It was late in the evening on Coruscant. It was beginning to get dark and there was a rain storm coming in. The air taxi speeder pulled up to the platform; it's only occupant being a Jedi Master. Once the mission was over and they had returned back to the city planet, Obi-Wan had said his goodbyes to Anakin and grabbed the first air taxi. Stepping out of the vehicle and pulling his robe tightly around him, Obi-Wan headed towards the place he called home. Obi-Wan was grateful to be able to finally return to the apartment he and Chae shared.
Chae had come into possession of the apartment some years before, thanks to the help of the Kibibi family and the then Supreme Chancellor Valorum. Even though she had reluctantly agreed to rejoin the Order, Chae didn't want to remaining living in the Temple itself. She wanted to raise her child away from the Order, wanting the child to have as normal a life as possible; but remain close enough for Chae to easily travel in for her duties as a Jedi. It also meant that Evie could to go to the Temple and visit her friends.
For the first few years of her life, Evie had spent many a day in the crèche with the other very young children whilst her mother with busy with her Jedi duties. Chae had always remembered her father's words: it takes a village to raise a child. Chae had to admit she had been grateful having her father and the other Jedi around, along with the help of Asia's family.
Evie had taken her lack of Force abilities better than anyone expected. Chae had feared that she would resent being different from her friends. With the right support, and plenty of love, Evie had grown up accepting that she was different from her friend group. Just because she wasn't Force sensitive, like her friends, it didn't make her any less of a person.
The apartment they lived in was large and spacious. Immediately to Obi-Wan's left, as he from the small hallway from the door, was a bathroom. At the other end of the space was two bedrooms. The middle area was the living area and a kitchenette.
He was greeted by V-55, their silver protocol droid, as he entered the apartment. "Good evening Master Kenobi. Miss Chae will be delighted to finally have you home".
"General Kenobi..." Chae said, with a playful smile on her face, mischief in her emerald green eyes, as he moved further into apartment.
Obi-Wan took a moment to take in the sight of the woman he loved so much. She was still dressed in her Jedi robes so she had likely been to the Temple that day. Since becoming a healer and a part time librarian under Jocasta Nu, Chae had made the choice to change her robes. They were almost identical to those of Jocasta, except Chae had gone for a terracotta and black colour scheme rather than the mustard and black colour scheme of Jocasta's robes. Chae wore her hair down more now. It was still its very dark chocolate colour, but there was a slight hint of grey appearing. The hair curled into ringlets at the ends. Obi-Wan felt the look suited her.
Obi-Wan closed the gap between them, planted a gentle kiss on her forehead and pulled her in for a tight hug. It had been too long since they had last seen each other; and equally as long since he had her physically close. Chae wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest.
"I've missed you so much," Obi-Wan whispered.
"I know… I've missed you too."
After a time, Chae broke free of his hold and held Obi-Wan at arms length. She had sensed his exhaustion when he had returned home but now, in the light of the main living area and kitchenette, it was clear on his face just how tired he really was. She had also felt the despair and trauma he was going through. Chae had suspected Obi-Wan would feel like hell once he returned home and she had prepared for this. She had already instructed V-55 to run a hot bath as soon as Obi-Wan arrived home.
"Now, you need some TLC. You've been through a lot," Chae stated and lead Obi-Wan to the bathroom before he could protest.
Once Obi-Wan had undressed he lowered himself into the hot water. The steam rising from the water had a pleasant scent to it. Chae had, at some point, undressed too. Stepping into the tub behind him, Chae adjusted her position, and moved her legs apart, as Obi-Wan leaned back, lying back into her arms. Obi-Wan closed his eyes and relaxed into her.
Having these quiet moments together were few and far between since the Clone Wars started. They talked about general subjects whilst Chae gently massaged his temples and scalp. That was one of the perks of living with a healer. Chae just seemed to know what to do to help him relax. She was able to help heal his soul and his physical body in a way the other healers at the Temple just couldn't. Maybe it was their love and their bond through the Force.
Chae studied the scars on his body as they relaxed in the water together. Each one told a story – each one a reminder of a battle. The deep scar on his thigh was the most obvious of them all. It served as a reminder of the day Obi-Wan came close to being murdered in cold blood. The blaster scar on his shoulder, from the same fight with Omar Organa, had faded almost completely away over time; same as the one on his cheek, which was hidden by his facial hair now. Chae was thankful for each day that he returned home to her.
Once they were done with the bath, they dried themselves, wrapped towels around themselves and retired to the bedroom in order to change into their nightwear. Obi-Wan pulled on the dark coloured pyjama bottoms and a loose fitting beige tunic style sleep shirt that V-55 had left out ready for him. Chae had disappeared into the walk in wardrobe, returning some minutes later dressed in a long white nightdress with a knitted long blue and purple robe.
"What did I do to deserve someone as beautiful as you?" Obi-Wan asked, sitting on the bed and pulling her into his lap.
A mischievous grin crossed Chae's face. "I have no idea. Lets face it, you're punching above your weight with me."
Obi-Wan was about to respond with something along the lines of Chae being far too cheeky and she was heading the right way for a spanking, when V-55 gently tapped on the door.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, but Senator Organa is here with young miss Evana," the droid informed them.
"We'll be right out," Chae called and, to Obi-Wan, responded, "you can always give me that spanking later."
"Sometimes I wish you weren't able to get into my head so easily," Obi-Wan grumbled good naturedly, as Chae got up of of his lap and started to head towards the bedroom door.
"Or you could try not being so obvious." With that, Chae sauntered out of the bedroom.
That damn woman! He thought to himself. With a sigh, Obi-Wan stood up and headed back into the living area. Chae was already fussing over Evie when he appeared. Even though she was only ten years old, Evie was already tall for her age. She had her biological father's darker Organa features; but she had her mother's startling green eyes. She was excitedly telling her mother about her trip to Alderaan when she caught sight of Obi-Wan.
"Obi-Wan!" Evie squealed loudly, and bolted across the room at him, barrelling into him and hugging him tight. Obi-Wan couldn't help but laugh as he took a step back to stop himself from losing his balance.
Chae looked at Bail Organa and said, "thank you for having Evie."
With a smile, Bail responded, "it's always a pleasure to have her stay." With a pause, he took in Obi-Wan and added, "it's good to have you back General."
"I'm glad to be home," Obi-Wan admitted. "I get to see the two most important ladies in my life."
Politely making his excuses, Bail took his leave. It pleased Obi-Wan that Chae and Bail had finally managed to repair their fractured relationship. It had been very hard for Chae to let go when it came to the events all those years ago when Evie was a baby. Back when Bail Organa had attempted to take custody of of the child; which had then resulted in Evie's kidnap and an attempt on Chae's life as well. As a result things had been incredibly frosty between them – Chae didn't trust Bail and Bail was angry at Chae's actions. After much reflection, Bail had realised that he had gone about the situation all wrong and had given Chae a heartfelt apology. Now their relationship was much better; and Evie would regularly go and stay with her family on Alderaan.
After some persuasion, Evie finally agreed to go to bed. But on the condition that Obi-Wan be the one to read her a bedtime story. Once V-55 had assisted Evie in getting ready for bed – and gone back to their docking station for the night - Chae watched Obi-Wan from the doorway of their child's bedroom. Obi-Wan was tucking Evie in, who was now fast asleep. He bent down and gently kissed the child on the side of her head. It warmed her heart seeing him with her child. Despite not being Evie's biological father, Obi-Wan had taken to being the child's father figure like a natural; despite becoming her father figure in his early twenties.
If Chae was honest with herself, Evie's birth had helped both of them change for the better. They had been young and headstrong at the time, but Evie had brought them together. It had made they reevaluate a lot of things. It had been the catalyst for the start of their relationship.
As Obi-Wan stood, he stifled a yawn. Chae quietly stepped into the bedroom, took hold of his hand and led him out; guiding him towards their own bedroom. Lying in bed, and pulling the blankets over himself, Obi-Wan rolled onto his side to look out of the window. It had finally started raining; the rain gently hit against the bedroom window. Traffic could still be heard buzzing around. Closing his eyes, Obi-Wan realised just how tired he really was. The white noise of the rain and the traffic was soothing and Obi-Wan couldn't fight the tiredness any longer.
He was vaguely aware of the mattress moving, as Chae climbed into the bed next to him. Obi-Wan felt her body rest against his back as she draped an arm around him. He drifted into unconsciousness, feeling safe in this spooning position, Chae lulling him to sleep with the Force. Chae felt him fall asleep and gently placed a kiss on his shoulder.