171Polis Massa Medical Ward
Medical droids buzzed about in the Maternity Ward, working controls and observing the holo-chart adjacent to the patient's head. Master Jedis Yoda and Kenobi, along with Viceroy Bail Organa of Alderaan waited and watched anxiously from behind the glass walls. One of the medical droids had informed them that the patient's condition wasn't going well.
"Medically, she's completely healthy. For reasons we can't explain, we're losing her."
"She's dying?" asked a bewildered Obi-Wan.
"We don't know why. She has lost the will to live. There is still hope she may come around. But it is still very slim. We must operate quickly to save the babies."
"Babies?" Organa was only aware of one.
"She's carrying twins." The droid held out his mechanical arms in something of a shrug.
As it glided back into the room, the others were left to gape worriedly.
Padme lay uncomfortably on the medical table, thinking to herself in silent anguish.
I feel so alone. The pain of childbirth is nothing. I am so...broken. I can barely breathe right. I just want to crawl into a corner and forget about life. Because without Anakin there is no life. I want to give up. My mind and body are both going toward this path, and I don't care if I can't stop it. I don't feel like life is worth living anymore.
But there's another part of me, one that knows all these desires are selfish, no matter how justified. That I need to live for my children. That despite all the horrible deeds their father has comitted, they deserve to live. They do not deserve to be punished for their father's mistakes. So with every once of strength I have left, I will bring them into the world.
She inhaled deeply, determined to fight to the end. Contractions had been getting closer and closer together, meaning that the time was soon. She had been administered a drug to keep away the pain until the very last minute. Padme felt everything full force, starting to sweat, pant and scream all at the same time. A "female" droid instructed her to raise her legs, putting a sort of privacy screen over them once they were in the correct position.
After that, everything went quickly. The pain mounted, until she thought it couldn't get worse.
The droid told her to breathe. "Oo-bah...Oo-bah..."
With a mammoth effort, she pushed as hard as possible, crying. Her work paid off, as a victorious cry was heard.
"Isita Oido." A boy! Searching the depths of her brain, Padme tried to find his proper name.
"Luke." Obi-Wan held the beautiful boy up to her, acting as Anakin's subsitute. Obi-Wan delicately held the baby in his arms out to his mother as she touched the side of her son's face. "Oh, Luke."
Padme shouted as an almighty contraction mounted again and with what little strength she had left, Padme pushed the small life form out of her.
The cries of two newborns mingled with eachother. "Isita Oida." Obi-Wan, awkward to be holding one baby, said, "It's a girl!"
Relieved that the struggle was over, Padme exhaled. "Leia."
But the effort of childbirth combined with the horrible events in the last few standard hours had taken their toll on the Senator, and she could feel herself fading.
She spoke slowly, gasping for air. "Obi-Wan..." her whisper was so quiet he had to lean in closer to hear correctly, "...there's good in him...I know, I know there's...still." With that, Padme fell into the depths of sleep. The unselfish part of her clung on to life, as if knowing that someday far into the unpredictable future, her children would need her.
Luke and Leia's cries echoed through the building as the only sentient-made sounds. Alarmed, Obi-Wan asked, "What's wrong?"
The droid hesitated to answer, but it was against his programming not to. "For reasons we can't explain, she has gone into a comatose state."
"What? Is there anything you can do?"
"No, I'm afraid not. We will have to keep her here for some time. It is unsure how long it will take her to awaken."
So, unsure of when that would happen, the two Jedi masters separated Luke and Leia to their respective foster homes. Luke was sent to Tattooine, his father's home planet; and Leia was adopted into the Royal House of Alderaan by Viceroy Bail and Queen Breha Organa. During this time, Padme remained in the Polis Massa Facility, until it closed about ten standard years before the Battle of Yavin. Nobody knew what became of the Old Republic's Nubian senator, and no one ever did find out. Someday would come soon...
Luke Skywalker awoke to the early morning sun of Endor's sanctuary moon, letting the golden rays filter through the cracks in the sleeping cabin. Slowly, the young Jedi rose, careful not to rustle the sleep covering too much, lest he wake his companions. Luke took a quick glance at Han, Leia, and Chewbacca, all of whom were still laying under the blankets quietly. Well, except for Han, who snored like a bantha in heat. Luke stealthily made his way out of the cabin on his tip-toes all the way to the thick of the forest, managing not to wake anyone.
He sat down on a pile of dried moss and leaves for morning meditation, using the Force to clear his mind. Distorted, blurry images and feelings surfaced his mind, tainted the previous clarity. They were so brief and pieced together that they came in flashes:
Luke took a breath, tasting the metallic, medicinal air about him and it was very hard to see or hear anything just yet...but, there was a woman and two familiar presences...he could just make out the brown of her hair and eyes, yet it was still hard to see..he felt smooth, soft, gentle skin graze his cheek...yet what was clearer than anything so far was what he heard...'Obi-Wan...there's good in him...I know, I know there's...still.'
But wait? Something was wrong...what happened? He and one other familiar presence began to cry-
"Luke!"
Luke heard the familiar voice and opened his eyes to find himself sprawled out on all fours, sweating. A worried Leia bent down next to him. "Luke, are you alright?"
Her brother could only respond by shaking his dirty blonde head from side to side and say, "Huh?"
Leia's eyebrows were furrowed concernedly. "You were screaming and the others thought you had gotten attacked by something-or worse."
Able to inhale normally again, Luke replied, "I'm fine. Just..." he contemplated the correct phrase,"a bad dream." He paused unsure of what else to tell her.
"Sorry I woke everyone up," he added as an afterthought.
Attempting to right her expression, she replied, "It's alright, Luke. But Mon Mothma is waiting for us all on the com."