It was a crash heard around the world - no, actually, throughout the entire galaxy. No sooner had Anakin landed the epically proportioned space cruiser then were there politicians and news droids waiting for their shuttle at the Senate. The chatter was overwhelming - the Chancellor, safe! Grievous escaped! Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker saved the day again!

Although obviously relieved at the relative success of the mission, Anakin's expression was dark as he and Obi-Wan stood in the doorway and watched the Chancellor accept accolades. Obi-Wan had been knocked unconscious in the fight with Dooku, and when he had woken up, Dooku was dead and they were trapped in an elevator shaft. He hadn't asked the young Knight what happened, but he was sure that Anakin's shoulders were heavy with guilt at having to go to such measures.

Really, though, ever since Qui-Gon passed, Anakin didn't smile much anymore.

"Good job up there," Obi-Wan offered, patting him on the back both verbally and literally. "And once again you prevented us from killing ourselves."

"All in a day's work," the younger Jedi offered, with a barely passable smirk, but a smirk nonetheless. "I take it that means I'll have to be the hero of this mission, then?"

"You read my mind," Obi-Wan quipped back, although as the words came out of his mouth, he was already rethinking it. Anakin looked tired, like he hadn't slept in months (if Obi-Wan thought about it, really thought about it, he would realize that he hadn't seen the young man sleep in quite some time). He needed rest before they were sent back to the Outer Rim. "Actually, I rescind that. I think it's time to take a little bit of the glory for myself."

Knowing what Obi-Wan was getting at, Anakin looked genuinely grateful and turned to his friend, placing a thankful hand on his shoulder and giving a true smile. "Like your ego isn't big enough."

A few moments later, after bidding Anakin goodbye and dealing with a series of questions from various politicians, Obi-Wan managed to drift off to the side of the crowd with Bail, discussing the options in dealing with the Grievous situation. His mind was fully attuned to the present conversation until he caught sight of a familiar blue dome. Using every ounce of willpower required, Obi-Wan managed to keep a straight face and let Bail finish his line of questioning before excusing himself from the conversation. While Bail looked confused as he walked away, Obi-Wan did his best to not run towards the droid, where no doubt there was a certain someone waiting with him.

But when he neared R2D2 in the shadow of a pillar, he saw that the droid was alone. Disappointed, he greeted the droid. "Hello, Artoo. May I ask what you're doing here all by yourself?"

The droid beeped excitedly before suppressing itself and lowering its volume, moving closer to the Jedi in a quiet whirring motion. A slot on his exterior opened and the droid released a series of hums to indicate that Obi-Wan press the button inside, which he did. A ray of blue light shot out and focused onto the ground where he stood and as he stepped back, an image of Padmé sitting down in her apartment appeared before him. His heart skipped a beat at the sight of the Senator, of how beautiful she was, how much more beautiful she had become in the eight months they spent apart. He found himself smiling despite his efforts to remain neutral while the Senators and politicians chattered not too far down the hall.

"I'm sorry I couldn't meet you on your arrival, Master Kenobi, as I was indisposed. But I would be pleased to see you as soon as you can visit." Then, with a secret - and slightly nervous - smile she added, "It'll be nice to see you again, Obi-Wan."

-

He wasn't more than three steps inside of the apartment before Padmé had her arms around his neck, bringing him into a crushing hug, a hug that neither wanted to end. When it did, though, Obi-Wan kissed Padmé, kissed her to make up for every day that he hadn't been able to since Naboo. He felt her tears streak from her eyes and onto his own cheeks and pulled away to see emotions stirring in those dark eyes.

"I recorded the message before I heard - " She ran her hands along his torso, touching his face, no doubt making sure he was there and he was real. "All of a sudden, the ship's crashing and there are reports there were no survivors and…Oh, Obi-Wan, if I knew I would've been there to see you, to make sure you were okay."

"It's alright, Padmé," he kissed her forehead and hugged her tightly. "Anakin's okay, the Chancellor is okay. I'm okay."

He could feel the tension in her melt away slightly. "I should've known - you're too stubborn to let some grand space battle take you down."

"Exactly," he smiled, pulling away and cupping her face in his hands, kissing her again. When the kiss ended, her eyes shifted to his bandaged hand, but Obi-Wan was already shrugging before she could say anything. "It's minor, already been taken care of."

Nevertheless, she gently cupped his hand in her own and looked at it with concern, biting her lip and shaking her head. After a moment, she burst into a fit of laughter, explaining through teary eyes. "I shouldn't be surprised you'd come out of fighting a Sith Lord and crashing a battleship onto a planet with only a few scratches to your name."

"You should definitely know me well enough by now," he joked as he lifted her fingers to his mouth and pressed a kiss to each one. "And you should know I've spent every day since I left just wanting to be this close to you, to be able to tell you how much I love you."

"I know." She swallowed, hard, and he could see that something was still on her mind.

"Padmé, what is it?" He rested his hands on her arms, holding her, sharing warmth and reaching out to sense what was wrong. Something was different, something had changed, but he couldn't put his finger on whether it was a bad or good thing. It seemed as if, whatever it was, Padmé couldn't decide either. "Is something wrong?"

"It's..." she looked away and down, at nothing of significance that Obi-Wan could see. That is, until she started to unravel the robe she'd been sporting, heavy and thick and looking to be something you'd wear to keep from freezing to death. But as she did so, her eyes returning to his, thick with emotion, he realized the exact purpose of it. When she opened her robe and revealed her stomach, her belly grown out in a way that would indicate…

"You're - ?" He swallowed, but after only a millisecond he could feel his mouth turning upwards in a smile. Even as the more rational thoughts filtered through his brain, his heart soared and his eyes filled with emotion. "You're pregnant?"

She nodded, her lips moving to form a 'Yes' but her voice failing her. She was studying his face, looking behind his smile to see if there was anything there to be worried about, but when she saw he was genuinely happy, she smiled too.

"This is amazing," he exclaimed, hugging her again, only to realize that while she was smiling and obviously happy, there was still something hanging over her head. "Padmé...?"

"This is..." She struggled for words. "This is going to change things for us. For you. Oh, Obi-Wan, if the Jedi find out..."

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

"I'll go to Naboo," she said, resolute. "I'll have the baby there and the Jedi won't have to know. You won't have to leave."

"You shouldn't have to hide this, Padmé."

"But I will. For you, for our baby."

He sighed, smiled ruefully and held her face in his hands. "Have I told you how much I love you yet?"

"It bear repeating."

"I love you so much I…" he shook his head, laughing. "I don't even know what to do with myself."

"I hope it's okay to feel a little proud about making a Jedi anxious," she leaned upwards and brushed her nose along his.

"It's quite all right," he said just before kissing her softly, lovingly. When it ended, he let out a sigh with an edge of frustration. "I keep my mind in the present when I'm out there in battle, but right now, with you…it seems like I'm finally feeling the time and distance between us. Eight months, Padmé."

She nodded but couldn't quite say anything, emotion already in her eyes at the memory of him being away, no contact, her being alone, for the duration. She kissed him again, if only for the comfort of his warmth. She could feel the baby shift in her stomach and smiled against his lips, taking a hand from her cheek and placing it where the pressure was. "She's moving again."

His eyes followed his hand in amazement, before doing a double-take. "A girl? You know the - ?"

"No, it's just…mother's intuition, I suppose." She kept her hand on his, thumb stroking his knuckles as it remained there. She watched Obi-Wan's expressions as the baby continued to kick for another few moments, and in each separate shift and upwards turn of his lips her heart soared. After a beat, she allowed a question out of curiosity. "Can you tell if it's a boy or girl with…?"

Only barely managing to tear his eyes away from her belly, he looked to her and thought about it. After a moment, he looked down to her stomach again in focus, perhaps trying to reach out and detect the life growing inside of her, before shaking his head. "Not truly. I guess you can say our baby is already incredibly strong-minded, as he's doing a good job of keeping himself…independent of my search, I guess you could say."

"He?"

"Hmm?"

"You said 'he'. You think it's a boy?"

He hesitated, then smiled mischievously. "Possibly."

"I suppose this'll keep our conversations interesting until we find out for sure." She only seemed to catch what she was saying when it filtered out of her mouth and into her own ears, and she realized how presumptuous the sentence was, considering…

Obi-Wan kissed her before a dark cloud could hang over them once more. "Everything will work out, Padmé. I promise you."

She nodded, accepting it for the time being. Another thing was already obviously crossing her mind. "You don't have to go soon, do you?"

"We have the night to ourselves," he smiled against her cheek. "I recorded my report of the mission on the way here and sent it to the Council. Tomorrow's the debriefing."

She kissed the corner of his mouth, "Early tomorrow?"

"Not too early but…" His hands rested on her waist and he kissed her, strong and confident. "We have tonight, that's what matters."

-

The next morning, Padmé awoke to find Obi-Wan already up and getting dressed. The sheets rustling as she moved onto her side, Obi-Wan realized she was awake. Their eyes met and nothing needed to be said about where he was headed to. He gave a slight nod, brow furrowed and heavy in concern. "I won't be too long, I promise."

He spoke quietly as he walked over to her, as if being careful to not shatter the tranquility of the atmosphere. "And if it comes to me having to make a decision - "

"You won't," Padmé insisted, propping herself up on her elbow. "I won't let that happen."

"If I have to, Padmé?" His hand drifted across her cheek and a sweet smile touched his lips. "I know what my decision will be."

Once Obi-Wan left to go speak with the Council, Padmé slipped out of bed and entered the seating area, intent on getting herself a drink. She was just walking out of her bedroom when she heard the slight, swift noise of the apartment doors sliding open and closed. She peeked into the entranceway to see Dormé tiptoeing inside. "Good morning, Dormé."

She couldn't help but smile when her friend jumped at the noise. "H-hello, M'lady."

"Did you go to see Anakin?" She already knew the answer, of course, but at the sight of her friend returning from a night no doubt spent with him, it reminded the Senator of the other concern that had been weighing on her for the past few months.

"I..." The handmaiden immediately shook her head, setting herself into the routine of denial, but only got halfway before giving in under the eyes of her charge. "I did, m'lady, I hope you're not - "

"Disappointed? I did give you the night off. And the reasons for it you already know."

"He was quite tired, I was simply there for company."

Days, weeks, months stuck on ships and close quarters, the only moments of relief from the tight space being on bloodied battlefields - Padmé could completely understand that Anakin needed to be around someone he was close to. "How is he?"

"He was quite tired, M'lady," she repeated. This time she said it with more emphasis, the weight of the implication undeniable. It was clear that Dormé was still concerned about the young Jedi.

Padmé only nodded at first, walking over to her friend and placing a hand on her arm, guiding her into the kitchen where she poured two glasses of juice before sitting down beside Dormé. "Are you still worried - ?"

"I, Pad - I mean, M'lady. We really shouldn't go into detail. It's my duty to serve you and make sure you are comfortable. Bringing my personal life into this - the fact that I even have a personal life - "

"Dormé," Padmé stopped her. "You have to realize that I was in your position before, but now I see that there's nothing more important than happiness. If not, then what are we fighting this war for?"

There seemed to be a great weight lifted off of Dormé's shoulders at that. "I appreciate that."

"Has Anakin seemed anxious lately? Angry even?"

"He's happy to see me when I visit, so not usually. But..." She took a moment before continuing. "Our situation, having to hide it from the Council, the very idea of them finding out and forcing him to leave the Order...it - it gets to him sometimes."

"I'm concerned about him," Padmé admitted. "Ever since the war, ever since Qui-Gon...it seems as if I haven't had much time to talk with him myself. Do you talk a lot when you're with him?"

"He doesn't like to talk about it, most of the time," Dormé admitted. "And when he does...well, those are the times when he's gotten upset."

"This war," Padmé practically spit. This damned war was destroying her friend and she couldn't stand it any longer. She thought for a moment about what she could do. "Obi-Wan's gone to the Temple just now - when he returns, I'm going to talk with him about Anakin. Maybe we can have dinner? We don't even have to bring anything up this first time, but I think, perhaps, reminding him that he has all of us will help things."

"Do you think that would be best?" Dormé worried aloud.

"It's not as if we're confronting him. Ever since Qui-Gon passed, we've all worried about how he's doing. He was like a father to him, and that kind of loss would affect anyone. But this war...this war has separated us all for so long that we haven't even been able to support each other. He's one of my closest friends, Dormé. I'm just as concerned as you are."

"You're right." She finished her drink and offered a thankful smile to Padmé. "Thank you."

-

Breathing in, then out, very slowly, Obi-Wan waited patiently to speak before the Council. Inside, his mind was whirring like a machine, thinking of possibilities, of Padmé, of more possibilities, of baby names...

At that, he couldn't help but smile to himself. Of course, at that very moment, the doors to the Council opened and he was brought inside. Without hesitation, he bowed before the members. All of them he had become friends with, even before the war, and the respect he had for each individual being he stood before was surpassed only by the respect he had for the woman he loved. "I wish to speak with you about something. Something very important."

Mace Windu's face remained unreadable, although he did lean forward, folding his hands over one another, pressing his chin into them. Yoda, however, was the first to speak. "About what, Obi-Wan, do you wish to speak with us?"

He knew this was not only what was right, but it was also what he wanted. No more hiding, no more lying. He took in a deep, calming breath, before finally speaking:

"I've…I've entered into a relationship with Padmé Amidala." He remained bowing, but didn't hesitate to continue on, knowing he would have to explain himself properly before any conclusions could be made. "It's been eight months since it first truly began but, if I'm willing to admit it to myself, there's always been something between the two of us.

"I don't wish to keep our relationship a secret, which is why I'm here. But I also don't intend to end it, because…I love her," he said strongly, confidently, raising his head to look Yoda straight in the eye. "And she's pregnant with our child."

No one moved or made a noise but Obi-Wan could feel a stir in the room nonetheless. Yoda closed his eyes and opened them again, very slowly. "Sensed something, I did."

Obi-Wan nodded, even if he was slightly surprised. He held great trust and wisdom in the Council members he was standing before, but he had been expecting them to be more…disrupted by the news. "You did?"

"Exactly what was happening, I did not know. But ignorant of your connection with the Senator, I wasn't."

"You must know that I have the greatest asset at my disposal: my own awareness. I know what will lead to the dark side, I know how to control myself." He sighed, "I did so when Qui-Gon passed, and I will do so when it happens again. We are all mortal, we all pass from this life. I can accept that, and will accept it when Padmé's time comes, just as she will do when mine comes."

Yoda gave the barest ghost of a nod, and his eyes slid shut in contemplation. Obi-Wan remained kneeling, patient for whatever was to come. After a few minutes, the Jedi Master opened his eyes and looked to Mace, who nodded as well.

"We will have to discuss this," Mace said succinctly. "You're dismissed, Obi-Wan."

Stepping outside the Council chambers, Obi-Wan let out a sigh. There was relief, but not as much as he'd hoped. He hadn't lied when he told Padmé he knew what he would choose but, looking back at the shut doors - behind which his future as a Jedi was being decided - he couldn't help but feel saddened by the possibility of a chapter of his life ending.