A/N: I know, I know! I hope everyone is still with me! This big of a gap will NOT happen again. If you are still here, read and enjoy, and don't forget to review! ;) Things are about to get complicated in the next couple of chapters.

~Riah

P.S. A Small Recap: Anakin has just been knighted two years after AOTC. He recieved a strange call from Tatooine saying that his MOTHER is actually alive. Ahsoka was introduced as his apprentice last chapter, and Anakin spent some time with the 501st. It was also revealed that Anakin has taken it upon himself to hunt Grievous and Dooku without the approval or help of the Jedi or the chancellor. Oh, and Padme is expecting, but the timeline is slightly different, so what will that mean?

GM Chapter 7:

The wide windows of the Nubian Cruiser provided breathtaking views of the stars as the ship streaked across the galaxy in hyperspace. Their bright brilliances were utterly mesmerizing to all of their viewers, and Anakin was no exception.

His fascination with the stars had begun when he was just a small boy. He and his mother would climb to the roof of their small hovel and talk about their days, their dreams, and their futures while gazing at the tiny specks that were scattered across the sky.

Closing his eyes as he placed the ship on autopilot, Anakin could still feel the strength of her warm embrace around him, could still hear her whispering in his ear to always look to the stars for guidance, for someday she would be among them, watching over him.

Since the beginning of the war he had looked to the sky and put his faith in the idea that his mother was up there somewhere, protecting him and his loved one from harm. Blind faith was a difficult idea for someone such as Anakin to come by, and now to learn that the one thing he had believed in staunchly for the past two years, other than the devout love he had for his wife, was possibly not real at all, he was lost.

Lost was the last thing that Anakin needed to be. His responsibilities were piling upon him quickly, and his heavy, military boots were getting lost in the quicksand that was fast becoming his life.

He leaned his head back and closed eyes, trusting that R2 would rouse him if needed. It was then that soft arms wrapped lightly around his neck and curled under his chin.

"Come to rest with me," Padme whispered in his ear.

Worried that they weren't alone, Anakin sat up and twisted around his chair, sliding his hands down to his wife's wrists. His fingers curled around them as he held her hands apart and looked into her eyes.

"We can't," he told her, shaking his head. "Ahsoka…"

"Ahsoka's asleep. Deeply asleep," she replied, laying her finger over his lips. Her lips quickly replaced her finger as she leaned forward and slid into his lap, curling into her husband, her protector.

Anakin wrapped his arms around Padme and held her close, their fingers entwining tightly and resting over her tummy. Sighing, content with having his love cradled in his arms, he turned the chair back around to gaze out the window.

Ahsoka Tano.

She was his new charge and the ever growing thorn in his side.

Though not under the best circumstances, Anakin had been staunchly looking forward to the day long journey to Tatooine, a journey that he thought would be spent alone with Padme. However his hopes were dashed at the shocking revelation that he now had a padawan learner.

It was nothing personal.

Truth be told, he felt sorry for the girl. Being thrust into a war that she had no business being in, and under the tutelage of one that was barely able to take care of himself, could not be easy.

Anakin didn't know what he could possibly teach the girl, apart from lightsaber dueling, and now he would have to be especially careful regarding his personal matters. The fact that the Lars' knew somewhat of the extent of his and Padme's relationship would serve to be a problem if he can't keep Ahsoka isolated on the ship. He would have to alert his family before introducing her to them.

Secrecy was his and Padme's only ally. Having an assigned shadow would only increase the likelihood of being discovered.

Still, Anakin needed his wife's comfort.

"Alright. Let's go," Anakin beckoned, rising and moving towards the captain's cabin. Padme reached for and grasped his hand as Anakin spoke. "Watch the ship, R2. Wake me if something happens."

The astromech whirred in response as his masters disappeared down the hallway and retreated back into his charging alcove.

Ahsoka was in fact sleeping in the tiny servants' quarters, but it was a restless sleep, filled with anxiety and feelings of fear she knew she shouldn't be feeling. Every few minutes she found herself staring at the ceiling, pondering the situation she now found herself in.

There was no adequate word to describe the monumental confusion she harbored at the situation she now found herself in. The questions were endless and kept her tossing and turning throughout the night.

She supposed that the biggest surprise of all was that she was currently on board a cruiser owned by the senator of Naboo, traveling with the master she had just been introduced to the day before, to a giant dust ball of a planet and was given no explanation of any kind whatsoever. Overwhelming was only the beginning.

Ahsoka's confusion, coupled with the fact that in twenty-eight days' time she would be on board a very different kind of cruiser, headed for the outer rim, left her reeling. A Jedi was supposed to be calm and serene at all times, but how could she calm down with all the questions she had bouncing around in her head?

And she really felt that she had no one to ask. Her new master was consumed with this impromptu assignment to Tatooine, and the conversation since the day before had been practically non-existent. Beyond a meager introduction and list of rules for this expedition, Master Skywalker had not paid one ounce of attention to her.

Eventually, Ahsoka could not take her tossing and turning any longer, and she sat up, taking the time to read a thorough background on military tactics on her data pad. If her new master wasn't going to teach her anything worthwhile, then she would just have to teach herself.

Ahsoka browsed the chapters until she heard the sound of heavy footsteps making their way back towards the cockpit. It would take time for her to become accustomed to her master's presence in the force. The bright aura was actually quite blinding and left her senses feeling numb. For now, the old fashion way would have to suffice.

Anakin wasn't alone in the cockpit when Ahsoka walked up behind him. The senator from Naboo sat next to him, seemingly intent on their descent. Ahsoka still wasn't sure why the senator was on this trip, even if it was her ship that they were flying. She couldn't understand why anyone of such high social status would willingly come to this horrid, outer rim planet.

Ahsoka's dreary opinion of her master's home world, as she had read in his archive profile, was only reinforced as she peered at its dusty landscape from over his shoulder. Anakin was taking them in hot, as he often liked to do, clouds of dust billowing in front of the viewport as he activated the repulsors and settled the cruiser gently to the ground.

Padme sat in the co-pilots chair, watching her husband from out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't recall a time seeing his shoulders so tense since the last time they had been on this planet, and she feared nothing would make him relax until this mystery regarding his mother was solved.

She herself was as tense as they come. After spending quite a bit of time meticulously picking an outfit that would drape across her slightly rounded abdomen instead of drawing attention to it, she was also extremely nervous. Not only because of what they may find of Shmi, a woman she loved deeply, if only because Anakin loved her, but because of the possibility of her pregnancy being discovered, by both Anakin's new apprentice and the Lars family.

Anakin felt the same. The rigidness in his back was due to more than just his mother. Secrets that were not to be known were on the verge of being divulged. His and Padme's very livelihoods were at stake, and if he couldn't find a way to protect them, the only things he could see in his future were disappointment and exile.

"Ahsoka," Anakin said, "I need you to stay on the ship until I tell you otherwise. I don't know what we'll find here, and I don't want you getting involved until we have had some time to train and get to know one another."

Although her master never turned to look at her, Ahsoka stood at rigid attention as he spoke. Not wanting to upset the already fragile relationship between the two, she acquiesced easily. "Yes, Master," she replied, though she was unsatisfied with the minimal amount of details that had been bequeathed to her regarding this 'assignment'.

Sensing that his new apprentice was feeling left out and a little disappointed that she was not being trusted enough, Anakin tried to explain further without giving too much away. "This isn't an assignment given by the council, Ahsoka. We are coming to Tatooine on a personal matter. This planet used to be my home before I became a Jedi. Padme has come because she was with the Jedi that discovered me here, so she knows these people and could be of help. She's also been a great friend to have outside of the Order."

Anakin didn't want to sound long winded, in fact it had been the most he had said to his padawan yet, but he felt that Padme's presence needed more of an explanation than anything else.

"I understand, Master," Ahsoka said, knowing better than to question him, while internally she wondered why her master would have personal business on Tatooine when Jed weren't supposed to have contact with their families, or really have any personal lives at all.

Satisfied that Ahsoka would do as he asked, Anakin glanced over to his wife, and they shared a knowing look, bracing themselves for impact.

Though he had never been very mechanically intuitive, Owen Lars was making a great effort to fix the latest moisture vaporator to give out. The Lars' had owned this farm for longer than Owen had been alive, but the life of a farmer was not one of abundant riches, and moisture vaporators get old. They fill with sand, and the high winds damage the internal circuitry, despite their hard coverings. Eventually they need to be replaced, but Owen and his father just couldn't find the funds.

It was another reason Owen resented his step-brother so much. Anakin was a Jedi, powerful and most likely rich. He didn't understand why Anakin wouldn't put forth the effort to help the family that had saved his mother, the only family Anakin had left. He couldn't care less about us, that's why, Owen thought.

So imagine Owen's surprise when he heard his father calling him to the front of their hovel, the distinct sound of a cruiser's landing cycle echoing across the vast desert. Anakin had never bothered to call them back after the abrupt ending to their meeting two days before, and he figured that Anakin simply didn't care enough. However, the familiar, silver cruiser that was landing a few hundred yards away was a clear sign that Owen had been wrong.

Cliegg Lars smiled smugly as he sat in his hover chair next to his son. The boy never had much faith in Anakin, or anything really, and Cliegg was hoping that this would knock him down a notch. Owen had always strived to make others think that he was bigger, more than he really was, but Cliegg saw how difficult it had been for Owen to lose the only mother he had ever known, and he watched anxiously as jealousy over Anakin consumed him when Anakin had found his mother and Owen had not.

Owen didn't need to look at his father to know that Cliegg's lips were turned upward in cocky grin. He could practically feel the smugness rolling of Cliegg in waves. It sickened him.

Cliegg's attitude had been quickly uplifted and turned almost jovial when Owen told him that Shmi's grave was empty. He seemed oblivious to the idea that even if her body was missing, this Shmi that was before them could still be an imposter. Owen had tried to convince his father, but Cliegg didn't have anything if he didn't have his faith.

Both men watched anxiously as the landing ramp descended in the distance, and two figures headed towards them.

Owen's lip curled in disgust as he took in his step-brother's tall figure, internally feeling jealous over Anakin's good looks and dark, powerful looking attire. The gleaming weapon hanging from Anakin's hip was as menacing as the pink, vertical scar running along his eye and almost down to his tightly clenched jaw, but his hostile appearance was offset by the beautiful woman who walked beside him.

Owen loved his almost wife very much, but he was still a young, virile man and knew how to appreciate the beauty before him. She looked every bit as powerful in her black pants and tunic as her…Owen didn't know what to call to Anakin. He knew they were involved somehow after seeing the two embrace two years before, but he, like everyone else had no idea that they were married.

There was no greeting between the four adults as Anakin and Padme approached. Anakin, as blunt as ever, went straight to the point. "Where is she?" he asked, sizing up his step-brother. Owen's eyes were narrowed into slits as he spoke, but Anakin was unfazed.

"We gave the last of our supply of sedative to her this morning. It should be wearing off soon," Cliegg said in response, understanding Anakin's need to know what's going on.

Anakin swallowed. "Take us to her," he said, standing up a little straighter.

The elder Lars nodded and turned towards the house, the young couple following closely behind. Anakin noted as they entered the hovel that nothing had changed since he had last been here. What a mundane way of life, he thought to himself as he walked towards the back quarters. He had become accustomed to the adventurous life of both a Jedi and a soldier, and he didn't think he could ever do something as normal as farming ever again.

Everyone had told him he was meant for greater things. He was the chosen one after all.

Once they reached the closed door of the room that Shmi was resting in, Padme noticed Anakin's hesitation and took the opportunity to slide up next to her husband and grasp his hand in hers in support.

Cliegg didn't hesitate to hit the control panel, the door quickly sliding open and revealing a woman tossing and turning on her cot. No one missed Anakin's sharp intake of breath as he laid eyes on a woman who looked very much like his dead mother.

His heart stuttered and skipped a beat from the full effect of feeling his mother's very essence thriving in the force. It was like he had been blocking out her presence up until he could see her with his own eyes, like a light being switched on.

He knew without a doubt that this was his mother. He didn't know how he knew, but he was sure that a force presence that he had known so well could never be replicated in a false entity this accurately.

Stumbling forward, Anakin slid to his knees at his mother's bedside, Padme right next to him, and reached for her hand. He was so unbelievably happy to see that his mother was alive, but he was also hit with an unprecedented amount of guilt over his previous actions, mainly the Tusken massacre, and it battered him like an assault rifle to the chest. The two emotions warred inside him for dominance, but eventually his happiness won out, and he pushed the guilt away.

"Mom," he whispered, brushing the hair back from her forehead as she stirred in front of him. She began twisting and writhing erratically before she even opened her eyes, but Anakin was prepared for her actions. He reached deep into the force, calling upon its power to calm the disturbed woman. Eventually she stilled under Anakin's probing, and he gave her one final nudge with the force, commanding her to open her eyes.

When Shmi opened her eyes beneath Anakin's touch, Cliegg watched as the first flicker of recognition scuttled across her deep, blue eyes. A part of him deep down was instantly hurt that she only recognized the son that she hadn't seen for years, but the better, larger part of him was simply glad that the maniacal look in her eyes had disappeared.

Owen's reaction was the complete opposite of his father's. The jealousy that he had tried so hard to force back came bursting from him like lava from the fiery volcanoes of Mustafar as he saw the woman he thought of his mother almost instantly calm in the presence of Anakin Skywalker.

No one took any notice of him storming from the room.

The flicker of recognition in Shmi's eyes quickly turned to an ignited happiness as she brushed her fingers along her son's cheek. To her knowledge she hadn't laid eyes on him since he was a small boy leaving this desert planet to follow his dreams. "Ani, oh my Ani," she whispered as she took in his strong features, not missing the many scars that decorated his face. "You've grown to be so handsome, my son."

"I missed you so much, Mom. I thought you were gone forever," Anakin spoke, still trying to grasp the idea that what he saw in the Tusken camp had all been some sort of twisted hoax.

Her brow furrowed in confusion for a moment before seemingly letting it go. "I am right here, Ani. And I am not ever going anywhere again," she said, closing her eyes for a moment, suddenly suffering from an intense headache as she tried to remember the details of her life. She couldn't exactly determine what it was her son was speaking of. Had she gone somewhere?

Anakin, ever one to get right down to the point began peppering her with questions. "Mom, do you know who did this to you? Where have you been?" he pleaded, eager to get to the bottom of this mystery.

"I…I don't know, Anakin. I can't…my head," Shmi whimpered in pain as she tried to think. She reached up to hold her head in her hands, squinting her eyes shut and shaking her head in agony.

"Ani, why don't we let your mother rest for now? We don't want to overwhelm her," Padme, who was still staunchly gripping her husband's hand, intervened. She sensed that Anakin was more than anxious for answers, but also, being more sensitive to others than him, sensing that Shmi was nowhere near ready to divulge what she knew about her time away, if anything at all.

"You're right," Anakin nodded, not taking his eyes away from his mother. "Mom?" he prompted. "Do you remember Padme? She was with Qui-Gon Jinn all those years ago."

Shmi looked over Padme hesitantly, almost afraid to force herself to remember, for fear that the stabbing pain in her head would worsen. However, Shmi was pleasantly surprised that thinking back all those years was almost too easy. "Of course I remember her. You are quite beautiful if I may so, even more beautiful than you were back then, and I have a very good memory, you know. At least, I did, before." Shmi glanced down at her fingers, disturbed at the giant, gaping holes that seemed to be taking up a large chunk of her memory. She knew she was forgetting something, but all she could see where those memories should be was black.

"Thank you, Mrs. Lars. I am so glad that you have come back to us," Padme said in reply, as polite and diplomatic as ever.

"Please, dear. Call me Shmi," she said back. "I insist." Then she seemed to sink into deep thought. "Lars?" she questioned, Cliegg's heart sinking at her confusion. No one had acknowledged him since his wife had awakened.

"Lars. That's my name, isn't it? Cliegg. I married Cliegg Lars," she continued, amazed as she suddenly remembered being freed and finally meeting the love of her life, memories of their time together pouring over her in waves. "Cliegg. Where is he?" she asked, in a sudden panic. Where was he? Why wasn't he with her, she thought.

"He's…"

"I am right here, Darling," Cliegg interrupted Anakin, rushing to his wife's side. "Don't worry, my love. I've got you," he soothed, wrapping his arms around his wife's now sobbing form. He himself couldn't stop the sudden rush of tears in his eyes. He finally had his wife back, and she was safe.

Anakin and Padme both stepped back, mutually understanding that the reunited couple needed a few moments to themselves. Though normally the jealous type, Anakin understood perfectly that the comfort that his mother needed was not the type given from a son, but from a husband to his wife.

Anakin took his wife's hand and led her out, softly closing the door behind them.

Despite hating the heat, and the sand, and the strong winds of his home planet, Anakin realized, as he stood watching the twin suns set, his wife's back pressed against his chest, that there were certain things that he had missed since he was a boy. The beautiful sunsets were the first and most foremost, but much like on Coruscant, he found that he missed taking in the sights of all the different species that passed through the spaceports, from the lowest of the lowest scum to the richest of the richest sleazebags. Each and every person he had ever met held a certain fascination that was only appreciated by a very elite few, those, like Anakin, that were most attuned to the force.

Although the heat of the desert was rancid during the day, sunset marked the time when the temperatures rapidly began to cool. Anakin, even after all his time away, was still accustomed to the change, but he didn't miss the way Padme shivered and snuggled closer into his side as a strong blast of wind struck them.

It was moments like this during which Anakin felt the most content, at peace holding his wife in his arms. They spent so many hours and days away from each other that they were forced to cherish each and every minute that they had together even more.

And now, he was more peaceful than he had been in a long while. Anakin was very capable of ignoring all the complications in his life in that moment and instead focusing on all the good. He was here with Padme nestled against him, their child nestled within her, and his mother was just a few short meters away, alive and well, injured, but whole.

It was only after a couple of hours of deep probing that Anakin determined that most of Shmi's injuries were superficial and would easily heal. However, the biggest and most prominent problem was the obvious block in Shmi's memories. It was as if everything that Shmi had experienced over the last two years had been organized into one file, thrown into a box in the back of her mind, and locked away. The last thing she remembered was having been outside collecting moisture from the vaporators, and then suddenly…nothing. Darkness.

Anakin had delved deeply into her mind with the force, trying to find the key to unlocking those memories, but every time he tried to grasp it, a solid, duracrete wall was all he encountered. He was an extremely talented force-user, and the mental shields should have been easy for him to tear down, but these shields were not ones that had been built by the owner of the mind. The shields inside his mother's head had clearly been placed there by someone with as strong as an affinity for the force as he.

But then that left him with a most troubling question.

Who in the galaxy, that was powerful enough in the force, would want to hurt Shmi Skywalker-Lars?

Anakin had a sinking feeling that the Skywalker portion of her name was the key. He thought back to the previous day, when Obi-Wan had suggested that this could be a ploy, a trap for him. He was the chosen one after all, and there were many out there that he was sure, if they knew the extent to which his abilities could grow, would strive to use his powers for their own personal gain. Was his mother just a bargaining chip?

If so, then that meant that Padme, and now his unborn child, could also be potential weaknesses for his enemies to use against him. It meant that keeping their secret was as imperative as ever. He could not fail.

Instinctively, his arms tightened around the woman he held, but still conscience of every breath she took. He was even more attuned to her than he was to the living force. She was more than just an extension of himself; she was a very piece of his soul.

"Anakin? Padme?" came the sweet, yet nervous and shy voice of Beru Whitesun. "Dinner is ready, if you want to head in." While standing outside the door to the hovel, Beru took a moment to glance around the grounds, hoping that her fiancé was somewhere close by.

Beru had been the only one to take notice of Owen bursting from Shmi's room in a huff. Although he sometimes acted childishly, Beru loved him all the same, and when he suffered, she suffered. She had run after him as fast as her small legs would carry her, grabbing onto his wrist and pleading with him not to go. He would soon regret his brash behavior, she told him as he wrenched himself from her grasp and hopped into the speeder he had been working on for the past week.

Beru watched with an ache in her gut and a heaviness in her heart as he sped off across the desert, but now she was worried, as he still had not returned.

"Thank you, Beru," Padme called, having just noticed the way that her husband stood stock still. "We'll be right in," she said, before turning in his arms and resting her head against his chest. "Ani?" she questioned, running her hands up his biceps.

"Someone's trying to mess with me, Padme," he answered.

She nodded, silently agreeing that these circumstances to unusual to be coincidental. "But who? Who would want to target you?"

His jaw clenched tightly, before looking down into her eyes. "I am not sure, but I'd like to know," he gritted out, grinding his teeth together, furious at the thought that someone had the power to hurt his family.

By the time dinner was over, Anakin had been able to force away his uneasiness and simply revel in the peace of having his family safe, but Owen's lack of appearance so far that evening left the Lars' on edge. Anakin wasn't particularly worried, as his disdain for his step-brother had simply grown upon his arrival on Tatooine.

Surprisingly, Shmi had accustomed herself very quickly. She remembered every important moment of her life, in vivid detail, all the way up until the moment she disappeared two years before, and had almost no problem seamlessly fitting back into the dinner conversation. In fact, Shmi had the most to say, anxious to hear everything she had missed while she had been gone.

While astutely noticing that her step-son was absent from the dinner table and being worried for him, Shmi was much more interested into the boy, man, who sat across from her; her son. He had grown to be such a good man; she could tell, as a mother always knew those things.

A mother also saw much more in her child than anyone possibly could. So while her husband and Beru took no notice of the way that Anakin and Padme behaved around each other, Shmi was enamored with them. She watched, focused on them rather, so closely that she saw things no one else could see.

It was fascinating to her. When Anakin moved Padme moved, automatically readjusting her position, and vice versa, like magnets. Though no stranger would be able to tell, it was clear to Shmi that there was more between them than friendship.

Anakin could sense that his mother's eyes were focused on him as he stared down at his plate, but his head was somewhere else, probing his apprentice on board the cruiser. He had gone out to speak with her earlier, sometime between his mother's awakening and dinner. Feeling guilty that Ahsoka was stranded out on the ship alone, he decided to give his new padawan a few meditation exercises to practice in order to keep her occupied.

Now, without even really noticing it, Anakin had slipped into a meditative state, trying to form the foundations of a necessary force bond between him and Ahsoka. It was he was relaxed into that deep state, still sitting in his chair at the table, that the force trembled and sent him a warning through the force.

Immediately recognizing the tremor as sign of danger, Anakin leapt from his chair, calling his lightsaber to his hand. Everyone around the table startled at Anakin's sudden movement, jumping to their feet as Anakin burst from the room and ran for the front entrance.

Igniting his lightsaber without hesitation, he opened the door and took up his signature defense stance. With arms raised and lightsaber parallel to his side, Anakin stood in utter shock as the doorway revealed the apparent danger.

A/N: Who or what could that be? Tell me what you think!