Prologue

Qui-Gon Jinn paced up and down the hospital hallway. How could she not tell me, he angrily thought to himself, how could she keep this a secret? It must have taken a lot of guts to hide it from me. Now she is dying! How could she do this to me, to herself, to…

A tap on his shoulder interrupted his thoughts. He spun around to find his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi. "Young Padawan," Qui-Gon sighed, "you got my message?"

"I came as soon as I received it," the young man replied.

"Thank you for coming quickly, Obi-Wan."

"I could not ignore you, Master. Now, why am I here? You never really stated that in the message."

Qui-Gon sighed and put his hands on Obi-Wans shoulders. "Kenobi, do you promise to not tell anyone?"

"Master-"

"Kenobi. You have to promise me. You cannot tell anyone, understand?"

"I understand, Master Jinn."

Qui-Gon guided his Padawan down the hallway. "Young Padawan," he questioned, "remember when I said that everyone, including Jedi, make mistakes?"

Obi-Wan chuckled. "Master, you tell me that daily!"

Qui-Gon gave him a soft smile. "I guess I do. Also, remember when I said that Jedi can't love?"

"Master, what is this-"

"Bear with me."

"Yes, Master. I do remember."

"Good. Well, I made a big mistake."

Obi-Wan was shocked. He thought his teacher was the best of the best at being good. "Master," Obi-Wan questioned, scared of the answer, "what did you do?"

"I loved someone."

Obi-Wan was speechless. He couldn't find any words to say. Qui-Gon made up for Obi-Wan's lost words, though. "The worst part is that she is dying in there, giving birth to our baby."

Obi-Wan stood there, trying to comprehend what he had just heard. "So, let me understand this. You loved someone, and you loved her enough to, to have a child!"

"I know, my young Apprentice. It was a huge mistake. I'm sorry for letting you down."

Screams filled the hallway. "This way, Padawan," Qui-Gon pointed.

They ran down the hallway to find the room that Qui-Gon's love interest was in. They reached the end of the hallway when they found her.

The woman had light hair, but dark eyes. Laying down in a capsule, she pushed as hard as she could. Qui-Gon's eyes met hers and he walked to her very slowly. He gently took the woman's hand and kissed it. Her face was covered in sweat, which Qui-Gon wiped off with a towel. He started to coo her. "It's okay, Melantha, it will be over soon. I promise." She pushed and pushed, until their baby was born. A small shrill came out of baby's mouth, but it was silent after that.

"It's a girl," the droid doctor told them. A loud beep filled the room. Melantha never got a chance to see her baby.

The doctor handed the little girl to Qui-Gon. "She is healthy," the doctor said, "you can take her home now if you please."

"Thank you," Qui-Gon said. The doctor left the room. Qui-Gon then turned to Obi-Wan. "Do you want to hold her?"

He was ecstatic. "Yes, I would." Qui-Gon placed the small child into Obi-Wan's arms.

Her hair was a beautiful gingery blonde, and sapphire eyes that could melt anyone's heart. "Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon asked him, "what's a beautiful girls name?"

"You want me to name her?"

"I'm asking for suggestions. I might choose yours, I might not. Pick some names."

"Uh, alright. Well, there's Ceit, Farah, Talia, Laetitia, Mahwa-"

"Wait, the second to last one. What was it?"

"Laetitia. It means 'joy' and 'happiness.'"

"I think it fits perfectly." Both men admired the little baby. She was falling asleep in Obi-Wan's arms. "Kenobi," Qui-Gon said as he got a needle to test her for midi-chlorians.

"Yes, Master?"

"If she has the qualifications to be a Jedi…" he drifted off.

"What, Master Jinn?"

He sighed. "If she has the qualifications to be a Jedi, would you like to be her Master?"

Obi-Wan smiled. "I would be honored to have her as a Padawan."

Qui-Gon took some of her blood and went to a machine. Obi-Wan followed him. "They have a midi-chlorian tester here?"

"Most hospitals, not claimed by the Trade Federation, have one in every room." He ran the blood. The results startled both men.

"A count of 16,000," Qui-Gon said, "higher than my count."

"Well, she was made by two Jedi's. Well, at least one Jedi, and one former Jedi. Still, you get my point."

"You knew who Melantha was?"

"Yes, she was the Jedi who left."

Qui-Gon sighed. "Well, Padawan," he said, "we might as well go back to Coruscant so the Council could figure out what to do."

"I thought we could not tell anyone, like you said earlier."

"Not at the moment, Kenobi. I meant at the moment. I know you, Kenobi. I know how you hate when the law has been broken. I know how you would tell of any wrong doing in a heartbeat. Just, don't contact anyone on the way home, alright?"

"Yes, Master."

They walked out of the hospital. Their two ships were already attached to each other, thanks to the requests by both men and the hard-working droids. The men climbed upon the larger ship, the one that Qui-Gon brought. They sped to Coruscant.

Once they arrived on the planet, the two men went directly to the Jedi Temple to explain their situation.

"A disgrace, you are to us," Master Yoda, the eldest and wisest Jedi Master, said to Qui-Gon.

"I cannot believe that you lied to us," Master Mace Windu said, "we should just force you to discontinue your Jedi practices here, but the girl…"

"What do you mean, 'the girl,'" Qui-Gon questioned harshly, "what about her?"

Obi-Wan looked up at him, fearful of his next words. He had never seen his Teacher in such a bad state. The little girl cried in his arms.

"Hey, it's okay, Laetitia, it's okay," Obi-Wan cooed, "it is alright." The girl stopped her crying and looked around the room.

"Her count, Master Jinn," Mace said, "her midi-chlorian count is astounding. A count of 16,000! Her existence and the amount of midi-chlorians is the reason she can stay."

"Okay," Qui-Gon said, "but I have one condition."

"Master Jinn," Yoda said, "the conditions, we need to have."

"I just want one thing, please."

The Council members looked at one another. "Fine," Mace muttered, "one thing."

"I want my Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, to be her Master."

"Good, good choice," Yoda smiled.

"We were going to have him become her Master, anyways," Mace added.

"Good," Qui-Gon said.

The little girl was sound asleep in Obi-Wan's arms as they walked out of the room.