Dearly Departed: Chapter Six

There were all sorts of commotion coming from the bath after Obi-Wan had closed the door on the Queen. So much, that he was forced to check on Padmé again. Apparently, she was looking for something. Every cabinet door was open, every drawer, and a variety of items were haphazardly laid all over the floor. She was still hunting, though, so she hadn't found what she was searching for yet.

"May I be of some assistance?" he offered from the doorway.

"There has to be something here! It's a guest room, isn't it?" Padmé murmured more to herself than to him, as she continued to claw her way through the bathing supplies.

"Perhaps if you'd tell me what you're looking for, I could help," Obi-Wan announced, stepping into the room.

When she spun on him, her eyes were frantic, her face creased with worry. "Cosmetics. There has to be something in here!"

"Cosmetics?" Obi-Wan repeated with a smirk.

"Yeah, you know. The stuff women wear to improve their looks?" she replied rather sarcastically, once more taking up her quest.

She was obviously irritated and concerned. She had a right to be, and he could only imagine how she would react if she knew the truth. He was here to ease her worry though, wasn't he? To make her passage into the next realm as pleasant as possible?

"Padmé," he said to her as soothingly as he could manage, accompanied by a gentle touch to her arm. "You don't need any of those things. You are beautiful just the way you are."

Her face was beyond incredulous when she lifted her head toward him, and a long raspberry escaped her pursed lips. "You can't be serious."

Obi-Wan schooled his features and reached down for her. "I am being absolutely sincere," he vowed, lifting her to her feet. "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever known."

There. An actual truth. Perhaps it would make up for all of the untruths he'd been sharing lately, and it just may keep her from bringing up this subject again during her final days.

While he waited, her gaze gradually went from alarmed to curious, and then something he hoped was trust. She visibly relaxed before his eyes and one corner of her mouth actually lifted with a smile. It was small, but he'd take it.

"Come. The Queen brought you a change of clothing."

On the bed was a velvet gown in dark blue. It was fairly simple; not quite as extravagant as she was probably used to, but Obi-Wan thought it was lovely and that Padmé would look lovely in it.

"I'll step outside for a moment to give you some privacy if you'd like to change. Let me know if you need any help." He smiled genuinely and did as he'd said, thinking it would be just a few moments, when it ended up being a lot more.

Finally, the door cracked open and she stuck her face through it. "Obi-Wan? I'm afraid I need some help. Would you mind?"

"Of course not," he answered, opening the door and stepping back into the bedroom. Closing it behind him, he awaited her request and watched as Padmé spun around. Down the back of the gown were numerous small buttons with tiny loops to attach them to. Between the gap, Obi-Wan could see the skin of her back which was stretched tightly across her bones. He was shocked to see how emaciated she had become in such a short time.

"I don't know why, but I just can't reach them," she explained pulling her long hair to the side.

"You need to rest," he told her as he fumbled with the tiny buttons, silently cursing the clumsiness of his fingers.

"I'm not sleepy," she argued.

"It may do you some good," he tried to convince her. Not that he wanted her to sleep away their time together, but he was famished! He didn't want to eat in front of her and cause her any more concern. "I can help you with that as well."

"You mean, you're going to literally force me to go to sleep?"

Obi-Wan managed the final button and stepped back to make sure he hadn't missed any. "I'm not forcing you to do anything. It's your choice."

She turned around and Obi-Wan was pleased to discover the color of the gown took away some of the pallor of her skin. "All right, if you insist," she agreed with a sigh. "But just for a while. It's too early to sleep, and I don't want to be awake half the night."

"Understood," he told her as he accompanied her to the bed, where she lay flat on her back, her ribcage and hip bones noticeably protruding. He was just about to summon the Force and apply his hand to her temple when she stopped him.

"Wait. My head is itching. Would you do me a favor first?"

"Of course," he told her, withdrawing his hand.

"I found a hairbrush in the bathroom. Would you mind brushing my hair out? I think that will help me relax."

Obi-Wan grinned. She asked for so very little and seemed hesitant in doing so. Didn't she understand he would do anything she asked? "I'd be happy to," he told her, rising from the bed to retrieve the item.

He returned to find Padmé sitting upright with her back to the edge, her hair so long that it nearly reached the mattress.

He started at her scalp and ran the brush the entire length, catching a few loose strands here and there while Padmé hummed with appreciation.

"Thank you so much for doing this. Perhaps when I start to feel better, we can begin to discuss hunting down this assassin. I know you agree that hiding out is the last thing we should be doing. What we should be doing is looking for clues and trying to track down whoever is responsible for killing Cordé! I'm honestly surprised you haven't started that yourself. I've never known you to stand back and do nothing while there are criminals freely roaming about…."

Obi-Wan worked the brush through her long tresses while she spoke, keeping silent. She had a lot to say on the subject, and he wasn't surprised. She too was one who never hesitated in getting involved. She'd never been afraid to step forward and risk her life to save others. He would call her reckless, if he didn't know that her intuition was quite keen.

"My gut tells me that perhaps Count Dooku is behind this," she mentioned just as the brush snagged in a knot in her hair.

More keen than anyone had imagined, Obi-Wan thought as he tried to untangle her hair. He recalled Master Yoda bringing up her suspicion all those years ago. The Jedi Council should've listened to her. Perhaps things wouldn't have turned out the way they did if they had.

Obi-Wan gave the brush a quick jerk and gasped when he observed the result.

Stuck in the brush was more than just a few stray hairs. An entire clump of her dark locks had been removed, leaving behind a bare strip of her scalp!

"Perhaps you're correct," Obi-Wan told her, desperately thinking of what he could do. "What led you to this decision?"

While she recited her theory, Obi-Wan glanced about the room, spying the bottle of epoxy on the nightstand. He called it to his hand quickly using the Force and liberally applied it to the wad of hair in his hand. Pretending to massage her scalp, he pressed the glued portion back into place.

"That's nice," she purred. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," Obi-Wan squeaked, pulling his hand away, horrified to see a number of her hairs were stuck to his fingers. He immediately hid the evidence behind his back while he tucked her into bed.

"Just a short nap, all right?"

"As you wish," he agreed, applying his other hand to her temple and sending her to sleep with a strong Force suggestion.

He had planned on using this time to fill his empty belly, but first, he had to clean his hand. He hated it whenever he found a hair in his food.