Rating: R for this chapter because of language
A/N: This fic started out as a PWP, and has evolved. I still tried to keep it somewhat light, although the circumstances became heavier than I had planned. My muse is laughing!

--(Barriss Offee and Bant Eerin are official Lucasfilm characters.)

IIIIIIIII

Chapter Two

Obi-Wan drug himself into his fighter and strapped himself in—he was dirty and exhausted after his battle with General Grievous, but he didn't want to linger on this dusty planet. He was extremely relieved to be leaving Utapau, not just because of his success in killing that cyborg that had plagued them for months, but mainly because he needed to get back to Coruscant. He had been reluctant to leave Anakin, and hoped that he was faring well enough in the wake of Padmé's betrayal.

With Grievous destroyed, the end of the war should be closer. Maybe he and Anakin could take a brief leave of absence once the Republic was secure—Anakin might enjoy being able to escape Coruscant and the memories of Padmé. Maybe he could begin to put her behind him.

Obi-Wan shook his head. That was probably wishful thinking on his part—Anakin had pined for Padmé for ten years. He wasn't likely to recover from a broken heart just because his former Master took him on a nice vacation. Anakin probably wouldn't want Obi-Wan to go with him anyway; Anakin preferred activities that Obi-Wan found questionable at best. But even if he went alone, Anakin deserved a holiday.

His thoughts were interrupted as his comlink beeped. "Kenobi here."

Obi-Wan watched the small blue image of Mace Windu flicker to life. "Master Kenobi."

The transmission on Utapau had been poor, and Obi-Wan had been unable to connect to Coruscant with his comlink. "Master Windu. I assume you are interested in the status of my mission? I'm sorry I haven't been able to contact—."

When Obi-Wan noticed that Mace's expression was tighter than usual, he felt the first flicker of fear wriggle its way through his stomach. "Mace, what is it?"

Master Windu's frown deepened. "Anakin has been injured."

That flicker of fear exploded through his stomach. Mace would not contact him unless Anakin's injuries were grave. "How badly is he hurt?"

"We're not sure yet."

Obi-Wan forced the next words from his mouth. "Will he survive?"

Mace shook his head slowly. "Obi-Wan…I don't know."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"We don't have many details. Master Yoda and I found Anakin unconscious in Palpatine's office." Mace paused. "This will likely come as a shock, but Palpatine was the Sith Lord we have been seeking—and we are fairly certain that Anakin killed him."

Obi-Wan knew some sort of response was required of him, but all he could think of was a single name, Anakin, Anakin, Anakin over and over again.

He was the Chosen One, he had balanced the Force, and it may have cost him his life.

Obi-Wan managed to stammer, "Palpatine—the last Sith Lord. Amazing that we didn't realize." His words were hollow; they had been seeking this monster for thirteen years, but there would be no celebration in Obi-Wan's heart if Anakin wasn't around to cherish his victory.

Obi-Wan felt a slight surge of anger toward Mace. He had always been so distrustful of Anakin—without cause. If Anakin lived, Obi-Wan would make certain that the Jedi—especially the Council—appreciated Anakin's deeds. "My Padawan did come through—for all of us."

Mace must have been able to read Obi-Wan's face, because he gave a small smile, as if to appease Obi-Wan. "Yes he did. The Jedi are most thankful." Mace let out a long sigh. "Be careful on your way back, Obi-Wan. I know this is hard for you. As for your mission, was it successful?"

"Yes. Grievous is dead."

Mace nodded. "Good work, Master Kenobi. May the Force be with you."

Obi-Wan couldn't mutter the familiar goodbye—he didn't want the Force to be with Mace. He wanted it to be with Anakin. "Thank you for contacting me, Master Windu."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Obi-Wan fought his tears all the way back to Coruscant. He was a Jedi Master—he was supposed to release his worry and grief into the Force. But even with mediation, it was a challenge for him to maintain his composure.

What if Anakin died? He would not view Anakin's passing into the Force as a natural occurrence, no more than he had seen Qui-Gon's death as natural. He couldn't imagine life without his Padwan. He would never again argue with him, never chastise him, never laugh with him, never make love to him…

Obi-Wan dug his fingernails into his palms. He was well aware that he and Anakin wouldn't be making love even if he did recover, but at least the promise was there.

If Obi-Wan were honest, there wasn't even the promise of lovemaking, because Anakin liked women. If his obsession with Padmé was any indication, he liked them a lot. But that was all right. Having his Padawan alive and well was enough for Obi-Wan.

He had fought his attraction to Anakin for years. Living in such close proximity to his Padawan was difficult at best—a hand on his shoulder, arm around the waist, a pat on the back were all constant reminders to Obi-Wan of his predicament. Through extreme concentration, he was usually able to withstand Anakin's affection without becoming aroused, but it took a good deal of energy. Obi-Wan was afraid that one day, he would slip, and then Anakin would know. And that was unacceptable.

Obi-Wan had considered requesting separate living quarters, but he didn't want Anakin to take his caution as rejection. Six months ago, Obi-Wan decided drastic measures were necessary. Meditation had not worked. So Obi-Wan meditated and fasted. After three days of only fruit juice, he was becoming more than a little lightheaded.

"Master, why aren't you eating?" Anakin stared at Obi-Wan as he poured another glass of the sugary liquid. "Are you ill?"

"No, I am cleansing my body of impure chemicals."

Anakin merely shrugged, so Obi-Wan assumed that his response sounded authentic enough.

"Your body needs food, Master."

No, Padawan, my body needs you…damn it…this had been working. "Anakin, you should give it a try some time. It only takes a little self-discipline, and all the toxins in your body will be purged."

"Whatever you say, Master."

Obi-Wan frowned. It was wrong of him to lecture Anakin on self-discipline when his Master didn't even have control over of his thoughts.

After seven days, it had eventually worked, more or less. He had conditioned himself to associate his dizziness and overall ill feeling with his desire for Anakin. So when he began to feel lust for his Padawan, he remembered the sickly weak feeling that plagued him during his fast.

It wasn't exactly an exercise becoming of a Jedi Master, but neither were the feelings that burned within him.

He rubbed his temples as the Coruscant skyline appeared in front of him. Before his fighter had landed on the Temple platform, Obi-Wan was already unbuckling his flight harness.

Obi-Wan headed straight for the healer's wing to find Anakin. As he walked through the doors, he saw Bant Eerin waiting for him. Bant was not only a Healer, but she was one of Obi-Wan's closest friends, and the weight in his chest lessened a bit as he approached her.

Bant embraced him. "Obi-Wan."

Even though Bant's facial expressions were harder to read than a human's, they had been friends long enough that Obi-Wan could tell that she was looking at him with something akin to pity. "That bad?"

Bant patted him on the back. "You can see him if you'd like. I'll take you to his room—I think Healer Offee is in there now."

Bant smiled as she led Obi-Wan down the corridor. "We were all so discouraged when the Separatists started attacking Coruscant. Of course the discovery that Palpatine was behind all of this was quite a blow, but Anakin has given us a reason to keep going—he's restored our faith in the Order."

Obi-Wan tried to smile back. "I'm very proud of him."

For the first time, Obi-Wan remembered that Anakin had admired and respected Palpatine, and considered him a friend. How hard must it have been for his Padawan to raise his weapon against his mentor? It wasn't fair—Anakin had enough pain in his life without this latest treachery.

Bant stopped and pushed open a door. "Here we are."

Obi-Wan straightened his shoulders as he walked into the room. There were other Jedi watching him, and he couldn't afford to become emotional in front of them—not now that he was on the Council.

He let his shoulders relax slightly as he stepped inside—Anakin looked better than he had expected. There were white bandages wrapped around head, and his left arm was in a plaster splint, but he'd seen worse.

He turned to the other healer, who was studying a datapad. "Barriss. How is he?"

Barriss Offee came to stand beside Anakin. "He's holding on."

"He doesn't look too bad."

"Looks can be deceptive Obi-Wan. He's got a serious head injury, and his vision has been affected.

"His vision?" Anakin simply could not lose his sight—he reveled in his ability to fight and to fly, and Obi-Wan was afraid of the despair Anakin would suffer if he lost the two things he was best at. "Do you mean that he's blind?"

"Yes, he's blind."

"Is it permanent?"

"We don't know yet—it's likely that it's temporary. We'll have to wait and see."

Obi-Wan didn't want to talk to Barriss about it any longer. He felt nauseated at the thought of Anakin without his vision, and he dreaded the moment that he had to tell Anakin that he was blind—whether it was temporary or long term. Obi-Wan bit his lip. That was assuming that Anakin lived long enough to have that conversation. No—he wasn't going to think like that. Anakin would wake up, and he would regain his sight.

He stared at Anakin, studying his fingers that were peeking out of the split. It looked like someone had washed his hand off, but neglected the dried blood under his fingernails. Anakin was always concerned about his appearance and often took two showers per day—he'd be horrified to see these traces of blood.

"Where did all the blood come from?"

Barriss glanced over at Obi-Wan. "Master Windu said the window was broken in Palpatine's office."

Obi-Wan tried to keep the accusatory tone from his voice. "He still has blood all over him."

"I'm sorry Master Kenobi, we've been overwhelmed. Yoda recalled all the Jedi back to the Temple after…" She trailed off as she looked at Anakin sadly. "We have been working non-stop."

Obi-Wan sat down into the chair by the window. "I'll stay with him—you can take a break."

"Are you sure?"

Obi-Wan nodded. Any Master would do the same for his former Padawan. But Obi-Wan wasn't just doing this for Anakin's sake, Obi-Wan needed to stay here and just be with Anakin, mostly to convince himself that he was going to be all right.

"Thank you, Master Kenobi. I'll get back to my other patients now." Barriss patted his arm quickly and then pulled away. "If you need to leave, just press the button. He shouldn't be left alone."

Obi-Wan sighed as Barriss left the room. He didn't plan on leaving Anakin alone at all.

Obi-Wan found an empty bowl and a cloth in the supply closet and filled the bowl with warm water. He dipped the cloth into the water, and he began to tell Anakin of Utapau, and the fight with Grievous.

"You would have been impressed—I managed to save myself this time. And I even used a blaster." As he spoke, he gently rubbed the skin around Anakin's fingers until most of the blood was washed away.

IIIIIIIIIIII

For the next week, Obi-Wan stayed with Anakin in the healer's ward. He read out loud to him, alternating between topics that Anakin would find boring, such as the origin of the current Senate structure, and topics that Anakin would enjoy, like the engine capabilities of star fighters.

Sometimes he sat quietly and just stared at Anakin, and other times he told him stories about his own days as a Padawan with Qui-Gon. Anakin had always said that his Master didn't share enough of himself, so he made a vow to change that.

Anakin had woken a few times and mumbled, but he wasn't coherent until the morning of the eighth day. Obi-Wan had just finished washing and drying his hair when Anakin moaned and shifted his head on the pillow.

Obi-Wan put his hand on Anakin's shoulder. "Shhh. It's all right."

Anakin opened his eyes. "Master?"

He wanted to crawl into bed with Anakin and wrap his arms around his Padawan, and tell him how much he loved him, but he settled for letting his hand rest lightly on Anakin's head. "Yes, it's me."

Obi-Wan looked down at Anakin's eyes—they looked normal enough to Obi-Wan, until he noticed that Anakin wasn't looking at him, but gazing blankly at the ceiling. He hoped it was still too early to tell if he would recover his sight.

"Hurry, Master." Anakin's voice was barely a whisper, but it was full of urgency. "He's a Sith. Palaptine—."

"I know. Don't worry—he's dead."

Anakin relaxed immediately and a faint smile crossed his face. "Dead…" He closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.

Later that day, Obi-Wan was dosing in his chair when he heard his name.

"Obi-Wan? Are you here?"

Obi-Wan sat up straight and scooted closer to Anakin. "Yes. I'm here."

Anakin smiled briefly before frowning. "What's wrong with my eyes—I can't see."

Obi-Wan knew that Anakin was still somewhat sedated because there was very little emotion in his voice.

"You have a head injury." Obi-Wan recalled the phrase Barriss had used—he would repeat her words instead of using that dreaded term—blind. "Your vision was affected, but it's likely that you will make a complete recovery—it will just take some time."

"Oh."

Obi-Wan was tempted to lie to Anakin and tell him that a full recovery was guaranteed, but he knew that would only make Anakin angry in the future. He was also concerned about Anakin's lack of reaction. Barriss hadn't mentioned any personality changes, but was it possible that Anakin had brain damage? Obi-Wan was about to press the call-button when Anakin spoke again.

"I'm blind? That bastard made me—"

Obi-Wan sighed in relief as he felt Anakin's disbelief emanating from him. Of course he hated to see Anakin upset, but seeing him docile and passive was even worse. "Anakin. Please calm down."

"I'm sure you'd calm down if you were fucking—."

"You're not blind—you're vision has just been compromised and—."

"I can't feel my arms either. I didn't lose my other goddammed arm did I?"

Obi-Wan could hear the panic in Anakin's voice, and did his best to keep his own tone neutral, even though he was feeling slightly on edge. "Your left arm is broken, but it's still here." He squeezed Anakin's fingertips. "Can you feel that?"

Some of the tension left Anakin's shoulders. "Yes."

"They've given you some pain medication, so that's probably why you feel numb." Obi-Wan reached over and patted Anakin's cyber arm. "We think the circuits in your right arm were damaged by Palpatine's Force lighting. I convinced Bant that you'd want to see if you could make the repairs yourself instead of getting a replacement."

"Good idea—thanks."

"How are you feeling?"

"Stiff. But not too bad." He turned his head toward Obi-Wan. "Padmé. How is she?"

"She's fine. She's been here several times."

"Why in Sith hell was she here?"

"Because you're the father of her child—she doesn't want anything to happen to you." Obi-Wan wasn't really sure why Padmé had come—he'd barely spoken to her at all. She came over every morning before the Senate convened and inquired about Anakin's health, but he usually let Bant speak to her.

Anakin turned his head away at that. "Stupid bitch."

Obi-Wan didn't want Anakin to become too agitated so soon. "Now—."

"I don't want to hear it, Master. I don't want to know about her new life or how she's not that bad."

"All right, Padawan, but you did ask about her."

"I just wanted to make sure she was safe. Even though I wanted to kill her, I didn't really want her to die."

Obi-Wan smiled even though Anakin couldn't see him. "I know."

Anakin turned his head back toward his Master. "How did he die? I can't remember."

"They found you and Palpatine in his office. His body had been cut in half by a lightsaber, from the head all the way down. You were lying near him."

"He was cut in half?"

"Yes, it sounds quite gruesome—you split him in half from head to toe instead of decapitating him."

"I wish I could remember doing it."

"You might in time." Obi-Wan knew he should tell Anakin that remembering wasn't important—that being proud of killing someone—even a Sith—was not the Jedi way, but at that point, Obi-Wan really didn't care if Anakin had a little extra pride. The boy had killed two Sith Lords, and if Obi-Wan were honest with himself, he still felt a tiny bit of pleasure that he was the one to eliminate Darth Maul all those years ago.

Obi-Wan touched Anakin's fingers again, this time to comfort himself instead of Anakin. "They first thought the Sith Master had killed you both, but then Mace found the red lightsaber. They broke into his desk and found a Sith holocron."

Anakin shook his head. "All those years that he praised me, it was meaningless…"

Obi-Wan changed the subject rather than letting Anakin dwell on Palpatine's deceit. "I'm proud of you. Already the Jedi feel the difference. The Force is less cloudy—it's sharper, and more in focus."

Anakin grinned. "Mace better quit riding my ass now."

"I agree, but he's still Master Windu to you."

"Can't you just indulge me a little bit, Master? I think I can call him Mace now that I've fucking ended the Sith rule."

"Don't let it go to your head, Padawan."

"I'm kidding, Master."

"No, you're not. But it's fine—I'm glad to have you back." Obi-Wan lifted his free hand and touched Anakin's cheek. "You're sleepy—I'm going to let you rest."

Anakin wrapped his fingers around Obi-Wan's. "Will you stay?"

"Of course." Obi-Wan paused, unsure if he should tell Anakin now, but decided the truth was best. "Before you sleep, I think you should know—the Council knows about Padmé and your child."

Anakin groaned. "How?"

"I told them. I was afraid they'd find out anyway, so I went to Yoda and told him that you had confessed to me, but that the relationship was over, so I had told you to meditate on it before taking any action."

"And? What's going to happen?"

"Yoda decided that destroying the Sith Master that has eluded us for thirteen years was enough to get you off the hook. I'm sure they'll want to lecture you for about a thousand years, but your position is secure."

Anakin let out a small laugh before wincing. "Have you actually gotten a sense of humor, Master?"

"Well…when you hear what else I have to tell you, you're going to wonder."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"First, Padmé and Bail are engaged."

"Wonderful." Anakin took a shallow breath. "What else?"

Obi-Wan thought he heard Anakin muttering 'whore' quietly, but he didn't try to admonish him again—he happened to agree with Anakin on that point. Couldn't she have at least waited until Anakin was well?

The next part wasn't bad news exactly, but it was a bit overwhelming. Obi-Wan squeezed Anakin's fingers gently. "Second, Padmé found out last week that the two of you are having twins."