Obi-Wan loaded the groceries into the trunk of his car, then checked his watch and let out a sigh. He'd been gone a lot longer than he'd hoped. He got in his car and felt his phone buzz as soon as he started the engine. It was Sheriff Rex. Obi-Wan answered it.
"Hi, Rex," Obi-Wan said.
"Hi," he replied, sounding unsure. "I'm calling about the DNA results."
"Oh?"
"Yes, well, we're noticing a strange pattern here. Every scrap of evidence we have matches you or Anakin. Mostly Anakin."
"Uh huh," Obi-Wan said, focused on not hitting pedestrians as he exited the parking lot.
"All the evidence, Obi-Wan. Every lifted fingerprint. Every piece of hair. Even the estimated height of the attacker."
Obi-Wan's brows furrowed. He said, "You must have missed something. Anakin was with me the entire evening. I—I even went to the store with him. We have the receipt. And surely he's on the cameras there."
"I sure hope so, Obi-Wan. Chances are getting slimmer that we'll find a piece of evidence that doesn't match you two."
"Why?"
"Because we have the evidence we have. Elan has long since been cleaned up. So has your front entryway. And the staircase."
Obi-Wan wanted to close his eyes at the bloodstained memories. He said, "Please, Rex—keep searching. You can do another sweep through the house. Anakin is innocent."
"There was one other thing I wanted to tell you," Rex replied.
Obi-Wan listened to him as he pulled into the gravel parking lot of the motel. The window of Room 3 was broken and the cleaning cart was put away. Anakin was nowhere in sight.
"I have to call you back, Rex," Obi-Wan said. He hung up before Rex could get another word in and snuck over to the motel office. It was locked. He peered in through the window. No Anakin. He pulled out his phone again to call Anakin. It rang and rang, and went to voicemail. Hello, there. It's Anakin, and I'll call you back. Obi-Wan began to tense, his thoughts buzzing through the worst scenarios. His phone jumped in his hand and he answered it swiftly. "Anakin?"
"Is this the motel owner?" came a rough, strange voice.
Obi-Wan clutched the phone. Who was that? Who had Anakin's phone? He demanded, "Where's Anakin? Let me talk to him—"
"Shut up and listen. You can talk to him once you follow my instructions. All of them. Go to motel room three. Now."
Obi-Wan did. He twisted the knob slowly and entered upon a ghastly sight. He stepped back with a gasp, sickness swirling in his stomach.
"Your boy made a mess. Clean it up, will you?"
Obi-Wan's heart beat incessantly in his ears. "How?" he asked.
"I don't care. Do a good job for your boy's sake. Next, I want you to deposit fifty thousand credits into this bank account. Ready?"
Obi-Wan dove for a pen but found it missing from the nightstand.
"Blood always works," said the voice on the phone.
Obi-Wan grimaced and rushed over to the Clawdite on the floor. She'd been unmistakably burned by a lightsaber. The wounds had torn around her mouth. Obi-Wan ran his fingers along the tears and painted numbers on the motel wall.
"Good. Clean the mess, deposit the money. Don't go to the cops. Anakin will pay the price if you do."
"Please let me talk to him now," Obi-Wan pleaded.
"Money first, Mister Kenobi. Time's a ticking for your son."
The line went dead and Obi-Wan was left staring at a corpse in a destroyed motel room. He glanced at the broken window and strode into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He dialed Padmé.
"I'm a little busy right now," Padmé started.
"Listen, Padmé. Anakin's been kidnapped."
"What?" Padmé asked, panic edging into her voice.
"He's been kidnapped! Tell Rex, but don't put out an alert, okay? He said he'd hurt Anakin if I went to the cops."
"Who said? Who kidnapped him?"
"I don't know. I was on the phone with him. Can you track Anakin's cell phone?"
"I think so. Sheriff!" she called.
"I have a bank account number too—"
"He wants money?"
"Fifty thousand credits. Blast!"
"What?"
"The number's on the wall."
"What do you mean?"
"I— I'll text you the number. I think he could see me, wherever he was. There's a big mess here at the motel that I have to take care of."
"A mess? You're worried about a mess?"
"I don't have time to explain. Send out a search team. Discreetly. No uniforms."
"Alright," Padmé said. Obi-Wan hung up and splashed some water on his face and amped up his breathing. If the kidnapper could see him as he left the bathroom, that's who they'd see. A father about to break down. Obi-Wan glanced out the broken window and stripped the bed of its sheets and blankets. He laid them out on the floor and dragged Zam Wesell's body to the center of them. She left thin trails of blood. Obi-Wan wrapped her up in a bundle of sheets and blankets, wondering what could have possessed Anakin to do this. He'd left him to clean! Clean! Maybe it was self-defense. Judging by the wounds, Anakin either had terrible aim or he was trying to torture her. Except here, on her forehead... That looked like a blaster wound. Obi-Wan covered her face and carried the body into the bathroom. He set her down in the tub and pulled the shower curtain around her. Then he copied the bank account number into his phone, texted it to Padmé, and locked up the room with the ring of keys Anakin had left on the floor. He called Anakin's cell phone. It didn't ring. It said, The number you have reached is not in service. This is a recorded message.
Obi-Wan rubbed his forehead with fingers so tense they hurt. He got in his car and called again. He heard the same stupid message. Anakin! Where are you? he wondered.
He didn't get an answer.
Aurra Sing snatched the phone out of Bane's hand and crushed it under her foot.
"Hey," he growled.
"You talked too long," she said.
Cad Bane turned his back to her, the coattails of his brown jacket whirling. He started walking through the forest. "Now we don't have his number," he remarked.
Aurra caught up to him and said, "We can just ask the kid."
"As long as he talks."
"He didn't look that tough to me," Aurra said, her gray lips pulling to one corner.
"He might surprise you," was all Cad said in reply.
They hiked far from the motel, or Aurra's cabin, or any identifiable place nearby. They came upon a wide field of grass turned yellow in the cold. There was a rectangular metal box in the center of the it.
Cad was first to stride up to the box. He banged on the metal with his knuckles. "Kid! You awake in there?"
"Let me out!" Anakin yelled.
Cad peered at him through the slots in the box. "No one can hear you out here," he said, "so save your voice."
"I can't breathe!" Anakin cried.
Cad looked at Aurra, who shrugged. "We'll let you out if you answer our questions," he told him.
We? Anakin pounded on the walls of the box. "Please!" he called.
Cad nodded at Aurra and she put a hand over her blaster. He unlocked the box and pulled Anakin upright, the boy's hands still bound together tightly. He really was breathing hard. Cad shoved him Aurra's way and she caught him in her arms, an incredulous look on her face.
"Calm him down," said Cad, "You're better at that sort of thing."
She scoffed. Anakin wiggled out of her hold and tried to run, falling when his numb legs refused to hold him. Aurra knelt beside him, cunning smile on her face. "You've got to relax, kid. This…" She waved her hand around, "panic isn't doing you any favors."
Anakin glared at her and tried to sit up. He looked Aurra over, thinking that even with her snow-white skin and an antenna in her head, she wasn't as menacing as Cad Bane was, with his hollow cheeks and pupil-less eyes. Aurra took a water bottle out of her pack and held it out to Anakin, but soon realized his tied wrists were going to make it too difficult for him. She moved closer and held the bottle to his lips. Anakin set his jaw.
"Drink," she said.
He turned his head.
"What, you think there's something in it?"
He eyed her suspiciously.
"Picky little thing, isn't he?" Cad said.
"Look." Aurra took a sip. "Now drink."
Anakin relented. He felt better the second the water touched his throat. Aurra took the bottle away from him all too soon. Anakin shied away as Cad knelt by his other side. "You promised us some answers," Cad said.
"What's the question?" Anakin replied, his voice half-raw.
"What's your daddy's phone number?"
"Why do you care?" Anakin spat.
Cad smacked him upside the head. "Answers, not sass. I have very little patience."
Anakin was worried about Obi-Wan now.
"Fine. Let's put him back in the box," Cad decided.
That was the last thing Anakin wanted. "No!" he blurted, "I know his number!" Anakin told them.
"Thanks, kid," Cad drawled, hoisting Anakin off the ground. Anakin struggled wildly, yelling, "Don't touch me!"
"Sorry, honey," Aurra said, stroking his face before Cad threw him down into the box, "It was nice meeting you."
Anakin cried and screamed for help. The two bounty hunters walked away without remorse. It was time to get a prepaid phone and make some calls.
Obi-Wan's phone rang. "Hello?" he asked.
"Hey, it's Rex. We've got a team heading out to the motel, no uniforms. Where are you now?"
"I'm just outside the motel. There's some tracks heading to the tree line—"
"Obi-Wan, listen to me. You need to be careful. Let us look for him," Rex insisted.
"I—I can't, Rex. He's my son, my baby—"
"It's not safe for you. We tracked the phone call to the motel."
"I can handle myself," Obi-Wan replied, and hung up. He took his lightsaber out of his robe and pulled his hood on as it started to rain once more. His phone rang again. "Hello?" he answered quickly.
"Have you done as I asked?" came the same warped voice.
"I cleaned the mess. No one will know. I'm on my way to the bank now," Obi-Wan lied, stepping carefully over branches and leaves so as not to make too much noise.
"Very good, Mister Kenobi. I have a request to make."
"What is it?" Obi-Wan asked.
"My partner's gettin' greedy. Put one hundred thousand credits into the bank account."
"I don't have that much money."
"Do you want Anakin's frozen toes dropped on your doorstep?"
Obi-Wan felt the color leave his cheeks. "No," he said, "You'll get your credits."
"Thanks." The phone clicked. Obi-Wan texted Padmé, his hands shaking. Several painstaking seconds passed as he tried to make the text legible. Two kidnappers. Anakin's somewhere cold. Maybe outside.
We're almost there, she replied. Wait for us.
Obi-Wan looked around agitatedly. You'll catch up, he typed, and clicked send. He followed the shallow footprints left in the mud.
Anakin let the rain pour through the slots of the box and into his mouth. Thank the Force! He could relax a little if he was able to speak. He drank what he could and called for help again. Thunder cracked over him, booming loudly. Anakin's spirit dropped. No one could hear him. He'd already tried to loosen his bonds and came up with sore, bloody wrists. He couldn't move more than an inch in any direction. He was trapped.
Anakin tried to calm down, just lay there. Obi-Wan would find him. He would, Anakin assured himself, and soon. Anakin saw lightning flash overhead as the rain strengthened and gushed over his face.
No, he thought, no, no, I'm going to die at any moment! I'm going to get electrocuted. Or drowned. Or electrocuted and then drowned!
The water continued to fill the box. Anakin kicked and writhed but he couldn't get the box open. The water was all around him, soaking him, choking him. Anakin couldn't breathe. Only a key could save him. Or a lightsaber...
Anakin saw blue before his eyes. It was Obi-Wan! It had to be! His vision burned white and then Anakin found himself in the desert. Come to Daddy! he heard. You can do it!
Anakin toddled forward and fell into Obi-Wan's large hands. At least they looked big compared to Anakin's baby ones. Obi-Wan picked him up and kissed him. My baby boy's getting so good at walking! Good job, Anakin! Let's show Mommy...
Anakin saw Shmi's beautiful face come into view and give him a kiss. Mommy's so proud of you, Ani!
Mom, can you help me with my homework? Padmé called.
Obi-Wan shifted to kiss Shmi, still holding little Anakin. They watched her go back into the house.
The memory cut suddenly and Anakin felt the rain all around him again. "No! Come back, come back..." he called out. He closed his eyes.
Anakin saw Obi-Wan tucking him and Padmé into bed, his eyes red. Shmi had died. Anakin reached for Obi-Wan, silently pleading, Stay with us. He did. It was warm in the little bed.
They played again in Naboo. It was hide and seek. Anakin dove behind a thick tree trunk and stayed very still.
I found you! Obi-Wan cheered, coming around the tree and tickling Anakin's sides. Anakin burst into laughter. The park washed away and Anakin was in his old bedroom, listening to Obi-Wan's muffled cries. Sometimes when it was late at night he could hear him sighing. Moaning. He didn't mind, his father was usually very quiet—but now, oh now, it was actual tears. He was hurting. Anakin turned on his side and tried to tune it out.
If you hear shouting, I want you to go to your room, Obi-Wan told him.
I'm not a kid anymore, Anakin said, I don't care if you fight.
Something in his eyes said it was more than that.
Asajj! Stop! Please!
Anakin walked into the kitchen. Ventress had Obi-Wan pinned against the counter, silver knife glinting at his neck. Stop trying to change me, Obi-Wan. This is who I am! She slashed across his upper arm.
Obi-Wan cried out. Anakin saw the blood seep into his sleeve, down his arm. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry—
You should be!
She cut into his thigh. Obi-Wan made a garbled sound of pain, and caught Anakin's line of sight as he breathed in again.
Go to your room, Anakin! Go!
Ventress turned to look at him. Leave us be, she said coolly, Obi-Wan needs to learn his lesson. She pressed her thumb into the cut on his thigh.
Anakin! he cried. Please go!
Anakin was frozen in place.
Ventress leaned in and kissed Obi-Wan's tearstained face, the knife grazing across his arm again. He closed his eyes. Anakin...
Who's in charge here? she asked.
You are, he moaned.
Who does everything I ask?
I do!
But you didn't! She sliced into his arm in the same spot. Obi-Wan sobbed. Anakin outstretched his arm and the china cabinet came crashing down on her. Obi-Wan gasped. Anakin stood very still. The house was quiet.
Obi-Wan slid off the counter and carefully stepped around the cabinet. There was blood pooling on the tile. He shuddered, one last sob working its way through him. Anakin, he called.
Anakin didn't answer.
Obi-Wan came closer, a hand clamped to his upper arm. Anakin?
Anakin looked right through him. Obi-Wan wiped his face and guided Anakin to his room. It's going to be alright, he said, Just go to sleep.
He tucked Anakin in, and ran his hand over his open, staring eyes. Anakin saw blackness.
He awoke with a desperate gasp and saw daylight, just a pale sliver through the clouds. The rain had stopped after flooding the box with an inch of water. Anakin shivered. He couldn't feel his hands. Or his toes. But he was alive.
Obi-Wan thought he heard a voice as he snuck through the forest. He crouched down behind a tree and listened.
"Did he put the money in yet?"
"I can't tell! The holonet on this phone is terrible!"
Obi-Wan readied himself, a twig snapping under his shifted weight.
Just then someone came around the corner and hit him in the head with a heavy branch. Obi-Wan was out cold.
"Idiot," Cad growled, dropping the branch with a thud, "Now we gotta do something to the kid."
"We don't have to," Aurra said, "We can just say we did."
"Hm." Cad scanned the area for others. "Something tells me that won't be enough for him."
Aurra followed him as he weaved through the trees. "What do you suggest?"
"Cut off his toes, like I said before."
"No," Aurra replied.
"Fingers?"
"No!"
"What's got you liking kids so much, huh? You got a bun in the oven?"
She stopped and glared at him. Cad's lips parted. His eyes dropped to her stomach, her orange jumpsuit not revealing any bump.
"You should have told me," he said, walking once more.
"So you could fire me?" she returned.
"Well, it's interferin' with the job!" Aurra knew just how to get his blood pumping.
"It is not," she reasoned, "A dead hostage isn't going to get you any money."
Cad waved a dismissive hand. "Couple a missing fingers ain't gonna kill him."
"Please, Cad, don't."
He glanced at her underneath his wide-brimmed hat. They were almost to the road again. "Fine," he spat. "But you've gone soft. You're not coming with me on the next job."
"Fine," Aurra replied. She'd rather work by herself anyway. They crossed the road and got in Aurra's car, then drove to her cabin. They'd left deeper tracks this time. If anyone followed them, they wouldn't find Anakin.
Rex found Obi-Wan slumped by a tree. He knelt by him and cradled his head. "Obi-Wan, wake up. Obi-Wan!"
Obi-Wan groaned. There was a small patch of blood in his wet hair. Rex called for a medic. Hopefully they hadn't spread too far out from him to hear.
Padmé was the one who came to help. "Dad," she said, brown eyes wide.
Obi-Wan opened his eyes groggily.
"Hey," Rex said, smiling a little, "Can you stand?"
Obi-Wan got to his feet with Rex's help.
"Are you alright?" Padmé asked, a hand on his arm.
"I'm fine," Obi-Wan replied, "Did you find Anakin?"
"No, but we found you," Rex informed.
Obi-Wan felt the worry he'd been repressing swell in him.
"We're going to find him," Padmé swore. "Did you see the kidnappers?"
"No," Obi-Wan said. "But I was following their tracks."
"There's some here," Padmé said, and pointed to the muddy depressions in the ground.
"Those look fresh," Rex replied.
"I..." Obi-Wan started, "I think they were leaving him, not going to him." His phone rang. The sound was beginning to send a jolt through him each time. "Hello?"
"Father!" Anakin cried.
"Anakin!" Obi-Wan couldn't believe his ears. Rex spoke into his comlink and told the station to track the call.
"Your boy's about to lose a finger," the voice said. "Maybe five."
"No, no, no!" Anakin screeched. "Stop! Please!"
"Don't!" Obi-Wan yelled, "I'll do anything!"
"Do what I told you to do. In the meantime, I'll be having fun with your boy..."
Anakin screamed. The call ended.
Obi-Wan was horrified. He started running back to the motel.
"Obi-Wan! Wait!" Rex called.
"I have to give him what he wants—"
"We need you here in case he calls again!" Rex countered.
Obi-Wan whirled around and said, "They're torturing him!" His breath came heavy. How could Rex not understand that?
Rex strode up to him and held his shoulders. Calmly, he said, "Anakin will make it. He's strong. But once you give them the credits, they won't have a reason to keep him alive."
Obi-Wan shivered. Padmé called them over. "I think I found the old tracks," she said.
"Come on," Rex said, "Let's find Anakin."
Anakin watched the hunting knife stop just a centimeter above his fingers. Aurra had her arms around him, keeping him relatively still as Cad held his arm out over the metal box, like a chopping block. Anakin wrenched his wrist out of Cad's grasp and cried. Aurra held him closer.
"Shut up, kid," Cad snarled, "You're getting on my nerves."
Anakin took a shaky breath. Aurra petted his hair with her lengthy fingers.
"Stop that," Cad barked.
"I think I want a boy," she said.
Anakin hid his face in her shoulder. At least she was warm.
"This is no time for baby fantasies," Cad remarked. "Let's put him back."
Anakin wrapped his arms around Aurra's waist.
"Look," she jeered, "I always heard boys were snugglier."
Anakin took her blaster out of its holster and shot at Cad Bane.
He dodged it and Anakin pulled the trigger two more times before Aurra shoved him against the box, his head colliding with the edge of it. He went limp.
"Aurra!" Cad yelled.
She rushed over to where he lay on the ground. "Are you alright?"
He lifted his hand off his side and took a deep breath. "I'll be fine. Didn't hit anything important. As for you..."
Aurra caught his hand before he could touch her. His fingers curled into a fist.
"I told you not to underestimate him," Cad said.
"Won't happen again," she muttered.
"Let go of me," Cad told her. Aurra tightened her grip. "Ain't gonna hurt you," he said.
She made a gruff sound and flung his hand away. "I wouldn't let you anyway."
Cad stood and went over to Anakin's still body. "You didn't kill him, did you?" he asked.
Aurra knelt by him and felt his pulse. "He's fine. Lock him up."
Cad did.
"It's getting dark," Obi-Wan said, a pallor cast over his face.
The three of them moved steadily through the forest, Padmé and Rex using their flashlights. Obi-Wan was about to use his lightsaber as one.
"I know," Rex replied, "I'll tell my men to keep looking."
Padmé cleared her throat.
"My team," Rex revised, and squeezed her shoulder. Padmé smiled for a moment. Obi-Wan tried not to let that go to his head. He already had one child to worry about. Rex tapped his comlink and asked, "Any news?"
"Nothing," someone said.
"What about the phone call I wanted tracked?"
"It was too short," another said, "We couldn't get a location."
Obi-Wan couldn't catch his breath. He sat down in the mud and held a hand to his head, barely keeping it together.
"Obi-Wan?" Padmé called. Rex kept an eye on them as he continued communicating with the rest of the search team.
"Don't give up yet," Padmé said, kneeling beside Obi-Wan. "Don't you and Anakin have a connection?"
"Yes," Obi-Wan managed to say, "It's cold right now."
"But it's there?"
Obi-Wan nodded.
"Try talking to him."
Obi-Wan closed his eyes. Anakin? No response. Anakin, it's me. I want you to know that we're looking for you, and you're going to be safe very soon. I love you.
Anakin didn't reply. Obi-Wan opened his eyes just to take another painful breath. Rex helped the two of them up.
"They think the bank account belongs to a 'Cad Bane.' That name sound familiar to you?" Rex asked. They scanned the ground for footprints and scattered leaves with their flashlights.
"No," Obi-Wan said at first, then, "Actually, it sounds like one of my motel guests."
"I'll send someone back to the motel. There's probably information about him in his room—"
"Don't," Obi-Wan blurted.
"Why?" Rex asked suspiciously.
"They should keep looking for Anakin."
"Some more information could help," Padmé offered.
"I—" Obi-Wan began.
"Is there something you're not telling me?" Rex asked.
Obi-Wan stopped and turned to him. "Yes. Okay? Yes. But please trust me. Don't send anyone there until after we find Anakin."
Rex shook his head disbelievingly. "Obi-Wan, there's only so much secret-keeping a reputable Sheriff can do," he said.
"Do you trust me?" Obi-Wan asked.
Rex ran his hand over the short fuzz on his head. "Yes," he admitted.
"Then let's keep looking," Obi-Wan said. Padmé's face creased with worry.
"Who's the baby daddy?" Cad asked. He stretched out his legs in a chair by the fire pit. They'd returned to Aurra's cabin.
Aurra took a bite of her nerfburger. "Hondo, of course," she said.
"Of course," Cad replied.
They listened to the fire crackle for a while. Aurra licked her fingers. "Did you want it to be yours?" she asked.
"No."
"That was too long ago," Aurra explained.
"Not that long ago," he said. Aurra rolled her eyes.
"You said you didn't want it," she reminded him.
He grunted.
"Whatever," she sassed.
They were quiet again. The fire washed heat over their faces.
"You got ideas for a name?" Cad asked.
Aurra crossed her arms and sat back. "How nice of you to ask."
Cad stood and tossed his toothpick away. "I'm going to bed," he announced.
"Wait," she said.
He turned around.
"He deposit the money yet?"
Cad checked on the little prepaid phone. "No."
"We should do something."
Cad leaned over the chair. "Like what, darlin'?"
Aurra stood and kicked dirt into the fire. "Motivate him."
"Don't tell me you've lost your motherly instincts."
"Actually, I'd like to have an extra fifty thousand credits lying around when I have this kid."
Cad hummed. "Let's go then."
Obi-Wan, Padmé, and Rex came upon a clearing in the forest. The sky was pitch black. They could only see as far as their flashlights and Obi-Wan's lightsaber could illuminate.
"Try talking to Anakin again," Padmé said. Rex asked Padmé how that worked as Obi-Wan thought to him.
Anakin, are you awake?
Yes! Can you hear me?
Obi-Wan sucked in a breath as there was banging in the distance. "Anakin!" he yelled.
"Father!" Anakin kicked and punched at the walls of the box.
The three of them took off running towards the sound.
"Anakin!" Obi-Wan called.
"Father!"
They found the metal box in the center of the field.
"Anakin, Anakin, we're here..."
Rex stooped by the box and shined his light on its padlock. "Here, Obi-Wan."
Obi-Wan cut the lock off with his lightsaber and Padmé opened the box with a shove. Anakin lied there with his hands tied, the faces above him as dark as the night.
Rex scooped him up and held him with one arm as his free hand sought the pocket knife at his belt. Anakin struggled in his grip.
"Anakin, it's me, it's Rex. Look."
Padmé shined her flashlight on him, then Obi-Wan and herself.
"Father," Anakin breathed, and took a step towards him. Obi-Wan hugged him tight, Anakin's hands still bound. "Daddy..."
"I've got you, Anakin. My baby," he said, glancing at Rex.
Rex nodded solemnly and came over, pocket knife in hand. Obi-Wan turned Anakin around and Rex cut the rope off as Padmé held her flashlight over Anakin's bloody hands. There were ten fingers there. Obi-Wan breathed a sigh of relief. Padmé ran her hand through Anakin's wet hair and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Are you hurt, Anakin?" she asked.
He thought through his ordeal as he leaned back on Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan kissed his hair. "My head," Anakin said.
"Where?" Padmé asked.
Anakin held his hand to the side of his head and Padmé felt the area. Rex called for a medic. "There's a bump there," Padmé said.
"I'm so sorry, Anakin," Obi-Wan murmured.
Rex felt Anakin's arms and legs and asked, "Anything else hurt, kid?"
Anakin groaned, but he sounded relieved. "Everything."
"What did they do to you?" Obi-Wan asked. Rex took off his leather jacket and gave it to Anakin.
"They kept me in that box," Anakin said, shivering as he put on the warm jacket. "They threatened to cut off my fingers. And I think he shocked me to start with." Obi-Wan buried his mouth in Anakin's hair. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." he muttered.
"Who were they, Anakin? Who took you?" Padmé asked.
"Cad Bane," Anakin answered, "and... Aurra. I didn't hear her last name."
Rex stiffened as two beams of light came out of the trees. He tapped his comlink. "Are the medics here yet?" he asked.
The light beams stilled.
"Still got a ways to go," an officer replied.
The light beams turned around and Rex sprinted after them. "Padmé!" he yelled.
Padmé took off after him.
Obi-Wan clutched Anakin close and Anakin turned around to hug him. They watched as Rex drew his blaster, ordering, "Stop right there!"
Cad Bane and Aurra Sing raced through the trees. Padmé and Rex were right on their tails. Their feet scrambled for purchase in a particularly bad patch of mud as they approached a stream. Cad started to slip and Rex tackled him, his arm stretching out to shoot Aurra. She fell and landed face down on the ground.
Cad shouted as he strained to see her. "The baby!"
Rex's eyes went wide. "Baby?"
Cad kicked him between the legs and wriggled away from him, about to run off into the night.
"Padmé!" Rex called, pain on his face.
Padmé took aim and shot Cad through the trees. He dropped like Aurra did.
Rex recovered after a few breaths. "Check on her," he directed, and went to secure the handcuffs on Cad.
"She's breathing," Padmé told him when he returned with the villain in tow.
"This one said there was a baby," Rex said, pointing to Cad Bane.
Padmé frowned, crouched by Aurra Sing. "We better get her a doctor, then."
"Where are you?" Rex demanded at his comlink.
"Almost to the coordinates you gave us."
"I need some help just past the tree line. Obi-Wan can show you where."
"Mister Kenobi, sir?"
"Yes, Mister Kenobi. His son needs to be looked at too."
"Got it."
Obi-Wan sat down in the grass with Anakin in his arms. "Are you alright?" he asked.
Anakin made himself small and rested his head against Obi-Wan's chest. He was still soaking wet from the rain-filled box. "I think so," he said.
"Lemme see your toes," Obi-Wan said.
Anakin took off his boots and socks and Obi-Wan illuminated them with his lightsaber, then squeezed them a few times. "I don't think it's cold enough for frostbite," he said.
Anakin shook his head. "They are cold, though."
Obi-Wan tipped his head up with a hand at his jaw and kissed him. "I missed you so much, Anakin," he whispered.
Anakin missed him too. He said, "I remembered, Father."
"Remembered what?"
"Ventress."
"Oh," Obi-Wan said quietly, and held him closer. "I'm sorry you remembered."
Anakin pushed against him to try to face him. "It's okay. I think it helped."
Obi-Wan's lips parted. "How?"
"I knew that if you could get through that, I could get through this."
Obi-Wan's eyes filled with tears and Anakin smudged his cheeks with dirt and blood as he tried to dry them.
A medic came over with a few other officers and started looking Anakin over. Obi-Wan directed the officers to where Rex and Padmé had run after the bounty hunters.
"He looks alright," the medic declared, "but we should get him to the hospital. He's probably dehydrated."
"No," Anakin blurted, "No hospitals."
Obi-Wan caressed his cheek. "Will he be alright if we skip the hospital?"
The medic sighed. "Most likely. Give him water, clean him up, keep him warm, and let him rest. If you have any doubts, take him in."
"Will do," Obi-Wan replied. Anakin leaned into him again. Rex and Padmé returned with the other officers, who carried Cad and Aurra.
"Are they dead?" Anakin asked, as Obi-Wan helped him stand.
"Just stunned," Padmé replied.
"Did they mention a baby in front of you, kid?" Rex asked.
"Yes."
"Oh, no," Rex moaned, rubbing his face. "You two, get her to the hospital. I'll have a car waiting for you on Tosche Street. Go!"
The officers left.
"You, too," Rex said, to the officers carrying Cad Bane. "Take him to the station."
"You need any more help here, Sheriff?"
"No, we're good," he replied, putting his hand on Padmé's shoulder. They nodded and disappeared behind the trees. Rex commed the station one more time, then handed Obi-Wan the lightsaber Cad had been keeping on his belt. Obi-Wan attached it to his and kept an arm around Anakin's side as he said, "I can't thank you two enough for tonight." He leaned down and kissed Padmé's cheek, then straightened up and kissed Rex's, the skin warming underneath his lips. "Thank you."
"It was nothing," Rex said.
"My little brother needed me," Padmé said, "I had to help."
"It was everything," Obi-Wan countered, "and no, you didn't. But now he's safe. Come here, Anakin." He lifted Anakin up to carry him. Anakin held on tight and smiled. "Let's go home," Obi-Wan said.
The four of them began the long journey through the trees. Anakin fell asleep in Obi-Wan's arms. Exhaustion started to settle in and Obi-Wan's pace weakened.
"You want some help?" Rex asked.
"Oh, no, you don't have to," Obi-Wan said quietly.
Rex holstered his flashlight and held out his arms. Obi-Wan surrendered. He passed Anakin off to Rex with only mild grumbling from Anakin's sleeping form.
"You've gotten tall, kid," Rex whispered. Padmé smiled. They carried on and made it to the motel eventually. The porch lights and the Kenobi Motel sign hadn't been turned on, thankfully, and Rex didn't notice the broken window.
"Do you want to stay here tonight?" Obi-Wan asked them. "It's very late."
"Yes," Padmé said.
"Rex?"
Padmé looked up at him hopefully. "Sure. I'm pretty tired," Rex replied, and Anakin stirred.
"Daddy?" he mumbled. Obi-Wan's cheeks warmed.
"Uh, no," Rex answered. "I'm gonna set you down, kid."
Obi-Wan took Anakin's hand and said, "We're home."
"Thank the stars," he responded.
They climbed the stairs to the house and Obi-Wan said, "I'm going to run a bath for Anakin. Padmé, your room just needs sheets, I think, and Rex, I can get you blankets in a moment." He went upstairs with Anakin and Rex helped Padmé make her bed.
"Does he know you've been sleeping over at my place?" Rex asked quietly.
"No," Padmé replied, "but if you want to sleep in my room, you can. It's better than the couch."
"I don't mind the couch."
"You don't want to sleep with me?"
Rex sighed. "I'm afraid I'll keep you up."
Padmé tucked in the last blanket and fluffed her pillow. "Are you worried about the kidnappers? Aurra, or whatever her name is?"
He nodded.
Padmé went to his side and gave him a kiss. "You did what you had to. Your blaster was on stun, wasn't it?"
"Yes," he said.
"She'll be fine."
"But the baby…"
Padmé frowned. "Try not to think about it," she said. "Now go make sure my dad hasn't passed out or something. I'm going to change." Rex laughed and left the room. Obi-Wan had prepared the bath for Anakin and left him to it while he picked out pajamas for him. Rex knocked on the open door of Anakin's room.
"Oh, hey, Rex," Obi-Wan said, "I'll get you those blankets in a second."
"That's alright, Padmé said I could sleep with her. With her in her room. I mean, in her room. Heh," Rex blathered.
Obi-Wan stared at him. Rex gulped.
"Just go to bed, Rex," Obi-Wan replied.
"Right, okay." Rex turned around and went back to Padmé's room. Obi-Wan sighed. He took Anakin's pajamas to his room, then went to the linen closet and pulled out the electric blanket. That would make things nice and toasty. He set it up over the bed and then went to check on Anakin. He knocked on the door. "It's your father," he said.
"Come in," Anakin called.
Obi-Wan came in and shut the door behind him before kneeling by the tub. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked.
"Much better," Anakin said, "I can feel my fingers again. And my toes…" He wiggled them.
Obi-Wan grinned. "Nothing hurts too much?"
Anakin's lips pulled to the side. "My hands look terrible," he said.
Obi-Wan pulled one out from under the water to observe it. He had split knuckles. His wrists were rubbed raw, and his hands were overall puffy and red from fighting against his confines. "They'll heal," Obi-Wan said softly. He was a little afraid of botching it if he tried to heal them himself.
Anakin replied, "My head is throbbing."
"I can get you some painkillers."
"Thanks, Father."
Obi-Wan ran his knuckle over Anakin's cheek. "My dear Anakin," he said.
Anakin smiled a little.
"What happened in motel room three?" he finished.
Anakin's face fell.
"Did you kill her, Anakin?"
"No, that was Cad Bane. He shot her."
"And the rest? That was you?" Obi-Wan asked.
Anakin avoided his gaze and nodded.
"Why? What could drive you to do such a thing?"
Anakin reached over the side of the tub to his pile of clothes and grabbed Elan's band. He handed it to Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan turned it over in his hands. "Elan?"
"Mhm. It was under her mattress. I knew that she'd killed him. He wasn't wearing it when he died," Anakin explained, "She's a changeling. Or she was. Elan said some things I didn't understand until I saw her. He said it wasn't you, your eyes are blue. Well, I made her show me how she did it. It was me, but with red eyes."
Obi-Wan stroked his beard, concern in his eyes. "Why would she kill Elan?"
"She was hired."
"By who?"
"Cad Bane killed her before I could find out."
"Ah."
Anakin felt very vulnerable under Obi-Wan's scrutiny.
"So you brutalized her?" Obi-Wan asked.
"She deserved it," Anakin returned.
"But did you need to be the one? Did you even stop to think that you might kill her? That you'd have a murder on your hands?"
Anakin took a shallow breath, and then another. "Am I a bad person?" he asked.
Obi-Wan sighed and grabbed the shampoo bottle. "No, my dear," he replied, and started scrubbing the dirt away from his hair. "It's natural to be angry. But revenge is not the Jedi way. It's not the right way."
Anakin turned around to face him with a head full of shampoo. "Do you forgive me?" he asked, eyes all teary.
Obi-Wan caressed his face with soapy fingers. "Yes, I forgive you. But that doesn't mean we're going to pretend this didn't happen. You have to let go of the darkness in your heart. Let Rex take care of the kidnappers. Remember Elan for the way he loved you, not the way he died. Do you think you can do that?"
"Yes, Father," Anakin said.
"That's my sweet boy," Obi-Wan said, smiling. "Tomorrow we tell Rex what happened in room three. There's no getting around it."
Anakin was quiet.
"It makes sense now, why all the evidence matches you," Obi-Wan said.
"It does?"
"Because the Clawdite changed into you. This is good, actually. You found the killer."
"But someone hired her," Anakin pressed.
"Shh, baby, I know. We'll tell Rex. I want you to rest now. Let's finish getting you cleaned up." Obi-Wan gave him a quick kiss and Anakin ducked under the water to rinse his hair. The heat of the bath felt wonderful. Anakin scrubbed himself down until the water was a mix of pink and brown. Obi-Wan worked some conditioner into his hair, and then had him lean forward so he could scrub his back. Anakin rested his head on his knees. "Do you still love me, Father?" he asked.
"I do. I always will," Obi-Wan said, and rinsed him off. He had him stand up and wrapped him in a bathrobe.
"I remembered playing hide and seek with you. And taking some of my first steps," Anakin told him.
Obi-Wan took some gauze out of the medicine cabinet and wrapped it around Anakin's wrists and hands. "That's great, honey. If ever you need me and I can't be there, just think of me saying it's going to be okay. And it will be."
Anakin closed his eyes and nodded. Obi-Wan curled an arm around him and kissed him slowly. Obi-Wan could feel him fading and pulled back to ask, "Bed?"
"Bed," Anakin agreed. They went to Obi-Wan's room and he folded the covers back as Anakin put on his pajamas. Obi-Wan picked some for himself as Anakin got into bed. "It's so warm!" he said.
Obi-Wan smiled at him and changed into some soft pants and a sleep tunic before crawling into bed. "It is warm," he breathed.
Anakin beamed at him. Obi-Wan smoothed the wet locks of hair out of his eyes. "Don't forget your medicine," he said.
"Oh." Anakin took a pill out of the bottle on the nightstand and popped it in his mouth, then downed it with some water. "Thanks."
Obi-Wan reached over to his nightstand and shook out some painkillers for him. "Here."
Anakin took those and laid back down, in near complete relaxation. "You saved me again, Father."
Obi-Wan breathed easy. "You've saved me every day of my life since you were born."
Anakin couldn't keep his eyes open. "Really?" he whispered.
"Really."
Anakin slept peacefully, and Obi-Wan followed soon after.