Anakin's foot slammed on the accelerator, speeding through a yellow light on the verge of turning red. He was speeding like a madman through the streets near Stanford University and had received numerous honks of anger from other drivers, but he didn't care. He used the Force to keep him from hitting anyone, and given how on edge he was, it was a miracle that he even cared about his driving that much.

His children were in danger. The Force practically pounded that fact into him, and it was driving him mad that he wasn't there yet to protect them. Padme sat next to him in the cab of his truck, her skin pale, her lips tight as she stared straight out the windshield. She had long stopped asking him questions—he didn't have the answers to any of them anyway. He just knew their children were in danger, and they needed to get home. Now. The high-speed car ride was, therefore, almost silent, with only the occasional bump of the three Jedi holding on for dear life in the bed of his truck to interrupt the silence.

This truck was not designed for more than two passengers. He used this truck to transport droids, mechanical supplies, and tools, and to get himself to and from work. Honestly, it was a miracle in itself that they hadn't been pulled over yet.

As they pulled into their deserted neighborhood, Padme's phone buzzed to life. Padme, who had frantically tried to call Mindy earlier, immediately picked it up, putting it on speaker. "Mindy?! Mindy, can you hear me?!"

"Yes," Mindy's voice was low and shaking. "There's some sort of...robot guy. He…he came in through the French door window with lightsabers and Galen…"

Anakin swore in Huttese, as Padme suddenly looked like she was going to be sick. They knew exactly who it was: Grievous. In the background, Anakin could hear the sound of lightsabers clashing furiously. "We're almost there." Padme said as Anakin took a sharp turn around the corner, tires squealing.

"I called the cops already but…." There was a massive BANG! and Mindy gasped. "Holy…."

The line cut off.

Now, it was Padme who swore. Anakin might have been impressed under normal circumstances, or teased her, but now was not a normal circumstance. "Just two more turns." He promised as Padme tried to call Mindy back. No answer.

Padme looked at him then, and though he was mostly focused on getting home without running anyone over, he saw the sheer panic in her dark eyes. Padme. Panicked. He had never, ever seen her panic, not on Geonosis or even on Mustafar, but here she was, looking like she was on the verge of a complete breakdown. "Ani," She croaked, her eyes glassy from her tears, "Grievous…"

"...Won't hurt them." He cut her off firmly. Now more than ever, he needed to be calm and collected. Yes, he was afraid for their children. Yes, he was angry that Grievous had launched an attack on his family. But, he was a Jedi Grandmaster, and he had personally suffered the consequences of giving into fear to save his loved ones. Taking a calming breath, he glanced at his wife. "He won't harm any of those kids while I still breathe, Angel. I swear it."

The panic didn't completely go away, but he sensed some of her tension dissipate. "Okay." She said, her voice a little firmer.

At that moment, Anakin made the last wild turn onto the street their house was on, barreling straight for the house. He didn't bother to neatly park in the driveway. He slammed to a stop on the front lawn, likely leaving tire treads in the grass. He briefly debated on telling Padme to stay in the truck, but he knew his wife. If she wanted to go in with him, she would, whether he liked it or not.

That didn't mean that he had to wait for her.

As soon as he'd thrown the vehicle in park, he unbuckled his seatbelt and launched himself out of the still running truck, pulling his lightsaber out of his belt as he did so. Ahsoka, Will, and Peter jumped out of the truck bed and were right behind him. As he ran for the front the door, he didn't even bother attempting to unlock it. Instead, he outstretched his hand, sending one powerful blast of the Force at the door. It blew out of the door frame with a tremendous BANG, skidding across the entryway floor as he and his fellow Jedi burst into the house, igniting their lightsabers….

Just in time to see Grievous yank one of his lightsabers out of Mindy's gut to block an oncoming attack from Galen.

Anakin had seen death. He had seen those he cared about or respected die in battle. He had spent a lifetime on the battlefield. He was too well trained to immediately go to Mindy's side. Even in the split second between coming into the house and moving to engage Grievous, he knew that the wound was mortal. There wasn't anything he could do to change that, except get rid of the danger as quickly as possible.

Still, even knowing all of that, his heart sank with dread and despair. Their family would be devastated, his wife especially.

He had no time to dwell on that though. In seconds, he too was on Grievous, pushing back the metallic creature with blindingly fast and powerful strokes of his lightsaber. Ahsoka was right at his side, her twin green lightsabers blazing, and as Will and Peter moved to engage, Galen took that opportunity to move out of the offensive position and back towards where Mindy lay in the kitchen, his lightsaber moved into a defensive stance. In the back of his mind, Anakin could feel that Galen had been injured as well—badly.

Facing four fully trained Jedi's, Grievous snarled, and as soon as he had the slightest opening, he leaped back out of reach of their blades before turning and retreating, making a full sprint out the broken glass door and into the summer night. Anakin moved to go after him, but Ahsoka stepped in front of him, stopping him. "No. We'll go after him. You stay and make sure your family is safe." She said, and without waiting for his response, she bolted after Will and Peter who had already started the chase against Grievous.

Every nerve of Anakin's body felt electrified. His warrior instincts screamed at him to go after the cyborg and end this, but Ahsoka was right. He was needed here, and she and the boys were more than capable of taking care of Grievous.

He had his family to worry about.

He turned, disengaging his lightsaber with a hiss, and the house was plunged into an eerie silence. Once more, fear for his children engulfed him, and he reached out in the Force for their presences.

There was only Ella.

His breath caught in his throat, and he had to force himself to ignore the growing panic that was threatening to bubble to the surface. He took deep breaths, forcing himself to concentrate. Panic would do nothing to help his children if they were indeed gone.

Galen leaned against the wall, completely exhausted, his lightsaber also disengaged. "Master…" He croaked as Anakin approached. Galen looked at Anakin with apprehension and wariness, and Anakin was reminded of how Vader would have reacted to that night's events. It wouldn't have been good. He would have viewed Galen as a failure, and would have punished him accordingly. It sickened Anakin to even think about that now, and he hated that Galen was clearly remembering that. "I'm...I…"

Gently, so as not to hurt the boy, Anakin put a hand on his shoulder. "You did your best. We'll talk about this later." Was all he said before he entered the kitchen…

Where Mindy lay, her head now supported in Padme's lap.

As he entered the kitchen, Padme looked up, catching his eye. Already, tears were streaming down her face—she didn't have to be told to know that Mindy was going to die. He could see the devastation in her eyes, her face twisted in pain, before she looked back down at her dying best friend. "Mindy," She croaked, "Why couldn't you have waited?"

"Oh, this?" Mindy gasped between ragged breaths, a small, painful smile on her lips. "Tis but a scratch. Nothing to worry about."

Padme let out a breath of exasperation. "Seriously? Monty Python jokes? Now?"

"I saw," she coughed, "My chance...and I took it."

"I'd be dead if it weren't for her. Grievous had me cornered, and she threw a Barbie doll at him to give me a chance..." Galen quietly praised her in response to Padme's question. "And the kids…"

"Mindy, the kids, where….?" Padme began urgently, but Mindy cut her off.

"Hiding. They're hiding in…" she coughed again, spitting out blood. Padme made a soft sob, but she waited for Mindy to finish. "Your room."

Padme looked back up at Anakin, meeting his eyes again, the urgency clear. She wanted to make sure the children were safe, but she was also holding a dying friend. Anakin nodded in understanding, a bit relieved to hear that the kids were hiding. He could still sense Ella, and the twins…well. He couldn't sense them. But, he knew that Leia had long ago figured out how to hide her presence in the Force, much to his displeasure. Luke though...he'd never witnessed Luke do it. He didn't mention any of that to his visibly distraught wife though.

He moved to head back there, stopping briefly and turning around when Mindy called out to him, jabbing her finger at him. "Ani...Man up, and go get this guy. For me." She coughed and sputtered, choking on blood, but she managed to give him a small smile.

"Mindy," he started, but he stopped. He wasn't good at this. His bedside manner was terrible. He had no idea what to say to her. 'I'm sorry' didn't cut it. 'Thanks for protecting my children' also seemed inadequate. But, Mindy, being who she was, was telling him it was okay, in her own unique way.

Smiling slightly again at their inside joke, Mindy didn't seem to care though. "It's okay. Go. Go to the kids. They…" another round of coughing. More blood. In the distance, Anakin could hear sirens, but he knew it was too late. Already, he could sense Mindy's life force fading. "They need you more than I do." She managed to get out between struggling breaths.

Still, Anakin felt terrible. She had given her life to protect not only their children, but also Galen. To leave her there, dying painfully, cradled in his wife's arms…Suddenly, he knew what he needed to do.

He was by no means a healer, and even if he was, he doubted a healer could do anything to save her. But, he did know how to take away her pain in her last moments. He was all too familiar with that. Reaching out through the Force, he found Mindy's dimming presence and gently projected thoughts of numbness, of weightless floating, of peaceful and happy thoughts of all their shared good times. At first, he wasn't sure if it worked, but after a moment, Mindy visibly relaxed, looking up at him with knowing eyes. "Thank you." She said, her voice no higher than a whisper.

"No," Anakin shook his head, "Thank you." He hesitated and reached down to grasp Mindy's hand and give it a quick squeeze. It still didn't feel like he'd done enough to show her his gratitude for not only what she'd done to keep his family safe, but also everything she had ever done for his wife as a loyal friend. "I'll get him, Mindy. May the Force be with you." He didn't wait for a response to that. Keeping himself projecting through the Force, he turned and ran down the hall to their bedroom, feeling Mindy's life force slipping further and further into the Force, until finally, as he opened the door to his darkened bedroom, it slipped away.

Mindy was gone.

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Yoda had once said, "Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those who transform into the Force. Mourn them, do not. Miss them, do not. Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed, that is." He hadn't wanted to believe it then, had violently rejected it in fact. He had always hated death. But now, he let the rage of what Grievous had done inside of his own home go.

He needed to move forward.

He opened his eyes, scanning the room. The room was silent and empty, except for…He heard it. A growl, soft and low, but there. He followed the sound to the closed closet door, took a deep breath to prepare himself for what he would find, and jerked open the door.

Jedi was suddenly there, barking madly, growling and snarling at Anakin…until the animal seemed to realize that it was just Anakin, not an intruder, and the growling and barking died down into whimpers. Behind Jedi, tucked into the very back of the walk in closet, hiding behind some of Padme's evening gowns, were three terrified little children. Luke had positioned himself between Leia and Jedi, one arm stretched protectively in front of her, while Leia held a shaking Ella in her arms.

Sure enough, even standing right there, Anakin couldn't feel his children's presence, only Ella's. Luke, apparently, had figured out how to cloak his presence and just hadn't bothered to use it until danger presented itself. Anakin couldn't help but feel a bit of pride, even as he let out a breath of sheer relief. "Luke," He breathed, "Leia."

For a moment, the kids just stared at him, their eyes wide, as if they couldn't believe that it was really him. It was Luke that was the first to move. "Daddy!" he cried, and he dropped his arm and ran to his dad. Anakin dropped to his knees, catching the shaking boy in his arms.

A split second later, Leia was there too, her little arms wrapped around his neck. "Daddy!" She echoed her brothers cry.

Suddenly, Anakin was overwhelmed with both of his children's presences, and he could feel them reaching out through the Force to seek his comfort. He gave it to them freely, sending every comforting thought he could through their bond.

He kissed both of their temples, running his hands through their hair, confirming that they were alive and well. They were shaken, but neither of them were injured. The relief Anakin felt at finding them safe was immense, and the thought that it could have been very different had Galen and Mindy not acted…he pushed the thought away and kissed their temples again. "You're safe. It's okay. The bad guy is gone." He promised them.

He sensed her before she even entered the closet. "Ani," Padme's voice, shaky and full of anguish. It sent a fresh stab of pain through him—he didn't want his wife to be in pain. He didn't want his children to be terrified like this. If Ahsoka and the boys didn't get Grievous, he mentally swore again to kill him himself for what he'd done here. He would fulfill his last promise to Mindy.

But, the overlying problem was still Palpatine. There was no doubt Palpatine was behind this attack. His hatred for the man grew, and he struggled to push it down before his children sensed it.

He doubted they did. As soon as Padme appeared at the closet door, Luke and Leia let him go and ran to her, both of them crying for her. She, too, immediately crouched down, pulling both of them into her arms. Tears were running down her face as she looked them over. "Thank goodness," She breathed when she found both of them to be physically safe and unharmed. She pulled them in tight for a hug. "Oh my babies!"

Anakin smiled sadly before turning to little Ella who stood grim faced, watching him quietly. "Hi, Ella," Anakin said softly, feeling Ella's confusion over the situation. "Everything is fine. You're okay, Little One."

She just looked at him. "Where's Daddy?" She asked softly, "Mommy?"

Anakin's heart tore. He knew Obi-Wan had wanted to come, but had all of them rushed out in the middle of their speech, it would have caused a media and security frenzy. But how did one explain that to a three-year-old? "He's on his way." Anakin promised, reaching out for her. "They'll be here soon. I promise." Reluctantly, she allowed Anakin to pick her up and hold her in his lap while he turned back to Padme, who was speaking to him again.

"The police are here," she was saying, "They want to talk with us."

"I figured." He sighed, rubbing Ella's back soothingly while he tried to send her comfort through the Force. He didn't have the bond with her that he had with his own children, but he did consider her part of his family, given that she was Obi-Wan's and Satine's daughter, and Leia loved her so much. He felt her relax a little in his arms. "I'm not going out there while…" he trailed off. He didn't want to bring up Mindy's death while in the presence of the children. Not yet anyway.

Padme nodded in understanding, closing her eyes as more tears streaked down her face. "I know. I told them that. They…they said they'd come to this room once they had finished helping Galen get medical attention…but Mindy….they can't move her…" she trailed off, but she didn't have to finish. Anakin had heard enough of Satine's and Padme's conversations over various cases they worked on to know that when it came to murder investigations, the police wouldn't move the body until they were sure they had gathered enough evidence, which could take hours.

The children couldn't stay in the house, not after they had been attacked. Not while Mindy lay dead in the kitchen. They'd have to go to his in-law's to stay. No way would his wife want to stay here now, either. Not after this.

Anakin's phone buzzed to life. Shifting Ella so that he could free one of his hands, he pulled his phone out and checked the ID. Obi-Wan. He answered immediately. "Obi-Wan."

"Anakin." His friend's voice was grim and filled with apprehension. "Something awful has happened, hasn't it?"

Anakin closed his eyes. "Yes. The children are safe though."

There was a brief pause. He could hear Satine asking in the background for Ella's safety. "Ella…is she alright?" Obi-Wan asked, his voice strained.

Anakin paused. Was that…anger that he heard in his former master's voice? The last time he had heard Obi-Wan angry was back on Mustafar. He could hear the struggle in Obi-Wan's voice to keep it under control now. Understandably, it made Anakin more than a little nervous—what was that quote from that Doctor Who show Padme and Mindy had liked back in college? Demons run when a good man goes to war. If that wasn't a perfect description of what it would be like for Obi-Wan to lose his temper, Anakin didn't know what else would be.

"She's safe and unharmed. I'm holding her right now." He chose his words with care. "Would you like to talk to her?"

"Yes." His answer was immediate and firm.

"Alright." Anakin looked at Ella, who was watching him cautiously. "Here she is." He held the phone up to Ella's ear. "Someone wants to talk to you, Ella." He told the girl soothingly.

She listened for a moment, her blue eyes lighting up. "Daddy!" She said, practically snatching the phone from Anakin's hand. He let her have it. He doubted he would get that back for a few minutes anyway. "I want you daddy, I want you!" Whatever Obi-Wan was saying, that was all Ella would say in response.

He turned back to Padme. "I'm assuming that we will see Obi-Wan and Satine soon."

She nodded solemnly. "Good." For a moment, she just stared at him, and for once, he couldn't quite read the expression in her eyes. "Things…won't be the same anymore, will they?"

Anakin didn't respond for a moment. He wanted so badly to tell her that things would go back to normal. He certainly wanted it to be that way. But, he was a Jedi. Their children were Force-Sensitive. And Palpatine was still out there. Over the last five years, they had allowed themselves to forget the enormity behind what that meant. "No," He replied honestly, "They won't."


One Week later…

She just wanted it to be over. Even after hours of being interviewed by the police (who hadn't thought that she or Anakin had anything to do with the murder of her best friend, but had been suspicious simply due to the strange 'autopsy' and torn up state of their living room), hiding from the media, and attending Mindy's funeral that morning and trying to comfort her grieving parents, it wasn't over. Padme doubted that it would be over until Palpatine had been found and killed. But, even as Anakin and Obi-Wan had met with Neeja on the commlink and mustered what Jedi they had to track the villain down, Padme had a sinking feeling they wouldn't find Palpatine that way.

Grievous had escaped. Naturally.

He had always been good at escaping when the odds were against him. It made her heart swell with pure hate to even think about him, and though Anakin, Ahsoka, Will, Peter, and Obi-Wan had sat for hours at her parent's kitchen table this week exhausting every possible area they thought he had escaped to, Padme knew he was gone. Who knew when he would crawl out of the hole he came from to rip someone else precious to her out of her life.

Galen had suffered a few broken ribs, had to have multiple shards of glass extracted from his skin, had needed stitches, and had suffered a concussion. Other than that, he was fine. However, after doctoring him up with bacta patches for his wounds, Vokara had used the Force to ease his pain and speed healing of his ribs before ordering plenty of bedrest. But, getting Galen to stay in bed was a challenge Padme had given up on and finally let Anakin deal with. In fact, two days ago, Anakin had dragged Galen back into the bedroom he had been given and had a 'talk' with his padawan.

Whatever he had told the boy, Galen didn't come out again, so it obviously had worked.

Now, she stood in her old bedroom, the one she had grown up in in this world. The window was open, letting in fresh sunlight and the sounds of the twins playing with Jedi and Artoo in her parents' backyard. "Mistress Padme, are you alright?" Threepio asked for about the millionth time that week. Threepio, surprisingly, seemed to be the only source of collected control in the chaos following the attack on her family in their own home…

Unable to face going back there just yet herself, Anakin and Ashoka and Will had gone back to pack their clothes, toiletries, toys for the twins, and a few other essentials. Anakin had also dealt with their insurance company to get the glass door replaced and make sure all the locks were reinforced, and arranged for their mail to be put on hold temporarily.

Jolting out of her reverie, Padme pushed the thoughts away. "Yes, Threepio." He was holding a basket of folded, clean laundry. "Please set those on the chair. I'll put them away."

"Are you sure?" She wasn't sure if he meant the question for her decision to put away the folded clothes herself, or if he meant the lie she told him when she said she was alright. She wasn't alright. Her children had been attacked. Sure, the twins, being five, had bounced back relatively well, but it didn't change the fact that the danger they were constantly in—had always been in—was now staring her right in the face.

And Mindy

"I'm sure." She cleared her throat, running a hand over the skirt of the black dress she wore. They had only returned from Mindy's funeral the hour before. "I would like to be alone now, if you don't mind."

If Threepio could frown, Padme imagined that he would be doing so now. "Yes, of course, but would you like me to send for Master Anakin?" She almost said yes. With the insanity that had followed everything, she had barely had a chance to sit down with Anakin alone to talk about it. But, when she had left him downstairs, he had been about to get into yet another argument with her petrified parents over whether or not the powers he had given their grandchildren were safe or not.

It figured.

Just when his relationship with her parents had started to really improve... "No. I'm sure he'll come on his own soon enough." She said softly. Besides, she thought, it wouldn't hurt to take a few moments to collect her thoughts. As a mother to twins, it was rare to have a moment alone anyway.

"Yes, Mistress Padme." Threepio turned and shuffled out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Leaving her alone.

For a moment, she considered changing into something less formal, less of a reminder that she'd just formally said goodbye to one of her oldest and dearest best friends. The Padme from the other galaxy was no stranger to death, but this…this felt different, somehow. Wrong. Back then, she had spent years of her life at war. But, she wasn't at war in this world—that's what she had told herself, at least.

She knew differently now. She had always been at war. She had been at war the very moment Palpatine discovered that she was alive in this universe. She just didn't realize it until now.

She didn't end up changing. Instead, she slowly sat down on the edge of the double bed, looking around her old room, the room she and Anakin were staying in right now. Now, more than ever, she didn't feel...right there. She didn't belong. It wasn't the same nostalgic feeling she had previously experienced coming back to her old room, the same nostalgic feeling most adults got when they visited places from their childhood after having left it.

It was…stronger than that.

After they had managed to leave their home to crash at her parent's place, Padme had wrestled with the feeling of knowing something major needed to change, but was not sure what exactly. She had left Anakin and Obi-Wan and the other Jedi to make the decisions in regards to their hunt for Palpatine. She had always given Anakin space when it came to Jedi business, just as he gave her space when it came to her decisions with her law firm. She wasn't a Jedi. But now, she was the wife of a Jedi Grandmaster and mother of children who would one day be Jedi themselves, and this fight had been taken to them. She had to do something.

The question was, what?

She didn't know, but this place…being here, in California where she had grown up and felt safe for so long…it wasn't that place anymore.

She didn't know how long she sat there in silence, staring blankly at the bedroom she had once called hers and now saw it like it was someone else's entirely, but eventually the door quietly opened and shut. She didn't have to look to know who it was. She just knew, as if it was instinct. "Ani." She said quietly.

"Angel." He replied back, his voice full of weariness. She felt him sit down on the bed next to her, felt him take her hand gently in his own, rubbing soft circles into her skin with his thumb. For a moment, they sat there in a comfortable, but heavy silence. "Tell me what I need to do." He finally said softly, earnestly. She knew he could feel her emotions—she had probably broadcasted them at him throughout the whole week. He'd quietly held her close every night this week while she'd cried herself to sleep. She didn't bother to deny that she was fine. Not to him. He knew. Besides, she would never conceal her feelings from him.

She thought about his request. Now was her chance. But, what would she ask for? She was sure that if she asked Anakin to bring her the moon, he would find a way to do it. Even as a redeemed Jedi Grandmaster, that part of Anakin would never change. She sat there, staring at the room that used to be hers, but no longer was, for a moment longer before she had her answer. "We need to move."

Anakin considered that for a moment. "Alright, we can try to find somewhere with a little more space and still be close to the office and…"

"No, Ani," Padme shook her head, turning to face him fully, her look somber. "I mean, we need to move somewhere else entirely. Somewhere far from here."

As Anakin met her eyes, she watched as he processed this carefully in his mind. She suspected that he was also consulting with the Force, feeling for its guidance in this issue. She didn't know if this was the exact answer she needed, but it was a step forward. Palpatine and his allies knew exactly where they lived, obviously, but it was more than just that. It was also being so close to her parents, who strongly disapproved of her family's use of the Force, of living in a house that was growing too small to contain two very strong Force-sensitive twins...and now a house where her best friend had been murdered in cold blood…

Moving was a step in the right direction. Of that much, she was sure of. Anakin finally sighed and ran a hand through his hair. She could see the resignation on his face. He knew there was no talking her out of it. "We would have to move both of our businesses."

"I know." It was a pain, and they both knew it, but it was doable.

"Obi-Wan may not want to leave."

"Somehow, I suspect that even if he objected to moving, he would still follow you into the depths of Hell itself if you asked it of him."

"I don't know about that." Anakin said dryly. He paused, thinking. "I could hit the NASA offer a little more aggressively to get the contract to the terms I wanted...or as close as possible to what I want. Would Texas be far enough away, Angel?"

Padme didn't know that much about Texas, other than the stereotypical stuff she'd seen on TV. She did know that there was a ton of land there, land that you could buy and be secluded from the rest of the world without losing too much contact with society. It certainly was far enough from California, and even if Palpatine knew to look in Texas, it was a huge state. It would take a while.

At the end of the day, Anakin had launched himself and his droid business so far into the media spotlight, though, that there was truly no real safe place they could go, unless they completely dropped everything and moved into the Himalayas to be hermits. As much as she wanted to protect her family, she didn't want them to be that secluded either. "It's as good a place as any," She finally conceded.

Anakin nodded, his eyes far away, as he considered the implications of this. "It won't hold off Palpatine for very long."

"I know."

He shook his head. "I just don't understand! Why now? He's had so many opportunities—he had a whole six months to launch an attack on you and the children, but he didn't. Why?"

Padme had thought the same question herself. "You know him better than anyone, Ani. What do your instincts tell you?" She asked softly.

He was quiet for a long time, and this time she knew he was consulting with the Force. "I think he wanted to lure us into a false sense of security. He's a very patient man, Padme, and his plans are never obvious. As his apprentice, anytime I would attempt to come up with a plan to overthrow him, he always managed to put me in my place just before the time was right. I don't have any idea what he's planning, but I do know that this," he motioned with his hand around them, indicating the general situation they were in, "This is only one round, a minor victory, in whatever game he's playing. When he deals the trump card I know he's saving," He paused, looking her straight in the eye. "It's going to be devastating."

Padme felt a chill go up her spine. She wanted so badly to deny what he said, to chalk it up to over exaggeration, but she knew better. She knew he was right. "Then we move. We move the companies. You take the job at NASA. We move somewhere quiet, a place where you and Obi-Wan can truly establish a safe haven for the Jedi, and we prepare as best we can for that trump card."

Anakin nodded slowly in agreement. "Alright. You're right. You always are."

"Well." She smiled a little, her first smile since Mindy's death. "Not all the time."

"Most of the time."

"Okay. Most of the time." Anakin laughed, leaning over to kiss her forehead, wrapping his arms around her. "Ani?" She asked, pressing her cheek against his chest.

"Yes, Angel?"

"Tell me the truth. Do we…do we stand a chance?"

Anakin pulled away, gently bringing her face up so that their eyes met. His blue eyes, as blue as the clear skies of Tatooine, were as serious as ever. "As long as we trust in the Force, we have more than just a small chance. We'll pull through this time, Angel. Together."

It wasn't quite a promise, but it was as close to one as she knew he could offer her. Nevertheless, she believed him. Leaning up, she kissed him softly. "Together," she agreed softly against his lips.


Here's the promised conclusion to last chapter's cliffhanger! Yeah, Mindy dies. Sorry. But it is war, and in war, people die. I wanted to give her a worthy death though.

So I'm wanting to get more active on social media...which means replying to those I haven't responded to yet in my inbox on fanfic (sorry!), and I have also started a tumblr and twitter dedicated to Star Wars. If you're interested in following, I posted the links on my profile.

The song for this chapter is "First of his name" from Game of Thrones.

Review!

Love,

Sarah