If Hate Leads to Suffering... | Obi Wan Kenobi

Act II. viii (alternate)

Waiting outside the delivery room, Xaela couldn't utter a word. She gripped onto Obi-Wan's sleeve and stood beside him wordlessly, it worried him to no end, but he didn't know what else to do besides watch to make sure she was still with him.

And when Xaela reached her limit, she turned to Obi-Wan, who was already watching her. Her eyes welled up with tears, and he held his breath for fear that she could collapse at any moment.

"Don't ever leave me like that again." She demanded and Obi-Wan let out the air he was holding.

"I won't." He assured but Xaela's face was still hard.

"I'm serious." She said. "Any one of the Jedi murdered could have been you or me. And then on Mustafar. . . Could I at least get a goodbye?"

Her voice broke and Obi-Wan saw that she meant it. He sighed like always, but this time was different, she had a right to be upset. He had to force her to stay on the ship when Padme was left unconscious by Anakin, Obi-Wan would never let her see what he had to do to Anakin. But he couldn't kill him, he didn't think he ever could.

"I never want to say goodbye to you."

Xaela felt the sincerity radiating off of him. And she just wanted to be held so desperately, she wrapped her arms around him without warned and waited for him to do the same. His hand ran up and down her back like it always did, and Xaela's heart just kept breaking. He buried his head into her shoulder, not wanting to let her go.

They stayed like that until one of the medical droids came up to them. Then they broke apart.

"Her vitals are fine, but we're losing her for an unknown reason." The Droid told them.

"She's dying?" Obi-Wan asked in disbelief.

"It appears so." The nurse droid said. "We have to act now if we're going to save the babies."

"Babies?" Xaela paled.

"Twins." Confirmed the nurse and it moved back to Padme.

"She's going to die." She said and stared at her friend. "She's given up."

As she looked at Padme's resting body, Xaela saw all the good in the galaxy. She saw all those that fought for freedom and peace, and most of all, she saw Anakin. Not whatever he turned into - but the boy that she grew up with. And Xaela couldn't let Padme die.

She dashed into the delivery room, falling on her knees beside the Mother-to-be and grabbed her hand.

"Padme?" She whispered desperately. "Padme, can you hear me."

She opened her eyes slightly and turned her head towards her, eyes red and tears streaming down her face.

"Anakin?" She breathed and Xaela couldn't say anything. But she didn't have to because Padme knew. Padme saw what happened, but the sliver of hope she had that he would come back crumbled right then.

Her chest heaved rapidly as she silently sobbed, the nursing droids rushing around, preparing for the births.

"I-I can't." She shook her head, eyes glued shut.

"Padme," Xaela rubbed her hand. "Padme, I'm here with you, you can do it. You're going to be a mother."

Padme looked at Xaela with such a devastated look that Xaela thought all hope was lost, until she let out a piercing scream.

The droids rushed towards them and backed Xaela away from Padme, quickly setting up a screen at her waist. Obi-Wan held Xaela back, knowing her well enough that she would rush to the Senator in a heartbeat.

"I have to help them." She said, staring at him wildly. "Padme cannot die."

"What are you going to do?" Obi-Wan grew concerned and Xaela's mind was swirling, trying to piece everything together.

"The Force!" Xaela grabbed at her hair.

She was losing it.

The Knight ripped out of his grip and bypassed the droids who asked her to stay back. Rushing to her side, Padme was crying, and Xaela spoke to calm her.

"Talk to me, Padme." She held eye contact with her and used as calming a voice as she could. "Tell me about your children."

Padme shook her head.

"What happened?" She muttered.

Xaela couldn't answer that.

"Padme, who is here with you right now?" Xaela asked and discreetly placed her hand on the Senator's head. She didn't notice in the frenzy of things happening and focused on Xaela and the droids who were telling her to push. "Who is here while you're giving birth?"

"Y-you," she sniffled, "Obi-Wan."

"That's right." Xaela nodded, grabbing Padme's hand with her free one. "We're here and we love you, you're going to get through this."

She focused on healing Padme, helping her with the premature birth and helping heal her damaged mind. She tried so desperately to focus on new - the new life, the new future - but Anakin kept coming to her mind and Xaela's attempts at force healing were diminishing by the second. She looked up at Obi-Wan, who stood behind her in worry, and tried to focus on love.

But love brought them here today. Love tore apart the galaxy.

"Xaela." Padme couldn't bring herself to look at her friend. "I'm so tired."

"I know," She said. "You can do it, I'm here."

"I can't." Padme refused.

Xaela could feel how weak her Force work was. All she wanted was for Anakin to be here, Anakin would have been strong enough.

All the fear coursing through her hindered her work. Obi-Wan felt it, but there was nothing he could do. Xaela felt it, but kept trying to tell herself 'fear not the lose of something, but impassion the new,' but it wouldn't work. All she could think about was losing Padme, losing Anakin, losing the Jedi.

Everything was lost.

Then the crying started, and the first baby was born. The nurse droid announced that it was a boy, and gave him to Obi-Wan. The Jedi Master held him in his arms to show the crying Padme.

"Luke." She whispered, but couldn't look at him for more than a brief second.

And that when Xaela knew that Padme wanted to die.

No amount of force healing would save her. So Xaela dropped her hands, barely feeling a difference in the Force. Her will to die was stronger than Xaela's will to heal. The Jedi hung her head in shame and Padme screamed one more time. The nurse droid announced that it was a girl.

"Leia." Xaela heard and she imagined the barely glancing look Padme gave her too.

The Force could be felt. The change in its ways as two new force sensitive babies were brought into this world, and the one life that was fading.

And Xaela felt it fade into nothingness.

The last tie to her best friend gone.

She couldn't see anything, the ground had blurred out of focus along time ago, and her face was wet. Her nose was blocked and she couldn't breathe anymore. Xaela felt like the war was over, there was no more reason to fight, but she knew something bigger had only just begun.

The crying screams of the newborns was dulled when Obi-Wan sat down behind her and wrapped him arms around Xaela. She could barely feel him, everything had gone numb. She tried to reach out for him but could move.

"Hate leads to suffering," she uttered so only he could here her, "but how could it be any worse than what love brought us today?"