Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, followed or favourited! I appreciate all of the feedback I've got! By the way, to all those who've previously read this story, I have changed the title- I hope that didn't confuse anyone ^^; I hope you enjoy my next chapter!

coco:Thank you for the review! I hope you enjoy this chapter ^^

Pam: Thank you for the review! :3

Disclaimers- Nope, still not George Lucas.

When Obi-Wan would look back on that particular event, he found himself grateful that his padawan wasn't old enough to appreciate the look of complete and utter shock on his face. Doubtless he would have had his irritating smirk playing on his mouth as he watched his master fall back onto his backside, simply too shocked to stop himself. But at the time, all Obi-Wan was concerned with was this small boy, this youngling that was impossibly his padawan. His surprise grew as the impossible Anakin hit him on the knee with a small hand.

"Late!"

Obi-Wan blinked, "I-I'm sorry?"

The child had a scowl on his face, a scowl Obi-Wan knew all too well, having seen it far too many times on a disgruntled padawan forced to do homework or wash the dishes, a scowl that had somehow transferred onto this small boy's face.

"Late!" Anakin piped up again, glowering up at Obi-Wan, "Where were you?" sadness crept into the child's features and a look of hurt, one which the Jedi could feel throb through the bond, overtook the anger that had been so prominent, "needed you," he said plaintively, frowning at him.

All Obi-Wan could do was stare. Really, the pair must have looked quite comical, a gaping Jedi and a two or three year old child swathed in a too large tunic, "Anakin?" he blinked, trying to clear his thoughts, "Anakin is... Is that you?"

The hurt look intensified, "Yes!" he exclaimed, looking extremely offended that his own master couldn't recognise him, "'m your padawan," he finished off rather sadly, the scowl now turned into a familiar pout.

It seemed all Obi-wan's questioning was doing was reaffirming what appeared to be both impossible and yet the only available conclusion and upsetting his padawan. He took a deep breath, trying to regain some of his Jedi calm that had been lost with Anakin's appearance. He doubted even the most grounded of Jedi would find this baffling situation easy to deal with.

"I'm sorry, Anakin," he said, placing a hand on his arm, trying to hold off his surprise at feeling his entire palm engulfing the small limb, "but... what happened?"

Anakin opened his mouth to speak, before he froze. Obi-Wan turned, eyes on the doorway, ears pricked. It was scarcely a whisper of a sound, so quiet you could only hear it if you were looking out for it, but hear it they did. Footsteps. Instantly, Anakin latched himself to his master's legs, wide blue eyes fixed on the doorway. Obi-Wan rose to his feet, a feat made slightly difficult by just how firmly his padawan was holding onto him. He shouldn't have let himself get distracted, a theme which unfortunately seemed to be reoccurring. Still, this time he could hardly be blamed for it; his padawan had magically lost around about nineteen years of his age after all.

As silently as was humanly possible, managed to get the desk standing vertically with the Force, brow furrowed in concentration. It was the only place he could really hide and he'd rather opt for watching and waiting than diving straight into the fray, especially with Anakin... being as he was. With a little persuasion he managed to prise off the small arms that were wound so tightly round his shins and swept him up into his arms, stepping swiftly behind the upturned desk. It wouldn't do whoever it was any good to know Anakin was in the room, seeing as he was clearly the object of their search.

He lifted his cloak, balancing his padawan on his hip before wrapping his cloak around him, hand under his bottom to keep him steady, "Keep quiet, padawan," he ordered gently, "and hold on tight. I may need to run."

He felt a small nod against his side, felt small hands gripping tightly at his tunic and the tremors rippling through the tiny body. It was frightening to be able to feel Anakin's fragility, his complete and utter vulnerability and knowing that he was the only thing standing in the way of his padawan's harm... well, that was something Obi-Wan really did not want to focus on. Raena on the other side of the building. There was no one else but him. One arm taken up with Anakin, the other preparing to ignite his lightsaber, there was little he could do to soothe away the youngling's fear, all save pressing a kiss to his head.

"I have Anakin," Obi-Wan informed Raena, his grip on the precious bundle tightening as he heard the footsteps come nearer, "If we can't find the rescue team soon, then we must leave," the Jedi wanted to keep their stay as short as possible; Anakin was in far too vulnerable a state for them to conduct a thorough search. If himself and Raena were killed, Anakin would be helpless, "I think we should- someone's coming."

Obi-Wan tensed as he heard light footfalls enter the room. There was a pause. He could feel Anakin bite his tunic, presumably to stop himself from crying out. The fear radiating from him was nearly overwhelming and he was forced to pull up his shields. He couldn't afford to lose concentration, yet he knew that if his padawan was scared enough, there was chance that he may cry out.

"Anakin?"

Obi-Wan couldn't help but stiffen as a sing-song voice sliced through the silence like a knife cut through butter. It had a horribly eerie quality, as if some horrible, slimy creature from the depths of a pool had been given the gift of speech. The effect was evident on his padawan, who somehow managed to cling to his master even tighter. He could feel his tunic grow damp as Anakin chomped at the material, clearly determined not to make sound, no matter how terrified he was.

"Anakin?" The silky-slimy voice called again, the quiet footfalls carefully treading through the debris, "Come out, Anakin. You're a clever boy, surely you must know that we're under orders not to harm you?" Kenobi heard the man drawing nearer. He could kill him, but that would confirm any suspicion from any passing droid or searcher. Still, he didn't particularly want to murder this man, especially in front of Anakin; though he had obviously retained his adult memories (he would have to think about that once they weren't in such immediate danger), he was still a youngling and bloodshed was no sight for a child. Besides, either attacker or Anakin could make a great deal of noise if he did so.

"Be a good boy and come out now," the silky voice drew ever nearer. He had reached the opposite side of the desk, before he paused. Both Master and Padawan were holding their breaths. The silence must have lasted for about a minute, though it felt like ten, before Obi-Wan heard the click of a comlink, "Droids, convene on corridor twe-" he didn't have the chance to finish his sentence and the desk he stood in front of blasted straight into him. Both him and the desk flew forward, landing with a deafening crash against the wall. The Jedi couldn't help but wince at the sound; it would be far easier for the droids to find them now.

He had heard his padawan's cry of surprise when he had Force-thrown the desk straight into their perpetrator and he looked down to see the small boy, safely hidden in the folds of his cloak save the small, pale face staring up at him. He could see the fear in Anakin's face, a sight which hurt far more than Obi-Wan could ever have imagined. He smiled down at him, allowing another kiss to his forehead and a hand to stroke the now baby soft hair, "It's alright, Anakin," he murmured, "we're going to get out of here. I'll keep you safe, I promise," his padawan frowned at him with a look of such seriousness that looked odd on such a young face and nodded with earnest. How could Anakin have changed so much yet somehow stayed entirely the same? He still trusted his master explicitly, without thought, without hesitation. If Obi-Wan said they'd get them out of here then they would. It seemed that to Anakin it was that simple. The Jedi wasn't entirely sure what to make of that.

Lightsaber in hand, Kenobi made his way out of the room, not allowing the boy to see the crumpled body on the floor. He was still alive, but it wouldn't be a particularly comforting sight to a youngling. Checking either side of the corridor for any sign of droids, he quietly stepped out of the room and began making his way to the exit, which he was hoping beyond hope wouldn't be cut off by droids.

"Obi-Wan," Raena's voice came loud and clear in his head, "we need to leave now. The rescue team are dead and I just saw some droids go by from what I can tell they're in a hurry to go somewhere."

Obi-Wan just barely resisted the urge to groan. Well, wasn't that just wonderful, "That would be for us," came his grim reply, "Would it be possible for you to get the ship as close to the South entrance as you can without being seen?"

"I can certainly try," Obi-Wan could almost see Raena's face set in grim determination, "How's Anakin?"

Obi-Wan blinked at the question, actually stopping short to look down at the small boy cradled against his chest. How on earth was he to explain this to Raena, to anyone, when he himself had no idea what was going on? It took him a moment before he replied, "Uninjured," was his rather cryptic answer, though he was technically being truthful, "He's... I will explain when we get to the ship."

He could practically feel the confusion in Raena's reply, though thankfully she didn't question him, "I'll meet you there."

Kenobi's progress down the empty halls was swift and silent, a mere ghost passing through the abandoned building. The Jedi couldn't help but be impressed as to how silent his padawan could be, but then, it only just occurred to him, that he had had to be silent for the past five days or so. Though it was clear the older Anakin was still present, it was an impressive feat for a scared child to evade capture for so long.

It was a pity that the master didn't share the same luck as his padawan.

"There are the intruders," the familiar, robotic voice broke the silence, "open fi-" Obi-Wan swung round before the droid could even finish, lightsaber slicing through the droid. One arm still clutching the hidden child, Obi-Wan faced the battalion of droids ahead of him, his face, set with fierce determination, illuminated blue in the darkness. If droids were capable of emotion, shivers of fear would have crackled through their circuits.

Kenobi had faced far more fearful enemies than droids. Droids were mere sparring practise in comparison to the seemingly endless number of enemies he had. But he was scared to face them now. His concentration was torn; one hand was a mere blur as he deflecting bolt after bolt from the droids blasters, but the other was gripping Anakin as tightly as he could. One stray blaster and it would be a dead child that he would be cradling so fast to his chest. His padawan. One false move and he would lose everything.

It didn't help that amid the blaster shots and orders from the droids, the hum and electric crackle of his lightsaber was the sounds of screams. Anakin was out of his mind with terror. His small hands were clutching at Obi-Wan's robes and he was screaming and screaming against his shoulder. It's sound was chilling and frightening and heart breaking at the same time. It was scaring Obi-Wan, distracting him, because all he could think about was what happened if he missed, what happened if those screams stopped or carried on for another reason, what if-

CRASH

The world around the Jedi exploded. Before he could even contemplate was was happening, he was flying down the corridor, soaring into the wall with the sickening crack-crunch of bone against metal. He lay there, simply too stunned to do anything else. He saw the remnants of the droids scattered across the floor, but it took him a full minute for him to actually register that they were destroyed. Kenobi continued to stare, dazed, until he felt a weight on his chest making him grimace, looking to see the cause of four specific points of pressure pressing down against him.

Anakin was on all fours on his chest, staring at him with round eyes. Obi-Wan could just make out the tear tracks on his pale cheeks in the dim.

"Master?" The voice was small, tremulous, filled to the brim with worry. He stared intently into the Jedi's face, "Are... D-did I hurt you?"

Anakin did this? Obi-Wan stared past the small boy crouching on his chest and at the twenty or so droids, scattered around the floor like toys left behind by a child called away from play time. The Jedi didn't even know it was possible for younglings to have such power at this age, though Anakin wasn't strictly a youngling, not entirely. Was it possible for him to still have the same access to the power he had as a Jedi? His wonder-struck thoughts were broken by a sniffle. His gaze snapped back to the child perched on him.

"M-Master?" the question came again, this time smaller, more tremulous, the quiver in his voice accompanied by a few tears marking their progress down his grimy cheeks, "I-I'm sorry..." Obi-Wan could have almost sworn his heart was breaking into pieces.

"No, Anakin," Obi-Wan sat up with some difficulty, padawan sliding from his chest to his lap. He easily cupped his cheek with a palm, a calloused thumb, brushing away the tears and dirt, "No. I'm all right. You have no need to be sorry. From what I can tell you probably saved us," he gave his tearful padawan a gentle smile, the smile widening as Anakin practically collapsed against his chest in a dramatic embrace. It seemed that some things about his padawan had not been lost throughout his magical change.

He wrapped his arms around the still surprisingly small body, letting the boy bury his face against his chest. They stayed like that for a time, the panicky, ragged breaths of the youngling evening out and the pain in Obi-Wan's back receding to a dull ache. After a few minutes or so, the Jedi master clambered to his feet, padawan settled back in the crook of his arm, the ache flared up again into a fiery burn

"Come on," Obi-Wan murmured, his features graced with another smile as he gazed down at Anakin, "I think it would be best if we kept moving," reaching out with the Force, his abandoned lightsaber flew to his hand. Wrapping his padawan up again in his cloak, he headed back down the corridor. By some miracle they made it to the exit without further intervention. Making their way out of the perimeter and back into the forest, unseen by droids on red alert would be a somewhat different story. From the way Anakin was frowning up at Obi-Wan with such seriousness, the Jedi could guess that his padawan shared his concerns.

"I will get you back safe," Obi-Wan assured him, his voice firm, yet Anakin remained unconvinced.

"You?" he asked, frowning up at his master.

Kenobi nodded, "Yes, Anakin. I will be safe too. The both of us will be all right. I promise."

Anakin held his gaze for a moment longer, a gaze surprisingly intense for such a young child. If he didn't know just who was staring at him with such intent, Obi-Wan would have found it a little unnerving. Finally, he finally gave a nod of affirmation. Obi-Wan drew up his hood, fingers pressed against the door.

"Are you ready?"

Another nod.

Obi-Wan let out a breath, before giving Anakin one last smile, "Then hold on tight."