Ch. 22

"How far along is she?" The doctor asked Obi Wan. "Has there been anything abnormal about this pregnancy so far?"

Obi Wan looked puzzled, realizing that the doctor thought he was the father, and also realizing how little he actually knew about Padme and Anakin.

"I don't know, I'm just a friend," he said. "Her husband is in this hospital too, injured. You'll have to ask Padme herself."

"Only seven months," Padme said, crying. "Will they be ok?"

"They? Are they twins?" Asked the doctor.

"Yes, will they be all right?"

"Well twins are often born prematurely, we should be able to have them born in perfect health. We will have to operate to get them out, but otherwise everything should be fine. You have nothing to worry about right now."

Padme sighed, relieved, at least for the moment. She couldn't believe that Anakin was missing this, but having seen him she knew he couldn't get up and come in here. It had been a struggle for him to talk. She couldn't believe the bad timing, but was determined for her children to be safe and healthy. She was glad that Obi Wan was there, because she knew he understood about their secret. She didn't know what to do about Yoda and the other Masters- she cursed herself for not waiting for Anakin to tell them when he was ready. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she had gotten him kicked out of the order. Suddenly, the pain of another contraction hit her, much worse than before.

"Ahh!" She yelled.

"I think it is time," said the doctor.

Obi Wan suddenly found himself trapped between medical droids and equipment, and unable to leave the room. Though he felt sort of awkward, Anakin had asked him to be there, and so he watched (more squeamishly than he would have liked to admit) as the doctors operated on Padme.

"It's a girl," said the doctor, and after checking on the first baby and cleaning her he handed her to Obi Wan. Obi Wan held her awkwardly, and looked at the child, hardly believing that Anakin was suddenly the father of a new person. He tried to give it to Padme, but she was being stitched up and attended to by the doctors.

"A boy," said the doctor, again giving the child to Obi Wan after checking on him, Padme still in the process of the surgery. "They are very small, but should be able to survive on their own as long as we keep them here for about a week." The doctor continued to attend to Padme, and Obi Wan stood holding the children. He tried to bring them over for Padme to see, but there were doctors all around her. Suddenly, he heard quiet laughter coming from the doorway. He turned and saw Anakin, supporting himself against the door, laughing at the obvious feelings of awkwardness of his former Master. As Obi Wan thought to himself how typical it was that of all the things Anakin could be doing right now the young man was laughing at him, he was suddenly overjoyed to have Anakin back.

"Just what are you laughing at, my very young friend? Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"How could I miss this?" Anakin asked, and Obi Wan could think of no reason. "Old man," Anakin added, laughing. Anakin entered the room, and Obi Wan immediately handed him one of his children.

"Which one is this?" Anakin asked, enamored of the tiny baby who gazed up at him, silently.

"The girl," replied Obi Wan.

As Anakin gazed at his daughter, he couldn't believe the immediate bond he felt with her. This was absolutely amazing, and he suddenly felt his life was so complete. He had never been happier. He bent down and kissed her forehead, and then looked at his son in Obi Wan's hands.

"They're both beautiful," Anakin said quietly. He turned toward Padme, and the doctors moved away. He knelt to her, with the girl in his arms, and kissed Padme's forehead.

"Can you believe it? Here they are, both perfect," he said to her. She smiled up at him; hardly able to believe this moment had arrived.

Obi Wan approached her and handed her the boy. "I think you two…well, four, should be alone for a while," he said, as he smiled and left the room.

Anakin and Padme stared at their children, both extremely tiny but absolutely beautiful. Neither could express the extreme joy of this moment for them. Somehow, through everything that had happened, a Jedi Master and a Senator had fallen in love and had two children. And the strangest thing was, though the situation was so wrong, it felt so right.

"We still need to name them," Anakin realized. Suddenly, he felt very weak. Thankful for his Jedi reflexes, he sat down on the bed before he could faint. Padme could tell something was wrong.

"Anakin, as much as I want you here, you should be in bed. I don't want you to get hurt any more, I want you to be ok."

"I will be ok, here with you," he said. His head was pounding, and he had blacked out for a moment, but nothing could have gotten him to leave that room. He lay down next to Padme, each holding a baby gingerly in their arms.

"For the boy, I like the name Luke," Padme said.

"Perfect," replied Anakin. "What about the girl?"

"You name her," Padme said, smiling at her husband and very curious as to what he would choose to name his daughter.

"Leia," he said simply, and the look on Padme's face told him she loved it.

"Perfect," she said. They put Luke and Leia between them, staring at their children, and the whole family fell asleep in each other's arms.

Yoda, Obi Wan and Mace walked into the room, talking. They stopped suddenly, looking at the Skywalkers dreaming together on the bed.

"Knew about this, did you, Obi Wan?" Yoda asked, knowing the subject had to come up at some point.

"Yes, but only just recently. When I knew of the Senator's pregnancy, I suspected highly that Anakin was the father. I found out just this morning for sure- and I also found out that they have been married for three years."

"Three years?" Mace asked, in disbelief, "How did we not know?"

"Because Anakin didn't let it interfere with his work," Obi Wan said, "Except to bring more love and passion to what he did. Please," Obi Wan paused, "I owe my life to him, do not expel him from the order. I broke the code too, by keeping the secret- if you punish anyone, punish me. His love for her only makes him stronger- and she is the one who can calm him when we all fail. She keeps his anger at bay; she is so good for him. And he didn't give in to Sidious, he remained true to us, saved the Republic and the Jedi- please, you can't punish him."
"No more do you need to say. Punish him, we did not intend. Not after today," Yoda replied. "And punish you, we would never."

Obi Wan was so grateful to hear those words. He would never have enjoyed his missions as much if Anakin hadn't been with him- and he wouldn't have been able to forgive himself if Anakin had been expelled.

"Perhaps we need to reform the Code," Mace said, and the others nodded.

"Attachment, perhaps a good thing can be," said Yoda.

As the Masters turned to leave, Padme opened her eyes.

"Wait," she said, and they all turned to her, slightly embarrassed that they had been watching the family sleep. "Please, don't punish Anakin. He doesn't deserve it; he has done nothing but good. It is my fault really, I was the older and more responsible one when all of this happened- I should probably have tried to stop it, but I couldn't, you have to understand- love has no boundaries. I love him more than anything- well, I love my children just as much now. He would be so devastated, and he just saved the Republic, he deserves to-"

"Padme, it's all right," Obi Wan said. "We were just discussing revising the code."

"Revising the…really?" she looked around, and Mace and Yoda nodded. "Thank you, this will mean so much to him, it means so much to me… Thank you so much."

"You should be the one to tell him. We have to get back to the temple and figure this all out. Senator, we hope you and Anakin will both be with us soon to establish a new Republic. I hope that your duty to your family will not keep you from remaining in politics," Obi Wan paused. "Anakin thinks you should be Chancellor. We tend to agree."

Padme smiled, suddenly a politician again for the first time in at least a day, "I hope to be back on my feet again soon as well. As to running for Chancellor, we'll have to see. Two babies is a lot of work," she smiled, then paused, her expression growing more serious. "He will be all right, won't he?" She looked at Anakin, the fear evident in her eyes. "This weakness, it goes away, right?"

"Go away, it should, very soon," Yoda said. "But be clear, Senator Amidala. Anakin Skywalker, weak, could never be. He remains strong in the Force. Physical weakness, he will overcome."

"And what you are wondering about, Senator," Obi Wan said, reading her thoughts, "Yes."

"Really?" She asked.

"Sensed it, I know Anakin did. Waited until you asked, he was going to." Yoda confirmed.

"I suppose we've ruined his fun now," Obi Wan laughed.

"About revising the code-do you think that-"

"Yes, I suppose it wouldn't be terrible for Younglings to be able to remain with their parents." Obi Wan said.

"Thank you," Padme replied. Then she realized something, "How am I supposed to deal with children who can read my mind? You know I don't like that."

"Why we took the Younglings from their parents, that was." Yoda said.

"Have fun!" Obi Wan joked. With that, the Jedi left.

Sighing, Padme looked at her children. "Just don't play tricks on me too much, all right?"

"Am I still allowed to play tricks on you?" Said a voice beside her. She turned to Anakin and smiled seductively, "Only when they're asleep."

"Well then never look at me like that when they're around. I won't be able to control myself." He smiled, and kissed her. They turned to their children, in perfect bliss.

"How long have you been awake?" She asked suddenly.

"Long enough to know Obi Wan ruined my secret," he said.

"Long enough to know the Code's been changed?" She asked.

"What?"

"You're still a Jedi Master, Anakin. And we can stay together."

He kissed her, happier than he had ever been. "This day was perfect," he said, smiling.

"Perfect, really? Even the war? The getting struck by Sith lightning part?" Padme asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That was the best part," he joked. Padme rolled her eyes, and a doctor came in to take the babies to have a check up and be put in the nursery. When the doctor left, Anakin put his arms around his wife and the two fell back asleep, peaceful, into a long needed rest.