Thanks to all of you who sent reviews and comments on the last chapter. Sorry about the delay in updates, but here is the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy! Please review and give me your thoughts. Again, my undying and eternal thanks goes out to my benevolent beta Pokey1984. If you do find mistakes, they are all my fault.
Kazzy: Thanks for your kind comments. Poor Ani has more in store for him in this chapter.
LVB: Glad you like. Hope you enjoy this one.
Pokey1984: Well, it's good to know that I can surprise the ZMD. I like keeping you on your toes -). I would imagine had Anakin not turned, he would have completely disregarded the Jedi's nonattachment code and never let either Padme or the twins go, ever. I think the Skywalker home would have been a very loving one.
Padawan Sydney Bristow: Wow, you honor me with your flattery. I'm really glad that you've enjoyed so far, hope you enjoy this one.
Natalie-Corr: You are too kind. I really like this genre too because there is so much open ground to cover. Both Anakin and Padme are such dynamic characters and they make writing these so much easier with all that they are capable of. Really happy that you are enjoying. Hope this chapter doesn't disappoints.
A/N: Now that my settings are fixed, I now accept annoymous reviews so review away everyone -).
Part II
It was early in the morning when Padmé and her attendants departed for Alderaan. The twins were still asleep and I had leave from the Temple until her return. I was hoping to use the time to meditate, as well as get more familiar with my new duties. Aside from teaching several lightsaber technique classes that ranged in age from the youngest initiates to senior Padawans; I was also assigned to instruct an advanced piloting course. This by far was my favorite class to teach.
After I looked briefly on my still sleeping children, I grabbed my datapad to read the latest news with a cup of fresh caf. I was about to make myself some breakfast when I heard the chime of the doorbell.
I furrowed my brow in curiosity as I did not expect any visitors, especially with Padmé gone. When I opened the door, I was amazed at who I saw.
"Sola? Darred? This is quite a surprise."
My sister-in-law chuckled as I reached down to hug her. "Oh Ani, always the kidder."
Not knowing what she meant, I shrugged as I greeted Darred and invited them inside. Looking into the empty hallway, I asked, "Where's Ryoo and Pooja?"
Sola sighed deeply as she shook her head. "They discovered the elevator reaches the roof so they just had to go and investigate."
"Thankfully the twins only walk only a couple of feet at a time," I boasted, but was quietly thrilled that I did not have to chase after them just yet.
"Is Padmé at her office?" Sola asked, looking around the apartment.
I shook my head. "No, she's on her way to Alderaan for a summit."
Darred and Sola glanced at each other gravely. Sola, while trying not to scowl chuckled. "Really Anakin, where's Padmé?"
"Really Sola, she's heading to Alderaan."
My sister-in-law looked at me incredulously while slapping both her hands against her face. "That girl, I swear," she muttered as she shook her head in defeat.
"What's wrong?"
"Darred and I have planned a vacation to Dantooine and our transport leaves within the hour." They looked at each other dejected. "Padmé offered to watch Ryoo and Pooja while we're gone."
I looked at them both in shock as I wondered how such an important detail slipped my wife's mind. "She never mentioned anything to me."
My brother and sister in law were obviously disappointed as they considered going back home.
"What about Ruwee and Jobal?"
"They're doing some work with the refugee relocation movement out in the mid-rim so they won't be home for several weeks."
I sighed as I knew I was about to get myself into trouble. "Go on your trip. I'll be happy to take care of Ryoo and Pooja."
"Are you sure?" Darred asked, with a hint of concern in his voice.
"Yes, I'm sure. I don't want you to miss it because of a simple miscommunication." Just as I finished my sentence, my two nieces, twelve year old Ryoo and eight year old Pooja entered the apartment, pushing and yelling at one another.
"Mom, tell Pooja to stop pushing me."
"But she started it." Pooja vehemently retorted.
"Did not."
"Did too."
"Not"
"Too."
"No way!"
"Yes way!"
Sola raised her hand while slightly raising her voice commanded, "Stop it, you two." As the Naberrie girls turned their now innocent eyes towards their mother, she added, "Now, your father and I are leaving you with Uncle Anakin; your Aunt Padmé is out of town so I want you to promise that you both will be on your best behavior. He not only has to watch over you, but your cousins all by himself." Sola paused slightly to give them a more menacing look. "And if I hear that you gave your Uncle a difficult time, you both will be grounded for a month."
Before she could finish, Ryoo and Pooja interjected, "But Mom!"
"Am I clear?"
The two young girls sighed in defeat. "Yes Mother."
"But what if only Pooja gets Uncle Anakin upset?"
Sola raise an eyebrow as I observed the utter fatigue in her face. No wonder she and Darred needed this vacation. "Like I told you earlier, if one of you misbehaves, you both get punished."
"But that's not fair," Ryoo retorted as she stomped her foot. "Pooja is always getting in trouble and it's not my fault."
"Do not."
"Do too."
'Nah-uh"
"Uh-huh"
Darred cleared his throat causing the two girls to cease their argument.
"Well, life is rarely fair, so get used to it," Sola said sarcastically, causing both of her girls to glare at one another.
I smiled happily as I placed my hands on both my in law's shoulders. "Don't worry you two. Go and have a good time; we'll be fine."
"Are you sure, Ani? I hate to burden you further." Sola said with a concerned look on her face.
"Positive. Just bring me back a nice souvenir."
Sola finally broke a smile as she reached up to kiss my cheek. "We'll be back in a week. Here are our comlink numbers in case you need to contact us."
I nodded as I showed them to the door. As I wished them a pleasant journey, I wondered what on Tatooine I just got myself into; because, as soon as the door closed, I heard the all too familiar cry of both the twins.
I smiled at my nieces as I headed towards the nursery to check on the babies. Pooja frowned as I passed her.
"I'm hungry, Uncle Ani."
Before I could respond, Ryoo jabbed her elbow into her sister's ribs, causing her to wince noticeably.
"Ouch Ryoo! That hurt."
The older girl frowned as she softly rebuked her sister. "Shut up or you're going to get us both in trouble."
"But I'm hungry."
Ryoo sighed as she turned towards me with pleading eyes. If the twins were not now wailing, I would have found this moment amusing.
"Just relax you two. Let me go check on Luke and Leia and then I'll make us all something to eat."
Their faces noticeably brightened as I left. However, my brief little reverie would end abruptly when I approached the twin's room. As I could hear their cries from the opposite side of the door, another, let distinctive sound was also coming forth. I didn't think much of it until I entered.
Both Leia and Luke were standing up in their cribs, faces both ruddy from crying at their top of their lungs. While this was disconcerting enough, I had to do a double-take when I approached their cribs. Several of my children's toys were not only floating in mid-air, but they were being hurdled across the room as their cries intensified. Once I got a hold of myself, I reached into the Force and sensed that both twins were in a near panic.
I lightly touched their minds and the answer came to me almost immediately. Both Luke and Leia could feel Padmé's absence since they could no longer sense her presence. This was not good. As I was about to reach out further using the Force to send them soothing feelings, I was broken out of my focus when I heard two young voices.
"Wow."
"Wizard. Are you doing that Uncle Ani?" asked Ryoo.
Snapping my eyes back open, I looked down to see my two nieces completely in awe of the twin's flying toys.
"No," I answered abruptly. "They're doing it."
Pooja looked amazed as her eyes shot around the room. "How?"
I sighed deeply. "It's a long story." I immediately shot over to the cribs and picked both Leia and Luke up. As I tried bobbing them up and down while talking with my terrible Gungan impersonation, both Ryoo and Pooja looked at me like I had lost my mind; however, this did nothing to calm my two babies.
"Come here you two." I requested, now desperate for help.
My nieces weren't too sure what I was going to have them do, but they complied nonetheless.
"I need for you both to go into the kitchen and place Luke and Leia's baby food in the automatic warmer."
They both nodded curtly and before I could tell them where the jars were, they dashed out of the room. Although I could have sent a soft Force suggestion, I didn't want to scare them. So when the inevitable yell came, I calmly walked to the edge of the room and pointed out where they were stowed.
Now to my other problems, both Leia and Luke were not relaxing. I sat down in my rocking chair and swayed as I softly sang a song that my mother used to sing whenever I was scared. After a few minutes, they both started to calm down until I heard an ominous klaxon ring out.
"Danger…Fire detected."
The twins immediately screamed as I heard from the kitchen, two older children yelling at one another.
"I told you not to touch that," shouted Ryoo.
"But it said to turn it up all the way," retorted Pooja.
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
I immediately jumped out of the chair and ran towards the kitchen where my supposedly angelic nieces were engaged in a hair pulling tug-o-war. Meanwhile, the food warmer on the kitchen counter had smoke billowing out from it and I heard several desperate knocks at the door, undoubtingly my wife's remaining security personnel. If Obi-Wan could see me now, he'd probably die from laughter.
"That's it," I said as I snapped my fingers. I'll comm Obi-Wan. He'll know what to do. However, before that, I needed to get the situation under control. Using the Force, I extinguished the fire in the kitchen while separating my combative nieces. They were both captivated being floating apart, which calmed them down instantly. Perhaps I will have to keep that in mind when these two in my arms get into it one day.
As soon as I restored calm, I headed over to the holoviewer. While still holding my crying children, I managed to key in the all too familiar sequence of my former Master. Although I was sure he'd launch into one of his maintaining balance and discipline lectures after I told him about all the excitement, at least I'd have an extra pair of hands to help.
I was beginning to get worried when it took an unusually long time to connect. If nothing else, Master Obi-Wan was prompt. My face dropped as I got his automated message system. 'Gone to Alderaan for the summit,' it read as I muttered a few choice Huttese phrases under my breath.
Now what? I refused to comm Padmé, for several reasons. The first one was practical. It takes two days via hyperspace to reach Alderaan from Coruscant. And secondly, I'm stubbornly and sometimes, okay many times, stupidly proud. I was going to handle this, even if it killed me.
At that moment I realized, despite the twins continued weeping, it was too quiet out in the apartment. I quickly returned to the living area and didn't find any trace of Ryoo and Pooja. The sounds of jars being roughly placed on the counter filled the air as I raced into the kitchen.
My jaw nearly dropped as I saw that almost all the contents of our storage containers were strewn all about. Ryoo was holding a skillet over the stove with what looked like the charred remnants of a shaak steak; meanwhile, Pooja kept pulling out everything she could get her little hands on from the storage containers.
Not knowing how they could not notice me standing there with their two cousins screaming bloody murder, I cleared my throat to get their attention. I almost laughed out loud when they had the audacity to look surprised at my scowl.
"What are you two doing?" I asked, while mentally reciting the Jedi mantra to maintain my calm.
"Making breakfast," Ryoo declared proudly."
Pooja then pulled her head out of the icebox to say, "I was trying to look for some shuura fruit, but you don't have any."
"Those are your Aunt's favorites," I pointed out. "She took the last bushel on her trip."
My youngest niece stared at me blankly while muttering "Oh." However, my revelation only momentarily stopped her, as she resumed her pilfering.
"Pooja, why are taking everything out?"
She turned around to give me a look like I said something blasphemous. "Grandma Jobal always asks us to help her take out all her food so she can cook everyone's favorite meal."
That figures. Even before the twins were born, when Padmé and I would visit her parents, my mother-in-law would make enough food for dinner to feed half the Republic's Clone Army. I sighed deeply as I surveyed the mess. If I wanted to save what was left of our food, I needed to think fast.
"Make a deal with you both," I said, giving them a smile. This seemed to pique their curiosity as they stopped to listen. "If you both clean everything up real quickly, I'll take you to a very nice diner that Master Obi-Wan and I used to go."
The two brown haired girls gave each other a quick glance, as if to coordinate whether my suggestion was worth the effort. Surprisingly, they both nodded as they promptly picked up their mess. I took the opportunity to grab two jars of baby food so I could give the twins a little something to eat before we went out.
After making ridiculous speeder noises to feed my children, I picked out a pretty little pink dress for my little princess and blue overalls for my little man to wear. Not bad for doing it by myself, I mused as I looked them over. Plus, the distraction helped calm their anxieties so the crying stopped for the moment.
One of the things Padmé and I always found helpful whenever we needed to get the twins to relax was that they loved riding in our speeder. Thank the Force, by the time the five of us reached Dex's diner, both Luke and Leia feel asleep in their speederchairs. Much to the amazement of my nieces, I levitated the twins onto their hoverstroller and then pushed them inside.
"Well as I live and breathe, Anakin Skywalker," announced Dex Jettster from behind his cook's cove.
"Hello Dex," I said, smiling at my old friend.
The giant besalisk pointed one of his right hands towards a circular table at the center of the diner. "Have a seat. I'll be right with ya."
I nodded as I motioned for Ryoo and Pooja to sit down. After I placed Leia and Luke's stroller next to my seat, I felt myself being picked up and squeezed by four giant arms from behind.
"Geez Ani, what has her ladyship been feeding you," Dex laughed as I heard him grunting to lift me.
"You know, I'm not a little Padawan anymore."
His deep chuckle bellowed as he put me down. "I suppose not. You're a Jedi Master now and a father on top of that. How 'bout that."
I smiled as I turned around to shake his hand. Dex then bent over to quietly observe the twins. "They're getting big."
I then proudly boasted, "They both took their first steps yesterday."
"Well, what do ya know. Soon they'll be twirling around lightsabers like their father."
"Hopefully not too soon," I said with a chuckle.
"So Ani, who are these fine young ladies with you?"
"Dex, allow me to introduce Ryoo and Pooja Naberrie. They are my sister-in-law's children, visiting from Naboo."
"How do ya do?" Dex asked as he offered them two of his hands.
Both of my nieces smiled happily as they greeted him. They seemed fascinated, especially since they've never met nor seen a besalisk before.
Turning my attention back to Dex, I said, "These two ladies are here to try one of your special dishes. I wonder if you have the time to make it?"
"No problem, Ani. Anything for the Republic's greatest hero."
I rolled my eyes as I shook my head. "Oh please."
He chortled as he answered, "Alright. Give me about twenty minutes and I'll have it right out."
"And I'll take a Ben Kenobi double decker," I said with a smirk.
Dex nodded as he disappeared into the kitchen. A few moments later, when the twins woke up and resumed their wailing, I heard Dex cry out as things started to dart about the kitchen. Moments later, many of the diner's patrons jumped up and screamed out in surprise as their plates and silverware rose about them, then raced through the air. As I reached down to pick up both the twins, our table arose. Recoiling, I was about to tell Ryoo and Pooja to get back when they were elevated in their seats.
Ryoo looked worried, while her sister looked to be having fun. "Uncle Ani…please get me down."
I nodded as I attempted to still my mind. However, before I could render aid, I heard another yell coming from the kitchen. I quickly placed the twins back in their stroller and ran in its direction. Poor Dex was being twirled end over end while spinning in mid-air. Many of his cooking utensils and knives hurdling towards him. I guess going out with the twins so upset was not a good idea after all.
I then quickly calmed my thoughts as I reached into the Force to stop Luke and Leia from causing further havoc. As I found their Force presences, I sent calm waves of reassurance as I formed a mental barrier around their profound abilities. I suppose I should have done this prior to us going out. Now I'm truly never going to hear the end of it when Obi-Wan learns about this catastrophe.
Once I erected a shield, all the plates, kitchen ware and people came under my control, which I gently placed down. After I got hold of the twin's tantrum, the giant besalisk popped his head out from behind the kitchen door with a tormented look on his face. Embarrassingly, I pointed my index finger up. "Dex, I think we'll take that order to go."
"Good idea," he said with a hint of relief in his voice.
After we returned to the residence and ate our lunches, we all collapsed on the giant couches in the living area. The twins were both fast asleep on my chest, while my nieces shared the neighboring sofas. After this adventuresome morning and with many more to come, I tried to rest. I figured that I'd better get it whenever I had the opportunity. It was going to be a very long week.
At some point, I must have drifted off because I was dreaming that Padmé was standing over me with a concerned look on her face.
"Ani? Anakin? Are you awake?"
I groggily opened my eyes to see my beloved hovering over me, wearing her elegant Senate gown.
"Angel? What are you doing home so soon?"
Padmé smiled as she leaned over to kiss my forehead. "We had only been gone a few hours when I remembered that Sola and Darred were bringing the kids over." She looked at me lovingly as she added, "That and I was already missing you three terribly."
I gave her a lopsided grin as I sat up to hand Luke to her. I then took Leia with me as I headed to the bedroom. Padmé stared at me with a slight grin while I walked away. "Where are you going?"
"To pack. We're all coming with you to Alderaan."
My wife smirked as she pulled out my travel bag from behind the couch. "I took the liberty, Master Jedi."
I gave her a half bow as I replied, "As you wish, Milady."
TBC-Please drop me a line, whether you like it or you hate it. Always happy to know what you all think :).
