Revision Date: February 28, 2017

"I know this, you can't have an ending without a beginning.

Even if they are really just random pieces of the middle that tend to stand out."

- Thomas Lloyd Qualls, Waking Up at Rembrandt's

19 BBY

Coruscant

The arm of the couch dug into her stomach. The uncomfortable pressure made her feel a little sick, but it was the only way she could keep a constant eye on the lift. Mama had left through that door. Mama had gone to get Daddy, she was sure of it.

"Effie, come and eat." Dormé stood with her hands on her hips. She wanted to look intimidating, like Mama when Effie was misbehaving. Dormé wasn't Mama, though, and Effie just thought she looked like the babies at daycare who threw tantrums over naptime. "Your mother won't be happy if you don't eat."

Effie shook her head. Daddy was coming home today. She knew it. He'd been gone forever and she wasn't going to miss his arrival because of a sandwich. Mama would understand.

Dormé sighed. "Effie,"

Daddy was close. The little warm glow in her chest had started up, driving out the weird tingly feeling she got from Dormé being too close.

"Iphigenia!" Dormé knelt in front of her, blocking the view of the lift. "You-"

"Daddy!" Effie launched herself from the couch, over Dormé's head, as her parents steped through into the main room. The air folded around her, molded to her like a warm hug. She giggled. Her hair and her dress hung towards the floor while she remained suspended midair.

She reached out for Daddy, who caught her carefully and hugged her close. "I missed you!" She wrapped her arms around his neck. "You were gone forever." Mama had moved past them. Her voice was a distant murmur as she spoke with Dormé. "Where'd you go? Did you get the bad-guy?"

Daddy's eyes and attention slid to Mama, who hissed "Dormé!".

"Not today, Little Star." He said.

"But you rescued the Chanc'ler." Effie said. "It said so on the 'net."

"Yes." Daddy carried her further into the room. "Obi-Wan and I rescued the Chancellor." He said the last word slowly, pronounced every syllable.

"Chan-ce-lor." Effie repeated dutifully. "That good, I guess?" She liked the Chancellor even less than she like Dormé.

"It is good, Effie." Mama sat down on the couch. Daddy sat next to her. His good arm was still around Effie. The other went around Mama, who scooted into his side. "Chancellor Palpatine is the head of the Senate, and the face of the Republic. He has the Republic's best interests at heart."

Mama didn't sound like she believed that. Effie crawled out of Daddy's arms to wriggle in between her parents. She brushed against Mama's stomach and gasped. How could she have forgotten?

"Did Mama tell you about the baby? Mama, you did tell him about the baby?"

"Palpatine suggested that I send her to the Temple. For testing, at least."

She could feel their eyes shift to her where she sat on the balcony. Two of her dolls danced by themselves in front of her. Nervous, she grabbed them both by their waists; their cloth upper bodies stilled and slumped at the contact. Mama and Daddy didn't like it when she played outside like this.

"What do you think I should do, Obi-Wan?"

Effie woke up sick. As soon as she opened her eyes, the world of her room spun together like when she had twirled herself around the living room until she couldn't stand up straight anymore. Something hot and wet rose dangerously in her throat. She lurched over the side of her bed.

Liquid splatted against the floor. Her head hurt. The blanket felt like it was trying to scratch her skin off. She wanted Mama.

"Effie?"

A cool hand landed on her forehead. "She doesn't feel hot."

"Shall I call a doctor?"

"Mi'lady! The Temple! It's burning!"

Effie was seated on her Mama's bed now. A bucket had been placed in her lap. Mama knelt in front of her, skin gray and eyes too big for her face. Effie's stomach twisted again, and she clutched the bucket tightly. Nothing happened. Her belly hurt. She supposed there was nothing left to come up.

"Effie?" Mama brushed her hand over Effie's curls. Pieces had stuck to her face. "What happened?"

Effie blinked. Something had happened. A hole had opened up in her gut. Thinking about it made her feel worse. She hunched over her bucket.

"Mistress Padmé, Mistress Padmé." That gold guy with the frozen face appeared in the doorway. "Master Anakin is on his way. Thank the M-"

"Thank you, Threepio." Mama's eyes had brightened. Her face had relaxed. "I'll be right out."

Goldie walked away, still fussing. Mama looked back at Effie. "Why don't you go to sleep." Mama said. Her hand rested on Effie's shoulder. It tried to push her down into the sheets. "You'll feel better." Effie doubted it. The world was moving slowly, heavy like the thick liquids Ellé sometimes bought her as treats when Mama had to work late. Only this time, the fruit taste had been replaced by grainy, burnt dust.

"Daddy?" She asked. The word scraped against her mouth and tongue. It hurt. She whimpered and wished she hadn't spoken aloud at all. Daddy had told her it was rude to talk into people's brains, even if it was easier, and being sick was no excuse for forgetting the rules. That was what Mama said.

"He'll be here when you wake up." Mama guided her under the covers. She set the bucket next to Effie's pillow. "I promise, everything is going to be fine."

"Mama?" Mama was sad. It was a struggle to pull herself up onto the couch, but she managed. She tucked herself into Mama's side. "Mama? What's wrong?"

The man on the balcony was watching them. It made him sad, and something else that felt very sharp.

"Anakin is their father, isn't he?"

Mama didn't say anything.

The heels of her shoes made a dull thump where they landed against the side of the bed. "Mama?" Effie asked. "Why are you sad?"

Mama brushed out her hair in front of the mirror. "I'm not sad." She said.

"Yes, you are. I feel it." Effie tilted her head. "Is it Daddy? Where is he?" He'd been gone forever.

Mama sighed. "Daddy is away right now." Mama said.

"Are you gonna find him?" It was the only reason Mama would change her clothes in the middle of the day.

Hesitation. "…Yes."

"I come too?"

Mama tied off her braid. She pushed herself up from her chair. "No, Effie. You can't come with me." She paced across the room to the closet. Effie twisted on the bed, keeping her mother in her sight at all times.

"Why?" Effie asked. Was Daddy in trouble? Was Mama going to rescue him?

"Because I said so." Effie pouted. Well that wasn't fair. How come Mama got to go and she didn't? She wanted to see Daddy too! Maybe she could help. She said as much to her mother. "No." Mama said scoldingly, returning from the closet no longer wearing the pretty purple dress from before. "It isn't safe for you. You're going with Moteé."

Effie crossed her arms. "I don't wanna go with Mo-tea." She said. "I wanna go with you."

"You can't go with me." Mama said. She'd started grabbing items out of drawers. "You have to go with Moteé."

Effie felt her lip tremble. Mama was leaving her behind, just like Daddy did when he left. What if they didn't come back? She sniffled and rubbed at her eye. She wouldn't cry. Crying was for babies. She wasn't a baby.

"Oh, Effie." Mama sighed. Effie felt the bed next to her dip and Mama's arm slid around her. "Listen to me. Everything is going to be fine. I promise you." Mama's hand on her chin tipped her head so that they were looking at each other, cinnamon brown into amber. "Everything is going to be fine. You'll go with Moteé and Daddy and I will come and get you after…" Mama stopped talking.

"The 'net said the war's over." Effie said.

Mama squeezed her arm. "The Clone Wars are over." She agreed.

Effie leaned into her mother's side. She felt the softness of the cloth beneath her fingers. She saw the trail of her mother's necklace disappear under her collar. She touched the bump that hid the baby from view. She knew.

"I love you, Mama."