Ch. 24

Hi! Again, sorry it's been so long… I really do apologize but I've been busy, I hope some people still remember this story!

As Anakin continued to battle the mysterious Sith, he grew increasingly annoyed at his opponent's silence. At least normally he had running dialogue with people he was fighting, or at least knew who they were and could try to manipulate them, but in this instance it was truly just a physical fight, and the fight was a stalemate. All Anakin could think about was how ironic it was that he was actually growing bored in a battle with a Sith Lord. He hoped that Obi Wan would soon be back with reinforcements to end this battle once and for all- Anakin wanted to get back to Padme and his children.

"Once the rest of the Jedi get here," Anakin said, though he knew he would get no response. "You will talk."

As Anakin had predicted, his opponent said nothing, but each continued to expertly block the other's blows.

…………………………………………..

"I can't believe you actually fell for that," Sabe teased Padme, "it's one of the oldest tricks…"

"I don't expect my four year olds to be playing practical jokes on me," Padme countered angrily, trying to wash off her face. Luke had convinced her to try to roll a coin down the middle of her forehead- what she didn't know was he had drawn on the coin with ink, so that it left a line down the middle of her face. "This is not working!" Padme said helplessly, the cloth she had been using to wipe her face had done nothing at all.

Luke and Leia sat giggling helplessly in the corner, so hysterical they could hardly even move. They lay on the floor laughing whole-heartedly at their mother, and also at their cleverness.

"Don't think you got away with this," Padme said angrily, only eliciting more laughter from her children. "It isn't funny!" She yelled, with no effect.

"It is… it is kind of funny," Sabe said timidly, receiving a sharp look from Padme. "Come on, Padme, they're children, they're going to do far worse things to you in your life, this is just a joke!"

"Sabe, if they're doing this to me at four, what are they going to be doing to me at eight? And twelve? And sixteen? I don't even want to know…" Padme muttered dejectedly.

Sabe smiled, "They love you, Padme, and their father loves you, and they always will. Don't worry."
"It was their loving father that probably taught them this trick," Padme grumbled, though the corner of her mouth couldn't help but begin to smile.

"I saw that!" Sabe said enthusiastically, and Padme laughed.

Padme walked over to her children, standing over them with her hands on her hips as they continued to giggle. She couldn't help but feel embarrassed that her four year olds had tricked her, and she just knew Anakin had had something to do with it…. What other Chancellor, in the thousand years of the Republic, would have ended up with a line of ink down the middle of his or her face during a session of Senate? Only one with Skywalkers in the family…and yet, Padme couldn't help but think of the good side to having Skywalkers in the family- maybe this craziness was what she truly loved about them.

"I can't believe you two," she said sternly, kneeling next to them. "This was very disrespectful."

"We're…we're sorry, mom," Luke apologized, gasping for air in between his giggles.

"Your face looks like a butt," Leia said matter-of-factly, sitting up and facing her mother.

Padme glared at her daughter, and neither blinked. However, Padme could feel herself beginning to laugh. 'Don't laugh,' she willed herself. 'Don't, then they'll win.'

"We know you think it's funny," Luke informed her. "We can feel it." He waved his arms around as he said this as if it was some sort of supernatural phenomenon… 'well, it sort of is,' Padme mused.

"We should probably go find a 'fresher," Sabe decided. "That's the only way we'll be able to get that off your face."

"I am not walking through the halls like this," Padme said, horrified. "There are reporters everywhere, not to mention Obi Wan instructed us to stay right here. Sabe," she said, lowering her voice and getting closer to her friend, "if there really is a Sith Lord here, I don't think we should leave the room, not with them."

"Padme, if he's here, Obi Wan and Anakin are fighting him," Sabe realized wisely. "I doubt he has any accomplices, from what you all tell me Anakin and Obi Wan defeated them all…"

Padme sighed. She didn't want to leave, but at the same time she was not happy that every time she turned to her children they howled with laughter. "All right," she consented. "Let's go, but we have to stick together."

With that, Padme, Sabe, Leia and Luke left Padme's office and headed to the nearest 'fresher to try to wipe the ink line off of the Chancellor's face.

……………………

"Finally," Obi Wan said aloud to himself, as he reached the door to the Chancellor's office. After braving the barrage of reporters, all in a panic because of Padme's words, Obi Wan had also had to make his way through hoards of Senators all begging him to tell them what was going on. He had simply advised everyone to remain together, that the threat was being dealt with… 'Whatever that really means,' he thought to himself. He didn't know if Anakin and he could handle this alone, but he couldn't risk causing widespread panic.

"Padme!" He said loudly, knocking on the door to the room. Silence. "Oh, please, no," he said, fearing that they had somehow already been harmed. "Chancellor!" He yelled, banging on the door. With still no response, he used the Force to manipulate the lock, and, taking a deep breath, opened the door, bracing himself to see a terrible sight.

But instead, he saw nothing. "Thank the Force," he said out loud. If he had lost any of them, Sabe or Padme or the twins, he didn't know if he even would have been able to think clearly, to contact the Council and get help- they truly were all his family…but, now they weren't here, and it was a most crucial time as well.

'Where could they have gone?' He wondered, he had instructed Padme to keep them all in that room. Of course, he knew that that group of four people was not to be trusted to follow specific directions. All were far to stubborn and impulsive, as well as very strong-willed; these traits served them well most of the time, as was demonstrated by all of their successes, but today was not the day for heroics or stubbornness.

Obi Wan couldn't help but laugh at himself, noticing how old and preacher-like his thoughts sounded. Chuckling, he made a thorough check of the Chancellor's office and headed down the hall to find his ridiculous friends.

……………………..

Padme, Sabe, and the twins were heading towards the 'fresher when suddenly Padme stopped short, staring ahead of her intently.

"What is it?" Sabe asked nervously, looking around her and preparing, if necessary, to perform what used to be her duty in protecting Padme.

"Sola?" Padme blurted incredulously, as her sister turned around and stared at her.

"Padme!" Sola said cheerfully. "I've been looking for you everywhere! Hi, Sabe, it's wonderful to see you again."

Sabe breathed a sigh of relief, shaking her head amusedly. The Naberries certainly never won any prizes for being predictable. "Hello, Sola," she greeted happily.

"What are you doing here?" Padme asked, still staring in shock at her sister.

"Don't I get a hug?" Sola asked amusedly, kissing her sister's cheek as Padme just stood there.

"Of course, I…what… what are you doing here?" Padme asked again, still unable to believe it.

"Well, certainly you remember that today is your birthday?" Sola teased. "Not that I wouldn't put it past you to forget, but I know your loving husband had you up early for some kind of wonderful celebration." Sola knew Anakin, and she knew that he would never forget Padme's birthday for any reason in the universe.

"You came for my birthday," Padme stated. Though her actions seemed very strange to Sola, Sabe understood- Padme hadn't even told her family about the week she had spent being kidnapped. They had no idea what the Skywalkers had been through, or that they had just gotten back- that, though Anakin had indeed had a birthday celebration for Padme, it had been completely last minute. And most importantly, they had no idea that there was Sith in the Senate building right now. So, while her sister coming to visit on her birthday would be normal at any other time, it seemed very strange on that day in particular.

"Mom and dad are here too, and Darred and the girls! I- Padme, what's wrong?" Sola asked, sensing Padme's mixed emotions. Sola looked at Sabe for an explanation. Padme had always been somewhat difficult to figure out, especially when she was stressed out, so Sola was used to having to look somewhere else for an explanation. It was ironic- for a successful politician, Padme was terrible at explaining things clearly to her family.

"There's… a lot Padme needs to tell you about the past week," Sabe said, and Sola nodded understandingly. Crazy things were always going on with Padme's life as Chancellor, especially with these twins.

"Sola, I'm really glad to see you," Padme said warmly, hugging her sister and coming out of her initial state of shock.

"Where are my niece and nephew?" Sola asked cheerfully, assuming they were with Anakin.

"Sith, not again!" Padme cursed sadly. She was really starting to feel guilty about always losing her children- she and Anakin were going to have to work on responsibility issues, especially with the new baby.

"And, as a good big sister I waited until you recovered mentally a little bit before I asked, but, what in Sith's name is on your face?"

……………………………….

"Good news, this will be, for the Chancellor," Yoda said to Mace, who nodded as the two Jedi Masters entered the Senate building. They had just received word from one of the Jedi on Kashyyyk that Han Solo and Chewbacca had agreed to come back to Coruscant, at least for a while, so that the Chancellor could thank them for their bravery and try to help them. They would be arriving in just an hour, and so, though Yoda and Mace had tried to wait until the Senate hearing was over, they knew that they had to inform the Chancellor now. They had all assumed the Skywalkers would be able to take Solo and the Wookie as their guests- and so Padme had to have at least some notice.

"I feel increasingly bad that we just assumed Anakin and Padme could have the two stay with them," Mace said hesitantly, and Yoda nodded.

"Impetuous, perhaps, our decision was," he agreed.

"Oh well," Mace shrugged. "I suppose there's nothing we can do about it now." No one else had any room for the guests, and there were no extra rooms at the temple.

"A big apartment, they have," Yoda tried to support the decision. Plus, he had always been a little jealous of Padme's nice apartment, though he knew it wasn't a good trait for a Jedi. For once, Yoda thought, it might be nice to sleep on something other than a Jedi cot…

……………………………

"Luke? Leia?" Obi Wan asked, as he saw to small figures running through the Senate café with ice cream cones. The Senators and reporters in the room were sitting at tables, speaking nervously in hushed voices, wondering what was going on. As Obi Wan entered the room, they all looked up, trying to ask him questions, but thankfully the ice cream covered children darted out of the room and Obi Wan, with the excuse that he had to follow them, was able to make his escape.

"Leia! No running in the halls," Obi Wan reprimanded, as he grabbed the little girl's cloak to stop her. But suddenly, he realized that what he had grabbed did not feel like the coarse Jedi cloak that Padawans wore, but something softer, like a silky dress. And, as he looked in to the face of the little girl he had assumed was Leia, another pair of brown eyes stared back at him, looking at him curiously. Not to mention, the girl was at least a foot taller than Leia, if not more. "Um, I'm sorry…" Obi Wan said awkwardly, completely confused. "I thought you were-"

"Leia, I know," Pooja answered, rolling her eyes. "People confuse us all the time, even though I'm three years older. I'm pretty small for my age, but I'm not that small, jeez. Plus, Leia's waaay messier, think about it, if she had been eating this ice cream cone, would the drips have been contained to just her hands?"

"No, they would be all over her cloak," Obi Wan agreed, shaking his head as if his brain wasn't working right. Had he really just received a lesson in ratiocination, and important Jedi ability, from an eight year old? And she really, really did look like Leia, and what's more, she knew her…she knew her well…

"Could you let go of me please?" The little girl asked politely. "I'm sorry, but my sister ran off and I'd better find her, our parents won't be too happy with us, they told us to stay in the café. You'd think she'd be the responsible one, she's 10 now, but no, I have to be in charge of the both of us."

"Oh, yes, of course," Obi Wan said, horrified that he had kept his grip on the little girl's dress. "I know you have to find your sister," he said, still completely confused, "but if I may ask, how do you… know… Leia?"

"She's my cousin, of course," Pooja said, and with that, she ran off.

Shaking his head in complete confusion, Obi Wan decided he could only continue his search for Sabe, Padme, and the twins. As he left the cafeteria and went back into the entrance hall of the Senate, he saw Mace and Yoda, and for some reason which he could never figure out after the fact, he immediately hid behind a pillar. His instinct was that he should have called the council right away, and that they would be mad he hadn't. But what he was thinking hiding childishly behind a pillar from two Jedi Masters was completely lost to him. They could, of course, sense his presence.

"Master Kenobi, I know we aren't the most exciting people in the world, but there's really no need to try so hard toavoid just a simple hello," Mace said, fully enjoying Obi Wan's deep embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, it's just… I don't know what I was thinking, I was just afraid…Well I was supposed to call you right away, and I forgot. The Sith Lord is here, Anakin's fighting him, he needs you. Control room A, please, go to him. I need to find the Chancellor and the twins and get them to safety-"

"The Sith Lord! How can that be?" Mace asked, horrified.

"Afraid this moment would come, I was," Yoda said sadly. "But Hopefully, after today, fulfilled the prophecy will be."
Obi Wan and Mace nodded, and then Mace and Yoda began to hurry towards control room A.

"Wait," Obi Wan said, realizing something. "Definitely go to Anakin but… there's something else weird going on here, somehow, more of Anakin and Padme's family is here…"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I thought I found Leia, but it was a girl who looked a lot like her, and she said they were cousins…I just think we'd better try to keep them out of the loop, until Padme tells them herself, so if you find any more Naberries about, maybe just try to pretend everything's all right."

"Agree with you, I do," Yoda nodded. "Strange, this day has been."

"By the way, Han Solo and the Wookie are scheduled to arrive in about an hour," Mace told Obi Wan, who just stared at him, wide eyed.

"What? Why didn't anyone tell us?" Obi Wan asked. "Where are they going to stay?"

"We kind of hoped they could stay with Anakin."

"Well, enjoy bringing that to his attention," Obi Wan laughed, and Mace and Yoda eyed each other apprehensively.

"We didn't have a lot of warning," Mace defended his and Yoda's position on the matter, and Obi Wan just laughed good-naturedly. Mace turnedso that he was adressingboth Yoda and Obi Wan."But- where should we tell the transport to take them, when they arrive? What with this issue going on and all…"

"I suppose just bring them here," Obi Wan decided. "Everyone else in the galaxy is here anyway. It's just one big happy birthday party for Padme."

With that, Yoda and Mace headed towards control room A to aid Anakin in finally defeating the last of the Sith, while Obi Wan went to find Padme.

'This day gets stranger around every corner,' Obi Wan laughed to himself, and, right on cue, he rounded a corner to find Luke and Leia Skywalker peering down at him through a missing panel in the ceiling, perched in a ventilation shaft with soot on their faces, whispering intently to each other.