Padme's depressing thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the meditation chamber opening up. Vader stepped out. Now that she had decided what to do, she was not afraid of him.
"Come over here," Vader told her. Padme was surprised. Did he know of her plan? She relaxed when he said,
"Let's go the TV screen. A certain captain is trying to contact us on a private channel."
"No," Padme thought to herself, knowing who the captain was. "Please don't!"
Vader knew her thought and asked out loud,
"Don't you want to speak to your parents?" She showed no emotion when he said this. He would have questioned her further, but a familiar person came on the screen.
Padme gasped. She heard a Wookiee making noise, and a man sitting next to him. The man had brown hair that was starting to turn gray. He saw Padme and smiled.
"Hi there, sweetheart," she heard Han Solo say to her.
"Hi...uh," Padme stammered, not sure how she should address him.
"It's okay. You can call me Han."
"Han." She reached out to touch the screen. Han's eyes widened when he felt a strange sensation against his cheek.
"Don't be afraid. I'm just touching your cheek," his daughter explained.
Han swallowed his throat and said,
"I will never understand the ways of the Force. But I do know this one thing. I love you, Padme."
"I know." Chewbacca made some noises that Padme could not understand.
"Okay!" Han uttered. To Padme, he said,
"Chewy says you are very beautiful, and he is going to play with your hair when he sees you."
"If I let him," Padme teased, feeling a little more relaxed. Well, as relaxed as she could be with Vader standing next to her.
"Who are you talking to, Han..." Leia asked, before she saw the TV screen. It had been less than 24 hours since Padme was taken from home, but it seemed like an eternity. She thought her eyes were deceiving her, because she saw her daughter on the screen.
"Padme?" Leia cried out. "Is that you?"
"Yes," her daughter replied, happy to see her mother.
"Padme! Thank the Maker! But how..."
"Don't question, sweetheart. Just talk to our daughter," Han replied to her. He did not understand why Vader had contacted them, to set up the video chat. But to see his baby girl, the one he thought was dead, was worth any price he may have to pay later on.
"Are you all right?" Leia asked her daughter, full of both joy and concern. "You stopped talking to us. We were worried! What happened?"
Vader interjected himself into the conversation.
"Let's just say she witnessed someone losing their hands," he calmly said.
Leia's face grew pale. If Vader had...
"I am fine," Padme chimed in, holding both of her hands up for her mother to see. Leia breathed a sigh of relief.
"Not a word about who I am to Padme. Not yet," Vader warned Leia through the Force.
"I am glad to hear that," Leia said to Padme. She would give anything, even her very life, to trade places with her daughter right now.
"What is going on over here?" Padme heard another male voice say. He came on the screen. He gazed at the screen. She could tell by his dark sandy colored hair that he was her uncle.
"Hello, Padme. We meet at last," Luke Skywalker greeted his niece.
"Hello, Luke," Padme responded. It was overwhelming. This morning, she had no family, and now, she had her family on the TV, smiling at her.
"Not a word about me, my son," Vader told Luke through the Force. Luke nodded his head in agreement. To his niece, he said,
"You have had an adventurous day, to say the least." He studied the girl. She was definitely Han & Leia's daughter. He drew closer to the screen. He gazed at her and saw her eyes. She had Anikin's eyes.
Luke did not say anything for a moment. Padme and Vader looked at each other, curious as to why he was silent.
Luke finally said, with a serious expression on his face,
"Padme, what you are thinking of doing is out of fear. Don't do it. Do not make the same mistake as..." He bit his lip, wondering if he had said too much.
"The same mistake as who?" Padme questioned nervously. Luke was about to respond, but it was Vader who uttered the words.
"Do not mistake the same mistake as your grandfather, Anikin Skywalker." he said solemnly. Padme faced the Emperor. Why would he say such a thing to her?
"What mistake did he made?"
"He let his anger and fear of losing the ones he loved drive him to the Dark side," Vader explained. "He thought the power of the Dark side would protect them, but instead..." He paused, regretting the years he had been apart from Luke and Leia. " He lost the people he cared about."
Before the girl could ask how Vader knew this, Luke spoke up.
"Padme, look at me. You will be fine. It is okay to be afraid. But do not let fear determine the choices you make. Believe me, I understand what you are going through. The Force runs strong in my family. My father has it, I have it, my sister has it. You have that power, too. Let the Force guide you," her uncle said to her.
Padme could not bear it any longer. She turned away and ran to the couch. She flopped herself on it, and began to bawl.
As she was overwhelmed by what Luke had said to her, Vader said to the adults,
"I have sent you the time we will be landing on Mustafar. Will you make it on time?"
"We will be there," Han insisted. "I still have a bad feeling about this..."
"Han," Leia said, placing her hand on his shoulder to silence him. The mere fact that Vader was allowing them to see Padme brought joy to her heart.
"Padme needs to get some rest," Luke added.
"I agree," Vader replied. "We will see you tomorrow." He turned off the video call. It was overwhelming to see Luke again, after all these years. But it was nothing in comparison to what the girl on his couch was feeling.
The Emperor approached Padme. He did not know what to say to comfort her. He realized that words would not do in this situation.
Vader took his hand and placed it on the side of Padme's head. She thought he was going to mind probe her, but he didn't. To her surprise, she felt his hand gently caress her cheek, to wipe her eyes away. She was strangely comforted by his touch.
"Go to sleep, Padme," he told her, as he moved his hand away. He headed to the meditation chamber. He stopped when he heard her call out to him.
"Lord Vader?" Padme said softly.
"Yes, Padme?" He turned around to face her. She smiled and said,
"Thank you for the birthday gift."
"You are welcome." He went into the chamber. Padme laid her hand down and fell fast asleep.