Trigger Warning: Pregnancy, including discussions of what to do about it.

Chapter 19 - Unexpected - Part 2

About a Year Ago:

It wasn't a usual day that Adi was called out of a Council meeting. Even more rare that it was the Halls of Healing and that it concerned her Padawan. Still, of all the news to hear, that was the least likely.

Still, one does not become a master by flying off the handle due to stress. The Tholothian Master took a deep breath and exhaled, letting go of her emotions.

"Understandably, we don't carry them here. But you can go to any pharmacy on Coruscant and get the vitamins," said T'ra Saa, a Neti Jedi Master and healer.

Adi laughed. She couldn't help it. Her Padawan was expecting… A sign as blatant as any of her floundering respect for the Code. And they were here discussing nutritional supplements, like any other woman on Coruscant.

"Thank you. Where is my Padawan now?" Adi asked.

"Master Che is with her now. This was all quite a shock to her. I recommend letting her sleep on it. Go easy on her. She's not the first. My own Master had a similar indiscretion in her youth," said T'ra.

'What does she mean by that? I know Master Saa is old, a couple centuries in fact, but how can Siri be a Jedi now?'

Adi nodded. "I promise not to be too harsh."

T'ra smiled a disbelieving smile, and held a hand out to lead her. "She's right this way."

Siri opened her eyes. It wasn't that early in the morning, she should be up by now. If it was a normal day, her Master would have been in here by now, throwing open her curtains and making a ruckus about hard work and diligence. "In my Padawan-hood, I never slept late. I trudged uphill barefoot on missions and studied two times harder for the next test."

All Bogus, of course. As a youngling Siri had repeated all the stories to her Grandmaster, who was not ashamed to correct them. "That was ONE time. We were on a mission to Jaresh and she lost her shoes in the mud, then she refused to ride the Nerf we were offered. And yes, she studied two times harder, to make up for the partying she had done before then. Otherwise your Master never would have passed Jedi History."

Oh, but that was on normal mornings. Ever since that news, she supposed, they never would be normal again. Now that Siri truly thought about it, she didn't have a real purpose to get up. That day, her Master just brought her back to their shared apartment and let her go to sleep. There were no lectures, no yelling, and no 'why would you do this?'

Not that Siri had an answer to that. There was that shared mission where she and Obi were lost and got drunk eating berries they scavenged from the wilderness, as their Masters worked to find them again. Or any of the times after that, when they found each other at the Temple and things just heated a certain way. There was the time Obi brought her a stone from Gale. It shocked her for a while, until he explained that it was an Amaralite stone. Completely uncut, but within it was a beautiful gem, waiting to be revealed. Siri clutched that stone to her chest and smiled. It was oddly romantic.

Siri threw on her Jedi robes, and went out to grab some cereal. She didn't feel like the Refectory right now. There was a note on the Conservator that caught her attention when she went to get the blue milk.

"Going to a Council meeting. Remember to take your vitamins, Padawan."

Siri sighed. 'It figures. The Council is much more important. Why waste time with a defunct Padawan when you have real work to do?'

"Huh," Siri sighed. "At least Obi-Wan is returning today. If only I knew what to tell him."

"That is ridiculous." Adi stood up in the Council Chambers, so her compatriots would know just how she felt. "You can't seriously be ousting my Padawan for one mistake."

Mace tried to speak, but Adi waved him to silence. "No look. Master Saa said this wasn't the first time this has happened. She even implied others became Masters, and I've been researching it in the archives. There is an alternate plan for situations such as this."

Ki-Adi-Mundi cleared his throat. "This plan has been used before, however it will be a test for young Siri, far more difficult than the tests we usually put even masters through."

"Unless there are any objections." Mace looked pointedly around the room. "We will offer this option to Padawan Siri. It will be her choice."

"Thank you." Adi smiled big. "I know Siri will make an excellent Jedi. You won't regret this."

"Has she confided in you who the father is?" Mace asked.

"Uh, no. Not exactly. When I asked she told me a story about meeting someone on one of our missions. I don't believe it for a second. If you asked me, I'd say it's gotta be Jinn's Padawan, Kenobi."

Everyone immediately had something to say about that, and they all talked at once. They were interrupted by Dooku's booming voice, "You can't blame Qui-Gon for this. It's not his fault his Padawan is floozy."

"Oh I can blame him, alright." Adi cried.

"It hasn't even been confirmed to be Padawan Kenobi's yet." Depa Billaba diplomatically put forward.

"Easily confirmed, matters like this are," Yoda said. "Tested, the youngling will be. Discuss this then, with Master Jinn, we shall."

Both Dooku and Adi nodded. They could live with that.

Adi walked with Siri down to the Refectory. She marveled at how easy it was to convince the Padawan to join her… Until they got into the Dining room, that is.

There, across the room, he sat, laughing and conversing with another group of Padawans.

"Oh no you don't!" Adi ordered, when she saw Siri try to slip away.

"He's my friend. And he's just got back from a mission," Siri grumbled.

"Hey Siri!" Obi-Wan called out.

"No. I forbid it." Adi had half a mind to go over there and set Jinn's Padawan straight. Make him take responsibility and punch him in the nose just for it, but she knew the Council wouldn't approve.

Siri turned apologetic eyes on Obi-Wan.

Adi, meanwhile, ordered her, "You're going to write me a paper on the foundations of the code, and each of its principles. I want it so long it rivals the old code itself." Siri's eyes went wide, as they should. The old code was a very long document. Scholars wrote the new code to be much shorter and help Younglings to study it. It's what most initiates memorized, but for official uses the old code remained.

"What's the point? What's the point in any of this!" Siri threw her arms up and yelled. Many eyes turned to her, but Siri didn't stay. She turned and ran back towards their rooms.

Siri cried. Going to the Refectory today she intended to tell Obi-Wan about their… their news. She had let herself believe a fantasy about him leaving with her. Together they'd raise their baby and nothing would separate them again.

However, as she watched him, so happy with other Jedi, she remembered Master Jinn's warning, back when they first started having feelings. That warning about growing to resent each other for the life lost was what did it. She could never stop him from being a Jedi. It was his dream.

A loud knock at the door interrupted her. Siri looked with the Force, and it was Master Windu outside. 'He's probably looking for Master Adi.' Siri wiped her eyes and went to answer the door.

"Padawan Tachi," Mace bowed.

"Master Gallia is not here," Siri started to explain.

It surprised her, but he did not listen. He stepped into the apartment. "Actually, I have come to see you. The council has made a decision in regards to your, uh, condition." Mace awkwardly cleared his throat.

Gee, I didn't think they'd do this here. Now! Poor Master Windu, he looks really uncomfortable.

Mace sat down on one chair while Siri, settled on her fate, took a seat across from him. "I thought you'd be more comfortable here, than in the Council Chambers."

"I am, thank you." Siri gulped.

Mace took a deep breath. "You will not be allowed to finish your first trimester in the Temple. This is a rule far older than Yoda. The Jedi here will be able to sense your pregnancy soon. And there's too high a chance of everyone getting attached once that happens. You will go to Devaron. At the Temple of Eedit everything will be provided for you until you give birth."

Mace continued, "The Council has decided to give you several options, and to let you decide between them. First, if you wish to leave the order, the choice will be yours, however we will be unable to offer you any stipend beyond what we provide anyone else leaving the order."

Siri blinked with surprise. She had taken it as a given that she'd be made to leave, but here was Mace labeling this as option one.

"Your other options involve giving up the youngling. Now, given your own Midi-Chlorian count, there is a significant chance your infant will be Force Sensitive. If this is the case, we will offer to take the baby and raise him or her as an initiate. If it is not, the order will find an adoptive home for the baby, should you choose to give him or her up."

Siri's head spun. She didn't know if he'd expect her to decide right now. She knew she couldn't. Her fantasy of raising it with Obi-Wan was still freshly cut.

"No." Mace reached out a hand to her. A rare and fleeting sign of empathy from the stoic Master. Siri blinked and it was gone. "No, we don't expect you to decide right now. In fact, we would encourage you to take your time, and be sure. You will be unable to change your mind afterwards."

"If you do give up the youngling," Mace went on. "You will have two other options. First, the easiest, you could join Agricorps. You'd be sent to Bandomeer and have no more contact with the youngling. Or, this is the harder option, you could come back here, and continue working towards your knighthood with Master Gallia."

Siri's eyes grew large. She never imagined having that option. Then she remembered their last words to one another. "W-would Master Gallia still have me?"

"Adi was the one who argued for the third option. She was even prepared to go up to bat against Dooku on your behalf. I'd say that there is every chance she'll continue to teach you."

Siri smiled.

"Now, I must say this. If you continue your padawan-ship, and if your youngling becomes an initiate, you still won't be allowed to have contact. You won't be allowed to take them as a Padawan, and you won't be able to bond with them. In fact, we will ask you to take a mission after the birth, to provide more time for the infant to settle. I can provide several options to you, the important thing is for you to be away for a few months."

Siri nodded as she tried to remember everything he told her. 'Master doesn't hate me.' This fact alone meant the world to her.

Siri was packing her belongings. They were telling everyone that she was going on a respite retreat, location undisclosed.

Bant knocked on the door and Adi let her walk right in. She made her way to Siri's room. "Sooooo, Obi's been asking about you."

"What have you told him!" Siri almost shouted.

Bant raised her hands. "Nothing. Your business is not mine to share. I just thought you should know, he's worried."

Siri sighed. "I don't want him to know. If he asks again, tell him… Tell him that I'm going away for a bit."

"A bit," Bant repeated. "So you've decided?"

"No, not a hundred percent yet. But when I think about it, that is really the best option. How would I raise a kid on my own? And being a knight kinda beats a farmer. I mean, really, can you picture me in overalls?"

Bant laughed so hard there were tears. "That's good news, because I talked to Master Fisto, and we're going to Devaron, too. We are not supposed to be going with you officially, though. Master Fisto and I are going on a secret mission to Devaron. And you can't tell anyone where you're going."

"So you get to tell people where you're going, but not who with or what for."

"Yup, that's the gist of it. Only as a trainee Healer I'm supposed to be your birthing coach, not just a friend."

Siri smiled. "I couldn't imagine doing this with anyone else."

Hello,

And that was part 2. Sorry for making you wait, I felt it was best. Part 3 will be coming soon. Everyone, please thank Fanfic dot net user MMM73181, who again, kindly beta read the chapter for me and helped me work out the kinks.

So, remember when I referenced a DNA test in chapter four and then said I wasn't sure if I wanted to dig into that can of worms yet. Well, I got an idea into my head and then I couldn't get it out, so I decided to go ahead with it.

The reason I went with Siri, and not Satine, was because I felt the Satine (Korkie Kenobi) story had been told already and I didn't think I could do anything original with it. I also had trouble figuring out how the Jedi could get a Mandalorian child's DNA, since they weren't part of the Republic, and trying would risk a major diplomatic incident.

Now that I say that, I picture Yoda sitting in a holding cell on Mandalore, waiting for Qui-Gon to post his bail. I guess the rest of the Council scattered when someone yelled "Hey!" and left the poor Grandmaster holding the test kit, and standing over the Duchess's "nephew." Meanwhile Palpatine reads the headlines and laughs. He scratches the multi-billion credit plan for universal domination, and kicks his feet up on the desk. "This is going to be easier than I thought." (Evil Laugh)...