Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or Star Wars.


Mom was holding Leia, calling Leia her 'oogy-boogy.' Luke didn't know what that was, but Mom was smiling, so it had to be good.

Mom put Leia back down in the playpen. Leia curled up into a little ball; she hadn't gotten a lot of sleep last night. There was too much gas in her tummy.

Luke crawled over to his sister and placed an arm around her, to let her know everything was all right. Sure enough, Leia curled up and slept.

Sometimes, twins can communicate beyond just words.

Luke felt it now. He felt that his sister was in a state of mild panic. It's okay, Leia, he thought clearly, and visualized sending his mental message to Leia, like an e-mail. The people at school will take care of it. Aunt Beru and I will help you.

Sure enough, Luke reached out to his sister again, and felt a relative calm. Leia was trying to keep herself composed.

What Luke really needed was his mother. Mom had been that wonderful sort of mother who had been there no matter what. Luke barely remembered her, but he did remember being curled up in her arms for hours on end. Leia missed her too; Luke could often sense her hurt. He could also sense Dad's hurt; Dad missed Mom more than anything.

In fact, that was probably why he always insisted on working long hours at that stupid EmpireCorp. Being home hurt him; it reminded him too much of the twins' mother.

Aunt Beru and Leia arrived home. Luke heard Aunt Beru telling Leia to change into sweats or pajamas while she made her a cup of hot tea.

Moments later, Aunt Beru helped Leia into Luke's bedroom and sat her down on a beanbag chair. "There you go, honey. Just relax."

"Aunt Beru, I need more tea," Luke insisted through his hoarse voice.

"Coming right up, sweetheart."

As soon as Aunt Beru was out of the room, Luke turned to his sister. "Did you get the—uh—calm vibes I sent your way?"

"Yeah," Leia grumbled. "It helped a little. Thanks."

"What happened?"

Leia told him the entire story.

"Hmmm," Luke thought. "I have an idea. Doesn't Marilou have her license?"

"Marilou's brother has his license."

"Well, don't ride the bus to school anymore. Pay Marilou's brother to drive you to school."

"Riding the bus has nothing to do with it, Luke."

"Isn't he there waiting for you when the bus stops at school?"

"No, the problem starts when I head to my locker. That's when he comes up to me. You need to get well and come back to school to stop him, Luke."

"I don't think I can stop him, Leia, but maybe we can get even with him. We can make his life miserable so he'll never bother you again."

Leia, mug of tea almost to her mouth, froze. "And how, pray tell, is that going to work?"

Unfortunately, Luke never got a chance to explain. Aunt Beru had returned with a new mug of tea for Luke. "Here you go, Luke, honey. Let me take your temperature, and then we'll relax and play a game, okay? Pull up your beanbag chair, Leia, sweetie."


C3P0 had called a plumber for the Imperial Men's Room. Until then, everyone on the top floor had to use the Emperor's private restroom.

If the Emperor wasn't incapacitated, he would have been steaming mad. But oh well.

More than anything, Darth Vader wanted to get home to his family. He wanted to make sure that Leia was all right, and that Luke was recovering from his illness. He didn't want to see his daughter to have to see a shrink for her problems, and he didn't want his son in the hospital with a breathing tube down his throat. It hurt that Padme wasn't around anymore to take care of the kids, and that he had to rely on his sister-in-law—who, despite being great with the kids, insisted that they were feeling neglected.

Heck, Padme would have probably insisted on the same thing were she still alive. Darth barely knew his own children, and he was ashamed to admit it. But he'd wanted to be the CEO of EmpireCorp for twenty years now!

The best part about being CEO of EmpireCorp was that the CEO literally did nothing. That's why a ninety-year-old man had been able to do it. The CEO just went to a weekly meeting with the vice presidents, who gave reports, and then went to a weekly meeting with the board of directors, where he gave a report. The rest of the time, it was killing time in his office from nine to five.

Once in a while, the CEO got to fire somebody or complain about the budget, and Darth Vader could complain like no one else. That's why he thought he was perfect for the job.

So, not only would this new position be a piece of cake, it meant a serious increase in salary. His salary would be tripled, to be exact.

"ATTENTION ALL SENIOR OFFICERS OF EMPIRE CORP!" one of the minions was squawking over the loudspeaker. "THERE WILL BE AN EMERGENCY MEETING THIS AFTERNOON AT FOUR IN THE IMPERIAL CONFERENCE ROOM! PLEASE PLAN ON ATTENDING!"

Vader let out a groan. Who the hell set the meeting for four? That pretty much guaranteed that he'd be working until about six. No meeting lasted only an hour at EmpireCorp.

C3P0 came in to see his supervisor. "Mr. Vader, sir, I highly recommend you call home and advise your children you will be working late tonight."

The children.

Darth glanced at the picture on his desk, the one with the cute little baby twins hugging each other. He thought of Luke, his son, who would end up in the hospital without proper care, and Leia, whose problems might cause her grades to drop and her mood to get even more depressed. He didn't want his daughter on suicide watch.

Not to mention, if Darth ever did become CEO of EmpireCorp, a report of his children in trouble would mean that EmpireCorp's stock prices would go down the tubes.

That five percent of a caring human being that was left in Darth Vader stood up and threw his favorite silver pen down on his desk. He switched his computer off.

"Threepio, tell Jones and the others I will not be attending the meeting," he said briskly to his assistant. "I am going home to care for my children."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Vader," replied Threepio, sounding highly impressed.


Up Next: Lots of Cuddling