Come Undone
Chapter 19
Padmé felt more restless than usual and she was almost desperately lonely. Leia was fast asleep in her cradle and Luke, poor sickly little Luke; he was still in the hospital wing, recovering from the traumatic birth that had nearly taken both of their lives. They only had been seen by a few visitors, most notably Bail Organa, who had been vital in the evacuation of the Jedi Crèche'. The remaining members of the Jedi Council had decided on this unusual course of action as a result of the Separatist attacks on the core systems over the last few weeks. Yet she was glad when they had been permitted to move out of the nursery. All of the children of the temple, from infant to youngling, had been sent off world to such places as Alderan and Kamparas and the nursery had become such a sad and empty place. Oddly, to Padmé, for some reason, the Jedi Nursery had always been almost frightening, the feeling of stolen lives seemed to permeate the very air of the place.. It was a like a memory, always a hairsbreadth out of reach and the thought made her shudder involuntarily. It was times like this she missed Anakin the most. His warmth, his touch... just his very presence. She sighed aloud again and slowly sank down into a chair to rest a bit. It had been a little over a week since the birth of the children and her Jedi protectors had reassured her that they were still trying to contact him as of yet, all efforts had been fruitless, so far. She only had to be patient and have faith in them. She had broached the idea of approaching the Chancellor and they had told her that they would consider it, but so far there had been nothing... no word, no news, nothing. Tears began to well in her eyes. "Oh Ani!" she thought. "Force I miss you! I wonder if you even know yet..."
She was brought out of this self reflection by a knock at the door. Without opening her eyes, she granted admission. To her surprise, it was the Healer Chiron, with a bundle in her arms.
"Someone wants to see you Lady Skywalker..." She gave a rare smile as she placed Luke into her waiting arms.
Padmé's face fell. Because of her birthing injuries, she had been given medications and they had insisted on her bottle feeding both the children. Unfortunately, even after they deemed it safe for her to nurse them, she still hadn't had the chance. Luke had still been too ill and Leia, Leia had quickly developed an almost fearsome independence, wanting to look around at her surroundings while she fed. She seemed to be happy in anyone's arms, as long as she knew she was the center of their world. (Master Windu had spent almost half a day with her at one point, singing and rocking her in his arms. He had threatened to grievously harm anyone who dared so much as hinted that he was being blatantly manipulated by a child that was less week old but had secretly sworn up and down that he had been the recipient of her first smile. )
The memory gave Padmé a fleeting smile but then reality seemed to crash back down on her.
"I don't have anything to give him..." Padmé started but Chiron shook her head.
"You can just nurse him directly, I'll help you get started, then leave you two alone for a while. I'll check on the other youngling before I leave though."
Padmé nodded absently, completely absorbed in her young son. This was the first time she had actually been able to hold him for any length of time. He was so tiny, with a small shock of fine blond hair, and his father's distinctive chin.
"Oh Ani," she lamented sadly. "You should be here to see this..." Suddenly, she looked up and saw the holo cam and a smile crossed her face. He might not be able to be here at the moment, and she knew that the Jedi would not allow her to travel to Naboo yet. No, she couldn't meet him there, but she could have something waiting for him when he arrived. A little greeting, so to speak. As carefully as she could, trying not to disturb her sleeping infant, she rose and turned on the holo cam. She set the timer to allow herself a moment to sit down and get comfortable and as soon as the recorder started, she smiled and began.
"Hello beloved, I have someone who wants to meet you..."
