The Way Things Should Be...

Prologue

The atmosphere was tense and yet there had never been more upset in a room of Jedi.

Padme had been unconscious for too long now, and Obi-wan feared that this state was not good for the babies. 
Anakin sat as far away as he could, his hands still trembling, almost as if he feared then. Obi-Wan looked over at his friend. He couldn't help but feel grateful. Even though Anakin was never going to recover from what he had done. Obi-Wan knew deep down. He had his brother back. 

Anakin couldn't stop the images flashing through his head. The Jedi Temple, the children, what he had done to his wife. 
How could he have done this! He swore to do anything to help protect her, to stop those dreams, those visions from ever coming true. Yet he had caused her more pain and now she lay there, not waking up and it was entirely his fault. Obi-Wan should have just killed him. It would have been better for everyone-

"You can't afford to think like the Anakin." His master's hand rested on his shoulder, their faces meeting, Obi-Wan still looking put together and stronger, whereas Anakin sat there tear-stained and afraid. 

"Anakin. What you did was not you-"

Anakin, stood up moving away from Obi-Wan, pushing him away looking him in the eyes, forcing him to look at the monster he was. 

"How can you even say that! I went to spy on Palpatine! It was me he manipulated. It was me who went into the Jedi temple, the look on those kids' faces! How can I possibly be a father now! After that-"

Anakin slumped back down as if he was unable to stand the weight of his guilt. Obi-Wan went to approach but before he could stand the muffled sounds of Padme awakening silenced the argument. 

Anakin unable to look at the way his wife would fear him fled the room. Obi-Wan rushing to her side to ensure she was okay. 
"Ani, Oh god-" she began to sob violently. Obi-Wan taking her in, letting her support herself on him. 
"Padme, please, it's okay, Anakin is here. We did it. He's safe" 

Padme pulled away to face him. The tears had stopped flowing, and now she looked more horrified than Obi-Wan had expected to. 

"How can you say that? Anakin killed those younglings! He is evil!" The tears began to rise again and she instinctively went to put her hand on her growing baby bump. They stayed there in silence, Obi-Wan looking for the right words.
"Padme, you have to understand that this is going to be difficult. Anakin may no longer be influenced by the dark side, but he still lives with his actions. He won't come anywhere near you, he hates himself-"

"Good! I don't want him anywhere near me" 

"Padme, I know this is difficult but you need to understand that Anakin is not all bad. Order 66 is still in place. You need him in order to keep these children safe!"

Padme sat there thoughtfully. She knew Obi-Wan was right but her heart was still broken. She still had the thoughts of how far he would have gone if Obi-Wan hadn't been there to save her from him. The ghost of his actions still lingered on her throat. She reached up with her free hand to rub the non-existent mark. 
Things would take time.

Anakin sat, looking out at the Galaxy, the stars illuminating the dark empty space. Looking down on the planets below, Anakin couldn't help but wonder what damage he did to the people down below, which Jedi he lost. The image of Windu's lightsaber sparking of his flashed in his mind. A wave of guilt washed over Anakin. He gripped his hair. He was burning and he didn't know how to calm down. He was struggling to breathe, he curled up, wanting to blink out of existence. Hating himself for being so weak. He didn't realize he was sobbing, until Obi-wan was there, holding him close. They were sat there in silence. Looking out at the Galaxy below. They knew this was just the beginning. 

Oi-Wan was exhausted, he had managed to get them both back to sleep. Anakin as far away from Padme as possible. The distance this had caused might never be repaired he thought. He lay there unable to sleep despite the call for it. As he lay there the feeling of the force was weaker, the balance irreversible and damaged. The Jedi truly over. The loss was immeasurable. For the first time in a while, Obi-Wan sat there and let his emotions rule him. The future was going to be dark and twisted and indeed a scary one. Obi-Wan couldn't help but think what this meant for the way of the Jedi. Not that there was much left of it. But he still held the title like a piece of him. Maybe the old ways weren't so good after all. 

And with that, the darkness fell upon him and the ship fell into complete silence as all three let exhaustion take them.