Disclaimer: Star Wars and all associated characters, plotlines, and worlds (good and bad) are property and copyright © of George Lucas (aka The Richest Man in Hollywood). This is purely for fan entertainment only.

Also a warning… this fanfic is rated MA for adult themes. I have also officially crossed over into "Obidala land"… in other words, if you're offended or otherwise do not like the pairing between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padmé Amidala, then please don't read further to spare yourself the irritation. Otherwise, enjoy!

Chapter 10 – The Daughter

Bail paced back and forth in front of his wife, Breha. She was seated, holding Leia to her as the infant slept. His hurried, quiet whispered carried hopefully only to her ears. "Do you think he knows?" he asked her.

She shook her head, not wishing to rouse the sleeping baby.

He kept pacing as if he wished to wear a path in the floor. "Surely the Jedi and the Sith have some sort of ability which allows them to know their own children… they tend to know everyone else through disguises."

Breha spoke up, rocking so as to not disturb Leia. "He never knew them, Bail." She stroked Leia's head.

He stopped, looking down at Leia himself. She was so beautiful, much like her mother. "But surely he knew their presence from the womb…" he frowned, "I just am so worried, the fate of the entire galaxy depends upon him never realizing that his children lived." He paused, ruminating on it, "Or that Padmé is still alive."

She clutched Leia to her tighter, slightly startling her. She rocked Leia back and forth. "And I don't want to lose her. She is our daughter now."

Bail nodded, putting his hand on his wife's shoulder. "I agree, she is ours now." He watched the features of the sleeping baby, "Padmé would have been so proud… she must be so upset."

Breha nodded in agreement, "But hopefully she is in good hands."

"Yes, Obi-Wan is a good man. I am sure she is being well cared for, he can help her over her grief." He assured his wife.

In the shadows, unknowing to the couple, a man stole away to his Master.

Padmé sunk down onto the couch, collapsing in tears. Obi-Wan joined her, taking her into his arms. "Padmé, it will be alright." He soothed her, stroking her back.

She sobbed into his shoulder, "No, it will always haunt me." She looked up at him, tears glistening in her eyes. "Do they all see me as Anakin's whore?" she asked softly.

His heart broke at the term, his hand came to her face, "No, not a whore. Just his lover."

She thought of the woman's words again and continued crying. "It is not fair of them to say that. They could never know that we were married. They did not know what it was like having to hide your true self from everyone around you. They don't know what it is like to love someone and not be able to stay with them always." She looked at her hands, "If everyone knew, I guess it wasn't hidden very well."

He pulled her closer, trying to soothe her tears. "Padmé, you did what you had to. It was his decision just as much as yours. You were very brave in remaining in the public eye while you were pregnant. They will always talk, though, but you cannot let them get to you."

She shook her head, "It is not as easy as that. They put me on display as if I was there for their public amusement."

Obi-Wan continued stroking her back, "They did not know they were talking to you, people will always gossip that way when they think that the subject cannot hear."

Padmé pulled back, drying her face. "Do you think that they recognize me, then?"

He brushed her hair away from her face, "No, not yet. Although she may have thought twice about it after you left, since she was already thinking about you and Anakin."

She nodded, trying to calm herself down. "Seems she really thought Anakin was handsome." She tried laughing. It was starting to help.

He did laugh at that, remembering quite a few times he had overheard someone commenting on how much of a looker they thought his young Apprentice had been. "Yes, she was rather jealous of you, Padmé."

Padmé laughed truly at that, "Well, she can have him now." She touched his face, smiling, "I have the one I want."

Obi-Wan held her hand to his face, "Yes, at Anakin's expense." His eyes reflected the sadness, the loss, "If he were not gone, you would be in his arms right now, not mine."

She put her finger to his lips. "I thought we had agreed on ending the what-ifs." She reminded him.

He nodded, "You're right." He sighed, musing on the situation. "It seems that we're all more well-known than I had ever imagined."

Padmé grinned. "Yes, you're the greatest Jedi that ever lived, and she even remembers your last name." Her grin faded. "Someone will put two and two together."

Obi-Wan nodded, "We will have to come up with another place to go. I will have to do some more research." Another sigh. "Which is increasingly difficult to do without rousing suspicion. Especially since I do not have the Jedi archives to go on."

She frowned herself, "It's such a terrible loss." The entire situation was looking bleaker every day, as they realized the extent of Darth Vader's search for Jedi and how widely they were known. It was going to be difficult to hide.

He gave her hand a squeeze, rising from the couch. "We will think of something." He smiled reassuringly, "We always do."

Darth Vader had taken up residence in one of the large offices in Bail's administration complex. He let his men search while he looked through the records, searching for any traces of transmission between the Senator and his former Master. He had found logs detailing the Senator's whereabouts on the day of the attack on the Jedi Temple, but that was not a secret. He had known Bail had seen the incident.

He continued searching the logs and was scanning through a log detailing the Senator's agenda on the day of his battle on Mustafar, when a cloaked man walked into the office. The man pushed his hood away from his face, revealing himself to the Dark Lord. "Kale. I take this as an indication you have learned something?"

The Sith's spy inclined his head, "They know quite more than they have let on, sir." He paused, waiting for the indication to continue. "I could not hear everything they said, but I did hear that Padmé is alive."

The shock of hearing it sent his head reeling. Padmé was alive? Feelings rushed through him, elation at being able to have her again, then guilt. If she was alive, why had she not come to him? Why was she faking her death? If she was alive, could their child be alive? Shame flooded through him, remembering Mustafar, and the events that had befallen there to make him lose his wife. He felt the searing heat in his phantom limbs again, felt his fingers curling around in a choke hold as he force choked her. He watched all over again as she crumpled and fell to the ground. So I didn't kill her.

Relief flooded through him, that he had not been the downfall of his wife. Then anger set in again, both with Padmé that she had not come back to him, and to Obi-Wan, who surely was a part in the entire thing. His search for the Jedi would have to be strengthened even still, he had to know. He turned back to Kale Polien, who was waiting his command. "Watch them still. Have you learned anything of the infant?" his thoughts went back to Leia. The girl was the right age, and was strong in the Force. His daughter would be strong in the Force as well, he assumed.

Pride swelled through him at the thought, imagining cradling a small girl to his chest. He imagined her growing up, looking exactly like his Angel. She would be exactly that, as a child- a little Angel. He imagined his daughter older, with a lightsaber in her hand, as she was strong in the Force.

Or perhaps the child had been a boy. He could see this as well, a young man with curly blond hair and emotions just as turbulent as his own. More anger arose in him, as Padmé was hiding his child from him. What right did she have to do that? It was his child as much as her own! No, Leia could not be his daughter- Padmé would have the baby with her. It was not like her to abandon her own child. She was selfishly hoarding away their child, keeping him or her from him.

His thoughts turned back to the reason why. The more he thought about it from Padmé's perspective, the more he could not blame her. He was a monster, to her. He had killed younglings. She had always gone out of her way to help children, even alien children on planets far away. She would never forgive him for that. He knew it now, why she was hiding their child from him. She was afraid of him.

It was hopeless, then. She would never forgive him. But his stubbornness would not allow that to be the final answer. He would seek her out, and earn her forgiveness, win back her love. And with that, finally destroy Obi-Wan and what remained of the Republic and the pathetic Jedi Order. And if she refused to be swayed, he would find their child and return him or her to their rightful place by his side.

He would forge an Empire for them, and be rid of Palpatine's influence. He would do all this for her, for her love. If she would let him.

His spy returned back to the topic at hand. "I have not gathered sufficient intelligence about the infant. They spoke the word 'daughter' many times, but they did not say much else that I could hear."

Darth Vader inclined his head, "Follow them again. After we leave Alderaaan, I have a special assignment for you."

"As you wish, master."

Sorry I'm returning to the short-ness of before. But I wanted to get another chapter out quicker, I've resolved myself to do that. Let me know what you think, as always! I hope this one did not lose quality. :)