50
Vader returned to the apartment, his mind in turmoil. While he felt vindicated that Organa had died a painful death, he could not get the man's final words out of his mind. But just remember that when you make love to her that it is Skywalker she is making love to, not you, Vader.
Padmé had assured him that she loved him no matter what name he used, that she loved him even though he was a Sith; so why was it when they made love she called out the name of Anakin? Was there some truth to what Organa had said?
Vader found his wife alone in the apartment. She looked up when he entered the room.
"It is done," he said simply, coming over and sitting across from her.
Padmé nodded. "I see," she said. "Well, he deserved punishment for what he did to us," she added.
"I'm glad you see that," he replied.
Padmé could see that something was on his mind. "What is it?" she asked. "What's wrong?"
Vader was silent for a moment before responding. "Organa's final words were rather….disturbing to me," he said.
Padmé frowned. "What did he say?"
"He said that it was Anakin Skywalker you loved, not me," he replied.
Padmé didn't quite know how to respond to this, and Vader could sense her reticence. "Is he correct?"
"I love Anakin Skywalker," she replied. "I won't deny that. But I also love the man he has become. I would have thought that was rather obvious after last night."
Vader nodded. "Yes," he replied. "But answer me one thing."
"What is that?"
"Why was it his name you called out last night?" Vader asked.
Vader's question took Padmé completely by surprise, and she had no answer for him. To her, Anakin and Vader were the same person; but clearly he did not feel that way. But how could she make him understand her point of view in a way that did not hurt him?
"I …I don't know," she replied at last. "I suppose to me you are the same person. I know you don't want to hear that, but…"
"No, we are not the same person," he interjected.
"But it was Anakin Skywalker that I married," she said. "I was with him when Luke and Leia were conceived. If you acknowledge them as your children, then you must also acknowledge that Anakin Skywalker is a part of you. I know you're not the same, and I think I've made it pretty clear that I accept who you are now."
Vader listened to her explanation. "I…suppose you have, yes," he conceded at last. "All I'm asking is that you use my name, not his."
"The name that Palpatine gave you?" she asked pointedly. "You prefer that name over the one your mother gave you? Is that what you're saying?"
Vader had not considered that before, but Padmé was right. Darth Vader was the name Palpatine had given him when he was knighted as a Sith Lord. "It is my name," he said simply. "It is who I am now. If you have accepted that, then you must accept my name as well."
Padmé nodded, seeing how important this was to him. "Very well," she said. "I will use your Sith name, if it means that much to you. But when I am in the throes of ecstasy, I can't always be held responsible for what I say," she added with a smile.
Vader smiled. "No, I suppose not," he said, standing up and moving over to sit beside her. "Where are the children?"
"You just missed them," she told him. "They went for a swim."
"So they'll be gone for a while?" he asked, running a hand up her back slowly.
"Yes, I'm sure," she replied. "Why do you ask?" she asked with a smile.
"I'm thinking that," he said, leaning towards her and kissing the side of her neck, "perhaps," he continued, moving up to her earlobe, "we could take advantage," he nibbled on her earlobe, "of our time alone."
Padmé felt her heart rate starting to race. "Oh?" she asked, "And how would you suggest we do that?"
Vader moved one hand to her knee and ran it slowly upward. "Well, remember when you asked me what I would do when I was free?" he said with his mouth against her ear.
Padmé didn't say anything in response, and stood up. She held her hand out to him and together they retreated to her bedroom, ensuring that the door was secure behind them.
Captain Piett entered the medical infirmary, expecting to see Lord Vader, but instead was met by a very upset Dr. Thek. She was packing up her office.
"What is wrong?" he asked simply. "Why are you packing?"
Thek looking up at him. "You mean you don't know?" she asked.
"If I knew I wouldn't ask," he replied simply.
"I'm being transferred," she said, returning to her task.
Piett frowned. "Transferred?? Why? When?"
"Lord Vader has decided that my services are no longer needed on board the Exactor," she said bitterly. "I suppose now that I've restored his health I'm no longer required."
"Somehow I doubt that is his rationale," Piett replied.
Thek looked back up at him. "You want to know his rationale? Her name is Padmé Amidala."
"What does Milady Vader have to do with this?" Piett asked, totally confused by now.
"Everything," she replied, standing up and lifting a box onto the top of her desk. "She sees me as a threat to her marriage," she said. "And wants me gone."
Piett had to hold himself back from laughing out loud. He knew Vader well enough to know that no other woman in the universe could attract his attention. The devotion he felt for his wife was powerful and all consuming. Clearly Thek was delusional think that devotion could be compromised by her or any other female.
"Are you certain you have this straight, Doctor?" Piett asked at last. "Lady Vader is hardly the vindictive type, and as for her being insecure about her marriage, nothing could be further from the truth."
Thek gave Piett a cold looked, one hand on her hip. "You believe what you want, Captain," she said. "I know the truth of the matter."
"Has Lord Vader made a decision about your next assignment?" Piett asked, anxious to change the subject.
"I haven't a clue," Thek replied. "I suppose at some point today he'll come up long enough for air to tell me."
Piett was shocked by her comment, and began to see what was truly going on. She was jealous; plain and simple. "Your disrespectful attitude is hardly worthy of an Imperial officer, Doctor," Piett remarked.
"I don't give a damn anymore, Piett," she said, picking up her box and walking past him. "I will be in my quarters awaiting my orders."
Piett watched her go, a sense of alarm building inside of him.
"Where are you going to send Doctor Thek?" Padmé asked her husband as they lay in bed together. She rolled onto her side to look at him as he considered her question.
"I don't trust her," he said. "On the one hand I want her as far away as possible, but on the other I feel like I need her watched."
"She's just a bitter, lonely woman," Padmé said. "Once she's away from you and sees how foolish she's been, she'll settle down."
"Perhaps," he said, running a finger along the contour of her body. "Still, I may assign someone to watch her, just in case."
"If you think it's necessary, then by all means, do so," Padmé replied.
Vader nodded.
"There's just one thing," she added.
"What is that?"
"How will you explain your decision to transfer her to Palpatine?" Padmé asked.
"I transfer personnel all the time," he replied. "Besides, by the time he finds out, he will have the blade of my lightsaber pressed against his throat. I don't plan to let him live for long, Padmé."
"Good," Padmé said. "His death can't come soon enough for me."
"Nor me," he assured her, watching his hand as it traveled over the curve of her hip.
"And then what?" she asked. "What happens after he is dead?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean," she said, putting her hand over his.
Vader looked into her eyes. "You know what I want," he said simply. "What I have always wanted- to rule the galaxy, with you at my side."
Padmé wasn't surprised by his reply, as unsettling as it was. She had no desire to rule the galaxy; but perhaps such a position would afford her an opportunity to affect changes that she felt would lead the galaxy back to a democratic existence. "As emperor?" she asked at last.
"Perhaps," he replied. "I haven't thought about that. All I know is that Palpatine will die, that is a certainty."
Padmé nodded. "I don't want to think about him right now," she said, snuggling up closer to him. "I just want to enjoy this moment."
Vader smiled as he pulled her close. "Good idea," he said, kissing the top of her head, starting to feel drowsy.
"So you will make sure Thek is treated carefully?" she asked.
"Yes," he said sleepily.
"Good," she said. "Do you want to join the kids in the pool?"
"Hmm??"
"Swimming, do you want to go swimming?" she asked. She got no response and looked up at him. He was asleep. Padmé smiled, and then slipped out of the bed. She covered him up with the blankets and then got dressed, realizing that the twins would be returning soon. Giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, she left the room quietly, leaving him to get the rest he needed.
Luke and Leia returned to the apartment a short time later, just as Padmé was starting to prepare lunch.
"Hey Mom," Luke said, kissing his mother on the cheek. "What's for lunch?"
Padmé smiled. "I haven't decided yet," she told him. "Any preferences?"
"Nope," Luke asked. "I'm good with anything."
Padmé laughed.
"Where's Dad?" Leia asked as she helped herself to a cold drink.
"Sleeping," Padmé told them.
"Isn't it amazing that he's moving in with us?" Leia asked with a smile. "We're finally a family."
Padmé nodded. "Yes, we are."
Luke and Leia looked at one another, sensing there was something bothering her.
"What's wrong, Mom?" Luke asked. "Aren't you happy that things are finally perfect?"
Padmé turned to her son. "Perfect? Things are not exactly perfect, Luke," she replied. "They are much better than they were, but perfect? No."
"It's because Dad is a Sith, isn't it?" Luke said.
Padmé nodded, not surprised by her son's insight. "Yes," she replied. "Don't get me wrong; I love your father, even though he is a Sith. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't wish he would abandon the Dark Side."
"He will," Leia replied. "I'm sure of it, Mom."
Padmé smiled. "I hope so, Leia," she said. But in her own mind, serious doubts had begun to develop. Twice in two days she had seen the lethalness of the Dark Side manifesting itself in acts of extreme violence. One she had managed to put a stop to before it went too far. The other…had she tried hard enough to dissuade Vader from killing Organa? Part of her thought he deserved to die for what he had done to her and the twins. Was that the reason? Or had she simply acquiesced as a way of placating her husband? She had never been one to back down from an issue, but her life was different now. She had children to consider, and that changed everything. She could no longer dig in her heels to prove a point; she had their well being to consider. Luke and Leia finally had a real family, finally had their father in their lives. And their father was a Sith. That added a totally different dynamic to an already complicated situation. And while she had seen signs of Anakin Skywalker lurking within him, Padmé knew that at this point Darth Vader was far stronger. Would he be redeemed? Padmé could not say. She lived in the hopes that he would be, but in the reality that, for now, he was a Sith. To ignore that fact would make her as delusional as the unfortunate Dr. Thek.
"Come on, give me a hand with lunch you two," she said at last, pushing her troubled thoughts aside for the moment. "I'm sure you're both hungry."
"You can say that again," Luke piped up.
Leia and Padmé laughed.
