Alexis stood in the bathroom, trying to decide what came next. She'd managed to escape dinner without any more serious conversation, but now she wasn't sure what to do. She'd showered and was once again wearing Carth's t-shirt. Why she'd never purchased her own pajamas, she wasn't sure. It wasn't for lack of opportunity. Alexis was suspicious that she'd done it because Carth's smell had helped her relax, even when they were apart.

Alexis stared apprehensively at the door. So, should she just crawl back into Carth's bed to sleep like nothing had changed since their first few nights together? Would he be uncomfortable calling her Alexis? Alexis had often thought about why Carth kept calling her Revan. It had never occurred to her, before tonight, that she's hadn't asked him to. The smile that had lit his face when she had asked had told her that she'd guessed correctly. He'd thought that she didn't want him to.

At least she hadn't been forced to admit her feelings for him. Not yet. She wasn't ready.

So what was she ready for? Lately, she'd been telling everyone who asked her to do anything that she wasn't ready. Well, when would she be ready? She didn't know. But she was going to have to start being ready to do things, to talk about things, to fix things.

Alexis put her hand on the door. She was going to go to him. She didn't want to be alone, even if she couldn't tell him that he was so much more than her friend. Even if she couldn't tell him that she loved him. Alexis stepped out into the hall and looked down to Carth's bedroom. He was standing in the doorway, watching her.

Alexis walked to his side slowly and he offered her his hand. She stood in front of him for a moment, staring at it. After a while, she took it cautiously. Instead of leading her to the bedroom, he swept her up into his arms and carried her there, avoiding looking at her as he did so. When they arrived, he lowered her gently onto the bed and made his way to the other side without a word.

Alexis nestled down beneath the blankets and turned away from him, praying she'd be able to keep her hands to herself. It appeared Carth was having none of that. She felt his warm hand on her back and she shut her eyes tightly.

"Come here, beautiful," he whispered. Alexis rolled over.

"Carth…"

"It's all right. Just let me hold you."

Alexis reluctantly pulled her body against his and Carth wrapped his arms around her. She placed her hands against his chest and Carth gently pressed his lips to her forehead again. Alexis forced her breathing to relax and her heart to steady.

Carth's fingers were lightly toying with her hair. The soft pulling sensation was oddly relaxing. His other hand was tenderly massaging her back. Alexis felt all of her nerves melt away. Force, he was amazing. She could barely think anymore.

After a few moments, Alexis was nearly asleep. She'd been so tired… "Alexis? Are you still awake?" Carth whispered. Alexis didn't answer. She wasn't sure she could have formed words, even if she'd wanted to.

She felt Carth smile against her and her pulled her a bit closer to him. Alexis had to resist the urge to wrap her arms around him. "Goodnight, beautiful," he said quietly. "I love you."

It was ironic that when someone she loved finally professed their love for her, Alexis only managed to restrain herself by using the Jedi techniques that should've kept her from falling in love with him in the first place. Carth drifted almost immediately into a deep sleep after his quiet confession. Alexis was awake for a very, very long time.

Alexis awoke the following morning to Carth looming over her from the end of the bed. He was grinning broadly at her. "I didn't know you knew how to sleep past daybreak," Carth said, motioning towards the window. The sun had just risen over the horizon.

Alexis glanced lazily down at herself. She was barely covered. It appeared she'd kicked the sheet off during the night and Carth's t-shirt was hitched very high up on her thigh. Alexis blushed and started to reach for the sheet but Carth leaned down and caught it before she managed. "It's time to get up, isn't it?"

It was amazing how quickly Carth had gone from constantly nervous and tense in her presence to completely at ease. He didn't even seem to mind depriving her of her decency. Alexis sat up as quickly as she was able and tugged a pillow into her lap. "I probably could have gotten a few more hours of rest if you hadn't bothered me…" she muttered. In truth, she was glad he'd woken her up. Sleeping past sunrise made her uncomfortable. "Why didn't you wake me up when you got up?"

"I thought you'd wake up when I did. I did have to disentangle myself from you when I got out of bed, after all," Carth was still wearing that huge smile.

"What are you so happy about?" Alexis asked suspiciously.

"You were talking in your sleep a little while ago."

Oh no. Alexis didn't even remember what she'd been dreaming about. "Oh?" Alexis responded weakly.

"It was fairly cute. You know, in a pathetic sort of way," Carth said slyly.

"Pathetic!" Alexis said indignantly. "And what exactly did I say?"

"Well, you said that you'd love to go to one of the restoration zones on Telos's surface with me today for a meeting. And then you mentioned that we could have a picnic afterwards."

"You were lying to me!"

"No, you were pretty pathetic." Dignity forgotten, Alexis launched the pillow in her lap at his head. Carth dodged the rather slow-moving projectile and raised his eyebrows at her. "Nice underwear."

Alexis tried to grab another pillow to throw but she missed and nearly rolled off of the bed. Carth practically ran from the room, chuckling to himself. Alexis finally managed to lay her hands on another pillow. Once she had it, she stood quickly and ran after him.

It didn't take long for her to find him. He was standing in the kitchen, holding a piece of fruit in each hand. "So, can we call a truce for breakfast?"

Alexis walked calmly over and retrieved her fruit from his hand. She bit into it while rather casually bonking Carth over the head with the pillow with her free hand. Carth's arm snaked out and caught her around the waist. He spun her around until her back was pressed against him. He fruit flew across the room. She tried to break free but he held her fast.

Alexis was giggling uncontrollably at this point. She'd forgotten how much fun pure silliness could be. Alexis stopped struggling and wrapped her hands around the arm Carth had across her middle for support. He feet weren't even touching the ground anymore.

Carth dropped his fruit onto the counter and wrapped his other arm around her. Alexis wiggled around, trying to break away. It wouldn't have been hard if she'd really wanted down, but she was enjoying herself. The squirming was mostly for Carth's benefit, and he knew it.

"You win," Alexis said finally, sagging against his arm. Carth spun her around to face him in the blink of an eye. "Well hello," Alexis added in surprise.

"Hello yourself." He was very close. Alexis could feel his warm breath on her face. She lifted her arms and carefully placed them behind his neck. Carth gave her a slightly lopsided smile.

Carth let go with one of his arms and placed his hand lightly against the side of her face. Alexis leaned into it, her breath coming quickly. Carth's face came closer to hers and Alexis looked into his eyes, her lips parted in surprise. Just as she was sure he was going to kiss her, someone rang the doorbell. Carth dropped Alexis as if she had burned him.

Alexis looked down and attempted to straighten the dark blue t-shirt she was wearing. Carth straightened his clothing as well and made his way to the door. "Any idea…?" he began.

Alexis shut her eyes and turned her attention to the door. She shook her head slowly… "Wait. Yes… It's Seré. What's she doing here?" Alexis frowned slightly from her position in the doorway between the kitchen and living room.

Carth shrugged and opened the door. Seré stepped inside without so much as an invitation. "Carth, I came by to check on you. You're late for work by almost an hour and you haven't been answering the com," Seré said.

Alexis slid into the living room, idly searching her body for her lightsaber. It appeared that she'd left it in Carth's bedroom. That was disturbing, as she never liked to be parted from it, but at this point, it seemed to be for the best. Seré had once again spoiled things for she and Carth and Alexis wasn't in a very forgiving mood.

Carth glanced at his watch and grimaced slightly. "So I am. I was supposed to be in early this morning, huh?"

Seré nodded curtly. "Yes. You have a meeting in slightly less than an hour. Will you even be going into the office this morning, or shall I just meet you at the transport ship?"

Carth looked back at Alexis, who was distracted, all of a sudden. Something was amiss… Someone who wasn't supposed to be in the apartment was there…

Alexis turned sharply and glanced along the wall near the door. There were two assassins wearing stealth field generators creeping towards the hallway. Alexis raised her hand slowly, palm out, and used Force stasis to freeze both of the Sith in place.

Carth and Seré saw the Sith simultaneously. Seré gasped and Carth reached for his blasters, which were strapped to his hips. Alexis walked calmly towards the assassins, studying them with a critical eye.

"Seré, why is it that you always let the baddies in?" Alexis asked sarcastically. One of the assassins was twitching slightly. "And why do I always have to fight them in nothing but a t-shirt? It will be good to finally get those Jedi robes before this becomes my uniform." Alexis held out a hand and one of Carth's blasters drifted into it. She pressed the blaster to the assassin's chest. Carth did the same to the other man.

As he came to, Alexis jabbed the assassin before her threateningly with the tip of the blaster. "How did you get here? Who is your master?" Alexis asked. The assassin regarded her coolly without answering. "Have any stun cuffs, Carth? It would be easier if we could tie them up and ship them off to the TSF's detention center without me having to keep them in stasis. I'd still rather not be seen."

Alexis turned her head to look at Carth for a split second. The assassin took advantage of her distraction, twisting to the side to escape the blaster. Alexis moved the pistol without looking and fired once, hitting him in the breastbone. He staggered and reached for his swords. Alexis leapt into the air, landing a solid kick in his face. She fired the blaster a final time, catching him in the heart and killing him instantly. The other assassin still had not moved.

"Either my stasis worked a lot better on this fellow or he's brighter than his companion and has decided that he doesn't want to die today," Alexis observed.

Carth leaned forward a bit to look at the man. "I can't see his eyes through this mask to tell you which it is."

"Perhaps…" Alexis shut her eyes and attempted to delve into the assassin's mind. It was well shielded; all of his thoughts and goals were hidden from her. She could, however, knock him out, at least for a time, which she did. He slumped to the floor while she was opening her eyes. "There. Call a few TSF agents. They should be able to haul him off without any trouble now."

"How do you think he got here?" Carth asked. Alexis had been wondering the same thing. It had been far too long for these assassins to have been hidden on the Ebon Hawk or her own small ship.

"I don't know," Alexis said, finally spotting Seré for the first time since the incident began. She was cowering against the far wall, glaring malevolently back at Alexis. "I'm going to go and check the apartment for any further company."

"Be careful," Carth told her. Alexis nodded and disappeared. "Seré, go and call the TSF and request a few soldiers…" Alexis heard Carth order as she left the room.

After a quick sweep of the apartment, Alexis found no more unwanted guests. The TSF agents responded quickly and Carth swept off to fill out the massive amounts of paperwork involved in such an arrest, leaving Alexis alone to quickly prepare for the meeting she'd been roped into for the day.

Alexis sat outside of the transport ship on Telos's surface, fiddling wither lightsaber. She shouldn't have it out, of course. If one of the other diplomats that Carth was here with came by this particular transport, they would see her face and her lightsaber.

Alexis had dropped the cloak almost immediately after the diplomats had disappeared. It was a beautiful day, even though they were in a semi-simulated environment. The warmth from the sun was genuine, however, and Alexis basked in it happily. She hadn't seen grassy slopes like these in quite some time. Most of the worlds in the Unknown Regions had been barren wastelands.

Alexis clipped her saber back on her belt and glanced around. Carth and a few other high-ranking Republic soldiers were helping the Ithorians show visitors around this part of Telos's surface. According to Carth, this zone was one of the healthiest on the planet. Alexis knew that it was beautiful. It looked almost as if nothing had ever happened to it.

Alexis sighed happily and gently rested her back against the transport that she, Carth, and Seré had taken. It was lucky that Carth was a pilot. They hadn't had to bring anyone extra. Well, except for Seré. Alexis wasn't sure what they would do about her, but she was fairly certain that the girl wouldn't leave willingly. It was very likely that there would be a third party at their little picnic.

Alexis chose to ignore that depressing thought. She sat up and tugged off her boots and socks, tossing them away to bury her toes in the grass. It looked as if it would be a fantastic day…

A few hours later, Alexis stared at Carth from across the blanket they were seated on in the grass while attempting to braid her hair. She was having a bit of trouble. Tendrils of it kept escaping and hanging in her face, obstructing her vision and tickling her cheeks. Finally, Alexis sighed and gave up. This braid would just have to do.

Seré glanced over at her. "Is something wrong?" she asked in a seemingly kind tone. Alexis raised an eyebrow at her instead of responding.

Carth was sipping at a cup of java juice, watching her. He hadn't been able to get Seré to take another ship back to the Citadel, but Alexis had given up caring. Perhaps that was for the best, anyway. Their almost-kiss this morning had reminded Alexis that she needed to keep herself firmly in check. She hadn't yet made up her mind what to do about their situation and kissing Carth would only make things worse.

Alexis turned away to stare at the small lake that they were sitting by. It was so tempting… she didn't have any shoes on to ruin, and her clothes would dry… Alexis stood up and turned to Carth again with a brilliant smile. "Care to go for a swim?"

Instead of waiting for his answer, Alexis stood up and sprinted towards the water. She dove in, hitting the cold water with enough force to drive her breath away. She rose to the surface, gasping and grinning, wet bits of her hair trailing down her face. Carth was standing on the shore, watching. "Not going to get in?"

Seré ambled up behind him, a look of distaste on her pretty face. Alexis sloshed her way to the edge of the water and sat down in the shallows. The sandy bottom felt good on her bare feet. "No thanks," Carth said, laughing. "You know, I think that nature removes your inhibitions."

Alexis, feeling brave, gave him a suggestive smile. "Ah, but you're too scared to come in the water and find out."

Carth nodded, glancing back at Seré. "What about you? Are you going to go swimming?"

Seré frowned. "No thanks. I have to go back to work this afternoon, and so do you. She has no job to restrict her actions."

Alexis sighed and stood up. She shook the water slowly from her hair and rubbed it out of her eyes. She wandered back to the shore, wringing out her clothes as she went. Carth and Seré both stepped away from her. "What? Do I have the plague?" She asked, laughing lightly. "Hey Carth, want a hug?"

Carth smiled gently at her. His eyes were warm. "No thanks. I think I'll go pick up that blanket for you, though. You're going to be cold on the ride back."

Alexis shrugged. "Oh well. Party pooper." She turned away from him, spotting something out of the corner of her eye. An Ithorian was making his way towards them. "Ah, Carth, we have company."

Carth turned to follow her gaze. He frowned and glanced back over at her. "Chodo Habat. He's the Ithorian leader here on Telos. I wonder what he wants."

Alexis cocked her head thoughtfully. "I don't know, but he's Force sensitive. He knew who I was before he even saw me."

The Ithorian made his way to their side, his gait slow and easy. He stopped directly in front of Alexis and bowed slowly to her. "Welcome back to Telos, Lady Revan. I am Chodo Habat, the leader of the Restoration Project here and the Ithorians' spiritual guide."

It was clear to Alexis that neither Carth nor Seré spoke Ithorian. They both looked extremely confused. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope you don't mind if I speak to you in Basic. My companions don't seem to speak Ithorian, and though I can do it, my accent is terrible. It's rather difficult to wrap my tongue around," Alexis said, smiling faintly. Dealing with others was always easy for her, even in strange situations.

"I have been meaning to speak to you ever since your arrival here. I believe, however, that you might consider carrying this conversation elsewhere, or attempting to speak Ithorian."

Alexis turned to her companions. "I'm going to speak Ithorian for a few minutes. I hope you all don't mind. I know it's rude but…" She spread her hands helplessly. Carth nodded once and Seré snorted. Alexis broke into slow, halting Ithorian. It was, by far, one of her worst languages and took her a very long time to warm up to. "We can stay here. Just, please, forgive my accent."

"Actually, it is better than I expected."

"What can I do for you, Chodo Habat?"

"It is rather what I can do for you."

"And what is that?"

"It is clear to me that you are in much pain."

"I'm not sure what you mean…" Alexis said, stalling for time. Why was it that everyone felt the need to fix her? Others were entitled to be broken. Was it not her right to be less than whole as well?

"You are worried about many things. The Republic. The Jedi. Your friends. Your love. It is too much for any normal woman to bear. And yet, you, Lady Revan, are no normal woman."

Alexis glanced at Carth out of the corner of her eye, hoping against hope that he did not understand a word of Ithorian. "Please, this isn't something that I wish to speak of."

"Fear not. I do not wish to speak of your mate. Doubtless you have heard enough about your relationship with him. I wish to speak of another matter," the Ithorian said.

Alexis relaxed for an instant before she realized what the Ithorian had called Carth. "My mate?" Alexis responded incredulously, only just remembering to use Ithorian when she spoke.

"Of course. He is the mate of your soul, is he not?"

Alexis sighed. So, the Ithorian thought that Carth was her soul mate. She could neither confirm nor deny this, as she herself did not know, so she chose to ignore it. "What do you wish to discuss, if you don't want to talk about 'my mate'?"

"I wish to speak to you about another fear that you harbor. One I feel I can explain to you."

Alexis was so tired of accepting advice from others that she wanted to simply walk away. She knew, however, that she couldn't. She had to know what he had to say. "Which do you speak of, wise one? I have many." Her tone was soft and slightly dejected.

"You do not fear as much as you might think. I wish to speak to you of your fear of fleeing in the face of a challenge."

"How is it that you know so much about me?" Alexis asked suspiciously.

"I am a priest among my people."

"That doesn't explain why you read me so well."

"It is a connection I have made to you through the healing of your companion, Kalen Valirra. When she helped Telos, I helped to restore some of her Force powers through the healing of the planet. I am bonded to her, and she is bonded to you. The Force binds even strangers," he seemed very certain of himself as he spoke.

Alexis shut her eyes momentarily. It seemed that there were many people who knew things about her that she did not know herself. "What do you wish to tell me of my habit of running away?"

"Only this," Chodo Habat said softly, "Your fear is not one of responsibility, as you might think, but one of completion, fulfillment. You are not afraid to take on the challenges, you are afraid of what will happen to you when you conquer them. Finality has only brought you pain. When you finished your Jedi training, you went immediately to war. When you won your last battle during the Mandalorian Wars, you left known space and became a Sith. These you remembered well. When you defeated Malak during the Jedi Civil War, instead of remaining to finish your duty, you left the known galaxy. Now, why would you have done such a thing? You didn't leave before Malak was defeated."

Alexis bit her lip. "Because it wasn't over. Not by a long shot. I hadn't restored the Republic. I hadn't defined my relationship with Carth. I hadn't made my peace with the Jedi."

"And that is why you went to the Unknown Regions," the Ithorian said knowingly.

"But, I know all of this already. At least, most of it. How is this supposed to help me?"

"When you left known galaxy, you weren't only fleeing the end of one thing. You were returning to see the end of another."

"And yet I didn't finish that one, either. The Sith still exist."

"Yes. But why did you come back?"

"Everything revolves around that question. Many have asked it. I have even asked myself, and yet I still do not know the answer."

"When you do, everything will become clear."

Alexis was frustrated. "Forgive me, but I don't understand how this was supposed to have helped me. I know that this question is the most important of all. It relates to every other that I ask myself. But how do I prevent myself from running away? I thought you came here to help me dispel one of my fears."

"You flee the end because you fear what you will become, if you are given the chance to remain idle."

Alexis nodded slowly. "That is an astute observation. But it doesn't change anything."

"You won't run away again because in your heart, you already know the answer to the question around which all of the others revolve. You only choose to ignore what your soul shouts back at you."

Alexis opened her mouth to speak, but Chodo Habat interrupted her. "I must go. Please, tell the Admiral and his secretary that I bid them farewell. Take care of yourself, Lady Revan. Should you need to speak to me, all you need to do is ask."

Alexis lowered her head in acknowledgement. "Goodbye…" she whispered to the fleeing Ithorian's back. He moved very quickly, despite what she recognized were the signs of advanced age.

Alexis turned to glance at Carth and Seré, rubbing at the sopping hair that was still sticking to her face. Carth held out a blanket for her and Alexis took it gratefully. As she wrapped it about herself, she knew that the blanket would do nothing to stave off the chill. If the warm sun could do nothing to dispel the darkness inside, certainly a blanket could not.