Chapter 9: Padme Amidala

This is late, and I meant to update it last night, but I got over halfway through the chapter, and my computer closed the page and deleted everything I just wrote. I'm pretty sure that's a runon sentence somehow. This will probably not be half as good as the first one. I also want to clarify Luke's age, and I should have mentioned this sooner. I wrote this story with Luke being sixteen. I know he's actually twenty or so in the movies, but for the purpose of the story, I wanted him to be younger.

Luke woke up before Anakin and was pleasantly surprised to find that someone had placed them on mats and placed blankets over top of them. Considering he could see his breath, he figured it was a cold morning. However, he was nice and toasty underneath all the covers. Anakin still held Luke tight to his chest, which made Luke happy. Luke loved Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen, but they were never the cuddly type. Uncle Owen always kept Luke at arm's length. As Luke grew older, he finally understood that he was orphan child thrust onto them by Obi-Wan Kenobi. They lived in the fear that Darth Vader would find them and kill them for hiding Luke. Of course, he didn't know about the Darth Vader problem until just recently.

Anakin tightened his grip to subdue Luke's unintentional fidgeting. However, it just made Luke fidget more, and Anakin just accepted his fate. It seemed his son was an early riser. He must have gotten it from Padme, because Anakin would sleep until four in the afternoon and go back to bed at ten. What could he say? He liked his sleep. He sat up and immediately wished he didn't. The warm blankets fell off his body and onto the ground. The cold air then ambushed Anakin and Luke. Luke immediately started shivering, and Anakin laid back down. Anakin wrapped his arms tightly around Luke to keep him warm.

"Good morning, kiddo," said Anakin with a yawn.

"Morning," said Luke, and he buried his face into his father's shoulder when the wind blew.

"Let's get inside," said Anakin, "I should probably take you back to the Hall of Healing, but you were going to be released today anyways." Luke gratefully nodded. He hated being stuck in a bed, when there were more important things to do. Palpatine's warning still echoed in his head, and he knew that he needed to spend every possible moment with Anakin. He believed he could stop Anakin from falling, but if Palpatine twisted what he said, then Anakin might not trust him anymore. He needed Anakin to trust him, and he needed Anakin to stay with the Light side. Luke knew the Jedi Order was wrong about a lot of things, but he wanted to try to stop the Purges as well. He wanted to keep the Republic alive. The rebellion was doing alright, but if he could save the Republic, then the new government wouldn't have to start from scratch. They could just reform the Old Republic.

"Dad?" Luke asked when they stepped inside Anakin's room, "What are we going to do?"

"Have you met your mother?" Anakin asked.

"No," said Luke, "She died in childbirth. I don't remember what she looks like or anything about her."

"No one told you about her?" Anakin asked incredulously.

"Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru didn't know much about her, and I always got in trouble for asking about either of you. Uncle Owen said you both were dead and I was never going to meet you, so I should get my heads out of the clouds and focus on reality. I guess Obi-Wan could have told me some, but Uncle Owen forbade me from speaking to him. He called him a senile old man," Luke explained, "I guess they were trying to protect me. I mean, how do you tell a child that their father was a Jedi who turned to the Dark Side?"

"That was unfair of them, but I guess you are right. I made it hard on them," said Anakin.

"I was just an orphan that got thrust onto them," said Luke, "I overheard them one night. Uncle Owen said he didn't want a kid. Someone to help on the farm, but not a kid he had to raise and feed." Luke's eyes saddened. It was obvious that Luke truly loved his Uncle, and to hear him say that he didn't want a child must have broken Luke's heart. Anakin wished that he had never left Luke in the first place. How could he fall to the Dark Side and hurt his son so much? How could he hurt his wife like that? And Obi-Wan? He was glad that Luke was here now. Luke could help him fix his mistakes. If only, it had never come to that.

"Well, Padme is clear this morning. She has a luncheon with some bureaucrats, so we should head out soon if we want to spend a decent amount of time with her," said Anakin.

"You'll take me to meet her?" Luke asked excitedly.

"Of course, you haven't met her, and she would love to meet you, and I haven't seen her in a while," said Anakin. Luke ran off to get dressed, causing Anakin to chuckle. Luke had this childish innocence about him. How could anyone hurt him or neglect him? This made Anakin pause. It was obvious too many people had neglected Luke's wants and needs. Luke was always concerned about if he was going to ruin what he had with Anakin. Anakin just wanted Luke to be happy, but it was obvious Luke was terrified Anakin was going to fall to the Dark Side. Luke should be worried about girls and school, not his friends in a rebellion against his father. Anakin continued to ponder these sombering thoughts while he got ready to visit Padme. He knew he couldn't keep this from her, but how was he supposed to explain it?

"You ready to go?" Luke asked as he bounced up with his childish exuberance.

"Yeah, let's go," said Anakin, and he quickly sent Obi-Wan a message telling him where he was going. He knew there was a council meeting today, and Obi-Wan had hesitantly told him that the other council members didn't want him there. He knew why Obi-Wan was hesitant in telling him, but it still hurt. Before Luke, Anakin would have been furious. He quickly assured Obi-Wan that it was okay. He understood there reasoning. He had broken the Code, and this meeting was about amending the Code that the Council had abided by since the Jedi Order was founded. It was momentous. It would change everything, and he knew it was serious. He was okay with being uninvited, and he was a little relieved that he wasn't supposed to go. He would have no clue how to respond to such an important part of all their lives and even, to some extent, his own. He spent several years of his life living in fear of being caught breaking this Code. Anakin honestly had nothing against the Code, except how inflexible it was, and he admitted that to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan said he would tell the council that, and they both hoped that something would be changed.

Luke was jumping up and down by the speeder. "Can I drive?" Luke asked, and he looked at Anakin with such innocent eyes. Anakin was tempted to say yes, but something told him it would not be a good idea.

"Have you driven before?"

"On Tatoonine," said Luke.

"That doesn't count. One, you aren't miles in the air. Two, you would most likely not get arrested for hitting someone or something." Luke pouted, but he conceded Anakin's point. He hadn't really driven. He could fly a fighter, but there weren't specific rules to that. The moment he hit Corusaunt's traffic, Luke was glad he wasn't driving. There were so many speeders, and he kept looking everywhere. People were being cut off, brake-checked, and so many other things. Anakin actually chuckled at Luke's terrified expression. "Don't worry, Luke, I won't let us crash," said Anakin. Luke relaxed a little bit, but he didn't completely relax until they had reached Padme's apartment building and parked.

Luke grew nervous as they reached the actual apartment, and Anakin had to grab his arm to stop him from running away when he knocked on Padme's door. Padme opened the door, and she was pleasantly surprised to see them. "Come in," said Padme, "I was just about to eat breakfast." Anakin smiled at her, and he gently led Luke inside. After they entered the living room area, Anakin turned aorund and kissed Padme in greeting.

"How are you doing?" Anakin asked sweetly.

"I'm doing fine," said Padme, "And you?"

"It's been eventful, but I am doing better than ever," said Anakin, and he smiled brightly. They both looked over at Luke, who was gazing around the apartment with wide eyes. His already bright blue eyes were brightened even more by the amazement in them. Padme smiled. "This is Luke," said Anakin, "He's our son from the future."

Luke's attention was brought back to them when he heard his name, and he smiled shyly at Padme. "Hello, Luke, it's very nice to meet you," said Padme, and she drew him into a hug. Luke eagerly hugged her back. He felt warm inside, knowing that his mother accepted him. "I'm Padme Amidala," said Padme, "and I'm the senator of Naboo."

"I'm Luke Skywalker, and I grew up on Tatoonine," said Luke.

"Oh my, Luke! What happened to your arm?" asked Padme, noticing how he was missing some of his arm.

"I..." Luke hesitated, and he looked at Anakin. When he saw Anakin's nod, he continued, "Dad turns to the Dark Side, and when I am fighting him, he cuts off my hand."

Padme glared at Anakin before pulling Luke into another hug. "I'm so sorry that happened, Luke," said Padme.

"That's why I'm here," said Luke, "I"m going to stop him from falling."

"I'm going to help you" said Padme, "I can't bear the thought of my child not having a father or a mother." Luke's eyes filled with tears. When he felt Padme's and Anakin;s arms around him, he couldn't stop the tears. He clung to them as he sobbed.

"I'm sorry. I just missed you both so much, and I can't believe I'm with you right now," said Luke.

"I'm not going to leave you again, Luke," said Anakin determinedly, "That's a promise."

Line break...

"This might be easier than I thought," said Goade, and he chuckled evilly.