I hope you all had a merry Christmas! Thanks so much for your wonderful reviews!

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Anakin paused in front of Obi-Wan's door on his way back from the mess hall. He smiled upon sensing that his master was asleep, and he continued on to his own quarters. He decided to give Padme a call. Her smiling face soon appeared on the holocom.

"Hi, Anakin."

"Hi, Honey. I just thought you might like to know that Obi-Wan arrived safely."

"Oh, good. Thank you for letting me know."

Anakin shook his head and snorted. "He already has an admirer."

Padme schooled her features. "Oh, really?" She hoped that she sounded nonchalant.

"You know that woman journalist that I told you about?"

"You mean the one who never smiles?"

"Yeah, well, she's all smiles ever since Obi-Wan got here. I have the feeling that she asked to be assigned to Fembrak because she wanted to cover Obi-Wan – literally and figuratively. But then she got here and found out that he wasn't here, and wouldn't be for a long time."

"Ah, so she took her disappointment out on you."

"That's my theory. I just hope she doesn't become a nuisance and follow his every move."

"Maybe you should try and keep her away from him." Please keep her away from him!

Anakin rolled his eyes. "Trying to keep Obi-Wan's admirers away from him would be a full-time job. It's been like this as long as I've known him! What IS it about him, anyway?" Anakin sniffed petulantly. "I'm taller and stronger than he is. And I'm not exactly unattractive."

You're also not exactly humble. "Of course you're attractive, Anakin. It's just that some people have a lot of charisma – they naturally draw others to them. I think Obi-Wan is one of those people."

"Hmph. It gets rather annoying after a while."

"Oh, come on. It's not like you don't get your share of attention."

"Not like he does! And he doesn't even try!"

Padme hated it when Anakin sulked, so she changed the subject. "How does it feel to have The Team together again?"

A ready smiled came to Anakin's face. "Wonderful. Although, you were right about how tired he is. I made him take a nap."

Padme's eyebrows arched up. "You MADE him take a nap?"

"Okay, maybe 'made' is too strong a word. I strongly encouraged him to take a nap. Better?"

"A bit more believable. I'm glad he's taking a nap. But I'm afraid he's going to need more than just one nap to make up for running himself ragged the way he has."

"I'll keep an eye on him and try to make sure he gets the rest he needs."

"Good. Also, be sure he doesn't try to handle every single detail himself. From what I hear, he's still going to be doing some strategizing for the Republic on top of running things there in the Outer Rim. Encourage him to delegate whenever possible."

"I will." Anakin bit his lip as he saw the relief on Padme's face. "How are things going with you?" He tried to push aside the thought that Padme seemed a bit TOO concerned about Obi-Wan.

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Padme put her face in her hands after ending the call with Anakin. She had seen the look Anakin had given her after expressing her concerns about Obi-Wan. Real smooth, Padme! Oh yeah, she was doing a wonderful job of hiding her feelings for Obi-Wan!

A pang of guilt hit her. Here she was, hiding from her husband her love for his best friend. On top of that, she had to hide from the man she loved the fact the she was married. Padme knew that she would have to be more careful. She needed to talk with Obi-Wan. She really hoped he would call her soon, she needed the comfort he always brought to her.

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Anakin walked up to Obi-Wan's door with another tray full of food. He could sense that Obi-Wan was still asleep, so he just let himself in. He used the Force to turn on the light as he set the tray on the table. To his surprise, Obi-Wan didn't even twitch. Obi-Wan was normally a light sleeper. Anakin's concern for his master inched even higher. He placed his hand on Obi-Wan's bare shoulder and shook gently. "Master?"

Obi-Wan groaned and proceeded to bury his face further into the pillow.

"Master?" Anakin shook him again.

Obi-Wan's eyes slowly flittered open. He immediately shut them again as the light assaulted them. He slowly sat up and carefully opened his eyes to peek at Anakin.

"I brought dinner, Master."

Obi-Wan was suddenly very awake. "DINNER? I told you not to let me sleep too long!"

"You obviously needed it." Anakin eyed the dark circles underneath Obi-Wan's eyes. And you need even more.

"Do you ever listen to me?"

Anakin grinned. "Once in a while."

Obi-Wan snorted as he put his under-tunic back on. "Yeah."

"Master, it's just us. You don't need to put your shirt on."

Obi-Wan scrunched up his face in distaste. "Sitting at the dinner table without a shirt is…uncivilized."

Only Obi-Wan! Chuckling, Anakin sat down at the table. "I've missed you, Master."

Though he wouldn't admit it, Obi-Wan was too tired to argue with Anakin about the whole 'master' thing again. He sat down and smiled at his former apprentice. "You missed ignoring my words in person, is that it?"

"Something like that."

Obi-Wan eyed Anakin as he cut up his steak. "You might want to go pack after you're done eating."

"Pack? What do you mean?"

"You're leaving for Coruscant tomorrow. You're getting a whole week there to relax. You've earned it."

"But…" Anakin normally would have been thrilled at that kind of news, but he wasn't now. He wanted to stay around Obi-Wan for a while and make sure he got the rest he needed. If he left now, Obi-Wan would do what he normally did and run himself ragged. "You only just arrived, Master."

Obi-Wan gave Anakin a questioning look. "Yes, which means you are free to take your leave."

"I appreciate that you got me leave, but I would prefer not to take it right now." How was he going to explain this to Obi-Wan?

"The ability to take your leave may not be around too long, Anakin. The Separatists are already regrouping after their defeat here. It won't be long before they try to establish their own base here in the Outer Rim." Obi-Wan frowned slightly. "WHY don't you want to go right now? Does this have anything to do with our conversation before I took my nap?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"Because I know you. You want to watch over me and make sure I take it easy, right?"

Anakin knew it was pointless to try and deny it. "You need your rest! If I go right now, you're going to shrug off your fatigue and take up the weight of the galaxy on your shoulders again. If I'm here, you can at least delegate some of your tasks to me."

"You've been talking to Padme, haven't you?"

"As a matter of fact, I have. We're both worried about you."

"It's a conspiracy." Obi-Wan ran his hands down his face, as though to wipe a way his fatigue. Sometimes just being around Anakin could wear him out. "Neither of you are going to let this drop, are you?"

"No, we're not." Anakin didn't want to admit another fear of his. What if something happened to Obi-Wan while he was gone? Obi-Wan was back out in the field where it was dangerous. He should be there to protect his back.

Obi-Wan could see the fierce determination in Anakin's eyes. But he could also see the fear. Fear of losing him. "Anakin, your being here is no assurance that nothing will happen to me."

Anakin was a bit surprised that Obi-Wan could see through to the real issue. "Maybe not, but it certainly reduces the odds."

"You need to deal with your fear of loss, Anakin. It can lead to trouble."

"Master, please don't lecture me about this!" Why couldn't Obi-Wan understand? "You know how it feels to lose a master."

"Yes, I do."

"You loved Qui-Gon, didn't you? You were emotionally attached to him?"

"Yes, I did love him like a father. But in the end, I was able to let Qui-Gon go. Even the Council knows that it's pretty much impossible to go through life without any kind of emotional attachment. But an attachment does become a real problem when we are unwilling to let that person go. It hinders us from being able to do our duty and put the greater good first."

Anakin sighed in frustration. It always came back to duty! "It isn't that simple! You aren't just like a father, but also a brother, a best friend, a comrade…sometimes I feel like you're my other half. I can't lose you!"

Obi-Wan was taken aback at the vehemence of Anakin's words. He was momentarily speechless.

Anakin tried to read Obi-Wan's eyes, considering he was shielding from him. "Don't you understand? Do you not feel any of those things for me?"

"Anakin, of course I do. You know that. But I would like to think, despite my emotional attachment to you, that I would do my duty and put the greater good first should it ever come down to that. And I would also like to think that you would do the same. If it ever came down to saving others or saving me, I would want you to save the others."

"I know you would, Master." Although, I can't promise that I would be able to do that.

"Will you go to Coruscant tomorrow?"

"I will go sometime soon, but not tomorrow."

Obi-Wan ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "All right, Anakin. I won't force you to go." He looked across the table at the young man he loved, but who also had the ability to exasperate him like no other. "I appreciate your concern for me, Anakin, but I want something straight right now. I do NOT want to be mothered."

"I don't try to mother you, Master."

"Yes, you do. Sometimes I think you see me as a helpless child or a fragile piece of glass."

"I don't mean to give you that impression!" How could Anakin explain this to Obi-Wan, when he didn't fully understand it himself? How could he explain the fear that coiled around his heart at the thought of losing him or Padme, as he'd lost his mother? Anakin looked down at his plate, not able to hold his master's gaze. "I just…I just worry about you."

All of the words Padme had spoken of Anakin's dependence on him were being confirmed. Obi-Wan knew he couldn't lecture Anakin anymore. He also knew he couldn't flat-out address the dependence issue. Neither scenario would turn out well. Obi-Wan was at a loss as to the best way to handle the situation.