Title: A New Order

Author: Jedikma

A/N: Thanks again for the reviews. Hope you continue to enjoy.

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Chapter 13

In the doorway stood Senia, one of the human female caretakers of the children. She was a stout middle-aged woman with graying brown hair and a moon-shaped face. On either side of her, she had a little boy by the hand.

"Mama!" Reeft exclaimed as he pulled himself away from the woman's grip to rush to his mother, arms outstretched. Almost instantly the fair-haired child had climbed on top of the bed and was snuggling under one of Siri's arms.

Garen, too, gave his hand a yank as he pulled away from the caretaker, but he moved only slightly inside the doorway.

"Thank you for bringing them Caretaker Senia. I'll bring them back later." Obi-Wan informed her.

"Of course, Master Kenobi. Remember, bedtime is at 2030 and all the children should be in bed at that time."

Though he felt slightly ruffled by the woman's curtness, he politely gave his assurance that the children would be back before lights out.

As soon as Senia exited the room, Barriss entered. The young healer carried a bundle in her arms and she had a wide smile on her face. "All of my assistants agree that this one is the perfect baby."

Siri laughed. "Barriss, you said the exact same thing when we had Reeft and when we had Garen. I think your assistants just like babies."

Barriss patted the underside of the bundle with one hand as she looked down at the infant in her arms. "Well, I suppose all babies are perfect and beautiful and wonderful. It's always a special day when I deliver a baby." Barriss then gave the new Jedi parents a wide smile. "I suppose I will be just as excited when my own arrives."

"Oh Barriss, congratulations!" Siri grinned. "Now you're going to find out what it's like to be on the other end of the delivery process."

Barriss groaned and rolled her eyes. "Yes, I can't say I'm looking forward to that part and healers tend to make the worst patients." Barriss gave Siri and Obi-Wan a wink. "Pity my poor assistants."

Barriss placed the infant girl into Siri's arms. "Just comm. When your ready for her to go back to the nursery." Barriss then left the room leaving the entire Kenobi clan alone.

"Oooooh, pretty baby!" Reeft purred, as he reached out a plump hand to touch the blankets that cocooned her.

"Now you boys have a sister and her name is," Siri paused and looked up at Obi-Wan. He smiled and nodded at her. "Her name is 'Bant'."

Reeft's stubby little fingers brushed across the sleeping infant's cheek and she stirred slightly.

"Come, Garen, would you like to take a look at your sister?" Obi-Wan asked his oldest as he noticed the ginger-haired boy still standing close to the door. The child was shifting from foot to foot nervously and had his hands clasped in front of him. He looked at Obi-Wan once he had been addressed.

Obi-Wan shot a quick glance to Siri and she gave him a slight shrug of the shoulders indicating that she also sensed the boy's uneasiness, but had no idea what it might be about.

Obi-Wan held out a hand to the boy, but he did not take it and he looked away from his father. Obi-Wan could then feel a strong sense of guilt and doubt coming from Garen. He squatted down in front of the boy to look directly into his eyes.

"I don't suppose you have to see her now, Garen." He placed his hands on the boy's shoulders and gave them a little squeeze. "I wonder. Is there something you want to talk to me about?"

Garen's eyes met his father's and Obi-Wan saw a deep pain in them. The child squeezed his hands together and shifted on his feet before finally finding the words he wanted to say. "Sir, I'm not a good Jedi. I think it's time I left the Jedi family."

Obi-Wan was stunned, but he remained calm in the face of the boy's words. "Tell me what happened to make you say this, Garen. I'm sure whatever is troubling you can be fixed."

Tears began to well up in the youngling's eyes. "You can't fix a useless boy," he whispered and his shoulders slumped.

Obi-Wan could sense Siri's puzzlement and confusion. He also sensed her eagerness to comment, but he quickly motioned to her to be patient. He wanted to get to the bottom of his son's guilt, but he wanted to proceed cautiously.

Obi-Wan warmly rubbed his hands down the boy's arms and spoke to him in a comforting voice. "Tell me what has happened, Garen, to make you think you are a useless boy."

A tear rolled down the boy's cheek. "I wasn't watching."

"You weren't watching what?"

"I wasn't watching Reeft. I wasn't watching Reeft and he ran away. And he got hurt and it's all my fault. And I'm a useless boy."

"Garen, what happened to Reeft is not your fault. You were not responsible for watching him." Obi-Wan tried to reason with the boy, but he could sense that Garen's feelings were already deeply ingrained within.

"Garen," Siri spoke up. "Did someone else say you were responsible?"

The boy glanced up at his mother. "Caretaker Senia told me to watch out for Reeft. She said because he was my brother that I could sense him more strongly through the Force and keep track of him. She said it was my fault he wandered away and got hurt. She said I was a useless boy if I couldn't even watch my brother."

With every new sentence that issued from the little boy's mouth, Siri's ire rose. Obi-Wan could sense her anger through the Force and see the fire spark in her eyes. "That's it, Obi-Wan!" Siri began, but Obi-Wan was anxious to keep her from upsetting Garen even more.

'Siri, calm down. You know it won't do any good to get angry right now. Especially not in front of the children." Obi-Wan tried to reason.

But Siri was too tired to care about holding back. "I never did like that old hag and I like her even less now!"

"Siri, not in front of the children." Obi-Wan pressed again. "You have to be careful of your example."

"Example? She is the poor example! Telling a four-year-old boy that it's his fault his brother wandered off and almost drowned! I want her reviewed! She needs to be removed from the job!"

Though he was trying to keep the feelings in the room under control, the tension present was only increasing. "I don't disagree with you, Siri, but-" Obi-Wan's words were abruptly cut off.

"I know exactly who to contact for this, too. Padme will agree with me, most defiantly, and I don't doubt she will see to this matter in record time." Siri's attitude had only intensified with every word until finally Garen's raw feelings of hurt and shame burst forth and the child started to cry. Tears rolled down his cheeks and sobs shook his little frame.

Then Reeft let out a wail of his own. Sensing the distress of his older brother and his mother, he didn't hold back. Obi-Wan picked up Garen in his arms and tried to settle him as Siri tried to get an arm about Reeft. Just as it appeared the parents would succeed in calming the boys, Bant awoke letting her infant lungs exercise a baleful sound.

The boys started their crying all over again and the room echoed with the noise.

"Obi-Wan?" Siri looked at him imploringly.

"Ha! Now you want me to do something? I tried to keep this from happening in the first place." Obi-Wan was now seated with Garen in his lap. His own frustration was bleeding through his words.

But Siri was looking more than emotional herself, with tears pooling in her eyes. "I'm not a poor example! I just refuse to see my children hurt like that!"

Still, though the crying was loud, the parents managed to converse over the sound. "These children look to us for answers and we are all responsible for the examples we give them!" Obi-Wan pointed out as he rubbed his son's back.

Siri looked directly at Obi-Wan at that moment and understanding dawned. "I supposed that could extend to just about everything we do in our lives, like living in a relationship and not making it a committed one. I guess it's time we set the example-"

The conversation was cut off as the rhythmic wails of the infant peaked and Siri rocked her in her arms desperately trying to quiet her, while Reeft's sobs assaulted her ears. The adult Jedi were now trying to call on a calming aspect of the Force, but weariness and the distraction of the children's cries interfered with their concentration.

Suddenly the door to the room opened. Anakin stuck his head in and gave a low whistle, which brought a surprise to the younger occupants in the room. "Talk about a disturbance in the Force! What is going on in here to cause so much turmoil to our young Jedi?"

A look of relief crossed Obi-Wan's face as he looked at Anakin imploringly and mouthed the word 'help'. Anakin didn't need further invitation. He boldly entered the room and Padme followed behind him.

The volume of the noise almost immediately dropped to half the decibel level as each of the guests took a child. Anakin picked up Garen and Padme offered to take the infant, while Siri could comfort Reeft.

"Hey, now. It's not good to have one of our future pilots so upset." Anakin said as he sent comforting waves to the child through the Force. Garen's sobs began to fade into hiccups and he gradually quieted. Then each child followed in kind and peace began to settle in the room.

Sighs of relief were finally audible.

Anakin gave his former Master a wide grin. "Do you know the noise in here could be heard half way across the Temple?"

Obi-Wan groaned inwardly. "Anakin, will you ever not take pleasure in seeing me at a loss?"

Anakin only grinned all the more. "Obi-Wan it happens so seldom that I must get my amusement in when I can. To see two accomplished Jedi Masters, who have collectively battled and brought down Sith, slave traders, and other notorious hardened criminals, completely unhinged by three very young children is too good not to enjoy."

"Anakin!" Padme admonished as she rocked the bundle in her arms.

"Don't worry, Padme." Siri said in an effort not to grin. "Right now, in the bliss of this silence, I don't care what he just said, but it's sure to come back to me later when an opportunity to retaliate happens."

Laughter began to spread among the adults and then the children joined in.