Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.
Let's get to it.
Chapter 9- New Generation
As night falls over the Federal District on Coruscant, its inhabitants are starting to settle down for the night for a night of much needed sleep.
Within the Senate apartment complex, at the top of one of the buildings, Padme and Anakin are resting in her apartment. Anakin had been given some time off from leading combat operations in the Clone Wars to spend with Padme given their baby is due soon.
It's been a week since the Palpatine was forced to reveal himself and Order 66 was issued. In the time since then, the Jedi and Republic have been desperately trying to recover themselves. The Separatists haven't managed to launch any counterattacks due to the chaos from its recent losses.
The Republic and the Jedi have found themselves in a precarious situation. The Jedi have finally managed to total up their casualties, and after that total, it's been revealed that of it's previous strength of about 8,500 Jedi from younglings to Masters, there are now only 2,531 confirmed survivors of Palpatine's attempted purge, with another hundred or so suspected of being alive. Most clone units are now without their commanding generals, and the Grand Army of the Republic is now struggling a bit without the majority of its generals. Despite the shock of what happened with Order 66, as many Jedi as possible are being sent back to retake their commands to try and hold what ground the Republic has. However, Anakin was exempt from this due to the impending birth of his child.
In the apartment, Anakin walks out of the bathroom, having just washed his hands after he and Padme finished dinner. As he comes into the sitting room, he sees Padme is resting on the couch, her arms curled around her belly as she is just staring down at it. Padme has stopped wearing bigger dresses to hide her pregnancy while she's at home. Her dress is a little more breathable and comfortable for her at this stage of her pregnancy, and doesn't hide her belly.
Anakin walks over and sits down on the couch next to Padme, resting a hand on her belly. Padme looks up at Anakin, and Anakin looks down into her eyes. Anakin smiles and says, "I love you."
"I love you," Padme responds. She pauses, then asks, "You really haven't had any nightmares in the last week?"
"Yes. I think Obi Wan might have been right. The nightmares might have been created by Palpatine to drive me towards him," Anakin says.
Padme looks at him for a moment before she asks, "Did you really think about joining the Sith?"
Anakin looks down in shame. After a moment, he says, "I couldn't lose you, Padme. I was so scared. I was willing to do almost anything to save you, and it wasn't until Qui Gon spoke to me that I realized doing so would drive you away."
Padme nods slowly. Finally, she says, "Anakin, I will always be with you. Even if I died, I'd still be with you. Our child needs you."
Anakin looks deep into her eyes. "I know, Padme. I saw I was wrong. I promise I'm not going to make the same mistake again. I see Palpatine's deception now. I will never join the Sith. I want to be a good man, and a good father," Anakin says.
Padme smiles as she places a hand on the side of his face. "I love you, Anakin, and I love you as you are. Never think you have to change yourself." She smiles more brightly as she says, "You are the kind of man our child is lucky to have as a father. Don't change that." She then gives him a brief kiss.
Anakin smiles. "I'm very luck to have you and our child, Padme. You make my life complete," Anakin says.
Padme smiles. Then, her expression changes, and a second later, she says, "Speaking of our child, I think they just decided it's time to make their appearance."
Anakin springs to his feet, alarm on his face. "The baby's coming," Anakin all but yells.
Padme, though a look of discomfort is on her face, is much more calm about this than Anakin. "Anakin, it's okay. You know what to do," she says calmly.
"Right," Anakin responds. Anakin quickly picks up Padme off the couch and carries her over to the speeder pad attached to the apartment, where they have a speeder tied up to the pad. Anakin climbs onto the speeder and carefully settles Padme into the passenger seat before he settles into the driver's seat. Anakin immediately starts up the speeder and takes off, heading for the Senate medical facility.
As Anakin speeds towards the medical facility, he activates the speeder's commlink and places a call. After a few seconds, Obi Wan and Ahsoka appear by hologram.
"Anakin. What's going on?" Obi Wan asks casually.
"Um, Padme's about to have the baby. We're heading for the Senate medical facility right now," Anakin informs them.
Both Obi Wan and Ahsoka looked momentarily shocked before they recompose themselves. "Understood, Anakin. We'll make our way there as soon as we can," Obi Wan says before he and Ahsoka cut the call.
Anakin refocuses on driving the speeder, trying to get to the medical facility as fast as possible, his inexperienced self hoping Padme doesn't give birth in the speeder.
(Hours later)
In one of the rooms of the medical center, Anakin is pacing around the room, kind of going out of his mind. He and Padme had arrived hours ago and been checked in. Padme had been changed into a plain white gown and is currently resting in bed while waiting for her body to be ready to deliver their baby. Padme has been calm throughout the whole thing, but Anakin has been anxious the whole time.
Padme is watching Anakin with amusement. "Anakin. Calm down. I'm the one about to give birth and I'm the calm one," she says.
"I'm sorry. I'm just so anxious. My mind is just going through every worst case scenario," Anakin says.
Padme giggles a bit and she says, "Anakin, calm down. I have you with me, and we're in a very capable medical facility. Everything is going to be fine. Trust in me. I've gone through a lot in my life. I think I have a baby."
Anakin takes a few deep breaths. "I know. I'm being ridiculous. I just can't help being anxious. I'm just so nervous."
Padme smiles at Anakin and his nervousness. Then, her body is wracked with a particularly painful contraction. An increasing feeling of pressure convinces her that things are moving along. Her face contorts from the pain, and she groans, "Anakin, go get the doctor, I think it's time."
Anakin is out of the door in a second, flying back into the room seconds later with the doctor and his medical droid following a second later, the doctor smiling in amusement.
"Alright, Senator Amidala. You think you're ready?" the doctor asks.
"Yes. It is hurting far worse now and I'm feeling a lot of pressure," Padme responds.
The doctor nods as he gloves up and starts his examination. Sure enough, in mere moments, the doctor leeks up at Padme and says, "Alright, Senator Amidala, you are all ready to deliver."
Padme looks at Anakin, who is now glued to her side, gives him a reassuring smile, then returns her attention to her doctor and says, "Alright. Let's have this baby."
The doctor and the medical droid make their final preparations, setting up an incubator and prepping Padme. Within just a few minutes, Padme is ready to begin pushing.
"Alright, Senator. When you feel the next contraction, just bear down with it and push," the doctor says. Padme nods in response, and almost immediately feels a contraction beginning and begins pushing.
For the next 10 minutes, Anakin stands close beside Padme, gripping her hand as she pushes again and again, the doctor coaching her through it as the medical droid monitors her.
Finally, after 10 minutes, the doctor says, "Alright, Senator, one more push and your baby will be here."
Padme and Anakin look at each other, both of them feeling a swell of nervousness as the magnitude of them becoming parents hits them. Then, Padme feels another contraction. Taking a deep breath, she pushes as hard as she can. Only a moment later, she feels something slide from her body, and then the doctor says, "Here he is!"
Padme and Anakin look down as the doctor holds up a squalling baby boy, covered in some blood and body fluids from being born. However, to them, he looks more beautiful than anything they've ever seen.
"Our son," Padme says softly with emotion in her voice. The doctor cuts the umbilical cord and brings the baby up to them. Padme looks at their new son with love in her eyes and says softly, "Oh, Luke. My dear Luke."
Beside her, Anakin is in tears of joy as he looks at his son. As he hears Padme give him the name Luke, he smiles brightly, the name sounding just right to him.
The doctor hands the new baby off to the droid to attend to, smiling at Padme and Anakin. "Well done, Senator. That was amazing, and you have a very healthy boy," the doctor says.
Padme nods with a bright smile. However, a second later, a sharp pain shoots through her belly again, and she cries out in pain, clutching her belly. Anakin looks at her in alarm and cries out, "Padme! What's wrong?"
"That…that felt like another contraction," Padme gasps out.
The doctor is instantly examining Padme. He grabs a small device and runs it over her belly. As it beeps and displays something to him, the doctor's eyes widen in shock. He looks up at the now anxious couple and says, "Senator, you're not done."
"What?!" both Anakin and Padme exclaim, unsure of what that means.
"You just delivered one baby. But there's another baby still in your womb," the doctor says.
"Twins?" Anakin gasps out. The doctor just nods in response.
Anakin and Padme look at each other in alarm. This is not something they expected or prepared for at all. But, they immediately realize they don't have time to be shocked or worry about this as another contraction wracks Padme's body. Looking up at Anakin with worry, Padme resumes pushing.
The second birth goes even faster than the first. In just 7 minutes, the doctor calls out, "One more!" With a cry of pain Padme pushes one more time, and again feels something slide free of her body before the crying begins.
Anakin and Padme look down as the doctor, smiling, cuts the cord and then lifts the baby up. "It's a girl," he declares.
Padme begins to cry with joy, overwhelmed with everything. Anakin grips her hand, tears of joy in his own eyes. After a moment, Padme speaks and gives her new daughter her name, "Leia." Anakin smiles in approval as he hears the name.
The newly named Leia is taken away by another droid that had been summoned, and Padme collapses against the pillows on the bed, absolutely exhausted with everything that just happened. She looks up at Anakin with tears in her eyes. This time, Anakin speaks first as he says softly, "Our children are here, Padme, and they're both perfect."
"We're parents now," Padme says softly.
Anakin could not feel more relief than he does right now. He now has a perfectly healthy son and daughter, and Padme is still alive. Yes, she's exhausted and will need some time before she's back to her old self, but she's still very much alive. He feels a momentary swell of hatred for Palpatine for nearly takin this from him, but it is quickly squashed by the bursting love for his wife and children. He holds Padme tightly to him, not wanting to let her go.
(Short time later)
In the lobby of the medical center, Obi Wan and Ahsoka are waiting anxiously. They had been told when they arrived that Anakin would come for them when he and Padme were ready. Although they've tried to be patient, both of them want to hear at least something.
As Ahsoka turns to Obi Wan to again ask him how long they might be here, they suddenly see Anakin enter the lobby from the opposite side of the lobby. The two stand up and hurry over to him.
"Well?" Obi Wan asks.
Anakin looks at them calmly for a moment, then smiles as he says, "Padme's okay, and Luke and Leia Skywalker are both healthy and fine."
"Twins?" Ahsoka gasps.
"Yes. It was a surprise to us too. We didn't know it was twins until Leia started coming out," Anakin responds with a bit of a chuckle.
Obi Wan smiles brightly at Anakin and rests a hand on his shoulder. "I'm very happy for you, Anakin. I know, things have not been easy, but you have built a wonderful life for yourself, and become a good man."
"Thank you, Master," Anakin says gratefully. He then glances between Ahsoka and Obi Wan before he asks the two, "Would you like to meet them?"
"Yes!" Ahsoka says excitedly. Obi Wan smiles and nods as well.
"Alright. Follow me," Anakin says before leading Obi Wan and Ahsoka over to the lift. They enter the lift and ride up to the proper.
A minute later, Anakin leads the two into Padme's room. As they enter, they immediately see Padme lying in her bed, holding both Luke and Leia. The twins have been wrapped up in blankets and are now sleeping.
Padme looks up at the two guests and smiles brightly. "Ahsoka, Obi Wan, meet Luke and Leia Skywalker."
The two Jedi walk up to Padme's bed, looking down at the two sleeping babies. Ahsoka bends down and says, with the brightest smile on her face, "They're beautiful, you two." She then looks at Padme and says, "I'm so happy for you both."
"Thank you, Ahsoka. Would you like to hold one?" Padme asks.
"Yes!" Ahsoka says excitedly.
Padme smiles as she hands the sleeping Leia to Ahsoka. As Ahsoka fawns over the little girl, Padme looks at Obi Wan. "Would you like to hold Luke?" she asks.
Obi Wan is quiet for a only a brief moment before he nods. Padme carefully hands the sleeping Luke to Obi Wan. Obi Wan looks down at Luke before he begins to smile. Looking up at his old apprentice, he says, "I'm very happy for you, Anakin. It makes me happy that you are so happy."
Anakin smiles gratefully, and the family, with its two special honorary extended members, enjoys a wonderful, peaceful moment together.
And, I'll end the chapter there. I hope you liked this one.
Next chapter will be up within a week or so. Until it's up, please leave a review, and stay tuned!