After dinner, Obi-Wan looked down at his bowl and sighed.
"Dad would be proud of you," Anakin murmured.
"What?" Obi-Wan asked, turning to him.
"Dad would be proud of you," he repeated, "You've been doing your best to keep the family together, you have a girl who loves you, and you're balancing school and work, all on top of looking into his story. He would be proud of you."
"Anakin, I've done a terrible job of keeping the family together, I almost lost the woman I love before even telling her I love her, and I have so many doubts about school," he replied.
"But you didn't join a gang," Anakin said, nudging him.
"I didn't join a gang," he rolled his eyes. "Is that going to be the new measurement of how well we're coping with things?"
Anakin shrugged, "You got a better one?"
Obi-wan shook his head, "Not at the moment."
A silence settled in as neither of them wanted to move from the table just yet, afraid that if they did, they would sever the connection they'd just rebuilt.
Finally, Obi-Wan broke the silence, "I talked to Rex earlier while you were making dinner."
"What does he think about all of this?" Anakin asked.
"He thinks we're being a bit stupid since neither of us are trained to go undercover, but he begrudgingly accepted that it was the only option we have."
"Did you tell him who we think is behind it all?"
"No. I didn't think he would let us go forward with it all if I did," Obi-Wan admitted. "After all, he can't just keep that silent, and you know how Rex is."
"He's a shit liar," Anakin chuckled.
"He is a shit liar," Obi-Wan agreed. "Besides, this gives him plausible deniability should this blow up in our faces."
"Do you think its going to?" Anakin asked incredulously.
"I don't want to, but we don't have the best track record when it comes to being sneaky. Remember Christmas '08?" Obi-Wan asked.
Anakin shivered, "Don't remind me."
"Bottom line is: We're both bad at staying under the radar," Obi-Wan replied.
"Do you think they're going to continue to come after you and Padmé?" Anakin asked.
"I... I don't know," he admitted. "I'm hoping that if she and I lay low a few days, then they won't feel the need to finish the job. After all, if you look at the things we've collected, it wasn't quite enough to connect the dots until you showed up."
"You're right," Anakin sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You should rest. You've had a long day."
"That's what I'm supposed to tell you," Obi-Wan smirked.
"Fine! Then we'll both do the responsible thing and go to bed," Anakin said pointedly, getting up and placing his dishes in the dish washer.
Obi-Wan chuckled, "And so the Padawan has become the Master."
"As much as I'd love to be a Master, we both know I haven't earned it," Anakin said with a sad smile.
"Not yet," Obi-Wan murmured, "But one day you will."
The two of them made their way back to their rooms, but they paused outside the doors.
"Anakin... I am so proud of you," Obi-Wan told him.
Anakin hesitated for a moment, and then pulled him in for a hug. Obi-Wan held him tight for a moment and then let go.
"Go rest."
"Tomorrow's when the fun begins," Anakin winked.
Obi-Wan shook his head and went to bed. His sleep was restful, but only because the strain of the day had thoroughly worn him out. When he woke the next morning, he went through his day, finding himself at the Temple with Master Yoda.
"Troubled you seem," Yoda said thoughtfully. "Happened, something has, yes?"
Obi-Wan opened his eyes from where he was meditating and saw the old man standing in front of him, staring into his soul. "I can never keep secrets from you, can I?"
"No," Yoda chortled, "But, dangerous secrets can be. Keep them from friends, we should not."
"Not even if it protects them?" Obi-Wan sighed.
"Protect them it does, or protect you from worry?"
"Well, you always say that to worry at all is to worry alone."
"Just like a Padawan you still are, parroting answers helps not if the meaning behind them you do not see," Yoda sighed, bonking him on the head with his cane.
Obi-Wan rubbed his head and sighed. "I know who my father was investigating. By getting too close to the truth, I put Padmé in danger and now she's in the hospital and Anakin and I are trying to resolve this issue."
Yoda's eyes sparkled in curiosity. "Who?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Only fools ignore the truth," Yoda replied. "Look like a fool, I do?"
Obi-Wan took in Yoda and how he held his cane poised to strike again. "No, you don't."
"Then share with me," Yoda replied, walking towards the inner sanctum. Only once the doors were closed and they had settled on the pillows in the center did Obi-Wan explain.
"It's the mayor. He's behind it all. He's working with Count Dooku. I think they're buying up properties to gift to the gangs in the city so that they can be under their protection," Obi-Wan told him.
"Hmmm, troubling this is... Yes," Yoda said thoughtfully. "Hurt, Padmé was because you found out?"
"They sent Anakin to blow up the campaign office while everyone was on lunch and she was coming back," he sighed.
"Okay, she is. Resilient, her heart is," Yoda smiled. "Better, your relationship with your brother is?"
"We... made amends. We're working together on this now."
"Good... good," Yoda nodded. "Now, what is 'this'?"
Obi-Wan hesitated, but then Yoda held up the cane and gave him a pointed look, so he talked, telling him everything.
"Overwhelmed you must be."
"Surprisingly... no," Obi-Wan said thoughtfully, and it was true. "Doing this, finding the truth and getting justice is what I want to do. I feel like I haven't been doing it in a long time. My internship was something that I wanted for so long, but now that I have it, I'm not happy with it. I feel like I'm doing the exact opposite of what I've set out to do."
"Perhaps... not the path for you that is," Yoda said gently.
Obi-Wan looked up at him and allowed himself to agree. He'd felt that way for a while now, but he was too scared to admit it. He didn't like being wrong. "It may not be my path, but I must walk it a little longer."
"Waiting for you, at the fork I will be," Yoda winked, getting up and hobbling off.
Obi-Wan listened to his footsteps and the sound of his cane retreating as he thought about one of the last times he'd meditated here. Death, chaos, bloodshed, Padmé. He sighed. He needed to get to his internship. Pushing up from the floor, he retrieved his belongings and made his way to the office.
His day was to be easy, going through the files of their clients to find more loopholes, but then a familiar face came in.
"I'm here to see Windu," Maul smirked.
"He's out of the office currently. Went to get a coffee," Obi-Wan paused, deciding to test his luck. "From Dex's Diner. He should be back soon."
He watched Maul intently to gauge his reaction. Maul's eyes widened slightly as if seeing Obi-Wan for the first time. "Well, the coffee is shit and he'll be disappointed. Tell him I stopped by."
Obi-Wan watched the man leave the office. He was a little more jumpy than he'd been when he came in. He smirked. Good. Squirm.
Windu came out of his back office and looked at him. "Was someone here?"
"Just the mail man," Obi-Wan lied.
Windu nodded. "I see. Well, you're done for the day."
"But you have a few more clients scheduled."
"Kenobi," he said pointedly, "You are done for the day."
"Yes, Professor."
Obi-Wan packed up his things and went home, pleasantly surprised to find Anakin waiting for him on the couch.
"It's good to see..." he trailed off as he noticed the serious look on Anakin's face. "What? What is it?"
"I got a text..." he murmured. "From Dooku."