"The success of the manipulation depends on the level of conviction and force of the denial"

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Chapter Thirty-Six

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"Well, I'm almost certain that my meeting with the Council is going to be postponed," you said cheerily as the shuttle you were riding on stopped in front of the Senate building.

The Coruscant Guard had taken Count Dooku directly from the halved ship, and although you and Obi-Wan gave brief protests about taking him to the Jedi Council first, the Guard assured you that his place in their cells would be temporary to make arrangements for his two separate trials within the Order and the Senate. Something twisted in your gut as he was taken away. He even looked back once, his eyes meeting yours. It was hard to tell what he was truly thinking, but you could have sworn there was fear within them. As if he was begging you to stop the guards from taking you away.

But you trusted the guard to keep a good watch over him until he was brought back to the Jedi Temple. Although you were overall cautious around them because a small number of them hadn't had surgery yet, they were still good men and followed orders.

"Are you coming, Masters?" Anakin asked, turning around when he noticed that neither of you were following him, "Ahsoka, Padawan, you should come along too."

"Oh no. I'm not brave enough for politics. I have to report to the Council. Besides, someone needs to be the poster boy," Obi-Wan smiled teasingly, motioning to the press that was waiting at the entrance.

Once upon a time, the three of you had been dubbed The Team by the Republic. Then Ahsoka joined the fold and she became a media darling without even trying. Of course, there were both of your stints as criminals that tainted your image, and you left and became the leader of an old Republic enemy which certainly didn't help. Now, the media latched even more onto Obi-Wan and Anakin, both of whom regarded the vultures with distaste.

Eyes widening, Anakin began to panic when faced with a potential interview, "Hold on, this whole operation was your idea. You planned it. You led the rescue operation. You have to be the one to take the bows this time!"

"Sorry, old friend. Let us not forget that you rescued me from the Buzz Droids. And you were the driving force behind Count Dooku's capture. And you rescued the Chancellor, carrying me unconscious on your back, and you managed to land that bucket of bolts safely-"

"All because of your training, Master. You deserve all those speeches of your greatness."

"Alright, take it down a notch, Skyguy," Ahsoka rolled her eyes from behind you, slipping past and taking her place next to her master, "I'll join you, I can't promise I won't bite someone again though."

"Flattery will get you nowhere Anakin," you sang from behind your husband, relishing in Anakin's subsequent pout, "I need to speak to the Council, and I can't speak to the Council without Obi-Wan there. We'll see you again soon, alright?"

Before he could argue further, you shut the shuttle door and set the next coordinates for the Temple. He made an obscene hand gesture as the shuttle left, drawing a chuckle from you. He was about to be a father, and yet he still had so much growing up to do.

"Has Anakin been speaking to his mother lately?" You asked Obi-Wan, hoping that your former shared Padawan had been smart enough to reach out for help and advice concerning his dreams. With his anxieties concerning Padme's birth and becoming a father, the best person to calm him would be Shmi.

"He tries to speak to her once a week when we aren't on the front," Obi-Wan confirmed, "I've heard some conversations about her potentially moving to Naboo to help them raise the children. I think she would be a great help while the both of them get the hang of things."

Humming, you glanced out at the city in front of you. Coruscant was extremely different from Mandalore, and you found yourself longing for the domed cities that had long since become your second home. Your first, of course, being Othan - even if it had been nearly a year since you'd visited.

"Neither of them were planning on these children in the first place. Padme assured me that the two of them took every precaution to ensure this wouldn't happen. They wanted to marry first, and marriage was to come after the war."

"The Force finds a way, doesn't it?" Obi-Wan smiled slightly, "Neither of us truly planned on having any children, even if Master Yoda subtly tried to push it upon us. And yet we ended up with a large and strange family. I wouldn't exchange it for anything, even if I never expected this."

"Seven kids and counting, seven and a half if we count our manchild brother Anakin," you snorted.

"Well if we're counting Anakin we're about to become half-grandparents," Obi-Wan added, grimacing at the reminder of how old the two of you were growing up.

The thought was most certainly weird. You and Obi-Wan would likely be considered rarare rather than grandparents, but your strange dynamic with Anakin - having raised him and co-parented with Shmi - would allow for some grandparent privileges, even if the two of you had yet to hit forty.

"I'd much rather be called rarari than anything else," you insisted, reaching out and taking Obi-Wan's hand. The Temple was in sight now, and if you squinted you could see your ship in the main landing bay. A few more minutes and the two of you would be back into your official personas, attempting to stop a war that neither of you had any true part in, "Admittedly I'm excited for them, even if none of us were expecting it. I think the two of them are ready to get married now. A lot more ready than they were back when the war started."

"I can't believe they tried to get secretly married," Obi-Wan shook his head in mock disappointment, rotating your hands so he'd be able to press a kiss against your knuckles, through the gloves you wore that attached to your kom'rk.

"Well, we can't say much about that, now can we?" Leaning in closer, you kept your tone light and teasing, enjoying the flush that was visible even under Obi-Wan's beard, "We've had quite a good run as secret partners."

"I wouldn't say it's much of a secret anymore. Quinlan told me there's a plethora of bets around the Temple about when we'll finally speak up about our relationship. I joined it of course, so we should be receiving a good amount of credits when the war is over."

Leaning back, your brows furrowed as you realized the implication behind Obi-Wan's words, "That's what you want to do? Announce our marriage once the war is over?"

Realizing he had just admitted something that was meant to be a much more in-depth conversation, Obi-Wan quickly explained, "Anakin plans to leave the Order once the war is over, to raise his children and marry Padme. The life of a Jedi, at least a Jedi in the Order, has always suffocated him. You leaving has inspired him to seek out his own path. I don't know if I'll ever be able to leave the Order, but I've been speaking with Mace about becoming a liaison for Mandalore since we've had such a tense history. If your petition successfully passes, and I have no doubt it will, we'll have no reason to hide anymore."

While the two of you had long ago given up on completely hiding your relationship - the war had loosened the harsher members of the Ocuncils' views so much that it wasn't truly necessary anymore - there was still a strange barrier that kept you from making things entirely public and acknowledging what you were to those outside of your family. Having the chance to kiss Obi-Wan in public, to have him hold you close, to just be a family without any sort of fear...

"Once the war is over, and once my petition passes," you swore, pulling Obi-Wan into one last kiss as the shuttle gently landed at the Temple.

Your Mandalorian unit was already waiting outside the doors when the two of you stepped out, along with Master Yoda and Mace. You pressed your fist over your heart and bowed your head in greeting to the two Masters, who bowed in return. Things seemed slightly tense between the two groups, specifically between Barriss and the two Jedi masters, but you had been expecting that. Barriss had only been allowed to return to the Temple under the condition she had an escort at all times, and it was clear that time hadn't healed all wounds resulting from her attack.

"Master, it's good to see you well," you walked over to join your little entourage, running a gentle hand over Din's hooded head in greeting and sending the others a reassuring smile, "My apologies for the delay in my arrival. I felt inclined to assist in the Chancellor's rescue."

"We'd expect nothing less from you," Mace responded dryly, "As you might have expected your meeting with the High Council has been temporarily delayed in the wake of the Separatist's attack. But you are more than welcome to stay in the Temple in the meantime."

"I look forward to spending some time here," you smiled, excited to show Din and Korkie around your former home. It was the perfect chance for them to finally meet and bond with some of your former lineage as well. Sadly, your former master was currently on the front lines but there were many from the Disaster Lineage they had yet to meet, and childhood friends you hoped would be aunts and uncles to them as well, "Thank you for your hospitality."

"Difficult it is, to deny a request from the Mand'alor," Yoda teased good-naturedly.

Humming, you gathered your children together and ushered them into the Temple. For a moment, you nearly turned toward the residence halls where your former room was before remembering you'd be staying in a guest suite- much larger and more extravagant than traditional Jedi quarters.

"I hope you don't mind if I spend most of my time away from the Temple," Barriss spoke up once the four of you had settled in the room, Obi-Wan was off to meet with the Council and Drifter left to meet with Rex, and Cody who were also on Coruscant for the time being, "Senator Odorah offered Korkie the chance to shadow at the Senate, and it'd be more comfortable for all of us if I joined them."

You smiled sadly. Barriss being in the Temple again was uncomfortable for everyone, and if it weren't for your current status as the Mand'alor she wouldn't have been allowed back at all. She had healed and grown greatly under your guidance, but that didn't mean the hurt on both sides was gone. It likely never would be. So, you gave her your full support to spend her days outside the Temple with Korkie, so long as the two of them checked in every once in a while.

"Would you like to go meet the younglings, Din?" You asked your remaining child, eager for him to be around others his own age. He only had a few friends on Mandalore, and you hoped spending time with the youngling clans would break him out of his shell a bit more.

Din hesitantly nodded, and with a gentle hand on his shoulder, you led him back through the halls of the Temple, pointing out what used to be some of your favorite places and promising to show him more later that night after you checked in on Anakin and Padme. Since your meeting was canceled you wanted to know how her pregnancy was progressing.

"Hello Clanmaster," you greeted the Head Clanmaster once you reached the youngling halls, receiving a small smile and bowed head in return, "I was hoping there'd be a clan in recreational time that my son could spend time with."

Looking back down the hall, obviously trying to think of which clan would fit best, the Clanmaster finally came to a decision and motioned for the two of you to follow them. There was a door with a mudhorn etched on the front, an unusual animal to represent a clan. Inside there were several children Din's age playing with the items spread around the room.

"I'm going to be back later, and then we can go out as a family and do something, okay?" You knelt down in front of Din, trying to quell any anxiety he might have about the new situation, "You have your com, so if you need me to come back I will, I promise. Now, go have fun."

Din took a few tentative steps into the room, pausing and looking back at you. You gave an encouraging smile and motioned him forward. He finally entered the room entirely, heading to the back where a small group was fiddling with some action figures. Assured that he would at the very least try to get along with the other children, you took your leave.

There was a speeder already waiting for you at the bay which you took to the Senate apartments. Padme was stationed on one of the top levels, with a wonderful view of the city. Her security was easy to get past, as by this point you were a regular figure in her life and had high enough diplomatic clearance that personal meetings weren't questioned.

Being sure to ring the bell instead of just entering - because you had no idea what her and Anakin could be doing and you didn't want to know - you only had to wait a few moments before C3PO answered.

"Oh! Mand'alor Pavond, how lovely to see you again. It has been so long."

"Yeah, it has. It's good to see you Threepio. Are Padme and Anakin in?"

"Yes, yes, come with me." C3PO led you to the living room where Padme and Anakin were seated next to each other, catching up on what had happened in the months since they'd last seen each other.

It was a bit shocking to see how much Padme had grown in the months since you'd last seen her. You knew, of course, that with pregnancy came growing larger, but she was bigger than you had expected. There were about two months left in her pregnancy, you were quite sure, but at this point, she seemed ready to give birth at that very moment.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting you two," you teased, opening your arms up for a hug, "Padme, how have you been?"

"I've been alright, a bit stressed. My stylist has been going even crazier though. We've been doing some strategically planned outfits to be able to hide it, but at this point, I think it's time I announce it."

"And how's that going to go?" You asked, knowing that it was too early for the two of them to announce their relationship and that Anakin didn't plan to leave the Order until Ahsoka was knighted.

Padme grimaced, "I can survive it, but I doubt it'll be pretty. I don't plan on announcing the father for obvious reasons, and so my team has been preparing for new rumors about that. But with the war going on, I'm sure it'll become old news rather quickly."

You understood. You were no stranger to bad press and being forced to keep secrets. Even now, your relationship and your status as a Grey Jedi would still have to be kept secret. Until the Sith were brought to light, it wasn't safe to go around advertising it, although you didn't actively hide your Force signature as you once did.

"And how have the doctors' appointments been going?"

Padme and Anakin shared a look, reaching out and taking each other's hands, "I got some surprising news the other day. We're having twins."

The Force swirled around you, a cacophony of noise and celebration. You met Anakin's eyes, the two of you sharing silent communication even without the Familial Bond. A child being conceived despite their precautions was acceptable as some sort of coincidence, but twins? Twins that, when mentioned, made the Force sing?

These children were just like their father. They were miracles of the Force.