A knock on his door startled Obi-Wan out of his sleep and he groaned as he looked at the time. He had fallen asleep in front of the holovision again…Force! I got to stay awake. The knocking continued and her rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, as he stood up and stretched.

"I'm coming! I'm coming! Stop knocking!" He wondered why the person was knocking anyway. All they needed to do was ring on the computer…

The door swished open and Jalia stood before him. Her eyes were bloodshot from little sleep and she looked as if she hadn't eaten anything in days. Little Han was in her arms, playing with a strand of her hair and a small pack rested on her back, held up by a wilting shoulder.

"Jalia! What happened?" He waved her inside and shut the door behind her, relieving her of her pack. Jalia wouldn't let him take Han. She clutched onto the child as if he was the last thing she had in the world.

"I left Terrik…" she thumped down onto his sofa and stared off into space.

Obi-Wan moved towards her, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders and sitting down next to her. "I'm so sorry! Oh Jalia! Force I'm sorry!" He stroked her hair and rocked her as she silently cried in her arms. For a few moments neither spoke.

"What happened?" Obi-Wan broke the silence.

"I found out what he's been doing," She pulled out of his arms and looked into his face. There was a wet spot on his robes from where her tears had fallen. When tried to wipe her eyes with the back of her sleeve.

"It's Sora Jade, Obi-Wan. He's been hiring bounty hunters to kill her."

"WHAT!?" Obi-Wan stood up quickly and held her gaze in his. "I thought you said her went straight before you were married?"

"That's what he said but I jut heard a message from one of the men he employed and they said that they wouldn't be able to capture her because she already had killed 6 guys and Shrike employed Terrik in this job in exchange for clearing Terrik's name! Oh what am I supposed to do Obi-Wan!" She broke down in tears again and Obi-Wan's face softened. He sat back down next to her.

"Did you really leave him…or did he kick you out?"

"I told you, I told you that I said I would leave if him started up again. He knew and he just kept going…"

"Jalia…" he lifted her chin up so they were looking eye to eye. "Did he kick you out, or did you leave?" She sniffed and wiped her eyes again before replying

"I…I threatened to leave…" she pulled out of Obi-Wan's grasp. "I told him that I would if he didn't stop. I never really thought that I could. But he turned my own words back at me. He threw me out." Han started whining for something called a "b-b". Jalia rummaged in her bag and pulled out a black shimmering blanket that she put in Han's flailing arms.

"I didn't know where else to go," she sniffed and looked back up at Obi-Wan.

"You're always welcome here Jalia," he gently grabbed her arm and helped her stand next to him. "Let's go for a walk in the gardens," he said, stringing her arm through his. "It will get your mind off of Terrik for a while. And I'm sure that Han would love to see some of the animals that live there," he cooed, teasing Han with his blanket. The child's laughter was heard all down the halls of the temple and Terrik and Sora Jade, for the moment, were forgotten.

Han's flailing hand came smack down onto the unsuspecting beetle. Obi-Wan felt the gooey pus fling onto his face and he gingerly reached up to wipe it off. Han on the other hand got a huge kick out of the dead insect and waved his hands in the air, cooing to the sound of a nearby bird, trying to match it's pitch. Obi-Wan looked up to Jalia and smiled, showing that he wasn't mad.

"Kids," he chuckled, rolling his eyes. He sat back and leaned up on his hands, staring off into the clear sky. Jalia smiled back at him.

"You're thinking about her again Obi-Wan," Jalia teased him.

"What?" he answered distractingly.

Jalia put her hands on her hips and threw him a you-know-what-I'm-talking-about look. She walked over to Han and grabbed his hands, pulling him up to his feet. She started to walk with him.

"She's in danger you know," Jalia said softly.

"I know."

"Doesn't that make you worried?"

"Jalia I only met the girl for 15 minutes, why would I already care that much about her?"

"But Jedi are supposed to care for all people."

"Right, you're point?"

"My point is that you've been thinking a whole lot about this girl than you ever thought about another of your rescue missions. How did you run into her anyway?"

Obi-Wan chuckled and lay back down on the grass. He took a large breath. "She fell off a building and I caught her."

Jalia raised an eyebrow at him. "You caught her from falling off a building?"

He rolled over on his stomach to look at her as she held Han's hands. "No, I caught her after she had fallen off a building." He smiled his triumphant smile at her and sat up on his knees. His hands came forward and he motioned for Han to walk to him. Jalia smiled back at Obi-Wan and gingerly pried Han's hands from her grasp. It took Han a few moments to steady himself before he began to move. Jalia gasped as she saw him take a few steps toward Obi-Wan. As he was about to loose it, Obi-Wan lunged forward and caught him in his arms. The child laughed and giggled as Obi-Wan swung him up into the air. Jalia came to sit down beside them as Obi-Wan started making faces to Han, causing the toddler to flail his hands towards the man's face.

"You cannot fool me Obi-Wan Kenobi. That face that you make. I have seen it before." She spread her skirt smooth and continued to watch Obi-Wan and Han play together.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Obi-Wan argued as he tossed Han once again into the air. After Obi-Wan caught Han, the child snuggled down into Obi-Wan's chest and sighed contently as he closed his eyes. Jalia's hand came down on her son's head.

"Family. Obi-Wan. It's what you want more than anything, I can see that."

"A Jedi knows no love," he added silently.

"But there are exceptions. Why I heard that even the 'chosen one' Anakin Skywalker is married."

"Anakin…Anakin is a different sort of Jedi. I feel as if I am loosing him. I can already tell that the dark side has started to consume him. Love throws many innocent men down the path of the dark side."

"I have heard rumors of his anger. I did not think it to be true, just another silly lie of holo-reporters."

"No it is very true. I can tell more and more each day. Even his wife, Padme is becoming worried. She has stopped confiding in him and has since been turning to me for comfort. She deserves better than this." Obi-Wan sighed and hands Han back to Jalia. "A Jedi knows no love. And that is for the better." He stood up and walked into another section of the gardens, leaving the tired child in the hands of her depressed mother.

The buzz of an insect brought Obi-Wan's hand slapping on his neck, and he felt the sweat easing down his face. He hated to leave Jalia alone when she was so depressed but he had to think by himself for a while.


He knew that she was right. Obi-Wan was in love and he was longing for that family that he had always dreamed of. His only connection to any family that he had ever had was Qui-Gon and Anakin, one who had long since become one with the force, and another who was slowly becoming Obi-Wan's greatest fear.


Then there was Jalia. She wasn't quite family. And Obi-Wan knew that he did not love her the way he loved Sora. Jalia was more of a sisterly love, while Sora was…something else.


He wiped some more sweat off his brow and sat down on a small bench in between too ferocious looking trees from the forests of one of the moons of Yavin. Obi-Wan glanced down to read their ID tag.

Yavin 3, Eolba tree, carnivorous

Obi-Wan shot to his feet and backed away as he read the last word. Why the Jedi council kept carnivorous plants in the garden he would never guess. He backed slowly away and shoved away a few branches which had started to grip to his ankles and wrists.


All of a sudden, something stopped his backward movement and he fell onto his rear, as if tripping over a dead log. But the "log" was quite beautiful.


It was Sora, sprawled in the middle of the trail. Her red hair had begun to fade and Obi-Wan glanced curiously as he saw the dye fade away into pure black ebony.


His elation at seeing her had died once he saw the change. She was not the woman from his dreams. But she was still beautiful. He felt for a pulse through the force and found that she was still alive; she had apparently fainted from exhaustion, mixed from no sleep and no food.
He hefted her up into his arms and had the sudden feeling of dejavo. He rolled his eyes at what Sora Jade would do to him this time when she found herself wake up in his presence…



Jalia twiddled with Han's hair as he slept in her arms. She had not moved from the spot where Obi-Wan left her alone. She felt no need to.


Footsteps from the nearby garden stumbled and she heard a body land on the ground. Smiling, she covered her mouth to soften her giggle. Obi-Wan never did pay much attention to anything else when he was troubled. Jalia knew that much about him.


A few seconds later she heard his footsteps returning to the portion, of the gardens that she was in and the door slid open. Obi-Wan stood there, looking on the fine line between happiness and utter depression. In his arms, he held a young woman, with dark ebony hair, streaked with bright red that seemed to be fading. She had seen holo's of Sora Jade, but Jalia had never seen her in person. She quickly stood up, trying not to jostle Han.


She hesitated, "Is she?"


"No," Obi-Wan said quickly. "I think she just fainted from exhaustion." He carried her over to one of the larger benches and carefully laid her down.


Jalia looked at his face as he stared into Jade's eyes and she knew that it did not matter what color this girl's hair was. The Jedi Master was falling in love.