Well, here it is… despite the fact that I really wish I could delay this a bit longer.  It's so hard to let this story go, it's meant so much to me.  I started it at a time in my life when it was the one thing that (as lame as it sounds) gave me an excuse to wake up every morning and keep going.  Now, 16 months later, so much has changed and I'm an entirely different person.  I guess this story has almost been a renewal for me.  Regardless, thank you again to all of the reviewers and, of course, to the wonderful George Lucas.

EPILOGUE:

It was barely a whimper, but it reached Anakin's attentive ears immediately.  Standing up from the uncomfortable Healer's ward chair and slipping his datapad in his pocket, he moved toward the small bed dominating the center of the room.  Reaching down over the raised edges, he scooped up one of the small bundles inside.

"There, there Luke," he murmured softly, "no need to wake your sister up… again." 

Holding the child to his chest and rubbing his back gently, Anakin stepped outside of the nursery ward.  Motioning to the Padawan at the desk to get her attention, he pointed toward the room behind him.  "Please keep a watch over Leia," he requested, "I need to take Luke for another little stroll."

The Twi'lek nodded, "Certainly sir."  As Anakin began to walk further down the hall, he heard the rest of her comment, which was certainly not meant for his ears.  "As if I would want to explain to the Supreme Chancellor if something happened to one of her children…"

Chuckling lightly, Anakin soon took up his soft chanting again as Luke began to whimper.  Anakin loved his children more than he would ever have thought possible, but Luke had a set of lungs that could nearly wake the dead.  Where Leia was quiet and docile, though with a seemingly powerful intellect behind those dark wondering eyes, Luke was loud and active.  The twins could not have been more different, and yet both were clearly their parent's child.

Looking down to adjust Luke's blanket, Anakin didn't notice the other figure in the hall until he almost walked into her.  When he had transferred from the active Jedi Corp to the Healer's, Anakin had found that his constant state of awareness had dimmed as the level of danger had lessened.  After becoming a father, however, he realized that his senses were becoming just as perceptive, if not more so, than before.  Watching after the twins had certainly taught him to be constantly vigilant.  However, the figure before him was one he had never associated with danger or a threat to his children, and as such, she still managed to almost always sneak up on him.

"Master Bant," Anakin greeted the Mon Calamarian softly.

"Anakin," Bant replied, looking down fondly at the tiny bundle in his arms.  "I take it Luke has decided he is bored yet again?"

"My Mas… Obi-Wan used to always say that he hoped someday I would have a Padawan as trying as I was," Anakin answered, his voice slightly thick.  "I guess, in some ways, he got his wish."

Smiling gently, Bant nodded.  Realizing that a change of subject was in order, she motioned to the door she had just stepped out of.  "One of these days I swear that one of them will get the other killed," she complained dryly.

Raising his gaze from where it had settled on his son, Anakin read the placard on the door.  "Ah, I take it Boba is on Coruscant again?"

"Have you ever seen Master Windu in the Healer's Ward unless Boba had something to do with it?" the Master Healer questioned.

"Well…" pausing to wrack his brain, Anakin realized that he had not, in fact, ever seen Mace inside the Ward unless it was because of an injury caused by Boba Fett, or because he was checking up on his injured friend.  "What happened this time?" he asked instead.

"This time, the estimable Master Windu decided to teach Boba how to maneuver better in the anti-grav room," Bant began.  "Only he didn't bother to check whether or not it was occupied before he and Boba entered."  Pointing to a room across the hall, the Master Healer trailed off.

Leaning so that he could read the placard on the other door, Anakin shifted Luke slightly.  As he finished reading, he let out a loud guffaw of laughter; waking Luke from the light doze he had dropped off into.  "Shh, shh," Anakin tried to murmur between the mirth still escaping him.  With an amused expression, Bant offered to hold Luke until Anakin calmed down, allowing the baby to rest against a chest that wasn't moving erratically with held back laughter.

"I take it that Master N'erak and Padawan Serrenia were in the middle of one of their "training" exercises?" Anakin managed after he had calmed down somewhat.

"Yes, well, I don't think Mace and Boba were expecting to enter a room with so many charges going off at once," Bant commented as she gently ran a finger down Luke's cheek.

"I imagine it was quite a surprise," the younger Healer surmised as he watched his mentor gently calm his son into a restful sleep.

"I suppose I am just lucky I don't have to manage Master Gallia and Padawan Elei as well," Bant declared as she handed Luke back gently to his father.  "Between Mace and Boba and those two teams, I think I devote at least a third of my healing ability."

"Well not all of us can be such expert healers," Anakin smirked.  Although he had proven to be an excellent healer, Anakin had never quite developed the same general skill as his mentor.  He had, however, easily surpassed Bant and the rest of the Healers when it came to empathic healing. 

"Hmm," Bant answered distractedly as she noticed a stretcher being borne rapidly toward one of the surgery bays.

"You'll contact me if you need any help?" Anakin asked quickly as he noticed Bant's distraction and discerned the source of it.

"Of course," the Master Healer replied as she took off at a swift jog down the hall.

Knowing there was nothing he could do unless called, Anakin began to rock his fussing son as he continued his journey through the healing ward.  When Luke began to fidget and cry, Anakin quickened his pace toward the far end of the ward.  He would be close enough to respond if Bant called, yet far enough away from any patients that could be disturbed.

Reaching the heavy swinging doors at the end of the general ward, Anakin pushed through them into the nearly silent passage beyond.  The rooms to either side of him were brightly lit and more aesthetically designed than those in the ward he had just come from.  These rooms were designed more for the comfort of the visitors, as the patients within were unable to appreciate them.

Approaching the final door on the right, Anakin slowed his pace, automatically reaching out with his senses to determine if anything had changed.  Although he had been coming to these rooms for the past six years, and nothing had ever been different, Anakin couldn't help but hold out hope. 

Sighing as his Force probe came back showing no activity, Anakin held Luke a bit more closely to his chest and entered the silent room.  Going to the window, the young Healer opened the shades a bit, to allow more light into the room.  Once satisfied, and knowing he could delay no longer, Anakin turned toward the still figure on the bed.

"Hello Master Obi-Wan," he whispered softly, almost reverently.  "I know its been awhile since I've been to see you, but these past two days have been quite busy."

Pulling one of the overstuffed chairs closer to the bed, Anakin leaned over the still form of his Master, adjusting the blankets and creating a small nest beside Obi-Wan in which to lay Luke.  Once Luke was settled against Obi-Wan, Anakin seated himself in the chair and continued his monologue.

"Padmé has been very busy with the Senate; they're working on integrating the Outer Rim still.  I guess it's good that the Senate is putting so much effort into improving the living standards out on the Rim, but I sure miss my wife."  Realizing that he was being somewhat melodramatic, Anakin strived to lighten his tone.

"I just ran into Bant on my way here; almost literally in fact.  She'd just finished harassing Mace for yet another of his Boba-induced injuries.  The funny thing about it was that for once, neither Boba nor Mace were at fault.  In fact, apparently Serrenia and N'erak were heavily involved.  With the four of them together, it's no wonder someone got hurt.

"Of course, as far as I knew, Boba was still in training with the Republic Guard, but apparently that has changed.  Why he won't just accept Mace's offer to train him as a Temple Guard I'll never know.  I guess perhaps it has something to do with pride."

Pausing to adjust Luke's blankets as the baby settled closer to the warmth of the body beside him, Anakin continued.  "I wish you could see just how much things have changed around here," he stated as he settled back in his chair and glanced out the window toward the bright world outside.  "The Senate has really turned around and is starting to become more concerned with the rights of sentient beings rather than just with petty politics.  Even the Jedi have changed a lot.  The Council is now holding forums once a month or so to get the Order's feedback on different decisions and plans.  It's almost like a whole new world…"

Sighing as he turned back toward the still figure on the bed, Anakin absently brushed his hand along his neck as if to push back a braid that was no longer there.  Realizing what he had done, Anakin sighed again deeply.  Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew the datapad he had been working on earlier before Luke's unease had interrupted him. 

Settling down to read, knowing that Luke would remain calm and happy for as long as he lay beside Obi-Wan, Anakin decided to let go of his heavy thoughts and instead concentrate on the new proposal he'd been given to look at.  Becoming engrossed in his reading, Anakin didn't notice the odd knowing look in the bright blue eyes of his son, nor the slight smile that upturned the still lips of Obi-Wan Kenobi as a new bond began to form.

The End