POV: Obi-Wan Kenobi

We sat in a small, comfortable room with a young woman who looked to be Anakin's age, give or take a few years. Anakin and I sat on a couch together and he was fidgeting with the glove covering his mechno. "My name is Nirisa," she said after a few moments. She looked at my nervous Anakin and smiled a little. "I take it this is the first time you've come to couples' counseling?"

We both nodded. "It's the first time we've needed counseling," he whispered.

"Well, let's start off easy. Why don't you tell me a little about yourselves and your relationship?"

Anakin glanced sideways at me and I started talking, taking the initiative since he didn't really seem like he wanted to talk. "Well, Anakin and I have known each other for a very long time." I smiled at Anakin. "He and I have been together for six years and it'll be seven years in a few months." That made me think for a moment. By the time the baby was due, we would have been together for seven years. She looked impressed by the fact that we've been together so long. "He's a sweetheart as he always has been and I used to be sweet to him, but lately things have gone…awry. That's why we're here."

"You two look too young to have been together for six years, but that's a wonderful relationship if you've stuck together for so long." She seemed to glance at Anakin pointedly when she mentioned 'too young.' Well, he was much younger than me. Fifteen years my junior to be exact. "What's changed lately? Anything sex related or otherwise?"

"He –" Anakin stopped and lowered his eyes to the floor. I urged him silently to continue. We had to be open here if things were going to get better. "You know men have huge sex drives. I have a huge sex drive, but he's gotten…out of control lately." He gave me a nervous look and I smiled warmly, resting my hand on his knee. "He's been experimenting with all kinds of things and positions in bed and he's kind of been…forcing me at times to make love with him. I'm not complaining, but it's just stressful because of the pressure he's putting on me."

She nodded at him, taking notes. "I've hit him a few times as well," I added. He looked at me, grateful that he hadn't been the one to tell her that. He wanted me to admit my wrongs and that's what I would do for him. "In all honesty," I began, taking his hand in mine, "Anakin is having our baby." She laughed quietly until she realized how serious we were. She looked at me in silent question. "He was born with the ability to conceive and he has. I'm worried that my…whatever's wrong with me will harm him and our child."

"How far along is he?"

"Almost five months." I squeezed his hand and he smiled.

"So you've been aggressive sexually and verbally?" I nodded. "Depending on how much stress you put on his body, it could affect the child. I can recommend you to someone who can help sex addicts and I can help you with managing your anger."

"Sex addict?" I asked.

Anakin snorted next to me, his lips parted in amusement as he looked at me. "Don't deny it."

I rolled my eyes. "Your body begs me to make love to you."

The counselor went on to talk about the things we would need to do in order to return our relationship to its easy and stable level. She asked if we talked often and we realized that we hadn't really talked about too much other than the baby or things going on at that specific moment in time or reminiscing together. She told us to speak more openly to one another. Anakin asked her how it was possible for someone like me to be peaceful and then suddenly turn aggressive to which she answered, "Something drastic in your relationship had to have happened. It strained your affection towards one another and may have altered you for better or worse."

"Could that be why I'm much more passive than I've ever been?"

"It is possible. Which of you two caused the strain?" Anakin glanced at me and I nodded, indicating that it had been me. "That explains why you're aggressive. You two had a healthy relationship up until whatever the strain was happened."

"I was angry with him for not listening to me at times, but I feel that I was angrier at myself and I was taking it out on him. He didn't do anything wrong." He gave me a reassuring kiss on the cheek and the woman smiled.

"It's good to admit things like this." We continued letting things out until the session was over. Anakin was very relieved at how well things went and I was relieved as well. My issues had been that of sexual addiction and aggression, and I was in need of anger management. Anakin agreed to go to each and every session with me and I thanked him for that. It felt nice to know that I still had his full support even after the things I'd done to him. The woman gave us her card and I was about to pay her as Anakin made his way out into the lobby to sign us out, but the woman stilled my hand. "I know you two are Jedi and the famous heroes of this damnable war. You've saved so many lives, including that of my daughter. You two will never have to pay for a session with me and I will make sure I pass that message along to your other counselors."

I smiled and nodded, thanking her before leaving the room to join my Anakin. He was signing us out and I rested my hand on the small of his back. "I'm so proud of you," he said with a smile, not looking at me yet. When he finished, he looked up at me, his eyes gleaming.

"For what?" I said with a little laugh.

"You were so calm and in control." He turned to face me and took my hand, leading me from the building. "You were honest and upfront about everything and that's what we need."

Later.

Anakin was sprawled across our bed, sleeping. We made love for half an hour before we were both sated. He fell asleep on my chest and I was still awake. I kept looking down at him to make sure he wasn't bruised or hurt in any way. I was nervous about hurting him because I really didn't want to hurt him. I loved the man very much and he looked so pained earlier.

The com went off across the room and I sighed, gently shifting away from his arm and leg that draped themselves over me. I pulled my boxers, sleep pants, and a decent shirt on before taking the com out into the hallway. I answered and Master Yoda's hologram appeared. "Master," I said quietly, bowing my head.

"Been contacting you for weeks, we have, Master Kenobi. On Mandalore, you are not, hm?"

"We've been unable to contact you and I apologize, Master." That was a lie, of course. There had been plenty of opportunities where I could have contacted them. I just chose not to. With Anakin in his current state, I didn't want to take any chances. "We are no longer on Mandalore, but the duchess and senator are still with us. They're perfectly safe."

We discussed the location and our plans to keep the two women protected and that led to him demanding that we return to the Core. "Return, you must, with your companions."

I sighed and complied, though I really didn't want to. "Yes, Master. We will be in need of a transport, however. Our ship is unusable." He nodded and we said our parting farewells. He seemed to know that something else was going on behind the scenes and it made me wonder if I'd blown our cover. Anakin and I have been hiding this relationship for years. We were two perfectly happy lovers. They couldn't tear us apart. We were The Team. Those who supported us deemed Anakin and I the biggest of their heroes. If they split us up, that would be detrimental to the war effort.

I told Padme first that we would be leaving to return to Coruscant and she seemed overjoyed by that. Satine overheard and was upset. She didn't want to go to the center of the Republic. She wanted to go home. "Obi, I want to return to Mandalore."

"Yes, I know. You've said this at least ten times in the last two minutes." I pinched the bridge of my nose, crossing my arms over my chest. "Mandalore has been taken over by Death Watch. We can't return until we have a fleet armed and ready to defend your damned planet."

She huffed and Padme sighed. Satine could be very childish at times and this was one of them. "Could always drop her in some random city that looks like Mandalore, you know," that deep voice said as its source sat perched upon the top stair. I smiled as I turned to look up at him. He had an amused light in his eyes and his smile. He stood and came down the remainder of the stairs.

"Master Jedi," she began, glaring at him as he descended the stairs in a very sensual display just for me. "If you could butt out and keep to your own concerns, things would be just fine."

He shrugged. "I don't know, duchess. If I keep to my own concerns, you may end up sleeping with my boyfriend again." He let me know within moments that he wasn't insinuating that I would let her sleep with me. He wanted to give her the impression that he believed she was as much a whore as she said he was. "We wouldn't want things spread around between the three of us now, would we?"

I gaped at him then. "Get your sexy, muscled ass over here now," I said through our bond. He grinned from ear to ear and came closer to me, curling up against me. He must be having one of those mornings where he felt like shit and wanted to piss off Satine in any way he possibly could. I stroked his hair and he chuckled when I sent him my naughty thoughts.

"Boys," Padme said, sighing. "I'd like to leave here. I would prefer to have our two Jedi escorts fully embodied as well as the duchess' life spared." Anakin smirked at the last bit and I couldn't help but kiss his jaw. "Let's pack our things."

And we set to it. Anakin and I went back up to our room and threw all of our things into a single pack. Both of us never really had much and the most rewarding possession we had was the other. He became the only thing I really required seeing, touching, and being with to make it through the day. Months away from him made living unbearable, but we always managed to make it through somehow. I watched him neatly fold our clothing and it struck me as odd considering he never folded anything when he was my Padawan. Up until he turned twenty, he had me doing all of his laundry. I didn't mind it at first, but that ended when I had to deal with certain garments he'd soiled while alone.

It always amazed me at how much he could release in the heat of the moment. "Stop thinking." I glanced at him as he continued folding and packing. "It's kinky," he whispered. I smirked and moved towards him, resting a hand on his back. "You know I like kinky and you know it turns me on." He smirked over his shoulder. Oh, the will to resist throwing him unceremoniously onto the bed was horrifying. He would torture me for the rest of our lives. I was sure of it. Well, I had told him many times that he would be the death of me.