It was an excited Anakin who ran down the transport ramp toward Obi-Wan. "I heard you sent for me, Master! What are we going to do? When do I get to see everyone, especially Padmé?" He stopped short when he saw a stern look from the Jedi Knight.

"Anakin, when you're in uniform, you must carry yourself with more dignity than that. Now let's go get your bags."

The boy, now sobered, assumed a disciplined posture. "Yes, Master."

"How were your studies?"

"I learned much concerning the technicalities of using our abilities in harmony with the Force, Master," Anakin replied in a calm quiet voice. He wondered if his teacher was listening to him at all, as it seemed his mind was elsewhere.

"Um...Master...I was wondering," Anakin began.

Obi-Wan seemed to be preoccupied, but turned to look the boy in the face. "Yes, Padawan?"

The youngster suddenly retreated, uncomfortable with the idea of having disturbed his mentor. "Nothing. Sorry, Master."

Sensing that something had just gone wrong, but he wasn't sure what it was, Obi-Wan thought in silence as they continued their walk. He began to consider how to best break the news to Anakin that he was about to stand in a wedding that afternoon, thinking that might put the boy in a good mood.

"Actually, I did call you here for a reason, Ani. We have something to discuss. Our situation is undergoing a change."

Puzzled, Ani looked up, trying to read his master's face. "What kind of change?"

At that moment, Sabé called out. "Obi-Wan! Anakin, how good to see you! Don't you look wonderful!" Meira waved as hard as she could, then pushed against her mother, wanting to be put down.

When Sabé put the little girl on the sidewalk, she toddled as fast as she could to Obi-Wan. His eyes lit up and he smiled as he knelt to meet her, nothing but love in his expression.

Anakin saw this and felt the Force flow between them through their bond. A raw ache gnawed at him. His master had a rudimentary training bond with him, but nothing more than that had ever been offered. Obi-Wan had certainly never smiled at him like that, no matter how well he had done in training or academics. He stared at this strange child who had won over his master in such a short time and let his anger and resentment of her seethe within him.

Stopping short, Meira began trembling. Obi-Wan and Sabé turned to Ani and they both looked him in the eye, shocked at what they felt. The little girl broke into sudden tears, her face turning red.

His eyes never leaving Anakin, Obi-Wan swept Meira up in his arms and she hid herself within his cloak.

"Anakin," the Jedi began his reproach.

"Is that the change you're going to tell me about, Master? That I'm not measuring up, so now you've found another to train?"

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to deny Ani's accusation, but said nothing as he studied the look in his Padawan's eyes. It was familiar and he knew why. It was so very close to everything he felt that evening in the council chambers when his Master had declared his intention to take this boy as his padwan learner. His feelings torn, he stroked Meira's hair and worked on calming her as he considered what to say to Ani.

Sabé held up a hand. "Obi-Wan, perhaps you'd better spend a few minutes with Meira and teach her a new lesson." Her voice remained steady, but took on a firm tone as she turned to the apprentice. "As for you, Anakin-walk with me for awhile. We'll join you shortly, Obi-Wan."

When they entered a side street that was nearly empty, Sabé spoke. "Anakin, I'm very disappointed in you. My daughter has done nothing to deserve your hostility. She would have approached you with love if you had given her a chance."

Anakin gasped. "That was your daughter?" He lowered his head. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I'd never deliberately do anything to hurt you or those close to you, Sabé. My master had just said that something was about to change and I jumped to a conclusion. I sensed their exchange, but I had no idea that she could pick up on my feelings. Otherwise, I'd have made the effort to shield."

"Keep in mind that you never know who's around or how sensitive one can be, Ani."

"Yes, Minister," Anakin said solemnly.

"For what it's worth, I know what's going on with the two of you. Your master is trying his best. You should not compare how he relates to Meira with the relationship that he shares with you. They are completely different. He sees you as a student, therefore he maintains a distance. Qui-Gon treated him the same way, so it's the only model he has to go by." Sabé smiled, trying to give the boy some hope. "He cares about you, Ani. His concern is whether or not he's got what it takes to teach someone of your gifts. He's still learning himself. That's why he needs Meira. If anyone can help him to be more open, she's the one. You'll need to be patient. We will all have to grow together."

"I understand now. Do you think she'll hold this against me? I want to make amends."

"At her young age, she's resilient. I think we can fix it and the two of you may become fast friends." After a moment, Sabé chanced the question. "Perhaps family, even?"

As the implication of her query dawned on Anakin, he looked up in amazement. "You mean, you..and my Master...and your daughter...and me?"

Sabé lowered her voice to a whisper. "Although it might have been best to break that to you when we were together with Obi-Wan and Meira, I wanted to give you a reason to be optimistic. Think you can act surprised when your master brings it up?"

"Wow! Sure! Well, I say sure, but it's going to be hard to keep this bottled up! Sabé, the only thing that keeps it from being perfect is Mom not being with us." Anakin blinked back a brief tear, but wiped it away. Suddenly he felt a wave of disturbance in the Force. He lifted his head and glanced around, unable to discern the reason for the warning. Then he sensed the malevolence directed toward the young minister.

"Sabé, jump!" he shouted, leaping into a doorway.

As she turned, the last image she registered was a speeder heading straight for her. Then all was black.