The Mandalorian Jedi

Chapter Twenty Two

We were back home by that afternoon. I attempted to make an escape back to the temple with Obi-Wan so I could rescue Grogu from the two loth cats I had left in his care but Mace waved me over,
"Master-"
"No complaining Rhea. I have saved you from many boring meetings. It is an honour you realise?"
"But Master-"
"What did I say Rhea? Anakin will abandon us as soon as he can find an excuse. Grogu and your cat friends can wait for now." I groaned but walked alongside him as we made our way to meet with the senate. Just as he had predicted Anakin split away from the group first chance he got, likely to join his wife who waited for him beside one of the enormous columns lining the pathway. I attempted to listen on some level to what Mace and Palpatine were discussing but it was so boring I ended up zoning out almost entirely.

After almost falling asleep for the twentieth time during the meeting Mace eventually let me go. The second I left the building I was fully awake again and running as subtly as possible through the Jedi Temple towards the secret room hidden deep within the building. The door opened within seconds of me arriving and Ka'ra leapt up from where she had been sleeping in the corner. I kneeled down to greet her as the door closed behind me. Naakla took a second longer to trot over, stopping to sniff Grogu who was passed out in his cot. I stayed as quiet as possible as I scratched their heads and then sat down and waited for the kid to wake up. The second I pulled my lightsaber hilts off my belt he woke up and cooed, his big eyes staring at me from across the room and his ears perked up slightly. Ever so slowly a tiny, toothless smile dawned across his face and he lifted his arms up. I grunted as I stood and walked over to him, lifting him out of the cot and setting him on the floor in front of me,
"Hey little guy, how've you been huh?" he cooed and patted my leg, demanding me to sit down. I laid down instead, my head hitting the floor with a slight bang that made Ka'ra look up from where she and Naakla had settled near the door.

"Gods I'm tired. We're so close, it's nearly over and then everything will be normal again," I don't know why I pretend I was comforting Grogu. I wasn't, I doubt he fully understood everything I was saying but his occasional coo or 'patoo' was enough for me to continue on, "what do you think happens after this is all finished? What happens to the clones? Or to the Jedi order? I mean how can anything possibly return to normal after everything that's happened?" it wasn't fair for me to be dumping all of my concerns and worries on a child but there was no one else to talk to. Anakin would be hopelessly optimistic, Obi-Wan would go along with his padawan and make something up about it all being better soon without truly believing it and Mace would sit me down and lecture me about not letting emotions cloud my judgement.

I stayed with Grogu for a few more hours, finding it within myself to play with him. Anakin was waiting outside my rooms looking somewhere between excited and terrified. I raised an eyebrow,
"You good?"
"Yeah, yeah I need to tell you something."
"Please tell me you don't need me to hide a body because I swear to the gods if I have to drag some random guys corpse through the Temple-"
"What?! No! No I haven't killed anyone. This is serious," I nodded at him to continue and he looked around to make sure no one could hear and then leaned in, "Padme's pregnant." If it's possible to choke on air I did just that. I ended up having to grip onto his arm I was coughing so much,
"What the- that is so much worse than a dead body! Why couldn't it have been a damn body?!"
"Rhea! Could you at least try to be happy for me?"
"I am happy for you but how the hell are you going to keep your relationship a secret with a baby you running around?"
"We'll deal with that when we get to it."
"You will be expelled from the order which means I will be too because I know about this whole thing and never reported it," I sighed at his display of sad puppy eyes and shook my head, "there isn't anything we can do about it though. Maybe I can follow in my parents footsteps, bounty hunting and all that. I can be the super cool aunt that everyone wishes they were."
"I didn't even think- I am so stupid. You should go tell them, if you tell them then maybe-"
"We need you Anakin. I doubt this war will be won if you go sulking off to Naboo. Besides, you're my family. I would follow you to the ends of the universe if I needed to. Wherever you go, I go." He said nothing, he didn't need to. His tight hug was enough.