Chapter 21 - Home Again

Beru bolted through the large, ornate front doors of Andar’s residence; she looked up, her heart pounding, as she watched the small, battered shuttle drop from the sky, it’s carbon streaked, blast pocked hull glinting in the late afternoon suns as it turned slowly, and then began a steady decent into the wide, spacious courtyard.

“They’re here,” she whispered, reaching up and shielding her eyes as the hot, arid wind whipped another couple of strands of her hair from her loosely fastened ponytail, sending them dancing across her face. “Owen, Andar!” she called, almost frantically, as she trotted down the wide, stone stairs, as quickly as she could, her dress billowing around her as she went. “Get the children, they’re here!”

She reached the bottom, and then stopped, bare feet in the hot sand, fifty or sixty meters away, watching the small craft once more as its breaking thrusters fired; she raised her hand again, turning her head and closing her eyes as she felt the sand the thrusters kicked up pepper her face. She heard the solid thunk as the small but heavy craft dropped down onto its supports, and, as the dust and wind settled, she turned and watched, barely daring to breath, as the small loading ramp began to descend with a slow, mechanical whine.

The time that passed might have been a few seconds, but to Beru, it seemed an eternity. She stood there, waiting, the setting suns beaming down on her shoulders until finally... she saw her.

The ramp had barely made it halfway down when Shanda’s excited cry broke the late afternoon silence. “Mom!” she called, as, with no small amount of help from the Force, she leapt from the ramp, clearing it by nearly ten meters, and then, her dusky, auburn hair flying, she broke out in a dead run for her mother.

Owen and Andar had just cleared the doorway; as he heard her voice, Owen stopped and watched, with Luke in his arms, as Shanda cleared the distance between Beru and herself in a handful of seconds and fell into her adopted mother’s outstretched arms.

In her relatively young life, Shanda had experienced many things, but nothing compared to what she now felt, both inside and out, as she felt Beru’s arms engulf her as they both dropped to their knees in the warm, coarse sand.

“Oh, Mom,” Shanda whispered, squeezing her eyes shut tightly as she laid her head on Beru’s shoulder, holding her as tightly as Beru held her. “Mom, I missed you,” she whispered, barely able to speak from the emotions that overtook her. “I missed you so much.”

Beru had promised herself that she wouldn’t fall apart, but it was a promise that she’d known, in her heart, that she wouldn’t be able to keep. The last week had, quite simply, been the hardest she’d ever known. She’d tried to be strong, for both Shanda and for Owen, but now, as she held her daughter in her arms, the girl she’d taken into her family only a few short years ago, she suddenly felt weak, and, like Shanda, found that she barely had enough strength left to form the words she so desperately wanted to say.

“I missed you too, sweetheart,” Beru croaked, soft and broken, as the first tears of relief and joy, those tears she’d wanted to shed for so long, finally made their way down her cheeks. “I’m... I’m so glad you’re home,” she whispered, placing a tender kiss on Shanda’s cheek and, with trembling hands, turned the young teen’s face to hers.

“Welcome home, honey,” Beru said softly, barely able to see the tear that she gently wiped from Shanda’s cheek through her own. “It’s okay now,” she cried, nodding her head as she smiled, as best she could, through a haze of tears as Shanda began to sob as hard as she was. “You’re home,” Beru said, pulling Shanda into her arms once more, rocking her slowly as they both clung to each other in the late afternoon sun.

A few quiet moments passed, and then Beru opened her eyes, as she heard the soft crunch of a boot on sand; she looked up, smiling as she saw her standing there a short distance from her, dark brown curls tossing in the gentle evening breeze, silhouetted against the setting suns that glinted brightly off the light saber that swung slowly on her belt.

She looked different, though Beru couldn’t say, at that moment, what it was that seemed to make her so; perhaps it was her Jedi attire, or the two weapons that she knew, without question, that Padmé could now wield as efficiently as any Jedi. Maybe it was the simple fact that, until now, she was still used to seeing her sister-in-law in soft dresses, and that she hadn’t allowed herself -- though surely not on purpose -- to see her as the warrior that she now knew her to be.

But, whatever it was, Beru couldn’t help but smile as their eyes met. For there, in those eyes, beyond and beneath the warrior on the surface, she saw that same love, that same compassion that she’d come to know so well as Beru stretched out her hand toward her.

“Welcome home, Padmé,” Beru said softly, reaching up and taking her hand in hers, squeezing it tightly as they both smiled at each other. “And thank you,” she whispered, as Padmé knelt down in the sand beside her and gave her a firm but gentle hug. “Thank you both, so much,” she said, nodding her head as Padmé gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

“You’re welcome,” Padmé replied softly; they held each other’s gaze for a moment, and then Padmé turned her brown eyes to Shanda, as she knelt there, her head on her mother’s shoulder, eyes closed, still sobbing quietly. She placed a gentle hand on Shanda’s back, her own eyes glistening as she rubbed the small of her niece’s back reassuringly for a moment.

Beru studied her quietly, as Padmé knelt there, seemingly lost in time, a look of deep love and concern on her face as she gazed quietly at Shanda. She seemed troubled, and, though Beru wanted to ask her what it was that seemed to trouble her so, she knew that there would be a time for such discussion later. After all, she could only imagine what they had all been through the past few days; indeed, what she’d managed to learn of their ordeal, she’d had to pry from Andar upon their arrival last night, and that hadn’t been easy to obtain or to hear. She could only imagine what else she might learn over the course of the next few days.

But, perhaps it was her own mother’s instinct that suddenly reminded her of the one thing that Padmé needed, more than anything else. Beru glanced back over her shoulder, the thoughtful expression that was there a moment ago giving way to a teary-eyed grin as she saw them approaching. “I think,” Beru said, her gentle voice drawing Padmé’s gaze once again, ‘that there’s someone here who would like to see you.”

“Mama!”

Padmé’s breath caught in her throat, and she jerked her head around, just in time to see Andar stoop down and let Leia slip from his arms.

Beru wasn’t sure if she was laughing, or crying, but it really didn’t matter; as she held Shanda in her arms, she watched, through a haze of happy tears, as Padmé turned and caught Leia just as her little dark haired daughter leapt into her arms.

She could barely breath; before they’d left the last time, Padmé had asked Andar to have her sister, Sola, take the children back safely with her to Naboo. She swallowed hard, doing her best to push down the lump that rose in her throat. “Leia,” she whispered, suddenly exceedingly grateful that, for whatever reason, Andar had not complied with her request. She closed her eyes, savoring the warmth of the gentle, but fervent kiss her daughter pressed to her cheek as she flung her arms tightly around her neck.

“I love you, Mama,” Leia said softly, dropping her head contentedly onto Padmé’s shoulder as Padmé squeezed her eyes shut tightly, a single tear streaking slowly down her cheek as she began to rock her precious daughter in her arms.

“I love you too, baby,” she sobbed softly, and she opened her eyes, watching through a haze of tears as Owen let Luke slip from his arms in like fashion and begin to trot towards her in the sand.

It is said, among the Jedi, that it is in the fires of trial and testing that we forge the better part of ourselves. Most Jedi, after all, emerge from this unseen forge a single, tempered work of the Force; but Padmé’s journey had been different, quite different indeed, as her pass through the forge had produced not one, but two, distinctly different persons inside her.

Usually, though, those two distinct personalities -- the warrior and the mother -- were constantly arguing with one another, at odds over which should be the dominant one of the two. At times, she hated the warrior, and wished that she’d never come to know that part of herself; yet now, as she had come to know her better over the past few days, she was deeply thankful for her. It was the warrior, after all, that she had relied on so heavily through this ordeal, the one that had saved her own life, and Shanda’s, and had even saved Anakin’s, plucking him from the blackness of space, spitting in defiance in the face of death itself, steadfastly refusing to let him go.

But now, sensing her work was done, for a time at least, it was the valiant warrior that quietly stepped to the side, offering no further resistance to the loving mother that had waited, as patiently as any mother had, for her time to return. And, as grateful as she was for all that the warrior inside her had done for her over the past few days, Padmé was ready, as ready as she’d ever been, to let the warrior slip quietly in the shadows until she was needed again.

Anakin stood there, a short distance from her, a large pack flung over his shoulder. He said nothing, but words would have been completely useless at that moment; he watched quietly, keenly aware of the overwhelming flood of love and emotion that overtook Padmé as, scooping up Luke in like fashion, she began to kiss them both, over and over, sobbing quietly as Beru and Shanda both huddled around her.

So much had happened, so much had changed in these past few days, and Anakin knew that, whatever lie ahead for them, that many things would never be the same. Old friends had been lost, yet new friendships had been forged, friendships that he knew would be tested -- and strengthened -- in the uncertain future and trials that lay ahead of them. It was a future that he, as the newly appointed leader of the New Council, would be looked to, by Kit, Aayla, Obi-Wan, and the others to guide them through, and guide them, he would... though he would be the first to admit that he didn’t have a clue as to how he would do it.

All he could do, as he took a long, halting breath and sighed deeply, was rely on the leading of the Force, and on the one thing that he knew he could always count on, that one thing that now filled his heart more than he could ever remember, as he reached out with his feelings and touched that warm, vibrant love that flowed from Padmé’s heart back to his, a love that now radiated more brightly that the golden-red sun that slipped slowly toward the distant, rust colored horizon.

He closed his eyes, swallowing hard, and then turned his glistening blue eyes back to Obi-Wan as he felt his hand fall on his shoulder. They stood there, as Owen and Andar both trotted up to join them, regarding each other silently, until Obi-Wan’s mouth curled into a sly, knowing grin.

“Welcome home, Anakin,” Obi-Wan said, nodding his head slowly as he regarded his dearest friend proudly, the friend who’d risked everything he had, everything he held precious in this life, to bring him home safely. “And thank you.”

Anakin smiled back at him, nodding his head slowly, and then he looked up, as did Obi-Wan, as they suddenly heard Andar’s loud, boisterous voice break the peaceful silence around them.

“By the gods, Ben Kenobi!” Andar exclaimed, cocking a white, bushy eyebrow as he put his hands on his stout waste, sizing up his old friend with a wary eye as Anakin and Owen exchanged a strong embrace. “You look like you’ve been through hell and back!”

“That’s because he has, Andar,” Anakin replied, slapping Owen soundly on the shoulder as Andar turned his head and regarded him with a wide grin.

“We all have.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Four Years Later

“Okay, Threepio,” Anakin called, giving himself a shove against the bottom of the speeder; the little antigrav sled hummed softly as it carried him clear of the shiny gold transport, and Anakin rolled off and hopped to his feet. “Try it now,” he said, examining himself quickly as he dusted himself off; he grinned, somewhat surprised to see how clean he’d managed to stay.

“Yes, Master Ani,” Threepio nodded, from his place in the main pilot’s seat. He reached over, tapped the controls with his metal fingers, and then pressed the engine’s igniter switch.

Anakin leaned against the speeder, frowning a bit as he listened to the engine whine and turn over several times. “Lean the air mixture a bit, Threepio,” he said, tapping the speeder’s roof as Threepio looked up at him. “It sounds like it’s getting to much air and not enough plasma.”

“Yes, sir,” Threepio replied and, doing as Anakin instructed, he pulled up the controls and adjusted the engine’s fuel mixture as Artoo rolled around the front of the speeder and came to a stop next to them.

Anakin looked down at his little droid as he whistled and clicked another question. “No, I think it’ll start, Artoo,” Anakin said, waving his hand as Threepio pressed the igniter again. “Just give it a minute before we make any more adjustments.”

Artoo swung his sensors toward the speeder, listening along with his master as his golden counterpart tried the ignition again. He let fly with a long, triumphant whistle as, sure enough, the engine sputtered a couple of times, and then roared to life.

“Toldja,” Anakin grinned, slapping the speeder’s roof soundly with his right hand. “OWwww!” he cried, suddenly grimacing in pain as he recoiled and cradled his right hand gingerly. “Geez, that hurt!” he growled, frowning as he rubbed his right wrist gingerly.

“Oh, my,” Threepio said, turning and observing Anakin as he switched off the speeder’s engine. “Is that prosthetic device bothering you again, Master Ani?”

“Yeah, it has been for a week or two now,” he grumbled, flexing his fingers as the sharp pain faded as quickly as it had appeared. “Blasted mechanical contrap...”

Anakin cut himself off, smiling sheepishly back at Threepio and Artoo as they looked up at him silently. “Sorry, guys,” he said, apologetically. “I didn’t mean that like it sounded,” he said, watching Threepio as he climbed up out of the pilot’s seat and turned to face him. “It’s just, I’m still not used to this thing and...”

“It’s quite all right, Master Ani,” Threepio said, placing his hand behind Artoo’s dome as the little droid raised his center wheelpod and nodded, whistling in agreement. “After all, no one’s perfect.”

“Besides, you should be quite pleased with that prosthesis, even if it does give you trouble from time to time,” Threepio said, shuffling along behind Anakin as he walked over to the workbench and tossed the last of the tools from his pockets onto it. “While mechanical hands aren’t nearly as desirable as real ones,” he said, looking at his own metal fingers as he held them up and wiggled them, “they’re much better than nothing.”

“You’re right, Threepio,” Anakin sighed, turning a smile back to his friend. “It’s not that, it’s just that...” he paused, rubbing the synthflesh that covered his cybernetic hand and forearm again thoughtfully for a moment. “It’s just a constant reminder to me of a mistake I made four years ago,” he said, placing that hand on Threepio’s shoulder.

“But, you’ve said yourself many times, Master Ani, that reminders can be a good thing,” Threepio said, his servo motors whining smoothly as he cocked his head and blinked his yellow eyes at his maker. “And from what I remember of what Miss Padme’s told me about that terrible event, perhaps you should think more of it as a reminder that you could have lost much more than that hand that evening.”

Anakin smiled, then laughed quietly to himself as he looked back at his friend’s familiar metallic face, a face he’d known so long that he could barely remember it not being there. “You’ve become a wise man, Threepio,” he said quietly, patting Threepio’s shoulder soundly as he grinned back at him.

“And your absolutely right,” he added, turning and heading toward the door. “Now what do you say we all go into town for the day and relax,” he said, stopping and looking back at his two droids with a grin. “And I mean all of us.”

“That sounds splendid, Master Ani,” Threepio replied brightly, almost as brightly as the excited whistle that echoed through the workshop as Artoo spun, bouncing with excitement. He watched Anakin for a moment as he walked out of the door, and then turned his electronic eyes back to his little counterpart.

“Did you hear that, Artoo?” Threepio asked, quite pleased with himself as he started to shuffle toward the door, glancing back at Artoo as he rolled along beside him. “Master Ani says I’m a wise man,” he said, nodding his head firmly as he pushed the workshop door open, holding it for Artoo as he rolled through it. “Perhaps you should listen to me a bit more often.”

Threepio stood up straight, as a long string of whistles and clicks echoed across the cold, sunlit meadow outside. “What do you mean, only on a human level?” he called, letting the door slam shut behind him as he shuffled up the walk behind him.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Padmé sighed with frustration as she rummaged through the top drawer of Luke and Leia’s dresser. “Leia, are you absolutely sure you put them in here?” she called, pausing and glancing back over her shoulder at her daughter as she sat on the edge of her bed.

“Yes, Mama,” Leia replied with a pout, her hands folded in her lap as she watched her mother go back to her search. “I know I did, cause I didn’t want to lose them,” she whined, reaching up and pulling at the barrette just above her ear.

“Don’t you dare pull that barrette out of your hair, young lady,” Padmé said, her eyes never leaving the drawer as she continued to dig through Leia’s things. “It took me twenty minutes to brush the tangles out of that little head of yours, and you’re going to wear it neat for one day. Is that so much to ask?”

“But, Mama, I don’t like it up like this,” Leia sighed, dropping her hand back into her lap as Padmé closed the drawer and turned a disgusted smirk toward her.

“Leia, will it kill you to look nice for Granmom and Grandad, just once?” she sighed, shaking her head with an exasperated laugh as Leia nodded firmly in the affirmative.

Leia’s pout turned into a disgusted frown as her brother suddenly bolted through the door and dove onto the bed beside her. “Good!” Luke exclaimed, his usual bright smile on his face as he hopped up onto his knees and bounced on the bed hard, watching with delight as Leia squealed and flopped over onto her back beside him. “I’m tired of her, anyway!”

“Besides,” he exclaimed with a laugh, looking back at his mother as she took a quick step toward the bed and reached out to catch him, “I’m getting a new baby sister, so I won’t need her anymore, anyway!”

“How many times am I going to have to tell you not to bounce on this bed?” Padmé huffed, catching her sandy-haired son in mid bound and flopping him down on the bed onto his backside. “Your daddy’s had to fix it twice in the past two months,” she scolded, sighing as she saw the cheesy, innocent grin that he gave her. “You break it again, and you’re going to be sleeping on the floor, I promise,” she said, tussling his hair playfully.

“She is not going to be your baby sister, she’s mine!” Leia exclaimed, sitting up and giving her brother a shove as he stuck his tongue out at her. “We’re going to sell you to the Hutts next time we go to Uncle Owen’s, and then she can share my room with me,” she snorted, squealing again as Luke frowned and gave her another shove, sending her toppling back onto the bed again.

Padmé laughed quietly to herself as she sensed her children’s tremors; to the casual observer, they would have appeared to hate each other with a downright passion. But Padmé knew otherwise, always keenly aware of the love they both shared for one another.

“Alright, that’s enough, you two,” she sighed, sitting down on the bed between them; she grabbed them both by the backs of their tunics and pulled them apart, sending them both tumbling onto their backs amid the pillows and other items that lay strewn across their bed.

“She’s both of yours,” she said, her lips curling into a smile as she switched her gaze quickly between the two of them, her brown eyes sparkling out from beneath the thick curls that hung over her forehead. She looked down, rubbing her round, distended belly affectionately as she felt the baby move again; she’d been active today, almost as active as the two that now bounced and tussled on the bed beside her. “And if you two don’t behave yourselves, she might not want either one of you,” she said, tussling Luke’s hair playfully as he grinned back at her.

“See?” Leia whined, pointing at her brother as Padmé looked back at her. “Luke’s hair is all messy and you don’t care,” she said, watching her mother close her eyes and sigh, deeply. “Why can he go messy and I can’t?”

Padmé started to answer her, but she stopped as Leia suddenly frowned and pointed an accusing finger at Luke again. “Besides,” she growled, her little eyes flashing as she glared at him, “I bet he took them!”

“Took what?” Luke shot back, an angry frown on his own face.

“Leia, Luke has his own money,” Padmé sighed, shaking her head as she watched Leia turn a sad, frustrated pair of eyes back up to her. “Why would you think that he’d take yours?”

“Need any help?”

Padmé looked up, an expression of profound relief on her face as she saw Anakin standing there, his arms folded across his chest as he leaned against the door frame, smiling at her.

“Please?” she squeaked weakly -- if she’d had the words ‘Help Me’ tattooed across her face, he wouldn’t have gotten the message any clearer.

“Have you two forgotten what I told you about aggravating your mother right now?” Anakin asked, eyeing them both suspiciously as he narrowed his eyes and glared back at them.

Padmé grinned, watching as they both snapped to attention as their father’s piercing blue eyes did what she’d been trying to do for the past couple of minutes - rendered them completely still and motionless. “No, sir,” they both said in unison, shaking their heads innocently.

“Well, good,” Anakin said, nodding his head as they both smiled up at him. “Because we’re going into town today, and it’d be a real shame if the both of you had to stay in the speeder with Threepio because you can’t behave yourselves.”

“Oh, not Threepio,” Luke sighed, grimacing in mock pain as he clamped his hands over his eyes and flopped back on the bed onto his back. “Is he coming with us today?”

“Yeah, he is,” Anakin said with a nod. “And I’m sure he’d be more than happy to keep an eye on you two and tell you all kinds of boring stories while your mother and I visit with your cousins and Aunt Sola,” he said. “So you’d better behave yourselves.”

“Daddy,” Leia exclaimed, hopping up onto her knees as she looked up at him, “We can’t find my money,” she whined, shaking her head, “and I wanted to buy something for Lana today.”

Padmé smiled as she saw Anakin stick his hand down into his pocket as he walked over to the bed where they three of them sat. “What, you mean this money?” he said, watching as Leia snatched the four gold coins from his palm with an excited squeal.

“You found them!” Leia exclaimed, flinging her arms around her father and hugging him tightly. “Where did you find them?” she asked, turning her bright blue eyes up to him as she rested her chin on his chest.

“On the table, right where you left them,” Anakin said with a grin, brushing his hand over Leia’s neatly combed dark hair. “Put ‘em up next time, where you’re supposed too, like your mother told you, and you won’t lose them,” he said, turning and offering his hand to Padmé as Leia released him from her embrace.

“Now scoot, you two,” Anakin barked, pointing toward the door with his free hand. “Put your coats on, it’s cold out there. And Threepio’s waiting on you in the speeder, so move it, double time, or no dessert for either of you at lunch today!” he called, watching as they scrambled like sandcats on a hot Tatooine afternoon.

“Thank you,” Padmé said, kissing him tenderly on the cheek as he helped her up. “I was beginning to think I was losing the battle,” she sighed, watching along with him as Luke and Leia scrambled off the bed and ran through the doorway toward the living room, chattering excitedly.

“Are you sure we’re going to be able to handle another one?” she sighed, dropping her head onto his shoulder as she placed her arms around his neck.

“We’d better be, or we’re in big trouble,” he chuckled, giving her a gentle hug. He smiled back at her as he let her slip from his embrace. “Because it’s way too late to back out now.”

“Besides, you weren’t losing the battle, you just needed to call in extra troops,” Anakin said; he grimaced a bit, and then flexed the fingers of his right hand as he rubbed it thoughtfully.

“That hand bothering you again?” she asked, taking it in her own and rubbing it gently. “It’s been bothering you now for two weeks,” she said, a hint of worry in her brown eyes as she looked back up at him. “It’s beginning to worry me a little.”

“Nah, it’s nothing, don’t worry,” Anakin said, shaking his head, the smile returning to his face. “I think I just need to have Artoo adjust the neural amplifiers again, they’re a little bit too sensitive,” he said, as Padmé lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it tenderly.

“The speeder’s waiting out front, are you ready to go?” he asked.

“Yes,” Padmé nodded with a smile. “I just need to grab my coat, and I’ll be ready,” she said. “You look nice,” she said, grinning up at him as she adjusted his jacket a bit, then smoothed it with her hands.

“Well, I’m glad you approve,” Anakin replied, planting a playful kiss on the end of her nose. “Come on, your coat’s on the couch,” he said, rubbing her shoulder gently. “How’re you feeling?” he asked, placing his hand gently on the dark blue blouse that covered her round little stomach. “Are you sure you’re up to this?”

“Absolutely,” she replied with a nod, making her way to the door to Luke and Leia’s room. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so ready to get out of the house for a while,” she said reaching over and turning off the light as they made their way out into the hall. “Besides,” she said, looking up at him with a smile, “there are still a few things we need to get for the baby’s room, and today’s a good day to do it.”

“Well, we’d better hurry, if we’re going to meet Sola and the kids for lunch,” he said, glancing up at the timepiece on the wall. “What time did you tell them we’d be there?” he asked, following along behind her as they made their way into the living room. He reached over and picked up her coat from the couch, then held it out for her as he stepped up behind her.

“One thirty,” Padmé answered, slipping her arms into her coat as Anakin placed it on her shoulders. “That should give us plenty of time to get there, shouldn’t it?” she asked, turning back to him again as she reached up and pulled her hair from beneath her collar.

“Should be fine,” Anakin replied, smoothing her hair as she shook her head and grinned up at him. “Come on,” he said, taking her hand as he led her to the door. “Let’s go.”

-=-=-=-=-=-

“I’m riding with Artoo!” Luke exclaimed excitedly, running around to the left side of the sleek gold speeder. He could see Artoo was already in his place in the middle of the back seat, whistling contentedly to himself as he plugged himself into the speeder’s computer system.

“Nu-uh, I am!” Leia cried, bolting off after him as her mother and father stepped out of the house after them.

“There’s plenty of room for both of you back there,” Padmé called, watching them as they both scrambled up into the wide seat next to the little blue droid. “No fighting, now, best behavior, remember?” she said, raising her eyebrow as she watched them both look at each other, then look at her and nod their heads.

“Thank you, Threepio,” Padmé said, stepping past her shiny protocol droid as he held the door open for her. “They’re both in rare form today,” she said, smiling up at him as he started to close the door. “I’m glad you’re with us, we’re probably going to need you today.”

“Oh, well, that’s what I’m here for, Miss Padmé,” Threepio chimed, closing her door and shuffling toward his customary seat at Artoo’s side, directly behind Padmé.

“We’re gonna need a bigger speeder,” Anakin sighed, a befuddled smirk on his face as he watched Threepio slide in and close the door behind him. He stood there, watching with growing amusement as his two droids -- and his two children -- settled themselves into the back seat, chattering wildly amongst themselves. He shook his head, tucking his hands into his jacket pockets as he made his way around to the pilot’s seat.

“What was that, Ani?” Padmé asked, looking back at him as he climbed into the speeder beside her. He looked at her silently for a moment, and then Padmé’s eyes followed his to the noisy, unusual little foursome in the back seat.

She grinned, laughing as she sensed what he was thinking as he looked back at her. “We can’t do anything normal, can we?” he sighed, grinning as he shook his head. “And we never have, have we?”

“Nope,” Padmé laughed, reaching over and squeezing his arm as he sighed, shook his head, and closed the door. “We never have, and we never will,” she laughed, her eyes sparkling mischievously as she gazed fondly into his blue eyes for a long, quiet moment, keenly aware of the love that flowed from his heart to hers.

“And you’re right,” she laughed; she leaned back and settled herself into her seat, raising her eyebrow as she felt the baby in her womb move again as Anakin fired the speeder’s engines. “We are going to need a bigger speeder.”

The early afternoon sun shone down on the little golden transport as it made it’s way down the narrow roadway, trailing a cloud of dust behind it as it went.