Needless to say that my dream doesn't wake me, but rather, a feeling through the Force does. It pulls me out of bed, and out into the open area. I've been alone since Padmé and I returned from the mess on Geonosis. I've been staying in her sleeping quarters on Coruscant. She's currently on a trip to her home planet, Naboo, with my brother escorting her there. I personally had to shoot that down, but look how that turned out.

So until Padmé returns, I housesit, by myself, when really I should be there with her. I'm her bodyguard after all, not Anakin.

He'll take care of me, Thea. I'll be back before you know it.

If he manages to not do the one job he's supposed to, I might just beat him.

I smile at my mild threat. But it's true, and I will uphold it. Padmé is like a sister to me, I've known her for over ten years. I don't want one decision on my part to lead to something bad happening to her. I could never forgive myself.

I think back to the first time we'd met, and how it all led to this.

*~*

Nobody seemed to want to bother me. I had no problem with that, I just wanted to drown my bad memories with literally anything else. A bar seemed to do the trick.

I paid attention to the sports going on the screens. None of them really interested me, I just wanted my eyes somewhere that wouldn't attract unwanted attention. I didn't recall there being anything against having a drink in the Jedi Code.

"How about you take your hands off me?" a female voice snarled close to me. I turned my head to find a woman of petite height staring up at a rather large man. I watched the scene curiously even though it was hardly my business.

"You gonna stop me, sweetheart?"

"No," I spoke before the woman could, stepping behind her, "but I will. Let her go and walk away."

"Oh, you women like to stick together don't you?"

"I said," I grabbed the man's hands and pried them off the woman's arms, "leave her be."

"Are you just saying that so you can have first crack at me?"

Fed up, I punched the man right in the nose. He stumbled back, with red gushing through his fingers. His face warped into a snarl, and I shoved the woman back as he went right for me. We knocked into people, and natural instinct took over.

By the end of the fight, the man was on his back, and his face was a bleeding mess in addition to his nose. I snorted down at him and turned my attention to the woman, who really looked more like a girl. Her face looked bashful, brown eyes looking at me with a sense of awe.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"Are you?" She peeked around me at the guy.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. He might've given me a few bruises." I shrugged.

"Thanks, but I didn't need the help."

"No offense, but I had a much better shot than you did."

"It's because I'm short, isn't it?"

"Possibly."

I was waiting for an insult thrown in my face, but the girl actually smiled at me. I was confused by the reaction. "Well, thank you, again."

"Just watch yourself more careful, okay? People are unpredictable."

"That they are."

As the woman disappeared back into the crowd, I looked over my shoulder. The man whose ass I beat was gone, and I felt my pride swell a bit.

*~*

It was that first meeting, protecting Padmé from a creep in a bar, that led to her finding me again and offering me a job at her side, once she explained who she was. Though I wasn't much older than her—I'm still not, obviously—she saw what I could be to her.

Neither of us were counting on bonding through my employment.

I get a nice view from the balcony I'm standing on. Speeders in the night sky move at a normal traffic pace. My shoulder throbs. It's on the mend, I was sent to a medic once I was pulled from battle back on Geonosis. The claw marks I received back on that planet are healing, it's believed they won't scar. If they do, it'll be very faint.

The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I open my hand, calling the lightsaber to me. The second it connects with my palm, I snap it to life and turn around.

"Holy—" I stammer. If I had put my lightsaber anywhere else, I would have melted Obi-Wan's throat and killed him. My green blade is just under his beard. A few inches upwards and I can trim some of it off. A little peeved, I remove the lightsaber from him and shut it off. "Haven't you heard of knocking?"

"I thought you would've felt my presence." He looks a little disappointed.

"I did, but I thought it was a threat. It's an old habit when you're someone's bodyguard for ten years. Some warning in advance next time, please."

Despite my annoyance, Obi-Wan chuckles. "All right, I'll remember."

"You better, because next time my weapon might go right through you, and I think it's safe to say neither of us want that."

"Well, if that comes close to happening, I'll prevent it."

I roll my eyes. He doesn't seem to be taking my warning seriously. He will the next time this happens and I accidentally injure him. "What are you even doing here?"

"I can't drop by for a visit?"

"Not unannounced! It seems you've lost your manners, Master Kenobi," I taunt him. "I expected better of you."

"I thought you could use the company, seeing as Padmé is away with your brother."

"I would have preferred to go, considering how well Anakin was about putting her into danger, but she wouldn't stop badgering me about not going. So, here I am, occupying her empty place until she returns."

"How long did she say for?"

"Not very long, I imagine a few days."

"Well, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to stay for a bit."

"No Masterly duties at the Temple?" I raise a curious brow.

He chuckles. "Not at the moment."

I roll my tongue in my mouth. "I'm surprised. I thought you would be utilizing your time more wisely, like, I don't know, meditating. You could be training younglings, I think they would listen to you."

"Is it because of the accent?" he teases.

"You have a commanding presence. It's one that demands respect." I raise my chin. "Even when you were in training, you had that air about you."

"You sound like you miss the Temple."

I quirk my mouth. "I did, in the beginning. I guess the longer I've been at this, the less I've felt...homesick. What, do you miss me being there?"

Obi-Wan looks down, almost abashedly. I don't think I've ever seen him truly embarrassed before. It's almost a marvel to witness. "When I made the connection between you and Anakin...I felt the void of your absence heavily, Thea. I wanted to share that moment with you, but by that time Padmé had already hired you."

"You never told Annie that I was a Padawan," I recall.

"I would have, but our paths just happened to cross and it kind of came out on its own."

Our paths still seem intertwined, even after I left. Even after we had that rift. Thinking about that one moment in time brings back a rush of different feelings, all balled into a mess in my chest. Now is not the time. You settled it with him years ago. Just because you think you felt something stir doesn't mean the same applies to him. He seems well-disciplined, just as he always has been.

"Something on your mind, Thea?" Ben asks, breaking my inner dialogue. "Are you in pain?"

I quirk my lips. "The pain comes and goes. I'm waiting for the day it stops."

"If you're worried about Padmé, Anakin will bring her back."

"I don't think he'll run off with her," I chuckle. "It's just...Surely you're not blind to what's been happening with them."

"You seem to be as sharp as ever."

"When have I not been?" I throw a smile his way. The teasing atmosphere disappears fairly quickly. "I had good reason to worry about my brother, when I first saw the signs of infatuation—it was the day you two came back into my life. I was hoping his mind wouldn't be clouded by her, that he would focus solely on the job at hand. He still has much to learn," I say softly.

There's a lot more unspoken that wants to leap out of my mouth, but I can't bring myself to say them. It'll open up a floodgate that was long ago sealed.

"Were you planning on...on staying over?" I ask awkwardly. "There's a spare room you can use, I wouldn't put you on the sofa."

"That depends."

"Depends on what, Ben?"

"How much catching up we have to do."

I raise a brow. "Judging by that tone, I'd say we have a lot."

**Well, my dears, for the next few chapters, we'll focus on Benthea a little more. Yay or nay to the ship?**