Archive: Yes, just give me a heads up you are doing it.
Rating: PG for now. R later.
Disclaimer: I am not George Lucas, I do not own Star Wars. I hope that I have better fashion taste then him.
Feedback: Please feed me. Good comments make me write faster. Constructive criticism makes me improve.
Notes: Quite often we write about us coming home from long days and being greeted by an ever so helpful Jedi. Well... Jedi's probably have bad days too. What happens when one of them needs some TLC?
Summary: Obi-wan and Qui-gon come home from a very long, very bad mission where something went Horribly awry.

Part 1

Obi-wan Kenobi looked like a walking cadaver and that was being kind.

Not only were his eyes red rimmed and bruised from exhaustion but his eyelids were discolored from enervation as well. Normally there is this light and energy inside of him, but now he seemed… diminished.

His shoulders were slumped, his normally crystalline eyes were dull and flat. His jedi robes seemed off color and smelled rather strange, even at a distance. He moved as if his joints were as old as Master Yoda's.

This was a man whose idea of interesting was everyone else's idea of excruciating, and he looked completely and utterly done in.

Took me a few minutes to absorb this sight on the landing platform before I leapt to his side and took his bag from his nerveless fingers. He never said anything, but I think he appreciated being greeted by a familiar friendly face... especially now.

I sighed and looked at Elsa, Master Jinn's.... well, what do you call a woman who is someone's steady lover for over twenty years? She took me under her wing when she saw how close as friends Obi-wan and I was becoming.

She was there when I confessed to myself that I loved him but wasn't ready to tell him yet. I had to sort out a few issues of my own first.

Elsa had no hesitation about what to do; she seemed to know everything. She took Master Jinn's bag and asked, "Report?"

"Done on the way in." he replied in a flat monotone. "Two weeks off."

She nodded and turned to me, "You take yours, I'll take mine."

With that she started to walk away, Master Jinn's arm was around her shoulders for comfort.

I tucked myself close to Obi-wan and felt him resist my gentle guiding towards the skycab. "Master..." he managed to croak out.

"Obi-wan... go," was the curt reply.

I grinned, that was as close to a fuck off as I was ever going to hear from a Jedi master.

With that Obi-wan nodded and went with me, limbs moving rather automatically. It was as if there was no life in him at all. The cab ride to my apartment was eerily silent and stretched into eternity. I was beginning to get very worried; normally he was never this quiet.

When we got to my apartment I suggested he strip for a bath. He didn't say anything, just mechanically started to remove his rather rancid clothing.

Watching him strip has been a long cherished secret fantasy. I thought I would have to tamp down my libido at the sight. For some reason I can't fathom, I felt nothing but concerned for him. I was worried sick.

I turned on the bath and filled it with hot water, gave him instructions to wash, drain the tub then soak. He merely nodded and climbed in, reaching for the soap like an automaton. I dumped his clothes into the laundry chute then ran to the kitchen to fix a quick meal of bread, fruit and cheese. I rapped on the bath door and it swung open.

I placed the food near his limp hand. For the first time that evening, I saw an emotion on his face.

A single tear tracked it's self down his cheek and fell into the warm water.

"Children Anne." He whispered. "They killed the children. Why them? I was the one who ruined their plans. Why not me?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying not to imagine what memories were playing in his head.

"Souls aren't interchangeable Obi-wan. You can't tell the force, 'Take me instead.'"

He blinked and lowered his chin. "But why? Why wouldn't the force protect them? Why did it protect me?"

I sighed, "Maybe someone needed to be alive to remember. Maybe we are needed to shed the tears the force can't."

He was silent for a while. His face was mask of sorrow and exhaustion. Finally he spoke.

"But the bird still falls." He whispered softly, the tag line to some Jedi philosophy I suppose. His voice was gravel in the echoing bathroom. It nearly drew tears to my own eyes just to hear the sorrow of it.

Sometimes, there really is nothing to say. I left him to soak in a warm tub of water by himself. When I came back, the plate of food was less full, but not by much, and his eyes were closed. He looked like he was asleep.

While I can't read the force, even I know that having him survive whatever catastrophe he witnessed just to drown in my tub was not what the force wanted. I woke him up with a shake to the shoulder. He looked up at me balefully like I was whipping him. There was a silent plea in his eyes that I wasn't the messenger of more bad news.

"The water is getting cold," I said softly.

He sighed and got his shaky limbs out of the tub. I saw the bruises and burn marks from a past fight on his body. It was fierce whatever it was. I quickly wrapped him in a large terry cloth robe to dry him off and led him to my bedroom.

I turned down the sheets as he shucked the robe. He all but fell into bed and was asleep before I pulled the covers up.

I took a long hard look at him when he was finally asleep. I remembered being able to count his ribs when he stood up. I could almost count them now even under the covers. His cheekbones were entirely too defined. His hair was dull; there was tenseness in his shoulders that showed he had been carrying the weight of the galaxy on them. His coloring was completely gone.

If I didn't see him breathing, I would have said the boy was three days past dead.

Looking at him now, I came to a rather startling realization. In objective terms, even when he's healthy, he's not a handsome man.

Oh stop laughing. I'm serious. His coloring, height, facial features, and body are all average and regular, nothing outstanding about him. He is, in fact, extraordinarily plain. It's almost painful to realize how plain he really is.

It's the light inside him that makes him breathtaking. It shines from the inside out, transforming his features into something wonderful with that radiance. For all that Jedi are supposed to have killer sabacc faces, this Jedi's very body is a faithful servant indicating who he is.

His impish smile showed his lively sense of the ridiculous. His generosity and personality painted in the high color and changeable eyes. His face and body are virtually transparent allowing us who are a bit blinded by the visual world to see the perfection of his spirit in an illusion of perfection in his corporeal form.

Now, I will admit, I am not a holo star but I am not a nasty drooling thing either. I had to wonder what in the name of the heavens he saw when he looked at me. I knew that he would only see the body as a casing. What did he see in my spirit?

Was he pleased when he looked at me?

Somehow when we were swapping snappy comments, or passionately discussing an issue, our bodies didn't matter. He looked at me and I knew he saw ME, not the body it encased. Me. Granted there will always be that biological wish to physically please, but nothing that was insurmountable.

No, the reason that held me silent was the fact I couldn't really see what I could give him. His very friendship was doing wonders for my ego as well as my ethics and personality. I could now stare into the places I didn't like without flinching, accept them, and work on improving. I needed him as someone who could really help me grow.

How in the name of hell did he need me?

It seemed at times as if nothing could touch him. He just sailed through life with incredible ease. I ended up putting him on a very high pedestal. As a result I could be content to sit back and love at the foot of it.

Seeing him on the platform brought down to his literal and figurative knees shattered that illusion. He looked so lost now. So vulnerable. Something I never thought I would see. I was deeply honored that he would let me see this side of him, something I doubt few people outside of his master saw.

I tucked the covers a little closer to his chin to ward off the chill, turned off the lights and closed the door. I let him get the rest he so richly deserved.

***

Part 2

He woke up from his sleep of the dead and immediately started to want to get up and do things. Frankly, since he looked like a walking cadaver, I didn't let him. Then he started moaning and groaning as bad as all my brothers did when they were sick.

Men are such babies.

I finally managed to get him to stay in the bed and resting with a quiet puzzle that wasn't too taxing physically or mentally. It was a matter of fitting pieces into a three-dimensional structure only you didn't know what the final structure was to be.

I immediately called his master's number, wanting desperately to talk to Elsa about this situation and find out what was going ON with my usually unflaggingly polite friend.

"Ah, I see you managed to get yourself free the same time I did. I was going to call you." She said with a bright smile.

I nodded, "What in hell is wrong with him?"

She chuckled, "Reaction."

"Pardon?"

"Reaction, the Jedi equivalent of post traumatic stress disorder. It's a combination of physical, mental and psychic exhaustion as well as experiencing something traumatic. From what I can gather from Qui-gon, something happened with children." She said with a sigh.

I nodded; children are a weakness among the Jedi. On peaceful missions they have been known to just randomly show up at a playground and join in the games. It was always a treat to have a Jedi join in a game of dodge ball because the Jedi ¡®cheated' by force lifting their teammates out of the way.

I honestly thought that if the universe suddenly became peaceful tomarrow, the entire Jedi temple would invite Coruscant Elementary to help celebrate.

For any Jedi to watch something horrible happen to children and not be able to do anything about it must have killed them. Any Jedi would cheerfully die to protect a child and consider their life well lost.

"That's what I got out of him so far. Right now he's being very closed mouthed about it. I felt it was better not to press." I replied, "He's downright surly now."

She chuckled, "That because he's got reaction headache."

"Pardon?"

"Darling, you are so polite." Elsa teased. "It's nice to hear after the grump I have been dealing with."

"Would I get a straight answer out of you if I said 'bite me'?" I asked with a smirk

Elsa rocked her head back and laughed, "You are a treasure. No wonder Obi-wan likes you."

"I take it you've done this for him as well over the years." I smiled

She nodded, "yes, though it was hard trying to deal with two of them at once. I could never get Obi-wan to talk. I think he was trying to be sweet and let his master get all the help."

"I hope he lets it out soon." I said wistfully, "I'm dying of curiosity if nothing else. Now what was this about Reaction Headache?"

"When a jedi uses too much of the force for an extended period of time, their body can't handle it. It's like when you go to a shatter rock concert, for days afterward your ears are ringing." She chuckled. "Right now it hurts to touch the force, makes them surly. Their anger is also partially from what I call ¡®climbing backwards up Yoda's Darkside Ladder'."

I blinked, "Oh so basically he going from suffering to anger to fear back to normal."

She nodded, "yes, shortly he will have a very bad nightmare as he purges the last of it. He'll be all right after that. Just be patient and watch for it. Then do¡¦ what comes naturally."

"How long do they need to rest?"

"After that¡¦ the rest of the week. Basically from there it's just getting back to an even keel again. He'll meditate a lot but otherwise things will be normal."

"I hope you are right Elsa."

"I know I'm right."

***

Obi-wan Kenobi had the nightmare that evening.

I woke up to the most unholy sounding groan in the universe. Then I heard the soft protesting sounds. I immediately got up from my temporary bed on the couch and ran into my bedroom to see him thrashing back and forth. I watched it for a while, hoping he would solve this himself. But it only got worse. The incoherent moans changed to words.

"No... no... don't hurt them... let them alone... take me... me instead... no... not them... no... please, no..."

The last words were said in such heartbreaking despair that I couldn't stand it any longer. I rushed to his side and started to shake his shoulder. "Obi-wan, wake up... it's only a dream¡¦ nothing more¡¦ only a dream¡¦ you aren't there... wake up..."

He snapped himself out of the dream and shot bolt upright. His face and chest were covered in sweat but his skin was icy cold. His padawan braid lay stuck to his back as I watched his chest heave in and out with each breath. His eyes were a somber grey again and were looking at something very far away.

Finally his breathing slowed down as his eyes adjusted and he saw me. I waited, staring at him in silence as he calmed down. Finally I watched as pulled his legs up to his chest and he wrapped his arms around them.

He lowered his face to his knees. It wasn't until I saw his strong shoulders shake and heard the sharp intake of breath that I realized what was happening.

My strong unflappable Jedi was crying.

Without a thought I dove into bed next to him and wrapped my arms around him. I didn't know what to say. All I knew is that sometimes when you feel as if you are coming unglued; it helped to have someone there to hold the pieces together.

After what seemed like an eternity the shaking stopped and he lifted his head to look at me. I gave him a smile and squeezed his shoulders. I could see in his tear worn eyes there was the peace that comes following tears. It wasn't much, but it was a damn sight more then the past two days.

"I failed them." He said huskily.

"I doubt that." I replied.

"How would you know? Were you there?" It wasn't bitter, only a question.

"No, but I know you. You'd fight until you lost your weapons, then you'd fight with both your arms and legs chopped off, telling your opponents they were cowards for walking away from you. You'd threaten to bite their legs off." That earned me a chuckle.

"You do know me too well." He whispered. "But I tried and failed."

"Obi-wan there is no failure when you try." I whispered, "Hasn't anyone ever told you that?"

"'Only do or do not. There is no try.'" He quoted Yoda.

"Bantha shit." I rejoined. "When you TRY you do. Success or failure is merely of measure of if you sat on your ass or if you gave it everything you had. If you gave it everything then you couldn't have failed. Just because the outcome wasn't what you wanted doesn't mean you didn't succeed."

"And¡¦ pray tell, how is trying to rescue fifty children and then watching half of them be killed execution style ¡¦ success?" He asked, his voice dangerously mild.

"You'd have put up one hell of a fight and distracted them for a time right?   Imagine how many would be dead if you didn't?" I asked softly, "Are you saying that it wouldn't have been worth it if only ONE child lived?"

He blinked and gasped softly as he stared at me. His changeable eyes seemed to search my face for something. I don't know what it was, but apparently it gave him comfort.

Who would have known that all Obi-wan needed to be told was to look at the glass being half full instead of half empty.

He nodded as I watched that tenuous peace start to spread in his eyes until it settled back into his whole body. Then I saw the most glorious image I have ever beheld.

He smiled.

It was a tiny lifting of the edges of his mouth, his eyes were red rimmed from tears and his cheeks still wet, but it was real. It was like watching the sun come out after a storm.

"Tell me a story." He whispered as he wrapped his arms around me in turn.

"About what?" I asked. I was now getting acutely aware of his state of undress, our proximity and getting downright uncomfortable about it. But he kept his arms wrapped around me and any attempt to leave that durasteel grip probably would result in an acute attack of tickling. "My life is downright boring."

He cocked his head; "I doubt that. Tell me something from your childhood. You once mentioned Jedi came to your playground."

I settled myself next to him more comfortably and rested my head on his shoulder as I recalled the memory. Even now it still brought a warm glow inside of me.

"I had noticed them sitting on the bench outside the playground just before our play period and had always left before our class could go out. They seemed to just go there for lunch break. They always played with the class before us, but never stayed for mine." I chuckled. "I remember hurrying to get everything done that hour just so I could go over to the window and watch. It just seemed so magical."

He laughed, "I can just imagine you doing that¡¦ chin in your hand, hair in ribbons and braids, sighing out the window while the teacher was giving a lesson."

I grinned, "You do know me too well! Well, the Jedi always left by the time my class went out to play. Normally I played alone since most of the kids really didn't like me all that much. I thought, maybe if the Jedi played, I might be able to play too."

I got lost in the remembered loneliness and the repeated rejection by my peers.

"Go on." He prompted.

I chuckled, "One afternoon it was my turn to go down the slide. When I got to the top, a kid who was one of my chief tormentors decided that it was his turn by default and shoved me off the top."

I remembered that fall. It was from ten feet up and as an adult it was daunting, as a child it was terrifying.

"Let me guess." He said triumphantly, "The Jedi saved you?"

"Nope, hit the ground with a rather sickening thud and a wet crack." I replied. "Concussion and broken arm."

He paled, "Oh my..."

"That's what my teacher said when she found a couple of students had gathered around and started kicking me." I said evenly. "Or so I was told, I wasn't conscious at the time."

He looked at me dubiously, "This is one of your favorite memories?"

"Are you telling the story or me?" I asked mock testily, he inclined his head and let me continue.

"Well, I was judged fit to attend school a couple days later, but not well enough to play outside for a few days. I heard the Jedi were leaving the day I came back to school.

"Since I was done with my work I immediately went to the window, thinking I would get to see them arrive one last time. I was rather sad when the time came and went and they hadn't come."

Obi-wan leaned back so he was lying down and since his arms were around mine he took me with him. I stared at the ceiling as I remembered what happened.   It was just like it was yesterday.

"I heard the gasps behind me and I knew what I would see even before I turned around. There they were, walking into the room and smiling. I nearly exploded with joy as the teacher said they were here to read us a story. The Master sat down and pulled out a book. To my intense surprise not a single one of my peers moved. I walked right up to the Master and asked him what he was going to read. Instead of answering me, he picked me up, put me in his lap and asked for my help in reading it."

"I asked him why I should help him read it, since he do it himself better then I could, him being so much smarter then me. He simply chuckled and said 'tell that last bit to my apprentice.' His apprentice muttered, 'I heard that.'"

He burst out laughing, "Sounds like many a conversation Qui-gon and I have had. What did he say to your question?"

"He said that even though I was right it was sometimes nice to be able to rely on someone else's skills. Besides, how was I ever going to get as good at reading as him unless I practiced?" I said logically.

He nodded and tightened his arms around me, "The rest of the children gathered round, they had their story time and you got a special memory."

"Yes indeed, someone asked the apprentice why I got to sit in their lap. He simply shrugged and said I was the only one brave enough to ask when the option was available."

Obi-wan smirked again, I saw his mouth had a small triumphant quirk. I grinned, Obi-wan may not be into revenge, but damn it he could be a vindictive little snot.

He gave a deep heartfelt sigh and his entire body relaxed. He looked as if someone had spent two hours massaging him so every muscle was loose. "That is indeed a good memory." He whispered before falling back asleep.

I looked down at him with a small smile, my memory of that childhood magic floating in my mind. Maybe that Jedi knew I would need that lesson over and over.

Obi-wan was strong, and he would have been able to come to these conclusions himself if he thought about it. Maybe he was grateful to have a break from thinking so much and appreciated knowing there was someone else willing to be strong for him.

Maybe I did have something to give him after all.

***

Part 3

Obi-wan Kenobi is a terrible patient.

"I am much better now." He said, sitting up in bed trying his damnedest to look completely healthy. I saw through his trap immediately and simply waved him off.

"Good for you." I replied evenly as I picked up some discarded datapads that Obi-wan had read from.

"I am getting up." He started get out of bed, but I simply walked passed him in doing my chores and shoved him roughly back into the sheets.

"Rest." I ordered as I watered a plant nearby.

He sulked, "but I said I was much better."

"And if I recall correctly I said, 'good for you'." I mused, "Seems we are back at the start of this conversation."

He looked at me with a pout in his eyes and lips, "Why won't you let me up other then to go to the bathroom?"

"You are suffering from… hang on let me get the list.." I pulled out of my pocket the datapad the healers gave me when they arrived to check on Obi-wan's progress. "Malnutrition because you felt it would be a good idea not to eat. Various abrasions and burns due to your fight and reaction. All those indicate you need one week of bed rest and one week light activity. It's been three whole days. Three days is NOT a week according to the galactic calendar."

"Healers always over estimate." He sulked, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at me. At least I had gotten some sleep pants and sleep shirts for him so he wasn't naked in bed. I don't think he normally slept with both of them on, due to his immediate tossing aside of the sleep shirt. However, I think he put it on just to make me for more comfortable.

Now that he was gaining strength and health back, my libido was tag teaming it with my newfound hope and conspired to rend me of my sanity. That glow was coming back with a vengeance.

"Be that as it may, I am following their instructions to the letter. You can rest on the couch if you want, but no standing for long periods of time.   Havens above and below you've just started eating semi solid food today! You still look like you are on a hunger strike. For my comfort at least give a passing nod to your physical condition." I pleaded.

He simply continued to glare at me. I growled in frustration and marched out of my bedroom. The boy was as frustrating as he was wonderful. I sat down on the couch and clicked on a Holovid.

After the show was half over I heard soft footsteps behind me. I looked up to see a contrite Obi-wan walking very slowly towards me on somewhat steady feet.

He sat down with a sigh of relief before he said anything. "I'm sorry."

I look at him, "For what?"

"For driving you insane. If… if you weren't here to make sure I recover properly my recovery time would be doubled. It often is." He murmured softly. "As you said, I have this annoying tendency to keep walking on two broken legs."

I smiled, "Forgiven. I figured your surliness was more due to frustration at yourself more then me."

He leaned back and watched the vid with me for a while before idly saying, "Thank you. For everything."

I felt a warm wash of affection flood my spirit and I couldn't do anything but smile. "No thanks needed. You'd do the same for me."

He started toying with the hem of his sleep shirt, "No… I would have knocked you out, taken you to the healers and locked you in their ward for the duration. A liberal use of the force to make you want to rest would have been applied without shame."

I grinned, "Considering how you've been behaving I am half inclined to do that. I still can if you insist. I know where I keep heavy objects and rope."

"No, thank you. Your bed is much more comfortable then those iron slabs covered in cloth they try to pass off for mattresses over there." He chuckled.

I grinned at him, this was more like the Obi-wan I knew. "There you see, we can get along just fine during your incarceration… em I mean… recovery."

He looked at me through hooded eyes, "Hmmm, I suppose it only has to do with my good looks and charm."

I snorted, "No one has ever gotten anywhere on just good looks and charm."

He chuckled, "You obviously have never met Lady Hamilton."

I laughed, "Is she a friend or an Ummm… friend." I loved to tease him on the fact I could always tell who he slept with by how he introduced them. Just 'friend' was someone he never slept with. Saying "This is my… ummm…. Friend." Told me he had.

He laughed, "She WAS an ummm friend."

"Oh my." I said

He sighed, "Not exactly the happiest of affairs but it did teach me an important lesson. The woman had good looks and charm and I thought it was love. Turned out the woman just wanted a trophy to her collection. She had more men between her legs at the tender age of sixteen then most rose bushes had thorns."

I winced, "Never told me about her."

He shrugged, "It was before I met you. I was seventeen at the time and it was over before I knew it had begun. It drove home a very important lesson for me. Namely, that good looks and charm may get you there, but it take substance to stay. Looking back on it, even if she thought it was love, within six months I would have realized what a mistake it was and I would have been the one to hurt her."

I nodded, "Love is a very messy emotion. I honestly don't think it's one separate one. It's probably all of them tossed together."

He smiled, "Yes. It is."

I left it at that. We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in front of the Holo and watching mind numbing programs. Life was good.

***

Part 4

Obi-wan Kenobi is a vicious son of a Hutt when playing cards.

"HA!" He grinned triumphantly as he threw down his sabacc cards.

Sighed as once again I shoved the pile of matches in the middle of the table to Obi-wan. He beat me once again. "Are you sure you aren't using the force to win?"

"Are you insinuating something?" He smirked as he collected his winnings.

"No of course not." I replied, "Why would I question the morality of a Jedi when he's won every game for the past four hours?"

"Luck?" He supplied

"If I recall rightly, someone once told me that there was no such thing as luck." I wagged my finger at him. I got up and started cleaning up the remains of our match. There were bottles of fruit juice, boxes of crackers and some candy wrappers strewn all over the table. "Are you going to help me with this?"

"Of course not." He replied huffily sitting up straight, "I am recovering. You are supposed to take care of me."

With that a hearty smack landed on my ass.

"Just wait, tomorrow you start the light exercise." I growled, "My floors all need a good sweeping."

He gasped and put his hand on his forehead in mock agony, "Oh perish the thought. How will I ever survive the Vicious Dust Bunnies of the Closet?"

"Ham," I teased, "No wonder you love undercover work. If you weren't a Jedi, you'd be an actor."

He grinned at me while he placed all the matches back in their box and I quickly tossed out the trash and washed the dishes. It was a quiet domestic little scene that had my heart filled to the brim with contentment.

All week I had been trying to think of a good way and time to tell him I loved him. The words meant a lot to me and I wanted the time when I told him to be special somehow. I also felt it was wrong to impose love on him while he was a mess emotionally. This afternoon at cards showed his mind and spirit were healed, now his body needed to catch up.

He walked into the kitchen and helped me to put away the freshly cleaned dishes. When the last dish was put away I simply wrapped my arms around him in a hug. "It's good to have you back."

I felt as much as heard the chuckle, "It's good to be back."

I leaned back slightly to look into his eyes and smiled, "I love you, you know." I said it just as if I said it every day.

For some reason, it just felt like the most natural thing in the galaxy to say right then. I knew in that moment that he wouldn't be surprised by the news.

His smile just deepened a bit as one finger came up to tap my nose.

"I was wondering when you were going to say something." He replied

"You mean you were waiting for me to say it?" I asked slightly indignantly. If he knew, he could have saved me a lot of mental anguish. Why did he wai…oh. I blushed as I remembered the pedestal I put him on.

He pressed his lips to my forehead, "That's why."

"Sorry I wasted so much time." I replied ruefully.

He chuckled, "It wasn't a waste, darling. I like watching you grow and learn. Your learning curve is like a Jump Jet, almost straight up. It's fun to see what new quirks you will develop."

I beam up at him, "Stick around, I may do something brilliant."

He hugged me close and tucked my head into the crook of his neck, "You already do, darling. Not everyone can get me to follow a healer's instruction or give advice in such a way that no matter my mental condition I still listen to it."

"You are a bit thick headed." I laugh into his shoulder.

"Hey, I don't need to stand here and take this abuse from you." He pouted.

"No, you can go to bed so I can call your master abuse you in private." I giggled

He shushed me and the conversation died. We simply stood there in my kitchen, holding each other close, completely at peace with the world around us. He didn't say he loved me, but I now knew the answer to that question.   I didn't need him to tell me.

"Bed?" He asked hopefully

"Sleep." I said flatly.

He pouted, "But why… it's nearly midnight and my week of convalescence would be over."

"I don't think sex is under the Healer's listing as a 'light activity.' " I deadpanned

"All depends on the technique, my dearest Anne." His eyes twinkled in amusement.

I blew a raspberry at him and turned towards the bedroom, "Good thing this happened now. I was getting a crick in my back from sleeping on the couch."

His laugh followed me into the Bedroom. It filled the apartment with a rich song. I was just about dressed for bed in my shorts and T-shirt when I felt a swat to my behind. I immediately whirled around gave him as good in return.

"Oooooo" He purred, closed his eyes and did this sensuous wiggling shiver that made my heart stop and mouth go dry. Many illicit thoughts danced through my head of what else I could do to make him moan and shiver like that.

"Smart ass." I shot at him before pulling back the covers. He crawled into bed before me, this time he had ditched his shirt in favor of only wearing the sleep pants.

Nothing was more inviting then the sight of him lying in bed with his arms reaching out for me. I obliged eagerly. When we were comfortably arranged in my bed, my head pillowed on his chest he whispered, "Would you like to know why I need you?"

I propped my chin up on his pectoral and looked at him, "You mean I don't have to figure it out for myself?"

He traced my jawline with his index finger, "You've done enough thinking for a while. Sometimes it's nice to just be told the answers."

I nod and hug him close, "We help each other put ourselves together. You just do it on a daily basis for me and I am here in case of emergency for you."

He smiled gently down at me. "That's not all. You teach me how special it really is to just be ordinary. It's nice being ordinary every once in a while. I do love you."

I grinned at him and hugged him even closer. "I know," I whispered before drifting off to sleep.

***

Part 5

Obi-wan Kenobi is distinctly randy in the morning.

Normally, I wouldn't mind, but for crying out loud, it was three AM. I woke up groggy, discovering that a muscular male body was hovering over me and a rather active was mouth nibbling on my neck.

"Ah, you are finally awake." He muttered against the skin of my shoulder.

"Hrmph?" I managed. Normally I am not vocal before eight AM.

"It's past midnight." He whispered just above my mouth a fraction of a second before sealing our lips together.

Apparently he lives by the motto of, "Nothing says loving like sex in the morning."

By the time he released me I was dizzy from the lack of fresh oxygen. It had also done wonders for my own temperament and now I was rather agreeable to anything he might suggest.

Even at Three am.

My hands started to wander up and down his chest and back, admiring the smooth skin.

"Are we rushing things a tad?" I asked as craned my neck up to dot some feather light kisses on any part of him I could reach.

He groaned loud enough and low enough in his chest that I thought it was a purr. " I think three years of waiting is plenty of time."

I felt myself start as a jolt of surprise shook me. Three years? We've… we've only known each other for three years… that must mean he…

And I only realized I loved him one year ago.

He smiled down at me as I did the mental math and kissed my lips tenderly trying to quell the shock.

I slipped one of my hands around to the back of his head to bury it's self in his short silky hair. "Well, since you put it that way… why did you stop?"

He laughed, "I'd greatly prefer you awake enough to fully appreciate my efforts."

"Are you going to talk all night or are you going to do something?" I asked testily

"Well, now that you mention it, I did find my political theory class last term particularly fascinating, did you know how much havoc one could wreak with a simple blockade. Theoretically it could be the down fall of the republic… first you need to…."

That was about as far as he got before I pulled his head down for our second kiss. I love his voice, but frankly that mouth desperately needed to be put to other uses.

I could only think of one word to describe his kiss.

Wow.

It wasn't just the skill, though that had a part. It was who was kissing me and why that made my toes curl and my skin tingle. The skill part was only a small factor. The warm weight of his body stretched against mine was heavenly. I ran my hands down his sides. He was still entirely too thin for my comfort.

"Counting Ribs, darling?" He murmured in my ear. "Making sure I am ready for a session of... physical therapy?"

"Are you SURE you are up to this?" I whispered fiercely, "I don't want you to…"

To my intense surprise, he interrupted me with laughter. He dropped to his elbows to lay completely flat against me and pressed his face into the pillow beside me to muffle his cries.

"What?" I asked a bit miffed.

"THAT my darling, was the worst double entendre I have ever heard." He chuckled. "' Am I UP to it'?"

I realized what I said and started to giggle as well. Ok… he was hale and healthy when he got bad cracks like that at the wrong times.

"I can say, with some authority, I am most DEFINITELY up to it, in both senses of the entendre." He said and rocked his hips, revealing his observation was correct. He was up to it.

I learned many valuable lessons that night.

Obi-wan is ticklish under his ribs. I'm ticklish on the backs of my knees. Our talking during foreplay often causes us to collapse into fits of laughter.

Laughter and Sex can be an intoxicating combination.

His padawan braid makes an excellent chew toy and lasso to drag him places. Then again, he never seems too reluctant when I do tug him somewhere.

The man is a walking erogenous zone.

Eating food off your lover only seems kinky the first time you do it.

A shower is a necessity after the above activity else things can get rather sticky in unpleasant places.

Any way we come together each has it's distinct charms. He's an extraordinarily generous lover and a closet sensualist. I found I could become rather creative when given proper motivation.

In regards to teasing: He can dish it out like he invented the art, but he sure as hell can't take it.

He's at once as vocal as I thought he would be as well as not. The amount he makes is as I thought, but the volume is much softer. He prefers soft moans, gasps and purrs.

Sex is shockingly intimate for both of us. We both feel rather unglued afterward and in serious need of giving and receiving comfort.

He likes to hum a tune in the afterglow and has a wonderful singing voice. I usually fall asleep due to the relaxation permeating every pore and the music. Apparently he finds this adorable.

He's rather possessive in his sleep. He either steals the covers or latches around me. If I try to steal the covers back he simply twines around me. I try to escape his clutches and he snags all the covers.

I have this tendency to try to kill him in my sleep by rolling over and jabbing him with my elbows. Probably the reason he snags me in his sleep. It's so he knows where I am and knows when a blow is going to come.

There is nothing more heavenly then being in love and loved by your best friend.

Even if he did wake you up at three AM to do it.

End