Ventress was still brooding.

The second Obi-Wan entered Stass Allie's apartment, he could feel the thick, heavy atmosphere Ventress seemed to carry with her nowadays. The human Jedi woman wordlessly held up her hands, walking past him as he entered. Obi-Wan took this to be, watch her for a minute while I figure out a way to kill her without anyone knowing it was me. Obi-Wan closed the door behind himself and after Allie, and proceeded down the entrance hallway. He found Ventress curled up on the couch, stubbornly staring out the window with her arms on the side of the couch and her head resting on her arms. The entire lower half of her face was hidden by the pale limbs, but what Obi-Wan could see simply radiated hatred.

"Can I talk to you? Maybe?"

Ventress's icy eyes turned to him, slowly, and soon were fixed firmly on him. She said nothing, but her eyes softened the smallest bit. Obi-Wan took that as an affirmative, and sat down next to her.

"Hey," he said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. Ventress's skin shivered slightly at the contact, but she didn't pull away. "Can I talk to your face, instead of your butt?"

"You like it."

Obi-Wan looked amused and like he had been slapped at the same time. "Whoa, hello!" he said, a slow smile emerging on his face. "She flirts!"

Obi-Wan narrowly avoided a sharp kick to the skull for that one.

"Easy, easy," he laughed. "I was kidding. What, I'm not allowed to joke around you, now?"

"Just don't talk to me."

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, and moved closer to Ventress again. "Just calm down, okay?" he said softly, making no move to touch her. Ventress still ignored him, so Obi-Wan continued: "I don't want to hurt you. No one here does. We're Jedi: we don't harbor grudges, seek revenge. That is the dark path; and we don't dare go near it for fear of losing ourselves." Obi-Wan slowly reached out, laying his hand against the side of Ventress's face. "Isn't that what happened to you?"

Ventress whipped around, slapping his hand away. "Don't you dare!" she hissed. "That is not-…"

Her voice trailed off, and Obi-Wan looked at her with something like sadness on his face. "Ventress," he said, "Remember who you used to be? An innocent little girl, so excited to be trained as a Jedi. Content to play in your back yard, maybe playing with a ball with some friends. You then grew up like a normal teenage girl, but also a Jedi. And that was fine with you. But then, those vicious warlords of your planet took that all away. In a flash. I understand your pain, Ventress, I really do: and you probably didn't have another choice at that point. I know what your planet is like, and I know that to walk in the light was something that not many people did. I'm sorry you had to lose it all, but please, trust me when I say I understand-"

"Oh, you understand, huh?" Ventress hissed, anger clouding her bright blue eyes once again. "What could you possibly understand about it? You never lost your parents, or your siblings, or your master-"

"Oh, yes, I did," Obi-Wan said sharply. "While I never knew my parents, or my siblings, I knew they existed. And it hurt to grow up without them. But Qui-Gon was my father, in a way, and it killed me inside when he died, murdered by a Sith lord. But, unlike you, I had the benefit of others around to comfort me. So please, don't make such assumptions without proper basis."

Ventress seemed quieted by what she had just heard. Her aggressive posture relaxed a bit, and she seemed a bit taken aback by the fact that maybe there was someone out there who understood. "I-I'm sorry for your loss," she stammered finally. "How long ago was it?"

"About ten years, at this point," Obi-Wan said softly. "But, I do not mourn him. He has fulfilled his purpose in this universe, and has achieved eternity in the Force. He's undoubtedly happier now; I cannot want him to come back to this earth when he's in a better place."

Ventress seemed intrigued by the new look of death. "But…death is the end," she said. Her position shifted again: she turned around completely, and sat cross-legged in front of Obi-Wan. "Death is when you leave this world, and you never come back."

"But death is the beginning of a new life," Obi-Wan said evenly. "Yes, it is the end of the old life, but it is the beginning of a new one. And no one really knows for sure what comes after that."

Ventress slowly nodded, seeing Obi-Wan's point of view. "I was always terrified of death," she admitted. "I was always afraid to leave this world, and always thought that I would take any ticket to immortality there was. But, hearing you say this…it makes sense, in a way. I'm wondering if maybe…maybe, I was wrong...all this time…"

"We're all wrong at some point. Maybe now is that point for you."

For the first time, Ventress smiled.

A true smile, from the heart: not a sickly amused grin, not the hint of an impish smirk that usually graced her features, not the sadistic, terrifying smile of a killer crazed. No, this was a real smile, the way a smile was supposed to be used: to express some sort of positive feeling. And Obi-Wan had to admit, when Ventress was truly smiling, it was much more attractive than when she was grinning like a murderous Cheshire cat. And, since all her makeup had been washed off, he could finally see her true face…had she always been this attractive?

Obi-Wan mentally slapped himself. What am I thinking? he thought to himself. I can't be thinking like this-not again. I buried these feelings once, dammit, they will stay buried! Obi-Wan firmly told himself that he refused to feel any sort of connection between himself and Ventress. But, deep down, he knew that that had already happened. From the moment he learned her true past, he had felt that bond open between them, whether either of them acknowledged it or not.

Ventress, on the other hand, was simply confused. She didn't know what she was feeling-she had never experienced anything like it. It was sort of like her entire body was tingling; her skin crawled, her muscles twitched, her ligaments hummed, her nerves sang-she couldn't keep eye contact with him. She couldn't even bring herself to look at his face. Her hands shook slightly; she wound her fingers together in her lap to keep them still. Once safely inside Allie's room, she had been released from her restraints. But now, Ventress was almost wishing she hadn't. She could explain so much more with the convenient excuse-

Obi-Wan found himself reaching out to Ventress, offering calming waves of energy through the Force. The light side passed over to Ventress, softly caressing the part of her that was still that scared little girl who had no direction in life, no memory of what she once was, stumbling around in the dark, unaided by any sort of light in her life-

Obi-Wan felt her reach for him as well, both in a physical and literal sense. She needed this, he could tell. She was suffering, and suffering greatly. She had finally allowed her heart to open to him, and he prayed they wouldn't be interrupted-

Their hands touched, and met with fire.

The contact sent a shock down Obi-Wan's spine. Ventress's eyes widened, and her breath hitched in her throat. Both of them held their breath as his left hand and her right found each other, fingers interlocking, palms pressing together, sending electrical shocks down each of their spines, reverberating throughout their entire bodies, resounding off their every curve, echoing from every fiber of their being-!

Their breath came back.

"You felt that, too," Ventress whispered, suddenly able to look into those steel gray eyes of his. Obi-Wan nodded.

"I can't deny that," he said softly. Ventress reached for him again: he took her other hand, holding it softly in his own, unsure of what she wanted but sure of what he himself wanted-

"We can't-"

"We can't be-"

"But we are-"

"I'm a Jedi; you're a Sith-"

"Forget who the world sees me as-!"

"I can't do that!"

"Please! You see who I really am, and you're the only one who ever has, who ever can-!"

"Just because I see the real you doesn't mean I can accept her-!"

"You accepted me just fine a minute ago-!"

"I can't accept you if you love me the way I love you-"

They both froze, each coming to their own realizations.

And cursing themselves for what they had done to each other.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Force damn it-!"

"Calm yourself, Count Dooku. She is no loss to us."

"You don't understand, Lord Sidious-Ventress is weak, she will betray us-!"

"She is vulnerable, yes…but she will not betray us. She knows what awaits her if she does."

"She has an entire temple of Jedi protecting her-even we cannot overcome all of them, not even you and I together-sheer numbers would fatigue us, and-"

"Have faith, Lord Tyranus. I will get her back…as the Chancellor. Young Skywalker will not be able to resist such a request from such a pitiful old man as the Chancellor."

"Has he the power?"

"If he doesn't, I will give it to him."

"And me, my lord?"

"General, prepare your troops. You and Count Dooku will personally retrieve Ventress."

"Both of us, my lord?"

"Yes, Lord Tyranus. She will not resist you both. I can sense her in the dark side-she is being pulled from the current. We must take her back."

"But how, Lord Sidious-?"

"Punish her. Make her hate herself for ever betraying us. Make her suffer for even allowing herself to be captured in the first place. Error is not tolerated within the Sith. Make a nice public show of how much you are glad to have her back-and then make her hate you. She is a slave to us-remind her exactly of that!"

A bow, and the hologram disappeared.

Dooku sighed roughly, glancing up at the mostly-droid-one-eighth-sentient being next to him. Grievous stared back at him placidly through yellow reptilian eyes. "What would you have me do, my lord?"

"Gather the ransom," Dooku said shortly. "And ready an escort of your best troops. Asajj Ventress will be delivered directly to my hand. We will come back here, and then, you will leave. You are to ask no questions, you are to depart from here directly to where I will tell you to go. My master is working on a plan; as soon as he tells me, I will tell you. You are to do everything I say, exactly as I say it, or you two will both share a fate, have I made myself clear?"

"Perfectly."

"Then go."

Grievous clanked out of the room, leaving Dooku alone to brood on this. He really didn't want Ventress back-she had served her purpose, and why go through all the trouble to save her? Even Sidious had to know, you couldn't save someone who didn't want to be saved. And if Ventress was leaving the dark side, well-! That should tell you something right there! The only way Ventress would ever leave the dark side was if she chose to. No one could ever force her away from the dark. It was simply impossible! They should just kill her and spare themselves the trouble. Dooku shook his head, and then followed Grievous out of the room. He needed time to think.

OOOOOOOOO

"Master Ti?"

"She's just confused. I say give her a few days, and then try to get something out of her. The less trauma, the less clouded her mind will be, and the better chance we have of reaching her through rationality and the Force. Fear blinds her-she cannot be reached now."

"Master Fisto?"

"Sic Obi-Wan on her. She'll be squealing in no time."

Mace's eyebrows furrowed at this statement from Kit. "Explain, please?" he said slowly.

"While we were on the ship with her, Ventress was just…she was freaking out," Kit said, shaking his head. "So, Obi-Wan said he would talk to her, and about the second he reached her…I don't know, it was just this weird sensation in the Force. Master Luminara felt it, too: she said it felt like all the tension just drained out of Ventress's body, and she just completely calmed down. Her words are perfect for the emotions I felt through the Force: Ventress had calmed down, and considerably so."

"Are you saying she trusts Obi-Wan?" Plo Koon asked, setting his elbow on the arm of his chair. The side of his head met his curled-over fingers, and he stared blankly at the rest of the Council present.

"I would think so," Stass Allie said softly, glancing around the circle. "I was going to inform Obi-Wan of the Council meeting, but Ventress was being slightly less than charming. I was about to go find Obi-Wan when he showed up at my door. The second she saw him, this little shiver came off her, almost like she was happy to see him."

Mace's gaze swiveled to Yoda. "Well, Master Yoda?" he asked. "Your take on this?"

A small, gravelly hum of thought emitted from Yoda's throat. "Trust Obi-Wan, it seems Ventress does," he said slowly. "Take advantage of this trust she places in him, we must, for whatever reason. If bonded with Master Kenobi she has, trouble, there will be."

Shaak Ti nodded. "I passed Master Kenobi in the hallways earlier today," she said. "He had a lot on his mind, I could tell. His footsteps were so off-rhythm for him…it was slightly disturbing."

Pablo-Jill blinked once at Shaak Ti. "You observed his foot patterns, above all else?" he said skeptically.

Shaak Ti shrugged. "My montrals," she said, "pick up more of that sort of thing than anything else. Also, his heartbeat was a little fast, his blood pressure was the same, though, but his breathing was a bit out of synch, and his footfalls were heavier." Ten pairs of eyes were suddenly on her. Shaak Ti shrugged slightly, drawing herself closer together. "He's usually a light, graceful mover," she muttered. "Today, he looked like he would trip if I disturbed the mere air around him."

"So he's noticed it, too," Mace sighed. "Well, I think we've all reached an equal verdict here: we need to use Ventress's trust in Obi-Wan against her. Any objections?"

None.

Yoda shook his head sadly as the Council filed out of the chamber. What have we fallen to, hm? To resort to such trickery, a Jedi must not. But, unfortunately, fear we have no other choice, I do.

A/N: I think this is my favorite chapter so far. Review, please.