Ch. 6

Anakin and Padme sat in the cockpit of one of Anakin's bigger ships, for though Padme's were far nicer for travel, Anakin's were armed, and he insisted that they not be completely unarmed due to the events of the day before. Luke and Leia were sleeping, having exhausted themselves running around the ship all day, the highlight having been Anakin sitting them on his lap, putting the ship on manual control, and letting them help steer it. He was very calm now, Padme and he having put the matter to rest and deciding the shots were unintentional. Anakin still worried about being back on Tatooine, but he knew that with Padme there to comfort him, and his children to distract him and make him happy, he would be all right. For now, he was enjoying this peaceful moment, deep in Jedi meditation, trying to calm himself for the day to come.

Padme was sitting across from him, staring at him, amazed at how peaceful he had become. She had been looking out at the stars, but when she noticed that he was meditating, she had begun to watch him. She was always impressed by how even Anakin, who was usually so energetic and mischievous, could become so calm and wise looking when he chose to. It calmed her to watch him meditate, and she smiled lovingly at him. However, she wanted to talk to him, and wished that he would finish soon. She had always wished that she was the one able to calm him, not Jedi meditation. She wished he would talk to her, share his feelings, because she knew the trip to Tatooine would be difficult for him. She worried about Anakin seeing Tatooine again- she had been with him the last time they were here, and she knew the memory would be extremely sad for him. She hoped he would let her comfort him, but she knew better then to think he would- he would try to hide his feelings from her, and especially from the children. Obi Wan had told her that Anakin had become increasingly better at shielding his feelings through the Force, so that even Obi Wan, who had once sensed every emotion of Anakin's had trouble knowing just what his friend was thinking. She knew that if it was difficult for Jedi Masters to sense his feelings, she had no chance. But she felt as though Anakin was always comforting her, loving her, but she was never able to give him that same kind of support.

"Are you going to be all right with this, Anakin?" She asked, hating to interrupt but driven crazy by the silence. She hoped he might talk to her about it- she knew that he should.

Calmly, Anakin opened his eyes and looked at her. He smiled, but she suddenly felt even worse about interrupting him. She was about to apologize, when he answered her.

"I don't know," he said, his voice faltering, and it was more than Padme had expected. She really had though he would just say "yes" and shut her out. She took this as an opportunity, and walked over to him, sitting on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, and she turned herself to the side so that she could look at his face. "I just wish…" He faded out, but she knew exactly what he was thinking about- his mother. She saw a tear in his eye, and squeezed his hand. She knew there was nothing she could say, but she put a hand on his cheek, and he gave her a small smile.

Anakin loved Padme so much- she always knew just what to say to him, and just when to say nothing. He knew this trip home would be difficult, but with her at his side he felt that he would be all right. She had brought his two children into the world, and would soon bring another, and his life on Coruscant was perfect, whether his past was or not. And this kept him going- kept him happy and full of love and dedication to helping others. He smiled at her again, and she kissed him.

"I'll be fine," He answered, and she noted that the confidence was back in his voice.

"She would be very proud of you Anakin," Padme said, smiling at him.

"I hope so," he answered, and gazed out at the stars. Suddenly, a thought struck Padme- she had only ever heard Anakin talk about his mother, but what of his father? She guessed he simply never knew him, and though she knew the time wasn't right to ask, she wanted to know. Anakin's life was so different from her own- she was amazed at what he had become, and extremely proud of him having gone from a slave boy to a Jedi Master. Could it be that he had never known his father? Could her children have a grandfather somewhere that they didn't know? Maybe Anakin didn't even know, but they could find him… and that would certainly make him happy, to know he had another relative in the world.

"Anakin?" She asked timidly, not wanting to bring back another painful memory for him, but needing to know.

"Yes, Angel?" He smiled, and played with a strand of her hair.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"I'm afraid it's not really the right time, but…" She hesitated, thinking that perhaps it was best to say nothing.

"Padme, any time is the right time for you to ask me something. Anything," He said warmly to her. And he really meant it; he loved just talking to her, being around her, at any time.

"Anakin, I met your mother, and you talk about her often, but…what about…?" She trailed off, unable to finish her question.

"My father?" Anakin finished for her, with the most peculiar expression on his face- it was a mix of sadness, remorse, confusion, but also of… amusement? She didn't know how to interpret it, and begged him with her eyes to continue. However, he was now staring off into space, and she had to ask him.

"Yes…did you ever know him?" As she said this, she hugged him tighter and snuggled into him, hoping she could comfort him in this way.

"No…" He answered, still staring away with a strange look on his face. He turned her face towards his, and stared into her eyes. "Padme…" He paused- how could he explain this to her? No one understood it, certainly not him, and to Padme it was a concept so foreign that it might even scare her. The last thing he wanted was for her to see him as some kind of stranger, or alien, that she no longer could understand.

She noticed that his face suddenly looked very worried and frightened, and she squeezed his hand.

"You don't have to tell me, if it's too hard. I didn't want to bring back another bad memory, Anakin, I'm so sorry…"

He looked at her again, and saw her eyes searching his for an explanation. "You didn't bring up an old memory, Padme…" He paused. "I don't have one."

"You have no memories of your father? Do you even know who he was?"

"No, I meant… I don't have one. A father."

"Well maybe we could find out who he was, somewhere… maybe he doesn't know about you either, and-"

"Padme," he cut her off. "This might be strange for you to hear, but hopefully you've come to expect strange things being married to me." He gave her a small smile, and she returned it. "Look at me," he said, and she did- he was now smiling at her, but in a distant way. "I didn't have a father, ever. There was no father, as my mother told Qui Gon and Obi Wan. It seems that…my life was created by the medichlorians, which is what led the Masters to believe that I was the Chosen One-that is how the prophecy goes, that's…that's why…" He looked at her, unsure of how she would react.

Padme stared at Anakin, not even able to comprehend her own feelings. Her immediate feeling was sadness for him- his life was truly so lonely before the Qui Gon found him… Anakin certainly was special, and only now did she fully comprehend why the Order saw him as so important, why they feared so much that he would succumb to the dark side. If the medichlorians created him- though she understood little about them- she knew that must mean that he was extremely attuned to the Force. Finally, she understood it all- why the entire atmosphere around him seemed to change depending on whether Anakin was angry or happy, why Anakin, as well as she, was constantly being warned about the power of the Force- perhaps, for the first time, she finally understood how powerful the Force really was.

"Anakin, I…" She really didn't know what to say.

"There's nothing to say," he said. "It simply is."

"So Luke and Leia…"

"Have no grandfather, I suppose they too, indirectly, were created by the Force. I should have told you this sooner, Padme, I'm sorry. I should have told you before we had children, because it affects them- it was irresponsible, but when was I supposed to tell you? It's not the kind of subject that comes up in normal conversation…"

"Anakin, I don't care about that, you and they are perfectly healthy and normal… well, healthy, at least," she teased him, and he laughed. "No wonder you're so…"

"Charming?" He teased.
"Or, annoying," She smirked. "Actually, I was going to say powerful, but you're in that mood where you don't need any compliments." She frowned at him, and he gave her a passionate kiss. She laughed, and just as they were getting into it, a small voice interrupted them.

"Leia's not sleeping! Leia's not sleeping, she's- ahh!" Luke exclaimed, as he ran into the cockpit. "No kissing, no kissing!"

"That's not allowed when we're here, I thought I said," Leia informed them, entering the room with a disgusted look at the audacity of her parents. "Now let's settle this debate diplomacy," Leia continued. Anakin stared at Leia, wondering where she could possibly have learned something like that.

"You mean diplomatically, Leia," Padme corrected, and suddenly Anakin understood.

"You've been teaching her politics!" He accused, unsure of what he really meant by that.

"I have not been teaching her anything, Anakin. And by the way, you're the one training your four-year-old to be a warrior, so don't accuse me of anything," She scolded, and he pouted at her. They both laughed, Luke and Leia still standing in front of them with their hands on their hips. "She just listens to me, and repeats what she hears," Padme explained. "The other day, Luke told me he wanted a vote of no confidence in C-3PO's cooking skills."

"Well I think we can all agree on that one," Anakin laughed. "Unfortunately, none of us can cook, so that leaves only him, Luke, I'm sorry."

"Well he's a droid, can't we program him to do it better, the way I like it?" Luke asked.

"Now which parent does he sound like?" Padme asked Anakin, and he frowned, defeated.

"What are we even talking about?" He asked, addressing the twins and trying to change the subject. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"Leia's not sleeping!" Luke accused.

"Neither are you, stupid," Leia said, rolling her eyes.

"But you were not sleeping first!" Luke continued.

"No, you woke me up!"

"No, you woke-"

"Ok," Padme said, cutting them off. "Enough, both of you go to sleep, we will be on Tatooine in the morning."

The twins stomped off to bed, pushing each other over every step of the way. Anakin and Padme rolled their eyes at them, amazed at how quickly their little personalities had developed.

"Where did they come from?" Padme asked, smiling at them as they walked off.

"Well, if you don't understand that even now, I can't help you," Anakin teased, and she rolled her eyes.

"I mean them, their personalities, you know," Padme said, frustrated, and Anakin laughed.

"We should get some sleep," he said. "We will be on…we will be there in the morning." Anakin walked out quickly, but Padme had noticed what he tried to cover up- he hadn't been able to say Tatooine. She followed him and found him gazing out at the stars at the back of the ship. She turned him around, and saw that he had tears in his eyes.

"Anakin," she exclaimed, pulling him into a tight and secure hug. "Why are you making yourself do this?"

"I'm fine," he responded, trying to be brave as always. "It's just… a lot of memories."

"Anakin, it's ok to be upset about this," she reassured him, but he just brushed it off, and smiled.

"3-PO," he yelled into a room where the droids had been playing holo-chess. "We're going to bed, the ship's course is set, keep an eye on it for us, all right?"

"Yes, Master Anakin," C-3PO responded. "Good night, and good night mistress Padme."

They wished the droid good night, and got ready for bed. As they snuggled in together, Padme turned toward Anakin.

"Anakin, I know you like to be brave, and strong, but I just want you to know that you are never less so in my eyes for being emotional about this. If you need someone to talk to, even though I know you don't like to, I'm here, ok?"

Anakin smiled at her. "I know you are, Padme. That's what keeps me able to deal with everything, knowing that you are there for me. I love you, that's why I'm all right," he said lovingly, and he kissed her on the forehead.

These words meant more to Padme than he could have realized- and they were enough for her. Now she knew that she did comfort him, that she was there for him as much as he was there for her- and with that, she fell asleep, peacefully in her husband's arms.

Thanks for the reviews! The story is going to get dramatic pretty soon. I have quite a little plot worked out in my head, so enjoy the fluff and happiness and then it will get intense, just so you know where it's going… To those who worried about Anakin, don't worry I would never make him evil, can't you tell yet that I love nice Anakin? But I do want him to still be the same Anakin, so his personality has to have that edge to it- and it will be definitely pushed in this story, but it will all turn out well, and then the last few chapters can be happy too. The next chapter will begin to get intense. Please Review, it keeps me writing! Enjoy…