Author's Note: Thank you all a million times over for the reviews I've
gotten so far. I've worked hard on this fic, and I'm glad to see that you
all are enjoying it thus far. I hope this chapter is satisfactory. Remember
to drop me a line!
~Haley
* * * * * * * * * *
"Now, before we leave, let's make sure you've got it straight," Obi-Wan began, turning around and speaking in a voice barely above a whisper so that Sabé, in the next room, wouldn't hear.
"I know, I know," Anakin snapped, annoyed. Afterall, they'd been over this several times. "It was a joke, you weren't serious."
"Exactly. Remember this," Obi-Wan instructed. He had been mortified beyond belief when Anakin had asked Sabé if she was the one he'd had wild, passionate sex with. He couldn't believe that Anakin had even remembered the sarcastic comment he made years ago to Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan just didn't want Anakin saying anything else like that to Sabé. He wanted to find out where they stood first. Then she would get to know Anakin and realize that the little boy was clueless beyond belief. Then Anakin could say whatever the hell he wanted to say, and Obi-Wan wouldn't care.
"And don't act like a gushing obsessive-compulsive when you mention Padmé either," Obi-Wan added, putting a hand on Anakin's shoulder and leading him out of the bedroom.
Anakin looked offended. "I do not!"
"Trust me, Ani, you do," Obi-Wan said dryly.
"You guys done with your little 'guy talk'?" Sabé asked when they were in the main living room. She was sitting on one of the couches and tapping her fingers impatiently against the arm of it. She arched an eyebrow at Obi- Wan, amused.
Obi-Wan knew he was blushing. "Yes," he muttered.
"How's Padmé?" Anakin asked, his voice loud compared to Obi-Wan's embarrassed muttering.
Sabé's eyes were twinkling, and she winked at Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan felt something in his stomach flip over. It reminded him of when he and Sabé had first started to become friends, before they kissed. Obi-Wan felt a tiny smile flutter over his face. He remembered every one of their kisses in vivid detail. The smell of her hair, the feel of her soft skin . . .
". . . fine. In fact, when I came to Coruscant she asked me to tell you she said hi if we happened to run into each other. I don't think she realizes how big this planet is and how demanding my job is. If I'd had a chance, I would have visited the Jedi Temple . . ." Sabé trailed off and glanced at Obi-Wan fleetingly. "Things just didn't work out."
"Ani--"
"I'm not acting like a compulsive-obsessive!" Anakin defended before Obi- Wan could continue.
Sabé laughed quietly at his outburst, but Obi-Wan was embarrassed. "No, Anakin, I was just going to mention that we'd better get going soon. The Chancellor seems like the type of person who wants to see progress, so let's try and get some possible leads before the night is over."
"It shouldn't be that hard," Sabé said, standing up. She had taken the cloak off from earlier, and now she was dressed in a cerulean-blue flight suit that left little to the imagination and brought out her brilliant blue eyes. Obi-Wan was transfixed by those eyes, and he barely caught her next words. "What we have is data on each and every case that was presented before the Senate. With the help of a computer, I've narrowed it down to the past four months, and only humans who presented it. It's most likely that the attempted assassinator is someone who's case was rejected or something of the sort."
"Smart thinking," Obi-Wan commented. "Where is the library?"
"It's in the Senate office building. It's not that far away actually, this way Palpatine doesn't take too long to get there in case of emergency. It's in the lower floors in the same building that the Chancellor's office was in."
"Lower levels?" Obi-Wan retorted, a smirk on his face.
Sabé smirked right back. "Not that low."
"What are you talking about?" Anakin asked, looking between both of them.
Obi-Wan patted him on the back. "You'll understand when your older." 'And it's your twenty-first birthday and Roth Sagiv decides that he should take you out to celebrate,' he added silently.
"I heard that," Anakin said in a sing-songy voice.
"I did too for that matter," Sabé said. "You really shouldn't think so loud, Obi-Wan."
Anakin scrutinized her for a moment. "You can hear people's thoughts?"
"Only people I have a bond with. So . . . just Obi-Wan and the people I worked with during security in Naboo."
"I can do it with everyone," Anakin said, a bragging note in his voice. "Not Master Yoda though. He can tell when I'm doing it, and he gives me the 'Dark side' speech."
"Are you still . . ." Obi-Wan trailed off, looking at Sabé meaningful.
"What?"
"Um . . . learning?"
"Oh, that." Sabé glanced at Anakin nervously. He was shrewdly observing them, interested in whatever it was that they were saying. "You know, why don't we make it a point to have a private meeting together where we can . . . talk."
"That sounds great," Obi-Wan said, grinning like a mad man. He couldn't wait to be alone with Sabé. He could talk to her forever and never get tired of her intelligence and wit.
"Can I come?" Anakin asked brightly.
Obi-Wan didn't even glance at Anakin. "No." He gestured to the door, and the three of them began to leave the apartment.
"Why not?"
"Remember that little thing we discussed?"
"The joke?"
"Yeah. That's why not."
Anakin's eyes went wide. He looked at Sabé, then back at Obi-Wan. Then he smiled. "Can I tell Roth about this?"
"That's *Master* Roth to you, Ani, and no. If you do, I'll tell Beula about what happened on our first mission. You know, the one on Ashrun."
Anakin's eyes went even wider. "You wouldn't."
"I would."
Anakin glared at Obi-Wan, then stomped in front of them to pout with his back turned to his Master. Obi-Wan looked at Sabé, walking by his side, to see that she was smiling. "What?" he asked, keeping his voice low so that Anakin wouldn't over hear.
"You two," Sabé replied. She gestured between Anakin and Obi-Wan. "You've made a lot of progress. I still remember when you were too insecure, when you thought that you wouldn't be the right one to take on Anakin. I think you made the right choice. The bond you've created is . . . tangible."
"Really?" Obi-Wan was surprised. "I never thought about it before."
"You're getting along great. Much better than even I expected," Sabé said. Her smile turned soft. "How was it when you returned to the Temple? Without Qui-Gon?"
Obi-Wan shivered involuntarily and looked straight ahead. He shrugged. "You know."
"No, I don't." Sabé put a hand on his arm. He felt his skin heat up at the light touch, all the way through his thick Jedi robes. "Tell me."
Obi-Wan turned to look at her. "It was horrible. Complete torture. People kept coming up to me and talking about Qui-Gon, all of the wonderful things he did, how sorry they were, how close they knew I was to him. All I wanted was to forget. I wanted to stay numb, but I just can't do that. Then I felt like the Council was breathing down my back. A Jedi knows no pain." Obi-Wan snorted. "Fuck that. I felt pain. It was excruciating. They just didn't understand. The missed Qui-Gon, I could tell, but they bounced back immediately. They couldn't understand why I was still moping around, why I got so angry whenever anyone mentioned my Master's name."
Sabé began to rub Obi-Wan's arm soothingly. Or at least, what she thought was soothingly. In reality, it was driving him crazy. "I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you," she said softly.
"It's not your fault," Obi-Wan said. "You did enough for me as it was. I think I would be catatonic if it weren't for you."
"When all else fails, yell," Sabé joked, but her heart didn't seem to be in it. She turned serious almost immediately. "How are you now?"
"Now? I'm a lot better. I can talk about it. I can listen to stories about Qui-Gon that are amusing and remember my Master in reverence. But when people say how sorry they are, when people start to feel sympathetic, I just close up. I feel that pain all over again. Because when I'm remembering him, I'm forgetting that he's dead. If I just don't think about that, it works."
"It's a lot of grief to deal with," Sabé agreed. "You're a very strong person, Obi-Wan, and you've gone a long way. I remember when you first woke up in my bed the next day."
"If it weren't for you, I'd probably still be like that."
"It's not all me, Obi-Wan. It takes strength to choose going back to your old life, to be able to remember the loved one as they were."
"What was the other choice?"
"Becoming a bitter, cynical person."
"Ah. Can't see myself ever becoming that."
"No, I can't either. No matter how hard life becomes for you, you just deal with situation. It makes me think that you can deal with anything."
"I doubt that, but thank you." Obi-Wan looked at her closely, and she met his eyes. His stomach did the weird twisting thing again. "I mean it, Sabé. I haven't talked to anyone about Qui-Gon. Not in the way I just did. Something about you just makes me feel comfortable, at ease."
Sabé looked away. She obviously wasn't ready for a serious talk about what was between them, which was where Obi-Wan was leading to, because she chose to use a joke to sidestep a deep and meaningful comment. "You mean you didn't tell Roth?"
" 'Cause he's such a greath listener and all." Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "Don't get me wrong, Roth is my best friend. But he wouldn't understand. He chooses to make jokes throughout his life to keep the pain away. He just can't deal with anything remotely serious."
"Why is that so hard to believe?" Sabé asked sarcastically.
"What are you guys talking about?" Anakin demanded, appearing right in front of them out of nowhere with an exasperated look on his face. "You've been walking slower than Yoda."
" *Master* Yoda, and it's not your concern what we were discussing," Obi- Wan said. He looked around and realized embarrassedly that somehow they'd ended up at the front of the building. Traffic was zooming by through a plexi-glass window.
"We can use one of the speeders Palpatine keeps for his security staff to get around," Sabé said, walking to the left towards a doorway at the end of the hall. Obi-Wan and Anakin followed her.
"Can I drive it?" Anakin asked, excited.
"For Force's sake, no," Obi-Wan said, a note of anxiety in his voice. He heard Sabé laughing at his swift reply. Anakin's face fell, but he didn't continue to plead. He knew from experience that it would do him no good.
* * * * *
Sabé watched as Obi-Wan bent over Anakin, sitting at a computer, and instructed the boy in something. She felt her heart do something strange, and she knew that she was staring, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight. Watching Obi-Wan with Anakin, the way his voice softened just the slightest when he addressed the boy, was giving her a sappy feeling that she didn't usually get.
They had been searching in the library for over an hour, and Sabé made sure to keep track of the time. She agreed with Obi-Wan's earlier observation. Palpatine liked results, and she wanted to present him with some by the time he got back from his dinner party. Anakin was searching through the information and coming up with humans who had had cases in the past four months that didn't work out. Then Sabé would look over them and the background information on the Senators, looking for something that might strike her as important. Obi-Wan was skimming over the walls stuffed with data disks, searching for anything that might be useful.
Obi-Wan was finished instructing Anakin, and he stood up straight. His eyes seemed to magically glue themselves to Sabé. She knew that he knew she had been staring, so she quickly looked at the screen of her computer, knowing that her cheeks were giving her embarrassment away. She felt him come closer, and before she knew it he was directly behind her, looking at the screen over her shoulder. How was she supposed to work now? She was frustrated and breathless at the same time -- which just made her more frustrated.
"When's your next break?" Obi-Wan murmured.
Sabé felt her brain to a spinning number, and she tried to push through the dizziness enough to concentrate on answering him. What she had to say was very simple. She could do it. "What?"
"You said we could talk. Alone," Obi-Wan reminded her. "I was wondering when we could do that."
"Right." Sabé thought about it. "Um . . . tomorrow night. After everyone is asleep."
"Sneaky," Obi-Wan commented.
"Neither of us have to attend anything with the Chancellor at night."
"Oh."
"Still, you will have to be sneaky. If someone catches you leaving your apartment at oh-one-hundred hours they might get suspicious."
"What would they get suspicious about?"
"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" Sabé pushed. She wasn't going to make herself look stupid until Obi-Wan told her that he still felt the same way about her.
"Roth and Anakin might get suspicious that we're sneaking off to have wild, passionate sex," Obi-Wan joked.
Sabé decided it might be fun to tease him. "Would that be a correct assumption?"
Obi-Wan stopped laughing at his joke abruptly. She swear she could hear him gulp. "I-I don't know," he stuttered, his voice sounding slightly strained.
Sabé stood up from the computer she'd been looking at. She briefly pressed herself against Obi-Wan, pretending that she had to do so to get out of a tight place. She caught Obi-Wan's eyes, and this time she knew that he was gulping. He looked almost scared and hopeful at the same time. She lowered lashes towards him in a style that Rabé had taught her. "Then I guess you'd better find out."
Before he could reply, she slipped out of his grasp and went to Anakin. He hadn't noticed anything, thank the maker. "Have you finished with that disk?"
"I'm just about finished," Anakin replied. He finished reading something, then popped the disk out and handed it to Sabé.
Sabé held the now-warm disk in her hand and turned around to return to her computer station. Obi-Wan seemed to be just snapping out of a daze. "You'd better get Anakin some more information to look over." Sabé smiled innocently. "What are you doing just standing around like that?"
Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows. "I don't know. Something just came over me, I guess."
"Hmm," Sabé said, pretending to sound concerned. "Is it anything to worry about?"
Obi-Wan eyed her. "I'm still not sure."
* * * * *
The next morning, Obi-Wan awoke with a smile on his face, his mind lingering on a pleasant dream with a certain spunky security officer who had teased him mercilessly the night before. He stretched out on the bed and stared at the ceiling, his mind still foggy from the left overs of sleep. His mental chronometer had woken him up, and he knew he should get out of bed and into the 'fresher. Sabé had said that she would go over to Palpatine's office to show him their suspects in the morning, see if he could remember anything about them, then she'd come to the apartment the Jedi were staying in so that they could come up with a plan of action.
He finally gathered up the energy to get out of bed, and his first stop was the refresher. After cleaning himself up, he changed into his usual white tunic and pants, deciding to leave the cloak off. The Jedi robes were heavy and hot, and he only wore them at the beginning of missions to show his rank.
He went into the living room area; it was seperated from the kitchen by a long breakfast bar, and he saw that Beula was doing something on one of the counter tops. Anakin had propped himself up on the counter beside her and was flipping through what Obi-Wan thought was a cook book. Roth either wasn't up yet or was in the 'fresher.
"Good morning," Beula chirped cheerfully. "I'm making breakfast."
"Smells good," Obi-Wan commented awkwardly. Being around Beula was odd. Sometimes she would be shy and adoring around him, which he hated, but the rest of the time she seemed to be a fun girl. Right now was one of those times, Obi-Wan hoped. It made him realize why Roth picked her as an apprentice. She had his sense of fun and wittiness.
"When is Sabé coming over?" Anakin asked, looking up from the cook book and showing actual interest.
Obi-Wan looked at a chronometer in the living room. "Pretty soon. Are you making enough for five, Beula?"
"No, I'm making enough for twenty. Anakin's eating, remember?"
"Hey!" Anakin protested as Beula and Obi-Wan laughed at him. "I need nutrients. I'm growing."
"Well I hate to see the end result," Obi-Wan commented dryly. "If you grow at the rate you eat, you'll be taller than any other man in the galaxy."
"I'm already almost as tall as you," Anakin boasted. He looked Obi-Wan up and down. "But then, you're on the short side."
"That's not the way to speak to your Master."
"Funny how you only say that when I insult you," Anakin quipped. He looked down at the book in his lap again. "Are you following the directions right, Beula?"
Beula gave him an annoyed look. "I'm not quite sure since you keep flipping the pages."
"I'm bored," Anakin complained.
"Go to the 'fresher. Force knows you need to get cleaned up," Obi-Wan said.
"I was going for adorably scruffy. Was that not apparent?"
"The scruffy part is shining through," Obi-Wan said.
"Am I adorable, Beula?"
"Of course not, Anakin," Beula said patiently.
"Aw. You know I am," Anakin said as he jumped down from the counter. "One of these days you're going to be upset that you didn't make your move while you still could."
"What are you now, Mr. Suave?" Obi-Wan asked. He thought about it. "Or have you been spending too much time with Roth?"
"I think it's the latter," Beula put in.
"Definately the first thing," Anakin said self-assuredly as he left the room. "Now I'm gonna try for a different look."
"Clean?" Obi-Wan suggested.
"That could work." Anakin pretended to look thoughtful as he disappeared from sight down the hallway.
Obi-Wan grinned after his Padawan; Anakin really was amusing most of the time. Annoying the rest of the time. Sometimes he was tiring . . . Obi-Wan shook his head. He was a Jedi Knight, he should be thinking about more sophistcated things.
Like Sabé.
Obi-Wan sat down at the breakfast bar and watched absently as Beula continued to prepare their meal. Really what he was seeing was Sabé, feeling her pressed against him, hearing her flirtatious comments, smelling her hair. If possible, it smelt even better than he remembered. Maybe she changed shampoo.
"What are you thinking about?" Beula asked, interrupting his thoughts.
"What do you mean?"
"You're completely spaced out," Beula supplied.
"I'm not fully awake yet," Obi-Wan lied, hoping that she hadn't caught that sappy dreamy-eyed expression he knew he had been sporting.
Beula nodded, accepting his answer.
Obi-Wan felt suddenly awkward. He knew he'd better say something to make the silence less penetrating, but his mind was at a blank. He was saved from the awkwardness however, when the door chime went off, alerting them of a visitor. Obi-Wan knew he it was, and perhaps that was why he practically leaped out of his chair and ran across the living room to slap his hand on the security pad.
The doors slid open, and Sabé stood in the hallway. She was wearing that gawdawful cloak again. Obi-Wan decided that he wasn't particularly fond of it.
"What did he think?" Obi-Wan asked.
"He's very relieved that we are making progress," Sabé said. "May I come in?"
"Do you have to ask?" Obi-Wan retorted. She stepped inside, looking nervous, and Obi-Wan shut the door behind her. "You can sit down if you want. Beula is making breakfast."
"Beula?" Sabé asked.
"Roth's apprentice."
"Ah." Sabé nodded in understanding. She began to shrug off her cloak, and Obi-Wan was glad to see she was wearing another flightsuit.
"Do you wear those for convenience or to drive the opposite sex crazy?" Obi- Wan asked. He immediately was shocked by what he'd blurted out, but he tried to appear cool about it.
Sabé was blushing as Obi-Wan took her cloak from her and laid it on a stand near the door. He wasn't sure what was supposed to go there, but it was a good a cloak rack as anything.
"Convenience," Sabé said. She smiled. "The latter is just a bonus."
Obi-Wan pretended to take a great deal of time looking her over. "My bonus or yours?"
"Both. Watching men drool over me is a definate confident boost," Sabé said. She winked at him to show that she was kidding. Obi-Wan knew she wasn't shallow enough to really think something like that, but he enjoyed the wink all the same.
"Who drools over you?" Obi-Wan asked, playing along.
"Well, you for starters."
"I'm not drooling. I'm just observing."
"Check the mirror, Obi-Wan."
"Can't take my eyes off of you."
"When did you become such a smooth-talker?"
"I've been around Roth for the past day and a half."
"Oh. That explains it. It's kind of out-of-character for you."
"And you know me so well?"
"Why of course."
"What am I thinking right now?"
Sabé laughed. "I'm not going to say it out loud."
There was a big bang of metal on tile, and Obi-Wan and Sabé were snapped out of their teasing banter. Beula was blushing bright red, and she leaned down to pick up a bowl that she had dropped on the floor. "Sorry."
"No, it's fine. Are you okay?" Obi-Wan asked, walking back to the bar.
"I'm fine. My hands just slipped."
"You're sure?" Obi-Wan couldn't resist adding.
"Yes," Beula said, obviously exasperated. She placed the bowl on the counter and turned her back to him.
"What was that noise?"
Obi-Wan turned around slowly to see Roth walking into the kitchen, a towel around his neck. He grinned madly at them all. " 'Morning."
"Beula dropped a bowl," Obi-Wan said simply.
Roth shrugged. "She does that a lot. Kind of clumsy." There was an odd silence where Roth gave Beula a long look. Obviously he had expected her to reply.
"I have the data disks," Sabé said awkwardly, looking as if she wondered if it was the right time to bring it up.
Roth looked relieved that she'd interrupted the silence. "You do? Let's eat breakfast, then we'll go over them and try and find a lead."
"That's what I was thinking. I've already eaten though, so do you mind if I use your holo viewer to look at these? I'll get a head start."
"No, go ahead," Roth said, pointing her to the low table in front of the couch where several items inculding a holo viewer were sitting.
Sabé went over to the table and set down her stuff, pulling holo viewer closer to her. Obi-Wan caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned his head to see Anakin walking into the main living area.
"Did I succeed?" he asked, doing a little twirl with a grin on his face.
"Of course," Obi-Wan said; he didn't feel like arguing playfully with Anakin.
Anakin looked disappointed, and he sat down at the breakfast bar. Roth and Obi-Wan followed suit, and a few minutes later Beula began serving them their breakfast. They began to eat in silence until a small cry from the living room startled them.
"This is it!" Sabé cried, jumping up from the couch and setting the holoviewer on the breakfast bar. There was a picture of a young-looking man with light features. "This is our guy."
"How do you know?" Obi-Wan asked, looking over the little information that was scrolled next to the guys' picture.
"He disappeared right after his case was presented, and hasn't been seen since."
"Maybe he went back to his homeplanet."
"Maybe," Sabé admitted. "But that doesn't feel right to me. He had a partner, a female, who's still living on Coruscant. Let's go meet with her today, ask her a few questions."
"What's his name?" Anakin asked, looking at the picture interestedly.
"Clemens Lorcan. He represents an unknown planatary system called Lark," Sabé answered.
~Haley
* * * * * * * * * *
"Now, before we leave, let's make sure you've got it straight," Obi-Wan began, turning around and speaking in a voice barely above a whisper so that Sabé, in the next room, wouldn't hear.
"I know, I know," Anakin snapped, annoyed. Afterall, they'd been over this several times. "It was a joke, you weren't serious."
"Exactly. Remember this," Obi-Wan instructed. He had been mortified beyond belief when Anakin had asked Sabé if she was the one he'd had wild, passionate sex with. He couldn't believe that Anakin had even remembered the sarcastic comment he made years ago to Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan just didn't want Anakin saying anything else like that to Sabé. He wanted to find out where they stood first. Then she would get to know Anakin and realize that the little boy was clueless beyond belief. Then Anakin could say whatever the hell he wanted to say, and Obi-Wan wouldn't care.
"And don't act like a gushing obsessive-compulsive when you mention Padmé either," Obi-Wan added, putting a hand on Anakin's shoulder and leading him out of the bedroom.
Anakin looked offended. "I do not!"
"Trust me, Ani, you do," Obi-Wan said dryly.
"You guys done with your little 'guy talk'?" Sabé asked when they were in the main living room. She was sitting on one of the couches and tapping her fingers impatiently against the arm of it. She arched an eyebrow at Obi- Wan, amused.
Obi-Wan knew he was blushing. "Yes," he muttered.
"How's Padmé?" Anakin asked, his voice loud compared to Obi-Wan's embarrassed muttering.
Sabé's eyes were twinkling, and she winked at Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan felt something in his stomach flip over. It reminded him of when he and Sabé had first started to become friends, before they kissed. Obi-Wan felt a tiny smile flutter over his face. He remembered every one of their kisses in vivid detail. The smell of her hair, the feel of her soft skin . . .
". . . fine. In fact, when I came to Coruscant she asked me to tell you she said hi if we happened to run into each other. I don't think she realizes how big this planet is and how demanding my job is. If I'd had a chance, I would have visited the Jedi Temple . . ." Sabé trailed off and glanced at Obi-Wan fleetingly. "Things just didn't work out."
"Ani--"
"I'm not acting like a compulsive-obsessive!" Anakin defended before Obi- Wan could continue.
Sabé laughed quietly at his outburst, but Obi-Wan was embarrassed. "No, Anakin, I was just going to mention that we'd better get going soon. The Chancellor seems like the type of person who wants to see progress, so let's try and get some possible leads before the night is over."
"It shouldn't be that hard," Sabé said, standing up. She had taken the cloak off from earlier, and now she was dressed in a cerulean-blue flight suit that left little to the imagination and brought out her brilliant blue eyes. Obi-Wan was transfixed by those eyes, and he barely caught her next words. "What we have is data on each and every case that was presented before the Senate. With the help of a computer, I've narrowed it down to the past four months, and only humans who presented it. It's most likely that the attempted assassinator is someone who's case was rejected or something of the sort."
"Smart thinking," Obi-Wan commented. "Where is the library?"
"It's in the Senate office building. It's not that far away actually, this way Palpatine doesn't take too long to get there in case of emergency. It's in the lower floors in the same building that the Chancellor's office was in."
"Lower levels?" Obi-Wan retorted, a smirk on his face.
Sabé smirked right back. "Not that low."
"What are you talking about?" Anakin asked, looking between both of them.
Obi-Wan patted him on the back. "You'll understand when your older." 'And it's your twenty-first birthday and Roth Sagiv decides that he should take you out to celebrate,' he added silently.
"I heard that," Anakin said in a sing-songy voice.
"I did too for that matter," Sabé said. "You really shouldn't think so loud, Obi-Wan."
Anakin scrutinized her for a moment. "You can hear people's thoughts?"
"Only people I have a bond with. So . . . just Obi-Wan and the people I worked with during security in Naboo."
"I can do it with everyone," Anakin said, a bragging note in his voice. "Not Master Yoda though. He can tell when I'm doing it, and he gives me the 'Dark side' speech."
"Are you still . . ." Obi-Wan trailed off, looking at Sabé meaningful.
"What?"
"Um . . . learning?"
"Oh, that." Sabé glanced at Anakin nervously. He was shrewdly observing them, interested in whatever it was that they were saying. "You know, why don't we make it a point to have a private meeting together where we can . . . talk."
"That sounds great," Obi-Wan said, grinning like a mad man. He couldn't wait to be alone with Sabé. He could talk to her forever and never get tired of her intelligence and wit.
"Can I come?" Anakin asked brightly.
Obi-Wan didn't even glance at Anakin. "No." He gestured to the door, and the three of them began to leave the apartment.
"Why not?"
"Remember that little thing we discussed?"
"The joke?"
"Yeah. That's why not."
Anakin's eyes went wide. He looked at Sabé, then back at Obi-Wan. Then he smiled. "Can I tell Roth about this?"
"That's *Master* Roth to you, Ani, and no. If you do, I'll tell Beula about what happened on our first mission. You know, the one on Ashrun."
Anakin's eyes went even wider. "You wouldn't."
"I would."
Anakin glared at Obi-Wan, then stomped in front of them to pout with his back turned to his Master. Obi-Wan looked at Sabé, walking by his side, to see that she was smiling. "What?" he asked, keeping his voice low so that Anakin wouldn't over hear.
"You two," Sabé replied. She gestured between Anakin and Obi-Wan. "You've made a lot of progress. I still remember when you were too insecure, when you thought that you wouldn't be the right one to take on Anakin. I think you made the right choice. The bond you've created is . . . tangible."
"Really?" Obi-Wan was surprised. "I never thought about it before."
"You're getting along great. Much better than even I expected," Sabé said. Her smile turned soft. "How was it when you returned to the Temple? Without Qui-Gon?"
Obi-Wan shivered involuntarily and looked straight ahead. He shrugged. "You know."
"No, I don't." Sabé put a hand on his arm. He felt his skin heat up at the light touch, all the way through his thick Jedi robes. "Tell me."
Obi-Wan turned to look at her. "It was horrible. Complete torture. People kept coming up to me and talking about Qui-Gon, all of the wonderful things he did, how sorry they were, how close they knew I was to him. All I wanted was to forget. I wanted to stay numb, but I just can't do that. Then I felt like the Council was breathing down my back. A Jedi knows no pain." Obi-Wan snorted. "Fuck that. I felt pain. It was excruciating. They just didn't understand. The missed Qui-Gon, I could tell, but they bounced back immediately. They couldn't understand why I was still moping around, why I got so angry whenever anyone mentioned my Master's name."
Sabé began to rub Obi-Wan's arm soothingly. Or at least, what she thought was soothingly. In reality, it was driving him crazy. "I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you," she said softly.
"It's not your fault," Obi-Wan said. "You did enough for me as it was. I think I would be catatonic if it weren't for you."
"When all else fails, yell," Sabé joked, but her heart didn't seem to be in it. She turned serious almost immediately. "How are you now?"
"Now? I'm a lot better. I can talk about it. I can listen to stories about Qui-Gon that are amusing and remember my Master in reverence. But when people say how sorry they are, when people start to feel sympathetic, I just close up. I feel that pain all over again. Because when I'm remembering him, I'm forgetting that he's dead. If I just don't think about that, it works."
"It's a lot of grief to deal with," Sabé agreed. "You're a very strong person, Obi-Wan, and you've gone a long way. I remember when you first woke up in my bed the next day."
"If it weren't for you, I'd probably still be like that."
"It's not all me, Obi-Wan. It takes strength to choose going back to your old life, to be able to remember the loved one as they were."
"What was the other choice?"
"Becoming a bitter, cynical person."
"Ah. Can't see myself ever becoming that."
"No, I can't either. No matter how hard life becomes for you, you just deal with situation. It makes me think that you can deal with anything."
"I doubt that, but thank you." Obi-Wan looked at her closely, and she met his eyes. His stomach did the weird twisting thing again. "I mean it, Sabé. I haven't talked to anyone about Qui-Gon. Not in the way I just did. Something about you just makes me feel comfortable, at ease."
Sabé looked away. She obviously wasn't ready for a serious talk about what was between them, which was where Obi-Wan was leading to, because she chose to use a joke to sidestep a deep and meaningful comment. "You mean you didn't tell Roth?"
" 'Cause he's such a greath listener and all." Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "Don't get me wrong, Roth is my best friend. But he wouldn't understand. He chooses to make jokes throughout his life to keep the pain away. He just can't deal with anything remotely serious."
"Why is that so hard to believe?" Sabé asked sarcastically.
"What are you guys talking about?" Anakin demanded, appearing right in front of them out of nowhere with an exasperated look on his face. "You've been walking slower than Yoda."
" *Master* Yoda, and it's not your concern what we were discussing," Obi- Wan said. He looked around and realized embarrassedly that somehow they'd ended up at the front of the building. Traffic was zooming by through a plexi-glass window.
"We can use one of the speeders Palpatine keeps for his security staff to get around," Sabé said, walking to the left towards a doorway at the end of the hall. Obi-Wan and Anakin followed her.
"Can I drive it?" Anakin asked, excited.
"For Force's sake, no," Obi-Wan said, a note of anxiety in his voice. He heard Sabé laughing at his swift reply. Anakin's face fell, but he didn't continue to plead. He knew from experience that it would do him no good.
* * * * *
Sabé watched as Obi-Wan bent over Anakin, sitting at a computer, and instructed the boy in something. She felt her heart do something strange, and she knew that she was staring, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight. Watching Obi-Wan with Anakin, the way his voice softened just the slightest when he addressed the boy, was giving her a sappy feeling that she didn't usually get.
They had been searching in the library for over an hour, and Sabé made sure to keep track of the time. She agreed with Obi-Wan's earlier observation. Palpatine liked results, and she wanted to present him with some by the time he got back from his dinner party. Anakin was searching through the information and coming up with humans who had had cases in the past four months that didn't work out. Then Sabé would look over them and the background information on the Senators, looking for something that might strike her as important. Obi-Wan was skimming over the walls stuffed with data disks, searching for anything that might be useful.
Obi-Wan was finished instructing Anakin, and he stood up straight. His eyes seemed to magically glue themselves to Sabé. She knew that he knew she had been staring, so she quickly looked at the screen of her computer, knowing that her cheeks were giving her embarrassment away. She felt him come closer, and before she knew it he was directly behind her, looking at the screen over her shoulder. How was she supposed to work now? She was frustrated and breathless at the same time -- which just made her more frustrated.
"When's your next break?" Obi-Wan murmured.
Sabé felt her brain to a spinning number, and she tried to push through the dizziness enough to concentrate on answering him. What she had to say was very simple. She could do it. "What?"
"You said we could talk. Alone," Obi-Wan reminded her. "I was wondering when we could do that."
"Right." Sabé thought about it. "Um . . . tomorrow night. After everyone is asleep."
"Sneaky," Obi-Wan commented.
"Neither of us have to attend anything with the Chancellor at night."
"Oh."
"Still, you will have to be sneaky. If someone catches you leaving your apartment at oh-one-hundred hours they might get suspicious."
"What would they get suspicious about?"
"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" Sabé pushed. She wasn't going to make herself look stupid until Obi-Wan told her that he still felt the same way about her.
"Roth and Anakin might get suspicious that we're sneaking off to have wild, passionate sex," Obi-Wan joked.
Sabé decided it might be fun to tease him. "Would that be a correct assumption?"
Obi-Wan stopped laughing at his joke abruptly. She swear she could hear him gulp. "I-I don't know," he stuttered, his voice sounding slightly strained.
Sabé stood up from the computer she'd been looking at. She briefly pressed herself against Obi-Wan, pretending that she had to do so to get out of a tight place. She caught Obi-Wan's eyes, and this time she knew that he was gulping. He looked almost scared and hopeful at the same time. She lowered lashes towards him in a style that Rabé had taught her. "Then I guess you'd better find out."
Before he could reply, she slipped out of his grasp and went to Anakin. He hadn't noticed anything, thank the maker. "Have you finished with that disk?"
"I'm just about finished," Anakin replied. He finished reading something, then popped the disk out and handed it to Sabé.
Sabé held the now-warm disk in her hand and turned around to return to her computer station. Obi-Wan seemed to be just snapping out of a daze. "You'd better get Anakin some more information to look over." Sabé smiled innocently. "What are you doing just standing around like that?"
Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows. "I don't know. Something just came over me, I guess."
"Hmm," Sabé said, pretending to sound concerned. "Is it anything to worry about?"
Obi-Wan eyed her. "I'm still not sure."
* * * * *
The next morning, Obi-Wan awoke with a smile on his face, his mind lingering on a pleasant dream with a certain spunky security officer who had teased him mercilessly the night before. He stretched out on the bed and stared at the ceiling, his mind still foggy from the left overs of sleep. His mental chronometer had woken him up, and he knew he should get out of bed and into the 'fresher. Sabé had said that she would go over to Palpatine's office to show him their suspects in the morning, see if he could remember anything about them, then she'd come to the apartment the Jedi were staying in so that they could come up with a plan of action.
He finally gathered up the energy to get out of bed, and his first stop was the refresher. After cleaning himself up, he changed into his usual white tunic and pants, deciding to leave the cloak off. The Jedi robes were heavy and hot, and he only wore them at the beginning of missions to show his rank.
He went into the living room area; it was seperated from the kitchen by a long breakfast bar, and he saw that Beula was doing something on one of the counter tops. Anakin had propped himself up on the counter beside her and was flipping through what Obi-Wan thought was a cook book. Roth either wasn't up yet or was in the 'fresher.
"Good morning," Beula chirped cheerfully. "I'm making breakfast."
"Smells good," Obi-Wan commented awkwardly. Being around Beula was odd. Sometimes she would be shy and adoring around him, which he hated, but the rest of the time she seemed to be a fun girl. Right now was one of those times, Obi-Wan hoped. It made him realize why Roth picked her as an apprentice. She had his sense of fun and wittiness.
"When is Sabé coming over?" Anakin asked, looking up from the cook book and showing actual interest.
Obi-Wan looked at a chronometer in the living room. "Pretty soon. Are you making enough for five, Beula?"
"No, I'm making enough for twenty. Anakin's eating, remember?"
"Hey!" Anakin protested as Beula and Obi-Wan laughed at him. "I need nutrients. I'm growing."
"Well I hate to see the end result," Obi-Wan commented dryly. "If you grow at the rate you eat, you'll be taller than any other man in the galaxy."
"I'm already almost as tall as you," Anakin boasted. He looked Obi-Wan up and down. "But then, you're on the short side."
"That's not the way to speak to your Master."
"Funny how you only say that when I insult you," Anakin quipped. He looked down at the book in his lap again. "Are you following the directions right, Beula?"
Beula gave him an annoyed look. "I'm not quite sure since you keep flipping the pages."
"I'm bored," Anakin complained.
"Go to the 'fresher. Force knows you need to get cleaned up," Obi-Wan said.
"I was going for adorably scruffy. Was that not apparent?"
"The scruffy part is shining through," Obi-Wan said.
"Am I adorable, Beula?"
"Of course not, Anakin," Beula said patiently.
"Aw. You know I am," Anakin said as he jumped down from the counter. "One of these days you're going to be upset that you didn't make your move while you still could."
"What are you now, Mr. Suave?" Obi-Wan asked. He thought about it. "Or have you been spending too much time with Roth?"
"I think it's the latter," Beula put in.
"Definately the first thing," Anakin said self-assuredly as he left the room. "Now I'm gonna try for a different look."
"Clean?" Obi-Wan suggested.
"That could work." Anakin pretended to look thoughtful as he disappeared from sight down the hallway.
Obi-Wan grinned after his Padawan; Anakin really was amusing most of the time. Annoying the rest of the time. Sometimes he was tiring . . . Obi-Wan shook his head. He was a Jedi Knight, he should be thinking about more sophistcated things.
Like Sabé.
Obi-Wan sat down at the breakfast bar and watched absently as Beula continued to prepare their meal. Really what he was seeing was Sabé, feeling her pressed against him, hearing her flirtatious comments, smelling her hair. If possible, it smelt even better than he remembered. Maybe she changed shampoo.
"What are you thinking about?" Beula asked, interrupting his thoughts.
"What do you mean?"
"You're completely spaced out," Beula supplied.
"I'm not fully awake yet," Obi-Wan lied, hoping that she hadn't caught that sappy dreamy-eyed expression he knew he had been sporting.
Beula nodded, accepting his answer.
Obi-Wan felt suddenly awkward. He knew he'd better say something to make the silence less penetrating, but his mind was at a blank. He was saved from the awkwardness however, when the door chime went off, alerting them of a visitor. Obi-Wan knew he it was, and perhaps that was why he practically leaped out of his chair and ran across the living room to slap his hand on the security pad.
The doors slid open, and Sabé stood in the hallway. She was wearing that gawdawful cloak again. Obi-Wan decided that he wasn't particularly fond of it.
"What did he think?" Obi-Wan asked.
"He's very relieved that we are making progress," Sabé said. "May I come in?"
"Do you have to ask?" Obi-Wan retorted. She stepped inside, looking nervous, and Obi-Wan shut the door behind her. "You can sit down if you want. Beula is making breakfast."
"Beula?" Sabé asked.
"Roth's apprentice."
"Ah." Sabé nodded in understanding. She began to shrug off her cloak, and Obi-Wan was glad to see she was wearing another flightsuit.
"Do you wear those for convenience or to drive the opposite sex crazy?" Obi- Wan asked. He immediately was shocked by what he'd blurted out, but he tried to appear cool about it.
Sabé was blushing as Obi-Wan took her cloak from her and laid it on a stand near the door. He wasn't sure what was supposed to go there, but it was a good a cloak rack as anything.
"Convenience," Sabé said. She smiled. "The latter is just a bonus."
Obi-Wan pretended to take a great deal of time looking her over. "My bonus or yours?"
"Both. Watching men drool over me is a definate confident boost," Sabé said. She winked at him to show that she was kidding. Obi-Wan knew she wasn't shallow enough to really think something like that, but he enjoyed the wink all the same.
"Who drools over you?" Obi-Wan asked, playing along.
"Well, you for starters."
"I'm not drooling. I'm just observing."
"Check the mirror, Obi-Wan."
"Can't take my eyes off of you."
"When did you become such a smooth-talker?"
"I've been around Roth for the past day and a half."
"Oh. That explains it. It's kind of out-of-character for you."
"And you know me so well?"
"Why of course."
"What am I thinking right now?"
Sabé laughed. "I'm not going to say it out loud."
There was a big bang of metal on tile, and Obi-Wan and Sabé were snapped out of their teasing banter. Beula was blushing bright red, and she leaned down to pick up a bowl that she had dropped on the floor. "Sorry."
"No, it's fine. Are you okay?" Obi-Wan asked, walking back to the bar.
"I'm fine. My hands just slipped."
"You're sure?" Obi-Wan couldn't resist adding.
"Yes," Beula said, obviously exasperated. She placed the bowl on the counter and turned her back to him.
"What was that noise?"
Obi-Wan turned around slowly to see Roth walking into the kitchen, a towel around his neck. He grinned madly at them all. " 'Morning."
"Beula dropped a bowl," Obi-Wan said simply.
Roth shrugged. "She does that a lot. Kind of clumsy." There was an odd silence where Roth gave Beula a long look. Obviously he had expected her to reply.
"I have the data disks," Sabé said awkwardly, looking as if she wondered if it was the right time to bring it up.
Roth looked relieved that she'd interrupted the silence. "You do? Let's eat breakfast, then we'll go over them and try and find a lead."
"That's what I was thinking. I've already eaten though, so do you mind if I use your holo viewer to look at these? I'll get a head start."
"No, go ahead," Roth said, pointing her to the low table in front of the couch where several items inculding a holo viewer were sitting.
Sabé went over to the table and set down her stuff, pulling holo viewer closer to her. Obi-Wan caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned his head to see Anakin walking into the main living area.
"Did I succeed?" he asked, doing a little twirl with a grin on his face.
"Of course," Obi-Wan said; he didn't feel like arguing playfully with Anakin.
Anakin looked disappointed, and he sat down at the breakfast bar. Roth and Obi-Wan followed suit, and a few minutes later Beula began serving them their breakfast. They began to eat in silence until a small cry from the living room startled them.
"This is it!" Sabé cried, jumping up from the couch and setting the holoviewer on the breakfast bar. There was a picture of a young-looking man with light features. "This is our guy."
"How do you know?" Obi-Wan asked, looking over the little information that was scrolled next to the guys' picture.
"He disappeared right after his case was presented, and hasn't been seen since."
"Maybe he went back to his homeplanet."
"Maybe," Sabé admitted. "But that doesn't feel right to me. He had a partner, a female, who's still living on Coruscant. Let's go meet with her today, ask her a few questions."
"What's his name?" Anakin asked, looking at the picture interestedly.
"Clemens Lorcan. He represents an unknown planatary system called Lark," Sabé answered.