"Mummy!" Luke and Leia yelled together as they charged into the room and ran over to Padme, who was still fast asleep.

Luke vaulted onto the bed, closely followed by Leia and the two began to playfully jump about, chanting little sections of songs they knew like

"Whistle while you work

Dooku is a twerp

He is barmy

So's his army

Whistle while you work!"

There was no need to guess where they had learned that song!

Padme seemed not to have notice the twins bouncing about energetically until at last, Luke fell over backwards and elbowed her in the ribs.

She jerked awake, her eyes wide with fright that the clones had returned, but then she relaxed when she saw the two five year olds looking at her worriedly.

"Luke, Leia what did we tell you!" Obi-Wan scolded as he and Anakin arrived at the door, out of breath from chasing the twins.

"It's alright Obi-Wan," she reassured him, then she held out her arms. "Come here!" she pulled the twins into a tight hug. They wrestled furiously with each other, determined to get as close to their mother as they could.

"I've missed you so much!" she sighed, feeling their delight and happiness through the Force.

"We missed you too Mummy!" Luke said, tightening his grip round her neck. She felt like she was being choked, but this time she didn't mind because she knew that they were just pleased to see her, and she was just as pleased to see them too.

"Alright you two, mummy needs a rest," Anakin said, trying to prize the two children away from Padme.

"Dad!" Leia protested and he was strongly reminded of Padme. Obi-Wan and Padme must have seen it too because they both laughed.

"She's definately your daughter!" Anakin exclaimed after failing miserably to tear them away. He slumped down in a near-by chair after finally admitting defeat.

The twins made themselves comfortable, grinning with satisfaction that they had got one over on their father. Then Luke began to tell Padme everything that had happened over the year, with Leia occassionally butting in or correcting him. Padme was very impressed that he could remember every tiny detail of all the events that had happened, considering the fact that he was only five years old. He even remembered that the clones were now called Stormtroopers, not Clones.

(-o-o-)

He talked non-stop for hours, with Obi-Wan and Anakin failing miserably to try and get him to stop. Luke proved that he had inherited his father's stubbornness!

When at last he finally finished, poor Luke was exhausted. He'd never talked so much in one go in his whole life. Leia had dropped off to sleep a long time ago, and it seemed that Luke was not far off himself.

"Come on then Luke. Say goodnight to mummy and Master Obi-Wan. You can see them in the morning," Anakin encouraged Luke, whilst scooping Leia into his strong arms. Anakin's arms were made of metal, so he could easily crush huge rocks into dust. But when it came to children, he could also be as gentle as a lamb, cradling them protectively and never once hurting them a bit.

(-o-)

Luke reluctantly gave Padme a final hug and she kissed him on the forehead. Then he jumped down from the bed, bowed to Obi-Wan then took Anakin's huge hand and followed him out of the room.

"Do you want me to go too?" Obi-Wan asked kindly when he saw Padme stifle a yawn.

"No, I like the company. Something I haven't been too accustomed to lately."

"Are you up for questions yet?" Obi-Wan asked hopefully and Padme sighed.

"I suppose so. What did you want to know?" she sighed, sitting up a little straighter.

"Well firstly, did you mange to get the names of any of the leaders?"

"Yep. Let's see there's...Vader who's in overall command, Sidious, who's second, Malus third, Admiral Maul, Admiral Dooku, Commander Logan, Commander Cody, Commander Oddball Junior...that's it I think," she finished counting them off on her fingers.

"Original lot aren't they!" Obi-Wan said sarcastically, then he remembered something else. "Who, or what is Han?"

"Who?" Padme asked, surprised.

"Han. When you were in the bacta you kept mumbling about Han and how it must be saved,"

Padme thought for a moment. She had heard that name before, but not for a long time. Then she remembered the young boy.

"Han Solo!" she said triumphantly, proud at herself for actually remembering the name. She looked at Obi-Wan and saw that he was still lost, so she decided to explain.

"He's a young boy I had to share a cell with for the first few weeks. We talked alot. It turns out he's an orphan, and never really knew his mother. But anyway, when I got moved into the cell next to his, he would sit by the wall and chat to me like that. Then when I wasn't strong enough to answer anymore, I would just sit and listen while he told me stories of his adventures. If it wasn't for him, I might have given up long ago. He's only ten, Obi-Wan. He doesn't belong in a cell!"

Padme banged her fist on the side of the bed, frustrated that she couldn't help the young boy. Obi-Wan could see that Padme cared for the boy and he saw her maternal side very clearly now. It was obvious that this boy had become a sort of surrogate son for her, keeping her alive when there was no hope of escape.

"Why did they imprison him?" he asked curiously. The more he knew about this lad now, the easier it would be to form a plan for his rescue.

"He's a rebel."

"A rebel?"

"The rebels are a group of smugglers. They don't like the Republic because of the high taxes for improting and exporting, which is why they smuggle, but they hate the Rogues and would rather see the Republic in charge than the new Empire."

"New Empire? Padme, the Emperor is dead. You killed him remember!"

"No Obi-Wan, I killed the original of him. There are still at least a hundred clones of him waiting to be released from hibernation. Each time one dies, another will simply take over."

You what! Obi-Wan screamed in his head. Oh this is not good!

"How come they haven't already then? They've had five years to do it?" Obi-Wan was getting more and more alarmed now. The thought of a hundred deadly Emperor's running around was making him feel dizzy, and he was trying to establish whether they were real or just a rumour.

"Because the clones needed time to grow and mature. I thought the Republic knew about them?"

"It's news to us!" Obi-Wan stated in surprise.

Unbelieveable! How can they be so blind! It's happened right under their noses! Padme thought in disbelief, then she remembered the original topic.

"Look Obi-Wan. I made Han a promise that if I got out first, I would go back and rescue him. He made the same promise to me, and I am a woman of my word. I never break a promise. As soon as I am well enough, I'm going back for him. So either you help me, or forget we ever had this conversation." Padme finished firmly, and Obi-Wan knew she was deadly serious.

"Doesn't look like I have much choice!" he grinned and Padme relaxed, knowing that young Han would soon be safe. With that encouraging thought in mind, she said farewell to Obi-Wan who was going off to make rescue plans.

Once he had gone, she drifted off to sleep again, thinking of the sorts of things han would do when he finally gained his freedom again.