A/N: Please refer to my profile before reviewing.
After calculating the coordinates to the Imperial flagship, the Exactor, Vader made a bee line towards it, eager to make a pretense of searching for the whereabouts of Senator Amidala. Once he reached his destination, he paused, gazing at the massive star destroyer, waiting to be hailed. He didn't have to wait long before being hailed, as he expected.
"Unidentified shuttle, identify yourself," came the voice of the captain of the Exactor.
"You are to lower your shields at once, I am coming on board, Captain," Vader commanded.
"Lord Vader?"
"Who else would I be, Captain, I sincerely doubt that anyone else can give you these precise clearance codes," Vader snapped, punching in his personal code.
"Hanger sixty-three is open, My Lord," the captain told him once the codes went through.
Vader made no pretense of any sort of hesitation, his plan working itself around in his head and he guided his shuttle into the awaiting hanger. Once he had safely landed, he got up from the pilot's seat and proceeded in making his way down the ramp where Admiral Haniel greeted him.
"Welcome aboard, Lord Vader, do you wish to have your usual quarters prepped and ready for you?" Admiral Haniel greeted.
"I won't be on board long, Admiral," Vader told him as they walked to the bridge. "I am here on official business that must be handled with great care," he told him as an awaiting lift opened. They stepped inside and maintained in silence until about midway, Vader pulled the emergency break. "What I am about to tell you, you must take great care to keep to yourself while maintaining the appearance of following the orders I will give on the bridge," he told him.
Admiral Haniel nodded. "Of course, Anakin," he agreed.
Out of all the men Vader allied himself with, he and Haniel had an understanding that he did not have with anyone else and Haniel was the only one permitted to refer to him with his real name. "The Emperor has charged Senator Amidala with high treason so that he could have her assassinated. I need you to help me delay his plans until I can strike," Vader told him.
"Is she now a vital ally?" Admiral Haniel asked.
Vader looked straight ahead of him. "She's my wife," he told him truthfully.
Haniel smiled. "Well then, I congratulate you on finally being able to move on," he said.
"I'm not moving on," Vader told him strictly.
"Then why marry Senator Amidala?" Haniel asked.
"It's more of convenience than anything. She married me for legal immunity, I her so that Aidia would have a mother again," Vader explained.
Haniel frowned at him. "It is a shame that it took the poor child's mother dying for you to even be in the same area as her," he said sadly. When Vader didn't say anything to that, he continued. "But everything does happen for a reason. You are finally a part of your child's life and now you're married. That my friend, is the road to moving on. It may seem like it is convenient now, but somewhere down the road it might be something more."
"I sincerely doubt that," Vader told him.
"That's because you're being willfully blind, my friend," Haniel countered.
Vader turned to him. "How do you figure?" he asked.
"Look at what you are doing to make sure that she lives. I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't go this far without something being there," Haniel told him, reaching for the emergency break to start the lift again but Vader pulled it again.
"What are you going on about?" Vader demanded, turning his imposing form on the one person he might have been able to call a friend.
"Anakin," Haniel said patiently. "Let go of your fear and look at what is staring you in the face. Allow yourself to feel again," he advised, pushing the emergency break in again to start the lift again, this time, without Vader pulling it out again.
*~*~*
Two weeks later.
"Just how much is stored in this place? Just about every room we have opened so far is made into some kind of storage room," Dormé asked in exasperation as she and Padmé searched for the right room that could be set up as a nursery.
"We don't have to worry about what is stored in them, for when we find the right one, I have no doubt that it would be cleared out," Padmé told her as they closed another door, that seemed to be just a closet. She turned to the door across from it and tried the antique knob, but it didn't seem to want to budge. "I think this one might be stuck or locked," she said.
"I wouldn't begin to know how to fix that, look at it, it's so antique that just knowing how to use it is a rare form of knowledge," Dormé told her.
"There are ones just like this at my family's lake retreat on Lake Varykino," Padmé informed her and pulled a hair pin from her hair and bent until she was eye level with the knob. "Picking these open is a skill in itself," she told her as she picked at the lock. When a metallic click was heard, she straitened up and turned the knob. "There, that wasn't so hard," she said as she pushed the heavy wooden door inwards, causing a cloud of dust to kick up from the mere action of opening the door.
Both Dormé and Padmé waved their hands in front of their faces to clear the air of the dusts that took a while to settle. "I'm going to open a window," Padmé said walking over to the window on the far side of the room to where the window was, covered up by some fabric. She removed the fabric and opened the dusty window, bringing light into the room. The window overlooked the rain forest and she could see the edge of a lake in the distance.
"With the amount of cleaning we see everyday in this house, why is this room left untouched?" Dormé asked.
Padmé moved away from the window to look at the room. Aside from the dust, it was perfect and obviously for a little girl. Everything that a little girl would need was in here and meticulously set up and put away. Someone had taken great care to have this room ready for whoever it belonged to. "I don't know," she said, walking over to the child's bed. A name was carved into it, surrounded by the same symbols that were on the statuette that was in her room on her vanity. Padmé examined the carvings, the style and hand matching her japor snippet. The name on the headboard simply said Anya. "I wonder who Anya is," she mused.
Suddenly there was a gasp and both Dormé and Padmé turned to the doorway to see the housekeeper, Mrs. Ainbelli, stood, fear on her face. "Milady, what are you doing?" she asked. She walked further into the room to usher them out, walking over to the window to close and cover it back up. "If Lord Vader catches you in here, it wouldn't matter that you're married, he would have you forcefully escorted off of the property and never allow you to return," she told Padmé, ushering her and Dormé from the room and locking the door behind them.
"I don't understand, why is that room closed off? And who is Anya?" Padmé asked.
"This room and that name is best left forgotten," Mrs. Ainbelli told her. "Please don't ever step foot in there or mention it again," she begged.
"But why?" Padmé asked as she and Dormé were led away from the room.
"Because Lord Vader wishes it and if you respect him, you would respect his wishes," Mrs. Ainbelli told her before leaving her and Dormé alone.
Dormé and Padmé looked at each other. "What was that about?" Dormé asked.
"I'm not sure," Padmé told her. "I think the biggest clue would be to find out who Anya is," she said.
*~*~*
Obi-Wan Kenobi found himself unable to stay hidden in one place. Not when he hadn't yet achieved what he had set out to do thirteen years prior. Master Yoda told him that his single mindedness and obsessiveness would lead him to nowhere but trouble, but he had promised Qui-Gon. Not long after the council sent young Anakin Skywalker off to return to Tatooine, Obi-Wan knew that something was wrong. He couldn't get the hurt look on Anakin's face from his mind when he saw the boy off, or the way the boy tried to reach for him. Obi-Wan defied the council to go after Anakin, to bring him back, risking expulsion from the Jedi Order to do what he felt was right. He reached Tatooine to find that Anakin had not returned, his mother knew nothing of what had happened to him and expressed her worry. Obi-Wan vowed to find him. He eventually found the crashed remains of the ship carrying Anakin on Rodia. The entire crew was killed and there was no sign of Anakin. Upon closer investigation, Obi-Wan deducted that the entire crew was not killed in the crash but rather by blaster fire. He reported his findings to the council and that with or without their permission, he was going to see this investigation through until he found Anakin. The council was loath to allow this, but Master Yoda reasoned that they did not need Qui-Gon's defiance in his padawan, and allowed him to go on with his search.
Years went by and Obi-Wan was no closer to finding Anakin. He went on missions here and there, but he continued to search for Anakin. Even through the war. He remained in contact with Padmé Amidala, reasoning that Anakin would contact her in time when he could. Obi-Wan decided to try going back to Tatooine to see if Shmi Skywalker had received a clue over the years. So he arrived in Mos Espa during midday and tried to blend in. He made a beeline to Watto's junk shop. He walked into the shop to find it empty.
He walked up to the counter and rang the bell. It took a while before the toydarian showed himself. "What is it?" Watto demanded.
"I'm here to speak to Shmi Skywalker," Obi-Wan told him.
"Too bad, she's not mine no more," Watto told him.
Obi-Wan stared at him. "What do you mean?" he demanded. "Where is she?"
Watto eyed him critically. "If it is important for you to know, I might be persuaded to tell you for a price," he told him.
"What kind of price?" Obi-Wan asked cautiously.
"Three thousand credits," Watto told him.
"Three thousand credits?? For a small piece of information?" Obi-Wan exclaimed in outrage.
"Three thousand credits would get me out of debt with the hutts," Watto told him. "No credits, no information," Watto told him.
"I don't have three thousand credits," Obi-Wan told him.
"Not my problem," Watto told him stubbornly.
Obi-Wan ground his teeth. He needed to find out something from someone else. Surely someone else would know. Without another word, he walked out of the shop and into the crowded town. Surely someone else would know what happened to Shmi and where she was.
*~*~*
Two weeks later.
After firmly setting his plan in motion, Vader felt safe enough to leave the Exactor. He had firmly dispatched probe droids to help aid in the search for Senator Amidala. He was sure that this action would convince the emperor that he was searching for her. With Admiral Haniel on his side, he felt safe in the knowledge that he had some time before he could strike.
As Vader sat in the cockpit of his shuttle, he thought about Haniel's words. The problem was that he was reluctant to actually consider that Haniel was right. He had learned the hard way to not to appear to car about anyone or anything, how not to care at all. For while Haniel knew much about him and what he has been through, there was still much that he didn't. Vader wasn't a sharing man, not after Anya. He had learned not to confide in people, how he shouldn't allow himself to get close to anyone. For when he did get close to someone, something always befell them, as was Palpation's lesson. But Palpatine wouldn't win this time around, Vader would make sure of it. Pushing these thoughts aside, Vader set a course for Kiffu where he had hidden his more preferred ship, the Anya.
*~*~*
Padmé sat on the in the courtyard, having instructed a table and chairs be set up there, and watched as Aidia played by the fountain with some of her toys. Dormé walked out and set down a tray with three teacups and a teapot, a small bowl of some powder, and a nice platter of scones. " Bluefruit Kintle, a bowl of ground ginger, and bluefruit scones, curtsy of the cook, Milady," Dormé informed her as she sat down.
"I'll be sure to thank her later," Padmé told her as she took a cup and poured herself some tea before adding some ginger to it.
"Milady, has there been any word?" Dormé asked.
"None, but I expect nothing less. He has the consideration and curtsy of a shaak," Padmé told her. "It's been four weeks, Dormé, four weeks and I haven't heard anything. I have no clue what he's up to or if something has happened," she concluded.
"What will you tell him when he decides to return?" Dormé asked.
"That is if he returns at all," Padmé said irritably. She looked over to where Aidia was submerging one of her dolls into the water of the fountain and holding it. "Aidia, come have some tea and scones," she called.
"Okay, Mommy," Aidia said, letting go of her doll and leaving it in the fountain and sprinting up to join them. Dormé poured the child some tea as she climbed up onto one of the chairs. "When is Daddy coming home?" Aidia asked, grabbing a scone and chewing on it.
"I'm not sure," Padmé answered.
"Did you have a fight?" Aidia asked innocently.
"What makes you think that?" Padmé asked, looking at her.
"Because when you talk about Daddy, you sound mad," Aidia explained.
"Drink your tea slowly," Dormé instructed, placing the cup of tea in front of the child.
"I'm not mad, Aidia," Padmé assured the child.
"Are you sure?" Aidia asked, her blue eyes peering up at Padmé.
"Positive," Padmé told her.
"Okay," Aidia said, having finished her scone and reached for another. After a small moment she asked, "Where do babies come from?"
Padmé and Dormé looked at one another, each unsure of how to explain this to her. Padmé turned to her. "Well..." she began thinking of how her parents would answer this. "When a mommy and daddy are ready to have a baby, the peko-peko comes to drop one in a basket on their doorstep," she explained.
Aidia frowned. "What's a peko-peko?" she asked.
"It's a bird," Dormé explained.
"But why would a bird bring a baby?" Aidia asked.
"Because the mommy and daddy are ready for one," Padmé told her.
Aidia didn't like this answer and decided that she would ask her father about it when he comes home. "I wish that Daddy would come home, I miss him," she said instead, the last part with a pout.
"I'm sure that he will," Dormé told her.
*~*~*
Vader spent several days on Kiffu, trying to both delay returning to the villa and trying not to think about Haniel's words. He had rented a room at a local inn and walked about town, seeing a few things in stores that he thought that Aidia might like and picking them up. He even picked up some of the planet's delicacies, both to enjoy now and to bring back to the villa. It was while he was in the more pricer districts that something had caught his eye. There was a secluded shop that had a red glowing stone in one of the windows, amongst different sets of jewelry. He stood there looking at the stone, having heard on many occasions what it was, and having Haniel's words hitting him full force, making sure that he couldn't escape them. Unable to push the thoughts from his mind, he entered the shop.
As far as the eye could see, there were cases upon cases of precious gems and settings as well as different kinds of pearls. But it was one octagonal case in the middle that caught his attention and in it held both red and blue glowing stones in various sizes. Vader could feel those stones in particular calling to him.
"Ah I see that you have noticed our collection of the heart of fire," a cultured male voice said coming up behind him.
"Why do you call them that?" Vader asked, turning to the man.
"Because it is a tradition to give the stone to someone you love and care about. It is said that the stone held a little of the spirit of both the giver and the receiver," the man explained. "Are you looking for something in particular for a certain someone?" he asked.
Suddenly, Haniel's words became hard to ignore and faced with the unconscious pull he felt, it was hard to deny. "How much do they cost?" Vader asked.
"The red stones are the most common, affordable for anyone, but you, Sir, look like the blue ones would be a much better fit. The blue stones are extremely rare, you won't find another jeweler who carries them, I can assure you," the man told him.
"I'll take one," Vader told him decisively.
"Well chosen, Sir," the man said, smiling. "Now let's talk about settings, I assume that this will be on a necklace," he continued.
"Yeah, sure," Vader said, having no real clue as to what he was doing.
The man walked behind another case and pulled out a number of setting examples. "We offer a wide verity of settings in all verities of precious metals," he said and moved to a neighboring case to pull out examples of chains and cords. "You can choose to have your pendant on a chain, or a cord made of silk, velvet, or pearls," he continued.
Vader knew that he would be regretting this and that the man would choose to earn as much money as he could, but he really didn't know anything about what he was doing. No idea what so ever. "What do you suggest?" he asked.
"It depends on who it is that you a buying for," the man told him.
Vader considered his next words before speaking. Wondering just how he would describe his wife without giving anything away. "Something fit for a queen," he told the man.
"Ah, pearls it is," the man decided. "We offer a wide verity of pearls, but the two top options are the rare, blue pearls and the veda pearls which are rumored to be favored by the beautiful Senator Amidala," the man told him.
"Rumored?" Vader questioned, looking at him.
"Why yes, the senator never confirmed it, but it is said that she had her gowns and headdress adorned with veda pearls of all sizes when she was Queen. I have heard of how many men has tried to send her a strand of veda pearls to impress her, but sadly, their attentions never were returned, that she was too focused on her career in politics to give them much notice," the man explained.
"Is it possible to use both types of pearls?" Vader asked.
"It is workable," the man answered. "Do you want to choose a setting?" he asked.
"Whatever you choose will be fine," Vader told him, hoping that he wasn't making a mistake.
The man smiled. "Then I have the perfect setting," he said.
*~*~*
Four weeks later.
Padmé left the refresher in the early hours after the ritualistic nausea had ceased and walked over to the dressing table to brush out her hair when she found a large velveteen box sitting on top of it. She knew who had placed it there immediately and proceeded in opening it, unable to keep herself from gasping at what she saw. Sitting on a ten millimeter veda and blue pearl double cord was a pendant consisting of delicate gold filigree stampings, adorned with seven millimeter veda pearls, surrounding a twenty-five millimeter blue glowing stone. Padmé had only seen her friend, Bail Organa, present a stone like this to his wife, but it had been red, she heard him explain it, calling it 'heart of fire' and that blue ones were normally seen in holos for they were very rare, making them worth a great deal more. She fingered the necklace, knowing that it had cost a great deal. No one had ever spent this kind of money on her before and she certainly had never spent that much before either.
Her wonder and pleasure at seeing the necklace was short lived as she recalled the temper fit that Vader had had weeks earlier and of how he stormed off planet just to get away from her. Closing the box with a snap, she stood up and picked it up, walking out the door decisively, noting that it was still dark and that the household was still sleeping. She marched her way to where she knew her husband was sleeping, seeing him peacefully snoring away in the middle of the bed. She marched over to the side of the bed, and dropped the box containing the necklace rather hard in the middle of his chest. Hard enough for him to cough and to wake up.
Her arms were folded across her chest, and her entire demeanor was one of displeasure as he woke. " Do you really think that you can have a little temper fit in the middle of the night and storm away without a word for eight weeks and make it up with jewelry??" She demanded incredulously.
Vader sat up and picked up the box containing the necklace and frowned, looking at her, having pictured an entirely different reaction to the custom-made necklace with her in mind. But before he could speak, she continued.
"If I accepted that then it would give you the idea that it is okay to run off to avoid me," Padmé told him, turning around and leaving the room.
Vader cursed before getting out of bed, having to pause to pull on some pants, picked the box back up and chased after her. But once she realized that he had followed her as she was about to return to bed, her eyes flashed in anger.
"Get out!" she ordered.
Vader walked over to her, pressing the box into her hands. "Take it," he told her.
Padmé handed the box back to him. "I will not!" she told him stubbornly.
Her stubbornness and refusal of the token frustrated him to no end. "It was made for you," he insisted.
"I don't want it," Padmé told him.
"Why?" Vader demanded.
"Why?" Padmé repeated incredulously. "I'll tell you why. You had a nightmare and when I tried to ask you about it, you had a temper fit and stormed out. I get up the next morning to find that you up and left without a word to anyone, the only indication that anyone had was by being informed by a droid. No one sees or hears from you for eight weeks! And you expect for that to be ignored by presenting me with priceless jewelry ??" she snapped.
"That's not what this is for," Vader insisted.
"Oh? That's what it looks like!" Padmé told him.
"But it isn't!" Vader told her, his frustration boiling over.
"Then what do you call it?" Padmé demanded.
Vader frowned, not having the words to explain what was going on with him where she was concerned and tried a different tactic. He bent to kiss her, getting a small response from her before she pulled away and smacked him, frustrating him even more.
"Get out!" she commanded, gesturing to the door.
Vader knew that he wasn't getting anywhere with this and it frustrated him, even more so that he didn't know how to work around this obstacle. So instead, he went to leave, setting the box down on the dressing table as he passed it...
"Take it with you," Padmé told him and ignored the slight sag of his shoulders as he picked the box back up and left.
*~*~*
As dawn was breaking, Aidia woke and knew that something was different. She instantly knew what it was before, sliding out of bed and running down the hall, stopping momentarily at her father's door to reach up to open the door, growing excited to see him laying in the bed. She trotted over to the bed and climbed up onto it, crying, "Daddy!" before throwing her arms around him, holding on tightly.
Vader woke with a start at that, surprised to see Aidia's face extremely close to his. Without a word, he rolled over to the bedside table to check the crono. "One hour," he muttered to himself, annoyed with the fact that he had been woken to be yelled at in the middle of the night, but that it had taken several more hours to get back to sleep and all he got for that effort was one hour.
"You've been a gone a really long time this time," Aidia pointed out, pouting.
Vader looked over to her to see her pouting, it made him instantly repentant. "Sorry," he muttered. "Why don't you go make sure that breakfast is being served," he suggested.
"Okay, Daddy," Aidia complied happily, sliding off of the bed and trotting out of the room.
Vader followed shortly, after pulling on a pair of pants and a tunic. When he arrived in the dining room, Aidia was already in her seat and the servants were placing the food on the table. He took his usual seat and allowed Adriana to serve him and Aidia before he began eating.
"Daddy, where do babies come from?" Aidia asked innocently.
Vader spit out his sip of caf and sputtered for a moment at that random question. However, before he could answer another voice entered the mix.
"Aidia, we've already discussed that," Padmé said, taking her usual seat, purposely avoiding looking at Vader.
"I know," Aidia said, "But I wanted to hear Daddy explain it."
"I already explained it, you don't need your father to explain it to you," Padmé told her.
"Will a peko-peko bring a new baby now that you are married?" Aidia asked looking between Padmé and Vader.
Vader looked at Padmé, wondering what exactly she had said during her explanation, seeing her disincline to look at him before looking at the child. "No, there wont be any babies coming," he told her and then noticed Padmé frown. Before he could comment on it, Captain Dracorn walked into the dining room, going straight to Padmé.
"Milady, the doctor will be arriving sometime around noon," Captain Dracorn informed her.
"Thank you, Captain," Padmé acknowledged.
"Why is a doctor coming here?" Vader asked, looking at his wife.
"It's women's business," Padmé told him dismissively.
Vader frowned, deciding that he didn't want to know what this women's business was.
"Will you go swimming with me, Daddy?" Aidia asked eagerly.
"I don't swim," Vader told her.
Aidia cast her blue gaze on him, giving him pleading eyes. "Please?" she begged.
"I think that is an excellent idea," Padmé said, effectively trapping her husband into it.
Vader frowned at her, knowing that he was trapped and didn't like it. "I have work to do," he said, trying to get out of it.
"You can afford to spend some time with your daughter, after all, she hasn't seen you for eight weeks," Padmé told him.
Vader was about to say something back when he noticed the sad look on Aidia's face. "Fine," he conceded.
*~*~*
Obi-Wan spent his time in Mos Espa inconspicuously spreading the word around that he was looking for information on Shmi Skywalker for four weeks now and hadn't encountered anyone who knew her. He had heard many stories of how Anakin Skywalker was a legend, winning the Boonta Eve Classic thirteen years earlier at the age of nine and how he was the only human to do so. But not many mentioned his mother. It seemed that Shmi Skywalker wasn't as well known as her son. It was getting to the point where he believed that he had no choice but to somehow give Watto three thousand credits for the information. It wasn't until he was having dinner at one of the cafés that things turned around when he was approached by an old and feeble woman.
"Are you the fellow who's looking for Shmi Skywalker?" the woman asked.
Obi-Wan looked up at her. She had a kind look about her, something he hadn't really seen much in people here. "Yes," he answered and watched as she took a seat across from him.
"I'm Jira, I'm a friend of hers," the woman told him.
"Obi-Wan leaned in closer to her, allowing her to see his face underneath the cowl of his cloak. "Obi-Wan Kenobi," he told her quietly.
Jira's eyes widened. "A Jedi?" she asked quietly and surprised. "I thought your kind were all dead. Do you know if Young Ani is still alive, Shmi is worried sick?" she asked.
"I'm searching for Anakin Skywalker, I was hoping that his mother might have a clue as to where he is," Obi-Wan told her.
"If she did, she hasn't said. She goes by the name Lars now. Her husband, Cliegg, bought her about eleven years ago, freed and married her. They have a daughter that they adopted together now, she's around fifteen now. They live on the other side of Mos Eisley now, on a moisture farm," Jira told him.
"Do you have any directions to get there?" Obi-Wan asked.
Jira pulled a napkin towards her with a shaky hand and took an old piece of lead pencil out of her pocket and began to jot down directions. "I'm too old to travel now so, you'll just have to tell Shmi that I said hello for me," she told him and handed him the napkin.
"Thank you," Obi-Wan said, taking the napkin and tucking it away. "I would appreciate it if you didn't mention seeing me," he told her.
Jira smiled a toothless smile. "No problem. I wouldn't want anything to befall your poor soul," she agreed, standing to return to her stand.