Hey everyone! I hope you all liked the last chapter. I'm trying to pop them out a little faster. Luckily, Easter is coming and Good Friday, classes are canceled! *smiles* Anyway, here's the next installment.

I own nothing from this. All characters belong to the genius known as George Lucas and the other genius known as Steve Perry for his Xizor character.

Chapter 7: Past revealed

(Padmé's POV still)

I looked down at my lap when I heard his footsteps enter. I couldn't bring myself to look at the black mask he was forced to wear. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him approach and then stop at the foot of the bed. I tensed up a bit. I didn't know what to even say. I averted my gaze to the balcony doorway so I wouldn't be tempted to look up at his face.

It was silent for a few minutes…well as silent as a room can get when all you hear is someone's mechanical breathing. I decided it's now or more awkward silence.

"Hello." I said curtly, still gazing outside. This was going to be a long morning…

"Luke, Leia, can you leave us for a moment?" he requested.

His request made me feel a bit more uneasy. At least with my children in the room, I had a false sense of security, but now it was just me and him. I suddenly heard a loud tapping noise. Turning my head to the source, I noticed him drumming his mechanical fingers on the bed's footboard.

"I….I hope you're comfortable," he finally said.

"Yes …I am, thank you," I replied. I had a small hunch that I wasn't the only one in the room finding it hard to come up with something to say. After all, what are you expected to say to someone after 25 years when they've turned into a betrayer and a murderer?

I noticed he stopped drumming his fingers and had started walking over to my side slowly.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

I thought of a good answer. I didn't actually know how I felt at the moment. I DID feel a little tired, but if I told him that, I wouldn't be able to leave this room for the rest of the day. "I'm not sure; confused perhaps, on edge."

"You haven't changed much."

"Well you certainly have." I said, quietly.

"That's not necessarily true," he countered. He sat down on the edge of the bed close to me and looked at me.

"Isn't it? I'm sorry, Lord Vader," I shot back, emphasizing his name, "but at the moment, I'm under your impression that the man I married on Naboo is gone. He's been transformed into some murderous, betraying puppet to the Emperor."

"I'm not the man I once was, Padmé." He said. I've always been strong in containing my emotions in the past, but for some reason, when he said my name, I felt tears trying to break through.

I looked him straight into the eyeholes of his mask.

"Which one?"

MEANWHILE, OUTSIDE IN THE HALL…

Luke and Leia were headed back towards their mother's room when they encountered Han Solo crouched next to the door.

"Han, what are you doing?" Leia demanded. She was sure Han was up to one of his dim-witted schemes as usual.

Han didn't reply but he turned to the twins and waved them off.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked.

"Shh!" Han hissed. "I can't hear what's going on in there if you two yap at me!"

"You're spying on them?" Leia asked, astonished.

"Spying is such an awful word. I rather say….eavesdropping."

"That's not much better." Luke muttered.

"How long have you been out here?"

"about 10 minutes." Han whispered.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" Leia asked.

"Shush! They're talking again." Han whispered.

" I'm not the man I once was."

"Which one?"

Leia shook her head and grabbed Han by the back of his shirt. She started dragging him down the hall. "C'mon you nerf-herder, leave them alone. Id rather marry you when you're in one piece."

"Hey, stop! It was getting good…..darn."

BACK INSIDE (Padmé's POV)

"Padmé, the Sith order is destroyed."

"I don't understand fully."

"A short time ago, the Emperor had been building a new battle station, The Death Star II, and he was to use it against the rebel alliance. His main objective was to capture my…well, our son and turn him to the dark side, taking my place at his side."

"Why did he want Luke?" I demanded.

"Luke is exceptionally strong in the Force…possibly more so than I am now because of all of the injuries I have obtained. My master pit Luke against me. It was then when I realized Leia was also my daughter and I threatened Luke that I would turn her to the dark side in his place. Luke then gave in to the dark side and attacked, winning the fight by severing my saber arm," he said.

"And…"

"So the emperor tried to turn him, but Luke was strong. He refused the dark side, as I should have done. OF course, since my master failed, he had no choice but to kill Luke. I watched my son cry in agony and beg for my help."

"What caused this change in you?" I asked.

He looked up at my face. "You did."

"Me?" I repeated, astonished.

"As I watched our son lay dying, I was hit with images, flashbacks of your death. I saw myself killing you on Mustafar, Palpatine shooting lightning into you, and my agony at the news of your death. I couldn't bear to lose the only family I had left. I had to do something."

"So then you killed him?"

"If I didn't, the blast from the Death Star did. I sliced through his wrists to stop the lightning from killing Luke."

I looked at him hard. It seemed to me like the darkness inside him was extinguished but there was still no way for me to be sure.

"So…are you Darth Vader or Anakin?"

"I'm not sure at the moment." He said after a long pause. "I can feel a shift inside. The darkness isn't nearly as strong as it had been years ago."

I leaned forward and took his metal hands in mine. "Ani, I know you can destroy it. There's good in you, and there always had been. I never believed otherwise."

"Thank you, Padmé." He took his hands from mine and stroked the sides of my face. " I missed you… so much."

I smiled back at him. "So how long am I on bed rest?"

"Well…how strong do you feel?"

"I feel tired of laying here. Let me out." I pleaded.

"Alright, alright." He said, getting up. I thought I could hear him chuckle under that mask. "It's not like I win when we argue anyway." He walked over to a closet and opened the door. Pulling out a long white dress, he walked back over to the bed. "Before you awoke, I went to your old apartment here on Coruscant and retrieved most of your things. Most of your clothes there were maternity gowns though. This is one of Leia's dresses. You can wear it if you'd like. Unless of course, you'd rather walk around in the burial maternity gown you're in right now…"

" Thanks." Maternity gown? I threw the blankets off myself to get a look at what I was wearing for the first time. Just as he indicated, there was quite sag over my stomach area. "Why was I… buried …in a maternity gown?" I asked.

"Most likely to protect Luke and Leia from being discovered by myself and the emperor," Vader said, "My master told me they died with you."

"But when Obi-Wan and I came after you and were taken prisoner, I had already given birth. Are you telling me you didn't notice?"

"Apparently not."

I stared at him in shock. I was glad the twins were kept safe, of course, but Anakin and the Emperor especially, always noticed everything.

"Oh well. Its not important now." I said." I swung my legs over the side and stood up. I noticed my legs were still quite stiff from not moving in over 25 years. I tried walking over to him, but grabbed the side of the bed to stabilize myself.

"Are you still weak?" he asked, starting to walk to my side.

"No, I'm fine, Ani. Don't move, I want to do this on my own." I said. "Besides, If I fall, it'll give you more of a reason to carry me everywhere. I'm sure you wouldn't mind that too much."

"You're horrible," he said, a teasing tone in his voice.

"You're no better," I replied as I made my way to where he was standing. Once I reached him, I grabbed hold of his arm. I took the dress that was draped over his outstretched arm and walked back to the bed with it.

"Would you like me to leave?" he asked suddenly.

"You don't have to. Why, do you want to?" I asked, looking over my shoulder. I noticed he had moved right behind me as I struggled to find the clasp on the back the gown I was wearing.

"So…you forgive me for what I did to you on Mustafar?" he asked as his cold hands undone the seals on the gown.

"Thank you, and possibly," I replied. I was going to begin changing, but suddenly changed my mind. "Anakin, where's the fresher?"

He motioned towards a side doorway in the back of the room. "Through there, why?"

"I think you can leave after all. A nice long shower and some time to think is what I need right now." I smiled at him warily.

"Alright," he answered. "I'll be down the hall if you need me." He turned and left the room. I went into the bathroom and turned on the water in the tub to warm it up. While that was going on, I decided to take this opportunity to explore the room. I opened the closet door he was at before and sure enough, every gown I had in my Coruscant apartment was here—almost all of them maternity wear. Pushing them aside, I found a long white bathrobe and some other gowns I had never seen before. I removed the robe and took one of the gowns off the rack and examined it. It was a long violet turtleneck gown with tight long white sleeves attached to a silver puff at the top, matching a silver trim along the skirt of the dress. Placing it back into the closet, I pulled out another one. This one was an emerald green gown with tight 3/4 sleeves decorated with gold colored buttons matching a small set at the top of the bodice section. A gold cloth belt was tied around the waist of the dress for decoration and a gold colored headband was attached to the hanger as well. I placed this one on my bed and went back to the closet. I saw a few more strange garments but they looked suited for more elegant occasions. One was a long strapless red gown with a transparent cape attached to the back and the other was a blue/green halter with matching shawl. It looked very similar to a dress I wore on Naboo. On a shelf above the rack I saw every head and hairpiece I owned as Senator. He didn't miss anything… I shook my head. I closed the door and walked over to an identical looking closet near the huge spherical chamber in the back of the room. Opening this one, I realized this was Anakin's. It had extra capes hung on a rod, boots on the closet floor, and huge gloves in a side bin. I closed it and went back to the bathroom to relax.

I lowered myself into the tub and allowed the warm water to consume me. I closed my eyes and tried to clear my mind of the horrid news I had just been told and of my last memories of being alive. When I opened them again, I noticed more of my things from my apartment: perfumes, shampoos, soaps, personal products. What's LEFT in that apartment, anyway… It seemed to me that Anakin certainly went to a lot of trouble. I think I was a little more surprised of the fact that all my stuff still existed. What did he do, keep my residence clean for 25 years?

I stepped out about fifteen minutes later I dried off quickly and tied the white robe around me. I walked back into the bedroom and to the bed where I began putting on the beautiful green dress. I zipped myself in with some difficulty and walked to a full body mirror near the door. The dress looked better than I thought it did. I tied the gold cloth around my waist and walked to a dresser and mirror where I found my hairbrush and comb. After brushing my hair quickly, I placed the headband on, maneuvering my hair through it and out of the way. I was on my way out the door when I remembered the japor snippet on my nightstand. I went over and picked it up. After holding it in my hands for a few moments, I placed it around my neck and walked out of the room.


Xizor watched the scene in front of him unfold. One of his favorite activities while in the good graces of the Emperor was spying on his and Palatine's enemies; specifically Lord Vader. Currently, the monitor was displaying the scenario in Vader's private chambers. The dark Prince saw the mysterious Padmé Amidala, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and one of Vader's officers. Then, they all left and Vader walked in. Xizor had Shyne look up as much information on Padmé as possible. He did have the file himself, but it was destroyed with countless other valuables in his Castle when Luke Skywalker destroyed it.

Xizor yawned. Since there wasn't audio, the only thing happening was Vader standing at the foot of her bed and him noticing Padmé's lips moving. Then, Vader sat down next to her. Good…things may start getting interesting…. Suddenly, Padmé placed her slender hands on Vader's robotic ones. Xizor paused the film and looked at the woman's facial expression. My my…what have we here? Were they good friends? IS he upset?. Then, Vader placed his hands on her face. Xizor immediately paused again. AHA!! Suddenly, the door opened and Shyne came back in holding an info pad.

"What news do you have for me?" Xizor demanded.

"Not much you haven't heard already, your highness." Shyne sighed. "All I could obtain while on duty was her biography and medical records from Naboo."

"Give it to me." Xizor said as he took the pad. Lets see…Queen of Naboo…trade federation blockade…Nute Gunray hit list… loyalist committee….delegation of 2000….here we go! "She died of a fractured neck bone and pregnancy complications. This differs from my old records."

"How so?"

"I was under the impression that she was killed by a rogue Jedi Knight during the Purges. It mentioned nothing of her pregnancy. This can be very important."

"Sir, I don't see what her pregnancy has to do with anything."

"Well, I'm sure you and your colleagues have heard of the rumors regarding her medical state."

"Yes, your highness."

"Look at the monitor." Xizor smiled wickedly. "I think I know how she became pregnant."

Shyne looked at the screen and his eyes went wide. "Vader? Vader did that??"

"Yes." Xizor said, still smiling. "After all, think about it. Luke Skywalker is Darth Vader's son. In order for that to be, there had to be a woman involved at some point. Sithh Lords just don't seem like the type to adopt."

"So…this Padmé Amidala is Vader's lover from the past?"

"Not lover." Xizor smirked, "his wife." This works out better than I could ever imagine.


To be continued.

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This may be the last chapter I update before school is over. Final exams are in 2 weeks and projects need to be completed. Don't worry. I have the next chapter mapped out already. Just stay tuned for profile updates!