Ahsoka couldn't stay for much longer, but Lux offered to escort her to find Senator Amidala. From the way he was acting, Ahsoka had a feeling he didn't know that she had decoys, but made no mention of it. Most people didn't, even among Jedi and politicians. The only reason Ahsoka knew was because of her experience with her and Anakin. If anyone spent enough time with them to pick up on a romantic relationship, they probably would have also noticed that Padmé Amidala wasn't always Padmé Amidala.

As they were walking to her office, Ahsoka recounted a few of the stories from her work. They were mostly mundane things, she chose to leave out the more radical events, but Lux had no problem with listening. They were small and simple, but much more lighthearted than the tales he heard as a senator. At least in her stories, no one was dying or focused solely on a contract. Besides, Ahsoka never had stories as a Jedi, since the most interesting things that ever happened were battles. Now he could actually get a glimpse into her life, into her personality.

He had to go, apparently, Jai was having trouble with something back at home. Ahsoka asked him to say hello to Jai from her, before knocking on Senator Amidala's door. The voice inside invited her in, and the door slid open.

To her credit, the decoy at Padme's desk certainly looked like the real deal. Ahsoka walked up to her and greeted her formally. "I hope I haven't kept you waiting, Senator Amidala. I'm afraid I got caught up in a conversation with Senator Bonteri."

The 'senator' smiled, powering off her HoloNet portal on the desk and standing up. "It's quite all right, I was just finishing up a report," she assured her. "Shall we leave?"

Ahsoka nodded and followed the decoy out of the office towards the launch pad. She almost missed it, but she picked up on a mischievous twinkle in her eye. Clearly, the decoy had been briefed on Ahsoka's visit.

The two made small talk on the way to the ship, just simple things like Ahsoka's trip to the Senate Building and their days at work. They boarded the Nabooian ship without issue, and before she knew it, Ahsoka was headed off-world. 

The decoy sat with Ahsoka during takeoff, but as soon as the ship entered hyperspace, she excused herself and retreated to the senator's quarters. Ahsoka desperately wanted to approach her later and ask who she really was, to find out her story, but she knew it was inappropriate. Padmé's handmaidens were sworn to secrecy and loyalty, and wouldn't divulge their information to anyone, certainly not Ahsoka. A few minutes later, another handmaiden came out, a different one this time. It was only several minutes later, when Ahsoka had wandered towards the cockpit of the ship and was looking the other way, that both handmaidens revealed themselves. 

Padmé's ship was certainly nicer than the ships Ahsoka had been on recently. Not surprising, as she was a politician and a well-respected one. She felt a little out of place since she was still in her grimy work clothes. Maybe she should have changed before coming.

When the ship jumped out of hyperspace, though, she nearly leaped up and looked out the window. It had been so long since she had been to Naboo, and the last time had been as the Inquisitor. The ship diverted away from the city center, to where Padmé must live when she didn't work. It was no surprise that Ahsoka had never met Padmé's family, but at the same time it caught her off guard. 

Ahsoka had to stop herself from running down the ramp to go find Padmé. Her handmaidens walked off, probably to retire and rest, but a woman slightly older than Padmé was waiting near the main doors. Judging from her resemblance to the senator, Ahsoka guessed that this was Padmé's sister. 

"I take it you are Ahsoka Tano?" The woman asked, smiling at the Togruta.

She nodded as she approached her. "I am. I hope I haven't kept anyone waiting too long."

"You certainly haven't, although we've been anxious to meet you. My name is Sola Naberrie, I am Padmé's sister."

"Naberrie?" Ahsoka asked, unfamiliar with the name. "Amidala is just a cover?"

Sola laughed, but sweetly, and began walking inside. "Padmé uses it to protect my parents and me, and soon, it will protect her child. I'm told that you have been informed about this?"

Ahsoka nodded, making a mental note to never refer to the family as Amidala again. That would have been interesting.

"I actually won't be staying here tonight," Sola went on, inviting Ahsoka inside the mansion that was the Naberrie residence. "The rest of my family is taking a trip to Alderaan, so we won't be home, but you and Padmé will have the weekend to yourselves. Just.." Sola made a face like she knew that Ahsoka and her sister had a habit of getting into messes. "Take care of her, please?"

She nodded, and Sola walked away. Ahsoka wished that she had more time to know this person,  but she also understood the urgency of a vacation. Sola was probably dying to get to Alderaan to relax. After all, she had been taking care of a pregnant sister for five months now, and the father was unable to be of assistance.

It occurred to her, after Sola left, of course, that she had no idea where Padmé was in the house. She decided the library might be a good place to start, so Ahsoka walked through the halls searching for the right room. There was no sign of her, and Ahsoka was about to go look for help, but her eye caught a glimpse of a woman sitting on a couch eating cookies as she passed by. Ahsoka backpedaled and smiled as Padmé realized who had arrived.

She nearly jumped out of her seat to run (or in her case, waddle) to greet her. It was so awkward for Ahsoka to hug her with her pregnant belly, but Ahsoka was glad to see her all the same. She could actually feel Padmé relax after a moment or so. 

When they finally released, Padmé was absolutely beaming, although she had a playful gleam in her eye. "It took a baby to get you to finally visit?" she teased, and Ahsoka wilted, pretending to be hurt.

"It's not like seeing you randomly is as usual anymore," she complained, walking back over to the couch with Padmé. "Without missions, I'm grounded now. My work doesn't provide many opportunities for travel."

"I know, I know," she relented, sinking back into the cushions slowly. "Anakin told me about what you've been up to. It's not your fault," she admitted, leaning on one arm to face Ahsoka. "Is that still going okay for you?"

Ahsoka nodded, drawing both knees onto the couch and pivoting towards her. "It is, actually. It works great for occasional surface visits, or sometimes just market runs. Keeps me busy without stressing me out, which is more than I could have dreamed of, at this point."

Handing her a cookie from her mountain on the lampstand, Padmé gazed softly. "Even I've noticed a difference without you in the Jedi Order, and I barely saw you, compared to others. I can think of a few occasions where your help would have been nice."

"Well, apparently, exceptions can be made," Ahsoka confided. "The Order sent me to Lokori when the Council and Anakin were kidnapped. I suppose you heard?"

Grinning, Padmé laughed. "Not many people were told, but those who were? Oh, you should have seen them, Ahsoka. They were dumbstruck for days! Some of them still are, they can't fathom why anyone would trust you nowadays, or how you managed to do a better job than a Jedi could have done it."

The two women stifled giggles, not that anyone could have been listening. It was glorious to not have to worry about outside opinions for once.

"I just realized that I've never been here before, right when I arrived," Ahsoka mentioned, looking around. "It's beautiful. And I met your sister outside, who I didn't even know existed, I might add. Naberrie, huh?"

Padmé nodded, taking a drink of water. "Safety precautions, just in case. The Naboo government has never been above keeping secrets when necessary." Her expression darkened. "Which shows you exactly how Palpatine managed to hide for so long."

Not wanting to kill the mood, Ahsoka consoled her. "No one else noticed either, it's not like he was your responsibility."

"Debatable," Padmé argued, "but forget it. I've already had to deal with that enough." Her weary expression showed it, so Ahsoka changed the subject.

"Not to mention, you have someone else to worry about." She pointed at the bulging stomach, and Padmé grinned. 

"Anakin said he could sense the child with the Force, I don't suppose you want to try?" 

Startled, Ahsoka shrugged and closed her eyes. I didn't know children could be sensed with the Force so soon, she thought, and focused on the other presences in the room. Padme's, she recognized instantly, but there was a smaller, weaker, but nonetheless existing Force signature coming from inside her. She could sense a resemblance to Anakin if she focused hard enough. 

Actually, after a few moments, the signature seemed to recognize her, too. It was as if her connection to Anakin inherently connected her to his child. How that worked, Ahsoka had no clue, but apparently experiences had an impact on generational Force-users. No one would know, after all, because supposedly Jedi had not had children for thousands of years. 

In fact, Ahsoka was so in tune with the child, that she began to distinguish that it wasn't a child. It was children. As in the plural of 'child'. Padmé was pregnant with twins. 

I thought she looked too big for five months! she thought gleefully. Oh, she and Anakin are in for it. She controlled her face, though, and opened her eyes. "That's incredible."

"I have to get an ultrasound later this evening," Padmé offered, "do you want to come with?"

"Absolutely."