AN: Apologies for the delay. Next story should be up in a few weeks :)

Chapter Ten

She stood at the doorway to the room, watching.

Anakin lay asleep on the bed, Leia tucked up close to him and she felt a rising joy because seeing father and daughter together was… she'd dreamed of it for so long. The daughter that Anakin had whispered about, had always wanted, had scrunched her face into his neck and a little fist gripped his shirt like it was a lightsabre.

In so many ways, Leia was his. Stubborn, wilful, determined, independent and always barrelling on ahead of expectations and boundaries.

It didn't surprise her when Anakin stirred. Nor did it surprise her terribly when his eyes opened to reveal not his usual blue gaze, but an amber gaze, visible in the half light of the room.

Instead, she waited. Let him gaze at her for a long lingering moment before his attention switched to the child on his chest and she could see something jolt through him. A nervous, unsure hand came up to touch Leia's hair, barely touching as if he feared he might hurt her.

"She was shot," he said eventually, not looking at her, eyes hidden as he stared at Leia instead. "Bounty hunters walked through the palace, destroying everything. They didn't protect her."

Force. She stared at her daughter, determined suddenly to have her in her arms, but suddenly not sure how Anakin…Vader would react. "And Luke?"

His hand dropped away from Leia and he looked as if he would stand, but suddenly seemed to realise that would require moving their daughter. It would have been funny in other circumstances, but she simply swept forward, lifting Leia into her arms and shushing the sleepy protest, all the while avoiding Vader's gaze.

She froze when he reached for her, looked up to see him staring at her, eyes almost back to normal, but he wasn't Anakin. She knew from the way he moved, the expression on his face.

The fact that his gloved metal hand rested lightly on her throat.

"So many years," he murmured, his hand spiderwebbing out, his thumb by her chin and fingers spread from her cheek to her throat, not with pressure but with the potential of threat. "So many years I believed it was I who killed you."

She couldn't stop her reaction, the sucked in breath and the immediate step backwards. He followed her, still without pressure, but clearly intent on making some kind of point. "You betrayed me," he said, taking another step forward. "You brought Obi-Wan to kill me."

She refused to back up further. "What had you done?" she asked, meeting his eyes and shifting their daughter.

He considered that. "I slaughtered them," he said after a moment. "All the Jedi, the padawans, the younglings. All to save you."

"And what did you do?" she said, heart fluttering at the idea. Anakin, her Anakin…she couldn't see how they could ever have gotten to this point.

When the fingers of his hand tightened, just a little, she knew she had her answer. "While I was pregnant?" she breathed, vision jumping and the feeling of tears on her cheek startled her. "You made them come early."

"I don't know," he replied with a whisper. "For all I know, Obi-Wan cut them out of you."

"How can you not know?" she asked, unable to keep the disbelief out of her voice.

There. A flicker of shame for the first time. "I fought him," he said, turning away, his hand leaving her. "You were…on the floor."

She shifted Leia who was definitely awake now and wondered exactly what her daughter could sense. "How wonderful the priorities of both sith and Jedi are," she muttered sarcastically. "And now? You intend to do what? Take my husband from me, from our children?"

"He," Vader said, rounding on her, "cannot protect you."

"And yet everything that happened, everything this family suffered only happened when you…" she broke off, not sure how to phrase it. "We don't need protection."

He let out a sneer of laughter. "You have no idea what he is, do you?" Vader asked, turning to her again. "The Emperor. What he creates. They will come for you, for them…" he trailed off suddenly eyes fixed behind her and of course, why had she imagined that Luke would stay asleep for this?

Vader took a step forward and Luke took a step back and she watched, caught between the two and feeling her heart shatter further when she spotted the confused look on Luke's face, as if he was feeling too much at once to even know how to react.

"Luke," Vader whispered and there was confusion there too. And in her arms, Leia turned into her further, little body trembling and she was sobbing quietly and starting to whisper for Padme as if Leia wasn't already in her arms.

They couldn't do this.

"Go," she said, closing her eyes, unable to believe the word was coming out of her mouth. She could feel the moment when Vader's furious gaze aimed at her.

"He is my child," he snapped, finger pointing at Luke demandingly. "Where I go, he will come. I will not allow-" he broke off when Luke stepped close to Padme, a silent protest and glanced at her worriedly.

She reached for him, gathering him in and wishing he'd stayed asleep when she could feel the trembling exhaustion still racing through him. Padme had a moment to spare to think of Anakin, how exhausted he'd been and how Vader being awake now wasn't helping him…

"They are children," she whispered. "And this…do you honestly want them to grow up with you?"

She'd meant as opposed to Anakin. She'd meant… she didn't know what, but Vader stared at her, eyes narrowed and she suddenly felt in more danger than she ever had before.

"You hurt me," she said, because this was it. Her battle with him and her children's…well not lives but well-being certainly depended on this conversation. "You left us. On the ground while you fought. You hurt our son. Whatever intentions you have about protecting us, you will always end up hurting us. As you are now."

Vader moved, hand reaching out and she tried to stop it as Luke was pulled from her, to him. He caught Luke in much the same way he'd held Padme by her chin and throat not five minutes ago and then stared down at the boy.

"You are frightening him," she said firmly, stalking forward, not really sure what she thought she would do. "You know that."

And Vader suddenly let go of Luke and stood staring down at his hand. The thumb and fingers rubbing together as if examining dust.

Then he looked at Padme, eyes blue and she hesitated, unsure suddenly as to who was within the body. But he said nothing as he abruptly stormed out of the room and she gathered up her children, not at all sure what they were going to do.

Xxx

It was dawn when Luke woke again, curled up with his mother and sister on the bed. And he wasn't sure what had woken him, except that something had. And Leia was stirring, eyes already blinking at him in confusion.

He picked her up and walked to the window where the rain was starting to fall and stared down at the ship below where Ahsoka and Dad were talking quietly. He was saying something firmly and she was nodding, though she didn't look too pleased about what she was nodding to.

The Dad looked up and they stared at each other. Then he felt a tenuous brush against his mind, like a featherlight kiss being places against his brow.

"Dada," Leia muttered and he'd guess that she felt it too.

Then the impression of Dad was gone and he turned into the ship, lightsabre on his belt and dressed fully in black, like he had been years ago when Luke had first seen him and like he would have been in Luke's future.

And they watched as the ship rose into the sky, movements neat and nimble before it started to gain speed and became a dot upon the skyline.

"Padme," Dad's voice came through the room and Luke turned, exhaustion creeping back in as he realised he was barely feeling anything at all in reaction. Mum was stood by the table, a miniature hologram of Dad standing upon it from a recorded message.

Dad seemed to be struggling to find the words. He sat on the edge of a stone seat, hands held in front of him and head almost bowed.

"You're right," he whispered and then looked up at the recording. "You're always right," he said with a weak attempt at a smile. "I can't believe I'm… I need to leave," he said in a tumble of words and Luke stood next to Mum and pressed into her. "Until I can work this out…" he gestured to his head. "Luke and Leia…He's frightened and she will be. Maybe there's a balance or something that can be done, but for now…" he shook his head and stared at them intently through the holo. "I won't have them grow up in fear of me. We both agree on that," he said and looked away for a moment. "But…I'll be close. If you need me…him…" Dad seemed to gather himself. "Ahsoka will stay with you. Vader isn't…happy, but has accepted it for now. Take the children back to Jedha," he suddenly looked hesitant. "Keep them from the Jedi, keep them from the sith. Force, keep them from the entire universe. I'll come when I can. When it's safe to."

Dad drew himself up a little. "And Padme…if I put my hands on you or them like that again, shoot me."

And with that, the hologram faded, leaving an empty table and Luke standing with his crying mother and scared sister and the already fading impression of his father.