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Ch. 2: Birth of the Twins

Obi-Wan's stomach lurched as Threepio came clanking into the cockpit for the second time.

"Master Kenobi, Mistress Padme is asking for you," the droid told him urgently. "It seems that she is experiencing some severe discomfort." Out of the corner of his eye, Obi-Wan saw Anakin jump out of his seat, ready to rush to his wife's aid.

"Anakin, sit down," Obi-Wan gently ordered.

"No way!" His old padawan argued angrily. "My wife's having contractions and you want me not to be there for her?" Obi-Wan sighed.

"I don't think she wants to see you right now, Anakin; she asked for me." When his friend frowned, the elder of the two Jedi knights continued. "You did choke her, remember? You don't want her to faint again, do you?" Anakin gave a guilty sigh.

"I guess not." Obi-Wan started to take his leave, but Anakin called after him.

"But I want to help her!" Obi-Wan's patience was growing thin – he had a mother to look after, and her husband wasn't helping matters at all.

"Then why don't you get on the navicomputer and find the nearest civilized star system?" he offered. "Then you can contact them, and find the nearest medi-facility."

"I'll get right on it," Anakin answered, determination showing on his fair features. He disappeared back into the cockpit and Obi-Wan proceeded to check on Padme. He found her lying on the bed in her cabin, clutching her pregnant belly and moaning softly.

"Hi Padme," Obi-Wan greeted her gently. "We're going to land as soon as we can. Is there anything I can get for you? Besides pain medication?" She nodded.

"I'd like some water, please." He got her some. As she sipped her drink, Obi-Wan noticed that she seemed uncharacteristically subdued.

"Is everything alright?" When she glared at him, he elaborated, stammering,

"I meant besides the obvious. You seem worried about something other than the pregnancy." Padme regarded him seriously.

"I - I'm afraid for Anakin, of what he's become. Don't let him come in the delivery room," she pleaded. "After what he did to me, I don't think I can handle seeing him right now," she added, massaging her bruised throat. Obi-Wan sighed with regret. He knew it would kill Anakin not to be present during the birth of his children. Obi-Wan let her squeeze his hand as a contraction passed, but as she grimaced, letting out uneven breaths, he couldn't help feeling that it should be Anakin with her, not him. They continued their conversation about Anakin after her pain temporarily subsided.

"Very well; Anakin won't be allowed in during the delivery," Obi-Wan promised. She looked somewhat relived at this declaration. "But I can assure you, after certain events that occurred during your blackout, Anakin is no longer a danger to you or your children." Padme gasped.

"Children?" She asked weakly.

"Yes," he confirmed. "You're carrying twins." Padme didn't ask him how he knew this; Obi-Wan thought that she assumed he could sense their presence through the Force which, as he tried to do so, he realized that she was indeed carrying two very force-sensitive babies. Obi-Wan wondered why he hadn't tried to sense them before Qui-Gon had told him she was having twins. Probably because he was too busy worrying about their father turning to the Dark Side, he thought grimly.

"Obi-wan, will you stay with me during the births?" Padme timidly asked him.

"Of course, milady," he replied. "I would be honored." The Jedi master had been expecting this request from her after she asked for Anakin not to be present during the delivery.

"Excuse me, sir, but we're coming up on our destination." Threepio announced, sticking his golden head in the room.

"Good," said Obi-Wan, relieved that Padme was going to get help shortly. He squeezed Padme's hand in reassurance before he stood to return to the cockpit for the landing. "It's going to be fine, Padme," he told her upon receiving a worried look. "I promise, no harm will come to your babies." Satisfied for the moment, Padme gave him a small smile.

"How is she?" Anakin hurriedly asked before Obi-Wan even had a chance to sit back down.

"She's doing as well as can be expected," he reported truthfully.

They were silent as Anakin skillfully maneuvered the ship into the docking bay. Medi-droids met them at the landing platform. Obi-Wan lent his Jedi abilities to float Padme onto a stretcher, and the medi-droids took over from there, guiding her into the medi-facility. Anakin bounded down the landing ramp as soon as Padme was out of sight.

"I'm scared for her," he vented to his former master. "She means everything to me; if something happens to her because of what I did, I could never forgive myself."

"I know," Obi-Wan said. Anakin paused midstep, and looked at his friend intently.

"What if my dreams about her dying during birth come true?" Obi-Wan had no answer for that. At a distance, they followed Padme inside. The two Jedi knights were met by the head medi-droid, who began firing off procedural questions before they had time to blink.

"Which one of you is the father?"

"I am," said Anakin, stepping forward. The droid asked him for all sorts of information, such as Padme's age, homeworld, and medical history.

"Is she going to be alright?" Anakin blurted out at the end of the question and answer session. If the droid could've, Obi-Wan thought, it might've smiled.

"She is in good hands, Mr. Skywalker," the droid explained. "Now, it you'd like to see her, she's in the maternity ward – please follow me." Obi-Wan and Anakin trailed after the droid until it stopped abruptly, just in front of the door to Padme's room. Anakin started to open the door, but Obi-Wan cleared his throat and he paused mid-action.

"Uh, Anakin," he nervously began, "She asked me to be with her." Anakin was not stupid; he read between the lines and knew that his wife was still afraid of him and hadn't wanted him around.

"It's not fair," he griped, his anger rising. "I should be with her."

"You must control your emotions, Anakin," Obi-Wan advised. "It's what got you banned from the room in the first place…" Anakin grunted.

"I know, I know – it's just that…"

"Pardon me," interjected one of the medi-droids, "But I'm needed inside." The Jedi quickly moved out of the way to let him pass, and a small parade of droids followed the first one into Padme's room.

"What's wrong?" Obi-Wan asked calmly. One of the droids replied,

"One of the babies' heart rates has dropped below normal. We just needed to monitor them in case it happens again. But don't worry, sirs," he added, seeing the looks of distress on their faces. "It could be that the baby was just sleeping." After the droid vanished into the birthing room, Anakin gave Obi-Wan a look of subdued approval.

"Go if you must." The elder Jedi smiled.

"I'm glad you understand, Anakin. I'll keep you posted." And then, he too disappeared behind the cold, metallic door.

As he stepped into the room, Obi-Wan Kenobi took a deep breath and tried to calm himself, using the Force. He sensed the unrest in his former padawan just outside, and the apprehensiveness in Padme. She looked so small and helpless, lying there in the massive maternity bed, surrounded by droids and life-support apparatuses. Hearing him enter the room, she looked up at him.

"Obi-Wan, thank you for coming," she said gratefully. He gave her a tiny smile and sat down beside the bed as the droids cleared the room.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, sending her soothing thoughts with his mind.

"Oh yes; it was just a false alarm…" Padme trailed off. "But the droids said that if one of the babies' heart rates dropped again, they'll have to operate on me. They can't risk something happening to my babies." Padme looked like she was about to burst into tears at the thought of her children in any danger.

"I'm sure the droids know what they're doing," Obi-Wan voiced. "But hopefully it won't come to that. Just think, Padme. Soon you're going to be a mother!" He was trying to get her to focus on the positive parts of the delivery, and it was working.

"Yes," she agreed. "But I wasn't expecting two children! Do you think that I'm ready to be a parent to twins?" He chuckled.

"If you have the patience to work with disgruntled diplomats and sit through dull senate meetings, surely you can handle raising twins." She laughed in response, which Obi-Wan took as a good sign.

"I hope you're right – it will be a challenge, that's for sure." Wanting to keep her mind off her current situation, Obi-Wan continued their conversation about the twins.

"Did you decide what you wanted to name the children?" She nodded happily.

"Anakin and I thought that – ungh!" She groaned in agony, gripping Obi-Wan's hand as the wave of pain passed through her lower abdomen. "I'm sorry," she apologized sheepishly after the pain subsided.

"That's quite alright; don't apologize for something you can't help," he told her earnestly. "Please continue."

"Oh yes, the names," she said, lost in thought. "Luke if it was a boy and Leia if it was a girl."

"Those are beautiful names," Obi-Wan murmured. She beamed at his praise.

"I thought so too. Before, I suggested to Ani that we could use Shmi as the girl's name, but he refused. I suppose that he didn't want to be reminded of his guilt over losing his mother every time he looked at his daughter." Obi-Wan nodded solemnly.

He was getting Padme a cold compress for her burning forehead when he heard her cry out. Something in her voice told him that this was no ordinary contraction; this was the real thing.

"Obi-Wan!" She cried out, almost in fear. Dropping everything, the Jedi knight rushed to her side. "It's time," she told him tearfully.

"I've got to tell Anakin what's going on; I'll be right back," he promised her as the medi-droids rolled in.

"Hurry!" she called out after him.

The droids were already preparing Padme for the births while Obi-Wan explained to Anakin what was happening.

"It's going to be a natural birth," he told the worried father. "Anakin, it's going to be fine," Obi-Wan said as he tried to comfort him. "Padme is young and healthy, and I don't sense any extra stress coming from the twins at all." Anakin nodded, but Obi-Wan could see the beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

"I've got to go back now – I'll try and talk her into letting you come in after the twins are born."

"Thanks," Anakin muttered, and without another word, Obi-Wan returned to Padme's side.

She was already giving birth to one of the twins when he entered the room. Padme's cries stopped momentarily and were replaced by the shrill ones of a newborn.

"Congratulations, milady," Obi-Wan said, and held out his arms so the medi-droids could place the baby in them. The Jedi master grinned at the tiny baby in his arms, who was still crying.

"It's a boy," he informed her.

"Luke," Padme whispered as a few tears of joy streamed down her flushed face.

"Push once more, Mrs. Skywalker," the medi-droid urged, and Padme screwed up her face in concentration.

"Ahhhh!" she screamed as the second baby's head appeared.

"You're almost there; once more ought to do it," Obi-Wan encouraged her, all the while rocking a wailing Luke. Breathing hard, Padme Amidala delivered her second child. As the medi-droids cleaned the baby off, they announced,

"You have a healthy baby girl." Padme smiled weakly as she carefully sat up so that she could hold her tiny daughter.

"Leia," she breathed, regarding her baby girl with awe.

"She looks just like you," Obi-Wan remarked.

"And Luke looks a lot like Anakin," Padme added, chewing on her lip thoughtfully.

"He really wanted to be here you know," Obi-Wan said before her could stop himself. Padme stiffened and held Leia close.

"I know," she sighed. "I just couldn't think about anything but how he hurt me if he'd been in the room," Padme admitted. "Are you sure he's back to himself now?" Obi-Wan filled her in on the appearance of Qui-Gon's spirit, and how Anakin had renounced the Dark Side.

"Yes – he's gotten control over his anger," Obi-Wan informed her. "Your husband made some terrible mistakes, but he was misguided and thought he was trying to protect you and the twins. Please, give him a chance to rectify his wrongdoings.," Obi-Wan asked her on Anakin's behalf. "He still loves you more than ever, and now that he's in his right mind, no harm will come to you or your children."

She pondered this for awhile, letting Leia breastfeed to stop her from whimpering. Averting his eyes, Obi-Wan gave mother and daughter some privacy. As he rocked the now-quiet baby Luke in his arms, Obi-Wan felt Anakin's nervousness turn to joy as the medi-droids informed him of the birth of his children.

"Obi-Wan?" Padme cried out faintly. Instantly, he knew something was very wrong when she offered Leia to him.

"What's wrong?" he asked for the millionth time that day, unable to keep the concern out of his voice.

"I –I think I'm bleeding," she whispered. Just then, several of the medi-droids rushed in, as they were alerted to the alarming dip in Padme's vital signs.

"Mrs. Skywalker, we need for you to relax." The head droid gently explained that there was a problem with the afterbirth and that unless it passed naturally, they'd have to step in and operate. Padme nodded, but continued to wince in pain, shutting her eyes and moaning softly.

"Ani, where are you?" she whispered, just loud enough for Obi-Wan to hear. A few parsecs later, Anakin burst into the room, heading straight for his wife, his features a mask of concern.

"Excuse me, sir, but this is a private room," squeaked one of the droids.

"I was summoned here," Anakin explained, trying in vain to get around the robot.

"By whom?" questioned the droid.

"By me," Obi-Wan clarified, stepping forward so he could hand Anakin's daughter to him. "I called to him through the Force; we're Jedi."

"Ani," Padme called out weakly. When the droid realized that his patient didn't protest at the newcomer's presence, it let Anakin pass. He gave Leia a peck on her forehead and returned her to Obi-Wan when he saw how much his wife was suffering.

"My sweet Padme," Murmured Anakin, tenderly brushing the stray locks away from her feverish face. "I am so, so sorry for what I did to you," he told her, his voice catching in this throat. "I swear on all that I am that I'll never hurt you again; I'll make it up to you somehow," he vowed. "Will you ever forgive me?"

She nodded, and then grimaced as another wave of pain hit. Anakin exhaled slowly, exhilarated that she'd forgiven him, but he was still deathly afraid that she'd be hurt in post birth complications.

"Padme, love, I need for you to relax," Anakin pleaded, taking her hand tenderly with his own. "You'll be so much better off if they don't have to operate on you." Padme only groaned in response. Anakin frantically turned to Obi-Wan for help. "Can't we use our powers to help her?" Obi-Wan nodded thoughtfully.

"Padme," he began," taking her other hand in his own, "Anakin and I can use the Force to assist you, but you have to do most of the work on your own, alright?"

"Okay," she choked out, exhaling slowly. As the Jedi knights sent her calming, peaceful thoughts via the Force, Padme felt some of the tension in her lower abdomen lessen.

"You're doing great, angel," Anakin praised her softly as her groans stopped altogether. "Just think, soon you'll recover from this and we'll get to spend all our days with our beautiful children, safe on a secluded planet where no harm will come to our family." While she pictured this utopian scenario in her mind, Padme let out a sigh, and her muscles visibly relaxed.

Moments later, it was all over. She had successfully passed the afterbirth without any aide from an operation. Exhausted, Padme gave her husband a tired but grateful smile before drifting off. The two Jedi exchanged relieved glances as the droids filed out of the room, as they were no longer needed.

"Anakin, you didn't ever get a chance to hold your son," Obi-Wan gently reminded him, as Padme began to sigh contentedly in her sleep.

"Oh!" He exclaimed. "C'mere, Luke." Anakin carefully picked the tiny cooing baby, remembering to support his head. "I was so afraid for your mother that I'm afraid we haven't had time to be introduced." Luke gave a small non-committal gurgle and reached up to grab for one of Anakin's golden curls.

"Luke, I am your father," Anakin proclaimed. "And I promise you, I'll protect you and teach you how to fix things and how to fly, as well as the ways of the Force. But most importantly, I'll teach you how to play. I had precious little time to play when I was growing up," Anakin admitted, a dark look in his sapphire eyes as he remembered his heart-wrenching past as a slave on Tatooine. But the look quickly passed and he was smiling once more.

"I'll make sure that you have plenty of time to play, little one. You and your sister," he promised, holding Luke close. Obi-Wan watched this heartfelt declaration, and silently thanked Qui-Gon for interfering in their lives. Force only knows what could've happened if he'd had to fight Anakin. Luke and Leia might've had to grow up without a father if Obi-Wan had been forced to destroy Anakin because he was consumed by the Dark Side. And possibly, the twins could've been motherless as well – for if Anakin hadn't been there to calm his wife, she might not have survived the operation…

Shaking his head, Obi-Wan cleared his mind of all morbid thoughts. It did not do to dwell on what could've been. Thankfully, Anakin had reformed and the Skywalkers were back on track to becoming a real family. Things were finally looking up for his friend, Obi-Wan decided.

But when Obi-Wan saw See-Threepio suddenly burst into the room, he knew that something was seriously wrong. Especially when Anakin froze midstep, a glazed look of terror materializing on his face.

"Oh my," Threepio moaned. "We're done for! Artoo, it was nice knowing you…" The astromech droid bleeped indignantly at his counterpart as if to say they weren't finished yet.

"Could someone please explain to me what is going on?" A confused Obi-Wan looked between the droids and the spaced-out Anakin, knowing he was missing something.

"Oh Master Kenobi, it's horrible!" Threepio fretted. "You know how you asked Artoo and I to monitor the incoming ships?" Obi-Wan nodded; he knew this already and he was starting to get frustrated with the translator droid.

"And?" he prompted him.

"And, I saw Chancellor Palpatine's starship in orbit heading straight for us!" Threepio wailed in despair.

"He's here," Anakin confirmed in a chilled tone Obi-Wan had never heard his friend use. "And he's come for me and the twins." Obi-Wan's stomach clenched in fear. How in Force's name were they going to escape from the clutches of the newly proclaimed Emperor of the galaxy? They needed a miracle…

End Ch. 2

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