Sorrow clung to the air this night. So potent, Vader could almost taste it on his tongue. He smelled it with every breath. Guilt hovered around the royal heir and he embraced its stinging touch because, after all, didn't he deserve it? Confirmation had just been delivered by the palace's chief of staff that Mila had been escorted away and dismissed immediately. He did not ask how she had taken the news or where she would spend the night. Instead, he'd called the cleaning droids to change the rumpled sheets and air out the room while he hid like a coward in his office. Soon there would be no evidence she had been here at all.

At twenty-six years old, he was a man in the prime of his life and yet he felt years beyond his age. Like an old man trapped in the confines of youth. A gilded cage. Pouring himself another whiskey, Vader examined the amber liquid for a moment and then finished it in one burning gulp. Years ago, if he had glanced through time to see the life he led now, handling the running of the Empire would have brought his younger self ecstasy. All he had ever wanted was to take his place as Emperor and change the galaxy.

And he still hadn't. He was still denied what was his due to a rotting husk of a man bound to a bed he would never rise from again. Every day, month and year which passed without achieving his glorious purpose wearied the Prince. Sometimes, alone in the darkness, he wondered if his father would somehow manage to outlive him. Vader wouldn't put it past the old man to find a way from spite alone.

Recently, curiosity had gotten the better of him and Vader had explored his father's deeply off-limits wing of the palace. Neither he nor Anakin had ever been allowed to step foot on that side of the palace since the man took to bed. It had never sat well with him, being told what to do in his own home by people so far beneath him. But today, he had gone walked in, unopposed by the Imperial guards, and explored Sidious's dusty possessions at length.

Most notably was the sealed chest bound in thick leather bearing a symbol Vader did not recognise. It certainly wasn't the emblem of their family or the Empire. This was something new, something he had never seen before. A blood-red circle sat upon the seal binding the chest shut, surrounding the circle was a ragged, sharp shape bearing two small points and one larger on four edges. In time, he intended to search through the palace libraries to track its origin. Whatever the emblem stood for, it must have held great importance to Sidious for inside the chest held many years' worths of journals, strangely handwritten onto age-yellowed flimsi.

The Prince glanced down at the trunk by his feet, resting behind his desk where he lingered. Tomorrow, he would begin working his way through all it held, if only to better understand what flowed through Sidious's brain while he lived. What secrets did his father hide? What did he know and never pass down to his heirs? Vader would never become the shadow which haunted his past. He would be better and more powerful than the old man ever could have dreamed of becoming.

But that exploration was tomorrow's task. For tonight, he drank again, swallowing his next pouring all at once. Stress tugged at every nerve and vein in his body, battling the guilt for dominance. He had imagined Padme while sleeping with Mila. Why? Was it some twisted fantasy of fucking his brother's lover – the woman who was his wife in all but legality? Vader's stomach knotted nauseously. If Anakin ever found out… Force help him. He could not imagine his brother taking it kindly. Anakin was deeply possessive of the Senator, especially so due to the secretive nature of their relationship.

He threw back another whiskey.

Vader loved his brother more deeply than mere words could ever explain. They were born together as one, twins, two halves of one. And yet, even if his sober mind would deny it, he knew that he was viciously envious of his twin and it plagued him endlessly. Padme was around the palace often under some guise or another to be with Anakin these days, spending the night or sometimes several days before returning to her own apartment. She sometimes helped Vader with Senate matters, talking through proposed legislative changes or bills she advised would do his people good.

They spent hours together and Anakin left them in peace. Mind shields were a merciful thing, thank the force. Without intending to, Padme had allowed Vader a glimpse into what sharing his life with a woman by his side could do for a man. Especially one so warm, intelligent and beautiful. And then, when they were done, she would thread her fingers through Anakin's and leave with him while Vader retired alone.

And now they would have a child together… a baby to bind them as a family for all time.

A sudden, searing wave of envy flooded the Prince so intensely, it was shocking. Vader was almost breathless for a moment as his clenching hands began to tremble. Where had this come from? He knew he desired Padme, that was undeniable, but all of this? Why did he feel this way? Thinking of Anakin happily married to the Senator and being a doting father to her child made Vader as miserable as it did proud. It also inspired a brand new, scalding fury he had never felt before, boiling in the pit of his gut like a pool of lava from Mustafar.

Perhaps there was a simple explanation for all of this. As Prince, there was almost nothing which was denied to Vader, it had been this way almost his entire life. Especially after his father had named him as heir over Anakin. The staff had doted on him as a boy, he had any woman he ever desired no matter her relational status. Married women, single women, engaged women warmed his bed all too willingly through the years and it had been easy.

But Padme… she was perhaps the one woman in the galaxy denied to him and not merely because Vader truly valued his relationship with his brother and wished to keep Anakin in his life, no, but Padme was truly and deeply in love with his brother. She had never so much as glanced at him with passing desire while he had known her.

No, Padme looked only to one man with desire in her tempting eyes and nothing Vader had, not his impending crown, not his power or his riches could seduce her to him. In her galaxy, there was only Anakin.

What must that feel like, Anakin? He wondered, to see that love, hunger and passion directed only at you? Do you feel like the greatest man in the galaxy?

As if called upon, his brother threw himself through the doors of Vader's office the very moment they parted enough to grant him entrance. His face was wild and reddened and if he did not know any better, Vader might have assumed Anakin had been crying. "Sorry," his twin could not meet his eye, "I need someone to talk to… are you busy?"

Instead of answering, Vader merely summoned a second glass from the cabinet behind him and allowed it to glide through the air and rest delicately upon his desk as he unscrewed the whiskey and poured it yet again. The sound of the golden liquid cascading into the gleaming crystal glass was all that filled the room for several suffocating moments as Anakin threw himself into the seat opposite him. As soon as Vader finished pouring, his brother drained the glass, skidding it across the desk to be refilled.

So then he had been correct in his assumption. Anakin had not taken Padme's news well. If he had, then he would not be in Vader's office emptying a second whiskey down his all too willing throat. Vader said nothing, refilling the glass and waiting. It was all he could do not to glare at his brother. He had a lover wholly dedicated to him and a child to secure his legacy, this was what most men strived for and he rejected it.

He ached to ask for details as he slid the third glass into Anakin's waiting hand but Padme had spoken to him in confidence and Vader would never betray her. Especially not now while his brother was likely to lash out at them both for their earlier conversation. No, some secrets were best kept hidden. "Did Padme visit the doctor?" The Prince asked tactically, "I hope there was good news?"

Ah, he cringed, perhaps not the best wording there...

"Good news…" Anakin muttered, sipping rather than swallowing the drink in full this time. His eyes were worlds away, chasing thoughts Vader was sure were angry and panicked. "Well, there was news but none of it was good." Blue gaze found gold across the table. "Padme's pregnant. Twelve weeks apparently." A beat and then, "She's keeping it. She made that abundantly clear."

Vader did not know how to respond. This was not like comforting Padme and murmuring sweet assurances until her tears stopped, his brother was angry and resentful and part of him wished to round the table and smack Anakin until he saw sense. "Oh… I see." It was not as if his twin particularly cared for his title, Anakin had never wished to rule and found his happiness leading the military instead. Even if he lost his royal titles, Vader could try to see to it that he kept his military position. There could be around their father's will. It was not as if all was lost for sure.

Who knew, maybe Sidious would finally choke on his tubes and die before the news spread and the problem would be resolved?

"She wants to raise it on Naboo," Anakin muttered, "I mean, we were planning to find a house there but for us, y'know? Not some kid." He rubbed his face tiredly and finished his drink, once again sliding it to Vader to refill which he did dutifully.

"I know it's not ideal," he began gently, "but look past the shock of it for a moment and think! You'll be with the woman you love, married, and starting a family of your own. A lifetime of peace, it's enviable, Anakin. Yes, should the child's existence be announced before father passes, you'll be forced to renounce your Princedom, but there are options we can discuss. It doesn't have to be the end of the galaxy."

He would speak with Sabe in the morning and begin drafting a plan. Vader had been thinking about it since Padme had confessed hours ago. If she and Anakin eloped before she began to show and hid it for as long as possible, it would allow them time for their father to die. If that did not happen, then the announcement of their marriage and the birth of a child could come at once. Indeed, there were options, but Anakin did not want to explore them.

"I don't want it, Vader!" His brother hissed hatefully. Anger twisted his face into someone he did not know. "I want her to get rid of it!" His fist slammed down onto the desk so brutally that it must have sent pain rushing to his shoulder in response but Anakin did not flinch.

Shame swelled within Vader as he watched Anakin lean over the desk to grab at the whisky, filling his glass to the very rim before draining it all at once. Who was this man? This wasn't the brother he knew. He certainly wasn't the man who had been so devoted to Padme Naberrie, he spent years longing for her whilst never looking at another. Vader shook his head slowly. Anakin did not see.

It, he said, his child, the baby Padme carried inside her, he called it. No, this was not the man who Vader knew valued life above all else in the galaxy. This was the seed of darkness planted by their father, it had swallowed all his fear and spat out fury to guide him forward.

He knew, force, Vader knew that it was his role to comfort his brother, to talk him gently toward sense but his heart broke to imagine Padme's face as she saw this side of Anakin. As she heard the callousness with which he spoke about their child. The hate he seemed to feel toward the little thing.

"Tell me," Vader pinched the bridge of his nose tightly with a sigh, "please, tell me you said nothing of this to Padme."

His brother's eyes fell shut heavily. He slumped in his seat and covered his face with his hand with a long, tumbling groan. "I wasn't… Vader, I was terrible to her. I think I broke her heart."

"Anakin," he shook his head once more, this time, it was noticed. "What were you thinking?"

"I said… I told her I didn't want kids – not ever. The look on her face, it killed me." Anakin rambled as the alcohol began to take effect, slurring the ends of his words tellingly. "I told her I didn't want her to have it and she cried. Force, I love her, Vader, she is my heart and if there's gonna be a kid, I have to be there for it. For Padme's sake. I can't leave her, I would never. So, I'm stuck with the thing. I'll deal with it because I love her."

For several moments, Vader found himself reduced to merely gaping as Anakin went on. Words failed him. Short of throwing himself over the desk and quite literally knocking sense into his twin, the Prince felt, for once, utterly unsure of how to respond. At last, a shuddering breath made its way between his lips, breaking the tense silence. "Thing?" He whispered, "That 'thing' is your child, Anakin! Have some force-damned tact!"

Rolling his eyes childishly, Anakin made to grab the whisky once more but Vader dragged the bottle beyond his reach. "Get your own kid and you can call it whatever you want. This one is unfortunately mine, so I can call it what I want."

"You are behaving reprehensibly," Vader seethed, "at this rate, you will be lucky if Padme wishes you to be anywhere near her or her child. Think about your actions, Anakin! Look at how you're treating this child before it is even born. You're reminding me of our father!"

At that, Anakin froze, his eyes widening for a moment as Vader's words registered in his drunken mind. It was a low blow, something neither of them had ever uttered to the other before. A comparison to their father was the very worst insult either Skywalker could deliver onto one another. He saw the rage fill his brother's eyes and then, finally, the realisation.

"Force…" he muttered as his face crumpled into sheer distress, "Vader, what if it kills her? What if she dies the way our mother did? Women die in childbirth all the time – what if it happens to Padme? How am I supposed to raise a child without her? I can't. I can't do it." Panic made Anakin's head shake, "I can't live without her much less raise her child."

This at least was a legitimate fear and one that he could understand. Was this the root of all this vileness? If so, perhaps there was still hope for his brother. "You're worrying yourself over nothing, Anakin. Padme is, what did you say? Twelve weeks along? There is nothing to stress about so early. We will hire an army of the finest doctors and med-droids to ensure she receives the proper care. Can you say our father would have done the same for our mother? I do not believe so."

Now Vader wished to break his brother's nose just less.

Only slightly, however.

"How can I be a father?" Anakin muttered miserably, "Look at our own! That's hardly the example I want to follow. No child deserves to grow up in terror every day."

Yes, Vader would drink to that. "I can't say I have much advice to share on fatherhood," he rose from his seat and moved toward the caf-machine resting at the other side of the office. The perfect tool for a long night of work. It began brewing a potent blend of rich, black caf with a mechanical humming sound with merely a few touches. "But I don't think any man truly understands what it means to be a father until his child is in his arms. Holding your baby, your progeny in your arms… I imagine that must be galaxy shifting."

"I don't think that Padme will ever forgive me," Anakin muttered miserably, "She was crying, begging me to stay and work things out and I just… I snapped at her and left. Who does that? I don't know what I'm going to do."

Taking the newly filled mug of caf to his wretched twin, Vader sighed, laying a hand on Anakin's shoulder. "First, you drink this and then maybe one more. Sober up. Then, you go back to Padme's apartment, sleep on the sofa and in the morning, you grovel. You grovel as if your relationship depends upon it, brother, for I fear it might. Beyond that, we can work it out as we go. I'll be here to help you both every step of the way but just remember, Padme knows who you are. You told me she is aware of our upbringing, so she knows the damages this can inflict upon a person. I'm sure she will forgive you if you're honest. She will understand it was the fear speaking, not your heart."

Today, Vader had not been a good man. He had cost a woman her job and accommodation and he had lusted after Anakin's lover with a passion he had not felt since Satine, but tonight he would be a good brother even if it made him quake with fierce envy. He would sober the bantha's ass up and send him home to Padme so that their issues could be resolved and their happiness restored.

This was his role, unfortunate though it was. He would remain alone, channelling his energies into his work and little else. He would plan for his reign and all the changes he intended to make in secret. His days would be colourless and dull. Monotonous with nothing of pleasure or warmth to anticipate at the end of the day.

But Padme… she was the light. A bold, colourful Goddess with such capacity for love and life within her heart. She was everything Vader so desperately wanted and was utterly denied to him.

"Go home, Anakin," he said quietly, returning to his seat behind the desk heavily, "go home and make it right."

Because if you don't, something dark unfurled within Vader, then I will.

In all the precarious situations Padme had found herself in over her several years as Senator, the near-death experiences, the bombing of her star skiff and her hardest days in the Senate, she had never been more glad to have Dorme and Sabe by her side. Her handmaidens, no, her friends lovingly helped her to wash the smeared make-up off her face, undid and brushed out her hair and helped her into a comfortable nightgown, all while whispering soothing comforts into her ears. It was so wonderful to not be alone after Anakin left that it almost made her cry all over again.

Not wanting to be alone in the bed she shared with her furious lover, the girls had led Padme into the staff bedroom they shared when staying over in the apartment. It was not used as often as it once was when she had first become Senator as her staff had their own lives to lead, but the three of them happily squeezed into one of the three beds filling the room.

Staring up at the ceiling, the Senator allowed the argument to replay in her mind. Anakin's parting words had been so harsh and shocking in such different ways. He was being cruel on purpose, anyone could see that he was trying to push her away. Except that he also said they were getting married. Married. At the unhappiest point in their relationship, she was engaged, apparently.

It was not the romantic proposal Padme had expected from him.

What if things only grew worse from here? What if Anakin's resentment of their child festered inside of him until he was forced to leave them? A break-up between just them was bad enough but with a child in the mix? The thought was terrifying. But he would never leave her, logically, Padme knew this. No matter what happened between them, even if their love died and their marriage became a sham, he would stay. It was the kind of man he was, once Anakin committed, it was stone. Unbreakable.

"I have to say," Dorme mused quietly to her left, "I'm surprised he's acting this way… I mean it's a baby, not the end of the galaxy."

The three of them lay on their backs side by side like they were young girls in handmaiden training academy again. Padme was never supposed to attend the boot camp but had insisted once she had learned King Thule was considering her for Senator. She wanted to be able to defend herself and rely upon nobody. It helped that she would come to know the women in her service who were willing to give their lives to protect her own. The experience had bonded them forever and she was immensely grateful.

"He's just…" Immediately, she leapt to her Ani's defence without thought. They didn't know him the way she did! How could they ever understand? He was a good man with a kind and giving heart. This news had just overwhelmed him, that was all. It couldn't be easy to accept something so life-altering when you had never planned for it or desired it in the first place. He just needed a little time. "It's difficult for him. He and Prince Vader had a very unhappy childhood, you see. He'll come back when it all sinks in."

"Alright," Sabe nodded, the movement shifting the pillow they shared. Her blonde hair tickled Padme's cheek. "Can you look past everything he said? Say he burst through the door right now full of big promises and apologises, can you forgive his response?"

Padme bit her lip. Anakin had made their baby sound so unwanted… and she knew that right now, in his eyes, it was, but the callousness still shocked her. He was always so loving and sensitive, she had always nursed secret thoughts that he would make a wonderful father one day and, well, it broke her heart to hear him reject this with such disdain. She knew he could be angry, she had seen what happened when his anger got the best of him with Varlo Hedsard, and of course, this was nothing in comparison but it still frightened her. What if his rage never cooled? What if he hated her and their child for ruining his life?

"If he is truly remorseful then yes," a tear rolled down the corner of her eye, wetting the pillow, "I believe we can work through this together. We love each other, isn't that all that matters in the end?"

"I don't get it," Dorme rolled on her side to look at her, "It's not like he's the one set to inherit the throne one day, it'll go to Prince Vader who will marry his own wife and have his own heirs. Anakin isn't going to be Emperor, so why is he so afraid of not being a Prince?"

"It's not that simple, Dorme," Padme sighed, "It's his life! Everything he has ever known since he was a boy will be taken away from him. His home in the palace will no longer belong to him so he and his brother will be separated properly for the first time in their lives. He could lose his military position and honours, his inheritance and his position in society. He'll be so lost…"

Her friends were quiet for a long moment, considering this.

"I don't get it," Sabe propped herself up on her elbow, "Why would the Emperor impose such strict laws? Is he hoping to marry both sons off for alliances and is afraid they'll elope for love or something? Why else would a parent be so awful to his sons?"

"Speaking of the Emperor," Dorme raised an eyebrow, "Do you ever see him around the palace? I've heard rumours that he's been dead for years and Vader is secretly ruling in his place until the galaxy is ready for such a public shift of power."

Padme herself had never understood the laws Emperor Sidious had enacted to prevent his sons from living full lives whilst he lived. Parents were supposed to hope and wish for happiness for their children, not misery. But from everything Anakin had told her, the Emperor had made for a cruel and calculating father who thrived upon the misery of his sons. "I've seen him," she lied easily. Dorme was correct, there were whispers and strengthening public suspicion about the well-being of their leader. She was not sure how much longer Anakin and Vader could keep their secret. "But it was from a short distance, we've never properly met. He didn't seem kind, though. I think these laws are an act of control… Someone so used to such power and influence is likely to extend that to his family too."

"So he is alive?" Dorme whistled, "I really bought into those conspiracies. Gods, how old must he be now! It can't be long until Vader is Emperor, right?"

"You would think," Padme whispered. Anakin and Vader had been anticipating their father's passing for longer than she had known them, she knew the dark-haired Prince truly believed the Emperor held on out of spite alone and sometimes, when she felt saddened by their situation, she felt inclined to agree. It was long past time for a new era for the galaxy, a young, fresh Emperor who could ensure peace and stability.

And Anakin would finally be free of his shackles.

"So you're really going to have a baby?" Sabe said and Padme turned her head to look at her friend, laying a hand over her flat stomach. There had never been a decision to make in her mind, her heart had known what it wanted the moment the droids had shown her the scan of her womb and pointed out that tiny little cluster growing within her. No matter what happened with Anakin or the state of their relationship, this was her baby. Her child. Padme felt herself brim with such love already for the little person she was creating. Her arms felt empty as she ached to meet and hold the little one right away which was ridiculous, really, she was only a few weeks along! But that didn't change how she felt.

"I am," for the first time since the news had come to her, the Senator smiled. A little boy or girl of her own, her little child! She had shoved back this desire for years, focussing on her career instead, but it was really happening now. Even if Anakin would never feel the same, even if it ruined them, Padme was happy to be a mother. She would relish every single moment. "I'm having a baby."

At Vader's stern insistence, Anakin allowed one of the royal divers to fly his cruiser back to 500 Republica. They travelled in comfortable silence as he let the icy kiss of night air further chase the haze of alcohol out of his hazy mind. It was a short trip from the palace to the skyscraper full of politicians and celebrities, something he had always enjoyed these past few years, but tonight he felt far from prepared when he stepped out onto the waiting veranda.

His brother had advised him to share his feelings with Padme, calmly this time so that they had a chance to discuss things properly. But Anakin wasn't entirely sure even he understood the extent of his feelings. Fear. Fear was the Prince's constant companion in life, his truest and oldest friend. It was the most familiar feeling he had ever known. Sidious had instilled it upon him before he had been able to walk.

He feared change. Change had never meant anything good. How many women had he and Vader grown attached to as mothers over the years, royal staff hired to keep his father's heirs alive and nothing more, only for the bond to become mutual and be torn away when their father found out? Everything good went away. Everything died one day. Darkness lay in wait, sleeping for years before roaring to life to eat the light, Sidious had taught him that. It leaked through cracks people would never believe could be wide enough to tempt their base desires, their anger or lust for power, sex or control. It was inevitable. It would eat everything until the galaxy was barren and desolate of joy and Anakin couldn't stand it.

All this meant, he would lose Padme one day. He would watch the light fade from her eyes or she would leave him forever. One way or another, Anakin would be alone. That was fate – it was the inescapable power of destiny. He fought down such feelings most of his life, smothering them beneath the joy she brought him, the love he felt for her because to dwell upon darkness invited its very presence. He was full of cracks so its shadowed touch would have no trouble slithering into his life, blackening piece by piece until nothing remained.

Anakin walked through Padme's apartment as though it were hallowed ground, as if he were a ghost compelled to wander its halls in silence. He touched nothing, felt nothing and saw nothing as the walls passed him by. He could sense her presence around every corner, calling to him, powerful, more intimate than he had ever known and the Prince reached out to her with every sluggish forward step. He felt her heartbeat as if it were his own, peaceful now, the calmness which had enveloped her senses after his departure soothed even Anakin's mournful thoughts.

Eventually, he followed the call of his beloved's soul through the apartment, it lead to the bedrooms he had never taken note of before. Closer now, a second force signature polluted Padme's and then a third. Familiar. He knew them but lacked the intimacy the Prince needed to recognise them from such a distance. Only she reached for him through, her soul to his, crying out for him, for his return to –

The door slid open, severing the attachment between them and suddenly, Padme was lost to him. He felt her still however its touch was fainter now, less potent and intoxicating than before. Its departure left Anakin reeling without her, breathless and dazed, he reached to steady himself against the wall as every inch of him seemed to ache in her absence.

Was this what awaited him when he lost her?

"You're drunk," a steady voice chased away his thoughts so rapidly that for one demented moment, there seemed to be none at all filling his head. Anakin lifted his eyes, chest heaving a steadying breath and found Padme staring at him with such disappointment that it seared through him. Until… he blinked. His lover shifted, her beautiful face shifting and modifying into that of the handmaiden, Dorme.

Force, no wonder the woman was hired as a decoy!

Anakin rubbed his hand over his face and sighed. Every part of him was utterly depleted, the last thing he wished to endure was an enraged lecture from Padme's protective friend. He was fairly sure Dorme had been awaiting such an opportunity since the disastrous party at the Hedsard's party "I'm not drunk," he muttered tiredly, "I was but… look, I'm alright. Is she in there with you?"

Dorme rolled her eyes, dressed in a simple green nightgown of silk, the woman folded her bare arms protectively before the door.

"She's already asleep… your highness," the dark-haired handmaiden gave an all too shallow bow to be ever have been deemed appropriate in anyone else's eyes, but Anakin cared nothing for propriety right now. Especially if the loathing in her eyes reflected Padme's feelings in any way. "She doesn't want to see you right now."

Those words cut through his heart, feeding his every fear all at once. Ghosts raged inside of him, howling their grief at being so shut out from his Angel. Anakin closed his eyes, steadying himself before daring to speak. "Did…" despite himself, a shudder visibly tore through his body, "Did Padme tell you that? Are those her words?"

Dorme's face remained stone, expressionless, unreadable. After a moment, her chin lifted just slightly. "Yes."

How could one simple syllable create such complete devastation within a man? Anakin held no answers as dismay and regret tore through his every nerve. A silent voice within him roared to be allowed entry, to speak to Padme alone so she would understand, to hear that she didn't wish to see him from her own lips. Liar! It raged at Dorme, she lies!

Instead, the Prince merely nodded, turning away without a word. He could have gone to Padme's bedroom – their bedroom – and simply waited for morning to come, she would have to see him then after all but he wandered past the doorway. Being in there without her felt wrong. He was an uninvited visitor she held no desire to see. After the suffering he had caused her tonight, the very least Anakin could do was respect her wishes.

He commed for a driver and collapsed heavily onto one of the sofas by the expansive veranda to await its arrival, leaning his elbows on his thighs. Coruscant was truly the world which did not sleep. Countless ships and cruisers hovered by in the endless skytraffic and showed no signs of thinning out. For a moment, the Prince allowed his mind to empty as he watched the dancing lights, following the movement as his mind drifted away.

He was going to be a father. A child would look to him for the love and guidance Anakin had never received from his own – he had no example to follow. He would mess it up. It wasn't that he didn't like children, he did, he interacted with them often as part of his royal duties and he enjoyed them greatly. They were bouncy and so full of light and it was wonderful. In another life, if he had been born as anything but what he was, Anakin thought he might have enjoyed raising a family of his own. But he was who he was. There was no changing whose blood coursed through his veins.

Until Vader had an heir of his own, Anakin's child would serve in the role and he knew the pressure which followed such titles. He saw how the burden crushed his brother little by little – it was no life for a child, any child. And – and he was a soldier! Whenever there was cause, he was the one leading the Imperial army into the thick of it. What if Padme had this child and he died, leaving them alone? Anakin and Vader were born in grief as their mother died and that shadow hung over them every single day. The little thing didn't deserve to know such pain.

When Padme had looked at him and said those words that had sent this night into fire, the child had been nothing more than a sickness, a parasitic little larva which had to be dealt with, even as he stared at the blurry scan. It had felt like a cruel trick of fate sent to sabotage his happiness.

But now… closing his eyes, Anakin envisioned a tiny, kicking infant wrapped in pink knitted blankets so lovingly crafted by Padme's mother. He saw bright brown eyes blinking up at him, his nose, Padme's hair, tiny fingers and toes… A real child, his child in his arms…

And he had wanted her to end it before it even had a chance.

Force, Padme had to hate him.

All the fear he had felt shifted, though it lingered, it morphed within him as the palace driver pulled up to the veranda. Anakin had never felt fear so cold, so intensely powerful before... The unknown stretched out before him, a whole new and thrillingly dangerous territory to be explored and learned. A baby. They were having this baby.

The Prince imagined the little girl in his arms once more.

He knew what he had to do.