Padme sat in the shade and watched on as her children jumped from the dock into the cool water of the lake. Her handmaiden Sabe and the twins' nanny Cora were swimming nearby, keeping a close eye on them. Over and over they climbed the weathered steps to run across the dock , jumping full speed ahead and splashing the two women in the process. Their screams of delight and laughter echoed over to the shore.

"They have no fear, do they C3PO?" she laughed watching Sabe wipe the water from her eyes

"Hmm. Yes. Much like their father, Master Anakin." he stammered

The smile left her face. "C3PO, you're not to mention him to me. Remember?"

"Oh, Miss Padme, I'm terribly sorry. What with the children here and all, speaking of him... I forgot. It won't happen again. If you won't be needing me, maybe I shall return to the ship?"

"That's fine. I'm going to stay here a little longer. Lunch should be ready soon, anyway." She watched as he walked with some difficulty over the warm sand and up onto the dock. Luke wasn't watching where he was going and ran right into him. "Sorry Threepio!" he yelled back over his shoulder as he made the plunge. Padme let out a sigh. 'Anakin always calls him Threepio' she thought. Her son was growing so much like his father. It was both a source of comfort and pain to her.

She thought back to the times she came out to this private beach with Anakin. They would sit on the shore and watch the suns rays bounce off the water. She knew he didn't care for the sand, but he never complained. He was always trying to please her. After dark, they would lay on the deck of the ship, looking up at the stars and sharing their dreams for their future.

When the night air became chilled, he would take her hand and lead her down to the cabin below. Many times they were lulled to sleep by the gentle rocking of the ship. 'The twins were conceived there.' she thought with a smile 'Or it could have been on the balcony. Or by the fireplace. Or...'

Her mind drifted off to all the many places she and her husband had enjoyed each other that long weekend so many years ago.

"Stop it!" she said aloud "Stop making yourself miserable. Focus on the bad times." And there had been plenty of those, too. Divorce. It was an ugly word. But a necessary evil sometimes. Thinking back to all those wonderful times she wondered how it all turned so bad. "What happened to us, Ani?" she whispered

Her thoughts were interupted as the Captain's boy came running toward her.

"M'lady, I'm sorry to bother you. The Captain received a message for you from the main house. He says we should go back."

"Go back? But we've only been here a few hours. I told them we were not to be disturbed."

The boy could see she was irritated. "But M'lady, it was from a Jedi. He's going to be arriving at the main house tonight, I think."

"Tonight? Damn him! You go tell the Captain to send a message back to Master Skywalker and tell him No Way. This is my time with the children. We've only been here two weeks! He never even bothers to get off the transport when he drops them off! Why would he come here now? I'm not done thinking..." She was furious.

"I'm sorry, M'lady. But the message was from Master Kenobi. What shall I tell the Captain?"

"Obi Wan is coming here?" fear slowly crept into her heart 'Oh Anakin, what have you gone and done now?' she wondered

She reached her hand out to the boy to help herself up. "I'm sorry, Gage, is it?" The boy nodded his head nervously. "Gage, tell Captain Jenns we shall be ready to leave shortly." He nodded briefly and turned to leave "Tell Sabe and Cora to get the twins dried and back onboard. I'll be along in a few minutes."

"Very good." and he was off

She turned away from the water, looking at the dense foliage and collecting her thoughts. 'When will he stop being such a thorn in my side? Maybe Obi Wan is just in the neighborhood. Maybe Anakin decided to give me full custody of the twins and he's bringing the papers. Yeah, right. Mustafar would freeze over before he'd do that.' She closed her eyes. Becoming a father had changed him in so many ways- all for the better. But the divorce... It had destroyed a part of him.

When the twins weren't with him, he was reckless and careless. First came the alcohol binges. He did stupid things like jumping off the balcony of his apartment- to sharpen his landing skills. That was a broken arm. The broken jaw came when he picked a fight in a bar. The broken nose when he got in the face of a woman yelling at her young child.

He had been arrested on more than one occasion. The local authorities would bring him to the Jedi Temple usually and things would get smoothed over. Her personal favorite had been the drunken, public nudity.

She had laughed for days about that. When she wasn't crying.

Obi Wan had been with him that time. Anakin was so drunk that he couldn't walk without holding onto Obi Wan. He managed to stand by himself though, when he decided to relieve himself on the side of a building. He was taken into custody and spent the night in jail. She had threatened to take the twins away from him for that one. That thought sobered him up quick. He never touched another drink after that. Physical pain, disgrace in front of the council and the very real possibility of being thrown out of the order had had no effect on him. The thought of losing his precious twins did.

As much as she hated to admit it to herself, she had used Luke and Leia many times to hurt him. At first she told herself she was only trying to make him wise up and be the man he once was. A role model for his children- someone they could be proud of. But long after he stopped his self destructive behavior, she still held them over his head. Because he had become the man he once was again. And he was trying to move on with his life.

Anakin had a mechanical hand and a faded scar about his right eye. Painful reminders of the war. His nose had been healed quickly so there was little trace that it had ever been damaged but he did have a small line of a scar that ran from his right earlobe down to his jaw. He had acquired that in one of his speeder accidents. Painful reminders of his own stupidity.

Despite these flaws, Anakin was still a very handsome man. And women took notice of him. Where the destructive behavior ended, the string of failed relationships began. It seemed he would never find true peace or happiness. Except when he had his twins with him. They gave him a glimpse of what his life had been and a glimmer of hope for the future. The suns rose and set on them as far as he was concerned. And Padme made good use of his weakness.

While she was admitting to herself using the twins to hurt him, she would also admit it was due to jealousy. She hadn't wanted Anakin herself. But she didn't want anyone else wanting him, either.

She had asked for the divorce. How dare he try to move on. A part of her had always expected him to long only for her. And she had liked it that way.

Yes, the twins had become pawns in the twisted games she played with his head. And for that she was truly sorry. He deserved better than what she gave him. But he took it all the same. And usually with a smile.

She had demanded that he not entertain any of his women friends during his visitation times. He agreed. He felt the same as her- he didn't want any confusion in their lives. They already had a mother and didn't need anyone else trying to play that part for them. They were only a little over three years old when he had started dating. It was a completely new experience for him. All his life, there had only been Padme. And as far as he was concerned, that's all he had planned to know. And wanted. But she didn't. So he tried to move on. Only to have her blocking his way.

The sound of Leia crying brought her out of her memories. She turned to see her daughter throwing a tantrum on the dock. She was a stubborn child. So headstrong and sure of herself. And knowing just what she wanted and didn't. And right now she most certainly did not want to be pulled out of the water. She and Luke had just turned five a few months ago but Leia seemed much older for her years. She was difficult with Padme a good deal of the time. Always questioning and demanding answers. Always quick to say "that's not how Daddy does it". That was another thorn in her side. The twins liked their father better than her. And he probably deserved their admiration. He was so many things she was not.

Jealousy and anger rose up in her again. "Damn you Anakin..." she muttered " your daughter is going to be mad at me and it's all your fault." She stormed off to the ship in a huff.