Chapter 10: a new understanding
I was so close, she was right there!
Lance walked through the large ship that belonged to Grievous, he, of course, was nowhere to be found.
"Sir, count Dooku is waiting for you," said one of the droids.
"You must be mistaken, he is waiting for Grievous, not me," Lance smiled warmly.
"Well, yeah at first, but, he asked for you once I told him you were here."
Lance continued to have that bright warm smile, even after he sliced the droids head off, and walked into the room where his father's holo stood waiting for him.
"Afternoon father, long time no see," he grinned.
Dooku wasn't smiling, and as he saw his son, which was probably the first time in a long time, he only narrowed his eyes and his natural frown deepened. Lance sighed and stopped smiling. He could feel his father's anger and disappointment, and he hated it.
"What have I told you about interfering?" Dooku asked.
Lance looked up at him and sighed. "father I meant no harm, if anything you should be glad, that cyborg didn't destroy all of his troops, and we managed to deplete the enemies, so no harm no foul."
"NO FOUL! You are mistaken! Again like always Lance you have disappointed me, what made you interfere?" He demanded.
Lance had braced himself for this, it was the same thing every time he sees him, but it didn't mean that he was used to this, no, far from it. His father's words were like knives cutting away at whatever soul or heart he had left. He looked up at the man that had helped create him, and frowned.
"Sorry, allow me to fix my mistake, and make the situation the way it should be if Grievous was left to his own plan," and with that he pulled the closest droid to him with the force, and sliced it in half.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"What does it look like father, I'm finishing an incomplete job," he filled his words with as much hate as he could muster, and then continued. "don't look at me like that, you think I'm some kind of failure, I wouldn't have been, you know I'm force sensitive, you know that I have more ability then you ever thought I would, yet you chose some woman over me, you left mom, and you hated me, you think I was going to let you get away with it?" the boy scoffed and sliced another droid's head clean off its neck. "sorry father, but I'm not some boy you can abandon without having to pay for it, you have abandoned me every time you get the chance, you left me for dead that night, the night Angel slipped through my fingers, and I was pushed over the edge of the building, you didn't even bother to look for my body!" he threw his lightsaber into the control panel laughing as his father's holo was destroyed. Lances eyes were rimmed in red, and, after killing everything in the room, he fell to his knees looking up and laughed. He refused to cry like when he was a child, no, he would never shed another tear for that fool of a man. Standing up he turned around to see his friend standing in the doorway, he just stared at lance not knowing what to say.
"How…how long have you been there?" he asked running a hand through his hair.
"Long enough," Grievous replied, moving aside for Lance to leave.
"Oh, sorry you had to see that," he chuckled. "I'll leave; you might want to get that room fixed."
Lance returned to his original shuttle and was walking on when grievous called out to him, he turned around and blinked questionably at the man.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"This isn't like me, but, don't let him pull you down, you're a good kid," grievous finished before going into a coughing fit,
Lance smiled and nodded his head. "I won't I promise," he waved goodbye and left the ship.
I won't forget this my friend, one day; I'll repay you for your kindness, but not today. Also sorry for the room, that was uncalled for….
Angel woke up and looked around the med bay, she sighed, thinking that she was taken by the separatists and wasn't going to be able to see her master, or anyone she knew, but then she remembered her dream, she felt her brother hold her hand, and calm the storm in her dreams, she had to be with them, she must be.
"Finally your awake, do you know how worried everyone was?" Spaz asked, getting out of bed and walking to her.
She shook her head, "no, I'm sorry where is everyone?' she asked.
"Getting you your item, if you know what I mean."
Angel blushed. "n-no they aren't allowed in my room, and, and they can't he is in my room on master Soo's ship."
"Yeah, guess who saved you from being taken," Spaz smirked.
Her face was calm and a bright smile spread across her face. "The 130th," she breathed, and Spaz nodded his head.
A few minutes ago….
Runt held in his laughter, unlike some of the others who were being led to commander Sada's room on the Leviathan.
"Can you guys act your age for once?" Doc asked, and Lucky, Rex, and Anakin had stopped laughing. He honestly didn't know why they came, he could have gotten her Ash on his own, he didn't need these three "kids" giggling and following him.
"So, you're telling me she never leaves without it?" Anakin asked.
"Yup, sleeps with it every night, and takes it off ship when she goes to the temple." Lucky nodded, and the other two started chuckling again.
"Alright you three, stay here, because for obvious reasons, your too young to handle yourself if you saw it," Doc announced and typed in the code to unlock Angel's room door, he was given that number because he was the one who had to get her pills down her throat, by force if he so needed to, which was every time. He entered the room, and pushed two of the three pillows she had on her bed, there sat a stuffed gray bear, with half of his right ear missing. Doc smiled and walked out of the room, his large hand engulfing the bear's midsection. As he walked out the others stared blankly, at the old worn out bear, and they stopped their laughing.
"You know it isn't all the funny when you see it up close," Anakin stated.
"Right, we, were out of line, laughing like that," Rex admitted.
Runt Walked to Doc and stared at the bear.
"It's the first toy she was given when she was a child, she never leaves without it, Runt, take it to her, I don't have time to do it myself." Doc said with a smile.
Runt took the bear and stared at it for a moment then at Doc, he was too busy to hand his sister a stuffed bear…that she cherished more than anything she owned…Doc chuckled, and lucky shook his head. If there was one thing Runt should remember, was that he couldn't hide anything from his brothers. And if he didn't know any better, he swore they were all trying to set him up with her.
"Right, I'll make sure this gets to the commander," he said and turned around heading back to the shuttle they used to get on board the leviathan, and headed back to Angel.
When I was asleep, I dreamt that I was being dragged away, and no one was coming for me, then I felt a warm hand take mine, and suddenly I wasn't alone anymore, I had family, and as I thought about it for a while, I realized, that when I needed you the most you were right there.
Angel was up and walking around the ship, with a little help from Ahsoka, she didn't know any other girl and was grateful for her company and her help. She found out what happened, the number of fallen and injured, and that bit of information made her stomach turn. Ahsoka had asked her if she needed to rest, but Angel was as stubborn as her father, and refused to lay down when there was things she needed to do, or wanted to know.
"Leviathan returned, and their crew saved me," she noted once again making sure that what she heard was correct.
"Yeah, it took them a while to find you, and that was only after getting more troops from Kamino, but they seemed very happy to see you," Ahsoka smiled and placed a hand on Angel's shoulder.
"I'm glad," she started then rubbed her arm with one hand. "Ahsoka, can I ask you a question, not as Jedi, but as girls," she finished.
Ahsoka didn't know what she was going to ask, but nodded her head. "Sure, go for it."
"I don't know what to call this, its new to me, yet oddly familiar, a constant want and need, I feel like I can't live on without him, and every time I feel him, his touch, and hear his words, I feel so odd," she began, not saying that it was Runt whom she was talking about. "Can you tell me what I'm feeling?"
Ahsoka listened, and she didn't need to pause to ponder on her words. No, she knew what Angel was feeling, and that was because she felt the same thing, not for the same guy of course, but for a guy of her own. "I'd say you're in love," she replied. "But, as a Jedi, we aren't allowed to have attachments."
The girls sighed at the last few words, "attachments, I hate that word, it sounds so ugly," she made a face and shivered.
Ahsoka giggled and agreed with her, but now she wondered who this guy was, it really didn't take long, she had three 'brothers' Doc, Spaz, and Lucky, she sees them every day, the only one left that Angel ever hung out with, whom she smiled with, and talked to….was Runt. Ahsoka's smile got wider. "So, it's Runt huh?" she asked.
Angel nearly tripped; she coughed and looked away hiding a blush. "N-no, what would make you say that?" she asked her voice shaking a bit, a little nervous.
"Oh you know, a girl has a way of knowing," she smiled.
Angle turned her head to the Togruta, who was smiling from ear to ear, knowing that she got it right, and there was no way for Angel to deny it. "Yeah, but it's not like it's going to matter, I have four days left here, and days go by fast, especially during a war." Angel huffed. "It's not like I can take him with me, no matter how much I want to."
"Do you think telling me your personal feelings is right? I mean I am a Jedi," Ahsoka asked.
"yeah, not only are you a girl, you also seem to be in the same situation as I, don't try and hide it, I can sense it, every time I walk past you and your man, I can tell," she beamed as she continued walking, leaving Ahsoka wide eyed, and shocked, behind her.
Returning to the med bay, the girls saw Runt sitting on the bed with Angels stuffed bear in his hands, he seemed to be waiting for a long time. Angel walked to him, and he looked up at her smiling.
"We thought you might want this, uh, him, since all this crap started happening," he smiled holding out the bear.
Angel took the bear and hugged it. "Thank you," she said then pulled something from behind, it was a small metal tag, which read, "BFF" she didn't remember who gave her the bear, but she knew she never left it, and she had to have it with her. She wrapped her arms around Runt's neck, and hugged him, her head resting on his shoulder.
Startled by the hug, he didn't know what to do at first, but he slowly hugged her back, his heart beating faster than he would have thought was possible, then calmed as the hug continued. "I thought I was going to lose you," he whispered, tightening his hug.
"I'm sorry I worried you, i…I just couldn't live with myself if you died because of me," she replied weakly, she was trying hard not to cry, not when there was others in the room. "I wasn't thinking."
Ahsoka stood in the door way, wondering how Angel could be so comfortable whit her here, the things she was doing could get her in trouble, yet it seemed that she was oblivious to it, to the danger. Spaz walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, then tilted his head towards the open door, signaling that they should let the two be for right now, just for tonight. Ahsoka nodded her head and followed the clone out, the door sliding behind her.
"Let's not tell anyone of this, I'm asking this as an older brother, and not a soldier," Spaz said softly his attention not on the Jedi next to him, but nowhere to be precise.
"Just this once Spaz," she smiled. "What's so important about that bear?" she asked.
Spaz looked down at her then shrugged. "Not even she knows, she just knows that she refuses to get rid of it, or leave it behind, there isn't a reason behind it," Spaz started. "Doc thinks it might be one of the few things she cherished before she was adopted, maybe a gift from a friend, or something."
Ahsoka nodded her head. "Oh, well, alright, I'll be heading to mess, what about you?" she asked.
"I'll be keeping watch, the last thing I want is my baby sister to be in trouble," he smiled warmly, for the first time since he has been here, he finally smiled, a smile that wasn't sarcastic, or filled with secret intent, this was genuine and filled with the warmth that Lucky and Doc always had in their smiles.
She was again taken back, "alright, I'll see you later then," she waved a hand goodbye and went to the mess.
Why is it that when I met you, I suddenly feel more confident, that when I fall you are there to pick me up, and when I cry, you wipe the tears away, and hold me when I need to be held, you make me feel like I can do anything, with just one smile. ~Angel
Why is it that when I felt like giving up, like there was nothing in my life worth fighting for, that all I was supposed to do was live fight and die, you come in my life and turn everything I know upside down, with just one smile. ~Runt
And now, now I need you more than ever, if only you knew how I felt, if only I had the courage to tell you how I felt! ~angel and runt