Part XVI

Obi-Wan found himself hesitating as it came time for him to connect the final wires on Anakin's right arm. With his left arm already back on-line it would have been easy enough for Anakin to repair his remaining limb, but he hadn't said anything when Obi-Wan had begun to work on his right arm.

As he'd expected, Luke had gotten bored with the goings on in the main bedroom and wandered off to amuse himself. Obi-Wan purposely kept his shields low, monitoring Luke as he explored all of the different cupboards, boxes and shelves in the cabin's common room. He was incredibly grateful that Luke was so easily amused given the tension that still existed between him and Anakin. The tension was no longer as great as it had originally been, but the animosity was still tangible.

"I keep trying, but I still can't figure out why you're helping me," Anakin admitted once all the servers and gears powered up.

Obi-Wan was silent for a few moments, trying to figure out how best to answer. Anakin has never been one to settle for half-truths and Obi-Wan doubted that the younger man would believe he'd done what he had out of affection for him. Affection hadn't stopped what happened on Mustafar. However, that was as much Anakin's fault as it was his.

"Luke should have the chance to know his father," was the answer he decided upon. Then, taking a deep breath, he looked up and met Anakin's penetrating gaze. "It's also my hope that I can save you now since I was not able to in the past."

"I didn't need saving," Anakin insisted, sounding as petulant as he had as a teenager.

He tired his best, but Obi-Wan couldn't stop the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips. "Need I point out that barely twenty-four hours ago your arms and legs were basically scrap metal?"

"A few burnt out circuits that any repair droid on the Death Star could have fixed," Anakin scowled, looking everywhere but at Obi-Wan.

"You're welcome."

Setting aside his tools, Obi-Wan rose from the bed and went out into the main part of the cabin. There was no point in trying to force a conversation with Anakin, it simply wouldn't work. He'd never known anyone as stubborn as Anakin and was fairly certain that had only become more pronounced over the past four years.

"Daddy, lookit this!" Luke cried as soon as he entered the common room. The blonde whirlwind charged up to him, a holopad in clutched tight in his hands. "Lookit! It's you n' Papa!"

Luke was utterly giddy, shoving the holopad into his hands. Obi-Wan fumbled with it for a moment, nearly dropping it as Luke shoved it hastily at him. When he did see what Luke had given him, Obi-Wan couldn't prevent a grin. It was indeed him and Anakin, both of them standing in absurd, but no doubt what others would consider heroic, positions, on the cover of a holonovel. Obi-Wan had known that a great many such holonovels had been produced during the Clone Wars, but he'd never thought to see one. During the wars he'd had no interest in them and later, once the Jedi had been declared traitors, such publications had been banned and destroyed. However, holiday cabins such as the one they were currently dwelling in, were highly prone to things being left behind and forgotten.

"This what Papa looked like wif hair?" Luke asked, tugging on the edge of the holopad so that he could peer at the image displayed. "An' no big owies?"

Obi-Wan crouched down so that he was at Luke's level, grinning over at the little boy. "This is indeed what your father looked like. Years ago, before you were born, when we were both very different people."

"That's not how it happened and you know it."

Sighing, Obi-Wan rested one knee on the ground so that he was able to turn his upper body towards Anakin. The younger man was standing at the entrance to the common room dressed in only his trousers, having replaced the synthleather gloves and boots that covered his prosthetic limbs. Everything about him, however, radiated barely contained fury. The fact that he was contained gave Obi-Wan at least some modicum of hope.

"I trust, Anakin, that you will recall what happened the last time you tried to force knowledge on Luke that was too far beyond his ability to comprehend and not do it a second time," Obi-Wan warned as he rose back to his full height. He lightly ruffled Luke's hair and handed him back the holopad and quietly instructed him to go play in his bedroom.

Anakin's scowl only deepened when Luke obeyed his request without comment. Luke paused briefly to show Anakin the image on the holopad before scurrying off to his bedroom, no doubt to search through it for more images in the files.

"He's my son," Anakin hissed, thankfully waiting until Luke was out of the room before speaking.

Obi-Wan inclined his head briefly. "I'm not denying that. However, at this time your judgement where he is concerned is somewhat impaired. I only have Luke's best intentions in mind."

Anakin glowered at him, stalking across the room so that he stood directly in front of Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan took the time to note that there didn't seem to be any uneven or jerky movements in Anakin's stride. He allowed himself a moment of pride at the fact that he'd managed to sufficiently repair Anakin's damaged limbs.

The air around Anakin was vibrating slightly. Not enough to shake the entire cabin, but noticeable nonetheless. Obi-Wan had to bite his tongue to prevent himself from reprimanding the younger man. Such a thing would do nothing except aggravate Anakin further. He'd spent enough time with Anakin during his adolescence to be able to read his ever-fluctuating moods.

As he watched, Anakin visibly pulled himself back, breathing deeply to control his emotions. Obi-Wan sighed internally and watched Anakin as he stalked out of the cabin. It was probably for the best that one of them left as things would undoubtedly get said that they'd later regret. Anakin was the only person who'd ever be able to lose control of his emotions. Luke was a close second in that category by virtue of him simply having known Anakin longer than Luke's four years of life.

Leaving Luke to his own devices in the smaller bedroom, Obi-Wan slumped down onto the sofa in the common room. He'd been well aware that the situation with Anakin would be volatile when he'd brought the younger man with them. What he had hoped to avoid was the constant butting of heads that had made up Anakin's adolescence. There had been so many times when Anakin was a teenager that he'd barely resisted the urge to shove Anakin off their small balcony. He certainly couldn't recall being that hormonal during his teenage years.

The difference with their current situation was the sheer amount of power and control Anakin possessed within the Force. Anakin was the most powerful being, Jedi or Sith, to ever exist and he could do some serious damage if he set his mind to it. And if Anakin was anything, it was unpredictable. A single throw-away sentence could set him off and destroy any of the trust Obi-Wan was trying to rebuild between them.

"I'm getting far too old for this," Obi-Wan groaned, longing at that moment for nothing more than the bottle of Corellian Ale that had been in his cupboards back in their old home. He'd never been much of a drinker, but there were times when the situation called for a stiff drink. Dealing with an extremely volatile Anakin was definitely one of those situations.

"Master, are you drunk?"

Obi-Wan glowered at Anakin from where he was sprawled on the floor in the middle of the common room. "I most certainly am not drunk. I'm meditating."

"Meditating? Is that what they call it now?" Anakin chuckled as he strode across the room. He crouched down next to Obi-Wan, amusement clear in his eyes. "It looks like you finished off that bottle of Corellian Ale that was pretty much full this morning."

"I finished it?" Obi-Wan sat up far too quickly, the room spinning about him. One hand to his head, Obi-Wan breathed deeply for several seconds as the world slowly righted itself around him.

It took him a moment to focus on the empty blue bottle that Anakin held in his hand.

"I finished it."

He scowled at the bottle, snatching it out of Anakin's hand and turning it over.

"Come along, Master," Anakin said, reaching over to haul Obi-Wan to his feet.

The older Jedi was far more wobbly than he would have liked, but he was able to remain upright under his own power. He stared at Anakin, unable to wrap his mind around his padawan's behaviour when only a few hours before the younger man had been ranting and shouting at him.

"I'm sorry, Master," Anakin said quietly, squeezing his hand briefly. "I forgot what day it was."

"You barely knew him," Obi-Wan murmured, breathing in deeply to quell the emotions welling up in him.

"It doesn't mean I should forget the day he died," Anakin insisted. "I should at least try not to antagonize you once a year."

Despite himself, Obi-Wan felt a smile tugging at his lips.

In their current situation, Obi-Wan knew there would be no apology from Anakin. He didn't expect or even want one. Obi-Wan had no idea how to define his and Anakin's current relationship. If there even was one. The only thing holding them together at the moment is Luke. Obi-Wan was fairly certain that Anakin would have killed him were it not for Luke's presence.

Even if Anakin never forgave him for what happened on Mustafar, Obi-Wan simply wanted Anakin to be whole once again. There were so many broken bits that made up the man he would always consider his best friend. Obi-Wan knew that he was just as guilty as anyone else who'd played a part in Anakin's downfall. The High Council and Palpatine had been forcing Anakin in completely different directions and he hadn't noticed. If he'd paid more attention, he could have done something to stop it.

"I'm sorry, Anakin," Obi-Wan murmured, scrubbing a hand over his jaw. The words were ones that he should have said to the other man a long time ago, but that he never seemed to be able to say. "I'm so very sorry."

xxxxxxxxxx

Daddy and Papa were happy. They were laughing and smiling, arms wrapped around each other. He'd seen Daddy look happy before, but it was a different happy. And Papa almost didn't look like Papa. He had no scars and still had hair and was smiling big and happy. They were on some funny planet without trees, just lots of mountains and sand. Daddy hated sand.

"You're trying to drive me crazy, aren't you? Turn all of my hair grey?" General Obi-Wan Kenobi accused the other Jedi. There was no anger in his voice, only amused frustration and affection.

General Skywalker smirked, dropping his gear into a heap on the dusty ground. "I'm doing nothing of the sort, Master. You simply worry far too much."

It was fun getting to hear Daddy and Papa being action heroes. The voices on the holonovel weren't Daddy and Papa, but they sounded almost like them. He could pretend that it was them and listen while he looked at all the images and vid clips on the datapad. Luke knew that it was just a story, that Daddy and Papa didn't really say the things the voices did, but the images were still real.

The Negotiator and The Hero With No Fear stood side by side, surveying the valley that separate their camp from the nearby droid army. The day was theirs, but there was still much to be done. The war was far from over.