DISCLAIMER: Star Wars and all publicly recognisable characters, names and references, etc are the sole property of George Lucas, Lucasfilm Ltd, Lucasarts Inc and 20th Century Fox. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
You open your eyes slowly. You try to move, but your entire body aches. You feel a warm touch on your arm and hear a woman’s voice, “Lie still. Go back to sleep.” You close your eyes and quickly lose consciousness.
Again, you feel yourself beginning to awaken. Your head is clouded. You have no idea where you are, or how long you have been there. The voices are clearer…you recognize one…and another. Your eyelids are heavy, but you manage to open them. Your vision is somewhat blurred.
“Can you hear me?”
You look in the direction of the voice, and blink your eyes to clear them. “Kayla?” Your throat burns when you speak.
She smiles wide, tiny tears popping out of her eyes. “Yes.”
“Where am I?”
“The clinic. The healers have kept you asleep for a while to heal your injuries…and to keep your stress down,” she says.
“How…. How did they know?”
“We heard your message. I’m afraid we didn’t hear it soon enough. We ran to the phone, but it had already disconnected,” she says.
“But…how? How did they find me? I don’t even know where I was,” you say.
She smiles and says, “They’re Jedi’s. They knew.”
“It was Obi-Wan.”
You turn your head at the sound of Qui-Gon’s voice. He smiles and places his hand on your head. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired. Achy.”
He nods. “You are doing well. Part of your physical healing is your emotional healing as well. The healers are helping you with that.”
“What did you mean about Obi-Wan?” you asks.
“He knew where to find you,” Qui-Gon says. “Once we were close to the center, he was able to locate you.”
“How?”
“He just knew. He would be here,” Qui-Gon says, “but he has been sent away. He will return soon. Now, go back to sleep.” He lightly strokes your forehead, and very soon your eyelids fall shut.
The nights are difficult. During the day you feeling surprisingly well given what happened. Qui-Gon was right, the healers did help you to heal physically and emotionally. During the daylight hours you are filled with gratitude that you survived alive and mostly well. But at night the dreams come. In the clinic the healers were there to stop the nightmares. But now you have to sleep alone. You do the relaxation exercises they taught you and try to plant a positive thought before falling asleep, but the dreams eventually come. They tell you it’s part of the process of healing…your brain is just processing the experience.
So you take your seat in the garden one night when you have given up on the prospect of sleeping. Your writing inspiration has stalled out on you, so, for the most part, you just sit and breathe, looking at the sky, the plants…appreciating the calm and the safety you feel in this place.
You are slightly startled by a rattling noise. You look in its direction and take a deep breath.
Obi-Wan closes the door behind him and walks over. He takes a chair next to you. “I am sorry. I have been away. They—“
“I know,” you say.
His eyes examine you. “How are you feeling?”
“Good.”
“And your arm?”
“Better than new,” you say.
He shakes his head. “I am so sorry about that. I should have—“
“Obi-Wan,” you say, leaning forward, “I would much prefer a shot to the arm than having you not show up at all.” You reach out and place your hand on his, and he immediately wraps his fingers around yours. “Thank you. If you hadn’t come to my rescue—“
“I will always come to your rescue,” he says as his eyes sink into yours. “You don’t ever have to consider the alternative.”
Your heart quickens, but you simply smile. “You just returned, I take it?”
He nods, “Yes, I came as soon as I could. I checked in at the Temple and came straight away.”
“Why? Looking for a bathtub?”
He smiles. “Do I offend?”
“Nah,” you say. “You’re alright this time.”
“What do you mean this time?”
You laugh. “So, are you gonna be around for Christmas? It’s only two weeks away.”
“Well, I cannot ever say for certain when I will be around,” he says, somewhat reluctantly.
“Well, Kim is trying to get Mace to dress up as Santa Claus. I’ll take pictures if you are away,” you say.
“You are going to have to explain all of your traditions to me,” he says. “I don’t fully understand them.”
“The guy hanging on the front door…the one in the red suit?”
“Yes,” he says.
“Santa Claus,” you say.
Obi-Wan’s eyes grow wide and then he laughs uproariously. “Please do take pictures if I am not here,” he says as he chuckles. He sighs amusedly and then asks, “And this Scrooge?”
“Huh?”
“Kim called you Scrooge,” he says.
“You never forget a thing,” you say.
“No, I don’t,” he says.
“OK, well Ebenezer Scrooge is a character from a book called A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Actually, I have the book upstairs. I’ll let you borrow it. It’s a quick read,” you say.
He leans back in his chair. “Tell it to me instead.”
“Well….alright,” you say. You clear your voice and say. “Jacob Marley was dead as a doornail.” And then you proceed to tell him the story in your own words. He watches you with keen interest and amusement…especially at your impressions of Marley’s ghost and “born again” Scrooge as you call him.
A few nights later, you lay in your bed, eyes open again. A small party is happening downstairs, but you can’t quite get into the spirit of it. You’re too tired and hitting the point of sensory overload. Finally at the point of exhaustion, you close your eyes and fall asleep.
The dream begins again. Being chased, captured, bound. In your dream you scream, but no sound comes out of your mouth. Your mind yells for consciousness, but your body is heavy and unresponsive. The dream worsens. You try to make a noise, anything to wake yourself up. All that results is a loud whisper. You fight and fight and fight…and finally your scream is given voice….
You awake with a start, shooting straight up in bed. A moment later your bedroom door flies open, and you gasp at the surprised entry. Obi-Wan runs over and sits on your bed next to you, placing his hands on your shoulders while your body shakes and your breath comes in fits.
“It’s alright,” he says. “Just a dream.”
Your panic does not subside, and your lungs taunt you. “Let me up! Let me up!” You practically push him off the bed and kick your legs out from under the covers. He steps back out of your way in confusion, and you jump up and race to the window, throwing it open. The cold air blasts in your face and chills your skin.
“What are you doing?” he asks and rushes over to the window. “It’s freezing out there.”
“I can’t breathe…I can’t breathe.” You take large gulps of frosty air.
“Shhhhh….” He stands right behind you and strokes your hair. “It was only a dream.”
You shake your head quickly as you lean out the window to fill your lungs again.
“Yes. Only a dream,” he says.
“But…in my dream….you don’t come….and they….”
He leans forward and rests his head against yours. “I would never let anyone hurt you. Never. No matter what happens between us, I promise you that.”
Slowly you begin to relax. You lean back into him and sigh. “When will it go away?”
“I don’t know,” he says. He pauses for a moment and then continues, “In my dreams I hear your screams. They haunt me even when I am awake.”
“I just want to sleep again,” you say.
“I know,” he says. “Come, let’s close the window.”
“Alright,” you say, stepping to the side. You watch him shut the window, and then he turns to you, placing his warm hand on your cool face.
“I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you,” he says.
You give him a weak smile. “I’m fine. Really. You were right. Just a dream.” The two of you stand there hesitantly watching each other.
Obi-Wan steps closer. “If Terri hadn’t done what she did…. Would you…have still told me you only wanted to be friends?”
“No,” you whisper, looking at the floor. After several moments you look up at him. “I’m so sorry about—“
“Shhh,” he says slowly shaking his head. His other hand reaches to caress your cheek. Before you can think, his lips are on yours, warm and full…sliding along yours slowly and sweetly. You whimper and fall against his body. He groans as you reach up and pull his head closer to you. It is a kiss you have longed for and one that has been denied for too long. His hand plunges into your hair, cradling your head as he pours his desire into the kiss.
You come up for air as his lips brush across your cheek and along your jawline. You lean your head back and whimper again as his lips suckle at the soft skin of your neck. You press your body into his, no longer worried about keeping your longing in check.
“Anything.” It is a hushed whisper, his soft lips against your neck. “I’ll give you anything you want…please tell me…anything.”
You moan as his fingers gently dig into your back.
“Please,” he whispers next to your ear. “Tell me…I need to hear you say it….”
You sigh as he lightly nibbles at your earlobe. “Touch me,” you whisper.
“Yessss,” he sighs as his lips run back up your cheek and find your mouth again. He claims you completely with his kiss, his tongue slowly sinking into your mouth and twining with yours. His hand slinks slowly up your side, and you shiver when his thumb delicately traces the curve of your breast. His fingers tease you slowly, and your lips slip away from his with a soft moan as he gently rubs your nipple through the fabric of your nightgown.
His lips caress your neck again, and he sighs, “I want you.”
“Then take me,” you gasp.