Ch. 13

"I knew it. I've thought it for months now but…I didn't want to believe it Anakin, but seeing you two in each other's arms just now certainly didn't reassure me."

"Master… I- I'm sorry," Anakin muttered in resignation. He was almost relieved that the secret was out, although he didn't want his dearest friend to find out like this.

Padme just buried her head in Anakin's shoulder, and he held her close.

Padme knew she should say something, but she couldn't. She couldn't even look at Obi Wan. Why did everyone have to find out like this? Why did those people, whom she had thought so nice and trustworthy, have to turn out to be dishonest? She tried to hide her crying from Obi Wan, extremely grateful to Anakin for holding her head in his shoulder and dealing with the situation himself. She loved him so much- he always kept her protected when she needed to be. She was ashamed of herself at this moment, but she had never felt so emotional- the death and destruction that faced them, and now this. She simply couldn't control her emotions any more.

Anakin looked at his former Master, hoping only for forgiveness. He was ashamed that Obi Wan had to find out this way. He knew that Obi Wan could not possibly understand how important of a person he was in Anakin's life, not when Anakin had kept this from him for so long.

Obi Wan's expression softened- the sight was certainly a sad yet heartwarming one. The young woman's head buried in grief in her husband's shoulder, and he so loyal, so loving…and yet this was a Jedi! His former Padawan…he couldn't help but feel betrayed.

Anakin's heart was broken to see the sadness in his Master's face. He knew that Obi Wan felt betrayed, and he hated that it was he who had caused it. He wished only for personal forgiveness, but simply couldn't find the right words. It was Obi Wan who began to speak, a tone of resignation and sadness in his voice.

"Anakin, I…" Obi Wan began, with a hint of compassion. "Why didn't you tell me? You could have come to me Anakin, you were like my own brother…"

"I was…" Anakin was suddenly ashamed to say it- Obi Wan clearly would have protected the secret, and now to tell him that he hadn't trusted him with it? But his days of lying to Obi Wan were over, so he gave his beloved Master the truth. "I was afraid you would tell the council," Anakin admitted, ashamedly.

Obi Wan just stared at him. He felt as if Anakin had never trusted him, and it hurt him deeply. However, as he thought about it, he may have told the council… but if Anakin had specifically asked him not to, he would have kept the boy's secret. 'Boy? He's not a boy anymore…' thought Obi Wan.

"Anakin, had you asked me to, specifically… I, I would have kept your secret," Obi Wan said.

"I wish I had told you," Anakin replied. "We could have used a friend. I'm so sorry you had to find out this way Master."

"Oh Anakin," began Obi Wan, annoyance not for Anakin, but for the circumstances, in his voice, "I knew before this ridiculous headline." He said quickly.

"What?" Anakin gasped. So he had been right last night- Obi Wan had suspected them.

" I'll be honest with you Anakin, I suspected that you were the father of Padme's child-"

Padme gasped, interrupting him. "You… you know? But I haven't… I never…"

"Oh Padme, the whole council knows!"

"What?" Anakin yelled.

Obi Wan looked at him, honestly confused.

"Surely, Anakin, you feared that most Jedi would sense the presence of multiple personalities around Padme? You must have sensed it… the whole Jedi temple probably knows that Senator Amidala is with child."

Anakin stared blankly at Obi Wan. This was new. He had never even thought about it. He felt like an idiot for not having noticed it. But now that Obi Wan had told him, he distinctly could feel his child's presence. He smiled, despite everything.

"He's right, Padme, I can sense them!"

"Them?" She asked, in disbelief.

'Them?' he asked himself. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I…" he suddenly stopped speaking. He reached out again with the force… "Yes… them…"

"Yes, yes, Senator Amidala is carrying twins, Force sake Anakin I really thought more highly of you as a Jedi. We've known for months. Luckily, it appears that I was the only one who suspected you were the father- you've been deeply troubled ever since you returned home from our mission, and you're so close to Padme, it all seemed fitting. Anyway…"

But as Obi Wan talked, Padme and Anakin stared into each other's eyes. Twins! Neither could believe it. Suddenly, without giving any regard to Obi Wan Kenobi, they embraced each other, overjoyed at this news and forgetting all else.

Obi Wan was quick to interrupt their kiss. "Just because I know does not mean I am all right with this," he said sternly, and slightly awkwardly.

"Sorry Master," Anakin said, but he couldn't stifle a laugh. He felt like a little boy being reprimanded by his Master, but here he was about to be the father of two children. He was so happy…but he had to fix things with Obi Wan.

"Master, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you, but what would you have done in my position?" Anakin realized right after he asked it what a dumb question that was. "Of course, you wouldn't be in my position, I know, the code… But your duty would have been to tell the council, and I didn't want to ask you to put our trust and bond before your duty, I just didn't know what to do."

"I realize that I would have been in a difficult situation, as obviously you have been for…" Obi Wan looked at Padme, "some months now, I would assume… were you even married before…?"

"We've been married for three years Master," Anakin said, and as saddened as his heart was to see his Master hurt, the look on Obi Wan's face made Anakin overly proud and amused at how long they had kept this secret.

"Three… three… three years? Anakin, you were still my Padawan when you…" Obi Wan was speechless.

"I know Master, and I am sorry. But I love her, and I couldn't just bury that love. I couldn't, I'm sorry… I suppose I should resign from the Order now?"

Obi Wan felt completely idiotic- his Padawan had been married and he hadn't even known? Sure, after he had sensed that Padme was pregnant he had seriously considered that Anakin was the father, but that was just months ago. He hadn't even been sure, though he had hoped with all of his heart, that they were married. Three years? The galaxy certainly was falling apart. And yet, somehow, he was no longer mad at Anakin. He felt hurt, betrayed, yes, but he still felt compassion for the boy who he considered a son. And now, it was as if his son was all grown up, and married. He felt almost proud, even though it went against every rule and every moral he upheld.

"Listen to me Anakin," Obi Wan began, with the anger that was left in him, "You have made me look like a fool, first not showing up for the meeting after I supported your appointment to the council, and then for the planet to find out you're married just the night after you're made a Master! As your Master, I have utterly failed you…"

"No Master, I have failed you. You taught me everything, made me a powerful warrior, that was your duty. Nowhere in the code does it ask Masters to have to deal with their rebellious Padawans knocking up Senators. The only thing you had to do with this was teaching me about it when I was a teenager, as all Masters must. How could you have known?" Anakin smiled at Obi Wan, hoping he would lighten up at this humor.

And despite everything, Obi Wan laughed. However, he quickly turned stern again.

"The fact that you have been married three years and I only began to suspect it months ago, I consider failure on my part. The fact that we have just appointed you to the council when you have gone against everything in which the Jedi believe, just makes us all look like fools. Think of how I must look to the council, Anakin, and think how they must feel themselves!"

"Master Obi Wan," Padme began, and the two men turned to her, almost as if they had forgotten she was there. "Does everyone believe this headline? Coruscant is a central area for gossip and tabloids- we could brush this off as a rumor… we were seen in the bar together last night, and the Master's, including yourself, accepted our explanation…certainly intelligent people would believe that someone saw us together and simply invented this- we can use the alibi that we used on all of you last night, you all believed us, and-"

Obi Wan interrupted her. "Just to be clear, I did not believe you. I was convinced, at that point, of some degree of involvement between the two of you. I certainly was sure that Anakin was the father of your children. But I kept quiet, because I wasn't 100 percent sure. This morning's headline, as you had the unfortunate opportunity of witnessing, pushed me over the edge." Obi Wan paused, then continued, "But I think you are right, Senator. Always the politician, you find a way around the truth… The intelligent people of the planet won't believe this, and hopefully the paper does not circulate off-planet. You two are in charge of some sort of public denial of this situation, Padme, you should probably say something in the Senate- or what's left of it." They nodded, and Anakin smiled.

"Master," began Anakin, "Are you saying that you are willing to help us?" The young Jedi was overjoyed, and also very proud of his wife's brilliance in figuring this out.
Obi Wan sighed. "I should tell the council, especially because you have just been appointed to it. I wish there was some way for me to take you off the council without telling anyone of the situation or getting you expelled from the order," he looked sternly at Anakin, "you realize that you do not deserve the honor we just bestowed upon you last night."

Anakin nodded, sadly. Though he knew Obi Wan's words to be true, it still hurt that the confidence his Master had shown in him was diminished.

"However," continued Obi wan, "That is, unfortunately, impossible, so things will have to continue as they did. I want to be clear- I will keep your secret as long as you can Anakin. But I hope you two both realize that it can't be kept for long. I feel deep empathy for the two of you when the time comes to tell the galaxy of this turn of events. You're on your own there. And don't interpret this to mean that I am 'helping' you. I'm not going to help you sneak around together. Do what you've been doing and hope that no one else finds out. And don't let me ever," he paused, "ever, catch you… together." He looked at them sternly, but both could see the amused twinkle in his eye.

Anakin began to laugh, but stopped quickly. He went to hug Obi Wan, but Obi Wan didn't return the hug. "I'm still not pleased with you Anakin. You have broken the law." Obi Wan did manage a small smile for his former apprentice. "Now, go comfort your wife, for the day has not brought good news to the galaxy. I will tell the Masters that you two confirmed it was just a rumor, as they hoped."

He turned to go out the door, then turned back to them. "And don't expect me to lie for you again after that," he said, and he was gone.