Once things calm down here, I promise to try & update more frequently! I just wanted to let you guys know that a lot of the stuff I'm writing about (such as the regard the other Council members and other Jedi have for Obi-Wan, the description of Obi's skill as a defensive swordsman and his humility, among other things), comes straight out of Canon in the form of the ROTS novel. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it! Many thanks for your faithful and wonderful reviews!

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Padme switched off her holocom with a slight frown. Anakin had left her a message apologizing for his behavior the previous night. She was glad that he had apologized, but she was still terribly disappointed that he had reacted the way he did in the first place. Why was Anakin biting the heads off of the people who loved him the most? She pushed down her growing concern over her husband's behavior and put on a smile as the children came out of their room for breakfast.

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Padme sat on the sofa early that afternoon reading about some of the upcoming senate business. The children were playing some of their games on the floor nearby. Padme jumped as the door buzzer sounded off. She answered the door and was surprised to see Masters Yoda and Windu on the other side.

"Master Yoda, Master Windu, please come in!" Padme gestured for them to enter. The children got up to greet them.

Mace smiled. "Thank you. Hello, children."

"Hello, Master Windu. Master Yoda."

"You may call me Mace, if you like." He smiled down at the children and then turned to Padme. "And that goes for you as well."

Padme returned his smile. "Alright, Mace. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

Yoda maneuvered his hoverpad towards Padme. "Wondering we were if tour of the Temple you and the children would like?"

Devin started jumping up and down. "Oh, yes, please!" Kira and James looked like they had been offered the keys to a candy store. They eagerly nodded their heads.

Padme was just as excited as the children! She had hoped to get a chance to see more of the Temple – to see where and how the Jedi lived. "Oh, we would love it!"

Yoda and Mace took the small group all over the Temple. They showed them the huge eating hall, the exercise rooms, the commissary, meditation gardens, classrooms and were now approaching the training rooms. They were on the observation level, where one could look down into the training rooms and watch the lightsaber sparring.

Devin stood on his tiptoes to look over the rail and down into the room. "Is this where Obi-Wan practices?"

Yoda and Mace shared a smile. With every place they had shown them thus far, Devin had asked, 'Is this where Obi-Wan eats? Is there where Obi-Wan exercises?' Yoda glided over closer to the boy. "Yes, it is. Practiced he has in one of these rooms or another all of his life."

Devin grinned as he gazed down at a couple of teenaged padawans sparring. "I bet Obi-Wan is the best, isn't he?"

Padme threw Mace an amused look. Mace approached the glass. "Well, he is ONE of the best. As an offensive swordsman, he is definitely in the top ten." He covered a grin as Devin frowned up at him. "But he is by far the best defensive swordsman in the Order."

James knit his brow. "What is the difference?"

Mace had forgotten that he was talking to children. "Well, offensive means to go on the attack, to be the aggressor. Defensive means to use the lightsaber as a means of protection – either for oneself or someone else." He chuckled lightly. "Obi-Wan can walk through a gale of blaster fire without getting so much as a scorch mark."

"Wow!" Devin smiled proudly. "I knew he was the best!" Yoda smiled at the boy's selective interpretation of Mace's words.

Padme was intrigued. But now that Mace had explained, it made a lot of sense. Obi-Wan wasn't an aggressive person. It made sense that he would excel at defense, rather than offense. It also made sense that Anakin excelled at offense rather than defense. Anakin definitely WAS aggressive!

"Come." Yoda led them down the hallway. Padme looked around in awe. The size of the Temple was incredible! How long must it take for them to learn their way around? She had loved the meditation gardens. They were beautiful and had such diverse plants and flowers! They reminded Padme of the gardens at Theed Palace. She couldn't get over the sense of peace that enveloped every corner of the Temple. She felt so safe and so relaxed here.

They all entered a lift and were taken down a few levels. They stopped in front of a wide-open entryway. There were a few steps down into a room filled with communications equipment, holomaps and charts. Standing in the center of the room at a large circular console was Obi-Wan. He was deep in conversation with the small image of a fellow Jedi via hololink.

Kira's face brightened. She looked to be about ready to run and greet Obi-Wan when Padme put her hand on the girl's shoulder to stay her. "Obi-Wan's on an important call right now, Kira. We'll have to wait until he's done." Padme watched the scene with interest. Obi-Wan was all business, pointing to things on a holomap – obviously laying out strategy with the field commander.

After a few moments, the image of the other Jedi winked out. Having been aware of his visitors the whole time, Obi-Wan turned to greet them with a smile. "And what brings you to this neck of the woods?"

Kira ran to Obi-Wan and threw herself into his arms. "We're taking a t…a tu…

"Tour." James pronounced for her.

"Yeah, tour of the Temple!"

"Oh, that's wonderful! Are you liking it so far?"

Kira nodded her head enthusiastically. Devin came over to Obi-Wan, bubbling with excitement. "I got to see where you practice and where you exercise and where you mm…mmee…where you go to think!"

Obi-Wan laughed. "We use a lot of big words around here, don't we? How about you, James? Are you enjoying the tour?"

A grin broke out on James' face. "Yes. We saw the other kids in their classrooms and some older kids training with their lightsabers. I wish I could learn what their learning."

Obi-Wan looked thoughtful. "Well, I can't allow you to use a lightsaber, but I can show you some basic moves with a training staff."

"REALLY? You mean it?"

"I'll reserve one of the training rooms for tomorrow evening."

"Thank you, Obi-Wan!" The smile on James' face could light up the entire Temple.

Yoda floated over to Obi-Wan. "Take the children to the Room of a Thousand Fountains, Master Windu and I will. Take Padme to see the Creche, you will."

"But, Master…"

Yoda poked his stick into Obi-Wan's shoulder. "Do this, you will!"

Obi-Wan knew better than to argue with the diminutive Council leader. "Yes, Master." This really was NOT a good time for such an assignment. He had several field commanders waiting to hear from him in order to solidify plans for their particular operations. There was another batch of clones ready to be picked up from Kamino and he needed to finalize where they were to be sent. There just isn't enough time in the day. He put Kira down so she could accompany Mace and Yoda.

"Come, children. Show you the most beautiful room in the whole Temple, we will." Yoda turned back to Obi-Wan and Padme. "When done visiting the Creche, meet us in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, you will."

"Yes, Master." Obi-Wan watched them head down the hallway with a slight frown. "That little troll is up to something!"

"Obi-Wan!" Padme laughed.

Obi-Wan turned his twinkling eyes to her. "Well, he is! I know him too well. He's up to something."

Padme put her hand on his arm. "Nefarious plot by Yoda aside, you really don't need to show me the Creche right now. I can tell you're really busy."

"Believe me, I do need to show you right now. I'd never hear the end of it if I didn't." Obi-Wan took her hand and looped her arm through his. "Besides, spending time with you isn't exactly a chore."

Padme smiled beautifully for him. Obi-Wan always had a way of making her feel…special. It had nothing to do with her being a senator and it wasn't because she was attractive – the motives for most other people she had encountered. She enjoyed his company because she could be herself. There were no expectations and no demands. It was freeing.

Obi-Wan made himself focus on the here-and-now and not the never-ending list of responsibilities to which he needed to attend. He always enjoyed spending time with Padme, and he would make the most of this opportunity. The Creche was one of his pride and joy's about the Order. It was a privilege to be the one to show it to her.

They entered into a large room, labeled 'Infants.' There were several Creche Leaders and a couple of padawans moving around the room, feeding the infants, rocking them, changing diapers. A kindly looking older woman took notice of the visitors. "Ah, Master Kenobi. I heard you were back. I knew that I'd probably be seeing you soon."

Padme looked at Obi-Wan with a bit of surprise. "You come here often?"

The woman walked over to them. "Master Kenobi is a regular visitor – when he's here at the Temple, that is."

"Padme, this is one of the infant Creche Leaders, Glynda Holmes. Glynda, this is Senator Padme Amidala from Naboo."

Glynda smiled kindly at Padme. "Yes, I'd heard that you were staying here with Master Kenobi for a while." She turned to gaze fondly at Obi-Wan. "It doesn't surprise me that you're helping those kids." She turned back to Padme. "He has a real soft spot for children."

Padme smiled over at Obi-Wan. "So I'm discovering."

Glynda swept her arm out. "Take a look around. We have a few new faces since you were last here, Obi-Wan."

Padme looked around the room in awe. There had to be about twenty babies in the room! She went up to a crib that held a little human baby girl. She was contentedly playing with the mobile hanging just above her head.

Obi-Wan moved over to the other side of the crib. "Once a baby starts learning how to crawl, they are moved to the next level. Once they learn how to walk, they're moved up another level. After that it goes by age." He ran a finger gently down the little girl's cheek. The infant quickly took hold of his finger.

Padme chuckled. "She has quite a grip!"

"Yes, she does." Obi-Wan gazed down at the tiny form with wonder evident in his eyes. "It never ceases to amaze me, the miracle that is life. Can you believe that we were once this small?"

"I know what you mean. It is amazing." Padme found herself just watching Obi-Wan – the gentle stroking of the tiny hand that held his finger, the child-like wonder in his eyes, the soft smile on his face. The scene warmed her heart and stirred some very strong emotions – emotions she was afraid to identify.

Padme finally tore her eyes from Obi-Wan and gazed around the room. The workers were very gentle, caring and busy about their tasks. There was an air of contentment and security in the room. It was also amazingly quiet. The only sounds she heard were cooing and gurgling, not crying. "I haven't heard any of the babies cry."

Obi-Wan looked up at her. "The Creche Leaders are so in tune with the infants under their care that they can usually sense a problem before it gets to the point where the baby would normally cry."

"That is incredible! I've never seen such content babies before!"

Obi-Wan straightened up a bit. "Shall we go visit the other rooms? That is, if I can get my finger back!"