Wow - thanks for all the feedback and views! I really appreciate it.
To answer a reviewer's question - we'll see whether Anakin needs a suit or not...
Padme clutched the charm Anakin had given her when they first met as her face contorted in agony. She was lying on a hard bed, tears staining her face. A medic droid was speaking soft encouragement as she whimpered.
"It's a boy," the droid said, handing the baby to Sabé who cradled it gently in a soft blanket.
"Luke," Padme whispered before she cried out and arched her back again, her hand tightening on the charm.
"It's a girl." Sabé smiled at the little girl as she brought her close to Padme's face.
"Leia," Padme muttered. The droid tapped a couple of buttons before Padme sighed as the meds washed over her, relieving her aching mind and body. The two children cried as Sabé placed them in their mother's arms. Padme smiled as they quietened down and looked at her, Leia smiling a little.
After the brief meeting the droid took them away to be washed and clothed. Padme sat up on the bed as Sabé rubbed her back, smiling.
"Those are good names," she said.
"Anakin wanted them." Padme's smile faltered a little at the thought of him, but she grinned as she saw her children being wrapped in soft robes by the droid on the other side of the room. Luke and Leia were placed in birth pods and floated back to where Padme was standing. Luke was fast asleep, but Leia was looking at her mother curiously.
"She likes you," Sabé smiled. The pods were shaped like a large egg, with the top half completely made of a clear, soft material. The babies would stay in there for a couple of days to monitor their vitals and keep them nourished until they could be deemed healthy enough to come out.
The pods floated beside Sabé and Padme as they walked back to the Queen's chambers. Some palace workers looked at the pods and smiled, nodding in respect to the handmaiden and the Senator as they passed.
"Looks like these two are going to be celebrities," Padme chuckled as they reached the door. The guards parted, allowing them to enter the room. The handmaidens smiled and whispered to one another at the sight of the children.
Queen Réillata gave a rare laugh as Luke rolled over to far and bumped himself against the clear wall. Like jelly, the wall bounced him back as he lay, confused at what had just occurred.
"He looks like a troublesome one," the Queen said as Luke gave a toothless grin at her. "What are their names?"
"Luke and Leia," Padme responded.
"Well, Luke and Leia. We will watch both of you grow," the Queen said, smiling. "You two will be the gossip of the palace from now."
The Queen was right. As the toddlers walked with their mother in the soft grass with the servants close by, palace workers would pause to wave at Luke and Leia who would raise their short arms and wave back, giggling as they did. They were the light of Padme's life.
Every night she would think about Anakin. Her gut told her that he was alive – after all, the Chancellor had not mentioned him and he was not on the list. Luke reminded her of him. The tousled brown hair and the soft eyes. Especially his mischievous behaviour.
She waited patiently as the children grew. Luke became a tall, strong boy, with a hint of mischief but a steady mind. Leia, on the other hand, was almost exactly like Padme. She was smart, wise and beautiful. As a young teenager, she had helped develop some of Naboo's architecture and often advised her mother on senate issues.
The fallen temple on Coruscant was no longer out of bounds. A path had been cleared between the rubble for children to go and learn. They were never allowed to touch anything, however. The tour guides told the children of the fallen order of the Jedi, and how they were powerful but selfish. They had even once tried to take the Chancellor's life, which caused many children to gasp in shock and horror.
It was a strict law passed by the Senate in an overwhelming majority, which Padme had, however, voted against, for all children to have experienced at lest one tour so that they could learn important history. When Luke and Leia were 15, their private tutors took them to join a school group for a tour of the temple.
Padme had told her children in secret about the Jedi. She told them that their father had been a great Jedi, caring, loving and kind. They would fight for justice and democracy, but with a war that threatened the Republic, they were soldiers for a time. This had earned them a bad reputation, despite the fact that hey had saved many planets from Separatist rule.
When the siblings arrived on the planet, they looked in awe at the place their father had once studied and lived in. The bodies, Padme had noticed when she arrived, were gone. She stayed at the entrance to the temple with her guards, watching Luke and Leia to see what they would do.
"Step this way," the guide said. The children walked on the path, passing the ash and rubble until they reached some pillars that still stood. Padme recognised a couple of chairs from the Jedi Council's meeting room. The guide began to tell the story of the Jedi and their selfishness, while Padme did her best to keep a straight face. The urge to slap the guide was overwhelming.
Luke and Leia, however, could barely listen. Once they heard about the supposed greed of the Jedi, they tuned off entirely. They trusted their mother above everything. Luke was looking around when he saw a glint of metal in the distance. He nudged Leia who looked and nodded. When the guide turned a corner, they snuck in a different direction. Padme had a soft smile on her face at the sight of them look around nervously as they stepped over the low string stopping them from accessing the rubble.
Leia pointed at a shine in the dust as Luke bent over and brushed the dust away. It revealed a sleek metal cylinder. Luke pulled it out and peered at it. It was shaped like the hilt of a long blaster and it had a silver button on it. He pressed it, revealing a long blue blade which hummed as he moved it around. Leia pointed at the guide who was appearing around the corner. Luke extinguished the blade and hid it inside his jacket.
The siblings crept behind a pillar and as the last child of the group passed, they stepped out from behind the pillar and re-joined the class, smiling to each other at their secret.
