With You

Chapter 6

The sound of a distant explosion almost masked the sound of a lightsaber activating and blocking blaster fire outside the cell block. There was only one occupant in the block of 4 musty ancient cells—and it was that occupant that Obi-Wan Kenobi was coming for.

After landing, he'd given his troops orders and broken off from the squadron. As they worked to rescue the child slaves he had quickly discovered the location of Cecilia Quin.

As soon as they'd touched down he felt the slightest of twinges of her Life Force as the edges of his mind, and the closer he got to the compound the stronger he felt them. But it was weak, and it terrified him. What if she died before he made it to her?

Finally, soon enough, he'd brought down the droid guards and entered the cell block, the blue glow of his lightsaber illuminating the area. He saw a lone body lying still on a cot and easily slashed away the lock on the cell door.

"Cecilia? Cecilia can you hear me?" he said quietly as he approached her, deactivating his saber, leaving only the light of the moon shining in the cell window. He brushed hair away from her face and gasped at the sight of the bruise over her eye, cringing at the thought of what it could mean for her condition. Gently he picked her up in his arms and called for a transport to pick him up.

Cecilia's eyes began to flutter open as she heard the words "Please... Please, wake up."

But her mind suddenly went back to where she had been and with a gasp she shot straight up into a sitting position.

"Whoa, whoa there—settle down," a gentle male voice called out to her as she felt two warm hands on her shoulders. She turned, eyes wide as she looked the man over. He smiled at her. "You're awake! And you're safe. I promise."

The face had aged, his hair was much longer and he now sported a beard. But there was no mistaking those eyes. "Obi-Wan?" she whispered.

"Hello there," he said with a smile that had his eyes twinkling.

"You—you've gotten—old..." she said, and after only a beat her straight face went lopsided with a smirk.

His eyes grew wide. "Oh, have I, now?" The twinkle returned then. As crazy as it was, after ten years, something of their banter returned so quickly. "Not all of us can age as gracefully as you, my dear."

She felt for sure her cheeks were on fire as warm as they got and she glanced down. "You look nice with a beard, Obi."

He chuckled. "No one has called me 'Obi' since... well, a very long time."

She looked up, her expression now somber. "You shouldn't have come, Obi-Wan."

His brow furrowed. "And why not?"

"You know why."

He reached out, clasping one of her hands between the two of his own, and gently squeezed. "Nothing could have kept me from coming for you. As soon as I received your message I came. What did you think I'd do when I received it?"

"I—I thought..." her eyes surely did begin to well up with tears then. "I thought that perhaps you'd be ashamed of... of what I said. That you might be angry with me for leaving and never forgive me. That— that you would be happy to know I was finally gone from this world." She took a deep breath and stilled herself, calming her emotions.

Obi-Wan moved to sit on the edge of her bed, still holding her hand between his. "Oh, my Cecilia. The only shame I have is in myself. All the should-have-beens and could-have-beens threaten to pull me into the darkness that is regret. You are so brave to share your heart, and I am such a coward to have left you thinking that I could ever wish you were anything other than by my side."

"What are you saying, Obi-Wan?" Cecilia asked quietly, almost afraid to consider that he could be admitting to have held feelings for her just as she had him for ten years apart.

He sighed and firmly planted his hands on her shoulders, sure to look into her eyes so that she saw the complete and utter sincerity in what he was about to say. "I am saying—we should be together. There is much to consider. I don't know what together will look like with the lives we both lead. But what I do know is this: Master Qui-Gon was right. The Force brought us together all those years ago.

I was foolish not to speak up sooner. I was foolish to push you away when you tried to comfort me after my own Master's death. I was foolish not to seek you out when you left the Temple. But no more. There are a lot of questions to be answered, things to consider, but what I know is that I won't deny any longer the fact that I have felt empty from the day you walked out of my quarters. I love you, Cecilia Quin. I've loved you all these years. If there's one thing I know now that we are back together is that the Force sings when we are side by side, and all I feel in my heart is deep, pure light. There is no darkness in this..."

He held one hand up to her cheek again, the other hand reaching for hers and bringing it up to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles. "No darkness at all in the love I feel for you."