Anakin was taken inside the surgery room to give birth to their son exactly seven months and two days after Bant first diagnosed the pregnancy. The Force had granted him the gift to bear a child, but there was no way he could give birth naturally. So, since the last scan had showed the baby was fully developed, it was time to bring him to the light.
Obi-Wan watched with concerned eyes through a transparisteel window as Anakin was sedated and prepared for the operation.
"It will be over soon," Bant reassured him for at least the tenth time. "We aren't operating under emergency circumstances, and both Anakin's and the child parameters are perfect. Everything will go well and you will soon hold your boy in your arms."
Obi-Wan nodded dumbly, as Bant exchanged a glance with Garen and mouthed something that sounded suspiciously like "distract him". Then the Mon Calamari healer entered the surgery room and left the two friends alone.
Obi-Wan and Garen had cleared the air between them a few days after the former had awoke up from his coma. Garen had apologized for his behaviour and Obi-Wan had forgiven him, knowing that his friend had acted out of concern. They had celebrated their reconciliation by going to dine at Dex's place, along with Bant and Anakin. It had been there, between a drink and another that Obi-Wan had dropped the bombshell and informed Garen he would soon be an "uncle".
Obi-Wan smiled as he remembered his friend's stunned expression upon hearing the news, then sobered and thanked the Force for he and Garen had returned to be as close as before. He was so glad to have Garen near him in that moment. He did not want to be alone as he waited. Shmi should have been with him, but she had fallen victim of a bout of flu the previous day, much to her disappointment.
Garen put an arm around Obi-Wan's shoulders, pulling him away from the window. "You should relax, Obi. Bant has said everything will be fine. There is no reason to be so worried."
Obi-Wan turned to glare at Garen. "Remember me to tell you the same when you will be in my place!"
Garen raised his hands in a peaceful gesture and smiled, "Point taken!"
Obi-Wan's gaze changed and he murmured, "I am afraid, Garen. What has happened to Anakin is so unnatural. Men aren't supposed to have children. What if something goes wrong in that room? I will never forgive myself if something happens to Anakin. It would be all my fault…I took my pleasure and left him in trouble…"
Garen resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he almost snorted, "You know I love you, Obi-Wan. You are the most caring, compassionate man I've ever met. You are gentle and understanding with everybody's mistakes and faults—but not with your own. You must not feel responsible for Anakin getting pregnant. Bant explained to me they still do not know how it was possible. She says it was the will of the Force, and I agree with her. And I refuse to believe the Force would allow Anakin to conceive and carry the pregnancy to term only to have it go wrong in the end. So, Master Kenobi, I order you to stop this self-bashing at once."
The final line tore a smile from Obi-Wan, "You order me, Knight Muln?"
"Yes. It is a Best Friend's prerogative. Now come, let's go in the corridor outside. Maybe we can take a walk to the Gardens; it will do you well to take some fresh air."
Obi-Wan looked unconvinced, but let his friend guide him away from the Healer's Ward.
The trip to and from the Gardens was a silent one, and lasted around thirty minutes. When the two men returned to the Healer's Ward, their ears were assaulted by the sound of a strong wailing.
Obi-Wan froze and started trembling, overwhelmed by emotions, but he resolutely released them to the Force, for he needed to be in control of himself and not risk fainting there, in front of Garen-- he would never live to hear the end of it if he did.
Garen's hand squeezed his shoulder, "Relax, Dad Obi-Wan. Your boy has been born and judging by the strength of his lungs I would say he is very healthy."
Just as on cue, the door of the surgery room slid open and Bant stepped outside, carrying a small bundle wrapped in a light green blanket.
Obi-Wan was on her before he realized he had moved.
"How is Anakin?" he asked, his eyes darting from her face to the bundle and back again.
"He is perfectly well, Obi-Wan. We are cleaning him and settling him in the recovery room. You will be able to see him in a few minutes. In the meantime, why don't you get acquitted with your son?"
Obi-Wan's eyes widened as he accepted the bundle of blankets Bant offered him.
"Here, hold him like this," his friend whispered, adjusting his grip over the infant.
Obi-Wan held the bundle carefully, as though it were filled with fragile crystal. "My...son..." he said hoarsely, looking down at the sleeping baby. His eyes filled at once with tears, and he did not brush them away, nor did he hide them from the onlookers. His son! He observed the tiny face and two pale blue eyes staring back at him, as a bout of fiery love and protectiveness surged inside him.
"He is beautiful," Garen commented, peering from behind the now speechless new father's shoulder. "I would say he has taken everything from you but the hair and skin colour—which is good, so he won't burn under the sun as easily as you do. You know, I still wonder how you did manage to live almost four months in the Tatooine desert with that fair skin of yours."
Obi-Wan did not answer, but instead murmured, "Welcome, Qui-Tor Kenobi-Skywalker. You don't know how happy I am to finally meet you." The baby looked at his moving lips with fascination and attention, as if he was trying to understand what his father was saying.
"Anakin is settled now," Bant whispered in Obi-Wan's ear. "You may go in to see him."
Obi-Wan flashed a brief smile at his two friends, then entered the room Bant indicated to him.
Anakin was lying in bed, an IV attached to his left arm, some sensors connected to his right index finger, but for the rest there were no sign to indicate he had just undergone surgery.
He was awake and turned his head when he heard the approaching steps.
"Hi," Anakin said softly and a little slurred.
Obi-Wan walked to the bed and made to sit down on a chair, to be closer to his mate's face.
"No…here," Anakin patted the mattress by his side, and Obi-Wan gingerly sat on it, trying not to cause any discomfort.
"How do you feel?" He enquired softly.
"Tired and sore."
"I think this will make you feel better," Obi-Wan replied, adjusting his hold over Qui-Tor, so that Anakin could look at the baby without straining himself.
Anakin's reacted to the sight pretty much as Obi-Wan had done. His eyes widened and watered as he saw his son for the first time.
"Is-is he real? I am not dreaming?" he murmured with a small voice as his trembling hand rose to touch the warm bundle.
Obi-Wan smiled, "No, you are not. He is real. Qui-Tor, our son."
"Our son…" Anakin grinned. "I like the sound of it."
"Me too. Do you wish to hold him? Are you strong enough?" Anakin nodded and Obi-Wan handed Qui-Tor to his mate.
Anakin touched the newborn's face with delicate fingers. "He is perfect…wonderful."
"Just like you," Obi-Wan whispered, his voice unsteady, as he allowed himself to express all the emotions he had pushed away a little time before: love, pride, relief, wonder, awe, joy and many others he could not even name.
"No, like you," Anakin commented, smiling.
"Like us, then."
"Yes. Like us."
Obi-Wan grinned, then leaned forward to kiss Anakin's upturned face, as he enfolded his young one and little one in a loving, long embrace.
Standing on the threshold Garen and Bant looked at the scene, both of them smiling and silently praying the Force to be, one day, as happy as Obi-Wan and Anakin were in that moment.
Then they turned around, and left, leaving the small family alone, as around them the Force pulsed with Obi-Wan and Anakin's love for each other and for their son.