The insistent beeping of his bedside alarm intruded into Anakin's sleep. He blindly reached out with an arm to stop the disturbing sound and rolled over, searching for Obi-Wan's warmth in the big bed.
He found only empty sheets, so Anakin grabbed the spare pillow, and hugged it, breathing in the lingering scent of his absent lover.
The young man was about to fall asleep again, when the door of the bedroom opened and the soft humming of his mother's hoverchair filled the room.
"Are you awake, Ani? Ani? Wake up Anakin!" Shmi called, piloting the chair near the bed.
"I don't want…I am tired…I want to sleep…I am on leave…," he mumbled against the pillow he was still hugging.
"I know, Ani. I promise I will let you sleep 'til midday tomorrow, but today you cannot be late. You have to appear in front of the Council, remember?"
The Council…The Council!
Anakin's eyes snapped open. Obi-Wan and he were going to present their petition that morning!
Fast as lighting, Anakin threw away the covers and sat up, swinging his legs down the bed.
Today they would ask the Council to recognize their union as official and to be allowed to live together in the Temple. It would also be the day they would know what the Jedi masters thought of the miraculous conception of their child.
Anakin took a deep breath and looked at his mother. As usual her warmth, sweet presence was able to calm his anxiety.
"Good morning, Mom," he said, kissing her cheek, before standing up and asking, "Have you seen my fresh uniform?" He did not wait for an answer, as he crossed the room muttering to himself "Ah, yes, I hung it in the closet two days ago. Good, that's settled. Now, the socks, the boots…uhm, they look polished enough. What else? The shower, of course. What do you think, Mom? Is my hair all right? Do I need to trim it?"
Shmi laughed softly, "Your hair looks perfect, my son. You are perfect." She shook her head with fondness, "You look radiant."
Anakin smiled. "I feel radiant, Mom, and awed, but somehow I doubt the Council will be interested in how I feel. I just hope they won't make Obi-Wan's life even more difficult."
Shmi approached her son and reached up with an arm to caress his cheek. "I hope the same, Ani, but in the end, what really matters is you, Obi-Wan and your child."
Anakin smiled, "You know, Mom, I was sure you would take the news of my pregnancy much better than Obi-Wan, I and Healer Eerin did, but I didn't expect you to react with such aplomb, as if it is the most natural thing in the galaxy."
His mother smiled back. "I have carried you in my womb fully knowing no man had planted his seed there. I have watched you pilot podracers when you were just a child. I have observed you discover what was wrong in a ship by simply staring at it. I have always known you are special, Ani, and this just confirmed it."
"That's exactly what I said to Obi-Wan when I told him you would take it well. He wanted to ask to Healer Eerin to come with us, just in case you fainted or something like that."
"Obi-Wan is very caring, as you know even better than me. Now it is best if you hurry up, or you will be late, and you don't want to be late today of all days, no?"
"Oh no, Mom, that would certainly not impress the Council!" Anakin exclaimed, grabbing his clothes and running to the refresher, as his mother's gentle laughter followed him.
"How do you feel?" Obi-Wan asked Anakin, fifty minutes later, as they stood outside the Council Chamber, waiting to be called in.
"Nervous, but fine." Anakin answered, smoothing his uniform top for the tenth time.
"And the nausea?"
"It's gone. Those pills Healer Eerin gave me helped a lot. The headaches have disappeared too and I think I will be able to return to work in a few days."
"I am happy to hear it. By the way, Anakin, Bant is inside now giving another report about your pregnancy. She told me before entering that the tests she took yesterday were most impressive, and that they will convince even the most stubborn of masters."
"So there was someone doubting it?" Anakin wondered, crossing his arms over his chest.
Obi-Wan arched an eyebrow. "It was natural, don't you think?"
"I suppose it was."
The door in front of them opened and Obi-Wan whispered, "Ready?"
Anakin nodded. Yes, he was ready, and he was not even scared. After all, what it was facing the Council compared to the anxiety and the fear he had felt when he had sold himself for the first time? When he had a stranger inside him, roughly taking what he had hoped to give to someone he loved or at least cared for?
Anakin stepped inside the Council Chamber at Obi-Wan's side, walking with confident strides until they stopped in the centre of the room, where Healer Eerin was still standing. Obi-Wan bowed to the masters and Anakin imitated him.
It was the second time Anakin had been in the large, circular room, but the previous time, Obi-Wan had been sitting among his colleagues, looking at him with supporting, encouraging eyes as the younger man detailed his skills to the masters. Now, instead, Obi-Wan's chair was empty, because he too – probably more than Anakin himself—was under scrutiny today.
"Master Kenobi, Officer Skywalker, you are here today to know our response about the petition you submitted, asking this Council to recognize you relationship as official," Master Windu said, his voice emotionless.
"Yes, Masters," Obi-Wan answered.
"Healer Eerin, who is also here to witness to our final response, has reported to us the strange event that has befallen Officer Skywalker."
Anakin's frowned at the master's choice of words, but chose to keep silent. He was acutely aware of the Councillors probing eyes and minds, and did not want give a bad impression. The stakes were too high.
"A child, growing inside you is," Master Yoda commented, in his strange way of speaking.
"Yes, Master," Anakin confirmed, his chin tilted high, and this time he did not bother to hide the pride he was feeling. "The Force blessed us."
Yoda's ears flattened against his skull. "The Force you say? How so sure of this you can be?"
Obi-Wan opened his mouth to reply, but Anakin was quicker, "I simply know, Master. I am not a Jedi, that's true, but I feel the Force is behind this conception."
Yoda grunted as he slid down his chair and hobbled toward Anakin.
"Kneel down you will," he commanded, and the young man obeyed, after exchanging a glance with Obi-Wan.
Anakin watched as the diminutive master posed a hand over his belly and closed his eyes in concentration.
"Powerful in the Force, this child is; a great Jedi he will be."
"He? Is it a boy?" Anakin could not help but ask.
"Yes."
Anakin turned his head up and on the side to look at Obi-Wan and they shared a small, proud smile.
"Will of the Force, this is. No more doubts I have." Yoda hobbled back to his chair as Anakin stood up.
"The Council had decided," Master Windu declared. "Master Kenobi, Officer Skywalker, your petition has been accepted. From now on your joining will be recognized as official and legally binding, as Healer Eerin will testify. A copy of the documents will be sent to you, for your signature, before being deposited in the Archives. Appropriate quarters will be given to you in the Temple, so that you can live together, if so you wish."
"Thank you, Masters," Obi-Wan and Anakin said in unison, bowing deeply in gratitude.
Then Mace Windu did something Anakin had never expected to see in such serious and intimidating man: he smiled.
"Obi-Wan, Anakin, in the name of the Council I congratulate you for the conception of your son. He will be the first child born in the Temple in over a century, and the first Jedi raised according to the new Code. May the Force be with him and you all. You may go now."
Anakin and Obi-Wan bowed again, then left the room, followed by Healer Eerin.
Anakin restrained himself long enough for the door to slid closed behind them, then he threw his arms around Obi-Wan's neck and kissed him thoroughly, as the Mon Calamari giggled.
"We did it!" Anakin exclaimed with joy, as Obi-Wan smiled and nodded, composed and in control as his usual, even if his eyes betrayed the happiness he felt.
Things were finally turning in the right way, and Anakin was ready to bet that sooner or later Garen Muln too would realize the mistake he had committed.