Author's Note: Another little snippet for you. Hope you enjoy! It'll still be a while until Anakin comes back home, but, then again, that is the plot of this story. Have patience, my young Padawans :)
Please review! :)
look into my eyes, it's where my demons hide
...
Nothing is going right for Padme today. Absolutely nothing. It started when she overslept this morning because she forgot to set her alarm last night when Leia threw an hour-long tantrum just before bedtime. The twins are teething, and screaming tantrums have become something of a common occurrence of late in the Skywalker household because of it, and to top it all off, her babies just aren't cooperating this morning, and it's driving her up the wall.
She was supposed to leave the house fifteen minutes ago to head over and drop the twins off at the daycare center before she goes to work, but while Luke is now fed and calmly sipping from his bottle in his highchair holding his favorite stuffed Tigger, Leia decides to have a tantrum at breakfast and throws her baby cereal everywhere – splattering it all over the floor, her highchair, herself...and getting it all over Padme and her work clothes. Totally exasperated by this point, Padme has to lift both twins out of their high-chairs and dash upstairs where she deposits them in the playpen she has set up in the corner of her bedroom. Turning on the DVD player, she popped in Winnie the Pooh (the twins' current favorite video) to keep them occupied while she has to take another fast shower, redress in a clean work outfit, and then redo her hair and makeup, then carries the twins into the nursery to clean Leia up and get her changed into clean clothes too, before going back downstairs, a twin on each hip, and starting the whole process all over again with Leia.
It's a nightmare.
Luke is now wailing at the top of his lungs from his spot on the floor beside his mother's chair because he wants her attention, clinging to Padme's leg as she tries again and again to feed Leia her breakfast, but her baby girl won't have any of it. Not today. Every time she moves in with the spoon with the baby cereal, Leia turns up her nose and screws up her tiny face in a grumpy pout, twisting her head to the side to avoid eating the cereal.
"C'mon, Sweetie," she pleads desperately with her daughter as she, once again, zooms forward with the spoon making aeroplane motions and noises in an attempt to entice Leia to take a bite. "Work with me, Princess... please, Leia?! Mommy's gotta go to work!"
Once again, she comes in with the spoon, arranging her facial features into mock surprise, but this time, Leia shakes her head stubbornly, arches her back in the chair, pushing at the locked tray of her highchair, and cries out, "No!"
At first, Padme is shocked and simply pauses, mid-aeroplane, and stares at her daughter incredulously, her mouth hanging open. She blinks her eyes a few times as she takes in what's just happened. Leia said 'no'? She actually spoke! Her very first word! Padme is utterly stupefied... and overjoyed at the same time.
Suddenly, a huge smile breaks out on her face, and she drops the spoon onto the tray with a clatter, beaming at Leia with tears welling up in her eyes and takes her chubby little hands in hers. "Leia! Sweetie! You spoke!" It's impossible to describe, the utter joy that fills Padme at hearing her daughter's first word. "Can you say it again for me, Princess?"
Leia frowns, tilts her chin to her chest, fisting one hand up into her hair to clutch her curls, her full lips pressing together in a pout. "No!"
Padme squeals with delight and leans in to shower her baby girl with kisses all over her chubby little cheeks and tiny nose. She can't believe it! Her daughter's first word! Of course, it's extremely fitting that the first word Leia ever utters is 'No', because she's as stubborn as her father is, but Padme couldn't care less!
Her little girl is growing up!
Only nine months ago, she remembers going into labour and delivering her precious babies and now they're talking! Well, Leia is at any rate. It'll be Luke's turn next.
But, as joyful an occasion as it is, there's a dark cloud of misery hanging over it, too. Because, once again, Anakin isn't here to witness it. Not only did his miss their birth, the first time they sat up by themselves, their first teeth, and learning how to crawl, but now he's missed Leia's first word. So many milestones, and their daddy wasn't here for any of them.
Padme didn't even have the foresight to capture the moment for him on video because she simply hadn't been expecting it. Biting her lip, she sniffs back her tears and shakes her head, determined not to let how much she misses her beloved husband cloud this truly momentous occasion. She should be happy, excited, proud... not miserable.
"Maybe we'll have to Skype Daddy and show him your new word, Sweetie," Padme whispers forlornly to her daughter, tears brimming in her eyes, and she leans in and kisses the dark curly hair lying on her daughter's brow, though she knows such a thing will be difficult, if not impossible, to do. Anakin's out on yet another extended mission, and she hasn't had any contact with him in well over a month now, and unfortunately, she has no way of knowing when she can contact him again. The secrecy of his position means he has to contact her to let her know when he's returned to base camp, and she honestly has no idea how long it will be before she hears from him. The last time he was out on an extended mission like this, he was gone almost four months.
But this morning she realises that breakfast just isn't going to happen with her daughter, when Leia reaches up with her arms, grunting and begging to be taken out of the highchair, and so Padme obliges and lifts her out, resting her on her hip. Beside her on the floor, Luke makes the same motions toward her with his arms, accompanied by a series of unintelligible gurgles. Smiling down at him, Padme squats and picks him up too, so both her babies are in her arms, one on each hip.
Luke coos and blows bubbles happily, reaching up to pat his chubby hand against her cheek, and Padme silently wonders when Luke will say his first word. She fervently hopes beyond hope that Anakin will at least be present for that.