Rescuees and Rescuers

Shmi Skywalker or…Shmi Lars now, sat in a small chair beside her husband, the man with his arm around her, having hardly let her out of his sight once she'd woken up despite it having been a little more than a week ago. Her stepson and his love were in the courtyard, fiddling about with the varporators, taking over quite a bit of the duties around the homestead till the two of them could get back on their feet, so to speak. She was healing nicely, still sore and tender, her cuts would leave scars, the Tuskens had seen to that, her bruising still leaving yellow splotches on her body but they were fading every day as her strength slowly returned. She had faint limp that she knew was likely not to fade with her other injuries, it was a true miracle that she hadn't suffered more broken bones than she had. Her cheekbone had been shattered just beneath her left eye, her ribs cracked and two of her fingers snapped as well. It was truly a miracle that she hadn't been harmed more than she was, but, at the same time, she knew it wasn't all that much of a miracle at all. The treatment she'd suffered under the Tuskens had steadily grown worse, she didn't doubt that, had she been there longer, they would have started to break more of her, hurt her more, kill her eventually.

She took a deep breath at that, she was alive, she was alive and safe and healing, because of her son, her Ani. She looked over to where he was, not far from her, he hadn't strayed far from her since she'd woken either, he or that girl that had come with him, Amira-Tal she'd been introduced as, a fellow Padawan, and the one Shmi owed her life to for the girl had been the reason Anakin had been on the planet when he was. She had wept so much at that, trying to hug the girl despite the pain it caused her when she was well enough to sit up, had half demanded that the girl sit with her and tell her her story. It was a simple tale, she had been taken from her family at a very young age, as was typical for the Jedi, had been raised in the Temple, been assigned a Master, and was training for the Trials to become a Jedi Knight, much like Anakin. When she'd said that though, she'd gotten very quiet, explaining only after she was asked that Anakin had swore to forego his own Trials until she could take hers too.

Shmi smiled at that, observing the two of them. Anakin was sitting on the ground, his leg crossed, his back to one of the walls with Amira beside him, her legs extended, hands resting in her lap…completely out for the count, and with her head resting on Anakin's shoulder where she'd drifted off. Shmi didn't blame her for it at all. The girl had been tireless in helping Beru care for her, changing her bandages, cleaning her wounds, helping her eat, just…caring for her. The girl had a good heart, a pure and warm one and…she could see how that very detail was affecting her son. She had this…vague memory, like a nightmare, of shouting, of being in such pain and in darkness and hearing him crying with such malice and anger in his voice unintelligible words but the emotion behind them, it made her shiver to think of, to think of her baby boy holding that much hatred in him, that much anger and pain and sorrow…

Looking at him now, she was sure it was only a nightmare induced by her Tusken treatment, looking at him right that second it was impossible to think he held even an ounce of hatred in him. He was sitting as still as possible so as not to disturb Amira, his head turned slightly so he could observe her sleeping, with the softest of smiles on his face, the most gentle and warm of lights in his eyes. She had never seen that look in him ever, not even in her imagination, not even when he'd been a boy and she'd imagine what his future would be like, if he were free, if he found a woman he loved and married her and had a family of his own. She knew it was impossible now, he was to become a Jedi and she didn't think they accepted actions like that, Amira was to be a Jedi as well too, it would be forbidden.

But she was his mother, she wouldn't breathe a word if she happened to know her son felt a certain way about a fellow Padawan. What he felt and what he acted on were different things and, if she put any stock in her nightmare, Amira wouldn't allow it, Amira had been the thing that turned the anger and hatred and sorrow in her son to quiet whispers and gentle reassurances and calm. A Jedi Amira was not, not yet, but a Padawan…she couldn't think of any reason why a mere Padawan, why even just a friend, would stand in the path of that destruction and fight so hard to stop it if not that it wasn't just friendship felt.

And she would not say a word.

Her son had been through so much in his life, so much hardship and pain and loss, she would not begrudge him or deprive him of the comfort Amira so clearly provided him by saying anything to him or to her about their feelings for each other. If neither realized what it was, she would not point it out, she couldn't help the sadness that crept into her at the thought that, once they were aware what they felt, they would pull away, try to stop it, for the sake of being Jedi. She would let them have this comfort as long as possible.

She felt her lips quirk up as she thought more on that, on the last week or so with her son and the girl around, getting to know Lars and Owen and Beru as well. Anakin, whenever he wasn't beside her, whenever Amira was taken with another task, had gone through the entire farm, repairing everything that needed mending that he could get his hands on before retreating with Owen into the markets every so often, returning with small objects and wires and bits of tech she couldn't recognize. But when Amira was free to spend time with him, which she (secretly) could admit she may have taken to pushing the girl off with claims that she was fine and healing and could do things herself even it if still caused her pain, that was where Anakin was. The two of them had explained to her that their Masters had both been sent on missions and left their Padawans behind to train, and that they had formed a sort of pact to help each other improve.

Amira had insisted that they continue it even though they were away from the Temple and her son had readily agreed. It surprised her, she'd never seen him agree to do something so quickly or easily, even when Watto would order him about, sometimes even when SHE had asked him as a boy. Anakin followed Amira like a small animal would its mother at times, if not physically than with his eyes whenever she was in sight but always with more in his gaze than a boy would see in their mother. They would duel with their lightsabers as the suns were rising, using the changing in the light to help them practice adapting quicker to shadows and being blinded ever so often. She noticed Amira actually offering her son pointers at times, stopping their practice to show him the 'proper' stance or way to make a move. It made her smile to see Anakin intently listening to her and following her instruction, he truly was dedicated to learning.

Other times they would meditate together, more often as the suns were setting, a way to calm after a long day. They'd sit out on the desert, facing each other, their knees touching, hands in each other's lap, just breathing. She would watch them, she could see Amira's face relaxing more and more while Anakin sometimes spoke to her, helping her focus and reach out with her senses. She didn't know what had happened once, but Anakin had said something that had made Amira laugh and shove him and it somehow led to a wrestling match in the dust, both had come back with sand in their hair and all over their clothes. It had made her so happy to see the bright smile on his face, one she hadn't seen since he was a boy, one she hadn't thought she'd ever see again both while he'd gone off to the Jedi and when she'd been taken by the Tuskens.

Still, there were moments where she'd catch sight of them by the stairs in the courtyard, Anakin on the ground with Amira up a step or two, him instructing her on how to tap into the Force, to use it to help her jump off the steps and slow herself from falling too quickly. The look in Amira's eyes when she saw them was of such gratitude and thankfulness and appreciation that she'd had to inquire about it…and found out her son had essentially pushed her off a ledge quite a few levels up and scared the life out of her when she fell off it till he'd caught her. She'd boxed him around the ears for that one even if he had apologized for it and been forgiven. Amira was just very glad he was starting her off smaller in helping her with her Force Jumps.

At the moment, though, she knew they'd been practicing helping Anakin choose his words more carefully. He'd always been quick to speak, even as a child, had gotten him hit more than once which had killed her to be unable to stop when it happened. Amira seemed to think he needed to control his tongue a little more, hold it, be more considerate when he did speak, and practiced with him. They'd been sitting there, talking, sounding slightly like they were debating, their speech growing more formal in style as they went, politer, the answers growing more diplomatic as well. It had been in the middle of that that Amira had drifted off while Anakin was speaking. Her boy didn't seem at all upset by it, just smiling as he observed her resting.

It was a scene that warmed her heart so much, her boy, her son, sitting beside a girl he clearly cared for, being so considerate of her and so soft in his affections. She had seen a look like that from him once before, when he'd been a boy, when that young handmaiden had come around with the Jedi, she'd seen him look at her like she was a wonder, smitten with her. She saw something like it in his eyes now, but…so much more. He looked at Amira, when she wasn't looking, as though she weren't just a wonder but a treasure, with something so much more than smitten in his eyes. That handmaiden, she had been a good girl, Shmi could tell, was likely still a good one, but she'd also been older than her son, would depart back to her planet and that would be all. This girl though, she knew Amira was but a year younger than Anakin but she was so much wiser, she assumed as a result of her training for years more than Anakin had and from a younger age, but she was kind as well, in her training to be a Jedi she shared more with Anakin than a handmaiden from another planet every could.

There was a foundation there, a deeper friendship, between Anakin and Amira than she was sure could have formed between her son and that handmaiden, they had clearly spent time together, truly getting to know each other, to help each other, understood each other.

She could only hope that that understanding would continue, that the friendship would endure whatever feelings were developing between the two of them. Jedi or not, Anakin was her son, and she just wanted him happy.

So, when C-3PO came shuffling into the room with a shout for Anakin and Amira, citing that the sensors that Anakin had given him to keep track of the state of their shuttle had gone off, that a message from an Obi-Wan Kenobi was coming through, she could only close her eyes. She knew, Anakin had told her, that this was to be his last trip there, the last time he could see her again, that he had been tasked to come there, see that she was well, and say goodbye. They had already stretched the parameters the Council had given them, as she was NOT well and they wouldn't need to leave till she was, but this…this would cut it short.

She was thankful, immensely, for the extra time with her son, to see him again, to be saved by him, but she was disheartened to know that he would have to leave, that this would be their final goodbye. She would not lie, nor hold back that, she cried as she stood and hugged him tightly, feeling him trembling against her, knowing he was trying not to cry as well. But she smiled at him as she pulled away, touched his face, memorized it, and told him how proud she was of him and how much she loved him, how happy she was that he was on the path he was, to a life better than she could give him, to more happiness and purpose than he would have found on Tatooine. She wasn't just speaking of happiness and purpose as a Jedi, she wouldn't deny her gaze had flickered to Amira as well, but she said nothing, just gestured Amira to her to hug her as well, thanking her for coming, for bringing Anakin there, for caring for him the way she had. If she whispered to her to please watch over Anakin for her then that was her right as his mother. Amira, to her credit, only nodded in promise, knowing if she spoke Anakin would ask what had been said.

Shmi stood on the planet's surface, Lars, Owen, and Beru around her, before their home, with Anakin across from her, tears in her eyes as she tried to be strong, tried to be able to watch her son walk away from her again and know that this time…he would not ever becoming back, but that he would be safe and protected and happy, so long as Amira kept her promise, which she knew the girl would. Anakin took a moment longer before her, reaching out to press something into her hand, two somethings. She opened her palm to look at the small wristbands he'd made her, like a circuit morphed into a cuff that could be slid onto her arm, a small black button on the side, and gave him a questioning look.

"A shield," he offered, "For you and Beru," he nodded at the girl, who looked started she was being included in that, "Press that button," he gently took one of the bands and placed it on his mother's wrist, showing her the button, "And a force field will emit from around you, it'll keep anyone else from getting to you till you can get somewhere safe. The Tuskens will never harm you again," he promised.

This time it wasn't Shmi who hugged Anakin, but Owen, "Thank you, brother," the man murmured to Anakin as they embraced, Amira watching with a smile as Shmi gave Beru the bracelet as well.

"I wouldn't see this happen again," Anakin told Owen, clasping his brother's arm, understanding pasting between them. It could have just as easily been Beru than Shmi, and the fate that would have followed at the hands of Tuskens was not something anyone deserved. He took a deep breath and looked at his mother once more, giving her a nod, not trusting that he'd be able to keep himself together if he hugged her again.

Shmi bowed her head as well, understanding her son, gripping Lars' arm as Anakin turned and walked away with C-3PO shuffling after him, she and Lars having insisted he take the droid with them, over to Amira, a small smile making its way onto her face as she saw him take her hand as they went, Amira allowing it in a show of comfort to the boy that was truly leaving his family for the last time.

~8~

Amira stopped before the entrance to the shuttle, C-3PO heading into it as Anakin hadn't tugged the droid back by the hand he was still holding. She knew she should have taken her hand away, that she should have kept him from taking it in the first place…but he was leaving his mother, his mother who had nearly died, and she could feel the sorrow drifting off him. It wasn't just sorrow though, there was a…lightness coming from him, like a worry had been lifted. He'd taken her suggestion and gone into the markets with Owen for scraps of tech that could be used to adapt their shuttle's shields into the bracelets, into personal force fields for Shmi. Anakin had been the one to think of making one for Beru as well which had led to her smiling widely the whole day. SHE hadn't considered that, but Anakin had, he was truly growing into a truly wonderful man…

And those thoughts weren't good to have, nor was him holding her hand, the tingling in her hand shooting up her arm and making her stomach flip and her heart race and she had almost convinced herself it was just the heat of the planet, that she wasn't used to it, till he'd tugged her back and let go of her hand, which had suddenly gotten very cold.

"Thank you," he began quietly, needing to tell her that before they left, before they went into the shuttle and headed to wherever Obi-Wan wanted, C-3PO had insisted that the transmission was urgent, needing her to know he meant it, "I…"

"I think you've thanked me enough, Skywalkwer," she teased, "Anymore and I'll have to start up a tally."

He smiled at that, taking a breath and looking back the way they came, "Why does this feel different this time?"

She followed his gaze but then turned back to him, "Does it?"

He nodded, "I feel less like I'm abandoning my mom and more like…like I'm heading into a new phase of my life."

Amira shrugged, not sure, "She's safe, she's free, and she's protected," she began, "That was what you told me you felt the worst about. That she had still been Watto's slave when you left. She's not anymore. Now you know she's happy, she's surrounded by those that care for her as much as you do, and she's always going to be protected, thanks to you."

Anakin started to smile at that, nodding slowly, "She is," he agreed. Last time he'd left her defenseless, always worrying if she was ok, but this time…this time HE had left her something to keep her safe. It was like he hadn't just abandoned her this time, he'd made sure she was cared for and safe, he felt like his mind was more at ease, his heart less pained, to know that he'd done something to make sure his mother would forever be ok without him.

Amira tilted her head to look at him, at the expression on his face, soft and happy and relieved and proud in a sense that he had done something good for another instead of just that he was being arrogant, thankful even. Looking at him now, in the light of Tatooine's suns, with that expression on his face, that softness in his eyes, she almost couldn't believe the revelation she'd come to about her own nightmares, that he was the shadow that she always saw when she dreamt of the Younglings. She wanted to shake that off, to think that it wasn't him, it was just her mind playing tricks on her, but the first time she and Anakin had meditated after that, something he had needed more once Shmi woke to calm him and reassure him, it was like that flash she saw, the one that always jerked her out of her meditations, it wasn't a flash of light or emotion anymore. It was a flash of the nightmare, it was a clear split second of it, of Anakin truly standing there in the doorway, lightsaber in hand, the same expression of hatred and darkness she'd seen in the Tusken camp.

She knew, for certain, that Anakin had been the shadow she'd been dreaming of for years now.

She also knew she should be frightened by that, she should want to pull away from him, run from him. But she couldn't make herself do it. She had been having that nightmare for SO long…about ten years now, she realized as she thought on it, since Anakin had been accepted into training. Something had been showing her it, the same image and…after having dealt with Anakin, with his repetitive dream being a vision of Shmi, she could feel an unsettling coiling in her gut that her dreams, her nightmares…were visions as well.

But instead of sending her running, all she could feel was a resolve form inside her. The Force tried to help them, guide them, with their visions. Jedi didn't dream, they didn't have nightmares, they had visions. It had been foolish of her to think her nightmares were just that, she understood that now. The Force had been trying to warn her about Anakin, yet she couldn't bring her mind to think that it was meant to be a warning AWAY from him…but one that was meant to draw her to him. It was a warning yes, it hadn't happened…

Which meant it could be prevented.

And she was determined to do just that, she was NOT going to let him fall to the Dark Side.

"But your Master may not be," she reminded him, shaking herself from her thoughts. Whatever she might do or try to do to help Anakin keep to the path of the light, it wasn't going to happen right that second, they weren't even at the Temple, right now his Master might need them more than Anakin did.

"Of course," Anakin nodded, gesturing for her to go ahead of him into the shuttle.

Amira would deny to anyone that asked that she shivered when Anakin placed a hand on her back as he followed her into the shuttle, closing the door behind them as she moved to the communications controls and activating the message from Obi-Wan.

A small 3D image of him flickered into the middle of the shuttle, "Anakin," Obi-Wan began, "My long range transmitter has been knocked out. Retransmit this message to Coruscant," Amira quickly turned and did just that, opening their own transmitter back to the Temple, "I have tracked the bounty hunter Jango Fett to the droid foundries on Geonosis. The Trade Federation is to take taking delivery of a droid army here and it is clear that Viceroy Gunray...is behind the assassination attempts on Senator Amidala," Amira glanced at Anakin at that, but the boy's face was blank with reaction save a growing seriousness at the message, "The Commerce Guilds and Corporate Alliance have both pledged their armies to Count Dooku and are forming an...wait!" he suddenly cried, turning, seeing something off to the side, "Wait!"

The hologram cut off, but not before they saw Droidekas, robots with laser arms, three legs, and a curved back and head that usually allowed them to curl into a ball and roll after their enemies, attacking the man.

"Skywalker…" Amira began, looking at him, knowing it was his Master at stake.

"What do we do?" he asked quietly, his hands clenched in fists, "My Master is in danger and…"

"My Master won't be allowed after him," Amira added, "The Council's top priority is to protect the Senator. But they'll send help, Skywalker," she reached out and put a hand on his arm, "The Council will send help to rescue him."

"They'll never get there in time," Anakin shook his head, "The Temple is halfway across the galaxy but…"

"But?" she hesitated, not sure if she was going to like this.

"Geonosis is less than a parsec away from US," he turned to her, "He's like my father, Amira…"

"As my Master is like a mother to me," she murmured, if she had known a mother she was sure her Master would be something like that to her. Her Master gave her the same feeling that Shmi did.

Anakin swallowed, "Our journey was to come here, see to my mother, and allow me to say goodbye to her," he began, "We are…between 'missions,'" he murmured, "We are to return to the Temple, but…did Master Yoda say anything to forbid us going to help my Master?" he looked at her intently, "Is it not a Padawan's duty to respect and honor their Master? How would it be respectful or honorable to turn my back on him when he is in dire need of assistance?"

Amira bit her lip at that, in a strange way…he DID make sense. Master Yoda had implied that they were to return to the Temple, but he had never specified it on those exact terms as an order. And Anakin was right, a Padawan was to always honor and respect their Master, to be so close and able to assist and then to refuse would be an insult to his Master, would show lack of care or concern for him. Jedi were to assist each other, to protect life, to walk away from this would be against the Code.

"The Council knows us..." he sighed, "ME," he corrected, "The would know that I'd wish to go after my Master," he glanced at the transmissions, "They have not forbid us to do so..."

Amira had to smile at that, "A very well thought out argument, Skywalker," she remarked, "I've taught you well," he started to smile at that, hopeful, as she nodded, "I think YOU should pilot this one," she remarked, moving away from the seat she'd turned to sit in to activate the communications.

Anakin grinned widely, hurrying to take her place in the pilot's seat as she moved next to him, watching as he lead the shuttle off the planet, course set for Geonosis.

~8~

Anakin expertly piloted the small shuttle as they reached Geonosis, descending it towards the planet's rusty red and brown surface, using the transmission from Obi-Wan to track the last location it had been given in, weaving in and out of different rock formations as columns of steam appeared in the distances, the scanners reporting them to be some sort of exhaust. Anakin quickly turned the shuttle towards one, lowering it through the smoke and down to the base of some sort of structure, realizing it appeared to be a city carved into the stalagmites as they stepped out of the shuttle. It was very quiet, unnaturally quite, they would have thought it almost deserted had they not heard a shuffling sound behind them as they walked along the corridors.

They spun around quickly their lightsabers activating as they came face to faces with large winged creatures that were rushing towards them, seeming like they were growing right out of the pillars that surrounded them, hiding in the shadows. They quickly started slashing and spinning and swinging, managing to cut down three of them with ease. They glanced at each other and started to run down the rest of the corridor, through another doorway and onto a small walkway that led over a conveyor belt. The door snapped shut behind them, stranding them as the walkway began to retract right underneath their feet.

"Jump?" Anakin looked at Amira, grabbing her arm to help stabilize her.

She swallowed hard, they'd been working on the Force Jumps, Anakin's presence actually helping her to push through in her meditation to start to reconnect to the Force. It should have been odd, that the source of her nightmares and visions, the reason she hadn't been able to let herself meditate earlier, was now the reason she could, but she could guess that it was her determination not to let the vision happen, her own will fighting against it and Anakin's voice as he spoke to her, his voice reassuring, so unlike the sense her vision gave her that allowed her to do so. She'd been able to manage a Force Jump from one flight of stairs just before they'd left Tatooine, this was a bit higher than that.

But she took a breath and nodded, gripping his arm tighter, trusting that if she didn't manage, that Anakin would help her along.

He gave her a firm nod and they jumped off the walkway, down onto the conveyor belt, better to jump than fall. Amira let out a breath as they landed relatively well on the belt, her dropping into a crouch from how shaky her own jump had been, but she'd done it!

Her feeling of elation was quickly cut off, however, when they saw the belt leading towards a sort of droid factory and even more winged creatures had seen them and were racing for them. They turned, back to back, and began to fight the creatures.

"This isn't so bad," Anakin called to her as they leaned on each other, slashing at the winged beasts.

"Then what's that?!" Amira pointed down the belt, to where various pressing and cutting machines were making patters in the metal around them, flattening them, cutting patterns in them.

"Ok," he muttered as they kept nearing the machines, "Spoke too soon."

"You think?" she huffed swiping at one of the winged creatures, before she turned and shoved him off the conveyor belt, onto another one a level below them, jumping off after him.

"Rude!" Anakin told her, rolling to his feet, not having landed well due to the sudden shove, "What would your Master thing?" he taunted.

"She would have YOUR Master thank me for keeping you alive," she huffed, swinging her Padawan braid behind her ear and swiping at more of the creatures as they dove for them.

They continued on much in the same manner, jumping off one belt to another, trying to avoid any of the cutting or pressing or welding machines, avoiding the winged creatures as best they could.

It wasn't till they were very nearly on the last belt that the winged creatures stopped…and Droidekas rolled onto the belt with them, surrounding them as a man in Bounty Hunter's garb dropped before them, his blaster in hand, aimed right at them.

"Don't move, Jedi!" the Hunter cried, the droidekas firing up, ready to blast them if they made a single move.

Anakin and Amira looked at each other, they were sure, together, they could take out the Droidekas, maybe, if they were very lucky, the Hunter as well…but there was an equal chance that they'd be defeated. If they surrendered now, they'd be a prisoner, just like Obi-Wan was…and maybe, just maybe…they'd be taken to him.

So they took a breath and held up their hands in surrender.

~8~

They had not been taken to Obi-Wan, they hadn't even been placed into any sort of cell either, instead the Hunter had led both Padawans to a cart, tied them up by the hands to it, leaving them in a dark tunnel with a large door before them, the sounds of a crowd cheering on the other side.

Anakin looked over at Amira as she stood there with her eyes closed as the driver of the cart got settled, ready to move them, "Don't be afraid," he managed to nudge her slightly despite how they were tied.

"I'm not afraid," she murmured, "There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony…"

"There is no death," Anakin finished reciting the Code for her, "There is the Force," he swallowed hard, "We aren't going to die."

Amira took a breath and looked at him, "Everyone dies someday, Anakin."

"Someday, but not today," he argued, firm, "YOU won't. I won't let you. You guarded my back with the Tuskens, I will guard your back here," he hesitated, opening his mouth, wanting to add that he would like to guard her back forever, protect her, keep her safe, keep her happy and make her smile and laugh and feel the warmth that spread through him each time she so much as looked at him, bring her the tingling that shot through him when their skin brushed, offer her the heart that beat so quickly in his chest when he thought of her…

He opened his mouth to say it, when the doors before them opened, making them squint as a bright light illuminated the dark tunnel, revealing a large arena of sorts beyond, the area becoming clearer and clearer as they were rolled into it.

They didn't to see the chains dangling from the five upright pillars in the middle of the arena to understand what was happening. They didn't need to be dragged down from the cart and have their arms tied above them either. Nor did they need to be able to see the three others that were tied up on either side of them, or even listen as someone in a platform above them began to speak to the crowd and crying for the event to begin to know what this was.

It was an execution.

But even that knowledge, even the very large creatures that were being led into the area, wasn't what caused Amira's heart to stop in her chest.

No, she wasn't even looking at them, not even at Anakin to her right, nor the young woman in white all the way to the left, but instead to the woman chained up just on her her other side.

"Master?"

A/N: }:) Anakin came SO close to telling Amira something lol :) I can say that we'll see Obi-Wan's reaction to Anakin and Amira being there, and an explanation for why others are there as well very soon ;) But we got a little peek into Shmi's thoughts on them, aww, mother wants her boy to be happy :)

Some notes on reviews...

I mostly pick theme songs for the Doctor Who OCs, but that's a very nice song and I think it fits them :)

Jara is a pairing name for an OC from a Doctor Who Series I wrote (J. Smith/the Captain) and another character from it, Clara Oswald, Jara sort of became the pairing name for J and Clara :)

We'll see the Clone Wars starting in the very next chapter ;)

Probably not Owen or Beru or Lars POV on them, I feel like Shmi would be more meaningful, knowing her son as she does and the events that led to his freedom :)

I tried to explain the time line in the chapter as well, from what I found, Shmi was kidnapped the same time Anakin and Padme arrived on Naboo, so that means a month on Naboo before going to Tatooine. It was only about 2 weeks that Anakin and Amira were in the Temple that she decided to bring him to Tatooine, so only half the time in the story compared to the movie. They're still there a few weeks later so that the events of the Arena aren't sped up in an unrealistic way. I don't think Amira would have the heart to tell Anakin to say goodbye or leave his mother in the state she was in but allow him to help her get better first ;)

I tried to think if Anakin would want to kill them even with Shmi alive as well, it felt to me like he might because he was seeing her so beaten and injured that it infuriated him that someone had tortured her that much :( I can't say which direction it shifted in just yet though ;) I actually got the whole power vs. greatness thought from Harry Potter with the whole Voldemort situation :) I've actually never read a Star Wars fanfiction before lol :) I try not to read stories in the same fandom I'm writing or plan to write in to try and keep things as original as possible so that's awesome :) I love how lessons like that transverse the way they do :)

I tend to update around 6:30am (EST) for me, and then again anywhere from 6-8 hours later if I'm lucky, so about 12:30-2:30ish pm :) I've been alternating this story with a Doctor Who story so the days we only get 1 chapter here, it's because I was posting a Doctor Who chapter in the morning. The days we had 2 chapters was because I didn't post Doctor Who :) I update daily :) Sometimes, for a treat, twice a day, but usually every single day ;) I'll be starting another Doctor Who story that I won't be alternating with on the 28th so, at that point, we'll be getting mostly 1 chapter a day for this series, likely around 1 or 2pm (EST) but perhaps with an extra chapter snuck in here or there ;)