Light headed, nauseous and the terrible taste of bile in her mouth, Padme let out a miserable groan as bowed her head over the toilet in the refresher. From the moment she found out she was pregnant again, she had been dreading this day. The day when she started to feel utterly miserable in the mornings and overly sensitive to everything. She could always tell when Luke had stolen a snack because the smell of it lingered when he spoke, and she could now tell when Leia was lying because of the slight flux in how she said "mom". These things may not be entirely bad, but they had been sure signs that her morning sickness was near. And through it all, Anakin waited on her hand and foot, hovering near her every chance he could when their children didn't demand his attention. Padme smiled at the thought of her wonderful husband. He was so good to her and the children yet there certainly wasn't enough of him to cater to her and their four children.
Turning her attention outward, she listened for the sounds of her family. She could hear Anakin in the kitchen with Luke and Leia as they were "helping" Threepio with breakfast, and the gurgling of their two one-year old baby girls letting their father know how hungry they were. To have twins the first time had been beyond surprising. To have another set of twins four years later nearly gave her a heart attack. Padme bent over the toilet once again to further empty her stomach of its contents before rising to rinse out her mouth. As much as the thought of food made her stomach churn, she knew that she needed to eat to keep the nausea at bay. Pulling her robe tight around her body and tying the sash in a knot, she made her way to the kitchen praying that the mess of her eldest children was at least a bit less than yesterday's mishap.
Anakin greeted her as she entered through the archway with a broad smile and side stepped from where he stood leaning on the counter with a cup of caff in one hand and one of their baby girls in the other, to reveal a plate of toast and shurra fruit with a cup of juice beside it. He knew her so well. Closing the distance, she wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed his cheek in thanks and laying a sweet kiss to the crown of the baby's head before picking up a piece of fruit and popping it in her mouth.
Her eyes lingered on the baby as she tried to figure out which baby this was. Their girls were so alike it was had to tell. Often they had to rely on remembering which outfit the babies wore but even that was sometimes hard given how infrequently they had to change outfits for one mess or another. There were a few tell tale differences. Rhea's cheeks were a bit chubbier and her brown hair was just a little lighter than Brianna. And Brianna had the tendency to pull at clothing and hair or whatever was within reach. The baby in Anakin's arms was firmly gripping the white fabric of his shirt and her face was scrunched up in the fussy determination that was typical Brianna. Padme smiled as she ran her fingers across the beautiful girl's cheek before looking back at the table where her other children were. Rhea was laying in a bassinet at the head of the table closest to her, letting out annoyed noises that told her that she didn't like being left out, a sound Padme found hard to ignore as she walked over to reach her baby and lift her into her arms to help settle her.
Her eldest set of twins were seated across from one another at the table engaged in a heated conversation about their cousin's upcoming party they were going to attend. Leia was determined to get Pooja a gift on her own using the credits she had saved while Luke was hoping Leia would add his name to the gift, which she was adamant that she would do no such thing. Padme shook her head, deciding that it was much to early to get in the middle of her stubborn five-year olds. Looking back to her husband, he lifted his shoulders in a gesture that told her that he didn't want to get into it either. Sharing a small silent laugh, she shifted to lean against the counter with him, swaying as she often did while holding one of her babies as she slowly ate.
"Don't forget," She said, reminding her husband between bites, "We're going to the med droid today."
Anakin nodded slowly, "I remember," He said. "I'll drop the kids off at your parent's and meet you there. Doubt the doctors would be prepared for the little terrors," He joked, remembering the last time they had brought the twins to see the scans of the girls.
"You mean the 'little terrors' you made? Because I am certain they don't get that trait from me."
He rolled his eyes, "Oh, I'm sure if I ask your mom she can tell us a few stories."
She gave him a small jab in his ribs and he laughed, leaning down to kiss her temple. Padme smiled as she leaned her head on his shoulder. This. This right here was what she loved most about the life she shared with this man. The playfulness, the affection, the absolute love that they felt from every glance, every touch they shared. Their family. Despite how crazy things got with four children that seemed to run on batteries that never died, she couldn't not love every moment with them. A flutter in her belly brought her hand to unconsciously rub the small swell of her growing belly.
Anakin didn't miss the movement and put his mug down before bringing his hand to where her hand rested, smiling as he rubbed at the spot affectionately. Fatherhood suited him, she thought. It brought him more joy than being a Jedi ever brought him. When he was expelled from the order, she worried he would feel lost and purposeless. How wrong she was. She was his purpose, their family.
"Think it might be twins again?" He said with a joking smile.
She scoffed, "If it is, you're getting a vasectomy," She threatened. What would they do if they were having twins again? She wasn't sure she could go through having her innards stretched that much again let alone give birth to two more babies in succession. The memory of Brianna and Rhea's births were still fresh in her mind and while her labor that time had been much faster than her previous labor, it had still hurt an awful lot and recalled nearly ripping Anakin's arm off with how hard she had squeezed his hand.
Anakin laughed, kissing her head once more with a joyous smile on his face, "Hey, you remember the med droid said it wasn't likely we'd have twins again, especially given—"
"If you say my age, I will sell that junk pile in the garage." His little pet project had been something he'd spent the better part of the last three years working on. It was this old speeder that he claimed was a classic model he was trying to restore, but other than having the general shape of a rusty speeder, it was just a heap of junk.
Anakin raised his hand in surrender as he carefully laid Brianna in the bassinet before wisely leaving to get ready for the day.
The doctor's office was a place she often dreaded going to. Memories from the Clone Wars and seeing the injured and dying were hard to forget, especially when her husband had been frequently among the wounded. Even now, with the war over and Anakin far from ever setting foot on the battlefield again, she still felt the same tightness in her chest. Padme crossed her arms over her chest, feeling the chill of the room through the borrowed medical gown she was wearing while her husband stood at her side, his eyes fixed on a model of a fetus in utero. She could practically hear the whirl of his mind as he tried to understand how something can start out barely any bigger than a fingernail and grow into a human baby. Pamde smiled as she watched him. Even having children of his own, he still seemed amazed how it all happens.
With a whoosh of the door leading to the back of the office, a medical droid slowly hovered in. After confirming a few medical details, the droid went about its duty to perform the typical examination to make sure that everything was progressing as it should. Padme was mostly worried about her awful morning sickness, which the droid was quick to provide her with a prescription for some medicine to help ease it. But other than that, the droid informed her that her weight and waistline were growing at a faster rate than anticipated. Padme shot Anakin a glare as she had some idea what that meant. Twins. Again. But confirmation required imaging.
Padme leaned back on the table while the droid positioned her legs in stirrups to conduct an internal exam. Anakin sat by her side the whole time, his eyes fixed on the monitor beside her where the images of their baby or babies would be shown. Padme took a deep breath when the wand was inserted and squeezed Anakin's hand tightly as she too focused on the monitor. After a bit of adjusting, the blurry blob of their child came into view. Distinctly pulsating with a heartbeat, Padme was transfixed watching the little life inside her, wiggling and thriving. The droid scanned the image carefully and walked them through what they were seeing with cold and overly scientific words that meant little to either one of them. The only words that stuck out to them were "healthy" "progressing as expected" "Not twins" and "triplets".
At the final word, Padme's grip on Anakin's hand tightened tenfold as she turned to stare up at him in bewilderment. His face as ashen as his eyes darted between the three places the droid indicated were each of their babies, his lips muttering quietly, "One, two, three… one, two, three…" He was clearly shocked, but it wasn't like he was the one to have to give birth to them. As the exam concluded and she was given dates for her follow up appointments, Padme made sure to also ask about her husband's vasectomy.