Anakin paused, the other Jedi Knights moving past him in the narrow corridor of the run-down, beach-side office building that they had tracked Grievous to. That feeling of foreboding danger was growing stronger, to the point where it was practically hammering into his head and making it hard for him to concentrate. He'd mentioned it to Obi-Wan just before they'd launched the assault. Obi-Wan had frowned thoughtfully and suggested that it was possibly the fact that they were about to engage in combat with Grievous. It had been a perfectly reasonable answer, so he'd tried to ignore it.

But now, every step forward seemed to scream danger through the Force, and somehow Anakin began to wonder if it really did have to do with Grievous...or if it was something else. If it did, perhaps they should pull out…"Master?" Galen whispered in the dark, stopping next to him. "Are you alright?"

He was fine, but something, or someone, wasn't, or they were about to not be. "I think we should call off the attack."

That caused a flicker of surprise from his apprentice. "Call it off? Why?"

"This isn't right. I think...I think this is a trap." He wasn't stating something that they didn't already suspect, but he didn't know how else to describe this feeling from the Force.

"Well, it's not likely that Grievous is hanging around this building for no apparent reason other than it's a trap." Galen agreed dryly, "But what else are we supposed to do? We haven't gotten this good of a lead on him since California."

"I know, I know, but…" He trailed off as his comm pinged. He glanced at the display. Artoo. A sinking feeling began to settle in his gut. He answered it. "What is it, Artoo?" He asked, his mouth suddenly dry. Artoo wouldn't be contacting him from the speeder unless something was very wrong.

Artoo beeped frantically through the comm, the translation appearing on his comm screen. He didn't need it, but Galen read the translation over his shoulder. Anakin stopped breathing as the message became clear.

There was an attack on his home. His family!

NO!

After Grievous' attack in California, he had installed both of his droids with emergency protocols. If the house were to be attacked, or his family was in danger in their presence in any way, their internal workings would immediately send an alert to the authorities. Furthermore, it would communicate the danger to the other droid, just in case they were separated and needed to know of the danger. Artoo had just received such a warning from Threepio, and based on the nearly frantic message Artoo was giving him, Threepio was no longer responding to Artoo's attempts to contact him.

A sick feeling of dread coursed through him.

He had been right. The warning he had felt through the Force had not been for Grievous, but for his family.

"I have to get home now!" He said turning around to run back through the building towards the speeder where Artoo waited.

"I'll go with you, Master," Galen said, immediately turning with him. Anakin opened his mouth to argue about how he needed to stay and help Obi-Wan with the mission, but he knew Galen wouldn't take no for an answer. Besides, he thought darkly, his hands shaking as he ran, he wasn't sure what he would do if he were by himself and he found his family….

He stopped that thought cold. He couldn't think about that. It wouldn't happen. They were safe. They had to be.

Instead, he reached out with the Force, finding Obi-Wan's presence at the head of the Jedi. Obi-Wan, he sent through their connection, My family is under attack. I have to go back home.

Attack? He could feel Obi-Wan's surprise and worry for his own family start to grow. But, Grievous is here, and there's no way Palpatine could get in the country, he's wanted by the government. So who…?

I don't know, and right now, I don't care. I don't know if Satine and the girls are in danger, but this was clearly a trap. Anakin and Galen reached the speeder and jumped in, Artoo spinning his domed head in distress from his custom port at the back of the speeder.

Maybe I should call this off… Obi-Wan began, but Anakin interrupted.

No. Grievous needs to be brought down, but even more importantly, this was clearly planned. If we all retreated at the same time, he might communicate that to whoever is attacking, and they might push to hurry up. Keep him distracted. He could feel Obi-Wan's reluctance, but eventual acceptance.

May the Force be with you Anakin, and, he hesitated, Check on my family. Please.

Frankly, Anakin was so frantic, he wasn't sure if he could even handle checking on his own family, but he had also just asked Obi-Wan to continue the operation. If his family was in danger too, Anakin was asking a lot of Obi-Wan to not run to them. Alright, I will. May the Force be with you. Anakin promised before turning the speeder on and racing back off into the night, speeding for home.


Speeders were usually able to go faster than cars. That especially applied for his own personal speeder, which he had specifically designed not only for speed, but also with the ability to carry three other passengers with ease (four for a tight fit), plus Artoo. There were special air patrol authorities who now patrolled in their own speeders to prevent crazed, speeding maniacs in the sky, but tonight, Anakin didn't care. Most of the distance he would cover would be a whole lot of nothing, and since most people kept their speeder use to the city (for now), he mostly flew over empty, darkened grassland.

He pushed the speeder to its absolute limit, earning him a soft warning from Galen about pushing the engine too hard.

He didn't care. He knew how hard he could push it and make it back home. He had designed and built it himself, after all. He knew how hard and how far he could push it. So, he ignored his Padawan, switching the Bluetooth speakers on and speed dialing Padme's number.

Straight to voicemail. Not good.

His anxiety level heightened, and he tried again, hoping that it was just bad reception. Straight to voicemail. "Try calling Padme on my comm link," He ordered Galen, who took it and tried there. Her comm link never picked up. Anakin cursed, blistering the air with every curse word he knew in both Huttese and English, but that didn't do anything except frustrate him further. He reached to autodial Satine's number, when an incoming call with her name scrolled across his screen. He eagerly answered it. "What's going on, Satine?"

"Oh, you…" She trailed off, and he immediately picked up on the stress in her voice. "Anakin, a-are you on your way back?"

"Yes," He bit out impatiently, "What's going on? Is everyone alright?" There was a moment's pause, and he felt like he was going to start strangling someone if he didn't get answers. Now. He opened his mouth to demand them, but she finally began to speak, her voice sounding shaky.

"There was an a-attack…o-on your home. I don't know who…but P-Padme…" She trailed off again, her voice somewhat garbled.

"What about Padme? Satine, what's happened to my wife?!" His voice came out hard. Distantly, he knew that it wasn't Satine's fault. Technically, it was his own. He should have foreseen that Grievous was intentionally making his presence known to draw him out. He knew better. After California, he should have left some of the Jedi Knights there. He should have…but he hadn't. He didn't know why except that he had foolishly thought Grievous was the immediate threat.There was no fixing that now. He had to pick up whatever pieces were left and move forward.

"Oh, Anakin...S-She…she was shot. In the chest." The words slammed into Anakin like an enraged charging rancor. The words sounded foreign to him, and for a moment, he couldn't quite register it. "She's still alive, but she was unconscious. The Life Flight helicopter just took off with her and is headed to the hospital trauma center now. Vokara is already there waiting for her. I don't know much else. I'm sorry."

Shot. His Padme, his wife. Shot. Alive, but for how long?

He felt sick to the depth of his soul, felt like the whole world was tilting, spinning…

"Master," Galen's voice knocked him back into reality, barely. "The speeder…"

He'd started to tilt it, his grip going lax. He quickly straightened it back up, hearing a worried warble come from Artoo. "I'll be there." He said tightly. "And…"

"That's not all, Anakin." There was a graveness in her voice now, and the tone of it…

Oh Force….No, no, no!...Not his kids.

His throat went dry, and he began to slow the speeder down, afraid that he would crash the vehicle from the mass of worried, angry, and distraught emotions that were slamming into him now. "The…kids…?" He barely gasped out, his voice choked.

A silence.

Then, when he thought he was going to explode, "Leia and Hayden are with me. They're safe," She said softly, "But Anakin, Luke. Luke is gone." Her words were barely a whisper.

He was being torn in two. He couldn't breathe, couldn't even ask for clarification. Gone, as in….dead?

It was Galen who asked the question for him. "What do you mean by gone?"

"Kidnapped. Whoever attacked, they took him with them. The police are searching now…"

Anakin stopped listening. He stopped seeing. His heart was ripping to shreds while blinding anger overwhelmed him. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have left his family so unprotected? After Mindy, he should've known better! He had worked so hard with this second chance: He had found Padme again, married her, and had worked to be a better man for her this time, and their marriage was happier than he could've imagined. He had built a company and lifestyle that would support his family through anything. He had done his best to raise his children with the love and care they deserved, to be the best possible dad he could for them. This was supposed to be better than their last life, and now…

Now…

"Master!" he finally heard Galen's voice and Artoo's frantic wails, "Pull up!" He wasn't sure how long Galen had been yelling at him, but when he forced himself to focus, he was dropping the speeder into a nosedive, headed straight for the ground. With a tremendous effort, he pulled it back up, and then launched it into the fastest speed it could handle. "Uhm...Maybe I should drive, Master," Galen started, and dimly Anakin realized that Satine had hung up, or he had hung up on her. He didn't know which. Not that it really mattered.

"No!" Anakin's voice was harsh, making Galen jump a little. He forced himself to take deep breaths, trying to run through the calming techniques he's worked so hard to perfect over the years. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to lose control and spend every moment of his life hunting down Palpatine and all of his goons….

The thought of Palpatine made Anakin's grip on the wheel turn to durasteel. He could practically feel his old master's satisfaction at the situation he had successfully put him in. He could practically hear his wretched, cackling, bitter laugh reverberating through his bones.

"We should have killed Palpatine," He found himself saying through numb clenched lips. "Back in our old galaxy. I shouldn't have turned on you."

Galen was silent for a long moment. "I understand why you did, though. Clearly, Palpatine has backup plans for his backup plans. He's incredibly controlling and abusive."

"Yes and now he has my son." The words were strangled. He didn't sound like himself. "And my wife…Force, my wife…"

Galen spoke slowly, clearly choosing his words with care. "Even if we had killed him when we could have back in our old galaxy, I'm not sure how it would have made this situation better, Master. It's likely the Force would have sent him to this world anyway, just like all the rest of us. Right now, it isn't going to help either of them for you to lose control. Let's just…focus on one thing at a time."

"Two of the people I care the very most about are in grave danger!" Anakin reminded him, trying to keep his voice from sounding hysterical. He didn't succeed.

"I know that, Master." Galen's voice was calm, and he could feel his padawan reaching out with the Force to provide what little comfort he could. "But we can't help both of them at the same time. Focus on one, and we'll go from there."

He didn't want to admit it, but Galen had a point. He was one person. He couldn't be in two places at once, and looking at the whole situation and trying to tackle it all at once was doing nothing but make matters worse and driving him crazy. How could he choose between his wife and his son? He loved them both so much, and they were both in grave danger. But was it really choosing between them? He would be there for both of them. He vowed that. But…

His wife needed him now. Luke...as much as it pained him, Luke was still alive. But Padme, his wife, his lover, his bestfriend, themotherof his children, his very soul mate across the stars, was on the brink of death from the sounds of it. She needed him most right now.

"We'll go to Padme first." The words were hollow, resigned, devastated. "We'll start there." He glanced over at Galen. "In the meantime, we contact every Jedi, all over the globe. I want them all hunting my son down. He will be found, and he will be brought home."

Galen was already pulling out his comm link. "I understand, Master. It will be done."


When they got to the hospital, his sole objective had been to find Vokara and demand to know the status of his wife's condition, but when he arrived, Vokara was still in the operating room with his wife. All of the nurses he stopped to demand answers from all told him the same infuriating answer: It was too early to tell.

He got the distinct feeling that they just didn't know, and were feeding him that line to keep him from tearing the hospital down to find her. By the fourth time he was given that answer, he was extremely tempted to start Force choking the poor nurses, but Galen, who was somehow remaining steadfastly calm throughout this ordeal, dragged him back into the waiting room, trying to send calming vibes to him through the Force.

In the waiting room, he paced like a caged Gundark, and everyone there seemed to sense that he was not a person to be messed with in that moment and stayed clear of him. Galen tried to get him to sit down, but quickly gave up and instead softly apologized to those Anakin had made uncomfortable.

It wasn't long before the waiting room doors opened and familiar faces walked in. He was so wrapped up in his wife's condition and his son's disappearance, though, that at first he couldn't comprehend who he was looking at. Satine stood there, her infant daughter, Rachel, in her stroller, whimpering from having been woken up. In her hand, Satine carried newborn Hayden strapped into his car seat, his diaper bag on her shoulder. Mercifully, he was asleep. Ella and Leia trailed just behind her, hand-in-hand, Ella frowning while Leia was in hysterical sobs.

The moment Leia saw him though, she brightened a little. Not much, but just a little. "Daddy," She sobbed, and before he knew it, she had let go of Ella's hand and run to him, reaching her arms up for him. "Daddy!"

His heart tore into even smaller pieces as he leaned down and picked her up, grunting a little under her weight. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing as she held him. "Is M-Mommy o-o-okay?" She asked between hiccups and sobs.

For the first time, he began to realize the implications of what this was actually doing to Leia. This wasn't just about him anymore. The last time Padme had been critically injured, he could wallow in self-pity all he wanted. But now, Padme's condition and Luke's kidnapping didn't just affect him. It affected his daughter, and his newborn son (though Hayden clearly didn't know that yet). He still had a responsibility to his two other children to be a pillar of strength, even if he wanted to be anything but that in that moment.

He held her close, forcing himself to calm enough to send what little comfort he could to his distraught daughter. "She's going to be fine, Princess." He hoped he was telling her the truth. "You'll see. Mommy will be fine."

Leia didn't seem to believe him, but she nodded anyway, the sobs not dying down. "Daddy, L-L-L-Luke…." She cut off, crying harder. "I w-want Luke!"

He sat down in one of the blue padded waiting room chairs, holding her close on his lap as he tried to find the right words to say. It also hadn't occurred to him before now that Leia, being Luke's twin and closest friend, would be hurt more than any of them. He could sense that pain, and it was excruciating. In many ways, Luke and Leia shared a bond that no one, including even he himself or his wife, could ever understand. They had only had each other in their past life. They had been reborn together and spent most of their waking moments with each other in this life, and now that he had encouraged both of them to use the Force, their bond through the Force had only gotten stronger. To have Luke ripped from her like this…

Anakin couldn't even imagine.

"I'll find him, Princess." He promised her, kissing the top of her head, rubbing comforting circles on her back. "I promise. I'll find Luke." Maybe it was a stupid thing to promise. What if he couldn't find him? Or worse, what if Palpatine killed Luke? That was certainly a possibility, he knew. He kept that doubt from her, though. Right now, she needed his assurance. She needed to know that he was there for her, that she wasn't alone.

Satine was talking with Galen, and as he rocked his daughter, he listened in. Threepio was damaged in the attack, but from what limited knowledge Satine had about droids, he seemed fixable. Anakin had to keep himself from snorting. Of course, he was fixable. He knew Threepio better than anyone. He'd designed and built him after all! He could fix him in his sleep, probably. Satine also mentioned Jedi. The police apparently thought he had tried to protect Padme, but he'd been badly injured. He was still alive, and at the emergency vet, but they weren't sure if he'd make it through the night. The formal living room and the area of the kitchen by the glass door were a mess with lots of blood and broken glass everywhere.

Anakin didn't care about any of that. "Who did this?" He asked, his voice cold and full of steel. Satine glanced at him and hesitated. "I don't know, Anakin. No one knows." Wrong. Padme did, but she was still in surgery. He sighed, dropping the subject for now, and instead focused on trying to calm his hysterical daughter.

Hours passed. Satine called his mother and stepfather and called Ruwee and Jobal and Sola for him, as he was still busy with Leia. He was grateful for that, as he wasn't in the mood to deal with his in-laws' hostility at that one point, Hayden woke up, whimpering, but Satine and Galen firmly told Anakin they had it covered, with diaper and a bottle at the ready. Normally, Anakin would have objected, insisting he could care for his son, but under the circumstances, he was most grateful for their help.

By morning, Leia had finally cried herself to sleep, and he was almost afraid to move and wake her up. Hayden was sleeping at his feet in his carseat. He was exhausted but terribly anxious to hear about his wife's condition, but Galen (who he had previously sent to find out) said the nurses told him the same stupid line again and again. So he waited, anxiously, impatiently, but quietly. The waiting room doors opened again, and in came another familiar, tired face.

Obi-Wan.

He saw Satine first, who was nursing baby Rachel while Ella slept awkwardly against her. His eyes brightened, and he approached his wife, leaning down to kiss her tenderly and murmur what Anakin assumed were questions about their safety. Satine must have confirmed that they were fine, because he nodded and then turned to Anakin gravely. "Anakin…"

Softly, Anakin held up a hand, indicating that Leia was asleep. Through their connection, he said, She just fell asleep. Don't you dare wake her up.

Obi-Wan nodded gravely. I understand. He sat down next to his friend. Do you…do you know how Padme's doing?

Anakin scowled. No. I haven't moved yet to find out. Leia literally cried herself to sleep.

Obi-Wan sighed and rubbed a hand over his face wearily. We caught Grievous. He's in holding in the basement at the Academy. I had his arms and legs detached so that he can't escape.

Anakin glowered, his blue eyes turning steely gray with his anger. Finally! Grievous was caught. At least there was some good news in all this mess. Why haven't you ended it?

Obi-Wan had wanted Grievous dead for threatening his daughter, Ella, that night in California, not because of revenge, but because of safety reasons. Anakin had wanted him dead too, but he hadn't pushed it as much as Obi-Wan had.

Oh, how wrong he had been.

Obi-Wan sighed. We will. I just thought you'd like to be there to see it through. I've placed our best guards on him, including Ahsoka. He paused. She sends her love, by the way. She told me to tell you, quote, 'Padme will be okay, and we'll get Luke back, Skyguy.' And she's right.

How do you know?

Obi-Wan was quiet for a while. Because the Force…it works mysteriously sometimes, but I don't believe for a moment that it wants your family to be apart. It brought you back to Padme at the very beginning, before it brought you to anyone else, and it gave you Luke and Leia back. It doesn't matter how long it takes…We will find him and bring him home.

Though Anakin was still miserable, he couldn't help but feel slightly comforted. Thanks, Obi-Wan. He said back, and just as he did, the doors to the rest of the hospital opened and in walked a clearly exhausted Vokara. Immediately, his full anxiety was back. Carefully, he shifted Leia until Obi-Wan was taking her into his lap, both men being very careful to not wake her. As soon as she was safely in Obi-Wan's lap, Anakin stood, his whole body creaking from having sat there in the same position for so long, and approached Vokara. "Well?" He demanded, making sure to keep his voice low so as not to wake Leia or Ella or Hayden.

"She's going to be just fine, Anakin." Vokara assured him, her voice full of weariness. "The bullet thankfully didn't hit anything that couldn't be fixed, and the air ambulance got her here quickly enough so that we could stop the bleeding before she lost too much. With bacta treatment and a little extra help from the Force, she'll recover quickly."

Anakin's shoulders slumped, and he rubbed both his hands down his face, letting out a relieved sigh, tears of relief in his eyes, though he still despised the situation they were in. "Can I see her?" He was anxious to see and touch his wife for himself, for his own peace of mind.

"Of course. Come with me." Vokara nodded, and led him back to see his wife.

KKKKKKKKKKKKK

Everything was numb and dark. Luke lay on his side, his cheek pressed against the cold, wet, rocking floor. The woman had taken him to a small, private plane where she'd tied him up. She had left the gag in his mouth, and every time he had tried to use the Force against her, she had sensed it and blocked it, and the ropes around his hands got tighter. It became clear to Luke that he was nowhere near skilled enough in the Force to stop her, and he soon gave up on it.

When the plane landed, he expected them to set down on land. His parents both flew planes, and they always landed on a paved runway for planes. When she'd dragged him out of the plane though, he found himself on a big ship, with a long flat runway with other planes being secured by men in uniforms he didn't recognize. They sort of looked like they were some kind of soldiers, like the soldiers he'd seen back home or on TV, except that they weren't wearing camouflage. Instead, they wore a dark brown uniform, with Red stripes on their shoulders, and helmets with a little white circle and a red star in it on the front of them. They all looked Asian, too. He had a classmate who was born in China and had been adopted by an American couple. He'd been very nice, and these guys sort of looked like him in the face.

He soon understood where he was, or at least began to. He had played enough video war games with Ezra war to know that he was on a battleship of some kind. All hope of his dad coming to rescue him began to diminish. How could his dad or his Uncle Ben know to look for him out in the ocean? For when he looked around, he found that, indeed, the ship was in the middle of the ocean, sailing towards some unknown destination.

But, maybe these soldiers were friendly. His mom and dad had taught him that the police and soldiers were the good guys. Maybe if he called for help…but those soldiers didn't look like any he'd ever seen before. Frowning, he'd looked up at the very top of the battleship to see what flag was flying. In video games, the battleship always flew that country's flag.

It wasn't any flag he'd seen before. It wasn't American. It wasn't Texan. It wasn't Californian or Idahoan. It was mostly red in the middle, with blue on the top and bottom. Instead of fifty stars, there was only one red star in a white circle. Somehow, he realized, as the woman began to drag him across the deck, he didn't think these men would help him.

The woman had led him down into a dark room within the ship's belly, where she ungagged and untied him. It didn't look like the jail he'd seen in cartoons, but when she first locked him in there, he had a feeling that he was basically in prison. The thought terrified him, and he'd banged on the door for a while, yelling for help until his voice was gone. When it became clear that there was no help coming, he'd given up and had sat down, waiting anxiously in the moist, dank darkness.

That's when the sickness came.

He'd been to the beach before. He'd loved to play in the water, to build sand castles with his mom and sister. His dad hated it, but he'd usually gone anyway to make his kids happy. Once, he even let Luke and Leia bury him, though he made faces every second it happened, and later he heard his dad complain to his mom that the sand was everywhere even after two showers. His mom had just laughed at his dad and offered to help him with a third shower, which made his dad finally laugh, too. Luke didn't understand why that was so funny.

But this wasn't like playing on the beach. The ship crashed through the rough waves, and soon the subtle rocking movements of the ship began to make Luke feel queasy, and in no time, Luke ended up throwing up the contents of his stomach in a corner of the room...over and over. When he had nothing left to throw up, it seemed to settle down, but his stomach still felt awful. He was almost grateful that no one ever came by to bring him food. Almost.

In between sickness, he was left alone to his thoughts. No one came to check on him. He wished to escape them, but it was impossible. Images filled his head, haunting him. Jedi lying motionless. Threepio with his wires ripped out. His mom…

His mom.

His hands were still covered in her blood. No one had let him wash it off. It had dried, caked onto his skin. The smell filled his nostrils, contributing to the sickness the rocking of the ship caused him. Was she…Was she dead? He wondered. The thought made it hard for him to breathe. If she died, it was because of him. She had told him to run. She told him not to pull the trigger. But he had done it anyway, and the woman had moved his mom into the path of the bullet instead. Now, she was possibly dead, and it was all his fault.

The tears had come then. He'd just wanted to protect her, to keep her safe. He didn't mean for any of it to happen. But, it had happened, and though he fervently wished it was all just some terrible nightmare, he couldn't wake up. It was real.

What would his dad think?

He knew, beyond any doubt, that his dad loved his mother so very much. Luke had reached into the pocket of his night shirt, pulling out the necklace his dad had made for his mom. The necklace was just one small proof that his dad loved his mom more than anything in the world…no, the universe. Even if his mom wasn't dead, his dad would be so angry with him. He was sure of it. His dad told him that he would always love Luke no matter what he ever did, but that was before he shot his mom. Would…would his dad even try to find him after this?

Luke didn't want to think about that possibility. It hurt too much.

He wasn't sure how long he was down there in that room before the door finally opened, and one of those soldiers had come in. Luke had barely enough time to put the necklace back in his pocket before the man jerked him to his feet and dragged him back through the ship.

He'd been taken to another small room somewhere in the ship, this time full of soldiers who sneered at him angrily. Luke, terrified, hadn't known why they looked at him that way, but in the corner he noticed the woman again, leaning against the wall, and smirk on on her face, watching with amusement as a soldier approached Luke and started saying something in an unfamiliar language to him. At first, Luke wondered if the man was speaking Chinese, but he'd heard his classmate speak it, and this language sounded somewhat different. The man sneered when Luke didn't understand what he was saying, and then said something to the other men, who all laughed.

That's when the physical abuse happened.

He was pushed.

He was hit, punched, and slapped.

He was spit on.

He was kicked.

At first, it had been painful, awfully so. He tried to lash out through the Force, but just as he was about to do it, the woman sensed it and used the Force to restrain him. Eventually, he went numb, and completely blacked out.

That's how he woke up, once again in the cell, lying on his side, staring into nothing. He didn't bother to move. He was too numb to move. Instead, he lay there, thinking of home, not how he left it, but as it had been. Safe. Full of love. Full of fun times with his sister, his parents. Full of friends and family, and parents who were alive and loved him.

He squeezed his eyes shut, willing darkness to overtake him again. I'm sorry, Dad, He thought fervently, wishing with all his might that his dad would understand that and still come for him.

As he began to drift back into unconsciousness, he thought he might have felt something, a response of some sort. But, it was gone, fading like a whisper before he could identify it, and he drifted back into darkness.


KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Anakin waited anxiously by his wife's side, refusing to leave her, as he had over the last few days. As Vokara promised, the bacta tank treatment and Vokara's own Force-healing abilities was giving Padme a strong recovery. His mother and Padme's parents had arrived the day before to help take care of Leia and Hayden, and though Padme's parents were not fond of the Force, they were fond of Vokara's abilities to help their daughter heal faster. Thankfully, they could see how distraught Anakin was, and they opted to focus on helping their son-in-law and not fight with him.

Still, Padme had not woken up yet, not fully at least. There were times when her eyes flickered, and she moaned like she was going to wake up, but she hadn't. Anakin stayed strictly by her side, waiting with as much patience as he could force himself to muster, holding her hand, rubbing her forehead, dropping soft kisses on her hands and face, whispering just how much he loved her. Leia and Hayden had visited once, accompanied by Obi-Wan, but Leia had gotten so upset at the sight of her injured mother, that Obi-Wan quickly took her out of the room again.

Now, Anakin was alone in the room, holding Padme's hand. He was exhausted. He had barely slept, had barely eaten anything. But, he hardly felt any of that. He needed to see for himself that Padme would wake up, that everything truly was going to be alright.

Finally, Padme began to stir, her grip tightening around his hand. "Padme?" He asked, anxiously, leaning over her, his eyes brimming with tears. "Angel?" Even to him, he could tell that his voice was pained.

It took a moment, but finally Padme's eyes opened, unfocused, but they soon met his eyes, and he saw recognition in them. "Ani," she croaked, her voice rough from not being in use over the last few days. "What…?"

"Shh, it's alright, Sweetheart," He assured her tightly, knowing that things were indeed not alright. Now that she was awake, he realized with a sinking feeling, he was going to have to tell her about Luke. He hadn't thought that far ahead, and now that it was staring him in the face, he wasn't sure how to proceed.

She seemed to remember that fact a split second after he realized it, and she gasped, wincing in pain, and tried to sit up. He put a firm hand on her uninjured shoulder—whoever had attacked had also stabbed the tip of a lightsaber into her left shoulder, leaving a burn mark that now had a bacta patch over it. It hadn't been a deep wound, thankfully, but he assumed it was still painful to the touch. "Padme," he began, but she wasn't listening.

"Luke!" She gasped, looking around wildly for their son, "Luke! Where is he?" She turned her searching, desperate gaze on Anakin, and the pain in her eyes that stemmed not from the physical pain she was in, but from the emotional pain of knowing her son had been in danger, tore at Anakin. "Anakin, where is Luke?!" He hesitated, not sure how to respond, but apparently that hesitation was worse than anything he could have said. A pained noise escaped her throat, and tears began to fall down her cheeks. "Oh Ani, don't tell me….don't tell me he's dead, please no…"

"He's not dead, Sweetheart." He told her firmly, gently rubbing her hair. That much he could at least say for sure. If his son had died, he would have felt it.

That calmed her, but just barely so. "Then where is he?" She demanded, her voice breaking.

"Maybe now isn't the best time…" he began, worried about what the news would do to her. She should have been resting, and now here she was, barely awake, and she was panicking and putting herself through more pain.

She knew where he was going with it, though, and she was not putting up with it. "I don't give a damn about that, Ani! I want to know where our son is!" She was yelling at him now, and he knew in that moment that there was no hiding it from her. She wouldn't drop it, and it wasn't fair to her to keep it from her.

Padme had a right to know.

With a resigned sigh, he took her face gently in his hands. "He was taken, Padme. Kidnapped." He admitted softly, holding her gaze. "Leia and Hayden are safe, though. They're with your parents and my mom and Galen."

At first, she looked like she was about to succumb to denial, but as she looked at him and saw the grave seriousness in his eyes, she knew the truth. Her expression crumbled, and she began to sob, sobs that were probably incredibly painful for her. "No. No, please no!" He pulled her gently into his arms, holding her as she sobbed, each one tearing him down further and further. "Bring him back! Ani," She began to say, over and over again, "Just bring him back!"

"I will, Angel," he promised, though he doubted that himself. He had literally every Jedi he had available all over the world looking for him everywhere, and there had yet to be any sign of him. He had waited for Padme for two days. Two precious days. A lot could happen in two days. "But, Sweetheart, I need to know...Who did this?"

Her cries abruptly cut off, and he could feel a wave of terrifying anger engulf his wife. "Ventress." She spat malevolently, pulling away from his embrace just enough to meet his eyes again. Her eyes were hard and full of hate. "Ventress did this, Ani."

He went cold. Grievous….Grievous was manageable. He had been a talented warrior, but one without the Force. Ventress was a different enemy all together. He knew, without a doubt, that she would be just as slippery to catch as she had been in their old galaxy…perhaps even more so, if she was intentionally keeping a low profile.

Still, he had no choice. He had to find her, before she brought Luke to Palpatine. "I'll find Luke." He said softly, gently wiping away a tear from Padme's face with with his thumb. "I'll go find him, and I'll bring our son home." He hesitated. "If I have a chance, though, I need to leave now. Will…will you be alright, Angel?"

Padme closed her eyes. "I'm fine." She said, and he could tell that she meant it. "Just bring our son home." He nodded and kissed her softly, a part of him relieved that she was still alive for him to kiss again. His wife was going to live.

Luke was still alive, even if he was taken. He could work with this. One step at a time, just like Galen had said. "I'll stay in contact every day. You and the children will have two Jedi guards, 24/7, while I'm gone. I'm never making that mistake again."

Padme nodded, and he brushed one last lingering kiss on her lips, then stood to leave. "Wait, Ani." He paused, looking back at her. There was a peculiar, pained look on her face. "You need to know…Ventress didn't shoot me." She motioned to her shoulder where the lightsaber had been pressed into her skin. "This was her work, though."

Anakin almost didn't want to ask. In fact, everything screamed at him not to. But, he knew that he would find out eventually. "Who shot you?" His voice was quiet, guarded, and Padme flinched a little.

It was that bad?

"Luke…found my gun, the one I got after Mindy's death. He was trying to use it to threaten Ventress into letting me go. He…he shot it at her, and it would have hit her, but she jerked me in front of her, and and the bullet hit me instead." Her gaze went hard. "It's not his fault, Ani. It's Ventress' but not his. Please, don't blame Luke."

But Luke wouldn't see it that way. Once again, Anakin felt as if the rug had been ripped out from under him, leaving him tumbling in the darkness. His son…his poor Luke… Luke was protective at heart, but he was also very gentle and loving. If he thought it was his fault, or worse, that he had caused his mom's death…

"You're right." Anakin said firmly, trying to keep the anger out of his voice. The anger was directed at Ventress and Palpatine. Now, it was even more imperative that he find Luke before Ventress could deliver him to Palpatine. If Palpatine got a hold of him, Anakin knew without a doubt that the Sith Lord would use Luke's shooting against him. "I'll bring him home, Padme. No matter how long it takes." He paused…"I love you. Stay safe, Angel."

There was relief in her eyes, and she settled back against the pillows. "Alright, Ani. I trust you, and I love you, too. May the Force be with you." He nodded, turned, and left, already beginning to make preparations to leave. He would find Luke. He would bring him home.

And, he vowed, he would destroy Palpatine.


For some reason the little line thing to separate scenes is having issues, hence the "kkkkk" stuff. Anyhow...

Obviously I didn't kill Padme. I am not that cruel. Like I said before, I don't do spoilers, and I basically have this section of the story painfully planned out in detail, but I WILL say this: I believe in happy endings. I may put my characters through horrible things, but I strongly believe in happy endings, the power of love, etc. So though I may torture you guys with cliffhangers and Luke's future right now is in the balance, just know that I don't do sad endings...unless I'm writing a short story. My short stories always end in death because I don't know how to write a 'short' story.

I also wanted to take the time to thank all of you readers. This story now has over 1,000 reviews, and that completely and totally blows me away. I couldn't get through this without your support. You guys are the BEST.

The song for this chapter is J.C. from Mortal Instruments.

Review!

Love,

Sarah