AN: So so sorry for the long wait. I started writing this chapter almost immediately after I posted the previous chapter. But I didn't like what I was writing, so I scraped it and started over again . . . and then yet again. Then I paused. This is it. This is the start of the final arc. The story is ending. I wanted to make sure I did it right. So I gave myself a bit of time to think the story over. But then life happened. I ended up getting a full time job on top of my part job. I was working 55 - 62 hours a week. Whenever I wasn't working, I was sleeping or doing basic life essential duties like eating. There was no writing. ("But Silver, I've seen you posted up other stuff." All of that stuff was actually written before I got the second job.) The good news is I will no longer being worked too hard and will have more time for writing. Thanks everyone for being patient.

Chapter 32: The Lifeday

"Father! Father" Luke and Leia shouted the moment they saw Vader walk in. The Emperor had been off planet for two weeks. The twins ran up to him and a huge smile spread across his face. He bent over and collected his children into a big hug and kissed them both. As he looked up at his wife, his blue eyes sparkled warmly. The twins untangled themselves from their father's arms and each grabbed one of his hands. They pulled him down the hall.

"We have a surprise!" Leia shouted. Vader raised an eyebrow questioningly as he looked over his shoulder at Padmé, who followed at his side. She only smiled.

The twins pulled their father into a small dining room. The small table had a white table cloth covering it. On top of the table were handmade decorations, toys, and some flowers.

"Happy lifeday!" the twins shouted.

Vader's eyes were wide in surprise. He looked down at his children, over at the table, and then over at his wife for explanation. But Padmé kept her silence. The children pulled their father to the table and had him sit in a chair.

"We made you dinner!" Luke said.

The twins piled their father's plate high with candy and sweets and some other concoctions they made by mixing various ingredients together. Then they both took their seat and piled up their own plates. Blue and brown eyes fell on Vader as they watched and waited for Vader to eat. Slowly he took a bite of the food. He smiled over at his children.

"It's . . . it's good," he said with smile. The two children beamed at their father and both shoveled sweets into their mouth. Vader eyed Padmé's empty plate. "Are you not going to enjoy this fantastic feast?" he said.

"I'm afraid," Padmé said gracefully, "The baby has been making my stomach upset lately. I'm afraid I can't partake in this wonderful meal."

He shot her a nasty glance. She had no doubt the meal was a chore to eat through, but he handled it well. A warm memory came to Padmé's mind. She remembered Obi-Wan and Ahsoka recounting tales of the war when Anakin would eat bugs and worms without a problem. Sometimes he even seemed to like it. Unlike Padmé, Vader clearly had a strong stomach.

After dinner the twins dragged their father to a nearby sitting room. They had built a spaceship out of pillows, cushions, cardboard, and blankets.

"You sit there!" Leia said pointing. "That's the pilot's seat!"

Vader carefully made his way over the cardboard and pillows till he sat in an empty spot. He looked over at the twins. "And how am I to pilot this without my two copilots?" he asked. "Come here you two."

Both did a small little jump of excitement, and rushed over to their father. They both sat on one of his legs. Vader drew them close to him. He grabbed the fake steering yokes and then pretended to steer the ship into outer space. He made a big production of it with noises and big gestures. He would lean his body left and right as he zipped through imaginary asteroids and planets. The twins laughed and squealed. Every now and then one would point and tell their father to watch out. Vader would react by steering the ship away.

After an hour of make-believe space ship, Padmé clapped her hands. Three bright eyes looked over at her. "I believe it's time for presents," she said with a warm smile. The twins smiled and jumped off their father's lap.

"Presents!" they both shouted as they bounced over to their mother. Vader slowly got up and followed them back to the dining room. The food had been cleared but the handmade decorations remained. Now two packages at on the table. They were lumpy and clearly had been wrapped by children.

The children handed their father their presents one at a time. Leia's present a fuzzy warm glove for Vader's prosthetic hand, as the one he always wore was boring and cold. Luke's present was a very nice model ship of a Nubian N-1 starfighter that Padmé had helped Luke pick out. Vader put on his new glove glove and thanked both the children. Their smiles had rarely faded from their faces.

"I still believe you have one more present," Padmé said. Vader looked over and raised an eyebrow. She handed him an envelope. He opened and pulled out the card inside.

"Varné?" he said as he read the only word on the card.

"Parvané means butterfly in old Nubian," Padmé explained. He looked back at the card a bit confused, but then his mouth formed a silent 'o.' He looked back up at her with warm blue eyes. He walked over to her and wrapped her up in his arms. The soft glove rubbed against her back.

"So you like it?" she asked.

"It's a beautiful name," he whispered to her as he leaned in to kiss her on the lips. "For a beautiful little girl." His flesh hand rested on top of her stomach.

It was soon bedtime, and the twins brought Vader into their playroom. A large mattress lay on the floor. It was piled high with blankets and pillows. A makeshift tent out of a large blanket had been strung above the mattress and strings of twinkling lights zig-zagged under the tent. The twins crawled on ot the mattress.

"This is where you'll sleep!" Luke said as he patted the mattress in the middle. Vader let out a small sigh before he crawled into the bed. The twins curled up on each side of him.

"Good night," Padmé said with a smile.

"Good night mother!" the twins called.

She turned and left them to sleep. She went to the kitchen and had a small meal prepared. It wasn't long until Vader joined her.

"Are the children asleep?" she asked.

"Well their sugar high finally caused them to crash," he said as walked up next to her. He grabbed her fork and started to eat off her plate.

"You do know," he said with his mouth half full, "it's not my lifeday."

She gave him a bit of a devious smile. "Oh I'm perfectly aware of your lifeday."

"That's what I thought," he said. "Then why all of this?"

Padmé had taken to teaching the children kindness. If Vader was going to teach her children the harshness and nastiness of the Dark Side, then she was going to try her best to fight it. She was no Jedi, but she couldn't sit there and do nothing as her children were twisted into cruel warriors. She would do her best to keep her children kind and innocent. So Padmé created lessons on ways the children could be kind to each other as well as others around them. She wanted them to think critically about how their actions affect others. And perhaps . . . perhaps she could fight against Vader as well.

"Why not all of this?" she asked as she turned to face him. She leaned into him. His flesh hand wrapped around her. "You saw how happy Luke and Leia were. Look how much they love you. They just wanted to show you that."

The dinner was completely forgotten. His gloved hand wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.

"I already know how much they love me. I don't need all of this," he said softly. "Plus you know I don't like celebrating my lifeday."

She gave a soft laugh. "So you say. But don't lie to me, you loved all the attention."

"Fine. It was very nice. But don't think I'm going to forget this when it comes to your lifeday, especially that delicious homemade dinner. And you won't be able to use the pregnancy as an excuse since they baby will be here."

His flesh hand slowly slid up her back, sending a small wave of tingles through her. His hand came around and gently rested against her cheek. Slowly he pulled her towards her and she let herself be led in. Their lips met. He sighed deeply as he pulled away from their kiss.

"I do have work to do," he said a slowly as his eyes focused on something distant.

"You can always skip it," she said.

He let out a small laugh. "If only it was that simple."

"It is that simple," she said. "You're the Emperor. Plus . . . I haven't give you your present yet."

"Wasn't the present the card? With the baby's name?"

"That wasn't the real present," she teased.

"Then what is?" he asked as he leaned back into her. She placed her hands against his chest and slowly slid them lower and lower and lower.

"Why not come back to the bedroom with me and find out?" she said in a low seductive voice. His smile grew bigger.

Padmé awoke before the sunrise. Vader laid peacefully asleep next to her. She carefully slid out of bed and wrapped herself in a warm robe. She checked on the twins, who were sound asleep in their little tent. She started to walk through the palace. Her arms tightened around her to keep warm.

She eventually found herself in the palace garden. The garden was in the center of the palace and as such was surrounded by walls on all sides. Perhaps Vader had built it as way to ensure privacy. As such she couldn't see the tall skylines of the city planet nor the glowing lines of traffic. Vader wouldn't allow any casual traffic near his home. Most likely this was a secured air space. But it did give her a view of the night sky, though there were barely any stars. The light pollution blocked most of the stars out.

She did miss the stars. They had been her one calming constant over these past few years. The stars were always there. Always the same. She recalled being on Vader's star destroyer. Each time the ship came out of hyperspace, she always looked to see if she could read the constellations. If she could read her way home.

Was this home? This palace? It's tall walls surrounding the garden often made it feel more like a glorious cage where Vader kept his most prized possessions. But . . . last night she saw Anakin. She saw him so strongly. That wonderful bright smile and warm blue eyes. Eyes that were like the stars that would lead her home. That was her home. Whenever Anakin was, that was her home.

But what of Vader? Could that fowl monster be truly eliminated? Or was perhaps there was no truly getting rid of Vader now. He was one with Anakin. Is this how her life would be? A constant dance around which mood her husband was in? Would he be the loving father and husband? Or the monster who craved power?

Why was Vader so obsessed with power? He wanted his children to be powerful. He wanted his Empire to be powerful. When would it stop? And what would he do when he finally had it all? This drive of his is how she knew Vader wouldn't give up training his children. Why Padmé feared for them. Why there was something deep inside of her, almost an animal instinct, telling her to run.

But after her last escape attempt had gone so horribly . . . she was afraid to tempt it again. Plus how would she even manage to get free of this palace and the planet? There was no way she would make it to orbit much less to a spot where she could jump to hyperspace. Imperial Center was one of the most well guarded planets in the galaxy. There was a whole fleet surrounding the planet. All of which was at Vader's beck and call.

There was the soft crunch of footsteps on the grass. Padmé was sitting on the bench. She turned to see Vader making his way down the path to her. He wore a thin robe and sleep pants.

"It's too cold for you to be out here," he said as he sat down next to her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder as he slid closer to her. She sighed as she placed her head against his shoulder. Neither one said anything. They just sat there.

Padmé closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. She could smell him. There was an earthiness to him, but also a lingering scent of danger. Something that made the hair on her arm stand on in. Yet if she pushed pass that, there was something so familiar there. It made her nostalgic for secret rendezvous in her Senate office. A shared smile when thanking the Jedi for their help in the wars yet again. Of walking into her apartment to find her husband sitting on the couch waiting for her while he still wore his dirty and damaged robes and armor.

"I've missed you," he said softly. It was barely a whisper. She was about to open her mouth and chastise him. What was he talking about? They had just spent the night together. But then she got a another deep whiff of that smell. Her heart swelled.

"An-Anakin?" she whispered back softly. He said nothing. Only squeezed her tighter. It was him. It was him. Not Vader. It was Anakin. Her Anakin. Her husband. "I . . . I missed you too," she said. Her voice cracked a bit as her emotions threatened to pour out of her mouth.

"I know," he replied. "You've been so strong."

"Anakin," she said. The name felt so right on her tongue. How she missed saying it. She avoided saying Vader's name as much as possible. "Anakin. I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this."

She slowly wrapped her own arm around his shoulder. She wanted to completely wrap her in his arms. To kiss him over and over, but this moment felt fragile. As if a movement that was too sudden or too strong would break the spell and Vader would reemerge.

"Anakin," she said. "Please. Please tell me you're fighting him as you promised. I haven't been fighting him . . . but . . . But our children. I'm so worried. He's going to make them into Sith. Make them into him. I can't allow that. I just can't."

A long stretch of silence fell between them. She feared she was gone. He had slipped away. She was tempted to grab his face between her hands and stare into his eyes.

"I know," he finally said. "I know."

"Can't you do anything? I've tried talking to him, begging him to stop."

"He won't," Anakin said. "Vader is too selfish. Seeing Luke and Leia as strong Sith makes him happy. Everything is about him. His happiness. As long as you're still doing your part to make him happy, he doesn't care if you or anyone else is unhappy."

"I can't watch anymore. I can't let him twist my babies in monsters. I have to do something."

He sighed deeply. "You mean to leave? To escape?"

She chewed on her lip for a moment. "What else . . . What else can I do? How much longer will it take for you to fight him off? Another month? A year? More? When you finally do what will be of our children?"

"I know," he said. There was a such a deep sense of sadness in those words. A deep heartache. "But . . . But perhaps I'm being selfish, but I don't want to see you leave. You help. The children help. They bring out the light. Despite his selfishness, there is a root of love there. There is me in there. Without you or the children here, I fear there will be no lifeline for me."

She fought back a sob. Her heart was slowly being ripped open. What was she going to do? Stay and condemn her children but possibly regain her husband? Or leave, save her children, but lose her husband? There was no way to win. One way or another she would lose someone she loved.

"Vader is looking for me," Anakin said. "I . . . When you got hurt, stabbed, I healed you."

"Healed me?"

"Yes. Well I healed the baby. It was hurt after all the blood lost. I couldn't . . . I had to do something."

"Anakin . . ."

"Vader has it wrong. He thinks it is the Dark Side that healed you after you gave birth. It was that power that also saved the baby, but healing is not a power of the Dark Side. It is belongs to the light. But the type of healing he uses, I use, the light is its power source. To heal you six years ago, literally almost destroyed all the light within him. Vader funneled it into raw power."

"So . . . you used what little Light Side you have to heal the baby?" she asked. Whatever progress he had made in his internal battle, had been pushed back.

"I don't regret it," he said. "I don't regret healing you or the baby. I would make the same choice over and over again."

"I know," she said as a small sob shook her body. "But I can't bare knowing it hurt you."

"You see why I'm not ok with the idea of you trying to escape? If something went wrong again . . ."

Tears ran down her cheeks. Her body trembled. Anakin turned so he could comfortably wrap both his arms around her. She buried her face into his shoulders.

"What else can I do?" she cried.

His flesh hand rub up and down her back. "I don't know," he whispered. "Plus escaping from this place . . . I'll be honest Padmé, it would be impossible."

"Yes I figured that out," she grumbled. "If I could get back on a ship, I might be able to pull something off." She felt him tense at that subject.

"There is no way he'd ever agree to put you back on a ship."

"I know. It would have to be his idea. Or at least he'd have to think it was his idea."

"And then what? After you go away?" he whispered. His voice was so soft. It was barely there.

"I don't know. I honestly don't know. I can't turn to the Rebellion or to Obi-Wan. I won't make that mistake. But I'll figure it out. I'll find some place safe for the children and me."

"He'll hunt you down," he said. "He'll never let you go, especially if you take the children. Is that the life you want? Constantly on the run?"

"I've done it before," she answered. "It was horrible. It's why I . . . It's why I left Leia and Luke. I wanted to create a galaxy where they didn't grow up in fear."

"You'd rather that life, than this?"

It was a good question. An honest question. Would that life be any better?

"Would you?" she asked him.

He said nothing. Only held her tighter.

Eventually he unwrapped his arm and helped her up off the bench. His kissed her as he separated from her to return to the children so he would be there when they awoke. Padmé returned to her room and cried into her pillow. What was the right choice? Should she stay here and hope that she could get through to Anakin while watching her children be turned? Or should she leave?