Author's Note: Just wanted to make sure everyone knew this is an AU. Thank you again to everyone reading and reviewing! MistiWhitesun, I'm still very much enjoying your reviews. I have updated Chapter Five to reflect your latest review. I wasn't really feeling the original Chapter Thirteen, so this is a replacement. I decided to try something new for the story. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The Star Wars Universe was created and is owned by George Lucas, this is just my imagination at work, based on the universe he has created. If this story is similar to another, it's pure coincidence.

Note: Thoughts are in italics. There is one spot in italics; a dream of Padm's. I'm sure you'll figure out what spot that is.

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"Pad?"

Her eyes slowly flickered open, a dark shadow standing over her. "Padmé?" the voice asked again, almost sounding worried.

"Yes?" Sitting up, she rubbed her tired eyes as a few curls fell into her face. Whoever it was standing next to her bed brushed the curls away from her face, smiling. The light shone on his face, revealing the man of her dreams. "Anakin," she whispered, smiling.

"Are you okay?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed, his smile suddenly more concerned than happy.

"Yes, why?"

"You don't remember?"

She shook her head, wondering what he meant. "No, what happened?" Padmé asked, now worried about herself as well.

"You were throwing up," Anakin began, placing his hand on her knee. "And you fainted," he finished, running his fingers through her hair.

"Why was I throwing up? What did I eat?" she wondered aloud, trying to remember anything that would jog her memory.

"Padmé? You don't remember? You just told me this morning," his voice trailing off a bit at the end.

"What is it?"

"Pad, you're pregnant." Feelings of shock, disbelief, happiness, and more shock filled her, amazed that she couldn't remember such a thing. Her eyes widened the more she thought about it.

"Padmé? Are you okay? Padmé?"

- - - -

"Wake up."

The stern and impatient voice almost yelled in her ears as she quickly woke up. Padmé tucked her hair behind her ears, looking around to see where she was. Feeling disoriented, she stood up from her chair and smoothed out her dress. "Where are we?"

"Naboo. We've just arrived. Come on," Darth Vader grabbed her hand and led her off the transport. There was a small speeder waiting for them; the Naberrie home was a little over 1000 meters from the nearest city, in a small village. Helping her into the speeder, he was almost acting like a gentleman. It made her smile, though it quickly faded. She knew he wasn't going to suddenly change or anything.

The speeder began to head toward their destination, and Padmé began to think about her dream. Pregnant? That's a far fetched dream. Especially Anakin being. . well, Anakin. She glanced over at him, watching him look over the landscape of Naboo. He looked at peace, not evil and angry. Maybe Naboo will bring back good memories for him?, she thought doubtfully. Resting her hand on his lap, he turned and smiled at her. Maybe that's a good sign? At least, I hope so.

- - - -

The speeder had stopped right outside of the Naberrie family home, just as she had remembered it. Not that it had been that long since she was last here, but it felt like it to her. The sound of at least one voice in the distance brought a smile to her face as she was overjoyed to be back home - though there was a possibility that the voices were not coming from her house.

"Mom? Dad?" Padmé called out as Vader helped her out of the speeder. Sighing, she remembered what she had forgotten to do before they left.

"What is it?" he asked her as they walked toward the front door.

"I forgot to let them know I was coming."

"Oh. Where could they be then if they aren't here?" He was trying to help, Padmé found it cute. Now Anakin stood before her, not Darth Vader. She loved it.

"Medical Center. We can take my speeder," she replied. "But let me put my stuff inside first."

- - - -

Anakin waited in the living room as she changed into something more comfortable. He looked around at the holographs on the walls, and it almost felt like he had gone back in time; back to a time when he was Anakin and he was her protector. They came here to stop and say 'Hi' to her family before heading to the Lake Retreat. Knocking him out of that time warp, Padmé came out from her bedroom. She was wearing a pretty, chartreuse skirt that stopped at her knees. She also wore a matching, embroidered, sleeveless top and a pair of brown sandals. Her chocolate curls were loose, hanging on her shoulders and laying on her back. Padmé smiled when she saw him.

"Ready?"

"Yes."

They walked together to the garage where her speeder was parked. As she backed it out, he couldn't help but stare. And she couldn't help but love the feeling of his eyes glued to her. The quiet ride gave her time to think.

"Wait, why are you still here?" she asked, the thought abruptly hitting her. "I thought you were going to leave?"

"No, you don't expect me to leave you alone, do you?"

"Well, I did," she mumbled, her voice trailing. The sight of the medical center cheered her up, just knowing that her family was most likely inside. They better be here. As they parked in the parking garage and headed for the door, he took her hand and held it in his own. She smiled and cringed, wondering what her family would think. Best not anger a Sith.

Jobal and Ruwee were walking towards them down the medical center hallway, seeming to be in a hurry. "Mom! Dad!" Padmé grinned and ran towards them, letting go of Anakin's hand and leaving him behind.

"Padmé! You made it!" Jobal screamed gleefully, running towards her daughter.

"We were just going to go home and rest up a bit. Sola will be glad to see you," Ruwee told her as the three of them embraced one another. Anakin began to walk towards them, clearing his throat to get Padm's attention.

"Oh. This is. . Anakin. You remember Anakin, right?" she turned towards him, looking down at the ground.

"Hello Anakin," Ruwee greeted him, shaking his hand. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, sir," Anakin replied, and Padmé was astounded that he hadn't freaked out when she said 'Anakin'; like he had done before.

"We are going to go see Sola now, see you back at home," she stated as they continued down the hallway. Waving to her family, Padmé thought that maybe Anakin had suddenly changed and everything would be perfect again. Though, in the back of her mind, she knew she was only lying to herself. But he never made an issue of it, much to her surprise.

"Here's the room," she announced as they walked in. "Sola!" she cried, running up to her sister and hugging her. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it earlier."

"It's fine, Pad. I'm so glad you are here! Have you seen them yet?" Sola asked, as Padmé shook her head negatively.

"We just got here and ran into Mom and Dad in the hallway," she replied, tilting her head toward Anakin so that her sister would know who the 'we' was.

"Hello Anakin," Sola greeted, waving. She then turned back to Padmé grinning from ear to ear. "How are you?"

"Fine, thank you."

"Well, Darred is in the cafeteria. He'll take you to see Sirté and Jarred," she quickly told them as a nurse entered the room. "Then we can talk."

"Okay, see you in a bit," Padmé waved, giving her another hug. They continued down the hallway, just the two of them again. Anakin was so quiet, it worried her a bit. But he was not acting like Darth Vader, so nothing else mattered to her at the moment. But she could not wait to see her niece and nephew for the first time.