By: Susie Littlejohn (susieqla)
Rating: T
Setting and Summary: AU – Set during Episode III (Revenge of the Sith)
Suppose Padme Amidala never passes away on Polis Massa, and although she clings to the belief that there is still good in Anakin, that good is awfully muddy. How might Obi-Wan react upon learning that the wife of his fallen apprentice has an irrepressible thing for him?
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Obi-Wan felt the Force grip him as he riveted his eyes on the beleaguered beauty in the throes of giving birth. "You're exceptional, Padme." And she is. Not one baby, but two. Twins. My, my. She's the most excellent woman I've ever known. Will ever know. "That's right…" Love. That ever-evolving word scintillated in his mind. "It will all be over soon. You're exceedingly brave."
She struggled to say, "O-Obi-Wan—please forgive me." Padme screamed again, as he squeezed her hand.
"Forgive you for what?" My love. She was as beautiful as she was perplexing. He'd never understand her, but then again, why should he want to? Her mystery drew her to him like a moth to a flame. "There's nothing to forgive you for." Then, he gripped her hand with the one that wasn't holding Luke. You're mine now, and I'll live each day making you happy. Happier than Anakin ever could. I felt his wanting to treasure you, protect you, but he wasn't mature enough to understand the profound nature of true love. His jealousy robbed him of insight. Obi-wan let go of her hand, doing so reluctantly. The droid delivering her babies handed off Leia to him. With painstaking care, he settled Luke upon his perspired mother.
While Luke cuddled with Padme, she whispered, "You should know this. I never had the courage to confide in you before." I was torn, and feared I'd come between Master and padawan. Her throat closed up; she had trouble clearing it.
"It can wait. Please, I assure you. It can. It must. You need to rest, dear. We nearly lost you. But this droid has assured me." Relief flooded Obi-Wan's eyes, drenching Padme in deep affection. "You're out of danger. You're going to be as strong as you've always been." And I'll tell you everything I've carried in my heart for you for so long. My attachment to you is nothing to fear, nor spurn. Attachment to you, my dearest, is as natural as breathing, and reveling in the Force…
Infant Luke's gurgling caught in his mother's ears, stirring deep-seated maternal instincts. Longingly, Padme gazed at Obi-Wan cosseting Leia, and tears brimmed in her glittering eyes. Her heart beat stronger, inciting her to accept that he was more her babies' father than Anakin, a secretive embracer of the Dark Side, had a right to be. "You will know now, Obi-Wan, because I can't hold back. Not now. Not after all that's happened. It's your right to know." He began opening his mouth, but Padme's rushed words beat out his. "I love you." His loud gasp made Padme clutch Luke tighter. "With all my heart." The look she gave him melted his.
He couldn't have prevented himself from pouring out his heart if he'd tried. "And with all of mine, I love you." He spoke those words, irresistibly proud of them. Why hide what he felt the Force urging him to utter? He also felt Padme's heartbeats pulse in his veins. His own heart leapt for joy, he convinced that she was truly out of danger, and he wasn't in love alone. Her babies would keep their mother, and he would keep her. To serve, and treasure her always. His smile rivaled the radiance of Tatooine's blistering binary stars.
"You must know, Obi-Wan. Why did Ani turn?"
Kenobi was loath to answer. The matter of Anakin's twisted turning, and subsequent defection wasn't a subject Obi-Wan wished to broach at this time. He infused his words with sweetness and light. "He regretted his decision and actions. I felt it at the end. He was my brother, whom I'll never forget. The Force directs, but doesn't coerce. The goodness he stamped down ultimately triumphed." At least Obi-Wan's attitude fashioned that to be so. His change of subject was seamless. "Are you hungry?"
"No. More tired than anything else." Her brow furrowed.
"What is it?"
The delivery droid, waiting patiently for a lull in the humans' conversation, moved in to take charge of the newborns so they could be taken to a receiving station where they'd be thoroughly examined and properly cared for.
"What should we do?"
Beyond this birthing area, Yoda, having witnessed the exciting deliveries, indicated to Obi-Wan that they needed to talk. But before he heeded the little green Jedi Master's summoning, he gently expressed to Padme, "About?"
"Us." Darling, Jedi Master, true, you are one, but that doesn't mean you aren't clueless once and a while. "Our love," she replied, sounding sheepish, her voice slight, almost inaudible. "Does Master Yoda know?"
Obi-Wan's nod was imperceptible. "Suffice it to say, yes. He does. He is the foremost Jedi Master of these times, after all. He isn't slow when it comes to Jedi, shall I say, involvements. This isn't my first…I was the epitome of what it means to be young, headstrong, and willful. I admit it. I allowed myself the odd crush here, and there." Padme's heart rate shot through the roof, and Obi-wan calmly, but quickly assured, "But—yours is my last. My only forevermore. I pledge all that I am, and ever will be to you, my love."
"You sound so knightly saying that."
"Well, I am a former Jedi knight, and meaning every word of it." His jocularity went a long way in brightening her mood. "Yours is love I've yearned for. For a very, very long time. A lifetime. I shan't ignore it, betray it, nor will it away. I want you, Padme, now and always."
His avowal was a shot of adrenaline straight into her bloodstream. "And my children too?"
Beaming, the look he gave her was the definition of, you nut. "How could I have you, and not them as well? Unthinkable! Am I not transparent enough? Leia, Luke, and you are a package deal. Of course I want them too. I want all of you! We'll be a family, one big happy one." Obi-Wan tenderly stroked her head. "Rest a while. I'll be right back. You're priority number one. There'll be no time to miss me. I must have a word with Yoda. After that, try keeping me away."
Convulsively, Padme latched onto his hands with hers, pleading with her eyes. "Kiss me—please! Obi-Wan. Just a little one before you go."
"Not so little, I think." Chuckling, Obi-Wan leaned down, bypassing her right cheek, and pressed his supple, eager lips flush with hers. Against them, he murmured, "As I said…I've waited a lifetime. But well worth waiting for."
Padme, her emotions overwhelming her, grappled with them. "I'll make you happy. You deserve every happiness. You've always been the truest to everyone, and anyone who's known you. A naïve, impulsive child fell in love with Anakin when he too was a mere child. You're the man, Obi-Wan. The man of my heart. My full-grown woman heart. And, I need you, and love you so."
Her testimonial made him swoon. Words gushed and spun within his brain, and wrestling with turbulent feelings as well, Obi-Wan promised, "I won't be long. And when I return, I'll find the best accommodations to be found in this drafty facility for you. Only the best for the mother of my adopted younglings!"
As he strode away, Padme stuck her arms straight out, her hands grasping for him, her fingers wriggling, as if to say, 'gimme, gimme, gimme,' as he departed. Obi-Wan makes things right. He always has. I knew that from the start. I should've followed my mind instead of my childish heart. I'll be as brave as he's always been. "What will you tell Yoda?"
Obi-Wan cast her a lovesick expression, which mellowed his face further. "What Yoda must always be told: the truth. Love will save the day, my dearest. Always has—always will." And, seeing her return his affecting, loving gaze, he left, rejuvenated. Padme lay back, secure in the knowledge that love would. Her contented sigh filled the birthing room. Her twins, far from being fatherless, were going to realize what having the worthiest father in the galaxy meant.
The End