Obi-wan sighed to himself, finally letting his guard down. He was lounging in the window, it being glassless and the walls thick; drink in one hand, though he was not drinking it. Goddamn this had been one shitty day. Right about now he was feeling a draining mixture of exhaustion and utter relief, more at the continued existence of his rather unfortunate padawan, than because he himself was still living.

This was the reason why he was sitting there, morosely; contemplating far more than the usual (comparitvely) simple power struggles. Rather, it was his feelings he was in need of examining, and that was never a simple task. And never had it been more complex than now, what with far more than only his peace of mind on the line.

Oh, why must things be so complicated? Being a Jedi was supposed to eliminate uncertainty! The Code was supposed to provide answers! One was supposed to look at a problem, and either declare it beneath your interest, or definitely doable because you were, indeed, a Jedi Master.

And yet that only seemed to complicate matters. He wasn't much of a 'Master', in any sense of the word, not that he thought. He was barely old enough to be considered an adult, much less a Master, and most definitely not old enough for the power he had to wield now. It was not empowering to be the youngest in a room, only daunting. He put on a good front, a show of confidence in his maturity, in his power, but it still got to him. Why couldn't someone else take responsibility for once? Why was it him that had to put everything on the line, all the time? And yet he loved it, probably would be unable to live without it. He thrived on overbearing responsibility, or so it seemed. Or, at least it seemed so until it got dark at night, and he tried to go to sleep. That's when the walls started to creep in...

Or so it had been for quite some time. Why, before he'd gotten his padawan, he'd even considered simply throwing in the towel. Let someone else try to save the world for once. Let someone else watch their best friend die.

But Mel had changed that. Now he had a reason to be noble, a reason to push himself to balance his loyalties, a reason to save the world. A reason to be the man he wanted to be.

Of course, that had all started out innocently enough. He'd merely wanted to be the role model for her that Qui-Gon had been for him, wanted to be the Master that he'd so sorely missed. Why? Sense of honor again. Any padawan of his, any padawan really, should deserve that, right?

Meeting Mel had changed that. He'd liked her, liked how sometimes she reminded him of himself, when he was her age (and sometimes reminded him of himself now), just liked her in general.

But how much of that had lasted? How long had it been before there was a more personal reason for wanting her to see him as the Master he longed to be? He wasn't sure exactly, he had quite a talent for hiding things from himself when he wanted to, but it had been the events of today that had really driven the point home.

Point being of course, that he definitely did not want her gone. No, Obi-wan made a face here. He couldn't even be honest in his own head, could he?

Truth was, the loss of his padawan (he couldn't bring himself to actually think of her in other terms, could he?) would have affected him more than he would care to think of.

Was it…? Could he…? Her? These were questions he'd already answered for himself, but he refused to acknowledge the answers. Because they scared him, as much as it was a relief to know they were affirmed, as much as they thrilled him. As much as it was intoxicatingly pleasant, for so dangerous an emotion…

- - -

Feeling his heart beat beneath her cheek, Katie felt something very near perfect contentment. It had been a lovely two days (was it really two? Time had little bearing, and the shades were drawn tight enough that even the sunlight was no clue). So much had happened in so little a time, that it had been beyond 'nice' to have simply locked themselves in his rooms for the time being.

But even good things must come to an end, and even nirvana gets boring after a while. Sighing lightly, she moved to stand.

He let her, his peculiar morning-after smile smugly upon his face, watching her form as she stretched. Though this cat-like satisfaction dimmed some as she took a few tentative steps for the door. "What are you doing, my love?" He asked, voice betraying none of his thoughts.

"I thought, as I never got a chance to prove to Mel that I was in one piece and all, I'd pay her a visit?" She asked him, biting her lip and looking slightly confused as to why she had to account for what was such a simple action.

He blinked at her, as though he was considering giving her permission. "No," he drawled in conclusion, beckoning her back into his hold.

"What?" Katie asked, looking ever more confused.

"Because I'm not letting you out of my sight until we're off of this ridiculous hellhole." Anakin replied. He'd wanted off immediately, but had been willing to delay the departure as he reacquainted himself with his padawan and made completely sure that she was unharmed.

Katie only blinked at him in response. She could understand why he might be reluctant to let her wander about, but she was a bit better prepared right now, being awake and all, and she was only going to Mel's room…

He looked at her, held an unnerving eye contact.

She gave a sigh, a small one, and settled herself beside him again, resting her head once again on his chest as his hand buried itself in her hair. Yawning, she did not see his smug smile return itself to his face, or the way he nearly purred in satisfaction.

Yes, she was his.