Almost there...Anakin turned the ratchet carefully. The bolts on this particular model of speeder were very temperamental, and it was easy to make them too tight and strip the threads. Conversely, if the bolts weren't put in tight enough, they had a bad habit of working themselves loose and getting lost somewhere along the road.
Most speeder mechanics didn't know how to work with these particular bolts without extensive training and charged out the tailpipe to work on a speeder that had them. Anakin was the only untrained mechanic in Theed who knew how to work with the bolts and charged a reasonable fee. His secret was using the Force to get a visual picture of what he was doing and then fine-tune the bolts from there.
At the moment he was busily employing such skills even as Ahsoka used a loud air-ratchet to secure the seats of the speeder in the next repair bay. The noise didn't bother him. Compared to the noise the twins made, the repair bay was quiet.
Luke and Leia had hit what some called 'The Terrible Twos'...and let everyone in a twenty-kilometer radius know it. Running, climbing, and jumping on and off everything in sight, they could go from sweet, adorable children to a pair of holy terrors in the space of five seconds. When they weren't fighting with one another, they were tag-teaming; Luke, for example, liked to climb to the tops of dressers, bookcases, and anything with a height over four feet. On Padme's days off when she was alone with them all day, she would try to get Luke down from those dangerous heights while Leia was- presumably -occupied with her stuffed toys in a child's play yard. In the five minutes it took Padme to coax Luke down to safety, Leia could climb out of the play yard, run down the hall, get into her parents' room (never mind the anti-tamper device on the door), and get into anything she wanted; most often the clothes in the closet or Padme's makeup. It wasn't the messes that bothered Padme so much as the repetition. When the children were confined together, they fought, screaming loud enough to wake the dead. Leia was always the instigator and began by taking something that Luke had been playing with. When Luke tried to take it back, Leia screamed and hit. Luke screamed right back, and the cacophony could be heard for up to a kilometer away.
Bedtime was nearly impossible. The cribs had long been exchanged for toddler beds due to frequent escapes and the twins kept each other -and their parents- awake half the night with their protests. When they finally did sleep, one of them- usually Leia -would awaken in the middle of the night and toddle into her parents' bedroom, crying and begging to climb into bed with them. Sooner or later, Anakin gave in...much to his wife's annoyance. Leia usually fell asleep soon after.
They really weren't bad children. Luke had a sweet disposition and gave out hugs and kisses like there was no tomorrow. When Padme ended up in tears because of frustration, he would pat the top of her head. Leia said 'I love you' several times a day. There were times both of them behaved like perfect angels.
Unfortunately that was the exception rather than the rule. Even Ruwee and Jobal had bowed out of babysitting more than once a week. Threepio was useless as a child-minder and had been knocked over several times thanks to the children's rough-housing. So, Anakin and Padme had been forced to hire a babysitter. So far they had cycled through about seven of them. The last one had remarked that watching two year old twins was like trying to disarm two explosive devices set to go off at the same instant.
Anakin tightened the last bolt on the access panel, scooted out from under the speeder, and wiped his greasy hands on a shop rag. As he did this, he heard a grunt from the next repair bay and craned his neck to see Ahsoka still burrowed into the bottom of the speeder she was working on, her legs dangling over the side. Anakin's mouth quirked to one side in amusement. "Need a hand, there?"
Ahsoka grunted. "No thank you. I'm almost done," she called in a muffled voice. Accordingly she bounded backward onto the floor and put the socket wrench back in its rightful place. "There. Those seats aren't going anywhere now." Her mechanic's coveralls were unzipped to the waist, the arms knotted, smears of grease on hands, face, and outfit.
Anakin leaned over and inspected the bolts before giving the seats a firm yank. He nodded with satisfaction. "Good job. Of course, I expected nothing less." He tossed her the shop towel and pressed the intercom button to call a customer back to the repair bay before consulting the chronometer on the wall. "I think we've got time for one more-"
The loud, insistent buzz of Anakin's personal commlink interrupted. A total of three people had Anakin's frequency. Obi-Wan was out of contact investigating leftover Separatists in the Outer Rim, and Ahsoka was of course right there. There was only one other person it could be.
Anakin pursed his lips and quickly answered, trying to sound cheerful and ignore the look of amusement Ahsoka was wearing."Hi, beautiful."
Padme groaned on the other end. "Not now. How did you know it was me?" There was stress in her voice.
"Easy. I can sense it." He ignored Ahsoka's eye-roll. "What is it?"
"Look I know you're not supposed to close for another hour, but-" There was a muffled crash in the background, followed by a squeal. "Luke! Get down from there!" The commlink rattled from being put down, there was another squeal, and a firm reprimand. The muffled sounds of struggling drew closer as Padme picked up the commlink. "Luke, no. Luke...! Leia, where... Anakin, when are you going to be off?"
Anakin cringed. It was one of Those Days again. He didn't sense any danger, but it was obvious that Padme needed help. A glance at Ahsoka made her shrug and mouth 'I'll close.' Anakin nodded in thanks, trying to smile again. "Right now. I'll be home in a few minutes, all right?"
Padme seemed to deflate in relief. "Oh, good. Anakin, thank you...ouch! Leia, no. Don't hit."
A slight flash of anger at Padme being hurt by her own children came and went quickly. "Leia...be nice," he said firmly. "See you soon. I love you."
Padme sighed before answering. "I love you, too." She promptly disconnected.
Anakin quickly shoved the comm into his pocket and made a beeline for the bathroom to wash up and change.
He wasn't worried about the shop. Ahsoka was more trustworthy than most adults twice her age. The only thing that worried him was the battle coming.
《-v-》 《-v-》 《-v-》
The first thing to greet Anakin when he came in through the door was, of course, noise. It wasn't just any noise. It was Luke and Leia's own brand of cacophony, complete with screaming and maniacal giggling. That sound alone was enough to make most visitors have second thoughts if they heard it at the door.
It was the usual chaotic scene in the living room with upturned couch cushions, stray socks, and toys strewn everywhere. Leia was screaming somewhere out of sight while Luke and Padme were having some sort of battle of wills in the nursery. Threepio, of course, had been deactivated.
Artoo was right behind Anakin and let out a droid version of a sigh, shaking his dome back and forth as the door slid shut.
"Hello?" Called Anakin, looking around. Usually the kids were at his feet the second he came home.
Excited squeals tore through the air, followed by the pounding of little feet. The next instant Luke came tearing around the corner wearing only a diaper and a shirt, arms outstretched, mouth open in a wide grin. He dashed straight for his father. "Dad-dy, dad-dy, dad-dy!"
Anakin had to laugh as he swung the boy into his arms. "Hey! What are you doing, you little Jawa?"
"Luke, come back here right now." Padme turned the corner two minutes later with a pair of pants in one hand and little socks in the other. She stopped in her tracks upon seeing Anakin holding the boy with a smile almost as big as Luke's. She slowed to a walk. "Oh, Anakin."
"What?" Anakin frowned. Usually Padme greeted him with a kiss, or at least a smile. Days when she had the twins that smile was strained, but still present. She must really be upset. "What did I do?"
"Well, nothing. I suppose it'll be easier to dress him when he's sitting still. Come here, you," Padme told her son, putting Luke's wiggly legs back into his trousers. "You're not supposed to be running around half naked."
"Haf...nak-ked," repeated Luke gleefully. "Dad-dy home, Mama. Dad-dy home."
"Yes, I know. Just hold still."
Anakin helpfully held Luke's feet still while Padme replaced his socks. Only then did he see the loose clumps of hair, the tired eyes, and the thin line of her mouth. He hadn't seen her looking this tired since the twins had been born. He mentally kicked himself for not sensing his wife's fatigue. "Are you all right?" He asked softly.
Padme shrugged impatiently. "Ani, I'm tired. You know how these two are." A now fully clothed Luke was set on his feet. "Have you seen-"
"Daddy! Daddy!" called Leia, running in from the kitchen with something all over her smiling face.
"Hey, Princess," smiled Anakin, reaching out to swing his daughter into the air. As he looked closer at her face he noticed something on her mouth. It was pink, thick, and sweet-smelling. Her fingers were also sticky. "What have you been eating?"
Padme sighed, closing her eyes and hurrying into the kitchen. She came back out holding an empty jar with identical pink goo stuck around the edges. "Leia, did you do this?"
"Uh-uh!" Leia shook her head with wide, innocent eyes.
"Leia..." Padme pursed her lips. "Tell the truth."
"I din' eat da jeddy," the toddler declared.
Anakin lifted an eyebrow at his daughter's obviously jelly-coated mouth. "Oh you didn't, huh? Did it taste good?"
Leia grinned and nodded. "Yummy!" She licked her lips.
Despite trying to keep a straight face, the oblivious fib of Leia combined with her inadvertent confession made Padme crack a smile. She shook her head and fought back the impulse to laugh.
Anakin wasn't so disciplined. He chuckled and bounced Leia on his arm. "You little thief. Come on. Let's go wash your face."
《-v-》 《-v-》 《-v-》
Halfway across the galaxy on Coruscant, Obi-Wan Kenobi exited the High Council Chambers with a very disturbed expression. He had never felt so uneasy about a decision made by the Jedi Council in his life. Voting against it hadn't done any good. He was overruled by nine others.
The decision had finally been made on what to do about Anakin's Force-sensitive children. The older Luke and Leia grew, the more urgent the situation would become. Leaving them untrained could be dangerous. As soon as Jem Farran, a Jedi Sentinel who had been stationed on one of the more far-flung systems, had returned to Coruscant for a full briefing, he would be sent to the Skywalker residence to see about recruiting the twins. If Anakin became violent, Jem was to use his own judgment on what to do. He was even to offer to take one of them instead of both to soften the blow.
Obi-Wan had argued against this as long as he could. The only way Luke and Leia would be trained was if Anakin returned to the Order and trained them himself. Even mentioning such a thing could send the young father over the edge. The counterargument put forth was that if Anakin was that volatile, the children would be better off somewhere else.
Obi-Wan's unhappiness with the decision was obvious. He couldn't hide either disappointment or anger from anyone. Mace Windu even suggested that he was letting his emotions get in the way of reason.
Maybe I am, thought Obi-Wan as he rode the turbolift back down to the main level. If it had been anyone other than Anakin he would have agreed. That wasn't all of it. Obi-Wan knew Anakin better than any other Jedi. While it was obvious that Anakin still had attachment issues, taking his children away was not the solution.
And of course there was the fact that Obi-Wan knew the entire Skywalker family...and he loved them. Anakin was still like his brother, and Padme was still one of the closest friends he'd ever had. As for Luke and Leia, the idea of taking them from their parents was heartbreaking. Obi-Wan had seen firsthand their love for their parents. He couldn't justify separating the family no matter how much Jedi rhetoric he was told or ran through his own troubled mind.
So, he was headed for the hangar to make off immediately for Naboo and tell Anakin what the Council had decided. Just what Obi-Wan intended to accomplish, he still wasn't sure. His Jedi side reasoned that he was going to act as a buffer and try to keep Anakin calm, giving Luke and Leia a better chance at learning how to use their Force powers.
But that irritating bit of humanity protested this idea. Do I really want my best friends' children taken away from their parents, never to know them, to serve a Jedi Order that still has deadly flaws?
The answer to that question was a resounding 'no'.
*******
A/N: I know, I know, you want more action...I tried leaving out the mush, but the story just didn't feel right! I promise in the next chapter you'll finally have something heavier than an episode of 'At Home with the Skywalkers'. Things are about to go to Mustafar in a market-bag.