AN: Finally more Miracle! As nervous as I've been to post this, I'm also really happy to be picking this series up again.

If you're new to Miracle, this could actually be a great place to start. Chronologically, it comes very first so feel free to jump in right here!

Like I said, I've been all nerves and anxiousness at the prospect of posting this - I've poured all my heart into it and a part of me knows that I could never get the emotion right so I've held onto it for a long time, not sure when I could work up the courage to post. It would mean the world to me if you offered any comments at all.

Many thanks to laloga and Jade Max for looking this over multiple times. Their encouragement and suggestions helped me so much. Lyrics are from Coldplay, The Scientist

I hope you enjoy!


Back to the Start


Questions of science
Science and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart

Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be so hard

I'm going back to the start


Rain lashed through the air, cutting like blades of liquid steel through the thick, humid atmosphere. With a gust of wind, the storm intensified, pelting Obi-Wan with precipitation and thoughtlessly he pulled his hood further over his face as he began to make his way to the rounded building. The sea, expansive and unforgiving, could be heard roiling angrily below the landing platforms at the edges of Tipoca City as if the waves might reach up at any moment to snatch an unwary victim.

But that victim would not be him.

With a glance toward the darkening sky, Obi-Wan couldn't help but glower back. It was almost night time on this side of the ocean planet, the faded light from the aging star that Kamino orbited giving way now to inky darkness.

The threatening glare had no effect on the storm though. In contrast, even the momentary lifting of his face toward the raging sky left his cheeks and beard saturated with heavy drops of rain and he sighed deeply to himself as he bowed his head again, weary and rundown, his steps heavy as he crossed the landing platform. It was almost too much, to carry on. The violent storm reflected too accurately the state of the galaxy since the Empire had formed only months ago and the own war within his heart as he fought to stay within the light...what little of it there was to be found.

There was so much darkness, so much death, since Anakin and Padme's deaths. The bright spot, the one thing that had always remained constant, burning steady and ever present in the back of his life had been Aala. She was everything that was good and real, but it had been so so long since he had even had the chance to see her face. More than anything he needed that now, to go home and sink into the comfort she provided him. The ache he felt at missing her was so great sometimes he feared what he might give just to see her, to hold her in his arms.

But as always, he was determined to stay focused in the light so he took a deep breath and let it go. Now was not the time. There was too much to be done; it was too dangerous to travel to such a conspicuous place as Naboo.

In a month or two, he told himself. When events could lower to a simmer - when they had a better handle on the situation and what they were facing. When they knew more about where the real dangers were... who was being watched, how and when.

Here though, in this corner of the galaxy, they were far away from the tight grip of the Empire. Eventually it would reach here, they would come and they would destroy... but not now.

The pull for him to travel to Kamino in this moment had only been a flicker in the Force, but he'd answered, nearby and unable to ignore it, even though he had little reason to come.

In fact, there was only one tiny reason for him to come to the dark ocean planet. One little beacon of light, a hope and a chance that he was almost afraid to believe in. Even now he was cautious, bracing himself for the worst, for it not to work, because he knew he would not be able to bear any more loss.

The clean, sterile, glass and metal doors slid open automatically at his approach and Obi-Wan made his way, quiet and contemplative, and on his own. He knew these corridors well enough; more than a few times he had been there in the past year and he walked forward almost without thinking.

At the least, he could rest for a night, in a bed, in a room he could call his own for eight meager hours.

At the most - he didn't want to think of it, put too much stock into the possibility, not before he knew for sure. Each time he came here he couldn't help but prepare himself for bad news, and the thought was foremost in his mind even now.

The presence of another being ahead in the corridor suddenly startled him and he drew up short, lifting his head to look at the long, tall form of Taun We.

"Master Kenobi," she greeted him, her voice slow and soft as cyrene silk. "As always, your timing is impeccable."

"Oh?" He pulled his hood away from his face, his brow furrowed.

"I have just received word that the unit you requested is doing very well. It is fully developed and appears healthy and functioning correctly."

He wanted to answer, he meant to, but his breath was trapped in his chest. The 'unit' he requested... The Kaminoans were never long winded, never short on candor and he found himself at a loss for words as he had on more than one occasion in the past when talking with them.

Graciously, though, she continued when he did not speak. "The unit is ready to be - mmm..." Taun We looked down for a moment as if searching for the appropriate human term, "-born." The tone of her voice was warm and she pressed her hands together as she looked at him. "You can watch, if you would like." She gestured behind her, in the direction of the room where he knew his ...unit was being grown alone, away from the other cloning chambers.

"Y-yes," he managed and Taun We turned to lead him, gliding down a separate corridor.

A shot of excitement and anxiety coursed through him as he followed her. Even in the blank, white hallways he felt a sense of vibrancy, here and in his own anticipation, that wasn't always immediately evident in the Kaminoans. At the thought, he recalled that on one of his early visits to this place, Obi-Wan had remarked on the clean, whiteness of the walls. Taun We had told him then that Kaminoans saw light in the ultraviolet spectrum, and that the seemingly 'blank' walls around him were covered with many designs only visible in that spectrum. The information had surprised him at the time, but now he could only think of it as a literal symbol of the fact that even though they saw things very differently, in their own way, they were still capable of creating great beauty.

Just as they were creating his daughter.

Had it been eight months already? Had he even known it would in fact take the standard eight months? He wasn't sure.

His mind was racing, but his heart was racing faster, so quick he thought it might burst from his chest if he took too deep a breath. And then suddenly alarms were sounding in the back of his head. Born. He wasn't ready for this, he hadn't prepared. Was he really about to become a father? The thought made his chest constrict painfully. It was almost impossible to believe.

A few hours ago he'd only just finished tracking and hunting down a spy working for the Empire and he'd only stopped by here on his way to some other dangerous mission for the burgeoning rebellion. He was in a one-person fighter for star's sake.

And what would Aala say when she found out she had a daughter? What would she think of this? His heart gave another thudding skip. He knew somehow that this was right, but still, what if... what if it was something she simply didn't want?

A million different possibilities flipped through his head before he stopped himself, drew on the Force and calmed his mind.

And then he remembered they had told him long ago he would not be able to take her right away.

Beyond him having none of the necessities, neither in his starship or in a stable home, to care for a newborn on his own for a length of time, there were a number of things that would require she stay on Kamino for at least a month or longer. The main concern, he'd gathered, was giving her immune system time to stabilize in a controlled environment - the chance of infection was too great for her to leave right away. There were also a series of tests to be completed over a period of time to confirm the integrity of her genes, to make sure everything was as it should be and would remain so.

The potential problems he had to face as a new father, did not have to be met right now. He still had time to figure this out.

Obi-Wan reminded himself that he'd never imagined he would actually be present for her delivery. The timing... Of any number of places he could be in the galaxy and yet he was here, right now.

Even after so many years the will of the Force could still render him speechless and he was struck with the miracle of it.

Soundlessly, he was led into a room just adjacent to the chamber where his daughter had been growing. Over the span of months he had visited a few times; not as often as he might have liked, but he had made every effort to come when he could, and he knew somehow that it was enough.

When he was here, it was just simply to spend time with her. He would talk to her and watch her, tell her about her mother and her cousins, his childhood at the Temple and anything he could think of just so she could hear the sound of his voice. It might have seemed silly at first but when he was there, in the moment, it was the only thing that mattered, and he felt his connection to her, and in turn to Aala, strengthening even just as he was only sitting with her while she was growing in her artificial glass tube.

But when he was away he would not let himself dwell on thoughts of her, of what might come to be. Especially in the beginning, so tiny in her little growth jar, it was hard to imagine what it would be like to actually have a daughter, and it was always so difficult to truly let himself believe this was possible. For the entire time, he forced a measure of himself to remain detached - just in case. Even if it was unlikely, it was still possible that it might not work and he was not sure he could face losing someone else he loved, so he had tried to hold back.

But now...

Everything was so coordinated, the Kaminoans were able to make the technical complexities look so simple, but still a new life was about to be brought into the world. His hand went to his jaw as he watched from behind a protective glass, a barrier to keep the environment sterile he assumed.

In the next moment, two Kaminoans brought in the small glass incubation womb. And he could see her, a tiny baby, fully formed, resting gently in the liquid in the artificial womb. She was curled up - little eyes closed and her tiny thumb in her mouth. The last time he had been there, as he'd looked on her in the maturation chamber, she had only just begun to resemble a baby, but now... It was surreal.

When he had been on Kamino, right after everything had happened, right after the last time he had seen Aala - that was when they had spliced the genes together and created the embryo. He had spoken to them about it in the past and then it seemed it had been 'now or never' and it was his only chance to go ahead.

At the time, he felt he had nothing to lose. With her family on Naboo, he had no idea when he would even see Aala again, his closest brother was dead, gone, his Order decimated and his spirit had been so diminished; he had nothing else. The idea of bringing new luminous life into the galaxy was too much to resist. It felt like he would be rebuilding something good from the destruction that lay around them. Creating something new, something worth fighting for. Even if he was careful not to hope too much.

Beyond that - it felt right and he could not ignore his feelings or the Force, they had not steered him wrong before.

He had been amazed then. Watching new life be created. It was extraordinary but it was so abstract. The possibility was wonderful but it had not been real. He would not hope prematurely; he was able to put it aside and then everything was thrown into turmoil and he had not seen Aala again.

Now, the Kaminoans worked efficiently. A button was pressed and the nutrient-rich fluid within began to drain. When the liquid had emptied through the hose attached, the artificial glass container opened with a faint hiss and the life support disconnected automatically. The cessation of the monitoring equipment was startling at first, but before he could blink, the Kaminoans had taken over, carefully lifting her out of the jar. With quick precision, they cleared her mouth and nose, and she let out a piercing wail as they cleaned the rest of her little body off and wrapped her securely in a receiving blanket. He was completely mesmerized until Taun We spoke up again.

"What do you think Master Kenobi? Is the unit satisfactory?"

Force above and beyond. He couldn't speak, he knew if he did his voice would crack with swollen emotion, but he knew, without a doubt, she was perfect. From somewhere deep inside, a place he he had not known of before, he felt a breathtaking happiness begin to build, and it was overwhelming.

So he only gave a short nod, knowing it would be interpreted as a feat of control and detachment rather than what it actually was - a true struggle to hold on to any sliver of composure that he could.

"We must start a few of the normal tests as soon as possible..." Taun We spoke quietly.

"Yes, yes of course," Obi-Wan managed after a moment.

"And then you may inspect her for yourself more closely if you wish. It will only take a few minutes."

Obi-Wan did not say anything else but he saw her nod to the Kaminoans inside the room and they took the baby out. He glanced up at her then, and Taun We gave a small smile, as much as he'd seen any Kaminoan give and something about her demeanor seemed gentle and understanding. The thought came then that perhaps she could guess at what he was feeling.

She led him to an adjacent room and he watched from a short distance as they examined the baby, checking her breathing and heartbeat, taking her temperature. They had a medscanner and some sort of genetic analyzer. He tried to pay attention to the details but he felt in a bit of a haze.

On instinct, he drew on the Force, reaching out to the newborn without thinking and it came as a surprise to him when he felt the tiny little flicker of her life presence. The gesture was so natural, so easy on his part, it was a jolt as he realized that it was so because he was her father. Because they were connected, irrevocably, and he felt another heavy swell of emotion inside.

More than her little flicker of life though, he could feel the Force, vibrantly. It was with her. He wasn't sure if he had expected that or not, could not remember if the possibility had crossed his mind before. Her own Force sensitivity seemed entirely unexpected and perfectly natural all at once.

But it didn't matter.

In the next moment, one of the Kaminoans was bringing her to him, reciting statistics, her length and her weight and something else but he couldn't focus on anything except the tiny bundle and then she was in his arms, small and warm, perfect and squirmy and nothing else existed.

Was he supposed to count her fingers and her toes? Perhaps, but she was wrapped so comfortably now in the blanket, he couldn't see disturbing her. He supposed that was one of the tests they would do...

Holding her now, it was one perfect joyous moment in time and he felt like the Force was singing through his veins, pure bright light and overwhelming happiness. It was something he could never, ever forget.

This was it, all, everything. The meaning of living in the moment. For the first time he saw so clearly the infinity of a single point in time and how important it was to appreciate it. To worry about the past or the future would only be at a complete discredit of now and it would be a terrible mistake.

And maybe for the first time he felt that he had done something absolutely perfect. Truly right. And there was new hope in his heart. She was a perfect miracle, created purely from the love he shared with Aala. He had never thought he could believe in anything like this until now.

And in the next moment she was crying again, squirming in his arms, her face scrunched up in displeasure and he felt a flash of uncertainty as her protests increased with each passing moment, reality staring him straight in the face.

But he could feel her discomfort in the Force - her uncertainty about what this new world meant, the desire for warmth and peace and the feeling of being surrounded by it - and then he knew with complete certainty that he could do this. Carefully, he pulled her tighter to his chest, his arms snug around her body and he rocked gently where he was standing. She quieted and he knew she would need to eat soon, but he couldn't bear parting with her now. He needed some time even if it was only one night, and she needed him.

Hesitant, baby snug in the cradle of his arms, Obi-Wan looked to Taun We, unsure of how to proceed at this point. "Can I spend some time with her?" he asked his voice not sounding like his own.

"Of course, Master Kenobi. I'll send some things to your room, formula and supplies. Please take all the time you want. She seems quite healthy." Taun We seemed to recognize the emotion in his expression, even as much as he was trying to hold it at bay. "The testing can wait," she added.

He nodded. "I'll have to leave in the morning. I have nowhere or no way to take her at the moment, but I'll be back as soon as I can."

Taun We nodded, and he knew he saw compassion in her expression.

Later, he sat with the baby in his room; he fed her and then he gently stroked her forehead as she finally quieted. She was beautiful and amazing, her eyes dark as she gazed up at him and her skin impossibly soft. She had perfect little cheeks and lips and a little button nose. When he finally had to change her diaper he carefully unwrapped the warm blanket and counted her fingers and toes, all perfect, and then he cuddled her close to his chest as she drifted off.

It would be the most difficult thing to leave her in the morning, but he knew he had no other choice. It was too dangerous, in more ways than one, and impractical on every level. But they would not be separated for long. He had the rest of her life to love her, he would never stop, and even when he could not be there she would be foremost in his heart.

Suddenly the rest he had been so keen on taking earlier didn't seem important anymore in the least. After a while, though, he couldn't help feeling a little drowsy so he laid her carefully in the center of the bed and arranged some pillows so he could recline partially propped up, and he stripped off his boots and his tunics.

More than anything, he wished Aala could be there, but he knew it would come soon enough.

Picking his baby girl up again, he loosened the blanket she was swaddled in just a little and he laid back, settling her on his chest so he could rest while she slept, comfortably cradled together. It was peaceful in a way he'd never experienced before. The baby gave a little sigh and a fuss, looking very unhappy for a moment at being moved and then she settled again, seeming cozy and perfectly content with her daddy.


Finally, almost two months later, the scene was repeated but complete, the three of them together as a family at home. Aala was as reluctant as he had been at first to even put her down for a moment, but she seemed just as happy to share little Mira with him.

They lay together on the bed, the room was warm and cozy and it was very very late - the middle of the night, but time and routine seemed to lose its meaning with a newborn.

Miracle was curled sleeping on his chest while Aala was snuggled close to his side, her head on his shoulder. His hand appeared large as it rested on Mira's back, keeping her secure. Beneath his touch, Obi-Wan could feel every single breath the two month old drew, her body rising and falling in a soft never-ending wave. The other arm was wrapped around the woman he loved. Somehow, Aala seemed to press even closer to him as she shifted and she tangled her legs with his under the comforter. Her eyes, however, were riveted on Miracle.

With one hand, Aala swept her fingers across the baby's forehead just as Obi-Wan had the first night and little Mira gave a contented murmur and sigh.

Smiling, Aala met his eyes in the dim light of the bedroom, and he turned his head so he could kiss her hair. The moment was perfect; everything he had thought he would never have.

"I love you," she whispered, but instead of answering her directly he simply repeated the words, for they were as much for Miracle as they were for each other and then he could feel Aala beginning to drift off as well.

And lying there with them in the dark, he felt again and he knew, it would not be easy, but nothing had ever been this right.


AN: I have three more chapters written and another I'm working on. For now, I'm planning on posting every two weeks, so please keep an eye out!

Please, please let me know what you think! Even a word or two would be so appreciated :)