8Anakin stood by helplessly as police speeders came careening to a stop in front of the Senate building. He tried to protest when they took his unconscious, pregnant (!) wife from his arms, but Obi Wan held him in place with a firm look. They put Padme in a speeder, shut the door and drove away, leaving the silent crowd alone, stunned.
And well they should be stunned. Padme was the most gentle, kind soul Anakin had ever met, and she was one of the most beloved senators Naboo had ever had. She was one of the only politicians who genuinely cared about her people and the people of the galaxy, and it showed in the way she interacted with people.
What she had just done was so out of character, it shook everyone to the core. This woman, this amazing, kind, brave lady, was not the hateful, angry person she had been today.
She'd said she was pregnant.
She'd said she'd hated him.
Anakin dropped his head in his hands, then winced in pain; his nose was probably broken.
Obi Wan put a hand on his shoulder. "I think we need to talk," he murmured. Anakin winced. He hadn't bothered to try to keep his marriage with Padme a secret when she'd come at him, too panicked about her state of mind.
To be fair, however, she was the one who told the whole galaxy she was pregnant. And that he was the father.
….Oh, Force.
He let Obi Wan lead him away, before any more cameras could come. By some miracle, none of those present had asked him anything, and Anakin was grateful. He might snap the neck of any reporter who thought it would be a good idea to shove a microphone in his face.
Obi Wan and Anakin got in a speeder and drove away. Anakin didn't question where the speeder came from. Obi Wan stayed silent until they pulled up in front of the Jedi Temple, where he finally sat back with a sigh.
"Are you angry?" Anakin asked quietly.
Obi Wan shook his head. "No, of course not. The truth is, I already knew." Anakin's head shot up. Obi Wan snorted. "You are not nearly as subtle as you think you are, Anakin. I raised you, don't forget."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"You didn't want to. I wanted to respect your wishes."
"And you didn't tell anyone?"
Obi Wan looked offended. "Who do you think covered for you every time you disappeared from the Temple to go to the Senator's? Of course I didn't tell anyone." He brought a hand to his beard. "I just hadn't realized how far the relationship had progressed. A child…"
"I know," Anakin groaned, burying his face in his hands. "I haven't even had a chance to process that one yet."
"Just promise me one thing, Anakin," Obi Wan said, looking at him pointedly. "You need to marry her as soon as you can. A pregnancy is no small responsibility."
Anakin's mouth dropped. For Obi Wan to tell him to marry… that was as out of character as Padme screeching obscenities. He really couldn't complain, however; it was a dream come true.
"I already married her!" he blurted. "On Geonosis! At the beginning of the Clone Wars."
Obi Wan looked at him incredulously. "And you didn't invite me?" He shook his head in disappointment. "Your own master, and you didn't think he might want to be there."
"Well, I thought…"
Obi Wan waved a hand at him. "I know what you thought. But that's not the only thing I wanted to talk to you about." He turned to face him fully. "Whatever you do, you need to stay where you are. Do not panic. I will speak to the council about you and Padme." He stroked his beard again, expression troubled. "Her presence in the Force felt… different. Did you notice?"
Anakin's brow furrowed. "Well, no. I was a little occupied with defending myself from the woman without actually hurting her."
"That's not surprising. What is surprising is what I felt. If I hadn't seen her face, I would not have believed it was Padme."
"Yeah, me neither," Anakin snorted. "She doesn't normally attack me like that, believe it or not."
"It's not just that, Anakin!" Obi Wan insisted, "Her Force presence was so different, it should belong to another person altogether. There were similarities to both you and Padme, but it was very unique. It should have belonged to your child, not to Padme."
Anakin was quiet for a moment. "That's unheard of. For someone's signature to change so drastically?"
"Exactly," Obi Wan agreed. "It's impossible, and that's most likely the cause of her change in behavior. This is something the Jedi Council will want to look into. Padme will be alright, Anakin. You need to be patient, and wait for her to be brought to the Temple."
Anakin sighed. "She's my wife, Obi Wan. I don't know if I can do that."
"You must. It's the only way to minimize the damage."
Anakin looked away. "Fine."
"Thank you, Anakin." Obi Wan got out of the speeder. "Everything will be alright," he said, walking up the steps to the temple. He paused and looked back. "And when you get a chance," he said with a twitch of an amused grin, "You should get that nose looked at."
Leia had woken up an hour ago, finding herself in a sterile white room, laying on an equally white cot in a white hospital gown. She was really getting sick of all the white.
They had put her through a psychological examination, something she hadn't ever thought she'd have to do. Instead of answering the questions, she had tried to tell them the truth: that she was the daughter of Bail Organa, having traveled from the future for… some reason. The examiners had exchanged worried looks, then very kindly escorted her back to her room.
Looking back, perhaps trying to tell them she was a time traveler hadn't been the wisest option, but at least they weren't asking her annoying questions anymore.
Unfortunately, that meant she was left alone with her thoughts, which were not the most comforting at the moment.
She didn't regret attacking Vader; it had been cathartic in the best possible way. She imagined trying to punch that black helmet; that wouldn't have gone well. His fleshy face was much more malleable, and the crunch of bones under her fist most satisfying. But the way she found out who he was… the way he had reacted to the news that she (or at least the woman whose body she was inhabiting) was pregnant.
She was pregnant with Vader's children. Which meant she was in her mother's body (and the fact that Padme kriffing Amidala was her mother was not something she wanted to process right now). Which meant Leia was currently pregnant with herself and her brother.
Leia rolled over and vomited all over the floor.
It was such a strange feeling, and not one she ever wanted to experience again. She'd thought being pregnant was hard in the first place, but the psychological aspect of this made Ben look like a walk in the park.
She wished for something to take her mind off of it, but unfortunately, all she had were white walls and white clothes, which did nothing to help.
Suddenly there was a sound at the window. She glanced over, tensing. There was a man outside, trying to get in.
There was nothing she could use as a weapon in here except her fists.
So she closed her eyes, forced herself to relax, deepened her breaths, and waited for her victim.
Anakin couldn't help it - he hacked into the Coruscant police records to find where Padme was being held, and when he saw, he couldn't just sit there and let her rot.
Coruscant Mental Hospital.
They'd taken his wife to the loony bin.
So now he found himself climbing the outside wall to her window, where he used the Force to unlock it and let himself in.
Padme was asleep on a cot, having been changed into a white hospital gown. As he approached, he could hardly believe what she had done not even two hours ago. She looked so peaceful, so angelic…
He gently caressed her face, then touched her stomach, where his child was growing.
Force, he loved this woman.
He slowly leaned down, closing his eyes, puckering his lips...
"Anakin, what happened to your face?"
"Padme."
Obi Wan gave a world weary sigh, closing his eyes against Anakin's hologram. "You had one job - stay where you are and let me handle it."
"Yeah, well, it was Padme."
"Whom the council has agreed to meet with. You are to escort her here as soon as possible, since you are located so conveniently."
"Fine. I'll be there as soon as I get my injuries treated."
"...Injuries?" A sigh. "Anakin. What else do you have besides the nose and the black eyes?"
"You don't want to know."
"Yes, I do."
"Too bad. I'm not telling."
Obi Wan couldn't help a grin. "So, Anakin, do you mean to tell me -"
"Don't say it, don't you dare say it -"
"You, a general of the GAR, the Hero With no Fear -"
"Obi Wan -"
"- got your butt kicked by a tiny pregnant woman?"
"I hate you. So much."
When Vader entered the room this time, he was accompanied by two clones armed with blasters. Leia smirked.
"What, not man enough to face me yourself?" She examined her nails. "Then again, the last couple times have not gone well for you, so I can't blame you."
He grunted. "The Jedi Council wants to speak with you. I'm supposed to take you there now."
Leia sneered. "You? Have they not figured out how I feel about you by now?"
"Yeah, well, I guess they like me about as much as you do right now," he shot back at her. "Let's go."
Leia considered saying no, just to be ornery, but she did need to talk to someone who might believe her. The Jedi, as knowledgeable of the Force as they were, were as good an option as any. Besides, her brother was a Jedi, and she trusted him with her life. That won a few points in their favor.
"Fine," she sniffed, swinging her legs out of bed. Vader handed her a plastic bag. She looked down her nose at it suspiciously.
"Oh, calm down," he snapped. "It's your clothes, not poison."
"Oh." She grabbed the bag and turned away, sending a pointed look at the three men behind her. "A little privacy?"
"It's not like I haven't seen any of it before," he grumped as he turned away. Leia shuddered at the thought.
She was grateful he had finally stopped treating her like a long lost lover. He hadn't seemed to get the message when she had first attacked him at the Senate Building; somehow he'd thought it would be a good idea to kiss her when she was sleeping. She smirked; his new black eyes suited him well. They were certainly an improvement.
Beyond her general hatred for the man, his affection was also sickening. It reminded her of her predicament in terms of pregnancy and body-switching, and it made her want to retch all over again. It was also just weird in terms of familial relation; she was his (biological) daughter, not his lover. It was a fact he needed to get through his thick skull.
Come to think of it, had she actually tried to tell him who she was yet? She thought about it for a moment. No, she hadn't; she'd been too caught up in breaking every bone in his body.
She shrugged and pulled the dress over her head. She didn't regret it. He would find out soon enough; best to let him suffer as long as possible.
After weaving her hair into a braided crown (which made her feel a little more like herself), she exited the door, brushed past Vader and his clones, and strode through the hallway. "Come along, little men," she called over her shoulder. "We have an appointment to meet."
When Vader pulled up alongside the Jedi Temple, Leia's jaw dropped.
She'd seen it before, of course. Palpatine had turned it into his own personal palace on Coruscant. She'd hated passing by it; the place had radiated despair and darkness.
But now, it stood tall in all its glory. She could see a few Jedi passing by, and two guards stood in front of the entrance as she passed through. The Temple was clean and neat, and as she passed by one of the rooms, she could see younglings swinging their lightsabers. In another, she saw two young men with long, thin braids by their ears bent over datapads, scribbling notes on a piece of flimsi.
In her time, this place was nothing more than a corpse, a trophy of Palpatine's victory over the Jedi; but now she could see what it was meant to be, what it had been for ten generations: a place of light, a place of learning, a place of peace.
Leia wanted to cry, knowing what would soon happen. She would give anything to show Luke this place; he'd be thrilled beyond words.
Vader came to a stop in front of a set of doors. He reached for the handle, then hesitated, turning to her.
She recognized the look in his eyes; he was about to say something sappy and lovey-dovey again. She didn't want to deal with that, so she shoved him aside and pushed open the doors.
Immediately, the weight of the combined gaze of the most powerful Jedi of the century fell upon her. She swallowed, suddenly frozen. She heard a sigh behind her, then a hand on her shoulder, guiding her to the middle of the room.
"Sweet Force, Anakin," remarked one of the men to her right; the one from before, with the auburn hair. "You look like you lost a fight to a gundark!"
She smirked; Vader scowled darkly. "Presenting," he growled, "Senator Padme Amidala of Naboo."
"That's where you're wrong, Lord Vader," she told him, turning to the Jedi Council. She ignored his confusion at the use of his 'wrong' name. "Senator Padme Amidala was the woman who gave birth to me, but she died moments after I was born." She straightened to her full (if still diminutive) height and lifted her chin.
"I am Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, daughter of Bail and Breha Organa. I was born at the end of the Clone Wars and the beginning of the first Galactic Empire. It was also the beginning of the Jedi Purges, when every single Jedi was systematically hunted down and murdered for treason until there was no more Jedi Order. I grew up as the Empire became more powerful, more tyrannical, and I helped lead the rebellion against it. I fought and I bled and we overthrew the Empire and then I continued to fight to build the world I wanted to see for my son.
"Now, the Force, in all its unreasonable wisdom, has seen fit to bring me back in time twenty six years. It has also decided to place me in the body of my dead biological mother - probably because it has a sick sense of humor. If you want to know the details of the future, then you will help me make contact with my family in my own time, because I would very much like to go home as soon as possible."
The room rang with stunned silence.
She smiled brightly. "Any questions?"
A/N
Hey all, sorry about the late update. I've been helping my family move for the past week and it's been... hectic. Luckily, I already had this chapter ready, so I'm a day late, but here you go!
What was your favorite part? Anything make you laugh? Cringe? Cackle in sadistic glee? Let me know in the reviews!