Sorry for the delay. I've been busy for the last couple of weeks and my family is coming over on Saturday. I suspect this is why this post maybe leaning towards family gatherings a little.

Mon Mothma decided to post pone the meeting for the next day allowing Anakin to head down planet side to take a look at the body. He was to determine the death since the autopsy was not able to reveal any signs of natural causes. He gave a frustrated sigh as he glanced at Fey'lya who decided to tag along even though he was not going to be allowed in the morgue with him. The tension in the air was thick making him wish the fur ball would just go away. "Remember, they most likely won't allow you back there. Please don't make a scene."

"We'll see about that," Fey'lya gave a tight smile. "I want to make sure you play by the rules and don't attempt to pull any fast ones."

Anakin rolled his eyes in response but didn't say anything further. It felt like Fey'lya was attempting to bait him and he refused to give in. "If you want to embarrass yourself if they don't let you in, you can go on right ahead."

Fey'lya didn't respond causing Anakin to smile to himself. That shut him up pretty quick. He quickly learned that Fey'lya had a knack for grating down on everyone's nerves. Maybe that's why he won the senate spot? Riled up his opponents voters so they would vote for Fey'lya instead. Fey'lya was silent as they entered the morgue as a man behind the desk looked up with a frown. "I'm General Anakin Skywalker, I believe I'm expected?"

"Yes you are, if you will follow me," the man behind the desk stepped out as Fey'lya followed closely behind. The man leading them turned around and looked at Fey'lya with a frown. "You are not expected. Who are you?"

"Borsk Fey'lya, I'm one of the Alliance leaders," Fey'lya answered with a frown. "I'm making sure he doesn't pull a fast one."

"I'm sorry but my instructions are to allow General Skywalker back there only," the man quickly glanced down at his data pad. "You're not on the list. I'm going to have to ask you to wait here."

"Would it help if I recorded my diagnoses for you to make sure I'm playing fair and to put your mind at ease?" Anakin questioned as he noticed the annoyed expression on the Bothan's face causing him to glare at him.

"You're walking on a double edge sword, Vader," Fey'lya growled as Anakin raised an eyebrow. "I would be careful if I were you. Remember, you're on the Alliances good graces."

"At least I'm not the one making a scene," Anakin reminded Fey'lya as he sensed Fey'lya's anger rise in the Force. "Fine," he turned his attention to the man who was patiently waiting. "He's with me."

"If that is what you wish, General?" The man questioned as Anakin nodded. "Very well, if you both will follow me."

Anakin walked behind the man as Fey'lya stayed three paces behind him as they entered the two large blue doors. The man walked over to one of the tubes and pulled it out as he looked down at Nereus's stiff body. He looked at the marks the man wanted him to look at as he released a frustrated sigh. "Those marks are from Force lightning which Palpatine is very adept at. The marks here," he pointed to small red marks. "This is where the lightning entered the body. It's basically the equivalent of running into an electric fence, it's only a little neater and very discreet. It's painful and if he really put this much effort in it, it was a slow excruciating death. Where did they find the body?"

"I believe Admiral Thrawn wanted to go over with the details with you," the man answered with a frown. "There was this mark they wanted you to look at as well."

Anakin recognized the cut right away as he shook his head sadly. Palpatine was really pushing his luck. "It's a lightsaber cut. I know who is behind this."

"You are," Fey'lya accused causing Anakin to harden his expression.

"Excuse me?" Anakin questioned as Fey'lya slowly backed up a couple of steps. "Are you accusing me of doing this? I spent the last three weeks looking for him. Two days in a coma due to a serious head injury, one week in the med ward and I'm still not fully discharged yet. Want to know something. I have my family back and I don't plan on blowing it. You can take your accusation and…"

"Anakin no," Anakin heard Padme speak up causing him to pause.

"Fine," Anakin straightened his back into an intimidating pose and turned towards Fey'lya. "I have a report to prepare. Good day, senator," he stepped in beside Padme and kissed her on the lips. "I'll see you tonight?"

"See you at dinner," Padme agreed as Anakin stepped away from her and walked out of the morgue.

Anakin got out his comlink and punched in Thrawns number. "Admiral, lets meet at my apartment, my office in fifteen minutes."

"I'll see you soon," Thrawn answered as Anakin quickly disconnected the connection and jumped into his speeder and headed back to their temporary home. Fey'lya can find his own way home. There was only so much he can take from the Bothan. Nereus was dead, and that left Palpatine still at large.

Leia approached Syndulla as she stared out the window of Home One. The meeting was postponed due to Nereus being found dead. Anakin had left to check over the marks and she had a feeling he would be able to identify them. For some reason Fey'lya was insistent to accompany him, she felt it was not a good idea. She just couldn't explain it. "I'm sorry. We should've prepared you a head of time."

"I heard rumors about Vader being on Home One," Syndulla spoke with a frown. "I didn't understand why he didn't get the death penalty. Now I'm beginning to understand why. Who is your twin?"

"Luke Skywalker," Leia answered with a frown. "I knew I was adopted, it was a shock to me. It made sense when Vader and I talked. And the relations part just came out. My life changed from that crash. Anakin told me he had suspicions for the past two years but could not get my blood sample to compare against his. I talked him into leaving the Empire. There was some individuals from the Alliance that remembered him from the Clone Wars."

"He came to be with you, Luke and Padme again?" Syndulla questioned as Leia nodded. "It suddenly makes sense."

"Mon Mothma gave Anakin a choice," Leia explained with a frown. "In exchange for a pardon he tells the Alliance everything he knows and helps the Alliance to end the war or it was going to be the death penalty. He chose to live, they voted on it. Why don't you come down to my place for dinner tonight? Thrawn and Anakin will be there. It'll give you a chance to get to know them better," Leia suggested with a smile. "It's going to give us a chance to discuss how Anakin wants to handle Palpatine."

"Anakin is lucky to have a daughter like you," Syndulla said with a slight smile. "I don't know how I would honestly handle it."

"It took a lot not to be angry with him. It isn't easy, we have a lot of emotional feelings to work through," Leia explained with a frown. "I honestly wanted to punch him."

"I would have," Syndulla gave a smile in understanding. "I'll come. I guess it couldn't hurt."

"My place at six," Leia handed Syndulla a card. "Here is the address. It's planet side."

"I'll be there," Syndulla gave a tight smile as Leia looked out the window. It was calming and soothing. It would explain why she caught Anakin looking out the window more than a few times.

Anakin sat down in the chair behind the desk as Thrawn sat down in the other chair. He watched the man with a frown as Thrawn raised an eyebrow. "Were you misled?"

"My spies were killed two days ago. I'm assuming Palpatine knew which spies were mine. Yes, I was misled," Thrawn answered in a cool calm manner. "The markings, General?"

"Nereus was killed by Force lightning and lightsaber cuts," Anakin answered honestly. "This is Palpatine's handy work. If he was bunking with Nereus, there is a good chance he's no longer there. Where did they find the body?"

"On the outskirts of the city by two hikers this morning," Thrawn answered with a frown. "Nereus has a county home out there. I dispatched a group of troopers in an attempt to track Palpatine down, they should be reporting in any minute now."

Anakin felt frustration well up in him as he shook his head. Maybe he should head to the home to see if he can get a sense of where Palpatine went through the Force. If Palpatine was still there than those troopers were in serious trouble. His gut twisted at the thought. Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling about this? "What time were they supposed to report back?"

"In two minutes," Thrawn answered with a frown as he placed a cube onto the table. "This has your name on it. It was found on top of the body."

Anakin reached out his hand and called the holo cube to his hand with his mind. As soon as his hand touched it, Palpatine appeared. "Son of a…"

"To my traitorous friend and apprentice, Nereus was getting annoying. I killed him. You and your family ae next Anakin. I do not take treason lightly."

Palpatine's image disappeared as he placed the cube on the desk. "I don't care what Fey'lya or the leaders say. He's threatening my family and I can guarantee there will no longer be an attempted live delivery. I plan to take him out personally."

Thrawn didn't say a word as Anakin stood up as the door opened. Padme stepped in with a disapproval expression on her face causing him to curse under his breath. She silently left the room as he bit on his tongue.

"By the expression on your face, it was Padme that just walked in," Thrawn spoke after a long dead minute of silence as Anakin nodded. "I'm sure she'll understand once you show her the holo recording."

"I can only hope at this point," Anakin responded as he sat back down. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"If you don't mind?" Thrawn questioned as Anakin shook his head no. "I would be delighted."

Anakin stepped out of the office as he noticed Padme and Leia sitting on the couch waiting for him. Thrawn followed him out as he clutched the holo cube in his hand. "I'm guessing you over heard me, Padme and you told Leia?"

"I'm waiting for an explanation, Anakin. They planned to vote on it tomorrow, but if they find out what you're planning to do. They'll slap the restriction on you," Padme explained with a frown.

Anakin turned on the holo cube allowing the message to play. Leia shook her head sadly as the door to the apartment opened. The recording stopped as he placed the cube into a pocket.

"Please wait for the vote, dad," Leia requested as she wrapped an arm around his back and kissed him on the cheek. "I can understand you want to protect us but you still need to wait for the vote. If you want, we can play this tomorrow. It may just swing the vote in your favor."

"For you anything, Princess," Anakin agreed as Thrawn smirked. Leia was one of his weaknesses. He noticed Luke was standing just inside the doorway with Syndulla standing beside him with a slight smile. "Hello Luke, General."

"Father," Luke stepped forward and hugged Anakin. "So if I ever need a favor, I can get Leia to ask for me?"

"What are you implying? That I'm whipped by my own daughter?" Anakin questioned with a frown.

"Maybe," Luke answered with a mischief smile on his face.

"Just ask, okay?" Anakin requested with a smile as his eyes traveled down to Luke's arm and he grimaced at the thought of what he did to Luke. "Some point, we're going to have to talk about this."

Luke's eyes turned down towards his bionic arm and he shook his head. "If I didn't rush in like Yoda warned me against," he released a frustrated sigh. "I went in there looking to kill you but…."

"You weren't ready to take me on," Anakin pointed out. "You know how many years I've been at this? If you didn't fight me, I had plans to freeze you and take you to Palpatine. Are you sure you don't want to talk about this?"

"I'm sure," Luke answered reassuringly. "I'm just as guilty as you are. If I really wanted too, I could've found a non-aggressive way out."

"A hard lesson learned, my son," Anakin wrapped his arm around Luke's shoulders and squeezed gently. "I should get going on making dinner, Leia would you like to help?"

"Would love too," Leia answered with a smile as she followed Anakin into the kitchen.

Hera entered the kitchen and noticed that Anakin and Leia were busy slaving over the stove causing her to smile. This definitely wasn't the same man who hurt her five years ago. He was different and seemed much happier. Leia was definitely making an effort giving him a second chance to be there. "I'm wondering if you need any help? It's quite a few people."

"We're almost done," Anakin answered with a grateful smile. "If you want, you could take the appetizers out for me placing them on the coffee table? It's the vegetable platter," he handed her two trays as she balanced them on her arms.

Hera smiled as she walked out of the kitchen and placed the platters down and glanced at Padme. "His personality is completely different. That's not Vader in there."

"No it's not," Padme agreed. "That's the man I married before he became Vader in there. When he turned to the dark side, he wasn't the man I married anymore. He became a stranger to me. I thought Anakin was gone, but Leia proved everyone wrong."

"It's a lot to take in," Syndulla commented as Padme nodded in agreement. "It's mind blowing."

"I know," Padme agreed with a sad smile. "I love Anakin, don't get me wrong. He is a wonderful husband. He always put me first, but even the elite can be deceived into making the wrong decision. When I was queen all those years ago on Naboo, Palpatine was nothing more then a senator at the time. He led me to believe that getting Valorum impeached was the right thing to do. He was the one directing the movements behind the separatists and gaining sympathy votes to gain access to the office. If I knew then what I know now, I would've gone about it differently."

"When did you and Anakin meet?" Syndulla questioned as she watched Padme. She was just plain curious.

"A Jedi Master by the name of Qui Gon Jinn, Padme, a gungan by the name of Jar Jar Binks and Artoo came into my masters shop," Anakin answered as he walked into the living area. "I was eight and Padme was fourteen. They came in looking for spare parts to fix their ship. They didn't have enough to trade for it. It's a really long story, and dinner is ready now. Maybe we can continue after we eat?"

Syndulla gave an appreciative smile as everyone started to head towards the dining table. She had a feeling placing a restriction on Anakin was a bad idea on where Palpatine was concerned. If he felt the need to kill the man onsite, there must be a really good reason for it.

The next morning

Fress sat down at the table in the war room on Home One as Anakin and the others slowly entered. She heard there was a message that Anakin wanted to play for everyone and she suspected it was most likely from Palpatine. She watched as Anakin stepped up beside Mon Mothma and whispered in her ear as she nodded.

"Now that everyone is here," Mon spoke out with a calm expression. "Let's try and keep tempers under control today, please? General Skywalker has a message to play. You have the floor, General."

Anakin didn't say a word as he played the message. Palpatine's image appeared causing her to listen. She shook her head sadly as the message ended, she knew what Anakin wanted to do. And if she was in his position after threatening the family, she would want to kill him too.

"Thoughts or comments?" Mon questioned with a frown. "Or should we go directly to the vote?" Not a word was spoken as she patiently waited. "All of those in favor of not placing General Skywalker on restriction or consequences where Palpatine is concerned, raise your hand."

Everyone raised their hands with open palms indicating yes causing Fress to smile tightly to herself. Anakin just got his wish, even Fey'lya had changed his mind. "The I's have it. General, dispose with Palpatine how you see fit. No restrictions or consequences."

Anakin gave a tight smile as Mon dismissed the meeting. She wondered what plan he had in mind. Brice was waiting outside the room. As she understood it, Anakin had a few lessons in mind to teach him this morning. Brice was a quick learner just like Jess was at that age. She smiled to herself as she stood up and walked out of the room where Anakin was directing Brice towards the sparring area. She had a feeling it was lightsaber maneuvers.

Jess was headed there with Luke. Ahsoka had worked with Luke quite a bit in the past week and now Jess wanted to see where Luke's skills were. She placed her hand on her swollen tummy and smiled sadly. It looked like over taking Coruscant was still a bit off. Jess had suggested Tattooine but she wanted a nice planet with rain and greenery. She missed Alderaan at times like this.

"General? You seem deep in thought, is something troubling you?"

Fress glanced up and noticed Mon Mothma was watching her with a frown. "I miss Alderaan. It was my home planet. Jess wants to go back to Tattooine to raise the twins there for a few years. I want something more than just a desert planet to raise them on."

"I understand, you want something a little better?" Fress nodded in agreement. "Maybe one of the Alliance controlled worlds would suit your needs? Are you up for a small side mission?" Mon questioned with a smile. "It won't be too dangerous, we do need to search for Palpatine."

"Depends on what it entails," Fress answered with a frown. "Three and a half months to go."

"Let's step inside my office and I can go over the details with you," Mon suggested. "Then we'll let Anakin go after him."

Fress followed Mon into her office as she reflected on what she suggested. An Alliance controlled world to have the twins on did sound tempting. She would have to put some research into it and discuss it over with Jess later. She sat down in the chair in front of Mon's desk. Fifteen minutes later she agreed to lead the search effort for Palpatine.

Thanks for reading :)

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there.