Later that evening, everyone except Beru and Owen crowded onto the ship
we'd stolen from the Death Star. This time Luke didn't scream. He cried and
clung to Beru, but he was acting stronger. I felt like hugging him for
acting this way. Padmé would have let him stay had he begged, she loved him
that much. But she would spend the rest of our lives pining away for Luke,
never finding happiness. I wouldn't let anyone do that to my Padmé.
It would take several hours to get to Aldaraan, so Obi-Wan and I took turns piloting. There wasn't much to do once we got into hyperspace, but it was comforting to have someone on watch. Padmé and Luke didn't like the stormtroopers. I just stayed as far away as possible. I didn't want anything to do with my past life.
Padmé had left to put Luke to bed, insisting that it was too late for him to be up, and I stayed in the pilot's seat next to Obi-Wan, using my free time to begin building a new lightsabre. My old one had been ruined in the volcano, and my red one I had bent in half just recently. A Jedi is nothing without his lightsabre.
I was in deep concentration on my work, but a light snore interrupted me. I looked up at Obi-Wan in annoyance. His head was back in the seat, and he was sleeping peacefully. I nudged him very hard, and he sprung up in surprise, his lightsabre already out.
"Quick reflexes," I complimented. "You snore, by the way. It was bothering me."
"Well can't you watch over the ship for a while? You seem to have no problems staying awake," Obi-Wan pointed out.
"Yes, but I'm working on this. I want this done by the time we reach Aldaraan, and I have to focus completely on it," I explained patiently, gesturing to the handle of my lightsabre. I was working on trying to get the blade to work.
"Just use mine."
"It won't work as well," I protested.
"I'm tired. I haven't had a decent's night sleep in years."
"You think I have? Try sleeping in a three hundred pound block of black metal with a machine that helps you breathe droning out the silence."
"Sounds like fun," Obi-Wan said sarcastically. He yawned louder than necessary. "Then I guess I'll just stay here doing this boring job, watching over this boring ship. Really, I should be getting rest. I have to leave again the second we arrive on Aldaraan."
"Where are you going?" I asked. We hadn't discussed this.
"I need to go get Yoda," he said.
Oh. Right. A sudden image of Yoda's knowing gaze made me shrink back in my seat. I pushed this picture away from my mind, as far away as possible.
I was about to retort when I felt a presence behind me. I spun around in the chair with my hand held out in front of me. Luke stood there, looking frightened. I dropped my hand and tried to smile at him. "Where's your mother, Luke?"
"Sleeping," Luke whispered. He looked past me to the controls and his eyes lit up. "Wow!" he breathed in awe.
I felt a slight pride that he felt so strongly about the ship. I sat down and gestured for him to climb onto my lap. He looked at me suspiciously for a moment, then shrugged and sat down on my knee.
"How does it work?" Luke asked. He let his fingers trail above a few of the buttons, but didn't press down on any.
"It's on autopilot right now," I answered. "We're in hyperspace so there's not much to be done. I'll make sure you get to watch the controls when we get into Aldaraan's system."
"Where is Aldaraan?" Luke asked curiously.
"It's a planet far from your own home. It's a much better, much more pleasant place. It reminds me of Naboo sometimes."
"What's Naboo?"
"The planet your mother is from."
"Where are you from?"
"Tatooine, like you," I told him. He found this extremely funny, and began giggling. "I used to live in the city with my mother."
"Why did you leave?"
"A nice man met me, and he told me I could be a Jedi. My mother and I were slaves, and he bought me off of our master."
"Uncle Owen mentions Jedis sometimes," Luke said, whispering as though it was a big secret. "It upsets Aunt Beru. She starts crying and hugs me. I don't like it when she does that. It hurts; she hugs so hard."
I looked away from Luke, sure that my eyes were dark and brimming with hatred for what I had become. It could only have been me to evoke such a reaction from Beru by one word. I hated Vader and everything he did to my family.
"What are you doing?" Luke asked, unconsciously changing the subject as he pointed to the half-finished lightsabre.
"Building a lightsabre," I said. I sat up straighter, finding myself a little bit more excited. I wanted to share this with Luke. I wanted to share *everything* with Luke. "It's a weapon that the Jedi use. My own lightsabre was ruined in a battle."
"You were in a battle?" Luke's voice was once again filled with disbelief as his blue eyes rounded in awe.
"Yes. Your mother was with me, in fact," I said, smiling at him. "She's quite a little warrior herself. You'd never guess by just looking."
"Do you love my mother?"
"Very much," I answered without hesitation, my voice sincere.
"Have you known her for a long time?"
"Since I was nine."
"Did you know my father?"
"I still know your father."
" *Are* you my father?"
"Yes," I said. My voice was so low I wondered if he heard it. I hadn't expected to tell him so soon. I wanted to stay away from him, but he had sought me out on his own. His questions were so direct, it was only polite to give him an honest answer. I cleared my throat and answered in a voice gruffer than usual: "Yes, I'm your father."
I heard Obi-Wan let out a sharp breath beside me. I guess he hadn't been expecting me to take so much responsibility so soon either. Saying that I was Luke's father was like . . . like closing the chapter. I found that I wasn't so scared of the little boy anymore.
"Why didn't you tell me before?" Luke asked.
"I was afraid," I said honestly.
"Afraid of me?"
"Afraid of commitment. Your mom and I have known each other for a long time, and I'm used to just her alone. It was a little bit of a shock for me to find out I had a son."
"You didn't know?"
"She told me you'd died."
"Why did she do that?"
"That's enough of the questions," Obi-Wan interrupted firmly. I felt extremely grateful. I didn't want Luke to know about Vader. I didn't know if he could still think of me as a father if he knew of the things I did.
"Why don't you go back to your mother," I suggested gently. "If she wakes up and you're gone, she'll be extremely worried."
Luke nodded. He didn't seem suspicious that we'd steered him away from questions. He yawned slightly and jumped off of my lap. He waved with soft 'good night', then padded his way back to the bedroom he, Padmé, and I were using.
The air chilled around me.
"S--"
I motioned for Obi-Wan to stay quiet. Something wasn't right, I could feel it. I lunged for Obi-Wan's lightsabre and ran out of the room in a flash. Before I could even think, my lightsabre was flashing and a man lay on the floor, dead. I heard a woman scream and ran for the bedroom.
Inside a stormtrooper had his blaster pointed at Padmé's head. "Don't move or I shoot her," he yelled gruffly at me.
It was too risky. I deactivated the lightsabre and dropped it to the ground, putting my hands up. "What do you want?"
"You dead," he answered. I felt a blaster poke at my back.
I looked down to where the lightsabre had dropped, wanting to use the Force to bring it back to my hands. But the floor was empty. I looked up in confusion, expecting the stormtrooper to have taken it, when the familiar sound of it being activated filled my ears. The blaster on my back dropped along with a body, and I used the Force to throw the stormtrooper with Padmé against a wall.
He had been knocked out by the force of his fall. I grabbed his blaster and turned around to survey the room. My eyes widened in shock when I saw it was Luke with the lightsabre in his hands. He was trembling as he looked in shock at his hand.
"Where's Obi-Wan?" I demanded of the little boy.
Luke let out a dry sob and pointed in the direction I came from. I reacted quickly once again. I took the lightsabre from Luke and was flashing it once again, not even thinking about what I was doing. Bodies fell around me. One-by-one all of the stormtroopers died. I wasn't even thinking, I was just killing anyone who came near me.
Obi-Wan was fighting with the Force against a lone stormtrooper. I stuck my lightsabre deep inside of his chest, and the body melted away.
I leaned back against the wall, breathing heavily, looking up at Obi-Wan expectantly.
"You didn't even check them?" Obi-Wan demanded. "You could have gotten us killed!"
"You were supposed to check them. I didn't want anything to do with them . . ." I turned my head away as the guilt punched me in the stomach.
"You know you're more Force sensitive than me."
"I'm sorry, Master, it won't happen again," I said quietly.
Padmé came a second later. She held Luke against her chest and looked at us angrily. "Why are they all dead?"
Obi-Wan and I exchanged a look. Finally, I muttered, "I killed them all."
"Anakin!" Padmé burst out. Her eyes turned to mine, and I cringed at their accusations. "You idiot!"
"I'm an idiot?" I snorted. "I don't know if you noticed, Padmé, but I don't think those stormtroopers were the friendliest bunch. They were trying to *hijack* us."
"How do you know that?"
I gave her a look.
"What I mean is, how do you know they all were like that?" Padmé asked. Her lower lip trembled slightly. "What if some of them were good?"
I locked eyes with her and stood up. "Padmé, come here," I said quietly, motioning my hands. She didn't resist, but curled up my arms, Luke between our bodies. I stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. "Padmé, there isn't always good in everyone, you know. I couldn't take a risk with you and Luke in danger."
Padmé nodded and sighed deeply. I felt Luke begin to squirm, and she let go so that he could get down. I kneeled to his height. "The Force is strong with you," I informed him. I brought a hand up to brush a piece of his hair out of his eyes, a wave of tenderness coming over me.
"He *is* your son," Obi-Wan pointed out softly.
"So, tell me, how did you get that stormtrooper?" I asked, amusement twinkling in my eyes.
Luke shrugged. "I don't know," he said honestly. "I just knew what to do."
"Did the lightsabre come into your hands magically?" I suggested.
Luke looked sheepish as he nodded, as though he expected me to tell him that it wasn't possible, that he was just making up lies.
I smiled at him instead. "You're going to be a great Jedi someday, Luke."
Luke looked confused as to what this meant, but he could tell it was a great compliment. He grinned nervously at me, his baby teeth crooked and making him all the more charming. Another wave of tenderness permeated me, and I pulled him to my body in a hug before I could even think about what I was doing. Luke stiffened at first, as though he hadn't been expecting this, then he relaxed and hugged me back, resting his little head on my shoulder.
"I'm tired," Luke said, his voice cracked and exhausted.
I scooped him up in my arms and stood. "I'll put you to bed," I whispered to him. I caught Padmé's eyes as I left the room. They were shining with tears, and she smiled at me in a way that made my heart beat faster than normal, filled with the love I felt for her and the love she had radiating off of herself.
In the bedroom, I used the Force to remove the bodies into the hallway, not wanting to disturb Luke by their lifelessness. I set my son down on the bed, and I began to pull back the sheets. They had been muddled and twisted from what I guessed was Padmé's struggle. I smoothed them down and set Luke on the soft mattress. I pulled the blankets up to his chin and kissed his forehead.
"Tell me a story," Luke murmered when I was about to leave the room.
I turned around to look at him, and a thrill crept up my spine. I moved forward and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Do you care what kind of story it is?"
Luke yawned, and I think I deciphered a 'yes' inside of it. Either way, I began a story about a little boy who grew up all his life on a dirty planet filled with mean people . . . until one day he met an angel and her protecter . . .
* * * * *
Luke fell asleep a little ways into the story, and I watched his sleeping chest for a few minutes. It had happened in one instant, when I knew Luke was in danger and saved him. Now I felt this connection and a need to know my son better, to spend time with him, to make up for our lost years.
Luke shifted in his sleep, and I was worried that my presence might wake him up. I left the bedroom reluctantly and went to the control panel where Obi-Wan was sitting. Padmé was in the seat I had occupied before.
"You can go to sleep," I said to Obi-Wan. "I'll take over from here."
Obi-Wan looked up and a moment of understanding passed between us. He got up and stretched, then headed to the back where his own bedroom was. I plopped down in the seat he had occupied and looked over at Padmé.
"He's amazing," I whispered, my voice laced with awe.
Padmé's eyebrows wrinkled together and a tear spilt down her cheek. "I know," she whispered back in the same hushed tone. "I'm so relieved, Ani . . . I was worried about you. I thought you . . . didn't want Luke."
I twisted the seat around so that I was facing her and took her hands in my own. "I love you, and I love Luke. I didn't ever think it was possible to love somebody as much as I love you. I always felt as if when my heart beat, it beat for you, joining with your own, both of us becoming one because our love was so pure. I thought that it was something you only found once in your life time, if you were lucky. But I feel the same way with this child that we created together . . . it's different though, and yet the same. If that makes any sense."
"It does to me," Padmé said. She smiled at me and squeezed my hands. "I love you too, Anakin."
"I'm sorry about our fight," I said. I brought her hands up to my lips and kissed each one softly while still keeping our eyes locked. "I throw tantrums. You shouldn't have to put up with them, and I'm sorry."
"No, I understand," Padmé assured me. "I know I can't imagine what it's like, what you've been through, but I know it has to be hard, and definately not easy. I'm going to support you and love you no matter what, Anakin. If these past four years have proven anything, it's that nothing can break us apart."
"Not even the Emperor himself." I grinned at her, and she grinned back. There was a giddy air about us despite the fact that we'd confessed our love to each other many times beforehand.
I tugged at her hands, and she let herself be dragged forward onto my lap. I just let her lay there, resting her head underneath my chin.
"Do I need to tell you a bedtime story too?" I asked jokingly.
Padmé giggled, and I felt the vibrations pleasantly against my chest. I closed my eyes and kissed her hair, wanting to express to her just what I was feeling, even though I knew no little kiss could do my feelings justice.
"I'd like to hear a bedtime story," Padmé admitted. I could practically feel the grin on her face "I haven't heard one since I was a little girl. Besides, you need to start practicing if you want to be any good."
"Hey!" I protested mock-offendedly. "I tell pretty good bedtime stories. Just ask Luke. He was asleep seconds after I began."
"Then I'm sure you're simply amazing with words," Padmé said dryly.
I let my fingers at her waist begin to tickle her, and she let out a shriek that turned into laughter. Finally, she yelled 'mercy' repeatedly and I released her.
She was gasping for air, but she looked straight up at me and kissed me fully against the lips. When she pulled away, I was breathing just as hard. Pleasures were swimming around inside of me, and I closed my eyes at the gentle lull of her speeding heartbeat, beating in tune with my own.
"Ani?" she whispered.
"Hmm?"
"My story."
"Oh, right." I forced my eyes open and cleared my throat, making quite a show. "Once upon a time there was a beautiful queen who had an unsatisfying life. That is, until one day a handsome, multi-talented, incredibly charming young prince saved her and her planet from the evil Trade Federation . . ."
**********
AN: Thank you once again for the incredible reviews. I'd like to acknowledge once more that I know not all of my facts are right. This fic is hard to write while extremely enjoyable at the same time. It's frustrating writing only from one person's point of view. I keep wanting to write from Padmé's, but that would mess up the balance of the story. Also, fight scenes just aren't my thing. I only write them because I have to in this fic. If I mess up there, don't blame me, I usually rush through them because I want them done and over with.
I hope this chapter was satisfactory. Tell me what I'm doing right and wrong in a review.
~Haley
It would take several hours to get to Aldaraan, so Obi-Wan and I took turns piloting. There wasn't much to do once we got into hyperspace, but it was comforting to have someone on watch. Padmé and Luke didn't like the stormtroopers. I just stayed as far away as possible. I didn't want anything to do with my past life.
Padmé had left to put Luke to bed, insisting that it was too late for him to be up, and I stayed in the pilot's seat next to Obi-Wan, using my free time to begin building a new lightsabre. My old one had been ruined in the volcano, and my red one I had bent in half just recently. A Jedi is nothing without his lightsabre.
I was in deep concentration on my work, but a light snore interrupted me. I looked up at Obi-Wan in annoyance. His head was back in the seat, and he was sleeping peacefully. I nudged him very hard, and he sprung up in surprise, his lightsabre already out.
"Quick reflexes," I complimented. "You snore, by the way. It was bothering me."
"Well can't you watch over the ship for a while? You seem to have no problems staying awake," Obi-Wan pointed out.
"Yes, but I'm working on this. I want this done by the time we reach Aldaraan, and I have to focus completely on it," I explained patiently, gesturing to the handle of my lightsabre. I was working on trying to get the blade to work.
"Just use mine."
"It won't work as well," I protested.
"I'm tired. I haven't had a decent's night sleep in years."
"You think I have? Try sleeping in a three hundred pound block of black metal with a machine that helps you breathe droning out the silence."
"Sounds like fun," Obi-Wan said sarcastically. He yawned louder than necessary. "Then I guess I'll just stay here doing this boring job, watching over this boring ship. Really, I should be getting rest. I have to leave again the second we arrive on Aldaraan."
"Where are you going?" I asked. We hadn't discussed this.
"I need to go get Yoda," he said.
Oh. Right. A sudden image of Yoda's knowing gaze made me shrink back in my seat. I pushed this picture away from my mind, as far away as possible.
I was about to retort when I felt a presence behind me. I spun around in the chair with my hand held out in front of me. Luke stood there, looking frightened. I dropped my hand and tried to smile at him. "Where's your mother, Luke?"
"Sleeping," Luke whispered. He looked past me to the controls and his eyes lit up. "Wow!" he breathed in awe.
I felt a slight pride that he felt so strongly about the ship. I sat down and gestured for him to climb onto my lap. He looked at me suspiciously for a moment, then shrugged and sat down on my knee.
"How does it work?" Luke asked. He let his fingers trail above a few of the buttons, but didn't press down on any.
"It's on autopilot right now," I answered. "We're in hyperspace so there's not much to be done. I'll make sure you get to watch the controls when we get into Aldaraan's system."
"Where is Aldaraan?" Luke asked curiously.
"It's a planet far from your own home. It's a much better, much more pleasant place. It reminds me of Naboo sometimes."
"What's Naboo?"
"The planet your mother is from."
"Where are you from?"
"Tatooine, like you," I told him. He found this extremely funny, and began giggling. "I used to live in the city with my mother."
"Why did you leave?"
"A nice man met me, and he told me I could be a Jedi. My mother and I were slaves, and he bought me off of our master."
"Uncle Owen mentions Jedis sometimes," Luke said, whispering as though it was a big secret. "It upsets Aunt Beru. She starts crying and hugs me. I don't like it when she does that. It hurts; she hugs so hard."
I looked away from Luke, sure that my eyes were dark and brimming with hatred for what I had become. It could only have been me to evoke such a reaction from Beru by one word. I hated Vader and everything he did to my family.
"What are you doing?" Luke asked, unconsciously changing the subject as he pointed to the half-finished lightsabre.
"Building a lightsabre," I said. I sat up straighter, finding myself a little bit more excited. I wanted to share this with Luke. I wanted to share *everything* with Luke. "It's a weapon that the Jedi use. My own lightsabre was ruined in a battle."
"You were in a battle?" Luke's voice was once again filled with disbelief as his blue eyes rounded in awe.
"Yes. Your mother was with me, in fact," I said, smiling at him. "She's quite a little warrior herself. You'd never guess by just looking."
"Do you love my mother?"
"Very much," I answered without hesitation, my voice sincere.
"Have you known her for a long time?"
"Since I was nine."
"Did you know my father?"
"I still know your father."
" *Are* you my father?"
"Yes," I said. My voice was so low I wondered if he heard it. I hadn't expected to tell him so soon. I wanted to stay away from him, but he had sought me out on his own. His questions were so direct, it was only polite to give him an honest answer. I cleared my throat and answered in a voice gruffer than usual: "Yes, I'm your father."
I heard Obi-Wan let out a sharp breath beside me. I guess he hadn't been expecting me to take so much responsibility so soon either. Saying that I was Luke's father was like . . . like closing the chapter. I found that I wasn't so scared of the little boy anymore.
"Why didn't you tell me before?" Luke asked.
"I was afraid," I said honestly.
"Afraid of me?"
"Afraid of commitment. Your mom and I have known each other for a long time, and I'm used to just her alone. It was a little bit of a shock for me to find out I had a son."
"You didn't know?"
"She told me you'd died."
"Why did she do that?"
"That's enough of the questions," Obi-Wan interrupted firmly. I felt extremely grateful. I didn't want Luke to know about Vader. I didn't know if he could still think of me as a father if he knew of the things I did.
"Why don't you go back to your mother," I suggested gently. "If she wakes up and you're gone, she'll be extremely worried."
Luke nodded. He didn't seem suspicious that we'd steered him away from questions. He yawned slightly and jumped off of my lap. He waved with soft 'good night', then padded his way back to the bedroom he, Padmé, and I were using.
The air chilled around me.
"S--"
I motioned for Obi-Wan to stay quiet. Something wasn't right, I could feel it. I lunged for Obi-Wan's lightsabre and ran out of the room in a flash. Before I could even think, my lightsabre was flashing and a man lay on the floor, dead. I heard a woman scream and ran for the bedroom.
Inside a stormtrooper had his blaster pointed at Padmé's head. "Don't move or I shoot her," he yelled gruffly at me.
It was too risky. I deactivated the lightsabre and dropped it to the ground, putting my hands up. "What do you want?"
"You dead," he answered. I felt a blaster poke at my back.
I looked down to where the lightsabre had dropped, wanting to use the Force to bring it back to my hands. But the floor was empty. I looked up in confusion, expecting the stormtrooper to have taken it, when the familiar sound of it being activated filled my ears. The blaster on my back dropped along with a body, and I used the Force to throw the stormtrooper with Padmé against a wall.
He had been knocked out by the force of his fall. I grabbed his blaster and turned around to survey the room. My eyes widened in shock when I saw it was Luke with the lightsabre in his hands. He was trembling as he looked in shock at his hand.
"Where's Obi-Wan?" I demanded of the little boy.
Luke let out a dry sob and pointed in the direction I came from. I reacted quickly once again. I took the lightsabre from Luke and was flashing it once again, not even thinking about what I was doing. Bodies fell around me. One-by-one all of the stormtroopers died. I wasn't even thinking, I was just killing anyone who came near me.
Obi-Wan was fighting with the Force against a lone stormtrooper. I stuck my lightsabre deep inside of his chest, and the body melted away.
I leaned back against the wall, breathing heavily, looking up at Obi-Wan expectantly.
"You didn't even check them?" Obi-Wan demanded. "You could have gotten us killed!"
"You were supposed to check them. I didn't want anything to do with them . . ." I turned my head away as the guilt punched me in the stomach.
"You know you're more Force sensitive than me."
"I'm sorry, Master, it won't happen again," I said quietly.
Padmé came a second later. She held Luke against her chest and looked at us angrily. "Why are they all dead?"
Obi-Wan and I exchanged a look. Finally, I muttered, "I killed them all."
"Anakin!" Padmé burst out. Her eyes turned to mine, and I cringed at their accusations. "You idiot!"
"I'm an idiot?" I snorted. "I don't know if you noticed, Padmé, but I don't think those stormtroopers were the friendliest bunch. They were trying to *hijack* us."
"How do you know that?"
I gave her a look.
"What I mean is, how do you know they all were like that?" Padmé asked. Her lower lip trembled slightly. "What if some of them were good?"
I locked eyes with her and stood up. "Padmé, come here," I said quietly, motioning my hands. She didn't resist, but curled up my arms, Luke between our bodies. I stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. "Padmé, there isn't always good in everyone, you know. I couldn't take a risk with you and Luke in danger."
Padmé nodded and sighed deeply. I felt Luke begin to squirm, and she let go so that he could get down. I kneeled to his height. "The Force is strong with you," I informed him. I brought a hand up to brush a piece of his hair out of his eyes, a wave of tenderness coming over me.
"He *is* your son," Obi-Wan pointed out softly.
"So, tell me, how did you get that stormtrooper?" I asked, amusement twinkling in my eyes.
Luke shrugged. "I don't know," he said honestly. "I just knew what to do."
"Did the lightsabre come into your hands magically?" I suggested.
Luke looked sheepish as he nodded, as though he expected me to tell him that it wasn't possible, that he was just making up lies.
I smiled at him instead. "You're going to be a great Jedi someday, Luke."
Luke looked confused as to what this meant, but he could tell it was a great compliment. He grinned nervously at me, his baby teeth crooked and making him all the more charming. Another wave of tenderness permeated me, and I pulled him to my body in a hug before I could even think about what I was doing. Luke stiffened at first, as though he hadn't been expecting this, then he relaxed and hugged me back, resting his little head on my shoulder.
"I'm tired," Luke said, his voice cracked and exhausted.
I scooped him up in my arms and stood. "I'll put you to bed," I whispered to him. I caught Padmé's eyes as I left the room. They were shining with tears, and she smiled at me in a way that made my heart beat faster than normal, filled with the love I felt for her and the love she had radiating off of herself.
In the bedroom, I used the Force to remove the bodies into the hallway, not wanting to disturb Luke by their lifelessness. I set my son down on the bed, and I began to pull back the sheets. They had been muddled and twisted from what I guessed was Padmé's struggle. I smoothed them down and set Luke on the soft mattress. I pulled the blankets up to his chin and kissed his forehead.
"Tell me a story," Luke murmered when I was about to leave the room.
I turned around to look at him, and a thrill crept up my spine. I moved forward and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Do you care what kind of story it is?"
Luke yawned, and I think I deciphered a 'yes' inside of it. Either way, I began a story about a little boy who grew up all his life on a dirty planet filled with mean people . . . until one day he met an angel and her protecter . . .
* * * * *
Luke fell asleep a little ways into the story, and I watched his sleeping chest for a few minutes. It had happened in one instant, when I knew Luke was in danger and saved him. Now I felt this connection and a need to know my son better, to spend time with him, to make up for our lost years.
Luke shifted in his sleep, and I was worried that my presence might wake him up. I left the bedroom reluctantly and went to the control panel where Obi-Wan was sitting. Padmé was in the seat I had occupied before.
"You can go to sleep," I said to Obi-Wan. "I'll take over from here."
Obi-Wan looked up and a moment of understanding passed between us. He got up and stretched, then headed to the back where his own bedroom was. I plopped down in the seat he had occupied and looked over at Padmé.
"He's amazing," I whispered, my voice laced with awe.
Padmé's eyebrows wrinkled together and a tear spilt down her cheek. "I know," she whispered back in the same hushed tone. "I'm so relieved, Ani . . . I was worried about you. I thought you . . . didn't want Luke."
I twisted the seat around so that I was facing her and took her hands in my own. "I love you, and I love Luke. I didn't ever think it was possible to love somebody as much as I love you. I always felt as if when my heart beat, it beat for you, joining with your own, both of us becoming one because our love was so pure. I thought that it was something you only found once in your life time, if you were lucky. But I feel the same way with this child that we created together . . . it's different though, and yet the same. If that makes any sense."
"It does to me," Padmé said. She smiled at me and squeezed my hands. "I love you too, Anakin."
"I'm sorry about our fight," I said. I brought her hands up to my lips and kissed each one softly while still keeping our eyes locked. "I throw tantrums. You shouldn't have to put up with them, and I'm sorry."
"No, I understand," Padmé assured me. "I know I can't imagine what it's like, what you've been through, but I know it has to be hard, and definately not easy. I'm going to support you and love you no matter what, Anakin. If these past four years have proven anything, it's that nothing can break us apart."
"Not even the Emperor himself." I grinned at her, and she grinned back. There was a giddy air about us despite the fact that we'd confessed our love to each other many times beforehand.
I tugged at her hands, and she let herself be dragged forward onto my lap. I just let her lay there, resting her head underneath my chin.
"Do I need to tell you a bedtime story too?" I asked jokingly.
Padmé giggled, and I felt the vibrations pleasantly against my chest. I closed my eyes and kissed her hair, wanting to express to her just what I was feeling, even though I knew no little kiss could do my feelings justice.
"I'd like to hear a bedtime story," Padmé admitted. I could practically feel the grin on her face "I haven't heard one since I was a little girl. Besides, you need to start practicing if you want to be any good."
"Hey!" I protested mock-offendedly. "I tell pretty good bedtime stories. Just ask Luke. He was asleep seconds after I began."
"Then I'm sure you're simply amazing with words," Padmé said dryly.
I let my fingers at her waist begin to tickle her, and she let out a shriek that turned into laughter. Finally, she yelled 'mercy' repeatedly and I released her.
She was gasping for air, but she looked straight up at me and kissed me fully against the lips. When she pulled away, I was breathing just as hard. Pleasures were swimming around inside of me, and I closed my eyes at the gentle lull of her speeding heartbeat, beating in tune with my own.
"Ani?" she whispered.
"Hmm?"
"My story."
"Oh, right." I forced my eyes open and cleared my throat, making quite a show. "Once upon a time there was a beautiful queen who had an unsatisfying life. That is, until one day a handsome, multi-talented, incredibly charming young prince saved her and her planet from the evil Trade Federation . . ."
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AN: Thank you once again for the incredible reviews. I'd like to acknowledge once more that I know not all of my facts are right. This fic is hard to write while extremely enjoyable at the same time. It's frustrating writing only from one person's point of view. I keep wanting to write from Padmé's, but that would mess up the balance of the story. Also, fight scenes just aren't my thing. I only write them because I have to in this fic. If I mess up there, don't blame me, I usually rush through them because I want them done and over with.
I hope this chapter was satisfactory. Tell me what I'm doing right and wrong in a review.
~Haley