Chapter 19 Friendship and Brotherhood
There was silence in the kitchen for a several minutes when Zak brought his stack of plates in from the dining room. Zak gauged the silence carefully before finally speaking.
"If you come to Coruscant to work for Chancellor Organa, we might get to work together." He said.
The silence continued.
"And you won't loose track of Gemma." Zak continued.
More silence.
"You know, I think we worked pretty well together." Zak persisted and glanced momentarily at Boba, who was….smiling.
"Yes, me and my lightsaber and you and your blaster. We took care of those battle droids, didn't we?" Zak went on.
"Well, until you got yourself thumped." Boba replied.
Zak smiled, yes; this was what he wanted, "But that was your fault." He answered good-naturedly.
"Well, alright; but I saved you in the end." Boba admitted.
"I know; you see, we make a good team." Zak said.
"But I'm not a Jedi." Boba replied.
"It doesn't matter; Master Obi-Wan has friends that aren't Jedi. Master Anakin's not a Jedi." Zak answered.
"But he was. I don't have this Force-thing that you all do." Boba said.
"So; you have other things that make up for it." Zak told him.
"What?" Boba asked.
Jobal was standing outside the kitchen when Padme came into the hallway.
"What…" Padme began.
"Shhh." Jobal hushed and gestured into the kitchen.
Padme peered in to see Boba scraping food scraps off the plates and then handing them to Zak who loaded them into the dishwasher. More importantly, they were talking. Padme turned around and went back out to the dining room to tell Anakin.
"Well, you're very clever at getting out of trouble." Zak offered.
"Yeah, and getting into it." Boba added.
"And you're good in a fight." Zak tried again.
"Well, I had to be didn't I." Boba answered.
"I would have had my hands full if you had decided not to come with us." Zak replied.
"Heh, heh; yeah, maybe. But I was the one who got you into trouble in the first place." Boba argued.
"I know; but I think I would have been in trouble anyway if I had to handle all those droids myself." Zak countered.
"I don't know about that; you're pretty good with that laser sword of yours." Boba told him.
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Anakin was gone when she entered the dining room; she looked out to see him standing behind Obi-Wan rubbing the older man's shoulder. She watched for a few minutes, just observing the closeness of these two men, these two brothers before going out to join them.
"Well, it worked; I knew it would." She announced as she closed the door behind her.
They turned to look in her direction.
"They're talking then." Obi-Wan said.
"Yes, like old friends." Padme answered happily.
"Well, then maybe he'll take the Chancellor's offer." Anakin added hopefully.
"I hope so." Obi-Wan replied.
"So, what are you two up to?" Padme asked.
"Just talking." Anakin answered.
"Talking; about what?" Padme asked.
Neither one of them answered.
"About your nightmare?" Padme asked. "I think you should show him, Anakin."
"What's this; you told her I wanted to see it?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Well, yes." Anakin answered. "She knew something was bothering me the night you asked. I don't keep secrets anymore, Obi-Wan."
"Yes, you do; that nightmare is your secret." Obi-Wan said.
"I told you about it, isn't that enough?" Anakin asked.
"No; because you're still alone with it." Obi-Wan answered. "Share it with me, Anakin; and we can work through this together."
"But it's horrible; I couldn't hurt you like that." Anakin protested.
Obi-Wan stood up and turned to face him. He put his hands on his shoulders and looked him straight in the eye. Anakin looked away.
"Don't look away, Anakin." Obi-Wan told him.
Anakin looked back at him, and he saw, what he had always seen but had sometimes…many times ignored – compassion.
"I've watched you grow up, my brother. I've always wanted what was best for you; you know that, don't you?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Yes." Anakin answered quietly.
"And what's best right now is for you to share this terrible nightmare with me." Obi-Wan said.
"But not for you, Obi-Wan." Anakin replied.
"Why not?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Because you're…" Anakin stopped, searching for the word.
"Fragile." Padme finished.
"What?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Since Baylor Grant. That whole thing hurt you deeply, Obi-Wan. Seeing this nightmare…at least right now…well, it's just not a good idea." Anakin answered.
Obi-Wan dropped his hands, sighed and walked into the house without saying another word.
"I didn't mean to do that." Anakin said regretfully.
"What did you do, love?" Padme asked.
"Hurt him…again." Anakin answered. "I'm always doing that."
"Hurt him? How?" Padme asked.
"He wants to help me and I won't let him. That hurts him." Anakin told her.
"Oh, Annie," She said putting her arms around him, "you're as worried about him as he is about you. Maybe you should show him; you did say he was better."
"Better, yes; but not ready for this." Anakin replied.
"Don't you think that's his decision to make?" Padme asked.
Anakin pulled away from her and walked to the edge of veranda. She came up behind him, put her hands around his waist and rested her head on his back.
"I think you're just using that as an excuse. You still think he'll turn away from you in disgust; don't you." Padme said. "He won't, you know; and if you love him the way he loves you, you should see that."
"I know." Anakin sighed. "But the fear is still here." He said pointing to his heart.
"Then let the fear go, my love, and open your mind to your brother." Padme told him.
"But I'm still worried about him, Padme." Anakin replied.
"I know you are; but I really think you should trust his judgment on this." Padme countered.
"Alright; I'll sleep on it." Anakin said. "Now, let's go back in and see what those two boys are up to."
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"Ah, but with the added fire power of you blaster, we took those droids out in record time." Zak said, brandishing a table knife like a sword.
"So it's to be fight then?" Boba asked playfully as he picked up another table knife.
"Prepare to defend yourself, bounty hunter." Zak answered, taking up a fighting stance.
"You are no match for me, Jedi." Boba replied as he took a stab at Zak who blocked it easily.
"Oh, you'll have to better than that, bounty hunter." Zak said as he stabbed at Boba.
Boba leaped back to avoid it, "not fast enough, Jedi." He said as he moved to Zak's right.
"What are they doing now?" Padme asked as she and Anakin joined Jobal.
"Playing." Jobal answered.
"Where's Obi-Wan; I thought he'd be here?" Anakin asked.
"I don't know, I haven't seen Master Kenobi since just after dinner when he went outside." Jobal replied.
"Well, I'm going to break up this fight and go find him." Anakin said as he started into the kitchen.
"Oh, Annie; leave them be. This is probably the most fun Boba has had in a long time." She said as she grabbed his arm. "It's good for him; for both of them."
"Alright; but don't let them get too carried away." Anakin conceded leaving mother and daughter to watch the antics being played out in Padme's kitchen.
Anakin first tried the front sitting room to find only Ruwee reading the latest news off a data pad.
"Have you seen Master Kenobi, Ruwee?" He asked.
"No, not since dinner." Ruwee answered.
"Oh, well if he comes in here, could you tell him I'm looking for him?" Anakin requested.
"Yes, of course, Anakin; is there something wrong?" Ruwee asked.
"A little, yes; I just need to talk to him." Anakin answered vaguely and left the room.
"Alright, you can't hide from me, Master." He said aloud, then closed his eyes and reached out…
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What had started out as a game in the kitchen turned competitive, at least on Boba Fett's part. Boba shoved Zak hard against the wall.
"Boba, what are you doing?" Zak asked, trying to understand what had gone wrong.
Boba did not answer but took two steps in Zak's direction.
"Stop it, Boba." Zak said, as Boba took one more step waving the knife in Zak's face.
"So much for the Jedi." He said. "I beat you, again."
"We were fooling around, Boba; not competing with each other." Zak told him.
"Oh, does that mean you think you can beat me?" Boba asked.
"I don't want to fight you." Zak answered.
Boba stepped back, looked at the knife in his hand and then at what he thought would have been his first friend. What had he done? He dropped the knife, "I…I'm sorry." He mumbled and turned quickly to leave the kitchen.
Padme, who had nearly gone into the room to break up the fight, now stood back with Jobal as they waited to see what would happen next. Zak, she knew, would not let the incident prevent him from breaking through Boba's tough outer defenses. What Boba would do, however, was unknown. They saw Boba drop the knife and turn in their direction to leave the kitchen.
Zak put his hand on Boba's arm, "it's alright, Boba. We just got a little carried away; that's all." He said.
"No, I got carried away. I'm just not used to fooling around; you know?" Boba replied.
"Yes, I think I do." Zak answered, sympathetically. "You're father…oh, I'm sorry."
"That's alright; but I think I know what you wanted to say. I never played at fighting; my father always said it was deadly serious. I used to practice with the younger Clones; you know, trying to be the toughest." Boba explained. "I had to always win or Dad would have been disappointed."
Zak nodded in understanding.
"Anyway, I'm sorry; and if you really need…well, if you still want…could we…" Boba stammered.
"Be friends; yes." Zak finished for him moving his from Boba's arm and extending it.
Boba smiled, a little shyly, and then grasped Zak's hand. "Friends?" He said.
"Always." Zak answered.
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He was outside; Anakin could feel him there, could see him there sitting on the lawn near the pond. He went out to join him. For a few minutes, they sat there together quietly, listening to the night sounds.
"I'm sorry, Obi-Wan." Anakin said, breaking the silence. "I know you want to help me, but I…I'm afraid."
"Afraid of what, Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked turning to look at him.
For a moment, Anakin did not answer. Then he sighed and took a deep breath, "I'm afraid that you'll turn away from me once you've seen…it." He answered.
"Never, Anakin; I could never do that." Obi-Wan assured him. "No matter how terrible it is. I love you like a brother; don't you know that?"
"I know; but I'm also worried about you." Anakin added.
"And I know that; but, Anakin, I'm alright now." Obi-Wan told him.
"I know you think you are." Anakin replied. "I just don't want to burden you with this too."
"Well, I'm asking you to, please." Obi-Wan said.
Again, Anakin sighed and then closed his eyes, "Alright; but if it gets to be too much, please stop me." He answered.
"I will." Obi-Wan promised.
Anakin shifted to face Obi-Wan, palms met and eyes closed….