Padme was already home when Anakin got there. He ran to her, smiling, and hugged her. "It's all right, I told the council."

"You did? What happened?"

"Nothing yet. They told me to come back in a week and they will have made a decision. They have no choice, Padme. I am the Chosen One, the force chose me. That should show them I was meant to lead."

"You want to lead the Jedi?"

"Yes, and the government too."

"You think you can, and should, do this?"

"It is my destiny! I have brought balance to the force, peace to the galaxy. With me in charge, everyone will be better off."

"You know, I almost believe you!"

"Almost?"

"Okay, how can I disagree? I love you too much." She kissed him passionately.

"I hope you can make the others see your way. No one will be anxious to lose power or position."

"Will it come to that?"

"Those whom I approve of will stay, but those who displease me will go."

"How will you be able to do this?"

"The force will provide me with answers. For now, I only want to be with you. I said it Padme, I said you were my wife, right there in the temple. It felt so good. Nothing can ever take you away from me now." He kissed her as they sat down on the couch together.

"Are you not worried about your dreams anymore?"

"I was, but I haven't had them since the Chancellor's been gone. I think it meant you would have died had I turned to the dark side and joined him. You'll be okay now, Padme. We're going to be very happy together."

They spent a very loving night together. The next day, they stayed in bed half the morning, not even bothering to get up and get dressed. They stayed home and avoided all responisiblities for the next two days, feeling they needed to make up for lost time spent away from each other. On the third day, they went to Naboo, visited the place where they first fell in love, and had a beautiful time to remember for a lifetime. They spoke of bringing the baby there when it was born. Finally, they went to Padme's family and told them the truth. They were at first a bit surprised, but were very accepting, even excited. They were even a bit put out that they hadn't been told the good news of the marriage and then the baby even sooner. Padme's mother and sister took her shopping for baby things, and everyone was very happy. Anakin gazed at them all and smiled. Yes, it was going to be all right now.

After two days of this idyllic sojourn, Anakin reminded her they had to go back to Coruscant, for the next day the council was to make its decision. They packed and got ready to go, but on the way out, Padme doubled over in pain and collapsed to the floor! "Ahhh!" She cried out.

"Padme!" Anakin cried out, bending down to touch her. "Are you all right?"

"I-I don't know, it hurts.'
Anakin's face turned an ashen white. Her mother bit her hand and turned away. Her sister and nieces had tears in their eyes. Her father sobbed.
'

"We're going to have to get you to the medical center, now." Anakin tried to pick her up, but she screamed out every time he moved her. Finally he stopped, and sat for a moment over her, crying. "I don't know what to do, Padme. What do you want me to do?" The agony was apparent in his voice and his expression.

"I'm calling the ambulance." Her father said in a shaky voice. "They'll be able to get her out of here on a stretcher."
There were a few anxious moments as they waited, but finally the sirens of the emergency speeder arrived at the Nabierre home and human paramedics made their way to her and carefully placed her on a stretcher. Everyone watched as they moved her carefully to the ambulance.

"I'm coming with her!" Anakin demanded, but was held back.

"There is no room, you will all have to follow behind in another vehicle."
Anakin had one last glimpse of her face as the doors closed. He reached for the ambulance as it took to the air, crying out her name in pain.

"Anakin, we have to go now. Come, get into my speeder." Her father told him gently. Shaking with fear, visions of his nightmare returning to haunt him, he walked on knees weakend by adrenaline fear to the speeder and sat down next to Padme's parents. Her sister Sola decided to stay at the house, since the experience would be hard and upsetting to her children. She would visit Padme later, after she was well again.

Anakin rushed into the emergency room ahead of Padme's parents.
"You must stay back!" A med droid ordered him.
"No, I have to see her!" he ran to her side, and sat next to her. She was attached to many devices, and the droids were working steadily on her. "I'm here, Padme, I love you. You and the baby have to be all right."

Her face squeezed together as she cried. "Oh Anakin, help me." She whimpered, covered with sweat.
Cold chills went down his spine.It was just like his nightmare. It was coming true after all. He wasn't going to accept it.
"I won't let you go, ever!" He cried, grasping her hand in his, tears in his eyes.

"Anakin, take care of our baby, don't forget me..."

"Oh Padme, no, I could never...you're not leaving, you'll be all right, just a little while..hang on..."

She whispered weakly "it's...too...late...I love you...don't want to...go..." her hand reached to touch his face, but her eyes closed as it dropped. Anakin was panting in fear.

"We're losing her!" a droid annonced.

"NO!" Anakin screamed.

"You must get out of the way, sir!" A droid ordered. "Your wife's uterus has ruptured. Her abdomen is filling with blood. Her life is in great danger! We need to get to her, please!"
He obeyed, not wanting his possessive love to be the cause of her death, as he had feared it would be. He stood back, grabbing his head and hair in his hands, staring, crying uncontrollably. Padme's parents watched, feeling the same.
"Her vitals are dropping..." a droid was heard to say. The machines were making terrible noises, all alerting them to things going terribly wrong. "Her organs seem to be failing...I can't stop it.. she's lost so much blood...I can't find a pulse..."

"Oh, NO!" Anakin screamed, throwing himself toward her. "Let me try! I can use the force to save her! I have power!"

"Sir, it's too late, the rupture was too large, her arteries damaged, she lost too much blood... too fast... we couldn't save her.."

"You have to! She can't die! I promised her she would not die in childbirth!"

The machines had stopped making noise. There was only a silent hum.
"Life left patient at 2:31:001" a droid recorded.

A shriek went up from Padme's mother, and she collapsed to the ground. Her father fell to his knees to catch his wife, but he was just as distraught.

"I am sorry." A droid delivered in a cold mechanical voice. "Nothing else could be done. Life could not be sustained."

"NO NO NO NO!" Anakin screamed, his force energy starting to shake things. "I can bring her back, let me..."

Droids moved him away. "You must go, sir, we are not finished."

"You can bring her back?"

"No, sir. However we indicate the babies are still alive, and must act very quickly to get them out of her."

"B..babies?"

"She was carrying twins."
In all his agony, Anakin had almost forgotten about the baby. He knew he had to control himself or he'd destroy the whole med unit, and therefore the babies. Her last words were to take care of the baby. He joined her parents sitting on the floor crying. He couldn't even look them in the face. He felt he had killed her, he had gotten her pregnant, he had been sent the force nightmares of impending doom, his forbidden love for her had destroyed her. He could never forgive himself.

In a few moments, a small cry was heard from behind the curtain, then immediately, a second. "It's a boy, it's a girl." The midwife droid announced, carrying a carefully wrapped baby in each metal arm. They appeared healthy, and very beautiful. Anakin and the Nabierries looked upon them, unable to feel the joy that should have been their mother's. yet feeling very grateful for their lives, and that these pieces of Padme would live on. Even so, the loss of Padme was too much to bear, and nothing could erase their pain. Anakin stared his twins until tears blurred his eyes, he closed them, and fainted away himself.