It was too quiet.

Ever since they got off the speeder, Leia had been sitting quietly in the passenger area of the ship waiting for Ben to come back from taking Anakin to the medical bay. Across from her, Sully, their speeder pilot, and Tala were talking softly.

Sully was crying.

Guilt prickled up Leia's spine as she thought again about the pilot, Wade, who died rescuing them.

'Rescuing me.' Leia curled her fingers and toes in discomfort as she bit her lip.

She shivered even though the ship was warm and pulled out LOLA, but didn't wake her up. The little droid had been through so much already and her power was low. It also reminded her of home which, instead of comforting her this time, made her feel sick to her stomach.

How many people had died because of her? Why couldn't she have just stayed where it was safe instead of running off like that!

Blinking hard, Leia set her chin.

She didn't want to think about all this. Nothing from the last few days was anything she wanted to ever remember, other than Ben saving her and Tala being amazing.

Speaking of Ben, he still hadn't shown. It had been at least an hour since they boarded and Leia was worried about her Jedi friend.

Leia couldn't shake the bad feeling she had. She hated that Ben was alone with Anakin. Sure, the Jedi had said he wasn't the man that caused him so much suffering, but Leia didn't exactly believe that.

"Where's the fresher?" Leia asked innocently as she rose to her feet.

The silence and her own thoughts were going to crush her if she didn't find Ben soon. The man needed looking after. If she was the one looking out for him maybe she would stop feeling so empty. Well, that and he made her feel safe, but she wasn't willing to admit the real reason she wanted to be near him.

"It's just down the hall on the left." Tala answered. "Would you like me to show you?"

"No. I can find it, thank you." Leia told her, hurrying from the compartment into the rest of the ship.

She wandered for a while, creeping along undetected as she hunted for Ben.

Finally, just when she thought she might have gotten lost, Leia heard his voice coming from the end of a corridor. She approached cautiously and peeked around the corner of the door to see into the little med bay.

Instantly she spied Anakin, laying in a bio bed while a medical droid hovered around him, injecting him with various things. He looked cleaner now with trimmed hair and a fresh set of clothing.

"T-then the order was given. Order 66." Ben was saying. His voice shook with emotion as he paced the floor in front of Anakin. "As it turns out, the Clones had been pre-programmed somehow to turn on the Jedi once the order was given. It had to do with their inhibitor chips. Our friends and allies became the hands that killed us all, mindless and unable to stop…they were led by…by HIM when they stormed the Jedi Temple. It was a slaughter, Anakin. Very few made it out…those who did were hunted down later and killed or turned to the Dark Side. I don't even know how many of us are left."

Leia creeped around the edge of the door and slipped unnoticed to a new hiding spot where she could clearly see everything happening from between two huge crates in the hall.

It was quiet for a long time, but Leia could feel the tension rising in the air. Ben was pacing nervously and Anakin was too still for someone with that much rage and grief swirling around him.

"What happened next…what did I- HE-what did Vader do next?" Anakin asked, his voice low and hollow as he stared at Ben. "I know there's more. You need to tell me."

"Master Yoda confronted Darth Sidious, and ultimately failed to defeat him and I…I went to face him. We fought. I…succeed in…incapacitating him, but…I c-couldn't kill him, even when I had the chance."

"Even after everything he did? You let him live?" Anakin's words were incredulous and his blue eyes flashed with anger as he sat up suddenly. The medical droid chirped in protest but was ignored. "You should have known I would rather be DEAD than become that! Why wouldn't you kill him!? Did you think you could save him?"

"No…Anakin, it wasn't that. I couldn't kill you- him..I just couldn't…but, it would have been a mercy. I left him to die, burning to death on the edge of a lava river after I'd cut off his limbs. Up until a few days ago I thought he WAS dead." Ben's words came slow and halting as guilt shadowed each phrase. "I should have killed him. I was a coward not to. I should have shown him mercy instead of walking away."

"He got what he deserved." Anakin snarled darkly, making Ben stop short and start fidgeting with his hands.

Leia's chest started to constrict with the thickness in the air. Ben was getting scared and in turn it only served to frighten her more.

"It wasn't the Jedi way. We are to bring mercy, and justice, not suffering and revenge." Ben whispered. "I should have been better than that- I should have-"

Something in Anakin shifted and he looked at Ben sharply before the air around him softened a little with a gentle breeze of compassion.

"Master…I know. If anyone knows about horrible mistakes and choices, it's me. I've made too many already. They are regrets that will follow the rest of my days."

"I'm sorry, Anakin." Ben said, still staring at his restless fingers with that same haunted look Leia had caught on his face from time to time. "I'm so sorry."

"I know. But, Obi-Wan. You didn't answer my initial question. What about Padme? Where is she now?" Anakin's voice wavered dangerously, almost as though he already knew the answer but didn't want to believe it.

Utter panic blanketed Obi-Wan now and he shook his head.

"A-Anakin…please-"

"TELL ME!" Anakin yelled, his rigid calm shattering with a wave of desperation. He lurched forwards to stand with more strength than he should have been able for someone in his condition. The medical tube in his arm ripped loose and a tiny trail of blood ran down his arm, unnoticed among the scars left behind from his captivity.

"S-She's...I followed her to Mustafar, where Vader was. I knew she would lead me to him. I knew you two were more than just close. I wanted to stop him, and keep her safe. She went to try and stop him, to talk him out of it, to turn him back," Ben started to cry, running a hand through his hair and pulling at it. "She nearly did too. I waited, I hoped against hope she could do it, but then Vader turned on her too. S-she didn't survive more than a day after the encounter. I tried to save her…I swear I did, Anakin. I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…"

As Ben spoke faster between broken sobs, Leia felt a crushing pain settle on her chest. It pressed in on her lungs and reminded her of how the air felt when that dark figure, Vader, showed up in the village the night Reva caught her. She'd caught a glimpse just before Ben made her go back into the safe room. The feeling still gave her shivers and right now, given the similarity between the two, she grew concerned for Ben.

Objects in the tiny medical bay began to shake.

"I'll kill him." Anakin growled, his face twisted with both fury and grief as he took a step closer to Ben. "I'll rip him to pieces for what he did to us, to you and TO PADME! I'LL- WHY DIDN'T YOU KILL HIM!? AFTER ALL HE DID?! HE TOOK EVERYTHING FROM US! HE DESERVED DEATH, OBI-WAN!"

Ben stepped back, growing instantly pale and jerking his hand towards his lightsaber as he stared at the taller man glowering down at him. Nothing about Anakin seemed weak or decrepit right now. He was like a monstrous wraith of death.

"Anakin, please…please, I can't do this again. I'm begging you- Please don't."

Even as Ben started to speak, Leia was rising from her spot behind the shaking crates and rushing to get between her Jedi and the man who was causing him so much agony.

"LEIA! NO!" Ben cried, horrified as she appeared out of nowhere. He grasped her collar to drag her away from Anakin as she kicked the man in the shins as hard as she could.

"Stay AWAY from him, you BIG DUMB SCRUFFY NERFHERDER! You're HURTING him! HOW DARE YOU HURT HIM!" Leia yelled, still kicking her feet at the towering man even though she couldn't reach any more.

"Leia! STOP! He isn't hurting me!" Ben barked. His tone was more panicked than when she'd tried to jump the gap between buildings on Daiyu.

"Yes he IS! You're HURTING, Ben! STOP!"

Fear spiked in her bones and she squirmed harder. Practically screaming now, she glared at the man before her, too worked up to even registar that the room had stopped shaking and he was staring at the pair of them with an utterly shattered expression, his hands limp at his sides.

"I WOULDN'T LET YOU BREAK HIM AGAIN!"

"Leia! That's enough!" Ben was dragging her further back now, lifting her clean off the floor so that she was hugged with her back against his chest. "Anakin…plea-Anakin?"

Both Jedi Master and child stopped moving as Anakin's head and shoulders drooped. The thickness in the air vanished and now all Leia could feel was her thundering heart and Ben's uncertainty. She watched as the towering monster she'd percieped moments earlier crumpled backwards against the wall and slid down it while holding his head in both hands.

For a moment all was silent. Then a low, dragging, wounded wail filled the air.

"Oh, Anakin…" Ben shook with emotion and Leia felt a tear splash down onto her hands from above.

"Ben!" Tala appeared, out of breath and worried as she took in the situation. The whole ship probably heard the commotion. "That's happening?!"

"Tala! Take Leia. Don't let her back here until I say." Ben murmured, softly, pushing Leia gently into her hands.

"NO!" Leia dug her heels in and grabbed onto Ben's sleeves, eyeing Anakin with mixed feelings as he sobbed wretchedly on the floor. On one hand she wanted him to feel sorry for what he'd done. On the other hand, she felt as though perhaps there was a lot more going on that she didn't know about and that made her uncomfortable with compassion as the turmoil slipped under her skin into her heart.

"Leia, please." Ben crouched down, pushing stray hairs out of her face before he took her hands in his big, rough, calloused ones. "It's alright. I'll be alright. I know you're frightened, but you don't need to be. Please try to understand that my friend has just found out some horrible things have happened…he's hurting very much too, and he needs my help. I need you to go with Tala for a little while. I'll come find you soon. I promise."

Leia narrowed her eyes and clenched her jaw, but she couldn't bring herself to argue. Ben was frayed at the edges. She didn't want to hurt him more by not listening even if she did still have SEVERAL things she wanted to say to Anakin.

The heartwrenching cries rattled her inside and she thought she might suffocate on grief that wasn't her own if she stayed, so at long last she nodded.

"Thank you." Ben breathed, trying to smile a little. "I'll see you soon. I promise."

"Come on, Leia." Tala coaxed, taking her by the hand. "Let's get some food, and something to drink. I think it would do us both some good."

Leia wanted to tell Tala that she wasn't hungry, but she kept silent as she cast one last look over her shoulder at the med bay.

Obi-Wan was crouching down in front of Anakin now and the last thing she saw was the weeping man grabbing her Jedi protector into a desperate hug.

The cries haunted her steps as she left and Leia felt more alone and empty than when she'd snuck off to find Ben in the first place.