Just wanted to say thanks to anyone reading this story. Hope you enjoy!
What the hell happened? Vader thought to himself. He was taken off medicine 24 hours ago and was finally able to think straight. He remembered seeing Padme standing in the air hanger on Mustafar. He remembered her crying. He remembered she was still pregnant. The babies! His babies! Where were they? Vader sat upright for the first time. The medical team provided by the Emperor was the best in the galaxy and Vader was healing better than expected. He was fitted with a new leg, his broken bones healing. But the medical staff did not remove his face bandage, they did not want Vader to see the scars that riddled his face. He needed more healing. His mental fog was clearing and he remembered more and more each day.
Vader sat in silence in his hospital bed. Anger, fear, hate, and suffering flowing through his body. Where was his wife and unborn children? Why wouldn't anyone answer him. For years Anakin.. well Vader was treated as a second class citizen, a slave for most of his childhood, and a slave to the Jedi order. He never had a normal life and did not get to pick a normal life. Being married to Padme was the only normalcy he had in life. Where was she? He thought to himself. Vader did not want to show emotion... but he couldn't stop the tears from building up in his eyes. The past year had been a blur, he was fighting away from home for months at a time.. the war seemed endless. He was struggling with the loss of his mother. Struggling with not moving up in the Jedi order and struggling to keep his marriage a secret. When Padme told him she was pregnant, his heart filled with both joy and fear, knowing he had no idea how to be a father but he desperately wanted to be one. He wanted more power, more control of his life, he went to end the wars in the galaxy and free all the slaves. But Anakin simply got lost as the years went by. Palpatine sunk his claws in and never let go. He groomed him and manipulated him. He lied to him and ultimately got him to turn to the dark side. Anakin could easily blame it on the Emperor or the Jedi, but deep down inside he knew Vader was in him, waiting for the perfect moment to escape. He had done unspeakable things to people around the galaxy but he didn't care about that, all he cared about was what happened to his family. He had completely lost control of it.
Vader searched his mind, used the force and tried to feel Padme but her connection to the force and to him were gone. He couldn't feel his babies anymore, the boy and the girl seemed like they had just disappeared. Frustrated he slammed his food tray into the wall using the force. This action took a lot out of him. He sat silently trying to recall anything from the past encounter with his wife, but he couldn't remember a thing.
4 Months Earlier:
War was raging all over the galaxy. Padme's work in the senate seemed to be going no where. More and more systems were slipping away from the republic, from Democracy. 'This is all for nothing.' Padme thought to herself as she slammed her paperwork down. A sharp kick followed and she could feel one of her twins kicking in her belly. She laughed, 'but I wont give up my babies, this war has to be over before you come into this world.' Padme was in the most challenging time of her life. She wed the young Jedi, Anakin Skywalker 3 years ago and they had been living in as secrecy ever since. They saw each other whenever possible, even if it was just a for a short period of time. Anakin always made sure he was there for here and continued to do small things for her even when he was far away. They made their marriage work. The young couple had no plans for children, but fate took over. Padme believed they could keep their relationship a secret for as a long as they could and wanted to, until she found out she was expecting. Anakin came home a little over 4 months ago and boom, she found out she was pregnant. At first fear was her only emotion but excitement and happiness filled her heart. Padme couldnt believe her and Anakin could be so reckless, but wernt they entitled to a family one day as well? She for now was able to hide it, continue on with her "normal" life. But Padme's personal family doctor confirmed she was having not one but two babies and that this pregnancy might be difficult. She had already gained weight in her stomach and now was clearly pregnant. For now she had been attending her normal meetings and senate hearings but knew this would be her last week. She planned on staying on Coruscant for a few more weeks before moving back to Naboo, and definitely planned on having her babies on her home planet. She just hoped Anakin could be there. He had to be. How was he going to react to finding out he's going to be a dad? Would he be happy? Would he get mad and leave? Every possible scenario ran through her head from the expected to the worst possible case. Her mind was an emotional roller coaster lately and she still wasn't used to it. Padme had no idea when she would see Anakin again, but the next time they saw one another he would see that she is pregnant. This was going to be a big moment. Her face became red, she began to sweat. 'I just hope he's happy...we can do this family thing together. We're going to be a real family.' Padme was so happy for this blessing. Her dreams of having a family were always put on the back burner, she never thought it would happen. But it was. 'This is wrong.' She heard the voice in her head, she knew it was her own voice but it scared her. After all, Anakin was a Jedi. She was a senator. Padme didn't want the Jedi council to find out about her and Anakin, especially him having children. And she knew Anakin didn't want to ruin her career if someone were to ever leak their secret. What if Anakin quit the council and became resentful towards her? Could he handle a normal life? Padme's mind began to spiral down a rabbit hole of possibilities when she heard a knock at her office door. She did not want to stand up, still hiding her belly as best she could. "Come in." Padme said.
Mon Mothma walked into her office with Bail Organa. "Hello Padme." They exchanged pleasantries before Padme invited them to sit down, never once getting up from her desk seat. "What brings you both here today? Padme asked surprised to see them so late in the afternoon.
"Well Chancellor Palpatine is calling a late meeting, he wants to brief us regarding some situations going on on the Outter Rim. The two Jedi are back and have information they need certain people to know." Bail spoke matter of fact.
Instantly Padme's heart leaped through her chest. Everyone in the galaxy knew who the "two Jedi" were, it was Obi-Wan and her husband Anakin. This would be the night.. he finds out tonight he is going to be a dad. Padme smiled hard, but only very quickly. She put her senator face back on and listened to the rest of what they had to say. Before they got up to leave, Mon Mothma stopped and turned towards padmes desk, "Senator.. we were wondering if you had time to meet with just me and Bail, sometime this week. We want to discuss something off the record.." she trailed off.
Padme sat up, "is everything ok?" She asked.
"Yes, we just wanted to hear your thoughts on an issue." Bail chimed in. Padme thought this was very strange but trusted these two with her life. She would do almost anything to help her friends, Bail and Mon were her ally's and she treated them as such.
Padme rushed home to her apartment to change. She would be seeing her Anakin for the first time in months. She had a big secret to share. This night was going to change their lives. Padme put on her gown, which hid her belly as much as it could, and headed out for her meeting. She arrived and saw other senators waiting outside Palpatines office. His assistant soon opened the door and gathered the group of senators into his office. Chairs set up for what seemed to be a presentation. Padme, along with her assistant walked into his office, her eyes Automatically scanning the room for Anakin. She looked for a few seconds and caught his eyes just as she was walking to her seat. Padmes face flushed and turned bright red. Finally her husband was home. Anakin tried everything in his power to control his emotions. He did not want anyone to be able to read or feel the excitement he felt when he locked eyes with his wife. He scanned Padme, feeling something was different about her. He didn't have to think long, he could see her pregnant belly. She was clearly with child, his child. He felt deep into the force and felt the baby, and to his surprise felt not one but two life forms. He could feel...them. A boy and a girl. He could barely put all this together in his mind before he realized most of the senators had taken their seats. Padme kept waiting for some kind of approval from his face and got it through the tears in his eyes. They both stayed as professional as they could but both were so thrilled.
"Is everything alright, Anakin?" Obi-Wan looked at him, seriously questioning what was going on with him. He could feel Anakins mood change drastically.
"Yes master." Anakin said. He shut his mind off as best he could once again.
Anakin and Padme sat in that endless meeting, both hoping time would go faster. He wanted to run to her, grab her, and hold her forever. She just wanted him to spend time with her and the babies. The meeting dragged out...
Finally, the meeting was over and as senators began to get up and walk out of Palpatines office, many tried to stop and talk to Padme. She moved quickly through the crowd excusing herself until she made the exit. No one had questioned her on her pregnancy. She was ok with that. She knew people were talking about it, but no one had any idea who the father was. And no one knew Padme was leaving the senate and moving back to her home to raise a family. It was her time now. She got home faster than expected. 'Thank heavens.' She thought as she kicked her shoes off and headed for her bedroom. Before she could open her bedroom door, Anakin came bursting out. He stood there in front of her for a moment and smiled the biggest smile Padme had ever seen. She grabbed him and they hugged one another for what seemed like forever. He could feel his children moving through her stomach and grabbed her belly. He placed a small kiss on her forehead. "Thank you." He whispered.
"Thank you?" She questioned.
"For giving me these babies. I can feel them. Do you know what they are yet?" He said holding her face. He had missed her so much. War was taking a toll on him. He was bruised mentally and physically. Always a new scar on him when he came home. He wanted this part of his life to end. He wanted to see his children grow up.
"Yes I do." Padme moved his hands from her face down to her stomach, "do you?" She knew he knew.
"Yes, a boy and girl. This is crazy, how did this happen." He said laughing. Padme gave him the side eye, "you know exactly how this happened." She joked back. They stood in this moment for a while. Both scared but happy. "My plan is to leave here soon, go back to Naboo. I want to have the babies there Anakin." Padme looked at him hoping he would agree. He did.
"Padme I don't want to miss anymore of this. We're going to have a family... I have to be there when the babies are born, I will tell the order the truth if it comes to it." He exclaimed. She looked at him, "no you cannot do that." She said trying to convince him.
"Padme we can't hide forever. I will leave the order to be there with you, the way I should be. The galaxy will go on, I just want this to be my focus." Anakin did not want to have his kids grow up without him. He had to be there, the father he never had. He was tired of the Jedi order, and tired of fighting. A normal life on Naboo would be ideal. Being a father would be something magical.
"Lets figure out the details as it gets closer. But in a few weeks I'm heading back to Naboo. And staying there until these babies are born. I need to do it there. I know you will not miss it Anakin." They both, over the moon with the idea of being parents, stayed up all night talking about the future. Anakin spent as many moments with Padme and her pregnant belly as possible. It was a memorable night. Around sunrise they went to bed, both ignoring their responsibilities for the day.
Vader awoke to the sound of his new masters voice. He still had bandages all over his face. The pain still encased his body. He was coming to, figuring out he had been in the hospital for a number of days, and he still had no clue what happened to his wife and unborn children. He could feel the emperor moving closer to him, examining his body. "You are awake?" His voice cracked as he spoke. Suddenly Vader remembered certain events... and what he remembered terrified him. It terrified him in a good way, he felt how powerful he was and enjoyed it. "Master, where is Padme?" He wasted no time.
The empower stood still. Vader still couldn't see or move. "It seems in your anger, you killed her. Her funeral was in Naboo, just yesterday." The emperor took a step back from the hospital bed. Without another word being said, Vader tore the bandages off his face, ripped himself out of the bed, and continued to destroy the room he stood in. The Emperor loved every second of this. Vader was a hot mess. His life was over. He caused the love of his life more pain than he ever intended to. He screamed and cried out for her, for his children. It was pointless. They were gone.