Spare him
The temple was in flames, everything except the books, holocrons and other artifacts was burned by the clones' flame throwers, rockets and bombs. The towers that once held the council had fallen and shattered the temple further, statues crumbled, pillars broke and the roof had collapsed in. This is what the Jedi younglings, knights, guards and masters saw as they fled on their ships as well as Senators Organa, Mothma and Amidala from farther away as they got the heavily pregnant young senator from Naboo as far away from Coruscant as possible, knowing that if they Jedi had fallen then they might be next. That and she insisted on finding Skywalker, why was unknown to the two and even her droids C3PO and R2 refused to say why. Anakin was leaning against a wall in the hold of the ship they were using to escape the planet where most of the younglings, a few of the injured (some who had been prior to the attack and other who were injured during), as well as Obi wan and Mace were trying to catch their breath. Anakin was in despair, the man he thought was his friend had turned out to be a murderous sociopath. What was he going to do now? What was going to happen to Padme and his child? What was going to happen to him? Was Ahsoka alive or had she fallen by . . . no he refused to believe that Rex could ever betray him and kill a jedi let alone her. Was Padme going to die like his mother or was it all a trick by Palpatine, he didn't know? He didn't know what was real anymore, he didn't know what to believe. He didn't even know if he was the Chosen one. The fear and confusion was crushing, choking him, it hurt worse than the many injuries he sustained trying to protect the fleeing Jedi. The emotions he had been feeling since the nightmares started, it all came to a head after months upon months of emotional turmoil. Even the younglings could feel the storm of emotions that was coming from him, one of the kids broke off from the huddled mass of children trying to comfort each other, walked up to him. He was very young, probably no much older than 3 and probably hadn't been walking for a very long time. He put a small hand on Anakin's blue furred leg, the one that wasn't injured. "Master Skywalker, are you okay?" asked the young child.
Anakin was startled by the touch but he looked around at the youngling. The young jedi looked him in the eyes in confusion and then stepped back in shock and ran back to the other children in fear. Anakin looked at the other children in confusion, with many of them looking at him in a mixture of shock, horror, confusion and fear with some of them even screaming. "His eyes. What's with his eyes?" "What happened to his eyes?" "Why do his eyes look like that?" That's what they shouted or muttered in fear, "I knew it. I knew this would happen," was what came from Mace's bill. Anakin was still confused and he saw what they were talking about when he looked at himself in the dull reflection of the metal wall, they were yellow . . . like a Sith. He looked around in shock and horror with Mace grabbing his lightsaber, seeming to forget the many lives he just saved, "We have to stop him before he kills the rest of us." Anakin saw this and ran off screaming, "Get away from me! ALL OF YOU!" Anakin ran off, not noticing that Obi wan was trying to stop Mace from attacking him. "No wait, he's not dangerous!" Obi wan shouted in despair but they fell on deaf ears, Mace never liked Anakin so this wouldn't have helped him and so he ran off to kill Anakin thinking the inevitable had happened. Obi wan followed, he could feel Anakin's fear and he thought if he calmed the man who he raised, considered a brother and above all else thought of as his best friend then maybe he'd come back. Obi wan knew the dark side, he felt no overwhelming hatred or anger from Anakin but only a mire of fear and pain but he knew what happens when a scared and injured animal does when it's cornered. Anakin ran through the ship, trying to find a place to hide or something, he didn't know he was in too much pain both physical and emotional to think clearly. He collapsed by a wall in a corridor, he couldn't run anymore, he curled in a ball hoping that whoever found him would be merciful and they'd stop Mace from killing him. He didn't want to hurt the younglings or any of the jedi, he might not have been happy with some of the decisions they made or even denying him the rank of master. In fact, he didn't care about being a master anymore or any of their less than Jedi like decisions, it didn't matter to him at all. He just wanted to live long enough to see Padme again and be able to hold his child in his arms for the first time, he would die happy knowing they were safe.
Anakin then noticed a light coming from the hall he just came from and a hum, the light was purple. He looked up and saw Mace standing over him with a look of anger and disgust on his black furred face, he spoke in almost a growl, "You should have never been let in on the grounds let alone trained, the only reason you were ever trained was because it was Qui gon's dying wish. I knew for years this would have happened. I won't let you hurt a single soul on this ship." Anakin was in shock and fear, wasn't it obvious he didn't want to hurt anyone from the way he ran. Didn't Mace know he wasn't armed, he dropped his lightsaber when he got on the ship when his cybernetic hand's neural interface stopped working. "No, please. I don't want to hurt anyone. I'm not a monster! I'm nothing like him! I'm nothing like Palpatine!" That's what Anakin said to Mace in a shaky voice, looking up at him with fear and despair painted on his muzzle and shaking like a leaf in both horror and pain. Mace raised his light saber, "WAIT! STOP, SPARE HIM!" cried a voice from behind Mace. It was Obi wan, sprinting after Mace before he could cut down his former padawan. "Mace, he's unarmed! This isn't the Jedi way, you can't kill him. If he wanted to hurt any of us, he wouldn't have run away," Obi wan said with Mace looking at him with skepticism. "Please let me try and talk to him, he's clearly in pain and I doubt he wants to fight. Just spare him," Obi wan said with sadness in his voice. Mace turned his lightsaber off but didn't put it away, "You have one chance, I will not spare him if he turns out to be any kind of threat," and he stepped away, folded his arms and stared at Anakin with the same look of anger as let Obi wan kneel before the quivering form of Anakin. Obi wan looked at the whimpering, cowering form of his old friend with great sorrow and pity on his face. Anakin looked like a terrified beast that had been severely beaten.
"Anakin, what is going on? Why are you so afraid? I'm not trying to hurt you, I want to help. Let me help you," Obi wan said. Anakin looked at Obi wan's face, he saw a face full of sympathy and empathy, a face that wanted to help. "I'm afraid . . . not for myself but for someone else," said Anakin in a shaky voice. "Then who?" asked Obi wan, having an idea who. "Padme. I fear for her life. I've had visions, horrible nightmares of her dying in child birth. I fear to lose her forever, Palpatine hinted he could help but I refused his offer. I knew what it meant to join him, it would have been worse than losing her," said Anakin. "Why would you . . . ? You love her don't you?" asked Obi wan, Anakin nodding as the masters including Cin Drallig and what was left of the council walk in with Mace still staring at him with his facial expression not changing at all. Obi wan took a deep breath and asked one last question, "You're the father? You're the father of Padme's child?" Anakin looked away and nodded, this shocked the entire room but Mace still stared him the same way. "I couldn't lose her not after losing my mom. I couldn't go through that again. She's my angel. I know attachment isn't the Jedi way but she is the only thing that brought me some amount of peace," Anakin began to cry, "I've been tormented by nightmares for months. I didn't tell anyone because I didn't know how to say these things, I wanted to tell you. I feel like I'm being torn apart. The thought of losing her is too much for my heart, she's the only thing that kept me sane." That last word as well as Anakin's tears caused Mace's face to go from one of anger to one of pity, the masters looked at each other. Obi wan was shocked, he then does something none of the Jedi saw coming, he hugged Anakin. Being mindful of Anakin's wounds, Obi wan spoke while embracing him, "I could have helped you. That's why I stayed behind. If you were afraid of being expelled for telling me these anxieties, I'd have you know that wouldn't have happened. You're like a brother to me, Anakin. Never be afraid to talk to me about these emotions, I would have understood. I do understand. Let me help you with this pain." Anakin's eyes went back to normal with these words, he returned the hug, crying even harder. The masters didn't say a word, what could they say.
Cin and Kit break away and kneel down to Obi wan's level. "The ship has reached the medical station," is what Kit said while Cin said, "We also received contact from Senator Organa. He, Mon Mothma and Senator Amidala will be rendezvous with us shortly." Obi wan sighed, "Very well. Help me with Anakin. I don't know if he has the strength to stand." Anakin was helped to a stretcher being pulled by medical droids. He was taken to a room to be patched up. One of the droids put a tray right by Anakin's head on a table opposite to him, one of the instruments was a syringe he assumed would be full of sedatives. The droid put the syringe to Anakin's neck and pushed the plunger, his eyes grew very heavy. During his last few seconds of consciousness, he noticed Obi wan looking at him through the window and then saw Bail walk up to him. They were talking but he couldn't hear and it didn't matter since he very shortly fell into a dreamless sleep. Anakin woke up hours later in a room with bandages all over, a soft pillow and a blanket over him. He looked around to see familiar faces. He saw Obi wan, Mace, Shaak Ti, Yoda and a few he didn't expect to see. He saw Ahsoka and Rex, he assumed that Rex didn't fall order 66, that's all he could figure. He also saw Mon and Bail and they were each holding some thing, identical bundles of cloth. He looked over to his furthest side and saw C3PO and R2 beside . . . Padme. She was fast asleep but Anakin still tried to crane his neck. Then Bail spoke, "She's fine. She's resting. Padme went into labor when we arrived and gave birth when we arrived." It was Mon's turn, "She told us who the father was. Just so you know, the children are healthy too." What a relief this brought Anakin, like a weight was lifted and . . . wait did she say children? Anakin looked confused until the bundles both senators were holding started to move and make baby noises.
Bail and Mon got close enough for Anakin to see what was inside, two babies. "I'm holding the boy, the other one is a girl," said Bail. Anakin brought a hand to the children's faces, letting each get a chance to hold his finger. He gave a weak smile and then laid his head back, "Has she named them yet?" "Yes, Master Anakin. She gave the boy the name Luke and the girl the name Leia," said 3PO. R2 beeped a response, 'I would have named them something else but seeing as how my name is a serial number, my names might not be the best for a human.' "Let me hold them," said Anakin, his request was given and he held the squirming children in his arms. They opened their eyes and stared into the face of their father, Leia giving a curious look while Luke gave him a big smile. Mace spoke up, "Skywalker." Anakin looked at Mace, "I apologize for my previous actions. My opinion on you has changed. You have earned my trust." Anakin gave a smirk, "Well it looks like I achieved 2 things I never thought I'd get today, fatherhood and the trust of Mace Windu." His face then became solemn and he looked at the children in his arms. They seemed to be exploring the small world they know so far with their hands by grabbing onto Anakin's shirt. Padme had woken up about half a minute ago and Anakin looked at her then back to his children, "Their force sensitive, both of them. Their very strong in the force. We can't let the news of their birth reach Palpatine. If he finds out about them, he'll scour the galaxy until he finds them," Anakin said quietly. "Then we won't let him find out about them," Padme spoke for the first time since waking up.
The records of young Luke and Leia's births were destroyed, a report read Deceased: Skywalker, Anakin. Death: complications during surgery. Deceased: Amidala, Padme. Death: complications during birth. The Jedi were never at that medical station and neither were the senators. The Jedi took the younglings to places unknown while the Senators went back to their respective planets. Anakin didn't know what the future held, but he knew one thing. His children would be powerful Jedi and with their training they will defeat Palpatine with ease.