11 Months later...

"He should be back from flying soon," Padme said as she led Obi-Wan, Satine, and Peter into the kitchen. "He wanted to show Galen what it's like to fly a plane. So, he took him out in the new company jet." She smiled, rolled her eyes, and shook her head, as she thought back, for a moment, over all that had happened since their wedding and honeymoon last June...

Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ashoka had spent almost the entire month of July last summer in Nepal at the Crystal Temple working with Nejaa, his wife, and the Padawans to mine some of the crystals, set up comm units, including individual comlinks with adjustable frequencies to allow for one on one communications between the Jedi and the Padawans. They also began aggressive training with all the younglings in meditation and other skills of the Force, as well as advancing their lightsaber training.

But, it had been very hard for Anakin and Obi-Wan to be away from Padme and Satine respectively for so long, but then Anakin had shipped three personal comlinks home...One each for Padme and Satine, to allow them to communicate on a private frequency daily with their men in Nepal. He also made one comlink, surprisingly, for Mindy, which allowed Anakin and Obi-Wan to speak with her directly about the historical information the new Order needed.

When the three Jedi had gotten back to the States the last weekend of July, Anakin and Obi-Wan had promptly found and purchased a factory building with plenty of plush office space and begun the process of hiring employees and securing the needed additional funding and materials for making and assembling the droids Anakin designed. Shortly thereafter, Anakin, Padme, and Ashoka had started back classes at Stanford.

Obi-Wan and Satine had gotten married the week before Christmas, and they had much to do with Anakin being Best Man and Padme as Matron of Honor. The wedding was beautiful, though not quite as lavish an affair as Anakin and Padme's had been, and the newlyweds had spent a month traveling across Europe for their honeymoon, just as the Skywalkers had done. Of course, Anakin had teased his best friend relentlessly in the lead up to the wedding, but his toast at the reception had been heartwarmingly sincere and had nearly brought everyone to tears.

After wrapping up the Spring semester and finishing their exams, it had been time to bring the first Padawans to California for the summer, and Satine had been most helpful with all the legal requirements needed in regard to visas and temporary guardianship of the younglings. Obi-Wan and Satine were housing Peter and Will with them (though Will trained daily with Ahsoka as her Padawan), and Galen was staying with Anakin and Padme.

Still, Galen, who had reluctantly agreed to come with Peter and Will to the U.S. for the summer, had been excited when Anakin had announced their flight the night before at dinner. Padme didn't bother to remind Galen that he was much too young to fly a plane still, even if he did remember the basics of flying a space ship from his previous life in their old galaxy.

It seemed like Anakin was trying to build trust between them, to reconnect as it were with his old apprentice. So, Padme told them goodbye that morning after breakfast without any complaints—even if she secretly did want to go and copilot with her husband to log in some flight hours of her own. Instead, she had kissed Anakin bye and watched as they backed out of the garage in the SUV, leaving her to spend a quiet day at home with the droids.

As they all entered the kitchen, Threepio stood over the stove, stirring a large pot of beef stew, while the delicious aroma of fresh yeast rolls baking filled the air. "Ah, Master Kenobi," He greeted, the droid's voice still the same as he shuffled around to greet them properly, "And, Mrs. Kenobi and young Master Peter! It is so good to see you all again. I hope you have been well."

"Hello, Threepio," Obi-Wan greeted the much loved droid with a smile.

"Plus, I'm not a master yet, Threepio," Peter gently reminded the golden droid, although the title had brought a smile to the young man's face.

"Oh, my abject apologies. Please, be seated. Dinner will be ready shortly." He shuffled back around and continued to dutifully stir the food. Padme grinned—Threepio hated it when she made him help with the food preparation. He was technically a protocol droid, but she had always appreciated his help with other tasks, so he did them with a Yes, My Lady, even if he did grumble about it.

Anakin had specifically designed and built Threepio for their family, just as he had in their old galaxy, and though Anakin had designed a similar protocol type droid that was now being sold worldwide and getting overwhelmingly rave reviews, he had kept Threepio's design unique just for them.

It made Padme happy that Anakin and Obi-Wan's business was already being met with such huge success, and she was even happier to have another familiar friend back with their family, even if he was a little eccentric. But, that had always been part of Threepio's charm, and she was quite pleased Anakin had managed to keep those quaint personality quirks in the droid.

"How is Galen settling in with you guys?" Satine asked, as they took a seat at the dinner table. It was Sunday night—since Obi-Wan and Satine had married last December, they had developed a tradition of having dinner together followed by either card or board games or a movie on Sunday nights with one another. No business. No school. No Jedi Order. Just the four of them, as married couples and best friends. It would be a little more crowded now with Anakin's and Obi-Wan's Padawans visiting that summer, but Padme was determined to make it work, which Anakin greatly appreciated.

"He's still a little wary of actually living with Anakin for a while, much less being physically near him all the time," Padme replied, "But, I think he's starting to relax some."

"That's good," Obi-Wan said, "Anakin was pleased when he started to relax and be open about his training in Nepal over the comm link. I'm glad that will likely continue."

Padme was glad as well. She knew Anakin viewed his new mentorship of Galen as another way to redeem himself. It was the main reason why she had supported him when he approached her about letting the boy come to live with them during the summers. She hoped it would go well, not only for Galen's sake, but for her husband's own confidence as well. "In any case, I made them promise to be back by dinner."

"So, we should expect them back…thirty minutes after the food is ready," Obi-Wan teased.

"Oh no. I put bacon in the stew." Padme grinned and winked at the three of them.

"Okay. Make it ten minutes after then," Obi-Wan smirked.

"Mrs. Skywalker?" Peter asked after a brief silence, "May I help set the table?"

Padme smiled, rolling her eyes as Threepio began to rant about how wonderful it was to see young folk be so polite. Already, Padme could tell that Peter would be a very different Padawan for Obi-Wan than her Anakin had been. "Why, yes. That would be nice. Thank you, Peter."

Peter got up, and Threepio eagerly showed him where everything was, as Padme got up to make sure the food was ready, taking the now-baked yeast rolls from the oven.

Sure enough, ten minutes after the food was technically cooked and ready to serve, the sound of the garage door opening and closing could be heard, and a moment later, in walked Anakin and Galen. "You're late, Sweetie," Padme observed dryly as she and Threepio began to ladle stew out into the individual bowls on the counter without looking over at the new arrivals.

"I know, Angel," Anakin admitted sheepishly, "But, we have a very good reason for it."

"A surprise," Galen agreed. Padme smiled and turned to find Anakin holding out a mug of her favorite hazelnut latte from Starbucks in his hand with a sheepish grin on his handsome face.

He had cut his hair a little bit shorter in the last year, so now his hair was sadly less curly at the back of his head (but still curly on top of his crown), but it still wasn't nearly as short as he'd had it as a Padawan, and Padme had told him to never cut it that short again or she'd cut hers off to match, and Anakin, horrified at the thought of her chopping her beautiful chestnut hair short, had quickly agreed to her request. Still, his brilliantly blue eyes, whenever they looked at her, always had a look in them that made it very clear that he deeply loved her and that he thought she really was the most beautiful woman in the world and that she was the absolute center of his life.

Even after a year of marriage, his desire for her burned hotly, and he always showered her with kisses and loving affection, and he treated her like a queen. Even though they did occasionally argue (which was still a rarity), it wasn't like their previous life where the secret nature of their relationship had caused a lot of stress and tension in their marriage. Padme also suspected that Anakin was just too happy to have her alive and back again as his wife, that he didn't want to waste his time with her arguing, preferring loving her instead. She was more than happy with that.

Padme playfully put her hands on her hips, pretending to be annoyed, "You're trying to suck up to me for being late again, aren't you?"

Anakin mockingly gasped, putting a hand over his heart. "Who, me? Never!"

She rolled her eyes, but a grin began to spread across her face. "Fine. You're forgiven." She gave Galen a look. "But don't let him convince you that you can get out of trouble simply by buying delicious gifts."

Anakin smirked, a mishcevious glint in his eyes, while Galen blushed, making Padme laugh as she took the drink from her beloved husband, kissed him sweetly, and removed the green plug from the lid. She brought the cup up to her lips, already anticipating the warm, sweet flavor, and inhaled…

Big mistake.

Suddenly, the world tilted, swimming before her eyes, and there were two of everyone and everything in her vision. Feeling lighthead and woozy all of a sudden, she stumbled backward, her legs feeling like jelly and buckling beneath her. She heard Obi-Wan and Satine gasp and Threepio mutter Oh dear, as she vaguely noted that the beverage had slipped from her fingers, and it splattered to the kitchen floor, spraying her and Anakin both with hot coffee.

"Padme?!" Anakin cried out in alarm, dashing forward and reaching out to catch her, but the smell of the spilled latte completely overwhelmed her senses, and her stomach was rolling and churning, her throat constricting, nausea rapidly making her mouth water. As Anakin grabbed her arm, she wrenched herself free, whirled, and ignoring Threepio's anxious inquiries towards her health, she leaned over the sink and promptly threw up.

She didn't just throw up once.

Oh no.

Every time she thought she was finished, she would catch another whiff of the spilled latte, and she would throw up again...and again, until she was throwing up nothing but bile. She could feel that someone was holding her hair back, and hear someone other than Threepio asking questions, but she didn't care. In that moment, all she wanted was for her stomach to stop heaving so that she could clean up and go lie down.

And maybe curl up and die, she thought.

It seemed to go on forever, but finally, it stopped, and there was a sudden, awkward silence. Slowly, she reached up and turned the water on, and as it began to wash away the mess in the sink, she weakly began to clean her face off enough so that she could go back to her room and clean up properly in the bathroom without getting anything else messy. "Padme?" Anakin's worried voice was at her ear. Of course, he was the one to hold her hair back for her. She should have known. "Are you…" He stopped. No. Clearly, she was not okay. "What can I do, Angel?"

Much better question.

She didn't answer right away, just moaned, as she braced herself against the sink with her arms. She then slowly straightened up, holding her stomach while trying to maintain breathing through her mouth so that she wouldn't start throwing up again from the smell of the coffee. When she did finally reply, nothing helpful came out. Her head was so focused on what she wanted right then, that she just blurted out, "I'm going to go lie down for a while."

Anakin met her eyes, and she could tell that he felt a little useless without knowing exactly what she needed him to do, but whatever he saw in her eyes right then must have told him that he wouldn't get any clear answers from her right then, so he clenched his jaw and simply nodded. "Okay."

He turned and faced the others, who were all staring at Padme in open mouthed concern. "I'm going to go help her. I'll be back to clean this up." He didn't wait for their response. Instead, he gently took her hand in one of his and put his other hand on the small of her back and led her across the kitchen and to their bedroom, going in and shutting the door before guiding her into their bathroom.

Where she promptly threw up again in the sink.

"Oh, Angel," Anakin soothed, holding her hair back again, rubbing gentle circles on her low back with one hand while the other touched her forehead. "You don't feel hot…maybe I should get a thermometer and check for a fever..."

"No, Ani, I'm fine," Padme weakly assured him as she pulled away and began to properly clean herself up. Anakin leaned against the closed bathroom door, watching her as she washed her face and brushed her teeth, his muscles tight as if he were ready to spring into action if she started throwing up again.

"Fine?!" he echoed, "This doesn't seem fine to me, Angel." He motioned towards the kitchen, "Were you feeling ill before?"

"No," She groaned, "It just...happened." She stripped and changed into a Stanford tank top and some light short shorts before she passed him and went to their bed, crawling onto it with a low groan. She heard Anakin follow.

"Then maybe you should go to the doctor, Sweetheart." As she flopped face-first into her pillow, she felt him sit next to her, resting a gentle hand on her back. His touch felt good—it was the only thing that felt good right then. She responded to his concern, forgetting (and not caring) that her face was muffled by the pillow. "I can't understand you, Angel." Anakin gently reminded her.

She sighed and turned her head in his direction so that only half of her face was buried in the pillow. "I said, it's Sunday night. Nothing except the ER is going to be open, and I don't think this is life and death." When Anakin opened his mouth to likely protest that statement, she added, "Whether you think it is or isn't. Trust me, it's not." Anakin shut his mouth.

"What about tomorrow then?" He asked.

Padme shook her head. "You have the SUV tomorrow, and I don't drive motorcycles." With Galen around, it was hard for Anakin to always use the motorcycle; so, with the boy here, he often had to use the SUV. Usually, they went to the same place anyway, so it wasn't a big deal, but the next day Anakin and Obi-Wan had a major board meeting for their company, and then Anakin was supposed to work on the new Bacta tank for Vokara. It had been a project he had been working on over the last year in his spare time, and now he was finally close to completing it.

"I'll skip work tomorrow," He began to insist, "I'm sure Obi-Wan could handle…"

"No, Ani," She rolled herself onto her back, and his hand slipped to resting on her stomach, gently rubbing circles over her belly. She sighed, enjoying his touch (she always did), and for a moment, she considered being selfish and letting him skip work. "As much as I would love to have you home, tomorrow is too important. Besides, it's probably just a twenty-four hour bug."

Anakin frowned, but he didn't argue, confirming that he knew that tomorrow was just as important as she did. "I could leave Galen with you," he offered after a silence.

"And, do what?" She reached up and touched his cheek. He leaned into her touch. "I'm not in danger. He would just be bored sitting around here. Besides, he needs you to show him all the aspects of being a Jedi in this world, including balancing work, family, and Jedi business. That's probably not something he was taught in our past life." Anakin frowned, but again, he didn't argue, confirming her words.

Anakin had been...and still was...a very busy man. She had been busy, too, but nothing compared to Anakin's schedule. He was still a full time student at Stanford, about to head into his junior year. He had a job helping Obi-Wan run and manage their droid production company, spending most of his time designing and building droids, and he was the co-leader of a growing new Jedi Order, an Order that they were currently trying to strengthen.

Currently, Ahsoka and her Padawan, Will, were traveling to Texas to investigate a rumor of some strange incidents happening along the border. Having the Jedi Order was perhaps the toughest part for Anakin, but he somehow managed to balance everything and still make time for them as husband and wife, going out with her alone on dates and to various events and social functions and giving her his undivided attention. No, despite it all, Anakin made sure she knew she was the heart of his world and that he loved and desired her endlessly. It made him a hero in her eyes, and she loved him all the more for it.

"Are you sure you don't need a doctor?" Anakin asked again, his piercing blue eyes filled with love, worry, and concern.

"Yes, Ani, I'm fine," She said, forcing a smile so that he would hopefully drop it. "I'll rest, and I'll be better by this time tomorrow night. You'll see."

Anakin still hesitated, wrestling with the desire to believe her and the need to make sure she was okay. "And, if you're not…"

"Then you can personally drag me to Vokara to get checked out in the ER." He seemed to accept this answer, and he nodded. "Now. I'm going to try to sleep. Why don't you go calm everyone else down, and maybe let Jedi in here to keep me company, hmm?" The poor dog hated Sunday nights due to getting moved out into the backyard by himself until bedtime when he seemed to gratefully make a beeline for his doggy bed by the fireplace.

"I could keep you company, too,"Anakin teased, and she raised an eyebrow. "Fine. I'll go be responsible." He rolled his eyes before leaning down to kiss her forehead tenderly. "If you need anything…"

"I'll call you," She promised.

Seemingly at ease with that, Anakin stood and left the room.


The next morning was worse.

Much worse.

Normally, whenever Anakin had these sorts of meetings, she tried to make sure she was up early and that breakfast was ready for him to grab before he left. But, that morning, she slept through their alarm, which was most unusual. When she did wake up, it was because she heard Anakin get up and stumble over Jedi, who yelped while Anakin cursed (fluently in Huttese, she noted). It was something that normally would have made Padme laugh, but she found she just didn't have the energy. When she tried to sit up, her head swam so badly, she wasn't sure if she accomplished sitting up at all, so she just lay back down and stared up at the ceiling, her vision swimming, making her lightheaded.

At one point, Anakin's face entered her vision, but his face swam so badly that she said, "Honey, there's like five of you." She couldn't tell what the expression was on his face, but she figured it probably wasn't good.

"Are you sure you don't need me to skip work, Angel?" He asked seriously, and knowing him, he was probably planning on ditching work whether she told him to go or not.

"You're going to work, Ani." She grumbled, closing her eyes to try and combat the dizziness, "And, don't ignore me and stay home anyway."

She felt him touch her forehead and then the side of her neck gently. "You still don't feel hot to me…" He murmured to himself, and she weakly pushed his hand away.

"Go be a big boss man." She moaned, rolling back over. "I'm going back to sleep."

Another hesitation. "If you're still like this when I get back home…"

"I know, I know." She waved him off. "Have fun storming the castle."

She was pretty sure Anakin didn't know that phrase, but he didn't ask about it. Instead, he sighed and kissed her cheek, whispered I love you in her ear, before she heard him leave their bedroom to go collect Galen, his keys jangling in his hand.

The next few hours were a blur. She tossed and turned. She heard Threepio come in and try to ask if she needed anything. She tried to tell him to go play with Artoo, to which Threepio indigently protested, "I do not play, My Lady, it is against my primary program, and besides, Artoo is with Master Anakin at work today…"

"Go somewhere that isn't here, Threepio," she hissed, his voice pounding in her head. She immediately felt bad—the droid was just trying to help, and from his grumbles as he left the room, she could tell that she'd offended him. She tried to make a mental note to apologize later.

At some point, her stomach started to feel like she was going to throw up again. She managed to grab her phone from off of the charger (just in case she needed to make a call to someone to bring her something) and tried to stand…and promptly fell against the wall. She tried to push away from it, but she was so dizzy that she only managed to fall against it again. So, slowly, she got onto her hands and knees and crawled into the bathroom, where she immediately threw up in the toilet.

Maybe I should go to the doctor, she thought as her stomach settled down and she fumbled with the handle on the toilet to flush. As it did, she reached for her phone to call Anakin…

And promptly got a phone call.

She didn't bother to check the caller ID. She answered. "I was just gonna call you," her voice sounded awful, like it hadn't been used in years.

"Well, I'm so flattered." Mindy's amused voice sounded from the other line, "I didn't think you would want to call anyone in your condition."

Padme paused, registering that it was Mindy on the line, not Anakin. "Oh. Sorry. I thought…"

"That I was Anakin?" Mindy scoffed and continued speaking, "Hardly. Although, he called me and told me about your condition and asked me to help him in convincing you to go to the doctor. So. Here I am. Calling. Are you convinced yet?"

"I was convinced right before you called." Padme groaned, "Hold on." She set the phone down and promptly threw up again.

"Well." Mindy said when she was finished and Padme had put the phone back to her ear again. "You certainly sound like you need someone to take you to the doctor."

"I do."

"Okay. I'll be right over to pick you up." She paused. "Padme, what exactly are your symptoms?"

"Death." Padme grumbled irritably.

"Ha! Well, you sound remarkably articulate for a zombie."

"Hey, I was one for Halloween last year, remember?" Padme couldn't help but smile at the memory. Her parents had funded a Zombie 5K for a local children's charity at Halloween last fall, so she and Anakin had dressed up as zombies and run in the race. According to Anakin, she was the 'sexiest zombie' he'd ever seen (and he'd certainly shown her just how much, too). He currently had a picture of them together in that getup as his phone background.

"Oh, yes. I do." Another pause. "When did this all start?"

"Last night." Padme replied with a mild groan. "I was talking to Anakin and Galen right before dinner, and Anakin brought me a hazelnut latte, and the next thing I know, I'm dizzy, can't see straight, and throwing up in the kitchen sink."

"I see." Another long pause. "I'll be there in ten minutes. Be ready, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks." She hung up and, after making a quick call to Bail's office to let them know she was coming in, she threw on a gray Stanford hoodie and blue jeans and put on her tennis shoes before she stumbled out into the kitchen to wait for Mindy.


By the time she was sitting in the waiting room at Bail's office, Padme was feeling much better. Her head had cleared up, and her stomach, even though it was still queasy, was settling down. Now, she simply felt ravenous, and said so. "I'm like starving! Youknow what I want right now?!" She asked, as Mindy flipped through an outdated magazine.

"World peace?" Mindy teased, quirking an eyebrow at her.

"No…I mean, yeah, it would be nice, but that's not what I'm talking about." She shook her head as her mind flashed with all of her favorite foods. "I want pasta. Specifically, I want Chicken Scampi from Olive Garden. Do they have a To Go option?" Padme shifted in her seat, suddenly feeling like a ball of energy, and began tapping her foot against the chair leg where her ankles were crossed.

"I think so." Again, Mindy frowned and gave her a strange look, glancing down toward her tapping foot. Actually, she had been giving Padme strange looks ever since she'd picked her up.

"And, I'd really like to grab a chocolate shake from In-N-Out to go with it. Y'know, I wish they had onion rings. Onion rings would be good with it, too," Padme said, her voice trailing off as she glanced around the waiting room. This made Mindy's eyebrows shoot up to her hairline, but she made no comment.

Instead, she just smirked and went back to flipping through the magazine, occasionally shooting amused glances Padme's way.

Finally, Padme had enough of the strange looks. "Why do you keep giving me that look?"

"What look?" Mindy asked innocently with another arch of her brow.

"That look you've been giving me since you picked me up. Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. I know you too well to know that you're giving me a look."

Mindy hesitated. "It's just…" she struggled with the words, concerning Padme even more. Since when did Mindy struggle with what she wanted to say? Mindy always bluntly said what was on her mind, even if it was totally inappropriate at times. Finally, Mindy sighed. "Padme. When was your last period?"

"My last…?" Padme echoed, what she was asking instantly clicking into place. "Oh, no, Mindy. Uh-huh. I'm not pregnant." She laughed, as if the idea was absurd. The look didn't leave Mindy's face. "Mindy. Seriously, I'm not pregnant. Okay? I've been faithfully using birth control and…"

"The Pill doesn't always work, y'know." Mindy pointed out wryly. "Look. Padme, I've had a lot of friends who are…you know...active, and I mean, come on, you two are newlyweds, and you've told me yourself, more than once, how...amorous Anakin is..." She was blushing. Padme was stunned. Mindy was actually blushing! Padme had never seen her best friend blush before. Ever. Padmejust gaped at her friend, as as she continued speaking.

"I've seen a lot of them get pregnant, and they all have had these same symptoms. Didn't…didn't you have these symptoms in your previous life?"

"Well, yeah, but…" Padme trailed off. No. It couldn't be. She wasn't pregnant. "I'm not pregnant." Now her voice didn't sound so confident.

Mindy shrugged, but the look didn't leave her face. "Suit yourself. I guess you'll find out soon enough." She said with a smirk, and she turned back to her magazine.

Suddenly, Padme didn't feel so good, but this time it was for a different reason. Her mind worked to figure out when her last period was.

Two months ago.

Oh, Force...

By the time Bail came out and called her alone back to an exam room, she was panicking. I'm not pregnant, she kept telling herself, it was just some fluke…It just had to be.

As soon as Bail closed the door, she blurted out, "I'm not pregnant."

Bail frowned, obviously not expecting her to start off with that. "Do…you want to be pregnant, Padme?"

"Someday, yeah, sure...but not now." Padme said, sitting down on the plastic, paper-lined bed. It crinkled under her weight. "Mindy just pointed out that my symptoms are…but I can't be…."

"Padme." Bail said seriously. "You need to calm down. We don't know for sure yet. There's no point in stressing out over something you aren't sure of yet. Now, tell me what's going on."

So, she did.

By the time she finished, Bail had the same look on his face that Mindy did. "Your last menstruation was two months ago?" He clarified, making notes in her chart on his tablet pc. Padme wanted to lie, but she couldn't. So, she nodded her head slowly. Bail was silent for a moment, thinking of a way to ask the next question. "Would you like me to give you a pregnancy test, or do you want me to check to see if it's a normal sickness first?"

Oh Force, she thought, he thinks pregnancy is a possibility too

She gulped, supposing that it would be better to answer the bigger question immediately, even if she didn't want to. Slowly, she replied, "I'll take the pregnancy test."


Pregnant.

She was pregnant.

Pregnant.

The test had come out positive instantly. She felt as if she'd been hit between the eyes with a hammer called reality. When the result came back and Bail told her the result, if she hadn't already been sitting down, she knew her legs would've buckled from shock. She had calmly waited while Bail had finished her examination, told her to stop taking her birth control pills immediately, given her a box of prenatal vitamains and iron (bloodwork showed she was anemic), plus a prescription for more, and told her to come back in 2 weeks with Anakin for her first ultrasound, because she was almost 2-1/2 months pregnant.

Suddenly, life seemed different. Vastly different.

As Mindy drove her to Olive Garden to 'celebrate,' ("But no alcohol for you, missy!" Mindy had sang, pleased to be right, the I told you so clearly written all over her face), Padme looked out at the familiar stores and landmarks she had grown accustomed to since she'd started school at Stanford all those years ago, and they seemed…different somehow. Logically, she knew there wasn't anything different, but it still felt like she had gone off planet, and her senses had kicked into hyperdrive (if not hyperspace).

She wasn't totally freaking out. Her heart did swell with happiness. She had wanted to be a mother, and she knew how badly Anakin wanted to be a father, and she still had moments where she sat with Anakin and her family at their weekly Friday night dinners at her parents' house and her heart sank with the knowledge that Luke and Leia were missing from the picture. More than anything, she wanted the baby now inside of her. That wasn't what terrified her.

What terrified her was that in a few months' time, she...no, they...would be faced with the answer to the question that both she and Anakin dreaded...

What if they had already lost Luke and Leia forever?

She wasn't afraid of the responsibility of being a parent. She wasn't afraid of the money it would cost to raise a child. She wasn't afraid of the time constraints a child would bring to their lives—those were all things she and Anakin could figure out. No. She was afraid of the added despair of losing their precious twins not once, but twice. It already killed her inside to know she had lost one baby. To finally find out, to know that it was their twins again…

The thought was unbearable.

After lunch, where Mindy, who knew about this worry, assured her repeatedly that everything would be fine, even though Padme could tell that she wasn't sure about that herself, she drove Padme to Anakin's office.

It was a massive factory, a building that Obi-Wan and Anakin had specifically picked to be able to produce the multitude of various types of droids and machines Anakin was always designing. Already, the business had earned enough to pay off the purchase of the building, and the revenue from the large international orders they had was now filling up their personal bank accounts, as well as their company accounts, at a rapid rate.

No, Padme thought as Mindy parked her car in Padme's own designated spot next to Anakin's (where their SUV sat) outside the large glass front doors, they wouldn't have to worry about the financial aspect of raising a child, if things continued the way they were. Which was a relief.

"Do you want me to come in with you?" Mindy asked, looking at her friend with some concern.

Padme shook her head no, staring at the revolving glass doors. "I'll be fine. I can get a ride home with Anakin." She glanced at the time on the dashboard. It was almost time for Anakin to come home anyway.

"Okay." She paused. "Seriously, Padme, congratulations. I know you're worried, but…you'll be a great mom. I know it."

That did cause a smile to break out on Padme's face. "Thanks, Mindy," She said. "I'll text you and let you know how it goes." She gave Mindy a hug and said goodbye to her friend and got out of the car, staring up at the building for a moment as she took a deep, steadying breath, and walked in.

The security guard at the front smiled and waved to her and didn't even bother to call up to Anakin for clearance. He knew Padme was the wife of one of the two big bosses of the company, and he wasn't going to risk annoying Anakin by making Padme wait. He knew she and Satine, as Obi-Wan's wife, had free clearance to come and go there as they pleased. So, he immediately buzzed her through the security doors, and she waved her thanks and made her way into the main room of the factory, where workers were putting together the various droid designs.

It wasn't by any means a sketchy factory with bad working conditions. Workers had their own cubicles and stuffed comfortable chairs for them to sit in, plus lots of space with windows streaming light through. There were modern, classy break areas, and there were lots of rooms with hi-tech technology for plan and collaboration sessions on droid designs. Padme took the glass elevator up to the second floor, overlooking all of it, and she smiled at all of the work Anakin and Obi-Wan had done to perfect their business.

The second floor was not as developed yet, and as she walked through the halls to find Anakin's personal workshop (her favorite part of the business. It meant that she didn't have to worry about Anakin's projects taking up too much space at home), she walked by several rooms that were currently under construction.

Finally, she reached his workshop.

Just before she reached the door, it opened, and out stepped Galen. He blinked up at her in surprise as the door shut behind him. "Miss Padme," He said, "I thought you would be at home."

"I was." She smiled. It had taken a lot of insisting to get Galen to call her Miss Padme instead of Mrs. Skywalker or Mrs. Vader, as he'd accidentally called her the first time they'd met, much to Anakin's embarrassed dismay. "I just came by to talk to my husband. What are you up to?"

Galen shifted as if he were eager to move on. It still seemed to freak him out a bit that Anakin, the former ruthless Sith Lord that had trained him, was happily married. She sort of wondered how the boy would react to know that Padme was now pregnant… "I'm going to deliver these plans to Master Obi-Wan to submit to the board." He held up a flash drive that must have contained the plans. "Which…" he glanced at the time on his phone that Anakin had given him, "I need to do before closing."

Padme smiled and stepped out of his way. "Alright. I'll see you later, Galen." Galen nodded and rushed off down the hall towards Obi-Wan's office, which was on the opposite end of the same floor.

Padme continued to smile after the boy for a moment before she turned and faced Anakin's door.

On a brass plaque outside of the office was her husband's name and his official-sounding company title. It still amazed the Earth-raised side of her that her husband had achieved so much while he had only barely finished his sophomore year of college. At this point, he was only going to college for the backup degree in mechanical engineering with a minor in physics just in case the droid business died out, but knowing her husband and his knack at adapting to his environment no matter how quickly that environment moved, she doubted the business would ever go under.

She took a deep breath, knowing that Anakin had probably already sensed her, and slowly opened the door to peek into his 'office.'

It was more of an advanced workshop than an actual office. He had a desk with a desktop computer on it, but it was covered with droid parts and rarely used for anything other than another surface to build droids on. She doubted he'd actually ever used the desktop—he was always working with his Surface Pro if he was using a computer. There were other tables lining the walls, too, all of them also cluttered with various mechanical parts, and she was amused at the soft country music playing in the background from the Ipod Touch sitting in its charging station on one of the tables.

In the center of the room was a large, clear tank, suspended with chains while Anakin was currently crouched underneath it, fiddling with the machine underneath. Artoo was next to him, handing him a tool with his claw, which Anakin took gratefully. His face and hands were smudged with grease, like usual, and it was a sight that she had grown to love, even if it did mean that he accidentally ruined a lot of his clothes.

Like the clothes he was currently wearing.

He hadn't bothered to change out of the nice, light blue, long sleeved dress shirt and dress slacks that he had worn for their board meeting. He had undoubtedly tossed the tie somewhere in the mess of his workshop (probably to never be found again), and he had rolled up the sleeves and unbuttoned the top two buttons so that it slightly showed part of his chest. Otherwise, he hadn't changed, and there were now several grease stains on the shirt.

At least they could afford to buy him more clothes.

"You finally came in," He said dryly, as she entered. He tightened whatever he needed to with the wrench Artoo gave him, and then set it aside before crawling out to face her. He stood and began to walk towards her, but she cleared her throat, nodding her head pointedly at all the grease. He stopped, remembering that his hands were covered in it, and he blushed.

"Sorry. I've...uh...destroyed…another shirt."

"It's okay," She said, and she watched surprise flicker across his face. Usually, she lectured him for destroying clothes, especially nice clothes, but this time she just didn't have the heart. It seemed too insignificant…actually, it was insignificant compared to what she was about to tell him.

Artoo handed him the orange bottle of grease cleaner, and he squirted it over his hands before washing it off with a towel. The whole time, his eyes never left her. "Are you okay?" his voice was full of worry, and he looked at her like he was already considering taking her to the ER.

"I'm fine, Ani." She assured him, "Mindy took me to see Bail already. She said you told her to convince me to go."

At this, Anakin visibly relaxed. "Good." He said, not even trying to deny that he had talked Mindy into dragging her to the doctor. "What did he say?"

Padme sighed and put her purse down on one of the tables before slowly approaching her husband. He immediately slipped his hands around her waist, coming to rest at the small of her back, pulling her flush against him. She leaned into him, her mind whirling as she looked up into his eyes. She opened her mouth to just tell him, but no words came out.

It wasn't this difficult telling him before, she thought, remembering when she'd told him of her first pregnancy back in their old galaxy.

"Angel?" Anakin asked, and she watched more worry flood into his eyes, "Is…is it bad?"

"No, no, it's nothing like that. It's just…unexpected." Anakin frowned in confusion. "What I mean is…" She sighed and broke eye contact, leaning her forehead against his chest, breathing in his scent. It calmed her some, but it did not calm her poor husband.

"Padme, I need you to tell me. You're scaring me, Sweetheart." She smiled a little at that—she could never doubt her husband's love for her, not when he reacted like this to her wellbeing.

She leaned away and looked back up into his eyes. "The Pill didn't work." Anakin's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and she took a deep breath.

"Ani, I'm pregnant."

Shock replaced the worry and confusion in his eyes, and he blinked rapidly, trying to comprehend what she'd just told him. He swallowed hard. "R-really?" He managed to stutter out, and his eyes left hers to trail down to her abdomen, as if by looking at her belly, she would suddenly start showing.

"Yes."

"You're…you're sure?"

She couldn't help but smile. It was so rare that she saw Anakin stutter over himself. "Yes, Ani. Bail did two pregnancy tests. He confirmed it. I'm about 2-1/2 months along."

He was so shocked that he sat down on a nearby swivel chair. He forgot that he was still holding onto her, and she squeaked as she lost her balance and plopped into his lap where he automatically steadied her. Once she was securely in his lap, one of his large hands moved so that it rested approximately where their child was currently forming within her womb. "I'm going to be a dad," He breathed softly, running a thumb gently across her stomach as he met her eyes again. "You're going to be a mom!"

Even though she was still scared, she couldn't help but smile. "Yes."

Anakin looked back down to her belly before meeting her eyes again.

"And…are you…happy?" He was hesitant, waiting for her reaction. She knew that he was referring to her desire to wait for children.

She nodded. "I am happy. Extremely happy. All I want is for us to have a family together." She looked down. "But, I'm also really scared. What if…?"

Anakin held a finger to her lips, quieting her. They had talked about this worry before—he shared the same fear. But, as he gently brought her face back up to meet his eyes, she only saw pure, unfiltered joy radiating from him. "I know, Angel, but we aren't going to know anything for a little while. We both knew we would eventually have to face that possibility, and we'll deal with it when or if it comes. But, nothing good comes from fear. We both know that." His voice held the gravity of what his fear had done to them both, and she could feel his desire to keep her from having to experience anything like that again. "So for now, let's focus on our happiness." He broke out into a huge smile. "We're going to be parents!"

And somehow, as he said it, her fear melted. It didn't go away completely. It was still there in the back of her mind. But, being there, sitting in her husband's lap, with one of his hands cupping her cheek and the other adoringly and protectively over her abdomen, she felt as if everything truly would be okay. For the first time since she had lost their first baby, she felt truly at peace…

And happy.

She too broke out into a huge smile, the first huge smile she had allowed since she had found out. "We're going to be parents, Ani," She agreed, and she felt tears well up in her eyes. The next thing she knew, Anakin's mouth was crushing into hers, passionate and deep and so full of love, and she wrapped her arms around him as she responded to his kiss, pulling herself as close as she could, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Then he let out a loud whoop ofexhilaration, andhis arms were wrapping around her, and he was standing with her in his arms, twirling with her, kissing her over and over again between both of them laughing with pure, unadulterated joy.

There was still much for them to worry about. There was still a lot for them to work out. But, in that moment, none of that mattered. Only one thing mattered, one glorious, happy thing:

They were finally going to be parents.


BAAAAAAAAABIIIEEESSSSSSSSSS

Told you it was a SUPER DUPER OPER major chapter ;)

Review!

Love,

Sarah