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Chapter 23

Despite Padme's claims that her family was not "that bad," Darred ended up being bad enough for everyone. The evening stretched on for hours, his pointed comments becoming less and less vague as time went on, until finally, Sola stopped trying to steer the conversation back to polite territory, and just told Darred to be quiet and quit messing with Anakin already. Good husband that he was, Darred complied to his wife's request, but that didn't keep him from shooting Anakin dirty looks the rest of the evening long. Acacia watched her brother spend a third of the time ignoring Darred, another third glowering back at him, and the final third smirking, since most of the others were on Anakin's side.

When Padme finally announced that they really had to be going now as it was getting late and the twins needed to settle in their own cribs, Acacia didn't think she'd ever been more relieved.

Unfortunately, the feeling didn't last. The next two days on Naboo were, to Acacia, even worse than her time on Coruscant. She was back to babysitting, and as much as she loved her niece and nephew, that could only be compelling for so long.

She often thought of Obi-Wan on covert missions, hiding out on hostile planets, negotiating in rapid-fire wordplay with dignitaries all over the Galaxy. She thought of the other Actives infiltrating empirical circles, risking their lives to get justice for the Jedi. She thought of Kady and the Defenders off doing, well, whatever it was they were doing, undoubtedly something that would help their fight against the Emperor.

While she, Acacia, acted as an unpaid nanny and a sounding board for her brother's nutty ideas for capturing their spy.

What if we created a truth serum and forced them all to drink it?

What if we had R2 follow each of them around until we found one of them meeting with Vader?

Hey, maybe we could round everyone up, tell them there's a spy, and threaten their families if they don't tell us the truth. We wouldn't actually hurt anyone, of course. But they don't know that.

Truth be told, she wasn't sure how things would get any better if she went to Tatooine. Even less happened there, and with the miles upon miles in between each farm, the most helpful thing she'd be able to do was write "Palpatine is the bad guy!" in 50-foot letters on the endless sand.

Which actually might be fun. But would likely do little more other than make Palpatine really want to kill her. Even more than he already did, that was

Then again, it wasn't action she craved, wasn't a thirst for adventure that made her jealous of the others. In fact, with all the battles she'd faced on Coruscant, one might think she'd had her fill for months.

It was so much more than that, though, more than action, more than wanting to get involved, more than a simple desire to actually act like a Jedi. Even while she'd been fighting, something nagged at the back of her mind until she finally acknowledged it, realized what she was missing: like Ferus had said, it was rightness, belonging. Like she'd felt when she first became a Jedi, knowing that she knew that she knew that this was where she was meant to be and this was what she was meant to do.

When the Jedi were slaughtered and the Temple went up in flames, Acacia had lost that, that sense of direction and purpose. Worse, she'd lost her home and her family, even though both of her brothers remained alive.

Much as she adored Anakin's family, without the security she once found in the Jedi Order, Acacia felt lost, adrift, just another random being with nothing to do but eat, sleep, and die. Through the haze in her head, she could discern only one thing, she didn't belong here.

Unfortunately, Acacia didn't know where she did belong, and the only thing that made sense, to her anyway, was to return to her roots and hope they showed her where she might have gone wrong.

But she wouldn't do that, because Anakin needed her. Whatever she wanted, whatever she felt, Anakin needed her.

And that was enough to make her stay.

Still, it didn't stop the restless thoughts from returning. And after a few days with little to do but think, Acacia convinced herself that, even if she couldn't go back, it wouldn't hurt to comm Owen and Beru. After all, in the months since the Emperor's takeover, word about the Jedi must've reached even Tatooine by now. They'd likely heard that she and all the others had been marked as traitors and executed. Her brother and sister-in-law were probably worried sick about her, maybe even believed she was dead.

True, she hadn't exactly commed them often–or at all–when she was a Jedi, but this was different. It would be wrong, downright horrid in fact, for her not to contact them just to let them know she was alive.

And so she picked up her comm and called her old home.

"Owen?"

"Acacia? Is that.. Is that you?"

She smiled, slightly hesitant. "Yeah."

"Oh, thank the suns you're safe! Beru! Beru, it's Acacia!"

"What?" Acacia heard her sister-in-law's voice far across the farm. "My sands!" Beru said, as she rushed over and looked at the comm. "It is you!"

Acacia's smile grew and she waved. "Hi!"

"Acacia, we've been so worried!" Beru said. "We only just got news about what happened to the Jedi. Are you all right?"

Acacia nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry I didn't contact you before. I got a new commlink, and then we were, well.." she trailed off, trying to think of the best way to say 'fighting for our lives, starting a resistance, and generally forgetting that you existed.'

"Doing Jedi stuff?" Owen asked sternly, almost as if it was a bad thing.

"Well, yeah," Acacia admitted, mentally adding, some of the time.

Owen sighed. "I knew all that was dangerous." He paused, then added slowly, "It, it isn't true, though, is it?"

"That we're traitors? Of course not!"

"I didn't think so" He shook his head. "Maybe you should come home, Acacia. News travels slower in the Outer Rim; people are more willing to keep secrets. You'd be safer here."

As much as she ached to return, Acacia said, "They're more willing to divulge secrets, too, Owen. Think what would happen if the Hutts found me? I'm sure they'd be quick to hand me over to the Emperor." She went on, excuses coming to her mind only as they spewed from her mouth, "They'd burn down the farm, and maybe kill both of you."

Owen shook his head. "No one around here knows you became a Jedi; we don't get names like that out here. You could hide."

Acacia sighed. "Maybe. But still. I can't just leave." No matter how much I want to.

Owen frowned, then nodded slowly. "I know. I don't understand it, but I know you. You can't abandon this cause of yours." He half-rolled his eyes, sighed again, then looked straight at her. "Just be careful, all right?"

Acacia forced a smile. "Thanks, Owen. I'll do my best. And don't worry, I'm a Jedi now." She winked. "I can take care of myself."

"Acacia, I really hope you're right."

Me, too. She opened her mouth to add something more encouraging than that, when "Acacia?"

"That's Anakin," she told her other brother. "I have to go," For some reason she couldn't explain, Acacia preferred to keep her brothers separate. Though they'd known each other before she was even born, their personalities kinda clashed and, sometimes, they even fought over her. Besides, she didn't need Anakin knowing how homesick she felt. He had bigger worries.

Owen didn't ask any questions, though. Instead, he just nodded. "All right. Comm me if you need anything."

"And know the farm is always open if you want to come home," Beru added.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Acacia grinned and it felt real. "Thank you."

Anakin watched his sister closer than she realized. Throughout those few days, he sensed her lostness, her confusion, her turmoil, and on a certain level, he related. More than that, he cared about Acacia and he wanted to help her, to somehow relieve her restlessness. She'd always been there for him these last four years, and he hadn't even realized how much he'd grown to depend on his little sister.

It wasn't fair to Acacia, though, to give her so much responsibility, so much duty, and never even wonder how she felt. Never even ask about the toll it took on her.

He'd promised he'd look out for her. He'd promised he'd do better.

Spy or no spy, that started now.

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