The first thing she did, once she was sure the Hawk had truly gone, was to sit down and try to find him. She couldn't do this alone, of course she couldn't - but there was only one person who Revan would even consider having with her for a mission like this.

Picking an individual out from an entire galaxy of sentients should be impossible, but... it was him. Revan could find him anywhere, beacon of straightforwardness in the sea of lies and manipulation that made up the rest of humankind. Easy to find, but not so easy to get in touch with - his mental barriers had always been strong, and of course he wouldn't be able to reply. But finally, she caught him sleeping, and relayed her message. It was simple enough; a set of co-ordinates, and two words.

Please come.

She took care to imprint it on his memory, lest he think it was only a dream when he awoke, and then...

Revan sat down to wait. He would come: he always did.

/\/\/\

According to her datapad, it had been a standard month. Well, all right - this was a distant planet, probably not on any Republic databases, and he couldn't risk showing up in the Core Worlds anyway. He would have to go around the Outer Rim, and he was probably having trouble getting lifts, too. Besides, it had taken her a month to get here. Unless he had left straight away...

She had expected him to leave straight away.

He was just having trouble getting here, Revan scolded herself. He would come. He always came.

/\/\/\

Six standard months. Maybe he was having a lot of trouble getting out here, or maybe...

She stopped that thought immediately. He would come. He always came. Dependable as... as... a very dependable thing. Force, when had her vocabulary left her?

Dependable, a little voice in her head whispered. Oh, yes, that's why he betrayed you, isn't it. Dependable.

That was different.

Of course. Different.

Did he know that?

/\/\/\

Her datapad had packed up at some point in the distant past, but it must be getting on for a standard year now. She had risked another quick look inside his head when he was asleep, and seen it filled with Sith Lords and dangers to the Republic. There, he was just busy. Nothing to worry about. He'd come when the Republic was safe.

That wasn't all you found, the little voice whispered. She had considered naming it 'Marin', but Marin hadn't been nearly so annoying even when she was occupying Revan's headspace.

It was all she had found. She refused to think about -

You found doubt. He doesn't know if he wants to come.

He would come. Dependable, that was him.

Oh, yes, dependable like a traitor.

/\/\/\

She couldn't sit here forever, so she had started doing recon work while she waited for him to arrive. The thing which surprised her most had to be how much like one of them she looked... if there had ever been any doubt that her father was one of these people, this was surely proof enough for anyone.

She was beginning to believe the little voice, to think that maybe he wouldn't come. They hadn't exactly parted on the best of terms, after all. Maybe he...

No. Even if he didn't come, she knew he would always love her.

/\/\/\

After a month in that tiny dungeon, the bright light outside nearly blinded her, but she couldn't afford to stop now. They would know that she was gone soon, and she had to get out of the town before the gates shut for the night.

She shut her eyes, reached out with the Force, and began to run. Her tired, cramped legs protested at every step, but still, she couldn't stop.

She had sent out call after call in that fracking dungeon. If he loved her, he would have come, the... the schutta. She should have killed him when she had the chance, not let him escape to fight fracking Sith Lords on fracking Malachor V. She should have known he didn't love her when he turned traitor, shouldn't she, but no. Well, that was it. So much for compassion. She'd shown him fracking compassion at every fracking turn, and this was how he repaid her.

When she finally got back to her camp, she collapsed face-first onto her bedroll and screamed and cried, cursing his name until, completely exhausted, she fell asleep.

/\/\/\

She awoke to bright sunlight and a body that ached everywhere. In fact, she had aches on the aches, and...

And there was someone nearby. She sat up as quickly as possible, which wasn't terribly quickly, and threw off her blanket. Yes, there was someone, but...

It felt like...

No. He hadn't come.. .he wouldn't come. Unless he came just to laugh at her...

She didn't have a blanket.

Slowly, willing it to be true, she looked down. It wasn't a blanket at all, but an oversized Jedi cloak. In black.

Revan hauled herself to her feet and tottered towards where she sensed him. It had to be some cruel joke, surely.

He was cooking - oh, Force, real food, Republic food - but he looked around as she approached. To her eternal relief, there was warmth in his eyes... warmth, and love.

"Took you long enough to get here," she said. Her voice was hoarse, a result of last night's screaming fit as much as its previous under-use.

Malak laughed, and handed her the pot of food. "I came as soon as I could."

See? Revan told the voice as it retreated, grumbling. I told you he'd come.