He came to on the transport as he was evacuated back to the Saviour.
"Sir!" Rex was over him, looking mighty relieved.
"The Chancellor?" Anakin asked weakly.
"Dead," Rex confirmed. "Very very dead."
A smile crooked Anakin's battered face.
"Padmé?" he asked more desperately. "Is she – safe?"
Captain Rex's silence did not please him.
"Rex!" he barked, struggling to sit up.
The medic's hand touched his shoulder and sent an exasperated glare at Rex as he worked to tend the General's extensive injuries.
"Errr, she made it back to the ship sir," Rex hedged.
"Is she safe?" Anakin repeated angrily.
Rex shared a look with the medic, scratched the back of his neck nervously, then admitted. "I – I don't know General."
"If you've allowed her to come to any harm," Anakin tried again to sit up threateningly but this time Rex held his hands out.
"It wasn't me sir! It was you! She was in labour when I left. Pretty advanced by the looks of it."
That made Anakin stop with a startled "What?!"
"Yes General. She asked that we keep you safe."
Anakin shook off his daze and drunkenly got to his feet. "PILOT!" He bellowed over the sound of the roaring wind. The pilot's head turned fractionally to indicate he was listening. "Get me back on the Saviour NOW!"
"Yes General," came the sharp acknowledgement.
Only then did Anakin look around and realise he was alone. "Obi-Wan?!" he suddenly looked up to Captain Rex, terrified.
"Made it through, sir," Rex confirmed. "He was unconscious as well, Commander Cody and his medic are treating him on one of the other transports."
Anakin nodded, grabbed on to a hand hold just as the ship banked and they blasted free of the stratosphere and into free space. They were tagged by a stray bolt and rocked dangerously, but experienced no other challenge as they fled to the Saviour, making it to her hanger bay without incident.
The General dropped to his knees, then passed out again just as they landed. Captain Rex looked worriedly to his medic who rolled his dark eyes. "He needs to be in the Med Bay," was the exasperated response to being assigned a patient who wouldn't be treated.
Anakin came to just as they were carrying his dead weight through the doorway of the MedCentre. He pushed away the medic but allowed Captain Rex to continue propping him up. When he walked in the door he saw Padmé. Sweaty, tired, her damp brown hair clinging in messy curls to the back of her neck. With a tiny bundle of blankets tucked in her arms.
"Padmé," he choked in disbelief, staggering.
She looked up at him, tears already wet on her cheeks, her features dissolved in soft wonder.
"The baby –?" he realised, staggering over as she mouthed a hopeful "Ani," then looked down again.
He made it over to her only to suddenly see the Duchess Satine, seated by Padmé's side, her arms crooked at the same angle.
"They're twins," Padmé whispered in disbelief as he reached her side, leaning in to press his lips to her forehead in agonised relief.
He pulled back to look down at their baby, a beautiful sweet little thing with curious eyes assessing him from the cradle of Padmé's arms. Then he glanced at the Duchess, whose arms held another little person curled tight to her chest.
A chair was shoved beneath him and he collapsed in wonder.
"Ani, we had twins," Padmé repeated in astounded shock.
The Duchess rose, rounded the bed and wordlessly put the bundle, his child, into his arms.
"This is Luke," Padmé reached down and put her lips to the baby's forehead. "And you are holding –"
"Leia," he breathed in a soft sigh of wonder as he took her up in his arms and caressed her to him. Freeing one hand so he could trace a fingertip down her tiny little nose. Smaller than his thumbnail.
Briefly he glanced up to Padmé, a radiant smile rising to beam from his features. "No wonder you were getting so big!"
"Yes," Padmé shared a very private smile then looked down to Luke again. "No wonder."
Her head whipped up, worry suddenly creasing her features as she breathlessly asked – "The Emperor?"
"Gone," Anakin spared her a brief smile before he reached back down to touch Leia's balled up fist, the tiny delicate fingers. "Captain Rex has saved me twice now."
A distraught "Obi-Wan!" made them both glance across to where Obi-Wan's unconscious body was being stretchered into the MedBay and the Duchess Satine was rushing to his side.
Padmé looked to Anakin who quickly assured "He's alive. He took a blow to the head."
She winced, then nodded sagely. "It's been a hard day for all of us."
"They have impeccable timing," Anakin wondered, standing briefly so he could come and sit next to her on the bed. He shifted Leia to the crook of one arm, then lifted his other to place over Padmé's shoulder. Soon she was tucked into his embrace, the twins side by side before them.
"Look at you two," Padmé cooed softly to the sweet little things. She laid her head on his shoulder and began crying again. For what reason, she couldn't say. "They're beautiful," she whispered in a choked sob to her husband.
"Yes," he agreed. "They really are."
He placed his daughter down on his thighs, then put both arms around Padmé and hugged her tight.
"You survived," he whispered, his own throat choking as he only now allowed himself to think of that awful nightmare he'd suffered so many months ago.
"I survived," she assured quietly, her hand finding his and squeezing tightly.
He swallowed, placed his cheek on top of her head and looked down to the children again. "You were supposed to be born on Naboo," he scolded their uncomprehending ears.
Padmé's soft laughter surrounded the small family.
It was some hours later when Admiral Yularen appeared in his MedCentre to survey the damage. Anakin was the only Skywalker awake, sitting up with Luke's boneless form slumbering peacefully against his chest.
"Admiral," he greeted in a low murmur.
"General," the greeting was returned. "I heard a report that Lady Skywalker doubled new recruits to the Jedi order. This must be one of them," he smiled down to Luke.
"I'm a very lucky man," Anakin grinned.
"Is she doing alright?" Yularen double checked, looking towards a Padmé who was well and truly sleeping, Leia curled up beside her.
"Resting comfortably," the fond smile sent her way could not be concealed.
Then he looked to the Admiral and for the first time in hours actually remembered where they were. "The Separatists?" he wanted to know.
"We're getting there," the general assured. "Tarkin's ships finally appeared, though it's clear he was hoping he missed the entire thing. That man is entirely without honour," Yularen was clearly disgusted.
For the first time, Anakin agreed. At one stage he had admired Tarkin for his ability to do anything required to get the job done, to see the mission through. But now he saw Tarkin as more akin to a battle droid, only able to follow his original command without seeing the bigger picture.
"Did you need something from me, Admiral?"
Yularen blinked out of his musings of Tarkin's shortcomings to focus on Anakin again. For the first time in this entire ordeal, his face broke into a smile.
"Actually, I came down because there is something I can do for you."
"And that is –?" Anakin led, knowing that there was nothing else in the universe he needed now that Padmé was safe and the twins had arrived.
Yularen stood at his full height, hands behind his back.
"As the highest ranking officer on this vessel it is my honour to officially validate any births that occur under my command. Today I have the privilege of validating two of them."
He reached out a hand and his aide handed him a data pad which he began typing into.
"Names?" he prompted.
Anakin grinned even wider. "Luke and Leia."
"Very well. I, Admiral Wulff Yularen, commander of this fleet and lead officer of the G.A.R. Saviour certify that on this day, Luke Skywalker, and Leia Skywalker, were born to Senator Padmé Amidala and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker aboard my vessel, while in orbit over the planet of Coruscant, and as such are considered full citizens of the Republic."
Yularen handed over the datapad to Anakin for approval, who nodded and watched as the Admiral nodded once, accepted the datapad back and officially filed the births.
"I should return to the bridge. Congratulations General Skywalker."
"Thank you Admiral."
"Two, Anakin?" a weak voice asked from across the room.
"Master!" he was up and across to Obi-Wan's bedside within a moment.
"Two?" Obi-Wan repeated.
Anakin glanced down to Luke again, utterly in love with his tiny offspring.
"You never do anything by halves," Obi-Wan sighed.
"Twins," he confirmed. "Leia is asleep with her mother and this," he proudly showed off, his voice lowering to an almost whisper of reverence "Is my very perfect son Luke."
He looked into his friend's eyes as they struggled to open with a vast amount of relief.
"The Sith?" Obi-Wan wouldn't even give him a name.
"Dead," Anakin confirmed.
"You did it," Obi-Wan whispered with a struggle. "Qui-Gon was right. You are the Chosen one."
"Actually," Anakin looked down at his biggest accomplishment, one of the children he had bestowed on Padmé. "It was Captain Rex," he freely gave away the praise. "He and Commander Cody stormed the office with their platoons. They just kept firing until he died."
Obi-Wan snorted, a laugh of disbelief as he queried "You're joking?"
"I am not," Anakin confirmed.
"It's so," Obi-Wan screwed up his face in disgust. "Inelegant. Blasters."
Anakin nodded, looked down to Luke and stroked his pink cheek.
"The Sith destroyed by the army he created," Obi-Wan murmured in wonder.
They fell into a comfortable silence. Obi-Wan moved his hand, meaning to touch his aching forehead only to find it trapped under a heavy weight. He sat up a bit and glanced down. Anakin followed his gaze and patted his master's shoulder. "She's been here since they brought you in," they both studied the unconscious Duchess, her sleeping cheek resting on Obi-Wan's hand. "She's been very worried about you."
Leia stirred across the room, and Anakin immediately turned to look in her direction, all his attention focused on the child who was barely hours old and tucked in next to his heart. "Excuse me," he stood, leaving Obi-Wan to lift his hand and cup the Duchess's cheek with a gentle urging of "Satine."
Padmé stirred just as Anakin was laying Luke down beside her. She woke to the feeling of his lips lovingly touching her forehead.
She didn't say anything, smiling at his presence then opening her eyes to find him hovering over her.
"How are you feeling?" he ran a hand over her arm worriedly.
"Sore," she admitted. "Overwhelmed." Her hand covered his and she looked up at him with a tentative smile. "So happy."
Both their eyes looked down to the twins laid beside her. Leia was mewling, unhappily writhing in her tight blanket.
Padmé struggled to sit up and Anakin helped, grabbing two more pillows and placing them behind her head.
"Leia," she cooed gently, cautiously lifting her daughter from the bed and into her arms.
Anakin picked the slumbering Luke up again and took the space provided to sit beside her.
"The Separatist Fleet?" Padmé asked.
Anakin watched in wordless shock as she bared her breast and Leia's mouth hungrily took the offering.
"Anakin?" she prompted, looking up. Smiling. "Ani," she called again.
He blinked rapidly, briefly looked to her face then stole another glance at Leia. "Hmm?"
"The fleet? Is the battle over? Where are we?"
"Coruscant," he managed to drag his gaze away. "They're tidying up now. The Separatist Fleet is almost destroyed."
"And our vessels?"
"We lost two," he reached out and ran his fingertip over Leia's suckling cheek. "We could go to Naboo," he offered with complete innocence, surprising her. "Now that the Sith are gone and the war is over."
"I fear the droids are gone, but the war isn't over," Padmé corrected. "And what about the Jedi order?"
A soft snort and his arm came up around her shoulder. "I am a Jedi," he confirmed. "And I will help them rebuild the order, restore the Temple. But these past two weeks have shown me I need neither of those things."
He cupped her cheek and turned her to him, meeting her lips gently.
"We have been husband and wife," he revelled. "For two weeks. Everyone knew it, and we still managed to serve, to save the troopers who put all their faith in us and to destroy the Sith."
He looked across the room, to where Obi-Wan was cupping the Duchess of Mandalore's hand. His eyes pointedly landed on the two, then turned back to Padmé where he kissed her again.
"Obi-Wan knows. The remaining Jedi do too or soon will. Half the clone army knows and gave their lives to save our marriage and our family. There is no reason for us to live a lie anymore."
His fingers caressed her neck then fell away while his lips curved into a smile. "Being your husband, in public as well as in private, is nothing like I dreamed it would be. Every time they call you Lady Skywalker my heart clenches."
She leaned into him. "The Senate will not look kindly on it, and for once I don't care." She turned her head, placed her lips to his hand as it caressed her upperarm.
"Excuse me General," a bridge officer had appeared beside them, taking notice of one sleeping child and speaking quietly while trying desperately to keep his eyes away from Padmé feeding the other. "Sorry to interrupt but you're needed on the bridge."
Anakin's brow furrowed but he stood, laying Luke out beside Padmé on the bed. "I'll be back soon," he assured her and leaned over to give her a swift kiss.
"What is it?" he asked the trooper as they strode from the MedBay.
"Tarkin, sir. The Separatist ships have all been destroyed, our brothers under Tarkin's command are now turning on us."
Anakin picked up his pace, moving to a run as he sped for the turbolift. This was not good news at all.
"Admiral," he greeted a moment later when he raced out onto the bridge. "Report!"
Yularen looked up from where he was standing over the shoulder of one of his tactical officers.
"Admiral Tarkin," he pointed to a holo image, the rank coming out with disgust. "Feels we should surrender."
Anakin didn't need any more exposition.
"Admiral Tarkin," he greeted angrily. "Stand down. The Separatists have been destroyed and we are not a threat."
"Oh I beg to differ Skywalker. The last of the Jedi? You and Kenobi are the only threat that remains to the Empire."
"What Empire?" Anakin refused to listen. "The Chancellor was the Sith Lord. He was defeated hours ago. You must have seen it, it was on public broadcast."
"Yesss," Admiral Tarkin agreed. "And until the Senate elects a new head, the Grand Army of the Republic's Forces come under the highest ranking officer's command. Since Yularen and Kilian are traitors," he spat that word. "And all others have met with unfortunate ends in the last few weeks, that only leaves me," he smiled snidely.
Then his tone turned dark and evil "You will surrender Skywalker."
"Actually," Padmé appeared at his side. Anakin had felt her coming but hadn't betrayed that knowledge on his features. He tried not to wince at the pain she was in, wondering how she'd gotten up here so quickly.
"Matters of security, including direction of the army, are delegated to the Jedi, when the Chancellor is incapacitated. Military Creation act paragraph 504 section c." She turned, mimed a surprised look at the husband standing by her side, then turned back to Tarkin. "Anakin seems to be the highest ranking of the Jedi conscious at the moment, a member of the Council."
He'd forgotten that.
Her own words were soft and deadly as she ordered "Stand down Tarkin."
"I will not!" he declared resolutely. Turned to his own bridge crew. "Fire at will."
The shot never came. Tarkin looked over his shoulder, demanding to have his order obeyed. Two troopers came out of nowhere and dragged him off.
"General Skywalker!" a clone replaced him, decked out in a bridge officer's uniform and standing to tight attention. "Our forces have slowly had the chip removed since word of your rebellion spread. We were made to serve the Republic NOT the Emperor." His eyes flickered to something out of the holocam's range but they could all hear Tarkin protesting loudly. "We are instruments of government sir and we will follow the law. And our Jedi leader."
Padmé and Anakin both smiled as Tarkin screamed "you will be court-martialled for this!" in the background.
"He's headed to the brig sir," the Captain reported, all business. "What are you orders?"
"Stand down your weapons, repair your ship, let your crews rest and take an inventory. Pass that message on to your sister ship. We all need to do the same. We will convene a meeting in twelve hours time to plan further."
"Sir," the Captain nodded and the transmission clicked off.
Anakin quickly turned to Padmé and worried "what are you doing up? You should be in bed." He reached forward and took her hand in his as he admitted "though I'm glad you were here. Tarkin is..."
He couldn't find the word but she could.
"A gnat. And he will be swatted like one when the Senate hears of this. I am sure where there is one war crime there are more that we don't know of. He should have been court-martialled after Ahsoka's wrongful arrest."
"Still," Anakin looked out the front viewport to where a flotilla of Republic Cruisers, Frigates, blockade runners, half the army's vessels now lay in silence surrounded by Separatist debris. "We need to get moving and clean this mess up. Supplies can't move on or off Coruscant safely until we do."
Padmé rubbed her face tiredly. "And I don't want to rely on that obscure ruling to keep the tiny number of Jedi overseeing the army, you're too vulnerable."
He nodded. "You need to convene another senate session."
She giggled, completely unexpectedly and Anakin place his arms around her.
"What?" he asked, her mirth infectious.
"I can't convene a senate session, no one can."
He titled his head in confusion.
"I didn't tell you how we escaped the chamber."
Her eyes darted to the command crew with mirth, then back to the anticipation sparkling in the sweet blue depths of her husband's eyes.
"Oh?" he asked curiously, following her gaze to the bridge officers in surprise. "This should be good."
"Admiral Yularen brought the Saviour into the atmosphere, blew a hole in the roof and sent his troopers in with jet packs."
Anakin's eyes widened, then he turned to Yularen with a massive grin on his face. "Admiral!" he exclaimed in hearty congratulations. "That is a daring rescue!"
Yularen shook his head, still surprised that he'd conceived of such a thing, let alone undertaken it.
"I have been rubbing off on you after all," he was quite cheerful as he hugged Padmé to him.
"Yes," Padmé tried not to laugh again, though it was hard. "Unfortunately, we now have a Senate chamber with no roof or security, and a desperate need for a vote to stabilise the government." She winced.
"You need to be back in the MedCentre," he determined the more important need, turning them towards the turbolifts.
She rested her head on his shoulder and didn't protest, letting the arm around her waist steady her as they returned to their family.
"I don't like this."
A week later Anakin folded his arms across his chest and watched the lines of hyperspace draw sharp around them. "Leaving Coruscant without the protection of any of the cognizant Jedi is a mistake."
"Perhaps that's a good thing," Padmé came to stand by his side.
"It's not," he said firmly.
"The people, the Senators, will feel exposed and vulnerable."
As they slipped into the full stream of hyperspace he turned away from the window and back to the bustle of the briefing room.
"And how is that a good thing?"
"They'll miss you," Padmé said simply.
He sent her a sharp, disapproving look.
"Propaganda," she reminded. "Realise they used to feel safer when the Jedi Temple was bustling with life. When the Republic's fleet was constantly on planet undergoing maintenance. Now there will be nothing. No Sith, no Jedi, no functioning army. Unprotected."
A smirk fleetingly touched his lips at the vague wariness he himself was feeling on their behalf.
"Besides, what was left of the droid army has been destroyed, your fleet saw to that," she was confident of their plan.
"There are likely to be remnants of the Separatist armies that were out of range when the original news was spread. There will be flare ups."
"Then Admiral Kilian will take care of it," she soothed, reminding him that only Yularen's fleet were accompanying them on this particular excursion. "It's important that we start with Mandalore and go from there."
"I know," Anakin sighed. "I am looking forward to watching Obi-Wan talk his way out of this one," he brightened.
"Oh he won't," Satine broke into their conversation, striding into the room with the Jedi in question at her back. "Tradition is very important to the Mandalorian people, as he well knows. We will attend a welcome home parade, my people are eager to celebrate the end of the war and the first official engagement of their next Duke."
"Jedi consort," Obi-Wan crossly corrected, his distaste for the title would be bestowed upon him evident. He didn't like 'Duke', he would take 'Jedi Consort'.
"My darling, there is no such title." She said it in a way that made it clear they'd been having this conversation for some time before they joined Anakin and Padmé in the briefing room.
"Then you will decree it one," he retorted.
"It is not tradition," she stressed, a firm answer of 'no' on the tip of her tongue.
"Jedi do not traditionally marry either," he countered.
"I don't know how those Jedi could stand it," Anakin's soft commentary was only meant to be heard by Padmé.
The words were a little too loud and Obi-Wan's accusatory blue eyes turned on him with exasperation. "You're not helping."
"Sorry master," his downcast eyes did not fool Obi-Wan for a moment. "I am on your side. You would not be having this debate, the Duchess would be finding another candidate for husband, if you weren't breaking with your own tradition."
Here Satine paused, then she moved close to Obi-Wan and ran the tip of her finger down his cheek. "I think these many years have proven that there is no other candidate for husband. Upon my death the title would have fallen to my nephew."
"Then you will be happy to have me just to yourself?" he pressed.
"I will be," she smiled lovingly at him. "My people will not."
"Satine!" he continued to protest.
"Obi-Wan," she snapped back. "If you are to be my husband and the father of the next Mandalorian leader –"
"I did not agree to this business of an heir – !"
"Then you must see –" she kept on talking through his interruption
"Duchess," Padmé stepped in now. "Perhaps you two could debate this in private at a later time. For now we must prepare your homecoming, for Mandalore and for the greater Republic."
Satine turned to her friend, realised they were far from alone in the briefing room as clones hovered over the tactical stations along one wall and Yularen strode in with his command officers.
"Yes of course," the blonde woman conceded in her cultured accent. She shot Obi-Wan a pointed look. "We will discuss this later."
"I'm sure we will," he huffed under his breath, earning a glare from his Duchess and a grin poorly concealed behind a black glove from his apprentice.