"So the bad red demon kidnapped the duchess and the knight..."

Two toddlers were tucked in a king sized bed, enraptured by the bedtime story they were being told.

The little boy's eyelids were beginning to droop, but he resisted sleep with all his will. The little girl was sucking on her fingers.

"...and so the knight and the demon fought using their swords of light. It was an epic fight!" the bearded storyteller continued.

The little kids were a perfect audience with their oohs of surprise.

"The knight fell and the bad red demon got closer, ready to strike..."

The children hid themselves under their blanket. That was a scary part.

"His heavy steps got closer and closer..."

The little boy let out a small shriek while his sister giggled.

"And..."

"And then the duchess got up, dusted her silken dress and pushed the bad red demon down the precipice!" a new voice belonging to a woman chimed in cheerfully. She playfully pushed the storyteller and winked at the children.

The two kids burst in giggles and kicked their legs, making a mess of the covers.

"All right, Luke, Leia, time to turn off the lights. May the Force be with your dreams"

It took long for the little Skywalker twins to fall asleep, but when they finally did, their caregivers for the weekend, Obi-Wan "uncle Ben" Kenobi and Satine Kryze (or "Ben's girlfriend", as Leia called her), tiptoed out of their bedroom and sat on the sofa in the living room, tired but happy.

Looking after two Force-sensitive toddlers was exhausting, but they wouldn't trade it for anything in the galaxy.

Satine knew how good it was for her beloved Jedi knight to spend time with the children of his former apprentice and the late Senator Amidala, and, in reality, she was secretly overjoyed by those opportunities as well.

In Leia and Luke, Satine saw a reflection of their parents and of a time that, although challenging, was better under so many point of views.

Those children were a new hope.

In addition to this, both Obi-Wan and Satine actually liked this encounters because, in that way, they could feel like a real family.

Satine wasn't complaining. She felt bad admitting it, but the reality was that her relationship with Obi-Wan had progressed significantly after the downfall of the Jedi Order.

She had helped him and he had helped her. They still spent long periods of time apart, due to their respective roles in the anti-Empire political movement, but the quality time they shared when together more than made up for the lost weeks. Satine had her nephew Korkie and her sister Bo-Katan who needed her help and support; Obi-Wan had Luke and Leia to protect.

Satine was there to relieve Obi-Wan's heartache at having lost a brother, his Jedi Order and an opportunity to prevent bad things from happening.

Obi-Wan was there to relieve Satine's heartache at seeing her world torn apart by war.

Satine had managed to talk the Organas and the Larses into allowing the twins to spend time with each other, and with Obi-Wan, once in a while. She secretly watched over the Larses' finances, making sure Luke wouldn't miss out on anything. Thanks to her mediation, Owen wasn't being too grouchy with Obi-Wan.

All in all, things were going better than Satine had ever hoped for, considering their precarious circumstances and all.

Despite her excommunication, she could still make a difference for the politics of the galaxy.

She knew how incredibly lucky she was to have Obi-Wan survive Order 66, to have him by her side.

There were more than a handful of allies whom they could trust, who were working day in and day out to see the end of the Empire.

She was a survivor, with so much to be thankful for.

Still, there was always a tiny part of her which wondered, from time to time, how different her life would have been had she eloped with Obi-Wan twenty years earlier, after their year together on Mandalore.

Satine had wishes of her own, as did Obi-Wan, but neither of them considered their desires a priority in the grand scheme of things: they had so many causes to serve, people to tend to, mistakes to fix.

This being said, Satine had long given up on starting a family with the man she loved, and the older they got, the more complicated and dangerous their lifestyles became, the more this possibility seemed like a distant, unlikely dream.

ooo

"Be careful, my dear" Obi-Wan kissed Satine's forehead the night before her departure. He was about to leave for a mission himself.

"Said the man who almost lost an arm to his own lightsaber" Satine retorted.

He chuckled, pretending to be wounded by her words, clearly failing at it.

He took a small hand in his, massaging it.

"Your hands are cold"

Satine's smile fell.

"I know. But I guess I'll have to get used to it"

"What do you mean?" he asked warmly.

"My heart will get cold while we're apart, Ben. It is already starting to get colder..." she admitted while looking at him in the eye.

Obi-Wan wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly.

"Let me get it warm for you then..." he said while caressing her.

They kissed, the temperature in the room suddenly rising.

Half an hour and much cuddling later, Satine stopped them, taking his face in her hands.

"It is so late, Obi-Wan. Nobody will be hurt if you leave early tomorrow..."

"Satine, you know I can't" Obi-Wan tried, his hand crawling up her body and starting to unbutton her blouse, therefore contradicting his words.

"Follow me to my bedchamber, my knight"

She pulled apart, leaving a trail of perfume behind as she floated to her chamber. Obi-Wan didn't need to be told twice. He followed her, closing the door behind his back.

Their months of separation would be oh so cold, they needed all the heat they could get that night.

ooo

Three months had passed since his last encounter with the Duchess, so Obi-Wan rushed to the Organa palace on Alderaan anticipating the moment he would be reunited with Satine.

During that time, both of them had risked their lives more than once, but had always tried to downplay the gravity of such events not to worry the other too much. They already had enough stress to put up with as it was.

In public, he and Satine preferred not to let anyone on the fact that they were an item, be it for safety reasons, be for the stigma still attached to the Jedi who opted to have a spouse. Not that there were many left to begin with.

The Organas were holding a formal buffet in their Grand Hall that night to keep their allies up to date with the latest political and strategic news.

Once inside, Obi-Wan approached a long, golden table set up with all kinds of galactic foods and beverages, from barkmeal to thakitillo.

He could sense a couple of strong Force signatures in the room, so he wondered whom they might belong to.

Finally, he saw Satine, dressed in blue satin, stunning as usual, standing below a crystal chandelier, surrounded by a knot of people. Obi-Wan wasn't surprised to see her at the head of a heated debate. He didn't manage to suppress a smirk, intrigued.

"This is most disturbing. We must not act out of our impulses..." she was saying poignantly.

"But, milady, the Empire has called its troops back on several rebel hotbed locations..." someone said.

"That's exactly why the situation calls for extra prudence. We must act cautiously, or else we'll fall in the very trap they have set for us"

"Your Grace seems very absorbed by this theory about the existence of a trap in the first place" he chimed in, making his grand entrance and looking at her straight in the eye. He enjoyed her reaction upon seeing him, of rapture and lust shoddily masked with irritation. Oh, if he loved that woman.

"Really, Master Kenobi? Coming from you, of all people" she sniffed at his insolence.

"Forgive me, Your Grace, but if you are willing to hear another voice on the matter, I'd dare to say that we should wait for tangible proofs of this new Imperial conspiracy before rushing to conclusions" he bowed slightly.

"Oh really?"

"They too may prove to possess a merciful side..."

"Enlighten us, Master Kenobi, has the Empire lifted the bounty on the heads of public enemies, by any chance?" asked Satine in a dangerously saccharine tone.

Caustic as usual, he thought. Though there was something about her tonight, something he was having troubles putting his finger on.

She sounded angrier, nervous, constantly on edge, twitching at every sound and word.

"Must have been a hard three months" Obi-Wan thought.

Even physically, she looked a bit different, her skin being shinier and smoother. Overall she looked...fuller. This kinda pleased Obi-Wan, because it meant that she hadn't gone days barely touching any food, due to the stresses in her life.

All these elements, plus their period of separation, made her all the more appealing to him, to the extent that maintaining his facade of composure was nothing short of torture.

All of a sudden, one of the Organas' guards came running inside the hall.

Obi-Wan sensed a disturbance in the Force - something was wrong.

"The Imperial inquisitors! They're out the door! They must've gotten a tip-off"

Satine looked around the room: panic was written across everyone's faces.

"Come on! Get out! Evacuate the building! I will try to hold them back!" Bail Organa shouted.

Everybody started running in opposite directions. As much as Obi-Wan ached to stay and help deal with the problem at hand, he knew that he had to escape. He grabbed Satine's hand and darted across the hall out of the palace, crossing a drawbridge before it was lifted. They found themselves in the wild countryside

Satine's hold on his hand weakened, and she released him.

They ran and ran, but when he turned to check on her, he was surprised to see her lagging several steps behind, panting and nearly bent in two.

"Satine!" he exclaimed, running at her side "are you all right? Are you hurt?"

Catching her breath with great fatigue, Satine said "No...I am fine, I think. I must be getting old, that's all!" she squealed, irritated.

Obi-Wan was worried. They weren't alone. A strong Force signature lingered around them. He grabbed her hand. "Come on, Satine...I sense a Force presence behind us. We must find refuge!" he dragged her with him as they resumed their running.

When they finally reached the woods, Obi-Wan stopped behind a large tree trunk and hugged her, pressing her against his torso. She leaned in his hug, finally giving in to her emotions.

Obi-Wan ran his hands through her hair, feeling her heart still pounding against his chest. And something else, too. He jolted, sensing the mysterious Force presence closer than ever. How was it possible? He was scared. Were they about to be ambushed? Who was it? It was strange. It was as if this Force presence was very close to them, yet he couldn't see anyone...was it above them? As he raised his head to inspect the tree branches, a realization suddenly hit him.

The Force presence wasn't following them, it was with them. It had been all along.

He gasped, feeling dizzy, realizing what this could mean. It couldn't be...could it?

Obi-Wan's face became as blank as a sheet. He was shaking conspicuously, and Satine noticed it, of course, as antsy as she was.

"Obi, you're trembling"

"You can bet I am..."

"Why? What's wrong?"

He moved a step backwards. How was he going to approach this?

He took both her hands in his, swallowing a huge lump which had just formed in his throat.

"Satine"

"Yes?"

"Satine..."

Satine rolled her eyes. "Obi, I know what my name is. Go on, please"

He held his breath. "How long have you been...feeling like this?"

"Like what?" she snapped warily.

"Uhm...tired?" he felt crazier by the minute.

Satine shook her head, looking sad and revealing her true tiredness all at once. "Tired...tired. Who is not tired of this running for our lives, Obi? I think the physical toll was bound to catch up with me, sooner or later"

"Physical toll? What are you feeling like?"

She was unnerved by his insistent questioning "Obi-Wan, I don't see how this could affect the situation at hand! Weren't we running away from an imminent Force presence?"

Obi-Wan nodded, trying his best to sound reassuring.

"Exactly, the Force presence, dear, you hit the nail on the head. It's here, with us"

Satine backtracked a bit, perhaps starting to understand where this conversation was leading.

"What..." she whispered.

Obi-Wan didn't say anything, he just moved closer to her and rested his hands on her belly. No further words were needed.

Their expressions were priceless.

"Oh Force..."
"Force...oh Force..."

"What now?"

"I need a cup of strong tea!"

"I need it too!"

ooo

It was late, but Obi-Wan and Satine were as awake as one can be. They were sitting in front of the holo-fireplace in the guest apartment the Organas had assigned Satine for the night, two steaming cups of tea keeping them company. They'd already had tea, but were eager to go for seconds.

"And here I thought I was entering menopause..."
"...quite the contrary, indeed"

"Sorry Obi, but I still have a hard time believing all of this is real"

"No need to excuse yourself. We're on the same boat"

"I guess I was in denial the whole time..."

"..."

"After all this time...after all these years...why now?"

"We're not doing this child any favor by bringing her or him to life in this dark period" Obi-Wan admitted grimly.

"Yes, it's a dark period. But Obi, I've been thinking...has there ever been a "right" time in our lives? I'm afraid the answer is no. I am scared, of course I am...but I feel that this baby was not a bump in the road. It was meant to be. Moreover, our lives cannot possibly get more complicated than they are, already"

Obi-Wan's sadness was partially lifted. "I hope you're right, Satine. The Force works in mysterious ways..."

Despite his best intentions, Obi-Wan withdrew from her slightly, getting pensive, his face darkening.

Satine didn't say it, but was inwardly hurt by his distancing. She would remain strong, though. She owed it to the child she thought she would never have. She was still very much in shock, but was already loving that little creature growing inside her. There was no doubt she would keep it. She ran her hand over the surface of her belly, which was just beginning to round

"You seem perturbed. Obi-Wan, rest assured, I can provide for this child alone" she said decidedly.

Obi-Wan blinked, realizing how insensitive he was being.

"What are you talking about?" he stuttered

"You are free to go, if you can't accept the idea of becoming a father. I can handle this by myself, as I always have in my life...I'm not afraid to"

Obi-Wan scooted closer to her, taking her hands in his.

"This will not be necessary"

She looked up at him

"Satine, after Order 66, I thought I'd never experience true happiness again. I was wrong. Today I'm overjoyed, and I swear on the Force that I'll always be there for our child, if you deem me fit to cover this role"

Satine shook her head "You fool. I wouldn't wish for anyone else to be my child's father"

He kissed her on the cheek.

"I was just worried, because of the complicated situation we're in, that's all. But I guess you're right, there was never a "right" time. Let's take it as the miracle that it is. We cannot always prevent evil things from happening, but we can make more room for the good things in our lives, and one day, maybe , the light will triumph again"

"We gain strength from the good things, and we live for the hope of more goodness, Obi."

They snuggled up against each other, reflecting on their lives.