No, I thought helplessly. Not broken.

"I love you," I repeated.

"I’m broken," she said again.

"Let me help you," I begged her.

"No!" She looked away, tears gathering in her eyes again. "You can’t."

"Yes I can!" I grabbed her arms and pulled her close to me. "I love you."

"I’m broken!" she shouted.

"Why do you keep saying that?" I felt like I was going to cry too. I wouldn’t accept that.

"Because it’s true! I’m…I’m…I’m…I don’t even…I don’t know if there are even words…I’m not good enough, Anakin! You deserve someone better," she ended in a whisper. "You deserve someone whole."

"But I love you," I insisted, blinking back tears of my own. "Tahiri…I mean it. I mean it! I don’t care if you’re broken! I’ll help! I can fix things! You know I can! You know it!"

"Some things can’t be fixed, Anakin," she whispered quietly.

"But you can!" I yelled. "I can! And you know it! I love you! I can help you, just let me! I love you!"

Tahiri didn’t say anything. She looked down at where my hands clutched her arms. "You’re hurting me," she said, sounding like she didn’t really care.

"No, you’re hurting me!" I screamed. "You’re my best friend, and I love you! I’m going to help you! It’s going to be all right, Tahiri!"

She didn’t look up.

"Look at me!"

Then she did. I saw emptiness in her eyes. It stabbed like an amphistaff in my heart. I reached out through the bond we’d always had through the Force, that was special to us.

Her head came crashing to my chest, and her sobs echoed through the quiet room. "Fix me," she cried. "I’m broken."

"You’re fixed," I whispered, kissing her crown. Tahiri’s body relaxed, and she fell asleep.

Fixed.