Twenty-Seven

Anakin Skywalker hurt all over. He was immersed in warm liquid but that seemed to do very little to soothe the pain. It radiated from somewhere deep within him, originating in his bone marrow and exploding outward to every nerve-ending. The last time he had experienced a similar agony had been after Mustafar. It felt as if his entire body had been set ablaze once again. Ultimately, it was the inescapable, burning pain that prompted him to finally open his eyes.

Harsh light flooded in and left him disoriented. That was painful as well. Even with the light refracted through was he suspected was bacta, he found it much too bright. He naturally recoiled from the blinding burst and sank back into oblivion once more.

When Anakin opened his eyes again, he wasn't submerged in a bacta tank any longer but had been pronated across a narrow, uncomfortable cot instead. He couldn't be sure how much time had elapsed, but the previous primal pain had been replaced with a dull ache. He reflexively started to reposition himself onto his back, but gentle hands were suddenly there, urging him to remain in his current position. He craned his neck around, stunned and disoriented when he realized Padmé hovering above him. Her dark hair was loose, hanging about her face like a curly halo. She looked beautiful, more youthful, and more vibrant than she had been even when they had first fallen in love, albeit a bit tired.

Anakin smiled at her hazily, certain that he would never grow tired of staring at her lovely face. Thinking he must be having yet another vision, he whispered her name but was surprised when the word escaped him as little more than a rough croak. He frowned, startled by the sound of his own voice.

"What…what are you doing?" he asked her, "Why are you here?"

"I'm trying to hold you still," she murmured, a faint, wry smile hovering at the corners of her mouth, "You shouldn't thrash around. You'll reopen your wound."

The words barely registered because Anakin hadn't yet convinced himself that he hadn't conjured up her image in his fevered imagination. It wasn't until she knelt down next to him and gently gathered his hand between her own that he began to process the reality of her presence. His frown gave way to a grateful smile when she leaned closer to kiss him. The fleeting brush of her lips against his was all the affirmation he needed. It was then that Anakin noticed the tears glistening in her eyes.

He swallowed roughly, further surprised by how arid his mouth felt, and attempted to speak once more. His voice again was still little more than a croaking whisper. "What happened? What are you doing here?"

"You just live to be contrary, don't you, Anakin Skywalker?" she admonished him in tearful relief, "As soon as I get used to the idea of you never dying, you turn right around and attempt to die. It's quite exasperating."

Anakin squinted at her in groggy confusion. "What…what are you talking about? Is this another dream?"

She sifted her fingers through the tangled waves of his hair. "Another? Have you been having many?"

He closed his heavy eyes briefly, as her soothing, comforting presence surrounded him. When he looked at her again, his gaze was filled with enamored wonder. She had never appeared more breathtakingly lovely to him than she did in that very moment.

"This feels like a dream. You look like an angel."

Her musical laughter sounded in his ears and that made him smile too. The hand that tenderly smoothed his hair back from his forehead felt all too real. Anakin shuddered in contentment at the warmth of her touch. He wanted to tug her down beside him and curl into her body, but he feared if he made the attempt that she would evaporate like ether. He mumbled as much out loud.

She barely choked back a surprised laugh. "Why?"

"Because you're probably a figment of my imagination."

Padmé's tremulous laughter sounded once more. "Lemé said that you might be a little disorientated when you finally came around."

"Lemé?" he echoed hazily, "I know that name. That was the girl…the one who came for me…"

"I know."

Her calm acceptance caused his frown to return and deepen considerably. "I don't understand. Do you know her? She told me that her name was…Skywalker. If I'm not dreaming, what's…what's going on?"

"You're home now," Padmé replied gently, "Or, more specifically, you're in a medical facility on Corellia. You've been out of it for nine days, Anakin."

"A medical facility? Nine days? That doesn't make sense."

"I know it's a lot to take in. You almost died."

"No," he grunted, closing his eyes once more, steeling himself for the moment when she would inevitably disappear and leave him alone once more, "This is definitely a dream then. I can't die."

Padmé swallowed back a staggered laugh over what she perceived as pure arrogance on his part. "The wound in your back says otherwise."

His eyes snapped open. "What wound?"

Without waiting for her to clarify, Anakin grimaced and reflexively lifted his hand to feel the roughened edge of the bandage that covered the lower portion of his back. Rather than sharpening his understanding, however, Anakin grew more confused than ever. He couldn't recall being injured at all. He had a fuzzy recollection of stalking a wounded Abeloth through beyond shadows and embarking on an inexplicable spiritual journey that he still didn't fully understand. The clearest memory he had involved encountering a mysterious, young woman whom he had never met before.

She had insisted that she knew a way to reunite him with his family, but that facilitating that reunion would come at a great cost to him and to herself. She could grant him his greatest desire, but then he would have to do the same for her. He had argued that he didn't know what she desired anymore than he knew her, but she had countered that he knew much more than he realized.

When he had asked her who she was and why she wanted to help him at all, she had jauntily replied, "I'm a Skywalker. That's what we do." Before he could even begin to make sense of her reply or who she might be in relation to him, the light had returned, purified and blinding in its brilliance followed by nothing at all. Anakin's next awareness had been the incredible pain and then finally awakening to Padmé's relieved smile. He looked at her now.

"How was I injured?" he asked her, "Was I attacked?"

"That part still isn't very clear to me," Padmé replied, "Though Leia has tried to explain it a dozen times already."

The mention of Leia abruptly unleashed a dam of clarity and Anakin suddenly remembered how he had gotten the wound. He shuddered when he recalled those last tense moments of confrontation with Abeloth, when she had taken control of Leia and then cruelly dared him to kill her while wearing his beloved daughter's face. The terror he had felt in that moment harkened back to his gnawing fear that he would lose Padmé in that first timeline. There had been an aching, hollow feeling in his gut, the insidious dread that he was about to lose something incredibly precious…something that was beyond his control to prevent.

He hated that feeling. He hated being helpless. Ultimately, however, he had surprised Abeloth and himself when decided to submit himself fully to the Force. He chose to use the dagger to free Leia from her grip once and for all. He could only assume that was where his inexplicable injury had come from, that he had manifested Leia's fatal injury after he had healed her.

Anakin didn't regret the choice. He had done what was necessary and he had saved his daughter. But he also wasn't too keen on explaining to Padmé how he had done that. In retrospect, the manner in which he had accomplished that feat was irrelevant. His most pressing concern, above all else right then, was Leia. He needed to know that she was safe and that she had come through her ordeal with Abeloth relatively unscathed.

"Where is Leia? Is she alright?"

He tried to push himself upright, with the intention of rolling from the cot entirely, and that was a mistake. The abrupt tensing of his body when he moved caused shards of intense pain to shoot down every single nerve ending. A fine sheen of perspiration turned his pale skin clammy as he rode the wave. Anakin gritted his teeth against yelping aloud. An instant later there was a soft beeping sound followed by a warm, seeping sensation that traveled through his entire body. He felt incredibly heavy, but the pain lessened.

When he was able to take a breath, he urged Padmé though his words were profoundly slurred, "Tell me about Leia! Is she here? Is she alright?"

"Calm yourself, Ani. Leia is fine," Padmé murmured gently, "She and Luke are both here. They're a little traumatized after their ordeal, but physically they are perfect." She smoothed his damp hair back from his perspiring forehead. "They'll want to see you now that you're awake."

Relief flooded through Anakin, but it was all too quickly followed by shame and regret. He managed a spasmodic swallow and shook his head. "No. I don't know if it's a good idea for them to see me," he mumbled.

Padmé reared back a little, visibly stunned by his response. "Why not?"

"They'll want answers. I'm not sure that I'm ready to face them again after…"

He didn't finish the sentence and he didn't need to either. Padmé understood his anxiety. While they had been in crisis, there hadn't been much time to reflect on the truths Luke and Leia had learned or how they would navigate the fallout afterwards. Now that things had calmed down and were beginning to normalize, Padmé and Anakin had no choice except to face the harsh reality of confronting Anakin's past and everything his children had learned about it.

Padmé feathered a gentle kiss across his brow. "I know you're nervous about seeing them now that they know the truth," she said, "But you don't have to be. This is a good thing. There are no more secrets, Anakin. They understand." The look Anakin gave her in response was so steeped in unfiltered skepticism that she expelled a short, self-deprecating chuckle. "Alright. Perhaps 'understand' is too generous a description, but they don't despise us any longer. They're willing to listen. That's progress."

"You should have never been forced to pay for my mistakes in the first place, Padmé. I'm sorry."

"Would you please stop apologizing? We are a unit. What affects you, affects me too."

He blindly groped for her hand in response to that and gave her fingers a light squeeze. "Can you tell me what happened? How did I get here?"

"Everything I know is secondhand."

"Tell me anyway…"

"Abeloth is gone. You defeated her."

Anakin shook his head over that confident pronouncement. "That's incorrect. Actually…I didn't defeat her at all. She lives."

"But Obi-Wan said—,"

"—She lives, Padmé. Believe me."

An agitated frown creased Padmé's brow. "Then this isn't over, is it? Leia is still in danger."

"No. Leia is safe. Abeloth is contained for now. But her prison must be fortified," Anakin insisted, "She can't be allowed to escape again. I have work to do. I need to get out of this bed."

"Don't you even try it! You're not going anywhere," Padmé countered, holding him fast when he tried to shift again, "You barely have the strength to stand!"

"I can and will. Watch me."

"Ani, I really don't have the patience for your stubborn pride right now," she sighed plaintively, "You are going to stay in this bed. Besides, it's not your responsibility. The Jedi Council is seeing to Centerpoint Station now."

He squinted at her with a dubious expression. "The Council? What do they have to do with this?"

"Obi-Wan told them everything."

Small prickles of alarm rippled through Anakin's body and briefly chased away the clinging cobwebs of bleariness from his brain. Despite Padmé's earlier warning, he tensed as if he meant to leap from the cot altogether. "Everything like what?"

"Everything about Abeloth…and about you too."

Padmé cringed at the blistering curse Anakin bit out under his breath. "Fantastic!" he muttered, "Now they will be all over me!"

"They won't," she countered mildly, "In fact, you are the least of their concerns at the moment. Contrary to your pervasive belief, the galaxy is not centered around you, my love."

Chastened by her tacit admonishment that he was being self-centered, but not cowed entirely, Anakin muttered, "Go on."

"Apparently, Master Yoda was very alarmed to learn that Abeloth was such a great threat to the galaxy. He sees it as the personal duty of the Jedi to maintain her prison and guard it in the event someone else might decide to follow in her footsteps."

"How does he propose to do that?" Anakin asked sardonically.

"He plans to rebuild the Jedi Temple in Centerpoint Station's biosphere."

"He's going to do what?"

"According to Master Yoda, it makes sense to rebuild the Temple there. As Force sensitives, the Jedi would be the first to be alerted if any creature similar to Abeloth came into existence or needed to be contained in the future…like a first line of defense."

"How arrogant of him considering the Jedi missed the obvious clues with Sidious and didn't even know of Abeloth's existence until they were told!"

"He's trying, Anakin."

"It is an insane plan, and it's too dangerous!" Anakin argued, "They would only make themselves vulnerable to Abeloth's influence when she strengthens! Does Master Yoda understand the risk he is taking? Is he here? If so, I will gladly enlighten him!"

"If you don't stop moving, I'm going to have them strap you down again," Padmé warned when Anakin's infuriated attempt to roll upright caused another wave of pain to sweep through his body, "Is that what you want?"

Anakin remained tense, impervious to the excruciating pain knifing through him as he continued in his quest to swing upright. Because she feared she might be forced into wrestling him into immobility, Padme decided to take drastic measures. A moment later he heard another soft beep which was followed by a sudden, warm sensation that began in his torso and gradually began to creep out into his limbs.

His body became inexplicably heavy as the pain gradually ebbed away. He sagged back against his cot. The agony in his back eased into a dull ache. Anakin was grateful for the relief, but also suspected that he wouldn't maintain his consciousness for too much longer either. He regarded Padmé with a heavy-lidded glare filled with accusation.

"You drugged me," he slurred.

"Don't be petulant. It's a pain sedative, Anakin, and you're injured. You needed it."

"But why? Immortals don't feel pain."

"I suspect you're not immortal anymore, my love."

That statement was enough to keep Anakin from floating off into oblivion entirely. "How?"

"Lemé says that there only needs to be one guardian. She's stubborn…like you."

"Who is she? Why did she come for me?"

"I think you already know the answer to that, Ani."

He did know. From the moment he had laid eyes on her, Anakin had spotted the echoes of his wife and himself in her features. But, at the time, the theory had seemed like a preposterous fever dream. It still did and he told Padmé exactly that.

"I thought the same thing," she grunted wryly, "It's not every day that you can have long, existential conversations with the future version of your unborn daughter."

"You can see her too?" Anakin breathed in disbelief.

"I could see her and talk to her," Padmé emphasized, "She hasn't come to me in days now."

Anakin flinched, already imagining the worst possible outcome. "Does that mean the baby…?"

"I have a perfectly healthy pregnancy," Padmé reassured him before he could complete that dire thought, "I'm almost ten weeks along now."

He gradually relaxed, his initial fear tempered by relief. "Everything is fine then?"

"Everything is fine."

"But you can't see her anymore?"

"Not since you first regained consciousness," she explained, "She stayed with me until then."

Padmé had been trapped in a whirlwind of events since the first time Anakin had opened his eyes while submerged in healing bacta. When she first arrived on Corellia, she hadn't had a clear understanding of what she what she was supposed to do or why Lemé had led her there in the first place. Her uncanny daughter had been the one with the answers, but she had been vague about providing any clarity. Instead, Lemé had staunchly sidestepped her mother's numerous questions while serving as Padmé's unseen guide, eventually leading her to an elite medical center located in the heart of Coronet City.

Once there, Padmé was finally reunited with her distraught children and her unexpectedly comatose husband. Luke and Leia then recounted a tale to her so incredible that she could barely comprehend that it had transpired in only four standard days. But she didn't have a moment to process it then, not with Anakin in the state that he'd been. While the doctors had scrambled to uncover a medical reason for her husband's mysterious lack of responsiveness, Lemé had opted to go after her father directly. When Anakin began to rouse a few days later, he had a life-threatening wound in his back and Lemé had seemingly vanished.

At first, Padmé had been struck with the same fear as Anakin had initially, that she had ultimately lost the pregnancy she had been so undecided about. A quick, but discreet medical evaluation confirmed that her child's gestation was progressing right on schedule. The relief she felt had been profound, and it was only in those terrifying moments that Padmé became aware of just how much she wanted her daughter. She hadn't lost her, but it was clear that Lemé had withdrawn herself, and the action felt deliberate…though Padmé didn't fully understand why. She told Anakin as much.

Anakin groaned to himself. "I don't know how it's possible but…I think she might have traded places with me," he mumbled, disheartened by the thought. The implication alone compelled him to remain awake though he teetered ever closer to the precipice of oblivion. "She took the responsibility for it all so I wouldn't have to…"

"I think you might be right," Padmé agreed sadly, "That sounds like her."

"It seems you've come to know her very well," Anakin observed with a mixture of wonder, curiosity, and mild envy, "What is she like?"

"Insistent. Wise. Sarcastic. Very fearless…and so determined." But duty-bound like me, Padmé added silently in her heart. Too duty-bound. She leaned into him, resting her forehead gently against his as tears gathered in her eyes. "She is wonderful, Ani. She will become an incredible young woman. I love her so much already. I want to keep her safe."

"We will," he promised drowsily.

"You don't understand. I sensed a sadness in her when we last spoke, and I know the reason. I won't allow her childhood to be stolen from her as it was from you. I won't give her over to the Jedi to be trained. I want her to have a real life. She deserves that."

"I hear you…but she has a greater purpose now…not my will…the will of the Force…"

"And I hear you," Padmé murmured, "but she is my child, and I will do whatever is necessary to protect her." She could tell that he wanted to argue with her, but it was also clear that he was losing the battle to keep his eyes open. They drooped heavily and were clouded in a sedated haze. "You're tired, my love," she noted in a gentle tone, "You should rest."

"…not finished," he mumbled as he drifted away.

Padmé bit back a smile over his sleepy stubbornness. "I know…"

Once he had fallen into a deep sleep, Padmé's smile faded. She had missed him so very much. They didn't only have this latest separation between them, but the ten lonely years that had preceded it as well. She and Anakin had been afforded very little time following their reunion before everything had descended into turmoil again. After all the time they had spent apart, she wanted to savor every second with him. But, right then, Padmé was glad he was unconscious. She wasn't eager to have the conversation that still lay ahead, and she didn't doubt for a second that he would not be agreeable to what she had planned.

Additionally, she wasn't encouraged by the news that Abeloth still lived, but that knowledge only strengthened her resolve to go forward with her plan. She was more convinced than ever that her decision was the right one, especially given the challenges that lay ahead. Ahsoka had provided greater detail to the children's account of Abeloth's shadow realm, and the description she'd given Padmé was nothing less than terrifying. An enemy with the ability to best one physically was one thing, but one with the power and desire to rip one apart emotionally and mentally was something else entirely.

Padmé couldn't bear the possibility of Leia being drawn back into that horrid place again. And, based on everything Ahsoka had told her, that could very well happen as long as Abeloth existed. She was grateful to know that Leia would not be left unprotected from that entity's insidious influence, but she was disheartened by the knowledge that her protection would one day come from her younger sister…a sister she didn't even know existed yet. It was all too much to comprehend fully, and Padmé was sure she would go crazy if she tried.

She straightened and quickly schooled her features into a blank mask when the door to Anakin's medical bay suddenly swooshed open. Ahsoka stepped inside. Thankfully, she was alone, and Padmé gradually relaxed what Anakin aptly dubbed her Politician's Face.

Ahsoka came to stand alongside Anakin's bedside with a worried frown. "Any change?" she pressed anxiously.

"He was just awake. I had to put him out again because he was getting too agitated."

Ahsoka heaved a relieved sigh and nodded. "You told him about your plans for the baby then?"

"Actually, I didn't get that far. He was so worked up about Master Yoda's plan to rebuild the Jedi Temple in the Centerpoint Station biosphere that we weren't able to discuss anything else."

"But why would that upset him? If anyone should be protectors of those space stations and the power they hold, it should be the Jedi. Imagine what would happen if they fell into the wrong hands?"

"I don't disagree with you, but I think Anakin's concern stems from the fact that Abeloth is still alive."

"I'm not sure I heard you correctly. She's what?" Ahsoka exploded softly.

"That's what he told me."

Ahsoka blinked at her in gathering dismay. "He was gone all that time and she's still alive?"

"You'll have to ask him about it when he wakes up again," Padmé replied mildly.

"Did he say anything else?"

"He said he thinks he was able to come back because Lemé traded places with him."

"I still can't get my mind wrapped around the idea that your unborn baby can time travel," Ahsoka muttered, "She's not even fully developed yet! How is that possible?"

"You're the Jedi," Padmé quipped lightly, "You tell me."

"I'm afraid this is beyond my expertise, my friend. You need a master for those answers."

She placed a reassuring hand on Padmé's shoulder, but Padmé stiffened under her touch. "You haven't spoken about this to anyone, have you?"

"Relax. I promised you that I would keep quiet about your pregnancy, and I have," Ahsoka replied, "But, it bears repeating, I think this plan you've concocted is outlandish. I'm not sure you've thought it through."

"You're wrong. I haven't been able to think of anything else since I arrived here. I know I'm doing what's best for her."

"Do you really believe you'll be able to bear it when the time comes?" Ahsoka asked her softly.

"I'll have to bear it…for her sake."

It was an outlandish plan just as Ahsoka said, one that Padmé knew would cause her incredible pain but one she also was determined to see through. Though she wished otherwise, she and Anakin were much too visible. The Skywalker name and the reputation that accompanied it was known throughout the galaxy. It had become synonymous with heroism, courage, and power. She and Anakin would never be able to raise a child like Lemé in the obscurity that she needed.

Eventually, a light would be shined on her incredible abilities, and she would become a target to those with greedy, selfish motives. Padmé determined that the best way to keep her daughter safe would be if she and Anakin didn't raise her at all. Like it or not, having them as her parents would prove to be more of a hindrance than a blessing. While the prospect of giving up her daughter was nearly too devastating to contemplate, Padmé couldn't see another way.

She had already proposed the idea to Beru, whom she suspected might be more amenable to the idea than Owen once her initial shock eventually wore away. Padmé knew how much her sister-in-law had always coveted a child of her own. She didn't doubt that Beru would be a good mother to Lemé. Beru would love her unconditionally.

And it wasn't as if Padmé would drop into obscurity and vanish from her daughter's life completely. She could watch Lemé grow up from afar. They would remain a family though not nearly as close as Padmé would have preferred. But at least Lemé would be protected from the Skywalker name and the fame that had become synonymous with it.

Of course, Beru had been horrified by the proposal at first and more than a little resistant. She had actually accused Padmé of being grief-stricken and irrational. But the more Padmé had dismissed her concerns and argued for Beru to consider her terms and why the plan was practical, the more amenable Beru had become until finally she agreed. Now the only task that was left was to bring both their husbands onboard. Owen was still a work in progress, but Anakin might prove to be the biggest barrier if she couldn't soften him first.

"That's not going to happen," Ahsoka declared in a quiet tone, easily discerning the path of Padmé's thoughts, "I'm not sure what the outcome will be with Owen, but Anakin will never go for it."

"Stranger things have happened."

Ahsoka fixed her with a grim look. "You know he won't like it. Besides, do you really think that Owen and Beru are qualified to raise a child like Lemé?"

"Is anyone truly qualified?" Padmé challenged, "She deserves an opportunity to have some semblance of a normal life before it is ripped away from her, and she becomes the keeper of the entire galaxy."

"Padmé…you can't shield her forever."

"I'm not shielding her!" Padmé argued vehemently, "I'm giving her a chance! I had the heavy burden of responsibility for an entire planet foisted upon me when I was barely fourteen years old! Anakin was nine! Luke and Leia were just as young when they began carrying the fate of an entire resistance movement on their shoulders!" she argued further, "I'm determined to spare Lemé that same fate! Owen and Beru can give her what Anakin and I can't!"

"And what's that?"

"An actual childhood," Padmé replied tremulously.

"So, you're going to go through your entire pregnancy and then just hand her over when it is done? Just like that?"

Padmé groaned at the blunt and unremitting description, something she had avoided letting herself consider altogether. "I know it will be difficult…"

"…Padmé, you're talking about giving away your baby!"

"Not to strangers!" she cried, "I'm entrusting her to my family…because I know they will take care of her. I can still be a part of her life."

"But you're just going to watch from afar while Owen and Beru raise your daughter as their own! Are you sure you'll be content with only being Auntie Padmé?"

"I'll have to be, won't I?" she muttered.

"Even if I thought you could do this without ripping yourself to pieces emotionally…and I don't," Ahsoka added meaningfully, "Anakin will never agree to it. You're going to have a fight on your hands."

Padmé squared her shoulders, her expression becoming an inscrutable mask once more. "I have never asked him to sacrifice anything on my behalf before, Ahsoka. He'll agree. He has to."

She was right about that, but the journey to get to Anakin's acquiesce was certainly not an easy one. Thankfully, she was provided with a reprieve due to the need for Anakin to recover from his injuries. His wound could have easily been fatal and most certainly should have left him permanently disabled, but he healed remarkably fast from his injuries and without any long-term effects. The Jedi attributed his swift recovery to the Force. Padmé, on the other hand, firmly believed it had been Lemé's doing. She had only to behold her own restored features to know that with conviction.

Once Anakin's recovery was certain, the next order of business was settling matters with Luke and Leia. They both had a myriad of questions to ask but only Anakin was qualified to provide the answers they sought. Padmé had urged them to wait until he was stronger before they barraged him. When the day finally came, both she and Anakin were filled with trepidation for what was to come but also an anxious need to address the situation and finally move past it.

Luke and Leia filed into his medical bay in the early morning hours with their mother, and Anakin was already seated upright on his cot awaiting their arrival. Though the children had engaged in brief snatches of conversation with their father since he had awakened, they hadn't tackled any subjects too significant or remarkably profound. Certainly, they hadn't made any references to his notorious past. Mostly they felt gratitude because he had helped them to escape beyond shadows and be reunited with their mother.

But now that the crisis had passed, the questions about his past and the choices he had made began to fester anew. The children lingered on the far side of his medical bay while Padmé moved to stand at his bedside and swept up his hand. That small gesture of solidarity fortified Anakin for the task ahead. He offered her a brief, grateful smile before turning his attention back to Luke and Leia.

"Alright," he sighed finally, "Ask."

Predictably, Leia was the first to speak. "Did you really do all of those terrible things I saw?"

"I'm not sure of everything you saw but…probably…yes. I was an agent for the Emperor. I committed many unspeakable acts on his behalf, whatever he required."

"You killed for him!" Leia burst out, half dismayed, half angry, "You hurt so many people! Why?"

"Because he was all I had left."

"I don't understand."

"I had lost your mother. I had lost our child. I lost Ahsoka and Obi-Wan. Everything. I had burned it all, and I had nothing to show for it…except him. If I didn't commit myself to his service, to the dark side, then it would have all been for nothing."

"Is that why you were in the suit?" Leia wondered aloud.

Anakin flinched at the question but answered, nonetheless. "I was in the suit because I was foolish and arrogant and because Sidious was unwilling to let me die."

"But…you wanted to die," Leia discerned softly after a long pause, "Didn't you?"

"I did," he admitted, "For a very long time. Until this life with your mother, and your brother…and you."

"That's why you changed."

"I changed for me," Anakin said, "I didn't want to be that person anymore. I never wanted to be that person in the first place. You were the blessing that I wasn't expecting."

Luke found the temerity to speak then. "But all those terrible things you did…you did it for Mom, right? Because you wanted to save her?"

"I did," Anakin confirmed, "But that doesn't justify any of it…and I will always carry that shame with me." He paused to exchange a bittersweet smile with Padmé again, but it was tempered with open adoration. "I made the wrong choice back then. I will never risk my family again."

"How were you able to travel back in time?" Luke asked.

Anakin looked back at Luke. "Sith alchemy. Honestly, it was supposed to be an impossibility…a myth, like recreating mido-chlorians. No one had ever successfully done so. For years, I had used those dark powers in an attempt to resurrect your mother, but it never worked. I couldn't succeed in my efforts to bring her back. I simply decided to try something else."

"So, you traveled back in time for Mom…because you wanted her back?"

"No. I came back because I wanted to be free," Anakin clarified, "And I knew if I remained with Sidious I never would be."

"So, what happened next?" Leia prodded when her brother fell silent.

"I didn't know if it would work or what to expect. I thought if it did work that I would be transported back physically to confront my younger self, but I wasn't. Instead, when I awakened it was right before the Clone Wars were set to begin. I was nineteen again, but I had all my memories from the life I'd lived before."

"And what did you do?"

"Once I figured out where I was in time and what was happening, I decided to save my mother from the Tuskens and to stop Sidious from taking the galaxy. I succeeded in some things. I failed in others."

Luke and Leia exchanged a furtive glance before Leia asked, "You didn't come back to rule the galaxy yourself?"

"No, Leia. I didn't. Is that what you thought?" She jerked a short nod. "I won't pretend that my actions were above reproach when I returned to my past. I did some bad things, but my motives were pure."

Luke recovered his voice then. "And now?"

"I want to be a father and a husband. That is all."

"But how do we know it won't happen again? That darkness is still a part of you. Leia feels it. I feel it too. How can we trust you?"

"I can't answer that for you. But trusting in the Force requires a balance between the light and the dark. I am that balance. I was born to be both. I will always be both."

"And if you fall to the dark side? What happens to our family?"

"That won't happen," Anakin vowed, "I control the darkness within me now. It no longer controls me. I promise you, Luke. Please, believe me." He bounced an entreating glance between his cautious children. "I would like very much to start over. Could we?"

That was all the invitation Luke needed to do what he had been longing to do for weeks now. He went flying into his father's arms with a small cry of relief, grateful to be burrowed in his protective embrace once again. Leia, as usual, was a bit more hesitant to step forward. This time though, her reluctance wasn't born from resentment or suspicion but guilt and regret instead. Finally, she was able to separate the monster her father had been from the man he had eventually become. She couldn't forget the horrors she had witnessed but nor could she ignore how instinctively Anakin had been willing to sacrifice himself for her even after she had spent weeks bent on destroying him.

Anakin, sensing her conflict and self-deprecating thoughts, continued to hold Luke tightly and observed his vacillating daughter over Luke's shoulder. "We can both start clean from this moment. I'm not holding any grudges, little one," he said softly, "Are you?"

Leia gave a sharp shake of her head and, with a yelping cry of relief, stumbled forward to throw herself into Anakin's waiting arms. The moment they banded around her, she began to sob. Moved by the display, Padme joined their embrace with a laughing sob of her own. They stayed that way for a long time, huddled together tightly, laughing and crying simultaneously in relief and gratitude until Luke finally lifted his head and mumbled, "This probably isn't the time to make it known but…I think group hugs are really corny. Let's not do this again."

His self-conscious observation was enough to dispel any lingering tension and the family gradually extricated themselves from one another. The emotional aftermath made it difficult for them to meet each other's eyes immediately. It was an awkward moment, but it felt good.

Luke studied the smooth striations on the floor beneath his feet. "What happens now?"

Anakin started to answer but was surprised to realize that he didn't have one ready. Padmé, on the other hand, had apparently been waiting for the question. She answered it without hesitation.

"We're going to wait for your father to be discharged from this facility, and then we're going to find a permanent place to live."

Leia stared at her round-eyed. "You mean we're going to live in a real house like a real family? Finally?"

"Yes! Finally!" Padmé laughed before she added gently, "That means you'll have your own room, Leia. Are you ready for that?"

"I'm ready," Leia whispered with a short nod, "I just needed to get used to the idea."

While Leia was preoccupied with having her own designated space for the first time in her short life, Luke was more concerned about where they might be going. "Can't we go back to Naboo?" he asked, "I'd like there and be with Grandma and Aunt Sola."

"So would I," Padmé agreed, "But I think it's best that we avoid going any place where we are too well known. We want to keep as low a profile as we can. Wherever we decide to go, Coruscant, Naboo and Tatooine can't be an option."

Anakin snorted. "Don't worry. Tatooine was never going to be an option for me anyway."

"Me either," Leia added emphatically.

"We could stay here on Corellia," Luke ventured.

Both Leia and Anakin's response to that suggestion was quick, immediate, and exact. "Not on your life," they replied simultaneously.

Luke gave his father and sister time to recover from their shock over being so likeminded before he grunted petulantly, "Fine. If you don't want to stay here, where do you want to go, Dad?"

"I don't know," Anakin replied, "It's a big galaxy with lots of choices. I need time to think about it." He and Padmé traded soft smiles before he reached for her hand again. "In the meantime, your mother and I have some news that—,"

"—Can wait," Padmé interrupted quickly before Anakin could finish his statement, "That news can wait."

Anakin eyed her curiously, startled by her flat declaration, but he conceded to her unspoken cue for him to keep silent, nonetheless. She studiously avoided his gaze as she addressed the children who, thankfully, remained ignorant of the subtle shift that had occurred between their parents. Even if they had noticed, Luke and Leia would have likely kept silent about it. Neither of them was eager to upset the delicate balance that had been recently reestablished in their family. Anakin and Padmé felt similarly.

"Why don't you both go find Ahsoka and Obi-Wan?" Padmé suggested, "It's close to midday. I'm sure you're hungry. You should eat something."

"Can we come back afterwards?" Luke asked, plainly reluctant to be separated from his father, "I have more questions for you, if that's alright."

"Of course," Padmé replied before Anakin could nod his own assent, "Eat first, then come back and ask all the questions you want."

Leia nudged her brother in the ribs and said in a loud, stage whisper, "I think she just wants to be alone with him so they can kiss and stuff."

"I know," Luke whispered back just as loudly, "She's very obvious."

"Would you two get out of here?"

Padmé watched with a tense smile as Luke and Leia shuffled out after bidding their father goodbye, pretending that she wasn't aware that Anakin was staring at her with a probing expression the entire time. Once they were alone, she braced herself for the question she knew would come next. Anakin didn't keep her waiting long. He asked it without a hint of preamble, in his usual forthright manner.

"Why don't you want to tell them about the baby?"