Hours passed as they sat communicating with the Force. The ship practically hummed with life. Not so strong as it had been on Tython, but strong enough. Occasionally one of the Masters would feel a blazing signature within the firmament, only to be rebuffed firmly, as the Force-Sensitive it belonged to slammed up their shields.

A knock on the door jolted them out of their meditative state, and Obi-Wan rose swiftly to answer it. A young officer stood outside with a request for the Council to meet with General Dodonna.

They were halfway through the meeting with Dodonna and Obi-Wan was feeling increasingly wearied, how had he forgotten the boredom of these briefings, when there was a pulse of warmth suddenly within his mind. It had bypassed his shields and on tracking the warmth he found it led to a mischievous former Padawan. Who had not lost his sense of humour it would appear as he tugged insistently on the bond, such as he had done as a young boy.

Obi-Wan figuratively rolled his eyes at Anakin, getting only amusement in response, before he excused himself quietly from the briefing. The Force guided him around the corner from the briefing room where he found Anakin, predictably, waiting for him with one foot propped against the wall and his head tipped back, resting comfortably.

On sensing Obi-Wan he pushed away from the wall and straightened, stretching.

"Force, I thought you were never going to come," he yawned. "I've been waiting for ages. Come on Master."

He set off at a quick trot along the corridor, leaving Obi-Wan no choice but to attempt to keep up. When he finally did catch up he was somewhat out of sorts.

"Is there a reason why you pulled me out of an important meeting, with one of your generals I hasten to add?" he inquired acerbically.

"Because," Anakin responded cheerfully, taking no notice of his sarcasm as he hadn't many times before, "If this doesn't happen soon properly, it won't, not until you meet on a mission."

Anakin's cryptic comments intrigued him as the two of them made their way to the, hanger?

Yes, indeed it was. Anakin wove his way through the ships easily, making his way towards a battered Corellian freighter sitting in the back corner. The ramp was down.

Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows. "That thing's a hunk of junk!" he exclaimed.

Anakin chuckled. "It may seem like junk Master, but the engines are a piece of artwork, wonderfully wired, and the hyperdrive is incredible. It looks terrible but it's saved all our hides more than once."

He rapped on the ramp struts.

"Solo?"

There was an answering yell from inside. A man's voice. "We're in the main cabin Anakin."

His former Padawan grinned and went up the ramp, ducking his head underneath as he boarded. Left with no other choice Obi-Wan followed and found himself inside a dusty ship. Anakin had made his way ahead, down a small corridor, to the main lounge. When Obi-Wan entered what felt like a dozen heads turned his way.

A huge Wookie was bent over a holotable, handing tools to a pair of trousers sticking out from underneath. The trousers had Corellian bloodstripes down the sides and there was a variety of curses in multiple languages issuing from the form. The young pilot from earlier was seated beside the legs, his legs folded underneath him.

Leia Skywalker, Mara Jade and another blonde girl were seated on the couch behind the holotable, giggling, heads bent together. In the corner 2 teenage boys, obviously the youngest of the group, were seated cross-legged opposite one another with their eyes closed and palms resting on their knees. The Force swirled powerfully around them.

Obi-Wan glanced around again and finally spotted Anakin standing over a dark-haired boy who was tinkering with a droid. R2-D2 was stood next to the young boy with one of his delicate instruments extended.

With a start, Obi-Wan realised that Anakin had brought him here to introduce him to the Skywalker clan. Sure enough there was a step on the ramp and a moment later a feminine voice called "Anakin," and Padme Amidala Skywalker appeared in the doorway.

She laughed slightly at Obi-Wan's confusion and crossed the room. She bent and kissed the top of the young man's head who was tinkering with the droid. He grinned up at her and returned to messing with the wires.

Anakin leant to murmur in his wife's ear and when she looked up at him in shock he smirked down at her. Then they both glanced back at Obi-Wan who got a sinking feeling in his stomach at that particular look.

"All right," Anakin suddenly declared in a loud voice, "Solo, out from under the table if you please. Second twins, come out of it please, we need you. Girls."

The various young people around the room looked up from their conversations, Leia Skywalker catching Obi-Wan's eye from across the room and grinned at him.

The twin boys turned around and rose from the floor. Seeing them close up it was clear that they were identical twins, inheriting their father's build, blonde curls and height rather than their mother's stature. The only thing that differentiated them was their eyes. The on the left had light brown eyes, the same eyes that gazed out of Padme Skywalker's face, the boy on the right had the blue eyes of his father. They cocked their heads to the left simultaneously and gazed at Obi-Wan carefully. Anakin grinned at Obi-Wan over his sons' heads as the Corellian man slid out from under the table and sat up, rubbing his hands on a small cloth that the Wookiee had handed to him.

"Alright," Padme said suddenly, clapping her hands together. "Everyone, this is Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi," she waved at Obi-Wan. Instantly he was treated to 9 pairs of eyes fastening on him, six of them Skywalkers.

"Obi-Wan," she continued. "This is Luke and Leia, Mara, whom you already know, Jinn, Hope, Owen and Obi-Wan." She indicated each person in turn as she referred to them.

"And this," Anakin continued, "is Captain Han Solo and his first mate Chewbacca."

The Wookiee growled in greeting and the Captain grinned at him before scrambling to his feet.

"Well," he drawled, once on his feet, "Chewie and me are gonna go work on the upper dorsal gun a little bit while you folks deal with this."

Chewbacca collected the tool kit and the two of them disappeared down the corridor in the direction of the exit hatch.

As they went Obi-Wan saw Leia and Luke Skywalker roll their eyes in tandem before Luke rolled to his feet.

He was small and lithe, but with the blond hair and blue eyes of his father. His twin moved to stand beside him, and Obi-Wan chuckled inwardly. A mini-Anakin and Padme, Force help the galaxy. Mara Jade he already knew and so she had not bothered to stand and merely gave him a half salute, green eyes sparkling.

Jinn Skywalker grinned up at him from his spot on the floor, elbow deep in another machine. He flicked dark brown curls out of his blue eyes and smirked, before a wrench levitated into his palm.

Hope Skywalker swung herself off the bench and stretched. She was a tall young woman, at least half a head bigger than her twin older siblings. Padme's brown eyes sparkled with mischief and Anakin's grin curved her face. At first glance she seemed quite ordinary but on close examination it was obvious there was something that made her stand out from the others. Her waist-length straight hair was, for lack of a better word, striped! Blond hair mixed in with brown creating what appeared to be streaks of colour in her hair, but in reality there was no underlying colour. When she moved her head the hair interwove creating a fascinating psychedelic blend of colour. Hope laughed when she caught sight of Obi-Wan's incredulous glance.

"Everyone reacts like you the first time they see me Master Kenobi."

"It's the result of Padme being exposed to the Force strongly when she was a few months pregnant," Anakin said from behind Obi-Wan. "We weren't sure how it was going to affect the baby. We're glad it manifested in a unique style of hair rather than having a more adverse side-effect."

His daughter giggled and then turned to her mother. "Mum will you help…?

Padme laughed as well. "Of course sweetheart, have you got everything?"

Hope nodded and then settled down on the floor in front of one of the chairs. Padme sat behind her and extended her hand. Hope passed something back and Obi-Wan watched as Padme began, brushing her hair of all things.

A hand clapped down on his shoulder firmly and Anakin tugged him towards the other young people.

Luke Skywalker extended his hand and Obi-Wan shook it in a daze. "Luke," he introduced. "Lovely to meet you Master Kenobi. Please don't make assumptions about me based on the conduct of my sweet, charming, insolent twin sister."

His twin elbowed him in the side and he huffed, temporarily winded, before she bestowed a dazzling smile on Obi-Wan as she shook his hand as well. "Leia, Master Kenobi," she said. "But we've already met."

Her brother raised his eyebrows and she leant up to whisper in his ear. After a moment he guffawed and Obi-Wan found his cheeks going red. Beside him Anakin raised an eyebrow.

"Now that sounds like something I'd be interested in hearing about later twins," he remarked.

"Yes Dad," they responded in unison.

Jinn waved a wrench at him and grinned, a piece of flimsi between his teeth, before returning to his wiring.

Finally the younger set of twins approached from where they had been standing back slightly. The boy on the right extended his hand "I'm Owen Master Kenobi," he said, blue eyes like Anakin's. "I'm the oldest."

His brother grimaced at him and then extended his hand. "Obi-Wan Skywalker Master Kenobi. I understand I'm named for you."

Obi-Wan shook hands with his namesake. "An honour I hope I live up to, young Skywalker," he said dryly.

Obi-Wan Junior laughed delightedly. "Dad said you'd say something like that. He's told us lots of stories about when he was your apprentice."

"Did he now?" Obi-Wan responded. "But I'm sure he hasn't told you about the mission to Alderaan."

The twins grinned in unison. Behind them Jinn's head jerked around, the statement catching Luke and Leia's attention as well. Beside him Anakin groaned.

"Master, don't tell them that one!"

"You aren't going to be able to get out of it now Ani!" his wife called teasingly.

Obi-Wan glanced over at Padme to see her coiling her daughter's plaited hair into a bun at the back of her head. Hope's hair made swirls of colour through the bun. Padme had pins held between her teeth and was securing the last few strands of hair into place.

Surprisingly he found himself relaxing in their company as he sat down with the Skywalker children to regale them with stories of their father's apprenticeship. Anakin and Padme sat with them, he groaning at intermittent intervals or tossing comments at him, she tucked under his arm, laughing at her husband and his best friend.

They sat there for hours, Ahsoka joining them part way through to tell stories of the Clone Wars, throwing in her own comments about all the times she'd had to rescue the two men. The situation was familiar despite the presence of Padme Skywalker and the children, and he and Anakin slipped into their customary banter fairly quickly. In fact he found that he had an ally in mocking Anakin as Luke and Leia put their oars in, with teasing aimed at their father.

Over time they moved into the canteen and began to eat together. As they sat laughing Obi-Wan was suddenly aware of the various stares they were getting from around the canteen, specifically from the Jedi who were eyeing them.

The Jedi of course knew the stories and had been warned about the necessary attitudes towards the three highest members of High Command. But still for them to see one of the Order's most respected Masters laughing and talking casually with people that, the majority of them, disapproved of, was sure to be a shock. But Obi-Wan found himself uncaring as he enjoyed the company of people he had thought never to encounter again. Eventually the young people drifted away and Obi-Wan found himself sitting, as he was wont to do years ago, with Anakin, Padme and Ahsoka sharing stories and reliving old jokes. When he returned to his cabin that night he found himself at peace for the first time in many years, falling asleep easily.

(AN: Sorry this took so long to update- so much school work to do! Updating will be a little slower now because of all the work I have to do. I'm expecting to update every two to three weeks probably, hopefully a little faster.

Also check out my other story 'The Angel Network'- it's a Rogue One AU with Anakin, Padme, Luke and Leia as part of the Rebel Alliance.

The8thDalmuti)