Upon his return Anakin rejoined Dormé’s side and soon was paying for it as more contractions caused him to double over. This time he briefly blacked out only to swiftly awaken when his hand dropped into the boiling hot water which he had rested by the bed. Crying out in pain he promptly took in his surroundings and was quickly setting things up as best he could. The former emperor had no idea where to begin or what to do and though he felt terrible for it he knew Dormé would have to guide him or at least tell him the basics. ‘What should I do?’ he asked in concern as he helped her sit up a little so as to as comfortable as the situation would permit.

Sitting up slightly caused her to undergo more contractions again.

Caught off guard, Anakin cried out a series of curses in response.

‘Have you washed your hands?’

He weakly nodded to her question remembering Mrs. Darklighter’s warning to him back when they were preparing for the birth.

The entire experience was a painful one to say the least but Dormé’s screams, curses and instructions ensured he remained focussed enough so as not to black out again. In time, he caught sight of the baby’s head and tried to follow her instructions as best he could while attempting to keep things clean as possible as the elderly woman’s words haunted him.

‘Can you see the—h-head?’ She strained to speak. ‘You have to—support—the head and neck—when y—’ A colourful range of curses erupted from Dormé through gritted teeth. Her instructions were varied, curt, and riddled with curse words. She clutched the bedsheets with a vice-like grip, bearing down and straining. She had no idea how long it lasted, but it felt like an eternity before the baby finally came into the world.

Their son entered the world and Anakin was rendered speechless as he held the wee one who cried out his introduction. Looking to Dormé he grinned proudly. ‘We did it, my love. Our son is finally here,’ he murmured in awe.

‘It’s a boy?’ she gasped out, wanting to see him, but too sore to move. Dormé fell back on the bed with a long exhale. Hearing the baby’s cry was such a relief to her, after everything she had been through since their first years of marriage. Their son was alive and his robust lungs were put to good use.

Anakin beamed in joy as he heard the sound of their son’s powerful cry. It was such a relief to know that Dormé and their little one were both healthy and safe. Silently he went to clean up the little one as best he could.

‘He—needs to be warm,’ she said softly as she tried to force herself to stay awake long enough to make sure he was OK.

At Dormé’s soft instructions his cheeks warmed as he discovered they only had one clean towel left to use as a blanket. Carefully wrapping their son in it he approached and offered their son to Dormé at her murmured reply Anakin smiled and gently kissed her before she kissed their little one and succumbed to exhaustion.

‘Thank you,’ she murmured, taking their baby in her arms, kissing the both of them before passing out.

Still caught up in the rush of the moment Anakin remained wide awake and silently watched over their son and his ama while gently wiping Dormé’s brow with one of the towels as he recalled Mrs. Darklighter’s instructions. Though this was hardly what he had in mind for their son’s entrance into the world Anakin was in a state of bliss feeling as though everything was as it should be.

Anakin watched over Dormé and their son closely and when she stirred away he smiled at her gently as he ran his fingers through her hair.

When Dormé awoke, it was disorienting at first, but she felt the baby in her arms. Their second son...a little baby boy... The pain was nothing compared to the joy she felt, holding him in her arms. Being a mother meant everything to Dormé and Anakin was there the entire time. ‘I can’t believe it,’ she murmured.

Her murmured words made his smile widen as he could feel her joy radiating off of her in waves, intermingling with his own. As she continued Anakin grew shy as he bowed his head feeling so honoured to have been able to share this powerful but wondrous experience with her. He wouldn’t allow himself to dwell on the reasons why he wasn’t there before. What mattered was that he was here now.

‘He’s finally here! And oh Anakin...’ she said as tears filled her eyes. ‘I’m so glad you’re here! I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be crying, really, I don’t—’ In the end, she couldn’t help it, but when their son expressed his discomfort and told Ama he was hungry, she complied. ‘There,’ she whispered, touching his tiny head with her index finger.

He shook his head at her apologies before gently wiping away her tears and kissing her cheek. But before he was able to express his thoughts their son spoke up announcing to his Ama that he was hungry. It also reminded Anakin of the fact that Dormé hadn’t eaten or had anything to drink for that matter in some time either.

Touching the Force, he registered that the palace for all intents and purposes was vacant. The only persons that remained were familiar faces of the colonists who aided in the battle. It would seem their attack had been successful.

‘I’m going to see if I can find us anything to eat and drink nearby,’ he said gently to her.

‘I completely forgot about the attack,’ she admitted sheepishly.

Anakin gave a shy smile to her sheepish admittance as he nodded in agreement. ‘I wasn’t much better,’ he sheepishly replied before his smile widened as he admitted to sensing only the colonists.

‘Did we win?’ she asked.

‘I think so,’ Anakin replied as she held his hand and gave it a squeeze that he readily returned.

‘I shouldn’t be gone for long. From what I can sense only the colonists remain here now, though I’ll have to get the details from them later,’ he admitted. With that he departed to locate some food for Dormé and himself and with luck some additional supplies that would be needed for their son.

‘Oh!’ she exclaimed when he said he only sensed the colonists. Holding his hand and giving it a squeeze she said, ‘Hurry back. I’ll miss you.’

It was a little while later when he returned with a variety of simple foods and a large canteen of water. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to locate too much in the way of additional supplies that a baby would need and with his lingering wounds he wasn’t able to carry as much as he’d like but he was able t find some bread, soap, cloth’s and clips that might work in a pinch for diapers.

Once their son finished eating, she kissed him and held him close, beginning to tell him stories until Anakin returned. Dormé would have to rely on her husband for a great deal until she was healed enough, but when she spotted the water, she didn’t only think of how thirsty she was. She also thought of her own current state, thinking she needed to clean up as well. How to go about asking of this made her feel slightly embarrassed, despite the fact Anakin had only a short time ago delivered their baby.

Upon his returned Anakin overheard Dormé speaking of stories to their little one and felt his heart swell in joy upon hearing it. The first thing he did was pour her some water from the canteen and offer it to her. ‘There wasn’t much in the way of decent food but hopefully this will tied us over for now,’ Anakin explained before sheepishly admitting his idea for diapers.

However now that things were settled or at least somewhat taken care of for now Anakin took note of Dormé’s state and immediately knew she probably wanted to wash up. Though she was his wife and he had only a short while ago helped her deliver their son Anakin felt shy about asking if he would help her wash up. He didn’t want to wound her pride but he also knew she was still quite exhausted from the experience.

So instead in silence he took one of the clothes and pour a little water and soap before giving her a shy but questioning look, only when she accepted the offer would he proceed to gently start washing her arms and neck.

The food was appreciated, but the water even more so. She hadn’t realised just how thirsty she was until he gave her some water. It was slow going at first, but Anakin took it upon himself, without her even needing to ask him, to help her wash up. ‘It’s a shame I didn’t bring a change of clothes,’ she remarked sheepishly. ‘I doubt the Hutts have anything suitable in the way of wardrobe, but perhaps one of the other colonists might be able to help us out.’

Anakin was mindful of Dormé’s weakened condition and did his best to help her in what way he could. Though he was sensitive about wounding her pride he knew she would want to wash up and though it was awkward at times -as they had no cot for their son he did the best he could.

At her sheepish remarks Anakin bit his lip knowing she had a point and deciding to look into the matter and soon. ‘I’ll see if I can speak to someone about that as soon as possible,’ he said kindly before furrowing his brow at the mention of choosing a name for their son.

Their little one dozed peacefully in her arms while Anakin finished helping her wash. ‘He needs a name, poor thing,’ Dormé remarked.

‘I remembered a few names but none we could agree on,’ Anakin remarked sheepishly before wincing at her teasing.

‘I wish I had that list from when Laic was born... I can’t remember the other ones we thought of aside from...Ani,’ she joked.

‘Now I know that name was definitely not on the list!’ he teased as he poked out his tongue at her. ‘Force help me you’ll never let me live that awful nickname down will you?’ he said with a chuckle as he shook his head.

‘No, probably not,’ she replied, grinning. ‘Right little one?’ she asked their son.

‘I can still remember how hard you laughed when you first heard my mother calling me Ani. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to disappear as much as I did then,’ he said with a wry grin.

‘You know, I’ll probably have to tell our grandchildren about it to, you know, someday,’ she mused.

Anakin pretended to be offended by her teasing reply though it was obvious he was just as amused. ‘You wouldn’t dare!’ he challenged attempting to act miffed but failing miserably as he grinned.

‘Who me?’ Dormé said.

Anakin grinned as he raised his brow and gave her a knowing smile before laughing at her failed attempts to play innocent. ‘You’re an even more bad influence than I am!’ he teased before adding with an impish smile. ‘Not that I’m complaining mind you. Oh Force I can see it now, all our grandchildren calling me Grandpa Ani,’ he remarked with a laugh. ‘And you’d only encourage it too!’ he added as he made a face before stealing another kiss from her.

It wasn’t long before cheering up again as she brushed her nose against his causing Anakin to grin as he couldn’t resist kissing Dormé once more. Thinking on his mother, she reached for him in an effort to draw him closer. Brushing her nose against his she smiled. She suggested a few names, wondering what would be best.

At her suggestions Anakin found it was a difficult choice as he rather liked alot of them. But as he studied the little one in her arms he found that one seemed to suit the baby Dormé held.

‘I like the second one you suggested -Siac,’ he mused with a smile as he studied their son. ‘What about you little one? You like that one?’

Siac reached out to grab his daddy’s nose.

Grinning as the baby grabbed his nose, Anakin laughed. ‘Or of course we could still call him Ani if he likes,’ he teased in reply to Dormé’s words.

‘I think he likes it,’ Dormé said. ‘Siac Skywalker!’

Siac made a noise as he pinched Daddy’s nose.

Siac did not seem to like this much and promptly pinched Anakin’s nose causing him to chuckled. ‘Sheeak id is den!’ he teased as he poked out his tongue to their little one before adding.

‘Siac the little mischief maker,’ Dormé said.

‘Otay now Sheeak yoo can led go of mi nobe now!’ Anakin laughed as he pretended to wiggle his nose away from their mischievous son. Once Siac’s attentions were turned to Dormé, Anakin silently slipped his arm around Dormé and grinned. ‘Well we both know where he gets it from and it’s not me,’ Anakin teased pretending to be innocent of any mischief only to grin impishly.

Siac stared up at them both with his wide, blue eyes. He tried to touch Ama too since he wasn’t able to see very well yet. Ama’s hair felt soft and he liked it.

‘You should have those looked at,’ Dormé said upon seeing his wounds. She felt guilty for having not thought of it earlier.

Anakin gave a weak shrug. ‘I’ll have them looked at when we get back,’ he assured her thinking that they weren’t that bad. After feeling the reflection of Dormé’s birthing pains the wounds were hardly even noticed anymore. ‘They don’t hurt that much anymore,’ he added with an assuring smile.

After Anakin went to get supplies, word quickly spread that the former empress had given birth to a son. Eventually, the Darklighters found out as well. They were joyful, but eager to help out in whatever ever way they could. Only a few hours after Siac’s birth, numerous colonists came to the room in which their leaders stayed.

Anakin was surprised at how quickly word spread about their son’s birth. It didn’t take long before the colonists were arriving to congratulate the Skywalkers on the arrival of their son. Fortunately shortly after the Darklighters also arrived and thus kept them at bay.

After leading them through countless battles and defeating the Hutts, causing their oppressors to leave Tatooine, the people wanted the Skywalkers to continue leading them. They wanted the security of the Skywalker name and made their plea to Anakin, saying that they desired for him to restore Tatooine to its glory days of the Bhraj Empire.

It was unnerving how much the colonists wanted the Skywalkers to lead them as their rulers and though the former emperor was touched by the sincerity it made him feel awkward. Truthfully the thought of ruling over any people again frightened him. However, throughout it all, he remained polite explaining that his wife was exhausted and was resting with their son. Thankfully the Darklighter’s arrival provided Anakin a chance to escape without having to answer the questions he wasn’t ready to face and soon he was returning to comfort of Dormé and Siac’s presence. Even if the former emperor wouldn’t let them in, for fear of disturbing his wife and their son, they remained near if only to hear the baby cry.

The Darklighters set people in charge of getting rid of the dead and having droids aid in cleaning the broken down palace. Though Mrs Darklighter was fairly certain the Skywalkers wouldn’t live here, it would be a suitable temporary residence. Mr Darklighter thought of making sure people wouldn’t steal the wealth of the Hutts, but people mainly took water or food, rather than anything of much monetary value.

The Darklighter’s daughter-in-law, whom Anakin helped rescue from slavery, was eager to help out in any way she could. She was the one who found the ancient Bhraj jewels and other ornaments that the Hutts had no use for, save to flaunt their dominion over the people. She retrieved the royal garb and crowns in order to present them to the Skywalkers.

A few days later Anakin found himself staring at the finery and ancient jewellery some that held legends and were almost sacred for it. Stunned he could only stare in disbelief at it all. Silently he wrapped his arms around Dormé as though she were the shield that was protecting him from the weight and meaning of everything that rested before them.

Looking over the finery a few days after Siac’s birth, Dormé didn’t know what to make of it all. ‘I’ve no idea what to say,’ she murmured. ‘What do you think of this?’

Her murmured reply spoke volumes to him and after a moment’s pause, the former Sith Lord and emperor spoke. ‘To be honest, it frightens me. It reminds me of how corrupted I was; how I corruptible I am,’ he whispered as his thoughts turned to the memory of their eldest children and of the children they had lost.

‘I’m scared too,’ she admitted, resting her head on his shoulder.

It was a relief to know that he wasn’t alone on his assessment and found Dormé’s gentle gesture to be a relief. Tightening his embrace around her Anakin listened to her words finding hope in them and the strength needed as well. She always had a way of keeping him grounded, of giving him strength, and this was no different. ‘I know this is what they want of us, but I don’t know if I can do this again, Dormé. We’ve already paid such a high price for our mistakes, how can we be certain I won’t make those mistakes again?’ He asked in desperate tones as he studied her in concern.

‘We don’t know for sure if we’re not going to make mistakes. But maybe this is an opportunity for us to continue to make a difference, to do something to help—though I know it will never make up for our crimes...’

‘Anything to undo a little of the damage done,’ he whispered softly as he sighed softly before kissing her brow. For a moment a comfortable silence fell between them as though so much more was being said without a word spoken.

Dormé just held him for a moment before grinning and walking over to where the various clothing and ornaments lay. ‘There’s only one thing I know for damned sure,’ she said, picking up one of the gowns. ‘No one could pay me or pester me enough to where this hideous thing!’

Anakin burst out laughing at the sight of it. ‘Oh Force that is so ugly!’

‘Kind of reminds me of that dress your mother tried to convince me to wear for our public wedding,’ she commented wryly.

‘Still not quite as ugly as some of the get-ups I was forced to wear,’ he said with a snicker.

‘Oh you don’t think your suits were cute?’ Dormé said, turning around to face him again. She poked his side. ‘I thought you looked quite...handsome,’ she said, purposely putting in a slight pause in order to tease him.

Anakin snickered at her teasing comments about the gown she almost had to wear for the public wedding. ‘Oh Force that one was even worse!’ he remarked making a face before turning crimson at her teasing. ‘Handsome? More like foolish!’ Anakin said with a wince. ‘Especially that one with the curtains as you called it!’

‘Aw I liked the curtains,’ she said with a feigned pout.

His eyes settled on another dress this one a bit more elegant -a much more revealing- grinning impishly he raised a brow as he showed it to Dormé. ‘What about this one?’

Gesturing to her torso, she blushed. ‘I don’t think it would look that great on me just yet,’ she commented shyly, referring to her weight. While most of it would come off in the next few months, she wasn’t exactly ready to be wearing tight things anyway. ‘Maybe you could wear it instead.’

Slipping his arms around her, Anakin purred as he kissed her neck. ‘Personally I think you’d look better with nothing on myself. The gowns are for distraction to buy enough time for us to make it back to the bedchambers before I completely lose myself to our passions,’ he murmured before swooping her up in his arms with the intent of making his point.

His words made her blush, but before she had a chance to say anything further, he was pulling her up into his arms. ‘Anakin!’ she exclaimed, giggling. ‘Anakin, it’s only been a few days—’ she began, but luckily for her sake, and her lack of self-control when it came to Anakin, Siac reminded them of his presence.

Despite his growth and maturity, Anakin was by nature a selfish man and it was only too easy for him to forget that Dormé was still healing from Siac’s birth. But where her flirtatious reminder failed, Siac’s warning came through and Anakin was soon setting her back on her feet, though not without a stolen kiss and moving to where Siac was located.

‘Siac! Oh did we wake you? I’m sorry...’ she said to their little one as she picked him up.

‘Sorry about that,’ he apologized to their son before catching Dormé’s remarks and wink which encouraged another mischievous look of his own.

‘It’s Daddy’s fault for being mischievous,’ Dormé told him, but not without sending Anakin a wink and a smile.

‘Don’t be falling for your ama’s words; she’s just as big a mischief maker as Daddy is,’ he teased as he gently touched Siac’s brow before giving Dormé a quick kiss on the lips.

While Dormé found Anakin’s forgetful nature to be endearing, in this instance, she was glad that Siac interceded. Soon after feeding and changing him, Mrs Darklight’s daughter-in-law entered to speak with them.

Anakin gave her a friendly smile and greeted her before gently taking Siac from Dormé so she could examine the gown.

‘Milady, have you decided what you’re going to do?’ she asked, offering her another less form-fitting gown that suited the once more newly made mother better than the royal gowns.

As Dormé’s eyes met Anakin’s, he furrowed his brow studying her with a questioning look that marked his concerns but his trust of her decision.

‘There is a lot of good we can do for the people of Tatooine...’

As Dormé spoke what weighed on their hearts Anakin quietly took a step closer to her marking his silent support and agreement. As her eyes fell to their son Anakin knew the decision had been made and though he was frightened for it, he knew with Dormé by his side he would be able to succeed where he had once failed.

The woman looked eager and hopeful, waiting with baited breath for their decision.

‘I don’t think we would be intrusive—not to the extent that we used to be...’

Dormé exhaled, looking now at their son. Wanting to provide the best life she could for him did mean making sacrifices. ‘We humbly accept the role as leaders of the Tatooine people.’

At her proclamation, Anakin remained silent his expression a look of humble acceptance and sincerity.

A/N: Coming up: The Skywalkers begin to rebuild the fallen empire, to restore Tatooine to its glory days, and reconstruct their lives once again.

Remember to visit the Empire official website dramatic-personaedotnet/empire and also check out the livejournal community (link in my author profile) for all sorts of dormékin goodness