Padme Amidala Naberrie's apartment
Coruscant
1 hour later
"Bail, slow down!" Padme cried into the com. Her fellow senator was pale with worry. "You're babbling. What?"
"Chancellor Palpatine is reported dead!" Organa snapped; even across the kilometers separating their apartments, she could hear the rising hysteria in his voice. "He was assassinated within the Jedi Council chamber! There is fighting in the halls of the Senate itself and significant instability. Padme, you need to lock the door and stay inside right now. It's not safe out there."
Padme paled even as her child wiggled in her womb. The Jedi Council Chamber.
Anakin!
"Bail, have you heard if anyone else ...?" she began, then turned her head as the door slid open and her beloved stepped into the living room.
"Jedi Skywalker is here, Senator Organa," she said quickly. "He'll have more information. I'll inform you of details when I can."
"Very well, Padme. I would advise that you keep Skywalker with you, if possible. He'll keep you secure."
Padme nodded abstractly and turned off the com, rose to her feet, and turned to face her husband. To her disappointment, Anakin wasn't alone. Obi-Wan had followed him in, followed by two young people who were completely unfamiliar. The young man was blond, the girl was dark haired, and both were comparatively short.
"Jedi Skywalker," Padme said courteously, stepping forward with a polite nod of the head. How she hated this pretense between them in public settings.
Anakin disdained her nod, sweeping forward to pick her up and kiss her thoroughly and passionately. Padme squeaked in astonishment, then relaxed into the kiss. A few seconds later, she felt the child kick her husband firmly in the stomach, and she found herself being lowered carefully to the ground.
"So," Padme said once she'd regained her breath, "I guess we're blown, huh?"
She gestured at the threesome waiting near the door. Obi-Wan looked disapproving, but the other two were staring at her with unnerving intensity.
"Yes, we're blown," Anakin agreed, shooting a defiant glance at Kenobi, "and I don't care."
"I think being blown, as you put it, is the very best situation for the health of your marriage at this juncture," commented the dark haired girl.
Padme furrowed her brow in confusion but decided to focus on the most important question, "Ani, is it true what Senator Organa said, that Chancellor Palpatine was assassinated an hour ago?"
Anakin quickly wrapped a long arm around her waist. He guided Padme to her favorite krayt leather couch and pulled her gently down next to him, clasping her left hand with his prosthetic right one.
"Yes, Padme," Anakin Skywalker said gravely, staring into her deep brown eyes. "I chopped his head off myself, though I had a lot of help."
Her hand clenched in his and her eyes dilated in shock, "You killed him?"
"He was a Sith Lord, Padme. He was the Sith Lord we've been searching for all these years."
"Palpatine?!"
"Yes, Padme," Kenobi chimed in gravely. He was obviously supremely uncomfortable with all this gratuitous affection, but he was making a heroic effort to stay on task. "He attacked us in the Jedi Council once his evil nature was revealed. He had Dark Force powers beyond our understanding, and it took all of us to take him down though Anakin did indeed wield the final blow. I am proud of you, Anakin. I know that was a difficult decision."
The former queen shook her head incredulously, "How did you find out that Palpatine was a Sith?"
Anakin took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Darling, this is going to be very hard for you to believe but these two young people are time travelers from 25 years in the future."
Padme stared at him, then turned her head to gaze at the twosome, both of whom continued to stare at her with fascination.
"You're serious?" she asked softly. "Time travelers? That's impossible."
"It is not, Padme," Ani continued softly. "Furthermore, as incredible and insane as it is, these two young people are our children from 25 years in the future. Meet Luke and Leia, our twins."
She gasped in shock, stared at the two strangers, then down at her own large baby bump.
"Twins? What? I'm not having twins!"
"It is kind of weird you didn't see both of us on prenatal scans," Luke commented, "but there are definitely two of us."
"We, uh, haven't had any scans done," Anakin muttered.
"Because?" Leia asked in a puzzled way. "Are scans not standard in this time period?"
This time period. Padme Skywalker didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or shout. Time travel was impossible. These couldn't be her kids from the future. Maybe she was asleep.
She poked herself experimentally. Ouch, nope.
"Scans are standard," Anakin explained absently, his eyes focused on his wife's bewildered visage, "but since our marriage was secret we just didn't want anything official done that could get us in the med records. I mean, our baby, our babies ... you, have a high midichlorian count and that kind of thing would point to a potential Jedi father. I can tell you are both very strong with the Force."
"Well, Luke is," Leia said with a soft smile. "I'm a Force sensitive but not necessarily a strong one."
"You are. You just don't have that much training," Luke stated firmly.
"Well, I've been pretty busy. The political situation is challenging and fascinating right now."
"Politics are so boring!"
Padme interrupted without compunction, "This is all very interesting but I don't believe it. I can't. How can ... can you be here and my baby, or babies, still be unborn?"
Luke shrugged apologetically, "I don't know how it works. We found a weird Jedi temple and some holocrons and opened some things and closed some other things and there was a galaxy map and a weird chrono and ended up here. And we might leave at any time. At this point, I hope our work is finished. We've warned you about Palpatine and the old wretch is dead in this time, which makes me very happy."
"And we devoutly hope now you won't turn to the Dark Side, Anakin Skywalker," Leia finished, her gaze fixed firmly on her biological father.
Padme shuddered under her husband's grip, "What!?"
"You died in our timeline," Luke explained softly, though his eyes were fixed on Anakin. "Probably after giving birth to us. And our father Anakin turned to the Dark Side and became a Sith named Darth Vader. He was Emperor Palpatine's right hand man for 25 years, sweeping across the galaxy leaving a wake of destruction and suffering. He harmed both of us greatly, though Vader did kill Palpatine in the end to save my life. I will always be grateful for that, but if you could raise your children, little Luke and Leia, in a healthier way, well, that would be better."
Padme's eyes were wide eyed and filled with tears, and she gazed on Anakin in desperation, "You would never do such a thing, would you, Ani? Please say you wouldn't."
"To save you," Anakin murmured, "Yes, I'm afraid I would have. Only days ago, I was at the opera with Palpatine and he told me that a Sith Lord learned how to cheat death. I am certain that he was enticing me to join him in the hopes of saving you, my love. After losing my mother to the Tuskens, I've been terrified of losing you, Padme. My dreams of your death in childbirth are so real, even as the visions of my mother's agony and death came true."
He tightened his grip on her hand and she squeaked in pain. He released his grip instantly, his expression contrite, "I'm sorry, my angel. I can't ... I can't live without you but Luke and Leia are right, I must not sell my soul in a hopeless attempt to save you."
"Truly," Luke said compassionately, walking closer and then dropped to one knee before his pregnant mother, "I would guess that my father's actions precipitated my mother's death. He was such a violent man. He slashed my hand off in a duel and it was not conducive to his ultimate goal to draw me to his side. When he got angry, he hurt people, even those he cared about."
"If I may suggest something," Leia said sternly, rising to her feet, "you should do the very opposite of your general instinct in saving your wife. Don't run around like a koja nut. Stay here with your wife and protect her. Love her. Cook up tasty foods for her. Take up gnitting? if you are bored."
"The war," Anakin began.
Luke interrupted without compunction, "Father, in our timeline, you pretty much broke the galaxy. You'd do everyone a favor by just staying home and raising tookas. I mean, you can do more, but don't push yourself beyond your limit and freak out and take down a billion people with you."
"I'll probably be tossed out of the Jedi Order anyway," Anakin murmured, gazing at his former master. "I'm married in this time, and I turned to the Dark Side in your time."
"Well, you can't be punished for hypothetical future crimes," Luke stated indignantly, "and the whole no attachments rule was stupid. However, given that Palpatine was manipulating you and you are stressed out ..."
"He's right, Anakin," Obi-Wan said softly. "I don't know what the Council will decide about your status in the Order, but it is true that we failed you. I failed you. We have all been under a tremendous amount of stress and dashing here and there and Palpatine has been manipulating you all this time."
He trailed away now, his eyes wide, "Anakin, do you realize what this means? Count Dooku was working for Palpatine! The Separatists were controlled by Palpatine. He was behind the entire war!"
"Indeed," Padme said flatly, "and I deeply regret my own part in his ascension to power, which brought him perilously close to, I gather, a coup. I was the one who called for the No Confidence vote against Valorum."
"How long did it take you to figure out the political machinations behind Palpatine's rise to power?" her husband asked affectionately.
She lifted an eyebrow, "About 30 seconds, my dear. Your information that Palpatine was a Sith Lord and our enemy clarifies so much that has happened in the last few years."
"And we were too caught up in the war to understand," Obi-Wan said wearily, "but then, I've never been that great with politics, really."
"Me either," Luke said with a smile. He rose to his feet and glanced at his sister, "I assume your toes are tingling?"
"Yes," Leia agreed.
"Tingling toes?" Padme demanded, lurching to her feet with some difficulty, "what does that mean?"
"It probably means we're about to go back to our time," Leia explained. "We had tingling toes a few minutes before we launched out of our time. Padme. Mother. It was an honor and privilege to meet you."
"But where will you go?" Anakin asked worriedly. "Won't your actions here change the future?"
Luke and Leia exchanged glances and shrugged.
"We're not sure," Leia stated quietly. "Maybe we'll just disappear. And that's Ok. Our lives have been pretty tough. Or maybe there are multiple timelines. In any case, take care of your wife and children, Anakin Skywalker. Please. I am certain with Palpatine out of the way, Mother will give birth without difficulty."
"Oh, and if your Luke runs across a redhead named Mara Jade and falls for her, that's no problem. I mean, it's fine if that doesn't happen, but she's fabulous."
"And there's a scruffy looking Corellian named Han Solo whose got a whole lot going on beneath his disheveled exterior," Leia began.
The twins blinked out of sight, leaving Anakin, Padme, and Obi-Wan gaping in surprise.
"Oh, Anakin," Padme murmured, sagging back onto the couch and wiping back tears, "they are amazing, aren't they?"
"Yes, they are," Anakin Skywalker said quietly. He sat down next to his wife and carefully cradled her enormous bump. "Babies, you are so loved. I promise you that I'll be the father that you deserve."
"Well, I'll just be going," Kenobi said nervously, sidling towards the door.
"There's fighting in the antechambers of Senate," Padme said suddenly. "Bail told me."
"Stay here, Anakin," Obi-Wan ordered. "Based on what has happened today, your highest priority is your wife and children. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Obi-Wan," Skywalker replied with a smile.
/
Weird Jedi Temple
Kashyyyk
"So did anything happen, Farmboy?" Mara Jade Skywalker asked her husband.
Luke blinked at his beautiful and newly pregnant wife, "Um, yes. How long were we gone?"
"Like 2 seconds," Han Solo explained. "You disappeared and then reappeared immediately."
The twins exchanged startled looks.
"We were there for hours," Leia said. "Hours and hours. So I presume you both are still you? Mara, you were taken by the Emperor and turned into a Hand? Big, Tall, and Ugly still managed to cause major damage in our lives?"
"Yes?" Han and Mara replied in a chorus.
The twins exchanged thoughtful looks.
"I kind of expected to just go poof," Luke commented. "We definitely changed the timeline significantly."
"How?" demanded Mara.
"We traveled back in time 25 years and showed up in the Jedi Council chambers and told everyone that Palpatine was a Sith Lord. After some discussion, they believed us and there was a fight and Palpatine was killed. I don't think Anakin Skywalker would turn to the Dark Side after all that."
"Maybe there are multiple timelines," Leia said hopefully.
"The fabric of the Force has changed," Mara said suddenly. "Can't you feel it? It's shifted toward the Light."
"You're right, my love," Luke murmured. "Very interesting."
/
Temperorary Med Suite
Varykino
Naboo
1 month after the death of Chancellor Palpatine
"Please continue to push," the med droid said soothingly.
Padme Skywalker grimaced even as she clutched her husband's hand.
"Almost there, Padme," Anakin encouraged her, his eyes wet with tears. His son had already been born and was comfortably ensconced in his grandmother's arms. Jobal and Ruwee Naberrie, thrilled beyond measure to learn of their daughter's marriage and pregnancy, had welcomed the young couple to Varykino with open arms.
With one last cry, Padme pushed her daughter into the world. Amid the indignant howling of the newborn girl, Anakin knelt next to his beloved wife and pressed a kiss onto her cheek. His horrifying nightmares of her death in childbirth had stopped the day that Palpatine had died.
The Jedi Council had firmly thrown Skywalker out of the Order but Anakin truly didn't care. There were so many things he could do with his life and skills, but right now he was focused on his wife and his precious children.
"What will you name them?" Jobal asked in an adoring tone.
Padme smiled wearily at her husband and reached a hand up to stroke his cheek.
"Luke and Leia," she murmured.
/
Author Note: So originally I was going to stop here. But then I thought – wait, Luke and Leia could bounce around to other places and times, right? Wouldn't that be fun? So I'm going to keep going. As for the multiple timelines, don't think too hard about it. Thanks to those of you reading and following and reviewing.