Chapter Two

Obi-Wan couldn't help but chuckle at the words Denali said about his beard. It had been so long since the last time they had spoken to each other, it felt amazing to be in her presence once again. Her smile hadn't changed, neither had her sparkling eyes, her adorable little giggle, or her amazing personality. He couldn't believe he had lasted so long without her. Ten whole years without hearing her voice, ten long years without seeing her beautiful face.

"Have you ever considered cutting it? Does it ever bother you?" Denali asked as she reached up and ran her hand through his shoulder-length auburn hair. He smiled, his eyes closed as he felt her fingertips tangled in his long wavy locks. Denali couldn't help but giggle gleefully at his expression. She pulled her hand away, looking at the floor, her cheeks a light shade of red.

"Well, sometimes actually. Not very much though. It reminds me of-"

"Master Jinn." Denali finished for him. He nodded as she sighed, crossing her arms. "Even after all these years, my heart still aches whenever I think of him. He was the one who came and rescued me, but I couldn't do the same for him. I was too late." Obi-Wan quickly out his hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes.

"Qui-Gon's death was not your fault, Denali-"

"Then why have I been haunted by that day since the moment Zeffan ended his life?" Denali asked Obi-Wan, her husband. He didn't say anything, but let her fall into his embrace. He held her in his arms as she tried her best not to cry. She couldn't. She refused to. After everything she'd been through, the last thing she needed to be brought down by was a mere memory.

"You were just as helpless as I was. We couldn't have stopped it no matter how badly we wanted to." Obi-Wan said as he gently pressed his hand on her cheek. She looked at him, then burst out laughing. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, knowing exactly why she was having another fit of giggles.

"I'm sorry, it's just really hard for me to take you seriously with your Jedi mullet." She said, holding her stomach. Obi-Wan tried to be serious, but he couldn't help but laugh as well. Denali's chuckling was contagious. After a moment, Denali had finally caught her breath. She gave him a soft smile, then kissed his cheek.

"I'm so happy to see you again, Obi." She told him.

"I'm over-joyed to see you as well." He said to her, his heart still soaring.

"Now before we go back in there, I need to tell you something important." She stated seriously.

"What is it?" Obi-Wan asked her, knowing that something was wrong.

"I think Padme has developed feelings for Anakin." She said with a sigh as she leaned against the door. Obi-Wan stood beside her, leaning as well.

"Why do you think that?"

"On the way here, he was the only thing she talked to me about. She kept asking me about how Ani was, if he was enjoying his training, how old he looked, etcetera."

"Denali, she was asking you questions. Like any normal person."

"I know, Obi. But I'm a girl, she's a girl, you wouldn't understand. I could tell she was interested in Ani by the way she talked about him. Whenever she'd end a sentence, her eyes would get all foggy, like her mind was somewhere else. And she'd sigh dreamily very single time she said Anakin's name. Every. Single. Time." Denali pointed out, as if just thinking about it drove her insane.

"Well, I guess that proves a few things." Obi-Wan said as he reached up to rub his chin. But, as fast as a podracer, she quickly grabbed his wrist, holding it in mid-air.

"I swear if you do that, I'm going to laugh til my head explodes." She said, trying to hide her already thickening laughter. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes once again, when suddenly he felt the door he was leaning on disappear behind him. He grabbed Denali's arm, trying to regain his balance, but to no avail. Denali fell into the Senator's room as well, landing right on top of Obi-Wan, her hands on his chest, his around her waist. It didn't help that their legs were tangled together as well. They looked at each other in shock, realizing that it looked as if they were two scoundrels, then noticed they weren't the only ones in the room. Denali glared at Obi-Wan, doing her best to fake anger.

"What the heck were you thinking, Beard-Boy? Did you honestly think I could support your weight?" She snarled as she got to her feet. Anakin and Chewie were sitting on the couches across from each other, looking at the two in shock. But then Anakin began to laugh, really really hard.

" 'Beard-Boy', I should've thought of that one. Why hadn't that joined the list of names? Good one, Master Bleway." Anakin said in between fits of laughter. Obi-Wan got to his feet as Denali extended her hand to him, a small smirk on her face, as she helped him stand up. She let go of his hand and looked over at Chewie, who still looked petrified.

"Did you bring the surprise?" Denali asked him.

"Yes, Master." He said to her as he gestured to the bags of food on the small table that stood in between the two couches. Denali groaned happily as she eyed the food, her tongue growing moist, her mouth watering. She quickly grabbed one of the white paper bags and ripped it open. The delicious steaming ceramic bowl of imported soup smelled amazing.

"Chewie and I planned this earlier at the hospital. One of the nurses had felt so badly for me about my condition that she had bought me over twenty bowls of different kinds of soups from over twenty different restaurants. I figured that I couldn't eat it all, no matter how hungry I get. So I had the nurses put all the soup in portable bowls with lids so that Chewie and I could bring them here. Try some." Denali said as she took one of the plastic spoons out of a different bag. Chewie had already began to eat, and Anakin sad well. Obi-Wan hesitated for a moment, but the smell of the delicious meal had worked its magic and lured him in.

"Thanks, Denali. This stuff is amazing." Anakin said with a grin after he had swallowed the last spoonful of his soup. He set the ceramic bowl on the table, next to the four other empty bowls. He sat back in his seat, emitted a long full sigh, then put his hand on his stomach. "I am full."

"Same here. I feel like if I eat anymore, I'll burst. You'll have to wash me off the walls." Chewie rumbled as he copied Anakin's actions. Denali looked at her apprentice, the sleepiness in his eyes as they drooped closed. She smiled, and walked over to her Padawan, his silent breathing becoming slower as he began to fall asleep.

"Come on, Padawan. Time for bed." She told him as she looked at her commlink, showing her what time it was. Nearly midnight. The sky was dark, but the lights from the buildings and flying vehicles were recognizable in the scenery. Chewie yawned as Denali got on her knees. He crawled onto her back as she stood up, giving him a piggy-back ride into the spare bedroom. He didn't weigh much, Denali figured that Chewbacca would've been the runt of the litter if he had lived a normal life on Kashyyyk. She lay him down on the spare bed, carefully pulling the covers over him, up to his chest. His quiet snores made Denali grin. She was so happy to have him as her apprentice. She felt lucky to have received him as a Padawan learner. She quietly began to walk out of the bedroom and into the hall, when she heard Anakin and Obi-Wan speaking to each other.

"I don't know why I keep dreaming about her." Anakin said.

"Dreams pass and go over time." Obi-Wan explained to his apprentice. There was a moment of silence.

"I'd much rather dream about Denali. Ever since I saw her again, being around her is just.....intoxicating." Anakin told his master. Denali silently put her hand over her mouth in shock. Anakin was growing feelings towards her. Deep feelings, feelings of love. Many feelings that Jedi are forbidden to develop.

"Anakin, you both have made a commitment to the Jedi Order-"

"But did you see the way she looked at me when I first saw her today? The excited gleam in her eyes? The over-joyed sound of her voice? I swear I've never seen her so happy before. She obviously has feelings for me as well." Anakin spoke. Denali mentally braced herself. She knew that Obi-Wan wasn't going to take that news lightly. Here was a young boy, talking about the girl of his dreams to the man she was secretly married to. She could feel Obi-Wan's sudden anger, but he quickly hid it.

"You don't know that for sure, Anakin. Has she ever told you how she felt about you? Because from what I recall, you're just friends." Obi-Wan stated. Suddenly Denali felt a weird feeling in her gut. Like the feeling she had had when Padme's ship exploded. Something wasn't right. She sprinted down the hall, not in the direction of the living room, but in the direction of Padme's bedroom. She slammed the doors open, just as two slug-like creatures crawled into Padme's arms.

"PADME!" Denali shouted as she ignited her lightsabers, quickly slicing the bugs in half. Padme woke up, gasping at the sight before her. Denali quickly looked out the window and saw a small flying droid hovering, looking into Padme's room.

"Denali! What happened?" She heard Anakin's voice from down the hall. Before she could stop herself, she jumped out the window, breaking the glass, grabbing onto the flying droid. She knew that if she wanted to find out who was behind the assassination attempts, she'd have to her her hands dirty. She held onto the droid for dear life, refusing to let go.

"Oh great, she's at it again." Padme said with a sigh as her handmaidens rushed into the room, checking to make sure she was alright.

"Stay here. Chewie, watch over the Senator till we get back." Obi-Wan said as he and Anakin ran past, making their way to the hangar bay.