Wow, Thanks guys! I've got some general comments, then on to replys, then the story.

This fic is mostly complete, I'm just reformatting to post it. This isn't so much a Luke/Leia fic as it is a Padme fic, however, since all of you seem to like Luke/Leia fics, I do have a C2 community about family in the GFFA, so I'd love to read your favorites! I'm only listing completed fics, and I'm pretty strict about spelling and grammar (I know, I'm a hypocrite) but Please, send me your favorites. You are welcome to E-mail me at anytime at pokey1984 at Yahoo dot com (did you know you can't list an E-mail address in a story? The editor won't let you.), I check that account daily.

Okay, on to replies...

MorganD- Yes we get some answers, not so much on the interaction, though. Sorry. Have you read my fic "Isn't Anyone going to Say Anything?" from the second chapter on is mostly Luke/Leia. I would also reccoment Kazzy's "A Momment in Time" If you have any favorites, please e-mail me, I love Luke/Leia fics.

SSG Michael B Jackson- Yes this is AU, but only kinda. I like to throw stones in the creek now and then, but not enough to chage the course of the river. I'm pretty much sticking to the timeline created by George and the EU authors. Actually this chapter is where I make my big change, call it an island. ;-) (By the way, Favorite Author as well as Favorite Story? Color me flattered! Thank you!)

Kazzy- Luke and Leia really do deserve a vacation, whether or not they will be able to take one... Who knows ;-)

Yes I have a premium account. I was curious and I already had the ten dollars in . The big seller for me is that it gets rid of the ads, my 'puter is ancient (I'm running 32mgs of ram right now cause one of my cards died) so I need all the help I can get. I Like the enhanced stats, it tells me if people aren't reading my stories, or if the sight is just running slow right now. Of course there are bugs, once it told me that I had four reviews on a story that had no hits. ;-) I intend to keep my subscriptions current though, if nothing else it supports my favorite site!

K00lgirl1808- I will definitely finish this story, I want to find out what happens next! ;-) Oh, and good luck on your Harry Potter search!

rjcod- Thanks for the review! I'm always saying I want to know what you think, even if it's annonymous. I hope you continue to enjoy this.

A/N: Sorry this chapter is a bit short, it's where the break fit naturally. I took some liberties here, tell me if you think I took too many. I'm assuming a lot and I know the hazzards in that...

Chapter 2

Sorrow Multiplied

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Padmè stood on the cliff, waiting for her husband to meet her. She'd sent him a message, telling him she wanted them to be together. It said that if he wanted to talk to her, he should come to this place. The former senator was looking down at the Ragiss river when she heard heavy footsteps behind her. As the step of booted feet came closer, she was able to recognized the hiss-click of an artificial respirator and she felt a tear form in her eye at the sound.

The footsteps stopped a few feet away and Padmè closed her eyes and gathered her courage. She wiped away the tear in the guise of lowering her hood and turned around. The heavy, dark blue cloak was warm and as much as she hadn't wanted to wear it, she was grateful for it now, standing in the harsh wind. Turning slowly, she refused to lower her eyes no matter how painful the image in front of her was. She owed it to Anakin to witness this horror.

He was dressed, from head to toe, in shiny black armor. The heavy footsteps she'd heard were made by plated boots that joined shiny black plates of armor at his knees. His chest was wider than she'd remembered and probably enhanced by the armored breastplate he wore. The ensemble was topped with a fluted black helmet and a truly hideous cape. Padmè drew her attention to his face, trying to ignore the armor. The only patch of visible skin on his entire body was the area just around his eyes. Most of his face was covered by a mask, but she was able to breath a sigh of relief that she could still see his eyes.

For a long moment, they stood there and looked at each other. Padmè imagined what she must look like to him. She'd bound her hair in a tight braid and wrapped it around her head to keep it out of the way. Although she was nearly completely hidden beneath the thick cloak, her head was completely bare. She hadn't even worn any cosmetics. Knowing it might be the last time, she wanted them to speak, just this once, without anything between them.

"It's been a long time, Ani." She attempted a smile and it became genuine when she saw his eyes soften slightly.

"Please don't call me that." The smile disappeared. His voice was harsh and far deeper than it had been before. Suddenly, Padmè realised that it was being artificially reproduced. She now knew the purpose of the armor, it hid the lifesupport that must be keeping him going. He couldn't even speak for himself anymore.

Years of training allowed her to plaster an expressionless look on her face even though she was close to tears. She carefully schooled her expression into one of neutrality. She instantly saw the harsh look return to his eyes and she remembered her purpose here. It took more effort to erase that expression that it took to create it, but somehow she managed and let her sorrow show. When she did, all her emotions bubbled to the surface and she felt tears running down her face.

"Oh, Ani, what have they done to you?"

She could imagine his scowel. "Obi-wan did this to me."

Swollowing her tears, she stepped closer. She did not want to go there, not right now, so she changed the subject. "Are you ready to come home now, Ani? I've missed you terribly."

"I've been home." Obi-wan had told her it was pointless, but she had to try to bring him back. She had to make one final effort.

"I mean come home to me. We could start over, build a home, have a family. I've been offered a job teaching on Alderaan, or we could stay here, on Naboo. We can be happy again, this time without the politics, without the Jedi. It would be just the two of us, or three, or four."

Padmè saw uncertainty in his eyes and her heart lept. He'd caught her jab about children, he'd always been quick. "I don't know, Padmè. I owe my allegience to the Emperor now."

"That didn't stop you before. Please, Ani. I need you to come save me one more time. To hell with the Emperor and everyone else."

"I can not disobey my Master. I have pledged my life to serve him."

"What about me?" Even to herself she sounded childish. "You pledged your life to me too. Or have you forgotten our marriage vows?"

Padmè was blessing whoever had designed his armor so that she could still see his eyes. Anakin had always had such expressive eyes. Now, she could see confusion raging in those blue orbs. He wasn't truly commited to evil just yet. She stepped even closer while he sought a reply to her question.

"Come with me, Padmè. I'll take care of you, I'll keep you safe and you'll never want for anything."

"And what happens when your 'Master' finds out? What happens when he has me killed. What will you do then?"

"That will not happen." Determination set his eyes even with hers, though she stood well below shoulder level for him. Padmè couldn't help but wonder if he was wearing lifts in his boots, he seemed even taller than ever.

"Yes, it will, Ani. Ani, he's already killed Jar Jar, and Jamilla, and everyone else we knew. Everyone who didn't approve of his methods." She hesitated. "I don't approve, Ani."

"Emperor Palpatine has brought order to the galaxy. He has helped many worlds..."

"And he has killed an equal number. Ani, please, I'm not asking you to agree with me, I don't expect you to, but please come with me anyway. We can both argue who's right until the end of eternity."

The hard edge came to his eye's again and Padmè knew she'd lost. "I cannot leave the Emperor. I have pledged my life to serve him."

Padmè reached up to his face, to the only part of him she could see. The skin around his eyes was dry and she could feel the tiny scars that disfigued the rest of his face. He closed his eyes at her caress. She, reluctantly, withdrew her hand and stepped back. "Then my husband is truly dead."

She set her expression back to neutral, surprised at how easy it was, and stepped back to where she had started. Holding her head high despite the tears that not even years of training could stop, she said, "Good bye, Lord Vader. I am sorry to have brought you here for nothing," and she turned away and jumped off the edge of the cliff before she could lose her nerve.

Even as she fell, Padmè felt to fear, no trepidation. She clamly pulled the string that released the weighted cloak and activated her personal repulsor. Even before her husband could step to the cliff's edge in panic, Padmè had hovered into a tiny cave in the cliffside. With the overhang above her head, she felt safe enough to lean out and watch her cloak hit the surface of the raging river. The effect was disturbingly realistic. She stepped back and snatched the force-suppressing ring rom the ledge where she had placed it earlier.

Placing the ring around her own neck, Padmè sunk to the ground and cried for all she was worth, which wasn't much since she was now officially dead. She would be forever safe and now so would her babies. Anyone else would have refused to belive she was dead until they found her body, but she knew Anakin had sensed it the moment she 'disappeared' from the force. He might still search for the body but when he found the cloak he would give up.

She tore at the repulsor pack and threw it across the tiny space. It rebounded off the far wall and hit the floor with a thunk. That probably hadn't been too smart, since she would have to climb out if she damaged it, but she no longer cared. She dragged herself off the ground and went to the mouth of the cave.

Staring down at the rain-swollen river she thought about Anakin, and little Luke and Leia and wondered why she had bothered with the repulsor pack. At the very edge, with her toes hanging off, she seriously considered giving Anakin a show and jumping for real. She didn't have to have the force to sense him still standing on the edge of the cliff. He would stand there for a while yet, the only thing she didn't know was whether or not he even cared. That thought was all that kept her from jumping for real, the idea that he might be mourning her gave her the tiniesst glimmer of hope. If she had known he was on his knees only twenty feet above her, sobbing desperately, she would have climbed to him in a heartbeat.

Instead, they both stared at the river and cried for their losses. Eventually, they both left that place and both became harder from the experience.

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In her dream, Padmè stood on that cliff again, but this time her cloak and her repulsor pack were gone. This time, when she jumped, it was for real, and this time Anakin was fast enough. He threw himself toward the edge and she felt herself slow, then stop, decending. Unseen hands raised her back to the cliff's edge and set her firmly on the ground. Her leggs wobbled and she felt herself fall into Anakin's arms.

"You caught me!" She wasn't talking wholely about the drop from the cliff.

"Of course I caught you. You're my Angel, but you don't have wings. I couldn't let you die, I love you."

Suddenly, his armor was gone and he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. She closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them, she was lying in her own bed. There was a phantom weight on the edge of her matress and she looked to find the source. Slowly, by degrees, a form appeared to fill the space.

The man was in his mid forties and completely bald. He wore only a plain white tunic and tan pants and his face held no scars, but Padmè would know those eyes anywhere. When he spoke, his voice was exactly as she had remembered, warm and rich, with that combination of rimworld and core accents that was unique to him.

"That's the way it should have happened. I should have caught you."

"That wasn't you, on that cliff." She reached out to touch him but stopped inches from his face, not knowing if he was really there and not willing to find out just yet.

He smiled sadly, his wonderfully expressive eyes showed the first real sadness she'd ever seen in him. Always, his sorrow and sadness had been flavored with anger, now that anger was gone.

"It was partly me. It was enough me that I should have stopped you. I'm sorry, Padmè."

A tear fell down her cheek as she carresed the air around his face. "I'm sorry too, Ani."

He reached up and clasped her hand in his. He brought both their hands to his face and Padmè giggled through her tears. She reached out with both hands and felt him sitting there on her bed. Leaping forward, she threw herself into his embrace, not bothering to ask how. "I've missed you so much Ani. All those years..."

"Shush, now, everything will be okay now." He lossened his grip on her and held her at arms length. "I can't stay, Padmè, but I need to ask a favor of you."

"Anything."

He ran one hand through her hair and smiled. "I've always loved your hair." He seemed to come back to the moment and focused on her again. "I need you to look after our children. They need you right now, especially Leia. She's in a bad place right now, she's hurting and I'm afraid even Luke won't be able to help her." A tear fell down his own face and Padmè realized it was the first time she had ever seen him shed a tear. "She's hurting because of me. It's all my fault."

"Yes, it is Ani. It is your fault, but it is also mine, and Obi-wan's and Yoda's and Palpatine's and Jar Jar's and Qui Gon's and Jamilla's and Bail's... It was all of us Ani, we all did this together."

He fingered her hair again before brushing it behind her ear. "And now it's up to you to put the pieces back together. Help them, my Angel. Help Leia."

"I will, Ani. If she'll let me, if it's the last thing I do, I will make sure she's safe." Padmè reached out and touched his face again. She trailed one hand down the line of his jaw and up to the spot just beside his eyes. The only place she'd been able to touch him all those years ago. "I love you, Ani. I truly, deeply, love you."

He gently tilted her face to the side. "And I love you, Padmè. I always have."

As he kissed her, she felt all the emotions she had been bottling up come out. She hadn't felt this much of anything since she'd finally flown back up that cliff. Now, with his breath on her face, she cried and laughed and loved and hated a years worth in every second. When they broke the kiss, she leaned in and let him hold her. With his strong arms wrapped arond her, she felt truly safe for the first time in decades. So safe, in fact, that she was getting drowsy. She faught sleep with every fiber of her being, but she was just too exhausted. Soon, she was asleap, lying in his arms.

Not willing to let her go just yet, he lay down on the bed with her and pulled the cover up over them both. He knew he didn't have much time left, but he was going to cherish the time he did have.

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When Padmè awoke the next morning, she nearly cried out in frustration. As wonderful as it had been, that had, by far, been the worst of all her many nightmares. For one fleeting instant, she'd had Ani back, but he wasn't really there. Her sorrow died, however, when her hand slipped to the other side of the bed and she felt warmth coming from the matress. She smiled and snuggled into the warm spot. Softly she whispered, "I love you Ani." and felt a phantom caress of her cheek as a response.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

"What do you mean I can't make an appointment to see the Princess?" Padmè asked the woman on the other end of the comm channel.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but the Princess is cancelling all her appointments until further notice. I can take your name and when she is again available we can set something up..." The white haired secretary gathered her stylus and poised to take down her information.

"Can you give her a message for me? I promise it will be brief." The woman considered and Padmè knew she was going to say no. Desperately, she continued, "I knew her father on Alderaan, please, I just need to get her a message. It's important."

Hesitating, the woman nodded, "Okay, but make it short."

"Tell her, I'm sorry I wasn't able to apologise to her in person. I should have at least brought the letter myself but I didn't have the courage. Just make sure she knows I'm sorry."

As Padmè reached for the com switch, the woman froze. "Wait, what letter are you talking about?"

"She'll know." Again Padmè reached for the control and again the woman stopped her.

"I think Leia will be able to meet with you after all. Can you meet her for lunch tomarrow?" The woman, whom Padme thought looked terribly familar, was jotting notes in a datapad.

Padmè nodded, tears forming in her eyes. "Yes, just tell me where."

When she had terminated the call, the secretary took a moment to gather her thoughts before she reached for the switch again. This time, Princess Leia's face appeared.

"Winter, what can I do for you?"

Reassured that she was doing the right thing, Winter told her longtime frend, "I'm glad to say I have almost completely cleared your schedual. You only have one meeting left and I think you'll want to attend this one."

Leia frowned. "I said to cancel them all."

"I know, Princess, but as I said, I think you'll want to attend this one." Narrowing her eyes, she said, "I think you and commander Skywaker will both want to attend."

Knowing the Alderaani woman wouldn't argue with her unless it was important, Leia agreed.

"Lunch, tomarrow. There will be a table ready. It's a casual meeting."

"Thank you, Winter. Will you be there to see me off?"

"Of course, you highness. Wold you like me to contact commander Skywalker for you?"

Leia looked at the chrono. "No, I'm supposed to meet Luke in a few minutes anyway, I'll tell him. We're going over some brochures."

"Have a good evening, Princess."

"You too Winter."