A/N: Yet another chapter, I hope that you enjoy.

The holy man was arriving the next day, having to be flown from a monastery twelve hectares away. Vader had given instructions for the man to be blindfolded before being led to the courtyard of the villa. It was a ceremony for name only and shouldn't be requiring much detail. But Senator Amidala and her handmaiden obviously disagreed, wanting to plan things out. Desiring to be away from such a ridiculous notion, Vader left the house and made a bee line to the garage to work on his neglected projects. Upon entering the garage, he was given the sight of the light having been turned on and he frowned. He had orders for the garage to be left alone. Getting ready to discipline the one responsible for this offense, he was quite shocked into silence at what he found.

On the floor surrounded by a droid that he had plunked from a junk yard some time ago, diagnosed the problem, and acquired the proper parts for it, and completely dismantled it only to forget about it when he was summoned to Coruscant and ordered to track down and eliminate renegade Jedi that had been spotted, there surrounded by said droid and parts with numerous tools, sat Aidia, not playing, but assembling the droid, somehow knowing what to do.

Vader did a double take at seeing this, watching as this three year old child expertly assembled the droid. With Padmé's condition in mind, he approached her, kneeling down to her level. "What are you doing?" he asked, despite the obvious fact that he knew exactly what she was doing.

"Fixing him," Aidia told him.

"Do you know what it was that was wrong with him?" he asked.

"He's broken," she told him, not having the proper words yet to explain.

Vader picked up one of the parts from the floor. "See this?" he asked, waiting for her to look at him. "It's a motivator. The motivator is a vital part for a droid. It converts one kind of energy into another which will enable a droid to move. A droid is useless without it," he explained. "This droid here had a bad motivator that caused a lot of damage to the other parts of the droid, making it useless."

Aidia reached over and took the motivator from his hand, examined it in wonder, before turning back to the partially assembled droid and found the proper place for it and assembled it into place the proper way.

Vader watched her, totally transfixed. "How do you know what to do?" he asked.

Aidia looked at him "I just do," she told him as though she thought the question was stupid.

To anyone else, such a proclamation wouldn't be believed, but Vader knew better. He saw, just by looking her in the eyes, that she took after him in many aspects. "What else can you do?" he asked. He watched as her face brightened, looking behind him and pointed. He turned to see what she was pointing at to see the swoop bike that he had started to assemble from scratch.

"I can fly that," Aidia told him.

Vader wasn't really surprised, nor was he astonished by the proud certainty that she voiced her declaration. He turned back to look at her, seeing the grease and grime covering her from head to toe and somehow knew what the other inhibits of the villa would say at the sight, neither of them understanding the desire for such a state. "I think that you should get cleaned up," he told her. "Least anyone sees how dirty you are and gets grumpy." He stood and picked her up in his arms, carrying her out of the garage, making sure to turn the light off. "The droid can wait to be pieced together," he said, making sure to travel to a refresher in a path that he knew that would avoid any confrontations with Senator Amidala and her handmaiden.

*~*~*

Padmé needed a break from planning and decided on finding out what mischief that Aidia managed to get herself into. The child seemed to get into everything and seemed to have a penchant for doing something that could upset Vader. Padmé wanted to avoid any kind of mishaps that could happen with the child and wanted to make sure that whatever the child did, wouldn't be noticed by her father. The fact that Vader was Aidia's father enforced in her mind that the child needed her, because while others may be afraid to stand up to him, she wasn't. While Aidia wasn't her child, she had grown rather fond of the little girl and would make the effort to take care of her the way her mother would have. As she walked into Aidia's room to check on her, she saw the door to the refresher open and heard Aidia's voice inside.

Padmé paused at the door, the sight within the refresher, taking her by surprise and she stood there silently, not making her presence known as she watched Vader give the child a bath.

"Can I fly your speeder bike?" Aidia asked eagerly as Vader washed the grime off of her.

"It's not finished yet," Vader told her.

"When it's finished?" Aidia asked.

"We'll see," Vader said, neither saying yes or no.

"Daddy, are you A.S.?" Aidia asked.

Padmé saw Vader freeze for a moment. "Why do you ask that?" he finally asked.

"My mommy said that A.S. was someone special and I always got lots of toys from A.S. and Mommy got money too," Aidia told him. "Are you A. S.?" she asked again.

It was a moment before Vader spoke before he answered. "Yes," he answered.

"What does A. S. mean?" Aidia asked.

"Anakin Skywalker," Vader told her after a moments of hesitation.

"Then why do people call you Lord Vader when your name is Anakin Skywalker?" Aidia asked.

"Because that is who I am," Vader told.

At this point, Padmé withdrew from her spot and the room all together. Seeing that side of Vader convinced her that there was a heart within the cold indifferent confines that everyone saw.

*~*~*

The Villa had been transformed in under a day thanks to Senator Amidala and her handmaiden's efforts. Vader had stayed out of the way and grumbled when he noticed the changes that the villa was undergoing. He stayed out of the way as much as possible, only coming out of his office to eat. And as they were eating lunch, a questioned was formed as Aidia looked between Vader and Padmé and asked, "Is Padmé going to be my mommy now?"

Both Vader and Padmé paused at this question and looked at each other. Neither one of them talked about how Aidia would feel or about the particulars. Unfortunately, Vader didn't have the skills necessary to answer that question so Padmé answered for him. "Only if you want me to, but I would never want to replace your mommy, Aidia," she answered gently.

Aidia thought about it for a moment as she munched on a piece of bacon. "I want you to be my mommy," she said decisively.

Padmé smiled at hearing this, having been taken by the child early on and knew that having this child in her life was going to be the biggest benefit of being married to Vader.

Dormé saw the pleased smile on her mistress' face and she knew that after this, there would be no talking her out of marrying Vader. She could tell that her mistress had started to love the child even if she didn't realize it yet.

One of the servants walked into the room then and approached Vader. "My Lord, Captain Dracorn just left to collect the holyman," he informed him.

"See that he is brought to the veranda when he arrives," Vader instructed as he finished his lunch.

*~*~*

Vader remained in his office as he waited for the holyman to arrive. He didn't have much to do, having rearranged his schedule to be free this day. He thought of contacting his mother to tell her that he was getting married today. He would never admit to it, but he thought of his mother a lot and considered contacting her every day, but he knew that to do so would be foolhardy and would place her in danger. It would tip the Emperor off that she was in fact alive when he told him that she was dead. The Emperor had ordered him to kill her, but when he arrived on Tatooine, he couldn't follow through with the order as he had with all the others. So after briefly visiting with her and the family that she had married into, he went to Mos Espa and took one of the slaves that he could pass off as being his mother and killed her, brought the body to Coruscant to present to Sidious as proof that the deed was done and never contacted his mother again, though it pained him to do so.

Vader wondered what Sidious would do when he found out that he had made himself more connections and began planning everything out to where he could keep any harm from befalling both Aidia and Padmé from any of the Emperor's schemes. He pondered this as he looked over the drawing he had found again.

"Are you going to hide yourself in here all day?"

Vader startled out of his thoughts at Padmé's voice and quickly shoved the drawing in a drawer. "I have work to do," he lied.

"What were you staring at?" Padmé asked, walking into the room.

"Nothing," Vader said, standing up.

Padmé raised an eyebrow silently, not believing him.

"Don't you have more preparation to do?" he asked.

"It's done," she told him. "The holyman is due to arrive in another half hour," she informed him.

It was then that Vader noticed that her hair was done up in a fancy style and in her natural curls and that she was wearing a dressing gown. For a brief moment he wondered what she was wearing underneath it but squashed down that dangerous thought. He suddenly wanted to be somewhere else; somewhere she wasn't. "Have a servant inform me when he arrives," he said, making his way out of the room.

Padmé watched him go, frowning at his odd behavior before walking over to the desk and opening one of the drawers, pulling the drawing out. After a quick examination, she looked back to the doorway before replacing the drawing back into the drawer, convinced even more of the heart that he kept hidden.

*~*~*

The holyman had arrived shortly after and once he was lead to the veranda, the blindfold was taken off. The holyman was taken by surprise to be seeing Vader standing in front of him but carefully concealed it. "My Lord, it is a pleasure to serve you," he said.

Vader nodded, the man's boot licking serving no points for him. "You will say nothing about this to anyone until further notice, is that clear?" he commanded.

The holyman was taken aback by this but complied nonetheless. "Of course, My Lord," he said. "May I ask who the bride is?" he asked.

Vader didn't answer him as he was made aware that Senator Amidala and her handmaiden walked out onto the veranda. For a moment he was rendered speechless as he saw her, his eyes fixating on her and how beautiful she looked.

The holyman turned to the direction that Vader was looking, surprised to see Senator Amidala standing there, dressed as a bride traditionally dressed. He said nothing though.

Aidia then made her way out onto the veranda, wearing a multi colored chiffon dress with her usually free flowing curls done up. She seemed all excited and ran up to Vader, hugging herself around one of his legs. "Don't Padmé look pretty, Daddy?" she asked. She didn't wait for Vader's answer before she spotted Adriana placing a candle near the makeshift alter. "I get a new mommy, Adriana," she said happily to the servant.

Adriana knelt in front of the child. "I know," she said. "I think it's wonderful," she added.

The holyman said nothing about the child but smiled at her enthusiasm. "Shall we begin?" he asked as Padmé and Dormé joined them, noticing Captain Dracorn standing nearby. To him neither the bride or groom seemed as radiant as other brides and grooms but he dismissed it as he officiated the ceremony, hearing the standard vows that they spoke and watched as they lit the candle symbolizing their union and when it came time for the kiss, he took special note that it wasn't one that couples who were in love gave each other but rather just merely a kiss on the cheek, as though they were uncomfortable with the tradition. He said nothing on the matter, aware of the fact that Vader was a secretive man who never seemed to show any kind of emotion. He remained silent as they filled out the document legalizing the union. When the ceremony was over he allowed himself to be blindfolded again before being escorted off of the property, the need for the privacy of the villa having been explained to him prior to his arrival.

Dormé stood off to the side where she had witnessed the ceremony, feeling that things for her mistress would never bee the same after this.

Aidia took both Vader's and Padmé's hands in each of hers and smiled up at them. "We're a family now," she said happily.

Vader and Padmé looked at each other then, neither knowing what to say at the moment.

"Can we go swimming now?" Aidia asked, becoming bored.

Padmé looked down at her. "I suppose so," she said, seeing that Vader was becoming uncomfortable.

"Yay!" Aidia said happily, letting go of Vader's hand and pulling Padmé into the house.

Vader watched them disappear, somehow knowing that he had made the right choice where Aidia was concerned and walked back into the house without speaking to anyone else of the veranda.

*~*~*

Padmé sat on the chaise lounge in her room, reading from a holobook that night waiting for the inevitable while Dormé fretted. She knew that marrying Vader would be for naught if the marriage wasn't consummated. She knew well enough that Palpatine would try to force an annulment if it wasn't. She reasoned that Vader knew this and waited for him to make the first move.

"It's nearly midnight," Dormé informed her.

Padmé looked over to her over the holobook that she was reading. "I am aware of that," she said.

"He's not coming," Dormé told her. "I heard from the staff that he follows a strict schedule and usually retires at the twenty-second hour," she said.

Padmé sighed and marked her page before setting the holobook aside. "And what am I supposed to do about it?" she asked.

Dormé walked over and took a seat opposite of her. "Milady, I looked up the laws under marriages, annulments and divorces. Consummation is the only way to prove that your marriage is valid and in your case one more thing would be required," she told her.

Padmé nodded, knowing where she was getting at. "I am aware of that, Dormé. But the trouble is convincing him of the subject," she told her.

"Forgive me for saying so, Milady, but what if he didn't know?" Dormé suggested.

Padmé gave her a hard look. "Trickery?" she questioned skeptically.

"What if it was the only way?" Dormé asked. "I cannot say that I believe that he really accepted being a father in the first place from what I have observed," she said bluntly.

"You haven't seen what I have, Dormé," Padmé told her.

"Milady, you must consider what I've said," Dormé said.

"I will, but for now, I think that I will go to bed," Padmé told her, standing up.

Dormé stood as well, giving her a slight bow. "Have a good rest, Milady," she said and left the room.

Padmé removed her dressing robe and laid it over the chair that Dormé had been sitting in, before climbing into bed, making sure to press the button to turn the lights off before she settled in, thinking about Dormé's words before drifting off to sleep.

*~*~*

Three weeks later.

Padmé lounged on the chaise lounge on the terrace reading one of the holobooks that she had found in the library. It was interesting to see the wide variety of subjects and wondered if Vader ever read all of the holobooks he had stored in there. She glanced over the top of the holobook and smiled at seeing both Vader and Aidia working on a project together. Aidia already adored him despite the rough start and she was finally able to get him to put his gruff exterior aside when he was around her.

"I never thought that I would see something like that," Dormé said quietly.

"The feelings are there, he just doesn't know how to express them," Padmé told her.

"Milady, I fear that this will not end well," Dormé told her. "The Emperor will see through your marriage if it isn't yet legally binding and this protection will be ignored," she pointed out.

Padmé looked over at Vader, knowing that her friend was right. "I know," she said.

"What are you going to do?" Dormé asked.

"The only thing that I can do," Padmé told her.

*~*~*

Vader was sitting on the edge of his bed polishing his lightsaber when there was a knock at the door. Without looking up he called out. "What is it?" The door opened and closed and he looked up to see Padmé enter.

"Are you busy?" she asked, walking further into the room.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, setting aside his lightsaber and the rag with the polish to look at her. He watched as she approached him, standing in front of him.

"No, nothing is wrong. I just thought you would like some company," Padmé told him, untying her robe before grasping the opening, pushing it off of her where it pulled at her feet, revealing her naked form.

Vader was shocked by her boldness and couldn't stop himself from admiring her. He would have to be blind not to be turned on by this. But he knew that this wasn't wise, it was dangerous; unfortunately his body was betraying his mind. "What are you doing?" he managed to ask, unable to keep the deeper tone from his voice.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she asked, climbing onto the bed over him and he couldn't stop himself from laying back as she leaned in. She was only a hairs breath away when he spoke.

"I really don't think..."

She interrupted him. "Don't think, just do," Padmé told him, capturing his mouth in a kiss.

Vader couldn't stop himself from responding, the slight contact was electrifying and his body yearned for more, he wanted more, but his mind kept reminding him of just how dangerous this was, of how he really shouldn't be doing this. He had learned a long time ago to not let his body or his heart rule over his judgment and to listen when his mind warned him against any action. Flipping over on the bed to where he was on top, he broke away. "This isn't wise and cannot be," he told her, standing up in order to put distance between them. He waited to see the hurt and disappointment in her eyes but it didn't come.

Padmé just sighed and propped herself up on her elbows, looking at him. "If we don't do this, it could be grounds for an annulment. Do you want that, Anakin? Because I hardly think that you would suggest that we marry each other just so that our marriage can be annulled," she told him.

"You don't know how dangerous this is," Vader told her.

Padmé got up and calmly walked over to him, forcing him to look her in the eye. "Let me be the judge on that," she told him, moving her hands from his face to travel down his body and came to a stop at the waistband to his sleep pants. With one final look into his eyes, seeing the utter lust in them, she proceeded in yanking the sleep pants down, knowing that she had him. She straitened up in time for him to pull her close for yet another searing kiss. She felt his hands traveling down her body before he picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to the bed, where he effectively pinned her down.

"There is no going back from this," he told her, pulling away slightly.

"I know," Padmé told him, pulling him back to her for another kiss before they would seal the deal.

*~*~*

Padmé calmly walked through the lush path that led to the landing pad, Aidia in her arms. She knew that Vader was leaving today and wouldn't return for two weeks, as was the arrangement. But she wasn't about to let him leave without saying goodbye. The end of the path came about from a curve and revealed the landing pad with Vader's ship still birthed on it and several guards in attendance. She spotted Vader checking the ship over and made a bee line towards him. "You didn't think that you could leave without saying goodbye, did you?" she asked, speaking up and coming to a stop an inch away from him.

Vader looked at her, not saying a word.

Padmé looked at him expectantly, not backing down.

Aidia looked back and forth between them, deciding to break the ice, looking at Vader. "Bye, Daddy," she said simply.

Vader didn't say anything right away, unnerved with Padmé's expectant stare. It was clear that she wasn't going to back down, even with the smallest thing such as this. He wondered if this was what he had to look forward to from now on: a battle of wills. "I'll return in two weeks," He finally said, turning back to the ship.

Padmé frowned. "I hardly think that that is a proper goodbye," she told him.

Vader turned back to her. "What?" he demanded.

"Human emotion, while not coming naturally to you anymore, goes a long way," Padmé pointed out.

Vader frowned, not pleased that she was challenging him in front of his men. He looked around the landing pad. "Leave us," he commanded and was instantly obeyed without question. Once they were alone he turned back to his wife. "Do not do that again," he ordered.

"Do what?" Padmé asked.

"Challenge me like that in front of my men," he clarified.

"Perhaps you should have given the proper response in the first place," Padmé told him.

"And what is it that would please you?" Vader asked tightly.

"I want you to show emotion. I know that you feel it so why don't you show it?" Padmé told him.

"Goodbye," Vader told her, turning to the ship and boarding it, leaving Padmé very frustrated.