Hi! Sorry for the long time between posts. Darth Real Life is intruding into my life again, so I won't be posting as often as I did at first with this fic, but I'll do my best to get posts up when I can. Thanks for reading! :)

In Love and War - Part Eighteen

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Obi-Wan slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a low wooden ceiling, its beams of a warm golden color inlaid with red maple. He turned his head. He was lying in a bed underneath a heavy coverlet woven of bright colors; reds and yellows and greens. Soft white pillows were arranged comfortably behind his head. Looking around he saw a window. It was open and through it he saw blue sky, fluffy white clouds and what looked like green hills in the distance.

Puzzlement flared through him. He was not in Onara's manor. Or at least, if he was, it was a room he was unfamiliar with. The last thing he remembered was the sharp, tearing agony when Gend stabbed him in the chest and Onara's face as she screamed and cried out for him. He slowly sat up, expecting to feel pain in his chest, but there was nothing. He looked down.

He was wearing a light blue linen shirt and, as he opened it, he saw no wound, no scar. He frowned. Then he jumped when the door to the room opened. A dark-haired, dark-eyed woman walked into the room and, for a moment, happiness surged through him. But then he saw the woman was a plumper than Onara and a few decades older. Upon seeing he was awake she smiled and walked over.

"How are you feeling?" She placed a warm hand on his forehead.

"Fine." The woman seemed familiar to Obi-Wan in some way, but he was certain he'd never seen her before.

"That's good." Then, apparently noting Obi-Wan's expression and the uncertainty in his voice, she gave him a wide smile. "You don't know who I am, do you?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "But you do seem familiar to me."

The woman tilted her head. Her dark hair was braided and wrapped around her head. "In what way?"

"I don't know. I just feel as if I should know you."

The woman nodded and was silent for a moment. Then she reached over and took Obi-Wan's hand. "I'm your mother, Obi-Wan."

"My mother? But, how, where...?"

The woman squeezed his hand. "My name is Bri-Yan. Bri-Yan Kenobi."

"My mother?" Awe and surprise filled Obi-Wan.

The woman smiled and nodded. She reached up and cupped his face. "What a handsome young man you are. You look just like your father when he was your age."

"My father? Is he here?"

"Yes, he's here. He'll be in shortly."

"But, I don't understand. Where did you come from? Where am I? What's happened?"

Bri-Yan sighed. But, before she could answer a man walked through the door holding the hand of a small boy. Looking at the man as he drew closer, Obi- Wan felt as if he were looking at himself, but years in the future. The man had red-gold hair, though most of it was white, and blue-gray eyes.

Then, as Obi-Wan looked at the boy who was holding the hand of the man, his heart lurched in his chest. "Ben!"

Ben smiled and, letting go of the man's hand, ran over and crawled onto the bed. He threw his arms around Obi-Wan's neck. Joy filled the Jedi as he held that small, warm body in his arms, tears welling in his eyes and slipping down his cheeks. Then, it hit him. He pulled away and looked at his son. Ben's blue-gray eyes were shining with happiness and love. Obi-Wan looked over at the man who he assumed was his father.

The man nodded and smiled. "Yes, I'm your father. "My name is Nes-Lon."

"But...." Obi-Wan stopped and looked over at Ben, then back over at his parents. He took a breath and released it. "I'm dead, aren't I?"

His parents exchanged a look. Nes-Lon walked over and gently took Ben from Obi-Wan, holding him in his arms as he sat in a nearby chair. Bri-Yan sat on the side of the bed. She took Obi-Wan's hand again.

Her expression was gentle as she gazed down at Obi-Wan. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Obi-Wan told her of his fight in the arena with Gend and the sword plunging through his chest.

Bri-Yan nodded as he finished. Then she sighed. "You're not dead, dear. At least not yet. You're between life and death. In a place of transition."

Obi-Wan swallowed as he looked at the woman who was his mother, the man who was his father and at Ben who was still smiling over at him.

"But, you and my father..." Obi-Wan could not finish the words.

His mother patted his hand. "Yes, dear. Your father and I passed on some years ago."

Tears filled Obi-Wan's eyes again and his voice trembled. "I didn't know. I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't, dear." Bri-Yan smiled warmly, stroking his cheek. "We understood when we gave you up to the Jedi that you would not be allowed to know of us."

"But, but..." Obi-Wan stopped, swallowing hard.

All his life he had never really given any thought as to who his parents were; what kind of people they had been or what had happened to them. From the day he was conscious of himself as a separate being the Jedi Order had been his one and only family. He frowned. Suddenly, it didn't feel right to him not to have known his parents and he wondered, perhaps, if the Jedi Order's practice of taking children from their families was a good one. He looked up at his mother, into her warm brown eyes and kind face. He would have liked to have known her, he realized. And his father too.

Obi-Wan gently gripped his mother's hand. "Is this a dream?"

Bri-Yan looked over at her husband. The two exchanged a look, then Bri-Yan turned back to Obi-Wan. "I can't quite explain what this is, Obi-Wan. But I can assure you, it's not a dream."

"But, if you're dead, how did you die?"

Bri-Yan shook her head. "It doesn't matter, dear. And I'm afraid we don't have much time. As I told you before, you're in transition. But, perhaps..." She stopped and bit her lip, looking over at her husband. He nodded, handing Ben to her.

"I'll get him." He rose from the chair.

"Hurry, we don't have much time."

Obi-Wan's father left the room. Bri-Yan, with Ben now comfortably settled in her lap, kissed the top of his thick, black hair. He giggled and snuggled deeper in her arms. She looked over at Obi-Wan, smiling warmly as she held her grandson.

Obi-Wan smiled at them both. "Ben lives here with you?"

"Yes. And he's every bit of a scamp too." Bri-Yan tickled Ben under his arms.

Ben giggled again, then looked over at Obi-Wan, his expression soft and sad.

"I miss Mama."

"She misses you too." Obi-Wan reached over and took Ben's hand. "As do I."

"Is Obi-Wan okay?"

"Oh, yes, he's fine. Jiah gives me grubs to feed him with every morning."

Ben smiled. Then he and Bri-Yan turned as Nes-Lon returned. Obi-Wan gasped when he saw who was coming in behind his father.

"Master? Master Qui-Gon?"

Qui-Gon smiled as he ducked in order to enter the low-ceilinged room. "Yes, Obi-Wan. It's me"

Obi-Wan couldn't believe his eyes. This had to be some kind of dream. But if it was a dream it was a good one, and he found himself hoping it would never end. Qui-Gon walked over to the side of the bed. He reached over and tousled Ben's dark hair with his large hand. Ben smiled up at him. Then Qui- Gon looked warmly down at Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan still couldn't believe his eyes. "Master, please, what's going on?"

"I wish I had time to explain everything to you, Obi-Wan, but as your mother noted we don't have much time." Qui-Gon tilted his head, his eyes shining with a mischievous light. "And remember, Padawan, you were never one for discussion of Jedi metaphysics. But, what I can tell you in the brief time we have is that you are within the Force, but in a state between life and death.

"We..." Qui-Gon stopped and smiled at Bri-Yan, Nes-Lon and Ben, "...have already become one with the Force. The way you see us at the present is not what we really are, but it is the only way we could appear to you that would make sense since your mind is still bound to the dimension of matter and flesh. Where and how we truly exist, however, is beyond space, beyond time, beyond what you conceive of as reality."

Obi-Wan understood some of what Qui-Gon was saying to him, but his former master was right. He had never been one for truly understanding Jedi metaphysics. But, because in his heart he sensed what Qui-Gon was telling him was true, he did not question it.

"Why am I here, Master? Why haven't I passed on?"

"I'm not sure, Obi-Wan. As I told you when I was alive, the ways of the Force are often beyond our comprehension. We must, therefore, retain our faith that all will unfold as it was meant to be. That is the way of the Jedi."

Obi-Wan lowered his head, suddenly ashamed to look his former master in the eyes. "I'm no longer a Jedi, Master."

Qui-Gon reached over and touched Obi-Wan's chin, lifting his face. "You will always be a Jedi, Padawan. Remember that. And I know and approve of what you did and why you did it. I served the Living Force all my life but one of its purest and most sublime facets I never had the pleasure to experience. I'm glad you've had a chance to know what it is to love someone and be loved in return. Therefore, don't worry, Obi-Wan. I'm very proud of you. And I always will be."

"That's right, son." Nes-Lon smiled at Obi-Wan from where he stood at the foot of his bed. "Your mother and I are very proud of you too. Very proud."

Obi-Wan felt a burning heaviness in his chest. But it wasn't his apparently non-existent stab wound. He looked at his beloved master, the parents he had never known, and his precious son. If he passed on he too would become one with the Force and he could remain with them all. Forever.

Qui-Gon shook his head. "No, Obi-Wan. You must go back."

"Back?"

Qui-Gon slowly nodded. "There is still much for you to do. And Onara. She needs you."

Obi-Wan's eyes widened. Seeing his expression, Qui-Gon laughed softly. "Yes, I know of her." He looked over at Ben, who smiled widely at him. "Ben has told me all about her. I understand she's the most beautiful Mama in the galaxy."

Ben nodded eagerly, grinning. "She is."

Obi-Wan smiled at his son. Then he looked at Qui-Gon. "It's not time for me, is it?"

"No, not yet, Padawan. The Force, it seems, has other plans for you. But, at least you can put your heart at rest. As you can see Ben is very happy here. And your parents now have a chance to spend time with a part of you."

"Yes, dear, Qui-Gon is right. Your father and I are so happy having Ben with us. We now have a chance to...to..." Bri-Yan stopped, her throat working. Her husband put his hand on her shoulder. She took a deep, shuddering breath and looked back at Obi-Wan. "You mustn't punish yourself anymore for the choice you made regarding Ben. Just as I had to stop punishing myself for the decision I made in giving you up, so must you forgive yourself for the choice you made."

Obi-Wan nodded at his mother's words, utterly aware now of the pain it must have cost her to give him up to the Jedi. He reached for her, and, with Ben between them, hugged her gently. Then Bri-Yan pulled away, leaving Ben in Obi-Wan's arms.

Obi-Wan held him tight, his need to never let go of his son like a burning in his heart. "I love you so much, Ben. I don't want to leave you."

"I love you too, Papa. But don't worry. We'll be together again someday"

"Promise?"

Ben nodded, his soft, warm cheek rubbing against Obi-Wan's neck. "I promise, Papa."

He pulled away and looked in Obi-Wan's face, his little face serious. "Papa?"

"Yes, Ben?"

"Please tell Mama not to cry anymore. I don't like it when she cries. And tell her not to pray for me to come back. I can't come back. But I'll wait for her. I'll wait for her forever. Tell her Grandpa and Grandma are taking good care of me, so she shouldn't worry about me anymore."

Obi-Wan squeezed Ben tight, his throat closing. "I will, son. I'll tell her."

He held his son a moment longer, than, reluctantly, released him. Ben went back to Bri-Yan who took him in her arms. She rose from the side of Obi- Wan's bed, then stood next to her husband The three of hem looked over at Obi-wan.

Bri-Yan's dark eyes filled with tears. "Goodbye, my darling son. Be well, be safe."

"Goodbye....Mother." Obi-Wan's heart lurched in his chest as he called her that.

Les-Non gazed tenderly over at Obi-Wan with his blue-gray eyes, the same eyes he shared with Ben who waved goodbye. Then, before Obi-Wan could say anything more, the three began to glow, becoming a dazzling ball of white that shone as brightly as the sun then slowly disappeared. The room was now darker and colder to Obi-Wan. He looked up at Qui-Gon.

"Master, will I see them again?"

"Yes, Obi-Wan, you will. Although..." The Jedi Master's lips quirked, "...the words 'see them' isn't quite accurate. But you will be with them again. Just not yet."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "Master, you know I was never much for Jedi metaphysics. But I will take you at your word. As I always have."

Qui-Gon laughed. Then his face suddenly turned solemn. He leaned toward Obi- Wan.

"Listen carefully, Obi-Wan. There is a great deal ahead of you and I wish I had time to counsel you on it, but much of what is coming is unknown even to me. However, I do can tell you this. When you or Onara are given the promise of a resurrection, refuse it, for it will be a false one."

Obi-Wan frowned. "Resurrection? Master, I don't under---"

"I can say no more. We have run out of time." Qui-Gon stepped back, folding his arms within the sleeves of his dark brown robe. "Tell Onara especially what I have just said. She will be the most vulnerable, I fear, to the enticement of the false resurrection."

A smile replaced Qui-Gon's somber expression and, like Obi-Wan's parents and Ben, he too began to glow, dissipating into light.

Obi-Wan reached out to him. "No, Master, please, don't go. Don't leave me again."

Qui-Gon's bodiless voice echoed through the room. "We will meet again, Padawan. May the Force be with you."

There was a sudden blaze of light, more powerful and brilliant than the light that had encompassed Ben and Obi-Wan's parents, then Qui-Gon too was gone.

Obi-Wan was alone. He sensed darkness creeping around the edges of the room. Then, suddenly, the bed beneath him disappeared and he fell. He fell through cold and darkness and the howling winds of what he recognized as the Abyss. He was being pulled back. Back into light, back into love, back into life.

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Onara shivered. Cold had seeped into her body, into her blood, into her bones from the moment she saw Gend plunge his sword into Obi-Wan's chest, saw the look of pain and shock on her beloved's face, saw the blood spurting from his chest. And since then she had been cold, so terribly cold, and nothing, nothing could warm her. Not the cup of tea Auna had forced into her shaking hands, not the blanket Simtro had put around her shivering shoulders and now, not even Zaka's thick warm fur as he held her close. She would never be warm again, she feared.

The healers had thought she was going into shock, with Simtro fearful she was entering another _yanol_, but Onara had assured him she was not and had refused any offer of a sedative from the healers for she wanted to be conscious in case Obi-Wan needed her. Only his arms could warm her again. And he was dying.

The four were in the waiting area in one of the finest medical facilities in the capital. They had been there for hours, waiting for word on Obi- Wan's condition as the healers worked frantically to save his life. Onara whimpered as she recalled the healer's words. _Massive injury. Internal bleeding. Unable to stop it. Doing the best we can, but I can't lie to you, Lady Onara. I can't lie._

The words echoed in Onara's mind, low and sonorous, like a dirge sung by phantoms. No, please lie to me she had wanted to say. Please lie and tell me he's going to be all right. She clenched Zaka's fur, the tears welling behind her eyelids. _They have to do better, they must do better. He can't die. He mustn't die. Please, not again. Not again._

"Don't cry, Nara." Zaka's deep, gravely voice boomed from within his massive chest. "The Je-di is strong. His love for you is strong. He will not die. He will not leave you."

Onara opened her eyes, the tears spilling from them. She looked up into the long, broad face of the Whiphid, at his massive tusks and long black eyes. Even now, after knowing him these past few months, a primitive, genetic memory insisted she should fear him for he looked as if it would take no effort at all for him to rend her into pieces with his huge tusks and long, sharp claws.

But never had she met a more gentle being. When nothing the others had done could stop her from shaking, he had taken her into his arms, like a father comforting a child. But the coldness, despite the warmth of Zaka's thick fur and huge body, had settled into her like an eternal winter. Only Obi- Wan, alive and well, his beautiful eyes gazing into hers, could bring back spring.

She nestled her cheek deep into Zaka's fur. "Thank you, Zaka. Thank you for being here, for being such a good friend."

"Zaka will always be Nara's friend. Always be Je-di's friend."

Onara tried to hug him, but she could only get her arms partway around his massive chest. Then she looked over to where Auna was still pacing across the floor. The Codru-Ji woman had not stopped moving, her four arms swinging in rhythm with her body. Onara knew that not only was Auna as worried about Obi-Wan as she was, but it was her pent-up frustration and need to do something, anything, that was keeping her from remaining still. At the arena, it was all Zaka could do to stop her from going after Gend and, as she had put it, ripping his stinking heart out with her hands.

As for Simtro, the elderly majordomo sat on the other side of Onara. She turned and put her hand on his where they were folded in his lap. She had thought he was sleeping. His gray head was bowed and his eyes closed, but then she saw his wrinkled lips moving. He was praying. But, at the touch of her hand, he opened his eyes and looked over at her.

"Onara." He smiled, taking her hand and, noting how cold it was, rubbed it between his own palsied hands.

Onara returned his smile, but she was suddenly struck by how old Simtro was. He had been old when she was a child, but he had always been so hale and strong of spirit. Now she saw the years were heavy on him. Would she lose him too, she wondered. Would she lose everyone she loved?

The door to the waiting area flew open. Auna stopped pacing and whipped around, her quartet of arms raised as if she were about to do battle with whomever or whatever was coming into the room. But it was only one of the healers, a tall, thin woman named Inida.

"Lady Onara, Lady Onara." The healer quickly approached her.

Onara's heart slammed in her chest. _No, please, no._

Inida stopped and reached out to her. "Please, come with me, my lady."

"Is he...Is he..?" Onara stopped, unable to say anymore.

"Come with me, please, Lady Onara."

Onara nodded. She moved away from Zaka and rose from the chair. She was still shaking. Zaka made to get up and follow her, but the healer shook her head as she put her arm around Onara's shoulder.

"Please, the rest of you, remain here."

"What's going on?" Auna's voiced echoed through the waiting room, but the healer ignored her as she hustled Onara away, down the hall and into another room.

Upon entering the room Onara had trouble seeing. The hallway had been bright and the lights in the room were low, but she was able to make out Obi-Wan. He lay in a bed, softly beeping machines surrounding him. Onara let out a soft cry and ran over to him, Inida behind her.

"Is he...?" A sob tore at Onara's throat as she looked down at his still, pale face.

"No, my Lady. He's not." Onara heard the wonder in the healer's voice. "But he should be. By all that I know of medicine he should be. As I told you before we couldn't stop the bleeding. We were losing him. And then...." Inida shook her head in amazement. ".... he came back. He just came back. The bleeding stopped and we were able to get him stabilized enough to finish the operation. He's going to be fine, my Lady. Just fine."

Onara collapsed at the side of Obi-Wan's bed, tears streaming down her face. Inida quickly knelt next to her. "My Lady, are you all right?"

Onara was shaking so hard it felt as if all the bones in her body were rattling. The coldness was gone, but she hadn't realized how desperately she had been clinging to her hope that Obi-Wan would not die. Relief had surged through her at the healer's words, along with an almost insane joy, and, for a moment, it had weakened her. She felt the healer's hands on her shoulders, rubbing them gently, helping her up.

"I'm fine. Thank you." Onara stood, willing herself to stop shaking.

Obi-Wan was going to live, but she could see he was weak from his ordeal. He would need her now, need her to be strong for him just as he had been strong for her when she had been at her weakest while in the _yanol_.

Inida let go of Onara's shoulders. "He'll have to stay here a few days so we can monitor his condition."

Onara nodded as she put her hand over Obi-Wan's where it lay on the bed. "I don't care what it costs, whatever he needs---."

"Don't worry, my Lady. We'll take good care of him."

She gave Onara a reassuring smile, then turned and left the room. Onara, no longer shaking, no longer trembling, the coldness having left her, reached over and gently stroked Obi-Wan's hair. His eyes remained closed, the lashes thick against his cheeks.

"My love, my sweet, sweet love." Onara leaned down and kissed his forehead, his closed eyes, his cheeks. She rose up, gently wiping at her tears where they had fallen upon his face, reveling in the sweet pulse and warmth of his skin underneath her fingertips.

Then, slowly, Obi-Wan opened his eyes and looked up at her. Onara gasped, having feared she would never look into them again, into their extraordinary blue-gray color that still amazed her.

Obi-Wan smiled softly. "Onara. You're here."

"Yes, my darling. I'm here. I'm here." Onara's voice was so filled with tears she could barely speak.

"Love?"

Onara had to lean close for his voice was very frail. "Yes, my darling?"

"May we...marry now?"

Onara burst into both tears and laughter. "Oh, yes, my love, yes! We can marry now. Nothing can stop us. Nothing. Whenever you want, whenever you're ready."

Obi-Wan looked up at her, a mischievous light in his eyes. "Ready...now."

Onara laughed. She took his hand and kissed it, her tears splashing on it. "So am I, my love. So am I. But you must rest first. When you're well enough, we'll marry. And no one will stop us. No one. And if anyone dares to try, why I'll...I'll...rip out his or her stinking heart with my bare hands."

"Sound like...Auna." Obi-Wan weakly shook his head and smiled. "Bad influence...that woman."

Onara smiled as she leaned over and kissed him. She felt him trying to return her kiss, but she knew he was so drained from his injury and the operation. She pressed her lips softly against his, then pulled away.

"Rest, darling, please rest." She stroked his hair, the side of his face.

Obi-Wan's eyes suddenly grew serious as he gazed up at her. "Must tell...you something, Onara. Dream...I had."

"Later, love. You can tell me later. You need to rest now. Sleep, just sleep."

Obi-Wan nodded. "Yes...tired. So very tired." His eyes began to close, but then he opened them and looked up at her.

"Love...you."

Onara swallowed in a tight throat, her heart soaring, for she had feared she would never hear him say those words to her again.

"I love you, my darling." She leaned over and kissed him again. "I'm going to take care of you, Obi-Wan. So don't worry about anything. Just rest. And then, once you're well and strong again, we'll marry."

"Promise?"

Onara smiled. He looked and sounded like a small boy as he gazed up at her. She pressed her fingers against her lips, then placed them against his. "I promise. Now rest, darling. Rest."

Obi-Wan nodded and slowly closed his eyes. He was soon asleep. Onara wanted to stay with him, but she had to let the others know he was all right. She leaned over, gently kissed his forehead, then turned and left his room. And, as she walked, than ran down the hallway she felt spring returning to her heart and she was cold no longer.

To be continued...