"Ani!" Padmé cried as he docked his speeder at her private landing platform. "Ani, I'm so glad you're all right. I saw the smoke coming from the Temple and I feared the worst."
Holding the box safely in his right hand, Anakin embraced her as soon as she was within reach. He could feel the swell of their child as she pressed herself close to him. Anakin once again reminded himself that it wasn't only Obi-Wan he needed to be concerned about, but Padmé and their child as well. He would not deprive his child of its mother if he could prevent it.
Pulling back, she lifted her hands to frame his face, peering up at him with teary eyes. "Is it true what the HoloNet says? Have Obi-Wan and the rest of the Jedi Masters been killed?"
Squeezing his eyes shut tight against his own tears, Anakin nodded his head. "It's true. The Sith have gained the upper hand and I could very well be the last Jedi in the Republic…. The younglings…."
Anakin stumbled away from his wife's embrace, unwilling to taint her or their child with his actions. Shoving the box into her hands, he immediately bolted to the 'fresher, barely reaching the sink before he vomited up the little he'd eaten that day. He knelt panting, his forehead pressed against the rim of the sink. He had murdered children, some of them as young as three. Yet he knew that he would do it again if it meant saving Obi-Wan's life.
"Ani, are you all right?" Padmé murmured, turning on the faucet and dampening a cloth. Lifting his head, she dabbed at his cheeks and forehead, her eyes fixed on him.
Anakin jerked his head, nodding briefly. "Fine. I'm fine, Padmé."
"You don't need to lie to me, Ani," Padmé chided, wiping the cloth briefly across his lower lip. "I may be pregnant, but I'm not a delicate flower. Obi-Wan just died. He was your best friend and you loved him. You don't have to pretend in front of me. I'm not a Jedi, I won't ban you from showing your emotions."
"If I give into what I'm feeling, I doubt I'll be able to get off this floor," Anakin whispered, scrubbing his hands over his face. "I have to be fine. Until I kill the ones who murdered Obi-Wan I can't be anything other than fine."
Pursing his lips, Anakin sat back on his heels before rising to his full height. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. He could not afford to appear weak, not even in front of Padmé. A Sith lord could not be weak, not even one as newly named to the obscure Order as him. As much as he would like to deny it, he was no longer Anakin Skywalker. His new name was Darth Vader, a vile name for a vile persona.
"You, my young padawan, should be sleeping in the bunk above me," Obi-Wan chided, his voice thick with exhaustion. "It might not be the most comfortable, but it I'll wager it is better than the floor. How long have I been sleeping, anyway?"
"Clearly not long enough. You look terrible," he teased, stretching his back to work out the kinks. "How are you feeling?"
Obi-Wan was silent for a moment, carefully stretching out his body, feeling for different aches and pains. "Slightly more like myself than when I fell asleep."
"I'm glad," Anakin whispered, glancing down at his lap where his hands were fidgeting. "It means that things can be normal again soon…. I don't ever want to have another master or another partner. There's no one else I trust as completely as I do you."
"I'm very honoured that you hold me in such high regard," Obi-Wan yawned, his eyelids already blinking heavily. "Perhaps I can use this to my advantage and convince you to listen to me from time to time."
"Promise me that you won't die and I won't question your orders ever again," Anakin said quickly, his eyes flitting up to meet Obi-Wan's gaze for a brief moment.
Sighing, Obi-Wan broke the gaze by lowering his eyelids. "You know that I can't promise you something like that, Anakin. It is something that is beyond my control. I can promise you, though, that I will do everything in my power to always return to you."
"You need to go to Naboo," Anakin said once he was sure that his voice wouldn't tremble. "Go to the lake district—to that place we stayed when I was protecting you –and stay there till I come for you."
"Ani, what are you—"
"It's not safe here," Anakin interrupted her, reaching forward to cup her cheek. It was odd not to feel the rasp of a beard against his palm, but he forced that thought away. "There's so much going on and I can't risk you or our child being hurt in it all. Not when I've just lost Obi-Wan."
Padmé must have read the anguish in his features because she brought both hands up to frame his cheeks. "Then come with me. If the Jedi are being slaughtered then you're not safe either. The Sith will destroy you just like they did Obi-Wan."
Anakin staggered backwards, out of her reach. "No. No, Padmé, I won't be the one destroyed. Nor will I go into hiding while Obi-Wan's murderer remains unpunished. Grievous and the fool who fired that blaster will die by my hand."
"Anakin," Padmé whispered, her hands fluttering in the air between them. "Anakin, please don't do this. Come with me to Naboo. We can hide there, no one will ever find us. Please, Ani."
"I have to do this. Obi-Wan's my best friend."
"You loved him," Padmé finished sadly.
"I love him," Anakin murmured, nodding his head. "Obi-Wan means more to me than I could ever say and I will do whatever I have to in order to save him."
Sneaking past Padmé, Anakin returned to the common room of the apartment where she had left the box. Picking it up from the table, Anakin slid his left hand over the lid, feeling the different bumps and indentations.
"I need you to guard this box, Padmé," Anakin murmured when he heard her enter the room. "Take it with you to Naboo and kept it safe. This is all that I have left of Obi-Wan."
Anakin held the box out towards her, gripping it tightly to mask the trembling of his hand. She stared at it for several long seconds and for an instant he feared that she wouldn't take it. That she would deny him this when he had already given up so much for her. He had denied everything he'd held faith in since he was a nine year old boy to love her. It was surely not too much to ask that she safeguard his one true possession.
"I will take it only if you promise me that it won't end up being all that I have left of you," Padmé said at last, holding her hands out to accept the box.
Anakin didn't ask how she knew what the box contained, merely handed it over to her after whispering his promise that he would do everything he could to return to her and their child. He could do what he had to do now. And afterwards, even if Padmé never spoke to him again, he would know that she and their child were safe. That he would have done everything he could to save them and Obi-Wan.
Running his fingers over the lid of the box a final time, Anakin turned back to his speeder. Obi-Wan's body was being transported back to Coruscant and Anakin wanted to be there when it arrived. The only reason he hadn't insisted on being the one to bring it back from Utapau was because he trusted Cody. The clone might not have been able to save Obi-Wan's life, but he would make sure that his body was brought back safely.
Cody could not stop the tremor that shook his body as he once again looked through the door's observation window. It was not that the red-cloaked guard had caused the vulnerable Jedi further harm, but that he was still so unearthly silent. Even when he was meditating, General Kenobi was still very much alive, if a little distant. The general hadn't even been placed in a comfortable position should he rouse from whatever stupor he was in. He was sprawled in an ungainly heap, his cloak tangled about his limbs. Cody would have remedied the situation only he hadn't been granted the access codes to get into the detention room. Only the Chancellor's guards had those codes.
It was still many hours before they would arrive on Coruscant and even longer, he feared, before General Skywalker would learn of his friend's fate. What would happen in between only the Chancellor knew. General Skywalker could very well already be the Chancellor's prisoner, the two Jedi meant to be part of a spectacle that would truly signal the end of the Republic and the beginning of the Chancellor's Empire.
Anakin awoke from a slight doze, surprised to find himself lying on a comfortable surface. Even more surprising was the warm body resting against his left side. He was about to murmur Padmé's name when instinct forced him to halt with her name still on his lips. Because it wasn't Padmé that was lying next to him. Still feigning sleep, Anakin rolled onto his side, peeking at the bunk's other occupant under his eyelashes as he lazily flopped an arm over his bedmate's stomach. The action would have been expected if he'd truly been asleep, but also offered him comfort since it was no longer the will of his imagination that created the sight.
"I know that you're awake, Anakin," Obi-Wan grumbled, his eyes still shut. "And if you insist on fantasizing about Padmé, I would appreciate if you'd keep me out of it."
Instantly contrite, Anakin ducked his head down. He didn't, however, remove his arm from Obi-Wan's middle. "How did I end up in the bed?"
"You were such a pathetic sight curled up beside my bunk that I took pity on you," Obi-Wan revealed, grin evident in his voice.
"Thank you, Master."
Obi-Wan was silent for a moment then his left hand rose to rest overtop of Anakin's right one. "I take it that you haven't been sleeping well in my absence. You didn't even stir as I lifted you up and it was hardly a graceful maneuver. Was it nightmares again?"
Anakin shuddered, fumbling his right hand so that he was able to grip Obi-Wan's fingers with his unfeeling mechno-hand. It didn't surprise him that Obi-Wan was able to sense the emotions whirling in him and he was instantly comforted when Obi-Wan's free hand wrapped itself around his shoulders. He snuggled deeper against Obi-Wan's side, relaxing bonelessly against him. Anakin was relieved when Obi-Wan didn't attempt to push him away and insist that the Code forbid such intimacies as he had so many times in the past. Instead, Obi-Wan seemed to be receiving the same comfort from the embrace.
So relaxed, Anakin didn't even notice when he drifted back to sleep.
As Anakin had hoped, that memory helped to calm his mind before he climbed out of his speeder after his return to the Senate building. He needed to find out how soon it would be before Obi-Wan was returned to him, safe and alive. Palpatine would discover just how foolish it was to promise things he couldn't deliver on. Especially not when it concerned Obi-Wan. Palpatine should have known him well enough to be aware of how important Obi-Wan was to him after thirteen years.
"Lord Sidious is expecting you," one of Palpatine's Royal Guards said as Anakin approached the office.
"Good," Anakin growled, not pausing as he stalked past the red-cowled bodyguard.
That he was expected meant that there was likely some news about Obi-Wan. It was still far too soon for the survivors of the battle on Utapau, but there could have been some communication between the battle cruiser and Coruscant.
Yet the closer he got to Palpatine's office, the more Anakin's rage increased. As much as he wanted to remain calm, Anakin blamed Palpatine for Obi-Wan's death. Things had become increasingly out of control after Palpatine had named him his representative to the Jedi Council. Whatever trust the Masters had had in Senate had been completely obliterated once a spy had been placed in their midst. Even Obi-Wan had been wary of his new appointment, though not for the same reasons as the rest of the Council. Obi-Wan had been worried about him when it was his own well being he should have been more concerned about. And it was because of his friendship with Palpatine that he had been ordered to stay behind while his former Master went off to confront General Grievous.
"I hear that you lost your temper while on your mission to the Jedi Temple, my young apprentice," Palpatine said as soon as he entered the office. It had only been a few hours since a battle had taken place in that very room, but it was already immaculate; the plasteel window repaired, broken furniture replaced and all of the undamaged artifacts back in their proper place.
"The clones desecrated an area they had no business in," Anakin replied, crossing his arms over his chest. The gesture was far less menacing without his Jedi robes, but it had been destroyed when the clone troopers had blown up the door and he hadn't thought to replace it with another from his and Obi-Wan's rooms. "It was a rash act, but I do not repent it."
"Nor should you, Lord Vader," Palpatine drawled as he crossed the room to stand in front of Anakin. "The clones are nothing but tools to be wielded and discarded when they no longer serve their purpose."
Though he disagreed with the statement, Anakin made no comment on it. While the rest of the Senate and even a good portion of the Jedi still thought of the clones as just that—clones. Anakin knew different, though. They were individuals who just happened to look identical. Cody and Alpha were two that Anakin held in the highest regard. They'd both made sure that Obi-Wan came back safely to him when they were separated either by orders or happenstance.
"What's happening with Obi-Wan?" Anakin demanded of his new master. "How long before I can see him again?"
"You must be patient, my apprentice," Palpatine chided, scowling briefly in Anakin's direction. "It will take some time for the cruiser to reach Coruscant and even then it will be some time before General Kenobi can be healed."
"But he's dead!" Anakin shouted, flinging his arms out wide. "His body is rotting with every second that passes and the longer we wait the more damage that will be done!"
Palpatine looked more annoyed than anything following Anakin's outburst. "You worry too much, my dear boy. General Kenobi has been placed in stasis. There will be no change to his physiology by the time he is returned to you."
Scowling, Anakin began to pace. He wanted Obi-Wan to be with him now, where he was safe. It would just take a little bit longer. Very soon everything could be okay. Obi-Wan would be alive and Anakin could put this entire mess behind him. He could denounce his allegiance to the Sith and help to fix what he had broken. Then he and Obi-Wan could rebuild the Jedi Order.
"You seem distracted, my young apprentice," Palpatine mused, returning once again to his desk. "You need something to focus your energies on. I have a mission for you, one that should keep you occupied while your former master is being prepared."
The way Palpatine spoke made Anakin uneasy as though there was a slime that coated the words. Neither did he like the plans Palpatine had for him. He had been ordered to go to Mustafar and kill the Separatist leaders hiding there. Even after they'd commandeered Nute Gunray's mechno-chair and the holotransceiver it contained, the Jedi hadn't had such a clear chance of ending the war. With all Separatist leaders destroyed there would no longer be a need for the war. The fighting would be ended and the lives of so many clones would be saved. Cody and Alpha would be safe and so would Obi-Wan.
"Your starfighter has been given a maintenance check and is ready for you to leave immediately," Palpatine concluded, his twisted features looking entirely too smug. "Your artoo unit is in the hanger waiting for you."
Taking the cue to leave, Anakin turned on his heel and exited the office. He could easily get in touch with Cody via his ship's comlink. He could keep track of the other ship's progress to Coruscant and make sure that Obi-Wan was kept safe.
Anakin entered their quarters, expecting to see Obi-Wan lying on the sofa. Obi-Wan had promised that he would stay on the sofa and rest while he went to get them something to eat as their own kitchen was severely low on supplies. Hurrying through the common room, Anakin set the containers down on the low table in front of the sofa, continuing past it to Obi-Wan's bedroom.
"Master!" Anakin shouted as he palmed open the door. "Obi-Wan!"
The bed was empty as was the rest of the room. Now that he was in the room, Anakin could hear the water running in the 'fresher. Anakin burst into the room, his eyes instantly locking on Obi-Wan's hazy image through the steam-fogged door of the shower. Not thinking, Anakin rushed across the small space, throwing open the door.
"Anakin!" Obi-Wan cried, spinning about and nearly losing his balance. He cupped his hands over his groin, attempting to glare at the younger man. "Is there any specific reason you chose to interrupt my shower?"
"You said that you were going to stay on the sofa," Anakin mumbled, scrubbing a hand over his forehead and glancing away. "I got worried."
"And as you can see, I was quite all right for all that you're letting cold air in," Obi-Wan smirked, arching an eyebrow. "Now if you'd be so kind…."
"I'll just, um… I'll go make sure our dinner stays warm," Anakin stammered, shutting the door so that Obi-Wan could continue his shower.
Anakin felt his cheeks flush when Obi-Wan emerged into the common room a short while later, dressed in leggings and a loose tunic. He'd heard the water shut off a short while later and retrieved their dinner from the kitchen along with two glasses jawa juice.
"I'm hungry enough to eat a bantha," Obi-Wan groaned as he slumped down onto the sofa beside Anakin. He glanced at the two meals set on the table, a smile curving his lips. "You went to see Dex."
"I figured that a return from the dead warranted your favourite meal," Anakin whispered, ducking his head slightly. "This is it, right? Dex told me it was so if he was lying…."
"It is," Obi-Wan confirmed, his smile broadening. "Thank you, Anakin."
Anakin returned the smile. "You're welcome, Master."
Slipping into the cockpit of his starfighter, Anakin immediately began strapping himself in. The sooner he dealt with the Separatist leaders on Mustafar the sooner he could return to Coruscant. Everything should be ready by then and then Anakin could put the whole mess behind him.
"We've been ordered to go to Mustafar, Artoo," Anakin sighed as he leaned back in his seat. "That's where the Separatists are and that's how we're going to end this Force forsaken war."
Anakin didn't feel any better for having said it aloud.