Title: There is the Force
Author: Jedikma
Rated: PG 13
A/N: I sure hope there are more readers out there than are giving me reviews. :) Here is chapter 4 as reqested by those who let me know they want more of the story. Thanks so much for your response. :) And a special Thankyou to ewan's girl for her support. ;) Enjoy!
Chapter 4: The First Trimester
"Then it's true Obi-Wan? Siri is expecting triplets?" Bant asked as she pushed aside her lunch tray.
"It was confirmed by the time she reached her second month. Healer Trin also sensed that the three babies were fraternal." Obi-Wan couldn't help but feel a little pride over the situation. He knew that he shouldn't form any attachments to the children, but for now he let himself indulge a little.
"What about sex, do you know that yet?"
"No, but we may find that out today. Siri said she would comm me when she got back from the meeting she had over at the Senate today and we could go down to the med clinic for a fetal hologram. Do you want to join us?"
"I would love to come along if you think Siri won't mind." Bant's silver eyes sparkled.
Obi-Wan rested his arms on the table in the dining room where he and Bant had met for lunch. "I don't think she will mind."
Obi-Wan hadn't seen Siri for more than two months. He and Anakin had been on missions and hadn't returned to the Temple until today. Siri and Ferus had also had their share of missions over the last three months. Siri's pregnancy had not kept her from working as much as possible. Obi-Wan didn't know exactly how Siri was handling her condition because he had not been in contact with her. He wondered if she had any of the problems that women usually had during their first three months expecting. Did she have morning sickness and was she tired a lot?
The fact was that Siri and Obi-Wan had resumed their lives as Jedi and, as before, they did not maintain contact with each other when they were away from the Temple. When Obi-Wan talked to Siri that morning, he only got a brief overview of how she was doing. Since they were finally at the Temple at the same time, Siri pushed for a fetal hologram so they could see the babies together.
Obi-Wan's comlink buzzed and he answered it.
Siri's voice greeted him. "Can you meet me in the med clinic in one half hour?"
Obi-Wan replied, "No problem. Do you mind if I bring a chaperone?"
Obi-Wan could tell that Sri was smiling on the other end of the comlink. "Sure, lover. I embody the motto 'the more the merrier' these days."
Obi-Wan flushed a little as he noticed Bant had overheard the whole exchange. "You have to understand Siri's sense of humor. We aren't lovers."
Bant couldn't help herself and began to laugh heartily. "Oh, Obi-Wan, I can't believe you just said that."
"What?"
"I know you very well, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and I have no doubt that you and Siri live by the Code. I am familiar with Siri's sense of humor and slight rebellious streak. Sometimes I don't think she can help herself, it comes naturally, and I'm sure that's why you love her."
"You noticed?" Obi-Wan asked in surprise.
Bant shook her head. "I noticed years ago how you looked at her. You always looked at her differently than anyone else. I'm just surprised that you finally figured it out."
"What do you mean by that?"
Bant reached over and patted Obi-Wan's hand. "Obi-Wan, you have a gift when it comes to the Unifying Force, but when it comes to the Living Force you sometimes don't see what is right under your nose. If you and Siri hadn't gotten the Nohar assignment, you would still be in the dark about how you really feel about her. If you were still in the dark about your feelings after Nohar, I'd worry that you had any connection to the Living Force at all."
When Obi-Wan and Bant arrived at the med clinic, Siri was already in an exam room and being prepared for the fetal hologram. The preparation didn't involve much other than having Siri lay, somewhat propped up on an exam table, with her tunic pushed up and her pants pushed down below her waist to expose her abdomen. Only the smallest curve of her lower belly indicated that there had been any outward change in Siri's body at all.
Ferus was in the room with Siri. He seemed to have gotten over the initial shock of the whole situation and became increasingly interested in the whole process his Master was going through. He always approached the situation with intense shyness, but he didn't want to miss out on this unique experience that most Jedi never get to have. Obi-Wan could see that Ferus had a growing sense of protection towards his Master and it made him feel better that Ferus was watching over Siri, even though he was sure Siri probably didn't like it. Ah well, they all had to make adjustments.
Anakin was present at the exam, as well. Like Ferus, he felt a desire to be in on this experience. He never did say much to Obi-Wan about the events that had taken place, he just occasionally had a grin on his face that made Obi-Wan clear his throat and redden. When it was discovered that Siri would have triplets, Anakin gave Obi-Wan a firm pat on the back, smiled and only said, "Impressive, Master!"
Obi-Wan moved to the other side of the exam table to stand next to Siri. As the others in the room exchanged greetings, Obi-Wan took Siri's hand and leaned towards her. "Do you realize I haven't been this close to you for almost three months."
Siri grinned at him and gave him a wink. "Don't get too excited, Obi-Wan, you brought a chaperone, remember?"
"It's good to see you, Siri, even if I'm not supposed to miss you."
Barriss and Healer Trin entered the room and were surprised by the number of occupants already there. "This is becoming quite an event, I see." The healer smiled and nodded at Obi-Wan and Siri. "Perhaps we should sell tickets."
The healer motioned to Barriss to bring the hologram machine cart to the side of the exam table. "Sadly, it is unusual to have births here at the Temple. I'm thrilled to have this opportunity to do something other than deal with wounds and death. Padawan Barriss is also happy for this experience, as it seems are the others in this room."
"Master Tachi, this is going to feel a little cold," Barriss warned as she upturned an opaque bottle filled with a jelly substance and squirted it on Siri's belly.
Siri gasped. "Where has that stuff been, Hoth?"
Barriss colored a little and cleared her throat. "Sorry, Master." Following the healers instructions, she then took a bar shaped device and pressed it against Siri's lower abdomen using the jelly to smoothly move the device around.
"If you watch the holodisc over here, you will be able to see the babies." The healer pointed to the cart as images started to appear.
"Ok, Barris, stop it right...there. There is the first one." Trin stated as the image came into focus on the holodisc. The baby's head and body were both oversized and it's limbs a bit stubby, but the figure was clearly distinguishable. The healer pointed out the less obvious parts of the baby. "Right here you can see an ear and here are the ribs. The pulsations you see are the heartbeat, of course."
Obi-Wan held his breath. For the first time he realized it was more than something that was going to happen. It was something that was happening and he found himself feeling overwhelmingly emotional. He let out the breath he was holding as he heard someone else in the room exclaim, "Wow!"
Siri smiled up at Obi-Wan. "It's something isn't it?"
The others were crowding around the hologram in awe as Trin took measurements. The healer then told Barriss to move the bar as he placed his hand over the spot where the device had been. He used the Force to sense the presence of the baby and a small grin came over his face. "It's a girl and she is quite healthy."
A happy murmur swept through the room as everyone commented at once about the news.
Healer Trin then moved his hand across Siri's abdomen until he paused in a different location. He reached out through the Force and examined the second child.
"There is the second one," Trin announced as he motioned to Barriss to place the hologram device on the spot where his hand was. Another baby appeared on the holodisc and it looked very much like the first one. "This one is also healthy, but this one is a boy."
Once again excitement surged through the room in response to the news.
The healer then motioned to Barriss to move the bar device in a certain direction, but nothing appeared on the holodisc. "The third one must be hiding," the healer said, as Barriss continued to press the bar against Siri in every direction. Then the healer stopped and looked over at the padawan. "Barriss, let me try."
Trin first placed his hand on Siri's belly and reached out through the Force. His face became impassive as he took the device from Barriss and went directly to one location. He pressed the bar on Siri's abdomen firmly and the image of a baby appeared on the holodisc. Trin looked up to Siri and Obi-Wan with concern. "There is the third one."
A terrible coldness grabbed Obi-Wan's heart. "But I don't see any pulsations."
Healer Trin cleared his throat. "No, Master Obi-Wan, the heart has stopped. I'm sorry."
Everyone in the room fell silent. Obi-Wan felt like he had just been slapped in the face. Only seconds ago he had felt like he was soaring on happiness and now he felt a great sadness in the pit of his stomach. He looked at Siri and knew that she was feeling the same. He squeezed her hand softly and she returned the squeeze.
Bant put her hands on Anakin and Ferus's shoulders to get their attention and with her silver eyes she motioned towards the door of the room. The three of them stepped over to Obi-Wan and Siri and, silently, they each placed a hand on Siri's shoulder before leaving the room.
Barriss, too, bowed to Obi-Wan and Siri and left.
Fighting back tears, Siri asked, "So what happens now?"
The healer turned to her with compassion in his eyes. "Basically, nothing will happen. That is, you don't have to do anything. If this were a single pregnancy, then we would have to surgically remove the contents of the conception. In this case however, since there are two other babies, the tissue of the deceased fetus will be reabsorbed and the other two children will continue to develop. You just aren't having triplets anymore. You are having twins."
The healer then took a towel and proceeded to wipe the jelly off of Siri's middle. "I am sorry for the death," he continued. "I realize that you barely had time to get used to the idea of having these babies, but you will grieve over this. It is still a loss."
"But what caused it?" Siri had to ask.
"Master Siri, if you think that this death is your fault, I want to assure you it isn't. These little ones are so fragile in their early months that it sometimes amazes me that the galaxy is as populated as it is. It is not unusual for any pregnancy to end in a miscarriage; in fact, the odds are in favor of such a loss. The odds of a miscarriage increase even more when they involve multiple births. It may simply be that the baby was not strong enough to continue on."
As the healer moved about the room picking up and moving things back to where they belonged he continued to talk to Siri and Obi-Wan. "I wanted to do a more thorough exam today, but I think we can reschedule that for another time. You may stay here in this room for as long as you like. I will see you again in a few weeks, Master Siri."
"Thank you, Master Trin," Obi-Wan answered for the both of them.
Obi-Wan helped Siri off the table and took her into his arms. "I'm sorry, Siri."
Siri wrapped her arms around him. "Obi-Wan, I know that baby was alive this morning because I felt it through the Force. Something happened between then and now."
Then Obi-Wan felt Siri shudder.
Obi-Wan pulled away from Siri and looked at her. "What is it?"
A strange look filtered through Siri's eyes. "I think I know when the death happened. I was in Palpatine's office for that meeting this morning and at one point he walked near me. I had a terrible chill come over me at that moment." Siri looked Obi-Wan in the eye. "I can't explain it, Obi- Wan, but I don't really care for Palpatine and I thought at the time it was just because he was so close to me, but that must have been when the baby's heart stopped beating, instead."
"You heard what the healer said, Siri, this is not your fault." Obi-Wan again wrapped his arms around Siri and held her close.
"I do understand that, but it still hurts." A tear began to roll down Siri's cheek.
Obi-Wan kissed her forehead and brushed her mind with his through the Force. "Yes, it does," he whispered.
Tbc