Something old I found on my computer. I still like it, and there's a strong possibility I'll continue it. Hope you all like it!

CHAPTER ONE: Everything's Changed

Padme watched as her husband held Luke, humming and rocking him to sleep. Leia lay in her arms, snoozing soundly.

It was all she had wished for.

She just had to ignore all the pain that had been inflicted to get them here. All the terror her husband had reigned upon the galaxy. The death of the Republic and the birth of the Galactic Empire – right now, in this moment, it all paled in comparison with her and Anakin's twin babies.

Padme lay atop their bed, dressed in a new nightgown Anakin had given her. The japor snippet hung around her neck, a reminder of why she would stay. Anakin held Luke by the window, watching the Coruscanti traffic and city lights. He whispered a familiar lullaby, one she knew his mother had sung him.

He seemed softer in the dark. More human, more like the man he used to be. The man she'd fallen in love with.

To say she didn't still love him would be a lie. She would always love him. But she refused to disillusion herself. Anakin was no longer that man, and she was starting to doubt he ever would be again.

That wasn't to say she didn't catch glimpses of the old him. Watching him with Luke, being the father he appeared to have been meant to be, filled her with hope. A hope she prayed wasn't born of naivete or stupidity.

Anakin finished his quiet singing, kissed Luke on the forehead, and set him down in the crib he shared with Leia. His actions were careful and silent. In the light from the window, Padme could see the pure love in his eyes, the wonderment at what they had brought into the galaxy. He came to her, took his sleeping daughter, and tucked her in as well.

"You should get some sleep," he whispered. He didn't look at her, and started for the door.

"Where are you going?" Padme asked, a little louder than she'd intended. Luke's fingers twitched.

Anakin stopped for a moment, his back still to her. He turned his head toward the window, and she could see his features reflect the dim light. Padme could swear he looked as though he were about to speak, but before anything could be said by either of them, Anakin stalked out of the bedroom.

Padme watched her husband's retreating back. The door shut with a soft hiss, and she was alone. She stayed like that for a while, just staring until her eyes lost their focus.

Finally, she blinked, and the softened image came back crisp.

Padme didn't want to sleep. She didn't want to see Mustafar again, didn't want to see Obi-Wan and the rest of the Jedi (the younglings, she thought despairingly) come to taunt her, criticize her for her decision.

Throwing back the covers, Padme got up and padded to the kitchen. She left all the lights off – in the dark it was easier to pretend everything was the same, that nothing had changed other than the twins.

Her stomach growled, but she had no appetite. She poured herself a glass of water and went to the balcony.

Cool air sent goosebumps up her arms. She shivered, grateful for the distraction.

Cradling the glass between her hands, Padme leaned against the railing and closed her eyes.

"You're so… beautiful."

"It's only because I'm so in love."

Padme felt her throat close and her eyes begin to burn. She missed Anakin. She mourned him. She mourned the loss of their family, the idea of happiness between them. She grieved the death of her husband, even if she refused to think of it as such. But in the back of her mind, she knew it was true.

Anakin was dead.

A stranger had taken his place.

Anakin wouldn't fight Obi-Wan. Anakin wouldn't threaten her. Anakin wouldn't kill children.

But Vader would, and had.

These thoughts were borne of loneliness and sleeplessness. All of her doubts came pouring out of her, all her dark thoughts and anxieties over staying with Anakin, all to the forefront of her brain. She couldn't get rid of them, and they brought her to tears.

What of Luke and Leia? Would Anakin love them and care for them? Or would he lose his temper one day and … and …

Padme couldn't believe what she was thinking. Staying with Anakin for the babies' sake was a decision she refused to regret. Padme had seen the result of Anakin's visions before, and recoiled at the thought of his most recent coming true. Her death, the babies' fates ambiguous and bleak. To stay with Anakin, flush with power and the dark side, still seemed a better option than standing back and doing nothing. Her children now meant the most to her, more than her life and even Anakin's. If Luke and Leia's lives were ever at risk due to their living with their father…

Padme felt her shoulders shake under invisible, insurmountable weight. She brushed away her tears, trying to keep silent. She didn't want to wake the twins.

Ten minutes later, Padme went to bed. She didn't turn off her datapad until she heard the main door open. She feigned sleep as Anakin came inside.

Padme felt the mattress shift beneath her as Anakin sat. He didn't lay down, and she knew he was about to speak.

"Palpatine is dead," he said simply. Slowly, stiffly, Anakin lay down, and that was the end of it.

Padme grew numb with shock.

The Emperor was dead. And Padme was certain it was his murderer who lay beside her.