Third chapter! Hooray! I'm thinking there will be four more after this one. I've got them all planned out, but if anyone wants to see anyone specific, go ahead and request them. Thanks to those who requested already, and to those who reviewed! It makes me ridiculously happy. :)

See first chapter for disclaimer!

Shmi

Away from the river, his breath came easier. The tragedy of what he had witnessed—what he had caused, had made him feel lightheaded and ill. Anakin rubbed a hand across his forehead, and Qui-Gon laid a hand on the small of his back.

"My job is done," he said. "I am sorry that it had to be so difficult."
Anakin shook his head and offered a hand. "I am sorry you had to do it."

Qui-Gon ignored the hand and drew him into a hug instead. Anakin returned it, a little surprised, but grateful for the strength and light he felt from the older man.

"You will be met by others, now," Qui-Gon said. "I will see you again."

And he was gone. Anakin blinked, and the sudden absence of the powerful Force presence brought back memories of the darkness. He closed his eyes tightly and reached tentatively inside him. He withdrew before touching the furnace of power that had always been inside, afraid to know how much he had changed. Or if he had changed.

A soft hand on his shoulder brought him around. He didn't know who he was expecting, but seeing her sent a thrill of joy and shock through his body. She smiled, that familiar, close-lipped smile that meant she was trying not to cry. His hand reached toward her face involuntarily and cupped her cheek; she leaned into it, and one of her hands came up to close over his. Her eyes closed, and a tear trailed down her cheek before she opened them again to search his face hungrily.

"I've missed you so," she whispered. "My little boy. My Ani."

His voice caught, and he drew her into his embrace, feeling tears come again. For a moment he couldn't speak, but only buried his face in her shoulder as if he were a little child again. He was so much taller than she, but the feelings were the same. She was comfort, security, and warmth. She was happiness and long talks and hugs and good food and soft humming. She was home.

Finally he pulled back, staring at her face, the tears gone. She was smiling widely now, proudly, beaming up at him as she reached up to touch his face. Her warm, blue-grey eyes so like his own sparkled.

"You're so handsome, Ani."

"Mom," he said. "I couldn't save you."

A flicker of an old pain passed across her face, but it was gone so quickly he wasn't sure he had seen it. "Save, Anakin?"

"The Raiders, all those years ago. I tried to save you, but I couldn't. I was too slow, I…"

Shmi put a gentle finger to his lips. "Ani. No, you couldn't save me. But after all, what does that matter?" When he tried to protest, she shook her head and spoke over him, in that chiding, teaching voice he had heard so many times. "Ani, you can't save everyone. Not everyone is meant to be saved. Did those Jedi teach you nothing?" A teasing smile. "The will of the Force is not always yours, Ani. You must accept that, learn from it. What else can you do?"
Before now, his response would have been quick, sharp, demanding. Now, he only shrugged his shoulders helplessly and dropped his eyes. "I only wish I could have helped you before it was too late."

"It is never too late, Anakin," Shmi said. "Now you can help me. Now is your time. Then was too early. You have always been impatient."

"I know," Anakin said. And then what she had said registered. "Now I can help you? What can I do now?"

Her face lost a little of its happiness, and she took him by the arm. "Anakin, a mother's greatest wish is to see her child happy and safe," she said earnestly. "My greatest wish is to see you strong and whole, and full of the joy that you had as a little boy. I have watched you struggle and grow, and it has hurt me so to see you in pain. Ani." She touched his chin, smoothing his cheek with her thumb. "You can help me by saving yourself. It is not me who needs to be saved. I have never needed to be saved. My death was a test for you. Our parting was a test for you. It has always been about you. That is what being a mother is."

He struggled for words, but she seemed to understand. She hugged him again, holding him tightly against her. "My time is gone," she whispered in his ear. "Others need to see you. But I will see you again. Come to me soon." She brushed his hair out of his face and smiled one last time. "I have such faith in you. I love you, Ani."

"I love you, Mom," he returned.

"And Anakin."

"Yes."

A brief, sparkling grin. "I already love those grandchildren of mine. And my daughter-in-law is a perfectly lovely girl."

Anakin returned the grin, feeling a disconcerting mixture of emotions at the mention of Padme.

"I know."

And then she was gone. This time, Anakin did not feel the darkness return. There was only emptiness now, the familiar hole that Qui-Gon and Shmi had filled for so short a time. He was now ensconced in a pale, soft, misty light. A far cry from the oppressive darkness; it felt peaceful and calm, but there was no welcome, no warmth, no emotion.

He did not think to sit, or to rest. He instead began to walk. He felt no fear, only an uneasiness that did not come from his surroundings, but rather from inside himself. A part of him was confident, buoyed by the visits from Qui-Gon and his mother. The larger part of him was restless and tormented with what he had seen across the river. He did not deserve the Force. He did not deserve happiness. Not after he had taken it from so many others. But Shmi's words continued to run through his mind, and he wondered tentatively whether they did not apply to all he had hurt.

"Now you can help me. Now is your time."

And then light.

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