A/N: Hello everyone! So, the chapter you have all been waiting for since the twins were born… Custody battle! I cannot guarantee that this will be the last of it, but it probably is. Mako-clb: Lots of great reviews. Thanks! ch. 24: Well, if you have read to this point you know, the mystery dark side user in this chapter was Maul. He has since done some other things, and he will continue to do things. ch. 25: Yep! ch. 26: Well, in Ep. 3's defense, Anakin couldn't live without her either, but the point does stand, and it is an aspect of her character that I have gone to great pains to endeavor to avoid in this fic. ch. 29: Read on! caripr94: ch. 35: The thing that really struck me in Ep. 1, that I felt really showed exactly how awful their lives really were, was the part where a nine-year-old boy casually mentions that he's basically a bomb. For him to be that unaffected; that inured to the idea of that sort of cruelty, he must have seen some pretty messed up stuff. I was also intrigued by the discussion of their previous ownership by Gardulla the Hutt. We know the Hutts are really bad, particularly in their treatment of slaves (Example: Beginning of Ep. 6), and lets be honest: a pretty, young slave woman in a Hutt palace is going to be filling a certain role. After all, they have large numbers of the scum of the galaxy hanging around constantly. Alcohol and spice would flow freely, and the Hutts would have no problem providing other… services and parting some of those degenerates from their hard earned cash. Anakin, meanwhile, is at this point seemingly useless (his abilities at podracing not yet having been discovered, and his skill with droids unneeded and untapped), and runs largely unnoticed. There are some other points as well, but as they may be discussed in future in the fic itself I won't put them here. Guest: ch. 35: Yeah, it did seem that way, didn't it? We'll see what happens. Anakin never was much of a talker, and his past always has been a topic that made him clam up, but we'll just have to wait and see. KittyBee1904: ch. 34: I'm glad you enjoyed! Anakin and Obi interaction is always fun, and this chapter has lots! Lunarchronicalsandcockatiels: I'm glad you liked it. Disney Syndulla: ch. 34: No, of course not! Obi-Ani banter is one of the major reasons I love Star Wars. Obi-Wan does have a lot of great ideas, doesn't he? Ch. 35: Hehehe galabrielle98: Ep. 3 had the disadvantage that it had to cover an incredible amount of plot in a two hour runtime. As a result, a lot of good, important footage got cut, including a large amount that would have helped balance Padme's character and keep her more accurate. Anyway, Clone Wars was amazing, and will continue to have a large influence on this fic. Ahsoka need not be missed. She has been in this fic once already, and will appear again. Sola and Bo-Katan… I don't know. They will definitely have important roles, but precisely what those roles will be I cannot say at this stage.

I do not own Star Wars or its characters.

Chapter 36

Several weeks had passed since the Jedi had come to Odessen, and all seemed to be progressing well. The supply and food situation, while far from stable, at least had made some headway, and they had begun renovation work on the temple. Anakin had not bothered attending council meetings. At present he had very little interest in meeting with any of them under any circumstances, and certainly not as a body. He found himself quite confused, therefore, when he was summoned before them.

"You wished to speak with me, Masters?"

Yoda smiled at him, "Anakin! Good to see you it is. Rare, have been our meetings of late."

"I am sorry, Master Yoda."

Windu spoke, "We wanted to speak to you about your performance on Coruscant."

Anakin watched them, confused.

Yoda spoke, "A great deal of bravery you have shown. Mmm, yes!"

Anakin's gaze shifted as Windu once more picked up the discussion, "We have decided to make you a Jedi master."

He stared, hardly able to believe his ears. A master! At last! Maybe they did trust him after all. A grin spread over his face as he looked at Obi-Wan, who was beaming proudly at him, then he looked back at the others, "Thank you, my Masters. This is indeed a great honor. I shall attempt to be worthy of it."

"We have also decided to accept the twins into the order."

His face fell, "What?" He had known they would not be able to hide the babies here, but he had not expected them to move quite so soon.

Windu gave him a look, as if to say "You heard me."

"They are to be trained as younglings," said another voice.

Anakin looked around, nodding then laughing dryly, "No." He paused, "What, you thought you could bribe me with a mastership? Thought that would pacify me into betraying my children? Well think again!" He ended in almost a shout.

Windu replied, "It is for their own good."

"For their own good? How exactly would my handing them over to be raised by strangers be for their own good?"

"Skywalker, I think-"
"You think? You? Well let me tell you what I think. For them to be raised as orphans, not knowing each other or their parents… This is truly the worst thing I can imagine." He turned to face Obi-Wan, a betrayed expression on his face, "Did you know about this?"

The other man didn't meet his gaze. Anakin finally turned away, hurt. Windu took advantage of the sudden calm to speak, "Skywalker, what exactly do you plan to do with them? You can hardly train them all on your own."

"I wouldn't be-" A look from the other silenced him.

"Besides, think about this for a moment. For you to be placed in such a position, a position of extreme trust, when you have-" He paused, "You are impulsive, reckless, cannot follow orders and you have broken the code in a massive degree. How can you prove to us that you are fit to assume this role?" Silence. "Can you?"

Anakin stared around the circle, leaning on the central table, watching him intently, his gaze ending on Windu. He raised his chin, a determined look settling on his features, "Tell me, how can you prove the same to me?"

Windu stared at him like he had gone insane, "What?"

The young man paused, "Well, they are my children, I think I have more of a right to them than you. So, answer, how can you prove to me that you are fit to assume this role?" He shrugged snarkily, "After all, like you said, this would be a position of extreme trust."

"Skywalker…"

Anakin raised his voice, "Because I will tell you what I will not have. I will not have them used. I will not have them lied to. I will not have them manipulated, and I will not have them told that their feelings and attachments are something to be scared of. And most of all, I will not have them used, then abandoned when they have done your work and need your help. Understand, there is nothing I would not do to stop that happening." He paused, responding to their shocked faces, "What you did to Ahsoka was despicable. She loved you like a family, trusted you, and you abandoned her like it was nothing." He paused, glancing down, "But that was nothing compared to what you did on Coruscant. You abandoned me, over twenty children, and I have no idea how many Jedi to die while you ran for your lives." He paused, shaking his head, "You stupid, self-satisfied hypocrites. You preach on the virtues of compassion and loyalty, but when it really matters you back off. Choose to save the group and write of any stragglers as necessary losses. You are the last people in the galaxy with whom I would entrust my children, and now there is no law that can force me to do so."

Silence reigned as everyone processed this speech. Windu finally spoke, "Well, our faults, by your point of view, are grave indeed."

"Oh no, if I have to hear this 'point of view' nonsense one more time-"

"Skywalker, what we did on Coruscant, while difficult, was necessary, and our only option."

"I asked you to wait five minutes! We were almost there!"

"Be that as it may, we could wait no longer. As it is, because we waited for you the Empire caught up to us, and one of our transports was destroyed. Over fifty people were on that transport. Over fifty people died to save twenty. Now does that seem right to you?"

Anakin couldn't help but think that he was being extremely unfair. However, he didn't know how to answer.

"The good of the many must outweigh the good of the few. Had we waited, we may well all have been killed. The decision to leave was difficult, but calculated. Had there been any other way, I can assure you we would have taken it. I am only glad that you were able to succeed despite complications and bring them back safely."

Anakin was silent, pouting at the floor. Finally he spoke, "Regardless of your perspective on what happened on Coruscant, that doesn't change anything else you have done. What happened with Ahsoka… there can be no defense, and-"

"Need I remind you, Skywalker, it was she who chose to walk away."

"Because of you! That isn't the only incident either. How many times have I been lied to by you people? How about the time you let me think Obi-Wan was dead for weeks, so you could get my reaction as part of some stupid charade you had going? I could have killed him! You did that, and I never got so much as an apology for any of it. And that's only one example. You have used me, and lied to me, and insulted me, and hated me, and I will not have any of it inflicted on my children."

Windu gave a condescending, annoyed look, "Skywalker…"

"I swear, the first Jedi to take a step towards those children will be the first Jedi I kill."

They all stared at him.

"And if you think I'm bluffing just try it."

Windu spoke, "Skywalker, this is ridiculous. Think about what you're saying."

"Certain Jedi may gain access, but it will be on my terms, when I say. They belong with me and their mother, and that is where they'll stay. I will defend them to my last breath. They are my children, and I will fight for them every day for the rest of my life. I hope that I have made myself clear."

The door to Anakin's apartment slide open, punctuated by the angry sound of Obi-Wan's voice as he followed him in, "Anakin, what the blazes was that?"

Anakin replied, "Well, the sons of Hutts try to take my children, I'm not just going to sit there."

"You threatened the council!" He paused as the younger man stopped and turned to face him, "Anakin, they are not your enemies. They are good people who care about you and your family, and only want what is best for everyone in this situation."

His friend looked hurt, "I thought you were with me on this. I thought you were on my side."

"I am on your side! But displays like that will not help you. You cannot expect them to trust you if you threaten them and make demands."

"Well, given that they have never trusted me, and will never trust me, I can't say it matters much."

"Well, that isn't a particularly diplomatic view."

"To blazes with diplomatic!" Anakin fired back. "I am done with diplomatic! I won't do it any more! I won't sit here and be polite while they look down their stupid noses at me and ruin my life! I have put up with it long enough!" There was silence, the pair staring at each other, Anakin in angry resentment, Obi-Wan searchingly. Finally he spoke, "Anakin… are you certain you're all right?"

He looked down, his voice calming and descending to a lower volume, "Well… Our lives are in shambles, the Republic has fallen apart, I've- I've killed clones, gotten shot, and the council is trying to take my children away. I would say that I have reason to be pretty far from 'all right.'"

The other seemed sad, "That isn't what I mean. Anakin, I think we may need to consider the possibility that Palpatine may have had more of an effect on you than we previously thought."

Anakin looked up, "What do you mean?"

Obi-Wan chose his words carefully, "Well, he was working on you for a very long time, trying to drive you away from the Jedi; planting suspicion, manufacturing opportunities for resentment. None of it was real. I just worry that… some of what he put there may still be festering. You don't need that."

Anakin stared at him, "Because of today." He paused, incredulous, "Is that what you think that was?"

Obi-Wan continued to watch him, "You tell me. After all, it was you that brought up one of those manufactured scenarios."

"Palpatine may have orchestrated the situation, but he didn't orchestrate the council's response to it. They didn't have to do what they did."

The older man's voice was frustrated, "Anakin, that was Sith training. He was manipulating you. Chancellor Palpatine was evil!"

"You think I don't know that?! All the things he did…" He shook his head, "I'll admit, I am still trying to separate fact from fiction, determine exactly which things actually happened on their own and which were part of his play. But like I said, he didn't force the council to react to things the way they did. They made those choices, and they were not always right." He paused, "Granted, the whole mess with Moralo Eval was one of the worst ones. However, it was hardly the only time. And that could all have been avoided if they had only trusted me."

Obi-Wan watched him worriedly, "I just didn't realize you were still thinking about that," He said quietly.

Anakin paused, a pained look coming to his eyes, "I watched you die. I stood there- and watched that man murder my master, and there wasn't a blasted thing I could do about it." He paused again, his voice breaking as he remembered, "I held you in my arms, and felt you slipping away…or- thought I did. I thought you were dead for weeks." He paused, "And in the end it was all for nothing. Palpatine was never in danger. He and Dooku arranged the whole thing. So, yes, I still think about it sometimes. I doubt there will ever come a time when I don't." Another pause, "I just can't believe that you let that happen. That you let me go through that. You, of all people, who knows what that feels like."

Obi-Wan's eyes shone wetly and he spoke slowly, "Anakin, I'm sorry. I knew that if you thought I was dead that it would supply the necessary reaction to sell the funeral. Perhaps… I failed to sufficiently consider the effect that it would have on you. We didn't exactly expect you to chase my 'murderer' halfway across the galaxy."

Anakin still seemed extremely upset, "One word, Obi-Wan. That is all I would have needed. One word to let me know that you were still alive. You could have told me after the funeral… Just so I knew the man wearing your murderer's face was you."

"I am sorry. We should have discussed this long time ago."

"Well, we are discussing it now."

A childish voice sounded from the doorway, cutting into the moment, "Excuse me, I was wondering if-"

Anakin spoke, "Whatever it is, no." He turned, his surprised gaze landing on Sola, "And what are you doing here?"

She shrugged in preteen snarkiness, "I'm helping Padme."

"What, is she adopting random kids now? Sola, go home."

Her tone was defensive, "I'm watching the twins."

He paused, considering, "Fine. But stay out." He called after her, "And close the door. This is a private conversation."

She rolled her eyes, moving back into the other room and sliding the door closed. Anakin continued.

"Satine came to your funeral, you know." Obi-Wan looked away, not meeting his gaze. "She sobbed the whole time. It was like her world was ending. I don't suppose you told her that you were alive, did you?" He paused, then continued when his friend didn't answer, "No… of course not. That would be too close to acting like a human being, wouldn't it? Can't have that."

The other man's eyes were pleading, "Please don't bring her into this."

"I'll bet you let her find out on the news." Anakin paused, waiting for a reply, nodding when it didn't come, "Typical."

"Anakin, no one knew. Only Master Yoda, Master Windu and a very few others. The entire mission was extremely covert."

Anakin spoke, smiling slightly at last, a charitable light coming into his eyes, "I know. Don't worry. I don't blame you for any of it. I'm sure that you were only following orders. I just wish that you would stand up to the council every once in a while. They use you too, you know. The fact that you will do anything they say without question."

Obi-Wan held up a hand, having become aware of a good deal of commotion outside. He walked to the door and pushed it up, speaking to a Jedi who was rushing past, "What is it? What's going on?"

The other replied, "They have detected ships landing. Transport vessels. They aren't responding to hails."

Obi-Wan turned, exchanging a look with Anakin, "We should go down there."

The other nodded, his face grim.

The landing pad was swarming with Jedi, all afraid of what this might mean and determined not to be caught off guard. All watched intently as the mysterious vessels lowered in the sky, until finally they were low enough to be identified.

Anakin spoke, a confused, worried note to his voice, Those are Naboo ships."