A/N: Hello Everyone! Thanks to everyone who read my last chapter, favorited, or reviewed. To everyone who followed, welcome to the club! It's a bit of a longstanding one lol.

MossyMeow: I mean, you can always write a review after the new chapter comes out ;) RyanSquad: Leia has a ways to go, that's all I'm saying lol. And yes, eliminating the corruption of the old Order is very much needed. The "modern" Jedi Order was a mess. Even the Order in the Old Republic era was better, and they still weren't good. Keep reading for answers :) Upstart Psycho: Aw, thanks! Hope you enjoy this chapter! And yes, it's definitely going to be an adventure. OrangeJaw29: I think that it would definitely take a lot of work for Anakin to get over Padme. I think it's theoretically possible, and I have a plan for how to get there, but we will see. I can assure you, it will not be happening unless I feel it's earned. Anisoka wouldn't effect the plot for quite a while anyway. kyuubi7: Thanks. :) Glad you're still here! The Ultimate Sith Destroyer: Your wish is my command. Here's another chapter. MalirBly: Thanks! Glad you're enjoying! Raion Shinz: I agree. And in this fic, Anisoka will only happen if I feel we have earned it. Padme is a good person, and their relationship is beautiful, and Anakin is still carrying a lot of baggage. And of course, if Anisoka was to become a thing, it would still bring up a whole host of other issues and insecurities. I don't think that Anakin having another relationship in his life would be morally wrong, especially considering that she dies a long time ago, he's still pretty young and accepting her death (and moving on) would likely be very good for him. Read on! Shadowninja10: Thank you. I hope that I can continue to live up to expectations. Scarease: I think you already know the answers to your reviews if you're still reading :) In all seriousness, I'm glad you like it, and I hope you are still here. KajaBE: Hi! Well, here it is. I gave you more lol. I hope you continue enjoying it!

I do not own Star Wars or it's characters.

Chapter 22

It was late at night on the Rebel fleet. The lights were dimmed, the crews reduced, and Han and Leia lay in bed in the quarters they shared.

They were naked at the moment, flushed and happy. Leia rested against his muscular torso, Han's arms around her, neither ready to go to sleep yet, but still wanting to be close to each other.

"Hey, marry me?"

At first she thought she had heard wrong. The woman was shocked, looking up at him incredulously. "What?"

"Marry me, huh?" Han's voice was quiet and earnest, and the arm he had wrapped around her gently pulled Leia closer into his chest.
Leia, for her part, pulled away. She sat up in bed and flipped on the light. "What's brought this on?"

With her gone Han lay back, staring up at her from the pillows. "Nothing, Princess. Just… been thinking about things, s'all."

"I thought we agreed that we were waiting on any decisions until after the war." She paused, then continued with a more suspicious tone. "Is this about Him? The things he said to you? Because what we do is none of his business."

"Nah. I mean, he got me thinking about it, sure, but it's not because of him or anything. I was just thinking about some of the things… we discussed-"

"-That he yelled at you and interrogated you about, you mean."

"-and I realized… I want you, Leia. I want you forever. These last few years have been the best of my life, and I don't want to just… run around, wasting time anymore. I love you, Leia." He paused, smiling roguishly at her. "'Sides, we make a good team, don't we?"

She returned the gesture, relaxing and laying back down to prop herself up on her elbow as she teased him. "I think you just like sleeping with me."

Han shrugged, equally teasing. "Can't say that's not a factor."

Leia hit him with a pillow, and he retaliated by grabbing her. The whole thing turned into a wrestling match that ended when he flopped his whole body down on top of her, pinning Leia down with sheer weight.

"I hate you." Leia was still grinning.

"You've told me." He paused. "So, what'd'ya say?"

"Yes, Han. I'll marry you." Leia leaned up to kiss him.

The Next Morning

"All right. The flight computer is programed. We'll be at Lothal in a few hours." Luke paused, realizing his companion was not listening, and was in fact still staring at one small spot on the wall, lost in thought. "Ahsoka?"

Startled out of her reverie, she responded, "Hm? Oh, I'm sorry. I was just… thinking."

She had been thinking about what Anakin had told her ever since their conversation, and the previous night she had had a rather disturbing dream about Anakin being tortured and burned by Palpatine, before awakening in a cold sweat after only a few hours of sleep. She had wanted to reassure herself he was safe, and had wondered if it would be too upsetting for Anakin to be suddenly woken in the middle of the night. She hadn't in the end. With his current ideas about strength, he would probably laugh at her for being afraid of nightmares. Besides, being surprised like that likely wouldn't be good for his PTSD anyway.

She hadn't slept much after that.

"Well, okay." Luke responded, sitting down opposite her to settle in for the trip. "Is there anything else I should know about these people? I just want to be prepared."

"No. I think you know everything you need to for now." She paused. "Luke, what are your plans for the Order? Going forward, I mean."

"What do you mean? We… bring it back. I thought I'd have to do it alone but," He smiled at her, "I'm glad I don't."

Ahsoka wanted to be cautious in how she approached this. Even Anakin didn't agree with her, and Luke had both been raised by Obi-Wan and spent a great deal of time listening to Yoda, absorbing every bit of the traditional way of thinking. "Have you ever thought about… changing the Code maybe? Doing things differently?"

"No. Not particularly. I mean, the Code's the Code, isn't it? It all exists for a reason."

"Yes, but what if the reasons are wrong? What if you found out that a rule was actually hurting people, and removing it could save a lot of lives?"

"That's not gonna happen though, is it? I mean, these rules were developed by the greatest of the Jedi over a thousand generations. I don't think either of us know better than them."

She paused. "But what if it did?"

There came a beep from the dash, and Luke stood to go check on it. From his tone he seemed to have finally realized this was not a hypothetical. "What are you getting at?"

"Anakin told me how he came back to the light." She paused. "It was his attachments that did it."

Silence. Ahsoka hadn't expected him to immediately like the idea. Yoda had rather emphasized to him the danger of attachments and emotion, even above the rest of the Code, clearly fearing Luke going the same way as his father. "Luke, do you know what would have happened if you had been born in the Republic?"

She suspected that one small alert hadn't required the amount of attention he was giving it. He was using his work as an excuse not to turn around.

She and Anakin had wanted to protect him. He was so innocent, had such idealized views of the Order, it seemed cruel to break them. Things such as her reasons for leaving the Order and their treatment of Anakin had been glossed over and locked away, irrelevant as far as they were concerned. But she knew Luke would have opinions on other policies. "I know how much you love your family; how much you love Leia and your father. I know you wish you had had your sister and parents growing up. That wouldn't have happened. You would have been raised in the Temple, in a separate creche from Leia to hopefully prevent you two from developing a bond or any attachment to each other. If you had met at all, it wouldn't have been until you were adults. Anakin wouldn't have been allowed to come anywhere near either of you. In fact, he probably would have been expelled for loving your mother and having children."

"That wouldn't happen. Father would have fought for us."

"Yes. He would have." She was glad that distant as they were, Luke at least knew that much about Anakin. "And it only would have resulted in conflict with the council."

Luke turned, clearly upset and deeply disturbed. Ahsoka could tell she had hit a nerve. "You're lying. I don't know why, but you must be."

"Luke, I never knew my own parents. I was only three when I was brought to Coruscant; I don't remember them at all. And I was older than most." She paused. "Obi-Wan was only six months old when he came to the Temple."

"Yoda is a good person! He wouldn't do that! Not without reason!"

"Wouldn't he? He was a product of the Order too." A sudden, yet strangely obvious realization came to her, a reason for a seemingly strange thing. "You and Leia were raised apart, weren't you? You weren't told the other existed?"

"That was for our protection. Because of the Sith."

"Yeah, sure. But it also tracks with Jedi policy."

Luke was quiet. She could tell he was being forced to reevaluate a great many things.

Ahsoka decided to press the issue. "Anakin said the Emperor lied to him. Sidious told him that he killed your mother while she was still pregnant with you. Anakin believed that he himself was responsible for all of your deaths for all these years. It was learning you were alive that slowly brought him back. He loved you, fought for you, wanted to protect you, and those feelings, that attachment, saved him." She paused, "Most Jedi who fall to the dark side remain unreachable for the rest of their lives. Anakin returned. They didn't have such strong attachments to hang on to."

"What would this mean for the Jedi?"

Finally. She had been thinking about this a lot, and consequently answered quickly. "No separation from family. Obviously not everyone can afford to move to Coruscant with their child, but any connection that can be maintained should be encouraged. Jedi shouldn't only be loyal to the Order and the Republic." She thought of her own family, as it had been. Anakin, Obi-Wan, Master Plo, Rex and the other clones… she had never stopped to think about her own attachments or how important they had been. She had never stopped to think about how lost she would have been had they fully and properly followed the Code.

Anakin, the dangerously attached 'loose cannon,' had stood by her when she was framed. Obi-Wan, the 'good Jedi,' had abandoned her almost at once.

"Family and friends… well managed connections are healthy and important. Emotion and humanity should not be discouraged; otherwise people risk becoming anchorless." She paused. This next part was more difficult, but knowing what she did about Padme, she couldn't do otherwise. Satine as well; she remembered well how excited Obi-Wan had always been to see her… and how sad he had been each time he had to leave. "I think… we should also allow marriage. And children."

Luke was hesitant, but he still felt open in their bond and she hoped that meant he would consider it. "I'll… think about it."

Back on the fleet, Anakin stood facing a window, hands clasped behind him. "Are they gone?"

"Yes, General. They're away."

The man nodded, turning around and walking towards his friend.

"Rex, I need you to do me a favor."

"Certainly, sir. What do you need?"

"Get a probe droid. You know, one of the ones the Jedi use for training… and a lightsaber. Meet me in storage room 86C."

"A… lightsaber, sir?" Rex was slightly incredulous. Not only that he would want one at all, but that he would risk so much. Minor Force use was one thing, easily swept under the nearest rug and forgotten, but actually carrying a lightsaber would not be regarded so leniently.

"Sticks are useless against a probe. I need something that can actually absorb energy. No one will know; that room is almost always abandoned." He seemed to sense the clone's hesitation and continued. "I must conquer this. This… weakness in my mind cannot continue. We already have a bounty hunter after Luke. What good am I… what point is there to me if I can't fight? If I can't even hold a weapon without collapsing in a heap?"

It was tragic, really, that someone with so many people around him should still base his entire worth in his combat effectiveness, but then, Rex supposed, the General had really been a soldier as long as he had. Neither of them really had much life experience outside of war and one military or another.

"What would Ahsoka say, sir, if she found out?"

"Ahsoka doesn't need to know."

This isn't a good idea. "The Jedi already left. They will have taken their lightsabers with them, sir."

"I know." Anakin moved to leave the room, speaking as he went. "Just see what you can dig up. Meet me at the rendezvous with whatever you find."

"Very well, sir."

"Thanks, Rex. I know it's a lot to ask."

Anakin spent his time waiting clearing the storeroom, lifting crates with the Force to stack them more closely against the walls. By the time he was finished, there was a reasonable amount of space in the middle of the room. Enough, at least, for some fairly contained training.

It took Rex an hour to show up, but he did along with all the equipment Anakin had requested.

"Here, sir. It's the only one I knew of." The weapon Rex gave him was a strange thing, mostly normal, but with a join where it could be spit into two pieces and an odd circular hand guard that, while practical, was rarely seen on lightsabers. Rex continued, "Please don't be too long; I have to get it back to the Ghost. Hera doesn't know it's missing."

Anakin took it, lit the blue blade, and twirled it a few times to get a feel for how it handled. "Thank you. This'll do fine." He kept testing it out while speaking. "Could you program the droid? I don't want to know what to expect."

The clone sighed, but this was hardly the wildest thing he had ever wound up involved in and he quickly moved to comply with the request. "Anything specific, General?"

"Surprise me." Anakin replied. "I want it to be challenging."

Rex nodded and programmed the droid accordingly. Then he walked toward the door. "I'll… guard the door."

It was their old arrangement from the war, although back then the thing being hidden was clandestine communications with Padme. It felt odd, and slightly ridiculous, having to do the same thing for something as normal as training.

Anakin couldn't help remembering his previous failure with the Jedi, but as he worked, he found that his original thought had been correct. While it was by no means pleasant to hold a saber, facing off against a probe was infinitely easier than a person.

Now for the next part of his plan.

What he had told Rex about needing to fix his mind was true, but not currently his priority. Anakin felt for his daughter in the fleet, finally finding her at her desk in her office. He spoke through their bond. "Leia. Come see me. Now. We need to talk."

There wasn't any response, but then Leia hadn't developed her abilities much yet. She might just be unable to respond.

He smirked. It had to be that. Otherwise, she would be yelling at him right now.

Anakin got his answer a few minutes later. He heard Rex pounding on the door to try to alert him, then heard the muffled sound of him trying to find an excuse not to admit her.

He didn't seem any better at it than he had been twenty years ago.

"Let her in, Rex!" He called out.

"Sir, it's General Organa!"

"I know! Let her in!"

The door slid up and Leia stalked in, closely pursued by the very harried-looking clone. "I will thank you to stay out of my head! What is it? I was busy getting a mission t-" She paused while still winding up, noticing what was going on. "What are you doing?"

"Well," He dodged a bolt and then whirled to block another, "I'm out of the suit. Lighter, freer. New limbs… I'm training."

"Why?" Leia sounded suspicious.

Anakin kept his tone carefully light. "So that I can fight. What do you think?"

"But you're not allowed to have a weapon. Or have you forgotten?"

"No, I haven't forgotten." Anakin paused, glancing at her. "Now, what are you going to do about it?"

She stared at him like he had gone insane. "What?"

He turned off the training program and the lightsaber, turning to her and holding up the hilt. The Jedi were gone and she seemed to be in a reasonably good mood today. It was time to call her bluff. "Am I allowed to have a lightsaber?"

"No."

"Do I have a lightsaber?"

"Yes."

"Am I currently using that lightsaber?"

"…Yes." Her response was hesitant, clearly suspecting a trap.

"So, why don't you go turn me in?"

Leia looked at the floor, avoiding his gaze. "Luke would be upset… if you were imprisoned."

It was a tired excuse by now. Anakin reached out through their bond. He was both shocked and heartened to feel a tangled ball of emotion. Her feelings about him were clearly much more complicated than he had previously thought.

"Forget Luke." He replied. "What do you think? If you truly think that I am so dangerous, isn't it your responsibility to do something?" He held up the lightsaber again. "I'm armed, remember?"

"You'd just find a way to hide it before I came back…Or you'd leave…"

"No. I'll be right here, the evidence clear. I'll… go to my cell quietly like a good little Sith, and you can finally rest easy at night."

Her eyes were threatening to tear up in emotion and conflict. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to either get security or not, but if you're not, stop using the threat to dance around issues, and talk to me." He paused, his voice suddenly sharp. "Look at me, Leia."

Her head snapped up.

"Are you going to turn me in?"

Silence. "No." She finally admitted.

Anakin's gaze softened, blue eyes meeting brown. "Okay. Now that we have that out of the way…" He held out the saber to Rex, only too glad to be rid of it. "Thanks again Rex. Make sure this gets back." His attention returned to Leia as the clone left. "…I think we can agree that our previous conversation wasn't particularly productive."

"And what are you going to do if I try to leave? Lock me in here? Block the door?!"

"No." He sat down on a nearby crate, still maintaining eye contact with his daughter. "I want to talk about Han. You were right. I was out of line to threaten him. I'm… sorry. I am new to this, and I've missed so much. It's hard to think of you and your brother as adults." He paused, sighing, "But, you are adults, and it isn't my job to control what you do. So, I want to hear from you. What do you see in him?"

"What?"

"You have formed this… attachment, and clearly think it's a good idea. So, tell me about it. Explain it to me. Why do you like Han?"

She had just agreed to marry him the previous night, but put on the spot like this every reason she had ever had to love him flew out of her head. "Well… I don't know! It's hardly any of your business anyway!"

Anakin didn't respond. He had never tolerated outbursts from his officers, and he wouldn't tolerate this one now. He just sat, waiting.

"Ugh! You're impossible."

"Leia," He said patiently. "I didn't get much time with your mother. She was busy, and… I was always deployed. Literally always, it seemed like." He paused, "I couldn't even tell anyone about her, because of… my position in the Jedi. The only person who I told at all was Rex. And-" He smiled nostalgically, laughing a little. "-I used to talk his ear off about her. You can ask him. I could go on for hours; I'm pretty sure he contemplated shooting me once or twice to make me shut up. I loved everything about her." He paused, looking back at his daughter, who looked so very similar. "So, you can understand why I find it concerning if you can't name a single thing that you like about this man."

"Tell me about her." For the first time since he had met her, Leia voice was quiet. Her eyes pled with him and he realized how desperate his children had to be for any information about their mother at all, any scrap of connection.

However, he still didn't know if he could oblige without breaking into a million pieces. He responded anyway; his voice already rough with emotion after saying as much as he had. "You first."

"I don't know." She repeated, slowly growing more awkward under the unmoving stare. "He's… infuriating. We argue a lot, and half the time I can't stand him…" Leia smiled, "but then he smiles, that awful, irritating little smirk, and I love him more than anything." She paused. "We've been through so much together… and I guess that if I have to name anything, that's the main thing. I know that no matter what, he will support me and have my back. No matter what, he will be there."

"Are you sure of that?"

"Yes."

Anakin was silent, regarding his daughter with affection and acceptance. "How could I object to that, right?"

Hopefully she was right about the fool, and if she was wrong… Han already knew the hell that would rain down on him if she was wrong, so Anakin supposed there was no need to worry.

The corner of her mouth turned up. It was barely enough to be considered a smile at all, but it was the first time he had seen such a thing from her directed towards him. Anakin wanted nothing more than to freeze that moment and keep it forever.

"Your turn."

Twenty-three years. He didn't know why the grief refused to fade or diminish after so long, but it hadn't. Anakin had been aware that he wasn't ready for this, but he suddenly became aware of exactly how not-ready he was. It was like his brain was trying to turn off rather than do this.

Leia felt more open than she ever had though, and that was infinitely more important than any of his feelings, so he forced it back and pushed through, taking a moment to collect his thoughts.

"Your mother was… an amazing woman. The love of my life …I see her in you two. You… look like her, Leia, and Luke has her… personality… her sweetness, her trust, her determination. She always cared aggressively about people, the same way he does." Anakin stopped, remembering. "She was… beautiful. I was only nineteen when we properly met, but I knew from the first moment I saw her that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her." Anakin stopped, drawing in a breath to calm himself before continuing. "She was incredibly patient and loving. I was gone for months at a time, and even when we were together it was usually only for a few days, or even only hours, but she was never frustrated, never angry. She accepted the situation and made the most of the time we did have. Even when I got angry about it, she stayed calm and reminded me that 'this was the way things had to be right now,' and that the war would end someday." He paused, "She spent eight months alone when she was pregnant with you two, unable to tell me, not knowing when or if I would be back. She didn't even know if I was alive. That's how strong she was."

"Tell me more."

Maybe it was his imagination, but Anakin could swear Leia had inched slightly closer. She was sitting on a crate across from him, and she felt relaxed and eager, an unbelievable change from the rigid resentful rage he was accustomed to feeling from her.

How could he stop?

"You would have liked her. She was a senator, like you. That's how we met actually; I was uh, I was assigned as her bodyguard for a while when some political enemies she had were trying to kill her."

Leia was properly smiling now, "My father mentioned once that she was stubborn."

"He told you about her?"

"I happened across a picture once."

Anakin nodded. "She was that. Palpatine wasn't the Emperor at the time. Back then he was using the corruption in the Senate to accumulate power. Your mother worked tirelessly against both. Some thought she was idealistic, but she wasn't. She just knew the way things should work and refused to settle for anything less." Anakin paused. "That's how she knew… your father… actually. He was her mentor when she first entered the Senate, and he remained one of her closest friends and allies." He paused. "I know that… if she had known we wouldn't be able to keep you, she would have been happy that Bail was the one to raise you."

Leia was silent for a minute before speaking again, just processing everything, absorbing the story of this woman who she had never met, but felt such a profound connection with.

"What was her name?" She finally said, then continued when there was no response. "Why won't you give us a name?"

"I can't. For me, the grief is still too near."

"But don't we deserve anything at all?! She was our mother."

She was right. Blast it, Leia was right. And that… openness… was still there, so how could he refuse her even the deepest wound? "Her-" It caught in his throat. While he had talked to Ahsoka about her, somehow it was different looking into this face, so close to hers. "… Her name was Padme... Amidala."

Leia stared at him in shock. "Amidala? Like… the Amidalas? The political family from Naboo?"

Her father wasn't about to admit how much this conversation was ripping away at his heart. "Yes."

"But I know the Amidalas! I… know them well. Growing up, my father was always on Naboo for one reason or another and I became very good friends with their girls! Pooja and I were freshman senators together…" She trailed off, realizing what Bail had actually done, why he had maintained such a close relationship with the family.

For his part, Anakin had never been so grateful to Bail Organa. "Your cousins, you mean."

Leia didn't seem to be listening. "I can't believe it. All this time…" There were actual tears in her eyes now, and Anakin had to restrain himself from trying to take her into his arms and comfort her. "… I thought my entire family was dead. We both thought we had no one left." Leia allowed herself a few more moments of emotion, then buried it and collected herself. "I know they must be being watched as… my father's friends… but maybe I can get in touch with them. Blast! Luke will be… so happy to hear this."
She glanced up at him. "Thank you." Before running out, doubtless to tell Han what she had learned.
And that one brief look made it all worth it.