Characters: Council members as of "TPM", Siri Tachi, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Reasoning: To show that this actually was a difficulty that the Jedi had to overcome, It didn't happen overnight, and even at the point of Shadows of the Sith, there are Jedi who still think that they need to return to the old ways.
Timeline: I'm converting everything to GR time. Yoda's shadow takes place in 3:4, from about the first through the 14th, with the last bit in the epilogue being on about the 18th or so. This takes place at about 3:10:18.
The aged Jedi Master looked over the Council. He knew the truth of what must happen. In order to be able to help the Chosen One, and to defeat the Sith, there were certain things that needed to happen, and the ability of the Jedi to grow was severely hampered by the adherence to the detachment rule. The announcement had barely gotten any attention on the Holonet, but had rocked the entire Order down to its foundation, which had now cracked. On one side were those in favor of detachment, and on the other side were those opposed. So vehement were the battles over it, that more than once Lightsabers had been drawn in anger. This had to stop, and stop now, before it got any worse.
He hadn't started the debate yet-even the Council was divided on the necessity of it. They took the opportunity of being together in one room to argue. Only he and Mace sat quietly, only they knew the whole score. It was not possible to live through the next twenty years, let alone any further, if they did not change. The Jedi Order had stagnated, and unless that was cleaned out of the Order it would fall. The 'discussion' was only getting louder. He banged the end of his gimer stick against the floor. The most esteemed Jedi Masters of the Order finally settled down. "United we must be in this front," He said. The room erupted again, but he put his hand up for silence.
"Understand I do, what a radical change this is for the Order. Make this decision lightly I did not. Explain to you the reasons for doing this, I will. From understanding, perspective you may gain, so that the Jedi Order may survive. In a fight for our very existences we are. Came from the future the Chosen One did, to warn of the failure of the Order. Kill the Lord of the Sith, he did. Grateful we should be because informed us he did that under our noses for many years, the Lord of the Sith sat, waiting and growing in power until ready to take over he was. Saved us some trouble he did. Complacent we have grown. Fat, lazy, Jedi are we. Tiny is the Order, and less and less do we have the resources to bring peace to the galaxy. Over our troubles are not. Out there still is Darth Maul, the Apprentice of Darth Sidious. If believe that he exists, you do not, look to the wounds caused by his Lightsaber on Qui-Gon Jinn and Anakin Skywalker. Trouble he will still be able to cause, as the current Lord of the Sith. An Apprentice he will take, soon if done so he has not already. Always two there are, no more, no less: a master and an apprentice. It is the way of the Sith. Though destroyed is the most powerful Sith Master in a thousand years, still lives, his apprentice does. Holds knowledge, does he, of many things dark and sinister. Able to hunt him, we are not, for retreated to the Outer Rim, he has. Many years has it been since able to effectively patrol the Outer Rim we have been. Lost, many of the planets feel. Slavery, rape, murder, and other vices, undetected and unpunished these crimes go there."
The hush that had fallen over the room pervaded as the old Master took his seat again, after getting up to pace as he'd spoken. Mace Windu got up to speak then. "We have evidence, strong evidence that should a Jedi chose to bring a child into the world, that child has a very good chance of showing a high degree of Force Sensitivity. We have spent thousands of years locking ourselves away from the world, and I think that we have come very close to breeding ourselves out of existence. I have seen more than once, a Jedi fall to the Dark Side because of either the deceit that they must commit because they love another, or the grief that they felt upon that person's death. If we allowed love, selfless love for another person, when that person joined the Force, then the happiness of years spent together would outweigh the grief of the loss that occurred. I believe that less Jedi would be susceptible to the dark side if this change is permitted."
After a long silence, Ki-Adi-Mundi, who seemed keenly aware of the fact that he was the only married Jedi on the Council, spoke up. "It has been the opinion of the Council that for the good of certain species that even Jedi members of those species would be allowed to marry, so that the species is not deprived of even one member in the genetic pool. Is it so different to say that the ability to become a Jedi is genetic, and thus for the good of the Jedi, we must be allowed to attempt to ensure that our genetic material is kept in the gene pool?"
Yaddle spoke up then. "To allow the Jedi to have families, such a radical departure this is. Time it will take for some to get used to the notion. Agree with this decision I do. It is made from compassion, and understanding for the situation. Little can be changed without more Jedi to change it. The easiest path to that end, this is, but less happy paths I could easily envision."
Saesee Tiin spoke. "Love should never be frowned upon. We are already brothers in the Force. Would making us brothers by blood tie us any less?" The rest of the Council was stunned. He'd been one of the staunchest opponents to this change. After a few questioning looks from some of the other Council Members, he explained, "I understand the meaning of what has been said today. This is the only course of action available to us. Support of all Council members is required before we leave this room. I have found a salient point upon which I may build my agreement to this argument."
"Are you feeling alright, Master Tiin?" asked a concerned Adi Gallia.
"I am stubborn, not unreasonable. I can live with this. Valid points in favor of the execution of this plan have been made. I'm sure everyone has heard the objections of those against it. The fact that in order to ensure our survival, we need to make changes in the Order is clear. I have no alternative plan that does what this one does, and those plans that I've heard that do, aren't anything conscionable. I cannot in good conscious object, when something must be done, even if I don't agree with what is being done, since I can come up with no better plan."
And so it went. Each of the Masters on the Council found some positive ground on which they could stand their arguments, and they went out to those of the order, finding those who were most staunchly opposed first, finding arguments to reinforce the fact that agreeing with the change didn't mean what they originally thought it meant. The first marriage of a Jedi that was celebrated was between two Jedi, not a Jedi and an outsider. The whole order turned out for the ceremony, two well-liked Jedi that had taken their time ensuring that this was the proper step for them. When Siri Tachi and Obi-Wan Kenobi had shared their love with the rest of the Order, the healing of the rift began.