Obi-Wan groaned and rolled off the bed to his feet, rubbing his eyes. Across the room Mace was pulling off his covers and swinging his legs off the bed. They both quickly pulled on their outer tunics and Obi-Wan ran a comb through his hair and beard so they looked vaguely under control. Boots and cloaks followed the rest and they emerged from the cabin looking proper and dignified like the Jedi Masters they were.

Lieutenant Jade was waiting for them outside the door and upon them emerging she gestured sideways. They walked back to High Command in silence and she left them at the door with a bow and a smile. The door to High Command slid open and the two Jedi Masters entered.

High Command was arrayed as before, along one side of the table. Padme smiled when she saw the Jedi Masters and gestured for them to take up their position on the other side of the table. They quickly placed themselves appropriately and waited for High Command to begin.

"Well, Master Jedi," Padme Skywalker began. "High Command would first like to thank you for making the journey to meet with us today and for your proposition that we have taken some time to consider. I have been nominated by the rest of High Command to thank you for everything and to formally invite you to join the Alliance to Restore the Republic."

She came around the table and extended her hand to Mace Windu. He took it and shook firmly. There was a solemn silence and then clapping erupted from among High Command and a small cheer. Obi-Wan found himself grinning along with the rest of them. Padme shook his hand as well and then he was engulfed in a slew of Generals, Admirals and others all shaking his hand frantically. When the congratulations ended the Jedi found themselves back on their side of the table but with a much less formal atmosphere then before. Obi-Wan found himself looking straight at Anakin who was grinning with an abandon he had not previously seen on his face.

"Master Jedi," Padme spoke again, bringing their attention back to her. "High Command have nominated Senator Mothma and General Cracken to negotiate the specifics of the treaty with your graces. May the Force be with you."

She smiled and inclined her head, moving round and through the hidden door that Obi-Wan realised she must have entered through earlier. Anakin grinned again and followed her, they heard only the beginning of a conversation as he said "Angel…"

Obi-Wan glanced back towards Senator Mothma and the rest of High Command expecting to see them dispersing to their own duties. Instead he found them massed on the either side of the table looking sternly at him and Mace.

"Senator?" he queried.

"High Command wanted to talk to you without the presence or knowledge of Leader and General Skywalker Master Jedi," Mothma began. "We have something to say regarding the Skywalkers that we expect all the Jedi, including the Council to conform to. Padme and Anakin have no idea that this is going on. And they will not find out if we have anything to do with it," she indicated the remainder of High Command as she continued, "Padme and Anakin will be furious if they find out. Anakin the worst I should think."

Mace and Obi-Wan exchanged alarmed glances. Anything that made several beings, who were formidable in their own right, want to hold a private meeting and warn several times not to inform the persons whom the meeting was about must be serious. They both nodded briefly and returned their glances to the Senator.

"We are aware that General Skywalker was a member of the Jedi Order in the lead up to Order 66 and the Rise of the Empire. We are also aware that his marriage to Leader Skywalker and their children will be seen as breaking the Jedi Code, as well as the fact that he has not tried to find you in the years since Order 66, which you might have expected. We understand that some of the members of your Order will be angry and frustrated by the fact that Skywalker has a family," she paused a moment before continuing.

"But one thing High Command will not accept is any dismissive behaviour towards General Skywalker, any refusal to follow the orders of Leader or General Skywalker and any subversion or talking of Leader Skywalker in a derogatory way. The same applies to their children who have done nothing more than been born. General Tano has already said that she will challenge anyway who displays any sort of poor behaviour towards the Leader or Fleet Commander to a duel. What we did not tell her was that these conditions also apply to her. We," she indicated the rest of High Command, "respectfully suggest to your Council that you do not select Jedi Knights for posting to the Alliance unless they are able to show the proper deference and ability to follow orders of Leader Skywalker, General Skywalker and General Tano, no matter their personal opinions. We also do not want to hear any more talk of General Skywalker going to stand before the Council. As the Fleet Commander of the Alliance to Restore the Republic he has a higher status than that of a Jedi Knight that the Council can order to heel. The entirety of High Command, with the obvious exceptions, has taken a stand on this and will enact appropriate disciplinary measures on any Knight or Master who we feel is not capable of measuring up to the high standards that the Alliance sets for all its soldiers. Are we clear?"

Princess Elena added her own thoughts. "My father has also asked me to convey that House Organa stands with the High Command on this. He will withdraw support from the Order if these conditions are breached."

Obi-Wan and Mace looked at each other for a moment. It was obvious that High Command were fiercely protective of Padme, Anakin and Ahsoka and would not stand to see them insulted or for any insubordination. Mace cleared this throat and stepped forward.

"Your reservations, gentlebeings, are quite understood. We will convey your additional demands to the Jedi Council for the appropriate selection of Knights to join the Alliance."

There were instant smiles and relaxation and Obi-Wan got the feeling that they had just passed a very important test that had been set by High Command.

Mon Mothma smiled kindly at them and then instantly segued into the more minute details of the agreement between the Jedi Order and the Alliance to Restore the Republic as the rest of High Command disappeared.

Three hours later Obi-Wan sat back in his chair exhausted. They had spent hours discussing and agreeing on every detail and he was quite frankly done. Mothma saw his exhaustion and chuckled.

"Perhaps you would like some food Master Jedi?" she enquired. "After all it is nearly 21 hours into the standard cycle."

"Please, Senator."

She rose, making her way out the door, and along, down and through the corridors of the ship. Finally Obi-Wan heard a swell of noise building up from along the next corridor. Mothma made her way to a large set of double doors and they slid open revealing a cavernous room full of tables and stools. A food counter stood along the left side and pilots and soldiers were queueing up for food. The room was full and noisy, laughter rebounding off the walls. Obi-Wan caught glimpses of sabaac games scattered around the room. They made their way through the line swiftly and collected food. It was similar to what had been served during the Clone Wars on board the Republic's ships and so was familiar to both the Jedi.

Mothma wove through the crowd ahead of them, making her way to a table at the back of the room where Padme, Anakin, Rieekan and Dodonna were seated eating together. The two generals were on one side conferring over a datapad and the Skywalkers were on the other, Padme leaned into Anakin's side, and his arm around her. There was a slight shimmer around the table and when they concentrated both Jedi Masters could feel Anakin subtly manipulating the Force to disguise both his and Padme's faces. As they made their way towards them Obi-Wan caught a glimpse of familiar red hair out of the corner of his eye. When he turned his head fully he was rewarded with the sight of Lieutenant Jade seated at a table with Princess Elena, a Wookie, a dark-haired Corellian, another dark-haired girl, a blonde boy, 4 younger teenagers and an assortment of pilots. They were playing Sabaac and there was much laughter and taunting going on. When they got to the table where the others were sitting Padme looked up with a smile and motioned them to come and sit, while not altering her posture, an understated reminder of their position.

Senator Mothma set her tray down beside Dodonna and slid easily into the tactics conversation that the Generals were having. It appeared that mealtime conversations were fairly standard. High Command never stopped it seemed. Indeed there was a stack of 3 or 4 datapads resting beside Anakin's right arm, although he was not paying much attention to them, his attention back on his wife again.

The Jedi Masters set their trays down awkwardly opposite Anakin and Padme who seemed completely unaware as they murmured to each other. Finally they looked up and Obi-Wan found himself engaging in a polite, formal, stilted conversation with one of his close colleagues, his former best friend/almost brother and said brother's wife, a personal friend to Obi-Wan himself. The conversation only became slightly less awkward when Mace brought up Mara Jade in a desperate attempt for an easy topic of conversation. Both Padme and Anakin's faces lit up as they talked about their adopted daughter. There was only one thing that was mildly confusing to Obi-Wan.

There were various, and numerous, references to the 'kids being wild' and what exactly 'Luke' and 'Leia' had got up to with Mara. The continued use of unfamiliar names and places made the conversation hard to follow. At that point Obi-Wan felt the need to interrupt.

"I'm sorry Anakin, milady, but I find myself at a loss. Who are 'Luke' and 'Leia'?"

The Skywalkers exchanged startled glances, (and really it was surprising how quickly Obi-Wan had switched to thinking of them as such) before Anakin responded.

"They are… our twins Master. Luke and Leia Skywalker."

For a brief moment Obi-Wan was distracted by the familiar, fond form of address, before his mind locked on to the most important point. Mace got there before him.

"Twins!" he spluttered.

"And the others," Padme added.

"The others?" Obi-Wan queried.

She nodded and then sat forward slightly. "Luke and Leia are 19 years old, I was pregnant with them at the time of Order 66 if you remember? Mara is 17 nearly 18 we think. She was around a year old when we adopted her. Then there's Jinn. He's 17 now. Hope is 15. Finally there's the youngest. A complete surprise, and unplanned so soon after Hope. The 'Second Twins' are 14."

She hesitated and exchanged glances with her husband. He nodded and she continued.

"Our second twins are Owen and…" she paused leaving Anakin to finish:

"Obi-Wan, although we call him Ben."

Obi-Wan felt like he was hearing things from a distance, or from underwater, as he repeated "Obi-Wan?"

Padme smiled at him with watery eyes.

"Obi-Wan,"she confirmed.

"You named your son for me?"

Anakin chuckled. "Not your usual loquacious self Master?" he teased.

"I do believe I have never seen Master Kenobi speechless." Mace interjected cheerfully. "You are to be congratulated Lady Skywalker."

Padme laughingly bowed her head in thanks as Obi-Wan stared blankly into space. Anakin reached his hand across the table, resting it on his shoulder and shook firmly. Obi-Wan shook himself out of his reverie and grinned back at his best friend. He was still dealing with it. His best friend who had named his son after him. He swallowed and then smiled at Anakin.

Anakin grinned back at him and then removed his hand and returned it back to around his wife who leant back against him again. He bent down and kissed her gently. Both Jedi Masters averted their eyes, still uncomfortable with public displays of affection from the couple across the table.

There was a soft chiming from the clock on the canteen wall and Padme looked up and gently extricated herself from Anakin. She rose and stepped out from the bench and away from the table and stretched.

The Jedi Masters and her husband rose as well and Obi-Wan and Mace watched as Anakin neatly stacked his and Padme's trays and then collected the datapads that he had been using.

"Well gentlemen, I think I will retire," Padme said yawning.

"I'll join you Angel," Anakin said hastily.

His wife laughed, "I'd rather you round up the rugrats first, love. They need to be reminded of their curfew I think."

Obi-Wan witnessed the astonishing sight of Anakin Skywalker making shaak eyes at his wife. She giggled at him and rested her hand on the side of his head, her fingers entwining in a few of his golden curls, pulling his head down to hers to whisper something in his head, her lips shielded by his hair. He swallowed and then nodded as she pulled away.

"Sure thing Angel. I'll join you in a bit."

She grinned and pulled up the hood of her robe, collecting the datapads as she made her way out of the canteen, soldiers leaping to their feet and saluting her as she passed by. The Jedi sat back down again slowly.

Anakin winked at the two Jedi Masters as he made his way over to the table that Obi-Wan had noticed earlier. He spoke for a moment to the four younger teenagers, Lieutenant Jade, the blond boy and the dark-haired girl. They listened and nodded before he moved on to talking to the group of pilots, who by the end of his lecture looked a little sheepish. Finally he collected up the trays and made his way to dispose of them, muttering something about checking on the bridge before heading to bed.