THALIA

Thalia felt herself drifting. She wasn't awake but she wasn't fully unconscious either. Something cool and silky surrounded her and it came in slow, gliding currents. It was incredibly peaceful, and Thalia felt as if she could just stay in this state forever.

That was where Obi-Wan found her. Drifting.

He'd awoken first from the crash, his torso resting atop a piece of the decimated escape pod while his legs floated limply in the water behind him. A cold splash of water to his face had woken him and when he'd looked around, all that surrounded him was rolling waves and a grey sky.

Their pod had landed in a planet's ocean.

Thalia.

He'd suddenly been very awake. He'd called out and turned in a full circle at the crest of a wave, but there was no sign of her.

He'd taken a breath and dived under the water, the salty water stinging his eyes, but he forced them to stay open as he scanned the expanse of blue for any sign of her. He'd left his piece of debris and swum towards a shadow.

Obi-Wan forced his arms to swim faster as he saw a piece of the escape pod slowly drifting down towards the darkness. In its wake trailed a mess of wires, making it look like a strange, upside down, metal jellyfish. Tangled in the wires like the creature's prey was Thalia. Her short hair surrounded her head like a halo.

When Obi-Wan had reached her, he'd pulled the Breather from his robes and fitted it to her mouth, but no bubbles came from the device. She wasn't conscious enough to breath. He pushed the apparatus into his mouth and took a breath. Removing the Breather, he pinched the bridge of Thalia's nose and pressed his lips against hers, exhaling a breath into her lungs.

He tore the wires from where they were knotted around her torso and wrapped one arm around her. He kicked upwards, towards the surface which seemed impossibly far away. Stars began to prick his vision, but Obi-Wan kept swimming until at long last, his hand broke the surface and he gulped in lungful's of air.

A piece of escape pod floated nearby. He dragged Thalia up the slippery metal and pulled himself across her, trying to keep her from sliding back into the water. Her face was white as her cheek pressed against the shell of the pod.

"Thalia." Obi-Wan coughed, rubbing her back in case there was water in her lungs, but she didn't move. "Thalia…Come on."

She didn't move a muscle. He pressed his forehead to her cheek. "If you die here, after all this, I'll never forgive you."

Nothing.

. . .

For the second time, Obi-Wan started awake. This time, he was lying face down on a sandy shore. It was night and the sand beneath him was black. He lifted his head. Thalia lay about ten meters away. She was so still. It looked like she were dead. But she wasn't dead. She couldn't be. Obi-Wan simply wouldn't allow it.

He dragged himself over to her and pushed her onto her side, sweeping her sandy hair from her face.

"Thaila." He wheezed. Obi-Wan didn't realise he was crying until a tear splashed onto her cheek. "Please." He whispered, dropping his head to rest atop hers. After everything they'd been through, this couldn't be the way it ended.

A violent cough suddenly rocked Thalia's body and she jerked forwards, a torrent of water flowing from her mouth. She made a noise that sounded halfway between a moan and sob before she rolled onto her back.

"It's alright." Obi-Wan choked, resting a hand on the top of her head. "You scared me half to death."

"Sorry." She croaked, rubbing a sandy hand across her eyes. She took a steadying breath and looked up at the night sky. "Where are we?"

"I don't know." He answered, looking around them. They were on a seemingly endless beach with the ocean on their left and towering cliffs, that climbed right into the clouds, on their right. The cliffs were dotted with dark caves.

"We should find shelter." He said, checking the communicator on his wrist. It was still transmitting.

Thalia felt better the moment Obi-Wan pulled her to her feet. As they headed for the nearest cave, the Jedi intertwined his fingers with her own and kept her close as they staggered towards the cliffs.

When they reached the mouth of the cave, they paused. It was pitch black inside and an icy breeze gusted from it's depths. Obi-Wan ignited his lightsabre, blue light spilling into the cave as it bounced off rocks and dropped into natural depressions.

They stepped deeper into the cave, but they didn't get far before they stopped again. Thalia thought she'd heard something above the crash of the waves. It sounded exactly like the roar of the sea, and she hoped it was just an echo bouncing off the back of the cave wall. But when she heard the scatter of pebbles falling from one of the walls, she reached for her lightsabre as well.

"You heard that?" She whispered.

"Unfortunately." Obi-Wan nodded, raising his lightsabre so it illuminated more of the cave.

Thalia gasped as the light hit the roof. Huge, red creatures were crawling, upside down towards them, their six arms moving silently as they found tiny footholds that only they could see. They had beady, black eyes and scaly bodies that shimmered in the light of Obi-Wan's lightsabre.

"Maybe a different cave." Thalia suggested and they slowly backed towards the mouth of the cave.

A loud thump came from behind them. She turned to see one of the creatures had dropped from the roof and was blocking their exit from the cave.

"I don't think they're willing to negotiate." Obi-Wan said behind her.

Thalia set her lightsabre to stun and raised it in front of her, the white light glinting off the creature's long fangs. It was growling, deep in its throat. The instant Thalia met it's gaze she knew they were doomed. The creature shrieked and leapt at her. She dodged sideways, somehow managing to drag Obi-Wan out of the way as well.

The creatures from the roof descended on them. Thalia swung her lightsabre at the one that had pounced on her. The blade slashed across its side, and it howled, tripping sideways and crashing to the ground, unconscious. She raised her hands, the force lifting the creature from the cave floor, and threw them forwards, sending it tumbling into the darkness.

In unison, she and Obi-Wan fought off the creatures. As one slashed it's claws at Thalia, she stumbled backwards to the ground, but Obi-Wan was instantly in front of her, driving his lightsabre into the creature's neck. He turned and yanked her to her feet, so forcefully that she slammed into his armour-clad chest. His eyes were alight with adrenalin, and she knew hers were the same.

A shriek came from beside them, and they turned back-to-back, fighting off the remaining beasts. One creature slashed and bit at Thalia, but by some miracle, she managed to scurry out of the way each time. She took a chance and ran at the monster, sliding beneath it's scaly body and slicing her lightsabre along it's belly. She managed to roll out of the way just in time as it slumped to the ground.

Thalia heard the creature behind her shriek as Obi-Wan impaled it with his blade. She looked around wildly, ready for the next onslaught but she saw none. Suddenly, she heard something behind her and she whirled around, her lightsabre raised. She brought it down with all her strength and it connected with it's target.

Her eyes widened at what it had connected with. Her blade crackled against Obi-Wan's. They had both spun in unison, thinking another creature was behind them. They were perfectly mirrored. Thalia's right arm was raised, holding her lightsabre, while Obi-Wan's left held his weapon in an identical position.

A pale, blue light illuminated the cave as the blades hummed together, filling the silent cave with the sound. Thalia could see her rapid breath matching Obi-Wan's as their eyes met underneath their lightsabres. They stared at each other, neither of them dropping their arms. Obi-Wan's gaze was so intense, Thalia wouldn't have been able to look away even if she'd wanted to.

Then, as if the tension suddenly crashed in on itself, Thalia reached forward and gathered the front of Obi-Wan's robes in her hand, while his hand seized her waist. They each pulled towards the other and their bodies crashed together, Thalia's lips firmly planted again Obi-Wan's. Their lightsabres hung, still ignited, by their sides until Obi-Wan let his fall to the ground and he gathered Thalia into his arms. She quickly discarded her own and held his face in her hands.

Thalia felt as if fireworks were going off inside her body. Her senses had heightened, and she could feel everything; the scrape of Obi-Wan's beard against her skin, the way his arms had wrapped around her as if he couldn't have her close enough. She curled one of her arms around his neck, her fingers pushing through his soft hair. He still felt the same to her, even after fifteen years. Being held in his arms felt like coming home; familiar and safe.

Thalia felt Obi-Wan's hold on her slacken and his hands drifted up to her face, as he pulled away. When they broke apart, Thalia's eyes immediately found Obi-Wan's. He was looking at her like he couldn't quite believe she was there in his arms. She managed a smile and his eyes shot back up to hers. He shook his head slightly, knowing he wasn't imagining things, and returned her smile. Obi-Wan's eyes then dropped back to her lips, and he pulled her back to him.

He brushed his thumbs over her cheeks, and she slid her hands down to his chest, balling handfuls of fabric into her fists. This kiss was slower, Obi-Wan took his time as if savouring what might not occur again for a while. However this time, that possibility didn't seem so impossible. The war was coming to an end, she could feel it. But Thalia didn't want to think of war at this moment.

Finally, reluctantly, they broke apart and immediately pulled each other into an embrace. Thalia's head rested against Obi-Wan's shoulder, while he had tucked his face into her neck. Suddenly, this desolate, cold, miserable planet felt like a paradise Thalia could only visit in her dreams.