-5-

He looked over at Meleana as they approached the jungle canopy. She had slept through the entire drive. Something seemed off about her, the color had drained from her face and her sleep seemed to be an uneasy one. Jedi didn't often get sick, though Meleana had certainly been through enough in the past week to weaken her defenses. He reached his hand forward to check her temperature. The second he touched her she jumped back. He moved away expecting her to snap at him. He was surprised to find she was still sound asleep.

Meleana woke in a strange place. It was dark and full of unfamiliar unfriendly sounds. She looked around, she was in a speeder. Obi-Wan was sleeping in the drivers seat. Her memory returned to her and it dawned on her that they were deep in the jungle again. She rubbed her eyes wondering how long she had slept. Her head was still throbbing. She heard what sounded like a voice coming from the trees and decided she had officially lost her mind.

"This is all in my head," she said out loud as the voice became clearer. It was calling her name beckoning her to leave the relative safety of her speeder.

"Meleana."

This time the voice was directly behind her. Before she could turn to move cold hands gripped her shoulders firmly.

Obi-Wan nearly jumped out of his seat when Meleana woke up screaming. "That's a little jarring." he said looking over at her.

Meleana was looking around the jungle wide eyed. "Wasn't it night time?"

"It was, now it's day time," he looked over at her troubled expression. "I can see why you'd be confused seeing this is the first time you've said a word to me since breakfast three days ago."

"Where are we?" she asked trying to calm herself.

Obi-Wan waited until they reached the jungle clearing with the ship rather than answer her. "Conveniently you slept through the entire journey."

Meleana shook her head in disbelief and reached for the ships remote control on her belt. She opened the hanger and Obi-Wan drove the speeder inside.

"Sorry," she said getting out of the speeder. "I don't know what's wrong with me." She looked at the pile of parts. "Can you handle repairs on the hull while I work on the controls?"

He nodded. "If you think you can stay up that long."

"I already apologized, what else do you want me to say?" Meleana picked a crate full of parts up out of the speeder.

"I was only kidding."

"Let's just get this done." she said harshly

Meleana had been working for several hours when she blacked out. She woke up on the control room floor with a handful of wires in her hand. She sat up and looked at the control panel; apparently she'd finished repairing it. Outside the sun was just beginning to go down. She got to her feet slowly and headed into the kitchen. She was starved.

Meleana opened the cooling unit and peered inside. As soon as she opened it a horrible smell filled the kitchen. Everything had spoiled. She frowned and grabbed a few ration packs and water bottles from the pantry. Her headache had finally passed and her mind was finally clear.

She brought the ration packs and water outside hoping snacks would smooth things over with Obi-Wan. She felt bad for snapping at him earlier. She followed the sound of hammering around the ship.

Obi-Wan was hammering the torn hull of the ship back into place. He'd been working outside in the jungle for hours. He was hot, sweaty and dirty. He turned to see Meleana standing a few meters away watching him with a look he'd never seen from her before. The corner of his mouth turned up slightly when he realized she was checking him out.

"Can I help you with something?" He asked letting the hammer swing to his side.

"Huh?" Meleana asked in a dreamy tone. There was something about men with tools she found irresistible. It dawned on her that she was staring at him with a stupid smile on her face and she quickly composed herself. "I brought you some water."

He took the bottle of water from her. "Can I have one of those as well?" He asked motioning towards the stack of ration packs in her hand.

She nodded absently and held them out towards him. So much for being clear headed. "Do you need any help?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "I'm nearly done."

"Ok," her mind started to wander to places it shouldn't be. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Are you going to eat those in the shower?" He was referring to the rest of her handful of ration packs.

"No." She handed him the rest.

Obi-Wan smirked as she walked away. He should try holding a hammer whenever she was around; it seemed to make her much more agreeable.

Obi-Wan was waiting for her in the main room when she came out of the shower. "The cabin will need to be sealed off." he said as she took a seat at the booth across from him. "I don't have anything left to fix the hull."

"Everything else is good?" she asked with a stretch.

"I triple checked."

Meleana smiled, they were finally getting off this rock. "I'll seal off the cabin and take off."

"And what am I going to do?"

"You've got the hard job. Try to cook something edible out of the dried and canned foods in the pantry."

"I don't think this is a fair deal. I seem to be doing a lot more work."

Meleana raised her brow. "Alright, I'll set the table too," she got to her feet. "You'd better get to work."

Meleana walked into the kitchen after taking off. Whatever Obi-Wan was cooking smelled good. "What are you making?" she asked squeezing past him to grab a bottle of wine from one of the upper cabinets.

"Canned vegetables and dried starches."

Meleana looked into the pan. "You might want to think up a new name. You're not making it sound terribly appetizing."

He opened the drawer next to the stove and pulled out a spoon. "It doesn't matter what it's called, all that matters is how it tastes." He scooped some food out of the pan and held the spoon in front of Meleana's mouth.

She blew on it to cool it before taking a small bite. "It's edible. It would be good if it had a catchy name."

"Shouldn't you be setting the table?"

Meleana grabbed two plates out of the cabinet. "Does that mean dinner is ready?"

"Yes it does."

She stacked silverware on top of the plates and grabbed the bottle of wine. "Can you bring in some glasses?"

"Yep."

He grabbed the glasses and the pan and followed her into the main room. He set them down on the table and sat down. "So what do you eat when I'm not around? You can't cook, you hate ration packs."

Meleana frowned. "I don't know."

He laughed. "You don't know what you eat?"

"No. My Master always cooked for me when I wasn't at the temple. I guess I'll have to eat my own cooking."

"Poor girl." He plated some food and set it down in front of her. "If we had any real food I'd give you some lessons."

Meleana poured them both a glass of wine. "I think my cooking is a lost cause. You wouldn't be the first person to try to improve my cooking skills." She started shoveling food into her mouth. She couldn't remember ever being as hungry as she was. "I guess I'll just eat fruit and vegetables." She gulped down her wine. "So I guess we'll be sleeping together again tonight."

"I can sleep on the floor."

Meleana rolled her eyes. "My beds big enough for both of us. After sharing a bedroll it would be silly of me to make a fuss about sleeping in the same bed."

He shrugged. "It doesn't really matter to me."

"I'm sure after spending all day working in the heat you're just dying to curl up on the floor and go to sleep."

"Either way, are we going to Ithor or Coruscant?"

"Ithor, I couldn't get the communication system back on, so I figured it would be best to at least stop off at our scheduled destination before we went home."

Obi-Wan finished eating. "I doubt there will be anything for us to do there."

"Better to stop and check than give the council one more reason to lecture us."

Obi-Wan nodded in agreement and finished his wine. "I'm sorry to leave in the middle of dinner, but my back is killing me. I need to go take a hot shower."

"That's fine. I need to practice eating by myself anyway."

"Try not to choke on anything." he said getting out of the booth. "I'm not going to run out of the shower to save you."

"I'll do my best."

Meleana finished eating and changed into her night gown. She sat down in the center of her bed to meditate.

"I've never actually been in your bedroom." Obi-Wan said breaking her concentration.

She opened her eyes and looked over at him. He'd changed into a pair of sleep-pants. "Pretty impressive huh? I've got a bed a dresser and two nightstands."

"The second nightstand really takes it to the next level."

"How's your back?" She asked sliding over in bed to make room for him to sit down.

"A little better."

"I'll make you a deal, I'll massage your back if you do mine."

He looked thoughtful. "How do I know if that's a fair deal? What if your massages are inferior to mine?"

"What if it's the other way around?"

"I've never had any complaints," he said with a casual shrugs.

"I've never had anything but compliments," she said unable to resist the urge to one-up him. She patted the bed in front of her. "Just sit down."

"If I sit down now then you'll have the last word."

"If you don't sit down now I'm taking the deal off the table."

"Fine," he sat down in front of her. "But if you're terrible you'll hear about it."

"Oh I'm terrified." she said in a mocking tone. She slid closer to him and started rubbing his shoulders. "Where does it hurt?"

"If you're so good you should be able to figure it out."

Meleana ran the ball of her hand down his back in small circles. She stopped when she hit his lower back and he moaned. "That it?"

"Yes," she pushed down harder on his muscles making him moan out his words.

She smiled. "Clearly I have no idea what I'm doing."

"I've had-" Meleana pressed into his muscle with her thumb. "Uh- better."

Meleana laughed. "I can tell you're not enjoying this at all."

"Why is everything a competition with you?" He tried to keep his voice as level as possible.

"Why don't you ever admit defeat?" She found another knot in his back and slid her hand over it slowly increasing the pressure she was putting on him.

"I can't admit defeat until I've been defeated."

They stopped arguing allowing Obi-Wan to enjoy his massage. He was so relaxed he'd nearly fallen asleep when Meleana's hands left him.

"My turn," she turned her back to him and he turned around to face her.

"I'd like to start by pointing out that I am at a disadvantage. You're wearing clothing."

Meleana snickered. "So you usually only massage naked people?"

He blushed. "I meant that I am not wearing a shirt and you are. In this competition that is a disadvantage."

Meleana pulled the thin straps of her nightgown down her shoulders and let the dress slide down to her waist. She turned her head to look at him. "What are you waiting for? I removed your handicap. Just keep your hands on my front."

"Where do you want me to start?" He asked. He hadn't expected her to actually remove her clothing.

"Start at the top and work your way down." His hands began working her shoulders. "How do we decide the winner? By number of moans?"

"I didn't count mine," Obi-Wan said as he gradually increased the pressure on her tight shoulders.

"Well if there isn't a clear winner we'll need to think of a tie breaker."

Obi-Wan hit the spot between her shoulder and her neck and Meleana moaned. "What did you have in mind?"

"Mmm- how about a- uh- pillow fight."

"I've never seen anyone win a pillow fight."

"You don't win, you just aren't defeated. At some point someone can't take any more and..." She let out a long airy moan.

"I don't think we'll need a tie breaker."

"If I lose- uh- I'm going to hit you in the face with a pillow anyway."

"Well then you should enjoy your massage while it lasts because you're about to be beaten at pillow fighting."

Meleana felt quiet blissful when Obi-Wan had finished. "I still think mine was better."

"If by mine you mean the one I gave you than I agree." Obi-Wan already had a pillow in his lap at the ready.

Meleana pulled her nightgown up. "Isn't there a diplomatic way we could agree that I'm the winner? Haven't we seen enough violence?" She started moving towards a pillow while she was talking.

Obi-Wan slapped her in the side with his. "No, negotiations are over."

Meleana spun and smacked him in the side. "Have you had a lot of pillow fights?"

"Not that I can recall."

Meleana sat up on her knees. "Let me show you how you do it. There's a lot of technique involved. First you raise the pillow as high above you as you can." She brought the pillow up. "Then you do this," she slammed the pillow down once onto Obi-Wan's head and started smacking him with it from side to side.

He pulled his pillow up to block hers. She giggled as he tried to elbow her away. She slid on her knees out of range of his elbow and continued smacking him.

"Come on Kenobi you haven't hit me once."

He flung his pillow at her wildly from around hers whilst still trying to move closer to her. She squealed when he finally did hit her and repeatedly pounded the pillow into her shoulder. The pillow fight quickly degraded into wrestling with pillows. Meleana was practically on top of Obi-Wan at the edge of the bed. She hit him hard enough to knock him off. He wrapped an arm around her leg and pulled her down on top of him.

She landed straddling his hips. She looked down and smiled at him before smacking him in the face with her pillow. She tightened her legs around him to hold him in place and laughed as she beat him with the pillow. "Surrender!"

"No," he said through a fit of laughter. "I've lost my pillow." He grabbed hers. "I'll be needing this."

Meleana held onto it firmly. "I don't think so." She gripped the center of the pillow tightly.

Obi-Wan pulled his end of the pillow down to the floor along with Meleana. "Give me the pillow." he said with a boyish look. Their faces were almost close enough to touch.

Meleana pouted and bat her eyes. "Give me the pillow."

He gave her a puppy dog look. "I really need this pillow."

She ground her hips into him in tight circles. "Pillow?"

"Stop that," he said with a moan.

"Not until you give me what I want." she said in a sultry tone.

"What is it you want?" He asked in a low voice.

Meleana brushed her lips over his. "My pillow."

Obi-Wan let go of the pillow and kissed her. He ran the tip of his tongue over her closed lips and they parted. As the kiss went on their hands began exploring each others bodies. Obi-Wan moved his hand from her back down to her hips. She pushed her body more firmly into his and tossed the pillow out of the way. Obi-Wan's hand moved down to cup her ass. Meleana broke away from the kiss and sat up. She pulled her nightgown over her head exposing her large round chest. She kissed him again this time more passionately. She bit as his bottom lip then ran her tongue over it softly. He sat up and wrapped his arms around her waist. Her soft breasts pressed firmly into his chest and sent a shiver down his spine. His hands tightened around her ass and pressed her hips firmly against his.

"That was amazing," she said in a sleepy voice.

He looked up at her with a smile in his eyes. "You are easily impressed."

Meleana's eye brows perked up and moved closer together. "What?"

He kissed her deeply. "Why don't we try again? I think I might have more staying power this time."

Meleana didn't go so far as to compliment him. The corners of her mouth turned upwards slightly.

He kissed her neck. "Is that a yes?" He rolled off of her onto his back.

She moved from her spot on the bed to straddle his thighs. She leaned forward to kiss him. "This doesn't change anything," she said softly.

He coiled his arms around her and sat up to press his body against hers. "Don't be so naïve." His mouth covered hers before she could talk back.

He doubted she'd ever done this with another Jedi. If she had she'd have realized it couldn't not change things. He wouldn't be able to look at her without thinking of her hips grinding into his, her beautiful chest heaving, and those incredible little sounds she was making.

Obi-Wan woke up with a yawn. He stretched and looked over at Meleana sleeping peacefully in bed next to him. He turned on his side to look at her.

She moaned softly and half opened her eyes. "What?" she asked in a sleepy voice.

He smiled. "How did you do that?"

"I'm a light sleeper," she stretched. "I felt you moving."

"That's a shame. You're very cute when you're sleeping."

Meleana put her hand in front of her face. "No I'm not. I get all puffy." She closed her eyes and pulled the blanket up to her neck. "I'm still sleepy."

"Go back to sleep."

"No," she said stubbornly. "I'm already awake." She opened one eye to look at him a minute later. "Don't stare at me," she didn't sound as serious as she meant to. Her voice was always sickeningly cute in the morning. For some reason she could never manage to sound like an adult when she woke up.

Obi-Wan smiled, she didn't sound terribly threatening. "I'm not staring."

She shut her eyes again. "Talk to me, keep me awake."

"What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't care."

He ran his hands through her hair. "You've never slept with another Jedi before have you?"

"No," she opened her eyes to look into his. "You could tell?"

He smiled at the concerned look in her eyes. "Not because of anything you did. Just because of the things you said." He kissed her lips softly. "You were amazing." He ran the back of his hand down the curve of her cheek. "I think I like this side of you."

"The naked one?"

He laughed. "No, the vulnerable one."

"What's so vulnerable about me?" Her eyes were still closed.

"I'm touching you and you're not flinching. Your eyes are closed," he ran his hand down her body to her hips. "And your body is completely relaxed."

"I could still kick your ass," she said with a smile.

"I doubt it," he said with a chuckle. He dragged his lips over hers and kissed her. "I should get out of bed."

"But you're keeping me up."

He smiled. "That's the problem. You're keeping me up too."

Meleana opened her eyes. "Really?" she asked smiling. She reached her hand down to stroke him. "Does that help?"

He moaned. "Not really."

She slid closer to him on the bed. She grabbed his hand with her free one and placed it on her breast. "So you aren't enjoying this at all?" she whispered into his ear.

"Uh, I wouldn't say that," His eyes slid shut as her soft lips met his. "You're insatiable."

"So I've been told," she kissed the cleft of his chin. "Think you can keep up with me?"

"I don't think I could live with myself if I didn't try."

Meleana tossed the blanket to the edge of the bed and pushed Obi-Wan onto his back.

"If I didn't know you," Meleana said breathlessly. "I might actually like you now."

"And if it weren't for your personality, I think I'd be in love with you." He ran his hands over her sweat slicked body. "You are a very beautiful woman."

"I'm sure you've been with lots of beautiful women," she relaxed into his arms.

"I've had my fair share." He kissed her cheek. "That hasn't lessened my appreciation of the female form." He let her go to remove the cuffs from her hands and lay her down gently on the bed with him.

"What are we doing now?" she asked.

"Sleeping."