Hello, All! Yes, I'm actually updating this story! Whoo hoo! I'm on a very short break in my school schedule, so I wanted to give you a new chapter. I will be completely finished with school on Dec. 20. From there, I will be able to give this story the attention it deserves and complete it. I'd like to give you another chapter after this one before I head into my final trimester, though. Thank you all SO much for your continued interest and eternal patience! I REALLY do appreciate it!

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Padme lay in the garden, her head on her husband's lap

Padme lay in the garden, her head on her husband's lap. Her family had taken the children and told them to take some time for themselves. She smiled in contentment as the fingers of one of Obi-Wan's hands gently sifted through her hair, and the other hand ran soothing circles over her growing belly. A part of her wanted to stay like this forever. They had spent a quiet, wonderful day together, but it was probably nearing the time when they should head back. Not that she really wanted to move just yet.

Closing her eyes, Padme breathed in the fragrant air. They were lying in the section of the garden dedicated to fruit trees. The air was sweet and smelled of citrus. Focusing on the quiet as she was, she could hear Obi-Wan take a deep breath.

"Padme…"

Padme held her own breath. She knew whenever her husband used that tentative start, he was going to be telling her something that she probably would not like.

"We're running low on supplies."

Sitting up in one quick motion, Padme turned her determined gaze to Obi-Wan's face. "Then send my father and Raja."

"Your father has never piloted a ship, and Raja has rudimentary piloting skills, at best."

"Send R2 with them. He can pilot for them."

"And what if they run into trouble? If they should run into Imperials, the skills of a Jedi will be needed to escape them and get back home undetected." Determination shone in Obi-Wan's eyes now.

"You said that there wasn't an Imperial presence around Tatooine when you were there."

"Yes, but that was quite a while ago. If the emperor is looking for me as desperately as Yoda thinks, then that may have changed."

Padme took a deep, calming breath. "That is exactly why you shouldn't go!"

Obi-Wan took his wife's hands in his. "I know better now than to delve deeply into the Force when I'm not here. For the short time I'm going to be in known space, I will keep myself completely shielded. Sidious will not sense me, Padme."

"Can you say that with absolute certainty?"

Obi-Wan thought back to the sheer power Sidious had displayed in their previous encounters – powers he would not have thought possible. "With absolute certainty, no. But rarely is anything in life an absolute certainty. The likelihood of him sensing me the short time I will be in the Outer Rim is not very high."

"That isn't very reassuring." Padme crossed her arms and glared at her husband.

Sighing, Obi-Wan leaned his head against the tree trunk at his back and closed his eyes. "Are we going to battle with each other every time more supplies are needed?"

"Until you decide to quit tempting fate by being the one to go, yes!" Padme just couldn't understand why Obi-Wan always had to be the one to risk his life!

After taking a deep, calming breath, Obi-Wan opened his eyes and faced his irate wife. "I can't let the danger I may face prevent me from doing my duty."

"Your duty?" Padme gave Obi-Wan an incredulous look. "What about your duty as my husband? What about your duty as a father to our children?"

"Part of my duty as a husband and father is to take of, and provide for, my family."

Padme turned away to hide the tears forming in her eyes. "Why can't Yoda go?"

Moving over towards his wife, Obi-Wan tried to make eye contact. "We have to try and remain inconspicuous. There are few of Yoda's kind left in the galaxy. Even with the mix of species on Tatooine, Yoda would stand out. Besides that, he's needed here. He's begun teaching Luke and Leia. We can't afford to lose him – his wisdom, his experience, his teaching skills."

Padme finally turned back to Obi-Wan, eyes aflame. "But we can afford to lose you, is that it?"

"Padme, that's not what I meant." Even Obi-Wan's legendary patience was wearing thin by now. Blast, but this whole marriage thing could be difficult!

Releasing a sigh, Padme's expression softened. "Maybe not, but I know that deep down inside, that's what you still believe. You still see yourself as the – how did Qui-Gon phrase it – oh yes, merely 'capable' Jedi." At Obi-Wan's surprised look, Padme continued. "Yes, Yoda told me about what Qui-Gon did to you in front of the Council that day, and what he said. He's told me a lot of things that have given me insight into why you are the way you are."

Now feeling distinctly uncomfortable, as Obi-Wan always did when the subject of his relationship with Qui-Gon came up, he started picking at the grass beside him. "That has no bearing on this discussion."

"Oh, but it does, my love. Because your entire view of yourself was designed and crafted by Qui-Gon Jinn – a great Jedi Master, of course. But he was also a human being – a very flawed, wounded, arrogant human being."

Obi-Wan's head rose sharply at that. "He was not arrogant!" His eyes flashed his irritation before he ducked his head again. "He just had the strength of his convictions."

"Strength of his convictions, my ass!" Padme ignored her husband's shocked expression. "The only conviction he had was the he was right and everyone else was wrong! That's called arrogance, Obi-Wan."

Shaking his head in disagreement, Obi-Wan met his wife's eyes. "Qui-Gon was convinced that the Force meant for him to meet Anakin, and meant for Anakin to be trained as a Jedi."

"Why would the Force tell him one thing, and yet several other Jedi, including you and Yoda, something completely different? Maybe the Force did mean for Qui-Gon to meet Anakin that day on Tatooine. But I have my doubts that it meant for Anakin to be trained. I think that was Qui-Gon's conviction, not the Force's."

"Why would the Force want them to meet in the first place, if it didn't intend for Anakin to be trained?"

Padme took hold of one of Obi-Wan's hands. "Perhaps the Force just wanted the Jedi to be aware of his presence – maybe keep a discreet eye on him to protect him from any interference from the Sith."

"By keeping him a slave?"

As she spoke, Padme became more and more convinced of the truth of her words. Perhaps the Force was speaking through her now? "By living the humble life of slave in the Outer Rim, he would be well insulated from the goings-on in the Republic. And what interest would a slave boy hold for the Sith? Would Palpatine have ever met Anakin, and had the chance to corrupt him, if he had been left where he was?"

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to protest, but paused at a nudging from the Force. The Force wanted him to listen to Padme's words. Was the Force using his wife to convey a message he had been unwilling to hear until now?

Padme could see the thoughtful expression spread across her husband's face, and knew he was truly listening to what she had to say. "It may seem unpalatable for us to think that Anakin was meant to remain a slave, but it may have been the best place for the Chosen One to grow up anonymously. Watto may not have been the nicest creature around, but he was not a brutal master. He treated his slaves better than most."

Without a doubt, Padme knew these thoughts were not her own. The Force WAS using her to convey a message to Obi-Wan. She closed her eyes and asked the Force to use her as It willed. Completely relaxed and at peace, Padme opened her eyes and continued. "The Force would have brought Anakin into his designed role in It's own time and in It's own way. The Force did not need Qui-Gon Jinn to intercede on It's behalf. In freeing Anakin, bringing him to the Jedi Temple, and demanding that he be trained, he was not following the will of the Force, he was following the will of Qui-Gon Jinn."

Taking in the peaceful countenance in his wife and the complete conviction in her voice, Obi-Wan bit back his automatic response of defending his master. He reached out through the Force and sensed It's power surrounding Padme. He had never experienced anything quite like this before. This was something profound, and he HAD to listen.

Padme continued. "Qui-Gon never got over losing Xanatos the way he did. Being the master to the Chosen One, training him up to be a great Jedi Knight, would certainly go a long way towards erasing that blight on his record – at least in his mind. You suffered, Obi-Wan Kenobi, because you were the apprentice who followed Xanatos. Qui-Gon went from one extreme of being the indulgent master, blind to his padawan's faults; to the other extreme of being a cool disciplinarian who highlighted even your minutest faults. But know this...had Qui-Gon lived to train Anakin, he would have reverted back to the training style he used with Xanatos. You saw the evidence of it. You saw the warmth and affection he bestowed upon Anakin that he had never so openly or willingly bestowed upon you."

Even after all these years, the memories of those events still pierced Obi-Wan's heart like a dagger. Some hurts never lost their power, no matter how many times released into the Force. His actions and his disagreements with Qui-Gon during that mission to Naboo had never been derived from jealousy – despite his master's feelings to the contrary. No, the feelings of danger – the sense of foreboding he had felt about Anakin's training – had been genuine. Obi-Wan had to admit that he HAD been a bit envious of the open affection and easy acceptance of young Anakin that Qui-Gon had displayed. More than anything, however, he had been wounded. He had seen it as final proof that Qui-Gon had never truly wanted to train him, and that he would never been anything more than merely adequate.

"If Qui-Gon had lived to train Anakin, he would have been blind to the boy's arrogance, and blind to his inability to control his emotions. He would have made excuses for the boy's behavior. He would have been defensive with anyone who voiced legitimate concerns about the boy's progress. You are convinced that had Qui-Gon lived to train Anakin, none of these events would have happened. You are quite wrong, Obi-Wan. They would have happened, and they would have happened even sooner. Anakin Skywalker was never meant to be trained as a Jedi, was never meant to be taken off of Tatooine at that young age, and was never meant to be brought to the heart of the Republic and to the attention of the Chancellor. Things have happened as they had to happen after the change of events from their original path. The prophecy of the Chosen One will still be fulfilled, but it will be through Anakin's offspring, instead of Anakin himself."

Padme moved closer to Obi-Wan and took his other hand in hers. "But know this, and know it well. If it had been possible for Anakin to always be in your presence, to have been glued to your side; if it had been possible for him to always have ready access to your steadiness, peace, and wisdom through the bond you shared, he would not have turned. You were his anchor. You were his tether to the Light. Your presence could have vanquished even the machinations of a powerful Sith Master where Anakin was concerned. Never forget that, Obi-Wan Kenobi."