(A/N: Hi! I'm back after a long while…this is a continuation of the last chapter. To all those who have reviewed so far, thanks…reviews are what make me update so please read and review! Ciao!)

Chapter 5.5- A Mother's Musings II

Lujan and Luen had fit into their family perfectly. Both the boys had stunning white blond hair and light brown eyes. Sylvia had a similar coloration as her brothers- blondish-brown curls and hazel eyes. The trio had fit into their already large family. Her older children had known about the adoptions of course; and neither of them had had any objection, not even Tristan.

Kyra though had only been 3 at the time and she had never noticed that the younger kids were not really her blood siblings. When Rhea and Raye arrived, things had been just a little different.

6 years ago…

Tristan looked around the rubble-strewn place sharply, looking for any unsightly creatures that often haunted such sites. He crept through it, careful not to disturb a single thing, and smiled in triumph when he made it through, toy intact. He looked down at the bedraggled stuffed toy in his hands…damn Sylvia and her stupid toy.

Sylvie had left it behind at the restaurant they'd gone to and he'd had to fetch it. Of course, no one had asked him to take the shortcut back and mother had warned him against it; but what mother didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

Besides, he wasn't a baby anymore-he was 12, well 11 going on 12 really-and he was a Jedi apprentice. He glanced back at the spooky place he had just left behind and grinned mischievously, his friends at the academy were going to be so jealous that he'd been through the lower levels of Coruscant, all by himself. Even Master Yoda would be pleased at how he had cloaked himself and skulked through the place.

Tristan's smile faded as he thought about the green dwarf and his sharp admonishments after his last adventure.

"Young Tristan, learn to control your impulses you must! Dangerous it is, wondering around with strange creatures! Confined to the Temple you are from now", the Jedi Master exclaimed, his stick clanging on the hard stone floor.

Tristan glared at the creature, towering above him at only 11 years old. He was no mere temple trainee, he was Master Skywalker's son. Also, he didn't live here, Yoda couldn't make him do anything…not for another year at least.

"Hmph, read your thoughts I can youngling. So much like young Anakin was, you are. And none of your brother's willingness as well. Very well, talk to your father I will"

Tristan snapped out of the memory, a scowl appearing on his face when as he remembered his punishment. It deepened as he thought about Yoda's parting words…and the comparison to his older brother.

Oh yes, perfect Luke who was so good at everything he did…it sucked to have an older brother who was so much better than him at everything…why just the other day he had been at the flight sims and…wait what was that?

Tristan's head swivled around at the noise…babies…crying? It didn't make sense…why would there be children here? He stretched out with his force sense, just like Master Yoda had taught them in class, and located two strong Force signatures, behind him.

Tristan looked back into the gloomy darkness and sighed…a guy's gotaa do what a guy's gotta do Tris.

He walked forward briskly, suddenly wanting just to grab the kids and get out of there. He turned a corner and nearly screamed at the sight. A badly deformed woman lay on the ground, partially hidden by filthy rags. Her eyes were closed, her limbs were painfully thin and there was a blaster burn on the side of her face. Surely she was dead.

Tristan swallowed hard and stepped closer. He pulled back the dirty cloths, to find two squirming, squalling infants. Tris stuffed Sylvie's toy into his pockets and picked up the kids, grunting at their weight. His Force sense tinged with danger and he caught a glimpse of a reptilian creature just as he broke into a run.

Present day…

Padme smiled as she glanced at a bigger, more recent holograph on her table. It had been taken just 3 years ago, before…before Luke had left. There they all were. Luke, Leia, Tristan, Vaiya, Kyra, Lujen, Luen, Sylvia and the youngest set of twins-Rhea and Raye.

With their flaming auburn hair and green eyes, the carrot-topped twins were most definitely not Skywalkers…though their tempers such matched any of the others'. Padme had taken to them from the start.

It was hard sometimes, living in a family full of Force-sensitives, who shared something which she could never comprehend. She loved all of them, no question about it, even her mulish hard-headed husband. But there were times when she felt excluded, as though they were all "in" on some sort of joke that she couldn't even begin to understand. So, it had definitely been a relief to have around a pair of "normal" twins, who actually needed her.

The twins, thankfully, had been as "normal" as they came (or rather, as normal as most 7-year olds who could speak and write in a dozen different languages were), despite their extremely strong presence in the Force (according to the rest of her brood).

She glanced down at her table, and her work, feeling refreshed all of a sudden. She had a lot of work to do…and there was no time like the present to start.

(A/N: Chapter 6 coming soon!)