After about 4 hours in hyperspace, Obi Wan gently shook Padme awake. "Milady?"
She began to stir and then a minute later she groggily opened her eyes. He gave her a moment before he started talking.
"I'm sorry to wake you, but we need to come up with some cover information before we arrive on Tatooine in a few hours."
Padme sat up in her seat, stretching and yawning. She winced as she rubbed a sore spot on her neck, as her head had been resting in a strange position. The seat's headrest wasn't very comfortable.
"Alright Obi Wan." She mumbled. "What have you come up with?"
He sat forward in his seat. "I'll be going by the name of Ben. Ben Kenobi. I'm not too concerned about anyone recognizing me because Tatooine isn't very up to date with Republic information so my name shouldn't have any ties to my Jedi status out here."
Obi Wan hesitantly paused. He was a bit nervous about what he was going to need to tell Padme. It wasn't going to make her happy by any means. "This might be hard to hear, but you'll have to change your name too. And the last name of your children. For precautionary measures."
"What?" Padme yelled, suddenly very awake. Her eyes narrowed, suddenly very angry and upset with Obi Wan.
"But Obi Wan, that's all we have left of Anakin. The least we can do is honor him by giving his children his last name."
"I understand that, but let's be reasonable. Skywalker is a well known name on Tatooine. Anakin was the only human to win the Boonta Eve Classic, which is a big deal. Word like that spreads. And his mother lived there her whole life. People will recognize the name and possibly ask questions. And we need to keep you and the children as safe as possible." Obi Wan tried to explain as calmly as he possibly could. He really wanted to be on Padme's side and allow her to name the children completely how she wanted. After all, they weren't his. They were her and another man's children. So it hurt him to be denying them all of that, but he didn't want to endanger his best friend's family. His goal was to protect them. Sure, he was given the task by Master Yoda, but he truly wanted to do it for Anakin. And for the hope that there was still good in him, that Padme so adamantly believed in.
Padme sighed, almost in defeat. Obi Wan's words did make sense. He had a logical reason. But she wasn't ready to give in yet. "We can decide on the twins' last name later. Let's focus on us right now. I'll go by my old name, Padme Naberrie. It's my family name, but I haven't had a chance to use it since I was 11 or 12."
"Alright. That'll be fine." He nodded in approval.
Her face tensed briefly as she thought for a moment. "As for my backstory, my husband died during the war. He was a mechanic on a Republic ship that was destroyed in battle. After that, I lost my job as a secretary with the change of leadership at my company."
"And you fell into my care because you don't have any other close family still living, and I wanted to take care of you out of respect for my deceased brother." Obi Wan continued.
Now Padme nodded her head in approval. "That works. Do you have anything to add? A job or anything for your backstory?"
Obi Wan leaned back in his chair, resting his right arm on the arm rest while stroking his beard with his left hand. "Let's see here. I never had just one job, since I've always been open to learning and trying new things; security guard, teacher, diplomat, pilot, refugee. It allows me to travel all over the galaxy so I don't have to stay in one place. The galaxy is too big to not see all that it has to offer."
A few hours later, the desert planet came into view. Memories washed over Obi Wan as he remembered the last time his eyes looked at the dusty light brown landscape through a ship's large viewport. It wasn't a joyful time either. He and his Master, Qui Gon Jinn, needed an emergency place to land after their ship had suffered damage in battle, needing repairs to the hyperdrive. A young queen was with them, as they protected her, after coming to her aid and helping her flee from her planet, with attempts to reach Coruscant for a plea to help her planet from a Trade Blockade by the Trade Federation. Who would have known that their whole lives were about to be changed forever when they landed on the planet, especially those of a Jedi Padawan and a fourteen year old queen.
Obi Wan bitterly smiled as he thought about the kind blond haired child who was full of hope and dreams for the future. He would have never imagined that when the young slave boy was first introduced to him, he was meeting his best friend. He would have never thought that he would be fighting side by side in a Galactic War with him and they would mutually save each other's lives more than they could both possibly count, creating an incredible bond that would be impossible to recreate with any other being in the entire Galaxy.
But here they were, the Jedi Padawan and fourteen year old queen, returning to the same place 13 years later. But instead of taking hope for the Galaxy off the planet through the child Anakin Skywalker, they were now bringing hope for the Galaxy to the planet, through the unborn children of Anakin Skywalker.
Obi Wan looked over to the woman sitting next to him. Her lips were pressed in a thin flat line, with a grim expression on her face as she too stared out at the approaching planet. She seemed to be engaging in some sort of mental battle within herself. Like she was fighting hard to not remember what had happened on the planet's surface.
After another hour, Obi Wan landed the ship outside of a small hut.
"I did some research and saw this hut was vacant, having been abandoned for some time. We can move in here." Obi Wan explained to Padme as he powered down the engines and pressed a button on the control panel to lower down the ship's ramp.
She nodded her head in silent acknowledgement and wrapped a white scarf around her face and neck before following Obi Wan down the ramp. She winced as a sudden wave of heat and harsh wind hit her. They beat against her as she walked slowly down the ramp, uncomfortably. She stopped suddenly at the end of the ramp and just stared at the sandy dirt ground. Obi Wan turned around, sensing her distress. She looked like she was in some sort of trance as she stood still and completely silent. He backtracked a few steps and offered her a hand for support. Her hand shook slightly as she placed her small hand in his.
But as soon as she stepped onto the plant's ground she seemed to be thrown out of the trance as flashbacks seared through her mind. A broken hyperdrive. A slave boy. The death of a young Jedi's mother. A funeral. The man she loved had committed a terrible deed here, and that man was now gone. Her painful sobs suddenly filled the air around them, breaking the desert silence.
Obi Wan hesitantly placed an arm on her shoulder as she cried and gently led her in the direction of the hut. Once inside, Padme sank to the hard dirt floor and wrapped her arms around her belly as if she could protect the twins from the bombardment of memories and emotions she was experiencing.
Padme looked at Obi Wan through a curtain of tears as he sat down next to her. "I'm sorry." She sniffled. "I just don't want to start over, start a new life without Anakin. I still love him, even though he's gone. I just can't believe it… everything that's happened in the past few days. Only yesterday… I was on Coruscant waiting for him… and now.. everything…" Padme tried to pull herself together, but she just continued to cry.
Obi Wan just sat there with her. She was now finally starting to process what had happened. This was going to be a long journey.
About an hour later, Padme had calmed down enough where she could get up and look around her new home, while Obi Wan brought in all the supplies from the ship that could possibly be useful for their time here. The hut had 4 rooms. A kitchen and dining area, a living area, a very small refresher, and a bedroom. Obi Wan brought in all the blankets he could find along with clothing, food, weapons, and other survival supplies, which wasn't much. Padme was happy to have the task of finding places for all of the stuff to go. After all, it gave her mind something else to focus on. She created a curtain out of a bedsheet and short rod to separate the bedroom from the living room and kitchen. She was given the bedroom as the room where she and the twins could stay, while Obi Wan would stay in the living area. There was already a bed in the bedroom, so Padme just added a few boxes that could be used for storing the twin's things, unless she could find something else. Obi Wan claimed the couch would be alright for his bed, but Padme wanted to look for something else for him to use. She also didn't have much baby supplies so they would have to go out and do some shopping. But they had plenty of utility supplies that filled the drawers in the small kitchen; eating utensils, a few pots and pans, plates, bowls, and cups. Padme had laughed when Obi wan brought it all in. She had forgotten how much could actually be stored on her small ship. They also had enough rations for a few weeks that were placed in one of the cupboards. Water packets were stored there too, along with some packages of tea.
Shortly into unpacking, Padme had gotten tired and decided to rest for a bit. A couple hours later, Obi Wan came in to wake her.
"Padme, I finished unpacking everything. I don't think there's anything else on your ship that will be helpful. I also made some tea so we can have dinner now."
Padme got up and followed him into the kitchen, sitting down at the table.
"Thank you." She said as he handed her a cup of tea and a couple ration bars.
The two friends sat in silence as they ate. Padme glanced around the kitchen as she finished her second bar. It had a few cabinets and drawers against the corner of the room. Next to that was a small stove with a counter next to it, all a white color, with some dirt stains from previous tenents. But it wasn't anything she couldn't clean. Besides that, the dining room was bare, except for the dining table and chairs which they currently occupied. One the opposite side of the room, there was a small end table with an old couch. But that was it. The previous owners left, leaving as little as possible. But maybe they didn't even have that much to begin with.
"Could we go out into town to do some shopping?" Padme asked, breaking the silence. "There's some baby stuff I need to get before the twins arrive. And…" She glanced at the couch again. "... we need to get you a long term bed. Along with some actual food."
"The babies will appreciate that." She added, chuckling as she felt a kick from one of the babies.
Obi Wan smiled in slight amusement. "Of course. I think I know where the nearest town is, so we can go there in a week or two. I just don't want to make our presence known quite yet. Let's continue to get settled in. I would like to finish cleaning the hut, if possible."
Padme grinned. "That would be a great use of time. We can start on that in the morning. I'm going to tackle the kitchen first thing."
She stood to stretch and suddenly felt some of the toil of the past few days. A weight of exhaustion hit her.
"I'm going to retire for the evening. It's been a long day."
Obi Wan smiled. "Good Night Milady."
He stood up from the table too. "I'm going to do some meditation outside and then retire myself."
"Good Night Obi Wan." With that, the two went in their respective way.
Obi Wan made his way outside. It was already dark, but he didn't mind. It would actually allow him more concentration on his meditation and less on the physical around him. He sat down crossed legged a little ways from the hut's entrance.
He rested his hands on his knees as he closed his eyes. His heart began to slow as he focused on breathing. In and out. In and out. In and out. The air was cool and quiet. He reached out through the force, sensing the life around him; Padme sleeping in the hut, her beating heart and the children stirring within her. He could sense each one individually. He could personally feel each small kick and movement that Padme felt from them. The small Tatooine creatures that scurried around on the cool desert floor, searching for food and shelter from the cold night. They made little sound, yet he was completely aware of their presence. He felt the cool breeze, the rocks, the hut. Everything. And he felt peace.
Master Qui Gon, it has been a while since we have last spoken. I know it's just been a few days since Master Yoda informed me that I would be able to learn how to speak with you, but I thought I'd try now. After all, I need some meditation time and someone to talk to, after everything that has transpired the last few days.
Obi Wan knew that it was a long shot being able to communicate with his old Master this soon, since he hadn't even started training for it, but what harm could it do to try? He could be greatly surprised. The ways of the Force were completely unpredictable.
I am currently watching over Anakin's family on Tatooine. So much has happened over the past few days… months… years. I never thought any of this would happen. Anakin… he is gone.
Obi Wan paused, uncertain what to say next. It was still too fresh to try to describe the past few days in detail. But he would try his best to piece together something. This was something that could help him.
The dark side seduced him. I failed him, Master. And I failed you. You entrusted me to watch over him and train him, but I didn't see any of this coming. I let him down. So now I carry this burden. It's a terrible weight on my heart. I wish you were here. I could use your guidance right now. But I understand if you-"
Obi Wan's eyes widened as he was jerked out of his meditation. His heart began to pound inside his chest as he honed in on the disturbance he had just felt. Something was wrong with… Padme.
He jumped to his feet and quickly rushed inside. Her cries filled the small hut as he made his way to her bedroom. Each cry seemed to be filled with more and more pain as he got closer and closer to her. He tore back the curtain divider and stood there silently and stared. It was like he had been ungracefully dumped into the past.