You all probably thought I fell off the face of the planet, huh? I do apologize for the delay in posting. Life just seems to keep getting in the way of writing time. After the next chapter, we'll be doing another large jump in time; which will then be the start of the last segment of the story. Thank you, again, for hanging in there with me through this long journey! :)
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Padmė watched her two oldest children from her position on the bed as they each held a newborn brother. She smiled as she listened to them quietly banter back and forth.
"You didn't show this much fascination for any of our other siblings." Luke was in a rocking chair next to Leia.
Leia sniffed in a haughty manner. "That is not true."
"Oh, yes it is. You just like them so much because they are miniature Dads."
Padmė chuckled at the truth in those words. The newborns were identical twin boys; and they were, at least right now, miniature versions of Obi-Wan. They had ginger-colored peach fuzz on their heads, light-blue eyes, ivory skin, and dimples in their chins. Yoda had taken one look at them, blinked as if to make sure he was seeing what he was seeing, then announced, "If wonder what Obi-Wan looked like as an infant you do, then look at these young ones you should."
Leia had fallen head-over-heels in love with her baby brothers. And though she may deny it, everyone knew it was because they looked so much like the father she adored. She was already monopolizing their time as she always had Obi-Wan's.
It was early morning, so most of the household was not yet up. Obi-Wan was in the gym doing his usual morning exercise routine. Luke and Leia had just awakened and come in to check on their three-day-old siblings. They were gently rocking the slumbering infants.
Choosing names for the newborns had not been as easy as with their other children. There were just no more male names of loved ones who had passed on that they both liked. Padmė had joked that they should name them Obi One and Obi Two, which of course, was quickly nixed by her husband. After getting the entire family involved, they had settled on the names Benjamin and Aaron.
A sweaty Obi-Wan walked into the room, dressed in his usual exercise clothes of a sleeveless tunic and loose pants. He stopped at seeing his oldest children. "Well, well, well. The two of you are certainly up early."
Leia lit up at seeing her father, as she always did. "Morning, Daddy. We were up, so we decided to check on our baby brothers."
Luke snorted softly. "You decided, you mean."
Leia threw her twin a dirty look. "You didn't have to come, you know."
Luke shrugged. "I don't mind." He looked down at little Ben and couldn't hold back his smile. He adored his baby brothers, too.
Obi-Wan shook his head and shared an amused look with his wife. He moved over to the bed and gave Padmė a kiss. "How are you feeling, Love?"
"Much better." Padmė smiled up at her husband. He looked simply delicious after his workout. Her thoughts turned rueful. Here she was recovering from having twins, and her sex-drive was already kicking in again. It must be the hormones, she thought. Though, they had always had a healthy sex life – their fire for each other having calmed over the years, but never having waned. And it HAD been a while. Due to her discomfort and large size, they'd had to put sex on hold the last couple months of her pregnancy.
"Do you feel up to going to breakfast, or would you like me to bring you a tray?" Obi-Wan's eyes scanned over his wife in an assessing manner.
"I would like to go to breakfast. I'm tired of being in bed and cooped up in this room."
Obi-Wan went over to their small refrigeration unit, pulled out two bottles of breast milk, and placed them in the warmer. "I can sense they're going to be waking soon. And they're going to be hungry when they do." He moved back to the bed and sat down, knowing Padmė was forming a protest.
Padmė spoke in a quiet tone to her husband. She glanced over at Luke and Leia, who were engrossed in a quiet conversation of their own. "I'm perfectly capable of breast-feeding my children. We don't need to use the bottles."
"I know you're capable of feeding them, Love," Obi-Wan replied in an equally soft voice. "But Luke and Leia are already holding them, and they seem to want to take a more active role in caring for Ben and Aaron than they did with their other siblings. Why don't we let them?"
Padmė looked over again at her oldest children, taking in the soft smiles on each face as they looked down at the infant in their arms. She sighed. She did need to work through this new-mom jealousy thing. "You're right. And I'm sure I'll welcome their help as time passes." She threw her husband a rueful smile.
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A couple of months later, Obi-Wan and Padmė were walking hand-in-hand through the garden. Jobal had insisted they take some time to be alone together.
"Padmė?"
"Hmm?"
Obi-Wan took a deep breath before broaching the subject on his mind. "Do you think it's time we tell Luke and Leia about Anakin?"
Padmė stopped in her tracks. She pulled in a shaky breath. "You think they're ready to hear the truth?"
"They are fourteen now. And I think they are emotionally mature enough to handle it." It was something they both dreaded, but both knew had to happen. They had decided years ago that they would wait until they both felt Luke and Leia were mature enough to handle the truth of their parentage.
Obi-Wan watched as his wife worked through her feelings on the issue. "The longer we wait, Love, the more betrayed they're going to feel."
"I know, I know." Padmė took in another deep, calming breath. "I just...Things are so peaceful, so happy right now. I hate to do anything to change that."
Obi-Wan pulled her into his arms. "I don't like it, either. But I don't think it's something we can put off much longer."
Padmė pulled back to look her husband in the eyes. "Please let me do most of the talking. I made most of the mistakes that led us to this conversation, so I think I should be the one to explain it to them."
"Padmė, you..." Obi-Wan's protest was silenced by the finger pressed to his lips.
"Please, Obi?"
Taking in the pleading brown eyes, Obi-Wan couldn't say no. He sighed heavily. "Alright. BUT, I should at least be the one to explain that Anakin was a Jedi and that he turned to the Dark Side. After all, I'm the one who trained him."
Padmė narrowed her eyes at her husband. "As long as you don't blame yourself for his choices."
"I'll just be honest about my role in his life."
"Obi-Wan, I mean it. You leave your misplaced feelings of guilt out of this. They are going to have enough to deal with without your adding on the misperception that you were somehow to blame for Anakin's fall."
Obi-Wan knew his wife was dead-serious. He still felt that not all of his guilty feelings where Anakin was concerned were misplaced, though.
"I want your promise, Obi-Wan."
Even if he felt that he was partially to blame for Anakin's fall, Obi-Wan knew that this particular discussion with Luke and Leia was not the place for that sentiment to be voiced. "Alright, I promise."
"Good." Padmė could sense her husband's reluctance, however. "Stubborn, mule-headed, obstinate man," she muttered as she started again down the path.
Grinning, Obi-Wan quickly followed after his wife. He grabbed her wrist, swung her around, and caught her in a kiss. Upon parting, his grin was back. "But you love me anyway."
"Yeah, well, don't let it go to your head." Padmė's expression turned serious. "As hard as this is going to be for Luke and Leia, it isn't going to exactly be easy on you, either. We don't know how they're going to react, and I don't want you to be hurt anymore."
"Don't worry about me, Love. Let's focus on Luke and Leia – on helping them to deal with this. My relationship with them will probably change drastically in the short-term. I have to be ready for that. I just hope that with time, we can recapture what we had before." Obi-Wan fervently hoped, internally, that he WAS ready for this.
Padmė ran a gentle hand down the side of her husband's face. "I love you. Together, we will get through this."
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Padmė signaled to her mother, who was playing with her grandchildren in the large living area. Jobal made her way over to her daughter, who was standing in the hallway. Padmė spoke quietly to Jobal, who nodded her head in agreement – eyes full of gravity and compassion.
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Obi-Wan watched as Luke and Leia sparred in the open area of the gym. Their skills were coming along nicely. Luke was strength and acrobatics, while Leia was speed and grace. They both noticed their father and brought their bout to a close.
"Hi, Dad." Luke went over to the bench to grab a towel.
Leia immediately went to hug Obi-Wan. "What do you think, Daddy?"
Obi-Wan smiled down at her, doing his best to hide the sadness that was striving to overtake him. "Well, Princess, I think you are both improving on a daily basis."
Luke moved towards them, studying Obi-Wan with a perceptive eye. "Is something wrong, Dad?"
Obi-Wan cleared his throat, trying to dislodge the knot that had formed there. "Your mother and I need to speak with both of you."