Title: The Will of the Force: Epilogue
Author: Jedikma (Author's notes at the end.)
Disclaimer: I still own nothing.
The Will of the Force: Epilogue
Old Hattie was propped against several pillows and she patted the side of the bed in an invitation for Siri to sit down. Siri glanced at Obi-Wan in hesitation but he inclined his head and touched her through the Force for encouragement.
The elderly woman had specifically asked to see Siri Tachi. The healers said she was dying, but for the last two days she was insistent on seeing the blonde Jedi before she could forever rest. Yoda had approached Siri and asked her to see the woman, that it may bring Hattie peace.
Only a week ago, Hattie had nearly condemned Siri from the Temple and Siri was confused as to how her presence would bring the woman anything but more agitation. She tried to explain this to Master Yoda, but Yoda still thought Siri should see Hattie, whose last days had brought her a strange lucidity.
Siri finally agreed to do so, but she didn't want to go alone, so she asked Obi-Wan to join her for support.
"Please, young one, sit." The elderly voice sounded gravelly and worn but strangely mild considering she was known to have intimidating outbursts.
Siri tried to stay relaxed as she sat on the bed next to Hattie. Obi-Wan moved to Siri's side and sat in the chair next to the bed, within touching distance of his friend. The old woman reached for Siri's wrist just as she had done the previous week, but this time her touch was gentle and loose.
Siri almost instinctively pulled away, but then relaxed in response to the softer touch. Hattie took Siri's young hand into both of her gnarled old ones and rubbed it gently as she closed her eyes.
Siri looked to Obi-Wan and raised her eyebrows questioningly. Obi-Wan only shrugged his shoulders in response.
"It is true," Hattie began to speak quietly. "There is light in the darkness."
Siri once again began to stiffen at the older woman's remark. A 'light in the darkness' was the same phrase she used to describe her son. It was what she called her baby over and over throughout her pregnancy.
"A new hope has begun at last." Hattie opened her eyes, looked at Siri and continued; "now old Hattie can die in peace."
"Master, I don't understand. What do you see?" Siri asked, but as soon as the question left her mouth she wondered if she really wanted to know.
"Too much and not enough," Hattie replied. "For too long I have had terrible visions of great darkness for the Jedi." She patted Siri's hand. "You have a son who will be important to the Jedi. He will be part of the light in the darkness."
Siri glanced over to Obi-Wan in surprise, with a look on her faced that questioned how the old woman knew about her boy.
"He cannot escape his destiny, though he may try. He will marry a princess and together they will have three children strong in the Force. All will be Jedi."
Siri had a stunned look on her face, but she said nothing as Hattie continued, "I thought I felt this last week, now I am sure. You have brought Hattie peace at last, young one." The elderly woman released Siri from her touch and settled back into the bed. She once again closed her eyes.
Siri slowly rose from Hattie's bedside and looked at Obi-Wan, still in shock. "May the Force be with you, Master Hattie," Siri said as she gave the customary bow to the older Jedi. Obi-Wan also bowed as he reached for Siri's arm to escort her from the room.
Hattie no longer seemed to notice them, but as they opened the door to leave the older woman responded, "May the Force be with you, young ones."
Siri walked out of the healer's ward not uttering a word and Obi-Wan followed. He knew Siri was trying to process the old woman's words and he could sense she was confused. He walked beside her in silence.
"Obi-Wan, I don't know whether that old lady was crazier today or last week!" Siri suddenly blurted out.
Obi-Wan was about to admonish Siri for her bluntness when she threw up her arms as she continued, "I don't mean any disrespect, but she made no sense whatsoever and how did she know about my..." Suddenly realizing she might be overheard she amended, "the boy?"
"I think Master Hattie was always able to make predictions about people by touching them."
She leaned in towards Obi-Wan almost whispering. "But she touched me and made predictions about my son. Can she do that?"
Obi-Wan sighed. "Well, she just did, I guess. I thought maybe you would be pleased by what she said."
"I might be pleased if there was any reality to it."
"What makes you think it's unreal, Siri?"
The two Jedi made their way to the Room of a Thousand Fountains. The atmosphere there was always relaxing and usually had that effect on anyone who entered, but Siri only seemed to be getting more agitated.
Siri released some tension into the Force. "It's just now occurring to me what the boy might be like as an adult and it's very unlikely a princess would marry him."
"Why would you say that?"
"Just think about it, Obi-Wan. Consider me without the Jedi discipline and a man!"
At this Obi-Wan began to laugh. "Now there is a thought!"
Siri let out a loud groan and sat down on the closest bench. "Go ahead, laugh it up, Kenobi. You may be just the one to cross paths with him one day."
"Siri, it can't be that bad." Obi-Wan cleared his throat and tried to stifle his laughter.
"The boy is living around the Corellian system and the Corellians are good people, but they're not exactly known for their refined culture. Add to that, he's likely to be cocky, he gets a dose of that from his father, too, and reckless, a double dose from his father, and have a mouth on him." Siri shook her head and groaned again. "The odds are he's more likely going to turn out to be a scoundrel and a princess is not going to marry that!"
"Old Hattie also said he'd be a light in the darkness, Siri, so he won't be all bad. Stop focusing on the negative and think about the positive traits he could have."
"Such as?" Siri eyed him.
"Well, he's bound to have great survival skills..." Obi-Wan started.
"True, he also gets a dose of that from his father..."
"And he's bound to have ingenuity..." Obi-Wan continued.
"A double dose of that from his father ..." Siri added.
"And from what I know of his mother, he'll have a fierce sense of loyalty, a good sense of humor, and a heart of gold. I'm sure he will have handsome good looks, too. Any princess would fall for that." As these thoughts registered, Obi-Wan noticed Siri slowly change from her state of irritation to one of quiet pride.
A grin crossed Siri's face. "Well, maybe that could happen."
Siri continued to ponder. "Ok, so let's say he actually does marry this princess. The next thing Hattie said was that he'd have three Force sensitive children. Talk about long odds!"
"It seems to me his whole life is going to be about long odds. Force sensitivity can run in families although it's unusual, it is possible." Obi-Wan reasoned as he sat beside Siri on the bench.
"Then let's say he does have the three Force sensitive children, but all three Jedi?"
"Why not, Siri?"
"Obi-Wan, it's hard enough to let go of one child, I can tell you that from experience. No mother is going to give all three of her children to the Temple. That will never happen!"
30 Years Later
"Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the next and seen a lot of strange things, but I've never seen anything to make me believe there is one all powerful Force controlling everything. There's no mystical energy field that controls my destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense."
The way Han Solo tilted back his head and rolled his eyes was so familiar to the old man and in a matter of seconds it all registered. Conversations long since had, dear old friends long since gone, predictions, speculations, realizations all wove together in that very moment and the old man knew without a doubt who this Corellian smuggler was and what his destiny would be.
A knowing grin spread slowly across Obi-Wan's weathered face. Siri would so love this! She, during a mission advocated by Palpatine in hopes of ridding himself of one more Jedi, produced a son whose destiny it would be to become a part of those to bring Palpatine's tyrannical reign to an end. Of course the future was still in motion, but old Hattie's prediction drifted through Obi-Wan's mind as a thought of great encouragement. If Siri's son was to marry a princess and have three force sensitive children who would be very important to the Jedi, then it made sense that the princess was the one they were on their way to help right now, Princess Leia of Alderaan. Obi-Wan knew Leia Organa and who she really was and that she would most certainly be able to have children strong in the Force.
Obi-Wan wanted to laugh out loud at the irony of it all, but he knew he must keep this to himself. The Force had a sense of humor, indeed, and Obi- Wan was thrilled to be in on the joke. His own glory days were well behind him and he was now only the link to bring together this new generation of hope.
"You cannot escape your destiny. One day, you will believe, son," Obi-Wan thought behind his smile.
FIN
A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed this story and feel free to comment on this conclusion, as well.
Obaona: Thank you, as always, for your thoughtful reviews. How was this for a sequel? I am glad the pregnancy came as such a surprise, because that is exactly what I wanted to happen to my readers! Yes, it was sad for Siri and I didn't realize it until you pointed it out but think about how Star Warsy her story really is. Another mother is also going to have to give up her son for his protection, in the future. ;) Siri telling Obi-Wan is just another step in their deepening friendship. Obi-Wan is the perfect man, isn't he? Sigh
lala: Did it turn out that you knew what I knew? I thought you might know what I know but I didn't really know, you know? You'd make a great politician. lol. Thanks so much for reading all my Obi/Siri stories and thanks for the kind reviews. I am glad you liked them.
BekahK: Thank you and I hope the epilogue measured up.
mlah: Thank you and thank you for reading.
KeaCerasiJade: You were the first to actually make the guess and as you can see you were right. I wanted to tell just enough but not too much. Your guess let me know that I, hopefully, wrote it just right. Thank you for reading my stories and for the kind reviews. Hopefully I will have more to write.
ewan's girl: One of my most faithful readers and reviewers and fellow Obi/Siri fan. Thank you so much and I am glad you are enjoying my stories because I sure enjoy yours. As you can see you guessed right on who the baby was and I attribute that to great minds thinking alike ;) I'm glad you think it was a great twist because I really thought so too but didn't know if anyone would like it. As I wrote this I realized how easily Han came into this picture and I also liked the idea that I could elevate his role in the whole story with the idea that it was all part of the plan. Han really is just as important as the Skywalker twins, the way I see it. Hope you liked my epilogue.
Kenobisaqt: Thank you. I am glad you enjoyed it.
Starkiller: Yes, yes it is Han! Thank you for the kind reviews and adding me to your favorites list. I am thrilled you like my stories so well.