I do not own the characters created by George Lucas, only my own. I also use direct dialogue from the movie, since some scenes are copied from it. I do not claim to own them.

Vataloni's View

There was less of a resistance then Vataloni had expected as she sped off the planet. A few smaller clone ships whizzed after her, chasing her through the city for some time, until she finally just shot straight up and out of the planet's atmosphere. She then realized her followers were traveling in base range ships, and would most likely shut down as soon as they left the planet's perimeter.

She couldn't help but smile when her ship tore off into lightspeed, the darkness of space suddenly changing and engulfing her ship in the bright blues of hyperspace. Soon she would be with her Obi-Wan. Anakin, or Lord Vader, was still a threat to be considered, and she mentally prepared herself to fight her old friend, if the need arose.

What would happen once this was over? She pondered whether or not Obi-Wan would be sent somewhere else, or if he would be allowed to stay with her. Yoda had seen the pair of them, and it was no longer a secret they had feelings for each other. She knew Obi-Wan balanced his work and his love for her equally, thus giving her no worry about whether or not they would turn into Anakin and Padme.

The Mustifar system was not exactly a long flight, and soon Vataloni spied upon the planet's burning surface. She cringed, suddenly getting nervous for Obi-Wan, and ordered her computer to locate the nearest landing base for her ship. Hopefully there were no reinforcements on the planet left alive. She had heard Palpatine tell Anakin to kill all the Separatist leaders, and shut down the remaining droid armies. It was actually a relief to hear the droid armies were going to be disabled for good; Vataloni found them such a pain to deal with when she was working.

She placed the ship on autopilot and allowed it to land on its own. As it picked out a safe landing dock, she frowned, noticing a ship was already there. Squinting, she smiled when she noticed it was Padme's ship! The silver Naboo ship sat idly on the large landing dock, while magma sparks flew up into the air from the angry planet.

A small figure lay on the ground, and Vataloni gasped when she recognized the robes. Padme looked so pale, close to death, and she began to fear for her friend. Before her ship had even properly landed, Vataloni had opened the hatch and leapt out, running as fast as her long legs could carry her to her companion's fallen body.

"Padme!" Vataloni shouted, falling to her knees and placing a delicate hand on her forehead, "Oh Padme, what happened to you!"

"Anakin hurt her in his anger," a voice commented. Vataloni looked up sharply and she spotted Obi-Wan limping across an iron gate towards her, his brown cloak gone, and his Jedi robes torn, burnt and slightly bloody. Her jaw dropped and she ran over, wrapping her arms around him tenderly and planting a few kisses on his lips. He winced and smiled, "He's gone."

Vataloni frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Anakin…" he sighed, his eyes shrouded in sadness, "Lord Vader has truly killed him."

"You fought?" she inquired, her eyes skimming his robes. He nodded, "Quite vividly. He's very powerful…"

"Where is he now?"

"I…" he stammered, looking away from her searching eyes, "I left him… He's dying, Vataloni… I left him to die."

She caressed his face comfortingly and gave him another quick peck, "Nothing you could have done would have helped him… He was already dying, Ben."

He smiled faintly again, "I like it when you say that name."

"Ben?" she purred, brushing her fingers through his hair, "I like it too."

A groan echoed from behind the couple and Vataloni whipped around, noticing Padme's eyes were fluttering open. She left Obi-Wan's side and knelt back down beside her friend. Padme moaned and her hand went to her stomach, her face contorting in pain.

"Padme?" Vataloni breathed, pushing the hair back off her face, "Padme, are you alright?"

"What happened?" she asked, her eyes shooting open completely, "Where's Anakin? Is he ok? He's so different, Vataloni! I don't know what's wrong! You need to fix him!"

"It's too late, Padme," Obi-Wan whispered, kneeling down on her other side, "Nothing we say or do can fix him now."

"I can," she said strongly, propping herself up on her elbows, "Let me talk to him! He'll see how much this is hurting me, and he'll change!"

"He's been consumed by the Dark Side," Vataloni stated, a few tears springing to her eyes, "He'll only feed off your hurt."

Padme shook her head, a few tears sliding down her cheeks, "No… No, Anakin loves me. He'll come back! Please, I need to see him…"

She cried out in pain once more and grasped her stomach, a few larger tears cascading down her cheeks. Vataloni frowned and gently touched her stomach, "Padme, how far along are you?"

"I'm due this week," she gasped, shutting her eyes tightly and whimpering. Obi-Wan's eyes widened, "It seems as if you are due now, my lady. We need to get her out of here."

"Where are we going to go?" Vataloni asked as Obi-Wan hoisted up Padme's swollen body kindly and began back towards the larger Naboo cruiser. A golden droid appeared at the top of the loading ramp, and exclaimed, "Oh my goodness! Is she all right, Master Jedi? My mistress is very pregnant-"

"Three P-O," Obi-Wan grunted, "I need you to send a message to Master Yoda. Tell him to expect our ship landing on the base in the next hour or so."

"Where is Yoda?" Vataloni inquired, her spirits suddenly lifting, "I watched him fall… I could have sworn he died!"

"Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan has made a base for people like us," he explained, "People who oppose the oppression of the new Empire, and celebrate the ways of the Jedi."

"Yoda is safe…" Vataloni babbled as Obi-Wan strapped Padme down to a bed, "And you're safe… We made it!"

"We still need to save Padme," he stated, leaning down and kissing her firmly on the lips, "Stay with her… She will need someone to talk to."

Vataloni nodded and he swept out of the room. A few moments later, the entire ship hummed to life, and she held the arm rests of her chair firmly when she felt the large ship take to flight.

She moved her chair closer to Padme's head and grabbed a cold, wet cloth from a nearby sink, then began to lightly dab her friend's forehead. Padme would be all right, and soon she would have a beautiful baby to mend her broken heart. Vataloni could only just imagine the sorrow of losing someone so dear to the heart, and knew Padme would need much consoling once the entire ordeal was over and done with.

"Vataloni?" she called weakly, her hand groping blinding for Vataloni's'. She leaned forward and clutched Padme's hand, running her thumb gently over the top, "I'm here."

"Why did he do this to me?" Padme sobbed, her eyes seeming red with distraught, "I loved him so much, I still do! How could he just… leave me like this!"

"Did you speak with him?" Vataloni inquired soothingly. She nodded, "Before he… chocked me, we spoke. He was so different, Vataloni. He told me we could overrun the new Emperor, and we could rule the galaxy!"

"That sounds like a Sith speaking," Vataloni murmured, remembering having many thoughts identical to that one once, a long time ago. Padme let out a loud sniffle, "Then I said he was changing, and he needed to come back! Come back to me! Then he saw Obi-Wan and called me a liar, saying I sided with Obi-Wan and had betrayed him… Then he… chocked me."

Vataloni took in what she had said and shook her head, "Please, Padme listen to me. He hurt you… Now, would you want to stay with someone like that? Think about your child. What if he hurt the baby whenever he was angry?"

"He wouldn't," Padme said firmly, wiping her cheeks, "He… He would love his child."

"He would see the baby as a pupil and train him in the Dark Arts!" Vataloni explained, "The Sith want to have children so they will have perfect students! Then their horrible legacy will live on. We want our legacy to live on! The one that fights for freedom and equality."

Padme whimpered and nodded her head, "Of course."

Vataloni chewed nervously on her lip, then finally placed a hand on her friend's forehead and forced her mind to mentally shut down. She needed to sleep off all the stress she was going through or she would have no energy left to deliver a baby. Once she was sure Padme would sleep for some time, she rose to her feet and went to the cockpit, leaning on the doorway for some time, watching Obi-Wan's long fingers glide over the buttons.

"I made her sleep," Vataloni stated, causing Obi-Wan to jump at her presence. He glanced back and sighed, "This is too much for her."

"It's too much for all of us," she countered, moving forward and wrapping her arms around his shoulders from behind, "It's the start of something."

"The start of a war," he mused, pulling her around and into his lap, "This isn't the end. I fear Lord Vader isn't fully dead."

"Lord Vader is alive," Vataloni whispered, "It's Anakin that we've lost."

"I think we'll get him back, in the end of all things," Obi-Wan guessed. Vataloni smiled and leaned forward, pressing her lips against his gently. He smiled and circled her hips with his arms, pulling her closer to him. It felt wonderful to have a warm, caring embrace at last.

Vataloni stood between Bail Organa and Obi-Wan as they watched several medical droids putter around Padme. The Rebel base was on a rocky planet with little forms or life, but Vataloni had not listened to Yoda explain their whereabouts. She was more focused on Padme's wellbeing, and wanted to make sure she would live.

A small droid floated out of the room, its green eyes showing no compassion, "Medically, she's completely healthy. For reasons we can't explain, we are losing her."

Vataloni's jaw dropped and Obi-Wan frowned, "She's dying?"

"We don't know why," the droid continued, "She's lost the will to live."

Vataloni's lip quivered and she leaned on Obi-Wan's shoulder, not wanting to let everyone see her break out into tears. He rubbed her back soothingly, though she knew he too was also hurting from the statement. Padme was dying of a broken heart. Her loss of Anakin was too much for her to handle, and she could not cope.

"We must operate quickly if we want to save the babies," the droid concluded. Vataloni looked up; confusion riddled across her face, "Babies?"

The droid nodded, "She's carrying twins."

Two babies? Two little babies? Vataloni could hardly believe what she had heard. For the longest time everyone had assumed there was only going to be one child, and the proposal of twins changed everything.

Obi-Wan moved closer to the glass window to examine Padme, "We need to save them."

"Start to operate," Vataloni ordered, "They need to live."

Padme cried out in pain and squeezed both Vataloni and Obi-Wan's hands as her first child was born. The female medical droid brought forth a small bundle, "It's a boy."

"Luke," Padme said surely, her eyes gazing over the baby loving. The droid handed the baby to Obi-Wan, and he held it lightly in his arms, careful to keep the baby's head up. Padme reached out and stroked her son's head, "Oh… Luke."

Vataloni smiled at him, then winced when Padme's hand squeezed down on hers again. The process repeated quickly, and soon her second child was born. The medic wrapped up the wide-eyed baby, "It's a girl…"

"Leia," Padme named, looking over at her twins lovingly, her eyes still brimming with tears. Vataloni walked around to the other side of the bed and accepted Leia, holding her lovingly to her chest. The baby was so small, yet quiet, staring over at her mother.

"Obi-Wan?" Padme whispered, her breathing heavy, "There is still good in him. I know… I know there is… still…"

Her head lolled to the side limply and Vataloni bit her wavering lip, holding back the sob that threatened to escape. Obi-Wan was so much more calmer then she was, but she knew deep inside he wanted to break out and cry. He cared for Padme like a daughter. He had protected her several times now, and Vataloni knew this hit him almost as hard as the loss of Anakin did.

A funeral for Padme was to be held on her home planet of Naboo. Vataloni had never been there before, and on normal circumstances would be happy to bask in its beauty, but it was a dark day in her heart. Bail, Yoda, Obi-Wan and herself sat in the white conference room of Bail's ship in silence. Vataloni's hand grasped Obi-Wan's firmly and he would stroke it with his thumb every once and a while, letting her know everything would be all right.

"Kept safe, the children must be," Yoda said finally, breaking the long silence. Obi-Wan nodded, "We must take them somewhere where the Sith cannot sense their presence."

Yoda nodded, "Split up, they should be."

"My wife and I will take the girl," Bail suggested, his face brightening slightly, "We've always talked about adopting a baby girl. She will be loved with us."

Vataloni held Obi-Wan's hand tighter as she watched him process the suggestion, until finally accepting it, "And what of the boy?"

"To Tatooine. To his family, send him," Yoda ordered. Vataloni had never been to that planet either, but from what she heard, it was a harsh desert planet, far from the hustle of the busy Corusant.

"I will take the child, and watch over him," Obi-Wan said, glancing over at Vataloni, "We will take him to Tatooine."

Vataloni smiled broadly, finally realizing they were going to be together, safely.

"Until the time is right, disappear, we will," Yoda stated as the other three rose from their seats. Bail bowed low, then departed. Vataloni and Obi-Wan followed his pursuit, but Yoda stopped them. He looked them over briefly, and made a grunting sound from his throat, "Needed, companionship will be in years to come. Together, you two will stay."

"Thank you, Master Yoda," Vataloni gushed, unable to contain her happiness. She moved forward and planted an affectionate kiss on the Jedi Master's head, causing him to chuckle softly, "Like no Jedi, are you, Vataloni. Good for Obi-Wan, you will be."

Vataloni wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or not, so she smiled and moved back, slipping her hand back comfortably into Obi-Wan's. He grinned and bent down slightly, giving her a quick peck on the forehead.

"While on Tatooine, training I have, for you," Yoda continued. Vataloni straightened up, but he shook his head, "For Master Obi-Wan, this training is."

Obi-Wan frowned, "For me?"

"An old friend has learned the path to immortality," Yoda explained, "One who has returned from the netherworld of the Force."

Vataloni raised an eyebrow and Yoda smiled, "Your old Master."

Obi-Wan's jaw dropped in surprise and he breathed, "Qui-Gon?"

"How to commune with him, I will teach you," Yoda stated, his smile growing.

The funeral for Padme was massive. The streets were packed with people bearing flowers and candles. Obi-Wan took Vataloni on a quick tour of the planet's capital during the day, buying her a few gifts along the way. He had excellent taste, and Vataloni would treasure them forever. One gift Padme had slipped to Vataloni before she died, was a small wooden carving. She did not understand the significance of it, and Obi-Wan had to explain Anakin had carved it for Padme years before they were married.

The couple stayed for the funeral, marching with Padme's family through the streets of Naboo to Padme's final resting place. They had dressed her up to look as though she had not given birth to her twins, that way her children would be safer. So many people loved the young Senator, and it broke Vataloni's heart to see their dismal faces in the crowd.

Once the funeral was over with, Vataloni and Obi-Wan boarded a small ship with Luke, and made their way to Tatooine, which Vataloni officially hated when they arrived. They sold their larger ship in the city of Mos Eisely in exchange for a large, smelly beast of a creature, then brought Luke to his aunt and uncle's farm. Obi-Wan must have been there before, since Vataloni was completely lost on the planet. Owen Lars and his wife took in the small bundle with little explanation from Obi-Wan, but did not complain.

Vataloni and Obi-Wan only rode for a good two hours away from the Lars farm, to a small hut that Obi-Wan now called their home. He wanted to be close enough to Luke, so incase of any sort of attack, they would be there in a heartbeat. Vataloni made no complaints. She wanted to; the planet was hot, sandy and dry. Her living quarters were extremely cramped, and she no longer had as many luxuries as she had in her apartment on Corusant.

But she was with Obi-Wan now. They were living together, sleeping together, and studying the ways of the Force together. Nothing on this planet could take them away, and each time Vataloni thought of this, she smiled.

Vataloni lay asleep in their small bed their first night in their new home. She nuzzled her head under Obi-Wan's and moaned softly. He chuckled, "Uncomfortable?"

"This bed is small," she stated, her arms lazily tracing up his chest, "We'll have to sleep like this all the time."

"I don't mind," he muttered drowsily, yawning, "You aren't very heavy."

"Yet," she giggled, planting a kiss on his cheek. He made no response, and when she looked up, she noticed he was fast asleep. Grinning, she tightened her arms around his chest and sighed contently.

Sleep, my little Silme. I'm sure you have a busy life ahead of you.

Her eyes shot open as Palpatine's voice echoed through her head. Could he find out where they were like this? Vataloni began to panic.

I'll find you eventually… You should see what we've built, Silme. My beautiful Death Star is almost complete. Soon you'll be back in it… Perhaps not now. But soon.

She whimpered and Obi-Wan stirred, "What's the matter?"

"I… Nothing," she stated, cuddling up into him, "Nothing. I'm here with you… Everything's fine."

He chuckled and wrapped a reassuring arm around her, his eyes closing once again and his breathing evening out. She watched him sleep for some time. Perhaps she was safe, but for how long?