Disclaimer: This story includes excerpts of the movie Star Wars. The characters and idea of Star Wars is property of George Lucas. I'm borrowing the characters as respectfully as possible, simply to entertain myself and anyone willing to read this fanfiction.
AN; Well, here I am again. University isn't all that demanding yet, so I spent the weekend on this chapter, for your reading pleasure :) It's a bit of a 'fill-the-gaps' kinda chapter, to get a little faster to certain points I want to go. As with some previous chapters it works really well when looking at the film at the same time. Though the chronology isn't precisely the same. One last thing I wanted to say; if anyone thinks it sounds very weird that Obi-wan left the order once for a girl, well on some level it is. I always use the official site of starwars for information on characters, machines, creatures and worlds (http/ They also feature great "Expanded Universe" sections, where more information can be obtained that was never featured in the movies. And that is where I got Obi-wan little excursion on Melida/Dann. The only thing I made up was Janishe, but I don't really think it's that much of a stretch. And it fits my story :) Enjoy this chapter, and let me know what you think. And no, I don't count this as their first kiss. (spoiled it now, didn't I?) X, Mu-san

Peace of Heart

Thoughts

The light coming through the windows was slowly convincing Padme it was morning and time to get up. With a small groan she threw off the blanket and turned in her bed so she could place her feet on the floor. The coldness of the stones under her soles brought some clarity to her sleep befuddled brain, starting the thought process. And the first thought of the day was the name of the jedi whose status had completely changed last night. Obi-wan. She groaned a little louder this time and let herself fall back on the bed.

For a minute she lay on her back, thinking about everything that had happened last night. First the mess with Anakin, then the wonderful time in Obi-wan's arms. And of course, let us not forget the brilliant conversation I initiated, practically stating I was in love with him when I didn't even knew it myself, she thought. Smart girl Padme, she praised herself, reeeeal smart.

A soft knock on the door brought her back to reality.

"Milady? Breakfast is ready. Will you be needing assistance getting dressed?"

Padme smiled. Jalné was a wonderful help, but sometimes a little too formal. Dormé would have barged into the room and started pulling dresses out of the closet before she could have said good morning.

"I will be out in a minute, Jalné. Please inform master Kenobi and Anakin that breakfast is ready."

"They already know, milady. They have been doing morning exercises for an hour now in the courtyard. Shall I again ask them to join you at the breakfast table?"

Padme's head shot up and in a second she was off the bed and looking for her robes.

"No, that's alright, Jalné. I will tell them myself. Set the table for three, we will be there shortly."

"Of course, milady."

Two jedi doing morning exercises was enough incentive to get her body and mind going for the day. Her curiosity about the Force and the jedi was still unsatisfied, and watching them exercise sounded very appealing to her. Quickly she slipped into a simple dress and adjusted her hair. After breakfast she would dress a little better. Right now she had to see what Obi-wan and Anakin were doing.

- ∞ -

"Mind you breathing, Anakin, and adjust your left foot."

Obi-wan could feel rather than hear Anakin's grunt and silently he chuckled. I suppose being corrected by your master on your first solo mission isn't exactly fun, he thought. But then again, Anakin asked me to have a morning training session. So it really isn't my fault.

"Good, Anakin. Do it again."

He carefully watched Anakin as he was moving through the designated movements of the third kata. Their lightsabers were lying on the bench to the side, Obi-wan had decided to practise unarmed combat techniques since Anakin wasn't all that fond of them and tended to underestimate their value.

"No, raise your right arm a little higher. You should hit just below the sternum, not the stomach."

As his eyes watched his apprentice step and move his awareness flowed freely around them. He could sense Anakin sometimes reverting to his old mistake of projecting the Force ahead of his movement in an attempt to strengthen his moves. How many times must I tell him to let the Force flow with him instead of throwing it ahead of him, Obi-wan wondered. A small light in the Force appeared behind him and he immediately recognized it. Or her, to be more precise. But she stayed back and he concluded she was observing them. Inwardly he shrugged, smiled and accepted her curiosity. But first he had another mess to think about. He turned his full attention back to Anakin.

"No, first strike and then step!"

- ∞ -

Padme watched him carefully as Obi-wan explained something to Anakin. The younger man had done something wrong and the master was correcting him. To her this was another example of how Obi-wan was still Anakin's superior. Not in a negative sense of course. He just seemed…more mature, more balanced. Just better, she thought.

And as Obi-wan showed Anakin the correct way of moving she couldn't help but think he was physically more attractive as well. They were both wearing thin shirts that were clinging to their torsos with sweat. A swell of heat moved through her as she saw Obi-wan's chest and strong arms. The iron cages in her mind started rattling.

- ∞ -

"Breakfast has been wonderful, please give my thanks to the cook and Jalné."

"I will, master Kenobi."

Although she had quite the shocking revelation last night Padme knew it was important to not let anything show in Anakin's presence. This was something between her and Obi-wan, something she wasn't even sure of existed on his side. Sure they were comfortable around each other and they had a few tender moments in the past, but—

"When will you be leaving, master?"

Her head snapped up from her nearly finished breakfast and looked at Anakin.

'Leaving? What, where, when? Obi-wan never said anything about leaving!'

"I will leave in an hour. It still is a long way to Kamino."

Padme tried to remove the sudden lump in her throat and suppress her disappointment at his early departure. Not that she counted on him staying here for a long time, but a little longer would have been nice… She looked at her plate and shifted a few morsels of bread around with her fork.

'Face it, Padme, you want him around for a lot longer than one evening.'

She placed her fork down on the table and casually gave Obi-wan a glance. He was talking to Anakin about…something or other. She sighed internally.

- ∞ -

She was overjoyed when Anakin said goodbye to Obi-wan and returned to the courtyard to resume exercising. This gave her the perfect opportunity of seeing him off and giving him the goodbye she wanted to. Together they walked across the hall towards the small dock where the boat waited for him. Her 'enthusiastic' hug briefly came to mind as he opened the door. Apparently he remembered it as well.

"Think we can do this a little more calmly this time?"

She blushed, but realized he was teasing her a little. Two can play that game, she thought.

"And here I was thinking the jedi can handle such physical challenges."

He grinned and held out his arms. Without hesitation she stepped into them and circled her arms around his waist. She put her head on his shoulder but facing away from him. It was one thing to say goodbye, but another thing completely saying goodbye and look at those beautiful blue eyes of his. One of his arms covered her back and his other hand softly wrapped itself around her neck. After a moment he pulled back and turned away from her.

But before he could step through the door she shot out her left arm and grabbed his right shoulder. He looked back at her with a curious expression. Without saying a word she raised her right hand and placed it on his left cheek. Then she leaned up and placed the softest of kisses on his lips. In fact it wasn't more then a slight brushing of lips, but the tingle racing through her lips and flushing her face was more than she had expected.

To be honest she hadn't planned on doing this, but seeing him walk out that door made her reach out and show him she was going to miss him. In a fraction of a second she closed her eyes and cursed herself for being so weak and stupid. Then she leaned back and tried to read his reaction. She was feeling afraid and frustrated at the same time. Afraid she had gone too far, and frustrated she couldn't give him a real kiss. A real kiss being the one where you could do a thorough examination of the other's tonsils. She was about to speak up and start apologizing when his face, which was looking a little shocked a moment ago, split into a grin.

"Well this jedi can handle any challenge you wish to present."

His response, to say the least, made her feel a little embarrassed. Not to mention elated, shocked, giddy and anxious. She settled for what she hoped was a casual smile and looked him in the eye. His beautiful eyes where she found a look of amusement and tenderness that send a pleasurable shiver down her spine.

"Be safe."

Obi-wan nodded. "Yes, milady."

Then he turned around and stepped out. She found herself rooted to the spot and could only hear him getting into the boat and leave the island. For a second she closed her eyes and tried to still the butterflies in her stomach, a result of her joy and fear. Bringing herself back to reality she turned on her heels and went to her room to change, on her way resisting the urge to skip instead of walk.

'Be careful, Obi-wan. I need you to come back to me.'

- ∞ -

Obi-wan settled his back against the boat and looked out over the water. Then the tingle that was burning on his lips started pulling at the muscles in his face. The corners of his lips tugged upwards and before he knew it he was grinning widely. It felt like his body had taken over and had planned a 24-hour grin this day, and he had no idea how to get the grin off his face.

'Amazing…'

He had no idea how to get the stupid grin off his face, but he couldn't be bothered by it. He rather liked it.

- ∞ -

'Step…block…step…hit…step…jab…'

Anakin was methodically moving through the exercise. It felt good to relieve some stress through physical activity. Although Obi-wan's timing was horrible, he was glad to see his master again. They made a good team, and it felt good to train with him for a while.

But as he finished his exercises he also felt glad Obi-wan had departed again. This was his solo mission, he needed to show he could do this on his own. And now Obi-wan was gone Padme would spend her time with him again.

'Patience, patience…she will come to you soon enough…'

- ∞ -

Obi-wan followed Taunt We down the sterile white corridors of the cloning facility. He thanked his lucky stars he didn't have to see the actual cloning process. The thought of those artificial babies hanging from large breeding pods made his skin crawl. Not that he thought the clones should be treated inferior, not at all. Just in his personal opinion there was nothing like the real deal.

Many a times Qui-gon and he had visited the crèche at the temple to watch the younglings and learn from them. The story of their first meeting was already a famous crèche story, although Obi-wan could hardly remember it. He still had the small wooden block on his nightstand back in his bedroom at the temple. It was a good reminder of the Force and Qui-gon to him and the block held great emotional value. Material possessions were forbidden to a jedi, but some small connections were allowed.

'Perhaps I can show Padme the block when we're back on Coruscant. I bet she'll like that.'

Just outside one of the many nondescript doors Taun We stopped and pressed the door pad. Obi-wan quickly figured this was the home of the bountyhunter and quickly cleared his mind of all thoughts. All but one.

'If he is the bountyhunter I'm looking for, I'll make sure he will never get the chance to threaten Padme ever again.'

- ∞ -

"I know I'm disobeying my mandate to protect you, Senator, but I have to go."

The look in his eyes convinced her he was in real distress. But what could she do about it?

'Oh Obi-wan, I wish I had asked you about Anakin, how to handle him, how to treat him…'

Softly Obi-wan's words about duty and compassion floated back to her and she decided to forget about the things Anakin had said and done just two days ago. He still was her friend, and he needed her help.

"I have to help her!"

Besides, she agreed with him this was important on a personal level. She was tired of hiding and this gave her the opportunity to still lay low but do something meaningful at the same time.

"I'll go with you."

"I'm sorry, I don't have a choice."

The tiny flicker of despair in his eyes made up her mind. They would go to Tatooine and make sure Shmi was alright. The woman did help them so many years ago, it was the least she could do to repay her kindness.

'I just hope Obi-wan will understand us doing this.'

She looked away from Anakin and gazed out over the water. She wondered where Obi-wan was.

- ∞ -

He could have sworn there was a flash of love in her eyes. A swell of gratitude and affection surged through him when she offered her help. His nightmares had convinced him his mother was in grave danger and he had to do something. He wanted to take Padme in his arms and show her how much her support meant to him. She looked away and stared at the water.

'You are so beautiful, Padme. You're so kind and caring…I love you so much…'

- ∞ -

"Bring him here. Question him, we will."

"Yes, master. I will report back when I have him."

As R4 shut down the connection between them and Coruscant Obi-wan tried to arrange his thoughts. Jango Fett did seem the one responsible for the assassination attempt on Padme, but the trail ended cold here on Kamino. There was no motive for the Kaminoans to assassinate Padme. It just didn't add up. But master Yoda was right. He was assuming too much, and that was never a good thing. Fett had mentioned a jedi by the name of Tyranus. He had never heard of him, but his feelings told him it wasn't just a ruse to confuse him.

Shaking off the water from his robes Obi-wan climbed into his ship and programmed it to stay in low orbit. He would remain here to surprise Fett when he would leave on another assignment.

'This puzzle is starting to bother me. I have a bad feeling about all of this, just like the time when Qui-gon and I stepped aboard that Trade Federation control ship. Something is very wrong…'

- ∞ -

She was watching him carefully as Cliegg Lars explained about Shmi. It was an awful story to hear, even to her, but she had no idea how Anakin was going to take this. As Cliegg finished telling him about the Tuskan raiders she saw his grief and confusion make way for anger. Everything about him suddenly spoke of anger and hatred. His body was tense and his eyes were burning, even though she could see the unshed tears in them.

When he turned away from the table and said he was going to find her his voice broke a little. She closed her eyes as sadness rose in her. This wasn't supposed to happen. They were going to get Shmi, and everything would have been alright. Naïve perhaps, but one can hope right?

Anakin walked away when Cliegg told him his mother was most likely dead. She could imagine he would not accept such an answer. She watched him as he walked up the stairs and vanished out the door.

'Obi-wan, I wish you were here…Sometimes I don't know what to do with him. Should I go after him, console him? Or would be uncomfortable for us both?'

But the only answer Obi-wan had left her was that his sense of duty came from compassion. With a silent sigh she stood up and headed to the stairs.

'This is not about your personal feelings, Padme. He is in pain and he needs your help.'

- ∞ -

Obi-wan jumped high and twisted his body as he anticipated the blaster shot. He extended his right leg and kicked out hard. Fett flew back from the force of the impact and started sliding down the side of the landing pad. The metal was glistening a greyish blue from the constant rain. But this observation was quickly replaced with the realization that if Fett was going down that slope the cable would ensure Obi-wan was to accompany him.

"Oh not good…"

As the cable pulled him head first down the side a brief thought flashed through his mind.

'Stay safe! Oh she is not going to like this…'

- ∞ -

"You're going have to stay here. These are good people, Padme, you'll be safe."

The hurt was clearly shining in his eyes, and her heart went out to him.

"Anakin"

She gently placed her arms around his neck and hugged him. It was a vain attempt to ease his pain, but she had to try. Somehow she feared what he was going to do but she couldn't find any words to try and stop him. When she felt him squeeze her waist she briefly thought he was giving in to his grief rather than his anger and would stay here. But he pulled away with a look of determination on his face. Determination born out of anger. She stumbled back a few steps as he walked off to his speeder bike.

"I won't be long."

He stepped on the bike and in a flash he was gone, speeding across the sands to rescue his mother from the hands of the Tuskan raiders. She watched as his form grew smaller and smaller.

'Don't do something you'll regret, Anakin. Just come back…'

- ∞ -

He took one last look at her before he moved away and mounted his speeder. It was difficult to think straight through the haze of his emotions. The embrace Padme had just given him filled part of his soul with a serenity he rarely had these days. But the grief over his mother pulled stronger on him. He would find her and rescue her. And as for the Tuskans… His inside felt like molten lava, ready to erupt in an explosion of intense anger.

He kicked the acceleration and sped off into the desert. Not once did the thought of releasing his emotions into the Force cross his mind.

- ∞ -

"R4…prepare to jettison the spare part canisters."

The missile was too persistent to shake. Maybe Anakin could have done it, but he's a better pilot than I am, Obi-wan thought. He spotted two large asteroids with a narrow gap in between them. He steered his ship towards it and hoped it would be enough space for him to escape and confuse the bountyhunter's sensors.

"Fire them now!"

He trusted the canisters were released even though he had no way to check it. Quickly he pulled his ship down and dove between the asteroids. If he had time for it the single thought in the back of his mind would have been quite amusing.

'She is definitely not going to like this!'

- ∞ -