I am sorry everyone. These last few weeks have been absolute chaos for me, and it will only get worse! I am not only a sci-fi geek ( and I mean that in the nicest way possible) but I am also a horse-nut. I own a very pregnant mare (283 days, yikes!) and she has begun to show signs of something being wrong...whether it is or isn't, very shortly I will have my hands full with a bouncing baby. (I hope). I promise to keep plugging away at my little fic...for now, I leave you with a smidgen of what is yet to come. A big post is in the works!
"Anakin! You cannot pretend that nothing happened! Burying the past does not erase it." Obi-Wan crossed the room in enormous strides and picked his former apprentice up off the couch forcibly. He held Anakin at arm's length for a moment, and then crushed him close in a hug. "I am sorry my friend. I am sorry for your pain, and for your loss. But think of this: your children are now in the Emperor's charge—"
"Padme would never let him hurt them. Never! She would die first." Anakin's eyes flashed wildly as he pushed away from Obi-Wan to pace the room.
"Would she? She is not your wife now, Anakin. Nor is she the idealistic senator she was ten years ago. Would she know if they were being manipulated? If she herself was?" Obi-Wan moved to block Anakin's path and forced the younger man to look up at him sharply.
"Ten years ago you were willing to sell your soul to that monster to keep your child safe. To spare your wife the agony of dying in childbirth. Will you not stand up to him now, to save your children from that fate? Will you not take a stand to rid the galaxy of this madman?" Obi-Wan watched as Anakin's face fell, and tears threatened. He turned and made his way to the window, running his hand over his scruffy beard; then brushed at his eyes and stared silently out into the approaching duststorm.
"We need your help, Anakin." Obi-Wan whispered. "She needs your help. I'm getting too old for this sort of thing."
"It's all so far away from here." Anakin began softly, fingering the frayed edges of his tunic.
"You sound like Owen." Obi-Wan couldn't resist pointing out.
"I can't get involved again. What's done is done, Obi-Wan." Anakin said flatly. "I can take you as far as Anchorhead. You can hitch a ride with your rebel friends to Alderaan or where ever you're going."
Obi-Wan sighed heavily, but nodded. "You must do what you feel is right, of course."