Coruscant

"She has disobeyed you. You need to discipline her to begin teaching her the difference between right and wrong." The nanny droid's metallic voice echoed through Vader's apartment.

For the tenth time that day Vader resisted the urge to bash the stupid droid over the head. Who was she to try to tell him what right and wrong were? But he complied. "Leia, no. We do not run away from Daddy when he's trying to dress you."

Leia, wearing nothing but a diaper, looked up at him. Vader had no idea if she understood or not. She likely understood more than what she could express though her very limited vocabulary.

"Good." said the nanny droid. "You have been firm, but not angry."

Vader picked Leia up and wrestled her into her clothes. She squirmed a little, but allowed him to pull a shirt over her head, put pants on her, and even shoes. He passed her to the droid. "Take her into the dining room and give her breakfast."

"Dada!" She reached for him.

"Daddy will be along in a minute, dear." He'd wondered if he should expect Leia to call him Father, but it didn't feel right. Daddy was a name weak fools used, but it was all right if no one ever knew that a toddler ran after him shrieking, "Daddy!" Besides, Padme would never have asked her children to address their parents by such formal names, and he wanted to do right by her.

Vader let his eyes wander over the Coruscant skyline in the direction of the old Jedi temple. He vowed that Leia would never know their ways. She would be trained in the force for sure, but not like that. She would not shy away from her own power, nor would she lock away her emotions until they destroyed her from the inside. No, she would become her own entity. After she grew into her power, perhaps they could take down Palpatine and she could rule the galaxy, with her father behind her every step of the way.

"Lord Vader." The nanny droid was standing behind him, and she didn't sound happy. "You have put Leia's shoes on the wrong feet."

"What?" Vader hadn't been paying attention.

"You have put Leia's shoes on the wrong feet." Said the droid again. "I suggest you go and fix them before she trips and falls."

Vader sighed and went back to the dining room. Be behind her every step of the way, provided he got her started off on the right foot in the right shoe.

Tatooine

Once Luke had been put down for a nap, Shmi took out the lightsaber and took a closer look at it. It smooth hilt was cool and heavy in her hand. She carefully pointed it at empty space and activated it, listening to the little noises it made as it turned in the air. This was the weapon that had protected Anakin for years, but it was also the thing that paved the way for his horrible atrocities. Nothing could dampen the memory of Obi-Wan sitting at her kitchen table and telling her every last horrible detail of Anakin's fall. The world had collapsed around her shoulders, and the only solid things were Luke's tiny warm body in her arms and Obi-Wan's haggard voice.

Obi-Wan had wanted to take the blame for what had happened. He kept saying that he'd failed Anakin. Shmi wanted to tell Obi-Wan to go easy on himself, but she didn't know the full story and knew very little of grown-up Anakin. No matter what, Anakin was an adult and had ultimately been responsible for his own choices. It was an uncomfortable fact. If Vader came to Tatooine now, she didn't know if she should slap him, try to reason with him, or fire a blaster in his face. Each option felt so right and yet so horrible.

Shmi shuddered and tucked the lightsaber away on a high shelf, behind several boxes. Obi-Wan hadn't said what age he wanted to start training Luke, and Shmi felt that it could wait for a while. There was no sense in giving a child one of the most dangerous weapons in the galaxy, and besides, Luke's practical education would have to come first.