"I really hate ballets," Anakin grumbled, as they followed Padme's parents into their personal, reserved box seat in the theatre. Padme had been listening to Anakin gripe about the upcoming ballet since her parents had called and invited them a month ago, and it had gotten worse the last few days after Padme had reminded him about it. Galen was also with them, in a tux that he looked extremely uncomfortable in, and he looked around at all of the fancy-dressed people as if some Sith Lord was going to pounce and attack at any moment.

"Ani," Padme warned him under her breath, "Remember your manners. Please." Anakin grumbled under his breath at this, but he did not make any further outward comment for her parents to overhear, much to her relief. He had tried to bring along Obi-Wan and Satine, but the tickets had sold out by the time he had thought of trying to make his best friend suffer with him, so he forced smiles and whenever her parents asked him about what types of entertainment he enjoyed, Padme could tell that he was forcing himself to keep it positive. So far, he hadn't made any direct comments to hating ballet to her parents, only because he knew they were just trying to establish a stronger connection with their new son-in-law. He wanted to try and please his in-laws.

Still, when Padme had come out of their bathroom dressed in a light pink, chiffon floor-length dress covered in light sparkly sequins with her hair pulled into an elegant twisted bun at the back of her head, Anakin, who was dressed in a tux himself, had almost stopped complaining. Instead, his eyes had darkened immediately with desire, and he had attempted to convince her to stay home with loving, adoring kisses along her neck and collar bone. When she pulled away, tempted but stubborn to their commitment to join her parents, Anakin had then switched to the other topic to try and keep them home. "Are you sure you feel well enough, Angel?" He asked, "I mean...You've been sick all week."

It was true. It had been five days since she found out she was pregnant, and each of those five days had been filled with a rollercoaster of either feeling well or throwing up. "I'm fine, Ani," she had insisted as she made sure the japor snippet necklace was placed just right around her neck.

"Well, that could change at any moment."

She knew this argument was not just so that he could have an excuse to stay home from the ballet—he genuinely was worried about her health. He had spent the whole week tending to her lovingly (much to Galen's annoyance: Poor boy was bored to death). "Think of the baby, Sweetheart."

"I am thinking of the baby," Padme reminded him dryly, "And this baby wants mommy to get out and stop being cooped up in the house all the time. Besides, what kind of example would we be setting for our child if we showed it that we don't live up to our commitments?"

"It's not even born yet," Anakin muttered, but nevertheless, he dropped the subject once he saw that he really wasn't going to win this one.

Besides. That night had become important to Padme for another reason: Tonight was the night that she and Anakin would tell her parents that she was pregnant.

They had already told Anakin's family, and Owen had ribbed Anakin good-naturedly, teasingly saying" Way to go, you rascal!" They had all been so happy, and Shmi had actually burst into tears of joy before bombarding Padme and Anakin with technical questions neither of them knew the answer to, and wouldn't know until their first ultrasound in another week. They had also told Obi-Wan and Satine, Ahsoka, and Galen, since Galen needed an explanation as to why Anakin was suddenly fussing so tenderly over Padme's health so much. Everyone had been thrilled for them...well, except for Galen, who was confused and still adjusting to Anakin actually being a happily married man who was now going to be a dad, too. But, he was slowly coming around. She hoped.

Living close to her parents, Padme had decided to tell them in person, and with the ballet, she had decided tonight was the perfect night. There was no way Anakin would convince her to put it off any longer.

So, here they were. At the ballet. Sitting down on plush red chairs, with Padme sitting between her mother and Anakin, while her father sat next to her mother, and Galen sat on the other side of Anakin. "So," Her mother whispered to her while Anakin turned and whispered Jedi advice (if Padme had to guess, it was likely about distinguishing presences in large crowds) to Galen so that her parents couldn't hear, "You said that Galen was Anakin's cousin?"

"Yes," Padme used her best politician smile to make the lie convincing. She hated lying to her parents, but they needed an explanation as to why they had a random kid living with them over the summer.

Her mother frowned. "He doesn't look anything like Anakin, though."

Padme forced a laugh. "Well, Ryoo and Pooja don't look that much like me either," Padme reminded her, even though it was a bit of a stretch. The girls had the same curly hair as Padme, but Galen and Anakin looked nothing alike, not even in the hair.

"I suppose," she could tell that her mother wasn't convinced. "And, what exactly does he do all day? All of his friends probably live in Nepal…"

"I told you, Mom," Padme reminded her, "Galen is studying under Anakin at his job. It's sort of like an apprenticeship."

"But he's only a child," her mother said, troubled, "Doesn't he get bored?"

"No. He gets to play with robots all day. What young boy wouldn't love that?" Padme reminded her with a smile—it wasn't technically a lie. "I'm sure he's fine."

Her mother still seemed puzzled by the whole situation, but she thankfully dropped it.

Padme breathed a sigh of relief, leaning back in her chair, her hand unknowingly going to rest over her stomach. She definitely wasn't showing yet, but knowing that there was life in there, she had already started on the habit of touching her abdomen whenever she was deep in thought or just tired.

Anakin, having finished his conversation with Galen, noticed. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close so that he could whisper in her ear. "When do we tell them?"

The lights in the room flickered a few times, indicating that there was only two minutes until the curtains rose and the ballet began. "The show is about to start," Padme whispered back, "Maybe after the show?" She thought about telling her parents during intermission, but she didn't think that dropping that bombshell in the thirty minute break between acts would be a good idea. Her parents would also likely want to ask lots of questions, too, just like Shmi had.

"Okay," Anakin said, kissing her temple tenderly, "I'll follow your lead." He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze before he withdrew his arm. She smiled at that, and right as she opened her mouth to reply, the lights dimmed and the overture began.

The ballet was Swan Lake, and given that the ballet was considered to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, ballet ever, Padme hoped that Anakin wouldn't be too bored. However, after the explosive overture, she couldn't fail to notice that he was struggling not to nod off. Galen was no exception—in fact, he did fall asleep.

Anakin at least tried to stay awake.

Padme, on the other hand, was used to going to functions like this with her parents. Her parents believed in regularly enjoying art, whether it was museums or operas or ballets. Even though it was not something she regularly sought out on her own (except art museums: She always liked those), ballets did interest her, and Swan Lake was one of her favorites, even if it was tragic. The music was beautiful, and the costumes were also works of art, and it fascinated her to watch how gracefully the dancers moved. It reminded her of her figure skating days, in a way.

As the show continued, Anakin did make attempts to understand what was going on. "So, he just sees her in the forest and decides she's the girl for him?" or, "Wait, isn't that the same woman?...so, it's sort of her evil twin. Convenient." Or, "What a self-involved jerk. He clearly doesn't love her if he can't tell the difference between the women." Padme knew he didn't actually care for the story, but he was trying to be interested in it for her sake, and it made her grateful that he was now at least trying. They had been holding hands throughout the performance, and she squeezed his hand to let him know she appreciated his efforts. She was also really thankful that he kept his voice at a whisper so that it wouldn't disturb her parents.

Finally, it was time for the intermission. The lights came back on, an announcer informed the audience that they would have thirty minutes, and people began to shuffle towards the bathroom or the bar in the lobby area. Galen yawned, blinking away his drowsiness. "Is it over?" He asked, still yawning.

"Only halfway," Anakin told him with a smirk. "But, it may take longer if you keep snoring and interrupting the show."

Galen scowled. "I don't snore."

"Right," Anakin stood. "Well, I'm going to go to the restroom."

"And we are going to order some drinks." Her father announced, also standing. Padme immediately began to plan on how she would decline the alcohol without her parents noticing. Since she had turned twenty-one, she usually purchased champagne with her parents. It was sort of a tradition. "Would you like anything, Anakin?"

"No thanks," Anakin replied, "Otherwise I might need…wait, actually, yes, I would love a drink." Padme rolled her eyes—of course Anakin would intentionally make himself need to go to the restroom again during the last half. He may be trying to at least understand it, but her husband was still a warrior at heart. He was just not the type of man to enjoy performances like this ballet.

"Do they have snacks?" Galen asked, rubbing his eyes.

"They usually have something to munch on. Come on, let's go see." Padme stood, taking that opportunity to make it seem like she was busy doing something else so that she could avoid the drink question she knew was coming. She stood with Galen, turning to go to the private suite that was only for those with box seats, when her father interrupted her.

"Would you like the usual, Padme?"

Well. So much for that plan.

She forced a smile. "Actually, I'm going on a diet that restricts alcohol, so I'm afraid not. Water with lemon will be fine, Dad. Thanks."

Her mother frowned. "But you don't need to lose weight. You're perfect the way you are. And, what did Mindy have to say about this decision?" Her mother knew that her best friend believed that it wasn't a party unless it had alcohol.

Padme shrugged. "She said I was now the designated driver."

Her mother still seemed puzzled, and Padme couldn't help but notice the suspicious glint in her mother's eyes, but her mother didn't press the issue. "Alright, dear. Your father and I will meet you three in the lobby."

While Anakin headed downstairs to the restroom, Padme took Galen up to the private suite where already other rich people were milling about, talking about the performance and other small topics. Galen made a face when a woman with a large skirt almost knocked him over without apologizing, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he made straight for the dessert table…which was full of little pieces of assorted fruits stuck on basically extra long toothpicks and tiny slices of cake. "What is this, food for ants?" Galen grumbled as he took some cake. Padme couldn't help but laugh—the night before, Mindy had come over and made Galen watch Zoolander. Galen didn't love the movie (Padme had a sneaky feeling he was more of an action-movie kid), but he apparently liked that particular line from from the movie. Amused, she had to admit, it fit the situation. Padme picked up some strawberries, the sight of the food making her instantly hungry.

"I think going to dinner after this is a good idea, don't you think?" She said, smiling down at Galen.

Galen's eyes brightened immediately at the mention of dinner, but he coolly responded, "Sounds good to me, Miss Padme." Galen was still getting used to having a woman around all the time.

Padme chuckled and ate the strawberry. She thought it sounded good, too. She quickly pulled out her phone and texted Anakin and her dad about it before putting it back into her silver purse. "So, Galen," Padme said, as they turned to go back down to the lobby, "how are you enjoying your training thus far?"

Galen shrugged his shoulders. "It's…okay I guess. I was just…" he trailed off, glancing at her, as if he were afraid to offend her.

"Just what?" She gently prodded.

"Well…back in my old life, training was on-the-go and intense. Here…nothing dangerous ever happens. I mean, Master says that he's run into trouble here in this world, and back in Nepal, we've had to scare off merchants and stuff…but I've yet to see any actual action." Padme smiled—oh, Galen was the perfect Padawan for her husband alright. They both craved action and adventure, and were clearly warriors at heart.

They began to descend down the winding, carpeted stairway towards the lobby where the bar and restrooms were. Padme could see that most of the audience had gathered here, and Padme slowed, dreading looking for her parents and Anakin in that crowd. Perhaps Anakin would come to her, or she could see them from above. "There are plenty of dangers that you will someday face. Don't be eager to put yourself in danger—as a Jedi, trust me, danger will find you." She paused. "Besides, a Jedi is a peace keeper, not an instigator of conflicts."

Galen sighed. They had reached the bottom of the steps, and therefore, the crowd. Already Padme began to feel claustrophobic. She didn't normally care, but when she was pregnant, different things seemed to bother her. "That's what Master always says, too." He admitted, and then under his breath, almost too low for her to hear, he said, "Although, that's not what he used to say."

Padme did not want to get in the middle of Galen's relationship with her husband, so she let the subject drop and pretended she hadn't heard his last comment. Instead, she said, "It's so crowded in here. Can you sense where Anakin is, Galen?"

Galen shrugged. "Sure. He's still…" he paused, frowning, and suddenly, before Padme could ask what was wrong, he took off at a run, pushing and shoving his way through the crowd, causing lots of gasps and irritated looks to be thrown his way.

"Galen!" Padme called, trying to push after him as well, but unlike Galen, she made sure to apologize as she went. What on earth had possessed the boy to take off like that?

"Padme?" Her mother's voice drifted across the crowd to meet her ears, and Padme slowed, turning to find a familiar face in the crowd, but as she did, more voices began to rise in alarm in the same general direction Galen had taken off to.

"…attacked!" A man was shouting.

"In the men's restroom!"

"With glowing swords!"

"Who is attacking?" Someone else was shouting back.

"Someone call the police! Quick!"

"Dial 911! Hurry!"

Padme's blood turned to ice, realization setting in. Galen had sensed danger.

Anakin was in danger. Which meant...

They were all in danger.

Worried for her husband, she began to head towards the restroom to see if she could help, but then stopped. She wasn't alone. She had her parents to think about. They didn't even know what a Jedi was. To her parents, Jedi was her dog. If they saw Anakin fighting with his lightsaber, how could she explain all of this to them without raising suspicion?

More importantly, she couldn't risk losing another child. She had a responsibility to protect her unborn baby, and rushing head-first into danger without a weapon was not a good way to do that. Even though it killed her to have to leave her beloved husband fighting whatever it was alone, she forced herself to turn, scanning the crowd to find her parents. She found them easily, as they had apparently spotted her and were now heading towards her in the crowd, a confused look on their faces. Clearly, they had heard the commotion, too.

"We need to go," Padme began to say as calmly as she could as they reached her, her father's hands going out to touch her arms as if making sure she was alright.

"What's going on?" Her father asked, his voice stern, the same voice he had used whenever he wanted information from her, and she was withholding it. "Is there some sort of fight?"

"I can't explain, Dad, but we need to get…"

BOOM

Suddenly, there was, what sounded like, a massive explosion behind them, and pandemonium erupted as people began screaming hysterically and running panic-stricken towards the front doors in a stampede, bumping into Padme and her parents, almost knocking Padme over. Her father's grip on her arms turned to iron, and he began to pull her towards him to steady her while he tried to see what was going on. "Dad," She began again, fear tightening in her chest. They needed to get out of there now.

She never got to finish. As the crowd cleared, she saw a ton of water spilling underneath the restroom door, and a split second later the door also exploded outward with a tremendous BANG!, her husband flying backwards through it, having evidently been thrown by... something.

"What the...?!" Her father began as her mother screamed.

Padme tried to shake her father's grip, her eyes never leaving her husband as he landed, thankfully on his feet, though his low back hit the edge of the bar table. He had lost his tuxedo jacket, and there were tears in his white shirt, but she didn't see any evidence of injuries. She saw him wince with pain, but his eyes remained focused and fixed on the restroom door, as Galen suddenly emerged, soaking wet, but equally determined, as he joined Anakin at his side. Both of them had their lightsaber hilts in their hands.

"Anakin!" her father yelled, and Padme watched surprise and realization flicker across Anakin's face, as he momentarily lost focus on the battle. Padme knew Anakin hadn't forgotten that they were in the building, but he probably had assumed they had turned and run like everyone else had. She saw his face scrunch with worry and grim determination.

He met Padme's eyes before flicking his gaze down to her belly, and even though people were still screaming, Anakin said something, something Padme couldn't hear, but she didn't need to.

"Go. Get to safety."

"Dad, we need to go, RIGHT NOW." Padme now grabbed her father's jacket and pulled.

"But, what about Anakin and the boy…" her father, completely confused began, but again, the restroom door banged open, and out stepped Anakin's foe.

Grievous.

But, not the Grievous she and Anakin had met on the train. No. The creature that stepped out was none other than the cyborg Grievous that had existed in their old galaxy. He was just as massive, with his arms and legs clearly robotic, his armor reminiscent of a rather frightening skeleton. As he emerged from the restroom, he roared, his arms splitting into four limbs, and in each of his four hands, he held an ignited, different colored lightsaber. "Pathetic," His bone-chilling, gravelly voice was the same as well, both human and robotic at the same time, "I expected to fight a former Sith Lord, not a pathetically weak Jedi. How... disappointing."

Thankfully, most of the people had already rushed out the front door, but those who were left and were witnessing this began shrieking and running in a mass panic. Padme's parents looked on in abject terror, and her father's grip on her arms had gone slack. "Like I said," Padme hissed, "We need to go. NOW."

"But…Anakin…." Her mother began. She looked like she was going to faint.

"What…what is that?" Her father breathed, eyes glued to Grievous.

Both Anakin and Galen ignited their lightsabers and charged at Grievous, and her parents gasped in horror. Padme forced herself to look away as she grabbed both of her parent's hands and began to drag them away from the battle. But, they resisted. "It's nothing Anakin and Galen can't handle," Padme said, adding I hope in her head. Anakin had fought against Grievous by himself multiple times during the Clone Wars, and he was now a more powerful Jedi and even better at a lightsaber than he had been then. And, Galen…well, she had no idea about him really. She hadn't ever watched Anakin and Galen practice, as they usually did that after hours in a locked up workshop in the factory, and she hadn't known Galen in their previous life. She just hoped that if he had been trained by Anakin then, he would be a helpful asset to her husband now.

"You say that like this is a normal thing," Her mother was practically in hysterics.

Well. They had now seen the lightsabers. They had now seen Grievous. Clearly, at least some of this secret was now out of the bag. Perfect. "It…sort of is, yes." She admitted, as she dragged them to the front doors where people pushed and shoved their way out. In the distance, Padme could hear sirens. Lots of them.

Oh, Great.

Her heart sank—how were they going to deal with the police? If the government got involved…She might not lose her husband to Grievous. Sudden images of the movie E.T., popped in her head. Not good, she thought.

"What do you mean, sort of?!" Her father angrily demanded, "Padme, we can't just…"

"We'll only be in the way, Dad," Padme snapped, cutting her father off. She saw an opening and took it, dragging her parents out of the glass doors and out into the chilly night air. "We need to get out of here and find a neutral location, somewhere no one would be able to find us, just until the coast is clear."

"This isn't happening," Her mother began, "This is NOT happening! Please tell me this is some elaborate prank gone wrong!"

"I wish I could, Mom," Padme grumbled as she pulled them down the street, trying to get somewhere that wasn't so crowded with people.

"Where are we going?!" Her father demanded, "The garage isn't this way…"

"We're not going to wait around stuck in a huge line of cars trying to get out," Padme snapped.

"But, our cars…" Her mother started.

Padme stopped and whirled on her parents, losing her temper. She rarely lost it, but she was tired, worried about her husband and Galen, hungry, and pregnant. She was not in the mood to sit around in the open when Grievous could have brought more of Palpatine's goons to help him. "Don't you get it?! We are in danger! Not just Anakin, but our entire family, right now, is in danger! I am not going to be a sitting duck in a parking garage full of people if Grievous brought other people to help him track us down! We are going to find a cab, and we are going to find somewhere safe and neutral, and we are going to wait for Anakin and Galen to meet up with us! Understood?!" She scowled. In that moment, she was not their daughter, the law student from Stanford. She was Senator Padme Amidala, and she was taking charge of a very explosive situation.

Her parents, already shocked by the night's events, didn't seem too surprised that their normally calm daughter was yelling orders at them, but they did seem thrown off by it. So, when she huffed and turned to hail a cab, they just looked at each other but didn't say another word.

For now.


Apparently he couldn't even go to the restroom without someone trying to ruin his life.

He had been using the facilities, minding his own business, ignoring the other fancy-dressed men in the room. When he had finished and was standing in line to wash his hands, the door to the restroom opened. Normally, he would have ignored it, but he felt the warning in the Force. His hand instinctively went to the hilt of his lightsaber and his eyes began to scan the room for the source of the danger.

He hadn't needed to look long.

The problem was obvious, for the creature that had stepped through the bathroom door was covered by a long, flowing black cloak and a wide brimmed hat that covered his features. It saw him just as he saw it, and an inhuman snarl erupted from the creature. "Darth Vader," the voice was familiar somehow, and clearly it knew him…or at least, knew of him. "Former Sith Lord, former Jedi, turned Jedi again."

And, suddenly, Anakin knew the voice. It was warped by machinery just like it had been before.

The cloak slipped away to reveal the skeletal cyborg Anakin had hunted relentlessly during the Clone Wars, causing the other men in the restroom to gasp in shock and back away. Golden, cat-like eyes stared back at him, filled with malice as his robotic hands pulled out the hilts of two lightsabers. "This time, I know who I'm dealing with, Jedi-Scum!"

Grievous ignited the lightsabers, causing panic in the restroom, and men scrambled for the door. Grievous ignored them, focusing straight on Anakin. Anakin let out a stream of colorful curses in Huttese, knowing that he needed to defend himself, but that by doing so, he would expose the Jedi Order. How had Grievous survived being thrown out of a train?! Clearly, Palpatine had more resources than Anakin had thought.

Kriff!

Padme was going to kill him...if he wasn't hauled off by the government first, just like that strange little alien that had vaguely seemed familiar to him in that movie she and Mindy had showed him once.

So, as Grievous launched himself at Anakin, he switched his blade on as well, bringing it up to block the twin blue and green blades.

Two lightsabers. He could work with that. He'd fought many opponents by himself who fought with two lightsabers.

Grievous advanced, viciously slashing at Anakin with his lightsabers. Anakin blocked them, maneuvering as best as he could around the relatively small space of the restroom. Their blades sliced through stall doors and once a sink, water spraying up into the air. Thankfully, everyone had cleared out quickly, otherwise Anakin would have had to worry about that…

One of Grievous' arms split, the hand whipping around and catching Anakin unexpectedly in the face, where he was thrown against one of the mirrors, which shattered on impact. Anakin hissed, bringing up his lightsaber to block Grievous' next attack just in time…

"Master!" A familiar voiced called, and a second later, Anakin felt a powerful push directed at Grievous through the Force, effectively knocking the creature back into the opposite wall with a snarl. Anakin couldn't help but smile—Galen was always exceptional with powerful blasts from the Force. It had been one of his specialties in their old galaxy. With glass shards now embedded in his tux jacket, Anakin quickly discarded it, and Galen joined him at his side, igniting his own blue lightsaber, a determined look on his face.

"So," Grievous hissed, stalking towards them, and Anakin didn't need years of military experience to know that Grievous was reassessing his odds. "You are creating more Jedi brats. It is no matter. My Master will defeat you, just as he did in our previous life."

Well great. Not only did Grievous have his old formidable body back, but he now remembered their previous life. Anakin doubted things could get any worse.

An old friend of yours? Galen sarcastically asked through their Force-connection. Grievous had died before Galen's time, and Anakin didn't program Grievous into PROXY for him to practice with.

You could say that. Watch out, he has two other lightsabers to fight with as well.

Good to know.

Without another word, they launched themselves at Grievous, and the deadly, twisting battle started once more.

With four blades twirling around and clashing into each other, the bathroom was in shambles in no time. Even though Galen was young, he had still retained quite a bit of his knowledge of the Force from his previous life, and his strokes with the lightsaber were quick and precise, just as Vader had taught him. The difference was, Galen's movements were not fueled by anger this time, but rather the need to protect. Periodically, Galen and Anakin would attempt a Force push against Grievous, knocking him back, but Grievous quickly caught onto that trick. When Anakin attempted to push him back again, he leapt up, his claws digging into the ceiling, his body becoming almost spidery as he skittered across the ceiling in the blink of an eye, dropping behind Anakin and swinging both sabers.

Anakin whirled in time, managing to block, but the force of Grievous' swing caused him to stumble back, leaving him open to…

BOOM!

Suddenly, every toilet and sink in that bathroom exploded, water erupting and slamming into Grievous. Grievous roared, and the lightsabers in his hands went skittering across the bathroom tile. Anakin glanced over and found Galen there, soaking wet, his hands extended towards Grievous. Anakin smirked—he would need to commend him on his creative thinking later…

"MASTER!" Galen suddenly cried, and Anakin, realizing his stupidity at getting distracted, suddenly had a clawed hand wrapped around his throat, and Anakin found himself gasping for air as he was lifted from the ground. Small, ragged gasps escaped his throat, and black spots appeared in his vision. It was hard to think. The only thing he could think of in that moment was escape. Desperately, he blindly slashed out with his lightsaber, attempting to hit something vital, but in that brief, awful moment, Anakin was weak, and Grievous was much too fast. The lightsaber nicked Grievous' armor before he threw Anakin away from him with such force that Anakin slammed through the restroom door, out into the open space of the lobby/bar area, and hit the low edge of the bar table.

He gasped in air, wincing in pain, his head clearing and coming back to his senses. He had been stupid. He couldn't even remember the last time he had done something so stupid…if Obi-Wan found out, he would never hear the end of it…

He began to push himself up, his hand tightening on the grip of his now deactivated lightsaber, ignoring the screams of the other guests as they began to run for the front door. He needed to end this battle. Fast. Galen emerged from the bathroom, his eyes locking with Anakin's, and Anakin couldn't help but notice the grim relief in Galen's eyes as he rushed to join Anakin's side once more.

That was reckless, Master. What were you thinking?!

Actually, I was admiring you…

He hardly had time to finish, or register the surprise coming from Galen through their Force connection, before he heard another, sickeningly familiar voice call his name. He whirled in surprise to find Padme and her parents standing in the midst of the rushing crowd, her parents looking on in horror while Padme was clearly trying to grab their attention to get them to leave. Instinctively, panic welled up in his throat, his eyes darting down to Padme's abdomen where their child was, a fragile life that he needed to protect at all costs, in addition to protecting his wife and her family. His eyes met Padme's, and mouthed, "Go. Get to safety!"

Padme's eyes hardened, and she whirled on her parents in a renewed effort to get them to listen to her just as the restroom door slammed open once more and out stepped Grievous. He had his original two lightsabers back in his hands, but this time his arms had split into four again, the new hands holding two more lightsabers.

"Pathetic," He rasped, "I expected to fight a former Sith Lord, not a pathetically weak Jedi. How…disappointing."

With his family standing right there, a flash of white-hot anger washed over him: How dare he put his family in danger?! If he had actually known Darth Vader, Grievous would not have been interested in messing with him. For the first time in a very long time, the Dark Side seemed to call him, tempting him to unleash it and show this fool what the true power of the Dark Side looked like…

He struggled to push it back. He was Anakin Skywalker. Not Darth Vader. He would not give Grievous the satisfaction of resorting to Vader's ways in order to win.

He was a Jedi. Not a Sith. He would fight him as a Jedi.

Grievous shifted his weight, about to attack, but Anakin reignited his saber and launched himself forward first, Galen by his side, attacking together as one. Blades clashed, the sabers hissing as the three of them began dueling across the lobby. By then, most everyone had run, including, thankfully, Padme and her parents, so Anakin could truly focus on his enemy.

Grievous was still the exceptional fighter that he had been in their old life, and he had certainly improved since their last encounter on the train. Even against two powerful, Force-wielding Jedi, he managed to hold his own. Now that Galen and Anakin had more space, their maneuvers became deadlier, their maneuvers with the Force bolder. Anakin attempted to flip over the cyborg and strike from behind, but Grievous managed to block. Still, Anakin attacked relentlessly as their fight moved from the lobby (which now had sliced lightsaber marks all over it), to the open auditorium attached. Pieces of seats and the stuffing of cushions went flying as they leapt and flipped and slashed at one another.

It was a deadly dance, a dance that probably would have been much more entertaining to watch than the stupid ballet had been, but as an active participant in the battle, Anakin wasn't exactly enthused for it to continue on.

Galen leapt into the air, using the Force to give him momentum, and with a yell, he threw as much Force as he could into a powerful push, a push that seemed to overpower the electricity in the room and cause the lights to flare brightly before shattering and plunging most of the room into darkness, emergency lights flickering. Grievous himself was knocked back into the stage, crying out in either rage or pain (Anakin couldn't tell which) as his back hit the wooden floor.

Anakin, seeing his opportunity to change the tide of battle, retracted his lightsaber, his eyes set above the stage to where the massive metal system holding the hundreds of different lights extended clear over the massive stage. Calling upon the Force, he reached his hand out towards it, and yanked. With a horrible screech, the metal began to bend, and with a continuous pull, it finally gave way with a shower of sparks, and Anakin thrust the metal with all of his might down towards Grievous.

Grievous saw it coming, and with a howl he lurched himself sideways, rolling as the metal smashed into the stage, leaving a massive crater in the floor, separating the Jedi from their foe. "Master," Galen said, his voice filled with warning.

"What?" Anakin hissed, already igniting his lightsaber again and preparing to launch over the gap to continue the attack.

"Look." Anakin wanted to ignore him and attack, but that was what the old Anakin would have done. Darth Vader was a lot of things, but he was also a master strategist, and that part of him caused him to stop and listen to his apprentice, looking to where Galen was now pointing.

The sparks. They had not fallen harmless to the floor. The rows of curtains lining the stage had caught the sparks, and the flammable material had caught fire, and flames were now licking their way quickly toward the ceiling. Soon, the entire stage would be engulfed in flame, and it wouldn't be long before the rest of the building was in danger, too.

Grievous was also not lost on this fact. He hissed and whirled, using the speed his mechanical limbs gave him to move still apparently had no problem turning and running when he knew the odds were no longer in his favor.

The coward.

It burned Anakin with frustration to watch Grievous run—he wanted to go after him and bring him to swift justice. But, just as Anakin was considering making the leap anyway, one of the massive curtains collapsed, spraying fire across the stage, blocking his path. It still might have been something the old Anakin may have risked, but as Anakin watched the flames reach the stage, he couldn't help but be reminded of the fight on Mustafar. Chilling images of him writhing in pain as fire engulfed his body flashed through his head, effectively causing him to freeze.

No. He wouldn't go through that to catch Grievous. Anything but fire. He loathed fire.

"Master?" Galen asked, unsure, "Do you still want to attempt to catch him?"

Anakin retracted his saber and returned the hilt back to his belt. "No," He said, and he couldn't help but notice that his voice quivered. He cleared his throat. "We need to get out of here before the building burns…and before the cops burst in here."

Galen hesitated for a moment, and Anakin was reminded that as Darth Vader, he had stressed that Galen do whatever it took to complete his missions. What he was now telling Galen contradicted that, like so much of his other recent counsel to the boy in this life. "Okay," he finally said, and he too put his lightsaber back before he followed Anakin to find another way out of the building.


Anakin leaned against the side of the hotel elevator, overcome suddenly with exhaustion as he watched the green numbers climb the floors. He wished it would go faster. He wanted to physically make sure Padme was alright, and then lie down and sleep. He had been thrown into a huge mess that could have major repercussions, but in that moment, he just wanted to put it off and pretend that it wasn't a big deal until tomorrow.

Galen slumped against the other wall, also pretty tired. His eyes dropped, and Anakin smiled a little bit—Galen was still a clearly experienced fighter, and utilized tricks that even Anakin wanted to learn from, but he was still a nine-year-old boy, and had the energy of a nine year old. After the day he had, he probably needed rest more than Anakin did.

Anakin was glad he had created the comm links while in Nepal. They had come in handy for contacting the other Jedi around the world, but up until that night, Anakin had never used the comm link he had given to Padme. Sure, they both carried them just in case, but there hadn't been a reason to switch to it when they had their cells to communicate. Now, however, when Anakin wasn't sure who was looking for them, he made sure to use the untraceable communication devices.

It was easy to find the correct room, and he quickly tapped out the knock he and Padme had agreed to (three slow knocks, followed by two fast ones) and waited for the door to open. As he did, Galen cleared his throat. "By the way, you have bruises…"

The door opened, and Padme stood before him, her soft lips twisted into a worried frown. Anakin groaned and reached up to smooth it out with his thumb. "You aren't supposed to be worrying, Angel." He whispered, his eyes flickering down to her abdomen.

"I'm going to worry when my husband…" she paused, her eyes narrowing on him. He frowned, about to ask what was wrong, when she gasped. "Oh Ani, what happened to you?!" She reached up to touch his neck softly.

"Huh?" He dumbly said as he moved into the tiny, one room hotel. Padme stepped aside for him to enter, but her hands did not leave. Galen followed as well, sitting down on the green cot that had been set up. He glanced around the room to find cheap, cardboard-looking curtains, an ancient cooling system that was already making a racket, dim lighting, and an old TV sitting on a rickety table. There was one queen size bed, and the couch had been turned into a bed as well. Currently, Padme's parents sat on the big queen bed, staring at Anakin as if he were some sort of alien.

Technically, he was.

"Your neck," Padme said, "You're bruising."

"Told you." Galen muttered.

"Oh." He had been so tired, he hadn't bothered to actually check to see if he was injured. "I didn't notice. It's nothing, really. Grievous attempted to choke me, but I got out of it fine."

It didn't seem to calm his wife much, and he could feel her Force presence brimming with concern. Ignoring that Galen and her parents were there, he turned and gave her his full attention, kissing her firmly on the mouth. "I'm fine," He whispered when he pulled away, "I promise. Please, calm down. If not for me…" he trailed off, not knowing yet what she had revealed to her parents since they had witnessed him battling Grievous.

She didn't get a chance to respond.

"Enough," Ruwee said, his voice firm and commanding. Anakin turned, his hands still on Padme's waist, to find the older man glowering at Anakin as if he were some threat. He motioned to the TV, which was turned on but set to mute. News coverage of the burning theater flickered across the screen. "I want to know why you were fighting a giant robot monster with glowing swords. I want to know why Padme seems to think it is normal to leave her husband and his supposed cousin to fight a monster like that. I want to know why the authorities are looking for information on three unidentified terrorists that apparently you have been labeled as. I need answers and I need them now."

Anakin glanced at Padme, meeting her eyes, his question unspoken. She sighed. "I didn't want to tell them without you present." In other words, she didn't know what to tell them and what to leave out. He could see the fear of losing him in her dark brown eyes, and it made him tighten his grip around her waist.

"Okay," He said, turning back to her parents. "Where would you like me to start?"

Ruwee and Jobal glanced at each other, also silently communicating. Finally, Jobal asked in a quivering voice, "Who…what was that creature?"

"That was Grievous." Anakin answered, "He's a cyborg that works under Palpatine. He is much like Maul in the sense that he is dispatched to take care of people Palpatine deems…problematic."

"Palpatine is behind this?" Ruwee asked incredulously, "How do you know this?"

Because I'm from another galaxy and I unfortunately have a complicated relationship with basically everyone involved tonight, Anakin thought grimly. What he said was, "I've been tracking the assassins for years. I suspected Palpatine before Padme found all of that information, and I've run into Grievous once before." He didn't bother to give more information than that—Padme and Anakin had intentionally kept the train attack secret from their parents. Her parents had known about the train attack, but since Padme and Anakin had wished to remain anonymous, her parents weren't ever clued in that their daughter and son-in-law had been in danger.

There was an awkward silence as her parents processed this information. "You're clearly not a government spy," Ruwee grumbled, "I ran a background check on you in the very beginning of all this."

"Dad," Padme said, clearly appalled by the idea that her father would use government resources to check on the guys she was dating. Anakin didn't bother to mention that he actually approved of the idea: He would have done the exact same thing if it was Leia.

Her father ignored her. "So. What are you, Anakin Skywalker?" He eyed the lightsaber hilt attached to his side. "That is obviously not a simple prototype for one of your droids, as you told me when I asked you about that before."

The moment of truth.

Anakin would not tell his father-in-law about being from another galaxy (that would guarantee him a one-way trip to an insane asylum), but he couldn't hide the fact that he was a Jedi any longer. Now that the truth was staring them straight in the face, he realized it had been stupid to try to hide it from them in the first place. One way or another, they would have found out.

"No, it isn't. This is called a lightsaber," Anak in fingered the saber clipped to his belt, "and I'm part of a group of individuals who have the ability to tap into what we call the Force." Her parents glanced at each other in confusion, as if checking to see if the other had heard of the Force before. "The best way I can quickly describe it is that it is similar to what you would call magic, but the Force is much more than that. It is all around us, it helps guide and direct the lives of those in the universe. It's like an energy that surrounds and binds us together." They still didn't seem like they fully understood it, but he didn't see disbelief either. After what they'd seen tonight, there was no way they could doubt his confession about the Force existing.

He continued. "There are some, like Palpatine and Grievous and Maul, that use this power for evil. We call them the Sith." He didn't bother to explain that technically, Grievous was not a Sith Lord. Maybe some other time. "And then there are some who dedicate their lives to using the Force to maintain peace. These people are called Jedi." He motioned to himself and Galen. "We are part of a small, but growing, Jedi Order. Obi….Ben and I are the Grand Masters of the Order, and we have young Jedi training under other Jedi Masters across the world in undisclosed locations," Ruwee opened his mouth, clearly to ask for more information on the location, but Anakin cut him off firmly, "That I will not disclose for their own safety."

This did not seem to sit well with his father-in-law. His face reddened with anger. "You claim to be peaceful," he motioned brusquely to the TV, "Yet that looks nothing like peace!"

Anakin calmly replied, "The road to peace is a long and hard one. You should understand that, working in politics."

Jobal spoke before her husband could reply. She didn't seem angry, per se, but she did seem to be in shock. She looked at Galen as she spoke. "So, you're not really cousins." It wasn't a question.

"No." Galen said sleepily. "He's my Master. He's training me to become a Jedi."

Jobal frowned. "But you're only nine…"

"Anciently, Jedi used to start their training around the age four." Galen responded, earning him the attention of both of Padme's parents. He shrugged. "What? The Jedi didn't just randomly show up in the last nine years."

"How old is this order?" Jobal breathed, looking more lost than before. Anakin felt a little bad for dropping all of this on the poor woman.

"We don't have all of the answers yet, but it seems that the old Order disappeared. We don't know why yet." Anakin replied. "Obi-Wan….Ben…and I have begun rebuilding it."

"Ahsoka is a part of this, too." Ruwee said. It wasn't a question either. Anakin could tell the man had already pieced it together. Anakin nodded. Ruwee let out a breath. "And Mindy?"

Anakin snorted, but it was Padme who answered. "She isn't a Jedi, but she has been helping the order catalog the artifacts and information they've been gathering."

This seemed to unsettle Ruwee further. "Are we the last to know about all of this?!"

"No," Padme quickly assured him, "This is largely secret."

"Well, it shouldn't be." Ruwee stood, seemingly unable to sit still any longer. He began to pace the small area of the room he had. "This is too dangerous. Who knows how many other of those…those things…those Sith, are out there. We need to present this to Congress…no, the president…"

Anakin's heart sank. This was exactly what they had feared. Padme's parents, being the politicians they were, needed to disclose this information to their government. Honestly, if Anakin was in their position, he probably would have done the same. However, he couldn't allow himself and other Jedi to be taken by the government. They would need to escape, run to Nepal…

"Absolutely not." Padme firmly said, stopping her father in his tracks.

"Excuse me?" He asked, his voice low and warning, as if she were a disrespectful child rebelling against him. Then again, Anakin had never heard Padme respond that way to her parents. Yet, there she was, no longer acting like the Stanford-Law student she had been raised to become on this world. There, standing beside him, was Senator Amidala, her eyes filled with the determined fire he had fallen for all those years ago.

"You will not take my husband away from me." Her father opened his mouth to argue, but she cut him off. "Even if the government believed you, you know the government would take him, and everyone like him. They would become experiments, or worse, they would be locked up in windowless cells for the rest of their lives. You would start a manhunt, a panic, that would cost lives, because the government would view the Jedi and the Sith as one faceless enemy that needs to be stopped, regardless of the fact that people like my husband are trying to help bring balance to the world." Her glare intensified, and her voice dropped until it was threatening. "If you reveal my husband and the Jedi Order," she said, "You will lose me as your daughter. I will leave with Anakin and Galen right now, and you will never see me again. You will never find me. I can promise you that."

Both Jobal and Galen were staring at Padme open mouthed, as if they hadn't expected that from her. Anakin had seen her get that way in the Senate multiple times, but he didn't think she would ever use that on her parents. As he studied her, he could tell that she wasn't bluffing either—she was deadly serious. She fully intended to walk out the door at the first sign of her parents turning him into the government.

He wasn't sure whether to be surprised, or proud. Both, he decided, struggling to keep a smirk off of his face—he was both.

Ruwee seemed to get the message as well, but he did not seem to find it as impressive as Anakin did. His eyes narrowed. "I am your father, young lady…"

"And I will always love you for that," Padme replied smoothly. "However, Anakin is my husband. I have promised to support him. If he has to go on the run, then so will I."

Ruwee was silent for a long time, struggling to come to terms with the woman standing before him. Clearly, he had not seen this side of his daughter before. "You knew." He finally said softly, "Before you married him. You knew."

"I did." Padme replied.

"And, you didn't tell us."

"It wasn't my secret to tell."

"You've put yourself in danger." He motioned to Anakin. "He's put you in danger!"

"I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to marry him." Padme replied. "I don't regret it."

There was another long, tense silence. Finally, Ruwee sighed, relenting. "Fine. I won't tell the government." Padme relaxed, but Ruwee whirled on Anakin. "However, if you ever bring harm to my daughter…"

He didn't finish the threat, but he didn't need to. Anakin nodded. "I would give my life before I allowed that to happen." He promised, but it didn't seem to completely satisfy the man. Ruwee huffed and sat back down on the bed, apparently through with the conversation.

With a sinking feeling, Anakin wondered if he had completely damaged his relationship with his father-in-law forever.

After an awkward pause, Jobal asked, "Is there anything else that we should know that you haven't told us?"

Padme glanced at Anakin, before looking back at her mother. She sighed, threw her hands in the air, and said, "I'm pregnant."

As another shocked silence ensued, Anakin burst into hysterical, almost delirious laughter from lack of rest.

Well, he supposed that was one way to announce the big news.


This chapter turned out to be much more involved than I originally planned. I went into it thinking that it would be a short chapter...17 pages later... XD

As I said, the end of the school year is here, and it's testing season, so school has been extremely busy. I'll try to update regularly, but please be patient.

Next chapter, we find out about whether or not this baby is Luke and Leia! ;)

BABIES.

Love you lots! Thanks for the support, it means a lot to me!

Review!

Love,

Sarah