KEYnote: This is the last chapter of Act II: The Daughter of A Clone. While the next two acts have been plotted, I have yet to plot individual chapters which will take a few weeks. Thank you to everyone who has been gifting me with feedback!

If You Like This Story: Please consider reviewing? Those are patrons I need. Also, consider reviewing my fics Significant Brain Damage and The Kenobi Scandal.

P.s. Yes, this entire story has been plotted from the beginning, and yes, there was foreshadowing ;D

Beta: Nauze the amazing dude saving my ass, many, many thanks for the last chapter edit!

Chapter 40 - Cue the Orchestra

Obi-Wan at first had been happy to get a call from Padme. She had been rather busy since being elected as Naboo's first Queen in the New Nubian Royal Family. She and the Prime Minister, Apailana had been working almost non-stop as Naboo shifted from being a Republic planet to independence.

Chancellor Palpatine had not been making that transition easy. Naboo was almost blacklisted for Republic planets.

Of course, the Republic crumbled more and more every day, and mere months after the Jedi had left the Republic, the alliances between planets were falling apart and, as more systems demanded more of the central government and the government failed to deliver even the most necessary of supplies, more planets became Separatists. Although, the Separatist movement itself had disassembled and planets which left the Republic, often aligned themselves with no one.

Ironically, Serreno was still a Republic planet, mostly so Dooku and the Council could attend Senate meetings and to give the Order time to stabilize within their new dynamics rather than try to help everyone in the Outer Rim and the systems that had jumped ship.

Though Obi-Wan wasn't exactly comfortable allowing so many systems to suffer, it had been explained to him by many of the Masters that in order for so many independent planets to be viable, they would need to find their own way before receiving outside help, lest the Jedi be branded as conquerors.

Nonetheless, when Padme called him personally, he had answered.

But the personal call ended in staring down at a corpse.

Ahsoka crossed her arms and squatted on the balls of her feet to examine the body, "Nope, I got nothing. This doesn't make any sense."

Obi-Wan frowned down at the corpse as well, "There is no advantage to doing this." He looked at Padme, "When was the last time you spoke to him?"

Padme hugged herself, she was currently in her handmaiden uniform and looking down at what had once been her fiance and groom, and was now butterfly food.

Ahsoka stared at the butterflies feasting on Palo's innards, making a rather macabre image on the edge of a beautiful lake vista.

"I didn't know butterflies were carnivorous," Ahsoka muttered.

"We haven't spoken since we called off the marriage," Padme said, finding her voice. "I told him I wanted to run for the election of a sustained monarchy. But he didn't want that, he didn't want to be Prince Consort, and he made me choose. I chose my career, he left."

"Which means there is no reason to kill him," Obi-Wan said.

"My family is under guard now, Palo was the only person close to me who was vulnerable," she said.

Ahsoka shook her head, "Yeah, but who would gut this dude with a lightsaber just to hurt you?"

Panaka glared at her as Obi-Wan chastised, "Padawan, word choices."

She gave them an apologetic smile, "Sorry, I just meant, this doesn't make any sense."

"I already checked the logs," Obi-Wan said. "No one in the Order was even in the vicinity of Naboo."

"Which means either a Dark Sider or thief did this," Ahsoka said.

"What about one of the Dathomirians?" Panaka asked.

Obi-Wan shook his head, "No, none of the Dathomirian males would make a move like this without Maul's consent. And as Padme is Rey's friend, no."

"What about the female Dathomirians?" Panaka pressed.

Ahsoka shook her head, "Aside from Asajj Ventress, who is in the Order, none of them use lightsabers."

"Could they have stolen one from the males?" Panaka asked, unrelenting.

"Possible, but unlikely," Obi-Wan said. "Even if that were to happen, it wouldn't have gone unnoticed. Besides, what would be their reason for killing Palo, the Artist?"

"Yeah," Ahsoka agreed, "his art isn't that bad."

Obi-Wan bit back a smile, even Padme looked as if she wanted to laugh, but she was better at hiding her emotions.

Obi-Wan continued, "And assuming he died because of his past relationship with the Queen of Naboo, the Dathomirians have nothing to gain from this and Padme has no known enemies on Dathomir."

"What about Rey Palpatine?" Panaka asked, saying her last name as a curse.

Obi-Wan frowned at him, "Rey is Mother Talzin's daughter-in-law and Darth Maul's mate, I can assure you that no Dathmirian would have cause to hurt Padme on account of getting at Rey."

"Then who does that leave?" Panaka asked.

Obi-Wan shook his head, "I don't know, someone who fell from the Order, someone trained by Maul's old master, or, what is most likely the case, someone who acquired a lightsaber on the black market."

"So you have no clue."

"We aren't chief of security," Ahsoka said, coming to stand by Obi-Wan's side, "You are. Do you have any leads?"

Panaka's lips thinned, and he said tersely, "No, not yet."

Padme's shoulders rounded, "It couldn't have been the Chancellor, he was on Coruscant when it happened."

"It might still be his doing," Obi-Wan ventured, "but it seems, and forgive me, but somewhat petty. Palo, as you said, had little security, he was an easy mark, but there is no benefit to this. If it hadn't been death by lightsaber, I would think it a common murder."

"Murder is not common," Panaka said.

Padme shook her head, "Captain, please. They are here to help at my request."

Obi-Wan tried to give her a comforting smile, "I'm afraid, Padme, that all Ahsoka and I can do at this point is assist the police. And there isn't much to go on. Our insights might not be terribly useful."

She nodded, "I'm sorry for calli-"

"Nonsense," Obi-Wan cut her off, touching her arm briefly, "We are friends, I'm glad you called."

Padme nodded, "In that case, I must insist you stay the night and have dinner with my family and I. The Queen's suite has been renovated to be a much more intimate space than the last time you were there. There will be no need to stand a ceremony."

Panaka stiffened, "Your Majesty, I don't thin-"

Padme cut him a hard look, "After you have escorted us back to the palace, Captain, you may deliver the information the Jedi have imparted us with to the detectives on this case."

"They didn't have anything to tell us," he protested.

Padme met his gaze directly, "They told us who it wasn't, and that is more than we knew before with any certainty."

Panaka bowed at the neck, "Of course, my Lady."

oOo

Dinner was pleasant, and Ahsoka got on well with Padme's older sister, Sola and the handmaidens, but Obi-Wan was worried when he walked Padme back to her room.

Having been one of her bodyguards for some years, he could tell that she seemed deeply conflicted about something, and he wondered if she knew something about Palo.

"Come in for a moment?" she asked at the door.

He nodded, following her into the airy room, and checking the space more out of habit than actually sensing any danger.

"Do you think it's safe to stand on the balcony?" she asked.

He scoffed, "I'm with you, of course you're safe."

Then he flushed when he realized how ridiculous he sounded.

But Padme laughed, taking his hand, he laced his fingers with hers as she led him to the balcony, the light of torches and stars decorating the night.

His heart was in his throat as he thought she looked more beautiful now than she had on her wedding day.

Staring down into her honeyed eyes, he longed to tell her all that he felt. But now was not the time to confess his feelings for her, she was grieving for her ex-fiance.

As if hearing his thoughts, she said, "I feel terrible about what has happened to Palo."

He nodded, "You loved him, even-"

"No," she cut him off, squeezing his hand, "I mean, yes, I did love him, but I feel terrible because…" her voice trailed off and she sighed before continuing, "because if he was supposed to be a man I was married, I should be grieving him right now. But I'm not. I'm sad that he was murdered, of course I am. But I'm not heartbroken like I should be."

"Grief is a funny thing," he said, "It doesn't always happen like we expect it to."

"Or maybe," she said, glancing toward the lake that was so still, it reflected the stars. "Or maybe, I never loved him the way I should have."

Obi-Wan reached out to her with his free hand, touching her cheek, but before he could say anything, she met his gaze and stole his breath away.

"Not like I love you, Obi-Wan Kenobi."

He didn't know how to answer that, not when what he really wanted to say was that he was grateful her wedding had been disrupted by an evil cyborg, and that she hadn't married another man.

Because he loved her too.

So instead, he bent and kissed her lips as gently as he had ever kissed a woman before.

She let go of his hand to reach up to his face and kissed him as fiercely as he had ever been kissed before.

When they pulled back, their bodies pressed to each other, Obi-Wan found his words, "I love you too, Padme Amidala."

She smiled, bright and clear, all traces of worry and sorrow washed clean away. She looked like a girl with not a single responsibility in the world, even if she still held herself like a queen.

"I love you," he said again, because it was the truth, because in that moment, it was all he was feeling.

She pulled him down for another kiss as she said, "I've waited years for you to see me."

"I always saw you, Padme, I've always admired you, but I must admit that it wasn't until these recent years that I realized this admiration had turned to loving you for all that you are."

She wrapped herself around him, "Stay the night?"

He held her back, "I'll stay as long as you want me to."

Obi-Wan did return to Serreno with Ahsoka the next day, but in the months that followed, he returned to Naboo often to help with the 'security' of the new monarchy.

Qui-Gon took a great deal of delight in announcing Chancellor Sheev Palpatine's sins against the Republic and the Kaminoin clones in open Senate. Dooku, Obi-Wan, Rey, Ahsoka, Wolffe, Sinker, Rex, Appo, and Fives were at his back.

"So, to summarize," Qui-Gon said, "Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, nine years ago, used private funds to create a clone army, which by the Galactic Republic laws, would fall under human trafficking and slave trade, while also sewing the seeds for the Separatist movement. By supporting both sides, he fuelled the corruption of the Senate, such as his exploits of Trade Federation during the Naboo Crisis, with the express goal of scraping together power for himself. His attempts to start a galactic civil war would have given his seat emergency powers, and the clone army he would have tried to turn on the Jedi."

Protests arose, but judging by how red Sheev's face was, not nearly enough.

Duchess Satine called out from her platform, "For his crimes against my people, his own people, and the galaxy, I call for a vote of no-confidence."

Qui-Gon smiled as a ripple went through the Senate, and the vote against him was unanimous.

Yet Dooku scoffed at the male they chose in his place, retired head of one of the most prominent holders of the IBC, the Muun whose platform came forward would become one of the very few non-human Chancellors of the Galactic Republic in known history.

A call rang around the Senate chamber that was missing a third of its representatives, "Supreme Chancellor Hego Damask!"

It wasn't the greatest of news, but as they were leaving, a Coruscanti policeman handed Dooku a warrant of arrest, giving custody of Sheev Palpatine to Serreno, signed by the new Chancellor.

Dooku drawled, "Well finally, the Senate elected someone with some common sense."

Sidious was shaking, this couldn't be happening, this could not be happening.

"Traitor," Sidious hissed at the Muun who walked into his office.

Plagueis smiled, "Business, just business. Honestly, I had not realized that it was so many of the supposed 'moral' planets of the Core preventing a non-human from attaining the Chancellorship, or perhaps, they simply voted a Muun in because they were feeling guilty about their corruption. Trying to make a good appearance and whatnot." Plagueis ran a long finger over his desk, "Regardless, you're sitting in my chair. Get out."

Sidious snarled at him as he stood, "It was you who made the clones. When I tell-"

"It was I who stopped their production. It was clear to me when you didn't achieve the Chancellorship, when your plot against your own planet failed, and when your apprentice failed to kill Master Qui-Gon Jinn that you were never going to be my equal."

"That's because I'm your superior."

Plagueis laughed, "We both know that isn't true. And even now, Qui-Gon Jinn approaches to deliver your death."

"What is your obsession with that man? He's nothing."

"He's everything, he was the shatterpoint, he was the point from which all possibilities began and ended. I would have killed him myself, but his part has been played. His apprentices are the pivotal ones now."

"You don't sound worried," Sidious noted as he retrieved his lightsabers from the statue.

"I'm not, destroying the Jedi is no longer my purpose, the Dark will triumph despite them. And I will enjoy watching them struggle against the inevitable, as they add to the chaos rather than counteract it."

It was Sidious's turn to scoff, "The Jedi Order has never been stronger, they are aligned with the Mandalorians."

"Mandalore is mine, they just don't know it yet."

Sidious glowered at him, but decided to play the game, "What is it you wish me to do, Master?"

"Die," Plagueis answered lazily as he sat behind Sidious's desk, "And I know how difficult it will be for you to succeed at anything, but do try to take a few of the Jedi out with you."

Sidious felt his eyes turn as the Dark consumed him, as he hissed, "Do not mistake me as one of your experiments-"

"My experiments are well underhand, it's yours you should be worried about. That girl, Rey Palpatine, I perceived her in the Force. She was the disturbance in the galaxy all those years ago. She is not your daughter, though genetically she is yours."

"What the hell are talking about?" Sidious asked, voice low as he opened himself to the Force.

He could feel the Jedi coming for him, there was no point left in hiding.

"You were cloned, the Force showed me that, as well as your plan to escape to Exegol with those sycophants who worship you."

Sidious froze, as his mind whirled. It was impossible for Plagueis to know that. His contacts were still formative, and his clones…

He had nothing that even remotely resembled a vessel yet.

Plagueis leaned back in his seat, "Oh yes, I did find them, and they work for me now, and there will be no clones waiting for you, this is your one and only body. Your one and only life, and you will die in it. Like the failure and disappointment that you are."

Sidious, however, had honed in on the information his Master had just gifted him with, as he remembered how easy it had been to drain her life away as she had tried to heal him, "The girl-"

"Yes," Plagueis interrupted him, "I suppose you could take the girl, your daughter, your granddaughter, the daughter of a clone, but you will fail in that too. I have foreseen it. She will not come to you alone, and as powerful as she is, that is her true danger. She isn't stupid enough to try to kill you on her own."

Sidious had had enough of being talked to like this, "I am your apprentice!"

Plagueis laughed, "I replaced you eight years ago. You are nothing. That girl means more to me now. A Force sensitive born from a non-Force Sensitive clone of a human with an unprecedented midi-chlorian count? Her genetic makeup should prove most riveting. I cannot wait to take her apart, cell by cell."

"If she comes against me, I will kill her."

Plagueis shook his elongated head, "Your death is inevitable, while her life is destined to be long. The end of her life will be as her true father's began, in a lab, preserved and kept breathing for the benefit of the Sith."

Sidious snarled, as he turned away. He would not die, he could not be killed, and Plagueis was wrong. The daughter of a clone was nothing, just a body as disposable as any other clone.

Yet, as he made his way to his private ship, he felt the Jedi closing on him.

They caught up with him in the underground hangar, a cavernous space below the Senate building, with nothing but maintenance and security droids to keep the Senate building from being accessible by the lower-levels.

He turned on the dock, the cold breeze of the cavern swept his hair upwards, the greenish-blue light of space casting everyone in sickly light.

"Jedi, how brave you are to greet me, five to one," he crooned to them without turning.

He breathed in deeply, taking the Force in his grasp, ripping it from the air around him, and as the Force itself writhed in agony, he directed its pain toward the weakest link as he turned.

But the little Togruta surprised him, her own lightning greeting his with a low rumbling, as if it were natural lightning and not conjured from the Force.

And then he had to use both hands as another bolt of lightning came at him from the clone's daughter.

Count Dooku put a hand on the Togruta's shoulder as she began to waver, and then it was Sith lightning against Sith lightning as the Padawan collapsed into the Count's free arm.

Darth Sidious laughed, they were on the defensive, and already they would be down two marks.

The Count folded his tall body around the Togruta as they rolled away, Qui-Gon Jinn taking his place, merely absorbing the lightning with his green lightsaber.

"Dooku, get her out of here!" Kenobi called out to the man.

Sidious smiled as he let his lightning fade as the Count retreated with the Padawan, "And there goes your best duelist."

The clone's daughter, the little pest who had destroyed his career with her lies, snorted, "Hardly, Obi-Wan is the duelling champion of the Order nowadays."

He sneered at her, "I'm honoured."

Then he threw himself at Jinn, spinning as he used the Force to propel him.

Jinn barely had time to bring his saber up as he backed up with hurried steps. He was saved by his own Padawans coming at Sidious with a lightsaber Form that Sidious had never seen before.

Which was absurd, because he knew them all. But this? It was like trying to slice through air.

As he tried to kill them, Jinn called out, "Darth Sidious, I meant to kill you myself but you don't seem to be posing much of a threat to my apprentices."

Sidious roared as he Force pushed Kenobi over the dock, the clone's whelp dove after him. And he sprinted toward the famed maverick Jedi, both of his sabers humming in his hands, "I should have disposed of you years ago." He brought his sabers crackling down Jinn's green blade.

Jinn grunted at the impact, and Sidious drove him back.

The Jedi Master would be dead in mere heartbeats.

Sidious spun, sabers raised as the Force hissed a warning at him.

Sidious snarled as red blades met red, "Fool, I am your Master. You know nothing I have not taught you."

Darth Maul bared his teeth, "You are Master of nothing, Sheev."

Sidious roared as he attacked and Maul… went on defence?

He was using the same technique Kenobi and 'his' spawn had been using.

"What is this?" he asked as Maul worked side by side with the Jedi Master. Their techniques were different, yet they worked together as if they were dance partners.

Maul growled at him, "Shono-Mii, the Eighth form, Kenobi invented it."

"Shono-Mii," Sidious mocked, having to rely heavily on Form VII as he tried to break through their defences, Jinn was losing momentum, but Maul seemed unchecked by gravity. "What way is this to fight?"

"The Way of the Butterfly," Rey said as she came over Maul's shoulder, their dual bladed sabers mirroring each other, two blue and two red streaks, as Jinn fell back and Kenobi came at Sidious from behind.

Maul roared as he pressed the attack, Rey and Kenobi preventing Sidious from any means of escape.

And as Sidious fought, he felt the Force slip from his grasp. Rey and Kenobi were blinding lights, attracting the Force's favour like moths to flame, but Maul…

It was his own once Apprentice who surprised Sidious the most. He had reared this child, made him everything that he was.

But he had changed, the Force had changed him.

He wasn't a Jedi nor was he a Sith.

The Dathomirian Zabrak with red and black skin, his eyes a furious amber, was an extension of the Force.

He was not wielding the Force as Sidious was, nor was he the Force's weapon as the Jedi sometimes allowed themselves to become as they passively gave themselves to it.

No, Darth Maul had somehow become not the Force's agent but its voice.

And even as Darth Sidious attempted to kill those around him, he knew he had already lost.

The four of them worked in tandem. Obi-Wan had known in theory that through Rey, he and Qui-Gon shared a Force bond with Maul, but it wasn't until now, when they fought beside one another against a single opponent that he realized the extent of those bonds.

Nor the strength it offered them.

Obi-Wan's mind had never been clearer as he flitted on the currents of the Force, his single blade disrupting the patterned attack that Darth Sidious, the yellow-eyed fallen Chancellor, was building against Maul and Rey.

Master, Master, Apprentice, Apprentice, it didn't matter the nature of the bonds, the Force saw them as equals, as connected, and Obi-Wan was almost sure that if Dooku and Ahsoka had been meditating while they were like this, they would have been able to see and feel what they did.

Qui-Gon wasn't even exchanging blows with the Sith Lord, but still, his presence made them that much stronger, his attention on the fight, even as bystander gave the three of them greater perspective and focus on their opponent.

Shono-Mii was limited in the same way that Soresu was, in that it wasn't aggressive enough to kill their opponent swiftly even if they were out matching them.

Darth Sidious was strong enough to have killed any one of them individually. But he had neither the endurance nor the strength to so much as scratch them when they were working together.

Obi-Wan feigned a stumble, going so far as to throw a bit of fear into the Force. Darth Sidious followed it like a shark tasting blood in the water. But as Obi-Wan allowed himself to fall backward, Rey knelt on one, greeting Darth Sidious's heart with her saber staff.

Obi-Wan watched the surprise, the anger, and then the fear sweep over Darth Sidious's face in the brief moment before Maul came in from behind to relieve Sidious of his head.

Obi-Wan offered Rey a hand up as she stood, the adrenaline of the fight making them both a little unsteady on their feet.

Maul, however…

"Don't you think decapitation is enough?" Qui-Gon asked as Maul proceeded to hack away at Sidious's corpse.

Literally slicing it into tiny pieces.

"He's," Maul said between strikes, "a-" slash, "Sith," slash, "Lord," slash, "overkill," slash, "is," slash, "necessary."

So they watched, and waited. Rey who was leaning against Obi-Wan as she remarked, "I shouldn't be enjoying this."

Qui-Gon shrugged, "If anyone in the galaxy deserved this-"

"Master Maul," Captain Rex called as he approached, "need a hand?"

Maul finally stepped back from the mutilated remains of his old Sith Master. He looked at the clone trooper and bowed his head.

Obi-Wan couldn't see Rex smile as he was wearing his helmet, but he had no doubts as to the Mando's state of being as he ignited a flame thrower and torched Sheev Palpatine's remains.

"Dare I ask where you got a flame thrower?" Obi-Wan asked drily.

"Master Maas," Fives answered for him.

"How did you get it past security?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Duchess Satine," Appo answered.

Rey smiled, "I love my family."

Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon each put an arm around her shoulders and hugged her between them.

The Dathomirian Zabrak smiled at them all over the flaming corpse of Darth Sidious, "I killed my Master, I am truly a Sith Lord now."

Rey laughed.

Rey Palpatine became the first Jedi Padawan to be knighted beneath the Serreno night sky.

And as the sabers of the Jedi Council ignited around her, Master Jinn stepping back to allow Obi-Wan the honour of removing her Padawan braid, she finally felt that she was home.

8 Months Later - 22 BBY

Obi-Wan was nervous as he walked through the halls of the Nubian palace, for once, Ahsoka hadn't accompanied him on this trip, though he was due to meet up with them on Coruscant in two days because of an open Senate meeting that would decide the fate of the crumbling Republic.

After nearly a year and after half of the Republic systems being on their own with little aid from the Jedi, many systems were looking to rejoin the Republic.

Even Padme was considering it as despite Darth Sidious being dead, the economic damage he had managed to inflict on Naboo had still been crippling. And while the Jedi Order was more unified and more spiritually balanced than it had ever been in Grandmaster Yoda's memory, their ability to help other systems stabilize wasn't there yet.

Yet for Obi-Wan personally, the last eight months had been some of the happiest of his life, between training Ahsoka, who was a challenging student but whose growth was incredible to be a part of, and his growing relationship with Padme…

Life had never seemed so bright.

When he knocked on the archway to her rooms, Padme startled from her seat with an undignified yip.

He laughed.

She threw a pillow at him, "Don't you dare laugh at me! You didn't tell me you were coming."

"Well, if you want me to leave-"

Her scowl morphed into a protest, and still laughing he swept her into his arms and kissed her.

He was so in love with her that kissing her felt like drinking liquid starlight.

Her honeyed eyes were bright as they parted, "You're certainly in high spirits today, Master Kenobi."

"I'd tell you that today you are especially beautiful, but today has no reflection on the status of your eternal beauty."

She flushed.

He wasn't much of a poet, but she was, and he had learned that even making an effort with flowery language made her happy.

So he made the effort.

He led her to the balcony where they had first kissed, the sunlight setting all the different tones of her hair into dazzling strands and turning her eyes into tawny gold.

"Obi-Wan-"

He knelt before her and pulled a ring box from his robes. The ring itself was white-gold, but the gem was petrified wood from the Nubian rain-forest. Her father had been a carpenter, and judging by the way her eyes alighted on the stone, she recognized it.

"Obi-Wan…" she tried again, but he squeezed her hand.

"I really do wish I had been a poet for you, but Padme Amidala, I have only these words to offer you. You are the strongest, most courageous woman I ever met, and I love you more than there are stars in the galaxy, would you do me the inexorable honour of becoming my wife?"

She started crying then, "Oh, Obi-Wan-"

He stood, "Don't cry, it's alright." He smiled and kissed her forehead.

But she pushed back from him, the tears spilling over, "No, Obi-Wan… it isn't alright."

He took a step back, "Padme?"

She shook her head, before swallowing hard and saying in a single breath, "Obi-Wan, I'm engaged to someone else."

He took another step back from her as he felt his own expression shut down, "I don't understand."

"Obi-Wan, please, I meant to tell you-"

"But what?" he asked, unable in that moment to give his emotions to the Force, so he shoved them down. He shoved them down deep where he could take them out later, watch them bleed.

Later.

She shook her head, "This wasn't about you, or us, it was-"

"Was what?" he asked, voice sharp, "I wasn't gone more than a few weeks this time."

She reached out to him as her tears continued to fall, "I wasn't- It wasn't like that. I've been only with you, I swear it. I swear that to you, Obi-Wan, that I haven't been with anyone else but you."

"But you're marrying someone else," he said low, and this time he had to aggressively shove down the emotions.

"Yes, for Naboo. It's an arrangement, a political marriage. He means nothing to me but the food he can provide for my people's tables."

Obi-Wan felt himself detach from the moment then.

He couldn't be mad at her for that.

Duty before attachment.

That's what the Council had told him when he asked for permission to marry.

Duty before attachment.

He nodded, "I understand."

She let out a sob, "I'm so, so sorry, Obi-Wan. I would have said yes."

He bowed to her, "I wish you joy and fulfilment, Padme Amidala. I hope you find happiness and that your people know peace. May the Force be with you."

"Wait, Obi-Wan-"

But he was turning away from her, he was already leaving.

It hurt too much to stay.

He needed to deal with this heartbreak and he couldn't deal with it when seeing and feeling her sorrow was tearing him apart, even when she was the one saying goodbye.

It wasn't her fault.

She might have told him sooner, might have given him some warning.

But he loved her, and this farewell would have hurt all the same.

He wasn't brave enough to look back as she called his name.

oOo

Obi-Wan managed to get himself under some semblance of control by the time he re-grouped with others on their ship.

But predictably, Rey found him when instead of meditating, he had retreated to his bunk early.

She laid down beside him. "You can fool Master Jinn," she said, "but you can't fool me, what's wrong?"

He said nothing.

Rey waited a bit before stating, "It's Padme, isn't it."

He sighed, then sighed again before turning on his side to look at her, "Yes."

She kept her gaze on the ceiling, granting him a surprising bit of privacy.

"You really love her, don't you?" she asked.

"Yes," he said softly, "I do."

"Obi-Wan, you should ask her, if you wanted-"

"I'm too late, she's marrying someone else."

"Wait, what?" she asked, turning to him, "But, Obi-Wan…"

He turned back to look up at the ceiling, his heart constricting. "Naboo has been hit hard in recent years, it's a political marriage, a new senator, he has the resources to save them."

"Credits? Surely it can't just be commerce, she's better that."

"No, not just credits, influence, power. Very powerful people are supporting him. I may have researched him some once I left. He has all the connections she needs to save her people."

Rey put an arm across his chest, her head on his shoulder, "I'm here, Obi-Wan, and I'm so, so sorry."

When he had been young, he had been told that the Jedi weren't supposed to fall in love. And if he had held onto that way of being, he wouldn't be heartbroken now.

But he couldn't regret his feelings for the queen who could be simultaneously the most beautiful woman in the room and still have the best aim with a blaster.

Her aggressive negotiations were as clever as her empathy for the galaxy was unfailing.

No, Obi-Wan could not regret his feelings for her developing into something that was more than friendship. Padme was a light in his world, and even if she was beyond his reach, he still admired her.

Obi-Wan hugged Rey, burying his face into her shoulder as he let his heart shattered.

oOo

Obi-Wan still felt a bit disconnected from the world as he sat with Rey, Ahsoka, Qui-Gon, Rex, Fives, Appo, and Dooku on the Serreno Senate platform.

A little absently, he said, "Rey, has our relationship changed at all since we discovered you're actually my granddaughter?"

"Aside from you feeling guilty about theoretically dying during a civil war in an alternative universe, no," she answered. Then smiled at him, her hazel eyes warm, "We've been family since the beginning."

The three clones exchanged looks, and Appo asked tentatively, "Um, I don't mean to be rude, but is the whole time travel business a normal thing throughout the galaxy?"

"No," everyone answered.

Qui-Gon smiled, "Rey is the first time traveller anyone has ever been able to confirm."

Rex, Fives, and Appo let out sighs of relief.

"I didn't tell anyone for years," Rey said, "I thought I was crazy."

"That's because you are," Ahsoka told her with a smile.

Rey stuck her tongue out at her and Ahsoka giggled.

Obi-Wan was half smiling when he spotted the man's whose holoimagine he had been trying to purge from his mind into the Force for nights now. "That's him."

They all turned to look at the blue-eyed young man who stood proudly in his black finery, a long cape accenting his broad shoulders.

The younger man was taller than Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan wasn't in the habit of comparing himself to other men, least of all stuck up politicians. But he couldn't diminish this man's career that was as impressive as the woman's he was going to wed.

"That's the man Padme is going to marry," Obi-Wan said, "The Senator of Mustafar, Anakin Skywalker."

Orchestra: DUN, DUN, DUN, DUN, DAH, DUN, DUN, Dun! Dah-Da-Dun da-dun, Dun-da-DUN!

End of Act II: Daughter of a Clone

Readers: Where the kriff did Anakin go? Me: Wait for it. Just wait for it- There. He's right there, damnit! Imperial March :D

I Find Your Lack of Faith Disturbing: Will be the title of the continuation of this story.

AN: Please, please consider reviewing?