Rescue

"Dad, what happened?" Luke asked.

"Put in the coordinates for Naboo," his father said in way of an answer.

"Anakin, what happened? I see you have a lightsaber."

"It's mine," was the only reply he gave as he looked at the weapon. How long ago had it been?

"Master Obi-Wan always tells me 'this weapon is your life.' He's wrong, Padme. You are my life. Here. Take it. Its yours," he told her putting the lightsaber in her hand and closing her fingers around it. "My life is in your hands."

"It's heavier than I thought."

"Taking a life is never an easy thing, Padme. But it's something that we as Jedi are sometimes called to do. My life is in your hands. I won't defend myself if you decide to take it. What would I do without you?"

"Anakin."

"Say the word and I'll leave the Order. We could start again, away from the war. Just us. And our love."

"Anakin...hide," she whispered as Senators came in and Anakin dashed behind the desk, pulling up the bottom of her Senator gown to touch her legs. She quivered at the touch and tried to maintain that Senatorial face. She sighed as Anakin stopped for she was being led out.

As Anakin had recalled the memory, Padme remembered. Padme, Amidala thought why did that name sound so familiar. Anakin, she had loved him. What of Cos and Vader, how did they fit into all this. She stopped a woman in Theed. "Do you know Luke?" she asked, and showed them the holo of him she had.

"Commander Skywalker, yeah, Lord Vader was chasing him all over the galaxy." If Vader had raised Luke then why had he chased him? And why was her son going by Skywalker instead of Vader or Palpatine? It didn't make sense. She had been able to see Anakin's face. The scar had been there. She was unsure if she should tell Cos about Anakin, what if she had betrayed Cos again? What type of woman did that make her? This didn't make any sense. In her memory of Anakin, she had felt so many things that she never felt for Cos. Why wasn't she with this Anakin instead of Cos. As if speculation of this Anakin was enough. She saw him. He was right in front of her, he had the look of a ghost as he rushed to her. There was guilt in his eyes. She could read him like a book. As he reached her side, she turned and she heard Cos.

"Amidala, come here," she froze as Anakin dropped to his knees in front of her and hugged her belly. "It's Vader."

"I know I don't deserve it," he whispered to her. "But come with me." She felt as if she could trust him, but there were other emotions surfacing.

"You are Vader?" she asked him. She saw the guilt in his eyes. "No, I will not. Get away from me. You have hurt me for the last time," she backed away from him. "How could you? You murdered children." Anakin remained on his knees, and he couldn't speak. He looked over at the teenager. He had no presence in the Force. There was something odd about him, and yet familiar.

"Padme."

"No. Stop, that isn't my name. My name is Amidala. You are trying to trick me. Cos said you would." She looked away from Anakin or Vader as Cos said he was.

"I have never tried to trick you, Padme. Despite all my faults, I truly deeply love you," he whispered.

Darth Sidious watched the interaction between Amidala and his treacherous apprentice and tried to decide the best course of action. He had told her the truth, Vader had murdered younglings...on his orders. He used his powers to allow her to remember Vader choking her, that coupled with the truth was enough that Amidala didn't trust her husband. She had always held Vader back, he never could forget Amidala. He couldn't use much of the Force and though it had surprised him to see Vader looking as he had when he was a Jedi Knight, he was able to disguise his Force presence from him, just barely. The best course of action was very little. Let Amidala hurt him, he deserved it. It was taking more Force power to manipulate the Senator than he had thought, if it hadn't taken so much and to maintain this clone body, he would have claimed her body as his own, but to manipulate her it took a lot of Dark Side power.

"Padme, you cannot stay here. Master Obi-Wan.." Sidious snarled upon hearing Vader refer to Obi-Wan as his master and felt his hold on masking his presence slip. Vader looked at him.

"Who is he?" Sidious heard the voice of Vader question.

"Cos is my friend, my lover," she replied, and Sidious heard the intake of breathe, and he smiled. He breathed in the hurt Vader elicited, wrapping it around the aura of pain. He licked his lips.

"What happened to you, Padme?"

"No, Anakin, what happened to you? Why did you become Vader?" she replied, stepping away from him. She drew on the power of the two memories she had. One of Anakin and the other of the yellow eyes of Vader. Anakin pulled himself from the floor and stood up, rocking on his heels as he towered over her. His voice broke as he leaned down and whispered into her ear.

"I did it for you, Padme. I did it to protect you, to protect our children."

"You believe Luke was yours?" she asked incredulously.

"Without a doubt," he replied confused. Was she admitted to betraying him. He took a breathe, what Sidious had said couldn't be true, she hadn't... she wouldn't betray him.

A memory stirred deep within Padme.

"I'm not afraid to die. I've been dying a little bit each day since you came back into my life."

"What are you talking about?"

"I love you."

"You love me? I thought we had decided not to fall in love. That we'd be forced to live a lie and that it would destroy our lives."

"I think our lives are about to be destroyed anyway. I truly... deeply... love you and before we die I want you to know," she reached up and she kissed him, and it was real and true and it came from both their hearts, tying their destinies together as it bonded them for life.

"Stop that. You are trying to trick me, Cos warned me," she sent a look to her companion. Anakin's eyes narrowed on the teenaged youth.

"Cos," Anakin addressed him. "What do you know of me?" Cos projected enough emotion for Anakin to pick up on. He never did look behind the obvious unless need be. He stood between his former apprentice and Amidala.

"Enough. Leave her alone."

"You seek to protect her from me?" Anakin asked his voice rising in octave.

"Do you not destroy whatever you touch?" Anakin flushed as he looked at the youth.

"Padme, please. Come with me. He's too young for you, Angel," he said, his voice gentle. "If you don't want me around I can accept that. I will even leave you be, my love." Padme felt her heart soften, and then she reminded herself of his powers.

"I can't. I l...love Cos," she replied, placing her arms around him. Anakin's eyes narrowed.

"I know I have hurt you, my love but I fear for your saftey. Master Obi-Wan came to me, he believes you should come with me."

"Just leave me alone." Anakin bowed to her.

"If you ever need me, all you have to do is think of me, and I will be here as soon as I can. There's nothing I will not do for you, milady," he whispered. Amidala could feel the tears welling up inside of her as she cried on Cos's jacket. "You look fetching, Senator," he replied as he turned and walked away.

"I thought he would attack you, apparently he's gone back to his old ways. He's trying to seduce you again."

"It won't work, Cos," she assured him, even though her emotions were like a whirlpool. Both she and Anakin missed how his eyes glowed yellow, and the smile that broke his face in half. He had succeeded in tearing them apart. Amidala was allowing him more liberties than ever. She needed him, not Vader. This would be his ultimate victory over his apprentice. He pulled her closer and began kissing her, for the first time she responded willingly. Vader was the key to seducing his wife. He would have his way with her whenever he wanted, and every time he did he would think of Vader's pain, Vader's cries, and how she would cry out his name, not Vader's. She had been Vader's whore, and now she was his. As she had been Vader's weakness she would be punished for she could never be a weakness for him. One day, he would tell Vader of how she had moaned for Sidious and then he would rip out her lying tongue and kill her right in front of him as she watched Vader die slowly, a quick death was too good for the traitor.