Before long, Anakin and Artoo were docking the Rogue with Senator Organa's royal cruiser. When Anakin went to the back of the ship and lowered the ramp, Padmé was waiting with C-3PO in the hangar, smiling at the sight of the rebel agent.

"Senator Amidala," Anakin greeted, teasing her ever so slightly. "You're looking beautiful as ever."

"You've certainly seen better days," she realized, walking up to him and examining his face. "What happened?"

He shrugged it off, not wanting to worry her just yet. There would be time to explain later. "Eh, this is nothing. You should have seen the other guy."

Padmé shook her head at her reckless husband. "Sometimes I wonder about you."

"As you should," he agreed, and he might have kept flirting if Threepio hadn't decided to join the conversation as well.

"My, Master Skywalker! What on earth have you been doing?" He asked, thoroughly appalled at his condition.

Hesitating, he asked both of them, "Does it really look that bad?"

Threepio shook his head, taking it upon himself to close the ramp. "You really haven't changed, have you? Always running toward danger and never considering the consequences."

"I consider the consequences!" Anakin objected, earning him a look from Padmé. "I just do my best to avoid them, and that doesn't always work. There's a difference."

"Well, avoid them better next time!" Threepio insisted, walking off. "I'm going to find Artoo. I need some decent company for a change."

Anakin raised an eyebrow, glancing down at Padmé. "Are you no longer decent company?"

She shook her head, laughing at their antics. It felt good to laugh; politics were rarely this entertaining. Not only that but she was exhausted. She was willing to laugh at just about anything right now, or smile, or both. Padmé just wanted to rest.

Anakin knew this. She didn't have to lean up against him or bury her face in his shoulders for him to know, though she did anyway. This had been their lives for nearly sixteen years. Anakin and Padmé knew how important it was to fight against the Empire and stand up for justice and freedom, but it drained them more than they ever dared to let on about in public. They were proud to make the sacrifices they made for their people and for those all throughout the galaxy, but when they went home, all they wanted to do was stop, even if only for a few days.

Running his hand through her hair, he cradled her head close to his chest and wrapped his other arm around her, taking a minute to do nothing but breathe and be still. Anakin had faith in Padmé, and he knew she had faith in him, but that didn't stop either of them from worrying about the other. She was an Imperial senator, and he was a rebel Jedi. Neither of their occupations was the safest option available. Sometimes it was enough to know that the other was alive, but sometimes it took physical contact to believe they were okay. For the next few days, Anakin and Padmé would stay close by, usually holding hands, if not more. It would likely be the only time they got together for months.

Elsewhere in the ship, the engines fired up, and the ship began to take off again. Artoo must have realized that his masters were taking time together when Threepio found him and started the takeoff sequence alone. Thanks, buddy, Anakin thought, kissing Padmé's head before resting his chin on top of her.

"Are you okay?" she asked, pulling away just enough to look at his face again. One of her delicate hands cradled the side of his head, and Anakin couldn't help but lean into the touch.

He covered her hand with his, nodding. "I'm alright, angel," he told her, and he kissed her to prove it. It was really easy to forget everything that had happened over the past week or so when he kissed his wife. And really, as long as he was able to be here, how bad had it actually been?

~

Eventually, the two of them made it into the cockpit. Artoo and Threepio were bickering in the background, undoubtedly about something insignificant. It was their favorite pastime, after all. Anakin and Padmé ignored them. It was almost as if they had four kids instead of two, except the twins were human, and the droids were metal.

"Sola called me the other night," Padmé recalled, taking off her heels and rolling her ankles a few times. "The speeder arrived a few days ago. Obi-Wan hid it for the time being."

"Did she say where?"

"All she said to me was 'out back,' which could be anywhere."

Anakin thought for a moment. "It's probably out in the shed. Luke and Leia never head out there anyway."

Tossing her shoes to the side, she agreed. "According to Obi-Wan, if they're not in the basement training, they're getting into trouble downtown."

"At least we won't have to worry about that anymore," Anakin pointed out, leaning back in his seat and looking over at her. "They're going to be very busy from now on. When they do come home, all they're going to want to do is eat, sleep, and train a little bit. Can't say I'll blame them."

"That's all they want to do now."

"They're teenagers. That's what happens. They weren't raised as royal dignitaries, unlike you."

Padmé mumbled something along the lines of 'royal pain in the neck,' shaking her head. Grinning, Anakin assumed she was talking about him. He knew he was the feral animal child growing up and was very much the polar opposite of his wife. Luke and Leia had become a strange blend of the two: they had all the reckless decision-making of a Skywalker coupled with the graceful, poised mannerisms of an Amidala. Typically, this meant that the twins were extremely capable of coming up with dangerous ideas and manifesting them very well. These ideas included but were not limited to: beating up bounty hunters and thugs downtown, defending small children that were being bullied, racing in every way imaginable, debating their friends' teachers (they had been homeschooled) and winning the arguments, and passing along their ideas to said friends. The Naberrie household had received multiple calls questioning the suggestions Luke and Leia had given their peers, usually asking who had taught them it was justifiable to sabotage stormtrooper patrols for fun.

On the one hand, Anakin and Padmé knew their behavior was reckless and probably should be corrected. On the other hand, Luke and Leia were doing exactly what their parents did for their day jobs, just on a smaller scale, so they weren't ones to talk. Instead, they had left the decision of what to do to Obi-Wan, who had been adopted into the Naberrie family as Anakin's brother, and Sola, Padmé's sister. They reached the conclusion that as long as the twins weren't getting arrested and none of the parental figures had to get involved, they could handle themselves for the most part. If the local police had to come to the front door dragging in the twins, they were grounded for two weeks. The system had worked well so far.

Artoo rolled up to Anakin's side, reminding him the ship was five minutes away from Naboo. He nodded, double-checking the hyperdrive controls to make sure nothing was wrong with them. "How is Bail doing?" he asked Padmé, knowing they had gotten a chance to work together for a couple of weeks.

"Stressed, as always," she reported, sighing. "I'm glad I got to help take a bit of the load off his shoulders, but I think he needs a vacation more than I do. He said that you and O-Mer finally talked."

"You knew about that?"

"Sorry, I was sworn to secrecy years ago."

He didn't press. He wasn't mad, just surprised. One of Bail Organa's top priorities was protecting innocents and refugees, and O-Mer definitely counted. "I didn't think he was alive until I saw him. He just... I think he just needed to talk. Who knows how long he's been shoving thoughts down."

This was something Padmé had learned since opening her home to Jedi. Anyone could be as warm and accepting as possible, but there was a connection between Jedi that no one else could replicate. They would speak about things only between themselves, even if others asked them to share. It was sometimes frustrating to be left out or excluded, though Anakin knew she truly wanted to help him heal.

Over time, he had opened up to her about things he sensed in the Force or circumstances he was processing, but that was more just for getting things out of his system. When he needed help or advice, he went to Obi-Wan. In this way, Padmé realized one of the worst parts about the Jedi Purge: most Jedi were now alone, which they should never be. Ever. They needed other Jedi to help them process and overcome the struggle. Support from friends was equally important and necessary, but one could not replace the other. Anakin needed both, and so did Obi-Wan and every other Jedi that still lived.

"What did he say?" Padmé asked softly.

"I think he just needed to grieve," he told her, staring off into space. "He was trying to protect Younglings until he got separated from them, and I don't think he ever let himself fully... fully.."

"Accept what happened?"

Anakin grimaced. "I think 'comprehend' is closer to the mark. He just... got into survival mode and never really got out. It was always go, go, go, and he never stopped long enough to think about what he witnessed."

She understood, to a degree. It sounded like the exact opposite of what Obi-Wan had done, which was to get trapped in the grief from Order 66 and not move past it for a long time. O-Mer had tried to skip over it to stay alive and never went back to internally validate the trauma. "Seeing you must have let it all out."

"Well, I think Kanan helped him more than I did," he admitted. "They got to talk a few times, which he said convinced him to call. I think seeing Kanan as an adult triggered some kind of recognition of how much time had passed and what happened, and it all just began to unravel from there."

"You can't ignore that kind of proof."

"Exactly."

"So what happens from here?"

Shaking his head, he smiled. "Nothing. O-Mer doesn't want to try and go back. I think he's done being a Jedi, at least for the foreseeable future."

Years ago, the news that someone had given up being a Jedi was not good news. Now? Not so much. "He'll be safer now than he has been," Padmé predicted, breathing out. "Bail won't let anything happen to him. That matters more than anything."

"He'll be fine," Anakin agreed, closing his eyes. "That's the best farewell I can give him."

"You did good," she encouraged him, smiling. "Sometimes, that's all they need. If that's the end of his journey as a Jedi, there's no better way to end it."

How strange it was to think of abandoning one's identity as a Jedi as a good thing, but life had never been more strange than it was under the threat of the Empire. Besides, Anakin knew that there were more journeys out there than that of a Jedi. He was heading home to one of them.

Sitting forward, he grasped the controls of the ship and jumped the ship out of hyperspace. Before them, Naboo came into view, as peaceful and calming as it had always been, except for one thing.

Anakin's eyes narrowed at the Star Destroyer orbiting Naboo. "Looks like we've got company again."

"I think that's my fault, actually," Padmé confessed, sighing and shaking her head. "After our last Senate gathering, I wouldn't be surprised. I may have shut down an executive order against Dooku's wishes."

"Now that's the Senator Amidala I know," he praised, grinning. "I'm sure they'll be gone in a week or two. They usually are." Glancing at his wife, he asked, "Are you ready for this?"

"Am I ready for my children to turn sixteen? No, of course, I'm not ready," she moaned, covering her face with her hands.

"Maybe, but they are," he reminded her, smiling and looking forward. "Home, sweet home, here we come."

Activating the thrusters, the Rogue sped into the atmosphere, following the route it had taken hundreds of times before. This was Anakin's favorite journey to take because it always brought him back to his family. It wasn't long before the Naberrie mansion came into view, and the landing platform looked as inviting as ever. It was their own safe house, a small paradise in the midst of a galaxy that was drowning in chaos. For a few days, Anakin and Padmé would be able to remove themselves from the harsh reality they were trying to change and remind themselves why they wanted to change it. It wasn't for them. It was for their children.

Artoo took care of landing the ship while Anakin and Padmé ran back to the ramp. Anakin opened it before the landing gear touched down, and when they could see the platform, two mirror copies of their younger selves were running toward them, their faces lit up like the sun.

"Dad!" Leia shouted, jumping up to hug Anakin. She probably would have knocked him over if he hadn't been prepared to catch her, squeezing her tight.

"Hey there, Princess!" he laughed, kissing her cheek as Luke joined in the hug. He wrapped an arm around him too, taking a moment to hold both of his children in his arms again. These were the two reasons he fought so hard, the reasons he believed in the Rebellion with everything he had. It made the past few months all worth it.

Luke quickly let go and went to his mother, wrapping his arms around Padmé's shoulders. He had gotten taller in the past year and liked reminding everyone of this fact through his hugs, but Padmé knew he worried more than Leia about his parents' safe return. "Missed you."

"I missed you too," she said, kissing his hair before pulling back and making sure he was still in one piece. Padmé then did the same with her daughter before finally breathing a sigh of relief, pulling both teenagers close again. They were all alive. "Are you okay?"

"We're fine, Mom," Leia assured her, her voice slightly muffled by Padmé's dress. "As always."

Anakin laughed a little. They had this exact conversation nearly every time they reunited, but it never lost its importance. He made eye contact with Luke, who was grinning over Padmé's shoulder. People always thought that Luke looked like Anakin, but he only ever saw his wife's kindness in his son's face. You could leave for five minutes or five months, but Luke would always be genuinely happy to see you again. Only he could match his mother's tendency to worry.

When they released, Anakin smiled at his children. "Happy sixteenth," he told them, and he watched their eyes light up a little more. "Are you sure you want to get older?"

"Yes," they both insisted simultaneously.

Anakin raised his hands in surrender. "Just checking."

Leia crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at him. "Sure you were."

"I was!"

Laughter came from the door, and Anakin turned to see Obi-Wan watching them with a smile on his face. "I was wondering when you were going to get here."

The twins stepped aside to let their father pass. Anakin grinned apologetically. "Sorry, got held up," he explained, hugging his brother tightly. Quietly, so no one else could hear, he whispered, "Remind me to talk to you later."

"Of course," Obi-Wan agreed, but he was more just happy to see him. Though he wasn't an active part of the Rebellion, he did hear news every now and then and could guess what sort of trouble Anakin had run into. Obi-Wan no longer took his safe return home for granted.

While Obi-Wan moved to hug Padme, Anakin warmly greeted Sola, who was standing not far behind her brother-in-law. "Thanks for holding down the fort," he teased, making her laugh.

"Anytime, Fulcrum," she returned, knocking on his shoulder armor before hugging him. "Someone has to do it when you're not around."

"Excuse me, what have I been doing this whole time?" Obi-Wan asked indignantly, still hugging Padmé.

Sola thought about it. "The word 'napping' comes to mind."

His face twisted as the twins laughed behind them. "That's hardly fair."

Anakin just laughed and pulled everyone together, all six of them. Despite all the chaos they had faced, all of them were home again. That was what mattered right now. His family was safe.