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Anakin Skywalker had arrived just in time. Saesee Tiin and Agen Kolar had just been killed, Kit Fisto joining them a moment later. But now Mace Windu was about to defeat the Dark Lord of the Sith who’d been responsible for their deaths, and for this entire war.
This should be a happy occasion, shouldn’t it? So why did he feel like this? Was it because the Dark Lord in question had posed as a good friend for many years? And it was impossible to reconcile the image of Darth Sidious with the kindly Chancellor who’d acted like a father figure to Anakin and Padme…
Padme.
Was that the reason? Anakin’s heart ached as he remembered his nightmares… he hadn’t slept in days, or even stopped to rest.
The Chancellor, or Sidious as he was known as now, Anakin supposed, turned to look at Anakin with a sad, frightened expression, reminding Anakin of all the times he’d rescued Palpatine from one danger or another…
With a pang of guilt he remembered Fives, one of his most loyal soldiers, attacking the Chancellor on a suspicion that he was the one behind… something. Fives had died that day, unsuccessful, and while Anakin had trusted his friend, he just couldn’t believe that Palpatine was even capable of a conspiracy.
How quickly that image had shattered.
Sidious gasped softly.
“Anakin! Help me…”
Anakin stood frozen to the spot.
He could fulfill his destiny as the Chosen One… or he could save his wife… no. No, he had to stop the Sith. He’d killed one of them just a few days earlier. Now it was time to kill the other.
But still…
Anakin cleared his throat worriedly.
“Master Windu, are you sure we have to kill him?”
Mace nodded, not taking his eyes off of the seemingly vulnerable Sith.
“He’s too dangerous to be kept alive.”
“But killing a defenseless enemy is not the Jedi way…”
Mace sighed.
“Look, if you let me kill the Chancellor and don’t tell the Council that it was an offensive move, I will let you… well, what would you like?”
Anakin’s heart skipped a beat—he could finally see an opportunity.
“Will you let me… break one rule of the Jedi code?”
Mace’s eyes narrowed.
“Which one?”
“Would you let me marry anyone I wanted, and provide the proper care for any children we may have, including helping her through childbirth?”
Mace looked like he was about to protest, but Sidious spoke up.
“Don’t listen to him, Anakin. Only I can save the one you love…”
Mace turned back to Sidious, hastily agreeing to Anakin’s terms. Anakin began to feel relief set in, but Sidious immediately leapt up, obviously getting a second wind—or deciding to drop the weak facade. That horrible lightning blasted out of his fingertips again, striking Mace and throwing him out the window.
Anakin’s heart leapt into his throat—Mace Windu was going to die. Without thinking, he threw Sidious across the room using the Force, slamming the Sith Lord into a wall, then turned his attention to Master Windu. Concentrating, Anakin felt the Force wrap around the other Jedi, slowing his fall, and eventually lifting him back into the room.
As soon as Mace was safe, Anakin turned his attention to the unconscious Sidious, running him through with his blue-bladed lightsaber, and feeling the darkness in the Force fade away at last.
Anakin sunk to the ground, exhausted but victorious, and Mace gave him a grateful smile.
Padme didn’t know why, but something had her worried. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Anakin was in trouble, though she knew she had no reason to worry.
Of course, maybe the child was worried about their father… maybe they sensed him through the Force. Obviously, there were no studies on Force-sensitive pregnancies.
And then, through the strange fear and darkness, a bright light flashed. The darkness began to fade, and Padme felt as if a weight was being lifted off her shoulders, a weight that, if she wasn’t mistaken, she’d only begun feeling in the later stages of her pregnancy.
A few minutes later, Anakin walked through the door of the apartment.
Padme smiled up at him.
“Anakin! You’re home early. Did something happen? I… I can’t explain it, but I felt like something was wrong a few minutes ago…”
Anakin took a deep breath.
“Yes, something went very wrong, but it’s alright now. We… we managed to kill the Sith Lords. Both of them. Tyranus and now Sidious.”
Padme blinked in shock, was that why she’d felt such relief all of a sudden?
“How?”
“The… the Sith Lord was the Chancellor.”
“The Chancellor? But he’s so…”
“So kind. I know. But we were talking, and he brought up the Dark Side… I felt it in him, a darkness that seemed to envelop everything around him. He almost killed Master Windu… but I killed him first.”
Padme shook her head in wonder.
“Why would he ever bring up the Dark Side to you? You’re the one destined to stop him!”
“I think he wanted me on his side.”
“What could he ever give you in return?”
Anakin hesitated, and when he continued, his voice sounded like he was holding back tears.
“I… I’ve been having nightmares. Visions of the future. You die giving birth to our child. It’s been happening every night… I haven’t slept in days.”
Padme’s heart quickened, he’d told her this before, and it had frightened her, but she’d convinced herself it was nothing to worry about.
Anakin dropped his gaze to the floor.
“He promised me the Dark Side could prevent death… I know it’s wrong, but I wanted to join him.”
Anakin looked up at his wife, and it was obvious whatever came next was good news, as he seemed unable to hold back a smile.
“But when Windu and I were fighting him, Mace promised that if I didn’t tell anyone he tried to kill a seemingly defenseless enemy, I could break the Jedi code by marrying whoever I wanted, and get state-of-the-art medical care for my spouse and any children we might have.”
Padme’s heart swelled. She was going to live. Anakin was going to live. Their child would carry on the legacy of the Chosen One.
Without a word, she embraced her husband. “Thank you for everything,” she murmured, leaning into him. Padme could feel Anakin trembling slightly against her, and she realized she was shaking as well, presumably from the shock of everything that had happened in the last several moments.
Suddenly Anakin’s eyes shot open.
“Padme… I just sensed our child in the Force for the first time… they sensed the Force return to balance.”
Padme’s eyes widened.
“You know… I’ve been wondering if carrying a Force-sensitive child has been affecting my own ability to connect with the Force. Around the same time I realized I was pregnant, I began to sense this horrible darkness surrounding nearly everything.”
Anakin nodded.
“The Dark Side of the Force.”
“And just a while ago, I felt people slipping away…”
“Three Jedi masters were killed.”
“I sensed you were in trouble. But then I felt the darkness almost completely fade away.”
Anakin smiled slightly.
“I felt it too, once Sidious died.”
“I think I was… carrying our child’s emotions, or something to that effect.”
Anakin sighed, looking at his soon-to-be-expanded family with an expression of pure love.
Padme felt the exact same way.
Anakin blinked nervously, apparently having thought of something.
“Do you think we should make an appointment with the Republic doctors? To make sure the child is healthy?”
Padme nodded.
“I agree, but it’s late, and if you really haven’t slept in days, you need some rest.”
Anakin hesitated.
“I… I’m afraid I’ll have another nightmare…”
Padme looked at her husband lovingly.
“Alright, we’ll make the appointment, and then can you try to get some rest? For me?”
Anakin smiled. “Of course…”
Anakin’s stomach fluttered nervously as he contacted the Jedi.
Surely Mace Windu would keep their deal…
In an instant, a holographic image appeared.
Anakin took a deep breath.
“Can… can the Temple’s medical team make time to see my… my…”
Mace Windu raised an eyebrow.
“The one you’re now allowed to marry, right?” Anakin nodded.
“I will make an appointment for tomorrow afternoon, for one…?”
“P-Padme Amidala…the Senator?”
The Jedi Master nodded, his face expressionless.
“What kind of appointment?”
“Ah… the-the usual for… late-stage pregnancies?”
The Jedi’s eyes widened, though he still didn’t show any sign of approval or disapproval.
“Is that everything?”
“Yes, that’s it. Thank you so much…”
Padme sat on the couch, gently cradling her swollen belly.
“You’re going to be just fine. Your father will make sure of it,” she murmured to the child still growing inside her.
After a moment, Anakin returned from contacting Mace Windu about her appointment. He took one look at her and grinned.
“You have an appointment for tomorrow afternoon with the Temple’s medical team.”
Padme smiled back at him.
“Aww, Anakin, thank you! I couldn’t ask for a better husband.”
Anakin just kept watching her with that loving gaze of his, and finally sat down beside her. She put an arm around him, and in just a few minutes, he was drifting off into a much-needed sleep.
Padme didn’t immediately join him, though. Instead she just watched him, watched his expression slide into a deeper and deeper sleep, watched the stress he’d gained over the past three years, and especially the past few days, melt away in an instant.
The Clone Wars were over, the Republic had won, and Padme and Anakin would be around to see the galaxy heal… just in time for a new life to begin. Their child, and any children they would have in the future, wouldn’t grow up knowing life during a war, or in whatever kind of system the galaxy would have become if the Republic had lost. And they would grow up with two loving parents, one of whom had ensured this life for them.
The next day, Anakin paced in circles while the ultrasound was analyzed. He and Padme had asked the medical team to keep the gender of the child a surprise, but to inform them if there were any complications.
While they waited, they discussed possible names for the child. Padme liked the name Luke for a boy, which Anakin agreed with, while Anakin liked the name Leia for a girl, which Padme seemed to approve of.
Suddenly the door opened.
Anakin’s head snapped up.
“Is the child alright?”
The medic, a young purple-skinned Nautolan, smiled.
“They’re doing just fine. Both of them.”
“Both?” Anakin and Padme exclaimed at the same time.
Padme recovered first.
“I’m carrying twins?”
Anakin laughed.
“This is great!”
He turned to his wife.
“I love all three of you.”
She grinned back at him.
“I love you too. All three of us do.”
“The family area is this way, are you looking for anything in particular?”
Padme smiled at the furniture salesman, a tall, athletic Dathomiran Zabrak with flaming orange skin striped with intricate dark brown tattoos.
“Well, is there anything for twins?”
The salesman nodded, leading the young couple to a set of furniture—cribs, highchairs, etc.—that each came in pairs attached at the sides, or were otherwise built for two.
Anakin gave the salesman a grateful smile.
“They’ll love it, thank you so much!”
Padme grinned to herself—Anakin looked very different with black hair, not to mention the fact that he was wearing civilian clothing instead of his Jedi robes. They’d both worn disguises, as they still didn’t want the general public to know about the famous Senator’s romance with the Jedi who’d saved the Republic. Her own disguise consisted of a maternity dress with a long blonde wig.
It seemed to fool the salesman, despite the fact that the news coverage of the Republic’s victory was playing on pretty much every screen in the building, including many stories about Anakin himself.
It was moments like these that reminded Padme that even though her husband was the Chosen One, and had just saved the galaxy, she would love him just the same if they really were the young civilian couple they were pretending to be.
Weeks after the couple had learned they were having twins and had begun preparing their apartment—Anakin had used the Force, along with his building skills, to set up the furniture, as Padme didn’t want to risk hurting either twin—Padme looked at her children for the first time, Anakin at her side.
“It’s a boy,” announced the Nautolan medic as they returned the older twin from where they’d been bathing him.
Anakin gave Padme a knowing smile.
“His name is Luke.”
The medic handed Luke to his parents before returning with the younger twin.
“The other one is a girl.”
Padme gave Anakin the same smile.
“Her name is Leia.”
The medic sighed.
“Well, I have never delivered a pair of Jedi twins before!”
Anakin gazed at his newest family members, his heart practically overflowing with affection for his wife and children. Suddenly a vision came to him, and instead of a vision of death and destruction, loss and sorrow, the kind of visions he’d had all throughout the Clone Wars, this was a vision of the bright future to come.
In it, Luke and Leia Skywalker, a few years later, were officially joining the Jedi crèche, their parents at their sides alongside Obi-Wan, the rest of the Council, and Anakin even thought he saw Ahsoka in the crowd.
He opened his eyes to see that Padme had leaned against him, holding the twins close. Anakin put his arms around all three of his family members, holding them close.
Padme had survived. Anakin was a father. And as far as he could see, there were only good things on the horizon.