Nyce: I'm glad you liked it :) Don't worry, nothing bad is going to happen to Varian, he'll come back. Of course, I haven't figured it out on the *how* but we'll just have to go through it together. :)
AccioNimbus2000: I didn't kill him off. In fact, he's very much alive... he's just being a pirate right now. :P There, the spoiler for whenever I write him coming back. HE'S A PIRATE. Unfortunately, with no rum. :( thank the Force. Haha, thank you very much. I'm honored that you think so. I certainly try to make my writing good, and am always improving. Hahahahaha XD Sounds like me. I'm no good, and always wind up looking like a little kid - unless we're talking ballroom dancing. Suddenly, I'm a pro, according to the people I've danced with. Its the strangest thing. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter, Its been long enough in the building in my head. :p
SarahMichelleGellarFan: Thank you, and thank you. :) There's a bigger image of that cover on my deviantart profile if you want to see it larger.
Seth Halo: Just for you, I had Kayden make a small appearance into this chapter. :) Mind you, it is *very* small. Although, I will tell you this: Kayden will play a HUGE roll in the sequel, as Padme isn't dead yet. I'll leave you to figure that one out... quite frankly, I'd tell you, but because I can't PM you, I can't really spoil it for anyone else. Sorry. :( Thanks a lot. It makes me happy to hear it.
Kaia: I know. They are cute together. :) I hope you like this, I'm hoping I did a good job on it. Let me know what you think.
Akz251: Haha, yeah he does. Wah. However, I hate tragedy, so he'll come back and be happy :) Nope, he's not going to be in it for a bit longer. And don't worry, he's still alive. Very much so. I can't kill him now, especially now that I've decided to bring him and Yesenia together. So don't worry, he's coming back like Arnold. :P Haha, yeah well its a oneshot. Hopefully its not too sappy, or ridiculous. My muse has gone on vacation, and left me with Loki, of all people. Damn it.
Amillia: Thank you for your review, hon. It actually pushed me a little harder to write this one... so this one is for you :) I hope to hear from you more often.
JoselinCastillo'Skywalker: Me alegra que te gustó :D Hey, entiendo la tarea. No hay problemas. Hummm... En realidad, me gusta ese nombre. Arelyn. Sin duda me agregue a la lista de nombres que tengo. James Franco y Leonardo Dicaprio son sin duda los hombres que me encantó cuando estaba creciendo. Ahora estoy en Ingleses. Jaja. XD me acuerdo. Cabello castaño claro y ojos azules es una combinación perfecta de los dos, aunque yo creo que voy a tener cuatro hijos. Aún no lo sé, sin embargo, ya se verá.
Okay y'all, I'm sorry for the long wait, but my mind has wandered off into Avengersland. My apologies, I will try to be a little more fervent in writing this up. I already have half of the next one done - hopefully, it won't take long to get it done. Thank you for being patient though, and I hope you like this chapter. As always, let me know if you think something ought to be changed, and I shall gladly do so. :) Happy reading.
III.
All is quiet in the galaxy.
The calm before the storm as Empress Kacia moves, silently, taking each step toward her larger goal for galactic domination.
The family of Naberrie rose up in outcry, and have since disappeared from Naboo - Obi-Wan Kenobi and a small team of Jedi trying to find them.
News has reached the galaxy: Padme Amidala, the Queen of Naboo, is dead. A funeral was held in her honor, remembering the late Queen, a symbol of strength even though she is gone.
But at the same time, something else was happening on Naboo...
"C'mon, Leiana, c'mon." Yesenia urged the pregnant woman, watching carefully as the woman pushed. Four hours of labor, and Leiana had yet to give birth – yet, she had no hopes for it happening soon. Leiana let out a cry, the pain shooting through her lower back as she pushed. It was more painful than she'd imagined.
The door opened, and Ozara came in. "How is she?" she asked, coming to her sister's side.
"Where is Obi?" Leiana inquired, "He should be here." she let out another cry of pain, gripping Ozara's hand.
"Anakin has gone to fetch him, they should be here at any moment." Ozara replied, turning around as the door opened again. "Nadia, thank the Force you're here!"
"I came as soon as I heard." Nadia replied, smoothing the hair away from Leiana's face. "How are you dear?"
Leiana grit her teeth, her eyes squeezing shut. "How do you think?" she asked in return.
"Badly then." Nadia muttered.
"Not as bad as Ozara." Yesenia murmured. "She was screaming much louder – cry baby." she shot toward the brunette.
Ozara smirked, "Speak for yourself, Miss-Death-Threats. My poor brother was shrinking away from you as you screamed your red-head off." she joked back, watching as Yesenia narrowed her eyes at her.
"Now is not the time for your bantering, Ozara. Yesenia." Leiana rushed out. "Ooooh, where is Obi-Wan? I want him here."
The sound of crying could be heard in the other room, and Ozara immediately became worried. She had left Leia and Luke in the other room, and as they were nine months old, she always concerned herself that they were eating something they shouldn't – or rather, that Mara was climbing something she shouldn't, and Luke and Leia were complaining down below.
"Here, go to them, and I'll take care of her." Nadia said, taking Leiana's hand away from Ozara and shooing her out. "Shhhhh..."
Ozara could her Leiana cry out as she left the room, and wondered just how long it was going to be until Obi-Wan got there. "Mara! What in the Force are you doing up there?!" she shouted, quickly grabbing her niece and pulling her away from the large bookshelf she had managed to climb up. Leia continued to cry as she had been left behind as Ozara tried to juggle the squirming Mara. She thanked the Force that she had raised Killian, as it gave her a little insight of what to do with toddlers – of course, Killian hadn't really started climbing until he was two... Mara was a year ahead of schedule.
"Its okay, Leia. Its okay." she cooed, picking up her daughter, a girl in each arm. "Shh..."
"I told Mara not to climb." Killian said, pulling something away from Luke before he could put it in her mouth. "But she didn't listen to me."
"She's a year old, Kili." Ozara replied.
"That's no excuse." Killian said. "Mommy says that its no excuse."
Mommy. The word still sent a pang through Ozara's chest regarding her brother. Ever since Varian had been taken by the pirates three months earlier, Yesenia had started to take Killian under her wing... as a mother. She could still remember the red-head's decision to help raise Killian, and hope that one day his father would return. Although she missed Varian, Ozara was happy that she had gained a sister, and could only hope that one day her brother would return to claim her. She only hoped that Varian wasn't dead, as she wasn't sure how Yesenia would take it if he was.
She could hear Leiana still crying out for Obi-Wan, and she could only look with anticipation toward the door as she reached down and placed the girls back on the ground next to the two boys and sat down beside them. She had to give her sister credit, she didn't scream as much as she remembered screaming herself. But still, Obi-Wan should have been there; instead, he was on the other side of the planet, assisting with trying to find the Naberrie family.
'Anakin, where are you?' she shot mentally at her husband who had been sent to find the older Jedi. 'I sent you out an two hours ago.'
'And have you any idea how large Naboo is?' Anakin countered, listening as his wife suddenly growled in her mind. 'We're almost there. Obi-Wan moved faster when I finally told him that his wife was – oh, look, we're here.'
Her head popped up as the door slid open and Obi-Wan ran into the room, his blondish-red hair sticking to his face and his eyes wide. "Is she – where is she?"
"In there." Ozara replied, pointing to the room where Leiana suddenly gave a cry out for Obi-Wan. Without a second thought, the Jedi moved, running into the room and to his wife's side.
"Where have you been?" she could hear Leiana screech. "That's no excuse!" she couldn't help but chuckle at her sister's outburst. They were so similar in some ways.
Anakin came in a moment later, letting out a huff as he shut the door. "You were saying?" she prompted, bouncing Luke on her lap as he sat down, Leia climbing into his lap only seconds later.
"I was saying that finding Obi-Wan was tediously irritating. Naboo is huge, and he wasn't where he was supposed to be." Anakin complained, circling his arm around his daughter, who nestled herself into his shirt. "Hello, Leia..." he cooed gently, patting her little tuft of hair before she captured his fingers and started playing with them. "So I had to track him down with the Force, and even then it was hard to get him to concentrate long enough to actually hear the words: 'Your wife is having a baby.'" Anakin said, looking at his wife.
"Are you sure that's all you said?" she inquired, her eyebrow risen in skepticism.
Anakin looked up at the ceiling. "I may not have said it originally..." he admitted as Leiana gave another cry and a resounding slap could be heard following afterward. "I will give you credit, my love, you never hit me when you were in the throes of pain."
Ozara scoffed. "Not to say you didn't give me cause, but you never said anything which would be seen as offensive at the wrong time. Obi-Wan sometimes doesn't know when to say the right thing." she replied, narrowing her eyes at him once more. "So you were trying to be cute – which I will admit you are – and forgot to simply tell Obi-Wan that Leiana was having a baby; thus, you took longer than was needed because you were playing Mr. Adorable. Correct?"
He smiled, nodding.
"You're a louse." she replied, standing up and taking Luke with her. "And you put me through unnecessary shouting."
"My apologies." Anakin said, standing up with Leia and walking over to his wife. "May I be forgiven?"
"Perhaps." Ozara replied. "Just don't do that stuff again, I'm not in the mood for becoming my sister's shoutbox."
"Do not even say what I think you are going to say, Obi-Wan Kenobi!" they heard Leiana shout from the other room.
"See?" Ozara pointed out. "That is what I had to endure for an hour before you two arrived."
"Well, perhaps it was well earned. After all, you weren't exactly quiet from what I heard." Anakin teased, nuzzling her hair from behind.
Ozara turned, a smirk on her face as she kissed him lightly, then pulled away. "At least you had the fortitude to keep your mouth relatively shut when I was shouting at you." she commended, kissing him again.
They would have continued on as they were going, except Yesenia exited the room. "What are you two doing?" she asked, her hands on her hips. "Its going to probably be another hour, and you two are out here being ridiculous." she chided, looking directly at Anakin before marching over and taking Luke from Ozara's grasp. "Your turn to go endure your sister, I'm not staying in there another minute."
Ozara gave Anakin a regretful smile, and he chuckled at her back, kissing Leia's small head as his wife disappeared into the room, shutting the door behind her. "Well, what shall we do now?" He asked his daughter, bouncing her lightly. "Hmm?"
Yesenia shook her head at the scene, sitting next to Mara and Killian, pulling her daughter into her lap along with Luke, and allowing the other boy to come up to her side. She looked up, watching as Anakin moved toward a table, using the Force to lift a small spherical object which was used for decoration, moving it out of Leia's grasp in a little game they were playing. She giggled, reaching for it. It moved, and she reached for its new place.
"Make sure you don't favor Leia over Luke, Anakin." Yesenia uttered. "You don't need sibling rivalry later in their lives."
Anakin scoffed. "There is no reason for rivalry between them," he replied. "I love them both equally."
"Are you sure about that?" Yesenia inquired. "You tend to spend more time with Leia than Luke – giving her more attention. I'm just warning you to be careful."
"I am." Anakin replied. "I love them both, Yessie, they're both my children. Luke is more like Ozara, that I've noticed; and Ozara says that Leia takes after me. If that is so, I don't want her to have to worry about the same things I have. She's my daughter, Yessie, I will protect her at all costs – but to protect her, I must have a relationship with her."
Yesenia sighed. "Just as long as you keep it in mind." she said, just as Leiana gave another cry, and the sound of relief could be heard behind the door. "Sounds like she's given birth." she muttered, turning toward the door just as it opened.
Ozara stepped out, a large smile on her face. "Its a boy." she declared, moving toward her husband. "A lovely little boy, who Obi-Wan is currently staring at in wonder."
"You have no idea what its like being a father," Anakin replied, looking with his own wonder at his wife. "When you look at your kid, and you realize that they're so small... and so fragile."
Yesenia watched them, and seeing the loving gaze being exchanged, wondered how long it was going to be until another Skywalker was born into the galaxy.
"Well? Are you happy, Master Kenobi?" Leiana asked, her eyes having never left Obi-Wan as he cradled their newborn son.
Obi-Wan turned his gaze to his wife, and careful of their son, he bent over and kissed her forehead. "More than happy." he said softly. "I really have no words to express my emotions right now. I am happy... and yet... so much more."
Leiana sighed tiredly, a small smile of contentment on her face. "What are we going to name him?" she inquired as he looked back to their son.
His brow furrowed. "I don't know." he admitted. "I hadn't thought of names... had you?"
"Well... yes." Leiana replied. "I thought of Dak... or Myles. Perhaps even-"
"Ben." Obi-Wan interrupted, answering her question.
"Ben?" Leiana inquired. "But that's what Yesenia calls you..."
He smiled. "Yes, I know. That's why I thought of it." he answered her, turning his eyes away from their son and toward his wife. "It would mean something to Yessie if we named him that. Even if she doesn't admit it, it would. She's a tough girl, but sentiment is an emotion which she needs to be further acquainted with."
"But 'Ben'?" Leiana repeated. "Ben Kenobi? In all fairness, I came up with that name for you."
"That's why its perfect." Obi-Wan replied. "We'll call our next child Dak, or Myles... or even that other name I never let you finish saying."
"Why don't we name our daughter 'Yesenia' instead?" she asked. "It will mean much more to her."
"Is there something wrong with 'Ben'?" Obi-Wan countered.
Leiana opened her mouth to argue, but after seeing Obi-Wan's pleading eyes, and his adoring glances at his newly-named son. 'Ben'... she couldn't refuse him. She smiled, her hand reaching up to pat Ben's head. "As you wish, my love." she whispered, letting Obi-Wan kiss her lightly. "But I'm naming the next one."
"Thank you, beloved." Obi-Wan replied. "I'm sorry if I seemed a little...overbearing regarding the name. I'm sure that Myles or Dak will do fine if you still wish it."
"If I didn't want him named 'Ben' I would have fought you more." she said, smirking slightly. "Besides, I agreed didn't I?"
He smiled, nodding once before Nadia entered the room again. "Alright you two." she started. "She needs to rest, and so does he. What's his name?"
Obi-Wan and Leiana smiled at one another. "Ben. Ben Kenobi." Obi-Wan answered, pride swelling at the very name. He knew his son was a Force-sensitive, he could already sense his signature in his veins.
Nadia looked toward Leiana and smiled, walking toward the little boy. "Welcome to the galaxy, Ben Kenobi, I'm your grandmother." she said softly, her hand coming up to the little boy's head and brushing his forehead. "But now your mother needs to sleep, so I'm going to send you and your father out of the room."
Obi-Wan nodded, turning only once more toward Leiana to kiss her before he left. His eyes never left Ben as he entered the room. Anakin was the first to congratulate him, a large smile on his handsome face as he took a look at his nephew.
"Well, lets see him." Yesenia said, reaching her hands out to take the boy. Obi-Wan reluctantly let Ben go, his eyes never leaving his son as he rested gently in the redhead's arms. "What did you guys decide to call him?"
"Ben." Obi-Wan answered. "Considering you like the name so much."
Much as he expected, Yesenia's green eyes misted over, and she quickly looked down at Ben so that she wouldn't be seen as being emotional. "I just like teasing you with it."
"I heard you talking to Ozara after Mara was born, you mentioned that you would have named her 'Ben' had she been a boy. Leiana and I decided that we would name him such, in honor of you. That is, if you don't mind." Obi-Wan replied, smiling as she lifted her head, a smile on her face as well.
"I don't mind. Thank you for taking me into consideration." she said, unable to wall off the swell in her heart from hearing that they had thought of her in naming him.
'Tell her I want her to be the godmother.' Leiana's voice echoed in his head, tired from the strenuous activity she had undergone all day.
'Shh, my love. I shall.' Obi-Wan replied, clearing his throat. "We were also wondering if you'd be his godmother." he said. She froze, her eyes holding his for a moment before she abruptly handed Ben to his aunt and fled the room. "What have I done now?" he asked Anakin and Ozara.
"She's not used to such sentiment, even with her being with us for a year and a half." Ozara answered, handing Ben to Anakin, trying not to jostle him. "I'll go see her, make sure she's alright." and with that, she was gone as well, leaving the two men to themselves.
Anakin cooed at the baby, his time with little Luke and Leia teaching him how to handle the newborn. "And who is going to be the godfather?" he inquired.
"I'm not sure, I haven't talked to Leia – sorry, Leiana. I need to come up with a new name now that there's a 'Leia' in the family." Obi-Wan grumbled, turning toward Anakin. "C'mon, he's my son, I think I have the right to hold him."
Anakin just laughed, gently handing the boy back to his father before sitting down with Killian and helping him practice lifting things with the Force.
Eventually, Ozara came back with Yesenia, and after a few moments she accepted her new title in the family; Anakin and Ozara then decided that they needed to return to their temporary residence, and left the house.
Obi-Wan wandered the house for a bit, humming under his breath to his son as he did so. The boy's eyes were already open, and were enjoying looking around, but carefully studying his father's face. Obi-Wan took the time to study Ben as well, and noted that he had inherited his own eyes. He remembered when Anakin had found out what color eyes Luke and Leia had, and how he had run around showing everyone his children. Obi-Wan felt the same sense of pride, and wished that Leiana weren't asleep so that he could jabber on about how he found his son.
But, alas, he was the only one who was awake.
"I've been thinking..." Anakin prompted as he and his wife were readying themselves for bed. The children were already asleep, Killian having gone with Yesenia, as was his newest custom.
"Alright, you've been thinking..." Ozara repeated, her hands braiding her hair back out of her face. "What?"
"About Obi-Wan. Do you think he'll be the same now that he's a father?" Anakin asked, watching as his wife's nimble fingers moved through her hair.
Ozara scoffed. "Of course he won't. He has new responsibilities, and he has a son. In case you haven't noticed, Master Skywalker, sons are the worst." she countered with a smile, his face fell. "But they are the most enjoyable to watch with their fathers." she added, leaning down and kissing him.
"Thanks for reassuring me. I'd go tell Luke if you so much as slandered him." Anakin teased, his brow furrowing in another thought.
"What now?" she inquired. "And don't bother hiding from me what you're thinking. Remember, I can go in your mind anytime I wish."
Anakin looked up at her, calculating for a moment, and with one swift movement pulled her down on her back – rolling himself so that he was hovering over her. "Then do so, Missus Skywalker." he told her, allowing her to enter his mind to see his thoughts.
Ozara's mouth turned into an 'o' shape, her eyes widening. "I never knew that thought went through your head as you thought about Obi-Wan." she said. "But, Anakin, don't you think that having another right now might be a bit soon?"
"Why would you say that?" he whispered huskily.
"Because we currently have two nine-month-old children in the other room." she replied. "And they're only going to be about eighteen months when a new one would be born."
He smirked into her neck. "Precisely. It would be nine months from now. Stop worrying." he replied, leaning down to kiss her soundly. She moaned as he deepened the kiss, his hands undoing the braid she had just meticulously made.
The dawn came up on Naboo, the blue of the skies beginning to spread as the planet welcomed a new day. The Kenobi residence was particularly quiet, all three Kenobi's enjoying the time that they were spending asleep. Obi-Wan had walked with his son long into the night, finally crashing next to his wife, his elation helping his mind drift into slumber.
When Leiana woke, she couldn't help but smile at the scene before her. Obi-Wan eventually deciding to go to sleep next to her, and was now laying on his side, facing her; little Ben was settled in between them, a hand resting on the baby's chest so as to make sure no one snatched him while his father slept. Although she knew it was dangerous for them to be lying in such a position, she couldn't help but find the entire picture quite endearing.
Her mind wandered to how Obi-Wan would be as a father, much as it had been doing for nine months. She knew he would be caring, protective, and loving. His time with Zett proving to her that he had patience which was relatively endless... yet, she still wondered how he'd react to a newborn. She adored him, and knew that it was now a new experience for both of them. She could remember when Ozara explained how she and Anakin coped for the first few months when the twins were born, and the little problem which consisted of a child being unable to sleep all the way through the night – that was, perhaps, the one part of motherhood she wasn't looking forward to, but the promises of happiness far outweighed the negative effects.
Using their link, Leiana entered Obi-Wan's mind, and finding that his dreams were of her, she decided to play around a little bit. Now she watched him, giggling to herself as she noticed his face suddenly become one of discomfort – before the baby suddenly woke and started crying.
That seemed to jostle Obi-Wan from his slumber, and tampered dream, causing him to turn over a bit too quickly and fall straight off the bed. Leiana couldn't contain her laughter as she picked little Ben up and brought him to her breast, watching as Obi-Wan crawled back up, his hair disheveled from his little trip to the floor. He plopped down next to her, looking around the room in slight bewilderment.
"Have a good night's sleep?" Leiana inquired, not bothering to hide her amusement.
He nodded, looking around before his eyes landed on the sight of his son. He smiled, still in wonderment at the little boy. He was happy to find out that last night had not been a dream, and that Ben really had been brought into his life – speaking of dreams, he blushed as he remembered the last dream he had.
"Credit for your thoughts?" Leiana's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
"Uh, just wondering if you're hungry." he stammered out.
"A little." Leiana replied. "But nothing I can't handle in a-"
"No." Obi-Wan interrupted. "What can I get you?"
Leiana laughed. "Obi, you can't cook to save your life." she teased. "We're better off waiting for Ozara, or Yesenia to come over."
"Can I do anything?" Obi-Wan asked. "Maybe something to drink, or-"
"Obi. Stop worrying, I'm fine for now." she replied, leaning over to kiss him. "But if you absolutely must do something, you could find out when Yesenia is coming over. Or Ozara for that matter."
Obi-Wan nodded, and practically jumped off the bed to get his comlink. "Anakin? Anakin do you copy?" the other end just crackled with static. "Anakin? Are you there?"
"Master Kenobi?" Kayden's voice came over the comlink. "Anakin is a little... busy at the moment."
"Well tell him that I need him to come over." Obi-Wan replied. "Or rather, that I need Ozara to come over. Leiana is hungry, and I'm no good in a kitchen."
Kayden's laughter came over the comlink. "Yeah, that's not happening." he said.
"Why not?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Well, I'm not sure how to say this... they came out of their bedroom a few hours ago, so that Ozara could feed the babies – then they went back to sleep, and I haven't seen them since." Kayden reprted. "I can get Yesenia for you though. I'm sure she's not... otherwise engaged." Obi-wan could practically hear the blush in the younger boy's cheeks as he reported how Anakin and Ozara were spending their morning.
"Very well, I'll contact Yesenia." Obi-Wan said, rolling his eyes as Anakin's behavior. He wondered how Ozara stood his ridiculousness. He switched his comlink to contact the redhead when the front door slid open, revealing her to already have arrived.
"Good morning, Father Kenobi." she said cheerily. "And how is the Mother?" she inquired.
"Hungry." Obi-Wan answered. "I was about to call you after finding out that Anakin and Ozara were... otherwise engaged."
Yesenia laughed. "Yes, I expected as much. You should have seen his face as he found out that you'd had a son." she said, remembering her thoughts. "I would dare to say that we'll soon have another Skywalker around."
Obi-Wan sighed. "That explains it." he said. "I just feel sorry for Kayden, apparently he's still in the house."
Yesenia laughed, shooing Obi-Wan to his wife as she began to make breakfast.
Well? what do you guys think? Leave me a review - and if you have an idea for a oneshot, let me know. I'm often not able to come up with ideas for such things on my own, so by all means let me know what you think :) la'ers.