Authors note: Thank you for everyone who favorite/followed/reviewed!
To clear a few things up:
1. No there has been no Order 66...yet...
2. Windu is still alive, Anakin never went to him.
3. Anakin knows the Chancellor is Sidious
For those of you wondering this song is A Little's Enough by Angels & Airwaves you can hear it here! watch?v=7pFe5am0pFE
When all is said and done
Will we still feel pain inside?
Will the scars go away with night?
Try to smile for the morning light
It's like the best dream to have
Where every thing is not so bad
"Padme, explain yourself! You call us to Varykino for what?" Ruwee was furious. "Are they yours?"
"Yes father. They are mi-"
"Whose the father?" Ruwee asked glancing at Anakin.
"It's...well.. It's one of my fellow Senators."
"And where is he? Just cast you off? What kind of man does that?"
"No! Father I only came here for you to meet them." She gave Anakin a sideways glance, "Their father is busy in the Senate."
"Oh Ruwee we're grandparents again!" Jobel cried.
Anakin fumbled a bit. Padme had just lied about the children. He felt dishonored and disrespected. He looked down at her left hand, her ring gone. He cleared his throat and held Leia out to Jobel. "Here Mrs. Naberrie, I'm sure you'd like to get to know your grand daughter. Her name is Leia. I should get your stuff from the ship."
"Please Anakin, call me Jobel. And I will set the guest bedroom up for you." Jobel responded admiring Leia.
"That won't be necessary M-Jobel, I am more comfortable on my ship. But thank you." He responded turning to the ship.
"Anakin, don't be silly. Stay inside with us." Padme called.
"No thank you, Senator Amidala." He said with more spite than he meant to and turned back to the ship.
"This is Luke." Padme said passing the baby to Ruwee. "I'll be right back."
Jobel and Ruwee shared a look as they watched their daughter follow the clearly distressed Jedi.
She found him in the cargo chamber loading up the twins portable bassinets and clothes. "Ani." she said cautiously, he pretended not to here her, "Ani, please-"
"Don't please me, Senator." Anakin responded through gritted teeth.
"Stop calling me that!" Padme cried.
"How dare you! How dare you disrespect me like that? How dare you lie to them about me being the father. I thought we were past this. " He kicked a loose item on the floor and sat down on the bench head in hands. "You don't understand how much I love you Padme. You never will. All of this, everything, I do for you. Not telling people we are married is one thing, but to deny me my children is a whole other thing. We were married here, or did you forget that too?"
"I lied for you Anakin. You're a Jedi-"
"I don't care about that!"
"Don't say that Ani, you've always wanted to be a Master. I know that's always been your dream."
"No Padme, I dream of the day I can call you my wife in public. I dream of the day we don't have to hide this. The day you'll call yourself Padme Skywalker. I dreamed of those children, but now you've taken that away too. My dreams of being a Jedi don't matter anymore. What do you think Obi-Wan went to Coruscant for? He's going to tell the Council. But don't worry Padme, this was never a real marriage, who were we kidding? I was never meant to have a family. I'm relinquishing you of any promises, your vows, everything. You can be Padme Naberrie the mother of two children from a Senator. I'll be leaving tonight." Anakin's voice choked and Padme saw a few stray years fall before he turned away from her. He pulled his wedding ring off and threw it on the ground.
Padme bent down and picked the band up holding it tight in her hand. "You don't mean that Ani, I know you don't. Please don't do this." She was crying now. "I love you Ani. I need you, our babies need you."
"You don't need me!" Anakin turned to face her, his blue eyes tinged yellow.
"Anakin your eyes." Padme gasped.
"Leave now, before I choke you again!" He demanded.
"Again?" Her hands went to her throat and the events of those few nights ago played out in her head. Obi-Wan coming to find her telling her Aniakin had turned, Her and Anakin fighting on Mustafar, him choking her. "Oh…Ani…" Fresh tears streamed down her cheeks. "It's okay. We…we can fix this together. Please Ani."
"Don't call me that! That's not my name. Anakin is dead." Vader shouted, "Now get your belongs and get off my ship!"
"Please don't leave." She whispered. Vader knew she meant this in more than just physically, but said nothing. Padme recalled something she had read while reading up on the Jedi, "Betrayal, greed, pride, these are a few things that lead to the Dark Side." and his earlier statement "I was never meant to have a family." She had betrayed him, betrayed his trust and hurt his pride. Worst of all she made him feel unloved and unwanted. She had taken the only family he had away from him. "I'm so sorry my love, I am so selfish sometimes. Please let me make this up to you. Please, I'll go in there and tell them the truth." She grabbed his hand and he yanked it away.
"Don't Padme." He said warningly.
She reached up and touched his face, he went to move away but she held him there with both her hands. "I am so sorry Anakin. This is not you. You are not Lord Vader, he is a monster. You're my husband Anakin Skywalker. We were married here three years ago, on the balcony. I will never forget that day and I have hurt you so badly. I want to fix this. Let me fix this." She pulled him down to her and kissed him with all she had.
At first he didn't respond, after a moment his hands went to her pulling her face closer to his and deepening the kiss. Leaning his forehead against hers their lips still lingering, eyes closed he whispered, "I love you Padme."
"I love you too Ani." She looked up as his eyes opened, the crystal blue color she loved. "He's still in there, isn't he?"
Anakin released her and turned away, "He is. It makes me feel crazy, but he's there."
Padme rested her hand on his shoulder, "We'll get through this together." He turned to her giving a small smile. She reached down to his left hand and put his wedding band back on his finger. "Starting with this. I vow to you Anakin Skywalker that I will never deny our marriage again, to no one. I will hold up all of the vows I took when I gave myself to you. I will never deny you our children. I will stand by you no matter what. I will always be a shoulder for you to cry on, and an open ear to listen to your troubles. We will get through this my love."
Anakin reached for the leather string around her neck pulling it off he once again removed the ring and placed it on her finger. Placing the necklace back around her neck he leaned in and kissed her. ""Come on Ani." She placed her hand in his and led him from the ship.
Ruwee and Jobel were flustered trying to calm the twins down, both of who were in fits of crying.
"They're Force sensitive they must have sensed our emotions." They both turned to see their daughter standing there hands linked with Anakin. "Let's go inside. I have somethings I need to tell you about." She and Anakin took the twins from her parents and settled them down.
Inside they sat around the dining room table. Padme retold them everything that had occurred over the last several years. From being reunited with Anakin, their first kiss, their marriage, their babies. Anakin sat silently with his head down, he was not sure how the Naberries would take this news. Ruwee and Jobel had always spoken so highly of him and he feared that this would disappoint them. The twins lay in their carriages fast asleep.
"So you're married?" Jobel questioned looking at the two of them unsure of what she had just heard.
"Yes, mother." Padme answered
"And the twins are yours, not some Senator?"
"That is correct."
"And you couldn't tell us? Not after all these years?" Anakin could sense the hurt in her words.
"No. We didn't tell anyone. The only ones who knew were R2, C3PO. Dorme eventually found out when Anakin moved into my apartment, and recently Master Obi-Wan Kenobi found out when I went into labor. I didn't want the HoloNet or any other reporters hounding you for information. And with Anakin being a Jedi well you know this isn't exactly allowed."
"Have you been expelled from the Jedi Order?"
Anakin shook his head and spoke without looking up, "No. Not yet. They don't know yet, Obi-Wan went ahead to Coruscant to tell them. I will know when he does, there will be a great disturbance in the Force."
"Do you want us to keep them? We can keep them here and tell people they are Sola's. No one needs to kn-"
"No! No mother. I will not deny my children. I'm done hiding this. My children are blessings and so is my marriage. They aren't hideous things that need to be hidden in a closet somewhere. I shouldn't have lied to you outside. I didn't know what to say. I disrespected my husband, the only man I have ever loved. Anakin, I am very sorry for that. And I know you two must feel so left out and hurt by this but I need you to understand why. I-We did this for each other and the people we love." Padme looked at her father who has remained silent. "Father, say something. Anything, yell, scream, curse just say something!"
It was silent for a minute than Ruwee spoke, "The Hero With No Fear is my son-in-law."
Padme gasped a "What?!"
"I'm honored." He said in reply.
Anakin looked at Padme, who looked at her mother, then back at her father, "You're honored?"
"Of course I am upset with both of you. Especially you Padme, keeping this a secret from us. But look at my two beautiful grand children, how could I be mad at that? And Anakin Skywalker, the man we all have to thank for helping end this nonsense is my son." Ruwee stood and walked around the table he motioned Anakin to stand up. When the younger man did he embraced him in a tight hug. "You take care of these three or so help me no Force power in the world will protect you. Understand?"
Anakin nodded, "Yes sir."
Padme smiled and stood up hugging her father relieved that this seemed to be going better than she expected. Leia started to cry in hunger, Padme picked her up and smiled, "My little princess are you hungry? Well I think daddy left all the bottles on the ship, so we'll go in the other room and get you all fed up. How does that sound?" Padme spoke as she exited being followed by Jobel.
Anakin smiled as Luke woke up, realizing he was alone he started to cry. Anakin picked him up and held him close to his chest who attempted to grab him. "Now Luke, I'm not your mommy so there will be none of that. You'll have to wait for her to finish with your sister." He sent calming vibes through the Force to the baby. "There that should hold you for a few."
"That surely would have helped when our girls were young." Ruwee laughed. "Especially Padme, even as a baby she was so strong minded and vocal."
Anakin laughed, "That's our Padme."
"Sola will be here later with the girls. I hope you know she is going to rub this in your face, Padme." Jobel said watching her youngest daughter feed her daughter.
Padme blushed, "I know. She said it all those years ago. She called Anakin my boyfriend."
Jobel laughed sitting down across from her daughter, "Your father has always been very taken with Anakin you know. Watching the HoloNet reports about him. Your father is very proud of him, he has done amazing things for the Republic."
Padme rolled her eyes, "I got that impression by his reaction."
"He's proud of you too. Watching you on the HoloNet giving your speeches. Even when you don't talk he watches just to get a glimpse."
"I'm really happy that both of you like Anakin. You know he has no family, and I think he sees you as his family. That's why he was so hurt when I lied earlier. I denied him the real family connection with you."
Jobel smiled, "We love Anakin like he is our own. For the past couple of years we've watched you both grow. I hope he knows that he is the son I never had." Padme smiled down at Leia who finished eating, she fixed herself and raised Leia to her shoulder to burp her. "Look at you Padme, being a mother. I never thought I'd see this day. And with such a handsome husband, it's all so perfect."
Padme tried not to let her smile falter, "Yes mother, it is."
"Padme, you know you can tell your father and I anything. We are always here for you."
"I know mother. I promise I'll never keep you in the dark about anything again."
"Perhaps there are something things that you should only tell me though." Jobel winked and Padme gave her a confused look.
"Mother! That's my husband!" Padme said scandalized realizing what she meant.
"Oh come on Padme, I've only just learned that. And an old woman can fantasize." Jobel laughed and looked past Padme's shoulder blushing. Padme turned to see Anakin holding Luke and her father appeared next to him in the doorway.
"It appears Luke here would like some quality time with mom as well." Anakin said crossing the threshold. Padme passed Leia to her still blushing mother and took Luke from him. "Your father and I are going to get the stuff from the ship." Ruwee left and Anakin turned before he exited the room, "Oh and don't talk about anything too scandalous in front of the children." Anakin winked at Jobel who turned an even deeper shade before turning and leaving.
"You think he heard me?" Jobel whispered to Padme.
"I'd say so." Padme laughed, "And he's never going to let you live it down."
Authors Note: Hope you all enjoyed Chapter 2! Please leave any feedback, questions, concerns!
Till next time,
xx PadmeNSkywalker