The door chime rang out and Anakin immediately hopped up from the bench to see who was at the door.
"I got it!" He called out over his shoulder as he skipped up the stairs and disappeared through the foyer.
Obi-Wan sat on the bench mulling over the facts of his current situation. At least the facts that he understood so far.
Maybe this existence wasn't so bad after all. Maybe he could adjust. It wasn't like he had a choice. He had used his last Force passage and he was stuck in this reality, no matter if he liked it or not.
Just deal with it, he chided himself.
But could he? Anakin and Padmé were together and were soon to have a child. Obi-Wan felt sick to his stomach at the thought.
But the boy was happy and he was still a Jedi. There was no trace of the dark side in him at all.
And if this was the price Obi-Wan had to pay for that assurance, then so be it. He would just have to get used to things as they were.
Padmé moved from the kitchen at that moment, carrying a tray of drinks to the table. As Obi-Wan watched her approach, the yearning in his heart for her threatened to completely undo him. He cast his eyes back down to the table and thoughtlessly reached up to run his fingers over his mouth where her lips had caressed them not less than an hour ago.
He could still taste her. He could still smell her. And it was maddening.
Releasing a heavy sigh, Obi-Wan resolutely sat up and straightened his tunics, smiling at his beautiful visitor, noting to himself that being with child made her even more beautiful than before.
He was about to stand and run from the room to escape his tortuous thoughts when Anakin reappeared with their company.
Obi-Wan did stand then to greet them, and it surprised him when he greeted them by name.
He knew exactly who they were and where they lived and he couldn't figure out how he knew that.
"Owen." Obi-Wan firmly shook the young man's hand and then turned to Owen's wife and bowed. "Beru. How are you both?"
"We're fine Obi-Wan." The young woman answered before following Anakin's motion to join them at the table.
Padmé quickly returned to the kitchen to bring out two more drinks.
"And how are you, Obi-Wan?" Owen asked as he reached for the offered refreshment.
"Fine." Obi-Wan answered not quite as assuredly as he had hoped to and didn't miss Owen's suspicious raised-eyebrow glance toward his padawan.
"Is he?" Owen asked Anakin.
"He seems a little confused today, actually." Anakin winked at Obi-Wan and then smiled broadly at their visitors.
"It's understandable. When Beru and I are so lucky, I will probably have some of those days myself."
What? Obi-Wan thought to himself as he watched Owen place a kiss to his young wife's cheek.
It seemed the more he heard, the more confused he became.
Settle down, Kenobi. Be patient. The answers will come. His inner voice consoled him.
"How's Shmi Ani?" It was Beru who now questioned his apprentice, and the younger Jedi beamed with pride when he spoke.
"She and Cliegg have just moved into an apartment closer to the Senate Building. It's a really nice place."
"And a shorter commute." Owen noted.
"Definitely." Anakin smiled.
"How long will you be staying on Tatooine this time?" Owen asked, taking another sip of the cool blue liquid.
"I've got to get into Mos Espa to oversee another election and then it's back to Coruscant. But I'm sure I'll be back out here in a couple of months. The Council has made this assignment priority, and as long as the Hutts are rumored to be in the area, there is still some danger." He smiled again, glancing up toward Padmé who appeared from the kitchen.
"Yes, your mother has been keeping you quite busy." It was Padmé who made the comment as she moved into the room with the additional drinks. She placed them on the table and sat between Anakin and Obi-Wan, opposite their guests.
"No kidding. When she vowed to rid the galaxy of slavery, I thought that maybe it was just another one of those empty political promises."
"You know her better than that." Padmé elbowed the younger Jedi in the arm.
"Yeah, I guess I do. She was just lucky to have the Senate's support." Anakin noted as he grabbed another piece of fruit from the bowl in front of him.
"They sometimes support a senator's agenda, and other times.." Padmé faded off with a wistful sigh and Anakin chuckled softly as he took a bite from the fruit he held.
Obi-Wan dropped his head back onto his hand and tried to follow the conversation, but once more he was getting lost.
Shmi Skywalker was a senator? From what planet? Tatooine? But that would mean that Tatooine would had to have become a member of the Republic.
Fascinating.
Owen finished his drink and stood up. "We saw your ship come in Ani and I was wondering if you might stop by and look at one of my evaporators that's malfunctioning. I would have asked Obi-Wan, but I was pretty sure negotiating with the thing wouldn't fix it." Owen chuckled as he looked down at the older Jedi, who basically stared at him straight-faced in return. Owen looked back to Anakin with a concerned and worried brow. Anakin stood and patted his step-brother on the back, shook his head and ushered the visitors back toward the entrance.
"Don't' worry about him. I'll stop by when I'm finished in town and we'll see what we can do."
"Thanks Ani." Beru stated, placing a kiss to the Jedi's cheek.
"See you later Padmé." Owen called out from the door as Beru waved and the two headed down the path in the cliff toward their home in the distance.
Anakin turned back. "I have to be going too. The elections close in less than an hour and I need to oversee the counting of the ballots."
Padmé rose and followed Anakin to the outer doorway. Obi-Wan walked behind her in a confused stupor.
"After I help Owen, I have to be getting back to the Temple."
"You're leaving so soon?" Obi-Wan questioned, not sure why he was concerned with Anakin's announcement, other than the fact that he assumed Padmé would be leaving with him.
"Yes, Master. Some of us aren't lucky enough to get a three-month paternity leave. I'll be back in a couple of months. And Padmé, you have to promise to contact me as soon as your labor begins. I don't want to miss the birth of my godson."
Anakin pulled the hood of his robe over his head, placed a kiss to Padmé's cheek and hugged Obi-Wan. Holding the older Jedi at arm's length, he frowned slightly. "Master? Maybe you should go in and take a nap. You look terrible."
