Return

•11•

"Hey, Padmé, I'll be back. I love you, Angel," Anakin said, kissing his wife's forehead gently.

"I love you Anakin. Oh, and don't forget to pick up the seasonings on your way back tonight!" she called after him as he strode away, out to his ship. He nodded and left.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After an exhausting day at the Temple, Anakin paced the cracked and crooked cobblestone streets of downtown Coruscant.

As soon as he saw the market in view, his destination, a sigh of relief escaped him. He had been trying to find it for what felt like forever.

But before he could reach the small vendor, he felt a strange aura and presence, which caused him to turn around quickly to see what was the deal. Immediately, his mouth was covered by a gloved hand and Anakin was dragged into an alleyway.

He reminded himself to stay calm, but his reflexes told him to escape the enemy's grip and ignite his lightsaber. He did just that.

"Who are you?" he asked testily, circling the dark, hooded figure like prey. "Identify yourself!"

The figure ignited a crimson, double bladed lightsaber as it's hood fell back off of its head and revealed Darth Maul.

The two sword masters dueled skillfully, defending and striking and slamming each other's bladed together. Maul managed once to slash the skin right above Anakin's collarbone, charring it, which caused him to cry out in pain. But no matter what happened to the Jedi, he refused to back down.

Anakin was close to victory, but Maul cackled as he received a quick escape. He was lifted away by a small pod and carried into the distance.

Frustrated, Anakin hooked his lightsaber back on the belt loop. He went home, distracted and forgetting about the spices Padmé had wanted him to get.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Padmé!" Anakin called running in. He stopped abruptly when she wasn't there. "Padmé! Where are you?"

All of the sudden, he heard a sharp cry of pain and he bolted back to their bedroom, just to find Padmé struggling to move, reaching for a comlink that just wasn't in her reach.

"Padmé, what are you doing?" he asked, laughing. "I thought it was something serious --"

"Anakin," Padmé cried, tears staining her cheeks. "Thank the Force you're home." She laid back on her pillow and breathed out slowly. "I couldn't reach my comlink to call you in time. I started having contractions, but I was distracted by the twins. I dropped them off at their friend's house soon after you left, and then --" Padmé let out another cry of pain, breathing out again. "-- that's when things started to get bad. Needless to say, its time. It's overtime."

"Padmé, lets get you to the medcen--"

"No! We don't have time for that," she said, trying to muster up the courage. "We have to do a home birth. It's our only choice."

"What?! I don't know how to do any of that. I'll call a doctor," Anakin said, frantically searching for a comlink around the room. As soon as he found one, he reached for it, but Padmé grabbed his arm. "Anakin. No."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Padmé clenched her teeth, trying as hard as she could not to scream bloody murder and worry all of Coruscant. Her first all-natural experience.

"Anakin," she whispered, breathing heavily. "If I could go back now... to when I was having contractions... I would've driven myself to the medcenter."

"Come on, Padmé, you can do it. Only a little while left to go..."

14 hours later

With Padmé crying the most tears and going through the worst pain she ever had, and Anakin with dark circles under his eyes and a sweaty forehead, he was able to retrieve the baby and do everything correctly.

"It's a girl," Anakin cried, cleaning her up and wrapping her in a warm blanket. "I can't believe it." He smiled proudly and kissed her forehead so gently, afraid to break her little bones.

Padmé smiled, letting her head rest on the wall behind her.

"What about a name?" Anakin asked, looking at Padmé.

"You name her," she said softly. "What do you like?"

"Lydia. Or... Layla. Which one do you like better?"

Alllllrighty people I am going to leave this decision up to you, as readers! Up until Wednesday, November 4, you can decide on which name is your favorite! Just comment below your preference and the vote will go in! Can't wait to hear which name you guys think is better!

Lydia

Layla