Note: Italics is thoughts, unless specified otherwise i.e flashbacks or visions. / is timeskip


ALEXA'S POV

Two days had gone by since Alexa, Bofur, Oin, Fili, and Kili had reunited with the rest of the company in Erebor. Two days since it had begun.

Thorin had kept them in the treasure room, searching for the Arkenstone for hours on end. The Dwarves had mostly done this without complaint, not wanting to anger their King. But Alexa was sick of it. Her visions had not shown her Thorin's descent into madness, so she had no idea as to when or if he ever escapes the sickness that the gold holds over his heart.

A sigh left her as she once more glanced towards the crazed Thorin, his eyes holding a wicked gleam they had not a week earlier. At Laketown, she had seen aspects of the gold sickness but had no clue as to what she was seeing. As Bilbo had said: Erebor was close by, so Thorin wanting to be closer to his home for the first time in decades was not unreasonable.

The coins clinked and rustled under her boots as she treaded through the treasure. She was honestly surprised none of them had been consumed by the gold, as it was abundant and seemingly never-ending.

She slowly made her way towards Thorin, who was overseeing the others closely. Walking up the stone steps, she folded her hands behind her back neatly.

Staring at his broad back, a cough left her throat, "What?" Thorin spat, his eyes never leaving the gold.

"You need to eat Thorin," Alexa said, her eyes moving to the untouched bowl of soup that she had left out for him earlier.

"I am not hungry," he muttered, causing Alexa to sigh.

"I understand that Thorin," she began, walking towards the Dwarf.

"Then leave," he spat, cutting her off.

Alexa paused and looked at Thorin's back for a moment longer, before nodding and leaving him; the bowl of cold soup in her hands.

Walking towards Bombur's designated cooking station, she sighed and shook her head at Bilbo and the few Dwarfs who had been granted a break in reply to their silent question about Thorin.

"Can you not just use that force trick you used on the trolls to help him snap out of it?" Bilbo asked, a hopeful expression on his face as he looked up at Alexa.

"No, that trick only works on the weak-minded," she sighed, placing the bowl of cold soup on the bench.

"Besides, it is a sickness of the mind. If Thorin is to escape this sickness, he must do it himself." she finished, making their faces drop.

Nodding in thanks at Bombur, a small smile briefly twitched on Alexa's lips as she took a hot bowl of soup from the ginger Dwarf. Weaving her way through the few Dwarves that were there, she found a spot between Bilbo and Bifur and instantly began eating. Knowing that if she stayed too long, Thorin would come looking for her.

Ever since she had arrived, Thorin had been acting strangely around her. He would keep her by his side at all times and barely let her out of his sight long enough for her to eat or rest. He also wouldn't let her help the rest of the company search for the Arkenstone. Though he had asked her, no commanded her to find the precious stone using the force. Not that she could, and when she had told him that he had scoffed but did not yell at her; which had surprised Alexa as Thorin had a short fuse when it came to the stone.

/

- Time Skip -

/

After countless hours of searching through the endless hoard of treasure, Thorin had finally let the company leave. As Alexa, who was on the brink of getting down on her hands and knees to beg, had finally convinced him to let them go.

All of the Dwarves had been going on for hours on end without breaks, compared that of Bilbo who had done about two at the most. Which was mostly due to the fact that Thorin had a soft spot for the Hobbit, that and with his small stature, Bilbo could easily leave without Thorin ever noticing.

Alexa watched from beside Thorin as the Dwarves all hobbled out from the hoard; some requiring assistance from the others. Thorin had worked them to the bone. Whilst Dwarves are well known for their sturdiness and stamina even they need breaks for food and sleep. Not that Thorin cared, now that his eyes were stuck on the treasure before them.

As the Dwarves went to get some well-needed food and rest, Alexa stayed behind and once more tried to get Thorin to eat, sleep, or better yet leave the treasure. As usual, her attempts were unsuccessful.

Reluctantly, Alexa left a sick Thorin amongst the treasure, a sense of defeat in her heavy footfalls. Shaking her head at Balin, she walked past the group of Dwarves and towards the ramparts for some well needed fresh air.

As she walked through the halls and passageways, she found herself thinking about her talk with Tauriel on the shores after they had escaped from Smaug.

That had been the first time in a while that she had spoken of him and their relationship. I mean yes, she did mention his rank when telling the company about the execution arena on Geonosis. But she had not told them about who he was and what he had meant to her.

A deep sigh left her as she breathed in the fresh air; she had made it to the ramparts. Lightly kicking a stray rock, she watched as it rolled across the stone surface before stopping. Averting her gaze from the rock, she looked out towards the setting sun; the sky a brilliant mix of blue, red, and yellow.

As she stood just outside of the hall, she sensed a familiar presence and one not so familiar, "How long have you had it?" she spoke suddenly, startling Bilbo who had assumed he was alone.

"Ha-had w-what?" he stuttered, quickly shoving the stone into his jacket and standing.

A small smile grew on Alexa's lips as she slowly walked towards the anxious Hobbit, "Not to worry Bilbo, I'm not going to tell anyone," she told him; trying to show him that she meant him no harm.

Bilbo folded his hands behind his back and glanced at her briefly before staring down at his feet, "Before Smaug died," he answered, his nose twitching.

Alexa hummed at his reply, her eyes wandering from him to the sunset. "You must think I'm insane not to give it to Thorin," Bilbo piped up suddenly, making Alexa's eyes drift back to him.

She looked at the Arkenstone that he now held in his hands; it was glowing almost angelically in the darkness. "Of course, not Bilbo. Keeping the stone from Thorin is for the best. He is not himself," she assured him. Force knows how much worse he would become if he did. Just the thought made her shiver.

"However," she continued, her voice now a mere whisper.

"While we understand that it is best that Thorin does not have the Arkenstone, the others may not," she finished, her words startling Bilbo.

"I'll be careful," he said, causing a tight-lipped smile to form on Alexa's lips.

"I'm sure you will," she replied, hoping that between the battle and fighting for his life, Thorin would never find out that he had the stone.

"Besides, should something happen I've got you! A Jedi Knight of all people here to protect me, and one of the best at that!" Bilbo exclaimed, a happy smile stretching on his lips as he carefully placed the stone back into his coat.

At his words, Alexa huffed a dry laugh. Oh, how wrong was he, how wrong they all were. But then again, she hadn't told them any different. And for a good reason, she thought.

"Alexa are you alright?" Bilbo asked. His nose scrunching and his eyebrows drawing together as he looked upon a frowning Alexa.

Alexa thought over her answer for a while. She was far from alright with the overwhelming pressure to save the Line of Durin as well as the fate of Middle-earth resting upon her shoulders. Not that she could tell him that of course.

"I haven't been 'alright' for a long time Bilbo," she finally answered, taking a seat on the stone floor beneath her feet; her eyes briefly leaving the sunset.

Releasing a sigh, Bilbo took a seat beside Alexa and turned his gaze to the sunset. Had he been home, he would have been finishing dinner by now and gone outside for a smoke before preparing for supper. But he's not home. He's sat on one of the few ramparts of Erebor with the fifteenth member of the company, wondering where it all went wrong.

"I miss my home too," he murmured under his breath, a longing look in his eyes.

At his words, Alexa looked at her friend, whose eyes were on the sunset. She watched as he sighed, his nose twitching; lost in thought.

"I have known you for over a year now Alexa," he began, making the woman hum in agreement.

"With that, I have learnt a great deal about what lies beyond Middle-earth. Excuse me if I am incorrect, but I think that whilst you do have an unfortunately tragic past, something has happened recently that has hurt or upset you. So, tell me, my friend, what is troubling you?" he finished, peeling his eyes from the sunset to look at a slightly startled Alexa.

Damn, am I that easy to read now? Alexa thought, shocked that Bilbo had seen through her façade. She had thought she had hidden it so well after all.

She tilted her head down to look at her hands which was now holding a small stone. She knew that after everything they had been through, it would be wrong to lie to Bilbo, and out of everyone, the Hobbit was definitely the one she could talk to about him.

A deep sigh left her as she thought over what to say, "I told the ginger Elf from Mirkwood about someone I have not spoken of in a long time," she answered vaguely.

"Your Master Ki-Adi Mundi?" he asked, his head tilting slightly as he voiced his question.

"No, no," she dismissed, shaking her head.

"Then who?" he asked, his full attention on her.

Alexa remained silent for a while, just thinking. She lifted her head and gazed at Bilbo; whose features were morphed into one of worry and sympathy. A shaky breath left her, "I'm not as rule-following as a Jedi should be. I wanted you to believe that I was. But the truth is I'm not," she murmured, moving the stone in her hand; the conversation with Tauriel playing in her head.

"What do you mean Alexa?" Bilbo remarked, curious.

"I broke the code Bilbo, the Jedi code," she told him, causing Bilbo's eyebrows to raise in shock; as Alexa had always done the 'Jedi thing' from what she had told them and what he had seen.

"Excuse me?" he gasped, "There's no way! No offence Alexa, but what did you do? Was it the necklace? The 'no personal belongings' rule?" he asked, very intrigued in where this conversation was going.

Alexa chuckled at his rambling, her hand moving to grasp her necklace. "No Bilbo, though I'm sure if the council saw me now, they would not be pleased,"

"Then what?" he asked,

A pained sigh left Alexa, "I grew an attachment to a fellow Jedi. We both knew what we felt for each other was forbidden. Force we tried not to, but we always ended back right where we left off. And so, we didn't fight it anymore. Those years were the best of my life. But as the war grew more intense, we would be sent on more and more dangerous missions. In those days we would be lucky to sneak in a quick kiss in the dark. But that was on a good day, and those were a rare thing during the war,"

Bilbo was silent for a while as if thinking over her answer and what he should say in response. Before he could, Alexa spoke. "He died almost six years ago. Killed during the purge with the rest of them,"

At her words, Bilbo's eyes dropped and a sigh left him. "Oh, I am sorry for asking Alexa," he said, finally finding the words to say.

"It's okay Bilbo you didn't know. Not even little Ben knows," she replied, shaking her head as the tears began to build in her eyes.

"Do you want to continue talking about him?" Bilbo asked hesitantly, unsure whether or not it was the right thing to say.

Alexa sat there just breathing for a few moments, taking in the beautiful sunset. It hurt just to tell Tauriel of him, and she hadn't even shared any moments just a brief overview. Glancing at her Hobbit friend, her eyes gazed into his concerned ones. Making up her mind, she nodded her head slightly; the words stuck on her tongue.

Bilbo released a breath he wasn't aware he was holding; thankful that he had not, in fact, stepped over a line. He sat patiently waiting, for Alexa to begin; not wanting to rush her.

"We grew up in the Jedi Order together. He was my first real friend in the Order, though he was a good thirteen years older. The other Padawans didn't like me very much, so he was the only one who would sit with me at lunch," she said, her eyes becoming slightly glazed as she thought back to her Padawan days.

"Why didn't they like you?" Bilbo enquired, curious as to why.

"Well, I was a rather talented Youngling. I excelled past all of my fellow classmates and even got promoted to Padawan early," she replied,

"And they didn't like you because you became a Padawan?" Bilbo asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

Alexa huffed a laugh at his question, "No, because I was considered young for a Padawan. I was eight when Master Yoda put me through the initiate trials, which was a rare thing as almost all Younglings go through the trials at thirteen. If they make it that far of course," she informed him,

"Ah, so they didn't like you because you were better than them," Bilbo deduced, a laugh leaving him.

"You could say that yes," Alexa replied, a laugh of her own leaving her.

"Anyway," she continued, once their laughter had died down. "I became a Padawan under Master Mundi and began a new chapter of my life. I spent eleven years as his Padawan learner, learning all I could from him. For the first four years we would be paired with the man I would grow to love more than a friend, and his Master Qui-Gon to go on missions, as me and him were good friends and worked well together," she continued,

"It wasn't until I was in my late teens, early twenties that I started to see him as more than just a friend. But being brought up under the Jedi code and lifestyle, I didn't quite understand what I was feeling," she told Bilbo, who was enraptured with her tale.

"It wasn't until I was twenty-two when there was an assassination attempt on a Senator called Padme Amidala and I was sent on a mission with him that I finally realized what it was that I felt for him," she finished, her thoughts flashing back to the mission to Kamino, and having to share a small single bed with him. The storms had kept her up all night, but he had helped soothe her – like he always had.

Before she could get lost in her memories, a tug on her tunic made her snap out of it. Looking down, she saw Bilbo with a worried expression on his face.

"You okay?" he whispered,

"Yeah, yeah. Just zoned out," Alexa whispered back, easing his worries with a small smile.

"You don't have to tell me anymore if it hurts too much," Bilbo informed her, his sweet words warming the woman.

"No, it's okay. Really," she assured him,

"Are sure?" he repeated, his words gaining a hesitant nod from Alexa.

Seeing this small action, Bilbo looked back out towards the sunset and continued, "What was his name?" he asked, intrigued of the mystery man Alexa had fallen in love with.

After hearing no reply, he tore his eyes from the setting sun and found that she was staring at him. Staring back, he saw multiple emotions pass through her eyes, some of which vanished so quickly he was unable to figure out what they meant. But he knew that she was sad, and in mourning.

"Oh, I-I'm so-sorry Alexa I did-did not mean to pry," Bilbo stuttered, ashamed for pushing Alexa too far.

"Obi," she said, almost choking up as she spoke his name for the first time in years.

"What?" he breathed,

"His name was Obi-Wan Kenobi. But I called him Ben," she told him,

"What was he like?" Bilbo asked, not missing the soft smile that briefly framed her face.

"He was a soft, kind man through and through. He was always trying to find a way to negotiate rather than fight. Which I was very bad at – negotiating that is, as I would get irritable after a while. So, I stuck to the fighting part whilst he was the negotiator," she chuckled, her thoughts flashed back to the few times during the Clone Wars where his negotiating had failed, and it was time for her and Anakin to begin 'negotiating with a lightsaber'.

"He also had a rather sarcastic flare to him, and always had a witty remark up his sleeve. He was the bravest man I've ever knew, but also the kindest. He always knew how to cheer me up and make me feel better," she finished, a soft smile on her lips.

Bilbo doesn't fail to notice the serene expression on her face, "Is that why you named Ben after him? To honour him?" Bilbo asked, having instantly made the connection with the boy from Rivendell after Alexa had mentioned that her 'pet' name for Obi-Wan had been Ben.

"Well, yes and no," she began, deciding in that moment to tell Bilbo what she had never revealed to another soul, "So, for some context, Obi-Wan was ginger, not as much as me though. He was more of a dark ginger with a splash of blonde, and also had a matching beard and moustache. He had the most stunning baby blue eyes I have ever seen," she finished, a wistful look on her face as she pictured him in her mind.

With the Clone Wars, hundreds of Jedi had died in battle, and they needed more Jedi to fight in the war but lacked those old enough with the right training and knowledge. So, the Jedi Council had come up with the idea to use the cloners, the Kaminoans, to create a Jedi. With this, they required a Jedi's DNA. But after much discussion it was decided that two Jedi would be chosen and that their DNA would create the first artificially created Jedi.

At her words, Bilbo's eyebrows furrowed and his mouth drew into a frown before a shocked gasp left him. Here it comes, Alexa mused. "Bu-But I th-thought," he began. His eyes quickly scanned the area for any of the company before he continued, "I-I thought you haven't... You know," he whispered,

Alexa's cheeks warmed at his insinuation, "No uh we never, ahem. Yeah, no we didn't and uh I haven't. But like I've said before: My home is a lot different to Middle-earth," she told him. Which was very true. Middle-earth was a hell of a lot different to where she was from.

"What does that mean?" he questioned, slightly worried as to what her answer would be.

"It means Bilbo, that to make a child, you do not need to have sex," she remarked, a grin growing on her face as she watched her friend's eyes grow wider than she had ever seen.

"Ex-Excuse m-me?" Bilbo managed to stammer out, just before he fainted.

Alexa bit her lip as she looked down at her passed-out friend. Picking his small body up, she moved him into a more comfortable position for when he awoke. Averting her gaze from Bilbo, she looked up at the sky, which was now a dark blue; the stars all shining above her head. Well, someone finally knows the truth, she sighed.

From the moment she had uncovered Ben's face and seen his eyes, she had suspected. But it wasn't until recently, that she knew for sure. After her vision in Lake-town, Qui-Gon had informed her that her suspicions were correct. That Ben was the child that had been artificially created by the Kaminoan's to produce the first of the next generation of Jedi. That Ben was, in fact, her and Obi-Wan's child.


AN: Yes, I did just do that. Mwhahaha And I don't know about you guys, but it hurts me how Alexa doesn't know that Obi-Wan is alive