AN:

Travis Brown: Oh my gosh thank you so much!

Searth: Aw I'm sorry, I know poor Padme :( Yeah it is a dark time right now but it won't always be dark :))

JackRussells: Thank you so much for your review and lovely words. Yeah, Vader is in a very dark place. And I agree, I think Padme is doing the best she can :)

Wreck Me

We clawed, we chained, our hearts in vain
We jumped, never asking why
We kissed, I fell under your spell
A love no one could deny

The kids joined Padme at the table for breakfast silently. No words were spoken. Padme couldn't find her voice all morning – she had tuned out ever since she put one of her shawls around her neck to cover up the strangling marks from Vader's metal hand.

"Are we ever going to talk?" Leia suggested, observing the distance between her gloomy mother and brother.

"Huh?" Padme was forced out of her numbing thoughts. "Yeah... Sure, we can talk. . .when you're ready." She did her best to sound optimistic around them despite feeling a lump in her throat.

And still no one could say anything after the explosive fights yesterday. Luke fiddled with his toy skyhopper, while Leia grabbed a bite of her food.

"Why did you lie?" Luke eventually broke the silence.

Padme's eyes skimmed over the twins before returning to her plate of food. "Everything I told you about your father was true. He was a Jedi. He was a war hero – he was all that stuff. And I thought he died. I didn't know. . .until we got here."

"Why didn't you tell us then?" Luke's voice was firm, laced with disappointment.

Padme's now glistening eyes couldn't look up at him. "...Because he's not the same man anymore." With a subtle shake of her head, her eyes eventually found his. "He's not him."

"Why did he change?" asked Leia.

Padme felt a heavy breath emerge from her chest, hating every uncomfortable minute of this conversation – she had avoided it for so long.

"...After the war, everybody did. No one was the same." Padme swallowed a painful gulp in her sore throat. "Your father went down a dark path and. . .he just couldn't come back from it."

"Is that why he changed his name?" Leia speculated. "Is that why he's in a suit?"

"Well, Anaki-" Padme stopped to correct herself – wanting to make a clear distinction for her children. "–Vader made some bad decisions and uh..." She sniveled, trying to take her emotions out of it. "–your uncle Ben wanted to straighten him out and they. . .they got into a fight."

"A fight?" Luke's brow furrowed.

"That's all I know." She quickly interjected. She couldn't bring herself to even attempt to explain it in an age-appropriate way.

Luke pondered over his thoughts. "So if I were to ask him–"

"–Luke, y-you don't have to do this." Padme urged, nervously. "...I know how much you want this. But he is not the dad you're looking for. He is a dangerous man. You won't find the good man who was your father. He's gone."

"But he wants to get to know me. Shouldn't I–?"

"–Why?" She cut him off again. "You don't owe him anything. He left us!"

"He left you... " Luke mumbled, until he saw the grief on his mother's face. "I'm sorry, mum, I don't mean to hurt your feelings but. . .if I want to know him, isn't it up to me?"

Padme covered her mouth with her hand, not wanting them to sense her crippling affliction. She tried to keep a stiff upper lip, knowing that anything she said would just push him further towards Vader.

Luke then got up from the table. It was clear to him the conversation was over, and no good would come from talking about it now. His mother wasn't ready, and he didn't want to say the wrong thing.

He then tripped over as he got up, smashing the wing of his skyhopper on the floor after using his hand to break his fall.

"Are you okay?!" Padme got up abruptly to check on him.

"I'm fine." He winced as he stretched his arm out before taking a look at his toy.

"It's broken!" cried Leia, eyeing the toy ship.

"Well, when we get home, Obi-Wan'll fix it." Padme quickly assured. "Or, we'll just get you a new one."

"No." Luke moved away as his mother tried to reach for him. "I don't need a replacement. I want this one."

And Padme knew his animosity towards her wasn't just about the toy. He assumed she wanted to replace any longing he had for a father.

To avoid lashing out, Padme got up and went to her room to take a breather.

I came in like a wrecking ball
I never hit so hard in love
All I wanted was to break your walls
All you ever did was wreck me

"She's upset." Leia explained once Padme's door closed.

"I didn't do anything wrong." Luke huffed.

"I think you should talk to her." Leia proposed, taking another bite of her food.

"Ugh. Fine." He groaned. "After I fix this." He dangled his skyhopper at his side.

"How you gonna do that?" She quizzed, looking up at her brother.

Luke's eyes searched the room. "I just need... " He leaned up against the front door, accidentally pushing the button that opened it, realizing it was unlocked. He peered around before his eyes made their way back to Leia.

"There's no one there!" He whispered with a smirk.

"What?" She sat up straight. "No guards?"

Luke shook his head before peering out the door once more. "I'm going!"

"Wait, Luke." Leia got up, rushing to his side. "What if someone catches you?"

"So what?" He shrugged it off. "I'll tell them I'm looking for Vader."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Leia's critical eyes passed her brother and peeped outside. Her quick analytical mind running wild.

"Yeah, I don't think he'll hurt me." Luke assured her before stepping out, and closing the door behind him.

Leia anxiously watched her brother leave.

Padme walked back into the room, reading the concerned look on her daughter's face.

"Where's Luke?" Padme folded her arms.

Leia cringed, trying not to bite her fingernail. "Uh..."

Luke walked through the halls, taking very cautious steps as he glanced around. The corridor was completely silent and you just knew that if there were any lurking sounds, you'd hear them vibrating off the walls – it was clear an echo would reach from one end of the castle to the other.

This made Luke jump when the guards glided over to him. He was sure he'd hear anyone nearby.

One of them ordered Luke to show the toy in his hands. The other murmured something about Luke being one of Vader's prisoners here.

Both were stunned into silence by Vader's breathing behind them. And that sound could be heard a mile away.

"Leave him alone." The dark voice rumbled, and the guards quickly dispersed.

"Luke." Vader turned to the boy. "What are you doing out here?"

"The erm – the door opened and I uh..." His eyes searched the hall before landing on his little ship. "–I was looking for a way to fix my toy." He quickly held it up.

"Come." Vader directed.

I put you high up in the sky
And now, you're not coming down
It slowly turned, you let me burn
And now, we're ashes on the ground

Padme opened the door ready to fetch her son but a guard had returned. She didn't need three guesses to figure out who sent one back and why.

"Move." She ordered.

"I don't take orders from you." He established.

"I'm going to get my son." Her stern voice made it clear that nothing and no one was going to intimidate her.

"He's safe." The guard calmly held.

"I said I'm gong to get my son. Get out of my way!" Padme yelled.

"Lord Vader will bring him to you." Was the last words she heard before the guard closed the door on her.

Padme's intense inhalations could be heard through the thick walls.

I came in like a wrecking ball
Yeah, I just closed my eyes and swung
Left me crashing in a blazing fall
All you ever did was wreck me

"What happened?" Vader observed Luke fiddling with the skyhopper, after bringing him to his throne room. The stronger Luke got in the force, the more connected Vader felt to him. Somehow with this shared ability, they were able to familiarize themselves with one another in a way that Vader hadn't been able to do with anyone for a long time.

"The wing falls off sometimes." Luke said not looking up. "My uncle Ben used to fix it for me."

Obi-Wan. Vader still couldn't hear his name without flinching, especially after sensing the bond he had with his children.

"Let me see." He held out his mechanical hand.

"You can't fix it." A subtle whine escaped Luke's lips.

"Let me try." Vader added.

Luke indolently handed it over. Luke watched him study the toy. Vader's hands worked away like fixing things was second nature to him.

"...How's your mother?" Vader began as he inspected the wing of the skyhopper. "Is she alright?"

"I don't know." Luke slumped down onto the step. "We're not really talking."

"Don't shut her out." Vader spoke softly, still wrestling with his memories, including his most recent behaviour. "...Does she hate me?"

"Well, she loved the old you." Luke sighed, looking up at Vader, who stood beside him. "But she says you're not him anymore."

"No, I'm not." Vader said under his breath. It tortured him to think about. He was not Anakin Skywalker anymore. He didn't act like him, he didn't feel like him, and he certainly didn't look like him. And that's why it felt like his insides had been kicked out when she said those words: I'd rather die than be your wife.

Because what she's really saying is: I don't love you anymore.

And he knew she couldn't love him now. He didn't deserve it.

He just had this one thing: this one small ray of hope that appears when he looks at his son. Through their connection to the force, maybe Luke can help him remember how it feels to love.

"You know," Vader began successfully piecing the toy back together. "Once you find out where it fell apart, you can start to repair it. Sometimes it's just a little crack like here," he showed Luke the damage to the wing before searching the room for an adhesive. "–a small piece that fell off. . .that you can't replace. But. . .if you just scrape the roughness of the edges, you'll find a way to stick it back together – rebuild and. . .strengthen that connection."

Vader handed back the repaired ship to his son. "And it'll fit like a glove."

"You did it!" Luke beamed as he held the toy in his hand. "Thanks."

Vader shot him a slight nod as he watched Luke begin to fly it around the room. "I'd like to believe that. . .any connection can be fixed, no matter the damage."

Luke could feel Vader's presence right behind him. He then met his gaze through the lenses, realizing what the man in the suit was trying to tell him.

"I'd. . .like to believe that too."

Don't you ever say I just walked away
I will always want you
I can't live a lie, running for my life
I will always want you

Vader and Luke entered the terrace from the throne room and found Padme sitting outside with a blanket. She quickly wrapped it around her but not before Vader got a look at the marks he left on her neck. He could tell she was hiding her injury from their son.

"Mum." Luke spoke, solemnly.

Padme couldn't bring herself to look at them. It was the hardest thing to do to try and give her kids the space to know the man she wanted to keep them away from.

"I'm sorry I disappeared. I won't run out on you again." Luke promised.

She let out a sigh of relief that he was home in one piece. "We'll, uh... We'll talk later. Just go inside."

Luke obliged and she held onto her blanket tighter. Even when surrounded by a lava field, she could still feel a chilling breeze – or perhaps it was the shadow of Vader behind her that brought the cold.

"You win." She eventually muttered, closing her eyes. Her voice was a fragile whisper, robbed of its power. "I'm done fighting you."

She breathed out a heavy sigh, fatigued. "You want to be mad at me, blame me, point your fingers at everyone but yourself. . .knock yourself out."

She let out a breath she had seemingly been holding in before it could evoke a tear to her eye.

"Just please." She stressed – begging with such exhaustion in her voice. "Don't hurt my children."

Vader's movements were stilled by the brokenness in her plea.

"I won't." He managed to get the words out despite feeling his throat closing up.

She didn't turn to face him. Her eyes were strictly on the steep mountains but Vader couldn't leave. He couldn't bring himself to move – he wanted to fix it. But some cracks were too rough to soften. The hands (his metal hand) that hurt her cannot be the ones to heal her.

He finally took a step towards her, weakly uttering a plea: "Padme, I–"

"–Please leave me alone now." Her voice was polite but strong. There was no room for a rebuttal.

But he met her words with hesitation. Unable to pry himself away.

And his hesitance only frustrated her more. "Please." She pressed, curtly.

"Yeah." Vader acknowledged, honoring her request. He took a heavy breath. "Okay."

He finally walked away.

Once she heard the door to his throne room close, she allowed the few tears she had left to fall.

I never meant to start a war
I just wanted you to let me in
And instead of using force
I guess I should've let you win

Wrecking Ball - Miley Cyrus