Chapter 9: Four Years Later

Obi-Wan sat in the lavish sleeping quarters on the Senate transport, his eyes focused on the blurry lines of stars outside the porthole window as they continued their trek through hyperspace from Nar Shaddaa to Coruscant. His hand rested on his chin, absently stroking his beard as he tried to make sense of the last few days. No matter how talented a Jedi is at releasing their feelings into the Force there are just some missions that will always carry a heavy toll. Not since Naboo had Obi-Wan felt the weight of his own personal feelings after a mission so heavily.

It started with an emotionally exhausting visit to Ilum so Anakin could finally acquire his official Kyber Crystal and build his lightsaber. It had taken much longer for the Council to accept that Anakin was ready to handle the responsibilities of a full powered lightsaber, not because of a lack of talent in wielding the blade but more out of a lack of restraint in using it.

'Kriffing Ilum…' Obi-Wan sighed as his thoughts lingered on their trip to the snowy Kyber caves.

He had seen Qui-Gon in the cave while he waited for his apprentice to find his crystal, or rather he had been forced to see a repeated vision of his former Master's death as if it were a holovid stuck on a loop. Ilum was notorious for causing Jedi to face their worst fears, it was a test and in the back of his mind he realized that it was a reminder for him to learn to let go of his attachments.

But instead it brought back the nightmares and the heavy feelings of grief that he had long thought he had dealt with thanks to the help of meditation, and a few sessions with a Mind Healer (at Bant's insistence). It had even seemed to cure his sleepwalking, thank the Force. But now they were back with a vengeance and he knew he'd have to deal with them at some point.

Anakin's visions of the Sith seemed to have also returned, to the point that the boy had manipulated a training droid to take on the form of the Zabrak so he could defeat it. Mace Windu and Chancellor Palpatine had been there to witness him besting the droid version of the Sith Apprentice, claiming that he wanted to show he was as good a swordsman as his Master, but Obi-Wan knew the truth. The boy was convinced that Maul had somehow survived, and he was preparing himself for an inevitable altercation with the terrifying horned creature.

Obi-Wan was always quick to point out to Anakin that in his dreams it was always only Obi-Wan who seemed to face Darth Maul, trying to remind Anakin of their pact to always face the Sith together. That alone had been the trick to get the child to calm down and back to sleep four years ago, but it seemed to be harder and harder to convince a teenager of anything. The twenty nine year old realized he might need to get Yoda involved if Anakin's visions became worse as he grew older.

Things had been going great for the Master/Padawan team, okay maybe great was a little optimistic, but things were going well enough as far as Obi-Wan was concerned. He had even started to figure out ways to handle Anakin's growing mood swings, discovering that the phrase "you seem a little on edge" was somehow the trick to getting the boy to open up and talk. Sure, Anakin didn't seem to have very many friends his own age, but Obi-Wan's own friends had grown close to Anakin over the last four years so it wasn't as if the boy was alone.

Things were good, Obi-Wan had told himself. That was until Anakin ran a mysterious errand with the Chancellor and suddenly said he was contemplating leaving the Jedi, followed by a mission that seemed to put the young inhabitants of a devastated planet against the older generation in a never ending war - which Hit way too close to old memories of Melia/Daan for Obi-Wan's comfort. Insecurities of his place within the Jedi, his sudden knighthood without the official trials, his inexperience with Anakin during those first few months all came to a head during that mission. It was as if his past was coming back to haunt him, and he didn't know exactly how to react.

And then to top it all off he then met Zora.

/The Pirate had landed just a few feet from Anakin and kept their blasters level, but did not shoot again. Obi-Wan's breath caught in his throat as he took in the features of the fearsome adversary, something in the Force told him to look closer than just at the outward appearance. They had short, dark red hair that was braided and adorned with glittering, sharp objects making it stick out wildly. They wore a tunic and leggings made of various animal hides that clung close to their body, and also wore strategically placed armor that covered their shoulders and chest. They had frightening red scars on their cheeks, causing the symmetrical face to look off balanced and ferocious. They had drawn thick black eyeliner around their eyelids which enhanced the Pirate's eyes...those crystal blue and familiar eyes.

Siri, the Pirate was Siri...or rather Zora as the Council had told him right before he and Anakin had left for their mission.

They had told him that Siri had joined Kryan's crew over two years ago and rose the ranks to become his second in command (a title she shared with a vicious Wookie named Rashtah). It was clear she had fully succumbed to her dark side, as Quinlan had shown him years prior. He hadn't wanted to believe it, even after seeing the report from Quinlan, he even secretly continued to search for her for months, but as the Council went on to describe her rise to power in the Krayn's crew Obi-Wan felt the pain of her loss as vividly as the day she left him on the roof with a bleeding mental bond.

And here she was, standing between him and his Padawan with blasters pointed at each of them. And he had so much he wanted to say to her, but his brain couldn't seem to process a coherent thought.

"You will not shoot him Siri," he managed to say finally.

"I am Siri no longer," her voice was deeper than he remembered, and a different cadence. "I am Zora."

"There is still Jedi in you," he felt as if he was speaking faster than his brain was processing everything. "Even though you have betrayed EVERY part of our code." His tone was ice cold.

Okay, that was probably not the right thing to say given their history and the precarious situation, but it had left his mouth before he could stop himself.

Her expression was stoic, if what he said had hurt her it was not apparent. She stood her ground between Anakin and himself.

"There are so many things I do not miss about the Jedi…" she began, her voice held none of her old spirit or kindness. "One is their self-righteousness." She sneered, giving a poignant look in Obi-Wan's direction. "It's so...boring."

Obi-Wan suddenly wondered if there was anything she DID miss about the Jedi.

His heart began to crumble as he saw the absolute hatred on her face, though thinking back her eyes had looked remorseful, and perhaps even held a bit of longing? Everything after she spoke happened so quickly and Obi-Wan had to struggle to save himself as Siri...no, Zora pushed him inside the transport and turned on the turbines which shot him out into space. Leaving Anakin alone with a notorious slaver and what he thought was a fallen Jedi./

Bringing his mind back to the current moment Obi-Wan groaned as he laid down on the sleep couch pinching the bridge of his nose. He had spoken so bitterly to Siri on that ship, he had wanted to hurt her he realized. He had felt so betrayed at the idea that she would throw away the life they had sacrificed their own relationship for without a second thought. He had come to the realization that he was not behaving as a Jedi, he was allowing personal feelings get in the way and it came at the cost of his Padawan's safety. He wondered (not for the first time) if he had made the right choice in honoring his last promise to Qui-Gon, wondered if he was really up to the task to train Anakin.

Even now that Anakin was safe and Siri's mission was at an end which meant she was coming home, he found that he still felt anger and betrayal over the entire ordeal. But he wasn't sure who to direct his indignation towards.

The Council was an obvious choice, after all they had been the ones to send a twenty three year old who had barely been knighted on a dangerous deep undercover mission long term. And they also had come up with the cover story which caused her Jedi peers to believe she had fallen to the dark side, possibly damaging her reputation. But due to his gift with the Unifying Force Obi-Wan had always been good at seeing the bigger picture, his mind was able to understand the many pieces to a puzzle which sometimes those gifted with the living Force couldn't always see. This was the main reason he had butted heads with his old Master, especially about the Council, he was able to see all sides to a conflict and how they might affect the future.

That still didn't explain why they couldn't have told him about her mission, especially when there was a chance he'd run into her on his own mission...no, he realized had he known he could've inadvertently blown her cover. It was his natural reactions that helped sell her deception, and as painful as it had been he knew ultimately he had to be kept in the dark for the success of her mission (and for her own safety).

He also realized he couldn't hold it against Siri for not telling him on the day she ripped their pair bond, every layer of authenticity to her story kept her secret safe, and there was no way she would have kept the bond between them otherwise he would've been able to easily find her. He suddenly felt immense sympathy for Siri, all those years on her own, having to repair the torn bond in her own head alone. Obi-Wan realized who to direct his anger towards, and it was himself for ever doubting her commitment.

He also realized that meant he also owed Quinlan Vos an apology. Their friendship had become incredibly strained in the last several years, and while Obi-Wan wanted to cling to the idea that they had grown apart because they were two radically different Jedi (and Vos' personality seemed to only grow louder as he got older), but he knew that the distance between them started because of his anger towards the Kiffar for convincing him not to continue his search for Siri. Quinlan had only been trying to protect their friend and he had reacted poorly in response.

There was so much he needed to say to so many different people. He closed his eyes to try and come up with a plan of action, he was always better when he had a strategy in place. He'd speak to Anakin first, it was his duty as a Master to check on his pupil, especially after a difficult mission. And boy, had this been a difficult mission for Anakin. He would make sure the twelve, almost thirteen year old was okay before he even ventured to speak to Siri (outside of the small talk they had already shared). But, of course it appeared as if the Force had other plans in mind.

The knock on the door shook him from his thoughts, but the voice caused so many emotions at once he struggled to answer.

"Obi-Wan, are you decent? 'Cause I'm coming in either way." The familiar teasing voice made him feel like he was back on missions with Qui-Gon, Siri and Adi from years past.

"I just...I need a moment…" He found he struggled to say her name. "Please."

Silence hung between them. "I know first hand how much damage a punch from a Wookiee can do, I just wanted to check on your arm."

"I'm fine, no need to concern yourself." He grimaced at his tone, he knew he was being childish.

"If you say so," her voice sounded small, so unlike Siri. "I'll leave you to it."

Obi-Wan closed his eyes, it was times like these where he longed for Qui-Gon's advice.

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Siri slowly turned away from the door, feeling a bone deep exhaustion through her entire body. She also felt an odd sense of unease at the quiet and lavish ship; she had grown accustomed to the constant and loud sounds of both pirates and slaves over the course of four years. She sighed to herself, wondering how difficult being in the peaceful Jedi Temple was going to be. She had no idea how she was even going to sleep.

She glanced back at Obi-Wan's quarters and then down the hallway where she could hear Anakin and Chancellor Palpatine playing a game of Dejarik. Siri knew they had over eight hours yet to Coruscant and she had no one to talk to. It wasn't as if she wasn't used to being alone, in fact she had grown comfortable in her solidarity. She had decided early on in her mission that there was no way she was going to make friends with any of the pirates (though despite herself she came close with Hondo Ohnaka) and for her safety and mental wellness she wouldn't dare get close to any of the slaves. She hadn't had a friendly conversation in so long that she wondered if she even remembered how. So when Obi-Wan wasn't in a mood to have a heart to heart talk she was secretly glad.

She honestly didn't know what she was going to say to him beyond the long overdue apology.

Siri found herself making her way to the kitchen, pouring herself a cup of caf, briefly thanking the crew member who had decided to make another pot despite the late hour. As she took a sip her thoughts drifted to the last time she had seen Obi-Wan on a rain soaked rooftop. It felt like a lifetime ago, yet it was etched so vividly in her memory.

/"Siri, please don't leave me." His voice was a whimper. "I can't lose you too."

"I never wanted it to be this way..." She brushed her thumb over his cheek, it was her turn to wipe the tears.

"Then why are you making it this way?" His voice was almost a whisper. /

She closed her eyes at the memory, it was one that had haunted her nearly every night of her mission (when she wasn't plagued by images of the horrendous acts carried out by her very own hand). She realized the pained expression in his eyes that night was the same when he saw her again as Zora.

/Zora strode into the communications center, taking a bite of Jogan fruit as she smirked at her fellow First Mate. She and Rashtah had been vying for Krayn's favor for over a year and it looked like things might just be going her way.

"Wow, an intruder? Were you asleep on your watch Rashtah?" Zora jabbed, enjoying the angry glare from the Wookiee. "Now I forget, does Krayn like to reward incompetence?"

Rashtah let out a series of curse words in Shyriiwook and pulled up the security screens. Zora watched over his shoulder, her keen senses attuned to the shadows in the security footage. She had sensed a familiar presence in the Force, but she was certain she had to have been hallucinating.

Then, she saw him. His hair had grown out and he hid his youthful face behind a beard, but it was unmistakable who had boarded Krayn's ship.

'What. The. Everloving Kriff?' She thought to herself while keeping her facade up.

"Alert Krayn, I'll head them off." Zora exclaimed to her Wookiee partner and left without an answer.

She knew if Krayn or Rashtah found them first then one of two things would happen, either her cover would be blown and the four years of pain she had inflicted on people would be for nothing, or he'd kill Obi-Wan.

Or there was a third option - he could force her to kill Obi-Wan to prove her loyalty.

There was no way she'd allow any of those scenarios to happen. She called upon the Force to aid her tracking while still masking her presence from Kenobi and Skywalker.

'Was that really Anakin? Wow, he's grown so much' A fleeting thought crossed her mind as she jumped onto the catwalks above the hanger./

Siri took another drink of caf as her thoughts drifted. She had often dreamed about coming back to the Temple and reuniting with her friends. She knew that her public fight with Adi coupled with her actions on the roof would mean she had some damage control to do with regards to her reputation, but the way he spoke to her...she wondered if she'd ever be able to mend what had been broken.

/"You will not shoot him Siri," his voice was surprisingly steady.

"I am Siri no longer," she did her best to stay in character though she could feel her hands beginning to tremble. "I am Zora."

She could hear Krayn coming, there was precious little time. She knew she could hide Anakin as one of the slaves (though she desperately didn't want to put the boy through that), but Obi-Wan was distinctly Jedi...she couldn't hide him, couldn't protect him from Krayn's wrath. Not to mention the mission had to come first.

Always, the mission had to come first. She had to figure out how to get him out of the ship...now.

"There is still Jedi in you," his familiar eyes bore into her, the pain in them so much like that night on the roof. "Even though you have betrayed EVERY part of our code." His tone was meant to hurt her, and it cut down to the bone.

Siri could hear Krayn coming closer, she had to find a way to get him to safety. She couldn't let her personal feelings get in the way. She'd have to hurt him in order to save him.

"There are so many things I do not miss about the Jedi…" she worked hard not to drop her character. "One is their self-righteousness." She sneered, giving a poignant look in Obi-Wan's direction. "It's so...boring."

Krayn was on top of them now, she had only one chance, if she used the turbines to flush his ship into space it'd look like she meant to kill him...there was a possibility it could kill him, she just had to trust that his training would save him.

'Forgive me my dear friend.'

Her thoughts betrayed the look of hatred on her face as she forced Obi-Wan back into his ship and turned on the turbines, dumping him into space. She then turned and focused both blasters on Anakin who seemed to just now recognize her.

She looked up and saw Krayn, she quickly snatched Anakin's lightsaber from his belt and hid it beneath her tunic.

"What's this?" Krayn bellowed, motioning to Anakin. "Have you caught the intruder?"

"It's nobody...just a slave" Siri continued to adopt the uncaring and menacing voice of Zora.

'Force, I'm so sorry...' she thought to herself as she saw the anger rising in Anakin's eyes. /

Siri was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't sense the other presence entering the room, she also hadn't noticed that she had been sitting there for almost two hours and most of the rest of the ship had gone to bed.

"This seat taken?" A familiar accented voice startled her.

She looked up at Obi-Wan who had two mugs in his hands, he offered one to her as he sat down. She took it, discarding her cup of caf that had gone cold. She drank the hot lemon ginger tea and sighed in pleasure.

"It's been so long since I've had a good cup of tea." She commented, deciding to keep the conversation light in order to not scare him off. She then lifted the mug and pointed to it. "I can't believe you remembered how I take it."

"Don't be silly, of course I remembered." He offered her a half smile and sipped from his own mug.

They sat in silence for a moment.

"You changed your hair back…" Obi-Wan motioned to Siri's once again blonde hair.

She nodded. "Yeah, I just needed to wash this mission off...quite literally." She ran a hand through the short undercut. Though, I guess it'll take time for it to grow out.

"I like it, the short hair suits you." Obi-Wan looked at her over the lip of his mug. "I must admit, I do like the blonde better than the fake looking red though."

Siri leaned back in her seat and crossed her legs. "Yes it's well documented that you prefer blondes."

He shook his head and playfully smacked her arm. She giggled in response, both enjoying how easy it was to fall back into their old rhythm. As his hand lingered on her arm though everything came rushing back to them and both returned their attention to their drinks.

"I'm so sorry…" Obi-Wan finally said.

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What in all the Corellian hells are YOU apologizing for?"

"I gave up on you, on trying to find you." His voice was terribly sad. "I should've known you'd never leave the Order."

"Oh, Obi-Wan…"

She placed her mug down on the table and reached out to grab his hand. He hesitated at first and then wrapped his fingers tightly around hers.

"I'm the one who should be sorry Obi-Wan," her voice was remorseful. "I just left you there on that roof…" her eyes began to fill with tears. "When you needed me the most and...and I wasn't there."

"Hey…" he placed his other hand on top of hers. "The mission always has to come first, we both know that." He squeezed her hand. "I'm not going to lie to you though, I almost died after you severed the bond, but…"

"What?!"

He smiled. "I'm kidding...I mean, well it wasn't good, but I pulled through."

It was her turn to smack his arm. "I see your sense of humor has grown even more inappropriate over the years if that's even possible."

"Well I have to laugh these days to keep from crying." He halfheartedly joked.

She nodded. "Masterhood troubles?"

"Let's just say I have a new appreciation for Qui-Gon being able to raise three teenage boys. It's no wonder he didn't want another Padawan after two." He chuckled and took another sip of his tea. "And it's only going to get worse I fear."

Siri returned the chuckle. "Come on, that kid loves you, you do know that right?"

"Bah,"

"No I'm serious, you have no idea how much he defended you to me when he thought I hated you." She smirked. "Of course little does he know I in fact really do hate you."

"The feeling is more than mutual, my darling." He raised his mug as if to toast her.

They sat in silence for another moment, this time feeling more comfortable.

"Qui-Gon would be so very proud of you." Her tone was serious and Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "You really do still doubt that?"

Obi-Wan shrugged. "The last time he saw me I had failed him, I failed to save his life and then I killed out of anger. And yesterday my own Padawan, the one he trusted me with also killed out of anger. I'm not sure there is much for him to be proud of."

"Anakin killed Krayn out of self defense,"

"Like I did with the Sith?" He tilted his head to the side. "Just because its defense doesn't mean there aren't other motives beneath the surface."

"Both of you did what had to be done in the moment." She reached out and gently rubbed his shoulder. "And wasn't Qui-Gon all about living in the moment?"

"I highly doubt that's what he meant." Obi-Wan let out a small snort. "Besides, Anakin's actions in killing Krayn meant that your mission, everything you endured was for nothing."

"My mission was to infiltrate Krayn's organization and discover his connections to various levels of government officials...which I uncovered plenty of connections by the way. Whether Krayn lived to be brought to justice by the courts or not doesn't have any effect on my mission." She sighed. "And even if Anakin's actions had nullified my mission's information I still can't call it a failure because so many people have now been set free as a result."

"I just can't imagine what you went through." His voice grew soft and concerned. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"It's not so much what I went through that lingers, it's more what I did…" She admitted, looking down at her hands.

"And what was it you did?"

Siri looked up at him and shook her head. "I'm not ready to talk about it, frankly I may never be."

"I am here should you ever change your mind." His eyes were kind and made her heart hurt.

"You may not like me very much once you hear it." She looked away from him.

He moved and knelt down in front of her and placed his hands on either side of her face, forcing her to look at him. "That's not possible Siri,"

Her eyes began to fill with tears as she looked into his. "That's a name I've not heard in a long time…Say it again."

"Siri...my dear Siri." He leaned up and kissed her forehead.

Unable to stop the tears Siri slid off her chair and knelt on the floor with him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. Obi-Wan placed a hand behind her head and the other around her waist and pulled her close, feeling her tears on his neck.

"This is so stupid…" She said between sobs. "Ugh, I hate this."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that you have human emotions." He smiled and she let out a muffled laugh between tears.

Eventually the two friends found themselves sitting on the floor in the ship's small kitchen, catching one another up on the previous four years. It wasn't until the Captain announced their final approach to Coruscant that they decided to come back to the moment instead of reliving memories of the past.

"We're playing Sabacc tonight." Obi-Wan said as Siri was about to head to her quarters to grab her travel pack. "You should join us, I know Garen would love a rematch."

Siri looked down to the ground. "Oh...I'm not sure everyone would want to see me, I know how protective they can be and according to you I practically left you for dead. Even though the excuse was that it was for a mission, I'm still not sure I'll be accepted back with open arms."

"I think you underestimate them."

"I think you underestimate how much you mean to them." She turned to leave.

"My quarters at 1900 should you change your mind." He watched her leave and then turned to go collect his Padawan. "And I hope you do."

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Finally back home Obi-Wan sat down on his bed, drying his freshly washed hair with a towel. He could hear his Padawan tinkering with an unfinished droid in their common room, a table had long been set up in the opposite corner of what was once Qui-Gon's reading nook. It made the small space cramped, but it gave the overactive mind of his Apprentice something to do so Obi-Wan adjusted to the disorder. Apparently Anakin proved more difficult than Qui-Gon in managing to keep his mess only to his personal space. And the new Master learned he needed to pick his battles with his young charge so he made sure to always wear shoes in the common room to avoid stepping on forgotten nuts and bolts.

Obi-Wan found each year that passed it became easier to think about his former Master without feeling the companion of grief and longing. He was able to relive memories and tell funny stories without getting choked up. He wasn't sure if he'd ever not feel pain when thinking back on that day on Naboo, but time made the pain feel more dull and manageable. It helped that he had Qui-Gon's journal full of words of wisdom and training tips by his side, it felt like he could still turn to his old Master for guidance. He honestly didn't know how he would've managed to get through Anakin's first year of training without it. Obi-Wan had even begun making his own notes at the back of the leather bound book, planning on bestowing it to Anakin one day. He smiled to himself, allowing the brief amusing thought of Anakin having to deal with his own challenging Padawan...he couldn't wait to be a fly on that wall.

He brought his thoughts back to the present as he placed the towel down and proceeded to get dressed. His room looked more like his own now, he had eventually been able to donate most of Qui-Gon's old clutter and trinkets to various departments within the Temple, only keeping the ones that truly held sentimental value. Now the simple bookcase in the corner was filled with its intended purpose - books along with various simple frames containing holopics of important people in his life. Obi-Wan knew possessions while not forbidden to a Jedi were not encouraged so instead of collecting trinkets he tended to collect memories. One shelf was nothing but a collection of journals; he had kept a journal for every year that he was an apprentice to Qui-Gon Jinn, and now was keeping one for every year that he was a Master to Anakin, they were filled with stories of their missions as well as beautiful drawings he did by memory of places they had visited and people they had met.

As he sat back down on the bed to pull on his boots his eyes traveled down to the bedside table. There was the same picture that had been by Qui-Gon's bedside of him and his late Master at the Coruscanti zoo, next to it was a picture of him and Anakin upon their first visit to the same zoo one month after Qui-Gon's passing. Obi-Wan studied the two photos and smiled, memories of both trips overlapping in his mind. He then noticed a familiar (and still horribly disgusting yet well loved) Tooka doll sitting between the two picture frames. Anakin had lent him his prized possession after his bond had been severed, and always insisted it remained with Obi-Wan, though the boy always clung to it on the nights where he had crawled into bed with Obi-Wan after a particularly bad dream. Now that Anakin was approaching his formidable years he didn't seem to care that the doll permanently stayed with his Master.

"How was your day, Spikes?" Obi-Wan asked the doll as he pulled on his last boot, he waited as if allowing the doll to reply. "Yes, yes I'm glad to be home as well."

As he rose to his feet Obi-Wan's eyes landed on the remaining object on the bedside table, it was a familiar lightsaber hilt. He lifted the silver cylinder in his hand, taking note again just how big it was for his palm, knowing he had made the right decision constructing a new one for himself. But, he liked having it near him instead of forgotten down in the archives. The familiar energy from the kyber crystal inside had a particular calming effect on him. He knew keeping it was a sign of attachment, but he'd made his peace with that, he had a strange feeling within the Force that he was meant to guard this saber and it's crystal for something yet to come.

"Keep your concentration here and now where it belongs." the voice he'd never forget rang through his head and he smiled as he placed the saber back on the nightstand.

"Yes Master," he whispered.

A door chime brought him back to the moment and he moved to answer it. He motioned for Anakin not to bother extracting himself from the pile of droid parts as he made his way towards the door. The smile upon his face was genuine and the happiest it's been in years as he saw three of his best friends on the other side. All of his friends were no longer Padawans as Garen and Reeft had both been knighted within the last four years, which meant that all of them seemed to be sent on constant missions. This was the first time all of them had been back at the Temple together in over two years and they were not going to squander it.

Exchanges of greetings were extended. A huge hug from Bant, a shoulder hug from Reeft and the completion of a complicated handshake with Garen that they had developed as initiates. Obi-Wan couldn't wait to hear tales of their adventures, knowing the game of Sabacc was more of a formality for their gathering together. He watched as each of them greeted Anakin, glad to see his apprentice was equally happy to see his friends, especially given the difficult mission they had just completed.

As Obi-Wan turned to close the door he sensed a familiar presence at the end of the hall. He looked up and saw Siri hesitate to approach. He offered her a knowing smile and gestured with his head for her to approach. It hadn't taken long for it to spread through the Temple that Siri had been working undercover and that her fight with Adi and exodus had been staged. But, Obi-Wan knew it would take a while for everyone to be comfortable around her again.

Siri cautiously made her way inside his apartment, holding something behind her back. As soon as the others noticed her it was as if the air had been sucked out of the room. Obi-Wan moved to the middle of the group, ready to play mediator if the need arose.

"I don't even know where to begin to apologize…" Siri finally broke the silence. "But I brought Kowakian Rum as a peace offering."

Siri held out the bottle and Obi-Wan couldn't help the laugh that escaped due to the tension in the room. Reeft warily nodded in response, moving to plop down on the couch, Bant's expression was extremely guarded but as always kind, and Garen moved from Anakin's side towards Siri.

"Your first solo mission was spent four years undercover as a pirate…" He took the bottle out of her hand. "Kriffing overachiever."

Siri looked up at him with tears in her eyes as Garen enveloped her in a hug. Reeft quickly jumped off the couch and followed suit, wrapping both Garen and Siri in a tight embrace. Anakin was next to follow, along with Obi-Wan. Bant shook her head and couldn't help herself, she ran into the group hug eagerly.

In the back of his mind Obi-Wan knew this probably wasn't the most Jedi of behaviors, but in that moment he didn't care. His family was together and he had learned how quickly that can change so he decided to finally take his Master's advice and live in the moment.

*The End*

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Author's Note: This chapter was incredibly difficult to write, partially because there were more loose ends to tie up then I realized, but also because that meant I am done with this story and I had such a blast writing it. I want to thank each and every one of you who took the time to read it - and if you took the time to leave a kudos or better yet a review I can't thank you enough!

I have several other stories in the works, but since writing this particular group of friends was so much fun I am going to try and come up with something involving all of them again soon! - Please let me know if there is anything in particular you'd like to see.

For those interested you can read the Jedi Quest book where Siri's undercover mission is discovered by Obi-Wan here:

297725-jedi-quest-path-to-truth/page/17

Any of the dialogue I used in the flashbacks was pulled from that book (I just added the flavor text).

The scene where Anakin creates a training droid to look like Maul plus the mission that follows it (where Anakin is considering leaving the Jedi) is in reference to the Obi-Wan and Anakin comic book mini series - it's technically the first cannon story of their early days together so I wanted to fit it into this timeline.

I read a theory that Luke's second saber crystal was actually Qui-Gon's old crystal found in Ben's hovel when he goes to Tatooine to rescue Han in Return of the Jedi - I really liked that idea so I decided to hint at it here.

Thank you again for reading, please drop me a note and tell me what you thought about the whole thing!