calmly leaned against the wall, watching her as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. He ignored her anger. "Do you have any questions for me besides my lack of willingness to get you clothing. I have seen it all before, I assure you." He didn't add that it still made his blood burn just thinking about her. She didn't need a reminder of her power over him at that moment.
She turned her gazed to the ceiling as her hands crept over her body to rest low on her abdomen. "My baby?"
Obi-Wan felt a surge of pride at her softly spoken question. The concern in her voice was clearly maternal. "She's fine."
Her eyes snapped back to his. "She? Skywalker said the same thing, how in the name of the Force do you know that?"
Obi-Wan lifted a datapad from the table across the room and floated it to her. "The tech report suggests the baby will be female. It's still too soon to tell, but Anakin insists he's right."
She sighed. "You Jedi and your predictions. My Master has said my child will be female as well."
"Our child."
She looked at him scornfully. "You may have fathered her, but you'll play no part in her life."
"Not if I have my way."
"You don't have a choice, Kenobi."
"My name is Obi-Wan, Pearl. You're capable of saying it when it's necessary, I'd prefer if you use it."
"I don't care what you prefer." She fairly spat the words, her hands clenched with restrained anger in the blanket. "You never cared what I wanted. Not when you supposedly rescued me, condemning me to hell, not when you left me in the care of your precious temple and not when you seduced me the other morning!"
He stared at her. "When I seduced you? What about the two times before that? Have you ever cared what I wanted, Pearl? You're carrying my child."
"My name," she spat, "is Tasha. Why do you insist on calling me that ridiculous nickname?"
"Because you asked me to."
She blinked, taken aback by his swift, soft response. "You mean the night I..."
He nodded. "Right as we left the Temple you asked me to call you Pearl. I admit, I think it suits you."
"How so?"
"You grew out of sand to become a lovely, independent woman." Obi-Wan approached her, stopping just beyond her reach. "Pearls are rare on Calamari and difficult to harvest because of the depth where they're grown. The rarest Pearls, the black ones, are a one in a ten million find."
She was silent, watching him, the anger in her eyes slightly muted from his revelation. She was scared to ask which kind of Pearl he thought her. She swallowed, adverting her gaze from him.
"I won't call you Pearl if you ask me not to."
She fought herself. A part of her was peevishly pleased it mattered to him, another part demanded she insist he use her given name. The last part of her wanted him to call her Pearl. Nobody else did, nobody else cared enough to give her a nickname beyond her last name. She relented. "No, you can call me Pearl."
His smile was faint as he bowed to her. "Thank you milady."
"Could... could you leave me alone for a while, Obi-Wan?"
He raised an eyebrow in inquiry.
"Just get out," she snapped, "I'd like some privacy."
"I'll be outside if you need me."
She would have laughed if he hadn't sounded so sincere. An absurd part of her felt like crying and she quickly squashed it. As the door closed behind the Jedi, she slid from the bed and began searching the room. Her Master needed to be informed of where she was. No cameras. Sighing with relief, she slid back under the blanket and closed her eyes, concentrating on the Force. In a sudden change of heart, she dropped the connection before it could form and crossed her arms behind her head as she hid her Force signature. She had much to think about before reporting to him.
Padmé checked in on Obi-Wan the next day to find him standing outside the room Tasha had been assigned. "How is she Obi-Wan?"
Obi-Wan nodded a greeting to her but didn't budge from his sentry position. "She's not pleased about being kept here for a few more days. I'm afraid if I leave she might slip away and then I'll never find her again."
Padmé smiled. The man was very much in love with the woman but couldn't admit it. "Has she spoken to you?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "Not since telling me to get out last night."
"Mind if I try?"
"She'll mind control you."
Padmé laughed. "I'm stronger than you give me credit for. Anakin once told me you can only control the weak minded. Last time I checked I'm not in that category."
"I don't think she'll talk to you, Padmé."
"Will you at least let me try?"
"Do or do not, there is no-"
"Try. I know. I've heard the mantra before. Then let me talk to her."
"Don't upset her, Padmé. Please."
Padmé smiled at him before knocking once and opening the door.
Tasha looked up as the door opened. Completely Force blinded, due to her own shielding, she was shocked to see the woman who'd shot her.
Padmé held up her hands, reading the other woman's face accurately before her expression became shuttered. "I'm unarmed. I came to talk."
"Get out."
"No."
"I have no business with you. Get out."
"No."
Tasha threw the datapad by her bed at Padmé and screamed at her as she caught it. "I said get out! I don't want you here!"
"Tough luck, Tasha. I'm not going anywhere until you hear what I have to say."
Tasha fought to find some way to get the other woman to leave, but, save opening herself to the Force again, she couldn't think of one. Listening to her seemed the most expedient way of getting rid of her. "Say your piece and leave me alone."
"Thank you. First of all I want to know why you tried to kill my husband and if you're determined to try again."
"You heard why," hissed Tasha. "Don't waste my time with questions you already know the answer to."
"And the second part of my question?"
"Yes. Until your husband is out of the way my Master won't give me the respect I've earned."
Padmé shook her head but didn't comment. Hopefully Tasha would drop that notion when it became clear Anakin would never turn again. "What are your intentions towards Obi-Wan?"
Tasha laughed humorlessly. "My intentions? I've already done what I intended to do to him. I have no desire to pursue the farce that's our relationship."
"You're carrying his child. Don't you have any kind feeling towards her father?"
Tasha's gaze was on the ceiling. "No."
"I don't believe you."
"No one asked you too. I don't care for your opinion, Padmé Skywalker, I don't want it and yet you insist you have your say. You're bossy and arrogant and it will get you killed some day, mark my words."
Padmé chuckled. "You seem too intent on being unlikable to actually be like this. Is it so terrible being a free woman?"
Tasha's gaze was anguished for a moment before it became shuttered again. "Yes. You can't know what it's like to be loved and cherished by a powerful man. You can't know what it's like to feel cherished as if he'd do anything for you, even allow you those freedoms. You can't know what it is to be beloved to a man a thousand rungs up the status ladder! I had that, I had him, stolen from me!"
"Tasha."
"Don't offer your sympathy, Skywalker, it won't work."
"Tasha. Did you know Anakin was once a slave?"
Her gaze flew to Padmé's and she was unable to hide her shock. "Excuse me?"
Padmé nodded. "Anakin grew up in the junk shop of a Tydarian named Watto. His owner wasn't nearly as nice as yours. Anakin was beaten when he was bad. Were you ever subjected to that?"
Tasha shook her head, too stunned to speak.
"As for your other reasons. I am loved and cherished by my husband. I was a thousand rungs beyond him on the status ladder but it didn't matter. He won his freedom and entered the Jedi temple at an advanced age. His life hasn't been easy, yet he gives his all to me. Anakin loves me for me, not for what I can give him. Your masters sounds as if he loved you the same way. I'm sorry for what happened to him, but you can't let it eat at you, you have to let it go someday."
"But... you were a Queen!"
Padmé's smile was gentle. "I was when I met him, yes, but he thought me a handmaiden. Even after he knew I was the Queen he never expected preferential treatment. At nine he was more mature than a lot of the men I knew. You have a good man in Obi-Wan if you'll just let him close to you. He's hurt seeing you like this."
Tasha snorted. "Obi-Wan doesn't care about me. All he cares about is his precious Jedi temple and their blasted mantra. I tried it and it wasn't for me."
"And you're holding it against him. There are better ways."
"Like yours?"
Padmé shrugged. "I chose love over a political alliance. It's the one thing I've chosen for myself in a long time and I've never regretted it. You could have the same."
"Get out, our discussion is at an end."
Padmé watched as the other woman rolled under the blanket, presenting her with her back. She smiled. "You have a lot to think about. Just remember; the father of your child is a precious gift. Don't throw him away."
Having said her piece, Padmé turned and quietly left the room.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this, all the characters (Except for Tasha) are property of Lucasfilm etc etc.
Hide Your Love Away
Chapter 18
Jade green eyes opened slowly, the hazy ceiling of the Medical Lab coming quickly into focus. She sat up in surprise, looking around frantically.
"I see you're finally awake."
She froze. Looking to her left. Sure enough, Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi stood idly in the shadows. She couldn't help but notice new strain lines around his mouth. "Where am I?"
"You're in the medical lab of the Jedi Temple."
She made to get off the bed and he was at her side instantly, blocking her path. "Whoa, easy, you're still under observation. You took quite a blow to the head."
Her hand went to the back of her head. "I don't feel anything but I taste bacta." She grimaced. "You put me in a bacta tank."
"I thought it was wise with the state you were in."
"I suppose you expect me to thank you for that?"
"I expect nothing from you, Pearl."
She watched as he stepped away, still debating getting out of the bed. Smoothing the blanket over her legs as she thought, her hands froze. Peeking under the blanket she found nothing. Not a single stitch of clothing. Obi-Wan met her gaze as she looked at him. He raised a single eyebrow in challenge, daring her to comment.
She didn't disappoint. "I take it you insisted I wear nothing beneath this blanket?"
"I think even you have some modesty, Pearl. You're a fine looking woman, but I think even you won't dare to walk around naked in the Jedi temple. Especially when doing so would get you thrown out on the street."
She hated him. Flopping back on the bed she glared daggers at him. "I want my clothing. Now."
"Your flight suit was destroyed. I'm having another brought for you, but it won't be here for an hour or so."
"How long was I in the bacta tank?" She fairly snapped the question.
"Tsk tsk, Pearl. Watch your tone."
"I feel peevish, I'll snap if I like you insufferable Jedi and you, being so contrary, will stand there and take it!"
He calmly leaned against the wall, watching her as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. He ignored her anger. "Do you have any questions for me besides my lack of willingness to get you clothing. I have seen it all before, I assure you." He didn't add that it still made his blood burn just thinking about her. She didn't need a reminder of her power over him at that moment.
She turned her gazed to the ceiling as her hands crept over her body to rest low on her abdomen. "My baby?"
Obi-Wan felt a surge of pride at her softly spoken question. The concern in her voice was clearly maternal. "She's fine."
Her eyes snapped back to his. "She? Skywalker said the same thing, how in the name of the Force do you know that?"
Obi-Wan lifted a datapad from the table across the room and floated it to her. "The tech report suggests the baby will be female. It's still too soon to tell, but Anakin insists he's right."
She sighed. "You Jedi and your predictions. My Master has said my child will be female as well."
"Our child."
She looked at him scornfully. "You may have fathered her, but you'll play no part in her life."
"Not if I have my way."
"You don't have a choice, Kenobi."
"My name is Obi-Wan, Pearl. You're capable of saying it when it's necessary, I'd prefer if you use it."
"I don't care what you prefer." She fairly spat the words, her hands clenched with restrained anger in the blanket. "You never cared what I wanted. Not when you supposedly rescued me, condemning me to hell, not when you left me in the care of your precious temple and not when you seduced me the other morning!"
He stared at her. "When I seduced you? What about the two times before that? Have you ever cared what I wanted, Pearl? You're carrying my child."
"My name," she spat, "is Tasha. Why do you insist on calling me that ridiculous nickname?"
"Because you asked me to."
She blinked, taken aback by his swift, soft response. "You mean the night I..."
He nodded. "Right as we left the Temple you asked me to call you Pearl. I admit, I think it suits you."
"How so?"
"You grew out of sand to become a lovely, independent woman." Obi-Wan approached her, stopping just beyond her reach. "Pearls are rare on Calamari and difficult to harvest because of the depth where they're grown. The rarest Pearls, the black ones, are a one in a ten million find."
She was silent, watching him, the anger in her eyes slightly muted from his revelation. She was scared to ask which kind of Pearl he thought her. She swallowed, adverting her gaze from him.
"I won't call you Pearl if you ask me not to."
She fought herself. A part of her was peevishly pleased it mattered to him, another part demanded she insist he use her given name. The last part of her wanted him to call her Pearl. Nobody else did, nobody else cared enough to give her a nickname beyond her last name. She relented. "No, you can call me Pearl."
His smile was faint as he bowed to her. "Thank you milady."
"Could... could you leave me alone for a while, Obi-Wan?"
He raised an eyebrow in inquiry.
"Just get out," she snapped, "I'd like some privacy."
"I'll be outside if you need me."
She would have laughed if he hadn't sounded so sincere. An absurd part of her felt like crying and she quickly squashed it. As the door closed behind the Jedi, she slid from the bed and began searching the room. Her Master needed to be informed of where she was. No cameras. Sighing with relief, she slid back under the blanket and closed her eyes, concentrating on the Force. In a sudden change of heart, she dropped the connection before it could form and crossed her arms behind her head as she hid her Force signature. She had much to think about before reporting to him.
Padmé checked in on Obi-Wan the next day to find him standing outside the room Tasha had been assigned. "How is she Obi-Wan?"
Obi-Wan nodded a greeting to her but didn't budge from his sentry position. "She's not pleased about being kept here for a few more days. I'm afraid if I leave she might slip away and then I'll never find her again."
Padmé smiled. The man was very much in love with the woman but couldn't admit it. "Has she spoken to you?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "Not since telling me to get out last night."
"Mind if I try?"
"She'll mind control you."
Padmé laughed. "I'm stronger than you give me credit for. Anakin once told me you can only control the weak minded. Last time I checked I'm not in that category."
"I don't think she'll talk to you, Padmé."
"Will you at least let me try?"
"Do or do not, there is no-"
"Try. I know. I've heard the mantra before. Then let me talk to her."
"Don't upset her, Padmé. Please."
Padmé smiled at him before knocking once and opening the door.
Tasha looked up as the door opened. Completely Force blinded, due to her own shielding, she was shocked to see the woman who'd shot her.
Padmé held up her hands, reading the other woman's face accurately before her expression became shuttered. "I'm unarmed. I came to talk."
"Get out."
"No."
"I have no business with you. Get out."
"No."
Tasha threw the datapad by her bed at Padmé and screamed at her as she caught it. "I said get out! I don't want you here!"
"Tough luck, Tasha. I'm not going anywhere until you hear what I have to say."
Tasha fought to find some way to get the other woman to leave, but, save opening herself to the Force again, she couldn't think of one. Listening to her seemed the most expedient way of getting rid of her. "Say your piece and leave me alone."
"Thank you. First of all I want to know why you tried to kill my husband and if you're determined to try again."
"You heard why," hissed Tasha. "Don't waste my time with questions you already know the answer to."
"And the second part of my question?"
"Yes. Until your husband is out of the way my Master won't give me the respect I've earned."
Padmé shook her head but didn't comment. Hopefully Tasha would drop that notion when it became clear Anakin would never turn again. "What are your intentions towards Obi-Wan?"
Tasha laughed humorlessly. "My intentions? I've already done what I intended to do to him. I have no desire to pursue the farce that's our relationship."
"You're carrying his child. Don't you have any kind feeling towards her father?"
Tasha's gaze was on the ceiling. "No."
"I don't believe you."
"No one asked you too. I don't care for your opinion, Padmé Skywalker, I don't want it and yet you insist you have your say. You're bossy and arrogant and it will get you killed some day, mark my words."
Padmé chuckled. "You seem too intent on being unlikable to actually be like this. Is it so terrible being a free woman?"
Tasha's gaze was anguished for a moment before it became shuttered again. "Yes. You can't know what it's like to be loved and cherished by a powerful man. You can't know what it's like to feel cherished as if he'd do anything for you, even allow you those freedoms. You can't know what it is to be beloved to a man a thousand rungs up the status ladder! I had that, I had him, stolen from me!"
"Tasha."
"Don't offer your sympathy, Skywalker, it won't work."
"Tasha. Did you know Anakin was once a slave?"
Her gaze flew to Padmé's and she was unable to hide her shock. "Excuse me?"
Padmé nodded. "Anakin grew up in the junk shop of a Tydarian named Watto. His owner wasn't nearly as nice as yours. Anakin was beaten when he was bad. Were you ever subjected to that?"
Tasha shook her head, too stunned to speak.
"As for your other reasons. I am loved and cherished by my husband. I was a thousand rungs beyond him on the status ladder but it didn't matter. He won his freedom and entered the Jedi temple at an advanced age. His life hasn't been easy, yet he gives his all to me. Anakin loves me for me, not for what I can give him. Your masters sounds as if he loved you the same way. I'm sorry for what happened to him, but you can't let it eat at you, you have to let it go someday."
"But... you were a Queen!"
Padmé's smile was gentle. "I was when I met him, yes, but he thought me a handmaiden. Even after he knew I was the Queen he never expected preferential treatment. At nine he was more mature than a lot of the men I knew. You have a good man in Obi-Wan if you'll just let him close to you. He's hurt seeing you like this."
Tasha snorted. "Obi-Wan doesn't care about me. All he cares about is his precious Jedi temple and their blasted mantra. I tried it and it wasn't for me."
"And you're holding it against him. There are better ways."
"Like yours?"
Padmé shrugged. "I chose love over a political alliance. It's the one thing I've chosen for myself in a long time and I've never regretted it. You could have the same."
"Get out, our discussion is at an end."
Padmé watched as the other woman rolled under the blanket, presenting her with her back. She smiled. "You have a lot to think about. Just remember; the father of your child is a precious gift. Don't throw him away."
Having said her piece, Padmé turned and quietly left the room.