A.N. The beginning of this Chapter is how I wish the scene at ROTS had gone (you'll know when you read it). We can just pretend it happened this way.
Ch. 16
Anakin and Padme raced the Younglings up to the High Council Room. The Jedi used this room as sort of a safety bunker. Even though it was high above ground, it was the safest room in the Temple because it was hard to find. Complex passages and stairwells led to the room, and it was so difficult to get to that unless a Jedi knew where he or she was going, it would be nearly impossible to find. The main reason behind this design had originally been to keep nosy Padawans and Younglings who were exploring the temple from constantly interrupting meetings. However, it had proven quite useful as a hiding place in case of emergency. The thought of keeping younger Jedi away had been abandoned, and they now practiced drills to get up there just in case of attack, though never before had this training been needed.
When they entered the room, Anakin found at least fifteen Younglings already cowering behind the Masters chairs. As he and Padme entered, the eyes of the children grew wide with fear and relief. A brave young boy walked out and looked at Anakin straight in the eye.
"Master Skywalker, there's to many of them! What are we going to do?" He asked, the fear evident in his small voice.
Anakin took out his light saber and sat down in front of the boy.
"We're going to wait here, young one. And if any troops enter this room, I will keep you safe if it kills me. You have my word." Anakin turned to the boy and gave him a smile. He then looked to the others cowering behind the chairs.
"It's all right, you can all come out. You're safe now."
With that, Padme and the other Younglings entered the room. It was a tight squeeze with almost fifty children plus Anakin and Padme in the small room, but everyone had ample room to stretch out. Soon enough, Younglings were actually enjoying themselves, playing with each other and looking at Anakin, many of their hero, with awe. Clearly, most of them found their situation quite lucky that of all the places Anakin Skywalker could be, he was right there protecting all of them.
Anakin too, began to relax. He had thought that he would hate sitting this battle out, but it was actually kind of relaxing. Had he been alone with the Younglings, he probably would have been anxious to be out fighting, but he was glad to be near Padme and protecting her as well. Knowing that his wife and the future of his family, as well as the future of his extended family, the Jedi, were all safe with him filled him with warmth. He knew that they would win this war and restore a peaceful government to the now almost anarchical planet and galaxy.
He was, of course, ready to jump up in a second if Obi Wan summoned him, but for now he would enjoy being with his wife and the little ones. Looking at his wife sitting with two Younglings on her lap, he realized what a wonderful mother she would be to their twins. She looked so happy with the children, and her maternal instinct was clearly starting to kick in, despite her continual worries about her young age and their being unprepared, and of course the whole Senator/Jedi thing. He knew she was enjoying herself with the Younglings at this moment.
Padme sat with two children on her lap and smiled. She looked at Anakin, and his eyes showed so much love for her and for all the Younglings that she couldn't help but be happy, even despite all of this. She felt, for the first time, really ready for her own children. She knew that this was a moment she and Anakin wouldn't forget- sitting here with children on the way in just a few months, bonding with children who would never really know their parents. She smiled at Anakin, and he scooted closer to her and put his arm around her shoulder. He figured that the news was going to have to come out after the war anyway, and children under 8 weren't exactly going to care about the scandal.
"Anakin, not here," Padme began, but her actions betrayed her words as she snuggled into his arm. She, too, knew that their secret was pretty much at its end.
Younglings started to giggle, looking at them, and Anakin and Padme just smiled.
Eivyn Starsearcher, the little girl from the cafeteria, spoke up again.
"See, she is your girlfriend, isn't she?" She asked sweetly.
"You could say so," said Anakin jokingly, and he looked at Padme and kissed her quickly.
He suddenly regretted it, because this just gave the Younglings fuel to ask more questions. The children giggled, and several made repulsed faces.
"Ew," said Eivyn. "You kissed her. That's gross."
Padme and Anakin laughed.
"You won't think so when you're older, Eivyn," Padme said to her, smiling.
"Yes I will, always, always I will." Replied the little girl.
"Well it's good you think so now," Padme laughed. She turned to Anakin. "We're going to have to prepare for this with ours, Anakin," Padme said to him. "We'll have to be a little more careful with what we do at home."
He smiled at her. "Just as long as we get our time together," he said, and squeezed her shoulder.
"Your what?" Eivyn asked, referring to Padme's comment. Many children gathered around them as if they were telling a story.
Anakin and Padme looked at each other, figuring it wasn't worth it to lie to the kids, they would be telling everyone after this war anyway, which looked to be ending pretty soon.
"Our own children," Padme began.
"Jedi aren't supposed to have children, Master Skywalker," said one little boy.
Padme laughed out loud now, and Anakin gave her a glare.
"When you get reprimanded by the Younglings, you know you're in trouble, Master Skywalker." Padme said to him, smiling.
Anakin looked at the child, and talked to him as if he were also seven and trying to prove the other boy wrong. "Well, maybe that rule will change soon, if I prove that it's not fueling emotions that would turn me to the…never mind," said Anakin, realizing the children had no idea what he's talking about anyway, and didn't really care. They weren't looking at him anymore anyway; they were more fascinated with Padme's stomach. Someone had obviously already filled most of them in that babies grew in the mother's stomachs.
"So you have a baby in there?" Eivyn asked, putting her hand on Padme's stomach.
Something about the touch of the child was very soothing- Padme thought about how her own children, who weren't even born yet, would be inquisitive and adorable five year olds like Eivyn one day. She smiled warmly at the girl, and pulled her on to her lap.
"Yes, they are in there," Padme replied, and more of the children gathered around her. "We're having twins."
"They're not gonna be born now or anything," confirmed a very small boy who looked disgusted by the entire matter.
"No, not now. Don't worry," laughed Padme.
Anakin turned to Padme, and put his arm around her to place his hand on her stomach. Padme looked up and smiled at him. He suddenly realized he had never done that before. He looked at the five year old in front of him, wondering why she had thought of it first.
"So you really have babies in there," he said, and kissed Padme.
Eivyn hopped off of her lap quickly.
"You're going to have to stop that, now," she said.
Anakin laughed- at the little girl, at his impeding fatherhood, at the entire situation, never taking his hand from around Padme where it rested on her stomach. The fact that he was babysitting Younglings was suddenly very funny to him. He always talked to them in the cafeteria, but since he was their age he had never really spent very much time with children. The sudden realization that not only did he feel fairly comfortable with them, but that he was able to interact with them, comforted him. He suddenly couldn't wait to meet the innocent faces of his own two children. He wondered what they would always be asking about, how they would interact with him. He suddenly realized that, as devastated as he would be if the Order expelled him, he would eventually be ok. He would certainly miss his Jedi work, but he knew that his wife and children would be enough to fulfill him after his life of defending the galaxy was over.
Padme, too, felt tremendous warmth and happiness around these children in whom the Force was so strong with positive energy. She wondered if her children would be Force-sensitive. She would love them either way, and it really made no difference to her, but she would somehow have to make sure that she could see them often if they were to be Jedi. She would love them to be inquisitive little Younglings like these ones, as long as they weren't taken from her. She knew that that was generally against the rules, but so was all of this anyway. Maybe, after this war, the rules could change. Right now, Padme enjoyed this time with her husband and the many children around her.
But, like all good things, the moment had to come to an end. Anakin suddenly got a holo message from Obi Wan. Padme sighed. She had been expecting this, but was still sad to see it come so quickly. Anakin jumped to attention.
"Anakin, we need you at the Senate buildings right away. The Jedi in front of the temple are holding off the troops, the Younglings should be very safe. Just in case, I will send another Jedi up in a few minutes. Give Padme a blaster, to be extra safe in the time between when you leave and when he arrives."
"What's happening Master?"
"Just meet us here as soon as possible, and Yoda will explain everything to you."
"I'm on my way," Anakin said, ending the message.
This time, Younglings or not, Anakin pulled Padme to her feet and embraced her as a child rolled off her lap and onto the ground, laughing. As he kissed her passionately, running his fingers through her hair, a chorus of "eww" met his ears, and he laughed. As he kissed his wife, he savored every moment of it. Even the over-confident Anakin Skywalker didn't want to take any chances of not giving a proper goodbye to the person he loved the most dearly in the world. He didn't believe he could ever be hurt- but just in case, he wanted Padme to know-
"I love you," he said simply, breaking the kiss. "More than you will ever know. Be careful Padme, I will come back as soon as I can. And watch the children." He paused. "By the way, you are going to be a fantastic mother."
"Anakin, be careful- you have to come back to me, I can't lose you, I-"
He interrupted her. "Padme, I will be fine. I promise."
"Anakin I love you too, so incredibly much. I didn't think it was possible to love someone so much. And seeing you with the Younglings- I know you will be a fabulous father, and I know that our babies need you. Please come back safely Anakin…"
He broke her off with another kiss, and he tried to pour all his love for her into this last moment together. He turned quickly around, unable to look back for fear he would never be able to leave if he saw her again, and walked out the door.
Padme sighed, and sank back to the ground, praying that he would be all right.
"Why does he do that to you?" Eivyn asked, scrunching her nose up.
Padme paused, and stared at the child. "Because he loves me," she said, "and I love him."
"Don't worry," said one little boy. "Master Skywalker is the best Jedi ever. He can't get hurt, I bet he kills all the clones and is back before you even know it!"
Padme looked at the child, knowing that he would never understand how much those words meant to her. She pulled him in to a hug, and he scrunched his nose up but smiled. Then he scampered away as the kids all looked at each other confused, and resumed playing their games.
Ok, so that was really mushy, but I love that stuff! I hope you do too. Thanks for all the reviews, I love them! Next chapter soon, I hope, but I'm back in school now, which means work. After this, the war gets really intense, but I don't like writing that as much and I'm not as good at it so I'm going to make it end hopefully within a few chapters. I'll try to make it good though!