Her eyelids feel heavy, so, so heavy. She doesn't know why they feel so heavy. She doesn't want to open them, but at the same time she does. She still smells ash. Ash and smoke seem to be permanently embedded into her nostrils. However, as her awareness continues to grow, she realizes that it's not smoke, but rather cold and sterile air she's breathing. Medbay, she's in a medbay. Why? Memories start to come together - Anakin, Mustafar. Anakin. He had choked her. That was the last thing she remembered. Had he come to his senses finally? Or had Obi-Wan killed him? What about her babies? She had wanted to surprise Anakin with the fact that they were having twins, but he had been so distant and worried about her.
Opening her eyes and squinting in the dim light, she tried to focus, but everything looked blurry. She looked down, and saw that her belly was flat. Flat! Where were her babies? Had Anakin been killed and the Jedi absconded with them? Worse, had Anakin somehow prevailed and given them over to Palpatine? Had they died during Anakin's attack on her, only for her to barely survive? The monitors next to her started to beep hurriedly as people rushed into the room, speaking to her, but she couldn't hear the words. All she knew was her all-consuming terror.
Eventually something calmed her, she didn't know what. Her eyes finally focused on one of the people in front of her. Dorme. Her handmaiden. Dorme. A familiar face. Thousands of questions tried to form on her lips, but all she could let out was a horrible croak.
"Peace, my lady. Please, have some water. Slowly now, slowly."
She followed Dorme's instructions, sipping slowly, feeling as if she hadn't had a drink in years. She needed to calm down and be patient. Focusing on the water first, she did that and felt her heart rate come down, her brain start to focus. Memories started to drift back in. She remembered now - her babies, Luke and Leia, had been born. She didn't remember where, but she remembered Obi-Wan being there, she remembered naming them, and most of all, she remembered feeling like something was sucking the life of her against her own will. The last thing she remembered was Obi-Wan's tear-streaked face as she'd lost consciousness.
"Dorme. Babies?" She croaked. A little stronger, but still weak. Stars, it felt like she hadn't used her voice in years as well. At least things were starting to feel a little clearer.
Dorme took the glass from her hand and set it on the table next to her, trying to gauge how to tell her lady what all had transpired during her long sleep. She carefully took Padme's hand and gave her a sad look, trying to determine what to tell her. She had replayed this moment in her head over and over again and practiced what she would tell her over and over as well, but the reality was much more difficult than even she had envisioned.
"They are safe, my lady. You had us all very very worried."
This was a non-answer, meant to assuage the immediate fears, to soften the coming blow. Padme steeled herself, fearing the worst. Dorme continued: "Luke was taken by Obi-Wan to a safe location, one which I am not privy to for safety reasons. Leia was adopted by Bail Organa. In fact, that is where we are right now - Alderaan."
Padme continued to try to breathe evenly, even though her heart felt as if it had stopped. They had not only taken her twins from her without her consent, but had split them up as well. She was on Alderaan. She would need to speak to Bail as soon as she was able to get her bearings again. She filed that thought away for the time being. She knew there was more coming, and decided to get it all over with at once: "What about Palpatine? Is he looking for me? The children?"
Dorme bit her lip, looking down for a second and collecting herself. She didn't want to overwhelm Padme with all this information at once, but she felt like it was cruel to just drag it out. Best just to lay it all out and let Padme come to terms with it on her own. It was the right thing to do. Anything less than total honesty, and she didn't think about how Padme would react.
"As far as the Galaxy is concerned, you are dead, and your child with you. I offered my services to Bail Organa at your funeral, since I thought you were gone, and he was one of your dearest friends. He took me in to help look after Leia, to give me a purpose, as well as to let me in on what had occurred. I have spent most of my time looking after Leia, and the rest hoping you would awake."
Padme was stunned to say the least. Her funeral? Her death faked without her consent? Her children taken and given away, by people who were supposed to be her closest friends no less? Anger gave way to another sudden, horrible realization. What if they had given her time to awaken and she hadn't in time to give consent? She knew that if Anakin or Palpatine had any suspicions of her survival, they never would have stopped looking for her, or her child. This was why the twins were split - neither Anakin or Palpatine knew. If one was found, at least the other would be safe. The horror she felt at the realization that such pragmatic measures had to be taken in her absence started to tear at her heart. She had to know now, how long had she been out?
"3 years, my lady," came the reply. She didn't realize she had voiced the question aloud. She sat, numb, for what seemed like hours, absorbing everything she had just been told. Her babies probably had no knowledge of her - someone else had seen their first steps, heard their first words, hear their first laugh. She shook her head - it couldn't be! She dared to look up into Dorme's eyes, only to see confirmation in her friend's tear-filled eyes. "I'm so sorry, my lady."
She needed time to think, that's what she needed. Time to sort everything out. Dorme seemed to realize this, or most likely have been prepared for this reaction. She gently squeezed Padme's hand and quietly walked out of the room, leaving Padme to herself. She looked over at the machinery, next to her, and saw the date. If nothing else, that had confirmed it - it was in Galactic Imperial years. Palpatine had made sure that even the dating system was changed. That kind of attention to detail only served to make her angrier and angrier, tears of frustration coming to her eyes.
She started to go over everything that had occurred in her life, and all she could see now was betrayal by a man who had pretended to be her mentor, using her to propel himself to power. She stifled a sob, not wanting anyone to come into the room again. She thought about how that man had had his claws into her husband before he'd come back into her life again, and how he'd had access to him and probably knew him better than even she did. She didn't have the Force, but she wondered now if Palpatine could've somehow been responsible for her husband's visions. Anything was possible.
None of these questions would get any answers anytime soon, and she wasn't quite sure that she wanted to know what they would be anyway. However, she knew that she needed to speak to Bail Organa. The tears that had threatened earlier finally did come, and she let them. Let them come now, and not while she was speaking to the man who was raising her child. She vaguely registered Dorme coming back in and taking her into her arms. She let her, and let out all her sadness in a cleansing cry that was long overdue.