The Birth of a Child
Part 3
"So we wait." Buffy nodded.
"It's all we can do." She held the coffee in her hands, twisting the mug around and around.
"I wonder what's happening with the war? Did any of the Jedi survive?" Obi Wan looked around the circle of his new friends. Most of the time on earth it was easy to forget the rest of the Galaxy, they got so caught up in the battle against earthly evil. "Mace Windu. Master Yoda?"
"I'm sure you'd know," Buffy assured him.
"So I have a question. Since I've been studying meditation and control with the monks have I actually been studying how to control the Force?" Buffy and Obi Wan exchanged glances.
"Absolutely."
"Just checking." Oz nodded to himself. The room was silent for a minute.
"I can't stand this waiting!" Xander stood up. "We need to do something."
"Do what Xander?" Buffy snapped."We don't have any ideas."
"You know, you've been a lot meaner since Willow and Spike died." Everyone in the room felt the sting of Dawn's words. She glared at her sister. It was the truth. Like the time she had died and then been reborn Buffy had drawn away from those closest to her. Obi Wan had never known the Buffy before death and he wondered what it would be like to meet her.
Dawn stood up and stalked out of the room. "Do you both feel this way too? I can't help who I am." Buffy couldn't even look Xander and Anya in the eyes. They looked between each other and she knew their answer. "God, what's wrong with me," Buffy sank down into an armchair with a sob. Obi Wan jerked his head towards the door and the pair left.
"Sometimes it's easier to live as the warrior and not as the person," Obi Wan said sympathetically.
"Spike said something similar once." Over the period of time they had known each other Buffy had given Obi Wan bits and pieces of her past but had yet to explain much of what went through her mind day after day, all the countless memories of darker days still hovering so close to her heart.
"I love you."Obi Wan bent down and kissed Buffy on the top of her head, his beard tickling her forehead. It was still strange to her to feel his furry face after Angel and Spike, and even Riley. It was comforting in a way, he was the complete opposite of her bestial vampire lovers. And it had been great having him by her side when she woke up with nightmares about the death of Willow but what could she give him?
"You give me peace." Buffy wrinkled her brow, surprised.
"A moment of clarity,: Obi Wan explained micheviously. How she gave him peace she did not understand but it was enough for the moment.
****************************************************************************
"Alderaan isn't safe. It's too close to the emerging Empire and the war. I need to go farther away, where they haven't heard of the Republic or the Empire or The Force."
"What do you mean Senator?" Bail Organa, head of the royal family of Alderaan and also Senator of Alderaan had taken in Padme when Anakin had deflected to the dark side and was her loyal companion. "You don't believe that Anakin will come for you here? Alderaan is a peaceful harmless planet."
"I have no way of knowing. I am not endowed with the powers of the Force as Anakin is, I only have a mother's instinct. And it is telling me that darker days are coming."
"If you feel that way I will support your decision."
"You are a good friend, Senator."
"When would you like to leave? I will have a ship ready for you as soon as possible."
"Yes. That would be great." Padme nodded her head fervently. "Senator, do you have any way of contacting my allies on earth?"
****************************************************************************
"Welcome my son," Palpatine indicated a seat in the chamber for Anakin to sit on. His shaded face showed no touch of emotion.
"I am no man's son," Anakin reminded the man fiercly. The man smiled a cold and wicked smile.
"Of course you aren't." He turned away from Anakin to the window that displayed the rocky wasteland terrain of Geonosis. "Did you sleep well?" Anakin grimaced. Of course the man tried to bring out the worst in him. That was the point.
"What would you have me do?"
"We have word that Mace Windu, one of the last surviving Jedi has been found on a planet on the outskirts of the Empire. He is trying to recruit rebels. See that you fix this problem. And quickly."
"Sir."
"One day everything will be yours. You can hold the power in your hands." Anakin licked his lips. It was like he was electrically charged and he only felt good when the power was turned on, and in this case the Dark Side of the Force, untainted and undiluted as it had been when he was a Jedi. How naive the Jedi were. They were shutting out most of their power by cutting off emotions. Hate.
Anakin hated the man before him, hated him with all his life. Hated him for his twisted double personalities and scheming mind. And yet, he was this man's protege. Such is the way of the world.
Part 3
"So we wait." Buffy nodded.
"It's all we can do." She held the coffee in her hands, twisting the mug around and around.
"I wonder what's happening with the war? Did any of the Jedi survive?" Obi Wan looked around the circle of his new friends. Most of the time on earth it was easy to forget the rest of the Galaxy, they got so caught up in the battle against earthly evil. "Mace Windu. Master Yoda?"
"I'm sure you'd know," Buffy assured him.
"So I have a question. Since I've been studying meditation and control with the monks have I actually been studying how to control the Force?" Buffy and Obi Wan exchanged glances.
"Absolutely."
"Just checking." Oz nodded to himself. The room was silent for a minute.
"I can't stand this waiting!" Xander stood up. "We need to do something."
"Do what Xander?" Buffy snapped."We don't have any ideas."
"You know, you've been a lot meaner since Willow and Spike died." Everyone in the room felt the sting of Dawn's words. She glared at her sister. It was the truth. Like the time she had died and then been reborn Buffy had drawn away from those closest to her. Obi Wan had never known the Buffy before death and he wondered what it would be like to meet her.
Dawn stood up and stalked out of the room. "Do you both feel this way too? I can't help who I am." Buffy couldn't even look Xander and Anya in the eyes. They looked between each other and she knew their answer. "God, what's wrong with me," Buffy sank down into an armchair with a sob. Obi Wan jerked his head towards the door and the pair left.
"Sometimes it's easier to live as the warrior and not as the person," Obi Wan said sympathetically.
"Spike said something similar once." Over the period of time they had known each other Buffy had given Obi Wan bits and pieces of her past but had yet to explain much of what went through her mind day after day, all the countless memories of darker days still hovering so close to her heart.
"I love you."Obi Wan bent down and kissed Buffy on the top of her head, his beard tickling her forehead. It was still strange to her to feel his furry face after Angel and Spike, and even Riley. It was comforting in a way, he was the complete opposite of her bestial vampire lovers. And it had been great having him by her side when she woke up with nightmares about the death of Willow but what could she give him?
"You give me peace." Buffy wrinkled her brow, surprised.
"A moment of clarity,: Obi Wan explained micheviously. How she gave him peace she did not understand but it was enough for the moment.
****************************************************************************
"Alderaan isn't safe. It's too close to the emerging Empire and the war. I need to go farther away, where they haven't heard of the Republic or the Empire or The Force."
"What do you mean Senator?" Bail Organa, head of the royal family of Alderaan and also Senator of Alderaan had taken in Padme when Anakin had deflected to the dark side and was her loyal companion. "You don't believe that Anakin will come for you here? Alderaan is a peaceful harmless planet."
"I have no way of knowing. I am not endowed with the powers of the Force as Anakin is, I only have a mother's instinct. And it is telling me that darker days are coming."
"If you feel that way I will support your decision."
"You are a good friend, Senator."
"When would you like to leave? I will have a ship ready for you as soon as possible."
"Yes. That would be great." Padme nodded her head fervently. "Senator, do you have any way of contacting my allies on earth?"
****************************************************************************
"Welcome my son," Palpatine indicated a seat in the chamber for Anakin to sit on. His shaded face showed no touch of emotion.
"I am no man's son," Anakin reminded the man fiercly. The man smiled a cold and wicked smile.
"Of course you aren't." He turned away from Anakin to the window that displayed the rocky wasteland terrain of Geonosis. "Did you sleep well?" Anakin grimaced. Of course the man tried to bring out the worst in him. That was the point.
"What would you have me do?"
"We have word that Mace Windu, one of the last surviving Jedi has been found on a planet on the outskirts of the Empire. He is trying to recruit rebels. See that you fix this problem. And quickly."
"Sir."
"One day everything will be yours. You can hold the power in your hands." Anakin licked his lips. It was like he was electrically charged and he only felt good when the power was turned on, and in this case the Dark Side of the Force, untainted and undiluted as it had been when he was a Jedi. How naive the Jedi were. They were shutting out most of their power by cutting off emotions. Hate.
Anakin hated the man before him, hated him with all his life. Hated him for his twisted double personalities and scheming mind. And yet, he was this man's protege. Such is the way of the world.