Part One

by dreamingofani

He knew now. Somehow, he just knew.

He landed his ship expertly, mind-tricking a few landing personnel along the way.

They can't know that I'm here...

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Padmé Amidala Skywalker sat at a small, scrubbed table in the kitchen of her little apartment. Obi-Wan Kenobi sat across from her, and a small girl with bouncy brown curls sat in her lap. Three cups and a pitcher of juice were laid out before them, as well as a small, frosted cake. Kenobi poured the orange-colored juice into the cups, and Padmé wrapped her arms even tighter around the girl.

"Happy birthday, my big three-year-old," she said, and the girl giggled happily and took the cup of juice that was handed to her. Kenobi smiled at Padmé.

Padmé pulled the cake towards her and lit the three candles. "Okay, Leia...make a wish," she said dramatically.

Leia thought for a moment. This wish was very special; she couldn't waste it.

I wish that someday, I will be just like my mommy.

She blew out the candles in one breath. Padmé and Kenobi clapped.

"Would you care to cut the cake, Master Kenobi?" Padmé suggested.

He did, and the two friends and the no-longer-a-baby feasted upon the sweet treat.

After they had finished, Padmé handed Leia a neatly wrapped gift. She ripped the paper away to reveal a beautiful doll. It had curly brown hair and deep brown eyes, just like her and her mommy. She smiled and gave Padmé a hug.

"I love you, mommy."

"I love you too, sweetie. Go find Sabé...maybe she'll want to play with you," Padmé said.

Leia slid off her lap and ran off to find her playmate.

Kenobi smiled at Padmé again. "She is looking more like you every day."

"Thank you, Obi-Wan."

There's nothing you can say, there's nothing you can do. There's nothing in between. You know the truth. Nothing left to face. Nothing left to lose. Nothing takes your place..... There's nothing left to prove. There's nothing I won't do. There's nothing like the pain I feel for you. Nothing left to hide. Nothing left to fear. I'm always here.

There was an awkward silence.

finally, she spoke.

"How...how is Luke? It is his birthday, too," she asked, trembling.

"I just saw him last week...he is doing very well," he said carefully.

"What does he look like now? What is he like? I mean, I haven't seen him since..."

She shuddered.

"Well," he started. "He is short and kind of chubby..."

Padmé chuckled.

"He has sandy blond hair and the same bright blue eyes that..." He paused for a moment and took a breath. He could feel her heart break a little more, if that was possible. He felt so bad for her. She had been through so much excruciating pain already, and he didn't want to make it any worse for her.

"Please continue...please. I need to know," she said, her voice little more than a tortured whisper.

He looked into her pleading brown eyes. "All right. He is curious and a little mischievous... kind of rebellious, for a toddler, at least. But he is kind, generous, and selfless. He kind of reminds me of someone I used to know..."

She looked up and forced a little smile. The look in her eyes was one of sweet sadness.

"But I suppose that you can't tell me where he is?" she asked hopefully.

"You suppose correctly, Milady."

"Thank you, Obi-Wan. For everything." She stood and pulled him in to a hug, much to his surprise. They clung to each other tightly for a long time. Padmé, by no means, wanted any kind of romantic involvement with him—no one could replace her Ani, ever. She would never even try. But each of them mourned Anakin's loss, and they'd each been so hopelessly lonely ever since he'd left. She sobbed gently in to his shoulder.

Suddenly, they heard the crash of breaking glass, and they leapt apart. Kenobi had ignited his lightsaber before the bounty hunter could even begin firing.

"GET DOWN!" he screamed to Padmé.

Sabé heard the blaster shots from the other room. She jumped off the floor, reaching for the blaster at her side.

"Leia, promise me that you'll stay here! Hide in the closet, okay sweetie? Promise you won't come out," Sabé said urgently.

Leia, scared out of her wits, nodded and obeyed. Sabé sprinted out of the room. Leia remained curled up in the dark closet, desperately clutching her new dolly.

Sabé ran in to see Kenobi blocking the fire of two mysterious bounty hunters. She ran to his side and began firing at the attackers.

"Get behind me!" Kenobi yelled.

"No!" she yelled back, stubborn to the end.

All of a sudden, a blast struck Sabé in the side. She fell to the floor and Padmé rushed to her side.

"Sabé!" she cried desperately. No...not again... "Sabé..." she barely whispered.

"Goodbye, milady."

And she breathed her last breath.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Darth Vader rushed down the street and towards an apartment building. He couldn't believe what he was doing. He couldn't believe what he had done.

Palpatine wanted him to kill her. He wouldn't. He couldn't. So he fled, all those hours ago on Coruscant. Why had he left her in the first place? He hated being a puppet for Palpatine. He hated himself for everything he'd ever done. He wondered how she could ever forgive him.

But as he came closer, he thought about the beautiful life they could live if she did. He thought of her playfully teasing him while his golden hair grew back under the dyed black. He thought of holding her, of kissing her, of someday having his own family.

He came to her door, and he knew immediately that something was wrong. He threw open the door and sprinted in. He saw Kenobi fighting away two masked bounty hunters. He saw Sabé lying dead on the floor. But at the exact instant that he stormed in, every second slowed and he saw one single blast hit Padmé in the chest. She seized violently, and her body rushed to meet the floor.

A/N: Those lyrics are from Not Enough by Our Lady Peace.