Author's note: Hey everyone, I am back. Hope you all had a good week so far. Here is the next chapter. I confess, I know it's extremely unlikely, but I really wanted to Veers in this chapter. I hope you enjoy. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, you make my day!

Thank you Kolodey.

Veers walked quickly to the hangar, his lordship was on his way. The dark lord had been extremely brief with his message but he had managed to mention that he wouldn't be staying long aboard the Executor. This prompted Veers to wonder why he was bothering to make the trip. Vader had demanded that Veers personally be there to greet him upon arrival. The thought alone kept Veers from whistling merrily as he walked.

He arrived at the spotless hangar moments later and checked his chrono. He had arrived with time to spare, Piett would be proud of him. He didn't have to wait long before Vader's smart personal flyer docked in. Veers moved to the ramp as it lowered slowly.

"Oh brother" Veers muttered to himself as the dark lord disembarked.

Behind the dark lord followed a large goofy looking creature and in small carrier handled by a service droid was a smaller equally comical one. The dog was a greyish blue with several spots on his snout and curious blue eyes. Beside him trying to break out of its carrier was a snarling tooka. Veers already dreaded Vader's words before they left the dark lord's mouth.

"Commander" Vader stated as he came to a stop at the bottom of the ramp.

Veers gave a smart salute. "Lord Vader, Sir" he said while casting a side eye at the dog and tooka.

"I have some business to attend to and I will be gone for a while. I trust you are capable of handling two pets in my absence?" Vader said it as if it was the most ordinary request in the galaxy for a supreme commander to give one of his men.

Veers' opened his mouth to protest that Vader was abusing his power by making Veers 'pet sit' but all that came out was "Aboard the Executor Sir?"

Vader's lip twitched as he bit back a sarcastic reply. "Yes, commander. These are Luke and Leia's pets and they are not in Imperial Capital at the moment to care for them" He said in a guarded tone.

"What about the security officers at your residence? Couldn't they care for the creatures?" Veers asked watching in concern as the dog snapped at the caged tooka.

"Commander Veers, I wasn't aware that we were engaged in a negotiation over this issue" Vader said in an acid tone. He looked at Veers pointedly before the truth dawned on Veers.

A silly grin spread across the commander's face. Vader trusted him. It wasn't just a matter of trusting him to babysit his children's pets aboard the Executor, but Vader also trusted him with the information that he would be gone. Sure the dark lord was using him, but what did Veers care, Darth Vader trusted him!

Just then Vader cleared his throat loudly and Veers snapped back to attention. "No milord, we are not" he mumbled.

"Good" Vader said as though that settled the matter. He clicked his fingers smartly and the dog ran to Veers side and sat watching Vader intently. "This is Bleu and the tooka is named...well...Funny-face. I suggest you keep them in separate quarters Commander. They don't exactly get along"

Veers opened his mouth but closed it and nodded mutely instead. Vader turned to leave without another word.

"Milord, wait! How long am I to care for them?"

"As long as is necessary Commander" Vader said in a tone that left Veers feeling uncomfortable.

Veers grabbed the collar of the Bleu as the ramp of Vader's ship began to lift off the ground.

Turning to the dog, "I have a bad feeling about this" he said gravely, unable to shake the feeling that something strange was afoot.

However, the young commander cheered up quickly. "Hey, Piett's not gonna believe this" he said grinning at the thought of how he would introduce the two pets to his colleague.

Padmé laughed delightedly as she watched Luke chase after a Pelikki. The boy was undeterred by the fact that the bird fled into the water and plunged into the pond after the bird.

Padmé had taken the twins out to one of Theed's most celebrated natural parks. Families gathered here to have picnics and observe nature. She figured the twins would feel at home here, since the park was similar to their own in New District. So far her hunch had been correct, the twins had ran around excitedly since arriving at the park. Even the composed Leia's cheeks were flushed pink from her activity in the fresh air.

Padmé suddenly felt slightly uneasy as she watched Luke splashed after the bird in the shallow water. She looked to Atina and found the nanny watching Luke with a bemused expression. Not wanting to seem like a worry-wart, Padmé resisted the urge to to tell Luke to come out of the water. She watched him pensively as he tried to catch the loud bird.

"That boy is quite a handful. He reminds me of someone" A soft voice said behind her.

Padmé started and turned to find Obi-Wan watching Luke. A frown covered her pretty face. "Obi-Wan" she said quietly. "What are you doing here?"

"I actually wasn't following you, I chose this place to meditate today" Obi-Wan said, but Padmé didn't buy his explanation for a minute.

"Well it doesn't look like you're getting much of that done"

"Hmm?"

"Meditating, I said you weren't getting much meditating done"

"Oh, of course not" Not missing a beat Obi-Wan asked "What did you say the children's names were again?"

Padmé arched an eyebrow. "I didn't, we were talking about meditation"

Obi-Wan gave her a frustrated look. "Not here, at your parents home, you said their names were…"

"Luke!" Leia's pitched tone caused both Padmé and Obi-Wan to turn around sharply.

The young boy had waded further into the water and they were just in time to see Luke's head disappear beneath the water. Padmé's heart caught with paralyzing fear and for a moment she simply stood frozen there.

However, Leia's frantic yells soon sprung her into action and she took off running for the water, with Obi-Wan following closely behind. She was just about to throw herself into the murky pond water when Luke surfaced clutching a struggling Pelikki with a huge grin on his face.

"Miss...Mom, look I caught it!" he yelled excitedly.

Padmé let out a choked sigh of relief and sank down to her knees. "Luke, come here right now!" Padmé yelled, sounding harsher than she intended.

Luke looked surprised at her tone and released the squawking indignant bird. He crashed through the water to Padmé. "I didn't mean any harm…" he began, but was cut off when Padmé pulled him into a fierce hug.

"Don't do things like that, Luke. You scared me to death!" She said holding him firmly by the shoulders.

Luke looked down at her, a mixture of confusion and worry on his face. "Aww, you're crying" he said.

Padmé wiped away at her tears and cursed her pregnancy hormones. "Yes, but only because I am happy you're safe"

"I wasn't in any danger, I'm a pretty good swimmer" Luke said trying to comfort her.

Padmé gave a teary laugh. "Oh, I have no doubt you are" she said, still feeling her heart pound at the crazy stunt he had pulled.

Luke grinned. "But did you see when I caught him? He was a big one too!"

Padmé shook her head in amusement and stood up, she noticed Obi-Wan watching them closely and was relieved that he didn't attempt to join them. Leia who had been making her way over from her perch on the lawn and now proceeded to give her brother sharp slaps.

"You nerfherder! We thought you were dead!"

"Hey lay off nexu claws!" Luke said dodging some of her slaps.

"That's enough you two." Atina said, arriving in time to pull the two apart "Luke, thank goodness I brought along a change of clothes, because you surely look like you need it"

Luke and Leia took off running towards their picnic blanket, while Atina and Padmé followed behind at a slower pace.

Padmé let out a small shivering sigh. Why hadn't she thought of an extra pair of clothes? There just seemed to be so many things she didn't know about motherhood. Heck, it was only her first month and she had already almost killed Luke.

She caught Atina's perceptive eye and gave a small smile. "You're really good at this, I mean with them" she gestured to where Luke was shaking water from his clothes at Leia.

Atina shrugged. "Yeah, but I am not their mother. That's something only you can be"

"Well, I pretty much suck at that among other things" Padmé said nervously tucking an errant curl from her face.

"Milady, don't be so hard on yourself. It takes time and you're trying to cram seven years of knowledge in rearing children into a few weeks. You won't get it the first time, hell, I mean that technically happened while I was on duty, even I mess up with these two." Atina paused. "But if Lord Vader ever asks I am the perfect nanny"

Padmé gave a laugh. "Your secret is safe with me." she said. "And thanks Atina"

"Don't mention it," Atina said moving ahead to grab Luke's extra clothes. She then chased after the mischievous drenched Luke before grabbing him and dragging him off toward the public 'freshers. Padmé looked around for Obi-Wan and saw he still stood by the pond and appeared to be deep in thought.

"Miss...umm mother?"

Padmé turned to find Leia looking up at her. Her heart warmed at her daughter's words and she gave Leia a rare smile. "Yes Leia?"

"Don't worry about Luke, he's a nerfherder sometimes. Do you know once he decided to try rope climbing off our balcony? Daddy almost fainted, I've never seen him like that before, he was mad and scared all at once."

Padmé felt an inane sense of relief wash over her. Even Vader felt inadequate sometimes. "Thanks Leia. I felt pretty close myself moments ago, though I was mostly scared. I don't imagine your father would be pleased if I lost one of you"

"Yeah, but he would understand that it was an accident. Daddy isn't a bad man" Leia said astutely.

Padmé started at her words. "Leia, why did you say that?"

Leia looked up at her with serious brown eyes. "You said that the pilot became a bad man, and he did terrible things. But Daddy isn't bad"

Padmé froze as realization dawned on her. Now she understood Leia's guarded behavior towards her. The little girl thought Padmé hated Vader.

At loss for words, Padmé nodded. "I know, I've always known that there is good in your father" she said choosing her words carefully.

Leia's serious face softened and she gave a grin. "I can't wait to see him again. Maybe we can all go shopping for a new pet"

Padmé stifled her reservations and laughed. "Don't you already have Bleu and Funny-face?"

"Yeah, but we could always get a zeer or maybe even a shaak"

"Oh I would love to see your father's face if you were to bring a full grown shaak into his penthouse" Padmé could barely suppress her laughter.

Leia joined Padmé's laughter. "Yeah, he'd be pretty mad"

"Who'd be mad?" Luke asked coming near them shaking his hair dry.

Leia scowled as water droplets fell over her and Padmé. "Right now, me! Stop getting water all over me!"

Luke stuck out his tongue at Leia and ran to Padmé where he burrowed his wet head into her as he hugged her. "Mom doesn't mind. Do you?"

He looked up as though he suddenly realized that Padmé might actually mind.

"She does too! Get off her and dry your hair!" Leia said indignantly.

Padmé laughed and gently disentangled Luke's arms from her. "How about we go grab a snack, do you know they sell the best shurra fruit here?" The twins shook their heads excitedly. "No? Well, let's go grab some"

Luke and Leia slid a hand in each of Padmé's own and swung them while they walked toward the fruit stand chattering excitedly. As Padmé relished in the simple pleasure of being with her children, she was aware of a presence following them. And for the moment she simply accepted it.

Vjun

Vader licked his salty lips tentatively while he used the force to predict where his next target was. He had been immersed in the force for several days now, forgoing basic needs like sleep and food to train ceaselessly. Fighting his master would not be easy, therefore he reasoned his training should not be easy either, he had to be prepared for anything.

For a moment the force appeared clouded and Vader resisted the temptation to yank off his blindfold. He had requested the best battle droids and even a few of his troopers train with him. He didn't need the predictability of training droids. He need to feel real risk and real fear from his enemy.

The troopers training with him were well aware that the risk of death was high, and Vader was feeding off their fear. It was pure adrenaline rush. Gritting his teeth he spun around as he tried to focus.

Suddenly he felt it, that second sense that told him danger was coming and he swung his saber expertly. In a matter of quick flashes, he had disengaged the battle droid. He pulled off his blindfold and held up his hand.

"That's enough for now" he said, his voice carried the weariness he felt. The threat of imminent danger vanished from the force as the troopers lowered their weapons and disabled the battle droids.

Vader walked toward his speeder bike without another word to his men. He was exhausted and right now a shower and some food didn't seem like a bad idea. Vader was pleased with his progress, he definitely noticed an improvement in his fighting. He had never pursued training with such intensity before, he figured it was because he never had to fight for anything as important as this.

The last time, he had been in the fight of his life he had let his ego get the better of him. Vader crushed the handles of his speeder bike at memory of Mustafar. No, never again would he allow his own pride to cost him like that. He had grown since then, he was much stronger, wiser even and he had always been an exceptional fighter. He could take on a whole army of Jedi and still come out victorious. He was no longer the padawan.

Yes, soon even Sidious would realize that he was nobody's apprentice.

Padmé flopped back on her bed exhausted. Her parents and Atina were still downstairs playing a board game with the twins, but after a few rounds Padmé had begged off. She had after all had an exhausting day, along with Luke's shenanigans.

Sighing, her hands moved absently to her lower belly. She idly wondered what this baby would be like. More like her? Or Vader perhaps? Luke and Leia seemed to be a mix of their parents, while Luke resembled his father and Leia her mother, both in personality were most like the other parent. Though Leia did possess Padmé's maturity and Luke had his father's devilish knack for causing trouble.

Padmé stifled a yawn and slipped her legs beneath the covers, perhaps she could just nap for few minutes. She would wake up soon and go join everyone downstairs.

"Ani...I can't…" her breathing was shallow and her eyes could barely stay open.

"Yes you can, Padmé, don't you dare do this to me. I can't lose you again, I can't!" Vader's voice was panicked as he shook his wife in desperation.

Padmé's brow furrowed as yet another wave of pain washed over her face. "This is wrong Anakin, it's too soon, I shouldn't be…" her words faded off as she groaned.

"Padmé, look at me, I am right here. I am not going anywhere" Vader held her face close to his as their foreheads touched.

Her beautiful eyes opened and stared at him listlessly. "Luke and Leia, are they safe?" she queried softly, her breath feeling warm against his skin.

"They're fine, and they need you Padmé. You can't leave us" Vader whispered urgently.

She smiled sadly, "I am glad…" she began, reaching out a weak hand to cup his face. "I'm glad I got to spend time with them...I got to see you again...you were all I ever wanted"

Vader could see the signs of her life fading away and shook his head as a horrible gnawing pain began to claw at his heart.

"Padmé no, stay with me" he said lifting her upper body in his arms "Padmé!"

Padmé jolted from her peaceful slumber to the sound of her comlink's incessant beeping. Sitting up slowly, her sleepy eyes tried to locate the annoying sound.

Realizing the room was pitch black she fumbled by her bedside for the lamp switch. Luke and Leia's sleepy protests stopped her and she stood up and stumbled in the dark toward her dresser, where her comlink danced loudly against the surface. '

A quick glance at the chrono told her it was a little later than midnight. She must have slept longer than she intended to. Grabbing the comlink she frowned at the protected com code before she answered it.

"Hello?" she whispered.

"Padmé, you're safe" Vader's deep baritone sounded in her ear. It was not an unwelcome sound.

Padmé frowned in confusion moved toward her window. "I thought you said we shouldn't talk" she hissed and she pulled aside the curtain peeking out as though she expected to see an Imperial battalion outside her house.

"I was worried about you" the forlorn note of his voice softened her and she smiled. Anakin was ever the worrier.

"The twins are fine Ani, they like it here and they're doing very well"

"That's good, but I was more worried about you. Are you alright? You and the baby, you're in good health?"

Padmé was unsure what to make of his words. "According to my last checkup yes, everything seemed to be fine…" she paused as something dawned on her. "Did you...did you have a nightmare?" a slight spark of fear settling in her stomach.

"No!" Vader replied too quickly and Padmé pursed her lips.

"You're lying, I know you too well" she was quiet for a moment. "What was it about?"

There was silence on the other end and she wondered if she had lost the connection. "Padmé, I love you. You know I do, right?"

Padmé dug her fingers into the windowsill and bit her lip. "Of course Ani"

"And I never meant to hurt you that night on Mustafar, I never meant to make you doubt my love"

"Anakin it was mistake, I know you wouldn't hurt me like that…"

"But I did hurt you...I choked you...and Force I am... I am so scared I'll do it again. I'm scared I'll hurt you again." His voice sounded so broken that Padmé bit back a sob. "I never want to see that look in your eyes again, it's haunted me since that night"

"Anakin, stop this" she said trying to control her emotions. "There is no need to dredge up the past like this"

"But…"

"You sound exhausted, have you been taking care of yourself? You promised me you would" she said, the maternal side in her taking over.

"I've been busy" Vader replied tersely.

"Well, you know, all work and no play never helped anyone. You need to sleep" Padmé said not backing down.

"I need you"

Padmé's heart hitched at his statement, she was quiet for a while. "Ani…" she began.

He interrupted her "I should let you sleep, I can't have my pregnant wife sleep deprived"

Padmé felt a slight delightful thrill at the way he said 'my pregnant wife'. She knew it was wrong, but Anakin's possessiveness always stirred this kind of reaction in her.

"Goodnight Anakin"

"Goodnight Angel"

"Sweet dreams?"

Padmé was fairly certain she heard the dark lord snort. "Yeah thanks, you too Angel"

Padmé stood for a long time by her window watching as the moon rose over Theed's majestic skyline. She pondered her odd conversation with Vader, it was moments like this she wondered why she wasn't in his arms instead of hiding away on the other end of the galaxy.

Sighing softly she touched her little bump again. A smile crossed her face, at least now she knew he cared about her and the baby.