Chapter 5

It had been six months since Padme had been abducted. Anakin stood on an overlooking balcony within the Jedi Temple. The young Jedi had returned to the order, in order to be involved in the search for his missing wife. No one knew that she was his wife of course, but the Jedi seemed pleased that he was back, especially Obi-wan. The two had been searching continually, but had found not even the slightest trace.

Anakin was still having troubling dreams, and his only comfort was the fact that he could still feel her presence. The darkness which swelled hid most everything from sight, but Anakin could still see some things before they happened. He knew he had a special power that no other Jedi possessed. He could still see despite the growing darkness. The problem was that the young Jedi could not make the power work regularly.

Anakin closed his eyes taking a deep cleansing breathe. He reached out with his limited sight, and tried to find his wife for the millionth time in six months. A swirling mist appeared before his eyes, and he saw a tall building. He heard a baby's cry from within, and Padme's scream. He watched her face come into focus and she lay dead upon a medical bed. A man in a hood walked out the door with their child in his arms. The man addressed a clone trooper, "She is dead. Dispose of her body, but do not let anyone see you." The clone obediently wheeled the bed out of the building late in the night and drove away. Everything suddenly faded away and the mist closed around the scene.

"Anakin, are you all right?"

Anakin opened his eyes. He had never seen this vision before. It was frightening to behold, and spoke of the fact of how little time he had left to find his wife. He was annoyed to find that his master had brought him out of the vision. "I'm fine. Why did you interrupt me?"

Obi-wan could see frustration in Anakin's eyes. "I'm sorry. It's just you've been standing there for over an hour. You whispered Padme's name. Did you see something?"

Anakin nodded holding up a hand signaling he needed some time to think. Anakin closed his eyes and tried to see the vision again, but it did not come. Nothing came at all. Typical. His master's words from long ago came to him, "If you run into a wall, then go back to the beginning and start again."

Okay, then I will think about what I did see. Padme was in a tall building, with a strange man and a clone trooper. The man had obviously wanted Anakin's child, but why? Then a thought occurred to him which he instinctively uttered aloud, "Sith lord."

Obi-wan looked at his friend. Anakin had obviously seen something disturbing. The Jedi master was glad to have his former padawan back in the order, but he wondered if it were permanent. It saddened him to think about his friend leaving again. Obi-wan would need to talk about this with Anakin later. For the moment he asked concerned, "What did you see?"

Anakin looked at his master gravely, "We haven't much time. I believe the lord of the sith wants my child. We have to find her in less than three weeks or it will be too late."

Obi-wan absorbed what Anakin had just told him. In his mind that could mean only one thing, "But that would mean the lord of the sith knows you are married."

Anakin rubbed a hand through his dark hair, "I know. The voice sounded so familiar, but I can't place it. Maybe I just need some time to think about it."

"Anakin, I know this is important, but I wanted to ask you something."

The Jedi knight looked at his friend and asked, "What is it?"

Obi-wan hesitated. He knew that he was about to tread on thin ice, but he didn't want Anakin making rash decisions. "Do you plan on staying with the Jedi after you find Padme?"

Anakin tensed and let out a heavy sigh. He had been hoping Obi-wan wouldn't ask that question. The knight had thought about the idea for a while, and although the Jedi seemed happy he had returned something told him he wouldn't be able to stay. In one sense Anakin wanted to remain a Jedi, but the warning in the pit of his stomach told him that it was a bad idea. He settled on the honest answer, "I don't know."

Obi-wan gazed at his former pupil. So Anakin was just here to use the Jedi's resources to find his wife. The Jedi Master could not help but feel hurt by the revelation. Did that mean that he meant so little to Anakin? He had thought that they had overcome many of their petty differences, and truly bonded. It seemed he had been wrong.

Anakin saw the look of pain on Obi-wan's face. "Obi-wan, it's not that I don't care about you. I've told you many times you're like the only Father I've ever had. It's just I'm not sure if staying would be the right thing to do. I'm not saying that I'm going to leave, because I may not. But I don't want to lie to you, and make a promise I can't keep. I've done that one to many times in my life."

Obi-wan nodded in understanding. He didn't feel a whole lot better about the situation, but at least Anakin cared about him enough to be honest. The Jedi Master realized with a heavy heart that he would have to accept his friend's decision even if it meant Anakin would leave the order again.

"Obi-wan, I feel liking flying around. Do you mind if I take the speeder?"

The Jedi picked up the keys off the side table and tossed them to Anakin, "Go ahead."

The young Jedi hit a button on the control panel opening up a garage. Inside was the yellow open cockpit speeder. "Thanks, flying has always helped me clear my head. There's some things I need to clear up. I promise I won't be gone long."

Obi-wan smiled, "Take your time." He teased playfully as Anakin revved the engine, "Please try not to wreck it."

Anakin gave his master a smile. As he backed out of the garage he called over his shoulder innocently, "Me wreck the speeder, never!"

Obi-wan walked over to the control panel and caused the doors to slide closed. He shook his head and chuckled lightly at Anakin's antics. He knew the young man too well. Maybe they had spent way too much time together. A little time apart certainly couldn't hurt them. He sat down in his favorite chair, picking up a book off the side table. He gently thumbed through the pages to the place where he last stopped, and began to read once more on the economic state of Ebsolon.

A/N: Thanks to all my readers and especially my beloved reviewers. For Chapter 4 I only had one beloved reviewer. Thanks so much for your feedback. It is greatly appreciated. I hope everyone enjoys Chapter 5.