AN: If you're a fan of Vaderdala, I have just started posting a new short fic called Skyborn. Good news is, six of the seven chapters are already written, so no long waits for updates. It is rated M for some (upcoming) sexy scenes. Nothing too explicit, but if explicit is your cup tea I do also write smut. However, it is only posted on AO3 under my psedu account ArgentumSol. But I've got two Vaderdala smut fics on there. One finish one called Seduce a Senator. Very smut. Very E and NSFW. And my current one is called For a Sith to Love a Jedi, which features Jedi Padmé.

Chapter 36: The Escape

Vader followed his schedule. He woke up early. Eventually he collected the children and took them to the training room. Padmé eased herself out of bed. She clutched her bottle of indigestion medicine, made her way into the sitting room and to the kitchen. There she started to prepare lunch. It was a simple soup. It was all she thought she could handle. Her eyes kept darting over to the medicine bottle.

Right at lunch time the twins bounced in. They paused as they saw Padmé in the kitchen.

"Mother!" they both shouted happily.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" Luke asked as he came up and hugged her.

"It's ok if I get up for a little bit," Padmé reminded them. Leia came up and hugged her mother as well. Padmé asked, "Where is your father?"

"He's coming," Leia said. She eyed the bowls sitting on the counter. "Did you make lunch?"

"Yes . . ." Padmé said softly.

"I'm starving!" Luke said as he skipped over to the small dining table.

Leia joined him. The two looked eagerly over at Padmé once they were seated.

"Let's wait for your father," Padmé said.

Leia pursed her lips and Luke frowned.

"What did you two do today with your father?" Padmé asked. At once they both lit up.

"We practiced our lightsabers!" Leia said excitedly.

"We didn't fight against anything," Luke said. "We just had to practice our katas."

"Yeah it was kind of boring," Leia added. "But we got to watch father go through his katas!"

"He's really fast!"

"I want to be as fast as him!"

"You will be one day," Vader said as he walked in to the sitting room from the hallway. He had a smile on his lips as he approached the table. His blue eyes looked up at his wife. "Padmé?" he asked.

"I prepared lunch," she said.

"You didn't need to," Vader said. "I could have the droids or even the cooks prepare something."

"Yes, I know," Padmé said a bit annoyed. "But I'm just . . . restless. I'm so tired of being in that bed. I just feel so . . . useless."

Vader frowned. He stepped around the table and wrapped his arms around her.

"You are not useless, my love," he whispered. He kissed her forehead. "Though I do suspect you are going a bit stir crazy." He let his hands fell away as he glanced over at that counter. "And what have you made us? Soup?"

"Yes-yes," she said. "Have a seat, I'll get them."

"You sure? I can help," Vader said.

"If you want to help, get the spoons and drinks."

Vader smiled and nodded. Padmé grabbed the bowls off the counter. She placed a bowl at each seat. Vader and Padmé sat opposite of each other with the twins between them on either side. Luke and Leia dipped their spoons in deeply into the soup. Luke shoved the spoon into his mouth. At once his face lit up.

"Mmmm!" he said as he dipped in his spoon for another bite.

Leia looked at her brother and then cautiously tried the soup as well. Her face lit up as well.

"It's yummy!" she said.

Vader smiled at the children and then he too took a bite. "Shaak cheese soup?" he asked.

Padmé forced a smile on her face and nodded.

"One of the few dishes you know how to actually make," Vader teased.

"Also one we had ingredients for," Padmé said.

The children and Vader ate their soup. Luke practically licked his bowl clean. He eyed Padmé's still untouched and full bowl.

"Are you going to eat?" he asked her.

"No . . . I . . ." she said and glanced over at the bottle of medicine. The empty bottle. "I'm afraid my stomach is just in knots."

"Padmé," Vader said in a soft but stern voice. "You have to eat something."

"There was some fresh fruit in the kitchen. Perhaps you could get me some?"

Vader nodded and went to the kitchen. Leia had finished her soup. Luke had sunk down in his chair. He frowned and rubbed his belly. Then he burped. Leia shot him a nasty glare and rolled her eyes.

"Mother," Leia said, "How much longer until the baby gets here?"

"Not much longer," Padmé said. "Should be another two weeks."

Vader returned and placed a plate of sliced up fruit in front of Padmé. He collected all the bowls, placed them in the sink, and returned them to the kitchen. Luke let out another loud burp.

"Ew gross," Leia said. Luke weakly smiled but then frowned.

"I think I ate too much," he said.

"Probably ate too fast as well," Vader said as he sat back down at the table.

"Father are you going back to the space station today?" Leia asked.

"Yes," Vader replied.

"Can you take us with you this time? You said next time you'd take us."

"I meant next time we come here. First we need to get both of you and your mother to our new home. Don't want to have a baby on a warship."

"Hmph," Leia said softly as she crossed her arms across her chest.

Padmé absentmindedly picked up a piece of fruit. Her eyes kept going back over to her medicine bottle. She put the fruit into her mouth, but as she chewed she knew it was going to be a struggle to even sallow. Her throat was tight. Her mouth was salviating. Her stomach turned in painful knots. She slowly forced the fruit down. She clenched her hands into fists under the table as she fought back the nausea.

Vader and Leia were talking, but Padmé wasn't focused on what they were saying. Their words were drowned out by the sound of her own heart pounding in her chest, her stomach rumbling, and a slight buzzing sound in her ears. Her hands were getting sweaty. She wiped them on the skirt of her dress.

She glanced over at Vader. There was a happy expression on his face as he talked with his daughter. He seemed at ease. Relaxed. Padmé looked back down at her plate and the mostly untouched fruit. Luke pushed his chair back. The sound, though in reality soft, grated on Padmé's ears. She flinched.

"I don't feel good," Luke said.

Padmé looked up at her son. He did not look good. His face had gone pale. His face sagged in a deep frown.

"You should go lay down," Vader said softly. Padmé looked over at him. His face bore a concerned frown. "I'll be in there in a minute with some tummy medicine."

Luke nodded and started to make his way to the hallway. He moved slow. There was a tightness inside Padmé. It seemed to be squeezing her throughout. Her stomach, her heart, her throat, her mind. She couldn't breath. She couldn't think. She just watched as her son suddenly stopped next to one of the sofas. Then he hunched over and vomited.

"Ew!" Leia said.

"Luke!" Vader shouted as he jumped up and rushed over to the boy. Vader crouched down and put a hand on Luke's back. "It's ok," Vader whispered. "Let's get you into the refresher."

Luke nodded, but then his eyes went wide. He hunched over and vomited again.

"Fath- father," Luke whimpered softly.

"It's ok," Vader said as he rubbed Luke's back. "You tummy is just a little sick. Must not have liked something in the soup."

Luke's eyes were big and watery as he looked at his father. His body was trembling. His mouth trembled as if any moment he would start to cry.

"Come on," Vader said softly trying to get Luke to move.

But Luke only hunched over and vomited again. This time as he stood back, Padmé could see the stain of blood on his chin. Vader's took a sharp breath as he looked down at the vomit and then back at Luke. Vader's arms came up to grab his son, but Luke hunched over again and vomited. Then he vomited again.

Padmé stood up. She could see it. The bloody vomit staining the floor. Blood smeared on Luke's face.

"Luke!" Vader said in a pained voice. He grabbed Luke and pulled him up. He looked over at Padmé. His face full of fear and concern. "We've got to get him to the med bay!"

Vader started to head for the door. The door out of here. And everything slowed down. Everyone moved in slow motion.

What had she done?

It was the wrong bowl!

She had poured the indigestion medicine into Vader's bowl. He was the one who was supposed to get sick! Not Luke! She had accidentally switched the bowls! Her son! Her baby boy! What had she done? She looked at the bloody vomit. She looked at her scared little boy clinging to his father.

What had she done?

And what should she do now?

Though everything was still slowed down, Vader was approaching the door. This was the moment. The moment to leave. To escape. And Padmé didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to do! How could she leave now? It would mean leaving Luke behind. He was now Vader's distraction.

And if she left . . . Could she leave Luke? Choose him over his two sisters and herself? Her plan had always been to get all of them out, but this was the pivotal moment. Either she used her chance to escape or it most likely would never come again.

Vadre would find out. He was going to find out what she had done to Luke! She hadn't meant to! She didn't mean to poison her son! It had been for Vader! That was Vader's bowl! But even if she tried to explain it to Vader, he would never forgive her. What would he do?

Lock her up? Keep her away from children? Even the baby?

Why not? Why wouldn't he? After all she had done? All she was the cause of? Then what would happen to the children? She thought of the shadow children from her dreams. The ones with the glowing yellow eyes and the lightsabers.

"You forget your place, my wife. Your place is by my side. You belong to me. Everything you are belongs to me." Vader had once told her.

Everything belongs to me.

Everything belonged to him.

Padmé glanced down at the table. She recalled how this table once held a plate with a dismembered foot on it.

"Our bargain, dear wife, is that you are mine. You best remember the price if you are not, because I'll have it all. My empire. My wife. My children."

Was Luke the price she had to pay for freedom? Hadn't she already lost enough? All she truly had were her children, and now she was losing one of them. Or she could lose all of them. What price would Vader demand of her next?

There wasn't a good choice. Stay, face her mistake, take her punishment. She may lose her children. She may be locked away. Her children may be twisted towards the Dark Side. Turned into murderous Sith. But they would be together . . . Or she could leave . . . Leia and the baby would be safe. Padmé would be safe. But she would have to leave behind Luke and . . . Anakin . . .

What was Anakin going to think? He had given her the opportunity to be back on a ship so she could escape. What would he think now? That she had poisoned their son so she could escape?

Oh! How her heart hurt! It was painful. Cold. Squeezed. Crumbling apart while it was dragged into the deepest darkest void.

Vader was almost to the door. She didn't have time to debate this for long. She had to make a decision, and it had to be made now. She glanced from Vader to Luke to Leia. She looked down at her stomach. Then she looked at to the viewport.

She recalled Rion. How he had been sliced apart by Vader. How in turn Rion had tried to slice her apart. She recalled her old Rebel crew. How Vader had them killed in front of her. She recalled Naboo as it smoked from the cannons of the star destroyers. She recalled the nanny being choked by Leia using the Force.

Outside the viewport she could see the large battle station. The one with a laser said to destroy whole planets.

Was this the life she wanted? She wanted for Leia? For the baby?

No. It wasn't. It also wasn't the life she wanted for Luke either. But she had to pick. She had to pick right now. A better life for at least two of her children? Or a horrible life for three of them?

It was unfair. It was an unfair decision. Nothing was right about this. She was doomed either way.

Time seemed to be slowly moving back to normal speed. Vader approached the door. His hand pressed on the door release button. Padmé walked around the table and grabbed Leia's arm. She pulled the girl after Vader. Vader stepped into the small corridor. Padmé and Leia joined them in the hall.

The door behind them closed. Padmé looked at Luke. He was shivering and softly sobbing in his father's arms. Padmé walked up and placed her hand on his back. He jumped slightly from her touch. He looked over his shoulder at her.

"It's going to be ok," Padmé whispered. "Luke . . ." She paused as she watched the second door open. "Luke, I love you. Be strong. Always be strong."

Luke nodded. Padmé hand fell as Vader took large rushed steps out into the hallway. Padmé pulled Leia along after them. They walked down the hall and reached where two red royal guards stood watch.

"With me," Vader barked at them.

At once they fell into formation behind their Emperor, which put Padmé and Leia behind them. Padmé slowed her steps. She watched Vader, Luke, and the guards get further and further away from them. Soon they would approach the turbolift. Padmé stopped. Leia stopped as well. She looked up at her mother.

Padmé watched as Vader entered the turbolift. He never once looked back at her. His eyes were completely focused on Luke. On his son. The doors closed. Padmé and Leia were alone.

"Mother?" Leia asked in a soft voice.

Padmé looked down at Leia. Her daughter. She squeezed Leia's hand. She took a deep breath and walked forward. They stepped up to the lift. When the doors opened, it was thankfully empty. She keyed in the floor she had memorized from a few days earlier. It was a short ride. The doors opened and Padmé walked out.

There were stormtroopers and officers walking around in the hallway. Luckily not a lot, but Padmé, a very pregnant woman, and Leia, a young girl, got a lot of stares. But Padmé didn't stop. She didn't waver. No one stopped them, until they walked into the hangar. The deck officer at once was jogging over to them.

"Who-who are you?" he asked.

"Which shuttle is ready to go?"

"Excuse me, just who do you think-"

"This it the Emperor's private hangar is it not?" Padmé said drawing herself up to her full height. She put every ounce of her old politician voice in her. "There should be a shuttle kept ready at all times. Which one is it?"

"You can't just walk in here and use his majesty's shuttle!" the deck officer said. His face was red.

Padmé fished out the code cylinder she had stolen and kept safe. She passed it to the deck officer. He shouted over to a droid, who brought over a code scanner. As the officer looked at the results, his face paled. His eyes went wide.

"I uh . . . uh . . ." he stumbled. "You just can't use his majesty's codes without his clearance."

"This is a medical emergency," she snapped. "The Emperor is in the med bay. He cannot be disturbed right now, but you may try to com him."

The officer nodded and wandered off towards the engineering bay. Padmé eyed the hangar. It was filled with various fighters. No doubt all ones Vader used. But there were two shuttles. One of which sat without any fuel lines connected to it. That was the one ready to go. She walked over to it and paused next to the loading ramp.

There was a tightness in her throat. Her hands were starting to sweat. Was this going to work? What if Vader did respond to the com? The officer jogged over holding the code cylinder out. Padmé took it.

"I uh . . . the Emperor was in the med bay," he said. "He . . . uh . . ."

"Can not be disturbed," Padmé added.

"Yes."

"Then I will be taking my leave."

"But you cannot leave here without permission! You will have to wait."

"We don't have time to wait!" Padmé shouted. She turned and marched up the loading ramp pulling Leia along with her.

She could feel the officer's hesitation. Feel his inner debate. Padmé walked into the cockpit. She picked Leia up, put her in the copilot seat, and buckled her in. Padmé sat in the pilot's seat. It had been quite a while since she had flown, but she knew her way around ships. She may not be a pilot like Vader or . . . Anakin, but she did know how to fly. She started the warm up procedure.

No one came. The hangar through the viewport remained devoid of stormtroopers. She continued through the startup process. She closed the loading ramp. She glanced briefly at Leia, who sat quietly in her seat. Then Padmé took hold of the steering yolk. She eased the shuttle up and out of the hangar.

At once the com came on asking for her clearance. She inserted the code cylinder and transmitted the codes. She waited. Her shuttle slowly flew away from the star destroyer. TIE fighters zoomed around in the distance as they did their rounds. The other destroyers in Vader's fleet were nearby. Padmé eyed the second fleet that was protecting Vader's space station. If the code didn't work, there was no way she was getting out of here. She would have to surrender.

The com came back on. She had clearance to leave. She wondered if it was really clearance, or if no one wanted to bother and anger the Emperor. She adjusted her course, while she let the shuttle's computer calculate the jump. The computer beeped softly saying the vector and coordinates were set.

Padmé took a deep breath. She looked at Leia. Then she grabbed the hyperspace handle and pulled. The stars stretched as the shuttle jumped to hyperspace.