Author's Note: The paragraph that is in bold/italics/underlined is directly from the book "Secrets of the Jedi".

I do apologize for the lateness in getting this chapter out. My work schedule has left me drained to the point where the brain just doesn't want to work most of the time.

Chapter 4: The Request

Part I

They said to me what I already knew. What you already know. The rules will not change. And if we leave the Jedi together, we will never rest easy with that decision. We will regret it everyday. And sooner or later that would lie between us and be greater than our love.

Obi-Wan to Siri

Secrets of the Jedi

Anakin swore softly to himself as he realized the time. The Chancellor's personal shuttle would be arriving in any minute, and he was no where closer to finding a way to save Obi-Wan then he was half an hour ago. Growling in frustration, Anakin grabbed his bag that he kept readied for any possible missions and a data chip off of the table as he ran out of his personal quarters and towards the landing bay.

Concern for his wife and child as well as his former master were foremost in his thoughts as he raced through the corridors, not caring if he knocked anyone down on his journey. Luckily, the corridors were empty, for many had joined the Force throughout the Clone Wars, and the few who survived were sent back to fight on the front. The only thing that seemed to be in abundance in the Jedi Temple were the younglings who had yet to be taken as a Master's or a Knight's padawan; with the high number of deaths few were being taken as it was.

Anakin had barely stepped into the landing bay when two of the Jedi's starfighters landed. Anakin ignored them as he waited for the Chancellor's shuttle to arrive, while still trying to figure out to do with Obi-Wan. Several minutes went by when a familiar voice caught his attention, causing him to turn around, facing the starfighters. Stepping out of the fighters were his long time nemesis, Jedi Knight Ferus Olin, and… Master Tachi!

Maybe. Just maybe she could help him.

As important as it was for him to see to the safety of his wife and unborn child, he knew that he could not leave before finding a way to save his former master. Now with the arrival of the Jedi Master Siri Tachi, he felt that the Force had answered his prayers. Now, hopefully he could convince Master Tachi to complete them for him.

It had been a long and grueling four months in the Outer Rim for Jedi Master Siri Tachi and her former Padawan, Jedi Knight Ferus Olin. A mission that had started as a simple reconnaissance had turned into a deadly air and land battle with the Separatists and a platoon of their super droids. Towards the end of the battle, Siri had actually been ready to become 'one with the Force', as close as both Siri and her companion had come to joining the Force on several occasions. But help had arrived in the form a clone company and a young newly knighted Barriss Offee, courtesy of the Council and Chancellor Palpatine.

Siri climbed out of the cockpit of her starfighter to find her former padawan waiting for her at the side of her ladder. She grinning affectionately at him, as she asked, "Well, Ferus, should we go eat first or go straight to the healers as the Code mandates?" They were no longer master and padawan, but she still loved to tease her former padawan about his obsession to follow the rules. Very much like another Jedi she had known.

Having had been Master Tachi's padawan for ten years prior to his knighting five years before, 25-year-old Knight Ferus Olin had quickly adapted to his former master's unorthodox methods. Ferus had learned early on in the apprenticeship, that no matter how much you knew or memorized of the Jedi's 'Codes of Conduct' manual, it meant nothing when face with life outside of the Jedi Temple. And even if some of the codes could apply to the situation, Master Tachi followed her own set of rules, the same set of rules that were handed down to her from her own master, the late Jedi Master and Council Member Adi Gallia. It was rumored that some of those rules had also been created by the late Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, a maverick of his own accord.

"As much as I love going to the Healers," Ferus began sarcastically, "I am in dire need of real food after months of those nasty nutrition capsules and recycled water. I think that if I have to look at another nutrition capsule anytime soon, I fear I may go insane. You would think that after all the complaining we have done about the taste of those capsules, they would come up with something that was more appealing than chewing on a bantha hide."

Siri chuckled as she glanced fondly once again at the young man before her who meant as much to her as a son towards a mother. He had even driven her insane on numerous occasions as children were apt to do to their parents, although for different reasons. She couldn't count the number of times she had tried to get him to loosen up on his rigid stance towards following the rules. It always reminded her of another fellow padawan who also had an obsessive penchant for following the rules and being the 'perfect padawan'. Even to this day, Ferus still reminded her of her old friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi. An image of Obi-Wan as she had seen him twenty years before in the Room of a Thousand Fountains materialized, causing her to wonder why she was constantly thinking of him, especially now after all these years.

That particular time in her life was a chapter she had already closed and was not willing to reexamine it again. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts and the image of Obi-Wan, she focused her attention on the young man in front of her. "How do you feel about going to 'Dex's Diner'? We did promise Dex we would drop by the next time we were on leave at the Temple."

As if to answer her question, Ferus's stomach began to growl, causing him to blush a bright red with embarrassment as the two chuckled in humor. "I could never get tired of going to Dex's to eat. He's always had the best bantha steaks and the freshest ardees on Coruscant."

Mockingly, she exclaimed, "I thought I made the best bantha steaks."

"You do… if you like them extra crispy." Ferus rolled his eyes as he laughed at his former master's antics. He respected and loved the older woman dearly; a woman that was capable of many things… except for cooking. He learned very early into the apprenticeship that Master Siri could not cook, she couldn't even boil water correctly. When it came to meal time, most of their apprenticeship had been spent either at Dex's Diner or at the DFAC (dining facility) in the Temple.

Siri was prevented from making a sarcastic retort when a voice from behind, interrupted her.

"Master Tachi."

Siri did not have to use the Force to guess the identity of the voice; the look on Ferus's face explained it clearly to her. Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi's Chosen One… and Obi-Wan's former apprentice. One of the… wait… no, the only individual in the Temple that Ferus could not tolerate. The only individual that on many occasions had gotten Ferus to lose his Jedi calm.

She quickly gave Ferus a look that clearly stated to behave before turning around to face Knight Skywalker. "Good morning, Knight Skywalker."

"Morning, Master Tachi, and welcome back," Anakin replied, not sparing a glance towards Ferus. "If you have a moment, I would like to speak to you… privately." He glanced behind him to where his transport was expected to arrive in a matter of minutes before turning back to face Master Tachi to add, "It's important… very important."

As much as he disliked Knight Skywalker, he was not going to disgrace his former Master's teachings by conducting himself in a manner unfitting for a Jedi. Besides, he could see the look on Skywalker's face that it had to be serious. Touching Siri lightly on her shoulder to get her attention, he gave her a gentle smile as he said, "Master, I'm going to head to my quarters to freshen up before we go to Dex's. If you want, I can meet you there in… say… half an hour?"

Siri nodded while gracing him with a smile of her own, watching him leave the landing back. She turned back around towards Knight Skywalker, who had turned to look behind him once again. She could not tell if he was simply looking for something or someone… or just being impatient. 'Youths these days,' she thought to herself. To the young Knight, she asked, "What is wrong, Knight Skywalker?"

Startled, Anakin turned to face the older Jedi, his face was slightly tinged with red from embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Master Tachi. My shuttle is due to arrive shortly…" He trailed off.

For a brief moment, Siri thought that she could see the internal conflict that was waging inside the young man. But as quickly as it came, it disappeared, making her wonder if she had just imagined it. "How can I help you?"

Anakin looked at Master Tachi, a feeling of uncertainty entered his heart before he squashed it. Master Tachi was the only one of his master's friends and close acquaintances that could help him in this dire issue. Master Garen Muln, Obi-Wan's best friend, was away on a mission with his padawan and was not expected back for another seven days. Not soon enough to help him with his old master. And Healer Bant and Master Reeft had both been killed three years before in the slaughter on Geonosis. So it was up to Master Tachi to save his mentor.

He looked down into her blue eyes, seeing the concern taking shape in them, not realizing the impact that his words would have on her. "It concerns Master Obi-Wan."

QueenNaberrie: Great update! Thanks! Nice twist with him dreaming about Obi-Wan's death instead of Padme's. Part of me has always wondered what Anakin would do if he had dreamed of Obi-Wan's death instead of Padmé. So, I've been having fun writing this. And he's been given permission to protect Padme. But what is Palpatine up to? Obviously something to distract Anakin with. And Palpatine always has to have his hands in something. And I wonder if the distraction that gets Obi-Wan killed is Anakin showing up to help him. Well, you shall have to wait and see. Perhaps he should just stay with Padme. Anakin would definitely agree with you on that. Please update soon. Ask and you shall receive.

Kyer: Oh crap. Anakin the Idiot is going to be the distraction that helps General Grievous off Obi-wan. Maybe… maybe not. And Obiwan is going to be angry and then seek forgiveness for being angry as his last dying thought. Well, he is human. Plus, Anakin lied to him over the years, I would definitely be upset about something like that. Jinn really should have left that kid in the desert. And Jar Jar too, come to think of it. Especially Jar Jar. No, no, no. No Jar-Jar. He was definitely one of my least favorite characters.

Kim-Gordon: Oh no! How is he going to save his wife and Obi-wan?! hangs on the edge of her seat Yeah, he's stuck in the middle between a rock and a hard place. He only gets one choice, but who to save?

Sakura123: Okay, I was seriously wary of this story, especially because of its given title. The beginning of the story was basically a bit weird for me, because I had to replace PadmeDeath-Scene with an unforeseen Obi-WanDeath-Scene and for lack of a better word, my imagination got the better of me and I was seriously left with an open mouth. I had thought I had stumbled into a Slash fanfiction that bore no warning! But then I calmed down when the PadmexAnakin element came into play. Nevertheless, I almost stopped reading this story again because the way you portrayed Anakin's bewildered and disbelief towards Palpatine's words, felt just a little OOC. Sorry, this is definitely not SLASH. I'm not a fan of it either, nor will I write it.

That is, of course, until I got into a scene of "Chapter 3: Part II" in which Anakin returns true to his form and goes off on Obi-Wan after he tells him to end his marriage with his wife. That was a totally awesome scene right there; You captured that angry side of him so well, I was actually enjoying their argument. I had fun writing that scene, although it was one of the harder chapters for me to write – as of which I still can't figure out why. From there, the pieces of the puzzle were coming together; Especially since the "forgive me" nightmare now had description. I was trying to create a moment with those words at the beginning of the story. When I started outlining the story, that particular phrase just stayed in my mind. It was something that I had to use. The AnakinxPadme moment was written excellently as well; Her story about what could've happened between herself and Corde was touching and obviously food for thought for an angry Anakin. I remember the first time I had seen AOTC, I had wondered why Cordé was apologizing to Padmé. And I felt that it would fit into what I had planned for 'Dreams Pass in Time". I also liked how you illustrated Obi-Wan as upset with his Former Padawan's secret and yet decided to keep it to himself (that, in my opinion, is very Obi-Wan). Obi-Wan always struck me as the type that was very loyal and would never (intentionally) betray a person, especially his own padawan who he cared for. As for the current events of the last updated chapter: Anakin has found himself between Potential Death and a Hard Place. This shall be an interesting conundrum to see him deal with. Yes, it makes one wonder what he will choose to do. All in all I'm seriously enjoying this story! I'm glad you are enjoying the story. I hope you Update soon! I wanna know what happens next! Well, ask and you shall receive.

Sabra jaguar: Ouch. No pressure there. Poor Anakin is carrying such a heavy load--needing to protect Obi-Wan, Padme, the Chancellor's interests--it's a wonder he can even stand up straight. Well, he is the Chosen One… Anyway, great story! Hope you update soon! I can't wait to see how your vision turns out. Thank you. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. Well there will be another vision coming soon, just not in this post.