I'm sorry for the delay, but I've been trying to upload this chapter for days! I kept getting an error. Argh! Anyway, here is the latest. Thank you so much for your reviews! You keep me writing!

oooooooo

Obi-Wan woke early the next morning. Padme was still asleep, her head pillowed on his chest, her arms and legs wrapped securely around him. He had to tamp down his body's natural response to having this beautiful woman in such intimate proximity. That action was becoming a very necessary part of their sleeping arrangement.

Guilt yet again struck Obi-Wan. Anakin hadn't even been gone two weeks yet, and here he was sleeping with his widow. Of course, he and Padme had not done anything but lie here together and actually SLEEP, but still. The fact that he desired to do more made him feel like he was betraying Anakin – Anakin as he was before he turned to the Dark Side.

Widow. Padme is Anakin's widow. Oh, how it hurt to acknowledge that fact! The day he had found out that Padme and Anakin were married was one of the worst days of his life. It had felt like someone had grabbed onto his heart, pulled it out of his chest and stomped it into the ground. It was that day when he realized just how much he loved Padme.

Now here they were together. Anakin was gone and his life as a Jedi irreversibly altered. But could he truly embrace a relationship with Padme? Even though the Jedi Order was gone, shouldn't the principles he had adhered to as a Master of the Order be the same? He wanted to be with her, he truly did. He wanted to be a father to Luke and Leia. But SHOULD he? Wouldn't it be hypocritical for him to have felt so betrayed by Anakin's attachment to Padme and then engage in one himself?

Obi-Wan just didn't know what to think right now about any of this. He would have to sort through it all eventually, but right now that task seemed too large. His gaze moved to Padme as she shifted in her sleep, appearing to try and snuggle even closer to him. Obi-Wan couldn't help but smile as she sighed contentedly. He had to admit, waking up like this every morning was really nice.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Obi-Wan paused in the hallway, sensing Yoda was nearby. Sure enough, he soon heard the telltale grunting and clicking of the walking stick. "Hello, Master."

"Obi-Wan." Yoda looked up with an expression that did not bode well for the person on the receiving end of it.

It dawned on Obi-Wan that Yoda was practically straining his neck looking up at him. He quickly knelt. "Did you need me for something?"

Yoda continued to gaze at Obi-Wan – that gaze that seemed to penetrate to one's very soul. "When last did you meditate, hmm?"

Obi-Wan suddenly felt like a young initiate having to explain why he was late for class. "Ah, I've, uhm, done some light meditation."

"And deep meditation?"

"Not for some time, Master." Obi-Wan dropped his sheepish gaze.

"Hmph." Yoda turned and started down the hall. "Come. Meditate together, we will."

"But…" Obi-Wan decided against arguing with the persistent little troll. He didn't like leaving Padme alone with the babies for too long, though. He obediently followed behind Yoda, but poked his head into kitchen when he saw C3PO and R2D2. "Hey, would you two please go keep Padme company? Help her any way you can with Luke and Leia, okay?"

C3PO reluctantly followed R2D2, who was already on his way to do as Obi-Wan asked. When he knew Obi-Wan and Yoda were out of earshot, he felt free to voice his dismay. "I don't know anything about babies! I'm a protocol droid, not a nanny!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Yoda and Obi-Wan made themselves comfortable on the floor of the large living area. Yoda smacked Obi-Wan on the knee with his stick. "Let go of your grief without meditating, you cannot!"

"I know, Master." Obi-Wan knew better than to voice the many excuses that were entering his mind. When Yoda closed his eyes, he followed suit – working to empty his mind.

"Fault yourself for Anakin's fall, you do."

Obi-Wan's eyes shot open. Yoda still had his eyes closed, looking quite peaceful. Leave it to the perceptive Master to get right to the heart of the matter. "Yes." Obi-Wan's voice came out a harsh whisper. "I failed in training him, Master."

"So sure, are you?"

Obi-Wan laughed harshly. "Considering the circumstances, yes."

Yoda slowly opened his eyes. "Train him well, you did."

Obi-Wan shot Yoda an incredulous look. "How can you say that after all that has happened?"

"See this as Anakin's failure, why do you not?"

"If I had trained him properly, he would have known how to deal with the temptations of the Dark Side."

"Tell Anakin about your fight with the Sith apprentice on Naboo, did you?"

A crease formed between Obi-Wan's eyebrows. "Yes."

"Tell him of the temptations you overcame in that fight, did you?"

Obi-Wan's mind went back to that conversation with his young, pre-teened apprentice. Anakin had been going on and on about how unbeatable his master, "The Sith Killer," was and how he was the best Jedi in the Order.

"Anakin, I need to set you straight about my battle with the Sith. It wasn't all honor and courage. I learned a tough lesson that day, besides losing Qui-Gon."

Anakin looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"I was caught behind the last laser wall in the corridor leading to the melting pit area. I watched helplessly as Qui-Gon and the Sith continued to fight. And I had to watch as that Sith plunged his lightsaber through Qui-Gon's chest." Obi-Wan took a deep breath before continuing. "When that laser wall disappeared, I came after that Sith with all of my grief and anger channeled into one purpose – killing him."

"Well, it worked didn't it?"

"No, Anakin, it didn't. I held my own for a while, but I lost my focus. That's what happens when you fight with emotion, rather than with the Force. He sent me flying head over heels into the melting pit."

Anakin gasped. "But, how…"

Obi-Wan chuckled. "Well, the Force was still with me, despite my lapse in emotional control. I was able to grab hold of a fixture on the side of the pit. At that point, my training finally came back to me. I let go of my emotions and opened myself completely to the flow of the Force."

"Then what happened?"

"I was able to launch myself from the pit, call Qui-Gon's lightsaber to me (since the Sith had kicked mine into the pit) and cut the Sith in half."

"Wow! Master, you are the coolest!"

Obi-Wan ran his hand down his face. That was not exactly the point he was trying to make with this story! "No, Padawan, no. It was only when I used my training, when I let go of my emotions and focused on the Force that I was able to defeat the Sith. I came very close to dying that day because I lost emotional control. But more than that, fighting in anger the way I did could have lead me to the Dark Side. It could have led me to the very thing I was fighting against."

"But you could never turn to the Dark Side."

"That isn't true, Anakin. No one is beyond temptation. All Jedi must remember their training and not let emotion get the better of them, or they could find themselves on a very slippery slope." Obi-Wan placed his hand on Anakin's shoulder. "Take it from me, my young padawan, don't let emotion rule your actions, for it will never end well."

Obi-Wan's eyes refocused on the small Master sitting in front of him. "Yes, I told him."

"Leave him unarmed against temptation, you did not." Yoda folded his clawed hands in his lap. "Anakin's weaknesses – his own, they were. Unwilling, he was, to let go of his attachments. Selfishly, he hung onto them, to the detriment of everyone."

"I was blind to the depth of Anakin's turmoil."

"To a point, perhaps. Completely clear-sighted, however, the Council was not." Yoda continued at Obi-Wan's questioning look. "Knew, Mace and I did, that somewhat dependent on you, Anakin was. In hindsight, obvious it is, that lost without you, he was."

Obi-Wan wearily raked his hand through his hair. "I was not aware of his dependence until Padme pointed it out to me. But if I had tried to separate myself from him…"

"Hurt and angry he would have become. Know how to deal with it, he wouldn't have."

"I know. If I just would have seen it sooner…"

"Anakin's bond with you – kept him on the side of Light, it did. Your presence, steady him, it did. Fault yourself for not being able to be with him at all times, you cannot."

"If only.."

"No! Talk about what could have been, you must not!" Yoda softened his voice. "The will of the Force, we may not always understand, but accept it, we must."

Obi-Wan sighed heavily. "Do you really think that this disaster is the will of the Force?"

"Know the answer to that, you do. Happen by accident, nothing does. Just as an accident, your training Anakin, was not." Yoda watched Obi-Wan solemnly as he tried to ingest those last words. "Knew, I did, the first time I saw you, that important to the Jedi Order, you would be. Finished with you, the Force is not."

Yoda closed his eyes again and reached out to the Force. He smiled slightly when he felt Obi-Wan do the same. He would see to it that Obi-Wan meditated – really meditated – every day. He and Padme would both see to it that this young man did not shoulder burdens of guilt that were not his to bear.