CHAPTER 7

Obi-wan or Ben as everyone now called him, settled into life with his family as best as he could. Most days he would go jogging in the mornings, varying his route each day and finishing at one of the parks where he would preform various exercise designed to keep up the skills he learned as a Jedi. Some mornings however he would be forced to remain near the house because of his morning sickness. These days he would spend the morning siting on the veranda when he was able to drag himself away from the fresher. Some mornings he would spend time bonding with Bella over explanations of the different races inhabiting the galaxy, unless the young girl woke up late which, if he was honest, seemed to be more often then not.

After breakfast he would take the two youngest children to school then pick up anything Mrs Kenobi needed from the store before helping her around the house for a couple of hours, then he would be free to do what he wanted until 3:00 when he had to start back towards the school to be there for Bella and Asha at 3:20.

During this time he would go for walks around the surrounding area, occasionally meeting up with Lana, who was as fascinated by the rest of the galaxy as Bella was of other races, and would quizzed him about a different planet each time they meet. She took some getting use to but he found that he enjoyed her company, she reminded him of some of his friends at the temple who were always looking for more information and wouldn't rest until they go what they were looking for.

He had spoken to his parents and convinced that he was going to go nuts if he didn't have something to do with himself so they had agreed that he could get a job, although they had insisted that he keep the money he earned. So he had gotten a job at the local grocery where he restocked the shelves. It wasn't what he was use to, but it gave him something to do. What his parents weren't aware of was that Obi-wan had discovered while cleaning one day where his parents kept the money they had put away for a rainy day and whenever they were out of the house he would put half of his weekly pay secret hiding spot, it wasn't much but it made him feel better about invading their home and eating their food. Even if they didn't want him to pay his way he was still going to.

Ben got on with most of the family, Asha had instantly loved him from the moment he called her out of her hiding place by the door and Bella loved all the stories he told her which she absorbed like a sponge. Sandra always polite but didn't seem to care whether he was there or not.

A completely different story though was Terrian, who hated every moment that his older brother was around and didn't bother to try and hide it. He would spend most of the time glaring at him across the room or making scathing comments about how he had gotten kicked out of the Jedi and just wouldn't admit it; over all, the boy reminded Obi-Wan strongly of Bruck Chun, his childhood rival at the Jedi temple who had done everything in his power to make Obi-Wan's life miserable and had eventually gotten Obi-Wan kicked out of the order though Obi-wan had later been accepted as a Padawan which had saved him from a lifetime as a farmer.

His parents had accepted him with open arms, treating him as if he had never been absent from the family dynamic and treating him just the same as all their children, praising when he did even the smallest thing right and scolding when they felt he had stepped out of line, which was an extremely rare occasion having only happened once since he arrived.

When he reached the four month mark of his pregnancy he was relieved to find his morning sickness all but stopped however his stomach was now bulging and visible through the cloths he had bought himself with his first paycheck, so he found himself buying a new wardrobe which included much baggier tops which hid his condition in public. Although his mother continually insisted that it was perfectly natural for a man to be pregnant and that every one would find out in the end, he was still uncomfortable with his condition and chose to hid it as long as possible, aside from his discomfort he knew discovery would lead to questions about the father he was not willing to answer. Added to his new baby bump, the child had also started to kick which had of course started at the most inopportune time, when he was with someone who didn't know about his pregnancy.

He had been sitting in the park with Lana explaining the defining characteristics of the planet Corillia when it first happened.

He was halfway through explaining about a mission he'd had there with his master when he breathed in sharply and moved his hand to his stomach.

"What's wrong?"

"It kicked!" Ben replied, forgetting who he was with, "I mean…" he tried to correct himself but she spoke over the top of him.

"You're pregnant and you didn't tell me," she accused, Lana was one of those people who believed she was entitled to know everything and was extremely put out when she felt she wasn't the first to know.

Realising he wasn't going to be able to deny the fact he nodded, causing the hyperactive girl to squeal, which in turn caused some of the parents who were watching their kids play to turn and watch them.

"Why didn't you tell me? This is so exciting, I love children. How far along are you? Who's the father? Is that…" she continued to fire off questions at him until he put his finger to her lips to shh her.

"Slow down, one at a time." He said went she was quiet, "I didn't tell you because before I got pregnant I never knew that I could become pregnant, and to tell the truth I am still rather uncomfortable with the idea."

"What? Why weren't you told? Men here are told as soon as they come into maturity just like women."

"Well here it is normal but on every other planet in the galaxy, excluding a few insectoid species, only females can get pregnant so I was not aware that it was a possibility. As for your previous questions I am almost fifteen weeks along, as for the father that is for me to know, and you not to find out. Now it is time for me to go collect my sisters from school, and if I'm not mistaken you are late for work." That caused Lana to glance at her timepiece curse and make a hasty retreat.

"Don't think we won't be talking about this tomorrow," she half promised, half warned.

Ben wasn't under any misapprehension that they wouldn't, though he didn't acknowledge her statement apart from saying, "I'll see you tomorrow," before leaving the park to collect Bella and Asha.

Reposted: 4 November 2011, 1:35am