Disclaimer: I own Star Wars!... Okay, I don't, but I wish I dd.

Summery: After defeating Palpatine, Anakin is still haunted by nightmares of all varities. Leaving Coruscant to raise his children with his wife, he'll face challenges even Jedi training couldn't prepare him for. (And I'm not talking about Luke and Leia)

The summery is crap (as well as my keyboard) and corny, and slightly cliché, but the story speaks for itself.

The thin streaks of light trailing in front of a lanky, dark figure supplied the room with its only light. The room itself was rather spacious, filled with mostly just two cribs, a changing table and piles of toys. The dark figure lingered over each crib for a long time, thinking quietly to himself. This was when he was most dangerous, thinking alone in the dark. Emotions of hurt, betrayal and sorrow would consume him until enough light entered his heart to scare away the dark and close the hole in his side as best as it could. He wasn't perfect, far from it, but he had done all he was said to and much, much more. It didn't seem to count for much.

The lights flickered on and the dark figure, Anakin Skywalker, jumped in surprise. He should have felt Padmé coming up the hall, he should have heard the nearly silent swoosh of the door. He didn't, but now that his eyes had adjusted to the light, he saw that she was dressed in her heavy Senator robes, her make-up done perfectly and her hair pulled up into a semi-complicated braided style her handmaiden must have worked painstakingly over.

"Did you sleep much?" she asked. Not "Did you sleep well?" or "You're up early!" She was used to seeing him looking over each crib, every morning, probably there for hours before she awoke. Leia had only awoken once, Luke twice.

"No" he wouldn't lie to her, he couldn't make himself try, even for her own good.

"I'm off to the voting of the new Chancellor" she said softly. Anakin didn't respond, he just turned to look over Leia's crib.

"Have a nice day, Angel" he said in a quiet voice.

Padmé's heart broke once more, shattering into pieces. Only a true smile from her husband or a sweet moment with her children could fix that heart. She wished for him to be truly happy again, like she did every morning, and left.

Leia and Luke eventually awoke and Anakin fed then, dressed them and watched them play during the day.

Days were quiet; he no longer had a duty to the Republic to pull him away from his family. Those days were long gone, away with the war. The Republic was healing, reforming to better accommodate the needs of the planets and repair the outer rim after the war that had dragged on far too long.

Padmé came home after a long day, she and Anakin decided to cook together, play with the twins for a while before putting them to bed, before Padmé pulled him onto the terrace.

"Anakin, are you feeling okay?" she asked, her fingers lightly tracing over his jaw line.

Anakin looked into her eyes, he could see the pain and love that fought for dominance in those chocolate brown orbs. Padmé however could only see hallow blue circles. There was no depth, half filled. She gasped when she saw how drained they seemed, lacking their flamboyant love and affection. Upon her reaction toward his eyes, Anakin looked down, no longer able to meet her warm but worried gaze.

"Anakin, I love you, but seeing you like this is breaking my heart" she said in a quiet whisper. It was like their love was still a secret, hushed and quiet.

He said nothing, he simply pulled her close, never meeting her gaze, fearing their world would shatter in a million pieces with her heart.

"What if we move to Naboo, we could raise the twins there, you could leave the painful memories that come with this planet. Leave with me" her fingers clasped together around his neck as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Be reasonable Padmé, your work matters to much to you, you'd be miserable if you couldn't help those who can't help themselves" He sighed quietly, thinking 'trust me' to himself.

"Anakin, I love you more than I love helping others, if moving to Naboo would make you feel even a fraction better, I'd do it, without hesitation." Her voice was pleading now, but Anakin saw the reason in her staying in politics. If politics would make her happier, he'd stay here without hesitation, no matter how much he wanted to escape this planet.

"I don't have to quit politics, now that the war has ended, I don't need to be here twenty-four seven. Besides, the children would be safer on Naboo than they'd be on Coruscant… And my mom's only seen them once since our marriage was announce, Sola hasn't even met them yet" she looked up with hope and saw his eyes filling with color and life already.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Positive, I've been missing my family. All I want is for our family to be safe and happy" she said, cuddling herself against his chest, feeling the sudden release in warmth.

"As do I, Angel" he sighed, holding her as close to him as he could.

The stood there for a while, till the day's chores had finally manifested their wear on Padmé and she'd begun to fall asleep in Anakin's arms. He carried her to their bed and fell asleep with her in his arms.

Well, how was that? Leave a review and I'll try to update sometime mid-week.