Thank you, again, to my wonderful reviewers! Thank you to my newest reviewer, Nyoko, for your very sweet words! Just a warning, this is not a happy chapter!

oooooo

Nine years later, Darth Vader was gazing out one of the viewports on his Star Destroyer. He had pretty well given up on finding Obi-Wan. He still couldn't believe that his master had let Obi-Wan go! It was unthinkable for a Sith to do such a thing. Vader had wanted to rage at his master when he found out, but knew better of it. Now, his relationship with his master was pretty well nonexistent. They stayed as far away from each other as possible, communicating long distance when necessary.

Vader had gone back to searching for Obi-Wan, but it was again like he'd disappeared from the galaxy. Vader just hoped that someday he'd be given the opportunity to face his former master again. And if I do see him again, I will kill him.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Obi-Wan and Padme were perched in the rocks near the Lars moisture farm. Padme was taking some more pictures of Luke as he did his chores. When Luke went inside, Padme sat back and flipped through the pictures she'd just taken of her fourteen-year-old son.

Obi-Wan noticed Padme shaking her head as she flipped through the pictures. "What?"

Padme turned to Obi-Wan with an ironic look on her face. "Unless he goes through one heck of a growth spurt later on, it looks like he got my height genes instead of his father's."

Obi-Wan couldn't help but smile. "As Yoda always used to say, 'Size matters not.'"

Padme laughed. "That's certainly true in his case!"

Obi-Wan stood up, wincing. "I'm getting too old to sit on rock for hours at a time."

"You are not old!"

Obi-Wan snorted. "Are you kidding? Have you noticed how much gray I have in my hair?"

"I think that has less to do with your age than with all the stuff you've been through. Trauma will age us faster than anything." Padme frowned a bit. "Besides, you're not the only who has some gray hair."

"On you, it's fetching." Obi-Wan leaned in to kiss her. "Ready to go?"

"Yep. Would you grab my things for me? I want to get a picture of this beautiful sunset." As Obi-Wan packed their things onto the speeder bike, Padme climbed up a bit on the rocks. She leaned into a crevice in the rock to get her balance. As she moved her leg back, she felt something jab into her calf. "Ouch!"

Obi-Wan looked up from the speeder bike. "What the matter?"

Padme looked down at her calf. The pant leg was ripped and her leg was now bleeding. "It's nothing. It's just a scratch." She looked for the source and saw a nasty looking black thorn. The thorn was attached to a vine that was hanging in the crevice of the rock.

"Are you sure?" Concern was evident on Obi-Wan's face.

Padme waved off his concern. "Yes. It's nothing a little bacta bandage won't fix." She steadied herself again and took the picture. "There." Padme made her way down the rock. "Let's go home."

Once back home, Padme went into the fresher to fix up her leg. She pulled up her pant leg. It was a pretty bad scratch, but it had already stopped bleeding. She cleaned it and put a small bacta bandage on it. She then went into the kitchen where Obi-Wan was already starting dinner.

Padme came up behind Obi-Wan and put her arms around his waist. "Where do you think I should display my favorite picture from today?"

Obi-Wan laughed. "That's a good question. I don't think there's an inch of space anywhere in this hut that isn't already occupied by a holodisk!"

"Oh, I'll find a place."

"I'm sure you will. How's your leg?"

"It's fine. Like I said, just a scratch."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The next morning, Obi-Wan woke up to hear Padme moaning. He sat up quickly and looked at his wife. She was sweating profusely and twitching. "Padme?" He gently shook her. "Honey?"

Padme woke up. She tried to fix her blurry eyes on her husband. She closed her eyes again as a wave of nausea hit her. "Obi, I feel terrible."

Obi-Wan hopped out of bed and went to the fresher. He wet a cloth with cool water and brought it back. He wiped down her face and then lay the cloth on her forehead. His concern grew as he felt the pain emanating from her.

Moaning, Padme pulled herself into the fetal position. It felt like fire was coursing through her veins. She couldn't remember a time when she felt this horrible.

Obi-Wan pulled Padme into his arms. He decided it was well worth the risk to use the Force to ease her pain. He sent comforting waves of the Force into her body. Immediately she relaxed a bit.

"Th…thank you."

Obi-Wan knew he had to ask the question, but almost didn't want to. "Honey, what did you scratch your leg on yesterday?"

"It…was a thorn. A big, black thorn attached…to a vine of some kind."

Obi-Wan's heart sunk down into his stomach. Horror and panic started to flow through him, stealing his breath.

Padme immediately sensed the change in her husband. "Obi, what is it?" She looked him in the eye. "Tell me the truth."

Obi-Wan closed his eyes, releasing his feelings into the Force. When he finally felt he could talk, he opened his eyes back up. "The thorn you were scratched with is poisonous. I didn't think that vine grew on this part of Tatooine." When he had first moved to Tatooine years before, he'd studied up on all of the flora and fauna of the planet.

Padme's eyes widened. She could see the horror and the grief in Obi-Wan's eyes. She gripped his hand tightly. "Is there an anti-toxin?"

Obi-Wan tried to keep his voice steady. "Yes, but it only works if it's administered within a couple of hours after contact." Stay strong. She needs you to be strong.

"And if it isn't?"

Despite Obi-Wan's best efforts, tears began to fall from his eyes. "There's nothing that can be done. The poison attacks the central nervous system."

Padme tried to let it all sink in. "How long do I have?"

Obi-Wan was losing his battle for control. "Most people…die within twenty-four…hours." He pulled Padme closer to him. He couldn't lose her! How could he make it without her?

Padme put her hand on her husband's wet cheek and looked into his glistening eyes. "It's supposed to be this way, my love." He shook his head, not wanting to accept it. Padme stroked his face. "Yes, it is. Ever since our stay on Dagobah, I've known that I was to go first."

Obi-Wan looked at her questioningly. "You mean, Yoda told you that?"

"Yes, after I asked him." Padme kissed his hand. "Obi, will you please get me my journal? It's in the drawer of my nightstand."

Obi-Wan reached into the drawer and pulled out the datapad. He handed it to her in a daze. This couldn't be happening! Please tell me this isn't real!

"Thank you. I want to write my final goodbye to Luke and Leia while I still have use of my faculties." She could feel Obi-Wan start to shake as sobs wracked his body. She nestled herself into his arms, holding him tight.

Several hours later, Obi-Wan still held Padme in his arms. He could feel her getting weaker and weaker. Her breathing had become more labored.

"Obi?"

"Yes, my love?"

"Despite everything that's happened, …these have been the happiest ten years of my life."

Obi-Wan kissed the top of her head. "Mine, too."

"You're strong, Obi-Wan. You'll get through this. You'll…go on and complete your mission."

Obi-Wan tried to keep his voice steady. "I can't see how I'll get through a day without you here."

"You will." Padme could feel her strength fading fast. "Obi, I need you…to promise me something."

"Anything."

"When the time is right, have Luke and Leia…come here together. I want them…to read my journal first and then…look at all the holopics. This is our home. This is…where I spent the happiest ten years of my life, …so I want them to come HERE."

"Of course, I promise."

Padme sighed and closed her eyes. She knew her time was near. She could almost sense the Force beckoning her. "I love you, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Remember that…I will be waiting…for you."

Tears slid down Obi-Wan's face. He could feel that she would be leaving him soon. "I love you too, Padme Kenobi. I will be looking forward to the time when I can join you." He held her tight and stroked her face. He could feel her start to slip away. His voice cracked as he said, "I'll miss you."

Padme smiled weakly. "I'll…miss you…too." With one last shaky breath, Padme was gone.

Obi-Wan cried, rocking his wife's lifeless form in his arms.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Six years later, Obi-Wan came back inside the hut after meditating. The pinks and peaches of dawn were starting to shine on the horizon. He started a kettle for tea and went to the fresher. He looked at himself in the mirror and shook his head. I look ancient. His hair was now white. He'd let his beard grow back. All he had left to him was his last mission as a Jedi, so he'd wanted to look more like he had as a Jedi.

Padme was right. Trauma does age you before your time. He studied his image in the mirror and thought that he looked a good ten years older than he was. He shook his head as he got undressed. He hadn't exactly been taking care of himself well these last six years, either. He'd stopped working on his katas, stopped practicing with his lightsaber completely. He hadn't kept himself up physically at all. He knew he'd be a lot slower now with the lightsaber or any strenuous physical activity.

Obi-Wan knew that Padme would not approve of the way he'd let himself go. He just couldn't find it in himself to care too much about anything, aside from fulfilling his mission and then joining Padme in the Force. He spent a lot of time outside, despite the heat. He found it hard to stay in the home he'd shared with Padme for so long. He'd packed away all of the holodisks, along with her journal (which he'd never read) and the poem she'd written him, in a trunk. He just couldn't bear their memories.

And now, as he sat drinking his tea, he could sense the Force calling him. He knew it was time to start his final mission. It was time to meet up with Luke Skywalker.