Anakin was the first to break the silence.

"That explains everything!" he gasped, slapping a hand to his face. "You're not actually Padme!"

Leia sent him a surprised look. "You believe me?"

"You've obviously never met Padme. She doesn't act the way you do towards me."

She scoffed. "Obviously. She's pregnant with your kids."

Anakin's throat closed and his blood froze. He cast a quick glance at the Jedi Council, as if he'd forgotten the were still there. "Uh -," he cleared his throat and laughed nervously. "No, she's - no she's not, we're just friends!"

Leia rolled her eyes. "Trust me. They're yours. Luke starts kicking up a storm whenever you're in the room." Anakin choked.

Windu sighed. "We already know, Skywalker, we put two and two together at the Senate Building." He gave Anakin a hard look. "It's something we'll deal with later. We obviously have more pressing matters to deal with.."

She raised an eyebrow at Anakin. "Oh, I'm sorry, was that supposed to be a secret?" He opened and closed his mouth, then finally, just closed his eyes in a pained grimace and nodded. She grinned widely. "Oops." She turned back to the Council, subtly flashing her middle finger at him.

Windu sat back in his chair. "What you've said is… disturbing. Why should we not send you back to the hospital? As much as you've done for the Jedi, a woman who has lost her mind should not be in public."

"With all due respect, Master," Obi Wan interrupted. "I believe what she says is the truth. Have you felt her Force signature? Time travel would explain the change."

The Council murmured in agreement. Leia had no idea what that meant, but she wasn't complaining. It seemed to convince them all that she was the real deal.

"Everything I said is true," she told them. "I lived the consequences of it. There is someone in the Senate you can't trust; he is the one who orchestrates all of it. He destroys the republic, he destroys the Jedi, he destroys," she closed her eyes in pain. "He destroyed Alderaan."

"Mean by that, what do you?" Yoda spoke up for the first time. She looked at him, this little green troll who Luke had praised so highly. She wondered what he would've done if he'd been the one on the Death Star instead of Ben Kenobi.

"The Empire built a superweapon," she answered quietly, "Powerful enough to wipe out entire planets." She could still feel Vader's looming presence behind her. "Vader held me back and made me watch."

The Council was silent for a few moments.

"The truth, she is telling," Yoda said finally. "Listen to her, we must."

"Who is the Sith Lord in the senate?" Windu asked eagerly. "That must be the man you mentioned!"

Anakin found his voice again. "I'm sorry, the what in the what?" he yelped. Everyone ignored him.

"No," Leia said firmly. "That's all I will tell you for now." The Council erupted in heated arguments, but she held up her hand. "Until," she continued, her voice raised, "I can speak with my family in my own time!"

"But how is the Jedi Order wiped out?" asked one togruta.

"Forget that!" Anakin said. "Did you say my baby is a boy named Luke?"

"ENOUGH!" Leia thundered. "You have my conditions! You're Jedi, you know how to work with the Force! I don't know what I'm doing! I don't know what I'm supposed to do here! I don't know why I'm here! And I refuse to do anything that might alter the timeline more than I already have until I have a chance to confer with those I trust the most! I'm trying to build a better world for my son! If I'm not careful, I could ruin what we already have! I will not risk that lightly!"

She folded her arms stubbornly. "Give me a conversation with my family. Only then will I consider giving you more information."

The Council finally gave in and designated Obi Wan Kenobi to lead a meditation session with Leia, Yoda, and Vader (much to Leia's displeasure). The four now sat in a circle in a private temple room, eyes closed, breathing deeply.

Leia felt stupid. "What is this supposed to be doing?" she asked, but Obi Wan shushed her.

"We don't actually know how to contact your family," Vader whispered to her. "This is as good a way to find out as any."

"No it's not!" Leia hissed back. "We're just sitting here doing nothing!"

He smirked a little. "Yeah, I kinda struggle with meditation too." Leia pursed her lips, disliking the similarity. "Just relax. You're not Force Sensitive, so you might not be able to get it. We'll let you know when we have something." He closed his eyes again and Leia smirked. Not force sensitive… he had no idea…

Actually, come to think of it, she probably wasn't right now. Unless Padme Amidala had secretly been a Jedi, she'd been as dead to the force as she currently was to life (In Leia's time, anyway). The way she was now, Leia probably couldn't access the Force even if she wanted to.

Which she kinda did, right now. She wanted to talk to her brother.

Suddenly there was a croaky cough and she and the human males opened their eyes. Yoda was doubled over on the floor, hacking up a storm. Obi Wan was instantly by his side, rubbing his back in concern.

"Master?" he asked urgently. "Are you alright?"

Yoda looked up at him with a very un-Yoda-like expression. His eyes were wide, his jaw slightly open, as if in awe.

"Ben?" he croaked. "Ben Kenobi, is that you?" His clawed hand flew to his throat as his eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "Wrong with my voice, what is?!" Then he saw his hand and he yelped. "Wrong with my hand, what is?!" He leapt to his feet and looked up around him frantically. "Why so short am I?!" Then he clapped his hands to his cheeks. "And wrong with my speech, what is? No, wrong with my speech wha - no," he screwed up his face as if in concentration. "What….. Is….. wrong… with… my….. Speech," he said slowly, like a small child trying out a new word. "What the actual kriffing Kark!"

Obi Wan looked unsettled. "Master Yoda, do you… know where you are?"

"Master what?!" Yoda yelped, scampering away from him. "Not old enough to be him, am I! Or green enough! Or short enough!" He looked up at Obi Wan towering over him and groaned. "Not short enough I was, apparently." Then he growled in frustration. "And my speech - convoluted and confusing it is! I hate it! Going on, what is?!"

It suddenly clicked in Leia's mind what was going on. She cackled. "Hello, Luke!"

The little green troll spun towards her, eyes narrowed. "Know you do I?" He wrinkled his nose. "Do - I - know - you," he corrected himself slowly, then seemed to give up. "Identify yourself!"

She stood up, folding her arms, smirking down at him. "What, you don't recognize your own twin sister?"

Yoda-Luke blinked. Then took another look at Obi Wan behind him, and Anakin sitting speechless on the floor. His eyes widened in realization. "Oooooooh," he said. "Oh, boy."

"You know," she said casually, "This might be the first time I've ever been taller than you."

Yoda-Luke groaned, pressing a hand to his face. "Get used to it, do not," he muttered. He took a deep breath. "Wonderful, this is. Just peachy." He took a step towards Obi Wan. "Sorry I am for scaring you. Introduce myself, let me." He paused then growled in frustration. "On second thought, perhaps introductions, my sister should handle."

"Actually, your mother," Leia pointed out. Yoda-Luke looked at her curiously. "You switched bodies with a venerated Jedi Master. I switched bodies with our biological mother." She gestured to her belly. "Who currently happens to be pregnant."

Yoda-Luke seemed to turn even greener than he was. "Ew. Envy you, I do not."

"I believe introductions were mentioned?" Obi Wan said, sounding slightly strangled. Poor man - too many strange things all at once might be messing with his head. He cleared his throat. "I am master Obi Wan Kenobi. This is Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker," he gestured towards him. "I gather you are already acquainted with Ms Organa."

"And this little gremlin," Leia grinned, "Is Jedi Master Luke Skywalker."

Vader punched the air. "I knew it!"

"Anakin Skywalker?" Yoda-Luke stared at him, and he stared right back. Vader cracked a smile.

"You know, he said, "I always knew I'd meet my son when he was small, but this isn't what I had in mind."

Leia snorted, despite herself. Yoda-Luke smiled a little, but it faded quickly. "In a firefight, recently, were you?" he asked, gesturing to his broken nose and black eyes. Vader suddenly scowled again and Leia snickered. Yoda-Luke looked at her, then at Vader, then sighed.

"Leia," he rubbed his nose. "What did you do?"

"Only what was necessary," she said smugly. "And before you can get angry at me," she added quickly, "We're in the Jedi Temple."

"We're WHAT?" Yoda-Luke shot out of the door. They heard a whoop. "AMAZING THIS IS!"

"Master?" came a tentative young voice. "Are you okay?"

"Better than in my whole life!"

Leia couldn't help but laugh.

"Princess Leia," Vader said quietly. "You called my son your twin." Her laugh got stuck in her throat. "Tell me the truth," he stood up and looked at her directly. "Are you my daughter?" She stared at him. Maybe she should have thought before talking about those things out loud.

Yoda-Luke came tearing back into the room. He glared at Leia. "Know what you're trying to do, I do, and work, it will not. Talk about your anger issues, we will, when this is all over." He grimaced. "And sorry I am, but continue talking like this, I cannot. If switch bodies, I must, then with Ben or Anakin it must be."

"How do we do that?" Leia asked.

"I don't know," Yoda-Luke shrugged, "But figure it out we will. Do last time, what did you?"

"We just meditated," Anakin said. Yoda-Luke nodded.

"Then it is that we will do."

And so again, Leia found herself stuck in a silent circle, breathing deeply like a bunch of crazy monks. (Were Jedi technically monks?)

A few minutes later Anakin opened his eyes and grinned. "Now this is more like it." He stood up and stretched. "Aaaaah, that's better." He put his hands on his hips and scanned the room. "Huh. So this is what it's like to be tall."

"Lovely." Leia snatched Ana-Luke's arm and dragged him away, flashing a smile at Obi Wan and a very disoriented-looking Yoda. "If you'll excuse me, I need to have a conversation with my brother." They exited the room and entered a different, empty one.

As soon as the door swished shut, she let out a long breath, slumping against the wall. "You have no idea how good it is to see you, Luke," she sighed. "It's been…" she closed her eyes, suddenly weary. "...quite a day." Had it really been less than a day since she'd woken up at the Senate Building?

"I bet." Ana-Luke - no, just Luke - sat down next to her. "I'd ask if you want to talk about it, but knowing you, you just want action."

"Yeah, pretty much." Leia dropped her head on his shoulder. "Any idea why I'm here?"

"Why do you think?" She gave him a dark look.

"If I knew that, I wouldn't have asked."

Luke smiled; it looked strange on Anakin's face. "Well, I assume the Force brought you here to do something. What I meant was, if it's up to you, what would you do?"

Leia thought about it for a moment. "Save the Republic. Destroy the Empire before it has a chance to rise." Luke nodded.

"Then do that." Leia squinted at him.

"But that's what I want to do. Not the Force."

"Neither of us actually know what the Force wants, so you might as well do what you want to do. If it's wrong," Luke shrugged. "Then it'll stop you. And you figure out a new path to try."

She stared at him. "Is it really that simple?"

"Yes, sometimes." He leaned his head against the wall. "More often than one might think."

Leia sensed a story behind that, but now was not the time to ask. "Very well, then," she said, resolve hardening her voice. "We're going to save the Republic. How do we do that?"

They both thought for a moment, then both spoke at the same time.

"By saving our father from the dark side."

"By discrediting Palpatine and instituting a new leader."

They stared at each other.

"How does saving Vader affect the rise of the Empire?" Leia cried. "That makes no sense!"

"Vader was the one who wiped out the Jedi!" Luke argued. "If there's no Vader, then there are Jedi!"

Leia rolled her eyes. "It's not that simple Luke," she told him. "The Empire, the Jedi Purges; it didn't happen because of just one man. Yes, Vader wiped out the Jedi - but who ordered him to do it? Palpatine. Who destroyed the Republic and instituted the Empire? Palpatine. Who instituted slavery and enforced censorship and oppressed his people? Palpatine!"

"Then kill Palpatine!" Luke said. "If he's the root of it, why can't we just kill him now and avoid it all?"

"Because it wouldn't avoid it all! That's my point!" Leia sighed. "You need to start thinking like a politician. A drastic change like that could not have happened with just one man. Palpatine had the support of the entire Republic; they adored him. When he announced the formation of the Empire, do you know what happened? Everyone applauded. They were thrilled to follow him, to serve him, because they trusted him with their very freedom!" Leia shook her head. "If we're going to defeat Palpatine, we need to do it carefully. We need to prove to the people that he's not trustworthy in the slightest."

Luke nodded, ceding her point. "Okay. Then our first step is to tell the Jedi Council he's a Sith Lord."

"No!" Leia slapped a hand to her face. "Did you hear a word I just said?" She sighed. "The Jedi Council is fanatic about finding him. What do you think they're going to do if I tell them?"

"Help you find evidence against him?" Luke suggested.

"No," Leia insisted. "They'll send a group of Jedi to assassinate him. That'll give him an excuse to accuse them of treason and wipe them out! It'll look like an act of self defense, and that'll only give him more credibility!" She sighed. "My father taught me about the Jedi. They were good, but they were arrogant and reckless, especially when it came to the Sith. I won't bet our entire future on the chance they might actually be careful about this."

Luke shook his head. "I don't like this."

"Do you have a better idea?"

He slowly shook his head again. "Unfortunately not." He turned to face her. "Do you have a plan?"

"Not yet," Leia admitted, "But give me time. I'll figure something out."

"I don't think you have much time," Luke warned. "You look pretty pregnant - oh don't give me that look, you know what I mean - and the Empire rose on the day we were born. I think it's safe to say that you'll return to the present on that day. There can't be two Leia's running around."

She frowned. "That's true. I'd rather not see what happens if that comes about."

Luke cracked a grin. "The galaxy wouldn't be able to handle two of you; it would probably crash and burn."

She stuck out her tongue childishly. "Or become a utopia, you never know."

"Can I give you some advice?" he offered. Leia nodded. "First, be prepared to return to the same future you came from. Nothing has changed here; you're just unconscious in a hospital bed." He hesitated. "Well, most of the time. Every once in a while, you wake up, but we thought you were delirious. Now I wonder…"

"Wonder what?"

He looked apprehensive.

"Luke Skywalker. If there's something wrong with my body, I want to know."

"It's not that," he assured her. "But every once in a while, you'll wake up and ask for 'Anakin.' If you're here, I'm wondering if Padme Amidala -" He swallowed. "Maybe our mother is with us?"

Leia felt queasy at the thought of her mother in her own body and quickly shoved the thought away. "I don't want to think about that. What was your original point?"

"You've made some pretty drastic changes to the timeline already, from the look of things. But everything is the same here," Luke repeated. "I think you might be in a parallel universe." Leia thought about that, and nodded.

"That makes sense. Alright, I can make my peace with that. Anything else?"

"Yes." Luke looked her in the eye. "Forgive our father. Stop trying to hurt him. He can help you."

She pursed her lips. "I don't know if I can do that. You know what he did to me."

"Talk to him," he suggested. "It might help."

She looked away. "Maybe."

Luke paused, wincing.

"Are you okay?"

"I think it's time for me to go home," he told her. "If you need me again, you know what to do. But I don't know if it will work a second time."

"Luke, what are you talking about? I need you here!"

He smiled. "No you don't," he said. "If you did, I'd already be here. The Force has already given you everything you need to succeed."

She looked at him, eyes watering, then threw her arms around his neck. "I love you," she said.

His arms closed around her waist. "I love you too," murmured. "See you soon, little sister."

The he slumped, unconscious. Leia tightened her hold on him, as if she could keep him here just with the strength of her embrace.

He stiffened.

"Uh, Princess?" said the man she was hugging. "Are you… okay?"

She jerked away, wiping tears off her cheeks. "I'm fine," she snapped, getting to her feet. "Let's go."

She had her mission now. And by the stars, she was going to carry it out.

Sidious drew back from Senator Amidala's mind.

Or, should he say, Princess Leia Organa's mind.

She really should have known better than to expose herself like that, speaking through time. She bared her memory to all who cared to look.

And Sidious cared very much.

She threatened everything he'd worked so long for. Her mother was meddlesome enough; but Organa could ruin everything.

She had to go, and the Senator's unborn children with her. The three of them - mother, son and daughter - would be his undoing.

He reached for his commlink.

A/N

So, in case you couldn't tell, I had WAY TOO MUCH FUN with this chapter. Probably my favorite one so far. Definitely strayed into crack territory. Bring on the bombshells!

Thank you for your reviews last chapter! If I have time and wifi, I'll try to respond to them on the next chapter!

Speaking of which, I apologize again for the late chapter. Turns out traveling with my family of 8 in a trailer is not conducive to wifi connection, chromebook charging, or time for writing. I haven't been able to do nearly as much writing as I would like.

Once again, thank you for reading, and let me know your thoughts/favorite parts in the reviews! Especially let me know if you laughed. That was my intention, but clearly my sense of humor is a bit odd.