Chapter 56

"There's one thing you should know, Piett," Anakin said. "Ferreus is dead. I hope that won't dampen the enthusiasm of your men to mount an insurrection against the Empire."

"No, quite the contrary, I'm sure," Piett replied. "And I think I can speak for them when I say how glad I am to hear it."

"Not much of an opponent, was he?" Obi-Wan said. "I imagine you dispatched him quite easily, Anakin."

Anakin walked over to his old friend and nodded. "You tired him out though," he said with a smile. "Made my job easier."

Obi-Wan chuckled. "Well I don't know about that, but thanks for saying so."

"Thank you for saving my daughter," Anakin replied, all joking gone from his tone. "If you hadn't come when you had…I hate to think of what he'd have done to her."

"I am her master, Anakin," he said. "That is part of my commitment to her. Although I do need to have a chat with her about the expectations of a padawan. She is a little too strong willed, sort of reminds me of someone else."

Anakin laughed. There was so much he wanted to say to Obi-Wan, so much that needed to be said, but he hardly knew where to begin. Besides, it hardly seemed the time or the place for such a discussion. There were plans to be made, and it had already been a very long day. The fatigue of many sleepless nights was beginning to take its toll on him.

"Perhaps we should reconvene in the morning," Piett suggested. "You have all had a rather eventful and trying day, I dare say," he added.

"A splendid idea," Padmé said. "I'm sure we would all benefit from a good meal and some rest."

"My troops have everything under control," Piett assured them, "so rest easy tonight. I shall return in the morning."

"Sounds like a plan," Anakin said. "I'm sure I'm not the only one who's hungry enough to eat a bantha, right Luke?" he asked his son with a smile.

Luke laughed. "You got that right," he assured his father.

"Well allow me to find you some accommodations for the night," Lando spoke up. "And if I may suggest a little place I know for dinner, I'm sure they can arrange a private room for you. This is, after all, a rather special occasion."

"The first time the four of us have all been together, I'd call that rather special," Leia said, looking at her parents with a smile.

Padmé nodded, returning her daughter's smile. "Yes," she said. "That is true. Perhaps we can take an opportunity to get freshened up before we have dinner," she said, realizing that Leia would probably dearly love a chance to get changed.

"We have some very exclusive boutiques, ladies," Lando told Padmé and Leia. "If you are interested."

"Here we go," Anakin said.

Padmé turned to him. "Excuse me?" she asked, trying not to smile.

"Nothing, my love," he said. "Nothing at all. You two go on ahead while we get settled in."

"Sounds like a splendid idea," Padmé said, walking over and kissing Anakin on the cheek. "We'll meet up with you later."

Opera house-Imperial City

Palpatine stifled a yawn as he sat through yet another over dramatic aria. He did not particularly like opera, but he realized that he at least had to pretend to. It would be all over the holonet if the emperor was seen dozing off at the galactic premier of My Mon Calamari Lover. As if their ballet wasn't atrocious enough, he thought irritably as he shifted in his seat.

Finally the curtain fell to end the second act, and Palpatine breathed a sigh of relief that another segment was over. He turned to listen to the comment his aide was making when was suddenly struck by a tremor in the Force. He focused his mind on the Dark Side, bringing his mind into oneness with its dark power. Ferreus is dead, he thought with certainty. That idiot has failed me yet again.

The fact that Ferreus was dead did not concern Palpatine so much in itself, but rather that it meant he needed to find another apprentice. That was annoying. Good help was so hard to find these days, he thought sourly as the lights dimmed once again to announce the commencement of the third act.

Cloud City

Anakin and his family, along with Han, Chewbacca, Obi-Wan and Lando sat together enjoying a sumptuous meal in one of Cloud City's most elegant eating establishments. Lando had arranged for them to have a private room; both Anakin and Padmé were rather famous personalities in the galaxy, neither of whom was quite ready to reenter the general population as yet.

"That's a great outfit, sweetheart," Han told Leia, reaching out to take her hand on the table. "You look fantastic."

"Thanks," she said, feeling her father's eyes upon her as Han held her hand.

"What's the matter, Ani?" Padmé asked her husband. "You've hardly touched your dessert. That isn't like you."

Anakin looked at his wife, not able to shake the uneasy feeling he was beginning to get from his daughter. She likes him, he thought in utter shock. She loves him! He's a smuggler! Pirate! Mercenary! And he's at least ten years older than her! What does she…

"Ani?" Padmé asked, seeing that he was light years away.

"Yes?"

Padmé frowned, looking over at Han and Leia and then back at Anakin, realizing why he was so distracted. "You seem rather upset about something."

"No, just tired is all," he said, rubbing his eyes. "It's been a long day."

Padmé nodded, not believing him for a moment, but not wanting to get into it in their present surroundings.

"I think we could all use some rest," Padmé said. "Perhaps it's time we retired for the night. It's been a long day."

"I couldn't agree more," Obi-Wan said, stifling a yawn. "Some of us aren't as young as we used to be," he added, looking straight at Anakin.

Anakin stood up and pulled Padmé's chair out for her. "Speak for yourself, old timer," he said. "I'm still in my prime."

Luke and Leia laughed at their father's comment, enjoying the banter between him and Obi-Wan.

"Do you see the blatant disrespect I have to put up with?" Obi-Wan asked Luke and Leia with a rueful shake of his head.

"Was that disrespect when I saved your skin today?" Anakin asked him as they walked out the door.

"Well, not exactly," Obi-Wan conceded.

Anakin merely nodded with a smile. "I've missed you, Obi-Wan," he said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.

Obi-Wan was surprised by Anakin's admission, and it touched him. "It is good to have you back, old friend."

Lando had tactfully arranged to have Leia stay in an enormous suite with her parents, while Luke, Han, Chewbacca and Obi-Wan bunked down together in much less luxurious accommodations down the corridor.

Anakin and Padmé bade goodnight to their son, Obi-Wan and the others and started heading up to their own suite. Anakin, however, noticed that Leia was hanging back, and he felt certain that he knew why. He watched at a discreet distance as she and Han shared a tender embrace, feeling every muscle in his body tense up as he did so. Get your hands off of her you pirate, he thought angrily to himself. It was all he could do not to reach out with the Force and push Han away from her, and send him falling ass over tea kettle into the corridor. I'd enjoy seeing that, he thought with dark amusement. Maybe that would take the arrogant look from his face…

"Anakin, are you coming?"

He turned to see Padmé standing there. Judging by the look on her face, she knew why he was lingering behind. If I didn't know better, I'd swear she could read my mind, he thought as he let her take him by the hand and down the corridor.

"Nice place," Anakin said as he and Padmé entered the suite.

"Yes, very nice," she agreed looking around. "Almost as big as our home on Coruscant."

"Yeah," he said, sitting down on one of the sofas, folding his arms over his chest.

"Coming to bed?" she asked.

"I'll be there in a moment," he said. "I just want to have a chat with our daughter."

"Anakin, do you really think that's such a good idea?" she asked.

Anakin's response was prevented by the entrance of Leia into the suite. She sensed immediately that her parents had been talking about her, and looked from one to the other.

"Something going on I should know about?" she asked.

"I just wanted to have a talk with you, Leia," Anakin said. "Come and have a seat."

"We wanted to have a talk," Padmé corrected him, realizing that her daughter's best chance of withstanding Anakin's interrogation was with her acting as a buffer.

Anakin waited until both his wife and his daughter took their seats before he spoke. Being a man of legendary bluntness, he came straight to the point. "Just what exactly is going on between you and Han Solo?"

Leia had to stop herself from letting her jaw drop open at the directness of her father. "Excuse me?" she managed to ask after a moment.

"I think you heard me," he replied, watching her closely. "What were you doing kissing him? Holding hands with him? What is going on, Leia?"

Leia frowned. "I should think that was fairly obvious," she said, starting to get annoyed with her father's attitude. "He and I have feelings for one another."

"Are you mad?" Anakin asked with a frown. "He is a smuggler! A pirate! A mercenary! He's not even close to being worthy of you! He.."

"I love him, and it's my choice," Leia interrupted, doing her best to keep her temper in check.

"Yes, of course it's your choice who you love, isn't it, Anakin?" Padmé put in, doing her best to mediate.

"I'm not so sure it should be," Anakin replied tersely, folding his arms over his chest. "If this is an example of the sort of choice she makes."

That was all it took to make Leia lose her cool. "You have no right to judge the decisions I make!" she cried.

"You're too young to know what's best for you!" Anakin countered.

"You were my age when you married my mother!" Leia returned.

"What does that have to do with anything!?"

"Don't you think that makes you something of a hypocrite for judging me based on my age?"

"So now I'm a hypocrite!?"

"If the shoe fits," Leia said, matching his stare with uncanny composure.

Padmé could only sit and watch the two sparring, unable to get a word in edgewise. They are so much alike it's scary, she thought.

Anakin took a moment to calm himself, taking a deep breath and counting to ten silently. "Leia, you are not even twenty years old," he said. "Do you know how old your Corellian pilot is?"

Leia shrugged, and Anakin could tell by her gesture that she knew very well.

"He's a lot older," Anakin continued. "A lot. It's just not right for someone his age to be involved with someone not even out of her teenage years. Surely you can see that."

"All I can see is that you are too narrow minded to consider that there is more to Han than you have seen," Leia replied. "Besides, just because you are my father doesn't give you the right to tell me who I can or cannot get involved with! I'm not a child anymore, Dad. Stop treating me like one!"

"Fine," Anakin said, standing up suddenly. "You do what you want; it's obvious that my opinion means nothing to you. Just don't come crying to me when he breaks your heart, Leia; because mark my words, that's what he'll do if you give him the opportunity."

"Anakin, you don't mean that," Padmé said to him, but he didn't stop and headed back to the bedroom. Padmé turned to Leia.

"Your father is ….very over protective," she said. "But I'm sure you've noticed that about him by now."

Leia nodded. "No kidding," she said. "I'm not going to let him bully me into pushing Han away, Mother," she averred.

Padmé smiled. "I don't think he could even if he wanted to," she said, taking Leia's hand. "I can see how much Han means to you. And for what it's worth, I think he's a charming young man."

Leia smiled. "It's worth a lot," she said, "thanks Mom. Do you know how nice it is to call you Mom?" she added.

Padmé nodded. "It's very nice hearing it too," she replied. "Don't think too harshly of your father, Leia," she added, lifting her hand to brush an errant wisp of hair from Leia's face. "He hasn't really been a father for too long now, remember? He's bound to make a few mistakes along the way. But his heart is in the right place. You know how very much he adores you and Luke."

Leia nodded. "I know," she said softly. "I just hope he learns to accept this."

"He will," Padmé assured her. "Give him time."

"Okay," Leia replied. "I love you, Mom," she said, leaning over and hugging Padmé.

Padmé closed her eyes and hugged Leia back. "I love you too, Leia," she replied. "Sleep well."

Padmé found Anakin brooding in the bedroom, sitting on the bed, back against the headboard, his arms folded over his chest. He reminded her very much of the way he looked when he was a boy if something did not go his way; but she decided it would be unwise to remark upon that at this particular moment.

"She's so bloody stubborn," he grumbled as Padmé sat down at the dressing table and commenced unfastening the chignon at the nape of her neck. She glanced in the mirror at his reflection, trying not to smile.

"She is," she agreed as she pulled the pins out of her hair. "Sort of reminds me of you."

Anakin only snorted in reply. "He's too old for her," he said. "And he's a smuggler Padmé, a smuggler!"

"Was, Anakin, he was a smuggler," she corrected him. "According to Leia he abandoned all that to join the Alliance. Doesn't that tell you something?"

"Business was slow?" Anakin suggested acerbically.

Padmé shook her head. "You are something else, you know that? You of all people," she said, picking up her brush as she shook the curls loose.

Anakin frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

Padmé turned to face him. "Anakin, how do you suppose my father would have felt if he'd known that I'd married you?"

"Your father liked me as I recall," Anakin replied.

"Yes, as my Jedi protector," Padmé responded. "But had he known that we were secretly married, don't you think he'd have had some objections?"

"Such as?" he asked.

"Anakin, you were a slave," she reminded him gently. "And committed to an institution that forbade marriage. I can assure you, he would have been less than happy had he known."

"Why should the fact that I was a slave make any difference?" he asked defensively. "Was your father an elitist or something?"

Padmé couldn't help but laugh at his comment, at the irony of it. "Anakin, do you hear yourself? You are angry with my poor dead father for something he never did, while you yourself are doing that very thing to Han Solo!"

"I…" Anakin began, and then stopped as he realized he'd been trapped, yet again, in his wife's impeccable logic. "Is that what I'm doing?"

Padmé stood up and walked over to the bed. "Yes, my love," she said. "You are." She sat on the edge of the bed. "You have to let go a little, Anakin. Give Leia credit for knowing how to judge a person. She's a Jedi padawan, remember? If Han was a lecherous deviant don't you think she'd know it?"

"I never called him that!" Anakin protested feebly.

"No, but you were thinking it," she said with a smile, standing up.

He looked up her, narrowing his eyes. "Are you sure you're not Force sensitive?" he asked, unnerved yet again by her ability to read his thoughts.

Padmé laughed. "Yes, quite sure," she replied. "I just know and understand my husband very, very well," she told him, bending to kiss his cheek. "I'm going to get ready for bed."

"Okay," he said. "I guess you're right," he conceded at last, the words sticking in his throat. "Again."

She smiled on her way to the fresher. "Aren't I always?"

"No," he replied at once. "Only…ninety nine point nine percent of the time," he added.

Padmé laughed all the way to the fresher.

Anakin got off the bed and got changed for bed, his mind full of his wife's words as he did so. It would be ironic indeed if he were judging another based on their past, given his own nefarious past. And yet, wasn't that what he was doing? No, there's more to it than just the smuggling…he's TOO DAMN OLD…and nothing Padmé says can make me change my mind about that.

Climbing under the covers, he closed his eyes, feeling tired all of a sudden from the day's taxing events. He wondered if Palpatine had sensed the death of Ferreus yet, if indeed the death of such pathetic excuse for a Sith was enough to…

"Ani? You asleep? Still sulking?"

"I'm not sleeping, and I was not sulking," he replied not opening his eyes.

"I bought this today, I thought you might like it," she said.

Anakin opened his eyes, and then widened them when he saw Padmé dressed in a sheer pink nightie very much like the one she wore on their wedding night.

"Do you like it?" she asked, walking over to the bed.

"You take my breath away," he said softly, reaching a hand out to her.

Padmé smiled. "I'll take that as a yes," she said, putting her hand in his.