The Long Road Back

Chapter 24: The Twins Revealed

Notes: This chapter contains a scene not in the Fanfiction.net version.

~~~~~~~~~~

Bail Organa was at Padmé's door, little Leia dozing in his arms with her head on his shoulder. His grief crashed over Anakin as a wave and words were unnecessary. Anakin knew what had happened. Breha had succumbed to her illness. Bail's jaw was clenched tightly, as though he was having trouble holding back his tears. "Padmé?"

"She's giving a speech at a luncheon today. Come in, she won't mind." Anakin opened the door and motioned for Bail to follow him. "Would you like to put Leia down for a bit?"

Bail nodded. "Thank you." He disappeared down the hall and when he returned, he sat down. "You've undoubtedly gathered the reason I'm here."

"Yes. I'm sorry Padmé isn't here--"

"It's fine. I...." He sighed. "We tried to make full arrangements beforehand, but it's nigh to impossible really. I still have burial details to...." He bowed his head. A shudder wracked the line of his back.

Anakin sensed the emotions flowing through the man. His grief went deep and strong, very much like the grief Anakin had felt upon Palpatine's announcement that Padmé was dead. Bail Organa had loved his wife very much. It was a strange sort of comfort to Anakin to know that other people loved as richly as he and Padmé. "I'll be happy to watch Leia if you wish to make arrangements by yourself."

Bail's reservations reared up, as full and strong as his grief. "You'd do that?"

"Of course. I'd guard her as if she were my own." He meant it sincerely. Leia had been staying with Padmé and himself often for months now. He still had occasional daydreams that she was his daughter and had an affection for the opinionated young princess.

A frown pulled Bail's brow down for a brief moment and he nodded. "Very well. I'll leave her with you. I should return in a few hours."

When he was gone, Anakin checked on Leia and found her sleeping, then settled down on the couch with a game. He'd been trying to master this card game for days now and was getting nowhere. The help files were no help at all. He'd lost three games and was starting a fourth when Leia came from the bedroom. She was dragging one doll that Padmé had bought for her and her face was blotchy from tears. "Hi there."

Climbing up beside him, she leaned against him, yawning. When she made no reply, he continued his game. He'd lost once more when she finally spoke. "You're playing it all wrong. Look at the cards behind, not just the ones on top. Think ahead."

"Can you play," he asked her. She leveled a 'well, duh' look at him and took the game from him, telling him with each movement why she was making it. She pointed out what she could have done and why it wouldn't work. In short, she was a good instructor for the game. By the time she finished, he fully understood the seemingly random strategies and was confident he could win the next game.

Leia walked him through two games and they were starting a two-player game when Padmé came though the door.

"Anakin, you won't believe." Padmé broke off upon seeing Leia.

Slowly, Leia got up from the couch. "My mom."

Padmé knelt, opening her arms in invitation. "Come here, sweetheart." In seconds, her arms held Leia. She rocked her and soothed her, then carried her back to the couch and the three of them spent a quiet afternoon together remembering Breha.

~~~~~~~~~~

Padmé gave Leia and Bail the support they needed and after three months, was surprised when Bail asked if she'd like to have Leia with her for a weekend visit. He had business on Coruscant and thought Leia would enjoy the visit.

Padmé agreed. She was looking forward to having both Luke and Leia at the same time. She knew the time was coming to tell Anakin the truth, yet found that step harder to make as the weeks had passed. Luke arrived a full two days before Leia. His excitement over seeing Leia again was infectious and together they planned several outings they could take.

The two of them were having such a marvelous time while Anakin was practicing technique with Obi-Wan that she was unprepared for Luke's question.

"Why can't I live here with you permanently?"

She paused in gluing two craft sticks together. 'Because I say so' wasn't going to end his questioning, was it? "It's complicated, Luke. You know that."

"It's not complicated. I want to live here with you."

"That's not possible right now. You know better, Luke." She set the sticks aside, keeping a stern edge to her voice. In the past, such an edge had stalled his arguments, but it wasn't working this time. This time, he was insistent and then.

Anakin was standing in front of them, a strange expression on his face. It was somewhere between anger and shock. She braced herself for the discussion to come.

~~~~~~~~~~

The three hour session sparring with Obi-Wan had cleared away the tension in his muscles and Anakin was ready for a long hot shower. He anticipated a fun evening entertaining Luke. Padmé would have everything planned by now. He liked how their life was turning out. Little by little, everything was falling into place like he'd hoped years earlier it would.

He went straight into his apartment, first grabbing a snack, then cleaning up from his afternoon of exercise. On the way across the verandah, he slowed his pace, finally stopping just outside Padmé's open door. She and Luke were upset. Should he go in or let her deal with whatever the problem was before joining them? Padmé's voice held exasperation and Luke's a touch of pleading.

"You know better, Luke."

"Why can't I live here with you," the boy persisted. A reasonable question. Luke didn't like Tatooine any more than Anakin did.

Anakin still wasn't clear why Luke stayed with them so much. He knew why Leia had stayed with them. Bail had arranged it so Leia wouldn't have to see her mother suffer during medical treatments.

"We've been through this."

"But, mom, I don't like farming! I want to be with you and dad!"

He wasn't aware he'd moved, but suddenly he was standing in the room with them, Luke's words echoing in his mind. One word, actually. Mom.

Padmé shook her head when she saw him. "Later, Luke. Go play with your ship models or plan an adventure to have with Leia when she arrives tomorrow."

Luke took one look at Anakin and left without argument.

He tried to sort out his feelings in a calm fashion. Mom. Padmé was Luke's mother, which meant.... "Luke is our son."

"Yes."

His mouth went dry. "He's not Luke Lars, he's Luke Skywalker and the reason he's here so much suddenly makes sense." His heartbeat was wild in his chest. "Where is our daughter, the one you told me about?" He was able to answer his own questions, the answers right there in front of him. The pieces fit together and he couldn't believe he hadn't seen it all straight away. "Leia. Leia is ours too. I should have known. She's you in miniature." The first signs of his anger were appearing. There was his heartbeat, then the dry mouth and his stomach clenched. He knew those signs and began backing away. "You ignored my wishes. I was fine with details, but you brought them to me, Padmé. You brought them."

"Anakin --"

"I can't discuss this, not now. Did you think my reasons for not seeing them were frivolous? Ridiculous?"

"No. I thought --"

He touched his fingertips to his temples, the tension that had been worked out returning, throbbing. "Don't come to me. I'll come to you when I'm ready to discuss this." Gritting his teeth, he turned on his heel and left. In a few hours, or perhaps a day or two, he'd be ready to talk with her.

As he walked, he turned the matter over and over in his mind. Why had she ignored his wishes? Why do something she'd known would make him angry?

Because she doesn't really love you. She just did what she wanted--

Vader's voice in his mind surprised him, made him pause in his strides. Anakin tipped his head back, stared at the lanes of traffic a minute. Padmé loved him no matter what Vader said. She'd never do anything to hurt him, not intentionally. Perhaps she hadn't thought his meeting the children would hurt if they weren't introduced as such.

She deliberately kept them from you.

The whispering was so soft it was barely there, but it was there. Anakin shook his head. That was wrong. Padmé didn't deliberately keep them from him. She'd found a way for him to know them. By the time Anakin returned to his apartment, he still wasn't ready to talk, though his temper had leveled out. He meditated and thought and waited for the right time. Though the night was lonely without Padmé beside him, he needed time to decide what to say when they did speak.

~~~~~~~~~~~

That went well, Padmé thought, slumping in her seat. Not exactly the reunion of father and children she'd imagined. Throughout the rest of the day, Anakin wouldn't see her. Her knocks went unanswered and his apartment doors remained locked. He'd shut her out, which wasn't a good omen of things to come. She tried not to worry.

She soothed Luke's worries that he was the cause of Anakin's upset and hoped that by morning, Anakin would want to talk. Morning, however, saw no sign of him and by the time Leia arrived, he had yet to appear.

Leia immediately took charge of the situation, disappearing briefly with Luke before trying a direct route. "I'm going to visit Anakin", she announced, heading for the door with her head held up in a regal manner.

Sweetie, Padmé thought, I invented that look in this family. Don't try it with me. She caught her, only to discover that Luke had gone around to the verandah door and was trying to pick the lock. Padmé didn't miss the look of disdain Leia treated Luke to, as though she could have done better. She soon found the two unwilling to let the matter drop. To their way of thinking, Anakin's refusal to see anyone was intriguing and worth pursuing.

Their plans to get at Anakin were constructed with a tight military precision that would have made her proud under other circumstances. As it was, she was trying to corral two very determined and headstrong children by herself. Within a few hours, she was exhausted.

Obi-Wan and Dormé arrived at dinnertime, Obi-Wan carrying in a struggling Leia.

"Padmé, are you missing something? A little Leia, by chance?"

She sent Leia back to play and dropped into a chair, accepting Don-Al from Dormé. Leia was the troublemaker, the reckless one, and Luke would follow along after telling Leia not to do whatever it was she was planning.

"What is going on?" Dormé asked, removing her coat and sitting.

Relaxing in slow increments, she explained. As she finished and before either of her friends could comment, Leia appeared, contrite and charming. It was a long while before Padmé noticed Luke had grown awfully quiet in the bedroom. Quiet, as she'd learned, was a bad thing with children. It meant they were doing things they shouldn't.

"Leia? Where's Luke?"

Alarm flashed in her eyes. "In the bedroom playing."

Padmé gave her a stern stare and raised a brow. She didn't need Force powers to know Leia was not being truthful.

Leia attempted to return the stare, but couldn't hold it nearly as long as Padmé could. She crossed her arms and looked at the floor. "He's out on the ledge circling the building to Anakin's apartment."

Padmé's heart felt caught in her throat. What if he fell? She hurried to the bedroom. Sure enough, the window was opened, curtains fluttering. There was no sign of Luke. Turning, she began to check each window on that side of the building looking for him.

~~~~~~~~~~

His children's determined attempts to reach him were amusing. He'd heard everything, since Leia seemed to think that if he heard them, he'd open the door. Anakin had kept a Force hold on the doors, barely managing to keep Luke out. Where had the boy learned to pick a lock so fast? Somehow, he didn't think it was something Owen would consider a proper skill.

He soon found Leia as much of a threat, if not more so, in the lock department. She had the process down to half Luke's speed. My children are lock-picking prodigies, he thought with a smile.

He sensed Padmé's frustration with the two. Anakin climbed out onto the ledge to meet Luke. It was a dangerous undertaking, walking the ledge around the building. How had Leia persuaded him to do it? No matter, he decided, keeping close tabs on him. If Luke fell, he'd go after him, using the Force and air currents to reach him.

Luke didn't fall, instead coming and sitting beside him. He swung his feet off the ledge and grinned, obviously delighted with himself. "Leia said I was crazy to do this. She said it was too dangerous, that I'd be killed."

Leia had a knack for reverse psychology. Anakin suppressed a smile. "It is dangerous."

"You're out here," Luke pointed out.

"I'm an adult." The comment made Luke nod in a wise manner. He was at that age where simply saying one was an adult sufficiently explained most matters. "Luke, who is Padmé to you?"

He stared at the Coruscant skyline. "She's my mom and Aunt Beru's friend. They used to give each other things when she lived near us. Mostly girl things. Uncle Owen used to take me to see her, but then he stopped and Aunt Beru was real sad."

Anakin nodded.

"Why are you mad at us?"

"I'm not mad at you or Leia. Padmé did something that I'd asked her not to and it upset me." Which summed up the matter neatly. "Luke, do you know who I am?"

Now Luke looked at him. His eyes were solemn. "You're Anakin Skywalker and you're my father."

Had Padmé told him?

Luke shrugged. "I wasn't s'posed to know. I overheard Uncle Owen talking to Aunt Beru and he said things that weren't very nice. I don't think you're like he says. I think you're a good man."

"Thank you, Luke, I..." He broke off. Padmé was frantic. "We'll talk more later. I think Padmé has discovered you're gone." He stood. "Come on, let's get back inside, so she'll quit worrying."

Obi-Wan and Dormé excused themselves, leaving Anakin and Padmé to talk with the two children. There would come time later when Anakin and Padmé would discuss the matter between them. They sat down with the children, Padmé asking the two to explain what they both knew to Anakin. Luke and Leia, he found, already knew he was their father and Padmé was their mother. They were relieved to have the secret out, Luke exclaiming that he didn't like secrets.

Who hadn't known the truth, Anakin wondered. It seemed he'd been the only one unaware who Luke and Leia were. Leia was openly smug about having two dads and a second mom, yet Luke wasn't as pleased.

"Can I live here with you," Luke asked, the expression on his face earnest and seeking. There was desperation in his tone.

Padmé shook her head. "No sweetie --"

"Why not?" Luke cut her off. "Uncle Owen doesn't really want me. Don't you?" Without letting her answer, he ran from the room.

Luke's emotions were nearly seething and Anakin wondered just where that thought had come from. Why did he think that Owen didn't want him? He squeezed her hand. "Let me, okay?" He found Luke packing his bag with angry jerks and closed the door, going to the bed and sitting. "Going somewhere?"

The boy scowled. "I'm leaving. No one wants me, so I'll go where I want!"

"Running away isn't going to solve anything, Luke."

Luke paused. "Do you want me?"

"Of course I do."

"Can I live with you?"

Anakin wished it could be so, but he thought he knew why Padmé wouldn't let him, and it wasn't because of him. She would be sensitive to the needs of the children and their foster families both. "Luke, tell me something. Do you know why your aunt doesn't have any children?"

The answer was prompt. "She can't. We spent two days at some medical facility and she cried the whole trip. When we got home, Uncle Owen told me that I was their gift and Aunt Beru baked for four whole days."

He nodded slowly. He could imagine Beru's sadness and the sort of emotions Owen must have felt. "Does that sound like he doesn't want you?"

Luke looked somewhat convinced.

"I'm sure your aunt wants you very much. From what I have seen, she loves you as a mother would."

He shoved the bag aside and climbed up on the bed beside Anakin. "Uncle Owen says she spoils me too much."

"She probably does." He tousled Luke's hair. "And where did you get the idea that Padmé doesn't want you? Luke, she loves you very much." Privately, he'd thought she was hoping for more children and substituting Luke and Leia until such a moment. "She completely rearranges her schedule when she's expecting you and Leia just so she can spend the entire time with you."

"Really?"

"Really. And I look forward to your visits as well." Luke's visits had been another bright part of his life.

"But why can't I live here?" The question burning in Luke's mind.

Anakin thought a moment on the best way to explain it to Luke. "Because it would be cruel to your Aunt and Uncle to take you from them when they've raised you this long. They are attached to you and you to them. As much as we'd like to have you with us, we don't wish to cause undue pain to anyone. You will stay with them and that's final. No more hassling Padmé...your mother. Understood?"

With a frown, Luke nodded. He swung his feet. After a moment, his features scrunched up. "Are you really a Jedi?"

Anakin paused. He hadn't been expecting the change in conversational direction. "I was a Jedi once. Why?"

"Can I be one, too?"

The innocent question brought more questions, but first, he needed to talk with Padmé. Once the twins were in bed asleep, their own discussion began. Padmé was hesitant.

"I'm sorry, Anakin. I knew your reasons, but I never expected you to overhear. Luke knew he wasn't supposed to call me mom and he kept doing it anyway. I wanted you to know them in some capacity and it bothered me that you thought you couldn't ever know them. I thought that it wouldn't be long before you could know."

"Were you planning on telling me?"

"Of course!" She shifted a little in her seat. "Eventually. I've been trying to find a way to mention it without seeminginsensitive."

"Insensitive? You ignored my wishes completely, didn't even take them into account. That's a little more than insensitive," he told her with arms crossed.

Her brow furled with annoyance. "I realize that, Anakin. I'm trying to apologize. One mistruth led to another and at times, I felt as thought I was lurching from one cover-up to anther trying to keep you in the dark over their identities. I never meant to ignore your wishes. I thought that you didn't know, so there was no harm."

Her explanation caused a spark of humor inside him. One mistruth to another to cover up the truth? Anakin laughed. The expression on Padmé's face shifted to confusion, which only made him laugh harder. "Isn't that our story, Padmé? One mistruth after another?"

She stared at him, shrugged slowly. "I suppose you could put it that way. I wouldn't."

He sighed, shook his head. "Okay, the issue is in the past. You did what you thought best and it backfired in the long run. I could have been more open to meeting them at a later date instead of refusing completely." Anakin leaned back, stretched his arms along the couch back. "It'll take some getting used to. I don't know how to be a father, Padmé."

Sliding across to snuggle against him, she gave another shrug. "Who does until it happens? They'll still live where they are. Unless," she added, "you have an objection to that?"

"No objections. They're needed where they are and as has been pointed out, we can have more children." He felt her stiffen and she leaned back to look up at him.

"Will we, Anakin?"

"I'd like to finish the reintegration first, but let's be optimistic and believe we can try in a couple years?"

Her smile was radiant and filled with relief and love. "I'd like that Ani."

He dreamed that night of a household filled with children and laughter.

~~~~~~~~~~

Over the next few days, many things were decided regarding the twins. As both had Force potential, Obi-Wan was approached regarding training in Jedi ways. Bail, Owen and Beru were consulted on the matter. It was agreed that Obi-Wan would train Luke and Leia if they showed an interest and only if. Anakin's involvement would be on the periphery. It was Luke alone who expressed an interest in Jedi training. Leia politely refused. She had her eyes firmly fixed upon a Senatorial career. The training would be vastly different from what it had been in the past. Luke was going to stay with Owen and Beru and Obi-Wan would give him exercises to work on. Every couple weeks, Obi-Wan would visit Luke to check his progress.

Padmé was rather satisfied with how they had arranged matters. She was pleased that more children could be in the future if they wanted and Anakin was making terrific progress in the reintegration.

She sat down and perused her schedule for the week. Four speaking engagements and five dates with Anakin. She was planning the next week when a holo from Dormé came through. Her friend was not pleased, turning right to the subject bothering her.

"Milady, I've been told that the ivy all over my cottage was your doing?" She arched a brow.

Oops. "Oh that. I paid to have it removed."

"Yes, well, it's back. The whole entire south-west side is completely covered and growing into the house. It came through the foundation."

"It can't be back. They told me they'd gotten it all."

"Liars," Dormé muttered, then smiled. "Actually, I wanted to let you know we've arrived safely and begun to move in. I begin my final training in three days and I've already a charge lined up. It seems my part in hiding you, that and marrying Ben, has given me something of a notoriety." She laughed. "I had my pick of charges, Padmé. Amazing."

They talked for a long while.

~~~~~~~~~~

Qui-Gon watched Anakin sleep. Sometimes it amazed him that the boy he'd known had grown into first one kind of man and then another. Time didn't have the relevance to him as it did to everyone else, so he was always surprised by the visible signs of passing upon those he knew. To him, Anakin was still a little boy. For that matter, so was Obi-Wan. Both were adult though and he needed to keep them in perspective.

His glance turned to Padmé for a brief second. It was amusing how these two kept separate bedrooms, yet took turns sleeping in both of them. It seemed that neither wished to give up their apartment independence, keeping separate spaces as their own. Perhaps that was what they needed at this juncture in their lives. Whatever the reason, their relationship was healthy.

The only glitch left was Vader. There was still a sense of the dark side in Anakin, lurking and waiting. It was low and barely there, but there nonetheless. How much, he wondered, did Vader actually see and hear of the galaxy now? Was he suppressed deep enough that he was as blind as he'd made Anakin? Or was he waiting for a weakness to appear in order to rise once more?

Qui-Gon shook his head. He'd had too much time to reflect on this matter and it was putting him in a morbid mood. He'd found himself thinking that for a single burst of willpower on Anakin's part, Palpatine would still be ruling and the galaxy leveled further by terror. Without that burst, Vader would be strong and none of what had occurred recently would ever have occurred. What would have happened to the children? To Padmé, Dormé and Obi-Wan?

He sighed. There was no point in dwelling on what could have been, was there?

On the bed, Anakin began stirring into wakefulness. With a last fatherly glance at them both, Qui-Gon took his leave of them.