Chapter Twenty - The Best Day of His Life


Obi-Wan arrived in Theed about three hours before local sunup. It would have been more convenient to fly directly to the house, but Imperial regulations dictated that all ships dock at spaceports. Blasted bureaucrats. Kenobi chartered transport to the crossroads that was less than three kilometers from his destination.

Obi-Wan walked slowly through the forest, keeping the edge of the Southeed Plain in sight, enjoying again the smells and sounds of Naboo. A nightsinger trilled its last song before sunup, then flew off into the auburn sky as Obi-Wan approached the house. He removed his outer robe before knocking softly on the door. That won't be loud enough to wake anyone, and if someone is up, they'll hear it.

Laurae opened the door. She smiled. "Good morning, sir, come in. She will be pleased to see you."

Obi-Wan smiled and entered. He followed Laurae to the parlor, but then he exhaled suddenly, feeling dizzy. The Force was gone. Obi-Wan never used it any more, for fear of discovery, but its mere presence was still a comfort. The Jedi remembered the ysalamiri that he had planted here, but when he left, their influence was limited to a radius of a few meters. How had their force-resistant bubble expanded to cover the entire house?

Obi-Wan shook his head a little to clear it; Laurae was speaking. "Mistress Padmé will be with you shortly, sir. Please make yourself comfortable." He heard running water from the back of the house; Padmé must be bathing. Laurae switched on a light and turned to leave, but stopped when Obi-Wan reached into a pocket of his outer robe.

"For you, Laurae. Your parents and brother send their love and asked me to tell you how proud they are of you. I understand they also have some good news." Smiling, he put a large, thick envelope into her hands. "In spite of your conspiracy with Madam Orla to lure me here, I congratulate you, Lieutenant Antilles."

"L…Lieutenant?" Laurae stammered. Kenobi nodded. She saluted, grinning. "Thank you, General." Obi-Wan saluted back. "Please excuse me, sir," she said, excitement in her voice. He nodded and she dashed out to tell Padmé that he was waiting.

Obi-Wan smiled and looked around the chamber. It looked much the same as it had over two years before, though more books were on the shelves. He stood and examined the titles for several minutes as the sun rose, pouring into the chamber through the large front window. After Verlane, she had come to enjoy the book of Jedi poetry as much as he had, so he hadn't taken it to Alderaan. He saw it on a stand by itself, and it was obviously well-cared for.

He was so absorbed in memories that he didn't notice Padme's presence until he felt a small, warm hand in his own. The touch was comforting, yet exhilarating. Padme's sweet voice was like rain in a desert as he heard, "I'm afraid that most of the books I read these days have lots of pictures in them, Master Jedi. But I do like the novels you've sent – thank you."

Obi-Wan turned to look at Padmé. Her skin and smile glowed as she looked up at him. He took her hand in both of his, but then she pulled him in for a tight hug. "Welcome home, Obi-Wan," she whispered happily. He put his arms around Padmé, breathing in the scent of soap and shampoo, a clean fragrance he had always liked.

Neither of them let go for a full minute, content to be together at last.

"You look so different," Padmé finally murmured. Then she chuckled. "Though I don't know why, you looked like this the day you left." She pulled back just far enough to look at Obi-Wan's face, then she reached up and touched his clefted chin.

"Anonymity is my refuge. I'm not a Jedi any more," Obi-Wan jested sadly. He wiped away the damp he found on his love's face. "None of that, Padmé," he murmured. "It's all right."

"Now it is." Padme's eyes shone with more joyful tears.

"How are you? How are the twins doing? And Laurae?" he queried as Padmé led him to the sofa. The sun caught in her eyes and lightened them to amber. Obi-Wan wanted to linger there, but he instead withdrew his gaze and waited for an answer.

"So many questions," she said quietly. "We're all just fine."

Padmé blinked when she said it: Liar's sign.

"Please sit," Padmé continued. Obi-Wan remained standing and looked sternly at the woman he loved. She sighed and sat on the sofa. "I forgot what conversation with a Jedi is like."

"I can't sense the Force here, but there are other ways of telling when someone is not telling the truth," he said with a smile. That said, Obi-Wan sat next to Padmé.

Sorrow flitted across her face for only a moment, but a little worry lingered. "It just makes me sick, staying and hiding while all this has been going on. I don't regret that choice, it's finally sunk in that I wouldn't have been able to single-handedly change the course of events and prevent the Clone War or keep the Republic together." Padmé glanced at Obi-Wan's face; his eyes were fading from bright to pale blue as she watched.

Now she figures it out, Obi-Wan thought.

She continued, "Even though I've always trusted you, and I've been keeping a low profile to keep us safe, I still feel uneasy." Padmé shook her head, looking at her hands. "I'm no Jedi, I'm not even sure if it's anxiety or something else, but sometimes I feel as though I'm suffocating." She leaned forward, her expression a mixture of hope and dread. "I'm still amazed that the citizens of the Republic would ever support the idea of becoming subjects of an Empire. I can't believe that there are people out there who blame the Jedi for the instability."

"Count Dooku's separatist movement was what started the Clone War in the first place. We're very careful about protecting my identity, since so many Jedi have been slaughtered. I am one of two left. Vader has hunted the rest of us down." Obi-Wan's face hardened as he spoke of his people.

"Who is the other?" Padmé queried, voice trembling.

"Master Yoda." She covered her mouth with her hand, eyes liquid and sorrowing. He knew who she was thinking of. "I'm sorry to have to say this, but Alanna died at Dathomir." Obi-Wan bowed his head. Padmé remained silent. "Moanilula was with Yoda for a while, but Vader found her working in a hospital on Ansion."

He wanted to comfort her, he hadn't come all this way just to make her miserable. Obi-Wan took Padme's hand in both of his own again, pressing it reassuringly. "It isn't easy, not using the Force when that's what I was trained to do from the crèche, but not using it has kept me hidden so far. I am able to keep Naboo under surveillance. Between that and Laurae, you're being very carefully watched over." They exchanged tentative smiles as Padmé nodded.

"I can ask for nothing more." Blink – lying again – but he chose not to pursue it as Padmé stood. "Your being here has turned today into a party, so put these worries aside for now. Come see Leia and Luke."

She held out her hand, and Kenobi took it. He didn't let go as they walked from the parlor. Obi-Wan glanced at Padmé, and saw that she was watching him. They smiled a little self-consciously, but neither of them looked away from each other until they were in the nursery.

Obi-Wan marveled at how the babies had grown in less than three years. They weren't babies any more, but children now. He and Padmé stood there for a while, still holding hands, just gazing at Luke and Leia. That familiar paternal glow came over Obi-Wan again, and he let himself enjoy it.

They were creeping out when a little voice rang out, "Mama!" The blond, blue-eyed boy clambered out of his bed and hugged his mother's knees, looking at the stranger.

Padmé gathered Luke in her arms, saying, "I can never get away with anything, with this one. He will be a Jedi, won't he?" He sensed a little fear in her voice, that her son would be discovered, but it was a distant fear, since there were no Jedi left to take Luke away from her. Padmé and Obi-Wan both knew that neither child would be drawing breath if the Emperor knew of their existence, and Kenobi intended to keep it that way.

"He has what it takes," Obi-Wan replied, remembering how the boy had sensed Kenobi using the Force when he was only a few days old. Now Luke gazed at the former Jedi with Anakin's eyes. He's going to be a handful when he grows up. So was his father. Then again, so was I. Padmé bowed her head in acceptance, kissing her son's forehead.

Leia stirred. She stared with wide eyes at the visitor, then crowed a the sight of her mother. Luke looked at his sister, who was now holding her arms out to Padmé. He wrinkled his little brow in thought, then dove for Obi-Wan. Though startled, the former Knight caught the boy in his arms, getting a firmer grip as Padmé picked up her daughter . He knew that Leia wanted to be held, too. He made room for her, Obi-Wan marveled.


After breakfast, Padmé and Obi-Wan gave Laurae the morning off. Then they took the children outside. The twins played with Artoo and Threepio while Obi-Wan and Padmé visited, catching up on their work and her family.

Leia scared Obi-Wan and Padmé at one point. She was three meters up the garden trellis when Padmé saw her and moaned. She was hurrying over to the lattice when a board broke under Leia's foot, and she fell.

It was instinctive, and if he was faced with the same choice again, he'd do the same thing. Smothering panic and his awareness of Padme's startled yelp, Obi-Wan summoned the Force and lowered the girl to the ground. Leia got a strong scolding for her little escapade, but she was over her fright within a minute and back to playing in the garden.

Leia's return to the grassy area alerted Obi-Wan to the fact that Luke was nowhere in sight. He stretched out with his mind, just for a moment. The boy was running at full speed for the base of the mountains.

"Stay here," Obi-Wan said to Padmé. He sprinted after Luke and caught up when they were about twenty meters from the first boulders. This kid is fast, he thought. As Obi-Wan grabbed Luke and turned back to the house, the boy began to fuss. The Jedi wasn't sure how to soothe the toddler, so he hurried back to the house. Luke just hugged his mother and returned to play with his sister. "Are they always like this?" Obi-Wan asked as he sat on the bench.

"Oh, no. They're really well-behaved today, it must be because you're here," she said. Seeing Obi-Wan's face, she giggled. "I wasn't joking," Padmé added.

"That's what scares me," Obi-Wan replied. Then he remembered the peculiar sensation he felt when he chased Luke down. "Padmé, how is it that the ysalamiri's influences have expanded so much? The bubble's size didn't change at all from the time I brought them here to the time I left. Now it's huge."

Padmé smiled. "Come with me." They stood. She put her arm around his waist and led him around the back of the house. He felt the Force leave as they entered the garden; they were still about sixteen meters away from the tree that he'd attached them to so long ago.

When they reached the base of the tree, she pointed up. "No vornskrs on Naboo."

Obi-Wan's jaw dropped. Six ysalamiri were now resting on the branches. "They had babies about a year ago," Padmé said. "Did you know when you brought them from Myrkr that you had gotten one male and one female?"

"No. They can obviously tell the difference well enough, but I can't," Obi-Wan joked, shaking his head. He grinned. "Congratulations," he called to the ysalamiri. Then he sniffled.

Padmé tightened her hold on his waist, shaking him a little. "Silly," she muttered. She smiled up at Obi-Wan. "I like this, we're on even footing now."

"That's why I don't like them, in spite of the protection they provide," he replied, salt-and-spice brows raised over bright blue eyes.

"You don't like them because you're allergic to them," Padmé protested.

"That, too." Obi-Wan steered her away from the tree, and breathed deeply when he felt the Force return.

"Spoilsport."

They returned to the garden, where Luke and Leia were waiting. The little boy smiled more knowingly than any two-year-old had a right to while Leia chirped, "Pick-a-back!"

Obi-Wan crossed his arms over his chest and smiled sternly at the toddler. "What do we say?"

"Peese!" two little voices chorused.

Obi-Wan led the girl to the bench, then turned around while she clambered up. Leia hopped on his back, and Obi-Wan was off, Luke at his heels.

"You mustn't let them wear you out like this," Padmé called.

"Are you kidding?" Obi-Wan yelled back, just before they disappeared around the front of the house. He was having the time of his life, making up for three years of having few reasons to smile.

When they returned, Leia dropped off Obi-Wan's back. Luke was already on the bench. He waited, a little impatiently, for Kenobi to catch his breath. Then the former and future Jedi ran around the clearing again, Padmé joining them this time.
After a seemingly interminable wait, the Imperial shuttle was almost ready to go.

In his effort to be patient, Vader reminded himself that the Narendrans' culture was focused more on natural science than technology. Nevertheless, the squashy, periscope-necked technicians had repaired and refueled the ship with a minimum of fuss. The Imperial shuttle was space-worthy soon enough.

The Sith had spent some of the previous hours calculating the other ship's probable trajectories. The third-most likely destination was Naboo. Darth Vader frowned, even though the expression made the scars on his face stretch and ache.

Suddenly, light flooded the Sith's consciousness. Someone was using the Force, a skilled light user. A Jedi. The sense of it blossomed like one of...Her...favorite flowers, what was is called...a leia.

So far away, Vader thought. Yet the light from a single candle can be seen from kilometers away, when it stands alone.

Fool
, he sneered silently. I hope whatever you did was important, because now I know you're out there.

He spent several minutes in contemplation. Other than Tattooine, Naboo was at the top of his list of worlds that he never wanted to visit again. That little shuttle had been heading straight for Algor. A Jedi on Naboo, the Emperor's homeworld, that was just absurd.

Finally, Vader opened a communication channel to his pilots and told them where they were going. The Imperial shuttle lifted off into space.
Obi-Wan chuckled at the children's antics as they ate lunch. He was pleased to see that Laurae and Padmé were friends; Laurae excitedly told Padmé that she had a new nephew named Wedge.

Luke even insisted on sharing his food with the guest, though his aim was not good – Padmé cried with laughter as Obi-Wan spent the next few minutes blowing fruit purée out of his nose and wiping it off his face. "You should have seen their second birthday. Luke pushed a piece of cake into Threepio's mouth," she chuckled.

Leia looked at Obi-Wan. "Are you Daddy?"

Obi-Wan choked on his fruit, blushing furiously. He glanced at Padmé as he coughed.

She was just as embarrassed, and she asked her daughter, "Where did you hear that word, Leia?"

"Kenny." Leia ate another kiri. Luke just watched, curious.

"Oh..." Mortified, Padmé covered her face in her hands.

Obi-Wan was confused. "Kenny?"

One brown eye peeked out from between Padme's slender fingers. "Sabe's son, Kenobi. She, uhm, named him after you. Hero of Naboo and all that." She paused, then added wickedly, "Though she always thought you were cute."

Obi-Wan felt his face go up in flames again.

Padmé mercifully changed the subject. "I've never used that word around them, but I suppose they had to learn it sooner or later."

"I had a mental image of Leia asking every man who comes by that same question," he laughed.

It was Padme's turn to laugh. "Every man? What men? You think I've actually had a life outside my work, Sola, Sabé, and these two hellions?"

"So you don't –" Obi-Wan felt hope bubble within his chest.

"Of course not." Padmé had her Queen face on, he knew better than to ask her for clarification when she was already embarrassed. But then she glanced at him, and her blush deepened as she whispered, "Only you."
After lunch, Padmé noticed that Obi-Wan looked tired. Poor man, he was in hyperspace for hours before coming straight here. And he's used to Alderaan's twenty-hour day, not our hundred-minute-per-hour, thirty-hour day. She suggested that he sleep for a while.

"Oh, no, I don't want to miss a thing," he protested, trying to hide a yawn. "I don't want to waste any time sleeping."

She saw the yawn anyway. "My dear, you're already asleep. And so are the children, they often take a nap at this time. You'll just have to stay later this evening to make up for it," Padmé said, smiling.

Obi-Wan gave in as he yawned again. He turned to the parlor, but she stopped him. "Don't be so stuffy. Use my chamber." He started to object again, but Padmé ignored it, physically pushing him into her bedchamber and closing him in.

Kenobi removed his boots and sat down on her bed. His eyes were closed before his head hit the pillow.
Obi-Wan woke up disoriented three hours later. The twins' voices filtered through the walls and reminded him of where he was, and why he was there. Padmé chose that moment to peek in; when she saw that he was awake, she sat down next to Obi-Wan and smiled. "Feel better?"

"Much, thank you," he replied, rolling onto his side so he was facing her. He propped himself up on one elbow, smiling. Padmé was looking down at him and failing to completely suppress a grin. "What?"

"You have pillow creases all over your face," she chuckled, rubbing Obi-Wan's cheek.

Kenobi grimaced in embarrassment; the wrinkles weren't only from sleeping face-first on pillows any more . He touched the hand that touched his face, and their eyes met. Something almost imperceptible changed in Padme's countenance, a softening that he liked. Half-sitting up, Obi-Wan reached out and touched her chin, then cradled the back of her neck in his hand, pulling her closer. Padme's gaze lit on his mouth, then her eyes slowly closed. He felt her breath warm his lips...

"Mama!" Leia was screaming. The sounds of little bodies thumping on a floor or wall reached their ears.

Their eyes opened. Obi-Wan flopped back on the bed as Padmé turned her head to look toward the door. She glanced at her guest, sighed, then leaned over and placed a quick, chaste kiss on his lips. The gesture gave Obi-Wan reason to hope that this kiss might have a sequel or two later. "Come," Padmé said, smiling. She left the bedchamber.

Still lying down, Obi-Wan released his frustration with a small sigh. Oh, well. That kind of thing would happen every day, if I lived here, he reminded himself. But he smiled as he thought it.

After a minute, he sat up and put his boots on. Then Obi-Wan followed Padmé into the nursery, where she was making peace between her children, getting them to play again.
Leia loved to dance. She pulled a frothy white skirt over her play clothes, and she and Padmé twirled together. Obi-Wan's attention was riveted, and Luke took the opportunity to creep away again. Obi-Wan noticed his absence after a few minutes and left to find the boy.

He found Luke in Padme's bedchamber, drawing on a wall with one of her pens. Obi-Wan confiscated the writing instrument and went to find something to clean up the mess before it dried. When he returned, Luke was still there. He had gone to his mother's nightstand and, just as Obi-Wan reentered the chamber, activated a holoprojector.

Kenobi was startled to see a still image of himself. He had the beard, but his hair was short, and he was dressed in his Jedi uniform. She must have gotten it while he lived here. "Obi," the boy chirped. Luke was proud to prove to his guest that he knew who Obi-Wan was.

After the moment of surprise, Kenobi moved to the nightstand and turned it off. He tickled Luke, then threw the giggling toddler over his shoulder and returned him to the nursery in silence. Obi-Wan grunted as he put Luke on his bed. He had a hard time stomaching the fact that this child was the same tiny baby he'd held easily in his two hands. Where did the time go?

"Everything okay?" Padmé asked, brow furrowed.

"Fine," Obi-Wan murmured distractedly. He left the nursery.

I could understand a holo of Anakin, but me? And do I always look that peevish? Obi-Wan wondered as he rubbed the ink from Padme's walls.

"So you don't –"

"Only you."

Is it possible? That could mean any number of things.


Padmé put Luke's inclination to draw to better use after Obi-Wan returned; she set her son in the common room with several colored pencils and some paper. Leia joined him for a few minutes, but then she moved back into the nursery to dress up again. Obi-Wan and Padmé howled with laughter again when Artoo emerged, beeping disgustedly, a feathered pink robe draped around him. A crown of plast beads was perched on his dome.

Through the afternoon, Padmé and Obi-Wan talked, played with the children, laughed, and looked at each other. Even the peace and healing that had taken place on the Verlane he had spent here was not as blissful as the chaotic happiness that now reigned in the house.
The Imperial shuttle landed at Theed Spaceport just before local sundown. The Sith Lord had spent the last five hours orbiting Naboo. He spent that time focusing on the location of the Jedi who had eluded him earlier that day. His mind had started to buzz as they passed over the mountain range east of the capital city, so he ordered his pilots to land and arrange transport for him.

Vader began to zero in on the forest where the Jedi Knight could be found. The Knight's Force sense was intermittent; it had taken Vader most of the evening to find him. He must have remarkable mental shields. There was one particular Knight that had not been accounted for, whom Vader hoped to find tonight.

The frightened screams of dozens of Jedi younglings filled his mind as the foundations of the Temple began to quake. Even after three years, he still could not get that sound out of his head, damn it. The screams mingled with those of Padawans, Knights, even Masters, but it was the shrieks of the little children that rent Anakin's heart. Vader shoved the memory away – and his former self's weak, compassionate feelings – as he focused on more gratifying ideas.

If, indeed, today's prey was Kenobi, then carrying out his Master's extermination order would be a pleasure.
Late that evening, after a bath, three songs, two stories, and a last-minute glass of water each, the twins finally dropped off the sleep. Obi-Wan shivered a little as he followed Padmé to the parlor; Luke had aimed his tub-time splashes very well and drenched the Jedi from the top of his head to his waist.

Padmé knew their time together was ending. She led him to the sofa in the parlor, by the window. They sat in the silver moonlight that flooded the chamber . Padmé sat sideways next to her guest in the darkness and drew her knees up to her chest. "I still miss Anakin. Not so much in the way that I used to," Padmé amended, blushing. "It isn't easy, raising these two alone, even with Laurae. Thank you so much for sending her, by the way. She's a great help to me, and knowing that I can still call on you is very reassuring.

"Anakin probably wouldn't have been like this anyway, even if he hadn't deceived you and the Jedi. It was a lovely affair; he swept me off my feet. But he still wouldn't be around much. I'm not even sure if we would have lasted. Three years isn't long, but marriage would already have become a burden if we'd been together every day, instead of once in a while." She sighed. "Luke and Leia still wouldn't have much of a father. I doubt the Council would have let him live with me, or help me raise them, while still remaining a Knight of the Order." Padmé looked through the window at the moon, its light illuminating her lovely face.

Obi-Wan's attention was drawn to her mouth, reminding him of the few kisses they had shared. He didn't want to leave without finishing the one that had almost happened earlier that day. Obi-Wan blinked to break the spell, focusing his gaze on Padme's hands instead. "I miss him often. I had misgivings when he was assigned by the Jedi Council to protect you, and I should have said something when I sensed his enthusiasm." He ducked his head to prevent his next thought from forming itself into words: But I understand why he loved you, Padmé. Kenobi still wasn't completely sure how Padmé felt about him.

"No, you shouldn't have said anything," she protested. "I don't regret it. His affection was irresistible, and then with his mother dying and the battle on Geonosis, every experience seemed to bring us closer together. I fought it at first, but after what happened, I loved him too. I really did love him, Obi-Wan, but there are a lot of things I wish I'd done differently. And not just about Anakin."

"I could have been a better knight-master," Obi-Wan agreed quietly. "I should have been less critical. As a devotee of the Code, I was too severe every time he put so much as a toe out of line. I was too young to train anyone, much less a special case like Anakin, but I didn't think I had a choice after Master Qui-Gon asked me to do it." He leaned back and sighed.

Padmé lowered her head, bathing her face in darkness. "Whatever my regrets are, I'm happy with my work now and with the children." Obi-Wan could see her eyes watching him from the shadows of her face. "Don't dwell on the past, Obi-Wan. There's no point."

He wanted to tell her, she'd given him the perfect opportunity to tell her how he felt. "The future has seemed so bleak for so long," Obi-Wan began.

"Bleak?" Padmé interrupted. "When Ani died, I didn't think I could ever love again. But I didn't die when he did. I still have a future, and I have hope." Obi-Wan found her words appealing, and he looked at her again, but her face was still shrouded in shadows. He couldn't tell if her next comment was continuing on the same train of thought or if it was random. Padmé looked at him once more and said, "I've missed you, Obi-Wan. I hate that we can't communicate more than a few times a year."

He smiled sadly. "I miss you, too. Except for the Temple, I'd rarely stayed in one place for more than a week...or tenday," he added, remembering the eccentricities of Naboo's calendar. "But I lived here for over half a year.

"Jedi don't have homes, but Sanctuary is as much of one as I can ever say I had."

Padmé laughed. "This pile of bricks?"

He shrugged. "It isn't where you live that makes a home, it's..." Obi-Wan's voice trailed off. He remembered the package in his pocket. He drew breath to finish.

She finished for him. "Who you share it with," Padmé murmured.

Obi-Wan's hand found hers in the darkness. "Yes."

Padmé returned his grip. "You're the best friend I've ever had, Obi-Wan."

Friend. That answers that question. Kenobi's heart seemed to constrict with sorrow. "I'm glad I could be here for you when you needed one," he said quietly. "I'm sorry, but it's late. I have to go."


Padmé was crushed. Obi-Wan must have known what she was about to say, but he didn't let her finish. He doesn't love me. She followed him as he walked to the door, suddenly very tired.
The Force flooded back into Obi-Wan's body as he approached the door. Padmé looped his robe over her arm as he opened the door for her. "I'm so glad you came, Obi-Wan. I never properly thanked you for all of your help when I was pregnant, and then you only gave me three minutes' warning before you left." She leaned against the wall and handed him his outer robe. "Your 'drapes,' sir." He could see her grinning up at him in the starlight.

Obi-Wan ignored the tease as he shrugged into the hooded cloak. "I felt so useless the day they were born. I was watching you do this amazing thing, and I couldn't do anything more than hold your hand. What good is that?" He winced, remembering his frustration, fatigue, and sore fingers.

Padmé reached for his hand and halfheartedly massaged the strong fingers. Her grin softened. "Being there was enough." Kenobi shook his head. "It really was, Obi-Wan. It was the first time since Anakin died that I didn't miss him or need him, because you were there." A mischievous twinkle appeared in her eyes. "And as I recall, you did more than just hold my hand."

Obi-Wan remembered the kiss they shared while she was in labor, and he blessed the darkness that hid his blush. "You asked me to," he reminded her, smiling.

"True." Padmé kept smiling, but she suddenly looked nervous. I can't let him go without saying it, I don't care if he doesn't care, I don't even care that he doesn't want to hear it. Her gaze wandered down to their tangled fingers, and she said, "And if I ask you to again?"

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow and stepped back a little. "Look at me," he said firmly. Padmé cringed at the tone of his voice and kept her eyes on their hands, so Obi-Wan raised his hand to her stubborn chin and lifted it. Her brown eyes gazed at him in the starlight. "I need to know this. Do you love me, Padmé?" was his gentle, astonished question.

The timidity that had accompanied her last inquiry was gone. Her voice was quiet and brave, and her gaze locked onto his. "Yes, I do."

"Oh, thank the Force," he blurted, relief evident in his voice. They rushed into each other's arms.
Giddiness erupted in their minds as lips met and breath mingled. After a minute, Padmé pulled out of the kiss enough to whisper, "Am I dreaming?"

"Never wake up," Obi-Wan begged. He kissed her forehead, her eyebrow, the tip of her nose. Padmé placed her hands on his face and guided his mouth to hers again.

As the kiss deepened, she was grateful for the strong arms that kept her on her feet. This was different than Obi-Wan's previous kisses; he was still comforting and respectful, but Padmé had never sensed passion before. They both concentrated on the touch of hands and lips, and the thrill of finally saying what they had both felt for so long.

Neither one knew nor cared how long they stood outside her door, until a nightsinger began to trill. They broke apart, startled at the sound, then grinned at each other.

Obi-Wan opened his mind to the Force and focused it on his sweetheart. Affection, desire, and high esteem rode on her aura as it echoed back to him. He cupped Padme's face in his hands, caressing her cheeks with his thumbs. Her eyes were alight with ardor and happiness, and yet peace was there, too. I could get lost in these eyes.

His gaze was still on Padmé. He saw her plainly, but he also caught sight of something else in her eyes. He was coming home. A grown-up Luke ran out the front door and hugged him. He was followed closely by beautiful, elegant Leia, who hugged him, too.

Behind Leia was a girl in her teens, the spitting image her father, and as sweet and brave as her mother. Like Luke, she sported a long, thin braid that fell over her right shoulder. She grinned and kissed Obi-Wan on the cheek. Padm's seven year-old son rode on the redheaded girl's back. He reached out, and Obi-Wan swept the giggling child into his arms. The boy embraced Obi-Wan with all of the enthusiasm he could muster. All four of them spoke to him, naming him the most wonderful thing he'd ever heard.

Dad.

He looked at the twins that he'd raised with Padmé, then at the two children they'd made together. The four of them were his comfort and his joy.

Obi-Wan turned to find Padmé leaning against the doorway, arms crossed, smiling. Her face was lined by years and cares, but she was as beautiful to him as she had ever been. Kenobi set his younger son down so he could greet Padmé properly. He embraced his lovable, laughing wife, bending her backwards in a prolonged kiss that made their four children assume identical, warmly grossed-out expressions…


Obi-Wan blinked, the vision over. A family. A possible future, he thought. The affection in the children's voices made him quiver with joy, and the loneliness that Obi-Wan had carried with him since he'd returned to Alderaan disintegrated. He pressed his lips to the skin just in front of her ear. "I love you, Padmé. I love you," he murmured.

She smiled in wonder, delighted. "Oh, Obi-Wan, I love you."

He drew her into a close embrace again. "Darling," he whispered, finally expressing all the tenderness that had built up over the last three years. "If I could only ask for one thing in my entire life, I wouldn't have to any more." He reached down and brought her hand to his lips, kissing her palm softly.

Padmé smiled again. The words sounded low and throaty, the passion in his kisses affecting the timbre of his voice. Oh, the way he says it. "Dearest," she murmured, savoring the sensation of his lips against her skin.

"Do you think," he began. "Is there some way, perhaps, that we could..." Obi-Wan's voice trailed off. "I'm almost afraid to ask." Pleading blue eyes shone in the starlight.

"Don't you dare stop," Padmé whispered, her smile audible in the darkness.

The former Jedi gulped. "Marry me?"

Her voice was as steady as his was not. "Yes. We already know we can live together and not kill each other." Obi-Wan laughed softly . "And the children like you already, how could they not love you?"

"Padmé," he whispered. He remembered the box in his pocket. Kenobi pulled it out and opened it, then took his sweetheart's right hand in his. He laid a fine, silver chain across her wrist, then fumbled with the clasp on the underside, trembling the whole time. Once he finally accomplished that tremendously important task, Obi-Wan and Padmé looked at it.

Four blue diammes, one of the most precious stones native to Alderaan, were set along the bracelet. Two large in the center, two smaller ones on the outside. The gems caught the meager light of moon and stars and returned it twofold. "For us," Obi-Wan explained. "The traditional form of commitment jewelry from your world, its stones from mine. Two parents, two children, one family."

"I know what this means to you," Padmé murmured. "I love you, to be your wife is what I want, but are you sure?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan replied immediately. "Free will is the privilege the Force bequeaths to all sentients." He looked down. "There is no Code, for there are no Jedi." Padmé squeezed his hand in comfort.

"Force, I hate saying that. All I can do is listen any more. I must not use it." He ran his fingers over the bracelet. "I have chosen. You and the children are my people now.

"I am yours, body and soul, as long as we live." The brown eyes he adored shone like the diammes. Obi-Wan's breath quickened as another kiss brought them together.

"Then come back inside," Padmé whispered against his mouth. "Look at our children again before you go."

She called them "our" children, he thought. Obi-Wan thought he would burst with joy, he couldn't contain it all. His mouth connected with Padme's again, passionate and demanding. Padmé kissed him back just as fiercely...

...But they were interrupted by the whine of a speeder, the sound growing, gnawing at them.


Aerlinnuial: Thanks for the review! (Hands over a bar of chocolate and some graham crakers to go with the marshmallows) Have fun with Chapter Twenty!

Adelaide: Thank you, too! And thanks for Chapter Fifteen of Revelations, I love it!

Remus is coming along nicely - though everything else is suffering as a result, including beta work. But I've chunked out sixty pages in less than three weeks, and now it's a matter of patching and sewing the existing stuff into one fluid story, rather than a series of vignettes. I'm finding, as I write about them, that I also adore the Weasley twins and even Snape. (Well, it's more like I hate to hate Snape, but I do, poor dear jerk.) Can you tell I'm obsessed? I am by no means dumping SW to defect to Harry's world, I'm just taking a sabbatical.