The twin suns of Tatooine cast their relentless glare upon the desolate landscape, as I arrived back to the farm. Owen came running out of the house, followed closely by Beru and Padme, their faces etched with grief.  Cliegg,determined despite his injuries, followed them on his hovering chair.

 I got off my speeder and set about unbuckling a gray blanket from it that had my mother's lifeless body wrapped in it.  Then I lifted her off the speeder and cradled her in my arms. Cliegg turned his gaze to the floor as I looked at him, while Beru and Owen stared after me as I walked down a flight of stairs. 

Padme found me later inside the garage. I stood next to a workbench and  tinkered with a piece of metal that belonged to the speeder. My movements seemed somehow exaggerated. I was frustrated. "I brought you something. Are you hungry?" Padme asked me, her voice calm. I guess she didn't want to worry meany more than I already was. She hold a tray of food and drink in her hands.

I glanced at her and returned then to work. "The shifter broke on that damn speeder. " I replied her, my voice was dripping with suffering. "Life seems so much simpler when you're fixing things." I said as Padme put the tray of food and drink down on the workbench."I'm very good at fixing things, always was. But I couldn't . . ." My voice failed. I was glad that Padme didn't ask me. She probably knew what I meant.

"Why did she have to die?" I asked as I stopped what I was doing and  turned my gaze to her. For the first time, she saw something in my eyes, like hatred and anger. These emotions had often been seen in me, just not in this intensity. "Why couldn't I save her?" I now said in a raised voice. "I know I could have!" I squinted my eyes and walked away from her to escape her gaze.

"Sometimes there are things no one can fix."Padme ran after me and tried to offer me  her help. She probably didn't want me to move away from her, to decide not to listen to her anymore. "You're not all-powerful,Timmy."

 "Well, I should be!" I replied her, almost shouting, and my anger was clear. "Someday I will be... I will be the most powerful Jedi ever!" I said and turned back to her. "I promise you." My gaze bored into Padme's insides, making sure that she would always carry that memory with her.

 "I will even learn to stop people from dying!" I added determinedly. And I meant it. Every word I said, I meant sincerely. I would learn to prevent dying, I would even learn to bring back the deceased. I promised myself that,I swore. Never again would I let go a person who was important to me.

"Timothee..."Padme said my name like a prayer. She tried to calm me down again. "This is all Obi Wan's fault!" I said again with a raised voice. I tried to find someone to blame for my failure, for my suffering. "He's jealous! He knows I'm already more powerful than he is. He's holding me back!"

In my rage,I threw the wrench I was holding across the garage,where he flew into a wall and fell clattering onto some spare parts. "What's wrong,Timmy?" Padme asked me almost inaudibly, but loud enough for me to hear.

"I.....I killed them." I gazed at my trembling hands before I looked up. A mix of anguish and confusion etched upon my face as the realization had hit me like a blow. I had done what the Jedi had forbidden the most. "I killed them all. They're dead." I turned to Padme,tears glistening in my green eyes that dared not leave her. "Every single one of them." I continued. "And not just the men. But the women." I said as I took a step toward her.

"And the children too." I said in a trembling voice. Then I contorted my face as if torn between anger and guilt. "They're like animals,and I slaughtered them like animals!" I said, almost shouting the last part. Then I paused for a moment. "I hate them!" Consumed by my anger, one of the tears I had managed so well to hold in my eyes now rolled down my cheek.

For a brief moment, it was dead quiet. Even the wind had stopped whistling. It was as if the whole galaxy had stopped. Padme stared at me.  I stared back at her before  ,overwhelmed by grief, I collapsed on the floor, and began to sob so hard that my shoulders shook. Padme quickly embraced me and pulled me close to her.

Immediately, I melted into her touch as I sobbed into her dark blue robe while she held me and rubbed my neck soothingly. "Why do I hate them? I didn't... I couldn't... I couldn't control myself. I... I don't want to hate them... But I just can't forgive them." I said  between my sobs. 

"To be angry is to be human." Padme assured me while I furiously shook my head into her chest. "To control your anger is to be a Jedi." Padme bulled my chin up to look her in the eyes. "You are a  human." "No, I'm a Jedi. I know I'm better than this." I whispered as I shook my head again. 

"I am sorry. I am so sorry!" I cried out, and felt helpless as Padme once again hugged me to her chest. "I'm sure even Jedi get angry, Timothee. You're like everyone else. " She whispered back to me as she held me close to her. I had to sob again. Padme was there to hold me and cradle me and tell me that everything was going to be all right.

I couldn't tell you how long we stayed there. I only knew that after my tears dried up, we just sat there. After a while, exhaustion set in and my eyes fell shut. Padme broke away from me before she stood up and gently took my hands to help me stand.

I didn't even bother arguing with her, I was too tired to care anymore. Padme took me back to the house, where Cliegg wouldn't take no for an answer, because we'd been in the garage for hours, even if it felt like minutes.

They offered us a small guest room. No sooner had they shown us the room did Padme insist I tried to sleep as soon as we were alone. "You need rest." She said. "You've hardly stopped to breathe since you come back."

I didn't even bother arguing, already so tired as I sat on the edge of the bed and kicked off my boots. While I was feeling all groggy, the moment I noticed Padme grabbing a pillow off the bed, a frown came over my face.

"What are you doing?" I asked drowsily."I'll sleep on the floor." Padme quickly answered, preparing to toss the pillow at the foot of the bed, not daring to make eye contact with me. My heart all but stopped within my chest. I knew the agreement we came to. But hearing Padme say that shattered my heart.

"Don't" I said quickly, and gripped her arm tightly, and then her brown eyes finally found my green ones. "I want you to stay with me." I pleaded her softly. Padme watched me for a moment, as  a hint of desperation flashed across  her eyes. "Timmy,we decided —" "Stay with me,please...." I whispered to her, absolutely drained.

I could see Padme continued to stare at me, but after a moment she gave in and placed her pillow back on the bed. In one swift move, she pulled back the covers, and we both wearily climbed in before I wrapped the covers around us. 

It didn't take long before we both had molded together like a two pieces of a puzzle. Padme snuggled into my chest, breathing in my scent.

 I, on the other hand, held her tightly as I kissed her head. Despite everything that had happened to me, being with Padme in that moment made all of my problems disappear — she was my light in the midst of such darkness that threatens to consume me.... 

Then Padme wrapped a hand about my neck and pulled me closer to her. "Thank you for coming with me." I told her as her beautiful chocolate brown eyes looked at me. 

"I don't think I could have done it without you." I admitted. "I'll always be there for you." She whispered to me in the darkness. "Good night,Timmy." With one last kiss on the head, I whispered, "Good night,Padme." 

As we fell asleep in each other's arms for the first time, I final thought was of how no matter what would happen moving forward, I would never let anything happen to Padme. The fear of losing her was greater than any sense of pain or anger I felt as my mother died in my arms.

 I swore, in that moment, that I would protect Padme Amidala until my dying breath. I couldn't lose her and my brother ,just like I lose my mother. Regardless, after such a stressful day for we both, falling asleep cuddled into one another was exactly what we needed. 

Even the two glowing suns of Tatooine could not break the gloomy mood the next day, an almost palpable gray in the air, that prevailed at the new grave in front of the Lars farm. Two other headstones, one smaller than the other, stood nearby. Cliegg, Owen, Beru,Padme and I stood here with C-3P0 to say goodbye to my mother.

"I know wherever you are it's become a better place." Cliegg said as he took a handful of sand and then threw it on the grave. "You were the most loving partner a man could ever have. Goodbye, my dearest wife. " His voice began to tremble with the last sentence. "And thank you."

Cliegg quickly glanced at me,then lowered his head and fought back tears. I stepped forward and fell to my knees in front of my mother's grave. Almost nervously, I picked up a handful of sand, a few golden particles trickling through my fingers. "I wasn't strong enough to save you, Mom." I said. My shoulders shrugged once or twice, but I strained to regain my composure and took a deep breath.

"I wasn't strong enough."I repeated. "But I promise you, I won't fail again." I breathed fast and strained as grief nearly choked me. But then I straightened up resolutely and let go of the sand in my hand. It flew away, in the warm breeze of Tatooine. "I miss you.....so much."

Padme stepped forward and gently placed a hand on my shoulder to comfort me, and then we stopped silently in front of the grave. The moment of silent mourning, however, was soon interrupted by a series of insistent whistling noises. We turned around and saw R8-D8 rolling toward us.

"R8? What are you doing here?" Padme asked him confused, because she had ordered him to stay on the ship. R8-D8 beeped and whistled in response, and caught C-3PO's attention. The silver protocol droid stepped forward.

"Apparently he has a message from an Obi Wan Kenobi, an Maven Palpatine, and an Anakin Skywalker." C-3PO translated  the unintelligible beep of R8. Then he turned to me. "Master Timmy, do these names mean anything to you?"

Padme and I exchanged a worried look before we turned to the Lars family. Beru and Owen pulled guilty faces, as if they were the ones who had killed my mother. Cliegg approached us.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality." Padme nodded to the family and tried to manage a smile on her lips, but the mood and the occasion made her stay straight as a line.  "But we have to say goodbye now. Three friends seem to need help." She finished her sentence.

"It was nice having you with us." Beru smiled slightly and nodded to her as well, receiving a small smile back before Padme and I bowed slightly to Owen and Cliegg. We then turned and strolled towards the ship, followed by R8-D8 and C-3PO.

Padme brushed off her white coat and hung it up before joining me in the cockpit, where I had already started the message. The blue hologram image of Obi Wan, Maven and Anakin appeared before us.

"Timothee, Maven's,Anakin's and my long-range transmitter has been knocked out. Retransmit this message to Coruscant." Obi Wan instructed, and Padme turned to press  the buttons that would take the message to the Jedi Council before she continued to listen to the message.

"We tracked the bounty hunter, Jango Fett,to the droid foundries on Geonosis. "Anakin then began to explain everything that had happened,and glanced off into the distance as if  he wanted to check that they were alone.

"The Trade Federation is taking delivery of a droid army there, and it is clear that Viceroy Gunray is behind the assassination attempts on Senator Amidala." Maven continued to explain , and stretched out his leg. He stroked his black beard, a protective hand was on the hilt of his lightsaber.

Padme and I exchanged a knowing look. We were not very surprised about these information. "The Commerce Guilds and the Corporate Alliance have both pledged their armies to Count Dooku and are forming a-"Obi Wan explained to us, but he interrupted himself as he seemed to make out something in the distance. "Wait,wait-" He exclaimed.

Suddenly, the three Jedi drew their lightsabers to deflect shots and fire back. They disappeared from view and in came three battle droids until the hologram's connection failed. Padme and I exchanged a worried look before I turned back to the disappearing hologram.

 Now Master Windu came into the picture. "Timothee, we will deal with Count Dooku. "He announced with clasped hands and turned in my direction. "The most important thing for you,Timothee, is to stay where you are. Protect the Senator at all costs. That is your first priority."

"I understand, Master." I nodded in understanding as the hologram of Master Windu disappeared. "They'll never get there in time to save them."  Padme said, turning to bring up the map of planets. "They have to come half way across the galaxy. Look- " She pointed her finger at the distance between Tatooine and Geonosis.

"Geonosis is less than a parsec away." She continued, zooming in. "If they are still alive." I answered her darkly. "Timmy, are you  just going to sit here and let them die?" Padme asked me indignantly as I walked toward the window. "Obi Wan is your friend,your mentor! Maven is your friend! And Anakin is your brother!"

"Obi Wan and Maven are like my brothers!  And Anakin is my brother!" I exclaimed gruffly and turned to her. "Yes, it hurts ,but you heard Master Windu. He gave me strict orders to stay here.." "He gave you strict orders to protect me." Padme corrected me with a grin and shrugged with her shoulders before she turned around. "And I'm going to help them."

She pressed more buttons and I heard the thrusters ignite. "If you plan to protect me, you will just have to come along." A wry grin settled on my lips as I sat down in the co-pilot's seat. I started the hyperdrive and typed in the coordinates so that once we were in space, we could make the jump directly.

 "I'm not afraid, R8. It's just that I've never flown before." I heard C-3P0 say to an excited R8-D8 as the protocol droid  took the seat behind Padme while the astromech droid took the seat behind me. With a quick jerk of the controls, the silver cruiser shot into the air, heading straight for Geonosis.