Thank you to the 10 people who reviewed the last chapter. This chapter is an aftermath chapter of the last mission since some of my reviewers feel I need to clear some things up so I decided to do so. Also, I have posted the third round of my poll to decide the name of Obi-Wan's child; I am stil undecided of whether it should be a boy or a girl. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.

Chapter 25

Ahsoka decided to check on Kias and Myra despite the fact that Dr. Fhernan wanted nothing to do with her. She still felt guilty over Fhernan's sister's death and she didn't know what to do to make amends for what happened. She had sensed Lynas's betrayal and yet did nothing to stop it and, as a result, Kias and Myra were motherless.

Ahsoka shook her head before walking into the medbay. Anakin was there getting the blaster wound seen to, Ahsoka had gone with Obi-Wan to escort Anakin to the medbay before taking a walk to try to get her thoughts together. It didn't help much.

"Ahsoka?" Anakin sounded concerned when she walked into the room and Ahsoka glanced at him to find him watching her with concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine," she said.

Anakin's eyes narrowed but, before he could say anything, Ahsoka turned her attention to Myra and Kias who were seated beside their mother's body. The medic had finished prepping the body for burial and Fhernan was going to take the body back to Corellia to give her a proper burial. Fhernan was also there but she glared at Ahsoka and said nothing.

"I just wanted to see how you two were," Ahsoka said glancing at Kias and Myra.

Myra glanced at her. "We're fine," she said softly before her eyes filled with tears again. "It's still so hard to believe that Lynas did this."

"He's always been greedy but I didn't think it would get this bad," Kias said with a shake of his head before he glanced at Ahsoka. "Also, Master Jedi, I just wanted you to know that, despite what Aunt Bant'ena thinks, I don't think you were responsible for our mother's death."

Ahsoka's eyes grew guilty. "But I sensed Lynas's treachery…" she began.

"And how were you to know he was going to kill his mother, Ahsoka?" Anakin asked pointedly.

"I still should have done something, check him for weapons, interrogated him, something," Ahsoka protested guilt clawing at her.

Anakin pushed himself into a sitting position. "Ahsoka," he said, "what happened is very sad and unfortunate but, based on what you told me, you aren't responsible for what happened. Besides, if you had interrogated him then he could have lied to you or even told you a half-truth since he knew you were a Jedi. It wasn't your fault."

"She didn't do anything when Lynas killed my sister," Fhernan protested.

Kias sighed. "Aunt Bant'ena," he said, "what was she supposed to do? Everything happened so fast. By the time Ahsoka even got her lightsaber ready, Lynas had Myra at blaster point. If she had attacked then Myra would be dead."

"He's right, Doctor," Anakin said before he glanced at Ahsoka. "You shouldn't feel so guilty over what happened, Ahsoka. It wasn't your fault."

Ahsoka bit her lip before glancing at her master. "Then why do I feel so guilty?" she said quietly.

Anakin was silent for a long moment. "Maybe you've convinced yourself that it was your fault even though it wasn't," he suggested.

"Maybe."

"Where is Lynas?" Myra asked softly.

"Locked up in the detention center, Myra," Kias said. "Despite what Dr. Fhernan wants, he's going to stand trial when we return to Coruscant."

Myra nodded before she glanced at her mother's body.

"We're going to drop the three of you off on Corellia first," Anakin said.

"When will Lynas's trial be?" Fhernan asked.

"That depends. We will probably send you a message when the trial will be but I think you should have some time to prepare the funeral," Anakin said.

"Thank you, Master Jedi," the scientist said.

"All right, General," the medic said as he briefly examined Anakin's bandaged arm to make sure none of the bandages were coming off. He had entered the room unnoticed by anyone. "You should be all right now so you can leave anytime you wish."

"Great," Anakin said swinging his feet off the bed before standing up. "Come on, Ahsoka. Let's go find and bug Obi-Wan."

Ahsoka smiled slightly; she still felt guilty but she decided to push it aside…at least for the time being.

Anakin glanced worriedly at his apprentice before returning his gaze to the corridor they were walking down onboard the Resolute as it continued its journey to Corellia. He could feel the guilt Ahsoka was feeling and he found himself wondering what to tell his apprentice to help her. He tried to convince her that what happened to Dr. Fhernan's sister wasn't her fault, even Kias helped, but she still felt guilty.

Maybe Obi-Wan will have some advice, Anakin thought walking toward his master's quarters before he raised a hand and knocked.

The door opened and Obi-Wan stood next to it. "Have we reached Corellia yet?" he asked.

"No, I just decided to come by and bug you," replied Anakin with a smirk.

"You do that on a regular occasion, Anakin," Obi-Wan replied wryly but there was amusement in her eyes.

Anakin chuckled before he grew serious. "I also came by because I was wondering if Ahsoka and I could talk to you," he said.

Ahsoka glanced at him frowning.

Obi-Wan nodded. "Come in," he said stepping aside and Anakin stepped into the quarters with Ahsoka just behind him.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Obi-Wan asked as the three of them sat down.

Anakin sighed and explained the situation revolving around Ahsoka's guilt over what happened to Fhernan's sister. "Both Kias and I have tried to convince her that she wasn't responsible but I can sense, even now, that she still doesn't believe it," he said.

"And you want me to talk to her?"

Anakin shrugged. "You've always been good at talking some sense into me," he said.

Obi-Wan smiled before glancing at Ahsoka who was looking down. "So you feel you are responsible for Dr. Fhernan's sister's death?" he asked gently.

Ahsoka nodded slowly.

Obi-Wan placed his hand on Ahsoka's shoulders. "Ahsoka," he said gently, "based on the description of what happened, I can see that it wasn't your fault. I am sure I am not the only one who has said this but think about it, Ahsoka. What could you have done when you sensed Lynas's treachery?"

"I could have searched him for weapons at least or interrogated him," Ahsoka said.

"But it was only a feeling of treachery with no evidence or basis of fact, Ahsoka. How did you know Lynas would kill his mother? You only sensed the treachery, you had no way of knowing how Lynas would betray you and to who he would betray you. He could have alerted Grievous to your position or called the droids down on you. My point is that just because you sensed his treachery doesn't mean you had all the information to figure out and stop his treacherous act. Do you understand?"

Ahsoka nodded slowly. "I understand, Master Kenobi," she said softly.

"Good. Do you still feel you were responsible?"

Ahsoka shook her head. "No Master Kenobi."

"Good."

"I think I'm going to go find Jenica," Ahsoka said before she stood up, inclined her head politely to Obi-Wan and Anakin and walked out of the room.

Anakin watched her go before sighing. "She's like me when it comes to stubbornness," he said.

"Yes she is." Obi-Wan was silent for a long moment. "How are you, Anakin?" he asked standing up.

"I'm fine, master."

"It looked like a pretty bad wound."

"Yes but the medic took care of it."

A knock sounded on the door and Obi-Wan opened it to reveal Siri. "Obi-Wan," Siri greeted him. "Oh, hello Anakin."

"Master Tachi," Anakin replied.

"Obi-Wan, the council just contacted; they want to discuss what happened around Chandrila," Siri said.

"All right Siri. I'll see you later, Anakin."

Anakin nodded before watching his former master and Siri walk out of the quarters before he followed them and made his way toward the hangar bay as the Resolute continued its journey toward Corellia.

The next five months following the mission to Lanteeb went by swiftly and many things happened during that time including Ferus's knighting ceremony. During that time, Obi-Wan found himself running from one battle to the next so he was thankful when he was allowed to return to Coruscant for a brief time. Siri had it the same way and so when they finally had some time to rest and recover, they took advantage of it. Of course, until Obi-Wan found the words to say to explain to the Jedi Council that love wasn't a bad thing, he would have to keep his relationship with Siri a secret.

However, thinking about his secret relationship with Siri made him, somehow, think about Anakin. He knew about Anakin's marriage to Padmé and he found himself wondering if he should tell Anakin about his relationship with Siri. It wouldn't do any good if he kept it from Anakin; keeping secrets from his brother was another thing that led to Anakin's fall to the dark side.

So he brought the topic up with Siri.

"I don't know, Obi-Wan," Siri said softly lifting her head off Obi-Wan's chest to look at him. "How do we know we can trust Anakin with this?"

"I trust Anakin with my life, Siri," Obi-Wan said gently.

Siri looked doubtful. "Why do you want to tell him?" she asked.

Obi-Wan was silent for a long moment as he thought about how to tell her one reason without telling her the real reason. "He trusted me with a secret that is similar to ours and I feel it would be wrong if I kept our relationship a secret from him," he said finally, which was true. Anakin might take it that Obi-Wan didn't trust him enough with the secret and he knew that if he was to maintain Anakin's trust in him, he had to show Anakin that he still trusted him with his life. Trust went both ways after all.

Siri looked thoughtful. "I think I understand," she said. "All right, we'll tell him."

Obi-Wan's eyebrows rose. "We?" he echoed.

Siri laughed. "Do you really think I'm going to sit aside and let you tell Anakin yourself? He probably won't believe you."

Obi-Wan chuckled knowing Siri was right; Anakin wouldn't believe him. "All right," he said standing up and holding out a hand to help Siri to her feet. Siri stood up before the two of them walked out of Obi-Wan's quarters. Any Jedi that happened to pass by would likely think they were only talking as Obi-Wan and Siri acted as though nothing had happened, which it didn't.

The two of them walked through the twists and turns of the Jedi Temple before Obi-Wan found Anakin's Force signature mixed with Ahsoka's, Jenica's and Ferus's. When they walked into the training room, Obi-Wan noticed Jenica and Ahsoka were watching as Anakin and Ferus dueled. Hoping the duel wouldn't escalate, which wasn't likely due to Ferus's determination to be the perfect Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan walked over to join Ahsoka and Jenica with Siri just behind him.

"When did this start?" he asked.

Ahsoka shrugged. "Ferus challenged Anakin and Anakin accepted. They've been dueling for the past half-hour," she said.

By the end of the duel, Anakin managed to best Ferus and knock the lightsaber out of his hand. Ferus calmly called his lightsaber to his hand although his eyes were narrowed. "Nice duel," he said politely but there was no doubting he still didn't like Anakin. Obi-Wan remembered when Ferus had come to him, both last time and this time, warning him about Anakin and he found himself wondering if Ferus somehow knew of what would happen to Anakin in the future.

This time, however, Obi-Wan was determined to make sure it didn't happen.

No matter what.

"It was a rather impressive duel, what we saw at least," Obi-Wan said casually.

Anakin glanced at him. "When did you get here?" he asked although Obi-Wan knew he had felt his presence.

"About five minutes ago."

"Ah."

"Anakin, can I talk to you in private?" Obi-Wan asked still calm.

"All right, Master. Ahsoka, you're pretty much free to do what you want. Meet me in the Room of a Thousand Fountains in half an hour," Anakin said.

"All right master. Jenica, do you want to duel?" Ahsoka asked turning her gaze to the dark-haired apprentice.

Jenica nodded before ignited her lightsaber and walking to the center of the room with Ahsoka just behind her.

Ferus left the room and Anakin followed Obi-Wan and Siri as the two of them left the room before making their way back toward Obi-Wan's quarters. The three of them entered the room and Obi-Wan and Siri sat down side by side while Anakin, looking confused with a small frown on his face, sat down across from them.

"So what's this all about?" he asked.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said gently, "you know I trust you with my life."

"Yes."

"Well, I want to tell you something, something that I don't want anyone else to know. I trust you, which is why I'm telling you."

Anakin was silent for a long moment examining them. "All right," he said.

Obi-Wan glanced at Siri before turning his gaze back to Anakin. "Anakin," he said softly, "despite the fact that it's against the Jedi Code, Siri and I have decided that we can't keep our feelings for each other bottled up anymore. We're in love, Anakin."

Anakin stared dumbfounded and it was several long moments before he found his voice. "You're in love?" he echoed eyes wide.

Obi-Wan chuckled at his apprentice's expression. "I've loved Siri for a very long time, Anakin and she felt the same way. Back when we were Padawans, we fell in love but, due to our duties to the Jedi Order, we decided to never pursue it. Things have changed now."

"I…I'm surprised you would actually break the Jedi Code, master," Anakin said. "I'm happy for you and all but it's just…surprising."

"I know," Obi-Wan said. "But it's the truth."

"Are you two going to get married?"

Obi-Wan exchanged a glance with Siri who shook her head and he glanced back at Anakin. "I don't think we have to get married, Anakin. Our love for each other is enough," he said before he touched Siri's mind through their bond and she touched his mind as well. "Do you feel that, Anakin?"

Anakin, eyes wide, nodded. "That's amazing," he breathed. "I didn't even think that was possible."

"Neither did we," Siri said. "But it formed while we were on Lanteeb. And, the way I see it, this bond is just as valuable as marriage vows."

"I agree. We've already talked about this, Anakin, and decided that we don't have to get married to show that we love each other. The fact that the Jedi Council can't find out," yet "is another reason."

Anakin nodded slowly. "I understand, master," he said, "and thank you for trusting me with this."

"You trusted me enough with your secret. Trust goes both ways, Anakin. If I don't prove that I trust you then how can you trust me?"

Anakin opened his mouth to protest, thought about Obi-Wan's words and nodded in agreement. "You're right," he said.

"I usually am."

Anakin snorted. "Not all the time, Master," he said. "So, uh, does Siri know…?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "I never told her. If you want her to know then you can tell her but I won't betray your trust in me."

"I won't ask Obi-Wan to betray your trust in him," Siri added. "Whatever it is you don't want me to know that Obi-Wan does know, I won't push."

Anakin was silent. "Well Padmé already knows that you know, Master, so I guess Siri can know as well," he said finally.

"If that's what you want then go ahead and tell her," Obi-Wan said.

Siri waited patiently for Anakin to speak.

"Well, I can say that I understand how it is to keep something from the Jedi Council," Anakin said. "You see, Master Tachi, I'm married to Senator Padmé Amidala."

Siri looked a bit surprised before she glanced at Obi-Wan. "Now I understand why you said his secret was similar to ours," she said. "But a senator? That I didn't expect."

"So what now?" Anakin asked.

"Now, we go about our daily lives and pretend nothing has changed," Obi-Wan said calmly. At least until I can figure out how to tell the Council that they were wrong to, for one, assume love and attachment were the same thing and, for another, forbid something as pure as love, he thought.

Anakin nodded. "All right, master," he said. "Well, I'm going to go find my Padawan and leave you two with some alone time." He winked and Obi-Wan felt his cheeks redden as he glared at his former Padawan who, laughing, jogged out of the room.

a/n what do you think?

Blaze: and that was the short aftermath chapter that one of my reviewers asked for. I hope you liked it. The next episode is going to be the Hostage Crisis episode

Darth: and a big thank you to everyone who voted on Blaze's poll

Blaze: yeah thank you (hands out virtual pie to everyone) the third round of the poll is now up

Darth: WHERE'S MY CAPPUCCINO?

Obi-Wan: Palpypie did

Darth: bring him to me in chains hanging upside down from a tyrannosaurus

Anakin: why a tyrannosaurus?

Darth: gotta feed my pets

Anakin: you have a dinosaur as a pet?

Darth: yeah, I call him Godzilla

Obi-Wan: and gees Anakin, you really don't know anything. Even I knew about Godzilla

Anakin: (glowers)

Harry: (pops up out of nowhere) did I hear Godzilla? Why don't you just use Saphira? She's bored

Severus: poor dragon

Saphira: Godzilla has a more sturdy stomach and I don't like sour milk

Palpypie: hey!

Godzilla: FOOD!

Palpypie: ahhh! (Gets eaten)

Blaze: (laughs) I don't own Inheritance Cycle, Godzilla or Harry Potter. Please review and I will post chapter 26 as soon as I possibly can but I doubt it'll be anytime soon