The park [Friday afternoon]

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

Rory had heard a little about what had been going on on the island.

Well, okay. She'd heard that Anakin's first wife was visiting. The dead one. The dead mother of Rory's stepchildren, who were older than Rory herself in one of the timelines to choose from.

So, you know. Typical Skywalker fun.

But Rory herself, as much as she wanted to hide at home and not meet Padmé, was drawn to the island. She took Juliet with her, and got an iced coffee from the Perk before settling in the park. As much as she wanted to meet the first Mrs. Skywalker -- the one who had been married to Anakin, since she'd known an unmarried Padmé before -- her nerves kept her stalling a bit. She fiddled with Juliet's shade on her stroller, she checked her text messages, she even wrote an email to her mother on her phone.

Because honestly, Rory didn't even know where to look. But she didn't want to say she hadn't tried at all, either.

[yeah, if you didn't guess, Rory's going to run into someone. But it's open for anyone who wants to run into Rory and the baby, or Padmé!]

Comments

[force-forgives.livejournal.com]

Padmé had been doing some exploring on her own, but found herself being drawn back to the park.

She spotted the young woman with the baby and smiled. "I'm not interrupting, am I?"

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

Rory nearly shot her coffee out her nose. Thankfully, she didn't quite, though she did choke just a little bit.

Hey, this was why she was here, right? "Not at all," she sputtered nervously before quickly getting a hold of herself and smiling. "Hi."

[force-forgives.livejournal.com]

"Hello," Padmé replied. "You have a beautiful little girl. How old is she?"

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

"She just turned one," Rory said, a little shy and unsure whether she should admit who she was, just yet. "Her name's Juliet."

Juliet babbled up at Padmé, batting her hands around a bit.

[force-forgives.livejournal.com]

"That's a lovely name," Padmé said, reaching to touch the baby's hands and feeling a bittersweet pang about it. This was more how she thought of Leia, even though many years had passed. The self-possessed teenager was taking some getting used to.

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

Rory bit her lower lip, until she couldn't stand not asking. "Is your name Padmé?" she asked softly. Maybe it was that girl who was from England!

She knew it wasn't. Please. She had eyes. No one else dressed that weirdly.

[force-forgives.livejournal.com]

Padmé's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "Are you Jaina?" she asked before the "and the baby" part of the scene kicked in. She smiled a little sadly. "No, you aren't, are you?"

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

"No, but I know her," Rory said carefully, giving her a small smile. "You'll know Jaina when you see her. She looks like you."

[force-forgives.livejournal.com]

Padmé peered more closely at the baby in front of her, recognizing the blonde curls for what they were. Her heart turned over in her chest. "This is Ani's little girl?" she murmured softly.

It seemed to be an easier question than defining this other woman's role in her husband's life.

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

And Rory sort of hated hearing 'Ani,' but she nodded. "My name's Rory," she offered, since Padmé seemed to be figuring things out fairly well. "Juliet looks just like him, doesn't she?"

And not hugely like Rory, aside from the eyes, which was hopefully a comfort.

[force-forgives.livejournal.com]

"She has your eyes," Padmé said after a moment. "You're Rory...Gilmore?" Remembering names was a point of pride with her. "Did you go to school here? Ani mentioned you a few times."

Staking a claim was pointless and petty, Padmé knew, but she couldn't seem to help herself.

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

"Gilmore is my maiden name," Rory corrected gently. "But yeah, I went to school here. I was a year behind Anakin."

[force-forgives.livejournal.com]

Younger, pretty, taller...Padmé wasn't used to comparing herself to other women, and she nipped this tendency in the bud, pulling from decades of training to be gracious.

"Does he make you happy?" she asked, keeping her voice steady.

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

Luke, having received Leia's message, managed to get to Fandom as quickly as the X-Wing could get there (and having tweaked it personally, that was pretty quick), parked on the beach and made his way into town.

He stopped at the edge of the park at the two familiar figures, then the third he'd seen only in holos and dreams.

He forgot how to breathe.

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

Rory, who had actually been chatting with Padmé quite amicably, paused mid-sentence. "Hi, Luke," she called, smiling a little.

She was pretty sure she wasn't the reason he was here.

[force-forgives.livejournal.com]

Padmé's head whipped around and her hand moved up to cover her mouth. "Luke," she whispered.

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

"Mother?" Luke whispered, making a mental note to yell at Tiny Leia about the importance of clarity in voicemail messages. "How?"

[force-forgives.livejournal.com]

"Does it really matter?" Padmé asked, tears filling her eyes as she walked over to him and put her hands on his cheeks. "You're taller than I am! You were an infant only yesterday!"

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

Luke reached out to hug her hard. "You're real!"

[force-forgives.livejournal.com]

"I'm real," she said, crying in earnest now. "Oh, Luke. I never thought this would be possible."

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

"I thought I'd meet you as a student like Leia," he admitted with a slightly forced laugh, "and you'd have absolutely no idea who I was and even less interest in Dad. This is so much more than I ever dreamed of."

[force-forgives.livejournal.com]

"I'd know you anywhere," Padmé said, smiling through her tears. "Rory is right. You look just like your father. But I think you have my smile."

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

"And your ability to forgive, I think," Luke said softly. One Skywalker twin, at least, knew the whole of the family history.

[force-forgives.livejournal.com]

Padmé gazed up at him. "You know," she said just as quietly.

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

He nodded. "All of it," he confirmed.