Waterfall

Summary: There it all goes, tumbling down the waterfall to another end. AU, one-shot.

Timeframe: Sort of the end of RotS. Sort of.

Archive: In the unlikely event that someone would actually want to archive this – ask and I'll say yes. Just let me know where it's going.

Disclaimer: All things recognisably Star Wars belong to George Lucas. I just like making up my own stories. ALL HAIL LUCAS!

A/N: This fic involves a mildly dark theme, and it's an AU. Italics are flashbacks. Rated T, because I wasn't too sure. Nothing graphic, but it's a bit dark.

Padmé placed a gentle kiss on her baby Luke's forehead. With pale tears brimming in her eyes, she whispered, "Love you, Luke." She turned to her faithful handmaiden, Dormé, and slowly placed Luke in her arms.

"Take care of him while…while I'm gone," she said throatily. "Until Obi-Wan comes."

"Of course, milady," Dormé replied. "When will you return?"

Padmé forced a wobbly smile. "Soon," she said. She gently stroked Luke's cheek and then walked out of the nursery.

She wished she could see Leia again, but she had already said her goodbye to her daughter. She knew she would not see her again.

"It's a boy," Obi-Wan told her as the midwife placed the bundle in his arms.

"Luke," Padmé breathed, her curls damp from labour. Then suddenly, a wave of pain took hold of her abdomen. Obi-Wan, seeing her distress, turned sharply to the midwife.

"What's happening?" he asked.

"There's another one," she responded, taking up her place again.

Two minutes later, Leia entered the world. Obi-Wan gathered the two babies up and gently settled them in Padmé's arms. The exhausted woman smiled wearily down on the twins' faces. As the children began to breathe their first breaths and cry their first tears, Bail Organa walked in. he exchanged a glance with Obi-Wan.

The Jedi sighed and knelt beside the bed. "Padmé, you and your children are in great danger now that the Empire has been formed. You must be separated, for your own protection."

She stared at him and slowly moved her gaze back to her children. No, no, how could this be? They were supposed to all be together as a family…but even as this thought crossed her mind, she knew Obi-Wan was right. She had to give them up – give them up to save them.

"Who will take them?" she asked softly, a single tear slipping down her face.

Bail stepped forward. "I can take Leia," he offered. "We've always wanted to adopt a baby girl."

Padmé paused, and then nodded. Bail would be a good father to Leia. "What about Luke?"

"I will take him to his aunt and uncle on Tatooine," Obi-Wan said. "They are good people." He hesitated for a moment. "Padmé…we believe Anakin is in danger. I must find him. Do you know where he is?"

"In danger?" Padmé asked fearfully. Not her husband too, no, this couldn't be happening… Obi-Wan nodded. She hesitated. How could she betray him? But...if he was endangered..."He's on Mustafar."

Satisfied, Obi-Wan stood up and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You should go to Naboo with Luke. I will come for him when I have found Anakin." He bent lower. "I will try to bring him back if I can, Padmé," he murmured, and she nodded, knowing he meant her husband. If Anakin was in trouble, it would be hard – but Padmé had faith he would return, her babies would be returned, and they could raise their family together.

She took one last look at Leia before giving her up to Bail.

"Goodbye, Leia, my beautiful daughter. I love you."

Padmé slowly wove her way through the trees, her eyes following the faint path before her. It was littered with leaves and dead twigs, overgrown with Naboo's native plants, visible to her only because she had walked this route so many times before. The terrain was uneven and slowly becoming rockier. The sound of rushing water, though faint, filtered through to her ears, but her memories drowned out the noise.

She glanced up at the plaintive cry of a nearby bird, and her foot caught on a fallen branch. She stumbled and tripped, grazing the back of her hand on a tree trunk as she fell. Catching herself just before she hit the ground, Padmé paused and examined her injury. Tiny droplets of blood contrasted with her pale skin. Tears blurred her eyes and she stumbled on, moving faster to reach her destination before they spilled out.

Only when she reached the bank did she allow herself to weaken. She slumped against a tree and buried her face in her hands, tears dripping through her fingers and stinging her scratches as her mind finally swamped her.

Dormé walked into the nursery where Padmé sat with Luke.

"Milady, Obi-Wan Kenobi –"

Padmé stood abruptly and gently placed Luke back into his cot. "Is he here?"

"No, milady. He's waiting to speak with you."

"Thank you, Dormé," Padmé said quietly as she moved out the door.

Obi-Wan's image was projected near the middle of the floor. He looked sad and weary, and his clothes were torn and burnt in some places. As soon as Padmé looked at his face, she knew something was wrong.

"Padmé", he greeted her, making some attempt at a smile.

She got straight to the point. "What's happened, Obi-Wan?"

His expression changed as he rubbed a hand over his face, seemingly preparing what he was going to say, figuring out how he could tell her…

"It's Anakin, isn't it." It was not a question – she knew something had happened to her husband. Somehow, she could feel it.

Slowly, he nodded. His expression shifted to a myriad of emotions – regret, sadness, despair, sympathy, defeat, loss... "He's…gone, Padmé. He isn't coming back."

She collapsed to her knees, anguish flooding her whole body and drying it up. She wanted to scream and cry until the pain disappeared, but she could not find the moisture to create tears. A dry, hacking sob escaped her lips. Anakin, her Anakin was gone. Dead.

"I'm…I'm so sorry," Obi-Wan's voice said, cracking slightly. Padmé looked up at his image and knew that he was more than sorry. The grief was etched in his face, like some invisible, indelible scar. When he continued, his voice was steady, but his face betrayed his struggle. "I still have to…bring Luke to the Lars' homestead. If the Emperor discovers your twins are alive, you will all be endangered." He paused for a moment, and, receiving no response, continued. "I will arrive on Naboo in a few days. I'm so sorry, Padmé," he finished.

Padmé just nodded weakly, not hearing her friend's farewell, and watched his image fade. She felt completely numb – like her emotions were building up behind a wall, but for the present kept at bay. Soon, she knew, the wall would not be able to keep the tide back – and then her tears would burst forth in a rushing flood, cascading from her heart down her cheeks.

He was gone, and he wasn't coming back.

The dull roar of rushing water mixed with the sound of her sobs, mingling and blending the two sounds until they were as one. For these last days – days that each felt like years – she had not allowed her strength to wane. She had not allowed her barriers to fall. But now, the pressure inside her had become too much, and her waterfall of tears burst forth.

Padmé moved slowly along the edge of the bank, ignoring the pain as she trod over the rocky ground. Eyes still streaming, she halted at the drop, the thundering music of the cascading waterfall filling her ears.

Her hands went up to her neck and removed the silver chain that hung there. She held it up before her, entwined in her fingers, and gazed at the pendant that swung from the silver. Lightly, she ran her fingertips over the smooth japor snippet, tracing the intricate carvings tenderly. A smile grew on her face as she remembered when Anakin had given it to her. Who knew that from that one simple, sweet gesture, their relationship would grow and deepen so much? Their love had been so strong and pure, a binding force when all else in the galaxy was falling to pieces. But now it was different. Now he was gone.

She lowered her hand and paused. Luke and Leia… Because of the Emperor, they would not be safe with her. They were already separated, their memories of each other probably already gone. And soon Luke would be taken away to grow up without his mother. Neither of her children could have a future if they stayed with her – the Emperor would make it so. Everything she had wished for and hoped for and fought for was crumbling down at her feet, washing away. Her family would never be whole again.

She inched her way forward on the ledge, toes clinging to the rock. She held her arm up and released the silver chain. Her eyes followed its descent, visible for a few eternal seconds before it was lost in the spray. The last relic of the love she had shared with her husband was gone.

"I love you, Luke. I love you, Leia," she whispered to the air, her voice hoarse from her sobs. The sound was lost in the roar of the waterfall. The water spoke to her, churning up her memories and thoughts and hopes and fears and love. She had always loved the water, as her husband had.

"I love you, Anakin," she whispered.

And then she jumped.

Fin