Two days later:

~Anakin's POV~

"So, even after you said they couldn't go, she still went behind your back and did it anyway?" Shantra asked as she walked in and handed Anakin a cup of caf. He took it gratefully and sipped at the drink with a nod. "Yeah. She obviously thought I was kidding," he sighed without humor.

Shantra chuckled. "Most women do. Well, you have a right to be mad. She could have at least waited until you got back to get into another argument with you about it. But not go behind your back, that's blatant disrespect for your decisions right there," She observed.

Anakin exhaled, glad that someone saw his point. "I know. It's as if she assumes what she thinks is more important than what I think. Like she's better than me," he growled. "I'm sure she doesn't think exactly that," Shantra scolded, sipping her own hot mug of caf.

"It's a woman thing, Ace. We like to have control over our own children. She did carry them around for nine months. All you did was plant a seed, stupid male. And she's a new mother, they're always restless. Give her time to balance things out," Shantra advised.

Anakin looked at her oddly. "How do you know so much about being a mother, huh? Do you have children?" he asked. Shantra snorted loudly. "Me? heck no. But I had three older siblings and six younger, and my mother was only in her thirties. Then my step-mother had four children and my step father had two. And I won't even add my second step-mother and half brothers and sisters," she grunted. Anakin stared at her.

"You lived with that many kids?" He demanded. Shantra nodded and smiled dully. "Now you see why I moved out so fast? I call in every now and then, but…" She shrugged.

"They'll live without me. Besides, I'm only a planet away," she said. Anakin laughed. "I would have strangled them," he chortled. "Oh, I tried. Little kids are resilient," Shantra groaned.

She sighed and set the caf down on the desk. "Where'd you go, anyway? Not that I mind watching the shop for you while you're away, but you were gone two weeks," she said. Anakin quickly changed the subject. "What? Did you miss me?" he teased. Shantra gave him a withering look.

"You? Um, no. I missed beating you in pod-racing video simulations. I haven't beaten anyone so hard in years," she snickered. Anakin nudged her. "Whatever!" he said indignantly as she laughed.

Shaking her head, Shantra peered at the time. "Oh, blast! I've got to go! I'm visiting the charity foundation today. We're looking into setting up a new fundraiser to get some money for an organization we sponsor," she said, quickly snatching up her purse. "What organization?" Anakin asked curiously.

Shantra did not answer. Instead only looked up at him with contemplating, distraught eyes that told him the answer. He stared back, and suddenly grinned. "You're a very brave person, Shantra," he said softly, knowing the risks and the punishments for such an action. She was risking her life every day on this planet, just like him.

She grinned. "Well, those Jedi can't do it themselves, now can they? The rebels need all of us, not just those that will fight with blasters," he nodded. "Cheers to that!" he agreed enthusiastically.

Shantra laughed and gulped down the rest of her caf quickly. "Well I'm off! See you later Ace!" She called, rushing off. Anakin waved. "Bye, Shantra! And thanks for listening!" She had been up with him since one o clock that morning listening to him, actually.

Anakin had never met a person so adept at just sitting and listening to another being rant without so much as uttering word.

With a last little wave of answer, Shantra was gone. Anakin sighed and looked back to the room where he was supposed to be fixing two speeders, a broken down carriage engine and a butler droid. He could finish all of those projects that day, if he wanted.

Setting his cup down, he stood and walked into the back room, surveying which project would be wiser to begin first. Though, a sound reached his ears, faint as the whisper of the wind. "Fatha!" he twirled around, shocked out of his right mind. Was that Luke?

It was. A second later, his excited four year old bounded into the room, a soggy cone of some sort in his hand and his face streaked with small crumbs, red lipstick and partially dried ice cream. Leia followed, licking something gooey and pink off her fingers happily.

"Luke? Leia?" he gasped out-loud. How had they gotten here? And why did they both smell like expensive perfume and baked things? "Fatha!" Luke threw his arms around Anakin as he knelt to demand these things.

Adding to the long list of confusing things that had occurred that minute, a swift, robust body suddenly uncurled from the ceiling, landing behind Anakin with barely a sound.

"Hello, old friend," Said Obi-wan Kenobi, dusting off his expensive appearing suit busily. "Master!" Anakin gasped joyfully, delighted to see his companion. They had been living their own separate lives for weeks, yet to see one another.

"Fatha, Obi's house is awesome!" Leia told him, jumping up and down on her toes excitedly. "Yah! And his speeder is so cool!" Luke added, his giant brown eyes sparkling with delight.

Anakin had to grin back at them. "Oh, really? You went to go see Obi?" he asked. "And Nava, too!" Leia added. "Nava looked pretty," Luke informed him shyly. "And The big lizard man showed us how to make candy!" Leia burst out.

Anakin glanced behind him at Obi-wan, smiling down at the twin with crossed arms. "Big lizard man?" he asked, unsure if he should be worried. "Dex," Obi-wan explained hurriedly. Anakin laughed. "Dexster Jettster? Oh! How is he?" He asked, but before Obi-wan could answer, the twins went on.

"And then we went to an…An…Obi, what's it called?"Leia asked, looking to Obi-wan for help. "An orphanage?" Obi-wan suggested. "Yah! That thing! And we saw all the kids who don't got a home, and we played with them," she told him, proudly. "They're nice," Luke agreed.

Anakin chuckled, his spirits lifted. "Then we helped Obi's Wookie friend comb his hair. He has a lot. Then we went to Obi's big company office! We spun around in his spin chair and went on the elevator and met all the desk ladies and…And…"Luke was so excited he couldn't finish.

Leia did it for him. "And Obi's office is up high! It was a billion-trillion feet up! Where the birds go! And guess what? Obi has a fish tank with cute fish. We got to feed the fishy's. They like to eat things," she pondered.

"Really?" Anakin asked, chuckling. He glanced back at Obi-wan affectionately. "Did you know that, Obi-wan? That fish like to eat things?" he inquired. "Before I met you? No," Obi-wan snorted. Anakin laughed and looked back at the twins, still babbling about their day.

"Then we went to a fluffy room in Obi's house and we got to dress up like people," Luke wrinkled his nose, this obviously having been the one down side to his trip. Leia was aglow with exhilaration. "Nava made me look like mommy!" She cried. "You already do," Anakin pointed out happily.

"Obi told us stories. Fatha, were you really an uncivilized, disruptive brat?" Luke asked. Anakin glared at Obi-wan, who gave him a sheepish smile. "Obi thinks so, apparently," he replied, inconspicuously chucking a small screwdriver at his friend.

Obi-wan neatly ducked against the attack. "Oh! Oh! The best part, fatha! Obi has a pod racer!" Luke burst out. Anakin recoiled in surprise. "A what?" he gasped. "It is not…"Obi-wan began.

"It's a pod racer," Luke interrupted. "And there are two racers, and a big race track! Nava said she convinced Obi to get it for us, since he said pod-racing is unsophisticated tomfoolery and if I ever did it like you, he'd skin the both of us," Luke told him knowingly.

Anakin winked at Luke. "We'll do it in secret," he assured his son in a whisper. Luke giggled and nodded. Leia narrowed her eyes. "They're gonna do it in secret, Obi!" She announced loudly.

"Thank you, spy," Obi-wan snickered behind them. Anakin chucked another sharper object at him, this time without turning. Once again, Obi-wan sidestepped it. "Then we got ice cream," Leia finished, unawares of her treason. "I got chocolate," Luke explained, grinning with browned teeth.

"And I got strawberry," Leia added, also grinning with pinkish teeth. Anakin laughed and patted both shoulders. "I'm glad you had fun," he said. "Now, why don't you two go figure out how to turn Artoo on? He's mad at me and refuses to come to," he said, gesturing to the droid in the corner.

"Okay!" Determined to solve the problem, Luke and Leia scuttled over to the droid and began poking and prodding at Artoo logically, whispering quietly like mad scientists. Anakin chuckled and stood.

"Brothem," he greeted affectionately, turning. Obi-wan was studying the area around them with exasperation. "Why can't you ever put things in proper places?" Obi-wan sighed.

Anakin laughed. "Why'd you sugar-hype my twins?" he countered. Obi-wan's mouth quirked up at the edges. "So they would drive you insane," he admitted. "Well, that's why I can't put things in their proper places. Why exactly did you jump down from my ceiling instead of walking in the front door like normal people?" he wondered. Obi-wan glanced at him.

"Well, it's rather complicated. Simply said, Osiris Aethra cannot be caught in this place without ensuing a great gossip scandal, and gossip scandals are very distasteful, believe me," he said, at last.

Anakin nodded in understanding. "At least I can see you put your gift to good use," Obi-wan commented lightly, glancing at the other room. Anakin grinned and bowed at the waist, hand sweeping the floor. "Of course. Professionalism is my specialty," he straightened up, somberly.

"Master, you should not have done this. That was your inheritance," he said softly. Obi-wan did not seem disturbed. "On my planet, if the owner isn't using it, the inheritance would automatically go to his first born son," he said, studying the ceiling as if it were wonderfully interesting, despite the fact Anakin knew he could not see anything besides the solid object part of the equation. "I wasn't using it, and you were the closest thing," Obi-wan finished, with a small shrug.

Anakin's heart contracted at that answer hidden in a lecture. Obi-wan had already lost one child, Qyula Kenobi, along with her mother while Qyula was still unborn. He knew the mark of grief even now followed his master. Anakin was the child Obi-wan had lost. And in more ways than one, though Obi-wan would never admit it aloud.

He grinned. "You spoil me, don't you know that?" he asked. Obi-wan grinned back at him. "Oh, I do, yes. I've been told often. How's Padme?" he inquired. Anakin sighed and groaned, rubbing his temples.

"Padme? Oh, she's fine. Driving me mad, but fine," he explained pitifully. Obi-wan laughed. "Ah, the normal case of woman unreasonableness?" he asked. Anakin nodded miserably.

Obi-wan chuckled. "I see. Poor boy, I always knew it was coming. Soon you'll be throwing things at each other. During that time, I suggest you protect your internal organs," his glance told Anakin just what internal organ he meant. He laughed. "You know about these things, my master?" he asked impishly.

Obi-wan shrugged. "It happens with every couple, Anakin. Marriage is a rocky road, I assure you, and it won't grow smooth until you're on your death bed and can finally agree on one thing, which, of course, is death itself," he told him. Anakin was aghast. "You mean she'll drive me insane forever?" He demanded. "And ever," Obi-wan added.

"Siri drove me livid every time she looked at me. And sometimes when she wasn't yet in the room. And don't even get me started on the time she tried to stab me in the dojo, she said it was an accident, but I was well aware that she was trying to murder me. I knew she was, because when I woke up in the med-bay, she left me flowers that she knew I was allergic too, and in her haste to get them 'away' from me, she dropped them in my lap. While I was coughing and sneezing out my fair entrails, she tried to 'readjust' my pillow and somehow the object ended up covering my face. Again, she insists that she wasn't trying to kill me but I knew she was. Anakin why are you laughing?" Anakin had started laughing after the dojo accident.

He held his side, bent over as he snickered violently. Luke and Leia went on with their business, accustomed to Anakin's oddness.

Finally, he stood back up, wiping at the tear that ran from his eye. "That bad, huh?" He asked. Obi-wan, looking very much pleased with himself; nodded.

Anakin knew that behind the grin, Obi-w an was probably hiding some amount of anguish. He rarely spoke of Siri. "It only lasts a few months, Anakin, fret not. Just try to survive them while you can," he said. Anakin nodded, grateful for the advice. "Thanks, master. I don't know what I would do without you. By the way, why did you have the twins anyway?" he asked.

Obi-wan waved his hand dismissively. "Padme said she had some errands to run, and Nava has wanted to see the twins for awhile yet. She wanted to show them off to her friends, I suspect," he said.

Anakin sighed, so, Padme had decided to dump the twins off with Nava and Obi-wan whenever she wanted to go out, huh? Seems they would have to have another talk.

Wonderful.

"Well, thanks for taking care of them," he said. "Oh, no problem. They're quite interesting to be around. They brought smiles to everyone's faces, and Dex absolutely adores them. You have good kids, Anakin," that statement made Anakin's heart swell with pride. He cast proud and affectionate eyes over at his twins. "Yah, I do," he agreed, softly.

"Anyhow, I want your opinion on something," Obi-wan continued, with a lopsided smile at his pride. "My opinion?" he said, surprised. "On what?" he asked. Obi-wan sighed and folded his arms casually, though he seemed tired.

"Well…Its complicated. Much in the business world is, I'm coming to find out. It's nothing like politics. The gist of it is that I need to expand the corporation, and I've found a good way to do that. I can buy this land you see, enough land to build an extension of the company on and gain more income and greater opportunities," Anakin didn't see the problem. "And?" he urged.

"And…"Obi-wan looked slightly uncomfortable. "The land I want to build all of this on is occupied already by several other small and local businesses, Anakin. People work and live there; that's their livelihood. I can't just take it from them," ah, the old fiasco of secret identities. How to remain loyal to your morals and fit in at the same time.

"I see your issue," he said. Obi-wan nodded. "Business is business, but not at the cost of lives," he sighed. Anakin shifted feet, thinking. He grunted in agreement and shook his head.

"Well…Ah, here's a possible solution. Just give all the people you'll have to renounce jobs in the corporation. It will mean higher pay and better life conditions for all of them," Anakin suggested.

Obi-wan stared at him. "Anakin, that's brilliant! Why didn't I think of that? Yes, with the new building, it will need more employees. I hadn't thought of that," yes, well, Anakin was just that incredible. Brilliant minds; ran in the family, they did. Or at least they could, Anakin supposed.

"Yes, yes, I can do that. I'll have to work on that promptly. Well, it's time for me to be going," Obi-wan mumbled thoughtfully stroking his beard. Anakin felt disappointment ripple through him.

"Your leaving already?" he asked, trying not to sound as if he were whining, but force, he had not seen Obi-wan in months. "Yes, Anakin. In case you have not noticed, it's getting to be sunset soon. And I have plans to formulate," and Anakin had a wife to talk too. He was not eager to start.

He sighed and nodded. "We need to plan a day where I can sneak in that house of yours and kidnap you for a day. We'll go out and trash a bunch of clubs, deal?" Obi-wan chuckled. "Agree to my own kidnapping? Not likely. You'll be fine without my assistance," he said.

"Yah, yah. Luke, Leia, come say bye to Obi," he called over. Both twins looked up. "Obi going?" Luke demanded. Leia gasped and rushed to grab his leg. "Nooo! I want Obi to stay! Obi, you stay here so I can watch you!" She protested, gripping his leg determinedly.

Obi-wan sighed, covering his face tiredly, indicating that perhaps Leia had been doing this particular stunt all day. Anakin laughed. "I don't want Obi to go nowhere! He's mine!" Leia cried, burying her face in his calf.

"Oh, no you don't, he's mine. I got him first. And he has to go, Leia, so that he can build you another big office building with more spin chairs," Anakin explained.

Leia glared at him before looking up at Obi-wan. She wailed. "I don't want more spin chairs! I want my Obi!" she protested. Obi-wan groaned at that and shook his head. Luke walked over, gave Obi-wan a half hug around the right leg and then stepped back.

"Bye, Obi," he said nonchalantly. He tapped Leia on the shoulder. "Leia, Obi has to go home now," he explained again, tolerantly. "NO!" Obi-wan cast a helpless look at Anakin. "Leia, get off my leg please. I'm coming back," Obi-wan tried to negotiate. Leia pouted, looking up with large brimming eyes.

"You are?" She sniffled. "Yes, for force sakes. I'll come pick you up when the building is done, alright? I'll let you and Luke have a fish from the fish tank," that got her attention.

Her eyes grew larger. "I can have a fishy?" She repeated with amazement. "If you want me to eat him," Anakin mumbled. Luke giggled. Leia looked back at Obi-wan, her lip quivering. "Obi! Fatha's going eat my fishy!" She wailed, suddenly in tears.

Obi-wan sent Anakin a sharp glance. "For the love of…Leia, he was just joking. He won't eat your fish, alright? If he does Obi will hit him, are you appeased?" he questioned, cocking an eyebrow.

"No," Leia sighed. "What else do you want?" Anakin demanded, faintly annoyed now. Leia sniffled and wiped at her eyes. "Obi, you gotta be careful, okay? You and Nava. You gotta be there," she growled.

"Be where?" Obi-wan asked in unison to Anakin and Luke. "When fatha fixes everything and we get to be Jedi again. You're not allowed to die. You have to be there, too. Okay?" Obi-wan's face fell. Anakin felt his heart contract. They were too young to worry about things like that. They shouldn't.

"I will, Leia. I'll be careful, I promise," Obi-wan agreed, patting her back. Leia nodded, nullified, and stood, getting off his leg. Anakin exchanged worried glances with Obi-wan. "Come on, Leia," Luke said, trying to sound cheerful as he tugged on her hand. "We almost got Artoo to work! Come on!" he said. Leia nodded and let Luke drag her away.

Anakin sighed. "They shouldn't worry about things like that," he growled once they were out of earshot. Obi-wan shook his head. "Do you think they're starting to have premonitions?" he asked worriedly. Anakin shuddered. He knew that the day would come, some day, but so soon? They weren't ready.

"Let's hope not. Here, since Leia stole my promise, I wanted to give you this. It's sort of lame compared to what you've given me, but…" He shrugged and fished the gift out of his pocket. Knowing that Obi-wan could not see him, he took his hand and placed it in his palm, closing his fingers around it.

Obi-wan opened his hand and stroked it inquisitively. "What is it?" he asked, unseeing of anything but the small wood circle. "It's sort of like the bracelet I made Padme. Yours is an arm brace though. You feel those symbols on the wood?" He asked. Obi-wan nodded, fascinated.

"Its force sensitive," he pointed out, intrigued. "Yes. To match Qui-gon's stone. Those symbols are Huttese for big brother. Brothem. I have an identical one, you can guess what mine says," he said.

Obi-wan smiled. "Brothen," he guessed correctly. Anakin smiled. Obi-wan nodded and squeezed his shoulder. "I wish I could see it. Thank you, little brother," he said gratefully. Anakin sighed wholeheartedly.

"I wish I could give you more. Off you go, and give Nava my regards," Obi-wan nodded. "Always," he agreed.