A/N: Hello everyone! I hope that you enjoy this fic. As I explained in the summary, this is an AU in which Anakin never went to the dark side. It starts with a reversal of the scene in Episode 3 after he had the first of his dreams about Padme. Because Anakin is the only one who makes different decisions, and the rest of the universe changes in response to it, the divergence from canon will be fairly slow, with many scenes in early chapters lifted nearly wholesale from Episode 3, with some alteration as the ripple effect requires. I hope to continue the story through the original trilogy (which would be very different), possibly continuing into the period of Episodes 7, 8, and 9. Once again, no hate please, but definitely leave lots of reviews! They are how I gauge audience response to a fic.

Note to the readers of my other fics: I promise that I haven't abandoned them. I am going through something of a dry spell and have terrible writer's block. You will get more chapters, I swear! I just have to write them.

I do not own Star Wars or its characters.

Chapter 1

A baby's cry filled the room. Padme lay on a table, her face a picture of agony, "Anakin, help me!" she shouted, "Please!" He tried to run to her, but found that he was rooted to the spot, unable to do or say anything. Both mother and child screamed again, the clamor increasing in volume and horror until it grew unbearable.

Anakin jerked awake, breathing heavily. He looked to the side to see Padme still lying beside him, sleeping peacefully. Okay. She was okay. It wasn't real. He swung his legs off the edge to sit on the bed, head in his hands. What was that dream? What was going on? He had had similar dreams about the death of his mother, was this the same? Was something terrible going to happen to Padme? He decided he needed air, space to think, and rose to walk from the room.

He stayed out on the veranda for some time, staring out at the city, thinking, trying to make some sense of the convoluted wreck his brain had become.

He heard footsteps, then Padme was beside him, her hand tracing comforting circles on his back.

"What's bothering you?"

Anakin turned, meeting her earnest, worried gaze. She was so kind, and loving, and wonderful; she didn't deserve to have his cares and doubts dumped on her. He smiled reassuringly, "Nothing." He noticed the necklace she was wearing and reached out to touch it, "I remember when I gave this to you." He had hoped to distract her, change the subject until she forgot that she had found him brooding. Instead she looked frustrated and disappointed. She spoke, "How long is it going to take us to be honest with each other?"

Anakin looked away. Clearly the subject would not be dropped, "It was a dream." His tone had a note of finality.

She continued to stare at him, "Bad?"

"Like the ones I used to have about my mother," He sighed. He might as well tell her everything, "Just before she died."

"And?"

The question hung in the air, taunting him, forcing him to answer. He looked over at his wife, so peaceful, so beautiful with her brown curls hanging messily about her worried face. Worried for him.

The scene from his dream flooded his vision. Padme lying there, crying, screaming, while a red-skinned newborn lay nearby, squalling like it was the end of the world. He plucked the hanging question, "And it was about you." He looked away again, unwilling to see her reaction to this news. She would be frightened, he knew. She would be angry, emotional-

The same calm, concerned voice reached his ears, "Tell me."

He couldn't take this anymore. He stood up, walking a few steps away, "It was only a dream." He didn't believe that, but maybe if Padme thought he believed it she would leave him alone. Go back to bed and leave him to wallow in his misery.

He felt her eyes boring into his back. She didn't buy it. Not that she should have. Padme was much too smart to be so easily duped. He had been a fool to think that he could trick her. Anakin turned back, his gaze sorrowful. He hadn't wanted to tell her any of this.

"You die in childbirth."

Padme looked slightly alarmed, her hands moving unconsciously toward her stomach, "And the baby?"

Its pathetic wails once more filled his ears, accompanied by her screams. His eyes began to fill with tears, "I don't know."

She stared at him, her face changing from frightened to determined. She moved toward him, tilting her head dismissively, "It was only a dream."

Anakin caught her hands in his as she moved closer, bending his head to look into her eyes, "I won't let this one become real."

Her expression didn't change, "This baby will change our lives." She paused, "I doubt the queen will continue to allow me to serve in the senate, and if the council discovers you're the father you'll be expelled from-"

He raised a hand, "I know, I know." The concerns she was raising were the same ones he had been thinking about ever since he had learned of the pregnancy. He paused, looking out into space. He had hoped he would be able to find some solution to their dilemma, but none seemed forthcoming and he was afraid that there was simply no escape.

Padme stared up into his frightened, desperate face. It looked far closer, to her mind, to the child she had met on Tatooine than to the brave Jedi knight she now knew. She loved him, but when she thought of how wrathful he sometimes grew, how far he would go for those he loved… he scared her a little bit too. She had been trying to be softer and sweeter of late, help him drag himself back from the dark road he had been traversing since the death of his mother, and especially more recently since the loss of his padawan. Now she began to think that perhaps that had been the wrong tack, "Do you think… Obi-Wan might be able to help us?"

His face darkened, something unreadable in his eyes, "No. We don't need his help."

He was trying to be strong, to prove himself more capable than he really was and it frustrated her, "Well then, where else can we turn? A pregnancy is hard enouph to hide, let alone a baby, and if what you say is true-"

"I already said no."

He was trying to look determined and resolute but it was all show. She could see he was wavering. Padme straightened her shoulders and moved back a couple of steps, "Anakin Skywalker, we cannot do this alone. It's a miracle that we haven't been found out already, what with," she paused, motioning to her obviously protruding belly, "All this. Now, Obi-Wan is your oldest friend, he will be our ally, and he is going to find out one way or another because if you don't tell him I will." Padme softened her tone, moving back into his embrace to look up into his eyes, "Please, Ani," she breathed, "For me."

There was a long silence, then something in him seemed to relent and he nodded, "All right. All right, I'll talk to him."

"Thank you." She half-collapsed into him, letting him hold her closer and rest his chin on her head as they stood silently for a few minutes. Anakin spoke again, "He's going to hate this."

Padme smiled and they laughed a little. While the future was by no means certain, they both felt the relief of having at last made the decision. Anakin stared into space, wondering what on earth he was going to say.

A week had passed and Anakin still had not told Obi-Wan. He had met with Yoda the day before, hoping to gain some insight into the meaning of his dream. Yoda, as Anakin had become convinced was the Jedi master's habit, spoke in riddles, once more warning him to be wary of his feelings.

Now he was in Palpatine's office. The Chancellor had asked to speak with him and he was curious to hear the matter. He found it strange that the Chancellor took so much notice of him. Surely such a busy man had better things to do than spend his time conversing with a young Jedi knight. Still, the favor of so important a person was not to be lightly thrown away, and Anakin certainly did not intend to do so on the basis of a mere feeling.

Palpatine turned to him and spoke, his voice earnest and pleading, "I hope you trust me, Anakin."

How could the Chancellor doubt that, after everything Anakin had done? "Of course."

"I need your help, son." He suddenly appeared very old and vulnerable, in a way the young man hadn't viewed him before. Still, he was surprised at the request. "What do you mean?"

They resumed walking. Palpatine spoke, "I am depending on you…"

"For what? I don't understand."

"To be the eyes, ears and voice of the Republic. Anakin, I am appointing you to be my personal representative on the Jedi council."

Anakin couldn't believe his ears, "Me? A master?" He paused, trying to process the idea, "I am overwhelmed, sir." For, of course, that was the only way that could be. Already his mind started to conjure up visions of himself receiving such an honor, the faces of all those pompous fools as they were forced to grant him the rank he deserved. Never mind that the thought had never crossed his mind until this moment; he was now certain that he deserved it. After all, the Chancellor thought he deserved it. The Chancellor was a wise man, surely he could not be deceived.

Still he had doubts about the plan's execution, "The council elects its own members, they'll never accept this."

The older man gave a shrewd smile, "I think they will," He tossed Anakin a conspiratorial smirk, "They need you… more than you know."