Anakin POV

Four days later, I got a summons from Master Yoda to meet him in a meditation room in the Tower of First Knowledge at the Temple. The strange thing was that Padme was supposed to come too. Shmi came and watched the kids as we headed over there. I had a bad feeling.

"What is going on?" Padme asked as a Padawan lead us to the room.

"I don't know. Obi-Wan has said nothing."

"Here it is," said the Padawan, stopping at a small door "I am not supposed to come in."

I smiled at the boy. "Thank you."

He grinned at me, and walked away. I wondered if that would be Jinn, one day.

I stared at the door, and suddenly got a cold feeling down my spine. Something told me that they did not meet with every parent this quickly, they couldn't. Padme reached for my hand, and I grabbed it.

"Something's wrong," she said. "What are we going to do?"

"We could sell them and buy a speeder," I said.

"Anakin!" She cried.

"What do you want to do? Jedi or not, they're our children. Leia is twenty-three years old and has just begun her Jedi training. She is more politician than Jedi. But she is still my daughter. If Luke had never become a Jedi would you be disappointed?"

"No.".

"We go in, hear them out, then figure the rest out later."

"Okay."

"Come here."

We shared our secret kiss, and somehow it gave me strength. When we broke away, I opened the door and we walked into the meditation room.

"Welcome. Glad you are here, I am," said Master Yoda sitting on one of the cushions in the center of the room.

"Hello Master Yoda," said Padme.

"Good morning, Master," I said, and bowed.

"Sit, you must. Talk, we will," he said.

We sat down on the chairs. I placed my hands in my lap and took a deep breath. Yoda would tell me everything I needed to know.

"Examined the children, Myra did. Report to the Council, she did."

"Yes," I said.

"Recommended admittance into the Academy, she did," he said.

"That what she told us," said Padme.

"Agree with her, the Council does."

"That's excellent!" said Padme.

I said nothing.

"In regards to Jinn Skywalker," said Yoda.

Padme looked at me confused, and I shrugged. They did know there was two of them right? "What about Ashla, Master?" I asked.

"Admitted, Ashla is not."

A wave of anger and sadness rush over me at the same time. Knowing I could not rip off Yoda's head, I thought about what Depa would tell me to do. Okay, the lake on Naboo, Padme's wedding dress, our honeymoon, the first one where everything was great. Padme's soft eyes, her lips. Okay, try to diplomatic.

"Master, what lead you to that decision?"

"Innocent, the child is, but struggles, she will have. Difficult for her to find peace, I see. Different path than Jedi, I suggest for her."

"Struggles how?"

"Pain. Anguish. Abnormal for a Jedi. Not unlike your journey, Anakin."

"She could be a Sith?" cried Padme.

"The Dark Side, I see not in her. To his illness, I was referring to."

"She could struggle with her emotions?" I asked.

"Hmm," Yoda confirmed.

"Could this lead to the Dark Side if she does not have a good teacher?"

"Hmm," he said.

I thought for a minute. I had an idea, but there was no way that they were going to let me do that. Maybe. It would not hurt to ask.

"Could I teach her? Take her on as a Padawan? I have been diagnosed for a little over two years now. I have struggled, but I have ultimately resisted the Dark Side. By the time she is ready to be trained, I will be with the light for almost a decade. She could tell me anything. I would be there for her as a master and a father."

Yoda's ears bent down in thought. "Trained to resist the dark, by one who turned back to the light, hmm. Interesting. Meditate on your proposition I will."

"Thank you, Master."

I bowed then grabbed Padme's hand and we left.

We got home, and saw that my mom had started Shaak pot roast and some mixed vegetables for dinner.

"Mom, you didn't have to," I said.

"You just throw it in the oven and bake it. It's not hard," she said.

"Did the kids behave?" asked Padme.

"They were angels."

"Good. Is Qui-Gon here?" I asked.

"He is in the living room with Jinn."

I walked into the living room and saw Qui-Gon on the floor playing. Jinn was using square blocks to build a castle of some description.

"Hey," I said.

"Hello, Ani," he said.

"Are they being good?"

"Yeah. Ashla asked for you a little, cried when you did not come home at 1700, but she was happy when grandma gave her a sweet-sand cookie."

Ashla was already having problems. "Did it worry you?"

"It's a little separation anxiety because the routine is off. Happens to lots of kids. Nothing to fuss about, why?"

"We got the results back from testing the kids. They said that Jinn is fine, and they want to enroll him as soon as possible."

"That's excellent," he said. "What about Ashla?"

"They rejected her admittance into the Academy. They think she will struggle emotionally like me and maybe…"

"Turn to the Dark Side," he said, standing up.

"Yeah."

"So now we are going to watch for traces of evil in a one year old? Anakin they did that to you and you resented them for it."

"I know." I ran my fingers through my hair. "I don't know what to do. She is just a baby, and her whole future got decided today. Yoda said there would be pain in her instruction, like there was mine."

"So that means we shouldn't do it?"

"I don't know."

Qui-Gon sighed. "Do you regret being trained?"

I thought about it. My years with Obi-Wan working, going on missions, meeting Padme, our time on Naboo, being a general in the clone wars, making friends with Rex, training Ahsoka, all of it flashed through my mind. I weighed it against what happened after Order 66, Padme dead, hunting Jedi, getting my suit operated on, being hunted by assassins if Palpatine was mad. Was it worth the risk?

"I am a Jedi," I said. "Somehow, I can't imagine my life without it. If I could do it differently, I would. Kill Palpatine sooner, like years sooner. Raised Luke and Leia myself with Padme. But I loved being a Jedi. I loved helping people, fixing things."

"Maybe she should have a chance at happiness, even if there is a possibility that things can go wrong," said Qui-Gon.

"Yeah. Even if it's tough, she should be trained."