POV: Obi-Wan Kenobi

The Senator and I had been overtaken by major firepower on behalf of the Death Watch. We were more than outnumbered. I wanted to fight my way through this so I could get to my Anakin. I missed him already and I knew he felt the same way. Whenever we were apart, there was part of us that longed for the other. A part of ourselves remained with one another no matter the distance between us. Our love wasn't easily broken, nor would it ever be. I love Anakin and he loves me. Nothing will change that.

Senator Amidala had her own Nubian blaster in her hands and was blasting back at the men between shots. We took refuge behind a durasteel table that had been flipped on its side. I sensed Anakin's presence fading away as though he had left the palace and that concerned me. He couldn't just leave me… Could he? If he hadn't left on his own, then something horrible had happened to him and I feared the worst. He was still alive and very conscious, but I didn't know what had gone down on his end. Satine, however, was close and one hundred percent fine. She was panicking and that made me panic as well.

"Senator, I sense a looming danger on Anakin's side. Let's go." I didn't really sense any immediate danger there. I just… I needed to know that he was okay. I craved the fact that I needed to see him right before my eyes in order for me to be sure that no harm had come to him. She nodded and we sprinted quickly from the table and into the hallway. Blasts followed us, ricocheting off of the durasteel walls, nearly hitting us more times than I could count on my hands and feet.

We made it to the other side and entered the hangar. Satine stood, alone, in the center of the hangar, staring out of the opening. I followed her eyes and immediately knew where Anakin had gone. I saw a Death Watch vessel fading further and further into the distance and I could feel that Anakin was on it. Not in it. On it. Satine confirmed that assumption as she expressed that he hadn't been able to make it in or jump off prior to its exiting of the hangar.

I leapt into a small air-speeder, knowing that Anakin wouldn't hold on for long. The ship was going much too fast for him to get inside and he would have to let go before they left the atmosphere. I wanted him to let go soon or I'd lose him. By now, his air would have been restricted slightly.

I started up the air-speeder and backed out before zooming out of the hangar, heading towards him. I watched in dismay as he let go and fell backwards. He was falling too fast and I feared that I'd hurt him. I decided that hurting him was a lot more durable than losing him as he smashed against the ground. At least I'd have a living, breathing Ani if I caught him. I flew towards him and dove down, estimating the precise place I needed to be at in order to catch him.

I pulled up at the right moment and looked up to see Anakin flip himself over so that he could see me. He threw his hand out and lowered himself into the speeder with the aid of the Force. He stood on the seat beside me briefly before sinking into it. He looked worn out and I felt… kind of bad. He looked pale and I wished I could help him. "Are you okay?"

He shook his head and held his stomach. I flew with one hand and pressed the other against his searing hot forehead. I stared at him, concerned. He looked like he was going to be sick. He closed his eyes and sat there very uncomfortably. It bothered me a great deal. He exhaled heavily and I hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath. "I'm all right," he whispered, his voice hoarse. I held his hand for a moment and he squeezed my fingers, which told me that he was being honest. The squeeze was always a signal of his sincerity.

I let go of his hand before we landed and the two women were waiting below for us.

He got out of the air-speeder and and I watched him to make sure everything was all right. The last thing I wanted to do was take my eyes off of him for a moment and have something horrible happen to him. He had been fine before, but looked like he was in pain and sick right now. Satine gave him a grateful smile and he weakly returned it, nodding his head. I saw Padme move in my peripheral vision and she didn't look too happy. I felt resentment emanating from her and I wondered where that had come from. Anakin told me he'd never been with anyone before me, so it seemed odd. "Master Jedi," Satine said aloud, extremely happy. "Thank you for your wondrous services. I truly appreciate you coming to my rescue."

I saw the hesitation and tension building up inside of him and he tried his best to answer with as much of a decent tone as he could. "I am happy to be of service, milady." Again, he bowed slightly. For some reason, his reply had irked me. Perhaps it was because I knew he felt like a slave of the Republic, and he resented his past due to slavery. He had left his home and his mother to venture into the freedom down the road of a Jedi, yet he still felt as though he were enslaved. He was bound by duty to serve the Republic and complete his duties as commanded of him. He had never liked doing things that others told him. The fortunate thing was, he and I had built up quite the relationship after he became my apprentice and he learned that my orders were generally for the best. They weren't always for the best and he trusted his own judgment as well to guide his decisions.

Anakin is a very smart man. He always has been. He's headstrong and reckless, but he knew what he needed to do and he almost always knew what he had to do in order to complete his mission with the utmost success. Unfortunately, I felt that he was losing his interest in living as a Jedi. Things between him and the Council hadn't gone so well as of late and they were riding on him over and over endlessly. He resented the Council and, in a way, they resented him in return. He resented them because he felt like they were holding him back. He felt like I had been holding him back. They resented him because of his immense amount of power. The power that he wielded could either damage or aid us greatly. Perhaps it was out of fear that the Council decided he wasn't fit to earn the complete rank of Jedi Master. He was knighted after completing his trials like any other Jedi, but he wanted to become a Master and he felt that it was unfair that he couldn't have the same treatment as any other Jedi.

In all honesty, I thought he deserved the title of Master, but I also felt that he was a bit too reckless and on edge to be deemed worthy of it entirely. He still had a lot to learn. I was willing to guide his path as much as I possibly could, but he would have to create his own destiny, make his own mistakes, and redeem himself from his mistakes. He was a man full of greatness and would one day earn his title.

We led the duchess to her room, making sure everything within wasn't compromised in any fashion before leaving her be. Padme went off on her own, leaving Anakin and me alone once again. I took his hand in mine and he intertwined our fingers.

He stumbled a little and I quickly shoved my hand up to push his chest in order to keep him from falling forward. He looked sicker than he had moments ago and I felt him tense up as he held my hand. "Anakin, what is going on with you? Don't try to suck it up, thinking you're stronger if you ignore it. Tell me what's wrong."

He sighed heavily and breathed slowly. "It's just a stomachache, Obi. It's nothing major, okay?" He didn't sound like he was giving me all the honesty I wanted, but I decided not to push. If he wanted my help, he knew he could ask me for it. He lifted his other hand to rest on the one I pressed on his chest. He gave me a weak smile and whispered, "I love you, Obi."

I leaned closer to him until he locked lips with me, moving them slowly in unison with mine. "I love you, too, Anakin."

We heard someone coming and immediately separated. This was one thing I hated about our relationship. It was very touch and go. We'd have moments to ourselves, but would be interrupted shortly thereafter. The most time we had together was when we locked ourselves in a room together. We spent so many nights together on missions and he was concerned that we might have clones catching onto us. The thing is, almost everyone in the area was a male. We all bunked together in one fashion or another. Sharing a tent with him wasn't awkward. No one would even realize that we quietly slept together – in both forms of the word.

One of Satine's guards came around the corner with a datapad. Anakin took one step forward in his direction and the guard immediately began acting strange. He looked shocked to see us and I watched Anakin's curiosity spark like a flame. "Have you a report?" he nodded towards the datapad, his eyes locked on it. He could sense something very wrong with this man just as I could.

The man didn't respond to Anakin and, before either of us could react, electricity flew out in a wave, striking Anakin. He screamed and writhed about, his fingers flexing awkwardly as he tensed up until he finally collapsed, falling to his hands and knees on the floor. I pulled my lightsaber out and, as the man struck me, I was able to quickly slice through the electric whip. I didn't like the smell emanating in the hallway. It smelled like Anakin's skin had been burned horribly and I was afraid that it had been.

I sliced through the whip, disabling it entirely, and held my weapon to the man's throat. I took a chance by looking over my shoulder at Anakin. He was alive and breathing, but trembling in pain. I averted my eyes from him, knowing that this man had to be dealt with for hurting my boy. "Now, who are you and what business have you in the Royal Palace?"

He was panicking and breathing heavily. "My business," he began, each 's' transforming into a hiss, "is not your concern."

Anakin, finally recovering from the volts that had coursed through him, rose up and came closer to me. He shoved my wrist aside and gripped the man's neck with his mechno, scaring me a bit. I hated when his dark side took over. It concerned me that he might turn into the very evil he's been fighting against for so long. "Once you set foot into this palace, your business is our concern," he growled.

The man struggled to breathe and I had the feeling that Anakin was tempted to kill him where he stood. I touched his shoulder gently, reminding him that I was still here and that he needed to calm his anger. He sighed and set the man down angrily, averting his eyes from the man as well as me. "We're taking you in for questioning," I announced, drawing Anakin's attention. I knew he liked interrogating criminals, but I wouldn't let him do it this time. "Anakin, stay within the area to keep an eye on the duchess for me."

I added 'for me' because I knew he'd do it. The sweet man always told me he'd do anything for me and I requested him to follow my order just by saying it. He looked as though I'd bound him to something he didn't want and I knew he felt just the way his expression made it appear. He wanted to fight me, but I knew he wouldn't. He, instead, nodded and solemnly walked away from me.

I sighed, knowing that he'd say something to me later about this. He knew I loved him and I made sure I told him through our bond as he left me. All I received from him was, "I know you do."