The Way Things Should Be...

Chapter 2: Reconciliation

Holding the babies in his arms was like a miracle, Anakin could only think about them. He wanted to protect them and nurture them. He had never felt luckier than at this moment. Padme was resting, they were due to be on the ship in the next hour or so. Anakin was savoring every moment he had with the peace before the end of it all. 
He and Padme hadn't spoken since the kiss, she had mostly been resting and nursing. The silence was often comfortable but Anakin hadn't asked if she wanted him to be a part of their lives. He was expecting to have to look on from a distance. His heart pained at the thought, but after what he had done, could he really blame her? He certainly wouldn't let him near his kids. 

He turned to put them back in their beds, gently placing the sleeping babies on their back. He stayed, looking down, his heart filled, the thoughts of the past temporarily out of his mind. Padme slowly opened her eyes. She smiled looking over at Anakin. She knew she ought to feel worried or angry at him, especially so close to the babies, instead, all she could feel was peaceful, and content. It made her happy to him so gentle and caring. 
She watched as he placed a kiss on their heads, before turning around, the room filling up with an awkward atmosphere as he realized she was awake. 

"Sorry, I was only-"

Padme looked up as she realized how tense he had become. She cut him off, purely running off instinct.
"They are your children as much as they are mine Ani."

They made eye contact, Anakin shocked at the name. She hadn't called him that in so long. He wanted to race over and hold her, but something held him back. Instead, he went over to sit by her bed and take her hand. 
Things might be moving forward but there was still a distance between them. The comfort they held in their hands though was more than enough for now though.

Back on the ship, Obi-Wan was finishing loading up the supplies for the newborns. He wanted to leave as soon as Padme was able to walk. The longer they remained the more likely they were to be found. 
He finished moving things and began to make his way over to the med bay. As he was about to walk in he saw Anakin and Padme holding hands, the couple not talking but looking into each other's eyes and smiling. Obi-Wan didn't want to ruin such a rare moment. He stood waiting, before he cautiously approached, knocking gently on the door as he did. 
The couple broke away from each other, their hands still inter-linked. The atmosphere was relaxed and tranquil. A nice contrast compared to the last weeks of chaos.

"It's time if you are able to walk Padme?"

Padme nodded slowly getting up from her bed. Wincing as she did so. Anakin went to help her up, she shook him off, "The children, if I need help Obi-Wan can help me to the ship" Anakin simply nodded going over to collect the babies. Grabbing the last remanence that they were ever here in the form of a bag full of medical supplies; they slowly began the journey to the ship. Once aboard, Anakin began to set the flight path. Going into hyper-speed was no longer an option, the newborns were too delicate and it wasn't worth the risk. 

They began their journey. Looking down as Naboo became smaller and smaller. Padme looked down fondly, sadness creeping in that life would never be the same again. This wasn't the plan she and Anakin had for their children, and she couldn't help but feel anger that this was somehow Anakin's fault, if he hadn't gone to keep an eye on Palpatine maybe things would've been different.
She shook the thoughts from her head, she couldn't afford to blame Anakin for everything. He had been manipulated. Though she couldn't think what Anakin felt he could have needed from Palpatine. She sat down, looking over the cots the children laid in. Their small fingers curling and uncurling in their sleep, their muscles moving instinctively. She smiled, as far as things were from her plans, at least she still had the important parts.  It was only as she felt the cold tears falling down her face did she even realize she had been crying. She wiped them away unsure if they were happy tears or not. 

Padme decided to walk around the ship, she was sick of being so still. Her pace was still slow, taking too big of a stride was still painful. She was wandering aimlessly down one of the small corridors when she found herself stopping outside of one door. She couldn't think why this door but for some reason, her mind was telling her this is where she should be.
Then it slowly dawned on her. This is Anakin's room. She went to turn away knowing he was probably still in the cockpit fussing over the flight path or whatever it was pilots loved to fuss over. 
She held her hand up to knock but deciding it was pointless and forcing herself away. She began her way back to the make-shift nursery. She didn't want to leave them alone for too long knowing they would probably want feeding in the next hour. 

As she approached the nursery the sound of cooing escaped her attention. Turning the corner to Anakin bent over one of the cribs, his finger tickling the chin of a fussy baby. Padme stopped in the doorway not wanting to interrupt the moment. She smiled at the game they were playing. Anakin looked up from the corner of his eyes discovering Padme. He stood up the smile going from a genuine, kind smile to a nervous, forced one. His hand remained in the crib, still comforting the baby. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt"

"It's okay, I was looking for you anyway, I..." Anakin was struggling for the right words. 
"I couldn't sleep, wanted to make sure you three were alright, but then this one started fussing" He gestured towards the crib. The smile from before re-emerging. Padme couldn't help but smile alongside him. The happiness in his smile bringing back fond memories of the time they had before. 

Padme went to sit down, gesturing for Anakin to come, sit beside her. He froze, thinking about it. He grabbed each baby out of their cribs handing one to Padme before coming down to sit with her, their shoulders touching. This is the closest they had been since Padme went into labour. However, the awkwardness didn't last and soon enough they were sat comfortably in each other's company. The silence was peaceful and happy. 

"We haven't got names," Anakin said softly, not wanting to break the atmosphere.

"Got any ideas?" Padme said looking up to him

"Not really, I never gave it any thought" He replies looking at the two, who had fallen back to sleep.

"I always liked the name, Leia?"

Anakin smiled looking down to the baby girl that rested in his arms, he smiled, the name fitting he nodded, "I like it!" 
They looked across to the baby boy resting in Padme's arms, "How about Luke?" Anakin offered into the silence. Padme looked up to meet Anakin's eyes and smiled, "Luke sounds perfect" 

They sat looking down at their children, naming them together affirming that being parents was going to be a joint effort. Anakin feeling hopeful that he had a chance to properly redeem himself. 

Before long he felt a head resting onto his shoulder, he looked across to see Padme, her eyes closed resting into Anakin. He smiled, he took Luke from her arms, resting him in the crib. He went to feed them both, prepping the bottles, taking his time ensuring they were the right temperature, ensuring that they wouldn't spill, but mostly trying to figure out how it all worked. Soon enough though they were both fed and lolling off back to sleep. 
Anakin went to sit back down, wrapping his arm around Padme as she instinctively cuddled back up to him. He smiled, feeling content and safe, slowly feeling the exhaustion claim him.