Since the moment he'd rescued her on Daiyu, Leia had rarely behaved as though she was only ten-years-old. There were little moments where her true age peeked through, like being impatient on the transport and not listening to him when he said not to talk, but for the most part, Leia almost disturbingly acted much older than ten.

With this in mind, Obi-Wan had to admit that it was almost a small relief (although more a heartbreak) to see a little girl who was most certainly ten, curled in a corner of the traveling compartment, clutching her powered down droid and sobbing as Tala tried in vain to calm her down.

"I'm here, Leia," He said, quickening his steps when he saw the state of her. Worry shuddered through him when she launched off the seat and rushed to him, arms out and up. Leia had never sought this sort of contact from him. For her to do so now made his heart shatter with guilt as he remembered just how much this resilient child had been through.

"Ben!" Leia cried, nearly choking him with her tiny arms twining around his neck when he reached down to pick her up.

"It's alright, Leia. I'm right here. It's ok." A little rattled, Obi-Wan brought a hand to the back of her head. Holding it in place to his uninjured shoulder, he moved in a slow walk about the compartment, nodding a wordless thanks to Tala as the woman slipped away to give them privacy.

Force, he was in bad shape if a tiny girl like her felt heavy, but he wasn't about to sit just yet. There was something instinctual about the way he held her and walked, quieting them both. He supposed it had to be from when he used to have youngling duty all those long years ago, holding crying little ones in the night.

Leia's sobbing grew into a fresh pitch of relief as she clung to him, clearlying having no intention of letting go any time soon.

Reaching out with the Force, yet another 'muscle' that was out of practice, Obi-Wan scanned the child. He frowned at what he found, because while he'd expected to find the weight of fear and torment from the past few days, he wasn't expecting her to hold such grief around her.

"Leia…what's wrong? Sully said you had a bad dream?"

The child buried her face deeper and didn't answer.

Sighing a little, Obi-Wan sent a wave of comfort over her and was relieved when she relaxed a fraction.

"I can't help you if you don't trust me." He tried appealing to her stubborn streak by poking at the fact she hadn't trusted him when they first met. That had an effect because Leia shifted so that she could glare just a little at him.

"I DO trust you." She told him.

"Then tell me what's wrong. I can't help you if you don't tell me."

The brief fire extinguished too quickly and Leia hid her face again. Exhaustion flickered around her along with guilt. Obi-Wan waited, recognizing she was coming to the point of speaking soon and not wanting to chase her the other way. Getting Anakin to talk as a child had been like pulling gundark teeth.

"I was drowning," Leia whispered. "It was cold, and dark. I couldn't breath…and the world was crushing me with pressure as I went deeper and deeper. I needed you but I couldn't call out! I thought you weren't coming for me…and then I could see her. I saw that woman that you think about sometimes. Padme…didn't Anakin call her Padme? I saw her on a fire planet…she was begging someone to go with her. She was so scared…a-and…and then you were fighting with him…you fought Anakin and he was a horrible monster with yellow eyes…then you burned…and I drowned, stuck inside a box at the bottom of the ocean."

Obi-Wan's steps faltered as he started to draw conclusions faster than the child could have.

Checking the Force again, Obi-Wan looked deeper at her signature and found what he was looking for.

She'd already formed a bond with him. He'd know that in part, but he hadn't realized how strong it was becoming. The bond that had been formed with Anakin over the long years of distance was stronger now too. Both were primitive and unrefined, but of course it made sense she would be picking up deeply on their pain. It had invaded her dreams. She lacked the training to know who's pain it was or to block it.

Obi-Wan felt another wave of guilt because he hadn't even thought to shield her during the past few hours.

Pushing every bit of warmth and reassurance he could through the thread of light and wrapping the Force around her like a blanket, Obi-Wan resumed walking. "It was just a dream, Leia. You're alright. It's been-"

"It wasn't just a dream." Leia muttered. "It was real."

Pausing again, Obi-Wan weighed his next words. There really wasn't any point in pretending. She was too sharp for that.

"Alright. You're right. Some of it was real events that happened many years ago. But the Anakin in those moments is not the one in the med bay. You don't have to be afraid of him."

"But you are."

"I'm…struggling, but not because he's a bad person, Leia. I faced someone who I thought WAS him, and it was a terrible experience. I thought he'd betrayed me, and done terrible things. It's difficult to differentiate sometimes, because in a way they are both the same person to me."

"He made the room shake, when he was yelling at you." Leia's voice was still muffled in his shoulder, conveying just how shaken she still was. "And it got heavy…kind of like when that dark figure showed up on Mapuzo…was that Vader? Was he the copy?"

"Anakin has just found out that everyone he loved is dead, Leia." Obi-Wan told her with as much gentleness as he could, skirting around the question about Vader. "He lost control for a moment, that's all. I wasn't in any danger, and it was just bad memories that made me feel like I was."

"What if he turns bad?" Leia asked, her fingers digging just a little tighter into his clothing.

Clamping down on his own anxiety about the thought, Obi-Wan focused on hope and light as he said, "I don't think that's likely, Leia. He's not the same man, and he's had many opportunities to fall, and yet he didn't."

Leia didn't answer and Obi-Wan's back was starting to throb, so he settled them both down on the seats. Leia unwound her arms and legs, slipping onto the seat next to him, but still staying close.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell me anything else?" Obi-Wan coaxed, knowing she was hiding something more. Whatever it was, it gnawed at her.

Leia shook her head, avoiding looking at him as she curled up next to him, gripping his hand tightly.

"Will you stay?" She asked.

"Of course."

For a while all was quiet, with only the hum of the ship, but eventually Leia spoke again.

"Who was Padme?"

"She was someone we loved very much."

"W-was she my mother?"

"Why do you think that?"

"Because you knew my mother. I know you did, even though you said it was just a story." Leia shifted a little so that her head tilted up and she could look at him with that serious, scrutinizing expression. "Was she my mother?"

"I think this is a conversation for another time. We both need sleep." Obi-Wan said quietly, trying not to let his discomfort show. If he answered that question, Leia was smart enough to draw the next lines, which would connect her to Anakin. Given her distrust of her own father right now, Obi-Wan worried how she would take that information. Not only that, he hadn't told Anakin yet, and he wasn't sure how to do so because the child's anxiety about Anakin turning bad wasn't just her own. It was his too, unfair as that was. He couldn't bear the thought of the twins being in danger because he made another mistake.

"But-"

"Go on, Leia. Close your eyes. I'll keep the nightmares away."

Leia's mouth drew into a thin line and sighed, tucking her chin down as she closed her eyes. As she fell asleep, Obi-Wan focused on sending waves of peace over her, lulling her off into a deep, dreamless slumber.

One thing was certain. He couldn't keep the truth from either of the two Skywalkers much longer and he wasn't sure what far-reaching consequences it would have when they found out.