6 months later...

"I'm warning you nowbefore you probably find out tomorrow," Padme said with a sigh, as she raked her hands through her hair, her look of exasperation...and exhaustion... clearly evident over the video feed Artoo displayed on the wall of Anakin's private cabin, "Our daughter is going through a new...umm...phase."

Anakin raised a tired eyebrow. Force, he was so ready to get out of space, get back home, and see his family in person again. Sure, he had enjoyed this mission while it lasted, but he'd never spent so long traveling in space without stopping at various planets to carry out either Jedi or Imperial business. Without the ability to travel in hyperspace, almost three months nonstop to Mars and three months nonstop back to Earth had gotten boring. Very quickly. Sure, he and Obi-Wan had kept busy, sparring with their lightsabers in the onboard gym, meditating, talking about the Order, NASA, their company, and their families, but they were both ready to get back on solid ground.

He vowed to make a faster spaceship.

But, at least tomorrow he would finally touch down on Earth, proving to NASA (and his father-in-law) that he'd been right all along, and most importantly, he'd be seeing his family in person again. He'd missed them so much on this trip.

"What phase is that?" He asked, half wondering if maybe he should've pretended Padme wasn't about to announce something he may not like. If he ignored it, maybe the problem would just go away.

Yeah. Not likely.

"Well," Padme sighed again and looked down at her hands now resting on the kitchen counter, and Anakin noticed she was blushing. "She's decided that she really hates...clothing."

Noticing the annoyed expression on his wife's face and realizing the implication of a common, but dreaded, phase many toddlers went through, Anakin couldn't help but smirk. "Oh?" He snickered, earning him a glare from his wife.

"It's not funny, Anakin! Don't you dare encourage this behavior by laughing! Earlier this week, Sola and I were at Target with all the kids and Galen, when suddenly Leia just starts stripping in the middle of the store, throwing her clothes on the floor, and took off running before I could grab her! Galen had to Force freeze her to stop her so I could catch her! Thank goodness Sola was in the restroom with the girls at the time. I don't know how I would've explained it otherwise. I was so embarrassed," she complained, a look of frustration on her face. Now Anakin was laughing fully, which made Padme scowl more. "Stop laughing this minute, do you hear me? If you don't, you're sleeping on the couch when you get home, mister."

Anakin took that threat seriouslyand immediately forced himself to sober, though he was still smirking like a crazy space man. Right now, after being cooped up in a small ship (okay, small by his standards) for six months with Obi-Wan, he was desperate to be in the presence of other human beings, especially his wife and kids, to go for a morning run on something other than a treadmill, to eat his wife's real home cooked meals again instead of dehydrated rations. Even going to the beach would be fun, he decided, which spoke volumes about the depth of his cabin fever, as much as he disliked sand.

It wasn't that he was tired of being cooped up with Obi-Wan specifically. They had spent many years in close quarters at the Jedi Temple and then in barracks during the Clone Wars and already knew how to live with each other. Despite how close both of them were, however, they were also very different people, and Anakin was more than ready to be back with his family again. He was sure Obi-Wan felt the same way.

Besides. He really, really missed his wife. And, he really, really missed his kids.

"Well, at least Luke has finally stopped biting everyone and everything now," Padme sighed, which prompted Anakin to start laughing again, much to his wife's obvious displeasure. While he was gone, Luke had gotten into a rather serious biting phase. For several months, no one and nothing was safe from Luke's teeth prints. He'd bitten both of his grandmothers, Ryoo, Pooja, Galen, Peter, Mindy, and Padme, for some unknown reason only leaving Leia, Ahsoka, and Ruwee unscathed. Bail, whom Padme had called about the problem, had said that toddlers who were teething did that all the time but that possibly the separation from his father was exacerbating the issue. Threepio (who had been bitten twice) took every chance he got to complain about it to Padme...and Anakin, if he saw Padme talking to Anakin on the video link.

"Yes, that's a good thing, I'm sure," Anakin agreed with a smile before sobering up and quickly changing topics. "Our anniversary. Are you packed and ready to go, Sweetheart?"

Padme sobered, too. Their third wedding anniversary was in two days. He would be home just in time for it, but due to his extended absence from the family, their original plans had to be...modified. They had originally planned to fly down to San Diego for a week alone, leaving the twins with Padme's parents and Galen, but both of the kids had gone into a deep depression after he'd left for Mars, Luke worst of all. Anakin had tried cheering them up on their daily video calls, and though they'd gotten super excited to see and talk to him everyday, as soon as the calls ended, they'd gone right back into depression-mode. It had gotten a bit better over the months, but Luke was still having the hardest time of all with it, and Anakin and Padme theorized that his return home would likely cause the twins to grow overly attached to him and be ultra sensitive to his presence for awhile. If they left on a mini vacation right now, just the two of them, they were afraid the disappearance of not one, but both of their parents, would be catastrophic and just too much for the twins, not to mention a nightmare for whoever stayed to watch them.

But, Anakin realized, they also needed their own alone time as husband and wife, not just as mother and father. After all, they hadn't been together in six months, and they needed to reconnect as a married couple, as lovers, both physically and emotionally, as well.

The solution, they decided, was insane, but their only real option right now: Over the next seven days, they would spend the daytime hours at home and going out to do fun activities with the kids, reconnecting as a family. Then they would wait until the twins were in bed asleep, leaving Shmi and Galen in charge (so he could make sure the kids stayed asleep with the help of the Force), and then go off to have their own private adventures each night and be back home before the twins woke up the next morning.

Yes, it was insane. It was exhausting to think about. But, it was the only way they could think of to make it work without causing additional emotional trauma on their children.

So, as they had discussed, Padme had booked a romantic nightly getaway for them at the luxurious Seal Cove Inn out at Half Moon Bay, which was only thirty minutes from their home. She had reserved the beautiful Cypress Grove Suite for a week, and she also made private dinner reservations for them each night at a different restaurant, reserving a special couple's private spa experience for one evening, as well getting them tickets to a couple of local music concerts, and a private two-hour cruise at sunset off the coast. To allow for their SUV to stay at home for Shmi (who was in town to welcome Anakin home) to drive in case of emergency, Padme had also rented them a black Mercedes to drive to and from all their excursions for the week. She would pick up the rental car first thing in the morning before they had to leave for the landing pad.

"Yes, I've packed for both of us, Ani," Padme confirmed, "And Shmi and Galen have all the instructions…not that Galen needs them anymore."

Anakin nodded in satisfaction. "Good. I can't wait to be alone with you and really celebrate everything that's happened, just the two of us, Angel." He paused, sighing, a look of intense longing crossing his face. "Just a few more hours, and this will all be over. I'll be home with you, Sweetheart."

Padme smiled, her eyes dancing with amusement. "Y'know, you and Obi-Wan are practically celebrities down here now. That selfie you guys took on Mars in your space suits? Priceless. Mindy had it blown up and professionally framed and took the liberty of hanging it on our wall in the front entry way. You two went viral on Twitter and Facebook on that photo."

Anakin grinned. That had been the first picture they sent back to NASA with the subject line "Told You So" attached to it. Obi-Wan had worried that might have ruined Anakin's chances of joining NASA, but Anakin doubted it since they had also collected numerous soil and rock samples from the planet and took more pictures and recorded video and other data for the space agency. NASA had wanted them to stick an American flag on Mars, like the astronauts had done on the moon, but Anakin and Obi-Wan felt this wasn't an achievement for just the United States. Rather, it was an achievement for the whole world, and perhaps even this galaxy.

Plus, Anakin just enjoyed sticking it to them too much. That was something he doubted he would ever grow out of. So, instead, they'd planted a flag with a picture of Earth on it, and took another selfie of them with the flag and sent that to NASA instead.

"I'll put spotlights on that picture when I get home." He teased. "I'll write it into my will and make Luke display it in a place of honor in his home after I die."

Padme rolled her eyes. "The point is, life might be a little different down here, Ani. At least for a little while. You and Obi-Wan are famous celebrities now, which means we'll have to be much more careful, for us and the kids."

He nodded in agreement. "Alright, Angel. I understand. Listen, I hate to cut this short, but I'd better get some sleep before I have to help Obi-Wan land this thing tomorrow."

"No landing in style, please." Padme reminded him with a smirk.

"What? Me? Never." He grinned. Truly, he was confident that he could land the spacecraft safely. He'd done it just fine on Mars. He could certainly do it on a specially built landing pad on Earth. Right? Right, he told himself confidently.

Padme just rolled her eyes again, but she was smiling. "Okay, my handsome Jedi. Get some sleep. I can't wait to see you in the morning. I love you."

"I love you too, Angel. See you in the morning. Goodnight." The video feed cut off, and he was left staring at the blank wall of his cabin. He sighed, running a tired hand over his face. "Ready to go home, Artoo?" He asked his droid.

A low whistle of approval. The sooner, the better.

"I couldn't agree more, Artoo," Anakin chuckled, patting the droid's dome affectionately, before he reached out through the Force to check on Obi-Wan, who was still in the cockpit. You still doing okay in there? He sent through their connection.

He could feel Obi-Wan's exhaustion and apprehension about the landing tomorrow. Obi-Wan was more than ready to go home, too. I'm fine. Get some sleep. I won't have you landing in 'style' tomorrow because you're tired.

What was with everyone and their issues with his landing skills anyway?

Fine, fine, Anakin snickered, Just don't crash us into a satellite or the moon before we can land.

Obi-Wan didn't even bother to reply. Anakin could practically feel Obi-Wan's exasperation through their bond, and he smirked as he stripped himself of his shirt and laid down in his bunk, where sleep easily overcame him.


"Mama!" Leia complained, pulling at her shirt collar. "No shurt!"

Padme inwardly groaned as she checked to make sure Leia hadn't actually started trying to pull it off. After six months, they were back in the private tent at the landing pad, waiting anxiously for Anakin and Obi-Wan to land. The canvas tent shaded them from the hot summer sun, but it also trapped the heat as well, making them all uncomfortable. Dimly, she could hear the voices of the crowd of international reporters who had gathered behind the erected barricade to witness the landing of the two men the media were now dubbing heroes, after calling them irresponsible hooligans only a year before. All she needed at this moment was for her daughter to manage to get out of her clothes and run naked out to see her father in front of all those cameras. Not.

It was Galen who answered Leia, as he squatted down in front of the eighteen-month-old. "We talked about this Leia, remember? You promised not to take off your clothes. You don't want to make your daddy mad, do you?"

At the mention of Anakin, Leia paused, staring at Galen with a solemn expression. "Da no mad." She shook her head, her dark curls bouncing around her angelic face.

"But, Daddy will be mad if you take off your clothes." Galen shot Padme a look that said, I can't believe I'm having this conversation, before he turned his full attention back to Leia. Padme couldn't quite believe it either, mostly because she'd never thought she would ever have to worry about her toddler randomly stripping off her clothes. Privately, she hoped this wasn't a harbinger of things to come when Leia hit her teens, or they'd really be in trouble.

Leia puzzled over Galen's words. Padme suspected that Galen had used the Force to help with the meaning behind them, because she repeated solemnly "Da no mad." But she stopped fiddling with the collar of her shirt, thankfully.

Luke was nestled in Padme's arms. When Padme had told the kids that their daddy was coming home, both of them had gotten excited. Leia, however, was usually all over the place, and over the weeks leading up to his return, she kept having to be reminded that it was actually happening. Luke, on the other hand, fixated on it. Every day, the first thing he'd ask was, "Da home?" When he found out that it wasn't going to be that day, he'd quiet down and toddle off by himself for awhile until Leia managed to distract him with one of their toys.

This morning when he'd asked the question, Padme had expected him to get super excited when she told him yes, today was the day. But instead, he'd looked at her warily, as if he didn't believe her, which had broken her heart to realize he probably didn't believe her. As she'd helped him get dressed and ready to go, he'd remained quiet, stoic almost, and had latched onto her the moment they got out of the car at the landing pad to go wait for Anakin in the tent.

Padme didn't blame Luke. It did feel surreal to finally have her husband back home again after so long apart. She had missed him, greatly. The only reason she hadn't gone mad with worry was because this time, this separation didn't have anything to do with a war her husband was off fighting in. She knew at all times that her husband was safe, because NASA was constantly monitoring their progress and posting hourly updates on their website, and unlike their old galaxy, she was able to see and talk to him everyday. Still, if it hadn't been for the support of their friends and family, the last six months of parenting the twins alone would have driven her up a wall. If there was ever an issue that needed to be addressed using the Force, Galen, Peter, and Ahsoka had been more than helpful in that endeavor.

A cry of excitement suddenly engulfed the tent. "There they are!" Satine cried out from the folded chair she had planted herself in, fanning herself with a file folder. Padme didn't blame her. Standing for long periods of time was exhausting and painful when you were six months pregnant, especially in this miserable summer heat.

The news of Satine's pregnancy had come barely a month into the Mars trip. It had been Padme who had first recognized the signs in her friend, and insisted that she go to the doctor. Sure enough, Bail had confirmed that Satine was, indeed, pregnant. When they'd gotten back to Padme's home that day, Satine had immediately called Obi-Wan, even though it wasn't the time they usually called. She had holed herself up in Padme and Anakin's room for two hours to talk to her husband, and when she finally left, she had been grinning from ear to ear.

Now, as the ship was beginning it's landing decent, Ahsoka and Peter were right by Satine's side to help her out of her chair. "I can't wait to see the look on Obi-Wan's face when he sees how big you've gotten," Ahsoka teased, earning her a mock glare from Satine.

"Just you wait," Satine warned, "Someday this will be you, and I'll tease you endlessly about it as well."

"Yeah, Snips. It's not wise to tease pregnant women." Padme agreed half-heartedly, watching intently as the ship seemed to crawl ever lower towards the landing pad. Couldn't Anakin land the thing any faster?

It felt like ages, but in reality, it was probably only ten minutes before Anakin's ship finally touched down. Thankfully, it was a smooth landing, with no landing gear breaking or engines flaming out. She had no doubt that her husband would land the craft so that he and Obi-Wan survived, but as much confidence as she had in her husband, she also was aware of the...realities of his less than perfect landings in in the past.

Now that he was on the ground, though, it seemed even longer before the ship's ramp finally lowered and…

Out came Obi-Wan.

The crowd of reporters practically exploded with calls and cheers for him. He completely ignored them all, his eyes urgently scanning the landing pad. Satine, ever the one for composure, was no longer composed. "Obi-Wan," She whispered, tears in her eyes, her hands clasped together under her chin, and before Ahsoka could warn her to be careful, she began to rush (well, as fast as a heavily pregnant woman could go) toward her husband.

Obi-Wan, seeing his pregnant wife, immediately picked up his own pace, meeting her halfway. The moment they met, he immediately gathered Satine tightly into his arms, his lips finding hers and...Well. It was not a chaste kiss. Having never actually witnessed Obi-Wan kiss Satine like that (even at their wedding), Padme was sure that she was actually blushing.

But, that was soon forgotten.

The next person out of the ship, followed not long after by his ever faithful droid, was Anakin. As soon as he appeared, a resounding cheer and shouts of Welcome Back and Congratulations came forth from the gathered media and federal officials, and police, which he, too, ignored.

He was a bit skinnier than she remembered, probably since he hadn't exactly been eating home cooked meals for the last few months, but other than that, he was even more handsome than she remembered. She had seen him on their video calls every day over the last six months, of course, but video didn't do him justice. It never had. His hair, in sore need of a haircut, was all tangled sandy-blonde curls. Even from this distance, as his sparkling blue eyes eagerly searched for and settled on her, she could practically feel his cerulean gaze raking her from head to toe, stripping her to her skin, making her breath hitch, and desire well up in her belly. His skin hadn't lost it's color (though he had paled a little), and as he began to stride purposefully over to her, he still carried himself confidently, as if he knew that he could handle anything life threw at them.

She opened her mouth to call to him, for at that moment it was the only part of her that wasn't frozen, but her children brought her back to reality.

"DA!" Leia screamed in delight, and she broke away from Galen and was already running as fast as her chubby little legs could carry her towards her dad. Her cry of delight seemed to pull Anakin back to reality, because he tore his gaze from Padme and looked down to find his daughter coming straight for him.

He laughed and beamed, dropping to his knees as she launched herself into his outstretched arms as hard as she could. "OME! OME! DA OME!" Leia was yelling into his neck, drowning out Anakin's words to her. Anakin met Padme's gaze over Leia's shoulder, winking at her, and Padme found herself smiling back at him.

He was home. Their family was together again, just as they should be.

It was then that she noticed with some concern that Luke was shaking in her arms. "Da?" He croaked, his lower lip quivering, but he made no move to squirm out of her arms. He stared at Anakin, as if in disbelief that his daddy could really be home. "Da?"

Worried at his reaction, Padme smiled and planted a kiss on the top of his head to encourage him. "Daddy's home, Luke! Why don't we go say hi to your daddy, Sweet Boy?" She asked him. As much as she wanted Anakin all to herself, she knew she would have him later tonight. Right now, however, whatever was going on with their twins, especially Luke…the twins needed this moment with their dad.

She didn't wait for Luke to respond. She was a bit concerned at how badly he was shaking in her arms, almost as if he was in shock. She shifted him in her arms, protectively shielding Luke from the media as best she could, and headed over to where Anakin was still stuck with Leia giving him lots of slobbery kisses and babbling about whatever it was toddlers babbled about, and Anakin was eating it up, smiling and obviously enchanted with his daughter's enthusiastic welcome. Perhaps Anakin understood more of what she was trying to communicate through their Force bond.

By the time she reached Anakin, Luke was openly crying and reaching for his daddy. "I think someone wants to say hello to you," Padme laughed a little. Anakin grunted, Leia still latched onto his neck. "Leia, Princess," Anakin gently pried her arms off of him. "I love you, but I'm going to say hi to your brother and your mom now. You can tell me more about that later when we get home, Princess."

Leia pouted, clearly not happy, and Padme expected her to throw a tantrum. Instead, as Anakin stood up, she settled for latching onto his leg.

Well. Obviously, they weren't going anywhere anytime soon.

"Luke." Anakin said softly, as he held his arms out for his firstborn, and Padme carefully transferred him, wincing a bit as her son's weight was taken off of her now numb arms. Luke immediately latched onto Anakin like he was clinging to him for dear life, his words unintelligible through his tears. "It's okay, Luke. I'm home now. I'm not going anywhere for a really long time, Buddy." Anakin whispered as he rubbed soothing circles into Luke's back and dropped kisses on his son's head. Luke's cries calmed down to whimpers, but he was still shaking a little bit and seemed to latch tighter onto Anakin's neck.

Artoo, from Anakin's side, gave Luke a cheerful whistle. "Two." Luke mumbled, but he didn't pull one inch away from Anakin. Padme was beginning to wonder if her husband could breathe at all.

Realizing that there was no way her children were going to detach from their daddy anytime soon, Padme carefully (so as not to step on Leia still wrapped around her father's leg) moved closer to Anakin. "Welcome home, Ani," she breathed. Over Luke's embrace, Anakin smiled at his wife and carefully leaned in, his lips finally meeting hers. It wasn't as deep a kiss as she would have liked (probably because he had a toddler cutting off most of his air supply), but it was still sweet and gentle and promised of much more to come, and it sent shivers down her spine.

Oh yeah. She couldn't wait until the kids were asleep tonight.

"It's so good to be home, Angel. I've missed you so much," He whispered as they pulled apart. He paused, glancing at the twins who still babbled and clung to him, refusing to let him go. "Although, I'm not sure when we're actually going to get home at this rate." Padme laughed, their eyes meeting again, a silent promise of things to come later passing between them before Padme knelt down to try and pry Leia off of his leg.


"It's too bad Obi-Wan couldn't make it," Shmi, who had flown into California from Idaho for the express purpose of seeing her son back home again and to help celebrate his historic achievement in person, said as she held a squirming Leia in her lap. She was trying to help keep the twins from continuing to maul their father with their devoted affection. Anakin didn't actually mind that his kids were so clingy. He had expected it to some degree, and it pleased him that they'd missed him that much. How things had changed since he had been their enemy.

"Well, he's only got a few short months of alone time with Satine left before their attention gets divided." Sola laughed. "I don't blame him for wanting to spend alone time with her."

Anakin didn't blame him either. The day Satine had called to tell Obi-Wan she was pregnant, his friend had sat in his room for well over an hour after she had called, shocked into silence. Anakin remembered well how shocked he'd been the first time Padme had told him she was pregnant back in their old galaxy, but he'd never seen his mentor so…thrown off before. He had felt his immense joy through their Force connection, of course, but there had also been an intense longing to be at home with his wife. Anakin well understood that feeling, too. So, he didn't object when Obi-Wan announced that he was taking Satine home instead of heading back to the Skywalker house for their Welcome Home party.

Once back home, Anakin had walked in the house to a cheerful welcome from his mother, Padme's parents, Sola and Darred and their girls, plus Mindy and Threepio. His father and brother-in-law had grilled hamburgers, Jobal had made her famous potato salad and coleslaw, Mindy had brought a fresh salad, and Shmi had baked a huge peach cobbler (one of Anakin's favorites), which was served with vanilla ice cream. Shmi had also cooked several packs of bacon that morning just for her son.

Anakin had had double portions of bacon on both of of his burgers.

While it was nice to see his family and friends and the home cooked meal had been delicious, Anakin himself didn't care much for the welcome home party, either. He simply wanted to spend time alone with his beloved wife, and his kids clearly wanted and needed his full attention right now.

Padme and the twins were his primary focus.

Leia was currently squirming in his mother's arms to try and crawl back into his lap. Luke was coming back and forth between the twin's room and the living room where Anakin sat with Padme on the couch, one arm wrapped snugly around her. He was bringing out every new toy he'd gotten while Anakin was away (which he, of course, left in a pile on the floor at Anakin's feet like some kind of offering) and was now off again to look for something else to show his dad. Inwardly, Anakin sighed. He would have much rather given his little family his full attention.

However, everyone was excited to welcome him back. His mother had traveled in from Idaho. His in-laws had taken time off of work. Mindy had come by, and Ashoka and Peter were there, allowing Obi-Wan and Satine to have the afternoon alone. It would have been rude to tell them all to outright leave the house, and as much as Padme had missed him, he highly doubted she would appreciate that behavior. So, he relaxed into the couch and simply basked in his family's presence.

"How does it feel to be back on Earth, Space Boy?" Darred asked with a smirk.

"Like I'm grounded." He grinned at his own stupid joke. Padme rolled her eyes but leaned over to kiss his cheek. She was still smiling, though. As long as she was smiling, he considered it a successful joke.

"You're taking well to your role as a father. You're even making lame dad jokes." Darred grinned. "Welcome to the club!"

"Hey," Anakin mock protested. "My dad jokes aren't lame."

"Uh-huh." Sola scoffed. "Keep telling yourself that, too."

"Leia, no." Shmi chided, as Leia had finally broken free of her grandmother's hold, but instead of running back to Anakin, she dashed around the corner and out of sight.

"Uhh...Maybe I should get the girls to keep an eye on her," Sola muttered worriedly, her brow puckering into a frown.

"She'll be fine, Sola," Ahsoka said, as she sat next to Galen, Mindy and Peter looking awkward and out of place. They were the only four there that weren't technically related to the family. Galen didn't seem to mind and was going to town on his third bacon cheeseburger, but Ahsoka looked a bit bored. "She's too much like Anakin to be contained for long."

"Don't I know it." Shmi sighed, giving her son an exasperated look. Anakin almost winced, images of Princess Leia Organa flashing into his head—his mother really had no clue just how much like her father Leia really was.

Luke entered the living room again, and this time he was holding a toy car that Anakin remembered giving to him at Christmas. The wheels had broken off. He held the four tiny wheels in one hand and the car in the other. "Boke caw." He showed Anakin with a pout.

"Oh, man! The day Leia broke that car was a sad...not to mention loud...day for Luke, indeed." Padme lamented to Anakin with a shake of her head. "He's been saving that car to see if you can fix it."

Anakin smiled and held his hand out for the toy, and Luke eagerly gave it to him. A picture of a working version of the car entered Anakin's mind through their bond. He knew the moment he had the car in his hands that he could fix it with his eyes closed, but he still made a deliberate show of examining it for his son's benefit. "I can fix it." He looked at Luke seriously. "But, I'm going to need your help, Buddy. How about we do that first thing in the morning, okay?" He made sure Luke understood the gist of what he said through their Force connection.

Luke's cherubic face brightened immediately. "Fix Caw!"

Anakin chuckled, brushing Luke's hair out of his face affectionately. "Yep, we'll fix it, Buddy. Why don't you go play with Leia? I'm sure she'd love to play with you."

Luke suddenly frowned. "Ee-ya no cose."

Anakin frowned, not understanding his son. "Leia…what?"

"Ee-ya no cose." Luke repeated solemnly.

Anakin glanced at Padme in confusion, puzzled at what Luke was trying to say. "No cose?" Having been gone for six months, Anakin didn't understand the twins' toddler speech as well as his wife did. Padme had no problem understanding Luke, however. Her eyebrows furrowing, she huffed and threw her head against the back of the couch in sheer exasperation. "No...oh no…"

"Miss Leia! Come back here this instant! You put some clothes on at once!" The horrified voice of Threepio suddenly rang out through the house. The next thing everyone in the living room knew, Leia came barreling back around the corner, this time wearing only her diaper, squealing delightedly and making a rush for the open door to the backyard where Pooja and Ryoo were playing with Jedi and Artoo.

A few things happened all at once.

Galen quickly used the Force to slam the back door shut, never once bothering to leave his chair or stop eating his burger (pre-teen boys had to eat). Sola jumped in surprise in her chair as the door slammed closed, knocking her drink onto the floor and yelling out,"What was that?!" Jobal jumped up from her seat next to Ruwee, whose bowl of peach cobbler and ice cream was upended in his lap by his wife's flying elbow, and Jobal quickly scooped Leia up, who started howling in protest, so loud that she made Anakin's ears ring. Padme bolted to her feet with a groan, a furious blush covering her face, mortified and beginning to give apologies to everyone. Darred just blinked, his mouth hanging open in stunned shock. Ahsoka and Peter sniggered, fighting to keep from howling with laughter, while Ryoo and Pooja and Artoo came to the glass back door and just stared inside, wide-eyed at all the commotion. Shmi just closed her eyes, sighing as she shook her head.

"Ee-ya no cose." Luke said again calmly, pointing at his sister.

Anakin blinked, watching it all happen in slow motion.

Padme really wasn't kidding when she said Leia had a clothes problem. Given her early aversion to things like wearing socks or onsies as a baby, this turn of events didn't surprise Anakin in the least. He wondered, briefly, if she'd gone through this same phase on Alderaan. He was glad she'd grown out of it, if she had.

While Padme and Jobal fussed over a squabbling and squirming Leia, Anakin stood up, crossed his arms over his chest, and reached out through the Force to connect with his daughter. "Leia Skywalker." His voice was firm and uncompromising, and she immediately quieted, looking at him with her wide, brown eyes.

"We wear clothes in this house, young lady. Look at your mother. Does your mother wear clothes?" He gave his daughter a stern look and waited for her to process what he was asking. He made absolutely sure that she understood him through their bond. Anakin was suddenly very glad he'd regained full use of the Force. If he hadn't, he doubted he could come close to successfully parenting these two.

"Yes." A pout.

"Do I wear clothes?"

"Yes." A frown.

"And, does Luke wear clothes?"

"Yes." A wrinkled nose.

"Alright. So, who else wears clothes, too?"

Leia blinked and ducked her head, and Anakin could feel her pushing to pretend she didn't understand him. It almost felt like she was trying to shut him out through their bond, but being so young, she didn't have that skill yet. Inwardly, she clearly knew it was there.

"Leia." Anakin said firmly, his 'general' voice brooking no defiance from his daughter. "I asked you a question, young lady. Who else wears clothes in this house?"

Finally, knowing that she wasn't going to get away with this now that her father was home, she let out a little huff. "Me." She said and held her arms out to him, wanting to be held. "Da no mad." And, he could feel her reaching out for his forgiveness in their bond. She knew he wasn't happy about this, and he could feel her displeasure over that.

Now that she seemed to understand his meaning (for the moment at least), he took her in his arms, gently holding her close to his chest, as he let her feel his love for her through their bond. "Okay. Now, let's go get you back into clothes, shall we, Princess?"

Leia nodded her head, burying her face in his neck. Just before he turned and left the room, he caught Padme's eye. He could see the relief and gratitude there. She had spent six months dealing not only with Leia's little phase, but Luke's as well. It really hadn't been easy for her to deal with all of that by herself.

And, he planned to show her just how much he appreciated her for everything, as soon as everyone left, and he was able to get the kids into bed.

The sooner the better.


That evening, Padme watched from the twins' doorway, as her husband was finishing his bedtime story to the twins. She had gotten Leia into her PJ's (for the first time in weeks without a fight), while Anakin had dressed Luke in his, and now she stood, waiting for Anakin to be finished putting Luke to bed, as Leia had fallen asleep halfway through the story, secure in the knowledge her daddy was home.

He was doing an awful job at it.

For whatever reason, Anakin had decided the perfect bedtime story would be to re-tell the story of the first time he'd won a pod race on Tattoine. Not only was he just telling Luke the story, he had some of Luke's cars in his hands, using the Force to levitate the cars to show Luke the visuals. Luke stared at Anakin with wide eyes so like his dad's, listening intently.

Despite that, Padme couldn't help but smile. Her two men were clearly having fun together, and Luke was truly happy again for the first time in months. Life was getting back to normal again already.

Finally, Anakin finished, levitating the cars back to their spot on the shelf across the room and tucking Luke further into the covers. "Okay, Luke," he said gently, "Time for sleep, Buddy."

"More." Luke complained on a yawn, as Padme suspected he would. "More, Da."

Anakin chuckled, but leaned down and gave Luke a kiss on his forehead. "Tomorrow night. I promise."

He stood and began to walk towards her. "Da?" Luke asked as Anakin reached her. "Fix caw?"

Anakin turned back and smiled at his son, reaching and turning off the light. "In the morning, Buddy. I promise. Now, go to sleep." Before Luke could come up with another reason to interrupt, Anakin quietly closed the door, leaving them alone in the hall.

Finally!

Immediately, Anakin turned, his arms wrapping around his wife and crushing her flush against him. She eagerly draped her arms round his neck and tangled her fingers in his mop of blonde curls, her mouth meeting his in a passionate, heart-stopping kiss.

She had missed this. Oh, how she had missed it. If it weren't for the fact that Galen was staying up all night to make sure the kids stayed asleep, she may have told Anakin that she couldn't wait until they got to the hotel.

"I missed you so much, Sweetheart," Anakin groaned softly, trailing wet kisses up her jaw.

"So did I, Honey," She paused, pulling away a bit, looking at the kid's door. "Ani, are you sure we can pull this off? What if they find out we're both gone and….?"

"Padme." Anakin interrupted her, his voice husky and raw with emotion, and she met his eyes, eyes that were almost black with desire and staring at her so intensely it melted her to her core. "Tonight, it's just you and me, Angel. Right now, I don't want to talk about the kids, or space, or work, or anything else. I want to focus only on us. Now, let's hurry and get to our hotel. We have an anniversary to celebrate, Mrs. Skywalker." Anakin leaned down and rested his forehead against his wife's, his smile almost feral.

Padme smiled, allowing herself a rare moment to relax, as a shiver ran down her spine. "Okay, let's go, Mr. Skywalker." She said softly.

It was the best welcome home Anakin could ever remember.


Whew! There's a long chapter for you! It's SO much fun to write little Luke and Leia, and it's really fun to write Redeemed Anakin with his kids. Raising twins strong in the Force is NOT an easy task.

I also am working on another story called The Assassin's Blade. I've only uploaded the first chapter so far since this story is my main project, but I hope to also update that one frequently. So if you read this and are like omg I can't wait for another chapter, go read that one ;)

The song for this chapter is Space Oddity by David Bowie (RIP). I love the original version, but I think the version used in the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (one of my random favorite movies)is probably the most appropriate for this chapter because in addition to David Bowie singing, there's a girl singing as sort of a duet/harmony part and I feel like that reflects both Padme and Anakin's feelings while he was in space (okay done with my random David Bowie rant).

Thanks to my Beta, SW! She always helps me a lot, but especially in this chapter!

Review!

Love,

Sarah