Hi, guys! I'd like to thank all my reviewers, first of all. You guys are so nice. Seriously, I just came back from a sucky rehearsal for my show next week and my day got a thousand times better when I read all your guys' nice reviews. So, thank you!

Secondly, I know I've updated rather frequently since, er, yesterday, but next week I have a lot of stuff to do, so updates will be tad bit slower. Who knew that ninth grade Biology could be so time consuming? Ugh.

Anyways, please keep reviewing. I like all of your ideas so much and they really do help a lot.

Read on!

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Padmé kept her eyes closed, clenched her fists, and refused to look at the man in front of her.

How could he ask such a thing of her?

She took deep breaths and forced her body to relax. In truth, she wanted to scream at him. She wanted to yell and beat her fists and tell him where to go and how to get there. She wanted, really, to kill him.

But she did none of these things. Instead, she merely said slowly, "Tell me again what you want me to do." Thankfully, her voice came out calm and unwavering, and she opened her eyes.

Darth Sidious, Emperor and dark Lord of the Sith, stood before her in the harsh light of the medical facility, his yellow eyes piercing into her own. Beside him stood a Rodian medic, datapad in his hand and determination in his eyes. "Senator Amidala, we have no other options," the man informed her, his tone irritated. "Either we perform the procedure or your husband dies."

Padmé moaned in frustration and pressed her hands to her forehead. "Do you realize what you're asking me to do?" she bit out, fingernails clawing in her hair. "This cannot be the only way. It can't. There has to be something you can do!" Her last sentence came out slightly shrill, bordering on hysterical. She chided herself for not managing to keep her control.

"My lady, we already are," the medic informed her in a condescending tone of voice. "We've already sent his DNA to Kamino; there's nothing more we can do at the moment. You must trust our judgment."

Ha! She wanted to laugh. Trusting in the manipulative Sith who'd lied to her for the past thirteen years was absolutely not an option.

Then again, it was the only option she had.

Tiredly, she sighed. "How long would he have to be in the suit?" she questioned them.

"Not long," the medic assured her. "A year. Maybe two. But the fact remains that he cannot survive without his lungs. For now, we need to put him on life-support."

Padmé was slowly finding herself running out of options. They were right, of course. It would take a long while to clone his new limbs and lungs, and he couldn't just lie in a coma until then. Something had to be done. And it appeared as if there was truly nothing else they could do.

"Anakin would not consent to this," she informed them haughtily, as a last resort. A cheap shot, she knew, but again, she was not under normal circumstances.

"Anakin is not awake right now," the Emperor reminded her, spitting Vader's previous name in her face so nonchalantly that she questioned whether or not he actually meant it as an insult. "And if he were, we would present him with the argument we've given you. And he, like yourself, would be forced to concede that there is no other option."

Padmé's stomach lurched violently, as if the child could hear her predicament and was trying to show that he didn't like it, either. Absently, she placed her hand on her belly and tried to think.

If she consented to this, Anakin would undergo a long and dangerous surgery in which his burned and broken body would be reconstructed. Prosthetic limbs would be attached the stumps of his arms and legs. A life-support box would be attached to his chest. It would force his heart to beat and make his lungs contract. He would be encased a suit which would prevent any foreign substances from touching his completely vulnerable skin. Yes, it would be just until his new limbs and lungs could be cloned, but still, it would change him.

His body would be hidden from her completely.

His body would be a machine.

And he would be broken in more ways then one.

His soul had already been tarnished with darkness. Padmé liked to believe that she could bring him back, but after he'd attacked her, that hope seemed somewhat maudlin and naïve. Now his body would become artificial and machine-operated. He didn't even have his name to call his own. He would be Darth Vader. A completely different person.

But he would be alive.

After a long moment, she raised her gaze up to the men standing in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she made her decision. "Do it," she ordered in a breathless gasp, feeling, in that moment, self-loathing above all else.

She waited until they had both gone to break into agonized sobs.

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Padmé gazed out at the skyline of a beautifully-illuminated Coruscant. Out of habit, her eyes sought out the Jedi Temple. Often times, when she had been alone in her apartment and Anakin had been away from her, she would stare at the Temple for hours, her mind conjuring up images of Anakin, and what he would be doing at that exact moment. It had brought her some small semblance of comfort, and thusly, she'd been able to endure the rest of the day without breaking into agonized tears.

Now the Temple was destroyed; much like Anakin Skywalker. How fitting, she thought darkly. In her mind, she had always associated her husband with the Jedi Temple. If it was gone—for it was his life—then he was similarly gone.

Looking out at the stars through the foggy window of the medcenter, she contemplated the decision she had just made. To say she was unhappy with the situation would be an extreme understatement. Despite all the medical evidence to back it up as the safest route they could take, despite reasonable arguments from the medics and the undeniable lack of other options, she could not bring herself to accept it. One image came to mind, over and over again.

A Sith Lord rotting away inside his shell, his prison, until he became more machine than man; twisted and evil.

She shuddered.

She had made her decision. She couldn't go back on it, and she didn't even have to like it. But she promised herself one thing.

No matter what, she would love him.

Because Anakin Skywalker was in there somewhere, buried deeply in the shell of Vader. And she swore that, no matter what it took, she would find him.

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To be continued…