Luke couldn't believe what he was seeing. It couldn't be. Mara would never. But, how else could he explain why that same strange green liquid was on Mara's dress?
"Mara." Luke called and he tried to shake her, hoping she would awake. After a brief moment, Mara's eyes opened as she sat up.
"Luke...My headache is worse." Mara muttered softly, clearly in pain. She pushed her hair back, away from her face.
"Mara, were you here in this hospital the whole time?"
Mara looked confused. "What do you mean? The whole time?"
"I mean, since Father came here, were you sleeping in this room all this time?"
"I think so, but I can't say for sure."
"What do you mean?"
Mara placed her hand on her head as if having to keep herself steady. She was feeling dizzy and there was a strange ache in her body. "Luke, I think I went somewhere, but I don't remember. It's like I blacked out something, something important and...Luke, where did all of this green stuff come from?" Mara had just noticed that her dress was stained.
Before Luke could answer her, Leia entered the room. Upon noticing Mara's state, Leia rushed to her side. "Mara, are you alright? You look pale." She then noticed the green liquid on Mara's clothes and looked at Luke questionably.
"Mara...Leia, Han, and I went to the Restoration building to talk to Arnold. Someone tried to attack us." Luke said.
"What?!" Mara asked, astonished.
Leia explained their ordeal with the mysterious attacker. Mara seemed stunned. "But why is this green stuff on me?" Mara asked.
"Luke, you don't suppose that the attacker came to Mara and spilled this stuff on her?" Leia asked.
"Mara, did anyone strange come here?" Luke said to Mara.
"I don't know. I was asleep...At least I think." Mara responded.
"What do you mean 'at least you think?'"
"I feel like something happened. But, I can't remember. It's like there's something missing from my memory. I've been having these blackouts where I can't remember where I was or what I was doing."
"When did this start?"
"A few days ago."
Luke and Leia looked at each other, both thinking the exact same thing. "Mara, I feel horrible asking you this. But you don't think that you were the one that came and attack us?"
Mara did not seem angry or upset at being asked such a question to Luke's surprise. Instead, she blinked and replied, "I don't know."
"Maybe she is having some kind of personality split." Leia said, looking at Mara with concern.
"If that is the case, then I can't be alone." Mara said. "I'm dangerous."
"Mara, if you are the one behind Father's threats, it's not your fault. You didn't know what you were doing."
"Nevertheless, I'm still a danger."
"I'll watch over her. She won't leave my sight." Luke said to Leia as she nodded in agreement.
"I'm going to go and check on Mother." Leia said and left Luke and Mara alone.
"I'm so sorry, Luke. I'm sorry if I poisoned your father." Mara weeped.
Luke hugged Mara tightly and kissed the top of her head. "Don't worry. I'm going to help you."
"If your father dies, it'll be my fault."
"Father will not die and we will all help you. Everything is going to be alright." Luke reassured her.
Leia sat by her Mother's side as they looked over at Anakin, who was still unconscious.
"You should go home now and get some rest." Padme said gently to Leia.
Leia shook her head. "No, I'm staying here. I don't want to leave you alone."
Padme took Leia's hand. "I'll be fine. You look exhausted. You should go home. I'll contact you when there's more news."
"You sure?"
Padme smiled. "Yes, go home. I'll be fine."
"Okay." Leia sat up and kissed her mother's cheek before leaving.
Anakin smiled at the doorway as he watched Padme arranging stuff animals around the room. He turned towards the while crib in the center of the nursery and smiled. Soon, Padme will have the baby and the three of them would be a happy family. He didn't care anymore if their marriage wasn't a secret. Even if he did get kicked out of the Jedi counsel, at least he would have his wife and their child. And maybe someday, they'll have more kids. Yes, Anakin was happy and watched his wife proudly as she fixed the baby's room.
Noticing that he was watching her, Padme turned and smiled at him. She walked towards him and took his hand to place it on her swollen belly. Anakin chuckled as he felt the baby kick.
"I really do think this is going to be a girl. These kicks suggest so." Anakin said.
Padme laughed. "Maybe. But something tells me we're going to have a boy."
"Well, as long as we have a healthy baby, I don't care if it's a boy or a girl."
"Me too." Padme leaned it to kiss Anakin who had his arms around her back.
Leia went back to her apartment and was about to open the door when she was grabbed from behind. A white cloth filled with a strange odor was pressed on her mouth and nose. She was unable to scream, but she tried to struggle. Leia groaned as she was pressed against the body of her attacker.She finally managed to whirl around and saw that the attacker was dressed in the same suit and mask that the attacker had at the Restoration building. Leia quickly pulled the mask off and was stunned to see who it was. The attacker let her go.
"You...No, it can't be. You died." Leia muttered before passing out on the floor.
Sorry for the chapter being a little too short but I thought this chapter had everything I needed it to have. The next chapter should be longer. Please leave me a review and let me know how you all like the story so far and what you think of it.
