The Way Things Should Be...

Chapter 4: The Arrival

The cave offered no draft, Obi-wan smiled to himself. At least they would only have to worry about one entrance. Obi-wan hovered his hand over the hilt of his lightsaber. He didn't want to use the force, so he knew he had to be very aware and ready for any threat to what lay before him.

The cave was damp, and water was dripping from the roof of the cave, the walls were smooth but bumpy, and as Obi-wan went further into the cave, relied on the walls to ensure he could find his way about. The cave was fairly shallow but once Obi-wan had ventured past the mouth of the cave he discovered that it was far bigger than he originally expected, the cave opened up into a wide expanse, then Obi-wan looked down and saw that the cave also ran a few feet deeper than he thought possible in this terrain and sat in the bottom of this cave sat a swarm of Womp Rats, all curled up and sleeping, but there was too many to even consider taking on his own. They would have to find another place to rest for the night. 
Obi-wan turned to leave, only to kick a rock as he moved his feet. It bounced off the cave walls and the noise although small Obi-wan knew he would have a challenge on his hands. Although small Obi-wan knew that they were feisty and would certainly cause him enough trouble. His lightsaber was lit before the first wave of rats had even managed to circles up to him. The sound of the lightsaber as it sliced through the rats was satisfying but unease was growing in Obi-wan, there were a lot more than he could have ever thought possible, they kept coming faster than Obi-wan could kill them.

They were piling around his feet, and a mixture of their dead bodies and live ones sat around his calves, they were chewing through his clothes and he knew soon, these wild Womp Rats would begin eating his legs. Just when Obi-wan was desperate, he felt the weight of the rats being taken off his legs and ankles. He took the chance to look behind him to find Anakin with his lightsaber tearing through the rats. Obi-wan sighed with relief as he quickly turned his attention back on the rats. 
"Couldn't go 5 minutes without needing me, master?" Anakin shouted over the sound of the rats being sent to their demise with a smug smile plastered on his face.
"Anakin, do you really think now is the time?" Obi-wan threw back, slicing through the last of the rats, not leaving any to run out in the wild. 
Once the swarm had been dealt with they began with lighting a fire to fully ensure the cave was secure. Anakin returned to Padme to carry the resources while Obi-wan used the Womp rats to fuel the main fire, taking the extra bodies to line the mouth of the cave with them, to keep the shifting sand out. 

Anakin carried the resources in 4 bags, slung over his back, and carried the baby carriers as carefully as he could, as Padme walked as best she could with him over to the cave. By the time they arrived Padme was ready to collapse, and she did, resting her back against the wall of the cave opening. The cave had been lit and in the center of what could only be described as a cavern, stood Obi-wan looking proud of the basic setup he had given the cave. Anakin left Obi-wan to unpack as he gently placed the sleeping children in front of the fire before racing off back to Padme, scooping her up in his arms, his forehead nuzzling up to hers in an attempt to keep her awake.

He placed her in front of the fire, leaving her briefly to make her a drink and a meal. Obi-wan sat in front of her using his limited knowledge to try and help her, checking her over to ensure that the crash hadn't caused any lasting damage. When he was happy that she was just tired he left her to drink and eat and joined Anakin by the children. He was sat rocking one of the carriers, smiling at the baby within. The baby was awake but wasn't crying. Instead, she sat smiling at her father. The other baby remained fast asleep, thumb in mouth.
"Luke and this one is Leia," Anakin whispered looking over at Obi-wan, noticing his presence.
Obi-wan sat down properly next to Anakin, "They are beautiful names Anakin" They smiled at each other. Despite the fact they both relieved that they had made the journey in one piece, Obi-wan still sensed some uneasiness in his Padawan.  Anakin avoided Obi-wans eyes acting as if all his attention sat with his daughter. 

The night quickly approached and the only light and warmth remained in the fire they were nurturing. Padme was fast asleep, the trauma of the day drifting away. Obi-wan had retired about an hour ago. Anakin knew he should join them, but he couldn't find it in him to close his eyes. Tears were silently falling, he let them not knowing if it was his own guilt or if it was his eyes streaming from the lack of blinking. The silence was deafening for Anakin, all he could hear were his mistakes eating him alive. He should never have been so selfish as to let Padme join him. The dark side still looming over him, what if he hurt his own children... the Jedi Temple flashed in his mind. Anakin brought his hands up to his hair, wanting to tear the memories out of his mind. Wishing more than anything that he could just go back and fix the mistakes he so blindly made. His eyes screwed shut willing the thoughts to be burned out of his brain. 

A pair of hands rested on his shoulders, he recognized the familiar grip of his master as he was guided away from the fire. Obi-wans voice becoming clearer as Anakin tried to pull himself together. "Anakin, you need to calm down, it's all in the past. There is nothing you can do to change it now."

Anakin looked up at Obi-wan, confusion, and anger mixed with his tears plastered across his face. "How can you say that I did those terrible things and yet instead of protecting Padme I brought her here, with the very monster that killed those younglings, that killed and killed and let execute order 66 happen. I did it in her name yet I can only sit here and regret knowing she would have been safer if I-"
The anger had evaporated and in that moment all Obi-wan could see is the young boy he and Qui-gon had found all those years ago. Obi-wan cut him off, pulling him in for a hug. They collapsed into the floor as Anakin sobbed, Obi-wan wishing he knew how to help, looking up at the roof of the cave wishing Qui-gon was by his side, he would have helped Anakin so much better. Maybe if he was still here Anakin would never have been tempted by the dark side. 

But there was no point wishing about the what-ifs...

Y/N woke up with a start, last night had been one of the worst nights sleep they had, had in a long time, nightmares plagued their dreams. Womp Rats and panic. She never understood where these dreams came from. This time though it was different, the men with glowing swords had been different, Y/N had never seen them before. They tried to shake the feeling off, moving out of bed to begin the day. 

Looking over the town eating breakfast, Y/N noticed the smoke almost immediately. Everyone else seemed to be ignoring it, afraid of what it could hold within, but Y/N was drawn to the smoke as if it held significant power. Finishing the food as quickly as they could, Y/N set out to figure out what everyone was so afraid of. 

The morning sun had never been fun, and by the time Y/N had reached even halfway they were sweating and wished they had just stayed in bed. Cursing their curiosity they powered forward the burning ship coming into view. There was nothing special about it and Y/N cursed that scavengers had clearly already taken anything of value, clearly making this a wasted trip. But Y/N found themselves still walking closer to the burning skeleton. The black smoke was foreboding and was growing with each second.
Y/N knew they should probably turn back and forget about it, but this feeling was growing the closer they got, something about this crash contained the answers to the nightmares, they could feel it. They powered on, even though walking this far was causing her skin to burn from the sun, and her lungs to feel like they were on fire. She stopped, going to dig whatever water was left in their water bottle, this walk had taken longer than expected and by now the early morning had passed and Y/N sat in the mid-day sun with no promise of finding shelter any time soon. But they had come too far by now to turn around, the stubbornness flowing through their viens. 

Anakin and Obi-wan stood at the mouth of the cave, looking at the small figure approaching. Everyone else seemed to be fearful of the smoke they had created, but this one, this one was trying to get themselves killed. Anakin worried for the young person, but Obi-wan, Obi-wan was intrigued to see why this person was so drawn to the ship. 
Anakin turned away, walking back into the cave to attend to Padme and the children. Obi-wan remained though. Entertained by the possibilities of what could happen.