Padmé takes a deep breath, her hands shaking at her side. She has never been nervous when it comes to speaking. Being the center of attention has come naturally to her since she was a child. But right now she wants nothing more than to run and hide. She wishes that she could wake up from this freakish nightmare.

Unfortunately, this nightmare is now her life.

She feels tears welling in her eyes as she thinks of him. She longs to have him at her side. She wants him to pull her close and run his hands through her hair. She craves his gentle touch. She yearns to hear his voice telling everything will be okay. They've been apart before, but this is different. He isn't off fighting in a dragged-out war. He isn't at meetings that he's dreamed off since he joined the Order.

No.

This time, he's her enemy. He's the one who helped Palpatine overthrow the Republic. He's the one who went to the Temple and murdered the younglings without a second thought. He's the one who choked her on that platform until she passed out. She doesn't like to think about what might have happened if Obi-Wan hadn't stowed away on her ship.

Though all of that is horrible and stomach-churning, there's one thing that tops all of that to her.

He broke her heart on Mustafar and hasn't even attempted to put it back together.

She tips her head back, making sure to keep it high. It's muscle memory at this point, but this time it's different. She bites on the inside of her cheek, tasting blood. She can't let him see how he hurt her. She must look strong and unbreakable, especially to the people currently in the room with her.

The hologram buzzes as it comes alive, the blue light reaching to the farthest corner in the room. A man in a mask answers the call. His breathing sends goosebumps down her arms. The deep heaving almost makes her freeze. Is this what has become of him? Some being that can no longer show his face, no longer breathe normally? She searches for some part of the man she fell in love with, but all she sees is darkness.

"Padmé." He says, almost making her breakdown right there. That voice is not his. Her name sounds like venom falling from this beast's mouth. She grips the sides of her dress, trying to steady herself. 

"Anakin." She responds, her voice trembling. So much for looking strong. 

"Anakin is dead." He instantly spits. She flinches, almost as if she was slapped. Who is this? Maybe this isn't her Anakin. Maybe this is just one of Palpatine's minions that just happened to answer the call. But he knew her name without missing a beat.

"No." She whimpers, shaking her head. She pinches her eyes shut, trying to block out whoever is talking to her. She pictures his blue eyes, his gentle smile. Maybe if she thinks of her Anakin, he'll appear in front of her. "There's still good in you."

"You are wrong."

"Please, Anakin. Come back to me." She begs, forcing herself to look at him again. The air is sucked from her lungs as her eyes study him. Where has he gone? What is this monster standing in front of her?

"No, Padmé. You must join me." He says, his hand reaching out to hers. She sniffles, thinking of a time before this. She hadn't told him she was expecting yet but it was obvious. She had reached out, their fingers interlocking as Rex pounded on the door outside. 

But this isn't Ani. She would never take this cold-hearted killer's hand. "No. I won't."

He growls, making her take a step back. "I did all of this for you!" He shouts. "I did this for us. So you would survive. Why can't see that?"

She narrows her eyes, something bubbling inside of her. Anger? Betrayal? Grief? She doesn't think she can choose just one emotion to describe how she's feeling. It's a mixture of too many that she's never felt before, but it gives her a boost of energy. "For us?" She asks. She steps forward, pointing at her chest. "You turned the dark side, for us? You betrayed everyone who ever cared for you, for us?"

She presses her fingernails into the palms of her hands, trying to keep her voice from fluctuating. "No, Anakin. You did this for yourself!" 

There's a long pause. She's afraid that she's gone too far. But everything she said was true. Joining the dark side was not for her. He was mad at the Council for not appreciating him. He was mad at Obi-Wan for not trusting him. He was mad that he wasn't the Jedi he wanted to be.

He let his emotions get the better of him and now he has to live with the consequences. 

Or he can admit his faults and come back with her. He can try to fix what he caused by joining her and helping her defeat Palpatine. 

"Where's our baby?" He asks.

"What?" She asks, touching her stomach. She looks down, clearly no longer pregnant. Of course, he's not stupid. He's never been stupid. And apparently he's not blind either. There are eyes somewhere on the machine in front of her. 

"Where is our child, Padmé? It's obvious that you've had it." He snaps, sending a shiver down her spine.

She wants to tell him. He is the father after all and he deserves to know. But their safety comes first. It will always come first, no matter what is morally right. "It died." She confesses, rubbing her stomach. She whips her head up to look where his eyes would be. "You killed it on Mustafar!" She shouts.

"No. It was alive! I felt it!" He fires back.

"When I gave birth, it was stillborn!" She says, clutching at her chest. "You did this!" She cries, tears falling from her face. "You killed our baby, Ani!"

"No." He denies, shaking his head. Somehow, she can sense that his heart is breaking. She can feel the pain in his voice as the realization dawns on him. He killed one of the things he was apparently trying to save.

"You did this. Anakin Skywalker killed his own child." She spits. If someone were to touch her right now, she would shatter into a million pieces. Though he has caused her so much pain and suffering these past days, all of this feels so wrong. She shouldn't have to lie to her husband about their baby dying.

She turns off the hologram, leaving them all in deadly silence. No one says a word as she wipes the tears off her cheeks. She tries to gather her emotions, but the longer she stands there, the harder it is to stay calm. She holds her head up high and exits the room, not wanting to look at any of them. 

Once she's in the hallway, she lets it all out. Sobs escape her as she rushes to the nursey. Her heart pounds in her chest, reminding that she is still alive. Everyone she meets in the hallway presses their backs to the wall, giving her space to run past. All she can feel is their pity and disgust. How could she fall in love with the man who turned against them all?

She opens the door, seeing Obi-Wan holding the twins in his arms. She slams the door shut behind her as she takes a few deep breaths. He stands up, his eyes studying her. Before he can speak, she holds up her hand. She doesn't want to talk about it. She quickly takes Leia from his arms and holds her close.

Anakin had wanted a little girl so bad.

He loved the name Leia and was practically begging her to consider it for their child.

Padmé had wanted a little boy. Knowing it was a possibility, Anakin searched for names in his spare time. He had chosen Luke and Padmé had fallen in love with it.

They had been blessed with twins though, a boy and a girl. They both got what they wanted.

They were supposed to go to Naboo to raise their baby. They were supposed to have their happy family hidden away in the countryside. But, instead, she's hiding with their two babies from their father. They have no idea what is to come for them. 

This is nothing like they planned.

"Obi-Wan." She says, her hoarse voice startling herself. "I can't do this alone. I need someone to help me with the twins." She closes her eyes and presses her forehead to Leia's. Was the man she saw today really the one who so desperately wanted this little girl?

He's silent for a long time. At first, she's afraid that he didn't hear. Just like her, he's been having a rough few days. He's known Anakin longer than her. This betrayal is just as personal for him as it is for her.

"I'm not sure you want my help." He slowly says, bringing her attention to him. He's gently bouncing Luke, who's actually quiet for once. "I'm the one who failed to raise the last Skywalker. Do we really want a repeat?"

She reaches out, her hand gripping his shoulder. Their eyes meet and she sees her sadness mirrored in his. "You didn't fail, Anakin. He failed you." She says. "And we need to make sure that my children don't follow in his footsteps. Will you please help me?"

He freezes, his eyes darting between Luke, Leia, and Padmé. She's afraid that he'll turn her down. These children aren't his. He has no obligation to stay and raise them. Honestly, she wouldn't blame him if he chooses to walk away. What does he have to gain by tagging along with her? If anything, he just puts a bigger target on his back. Everyone believes that he's dead. 

"Okay." He nods, his blue eyes locking with her brown ones. "I'll help you."

~~~~~~~~~~

So this is only going to have five chapters to it. I am thinking I am going to update every Friday. If this gets a lot of comments saying that they would like this into a bigger book, I'll consider it. I just need to come up with a few more ideas to explore, haha.