Bail, Yoda, and I agree that it is in the best interest of Padme, and whatever is left of my padawan, that I be with Padme in her final minutes. I still can't believe any of this is happening. He was my Anakin, my padawan, my brother, my best friend. Now, all that remains of the true Anakin is a bump on Padme's stomach. I walk in slowly, hoping that maybe it'll buy her some time. I slowly walk to her side.
"Beginning procedure in five minutes," the small droid says from the other side of the room.
The moment the droid came out and told us she was dying not of physical health, I knew why. Anakin, now Vader, broke her heart. She can't live with out Anakin. Even though Vader may live, Anakin is dead. No, he's worse than dead. Far, far, far, far worse than dead.
"Padme," I say, shaking her half-conscious body, "Padme, can you hear me? Can you see me? Are you awake?" I ask, hoping that she doesn't give up now. I can't believe that she's actually dying. It happened to quick.
"Yes, Obi-Wan." Padme says in a soft, weak, broken tone. "I can hear you."
"You're having twins Padme. Two babies." I continue, holding her hand. "You're going to be a mother to not one, but two beautiful babies. You have to hang on, they need their Mommy. Please stay for them, please, please stay." I beg.
"Procedure in four minutes."
Padme chuckles, then moves her head slightly. I can't tell if it's a nod or not. She fully opens her brown eyes, revealing tears that are slowly coming down her face. Her eyes well up; I can tell she's just crushed in so many ways.
"I can't Obi-Wan, I can't do this without him. I can't be a mother. Every child needs two good parents. The parents don't have to be there, they just have to know that they have good parents. I'm lost without Anakin, Obi-Wan."
"I'm lost without him too, but Padme, please. Anakin would have wanted you to raise both your children. The person on Mustafar wasn't Anakin." I say.
"Obi-Wa, like it or not, the person on Mustafar was our Ani." Padme says, now with the tears coming down faster. "That wasn't the Ani we knew, but it was him." Now I remember, she called him Ani. Padme at this point starts full on crying.
"Procedure in three minutes."
"Shhh, Padme." I soothe, squeezing her hand. "Shhh, calm down Padme. Just take deep inhales. Calm down, Padme." I begin to talk in a lower voice. "Remember the prophecy. He is the Chosen One; he will make this galaxy peaceful in his life. All we be well. Please Padme, look forward to that."
"I do." Padme says. "I look forward to that so much. Just make sure my babies live to see it Obi-Wan. Make sure that they help him do it. You have to understand that I can't do this. I can't, Obi-Wan. I can't look at people and think that my Ani caused the torture in their lives that is the Empire. Like the way you thought of Satine. Remember, you couldn't look at Mandalorians after that. Imagine that but a million times worse. And Qui-Gon, when you couldn't look at people with hair his length for awhille." Padme says, her voice getting weaker by the moment. There is a pause between us after the Qui-Gon thing.
"Anakin told me the hair one."
We both laugh in unison, a forced laugh but somewhat genuine. I remember those months. One time, when Anakin and I went to a club undercover and there were all these girls with hair about the same length as Qui-Gon's, I cried and Anakin had to drag me out.
"Procedure in two minutes."
"Did he tell you about the club?" I ask, still partly in laughter and trying to temporarily forget what is really going on with Padme. It helps me keep my hysterical and broken side down.
"That was my favorite one." Padme says in a sly, weak voice, causing us both to laugh a little. A short pause follows.
"Now do you understand why?" Padme asks. "Why I can't live any longer."
"Yes, I do. Honestly, I do." I say. It's true, I fully understand. I hadn't been in love with Satine in a long time and her death was mentally catastrophic. I can't imagine what it's like knowing that your husband destroyed the universe and killed so many, even the younglings.
"Obi-Wan, I don't care where they live. Just make sure they're raised right. Please, please, try your best to watch over them. Protect them from their…their…their…" Padme says, unable to continue her sentence without crying.
"Their father." Padme says in her tears.
"I will, Padme. They will be raised right and with your permission, when the time comes to save what there is left of Anakin, can they be that change. Can they help us. Don't feel forced to say yes, Padme." I say.
"I want them to be strong like their Daddy in the face of change." Padme says. "Yes."
"They'll be strong like their Mommy too. Hopefully, they get her brains and beauty too." I say and Padme chuckles.
"Thanks, Obi-Wan." Padme says.
"Procedure in one minute."
"Padme, be strong one more time, please. Please, please be strong. I'll be right here. Don't worry about the pain; I'll be over soon. They'll be out before you know it. Don't worry." I say, trying to soothe her into this idea of not dying in the middle of childbirth, rather save it until the last moment she can.
"I'm not afraid to die." Padme says. "It doesn't scare me anymore."
"Do you have the names. Two names for each gender at the most? Do you have them, or would you like us to name the babies?" I ask.
"Anakin and I picked out names. I think I know what the names will be." Padme says. I grab Padme's hand and she grabs my hand back. I hope I've done enough to make her tragic last minutes good. A silence follows, broken by a droid, of course.
"Procedure starting in twenty seconds."
"Obi-Wan, was I a good enough wife to him? If that why this happened, because I wasn't good enough?" Padme asks.
"You were, Padme. You stood up for him even when I couldn't. You consoled him at his low points, you loved him at his worst. You are an amazing person, Padme. Never forget that."
"Procedure starting in five seconds."
I grab Padme's hand even tighter and she makes in a deep breathe before letting out a massive cry of pain.
She never deserved any of this.
