CHAPTER FOUR
Obi-Wan arrived at the medcenter. He skipped the information desk and headed straight towards the turbolift. He was a Jedi Master, no one would question him.
He followed Anakin's Force signature. Once the turbolift landed on the right floor, he exited and walked down the hallway. The corridor was cluttered with family members of random patients. He also heard many babies cry. Was this the maternity floor?
Obi-Wan stumbled across the Alderaani senator. "Senator Organa?" Obi-Wan asked, surprised.
Bail, who had been sitting down on a bench in the corridor, rose to shake hands with the Jedi Master. "Master Kenobi, I guess you've heard?"
"Heard what?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Heard about Padmé." Bail smiled, "She just gave birth. The nurse said that she would admit me any minute now."
Obi-Wan stared at the senator, shocked.
"I'm guessing you haven't heard?" Bail assumed.
Obi-Wan shook his head slowly.
"Ah." Bail nodded, "How are you here then? You followed Anakin?"
Obi-Wan nodded sheepishly, "Is he here?"
"He's inside."
Obi-Wan frowned, "I've realized that Anakin and Padmé have a close relationship, but…"
Bail nodded, "I know. I didn't want to intrude while she was in labor, but I guess Anakin felt he was a lot closer to her. I tried contacting her family. It would help if I knew who the father was."
Obi-Wan nodded, unable to say anything.
The doctor who had been tending to Padmé finally emerged through the doors. She smiled at the two men.
"Senator Organa… Master Kenobi… It's such a pleasure to have all these important people in my presence. I feel honored!" The young doctor blushed.
Obi-Wan chuckled, "Is Anakin in there?"
The doctor nodded, "Along with Padmé and their twins."
"Twins?" Both Obi-Wan and Bail exclaimed. Neither of them noticed that the doctor accidently said 'their' twins.
The young doctor nodded, smiling. She stepped aside to allow the two men to enter the chamber.
They walked in cautiously.
What Obi-Wan saw was unbelievable to him. There was his former Padawan, holding an infant in his arms and sitting on a couch. The senator was still in the bed. She seemed exhausted; her hair was askew and she had bags under her eyes. She, too, was holding an infant.
Padmé looked up and smiled at the Jedi Master and senator.
"Bail! Obi-Wan!"
Suddenly, Anakin's face shot up at the sound of his old master's name.
Bail walked over to Padmé and looked down at the young girl in her arms, "It seems I got you here just in time."
Padmé beamed at him, "What would I have done if you hadn't come to my help? Thank you…"
Bail chuckled.
Obi-Wan made his way towards Anakin. He sat next to him on the couch.
Anakin nervously smiled at Obi-Wan, "I felt that the senator was unwell, I had to come see if she was alright."
Obi-Wan nodded. He looked down at the bundle of joy in Anakin's arms. A smile crossed his lips.
He looked up at Padmé, "What are their names?"
"Luke and Leia." Padmé answered, beaming.
Bail smiled, "Beautiful names for beautiful children."
Padmé chuckled.
Obi-Wan stood to get a better look at Leia who was in Padmé's arms. "She already has so much hair."
Bail chuckled, "Is she going to have extravagant hairstyles like her mother?"
Padmé grinned, "I'm counting on it."
"What about Luke?" Bail continued, "Will he live up to your status?"
Padmé chuckled, "Whatever they choose to do in life is fine by me."
Anakin gave Luke to Padmé so that now she had a child on each of her arms, "You'll be a wonderful mother, Padmé."
Padmé looked up at Anakin with tears glistening in her eyes, "Thank you, Anakin. For everything."
Anakin nodded, smiling.
"I contacted your family." Bail informed, "I hope that's okay. I didn't know what else to do."
Padmé bit her lip; she had never really told her family about her secret marriage or pregnancy. "Thank you, Bail. Were they shocked?"
Bail bit his lip apologetically, "A little. I'm sorry; I didn't know that you hadn't told them."
Padmé shook her head, "It's fine. You did the right thing. Thank you. I should have told them earlier myself…"
Obi-Wan tapped his fingers against a nearby nightstand. He was contemplating over to bring the topic up or not…
"Excuse me if I'm overstepping my boundaries, Padmé, but why did you leave your pregnancy secret?"
Padmé sighed, "Truthfully, I hoped I could have the baby back on Naboo. I didn't want it to be subject to any scrutiny. I thought I could keep my baby safer on Naboo, away from all of the politics and war."
Obi-Wan nodded, "Of course. That's reasonable."
"I'm guessing you don't want to tell anyone about this just yet." Bail realized.
Padmé smiled at him, "You're right."
Bail nodded, "If you ever need anything Padmé, Breha and I would be happy to help. Breha is coming over to stay on Coruscant with me for a couple of days. Don't forget, we live in the same building."
Padmé chuckled, "Of course, thank you Bail."
Bail bid farewell to the new mother and two Jedi and then went on his way.
Obi-Wan smiled at the twins one last time. He looked over at Anakin, "Shall we?"
Anakin took a deep breath. He glanced between Obi-Wan and Padmé. This is my chance, he thought. This is my chance to let him know the truth…
Anakin opened his mouth, and just as he was about to say it, Padmé's doctor walked in.
"Padmé, the twins need to be fed now."
Padmé looked up at the doctor, "Oh, of course."
Anakin mentally kicked himself.
"Let's go, Obi-Wan." Anakin said, trying not to let his voice reveal how he was feeling inside. He wanted to stay with Padmé and his twins. He took one last look at Padmé. She seemed sad to see him go.
No, not sad. More like, heart-broken.
Was this how it was going to be for the rest of their lives? Hiding? Wasn't Anakin going to do something—anything—to fix it? Didn't he care enough to sacrifice his job as a Jedi for a chance to live with his family?
He couldn't keep the words from coming out of his lips, "Thank you for letting us in here, Doctor."
The young doctor smiled at the Jedi, "No problem."
Anakin followed Obi-Wan out of the maternity wing. He followed him out to his speeder.
His thoughts wouldn't escape him. He couldn't live a lie anymore…
He sat in the pilot seat of his yellow speeder. Obi-Wan sat beside him. "What's the matter, Anakin?"
Anakin didn't look in Obi-Wan's direction. He wasn't going to be able to see the disappointed look on his old master's face when he told him the truth.
"You seem like you didn't want to leave back there." Obi-Wan continued.
"I didn't." Anakin said, staring off into space in front of him, the speeder wasn't even moving yet.
Obi-Wan smiled softly, "I understand, those twins were adorable. You didn't want to leave Padmé's children."
"No." Anakin said, making his decision. "I didn't want to leave my children."