"aaaa" - talking through a holocomunicator or comlink. aaaa - inner thoughts and Force Visions. 'aaaa' - talking through a bond.
AN: Thank you to princesselsaamidala22 for the review! I doubt Rosella will be making an appearance in Rebels and the Original Trilogy, but thank you for the suggestion!
Here is the first Interlude!
While Anakin and Obi-Wan are off searching for General Grievous, and Rex, along with Cody are busy checking up on a few of the Republic's listening posts, Rosella is stuck at the Temple as she has to catch up on some classwork that she needs to complete.
Interlude: Even Padawans Have to Do Homework
After Rosella, Anakin, R2, Obi-Wan, Padmè and C-3P0 got back from defeating the Malevolence, - the teenager grinned as she saw it crash into the moon and smiled as she heard the positive cheers from the crew that was stationed in the sunken pits on either side of the bridge - they all headed to their separate places of residence to relax before they were called back out to the front lines.
During their day off, Anakin found some time to sit down with Rosella and tell her about his life as a slave. He had planned to do it after they had come back from their first assignment that had involved them returning Stinky to his father, but just hadn't found the appropriate time to tell her since she had classes to attend and he had things to take care of now that he was a Jedi Knight, like cleaning out the rest of his things from Obi-Wan's apartment, now that he had his own to live in.
As soon as Rosella heard the story, - not all of it, since there were some parts that Anakin didn't want her to know about - she hugged him, feeling sorry for everything that he had gone through as a child. Although she knew that he had been a slave, she hadn't heard the details until now.
After Anakin had talked with Padmè and the rest of the family about adopting her, he had made the decision to wait until the teenager was old enough to understand everything there was to know about slavery, but Qui-Gon told him that it was better that she find out now than some mission that involved the barbaric practice that, thankfully, had been banned in the Republic.
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The next day, a few hours after they had eaten breakfast together, both Anakin and Obi-Wan were called back to the front lines to search for General Grievous. Since Rosella wasn't going with them, she had homework that she needed to complete for some of her classes that she was taking at the temple, Anakin arranged for her to stay with Padmè at her penthouse.
After Rosella had retreated into her room and grabbed the datapads that she needed, both she and Anakin left their apartment, grabbed a speeder in the hangar bay and left the Temple.
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When they arrived in the parking bay underneath the building, which was located in the Senate District, Anakin led Rosella over to the turbolift. As soon as it arrived, they got in. The doors closed and the lift began its ascent up to the Senator's residence. Once the lift arrived at their destination, Anakin got off, followed by Rosella. They both nodded to Threepio, who had come to greet them before heading into the sitting room. While they were waiting, Anakin closed his eyes and reached out with the Force, checking the entire apartment for any listening devices. When he didn't sense any, he smiled and opened his eyes, glad that his wife was safe.
A few minutes later, Padmè entered the room with a smile on her face. "Anakin," she said. "Are you dropping Rosella off?"
Anakin nodded. "Yup," he said. Then he turned to Rosella. "Make sure you get your homework finished and listen to Padmè, ok?"
Rosella happily nodded, smiling as she was finally going to get to spend some time with her adopted mother.
The Knight smiled and looked back at Padmè. "I'll be back tonight to pick her up," he said.
"Alright Ani," Padmè said as she reached out and drew Rosella towards her. "Now get going or else you'll be late."
Anakin threw up his hands in mock surrender and turned around, heading back into the foyer towards the turbolift. "Bye Rosella," he called over his shoulder.
"Bye Dad!" Rosella responded.
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After Anakin had left, Padmè turned to Rosella. "How much homework do you have to finish?" She asked.
"I only have two assignments," Rosella replied. "One for my Galactic History class and another one for my Jedi Philosophy one."
"Do you need help with any of them?" Padmè asked.
"I don't think so," Rosella said. "What did you have planned for today?"
"Well, today is my day off from the Senate, so I was planning to use my time to catch up on some reports from Naboo," Padmè told her. "Would you like to join me? You can get started on your homework and keep me company."
"Sure…Mom," Rosella said, finally feeling comfortable enough to start using the word around the Senator, but only when it was just the two of them, or if the rest of their family was together.
Padmè smiled softly as she heard the word come out of Rosella's mouth. Tugging her adopted daughter closer to her, the two ventured throughout the apartment until they reached the room that she used as an office when she didn't have to go to the Senate.
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As soon as Rosella was seated at a smaller desk that Padmè kept in her office, - it had mostly been used to keep extra datapads on it - she reached for her datapad that was for her Galactic History class. Once it was in front of her, she turned it on and looked over the assignment. The subject was the Battle of Naboo. Even though she had missed the class due to her being on the front lines at the time, she still had a clear enough grasp on the subject to get started on the assignment, which was to write a report about what had occurred during the final battle.
After reading over the required reading material, the teenager knew that some of it had been fabricated, she looked up from her datapad. "Mom?" She asked.
"Yes?" Padmè asked, not bothering to look up from the report that she was reading.
"What happened to you while you were taking back the palace during the Battle of Naboo?" Rosella asked. Even though she had heard about the parts that her adopted Uncle and Grandfather had played during the event, she decided to get Padmè's overview on what had happened during the siege on the palace before she started writing her report.
Padmè finished reading the report, made some comments on the request that had been made and saved it, intending to come back to it once she had helped Rosella. "Is this related to your assignment?" She asked, looking over at her daughter.
"Yes," Rosella responded.
The Senator smiled and proceeded to tell Rosella everything that had happened, from when she entered the palace to the celebration afterwards. When the padawan had enough information, she thanked her mother. Once Padmè had gotten back to work, Rosella got started on her report, making sure to write everything that Padmè had told her in her own words. By the time she finished and looked it over, it was nearly lunchtime. She edited the report in a few spots and then sent it off to her teacher. Then she turned off the device and reached for the other datapad that she had brought with her.
As soon as the device was turned on, Rosella tapped the screen. Soon, she was looking over her Jedi Philosophy assignment. As she read over the material that was required for the assignment, she reflected on the question that was written at the top of her screen that asked her why it was important to be mindful and how to show compassion for all life in the galaxy. She thought about her answer and began to write it down. Once she had answered the question, she finished the rest of the assignment and after checking it over, sent it off to her teacher.
As soon as her homework for the day was finished, Rosella picked up both of her datapads, made sure they were switched off and patiently waited for Padmè to finish her work. Once the Senator was finished, they both made their way out of the office and headed to the kitchen.
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Once they arrived in the kitchen, Rosella sat at the island while Padmè got to work on making them a healthy lunch. Once the food was ready, she placed a plate in front of Rosella, who smiled and began to eat her food. Then Padmè picked up her plate and joined her.
"Mom," Rosella said after she had taken a bite of her food and swallowed it. "Is it hard being a senator?"
"Sometimes," Padmè responded as she finished her bite off of her plate. "I'm sure that it would be no different than if I were force sensitive like you and your father."
Rosella nodded, as she had just taken another bite of her food, showing that she agreed with what her mother had said since she didn't want to talk with her mouth full.
"When was the last time you travelled anywhere outside of the Temple?" Padmè asked. "Your previous missions don't count."
Rosella swallowed her food. "Well, other than Illum to get my lightsaber crystal, and Christophsis, which was where I took part in my very first battle, the only other place I've been to was Naboo and that was for your wedding," she responded. "Most of the things that a Jedi learns is done at the Temple, either in various classes or actual training with our lightsabers. After being placed with or picked by a potential Knight or Jedi Master, then that particular padawan would go off-world for a mission when it was required. Since there is a war on right now, we go where we are needed."
"So you've never had a chance to be a normal kid?" Padmè asked.
"No," Rosella responded. "The Jedi Temple has been my home for as long as I can remember. I don't really remember much about my parents."
Padmè had an apologetic look on her face when she heard that her daughter had never gotten the chance to know just who her biological parents were. "And now?" She quietly asked.
Rosella sighed, placing her fork down on her plate, her food half-eaten. "I know that they're dead," she mumbled, just loud enough for Padmè to hear. She felt tears pricking at the corner of her eyes but told herself not to cry.
Padmè, having finished her food, got off her stool and walked over to where Rosella was sitting. "Sweetie, it's alright to cry," she said. "You're human and that shows that you have emotions. I'm just glad that the Jedi are now allowed to express their emotions instead of hiding them away like robots."
Rosella sniffled, got off her stool and threw her arms around Padmè, finally allowing herself to cry as she mourned the death of her real parents.
Padmè hugged the young padawan tightly, not caring that her clothes were getting wet. Her heart nearly broke as she heard Rosella's sobs slowly subside and turn into soft whimpers. Then she lightly rubbed the teenager's back and guided her into the living room. Once the teenager was sitting on the couch, Padmè quietly called Dormè over and instructed her to go into the kitchen and clean up their plates. Dormè nodded and did her task.
Then Padmè walked back over to the couch and sat beside Rosella, drawing the teenager into her arms. "Feeling better, sweetie?" She asked.
Rosella nodded.
"I know you must miss your parents, but you have a new family who loves you," Padmè told her. "If you ever need someone to talk to who isn't a Jedi, you can always call me on your holocomunicator."
"Really?" Rosella asked, her voice still a little quiet.
Padmè nodded, a soft smile on her face. "I love you Rosella, and I want to get to know you more, even if you are my adopted daughter."
"Are you and Dad going to have any kids once this war is over?" Rosella asked, lightly grinning at the thought of getting a brother or sister to play with.
Padmè laughed. "We'll see," she responded. "But even if that doesn't happen, I'm glad that Anakin and I have you in our lives."
Rosella smiled. "I'm happy to have been adopted into this family," she said.
Padmè smiled and then they both watched the holonet until it got dark outside.
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After Anakin and Obi-Wan had returned to Coruscant, and the Knight had gone to Padmè's and picked up Rosella, they were back in their apartment in the Temple. After having dinner together, both Jedi were sitting on the couch in the living room.
"Hey, Dad?" Rosella asked while checking her messages on her datapad.
"Yes, Ella?" Anakin responded while flipping through the holonet.
"I realized I haven't said this yet, but thank you for adopting me," Rosella told him as she tapped on her screen, seeing that she had a new message. It was from her class teachers, saying that she had completed all the classwork that they had given out while she had been away and was exempt from doing anymore until she was on leave from the war again. The teenager smiled and after switching her datapad off, placed the device on the coffee table in front of her.
"You're welcome sweetie," Anakin responded, giving her a side hug. Then he glanced at the chrono beside the door. "Now, assuming that you don't have any more homework to complete, go to bed. We have a mission tomorrow and need to leave right after breakfast."
Rosella hugged him back and stood up, picking up her datapad off of the coffee table. "Nope, no more homework," she replied. Then she turned around and headed to her room, calling over her shoulder, "Night Dad!"
Not finding anything good to watch, Anakin turned off the holonet and decided to follow his advice. Getting off of the couch, he headed to his room. "Night Rosella," he said.
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Once Rosella was in her room, she placed her datapad on her desk beside the other one that she had used while over at Padmè's. Then she changed into her nightclothes, brushed her teeth once Anakin was finished in the refresher, and headed to bed, excited for her upcoming mission.