Chapter 14

The sun was starting to set over the horizon. Obi-Wan stared out the window. His mind wondered to the events, memories, he had locked back in a far corner of his mind. If everything went the way it was suppose to, Qui-Gon's funeral would have taken place after sun down. But this time, there was no funeral and Qui-Gon was alive. And so was Anya. Upon return to Naboo, everything happened exactly the same way. Except he and Anya didn't have a disagreement. Obi-Wan was worried that Qui-Gon would take Anakin as his padawan. He had pushed the thought to the side when the battle started. Anya told him to talk to Qui-Gon when they got back. He promised himself that when she wakes up, he would talk to him.

Anakin had fallen asleep in a nearby chair. Obi-Wan stood up and winced as pain shot up his legs. Because he has been sitting for a long time, his legs were numb. Grabbing a blanket, he covered the sleeping boy. He then walked over to the window. Wrapping his arms around himself, he stared out over the city. Slowly, lights were fading off in the city as everyone began to settle down for the night. It's been three days since the battle ended. This has been the first night everything was peaceful. Obi-Wan felt a presence behind him. He didn't need to turn to know who it was. Out the corner of his eye, Qui-Gon stepped up beside his student.

"Peaceful night." the master said.

"Yes, it is."

Qui-Gon could tell something was bothering him. "Is there something wrong, Obi-Wan?"

A haunting expression crossed Obi-Wan's face. "Tonight would have been your funeral."

There was silence for several heartbeats. "There won't be any funeral tonight. I'm alive and Anya's alive. And you're alive." Qui-Gon said looking at Obi-Wan. "That's what is important."

"I know. Events had changed so much. Everything is changing."

"Indeed they are. There must be a reason." the master turned back to the window.

The two stood there for a few minutes, watching the stars. Obi-Wan glanced over. "It's good to have you alive."

The other turned and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's good to be alive. Now you don't have to journey into Knighthood alone."

"When I needed advice in Anakin's training, or just someone to listen when I got frustrated with him, you weren't there. Master Yoda preformed your duty of cutting off my braid." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Maybe now Anakin won't turn to the Dark Side."

"Anything's possible. I'm alive, Anakin's not The Chosen One, we know who's the Sith Master is and you're in love. Anything can still happen. As too why events changed, we're going to figure that one out when we get back to Coruscant."

A small noise from Anakin made Obi-Wan glanced at him. "What about Anakin?"

"Anakin will be trained."

A spike of fear ran through Obi-Wan. He quickly hid it before Qui-Gon could sense it. His master mustn't have picked anything up. "Who will train him?"

"That has not been decided yet. The council will make a decision when we get back. Right now, they are concern about you and Anya. And about the Sith. All we can do right now is to rest and wait for Anya to wake." Qui-Gon looked at Obi-Wan more closely. "You look like hell."

"I won't leave Anya's side. Not until she wakes up. Then I'll get some sleep and something to eat."

"You need rest. Go to bed. I'll stay with her. Go get a good night's sleep." stated Qui-Gon.

"No. I won't leave. I want to be here when she wakes up." said Obi-Wan.

Qui-Gon could tell there was no way of changing Obi-Wan's mind. "Are you sure?" Obi-Wan shook his head.

"What's going on?" Anakin asked waking up. The boy looked over at Anya. "Did she wake up?"

"I'm afraid not, Ani." Obi-Wan said stepping over to the bed.

Qui-Gon went over to Anakin. "Come on, Anakin. Lets get you into bed."

"I want to stay." Anakin said.

"Anakin, go. You need to go to bed." Obi-Wan said.

Too tired to argue, Anakin gave up. "What about you?"

"I'll be fine."

The boy stood and he and Qui-Gon started towards the door. He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. He stopped in the doorway and looked back.

"Now, are you sure?"

"Yes, master."

"Good night, Obi-Wan."

"Good night, Qui-Gon."

With a nod from Qui-Gon, the two left. Another spark of fear ran up Obi-Wan's spine. What if Qui-Gon tries to take Anakin as his padawan? Could he have already asked the council? With his thoughts running a mile a minute, he settled back down into his chair. He took Anya's hand his and squeezes gently.

"Please wake up."

The sun had finally set in the horizon. The palace was quite. The only sound there was was coming from the night creatures. Obi-Wan had his head resting on the bed, still holding Anya's hand. The doctor in charge of Anya's care, had closed the door after Qui-Gon and Anakin left. Softly, the door opened to reveal Luke. Obi-Wan sensed Luke's presence and turned to his formal/not yet student.

"How is she?" Luke asked walking over.

"The same." the young man said.

"I would have been here, but the council had been keeping me busy." said Luke.

"There's not much you can do, Luke. Just sit and wait."

"And be helpless, again." Obi-Wan gave him a puzzled look. "It was when Anya was captured by the Borlongs. There was nothing we could do to rescues her. Or make her heal faster."

"What really did happen? Anya never really told me."

"Anya was heading back to Yavin 4. Han, my brother-in-law, was going to give her a ride back. She said no. She'll just get a ride on the supply shuttle that was heading to Yavin. Rogue Squadron was going to fly escort. But she told them no. She would be all right. About halfway to Yavin, the shuttle was attacked. All on board were killed. Except for Anya." said Luke.

"How did you know Anya never arrived on Yavin?" asked the young man.

"When she was due to arrive, the shuttle never showed up. We all figured they had to stop somewhere for repairs or something. A week later, we were getting worried. We tried contacting them. Nothing. The Chief of State sent a search party out. They found the supply shuttle intact. Everyone dead and Anya gone. One of the crew members recorded the attack. Before it could be analyzed, the Borlong tapped into the Holonet. Everyone in the New Republic saw it. It was the leader of the Borlongs. They wanted to show the New Republic what they were capable of. Two soldiers dragged a human in. It was Anya. I can still hear him." Luke looked down at Anya. "The way he laughed."

"What did he say?"

"He said, 'Some of you may recognize my new pet, Anya Skywalker. The daughter of your Jedi Master Luke Skywalker.'" Luke swallowed hard.

"What did happen?"

"One of the soldiers pulled out a long needle like weapon and shoved it into the base of her neck. I was horrified. We all were. But there was a part of me that was proud of her."

"Proud? She was being tortured before your eyes." Obi-Wan exclaimed.

"It wasn't that. If you're had seen the recording, you would know."

"Explain to me then."

"She was being held down on her knees. Anya didn't try to fight them. At first she looked scared. But it was if she knew and accepted it. As if she was reaching out to the Force to protect herself. And it was through the Force, we felt a strong disturbance. What they did to her, it made us all realized what we were up agents. For ten long months, we couldn't do anything. The signal was coming from the Borlong home world. It would have been suicide to go there." stated Luke.

"What did you do?"

"We waited until there was an opening. Then one day, we heard Anya was being sent to a space station on the edge of Borlong space. The station wasn't very guarded. A fleet was sent to rescue Anya. The council sent several Jedi along. A group was assigned to fine Anya. Han was in charge of that group. Jaina and Microft were among the Jedi that went. They boarded the station while the fleet dealt with the station's fighters. Once on, they spilt up into two groups.

"The group Han and Jaina were in, they stumbled upon a human, who knew where Anya was being kept. The human, a man, showed them to the cell were Anya was kept. They were able to get past any guards that could stop them. They found her. The man told them how to get the hanger bay without any trouble. He would try to stall the guards as long as he can. Han told the other group to meet them back at the Falcon. They had Anya and were heading back. The other group, led by Jaina's little brother, Anakin, had the Falcon ready to fly. Once Han's group was the boarding ramp, Anakin already had the Falcon heading out of the bay.

Rogue Squadron was waiting outside the hanger bay. They escorted the Falcon to the Yavin, Admiral Antilles' ship. Some of the Rogues stayed to escort the Yavin back to Coruscant. Once Anya was on board, a medical team was waiting. They rushed her to the med center. It took them almost three days to arrive back at Coruscant." explained Luke.

"Didn't you and Mara go?"

"No. The Chief of State and the rescue leaders thought it was best we didn't go. A lot of people wanted to go. A lot." Obi-Wan just stared at him to continue. "When the rescue mission was brought up, Rogue Squadron was the first to say they were going."

"Why?"

"Anya's a member of Rogue Squadron. An honorary member. She helps them out from time to time. They felt it was their fault because they weren't there to help. They would have gone no matter what. They wanted to escort her home." Luke took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"When they emerged from hyperspace, Han contacted Leia and told her to keep Mara and I away from the landing pad. It was best if we didn't see Anya. But we wouldn't listen. We wanted to see our little girl. Leia had asked Valin's father, Coran, to keep us busy. Mara and I knew what he was trying to do. We didn't blame him or Leia. When we got to the landing pad, doctors, med droids were making their way to the Falcon. Leia stopped us by the entryway. We were determined to see her. The doctors and med droids finally emerged from the Falcon. We couldn't see Anya. Everyone was surrounding her. We ran towards them. It was Han who stopped us. He told us that we shouldn't see her. As the med droids and the doctors were passing by, we saw a glimpse of Anya. Or what we thought was Anya.

"Hours went by as they worked on her. Finally, a doctor came out. He was head of the med center and was personally taking care of Anya. Just by his expression, we knew things were bad. It took another hour for him to explain Anya's condition. During the operation, Anya's heart stopped, twice. Everyone was surprised that she was still alive. The doctor told us the next seventy-two hours were critical. If she survived, he gave her an eighty percent of recovery. There may be permanent damage. To what, he wasn't sure." Luke recalled sadly.

"But there wasn't permanent damage. She recovered fully. She did tell me some things. Like her right arm. It was crushed so badly that the doctors thought they couldn't save it." Obi-Wan stated.

"That's right. Han told me that when he lifted her arm, it felt like a piece of cloth. Nothing to it. The doctors were going to wait until the seventy-two hours were up. Then they would make a decision. Mara and I were already told we'd have to make the decision about her arm. There were a lot of decisions we were told to think about, in case. . ." Luke's voice faded.

"In case there was permanent damage to the brain." Obi-Wan added.

"That was one of the things." the man said.

"If the doctors couldn't save the arm, what would you and Mara have done?"

Luke thought the question over. Even then he and Mara didn't know what they were going to do. And even now, he wasn't sure. "I'm not sure. We didn't allow ourselves to think about. If we didn't think about it, it may not happen."

"It must have been very hard for the two of you." the padawan stated.

"It was. When we were allowed to see her, I thought my heart stopped. There were machines everywhere. Tubs, wires connecting to the machines. Her right arm was bandaged, half of her face was covered. It's hard to explain. You couldn't even tell it was Anya lying on that bed. That's how bad she was. Her right eye was swollen shut and her other eye was partly swollen. Her jaw was broken in four different places. We were told that she was in coma. She's been in one ever since she arrived on the Yavin." Luke shook his head sadly. "Things were done to her, I don't even want to think about."

"I understand. Just for the brief time I've own Anya, I can see how brave she is. She's a great person. And a fine Jedi. Qui-Gon told me not that long ago, if Anya ever dies, the galaxy would lose one of the best. We saw how people will listen to her. When she speaks, everyone listens." the young man said.

Obi-Wan sighed and looked up at Anya. The padawan tightened his grip on her hand. He sent love, warmth, and healing energy towards her. He felt a hand touch his shoulder. Obi-Wan looked up at Luke. The Jedi Master was staring down at him. The older man gave a slight nod.

Luke could see how much Obi-Wan loved Anya. At first, it bothered him. His formal master, who is now a padawan, was in love with his daughter. But he saw that Anya loved him in return. Who was he to tell his little girl who she can date and who she can't. As the weeks grew, Luke noticed, as well as the Temple, that Obi-Wan and Anya loved each other. All he and Mara ever wanted was for Anya to fine someone who she loved and who will take care of her. By watching Obi-Wan, he knew Anya have found that someone.

"Her heart stopped again, didn't?" Obi-Wan suddenly asked.

It took a minute for Luke to process the question. "How did you know?"

The young man was quite. "I've seen it. You and someone else. A man, a little older then I."

"Wes Antilles. A good friend of Anya's and the leader of Rogue Squadron. Her heart did stop again. The doctors had trouble restarting it. Wes and I thought we lost her."

The two men were quite as they watched over Anya. Finally, Obi-Wan asked Luke to finish. Obi-Wan was almost sickened by the time Luke was finished. He now understood when Anya had told him she didn't want to talk about the torture and that period of time.

"Are you sure you don't want to get some sleep?" Luke asked.

"No. I won't leave her. The last time I did, she almost died. Just how I got separated from Qui-Gon and he died."

"Maybe it was supposed to happen?" Luke suggested.

"What do you mean?" he asked, looking over at Luke.

"Maybe those chains of events were supposed to happen? Maybe it was the Force. You never know."

"Who knows? The Force has been acting strange lately. Everything is changing." exclaimed the padawan.

"Only time will tell." Luke stood up from his chair and stretched. "Go to bed. I'll stay with Anya."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "No."

"Qui-Gon is right, you are stubborn. Even Old Ben was stubborn."

"I'm a stubborn person, Luke. And I'm more stubborn when I'm older." A grin appeared on Obi-Wan's face. "Besides, I had a good teacher."

"You're so much like Anya, it isn't funny. Maybe that's why you two are so perfect for each other. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Luke kissed Anya on the forehead. As he was leaving, he padded Obi-Wan on the shoulder and left.

"And it seems I'm a good teacher as well."

Light from the moon was shinning into the open window. Obi-Wan was walking around the room, trying to get feeling back into his legs. He was relieved that everyone was sleeping, and not bugging him about getting some rest. A noise behind him caught his attention. He turned to the door to see Padmé. The padawan wasn't sure if she was the queen or the handmaiden bodyguard. His question was answered.

"Hello, Obi-Wan." Obi-Wan bowed. "It's me."

"I wasn't sure, your highness."

"Call me Padmé. How is she?" she asked walking over to the bed.

"The same." he answered, joining her.

"Thank you again, Obi-Wan."

"You don't have to thank me." Obi-Wan said. "We were doing our duty."

"Your duty nearly got you killed." Padmé said turning to him.

"We know the risks when we become Jedi."

"I know. You never know if you'll be returning from a mission or your padawan will fall to evil and then hurt everyone around him or her."

Obi-Wan was surprised at Padmé's statement. Could she have memories of the future? he thought. "You're right."

He turned away and went back to the window. Padmé looked back at Anya. She brushed some reddish-brown hair away from her eyes.

I can't believe this is my granddaughter. "So, you're my granddaughter, huh? You look like your father. I'm your grandmother." Padmé said softly, hoping Obi-Wan haven't heard. But Obi-Wan did heard. He was stunned. He pretended he didn't hear a word. "I wish we had time to talk. I bet you have a lot of questions. Get better."

Padmé turned away. As she was walking out of the room, she wished Obi-Wan goodnight. When she was gone, he glanced back at his love. What is going on? Padmé knows Anya is her granddaughter. Then she knows Luke is her son and Anakin is her husband! What indeed was going on?

Settling into his chair again, Obi-Wan fell asleep. The duel with Maul kept playing over and over in his head. The shock and horror expression on Anya's face as the red energy blade sliced through her, was etched into his mind's eye. "This can't be happening again." He kept saying over and over as he watched Anya and Maul fight. He was helpless again. Trapped between the energy walls. The only thing he could do was watch. Everything was the same. The only difference was Anya and she survived.

A hand touched his shoulder and lightly shook him. He jerked awake. He immetally looked up at Anya. She as still laying on the bed, sleeping. He glanced up at the man standing over him. Qui-Gon stared down at his student.

"Master, I thought you were sleeping."

"I was. I sensed your fear. I thought something was wrong."

"A nightmare. All I can see is the fight and Anya falling to the floor." Obi-Wan rubbed his eyes and then yawned.

"Go to bed. You haven't slept in three days. You need to rest." Qui-Gon said.

"Like I told Luke, I'm fine."

"Obi-Wan, I'm not asking as a friend. I'm telling you as you master, teacher and father. I don't want to hear another word."

Obi-Wan finally admitted to himself that he was tired. Slowly, he nodded he head. He stood up and softly kissed Anya's lips. He let Qui-Gon guide him to his room. The master helped settle his student into bed and quietly, left. The moment his head hit the pillow, Obi-Wan fell straight to sleep.

His sleep was full of dreams. From the moment he and Qui-Gon found Anya in the garden, to the tearful good-bye, to when she returned, the first time they kissed, the night they made love for the first time, to the battle.

Slowly, his eyes opened. Bright sunlight filtered into the room. By the bright sun, it was afternoon. He felt another presence in the room.

"Good afternoon, padawan." The voice belonged to Qui-Gon.

Afternoon!

Obi-Wan jolted upright. "Afternoon?" He threw the covers off and hurried to get dressed. "Who's with Anya?"

"Yoda, Mace, Luke and Anakin. They're talking to her now." Qui-Gon said handing him his belt.

Obi-Wan stopped buckling the belt and looked up at him. "Talking?"

"Anya woke up early this morning."

"What? Why didn't someone wake me?" He grabbed his cloak and put it on as he sprinted out the door.

"She didn't want to disturbed you!" Qui-Gon's voice lowered as Obi-Wan ran down the hallway. The young man never even heard him.

As he ran down the hall, palace residents stopped and watched. The med center came into view and his feet moved faster. His heart was racing when he saw Anya's door. Obi-Wan ran into the room as everyone turned to look at him. Windu stepped aside to reveal Anya, sitting up in bed. A smile broke out on her face. A sigh of relief escaped him. Obi-Wan hurried over to her and took her into his arms. The two hugged each other.

"I wanted to be here when you woke up." he started to say.

"Obi-Wan, it's okay. I know. I told them not to wake you. You needed your rest." Anya said.

He kissed her on the forehead. "How do you feel?"

"Okay. Swore. I'll be fine." she answered.

Qui-Gon entered the room and went over to her. "It's good to see you up."

"It's good to see you alive." she said.

"We need to talk." Qui-Gon started to say.

Amidala, Panaka and Palpatine entered the room at that moment. Luke and Obi-Wan moved closer to Anya.

"We heard you were awake. How are you feeling?" Amidala asked.

"I'm doing fine, your highness." Anya said bowing her head.

"We're glade to hear that." Palpatine said. "We wanted to thank you. If it wasn't for you, Obi-Wan and Anakin, who knows what would have happened."

"It was our duty, Chancellor." Anya said.

"A celebration is being held the day after tomorrow. Will you be able to attend? It's to celebrate the peace with the Gungans and the victory over the Trade Federation. We also want to honor the heroes of Naboo. You, Obi-Wan and Anakin." the queen said.

"They will be there." Windu said before anyone else could. "It also depends on Anya's health."

"Of course, we understand. We don't want to put Anya's health in jeopardy." the queen stated. "There's a lot to do before then."

The three left. No one moved or said a word. As soon as they were out of earshot, Anya shivered.

"What is it?" Windu asked.

"Evil." she said. "Pure evil."

"Who?" Yoda asked.

"Palaptine."

"How do you know?" Qui-Gon asked.

"While I was in the healing trance, I felt cold and a darkness wrapped itself around me. Then it felt as if someone was reaching out to my mind. Like a presence. What ever it was was close by. So I followed it. I had trouble doing so. Who ever it was, was trying to hide himself from me. But I finally was able to learn who it was. Palaptine."

"Was he able to get into your mind?" Windu asked.

"Almost. I think he thought I wouldn't notice." she answered

"Sith spawn." Luke muttered.

Anya was puzzled by everyone's reaction. "What?"

"We think Palaptine might know who you are," the father told his daughter.

It took her a minute to process the information. When it finally dawned on her, her eyes widen in shock and fear. "How?"

"Know, we do not. Guessing, he might be. Doubt that, we do." Yoda spoke up.

She thought for a minute. "Unless he remembers the future. That's the only reasonable answer. Did he say anything that might suggest he knew?"

"He did. When he learned that you're my daughter, he asked if I was proud of you. I replied by saying you're special to me. That's when he said it. 'Indeed she is special. She has a great gift. She's going to be a powerful Jedi, I think.' Those were his exact words." Luke answered.

"What happens now?" Anakin asked. "If he gets his hands on The Child, we're doomed."

Anya and Anakin looked at each other shocked and puzzled. "How does he know?" she asked.

"I just know." the boy replied back.

"Who all knows?" she asked.

"Everyone in this room and the rest of the council." Windu said. "We had to be careful not to tip Palaptine off. We sent a coded message back to the Relic."

"I instructed Sparky to decode the message and give it to Yaddle." Luke finished.

Anya laid her head back agents the pillow and closed her eyes. At first, Obi-Wan thought something was wrong. But he sensed there wasn't and relaxed. She had hoped that no one would learn who she was. Ever since her parents had told her, Anya never really believed it. She always thought her father was making it up so she would train and become a Jedi Knight. But after seeing the other's reaction to what Palaptine tried to do, she knew fully understood that her parents weren't lying and she was indeed this Child of Light, Child of Dark.

A grumbling noise broke into everyone's thoughts. Anakin held his stomach and blushed.

"Let me guess, you're hungry again?" Qui-Gon asked. The boy shook his head. "You just ate not less then two hours ago."

"I'm hungry. I'm a growing boy."

"Feed him, we should not. Learn to control his appetite, he should." Yoda said. Anakin looked horrified at the little master. "Start that we should. Grow big our Jedi would not." Yoda tapped Qui-Gon with his walking stick. Qui-Gon couldn't help but grin down at his formal master.

"Come on, Anakin." Qui-Gon said.

Anakin cheered as he hoped down off the bed. Qui-Gon placed an arm around the boy's shoulders and guided him out of the room. A sharp pain priest Obi-Wan's heart. Both Anya and Luke felt it. She took his hand and squeezed it. Yoda and Windu left to inform the other council members about the situation.

"Talk to him. It's the only way to fine out." she said.

"For some odd reason, it feels like he doesn't even care about me anymore." Obi-Wan said.

Obi-Wan looked up at Luke. "Luke, did Qui-Gon say anything about taking Anakin on as his padawan?"

"No."

"What about the council?"

"Obi-Wan, stop. Qui-Gon never went to the council. He would not cast you aside." answered Luke.

"He did it once before."

"But things changed. He told me all about you. I wanted to know more about my formal master. You know what he said? You are the best apprentice he ever had. And the most respected senior padawan in the Temple. He thinks of you as a son. Now after hearing that and some other things, I seriously doubt he would cast you aside." Luke explained. "He regretted doing what he did the last time. He should have talked it over with you first. Like Anya said, talk to him. Tell him how you feel."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "When we get back to Coruscant."

Anya raised his hand and kissed it. "Everything will work out, Obi. You'll see. Look at this way, you don't get to train Anakin." she said smiling.

Luke looked at her surprised. She turned to glance at her father. The smile was still on her face. All three laughed. Obi-Wan's face turned series. She noticed his mood changed.

"Obi, what's wrong?" Anya asked.

Obi-Wan looked in her eyes. "I'm worry. What if Palpatine tries to come after you here?"

"He won't." Luke said.

"What if you're wrong, Luke?"

"Palpatine knows at least one of us is with her at all time. He'll wait until the right moment." the older man replied.

"Then why is Yoda worried about me? Yes, I killed Darth Maul."

"Revenge, maybe." Luke suggested.

"No." The two men looked at Anya. "There is more to what Yoda was saying. I may have been in a healing trance, but I could still hear what was being said. What I don't know. That's the feeling I got from it."

"And there is no way of finding out what it is. Not until Yoda tells us himself." Luke said.

"I think Qui-Gon might suspect something. He's concern too." the padawan said.

One of the doctors came over. The man smiled down at Anya. "You are very close to perfect health. Depending on tomorrow's tests, by afternoon, you may be released. Someone who was on the edge of death, you recovery is remarkable. Any other person would have died."

"I heard that before," she said. The doctor looked puzzled at her. "It's a long story."

"She'll be released then?" Luke asked.

"Like I said, depending on the test." the doctor said again.

"How long before she is able to travel?" Obi-Wan asked.

"If she's released tomorrow, two days."

A young woman poked her head in the doorway. "Doctor, can you come and take a look at some test results?"

"I'm on my way."

The doctor started to leave and turned back. "Keep your strength up. Eat something. If you want, I can have someone go and get you some food."

"Thank you. But I can get it." Luke said. With that, the doctor left. "You must be starving."

"I am hungry. I don't think I have eaten for over five days."

"I'll go grab something for the both of you." Luke said.

The Jedi master left. Obi-Wan sat down on the edge of the bed and took her hand. "You doing okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine. How are you doing?"

"I don't know. Ever since this mission started, it's like I'm reliving it. But it changed."

"That's because you are reliving it. And it has changed. Anakin isn't The Chosen One, Qui-Gon is alive, you're still a padawan and we know who the Sith master is. The changes maybe good or they could be bad."

"Both. Good and bad." Anya stared at him with love. "Anakin isn't dangerous, so he may not turn to the Dark Side. Qui-Gon's till alive. But. . ." his voice trailed off.

"But what?"

"You almost died. And Palpatine will surely be after you."

"Obi-Wan, don't worry about Palpatine. We'll deal with him when the time comes."

"When? He could strike. . ." Obi-Wan started to say.

Anya laid a finger on his lips to quite him. He gave the finger a small kiss. She leaned forward and kissed him gently. She pulled back just enough to look into his eyes.

"That is all you need to worry about right now. There is no need to dwell on the future."

"You sound like Qui-Gon."

"But I'm not."

"I do love you."

"I love you, too."

They kissed. Obi-Wan took her hand, curled his fingers around hers and held their hands close to their hearts.