DREAMS ↠ A. SKYWALKER

SEVENTEEN

The sound of a distant explosion causes Liana to stir in bed. She sits up anxiously, racing over to the window. It was barely dawn, not that one could tell from the view above.

The war had finally reached Coruscant. From her window, Liana could make out the giant ships far above the planet's night sky and the occasional bright blast of missiles or exploding ships. She knew Anakin was up there inside a star-fighter somewhere, and all she could do was hope that he'd survive the battle.

The fighting had been going on for days, and Liana was forced to stay put in her apartment by her sister and have meals sent to her via droids. There had been no time to evacuate to Naboo. Meanwhile, Padmè was busy handling the fallout in the Senate.

Liana's stomach churns, as it normally does around this time of day. Nausea rises in her throat, and she rushes across the bedroom into the adjoined bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before throwing up the contents of last night's dinner into the bowl. With a grimace, she wipes her face on a hand towel before meticulously brushing her teeth.

A hand instinctively falls to her belly, that is just beginning to show signs of growing.

The surprise of a positive pregnancy test had terrified her at first.

There had been no way to tell Anakin, not with him far away in the Outer Rim the last four plus  months. The only person she had told was Padmè, who was not pleased at the news, before eventually realizing the joy of becoming an aunt.

Liana pads back into the bedroom, sitting down on the bed, brushing her blonde locks out of her face. She had to believe he would come back to her, to them.

Instead, she rests her eyes for a moment more until waking up hours later the sound of alarms. She gets up to the window to see a gigantic ship plummeting towards Coruscant while on fire. Panic sears her nerves and as it nears closer, she loses sight of it.

Panic strikes her as she runs to call Padmè. She waits patiently for her sister's hologram to appear.

"Liana?"

"Did you see it? That giant ship? It was on fire—!"

"It's alright, Liana, I'm hearing that there's ships taking it in, it's being handled. Go back to sleep—"

"Padmè, please—"

"Hold on, Liana. I'm receiving a transmission—"

Padmè disappears, leaving Liana to pace relentlessly. Before she knows it, her sister is at her bedroom door. She merely nods knowingly at her, a relieved smile gracing her lips. Liana hurries to get dressed, selecting a sage green gown made of tulle that just slightly shows her growing belly bump and delicately falls off of her shoulders.

Soon, the two sisters are heading to the Jedi temple where a crowd of senators and Jedi alike have gathered, waiting anxiously.

Liana's nerves are tingling as she pictures Anakin's reaction to the news. Will he be mad? Excited? Worried?

Master Windu sends a small smile her way, as well as Jar Jar, while Padme begins to discuss politics with them.

Then, a cruiser begins descending from the sky. She watches impatiently from her place a few feet behind the group of senators near a large pillar as Chancellor Palpatine, followed by Artoo, Threepio and—Anakin disembark the cruiser.

Her Jedi Knight.

He wears his usual Jedi uniform of all black with a tunic that graces his broad shoulders, and—he's perfectly unharmed. Her heart soars.

She watches impatiently as he turns to speak to Obi-Wan, who remains on the cruiser, while all the senators flock around the Chancellor, including Padme. Anakin can't see her yet.